Your Ultimate Investing Toolkit

Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools:

Portfolio Monitoring

Top Stock Lists

Premium Reports

Stock Screeners

Live News Feed

Premium Support

Free for your first month.
Guess?, Inc. designs, markets, distributes, and licenses lifestyle collections of apparel and accessories for men, women, and children. It operates through five segments: Americas Retail, Americas Wholesale, Europe, Asia, and Licensing. The company's clothing collection includes jeans, pants, skirts, dresses, shorts, blouses, shirts, jackets, activewear, knitwear, and intimate apparel. It also grants licenses to design, manufacture, and distribute various products that complement its apparel lines, such as eyewear, watches, handbags, footwear, kids' and infants' apparel, outerwear, fragrance, jewelry, and other fashion accessories, as well as to wholesale partners to operate and sell products through licensed retail stores. The company markets its products under the GUESS, GUESS?, GUESS U.S.A., GUESS Jeans, GUESS? and Triangle Design, MARCIANO, Question Mark and Triangle Design, a stylized G and a stylized M, GUESS Kids, Baby GUESS, YES, G by GUESS, GUESS by MARCIANO, and Gc brand names. It sells its products through direct-to-consumer, wholesale, and licensing distribution channels. As of January 29, 2022, the company directly operated 1,068 retail stores in the Americas, Europe, and Asia. Its partner's distributors operated an additional 563 retail stores worldwide. The company also offers its products through its retail websites. Guess?, Inc. was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.
Powerball numbers for Monday, Nov. 14, 2022

Here are the winning Powerball numbers and results for the lottery jackpot drawing on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022.
It's that seventies show all over again as a Trudeau gets blamed but it's not his fault; it's simple economics.

TransCanada has cancelled the Energy East pipeline that was to run all the way from the oil sands in Alberta to eastern Canada, at the cost of almost C$ 16 billion. The company blamed "changed circumstances" and a recent National Energy Board ruling that demanded that indirect greenhouse gas emissions be taken into account.

In Alberta, its that seventies show all over again, blaming Prime Minister Trudeau like they blamed his father Pierre. But really, this pipeline was, if not a sham, definitely Plan B if the Keystone pipeline was rejected by President Obama (which it was)- as Chris wrote in TreeHugger 4 years ago, Supporters of Keystone XL have claimed that were it to be rejected, TransCanada would simply find another path to export the oil. Energy East was a really expensive Plan B thought up to pressure the approval process for Keystone or to provide an alternative, albeit really expensive route.

I love GreenPeace but I really don't think they or any of the protests had much to do with this decision. TransCanada has been munching on protesters for decades. What really happened is that President Trump has reversed Obama (so what else is new?) and the Keystone pipeline is going ahead. So for that reason alone, the really expensive Energy East pipeline makes no sense. As Globe and Mail writer Jeffery Jones notes, As it stands, Energy East is a contingency plan whose time never came.

And as Justin Trudeau notes, as quoted in the Globe and Mail, other things have changed.

"It's obvious the market conditions have changed fundamentally since Energy East was first proposed," Mr. Trudeau said. Oil prices were roughly $90 (U.S.) a barrel when the company first broached its plan five years ago, while the drop in prices resulted in the industry lowering its forecast for oil sands production in 2030 by more than one-million barrels a day.

There are other considerations too. It takes a lot of energy to pump that oil through a pipe, and it was a very long pipe indeed. Much of the pipe is currently used to supply natural gas and was going to be converted, which worried a lot of people who burn natural gas, and in fact demand for shipping gas has grown significantly recently; TransCanada is now making money shipping gas through the pipe, when making money off Alberta tar sands oil pushed all that way was always a question mark.

It is convenient to blame environmentalists, greenhouse gas regulation, the Prime Minister and the National Energy Board, but in fact TransCanada simply no longer needed Plan B. Donald Trump, falling oil prices and rising natural gas demand killed Energy East, not Justin Trudeau.

The lesson here is that if you care about carbon and about the environment, you have to use less fossil fuel. Protesting is important but going after supply won't work. Instead, kill demand- by going electric, by riding a bike, by super-insulating your house. That's the way to kill a pipeline.
When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site.
Bondi beach is a bit overrated and packed with tourists. There are far nicer beaches IMO. Bondi does have good transport to the city but every time you want to go somewhere, you'll need to factor in the extra half hour journey there and back. I much prefer the Rocks or Circular Quay as you can walk to a lot of things and you have all the ferriesmthere plus trains and buses. There are plenty of,places to stroll in Sydney and have a view or a quiet spot.

I can never answer these is it worth itnquestions as they're so,subjective. Why were you thinking of adding Melbourne in,? What appeals,to,you? If there are things you want to,do and see then it could be worth the extra costs of getting there and as long as it isn't to the detriment of the rest of your itinerary. Australia is a long way from Europe so it's very tempting to want to keep adding more. 6 weeks is a decent amount of time but you still can't go everywhere.

Edited: 5 years ago
@6, the puertoviejosatellite site has a bus schedule info - https://www.puertoviejosatellite.com/bus-to-puerto-viejo.php . You can buy bus tickets in advance, in Puerto Viejo or in Cahuita - the terminal is about 10 min walk away from the park and the Main Street. You will be arriving to San Jose, Transportes Mepe terminal, not to the airport, as far as I know. You will need a taxi for about $30US to get from there to the airport. Sonia prob. knows how to do it by bus fromnMepe terminal to the airport.

Manzanillo is only 40 km, or 45 min by bus away from Cahuita, S. of it, end of the road.

We took shared shuttles. Interbus or Pleasure Ride from S. Caribbean to SJ area. Pleasure Ride has their office in Puerto Viejo. We e-mailed and called them, but had to prebook on line. We were the only 2 ppl in the van, like a private ride! But Interbus was a full van of 9-10 ppl.

We do not like Puerto Viejo, only for shopping or eating out.

You have such a short time, enjoy wildlife, the bars you can find elsewhere, IMHO.

Edited: 5 years ago
@4, have not seen your Qn till now, sorry.

Yes, Mon. it is closed, which unfortunately, means that Tue. will be even busier in the park, on its trails and beaches inside. The park is small. If you go early, you won't need more than 3-4 hrs for the trails, then some time on the beach. There will likely be a long line up to the 2 windows selling tickets. When we were there 2 months ago, one window had almost no ppl. Turned out it was cash only, and everyone else had credit cards, I guess. So have US$16 pp cash for tourists (locals pay much less).

On Mon., you can travel to Ballena park in Uvita to see Whale Tail, or to one of the beaches outside the MA park. Quepos is on one side, MA park is on the other end. There is a long public beach outside the MA park. You can rent beach chairs and umbrellas there, left and middle part, closer to the park. The right part of the beach is less busy. No chairs. We had big waves when we were there, I could not swim. The tide started coming up, and from 12 till about 2, we kept on moving father away toward the palm trees, until all the sand got covered and we had to leave from the beach. It is a long beach, but the busy, touristy Rd goes right next to it, the sand is not soft white sand, but darker, with some rocks in it, wear shoes. I think it is rated 3 on TA.

Depending on where you stay in MA area, you might be able to see wildlife on the hotel's property or flying over, not just in the park, including small titi, or squirrel, monkeys, macaws, sloths.

Also see other things to do around MA- http://www.twoweeksincostarica.com/manuel-antonio-trip-planning/ and

http://www.twoweeksincostarica.com/7-things-to-do-manuel-antonio/ .

The ticket office in the park did not have trail maps, we asked when we were paying US$32 entrance fees, and so we wished we had printed our own. There are poster signs with maps in some spots along the trails, but having one folded in our pocket would have been better. More convenient than having to take a photo of the sign and then carrying the device in front of you for that...
There are ppl here who know CR way better than me.

I have not been to Bijagua, but I know ppl who keep going to Casitas Tenorio again and again and love walking around Bijagua area. I personally do not go anywhere for 1 night, apart of the first/last night, if needed for the flights.

I seriously disliked the touristy and crowded MA park. With all the other choices out there, i regret we decided to spend time there. In contrast, we returned to Cahuita and do not regret it. Why pay US$16 pp to enter the MA park if you can go to Cahuita NP for a donation? Some of the sloths we saw in S. Caribbean were "our own", I.e. no one else around to watch them. In MA park, about 20 ppl were shoving their flash cameras and phones into the face of a poor sloth who had the misfortune of climbing down to a lower branch by one of the beaches. The rangers who were giving tours to some of the ppl with the cameras who sitting at the back, not interfering. It upset me. Sloths get stressed. This one started to "run away", but its claws were slipping! Sloths do not slip. The poor thing was so scared. I cannot see wanting to go back to that area. Too touristy for our taste. Since it is close to the airport, lots of ppl go there, so it is popular, so lots of ppl must like it. You might like it, too, it is hard to say. If you are ok with a loooong drive, and with rain/humidity, I would go to S. Caribbean.
Hi All,

My wife and I along with two boys (10 and 13) will be visiting Japan this December. This is our first time moving around by ourselves in Japan. We have already book the hotels at the various locations we'll be visiting. Here's is our high level itinerary:

- 12/21/2017: Arrive Tokyo (stay @ Shinjuku)

- 12/24/2017: To Hakone (stay @ local losen)

- 12/25/2017: To Kyoto (stay @ Higashinotoin-dori)

- 12/29/2017: To Osaka (stay @ Dotonbori)

- 01/01/2018: Back oo Tokyo (stay @ Shinjuku)

- 01/04/2018: Depart for Los Angeles

Given the above, we are trying to figure out the best way to travel between the locations. Knowing it will be around the peak holiday season, I want to make sure we get it planned out. We will try to reserve as much as we can online. So, I need some comment/advise on:

1. From/to Narita airport to Shinjuku, should we take the NEX or Limo Bus? Any other suggestions?

2. For NEX, I think you can buy two round trip. Does it make sense to do that?

3. In Tokyo, should we buy SEICA pass for getting around?

4. Plan to take RomanceCar from Shinjuku to Hakone (Yamato Station). I read that you need to buy the RomanceCar ticket and than buy a "standard" ticket. Not sure I understand.. can someone explain? Anyway to reserve all online?

5. From Hakone -> Kyoto -> Osaka -> Shinkuku, we plan to take Shinkansen. Any better suggestions?

6. In Kyto, does it make sense to buy train or bus pass? If so, which one?

7. Sites for make reservations?

Sorry to ask so many questions. We are very excited about the trip. Yet, having to arrange all these transportations make it very daunting.

Thanks in advance.

Gene
Is your company in need of the most reliable and efficient best Best Jasmine Tea s in the market? Your good luck led you to the ideal situation, so congratulations! You are in the best possible place. By eliminating the need to read through dozens of Best Jasmine Tea reviews, we are saving you time and stress.

Many customers find it difficult to decide which Best Jasmine Tea product to buy. The dilemma is brought about by the many types of Best Jasmine Tea in the market. This comprehensive guide will provide you with a clear understanding of how you may choose the most suitable Best Jasmine Tea available in the market.
- President Joko Widodo was caught up in traffic on his way to an official event

- After waiting for 30 minutes in his car, he decided to walk

- Crowds gathered to cheer him on

Traffic jams are a permanent and infuriating feature of Nairobi city. However, we might be better off compared to Indonesia's port city of Cilegon.

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo was approaching the city, which is two-hours drive from the capital Jakarta, when he was caught up in heavy traffic on Thursday, October 5.

He was on his way to attend a military parade. After waiting for 30 minutes in his car for it to clear up, he decided to walk.

President Joko decided to walk after being caught up in traffic. Photo: Facebook/President Joko Widodo

National police chief Tito Karnavian and other senior government officials joined the president in the searing heat of the day. They walked over two kilometers to the event.

Crowds gathered and cheered on the president and his entourage as security personnel kept a close eye on them.

READ ALSO: Prince Harry hangs out with Barack Obama and charms adorable babies

He walked for over 2km as crowds cheered him along the way. Photo: Facebook/President Joko Widodo

Indonesian social media was awash with videos and photos of the unusual sight. Some wondered why there hadn't been a plan in place to clear the road for the president.

READ ALSO: Barack Obama's first college launches scholarship in his name to empower future leaders

However, others praised the president for being down to earth.

Watch the president walk in the video below.

Have something to add to this article or suggestions? Send to news@tuko.co.ke

Source: TUKO.co.ke
- Several politicians from Kisii county defected to the Jubilee Party as they pledged their support to President Uhuru and his re-election campaigns

- They included 2 gubernatorial candidates, 4 senator candidates and six women representative candidates

- The decamped as Uhuru told residents that the opposition has been deceiving them by spreading false tribal narratives to hoodwink Kenyans

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, received several defectors to their Jubilee Party during a tour to Kisii on Thursday, October 5.

Speaking in Sameta, President Uhuru welcomed senior politicians to his camp, saying they will rally behind his re-election on October 26, in the repeat presidential election.

The leaders who defected include 2 gubernatorial candidates, 4 senator candidates and six women representative candidates.

READ ALSO: Investigations ordered against Raila and Kalonzo over their threats to stop repeat poll

President Uhuru Kenyatta on the campaign trail in Kisii county on Thursday, October 5. Photo: Uhuru Kenyatta/Facebook.

READ ALSO: Jubilee Senator under fire after attacking Daughters of Raila

The defectors included former senatorial candidates Isaac Onchongwa, Edgar Onsongi and Richard Atemba who also ran on the Kenya National Congress ticket.

Speaking in Sameta, President Uhuru said that the opposition has been deceiving the people of Kisii and Nyamira, claiming the National Super Alliance has been spreading false tribal narratives to hoodwink Kenyans.

They should show us any individual from the Abagusii in their own leadership structure instead of engaging in falsehoods about Jubilee. The Abagusii are well represented in government and the community has also benefited from the development initiatives implemented by the Jubilee government,

READ ALSO: Vote Raila, vote God: Another photo depicting Raila Odinga's fanatical following emerges

President Uhuru addressing Kisii county residents in Sameta Photo: Uhuru Kenyatta/Facebook.

Install TUKO App To Read News For FREE

Are we going to be misled by politics of deception or are we going to be led by politics of development and agenda that will allow us to make progress, said Uhuru.

Kisii and Nyamira counties are among the counties said to be opposition strongholds.

President Uhuru and NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga are set to face-off in a grand rematch on October 26.

READ ALSO: MCAs from CJ Maraga's backyard refuse to adjourn assembly to welcome Uhuru

Uhuru claimed the opposition has been deceiving Kisii and Nyamira residents with their tribal propaganda. He asked the residents to choose Jubilee and their development. Photo: Uhuru Kenyatta/Facebook

In the August 8 election, Uhuru garnered 50% of the votes in Nyamira and 43% of the votes in Kisii county.

Have something to add to this article? Send to news@tuko.co.ke

Source: TUKO.co.ke
- Hassan Omar has announced that he is now a member of President Uhuru's Jubilee Party

- Omar served as the secretary general in Wiper Party, one of the parties in the opposition National Super Alliance

- President Uhuru will officially welcome him to the party on Sunday, October 8

Former Mombasa senator Hassan Omar is now a member of the Jubilee Party.

Omar, the former secretary general of Wiper Party, one of the parties in the National Super Alliance, ditched the opposition after he lost in the Mombasa gubernatorial race to Governor Hassan Joho.

In photos that the former opposition legislator posted online on Thursday, October 5, it was evident he is now a member of the ruling party.

READ ALSO: Raila caught on secret video urging female supporters to undress during protests

Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka (second left), former secretary general Hassan Omar (speaking) and other party members during a past presser. Photo: Hivi Sasa.

READ ALSO: Jubilee Senator under fire after attacking Daughters of Raila

Reports reaching TUKO.co.ke indicate that President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to officially welcome Omar to the party on Sunday, October 8.

According to Nairobi News, Omar was at a Jubilee campaigners meeting in Tudor, Mombasa, when the photos were taken.

Omar is also assisting in developing a campaign strategy plan ahead of the October 26 poll, said a source who spoke to the news site.

READ ALSO: NASA supporters block roads as third anti-IEBC protests kick off countrywide

Hassan Omar addressing Jubilee legislators during a campaign meeting in Tudor, Mombasa on Thursday, October 5. Photos: Courtesy.

Install TUKO App To Read News For FREE

In September 2017, Omar abruptly quit Wiper, telling his party leader, Kalonzo Musyoka, that this was one of the hardest decisions hes ever made in his life.

In quitting Wiper, he also said he will not be participating in any NASA activities to clinch the presidency in the October 26 repeat presidential election.

His other reasons for quitting the party were that he would be pursuing justice as he petitions Johos victory as well as reorganize his political career and further his studies.

READ ALSO: Something very fishy happened at the Supreme Court before Uhuru's win was nullified

President Uhuru is set to officially welcome Omar to Jubilee on Sunday, October 8. Photos: Courtesy.

READ ALSO: Homa Bay women rep in trouble for using 'matako' slur against Uhuru

You will indeed recall that way before the August 8 General Election, I made it clear to you and Raila Odinga that I bear no desire to serve in your government in the event that you were elected and I was not elected governor of Mombasa for deep-rooted personal reasons that I will one day share," wrote Omar in his letter to Kalonzo.

Omar felt that his party leader was supporting Joho's candidacy way more than Kalonzo supported his candidacy for the Mombasa gubernatorial seat.

Have something to add to this article? Send to news@tuko.co.ke

Source: TUKO.co.ke
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.
It was fun in the sun on Sunday as the Aranguez savannah was the place to crown winners of t
News about Ukraine exporting weapons to hot spots has been occasionally appearing in the media for a long time.

Over the past ten years, fakes reported on Ukrainian shipments of arms to Georgia, Sudan, Nigeria, Thailand, Iran and even ISIS.

Intensification of such accusations has several reasons. Firstly, Ukraine attracts more attention of the international community due to the conflict in the east of the country. Secondly, open data show that we are making progress as a producer and exporter in the military and technical field.

When it comes to such painful and shameful issues for the whole mankind, as the events in South Sudan, it is difficult to decide if the accusation is just a hostile information attack or an objective reason to speak of offences committed by Ukraine as a subject of international relations, its state enterprises or private institutions cooperating with us in this field. It is obvious that the Ukrainian sphere of military and technical cooperation requires even stricter control and regulation than the existing ones. However, lets take another look at the latest Amnesty International report on illegal deliveries of Ukrainian weapons to South Sudan.

More than 12 countries in the world supply arms to South Sudan. Some of this combat equipment actually goes through Uganda. In particular, Russia has issued a loan of 170 million dollars to Uganda through VTB Bank and Rosoboronexport to purchase Russian-produced weapons. The United Nations special investigative commission reported on Russian Mi-24s found in South Sudan. British online newspaper The Independent also published its own investigation into arms supplies to South Sudan via Uganda, which is now available only in the Internet archives. The reprint of this article was made by the Institute for Postinformation Society. Although the material also mentions Ukraine as a version, the investigation highlights the "Russian track" in these deliveries.

At the same time, it is very difficult to find at least one reference to Russia in big reports by Amnesty International for 2016, while Ukraine is directly accused of arms supplies in many of AI materials. Firstly, there was a phrase in a separate report by Amnesty International alleging that Ukraine could have supplied helicopters to African countries. Subsequently, specific charges that Ukraine allegedly supplied Mi-24 combat helicopters to South Sudan were brought. Does the international organization's obsession with Ukraine look strange? Perhaps, especially in view of the fact that such accusations appear at the media scene every time Ukraine achieves some success in the international arena.

While AI accuses Ukraine of violating the Arms Trade Treaty, no one has ever said that Russia has never ever signed any agreement restricting the sale of arms. Moreover, when and from whom will we be able to read about Russian humanitarian convoys supplying weapons to the east of Ukraine, which have claimed the lives of ten thousand Ukrainians?

Commentaries on the topic at 5 kanal, Priamyi, Hromadske Radio

Dmytro Zolotukhin
The European Union has introduced anti-dumping measures on the import of hot rolled flat steel products from four countries, including Ukraine.

The decision was announced by the European Commission on Friday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports from Brussels.

"The Commission today imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of hot rolled flat steel products from Brazil, Iran, Russia and Ukraine. Hot rolled flat steel products from these countries will face duties ranging between 17.6 EUR and 96.5 EUR per tonne after an investigation conducted by the Commission," the European Commission statement reads.

As explained, the action is taken to protect European jobs and industry from unfair trade practices.

ol
Ukraine highly appreciates the support of the United States of America for reforms, including in the energy sector.

The Governmental portal informs this with reference to the statement made by Deputy Minister of Energy and Coal Industry of Ukraine on European integration Natalia Boyko during a meeting with the senior economist of the Department for Ukraine of the U.S. Department of State and representatives of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine.

"The deputy minister notes that Ukraine appreciates the U.S. partnership in the development of competitive energy, which is the basic branch of the economy. The Ministry is consistently working to attract foreign investors and improve the security level. Particular attention was paid to the issue of increasing the level of energy security," the statement reads.

The parties discussed the launch of new assistance programs supported by the U.S..

ish
Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr will pay an official visit to Moldova on Friday, October 6.

The program of the Ukrainian prime ministers visit envisages meetings with Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip and Speaker of the Moldovan parliament Andrian Candu.

Also, Volodymyr Groysman and Pavel Filip will attend the closing ceremony of the annual Moldova Business Week 2017 Forum, according to Moldovas government press service.The heads of the governments will take part in the extended meeting of delegations of the two countries, after which two agreements on cooperation are expected to be signed.

Following this, Pavel Filip and Volodymyr Groysman will give a joint press conference.

iy
Former U.S. deputy secretary of state in the Obama administration Antony J. Blinken openly and reasonably urges President Donald Trump to decide on giving Ukraine weapons against the background of the aggression on the part of Putin's Russia.

He wrote about this in his article published by The New York Times.

"For three and a half years, Moscow has blown past every diplomatic off-ramp offered by the United States and Europe to end the crisis. Instead of implementing the Minsk Agreement  a road map it signed to restore Ukraines sovereignty while protecting the rights of all of its citizens, including the Russian-speaking minority  the Kremlin has denied the agreements plain meaning and dodged its obligations. The occupied east now harbors one of the largest tank forces in Europe. And tens of thousands of Russian troops are poised across a border that Moscow controls, a stark reminder to Kyiv that a much larger swath of its territory remains in jeopardy," the former U.S. deputy secretary of state said.

"Everything starts with a united front among Mr. Trumps senior advisers  Vice President Mike Pence, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster. They see Russias occupation of eastern Ukraine for what it is: a gross violation of the most basic norms of international conduct that the United States helped establish after World War II," he noted.

He stresses that it is not acceptable for one country to change the borders of another by force. It is not O.K. for one sovereignty to dictate to another which countries or organizations it may associate with. It is not all right for Russia to decide Ukraines future. Mr. Trumps team rightly believes that if the United States fails to stand against the abuse of these principles, the international order America built will be weakened.

"What might give Mr. Putin pause at turning up the temperature yet again within eastern Ukraine  or worse, taking another whole bite out of the country  is the knowledge his troops would be seriously bloodied in the doing. Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, once the leading opponent of lethal aid, now is open to it. Listening to Mr. Putins lies, year after year, has that effect. Defensive weapons for Ukraine is an idea whose time has come," Blinken emphasized.
Ukraine and Moldova will continue to cooperate and build a common European future.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman said this during the official visit to Moldova, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"I am convinced that the bilateral summits enable to find out more about each other, to enter the process of real investment. Our country has started to develop and showed the economic growth of more than 2% this year. We had a difficult period over the past three years but Ukraine became stronger," Groysman said.

He stressed that the Government of Ukraine clearly saw the course needed to achieve the economic growth. In 2018, the economy is expected to grow by 3%, but this figure can be increased.

As Prime Minister Groysman noted, all sectors of the Ukrainian economy demonstrate growth. He said Ukraine and Moldova could unite their efforts and get a positive result for both countries.

We will be happy with your successes and will build a common European future, the Prime Minister added.

ol
On Friday, October 6, Education and Science Minister of Ukraine Lilia Hrynevych holds meetings with experts of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg to explain the provisions of the recently adopted law on education.

Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe Dmytro Kuleba posted this on Twitter.

"We start the day of educational diplomacy with the meeting of Minister Hrynevych with the experts of the Council of Europe. We will talk about reform and language all day long," Kuleba wrote.

As reported, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted the education law on September 5. The law, in particular, regulates the use of the Ukrainian language in education. On September 25, President Petro Poroshenko signed it.

The law stipulates that children from ethnic minorities in Ukraine shall continue to learn their native language and start to study other subjects in the state language in the high school. If the language of the ethnic minority is that of the languages of the European Union, one or more disciplines may be taught in it.

At the same time, some countries, which have their national communities in Ukraine, protested against the provision of the education law stipulating that children from ethnic minorities shall study subjects in the Ukrainian language. In particular, the government of Hungary stated that it would block all further decisions of the European Union aimed at rapprochement with Ukraine because of the education law.

ol
ABUJA, 5 October 2017  UNICEF welcomes the release of 752 women, children and elderly men from Giwa military barracks in Maiduguri, Borno State, yesterday.

They had been held for screening after previously having been under the control of Boko Haram militants. The release is a demonstration of the Nigerian authorities commitment to better protecting children and helping families to rebuild their lives.

These are first and foremost victims of this horrific conflict.

UNICEF is working closely with the Borno State Ministry of Womens Affairs and Social Development and other partners to support the children in their recovery and return to their communities.

Medical personnel are assessing the condition of the women and children. Counselling services are on hand and social workers are helping to trace parents or guardians, so that they can reunite children who have been separated from their families. Children will also have an opportunity to start learning and playing again.

This is the first important step on a long road to recovery and normalcy for these children and women who will require ongoing support to reintegrate their families and communities.

###

Note to the editor

For further information, please contact:

Thierry Delvigne, UNICEF Regional Office in Dakar, +221 33 831 0862, tdelvignejean@unicef.org

Doune Porter, UNICEF Nigeria, +234 803 525 0273, dporter@unicef.org

Joe English, UNICEF New York + 1 917-893-0692 JEnglish@Unicef.org
A cross-sector labor body responsible for setting the minimum wage in Cambodias garment sector has unanimously voted to raise seamstresses salaries to $165 per month, the figure was bumped to $170 by Prime Minister Hun Sen to curry favor with potential voters ahead of next years general election.

Ith Samheng, the labor minister, told reporters after a meeting of the Labor Advisory Commission, comprising employers, government representatives, and unions, that the LAC had agreed to raise the minimum monthly wage by $12 from $153.

Samdech Prime Minister [decided to add $5 more, he said, using an honorific title for Hun Sen.

He added that workers would also receive additional bonuses, including payments for accommodation and travel, as well as seniority payments if they work the same job for more than two years.

The increase is the largest since 2013 when widespread strikes and protests led to violent clashes with security forces and at least five deaths.

Ath Thorn, president of the Cambodian Labor Confederation (CLC), told reporters that the relatively large wage rise was partly due to upcoming elections.

Employers have also been offered incentives, including the suspension of income tax payments for five years and an end to a commerce ministry tax.

Ken Loo, secretary general of the Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia, said the trade-off between higher wages and tax breaks was one the industry was content with.

This means that when the minimum wage is increased, it will be difficult. But we want to clarify that we want to thank the government, Samdech Hun Sen, who thinks about employers and eliminated [the taxes], he said.

Cambodias garment industry employs an estimated 700,000 people, mostly women, exporting about $6 billion of products in 2016.

Hun Sen, seeking to court the crucial voter block ahead of next years general election, launched weekly audiences with garment workers last month.
European countries are forcibly returning thousands of failed Afghan asylum seekers, knowing they are at serious risk of torture, kidnapping, death and other human rights abuses, according to Amnesty International.

The human rights group says the deportations are a brazen violation of international law.

Between 2015 and 2016, European Union figures show the number of Afghans returned by European countries almost tripled, from just more than 3,000 to 9,500.

WATCH: Amnesty: Afghan Asylum-seekers Deported From Europe Face Death, Torture, Persecution

Amnesty Internationals Audrey Gaughran told VOA the migrants are being sent back to a country still in the grip of war.

2016 was the deadliest year on record in Afghanistan since monitoring began. And in 2016 there were 11,000 casualties. Thus far in 2017 the United Nations has recorded more than 16,000 security incidents. So people are being sent back in greater numbers as the situation in Afghanistan deteriorates.

Discrimination

Many Afghan asylum seekers feel unfairly treated, compared to other nationalities.

Mohammed Jamshidi was deported to Kabul from Germany last month.

In every corner of Europe, the priority is given to the people of Syria. They need only three months to get registered, but Afghans are deported after years of staying in Germany, Jamshidi said at Kabul airport.

Amnesty highlighted cases of returned Afghans who were killed or injured in bomb attacks, and others left in fear of persecution for their religion or sexual orientation.Several were sent back to parts of Afghanistan they had never known. European governments justified these returns by claiming there were safe areas of the country.

Thats just not true. You are not safe in Afghanistan in any province. But in addition to that, people are being returned to Afghanistan to places theyve never seen before, that they dont know anything about, says Amnestys Gaughran.

Germany paused the return of Afghans in May, following a bomb attack in Kabul that killed 150 people and damaged the German embassy. Deportations resumed last month.

A spokesperson for the German Interior Ministry told VOA that each returnee is assessed on a case-by-case basis, adding the government disputes Amnestys assertion that there are no safe areas in Afghanistan.

A spokesperson for the European Union said deportation decisions are made by member state governments, not by Brussels.
Al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri is urging followers around the world to unify against what he calls the "international satanic alliance."

In a 28-minute undated audio-video message that surfaced Wednesday, al-Zawahiri said, "We are facing the fiercest attack in the history of Muslims. The Crusaders, atheist Russia, China, Rawafidh [rejectionists], secularists and the treacherous rulers have all joined hands against us."

VOA could not independently verify the authenticity of the message.

Al-Zawahiri took charge of the al-Qaida terror organization after his predecessor, Osama bin Laden, was killed in a U.S. Navy SEAL raid in 2011 in Pakistan's Abbottabad. His precise whereabouts are unknown, but security analysts think he most likely is hiding in the Afghan-Pakistan border region.

The message, released less than a month after the 16th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S., came as the terror organization is facing a series of defeats around the world, particularly in Syria, where its offshoot groups are being squeezed by the Russian-backed Syria government.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday claimed its airstrikes in Idlib province in northern Syria had critically injured Abu Mohammed al-Golani, the leader of the al-Qaida-linked Tahrir al-Sham group, and killed 12 of his field commanders.

Bitter competition

Once a leading terror group, al-Qaida has engaged in acrimonious and at times bloody competition with other Islamist groups over the years. The rivalry between the group and the Islamic State in Syria has resulted in the deaths of thousands of fighters from both sides.

"There is no way out for us except uniting our ranks to confront this aggression," al-Zawahiri said in the message. "Let us mobilize our efforts, divide our roles, distribute our responsibilities and together diffuse the efforts of the enemy."

Al-Zawahiri blamed the fighting among violent Islamist groups on "the principle goals of America" and its allied countries in the Islamic world. He claimed the U.S. has worked to splinter a united global jihadist movement into regional jihadi groups in discord with each other.

"This fragmentation, severing of bonds with one another, this distance and division among ourselves, is only the prelude to defeat, if not defeat itself," he said.

Last month, Hamza bin Laden, a son of Osama bin Laden, believed to be in his late 20s, also released a video asking for unity among jihadi militants around the world and calling for a new effort to save Syria from the Bashar al-Assad regime.

"Extreme vigilance and urgent, organized, serious action is needed to support the people of Sham before it's too late," he said in an audio recording. Sham is the region that includes the modern-day countries of Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.

Al-Qaida weakening

Experts said the recent desperate call by al-Zawahiri for unity, less than a month after Hamza bin Laden's message, reflected al-Qaida's diminishing ability to recruit more fighters. They said the group was concerned that the failure of jihadist groups to retain their territories could dissuade militants from joining these groups.

"He is concerned, given the collapse of the [Islamic State] caliphate," Colin P. Clarke, a political scientist at the RAND Corporation, a global policy research group, told VOA. "He is worried that some jihadists might leave jihad altogether."

Clarke warned that al-Qaida would most likely take an opportunistic approach to filling the vacuum created by the defeat of the Islamic State group and draw IS members into its ranks, especially in Syria, because of the ongoing conflict in the country and its strategic location.

"Syria is a better place to use as a logistical staging ground for attacks against the West, and much more so than Yemen, due to geography and proximity to Turkey, which is a land bridge to Europe," he said.

Experts like Daveed Gartenstien-Ross of the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies argue that despite being significantly degraded through U.S. and international efforts, al-Qaida is unlikely to be completely defeated in the near future, because over the years, the group has demonstrated its ability to adapt to pressure.

"Al-Qaida seems to have more lives than a cat. ... It has skillfully played itself off [IS] to portray the organization as being the 'moderate jihadists,' people whom you might not like but you can do business with," Gartenstein-Ross said while speaking at the launch of a report on the current jihadist threat published by the Washington-based New America Foundation.
A senior Pakistani general acknowledged the existence of links between the countrys intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and militant groups operating in the country on Thursday.

Pakistan army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor said on Thursday that maintaining links with militant groups is a normal activity for any intelligence agency, but stressed that the state does not support any terror group.

There is a difference between links and support. Name an intelligence agency of any country that doesnt have links with such groups, Ghafoor said during a press conference at the Army Headquarters in Rawalpindi.

Ghafoor's comments come after U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford both criticized Pakistan for not doing enough against terror groups operating on its soil.

We need to try one more time to make this strategy work with them, by, with and through the Pakistanis, and if our best efforts fail, the president (Donald Trump) is prepared to take whatever steps are necessary, Mattis told members of the House Armed Services Committee during a hearing on Tuesday.

In a different hearing in the Senate, the top U.S. military officer charged that Pakistans spy agency, ISI, maintained ties with militant groups.

It is clear to me that the ISI has connections with terrorist groups, General Dunford told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.

Trust deficit

Relations between the U.S. and Pakistan have become strained in recent years, with Washington accusing Islamabad of tolerating militant safe havens in the country.

The ties have been further frayed following President Trumps South Asia Strategy speech in August in which the U.S. leader put Pakistan on notice for not cracking down on terror groups safe havens.

Pakistans Foreign Minister Khwaja Asif met with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in Washington on Wednesday to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries.

Following the meeting with Asif, Tillerson said: We have concerns about the future of Pakistans government, too, in terms of them we want their government to be stable. We want it to be peaceful. And many of the same issues theyre struggling with inside of Pakistan are our issues. So we think there is opportunity for us to strengthen that relationship.

Michael Kugelman, an expert on South Asia at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center, believes the meeting between the top diplomats is seen as a positive sign, but Pakistan should remain wary as the Trump administration is indicating it will not hesitate to take harsher and unprecedented measures against Pakistan.

We need to listen to what the president says and what the vice president (Mike Pence) says and the national security adviser (H.R. McMaster) and also the Pentagon. We need to pay lot of attention to what (Secretary of Defense) Jim Mattis said on Capitol Hill the other day, Kugelman told VOA. He was pretty strict and said we give Pakistan one more chance to work with us on terrorism and if that doesnt work we will take harsh measures, unfortunately I think what Mattis said stands more than what Tillerson says.

Trust is necessary

Hasan Askari Rizvi, a Pakistan-based security analyst, told VOA that trust-building between the two countries is necessary now more than any other time in the past.

Its better for both the U.S. and Pakistan to sit down together and find common grounds, this will increase the trust between both countries, which is really needed at the moment," Rizvi said.

But he added that both countries need to avoid public criticisms of one another.

If America is serious to make terms better with Pakistan, then it has to leave behind its policy of public denunciation of Pakistan, as it badly affects the relations, he said.

U.S. has long accused Pakistan of tolerating militant safe havens on its soil and only targeting groups that pose a threat to the countrys national security, overlooking other militant and terror groups that carry out attacks in Afghanistan and India.

Pakistan denies the accusations, claiming that it has gone after all militant groups active on its soil over the years at great costs in lives and money.
Abdul Aziz arrived in the Kutupalong refugee camp in southern Bangladesh one month ago, shortly after deadly violence erupted between the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and Myanmars military Aug. 25.

The 48-year-old is one of more than 500,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee Myanmar since the clashes, which were sparked by Rohingya insurgent attacks on police and army posts.

He left all his property and belongings behind, arriving in Bangladesh with only the clothes on his back. But when he got to the crowded camp he noticed a new problem.

Theres no space to pray, he explained, standing beside several upright planks of wood that hold a tarpaulin sheet over a small expanse of dirt.

Aziz, who is from Maungdaw in Myanmars northern Rakhine State, indicated the shelter would serve as a mosque, and that he had collected donations to help build it.

As he spoke, a man stepped out into the crowded pathway and recited the call to prayer, which competed with the din of daily activity in the bustling camp.

Mosques to require authorization

Makeshift mosques are cropping up across the emerging settlements, as Rohingya Muslims look to replace houses of worship left behind.

But Azizs project, and others like it, may not last long.

The Dhaka Tribune reported that Bangladesh officials this week said all newly established mosques and madrassas, or Islamic schools, would be demolished, and that new ones would require authorization from the army.

Observers and analysts say the despair and destitution in the camps could provide the ideal breeding ground for extremist recruitment, but a senior government official said the recent decision was more practical.

Actually, we build mosques in a structured way when we are building the new camp. But at present if anyone establishes mosques temporarily, we have to pull it out, said Mohamed Reza, an assistant secretary with Bangladeshs Ministry of Disaster and Relief. So we discourage them. If at the [current] time you build a mosque, it will be destroyed when [we commence] regular construction process.

Some of the people actually they are religious minded ... so they think that it is the time to be building mosques. But we say that you are building mosques but unplanned, he added.

Bangladesh announced Thursday that the Kutupalong refugee camp, one of two pre-existing camps for Rohingya, would be formally extended to accommodate new arrivals.

All of those who are living in scattered places ... would be brought into one place, the Minister for Disaster and Relief, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, told AFP.

800,000 refugees

Taking into account waves of Rohingya refugees fleeing previous bouts of violence over the decades, there are now more than 800,000 in southern Bangladesh, and humanitarian agencies are struggling to respond.

Myanmar and Bangladesh held talks on the crisis earlier this week. The civilian government led by Aung San Suu Kyi said it would take back those who fled this past year under a verification process established in the 1990s, but many will lack the proper documentation.

The unprecedented scale of the influx and the allegations of atrocities against Rohingya civilians have led to accusations of ethnic cleansing, which Myanmar forcefully rejected at the United Nations General Assembly last month.

Though the initial influx has slowed, arrivals keep coming each day, and space dwindles. Refugees are occupying 9.6 million square acres according to the United Nations.

Army called in

The Bangladesh government has called on the army to help establish control, and units have deployed in the camps and at checkpoints along the road leading from the placid beachfronts of Coxs Bazar.

Members of Bangladeshs feared Rapid Action Battalion were also seen up and down the road from Kutupalong camp to farther south in Tekhnaf.

At present the army is assisting the civilian administration, Reza said, adding he was not concerned about security problems.

Aziz said he would return home if basic rights were granted. One of the benefits of being in Bangladesh was that he felt freer to practice his religion.

Were restricted in Myanmar, he said.
In 1982, iconic filmmaker Ridley Scott imagined the dystopian world of 2019 as overcrowded, cynical, polluted and inhabited not only by humans but also by their genetically engineered look-alikes  a disposable workforce, called replicants.

Almost at the doorstep of 2019, filmmaker Denis Villeneuve creates Blade Runner 2049, a sequel to the original. As the lines between humanity and artificial intelligence are blurred, once again, both films probe the nature of life and its moral implications.

In the new film, 30 years have passed since replicant revolts were quelled by humans, and bioengineers redesigned replicants to obey them unconditionally. However, life overturns human designs and replicants are again surprising their creators. Lieutenant Joshi of the Los Angeles Police sends Blade Runner "K" to deal with the problem.

Joshi, played by Robin Wright, will do anything to keep order because without it, she tells K, there will be chaos. "The world is built on a wall that separates kind. Tell either side there is no wall, you got a war," she says in a key moment.

Today's realities

Joshi's words resonate with today's political realities, where walls and fences built across the planet aim to restrict the flow of humanity, to divide the "privileged" from the "undesired."

"It really is a story trying to seek your identity in this near future world. What does it mean to be human anymore, and try and maintain love and connection as we know it today?" said Wright.

Ryan Gosling interprets Blade Runner K, a police officer and a replicant himself, programmed to exterminate his own kind. But along the way, he comes face to face with his own humanity.

"When you meet the character," Gosling said, "he is sort of at odds with his station in life and he's looking for some kind of connection, love and happiness in amongst this sort of nightmare that they are all living."

K, an introvert, lives with Joi, played by Ana de Armas, a beautiful, loving companion but a digital application. Their intangible relationship highlights the isolation and artificiality around them.

The dystopian world is ruled by a genius villain, bioengineer-tycoon Niander Wallace, played by Jared Leto, and his obedient synthetics.

Harrison Ford reprises his original Blade Runner character, Officer Rick Deckard, to team up with K on his mission.

Challenges advance

"The original film proposed a future in which humanity had reached a point where cities were overpopulated, there was a lot of suffering, a challenge between classes, and this story continues on most of those themes in an interesting way," Ford said.

"The challenges with the environment have progressed where there are life-and-death issues, and science has loosened its moral constraints and is willing to develop a biological creature identical to a human being," he said. "But because they are owned, because they are manufactured, they are denied the potentials of human beings."

Screenwriters Hampton Fancher and Michael Green created a streamlined story that does not match the original's inception. But it is the visual storytelling by director Villeneuve, the cinematography by Roger Deakins and the music by Hans Zimmer that add texture to the story. Blade Runner 2049 is ruled by visual precision, unnerving music and muted colors that evoke loneliness.

Villeneuve's precise and orderly future is more impressionistic than Scott's chaotic and more linear story. It is anchored in the original but finds its own vision reflecting our social and political anxieties, 30 years later.
The Brazilian Congress approved on Thursday legislation allowing parties and candidates to force social media outlets to immediately withdraw offensive or defamatory content by anonymous authors.

The law was included in a late vote in Congress of a set of rules for next year's general election, and was met with harsh criticism from groups defending civil rights and online freedom of expression.

Social media would have to provide the full name, identification and social security number of the author to keep the comment online, although it was not clear where they would need to send that information.

The legislation, which does not require a judicial order for candidates or parties to request the withdrawal of content from websites and apps, could be blocked by Brazil's President Michel Temer, who is expected to sign the broader set of rules for 2018 elections by Saturday.

There was no immediate comment from the Temer administration regarding his likely action regarding the restrictions.

"That piece of legislation will transform candidates and parties into electoral judges, with powers to take out of the web any content they consider offensive to them," said Carlos Affonso Souza, a director at the Institute of Technology and Society (ITS), an organization defending a freer online environment.

Three associations representing newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations in Brazil released a joint statement Thursday calling the law a form of censorship.

"Brazil's internet legal framework clearly states that only through a judicial order it is possible to force the withdrawal of online content," the entities said.

Congressman Aureo, from Brazil's Solidariedade party, the author of the legislation, defended the rule saying it would give transparency to online content.

"Freedom of expression is guaranteed, but it cannot be anonymous," he told Reuters.
Brazils Senate on Thursday approved greater discounts to taxpayers in a debt renegotiation program, depriving the cash-strapped government of about 3 billion reais ($952 million) in revenues this year in return for political support in Congress.

The program, known as Refis, offers incentives for taxpayers to repay overdue debts in monthly installments. The government had expected to raise 8.8 billion reais in revenues through the program in 2017, but Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said the changes should lower estimates by about 3 billion reais.

Senators removed an excerpt granting pardon to churches and some education institutions from the final version of the provisional decree. President Michel Temer is expected to sign the measure into law. Taxpayers will have until Oct. 31 to join the program.

Scandal-plagued Temer has scrambled to maintain his fragmented coalition united around his administration despite record-low approval ratings and corruption accusations. Temer needs the support of two-thirds of lower house members to block new charges filed last month by prosecutors.

Congressmen, many of whom will personally benefit from the tax renegotiation program, made successive changes to the program arguing that recession-hit companies would shut their operations without a greater relief.

Businesses will close if we dont allow them to pay their debts in installments, especially the small companies that generate jobs and income for the country, said Senator Ataides Oliveira, from the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB).

Smaller revenues from the Refis program raise the likelihood of the government missing this years revised budget target for primary deficit of 159 billion reais.
Cambodia's government is moving to dissolve the main opposition party.

An interior ministry spokesman says the ruling Cambodian People's Party has filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court with the goal of dissolving the Cambodia National Rescue Party. The ruling party claims CNRP has been involved in a plot to topple the government.

Half of the opposition lawmakers have already fled the country after their leader Kem Sokha was arrested last month and charged with treason. Sokha's arrest was carried out amid a massive government crackdown against independent news outlets and human rights groups.

The Cambodia Daily, one of the last independent newspapers in the country, was closed after it received a large, overdue tax bill its publishers claim is bogus.

Observers say the crackdown is an apparent attempt by Prime Minister Hun Sen to shut down dissenting voices ahead of next year's election with the aim of extending his three-decade-old grip on power.

Hun Sen's government was nearly toppled in the last national election in 2013, and support is growing for the opposition, especially among younger Cambodians.

"I don't intend to be captured," Mu Sochua, an opposition lawmaker, told the French News Agency from Bangkok, before heading to Europe. "I don't intend to sit and wait for a kangaroo court to give us a trial that is a total joke."

Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia Division, said the world is ignoring to Hun Sen's crackdown. "The international community obligated itself to protect human rights and democracy in Cambodia when they signed the Paris Peace Accords," Robertson told Reuters, "but now they are looking the other way as that dream dies."

Robertson said "Prime Minister Hun Sen is effectively putting an end to Cambodian democracy."
2 A man releases paper lanterns to float in Shwe Kyin creek during the annual light festival in Bago, about 183 km from Yangon, Myanmar. The ritual is believed to bring good fortune at the end of Buddhist Lent.
Political tensions continue to climb in Kenya ahead of the re-run presidential election on October 26. Opposition supporters took to the streets of major cities Friday to demand that electoral officials blamed for botching the first election step down immediately.

Supporters of the ruling Jubilee party clashed with opposition protesters in central Nairobi Friday.

The Jubilee supporters say the opposition is disrupting business activities and creating tensions in the city.

We had our peaceful meeting, and they started throwing stones. We should be respected," one Jubilee backer told VOA.

But one opposition supporter accused Jubilee supporters of actively trying to disrupt their planned protest.

"We have seen traders brought here by bus to fight us. Thats not right, he said.

Violence also erupted in the opposition stronghold of Kisumu, where thousands of protesters blocked roads with bonfires and threw rocks, paralyzing business activities. Police fired tear gas to repel some demonstrators looting a retail store and made some arrests.

Kisumu is the hometown of opposition leader and presidential candidate, Raila Odinga.

The opposition is demanding the resignation of electoral officials behind what the Supreme Court called the bungling of the August presidential vote.

The court nullified the victory of incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta, due to "irregularities and illegalities" in the transmission of election results.

Kenya must hold a new presidential election by the end of this month.

In Nairobi Friday, the Kisumu County Women's Representative, Rosa Buyu, was among the hundreds of opposition demonstrators who marched to the headquarters of the electoral commission, or IEBC, which was under heavy guard by riot police.

We are here to demonstrate peacefully to show our displeasure with the way IEBC is pretending to carry out reforms," she said. "We are saying if there will be no reforms then it's useless to go for this election.

The IEBC officials have denied any wrongdoing and have refused to resign.

Meanwhile, the Jubilee party has set out to change the electoral law. The proposed changes include prioritizing the use of manual transmission of results over the electronic transmission and giving the other IEBC commissioners power to announce the presidential results in the event the chairman gets sick or resigns.

The chairman of the commission Wafula Chebukati said if the proposed changes are passed, it will be difficult to have an election on the 26th.

The law will fundamentally change what we are doing. Then we say we shall have a problem with that kind of law because to implement it will be an issue, and thats why we said as a commission we are ready for elections," Chebukati said.

Legal experts warn Kenya may be headed for a constitutional crisis if the IEBC fails to conduct an election by the court's October 30 deadline.

Kenyas Attorney General has said President Kenyatta will remain in office until the next president is sworn in.
Four people were killed and at least 14 injured Thursday in a confusing attack on protesting coca farmers that authorities blamed on a dissident faction of a disarmed guerrilla group and local activists attributed to government security forces opening fire.

The disputed incident underscores the security challenges Colombia faces as it tries to uproot a booming harvest for coca, the raw ingredient for cocaine, a market that is a powerful magnet for dissident rebels and criminal gangs even after last year's deal to end a half-century conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

The now-disarmed guerrilla group commonly known by the acronym FARC was long a dominant player in the narcotics trade and used it to fund its insurgency.

Colombia's Defense Ministry said holdout rebels from the former Daniel Aldana front of the FARC launched five homemade mortars and fired weapons at coca growers who were demonstrating in a rural area of Tumaco, a municipality along the Pacific Ocean that produces the largest amount of cocaine coming out of the South American nation.

The ministry said the protesters were ordered by the guerrillas to confront soldiers escorting a group of civilians carrying out coca eradication efforts. At least seven of the injured were evacuated by army helicopter.

But Jose Santacruz, a community activist in Tumaco, said coca growers began amassing by the hundreds Wednesday to demand security forces abandon plans to forcibly eradicate the illegal crops, on which thousands of farmers in the area depend.

Santacruz, who was not present at the time of the attack, said witnesses told him there was no presence of the dissident FARC rebels in the area and it was government security forces that opened fire on the protesters.

The Associated Press attempted unsuccessfully to reach community leaders who were present, and was unable to independently verify either Santacruz's or the military's account.

Clashes between coca growers and security forces have become more frequent as production of cocaine in Colombia surged to record levels in recent years.

The government estimates that some 400 FARC rebels have refused to lay down their weapons as part of the peace deal and are morphing into gangs devoted exclusively to drug trafficking and other criminal activity.
Las Vegas police say they have found the car they had been looking for as part of the investigation into the deadly mass shooting that gunman Stephen Paddock launched from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel casino, killing at least 58 people and wounding hundreds more as they attended a country music concert.

Police said Thursday they found the Hyundai Tucson while executing a search warrant in Reno at the home Paddock shared with his girlfriend, Marilou Danley. It was not immediately clear, however, if authorities found the vehicle Thursday or earlier in the week.

A GoFundMe account for the victims and the families of the Las Vegas mass shooting has reached about $9.5 million in contributions and will likely grow into the tens of millions of dollars, according to Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak in a report in the Las Vegas Sun.

The president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said now is not the time to discuss the impact on tourism caused by the mass shooting. Rossi Ralentkotte said, Theres going to be a time when we go back to promoting Las Vegas as the greatest destination in the world, but thats not now. He added, We need to take care of our customers. We need to take care of the community itself and thats what well be doing.

Other hotels, other concerts

Days and months before carrying out the worst mass shooting in recent U.S. history, Paddock rented hotel rooms overlooking other music festivals in Las Vegas as well as in Chicago, law enforcement authorities said.

Media reports citing law enforcement officials say Paddock reserved two rooms in Chicago in August overlooking the Lollapalooza festival, which draws hundreds of thousands of music fans yearly. Paddock did not check in to the rooms and it is not known whether he was in Chicago that weekend, as first reported by celebrity news website TMZ.

Rooms were also reserved in Paddocks name in a Las Vegas building that overlooked the Life is Beautiful alternative music festival, held a week before Sundays country music festival, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo of Clark County said.

Hotel employees at the Mandalay Bay resort said that Paddock had specifically requested an upper-floor room with a view of the Route 91 Harvest music festival.

Authorities are still searching for a motive for the attack.

A candlelight vigil for a 34-year-old off-duty Las Vegas police officer who was killed in the deadly rampage was held Thursday evening. Several hundred people, including many fellow officers, attended the memorial for Charleston Hartfield. His widow and the couple's son and daughter heard officer after officer give their remembrances of Hartfield.

Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodamn told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Hartfield was a very special, beautiful man and that his death was a tragic loss.

Trump pays tribute

President Donald Trump visited Las Vegas Wednesday to console victims and meet with police and other first responders. Speaking next to first lady Melania Trump, he praised emergency workers and medical staff who responded to Sundays massacre.

What I saw today is just an incredible tribute to professionalism, Trump said. It makes you proud to be an American.

Trump praised first responders, who said they were able to respond so quickly to the attack because of a new emergency program they had trained in and tested for years.

Our training paid off. It was much bigger than we ever imagined but we were able to handle it, Clark County Fire Chief Greg Cassell told reporters Thursday.

Girlfriend says she had no idea

Sheriff Lombardo said it is crucial to talk to anyone who knew Paddock in the hunt for possible accomplices.

Meanwhile, the number of wounded in the Sunday night massacre has been lowered from more than 500 to 489. Lombardo said some victims were counted twice in the confusion following the shooting.

Wednesday, the lawyer for Paddocks girlfriend said Danley had no idea Paddock was planning any violence.

He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen, Danley said in a statement read by her attorney, Matthew Lombard.

Danley spent much of the day answering questions by FBI agents in Los Angeles, where she arrived from the Philippines. Her attorney said she was in the Philippines to visit family. Paddock sent her $100,000 while she was there, telling her to buy a house.

Investigators found 23 guns inside Paddocks hotel room and 12 so-called bump stock devices that can enable a rifle to fire continuously. The gunman also set up multiple cameras looking out into the hallway outside the room, apparently to monitor the police response.

Lombardo said Paddock fired about 200 rounds of ammunition into the hallway outside his suite, wounding a security guard who had come to investigate. The wounded guard stayed in place to help police despite his injuries.

Another 26 guns were found at two of Paddocks homes in the state of Nevada.
Tropical Storm Nate is being blamed for more than 20 deaths across Central America as it tracks toward a likely U.S. landfall in the coming days as a hurricane.

At least 11 people died in Nicaragua and seven others were reported missing as thousands evacuated homes due to flooding, Vice President Rosario Murillo said.

At least eight people, including two children, were killed in Costa Rica because of heavy rains, according to emergency officials.

In Honduras, emergency officials said two youths drowned due to the sudden swell of a river and a man was killed in a mudslide in El Salvador.

The system is forecast to strengthen over the Gulf of Mexico, and could affect portions of the northern Gulf Coast as a hurricane this weekend, with direct impacts from wind, storm surge, and heavy rainfall, the National Hurricane Center said Thursday. However, it is too early to specify the timing, location or magnitude of these impacts.



Could reach US early Sunday



Nate is expected to reach the northern Gulf Coast at hurricane strength before making landfall early Sunday somewhere between southeast Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle.

Residents in parts of Louisiana's coastal St. Bernard Parish, east of New Orleans, have been ordered to evacuate as the state prepares for Nate. The evacuation for areas outside of the parish levee system was set to begin Thursday evening.

A state of emergency was declared for 29 Florida counties and New Orleans.

Even as the threat of Nate draws near, parts of the U.S. and its territories are struggling to recover from previous storms.

Hurricane Maria

Vice President Mike Pence will travel Friday to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, which was devastated by Hurricanes Maria and Irma. Pence will survey the damage from an aircraft and meet with citizens whose lives were upended by the severe weather.

Pence will then visit Puerto Rico, where he will survey the extensive damage caused by Maria. He will receive a briefing from federal officials on rebuilding efforts, meet with members of the community and participate in a prayer service.

On Thursday, a group of Puerto Ricans who arrived in Florida on Thursday met with Pence. Everlinda Burgos, who flew into Orlando from her home in Naranjito, told Pence, "Don't go to San Juan. Go inside the country like where I live.'' Burgos told Pence that President Donald Trump went to "another part'' earlier this week. But she said the vice president should "go to the center'' on Friday "because that's where the disaster is.''

Some two weeks after the catastrophic Category 5 Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, the U.S. territory is still reeling from its devastating effects.

The government's hope is to have the power back on for a quarter of the island within a month's time, and for the entire territory of 3.4 million people by March.

While 63.3 percent of the San Juan metropolitan region has safe drinking water, just 14 percent in the northern part of the island and 30 percent in the west region have such access.

As part of his daily news briefing on recovery efforts, the governor reported that 76 percent of island gas stations were open and 70 percent of the supermarkets reported open.

Hurricane Irma

The Florida Keys, devastated by Hurricane Irma last month, have reopened just in time for prime tourist season. The keys, which stretch about 200 kilometers off Floridas southern tip, were closed after Irma made landfall Sept. 10 as a Category 4 hurricane.

Tourism-related jobs account for about 50 percent of the workforce in the area.

Meanwhile, the last shelter used for Hurricane Irma evacuees closed in Miami-Dade County Wednesday.

As Irma approached Florida, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez issued evacuation orders covering 600,000 residents. The county opened 43 shelters capable of housing about 100,000 people. Some 32,000 people ended up taking shelter in county facilities.

Hurricane Harvey

Texas lawmakers, including Governor Greg Abbott, urged Congress to approve an additional $18.7 billion in funding for relief and recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey, which damaged or destroyed thousands of homes after coming ashore as a Category 4 storm.

The request came a day after the Trump administration sent Congress a proposal for $29 billion in disaster aid to Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas and Louisiana in the aftermath of the recent storms.
For every U.S. president, there comes a time to assume the role of the nation's comforter-in-chief, a leader who seeks to bring the country together and lift spirits in the midst of a national tragedy. President Donald Trump found himself in that situation this week, consoling survivors of a mass shooting and traveling to Puerto Rico to comfort those devastated by Hurricane Maria. VOA National Correspondent Jim Malone reports from Washington.
One hundred years ago, the flamboyant, rabble-rousing Italian poet and playwright Gabriele D'Annunzio marched into the disputed city of Fiume on the Adriatic with 2,000 squadristi and set up a farcical Italian regency, appointing himself Duce.

For 15 months, D'Annunzio rehearsed rituals that later would be imitated to tragic effect by Benito Mussolini  the stiff-armed Roman salute, balcony speeches punctuated by Achilles' war cry from Homer's epic The Iliad, rhetorical dialogues with adoring crowds. The grandiose D'Annunzio electrified his supporters as he practiced politics in the grand style and promoted the idea of an expanded Mother Italy.

Ignominiously, the vainglorious poet-hero fled Fiume when the first shots were fired by the Italian navy. Nonetheless, D'Annunzio's ethno-nationalist adventure foreshadowed the era of the demagogues  nationalists who initially attracted the support of angry misfits, but soon channeled the broader disaffection of those who had been left behind as a maturing industrial revolution upended lives and dislocated traditional forms of political order.

A century later, nationalism is on the rise again, threatening to unpick maps that were mainly drawn up by Western nations at the height of their military and economic power.

Nationalist stirrings are being felt across the globe.

In Europe, where leftist Catalan secessionists are threatening to break with Spain, and where Germany last month saw far-right nationalists enter the Bundestag for the first time since the Nazi era. In Africa, where 56 years after British Cameroon and French Cameroon united following a referendum, the marriage seems to be heading for divorce. And in the Middle East, where Iraq's Kurds voted overwhelmingly last month to set up their own national homeland.

War in Syria has opened up the possibility that the country's destiny is to be split into three among Shiites, Sunni and Kurds.

Feeling powerless

For scholars like Indian essayist Pankaj Mishra, there are similarities between the so-called gilded age of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the globalization and rapid technological change the world is experiencing now.

The gilding of the late 19th and early 20th centuries benefited some greatly, but masked serious social problems for large swathes of people, building up a widespread sense of resentment that sought refuge in the great 'isms' of the time  fascism, communism, anarchism and nationalism.

Writing in his book Age of Anger: A History of the Present, Mishra argues "much in our experience resonates with that of people in the nineteenth century."

Now as then, many people feel powerless, have lost faith in traditional political authorities to protect them and to restore predictability, and resent unequal distributions of wealth and power. But, he notes, we are witnessing economic-fostered shocks of even greater magnitude than that experienced when D'Annunzio marched into Fiume with "dangers more diffuse and less predictable."

Communism and fascism appear busted  ideologies which are unlikely to recover from their history of bloodlust. In Russia, the Kremlin is making patriotic loyalty to the state, not communism, the bedrock of its efforts to engineer the resurgence of Russia as a great power.

Growing frustration

As frustration builds over marginalization and social injustice, and as expectations about the benefits of material well-being are dashed, nationalism appears increasingly to be the political beneficiary. In Poland and Hungary, nationalist governments are in power, defying the European Union on burden-sharing when it comes to the influx of refugees and asylum-seekers from the Middle East and sub-Sahara Africa.

Ethno-nationalist movements can be seen developing across the globe, challenging globalization and immigration. In Europe, many have been around for some time, but have gained traction through digitally-savvy campaigning, mobilizing political support by blending ethnic-centric memes of shared ancestry, religion and language with populist attacks on corrupt elites' accused of selling out their countries for their own benefit.

When it comes to Europe and America, what's changed according to Bart Bonikowski, a Harvard professor of sociology who studies populist and nationalist movements, is how nationalist-populist ideas appear as salient to more and more people.

Earlier this year  in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's "America First" election and as European far-right nationalist leaders such as France's Marine Le Pen and Italy's Matteo Salvini held their first congress of the Europe of Nations and Freedom  Bonikowski argued in the Harvard Gazette that many factors were conspiring to heighten the anxiety the nationalists are feeding off. Those factors include economic crises, persistent inequality, demographic change and fears associated with terrorism, along with local political developments like the perceived non-representativeness of the EU governance system or paralysis in Washington.

"All of these things have generated some level of anxiety among particularly white, native-born populations and a perceived status loss at the group level among these folks, which then makes both nationalist and populist claims  and, especially, nationalist-populist claims  more resonant and more salient than they had been in the past," he said.

Using social media

Ethno-nationalists not only cheer each other on using social media  helping to reinforce and magnify the message of each  they also campaign for each other. Britain's leading Brexiter Nigel Farage made several appearances with Trump during last year's White House race, and campaigned in Germany in last month's federal elections at rallies for the Alternative for Germany.

Ethno-nationalists also learn from each other, swapping notes on what has proven effective in rallying support and winning elections, and what fails. EU officials fear others  from the Flemish in Belgium or would-be secessionists in the nooks and crannies of Europe  will be spurred to copy this month's independence poll in Catalonia, Spain's restive north-east province.

In Africa and the Middle East, the mix of factors spurring ethno-nationalism are different from Europe, but economic change and demographic change wrought by immigration also figure prominently, say analysts.

When it comes to migrant influxes, Western-focused international media coverage has focused on the flows from developing countries into Europe and the U.S., but migration movements are also huge between developing countries. In the past 15 years, Asia added more immigrants than the U.S. or Europe combined. About 20 million people from Bangladesh are living illegally in India, spurring the Hindu supremacism of Narendra Modi and his BJP.

Nativism is growing swiftly not only in Europe and America. Pakistan wants to evict Afghan immigrants; and Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria are among several sub-Saharan states that have talked of expelling migrants.

'Everybody against everybody else'

And the inequitable distribution of wealth and power also is playing a role in fueling would-be separatist movements, as is the failure of economic growth and technological innovation to meet the expectations of rapid material improvement. The availability of social media and mass communications gives those shut out from prosperity a clear view of what life is like for those rewarded by globalization, prompting not only aspiration but envy and frustration.

Mishra, in his book The Age of Anger, quotes Hannah Arendt, the German-born American political theorist, who warned of how globalization risked triggering "a tremendous increase in mutual hatred and a somewhat universal irritability of everybody against everybody else."

In Nigeria, Igbo activists are calling for a breakaway Biafra state as resentment mounts, with people in the south-east saying successive governments in Lagos have failed to use the country's oil-wealth to develop and invest in their region. In 1967, control over oil production in the Niger Delta was a major factor in Biafra's effort to break away from Nigeria, which led to a brutal three-year civil war that claimed the lives of as many as two million people, before the secessionist rebellion was defeated by government forces.

A divided Western response didn't help to prevent the Nigerian civil war  nor to end it quickly. Britain and the Soviet Union backed the Nigerian government; while France and Israel supported Biafra. In September 1968, then-U.S. presidential candidate Richard Nixon noted: "Until now, efforts to relieve the Biafra people have been thwarted by the desire of central government of Nigeria to pursue total and unconditional victory and by the fear of the Ibo people that surrender means wholesale atrocities and genocide. But genocide is what is taking place right now  and starvation is the grim reaper."
Conflict can be long, slow and boring, especially for the civilians stuck in its midst, living a half life that is neither full war nor genuine peace.

It has been more than 20 years since a cease-fire formally ended fighting between ethnic Azeris and Armenians in the disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

But the former Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia have regularly traded accusations of violence around the territory and on their common border.

This means villagers in the Caucasian enclave  recognized as part of Azerbaijan but controlled by ethnic Armenians  cannot get back to their old peacetime existence any more than they can stay on a perpetual war footing.

Instead they are stuck in a no-man's land, as conflict sputters on around them.

New prefabricated housing has been delivered to replace abandoned homes. Old land mines still erupt underfoot. Home is a warm memory, and the future is bleak and uncertain.

But it wasn't always like this.

Lida Sargsyan, an 82-year old ethnic Armenian, remembers a time when Azeris and Armenians lived side by side.

"We used to live normally together," she recalled, standing on a dry patch of land where pigs and cows loll in the sun. "The Azeris were living in our houses, we were living in their houses."

But that was decades ago, when the region was brought together under the Soviet Union  before war erupted in 1991.

By the time a truce was agreed upon three years later, 30,000 people had been killed, including three of Sargsyan's sons, and a million people had been displaced.

Clashes over Nagorno-Karabakh have intensified in the past three years, and efforts to secure a permanent settlement have all failed. There are fears that the neighbors are now closer to war over the enclave than at any time since the cease-fire.

So when, in the early hours of April 3, 2016, Sargsyan heard gunshots in her front-line village of Talish, she knew an attack was imminent.

Still in her farm clothes, she jumped into her neighbor's car and they made for Armenia's capital, Yerevan, leaving behind her home, a husband and pictures of her three dead sons.

"We left the house without anything," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation as she tried to hold back tears.

Stuck in time

The small village of Talish, where Sargsyan lived until last year, lies 200 meters from the front line with Azeri forces, in the mountainous forest land that makes up Nagorno-Karabakh.

Today, Talish is empty but for a handful of men working on rebuilding houses.

The school lies in ruins, with books and children's drawings scattered all over.

The sporadic clashes turned into a violent flare-up in April of last year, killing dozens and displacing hundreds more.

In Talish, that "Four-Day War" feels as if it never ended.

Many of the families who fled the violence there have now resettled in Alashan, a small village 20 kilometers away.

"The people are waiting for a solution to the conflict in order to return home," Furio de Angelis, the U.N. refugee agency's representative in Azerbaijan, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from the country's capital, Baku.

But with no end in sight for the conflict, villagers displaced by conflict old and new are trying to rebuild their lives, like the victims of so many other wars.

"You see that in Bosnia, Kosovo, Northern Ireland," said Sinisa Malesevic, a sociology professor at University College Dublin.

"Many people are displaced but they are in areas that are highly militarized. There's a pressure that you have to be prepared, that war can explode at any time," Malesevic, who was born in Bosnia, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"Some people are stuck in time  they think: 'Eventually we will return.' Some others decide to move on, migrate and look for a better life or settle where they are."

Not so temporary housing

In Alashan, children are playing around the fountain while pigs and geese lie in the sun. The patch of land now boasts a school, a stable and two rows of temporary houses.

A group of men is measuring for a new house, one of a few dozen sent by the self-proclaimed government in Nagorno-Karabakh. They say there aren't enough houses for the 50 families who live here, most of them from Talish.

Still, the foldable prefabricated houses take just a month to build and last for years. The reconstruction of Talish drags on, and no one knows when, or whether, they will ever go back.

"We work and we make our living here," Giarik Ohanyan, 40, whose house was destroyed in the fighting around Talish last year, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation during a short break from his construction work. "But of course we want to get back."

Exploding fields

In another painful reminder of the conflict, hundreds of land mines are still scattered around Nagorno-Karabakh, which has the highest number of land mine incidents per person in the world, according to demining group HALO Trust.

"The majority of accidents have come from farmers who have been tending their crops, plowing a field with tractors or heavy vehicles, they set [anti-tank land mines] off and it kills them and their family," said Michael Newton, HALO Trust's program manager in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Dozens of locals work on the demining, eventually allowing minefields to be replaced with gas pipelines and water projects.

The demining group estimates about 90 percent of Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding region have been cleared of land mines.

But threats persist.

In July, a truck full of gravel drove on an anti-tank mine, destroying the vehicle though sparing the passengers.

"This is stopping a lot of farmers getting back to their fields and farming their crops," Newton said.

Fearless women

Meanwhile, in the rundown villages poised between war and peace, social roles are changing and women have become the decision-makers, with many men on the front line.

"Women become more powerful in a paradoxical way because they have to do many things that they wouldn't have done before  especially in very patriarchal rural societies," said Malesevic, the sociology professor.

"Women have to start bringing in resources and money, and that might change the balance of power," he added.

In the minefields of Karegah, a small village led by a female mayor, a handful of women manually remove land mines from the ground  one of the few well-paid jobs around.

Nazeli Isunts, 40, is one of them.

In charge of making decisions for her family and her three children, she took a job as a deminer.

"The danger is there every minute. Once a week, every two weeks, we find something potentially dangerous," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation as she sat on a steep strip of land, surrounded by minefields.

"It once again comes to prove that there is no job, nothing in the world, that a woman can't do. All of us can work even harder than a man. We are capable of doing everything that a man can do."

Going back

In Alashan, too, Sargsyan, the 82-year-old from Talish, makes many decisions, both for her family and the wider community.

But there is one thing her husband of 60 years, and other villagers, won't let her do: go back to Talish.

In the chaos of last year's attack, she did not have time to take with her the precious pictures of her dead sons, or anything else.

Now, more than material comfort or safety, she wants to feel home again.

"Who's going to take me there?" she asked. "I'm begging everyone to take me. I want to see the pictures of my sons."
The 2017 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the Geneva-based International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN. The group consists of about 500 organizations in more than 100 countries that are working toward global nuclear disarmament.

In announcing the award, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Berit Reiss-Andersen, said the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons was performing vital work.

Some states are modernizing their nuclear arsenals and there is a real danger that more countries will try to procure nuclear weapons, as exemplified by North Korea.

ICAN's executive director, Beatrice Fihn, said she hopes the prize sends a clear message to nuclear states.

You can't threaten to indiscriminately slaughter hundreds of thousands of civilians in the name of security.

The award, worth $1.1 million, is widely seen as a political statement at a time of high geopolitical uncertainty.

Pyongyang's series of nuclear and weapons tests this year has shaken the global security order.



This past week, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to end the 2015 Iran nuclear deal accusing Tehran of failing to live up to the spirit of the agreement. Critics fear knock-on effects.



If the U.S. proves itself to be an unreliable negotiating partner, I think North Korea would have no incentive really to engage in any sort of discussion about its nuclear program, says Paulina Izewicz of the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

The worlds two biggest nuclear powers, the United States and Russia, are reducing their stockpiles of atomic weapons under the 2010 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

The two sides are inspecting each others arsenals, theyre reducing warheads, delivery vehicles, noted Heather Williams of Kings College London; however, she adds that a Cold War-era agreement on intermediate range weapons is at a breaking point.



Russia is now deploying forces that are pretty flagrant violations of it.

WATCH: Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Wins Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel committee praised ICAN's efforts toward securing the 2017 U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. A total of 122 nations adopted the deal  but none of the nine known nuclear powers signed up.

One of the flaws with the treaty is that it doesnt address the reasons that states have nuclear weapons in the first place. Why does Pakistan want nuclear weapons? Why does India? says Williams.

Nearly three decades after the end of the Cold War, the debate between disarmament versus deterrence is still being fought.

The deterrence camp views the disarmament camp as idealistic dreamers, completely unrealistic. And the disarmament camp looks at the deterrence people as morally deficient. So as a consequence, having the Nobel Peace Prize in the mix, I worry that it will not be helpful to bridging that divide, says Izewicz.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons says winning the Nobel prize shines a needed light on the pathway toward a world free of nuclear weapons.
As an outbreak of pneumonic plague worsens in Madagascar, the World Health Organization and other international agencies are working with the Ministry of Health to stop the spread of the deadly disease. The latest official figures put the number of cases at 231, including 33 deaths.

Pneumonic plague is a lung infection, transmitted through flea bites or from person to person through droplets in the air when someone coughs or sneezes. A person can die within 48 hours of the disease's onset if not treated with antibiotics.

In response to the crisis, the World Health Organization sent 1.2 million doses of antibiotics to Madagascar this week.

"These antibiotics are being given to health facilities and they are enough to treat 5,000 patients and protect up to 100,000 people who may have been exposed to disease," said Tarik Jasarevic, a spokesman for the WHO. "We are also filling critical shortages in disinfection materials and personal protective equipment for health professionals and safe burials."

While plague is a recurring problem in Madagascar, this particular outbreak has triggered a nationwide panic because it has moved from remote rural areas into the cities, including the capital, Antananarivo.

To contain the spread, the International Red Cross Federation is releasing emergency funds to support the Malagasy Red Cross, which is mobilizing more than 700 community volunteers in response to the outbreak.

The volunteers will scale up community surveillance and contact tracing, and tell their communities about steps they must take to protect themselves.

"Getting the messages out into the community that treatment is available, that treatment is possible, but you need to receive the antibiotics as quickly as possible after developing symptoms is vital," said Julie Hall, the Red Cross director of health care. "In addition to that, if someone has had contact, close contact with someone with the symptoms, it is vital that they get the antibiotics as quickly as possible because that can stop them developing any symptoms."

Symptoms of pneumonic plague include coughing, fever, chest pain and difficulty breathing.

Despite the gravity of the outbreak, the World Health Organization does not advise any travel or trade restrictions on Madagascar. However, travelers are encouraged to educate themselves about the disease and, if they have any symptoms, go immediately to the nearest health facility.
Pope Francis on Friday denounced the proliferation of adult and child pornography on the internet and demanded better protections for children online  even as the Vatican confronts its own cross-border child porn investigation involving a top papal envoy.

Francis met with participants of a Catholic Church-backed international conference on fighting child pornography and protecting children in the digital age. He fully backed their proposals to toughen sanctions against those who abuse and exploit children online and improve technological filters to prevent young people from accessing porn online.

Francis said the Catholic Church knew well the "grave error" of trying to conceal the problem of sexual abuse  a reference to the church's long history of cover-up of priests who have raped and molested children around the world.

He said an international, cross-disciplinary approach was needed to protect children from the dark net and the "corruption of their minds and violence against their bodies."

Using terms that are certainly new to papal lexicon, Francis denounced "extreme pornography" on the web that adults consume and the increasing use of "sexting" and "sextortion" among the estimated 800 million minors who navigate the internet.

"We would be seriously deluding ourselves were we to think that a society where an abnormal consumption of internet sex is rampant among adults could be capable of effectively protecting minors," he said.

Vatican scandal

The conference was planned some two years ago, but it unfolded precisely at the time when the Vatican was confronted with a kiddie porn scandal of its own. The Vatican recalled from its embassy in Washington one of its senior diplomats who has been caught up in an international child porn investigation. Canadian police have issued an arrest warrant for Monsignor Carlo Capella, accusing him of accessing, possessing and distributing child pornography during a visit to an Ontario church over Christmas. He is now in the Vatican, where prosecutors have opened an investigation.

The Vatican in 2013 criminalized child porn possession, distribution and production, with sanctions varying from up to two years and a 10,000-euro fine ($11,170) to 12 years and a 250,000-euro fine.

Some U.S. church officials and critics balked at the recall, saying the Vatican should have waived diplomatic immunity and allowed Capella to face charges in the U.S. or Canada. Vatican officials have defended the recall as consistent with common diplomatic practice and suggested that Capella will face a criminal trial in the Vatican if the evidence warrants it.

Participants at the congress offered sobering statistics about the problem: Last year, Interpol identified five child victims of online abuse every day, while the Internet Watch Foundation identified more than 57,000 websites containing child sexual abuse images.

Call to action

The conference, which drew leading researchers in public health, Interpol, the U.N., government representatives as well as executives from Facebook and Microsoft, issued a 13-point call to action that it presented to Francis on Friday.

Their declaration demands that:

Lawmakers and governments improve laws to protect children online and punish perpetrators of child porn production

Technology companies develop better ways to block redistribution of porn and attack the proliferation of child porn images already on the web

Law enforcement agencies improve information sharing and ensure help for young victims of online exploitation

Health professionals enhance training to recognize signs of abuse and increase research into the effects of viewing porn on young minds

Faith leaders, governments and civil society to increase awareness about the problem.

Francis said he wanted each of them to remember that children look to adults, with light in their eyes and trust in their heart, to protect them.

"What are we doing to make sure they are not robbed of this light, to ensure that those eyes will not be darkened and corrupted by what they will find on the internet?"
Republican Congressman Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, known for his anti-abortion stance, will resign after it was revealed that he asked his lover to terminate a pregnancy.

House Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday announced Murphy's resignation, which takes effect October 21.

Murphy's decision came after the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette published text messages between Murphy and Shannon Edwards, the woman with whom he admitted having extra-marital relations.

In a January 25 text, Edwards told the pro-life congressman, "You have zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last weekend when we thought that was one of the options."

Her accusation appears to refer to a message posted on the congressman's Facebook page criticizing abortion policy in the United States.

Murphy wrote back that it was his staff, not him, that was responsible for the message: "I've never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced. I told staff don't write any more.''

At the time, both thought she was pregnant, although it turned out she wasn't.

The revelation came as the House on Tuesday approved Republican legislation that would make it a crime to perform an abortion after 20 weeks of fetal development. Murphy, a member of the House Pro-Life Caucus, is among the bill's co-sponsors and voted for it.
Prosecutors want the maximum 15-year prison term for a young Chicago-area man who sought to join an al-Qaida-linked group fighting Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria.

They requested the sentence in a court filing Thursday for Abdella Ahmad Tounisi, who was 18 when arrested in an FBI internet sting in 2013. He has pleaded guilty to attempting to offer material support to foreign terrorists.

Tounisi's lawyers want a seven-year term. They say their client felt isolated as a Muslim in the U.S. and that his decision to travel to Syria reflected his immaturity. They insist he's tried to change since then.

Prosecutors say Tounisi persisted even after a friend was arrested on terrorism charges in 2012, and after relatives expressed concern about his interest in Syria.
Aid agencies warn the mass exodus of Rohingyas is not over. Myanmar has seen more than one-half million refugees flee into neighboring Bangladesh since August 25.



The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports an estimated 2,000 Rohingya refugees are arriving daily at Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh. The agency said as many as 100,000 more people may be waiting to cross from North Rakhine State.



U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, has just returned from a visit to Cox's Bazar. He calls this the fastest-growing refugee crisis in the world and one of the most heart-rending.

While in Bangladesh, he said he heard horrific stories of abuse and atrocities suffered by the refugees at the hands of the Myanmar military.



"I sat down with 24 women who had also fled," he said. "And they told me their stories, stories of being forced to watch while their husbands, their fathers, their young sons were killed in front of their eyes. Stories of rape, really, violent sexual assault. Stories of then having to flee as their villages were burned."



Lowcock said conditions in Bangladesh are very difficult. He said people are living in overcrowded, squalid settlements. They need food, he said, better water and sanitation, and better basic services.



He said U.N. and international agencies are scaling up humanitarian operations and this has resulted in a marked improvement in the delivery of life-saving aid. But, he said the needs are so great that even this is not enough.



The U.N. has come up with a $434 million response plan to help 1.2 million Rohingya and the Bangladeshi host community. Lowack said the U.N. will host a pledging conference in Geneva on October 23.



He noted the origin of the Rohingya crisis is in Myanmar and the solutions also must be in Myanmar.
Transgender people are no longer protected by federal civil rights laws banning workplace discrimination, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday.

In a memo to federal prosecutors, Sessions wrote that it is a matter of "law, not policy," that the 1964 Civil Rights Act does not extend to gender identity. The act outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

The Obama administration ruled that the word "sex" applies to gender identity under civil rights laws.

But Sessions wrote Thursday that the word "sex" applies only to "biologically male or female" persons. He said U.S. attorneys should stay neutral in federal civil rights cases involving workplace discrimination.

But Sessions said this did not open the door to discrimination.

"The Justice Department must and will continue to affirm the dignity of all people, including transgender individuals," he said.

Civil rights activists called Sessions' decision another example of Trump administration indifference toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.

"Today marks another low point for the Department of Justice, which has been cruelly consistent in its hostility towards the LGBT community and in particular its inability to treat transgender people with basic dignity and respect," James Esseks of the American Civil Liberties Union said.

The Trump White House has also proposed banning transgenders from serving in the U.S. military and overturned Obama administration guidance allowing students to use public school restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.
Las Vegas police said Friday that they still had no motive for the shooter who killed at least 58 people and wounded hundreds more at an outdoor country music concert this week.

At a news conference, Undersheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told reporters police were still searching for clues to why Stephen Paddock fired repeatedly on concertgoers from a window of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

McMahill said police had "no indication" anyone else was in the hotel room while Paddock was firing. He said police had examined all video footage available and had compiled a timeline of Paddock's actions leading up to the shooting Sunday evening.

On Thursday, Las Vegas police said they had found the car they were looking for as part of the investigation into the deadly mass shooting. They said they found the Hyundai Tucson while executing a search warrant in Reno at the home Paddock shared with his girlfriend, Marilou Danley.

In recent days, investigators have found that days and months before carrying out the worst mass shooting in recent U.S. history, Paddock rented hotel rooms overlooking other music festivals in Las Vegas as well as in Chicago.

View of festival site

Media reports citing law enforcement officials said Paddock reserved two rooms in Chicago in August that overlooked the site of the Lollapalooza festival, which draws hundreds of thousands of music fans yearly. Paddock did not check into the rooms, and it is unknown whether he was in Chicago that weekend.

Rooms were also reserved in Paddock's name in a Las Vegas building that overlooked the Life is Beautiful alternative music festival, held a week before Sunday's country music festival, said Sheriff Joseph Lombardo of the Las Vegas police.

Hotel employees at the Mandalay Bay resort said that Paddock had specifically requested an upper-floor room with a view of the Route 91 Harvest music festival.

Investigators found 23 guns inside Paddock's hotel room and 12 "bump stock" devices that can enable a rifle to fire continuously. The gunman also set up multiple cameras looking into the hallway outside the room, apparently to monitor the police response.

Lombardo said Paddock fired about 200 rounds of ammunition into the hallway outside his suite, wounding a security guard who had come to investigate. The wounded guard stayed in place to help police despite his injuries.

Another 26 guns were found at two of Paddock's homes in Nevada.
The Somali Minister of Finance says the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is taking the lead in helping Somalia with a grant to print new currency before the end of this year.

Abdirahman Duale Beileh says the IMF will work with the Somali government.

IMF is ready, from wherever they going to get that money, to help us, he said. There are other sources, but we are going to go through IMF.

In an exclusive interview with VOA Somali, Beileh said the Somali government needs $100 million, half of which will go directly toward printing the new money, and the other half to keep the value of the currency when it circulates.

The cost of printing the money is about $50 million, and I think there is also about same amount, same quantity will be necessary to deposit and keep it as a reserve to monitor the movements of supply and demand to keep the value, he said.

He said the cost was the only outstanding issue before printing the money. Strengthening governance issues, accountability issues, skills available in the central bank, the rules and regulations, the monetary systems, the policies, all of these prerequisites have been concluded, Beileh said.

We are now discussing the timing, he said.

The Somali central bank has not properly functioned since 1991. The countrys old currency has almost disappeared or is worn out and was replaced by U.S. dollars, or privately printed notes, most of which are worthless fakes.



Coins, paper money

The government plans to issue both coins and paper money. The only banknote that is still used is the 1,000 Somali Shilling, which buys a cup of tea or a packet of chewing gum. Beileh said this will be the starting number for the new money.

The 1,000 Somali shilling will be the smallest denomination of coin. The biggest bank note of the new currency will be either 10,000 shilling or 20,000 shilling  there is still discussion on this and is yet to be finalized, he said.

Reliable sources tell VOA Somali that the government plans to print several billion shillings, but Beileh refused to specify the amount.

Im not privy to the numbers but it will be adequate for the economy of Somalia, he said.

Beileh said the target has always been to print the money toward the end of the year. The money will be released to the market during the second quarter of next year, he said.

Big challenges

One of the biggest challenges will be implementing the mechanism for replacing the old currency and more importantly what to do with the counterfeit money that has been in the markets for many years.

That really will be the test, Beileh said. The counterfeit will be difficult to give good money against bad. It came by exchange of their own funds or their own goods and services but on the other side we need to control that counterfeit money, there will be some decisions that needs to be made as to how much of this bad money should get good money, a lot of talk has to go into that.

He said the positive thing is that the amount of counterfeit money circulating may not be a lot.

Its not a lot when you look at the whole economy, I think its around may be 10 percent or 20 percent of the total money circulating.



Poverty profile

Meanwhile the World Bank has released a new report about poverty in Somalia. The survey finds poverty in Somalia is widespread, with every second Somali living in poverty. The survey was conducted last year and is representative of 4.9 million Somali. Somalis are estimated to be 12 million. The areas it does not cover are nomadic people and inaccessible zones because of the conflict.

Utz Pape is a poverty economist for the World Bank. He told VOA Somali that the survey was the first comprehensive snapshot of the welfare conditions of the Somali population.

What reports finds and states very clearly is that every second Somali lives in poverty, and by poverty we mean living below $1.90 per day, that is the 2011 power purchasing parity estimate, Pape said. This means large part of the population is poor, but we also see there are very large disparity between different groups and geographical areas. Household that were displaced tend to be much poorer than everybody else. But also we see a divide between rural household, which tend to be poorer than urban household.

The report says poverty is high among the internally displaced people with 7 out of 10 poor. It says more than 1.1 million Somalis, or roughly 9 percent of the population, are considered to be internally displaced.

Pape says there are other non-monetary poverty indicators in Somalia, such as lack of access to infrastructure, clean water, poor sanitation facilities, lack of electricity and limited access to roads. Limited access to education and health and the other indicators is also highlighted in the report.

The World Bank says only 58 percent of Somalis have access to an improved source of water and 10 percent to an improved sanitation, compared with an average of 69 percent and 25 percent in low-income sub-Saharan countries.

Asked about what could be done in Somalia to reduce poverty, Pape said resilience.

Resilience is important to avoid deepening poverty and to avoid additional household falling into poverty, he said.

Remittances and entry points for different policies and programs, such as social safety net programs or other programs that build up resilience in poor households, access to education and access to health care can improve the conditions, Pape said.
Pierre Lumps Benoit wasnt planning to end his northward trek from Brazil here in the border town of Mexicali last November. The young Haitian man had set his sights on a music career in the United States, but U.S. immigration officials at the southern border deemed otherwise.

So, Benoit shifted his focus. He found a place where he and his wife could live and a job managing the Jaguar nightclub. Better known as a musician named Woldo, he anticipates having a signing party there "soon," when he releases his first CD. Its called "My Dream."

Its "not easy to live in this country. The salary is very low," the 31-year-old said, conceding its still better than in Haiti. Here, "the officials welcome you like human beings, not like refugees."

Hes among thousands of Haitian migrants who, beginning in early 2016, set off for the United States. But, dissuaded by tightened U.S. immigration policy, some like Woldo have been stranded south of its border. Theyve modified their own dreams and are putting down at least tentative roots in Mexican soil.

More adjustments

Theyve been uprooted before. After a massive 2010 earthquake in Haiti killed at least 230,000 people and decimated the economy, roughly 50,000 left to seek work in Brazil. Some found it, including on preparations for the 2016 Summer Olympics. But when the South American countrys recession deepened, jobs dried up. Many of those Haitian migrants began heading for the United States that spring, hoping to enter under a humanitarian program, Temporary Protected Status, offered after the quake.

To deter the migrants, U.S. Homeland Security in September 2016 ended its six-year freeze on non-criminal deportations. It only briefly let up on those removals after Hurricane Matthew ravaged Haiti last October, killing at least 500 and scouring the southwest region of housing, jobs and crops.

Meanwhile, the number of Haitian migrants turned away by the U.S. Customs and Border Protections field office in San Diego, California, surged  from 333 in fiscal year 2015 to 6,377 the next year and 8,045 most recently.

Rodulfo Figueroa Pacheco, who oversees the Mexican governments National Migration Institute office in Baja California, said the Haitian population in his state peaked at between 5,500 and 6,000 while they awaited U.S. immigration decisions on their individual cases. Now it has declined to "a little under 3,000," he said.

For a time, Haitians and many other migrants overwhelmed shelters in Mexicali and Tijuana.

"In the case of the Haitians, the community responded," said Hugo Castro, a coordinator for SOS Migrants and a board member of the aid group Border Angels. "Many aided the emergency shelters."

Differing perspectives

Some of the Haitian migrants look upon their stay in Mexico as a dream deferred.

That includes Richelet Marvouvil, an economist working in Tijuana at a car wash called Glamour Autolavado, where he earns 600 pesos a week plus tips. He arrived at the border town in February after a month of travel from Brazil  via plane, boat, car and his feet.

"I have a dream of going to the United States," Marvouvil said. "Labor is valued there more than in other countries in the Americas."

But a young woman who gave her name only as Dieunese said she was content to build a new life in Baja California with her Haitian husband. They gave up on Brazil after 18 months and now have been in Mexico  first in Mexicali, then in Tijuana  for almost a year. She found work at a Tijuana restaurant specializing in hot dogs.

"Mexico is good," she said. "Even people who do not have papers can get work and have jobs."

Seeking legal status

Many of the Haitian migrants arrived without papers, identifying themselves as Congolese to decrease the risk of deportation, according to the Mexican government as well as the Migration Policy Institute, a U.S. research organization. Since the Refugee Act of 1980, the United States has accepted thousands of people fleeing violent conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In fiscal 2016, it admitted 16,370 DRC refugees, "the highest number from any nation," the Pew Research Center reported.

To help its nationals obtain legal documents, the Haitian Embassy in Mexico City opened offices this summer in both Mexicali and Tijuana. "Their dream to go to America is very challenging," Guy Lamothe, Haitis ambassador to Mexico, told VOA. "Those papers will open new opportunities for them."

Mexicos government also set up special processing centers with extra staff to process the Haitians, though it scaled those back as of Sept. 30. By then, roughly 2,700 Haitians had been granted temporary visas based on humanitarian grounds. Good for one year, the visas can be renewed at the governments discretion.

Future applications will be considered "case by case," said Figueroa, the Baja California immigration official. He said of the migrants, "Were eager for them to have status and be able to work and be productive."

Home sweet home

Woldo, the musician, says hes grateful to Mexicos government and people. Of course, he still thinks about his homeland.

"My goal is to make money and return to Haiti, home sweet home. Anywhere I go  and on radio or TV or in my shows  I always raise my Haitian flag."

Jacquelin Belizaire reports for VOA Creole. Arturo Martinez reports for VOA Spanish. Carol Guensburg also contributed to this story.
Robert L. McKay, who designed the first Taco Bell restaurant and with founder Glenn Bell turned it from a quirky food stand into a fast-food empire, has died. He was 86.

His son, Rob McKay, said McKay died last week of cancer.

Bell opened his first Taco Bell in Downey, California, in 1962, selling hard-shell tacos and other Mexican-inspired fast food.

McKay was an architect and designed the Spanish-style arched and tiled building that became the chain's signature look.

McKay eventually became president of Taco Bell, which had 900 restaurants when it was sold to PepsiCo in 1978.

He went on to finance other businesses that invested in technology, consumer products, real estate and banking.
Singapores apparent decision this week to sustain a more than 40-year-old military training program with Taiwan, despite pressure from China, is giving Taiwans embattled foreign policy a rare win in Asia.

Officials in Taipei said this week Singapore would continue the Project Starlight military training program despite a visit last month to China by the Southeast Asian countrys Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. China sees self-ruled Taiwan as part of its own territory and discourages other governments from pursuing diplomatic or military relationships.

The two sides started the training program in 1975 under Singapores founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew and his friend Chiang Ching-kuo, Taiwans premier at the time. Chiang went on to become president.

Singapore picked Taiwan for the training site because the city-state lacked land for extensive military exercises, including war simulations.

Singapore neutral

I think Singapore tries to, at least pretends to be neutral even though they feel this pressure from China, said Nathan Liu, international affairs professor at Ming Chuan University in Taiwan. This continuous relationship with Taiwan shouldnt be discontinued or disrupted.

Singapore can balance China against Taiwan, an act most countries do not try, because Beijing officials want good relations with the country that some in Beijing see as a model for governance: a wealthy, services-dependent economy thats largely ethnic Chinese, effectively run by a single political party.

Scholars believe Singapore has assured China that its military training with Taiwan will not lead to formal state relations.

This kind of issue has been raised repeatedly by Beijing, and I think the Singaporean government in the past also made it clear that theyre still holding official relations with China, said Andrew Yang, secretary-general of the Chinese Council, Advanced Policy Studies think tank, Taiwan.

Mutual trust

The training project offers Taiwan mutual trust with a modern Southeast Asian country as well as regular military exchanges, Yang said. Eventually those ties may allow for naval ports of call and growth in private visits, he said.

That is a kind of reinforcement for the armed forces in Taiwan, that they still maintain unique ties with Singapore and still maintain mutual trust, Yang said.

In 2013, Singapore and Taiwan signed a free trade deal that was good for exporters but a source of worry for China as it was a formal agreement. Taiwan is Singapores sixth largest trading partner.

China has used its economic clout since the 1970s to win over diplomatic allies from Taiwan, leaving the island just 20 worldwide  and none in Asia  compared with more than the 170 countries that recognize Beijing. China asks its allies to regard democratic Taiwan as part of Chinese territory.

A reminder to Singapore

Possibly to pressure Singapore, the Chinese territory of Hong Kong delayed shipments of nine armored vehicles to Singapore for two months last year. The military vehicles had reached Hong Kong on their way home from a training event in Taiwan.

Some news reports in Singapore speculated that the prime ministers otherwise conciliatory visit to Beijing last month would prompt a temporary cancellation of military training in Taiwan. But Taiwan Foreign Minister David Lee said he had learned that the program would go on as usual.

Training normally takes place whenever Singapore sees a need and reaches out to Taiwan.

According to information from Singapore, everything is normal, Lee told a Taiwan parliament session Monday. But, he added that it was not convenient for me to elaborate on the specific content of Taiwans recent information from the Southeast Asian state.

Singapores Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not reply Friday to a request for comment.

The Singaporean prime minister also made no obvious pro-Beijing statements about Taiwan on his visit to China, said Chiu Chui-cheng, spokesman for the Taiwan governments Mainland Affairs Council. Some foreign heads of state use their travels to Beijing to swear support for the hosts view that Taiwan belongs under Chinese control.

According to this councils checks of Singapores government and Singapore media reports, this time Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong apparently neither said right out nor verbally indicated support for one-China or opposition to Taiwan independence, Chiu said.

China itself may avoid pressing Singapore too hard on Taiwan, Liu said. A thinning of relations with Singapore, if due to China, would anger the Taiwanese, many of whom already resent Chinese pressure on their governments foreign relations.

That resentment helped install Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen last year. She disputes Beijings dialogue precondition that both sides belong under one flag, but China hopes talks can improve seven decades of stormy relations with Taiwan and further its goal of unifying the two sides.
More than 500,000 Muslim Rohingya have fled persecution in Myanmar into Bangladesh in recent months. Some could end up as refugees resettled abroad, like earlier waves of Rohingya who fled. VOA's Kane Farabaugh visited Fort Wayne, Indiana, one of the largest Burmese communities in America, where more than 150 Rohingya families have resettled in recent years. He reports that the tensions between the groups continue even in their new home.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said late Friday that Tropical Storm Nate is almost a hurricane as it moves into the southern Gulf of Mexico with maximum sustained winds of 110 kilometers per hour.

Nate claimed at least 20 lives as it moved across Central America.

At least 11 people were killed in Nicaragua and seven others were reported missing as thousands evacuated their homes due to flooding, Vice President Rosario Murillo said.

Two children were among the eight people killed in heavy rains in Costa Rica, according to emergency officials.

In Honduras, emergency officials said two youths drowned due to the sudden swell of a river and a man was killed in a mudslide in El Salvador.

The U.S. State Department said Friday evening in a statement: We stand with the people of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Honduras affected by Tropical Storm Nate, and offer our condolences to the loved ones of those killed in the storm ... We stand ready to provide assistance if needed.

In the U.S., residents in parts of Louisianas coastal St. Bernard Parish, east of New Orleans, have been ordered to evacuate as the state prepares for Nate.

A state of emergency was declared for 29 Florida counties, Mississippis six southernmost counties, and New Orleans, where levees were breached during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Mitch Landrieu, the mayor of New Orleans, said Friday, We have been through this many, many times. There is no need to panic.

Even as Nate draws near, parts of the United States and its territories are struggling to recover from previous storms.

Hurricane Maria

Vice President Mike Pence traveled Friday to Puerto Rico, which was devastated by Hurricane Maria after a glancing blow from Hurricane Irma, and St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, which was hit by both Hurricanes Maria and Irma.

Some two weeks after the catastrophic Category 5 Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, the U.S. territory is still reeling from the storms devastating effects. Governor Ricardo Rossello says just 8.6 percent of Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority clients have their power restored; 365 of 1,619 telecommunication towers have been repaired, but landlines are functioning at 100 percent.

Hurricane Irma

The Florida Keys, devastated by Hurricane Irma last month, have reopened just in time for prime tourist season. The keys, which stretch about 200 kilometers off Floridas southern tip, were closed after Irma made landfall Sept. 10 as a Category 4 storm.

Hurricane Harvey

Texas lawmakers, including Gov. Greg Abbott, urged Congress to approve an additional $18.7 billion in funding for relief and recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey, which damaged or destroyed thousands of homes after coming ashore as a Category 4 storm. The request came a day after the Trump administration sent Congress a proposal for $29 billion in disaster aid to Puerto Rico, Florida, Texas and Louisiana in the aftermath of the recent storms.

Wayne Lee and Smita Nordwall contributed to this report.
U.S. President Donald Trump was greeted by shouts of "We love you in Puerto Rico" as he took the stage Friday for a celebration at the White House of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Julissa Arce Rivera, a Chicago native born to Puerto Rican parents, kicked off the celebration by singing several Spanish-language songs, before Trump took the stage, flanked by two Hispanic members of his cabinet.

U.S. Labor Department Secretary Alex Acosta and U.S. Treasurer Jovita Carranza joined Trump and first lady Melania as the president spoke of the recovery effort in Puerto Rico following two devastating hurricanes and his commitment to those who are "suffering" under the Communist regime in Cuba and the Socialist regime in Venezuela.

"We're working every day to secure a future of peace, prosperity, and sovereignty for every American citizen and we hope for a future of freedom and prosperity throughout the entire western hemisphere," Trump said.

Comments on Cuba, Venezuela

Trump said he refuses to lift sanctions on Cuba until its government "delivers full political freedom" to the Cuban people, and he said he stands with the people of Venezuela "who are suffering under the ruthless socialism of the Maduro regime."

"Communism is the past, freedom is the future," he said.

Trump said his administration is working hard to help the island of Puerto Rico, which he pronounced three times in a Spanish accent, telling the crowd "We love Pueeerto Rico."

"They're rebuilding and the spirit is incredible," Trump said of the Puerto Rican people.

Acosta praises Trump

Labor Secretary Acosta spoke of his Cuban-born parents, who immigrated to the U.S. prior to his birth, and how they struggled to offer him a better life than they had.

"Though my parents did not attend college, they worked incredibly hard to give me all those things they've never had," he said. "Your presidency and your administration very much stand for the principle that hard work and merit, far more than outward physical characteristics, is what matters."

Carranza told a story about her swearing-in ceremony, in which the secretary told her it was remarkable to live in a country where "someone could go from learning the value of a dollar at a very young age to, one day, putting her name on it."

"Ive had my share of barriers to success, each of which motivated me to work smarter, save wisely and never stop acquiring an education by whatever means possible," she said.

Despite securing a higher percentage of the Hispanic vote during the 2016 presidential election than 2012 Republican candidate Mitt Romney, Trump has faced criticism during his tenure from some Hispanics over his hard stance against illegal immigration and his proposal to cut legal immigration.
U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to decertify the Iran nuclear agreement next week but stop short of completely scrapping the deal, according to media reports.

Trump will declare it is not in U.S. national security interests to certify the 2015 deal that Washington reached with Iran and five other countries, say officials quoted in the reports.

The move would launch a 60-day period during which Congress must decide whether to reimpose some or all of the economic sanctions that had been lifted as part of the agreement.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani defended the nuclear deal Saturday, saying not even 10 Donald Trumps can roll back gains made by Iran, state TV reported. It broadcast Rouhani while addressing students at Tehran University, marking the beginning of the educational year.

"We have achieved benefits that are irreversible. Nobody can roll them back, neither Trump, nor 10 other Trumps,'' he said.

Rouhani warned the U.S. not to violate the deal. "If the United States violates [the nuclear deal], the entire world will condemn America, not Iran,'' he said.

Many Republicans and Democrats are opposed to reinstating sanctions, which would effectively kill the agreement, and reports suggest Trump may hold off on urging Congress to do so.

Trump, a self-proclaimed master negotiator, has called the pact "one of the dumbest deals ever" and repeatedly suggested that he may do away with it.

Speaking late Thursday, Trump said Iran has "not lived up to the spirit" of the agreement. "You'll be hearing about Iran very shortly," he said before meeting with military leaders.

Trump, a former reality television host, later made a cryptic reference to the "calm before the storm." When reporters asked what he was talking about, Trump responded: "You'll find out."

WATCH: Trump Comment During Photo Op With Generals

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders refused to clarify the comments, saying "you'll have to wait and see."

"As we've said many times before... we're never going to say in advance what the president is going to do," Sanders said at a Friday press briefing.

"We are looking at something that is a broad strategy that doesn't just address one part of Iran's bad behavior, but a wide range of issues," she added.

If Trump takes steps to abandon the nuclear deal, he would be going against the advice of his top national security leaders, including Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford.

Dunford and Mattis have both told lawmakers they believe staying in the pact is in the U.S. national security interest. They also say Iran is abiding by the terms of the deal, an assertion echoed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Under U.S. law, the president must certify to Congress every 90 days that Iran is in compliance with the nuclear deal and that it is in U.S. interests to stay in the agreement. Trump has twice certified the deal, but done so unhappily, reports suggest.

The next certification deadline is October 15. Trump could address the Iran issue in a speech that White House officials say is likely to occur on the 12th. Trump is also expected to lay out his wider strategy for Iran and the Middle East.

The Trump administration has continued to accuse Iran of sponsoring terrorism, threatening U.S. allies in the Middle East and testing ballistic missiles. Trump has publicly lamented that the agreement does not cover these issues.

Iranian officials have stressed that the deal is not up for renegotiation. Rouhani has threatened to leave the deal "within hours" if the U.S. imposes new sanctions.
TWIN FALLS  Alaa Basatneh was a 19-year-old freshman at Northeastern Illinois University in March 2011 when she heard about several students in Syria being imprisoned and tortured  one was skinned  by the Syrian regime, for painting anti-regime sentiments on a school wall.

From 6,000 miles away, using the only tool she had  her laptop  she joined the Syrian revolution against its dictator, Bashar al-Assad.

On Thursday, Basatneh told her story to attendees of the College of Southern Idahos Social Science and Humanities Symposium: Refuge in America.

She explained how her world changed overnight; she went from worrying about what outfit she was going to wear the next day to risking her life by assisting the revolution in her home country.

Born in Damascus, Basatneh emigrated with her family to the United States when she was an infant.

Driven by her passion for human rights, Basatneh became a link between activists on the ground in Syria and help on the outside. Using social media  Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Skype and Snapchat  she communicated strategic information to isolated protesters, enabling them to organize into larger groups.

This is the window to the entire world, she told her audience as she held up her smart phone.

Basatnehs efforts to stop Syrias horrific human crisis is chronicled in the documentary, #ChicagoGirl: The Social Network Takes on a Dictator, shown at the symposium.

Basatneh described how the Syrian regime targeted schools and hospitals, and had driven journalists out of the country while maintaining that nothing is happening here. She knew spreading information about the governments deadly attacks on its own people would be key to toppling the Assad regime.

When she heard that Syria had no insulin left for its diabetic population, she reached out to local doctors. Basatneh flew to the Middle East with four suitcases of insulin shots.

I had no choice but to go to Syria, she said.

She and her father landed in Turkey, then walked to the Syrian border and across a mine field to deliver the insulin to underground clinics run by activists. While there, she watched the Syrian military drop barrel bombs loaded with TNT onto the city.

I didnt know what to do. I ran to the balcony and saw people fleeing like in a Hollywood movie, Basatneh said. I cant get rid of the image.

On her second trip to Syria, the cities were practically ghost towns, and only getting worse, she said.

Basatneh receives death threats, but continues to help the citizen journalists in Syria get the news out. Activists on the ground upload videos of regime violence and clashes with protesters to YouTube, then she downloads the videos and post them to social media, spreading evidence of the chaos.

Several of her Syrian friends have been killed for their efforts.

Americans need to understand whats going on, she said. Syrians are desperate for help.
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey John Bass is criticizing the arrest of a local U.S. Consulate employee in Istanbul, saying it was motivated by "revenge rather than justice" on the part of elements within the Turkish government.

Bass made his comments Friday in the case of Metin Topuz, who was taken into custody Wednesday on terrorism charges.

"There is a big difference between pursuing justice and pursuing vengeance in terms of the rule of law and the democratic norms that this country, and my country, have committed themselves to, both through the Helsinki Charter and their own constitutions," Bass said at a meeting of Turkish reporters.

Turkey's semi-official Anadolu news agency, citing security sources, reports that Topuz was in regular communication with alleged leading members of a terrorist network blamed for last year's failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

According to the government, the Fethullah Terrorist Organization, created by U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, was involved in the attempted coup in which more than 250 people were killed. Gulen, who is in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania, denies any involvement.

Takes issue with media

The same media report says Topuz also faces charges of espionage and attempting to overthrow the constitutional order.

Ambassador Bass took aim at the use of the media in Topuzs detention.

"I am deeply disturbed that some people in the Turkish government prefer to try this case through media outlets rather than properly pursuing the case in a court of law before a judge. That does not strike me as pursuing justice; it seems to me more a pursuit of vengeance," he said.

The U.S. ambassador, who is due to leave his post in Ankara for a new assignment in Afghanistan, also pushed back against the Turkish Foreign Ministry, saying Topuz was a staff member.

On Tuesday, the ministry issued a statement saying, "He [Topuz] is neither a staffer of the U.S. Consulate nor does he have any diplomatic or consular immunity."

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag on Friday, in appearing to contradict the Foreign Ministry, criticized the U.S. diplomatic representation for its employment of Topuz.

"The important thing to be highlighted here is the presence and employment of a terror-linked person at the U.S. embassy without the knowledge of Turkish authorities," Bozdag said.

U.S.-Turkish tensions have been on the rise over Washington's support of the Syrian Kurdish militia YPG in its fight against Islamic State. Ankara deems the YPG as terrorists.

"This crisis of the confidence has been there for quite a while," noted Semih Idiz, a political columnist with Al Monitor website.

But those tensions continue to be exacerbated over the ongoing fallout concerning last years coup attempt.

In the days after the botched military takeover, several Turkish ministers and the pro-government media accused Washington of being involved, a charge the U.S. strongly denied; however, the U.S. refusal to extradite cleric Gulen continues to fuel suspicions of Washingtons alleged collusion with him.

Political rhetoric

Turkish President Erdogan is increasingly using in his rhetoric accusations of foreign conspiracies against his government and country.

"It's affecting the public opinion because when these conspirators are regularly referred to, the Turkish public is simply looking to its [Turkeys] Western allies as conspirators and as enemies," said former Turkish Ambassador Unal Cevikoz, who now heads the Ankara Policy Forum.

"If this belief and this perception become more and more structural, then I am afraid it will carry Turkey away from its Western location and it will be very difficult to find a remedy to that illness in the future because it will be a part of the structural Turkish public opinion thinking."

Erdogan warned recently of what he said was the danger of Turkish students studying overseas and returning as spies. The fear of foreign spies, especially from Turkeys Western allies, is part of the national psyche. "Under every stone can be found an English spy," is a Turkish adage.

Analysts point out Erdogan will be aware that stirring xenophobic fears and standing up to Washington will play well with nationalist voters, a key constituent for him in the 2019 presidential elections.
Pakistans foreign minister Thursday described as hollow allegations comments by senior U.S. officials and lawmakers during his visit to Washington this week that questioned Islamabads resolve in fighting militancy.

President Donald Trumps administration is seeking to implement its regional strategy. While U.S. officials have long been critical of the role Pakistan has played in Afghanistan, senior officials have been more pointed in recent days about Islamabads alleged support for militant groups.

Earlier this week, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the United States would try one more time to work with Pakistan in Afghanistan before Trump would take whatever steps are necessary to change Pakistans behavior.

On Tuesday, the top U.S. military officer said he believed Pakistans main spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) directorate, had ties to the militant group.

You want us to sniff them out, we will do that. You want us to take action against them, whatever action you propose, we will do that ... (but) these hollow allegations are not acceptable, Pakistans Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif told a group of reporters.

In August, Trump outlined a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan, chastising Pakistan over its alleged support for Afghan militants.

Reuters first reported that possible Trump administration responses being discussed include expanding U.S. drone strikes and perhaps eventually downgrading Pakistans status as a major non-NATO ally.

Asif singled out Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee, saying the senator was playing to his constituents when he criticized Pakistan.

We are not saying we are saints. Perhaps in the past, we made some mistakes. But since the last three, four years, we are wholeheartedly, single-mindedly, we are targeting these terrorists, Asif said.

Asif said that Pakistan had less influence over the Taliban than in previous years, which could impact any efforts for peace talks to bring an end to the war in Afghanistan.

He added that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson would be visiting Pakistan later this month.
The Cuban diplomats expelled from the United States this week included all those dealing with U.S. businesses, Cuba's embassy in Washington told Reuters on Thursday, dealing another blow to bilateral commercial ties.

In an escalating crisis between the Cold War foes, the Trump administration on Tuesday expelled 15 diplomats to protest Communist-run Cuba's failure to protect U.S. embassy staff in Havana from a mysterious spate of alleged health attacks.

"Due to this decision, the activities developed by the Economic and Trade Office of the Embassy of Cuba to the United States ... will be seriously affected," one Cuban diplomat said in a farewell message to a U.S. group that takes investors to the Caribbean's largest island.

The Cuban embassy is often the first step in the process for U.S. companies to explore opportunities and make a pitch.

Officials help them submit a trip proposal, seek out counterparts at state-owned enterprises in the centralized economy, and receive a business visa to travel to Havana.

Whether the embassy will still be issuing such visas remains unclear, given one diplomat will remain in the consular section.

On the American side, the downgrade of the U.S. embassy  Washington last Friday ordered the departure of all non-emergency staff  will likely make it harder for U.S. companies to find their way in Cuba.

"It's the chilling effect of a diplomatic crisis," said Pedro Freyre, a Cuban-born attorney who heads the international practice at law firm Akerman.

Some U.S. companies may choose to stay on the sidelines until relations improve, he said, adding that his clients already pursuing opportunities in Cuba were staying the course as they saw it as a long-term play.

U.S. companies flocked to Cuba in the wake of the detente former Democratic President Barack Obama agreed in 2014.

Some deals allowed by new exemptions to the decades-old U.S. embargo have come to fruition. American Airlines and United Airlines now run commercial flights to Cuba.

Royal Caribbean and Carnival Corp operate cruises there.

The original frenzy in U.S. commercial interest in Cuba was tempered by the realization that doing business in cash-strapped Cuba was difficult and even harder with a trade embargo in place.

Businesses now face a hostile stance from Republican U.S. President Donald Trump, who in June ordered tighter restrictions on travel and trade that have yet to be unveiled. Last Friday, his administration issued a warning on travel to the island.
U.S. lawmakers are calling for "full access" by journalists and aid workers to Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state.



"It is very important that we get reporters on the ground, that we get USAID on the ground," Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee said Thursday. "Because as long as that presence is there it's a check to these kinds of atrocities."



Representative Royce added that the Trump administration has promised $32 million in assistance  $28 million of which will go to Bangladesh, where roughly 500,000 Rohingya have fled from across the border since August.



The mass exodus began after Myanmar security forces launched a brutal crackdown in response to Rohingya militant attacks.

Patrick Murphy, a senior U.S. official for Southeast Asia, says the U.S. has urged Myanmar's civilian and military officials to take action to stop the violence, and representative Eliot Engel, the committee's top-ranking Democrat, said the U.S. should consider imposing targeted sanctions on Myanmar's military.



The lawmakers also echoed comments by the U.N. Human Rights commissioner, saying that the violence against Rohingyas constitutes ethnic cleansing.



"Just for the record, myself and Mr. Engel, this committee  we identity this as full-fledged ethnic cleansing," Representative Royce said.



David Steinberg, a professor at Georgetown University with extensive knowledge of Buddhist-majority Myanmar, told VOA there is "great prejudice" against the Muslim Rohingya.



"They always said, Go back to Bangladesh where you belong,'" Steinberg said of those pushing the Rohingya out of Myanmar. "People have said that many, many times in Myanmar. So that term ethnic cleansing I don't think is too wrong. I think that is very clear."



Dr. Tint Swe, who was elected to Myanmar's parliament in 1990, but now lives in the United States, disagreed with the use of the term "ethnic cleansing" to describe the situation in Myanmar.



Swe told VOA "most of the figures are fleeing for safety reasons or fear," so he doesn't think it fits the requirements of an ethnic cleansing.



"Ethnic cleansing means a deliberate act of wiping out or killing an entire ethnic people or peoples," he said. "Here, in this case, I don't believe it is ethnic cleansing."



Meanwhile, the United Nations said Thursday it will provide $434 million to help more than 1 million people in Bangladesh  including Rohingya refugees and local host communities.



After the Myanmar army began a crackdown in October last year to "flush out Rohingya militants" following a deadly attack on a police outpost, charges of rapes, killings and arson were leveled against the soldiers in the Rohingya village. But outside media have been restricted in their access to the area.



Rohingya leaders claim the true story of the crackdown has not been getting out to the world.



The Myanmar government has taken groups of reporters to the region in recent weeks and has denied charges of systematic abuses against the Rohingya. But because of the security situation, reporters say they are not able to freely move about the area and gather information.



VOA's Burmese Service contributed to this report.
The United States has lifted long-standing economic sanctions on Sudan, citing the country's progress in human rights and counterterrorism.



Friday's announcement by the State Department comes after what officials say was a careful review of Sudan's positive actions since January and a "focused, 16-month diplomatic" effort between the U.S. and Sudan.



The lifting of sanctions is "in recognition of the Government of Sudan's sustained positive actions to maintain a cessation of hostilities in conflict areas in Sudan, improve humanitarian access throughout Sudan, and maintain cooperation with the United States on addressing regional conflicts and the threat of terrorism," said State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert on Friday.



The sanctions were first imposed in 1997 after the U.S. labeled Sudan a state sponsor of terrorism for allowing al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden to live in the capital, Khartoum. Further sanctions were added in reaction to allegations of human rights abuses carried out by government forces against ethnic minority rebels in Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.



Sanctions relief



The move announced Friday takes effect October 12 and will unfreeze assets, remove financial restrictions, and suspend a trade embargo. But the U.S. will continue to block assets and property of Sudanese citizens involved in violence in the Darfur region.

The U.S. will also continue to engage and apply pressure as necessary to discourage backsliding and to encourage further cooperation and progress toward peace and stability in Sudan and the region, according to the State Department.



And while Sudan does not have diplomatic relations with North Korea, U.S. officials said the government of Khartoum indicated it will "not pursue an arms deal" with Pyongyang.



"We will closely monitor the situation.We have zero tolerance," said a senior administration official, noting Sudan is expected to fully comply with United Nations resolutions against North Korea's weapons proliferation and nuclear provocation.



Former U.S. President Barack Obama temporarily alleviated some penalties that had been in place shortly before he left office. The sanctions relief under Obama was said to be in return for an improvement in regional conflicts and humanitarian access.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's government was accused by International Criminal Court of carrying out genocide linked to the Darfur conflict.

U.S. officials said Darfur-related sanctions against Sudan would remain in place after today's announcement.



In July, the Trump administration postponed for three months a determination on whether or not to completely lift the sanctions.The deadline of this decision is October 12.



Human rights concerns



Rights groups argue the Trump administration should create a completely new policy framework to address the core issues that led the regime to be sanctioned in the first place.



"The focus should be on promoting fundamental human rights and religious freedoms, countering grand corruption, and achieving peace in Sudan's various war-torn regions," said John Prendergast, founding director of the Enough Project, an advocacy organization that supports peace and an end to mass atrocities in Africa's deadliest conflict zones.



Prendergast added a new policy framework on Sudan should include serious leverage such as "asset freezes targeting a network of individuals and entities."



Some U.S. lawmakers are asking the Trump administration to include a provision for victims of terrorism as part of the sanctions relief package, holding Sudan accountable for materially supporting international terrorist attacks.

Sudan had provided a safe harbor to al-Qaida militants in the years leading up to the terror group's 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.



American victims have since filed lawsuits against Sudan, with courts finding Sudan legally responsible for supporting those terrorist attacks. The Sudanese government has not paid any compensation to American victims.



A senior U.S. official told VOA "this is a very important issue. We are going to urge Sudan to address these claims. Sudan wants to move towards more normalized bilateral relations. Our increased engagement with them and clear desire on this gives us leverage on this."



In a recent letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Chairman of Senate Judiciary Committee Chuck Grassley and Chairman of House Judiciary Committee Bob Goodlatte urged Washington to ensure a binding commitment from the Sudanese government to meet its obligations to compensate American victims.



"Anything less would violate longstanding United States policy, undermine our nation's counterterrorism and victim compensation laws, negate the efforts of the victims who have fought for justice in federal courts, and reward Sudan for its prior support of international terrorism," wrote Grassley and Goodlatte.



The State Department's 2016 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices credited the Sudanese government for starting "a national dialogue process aimed at solving the country's internal political and social challenges."But it the also cited Khartoum for "obstruction of humanitarian assistance, restrictions on freedom of speech, press, assembly" and "intimidation and closure of human rights and nongovernmental organizations" in Sudan.
The U.S. military said Friday that a fourth American soldier was killed during an attack by suspected Islamist militants this week in Niger.

Military officials said the soldier went missing after a deadly ambush on Wednesday during a joint U.S.-Niger patrol near Mali. They said the soldiers body was found by Nigerian forces Friday after an extensive search.

Three other U.S. service members were confirmed dead after the attack. A U.S. defense official told VOA Thursday they were members of the U.S. Armys special forces, also known as Green Berets.

Information on the fourth soldier was not announced earlier because of an extensive search effort underway, officials said.

Four members of Nigers security forces were also killed during Wednesdays attack. Eight Nigerien soldiers and two U.S. troops were wounded.

No claim of responsibility

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, although U.S. officials say they suspect that a local branch of the Islamic State terror group was responsible.

Mark Cheadle, a spokesman for U.S. Africa Command, said the military would hunt down those responsible for Wednesdays assault.

We are resolved and stalwart in our efforts to go after those who attacked this joint patrol, Cheadle said.

AFRICOM said the attack took place about 200 kilometers north of Nigers capital, in Niamey, not far from the Niger-Mali border.

Some 12 Americans troops were part of the approximately 40-member U.S.-Niger patrol that, Cheadle said, was trying to establish relations with local leaders.

The mission was considered to be low risk, Cheadle said. There was no armed air cover during the engagement, but unarmed surveillance drones watched overhead, he added.

800 US troops in Niger

Various Islamist militant groups operate in Niger, with Nigeria-based Boko Haram carrying out attacks in eastern Niger and Algeria-based al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) operating in the west along with pockets of Islamic State fighters.

Emmanuelle Lachaussee, an official at the French embassy in Washington, told VOA that French forces helped evacuate the U.S. soldiers after the assault.

The United States has about 800 service members in Niger to provide support for the U.S. embassy and counterterrorism training for government forces battling Islamist militant groups.

Joint Staff Director Lieutenant General Kenneth Frank McKenzie Jr. told reporters at the Pentagon Thursday that America has increased its military presence in Niger in recent years, calling the U.S.-Niger military relationship a very good success story.

He cautioned, however, that U.S. troops remain at risk during their missions in the African nation, adding that the troops killed on Wednesday died in combat.
On October 12, U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to announce whether his administration still finds Iran in compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal. Here's a look at what could happen if he chooses not to certify Tehran's compliance.



What is the Iran nuclear deal?



In July 2015, the permanent five members of the U.N. Security Council (Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States, plus Germany) agreed with Iran on a landmark deal to prevent Tehran from building a nuclear bomb. In exchange, certain international sanctions that have been in place against Iran for years would be lifted.

The sanctions relief led to Iran receiving billions of dollars in unfrozen funds and opened its markets back up to many foreign investors.

WATCH: World Leaders on Iran Deal

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action as it's known by its formal name or JCPOA  took years to negotiate and was endorsed by a United Nations Security Council resolution, solidifying it as international law. It went into effect in January 2016.



Inspectors from the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, are in charge of monitoring Iran's compliance.



The parties also established a Joint Commission to monitor implementation and handle disputes. Federica Mogherini, the European Union foreign policy chief, chairs it.



The deal's architects have hailed it as a success story for multilateral diplomacy. President Trump has dismissed it as an "embarrassment" and one of the worst deals into which Washington has ever entered. During his campaign, Trump said he'd like to tear it up.



Can he do that?



Not exactly.



The Iran nuclear agreement was reached during U.S. President Barack Obama's tenure and after it was approved, congressional Republicans tried to derail it.

But under U.S. legislation adopted in the lead up to the finalization of the agreement, Congress gave itself review and oversight privileges for any nuclear deal reached with Tehran.

Under the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015 (INARA), the U.S. president must certify to Congress every 90 days that Tehran is abiding by the provisions of the deal.



Four criteria must be met:

1. Iran is transparently and verifiably fully implementing all parts of the deal

2. Iran has not committed a material breach of the agreement

3. Iran has not taken any action, including covert activities, that could significantly advance its nuclear weapons program

4. Suspension of Iran-related sanctions are appropriate and proportionate to measures taken by Iran to terminate its nuclear program and are vital to U.S. national security interests

If the president does not certify Iran's compliance this month, it would trigger a 60-day period in which Congress can introduce legislation to re-impose some or all of the old U.S.-imposed sanctions (but not the U.N. ones).



If that happens, it could cause problems with countries that have resumed trade and banking relationships with Iran, by forcing Washington to impose secondary sanctions on them for cooperating with Tehran.

Iran could also try to accuse the United States of having been the first to violate the deal and lead to its collapse.



Congress could also decide not to re-impose sanctions and nothing would change.

Will he or won't he?

So far, President Trump has certified the deal twice since taking office. The next deadline is October 15. Trump has repeatedly indicated that he is not inclined to find Iran in compliance, most recently on Thursday.



"The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed, and chaos across the Middle East," the president said at a meeting with his senior military leaders. "That is why we must put an end to Iran's continued aggression and nuclear ambitions. They have not lived up to the spirit of their agreement and we will be discussing that tonight."



But "spirit" is different from obligations, and the IAEA has repeatedly verified that Iran is adhering to its obligations, most recently on August 31, 2017.



In September, on the sidelines of the annual U.N. General Assembly, the parties to the agreement met, and the European Union's Mogherini said they all agreed Iran is in compliance.



"The agreement is concerning the nuclear program, as such it is delivering, we all agreed that all parties are fulfilling their commitments, the agreement is being implemented," she told reporters.



Does decertifying mean a US withdrawal from the deal?



"If the president chooses not to certify Iranian compliance, that does not mean the United States is withdrawing from the JCPOA," U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley told a Washington research group last month.

Some view that as a political strategy on the part of the president to show his supporters that he followed through on his promise to be tough on the Obama-era agreement, but without violating it.



But that has risks. Decertifying and sending the deal to Congress puts its future in jeopardy.



"This agreement is not something someone can touch," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned last month in New York. "This is a building, that from the frame of which if you take off a single brick, the entire building will collapse."

If the deal falls apart, Iran could decide to resume producing and enriching uranium.



Other parties to the deal say they will continue to uphold it.



"The UK, whatever the United States does, will continue to abide by this deal, as it is an important part of providing stability in that region," British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft told reporters.

The EU's Mogherini was also quite blunt, saying after her September meeting with the other parties that, "I can tell you as Europeans, we will make sure the agreement stays."

Worries about North Korea



U.S. allies are also nervous decertification or withdrawal could derail diplomatic efforts to get the North Koreans to come to the negotiating table to give up their nuclear program.



''We would be very concerned that if ... a major partner is not attached to the Iran agreement anymore  in this particular time  this would send a very problematic signal to North Korea and all those who we want to get into a political discussion with a political solution on North Korean issues," said a senior European diplomat.



The United States is the only party to the deal that has expressed an interest in renegotiating the agreement. France's president has suggested opening separate discussions on non-nuclear related issues, such as Iran's support for militias in Syria and Yemen, its ballistic missile activity, and the period after the nuclear agreement ends in 2025.



Bottom line



If President Trump decides to toss the Iran ball to Congress, he could inject a high degree of uncertainty into the process. While it remains unclear what Congress' intention is now, any action that could be perceived as a U.S. violation of the deal could have the unpleasant consequence of isolating Washington internationally.
The World Health Organization is sending 900,000 doses of cholera vaccine to Bangladesh to help prevent a major outbreak of cholera in the crowded Rohingya refugee camp that sits on the border of Bangladesh and Myanmar.

At least a half-million Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Myanmar, have crossed the border to escape a military crackdown in their villages.

In Yemen, a massive and deadly cholera epidemic has affected almost 800,000 people, and the World Health Organization expects that number to climb to 1 million by year's end. Worldwide, about 100,000 people die from cholera each year.

WATCH: WHO, Others Pledge to End Cholera

End cholera by 2030

On Tuesday, the WHO, along with governments, aid agencies and donors announced a roadmap to end cholera by 2030. Its the first global pledge to end this disease.

Dr. Amesh Adalja said its not possible to eliminate cholera because cholera is a bacteria that exists naturally. Adalja is an infectious disease expert at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security. He is also a fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

Adalja told VOA it is possible to make cholera as rare in Bangladesh and in Yemen as it is in the United States and the rest of North America. He said sanitation is the key to eliminating cholera.

The disease is not something that should happen in 2017, Adalja said. This is something that can be fixed by development and the civilizing effect of sanitation.

Cholera is a diarrheal disease. The bacteria that causes cholera lives in coastal waters and in brackish rivers. It thrives where there is poor water treatment, poor toilet sanitation and poor hygiene. Its caused by eating or drinking contaminated food and water.

Malnutrition plays a role

Malnutrition is also a factor. Jesse Hartness is the senior director of emergency health and nutrition at Save the Children, an agency that has been working to control the cholera outbreak in Yemen.

Theres a cycle of illness and malnutrition where you have a child who is sick, and they lose their appetite, Hartness said. They are dehydrated from having diarrhea, they lose weight, and, once they are malnourished, that also drives their vulnerability to additional illness.

Anyone can get cholera, but children, pregnant women and the elderly are most at risk.

Yet, cholera is not difficult or expensive to treat. Hartness said it is simple if the disease is caught early and if you can provide hydration to the less severe patients so they dont become severe patients who require more intensive treatment.

But in places ravaged by flooding and other natural disasters, or by manmade disasters like war, or in crowded refugee camps, sanitation is hard to maintain. Water cant be treated properly. Human waste cant easily be disposed of hygienically, so in addition to providing aid, organizations like Save the Children find themselves trying to rebuild sanitation systems.

The WHO says about 2 billion people globally lack access to clean water.

Vaccine available

Vaccines can help. Adalja said the oral vaccines the WHO uses to manage cholera outbreaks have about a 65 percent effectiveness rate over five years. He adds that 65 percent isnt 100 percent, but it is very good.

Hartness said in order to end cholera in Yemen, the war that Yemen has been mired in for three years has to end.

In order to really look at ending this outbreak, we have to look at ending the war, he said. And if that cant happen immediately, we have to look at negotiating access to these communities ... that are the hardest to reach.

Adalja added, Its basically a poverty trap for some of those countries which they can never get out of. ... This is something that can be fixed by development and the civilizing effect of sanitation.

Forty-seven countries are affected by cholera, and the WHO expects the global cholera situation to get worse, which is behind its urgency to end the disease.
In Orlando, Florida, where tourists come for the palm trees, shopping and theme parks, 18,000 women converged recently on the city's giant convention center to talk about technology.

Amid technical sessions on artificial intelligence and augmented reality, the main theme of the Grace Hopper Celebration, the largest gathering of women in technology worldwide, was simple: How to make the tech industry more welcoming to women.



With women making up nearly 23 percent of the U.S. tech industry's workforce, women should be playing a bigger role than they currently do in the industry, said Melinda Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

"It's time the world recognizes that the next Bill Gates may not look anything like the last one and that not every great idea comes wrapped in a hoodie," said Melinda Gates, who worked at Microsoft earlier in her career.



This isn't your typical technology conference.



First, its namesake "Grace Hopper" was a rear admiral in the U.S. Navy and a groundbreaking computer programmer.



The conference also provided childcare and all-gender bathrooms. At some of the career booths, women were offered lip balm embossed with a corporate name. At one booth, they were invited to vamp it up, while promoting a new cloud computing service.

Chinyere Nwabugwu, a machine learning researcher at IBM Research in San Jose, California, said what she liked most was hearing about what successful women have done to get ahead.

"I'm just encouraged to work hard in my field, to be known for something, to put in my best, to be a good role model to others, mentor other people coming after me," Nwabugwu said.

Town hall conference

Voice of America held a town hall at the conference where female leaders in technology talked about the progress that has been made and how far it has yet to go. There are concrete steps companies can take that will bring more women into the industry, the speakers said.

One simple thing companies can do is publicly announce job openings, rather than fill jobs from managers' personal connections, said Danielle Brown, chief diversity and inclusion officer at Google.

Paula Tolliver, chief information officer at Intel, recently left one male-dominated industry  she was an executive at Dow Chemical  for the tech industry. But she said she was drawn by tech's promise.



"Being CIO of Intel, and being at the middle of the ecosystem of Silicon Valley and working across many industries, it's exciting," Tolliver said. "And I personally, want more women to be more representative of that."

Deborah Berebichez, a data scientist and co-host of the Discovery Channel's Outrageous Acts of Science, said that she pursued science despite the lack of support from her parents.



Gatherings, such as the Grace Hopper Celebration, are solving two important problems in the tech industry, Berebichez said: How to interest more women in tech and how to help women already in tech to advance their careers.

Gender diversity issues

Both issues came to the forefront in August after a memo written by a male engineer at Google questioned the need for gender diversity programs in the industry.

In a 10-page internal memo that was leaked on social media, James Damore suggested fewer women are employed in the technology field because women "prefer jobs in social and artistic areas" due to "biological causes."

Brown, who joined Google two weeks prior to the notorious memo, said that it upset both men and women at the company and didn't reflect Google's values. Damore was fired.

Berebichez's message to women?



"You're the only one that can make your future," Berebichez said. "Nobody else will do it for you so seek mentors, do whatever you have to do, study like crazy, be very entrepreneurial and craft your path, because you will be the only one that gets the fruits of your own labor."
Liberian women have been internationally recognized for their peaceful activism that helped bring an end to 14 years of civil war. As Liberia heads to nationwide polls Oct. 10, more women than ever are on the ballot demanding a change. Monique John reports for VOA from Monrovia.
Editors note: Anibal Padilla Rodriquez pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence and battery in April 2018. The two felony charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon were dismissed by the Cassia County Prosecutors Office. Padilla Rodriguez was sentenced in April 2018 on both counts to 180 days in county jail with 167 days suspended and given credit for 13 days spent in jail. He was sentenced to pay a total of $760 in court costs and fees.

BURLEY  A Washington state man was arrested Thursday after deputies say he pointed a gun at two men.

Anibal Padilla Rodriguez, 24, was charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, misdemeanor driving under the influence and misdemeanor battery.

Deputies were called to the 1400 block of Normal Avenue just after 2 a.m.

Three men and one woman at the home said they met Rodriguez earlier in the evening while they were drinking at a Burley club.

One of the men invited Rodriguez to the house but after he arrived, Rodriguez started asking them for drugs.

The man said they asked Rodriguez to leave and went outside, where Rodriguez continued to ask for drugs.

The officer said while one of the men was standing next to the porch, Rodriguez punched him in the left side of the face underneath the eye without provocation.

The man said he hit Rodriguez back and the two started fighting.

Two men tried to stop the fight as it progressed into the yard and across the street.

When the fight ended, Rodriguez went to his pickup truck and retrieved a 9 mm pistol and pointed it at one mans head, the men said.

The other people went inside the home and locked the door, the deputy said.

When they opened the door to let the one man from their party back inside, they saw Rodriguez still pointing the gun at him.

Once the man was inside the house they said they could see Rodriguez holding the gun to the peephole in the door.

The man who was outside said he thought Rodriguez was going to shoot him.

The deputy said the other men appeared shaken by the incident and genuinely scared.

The woman at the home was scared and crying, police said.

The men had injuries to their hands from the fight, and Rodriguez had blood splatter on his clothing and numerous injuries including a large abrasion on his forehead and his knee.

Deputies found a pistol matching the witnesses description in Rodriguezs pickup truck.

After Rodriguez was taken to jail he refused to answer questions. When the officer tried to administer the breath-alcohol test, Rodriguez blew saliva into the machine, which recorded an error.

Rodriguez told the officer he had been stabbed in the lung a couple of years ago and that is why he blew saliva.

After the deputy got a warrant to take him to the hospital for a blood-alcohol test, the officer noted the test had expired in July 2016.

A preliminary hearing is set in the case Oct. 13 in Cassia County Magistrate Court.
Zimbabwes opposition Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai, is speaking out about his health and the voter registration underway in his country.

Tsvangirai, who announced last year that he has colon cancer, was flown to South Africa a few weeks ago for an unknown ailment, from which he said he is recovering well.

I feel much better. As you know, I had to be hospitalized in order to attend to an ailment. But I feel quite confident that the ailment has been treated, said Tsvangirai.

As to when he will return to Zimbabwe, to finalize details of an opposition alliance that he spearheaded with about seven other opposition parties, to contest the 2018 elections, Mr. Tsvangirai was non-committal.

Not sure yet. I have a review on Monday, and then well see after that, he said.

Zimbabwe has kicked off its voter registration exercise in preparation for the 2018 parliamentary and presidential elections, in which incumbent President Robert Mugabe will be contesting against several opposition parties. Tsvangirai and his party are in the process of forging an alliance with about seven other political parties, in the hopes of defeating Mr. Mugabe.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) which is conducting the elections, has faced criticism from opposition and other civic groups, which question ZECs autonomy and independence from Zanu-PF to run clean elections. The electoral body has also faced accusations of being ill-prepared to register voters using the newly-acquired Biometric Voter Registration kits, which the country is using for the first time.

Tsvangirai, who lost to President Mugabe in a disputed 2013 election after a five-year power sharing agreement, is urging Zimbabweans to register, so that they can be eligible to vote next year.

My message is very simple. Go and register. Its no excuse for anyone not to register. Anyone who feels a national responsibility must go and register in order to prepare themselves for voting, urged Tsvangirai.

Anyone who does not register before the registration deadline ends in January, will not be eligible to vote in the 2018 elections. Tsvangirai warned those who dont register, to not cry foul if President Mugabe wins the elections through the ballot.

Its no use people crying after the event. People must take advantage of the opportunity that has been created and go and register, Tsvangirai stressed. That is my appeal. There is no excuse for anybody not to register. Lets all go and register, and when it comes to voting, remember you are not going to vote unless you have registered. So be one of the first ones to go and register.

Zimbabwes youth, who make us the largest group of voters in Zimbabwe, have proved a challenge for the opposition, with many not registering to vote or turning up to vote when the election process is underway. To them, Tsvangirai had the following message.

You dont adopt a negative attitude, just because for some reason in the past something happened. Its a new chapter, its a new process. Give it a try, and besides we are doing this for them. This election is about the youth, its about the future, and my appeal would be please, take advantage of the opportunity. 

Tsvangirai and his party have pushed for electoral reforms prior to the elections, but parliament has yet to act aligning the reforms with the current constitution. Mr. Tsvangirai said they will enter the elections with eyes wide open for any attempts at stealing the vote.

Well of course be taking all measures to make sure that we minimize or mitigate against any possible shenanigans but a fundamental issue is that Zimbabweans must put the future into their own hands., said Mr. Tsvangirai.
The U.S. military has confirmed three U.S. service members were killed and two others injured when a joint U.S.-Niger military patrol was attacked Wednesday in southwestern Niger.



A U.S. defense official confirmed to VOA Thursday that the soldiers killed in the attack were members of the U.S. Armys special forces, also known as Green Berets.



A statement from U.S. Africa Command says one soldier from a "partner nation" also was killed, whom a U.S. official confirmed was a member of the Niger Armed Forces.



Emmanuelle Lachaussee, an official at the French embassy in Washington, told VOA that French forces helped evacuate the U.S. soldiers after the assault.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack on the patrol of about 10 U.S. and Nigerien soldiers. AFRICOM says the attack took place about 200 kilometers north of Niger's capital, Niamey, not far from the Niger-Mali border.

The United States has about 800 service members in Niger to provide support for the U.S. embassy and counter-terrorism training for government forces battling Islamist militant groups.

Joint Staff Director Lieutenant General Kenneth Frank McKenzie, Jr. told reporters at the Pentagon Thursday that America has increased its military presence in Niger in recent years, calling the U.S.-Niger military relationship a very good success story.

He cautioned, however, that U.S. troops remain at risk during their missions in the African nation, adding that the troops killed on Wednesday died in combat.

Nigeria-based Boko Haram operates in eastern Niger, while Algeria-based al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) and pockets of Islamic State fighters operate in the west.



AFRICOM said the U.S. personnel were "providing advice and assistance to Nigerien security force counter-terror operations" when the patrol came under hostile fire Wednesday.



It said the two wounded soldiers were evacuated in stable condition to Landsthul Regional Medical Center in Germany.

The White House said President Donald Trump was briefed on the attack.
First Lady Grace Mugabe says Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa would be in prison if he was in any nation as there are reports that he wants to stage a coup in Zimbabwe.

She said there is no reason for Mnangagwa to continue plotting to wrestle power from President Mugabe, whom she described as a clean and decent man.

We must all agree when the president decides one day says he is leaving office  We must all agree as the party about who will take over. Not pointing guns at each other  bazookas  No.

We are being threatened day and night that when someone comes into power we are going to kill you. Ah! Ahh! We will not bow down to that pressure. Never. You will have to arrest all of us and lock all of us in jail so that you can rule (Zimbabwe). Who says everyone wants to rule? And there is an issue that someone is holding a gun on his hand and fighting alone, we dont want to hear all that.

She said people sacrificed their lives to have a free Zimbabwe and not intimidation. We all want to be free. This is a free Zimbabwe. We dont want people who intimidate us. The president advised me to sleep with one eye open but I wont do that because I have got my own spies who will inform me of the goings-on as they appreciate me ...

Mrs. Mugabe noted people are not forced to like politicians. If they dont want you, they dont want you. Period. You tell people that I will be with so and so (when in power)  No one recognizes coups, you know it. The AU (African Union does not recognize coups and SADC (Southern African Development Community) does not recognize coups. And dont even dare talk about it because its treason.

You are just being left scot free because you know that its Mugabe who is in power and he is very kind. If it was another country, you will be in jail. We must be grateful that we have a tolerant leader and dont take that tolerance too far but you continue to abuse the president.

She said Mnangagwa is always flip flopping on his poisoning saga in Gwanda, Matabeleland South province, where he fell ill while attending a so-called Youth Interface Rally.

At the weekend he told people attending a memorial service of the late Resident Minister Shuvai Mahofa that he was poisoned at the rally contrary to what was conveyed to Mr. Mugabe by Mnangagwas doctors after he underwent medical attention in South Africa.

You tell the president this story today and tomorrow you tell him another story which is contrary to what you initially told him. You think he is a fool? OK, lets wait and stop here, she said amid applause from youths and other Zanu PF activists attending a youth meeting in Harare on Thursday night.

Mnangagwa is said to be leading a Zanu PF faction said to be pushing him to succeed 93 year-old Mugabe.
Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa on Thursday evening hit back at his colleague Phelekezela Mphoko, who wrote a scathing statement on Wednesday, following his remarks that he fell sick in Gwanda after being poisoned during a Zanu PF Youth Interface Rally addressed by Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe.

Mphoko claimed that Mnangagwa had made a U-turn after he told various Zanu PF meetings and President Robert Mugabe that he was not poisoned in the Matabeleland provincial capital.

But Mnangagwa told reporters in Harare that Mphoko was misrepresenting facts for political expediency as he was not food poisoned but poisoned at the Gwanda rally.

During the Ordinary Session of the Politburo held on 6 September, 2017, and the Ordinary Session of the Central Committee held on 8 September, 2017, I informed the meeting that my doctors had said that I was not food poisoned. I did not state that poison had been ruled out.

It is most disappointing that a person at the level of my colleague vice president Cde R. P. Mphoko would mis-understand and misrepresent the statements made by His Excellency, the President Cde R. G Mugabe and myself.

He said it was disturbing that Mphokos statement was against the spirit and grain of Zimbabwes Constitution.

Mnangagwa said he drew parallels with the late Shuvai Mahofas fate in Victoria Falls while attending the National Peoples Conference to show that they faced the same problems as they both fell sick at similar events.

It is indeed factual that I fell ill in Gwanda and was airlifted to Gweru and then to Harare before subsequently being airlifted to South Africa.

I never said that I was poisoned in Gwanda but that I fell ill in Gwanda. Equally the late national heroine S. B Mahofa fell ill during the 15th National Peoples Conference of Zanu PF in Victoria Falls in 2015. She was taken to hospital in Zimbabwe and subsequently to South Africa. Therein is the extent of the similarities of the events which I alluded to during my address (memorial service of Mahofa).

He further noted that during a briefing with Mr. Mugabe, his medical doctors ruled out food poisoning but confirmed that indeed poisoning had occurred and that investigations were still in progress.

Mnangagwa stressed that he issues a statement before the Midlands Presidential Youth Interface Rally in September in which he stated that he did not consume any ice cream in Gwanda from the first familys Gushungo Dairy.

He noted that he made similar remarks at a Zanu PF Politiburo and Central Committee meetings early September in which he told members that he was not food poisoned, adding that I did not state that poison had been ruled out.

The vice presidents statement received some stern rebuke from First Lady Grace Mugabe last night, who addressed a youth meeting in Harare, and Higher Education Minister Professor Jonathan Moyo.

Mrs. Mugabe said, You (Mnangagwa) admitted in a meeting that you were not poisoned but you are now going around saying something different  You change your statements depending on your audience.

She urged Zanu PF youth to avoid these party conflicts.

At the same time, Professor Moyo posted a message on Twitter saying, This I was poisoned, I was not poisoned Mnangagwa statement is an example of desperate dog-whistle politics. Even fools are not fooled.

Mnangagwa allegedly leads a faction of the ruling party called Team Lacoste while Mrs. Mugabe is said to be the leader of another faction known as Generation 40.

Each faction wants to take control of Zanu PF ahead of President Mugabes political exit. The president has already noted that he is not leaving his post.
Eligibility to Vote?

Are you a citizen of Zimbabwe?

More than 18-years old

You need one of the following:

National ID

Passport

Birth Certificate

A utility bill - phone, electricity or water bill as proof of where you live.

Can you use a driver's license to vote: No

Proof of residence:

A utility bill - phone, electricity or water, rates, telephone or credit card statement showing registrants name & physical address.

An expanded list is available on the ZEC web site: http://www.zec.gov.zw


Steven Spielberg, Vin Diesel, Adam Goldberg, Barry Pepper and Tom Sizemore on the set of the 1998 film Saving Private Ryan. (HBO)

Senior editor, style

The Steven Spielberg portrayed in Susan Lacys satisfyingly comprehensive 2 -hour HBO documentary Spielberg is a wide-open book. Its all so clearly been about a lonely suburban boy who found solace in filmmaking and grew up to envision and direct an unforgettable list of movies about lonely boys (sometimes girls) who find cathartic resolution amid middle-American angst, war, political chaos, futuristic ennui and supernatural phenomena. Beginning, essentially, with a shark.

"He certainly likes torturing the audience," observes one of the film's many sources, film critic J. Hoberman, on the subject of Spielberg's breakout hit, 1975's " Jaws." "Has he ever been in analysis?"

No need! Turns out that nearly everything you'd want to know about Spielberg is front-and-center in his blockbusters, broken down for us here in the simplest exercise of auteur theory: Lacy (who created PBS's "American Masters" series) gets Spielberg to talk about personal baggage and how it surfaces on-screen. Childhood fears ("Jaws"), ostracization and parental divorce ("Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial"); his disavowal and later acceptance of being Jewish ("Schindler's List"), his reconciliation with his father ("Saving Private Ryan"), his reactions to 9/11 ("Munich," "War of the Worlds").

"Steven doesn't want to make little, personal movies," says actor Bob Balaban. "He wants to make big personal movies."

Spielberg (airing Saturday) has the feel of official business, with the man himself happily participating in long conversations about his creative process, while dozens of other sources  his 100-year-old father, Arnold, and his mother, Leah, who died at 97 in February; his siblings, peers, longtime collaborators, actors, film critics and historians  supply their own observations and asides. It also features a thrilling, chronological examination of his movies (the best of them, along with some flops such as 1941 and Hook) that gives shape and depth to the definition of the Spielbergian style.



Steven Spielberg on the set of the 1993 film Schindler's List. (HBO)

Describing "Spielberg" makes it sound like an exercise in fawning, and it is indeed gentle and reverent. But it does include a note or two of well-aired criticism: In a clip from an old "60 Minutes" interview with the late Ed Bradley, a younger Spielberg is confronted with the opinion that his films were big but hollow  "Not art," Bradley suggests. Like his pal George Lucas, Spielberg testily rejects what he calls a "pretentious" notion that art must be serious and not move the viewer in an emotional way.

A sequence about his 1985 adaptation of Alice Walker's "The Color Purple" suggests that Spielberg's vision for the movie hasn't held up (critic David Edelstein says "There's something so false, so Disney-storyboard about that movie"). "He could never go where Alice [Walker] went with that book," offers producer Kathleen Kennedy, a longtime collaborator. "I just wasn't the right guy to do that," Spielberg says.

Perhaps Lacy brings Spielberg low at this point to prepare the viewer for the exultant second half of her documentary, which sticks to a theme of ascent and maturity. Spielberg's workaholism costs him personally (it's strange that, of the dozens of people who are interviewed in the film, we hear nothing from his wife, Kate Capshaw, or any of his seven children), but it paid off extraordinarily. In 1993, he once again conquered the summer box-office with "Jurassic Park," fully unleashing the age of computer-generated effects and then, only months later, he released his personal masterpiece, "Schindler's List," which cleaned up at the Academy Awards.

From there, Spielberg coasts mainly on afterglow and continued output, providing example after example of its subjects many contributions to the art of filmmaking. And it offers the pleasant reassurance that, at 70, Spielberg considers his work far from finished.

Spielberg (150 minutes) airs Saturday at 8 p.m. on HBO.
Members of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, from left, Beatrice Fihn, Daniel Hogsta and Grethe Ostern, speak Friday during a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland. The group won this year's Nobel Peace Prize for its work on a treaty to prohibit the weapons. (Martial Trezzini/KEYSTONE VIA AP)

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, a group of mostly young activists pushing for a global treaty to ban the bombs.

The award of the $1.1-million prize comes amid heightened tensions over both North Koreas aggressive development of nuclear weapons and President Trumps persistent criticism of the deal to stop Irans nuclear program.

The prize committee, which is based in Oslo, Norway, wanted to send a signal to North Korea and the U.S. that they need to go into negotiations, Oeivind Stenersen, a historian of the peace prize, told the Associated Press. The prize is also coded support to the Iran nuclear deal. I think this was wise because recognizing the Iran deal itself could have been seen as giving support to the Iranian state.

The Switzerland-based ICAN has campaigned actively for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was adopted by 122 countries at the United Nations in July. On September 20, the first day the treaty was open for signature, 51 countries signed it and three submitted their ratifications. The treaty needs 50 ratifications to go into force, which advocates are confident will happen.

The United States, Russia, Britain, France and China all boycotted the negotiations; India, Pakistan and North Korea did not vote.

Last month in Berlin, Germany, ICAN protesters teamed up with other organizations to demonstrate outside the U.S. and North Korean embassies against the possibility of nuclear war between the two countries.

The group has been a driving force in prevailing upon the worlds nations to pledge to cooperate . . . in efforts to stigmatize, prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons, Norwegian Nobel Committee chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said in the announcement.

The prize sends a message to all nuclear-armed states and all states that continue to rely on nuclear weapons for security that it is unacceptable behavior. We will not support it, we will not make excuses for it, ICAN Executive Director Beatrice Fihn told reporters Friday in Geneva, Switzerland.

She said that she worried that it was a prank after getting a phone call just minutes before the official Peace Prize announcement was made. Fihn said she didnt believe it until she heard the name of the group being proclaimed on television.

We are trying to send very strong signals to all states with nuclear arms, nuclear-armed states  North Korea, U.S., Russia, China, France, U.K., Israel, all of them, India, Pakistan  it is unacceptable to threaten to kill civilians, she said.

Anita Friedt, the U.S. acting assistant secretary of state for arms control, told the U.N. General Assembly this week that it would be irresponsible for the United States to support the treaty, citing the threat from North Korea.
Among the many surprising things about the sexual harassment allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein is the identity of one of the people Weinstein has signed up to defend him.

Los Angeles attorney Lisa Bloom, who made her reputation advocating on behalf of women, has been advising Weinstein as he responds to explosive claims in a story published by the New York Times on Thursday. The Times said Weinstein, the producer of such films as "Good Will Hunting" and "Pulp Fiction" and a major Democratic donor, had a notorious reputation among women in Hollywood and has settled eight harassment complaints over the past 30 years.

Bloom's alliance with Weinstein puts her in an unusual and perhaps awkward position. Only five months ago, she was on the opposite side of another high-profile sexual harassment case  one also sparked by a Times article.

In April, Bloom, 56, advised several women who claimed that Fox News host Bill O'Reilly had harassed them when they worked with him at the network. The allegations touched off a media firestorm, fanned in part by Bloom's frequent TV appearances, that led to the end of O'Reilly's career at Fox.

In an interview Thursday shortly after the Times published its story, Bloom said she saw no contradiction in working for Weinstein, whose alleged behavior the Times described in much the same way Bloom once described OReillys.

Im not on a side, she said. This is not a side. . . . Im on the side of moving the ball forward for womens rights. There are a lot of ways to do that. I speak about it, I appear on TV, I write books about it. I saw this as a unique opportunity to advise a high-profile guy how to respond. And he listened.

Weinstein, 65, said on Thursday that he would take a leave of absence from running his studio, the Weinstein Co.. In a statement, he acknowledged that the way Ive behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it. He did not deny any specific claims but said he intends to sue the paper for defamation, seeking $50 million.

Bloom was quick to add that she's not part of any litigation against the Times. Another attorney, Charles Harder  who represented wrestler Hulk Hogan in the defamation suit that led to the demise of the website Gawker last year  is handling that part of Weinstein's response, she said.

But she said the newspaper gave Weinstein 48 hours to respond to a long list of accusations and that it refused to grant him more time when we begged for it. (A Times spokeswoman said Weinstein was given adequate time to respond to events he had first-hand knowledge of and that the newspaper had included all relevant comments from Mr. Weinstein in its story. She added, Mr. Weinstein and his lawyer . . . have not pointed to any errors or challenged any facts in our story.)

Bloom said her role over the past year or so has been to counsel Weinstein about his workplace behavior, especially his treatment of women. She said she has had frank talks with him about his legendary temper, his use of profanity in public settings and his propensity for loose talk about sex around women he employs or has worked with.

In this, she claims some limited success: Hes thrown out the old playbook in responding to harassment allegations, Bloom said. He hasnt gone out and dug up dirt on his accusers or tried to undermine their reputations. Instead, he has apologized for misconduct. He is deeply apologetic. He has acknowledged that he has to overcome his demons. . . . He said, Lisa, youve really gotten through to me. 

In a statement Thursday, she said Weinstein is reading books and going to therapy. He is an old dinosaur learning new ways.

Bloom gave no such benefit of the doubt to O'Reilly, who is 68. In frequent TV appearances last spring, Bloom lacerated the Fox News host as an unreformed workplace predator. "When women speak our truth, the old order shatters," she tweeted after O'Reilly's ouster. "We slayed the dragon. Never forget this is what we're capable of."

OReilly declined to comment on Thursday.

Bloom's role in the O'Reilly episode went beyond representing some of his accusers. After his ouster, she and one of her clients, former Fox guest Wendy Walsh, went to London to urge the British government to deny approval of a long-sought acquisition by Fox's parent company, 21st Century Fox, of the Sky satellite TV company.

Nor has Bloom  the daughter of famed feminist lawyer Gloria Allred, who represents some of the women who've accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault and Donald Trump of groping them  been so generous to other men her clients have opposed over the years.

Earlier this year, she represented actress Mischa Barton, who alleged that a former boyfriend sought to profit by selling explicit photos and videos of her. Bloom called the ex-boyfriend's alleged behavior "disgusting" and termed his conduct "a form of sexual assault." The actress settled the "revenge porn" case in June, regaining custody of the images.

Bloom sought to distance her representation of Weinstein from a somewhat parallel professional relationship: feminist-attorney Susan Estrich's defense of Roger Ailes, the late Fox News chairman. Estrich raised eyebrows last year when she defended Ailes, an old friend, against multiple accusations of sexual harassment. The allegations eventually led to Ailes's firing from Fox and millions of dollars in settlements with his accusers.

Said Bloom, Susan Estrich went after [Ailess] accusers and called them liars. Im not doing that. Estrich did not respond to a request for comment.

Bloom said Weinstein hired her about a year ago after he and the rapper Jay-Z jointly bought the TV rights to her 2014 book, "Suspicion Nation," about the Trayvon Martin case. She said she began speaking with him at that time about long-standing rumors in Hollywood about him. "I don't hold back, and I didn't," she said. "Harvey can take it, and he did. He said, 'I've been stupid. I'm a dinosaur, and I've got to change.' I thought, 'Perhaps I can do something to make a difference.' "

To those who will find her involvement with Weinstein out of character, even hypocritical, Bloom replied: I dont care. Ive never put my finger to the wind and said, Whats the most popular thing to do today? . . . I have been speaking up for womens rights for many years. Im pleased to represent Harvey.

One of the people who finds Blooms role surprising, even problematic, is her own mother.

Allred issued a statement on Thursday that said, " While I would not represent Mr. Weinstein, I would consider representing anyone who accused Mr. Weinstein of sexual harassment, even if it meant that my daughter was the opposing counsel."

Bloom sees no real dispute or contradiction between her and Allred. My mother only represents plaintiffs in employment discrimination cases, she said. I have a broader law practice open to other kinds of cases. She gets to make her choices, and I make mine.

She laughed and added, If anything, it will make for some interesting conversation at Thanksgiving.
This appeared in the Lewiston Tribune

Puerto Rico can claim four of its own as voting members of the U.S House of Representatives:

Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez, D-N.Y.

Rep. Jose E. Serrano, D-N.Y.

Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla.

Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho.

All were born in Puerto Rico. All moved to the U.S. and became successful in politics.

So when the Trump administrations response to the devastation Hurricane Maria unleashed on the 3.4 million American citizens living in that U.S. territory fell short, three of them made their displeasure clear.

The Trump administration was slow off the mark, said Soto.

This needs to be an immediate priority for Speaker (Paul) Ryan and the Republican leadership, said Velazquez.

Puerto Rico needs a Hurricane Sandy-magnitude response, Serrano wrote in a letter to President Trump.

All spoke up in support of their birthplace except Labrador.

On Facebook and Twitter, he wrote: My heart breaks for the people of Puerto Rico. Encouraged by federal response so far. I encourage Idahoans to help.

But when it comes to marshalling public pressure on the White House to save lives and rebuild the island, hes been conspicuously silent. Hes not been on television. Hes issued no public statements or traditional news releases. Certainly nothing suggests Labrador disagrees with the administrations response to Puerto Rico up to now.

Why the reserve?

Is Labrador silent because he is the sole Republican in this group? Granted, Labrador isnt the only member of the GOP who is standing by his Faustian bargain with the White House. But why remain silent in the face of 18 weekend tweets from President Trump attacking San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz and suggesting the people of Puerto Rico want everything to be done for them?

Or is it because hes never shown much support for other storm relief packages? He voted against hurricane relief for New York and New Jersey. He says he would have done the same concerning the Hurricane Harvey relief for Texas had he cast a vote.

Could his silence reflect simple politics? Unlike Velazquez, Serrano and Soto, Labrador does not have a Puerto Rican component to his constituency.

Maybe Labrador believes hes no more obligated to speak up for the home he left at age 13 than Idaho Sen. Jim Risch would be expected to do if trouble strikes his native Wisconsin.

The difference is that Labrador has highlighted his biography as a central feature in his political campaigns. The story of how his mother as a single parent brought him to Las Vegas and raised himas well as the story of his advancement toward the legal profession and then Congressis an appealing tale of grit and determination.

Hes also maintained ties to Puerto Rico. For instance, Labrador has raised more than $25,000 in campaign donations from sources within the city of San Juan. In 2011, his campaign spent $6,295 holding an event at the Wyndham Rio Mar Beach Resort & Spa in San Juan.

According to Opensecrets.org, only the venues of Boise, Washington, D.C., and Salt Lake City-Ogden, Utah, played a bigger role in his campaign fundraising efforts since he first ran for Congress in 2010.

He has remained engaged in Puerto Ricos issues. For instance, Labrador worked to help restructure the faltering U.S. territorys debt.

And unlike Rischs native Wisconsinwhich has two senators, eight members of Congress and 10 votes in the Electoral CollegePuerto Rico has only one non-voting delegate in the U.S. House.

In other words, Puerto Rico must rely on members of Congress from the mainland who have a keen understanding of its problems. When it comes to his boyhood home, Labrador enjoys credibility with his colleagues, particularly those within his own party. What he has to say about how well recovery efforts are being handledand what more needs to be donewould influence others on Capitol Hill.

The Idaho Republican has a unique opportunity to speak up for Puerto Rico. If Puerto Rico cant count on Labrador, where can it turn?
Fox contributor Julie Roginsky of "The Five," who is suing the network, and the late Fox News chief Roger Ailes, who faced multiple claims of sexual harassment. (AP)

Fox News said Friday that its general counsel will take an unspecified leave of absence from the company, in the latest sign of fallout from the networks long-running sexual harassment scandal.

Dianne Brandi, who has been named in four lawsuits filed by former Fox employees or contributors alleging harassment, will take the unexpected leave.

Dianne Brandi is taking voluntary leave, Fox News said in a statement issued Friday.

Foxs statement did not explain why Brandi is leaving.

Brandi, however, appears to be under considerable legal pressure. In addition to the lawsuits, a federal investigation into Fox News financial practices began to focus last week on her role during the long tenure of its co-founder and former chairman, Roger Ailes, people close to the investigation told The Washington Post. Investigators are looking into payments made under Ailes to employees who had accused him and other executives of harassment or mistreatment.

Brandi is also a defendant in suits brought by current and former Fox employees, including those by on-air personalities Julie Roginsky and Andrea Tantaros. All of the suits allege that Brandi failed to investigate harassment complaints or didnt take action in response to complaints about a hostile work environment.

Attorneys from the Department of Justices southern district of Manhattan made inquiries at Fox about Brandi, though it was not clear to whom they spoke or their specific line of questioning.

Federal attorneys have been looking into the manner in which Fox, under Ailes, reported a series of severance payments and cash settlements to people whod made harassment allegations against Ailes and other top executives, or had otherwise run afoul of him.

Brandi has not commented on the probe, but Fox has asserted her innocence previously.

The question at the heart of the investigation is whether Fox and its parent company, 21st Century Fox, committed securities fraud by hiding or disguising these payments on their books in violation of an obligation to disclose material financial events to investors.

Brandi could prove to be a key figure in the investigation because of her long and close association with Ailes, who was ousted from Fox last year amid harassment allegations and died in May. She may have direct knowledge of some of his more secretive and allegedly sinister management practices, people who are involved in the investigation said.

The government investigation, which began in January, has a delicate political context because it involves Fox, whose chairman, Rupert Murdoch, is a powerful ally and sometime adviser of President Trump. Fox News and 21st Century Fox are both controlled by Murdoch and his family. Some of Foxs programs and commentators have been boosters of Trumps candidacy and presidency, particularly prime-time host Sean Hannity and the morning program Fox and Friends.

People close to the investigation said it appeared to have gone dormant after Ailes' death. But federal attorneys starting asking questions about Brandi in late September, indicating that the probe was still alive.

Fox referred questions about the investigation to 21st Century Fox, whose spokesman, Nathaniel Brown, declined comment this week.

Prosecutors have been working with Foxs former chief finanical officer, Mark Kranz, under a grant of immunity from prosecution, to get to the bottom of Ailes financial arrangements with people who made harassment claims.

Among the latter are Laurie Luhn, a former Fox booking and special events coordinator, who said she had engaged in a romantic relationship with Ailes for many years.

In comments to The Washington Post earlier this year and to other media organizations, Luhn said Ailes harassed her and subjected her to psychological torture for years. The networks executives then engaged in efforts designed to keep her from speaking about her experiences, she said, including moving her to a psychiatric care facility in Texas against her wishes.

She eventually agreed to a settlement with Fox in which she was paid $3.15 million, an agreement she said was signed by Brandi. One of her settlement checks was signed by a corporate executive based in Los Angeles who had no direct involvement with Fox News, according to people who spoke about the investigation anonymously because they werent authorized to speak on the record.

In addition to Kranz and Luhn, prosecutors have also spoken to Brian Lewis, who headed Foxs communications team for years and was a close ally of Ailes until a falling out in 2014. Lewis was paid more than $8 million as severance when he left the company, and government attorneys have investigated how these funds were structured and disclosed. Lewis declined comment.

One issue in the investigation is whether Fox properly disclosed this payment and others that Ailes apparently arranged to resolve internal disputes.

Luhn, who has previously said she spoke with investigators in May, declined to discuss the issue further last week.

Ailes was pushed out in July 2016 after former Fox host Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual-harassment lawsuit against him, triggering a series of complaints against Ailes by women who had worked for him. Carlson later settled with Fox for $20 million.


After hiking alone for much of the stretch, the author and photographer enjoy some company friends Gil and Buckets) on Segment 4 of the Collegiate West subsection of the Colorado Trail. (Clif Reeder/For The Washington Post)

Halfway up the 3,300-foot climb through the muggy forest on the north side of Hope Pass, I was panting, sweat-soaked and pining for a pint.

It seems every tiny mountain town in Colorado is blessed with a great microbrewery and pizza restaurant. The 484-mile Colorado Trail provides several opportunities to hitchhike to a fantastic IPA and a pizza. But my husband, Honeybuns (or "Clif," to nonhikers), and I had just finished our resupply in tiny Twin Lakes and now had several long, beerless days ahead of us.

As he and I paused to catch our breath in a high meadow at tree line before the final ascent, a strange noise behind us set my most primitive survival instincts on edge.

Mountain lion? Bear?

Worse.

"Youths!" I hissed.

We had passed a score of brightly ponchoed summer campers a few miles back, and it sounded like the horde was in hot pursuit. The last thing I wanted, in my rumpled exhaustion, was to small-talk teenagers who seemed buoyant enough to float up the mountain.

From Georgia to Maine: What I learned on a 6-month hike along the Appalachian Trail

Honeybuns laughed gently, further stoking my wrath, and started the final climb. As the chipper chatter came closer, a new fire was lit under me. I struggled after him, hobbling along on my trekking poles like a bandylegged goblin.

I cursed the trail. I cursed myself. I very much cursed the lack of beer.

But at the top, I stopped hard in my tracks.

The world bloomed before me.

Endless dark peaks jutted out of the earth, roadless and wild and spellbinding.

I reeled, trying to see everything all at once. The outcroppings of vegetation dotting the mountains. The breathtaking geometry that governed the rock, leading my eyes between sharp edges of shade and light, swooping down long hollows carved by avalanches.



Gudys Rest, a beautiful spot overlooking Durango, is devoted to Gudy Gaskill. She has been dubbed the mother of the Colorado Trail because she was so influential in its creation. (Clif Reeder/For The Washington Post)

I imagined the tiny pikas who would live on these mountains, the soft seashell curve of their ears. I imagined the wildflowers, plumes of Indian paintbrush, tight clusters of sky pilot, that would be born and wither and die without ever being seen by a human eye.

This was worth the climb. This was worth anything.

This was even better than beer.

A gentle introduction

Having gotten the long-distance-backpacking bug after our six-month thruhike (end-to-end, single-year hike) of the Appalachian Trail two years ago, Honeybuns and I were looking for a hike to tide us over until we started a Pacific Crest Trail hike the following spring.

Of the domestic mid-distance trails, the CT attracted us with its fantastic scenery and a promise of a gentle introduction to Western backpacking.

We had hiked over 2,000 miles on the East Coast, but the relatively developed surroundings of the Appalachian Trail had provided few opportunities to feel truly remote. The Colorado Trail promised much that would be new to us  chances to summit fourteeners (mountains over 14,000 feet), days in the backcountry without easy escapes to civilization, and tougher planning requirements involving food and water.

Most of the thruhikers we met were experiencing their first long-distance trail. Many were teachers or students on summer break. The four-to-six-week time frame, well-maintained trail and wealth of data and guides makes the CT a great choice for those dipping their toes in.





That July evening on Hope Pass, we decided to camp midway down the descent at a dry campsite tucked onto a ledge. The altitude and the wind made for an astonishingly cold night, perhaps in the mid-40s, but we couldnt bring ourselves to leave the view behind just yet.

As I sat boiling sun-dried tomatoes and couscous for dinner, I kept turning my head to watch the sunlight dying on Emerald Peak. I felt like I was being watched back.

The bone-deep astonishment at the mountains did not fade, no matter how many passes we crested as the days wore on. The last moments before peering over the top of a climb  the giddy anticipation  became my favorites on the trail.

Theres a bit of an art to hiking at high elevation in Colorado. One wants to camp at a low enough elevation to be warmly ensconced below tree line, but high enough to cross the passes before midafternoon, when the daily thunderstorm rolls in like clockwork.

But for all their thunder and bombast, the mountains felt heartbreakingly fragile. Pine beetles had ravaged several segments of the trail, leaving vast swaths of dead forest. The trunks and lifeless limbs remained, lacy lichens making the trees look like gossamer-draped wraiths from a distance, up close like bones.

Lightning crashes

As we crossed Snow Mesa chewing on granola bars, ominous clouds began to coalesce behind us. We picked up the pace to no avail. In a matter of minutes, our blue-skied, desktop-wallpaper dream had vanished.

The unrelieved gray seemed boundless, unknowable. My mind became unfocused as the dark storm enclosed us in all directions. There was nothing but this storm, this flat plain, this gray, the lightning clacking like falling cleavers on a cutting board.

One safety measure in a lightning storm is to get to lower ground and assume the lightning position: sitting on your pack, feet off the ground, crouched down.

We paused to assess the situation. My poncho was plastered against my skin, as useful as a soggy leaf. My legs trembled. Hypothermia seemed even more imminent than a lightning strike. We decided to keep going and try to find a way to lower elevation.

We should spread out! Honeybuns shouted over the storm. He was right  hiking next to one another only increased our lightning risk. But as I watched him hurry ahead, I felt anything but relieved.

I hoarsely sang Britney Spears songs to myself as we hurried on, my voice keening feebly against the roar of rain and wind, knees shaking, hands aching with cold. As long as youre singing, I told myself, youre not dead.

When I ran out of Britney songs, I started on show tunes. When I ran out of show tunes, I started on hymns. When I ran out of hymns, I started back on Britney.

Finally, I watched Honeybuns disappear over the edge of the horizon as the trail finally descended. I struggled after him, awash with relief as the torrent slackened to a cold drizzle. I was frantic to get to the nearby road crossing where we could hitch to town and warm up.



Combined Continental Divide Trail and Colorado Trail markers. If you take the Collegiate West, these two trails overlap for more than 300 miles. (Clif Reeder/For The Washington Post)

But Honeybuns stopped suddenly and pointed off with one trekking pole.

Flashes of white caught my eye. A herd of dozens of female and juvenile elk were winding their way through the trees before us, moving up toward a ridge.

The trail had provided many animal encounters. I had cooed over the bell-bottomed ptarmigans and chirruped at the pikas and whistled at the marmots. But seeing this huge group of huge animals was stunning and humbling.

The elk leader struggled to find a path to the top, trying this route and that before sliding down the slippery scree. She kept looking over her shoulder at her fellow elk. I dont know if elk are capable of embarrassment, but she did seem a bit sheepish after each failed attempt.

We stood, transfixed, rain pooling in our shoes. Finally, the leader managed to scramble up and over the ridge. The rest of the herd followed, some of the juveniles slipping before gamely plowing on.

Off to their side, the two shivering humans held no absolutely interest to the elk. They had their own dramas and concerns.

Honeybuns and I stumbled down to the road crossing soaked, exhausted and in awe.

A world of color

Mornings were my favorite time of day. We rose just before dawn to a gray-and-black world, and would watch the color pour into the trees as we ate cinnamon oatmeal and took down our tarp. My favorite places to camp were among the aspen groves. In the early morning, silhouetted against the sky, the shimmering leaves looked like glitter.

But nights were worth remembering, too.



At high elevation and away from towns, the night sky comes alive with stars. (Clif Reeder/For The Washington Post)

On one of our last nights on trail, we were camped on a high ridge with a section-hiker friend.

We were all due to recommence our lives off-trail. Honeybuns and I had jobs and friends and family and a cat waiting for us. But our month on the trail just didnt seem like enough. Not yet.

As the setting sun shifted from electric oranges to honey pinks, we stopped doing our chores and walked out to the closest exposed switchback to watch. Honeybuns and I stood side by side, admiring the spires of the distant mountains, watching the light as it drifted and shifted and changed color.

I wanted to build a house around myself right there. I wanted my feet to turn to roots, to hold me there forever, where every sunset would be just a little bit different.

It seemed like a decent way to spend a life.

Ghaman is a writer in based in the District. Her website is Allieghaman.com. Find her on Twitter: @AllieG.

More from Travel:

Seeking refuge in the wild: Hiking in Chilean Patagonia

Hillwalking from sea to sea across Scotland

A traveler tests her limits on a hiking trip along the French Riviera
Deborah Jean Bryant sits among three decades worth of legal documents in the D.C. office of her attorney, Robert Adler. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

D.C. officials have agreed to pay $90,000 to settle a sexual-discrimination complaint brought nearly three decades ago by a former prison secretary, putting an end to a case whose extraordinary delays may make it among the most protracted in the history of the nations capital.

Deborah Jean Bryant, a Northern Virginia resident who worked in a typing pool for the D.C. Department of Corrections in the 1980s, had been fighting for 27 years to claim pay she said she was owed. She sometimes wondered aloud if she would die before the case was over.

This week she got an email from the attorney, Robert Adler, who has represented her throughout that time. Attached was the settlement agreement, with a note:

At long last we are done! And we are both still quite alive.

Bryant said in an interview that the settlement payment  of which she should receive roughly $50,000 after Adlers fees and expenses are paid  would be a financial boon. But it would also have a profound emotional impact, she said, as she can now try to move on from the stress of her Dickensian legal conflict with the city and the humiliating circumstances that led to her complaint.



WASHINGTON, DC-APR 25: Deborah Bryant in her attorney's office in Washington, D.C. (Michael S. Williamson/The Washington Post)

I dont have to think about all that anymore, she said.

The Washington Post published a story about Bryant's case in May. The day the article appeared, Adler said, he got a call from a high-ranking lawyer in the D.C. Office of the Attorney General who wanted to settle the case.

D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine said after reading The Post story, we took a closer look at this case, and we are glad we have been able to reach a resolution that is fair to Ms. Bryant and to the District.

Adler shared a copy of the signed settlement agreement with The Post.

Bryant, a 59-year-old grandmother of five, worked at the old D.C. prison at the Lorton Reformatory north of the Occoquan River. (While her suit dragged on, the prison was decommissioned and eventually turned into luxury apartments.)

While there she said a senior prison administrator, John Lattimore, repeatedly made advances on her. Bryant said in a sworn affidavit that he asked her out, told her she had a nice derriere and said in front of another employee that Deborah could have anything she wants if she does the right thing.

Bryant also testified that Lattimore repeatedly told her he was in love and said that she should sit in his lap so that he could play Santa Claus, according to case records. She said after rebuffing him she was demoted.

Lattimore could not be reached for comment.

Two years after she filed her complaint, the director of the Districts now-defunct Department of Human Rights and Minority Business ruled in Bryants favor, finding that she had been denied advancement because of sexual discrimination and ordering corrections officials to promote her and pay her back wages.

But over the next 25 years, the District government fought the ruling, losing an appeal and disputing the exact amount Bryant was owed. The case has seen frequent, inexplicable delays and has been heard by 10 different judges.

In 2012, the corrections department wrote her a check for $100,480  $52,000 less than it had previously calculated in back pay. Since then Bryant has been fighting to claim the remaining money, plus the substantial interest that has been racked up over decades.

Adler, who works in the District for the law firm Nossaman LLP, said he initially proposed a $98,000 settlement payment. After several more months and further negotiation, Bryant and the city agreed to $90,000.

I dont wish this on anyone, Bryant said. I dont want to see anyone else go through what I went through  the harassment, and what happened afterwards. It was like the District just didnt want to deal with it and they just didnt want to give me what I deserved.

Bryant, who now works as a night security guard, said she has no regrets about devoting nearly half her life to litigation against the city.

I think it was well worth it, because I did not only fight for me, she said. I fought for my daughters and whoever would come along later who would go through these same issues.
D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham speaks at a news conference Thursday about changes to the Districts application process for concealed-weapons permits. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

People who want to carry a gun on the streets of the nations capital no longer need to show a good reason to obtain a concealed-weapons permit after a court order took effect Friday morning.

The order from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia took effect shortly after 8 a.m.  less than 24 hours after D.C. officials announced they would not ask the Supreme Court to review the decision in Wrenn v. District of Columbia.

In some ways the application requirements for obtaining a concealed-weapons permit in Washington are still rigorous. Applicants must go through a criminal-background check and demonstrate that they have gone through firearms training.

But the appeals court struck down the most restrictive portion of the Districts concealed-carry law, which required that permit-seekers have a good reason, such as a credible fear of violence, to carry a gun in public.

That standard has proved extremely effective in limiting the citys number of concealed-carry licenses. The police department said it has rejected 77 percent of otherwise qualified permit applicants because they could not show a sufficient need to carry a concealed firearm.

Ryan Hubbard arrived at the permit office Friday to update his firearm registration to reflect his new address and learned while in line that the good reason requirement no longer was in force. So Hubbard applied for a concealed-carry permit.

As he waited at D.C. Police headquarters, Hubbard said he saw another man there to submit a concealed carry application.

Hubbard, 28, said he had never applied for a concealed carry permit because he had heard it was too difficult in the District. He said he then asked a few questions and learned that he no longer needed to show a good reason after a court order took effect that morning.

I didnt even know there was any change in the rules . . . I heard about it by chance, said Hubbard, who works for a real estate company. I think everyones safer when you have vetted people, who have clear background checks . . . who have the ability to protect themselves.

At a news conference Thursday, D.C. Police Chief Peter Newsham said gun owners should not misinterpret the court ruling to mean they could simply begin carrying a weapon with them: To do so, they must still obtain a permit from the police.

Carrying a gun in public without a permit remains illegal. The District also enforces many security zones around federal buildings and monuments where concealed weapons are not allowed.

I dont want to give anyone the misimpression that they can just go there and carry a gun right now, Newsham said.

D.C. officials opted not to appeal the unfavorable court ruling because they feared it could provide an opportunity for the Supreme Court to issue a broad decision striking down similar restrictions on the carrying of concealed guns throughout the country.

That is what happened in 2008, when the District's attempt to preserve its handgun ban led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling that not only found such bans unconstitutional but established for the first time that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms separate from military service.
THE DISTRICT

Ex-leader of charity

sentenced to prison

The former head of a D.C. charity meant to benefit Vietnam veterans, who embezzled about $150,000 of donations to spend on women he was involved with, was sentenced Thursday to five months in prison.

John Thomas Burch, 75, of Alexandria, who pleaded guilty in June to wire fraud, was the president of the National Vietnam Veterans Foundation (NVVF) until last year. U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson also ordered Burch to pay a $75,000 forfeiture judgment, U.S. Attorney Jessie K. Liu and FBI Washington Field Office chief Andrew Vale said in a statement.

Burch admitted misappropriating $149,317 of donations marked for veterans family members with young children in poverty between 2012 and 2016. He gave the money to acquaintances with whom he had relationships and claimed reimbursements for visits to clubs, meals and hotel stays that were not related to the charity.

Burch had unilateral control over the NVVFs Emergency Assistance Program and could pay out $100 to $300 without oversight. The organization disbanded last year.

 Spencer S. Hsu

Police: Man arrested

threw Sterno at driver

Metro Transit Police have arrested a 19-year-old man for allegedly throwing a Sterno can at a Metrobus driver Wednesday and in connection with the armed robbery and assault of two people at a Metro station bus stop Monday.

Aric Lewis Holmes of Southeast D.C. was arrested Wednesday night and is expected to be arraigned Thursday.

According to police, Holmes and two acquaintances attempted to board an X2 bus shortly before noon Wednesday at 14th and H streets NE but were told that they would not be allowed to ride because one of them was carrying a gasoline-powered leaf blower.

Police say Holmes threw a can of Sterno cooking fuel at the bus driver; the can hit the plexiglass shield designed to protect the operator, who was not injured.

Transit police detectives used surveillance footage from the bus to identify the person who threw the can. They searched for Holmes and arrested him, along with one of the other men who attempted to board the bus, 21-year-old John Webb McPhaul.

Both Holmes and McPhaul are charged with armed robbery and assault with intent to rob, following two incidents that occurred Monday at the Minnesota Avenue Metro station, police said.

In the first incident, Holmes and McPhaul are accused of using a weapon  described by the victim as a gun  to rob a 17-year-old who was waiting for a bus around 8:30 p.m. Police say the pair stole the teens belt, backpack and Yeezy sneakers.

 Martine Powers

Suspected robbers

flight is short-lived

Bank robbers escaping with their ill-gotten loot usually try to get as far away from the bank, and the law, as possible.

Police said Edwin Sanchez went 377 feet.

The 24-year-old was captured less than nine minutes after police said he walked into a TD Bank branch at 801 17th St. in Northwest Washington on Wednesday afternoon and walked out with $1,160 in plastic bags.

Police said they found him a little later sitting in a McDonalds less than a block away at 750 17th St. NW. Court documents say he had a knife and money with him.

He stated that he knew why law enforcement was there, prosecutors said in an affidavit filed in federal court charging Sanchez with one count of armed bank robbery.

 Peter Hermann

Officials: Electrical

issue causes fire

A fire on the roof of an apartment building in the Logan Circle area in Northwest Washington on Thursday was caused by an electrical malfunction, fire officials said.

No civilians were injured, but one firefighter was taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening, according to the D.C. fire department.

Officials said that it was a two-alarm blaze in the 1200 block of Q Street NW and that there was a "heavy volume of fire" at times before firefighters put it out.

The blaze was in the attic and affected some top-floor units, officials said. Some streets in the area were closed as crews worked to extinguish the flames.

Several residents were displaced.

 Dana Hedgpeth and Peter Hermann
Krishanti Vignarajah announces her run for Maryland governor with her husband, Collin OMara, and 3-month-old daughter, Alana, by her side Sept. 19 in Baltimore. (Katherine Frey/The Washington Post)

A Democrat running for Maryland governor is asking a judge to decide whether she is legally eligible to seek the office, requesting a binding declaration confirming her right to appear on the ballot.

Krishanti Vignarajah announced plans to run for governor in August, but questions have been raised since then about her voter registration and residency status.

Under the state constitution, a candidate for governor must be at least 30 years old and have been both a Maryland resident and registered voter for the five years immediately preceding the election.

Vignarajah, who was a policy aide for former first lady Michelle Obama, filed the lawsuit Friday seeking a declaratory judgment in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court.

She named Gov. Larry Hogans campaign, the state Board of Elections and Mary Wagner, the director of voter registration for the state election board, as defendants.

According to the legal filing, Vignarajah named Wagner and Hogan because of comments Wagner and Dick Haire, Hogans campaign lawyer, made to reporters about Vignarajahs eligibility.

Haire told the Baltimore Sun that Vignarajah does not even meet residency requirements and has shown she simply doesnt have what it takes to lead our state.

Vignarajah had previously blamed her potential Democratic rivals for raising questions about her eligibility. None are named in her legal challenge.

The Maryland State Board of Elections asked Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (D) to weigh in on whether a person who registered in the state but later voted in another jurisdiction would be considered a registered Maryland voter. Wagner told The Washington Post last month that Frosh's office would probably not offer any advice until the filing deadline for the June primary, which is Feb. 27.

Vignarajah has refused to answer questions about her voter registration and residency. In the 28-page court filing, she says that she was always a registered voter, even though she had not voted in the state for 10 years. Vignarajah said she lived in the District, but considered Maryland her home.

She voted in the District from 2010 to 2014 and voted in Maryland in 2016.

Vignarajah is one of seven Democrats in the race for governor. She is the only woman that has announced.

The other challengers are: former NAACP president Ben Jealous, Prince Georges County Executive Rushern L. Baker III, Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz, state Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. (Montgomery), attorney Jim Shea and tech entrepreneur Alec Ross.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has filled a seat on the Court of Special Appeals. (Patrick Semansky/AP)

Gov. Larry Hogan (R) has selected a former assistant attorney general to serve on the Maryland Court of Special Appeals.

Matthew J. Fader will fill a seat on the court that was vacated by former chief judge Peter Krauser, who retired.

Fader has served in the Attorney Generals Office for the past decade, and is the chief of civil litigation. Previously, he was a partner at Kirkpatrick and Lockhart, a Pittsburgh-based firm. He also served as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice for three years.
A former government contractor who helped scam the State Department out of millions of dollars was sentenced Friday to three years in prison.

Jose Rivera, 57, of Potomac, Md., worked with two others to trick the contractor DynCorp into paying a grossly inflated rent for a training camp in Iraq, according to prosecutors.

The State Department ultimately footed the bill for the property, which came out to over $5.3 million.

Judge Leonie M. Brinkema said a serious sentence was required to make sure other people involved in government contracting know that if they commit fraud, even over there, there will be consequences.

But Brinkema acknowledged that Rivera, who has cooperated extensively with authorities and is expected to testify against a co-conspirator next month, will probably have his sentence reduced in the future.

Rivera was not the ringleader in the conspiracy. That man was Wesley Struble, who is serving a four-year prison sentence. Struble knew DynCorp was looking for property in Iraq for the State Department contract, which involved training civilian police officers. He was working for another contractor that was leasing property from an Iraqi company at Baghdad International Airport for $124,000 a month. So Struble approached Rivera, according to court documents, about DynCorp's potential interest in the site. He recruited Rivera and associates at the Iraqi company to increase the rent to $665,000, splitting the difference.

Emil Popescu, a Romanian man who was working for the Iraqi company, was extradited to the United States and faces trial in November.

While he was only a recruit to the plot, Rivera did take thousands of dollars for his role in the scheme, which he sent through Strubles relatives and hid in speakers to avoid detection.

Rivera no doubt believ[ed] that the taxpayer  and the U.S. Department of State  would not miss a couple more million dollars in a warzone, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian D. Harrison and Kimberly R. Pedersen wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

He and Struble are now both liable for the $3.4 million in excess charges paid by the government.

Rivera worked at DynCorp for about 13 years and made $250,000 a year, according to court records, before starting his own security firm. Before becoming a government contractor, he served in the U.S. Army for nine years and as a D.C. police officer for 11.

An attorney for Rivera declined to comment after sentencing.
Antina Cindette Pratt, 40, shown in an undated family photo. She was found fatally stabbed Nov. 8, 2016. (Photo from Pratt's sister Alecia McDonald) (Courtesy of Aleda McDonald/Family photo)

Police searching for the killer of a woman stabbed and left in the woods near her home in Southeast Washington in November arrested a suspect Wednesday after matching his DNA to evidence at the crime scene, according to court documents.

Police said it appears that Antina Cindette Pratt fought back as she was stabbed 29 times in the head, neck, chest and back, and that DNA was from the fingernail clippings of her right hand. The DNA later was linked to the suspect, Elliott Avery Starks, according to the documents. His DNA was on file from a previous felony conviction.

Authorities also disclosed that Starks reportedly told detectives he had been in an intimate relationship with Pratt, who was 40, and that he had supplied her with heroin. The two lived in different buildings in the same apartment complex on Pomeroy Road, where Pratt resided with another man. Police said Pratt and Starks exchanged 65 phone calls in the 30 days before her death.

Starks, 34, adamantly denied killing Pratt , the court document says. Police did not comment on a possible motive, and none was listed in the nine-page arrest warrant application filed in D.C. Superior Court on Thursday.

[Victims sister on campaign to find killer]

But the newly released information, showing the suspect apparently knew Pratt, provides Pratts family with some answers they said they have been seeking in the past 11 months.

Starks had been sought by D.C. police and the FBI on an arrest warrant for nearly a year.

He was arrested on a first-degree murder charge. On Thursday, a judge ordered Starks detained until his next court hearing Nov. 9. His attorney with the Public Defender Service did not respond to an interview request.

Pratts body was found the afternoon of Nov. 8 near the Wellington Park apartments. Her body was in a ditch and heavy brush along the Suitland Parkway-Buena Vista Bike Trail, off the 2600 block of Pomeroy Road SE. Police said her unzipped turquoise backpack with its contents scattered was found near her body.

Authorities said Pratt had many wounds that indicated she had tried to defend herself and may have struggled with her attacker, which the court document states helped police make an arrest through the DNA the struggle left behind.

Police said surveillance video captured Pratt appearing to meet with a man in the apartment complex parking lot the night of Nov. 7. The video shows them walking together along Pomeroy Road until the man entered on to the bike trail first, followed closely by Pratt.

[Police arrest suspect in killing after 11 month manhunt]

Less than a half-hour later, video shows the man coming out of the woods. Pratt, the court documents state, never emerges from the darkness.

The court documents quote Starks telling detectives he started his relationship with Pratt in September 2016.

In June of that year, Starks had been released from prison after serving 16 years for killing a man at the same apartment complex on Pomeroy Road. He was 16 when, in 1999, he shot the unarmed victim in the head during a dispute between two families in a crowded hallway, according to court documents. He was charged as an adult, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 14 to 42 years in prison.
More than eight years after Pamela Butler disappeared from her D.C. home, her onetime boyfriend has admitted that he strangled her, disposed of her body and tried to hide evidence at the crime scene.

Jose Angel Rodriguez-Cruz, 52, pleaded guilty Friday to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. For the plea agreement to be finalized, he must lead authorities to the area where he hid Butlers body.

Butlers family members, who had long suspected Rodriguez-Cruz was the killer, said they are now focused on recovering their loved ones remains.

If he doesnt get any time, were fine with that  we just want the body, said Butlers brother Derrick, 54.

Outside the courtroom, Butlers 85-year-old mother, Thelma, said that she was trying to remain strong and that the plea agreement was just a start.



Thelma Butler and her son, Derrick Butler, in Thelma's Washington home in 2009. (Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

We just want to give her a proper burial so we can put some closure to this, she said.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Hiram Puig-Lugo reminded Rodriguez-Cruz that if he does not show a good-faith effort in helping authorities locate Butlers remains, the agreement would be voided. If that happened, Rodriguez-Cruz would face a charge of first-degree murder.

[D.C. police believe theyve solved 8-year murder mystery]

Butler, a 47-year-old computer analyst for the Environmental Protection Agency, disappeared from her Northwest Washington home the day before Valentines Day in 2009. Security cameras had captured images of her and Rodriguez-Cruz shortly before she went missing, and he quickly became the main suspect.

But it was not until this year that police had the evidence to make an arrest, based partly on what authorities said was Rodriguez-Cruzs history of violence toward women. D.C. authorities have said in court documents that his former wife, Marta Rodriguez, went missing in 1989 in Arlington and has never been found.

In court Friday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah Sines said Rodriguez-Cruz described for authorities the final moments of Butlers life, bringing some answers to the long-enduring mystery of what happened in the victims home that February.

Rodriguez-Cruz said he and Butler got into a fight in her home on Feb. 13, 2009, arguing over his lack of a job, according to the prosecutor. He said he punched Butler in the face and she fell to the floor. Then Rodriguez-Cruz climbed atop her and strangled her.

The following morning, Rodriguez-Cruz said, he turned the motion-sensor lights off outside the house and dropped Butlers body out a first-floor window. He moved the body to his car and disposed of it before returning to the home to get rid of her phone and taking some other items.

Puig-Lugo asked Rodriguez-Cruz whether the prosecutors account was correct.

Yes, Rodriguez-Cruz said, standing next to his public defender.

In an interview with The Washington Post in 2009, when he was the prime suspect in the case, Rodriguez-Cruz denied harming Butler. He said the two had met through the online dating service eHarmony five months before she vanished.

A former military police officer, 5-foot-9 and stoutly built, Rodriguez-Cruz was living in Alexandria at the time and working as an office manager at a health clinic. In court Friday, Rodriguez-Cruz looked slight and haggard, a stark contrast to his appearance earlier this year.

[D.C. womans disappearance leaves a trail with no end]

Family and friends had described Butler as highly organized in her personal and professional life. Her home was always meticulously neat, and one of her colleagues at the EPA described her office as being like Good Housekeeping.

Butler also was conscious of her security, equipping her two-story house with an array of external surveillance cameras.

After she disappeared, relatives and police examined stored video from the cameras. Butler was seen arriving home on the night of Feb. 13. Rodriguez-Cruz was waiting outside for her, and the two entered the house together. At 9:48 p.m., Butler was seen again on the video, leaning out the front door to get her mail from the box.

The video showed Rodriguez-Cruz leaving the house about 11:30 p.m. But there was no video of Butler ever leaving.

After family members arrived at the house on Feb. 17, they noticed several small things amiss, including one that especially worried them: The blinds on a window leading to a side yard were open, and the window was unlocked. They said Butler would never have gone out leaving the window that way.

Butlers disappearance and likely slaying remained a cold case for more than eight years, until a D.C. police homicide detective, Michael Fulton, took a closer look in February around the anniversary of Butlers disappearance.

According court documents, Fulton located a witness who revealed new details about Rodriguez-Cruz.

The witness said that he had once seen Rodriguez-Cruz hold a gun to the head of a woman to whom he had been married as she begged for her life. The witness added that 22 years ago, he had found a letter that Rodriguez-Cruz wrote, admitting he was responsible for the disappearance of that woman. Fulton was suddenly searching not for one missing woman but two.

The witness who found the letter told police that he returned it to Rodriguez-Cruz and never saw it again. According to the affidavit, it read in part, I Jose Angel Rodriguez Cruz am responsible for Martas disappearance.

Marta Rodriguez, Rodriguez-Cruzs wife, was a 26-year-old nurse aide living in Arlington County when she vanished in 1989.

No one has been charged in Rodriguezs disappearance. Deputy Chief Daniel J. Murray of the Arlington police on Friday said there is an active missing-person case being handled by the cold-case squad.

Police had cleared the case in 2001 because authorities in Florida found a person who they then believed was Rodriguez living in the state. But this year, when the Butler case was reopened, detectives learned that the woman living under than name was actually an associate of Rodriguez-Cruz falsely using his wifes identity.

Sines said Rodriguez-Cruz is expected to be released briefly from jail to meet with D.C. homicide detectives to direct them to Butlers remains.

Derrick Butler said his family has experienced years of tumult as they searched for his missing sister and then finally had her legally declared dead. He said his mother has long kept an empty urn for cremated remains at her house, waiting for her daughter's ashes.

Derrick Butler said the years since his sister vanished have been agonizing.

Up and down. I mean, emotions all over the place, he said. From one moment to the next, you never know how youre going to feel. And Im just glad were coming to the end of it now.

Rachel Weiner contributed to this report.
In the wake of the Las Vegas massacre, Republicans on Capitol Hill have shown deep reluctance to consider any gun legislation, worried that Democrats will use the shooting as a pretext to restrict law-abiding citizens Second Amendment rights.

This reluctance is understandable, particularly in the wake of the near-instantaneous effort by some Democrats to politicize this tragedy. But it is a mistake. The Las Vegas attack exposed a gaping hole in the existing and widely supported automatic-weapons banand Republicans can easily close it without infringing on constitutional rights.

Law enforcement authorities have confirmed that the shooter, Stephen Paddock, had 12 weapons in his hotel room fitted with bump-fire stocks, devices that effectively turn semiautomatic rifles into machine guns. Under current law, machine gunsweapons that fire multiple rounds with a single trigger pullare almost completely banned in the United States, as are devices that convert rifles to do so. Bump-fire stocks get around this ban by using the guns recoil to repeatedly bump the weapon back into the shooters trigger finger, creating an automatic effect. As Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Jill Snyder explained, Bump-fire stocks, while simulating automatic fire, do not actually alter the firearm to fire automatically, making them legal under current federal law.

Republicans should immediately announce their intention to pass legislation banning such devices.

A ban on bump-fire stocks and similar devices would not infringe on gun rights. Automatic weapons are already banned as part of the 1986 Firearms Owners Protection Act, signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. Bump-fire stocks are designed to circumvent a ban that Republicans already are on record supporting. Closing this loophole does not restrict gun rights; it simply comports with the intent of existing firearms laws.

This is an opportunity for bipartisanship. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and 33 Senate Democrats have introduced the Automatic Gun Fire Prevention Act, a bill to close a loophole that allows semi-automatic weapons to be easily modified to fire at the rate of automatic weapons. The Feinstein bill would ban the sale, transfer, importation, manufacture or possession of bump stocks, trigger cranks and similar accessories that accelerate a semi-automatic rifles rate of fire and makes clear that its intent is to target only those accessories that increase a semi-automatic rifles rate of fire.

So far not one Republican has co-sponsored the bill. Some, such asHouse Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas and Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the third-ranking Senate Republican, have expressed interest in learning more about the issue. Others have dismissed it outright. Im a Second Amendment man, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., declared. Im not for any gun control, okay? None.

This is a mistake. Republicans should join Feinstein to solve this problem. They should ensure that there is clear language in the bill to prevent the ATF from reclassifying semiautomatic weapons as machine guns so that it does not become a backdoor effort to ban currently lawful weapons. Then they should then make it Feinsteins job to rally her caucus to support the effort and not blow it up with more expansive legislation restricting Second Amendment rights. If Democrats then insist on more, it means they want to politicize the issue more than to arrive at a solution.

There is so little we agree on these days, but this is a chance for both parties to come together on something that most Americans would likely supportincluding the vast majority of gun owners. Some Republicans might oppose such a ban because they actually do not support the automatic weapons ban itself. Fair enough. But that battle was lost more than three decades ago. The ban is the law of the land. It has broad public support, including from the National Rifle Association. Opposing the closure of a loophole that was just used to massacre at least 58 Americans and injure hundreds more is the very definition of a losing battle. The Democrats principal talking point is that Republicans refuse to take even the most common-sense measures to reduce gun violence in the United States. If the GOP cant take this common-sense step, the party will be proving its critics right.

Would a bump stock ban have prevented or lessened the tragedy in Las Vegas? Well never know for sure. We do know that the automatic-weapons ban has largely worked. Paddock needed these devices to create a simulated machine gun because he was likely unable to obtain a real machine gun. So lets agree to make it harder to obtain simulated machine guns as well.

If we can ban a tool of mass murder without infringing on the gun rights of lawful citizens, we should join together and do so. Those who died in Las Vegas at the hands of a gunman using such a tool deserve no less.
Montgomery County detectives arrested Roy Andres Simmons III on charges he inappropriately touched a 10-year-old girl at a Potomac after school program in 2016. (Montgomery County police)

A former paraeducator and after-school program employee turned himself into Montgomery County police Thursday to face charges that he inappropriately touched a 10-year-old girl at a Potomac elementary school in November 2016, officials said.

County police arrested and charged Roy Andres Simmons III, 41, with one count of fourth-degree sex offense and one count of second-degree assault, officials said in a statement.

Police said Simmons, who lives in the 9500 block of Bell Vernon Place in Gaithersburg, worked for a company called Kids Adventures, which ran a program at the victims school, Carderock Elementary and a school official said he also worked part-time for the county in the school.

The investigation began in May, when the victim told police she was touched at an after-school event where Simmons was a group leader for the company last fall. The touching happened while the victim was separated from other students, police said.

Officials said Simmons admitted to the inappropriate contact during a police interview.

In a letter, school principal Jae W. Lee said that Simmons was known as Andy when he worked at Carderock Elementary as a part-time paraeducator for the school system and for Kids Adventures after school.

Mr. Simmons was immediately terminated from [Montgomery County Public Schools] after allegations were shared with the school, Lee wrote. These charges are deeply concerning and wholly unacceptable.

Detectives obtained an arrest warrant Tuesday and he turned himself in Thursday, officials said.

Police are investigating whether Simmons touched any other students. Both police and school officials urge parents of children who may have had contact with Simmons to speak with their children and to call police at 240-773-5400, if they believe their child was victimized.
When does D.C.s good reason requirement no longer apply to people seeking a concealed carry permit?

As soon as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issues a formal order enforcing its ruling, the requirement disappears. That could happen as soon as Friday or in the next few days.

Where do I apply for a permit and what does it cost?

At D.C. police headquarters in the Firearms Registration Section, 300 Indiana Ave. NW, Room 3058. The application fee is $75, plus another $35 if your fingerprints are not already on file.

What do I need to do and show to get one?

D.C. requires permit holders to complete at least 16 hours of firearms safety training and at least two hours of range training. There is an extensive criminal background check, applicants are photographed and must submit fingerprints at the police department among other requirements.

How long does it take to process a permit and get it to me?

The police department website says applications will typically be approved or denied within 90 days, but it can take longer if a more extensive investigation is needed.

If I have a concealed-carry permit from another jurisdiction, does it transfer?

No. Even if you have a permit from another state, you still have to submit a new application to possess a gun in the District and to carry in public.

If I get the permit, can I carry a concealed weapon anywhere in public in D. C.?

No. There is a long list of locations where people are prohibited from carrying guns, including on public transportation, at Metro stations, on the Mall, in the area of the White House, the U.S. Capitol, at public and private schools, stadiums and in D.C. government buildings.

What about carrying on private property?

It is legal to carry on private commercial property, like restaurants and stores, unless the owners have posted signs prohibiting guns. In churches or private homes, however, carrying is illegal unless the institution or homeowner has given permission in advance of entry.

What if I applied under the old law and was rejected because I did not demonstrate a good reason?

You have to reapply, but you will not have to pay the $75 fee again.

What if I still have more questions?

For more answers, go to bit.ly/dc_pistol_license .
UltraViolet, a womens advocacy organization, shows the Access Hollywood footage on a nonstop loop on a giant screen near the White House. (Perry Stein/The Washington Post)

A womens advocacy group was playing the lewd Access Hollywood video of President Trump on a large screen Friday on the Mall. On repeat. Again and Again. For 12 hours straight.

The demonstration came the day before the first anniversary of when The Washington Post released the explosive footage showing Trump in 2005 bragging in vulgar terms about kissing, groping and trying to have sex with women. The previously unaired footage was released Oct. 7, 2016, when Trump was the Republican presidential nominee.

[Trump recorded having extremely lewd conversation about women in 2005]

At one point in the video, Trump says, Grab them by the p---y and when youre a star, they let you do it.

UltraViolet, which says its goal is to fight sexism, organized the demonstration. The group rented a truck and a screen measuring about 10-by-16 feet to air the footage  which includes sound and subtitles  in front of the Washington Monument. While viewing the screen from the monument grounds, the White House can be seen in the background.

We wanted to play the tape on loop to remind the people who the president said he is  a proud sexual predator, said Emma Boorboor, a campaign director for UltraViolet.

The video began playing on loop about 9 a.m. Friday and was set to stop about 9 p.m.

[This 45-foot statue of a naked woman could be coming to the Mall for four months]

The National Park Service issued permits for the group to bring the equipment to the Mall and play the video, said Mike Litterst, a spokesman for the agency. In its permit, UltraViolet described the video display as a First Amendment demonstration against Trump being a sexual predator.

After the videos release, Trump said in a statement he regretted his foolish words.

Fridays demonstration wasnt appreciated by everyone on the Mall. Parents scurried past the screen so their children wouldnt hear the profanity-laced video. One man questioned how such a setup could be allowed on federal land.

Others stopped to watch the video. Leon and Alisha Porter, who were visiting the nations capital from Ohio, stopped briefly and said they thought it was great that the advocacy group was showing it so prominently.

Its a good way to shed light on sexual harassment and sexual exploitation, especially in the shadows of George Washingtons monument, Alisha Porter said.

UltraViolet also hosted a small protest Friday in front of the White House to bring attention to sexual violence against woman. Rallygoers held a banner that said Grab Back. Stop Rape Culture. Stop Trump. One participant held a sign that said Oust the Predator-in-Chief.

Sexual assault victims who spoke at the rally said Trump has pushed an agenda that's hostile toward women, citing his administration rolling back Obama-era guidance on how colleges and universities should respond to sexual violence.

The Trump administration issued a rule Friday that would sharply limit the Affordable Care Act's contraception coverage mandate.

Donald Trump is actively pursuing an anti-woman agenda, said Raquel Jackson-Stone, a community organizer in the District. Were out here to say women are here, were fighting back.
The Metro board came under assault from two sides as Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) called on board Chairman Jack Evans to resign on Friday, a day after former U.S. transportation secretary Ray LaHood urged replacing the 16-member body because of a need for new blood, new thinking.

Hogan and Evans have been at odds for more than a year over both policy disputes and Evanss outspoken rhetoric, which Hogans spokeswoman labeled as juvenile outbursts.

The governors office urged the chairmans resignation in a two-sentence, written statement when asked for a routine response to the LaHood plan to replace the Metro board with a temporary, five-member reform body.

As the governor has said, he is open to reforming the [Metro] board, said Amelia Chasse, Hogans deputy communications director.

In the meantime, Jack Evans stepping down would be a great place to start given his continued juvenile outbursts that have been getting in the way of progress for a long time, she said.

[Virginia to Metro board members: Shut up and let GM Wiedefeld do the talking.]

The resignation call came after LaHood made a strong pitch Thursday night for a temporary reform board to oversee Metro as a way to end infighting among jurisdictions and rein in the agencys long-term pension and benefit costs.

Previewing a much-anticipated report that he will issue later this month, LaHood defended his plan before an openly skeptical group of Northern Virginia officials, including several Metro board members who would lose their positions under his proposals.

I know when you make a recommendation like Im making, youre bound to offend somebody, LaHood said. But he said radical action is necessary to restore confidence in Metro and win political support for additional funding.

We need new blood, new thinking, new direction from people who dont have parochial interests, LaHood said at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission.

[McAuliffe, Hogan, Bowser agree with LaHood that Metro board should shrink.]

The one-two punch from LaHood and Hogan seemed likely to plunge the region into an intense debate over changing the board.

Evans and other officials, including Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sharon Bulova (D), expressed concern that a dispute over governance would delay efforts to find an extra $500 million a year that Metro says it needs for safety and reliability.

Chasse, asked for examples of what she called Evans's "outbursts," pointed to a statement by Evans in November that Hogan's resistance to increased funding meant the governor was "starving" the transit system and "doesn't really care about Metro."

Chasse also cited a clash that Evans had with Virginia leaders after he endorsed a suggestion to save money for Metro by canceling the second phase of extending the Silver Line to Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County.

Finally, she cited a call that Evans made Friday to Virginias lieutenant governor, Ralph Northam (D), while Northam was taking calls during a radio appearance on The Kojo Nnamdi Show on WAMU 88.5 FM.

Evans asked Northam, who is running for governor, whether he would support a penny-per-dollar regionwide sales tax to fund Metro, which Evans described as the only option for the transit agency. Northam said he supported dedicated funding for Metro but said there are other options.

Hogan has also clashed with Evans over the sales tax proposal, which Hogan opposes.

Evans, who is also a Democratic D.C. Council member, representing Ward 2, said he had no intention of resigning, not today, anyway. He said he was at odds with Hogan and others because of his repeated, strongly worded statements that the region was not acting quickly enough to raise additional funds for Metro.

I think what is off-putting to everyone who listens is they dont want to hear what Im saying, he said.

[Virginia Gov. McAuliffe taps Ray LaHood to head panel to study Metro.]

Hogan recently proposed a plan to raise an additional $2 billion for Metro over four years with equal contributions from Maryland, Virginia, the District and the federal government. Evans and others have welcomed Marylands willingness to contribute more, but said Hogans proposal does not provide a permanent, dedicated funding source that Metro needs.

Earlier, Northern Virginia officials objected to LaHoods proposal thatFairfax, Arlington and Alexandria would all lose direct representation on the Metro board  at least for the three years that the reform board would be in place.

Under the LaHood plan, the Virginia governor would appoint the states only board member. The Maryland governor, the Districts mayor and the U.S. transportation secretary would each also appoint one member, and those four would select a fifth person to be chairman.

The Northern Virginia officials argued that they should not lose board representation, given that their local jurisdictions  not the state  contribute much of Virginias funding for Metro.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) appointed LaHood in March to try to forge a regional agreement on reforming Metros governance and raising additional funds.

[Va. Gov. McAuliffe to propose dedicated funding for Metro before he leaves office.]

LaHood wants to overhaul the board both by shrinking it and barring elected officials from serving on it.

The commission members who heard LaHoods presentation Thursday included three board members who are elected officials: Fairfax Supervisor Catherine M. Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill), Arlington Board member Christian Dorsey (D) and Alexandria Council member Paul C. Smedberg (D).

LaHood said that one reason for barring elected officials would be to have members who are willing to make unpopular decisions  such as restraining growth of pensions and benefits.

Under the current board, its impossible to get at legacy costs, he said.
A contractor walks to cut down a tree and clear out space along the Georgetown Branch Trail last month to make way for the Purple Line. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

Motorists in the Maryland suburbs are about to feel the pain of lane closures and even more traffic tie-ups than normal as 13 miles of some of the areas most congested roads are ripped up to build the Purple Line.

Project officials are implementing a maintenance of traffic plan several years in the making that details when and where roads will be narrowed or closed during four to five years of light-rail construction. A synopsis of the plan provided to The Washington Post shows that tens of thousands of motorists will lose lanes on almost every major road along or across the rail alignment between Montgomery and Prince Georges counties at some point.

Intermittent lane closures for tree-cutting have started and will become widespread by early next year, when workers will begin moving utility lines. The enormous construction site will span some of the most densely populated Washington suburbs inside the Capital Beltway.

[What you need to know about the Purple Lines construction]

Theres obviously a lot of challenges being that youre building where people live and work and are walking through a construction site, said Carla Julian, a spokeswoman for Purple Line Transit Partners, a team of companies building the line as part of a public-private partnership with the Maryland Transit Administration.

It takes an immense amount of planning to keep pedestrians and cars moving safely, Julian said. Its going to take some getting used to.

Construction will occur simultaneously along the entire 16-mile alignment between Bethesda in Montgomery County and New Carrollton in Prince Georges County, Julian said.

Because the western three-mile segment will be built along the closed Georgetown Branch recreational trail, most of the traffic effects will be felt in and east of downtown Silver Spring.

Motorists will have to navigate construction zones both on the mostly east-west roads that will carry trains, as well as the north-south roads that will cross the line.

The major roads affected include Connecticut Avenue, 16th Street, Colesville Road, University Boulevard, Baltimore Avenue (Route 1), East-West Highway (Route 410)/Riverdale Road, and Veterans Parkway. Most will have periodic lane closures, either to build Purple Line bridges over them or to install tracks in new pavement.

[Montgomery leaders ask Purple Line project team to work with neighbors]

One particularly tricky area will be Georgia Avenue near Bonifant Street in downtown Silver Spring, where lanes will be closed and traffic shifted to rebuild the intersection.

That Georgia Avenue piece is going to be challenging, Julian said. There are so many cars on that road, and it will be a big work zone there.

Three roads  Plymouth and Arliss streets in Silver Spring and parts of Ellin Road in New Carrollton  will be closed for much of the next several years. Bridges will be closed and rebuilt over the CSX railroad tracks on Lyttonsville Place in Lyttonsville and on Spring Street near 16th Street in Silver Spring.

In downtown Bethesda, part of Elm Street off Wisconsin Avenue closed recently to build an elevator connection between the street-level Purple Line and the underground Metro Red Line station.

Campus Drive on the University of Maryland campus could close during some summer months, according to the plan.

Residents and businesses will maintain access to driveways even when streets are closed, Julian said.

In Riverdale, John Arrington said he and other residents are bracing for longer backups on Riverdale Road (Route 410). He said single lanes that have been closed for an hour or two for early utility work and soil borings created traffic jams that left motorists waiting through two to three cycles of the light to clear intersections.

Arrington, president of the Eastpines Citizens Association, said he and many other residents are looking forward to one day riding the Purple Line. But now, he said, People are scared of the construction and the disruptions.

[Small business owners in Purple Lines path worry about having to move]

Some business owners say theyre worried that snarled traffic will mean fewer customers.

Abeba Tsegaye said she and her sister, Lene, have noticed business drop off even with minor street construction outside Kefa Cafe, their Silver Spring coffee shop. Losing street parking and having Purple Line construction outside their front door on Bonifant Street for 18 months has them worried it will kill the business.

I dont want to be negative because in the end [the Purple Line] might be a good thing, Abeba Tsegaye said. But until then, its going to be crazy and will really affect smaller businesses like us.

Although the $2.4 billion Purple Line is a state project, local officials say they'll keep an eye on the traffic effects.

Tim Cupples, who is overseeing Purple Line construction for Montgomery County, said the countys traffic management center will tweak traffic signal timing to try to keep traffic moving and will keep tabs on traffic cutting through neighborhoods.

Like any major construction project, we realize there are going to be some inconveniences and some severe impacts on residents, said Esther Bowring, spokeswoman for the Montgomery transportation department. But we hope the long-term benefits of this project are going to outweigh those concerns.

The major impacts in the traffic plan are scheduled to be posted on the project website, purplelinemd.com, in the next two weeks, Julian said. Motorists and residents also can sign up to receive construction notices on the website, under the "construction" tab.

This story has been updated.
Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor Justin Fairfax speaks during a debate Thursday with Republican Virginia state Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, right, at the University of Richmond. (Steve Helber/AP)

The candidates for Virginia lieutenant governor sparred sharply in a Thursday night debate on guns, abortion and the economy, with each accusing the other of occupying extreme positions that would threaten the commonwealth's future.

State Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel (R-Fauquier) said Democrat Justin Fairfaxs support for a $15-an-hour minimum wage would stifle the states economy, which she said was already sputtering under outgoing Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D).

Fairfax, touting an announcement earlier in the day that Facebook would invest $1 billion in a Richmond-area data center, said Vogel would scare off new businesses with her hard-line stance on abortion.

Vogel said Fairfax, a former federal prosecutor, held positions on health care that are to the left of his Democratic ticketmates: Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, who is running for governor, and Attorney General Mark R. Herring, who is seeking reelection.

Fairfax said Vogel was to the right of the National Rifle Association, which earlier in the day unexpectedly came out in favor of restrictions on "bump stocks," devices that allow a semiautomatic rifle to mimic the rapid discharge of a fully automatic weapon.

[NRA support for restricting bump stocks reflects impact of Las Vegas massacre]

Bob Holsworth, a moderator at the hour-long debate at the University of Richmonds School of Law, kicked things off with a question about guns, an issue that he said took on new urgency after a shooting in Las Vegas left 58 concertgoers dead and hundreds injured.

Holsworth noted that Vogels website boasts she introduced more pro-gun legislation than any other senator. He asked if after Las Vegas, she saw the need for stricter gun laws, including restrictions on bump stocks.

In 2012, after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, Vogel said she questioned whether certain weapons should be in the hands of ordinary citizens. But she later dismissed her remarks as a momentary, emotional reaction, and reverted to her staunch pro-gun stance.

There was no wavering this time.

Im not running for lieutenant governor to take anybodys rights away, Vogel said.

She called the shooting a tragedy but also said it was too soon to draw conclusions about what might have prevented it. Mental-health issues might have contributed to it, she said.

View Graphic The latest stories and details on the 2017 Virginia general election and race for governor.

She also argued that stricter gun laws enacted during the Clinton administration did not reduce gun violence and said tighter rules could make it harder for victims of crimes  such as women facing domestic abuse  to protect themselves.

All it does is take guns away from the people who are victims, she said.

Holsworth asked Fairfax about his support for a higher minimum wage, noting a recent University of Washington study that found low-wage workers in Seattle saw their hours trimmed and pay dip after that city imposed a $13-an-hour floor.

Fairfax said another study came to a different conclusion. He also said that given how reliant the economy is on consumer spending, higher wages would be a boost. At the same time, he talked up community college training programs as a means of lifting workers into middle-skill jobs.

You have to give people means to have economic mobility, he said.

Vogel and Fairfax also tangled over abortion. Vogel, a state senator, sponsored a 2012 bill that would have required most women who get abortions to first undergo a vaginal ultrasound.

Fairfax said the measure, lampooned nationwide, had made Virginia a national laughingstock and was meant to shame women who were having abortions. Vogel said the bill would only have codified what was already standard medical procedure.
Annette Antwi, right, of Newark holds balloons while celebrating her birthday in front of a fountain at Branch Brook Park during an outing with her brother Kenneth Antwi. (Julio Cortez/Associated Press)

CALIFORNIA

Brown signs into law immigrant protections

California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed sanctuary state legislation Thursday that extends protections for immigrants living in the United States illegally  a move that gives the nations most populous state another tool to fight President Trump.

Browns signature means that police will be barred from asking people about their immigration status or participating in federal immigration enforcement activities starting Jan. 1. Jail officials will be allowed to transfer inmates to federal immigration authorities only if they have been convicted of certain crimes.

It was one of several immigration-focused bills that Brown signed Thursday, which was also the final day for young immigrants to renew their permits under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that protects them from deportation. Trump intends to end the program if Congress doesnt act on it.

California is home to an estimated 2.3 million immigrants without legal authorization.

The Trump administration said the sanctuary state bill will make California more dangerous. The state has now codified a commitment to returning criminal aliens back onto our streets, which undermines public safety, national security, and law enforcement, Devin OMalley, a spokesman for the Justice Department, said in a statement.

The measure came in response to widespread fear in immigrant communities after Trumps election. He promised to sharply ramp up the deportation of people living in the United States illegally.

 Associated Press

ALABAMA

Last-minute delay for inmates execution

A federal judge halted the execution of an Alabama inmate just hours before he was to be put to death.

Chief U.S. District Judge Keith Watkins on Thursday stayed the execution of Jeffery Lynn Borden, 56. The reprieve came about four hours before Borden was set to be given a lethal injection at a southwest Alabama prison.

Watkins noted that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit this month ordered additional proceedings in Bordens challenge to the humaneness of the states lethal injection process. The Alabama attorney generals office said it would not appeal the stay.

Borden was convicted of killing his estranged wife, Cheryl Borden, and her father, Roland Harris, during a 1993 Christmas Eve gathering.

 Associated Press

Woman charged with leaking secrets is denied bail: A federal judge has ruled that a woman charged with leaking U.S. secrets will remain jailed until her trial. U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian K. Epps in Augusta, Ga., ruled Thursday that releasing Reality Winner, 25, on bail would pose an "ongoing risk to national security." Winner is a former Air Force linguist who worked as a contractor for the National Security Agency in Augusta when she was charged in June with leaking a classified U.S. report to a news organization.

 From news services
An unusual ripple effect of the mass shooting that left 58 people dead and hundreds wounded along the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday is that it could have implications for a high-profile federal trial that is set to begin here next week  a case that also involves weapons.

A Montana militiaman who is accused of weapons charges and conspiring against the U.S. government asked a federal judge this week to delay his trial by 60 days because of the Las Vegas shooting. The charges against Ryan Payne stem from the 2014 Bundy ranch standoff in Bunkerville, Nev., and the trial is slated to start with jury selection Oct. 12.

On Thursday, Paynes attorneys filed an additional motion, seeking to move the trial out of Las Vegas and to a different venue nearly 450 miles away: the federal courthouse in Reno, Nev. They argued that it would be impossible to seat a fair jury in light of the gun-related massacre.

In Reno, the jury pool will not include an overwhelming number of persons who personally know victims or survivors, Paynes attorneys wrote. A jury pool from the Las Vegas area, they argued, will find it impossible to put the events of Oct. 1 out of their memory any time in the near future.

Ammon Bundy, also charged in the case, filed a similar motion Friday seeking to join the request to delay and move the trial.



Aleca King, 42, of Las Vegas, stops to pay tribute at a vigil along Las Vegas Boulevard near the Mandalay Bay hotel Wednesday. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post)

The judge Friday evening agreed to move the trial to Oct. 30, according to an attorney for Payne.

[From the archives: In the Nevada desert, Bundy family warns of another standoff]

Investigators are still examining evidence in the Mandalay Bay hotel room that Stephen Paddock used to fire upon a country music festival, and wounded victims and their families are still in Las Vegas as people begin to recover. More than two dozen of the wounded remain in critical condition at area hospitals.

Attorneys for Payne filed a first motion Monday  hours after the shooting  asking for a continuance because of the slayings.

Las Vegas is in mourning, the motion read. The tragedy has affected the daily lives of every resident in this city. Thousands of people have lost friends and loved ones. This is not the time to pick a jury and commence a trial in this case.

The court case emerged from events in April 2014, when Payne and hundreds of other people gathered at the Bundy family ranch to protest what they called overreach by the federal government. Cliven Bundy, an elderly rancher, had refused to pay grazing fees to the Bureau of Land Management for two decades. And when officers came to impound his cattle, he and his supporters put out a call for reinforcements.

People from all corners of the country rushed to his defense, some on horseback, some carrying American flags, some wearing camouflage and flak jackets.



A police officer is seen outside of the Mandalay Bay hotel Wednesday. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post)

And they carried guns. In photos from the standoff, men stood sentry on a nearby overpass, looking down the scopes of rifles pointed at those agents.

[From the archives: The long fight between the Bundys and the federal government, from 1989 to today]

Now, with jury selection set to begin, Paynes attorneys are arguing that it is too soon for residents in Las Vegas to be unbiased in a trial that will heavily discuss the presence of firearms at the 2014 standoff.

The shooting has immediately led to a discussion about guns, with much negative attention focused on a perceived laxity of gun laws and on persons who choose to bear and carry high-powered firearms, as is legal in Nevada, the motion reads.

Payne was not the only defendant worried about the mood in the city after the shooting. On Tuesday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that co-

defendant Peter Santilli, who says he was acting as a reporter at the Bundy ranch incident, accepted a plea deal in the case.

One of the reasons he took the deal is because of the events that happened at Mandalay Bay, his attorney, Chris Rasmussen, told the newspaper. The shooting made him realize that this is a difficult case in trying to defend Second Amendment rights, and after the shooting its going be onerous, or very difficult. People arent going to be in the mood to hear about gunmen. . . . He knows that this isnt a time to be talking about the Second Amendment. Its kind of offensive.

On a bright spring day in 2014, when federal agents came to round up Bundys cattle, they faced a crowd of hundreds of angry protesters in a dusty desert wash. Some simply stood and shouted at the agents; others stood sentry on a nearby overpass, armed with sniper rifles.

The federal government, in its indictment, alleges that Payne, Santilli and several others led a conspiracy against federal agents, recruited gunmen, organized gunmen and led the armed assault on federal officers at the Impoundment Site.

Although no shots were fired during the 2014 incident, Paynes defense says that jurors inevitably will see the presence of rifles and other weapons differently because of Sundays mass shooting, and that that could lead to bias and an unfair trial.

Attorneys for Payne declined to comment beyond what is in the motion.

Paynes motion clearly states that he and other defendants have nothing to do with this act of mass murder.

Paddocks motive  or any reason at all behind the attack  remains elusive, although it is clear that he planned it out, shuttling nearly two dozen weapons into his room at the Mandalay and setting up video surveillance of the hallway outside the doors. His relatives have said they did not know Paddock to have any strong religious or political views, and his girlfriend said she had no indication he was planning any kind of violence.

[Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddocks motive still a mystery]

For the deadliest mass shooting in American history to go down without any indication about what this guy is about is very peculiar, said Ryan Lenz, a senior investigative reporter for the Southern Poverty Law Centers Intelligence Project. Whats even more confounding is theres no evidence to suggest its tied to any particular ideology, which puts journalists and researchers in a very peculiar place. Is this really an instance of meaningless violence? Bloodshed for bloodsheds sake?

Lenz says there is no evidence to suggest Paddocks attack had any connection to the upcoming trial or the Bundy familys land-rights cause.

Paddocks home was located in Mesquite, Nev., a city of 18,000 next to tiny Bunkerville. Paddock  like many people in the town  purchased weapons from a store there called Guns & Guitars. At least one gun recovered in the Mandalay Bay hotel room was purchased there.

Jonathon Speece, 41, a gunsmith at the store, said he is a close friend of the Bundy family, lives near their ranch and has helped out around the property. Speece also has helped organize protests against the treatment of the Bundy family and their pretrial detention.

Speece said he interacted with Paddock casually at the store but said Paddock had no connection with the trial or the Bundy family.

He had absolutely no ties with the Bundys, Speece said. He never made any inquiries about them, he never visited them  nothing like that.

The Bundy ranch trial slated to start next week will be the third of its kind this year. A spring trial for a group of defendants resulted in a mistrial, while a second resulted in mostly acquittals.

Sottile reported from Portland, Ore., and Sullivan from Las Vegas and Mesquite, Nev. Julie Tate in Washington contributed to this report.
PAKISTAN

At least 20 killed in attack on Shiite shrine

A suicide bomber struck a Shiite shrine packed with worshipers in a remote village in southwestern Pakistan on Thursday, killing 20 people and wounding at least 25, a provincial government spokesman and police said.

An affiliate of the Islamic State militant group asserted responsibility for the attack.

The bomber detonated his explosives vest when he was stopped for a routine search by a police officer guarding the shrine in the village of Jhal Magsi, about 240 miles east of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province.

Hundreds of devotees were present at the shrine for a monthly gathering when the bomber hit.

The claim by the Islamic State affiliate in Pakistan came in a statement posted on the Amaq News Agency, which is linked to the militant group.

The Islamic State and other Sunni extremist groups perceive Shiites as apostates who should be killed. The extremists have carried out many such attacks in the past.

 Associated Press

SYRIA

Red Cross voices alarm over damaged hospitals

Intensified fighting in Syria in recent weeks has damaged more hospitals, with at least 10 medical facilities hit in the past 10 days and hundreds of thousands of people cut off from health care, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday.

The escalation in fighting has also forced hundreds of schools across Syria to suspend classes over the past two weeks, Save the Children said.

The violence has been the worst in Syria since government forces captured the rebel-held eastern part of the city of Aleppo in December. The ICRC said there are reports of hundreds of civilian casualties and the destruction of hospitals and schools.

Fighting has been especially heavy in recent weeks in central, northern and eastern Syria between Russian-backed government forces and rival insurgent groups. The violence is also taking place in de-escalation zones that are part of a deal struck between Iran, Turkey and Russia.

The Russian Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said its submarines fired 10 cruise missiles on Thursday at Islamic State positions outside the eastern town of Mayadeen, one of the last major strongholds of the militant group in Syria.

Russia has been a key backer of President Bashar al-Assad and has helped his troops gain significant ground against opposition fighters and militant groups.

 Associated Press

VATICAN

Pope hews to hard line on sex reassignment

Pope Francis denounced Thursday how new technologies are making it easier for people to change their genders, saying this utopia of the neutral jeopardizes the creation of new life.

Francis made the comments to the Pontifical Academy for Life, the Vaticans bioethics advisory board, criticizing gender theory and the idea that people can choose their sex.

The academy under the previous two popes represented the leading, hard-line voice of the Catholic Church on sexual ethics, morality and culture war issues such as abortion and euthanasia. Francis has revamped it to broaden its scope to better reflect his holistic view of human life in concert with creation.

But he kept to the churchs hard line against gender theory in his first meeting with the new members Thursday, lashing out at how todays exaltation of individual choice extends to ones gender thanks to technological advances.

Rather than contrast negative interpretations of sexual differences . . . they want to cancel these differences out altogether, proposing techniques and practices that render them irrelevant for human development and relations, he said.

Such practices, he said, risk dismantling the source of energy that fuels the alliance between men and women and renders them fertile.

 Associated Press

Germany drops probe of alleged U.S., British spying: German prosecutors have closed an investigation into suspected mass phone tapping of German citizens by British and U.S. spies after finding no concrete indication of criminal activity, they said. The spy scandal was triggered by revelations in 2013 that the U.S. National Security Agency had bugged Chancellor Angela Merkel's cellphone. In 2015, further allegations suggested that Germany's BND foreign intelligence agency had helped the NSA spy on European companies and politicians for years.

 From news services
NORTH KOREA

Russian: Long-range missile will be tested

North Korea is preparing to test a long-range missile that it thinks can reach the West Coast of the United States, a Russian lawmaker was quoted as saying Friday.

Anton Morozov, a member of the international affairs committee of Russias lower house of parliament, visited Pyongyang this week along with two other Russian lawmakers, the RIA news agency reported.

They are preparing for new tests of a long-range missile. They even gave us mathematical calculations that they believe prove that their missile can hit the west coast of the United States, RIA quoted Morozov as saying.

In Washington, a U.S. official said there had been indications that North Korea could be preparing for a missile test on or around Oct. 10, the anniversary of the founding of the ruling Korean Workers Party and a day after the Columbus Day holiday in the United States.

The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, did not disclose the type of missile that could be tested and cautioned that North Korea has not always staged launches despite indications that it would.

 Reuters

BRAZIL

Death toll rises to 8 in day-care center attack

The death toll from an arson attack at a day-care center in southeastern Brazil rose to eight Friday as two 4-year-old girls died of burns while being treated in a hospital.

A firefighter in the city of Janauba in Minas Gerais state said by telephone that Cecilia Davina Goncalves Dias and Yasmin Medeiros Salvino died Friday afternoon from burns that covered most of their bodies.

He said 4-year-old Renan Nicolas Santos died Thursday night from burns that covered 90 percent of his body.

The firefighter declined to give his name.

Four other children and a teacher died Thursday when a guard doused the Innocent People day-care center in Janauba with alcohol and set it alight. The guard, who had helped with security at the center since 2008, also died.

Local police chief Bruno Fernandes Barbosa told G1 news that the teacher, 43-year-old Helley Abreu Batista, grappled with the guard in an attempt to save the children.

Her conduct was heroic, he said. She was there to protect all those children.

 Associated Press

CANADA

Indigenous adoptees are to be compensated

Canada said it will compensate indigenous people who were taken from their homes and adopted into non-indigenous families.

Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett announced the settlement Friday in what is known as the Sixties Scoop. Indigenous children were robbed of their cultural identities by being placed with nonnative families by child welfare services during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Many lost touch with their culture and language.

The settlement for an estimated 20,000 people is aimed at resolving numerous related lawsuits. The victims will share $596 million, with individual amounts to be determined later.

 Associated Press

6 killed in Colombia protest over coca removal: At least six farmers protesting the removal of coca crops, the base ingredient in cocaine, were killed during a confrontation in rural southwestern Colombia, President Juan Manuel Santos said. Santos ordered further investigation into the Thursday incident in Narino province, which left 19 people wounded. Farmers accused police and soldiers of firing on civilians to break up the protest.

Storms kill 2 in Poland, raise regional death toll to 9: A heavy storm ravaged parts of western Poland overnight, killing two people and raising the death toll in the region to nine, officials said Friday. High winds also killed seven people in neighboring Germany late Thursday. Tens of thousands of households were without electricity after falling trees broke power lines. The storm also devastated the park of the Habsburg Palace in the town of Zywiec.

 From news services
In Maryland, the majority of severely rent-burdened people are single mothers and overwhelmingly people of color. According to data from the American Community Survey analyzed by Enterprise Community Partners, almost 32 percent of the state's renters are severely housing-cost-burdened, meaning they pay more than 50 percent of their income on rent. (Typically, families pay 30 percent or less on housing costs.) These families are teetering on the line of instability and are just one illness, one unexpected expense, one preschooler getting suspended from school, one missed day of work away from homelessness.

Federal programs such as Housing Choice Vouchers (formerly called Section 8) and low-income housing tax credits were designed to respond to this lingering crisis. The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development administers programs that ensure access to affordable housing, including Partnership Rental Housing and Rental Housing Works. While these innovative programs have had a profound effect, only slightly more than a quarter of eligible very-low-income households have access to affordable housing units. This has left thousands of working families in peril. Waiting lists for vouchers are in the tens of thousands across the state, with seven jurisdictions reporting more than 66,000 families on waiting lists.

Despite the dearth of affordable housing and the affordability crisis, the Trump administration has proposed $173 million in cuts to affordable housing and community development programs in Maryland. Even more confounding is that Maryland law permits discriminatory housing practices.

Under Maryland law, landlords and property owners can discriminate against an individual on the basis of his or her source of income, including money from any lawful employment and any government assistance, such as Housing Choice. This willful blindness to a framework of law perpetuates and excuses discrimination against low-income people. Policies of this ilk hark back to the days of redlining and other methods that prevented people of color and low-income families from gaining access to jobs, good schools and other opportunities vital to upward mobility.

The good news is that jurisdictions such as Montgomery County, Frederick County, Howard County, Frederick and Annapolis have laws that make discrimination based on source of income illegal.

The American Bar Association urges local governments to enact legislation prohibiting discrimination in housing on the basis of lawful source of income.

The trend in housing policy is moving in the right direction across the country. It is time for the Maryland General Assembly to end discrimination based on source of income statewide. The Home Act Coalition, made up of advocacy groups from across the state, has been working on this issue for years.

Following the lead of Del. Stephen W. Lafferty (D-Baltimore County), I served as the lead sponsor in the state Senate of legislation that would help to put Maryland on the right track. Simply put, our legislation, the Home Act, prohibits landlords and other property owners from discrimination against people seeking housing based on their source of income. The House of Delegates passed this legislation in the last session; it's time for the Senate to do the same.

I know people think housing values go down and crime goes up when people who have Housing Choice Vouchers come into a neighborhood. That is absolutely untrue. In fact, a recent University of California at Los Angeles study shows no correlation between Housing Choice Vouchers and crime.

At the very least, sensible implementation of this legislation would ensure that our most vulnerable families have access to communities of opportunity and would help deconcentrate pockets of poverty. If we are intent on doing more than merely preaching the politics of inclusion and have a legitimate interest in providing everyone an equal chance and an unfettered start in life, we have to start implementing meaningful policies with which some may be uncomfortable. Few real solutions come easily.

The writer, a Democrat, represents District 20 in the Maryland Senate.
Andrew Leigh is a member of the Australian Parliament and a former professor of economics at the Australian National University.

Australia experienced its deadliest mass shooting in 1996 after Martin Bryant killed 35 people in and around the Port Arthur tourist site. Twelve days later  before all the victims had been laid to rest  Australia's police ministers met and unanimously agreed on measures to tighten licensing and registration requirements, restrict access to semiautomatic weapons and limit sales.

The national government coordinated a buyback program, which paid market prices for guns that were handed back. Over the next year, more than 600,000 firearms  about one in five of all guns in Australia  were handed into police stations. Given the harrowing loss of life in the United States to gun violence, it's worth understanding the impact of these reforms.

Did the Australian buyback stop gun massacres? Following the tragic mass shooting in Las Vegas this week, some have dismissed Australia's buyback as ineffective, asserting that mass shootings were too rare in Australia prior to the buyback to show any clear evidence of progress.

Alas, that isn't correct. Australia experienced an average of one mass shooting  defined as the killing of five or more victims in one incident  per year in the decade prior to 1996. In the decade after, no mass shootings took place. The chance of this being due to luck alone is less than 1 in 100.

But most gun victims don't die in mass shootings. The person most likely to kill you with a gun is yourself, followed by your spouse and other household members. After the Australian reforms, I set out with Wilfrid Laurier University economist Christine Neill to analyze how the reforms impacted gun homicides and suicides.

We first looked at national trends and found that the rate of gun deaths had been falling for the decades prior to 1996. Time series econometrics suggested that the reforms had caused the death rate to fall a little faster.

In a second study, we then looked across states, to see whether those places where more firearms were bought back also experienced a larger drop in gun deaths. We found a clear pattern: The greatest drop in guns per person occurred in Tasmania, which also saw the biggest fall in firearms suicide. The smallest reduction in the firearms ownership rate was in Canberra, which also saw the smallest drop in the firearms suicide rate. We did not find evidence of an increase in other forms of homicide (such as stabbings) or suicide (such as deliberate overdoses).

Overall, we estimated that the Australian firearms reforms of 1996 save around 200 lives per year. Most of the averted deaths are suicides. Given that the buyback had a one-off cost of around half a billion Australian dollars, this makes it one of the most cost-effective public health measures in Australias history.

At the time that we published our research, I was an economics professor at the Australian National University. Today, I sit in the Australian House as a member of the opposition Labor Party. It isnt in my partisan interest to praise the results of the 1996 reforms; although my party supported them, they would not have happened without the leadership of conservative Prime Minister John Howard and his deputy Tim Fischer. Their reforms saved lives, but they paid an electoral price during the 1998 election, when mainstream conservatives lost ground to far-right populists.

Still, its hard for me to look at the United States today and wonder what might be possible if the Republican Party had some leaders with political courage similar to that of Howard and Fischer.

Australia still has an active shooting culture. My morning run sometimes takes me past both the rifle range and the handgun club. When there are too many kangaroos in the bush behind my house, the government calls in the shooters to cull the numbers.

But what we don't have is a culture in which loaded guns are kept in bedside tables, stowed in gloveboxes and tucked into the waistbands of young men out on a Saturday night. On a per-person basis, the United States has a gun ownership rate that is seven times higher than Australia's and a gun death rate that is 11 times higher.

How did Australia manage to act quickly and save thousands of lives? Leadership.
THE LEADERS of Iraq's Kurdistan region are suffering considerable consequences for their reckless staging of a referendum on independence late last month. The Iraqi government has teamed up with Turkey and Iran to impose tough sanctions, including a ban on international flights from Kurdish airports. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, once a Kurdistan ally, is threatening to shut down an oil pipeline that provides the economically struggling region with much of its revenue. Meanwhile, the United States, long the Kurds' most important ally, has called the referendum illegitimate and done little to stanch the growing backlash.

There is a strong case for self-determination by the Kurds, a distinct nation that suffered genocide at the hands of Saddam Hussein and a long history of discrimination in Turkey, Iran and Syria. For a dozen years, post-Saddam Iraqi governments have disregarded legal obligations to Kurdistan, including the distribution of oil revenues. But Kurdistan Regional Government President Masoud Barzani has given even Kurdistans supporters reason for opposition.

The referendum, which was opposed or only reluctantly accepted by Kurdish forces other than Mr. Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party, was staged largely for political reasons. Mr. Barzani, whose elected term expired four years ago, was seeking a way to revive his domestic support. In recent years he and his party have concentrated power at the expense of what was once regarded as an emerging democracy; in addition to remaining in office after his term expired, Mr. Barzani essentially shut down the parliament. Though a new legislature is supposed to be elected Nov. 1, the presidential election  and Mr. Barzani's long-promised departure from office  has been thrown into doubt by a mysterious absence of candidates.

In going forward with the referendum, Mr. Barzani disregarded the risk of undermining the alliance against the Islamic State and the potential destabilization of the moderate Iraqi government of Haider al-Abadi, who faces reelection next year. He infuriated Mr. Abadi and Mr. Erdogan by, among other things, staging the vote in areas outside the Kurdistan region, including the disputed multiethnic city of Kirkuk. He cruised through the bright red lights flashed by the Trump administration, even though Kurdistan depends heavily on the United States for its military defense.

An administration preoccupied with other foreign problems may now be tempted to let Kurdish leaders endure the results of their folly. Unfortunately, they cannot afford to do so. The United States still depends on Kurdish forces to fight the Islamic State in tandem with the Iraqi army and Shiite militias backed by Iran; the referendum has pushed those uneasy allies close to war with each other. Robust U.S. intervention is now necessary to broker truces between Kurdistan and Baghdad, as well as Ankara. The Kurds should be pressed to forswear any further steps toward independence, and to participate in next years Iraqi elections, in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. Mr. Barzani, meanwhile, should allow his would-be country to return to democracy and the rule of law  without which it has no chance of succeeding.
Columnist

Various cultures have different phrases for expressing the idea of having it both ways at once. To take a swim and not get wet is an Albanian proverb. Poles talk about having the cookie and eating it. Iranians want both God and the sugar dates.

The Trump administration has been weighing a contemporary geopolitical version of this straddle. Hard-liners have been urging the president to decertify the Iran nuclear agreement but insist that he wants to strengthen the deal, not break it. The idea is enticing politically, certainly, but it has as much chance of working as (forgive me) washing your fur but not getting wet, as a German aphorism puts it.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a leading critic of the Iran deal, described this ambiguous diplomatic approach this week at the Council on Foreign Relations. "I don't propose leaving the deal yet. I propose taking the steps necessary to obtain leverage to get a better deal." Cotton wants decertification, but no sanctions, so that the United States can . . . what? Apparently, the idea is that U.S. pressure will convince Iran to make unilateral concessions that it refused during the 13 years the deal was being negotiated.

Magical thinking is always appealing in foreign policy, but it usually produces nothing more than fairy dust. In this case, there is no evidence that putting the agreement in limbo will bring any security benefits for the United States or Israel. It will introduce uncertainty where the United States and its allies should most demand clarity  in insisting on compliance by all sides with an agreement that caps Irans centrifuges and stockpiles of enriched material for at least another decade.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, hardly a dove on Iran, bluntly told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that the nuclear deal was "something that the president should consider staying with." When pressed by Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) on whether he thought the pact was in the United States' national-security interest, Mattis paused and answered: "Yes, Senator, I do."

Officials speak truth to power at their own risk in President Trump's Washington. So Mattis's argument for sustaining what the president has called "one of the dumbest [and] most dangerous" deals was important, though the outcome of the debate still isn't clear. It's probably because of Mattis's military advice, however, that Trump has dropped his campaign talk of simply tearing up the agreement.

How would Iran react? Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a former Iranian official who stays in close touch with his ex-colleagues, told me recently that if Trump doesn't certify, but Congress doesn't re-impose sanctions, and the other P5+1 negotiators assure full implementation, then Iran may continue to adhere to the agreement. But he cautioned that this line is opposed by some political factions in Iran that argue for suspending the pact if Trump challenges Iranian compliance.

As for the administrations hope of forcing Iran to renegotiate the sunset provisions and other details of the agreement, Mousavian says thats a nonstarter in Tehran.

The real challenge with Iran isnt the nuclear issue, which was put in a box for at least a decade by the agreement, but Tehrans aggressive behavior in the region. Iran and its proxies continue to destabilize the Middle East. They seek to manipulate and control nearly every major capital: Beirut, Damascus, Baghdad, Saana. According to the White House, Iranian proxies are mining the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, pointing missiles from Yemen toward Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, and seeking to carve a zone of influence on the ruins of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.

The administration claims to be focused on this big Iran problem. Would that it were so. Officials say that Trump has signed off on a broad strategy that makes Irans behavior the central issue going forward. But the decertification debate will probably dominate the headlines over the next weeks and months  needlessly focusing attention on the one part of the Iran problem that is capped and manageable, and defusing efforts on the real challenge.

Theres a final, crucial reason Trump should certify that Iran is complying with the nuclear deal: because its true. Even Cotton conceded as much this week, arguing against certification not primarily on the grounds related to Irans technical compliance, but rather based on the long catalogue of the regimes crimes and perfidy against the United States.

A question for the Iran hawks: If the United States refuses to certify an agreement when a country is technically in compliance, why would any other country ever make a deal with us again? A great country keeps its word.

Twitter: @IgnatiusPost

Read more from David Ignatius's archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
Stephen Badger is chairman of Mars Inc.

Global businesses are, quite rightly, under scrutiny for what they are doing to tackle challenges such as climate change and poverty. Last month, the United Nations asked business leaders the same questions we've heard countless times: What are businesses doing to help deliver on the Paris climate agreement? How can business and government work together to drive change at scale?

One of the key characteristics of the Paris agreement is that it extends beyond governments to engage businesses. Corporations should seize this opportunity to have a seat at the table and do their part to address critical global challenges. In time, they will realize the returns on investment in a sustainable future.

You have only to look at the carbon footprint of my own company, Mars Inc., to see the effect business has on the world: Our footprint is equivalent to that of a country roughly the size of Panama. With this scale comes responsibility. Mars, and companies like ours, must be as engaged as governments in delivering reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions.

Thats why I attended Climate Week and U.N. General Assembly events in New York in September, and talked there with leaders in business, government and nongovernmental organizations. As a private, family-owned business, weve not traditionally had a high-profile presence at such events. But if there were ever a time in Marss more-than-100-year history for us to find our voice and join the chorus calling for action, this is it.

Without a doubt, our society has done some excellent work to address climate change in recent years. But after a week of engaging with global experts in a range of disciplines, it's clear that this incremental progress will not put us on a trajectory to deliver the Paris agreement or the United Nations' sustainable- development goals. Now is the time for industry to transform how we look at our role in creating a more sustainable world. This is why Mars has launched our new Sustainable in a Generation Plan to invest $1 billion over the next few years to tackle urgent threats facing society.

In New York, people often asked me if there really is a sound business case for tackling issues such as climate change and poverty. The answer is an unqualified yes.

First, investment in operating sustainably delivers cost savings. Mars is already capitalizing on the falling prices of renewable energy and the long-term cost savings of clean technology. This has helped to reduce the carbon emissions of our 150 factories around the world by 25 percent. We are already using enough renewable energy to make all our M&M's. In fact, we now purchase enough renewable energy to fuel our entire operations in five countries and plan to make that 11 countries in 2018. All of this is delivered at the same cost, or lower, as fossil fuel.

Second, for a company such as Mars that is dependent on agriculture, our investments are creating a more resilient and resource-efficient supply chain where smallholder farmers and others can thrive. By working with our suppliers to source raw materials in a way that lowers climate risk and creates opportunity for people, we can increase crop yields and ensure affordable ingredient supplies, reduce our impact on natural resources and ensure a generation of future farmers.

Finally, there are rewards for doing the right thing. It makes us a more attractive partner to customers, governments and NGOs, and it ensures our relevance to consumers as well as current and future Mars associates. If we are to remain relevant for the next 100 years, we must drive an agenda that is forward-looking and focused, demonstrating what we stand for through our actions as a business.

This is a call to action for all in business to double down in support of the Paris agreement and the sustainable- development goals. Business not only has a seat at the table; it has a vested interest in collaborating with everyone at the table. So lets grab this opportunity with both hands.
Columnist

"He was a sick man, a demented man," said President Trump, trying to explain the latest mass shooting in the United States. We hear this view expressed routinely, after every new incident. But it is a dodge, a distortion of the facts and a cop-out as to the necessary response.

There is no evidence that the Las Vegas shooter was insane. (I prefer not to use his name and give him publicity, even posthumously.) He did not have a history of mental illness that we know of, nor had he been reported for behavior that would suggest any such condition. He was clearly an evil man, or at least a man who did something truly evil. But evil is not crazy. If we define the attempt to take an innocent human being's life as madness, then every murderer is mad. If not, we should recognize that it is a meaningless term that adds little to our understanding of the problem.

Actually, the quick assumption of mental illness distorts the discussion. First, it smears people who do have mental disorders. Such people are not inherently highly prone to violence. They are more often victims of violence than perpetrators. And to the extent that some are violent, they are more likely to inflict harm on themselves. Mental-health issues are correlated to suicides far more closely than they are to homicides.

Second, turning immediately to the "sickness" of the shooter and piously calling for better mental-health care is, more often than not, an attempt to divert attention from the main issue: guns. (It's also breathtakingly cynical because the politicians who use this rhetoric are typically the ones who also aim to cut funding for mental-health treatment.) Every conversation about gun deaths should begin by recognizing one blindingly clear fact about this problem  the United States is on its own planet. The gun-related death rate in the United States is 10 times that of other advanced industrial countries. Places such as Japan and South Korea have close to zero gun-related deaths in a year. The United States has around 30,000.

This disparity is the central fact that needs to be studied, explained and addressed. When seen in this light, it becomes obvious why focusing on mental health is a dodge. The rate of mental illness in the United States is not anywhere close to 40 times the rate in Britain. But the rate of gun deaths is 40 times higher. America does have more than 14 times as many guns as Britain per capita, and far fewer restrictions on their ownership and use. That's the obvious correlation staring us in the face, as we insist on talking about every other possible issue.

And this is not simply a case of the United States being different from the rest of the developed world. Data that look carefully at gun violence across the United States find a similarly tight correlation. States that have some of the highest percentages of gun ownership have some of the highest gun-related death rates (Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Arkansas), and those with some of the lowest rates of gun ownership generally have the lowest gun-related death rates (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island).

Then there are what almost look like social science experiments. On the one hand, Connecticut passed a law in 1995 that made it harder to buy guns. In the following decade, the gun-related homicide rate was 40 percent lower than projected had the law not been passed, according to Johns Hopkins University researchers. On the other hand, Missouri in 2007 made it much easier to buy a gun. Over the next five years, the gun-related homicide rate was 25 percent higher than projected.

How to tackle this issue is a more complex problem, made particularly difficult by the fact that we refuse to study it  literally. One of the main government agencies that sponsors research on public health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has been virtually forbidden by law from doing any research on gun violence and public policy for two decades. Buried in a 1996 law is a provision, championed by the National Rifle Association, that prohibits the CDC from funding research that might "advocate or promote gun control." In the United States, in 2017, we essentially have a ban on scientific research that might lead to inconvenient conclusions.

Given the Second Amendment, America's gun culture and the influence of the gun lobby, there isn't any simple answer. But there are many small fixes that would make a big difference: universal background checks; restrictions on military-style weaponry (of which banning bump stocks would be a tiny first step); a ban on selling to people with a history of domestic violence or substance abuse. But first we have to stop the dodges and the diversions. When you consider America's stubborn inaction in the face of this continuing and preventable epidemic of gun violence  I sometimes wonder if it is all of us Americans who are crazy.

Read more from Fareed Zakaria's archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
Columnist

They say you cant talk about guns even after scores of Americans are gunned down at a concert by a lone man and his private arsenal. They say that even discussing policies to stop the next slaughter disrespects the dead. They say this even while rushing toward the cameras to announce their support for half-measures approved by their masters at the NRA. They, of course, are the craven politicians who get reelected by playing to the most extreme elements in their gerrymandered districts.

When it comes to gun safety, however, they are dead wrong.

Maybe the reason that congressional Republicans and National Rifle Association lobbyists dont want to talk about gun safety has nothing to do with showing respect for the dead. Maybe they fear a real debate on the issue because most Americans find their views on guns abhorrent.

After 20 first-graders were slaughtered in Newtown, Conn., 90 percent of Americans said they supported enhanced background checks for gun purchases. Maybe these background checks would have done nothing to stop the Las Vegas slaughter; we won't know the answer to such questions until law enforcement agencies complete their investigations. But most of the police officers I have talked to over the years  the men and women paid to protect your family  overwhelmingly support a better background-check system as a way to keep guns out of the hands of beasts who beat up their spouses, thugs who batter their children and terrorists who want to use Republicans' lax gun laws to kill more Americans.

Your local police chief also probably agrees with the majority of voters who support a ban on the assault-style weapons that were used in Las Vegas to kill and maim so many people in such a short time.

Despite overwhelming support for these policies, the NRA and other gun lobbyists strike fear in the hearts of politicians by stoking paranoia in their constituents that government agents are about to climb into their black helicopters to seize hunting rifles from unsuspecting citizens.

That old NRA propaganda ploy can be counted on to bring in big bucks from scared Second Amendment warriors even after the Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that Americans have a constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Justice Antonin Scalia and the court majority made clear that no politicians in Washington or in the state capitals can pass laws to prevent Americans from owning handguns in their homes for personal protection. But even Scalia explicitly rejected the argument that those constitutional protections extended to military-style weapons.

So, to put this and every other gun debate in context, remember that the NRA and President Trump's Republican Party remain wildly out of step with the majority of Americans and even the most conservative Supreme Court in 80 years. Also remember that most registered Republicans and NRA members support increased background checks and other sensible gun safety laws.

Despite widespread support for such common-sense measures, almost every Republican in Washington still cowers in the corner when it is time to engage in a real and meaningful gun safety debate. They know that after absorbing the shocks of Las Vegas, Orlando, Newtown and so many others, the time to do something far-reaching on guns has come.

But what must be done?

That is a difficult question, but it is made impossible when leaders in Congress refuse to even engage in the debate. You have to wonder when one powerful Republican will finally say that enough is enough, that getting reelected is not worth living in a country where his or her children go to bed afraid that tomorrow might be the day they are gunned down at their bus stop, at their school or at a country music concert.

If politicians dont believe their children live with that fear in the age of Newtown and Las Vegas, they need to spend less time going to NRA fundraisers and more time at home talking with their families.

Read more from Joe Scarborough's archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook.
Columnist

Not long ago, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.)  the chair of the Foreign Relations Committee and a man physically incapable of hyperventilation  questioned President Trump's "stability" and "competence." Now he has said that White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are the "people that help separate our country from chaos."

In this case, chaos has a name. Corker has essentially described the commander in chief as a danger in need of management. The doctrine of containment, evidently, must begin at home.

Elected Republicans will eventually be judged, not so much for what they have believed, but for what many have tolerated. They have tolerated Trump's irritable narcissism and rule by ridicule. They have tolerated nepotism, incompetence and malice on a grand scale. They have tolerated Trump's unique brand of disaster management  divisive, self-serving, conspiratorial (in attributing Puerto Rico's desperate pleas for help to a Democratic plot) and more concerned with discrediting critics than demonstrating competence. And they have tolerated a string of presidential reactions  including to the Charlottesville protests and murder and to the sincere sideline activism led by African American athletes  that amount to a racially charged pattern.

I know his hearts in the right place, vouched House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), at the low point (so far) of Republican self-abasement. This indicates a GOP establishment so shaken, so uncertain of its place, that it is willing to swallow broken glass on presidential demand. A Republican establishment surrendering the last remaining redoubts of its integrity. A Republican establishment that justifies all the contempt that Trump heaps upon it.

Giving up on an occasional economic principle, or making a compromise on social policy, is an uncomfortable but unavoidable part of public life. Accommodating racial demagoguery is a failure of courage and morality that wont be forgotten. Many elected Republicans are earning Prufrocks judgment: In short, they were afraid.

Many, but not all. "If the party can't be fixed," said Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R), "then I'm not going to be able to support the party, period." Leaving the party entirely might be the natural instinct of a serious and centered politician. But it also plays into the Breitbart/Stephen K. Bannon strategy of ideological conquest. They hope to return the Republican Party to the nativism, protectionism and isolationism of the 1930s. And if their movement also reflects some of the prevailing racial attitudes of that time, so be it. Wink. Nudge.

This vision may be rancid, but it is clear and powerful  rooted in the fear of rapid economic and social change and propelled by reliable resentments. The 1980s ideology of tax-rate cuts  embodied in the current Republican tax bill  looks pale and weak in comparison. If the GOP struggle comes down to ethno-nationalism vs. supply-side economics, there is little doubt about the outcome. Human beings are wired for tribal loyalties, not for the appreciation of economic principles. Powerful movements, good and bad  from prairie populism, to the original America First, to civil rights  have embodied a conception of the nation and its true identify.

What would a compelling alternative to the Bannon appeal look like? It would be an improvement for mainstream Republicans to even ask the question. Kasich is. So are Sens. Jeff Flake (Ariz.) and Ben Sasse (Neb.), at great political risk. Republican reconstruction will involve a new policy agenda, focused particularly on mitigating the painful adjustments brought on by globalization and technological change. But Trumpism has succeeded as a political movement in the total absence of serious policy, and its unlikely to be defeated by avenging wonks.

At the least, the Republican renovation project will need to show some moral outrage that American politics has been hijacked by blind partisans and those who make a living through inciting division. It will require a healthy nationalism free from nativism; a populism that recognizes the failures of the political class but responds with reform rather than recrimination; the elevation of empiricism and competence as political ideals; an appeal to the healing and bridging role of faith; a touch of Lincolns belief in the shared responsibility for failure and the shared calling of forgiveness.

Most of all, this project will require a leader (and, eventually, leaders) who actually believes in something, totally and convincingly. The simple force of contagious principle is often underestimated. Look at interviews with Margaret Thatcher during her political rise. She radiates confidence. She is certain that her ideas will persuade. This charisma of conviction is the single greatest need of the GOP today. And its most glaring absence.

Read more from Michael Gerson's archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook .
Columnist

Based on media coverage, government email security seemed to be the No. 1 issue preoccupying the American public last year. In fact, you could be forgiven for thinking the entire 2016 election was a referendum on whether its okay for public servants to use private email, stored on a private server, to conduct official government business.

The answer was clear: No, its not okay. Yet somehow, here we are again.

Thanks to enterprising reporters, we now know that President Trump's son-in-law and daughter, Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, used not one, not two, but three private email accounts to conduct official White House business.

They appear to have kept the existence of these accounts secret from Senate and House investigators. After news of these emails broke last week, USA Today reported, the couple even rerouted their accounts to private servers maintained by the Trump Organization. If there's a non-fishy explanation for this, I'd love to hear it.

This is no isolated act of hypocrisy.

During the campaign, Team Trump cast itself as the antidote to nearly every scandal and shortcoming (real or imagined) of the Obama administration. Now, 10 months in, the Trump administration has instead taken those sins to imaginative new heights.

Consider the complaint that deep-pocketed lobbyists and donors were using their excessive influence in Washington to strong-arm policymakers.

This accusation was heard incessantly during the 2016 campaign. Then-candidate Donald Trump charged that the Obama administration  especially alumna Hillary Clinton  was too cozy with donors, lobbyists and corporate elites, too willing to let Goldman Sachs and other companies buy influence.

So what was Trumps solution to donors, lobbyists and corporate elites having too much influence?

Why, it was to put donors, lobbyists and corporate elites directly into his Cabinet, and into lots of other executive branch jobs, too.

To be fair, cutting out the middleman does offer efficiencies. Policymakers no longer have to do the bidding of Goldman Sachs if Goldman Sachs is empowered to do its bidding itself.

Or consider our foreign policy failures, as portrayed by then-candidate Trump.

Trump often rebuked Obama as a weakling. He was disrespected, manipulated and laughed at by foreign leaders, or so Trump said. Unlike earlier administrations, the Trump administration promised to stand up to our adversaries and extract maximum concessions.

Yet every foreign leader who meets with Trump seems to get the whole cookie jar.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly played Trump, using bread and circuses to get him on board with a sweetheart arms deal, and the Saudi side in a Persian Gulf power struggle. China, the target of endless tough talk during the campaign, has managed to escape threats of trade sanctions. Chinese leadership has even somehow convinced Trump that he's bossing them around, rather than the reverse. Chinese state-run media openly ridicules him.

And of course the Russian government, despite its work to undermine U.S. democracy, has enjoyed audiences with the president, his family and other confederates.

Trump also spent much of the campaign railing against Democratic fiscal profligacy. He pilloried Clinton for proposing fiscally irresponsible policies. He even promised to pay down the debt within eight years (an impossible task).

Now in office, hes pushing an unfunded, multi-trillion-dollar tax cut and dismissing concerns about mounting U.S. debt.

Trump and fellow Republicans also faulted the Obama administration for tyrannical executive branch overreach. On that, too, he's found ways to innovate. On Thursday he even called for a Senate investigation of media coverage he doesn't like.

There's a sort of conventional wisdom among pundits that voters overcorrect for the perceived flaws of incumbent politicians when choosing the next crop. But voters are in for a lot of disappointment if they chose Trump because they thought his administration would drain the swamp, put America first, honor the Constitution, tighten the government's belt, respect states' rights or otherwise avenge the many evils Trump attributed to his predecessor.

Trump's cures are not just worse than the diseases he diagnosed during the campaign; they're deadlier strains of the exact same diseases.

The question, then, is why Americans bought into his quackery in the first place.

Maybe voters are just gullible and genuinely believed hed fix all the systemic problems they cared about. Maybe the Trump camp thought it could do better than earlier presidents, and only belatedly determined it needed to go native to succeed in the swamp.

Or maybe it was all posturing, and no one ever cared about those deficits or donors or even  gasp!  emails after all.
Regarding the Sept. 29 editorial "A tyrant's long reach":

Nobody has offered credible evidence to dispute the assertion of Azerbaijani and Georgian officials that journalist Afgan Mukhtarli was detained by law enforcement on the Azerbaijan side of the border. Similarly, there is no evidence of Azerbaijani law enforcement crossing into Georgia.

The editorial refers to understandably emotional yet uncorroborated assumptions by Mr. Mukhtarlis wife and lawyer. What is beyond doubt is that undermining the Azerbaijan-Georgia partnership, the most strategic and, perhaps, most important alliance in the post-Soviet era, serves neither Azerbaijans nor Georgias interests  nor, in fact, the United States.

Inji Sadigova, Washington

The writer is a political officer for the Embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Contributing columnist

President Trumps enduring support among evangelical Christians and Mass-attending Catholics befuddles many of his critics. How could a Christian accept [some presidential action or statement]? is now a trope. The genuinely confused should realize that for millions of voters, religious liberty remains the overarching issue of the day, the alpha and omega of whether Trump gets a nod of approval or at least a pass. And most of those voters are very well aware that religious liberty is on the Supreme Courts docket this term.

The Supreme Court will soon consider the religious liberty of Jack Phillips in Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission. The state of Colorado has said that Masterpiece Cakeshop owner Phillips's refusal to create custom wedding cakes celebrating same-sex wedding ceremonies violates the state's law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation  despite Phillips's policy of refusing to create other confections that collide with his faith, including cakes containing alcohol or celebrating Halloween or atheism.

The case will draw huge attention because it is at the intersection of so many controversies. But the emotions it elicits shouldnt obscure its connection to a large portion of Trumps core support: conservative people of faith.

Evangelicals and Mass-attending Catholics gave the president healthy majorities when they voted last fall, and largely that support has not wavered. For those wondering why, it comes down to the issue at the core of Masterpiece Cakeshop: Will Americans be allowed to practice their religious beliefs without fear of ruin from secular absolutists? In the view of these voters, elites believe every knee must bend to their secular creed, not just on matters regarding sexual intimacy but also on issues of when life begins and when death ought to be optional.

Many people of faith are convinced that their ability to believe, proclaim and practice their genuine faith convictions is in danger not just of ridicule but also of punishment. They hear themselves routinely  and unfairly  compared to racist bigots. They know that racial bigotry in the marketplace is illegal; indeed, they agree with the laws that make it so, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and believe those laws are righteous and, more to the point, constitutional.

Moreover, the vast majority of evangelical and Catholic leaders assert that they, and the president, are not homophobic and that their positions on same-sex marriage do not mean they are anti-gay. They also believe, not without reason, that only Christians, not faithful Muslims, are targeted for refusal to celebrate same-sex unions, in a double standard born of animus toward the Christian community, fear of the Islamic one, or both.

And they expect that, absent a new test emerging from the case now before the court, their civil right of free exercise of religion will be erased, quietly and quickly, from the constitutional canon.

That fear drives a lot of politics these days, though it is only dimly perceived by political and media elites for whom the underlying variants of religious belief are at best unusual and sometimes unthinkable. I think that fear explains so much as to be almost too obvious an answer to too many current dilemmas.

Why did Roy Moore win the GOP Senate primary in Alabama? People of faith may not agree with his positions  and most probably don't  but they can count on him being on their side in free-exercise disputes. Why do evangelicals hang in with the president despite his all-too-frequent un-Christian bouts of public disdain toward others, attacks that are at odds with the gospel? Because his judicial appointments  the source of the ultimate protection of faith and the free-exercise clause  are not only solid, they are also better than those of either President Bush.

For many millions of people of faith, Trump is the last line of defense preventing their having to choose between their religious beliefs and full participation in the community and in business.

In short, as the Supreme Court returns to work this week, understand that a lot of the politics of today are driven by its decisions in the past and fear about its decisions in the future. This remains a deeply religious country, and many of its most ardent believers distrust the federal courts and elite opinion-makers to such a degree that they will make common cause with those who will protect their freedom of conscience. The right to free exercise isnt just one of many important rights to them; it is the central one by far. Figure that truth into your political analysis, and a lot more becomes clear.
Barbara Parker, mother of Alison Parker, a local TV reporter, who was fatally shot as she conducted a live interview with her cameraman near Smith Mountain Lake in Moneta, Va., holds a picture of her daughter during a rally with legislators, gun violence survivors and families in Washington in July 2016. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/Associated Press)

Its a month before the November election, and Im sitting pretty. Unopposed in my bid for the Alleghany County Board of Supervisors, I have nothing to prove but my basic competence and willingness to serve the citizens of my small western Virginia town.

Then I got the letter. The Dear Candidate letter.

Mailed to 300 candidates for local office in Virginia, the letter and accompanying survey came from the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun rights group whose slogan is "Defending Your Right to Defend Yourself" and that sells a bumper sticker proclaiming "Guns Save Lives."

The groups reason for being was clear early in the letter: We believe the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is our most precious constitutional freedom, as it serves as the means to protect all our other freedoms from infringement. Yet almost daily, this cherished right is under assault by various entities of the government.

(As a retired English teacher, I wondered whether the ironic humor of claiming an assault on the right to carry guns was intentional.)

I set the letter and survey aside and went back to signing my candidate introduction letters, which I am distributing throughout my district as I visit each house to listen to concerns.

But something drew me back to the VCDL letter and survey. The final paragraph left me speechless: If you choose not to return the survey, you will not be considered for an endorsement by the VCDL-PAC and your failure to return the survey may be interpreted by our members, supporters, and other gun owners throughout the Commonwealth as indifference, if not outright hostility, toward the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Indifference? Outright hostility? Because I wont show the VCDL my hand on guns? Isnt that insinuation outright hostility?

I called the VCDL headquarters and hit pay dirt: President Philip Van Cleave answered the phone. He seemed surprised that I had not heard of his group, or of him.

I read him the last paragraph of the letter sent out by his PAC and told him, Its rather threatening to be told that if I dont return an unsolicited survey, Ill be deemed hostile by a gun rights group.

And actually, we use the word may, not will, he said, So its not really a threat, is it?

I asked how many candidates return the form. "I really don't know," he asaid. "I'll tell you that the candidates who hate guns never return their surveys. They are hostile, by and large," he continued.

Or maybe they have other things on their minds than guns, I noted.

He insisted that his group's endorsement carries weight, with 28,000 people on an email list about gun rights. "Here are the facts," he said. "There are now about 500,000 permit holders in Virginia, most of them concealed-carry. . . . Virginia now has to give a concealed-carry permit to anyone who's not a convicted felon. People with concealed-carry permits are all law-abiding, good people. The cream of the crop."

The cream of the crop. Law-abiding, good people.

Two years ago, one of my former students was murdered on live television by a man who'd successfully applied for a concealed-carry permit. Adam Ward was a photojournalist for WDBJ-TV, the Roanoke CBS affiliate, and his father was one of my co-workers. Ward was one of the funniest students I taught, and his take on the world as we slogged through "The Scarlet Letter" and Hemingway never failed to make me smile.

Early in the morning of Aug. 26, 2015, Vester Lee Flanagan II opened fire on Ward and reporter Alison Parker, killing both. Flanagan had a concealed-carry permit for the Glock 9mm murder weapon. Flanagan later confessed and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Several days later, Parker's father, who was running for a position on the Henry County Board of Supervisors, withdrew from that race to devote himself to gun control. "I lost my daughter. And I'm not going to lose this fight," he said. "We just want to keep guns out of the hands of crazy people."

And now, Stephen Paddock. At least 23 guns that were apparently legally obtained in his hotel room; 19 others in his house. Almost 60 people slaughtered in Las Vegas; nearly 500 others were wounded.

Guns in the hands of crazy people. Whom do we trust, in this time of guns and votes?

Are you going to fill out your candidate survey? Van Cleave asked me.

Yes, I am. Candidates across the United States should respond to gun-rights groups requests for their stand on concealed weapons. Unless we stand up and say no to powerful gun lobbies pressing for more guns in more hands, then what happened in Las Vegas and to Adam Ward and Alison Parker in Virginia will happen again and again.

Because all politics  and all gun violence  is local.
Erika Whitfield is a seventh-grade language arts teacher in a public school in St. Louis.

Im teaching my second-period class when a colleague pokes his head into my classroom and asks if Ive heard: Stockley was acquitted.

Former St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley, who fatally shot Anthony Lamar Smith and, according to prosecutors, planted a gun on him to justify the killing, would be going free.

My classroom phone starts ringing, summoning students to the principals office. Fearing a backlash against the verdict, parents are dismissing their children from school early on this September day. The look on my face signals to the remaining students that something serious is happening.

I sit in a chair in the middle of the classroom, decorated with a poster of Angela Davis and a Black Lives Matter sign, and ask my seventh-graders if they know whats going on. They have cellphones; they knew before I did. I explain to them how important they are to the world. How they are the right generation to be the change agents who end police violence against people in their communities. My emotions start to get the best of me, so I simply listen to them talk.

I heard the cop brought his own gun to work.

He said he was going to kill the black guy, and he did.

The police can do whatever they want.

If the suspect was white, he would have lived.

Whats that white dudes name that killed all those black people in the church? one student asks. I respond, Dylann Roof.

They bought him McDonalds, the student says. I dont know nobody who gets arrested and gets McDonalds.

I do not stop the conversation because every word they say is true. They know it, and I know it.

To me, a lifelong St. Louisan, the racism that I and many other black people in our city face feels normal. A major component of that is our interactions with the police. Avoiding certain areas of the city because of fear of being pulled over, avoiding any and every possibility of being face to face with a state trooper or an officer or a sheriff  these are typical conversations in black households. But now these are conversations in my classroom. As a teacher at a public school in St. Louis, Im talking about this with 12-year-olds, thanks to the high-profile deaths of two black men at the hands of white police officers and the turmoil that followed. Three years after officer Darren Wilson killed Michael Brown in Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb, students are beginning yet another school year discussing police brutality. These events have brought an urgency to my teaching that wasnt there before. Their generation is defiant enough to force change; now its my job to prepare them to do it.

After Brown was killed on Aug. 9, 2014, our schools principal encouraged teachers to responsibly engage our students in discussions of race in our city, as long as we included their values and perspectives as part of our instruction. Not everyone agreed. Some teachers thought we should wait until the police finished their investigation, while the rest of us were thinking that in the time that Browns body lay lifeless on the street, the investigation could have been completed. But the principal believed, as I do, that when one teaches in a predominantly black school, there is a greater obligation to truth. Before Browns death, I thought we could shield our students a little more. But they arent that far from Browns age, or Tamir Rices. They could be victims.

[Sessions doesnt want to investigate police. Heres why we need to.]

Issues of race and policing are not abstractions for my seventh-graders. Students explained how, even before Browns death, their parents refused to call the police for fear of being arrested for reasons unrelated to the phone call. Death was a totally illogical but possible result from one interaction with a police officer  why chance it? If someone was hurt, students told me, an adult would drive them to the hospital rather than call for help.

Male students discussed how, when walking with a group of friends, being questioned by the police was commonplace. These are kids I teach daily, who horseplay in the halls, cry when a classmate takes their pencils, laugh at corny jokes and fart loudly during instruction. Theyre children. But when police see them, these immature boys morph into suspects. The thought of one of my students being accosted by police and shot dead makes my ears red and my blood run boiling hot. And they recount these interactions with police as if they are telling me the weather. No emotion. Its normal to them.

These conversations have heightened the stakes for what I do in my classroom. I dont know what teacher my students will have next year  she could be a first-year teacher, or someone who grew up in a community exactly the opposite of theirs who doesnt understand these issues. While I have them under my care, Ive got to help them connect their experiences to the wider conversation. When youre starting out as a teacher, you worry about things like a student showing up to class without a pencil. Now, I say forget the pencil. Ive got pencils. You just bring your brain and your body, and Im going to teach you.

[I didnt care much about politics. Then Trump nominated Betsy DeVos.]

I could spend weeks teaching lessons on police brutality in St. Louis and nationwide, but I am required to teach the curriculum provided by our district. And I do. But ignoring what's happening in our city isn't being culturally responsive to the needs of my students. I've decided to focus on why our city is so segregated. I talk about the Delmar Divide , named after a road that splits St. Louis racially and socioeconomically, with million-dollar mansions on one side and poverty on the other. I talk about the history of our city: What did St. Louis look like a long time ago? Where did people live and work? Where do people live now? The kids are completely surprised to hear that the places they know  the roads, the neighborhoods, the buildings  contain so much meaning. Our school sits on the site of the old Pruitt-Igoe housing project, which helped separate black residents from other parts of St. Louis. I take them on a tour of our campus. In one hallway, 12 photos chronicle the transformation of the neighborhood before and after Pruitt-Igoe, including its implosion. It's a great starting point for their understanding and opens the door to discussing gentrification, food deserts, disparities in education.

We connect these discussions to the material I'm required to teach. We're reading Linda Sue Parks's "A Long Walk to Water," a story based on true events. The main character, Salva, travels thousands of miles in Sudan to avoid war, losing friends and family along the way. In the end, he finds a way to provide running water for a Sudanese community. The students see themselves in Salva, who is 11 when the book starts, but grows up and is able to make a difference. This is my goal for my students: that they will develop a plan in their communities to have a positive impact, like Salva does.

Why cant we just be equal? one of my first-period students asks. A simple question. The answer begins at the inception of the middle passage in the 1400s, with no end in sight.

Im a good teacher. But in one measly class period, I cannot answer that question in a way that truly quantifies the layers of racial disparity in our city that keep us from being equal . My response mirrors the simplicity of the question: I dont know. Its not that I dont have an answer. I have way too many answers. However, my theories dont really matter. What matters are the conclusions and inferences my students develop on their own, based on the truth.

outlook@washpost.com

Read more from Outlook and follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter.
Daniel Webster is the director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research. Jon Vernick is the centers deputy, and Cassandra Crifasi and Beth McGinty are faculty members at the center.

With the killing of 58 and the wounding of hundreds in Las Vegas last weekend, Americans are once again debating gun violence. Adding to the passion and the entrenched political and economic interests that make this conversation so intense are a number of myths  about how much violence there is, what causes it and how to prevent it. Here are some of the most stubborn ones.

Myth No. 1

Gun violence in the United States is at an all-time high.

Donald Trump accepted the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 with a speech that described a country besieged by violence. He said that President Barack Obama "has made America a more dangerous environment than frankly I have ever seen." Earlier this year, Trump declared the U.S. murder rate to be "the highest it's been in, I guess, 45 to 47 years." Half of Americans in a Pew Research Center poll said gun violence is "a very big problem" today, with 59 percent of non-gun-owners saying the same.

Indeed, data from the FBI indicates an alarming 32 percent increase in the number of homicides committed with firearms from 2014 to 2016. The number of robberies and aggravated assaults committed with firearms increased by 17 percent over that time. The number of people shot in mass shootings has also risen sharply in the past 12 years.

Yet the current rate of firearm violence is still far lower than in 1993, when the rate was 6.21 such deaths per 100,000 people, compared with 3.4 in 2016. The high rate in the early 1990s was linked to a variety of conditions, most notably the emergence of a large and violent market for crack cocaine. It's too soon to determine the causes of recent increases in gun violence or whether the upward trend will continue.

Myth No. 2

Background checks save lives, research shows.

The concept of universal background checks enjoys rare broad support in the debate over gun violence: consistently at or near 90 percent . Large majorities of Republicans and Democrats favor the expansion of background checks to private sales and gun show sales, according to Pew. And there is solid research indicating that laws that keep guns out of the hands of high-risk individuals, such as domestic abusers and people convicted of violent crimes, reduce violence.

But there is no research indicating that background check laws as they currently exist save lives. Studies suggest that the federal Brady Law, which mandates background checks for firearm sales but exempts sales by private parties, has not been strong enough to reduce homicide rates. There is no compelling, peer-reviewed research on the effectiveness of extending background check requirements to private sales  unless those requirements are paired with a permitting or licensing system for purchasers.

Still, state laws requiring checks via a permitting system do reduce the diversion of guns for criminal use, homicides and suicides, and they may lower the risk of police officers being shot in the line of duty. Only 10 states and the District of Columbia require permits for handgun purchasers; eight states require background checks for private sales but do not require permits.

Myth No. 3

Mental illness is behind most gun violence against others.

National opinion polls show that the majority of Americans believe that mental illness, and the failure of the mental-health system to identify those at risk of dangerous behavior, is an important cause of gun violence.

Research says otherwise. Only an estimated 4 percent of violence against others is caused by the symptoms of serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Impulsivity, anger, traumatic life events such as job loss or divorce, and problematic alcohol use are all stronger risk factors for gun violence . Research also shows that mental-health-care providers are poor predictors of which patients will go on to harm others. Further, most people with mental illness will never become violent, and most gun violence is not caused by mental illness.

But mental illness is a strong risk factor for firearm suicide, which accounts for the majority of gun deaths in the United States. While improving America's mental-health system would benefit millions of people with mental illness, it would not substantially reduce gun violence against others.

Myth No. 4

Right-to-carry laws decrease crime.

Supporters of right-to-carry laws, which require the issuance of concealed-carry handgun permits to applicants who meet the criteria, often argue that carrying guns makes the public safer: The person with a gun will be able to prevent an attack or take down an active shooter. The economist John Lott wrote in his book "More Guns, Less Crime" that right-to-carry laws are correlated with decreases in violent crime.

Yet the most comprehensive study on the effects of these laws found that violent crime rates increased with each additional year such a statute was in place, presumably as more people were carrying guns. By 10 years after the adoption of a right-to-carry law, violent crime rates were 13 to 15 percent higher than predicted had such laws not been in place.

Additionally, armed civilians are rarely able to deter or interrupt various crimes or even mass shootings. In fact, in zero of the 111 gun massacres analyzed by researcher Louis Klarevas did an armed civilian stop a mass shooting in progress. A separate FBI analysis revealed that unarmed civilians are more than 20 times as likely to end an active shooting than are armed civilians (excluding armed security guards).

Myth No. 5

Mass shootings are random.

High-profile tragedies like those in Las Vegas, where a motive has yet to emerge, and in Aurora, Colo., tend to support the popular notion that mass shootings are random  that there's no connection between the killers and the targets. "Another day, another massacre, and once again it's a gunman targeting strangers in a public place for no obvious reason," read one Washington Post article on a mass shooting at a Louisiana movie theater in 2015.

But most mass shootings are directed at a specific person, group or institution against which the perpetrator has a grievance. A Huffington Post analysis of mass shootings  which the FBI defines as four or more people killed with a firearm, not including the perpetrator  between 2009 and July 2015 found that 57 percent of the incidents involved a perpetrator's current or former intimate partner or a family member, and 70 percent occurred in private dwellings.

While mass shootings in public spaces that kill and wound dozens or even hundreds of people receive plenty of media attention, smaller-scale gun violence occurs with far too much regularity in the United States, claiming nearly 100 lives every day. Most killers, including those who perpetrate mass shootings, arent trying to murder strangers but are targeting people they know well.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the findings of researcher Louis Klarevas. In his analysis, zero, not four, gun massacres were stopped by an armed civilian.

outlook@washpost.com

Five myths is a weekly feature challenging everything you think you know. You can check out previous myths, read more from Outlook or follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter.
Michael Hirsh is the former foreign editor and chief diplomatic correspondent for Newsweek and former national editor of Politico Magazine.

When President Trump publicly slapped down his beleaguered secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, last weekend, tweeting that America's top diplomat was "wasting his time" trying to talk to North Korea about its nuclear and missile program, establishment types greeted the president with the usual yelps of outrage. "This is life-or-death presidential malpractice. How could any diplomat (or human) tolerate being treated as Tillerson is?" former United Nations ambassador Samantha Power tweeted. "Can never remember a president publicly undercutting a secretary of state as Trump just has. Ever," tweeted Susan Glasser, Politico's chief international affairs columnist. It was the same tone reserved for the time Trump promised in his U.N. speech to "totally destroy " North Korea if necessary, and the time he threatened to meet Pyongyang's threats with "fire and fury."

Trump, supposedly, is sowing confusion, rendering his diplomats impotent, robbing his administration of credibility and, worst of all, bringing the world to the brink of war without any concept of the danger he is creating. (At a bizarre news conference Wednesday, Tillerson responded to a report that he had called the president a "moron" and pledged to stay in his job.) And it's true that there are good reasons to wonder whether the president is pursuing any real policy or is impulsively venting his anger over the behavior of "Little Rocket Man," his epithet for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who hit back by calling Trump a "mentally deranged U.S. dotard."

But there may be a method to the apparent madness in Trump's approach, even if he has not done a coherent job of explaining it. Nuclear experts agree that North Korea's weapons program, and its threat to U.S. soil, is advancing every day. "Go back three or four years, and no one thought they would be able to do an ICBM this decade, let alone put a warhead on it," says David Albright, head of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington. Now they have the missile, and "it'll take maybe within six months, 12 months" to put a nuclear warhead on it. Trump's answer appears to be the bad-cop routine. It comes with certain risks, but it is one of the only strategies for containing Pyongyang that has not yet been tried. And for all we know, it could work.

Trump is right, as he tweeted Oct. 1, that "being nice to Rocket Man hasn't worked in 25 years, why would it work now? Clinton failed, Bush failed, and Obama failed." Nearly a quarter-century of negotiations with Kim and his father, Kim Jong Il, by both Republican and Democratic administrations have yielded no progress. Since the 1994 Agreed Framework , the Clinton-era pact under which the North was to get fuel oil, food aid and billions of dollars' worth of civilian nuclear equipment in return for freezing and "eventually" dismantling its plutonium program, North Korea has used its nuclear program as a bargaining chip to gain Western aid. And every time, it has failed to follow through on its pledges to dismantle the program. The last time there was a real chance to talk Pyongyang out of nukes and intercontinental ballistic missiles, some diplomats believe, was then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's October 2000 visit (which I covered as a Newsweek correspondent); in the 17 years since, nothing has worked. The North Koreans will simply not be negotiated out of their weapons program.

But perhaps Trump is giving Tillerson the ability to persuade North Korea  and just as important, China  that if it doesn't engage in earnest diplomacy at long last, then the man in the White House could go, well, ballistic. President Richard Nixon pioneered the "madman" approach in foreign policy by suggesting that he might use a nuclear bomb if he couldn't solve the Vietnam quagmire, allegedly prompting North Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh to sue for peace, and by raising America's nuclear alert status as a warning to Moscow. The scheme didn't work very well, though Nixon later argued that the alert hastened the Soviets' willingness to conduct nuclear arms talks. But there are a few reasons a new strategy might be the sensible move now.

First, North Koreas threat to the United States is not static; it is ratcheting up dangerously with new nuclear, missile and miniaturization technology that for the first time will allow Pyongyang to reach U.S. shores. This alone argues for a new approach. If the president can avoid triggering a preemptive war (a nightmarish prospect that should be dealt with carefully), then his tough rhetoric could force Kim to reckon with an outcome beyond sanctions, which havent changed his course and almost certainly will not in the future.

Second, stability-obsessed China is primed to hear this message, and altering its behavior may be the most important objective. Beijing is Kim's lifeline, accounting for more than 90 percent of North Korea's trade. Yet China's leaders have done little more than wrist-slap their neighbor to the east for two decades  including, this year, a painful but not fatal constriction of coal and oil trade and the removal of North Korean businesses from China. It's fair to conclude, after all this time, that Beijing is not going to change course unless it foresees a real possibility of war. The Chinese know that this would result in the collapse of their only real ally in East Asia, a reunited and vastly more powerful Korea allied with Washington, and a formidable refugee and humanitarian crisis on their border.

No one, perhaps not even Trump, wants a war on the Korean Peninsula, one that could cost hundreds of thousands of lives, including those of American military personnel and tens of thousands of U.S. citizens living in South Korea. But during the Cold War, with far more lives at stake, the United States engaged in occasional tense brinkmanship with the Soviet Union as a matter of policy when it perceived its vital interests to be threatened, most notably during the Cuban missile crisis. A final round of hastily improvised diplomacy resolved that terrifying standoff (with a quiet deal to trade the withdrawal of U.S. missiles from Turkey for the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba). But diplomacy arguably worked only because President John F. Kennedy was willing to go to the brink of war  in other words, because Washington was prepared to declare that a missile threat from Cuba was so intolerable that it was ready to preemptively open hostilities. JFKs stance (even as he secretly negotiated a compromise) altered the global balance of power in a fortnight and led to the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty signed in August 1963.

We may be at another such juncture now. In the past, when North Korea was far less technologically advanced and therefore less dangerous, even some senior Democratic officials advocated preemptive strikes. In 2006, former and future defense secretaries William Perry and Ashton Carter proposed just that in an op-ed for The Washington Post (at a time when President George W. Bush was failing at diplomacy with Pyongyang). "The United States should immediately make clear its intention to strike and destroy the North Korean Taepodong missile before it can be launched," they wrote. ". . . A successful Taepodong launch, unopposed by the United States, its intended victim, would only embolden North Korea even further. The result would be more nuclear warheads atop more and more missiles." That prediction appears to have been vindicated.

Tweets, of course, are not policy, and Trump's posture has to appear coherent for this gambit to work. If he is merely making empty threats and actually letting Tillerson (and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who says he, too, supports diplomacy) play good cop to his bad cop  or if he simply expects that his threats will frighten Pyongyang into submission  then he will worsen the danger without achieving his goals. "Make the opponent (or in this case, China the reluctant bystander) fear you might do something that seems irrational," says Harvard's Joseph Nye, explaining that a game of chicken only works if your opponent thinks you're serious. "The inconsistency in the Trump administration's statements and in Trump's tweets undercuts his credibility, and China may just think he is bluffing  or in terms of the chicken metaphor, steering with his knees."

Yet if Trump is embracing such an undeclared strategy and manages to deploy it  recall that he has boasted in the past that he relishes being "unpredictable" and not disclosing his plans  then this new approach could force Beijing's hand. One way or another, says David Albright, "there is a need to dramatically escalate the pressure on North Korea via China." Beijing says it wants denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and has proposed "suspension for suspension": Pyongyang would put its weapons programs on hold while Washington and Seoul paused their joint "massive military exercises," as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in a speech in April. But Beijing must be told clearly (and has been by the Trump administration) that this is not enough to safeguard U.S. and global interests, since it would leave the North's missile and nuclear capability in place and since Pyongyang, as with past such agreements, would be unlikely to honor it.

And what of North Koreas current defiance? Despite its belligerence and seeming wackiness, the nearly 70-year-old Pyongyang regime has demonstrated a consistently rational strand in its strategy: preventing its own extinction. If Beijing makes clear to its neighbor  backed by a combined threat from America, South Korea and Japan  that North Korea simply will not be permitted to survive as an intercontinental nuclear threat (even if Pyongyang gets to retain some of its nuclear weapons), it could prove to be a new chapter in the history of successful brinkmanship. All we can say conclusively is that, to date, nothing else has worked.

Twitter: @michaelphirsh

Read more from Outlook and follow our updates on Facebook and Twitter.
Fueled by a string of fundraising appeals from President Trump to his supporters, the Republican Party is on track to raise more money from small-dollar contributions than it has collected in more than a decade.

The influx of cash from Trumps base is helping the GOP amass a major advantage as the parties prepare to battle for control of Congress in the 2018 elections, with the Republican National Committee pulling in nearly twice as much money overall as its Democratic counterpart this year.

The RNCs success with small donors illustrates how the Republican Party, long a center of the political establishment, has managed to turn Trumps anti-Washington message to its advantage.

And it shows how Trumps base, angered by the sense that the president is being treated unfairly, is helping to redefine a party that has long cultivated rich contributors.





This year, more than $40 million of the $68 million in direct contributions to the RNC by the end of August came in donations of $200 and less  nearly 60 percent of contributions, campaign finance data shows.

One key asset for the party: Trumps willingness to lend his name to a barrage of party appeals, such as an email last month that urged donors to help drain the swamp, the presidents favorite term for the Beltway elite. Another message from Trump urged supporters to fight back against a weak and self-serving political class.

The national party also gets a cut of donations flowing to the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, a joint fundraising committee that primarily benefits Trumps reelection campaign but currently gives a quarter of its proceeds to the RNC.

The joint committee notes its RNC affiliation at the bottom of donor emails. But the messages are crafted to resonate with voters who believe the president is fighting entrenched interests in both parties.

I want to show every Republican Senator a list of American voters that will NOT be happy if the wall isnt built, read a message the committee sent out in Trumps name in August, referring to his plan to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Among those who have donated to the committee is Martha Adams, a longtime Republican voter who said she is a little miffed at the GOP and party leaders she feels are out of touch with the bases populist mood. Thats in part why shes been responding to emails asking her to support Trumps agenda.

Hes got a lot of roadblocks, said Adams, 70, a retired speech pathologist from Austin, who said she has given a few hundred dollars this year  including $75 in May, two days after the appointment of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. Its just to let him know we still care and that were still here.



RNC donor Chris Chavez, center, and his father, Tracy Chavez, left, met President Trump at an Aug. 22 rally at the Phoenix Convention Center. (Doug Coulter)

Adams said that when she donated to the joint committee, she intended for her money to go to the president.

I tried to give just to him, because I think he knows best what to do, she said. I dont know if I really meant to give it to the RNC.

Gwynne Abrams, an unemployed nanny in Henderson, Nev., who gave $78 to the joint committee, said that Trump has been under attack from his own party. She plans to vote for the GOP challenger taking on incumbent Sen. Dean Heller (R) in her state next year.

Im not giving to the Republican Party, really, said Abrams, 56, adding that the party has done nothing since theyve been in control of the Senate and House.

I think our politicians are being bought off, except for Mr. Trump, she added.

RNC officials said that the money that ends up at the national committee directly bolsters Trump, financing a rapid-response operation and surrogate network that promote the administrations goals. New investments in data analytics and field staff will boost Trumps 2020 reelection effort, they said.

The RNCs top priority is to support and advance the presidents agenda, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement, adding that the fundraising surge shows that voters are invested in our party and the president.

The energy among small donors illustrates the extent to which Trump has translated the rock-ribbed support among his followers into a war chest that can help him overcome his political challenges.

In his 2016 campaign, Trump raised an unprecedented $239 million from donors who gave him a total of $200 or less. Thats more than Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and rival Bernie Sanders combined pulled in from low-dollar contributors during the election  and beats the nearly $219 million that former president Barack Obama raised from small donors in his 2012 reelection, according to the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute.

It was extraordinary, said Michael Malbin, the institutes executive director. It says that his donors are intensely committed.

The money cascaded in after the Trump campaign and the RNC spent tens of millions running Facebook ads and renting email lists to build a formidable digital fundraising operation. Together, the committees amassed a pool of more than 10 million email address by the end of 2016  including those of more than 2.5 million individual donors.

[GOPs hunt for new Trump donors drove millions to low-profile firm]

Since then, the partys fundraising email list has grown by several million, and several hundred thousand new donors have contributed who did not give in 2016, RNC officials said.

The $40 million in low-dollar donations the RNC has raised so far this year is the most the party has collected at this point in an election cycle since 2005, according to records compiled by the Campaign Finance Institute. And it outstrips small contributions going to the Democratic National Committee, which raised $25 million in such donations by the end of last month.

More money for the RNC is flowing through the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, which had pulled in $14.4 million as of June 30, including $11 million in donations of $200 and less, filings show.

The small-dollar bonanza shows that the RNC has tapped into the power of the masses, said Brad Parscale, who helped build the online fundraising operation last year as the Trump campaigns digital director. Youre not beholden to large donors. Now youre beholden to Americans, a large population of Americans.

The national party is using its newfound resources to build out its ground operation, with 17 state directors already in place around the country. Under its rules, the RNC stays out of primary contests, but its organizers will help GOP congressional nominees in the upcoming midterms.

The committee recently confirmed it is helping pay for the legal fees Trump has incurred because of the Russia investigations, but those costs are being covered by a legal account financed by wealthy donors, not small contributions.

For its part, the DNC is working to ramp up its own fundraising operation, hoping to do more to harness an energized grass-roots movement on the left. The party is expanding its finance team from three to 30 staffers, and officials noted that the committee had raised more money from low-dollar contributions by the end of August than it had at this point in the last two election cycles.

We are confident that our team will raise the resources needed as we head into 2018 and beyond, spokesman Michael Tyler said.

Still, the RNCs success is alarming strategists such as Michael Whitney, who served as digital fundraising manager for Sanderss presidential campaign.

Who knows what will happen for the RNC in a post-Trump era? Whitney said. But for now, they have an incredible base of grass-roots donors who will keep donating money.

Their response is largely driven by Trump himself, who has played up his grievances against Washington amid the flurry of controversies that have enveloped his administration.

They say Im isolated by lobbyists, corporations, grandstanding politicians, and Hollywood, read a September RNC fundraising email signed by Trump. GOOD! I dont want them. All I ever want is the support and love from the AMERICAN PEOPLE whove been betrayed by a weak and self-serving political class.

Samantha Osborne, the RNCs chief digital officer, said the ability to use Trumps name in fundraising has been very, very beneficial to us.

His supporters know his voice and the way he communicates, she said. Were trying to make sure we emulate that, keeping it authentic. His tweets do say a lot, and thats what we try to mirror.

Another strength of the Trump digital fundraising operation: He has drawn more ideologically diverse supporters than other small-donor programs on the right, Parscale said.

Trump has such a big echo chamber and such a large megaphone; he grabbed a very wide spectrum of people, he said.

That includes Chris Chavez, a 20-year-old who runs a small vending business in Scottsdale, Ariz., and grew up watching Trump on the reality show The Apprentice with his father. I saw this businessman who had all of it  he had the American Dream I wish to have some day, and he was giving it up to better the country, Chavez said.

Chavez made his first political donations ever to support Trumps campaign last year and has contributed about $50 this year, including $3 to the RNC as part of a contest to meet the president at a rally in Arizona in August. He won and got to meet Trump backstage.

My heart just stopped, Chavez recalled. I would donate to his 2020 campaign in a heartbeat.

Anu Narayanswamy contributed to this report.
Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) puts his apron on before working the grill at the Polk County Democrats Steak Fry on Sept. 30 in Des Moines. (Charlie Neibergall/AP)

Rep. Tim Ryan, an Ohio Democrat who once held an A rating from the National Rifle Association and reaped thousands of dollars in donations from the group, donated a matching sum this week to three prominent gun-control organizations.

Its time for Congress to act, Ryan said in a statement. We cannot accept the notion that living in America means living with mass shootings as a common occurrence.

Ryan donated about $20,000, split evenly between Americans for Responsible Solutions, Everytown for Gun Safety and Sandy Hook Promise  groups that advocate expanded background checks and other restrictions that are opposed by the NRA.

[Meet Tim Ryan, the Ohio Democrat challenging Nancy Pelosi to lead House Democrats]

Another Democrat who had once been in the NRA's favor, Rep. Tim Walz (Minn.), also donated a sum matching his past NRA contributions this week. Walz, who is running for governor and was under pressure from a Democratic primary opponent, sent $18,000 to the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, a nonprofit group that helps the families of service members who are killed or severely wounded.

Im doing what I can to get past the political attacks and back to addressing this problem, Walz said, who also held an A rating.

Ryans break with the NRA is not new; he supported background-check legislation after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and received no NRA donations afterward. His move to give back past donations comes days after a gunman killed 58 by spraying gunfire into a Las Vegas concert venue.

The donations also come as Ryan has made moves to increase his political profile. He led an ill-fated insurgency against House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) last year and recently made political appearances in Iowa and New Hampshire, seeking to burnish his partys image among white working-class voters.

[In Iowa, Democrats ask rural voters for a second chance]

But in a break from what has been common practice for most centrist Democrats, Ryan endorsed a robust slate of firearms restrictions in announcing his donations Friday.

Congress, he said, can take multiple steps to improve public safety without infringing on the 2nd Amendment. Those include, he said, improving the federal background-check system, keeping guns away from stalkers and domestic abusers, and barring those on terrorism watch lists from buying guns. He also called on lawmakers to raise the standards for anyone wishing to buy a semiautomatic weapon, which account for the vast majority of handguns sold in the United States and a significant portion of long guns.

With technology on the market that can cheaply and easily convert a semi-automatic weapon into a fully-automatic machine gun, Congress should require much stricter background checks on semi-automatic rifles and ban the bump stocks that helped make Las Vegas to be so deadly, he said. Bump stocks are an accessory that, law enforcement officials believe, allowed shooter Stephen Paddock to spray machine-gun-like fire on his victims.

The groups that benefited from the donations each publicly thanked Ryan, and Mark Kelly, the co-founder of Americans for Responsible Solutions, told reporters Friday that the gift marked an ironic milestone for his group.

We just raised money from the NRA, he said.

Read more at PowerPost
Democrats are doubling down on their campaign trying to turn House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) into political villain in advance of next years midterm election, using themes that could hurt his image with staunch conservatives in addition to liberal activists.

House Majority PAC, a super PAC affiliated with the leadership team of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), is launching the new round of digital ads throughout the country highlighting the health-care fight. Additionally, the group is trying to brand Ryan with an elitist tag, through a new website that it is launching called Fancy Paul Ryan.

"From health care to our economy, Ryan doesn't look out for his constituents, instead he does the bidding of the wealthy and special interests," the site says on its home page.

This comes a day after the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee began running national cable TV ads disparaging the speaker for being part of the Washington establishment looking out for the wealthy.

Paul Ryan and the Washington Republicans, its the same thing every time, the narrator says.

The campaign comes as Ryan's image has cratered in the era of President Trump, giving Democrats an opening to potentially use the speaker in the same fashion that Republicans have used Pelosi for the past seven years. According to a Washington Post/ABC News poll late last month, just 31 percent of Americans approve of the job Ryan is doing, while 51 percent disapprove.

[Pelosi was toxic with voters in 2010. Ryan and McConnell are facing the same problem.]

The Democratic groups seem aware that Ryans declining popularity comes from conservatives who are disappointed that Trumps agenda has stalled in the Capitol and have seen the president occasionally take out his frustration on Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Their TV ads and digital themes are carefully drawn in ways that will energize liberal activists and also irritate Trump voters. Ryan is portrayed as part of the firmament of Washington, a place that Trump voters have essentially declared that they want disrupted.

In labeling Ryan fancy, House Majority PAC is taking aim at both supporters of Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), accusing him of putting millionaires and billionaires ahead of hard-working Wisconsinites.

Back in 2006, during the heated U.S. Senate race in Tennessee, Republicans disparaged Democrat Harold E. Ford Jr. with a Fancy Ford website, branding him an elitist who hung out with celebrities. Ford narrowly lost to Sen. Bob Corker (R) that year.

If these ads are successful at further undermining Ryans image, Democrats expect to use the speaker in their campaigns next year much more directly tying specific Republicans to the unpopular leader.

For now, thats not yet happening.

The DCCC began a round of radio ads this week in 11 Republican districts that are individually tailored to those GOP lawmakers, each of whom voted for Ryans version of repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act in the spring.

Ryan is not mentioned in those radio ads, but that could change by early next year.

Read more at PowerPost
Schisms are brewing on Capitol Hill over a new bipartisan effort to limit the authority and extend the timeline of the National Security Agencys ability to monitor the communications of suspected foreign agents abroad, as key members refuse to endorse the proposal.

The NSA data collection program under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act has long inspired divisions between privacy advocates and national security hawks, over where and how collected data will be disseminated and used by various government agencies. But as lawmakers look toward a looming, end-of-year deadline to reauthorize the program, both privacy champions and advocates for the intelligence community are finding fault in the new House Judiciary Committee proposal. It requires the FBI to seek a warrant before asking to view Americans' emails and phone call records collected under Section 702 authority, relevant to criminal cases.

[Bipartisan group of lawmakers seeks to impose new curb on U.S. government spy power]

The disagreement is narrow, but critical to a Section 702 extension, which the intelligence community has identified as its top legislative priority for 2017.

In the House Judiciary Committees bill, searches of the NSA database are unlimited in national security cases. But if the FBI wants to query the database for the communications of a U.S. person related to a criminal case, it must first seek a warrant before it can review the results.

The provision is inspired by concerns that with no restrictions on law enforcement officials access to Americans information in such a database, the FBI could exploit its contents to aid money-laundering investigations, tax fraud, murders, or other federal crimes without an explicit national security bent.

While Section 702 authority permits surveillance of foreign agents believed to be outside the United States, American citizens and U.S. residents can also end up being monitored if they are in communication with the target.

But the restriction is too great for the intelligence community and its advocates, who fear any limitation on their ability to search and review information contained in the database could negatively affect national security investigations.

[Spy agencies seek permanent authority for contested surveillance program]

The intelligence community is asking for a straight extension of the FBI's current, unfettered authority to query the database. It also wants that extension to be permanent.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said Thursday that it is likely to be impossible for Section 702 intelligence-gathering and querying authority to get through Congress without some limitations or changes, declining to endorse the ones in the House Judiciary Committees bill.

In an interview Thursday, Intelligence Committee ranking Democrat Adam B. Schiff (Calif.) also said that some limitations to protect privacy and improve transparency would be necessary. But he disagreed with the House Judiciary Committees approach of limiting searches, instead urging that if the concern was that information might be improperly used for criminal cases, it would be better to simply limit the admissibility of such communications as evidence in criminal court  much like evidence obtained through warrantless searches is often excluded.

We want law enforcement and the intelligence community to be able to make queries of the database in a way that protect the country, he said. If were concerned about this vein turned into a grand database that can be used to prosecute people for unrelated things, then we ought to look more to excluding the use of the contents in nonnational security cases rather than preventing the searches from taking place.

It will not simply be left to officials of the House Judiciary and House Intelligence committees to iron out their differences on the front or back end. Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)  both of whom sit on both the Intelligence and Judiciary committees in their chamber  are expected to release a bill soon that is more deferential to the intelligence community than the House Judiciarys bill. Privacy advocates Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) are also expected to weigh in on the other end of the spectrum, with a bill requiring warrants for any and all queries of the database.

Back in the House, the Freedom Caucus is also starting to discuss its approach to a Section 702 reauthorization in meetings, though the group has not yet taken a stand on how it will vote.

Its leader, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) is already raising concerns related not just to the central debate about where does national security and going after terrorists infringe on the rights that are constitutionally protected, as he said, but also related to the intelligence communitys internal practice of unmasking of U.S. persons, that Meadows believes infringed on our Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure.

[Nunes-led House Intelligence Committee asked for unmaskings of Americans]

Unmasking became a buzzword earlier this year, after Nunes accused Obama administration officials of improperly revealing the identities of U.S. persons picked up in foreign surveillance reports, intimating that at least one of those persons was affiliated with President Trump. According to NSA Director Adm. Mike Rogers, only about 20 members of the agency are permitted to approve requests to unmask the identities of U.S. persons who are picked up in Section 702 and other surveillance of foreign agents overseas, and only certain government officials privy to those reports can make an unmasking request. If the unmasking request is deemed critical to understanding the nature of the intelligence, the identity of that U.S. person is unmasked only to the requesting party.

The House Judiciary bill also changes the procedure by which unmasking requests are made. But given those concerns, Meadows suggested he wants to see even more protections for how information on Americans communications is accessed, endorsing the idea of look[ing] at warrants and the admissibility of evidence  a combination, effectively, of both the House Judiciary Committees and Schiffs proposals.

Its making sure we go after the bad guys but that we dont have a dragnet that pulls in U.S. citizens with constitutionally protected privilege, Meadows added.

Meadows guessed, however, that it would still be a few weeks before the Freedom Caucus officially weighs in on the Section 702 debate and the House Judiciary Committees bill.

When I tell you Ive got the votes to stop it, I want to make sure Ive got the votes to stop it, he said.

Ellen Nakashima contributed to this report.

Read more at PowerPost
Harvey Weinstein attends the first presidential debate in 2016 at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y. (Peter Foley/European Pressphoto Agency-Efe/Rex/Shutterstock)

Democrats are shedding contributions from Hollywood mogul and liberal political donor Harvey Weinstein after he was accused of serial sexual harassment this week.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and several colleagues will send money Weinstein gave their campaign funds to womens charities and groups that combat sexual violence, their offices confirmed by email Friday.

The Democratic National Committee said it would donate over $30,000 to groups that help Democratic women win elections and took the opportunity to slam President Trump for making lewd comments about women and facing his own allegations of sexual harassment in the past.

The Democratic Party condemns all forms of sexual harassment and assault, DNC Communications Director Xochitl Hinojosa said in an emailed statement. We hope that Republicans will do the same as we mark one year since the release of a tape showing President Trump bragging about sexually assaulting women followed by more than a dozen women who came forward to detail similar experiences of assault and harassment.

Democrats began giving up Weinstein's donations after the New York Times reported Thursday that he had faced allegations of sexual harassment over a period of nearly three decades and reached at least eight settlements with accusers. The Republican National Committee and the GOP opposition-research-group America Rising PAC had pounced on the news and called for Democrats to denounce Weinstein and let go of his contributions.

"There is no excuse for these Democrats to hold onto Weinstein's campaign contributions for a minute longer. That it has taken them this long to say anything, is by itself a disgrace," America Rising said Friday in an unsigned statement.

Weinstein has also made donations to Hillary Clinton, former president Barack Obama, state Democratic parties and liberal political action groups, according to campaign finance records. After the Times published its piece, Weinstein apologized, threatened to sue the paper and said he planned to take a leave of absence. Weinstein will be suspended from his film company pending an internal investigation into the harassment claims, the Associated Press reported Friday evening.

Through an aide, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) suggested Republicans use "this terrible story as a political tool to join her in actually working to combat sexual assault and sexual harassment in our society."

"They can start by endorsing her bipartisan legislation to end sexual violence on college campuses and in our military," Gillibrand senior adviser Glen Caplin said in an emailed statement.

Gillibrand will donate $11,800 to RAINN, an anti-sexual-assault group, spokeswoman Whitney Brennan said.

Schumer will donate Weinstein's $14,200 in contributions to women's charities, spokesman Matt House said.

The rise and fall of Harvey Weinstein

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) donated $5,000 to Casa Myrna, a Boston nonprofit organization that fights domestic and dating violence, spokeswoman Kristen Orthman said.

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) donated $5,400 to Community Against Violence in Taos, N.M., spokeswoman Marsha Garcia said.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) will give $2,700 to the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence, spokeswoman Maria McElwain said.

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) will give contributions from Weinstein, including those to his political action committee, to the Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center, spokesman Ed Shelleby said.

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) will donate $5,600 to the Women's Fund at the Vermont Community Foundation, Leahy campaign manager Carolyn Dwyer said.

Other reported donations, including a plan by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) to give $7,800 to the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault, could not be immediately confirmed.

Emails asking the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee whether they planned to return or donate Weinstein's contributions were not immediately returned.

The DNC will give to Emily's List, Emerge America and Higher Heights, Hinojosa stated.

Weinstein gave the DNC at least $246,290 since 1994 and the DCCC at least $23,200 since 1993, according to America Rising.

Read more at PowerPost


The 4,000-square-foot, four-bedroom, four-bathroom, single-family house at 1000 Havencrest St. in Rockville, Md., is listing for $785,000. (By Bryce G. Photography)

Low inventory and high home prices continue to plague the Washington region this fall.

While conditions in Montgomery and Prince Georges counties are different, both have seen a tightening of the market with most homes selling within one to 10 days, says Jonathan Hill, vice president of marketing and communications for multiple-listing service Bright MLS (formerly MRIS) in Rockville.

The housing market in Montgomery County was slower than Prince Georges County, with sales more sluggish there in 2016 and earlier this year, said Nela Richardson, chief economist of Redfin brokerage in Washington. But now the two counties are balancing out a little in activity. Bethesda, Rockville and Silver Spring are all getting more active with buyers in Montgomery County, while in Prince Georges County theres a lot of construction that sellers have to compete with. Builders are offering more concessions, which means the number of buyers in Prince Georges may be easing up a bit.

Sales have been flat in Montgomery for the first eight months of 2017, said Hill, virtually the same as in 2016.

The median sales price in Montgomery County rose by 3.7 percent to $425,000 year-to-date at the end of August, Hill said.

[Despite rising home prices, this isnt 2005 again]

The most listings for single-family houses in the county in August were in the $600,000 to $800,000 range, while the most townhouse listings were in the $300,000 to $400,000 range. The majority of condo listings in Montgomery were priced between $200,000 and $300,000.

In Prince Georges, the median sales price rose by 10 percent to $275,000, far below the median sales price in surrounding counties and the District.

Prince Georges is by far the most affordable county for homes, especially for areas in close proximity to the city, Hill said. The county also has the most new construction in the region and the most affordable newly built houses.

The pace of sales is higher in Prince Georges than in Montgomery, with an increase of 6.8 percent when comparing the first eight months of 2017 with the first eight months of 2016.



The 1,400-square-foot, two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo at 9405 Blackwell Rd., Unit 309, in Rockville, Md., is listing for $397,000. (By HomeVisit)

The price range in Prince Georges with the most listings of single-family houses is between $300,000 and $400,000. The price range with the most townhouse listings is between $200,000 and $300,000.

Condo listings in the county are split pretty evenly between $100,000 to $200,000, $200,000 to $300,000 and $300,000 to $400,000.

Lower escalation clauses

Buyers are used to this markets low inventory and expect to compete for houses in the most desirable areas, said Hill.

Right now, houses in Silver Spring and in Rockville near the Town Center and Metro, where people can walk to activities and transportation are really hot, said Richardson. There are escalation clauses, but they tend to be in increments of $1,000 or so and sell $5,000 to $10,000 over the asking price rather than $100,000 over list price, which happens sometimes in the District.

In Prince Georges, competition is less heated because of the availability of new construction, particularly townhouses.

In Montgomery, new construction tends to be in the form of luxury-level single-family houses and condos, said Donna Evers, broker and owner of Evers & Co. Real Estate in Washington.

[Glenmont MetroCentre townhouses in Silver Spring feature spacious, four-story home designs]

The cost of land and the cost of labor in this area is so high that new construction mostly just adds to the expensive housing on the market and doesnt address affordability issues, said Evers, whose firm was recently sold to Long and Foster. However, the farther away you get from the city, the more you can find some affordable properties.

Evers said new communities like Pike & Rose in North Bethesda are attracting empty-nesters who want to live in a walkable community and in new construction with less maintenance.



The 1,182-square-foot, three-bedroom, four-bathroom townhouse at 21111 Camomile Ct., No. 99, in Germantown, Md., is listing for $313,000. (By Chris Piller)

Among the new developments in Pike & Rose is the Rose condo under construction above the Hilton Canopy hotel.

The condos are selling very well because now that the retail elements of Pike & Rose are coming to fruition theres a good sense of place there, said Chris Masters, executive vice president of McWilliams Ballard in Washington. Buyers are also excited about the hotel amenities that will be available to residents.

Other new developments in Montgomery include Westside at Shady Grove by EYA and the Brownstones at Chevy Chase Lake by EYA, both designed to be walkable to transit options, restaurants and shops.

In Montgomery County, the new construction is mostly upscale townhouses, including some with elevators to appeal to empty-nesters, said Dan Fulton, senior vice president of John Burns Real Estate Consulting in Reston. EYA designed some slightly more affordable townhouses at Westside at Shady Grove that are 16 feet wide at the front door level and 20 feet wide on the bedroom level so you can have three bedrooms all on one level. Theyre priced in the $500,000s, compared to $1.5 million for the townhouses at Chevy Chase Lake.

In Prince Georges, a new 248-unit condo building, the Haven, is under construction at National Harbor. Masters said its the first new condo building at National Harbor in a decade. Sales are anticipated to begin this fall.

[Westphalia Town Center offers an urban style in the Maryland suburbs]

Several builders are active at Westphalia Town Center, close to the Beltway and the District, including Mid-Atlantic Homes, which is building urban-style townhouses priced from the low $400,000s, said Fulton. The townhouses have rooftop terraces over the garage level so buyers can have first-floor outdoor space. Several builders are constructing townhouses and single-family houses at Westphalia Town Center and nearby at Parkside at Westphalia, a more traditional planned community.

The townhouses by Stanley Martin at Riverdale Station are in an area that hasnt been very active with new construction until now, said Fulton. Thats a more affordable community and yet within walking distance to a Metro station. Some other builders are also developing townhouses and condos near Hyattsville that are reasonably priced in the $300,000s and $400,000s.

Stanley Martin is also building condos and townhouses at Metro Pointe within walking distance of Landover Station with prices starting in the upper $200,000s.

New construction adds some supply to the Maryland suburbs but still not enough to offset the long stretch of limited resale listings. Buyers will still need to be ready to compete for homes this fall.
These days, death is often at the door. Death by bullet, death by blood.

President Rodrigo Dutertes drug war has left thousands dead at the hands of police, but it is also threatening lives in a different way.

Front-line advocates in this city in the central Philippines say the violent anti-drug campaign is pushing users ever further underground, fueling the spread of disease by stopping efforts to get them clean needles.

Those who work with injection drug users say they are being harassed, even arrested, while trying to make their rounds.

The police are paranoid, so we are having trouble reaching people, said an outreach worker for a community group that distributes clean needles. He gave only his nickname, Panki, for fear of being linked in any way to drugs.

Experts say the health effects of the violent campaign may be felt for years to come.

"Evidence from around the world shows that this kind of policy has a very negative impact on the rate of infection for various diseases, from tuberculosis to hepatitis and HIV," said Agnes Callamard, a human rights expert at Columbia University who serves as the United Nations' special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. "There will be secondary deaths that will be very difficult to monitor and quantify."

It is too soon to map out exactly how the drug war will affect the health of Filipinos. With drug use demonized and police acting with impunity, some drug users stay away from support and testing services out of fear, making it tough to track infection rates.

But the Philippines has the fastest-growing HIV infection rate in the Asia-Pacific region. A recent UNAIDS study found that HIV cases more than doubled between 2010 and 2016, from 4,300 to 10,500.

In Cebu City, roughly 50 percent of the citys injection drug users are living with HIV, according to local authorities.

What is happening here provides early, anecdotal evidence that Dutertes drug crackdown is hindering, rather than helping, efforts to keep people healthy.

Ilya Tac-an, head of the citys HIV detection program, has tracked injection drug use and infection rates since the early 1990s, well before Dutertes rise to power, and has seen firsthand, over decades, how shifting attitudes about drug use and needle programs influence infection rates.

Community groups in Cebu City have long provided clean needles, sometimes with support from local authorities, sometimes against their wishes.

When nongovernmental organizations are able to distribute clean needles, rates of illness hold steady, Tac-an said. When the government restricts the distribution of clean needles, more people are infected with hepatitis and HIV.

In 2009, for instance, community groups were asked to shut down their long-running needle exchange program, and the city passed rules limiting the sale of needles without prescriptions. The next year, HIV cases among drug users in Cebu jumped from less than 1 percent to 53 percent, Tac-an said.

In the years since, grass-roots groups have found ways to operate. Now, under Duterte, they are under threat again and fear another spike in new infections.

Those who can afford to buy needles on the black market do so. Those who cannot afford it either get them on the sly, or, when that fails, use a service needle, which is typically shared five or six times.

Users support clean-needle programs, but if distribution stops, they will go back to sharing, Tac-an said.

And in the midst of Dutertes war, needle distribution has been curtailed.

People familiar with Cebu Citys drug trade say the local drug of choice, a mix of Nubain and methamphetamine known as a milkshake, is still widely available and affordable; safe needles, increasingly, are not.

Outreach workers who deliver needles report being stopped by police for looking like a person who injects drugs.

The police are harassing each person with needle marks. If you have needles, you can get arrested, said a second outreach worker, who was too frightened to give his name for fear of being put on a drug watchlist.

When people who inject drugs are jailed, they are often able to continue using drugs behind bars but lose the ability to obtain clean needles.

Panki said he worries constantly about being caught with needles and then being placed on a drug watch and targeted by police. But he will continue to distribute because he understands the stakes.

If we stop, our peers die, he said.

Kimberly dela Cruz contributed to this report.

Read more:

The death of a Philippine teen was supposed to be a turning point for Duterte. But kids keep getting killed.

Philippiness Catholic Church sounds alarm amid Dutertes deadly anti-drug crackdown

Philippine police use chaos of Dutertes drug war to extort families in distress

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Pakistani Army Chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, shown at his accession ceremony in Rawalpindi last November, visited Afghanistan on Oct. 1. But his overtures were met with broad skepticism. (Inter Services Public Relations/AP)

When Pakistan's army chief visited the Afghan capital Oct. 1, he did his best to disarm his hosts. He offered to train and equip Afghan troops, and he promised to cooperate in peace and counterterrorism efforts. Afghan officials, in turn, received him with a military honor guard and issued an upbeat statement heralding "a new season" in their troubled relationship.

But behind the diplomatic gestures, there was little to indicate that anything had changed. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, humiliated in previous attempts to mend fences and take Pakistani officials at their word, demanded coolly that monitoring teams and mechanisms be established to ensure all promises and deadlines were implemented.

Even before Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwas plane departed, the barrage of criticism had begun. Afghan analysts, politicians and former officials pronounced his visit another attempt by Pakistan to deceive their country while secretly supporting anti-Afghan militants. Bajwa had come calling only out of desperation, they said, because of intense pressure from the Trump administration.

Pakistan is trying to pretend it is changing, but after 16 years of double games, these are only tactical moves, said Rahmatullah Nabil, a former Afghan intelligence chief. Pakistan has been using terrorism as a tool of state policy for decades, and Afghanistan has been the victim of terrorism for decades. As long as Pakistan does not change this policy, no equilibrium can be established.

Pakistan has reason to feel desperate. Faced with the threat of unprecedented U.S. sanctions and fresh accusations that it has not done enough to stop cross-border attacks into Afghanistan, its military has responded with a variety of tactics: indignant denials, aid offers, history lessons, helicopter tours of pacified border zones, condolence messages to Afghan bombing victims and high-profile efforts to build a wall along their 1,800-mile border.

[Trumps new Afghanistan policy has Pakistan angry and alarmed ]

But nothing seems to be working.

Last week in Washington, senior U.S. officials repeated charges that Pakistan is providing sanctuary for an aggressive Taliban faction known as the Haqqani network. Marine Corps Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a congressional panel it was "clear" that Pakistan's intelligence agency "has connections with terrorist groups."

At a separate hearing, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the Trump administration would try one more time to work with Pakistan on the Taliban issue, but if it failed, the president is prepared to take whatever steps are necessary. He said that could include revoking Pakistans status as a major non-NATO ally, a harsh blow to the former Cold War partner.

Pakistan has consistently denied providing shelter to anti-Afghan militants. Its prime minister told the U.N. General Assembly recently it was especially galling to hear such criticism when Pakistan has suffered from years of terrorist attacks. Its foreign minister told another audience in New York this week that Washington had no right to condemn Pakistan for supporting militant leaders it had wined and dined during past conflicts.

Asked Thursday about the latest U.S. comments, Pakistans Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Pakistan has successfully erased the footprint of terrorists from our soil and that most insurgent activities, including attacks on Pakistan, emanate from ungoverned spaces inside Afghanistan rather than from Pakistani havens.

Despite their doubts, some Afghan officials say they believe Pakistans security establishment is being forced to pivot in its thinking on Afghanistan. They see Bajwas visit to Kabul as a sign of this shift  especially his one-on-one meeting with Ghani, which one Afghan diplomat described as unusually candid, constructive and encouraging.

Pakistan once backed Taliban rule in Kabul, and it has long sought to keep Afghanistan weak and dependent as a counterweight to India, its powerful neighbor and rival to the east. But now, Pakistans regional partners and investors are echoing new U.S. demands that it help end the 16-year Afghan conflict, which they see as a threat to stability.

From our past experience, no Afghan should be optimistic about Pakistan supporting our cause. But the new American strategy has created an opportunity that it should explore, said Javed Faisal, a senior aide to Afghanistans chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah. He said Pakistans support for militants abroad had backfired.

If they dont change, they will face isolation from the world, Faisal said. We should work with them to build trust and tackle terrorism together.

Skeptical Afghans point to years of broken promises, failed meetings and peace initiatives that went nowhere. Former president Hamid Karzai made an unprecedented trip to Islamabad a decade ago, carrying a list of Taliban hideouts, and came back empty-handed. Ghani praised Pakistan in 2015 for hosting peace talks, only to be mortified when Pakistan suddenly revealed the death of former Taliban leader Mohammad Omar and canceled the talks.

Within Pakistan, there is also resistance to rapprochement or concessions. The week of Sept. 24, the new interior minister was reprimanded by Parliament for suggesting that the country should put its own house in order before seeking foreign support. Even Bajwa, the most powerful official in Pakistan, faced some pushback for his diplomatic foray. The military spokesman, while touting the initiative, noted that there was some discomfort in security and civil quarters about it.

[In Pakistan, once-fringe Islamist radicals are making their way into mainstream politics]

Munir Akram, a former Pakistani diplomat with strong nationalist views, wrote recently that efforts to engage with the United States will prove fruitless and that President Trumps new policy of sending more troops and putting pressure on Islamabad is not aimed at pacifying Afghanistan but at imposing a broad Pax Indo-Americana on the region.

Pakistan should prepare itself to bear the pain of threatened U.S. sanctions. It should draw its own red lines, Munir wrote in Dawn, a major daily newspaper in Pakistan. Any sign of weakness will intensify, not ameliorate, U.S. coercion.

Even if it is in Pakistans urgent interest to smooth its relations with Afghanistan, some analysts said, the most intractable obstacle is the gulf between Afghan and Pakistani perceptions of regional reality. Afghans see the Taliban insurgency as the main threat to their security and Pakistan as its backer; Pakistan sees India as a permanent threat to its existence and its friendship with Afghanistan as an extension of that threat.

"For all the complimentary rhetoric on both sides now, there is a total disconnect between how they define the problem," said Davood Moradian, president of the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies. "They both face the threat of terrorism and they have to come to an understanding, but it is not happening. At this point, I can see no positive outcome."

Read more

Trumps incorrect claim that 20 U.S.-designated terrorist groups operate in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Trump administration abruptly shutters diplomatic office on Pakistan and Afghanistan policy

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
Catalan secessionists were working Friday toward a unilateral declaration of independence from Spain that could be adopted next week, in defiance of a court order and increased economic pressure from Madrid.

After Spains Constitutional Court suspended a session of the Catalan regional parliament set for Monday, which had been expected to endorse an independence declaration, the parliament said the regions pro-independence leader, Carles Puigdemont, would address the assembly at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

Madrid apologized for the first time Friday for police use of violence in trying to hinder a weekend referendum it had declared illegal. That crackdown raised the temperature of a confrontation that has grown into Spains worst political crisis in decades.

A Catalan legislator was quoted by El Mundo newspaper as saying secessionist parties in the Catalan parliament were discussing an independence declaration to be submitted to the assembly Tuesday.

The stakes are high for Spain, the euro zones fourth-largest economy. Catalonia is the source of a huge chunk of its tax revenue and hosts multinationals including carmaker Volkswagen and drug firm AstraZeneca.

The regions head of foreign affairs, Raul Romeva, told the BBC that the Catalan parliament intended to make a decision on independence, without specifying when.

Parliament will discuss. Parliament will meet. It will be a debate, and this is important, Romeva said.

The Spanish government stepped up economic pressure on the Catalan government Friday by passing a law to make it easier for companies to move their operations around the country, potentially dealing a blow to the regions finances.

But it also made a conciliatory gesture in apologizing for Sundays referendum violence, in which Spanish police used batons and rubber bullets to stop people from voting. The scenes brought worldwide condemnation and fanned separatist feeling but failed to prevent what the Catalan government described as an overwhelming yes vote.

When I see these images, and more so when I know people have been hit, pushed and even one person who was hospitalized, I cant help but regret it and apologize on behalf of the officers that intervened, Enric Millo, the Spanish governments representative in Catalonia, said in a television interview.
Helga Schmid, secretary general of the European External Action Service, said the Iran nuclear accord is working. (Arnd Wiegmann/Reuters)

European officials and business executives are quickly mobilizing a counter effort to the expected U.S. rebuff of the Iran nuclear accord, encouraging companies to invest in Iran while urging Congress to push back against White House moves that could hobble the deal.

The European stance  sketched out on the sidelines of an Iran-focused investment forum in Zurich this week  is an early signal of the possible transatlantic rifts ahead as the United States' European partners show no sign of following the White House call to renegotiate the landmark pact with Tehran.

The nuclear deal is working and delivering, and the world would be less stable without it, Helga Schmid, the secretary general of the European foreign policy service, said in a speech at the Europe-Iran Forum.

This amounted to a warning shot that Washington may once again find itself isolated from key Western allies, who already broke with the White House over issues such as President Trump's call to withdraw from the Paris climate accord.

Trump plans to declare next week that the 2015 Iran deal  which curbs Iranian nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief  is no longer in the U.S. national interest, according to U.S. and European officials. Such a move would then give Congress 60 days to vote to reimpose sanctions.

[Trump once again imperils key alliances]

This could pave the way for the deals collapse, or more likely Europeans and others such as China and India could try to keep their growing economic and diplomatic engagement with Iran  with the United States on the outside looking in.

The risk [of sanctions] is there, but my perception is that everybody outside the U.S. who participated in the deal wants to increase relations with Iran, Ulrich von Zanthier, director of financial risk management at KPMG, a global audit and advisory firm, told the conference.

If the United States reintroduces sanctions, it is what it is, he said. But at the moment, we can do business, so lets do business.

European diplomats and business leaders said they hope the 60-day period will provide them with a diplomatic buffer zone in which they can convince Congress to salvage the agreement.

Theres a period of 60 days where things need to work out in a way that upholds the [agreement] with the U.S. still in it, said a senior executive at a Europe-based multinational company who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters related to Iran sanctions.

Theres no real alternative to the deal, the executive said, adding that its an illusion to think you can reopen and renegotiate.

The agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was the result of years of negotiations between Iran and world powers. It was hailed as a victory for global diplomacy and nuclear nonproliferation and allowed Iran to resume oil exports and foreign companies to tap into a vast consumer market.

Since then, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. watchdog tasked with monitoring Iran's nuclear program, has repeatedly certified the country's compliance with the deal.

Still, the Trump administration has said the agreement does not go far enough in countering Iran's ballistic-missile program and support for groups that the United States considers terrorists, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah.

In one sign of possible openings to ease U.S. concerns, a Tehran-based Western diplomat said this week that European and Iranian officials already had begun discussions over Irans ballistic-missile program and support for proxy groups in places such as Syria and Iraq.

It will take time to make progress on those issues, the diplomat said. But its not a matter of bringing Iran back to the table for negotiations on those issues, because the discussion is ongoing.

Trump is expected to announce a major policy shift on Iran next week  one that will more aggressively target Iranian security services and push for more radical enforcement of the deal, officials say.

[Nobel Peace Prize goes to group seeking nuclear-free world]

The deal has been put into question in harsh terms by some in recent months, said Schmid, the foreign policy group chief, referring to the U.S. administration.

As Europeans, we will do everything to make sure it stays, she added.

Iranian leaders also have insisted that the pact cannot be renegotiated. On Friday the head of Irans nuclear agency, Ali Akbar Salehi, warned that Iran would be forced to abandon the accord if other countries followed the U.S. lead to possibly reimpose sanctions.

But if the U.S. leaves the deal on its own with the others adhering to it, the situation will be different, Salehi told Irans Fars News Agency.

Part of the European effort to save the deal includes reassuring European companies and banks that they have political support for their investments, even as some businesses have struggled to navigate Irans volatile economy.

But for others, the risk may be too great.

Before the nuclear deal, the United States imposed what are known as secondary sanctions, under which the Treasury Department penalizes companies or people who do business with Iran. The fear is that the United States may revive those strict regulations  putting foreign companies doing business in Iran under the cloud of possible U.S. clampdowns.

Iran is a big market. Its also quite a stable country, said the executive from the multinational company. But multinational companies have to consider markets around the world, and Iran today is still relatively small compared to Europe or the U.S.

Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report.

Read more:

Trumps decision on Iran nuclear deal could cause major breach with European allies

Trumps generals thwart him on the Iran deal

Todays coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news
An international group dedicated to eliminating nuclear weapons won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, a recognition of efforts to avoid nuclear conflict at a time of pronounced global tensions.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons was honored for its work to foster a global ban on the destructive weapons, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.

The scrappy civil-society movement was behind a successful push this summer for a U.N. treaty that prohibits nuclear weapons. It promotes nuclear disarmament around the world.

The award comes amid rising global alarm about a potential nuclear conflagration. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has hurled threats of nuclear missile strikes against the United States, and President Trump has warned that he could "totally destroy North Korea" if provoked. The barbed exchanges have raised fears among many global leaders of a miscalculation that could end in cataclysmic conflict.

Separately, Trump plans next week to decertify the international agreement that limits Irans nuclear program, a step that European allies worry could lead to nuclear proliferation.

[Trump plans to declare Iran nuclear deal not in U.S. national interest]

"The risk of nuclear war has grown exceptionally in the last few years, and that's why it makes this treaty and us receiving this award so important," Beatrice Fihn, the Swedish executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, said in a telephone interview. "We do not have to accept this [risk]. We do not have to live with the kind of fear that Donald Trump could start a nuclear war that would destroy all of us. We should not base our security on whether or not his finger is on the trigger."

ICAN recognizes that nuclear weapons will not disappear any time soon. But Fihn said a ban is still a realistic long-term goal, similar to the way an international taboo was created around the use of chemical weapons.

Keeping nuclear weapons legal isnt going to help things, she said.

The decade-old Geneva-based coalition, which was modeled on international efforts to ban land mines, has branches in more than 100 countries.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was approved by two-thirds of U.N. members in July, but it has not attracted support from any of the worlds nine nuclear powers, which together possess nearly 15,000 atomic weapons. The United States and others boycotted the U.N. discussions that led to the treaty.

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said at the time that "we have to be realistic" about the nuclear threat of rogue nations such as North Korea, and she warned that the ban could actually increase the risk of nuclear war, not reduce it.





Nuclear powers around the world repeated their opposition to efforts to ban the weapons following the Nobel announcement Friday.

The Nuclear Ban Treaty does not move us closer to the goal of a world without nuclear weapons, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement. In fact, it risks undermining the progress we have made over the years in disarmament and non-proliferation.

The White House and leaders of other nuclear powers have instead endorsed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which limits but does not ban the powerful weapons. Russia and the United States hold the worlds largest stockpiles of nuclear weapons.

Signatories to the prohibition treaty would be banned from developing, testing and possessing nuclear weapons, as well as threatening to use them. The treaty will go into effect once 50 nations ratify it. Guyana, Thailand and the Vatican were the first three to do so.

[Quiz: How much do you know about the Nobel Peace Prize? ]

The Norwegian Nobel Committee recognized ICAN for "its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its groundbreaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons," chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen of Norway said as she announced the prize in Oslo.

"There is a popular belief among people all over the world that the world has become more dangerous, and that there is a tendency where we experience that the threats of nuclear conflict have come closer," Reiss-

Andersen said. The group has been successful in "engaging people in the world who are scared of the fact that they are supposed to be protected by atomic weapons," she said.

Asked whether the award was intended as a pushback to Trumps martial messages, Reiss-Andersen said that were not kicking anybodys leg with this prize. We are giving great encouragement.

[Trumps decision on Iran deal could cause major breach with Europe]

The Nobel committee said it chose to honor ICAN because of the groups concrete success in pushing the treaty forward. The idea of a nuclear-free world is broader, and an aging group of U.S. hawks gave it a prominent kick-start.

Former secretaries of state George P. Shultz and Henry Kissinger, former defense secretary William J. Perry and former senator Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), a bipartisan quartet with deep national security credentials, made headlines in 2007 when they endorsed ridding the world of nuclear weapons. Their ideas helped launch the anti-nuclear Global Zero movement.

Anti-nuclear campaigners say they recognize the challenge of persuading nuclear powers to agree to give up their weapons.

But the advocates believe that the treaty creates an international norm that will eventually pressure nuclear-armed countries into compliance, even if they never formally sign on, said Rebecca Johnson, executive director of Britains Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy.

Nuclear weapons became a tool for weak leaders to take shortcuts instead of providing their own people with safety, security and food, said Johnson, a founding co-chairwoman of ICAN. We have to take that value away in order to pull down numbers to zero.

She said that nuclear tensions between Washington and North Korea represent a setback to world peace.

That has to be done with diplomacy and politics, and definitely not nuclear saber-rattling between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, she said. They are very dangerous leaders that think they are exercising nuclear deterrence but in their irrationality are actually risking nuclear war.

[North Korea now making missile-ready nuclear weapons, analysts say]

Indeed, world peace seems especially fragile now. North Korea in recent months has embarked on a series of ambitious tests of nuclear-weapons technology and has threatened to strike the mainland United States.

Meanwhile, Trump is poised next week to decertify the deal limiting Iran's nuclear program. Under the 2015 accord, Iran pledged that "under no circumstances" would it "ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons" and said its aim was only to make progress on "an exclusively peaceful" nuclear energy program.

Separately, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi, has come under fire for failing to stop or condemn the ethnic cleansing of her nations Rohingya Muslim minority in recent months.

William Branigin in Washington contributed to this report.


Capt. Joe Geeb, 43, of the Clark County Fire Department is shown Thursday at the Clark County Fire Department Training Center in Las Vegas. Geeb was one of the first responders to the shooting scene and worked with police to use a new lifesaving tactic. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post)

Joe Geeb didn't know if there was one shooter, or 30.

When the call for a mass casualty incident blasted through the radio Sunday night, the Clark County fire captain had no idea what was happening on the Las Vegas Strip, but he immediately began thinking about how he would run toward the bullets, the mayhem and the carnage while everyone else was running away.

He quickly donned his flak vest and the helmet designed to withstand rifle fire and gunshots. Then he paused as a group of armed police officers created a protective bubble around him and other firefighters. Moving as one, the team hurled itself into the center of the chaos.

I knew the officers had my back, and I would have had theirs, Geeb said. Were going to go in together, and were going to come out together.

Relationships between the nations police and fire departments can range from friendly rivalries to downright acrimony. In Las Vegas, officials are confident that an innovative effort requiring both agencies to train together to respond to active-shooter incidents saved countless lives in the massacre that left 58 dead.

Fire departments traditionally have waited on the sidelines of shooting scenes until police declare it safe for medics to go in and treat victims. In some cases, including high-profile mass shootings, that resulted in wounded patients bleeding to death even though medics could have saved them with immediate aid.

[I n Las Vegas, going back to where they thought they would die]

Learning lessons from the shootings at Columbine High School outside Denver in 1999 and at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., in 2012, Nevadas first responders decided they should work while under fire.

We saw from the reports of how these people died and the lack of interaction with the police departments and we knew we had to fix that, Clark County Fire Chief Greg Cassell said Thursday.

Cassell said police and fire agencies in Nevada have been working together since 2010 to develop concerted responses to critical incidents, but Sunday was the first time their years of training and drills deploying rescue task forces played out in real life.



An agent walks out of Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, where Stephen Paddock, the gunman who killed 58 people and wounded nearly 500, stayed Sunday night, using his room as an elevated shooting position. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post)

Sixteen such task forces raced into the concert venue the night gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, sending volleys of bullets down on a country music festival with 22,000 attendees, fire officials said.

Each task force included four to six armed police officers, who created a perimeter around three paramedics, said Roy Session, the deputy chief of Clark County fire operations, who deployed the teams throughout the night. The medics treated and transported the wounded to ambulances under the blanket of safety those officers provided, moving in unison with police from patient to patient.

What we discovered in Columbine and Aurora is that people were laying and dying waiting for help, Session said. This team was trying to avoid that.

The fire department has trained with police on skills including kicking down doors and treating patients in simulated live-fire environments, with blank rounds fired to ensure medics learn to do their lifesaving work while disrupted by the sound of gunfire.

Sgt. Branden Clarkson, of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, was one of the many officers who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with firefighters at a Clark County fire department news conference Thursday to discuss Sundays rescue efforts. A decade ago, officials said, it would have been unusual to have even a single police officer at a fire department event.

We have a joking relationship and a friendly rivalry, but when it comes down to it, we know we are there for each other, said Clarkson, who heads the police departments efforts related to multi-assault counter-terrorism action capabilities.



Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sgt. Branden Clarkson, 33. (Salwan Georges/The Washington Post)

Firefighters and medics faced several challenges Sunday as they responded to what they would later learn was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, Cassell said.

People with gunshot wounds appeared at various hotels, but the calls were dispatched to first responders as a report of a shooter at each hotel. The calls initially generated more than 30 different possible shootings along the Strip.

That complicated our response, Cassell said. Were starting to think, Uh-oh, were having attacks at other locations. 

People scattered into hotels, to the tarmac of the airport and into neighborhoods, creating a response area that stretched about a mile.

It was not in one building, it was not in one spot, it was not in one address, Cassell said. It was spread over a massive area.

[Frantic switchboard calls, geometry of fire, led police to killer on Mandalay Bays 32nd floor]

The fire department transported more than 200 people to area hospitals that night and treated victims suffering from gunshot wounds, fractures and trampling injuries from the stampede to escape the gunfire.

Some of the injured were wounded further as they were transported out. In some cases, those escaping loaded the most-injured person in a group into a truck or car first because the individual could not move. But then other people would pile on top of that person to get out of the area. Geeb and his team at one point helped 10 people who had crammed into a compact car.

Then there was the emotional chaos, said Geeb, whose team treated dozens of people on Sunday. He said people around him kept screaming: Where is it coming from? Whats happening? Where do I go?

No firefighter or medic was struck by gunfire or injured, except one who hurt his knee in a fall.

Session said the response to Sundays shooting was built on lessons learned from previous incidents, but training has focused on a shooter who is at ground level, not someone firing from an elevated position.

He said the department is already breaking down its response to Sundays shooting to determine how to adjust for the future.

Our goal is to learn from those lessons, Session said. Hopefully, we wont have to use this again.

Cassell said that since Sundays shooting, law enforcement agencies and emergency officials from all over the world have contacted him to commend him on the departments response and to ask for advice on how they can emulate it in the case of a similar incident.

Although Sundays shooting was nothing for which anyone could have ever planned, Cassell said, it was something police and fire were ready to handle. It all came down to preparation and relationships, Cassell said.

We love our cops, and they love us, Cassell said. That paid off for us the other night
The Pentagon on Saturday released the name of a U.S. Special Forces soldier killed alongside three other Americans and four Nigerien troops during a surprise attack earlier this week near Nigers border with Mali.

Sgt. La David Johnson, 25, was missing for two days before his body was recovered Friday, officials said. He died Wednesday from wounds sustained during enemy contact when the small group of U.S. and Nigerien troops was ambushed by dozens of armed militants in pickup trucks. The U.S. and Nigerien group was conducting a reconnaissance patrol, according to the Pentagon.

It remains unclear how Johnson, of Miami Gardens, Fla., became separated from other U.S. troops on the patrol or if he had fallen into enemy hands. Officials said Saturday that the incident is under investigation.

On Friday, U.S. officials identified three of the fallen soldiers as Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, 35, of Puyallup, Wash.; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; and Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, 29, of Lyons, Ga. All four were assigned to the Army's 3rd Special Forces Group, which is based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina and serves as the U.S. military's primary unconventional-warfare unit operating in Africa.

Four Nigerien troops were killed and two other U.S. troops were wounded in the battle, but their names have not been disclosed. Officials said the Americans were in stable condition at a U.S. military hospital in Germany.



Clockwise from top left: Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, 29, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, 39, Sgt. La David Johnson, 25, and Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, 35, died from wounds sustained during an ambush Oct. 4, 2017, in Niger. All three Soldiers were assigned to 3rd Special Forces Group Airborne) on Fort Bragg. U.S. Army photos)

[Pentagon identifies three Special Forces soldiers killed in Niger ambush]

The French military, which also maintains a presence in the region, scrambled Mirage fighter jets in response to the attack, presumably to search for La David Johnson and provide support for those under threat on the ground.

The White House on Friday said President Trump spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss the situation in Niger. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders demurred when asked whether the administration intends to avenge the troops deaths.

Obviously, she replied, any time one of the members of our great military are injured, wounded or killed in action, that is something we take very seriously. . . . Were continuing to review and look into this, she added, noting that White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, a retired general whose Marine son was killed in combat, had kept President Trump apprised of efforts to locate the missing service member.

Trump met with his top generals and admirals Thursday to discuss a range of national security issues. While posing for a group photo, he cryptically referred to the moment as the calm before the storm. When asked what he meant, the president responded, Youll find out.

[Trump gathers with military leaders, says Maybe its the calm before the storm]

The Pentagon and the White House have long sought to frame the U.S. militarys activities in Niger and elsewhere in Africa as providing support for American allies battling extremists throughout the region  and being removed from direct combat with those groups.

Officials have said the attack occurred during an advise and assist mission, a broad term that critics say downplays the danger associated with training partner nations using small numbers of troops near militant strongholds.

U.S. forces have expanded efforts in Niger, military officials have said, as part of a growing presence in the Sahel region. The vast expanse of desert stretches across the continent, and affiliates of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have taken advantage of instability in Libya, where arms and fighters flow into a region difficult to govern.

About 800 U.S. personnel are assigned to posts in Niger, mostly at two sites focused on gathering aerial reconnaissance for Nigerien forces. That is an increase from 645 in June. About 300 to the south in Cameroon provide logistical and intelligence support. An unknown but probably small number operate in Mali.

The four combat deaths mark the first known hostile-fire casualties among U.S. forces in Niger. A soldier with the 3rd Special Forces Group was killed in a vehicle accident there in February.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued sweeping guidance to executive branch agencies Friday on the Justice Departments interpretation of how the government should respect religious freedom. (Susan Walsh/AP)

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued sweeping guidance to executive branch agencies Friday on the Justice Departments interpretation of how the government should respect religious freedom, triggering an immediate backlash from civil liberties groups who asserted the nations top law enforcement officer was trying to offer a license for discrimination.

In a memorandum titled Federal Law Protections for Religious Liberty, Sessions articulated 20 sweeping principles about religious freedom and what that means for the U.S. government  among them that freedom of religion extends to people and organizations; that religious employers are allowed to hire only those whose conduct is consistent with their beliefs; and that grants cant require religious organizations to change their character.

Though the principles are lofty  and some of them in no way objectionable  they could have a broad negative impact, permitting religious groups to impinge on the rights of LGBT people and others, said civil liberties advocates, including the American Civil Liberties Union, Equality Federation and others. The announcement, though, was welcomed by groups like the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Family Research Council.

Except in the narrowest circumstances, no one should be forced to choose between living out his or her faith and complying with the law, Sessions wrote. Therefore, to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law, religious observance and practice should be reasonably accommodated in all government activity, including employment, contracting, and programming.

The most immediate effect seemed to be on the Affordable Care Acts contraception coverage mandate. On Friday, the Trump administration issued a rule  which the ACLU said it would sue over, but groups like the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said they support  allowing a much broader group of employers and insurers to exempt themselves from covering contraceptives, such as birth control pills, on religious or moral grounds.

[Trump administration narrows Affordable Care Acts contraception mandate]

Sessions had offered some legal justification for that in the memo. He wrote that requiring employers to provide insurance coverage of contraceptives in violation of their religious belief substantially burdens their free practice of religion.

"This is a direct attack on women's rights," said Vanita Gupta, president and chief executive of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. "The Trump administration is using the guise of religious liberty to carry out their ideological agenda to deprive women of basic reproductive health care."

And civil liberties groups said there could be other effects. The principle allowing religious employers to hire only those whose conduct is consistent with their beliefs, for example, might allow a religious school to fire a teacher who had a child out of wedlock or a man who wed another man, said Louise Melling, deputy legal director at the ACLU.

It is countenancing discrimination, Melling said. It is countenancing exercises of faith in a way that will harm other individuals.

Senior Justice Department officials said the guidance was not meant to be a policy position, but rather, an interpretation of existing federal law. They said it was not meant to address any current legal dispute, nor was it meant to condone discrimination.

A 2014 memorandum from President Barack Obama barring federal contractors from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation remains in place, Justice Department officials said.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins praised the memo, saying that under the Obama administration, agencies lost a proper understanding of religious freedom.

President Trump and the Department of Justice are putting federal government agencies on notice: you will not only respect the freedom of every American to believe but live according to those beliefs, he said in a statement.

The guidance was generated in response to President Trump's executive order that was supposed to make it easier for churches to engage in politics without losing their tax-exempt status. Sessions's memo said the IRS should not treat religious organizations different from secular nonprofits.

Trump's order is being challenged in court, though some religious activists and experts have said it was more symbolic than practically meaningful.

[Critics said Trumps religious liberty order does nothing. The administrations lawyers seem to agree.]

Rick Garnett, a law professor at University of Notre Dame, said in some respects, the guidance served to summarize, restate, and endorse existing and established Supreme Court doctrine, but in others, it took strong religious-freedom stands on questions that are contested.

Religious schools, hospitals and other organizations would probably welcome the memo, as it would increase their ability to compete for federal grants, Garnett said. Analysts said the Justice Department seemed to be interpreting broadly a recent Supreme Court ruling that said efforts at separating church and state go too far when they deny religious institutions access to government grants meant for a secular purpose. Some analysts think that the decision was written narrowly to address only the issue of getting a grant to purchase recycled tires to resurface a playground.

The Justice Department under Sessions and Trump has changed course significantly from the Obama administration, especially on issues of civil rights and protections for LGBT people.

For example, Sessions told Justice Department employees this week that a major federal civil rights law barring employers from sex discrimination does not offer protection to transgender people. The Justice Department also sided with a Colorado cake baker who would not bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

Rebecca Isaacs, executive director of the Equality Federation, said the latest memo was a "an attack on the values of freedom and fairness that make this nation great."

"Freedom of religion is one of our nation's most fundamental values, which is why it is already strongly protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution," Isaacs said. "But the freedom of religion does not give people the right to impose their beliefs on others, to harm others, or to discriminate."

Others, though, said concerns might be overblown.

"Most of what it actually says is bland and general," said Doug Laycock, a professor at University of Virginia Law School. "Whether it is significant depends on the follow-through and on how it is interpreted."

Robert Barnes and Sandhya Somashekhar contributed to this report.
From left: Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, 29, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, 39, and Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, 35. All three Special Forces soldiers died from wounds suffered during an ambush Wednesday in Niger. (U.S. Army)

Defense officials have released the names of three elite Special Forces soldiers killed in an ambush during a reconnaissance patrol Wednesday in Niger, near the border with Mali.

On Friday, U.S. officials identified the fallen soldiers as Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, 35, of Puyallup, Wash.; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; and Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, 29 of Lyons, Ga. All were assigned to the Armys 3rd Special Forces Group, which is based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Details about their mission are still unclear, though media reports have detailed a brief but brutal fight involving dozens of fighters in armed pickup trucks called technicals.

The Pentagon and the White House have long sought to frame the U.S. militarys activities there, and elsewhere on the African continent, as providing support for American allies battling extremists throughout the region  and being removed from direct combat with those groups.

That appears to be changing, observers say.

Training operations have picked up in recent years, and with this incident, the U.S. seems to be getting closer and closer to combat operations, said Andrew Lebovich, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

U.S. forces have expanded efforts in Niger, military officials have said, as part of a growing presence in the Sahel region. The vast expanse of desert stretches across the continent, and affiliates of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State have taken advantage of instability in Libya, where arms and fighters flow into a region difficult to govern.

About 800 U.S. personnel are assigned to posts in Niger, mostly at two sites focused on gathering aerial reconnaissance for Nigerien forces. That is an increase from 645 in June. About 300 to the south in Cameroon provide logistical and intelligence support.

This expansion is a potential tension point for President Trump, who has sought to facilitate the Pentagons counterterrorism objectives while calling for scaling back the U.S. military global footprint because his political base does not see such missions as vital to the national interest.

Those impulses appear to collide in the Sahel, putting the Pentagon and the White House in the difficult position of explaining to the American public how three elite soldiers were killed on a mission that many did not previously know existed.

On Thursday, the Pentagons chief spokeswoman, Dana White, said the soldiers died, along with a partner nation member, from enemy contact, although she was careful to avoid the word combat.

"To the soldiers in the fight, it was combat," added Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., who is director of the Pentagon's Joint Staff. He and White endured a tense exchange with reporters, who questioned the two officials over the often-fraught characterization of troops killed by gunfire, explosions and in other hostile acts in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan, where U.S. troops are charged with similar missions to buttress partner forces.

But McKenzie emphasized that the overall conditions in western Niger were not characterized as combat.

If the mission was indeed training, Lebovich said, it seems it was meant to be a realistic training mission.

The soldiers deaths mark the first known hostile-fire casualties among U.S. forces in Niger. A soldier with the 3rd Special Forces Group, the main unconventional warfare unit in the Africa Command, was killed in a vehicle accident there in February.

The incident Wednesday occurred about 120 miles north of Niamey, the capital, near the border with Mali, officials said. White and McKenzie refused to elaborate on the nature of the mission or why U.S. forces were so close to Mali, a country rife with militant activity. They would not say whether Wednesdays operation indicates plans to expand security missions in the region or whether other hostile engagements have recently occurred there.

The United States already conducts surveillance drone flights piloted from Niamey and is finishing construction on an installation at Agadez, a central city in the Sahara, that will move flights closer to southern Libya and northern Mali, allowing surveillance aircraft to stay in the air longer.

Lebovich said Special Forces personnel have, since at least 2014, run training operations out of Ouallam, a town halfway between Niamey and the Mali border, where militants cross for incursions into Niger. Officials acknowledged activity at Ouallam but did not specify what operations were based there.

The Drive, a website that chronicles international defense activity, reported recently that the Pentagon has contracted fuel deliveries there, indicating the need to keep tactical missions self-sustainable in remote regions far from Niamey.

Deepening involvement in Africa translates to a learning curve for U.S. forces there, said Nasser Weddady, a regional security analyst. French military forces are posted across the region and have a deeper cultural understanding because France is a former colonial power in the region. France also holds business interests in uranium mines there, he said.

The French know these places. This is their Tijuana. This is their Mexico, Weddady said of the Sahel. The U.S. is still discovering the place.

News of the deaths appeared to Weddady as a turning point in U.S. involvement in Africa, and he thinks there may be eagerness to expand operations in what he called the logic of war, which could lead to a spiral of involvement.

How do you strike that optimal balance of security and assistance? Weddady said. Until yesterday we had that balance. And then it went out of whack.

Read more:

Niger struggles against militant Islam

An Obama Pentagon chief takes issue with gotcha questions about the definition of combat

The new general in Puerto Rico details his plan to speed relief as more troops arrive
Federal authorities revealed Friday they had arrested and charged three men in connection with a 2016 plot to carry out bombings and shootings in crowded areas of New York City, then kept the court case under seal for more than a year as investigators worked.

The alleged scheme was more nefarious than many: The group, which wanted to attack Times Square and the New York City subway system, claimed to have been in touch with an Islamic State affiliate to obtain the official sanction of the terrorist group, prosecutors said.

One of them, a U.S. citizen living in Pakistan, traveled in that country to meet with explosives experts and another purchased bombmaking materials and secured a cabin within driving distance of New York City, the prosecutors said.

By that time, though, the group was unknowingly communicating with an undercover FBI agent, who was posing as an Islamic State supporter, authorities said.

[The Islamic States suspected inroads into the United States]

Authorities arrested one in the group in May 2016 after he traveled to the United States, allegedly to prepare for the attacks, and took the others into custody in Pakistan and the Philippines in September 2016 and April 2017.

Charged in the case were Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, a 19-year-old Canadian citizen; Talha Haroon, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen living in Pakistan; and Russell Salic, a 37-year-old Philippine citizen, authorities said.

Bahnasawy was arrested in New Jersey in May and has pleaded guilty to terrorism offenses. The other two were arrested in the countries in which they live and prosecutors are hoping to extradite them to the United States, authorities said.

Prosecutors announced the case against the men as investigators continue to explore what sparked a 64-year-old retired accountant to open fire on a crowd at an outdoor concert on the Las Vegas Strip, killing 58 and injuring hundreds more in the worst mass shooting in modern American history. The Islamic State has claimed that attack, though authorities have said repeatedly they have found no evidence to support the terrorist group's assertion.

Prosecutors alleged the men in New York plotted similar mass destruction during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The men wanted to carry out bombings and shootings in Times Square and the New York City subway system and shoot people at concert venues, and they referenced similar attacks in Brussels and Paris, authorities said.

Bahnasawy told the undercover FBI agent he wanted to create the next 9/11 and in May 2016 sent maps of the New York City subway system with plans for where explosives could be detonated, prosecutors alleged. He also asserted the group should put a car bomb in Times Square, prosecutors alleged.

Look at these crowds of people! he wrote, according to prosecutors.

Meanwhile, in Pakistan, Haroon allegedly told the undercover FBI agent that he planned to travel to the United States to join in the attacks and cause great destruction and that he had been in touch with a branch of the Islamic State active in Pakistan.

NY Needs to fall, Haroon wrote to the undercover agent. Its a must.

Bahnasawy bought 40 pounds of hydrogen peroxide, which prosecutors alleged could be used to make a component of an improvised explosive device, as well as batteries, Christmas lights, thermometers and aluminum foil, prosecutors said.

They said Salic, who had a pro-Islamic State social media presence, told the undercover agent he was prepared to transfer money to help fund the attacks and claimed to have previously sent money to other countries to support the Islamic State. He ultimately sent $423 to the undercover agent, authorities said.

When Bahnasawy traveled from Canada to the New York City area on May 21, 2016, to begin preparing to execute the plan, Canadian and U.S. law enforcement were watching and took him into custody, authorities said. The case was initially sealed because prosecutors feared revealing it could compromise an ongoing investigation into an imminent terrorism threat.

All three men are charged with conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiring to commit terrorism and other related offenses, authorities said.
British Ambassador to the United States Kim Darrouch, third from left, speaks during a discussion on Europe and the Iran Deal with French Ambassador to the United States Gerard Araud, second from left, German Ambassador to the United States Peter Wittig, right and European Union Ambassador to the United States David OSullivan, left, at the Atlantic Council in Washington on Sept. 25, 2017. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images)

More than any other issue that has threatened transatlantic cohesion this year, President Trumps decision to decertify Iranian compliance with the nuclear deal could start a chain of events that would sharply divide the United States from its closest traditional allies in the world.

After the Paris climate decision, in which Trump withdrew the United States from a widely supported, painfully negotiated accord, this could push multilateralism to the breaking point, said a senior official from one of the three European signatories to the Iran deal.

None of the three  Britain, France and Germany  believes Iran is in violation, and each has said publicly it will not renegotiate the nuclear agreement.

U.S. imposition of sanctions affecting banks that even indirectly do business in Iran would doubtless influence those countries companies, they say, and would be considered an unfriendly act.

[Europes leaders want to save the Iran nuclear deal from Trump]

We will not follow the United States in reneging on our international obligations with this deal, said a second official. Not the E-3, nor the rest of the 28 members of the European Union.

Trump is expected to give a speech late next week announcing his decision and outlining the results of a months-long Iran policy review. People familiar with his thinking say he will not certify that Iran is honoring its commitments and will declare that sticking with the deal is no longer in the U.S. national interest.

Nothing will happen immediately, as the decision would be punted to Congress. The Senate could decide to restore pre-deal sanctions on Iran with a simple majority of 51, including a vote by Vice President Pence to break any tie.

In that case, Iran could call for a meeting of the majority-ruled committee of signatories and declare that the United States has violated the deal, an assertion with which the Europeans think they would be hard put to disagree. That would put them on the same side as two other signatories  China and Russia  that are sure to support Iran, leaving the United States as a minority of one.

What do we do? What do we say? asked the first European official, one of several from the signatory countries who spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss the sensitive diplomatic issue. It would be a big crisis.

The Europeans insist that everyone with whom they have spoken inside the Trump administration  except for Trump himself  has expressed opposition to decertification. But they have for some time considered his decision a foregone conclusion and have directed their attention to Congress, where even some Republicans who have long opposed the deal as deeply flawed worry that a reimposition of sanctions might make matters worse.

Were working the Hill a lot, the first official said. What we understand is that there is no inclination in the Senate to kill the deal by voting immediate sanctions. Staffers tell us that nothing is decided.

But were convinced somebody like Cotton will go out with a bill, said the official, referring to Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.). That will cause a crisis among the Republicans. . . . Nobody wants to appear to be defending Iran. Nobody wants to appear to be defending Obama.

The White House has seemed to signal to Republicans that they can decide not to immediately reimpose sanctions, and Cotton himself, an outspoken hawk on Iran who met Thursday with Trump, said this week that he has "no intention right now to introduce . . . sanctions legislation." While a law passed when the deal was done gives Congress 60 days to reimpose the sanctions lifted by the agreement with relative ease, lawmakers can take more time and pass a new sanctions law whenever they want.

Im not sure 60 days is enough, Cotton said Tuesday at the Council on Foreign Relations, for the United States to practice coercive diplomacy to bend others to its will. It might, he said, take until spring but no longer.

I hope we dont have to coerce allies. Id like to persuade allies, Cotton said. Many of them dont require much persuasion, allies in the Middle East, for instance, although they are not signatories to the deal. But, ultimately, countries have to make a decision, if it comes to that. Do they want to deal with the United States $19 trillion economy, or do they want to deal with Irans economy . . . about the size of Maryland?

Even if European political leaders are unpersuaded, he said, European businesses, vulnerable to U.S. sanctions if they continue dealing with Iran, may be. And if that does not work, Cotton said, let there be no doubt about this point: If forced to take action, the United States has the ability to totally destroy Irans nuclear infrastructure. And if they choose to rebuild it, we could destroy it again, until they get the picture.

Such comments infuriate the Europeans. I would remind our American friends that when we started to impose sanctions, the United States did not have any trade with Iran . . . [and] we carried the burden of financial losses, Gerard Araud, Frances ambassador to the United States, said last week at the Atlantic Council.

A Western diplomat in Zurich said the Europeans are contemplating reviving regulations the E.U. used to shield its companies and individuals from U.S. secondary sanctions in the 1990s. Everyones looking at options, the diplomat said.

Any deal without the United States would be very fragile in terms of keeping the incentive for Iran to uphold its side of the bargain, said a senior executive with a large multinational corporation. It will also play to the hard-liners in Iran and help shift power back to them, the executive said.

Long-standing Republican antipathy to the deal has come back to haunt its creators. Negotiators had envisioned a U.S. president who would justify staying in the arrangement as long as Iran lived up to its obligations, not a die-hard opponent who has branded the agreement an "embarrassment." The 60-day, expedited "snapback" provision in U.S. law was designed to punish Iran quickly in the event it violated the deal and did not envision that the United States would breach it.

Europeans are frustrated with what they consider misperceptions about what the agreement says and what it was intended to do. While Trump and other critics say Iran got a $100 billion "payoff," Europeans counter that the money belonged to Iran and was frozen in Western banks under sanctions. And although detractors say all of the deal's restrictions on Iran's nuclear program will be moot when some provisions of the arrangement expire in 2025, Iran will remain under the requirements of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which forbids weapons development.

And negotiators of the deal deliberately separated the nuclear program from their many complaints that Trump and others say are now reason to renegotiate or abrogate it  Iran's development of ballistic missiles, its destabilization of the Middle East and its support for terrorism.

We can speak with the administration about containing Irans malign influence, the second European official said. The question is: Does the U.S. have a strategy for that? Maybe they do. I dont know.

Erin Cunningham in Zurich contributed to this report.

Read more:

Iran nuclear deal unites Europeans as Trump pressure builds

Trumps generals thwart him on the Iran deal

Iranian president says nuclear deal will collapse if Trump pulls the U.S. out
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 06/10/2017 (1866 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was a student exchange program that brought Helsinki teenager Johanna Hurme to Manitoba for a year in the early 1990s  and it was love that brought her back the following year.

I was actually a high school exchange student in 1993-94 in rural Manitoba, the new chairwoman of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce said during an interview following the chambers 2017 annual general meeting on Thursday.

I was sort of a farmers daughter for a year and learned a whole bunch of stuff about the culture in Manitoba.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Johanna Hurme says downtown revitalization and urban infill development are issues shell be raising as chamber chairwoman.

While she described her host family for that year as amazing, Hurme said they werent the reason she decided to permanently move to Manitoba the following year. I fell in love with a Canadian during that year and love takes you places.

When she returned, she enrolled in the architecture program at the University of Manitoba and eventually graduated with not only a masters degree in architecture, but also a bachelors degree in environmental design.

Upon graduating, she landed a job with a Winnipeg architecture firm (Cohlmeyer Architects). About five years later, she and fellow architect Sasa Radulovic left to launch their own firm  5468796 Architecture.

While it was love for a specific individual that brought her back to Canada, Hurme said it was her love for her adopted home  Winnipeg  that has helped keep her here for the last 22 years.

I have become, since then, a person who sort of became really proud to be a Winnipegger  (one) who sees the opportunity in this city and has certainly benefited from the opportunities in this city.

One of those opportunities was the chance to join the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. She noted that when she and Radulovic first launched their company, they had very few connections in the city. But today they have many, thanks in part to their firms membership in the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber to me is the modern Agora or Forum where important conversations happen and new connections are made, she said. Its an incubator for new ideas.

As an architect and environmental design specialist, Hurme has pushed for a more walkable, bike-friendly downtown with a greater emphasis on design in civic projects and on more infill development rather than more suburban sprawl.

Her firm has also played a prominent role in the ongoing efforts to revitalize downtown Winnipeg through its involvement in a string of innovative downtown residential projects, including the You Cube 61 M condominium projects on Waterfront Drive, the James Avenue Pumping Station redevelopment project, also on Waterfront Drive, the Avenue Building and Sterling Building residential development projects on Portage Avenue, and the proposed Railside mixed-use development planned for the north end of The Forks site.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Johanna Hurme, co-founder of 5468796 Architecture, was sworn in as the new Chair of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce at the chambers annual general meeting Thursday.

Hurme said downtown revitalization and more urban infill development versus more suburban sprawl are also issues shell be raising as chamber chairwoman.

We need to be directing our growth in and creating more density and more vibrancy and more excitement. We need to create a more vibrant city because thats what visitors will identify with when they come here.

Hurme replaces outgoing chairman Wadood Ibrahim, co-founder of the Protegra Community of Companies.

In his final speech as chairman, Ibrahim noted the chamber membership surpassed the 2,100 threshold this year. The 144-year-old organization also finished the fiscal year with its largest surplus ($57,000) in recent memory.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 06/10/2017 (1866 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Laid-off Aveos Fleet Performance workers believe there may be some hope for relief in their dispute with the federal government over repayment of employment insurance benefits they received.

Last week, representatives of the laid-off workers met with Social Development Minister Jean-Yves Duclos to discuss potential options

In a Facebook posting, Jean Poirier, who represents the Association of Former Workers of the Air Canada Overhaul Centres, said, Our request was specific: that he make representations to his Treasury Board colleagues, including himself, to enforce section 23 (2.1) of the Financial Administration Act, which states that: the Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Treasury Board, remit any other debts, and interest thereof, if the Governor in Council considers that their recovery is unreasonable or unjust or that, generally speaking, the public interest justifies the surrender. From our point of view, the recovery levied on former Aveos employees is clearly unreasonable, unfair and not in the public interest.

The workers were laid off when Aveos went bankrupt in March 2012. Most had formerly been employees of Air Canada, but were transferred to Aveos in 2011, when Air Canada spun off its maintenance division to Aveos. Aveos did most of the heavy maintenance work for Air Canada at facilities in Winnipeg, Montreal and Mississauga, Ont.

Workers were entitled to severance from Air Canada when Aveos shut down, but the payout did not occur until about a year after workers were laid off. In the meantime, many filed for and collected employment insurance. Insult was added to injury when workers lost a legal battle against that clawback.

Renald Courcelles, who lost his job after 22 years as an Air Canada maintenance worker, said, What we are asking is for Duclos and the Treasury Board to either forgo the debt or give us a 20-year payback period,

In Manitoba about 280 people are affected who are expected to pay back an average of about $16,000.

Its between $300 and $500 per month for some guys, Courcelles said. We just cant afford to pay that.

Gilbert McMullen, a former Aveos worker in Montreal and a spokesman for the laid-off workers, said they hope to hear back from the ministers office in the next week or so.

McMullen, who is named as the plaintiff in a class action suit the laid off workers have also launched against Air Canada, said Instead of collecting employment insurance we should have received a cheque from Air Canada for $60,000 to $70,000.

Courcelles said the fact that the minister is listening to them is cause for some guarded optimism.

The latest development comes at the same time the U.S.-based aviation maintenance company AAR Inc. acquired Premier Aviation, a Canadian maintenance repair and overhaul firm that has operations in Trois-Rivieres, Que. and Windsor. Ont.

That transaction was followed by a new contract between Air Canada and AAR that will mean the heavy maintenance on Air Canadas fleet of Airbus planes, which used to be done in Winnipeg, will now be done in Trois-Rivieres. After to the closure of Aveos Winnipeg hangar the work went to AARs operations in Duluth, Minn.

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 06/10/2017 (1866 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When snake researcher Neil Balchan arrived at his Inwood-area research site Thursday morning, he was not prepared for the scene that greeted him  more than 100 garter snakes had been senselessly slaughtered.

Some had their heads chopped off, others had been clobbered to death, said Balchan, 21, a University of Manitoba student whos doing undergraduate research work on snakes.

The nature of the injuries were very much human. Some animals were shot. Some cleanly killed, with their heads appearing to be cut off with a knife or scissors.

A pile of dead snakes gathered by researcher Neil Balchan at a field site just north of Inwood. (Neil Balchan)

They were scattered everywhere, hanging from trees, hanging from bushes. It looked like they had essentially been smashed and thrown.

He estimates whoever came out to the secluded field site  located just north of Inwood and about 15 kilometres south of the provinces famous Narcisse snake pits  did so with the intention of spending their morning killing snakes. Based on the scene he walked into, he guesses the perpetrator left about an hour before he arrived.

Given that it was a cold morning and many of the snakes would have been hiding for warmth, Balchan  who describes himself as a reptile nut  believes someone must have spent a great deal of time walking around uncovering the snakes, before cutting off their heads or beating them with rocks.

You walk in and find one dead snake and you say, OK, something happened here. Then you find another one and then it just keeps going. Youre in a den and theres blood everywhere and there are writhing bodies everywhere, he said.

You wonder what goes on in someones mind that motivates them, on a Thursday morning, to skip school or work, hike into the bush and kill all these innocent animals. I mean, I dont understand what would be a motivator or driver for that kind of behaviour. I cant wrap my head around it.

Some animals were shot. Some cleanly killed, with their heads appearing to be cut off with a knife or scissors. They were scattered everywhere, hanging from trees, hanging from bushes. It looked like they had essentially been smashed and thrown.

Disgusted by what he found, Balchan spent a bit of time gathering up the bodies of dead snakes. He quickly piled up about 50 and took a photo to document it, but estimates there were 50 to 100 more dead snakes scattered around the area.

When asked if there was any possible explanation for the death of the snakes other than being deliberately killed by someone, Balchan said in his mind there is no real alternative for how these animals met their end.

Ive been trying to wrap my head around the cause or reason someone might have to do something like that. I just cant come up with anything, but in my mind there really is no other explanation for what happened here. Somebody deliberately went out and spent their morning doing that, Balchan said.

After leaving the site, where he spends three days every week, he says he contacted both his research team and Manitoba Conservation to let them know about what hed seen. A spokesperson for Manitoba Conservation was reached for comment, but could not immediately speak to the situation.

Although hes not sure what sort of action can be taken, Balchan hopes with the help of authorities hell never again walk onto his field site to find hundreds of dead snakes strewn about.

There are about 1,000 to 1,500 snakes at that particular den. So, from a biological standpoint this wasnt a significant amount of mortality, he said. These snakes will rebound as they always do. But you kind of question the ethics and morals behind someone going down and killing a large number of animals like that.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/10/2017 (1867 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  TransCanadas Thursday announcement to cancel its Energy East pipeline project left Manitoba environmentalists declaring victory, business groups mourning local construction contracts and a Winnipeg politician handling Ottawas trickiest political issue.

Energy Minister Jim Carr, who represents Winnipeg South Centre, insisted Thursday that his government can balance Indigenous rights, environmental concerns and the economy.

Canada is open for business Carr told reporters in Ottawa. We offer a stable and predictable investment climate, world-class energy reserves, proximity to global markets, a skilled workforce and enabling services and technology.

Jim Carr, Canadas Minister of Natural Resources, delivers a statement on TransCanada Pipelines' decision to cancel the Energy East Pipeline project on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

He chalked up TransCanadas pullout as a response to low commodity prices.

But last month, the National Energy Board said Energy Easts environmental assessment would look at greenhouse-gas emissions spanning all stages, from extracting oil to its end use. Thats when TransCanada put its application on hold, before withdrawing it entirely Thursday.

Nothing has changed in the governments decision-making process, Carr stressed. Ultimately its not up to me to explain why TransCanada made this decision.

The news came just a week before a massive, two-day summit Carr is hosting in Winnipeg on the future of Canadas energy sector.

Spanning Wednesday, Oct. 11, and Thursday, Oct. 12, the Generation Energy Forum will bring an expected 500 people to the RBC Convention Centre, from international experts to Indigenous leaders and youth groups. The conference aims to chart a course in addressing affordable energy and climate change.

But activists say those conversations are moving too slowly.

Nathan Laser, a campaigner with the Manitoba Energy Justice Coalition, said he awoke Thursday to a news alert about Energy Easts cancellation on his phone, I promptly jumped out of bed and started texting fellow activists, he said.

Its incredibly exciting, he said. We shouldnt be investing crazy amounts of money in these unviable energy projects.

Chuck Davidson, president of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, said industry groups had the opposite reaction to the extremely disappointing news. He said projections suggested Energy East would produce as many as 500 construction and maintenance jobs for the province.

This is another step backwards, said Davidson, who recounted Canadas years-long efforts to boost access to tidewater for resources like oil, bitumen and natural gas.

There was strong support in Manitoba for this going forward, Davidson said, though limited polling exists. An Angus-Reid survey in March 2016 found 69 per cent among Manitobans for the project, compared with 64 per cent nationwide and 48 in Quebec.

Its tough to have a discussion on pipelines, said Davidson. Whats going to continue is were going to see trains of oil coming through major cities in Canada on a daily basis.

Laser dismissed the argument, acknowledging that rail is generally seen as a riskier way to transport oil. It shouldnt be an either-or; it should be a neither, he said.

Last September, the City of Winnipeg raised concerns about how closely the pipeline would run parallel to the Shoal Lake aqueduct, saying a pipeline failure could pose a significant risk to public health and safety by contaminating drinking water for 700,000 citizens.

The Water and Waste Department later noted online that the pipeline would cross two metres below the aqueduct and follow it in close proximity  for several kilometres along its length.

It also said a spill could disrupt the Brady Road landfill, which handles methane gas and sewage biosolids. The department applied to be an intervenor in the NEB hearings, and hired a consultant to track potential impacts and plot safer alternatives.

The city did not respond by deadline to questions about how much it spent on the consultant, how far the intervenor application got and whether these concerns are now solved.

Laser said the Shoal Lake issue concerned environmentalists, as did the pipelines proximity to the Assiniboine and Red Rivers.

Activists have now turned their eye to the Enbridge Line 3 upgrade of a pipeline that crosses southwestern Manitoba, from Cromer to Gretna. The line is under construction in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and Laser said locals are seeing pieces of pipe arriving along the Manitoba route, ahead of spring construction.

Premier Brian Pallister wouldnt say Thursday how much Ottawa was responsible for Energy Easts pullout.

I have some very real sympathies for my friend Jim Carr, in respect of some of the challenges that he has to face, striking the right kind of process balance, he told reporters, saying its hard to merge thorough processes with reasonable timelines.

Pallister lamented the loss of massive investments for Canada, saying its always disappointing when you see that potential opportunity set on the backburner.

TransCanada declined an interview Thursday.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 05/10/2017 (1867 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After a somewhat unexpected false start, Wab Kinew finally got his day in the Manitoba legislature.

On Thursday, the new leader of the official Opposition NDP rose for the first time in question period to face off directly with Premier Brian Pallister.

Leading up to and following his election as leader last month, Kinew has been dogged by allegations that he committed a domestic assault 14 years ago. The allegations have drawn huge attention, in large part because they have come directly from Tara Hart, his former partner and alleged victim, and her family. Kinew has denied assaulting Hart, but the nature of the allegations make it impossible for anyone to set them aside.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Wab Kinew, leader of the Manitoba NDP and the official opposition.

Rising from his seat, Kinew buttoned the jacked of his light-blue business suit and began the work of the leader of the official Opposition. It became quickly evident that, setting aside the baggage from his troubled past, Kinew represents a massive upgrade for the NDP.

Largely a result of his years spent as a musician and television reporter, Kinew is calm and confident when speaking to a large audience. He did read off prepared notes, but his delivery was flawless, his tone measured and respectful. His questions were an effective mix of pointed inquiry and hyperbole, just the kind of cocktail that works well in the crucible that is question period.

In an exchange about health care, Kinew deftly pointed out how Pallister answers every question about health care with an answer about budgets and funding. Theres been plenty of talk about financial performance, so we know hes thinking about the money, Kinew said. But is he thinking enough about the impact on people?

In political terms, that one sentence struck deep at the heart of Pallisters greatest Achilles heel, namely that Manitobans are still concerned that he and his government are obsessed with the deficit with little regard for the human costs of austerity.

More importantly, that is the kind of political fencing that the NDP could not muster over the past 18 months as the party suffered through the interim leadership of MLA Flor Marcelino.

Marcelino courageously held down the job despite the fact she was, by her own admission, not a confident public speaker or effective debater. Im better working behind the scenes, she would say. She also noted that a 2002 surgery to remove a benign brain tumour had left her with limited short-term memory. For that reason alone, the NDP ought to award her a medal of bravery for her months of service.

However, while Kinew raised the overall level of play in question period, it became quickly apparent that he is not destined to shake the baggage from his earlier, troubled life anytime soon.

There was some intrigue about how Pallister  a notoriously scrappy man who rarely passes up an opportunity for a political jab  would respond when he first confronted Kinew in the legislature. An elegant public speaker, Pallister did not wait long to remind Kinew that when leaders face off in question period, its a full-contact game.

Pallister started by upholding a solemn parliamentary tradition of congratulating Kinew on becoming leader. At moments like this, politicians are expected to acknowledge that everyone who is elected to the legislature deserves a modicum of respect. However, Pallister being Pallister, there was a small jab thrown in with that warm welcome.

Casually, Pallister wished Kinew the best of luck over the coming days as he works to rebuild himself and his party.

The line was delivered without any verbal flourish or finger-wagging. It was a subtle but effective reminder that Pallister knows Kinew is vulnerable, and hes not going to let him off the hook.

Therein lies the problem for Kinew as he forges ahead as leader. Until there is some sort of resolution to the allegations against him  and its tough to imagine what that would look like  he will live on a razors edge where, at any moment, he will be trapped by his ugly past.

Take this week, for instance. Kinew was supposed to make his debut as official Opposition leader Wednesday, but was denied when Independent MLA Steven Fletcher consumed all of the time set aside for question period with a filibuster.

Fletcher has yet to fully explain his rationale for derailing proceedings, but it seems he is expressing his dissatisfaction about being kicked out of the Progressive Conservative caucus last summer. His behaviour this week has no doubt made the Tories feel good about that decision.

Still, had Kinew risen a day earlier for his first question as leader, the situation could have been more complicated because it was a national day of remembrance for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG).

There is little doubt the allegations of domestic assault do not play well among advocates for MMIWG. How could they? Domestic violence is often a tragic precursor to the murder of an Indigenous woman. The cloud of suspicion that hangs over Kinew has eliminated him as an advocate on that issue.

Throughout most of Fletchers filibuster, Kinew was forced to look up into the public gallery to see about two dozen mothers and other family members of missing and murdered Indigenous women. Given all that has transpired in his public life in the last month, that would have been a very tough audience for his inaugural performance as leader, particularly if he tried to acknowledge the family of the victims, as good leaders should do in the chamber.

But for now, and for the foreseeable future, that is Kinews predicament. Rather than a harbinger of better times ahead, Kinews performance will likely only serve as a painful reminder of what could have been.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 06/10/2017 (1866 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A consultant hired by the Pallister government to help it control costs recommends reducing grants to business by 10 per cent.

In a massive multi-volumed report released by the government this week, KPMG also urges a cut in funding to economic development agencies by 10 per cent  in cases where services overlap between groups.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The Manitoba Fiscal Performance Review volumes.

The report further says that boutique tax credits that are narrowly focused and directed at a small group of companies should be reduced and, in some cases, eliminated.

It recommends government consider eliminating or phasing out the long-standing Cultural Industries Printing Tax Credit and the Book Publishing Tax Credit (combined cost $1.8 million). It says the Film and Video Tax Credit has been enriched in recent years without demonstrated evidence of significant growth in the sector and could be scaled back to levels offered by other provinces.

The report says the dozens of existing business support programs need to be streamlined. It says the delivery and administration of direct business support programs occupies the equivalent of 70 full-time staff in the Department of Growth, Enterprise and Trade alone. It said a streamlining of business grant programs could allow the department to function with seven fewer positions at a savings of $500,000.

KPMG says a positive business environment and a competitive tax regime are significantly more influential on market growth and job creation than program supports.

A review of grant recipients revealed many of the same companies receiving funds year after year, and also to some large multinational companies that are not based in Manitoba or with relatively little investment in Manitoba, the consultant says in its report.

Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said while the government may be justified in consolidating some grant programs, the process should be carried out as part of an economic development strategy.

We dont want government just throwing money at economic development, he said. We want government making strategic investments tied to a strategy  to say this is where were going to be able to leverage the best strengths of the private sector to achieve (particular) outcomes.

Indiscriminate reductions in supports to business could hurt the province, Remillard warned.

We may be saving some funds and reducing funding to some of these organizations and effectively rendering them ineffective as a result, he said.

Jonathan Alward, director of provincial affairs in Manitoba for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said while he is encouraged that the government is looking for savings, he is concerned about the possible impact of reducing tax credits and slashing certain business supports.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS files President & CEO Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce Loren Remillard wants the government making strategic investments for the private sector.

Were obviously concerned that the government is going to make Manitobas tax environment less competitive for our small businesses, he said.

Dayna Spiring, president and CEO of Economic Development Winnipeg, said she had no problem with the government addressing overlapping funding to organizations such as her own.

She said the matter has come up in discussions with the province for some time.

I believe there is overlap among economic development agencies. I think we have to do better as a community. We have to be more collaborative. And we have to ensure that were all kicking in the same direction, she said.

The Progressive Conservatives have been in possession of KPMGs fiscal performance review since December.

It helped inform decisions announced in the spring budget, which included the elimination and reduction of some tax credits.

However, the government did not release the report until this week.

KPMG says current spending on business support programs may no longer reflect local employment conditions. It notes that Manitoba has a stable labour market, steady economic growth and a very low unemployment rate compared with other provinces.

It said Manitoba already provides small business with about $320 million a year in corporate income tax relief. Between 1999 and 2010, Manitoba reduced its corporate income tax rate on small business (defined as having an income of less than $450,000) from eight per cent to zero.

The consultants report lists 70 support programs for business, worth more than $100 million a year, offered by the Department of Growth, Enterprise and Trade alone.

It says this is not an exhaustive list as business supports are offered by other government departments as well.

KPMG says its recommendation for reducing direct support to business excludes tourism grants, which have been identified as a strategic priority by government.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca

Jonathan Alward, Canadian Federation of Independent Business
Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 06/10/2017 (1866 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA  Negotiations to transfer Churchills troubled train line and port to local ownership have almost derailed, sources tell the Free Press, as bureaucrats scramble to find space for an emergency propane shipment just days before it arrives.

A ship carrying 2.2 million litres of propane is set to arrive Sunday at the Port of Churchill, paid for by the province. But sources say Manitobas Sustainable Development ministry has blocked requests to put the fuel in Omnitraxs tank farm because the tanks are old.

The sources, who are familiar with the fuel resupply and ownership negotiations, said the same issue came up this summer, when Denver-based Omnitrax  owner of the Hudson Bay Railway  started relying on larger fuel shipments instead of gradual rail arrivals. The rail link into Churchill has been severed since May because of flood damage.

ALEX DE VRIES-MAGNIFICO Port of Churchill will receive a shipment of 2.2 million litres of propane on Sunday, but bureaucrats havent figured out where to put it.

They said multiple alternatives have been considered, including the risky prospect of keeping it on rails in empty tank cars.

A spokeswoman for Manitoba Sustainable Development Minister Rochelle Squires wouldnt get into details.

The current shipment of propane can remain in the containers used to ship it to Churchill, wrote Andrea Slobodian, suggesting the fuel is stored in stackable tanks.

Documents obtained through freedom-of-information laws show Transport Canada raised the issue four months ago.

This tank farm will need to be certified as an oil-handling facility, as it has not been utilized in a number of years, and was last certified in 2012, reads a June 11 note to federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau, adding officials will expedite recertification.

An undated note later adds if the community became dependent on the port for its fuel needs the pipeline leading from the tanks to the quayside would need to be repaired and recertified.

Meanwhile, talks aimed at transferring control of the rail line and port to two northern Manitoba groups are ongoing, but hit major hurdles last week.

Sources said a planned press conference was abruptly cancelled, after Ottawas negotiator, Wayne Wouters, had almost set up a deal to have Missinippi Rail and One North join forces and execute a business plan overseen by a Saskatchewan-based company and supported by Keewatin Railway Company. Wouters declined an interview request.

Mathias Colomb Cree Nation Chief Arlen Dumas, who is co-leading Missinippi, said there have been difficulties, but everyones still at the table.

I wouldnt say that the deals falling apart, Dumas said. Were still working on it. Theres some aspects of the proposal that people are bringing forward, and were discussing.

Dumas said he was part of the reason the groups delayed a press conference, because he felt there werent yet any developments to make public.

Theres people that have different ambitions, Dumas said. Some of them think that if we were able to just come together and sing Kumbaya tomorrow, the federal governments going to throw a whole bunch of money at us. But thats actually not the reality.

Separately, the documents also show Transport Canada was caught off-guard when Dumas signed a deal with Omnitrax for a takeover earlier this year, only learning about the agreement and request for federal cash through a June 5 news article.

Multiple sources said the current talks encountered difficulty around ownership, not repair of the rail line.

On Wednesday, Churchill Mayor Mike Spence put out a statement cryptically saying Omnitrax has not granted access to the rail line so that repairs can begin. The continued delay in access to the tracks is not acceptable and benefits no one.

Neither Omnitrax nor Spence would clarify.

Omnitrax Canada head Merv Tweed declined an interview, instead writing that reaching a deal would expedite repairs.

We have been working with various stakeholders and are providing them with reports and information regarding the assessment of the condition of the rail line, he wrote.

The documents also reveal some of the difficulty Ottawa faced in the days after the rail lines May 23 washout.

A memo prepared for a May 31 meeting between federal Energy Minister Jim Carr and Opaskwayak Cree Nation Chief Christian Sinclair, who is co-running the Missinippi Rail bid, noted confusion just a week after the washout.

The Indigenous communities initially supporting this organization have withdrawn their support to another organization known as One North, it reads. (The two merged their takeover bids Aug. 28, after pressure from Ottawa.)

Sinclair declined an interview Thursday.

Carrs spokesman, Alexandre Deslongchamps, said Wouters continues to meet with implicated parties and attend briefings with officials. Wouters was appointed Sept. 7, and Deslongchamps said his task is to ensure the rail line is operational as soon as possible.

The documents also reveal that close to 20,000 tourists used the rail line last year through Via Rail, which announced this week it would remove its stranded, rusting rail cars using the same ship that will supply propane.

The areas MP, Niki Ashton, said she met with Via Rail to express her concerns about the pullout.

Via is a key part of the community and its economy, and this is another blow at a time of great instability, she wrote. Ultimately, this falls on the federal government. There is a lack of federal leadership.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca

Transport Canada freedom of information request
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 06/10/2017 (1866 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The throaty growl coming from entrepreneurs, doctors, lawyers and even farmers across the country in response to Finance Minister Bill Morneaus proposed changes to small business corporation taxation presents the biggest challenge faced by the Liberal government.

Its hard to argue with the fundamental rationale for the changes: that the owner of an incorporated small business shouldnt pay less tax than the owner of an unincorporated small business on the same amount of earned income.

But what basically started as a totally defensible fairness initiative has escalated into a perceived attack on entrepreneurs who take the risks of starting businesses. Theyre taking it very personally, pointing out that neither Prime Minister Justin Trudeau nor his finance minister has a clue what it takes to quit their job, assume debt  including mortgaging their home or personal assets  and work seven days a week to nurture a startup. And they also point out that, unlike the bureaucrats who designed the tax changes, they have no job security or fat pensions waiting for them.

Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press Files Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau had a good rationale for their proposed small business tax changes, but a poor rollout has sparked a backlash.

It isnt entirely surprising that the announced changes would engender strong responses. But the way the rollout was handled has ignited an intensely visceral maelstrom. And Morneaus vow to go after professionals and wealthy people ignited the fuse. This was followed by the prime ministers insinuation that some small business owners were conniving cheaters who have private corporation mechanisms and good accountants that allow them to get away from that.

The rollout of the policy changes was, in the words of the Liberals own Commons finance committee chair, Wayne Easter, just godawful. And echoing the response from business owners, Easter added that the drafters of the changes didnt have a clue about the amount of effort that goes into a small business.

Its ironic that the very tax measures the prime minister accuses Canadians of getting away with were introduced by his father, former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, in his very first budget, effective Jan. 1, 1972. They were designed to allow small businesses to keep profits inside the company to maintain liquidity and facilitate growth.

Clearly, that has been accomplished. The number of Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) that qualify for the lower tax rate has burgeoned to 1.8 million. However, a great many of those are medical, legal and accounting professionals.

Rather than being tax cheats, these people are simply responding to a completely legal incentive to keep more of their earnings. The problem isnt their behaviour, its the vast chasm between those who qualify for CCPC status and those who dont.

Bridging that chasm would logically involve refocusing much of the tax benefit toward the risky startups the legislation originally intended, while also reducing the tax burden on other taxpayers.

Regrettably, the government shows absolutely no sign of doing that. The top federal tax rate has been increased from 29 to 33 per cent, taking the combined federal/provincial rate to more than 50 per cent in almost all provinces. And while Morneau and Trudeau wage class warfare against the wealthy, in reality a private-sector person with gross earnings of around $150,000 per year without a pension is less well off than many lower-paid public-sector workers working in secure jobs with shorter hours and generous pension benefits.

Moreover, these high-earning, skilled professionals are exactly the workers needed for a successful economy.

Yet as Canada faces a growing shortage of such workers, our government notches up their tax burdens at the same time the U.S. is lowering them.

But its not just higher-income earners who are taking a tax hit. A recent Fraser Institute study found that, despite the Liberals election campaign rhetoric of reducing taxes on the middle class, taxes for more than 80 per cent of middle-income families have actually increased.

Trudeaus determination to maximize the amount of taxes extracted from working Canadians is no doubt driven by the fact that his promised modest deficit is spiralling out of control.

But history has clearly demonstrated that when tax rates become excessive, tax revenues go down, not up. And economic growth also declines because high taxes discourage startup entrepreneurs and the risk-taking investors needed to finance them, while overtaxed skilled workers take their badly-needed expertise to countries where they get to keep more of their earnings.

With this angry, dark tax cloud hanging over our sunny ways prime minister, where should his government go from here? The best answer comes from Easter: It would have been better to launch a broader review of the tax system, with extensive debate of options for reform.

And while the prime minister is at it, he should appoint Easter as his new finance minister.

Gwyn Morgan is a retired Canadian business leader who has been a director of five global corporations.

 Troy Media
Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 06/10/2017 (1866 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

What do we call Stephen Paddock?

In the days that followed the horror in Las Vegas, we started learning about the man responsible for the rain of gunfire that killed 59 people and injured more than 500.

We learned, for example, that he had no criminal record. He was painted as a retired man who played the slots, kept to himself and sent cookies to his mother. His brother called him kindly. He didnt appear to suffer from mental illness, nor did he appear to be affiliated with any political or religious groups.

Courtesy of Eric Paddock via The Associated Press Mass murderer Stephen Paddock

Mr. Paddock has been called many things over the past few days: distraught, evil, lone wolf, average, normal. He has not been called a terrorist.

The latest worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history has opened up a debate  not just on gun safety, but on what is or is not terrorism. The public might consider a terrifying act an act of terror, but that doesnt necessarily square with the U.S. governments definition of terrorism, which is this: Terrorism includes the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.

In other words, in order to formally charge someone with terrorism, establishing motive is necessary. Establishing motive can also be tricky. We dont know Paddocks motive, at least not yet.

But its wholly disingenuous to pretend that the word terrorist doesnt have racial connotations, particularly in a post-9/11 world. Its a word that has become synonymous with certain last names and dark skin colours  to the point that its become a racist slur. Terrorist also tends to be used with a lot more restraint, and a careful eye to formal definitions, if a shooter is a white American man.

So, if Paddock is not a terrorist, what is he?

Its tempting to think of him as an exception, an evil man who committed an unthinkable act. Trouble is, these kinds of mass shootings are not unthinkable. At this point, they arent even uncommon. It might be reassuring or comforting to think of mass shootings as an anomaly, but they arent.

The last deadliest shooting in modern U.S. history took place just 16 months ago, when Omar Mateen shot up a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., killing 49 people. And there will be more shootings  next week, next month, next year. To treat each like a horrifying and somehow surprising one-off will not keep people safer.

But men like Mr. Paddock arent uncommon, either. Since 1982, mass shootings in the U.S. have been disproportionately carried out by angry white American men toting weapons designed to kill lots of people  from Charleston, S.C., to Newtown, Conn., to Aurora, Colo., its overwhelmingly angry white men who are walking into churches, elementary schools and movie theatres and taking peoples lives. And yet, the prevalence of white male shooters is not treated like an epidemic. No, instead they are lone wolves who dont fit the profile.

Amid the weeks conversations about gun control and terrorism, a dialogue about gun culture and masculinity has emerged. And its necessary. We need to get to the roots of the problem. We need to talk about white male rage, and how its giving rise to groups such as the alt-right. We need to talk about the kind of culture that creates the Dylann Roofs and Adam Lanzas and, yes, the Stephen Paddocks of the word. We need to start acknowledging that all of these supposed lone wolves belong to the same pack.

Angry White Men may not be an organized, recognized terror group  but they are creating terror.
According to the latest UN figures, 507,000 Muslim Rohingya have fled Burmas (Myanmar) northwestern Rakhine state since the countrys military launched its brutal clearance operation. The military offensive was supposedly in response to attacks on police posts by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on August 25.

Conditions in the refugee camps in Bangladesh are deteriorating. The latest influx is dramatically swelling the number of people needing shelter, food and basic amenities. Rohingyas have been fleeing Burma as a result of military operations going back to 2012.

According to a September 28 Reuters report, human rights groups calculated that the countrys military and Burmese nationalist gangs have torched half the more than 400 villages identified as Rohingya. Human Rights Watch used satellite imagery to identify 62 villages targeted from August 25 to September 14.

Inside Rakhine state, hundreds of thousands of people lack essentials. The National League for Democracy (NLD)-led government of Aung San Suu Kyi and the military have barred international aid organisations, UN agencies and journalists from the area on security grounds.

On September 27, international aid agencies, including Care International, Save the Children and Oxfam, issued a statement pointing out that severe restrictions on humanitarian access deprived those trapped inside the conflict zone of medical services, food and shelter. The government placed all aid operations under the control of the Myanmar Red Cross.

A Washington Post report on Monday cited people contacted via mobile phone who said Rohingya were under siege in their villages, often by nationalist gangs. One village faced starvation. The article noted reports of Rohingya being prevented from fleeing to Bangladesh, to stop more stories of atrocities reaching the outside world.

The Burmese government classifies Rohingya as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. They have been denied citizenship and made the target of Burmese national chauvinism for decades, despite many being descendants of Muslims who lived in Burma for generations.

The humanitarian disaster is fuelling tensions throughout South East Asia and within the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alan Cayetano, as the current ASEAN chairperson, issued a statement on September 24 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on the situation in Rakhine state, but failed to mention the violence against Rohingya.

Malaysias Foreign Minister Anifah Aman, reacting to mounting anger at home over the treatment of Rohingya Muslims, dissociated Kuala Lumpur from the statement. The Philippines foreign ministry responded by declaring that it respected Malaysias position, but it did not back away from Cayetanos comments.

The Philippine statement provoked criticism in Jakarta as well. Indonesian President Joko Widodo, who is fighting off challenges to his administration by Islamist groups, has been critical of the treatment of Rohingya. He sent his foreign minister to Burma and has pushed diplomatic efforts at the UN to resolve the crisis.

The tensions within ASEAN threaten to disrupt the Trump administrations efforts, following on from Obamas pivot to Asia, to marginalise Chinese influence in the region. Obama established closer ties with the Burmese military from 2011 as it sought to move out of Beijings orbit and allowed the pro-Western NLD to enter government. Trump is due to attend the ASEAN summit in November.

The US response to the Burmese armys ethnic cleansing of Rohingya was initially limited to describing it as disproportionate to the ARSA attacks. However, as the scale of the horrors inflicted on the Rohingya has become more widely known, and outrage has grown in predominantly Muslim allies in the Middle East and Asia, Washington has adopted a more critical attitude.

On September 28, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley called on all countries to stop supplying weapons to the Burmese military and to hold military leaders accountable for the brutal, sustained campaign. Haley, however, made no criticism of NLD leader Suu Kyi or her ministers, who have defended the military and helped cover up their atrocities.

China has sought to strengthen its ties with the Burmese government and military by supporting the security measures. Beijing moved to step up its investment in the new Kyaukphyu seaport and the energy corridor into Chinas Yunnan province. As Britain announced an end to training Burmas army, military leader General Min Aung Hlaing was reportedly invited to Beijing again.

Suu Kyi has sought to blunt growing international criticism. On Monday, 66 diplomats and foreign representatives, including from the US, UK, Australia, Indonesia, Turkey and Germany, were allowed into the Rakhine. It was a cynical and closely-managed operation designed to prove Suu Kyis absurd claim that life for those still in the area was normal.

In addition, Suu Kyi declared that Rohingya refugees now in Bangladesh could return if they could be verified as residents under a 1993 repatriation agreement. The agreement, which followed pogroms in 1992, did not recognise the Rohingya as citizens. Lacking any documents establishing residency or property rights, many were refused re-entry.

In another ominous sign of the governments intent, Social Development Minister Win Myat Aye recently declared: According to the law, burnt land becomes government-managed land. The implication is that even if Rohingya refugees return to Burma, they will be barred from going back to their burnt-out villages.
Speaking at a news conference Wednesday morning in Washington, the co-leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Republican Richard Burr of North Carolina and Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia, declared their agreement with the conclusions of an intelligence agency report issued last January 6 on alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election.

Like the CIA, FBI and NSA, the senators sought to portray the Russian government as a major threat to American democracy, employing an army of hackers, bots, trolls and other denizens of the Internet to influence American voters. Both conceded that there was no evidence of any tampering with the actual voting or its tabulation.

But Warner said there was a larger consensus that [Russian operatives] hacked into political files and released those files in an effort to influence the election. Burr added, Russian intelligence is determined, clever, and I reckon that every campaign official should take this seriously as we approach the coming elections.

The Republican and Democrat claimed that the alleged Russian ads were aimed, not merely at influencing the outcome of the presidential election, but at stirring up social conflicts in America. Facebook ads purchased by Russian operatives were indiscriminate Burr said, adding that the overall theme of Russias involvement in the US election was to create chaos at every level. They have been pretty darn successful. Warner said the goal was to sow chaos and drive division in our country, and the Russians got a decent rate of return for their investments.

These comments were repeated and amplified throughout the American media Wednesday and Thursday as part of a systematic campaign to portray social unrest as the product, not of deteriorating conditions of life and shocking catastrophes like Las Vegas, Puerto Rico or Hurricane Harvey, but of outside agitators based in Russia. The McCarthyite conclusion of this line of argument is that anyone drawing attention to the deeper social crisis of American capitalism is in the pay of Moscow.

Even if one were to accept the premise of the intelligence agenciesthat the Russian government favored the election of Trump and devoted its cyber-propaganda efforts to bringing that aboutthe scale of the operation is ludicrously disproportionate to the supposed result.

A year of systematic combing through the activities of supposed Russian bots and trolls on Facebook, Instagram and other social media platforms has uncovered a total expenditure of $100,000 to place about 3,000 ads, few of them directly related to the choice of Clinton vs. Trump on November 8, 2016.

While according to the Washington Post these ads have been viewed ten million times, the vast majority of those views took place after the election, when a furious media campaign waged over alleged Russian interference created a higher degree of interest.

The supposed Russian interference was dwarfed in scale by the multibillion-dollar Clinton campaign, as well as the Trump campaigns targeted voter suppression effort using the same mediumFacebook adsto depress voter turnout among demographics thought likely to vote for Clinton, including African-Americans, young women and former supporters of Senator Bernie Sanders.

According to one report in the online publication Medium, the Trump campaign produced hundreds of thousands of digital ads and web sites, many of them not identified overtly with the candidate, to discourage potential Clinton voters. The Trump campaign spent $150 million in this voter suppression effort, 1,500 times more than the alleged Russian effort on his behalf.

As this example suggests, what passes for democracy in America is anything but. This is a country that, for more than a century after the Civil War, barred millions of African-American citizens from voting. It is a country where the theft of electionswhether by ballot-stuffing or physical intimidation of voterswas raised to the level of a political art form. The ultimate masterpiece of antidemocratic political corruption was produced in the 2000 election, when the Supreme Court stopped the counting of thousands of ballots and stole the election from Al Gore.

But we do not have sufficient space here for a full-scale history lesson. It is enough to say that the contemporary American electoral process is systematically manipulated by powerful corporate interests, which finance and control the Democratic and Republican parties and the US government at every level, federal, state and local.

Senator Warner represents the State of Virginia, whose political system is so thoroughly corrupt that it makes even nearby Delaware and New Jersey seem models of electoral integrity. To rise to the top of the smelly cesspool of Virginias Democratic Party politics, Warner deployed the millions of dollars he pocketed through the sale of his mobile phone company to Nextel in the 1990s. These resources enabled Warner to buy himself first the governorship of Virginia, and then the Senate seat he has occupied for two terms.

Warner is a fairly common type in the Congress. The electoral system in the United States is more thoroughly controlled by a narrow financial elite than that of any other purported democracy in the world. Two right-wing parties, devoted to safeguarding the wealth of the super-rich and the global interests of American imperialism, effectively exclude any other competitors from the electoral arena, in many cases through overt legal barriers that preclude third-party candidates or make their campaigns practically impossible. Third-party candidates are routinely denied media coverage and excluded from televised debates. They are denied ballot access in most states for failing to meet onerous requirements that do not apply to the Democrats and Republicans.

There are other equally antidemocratic features of the US electoral system, including, of course, the Electoral College, which made it possible for Trump to win the presidency although he trailed his Democratic opponent by three million votes overall. Voter ID laws enacted in two dozen states contributed significantly to Trumps victory by disproportionately affecting pro-Democratic Party demographics, including elderly African-American voters and college students.

On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court heard arguments over partisan gerrymandering of congressional and state legislative districts, the notorious practice under which Republican or Democratic state governmentsboth parties are guilty, although the Republicans are currently more successfuldraw electoral boundaries that make their legislative majorities virtually invulnerable to shifts in popular sentiment.

In the Wisconsin case heard by the court, Republicans drew state legislative maps so that large Democratic majorities were concentrated in a few districts, while smaller but secure Republican majorities were spread over more districts. With 48 percent of the vote, Republican candidates won 60 percent of the seats. The result is preordained in most of the districts, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg observed at one point, going on to ask, What becomes of the precious right to vote?

The answer to the justice is straightforward: The right to vote in America is entirely subordinated to the interests of the capitalist ruling elite.
With Spanish military and police units already being deployed, Madrid has signaled that it is preparing a brutal crackdown in Catalonia.

Spains Constitutional Court yesterday said that Mondays planned session of the Catalan regional parliament, at which it was expected that the separatist parties would make a unilateral declaration of independence, must not take place. Coming after failing in a brutal attempt to halt the October 1 Catalan independence referendum, and with Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy rejecting calls for mediation led by the Podemos party and the union bureaucracy, the move lays the basis for bringing in the army against what is now declared an unconstitutional meeting.

The Constitutional Court acted based on a complaint brought by the Socialist Party of Catalonia (PSC)the Catalan wing of the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE), which is now working openly with the PP to prepare a military clampdown. Calling the PSCs complaint relevant and of general social and economic interest, the Court ruled that any act decided by the Catalan parliament would infringe the rights of PSC MPs and be totally void, without the least value or effect. It warned that defying this order could mean arrests and criminal prosecutions.

On Sunday, the world was shocked and stunned as videos filled the Internet of 16,000 police assaulting polling places and peaceful voters, including women and the elderly, across Catalonia. Furious that its initial crackdown failed, Madrid is now preparing an even bloodier assault, using the military. As the Spanish press debates imposing a state of emergency, as in neighboring France, it is clear that this is bound up with well-advanced plans for military rule and the abrogation of basic democratic rights across Europe.

Rajoys minority Popular Party (PP) government is relying on the support of the major European imperialist powers. After official German, UK, and French sources signaled their support for Madrid following Sundays crackdown, the European Union (EU) again formally endorsed the Spanish crackdown on Wednesday.

Opening debate on the Catalan crisis at the European Parliament, Frans Timmermans, the first vice president of the EU Commission, unequivocally endorsed Madrids use of force against the population of Catalonia. The regional government of Catalonia has chosen to ignore the law in organizing the referendum of last Sunday, Timmermans declared, adding: it is the duty for any government to uphold the law, and this sometimes does require the proportionate use of force.

Yesterday, Spanish Defense Minister Maria Dolores de Cospedal made clear that Madrid views an army intervention to be a legitimate response in Catalonia. At a meeting at the School for Higher Defense Studies, she insisted that Spains army is tasked with defending its territorial integrity and constitutional order. After King Felipe VI declared in a bellicose speech Tuesday that Catalan nationalists had placed themselves outside the law and democracy, Cospedal added, Everything that is located outside of democracy is a threat to our nation.

Spanish army units are already providing logistical support to police deployed in Catalonia. And after Catalan regional premier Carles Puigdemont indicated after Sundays crackdown that he could declare independence on Monday, a measure that Madrid has stated for months is illegal, political maneuvers by Madrid to seize the Catalan government are underway.

There are also moves underway by the Spanish judiciary to prosecute Catalan judges and Catalan police, the Mossos dEsquadra, for failing to crack down on voters and demonstrating sympathy for separatists. The head of the Mossos, Josep Lluis Trapero, is to appear today before a court on the unprecedented charge of sedition, facing a 15-year prison sentence.

The courts are also removing legal restrictions to decisions by banks and corporations to move their headquarters away from Catalonia, amid reports that CaixaBank could soon move to Mallorca.

On Thursday, Rajoy also rejected appeals for mediation from Podemos General Secretary Pablo Iglesias and Puigdemont, supported by the Stalinist Workers Commissions (CCOO) and social-democratic General Union of Labor (UGT) union bureaucracies. When Iglesias phoned Rajoy to discuss the plan, Rajoy thanked Iglesias but declared he had no intention of negotiating with anyone who is blackmailing the state so brutally.

This was a direct repudiation of the Podemos leaders comments the previous evening. Iglesias had told reporters, A group of trusted people should sit down at a table to discuss as a team for dialog. This is what I told the premier of Catalonia and the prime minister of Spain. I spoke to Puigdemont and Rajoy, and they didnt say no. Iglesias added that his conversation with Rajoy had been cordial, and that Rajoy had taken note of the proposal.

While the leader of Podemos held cordial talks with Spains right-wing prime minister, far-right forces are organizing anti-Catalan protests across Spain and singing hymns of the 1939-1978 fascist regime of Generalissimo Francisco Franco.

Well aware that a new crackdown could provoke explosive social opposition among workers in the entire country, the Spanish press is agitating for moving to a police-state dictatorship. They are discussing the application not only of Article 155 of Spains Constitution, a so-called nuclear option that suspends Catalan self-government, but Article 116. This suspends basic democratic rightsincluding freedom of thought and expression, the right to strike, and electionsand allows for press censorship.

After a quarter century of imperialist war and EU austerity since the Stalinist bureaucracys dissolution of the Soviet Union, European democracy is at the breaking point. A decade of deep austerity since the 2008 Wall Street crash, which brought Spanish unemployment to 20 percent, has shattered Spains economy and discredited its ruling elite. Amid a deep crisis of the post-Francoite regime in Spain, and as the ruling class savagely attacks democratic rights across Europe, the Spanish bourgeoisie is using the Catalan crisis to return to an authoritarian regime.

Madrids plans for a bloodbath in Catalonia must be opposed. The critical question is the politically independent, revolutionary mobilization of the working class, not only in Catalonia but in all of Spain and across Europe, in struggle against the threat of civil war and police-state dictatorship and for socialism.

This requires a conscious break with Podemos and the Catalan nationalists, who have worked over the entire past period to confuse and disarm working class opposition, despite explosive social discontent. While masses of youth and workers participated in a one-day protest strike on Tuesday in Catalonia, the CCOO and UGT, close to Podemos and the PSOE respectively, were careful not to mobilize any Spanish workers outside of Catalonia.

The Catalan crisis has in particular exposed the bankruptcy of Podemos. It ceaselessly promoted illusions in the PSOE, which is rapidly moving to endorse a crackdown in Catalonia since the kings speech, calling on the PSOE to form a joint government to oust Rajoy. Faced with the PSOEs capitulation to Rajoy, Podemos is now stimulating illusions in the PP itselfeven as a bloody military crackdown looms, and Rajoy indicates that he has no intention of negotiating with Barcelona.

As for the Catalan nationalists, who have run a series of austerity governments in Catalonia that smashed several strikes of transit and airport workers, their reactionary plans to develop ties with the EU and negotiate with Madrid the formation of a Catalan capitalist state are in ruins.

Faced with the prospect of a military crackdown, panic is reportedly spreading among Puigdemonts supporters. Among Catalan nationalists in Barcelona, the citys daily La Vanguardia wrote, A strong feeling of vertigo runs through everyoneundermining militant enthusiasms, revolutionary visions, indignation in capital letters, patriotic ardors. It added that King Felipe VIs speech has accentuated this feeling of vertigo. There is fear that the current escalation will end in catastrophe.

Incapable of and hostile to mobilizing broader opposition to Madrids crackdown in the Spanish working class, the Catalan nationalists pro-capitalist politics only serves to divide the workers while a bloody onslaught from Madrid looms.
Country

United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) Brazil, Federative Republic of British Indian Ocean Territory (Chagos Archipelago) British Virgin Islands Brunei Darussalam Bulgaria, People's Republic of Burkina Faso Burundi, Republic of Cambodia, Kingdom of Cameroon, United Republic of Cape Verde, Republic of Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad, Republic of Chile, Republic of China, People's Republic of Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia, Republic of Comoros, Union of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, People's Republic of Cook Islands Costa Rica, Republic of Cote D'Ivoire, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Cyprus, Republic of Czech Republic Denmark, Kingdom of Djibouti, Republic of Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, Republic of Egypt, Arab Republic of El Salvador, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faeroe Islands Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Fiji, Republic of the Fiji Islands Finland, Republic of France, French Republic French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon, Gabonese Republic Gambia, Republic of the Georgia Germany Ghana, Republic of Gibraltar Greece, Hellenic Republic Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guam Guatemala, Republic of Guinea, Revolutionary People's Rep'c of Guinea-Bissau, Republic of Guyana, Republic of Heard and McDonald Islands Holy See (Vatican City State) Honduras, Republic of Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region of China Hrvatska (Croatia) Hungary, Hungarian People's Republic Iceland, Republic of India, Republic of Indonesia, Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Iraq, Republic of Ireland Israel, State of Italy, Italian Republic Japan Jordan, Hashemite Kingdom of Kazakhstan, Republic of Kenya, Republic of Kiribati, Republic of Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Kuwait, State of Kyrgyz Republic Lao People's Democratic Republic Latvia Lebanon, Lebanese Republic Lesotho, Kingdom of Liberia, Republic of Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Liechtenstein, Principality of Lithuania Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Macao, Special Administrative Region of China Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Malaysia Maldives, Republic of Mali, Republic of Malta, Republic of Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania, Islamic Republic of Mauritius Mayotte Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Monaco, Principality of Mongolia, Mongolian People's Republic Montserrat Morocco, Kingdom of Mozambique, People's Republic of Myanmar Namibia Nauru, Republic of Nepal, Kingdom of Netherlands Antilles Netherlands, Kingdom of the New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua, Republic of Niger, Republic of the Nigeria, Federal Republic of Niue, Republic of Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway, Kingdom of Oman, Sultanate of Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Palau Palestinian Territory, Occupied Panama, Republic of Papua New Guinea Paraguay, Republic of Peru, Republic of Philippines, Republic of the Pitcairn Island Poland, Polish People's Republic Portugal, Portuguese Republic Puerto Rico Qatar, State of Reunion Romania, Socialist Republic of Russian Federation Rwanda, Rwandese Republic Samoa, Independent State of San Marino, Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of Senegal, Republic of Serbia and Montenegro Seychelles, Republic of Sierra Leone, Republic of Singapore, Republic of Slovakia (Slovak Republic) Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia, Somali Republic South Africa, Republic of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain, Spanish State Sri Lanka, Democratic Socialist Republic of St. Helena St. Kitts and Nevis St. Lucia St. Pierre and Miquelon St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan, Democratic Republic of the Suriname, Republic of Svalbard & Jan Mayen Islands Swaziland, Kingdom of Sweden, Kingdom of Switzerland, Swiss Confederation Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tajikistan Tanzania, United Republic of Thailand, Kingdom of Timor-Leste, Democratic Republic of Togo, Togolese Republic Tokelau (Tokelau Islands) Tonga, Kingdom of Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Tunisia, Republic of Turkey, Republic of Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda, Republic of Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom of Great Britain & N. Ireland Uruguay, Eastern Republic of Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam, Socialist Republic of Wallis and Futuna Islands Western Sahara Yemen Zambia, Republic of Zimbabwe
Days after running for cover from gunshots at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, Chris Young performed at a previously scheduled concert in Fresno, California.

On Wednesday, the country star, 32, opened his show at The Big Fresno Fair with a cover of Vince Gills 1994 classic Go Rest High on That Mountain, and dedicated it to the victims of Sundays massacre, the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

I was in Vegas the other night. I heard this song a lot, Ive never attempted to sing it because I have a huge amount of respect for the guy who did it originally, Young said on stage. But Im going to give it my best. Music can heal.

Young decided against canceling the performance in the hope he could continue to heal and help others do the same.

Vegas was the scariest night of my life, but hopefully music can help heal... A post shared by Chris Young (@chrisyoungmusic) on Oct 4, 2017 at 6:57pm PDT

The four-time ACM Awards nominee did not perform at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, but he was standing offstage during Jason Aldeans set when gunman Stephen Paddock opened fire from his 32nd-floor hotel room at the Mandalay Bay casino on the crowd of more than 22,000 people. 58 were killed and over 500 were injured.

Young, who has been touring with Aldean, fled for his life when the shooting began and tweeted Sunday: Spent I dont know how long on the floor of a trailer behind the stage  know multiple people are dead. Listening to that gunfire Im literally shaking still.

Story continues

Aldean, 40, announced on Tuesday that he chose to cancel his series of concerts this weekend out of respect for the victims, their families, and our fans. He was scheduled to perform Friday at Los Angeles, Saturday in San Diego and Sunday in Anaheim.

How to Help and Learn About Loved Ones

Friends and family are asked to report missing people believed to be connected to the shooting using the hotline 1-800-536-9488.

The city of Las Vegas has established a Family Reunification Center to help connect relatives with the more than 500 people who were injured.

In addition, city officials urged those locally who wish to donate blood to visit one of two donation centers operated by United Blood Services, either at 6930 W. Charleston in Las Vegas or at 601 Whitney Ranch Drive in Henderson, Nevada.

A victims fund has been started on GoFundMe by Steve Sisolak the Clark County, Nevada, commission chair. Other groups providing relief include the local chapter of the American Red Cross and the National Compassion Fund.
Though Debra Messing has been a working actor for 25 years, the work she is most proud of started about 10 years ago when she began working with Population Services Intl., a charity whose mission statement is to help people in the developing world lead healthier lives and plan for their families. I feel like this is why Im here. I call this my soul work, Messing says.

Messing, a PSI global ambassador with a focus on HIV and AIDS, was inspired to get involved after seeing the 2005 Aldo Shoes Hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil campaign designed to end HIV stigma.

I remember thinking, Thats brilliant! Messing says of the campaign.

Already supporting worthy causes by donating money, Messing was looking to do more, remembering how important NYU professor Paul Walker, who died of AIDS soon after she graduated, was to her. It was a very profound loss, she says. And as I started to have a platform for the first time because I was recognizable, I reached out to PSI to get more involved.

Messings partnership with PSI has often taken her to Africa. Zimbabwe was her first trip in 2009 when she traveled as PSIs YouthAIDS ambassador to highlight the country as one of the few success stories in HIV and AIDS prevention practices. She has since visited Zambia with the same mission in 2012 and Malawi in 2016.

Messing goes with pilot projects designed to spread awareness about preventing HIV and AIDS. The first one was voluntary male circumcision, which has been extraordinarily amazing as an innovation to decrease HIV transference by heterosexual males by 60%, Messing says. And then this most recent one was the very first at-home HIV test thats just a mouth swab.

While in Africa, Messing visits PSI testing and counseling centers, clinics, warehouse facilities and support groups for HIV positive people. She meets with PSIs senior staff to learn about new developments in ongoing projects, such as oral contraceptives, and new projects about to launch, as well. We just keep making these huge strides, and an AIDS-free generation is absolutely within reach, Messing says.

Story continues

Messing also uses her platform back in the States to document the hard work PSI is doing for the public and to testify on Capitol Hill in order to get further funding. When she first returned from Zimbabwe, she was proud to announce that the government provided $100 million toward HIV and AIDS treatment in Africa.

Everything has built to this, starting with Paul and then getting Will & Grace, which obviously opened up a lot of awareness, Messing says. Im a storyteller, so being able to tell the stories of those I meet on these trips to get more funding or inspire others to get involved, its the most important storytelling that I do.

Related stories

Remote Controlled: 'Will & Grace' Cast Tackles Politics, LGBT Issues

'Will & Grace' Star Debra Messing Says She Regrets 'Megyn Kelly Today' Appearance

'Will & Grace' Revival Includes More Political Jokes, Upgraded Sets, New Guest Stars

Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts!
Netflix and Marvel Television have scrapped plans to present a panel for upcoming series The Punisher at New York Comic-Con.

We are stunned and saddened by this weeks senseless act in Las Vegas, Netflix and Marvel said in a joint statement. After careful consideration, Netflix and Marvel have decided it wouldnt be appropriate for Marvels The Punisher to participate in New York Comic Con. Our thoughts continue to be with the victims and those affected by this tragedy.

Marvel and Netflix had been expected to present a panel for the series Oct. 7.

A spin-off from season 2 of Daredevil, The Punisher tells the story of Frank Castle, a combat veteran whose family is killed in a organized-crime shootout. Castle uses his military skills to kill the criminals responsible for his familys death. The series is based on the Marvel Comics character, whose adventures are known to feature an intense amount of gun violence.

Related stories

'The Punisher' Unloads in First Trailer for Netflix Series (Watch)

New York Comic-Con 2017 TV Schedule: Find Out Which Shows Are Heading to NYCC

'Punisher' Netflix Series Debuts First Footage at Comic-Con

Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts!
Hyped for the new season of Stranger Things? Its going to cost you a little bit more.

Netflix quietly increased its prices for two subscriber tiers starting in November  about one week after the hit show comes back for its second season on October 27. (Cheapskates should binge quickly.)

The basic plan is staying at $7.99 a month, but the standard package that lets users watch on two screens at the same time is moving from $9.99 to $10.99 a month.

And the premium plan  which bumps up access to four screens and offers ultra HD  is jumping from $11.99 to $13.99 a month.

Also Read: Noah Baumbach's 'The Meyerowitz Stories' to Get Theatrical Release in 10 Cities

If you head over to Netflix to sign up, youll already see the new price tiers reflected on its site.

Its the first price change for Netflix since 2014. Most users wont flinch at the modest increase in prices, and the incremental revenue will add up for the streaming service. With more than 50 million subscribers in the U.S. alone, Netflix will rake in about $100 million more each month domestically.

Also Read: How Netflix, Amazon Could Really Disrupt Legacy Networks: Buy Sports Rights

The price bump coincides with Netflix continuing to shell out money hand over fist for content. Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos recently said the streaming giant will be spending $7 billion on content next year, after spending $6 billion in 2017.

In comparison to its main competitors, Netflix is still positioned in a sweet spot between HBO GOs $15 a month plan and Hulus $11.99 commercial-free option.

Wall Street seems to love the new prices, with shares of Netflix darting up 4 percent to new all-time highs of about $191.85.

Related stories from TheWrap:

Here's the One Penis Joke From Nick Kroll's 'Big Mouth' Series That Netflix Didn't Like

Amy Poehler Comedy Set at Netflix With Natasha Lyonne to Star

Here's Everything That's Coming and Leaving Netflix in October
Variety dissects the inspiration and meaning behind one of President Donald Trumps tweets.

Todays tweet:

Why Isn't the Senate Intel Committee looking into the Fake News Networks in OUR country to see why so much of our news is just made up-FAKE!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2017

Whats Behind It: On Wednesday, the Republican chairman and Democratic vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee held a press conference to give an update on the Russia investigation. There were no bombshell revelations, but Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said the probe of whether there was any collusion between Russian sources and the Trump campaign is still very much on. Theres been a lot of speculation that Burr is facing some pressure to wrap things up, and that may have been one purpose of the press conference, to show how far they have come.

But whats clear is that the press conference did not absolve the Trump campaign from the collusion issue, something that Trump has repeatedly dismissed as fake news. Whats more, there are new questions about the role of social media platforms in influencing the 2016 campaign, albeit Burr said what they have seen so far shows that the Russians were indiscriminate in their desire to sow chaos in the election.

That press conference happened at the same time that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson pushed back against an NBC News report that he had grown so frustrated with Trump that he threatened to resign and called the president a moron. NBC News is standing by the story, and other news outlets like CNN also confirmed the remark.

Nevertheless, Trump was still bashing NBC News on Thursday, not specifically because of the moron claim, but about whether Tillerson wanted to resign. Tillerson made a statement to reporters on Wednesday that he never considered leaving his post. The New York Times reported that despite the denials, Tillerson did indeed discuss quitting.

Story continues

Rex Tillerson never threatened to resign. This is Fake News put out by @NBCNews. Low news and reporting standards. No verification from me.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2017

Why Now: A Tillerson resignation would create even more tumult in the Trump cabinet, after the departure last week of Tom Price as Secretary of Health and Human Services. Price was ousted after Politico reported on his use of private air travel.

The Fallout: The prospect of congressional investigations into news gathering sets off alarm bells in the media, among First Amendment advocates, and certainly among lawmakers of both parties that profess to be advocates for freedom of the press. In one sense, Trumps tweet is disconcerting, but it also falls in line with his attacks on the media when it reports on stories that he doesnt like. He previously referred to the fake news media as the enemy of the American people.

Google, Facebook, and Twitter have been invited to testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Nov. 1 as it proceeds with the investigation into Russian interference. As much as the social media platforms have said they will be cooperative, its not hard to imagine that they would also turn to First Amendment concerns when it comes to placing limits on their sites and determining what news is fake and what is not.

Related stories

Judd Apatow on Donald Trump: 'I Think It's Going to Get Worse and Worse'

Tillerson Reaffirms Support for Trump After 'Moron' Report

Donald Trump Tweets Condolences to Las Vegas Shooting Victims

Subscribe to Variety Newsletters and Email Alerts!
Rising temperatures have forced plane manufacturers to act - Sami Sert

Passenger planes have been approved to fly at higher temperatures in the US, following a request from American Airlines, which grounded dozens of flights last year due to extreme weather conditions.

Every aircraft has a maximum operating temperature, which is set by the manufacturer and approved by regulators. If the air temperature exceeds that limit then planes are not permitted to take off.

Such a scenario played out at Phoenix International Airport last year, resulting in dozens of cancellations, and more recently at Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport, where delays were reported in June when the mercury nudged 45C (113F).

Keen to avoid a repeat of last summer, American Airlines  along with Mesa Airlines and SkyWest Airlines  asked Bombardier to increase the operating temperature of its CRJ jet, which had to be grounded during the heatwave.

American Eagle, the regional branch of American Airlines, uses the Bombardier CRJ Credit: ISTOCK

The CRJ had a maximum operating temperature of 47.7C (118F), which was a shade lower than the 48.3C (119F) recorded at the airport by the National Weather Service.

After the summer of 2017, we approached Bombardier, along with Mesa and SkyWest, to see if it was possible to raise that limit to 50.6C (123F), said Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for American Airlines.

After multiple technical assessments with Bombardier, American, Mesa, SkyWest and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), approval was received to operate the CRJ at the higher limit.

Embraer, one of Bombardiers competitors, has also increased the temperature limit for some of its jets, a sign that the aviation industry is now preparing for a warmer climate.

Rising temperatures have been an important design consideration for Embraer, a spokesperson told Telegraph Travel.

Planes can struggle to generate enough lift when the mercury rises Credit: ISTOCK

In hot weather, planes can struggle to generate enough lift during take off because warm air is thinner than cool air. Some researchers warn that as the climate changes, cancellations due to high temperatures may become more common.

Story continues

Here are five other ways climate change could impact air travel.

1. More turbulence



Bad news for nervous flyers. Passenger planes are likely to be buffeted by up to three times more turbulence in future decades, according to researchers at the University of Reading.

Scientists had already noticed that so-called clear-air turbulence (CAT) was on the rise, but the university is the first to come up with a comprehensive mathematical model predicting long-term global conditions. It estimates that by 2050 the rate of inflight injuries will have almost tripled in line with the increased volume of turbulence.

Air turbulence is increasing across the globe, in all seasons and at multiple cruising altitudes, said Paul Williams, Professor of Atmospheric Science at Reading, who led the study. This problem is only going to worsen as the climate continues to change.



The research team called for better forecasting systems so passengers can get seated and belted in time. They could soon have their wish. Boeing is preparing to test new laser technology that could allow pilots to detect clear-air turbulence up to 10 miles away.



Q&A | Turbulence

2. Longer flights



Climate change is not just making turbulence more common; according to 2015 study, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, rising temperatures are also increasing flight times.



Scientists linked a small increase in return journey times of long-haul flights with an increase in the variation of the jet stream, the high altitude air that flows from west to east.



Just one minutes extra flight time on every plane would mean jets spend approximately 300,000 hours longer per year in the air, they say. This would require roughly a billion additional gallons of jet fuel, thus releasing even more Co2 to the atmosphere.

15 surprising things you didn't know about long-haul flights

Upper level wind circulation patterns are the major factor in influencing flight times, said Kris Karnauskas, associate scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. Longer flight times mean increased fuel consumption by airliners. The consequent additional input of CO2 into the atmosphere can feed back and amplify emerging changes in atmospheric circulation.



We already know that as you add CO2 to the atmosphere and the global mean temperature rises, the wind circulation changes as well  and in less obvious ways.

Scientists claim climate change is already increasing flight times Credit: GETTY

3. More weight restrictions

Until new technology becomes available, there is little pilots can do to avoid lumps and bumps in the skies: clear air turbulence is not visible to the naked eye, isnt detectable on radar and cant be accurately forecasted.

However, according to Steve Allright, a British Airways pilot, one thing they can do is cruise at higher altitudes, though there are restrictions preventing them from doing so.



Our endeavours to fly at an altitude that has been reported as smooth may be prevented by several constraints such another aircraft occupying that level, or the weight of the aircraft at that time, he said.



If planes need to fly higher to avoid turbulence then they would need to be lighter, which means the weight of the aircraft  and possibly passengers' luggage, or even passengers themselves  could invite greater scrutiny.

Too hot to fly  and more weather that makes air travel dangerous

4. Airport closures



The world's major airports were not built with climate change in mind  they simply needed to be far from big towns and tall mountains, so coastal areas and river deltas were often chosen. These low-lying sites, however, could now be vulnerable to rising sea levels.

Even a modest rise could affect hundreds of aviation hubs around the world. Some countries are taking steps to combat the risk. Norway, for example, has pledged to build all future runways at least 23 feet above sea level.

5. Longer runways



As outlined earlier, warmer temperatures mean planes have a tougher time taking off and during heatwaves airports with short runways are the first to face problems.

Back in 2013, 15 passengers were removed from a Swiss flight to Geneva after the plane was deemed too heavy to take off from London City Airport, whose single 4,900-foot runway is one of the smallest in the country.



Unless airports like London City lengthen their runways, this could become a more regular occurrence in the future.

Best of | Travel Truths
Jon Bernthal in The Punisher, which just had its New York Comic Con panel pulled - Netflix

A panel at this year's New York Comic Con devoted to the forthcoming Netflix series The Punisher has been cancelled out of respect to victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas.

The Punisher, the latest in a run of Netflix series revolving around Marvel Comics characters, is about a violent, gun-toting vigilante exacting revenge on those who killed his family.

In a joint statement, Marvel and Netflix said: "We are stunned and saddened by this week's senseless act in Las Vegas. After careful consideration, Netflix and Marvel have decided it wouldn't be appropriate for Marvel's The Punisher to participate in New York Comic Con. Our thoughts continue to be with the victims and those affected by this tragedy."

Organisers of the New York Comic Con have yet to announce a replacement panel, but released their own statement declaring that they "wholeheartedly support" the decision.

Sunday night saw 58 people killed and over 500 wounded in the largest mass shooting in modern US history, when a 64-year-old retiree targeted attendees of a country musical festival in Las Vegas.
Midwifery is a broad term that means so many things, in so many types of practices around the world. Midwives can have very different training backgrounds and work in very different settings  from womens homes, to huge hospitals.

But the classic midwifery model of care is all rooted in the same belief that childbirth is a partnership between a woman and her provider, and that watchful waiting can be as important as intervening when complications arise. Sometimes that means helping a woman have a vaginal birth with no pain medication if that is what she wants; other times it means holding a mothers hand while she undergoes a C-section with an OB-GYN.

In honor of National Midwifery Week, we reached out to the International Association of Professional Birth Photographers (IAPBP) and asked its members to send in some of their favorite images of midwives at work. And the moments they captured are pure magic.

"You can see this midwife's birth supplies in the background, but her tools were down for this moment. Here, her focus was providing physical and emotional support."

"After a last-minute switch in birth plans, from home birth to hospital, due to high blood pressure, this midwife made the catch of her life  her first grandchild!"

"So much joy for this mama as she realized that she was going to be raising three boys. She birthed her baby at home in the presence of two midwives who are truly like family  they have supported her through two of her three deliveries."

"Midwives are the best at providing comfort."

"This midwife is guiding this first-time mother through the last bit of transition. She met her baby less than an hour later."

"This midwife helping this mother breastfeed newborn twins, between the tangle of wires and tiny legs."

"This baby was breach even after hard work trying to get him to turn. She risked out of the birth center where she'd hope to deliver, but still had her midwife as part of her team. She accompanied her into the OR."

"This first-time mom couldn't have been more proud to meet her baby. The hospital midwife knew this moment would mean so much to them, so she made sure they were able to take a good long look into their baby's face."

"This mother was told she wouldn't have anymore children after treatment for breast cancer and surprised everyone with her miracle baby. She told me: '[My midwife] was an amazing support during my miracle baby's arrival...she always knew just what I needed to get through the next step of my labor process.'"

"This mama, on the right, labored hard. She was exhausted and decided it was time for an epidural. Her midwife lovingly guided her through this time and gave her the confidence she needed to bring her baby into the world."

"Here, the midwife is working to encourage the baby to move out of the posterior position while the mom labors through transition."

"I have been blessed to work with many midwives, and I am constantly blown away by their flexibility and willingness to adapt to any changes during birth. This first-time mom expected to deliver in the hospital, but when things moved faster than anticipated her midwifery team determined it was best to set up for an impromptu home birth. They helped safely deliver a sweet baby girl into her momma's hands in the bedroom!"

"This mother had planned on a home birth, but opted to be induced at a hospital because of medical issues that developed during the pregnancy. Her home birth midwife and the hospital midwife, who were both at her bedside during her labor, worked together beautifully to support her."

"Here, this midwife is helping her client get a good first latch. This mother had to be transferred in to the hospital from her home birth because her labor was stalling, but her midwife never left her side. This image was taken after they'd been together through 30 hours of labor."

"Support!"

"This mom, dad and midwife are all laughing because the mom had her baby before she even made it to the birthing center. She had dreamed of this amazing, serene birth  and ended up on a small table in an exam room. At that point, all you can do as a midwife is support your patient."

"This images is of one my favorite midwives. She is helping mom through one of the last transitions. As you can see, she is calm and 100 percent committed to the mom."

"This midwife is timing contractions and taking notes during a home birth."

"After a quick second labor for this mom, her midwife lifts her baby out of the birth tub with her husband and mom looking on."

"This midwife is doing a newborn check-up of a little baby boy. She was so gentle with him that he slept throughout the examination, and because this was a home birth, the check up was done on mom and dad's bed. You can see dad gently stroking baby's head." 

"Midwives provide such crucial support throughout labor."

"This photo is from postpartum phase of home birth, and it shows something midwives are very good at  listening! A mother needs to be heard and oftentimes the magic of a midwife is that she takes the time to listen."

"This was an absolutely amazing birth. The mom did an incredible job with the support of her husband, doula and amazing midwife at a birthing center. She even helped pull her own baby out!"

"Such great team work from these midwives providing back pressure support and attempting to rotate the baby's position using Rebozo sifting techniques, all while the doula looks provides emotional comfort and support."

"This is from a very long birth, and the midwife had had an especially busy day. Even though it was after 3 a.m. when this woman delivered her baby, the midwife provided compassionate care in the most calm and soothing manner."

"Checking on baby after delivery!"

"In our small country (I'm Dutch) it's very normal to give birth at home. After a birth, this midwife is downstairs with her assistant to give the new big sister her breakfast, while they do the final paperwork and take a break after all the hard work."

"This mom had a difficult first labor that resulted in an emergency C-section. During her second labor, her midwife played a vital role in easing any fears she had from the previous birth."

"Postpartum visits can be so much more than just a check-up. With this clinic, it's a friendly smile, a big hug and healthy snacks  maybe even a ride to parenting classes."

Captions from photographers have been edited and condensed.

Also on HuffPost

1. Your Blood Volume Increases

During pregnancy, the volume of blood in a woman's body increases by a whopping 50 percent in order to help support the uterus. Accordingly, the amount of blood pumped by the heart increases as well. As the Merck Manual explains, by the end of pregnancy, a woman's uterus receives one-fifth of her pre-pregnancy blood supply.

2. You Actually Glow

If you find yourself looking all dewey and glow-y during your pregnancy, it's not just because you're brimming with I'm-about-to-become-a-mom sentiment; there's also a physiological basis for it. The aforementioned increase in circulation that occurs during pregnancy causes many women's faces to appear brighter, or flushed. And, as the American Pregnancy Association reports, as women's bodies produce more hormones, their oil glands can go into overdrive, resulting in that famed pregnancy glow.

3. You Grow An Entire Organ

During pregnancy, women's bodies grow a whole new organ, i.e., the placenta -- a structure that develops in the uterus and provides oxygen and nutrients to your growing baby (while also playing a key role in waste removal). The organ typically grows onto the upper part of the uterus and is linked to your baby via the umbilical cord. After your baby's born and the placenta's job is done, it is simply expelled through the birth canal (although some women, including a growing number of celebs, then ingest it for its reputed health benefits -- a practice known as "placentophagia").

4. You Loosen Up

More specifically, as you move through your pregnancy, hormones (especially the aptly named "relaxin") help soften the ligaments that hold your bones together and the pelvic bones themselves begin moving to accommodate your baby's birth. Sometimes, this can cause a bit of pain and discomfort (if it's severe enough, you should see your doctor), although as What To Expect reports, once your baby is born, your joints will firm up again.

5. You Stop Shedding

Do you have the thickest, most amazing head of hair, like, ever? During pregnancy you stop shedding hair at it's normal rate. As Baby Center explains, most of the time between 85 and 95 percent of the hair on your head is growing, while the rest is in a "resting" stage, before it falls out. But during pregnancy, higher estrogen levels extend that growth phase, meaning you lose less hair and may suddenly find yourself with a gloriously thick ponytail. (Although, as we previously reported, after your baby's born, that "extra" hair will fall out.)

6. You Breathe Differently

It's not uncommon for pregnant women to feel short of breath, particularly later in their pregnancy when the uterus grows and begins to press on the diaphragm. But breathing also changes because of the high levels of the hormone progesterone in your body signal your brain to lower the levels of carbon dioxide in the blood, Merck explains -- yet another amazing example of all the things your body does to support and accommodate a growing baby.

7. You Become Particularly Orgasmic

As Babble explains, the increased blood flow to a woman's genitals -- plus the general surge in any number of hormones that influence desire -- can make many pregnant women feel libidinous. And those changes can also increase sensitivity, allowing many women to orgasm more easily. But as with all things related to sexuality, this is totally individual -- some women want nothing to do with sex while they're pregnant.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
The Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment controversy has prompted several women to open up about their own workplace stories. (Photo: Getty Images)

On Thursday, the New York Times published a report in which Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is accused of decades of sexual harassment. Dozens of current and former employees of both Miramax and the Weinstein Co. were interviewed, and the piece even revealed that hes reached at least eight settlements with women over the years regarding his inappropriate behavior.

In response to the article, many people have taken to social media to share their own similar stories of workplace harassment, with Anne T. Donahue kick-starting a thread that prompted countless stories.

When did you meet YOUR Harvey Weinstein? Ill go first: I was a 17-yr-old co-op student and he insisted on massaging my shoulders as I typed  Anne T. Donahue (@annetdonahue) October 5, 2017

When did you meet YOUR Harvey Weinstein? Ill go first: I was a 17-year-old co-op student and he insisted on massaging my shoulders as I typed, the journalist tweeted. He was my boss at a radio station and liked [sic] to me things like why girls my age liked giving blow jobs and not having sex. A GREAT TIME.

More than 2,000 social media users have responded.

Oh boy, in the tech world, I'd say about 1 in every 3 dudes I interacted with was some version of Harvey Weinstein.  Alex (@karmagypsy) October 5, 2017

At 16, my 50+ history teacher called me into his classroom (alone) and breathily told me I looked "stunning, like Seven of Nine."  Janine Brito (@janinebrito) October 5, 2017

He was a popular congressman who wouldnt answer my reporter's questions unless I leaned over enough so he could look down my blouse.  Christina Wilkie (@christinawilkie) October 6, 2017

First law firm out of college. Not 1 but 3 different attorneys attempted. After first, I complained to HR who hinted I had led them on.  Patricia Mooneyham (@MooneyhamTricia) October 5, 2017

In the Army, a married senior NCO made comments about my appearance, propositioned me, and tried to take upskirt pics of me w/o my consent.  Anyabelle:Creation (@BookishPlinko) October 5, 2017

According to a recent survey conducted by YouGov, 30 percent of women say they have experienced sexual harassment at work.

Story continues

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
A Baltimore high school was evacuated and five people taken to a hospital on Thursday in a hazmat scare that turned out to be a pumpkin spice air freshener.

The Cristo Rey Jesuit High School wrote on its website that a strange odor was detected on the third floor at 2:30 p.m.

It was a smell that they certainly werent used to, Bill Heiser, the schools president, told the Baltimore Sun. It appeared to be getting stronger.

The school was evacuated, with emergency medical teams treating some people on the scene as the Baltimore City Fire Departments hazmat unit investigated the odor.

Five members of our community were transported to area hospitals as a precautionary measure, the school said.

The local CBS station reported that four of the patients taken to the hospital reported nausea due to the odor, with one taken in for treatment on an unrelated issue.

The Sun said the odor was traced to a plug-in aerosol air freshener with a pumpkin spice scent.

Its better safe than sorry, Baltimore fire spokesman Roman Clark told the newspaper.

The school said classes will be held as normal on Friday.

Also on HuffPost

This Pumpkin Spice Shimmer Body Lotion

Get it here, $22.

This Mug That Just Says It All

Get it here, $14.

These Pumpkin Spice Bath Bombs

Get them here, $6+.

This Pumpkin Spice Lip Balm

Get it here, $6.

This Throw Pillow To Tell Them How You Really Feel

Get it here, $20+.

This Shirt That Explains Your Life Story Without Having To Say A Word

Get it here, $22.

This Pumpkin Harvest Candle

Get it here, $24.

This Coral Lipstick

Get it here, $17.50.

This Pumpkin Spice Perfume That, Yes, Actually Exists

Get it here, $10.

This Pumpkin Spice Tea Towel

Get it here, $11.

These Delicious Pumpkin Marshmallows

Get a pack of 18 pieces here, $15.

This All-Natural Pumpkin Spice Soap

Get it here, $5.

This Pumpkin Enzyme Mask

Get it here, $58.

This Cozy Throw To Match Your Obsession

Get it here, $90.

These Hair Serums Made With Pumpkin Seed Oil

Get them here, $22+.

And Lastly, These Socks That Will Make You Feel Like Pumpkin Spice Royalty

Get them here, $14.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Kabul (AFP) - A surge of failed Afghan asylum seekers "forcibly" returned from Europe are at risk of torture, kidnapping and death in war-torn Afghanistan, Amnesty International said Thursday.

Almost 9,500 Afghans went back to their homeland in 2016 after their applications for asylum in Europe were rejected, compared with nearly 3,300 a year earlier, the human rights group said.

The figure covers asylum seekers who were detained and then deported from European countries, and those who "ostensibly voluntarily" returned with financial assistance, Amnesty said.

Migration is a hot button issue in Europe and politicians are under pressure to bring down the number of asylum seekers after hundreds of thousands of migrants flooded the continent since 2015.

"European governments are forcing increasing numbers of asylum seekers back to the dangers from which they fled, in brazen violation of international law," Amnesty said in a report, "Forced Back to Danger".

The influx of returnees from Europe coincided with rising civilian casualties in Afghanistan's bloody conflict as Afghan security forces struggle to beat back Taliban and Islamic State jihadists in much of the country.

Nearly 11,500 civilians were killed or wounded in 2016 -- one third of them children -- according to the United Nations, the highest number of annual non-combatant casualties since it began collecting figures in 2009.

Civilian casualties stayed at record highs in the first half of 2017 as the war enters its 16th year.

- 'Wilfully blind' -

As part of its research for the report Amnesty said it gathered testimony from 18 Afghan men, women and children "forcibly returned" to Afghanistan.

One woman sent back with her family from Norway said her husband was kidnapped and murdered a few months after they returned to Afghanistan.

In another case a two-year-old child forced to leave Norway with his family was wounded in an Islamic State-claimed attack on a Shiite mosque in Kabul in October 2016.

Story continues

"Wilfully blind to the evidence that violence is at a record high and no part of Afghanistan is safe, they are putting people are risk of torture, kidnapping, death and other horrors," said Anna Shea, Amnesty's researcher on refugee and migrant rights.

Amnesty called on European countries to suspend further deportations until the situation in Afghanistan "permits returns to take place in safety and dignity".

The report comes after Germany resumed deportations last month, after suspending the process when a huge truck bomb hit the Afghan capital Kabul on May 31, killing about 150 people and wounding hundreds more.

The latest group represented the sixth wave of repatriations of Afghans from Germany since December under a disputed Afghan-European Union deal aimed at curbing the influx of migrants.

Returnees face an uncertain future in Afghanistan which is struggling with high unemployment, a weak economy and masses of refugees being ejected from Pakistan and Iran, as well as hundreds of thousands of others uprooted by war.

Some asylum seekers left Afghanistan when they were children and have no memories of the country, while others live in fear of persecution if the Taliban discover they are gay or no longer Muslim, Amnesty said.

"The same European countries that once pledged support for a better future for Afghans are now crushing their hopes and abandoning them to a country that has become even more dangerous since they fled," said Horia Mosadiq, Amnesty's Afghanistan researcher.
Doris Husers memory of the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas is a sickening blur, punctuated by perfect, still images: snapshots she will remember for the rest of her life.

There is the image of the woman, her eyes vacant, lying on her back on the pavement in front of Huser: Ive been shot, Huser recalled her saying.

There is the woman whose wheel chair had tipped over in the panic after what would become the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history began. Her body had spilled onto the ground and people were leaping over her, terrified, scrambling for the only exit.

There is the image of Husers eight-year-old daughter Cordelia, vomiting uncontrollably into a cowboy hat, a reaction to the trauma, her aquamarine jeans stained black from the asphalt.

But most of all, there is the memory  the mind-bending, stomach-wrenching terror  of losing track of her five-year-son, Aden, and her 25-year-old sister in the chaos that was unleashed when gunman Stephen Paddock killed at least 59 people and injured hundreds more.

It was the worst feeling in the world, Huser told TIME. For hours, she couldnt find them. She couldnt reach them. She didnt know if they were alive or dead.

And before all that, before the horror, there was joy.

Read more: These Are the Victims of the Las Vegas Shooting

Huser, 29, who works as a model, loves country music. She had gone to three of the last four Route 91 Harvest Festivals. This time around, her husband Mike, who works in the poker room at the Aria Resort and Casino, had surprised her with tickets for her birthday in September. Huser decided to bring her kids and her sister Samantha Jewell, who has a developmental disability. It was supposed to be a celebration, an adventure, one of those extravagances that help make a life well-lived.

Doris Huser with her children Cordelia and Aden, Las Vegas Oct. 4, 2017.

Indeed, Sunday evening started with all the trappings of a good outdoor concert: footlong corn dogs, funnel cake, ribs for Huser and her sister, and Dippin Dots for the kids. It was the last day of the three-day festival, and everyone was feeling giddy.

Story continues

A little after 9 p.m., before country music star Jason Aldean was scheduled to take the stage, Huser and her family claimed a spot in the center of the outdoor venue, in the shadow of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. They put down their food and drinks and set up camp. They wanted a good view, but they didnt want to be in the thrumming crowd way up close to the stage.

So then Jason Aldean comes on and we start kind of rocking out, dancing and having a good time, Huser recalled. And Cordelia gives me that look: I have to go to the potty.

Huser told Aden and Samantha theyd be right back, and hustled her daughter over to the Porta Potty area. She figured theyd be gone for five minutes, 10 at the most. But when they made their way back in through the fence, it was too late: A crackling sound, like fireworks, was already filling the air.

I thought it was strange, Huser said. Jason Aldean isnt the type to have pyrotechnics, and even if he did, it wouldnt be right at the beginning of the show. But these werent fireworks. Things had gone haywire. People were running at Huser and Cordelia. Hunched, panicked, screaming.

Someone yelled, Theyre shooting, theyre shooting!

Read more: The Story Behind the Most Haunting Photos From the Las Vegas Shooting

Husers stomach sank. Shed left Aden and Samantha alone. Aden is in kindergarten, and Samanthas abilities are close to those of a nine-year-old. Huser pushed into crowd, against the flow.

Run! Someone yelled at her. Get her out of here! Shouted another, pointing at Cordelia. But Huser wouldnt turn around.

Soon, the sound of bullets was everywhere. The shuttering, rapid clapping of an automatic weapon, combined with the sound of metal ricocheting off of everything: asphalt, clothing, bodies. It was a hailstorm of bullets.

But Huser didnt react as she would have expected. People say that in a war, you get an instinct to stay down, to get cover, but I didnt have that instinct, Huser said. All I had was, I have to find my son. I have to find my sister.'

Huser held Cordelias hand tight and pushed them toward where the bullets were coming from. It was mayhem. There were bodies everywhere. Some had been shot, some were bleeding. Others were lying on top of each other. There were piles of people strewn all over.

Is he in there? No, next pile. Is he in there? No, next pile,' Huser said. We were looking for a shoe, a shirt we recognized.

Bullets hit the pavement all around them. Hit the canvas concession stands.

Read more: The Las Vegas Shooter Modified His Guns. Heres Why Thats Important

Fellow concert-goers clawed at Husers boots, grabbed Cordelia by the legs. Get down! they screamed. At some point, someone dragged Huser and Cordelia to the asphalt. Huser doesnt know who it was. They lay there for a moment, taking stock.

Huser remembers looking up and seeing bright flashes of white light coming from a window in the Mandalay Bay just a few blocks away. The flashes seemed to keep time with the rolling popping of the automatic gunfire. I stared up at it for a second or two, she said. I didnt put it together at the time, but I was looking right at him. I must have been looking right at him.

Eventually, she and Cordelia got up and pushed forward again, further into the concert space, closer to where the family had claimed their spot. There was no one there. Aden and Samantha were gone. A man came up behind Huser, grabbed her by the belt, and threw Cordelia over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Run, he told Huser. Run for your life.

Huser ran for the only exit, her legs burning, her heart pounding in her chest. When they got close, the man scooped Cordelia off his shoulder and disappeared. Huser and Cordelia had made it. They were safe.

It was then that Huser lost it. She started screaming. Aden! Samantha! Where had they gone? Had they been shot? Was her little boy alive?

Read more: The Victims Watched a Familiar Horror Unfold in Las Vegas

The next several hours played out in a slow-motion nightmare. An Uber driver took Huser and Cordelia, free of charge, to the Aria, where Husers husband Mike works, but he was not on shift that night. When news of the attack reached the resort, the whole place was shut down. No one was allowed in or out, and Husers cell phone was dead.

There was nothing she could do. She couldnt call her parents. She couldnt find her son. Cordelia began vomiting from the stress and trauma. She threw up for more than hour, her tiny body convulsing with fear. At one point, a crowd of revelers who hadnt yet heard about the tragedy passed by, clapping and laughing.

Cordelia burst into tears. Mommy, theyre shooting again, she screamed.

Meanwhile, across town, a young woman, an everyday angel of some kind, found Aden, alone and terrified. Her name is Lindsey Rogers. She is 26. She had run to a merchandise tent and found the five-year-old boy, who had fallen and been separated from his aunt.

Rogers took a picture of Aden on her phone and posted it to social media: Whose child is this? It was shared 500 times. A few hours later, Husers father got a call from Sunrise Hospital, the trauma center nearest the Las Vegas Strip. They had Aden. Another Good Samaritan helped Samantha make it to a nearby Hooters. Husers father drove down from his house to collect them both.

When he got to the hospital, Aden was sitting alone on a stretcher. When he got to the Hooters, the elevator upstairs was coated in blood.

The next morning, Huser and Cordelia went to Husers parents house. The gratitude. The enormous gratitude.

But now, Huser warns, the real work begins. Both Cordelia and Aden have experienced significant trauma. I told them, weve been through a war. Now is the time we have to be here for each other, she said. On Monday night, she scooped them both up before bed. If you want to cuddle up together, thats fine. You have to talk to each other, love each other.

For Cordelia, the problem is loud noises. If anything claps or pops, she bursts into tears. When she goes to sleep, she sees images of death and blood, she feels the terror in her dreams.

For Aden, its the fear of being left alone. On Monday afternoon, out of the blue, when the family had gone to the store to buy groceries, Aden stopped in his tracks. Mom, he said, next time lets all go to the bathroom together.

For Huser, the battle now is to model resilience and strength for her children. I dont want them to grow up and be afraid to go to festivals, to go into crowds, she said. I know theyll never be the same as they were on Saturday night. I know seeing something so terrible will be like taking a chunk of their childhoods. But I want them to have no worries. I want them to be fun loving little kids again. Thats my greatest hope.
In an interview published this week with the Coveteur, Ariana Grande reflected on the horrific attack that claimed the lives of 22 people after her concert in Manchester, England, in May of this year.

I dont think Ive been through anything as traumatic as [what] weve been through, she told the website. So ... [tour] can be a lot. Calling it off and going home was not an option.

Two days after the incident, Grande did cancel a few dates on her Dangerous Woman tour, giving her team a chance to further assess the situation and pay our proper respects to those lost.

However, she returned to the stage on June 5 for a benefit concert in Manchester, which raised money for the victims of the attack and their families. On June 7, she resumed her Dangerous Woman tour in Paris.

The message of the show was too important, Grande told the Coveteur. For the crew and everyone involved, its become more than just a show for us. We are really grateful to be here and really grateful for this show.

Just three days after wrapping her tour, Grande brought her message of hope to A Concert for Charlottesville, in Charlottesville, Virginia. The concert, billed as an evening of music and unity, drew tens of thousands to University of Virginias Scott Stadium more than a month after white supremacists descended upon the city.

Grande performed hits like Side to Side, Be Alright, One Last Time and Dangerous Woman, but it was her strong message that made the biggest impact.

I just wanted to say really quickly how proud I am to be part of a generation that is so passionate about creating a change and making things better, Grande told the crowd. To be part of a generation that refuses to be silent, Im so proud. Keep using your voices and making this a safer place for each other. I love you. Celebrate each other and our differences.

Also on HuffPost

October 2008

October 2009

2009

March 2010

March 2010

April 2010

May 2010

June 2010

June 2010

June 2010

October 2010

October 2010

February 2011

February 2011

April 2011

June 2011

July 2011

August 2011

September 2011

September 2011

September 2011

September 2011

October 2011

December 2011

March 2012

March 2012

May 2012

September 2012

November 2012

December 2012

October 2013

November 2013

November 2013

December 2013

December 2013

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Bangladesh has destroyed at least 30 wooden fishing boats to deter local captains from smuggling Rohingya refugees and illegal drugs across the border from strife-torn Myanmar, officials said Thursday.

Border guards seized the vessels and arrested the captains after they were intercepted Tuesday evening bringing more than 700 Rohingya Muslims across the river from Myanmar's westernmost Rakhine state.

The boatmen were also caught in possession of about 100,000 "yaba" pills, an illegal stimulant popular in Bangladesh, said a border guard official.

More than half a million Rohingya have fled ethnic bloodshed in Rakhine since late August, many by boat across the Naf River which divides Myanmar and Bangladesh.

"These brokers (boatmen) were smuggling people," one border guard told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to media.

"We were asked to destroy the 30 boats. These are hand-pulled vessels, not run by engines", he added, saying non-motorised boats were used to avoid detection.

A government official confirmed 39 people, mostly Rohingya living in Bangladesh, were jailed for six months for "excessively charging" refugees for passage across the Naf.

"The BGB (Border Guard Bangladesh) has done an appropriate job," Zahid Siddique, a local magistrate and government administrator, told AFP.

Gangs of boat owners, crew and fishermen have been charging the fleeing Rohingya upwards of $250 for the two-hour journey that normally costs no more than $5.

Bangladesh's elite Rapid Action Battalion this week rescued 20 Rohingya being held hostage by local gangs demanding huge fares from the refugees.

Some arriving in Shah Porir Dwip told AFP that boatmen had demanded they hand over gold, jewels and cash before taking them across.

The boatmen are accused of not just trafficking people but drugs from Myanmar, with border guards discovering 100,000 "yaba" pills inside the seized vessels.

Story continues

The BGB officer said the drugs -- a blend of methamphetamine and caffeine popular among Bangladeshi youth -- were concealed inside the boats.

Bangladeshi security forces have seized millions of yaba pills in recent years from traffickers attempting to smuggle the drugs through the border district of Cox's Bazar by land and sea from Myanmar.

In the past fortnight at least five Rohingya men have been arrested on the Naf river in possession of 1.23 million yaba pills.
Body language: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face off for their second fiery debate Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, center, sits with, from right, Paula Jones, Kathy Shelton, Juanita Broaddrick, and Kathleen Willey, before the second presidential debate with Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at Washington University, Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016, in St. Louis, Mo. (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP)

For 48 hours his campaign had been in full meltdown mode.

Donald Trumps response? To let Trump be Trump  and then some.

There was, of course, the tape heard round the world  the one with him bragging that he can grab women by the p***y simply because hes a star.

There were the unprecedented defections: more than a dozen sitting Republican senators and scores of other GOP officials tripping over each other to declare they could no longer in good conscience support his candidacy.

There was the defiant apology video; the conservative pleas for a new nominee; the weekend spent hiding out, huddling with friends and family, in his namesake Manhattan tower.

By the time Trump sauntered on stage at Washington University Sunday night for the second debate of the 2016 presidential election  his odds of winning the White House dwindling, his remaining options unclear  pretty much everyone in America was asking the same question:

Which Donald Trump would show up in St. Louis?

Minutes later, the answer was obvious: the Trumpiest Trump ever. I pledge to be a better man tomorrow, Trump had said in his apology video. But during the debate, he wasnt a better man. He was the same man, only more so.

This was the Trump that the alt-right website Breitbart had championed all cycle. The Trump that the loyalists who spent the weekend at Trump Tower encouraged him to be. The Trump that your neighbor with the Hillary for Prison T-shirt keeps posting about on Facebook.

This Trump went to 11.

Never before has a presidential nominee of either party behaved on a debate stage like Trump behaved Tuesday night. Much of what he said would have seemed inconceivable in past presidential forums.

READ MORE by Andrew Romano/Yahoo News

Heres a look at some of they key images of the candidates during the second presidential debate of 2016.

See more news-related photo galleries and follow us on Yahoo News Photo Twitter and Tumblr.
PureWow

King Charles is taking on yet another important role that was previously held by his late father, Prince Philip. This week, the royal family released a brand-new portrait of the monarch, as he officially takes on the role of Park Ranger of Windsor Great Park. In the photograph, His Majesty is standing next to a giant oak tree in an open field while the sun shines brightly. King Charles looks like a whole new man in the pic and is dressed in a camel-colored suit and holding a cane in his hand. Vi
Governor Jerry Brown signs California Values Act into law



Legislation stops police from cooperating with federal immigration authorities



Activists protesting against Trump outside federal court in San Antonio, Texas. Californias legislation is more far-reaching than an existing sanctuary state policy in Oregon. Photograph: Jon Herskovitz/Reuters

California has adopted the most expansive sanctuary state law in the US with the goal of obstructing Donald Trumps deportation agenda by prohibiting police in the countrys most populous state from cooperating with federal immigration authorities.

The landmark bill, signed into law on Thursday, restricts police from questioning people about their citizenship status and detaining foreign-born residents on immigration violations. The law, which also prohibits police from transferring certain inmates to immigration authorities, could lead to a major legal showdown between the White House and California and is the latest example of the liberal Golden State creating roadblocks to Trump policies.

The legislation is more far-reaching than an existing sanctuary state policy in Oregon and could help shield immigrants from aggressive deportation efforts in a state home to more than two million undocumented people, nearly a quarter of all unauthorized immigrants living in the US.

The California Values Act builds on the sanctuary city policies that Trump aggressively targeted during his 2016 campaign and which exist in hundreds of municipalities. Studies have challenged Trumps claims that sanctuary jurisdictions attract crime; some research suggests cities with sanctuary policies have significantly lower crime rates than comparable municipalities that allow local police to enforce immigration laws.

Some liberal cities, such as San Francisco, have sued the Trump administration over his threats to withhold federal public safety grant money as a punishment. Those cities have argued that when police stay out of immigration enforcement, undocumented people are more likely to report crimes and work with police.

Even before Californias governor, Jerry Brown, signed the new law, the bill was the subject of widespread attacks by the Trump administration and conservatives across the country. The US attorney general, Jeff Sessions, recently called the bill unconscionable and said it risks the safety of good law enforcement officers and the safety of the neighborhoods that need their protection the most.

Story continues

In California, a state controlled by Democrats, the proposal has faced significant pushback from some conservative sheriffs. Brown, a Democrat, recently negotiated revisions with sponsoring senator Kevin de Leon that loosened restrictions on police, giving them discretion to hold certain people for federal authorities if they have been convicted of serious or violent felonies.

Brown said: These are uncertain times for undocumented Californians and their families, and this bill strikes a balance that will protect public safety, while bringing a measure of comfort to those families who are now living in fear every day.

Though the bill is watered down from its original version, which created stricter boundaries on police, some right-leaning law enforcement officials have continued to vocally oppose the measure. Thomas Homan, acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice), said in a statement that California had chosen to prioritize politics over public safety. De Leon said the state is preparing to defend the legislation in court if Trumps administration takes legal action.

It is unclear what kind of opposition the law could face in California. Sheriff Bill Brown of Santa Barbara County, president of the California State Sheriffs Association, which opposes the law, said: Were sworn to uphold the law. I dont know of any sheriff in the state who is not going to adhere to this.

John McGinness, a consultant with the California Peace Officers Association, which also opposes the law, said there was a high level of frustration among officers. I hope they remember their obligation to comply with the law, and I hope they will, but I understand there might be some thinking, I want to do the right thing, and resistance could be a part of that.

Even in liberal California counties that already have sanctuary rules on the books, local police have faced criticism from immigration advocates for continuing to work with Ice.

After the laws passage, Jennie Pasquarella, immigrants rights director for the ACLU of California, said in a statement that the law would lift the bar statewide to safeguard Californians due process rights, particularly in those jurisdictions that have proven to be active, even enthusiastic, participants in the Trump mass deportation agenda.
Ottawa (AFP) - An estimated 20,000 indigenous children taken from their families starting in the 1960s and placed for adoption or fostering will share in a Can$800 million (US$640 million) payout, the government announced Friday.

The so-called "Sixties Scoop" saw them placed with primarily white middle-class families in Canada, the United States and overseas.

In recent years, as the children grew into adults and became aware of their past, several lawsuits and class actions were filed over their loss of aboriginal identity, claiming in court documents that it resulted in psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, unemployment, violence and suicides.

"People affected by the '60s Scoop have told us that the loss of their culture and language are among the worst kinds of harm that they suffered," Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett told a press conference, flanked by Scoop survivors.

"That is why our government is responding directly to remedy the ill-advised (policies) of the past."

- Stolen identities -

A visibly moved Bennett introduced four Scoop survivors who were raised in the United States, another who now speaks with a Scottish accent and a sixth who had been taken from her home in the Arctic and placed with a family in Nova Scotia province, more than 6,000 kilometers (3,725 miles) away.

"Their stories are heartbreaking," Bennett said, describing firsthand accounts of their "identity being stolen" and "about not really feeling that you belong anywhere."

"I have great hope," said lead plaintiff and Beaverhouse First Nations chief Marcia Brown Martel, "that this will never, ever happen in Canada again."

The Sixties Scoop, which actually continued into the 1980s, is just the latest historical wrong suffered by Canada's indigenous peoples that Ottawa has sought to redress.

Starting in 1874, 150,000 Indian, Inuit and Metis children in Canada were forcibly enrolled in 139 boarding schools run by Christian churches -- including the Catholic Church -- on behalf of the federal government in an effort to integrate them into society.

Story continues

Many survivors alleged abuse by headmasters and teachers, who stripped them of their culture and language.

At least 3,200 students never returned home.

The experience has been blamed for gross poverty and desperation in native communities that bred abuse, suicide and crime.

- Apology -

Ottawa formally apologized in 2008 for the "cultural genocide," as part of a Can$1.9 billion (US$1.5 billion) settlement with former students.

The government also launched an inquiry last year into the disproportionately high rate of killings and disappearances of indigenous women and girls in Canada.

Indigenous women represent four percent of Canada's population but 16 percent of homicide victims. More than 1,200 were murdered or have gone missing over the past three decades.

Bennett was at a loss to explain Canada's past assimilation policies.

"I don't know what people were thinking," said the former pediatrician. "I don't know how governments thought they could do a better job (at raising children) than their parents, their village, their community."

Bennett said an official apology would be forthcoming.

She also said there may still be a need to "totally overhaul the child welfare system as it is right now."

"Too many children are still being taken from their families," the minister said.

The settlement, which still requires court approval, will be split between Scoop survivors and a reconciliation foundation that will help them to reaquire their language and culture, with Can$750 million going directly to the survivors.

A small number of lawsuits launched by other survivors remain outstanding and are not included in the settlement, but Bennett said she would "work with them" toward a resolution.

Those individuals who were sent abroad to live with foreign families will also be invited to return to Canada, if they wish.
Everything Thanksgiving: Get all our Thanksgiving recipes, how-tos and more!

(Photo: AlexRaths via Getty Images)

We understand the instinct. Poultry sometimes feels like it could use a little wash  it can have a somewhat slimy quality to it. But whatever you do this Thanksgiving, absolutely DO NOT wash your bird.

According to the USDA, rinsing your turkey will not get rid of unwanted bacteria  that is virtually impossible. Actually, washing it can increase the chance of spreading bacteria. This is because water that splashes from the bird onto countertops or other surfaces spreads the bacteria and creates a real possibility for cross contamination.

The risk of cross-contamination through washing poultry is far greater than shoving it in the oven without washing it, which makes the risk almost zero, Fergus Clydesdale, head of the food science department at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, told The New York Times.

The best way to get rid of bacteria on turkey is to cook it. And to be sure to wash your hands well after you handle it. The USDA recommends washing your hands for 20 seconds with soap, under warm water. If any surface of your kitchen comes in contact with raw poultry, like countertops and sinks, wash the them with hot, soapy water. Just never wash the bird.

Related..

How To Cook A Thanksgiving Turkey

How Long To Cook A Turkey Per Pound

How To Carve A Turkey, With Step-By-Step Photos

Also on HuffPost

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
Comedian Ralphie May died Friday at age 45, TMZ was first to report. HuffPost confirmed the death with Mays publicist.

Best known for finishing second on Last Comic Standing in 2003, the comedian had a successful stand-up career that included several specials on Comedy Central and Netflix.

His publicist, Stacey Pokluda, told HuffPost that May had been battling pneumonia and cancelled a handful of performance dates over the last month in an effort to recover. He died after a cardiac arrest.

Earlier this morning at a private residence in Las Vegas, his body was discovered, Pokluda said in a statement. Two days ago he won the Casino Comedian of the Year at the Global Gaming Expo and had performances throughout the remainder of 2017 as part of his residency at Harrahs Las Vegas.

Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee  but raised in Arkansas  Mays first break came at age 17, when he won a contest to open for comedian Sam Kinison, his idol. Kinison encouraged May to move to Houston and work on his comedy there. May took the suggestion, eventually graduating from a performing arts high school in the area.

He then moved to Los Angeles, honing his craft until his big break, on the first season of the NBC comedy reality show.

In 2005, May married fellow comedian Lahna Turner, but the couple filed for divorced in 2015. They share two children.

Many of Mays comic contemporaries have expressed their grief on Twitter:

Damn. RIP Ralphie May. Comic warrior.  marc maron (@marcmaron) October 6, 2017

.@Ralphie_May helped get me in @TheLaughFactory. He didnt know me at all and after he saw my set he told Jamie Masada to have me onboard.  Ken Jeong (@kenjeong) October 6, 2017

Ralphie May RIP funny man. We shared good talks & good laughs . See you on the other side kid  Jim Breuer (@JimBreuer) October 6, 2017

Oh man fellow comedian and friend Ralphie May just died. So crazy. RIP Ralphie. You my friend were one of the nicest and kindest out there.  Larry The Cable Guy (@GitRDoneLarry) October 6, 2017

Whoa... man.. this sucks. Ralphie was a good guy & a very funny person. Condolences to his family & fans. https://t.co/M9s6bneAeA  Dane Cook (@DaneCook) October 6, 2017

NO! #RalphieMay was such a nice guy! Last time we talked backstage at @zaniesnashville I promised to put him in the Jay/Bob movie. Dammit... https://t.co/zrljotClGr  KevinSmith (@ThatKevinSmith) October 6, 2017

Ralphie May. Dammit. You were a funny and sweet mofo man. Rest In Peace.  bob saget (@bobsaget) October 6, 2017

So sad to hear about Ralphie. Sweet guy. He loved doing stand up and loved comedians. #RIPRalphieMay  Jim Gaffigan (@JimGaffigan) October 6, 2017

Damnit @Ralphie_May ! I'm so sad right now. Such a great guy. Rest well, friend.   Damon Wayans Yunior? (@wayansjr) October 6, 2017

Wow....I was just told that Ralphie May passed. I'm truly saddened by this. He was a good dude. Heaven just got another funny angel RIP man  Kevin Hart (@KevinHart4real) October 6, 2017

CORRECTION: A previous version of this story stated May and Turner were divorced. While the divorce proceedings began in 2015, they had not been finalized.

Story continues

Also on HuffPost:

Rose Marie

Actress Rose Marie, who spent 90 years in show business but was best known for playing wisecracking Sally Rogers on The Dick Van Dyke Show, died on Dec. 28, 2017. She was 94.

Bruce McCandless II

NASA astronaut Bruce McCandless II, 80, the first human to float untethered in outer space, died on Dec. 21, 2017.

Cardinal Bernard Law

Cardinal Bernard Law, who was forced to resign in 2002 as archbishop of Boston over a sex-abuse scandal after a two-decade reign as one of the highest-ranking Catholic officials in the United States, died on December 20, 2017. He was 86.

John B. Anderson

John B. Anderson, an Illinois Republican who cultivated a free-thinking reputation during his 20 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, and who mounted a serious third-party bid for the White House in 1980, died on Dec. 3, 2017. He was 95.

Jim Nabors

Jim Nabors, the actor and singer who was best known for playing Gomer Pyle on "The Andy Griffth Show," died on Nov. 30, 2017. He was 87.

David Cassidy

Actor and musician David Cassidy, who starred in the hit TV sitcom "The Patridge Family," died on Nov. 21, 2017 at the age of 67.

Della Reese

Actress and gospel singer Della Reese, who starred on the long-running CBS series "Touched by an Angel," died on Nov. 19, 2017. She was 86.

Charles Manson

Charles Manson, the infamous cult leader of the Helter Skelter gang, died on Nov. 19, 2017. He was 83.

Richard Gordon

Former Apollo 12 astronaut Richard Gordon, 88, one of a dozen men who flew around the moon but didnt land there, died on November 6, 2017.

Fats Domino

Fats Domino, 89, the rhythm-and-blues singer who recorded more than three dozen Top 40 pop hits and became one of the biggest stars of the early rock n roll era, died on October 25, 2017.

Robert Guillaume

Emmy Award-winning actor Robert Guillaume, who was best known as the title character in the TV sitcom Benson, died on Oct. 24, 2017 at 89.

Tom Petty

Tom Petty, the Grammy Award-winning lead singer of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, died on October 2, 2017. He was 66.

Monty Hall

Monty Hall, who hosted Lets Make a Deal for almost three decades, died on Sept. 30, 2017 at 96.

Hugh Hefner

Playboy magazine founder and legendary ladies man Hugh Hefner died on Sept. 27, 2017 at the age of 91.

Jake LaMotta

Jake LaMotta, the boxing legend whose life story became the basis of Martin Scorseses classic film Raging Bull, died on Sept. 19, 2017. He was 95.

Harry Dean Stanton

Character actor Harry Dean Stanton, who broke out of obscurity in his late 50s for his work in "Alien" and "Escape From New York," died on September 15, 2017. He was 91.

Edith Windsor

Edith Windsor, the plaintiff in the 2013 United States Supreme Court case that struck down a federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman, died on September 12, 2017 at 88.

Don Williams

Legendary country music singer Don Williams, who was known as the "Gentle Giant," died on September 8, 2017 at 78.

John Ashbery

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet John Ashbery, who published more than 20 books of poetry and was known for the complexity of his style, died on September 3, 2017 at 90.

Jay Thomas

Jay Thomas, 69, Emmy Award-winning actor on "Murphy Brown" and "Cheers," died on August 24, 2017.

Jerry Lewis

Jerry Lewis, the legendary entertainer and longtime host of the Muscular Dystrophy Telethon, died on Aug. 20, 2017. He was 91.

Dick Gregory

Dick Gregory, comedian and civil rights crusader, died on August 19, 2017. He was 84.

Glen Campbell

Glen Campbell, the beloved Rhinestone Cowboy, international TV star and country music singer-songwriter, died on August 8, 2017. He was 81.

Jeanne Moreau

Award-winning French actress Jeanne Moreau, 89, who was best known for thriving in the French New Wave cinema, died on July 31, 2017.

Sam Shepard

Sam Shepard, the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Oscar-nominated actor, died on July 27, 2017. He was 73.

George Romero

Horror legend and "Night of the Living Dead" director George Romero died on July 16, 2017. He was 77.

Martin Landau

Martin Landau, a star of the 1960s television series Mission: Impossible who made a late-career comeback with an Academy Award-winning performance in the 1994 film Ed Wood, died on July 15, 2017 at age 89.

Maryam Mirzakhani

Maryam Mirzakhani, the 40-year-old Iranian who won the Fields Medal, maths most prestigious prize, died on July 15, 2017.

Liu Xiaobo

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and political dissident Liu Xiaobo died on July 13, 2017 after almost a decade of imprisonment by the Chinese government. He was 61.

Helmut Kohl

Helmut Kohl, former chancellor who reunified Germany after 45 years of Cold War antagonism, died on June 16, 2017. He was 87

Adam West

Actor Adam West who was best known for playing the title role in the campy 1960s TV series, "Batman," died on June 9, 2017, at the age of 88.

Gregg Allman

Gregg Allman, a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, the incendiary group that inspired the Southern rock and jam-band movements, died on May 27, 2017. He was 69.

Manuel Noriega

Former Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, who spied for the CIA until the U.S. invaded and toppled his corrupt government, died on May 29, 2017 at the age of 83.

Frank Deford

Frank Deford, one of the finest sportswriters of his generation for his detailed psychological profiles of athletes and coaches, died on May 28, 2017. He was 78.

Zbigniew Brzezinski

Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was President Jimmy Carters national security adviser, died on May 26, 2017 at the age of 89.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
HOUSTON (Reuters) - A contractor died at Valero Energy Corp's Corpus Christi, Texas, refinery on Wednesday, the company said on Friday.

The man, Orozco Ezequiel Guzman, 52, of San Antonio, may have died from a heart attack, Valero said in a statement.

"It has been widely misreported this week that Mr. Guzman, a Brand employee, died to due to a fall from scaffolding," Valero said. "The actual cause of his death is still under investigation. However, based on witnesses and preliminary findings, Mr. Guzman did not fall. Early indications are that he may have had a heart attack."

Guzman's employer Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services also said in a statement that his death was not work related.

"Early investigations at the site indicate that Mr. Guzman's death was not the result of a fall from height or other work-related accident," the company said, KRIS-TV reported.

On Wednesday, the Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office told KRIS-TV that Guzman appeared to have died in a fall from scaffolding.

A representative from the medical examiner's office was not immediately available to comment.

(Reporting by Erwin Seba; editing by Grant McCool)
Rosie, 85, and Bill, 87, have been married for more than six decades. (Photo: Fly Away Daisy Photography)

A marriage spanning 65 years with three children, four grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren was captured in a super-sweet photo shoot.

Rosie, 85, and Bill, 87, (who declined to share their last name) posed for a photo session recently taken by their granddaughter Megan Straight, on a friends property in Fairview, W.Va. On Saturday, Straight posted the images to her Facebook page, Fly Away Daisy Photography, where theyve received 23K likes, almost 29K shares, and 5K comments calling their love a gorgeous legacy and what marriage is supposed to be about.

Although they had gone to high school together, Rosie and Bill officially met on a blind date at the movies one evening, while Bill was home in Fairmont on leave as a staff sergeant in the Army. The pair wound up dating for three years before they wed in 1952.

Photo: Fly Away Daisy Photography

While the photos are dreamy depictions of an almost lifelong marriage, according to Straight, their love is the real deal. They still hug and kiss each other and are always together each time they leave the house, Straight tells Yahoo Lifestyle. My grandmother just had hernia surgery, and my grandfather has been by her side, making sure she is OK.

Amazingly, the couple never bicker or even raise their voices and have always maintained a solid friendship. A while ago, their preacher asked my papaw how he put up with Rosie for 50 years, and he said, I couldnt have done it without the Lords help, says Straight. And being able to laugh together helps.

Given their ages, Straight felt strongly about photographing her grandparents and even bought Rosie a new dress  white with pink flowers for the occasion. It was a surprise, and we borrowed a truck from a neighbor because my papaw used to own one just like it, she says. He said it brought back a lot of memories.

Photo: Fly Away Daisy Photography

During the shoot, which had everyone laughing so hard we were crying, Straight asked her grandparents to pose on the ground, despite Bills concerns that if they got down, they wouldnt be able to get up (it took a few people to help them stand again). And Bill came up with the idea to incorporate the tractor. He also got excited when I asked him to get in the truck and drive it across the field, says Straight.

Story continues

She adds, The photos show the love they have for each other, and I am truly proud that they are my grandparents.

Rosie seems happy to have made her social media debut. Straight wrote on Facebook that when she called her grandmother postsurgery to tell her the photos went viral, She asked if she would get to go on the Today show or Ellen DeGeneres, lol. Bless her.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.




An expectant couple in California announced the sex of their baby to their friends and family with inspiration from Stranger Things  just in time for the hit Netflix shows impending return.

Krystal Jugarap is expecting her first child with her partner, Daniel Vongnakhone. At the end of September, the Bay Area couple set up string lights in their home, a nod to the scenes in Stranger Things in which mom Joyce Byers uses the lights to communicate with her son lost in the Upside Down.

Jugarap told HuffPost they are both fans of the Netflix show, but Vongnakhone was the one who came up with the idea.

He claims the idea just came to him, but Im sure someone from the Upside Down had flickered some street lights on Daniels way home to spark the idea, she said.

Using a tutorial they found online, tools they bought from Amazon and a bit of intuition to tweak some of the instructions, the couple coded the lights to spell out, Its a girl.

Jugarap explained that after Vongnakhone posted the announcement on Reddit, many people thought that the beginning  in which he carries a sleeping Jugarap to bed from their couch  was weird. That part is actually routine for the couple.

I know the beginning was a little odd to some people, but we wanted to make it seem like a typical day in a life for us, she said. Daniel is always carrying me to bed after Ive fallen asleep on the couch!

Jugarap, who is due in February, told HuffPost she and her partner are also big fans of Star Wars. They plan on naming their daughter Leila Rey, a slightly modified nod to the franchises Princess Leia and Rey.

For now, the couple will wait (probably impatiently) for Stranger Things to return on October 27.

We have to save Eleven! Jugarap said. And Dustin is just the cutest little kid.

Also on HuffPost

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Thousands of U.S. immigrants are on track to miss a critical Thursday deadline to extend their protection from deportationbecause they're scared.

When the Trump administration announced last month that it would end the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that some 154,000 immigrants could apply for renewal before their protected status would expire  if they took action before this Thursday. But at close of business Wednesday, only 112,000 people have submitted the necessary paperwork, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman told Newsweek.

Activists say a large chunk of the missing 42,000 eligible Dreamers, as they're called, have refused to apply out of fear. They're worried the anti-immigrant Trump administration will use the identification and contact information to force them out of the only country they've ever known.

"There's a sense of trust being grossly violated," Carlos Guevara, a senior policy advisor with the nonprofit UnidosUS, told Newsweek. "There's a concern of, 'Why would I come forward again?'"

President Barack Obama launched DACA in 2012 so that undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children could go to school, get jobs and receive benefits like driver's licenses without worrying they'd be removed because of their illegal status. About 800,000 people came out of the shadowsbut on September 5, President Trump ended the protections, punting the issue to Congress, which has not acted.

But pro-immigration groups have. Guevara says his organization spent the past month scrambling to notify eligible Dreamers to get their applications in, though many are reluctant to give their full legal name, mailing address, date of birth, gender, marital status, country of birth and other vital info to a government that has sent mixed signals at best on immigrants.

Story continues

"Within the community, there is a lot of concern, frustration, anger, sadnessthe range of emotions about what the decision means for them," he adds. "My question is whether they'll take the next step to apply."

Legislation is pending to address DACA, but it's slow-going and divisive.

Senators Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, and Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, are pushing a bill that would allow immigrants to get lawful permanent residence and citizenship if they meet certain conditions. A trio of Republican senatorsNorth Carolina's Thom Tillis, Oklahoma's James Lankford and Utah's Orrin Hatchhave introduced other legislation.

Alex Solomiany, an immigration attorney in Miami, Florida, says the uncertain timeline of those bills has made many Dreamers nervous.

"There's been so much talk back and forth, you get it from both sides. 'Why should I renew now? Why am I going to give them my most recent information? Because they'll use it against me when it expires,'" he says. "They're afraid to file because they don't know what's going to happen come March 5, 2018" when DACA expires for good.

It is unclear what the Trump administration would or could do with the information. The Department of Homeland Security has said that "generally, information provided in DACA requests will not be proactively provided to other law enforcement entities," such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, but there's a caveat: "unless [the immigrant] poses a risk to national security or public safety."

And the Trump administration has defined the term "risk" broadly, covering undocumented immigrants who have not been convicted of any crime beyond their illegal status.

ICE has said it's most concerned with immigrants who have significant criminal records. But nearly 20,000 of the immigrants arrested between January and June 2017 weren't convicts, according to CNN. That's more than double the number that were detained during the same period in 2016.

The anxiety some DACA recipients are feeling prompted Texas Representative Beto O'Rourke to introduce the Protect DREAMer Confidentiality Act of 2017, which would bar the secretary of Homeland Security from releasing a Dreamer's personal information to enforcement officials.

"It's not an irrational decision on the part of someone not to come forward," O'Rourke, a Democrat, told Newsweek. "What would give folks some confidence to renew is to have something like this bill in place as law."

Related Articles
Janauba (Brazil) (AFP) - Two children burned in an arson attack at a nursery school in Brazil succumbed to their wounds Friday, bringing the death toll to eight on the day the first victims were buried.

Cecilia Davine Dias and Yasmin Medeiros Salvino, both aged four, died early in the afternoon, a hospital spokesman in Monte Claros, a city in southeast Brazil, told AFP.

The tragedy unfolded Thursday morning in Janauba, a town of 70,000 people around 370 miles (600 kilometers) from Belo Horizonte, the state capital of Minas Gerais.

A security guard at the nursery sprayed his young victims with alcohol before setting fire to the building. He himself died from burns a few hours later.

According to local authorities, he had suffered from mental health issues since 2014.

In total, seven four-year-old children were killed, along with a teacher aged 43. Another 40 people were treated at three hospitals in the region.

Dozens gathered for the first funerals of victims at a cemetery in Janauba on Friday afternoon, according to an AFP photographer.

Small white coffins were opened for a few minutes as devastated family members wept.

"What has happened is inexplicable. I have no words. When I heard about the fire on the radio, I immediately thought of my grandchildren. I was sure something had happened to them," said Antonio Pereira da Silva, who buried his granddaughter.

The mayor of Janauba declared seven days of mourning, while Brazil's President Michel Temer expressed his solidarity with the victims of the "tragedy."
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have come under scrutiny for using personal email accounts in office: Getty Images

The White House to revoke the security clearances of Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, accusing them of a "brazen disregard for ethics", a pair of Democratic congressmen have claimed.

Ted Lieu of California and Don Beyer of Virginia wrote to White House counsel Don McGhan, raising concerns that the couple have breached security.

White House officials are investigating reports Donald Trump's daughter and son-in-law, who serve as advisers to the President, inappropriately used their personal email for government matters.

Hundreds of emails have been sent since January from White House addresses to accounts on the Kushner family domain, Politico reported earlier this week.

Mr Kushner had already been accused of exchanging work emails with White House officials from a personal account.

As public scrutiny over Mr Kushner's email accounts intensified, the couple reportedly re-routed their personal email accounts to computers run by the Trump Organisation.

These new revelations, along with the ongoing White House probe of Ms Trump's private email use, have compromised Ms Trump's integrity and credibility, the congressmen's letter said.

The allegations  which echo an email scandal surrounding Hillary Clinton  followed accusations that Mr Kushner had colluded with Russia and that he had omitted millions of dollars from his personal financial disclosure reports.

The letter said: In light of the recent developments relating to both Mr Kushner's email accounts and his financial disclosure statements, we would like to reiterate our request that you immediately revoke his security clearance.

It is latest in a series of attempts to remove the couple from the White House. In July, Mr Beyer led a group of 20 Democrats in Congress in calling for the FBI to probe Mr Trump's daughter, saying they were concerned she was involved in "deception".

Mr Beyer also spearheaded campaigns in April and June to get Mr Kushner's clearance revoked.
Despite pressure from UK and France, US president expected to declare Tehran in violation of agreement but Senate could yet block reimposition of sanctions

A multilateral meeting at the UN offered little chance of personal chemistry between the US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif. Photograph: Craig Ruttle/AP

European governments fear a concerted effort to persuade Donald Trump to continue to certify the Iran nuclear deal may have failed and are now looking for other ways to try to salvage the two year-old agreement.

European lobbying efforts are now focused on Congress which will have two months to decide  in the absence of Trumps endorsement of the 2015 deal  whether to reimpose nuclear-related sanctions.

Fresh sanctions could in turn trigger Iranian withdrawal and a ramping up of its now mostly latent nuclear programme, taking the Middle East back to the brink of another major conflict.

When Trump threatened to withhold certification by a congressional deadline of 15 October, the UN general assembly in mid-September was seen by the European signatories of the agreement  the UK, France and Germany  as the last best chance to convince Trump of the dangers of destroying it.

But according to the accounts of several diplomats involved, the effort got nowhere.

Angela Merkel, in the final stages of an election campaign, could not attend, so it was left to Theresa May and Emmanuel Macron to use their meetings with the US president in New York to make a personal plea to keep the deal alive.

The French president made no headway. To his consternation, Trump kept repeating that under the deal, the Iranians would have a nuclear bomb in five years, and nothing Macron could say would persuade him otherwise.

Mays session with the US president two days later was equally fruitless. She used half the 50-minute meeting trying to engage Trump on the merits of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), but he grew testy in response. He said he had decided on what to do, but flatly refused to tell her what that was. And he shrugged off her arguments, telling her You make your decisions; Ill make mine. A British diplomat described it later as a robust conversation.

Story continues

Another opportunity for the Europeans to defend the deal came on the evening of 20 September, when the foreign ministers of all signatory nations attended a meeting of the Joint Commission charged with implementing it, chaired by the EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini.

The US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, both attended the meeting around a long table in one of the security councils meeting rooms, marking the first high-level meeting between Tehran and the Trump administration.

There was no chance of any personal chemistry breaking the ice, however. It was a perfunctory meeting, with Tillerson later observing drily that the two men at least didnt throw shoes at one another. Mogherini convened the session observing that Iran had been abiding by the terms of the agreement.

When it was Tillersons turn, he did not repeat the arguments the administration made in public that Iran was somehow in violation. Instead, he conceded that Tehran was keeping to its obligations but he observed that he served a president, and had been confirmed by a Congress, who reflected the will of the people  and they did not like the deal.

The former oil executive suggested the other countries around the table had made a mistake in striking a deal with the Obama administration which implemented it through executive order and did not seek congressional ratification. We want to renegotiate the terms, Tillerson said, but if other parties refuse, what are we to do?

When their moment came, the European ministers around the table all observed that Iran was keeping its side of the bargain but expressed willingness to confront Iran separately about its missile programme and its role supporting armed groups around the region. The Russians and Chinese, meanwhile, were adamant there could be no renegotiation.

Speaking near the end of the meeting, Zarif declared Tillerson was ill-informed for failing to acknowledge the fact that the JCPOA had been enshrined in a security council resolution, which the US, a permanent council member, was now threatening to violate. Tillerson ignored the reference to the UN resolution, and repeated his line that the JCPOA was not a formal ratified treaty, so it should be open to renegotiation.

Emerging from the meeting, Mogherini was clearly furious, and she echoed Zarifs argument in her own remarks to the press.

This is not a bilateral agreement. This is not an agreement that involves six or seven parties, she told reporters. This is a UN security council resolution with an annex  So it doesnt belong to one country, to six countries, to seven countries, to the European Union  it belongs to the international community.

The EU foreign affairs chief, Federica Mogherini:This is not a bilateral agreement  it belongs to the international community. Photograph: Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

In a postmortem teleconference last week, the political directors from the foreign ministries of UK, France and Germany agreed to plan for the worse and marshal European political resources for a potential rearguard action lobbying in Congress.

The E3 [the three European states] are keen not to make it all about the presidents decision, one diplomat said. Even if the decision is not to certify, we will want to see on what terms he passes it to Congress.

Asked about administration policy on Wednesday, Tillerson responded: Well have a recommendation for the president. We are going to give him a couple of options on how to move forward to advance the important policy towards Iran.

The secretary of state added: As youve heard us many times, the JCPOA is just one part of the many issues we need to deal when it comes to the Iranian relationship. Its not the only part and Ive said many times we cant let that relationship be solely defined by that nuclear agreement.

One possibility is that Trump will wound the deal by refusing to certify, but not push for a restoration of sanctions. The state department is reported to be talking to Congress to amend its legislation so that Trump does not have to certify the deal every 90 days, a political embarrassment. But such manoeuvres also open up new opportunities for opponents of the JCPOA to insert poison pills into the legislation that will ultimately succeed in killing it off.

The Senate currently appears delicately balanced on the issue, with almost all Republicans and Democrats likely to vote by party line. The majority leaders in the Senate and the House, Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy, are reluctant to get bogged down in gruelling debate on an issue they believe the president should decide.

Congress doesnt want to get in the middle of this and own it, said Ilan Goldenberg, a former state department official now at the Centre for a New American Security.

However, the hand of the congressional leadership could be forced by hardline opponents of the deal who are seeking to make it a test of conservative credentials for senators wary about defying Trump.

One of the most vociferous critics of the Iran deal in the Senate, Tom Cotton, launched his campaign in a speech on Tuesday. He urged Trump not to certify the deal in order to clear the way for a period of coercive diplomacy and to persuade European governments, Russia, China and Iran to open the agreement for renegotiation. He backed the threat of more sanctions and ultimately calibrated strikes against Irans nuclear programme.

The United States has the ability to totally destroy Irans nuclear infrastructure, Cotton told the Council on Foreign Relations. If they choose to rebuild it we can destroy it again.

On the same day, however, the defence secretary, James Mattis, gave strong backing to the nuclear deal, telling the Senate that Iran was abiding by the terms and that the agreement was serving national interests. His intervention, backed by the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Joseph Dunford, is likely to make it harder for Trump to withhold certification, and could swing votes in a Senate decision on sanctions.



The Europeans can count on resistance from party leaders irritated at having an executive decision palmed off on them. There are also signs that most if not all the four Democrats who voted against the JCPOA two years ago would not vote to destroy it now.



Among the 52 Republican senators, meanwhile, there are likely to be a handful reluctant to take responsibility for steering the US towards another conflict.

Congress has an insatiable appetite for sanctions. But it would be disastrous to impose new sanctions on Iran now and senators know that, said Joe Cirincione, the head of the Ploughshares Fund, a non-proliferation advocacy group. How the vote would go, he added, was anybodys guess.

Even if the JCPOAs enemies did not manage to kill it with their first shot, said Reza Marashi, the research director of the National Iranian American Council, they are unlikely to give up.

The Iran hawks will try to have multiple bites of the cherry and will keep pushing for more votes, Marashi said. If the Europeans wanted to try to save the JCPOA, he added, they now have very little time.
The gun lobbys concession on bump stocks was barely a concession at all  but it may go some way to satisfy those demanding action after Las Vegas

The NRAs concession, heralded as a breakthrough, is so small it is hard to see with the naked eye. Photograph: Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

After the deadliest mass shooting in recent American history, the National Rifle Association has agreed it might be appropriate to regulate a dumb toy that can also be used as a weapon of mass carnage.

The NRAs concession, heralded as a breakthrough, is so small it is hard to see with the naked eye. The gun rights group broke its silence on the Las Vegas shooting Thursday as media reports suggested Republican members of Congress might support a ban on bump stocks, a device that allows semi-automatic rifles to mimic the rapid fire of a fully automatic weapon. Officials confirmed that Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock had 12 rifles fitted with bump stocks in the hotel suite he used to stage his attack.

It is not clear how closely the Republicans and NRA coordinated on Thursday, but they moved in quick succession.

Clearly, thats something we need to look into, the House speaker, Paul Ryan, said in a television interview early on Thursday, noting that he had never heard of bump stocks before.



At 2.14pm, the NRA sent out a press blast suggesting that bump stocks should be subject to additional regulations, and calling for more review.

At about 2.30pm, the White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, said during a briefing that were certainly open to having that conversation on regulating bump stocks.

Rather than endorsing a law banning the devices, as Democratic gun control advocates proposed, the NRA said in its statement on Thursday that it was asking the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which had repeatedly ruled that bump stocks did not fall under the regulation of federal firearms statutes, to review its decision.

This is a pretty small giveback but may go a long way to placating people who are demanding action after Las Vegas, said Robert Spitzer, a gun politics expert at State University of New York at Cortland.

Story continues

If this can be changed through a simple administrative ruling from the ATF, you dont even have to go to Congress to get a law passed. That would be a little plus from the NRAs point of view, Spitzer said. Their basic political default position is no new gun laws. It wouldnt be a new gun law.

Even NRA members, Spitzer added, regard bump stocks as having no legitimate use. I think even the gun people on the inside are saying, Why would you bother to even defend this stupid thing? he said.



In a Thursday night interview with Fox News Tucker Carlson, the NRAs chief lobbyist, Chris Cox, said that the American people are struggling. Theyre grieving. And so are the five million members of the National Rifle Association.

NRA members had been among those shot and killed in the Las Vegas attack on a country music festival, Cox said. The American people are looking for answers, and so are we.

When asked about bump stocks, which Carlson called ludicrous, Cox said: We didnt talk about banning anything.

He added: There are not a whole lot of people who own these things.

Dave Kopel, a gun law expert and gun rights advocate, said it was possible that the ATF might be able to reconsider the decision, but that such a reversal might be tricky. It might be better to update the statute and say that any device that makes a normal gun fire as fast a machine gun should have to go through the same process as buying a machine gun, he said.



Having Congress update the 1934 National Firearms Act would be preferable to Senator Dianne Feinsteins bump stock ban legislation, Kopel said, which was too broad and might fuel an underground market in bump stocks by not providing any way for current owners to register them legally.

Kopel, who has been a gun rights expert and author for decades, noted that he had never heard of bump stocks before this week.

Two of the most prominent online companies that sell bump stocks, Bump Fire Systems and Slide Fire Solutions, are based in Moran, Texas and sell variations on a single product for different models of semi-automatic rifle. Neither appears to be a major gun industry player, though bump stocks do appear to be a significant part of the industry in Moran, which has a population of about 350 people.

If his business had to close, It would hurt the whole town, the school. We pay a very large amount of property taxes, Jeremiah Cottle, the 40-year-old owner of Slide Fire Solutions, said in a brief interview with the Dallas Morning News.

At one point Slide Fire Solutions had employed about a 10th of the towns population, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Slide Fire Solutions and Bump Fire Systems shared a similar online message on Friday: We have decided to temporarily suspend taking new orders in order to provide the best service with those already placed. Bump Fire Systems also noted on its website: Due to extremely high demands, we have temporarily stopped taking orders.
Donald Trump said on Thursday night that it was the "calm before the storm" amid reports that he will announce next week that he will decertify the Iran nuclear deal.

The US president earlier said that Iran had "not lived up to the spirit" of the nuclear deal.

Mr Trump summoned reporters to the State Dining Room at the White House on Thursday evening, where he was hosting a dinner with military leaders.

"You guys know what this represents?" Mr Trump asked. "Maybe it's the calm before the storm. Could be the calm, the calm before the storm."

Donald Trump speaks at a briefing with senior military leaders including defence secretary Jim Mattis, left, in Washington on Thursday Credit: Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images

"What storm Mr President?" one reporter shouted. Isis? North Korea? Iran?

"You'll find out," the president said.

A move to end the Iran nuclear deal could lead to renewed US sanctions against Tehran, unnamed senior administration officials said.

Mr Trump is expected to give a major foreign policy speech on October 12, in which he will blame Iran for fuelling terrorism and causing instability throughout the Middle East. The speech is said to mark a shift to a more confrontational policy towards Tehran.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani Credit: AFP

The US president said on Thursday evening that Iran had not lived up to the spirit of the nuclear deal. "We must not allow Iran ... to obtain nuclear weapons," Mr Trump said during a meeting with military leaders at the White House.

"The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed and chaos across the Middle East. That is why we must put an end to Iran's continued aggression and nuclear ambitions."

Asked about whether he would "decertify" the deal, he said: "You'll be hearing about Iran very shortly."

US President Donald J. Trump speaks during the opening session of the General Debate of the 72nd United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 19 September 2017 Credit: EPA

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said: "The president is going to make an announcement about the decision that he's made on a comprehensive strategy that his team supports, and we'll do that in the coming days."

Story continues

If Mr Trump states that Iran has not been complying with the terms of the nuclear deal, designed to prevent the country obtaining a nuclear weapon, Congress would then have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions that were suspended under the agreement.

The US president has been a frequent critic of the Iran nuclear pact, a signature foreign policy achievement of his Democratic predecessor, Barack Obama, and signed in 2015 by the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, the European Union and Iran.

President Trump Participates In Briefing With Senior Military Leaders

Under the agreement, which was signed in Vienna in 2015, Iran agreed to sacrifice two-thirds of its ability to enrich uranium in return for an ending of economic sanctions.

Mr Trump recently called it one of the worst deals Ive ever seen, stating that Iran had violated so many different elements, but theyve also violated the spirit of that deal.

The move to end the deal has been widely opposed by European leaders. The British, French, German and European Union ambassadors to the US participated in a meeting on Capitol Hill on Wednesday that spelled out the consequences of the collapse of the deal.

Last month, Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, urged the world to have faith in the potential of the deal to create a more open Iran.

While Mr Johnson warned Iran "to stop their adventurist and expansionist plans, causing trouble in Yemen, Syria or anywhere else", he argued the deal could liberate the Islamic republic.

On the other side, we in the UK feel that Iran  a country of 80 million people, many of them young and potentially liberal  could be won over. I think it is important they see there are benefits from the JCPOA (an acronym for the nuclear agreement), so we in the UK want that alive, Mr Johnson said, speaking alongside Rex Tillerson, his US counterpart.

Supporters of the deal say its collapse could trigger a regional arms race and increase tensions in the Middle East.

Opponents say it went too far in easing sanctions without requiring that Iran end its nuclear programme permanently.

FAQ | Iran nuclear talks

The White House did not confirm the reported plans for Mr Trump's speech. Mr Trump has to report to Congress on Oct 15 whether he believes Iran is complying with the nuclear agreement.

Michael A. Anton, spokesman for the White House national security council, told the Washington Post: The administration looks forward to sharing details of our Iran strategy at the appropriate time.

Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, said last month he would not renegotiate the terms of the deal. He warned that cancelling the deal "would carry a high cost for the United States of America".
FBI agents began interviewing the girlfriend of Las Vegas massacre gunman Stephen Paddock as Donald Trump arrived in the city and said the killer must have had his "wires screwed up".

Mr Trump, who made a private visit to a hospital with his wife Melania, said investigators were "learning a lot more" about Paddock and details would be given at "an appropriate time." He added: "It's a very, very sad day for me, personally."

The president's motorcade passed close to the Mandalay Bay Hotel where Paddock, 64, fired from the 32nd floor, killing 59 people and injuring more than 500 at a country music festival on Sunday night.

As mystery continued to surround his motive Paddock's girlfriend Marilou Danley, 62, a "person of interest" in the case, arrived at Los Angeles airport on a flight from the Philippines.

She was pushed through the airport in a wheelchair by FBI agents who took her to their field office for questioning.

Ms Danley was not arrested but agents were said to have a "lot of questions" and she was being represented by a lawyer.

Air Force One near the Mandalay Bay Hotel Credit: AFP

Reynaldo Bustos, Ms Danley's brother in the Philippines, said he had spoken to her.

Mr Bustos said: "She said 'Relax, we shouldn't worry about it. I'll fix it. Do not panic. I have a clean conscience'."

Ms Danley is an Australian citizen and her sisters there said they believed she was "sent away" by Paddock to the Philippines a week before the shooting. He also wired $100,000 to an account in the Philippines.

One sister told Seven News in Australia: "She was sent away so that she would not be there to interfere with what he's planning. She didn't even know that she was going to the Philippines until Steve said 'Marilou, I found you a cheap ticket to the Philippines'. In that sense I thank him for sparing my sister's life."

The sister added: "She is a good person and a gentle soul, a mother, a grandmother. Maybe if Marilou was there this won't have happened because she won't let it happen."

Story continues

Donald Trump and Melania Trump return to the White House from Las Vegas Credit: Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images

Arriving in Las Vegas Mr Trump deflected a question about whether the US had a problem with gun violence.

He said: "We're not going to talk about that today."

Discussing the possibilities for a motive with first responders he said: "The wires are screwed up, there might be something there." He said the killer was "very sick and very demented".

In a sombre speech at police headquarters Mr Trump said America would "not be defined by evil" and would overcome the tragedy "together". He said the response of emergency services made him "proud to be an American".

He said: "The mass murder that took place fills America's heart with grief. America is truly a nation in mourning. Our souls are stricken with grief for every American who lost. We know you're sorrow feels endless. You are not alone. We will never leave your side.

"We cannot be defined by the evil that threatens us. We are defined by our love, our caring, and our courage. "The souls of those who passed are now at peace in Heaven. Americans defied death and hatred with love, and with courage.

"When the worst of humanity strikes, and strike it did, the best of humanity responds. "We will endure the pain together and we will overcome together as Americans."

At Paddock's local Starbucks inside a casino in Mesquite, Nevada, staff said he would berate Ms Danley when she asked to use his casino gambling card.

Esperanza Mendoza, a supervisor there, told the Los Angeles Times: "It happened a lot. He looked like he never slept because of the large bags under his eyes.

"He would glare down at her and say with a mean attitude 'Im paying for your drink just like Im paying for you'. He was so rude to her in front of us."

It also emerged that Paddock may have intended to target a bigger Las Vegas outdoor music festival the previous weekend.

Paddock tried unsuccessfully to book a room overlooking the "Life is Beautiful" event where headliners included Damon Albarn's Gorillaz. That festival was attended by 50,000 people each day.

President Trump is greeted by Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval at Las Vegas airport Credit: AP

There were also unconfirmed reports a receipt for Paddock's last room service meal, including a hamburger and bagel, showed there may have been an additional person in his room.

Police also found ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer which can be used in bombs, in the boot of his car at the Mandalay Bay. Neither of his homes has a lawn.

It was also disclosed that Paddock had been taking the anti-anxiety drug Valium.

Paddock was prescribed 50 10-milligram diazepam tablets, under the brand name Valium, on June 21. He received a similar prescription in 2016, according to records from the Nevada Prescription Monitoring Program.

Dr Mel Pohl, chief medical officer of the Las Vegas Recovery Center, said: If somebody has an underlying aggression problem and you sedate them with that drug, they can become aggressive.

"It is much like what happens when you give alcohol to some people, they become aggressive instead of going to sleep.

It came as police said the number of guns he had increased to 47 guns at three locations, with 12 "bump stocks" used to make semi- automatic guns fire more rapidly. The shooting lasted between nine and 11 minutes, police said.

FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said he was surprised at the lack of a motive.

He said: "We are not there yet. This individual and this attack didnt leave the sort of immediately accessible thumbprints that you find on some mass casualty attacks."
President Trump praised first responders and citizens who are donating blood: AP

Donald Trump used a visit to Las Vegas to express the sorrow and shock felt across the US in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting the country has seen in modern history, saying that America is truly a nation in mourning.

Having started the day by taking off from Washington by calling it "a very, very sad day for me, personally," the president ended it by striking a sombre and stately tone that sits in contrast to his visit to Puerto Rico the day before. It was on that trip he suggested the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria had put the US budget out of whack,

Praising the bravery of first responders and seeking to comfort the families of victims during his final address of the day, Mr Trump said: We know that your sorrow feels endless. We stand together to help you carry your pain... Youre not alone. We will never leave your side.

The president  and First Lady Melania Trump  travelled to Las Vegas as investigators searched for the motive behind the attack, blamed on former accountant Stephen Paddock.

Paddock is said to have stockpiled dozens of weapons, using a number of rifles to rain bullets onto a crowd of country music festival patrons from the 32nd floor of his Mandalay Bay hotel suite. Fifty-eight people were killed, before Paddock turned a gun on himself, and hundreds more were injured. The FBI were questioning Marilou Danley, Paddock's girlfriend, on Wednesday night to see if she could provide any clues - but in a statement Ms Danley said she was "unaware" of any of his actions that led to the shooting.

The trip to Las Vegas provided another test of Mr Trumps credentials as the nations comforter-in-chief after his visit to storm-battered San Juan.

After a day visiting victims and survivors, medical staff and first responders, Mr Trump finished with an address at the Las Vegas Police Departments command centre, promising to stand by all those affected by the actions of a man he called sick and demented.

Story continues

We cannot be defined by the evil that threatens us or the violence that incites such terror, he said. Were defined by our love, our caring, and our courage. In the darkest moments, what shines most brightly is the goodness that thrives in the hearts of our people.

Returning to a theme that had run through his day, praising the incredible bravery of the medics, police, firefighters and civilians who had helped victims, Mr Trump said the whole world had seen what the best of what America had to offer.

Words cannot describe the bravery that the whole world witnessed on Sunday night. Americans defied death and hatred with love and courage. When the the worst of humanity and strike it did the best of humanity responds, he said.

The president had started the day by travelling to the University Medical Center that had treated many victims. On the way, he passed the Mandalay Bay, holes still visible in the windows the gunman had shot from.

In the morning, authorities had opened the stretch of the Las Vegas strip passing by the casino and hotel. But police officers continued to block an approach road and hotel security was turning people way, while yellow police tape sealed off entrances.

That did not stop clusters of curious onlookers from gathering on the sidewalks encircling the casino. A truck slowed down so a man in the passenger seat could point his phone at the ornate fountain that sits outside the shining gold Mandalay. Across the street, towers of speakers marked the concert grounds where scores of people were slain.

When he reached the hospital, Mr Trump praised the indescribable job medics had done, and that many victims would be leaving in the coming in the coming days and weeks. He said he had met with some patients who were very, very badly wounded, and they were badly wounded because they refused to leave They wanted to help others.

Mr Trump has faced calls from some quarters - including many Democrats in Congress - to look at gun control legislation, but he deflected a question about gun violence at the hospital. We are not going to talk about that today, he said.

Later, at the police headquarters as groups of firefighters, paramedics and police officers trickled out after Mr Trumps visit, state trooper Tom Vernon paused to say first responders appreciate [President Trump] coming in this horrible time.

Asked whether the topic of gun control came up, Mr Vernon said this isn't the time for that.

It's time to heal, not worry about politics, he said.

Elsewhere in the city, others were less pleased with Mr Trumps visit, and his lack of willingness to engage in a debate about gun control.

Unless he's giving blood I'm not welcoming him here, said 45-year old Jason Engel, a Marine veteran outside one of the centres where civilians can give blood to help victims.

April Engel - Mr Engel's wife - said she was not a fan of the president, a feeling that was strengthened by Mr Trump not backing tighter gun restrictions over Paddocks stockpiling of arms.

He doesn't even want to address gun control? Come on, Ms Engel said.
Donald Trump and Melania Trump make their way to board Air Force One before departing for Las Vegas: MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images

US President Donald Trump has said his trip to visit the victims of a mass shooting in Las Vegas is a sad day for him, personally.

Boarding a helicopter to the Nevada city, Mr Trump told reporters the shooting was a very sad thing.

Were going to pay our respects and to see the police, who have done really a fantastic job in a very short time, Mr Trump said of his trip. ...Its a very, very sad day for me, personally. Thank you.

The President was scheduled to visit Las Vegas for three hours on Wednesday, just days after a lone gunman opened fire on a country music concert. The shooting, which injured more than 500 people killed at least 58, was the deadliest in US history.

In a speech shortly after the shooting, Mr Trump called it an act of pure evil.

Melania and I are praying for every American who has been hurt, wounded or lost the ones they loved so dearly in this terrible, terrible attack, he said.

He added: We pray for the entire nation to find unity and peace, and we pray for the day when evil is banished and the innocent are safe from hatred and from fear.

Asked whether he would use the opportunity to speak about gun control, however, he said: Perhaps that will come. But that's not for now.

The President and the First Lady planned to meet with patients, doctors, and first responders from the shooting during their trip to Las Vegas. They had returned the day before from Puerto Rico, where they surveyed the damage from Hurricane Maria.

Police are still searching for a motive in the Las Vegas shooting.

The shooter, identified by police as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, was a divorced retiree who lived in nearby Mesquite, Nevada. He was a frequent gambler who enjoyed VIP status at various Las Vegas casinos, according to NBC News.

On 1 October, he began shooting at concert-goers from his 32nd-floor hotel room in Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. He fired for approximately nine minutes, before shooting and killing himself when a SWAT team arrived.

Story continues

Police later found more than 20 weapons in Paddock's hotel room, along with various cameras placed around the room. Police believe he used the cameras to monitor those approaching.

Sheriff Joseph Lombardo, who leads the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said Mr Trump had called him the day after the shooting. He thanked the President for his support and prayers.

My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible Las Vegas shooting, Mr Trump tweeted that day. God bless you!
Paris (AFP) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Thursday he did not want an armed conflict with his country's Kurds, days after the autonomous Kurdistan region voted for independence in a referendum.

"We don't want armed confrontation, we don't want clashes but federal authority must prevail," he said after a meeting in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron.

"Separatism is unacceptable," Abadi said, reiterating that the non-binding September 25 vote -- in which 92.7 percent of Iraqi Kurds backed independence -- was "illegal".

"Iraq belongs to all Iraqis," he said, appealing to Kurdish Peshmerga forces to work with the Iraqi army "as we have worked together against Daesh (the Islamic State group), to guarantee citizens' safety."

Macron voiced support for Kurds' rights while defending Iraq's territorial unity.

France has "always been sensitive to the situation of Kurds" but is also committed to stability in Iraq, Macron said, calling for dialogue between Baghdad and Iraqi Kurdistan.

"France is ready to contribute actively to the UN's mediation efforts, if Iraqi authorities so wish," he said.
WASHINGTON  Ola Al-Qaradawi, a 55-year-old research assistant, used to regularly travel from Egypt to the United States to visit her American daughter and two American granddaughters.

In 2016, she decided to spend more time with them. Her daughter helped her apply for a green card, which U.S. authorities issued earlier this year. Qaradawi began preparing to leave. Thats when Egypts National Security Agency  the top domestic security force of a government receiving more than $1 billion in U.S. aid annually  got involved.

Today, Qaradawi is in solitary confinement in a five-by-six foot cell with no toilet, no bed, no natural light and no ventilation in a womens prison north of Cairo, trying to eat and drink as little as possible because she only gets five minutes of bathroom time a day. She has no access to family and only briefly sees her lawyers every 15 days when the state prosecutor renews her detention. More than three months after she was first arrested, she has received no official charges.

Qaradawi and her husband, Hosam Khalaf, a fellow green card holder arrested with her and now also held in solitary confinement without charge at a separate facility, are caught up in a clash over political Islam that has divided U.S.-aligned governments and inspired repression across the Middle East.

Qaradawi isnt political. But her father is Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, a Qatar-based spiritual icon for the regions Muslim Brotherhood movement. The Egyptian government, which gained power thanks to a 2013 military coup against a democratically-elected Brotherhood government, has issued statements suggesting its treatment of Ola Al-Qaradawi is tied to its desire to punish her father and the Brotherhood, which it classifies as a terror group. (Most national security officials and experts in the U.S. and Europe do not believe the popular, largely nonviolent Brotherhood deserves that label.)

Egypt and its allies, which have been boycotting fellow U.S. partner Qatar since this summer, see the 91-year-old preacher as a major threat whom the Qataris should immediately imprison.

Story continues

Now, Aayah Hossam Khalaf, Ola Al-Qaradawis Seattle-based daughter, has launched a loud campaign to draw U.S. attention to her parents conditions and urge them to be released. She sees their detention as entirely baseless  they have never supported the Brotherhood, she told HuffPost, and are being punished simply because of a family connection.

Her lawyers are seeking urgent intervention by United Nations special rapporteurs on torture and health, as well as a ruling from a U.N. working group that their detention is illegal under international law.

And Congress, where concern over Egypts crackdown has grown in recent years as the government has targeted American citizens and U.S.-backed NGOs, is paying attention: Khalaf has been in close contact on the matter with aides to her congressman, Rep. Adam Smith (Wash.), the top Democrat on the powerful House Armed Services Committee. Smith has made formal inquiries about the case to both the State Department and the Egyptian Embassy in Washington, he told HuffPost Tuesday.

The State Department has no consular obligations to Khalafs parents because they are not U.S. citizens, Smith said. But he hopes the Egyptians can provide further information about the couples detention. Egypt has confirmed the couples arrest, but Smiths questions on their health, well-being and access to lawyers have not yet been answered, one of his aides told HuffPost in an email. The Egyptians remain in active communication with our office on this case ... we hope to receive a response to those questions soon, the aide wrote.

The couples detention adds to a long list of challenges in U.S.-Egypt relations, and highlights the conflict between U.S obligations to international human rights commitments  which Khalafs lawyers say Egypt is clearly violating  and its commitment to a long-time strategic partner.

Egypts Interior Ministry is bulldozing not only over the embattled judiciarys authority but also over everyday Egyptians like Ola Al-Qaradawi and Hosam Khalafs basic rights. Their case is a sad example of what has become all-too-familiar in Egypt, Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said last month. The group says officials should immediately offer formal charges based on evidence or release the couple.

President Donald Trump meets with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 20, 2017. Earlier this year, Trump hosted the authoritarian leader at the White House, something President Obama had declined to do. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters)

Egyptian National Security Agency officers  who did not have a warrant  arrested the pair at a family-owned vacation home on Egypts north coast on June 30, 2017, less than a month after Egypt and other governments cut off ties with Qatar, where Qaradawi was born. They also searched the couples home in Cairo. Authorities then held the couple incommunicado for two days before adding them to one of Egypts notorious mass trials and moving them to the prisons where they are detained now, according to the couples advocates.

Officials initially said they were investigating the couple because they were moving furniture at a family property belonging to Qaradawis preacher father, whose assets in Egypt are now frozen. But Khalaf said documents show that the home actually belongs to her grandmother  and her initial hope was that authorities would realize the mistake in a matter of days and set the couple free.

Khalaf now thinks her parents were initially targeted for the reason the National Security Agency officers said, but that they held fast and ramped up the persecution once they realized the couple could be used as leverage in trying to reach the elder Qaradawi.

Even if we assume that my grandfather has to do with whatever theyre saying, what does this have to do with my parents? Khalaf said. In an op-ed published last month, she wrote that she simply wants to see them in the U.S. spending time with her two young daughters.

Weeks after the arrest, state-run media reported that Egypt would now consider all of Yusuf Al-Qaradawis children linked to terrorism and freeze their assets. Khalaf is worried that more family members could be next.

Egyptian authorities had previously detained Khalafs father for nearly two years, apparently for his membership in a liberal Islamist political party that remains legal and is seen as opposed to the Brotherhood.

They released him last March with no charges  a move she cites as evidence that the government has no basis for accusing the couple of criminal behavior. Her fathers arbitrary persecution was one reason her parents began exploring the option of a new life in the U.S., Khalaf said. Her father was seeking government approval to leave Egypt at the time of his arrest.

But despite their green cards and personal political views, the couple may struggle to win sympathy in the U.S. because of their familys link to the Brotherhood.

Anti-Islam activists and some conservative scholars have spent years portraying the Brotherhood as fundamentally opposed to America, in cases saying it nefariously employs a global network among Muslim communities, and those claims have received unprecedented White House attention under the Trump administration.

For months after Trumps inauguration, the administration mooted labeling the Brotherhood a terror group, and Qaradawi in particular remains unpopular with many even in the mainstream national security establishment because of statements defending violence against Americans and Israelis. The cleric was once banned from traveling to the U.S, Britain and France. And President Donald Trump earlier this year appeared to sour on Qaradawis protector, the U.S. partner nation Qatar.

The couples case will likely be met with some skepticism in official circles, and some might feel the Egyptians are justified in holding them since they do consider Qaradawi a terrorist, a U.S. official working on U.S.-Egypt policy told HuffPost. Although the cases of Americans caught up in Egypts repression have gained attention, those U.S. citizens advocates both in and outside the government will not want to be associated with this couple, the U.S. official added.

How the administration ultimately chooses to respond to the case may offer clues about whether it remains ideologically wedded to the harsher instincts of the presidents Brotherhood-fearing base or open to assessing situations based on the facts at hand.

Some of the Trump aides closest to the Islamophobia movement have now left their jobs, and after the question of designating the Brotherhood as a terror group was debated in Washington foreign policy circles earlier this year, the administration eventually seemed to accept the establishment consensus that the broad movement cannot be held responsible for violence against U.S. interests. There was an important realization: it shouldnt have anything to do with Qatar or the Gulf crisis or whether or not political Islamism is palatable to people... [terror designation] has nothing to do with ideology. It has to do with actions, said Michele Dunne, a Middle East expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Dunne, a former long-time State Department official, believes Trump has proven willing to push Egypt on specific matters even as he publicly praises its authoritarian leader. Khalaf and the jailed couples advocates are pursuing the right path by drawing public attention, she told HuffPost.

In many cases of these kinds of detentions people here in Washington dont hear about it at all, she said. It turns a spotlight on the fact that many, many Egyptians are in similar situations.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Brussels (AFP) - The EU said Thursday it had "stopped the clock" on its probe into German chemical firm Bayer's proposed mega-takeover of US agri-giant Monsanto while it waits for the companies to provide information.

Brussels launched an in-depth investigation in August into the $66 billion (56-billion-euro) deal, which would create the world's largest integrated pesticides and seeds company.

The European Commission, which serves as the powerful anti-trust regulator for the 28-nation European Union, cited concerns it could reduce competition in key products for farmers.

It was originally due to decide on January 8 but that has already been pushed back to January 22, and the pause announced by the commission on Thursday will delay the ruling further.

"The commission has stopped the clock in its in-depth investigation into Bayer's proposed acquisition of Monsanto," a European Commission spokesman said.

"This procedure in merger investigations is activated if the parties fail to provide, in a timely fashion, an important piece of information that the commission has requested from them.

"Once the missing information is supplied by the parties, the clock is re-started and the deadline for the Commissions decision is then adjusted accordingly."

A Bayer statement said: "We are making every effort to answer all of the commission's questions as soon as possible. Bayer and Monsanto will continue to cooperate with the authorities in order to complete the transaction by early 2018."

Bayer won over Monsanto's management in September 2016 for the deal after a months-long pursuit in which it raised its offer price several times.

If the tie-up goes ahead, the new company would have some 140,000 employees around the world with combined annual revenues from agriculture alone of about 23 billion euros.

But the deal has drawn criticism from environmental groups because of Monsanto's long history of promoting genetically modified crops.

The European Commission also expressed concern that Bayer produces one of the few alternatives to glyphosate, a weedkiller that Monsanto markets under the name Roundup, one of the most widely sold weed-killers in Europe.

The European Union is currently deciding whether to renew the licence of the controversial herbicide which expires at the end of the year.
If Norway had believed us, my husband would be alive today, Sadeqa tells me. She had fled to Norway with her family in 2015 after Hadi, her husband, had been kidnapped and beaten, but Norwegian authorities rejected their claim for asylum and returned them and their children to Afghanistan. A few months after their arrival, Hadi was killed. Sadeqa and her three young children are living in constant fear.

Sadeqa is one of thousands of Afghans who have been returned from Europe to Afghanistan in the last two years. They are sent back despite evidence that people are at real risk of serious human rights violations in a country that has become even more dangerous since they fled.

A new report by Amnesty International, released today, details harrowing cases of Afghans who have been returned from Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany only to be killed, injured in bomb attacks, or left to live in constant fear of being persecuted for their sexual orientation or because of their religion. In 2016 alone, almost 10,000 Afghans have been put in harms way.

Afghanistan is deeply unsafe, and has become more so in recent years. Currently, the government and its security forces are battling more than 20 armed groups operating across the country, including the Taliban and the group calling itself the Islamic State. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reported that 2016 was the deadliest year on record for civilians, with 11,418 people killed or injured, and the deterioration in the security situation has persisted into 2017. Kabul is the most dangerous province in the country, accounting for 19% of civilian casualties in 2016.

In defiance of common sense and common humanity, this is the country to which European countries are sending thousands of Afghans back. As security risks increase, so do returns. Between 2015 and 2016, the number of people returned from Europe to Afghanistan nearly tripled: from 3,290 to 9,460 (pdf).

Farid, who was deported to Kabul last May from Norway, is in danger of religious persecution for converting to Christianity. He left Afghanistan as a child, grew up in Iran, then fled to Norway. He is terrified about what will happen to him. Still in shock after being wrenched from his adopted country and faith community, he told me: I feel like Ive fallen from the sky. I dont believe Im here.

Story continues

A year ago, on Oct.5 2016, the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan hosted representatives from 75 countries and 26 international organisations and agencies. The European Union (E.U.) and its member states committed to providing the government of Afghanistan with approximately 5 billion in aid. Also at the conference, the E.U. and Afghanistan signed a document called the Joint Way Forward, which aims to facilitate the return to Afghanistan of Afghan citizens in Europe.

The Joint Way Forward opens with the assertion that the E.U. and Afghanistan each face unprecedented refugee and migration challenges. Addressing them requires solidarity, determination and collective efforts.

But whilst true solidarity on the part of the European governments would be welcome in Afghanistan, the refugee and migration challenges experienced by the E.U. and Afghanistan are simply not comparable.

Recently, brutal conflicts and crushing poverty in many parts of the world have pushed large numbers of people to seek asylum in Europe: more than 1 million desperate women, men and children arrived irregularly in 2015, with about 200,000 of them being Afghans. But these numbers must be compared with the numbers of refugees being hosted  sometimes for decades  in countries with far fewer resources than most European States. Of the 2.5 million Afghan refugees worldwide, for instance, the vast majority  about 2.28 million  live in Iran and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan itself faces a staggering internal displacement crisis. The countrys Internally Displaced People population will almost certainly exceed 2 million people by the end of 2017. Moreover, in recent years increasingly hostile conditions for Afghan refugees in Iran and Pakistan have forced hundreds of thousands of people back to Afghanistan. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of others have fled the country in fear for their lives.

The E.U.s so-called refugee crisis is rooted not in the number of refugees arriving, but in the way many European politicians insist on outsourcing responsibility to countries with far fewer resources. Europe does not lack the ability to fulfil its legal obligations towards people fleeing the horrors of war and persecution. The average GDP per capita of E.U. countries far exceeds that of major refugee hosting countries like Pakistan, Lebanon and Kenya.

Clearly, notwithstanding the Joint Way Forwards rhetoric of solidarity, the document is intended to pressure Afghanistan into accepting large numbers of returnees. A leaked E.U. document (pdf) from March 2016 is frank on this point. In it, E.U. agencies acknowledge Afghanistans worsening security situation and threats to which people are exposed, as well as the likelihood that record levels of terrorist attacks and civilian casualties will increase, but nevertheless state that more than 80,000 persons could potentially need to be returned in the near future.

Afghanistans Minister of Finance, Eklil Hakimi, has been quoted telling the Afghan parliament: If Afghanistan does not cooperate with E.U. countries on the refugee crisis, this will negatively impact the amount of aid allocated to Afghanistan. A confidential Afghan government source called the Joint Way Forward a poisoned cup that Afghanistan was forced to drink in order to receive development aid.

Evidently the Joint Way Forward is neither joint, nor a way forward. Afghanistan is currently too dangerous a place for returns. Until European governments and the EU acknowledge this, the lives of tens of thousands of Afghans in Europe remain uncertain. For others, it is already too late. Im so afraid, Hadis widow told me. I cant even bring my children to their fathers grave.

Names in this article have been changed.
Los Angeles (AFP) - Melissa Garcia was just three years old when she crossed the US border from Mexico in her mother's arms.

She remembers almost nothing of the perilous crossing that turned her into an undocumented migrant in a country that she now calls home.

She is one of thousands of so-called "Dreamers" set to be plunged into legal limbo with the phasing out of the Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, a program which allowed them to live and work legally in the United States -- but which can only be renewed for the last time on Thursday.

"Under DACA I can go out in the street without worrying that I'll be deported," said Melissa, who is 23 and works in a shop.

Her mother Leticia crossed the border with Melissa and her five-year-old brother, traversing the border fence and the desert of Sonora before trying to build a new life for her family in the United States.

"They didn't find out that they didn't have any papers until they were grown up," said their mother, who is now 43. "I wanted them to have a normal childhood. I wanted the best for them."

The administration of President Donald Trump said on September 5 that it was winding down DACA in six months, and Thursday is the last chance that the Obama-era scheme's beneficiaries have to submit renewal applications if their permits expire before next March.

"By March 5th they want to have already processed all of those applications," said Luis Perez, director of legal services at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles (CHIRLA), which offers free advice to dreamers.

Around 150,000 permits that are due to expire between September 5 and March 5 are to be processed for renewal. If a permit expires on March 6, there is nothing that can be done.

Many other immigrant organizations have also scrambled to defend the Dreamers.

- Fear of losing everything -

With CHIRLA's help, Melissa spent the past week wading through the paperwork for a renewal application.

Story continues

When she arrived at dawn at the center, accompanied by her mother and with her pet chihuahua in a bag, she found 20-year-old university student Bryan Soils already waiting. Thanks to DACA, he obtained credit to pay for his college and found legal employment.

He, too, crossed the desert with his mother when he was just seven years old. On his forehead he still bears a small scar from when barbed wire cut him as they crossed the fence.

The Dreamers brought deck chairs, blankets and coffee for their wait in line outside the legal aid center. Despite having no papers, they all feel American.

"I've been able to go ahead and find a good career path, a good job here in the United States, the only country I kind of know as home," said Pablo Gomez, a mortgage consultant at Wells Fargo bank.

"Removing it, as the Trump administration is trying to do, would probably take that all away from me, and force me to go back to a country I don't know," he said.

The decision by the Trump administration has forced Congress to reopen the immigration debate, which already broke down in 2001, 2006 and 2013.

"It's actually really scary, because I'm afraid of losing everything I've accomplished so far. I'm hoping and praying to God that things get resolved quickly," said Jesus Cervantes, a sales rep at a tire distribution company.

"I'm hoping for the Dream Act. I'm hoping that Congress will pass the Dream Act, so that people like me and everybody at the back of the line can have a taste of the American dream," said Abby Garduque, tearing up.

A resounding "no" is the usual and swift response when the possibility is raised of the Dreamers returning to the countries of their birth.

Leticia's son married an American citizen and now enjoys legal status. She now hopes that Melissa's precarious position can be legalized too and she can finally enjoy some peace of mind.

"That way, even if I have to leave, I'll leave happy," she said.
By Katherine Davis-Young PHOENIX (Reuters) - A federal judge on Wednesday upheld President Donald Trump's pardon earlier this year of 85-year-old former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, rejecting legal challenges by outside groups. U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton said that she had considered the petitions filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona and other organizations, including one staffed by lawyers who worked for former Democratic President Barack Obama's administration, but found no legal grounds to overturn the pardon. Bolton did not rule on a request by Arpaio's attorneys to take the further step of vacating his conviction. Trump, a Republican who has promised to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, has praised Arpaios crackdown on illegal immigrants in Maricopa County, Arizona, that drew condemnation from civil rights groups. Arpaio was convicted in July of willfully violating a 2011 injunction barring his officers from stopping and detaining Latino motorists solely on suspicion they were in the country illegally. He had not yet been sentenced when Trump issued the pardon in August. (Reporting by Katherine Davis-Young in Phoenix; Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Peter Cooney)
Six toddlers and one nursery school teacher are dead after a fired security guard sprayed them with alcohol and set them ablaze in Brazil on Thursday, according to local media reports.

The disgruntled guard, identified as 50-year-old Damiao Soares dos Santos, lit himself on fire at the scene and later died from self-inflicted injuries.

Photos from the scene:

Santos had worked at Gente Inocente, or "Innocent People," nursery school in the small town of Janauba for approximately eight years and had been suffering from mental health problems since 2014, according to the Telegraph.

Although police are still investigating the reason behind the attack, it is reported that Santos was dismissed from his position after returning from a period of leave last month.

On October 5, Santos handed in his medical certificate to school officials and then entered the classroom where he started the fire.

Victim Juan Miguel Soares Silva's mother told O Globo newspaper that she had considered enrolling her 4-year-old son in a different nursery school just days before the attack that claimed her young son's life.

"We are about to move to a different neighborhood," Jane Kelly da Silva Soares said. "I woke up early to drop him at the nursery. When I saw him again he was already dead in hospital."

The BBC reports that at least 25 people, mostly children aged four and five, are currently being treated for burns in local hospitals.

Brazillian President Michael Temer tweeted to express his sympathy to the victims' families, writing, "I am deeply saddened by this tragedy involving children in Janauba and I want to express my solidarity with the families."

"As a father, I can imagine that this must be an extremely difficult loss," he added. "We hope that these things don't repeat themselves in Brazil."

The mayor of Janauba has declared a seven day mourning period to honor those who died.
Most real estate agents are commission-based and incentivized to focus on the big sales. That results in inefficiencies for lower-class home buyers, who may have to wait longer to view properties and receive less guidance on paperwork.

A Miami-based startup called Home61 has been working on a solution for this category of buyers and renters, which it refers to as the "other 80%." Home 61 is building "an ecosystem for real estate for the mass market," founder and CEO Olivier Grinda tells TechCrunch.

The team is announcing a $4 million round led by FF Angel, the early-stage investment vehicle from Founders Fund. The round also included an investment from Olivier's brother Fabrice Grinda, a serial entrepreneur and angel investor.

Cyan Banister, a partner at Founders Fund, told TechCrunch that she invested because Olivier Grinda has demonstrated that he's "very driven and passionate." She said that he had a proven track record from when he was an entrepreneur in Brazil. Banister also believes that Home61 will "help streamline the process of looking for renting or buying a condo."

The market opportunity for real estate is huge, but it's also saturated with competition. Redfin, Compass and Zillow are part of a long list of companies looking to change the real estate search.

Home61 believes it can differentiate itself with its business model, which it hopes will match supply with demand. Automation is used to streamline the buying and selling process.

And instead of purely commission, the agents are paid a salary of $70,000 by their second year, and $120,000 after their third year, much higher than the industry average. This incentivizes them to give attention to all clients, regardless of the home price.

Home61 has closed 1,000 transactions in its native Miami. It plans to use the funding to expand to more cities like Chicago or Houston.

Home61 will "create a better experience for our customers" and "attack the market on a hyperlocal level," said Grinda.
Washington (AFP) - The United States confirmed Friday that a fourth member of its military was killed in Niger during an attack, which targeted a joint patrol of Nigerien soldiers and American special forces personnel.

"The body of another US service member has been recovered from the site of the attack," the US Africa Command (AFRICOM) said, raising an earlier toll of three Americans dead.

Four Nigerien soldiers and another person from an unidentified country were also killed Wednesday in what Niger's defense ministry described as an "ambush."

It took place in southwest Niger near the Malian border, where armed jihadists are known to operate.

Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou said on Thursday that the ambush was the latest attack on his country by "terrorist groups," and that it "has sadly resulted in a large number of casualties."

A French military spokesman said his country's helicopters had evacuated wounded from the scene and that warplanes were sent to the area in a show of force but did not drop any munitions to avoid hitting forces on the ground.

The clash confirmed the little-known presence of US troops in the turbulent area, part of the poor and politically fragile Sahel where jihadist groups are mounting an insurgency.

"US Forces are in Niger to provide training and security assistance to the Nigerien Armed Forces, in their efforts to counter violent extremist organizations in the region," AFRICOM said.

Under the name Operation Barkhane, France maintains a 4,000-man mission in the region to shore up fragile Sahel countries against jihadists who have carried out a wave of bloody bombings, shootings and kidnappings.
(Photo: HuffPost)

(Photo: Andrew Kelly / Reuters)

TOP STORIES

(And want to get The Morning Email each weekday? Sign up here.)

HARVEY WEINSTEIN ACCUSED OF DECADES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT Reportedly ranging from asking for massages to sexually harassing Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan. He reportedly has reachedeight settlements with women over three decades. The Hollywood mogul expressed regret, but plans to sue The New York Times over the story. [HuffPost] [Tweet | Share on Facebook]

ROBERT MUELLERS RUSSIA PROBE HAS EXPANDED TO INCLUDE THAT INFAMOUS DOSSIER His team has spoken to Christopher Steele, the former British agent who compiled it. [HuffPost]

WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF JOHN KELLYS PHONE MAY HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED FOR MONTHS Its unclear if anything was gleaned from the device. [HuffPost]

AUTHORITIES ARE INVESTIGATING IF THE LAS VEGAS SHOOTER BOOKED HOTELS OVERLOOKING OTHER CONCERTS Stephen Paddocks motives still remain unknown. [HuffPost]

ITS NOT JUST YOU Everyone is freaking out over President Donald Trumps remarks about the calm before the storm. [HuffPost]

TREASURY SECRETARY STEVE MNUCHIN HAS COST THE TAXPAYERS $800,000 FOR MILITARY JET TRAVEL An official government inquiry found no wrongdoing, citing national security reasons for the travel. Energy Secretary Rick Perry also took a chartered jet plane the day before Tom Price resigned. [HuffPost]

EGYPT IS HOLDING U.S. GREEN CARD HOLDERS IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT WITHOUT CHARGES A middle-aged couple is caught up in a Middle Eastern power play involving President Donald Trump, Qatar, the Muslim Brotherhood and the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. [HuffPost]

WHATS BREWING

NOT TO BE THE BEARER OF BAD NEWS, BUT... Netflix is raising its prices. [HuffPost]

WHAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT TRAUMA Mental health issues can linger long after a tragedy. [HuffPost]

WHAT YOUR DISNEY PRINCESSES WOULD LOOK LIKE IN 2017 A tad more edgy. [HuffPost]

WERE GETTING BOTH NOSTALGIA AND SPOOKY FEELINGS From this abandoned factory in Fort Wayne. [HuffPost]

Story continues

THE COLUMBUS DAY SALES WORTH A LOOK Say goodbye to your wallet. [HuffPost]

TINA FEYS DAUGHTER SAW MEAN GIRLS And apparently had the takeaway that she wants to be Regina George. [HuffPost]

BEFORE YOU GO

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
In 1994, a two-hour pilot called Frogmen was made by Warner Bros. and ordered by NBC. It could have been the next A-Team, but it never aired. Thats because the lead was played by O.J. Simpson. CNN media critic Brian Lowry wrote about the doomed pilot for the Los Angeles Times in 2000, and now with Simpsons release from prison, it seems worth taking a look back at one of the most famous television shows to basically never be seen.

Frogmen was about a team of ex-Navy SEALs taking on dangerous missions out of Malibu, Calif. It starred Simpson as John Bullfrog Burke and had a supporting cast including Louis Mandylor (My Big Fat Greek Wedding), Todd Allen (Django Unchained), and Evan Handler (Sex and the City, Californication). Handler, it should be noted, would later play Simpson-defense team member Alan Dershowitz in FXs drama series The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.

On Sept. 28, 1995, O.J. Simpson was surrounded by his team of defense attorneys at the close of defense arguments in Los Angeles. (Photo: AP Photo/Sam Mircovich, Pool, File)

By May 1994, principal photography had concluded. Yet it was in June that Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman were killed in Los Angeles. After Simpson led police in an infamous car chase and got arrested on suspicion of the killings, the pilot was shelved.

Lowry wrote there was a creepy coincidence between the show and possible real life:

a scene in the two-hour movie  features Simpsons character grabbing what he believes to be an intruder (the young woman turns out to be his daughter) and momentarily holding a knife to her throat.

The pilot played a minor part in Simpsons trial. Judge Lance Ito allowed a tape of it to be admitted as evidence, but the prosecution never submitted it. Had it been used as evidence, it might have been to prove Simpson had trained in knife combat.

Ultimately, all tapes of Frogmen were rounded up. Sources told Lowry that it could have been a ratings hit and it could have made at least $14 million if Warner Bros. had sold it on VHS. It was agreed that airing it would have been inappropriate. That is about the only proof you have that there is some dignity in the advertising and television business, Handler told Lowry.

Story continues

Miley Cyrus and Billy Ray Cyrus honor Tom Petty with tribute performance:

Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
Pekanbaru (Indonesia) (AFP) - A giant python attacked an Indonesian man, nearly severing his arm, before hungry villagers chopped up the reptile and ate it, a police chief said Wednesday.

Security guard Robert Nababan crossed paths with the giant creature while patrolling an oil palm plantation in the remote Batang Gansal subdistrict of Sumatra island on Saturday.

"The python was 7.8 metres long (25.6 feet), it was unbelievably huge," local police chief Sutarja, who like many Indonesians only has one name, told AFP.

Sutarja said the 37-year-old Nababan, who sometimes liked to eat snake, tried to catch the giant python and stuff it in a gunny sack.

But the huge serpent fought back and bit him on his left arm, nearly severing it from his body.

Nababan was then rushed to a hospital in a neighbouring town for treatment.

The police chief said the intervention of another security guard and several local residents, one of whom hit the snake with a log, helped to save the man's life.

Hungry locals later killed the snake and displayed its body in the village before dicing it up, frying it and feasting on it.

Giant python, which regularly top 20 feet in length, are commonly found in Indonesia and the Philippines.

In March, a 25-year-old Indonesian farmer has been discovered inside the belly of a giant python after the swollen snake was caught near where the man vanished while harvesting his crops on the eastern island of Sulawesi.
People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas after a shooter opened fire: Getty Images

More Americans have died in firearm-related incidents since 1968 than in all wars in US history.

More than 1.5 million US citizens have died as a result of guns in the last 49 years, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Around 1.2 million Americans have been killed in conflicts in US history, NBC reported, citing data from the Department of Veterans Affairs and a database on iCasualties.org.

Last weeks mass shooting in Las Vegas left 59 people dead and hundreds injured, after gunman Stephen Paddock fired rounds from modified automatic weapons into a crowds at a music festival.

The shooter, a white man who authorities now think may have had an accomplice, sprayed bullets into a 22,000-strong crowd of concert-goers from his room on the 32rd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel on Sunday before killing himself, authorities said.

A total of 23 weapons were found inside the gunmans hotel suite.

The attack in Las Vegas was the deadliest mass shooting on US soil in modern history.

Last years shooting at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida, which killed 49 people, is the second deadliest, followed by the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School which killed 26 people, most of whom were children.

The Las Vegas shooting has once against renewed the debate over gun control in the US, where the right to bear arms is constitutionally protected and the National Rifle Association remains one of the most powerful lobby groups in Washington DC.

A large proportion of Americans either own a gun themselves or live in a household with guns - around four in ten people, according to recent data from the Pew Research Center.

Protection tops the list of reasons for owning a gun - and for most gun owners, owning a firearm is linked to their sense of personal freedom.

Washington DC this week introduced a bill to ban bump-stock devices, which effectively turn semi-automatic weapons into automatic ones, allowing shooters to fire bullets rapidly.

Story continues

Las Vegas gunman Mr Paddock is believed to have rigged his weapons with the equipment.

Yet even as the bill to outlaw the device was introduced, President Donald Trump declined to comment on gun violence, stating in his visit to Las Vegas: Were not going to talk about that today.
Harvey Weinstein and Georgina Chapman in the Hamptons on Aug. 12. (Photo: Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Harvey Weinstein is in full-on damage-control mode following Thursdays report, which accuses the powerful producer of multiple incidences of sexual harassment and misconduct.

The New York Times claims Weinsteins inappropriate behavior has spanned nearly three decades and hes been married to Georgina Chapmen for the past 10 years. However, the 64-year-old Oscar-winning producer says his wife is standing by him.

She stands 100 percent behind me, Weinstein tells the New York Post. Georgina and I have talked about this at length. We went out with [my attorney] Lisa Bloom last night when we knew the article was coming out. Georgina will be with Lisa and others kicking my ass to be a better human being and to apologize to people for my bad behavior, to say Im sorry, and to absolutely mean it.

Weinstein may be considered an industry power player, but his wife is no wallflower. So who is Georgina Chapman? If youre not familiar with her, here are seven things to know about the English fashion designer.

1. Shes the co-founder of Marchesa: Chapman, 41, is also a designer for the high-fashion label. She co-founded Marchesa with her close friend Keren Craig, with whom she attended the Chelsea College of Art & Design in her late teens. While studying there, Chapmans interests shifted from fine art to high fashion. Celebrities Jennifer Lopez, Heidi Klum, Sandra Bullock, and Sofia Vergara all count themselves as fans of the brand. Blake Lively even wore Marchesa when she wed Ryan Reynolds.

When you see her beautiful work, you feel like youre witnessing a craft that doesnt exist any longer, Lively reflected to Vogue. The only designer that really makes you feel like a princess is Marchesa.

@jessicarose617 s KILLER details A post shared by Blake Lively (@blakelively) on Oct 2, 2016 at 4:25pm PDT

2. Weinstein and Chapmen started dating in 2005: The pair met at a party in 2004 but didnt date right away. Chapman told Vogue, I had no idea who he was.  Hes not a person you can sort of ignore or brush off. Hes incredibly charming and so charismatic, it sort of draws you in.

Story continues

Unlike her husband, shes really nice, Weinstein chimed in, talking about himself in the third person. People will believe that, trust me. Sometimes people dont associate people who look like that with compassion and that kind of kindness  but thats who she is more than anyone else.

The pair had a star-studded wedding in 2007, tying the knot in Connecticut in front of celebs like Lopez, Cameron Diaz, Renee Zellweger, and Naomi Watts. The couple went on to have two kids, daughter India, now 7, and son Dashiell, now 4.

3. Chapman credits motherhood with making her more successful: When speaking to Forbes about her success, Chapman admitted she absolutely thought about not returning to work but found postpregnancy Im not an organized person by nature, but I became very, very focused, she told the publication. It changed the way I approach work.

Chapman shared with Forbes that being a working mom is something I wrestle with every day. She added: But I feel pride, too, because the kids talk about what theyre going to do when they grow up. They dont see any difference between my hubby and myself in terms of career. I think its a very empowering thing for a daughter to see her mother independent, working and having a voice. My mother gave up work when she had me. Shed been a journalist in the British film industry. That was very powerful, too, seeing a strong woman at home. Both situations work. I truly believe if youre a happy mother, youre a better mother.

A post shared by Georgina Chapman (@georginachapmanmarchesa) on Jul 6, 2017 at 1:27am PDT

4. Marchesas breakout moment has Weinstein roots: Marchesa made its debut on the red carpet in 2004, when the label was worn by one of the biggest names in Hollywood at the time, Renee Zellweger. Fresh off an Oscar win for her performance in Cold Mountain  a Weinstein-backed film  Zellweger donned an embellished red bandeau dress for the premiere of Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. At this point, Marchesa was a no-name brand, and Chapman and Craig were running their business out of a flat in West London.

Renee Zellweger in Marchesa. (Photo: Getty Images)

Maybe I helped, but just very, very little, with Renee Zellweger, Weinstein  who had met Chapman only months before  told Vogue. That same year, Cate Blanchett showed up at The Aviator premiere (another film Weinsten produced) in a Marchesa dress, firmly putting the brand on the map.

At the time, the Los Angeles Times quipped, Marchesas breathtaking success has the fashion world talking  and rolling its eyes, too. Just how much of that success, observers wonder, is due to the Harvey Factor?

Chapmans getting the last laugh on that one.

5. Shes incredibly close with her family: When asked by Forbes what or who can you not live without? the designer had a telling response.

My mom, my girlfriends, my husband, she said. I went to college to learn to be a designer. I didnt go to college to learn to be a mother, and I feel like thats the one you dont want to get wrong! For me, its all about having the right people around. My husband is so supportive. My mother is so supportive. My brother is my CEO. My best friend is my business partner. I have a wonderful woman who helps me with the kids. I have the most incredible, loyal team. It just wouldnt be possible without them.

6. Charity is important to her: Chapman is very involved with the nonprofit Magic Bus, whose mission is to help educate and improve the lives of local children in communities in India. The goal is to create youth leaders while utilizing the power of play. Magic Bus works with local partners to educate and employ these youth, maximizing their potential and breaking the cycle of poverty.

Thank you @vogueindia for joining me on this incredible journey with @magicbususa!!! To learn more about this amazing organization, head to www.magicbususa.org! #magicbus #india #marchesa A post shared by Georgina Chapman (@georginachapmanmarchesa) on Sep 8, 2017 at 3:17pm PDT

7. Chapmans motto is Never say never to anything: During her Forbes interview, Chapman shared that motto, adding, You just dont know whats around the corner. Thats the wonderful thing about life: Who knows what the future holds?

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
The Honest Company, the five-year-old natural body and home care products company co-founded by the actress Jessica Alba, looks to be raising $75 million in new venture capital funding at $19.60 per share, according to a Delaware filing first spied by CBInsights and reported by Axios.

The amount is a far cry from the $45.75 per share price point of the companys $100 million Series D round, closed in 2015 at what was reportedly a post-money valuation of $1.7 billion.

It also endangers The Honest Company's coveted -- or problematic, depending on your viewpoint -- status as a so-called unicorn company.

While boasting a billion-dollar valuation puts companies in somewhat elite company with other richly valued private companies, high-flying valuations can also limit a company's exit options.

The Honest Company may have already proved too rich for at least one acquirer. Roughly a year ago, the outfit was reported to be in talks with Unilever about a potential tie-up; soon after, Unilever opted instead to acquire Honest competitor Seventh Generation for $600 million.

Last year, the WSJ reported that Honest was generating $300 million in annual revenue after raising more than $220 million from investors, including General Catalyst Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Institutional Venture Partners, Fidelity, Wellington Management and Hartford Financial.

The company hasn't enjoyed smooth sailing since, seemingly. Honest co-founder Brian Lee stepped down as CEO, replaced by former Clorox executive Nick Vlahos, who has been tasked with positioning Honest as a more traditional packaged goods company. (Lee is a renowned tech entrepreneur whose past companies include Legal Zoom and ShoeDazzle.)

The company also cut 80 jobs in the first quarter of this year as it pushed into more offline channels. Indeed, while at the outset, Honest sold its products exclusively at its own website, its various products are also available to buy today at Target, Whole Foods, CVS, Nordstrom and elsewhere.

Story continues

The company has also found itself fending off a number of lawsuits over the years from consumer advocacy groups concerned about its product labeling. We talked with Alba about those suits last year in an onstage discussion at our Disrupt show in New York.

We hope to have more on the new round soon. In the meantime, we reached out to an Honest Company representative for comment and were sent the following statement:
SAN FRANCISCO  The Trump administration will go after undocumented immigrants in their neighborhoods and at work in California, likely picking up collateral they were not initially targeting, after the states new sanctuary law goes into effect, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Tom Homan said Friday.

His statement was a condemnation of the law, which Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown signed on Thursday, but also reads like a threat to undocumented immigrants in California. While the law was passed to protect them, ICE is now saying they are even more at risk of deportation and being separated from their families.

ICE will have no choice but to conduct at-large arrests in local neighborhoods and at worksites, which will inevitably result in additional collateral arrests, instead of focusing on arrests at jails and prisons where transfers are safer for ICE officers and the community, Homan said in a statement. ICE will also likely have to detain individuals arrested in California in detention facilities outside of the state, far from any family they may have in California.

California has the largest population of undocumented immigrants of any state with an estimated 2.3 million living there.

The new law will block local and state law enforcement from using resources to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect, or arrest persons for immigration enforcement purposes. Those purposes include making arrests on immigration warrants, detaining people solely at the request of federal immigration officials and inquiring into someones immigration status. The law goes into effect in January.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Tom Homan says "sanctuary" policies make cities less safe. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Though introduced prior to President Donald Trumps inauguration, the legislation is also a direct response to the presidents promised crackdown on undocumented immigrants.

These are uncertain times for undocumented Californians and their families, and this bill strikes a balance that will protect public safety, while bringing a measure of comfort to those families who are now living in fear every day, Brown said in a signing statement.

Story continues

While the bill was softened from its original version to allow some cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration officials in specific circumstances, the states influential sheriffs association remained opposed to it.

Our overarching concern remains that limiting local law enforcements ability to communicate and cooperate with federal law enforcement officers endangers public safety, the California State Sheriffs Association said in a statement. The bill still goes too far in cutting off communications with the federal government.

ICE officials argue that carrying out arrests in jails is both safer and more efficient than other methods, because the individuals are already in custody after arrest. Homan said the California law will undermine public safety and hinder ICE from performing its federally mandated mission.

But police-immigration enforcement cooperation has come under fire on both constitutional and public safety grounds. Critics  including law enforcement leaders  say that ICE working with police makes some local communities less likely to come forward to report crime or as witnesses out of fear about revealing immigration status, and could encourage racial profiling.

Those concerns led to sanctuary policies  a loose term for jurisdictions that do not fully cooperate with ICE, often by declining to hold people on its request if it would otherwise release them. Courts have ruled in the past that police violated individuals constitutional rights by holding them based on an ICE request without a warrant.

Jurisdictions are not required by law to hold people on ICEs behalf, but cannot have policies forbidding officials and law enforcement from sharing information with the federal government about immigration status.

The Trump administration has gone on an all-out assault on sanctuary policies, through executive orders, funding threats and public speeches claiming they are leading to increased violent crime. In April, a federal judge temporarily blocked Trumps executive order threatening to pull funds for cities based on their sanctuary policies, but the Department of Justice has since put immigration conditions on grants.

Since the first major series of arrests carried out by the Trump administration, ICE has increased the number of collateral arrests of undocumented immigrants without serious criminal records who happened to be present while agents were arresting other people. The change marks a major break from practice during the Obama administration, which prioritized arresting those with serious criminal histories or prior deportations on their records.

ICE carried out a round of 498 arrests last week that specifically targeted sanctuary jurisdictions, including New York, Los Angeles and Denver. More than one-third of those arrested had no criminal convictions, according to ICE.

Trump officials  chiefly, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who called the California law unconscionable  have hinted that a legal challenge may be on the horizon, a possibility California bill author State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon says he is prepared for. On Thursday, however, the White House declined to get into specifics on how the administration plans to respond.

We are spending every day we can trying to find the best way forward; the president will be laying out his responsible immigration plan over the next week, said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. I hope that California will push back on their governors ... irresponsible decision moving forward.

Roque Planas contributed reporting.

Also on HuffPost

April 2015

At an event hosted by Texas Patriots PAC: Everythings coming across the border: the illegals, the cars, the whole thing. Its like a big mess. Blah. Its like vomit.

June 2015

At a speech announcing his campaign: "When Mexico sends its people, theyre not sending their best. Theyre not sending you. Theyre not sending you. Theyre sending people that have lots of problems, and theyre bringing those problems with us. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists. And some, I assume, are good people."

August 2015

On NBC's "Meet the Press": Were going to keep the families together, we have to keep the families together, but they have to go."

September 2015

On CBS's "60 Minutes": Were rounding em up in a very humane way, in a very nice way. And theyre going to be happy because they want to be legalized. And, by the way, I know it doesnt sound nice. But not everything is nice.

November 2015

On MSNBC's "Morning Joe": You are going to have a deportation force, and you are going to do it humanely."

February 2016

At a GOP primary debate: We have at least 11 million people in this country that came in illegally. They will go out. They will come back  some will come back, the best, through a process.

March 2016

At a press conference when asked if he would consider allowing undocumented immigrants to stay: "We either have a country or we dont. We either have a country or we dont. We have borders or we dont have borders. And at this moment, the answer is absolutely not.

April 2016

At an event hosted by NBC's "Today Show": Theyre going to go, and were going to create a path where we can get them into this country legally, OK? But it has to be done legally. ... Theyre going to go, and then come back and come back legally.

July 2016

At the Republican National Convention: "Tonight, I want every American whose demands for immigration security have been denied  and every politician who has denied them  to listen very closely to the words I am about to say. On January 21st of 2017, the day after I take the oath of office, Americans will finally wake up in a country where the laws of the United States are enforced."

September 2016

At a rally: Anyone who has entered the United States illegally is subject to deportation. That is what it means to have laws and to have a country. Otherwise we dont have a country.

September 2016

On "The Dr. Oz Show": Well, under my plan the undocumented or, as you would say, illegal immigrant wouldnt be in the country. They only come in the country legally.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Reykjavik (AFP) - Iceland's Prime Minister Bjarni Benediktsson allegedly sold almost all of his assets in a major bank just before the government nationalised it during the nation's 2008 financial collapse, according to several media reports on Friday.

Icelandic bi-monthly newspaper Stundin, the investigative agency Reykjavik Media and Britain's The Guardian reported that Benediktsson sold his assets in an investment fund in Glitnir bank when he was a lawmaker, hours before the state took over three of the country's banks under an emergency law.

Benediktsson, who was among several other Icelandic politicians mentioned in the Panama Papers leaks which revealed off-shore tax havens, denies the allegations.

The media reports cited official documents and e-mails to back up the information, putting the prime minister in a tough situation three weeks ahead of an October 28 snap legislative election.

Iceland's government collapsed last month when a coalition partner quit after finding out that Benediktsson covered up his father's involvement in a legal row.

Benediktsson, who was an MP on the parliament's economy committee in 2008, sold almost all his assets worth 119 million Icelandic kronur ($1.4 million, 971.000 euros), according to The Guardian.

The documents claim that he had close relations with the heads of the Glitnir bank, which has raised questions about a potential conflict of interest between his role as a lawmaker and a bank client.

Benediktsson has denied any involvement in insider trading.

"All of my transactions with Glitnir Bank were normal. They have passed repeated examinations. That's the main point," he said on his Facebook account on Friday.

Benediktsson said he had placed an order to sell his shares on October 2, 2008, before the financial institutions were nationalised to protect the banks from default on October 6, adding that "it takes 2-3 days to finalise" a transaction.

Story continues

"The sales proceeds were kept in the bank afterwards... I gradually sold (the assets) over the year and transferred (parts of them) into other funds and accounts in the bank," Benediktsson said.

"It's being insinuated that I had misused my position and committed inside trading. Both are wrong," he said.

The prime minister's family is one of the richest and most influential in Iceland. His father and uncle also sold their assets a few days before Glitnir's collapse.

The reports are the latest blow to Benediktsson, who was a finance minister when his name was associated with a Seychelles offshore company in the 2015 Panama Papers leaks, triggering the previous government to collapse and forcing former then-prime minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson to resign.
The seaside city of Loiza might be Anyplace, Puerto Rico, right now  no power, scant food and drinking water, telephone poles lolling broken on house-tops. Add standing water, mixed with sewage, stewing under the sun. Even the swollen iguanas know something is off with nature.

Strung along the northeastern shoulder of Puerto Rico, it does, however, have something many other communities clamouring for assistance in the wake of last months hurricane do not: its barely twenty minutes from the international airport in San Juan and therefore the rest of the world. That should make it a first stop of any island-wide effort to distribute emergency aid.

And yet it seems to be no advantage at all. More than two weeks after Hurricane Maria struck, Loiza and its 29,000 inhabitants, many of whom were already living in dire poverty, are still largely on their own. There are no US soldiers handing out bottled water in the town square or keeping order when the sun goes down and you cant see beyond the toes of your boots.

There is still only one available truck for city officials to attempt to get what supplies they do have  nothing is more urgent than bottled water  to all 44 communities that make up the city. Most astounding of all, nobody has yet thought to give the citys increasingly desperate mayor, Julia Nozorio Fuentes, a satellite phone. She has no connectivity to the rest of the island. None.

That this is the situation so close to where much of the US aid and manpower is coming into Puerto Rico is a parable of the predicament of the island as a whole. President Donald Trump, who paid a brief visit there on Tuesday, has declared that the emergency response has been going swimmingly. In Loiza, like in so many other places, they beg to differ, obviously.

At her wits end: Mayor Julia Nozorio Fuentes needs more help now (David Usborne)

The only thing we have seen here were the military helicopters that were flying above us to protect the president when he was here, Luis Daniel Pizarro, whose job for the town is to coordinate federal programmes, noted sourly. I think that once people see a military presence or military order on the streets, it will become a little more relaxed.

Story continues

The town was entirely cut off for three days after the storm by water. We became an island within an island, said Mr Pizarro. Thats in part because several sections of it are below sea level, especially its most impoverished districts. It also sits on the wide estuary of the Rio Grande de Loiza river. Water careening from the mountains and a surge from the ocean converged to create a historic flood. It hardly helped that for nearly a week, the only road to San Juan was buried under thick drifts of orange sand driven by the winds off the beach.

A few things are starting to get better. There are only about 60 people left at the elementary school that became the towns main emergency shelter when Maria struck, down from nearly two hundred. Some of the floodwaters that inundated thousands of homes have receded.

Yet, in other ways, they may be getting worse. The water that remains is fetid with human waste and a breeding ground for mosquitoes and disease. Those who had money before the storm are running out because the banks are closed and without electricity the cash machines are dead. Social welfare benefits are not coming through. And people are just tired and discouraged.

Can I speak frankly? Mr Pizarro asked, guiding The Independent through some of the worst-hit areas. I am very disappointed. We are fifteen miles from an international airport and we still have almost nothing. The water is not reaching us, its not enough. We keep hearing that aid is coming to the ports and the airport and for some reason it is not being distributed fast enough.

Daisy Calderon is one of those still at the shelter. For the first ten days after the storm she and everyone else had to sleep on the concrete floors of its classrooms. Even camp-beds couldnt be found. She sees the same problem  food and water may have come to Puerto Rico but bad distribution means it has not come to them. The situation is horrible, she said. They think they are helping but if they are not able to get the help to us than they are not doing their job.

Daisy Calderon at the elementary school in Loiza that has been its main shelter since Hurricane Maria struck (David Usborne)

Ms Calderon, 47, and her family mean to get back to their house soon. But she says everything there has been ruined, including all her clothes. She used to make money doing peoples hair in her kitchen. But without electricity, which wont be back for months, thats impossible. Her husband delivers food to schools. But the schools will remain closed for weeks or longer. She said the only money for the family will be the $350 (266) a month they get in federal food stamps.

We think it is going to get more serious. People are very destroyed, warned Mayor Fuentes, whose first floor office in city hall, a modest cement building painted yellow, is besieged every day by residents demanding food and drinking water. At about 5 foot tall, she is almost at her wits end. Every night at 8pm she drives to the next big town where the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Fema, has an office just to beg  beg  for more help for her people.

A postcard of American goodwill is included in every Fema food box along with the apple sauce and ravioli (David Usborne)

I think they are trying but the strategy they are using is not the correct one, she explained. They have to come to the towns directly. They have to distribute in every town. Some food boxes have been coming in from Fema, but far too few of them. And according to the mayor whats inside them  apple sauce, sweet treats, two cans of Italian ravioli  is all wrong. They dont want that kind of food. They dont need snacks. They need rice. People are desperate.

She needs more trucks and more water. And she needs Fema to understand better that Loiza is not Orlando or Houston. For now, it is asking residents who need help fixing their homes  almost everyone  to apply online, obviously a laughable request. Even if everyone in Loiza was computer literate, there are no computers to register on. And there is no electricity.

Asked what she thought of Mr Trumps assurance that the relief effort is going well, Mayor Fuentes seemed unsure whether to speak or bite or tongue. Thats what Donald Trump says, but he didnt come to Loiza, he went to a town that is rich, she finally offered, referring to his stop on Tuesday in one of the more prosperous parts of San Juan. We are poor, very poor.

Back at the shelter, Melanie Pizanno Quinones, 19, spends most her days trying to keep her 18-month daughter, Kamila, out of trouble and monitoring her sugar levels. Kamila has diabetes. She is grateful to be there  the windows, doors, the roof are all gone from her home  but she too voiced dissatisfaction with the relief effort. There is not enough food, she said.

The day we visit, the shelter was filled with rumours about Mr Trump and his visit, prompted, it seemed, by a moment captured by the media of him hurling rolls of kitchen towel into a crowd in San Juan. No one in Loiza had seen the reports, but word had been filtering out.

They are saying he threw paper towels in the face of the governor, Ms Quinones said. Thats what they are saying here. They are saying he is not going to help the people, that he doesnt like the people here. She paused and seemed to make up her mind. Trump is doing nothing. You are throwing paper towels when people here are dying. He is doing nothing to help us.
Hawija (Iraq) (AFP) - Iraqi forces pushed into the Islamic State group stronghold of Hawija on Wednesday and seized some territory, stepping up their assault against one of the jihadists' last enclaves in the country.

Government and allied forces backed by a US-led coalition launched an offensive last month to oust IS from Hawija, a longtime insurgent bastion.

The town is among the final holdouts from the territory seized by the jihadists in 2014 and its recapture would leave only a handful of remote outposts in IS hands.

The commander for the offensive, Lieutenant General Abdel Amir Yarallah, said the army, federal police and rapid response force had begun a major operation "to liberate the centre of Hawija and the neighbouring town of Riyadh".

Federal police chief Raed Shakir Jawdat said elite units had entered the town from the northwest amid artillery and missile bombardments of jihadist positions.

Two western neighbourhoods of the town were taken, and the immediate goal was to take five more, he said.

Besides the security forces, the operation also involves tribal volunteers and the Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force, mainly made up of Iran-trained Shiite militia.

The Hashed said its engineers were demining the route into Hawija and that IS fighters had retreated to the town centre after "their defences were breached".

- 12,500 flee offensive -

Security sources said government forces had retaken areas along the Tikrit-Kirkuk highway south of Hawija that had been under IS control for three years.

They had also entered the town of Riyadh southeast of Hawija.

The United Nations said on Tuesday that an estimated 12,500 people had fled the town since the launch of the offensive to retake Hawija and surrounding areas last month.

The UN's humanitarian affairs office said the number of people still in the town was unknown but could be as high as 78,000.

It said humanitarian agencies have set up checkpoints, camps and emergency sites capable of receiving more than 70,000 people who could flee.

Story continues

Hawija, 230 kilometres (140 miles) north of Baghdad, is one of just two significant areas of Iraq still held by IS, along with a stretch of the Euphrates Valley near the Syrian border which is also under attack.

It has been an insurgent bastion since soon after the US-led invasion of 2003, earning it the nickname of "Kandahar in Iraq" for the ferocious resistance it put up similar to that in the Taliban militia's citadel in Afghanistan.

The town's mainly Sunni Arab population is deeply hostile both to the Shiite-led government in Baghdad and to the Kurds who form the historic majority in adjacent areas.

Hawija lies between the two main routes north from Baghdad -- to second city Mosul, recaptured from IS in July, and to the city of Kirkuk and the autonomous Kurdish region.

An army colonel said Wednesday that Iraqi troops had also retaken a power plant and a bridge north of Baghdad from the jihadists, meaning "there is no longer any IS presence in Salaheddin province".

IS has been forced out of most of the territory it seized in Iraq and Syria during a lightning offensive in the summer of 2014 that was followed by its declaration of a cross-border "caliphate".

The US-led coalition is also backing an Arab-Kurdish alliance, the Syrian Democratic Forces, that is battling to oust IS from its de facto Syrian capital Raqa.

- Under pressure in Iraq, Syria -

The SDF has captured about 90 percent of Raqa and is fighting fierce battles with remaining IS jihadists.

IS's other main stronghold in Syria is the eastern province of Deir Ezzor, which borders IS-held territory in Iraq.

Two separate offensives are under way against the jihadists in Deir Ezzor -- one by the SDF, the other by government forces supported by Russia.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said a Russian air strike killed at least 20 civilians on Wednesday as they tried to cross the Euphrates river to escape fighting in Deir Ezzor province.

The Britain-based Observatory also said Syria's army and allied fighters had driven the jihadists from their final positions in the central province of Hama.

It said regime forces had taken control of "the last remaining villages" in IS hands in eastern Hama province, after more than a month of heavy fighting.

Analysts have said that as it comes under increasing pressure in Iraq and Syria, IS is likely to seek to carry out more attacks abroad.

The group this week claimed responsibility for the Las Vegas shooting massacre, but US officials have reacted cautiously and experts say IS may be trying to rally its supporters with false claims.
Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) and Iraqi army members gather on the outskirts of Hawija, Iraq October 4, 2017 - REUTERS

Iraqi forces have declared northern Iraq clear of Islamic State after retaking the city of Hawija, one of the jihadist groups last remaining strongholds in the country.

Announcing the liberation, Haider al-Abadi, Iraqs prime minister, called it a "victory not just for Iraq but for the whole world."

Iraqi forces have driven Isil from nearly all the cities and towns it seized in the summer of 2014, including the country's second largest city, Mosul, which was liberated in July.

The extremists now control just a wedge of territory straddling the Iraq-Syria border and a cluster of towns further south in Anbar province.

Civilians make their way through endangered areas filled with mines and bomb traps to get to safety in Peshmerga controlled areas in Kirkuk, Iraq Credit: Anadolu

"We should chase this terrorist organisation everywhere," Mr Abadi said. "This is a very dangerous organisation that works for spreading instability."

Iraqi officials often declare victory before the fighting has completely ended, and the troops in and around Hawija were likely still clearing mines and booby traps, and flushing out remaining militants.

Iraq launched an offensive on September 21 to dislodge Isil from Hawija, where up to 78,000 people were estimated to had been trapped.

Fighters from the Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation units), backing the Iraqi forces, stand in front of a mural depicting the emblem of the Islamic State (Isil) group as troops advance through Hawija Credit: AFP

Unlike the battle for Mosul, Isils defence melted away quickly in the face of an Iraqi army advance.

Hundreds of fighters surrendered to Kurdish forces in recent weeks after being pushed out of the city by Iraqi troops and allied militias. Footage showed groups of unkempt, dishevelled men handcuffed and kneeling on the ground.

Hawija has long been a bastion for jihadist groups.

Dozens of suspected Isil fighters surrender after the northern Iraqi city of Hawija is stormed yb Iraqi forces

US troops nicknamed the city the "Kandahar in Iraq" after it put up fierce resistance to the 2003 US invasion, similar to that in the Taliban's bastion in Afghanistan.

The capture of Hawija brings Iraqi forces into direct contact with Kurdish Peshmerga militia whichs controls Kirkuk, a multi-ethnic region claimed by both Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Story continues

Kirkuk shaped up as a flashpoint last month when the KRG included the oil-rich city in a referendum on Kurdish independence which he called unlawful.

"We don't want any aggression or confrontations but the federal authority must be imposed in the disputed areas," Mr Abadi told a news conference in Paris, held with French President Emmanuel Macron.

The prime minister renewed an offer to jointly administer Kirkuk with the Peshmerga, but under the authority of the central government. The Kurds took control of Kirkuk in 2014, when the Iraqi army fled in the face of Isil's advance.

His latest comments suggests he is trying to bring Baghdad back from the brink of a fresh conflict with the Kurds, after threatening the minority with flight bans and punitive sanctions if they did not call off the referendum.
Actress and author Isla Fisher spoke at BUILD Series recently to promote her latest book, "Marge In Charge," which contains three fun-filled tales about two siblings Jemima and Jake Button and their eccentric babysitter Marge.

Fisher revealed what inspired her to write the book, a taste at what to expect in the book, and what she hoped her young readers would take away from reading her book.

"The stories are like "Cat In The Hat" meets "My Naughty Little Sister" which are stories that I love to read to kids. I suppose at bed time I was running out of material, there's only so many times you can act out "Peppa Pig," or do impressions of your children's friend's parents," the actress said.

"So Marge was a character that I did the voice first and it was just more and more requests to hear tales from Marge. And then equally as a parent I felt for emerging and reluctant readers."

She also explained that for young kids, there weren't so many comedic book available.

"Once they get a little older they can read Roald Dahl, or Jeff Kinney, or Francesca Simon, but during that transitional phase there was a missed opportunity and I'm very proud of child literacy. I wanted to create books that would engage kids in that young age sort of...from [ages] 5 to 11 but wouldn't push them beyond their years socially and emotionally because [in] a lot of these books, the kids are talking sassy or doing things a little bit too inappropriate for the age group."

What's great about "Marge In Charge," is the fact that readers can pick and choose which story they want to read. Fisher compared the format of her book to being "like Netflix binge-watching, [where] you can just watch them all or break them up," and "that it's good for the attention spans of smaller kids if you're reading the stories at night and they're not able to read the stories themselves."

Story continues

The first story (also titled "Marge In Charge") sets the tone at who the characters are. "The stories are told through the eyes of Jemima Button, whom is 7 years old. She's who we hear the stories from. She's the perfect straight girl because she feels like she has to be a good girl. She has to do what Mommy says and sometimes she misses out on the fun. So Marge really helps her. All the little issues that the characters, Jemima and Jake might experience...little problems that get solved by Marge...they're solved in a grounded way, in a simple [way] within the family. There's nothing to overwhelm kids," explained Fisher.

During her interview, Fisher also spoke about her desire for kids to read books often because there's something special about sitting down and reading an imaginative book vs. being attached to devices with a bombardment of images within apps and television shows.

"Kids today have access to techno toys. They have access to iPads and cell phones. It's hard to compete. The drudgery of a great print line when you can have an image. But images, they kind of stop your thinking in a way. We want to encourage kids to expand their vocabularies, and encourage creativity which leads to innovation and it helps promote discussions within families. Reading also encourages tolerance because you can see the perspective of somebody else. It's telling you the story. I'm just so passionate about young readers continuing to love books and words. I really hope that the world that we live in, of emojis and Twitter feeds, and emoticons, that it doesn't take the place of loving stories," concluded Fisher.

"Marge In Charge" by Isla Fisher is available on Amazon and in bookstores now!
Donald Trump Jr, second left, and Ivanka Trump, second from the right, were being investigated for fraud: Getty

Ivanka Trump and her brother Donald Trump Jr allegedly came close to being charged with fraud after misleading potential buyers of properties that were failing to sell.

The US Presidents eldest children were accused of using inflated figures about how well flats were selling in a bid to lure further buyers, reports investigative news outlet, ProPublica, which collaborated with The New Yorker and WNYC.

Evidence reportedly included emails from the Trumps making clear they were aware the figures were massaged, including one in which they discussed how to coordinate the false information they were providing.

Another worried that a reporter might be closing in on the alleged fraud.

When New York's Major Economic Crimes Bureau opened an investigation into the siblings in 2010, the Trump Organization hired top criminal defence lawyers.

Their lawyers told prosecutors the Trumps had made inflated, though non-criminal claims, but to the frustration of their father the case remained open, ProPublica reported.

Eventually Mark Kasowitz, who had been Donald Trump Srs lawyer for a decade, became involved.

In 2012 he donated $25,000 to the re-election campaign of Cyrus Vance Jr, the Manhattan District Attorney (DA) and the man who oversees the Major Economic Crimes Bureau.

In May of that year Mr Kasowitz asked Mr Vance to drop the case. Three months later the DA told prosecutors to close the investigation, ProPublica reported.

Defending his decision, Mr Vance said: I did not at the time believe beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime had been committed. I had to make a call and I made the call, and I think I made the right call.

Although he handed back Mr Kasowitzs $25,000 (19,000) at the time of the meeting, less than six months after the case was dropped Mr Vance made an even larger donation to the election campaign.

Mr Vance has since told ProPublica he will now hand this second donation back, four years later, to stop the money being a millstone around anybodys neck.

Story continues

Mr Kasowitz told reporters he donated the money because he was extremely impressed at the impeccable integrity of Mr Vance. I have never made a contribution to anyones campaign, including Cy Vances, as a quid-pro-quo for anything, he added.

Donald Trump Sr unveiled the Trump SoHo in June 2006 and signed the licensing deal with his two children.

Their partners on the development included two Soviet-born businessmen - Tevfik Arif and Felix Sater - who ran the Bayrock Group, a real estate firm which had a suite of offices in Trump Tower for eight years.

Sater, a criminal once jailed for stabbing a man in the face, is a former associate of gangsters and was once an FBI informant.

With the opening of the development coinciding with the financial crash in September 2007, properties were not selling, but the Trumps allegedly claimed the opposite.

Between them, the siblings announced 31 per cent, 55 per cent, then 60 per cent of the properties had been sold. But in March 2010, according to a sworn affidavit by a Trump partner, only 15.8 per cent of the apartments had been sold.

In August 2010 a group of buyers sued the Trump Organization, arguing that falsely claiming 60 per cent of the properties had been sold added value that was not really there.

After the law suit was filed, prosecutors at the Major Economics Crime Bureau opened a criminal investigation.

Meanwhile the Trump Organization had settled the civil case, handing back 90 per cent of buyers deposits in exchange for an agreement not to cooperate with prosecutors unless they were subpoenaed.

Two years later, after the meeting between Mr Kasowitz and Mr Vance, Trump defence lawyers were told the investigation was being dropped.

The Trump Organization has been contacted for comment but none had arrived at the time of publication.
Hillary Clinton, Jimmy Fallon

Jimmy Fallon has never really recovered  in the minds of many, and perhaps in the ratings  from fondly mussing Donald Trumps hair during the last presidential campaign. The Tonight Show host has spent the months since then making mild jokes about Trump and other political figures, but has done nothing as pointed as his competitors, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel, have. And thats all right; he has his own kind of show, mostly all giggles and games. But on Wednesday night, his guest was Hillary Clinton, and Fallon gave over his desk to a succession of women writers on the Tonight Show staff, who hijacked Fallons thank-you notes segment to pen mawkish notes of gratitude to Hillary. Intended sincerely, it came across awfully cringe-y, especially when Hillary herself sat in Fallons chair to pen her own little love note to America.

On Thursday nights Tucker Carlson Tonight on Fox News, The Fives Greg Gutfeld came on to critique the segment, and did so in a very funny way, pointing out that Fallon himself seemed to be trying to distance himself as much as possible from his own segment.

So Fallons political-humor problem persists. Ironically, Fallon could have discussed politics and been funny if hed only taken advantage of the presence of his guests on Thursday night, the great Desus and Mero. On their Viceland show, they offer wide-ranging and hilariously pointed nightly commentary about the Trump administration. But, alas, Fallon chickened out and limited their segment to a discussion about apple-picking. That said, the segment was pretty funny anyway.

The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on NBC.

Read more on Yahoo Entertainment:
Imagine what it must have been like to find out your old schoolteacher became Canadas prime minister.

Justin Trudeau reminded everyone of his history as a teacher in a throwback photo on Thursday in commemoration of World Teachers Day. Yes, the world leader actually spent a lot of time in classrooms. For years he taught math, French, drama and humanities at Vancouvers West Point Grey Academy.

...no better day for a # TBT to this gem from the @ wpgadotca days - an undisclosed number of years ago, Trudeau captioned the photo.

no better day for a #TBT to this gem from the @wpgadotca days - an undisclosed number of years ago. #WorldTeachersDay pic.twitter.com/0ZwjuSKOYI  Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) October 5, 2017

World Teachers Day is a United Nations-designated holiday to underscore the critical role teachers play across the globe.

Being an empowered teacher means having access to high-quality training, fair wages, and continuous opportunities for professional development, the heads of key U.N. agencies and programs said Thursday in a joint message.

As if educating young children wasnt enough of a reason to appreciate teachers, they also have the power to shape childrens worldviews and influence their choices for years after their time in the classroom.

Being able to have that type of impact was what led Trudeau to teach after university.

I would become a schoolteacher, Trudeau said on his political partys website. This would be my way of having a positive influence in the world.

Former students described Trudeau as a normal teacher, energetic and goofy, back in 2015 on a Reddit thread. One student recounted a memory from the prime minister's French class on 9/11, when he stopped teaching to "talk about the global ramifications from that event" and discuss the students' feelings.

Story continues

Trudeau took the opportunity Thursday to launch this years nominations for the Prime Ministers Awards for Teaching Excellence and Excellence in Early Childhood Education.

On behalf of the Government of Canada, I thank all teachers and educators in Canada and around the world for helping us succeed as individuals and prosper as societies, Trudeau said in a statement. You give the very best of yourselves, and change lives, every day, for the better.

Also on HuffPost

This teacher who bought a bike for every student in her school.

First grade teacher Katie Blomquist, who teaches in South Carolina, captured national attention in March when she surprised her students with hundreds of custom-made bikes she helped purchase via a viral GoFundMe campaign. She'd hoped to get them to the kids in time for Christmas, Blomquist's fundraising page explains, but wasn't able to until March, at which point she and school administrators revealed the surprise to students by hiding them under parachutes generally used for PE class. (Based on the photos of squealing, cheering kids, it certainly looks like it went over well.)



"It was an amazing moment," the Charleston County School District said in a Facebook post, "a moment everyone who saw in person will remember for the rest of their lives."

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
A leading Democratic congressman wants answers from Kellyanne Conway, the counselor to President Donald Trump, about her traveling on non-commercial flights. The inquest comes as several Trump administration officials have faced scrutiny for taking such flights, including Tom Price, who resigned last Friday as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Representative Elijah Cummings, the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to Conway on Wednesday requesting information about her use of private, non-commercial or military flights since she joined the Trump administration, the Democratic arm of his committee announced Wednesday.

Related: Tom Price quits amid private flights scandal

Price resigned amid reports about his travel, including one that said his flying on non-commercial planes might have cost taxpayers more than $1 million since May. Prior to his resignation, Price had said in a statement, I will write a personal check to the U.S. Treasury for the expenses of my travel on private charter planes. The taxpayers wont pay a dime for my seat on those planes." The amount he said he would pay was around $52,000.

Price and Conway had taken flights together, according to Cummings. Despite the fact that you joined Secretary Price on several of these flights, you have not made any similar public statements indicating whether your own actions were appropriate, whether you will continue to take such flights at taxpayer expense in the future, or whether you plan to personally repay the taxpayers for the costs of your seats on these flights, he wrote in his letter.

10_04_Conway_Price_flights

NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty

Also on Wednesday, Cummings sent a separate letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Acting Health and Human Services Secretary Don Wright asking for a copy of the check Price had promised.

Story continues

Other officials, including Mnuchin, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, are also facing scrutiny because of their use of non-commercial flights.

The White House has pointed out that it approved fewer support mission trips on military planes than the Obama White House did in the first eight months of the administration: 77 now, compared to 94 then.

Related Articles
Presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway has blamed the Obama administration for failing to regulate bump stocks, a little-known device that may have helped the Las Vegas mass shooter kill more people.

Ms Conway defended President Donald Trump in the wake of the shooting, arguing that former President Barack Obama was to blame for the commercial availability of bump stocks.

"I did note ... it was President Obama's ATF, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, in 2010 that decided not to regulate this device," she said. "That should be part of the conversation and part of the facts that you put before your viewers."

Police say bump stocks  small pieces of plastic or metal that allow a semi-automatic rifle to mimic a fully automatic weapon  helped shooter Stephen Paddock fire off an unusually high number of rounds into a crowded concert on Sunday. The shooter killed at least 58 people and injured more than 500, making it the deadliest mass shooting in US history.

Officials say Paddock had as many as 12 bump stocks, and more than 20 weapons, in his hotel room at the time.

Former President Barack Obamas ATF approved the sale of bump stocks in 2010, concluding that they did not violate a federal ban on fully automatic weapons.

Rick Vasquez, a former ATF official who signed off on the recommendation, described the device as a goofy, little doodad.

Its for those guys who want to look like super ninja when theyre out on the range  theyre the people my peer group makes fun of, Mr Vasquez, a former Marine, told the Washington Post.

But bump stocks  and their ability to amplify the effects of mass shootings  have become a focal point in the wake of the Las Vegas massacre.

Three House Republicans have sent a letter to the ATF, asking the agency to reevaluate the legality of the device. Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein has introduced a bill banning the sale and possession of bump stocks and other, similar devices.

Story continues

But Ms Conway was sceptical of these efforts, noting that many legislators neglect the issue of gun control until a mass shooting occurs. Mr Obama passed more than 20 executive orders on gun control in the wake of a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, but failed to pass a proposed ban on assault weapons.

I know the high horse cavalry loves to run in, thumping their chests after a tragedy, but lets step back and have a thoughtful conversation about everything that is at play here, she said. The more information all of us can learn about everything that happened in Las Vegas, the better.
Amid the chaos and bloodshed following the deadly shooting attack on the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas over the weekend, doctors at the nearby hospitals are recalling moments of humanity.

I remember that there was someone who wasnt shot and managed to come in with someone who was shot, says Dr. Deborah Kuhls, the trauma surgeon and medical director of the trauma and intensive care unit at the University Medical Center in Vegas.

She continues, I dont know if it was a friend or relative, but they had their finger in the [other persons] bullet hole. I asked, Is she bleeding a lot? And she said, I dont know, I just felt I needed to keep my finger in the bullet hole. 

It wasnt a particularly devastating injury but because of that human connection, she was afraid to take her finger out, Kuhls tells PEOPLE, noting that the patient survived.

Kuhls says her team saw around 105 patients that night and that there are still several dozen hospitalized. Luckily, she shares, Our patients are getting better  no one is getting worse.

At least 58 people were killed and another 527 injured after gunman Stephen Paddock, 64, fired on the gathered crowd from the 32nd floor of the nearby Mandalay Bay hotel and casino. He killed himself as authorities closed in.

 Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Click here to get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.

It was just after 10 p.m. on Sunday that Dr. Kuhls says the UMCs trauma center received a call that victims of a shooting were en route to the hospital. We literally had cars pulling up to the trauma center, she says. People were loaded up in pickup trucks.

Reflecting on the magnitude of incoming patients, Kuhls says, This far surpassed anything I have seen clinically here and in my training.

Four of the patients brought to the UMC later died.

A huge percentage of people came in had no identification, she says. Their loved ones had no idea where they went initially, so they were calling the hospital and if we didnt know their name, we couldnt tell them if they were there or not. The patients were quickly treated, but family and friends looking for loved ones were really distraught.

Story continues

Some patients had been shot two or three times, according to Kuhls, with injuries including everything from devastating brain injuries, to people shot in the chest and abdomen and their extremities.

It was like a war zone, she says.

Multiple military surgeons were called in as part of the Air Force Medical Services SMART program, she says. Some were in charge of the military facilities in Iraq and Afghanistan, and they were unbelievably helpful.

Through it all, Kuhls says, it was important for physicians to keep our composure.

She explains, If we fell apart we couldnt do anything to help people  even when tackling what she calls the saddest part of the job: telling people we never met before that their loved one had died.

The scene following a deadly mass shooting at an outdoor music festival in Las Vegas on Sunday night

At the trauma center at Dignity HealthSt. Rose Dominican Hospitals Siena campus in nearby Henderson, Nevada, Dr. Sean Dort says they treated 71 victims.

Dort, the general and trauma surgeon and medical director at the trauma center, says that eight patients are still hospitalized, four of whom remain in critical condition.

Our team has been working round the clock. We try to give each other sleep breaks, he says. Everybody worked late that night and Monday and then tried to get our team resuscitated a little bit. But were more worried about the people were taking care of rather than ourselves.

On Sunday night, Dort says, events quickly unfolded and all available hospital staff quickly came into the hospital to lend a hand.

 PEOPLEs special edition True Crime Stories: 35 Real Cases That Inspired the Show Law & Order is on sale now.

We saw numbers we have never seen before, he says of the victims. We saw the entire spectrum. We had several people with gunshot wounds go home.

He also explains of the rising injured numbers, People will call and say, I got shot and it wasnt serious but can someone take the bullet out? 

There were a few people who had life-changing injuries, but we had no deceased, he says.

Of the entire experience, he says, You really dont have time to think at all. You just focus on whats at hand in front of you.

It was, he says, a bad, bad night.
By Alexandria Sage and Sharon Bernstein

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Republican lawmakers on Thursday said they would look into "bump stock" gun accessories after a retiree used rifles equipped with them to rain gunfire onto a Las Vegas concert, killing 58 people in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

The influential National Rifle Association, which has opposed efforts to pass federal gun legislation following past mass shootings, said it would not oppose the move. It said the devices that allow semi-automatic rifles to behave as fully automatic weapons should be subject to additional regulations.

Investigators struggled to understand why Stephen Paddock, 64, assembled an arsenal of nearly 50 firearms and used them to spray bullets from the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas Strip hotel into a crowd of country-music fans on Sunday before killing himself. Twelve rifles found in Paddock's hotel room had bump stocks, authorities said. The shooting spree also injured 489 people.

Reports also emerged on Thursday that Paddock, a gambling and cruise enthusiast, may have looked into carrying out an attack in Chicago or Boston.

Audio and video of the Sunday night attack contained the sound of extended periods of continuous gunfire into a crowd of terrified people, stirring the long-standing U.S. debate over how to regulate gun ownership, which is protected by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Senior Republicans on Thursday signaled they were ready to examine the sale of "bump stocks." The devices essentially allow legal rifles to serve as automatic weapons, which are largely illegal in the United States.

"Clearly that's something we need to look into," House Speaker Paul Ryan told radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt, referring to the accessories. "I didn't even know what they were until this week ... I think we're quickly coming up to speed with what this is."

The No. 2 Republican senator a day earlier had called for a review of bump stocks while Democrats had already been urging new legislation.

Story continues

Before the Las Vegas attack, a man named Stephen Paddock booked rooms in a Chicago hotel that overlooked the site of the August Lollapalooza music festival, a spokeswoman for Chicago's Blackstone Hotel said in an e-mail. It was unclear if that person, who never checked in, was the same Stephen Paddock, the spokeswoman said.

Paddock also researched locations in Boston, NBC reported, citing multiple law enforcement sources.

Police in Boston and Chicago said they were aware of the reports and investigating them.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Wednesday there remained no evidence indicating the shooting spree was an act of terrorism.

Paddock's girlfriend, Marilou Danley, was questioned by the FBI on Wednesday and said in a statement she had been unaware of Paddock's plans.

"He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen," Danley, 62, said in the statement released by her lawyer, Matt Lombard.

Danley, who returned late Tuesday from a family visit to the Philippines, is regarded by investigators as a "person of interest." Lombard said his client, an Australian citizen of Filipino heritage, was cooperating fully with authorities.

An FBI official in Las Vegas said no one has been taken into custody.

Danley shared Paddock's home at a retirement community in Mesquite, Nevada, northeast of Las Vegas, before traveling to the Philippines in mid-September.

Investigators questioned her about Paddock's weapons purchases, a $100,000 wire transfer to a Philippine bank that appeared to be intended for her, and whether she saw any changes in his behavior before she left the United States.

Danley said Paddock had bought her an airline ticket to visit her family and wired her money to purchase property there, leading her to worry he might be planning to break up with her.

Discerning Paddock's motive has proven especially baffling as he had no criminal record, no known history of mental illness and no outward signs of social disaffection, political discontent or extremist ideology, police said.

(Reporting by Alexandria Sage and Sharon Bernstein in Las Vegas; additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Richard Cowan, Doina Chiacu and Amanda Becker in Washington, Chris Kenning in Chicago and Karen Freifeld and Jonathan Allen in New York; Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Frances Kerry, Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool)
As the city mourns, reports emerge that shooter Stephen Paddock had amassed ammunition and booked hotel rooms overlooking other public events

Cece Navarrette sits near a cross for her cousin, Bailey Schweitzer, who was among those killed when a gunman opened fire on an outdoor music concert in Las Vegas. Photograph: Gregory Bull/AP

The Las Vegas gunman who carried out Americas deadliest mass shooting may have planned additional attacks including a car bombing, it was reported on Friday.

Stephen Paddock had 1,600 rounds of ammunition in his car as well as fertiliser that can be used to make explosives and 50 pounds of Tannerite, a substance used in explosive rifle targets. A law enforcement official told the Associated Press that Paddock bought 1,000 rounds of tracer ammunition, bullets containing a pyrotechnic charge that illuminates their path, a month ago from a private seller he met at a Phoenix gun show.

The 64-year-old strafed a crowd from his suite at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas on Sunday night, killing 58 people and injuring nearly 500 at an outdoor country music festival. Paddock killed himself before police stormed his room.

In a press conference on Friday, authorities in Las Vegas said there was still no clear motive for the shooting and they were continuing to investigate whether anyone else was aware of Paddocks plans. Undersheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters they were very confident there was not a second shooter.



A federal official told the AP authorities were examining whether Paddock intended to carry out further attacks. A note found there contained numbers and was not a manifesto or suicide note, police said.

Investigators were also examining the possibility that Paddock considered targeting other concerts or sporting events. He booked rooms overlooking the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago in August and Life Is Beautiful in Las Vegas late last month. On Friday, Boston police commissioner William Evans said the FBI told him agents found evidence that Paddock scouted sites in and around Fenway Park and the Boston Center for the Arts.

Workers board up a broken window at the Mandalay Bay hotel, where shooter Stephen Paddock conducted his mass shooting along the Las Vegas Strip. Photograph: Chris Wattie/Reuters

Las Vegas continues to mourn. On Thursday afternoon retired carpenter Greg Zanis, who had driven nearly 2,000 miles from the Chicago area, put up 58 white crosses on the Vegas strip  one for each each of the victims. That evening, thousands gathered to honour police officer Charleston Hartfield, an Iraq war veteran who died in the hail of gunfire.

Story continues

Pressure for political action continued to grow. The National Rifle Association (NRA)  which fiercely opposed moves to tighten gun control laws after the June 2016 Orlando massacre and other mass shootings  backed congressional Republican leaders in a surprise endorsement of a minor gun restriction.

Bump stocks, devices that allow semi-automatic rifles to function more like fully automatic weapons, sometimes firing 400 to 800 rounds in a minute, were found in Paddocks hotel room. The NRA said bump stocks should be subject to additional regulations.

This gave political cover to Donald Trump, a strong NRA ally. On Thursday night, a reporter asked if bump stocks should be banned. The president replied: Well be looking into that over the next short period of time.

Top Republicans expressed support. More than a dozen senators reportedly said they were open to the idea. The House speaker, Paul Ryan told reporters: Obviously we need to look at how we can tighten up the compliance with this law so that fully automatic weapons are banned.

But many gun control campaign groups regard the move against bump stocks as little more than a fig leaf. Robert Spitzer, chair of the political science department at SUNY Cortland, told the AP: Its a pretty small concession in the realm of gun stuff. Were not talking about banning assault weapons here. Its a very specific accessory.

Even a ban on bump stocks is far from guaranteed, as past reactions to shootings have notoriously run out of steam amid political wrangling over details.

The NRA called for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to address bump stocks by regulation. Two Republicans, congressmen Adam Kinzinger and Mike Gallagher, are gathering signatures for a letter asking the bureau to take this path. Dianne Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate judiciary committee, warned that this would leave a loophole and called for legislation rather than mere regulatory reform.

As far as we know, the Las Vegas shooter passed background checks and legally purchased his weapons, she said. That means merely regulating bump stocks wouldnt have necessarily prevented the gunman from outfitting his weapons as he did.



Legislation would make crystal clear that Congress is banning all devices that allow a weapon to achieve an automatic rate of fire, regardless of how a weapon is altered. Such legislation can and will save lives, and Congress should act immediately.

The issue of gun control is likely to loom over the 2018 midterm elections. This week, at least two Democrats donated equivalent amounts to prior contributions from the NRA to groups dedicated to gun violence prevention.

Tim Ryan, a representative from Ohio, split the equivalent of $20,000 between Everytown for Gun Safety, Americans for Responsible Solutions and Sandy Hook Promise. Tim Walz, a congressman running for governor in Minnesota, donated $18,950. Walzs donation came after an opponent called on all gubernatorial candidates in Minnesota to give back campaign contributions from the NRA.

Gun control has emerged as a priority of the Democratic base. In the 2016 presidential primary, Hillary Clinton attacked Bernie Sanders for having been a very reliable supporter of the NRA, even though the Vermont senator held a D-minus rating from the group.

Democrats in red states have been criticised for not being sufficiently supportive of stricter gun laws. Among those facing tough re-election campaigns in 2018 is Heidi Heitkamp, a senator for North Dakota and one of just four Democrats who voted against universal background checks after the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting.

Walz accused critics of looking to gain a political edge. I get it  thats politics, he said. Its also a distraction from the task at hand, which should be acting to stop tragedies like the attack that just took place in Las Vegas from happening again.
Investigators still don't know what motivated the shooter: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

Investigators still dont have a clear motive related to the shooting in Las Vegas nearly a week after it took place.

During a press briefing Friday, officials said that theyd gone through the shooters personal and financial life, and still had not figured out what motivated him to open fire on the Route 91 country music festival.

Weve run a thousand leads Kevin McMahill, the under-sheriff for the Clark County Police Department said. While some of it has helped create a better profiling to the madness of the suspect, we do not still have a motive or reason why.

Officials urged the public to come forward if they know anything that might help them figure out what made Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and injuring nearly 500 more Sunday night before turning the gun on himself. Investigators are looking at all aspects of the 64-year-olds life, from his birth to his death. If someone recalls even something slightly off about the shooter, they said, the detail could be helpful in the investigation.

They also said that reports indicating that the shooter was affiliated with any particular group, and reports speculating about motive, have not helped the investigation.

All of the rumours about affiliation have not been helpful, Mr McMahill said.

The security guard who first approached the shooters hotel suite, Jesus Campos, was hailed as a hero during the briefing.

This was a remarkable effort by a brave and remarkable man Mr McMahill said.

After searches of Paddocks belongings by investigators, it was determined that he was in possession of a substance commonly used to build improvised explosive devices, however it was not found in the form of an explosive when it was found. Investigators also found aluminium nitrate and aluminium powder.

Paddock broke the windows on the 32nd floor of his hotel room in the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino Sunday night, and rained gunfire on thousands of people below and across the street at a country music festival. He shot for just over 10 minutes before stopping. It wasnt clear if her had shot himself at that moment, or if he did so later.

Story continues

Police didnt clear his room until nearly an hour later, after removing everyone from the 32nd floor and clearing the other rooms. They moved slowly because they no longer heard the sound of active gunfire.

Paddocks girlfriend, Marilou Danley, returned to the United States from a trip to the Philippines Wednesday, and was interrogated by the FBI to determine if she had prior knowledge that the attack would take place. They also interviewed her to determine if she could provide further details about why he might shoot innocent people, and if there were any clues.

I knew Stephen Paddock as a kind, caring, quiet man, Ms Danley in a statement read by her lawyer Matthew Lombard, a criminal defense attorney. He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen.

Ms Danley said that the shooter had surprised her with plane tickets to go see her family in the Philippines just over two weeks ago, but had thought nothing of it. She said that she had later received $100,000 from him, and told to buy a home for herself and her family. She said that was only troubling to her because she was concerned that he was going to break up with her.

Investigators found 23 firearms in Paddocks hotel room, and another 24 at his homes in Reno and Mesquite, Nevada.

Paddock was known as a man with a penchant for high stakes gambling, and his preference was for virtual games. Neighbours in his 55-plus living community in Mesquite said that he mostly kept to himself.

Ms Danley and Paddock reportedly met while she was working as a high-limit hostess at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno. Friends said that they both enjoyed the casino lifestyle. They never married, but reportedly lived together.
Las Vegas shooting survivor Thomas Gunderson meets with President Donald Trump - Facebook / Thomas Gunderson

A patriotic American shot in the leg during the Las Vegas massacre found the strength to stand when Donald Trump visited him in hospital.

Thomas Gunderson was one of the hundreds injured in the deadliest mass shooting in US history in which 59 people were killed.

President Trump and the First Lady visited survivors at the citys University Medical Center this week where they posed for photos and chatted with recovering patients.

The 28-year-old first attempted to get to his feet for the First Lady who greeted him: Hi, Thomas. How are you? No, don't get up. Dont get up.

He used all his strength to get to his feet when the president entered the room, with Trump responding: Hey, this guy looks tough to me.

Speaking about the meeting, Mr Gunderson said: I will never lie down when the President of this great country comes to shake my hand!

There may be plenty of issues in this country but I will always respect my country, my president and my flag. Shot in the leg or not, I will stand to show my president the respect he deserves!

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump Credit: AP

Speaking after his visit, Trump said: America is truly a nation in mourning.

He told families affected by the shooting: We know that your sorrow feels endless. We stand together to help you carry your pain.
After an attack in Las Vegas left 59 dead and 520 injured on Monday, Congressional leadership responded with a resounding chorus of "thoughts and prayers" and pretty much nothing else. Their passivity speaks volumes.

There have been more mass shootings in the United States this year than there have been days in the calendar. Sunday's Las Vegas attack was the largest mass shooting in modern (post 19th century) U.S. history.

Perhaps it's time for them to try something a little different: passing some gun control legislation.

SEE ALSO: Every euphemism people are using instead of calling Stephen Paddock a terrorist

Over the past decade, members of Congress and the Nevada state legislature have worked diligently to make sure that even more Americans like Stephen Paddock, the 64-year-old behind the Las Vegas attack, have access to lethal weapons.

It is, of course, impossible to conclusively determine whether passing all the gun control legislation that's been proposed over the past 10 years would have affected Paddock directly or been enough to sufficiently deter him.

But lax federal and state laws certainly made it a whole hell of a lot easier for Paddock to build a terrifying and ultimately highly effective reserve of 42 total guns that he owned.

Obtaining a gun in Nevada, which has some of the laxest gun laws in the nation, is as easy as pie  or even easier, depending on the recipe you used.

Here's a look at some of the laws passed that make it a breeze for men like Paddock to build mass collections of lethal weapons without so much as a slap on the wrist:

1. Congress failed to ban bump stocks, even though fully automatic weapons are banned

Along with the 23 weapons which police found in Paddock's hotel room, officials found at least 12 bump stocks, attachments designed to make semi-automatic weapons function like automatic ones. Automatic weapons, like machine guns, have been illegal in the U.S. since 1986. But semiautomatic weapons can be altered to function like them. Bump stocks attachments change how the trigger is pulled and allow shooters to shoot multiple rounds more efficiently.

Story continues

"This replacement shoulder stock turns a semi-automatic rifle into a weapon that can fire at a rate of 400 to 800 rounds per minute," California Senator Dianne Feinstein told The Associated Press.

After the Newtown massacre in 2012, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein included a ban bump stocks as part of a broader bill to ban assault weapons. The legislation didn't make it past the Senate.

2. After the Newtown tragedy, Nevada loosened conceal carry rules

In May 2013, Nevada passed a law that made it easier for people to acquire a concealed carry permit for their handguns. Gun owners need only meet minimal requirements, like not being a felon, to be granted one. Open carry in the state remains legal even without a permit. The bill was introduced two months before Newtown, and passed two months after that mass shooting.

Stephen Paddock reportedly passed all of the (limited) background checks he was required to take.

3. After the Tucson shooting that killed 6 people and left Congresswoman Gabby Giffords severely injured, Congress failed to pass a ban on high capacity magazines





Giffords with her husband address the Las Vegas attacks.

Image: AP/REX/Shutterstock

In 2011, Democratic Sen. Frank Lautenberg tried to pass a law that would have banned the manufacture and sales of high capacity magazines with more than 10 rounds of ammunition. This was after Congresswoman Giffords was shot in the head along with 18 others in the crowd with a 33-round magazine attached to a 9 mm glock. Lautenberg's bill didn't even come close to passing.

The modified rifle Paddock used was capable of holding between 60 and 100 rounds, expediting the firing process.

4. Nevada residents don't need to bother registering their guns.

Residents of the city of Las Vegas are required to license their pets. They do not need to worry about registering their guns, however, thanks to a law that Gov. Brian Sandoval signed in 2015. There's no limit on the number of guns men like Paddock are allowed to posses in the state.

5. Nevada residents are also free to transfer and possess 50-caliber rifles or other high-capacity magazines.

Again, at least one rifle Paddock used could hold between 60 and 100 rounds.

6. A House Committee rejected a "no fly, no buy" amendment that would limit firearm sales to terrorist suspects on the no-fly list.

There are laws, like this one and the one discussed below, that didn't impact Paddock directly, but still make it easier for high-risk people to get access to lethal weapons.

The policy, Democrats argued, would have made a real difference in Orlando, where 49 people were massacred at Pulse Nightclub. The measure was defeated 16-31 in the House Appropriations Committee.

7. When Trump signed a bill revoking Obama-era gun checks for people with mental illness

The rule, crafted in response to Sandy Hook, had yet to take full effect when Obama left office, but he previously predicted it would have added 75,000 names to the national background check database. But Trump reversed the regulation, which would've added an extra hurdle for the mentally ill supported by Social Security and those unfit to manage their finances.

Trump called Paddock a "sick" and "demented man" on Monday. Still, per Trump's own order, that wouldn't disqualify him from purchasing a reserve of weapons capable of killing at least 59 people in just minutes.

Image: REX/Shutterstock

Https%3a%2f%2fvdist.aws.mashable.com%2fcms%2f2017%2f9%2fb4c73924 ed0c bf29%2fthumb%2f00001





Every editorial product is independently selected by Mashable journalists. If you buy something featured, we may earn an affiliate commission which helps support our journalism.
Moscow (AFP) - At least 19 people were killed on Friday when a train slammed into a passenger bus that had broken down on a level crossing east of Moscow, regional authorities said on Friday.

The accident occurred during the night near the city of Vladimir, some 110 kilometres (70 miles) east of the Russian capital.

"According to the latest information, 19 people have been killed," the head of the regional health service, Alexandre Kiryukhin, told the TASS news agency.

The figure was confirmed by Russia's Investigative Committee which said it had opened an inquiry.

The regional interior ministry said the bus broke down on the level crossing. The train, travelling from the western city of Saint Petersburg to Nijni-Novgorod, east of Moscow, slammed into the bus at 3:29am (0029 GMT) on Friday.

All of the dead were onboard the bus.

"There are no victims among the train passengers," the ministry said, and released pictures of the wreck of the bus near the railway track.

The foreign ministry of neighbouring Kazakhstan said that the two bus drivers, one of whom was killed, were Kazakh nationals.

It also said that 55 nationals of Uzbekistan were on the bus, the Interfax news agency reported.

Bus accidents are common in Russia. Seventeen people were killed in August when a bus carrying construction workers veered off a pier and plunged into the Black Sea.




Composer and famed playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda explained Friday morning what drove him to say that President Trump would be going straight to hell.

Miranda, the creator and original star of the Broadway musical Hamilton, drew national headlines with the condemnation, which came after Trump began attacking San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz as her city was suffering from Hurricane Maria.

You're going straight to hell, @realDonaldTrump.

No long lines for you.

Someone will say, "Right this way, sir."

They'll clear a path. https://t.co/xXfJH0KJmw  Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) September 30, 2017

Miranda has family in Puerto Rico and has taken a prominent role in raising disaster relief money for the island after Maria hit last month. The musician was promoting his new song, Almost Like Praying, when the hosts of CBS This Morning asked him about his highly publicized tweet.

Its unprecedented language from me, but its unprecedented to have the president of the United States attack the victims of a natural disaster, Miranda said. Ive never seen that before, so those were the only words I had to express my feelings on that. When have we ever seen that?

The tweet garnered a lot of attention and was featured on the cover of the New York Daily News, which serves Trump and Mirandas home city.

Actor and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda poses at the world premiere of Walt Disney Animation Studios Moana as a part of AFI Fest in Hollywood, Calif., Nov. 14, 2016. (Photo: Danny Moloshok/Reuters)

Miranda suggested that the only reason this politically charged tweet made news is because the rest of his feed is rather innocuous: dad jokes, videos of dogs and pictures of his son playing with trains.

I do my best to be the silver lining in the world because, you know, the world is how it is, he said.

But the Broadway star was outraged by Trumps response to massive storm that killed at least 34 people and devastated Puerto Rico. It was the worst hurricane to hit the tropical island in nearly a century.

Story continues

The presidents visit to Puerto Rico was roundly criticized. He suggested that Hurricane Maria was not a real catastrophe like Katrina and tossed rolls of paper towels into a crowd during one event. Nevertheless, Trump praised his own visit to the island and disparaged the news media for the negative coverage.

A great day in Puerto Rico yesterday. While some of the news coverage is Fake, most showed great warmth and friendship.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2017

But what appears to have set off Miranda was Trumps tweet chastising Cruz, who had criticized federal response efforts.

We are dying here, and I cannot fathom the thought that the greatest nation in the world cannot figure out logistics for a small island of 100 miles by 35 miles long, Cruz said at a press conference on Sept. 29. So mayday, we are in trouble.

The next morning, Trump tweeted, The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump.

Miranda told the Today show that he wishes he could say that his tweet saying Trump will go to hell was impulsive  but that it was not.

Image: Daily News

That was not an impulsive tweet. Those were the only words I had left, and Im a guy who puts words together for a living, he said. Theyre all I had available to me to express my reaction to his attack on the people of Puerto Rico.

Shortly after Trump was elected, he attacked Mirandas Hamilton in a series of tweets. Speaking from the stage, cast members had confronted then-Vice President-elect Mike Pence after a show, urging him to respect the countrys diversity.

The Theater must always be a safe and special place, Trump tweeted. The cast of Hamilton was very rude last night to a very good man, Mike Pence. Apologize!

The proceeds from Almost Like Praying will go to the Hispanic Federations Unidos Disaster Relief Fund, which is dedicated to providing Puerto Rico with critical supplies.

Mirian Medina stands on her property in San Isidro, P.R., on Oct. 5, about two weeks after Hurricane Maria swept through the island. Residents in her section of the town remain without grid power or running water. Puerto Rico experienced widespread damage. (Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Read more from Yahoo News:
Associated Press

Jose Irizarry accepts that hes known as the most corrupt agent in U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration history, admitting he became another man in conspiring with Colombian cartels to build a lavish lifestyle of expensive sportscars, Tiffany jewels and paramours around the world. The way Irizarry tells it, dozens of other federal agents, prosecutors, informants and in some cases cartel smugglers themselves were all in on the three-continent joyride known as Team America that chose cities for money laundering pick-ups mostly for party purposes or to coincide with Real Madrid soccer or Rafael Nadal tennis matches. We had free access to do whatever we wanted, the 48-year-old Irizarry told the AP in a series of interviews before beginning a 12-year federal prison sentence.
Ankara (AFP) - Venezuela's embattled President Nicolas Maduro hailed a "new era" in relations with Turkey after being welcomed by counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at his Ankara palace, saying both countries believed in a different, multi-polar world.

Maduro, who has been shunned by the West and faced deadly protests against his rule this spring, was making the first state visit by a Venezuelan president to Turkey, after holding talks in Belarus and Russia in the last days.

"We want to open a new era in relations between Venezuela and Turkey," Maduro said in a joint statement with Erdogan after their talks.

"We believe in a different kind of world. We believe in a better world. This is not just possible, it's necessary," he said.

"We want to sketch out a new era for the world. A multi-polar world where everyone can find their place."

Venezuela has been going through months of upheaval with critics accusing the leftist Maduro of a naked power grab in July with the formation of a Constituent Assembly packed with his allies.

A wave of protests between April and July left some 125 people dead. Maduro has been accused by the opposition of leading a "savage repression".

The unrest comes as Venezuela suffers an intense economic crisis as falling oil prices whittle down the country's main source of revenue.

Commenting on the strife in Venezuela, Erdogan said there was "nothing superior to the will of the people" and warned that "external intervention" usually made problems worse.

"We hope that Venezuela will find a solution to its problems through sense, dialogue and reconciliation," he added.

Washington had slapped sanctions on Venezuela and US President Donald Trump has urged the European Union to follow suit in "sanctioning the Maduro regime."

Erdogan said Turkey planned to build a mosque in Caracas and hailed flag-carrier Turkish Airlines for keeping flights going to the capital when other airlines stopped.

"Turkish Airlines has not left the Venezuelan public alone," he said.

With ties fraying between NATO ally the United States as well as the European Union, Erdogan has in recent years sought to enliven relations with Latin America, a region where in the past Ankara had little influence.
Speaking publicly for the first time since the shooting, Danley said it never occurred to me whatsoever that he was planning violence against anyone

The Las Vegas gunmans girlfriend spoke publicly for the first time since the shooting, saying on Wednesday that she had no idea of the massacre he was plotting when he sent her on a trip abroad to see her family.

It never occurred to me in any way whatsoever that he was planning violence against anyone, Marilou Danley, 62, said in a statement read by her attorney Matthew Lombard outside FBI headquarters in Los Angeles. Danley returned from her native Philippines on Tuesday and was being questioned for much of the next day by FBI agents.



She also said: He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen.



Danley, who has been called a person of interest by investigators, said she was initially pleased when Stephen Paddock wired her money in the Philippines to buy a house for her family but later feared it was a way to break up with her. Paddock wired $100,000 to the Philippines days before the shooting, a US official not authorized to speak publicly because of the continuing investigation said on condition of anonymity.

When she landed at Los Angeles international airport on Tuesday night, so did investigators best chance to understand the reasons for the carnage that unfolded on the Las Vegas strip on Sunday.



We have a lot of questions, the Las Vegas undersheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters.

When Danley landed, the 62-year-old mother and grandmother was met by FBI agents eager to learn what she knew about the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, committed by a man she had lived with for more than four years, according to public records.

Danley left the airport in a wheelchair escorted by agents, but was reportedly not placed under arrest. There were no indications from authorities as to how willing she was to speak to investigators.

Story continues

Marilou Danley. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

They dont know a lot about who the girlfriend is and why she left the country a week prior to the shooting, said the Nevada senator Dean Heller, who had been briefed by authorities. She is someone they need to have this discussion with to better understand the shooting and what his thought process was.

Danley, Stephen Paddocks longtime girlfriend, had arrived in the Philippines on 15 September, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press news agency. She then left for three days and returned again on 22 September before returning to the US late on Tuesday.

So far, little is publicly known of Danley. According to Paddocks brother Eric, she met Paddock when she was working as a casino hostess at the Atlantis in Reno, Nevada. Paddock was a frequent gambler, according to his brother and to an Australian acquaintance who spoke to the Guardian. Casino records showed he commonly wagered $10,000 or more a day.

They were adorable  big man, tiny woman. He loved her. He doted on her, Eric Paddock told the Washington Post. The two often gambled side by side, he said.

Danley is from the Philippines but has Australian citizenship, Australian authorities have said.

Danleys sister, who lives in Queensland, described Marilou as a good person and said she would not have known about Paddocks plot.

A Philippine bureau of immigration spokesperson shows the travel records of Marilou Danley in Manila, Philippines, on Wednesday. Photograph: Aaron Favila/AP

I know that she doesnt know anything as well, like us. She was sent away. She was away, so that she will not be there to interfere with what hes planning, the sister, whose name was not revealed, told the Seven Network. Danley was madly in love with Paddock, her sister said.

Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, employees of a Starbucks that Paddock and Danley frequented told the LA Times that they often observed him berating her.

Esperanza Mendoza, the shops supervisor, said the abuse came when Danley would ask to use his casino card to make a purchase. The cards, a common form of currency on the Vegas strip, allow gamblers to spend credits earned on electronic gaming machines.

Mendoza said: He would glare down at her and say  with a mean attitude  You dont need my casino card for this. Im paying for your drink, just like Im paying for you. Then she would softly say, OK, and step back behind him. He was so rude to her in front of us.

Fifty-nine people were killed and more than 500 injured on Sunday night when Paddock broke the windows of his 32nd floor hotel suite and began firing multiple semi-automatic rifles into the crowd at a country music concert. Many of the rifles had been modified with bump stock devices that allow the rifles to fire at a speed similar to that of an automatic weapon.

So far, no motive has been discovered for the shooting and investigators said they havent absolutely ruled out anything.
Mr Guerrero was caught selling cocaine alongside McDonald's meals: Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York

A McDonald's manager working the night shift at a restaurant in New York sold cocaine alongside burgers and fries, police allege.

Authorities say Frank Guerrero, 26, was arrested after selling $10,900 (8,200) worth of the drug to an undercover police officer over the course of eight occasions, at a restaurant in the Soundview area of the Bronx.

At least two times, it is alleged Mr Guerrero placed the cocaine into a bag containing a cookie, which he then concealed in a larger bag with cheeseburgers, fries and a drink.

On one occasion, he sold the drugs to a police officer in the toilets after hiding the cocaine in a soap dispenser, officials said.

The three-month undercover investigation dubbed Operation Off the Menu also saw Mr Guerrero make five drug sales in the restaurants car park, police claim.

Authorities say they seized 200g of cocaine and more than $5,000 in cash from Mr Guerreros home, which he shares with his partner and two-year-old child.

Mr Guerrero, who had worked at McDonalds for eight years, was arrested on Wednesday, along with his partner Cabral Castillo.

Both face charges of criminal possession of a controlled substance and unlawfully dealing with a child. Mr Guerrero also faces numerous counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance.

New York Citys special narcotics prosecutor Bridget G Brennan said in a statement: The conduct was so blatant it would be comical if he werent committing a serious narcotics crime.

Ordering coke took on an entirely different meaning on the night shift at this McDonalds.
Melania Trump's future is just too bright.

The First Lady was mocked on social media for wearing sunglasses...in the dark. What a catastrophe, someone needs to get Fashion Police on the case.

This isn't the first time her attire was questioned. She was criticized for wearing high heels while visiting Texas and Florida after the hurricane disasters. People also mocked her for wearing timberland boots in Puerto Rico.

SEE ALSO: Melania Trump spoke out against bullying and Twitter can't take the irony

Image: Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images

According to The Independent, the sunglasses started to appear frequently after an August vacation. Since then, she's been rocking different pairs in the pass three months on multiple occasions.

What. Are. You. Hiding?

Image: pool/Getty Images

Image: YURI GRIPAS /AFP/Getty Images

However, Twitter began developing their own conspiracy theories on the infamous sunglasses especially when it came to wearing it at night.

I wonder if Melania Trump wears big sunglasses in public so no one can see her rolling her eyes at the B.S. her hubby says.  Alice Olivia (@wesleysmom28) October 4, 2017

Hoping Theresa May starts a necklace line soon. Be good competition for Melania Trump's sunglasses range  pic.twitter.com/HiZzK2jht4   (@malvolio_uk) September 15, 2017

Melania Trump always wears sunglasses so you cant see her blinking ...-...  C Roberts on uk (@CRobertsonUK) September 13, 2017

Did @MELANIATRUMP just discover sunglasses? What is she hiding?  Mary (@lovealaska1105) September 14, 2017

I wear my sunglasses at night

So I can so I can

Forget my name while you collect your claim pic.twitter.com/34dUnkqtsX  Viscountess Sharilyn (@sharilyn) October 5, 2017

Despite the multiple theories and media investigation, the sunglasses still remain a mystery and its still unclear what possess individuals to wear sunglasses at night.
Mexico City (AFP) - Mexico said Wednesday it will send humanitarian aid to Puerto Rico to help the island recover from Hurricane Maria, a disaster that US President Donald Trump has been accused of minimizing.

The Mexican foreign ministry said it would send about 30 tonnes of bottled water, insect repellant and other supplies to help the US territory, where the monster storm made landfall on September 20, leaving more than 30 people dead and thousands homeless.

Mexico will also send a team of specialists to help restore electricity to some 93 percent of the island left without power by the hurricane, it said.

US-Mexican relations have been strained since Trump came to power in January after a campaign laced with anti-Mexican rhetoric, including a promise to make Mexico pay for a wall on the border.

Mexico's aid shipment comes as the country recovers from its own disasters -- earthquakes on September 7 and 19 that caused an estimated $2 billion in damages.

Mexico also offered aid to the United States after Hurricane Harvey ravaged Texas last month. But US authorities were slow to accept, and after the September 7 earthquake Mexico revoked the offer, saying it had to concentrate on the relief effort at home.

The United States sent rescue brigades to Mexico after the second earthquake and announced it would donate $100,000 in aid.

Trump, who visited Puerto Rico on Tuesday, is expected to ask Congress for a $29 billion emergency relief package for the island.
A Detroit-area woman who refused to vaccinate her son was sentenced by a judge on Wednesday to seven days in prison.

Last week, Rebecca Bredow told the local ABC News affiliate WXYZ that a judge had ordered her to vaccinate her 9-year-old son. On Wednesday, the Associated Press reported that Bredow was sentenced by Judge Karen McDonald, who ruled that Bredow's ex-husband (the son's father) "gets a say" in the decision. Though the parents have shared custody of their two children, Bredow is the primary caregiver. In response, Bredow told the judge that she takes full responsibility for her actions, but that she is philosophically opposed to vaccinating her son for transmissible, potentially fatal and otherwise preventable diseases such as measles.

WXYZ reported on Wednesday that Bredow was sentenced for contempt of court. The judge had given the mother one week to get her son vaccinated, but she didnt follow through. The network found shes been ignoring orders for even longer. Documents obtained by the news station state that a court previously asked Bredow to get immunizations for her son in November 2016, but she didn't comply.

"I would rather sit behind bars for standing up for what I believe in than giving into something I strongly don't believe in," she said last week during the television interview with WXYZ. "God forbid he were to be injured by one of the vaccines, then whatthat's what scares me." Bredow has said she is not opposed to vaccines, but she believes it was the right decision for her family.

In the U.S., policies for childhood immunizations are controlled by the state. The National Vaccine Information Center lists Michigan as one of more than a dozen states that allows all three vaccination exemptions: religious, philosophical and medical grounds. Most states in the U.S. no longer permit families to forgo vaccines for philosophical reasons.

According to Michigan Live, Michigan is a state with one of the worst rates of child immunization. Current state law requires students in all schools to have certificates of immunization for admittance into kindergarten, seventh grade or a new school district.

Related Articles
By Boureima Balima NIAMEY (Reuters) - French and Nigerien troops conducted operations near Niger's border with Mali on Thursday, the day after an attack that killed three U.S. Army Special Forces members, security sources said. The attack, which also wounded two U.S. soldiers and killed at least one Nigerien soldier, took place during a routine patrol in a part of southwestern Niger where insurgents, including from al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), are active, a U.S. official told Reuters. Nigerien, U.S. and French troops were leading operations in the zone on Thursday, a Niger security source said, without elaborating. A Western security source also said that French troops, part of a roughly 4,000-strong French force in the zone, were deployed alongside Nigerien forces. "It's not clear if the attackers knew the Americans were present," said the Western security source. "Initial information suggests there was a trap that appeared designed to get them out of their vehicles and then they opened fire." The source said al Qaeda and a relatively new militant group called Islamic State in the Greater Sahara were the two main suspects, although no one had yet claimed responsibility. Two additional Niger security sources said that four military helicopters had been dispatched to the area and that reinforcements arrived on Thursday morning in the Tillaberi region where the attack took place. A Nigerien regional official said on Wednesday five Niger soldiers were killed in the attack although a statement by U.S. Africa Command on Thursday said that only one "partner nation member" had died. In a speech on Thursday, Niger President Mahamadou Issoufou condemned the attack. "Our country has just been the victim of a terrorist attack that claimed a large number of victims," he said. Islamist militants form part of a growing regional insurgency in the poor, sparsely populated deserts of West Africa's Sahel. Jihadists have stepped up attacks on U.N. peacekeepers, Malian soldiers and civilian targets since being driven back in northern Mali by a French-led military intervention in 2013. Malian militant groups have expanded their reach into neighbouring countries, including Niger, where a series of attacks by armed groups led the government in March to declare a state of emergency in the southwest. The European Union has pledged tens of millions of euros to a new regional force of five Sahelian countries - Niger, Mali, Chad, Burkina Faso and Mauritania - in a bid to contain Islamist militant groups, and the United States also views the region as a growing priority. Andrew Lebovich, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said Wednesday's attack revealed how U.S. training of Nigerien forces "has accelerated and also verged into ongoing military operations". The United States operates surveillance drones out of central Niger and said last year it was building a new $100 million base to boost efforts by its ally to combat jihadists and better protect its porous borders. It has also sent troops to supply intelligence and other assistance to a multinational force battling Nigerian Boko Haram militants near Niger's border with Nigeria. (Additional reporting by Adama Diarra and Cheick Diouara in Bamako, David Lewis in Nairobi and Emma Farge in Dakar; Writing by Aaron Ross; Editing by Joe Bavier and Mark Heinrich)
Fnideq (Morocco) (AFP) - Along the border between Spain's North African enclave Ceuta and Morocco, thousands of women eke out a living lugging back-breaking loads of goods in an "organised trafficking" operation tolerated by officials.

Nicknamed "mule women" on the Spanish side of the frontier, the Moroccan women sometimes struggle under burdens heavier than their own body weight, risking their lives for the job.

So far this year four porters have been trampled to death in crushes, and activists in both Morocco and Spain have repeatedly complained the work is "humiliating and degrading".

In the small hours of a recent night, the women gathered in an orderly queue by a border crossing for pedestrians on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean between the Moroccan town of Fnideq and the Spanish port of Ceuta, where goods are duty free.

After checks at the frontier they enter the tiny 18-square-kilometre (7-square-mile) strip of Spain, which along with Madrid's other enclave of Melilla are the only land borders between the European Union and Africa.

"This is the first time that I am doing this work!" exhaled 30-year-old Fatima, wearing a red robe and grey headscarf.

The next stop is a commercial zone, built in 2004 near the customs to avoid the thousands of Moroccan traders who arrive daily to replenish their stocks from heading into the city centre.

There, immense hangars are piled high with all sorts of goods: clothes made in China, household items, food. While the prices are marked in euros, everyone pays in Moroccan dirhams.

- 'Very heavy' -

At the entrance to each warehouse, dozens of female porters await instructions. They are not there to barter or to buy, but only to transport the goods.

They fill up rectangular bags that are then strapped on with ropes, and pick up a ticket with the amount of money they will receive once they make the delivery.

"The rope is hurting me," Fatima complained, her back bent under the load.

Story continues

"The bag is very heavy. They said that it weighs 50 kilogrammes (220 pounds), but I can't check."

Fatima and the other porters then set off on the return journey to Fnideq, where the authorities do not impose tax on goods brought in if they are transported on foot rather than by vehicle through the official border post.

Once there the women claim their fees -- usually some several dozen euros depending on the weight and nature of their goods.

- 'Privileged' interests -

It is estimated that some 15,000 female porters tread the route from Ceuta to Morocco, even if the daily number is lower after the Spanish authorities established a limit of 4,000 people each day.

While officials have turned a blind eye to the system, rights activists insist that the porters are being exploited by powerful interests.

"What we are trying to show is that these women are victims of an organised smuggling racket that serves the interests of some people who have privileged ties to local authorities," explained Mohamed Benaissa, the president of the Northern Observatory for Human Rights.

"These lobbies are made up of smugglers from Ceuta who bribe customs officials to let the goods pass and those in Fnideq who then stash it in garages before redistributing it" without paying taxes, he said.

This cross-border trade also generates another illicit business in residence permits.

Due to an agreement between Morocco and Spain, Moroccans who live in four towns close to the border don't need a visa to cross into Ceuta.

However, some 65 percent of women who work as porters do not come from areas along the frontier, Benaissa said, meaning that they have to pay bribes to be registered as locals.

Those payments can range from between 300 to 500 euros ($350 and $585), a hefty amount for the women.

While Moroccan officials have repeatedly claimed that they will step in to rectify the situation, activists say that too often they themselves were involved.

"In the past the authorities have actually sanctioned some officials to carry on these practises," Benaissa said.
As British media personality Milo Yiannopoulos star began to rise, he suddenly found sympathizers in some pretty unlikely places, including Silicon Valley, Hollywood and academia.

But one of the most striking groups of people who reached out to the former tech editor of Breitbart News with story tips and suggestions about how to disparage women were the members of the liberal media who were looking to stir up sexist controversy, just not on their own platforms.

Emails obtained by Buzzfeed News and published in a bombshell report on Thursday highlight some of the unlikely characters who helped feed Yiannopoulos rise through anti-Semitism, racism and sexism  a rise that Steve Bannon, Breitbarts executive chairman and former chief strategist to President Donald Trump, personally shaped.

Yiannopoulos belonged to an email group that mocked social justice stories on the internet, Buzzfeed said. Figures like conservative pundit Ann Coulter were part of the group. But so was Mitchell Sunderland, a senior staff writer and former managing editor at Broadly, Vices channel devoted to womens issues.

Please mock this fat feminist, Sunderland reportedly wrote in a May 2016 email to Yiannopoulos. He was talking about Lindy West, a New York Times columnist who writes about weight issues. He also sent a video of an abortion rights campaign to Tim Gionet, an alt-right activist who worked with Yiannopoulos on his Dangerous Faggot tour. Breitbart would later publish an article mocking the abortion rights group involved.

We are shocked and disappointed by this highly inappropriate and unprofessional conduct, a Vice spokesperson said in a statement. We just learned about this and have begun a formal review into the matter.

The emails were each one line long. I feel awful. I made a mistake. That's what I told Amber and Zoe when I apologized to them.  Dan Lyons (@realdanlyons) October 6, 2017

Tech reporter Dan Lyons would also reach out to Yiannopoulos, according to Buzzfeed, persistently inquiring about the gender assigned at birth to both Zoe Quinn, a video game developer and GamerGate target, and Amber Discko, the founder of the feminist website Femsplain.

Story continues

Is Zoe Quinn a biological female or trans? he wrote in September 2015.

She is a girl. A hideous girl but a girl, Yiannopoulos responded.

Lyons insisted Thursday that he apologized to both Discko and Quinn at length before the Buzzfeed piece was published. Quinn disputed the claim minutes later.

And former Slate tech writer David Auerbach allegedly passed on information about the relationship status of Anita Sarkeesian, another GamerGate target. He contended that everything Buzzfeed wrote about him is categorically false.

The report also delves into Yiannopoulos attempts to interview a legit racist, in the words of Breitbarts Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow, on his podcast, as well as his attempts to defend gas chamber jokes.

I have said in the past that I find humor in breaking taboos and laughing at things that people tell me are forbidden to joke about, Yiannopoulos told Buzzfeed in a statement. But everyone who knows me also knows Im not a racist. As someone of Jewish ancestry, I of course condemn racism in the strongest possible terms.

Read the Buzzfeed News piece in its entirety here.

Also on HuffPost

The first arrest of the day during protest in Portland yesterday.

Mike Hastings, a decorated Vietnam Medic, passionately exhorts the police to avoid hurting the demonstrators.

One of the 'Proud Boys' in the demonstration.

A womanholds a sign with the 'Pepe' meme, a sign of the alt right.

'Based Stickman' autographs a flag for an admirer.

A tender moment in the Trump rally.

A demonstration organized by Joey Gibson, of Vancouver, claimed to support 'free speech' and Donald Trump; two contrary demonstrations -- one by Antifa 'Black Bloc' protesters -- opposed them as being 'alt-right' and fascist; and a fourth showed organized labor's opposition to Trump and the alt right.

'Based Spartan', a well-known brawler in the alt-right community.

A Portland statue is redecorated by the Antifa bloc.

"Based Spartan's" tattoos.

The "Kekistan" flag, an alt right meme.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
By David Lewis and Joe Bavier NAIROBI/ABIDJAN (Reuters) - U.S. special forces soldiers were with their counterparts from Niger on Wednesday in the West African nation's volatile southwest, a growing hot-bed of jihadist violence, when the report came in of a raid nearby. The assailants were believed to be led by Dondou Chefou, a lieutenant in a new group operating along the Mali-Niger border and called Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. A decision was soon taken to pursue them. The mixed force was ambushed by fighters on dozens of vehicles and motorcycles. Under heavy fire, U.S. troops called in French fighter jets for air support, but the firefight was at such close quarters that the planes could not engage and were instead left circling overhead as a deterrent. The version of events, as told by two Nigerien and two Western sources briefed on the incident, shines a light on Washington's increasingly aggressive Special Forces-led counter-terrorism strategy in Africa and its risk of casualties. Four U.S. soldiers died in the firefight, killed in a country where most Americans were unaware that their army is deployed but where Washington has steadily grown its presence. One soldier's body was only recovered two days later. At least four Nigeriens were also killed and, according to one Niger security source, militants seized four vehicles in the ambush. French helicopters, scrambled after the U.S. call for help, evacuated several soldiers wounded in the clash. A diplomat with knowledge of the incident said French officials were frustrated by the U.S. troops' actions, saying they had acted on only limited intelligence and without contingency plans in place. After initially offering only scant details of what happened in the Nigerien desert on Wednesday, the U.S. military's Africa Command said on Friday the soldiers were in the area to establish relations with local leaders. "It was not meant to be an engagement with the enemy," Africom spokesman Colonel Mark Cheadle told reporters. "The threats at the time were deemed to be unlikely, so there was no overhead armed air cover during the engagement." U.S. forces do not have a direct combat mission in Niger, but their assistance to its army does include intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in their efforts to target violent extremist organisations. U.S. military deployments are on the rise in Africa. In May, a U.S. Navy Seal killed in a raid on an al Shabaab militant compound in Somalia became the first U.S. combat death in Africa since the 1993 "Black Hawk Down" disaster in Mogadishu. "WHY SHOULD WE DIE FOR THIS?" In Niger, Washington has deployed around 800 soldiers, runs a drone base in the capital Niamey, and is building a second in Agadez at a cost of around $100 million. U.S. Special Forces help local troops develop counter-terrorism skills to tackle threats from al Qaeda-linked groups, Nigeria's Boko Haram and Islamists who have pledged allegiance to Islamic State. "It's a pretty broad mission with the government of Niger in order to increase their capability to stand alone and to prosecute violent extremists," the U.S. military's Joint Staff Director, Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie, said on Thursday. Washington has long seen the Sahel as a security threat but involvement increased in the wake of a 2012 occupation of northern Mali by Islamist militants. France led an offensive against the Islamists a year later, and the U.S. government now provides logistical and intelligence support to a 4,000-troop French counter-terrorism operation in the region. The U.S. military organises an annual, high-profile U.S. drill as well as longer-term, more discreet training of regional forces. But experts say U.S. involvement in the fight does not stop there. "It is likely that there are other operations going on aside from just the training operations," said Andrew Lebovich, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations. In missions run out of a base in the northern Niger town of Arlit and others like the one that led to the ambush of U.S. troops, sources say they have helped local troops and intelligence agents make several arrests. "It is discreet but they are there," a Nigerien security source told Reuters. Analysts are awaiting the political fallout of Wednesday's ambush with some speculating it may spark a reversal of the U.S. stance on a new regional force - known as the G5 Sahel - which France is pushing but which Washington is cool on. Others however like Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, a former top United Nations official in West Africa and Somalia, recall with concern the American pullout following the "Black Hawk Down" incident. Eighteen U.S. soldiers were killed when Somali militia shot down two helicopters in Mogadishu. "In Somalia, they over-reacted and withdrew their troops ... My worry is that after this attack they will also over-react. Trump might just say 'Why should we die for this?' I hope they don't." (Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris, Emma Farge in Dakar and Phil Stewart in Washington; Editing by Ralph Boulton)
The ambush that took the lives of three U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers and wounded two others in Niger on Wednesday highlights the little-noticed but growing American involvement in contested pockets of Africa, where jihadist groups have taken root and Washington is rushing to backstop allies.

It is unclear what group carried out Wednesdays deadly attack, but Nigerien forces have been fighting with jihadist groups like the Islamic State-affiliated Boko Haram and al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb in the area where the attack occurred.

The soldiers, the first U.S. casualties in Niger, were advising and assisting Nigerien troops fighting terrorists, U.S. Africa Command spokesperson Robyn Mack said. Its part of a broader effort by U.S. troops to help African armies better track and combat terror groups that have proliferated across the region in recent years in countries like Niger, Cameroon, and Chad.

The United States has long maintained a drone base in Nigers capital of Niamey to monitor the movements of al Qaeda and Islamic State-affiliated groups who slip back and forth across often porous borders with Mali, Nigeria, and Chad.

To track those groups, the Donald Trump administration has moved ahead with Barack Obama-era plans to open a second U.S. drone base in the country near Agadez, which already houses U.S. troops. Overall, there are approximately 800 U.S. forces currently on the ground in Niger, one of the larger American footprints on the continent, charged primarily with training Nigerien forces and providing intel and reconnaissance support.

The new drone base in Niger will be the latest of about a dozen small bases (cooperative security locations in Pentagon-ese) spread throughout the continent. The small bases house special operations forces, logistics personnel, trainers, and manned and unmanned aircraft, and are used as supply centers and jumping off points for missions.

Across Africa, the U.S. military footprint has counterterrorism operations in mind. The largest U.S. base on the continent is in Djibouti, in the Horn of Africa, which gives U.S. forces the ability to launch airstrikes and special operations raids into nearby Yemen and Somalia while also covering the critical Bab el-Mandeb waterway that leads into the Red Sea.

Story continues

Other small bases dot the landscape, including in Somalia, where Foreign Policy has reported on one outpost in the port of Kismayo, and there is a base in neighboring Kenya known as Camp Simba used for drone operations. Both bases have been active in the international fight against al-Shabab, an al Qaeda-linked Islamist group in Somalia.

Tunisia has also confirmed that Americans operate unarmed drones used for monitoring the continuing fighting in neighboring Libya, which has seen a huge influx of various al Qaeda offshoots, the Islamic State, and a variety of local militias and criminal groups that have been smuggling thousands of migrants into Europe.

American forces are also active in Chad, helping push back against Boko Haram, which is mostly active in Nigeria and its eastern border regions. Chad is one of the nerve centers of the international counterterrorism fight, with U.S., French, and British troops working alongside local forces at the Multinational Joint Task Force in the capital of NDjamena. Chads central role in battling terrorism made the countrys inclusion on the latest U.S. travel ban all the more puzzling.

The U.S. fight against Boko Haram is also supported by a small drone facility in the skinny northern neck of Cameroon, squeezed between Chad and Nigeria. Since 2015, drones there have run surveillance of the border to sniff out Boko Haram fighters, and there are about 300 American troops there now. The Pentagon is currently investigating whether Americans were present at another Cameroonian base where U.S.-trained security forces allegedly detained and tortured civilians.

United States involvement is only slated to grow. Africa Command wants five manned surveillance aircraft to fly full-time from several locations across the continent. In the meantime, U.S. strikes against terrorists are proceeding at a greater pace in the Trump administration than in the Obama years.

In May, one Navy SEAL was killed and two others were wounded in Somalia in a firefight with al-Shabab fighters. That was the first American combat death there since the Black Hawk Down incident in 1993.
Maiduguri (Nigeria) (AFP) - Greater international cooperation is required to defeat Boko Haram and neutralise the threat from the Islamist militants in Nigeria and beyond, military commanders and politicians said this week.

The jihadists, who are allied to the Islamic State group, have destroyed swathes of remote northeast Nigeria since 2009, killing at least 20,000 people and forcing more than 2.6 million from their homes.

Counter-insurgency operations since early 2015 have pushed them out of captured towns and villages to the point where the government in Abuja now believes they are a spent force.

But with deadly attacks still a regular occurrence, Nigeria's highest-ranking army officer said a "collective effort" was needed to counter its guerilla tactics -- and those of similar groups who have wreaked havoc elsewhere around the world.

"We understand the challenges across the spectrum of asymmetric warfare," Nigeria's chief of army staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, said on Wednesday at the headquarters of operations against the militants in the northeastern city of Maiduguri.

"This... is a global phenomenon. We must work in synergy to make sure that the terrorism that has been affecting not only here and in the sub-region (of West Africa) but indeed globally" is ended, he added.

A regional force comprising troops from Nigeria and its neighbours Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin, has helped push Boko Haram out of captured territory since early 2015.

But Western nations have largely held back from more direct involvement in the conflict, including sales of weapons and equipment because of the Nigerian army's poor human rights record.

US, British, French and German soldiers, among others, are currently present in a "non-lethal" advisory and support roles, in areas from providing Nigerian troops with intelligence and infantry training to tackling the threat from improvised explosive devices.

Story continues

Senior commanders on the ground say the goal now is to develop the Nigerian Army's skills so people can return to their homes and begin rebuilding their lives.

- Foreign weapons -

President Muhammadu Buhari and his predecessor Goodluck Jonathan have said the refusal of Western government the Nigerian military hardware has hampered its efforts to tackle Boko Haram.

A $600 million deal with the United States for 12 fighter aircraft was held up after more than 100 civilians were killed in an airstrike in January this year.

Nigeria said this week the purchase had finally been approved.

Britain's foreign minister, Boris Johnson, also said last month that a request for further equipment was being considered.

London's minister in charge of armed forces, Mark Lancaster, who reviewed British Army support programmes across northern Nigeria this week, said "the real key" to improvement was proper basic training, including in human rights.

The presence of foreign nations was "a genuine recognition that the problems we face here in Nigeria are not just Nigeria's problems in the northeast," he told AFP.

"Not only are they cross-border within the region but of course this is an international problem with an international solution."
Mr Kim's regime claims it has the capacity to hit the United States with a missile: AP

A Russian politician says he has seen a North Korean missile that could reach the US west coast, and that Pyongyang plans on testing a long-rage missile "in the nearest future".

Anton Morozov told Russian state-backed news agency RIA Novost that he and two colleagues had visited North Korea, where they were shown the North Korean calculations that the missile could hit America. During the visit, earlier this week, officials told them they had developed technologies that would allow their missiles to withstand the heat while entering the atmosphere after a launch.

The North Koreans showed him the "mathematical calculations which they say prove that their missile is capable of reaching the US west coast," he said.

Mr Morozov's party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, has a right-wing, nationalist agenda and is know for its anti-American sentiments. He did not indicate that he and his colleagues had personally reviewed the North Korean calculations to confirm their veracity.

North Korea has tested its missiles on at least 14 different occasions this year alone, leading to heightened tension between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The North Korean regime has, at the same time, openly flouted its burgeoning nuclear capabilities, and conducted its sixth nuclear test ever last month. Meanwhile, intelligence leaks have indicated that North Korea is capable of producing a nuclear warhead small enough to be attached to one of those intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

At the same time, Donald Trump and North Korean officials have engaged in a war of insults. The President said that Mr Kim is on a "suicide mission for himself and his regime" during his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month, and said that he was ready to use military force against the country if necessary. In response, Mr Kim released an unprecedented personal response, calling Mr Trump a "dotard" and a "frightened dog."

The US has also put financial pressure on North Korea through sanctions, and have put pressure on China and the international community to do the same. The United Nations voted to impose strict sanctions on the country earlier this year, further isolating the Korean country from the international community. China, which has been one of North Korea's best allies, has also instructed its banks to cut off financial dealings with North Korea.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is pictured at a farm in North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP)

The North Korean regime could launch its nuclear weapons as a last-ditch act of war if the leaders saw that they were about to be defeated in a conflict, a former U.S. defence secretary has warned.

William J. Perry, who was defence secretary under Bill Clinton, writes in Politico Magazine that if a conventional war were to break out between North and South Korea, the North would certainly lose.

But, he warns, the consequences could still be devastating.

Perry says: As the North Korean army was being pushed back to Pyongyang and their leaders foresaw the collapse of the regime and their own death, they might then launch their nuclear missiles.

Such an attack could quite possibly destroy Seoul and Tokyo before the North Korean leaders could be stopped, leading to the death of more than 10 million people.

This undated file photo distributed by the North Korean government shows what was said to be the test launch of an intermediate range Hwasong-12 in North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

Perry writes that America is on the brink of war with North Korea, cautioning against the current U.S. approach to relations with Kim Jong-uns regime.

No one can outbluster North Korean leaders, he writes.

Flamboyant rhetoric from the United States as well as North Korea is heightening the risks.

Amid this brinkmanship, it is distressingly easy to imagine scenarios in which miscalculations lead to catastrophic consequences, involving casualties that could climb into the millions.

A recent report by UK defence think tank RUSI found that war with North Korea involving hundreds of thousands of deaths is now a real possibility.

Donald Trump cannot outbluster the North Koreans, a former U.S. Defence Secretary has warned. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

They found that the likelihood of war has increased markedly, thanks to the rapid nuclear advances achieved by Kim Jong-uns regime, coupled with the Trump administrations position that classical deterrence theory is no longer working.

But Perry offers a silver lining; he argues that North Korea is incredibly unlikely to launch an unprovoked nuclear attack.

North Korean leaders know that if they use nuclear weapons against the U.S. or its allies, their regime will be destroyed.

They are ruthless and reckless, but they are not crazy. They are seeking survival, not martyrdom.

Story continues

The latest analysis by 38 North, an organisation that monitors events in North Korea, into the outcome of a nuclear attack by Pyongyang against Seoul or Tokyo estimates that an attack could result in 2.1 million deaths and a further 7.7 million injuries.

The estimates are based on expert analysis that North Korea currently has 20-25 nuclear warheads, with yields in the 15-25 kiloton range, plus the ability to arm ballistic missiles with those warheads.

The analysis found that the casualties from a single reliable 250kt warhead airburst over the centres of the centres of Seoul and Tokyo would lead to casualties in the millions.

Casualty estimates

38 North echoes the sentiment that the North Korean nuclear arsenal is intended as a deterrent, saying: The goal of the North Korean regime seems to be ensuring the continuation of the Kim family rule by having a viable nuclear deterrent capability against the United States.

But, like Perry, report author Michael J. Zagurek Jr. cautions that the regime could launch its nuclear weapons if backed into a corner, and could retaliate with nuclear weapons as a last gasp reaction before annihilation.
Indigenous Peoples Day is a growing movement to replace Columbus Day, which is celebrated on the second Monday in October.

Indigenous Peoples Day celebrates the culture of Native Americans and challenges the idea that Christopher Columbus was the first to discover America.

So how did the Indigenous Peoples Day movement start?

It traces back to 1977, when a delegation of Native Americans spoke about it at an international conference in Geneva sponsored by the United Nations, which focused on issues regarding discrimination against them.

The movement picked up steam in 1990 when the first continental conference on 500 Years of Indian Resistance was held in Quito, Ecuador.

At the meeting, representatives from Indian groups agreed they would mark 1992 as a year to promote liberation.

That year was significant because it was the 500th anniversary of the first voyages of Christopher Columbus.

So attendees from Northern California planned protests against the Columbus Day celebration in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1992.

A task force called Resistance 500 also brought its concerns to the City Council of Berkeley, Calif.

It proposed the idea of Indigenous Peoples Day  and Berkeley became the first city to adopt it, in 1992.

Less than half of U.S. states give employees a paid day off for Columbus Day.

And although Indigenous Peoples Day isnt a federal holiday, dozens of cities  with Los Angeles and Davenport, Iowa, the most recent 

now celebrate it in place of Columbus Day, as the movement continues to grow.
The head of the National Rifle Associations lobbying arm said Thursday that gun control is a failed policy and its time to have a broader conversation about the underlying problem of mass shootings  namely the role Hollywood has played by fetishizing firearms.

The NRA spends millions of dollars every year teaching safe and responsible gun ownership, and Hollywood makes billions promoting and glorifying gun violence, Chris Cox, executive director of NRAs Institute for Legislative Action, told Fox News Tucker Carlson. And then the same hypocrites come in and suggest were to blame for this.

Cox of course was referring to the massacre Sunday night in Las Vegas, in which a lone gunman rained bullets down onto a country music festival, killing at least 58 people and injuring hundreds more before turning the gun on himself. The shooters arsenal included 12 firearms outfitted with bump fire stocks, devices that effectively allow a semi-automatic weapon to function as a fully automatic one does.

In an out-of-character move for the NRA, on Thursday  following several days of silence  the group issued a statement in which it acknowledged such devices should be subject to additional regulations.

Echoing a statement he and NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre had made earlier in the day, Cox told Fox News it was the Obama administration that approved the sale of bump fire stocks, and called on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to do their job.

We didnt talk about banning anything, he told Carlson. We talked about ATF going back and reviewing whether these are in compliance with federal law.

Along with pointing the finger at the Obama administration, ATF and Hollywood, Cox questioned whether prescription drugs are influencing gun violence.

Asked by Carlson what has changed since they were children to allow for an increase in deadly shootings, Cox said: Thats a conversation thats happening at dinner tables and in living rooms all over the country. Im sure its happened in yours, its certainly happened in mine. And I dont know the answer. And I think we need to look at the broader conversation, and have a broader conversation, about a violent culture, about what has happened with gratuitous violence out of Hollywood, whats happened with prescription drugs.

Story continues

Like the rest of the country, the NRA is looking for answers, Cox said. And while the gun rights advocacy group wants to be part of a constructive conversation, that conversation must include respecting the rights of law-abiding citizens and allowing them to protect themselves, he said.

Were focused on keeping Congress out of Second Amendment freedoms, keeping Congress focused on expanding the rights of law-abiding people to protect themselves and their families, he said.

Allow good, honest people the ability to defend themselves. Pass reforms like National Right to Carry Reciprocity. @ChrisCoxNRA #2A #NRA pic.twitter.com/9un5x1lcNs  NRATV (@NRATV) October 6, 2017

In a separate interview with Fox News Sean Hannity on Thursday night, LaPierre touted the money the NRA spends teaching gun safety, and bashed Hollywood and the elites in Washington, D.C.

This Hollywood crowd makes billions ... teaching gun irresponsibility to the American public, he said. The hypocrisy is beyond belief. They criticize me for saying people ought to be able to protect themselves from murderers, rapists and robbers, and then they make billions depicting every night those same situations.

Like Cox, LaPierre said the NRA had suggested the ATF take a second look at bump fire stocks, but stressed he and Cox didnt say ban and didnt say confiscate. He added that tightening gun laws would not prove effective at stopping shootings like the one in Las Vegas.

If legislation worked, Boston massacre wouldnt have happened, San Bernardino  where California has every gun law on the books  that wouldnt have happened, La Pierre said. In Paris, where they have complete gun bans, that wouldnt have happened. Brussels. All over the world, where the people are disarmed, these monsters, these bad guys, go about their business. They could care less about what laws are on the books.

Wayne LaPierre: "This Hollywood crowd makes billions...teaching gun irresponsibility to the American public. The hypocrisy is beyond belief" pic.twitter.com/svw37zG7mU  Fox News (@FoxNews) October 6, 2017

Also on HuffPost

People hug and cry outside the Thomas & Mack Center after a mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas.

A cowboy hat lies in the street.

VIDEO: Rapid fire from shooter(s) in Las Vegas pic.twitter.com/jgzCTQRUZP  Joel Franco (@OfficialJoelF) October 2, 2017

Las Vegas police search for the gunman while protecting fleeing fans.

Fans run from the Route 91 Harvest festival after a gunman opened fire.

Others dive for cover.

Some fans drop to the ground.

People run from the Route 91 Harvest festival.

People scramble for cover.

HORRIFIC SCENE: Do not let this be called anything else but DOMESTIC TERRORISM. AP reports 2dead 13critical & dozens injured. #MandalayBay pic.twitter.com/q7faKkCPpN  Eduardo Samaniego (@EduSamani) October 2, 2017

A man in a wheelchair is helped away.

People run for cover.

EYEWITNESS: Chilling footage of moment active shooter opened fire on concert goers near Mandalay Bay resort in Las Vegas pic.twitter.com/7OfAwg0ReO  Josh Caplan (@joshdcaplan) October 2, 2017

A person takes cover amid the shooting.

A person runs barefoot from the shooting.

Police officers stop a man who drove down Tropicana Avenue near Las Vegas Boulevard, which had been closed.

A pair of cowboy boots lies in the street outside the concert venue.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
White hats on, gladiators: Scandal is back for its seventh and, sadly, final season. But we dont have to say goodbye just yet. For now, we can sit back and watch Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) do what she does best  be the boss.

Quinn Perkins and Associates has a new client  a young woman who reported her father missing. However, her father, Professor Stewart, ended up being an undercover spy for the CIA and, after Quinn (Katie Lowes) took the file to Olivia, Jake Ballard (Scott Foley) immediately came up with his own solution. We need to kill him, and we need to do it without Mellie or Quinn or anyone else in this town knowing about it. I put together a plan. We can do this off the books using the B613 budget, Jake said to Olivia, who did not agree. This isnt my fathers B613. Its mine. I run this show. I decide. You do what I say. Bring my guy home alive, Admiral Ballard. Now.

Well, Jake ended up going behind Olivias back. He turned to the now-President Mellie Grant (Bellamy Young) who, after hearing all of Jakes possible scenarios, ultimately decided that killing Professor Stewart was the best option. Of course, Olivia was not happy about both of them deciding not to follow her orders. So she did what she always does: She took her own action. After blackmailing the ambassador of Bashran, Olivia successfully rescued the hostage, who was then delivered to the U.S. embassy unharmed. But a thank you isnt what Olivia received from Mellie. Instead, Olivia was confronted by an angry Mellie, who was attempting to find her own power. The only thing I care about right now is making it crystal clear that you follow my orders. You have my back. You dont sneak around behind it and freelance after I give an order, said Mellie.

Mellies brief attempt to stand up to Olivia was cute, but Olivia made sure to put her in her place. She did so by delivering one of our her intimidating, classic monologues. The men outside these oval walls?  she said. They want to take it all away from us. Because they are terrified. Because they are outraged. Because they have come to the realization that all those centuries of misogyny and privilege and status quo are finally over. She continued, That is why you never listen to a man over me. Your success as president is my only agenda. I, alone, have your back. Always! But it didnt just stop there. You want to keep having it all reverse the tides of injustice, redraw the map, flood the darkness with light, earn our place, and make it so that a woman holding this office is no longer a novelty but the norm? Then you have to stop thinking of me as an employee and start thinking of me as what I am: the boss.

Story continues

However, quite possibly the most empowering  and Twitter-worthy  exchange of the episode was when Olivia said to Mellie, Put your faith in me and me alone, and you will become a monument. Ignore me, allow them to come between us, and you will become an asterisk. So you tell me: which one do you want to be?

Scandal airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on ABC. Watch clips and full episodes of Scandal for free on Yahoo View.

Check out this Oscar-winning actors debut on Empire, which is exactly what Lucious Lyon needs:

Read more from Yahoo! Entertainment:

Tell us what you think! Hit us up on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, or leave your comments below. And check out our host, Kylie Mar, on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
When I became a mom in the U.S., the parenting experience was nothing like I had expected. The playgrounds, which I thought would be teeming with children, were often deserted. Most young children seemed to be either glued to a screen at home or being drilled with academics at preschool. When I went outside for daily walks with my baby in the winter, people took pity on us and offered me rides. Meanwhile in my native Sweden, kids gear up to go outside every day, regardless of the weather, both at home and at preschool. Forget flash cards, wall words and kindergarten readiness  Scandinavian parents are keener to have their young children climb trees and dig for earthworms than learn academic facts. But this is far from the only surprising difference between the two parenting cultures.

Let your baby nap outside all year.

Most Scandinavian parents are so adamant about giving their infants and toddlers fresh air every day that they let them take their naps in prams outside. Yes, even in the winter and even in freezing temperatures. The advantage of this practice? Parents report that babies take longer and deeper naps when they sleep comfortably bundled up outside in the cold, and most felt the practice was healthy because of the fresh air, according to one Finnish study. Doctors also recommend it as a way to decrease childrens exposure to germs and reduce the risk of infection.

Dont obsess over gender.

Nope, you wont find any gender reveal parties or other ceremonies revolving around the sex of a baby in Scandinavia. In fact, hospitals in Sweden typically wont share the sex of a baby even if they can see it during a sonogram, so most parents-to-be dont know what theyre having until the day the baby is born. Parents feel strongly about treating boys and girls the same and are no stranger to protesting companies whose clothing or toys cement stereotypical gender roles. Some parents even choose to send their children to gender-neutral nursery schools, where the pedagogy specifically focuses on breaking with traditional gender roles.

Dont use corporal punishment.

Sweden was the first country in the world to ban spanking and all other forms of corporal punishment in 1979, and its neighbors Finland and Norway soon followed suit. Although spanking was once a common way to discipline your child, more and more parents voluntarily moved away from the practice in the 1960s, as the continuous growth of a democratic, egalitarian ideal meant that more and more Swedes felt that all people  children too  should enjoy equal protection from violence, according to the official site of Sweden. Today, using any type of physical discipline is a foreign concept to Scandinavian parents.

Relax about nudity.

Scandinavian parents encourage young kids to run around in their birthday suit outside whenever the temperature permits. Instead of thinking of nudity as something shameful, parents believe its important for children to be knowledgeable about and feel comfortable with their own bodies. This belief is reflected in childrens books, which sometimes sport anatomically correct illustrations of children with no clothes on. And when the Swedish public service TV launched a cartoon for preschoolers featuring a singing penis and vagina (called Willie and Twinkle in the English version), it quickly became a viral sensation. Not because parents were outraged, but because most of them loved it.

Encourage your kids to run wild and get dirty.

Messy, wild play outdoors is seen as a perfectly natural, even cherished, part of childhood in Scandinavian society and parents welcome muddy boots, scraped knees and piles of filthy clothes as proof that their children had a good day filled with adventure and exploration. Scandinavians happily forgo both pocket-sized hand sanitizers and chlorine-infused toy-cleaning routines, and dont panic if their charges happen to sample a clump of dirt. Recent studies suggest that theyre on to something, as microbes in the soil may help kids  and their immune systems  become more resilient to allergies and asthma. The subjects of those studies? Americans.
WASHINGTON  House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Thursday became the highest-ranking Republican to call for scrutiny of so-called bump stocks, which allowed the Las Vegas mass killer to fire semi-automatic assault rifles as rapidly as machine guns.

Look, I didnt know what they were until this week and Im an avid sportsman, and so we are quickly coming up to speed with this, Ryan said in an interview with MSNBCs Hugh Hewitt. So to turn a semiautomatic to fully automatic is something we have to look into.

Bump stocks, inexpensive accessories that essentially turn a semiautomatic weapon into an automatic one, circumvent federal laws that strictly regulate firearms that can fire a burst of bullets with a single pull of the trigger. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said the shooter in Las Vegas had outfitted 12 firearms with bump stocks, allowing him to fire into the crowd of 22,000 people at a faster rate.

Retailers said theyve been selling out of bump stocks since the mass shooting, which killed nearly 60 people and injured almost 500.

Many congressional GOPers said they were unfamiliar with bump stocks and needed time to research them. Momentum for a ban on the gun accessories began to build this week, however, after several key GOP senators either called for a hearing, or for a ban on bump stocks outright.

The fact that fully-automatic weapons are already illegal and this makes another weapon capable [of automatic fire], I would be supportive of that, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who chairs the Homeland Security Committee, said Wednesday when asked about legislation banning bump stocks.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), a longtime advocate of banning assault weapons, on Wednesday introduced a bill that would block the sale and possession of bump stocks. It had 26 co-sponsors, but no Republican support.

House Democrats, led by Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island, have introduced a companion bill to Feinsteins measure that would ban the sale and possession of bump stocks. The legislation had 139 co-sponsors, and several House GOPers have expressed support for such a ban.

Story continues

Bump stocks generating automatic rates of fire should face the same restrictions as automatic weapons, Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) tweeted Thursday.

Reps. Bill Flores (R-Texas.) and Kevin Yoder (R-Kansas) have said they support the idea of a ban on bump stocks.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, said Thursday he was looking at the matter.

Still, any effort at regulating guns would face tough odds in a Republican-controlled Congress. Some conservatives are already warning that banning bump stocks could lead to other gun control measures  a slippery-slope argument that advocates of the Second Amendment have made for years.

The National Rifle Association, the main gun lobby, has remained silent in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting  a tactic it employs repeatedly after mass shootings. Conservative radio talk show host Dana Loesch, who is an NRA spokeswoman, has expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of a ban on bump stocks.

The push to ban bump stocks could gain steam if President Donald Trump decides to weigh in. The president has refrained from speaking out, maintaining that it is too soon after the massacre to discuss gun control.

Well be talking about gun laws as time goes on, Trump said this week.

Ari Fleischer, a former White House press secretary and supporter of the president, urged Trump to direct the ATF to outlaw bump stocks via regulation.

If I were Trump I would direct ATF 2classify bump stocks as part of a weapon and ban them today. He should also welcome legislation 2do same  Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) October 5, 2017

Correction: Rep. Bill Flores represents a district in Texas, not Florida.

Also on HuffPost

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Unidentified men carrying knives and slingshots walk past a burning village near Maungdaw in Rakhine state, on 7 September, 2017. Many Rohingya have died trying to flee the fighting, not making it to the refugee camps in Bangladesh - This content is subject to copyr

They arrive ill and exhausted, having walked for days through jungle, rice paddies and mountains, or having braved dangerous sea and river voyages in ramshackle boats. Some of them are newborn, others in their 80s. Not everyone survives the journey. All that do are desperate.

Since 25 August, nearly 450,000 refugees have crossed from Burma (also known as Myanmar) into neighbouring Bangladesh, after long-running tensions between Rohingya Muslims and the predominantly Buddhist Burmese population erupted into violence in the remote western state of Rakhine.

By the time you read this, that already staggering figure will have increased.

The United Nations, which has described the violence driving the Rohingya from a territory they have lived in for centuries as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing, estimates many thousands are still arriving each week.

At a glance | Myanmars Rohingya people

Every day that I was there, says American photographer Greg Constantine, who has recently returned from a fortnight in the region, I would look across the border into northern Rakhine and see smoke pouring into the sky. [Burmese government leader] Aung San Suu Kyi claims the clearance operations have stopped, but they havent. Every one of those refugees tells the same story: of mobs and the military torching their homes, killing, raping, terrorising. And the scale of it  Ive been here more than a dozen times over the last decade, and every time I think, It cant get worse than this. And it does.

The three makeshift camps the refugees are headed for  Kutupalong, Nayapara and Balukhali  were established 25 years ago. Even before the most recent exodus they housed around 33,000 people, and many more Rohingya have settled in the wider area too. New arrivals sleep in the open until they can build shelters, which mostly consist of bamboo poles and tarpaulin.

Its not even a specific place any more, explains Constantine. You drive down the highway from Ukhiya to Teknaf, and its just mile upon mile upon mile of huts and people sitting on the side of the road.

Story continues

Violence towards the Rohingya isnt new  it goes back to 1784, when the Burman king Bodawpaya conquered Rakhine and hundreds of thousands of Rohingya were forced to flee to Bengal  but the current crisis is rooted in a belief among many Burmese that the Rohingya, who returned to Rakhine in large numbers during the British occupation of Burma between 1824 and 1948, want to turn Rakhine into a Muslim state.

Constantine, 47, who grew up in Indiana and taught himself photography in his 30s, first began documenting the Rohingya in 2006, as part of a series exploring the plight of the stateless. Nowhere People documents individuals and communities all over the world who have no official citizenship, no documentation and no rights.

Rohingya babies, for instance, are not given birth certificates. As adults, they cant work or go to a doctor or obtain an education. They are regarded as illegal immigrants by the majority of Burmas citizens and were excluded from the countrys most recent census (which did not allow people to register their identity as Rohingya).

The million-dollar question that everyone grapples with is why, says Constantine, who has been blacklisted by the Burmese government and banned from re-entering the country.

I would look across the border into northern Rakhine and see smoke pouring into the sky. Aung San Suu Kyi claims the clearance operations have stopped, but they havent

Ive always believed that what is at the heart of it is a deep-rooted racism. Is there a solution? Not unless things change inside Myanmar, and not just at a political level. The international community can put all the pressure it wants on the government but change has to happen among the attitudes of the citizenry for things to even begin heading in the right direction.

Until then, Constantine says, he will keep going back to the camps.

I realised, somewhere along the way over these last 10 years, that what I was doing had changed from reporting on specific events to creating a timeline of slow violence towards a community. I want to show that what is happening now is something that has a history behind it. That all of this should have been expected. That we knew.

The story behind the photographs

By photographer Greg Constantine

Credit: Greg Constantine

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have flooded into southern Bangladesh over the past month after violence erupted in the Burmese state of Rakhine. The north-south highway between the Bangladeshi cities of Teknaf and Coxs Bazar is a steady flow of refugees.

Credit: Greg Constantine

A middle-class Bangladeshi tosses small notes of currency into the air for young Rohingya children. At certain moments I get so incredibly frustrated with human beings. This was one of those situations. I couldnt help but photograph it. He might have had the best intentions, but what he was doing was degrading. He wasnt approaching these people as human beings. You see it happening a lot in the camps: well-intentioned people who arent thinking clearly about the way they go about things.

Credit: Greg Constantine

Rohingya women and children sit wherever they can find shelter along the road between Teknaf and Coxs Bazar. They can be here for weeks before they are able to get a space on the back of a flatbed truck and move on to one of the refugee camps. The cramped journey takes about two hours, with only a tarpaulin for protection from the rain. The last time I made the journey with a group of them, it rained the whole way.

Credit: Greg Constantine

These days there are stations in the camps from which humanitarian assistance can be distributed. At any time of day, you see lines of people waiting to get to rice or some other food ration. There are also a lot of intrepid well-wishers, whether Bangladeshi or foreign donors, who drive in in big trucks. It causes these surges of complete mayhem  thats what you see here. There are maybe 2,000 people swarming around the truck here, and the people distributing the food have to keep order by beating some of them back with sticks. Its very inhumane in that sense.

Credit: Greg Constantine

Theres a huge business in bamboo in the camps  it comes in on trucks almost daily, and this is what people use to build their homes. When I first visited, very little was organised, but things are much more coordinated now. Even when the huts are in the middle of being built, so just skeletons really, people still sleep under them. They have no protection from the elements. When you see the size of the camps, you think, How many people are actually left in Burma when there are so many people here?
Its October, which means its the time when some people get out their decorative gourds and paper skeletons, as Halloween stores begin stocking their shelves with superheroes, politicians, movie characters, andthat old standbycostumes that are sure to offend people.

Some find Pocahontas Halloween costumes offensive. (Photo: Fox Spears via Twitter)

The debate over cultural appropriation is back on the forefront of several peoples minds, particularly after Karuk artist Fox Spears pointed out on Twitter that, once again, Disney was selling Pocahontas costumes for the holiday.

Seen today in a Disney Store. *sigh*, he tweeted in September, setting off dozens of online conversations about who has the right to wear such outfits, and who has the right to define what is and isnt offensive.

Seen today in a Disney Store. *sigh* pic.twitter.com/HpO0TaTUuu  Robohontas (@robohontas) September 16, 2017

If a little girl wants to be Pocahontas for Halloween because its her favorite movie, then let her! Yall complain about everything, Twitter user Tyler Gilmore wrote in response.

if a little girl wants to be Pocahontas for Halloween because it's her favorite movie, then let her! Y'all complain about everything. https://t.co/n4r5eDT5ub  Tyler Gilmore (@mrgilmore10) September 18, 2017

It's a character. Not an Indian costume for the fun of dressing up like an Indian. There's a difference.  Manda (@MandaCGxo) September 20, 2017

To unpack the argument, Yahoo Lifestyle turned to Ali Nahdee, a white and Anishinaabe/Ojibwa writer who created the Aila Test  a Bechdel test for depictions of indigenous women. Earlier this year, in Indian Country Today, she outlined the many harmful discrepancies between the 1995 Disney film Pocahontas and the womans real tragic history.

Story continues

Pocahontas was kidnapped, raped, abused, forced to assimilate, forced to convert to Christianity, forced to marry one of her captors, and the Mattaponi sacred oral history is convinced that her untimely death may have been the result of a poisoning rather than an illness, Nahdee tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

The movies producers did their research, she said, but in their behind-the-scenes featurette, Roy Disney, Jim Pentecost, and supervising animator Glen Keane said they decided to ignore the fact that she was a child when she met the colonists, and she in fact never saved John Smith from being executed. They used the legend promoted by white Europeans and aged the girl up to be a sexy woman instead of a young teenager.

There is something so sinister about this decision made by three white men about a native girl whose short life was already riddled with trauma and tragedy, Nahdee says. I really feel that Pocahontas deserves so much better than a whitewashed animated film and a Halloween costume, and yet that is how she is remembered and known throughout the world.

THIS is what Pocahontas looked like when she met John Smith. This is why the Disney film is garbage.#ReclaimPocahontas #LeaveMatoakaAlone pic.twitter.com/ZcYoqgC7j1  Ali Nahdee (@AliNahdee) September 19, 2017

Yahoo Lifestyle reached out to reps for Disney about its use of the costume but has not yet received a response. In 2016, Disney pulled its kids Maui costumes after critics pointed out that it was inviting people to put on the skin of an indigenous character.

As Jessica Metcalfe, creator of the site Beyond Buckskin, told Refinery29 in 2015, Costumes are meant to be fantasy or fun or scary. Cultures or people are not costumes.

Obviously, if children dress up as native people, they admire them. Isn't childhood (and Halloween) about fantasy and imagination?  Tracey E Chambers (@TraceyEChambers) September 20, 2017

When white people wear Native American Halloween costumes, Nahdee says it feels like a mockery of her own familys tragic history. My grandmother and her sister were residential school survivors who endured things too horrible for them to even say out loud, she said. Knowing that actual native children were beaten, abused, and tortured simply for being who they were, theres a deep contempt I have towards non-Natives who feel entitled to pick and choose what they want from a culture that was forbidden to its own people. Its even worse when they then insist that theyre honoring you and your people.

The rationale that it should at least be OK for children to dress up in these costumes is just as problematic, because it underestimates a childs capacity to understand that racism is wrong, and it disregards the feelings of Native children, Nahdee says.

so why do we give a pass to a company, run by adults, for marketing something racist to our children?  sara (@paperdoll) September 20, 2017

We are the ones who grew up being spoon-fed the idea that Pocahontas on the other end of a white mans rifle is supposed to be romantic,  she says. The least a non-Native parent can do is explain to their child whats wrong with this costume and this film, so the child doesnt grow up to be a racist adult who causes more harm.

By the way, its not a great idea for teachers to have young students make headdresses or war bonnets to learn about Thanksgiving either. If what they really want is to teach about indigenous cultures, educators could instead have a member of that culture come in and speak to the kids.

For natives, its not a costume, Nahdee reiterates. Its regalia. Its culture. Its religion.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.


Sir Edward Heath - HULTON ARCHIVE

A police force investigated paedophile allegations against Sir Edward Heath made by the relatives of at least one dead person.

A report published on Thursday by Wiltshire police following a two-year inquiry costing 1.5 million is expected to include at least one claim effectively made from beyond the grave.

Critics of the Wiltshire Police investigation said it was questionable that resources had been spent investigating claims of abuse of a dead person by a man who himself died more than a decade ago.

Heath aboard his yacht Morning Cloud Credit: James Jackson/ Getty Creative

The closed summary report is expected to contain more than 40 allegations of abuse against the former prime minister, who is unable to defend his name.

But about a quarter are understood to have been made by third parties - complainants who had not been abused themselves. The Telegraph is aware of at least one case where a complaint was lodged on behalf of a dead person.

Police interviewed the widow of Stephen Maloney, who was a victim of sexual abuse during time spent in a notorious childrens home in south London, over claims Heath had also assaulted him on his yacht the Morning Cloud.

Kim Maloney has also claimed her husband was abused by Jimmy Savile, the disgraced television presenter and one of Britains most prolific paedohpiles.

Mrs Maloney has posted on Twitter of helping Wiltshires Operation Conifer with its inquiries. In December, Mrs Maloney posted in response to a query from a friend over whether she had been in contact with Operation Conifer: Been speaking to them for long time.

She has repeatedly tweeted the claims that Heath abused her husband such as: My hubby went on so called sailing holidays to jersey... Lots abused.

On January 25 last year, she tweeted claims he had also been abused by Savile. She posted: My hubby abused by savile heath and others still no justice.

At her home in Cardiff, Miss Maloney said: He [Stephen] told me about the abuse about five years ago when we got together.

Story continues

He passed away four years ago and I felt it was my duty to go to the police. It all happened when Edward Heath took him on sailing holidays to Jersey.

Heath's Salisbury home Arundells Credit: Eddie Mulholland

Mrs Maloney handed to detectives a box of files, which included the Heath allegations. Mrs Maloney added: I think it will be mentioned in the report from Wiltshire police tomorrow.

Mr Maloney, who died aged 55 in 2014, was abused during stints in the notorious Shirley Oaks childrens home in south east London. The Shirley Oaks Survivors Association confirmed Mr Maloney had been a victim during his time in the home in 1969 and in 1971. Raymond Stevenson, spokesman for the group, said: We have spoken to Wiltshire police about related matters.

Peter Batey, a trustee of the Sir Edward Heath Foundation, said: It is troubling that the police have been investigating claims from one dead person about another dead person.

It is questionable whether this is a good use of public money.

Mr Batey, who was Heaths private secretary between 1982 and 1986, added: The allegations are ludicrous. But the details of times and dates have been with held from us. It is a Kafka-esque situation of not knowing what exactly he is being accused of and when.

Chief Constable Mike Veale

Operation Conifer was launched in August 2015 with a public appeal for victims to come forward made out side Heaths Salisbury home, Arundells.

The report - as previously disclosed by The Telegraph - will stop far short of concluding he was a paedophile but say that some of the allegations cannot be disproved and would have merited interviewing Heath.

Mike Veale, Wiltshires chief constable, has urged the media not to speculate on the contents of the report ahead of its publication although details have been widely leaked.

Mr Veale has insisted the inquiry is proportionate.
While President Trump and his administration have touted his response to Puerto Rico after it was devastated by Hurricane Maria as "nothing short of a miracle," many Americans disagree.

According to a new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, just one-third of Americans approve of the president's response in the wake of the storm.

Thirty-two percent of those surveyed said they approve of the way the president is handling relief efforts in "U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands," while 49 percent disapprove.

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump visit Puerto Rico



The AP-NORC poll was conducted before Trump's visit to the U.S. territory on Tuesday, nearly two weeks after Hurricane Maria made landfall and wiped out the island's power grid -- leaving many without clean water.

Many residents were thankful for the president's visit, but others remained frustrated with Washington's lack of urgency. Ninety-three percent of Puerto Rico is still without electricity.

A recent YouGov poll reports similar results, finding 40 percent of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing after Maria and 44 percent disapprove. Fifteen percent said they were undecided.
Tipitapa (Nicaragua) (AFP) - Looking tired and haggard, William Coronado pulls up before dawn with a boat full of fish on the muddy shore of Nicaragua's Lake Managua, a dumping ground for trash and waste.

"The lake is so polluted. They throw all sorts of crap into it," said the 56-year-old. "Containers, old buckets, all sorts of bags -- all the junk they throw away in Managua. It's a disgrace."

Coronado spent two days under the Central American sun and windy nights to bring in a haul of hundreds of tiny two-banded sea bream and other freshwater fish, to sell them for $1.30 per dozen to a business just north of the capital Managua.

His wife Rosa waits for him in a rickety house built of tin and plastic located just 300 meters (yards) from the lake, living in extreme poverty like most of the neighbors.

Lake Managua, also known as Lake Xolotlan, is one of the biggest freshwater bodies in Central America.

It is also one of the most polluted, a problem that started nearly a century ago.

Between 1967 and 1992, a US chemical company, Pennwalt, regularly dumped mercury into its depths. From 1927 to 2009, the capital, which sits on the lake, tipped its untreated sewage and factory outflows into the lake.

- Mercury levels -

Eight years ago, the government finally opened a treatment plant financed by German funding and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Since then, the pollution has eased, the bad odors have lessened, and the lake has become a tourist attraction.

But the former head of the state water company, Ruth Herrera, warned that it could take another 100 years before the expanse of water is finally clean -- maybe longer, if residents continue to tip their garbage into it.

Health authorities in the country are still warning pregnant women to avoid eating fish caught in the lake to prevent their babies developing disorders such as mental retardation or stunted growth due to the high mercury levels.

A study carried out last year by the Autonomous University of Nicaragua, with backing from Japan, found that the guapote freshwater fish from Lake Nicaragua had 0.46 micrograms of mercury per kilo, above the authorized level of 0.40.

Story continues

Other species of fish had lower levels, and most of the lake has trace levels of mercury.

- Poverty -

"Maybe these fish have low levels, but over the long term, the population could have health effects if it eats them," cautioned Jurguen Guevara of Centro Humboldt, an environmental group.

Herrera also advised against eating fish from the lake, although she suggested that the estimated 100,000 mostly poor people living around its shores might have developed some sort of resistance to illnesses by eating the fish.

"We eat fish from there every day and nothing has happened to us," affirmed Ofelia Ramirez, from a village called Tipitapa.

But the locals have little choice: they are among the one-third of Nicaragua's population living under the poverty line, and the lake represents their only source of work and sustenance.

Dozens of fishermen can be seen sailing in the middle of the night in small boats made of fiberglass or wood, pulling up nets cast in the lake.

"We bring back around 20 dozen" fish every day, said Juan Ramirez, a 30-year-old setting off in a canoe with his two children to help him fish the lake's waters.
Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis met Thursday with French Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who is awaiting trial over allegations he covered up for a paedophile priest in his diocese.

It was the first time Francis has met with Barbarin, the Archbishop of Lyon, since the cardinal learned last month that he would have to appear in court in April in connection with priest Bernard Preynat's abuse of boy scouts in the 1980s.

Public prosecutors ruled last year that Barbarin did not have a case to answer but he and six other co-defendants have been directly indicted by some of Preynat's victims. A judge ruled last month that the case could proceed.

Barbarin, 66, faces a potential jail sentence if found guilty of failing to act immediately and appropriately when one of the victims reported Preynat to the Church in 2014, demanding he be sacked.

But Barbarin -- one of the French Church's most prominent figures -- left him in his post for several more months.

The cardinal has denied any attempt to shield Preynat, saying he did not know how to deal with allegations relating to events dating back over two decades.

But after initially saying he first learned of the allegations in 2014, Barbarin admitted in 2016 to having known about the allegations for nearly a decade.

The case has been damaging for the church in France and the credibility of Francis's promises to rid the global institution of a scourge that has done enormous damage to its standing with believers and non-believers alike.

Francis has said senior clerics who shield paedophile priests should resign, but he has stood by Barbarin, insisting the cardinal, to whom he is reportedly close, took the necessary measures in the Preynat case.

Barbarin was received at the Vatican along with 75 priests from the Lyon diocese.
London (AFP) - The British pound sank Thursday as investors fretted over Prime Minister Theresa May's political future one day after a "shambolic" speech to the Conservative Party's annual conference, analysts said.

By about 1515 GMT, sterling had dived to a one-month low at $1.3122.

Earlier, the European single currency had hit a three-week pinnacle at 89.33 pence per euro.

"After Theresa May's speech at the Tory party conference on Wednesday, there are rumours that she will be asked to step down by her own party," said City Index analyst Kathleen Brooks.

"The prospect of a leaderless UK in the middle of the Brexit process, or even worse, a Prime Minister Boris (Johnson), are right to unnerve sterling traders."

She added that the market "seems to be ignoring some fairly solid economic data, progress in the Brexit talks, and a weaker dollar and euro, in favour of politics".

May's conference speech dominated Thursday's newspapers, which had sympathy for her bad luck but bleak warnings about what the string of misfortunes signalled for her leadership.

The premier was hoping to use the keynote speech to reassert her authority following a dismal election showing.

However, she was interrupted by a comedian handing her a fake notice of unemployment, before succumbing to a persistent cough in front of a collapsing set.

"Sterling is coming under pressure again ... following speculation that Theresa May's position is increasingly under threat following yesterday's shambolic speech," added Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.

"A change of leadership so soon after the election and just as Brexit talks appear to be making some progress may seem like a ludicrous idea -- but a leadership challenge has been brewing since the disastrous election campaign."
Its been two weeks since Hurricane Maria swept through Puerto Rico, plunging it into darkness. Today, around 95% of Puerto Ricos electric grid remains down, and that outage could last for months.

Being without power comes with obvious physical health risks, especially for hospitals and nursing homes, which rely on power for dialysis and oxygen machines, refrigerated insulin medication and more. Being in the dark impairs safety and security, too. But blackouts also take a lasting toll on peoples mental health, experts say. This often-ignored issue is slowly gaining more recognition in disaster response.

Dr. Shao Lin, a professor in the department of environmental health sciences at the University at Albany and her research team are studying how power outages impact community health, including mental health. Her 2016 study on the impact of Hurricane Sandy found that impacted areas of New York experienced extended blackouts and disruptions to public transportation and health care. The impact on mental health was substantial, she concluded; there was a significant increase in emergency room visits for substance abuse problems, psychosis, mood disorders and suicides throughout the city.

MORE: We Deserve More Help. Puerto Ricans Rely on Each Other While Waiting for Aid

The longer the power outage continuedManhattan largely recovered in five days and Nassau County was without power for about two weeksthe greater the increase in emergency room visits. Communities with lower socioeconomic status felt the greatest toll. Bronx countywhere 30% of residents live in povertyexperienced a 782% increase in risk for mental health emergency room visits during the blackout after Hurricane Sandy.

New York City prepared well for Sandy, says Lin, who expects to see severe problems in the mental health of people in Puerto Rico throughout the power outages.

MORE: How the U.S. Turned Its Back on Puerto Rico

There are many reasons why mental health events increase during power outages, including stress from the shutdown of necessities like food storage, transportation, life support devices and more. It can also increase loneliness and cut people off from one other. A power outage cuts out communication and can cause social isolation, says Yi Lu, a graduate research assistant in environmental health sciences at the University at Albany who works with Lin. Especially for groups like the elderly, isolation can cause mental stress.

Story continues

Hyun Kim, an assistant professor in the division of environmental health sciences at the University of Minnesota who has studied the long-term impacts of Hurricane Sandy and the World Trade Center attacks, says the stress of the chaoslike living in the darkcan deteriorate mental health. Such extreme living conditions lead to fear and anxiety, which are often contagious among the affected communities, and this phenomenon disproportionately impacts those who are exposed to more severe living conditions, he says.

Even after power eventually returns, the risk for residual effects like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) will remain high, Kim says. Experiencing or witnessing first-hand serious injuries or death caused directly or indirectly caused by power outage, can lead to PTSD, which has life-threatening consequences of its own, he says.

TIME Health NewsletterGet the latest health and science news, plus: burning questions and expert tips. View Sample

After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, studies found that 30-50% of people who survived suffered from PTSD. After Hurricane Sandy, more than 20% of residents reported PTSD, 33% reported depression and 46% reported anxiety, Kim wrote in a recent article for Fortune Magazine.

When it comes to the response in Puerto Rico, Kim says first responders should be cognizant of the mental health risks for communities, adding that theres a pressing need to raise public awareness about how mental health may be affected after a disaster.

Given the seriousness of the situation in Puerto Rico, the first responders should be periodically monitored for their mental health, he says. Once an affected person is made aware of the possible risks, mental disorders can be detected and treated. Unfortunately, however, mental health stigma and prejudices are often the biggest barriers to this problem.

In the meantime, responders are doing what they can to ease the shock of the blackout for people in Puerto Rico.

We take light for granted, says David Darg, vice president of international operations for Operation Blessing International, which is helping distribute thousands of collapsible lamps that are charged by sunlight and provide up to 12 hours of light throughout Puerto Rico. The lamps are meant to provide portable light to families and help improve neighborhood security. We go into these dark places at night, and after you distribute about a hundred, the whole place lights up.

Yentil Ramirez, a 26-year-old living in the La Perla neighborhood of Puerto Rico, has been living in her five-person home without light since the storm hit, and has been using one of Operation Blessings solar lights. Its a pretty simple design, but it actually works she says.

The mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz, helped distribute the lamps, and held one aloft as a symbol of hope at a news conference the following day. You should have seen La Perla last night, she said during the Sept. 29 press conference. Not only did you see hopethey took charge of the streets again.
Pro-life Pennsylvania Rep. Tim Murphy will not seek re-election at the end of his term next year in the wake of reports that he urged his mistress to have an abortion.

After discussions with my family and staff, I have come to the decision that I will not seek reelection to Congress at the end of my current term, the Republican lawmaker said Wednesday in a statement to Pittsburgh radio station KDKA. In the coming weeks I will take personal time to seek help as my family and I continue to work through our personal difficulties and seek healing.

Murphy had already acknowledged an affair with a personal friend and apologized last month, but a Tuesday report from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggested that he asked the woman to get an abortion despite his staunch pro-life stance.

 You have zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options, a January text message from the woman obtained by the paper read.

I get what you say about my March for life messages, a text message in response from Murphys number reads. Ive never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced. I told staff dont write any more. I will. Ultimately, it turned out that the woman was not actually pregnant despite Murphy and her thinking that she was at the time.

Earlier Wednesday, Murphy met with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan to discuss his political future, according to Politico. A number of Republican leaders urged the Congressman to step down, the report reads.

Murphy is a member of the House Pro-Life Caucus and has been endorsed by anti-abortion group LifePAC.
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a woman accused of dressing as a clown and fatally shooting the wife of her future husband.

Sheila Keen Warren, 54, is charged with murder in the 27-year-old case that was recently reopened by Florida authorities.

Read: Disdain Clown Posse: Cops Probe NYC Clown Encounters as College Students Fight Creepy Epidemic

My office is committed to pursuing justice for the victim, State Attorney Dave Aronberg told reporters Wednesday. His staff carefully deliberated pursuing capital punishment, he said. Sometimes justice can be delayed but, justice eventually arrives.

She arrived in Palm Beach County Tuesday night from Virginia, where she was arrested last week. She is being held without bail.

Sheila Keen-Warren, arrested for the clown murder of Marlene Warren has just walked into our Jail. #Busted pic.twitter.com/uEoMNaWNql  PBSO (@PBCountySheriff) October 4, 2017

She vehemently denies her guilt and well proceed as usual, said defense attorney Richard Lubin, who added that his client intends to plead not guilty.

Authorities said new DNA evidence linked Keen Warren to the murder of Marlene Warren, who was fatally shot when she answered her front door.

She was greeted by a clown wearing a bright orange wig, a red nose, gloves and a big smile painted on its white face. The clown also carried two balloons and a bouquet of flowers.

The clown fired once, hitting the woman in the face. She died two days later.

Read: Man in Creepy Clown Mask With Machete Taped to Amputated Arm Gets Arrested: Cops

Her husband was Michael Warren, who has been married to Keen Warren for the last 15 years.

The murder case is still open, authorities said. Michael Warren has not been charged in connection with the killing.

Story continues

The clown left the scene and drove off in white Chrysler LeBaron that was later connected to a car rental company that had ties to Michael Warrens used auto dealership, investigators said.

Sheila Keen, then 27, worked for Michael Warren.

Costume shop employees picked her out of a photo lineup as the woman who had bought a clown costume two days before the killing, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

Workers at another store identified Sheila Keen as the person who bought flowers and balloons 90 minutes before the shooting death.

Watch: Bizarre Cold Case Clown Murder Comes to a Close 27 Years Later: Cops

Related Articles:
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush said Puerto Ricans deserve consistency and compassion from the Trump administration, after the president said loss of life on the storm-devastated island did not compare to a real tragedy like Hurricane Katrina.

On his visit to Puerto Rico Tuesday, Trump addressed government officials, and compared the loss of life from Hurricane Maria to that from Hurricane Katrina, which struck Louisiana in 2005.

"Every death is a horror, but if you look at a real catastrophe like Katrina, and you look at the tremendoushundreds and hundreds and hundreds of people that died, and you look at what happened here, with really a storm that was just totally overpowering, nobody's ever seen anything like this, said Trump.

DonaldTrumpJebBush1

REUTERS/Carlo Allegri

Since Trump left the Caribbean U.S. territory, the death toll has risen to 34, and thousands remain without power.

The mayor of San Juan Carmen, Yulin Cruz, criticized the administration for not providing the same assistance to Puerto Rico as it did to Texas and Florida after recent devastating hurricanes, and described scenes in which Trump tossed paper towels to hurricane survivors after his statement to officials Tuesday as "terrible and abominable."

Jeb Bush, a rival to Trump for the 2015 GOP presidential nomination, became the first senior Republican to break ranks and criticize the administrations response Wednesday.

Puerto Ricans deserve consistency and compassion in both action and tone from the Trump Administration. It's about them, not about @POTUS, tweeted Bush.

Florida GOP lawmakers had until then refrained from criticizing the administration, with the state home to some one million Puerto Ricans, and thousands of hurricane victims expected to seek refuge there.

Story continues

Florida Senator Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the administrations response to the catastrophe in Puerto Rico could have been swifter, but that now is not the time to politicize the disaster.

In hindsight, we all wish we could get those three or four days back, Rubio told reporters in Miami on Monday after they asked if Washington could have done more to aid the island. I want us to focus 100 percent on what we need to do to improve the recovery effort."

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Tom Perez and 10 state lawmakers from Florida distributed aid in Puerto Rico on Monday ahead of Trumps visit.

"Our number one priority should be helping the people of Puerto Rico recover from one of the worst natural disasters in history, Perez said in a statement.

The president has bristled at criticism of federal hurricane relief efforts, claiming that local authorities could have made greater efforts to help, and relief efforts for an island faced unique challenges. He has also lashed out at Mayor Cruz on Twitter.

Bush and Trump have clashed before, with Trump taunting Bush as low energy during the 2015 Republican presidential primaries, visibly riling Bush.

However Bush offered Trump rare praise for his handling of hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

"President Trump has done a good job keeping, showing his concern for the victims of Harvey and I'm sure he'll do the same (for Irma)," the former two-term Florida governor said on CNN's New Day in September. "The key, though, is to make sure Washington's here for the long haul, for the long-term recovery of our state."

Related Articles
The queens breakfast of choice might come as a bit of a shock. (Photo: Getty)

When you think about the queens endless breakfast options, you might expect that shed be chowing down on the finer things in life, such as foie gras on toast or scrambled eggs with truffle oil.

However, Darren McGrady, a former royal chef at Buckingham Palace, has revealed that Her Majs morning eating habits are a lot more normal than you might expect.

Speaking to Marie Claire, he started by explaining that breakfast was very simple for Her Majesty. That left us thinking that a good old-fashioned British crumpet was in the cards, but alas, its not what will tingle the queens taste buds come morning.

Instead, her breakfast of choice is the same as that of a lot of commoners: some Kelloggs cereal  which shed serve herself.

Nothing replaces grandma's hot chocolate, however it did get us inspired this morning in honor of Three King's day. Make your day bright & sweet with this chocolate inspired bowl! Check out our bio for the recipe. A post shared by Kellogg's (@kelloggsus) on Jan 6, 2017 at 8:03am PST

And before you start to imagine her eating Corn Flakes out of an ornate china bowl, McGrady continued to say that Elizabeth often eats her cereal from a plastic yellow Tupperware container. Didnt see that one coming.

It seems like the queen just likes the simple things in life. (Photo: Getty)

Of course, you cant blame the queen for having a penchant for a few Kelloggs. We wonder if shes a sensible Fruit n Fiber kinda lady, or maybe shares our love of Cocoa Krispies?

One thing is for sure: She enjoys the simple things in life. Plus, if Kelloggs are good enough for Her Maj, then they are good enough for us.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) is a Republican in one of the three Democratic states that would be most adversely affected by a complete repeal of the state and local tax deduction. (Photo: Tom Williams via Getty Images)

WASHINGTON  Republicans from some blue states want their constituents to believe theyve extracted major tax reform concessions from GOP leadership on the state and local tax deduction, a write-off that mostly benefits highly taxed areas. What may be closer to the truth is that its those Republicans, not party leaders, who are retreating from their demands  and that could have dire political consequences for passing tax reform, as well as for the makeup of the House after the 2018 elections.

The story goes that, facing a possible tax reform mutiny from some Republicans, GOP leaders have backed down from a key revenue-raising feature of their proposal: the elimination of the state and local tax deduction.

Leaders may be backing off on completely eliminating the so-called SALT deduction. But according to a member familiar with the discussions, whatever change Republicans come up with wont change the fact that lawmakers expect to bring in big money by scaling back the SALT deduction, the complete elimination of which the Tax Policy Center says would generate an estimated $1.3 trillion over the next 10 years.

When HuffPost asked Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) about the potential changes, Brady said lawmakers were still in discussions, reverting back to vague platitudes about Republicans making sure they lower the tax burden for families from every state.

That may be the standard, but Republicans in Congress and the White House have thus far refused to promise everyones tax bill is going down, partly because a major offset for the cost of their tax overhaul is eliminating the SALT deduction. Financing your bills winners by picking some losers in mostly blue states could be a successful strategy in the Senate  save with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who seems to be insisting no ones taxes go up. But in the House, the change could put a number of vulnerable Republicans in a tough position, especially if taxes actually do go up for a significant number of their constituents.

Story continues

The Cook Political Report currently rates 15 GOP-held seats as toss up, lean or likely Republican in California, New York and New Jersey  the three states most adversely affected by repealing the state and local tax deduction. There are also other individual districts in states with politically vulnerable members that greatly benefit from the deduction, according to the Tax Policy Center. For instance, Barbara Comstocks Virginia district has the sixth highest percentage of filers who benefit from the write-off, with Peter Roskam and Randy Hultgrens Illinois districts ranking 12th and 14th respectively.

The amount of money and sheer number of individuals benefitting from the deduction make it difficult to believe that, even before theres a bill, even with other tax cuts like doubling the standard exemption, everyone in those districts will be a winner. And theres little way to spin a constituents tax bill going up. Voters will know.

But that doesnt seem to be bothering many of these Republicans.

Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), the first member to endorse Donald Trumps presidential run and still one of the presidents most enthusiastic cheerleaders in Congress, told HuffPost this week that Brady and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) had given him assurances.

Theres going to be an accommodation made on the state and local taxes, Collins said, adding that the fix could be any number of things, such as capping how much someone could deduct in state and local taxes or just letting someone deduct either their property taxes or their mortgage interest.

There is no agreement, however, on what the clawback actually will be, or how much it will put back in the pockets of those taxpayers. If the responses from some Republicans from high-tax states are any indication, it might not have to be that much.

Doug LaMalfa (R-Calif.) told HuffPost he would have to see the specific math before committing to anything, but that he wasnt necessarily against a tax reform that kept taxes flat for his constituents.

If it has got the other offsets with the increased standard deduction, and it ends up basically neutral to those middle-income taxpayers, then why wouldnt we? LaMalfa asked.

If people dont like it in California, which theyre voting with their feet now on the economic and regulatory conditions theyre dealing with there, theyll move in a different direction, he said.

People choose to live in the states based on different criteria, LaMalfa added, so I dont know how you can completely equitably distribute everything.

LaMalfas district (the very northern tip of the state) and political situation (R+11) are obviously different than those of an Orange County Republican like Darrell Issa (R+1), who has far wealthier constituents with more expensive homes and taxes. Rep. Steve Knight, who represents an even district with parts of LA County, said the state and local deduction was the biggest issue for him on tax reform.

But GOP House leaderships job isnt necessarily to win over all 28 Republicans from these three states. The mission is to get the bill passed. Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) can lose 22 Republicans and still move tax reform to the Senate.

If that means Republicans lose votes from some of their more vulnerable members in high-tax states, theres room for leadership to hand out those passes without tearing apart a major pay-for in the bill. And not tearing apart the bill is a good idea when the vast majority of Republicans, including conservatives, are onboard without ever having seen a bill.

Leadership just has to make a cut to the SALT deduction palatable enough to win over some of the Republicans from these states. And the truth is, within these blue states, the write-off affects districts differently, and there are also different competing political consequences in those districts for opposing Trumps agenda.

In New York particularly, there are a number of Republicans who could make a calculation that it would be worse politically to oppose tax reform than to raise taxes on some constituents.

In a nod to Trumps rhetoric, Rep. Tom Reed, who represents the southwest portion of New York, said hed be comfortable raising taxes on the richest 1 percent to mitigate the state and local tax deduction. Theres a compromise position here that I think can work, he said.

Republicans seem to be moving toward keeping the top 39.6 percent income tax bracket for the richest Americans. There is also talk of bringing back the estate tax in some form, though it might be tougher to convince Trump to endorse that idea than fourth bracket. Republicans also have a long list of ways they can fudge their numbers, with unrealistic growth rates that will make tax cuts appear to pay for themselves. In the end, the biggest loser from this tax overhaul might be the national debt.

Still, there are some Republicans who could be a problem.

Unprompted, Peter King (R-N.Y.), who represents part of Long Island, suggested that fellow New York Republican Collins might take less than other Republicans on the SALT issue.

Collins was too quick, King said. To me, there has to be changes. We have to see what they are. Im not signing off on anything.

King said his standard would be that his constituents come out at least even, perhaps with some cuts to their tax bill. They cant have the rest of the country get a tax cut and then they dont, King said.

We already know that even with changes, some states, some districts and some individuals will make out better than others. And we know some members will be harder to get than others. Perhaps the toughest could votes to get could be the five New Jersey Republicans, as Trump doesnt enjoy the same amount of popularity in New Jersey as in upstate New York, and those districts benefit greatly from the SALT deduction.

Last week, after Republicans released their tax reform framework, Rep. Leonard Lance (R-N.J.) sounded doubtful about voting for a bill that took away the state and local write-off, saying the provision was very important for his district and his state.

It is a very significant deduction for New Jersey, Lance said. Very significant!

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
By Saad Sayeed ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - An unexplained dispute between Pakistan's interior minister and an elite paramilitary unit under his command is adding to political confusion in Islamabad, prompting questions about a rift in ties between civilian leaders and the powerful military. The spat comes at a moment of heightened concern over the feverish political climate in nuclear-armed Pakistan, which the United States seeks to include in its new strategy for South Asia. Interior Minister Ashan Iqbal was taken by surprise when the elite Rangers unit, which provides security around parliament, withdrew its guards without explanation on Wednesday. "I was told the Rangers have unilaterally withdrawn from the important installations where they were on duty, which, for us, was shocking," Iqbal told domestic television channel Dawn News. "This was a gross violation." Outside parliament on Thursday, the Frontier Constabulary was on guard instead. A police official on duty confirmed the Rangers were no longer stationed there. "The order for them to leave did not come from the interior ministry, it must have come from somewhere else," said the official, who asked not to be identified because of the sensitivity of the topic. The Pakistan Army's public relations wing denied any military involvement in the incident, attributing it to poor coordination. "It was a local miscoordination, that got a lot of hype. I don't think there is a clash of institutions," Major General Asif Ghafoor said at a press briefing. "The army will do what it needs to do within the constitution. But to create a perception that the army wants to impose martial law, these are things which are not even to be talked about," he added. Rangers' officials could not immediately be reached for comment. Iqbal did not immediately respond to Reuters' telephone calls to seek comment. Pakistan's military has ruled the country for 33 of the 70 years since independence from Britain in 1947. Since 2008, there have been democratically elected governments, but the army retains sweeping influence and any hint of discord stirs worries among advocates of a strong civilian government. The Rangers had this week denied Iqbal entry to a court building where matters relating to an anti-graft case against Sharif were being heard, prompting him to threaten to resign, saying he refused to be "a puppet interior minister". The moves follow July's Supreme Court disqualification of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, which he blamed on a conspiracy against him, feeding speculation about a rupture in civilian-military ties. Senior leaders from Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) party pointed fingers at the country's military after his disqualification for not declaring a source of income. The army denies playing a role. But the Rangers' departure from the area around parliament points to a persistent disagreement between civilian and military leaders, one analyst said. "They can't just leave their posts," said Zeeshan Salahuddin, communications and strategy director of the Islamabad-based Centre for Research and Security Studies. "If they have done so without orders, that clearly shows the continuing rift between the two, and the displeasure of the military." "We have concerns about the future of Pakistan's government too, in terms of them  we want their government to be stable," U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said, following a meeting with Pakistan's foreign minister on Wednesday. The government will take action after completing an inquiry into the withdrawal, Iqbal added. "The Rangers are a force subordinate to the ministry of the interior and when they are deployed, they are supposed to work under the civil administration," he said. (Writing by Saad Sayeed; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Richard Balmforth)
Paris (AFP) - Ask Pussy Riot's Maria Alekhina what life is like in Vladimir Putin's Russia and you get a rapid-fire response.

"It is not Putin's Russia," she declared. "It's my Russia."

Twenty-one months in a penal colony in the Urals has not taken the rebellious edge off the performer and activist who was convicted for "hooliganism and religious hatred" in 2012 for performing inside Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

She and two other members of the feminist punk band had chanted an "anti-Putin prayer" in front of the altar and denounced the church's close links with the Kremlin.

Her new book, "Riot Days", partially written in prison, is an indictment of the conditions she endured inside Russian jails, which she claims are little different from the old Soviet gulags.

"If anyone tells you that people are treated humanely in Russian women's prisons, it's a lie," Alekhina told AFP on a visit to Paris this week as jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny planned protests Saturday to mark Putin's 65th birthday.

Her book -- which is only available in two small underground bookshops in Russia -- recounts a penal regime where solitary confinement, strip searches and other humiliations are routinely used to try to break prisoners.

A vegan, she collapsed from hunger at her trial because she had reportedly been deprived of food she could eat.

- Jails now 'like gulags' -

"Some say that once you are in prison nothing can surprise you. Well that is simply false," said the 29-year-old, who has a son aged nine.

"Russian prisons today are just like the gulags, which is not surprising since the regime is using the same methods as the Soviet Union. Prison is just a reflection of that Soviet heritage."

Rather than being silenced, Alekhina set up an independent media outlet, MediaZona, with other members of Pussy Riot after leaving prison.

Story continues

The feminist collective is no longer a "small group but a movement which fights for the rights of prisoners, men and women, for political theatre and an independent media," she added.

"When you see an injustice you cannot allow yourself to shut up, no matter the context," said the young woman, who is popularly known as Masha.

Alekhina said that to start with no one cared about what was going on in jails. "People would say, 'We know that it's hell in there but we have other things to worry about.'"

MediaZona is now among the top 10 most shared news sites in Russia, she said, concentrating on "abuses by the police and penal system, as well as on casting light on (questionable) trials -- often political -- which are taking place in Russia.

"We are going to continue fighting against the penal system. We want to destroy it because that is the only way our society and country is going to survive," she insisted.

- 'They want obedient masses' -

With former Pussy Riot member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova she also set up a human rights group called "Zone of Law" to give legal help to "all prisoners", but particularly political ones and those suffering from serious illnesses.

"In Russia today, like during Soviet times, the individual does not exist. They have no need for the individual," she told AFP. "They just want the obedient masses."

However Alekhina, who took the unpopular stance of condemning Russia's annexation of Crimea, said she was a realist and was not trying to "establish a paradise on Earth".

"We saw where that took us," she said with a bitter smile referring to the early idealism of Soviet Communism.

"You have to be yourself and live without lying to yourself," she added.

In prison, she came across many women who had been given very long sentences for killing their husbands or partners. Almost all had been beaten by their men.

"Domestic violence is everywhere in Russia," she said. "Women are programmed from birth to submit to it."
Puerto Rico: Carmen Yulin Cruz wore a 'nasty' T-shirt in response to Donald Trump's tweets - Univision Noticias

The mayor of Puerto Ricos capital San Juan wore a T-shirt with the word nasty on live TV in response to criticism from Donald Trump in an ongoing dispute over relief efforts on the hurricane-hit island.

Carmen Yulin Cruz again criticised the president, accusing him of lacking common courtesy and labelling him a miscommunicator-in-chief in an interview.

Mayor Cruz has repeatedly attacked the federal response to Hurricane Maria's devastation of the US island territory, claiming it has been too slow, after millions were left without power and basic necessities.

President Trump tweeted the mayor of San Juan had shown a nasty attitude to him and claimed she was showing poor leadership ability.

Hitting back at the president, she told Univision while wearing the statement T-shirt: What is really nasty is that anyone would turn their back on the Puerto Rican people.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz Credit: AP

When someone is annoyed by someone claiming lack of drinking water, lack of medicine for the sick, and lack of food for the hungry, that person has problems too severe to be explained in an interview.

She also criticised the presidents recent visit to Puerto Rico in which he threw paper towels into a crowd of people.

This terrible and abominable view of him throwing paper towels and throwing provisions at people, it really does not embody the spirit of the American nation, she said in another interview with MSNBC.

That is not the land of the free and the home of the brave, the beacon of democracy that people have learned to look up to.

Mayor Cruz also called the presidents conference with officials a PR meeting and said his comments about the disaster throwing the US budget out of whack was insulting to the people of Puerto Rico.

Hurricane Maria pummels the Caribbean, in pictures

When they met face-to-face earlier this week, Ms Cruz told the president: Sir, its all about saving lives. Its not about politics.

In an earlier interview, mayor Cruz wore a T-shirt saying help us, we are dying after Hurricane Maria hit.

Story continues

What we are going to see is something close to a genocide, she said.

We are dying here. I cannot fathom the thought that the greatest nation in the world cannot figure out the logistics for a small island of 100 miles by 35 miles. So, mayday we are in trouble.

President Trump tosses rolls of paper towels to people in San Juan Credit: Reuters

President Trump tweeted in response: The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump.

Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help. They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort.

Trump said his tour of storm damage in Puerto Rico was a terrific visit and that residents on the island are so thankful for what we've done.

The job that's been done here is really nothing short of a miracle, he said.
The mayor of San Juan is using fashion to make a statement to the world, and the President of the United States.

In a recent interview, Carmen Yulin Cruz wore a shirt to own an insult hed thrown at her in previous days. Donald Trump had claimed the Democratic party told Ms Yulin Cruz to be nasty to him  so she wore a shirt with that word prominently displayed.

This was a PR, 17-minute meeting, Ms Yulin Cruz said during an interview on MSNBC, while wearing the shirt. She was describing a meeting the President had during his trip to Puerto Rico in which he assembled a roundtable of national and local officials and encouraged them to praise the federal response to the crisis on the island.

She continued to criticise the Presidents visit to an aid centre, where he tossed paper towel rolls to an assembled group there, and handed out bags of rice.

In fact, this terrible and abominable view of him throwing paper towels, and throwing provisions at people, its  really  it does not embody the American spirit, she said.

Its not the first time that Ms Yulin Cruz has used a t-shirt to make a political statement since Hurricane Maria made landfall on Puerto Rico, decimating infrastructure there, and leaving much of the population without access to clean water, medical supplies, and electricity.

She has also previously worn a shirt with a bleak plea for help emblazoned upon it.

Help us, we are dying, that shirt read.

Ms Yulin Cruz later said that, while she did not think the Presidents trip personally was much help, meetings with White House staff was much more productive.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says that it has 13,000 federal staff on the ground in Puerto Rico. The response team has been able to get 74 per cent of gas stations operational, 65 per cent of of supermarkets open, and 156 bank branches open. The agency says that 92 per cent of hospitals are open, however Ms Yulin Cruz says that poor distribution of diesel fuel could mean that those hospitals that are relying on generators lose power.
Warning: This recap for the Watch Me episode of Scandal contains spoilers.

Olivia Pope has it all  all the power, that is.

The seventh and final season of Scandal opens with a quick montage taking viewers through the aftermath of Mellies inauguration as president. Cyrus becomes veep in the wake of Luna Vargass murder. Mellie is pushing the Vargas bill, which will give free college education to everybody. And Olivia is in complete control of the White House and B613, using her position as command to crack the whip on hesitant senators.

Seeing Olivia in full boss mode is wonderful. Even better? The scene where Olivia dresses down her father, who seems a tiny bit afraid of his daughter. He complains about her spying on him, then mourns that shes become a version of him. You cannot have it all, Olivia, he says.

Watch me, Olivia replies, a glint in her eye. (We still want to be Olivia Pope when we grow up.)

Meanwhile, over at OPA  scratch that, now QPA  Quinn and the gladiators are desperate for cases. Theyre badgering David for a contact when in comes Madeline Stewart, whose professor father, Joshua, has gone missing in the fictional country of Bashran.

Huck does his tech-whiz thing, and they soon discover that the professor is no such thing  hes a CIA spy! And Joshua Stewart has apparently been taken captive by the Bashranis. So, Quinn takes the case to Liv, who assigns it to Jake (after some sexy time). He counsels her to take out the spy; at some point, after hours of torture, the spy will talk. And they cant have the spy talking.

At the White House, everyone is in full whip the votes mode for the Vargas bill. Olivia dispatches Cyrus to win over Democratic Sen. Diane Greenwald. She is voting no because the free college education bill should be a win for the Democrats. Then, she tempts Cyrus with an offer: Wait four years, and he can push through the bill as President Beene. He really likes the sound of that. And when Liv assigns him an apparently mundane task (meeting with a group of young girls/future leaders), he seems on the brink of defecting.

Story continues

Back to the missing spy situation: Liv decides she doesnt want to take out Joshua Stewart and instead pulls in Mellie to order a rescue operation. Jake disapproves, but Liv puts him in his place. This isnt my fathers B613, she declares. I run the show. You do what I say. Yass, boss!

As part of the rescue, Mellie meets with the Bashrani ambassador. He acts as if he has no idea what shes talking about and condescendingly notes that sometimes intelligence is wrong. Meanwhile, Jake is getting nowhere with the rescue plan and circumvents Liv by going directly to Mellie herself to advocate for a strike. She agrees, and when her chief of staff vehemently argues against it, Mellie cuts her off. This is her decision and it is final. Olivia is not happy.

Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope in Scandal. (Photo: ABC)

So, while Mellie and Jake monitor the strike from the Sit Room, Liv goes to see the ambassador. She blackmails him by putting his own son in the crosshairs of Hucks sniper rifle. He finally relents and makes a call.

Liv hurries to the Sit Room to connect Mellie to the ambassador. Joshua Stewart has been delivered to the U.S. embassy and is safe and unharmed. This frees up Mellie to meet with the rangerettes, and before she does, she gushes to Cyrus about what a great job hes doing as VP. Not only that, but she is so happy that they are friends. Guilt washes over his face. He goes to Sen. Greenwald again, this time to call her out on the hypocrisy of voting no on a bill that is good for the people and that she actually supports.

Turns out, the whole Greenwald offer was a trap. Olivia was behind the whole thing to see if Cyrus took the bait, but the man does have a conscience. Hes proven his loyalty now. Someone Olivia cant trust? Jake. He comes over to have more sexy times, but she shuts him down. Although he apologizes for going around her, she says that sleeping together has made him forget that shes his boss. This is over, she says, before telling him to return home to his wife.

While Jake appears to be out of the picture romantically, someone new might be sliding in. Curtis Pryce, the host of a news show, is majorly crushing on Olivia. She doesnt think much of him, especially when he cut her off early on his show, but  he is kinda cute. So, she runs into him at a restaurant and arranges for them to meet up at a hotel later. The Pryce is right. (Sorry, we had to.)

Olivia is a woman who has it all, as is Mellie. And if they want it to stay that way, they have to work together. Mellie yells at her for sneaking around and disobeying an order, after which Olivia tells her off for listening to Jake over her.

The men outside these oval walls want to take it all away from us, Olivia says.

If Mellie wants to end up as a monument, she should trust Olivia. Otherwise, shell just be an asterisk. And Mellie definitely wants to be a monument.

Lesson: Always listen to Olivia Pope.

Scandal airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.

Read more on Yahoo Entertainment:
Vienna (AFP) - Caught in a "tsunami" of scandals, the battle already seems all but lost for Austria's ruling centre-left days from a snap election.

A murky smear campaign against their key conservative rival has left the Social Democrats (SPOe) and their dream of winning the October 15 vote in tatters.

Instead the SPOe, a stalwart of Austrian politics since 1945, looks set to suffer the fate shared by most other centre-left parties across Europe -- relegated to the opposition corner, outflanked by increasingly hardline conservatives.

"A disaster beyond all expectations" is how one newspaper described the damaging affair engulfing Chancellor Christian Kern and his SPOe entourage.

The scandal unravelled a few weeks ago with the appearance of social media sites spreading "fake news" about Sebastian Kurz, the 31-year-old leader of the conservative People's Party (OeVP).

The slick-haired wonder boy, who is also foreign minister, has catapulted his party to pole position in pre-election opinion polls since taking office in May.

Straight after his nomination, Kurz pulled the plug on the decade-long unhappy coalition with the SPOe, triggering an early parliamentary vote.

Kurz's popularity -- partially owed to his hardline stance on immigration -- has dealt a blow to the SPOe and the far-right Freedom Party (FPOe), which are now fighting for second place.

Nonetheless the political mudslinging had remained restrained -- until two anti-Kurz campaigns surfaced on Facebook.

One page, called "The Truth about Sebastian Kurz", showed fake pictures and video clips portraying the OeVP boss as an "immigrationist" whose aim it was to open Austria's border to let in floods of refugees.

The site also accused Kurz of being in cahoots with Jewish US billionaire and philanthropist George Soros, the favourite bete noire of nationalists worldwide.

The goal of the anti-Semitic and xenophobic messages was clear, observers say -- to discredit Kurz with the right-wing camp.

Story continues

Meanwhile, another page took aim at more liberal voters by presenting the party leader as a hardliner willing to close the border with Italy to keep migrants out.

- 'Incredibly stupid' -

Damning evidence has emerged in recent days that the dirty campaign was masterminded by Kern's former advisor, Tal Silberstein.

The SPOe had fired Silberstein in August after he was arrested in Israel over his alleged involvement in money laundering, charges he denies.

According to Austrian media, Silberstein's team continued to run the smear sites even after the Social Democrats ditched him.

The revelations sent shockwaves through the political establishment and prompted the resignation of the SPOe's chairman on October 1.

"We've woken up in the middle of a tsunami," said his interim replacement, Christoph Matznetter, on Monday.

The plot thickened further on Thursday with accusations that the OeVP had offered money to a member of Silberstein's team to share information about their activities.

Chancellor Kern has denied any knowledge of the campaign, which he called "immoral" and "incredibly stupid".

But for experts, the scandal has destroyed the Social Democrats' credibility.

"Kern no longer stands a chance," political analyst Wolfgang Bachmayer told the Kurier newspaper in a recent interview.

"If you can't even control... your own party, how can you run a country?"

- Party torn apart -

The shock over the SPOe's perceived downfall is commensurate with the hopes placed in ex-railway chief Kern, 51, when he became chancellor in May 2016.

His predecessor, Werner Faymann, had been forced to quit after the SPOe's catastrophic defeat in the first round of last year's presidential race.

Expectations had been high that the telegenic Kern, with his business acumen and media savvy approach, could put his party back on track and fend off the far-right.

But he has not been able to heal the big rifts tearing the SPOe apart.

Key disagreements persist over how to manage a record influx of asylum-seekers and, more importantly, whether the time has come to break a major taboo and consider sharing power with the far-right.

"There are two wings in the party: the left-wing still wants to take refugees in while the right-wing says, 'We have to stop, otherwise the Freedom Party will take our voters'," political analyst Alexandra Siegl told AFP.

Kern's failure to tackle these issues will leave him and his party the "big losers" of this election, Siegl said.
Bob Corker has launched a thinly veiled attack on Donald Trump and hinted the president is responsible for much of the chaos in the administration.

The Senate Foreign Relations Chairman, who is a former ally of President Trump, suggested White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, James Mattis, and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson are the people that help help separate our country from chaos.

When asked by a reporter if he was referring to President Trump when he mentioned chaos, Mr Corker was unable to deny that he was alluding to him.

The Republican said: "(Mattis, Kelly and Tillerson) work very well together to make sure the policies we put forth around the world are sound and coherent.

He added: There are other people within the administration that don't. I hope they stay because they're valuable to the national security of our nation."

The Tennessee Senator, who recently announced he would not run for re-election in 2018, took aim at the US president for undermining Mr Tillerson.

Tension between President Trump and Mr Tillerson over how the US should resolve the North Korea crisis has reached a head in recent days. After the Secretary of State said Washington was in talks to end the missile crisis with North Korea, President Trump suggested his diplomatic efforts would fail.

"I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man," President Trump tweeted on Sunday morning.

He added: Save your energy Rex, well do what has to be done!

Mr Corker has now said Mr Tillerson is "in an incredibly frustrating place," adding: "He ends up not being supported in the way I would hope a secretary of state would be supported ... He's in a very trying situation - trying to solve many of the world's problems without the support and help I'd like to see him have."

His comments come on the same day Mr Tillerson held an impromptu press conference to dismiss reports he has ever considered resigning from his role but also refused to deny that he had called the President a "moron" in a fit of rage during the summer.

Story continues

Mr Corker, who was once a vice presidential contender for the billionaire businessman, has openly criticised Mr Trump before.

Days after the president blamed both sides for the deadly violence in Charlottesville which erupted in August, Mr Corker said: "The president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability nor some of the competence that he needs to demonstrate in order to be successful.

He remained steadfastly committed to the remarks when pressed about them later, saying he did not regret them.

"I stand by those words," he said, adding that he visited the White House recently and discussed it directly with President Trump.

He said: "When I met with the President a week ago Friday, I said, 'Mr. President I stand by what I said.

At the end of September, Mr Corker announced he would be stepping down. "After much thought, consideration and family discussion over the past year, Elizabeth and I have decided that I will leave the United States Senate when my term expires at the end of 2018," he said in a statement.
To many, Emmy Myers appeared to be a model student during high school. She was involved in gymnastics, track and the agricultural club.

But her life took a dark turn into drugs and, eventually, sex trafficking.

Today, the 28-year-old Wisconsin native wants people to know that sex trafficking can happen to anyone  and that the people buying women and girls can come from every income level and from every community.

The issue isnt just something from a Hollywood movie, Myers told HuffPost.

When Emmy Myers was 24 and broke, she moved in with her drug dealer who said he would "take care of her." He provided her with shelter and food and proceeded to sell her for sex. When she protested, he threatened to kill her.

Through her nonprofit, Laceys Hope Project, Myers speaks openly about her experiences. The organizations name is a nod to Myerss previous stage moniker when she used to dance for money.

Human trafficking is on the rise in the U.S. In 2016, the number of cases jumped 35.6 percent from the year prior, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. These are cases that involve victims who are forced to engage in physical labor or sexual exploitation against their will. These crimes are climbing for a number of reasons, according to Jarrett Luckett, executive director of Exploit No More, a group that supports sex trafficking survivors.

Luckett frequently collaborates with Myers on events that raise awareness about trafficking in the city.

High poverty levels and the countrys growing drug epidemic are two factors that make victims more susceptible to being trafficked, he told HuffPost.

These issues have helped make the city where Myers grew up, Milwaukee, a hub for human trafficking.

Milwaukee is particularly desirable for traffickers because they can transport their victims to a handful of major nearby cities, including Chicago and Madison. Heroin use in Milwaukee combined with its high unemployment rate, helps traffickers to lure in their victims.

During the year and a half that Myers was trafficked, she was arrested a number of times. However, she isn't a felon, which is fortunate. Many trafficking survivors are arrested for prostitution and other serious charges and can't get their records expunged.

Sex trafficking has become so widespread in Milwaukee that the city has been dubbed the Harvard of pimp school.

Story continues

Myerss story demonstrates how traffickers can succeed in grooming even victims who have strong family ties and ambitions.

Myers was the kind of active, involved kid most parents would brag about.

But she was also sexually abused by a family friend from around the time she was 3 years old until she was 6 years old. She spent most of her childhood blaming herself for the repeated assaults, she said. That eventually led her to find comfort in drugs and fall into the hands of a manipulative trafficker, she said.

Myers said she first tried drugs in high school and started stripping during her senior year to help fund her habit. After high school, she first experimented with heroin and went to rehab twice before she turned 20. She danced on and off to pay for drugs.

When she was 24 and trying to get clean, she moved in with someone who was abusive. Her drug dealer, who was aware of the toxic situation, offered to take Myers in under his wing and take care of her. He provided her with housing, clothes and food. But he also advertised Myers for sex on Backpage.com, a classified ad site that offers up a host of services and products. The site was forced to shut down its adult ads section this year after a Senate report accused Backpage.com of facilitating prostitution and trafficking.

Never did he disclose to me that I was going to be selling myself. Once I was there, I didnt have anywhere to go, Myers said. [Pimps] are good at what they do. They pretend they love you. They learn what makes you tick and they learn your fears.

Emmy Myers said the men who bought sex were mostly successful business men. This is what surprises America, Myers said. Its not these big, fat smelly gross guys. Its often very prominent men in the community.

When Myers objected to being sold for sex, she said her drug dealer threatened to kill her nephews if she didnt comply. He confiscated her identification and the little money she had.

Myerss pimp, together with his girlfriend, drove from city to city and trafficked Myers out of various hotels. Shed meet men as early as 6:30 a.m. before they headed to business meetings and had sex with other clients well into the night. Myerss pimp kept her high pretty much all of the time and used drugs as a way to keep her from protesting the arrangement. Myers was lucky in a sense. None of the men she slept with were violent with her. Most of them were respected, successful career-driven men. Most of them had families at home.

This is what surprises America, Myers said. Its not these big, fat smelly gross guys. Its often very prominent men in the community.

A few months later, Myers was arrested in Milwaukee for charges unrelated to sex trafficking or prostitution. There were warrants out for her arrest and the police got the FBI involved. They offered to help her change her life and recover.

Myers went to jail in 2013 for about a month and then to rehab for the third time. When she got out, she returned to the trafficking life for a short period. Half a year later, she went back to jail for about seven months, but was allowed work release while serving time. When she completed her term, Myers moved into an emergency shelter for survivors of domestic abuse for two months. With the help of a transitional living program, she was able to secure her own apartment.

Myers has been sober for three years now. She has a police record, but hasnt been classified as a felon, which makes her lucky. Many trafficking survivors in the U.S. have prostitution charges on their record  for crimes they were forced to commit  and cant get their records expunged. That, in turn, precludes them from getting jobs and housing.

Myers currently works as a caregiver for elderly residents of an assisted living facility. Shes also the executive director of her nonprofit, which aims to prevent instances of trafficking through its awareness and educational events. Myers shares her story at schools, churches and other community gatherings. She educates medical professionals, students, parents, law enforcement, first responders, and others about the realities of trafficking, and what to look out for to stop these crimes from happening.

For example, shell tell doctors to keep an eye out for bruising in odd places, multiple miscarriages, patients who dont know how many sexual partners theyve had and those who cant give an exact address for where they live.

This type of advocacy work is crucial to curbing trafficking cases, Luckett said.

The preventative work is so important, so people dont get into the life  so they dont have to go through the hell, Luckett said. Theres no boxed in description of what a trafficker looks like or what a victim looks like. Thats what makes the issue difficult. But there are signs and red flags to be aware of.
cameronabadi

Death in Niger. Three U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers were killed and two more wounded after being caught in an ambush in Niger on Wednesday. The troops were on patrol with local troops near the border with Mali, American military officials said. The two injured Americans have been evacuated to an American military hospital in Germany, where they are in stable condition, according to U.S. officials.

The deaths mark the first U.S. casualties in Niger, where the United States has long deployed military advisors, and maintains a drone base in the capital of Niamey to monitor the movements of both al Qaeda and Islamic State-affiliated groups who slip back and forth across often porous borders.

The Americans are currently building a second, larger base near Agadez in central Niger, which will house U.S. commandos and provide a more permanent base for unmanned and manned American aircraft.

A spokesman for the U.S. Africa Command, LCDR Anthony Falvo, said U.S. forces in Niger provide training and security assistance to the Nigerien Armed Forces, including support for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) efforts.

Trumps Iran decision day. Republican hawks are looking forward to president Trumps Oct. 12 address where hes expected to tell Congress the Iran nuclear deal is not in Americas interest. The move will not be accompanied by a formal withdrawal from the international agreement or a major push to reimpose sanctions, sources tell FP  but the threat of a snap-back of economic sanctions will hang in the air, FPs Dan De Luce reports.

The White House is gambling that the step will not force Iran and European allies to bail on the agreement, but some European diplomats worry it could pave the way to a possible military confrontation, especially because the Trump administration appears unlikely to offer any incentives to Tehran to reopen negotiations.

Hill Dems react. Democrats on the Hill are not impressed, and 180 of them have signed a letter to Trump urging him not to decertify Iran.

Story continues

Top Pentagon spots. Arizona Republican John McCains promise to hold up confirmation of any more top Pentagon officials until Congress is given more information about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria has thrown light on just how many desks are still empty in the building. Defense News takes a look at some of the big policy positions that remain empty, and how that might affect decision-making in the building.

Senate intel. Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said his panels investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election has ended its examination of the firing of FBI Director James Comey and is developing a clearer picture of whether Trump campaign operatives colluded with Kremlin agents, FPs Elias Groll and Jenna McLaughlin report.

The issue of collusion is still open, he said, adding that the committees investigation has reached no conclusions after interviewing more than 100 people and reviewing thousands of pages of documents. Burr said the investigation is continuing.

Information operations. NATO officials say Russia has been hacking the personal cell phones and social media accounts of troops deployed to Poland and the Baltics in order to track their movements and play mind games with them. Some believe the hacking is designed to check whether the Atlantic military alliance has a larger footprint in Eastern Europe than it admits, while other worry that Russias access to troops personal devices could be used to spread disinformation in a crisis.

Human intelligence. U.S. and Iraqi troops relied on a large network of informants in Mosul in order to help take down the Islamic State, even recruiting an aide to the terrorist groups leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, according to a Reuters investigation. Iraqi officials also recruited Mosul residents who had lost relatives to the Islamic State, enlisting taxi drivers and others to report on the license plates of cars used by senior leaders and eavesdropped bits of conversation.

Welcome to SitRep. As always, please send any tips, thoughts or national security events to paul.mcleary@foreignpolicy.com or via Twitter: @paulmcleary.

Slave remittances. North Korean workers sent abroad by their government to earn money as laborers have been packaging seafood that ends up in American grocery stores like Walmart and ALDI. The AP identified at least three seafood processing plants based in China where workers earn as little as $300 a month packaging snow crab and salmon only to see the North Korean government take up to 70 percent of their wages.

Saudi Arabia. Russia rolled out the red carpet for the first ever visit of a Saudi monarch to the country when King Salman touched down in Moscow on Wednesday. At the top of the agenda for the two hydrocarbon-rich countries will be the sagging price of oil as well as Riyadhs growing anxiety about Iranian influence in Syria as the civil war there winds down.

Chemical weapons. Investigators with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons found evidence that Sarin nerve agent was used on Al-Lataminah, in northern Syria on March 30, just days before the Assad regime used Sarin on civilians in the town of Khan Sheikhoun 15 miles north.

The trouble with Tanf. The Assad regime strayed into the 35 mile deep buffer zone surrounding a U.S. base near At Tanf in southern Syria, withdrawing after American military officials dialed up the Russians on a de-confliction line. At Tanf has been the scene of repeated tension between the U.S. and the Assad regime, with the U.S. downing an Iranian drone that dropped a munition near the U.S. military mission there back in June.

Never tweet. But all is not necessarily well between the U.S. and Russia in Syria, at least publicly. The official Twitter account of Russias Ministry of Defense went into truther-mode once again, insinuating that the U.S. is in league with the Islamic State.

High value targets. Russias military claims to have injured Abu Mohammed al-Jawlani, the leader of al-Qaedas affiliate in Syria. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham denies the claim, though, publishing a statement saying that al-Jawlani is in good health and exercising the duties assigned to him completely.

Record scratch. British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson stunned and angered an audience at the Conservative Party Conference by saying that a group of British businessmen have a brilliant vision to turn Sirteinto the next Dubai. The only thing theyve got to do is clear the dead bodies away and then theyll be there. The comments outraged members of the Labour opposition as well as Johnsons own Conservative Party, leading to calls for his ouster.

Espionage charges. On Wednesday Iran sentenced Abdolrasoul Dorri Esfahani, a dual Canadian-Iranian citizen who advised Tehrans nuclear negotiation team in 2015, to a five year prison sentence on espionage charges. Iranian officials did not say what information Esfahani was accused of sharing or to whom he provided it. Esfahani worked as an accountant and assisted the Iranian delegation working on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with sanctions aspects of the nuclear deal.

Kurdish referendum. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is hoping that Iran and Turkey can work together to help shut down Iraqs nascent Kurdish independence movement, saying the countries should take necessary measures against the vote recently held by the Kurdistan Regional Government. Khamenei described the independence referendum as an act of betrayal toward the entire region and a threat to its future.
Sophia Bush, Sept. 15, 2017, in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo: Michael Tran/Getty Images)

Sophia Bush is firing back at online trolls who have been telling her shes a disgrace to America. Among other (worse) things.

Those who follow Bush on social media know that the 35-year-old actress is politically outspoken on her platforms. The One Tree Hill alum regularly voices her opinions on President Trump and the GOP, and her critiques have kicked into high gear following Sundays mass shooting in Las Vegas at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, the deadliest in U.S. history. On Friday, she captioned a lengthy post on Instagram addressing the hate shes received in response to her various posts.

Some of you have come at me on social media recently, telling me that I deserve to die.  That I should get shot and stop complaining. All because I am heartbroken and really, really f***ing angry about Americas gun problem, Bush began the post. Ive had people tell me to give up my body guards. Guess what? I dont have any. Tell me that if Id ever shot a gun in real life Id feel differently. Guess what? Ive been a sharp shooter since the age of 12, own my fair share of guns, & love nothing more than an afternoon at the range.

Its true. Bush has a concealed weapons permit in 32 states and told Shape that she even sleeps with a loaded gun under her bed.

Ive had people tell me that I live in a celebrity/coastal/libtarded bubble & have no clue what real people go through, she wrote. That my outrage is just band wagon jumping. Guess what? My cousins 9 year old was murdered in a mass shooting. In Arizona. No coastal bubble in sight to save her. So STOP.

Bushs 9-year-old second cousin was one of six shot and killed outside of a supermarket in Tuscon during the same gathering that left Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in critical condition.

The Chicago P.D. actress continued, If youre more outraged that Id say f*** you to a President & GOP masquerading as leaders, than you are that theyre pushing laws to make silencers readily available (because theyre getting NRA $$) the same week of a mass shooting? Well then you & I have different priorities. And thats fine.

Story continues

Bush went on to explain how shes angry that the NRA wants to sell more crap that we dont need so they can turn a profit.

Im angry that money is valued more than human life in this country, she said. Id happily go through more rigorous background checks, wait longer to get a gun, or give my guns BACK, if it meant we could work toward stopping this madness. Saying it doesnt work that way just ISNT real. Data doesnt lie. Every country thats enacted some form of gun control has ended massacres.

Bush concluded, And for the dangerous criminals who dont abide by laws? Thats what our police & military are for. And they dont think any of us need auto/semi-auto weapons or silencers either. So the next time you tell one of your fellow Americans to die/get raped/leave the country because she doesnt like that leaders value kickbacks over childrens lives? Look in a mirror. Long & hard.

This isnt the first time Bush has made a public plea  as a gun owner  for change.

I love my gun &hobby shooting. But I also lost a family member in a mass shooting. The laws NEED to change. We CANNOT ignore reality #Umpqua  Sophia Bush (@SophiaBush) October 2, 2015

Ashton Kutcher made a similar statement following Sundays shooting.

Lets pray. Then lets change the law.  ashton kutcher (@aplusk) October 3, 2017

Ive had a gun since I was 12 yrs old but enough is enough. Im a hunter and a sportsman but No body needs these weapons.  ashton kutcher (@aplusk) October 3, 2017

Theres a middle ground here lets get to the table and find it.  ashton kutcher (@aplusk) October 3, 2017

All prayers to the victims of this devastating loss of love, life, and innocence.  ashton kutcher (@aplusk) October 3, 2017

Caleb Keeter, a guitarist for the Josh Abbott Band, played the Route 91 Harvest Festival, where the shooting took place. He went on Twitter to explain that he had been a proponent of the 2nd amendment his entire life until now.

Keeter wasnt met with many favorable comments, but they werent nearly as vulgar as what has come across Sophia Bushs feed.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.
In a matter of months, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin managed to cost American taxpayers more than $800,000 for travel aboard military aircraft, yet apparently, he broke no laws, an official government inquiry found.

The decision came on the heels of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Prices resignation from office. Price stepped down after Politico reported on the Cabinet members frequent use of chartered and military flights, which reportedly cost taxpayers more than $1 million. Five of those chartered flights occurred during the same week and were used for domestic travel between cities ranging from Washington, D.C., to Waterville, Maine.

Steve Mnuchins travel habits came under official scrutiny in August after his wife, Louise Linton, posted a photograph to Instagram highlighting the luxury designers she was wearing as the couple descended from a government plane they took to Kentucky. (Photo: Louise Linton Instagram)

The reported details of Mnuchins military aircraft travel since March were similarly lavish. Mnuchin flew on a military flight to meet with President Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, a round trip that cost $15,000, The New York Times reported.

According to Politico, Cabinet members travel aboard military aircraft is approved by the White House on a case-by-case basis, and is sometimes necessary for Cabinet members dealing with national security.

The Times cited an internal email that said Mnuchin needed a military plane in order to have a classified telephone conversation with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

In another case, Mnuchin cost taxpayers $43,725.50 to fly to Miami for a meeting with the Mexican finance minister, the Times reported. A commercial round-trip flight would have cost less than $1,000.

Still, the Treasurys Office of the Inspector General found that Mnuchins use of military aircraft on seven official trips broke no laws, but asked the secretary to provide more justifications for such travel in the future.

I recommend that the OIG advise that future requests be ready to justify government air in greater detail, especially regarding cost comparisons and needs for security and other special factors, OIG counsel Rich Delmar wrote in his report, according to Reuters.

Story continues

Mnuchins travel habits came under official scrutiny in August after his wife, Louise Linton, posted a photograph to Instagram highlighting the luxury designers she was wearing as the couple descended from a government plane they took to Kentucky for an official trip that just happened to coincide with the path of the total solar eclipse.

Mnuchin, a multimillionaire and former Goldman Sachs executive, pushed back against criticism from Democrats and watchdog agencies about the trip.

People in Kentucky took this stuff very seriously, he said in an interview with The Washington Post. Being a New Yorker, I dont have any interest in watching the eclipse.

Reports also surfaced over the summer that Mnuchin requested use of a government jet for his European honeymoon to Scotland, France and Italy. Such an aircraft would have reportedly cost taxpayers $25,000 per hour to operate. His office eventually withdrew the request.

Related...

Steven Mnuchin Tells Financiers They Should 'All Thank Him'

Mnuchin's Penchant For Traveling On The Taxpayer's Dime Is Catching Up With Him

Steven Mnuchin Reportedly Under Investigation For Costly Travel

Also on HuffPost

Go dancing in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Go on a safari in South Africa.

Ski in Bulgaria.

Watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Scuba dive in Honduras.

Watch the sunset in Indonesia.

Drink port in Porto, Portugal.

Take an overnight cruise through Halong Bay in Vietnam.

Visit the Taj Mahal in India.

Ride camels in Morocco.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Underneath the legalistic debate about standing, standards and statistical analysis during oral arguments in a landmark Wisconsin gerrymandering case at the Supreme Court on Tuesday, there was a deeper debate happening among the justices about guaranteeing confidence in the American democratic system.

The court is considering if it is appropriate for the judiciary to step in and strike down electoral maps that go so far to benefit one party that they violate the Constitution. And if the court can step in, the justices are trying to figure out if there is a fair standard they can use to evaluate the maps.

As they debated those questions on Tuesday, the justices highlighted a paradox as they confront an ill facing American democracy. On one side, Chief Justice John Roberts argued the court would harm democracy if it inserted itself into the political process and started striking down electoral maps. On the other, Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor argued the court would cause great damage to American confidence in elections if it did not.

The case before the Supreme Court deals with the state legislature maps Wisconsin Republicans drew after winning complete control of the state legislature in 2010. Using advanced technology, lawmakers and experts drew the maps in such a way that guaranteed their partys continued control over the state government for years to come. The maps were so successful that Republicans won 60 of 99 assembly seats in 2012 despite only winning 48.6 percent of the statewide vote. The Supreme Court has never said gerrymandering for partisan gain can be unconstitutional, but Justice Anthony Kennedy, seen as the key swing vote in the case, has written that a standard for striking one down could hypothetically exist.

A Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Wisconsin challengers could reshape American politics by requiring lawmakers to draw maps that are more fair and competitive. At oral arguments, Kennedy at least appeared open to setting a standard to determine when gerrymandering goes too far, though its difficult to say how hell vote.

Story continues

In an extraordinary moment during oral arguments, Roberts interrupted Paul Smith, the lawyer for the 12 Wisconsin voters challenging the election maps, to speak at length about his concern for the reputation of the court. Roberts said if the court decided to set a standard for saying certain cases of gerrymandering are unconstitutional, it would invite a flood of lawsuits to the Supreme Court and weaken the courts reputation. In Roberts view, the average intelligent American would doubt the court was using a fair standard and think it was getting more political.

Chief Justice John Roberts expressed concern over the institutional reputation of the Supreme Court during oral arguments in a landmark gerrymandering case on Tuesday. (Photo: David Hume Kennerly via Getty Images)

The intelligent man on the street is going to say thats a bunch of baloney. It must be because the Supreme Court preferred the Democrats over the Republicans. And thats going to come out one case after another as these cases are brought in every state, Roberts said. And that is going to cause very serious harm to the status and integrity of the decisions of this Court in the eyes of the country.

The exchange highlighted Roberts concern with preserving the courts status and Americans faith in the only unelected branch of government. But to some court watchers, the chief justices concern was ignoring the reality that many Americans see the court as a political body as is. The publics perception of the court has also dropped since 2010, according to Gallup polling.

The Court is already viewed as a political court, Rick Hasen, an election law expert and professor at the University of California, Irvine, wrote in a blog post. It is likely to be viewed as a partisan court going forward much more, now that all the liberals on the Court were appointed by Democratic presidents and all the conservatives by Republican presidents. This case is not going to do it. It is already done. The Court that decided Shelby County and Citizens United along party/ideological lines is looked at by the intelligent woman (or man) on the street as the product of a highly ideological politicized Court.

Smith said that Roberts argument was so narrowly focused on preserving the courts reputation that the chief justice was missing the broader threat to the country.

If you let this go, if you say this is  were not going to have a judicial remedy for this problem, in 2020 youre going to have a festival of copycat gerrymandering the likes of which this country has never seen, he said. And it may be that you can protect the Court from seeming political, but the country is going to lose faith in democracy big time because voters are going to be like  everywhere are going to be like the voters in Wisconsin and, no, it really doesnt matter whether I vote.

Smiths thinking echoed that of Ginsburg and Sotomayor.

Ginsburg interrupted Erin Murphy, a lawyer defending Wisconsins maps, to ask why the court should protect a system that discouraged people from voting.

I would like to ask you whats really behind all of this. The precious right to vote, if you can stack a legislature in this way, what incentive is there for a voter to exercise his vote?, Ginsburg asked. Isnt that  what becomes of the precious right to vote? Would we have that result when the individual citizen says: I have no choice, Im in this district, and we know how this district is going to come out? I mean thats something that this society should be concerned about.

Sotomayor put the question more succinctly to Murphy, asking: Could you tell me what the value is to democracy from political gerrymandering? How  how does that help our system of government?

There are historical roots for Roberts concern with electoral integrity. Richard Pildes, a law professor at NYU, compared Roberts concern over getting involved in electoral disputes to that of Justice Felix Frankfurter, who objected to the court getting involved in redistricting issues. When the court ultimately did get involved and establish it could have a say in political redistricting issues in the landmark 1962 case Baker v. Carr, Frankfurter warned it would undermine the courts integrity.

It may well impair the Courts position as the ultimate organ of the supreme Law of the Land in that vast range of legal problems, often strongly entangled in popular feeling, on which this Court must pronounce. The Courts authority  possessed of neither the purse nor the sword  ultimately rests on sustained public confidence in its moral sanction, Frankfurter wrote in his dissenting opinion in the case. Such feeling must be nourished by the Courts complete detachment, in fact and in appearance, from political entanglements and by abstention from injecting itself into the clash of political forces in political settlements.

But Richard Reuben, a law professor at the University of Missouri, said it was beneath the dignity of the court for Roberts to suggest the court shouldnt get involved in redistricting cases.

This is our democracy. To suggest that we need to protect democracy by leaving in place a system that does not further it, that prohibits it from actually happening, to me is ludicrous, he said.

Also on HuffPost

Alabama State Capitol (Montgomery, Ala.)

Pictured on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Alaska State Capitol (Juneau, Alaska)

Pictured on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2011. (AP Photo/Chris Miller)

Arizona State Capitol (Phoenix)

Pictured on Friday, April 23, 2010. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Arkansas State Capitol (Little Rock, Ark.)

Pictured on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011. (AP Photo/Danny Johnston)

California State Capitol (Sacramento, Calif.)

Pictured on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2006. (Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images)

Colorado State Capitol (Denver)

Pictured on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2006. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Connecticut State Capitol (Hartford, Conn.)

Pictured on Tuesday, Feb. 7, 1999. (AP Photo/Bob Child)

Delaware State Capitol (Dover, Del.)

Florida State Capitol (Tallahassee, Fla.)

Pictured on Monday, Jan. 3, 2011. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Georgia State Capitol (Atlanta)

Pictured on Tuesday, November 13, 2007. (Photo by Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

Hawaii State Capitol (Honolulu)

Idaho State Capitol (Boise, Idaho)

Pictured on Monday, Jan. 14, 2008. (Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images)

Illinois State Capitol (Springfield, Ill.)

Pictured on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2004. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

Indiana State Capitol (Indianapolis)

Pictured on Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

Iowa State Capitol (Des Moines, Iowa)

Pictured on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2011. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Kansas State Capitol (Topeka, Kan.)

Pictured on Thursday, April 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Kentucky State Capitol (Frankfort, Ky.)

Pictured on Wednesday, April 12, 2006. (AP Photo/James Crisp)

Louisiana State Capitol (Baton Rouge, La.)

Pictured on Monday, Jan. 14, 2008. (Matthew HINTON/AFP/Getty Images)

Maine State Capitol (Augusta, Me.)

Pictured on Monday, Oct. 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Pat Wellenbach)

Maryland State House (Annapolis, Md.)

(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

Massachusetts State House (Boston)

Pictured on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2007. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images)

Michigan State Capitol (Lansing, Mich.)

Pictured on Wednesday, April 13, 2011. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

Minnesota State Capitol (St. Paul, Minn.)

Pictured on Friday, July 1, 2011. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)

Mississippi State Capitol (Jackson, Miss.)

Pictured on Thursday, June 10, 1999. (AP Photo/Rogelio Solis)

Missouri State Capitol (Jefferson City, Mo.)

Pictured on Friday, Oct. 16, 2000. (Photo credit should read ORLIN WAGNER/AFP/Getty Images)

Montana State Capitol (Helena, Mont.)

Nebraska State Capitol (Lincoln, Neb.)

Pictured on Wednesday, Nov. 25, 1998. (AP Photo/S.E. McKee)

Nevada State Capitol (Carson City, Nev.)

New Hampshire State House (Concord, N.H.)

Pictured on Friday, Dec. 28, 2001. (Todd Warshaw//Pool/Getty Images

New Jersey State House (Trenton, N.J.)

Pictured on Friday, Aug. 13, 2004. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

New Mexico State Capitol (Santa Fe, N.M.)

New York State Capitol (Albany, N.Y.)

Pictured on Sunday, March 16, 2008. (Photo by Daniel Barry/Getty Images)

North Carolina State Capitol (Raleigh, N.C.)

Pictured in 1930. (AP Photo)

North Dakota State Capitol (Bismarck, N.D.)

Pictured on Thursday, April 19, 2012. (AP Photo/Dale Wetzel)

Ohio Statehouse (Columbus, Ohio)

Pictured on Tuesday, March 8, 2011. (Photo by Mike Munden/Getty Images)

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
WASHINGTON  The influential conservative political group FreedomWorks is courting congressional support for an effort to debate the U.S. military role in Yemen, boosting critics of the war who aim to hold a House vote next week on cutting off U.S. support for the Saudi-led military intervention there.

Were involved, although our involvement is limited, Jason Pye, the groups vice president of legislative affairs, told HuffPost in a Friday afternoon email. The reason were involved is because its a constitutional issue. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution makes it clear that Congress has the sole authority to decide when the United States enters into a conflict, no matter what scale.

The group is part of a broad coalition supporting a bipartisan proposal from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Ro Khanna (D- Calif.) and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) that would end American military assistance for assaults by the Saudi-led coalition, which is fighting a rebel militia called the Houthis who receive support from Iran and former Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh. (In a nod to Washingtons concerns about extremist militancy in Yemen, however, the resolution explicitly notes it does not seek to end U.S. counterterror operations there against groups like the local branch of al Qaeda.)

FreedomWorks participation alongside unlikely partners like Quaker anti-war activists is a fresh sign of how widely skepticism of the Saudi-led coalition has spread. The coalition has been accused repeatedly of war crimes and enabling extremism  all while receiving American aerial refueling, weapons shipments and intelligence support approved by the executive and rarely debated in Congress.

Some libertarians see U.S. operations in the war as illegal since they were not explicitly approved by Congress, and top libertarian figure Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has long blasted the war as a prime example of American interventionism run amok. Mainstream politicians from both parties have condemned the coalition for violating international human rights agreements on matters like avoiding civilian casualties and its apparent disinterest in negotiations with the pro-Iran rebels.

Story continues

Rights groups and congressional staffers see getting the House resolution to the floor as a way to establish awareness and a frank conversation about the U.S. responsibility for the situation in Yemen, which U.S. government lawyers have said may open up American officials to prosecution and which the United Nations calls the worlds largest humanitarian crisis.

Still, they face significant hurdles.

As of Friday, the bill only had two Republican co-sponsors (as well as 20 Democrats, mostly from the Congressional Progressive Caucus). Other more conservative lawmakers appear interested because it invites them to highlight what they see as executive overreach on foreign policy, Pye said  but they have yet to speak out about it. Two other advocates for the legislation said they are heavily focused on the goal of winning public support from the powerful House Freedom Caucus.

And GOP leaders in the House who seek to defer to the Trump administration and avoid upsetting Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other American partners invested in the war may attempt to prevent the vote from taking place altogether through arcane legislative maneuvers, said Kate Gould of the Friends Committee for National Legislation.

That raises the specter of more of the kind of Republican infighting and resentment that has driven congressional dysfunction in recent years.

If they do [block it], then there would most certainly be an uproar, Gould said.

The Trump administration has been sympathetic to the Saudi perspective on Yemen, which holds that the wars opponents do not focus enough on the misdeeds of the Iran-backed rebels. The administration has drawn especially close to the kingdom despite the growing criticism of it on the Hill and abroad. On Friday, the State Department announced it had approved the sale of a $15 billion missile defense system to the Saudis  part of a package President Donald Trump announced in May that top lawyers believe may be illegal.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
A U.S. Army Soldier teaches tactical hand signals to Nigerien soldiers - US Army

Three US Army special operations commandos were killed on Wednesday and two others were wounded when they came under fire from suspected al-Qaeda militants in southwest Niger.

The deaths marked the first American casualties in the mission, in which US forces provide training and security assistance to the Nigerien Armed Forces in their efforts against violent extremists.

US officials told the Associated Press the two wounded soldiers were taken to Niamey, the capital, and were in stable condition.

The officials said the commandos, who were Green Berets, were likely attacked by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb militants.

In a statement, US Africa Command said the forces were with a joint US and Nigerien patrol 120 miles north of Niamey, near the Mali border, when they came under hostile fire.

Namatta Abubacar, an official for the region of Tillaberi in Niger, said five Nigerien soldiers were among the dead.

A Niger diplomatic source told Reuters the attackers had come from Mali.

The White House said President Donald Trump was notified about the attack on Wednesday night as he flew aboard Air Force One from Las Vegas to Washington.

Update #1: U.S. Africa Command Statement on Situation in Niger - https://t.co/auCaE1sc8Npic.twitter.com/b2zqpqzlru  US AFRICOM (@USAfricaCommand) October 4, 2017

African security forces backed by Western troops are stepping up efforts to counter jihadist groups forming part of a growing regional insurgency in the poor, sparsely populated deserts of the Sahel.

These militants have proven remarkably resilient, exploiting local and/or ethnic grievances to embed themselves into communities as well as political borders and differences to escape capture, J. Peter Pham, a vice president at the Atlantic Councils Africa Center in Washington, told the New York Times.

It was no accident that this attack took place near Nigers border with Mali, an area that has seen numerous incidents in recent years.

The Foreign Office advises against travel to Niger and Mali.
(Photo: HuffPost)

(Photo: Bill Clark via Getty Images)

TOP STORIES

(And want to get The Morning Email each weekday? Sign up here.)

MOMENTUM GROWS IN CONGRESS FOR BUMP STOCK BAN After some Republicans expressed interest in regulating the sale of accessories that can make an AR-15 fire at the rate of an automatic weapon. Evidence suggests the shooter planned an escape. Take a look at what his room looked like when authorities gained access. The shooters girlfriend suspected nothing, saying he never said anything to me. And this 5-year-old reunited with his family after the Las Vegas massacre with the help of strangers. [HuffPost] [Tweet | Share on Facebook]

THE DEVASTATION OF PUERTO RICO COULD WRECK THE PHARMACEUTICAL MARKET Federal officials and major drugmakers are scrambling to prevent national shortages of critical drugs for treating cancer, diabetes and heart disease, as well as medical devices and supplies, that are manufactured at 80 plants in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico. [NYT]

3 U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED, 2 INJURED IN AMBUSH IN NIGER The Green Berets were attacked in an area known to have an insurgent presence. [Reuters]

IRAQI FORCES CAPTURE ISIS LAST STRONGHOLD IN NORTHERN IRAQ The only area that remains under control of Islamic State in Iraq is a stretch alongside the western border with Syria. [Reuters]

DREAMERS PLEAD WITH LAWMAKERS FOR ACTION And soon, to put them out of their limbo. [HuffPost]

PRO-LIFE CONGRESSMAN CAUGHT IN ABORTION SCANDAL TO RETIRE AT END OF HIS TERM Rep. Tim Murphy said he would be spending more time with his family in the coming weeks. [HuffPost]

INSIDE THE NEW YORK IVANKA AND DONALD TRUMP JR. STORY THAT HAS THE CITY ABUZZ Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr.s office was busy probing a felony fraud case involving siblings Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump Jr. in 2012. But after Donald Trumps personal attorney, Marc Kasowitz, intervened, the investigation was dropped within months, according to a report from ProPublica, The New Yorker and WNYC [HuffPost]

Story continues

WHATS BREWING

BULLYING RAMPANT FOR BOYS IN BALLET The kids taunting you should only be so lucky to have a passion equal to yours ... you will always have something stronger than they do: the courage to do something different. [HuffPost]

WHY MISINFORMATION TRAVELS IN THE WAKE OF TRAGEDY And its social and psychological consequences. [HuffPost]

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MEDICARE Before open enrollment begins Oct. 15. [HuffPost]

TRADER JOES IS SUFFERING AFTER WHOLE FOODS SLASHED PRICES Its all about those cheaper avocados so millennials can buy those homes. [Reuters]

LIONEL RICHIE IS SCARED TO DEATH OF DAUGHTER SOFIA DATING SCOTT DISICK We can see where hes coming from. [HuffPost]

BACHELOR FANS, REJOICE Peter Krause is going to star in The Bachelor Winter Games. [Vulture]

BEFORE YOU GO

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Speaker Paul Ryan has said he would consider banning bump stocks: Getty

After resisting gun control legislation for decades, top Republicans have signalled they would be open to banning the device used to attack scores of people in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

Directly following the Las Vegas massacre, Republicans mostly brushed off calls by their Democratic colleagues to discuss gun policy. But over the last day, as more details about the shooting have continued to emerge, some members of the majority party have begun to change their tune.

Authorities have revealed that the gunman, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, rigged 12 semi-automatic rifles with bump stocks  which allow semi-automatic rifles to fire rapidly and continuously, as if they were fully automatic weapons. Concerned about how these so-called bump stocks are being used, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Robert Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, have both suggested they would consider further rules for the devices.

The National Rifle Association (NRA), one of the nation's most influential gun lobbying group, has even endorsed tighter regulations on bump stocks. The organisation for years has forcefully opposed any new gun control laws.

Clearly thats something we need to look into, Mr Ryan said on MSNBC.

Were going to look at the issue, Mr Goodlatte told the The Washington Post. When asked if he had a personal concern about their legality, he replied: I have a personal concern about what happened.

Meanwhile, Republican Representative Carlos Curbelo has said he is drafting bipartisan legislation banning the conversion kits.

Representative Mark Meadows, head of the Freedom Caucus, also said he would be open to considering a bill, while Republican Congressman Bill Flores directly called for a ban.

I think they should be banned, Mr Flores told the newspaper The Hill. Theres no reason for a typical gun owner to own anything that converts a semi-automatic to something that behaves like an automatic.

Story continues

On the other side of Capitol Hill, members of the Senates Republican leadership also expressed interest in learning more about bump stocks.

I own a lot of guns and as a hunter and sportsman I think thats our right as Americans, but I dont understand the use of this bump stock and thats another reason to have a hearing, Senator John Cornyn, the No 2 Republican in the Senate, told reporters.

If somebody can essentially convert a semi-automatic weapon by buying one of these and utilising it and cause the kind of mayhem and mass casualties that we saw in Las Vegas, thats something of obvious concern that we ought to explore.

Mr Cornyn later said he had asked Senator Charles Grassley, the Judiciary Committee chairman, to hold a hearing on the issue and any others that may arise out of the Las Vegas investigation.

Senator John Thune, the No 3 Republican in the Senate, told Politico that he and his other Republican colleagues were at least interested in finding out more about how bump stocks are used.

I think its something we ought to look into, Mr Thune said. I dont know a lot about them and Im somebody who, Id like to think, is fairly familiar with a lot of firearms and you know, the use of those. And that incident out there is something that I think we need to take a look at.

At least one Republican senator, Ron Johnson, has said outright that he would be prepared to support a ban on the devices. I have no problem in banning those, Mr Johnson said.

On Wednesday, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, along with more than two dozen other Democrats, unveiled legislation to prohibit the sale of bump stock devices.

Bump stocks  which cost less than $200 (152)  increase a semi-automatic rifles rate of fire from between 45 to 60 rounds per minute to between 400 to 800 rounds per minute. Thats the same rate of fire as automatic weapons, said Ms Feinstein, a long-time gun-control advocate. The only reason to modify a gun is to kill as many people as possible in as short as time as possible.

Even though Republicans have expressed interest in banning bump stocks, no one from the party has endorsed a bill targeting the devices.

And while the movement for gun control legislation appears to be gaining momentum, any legislative action on the issue is likely to face an uphill battle.

Recent mass shootings in Colorado, Connecticut and Florida all failed to unite Congress on any legislative response. A bipartisan bill regarding background checks failed four years ago and since then, Republicans have often pointed to mental health legislation when asked about the appropriate congressional response to gun violence.

Over the past few days, conservative members have already suggested they would resist any attempts to a pass a gun control bill, including a ban on bump stocks.

Im a Second Amendment man, Senator Richard Shelby told Politico. Im not for any gun control, OK? None.

In an interview with CNN, White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway blamed the Obama administration for not regulating bump stocks.

I did note ... it was President Obamas ATF, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, in 2010 that decided not to regulate this device, she told host Chris Cuomo on New Day. That should be part of the conversation and part of the facts that you put before your viewers.

Obama-era official Rick Vasquez did sign off on a recommendation that the ATF did not need to regulate the accessory, which he called a goofy, little doodad, according to The Washington Post.

Mr Vasquez reasoned that the invention did not technically alter a guns trigger mechanism, as earlier attempts had, with springs, hydraulics or electric current, The Post reported. Therefore, it did not infringe on a law that bans the sale of machine guns manufactured after 1986 and restricts the sale of those made before then.
Trevor Noah has plenty to say about the national gun debate  and it isnt all scripted.

In a between-the-scenes moment from The Daily Show posted online Thursday, Noah took on critics who have questioned whether the foreign-born comedian should be chiming in on gun control. This is an American conversation, conservative radio host Larry OConnor told Fox Business in a clip Noah showed his audience.

The comedian, a South African who criticized many Americans for avoiding the conversation about gun control after the mass shooting in Las Vegas, then offered a thoughtful response.

People go, Why do you have an opinion about this? And I say, I hear what youre saying but ask yourself this question: Why did nobody say that when Americans were protesting for South Africans to get freedom during apartheid? No one asked that question.

Watch above for laughs sprinkled into some pretty sound reasoning.

Also on HuffPost:

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
US Attorney General Jeff Sessions: Getty Images

The Justice Department has announced that an anti-discrimination law does not protect transgender workers, potentially opening people up to discrimination in the workplace because of their gender identity.

It is the latest announcement by the Trump administration that specifically targets transgender people.

Earlier this year, Donald Trump signed a directive reinstating a ban on transgender individuals from serving in the military. Transgender troops had been able to serve openly since the Obama administration lifted the ban in 2016.

In a memo dated Wednesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded another Obama-era action aimed at expanding rights for transgender people.

The Justice Department under Barack Obama had interpreted the Civil Rights Act to protect transgender workers. But according to Mr Sessions, Title VIIs prohibition on sex discrimination encompasses discrimination between men and women but does not encompass discrimination based on gender identity per se, including transgender status.

This is a conclusion of law, not policy. As a law enforcement agency, the Department of Justice must interpret Title VII as written by Congress, he added.

His memo, obtained by Buzzfeed, focused on the reach of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, particularly Title VII, which bans sex discrimination in the workplace.

Civil rights activists have argued that the law applies to transgender people, because discrimination against someone based on their gender identity is fundamentally rooted in sex-based expectations.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, an independent agency that enforces civil rights law in the workplace, and a growing number of federal court decisions have found sex discrimination does include discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sex stereotyping  and that Title VII therefore bans anti-transgender discrimination as well.

Embracing these ideas, former Attorney General Eric Holder under Mr Obama issued a memo in 2014 that said, I have determined that the best reading of Title VII's prohibition of sex discrimination is that it encompasses discrimination based on gender identity, including transgender status. The most straightforward reading of Title VII is that discrimination because of ... sex includes discrimination because an employee's gender identification is as a member of a particular sex, or because the employee is transitioning, or has transitioned, to another sex.

Story continues

Mr Sessions, however, in his order withdrawing Mr Holder's memorandum, took a narrower view, saying Title VII only covers discrimination between men and women.

The Justice Department expects its attorneys and other federal agency heads to follow its interpretation of the law.
Washington (AFP) - In the latest in a series of broadsides against the media, US President Donald Trump suggested Thursday that lawmakers investigate journalists for their work.

"Why Isn't the Senate Intel Committee looking into the Fake News Networks in OUR country to see why so much of our news is just made up-FAKE!" Trump said in a tweet.

That was a reference to a Senate panel which on Wednesday said it was still investigating collusion between Trump's 2016 presidential campaign and Moscow.

Trump has long railed against what he sees as unfair press coverage and used attacks on the media to rally supporters.

The latest fit of pique was prompted by an NBC News report that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had considered resigning from the administration earlier this year and openly referred to Trump as a "moron."

"Rex Tillerson never threatened to resign. This is Fake News put out by @NBCNews. Low news and reporting standards. No verification from me," he tweeted.
For two years, President Donald Trump has called the Iran nuclear deal the worst agreement ever. Now, as the deadline for remaining in the accord looms, Trump administration sources say the president decided that the United States will stay in itbut will announce as early as next week that Tehran is not abiding by the terms of the deal and try and re-negotiate them. This process is known as de-certification.

The sources asked for anonymity because they werent authorized to discuss the details of Trump's decision.

Scrapping the deal entirely would require the United States to re-impose nuclear sanctions on Iran. And for now, a source says, Washington will not do that. Republicans in Congress have been eager to bring back sanctions lifted after the deal was signed in 2015, but Trump will ask them to hold off, and Congress will likely do so.

Related: Nuclear crisis or art of the deal?

Donald Trump

Alex Wong/Getty

The presidents key foreign policy advisersnational security adviser H.R. McMaster, Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillersonpresented Trump with a united front on the decision in September. On Monday, Mattis said publicly for the first time in congressional testimony that he believed it was in the U.S. interest to remain a part of the accord.

Going forward, Trump needs to persuade European signatories to the dealFrance Germany and the U.K.to join Washington in seeking tougher terms, including getting rid of the so-called sunset provisions that critics say gives Tehran a pathway to nuclear weapons in 10 to 15 years. Mark Dubowitz, chief executive officer of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, a foreign policy think tank, argued recently that Trump should insist on conditions making the current restrictions on Irans nuclear program permanent.

The same, he said, goes for testing advanced centrifuges, nuclear-capable ballistic missiles and buying and transferring conventional weaponry. Dubowitz and other critics of the deal also believe that Trump should insist on U.N. weapons inspectors getting unfettered access to Iranian military sites where U.S. intelligence agencies believe Tehran has conducted work on its nuclear program.

Story continues

Trumps advisers agree with most, if not all, of Dubowitzs points. But Washingtons European partners might not be so eager to renegotiate the agreement and insist on tougher terms. The U.K. and Germany have said they think the accord is working well enough and should be maintained. French President Emmanuel Macron, however, has said he is open to revisiting the sunset provisions, and he agrees broadly with Mattis and McMaster that Irans malign behavior in the Middle East and Africawhich has only intensified since the agreement went into effectneeds to be confronted more forcefully

Tehran has already rejected any talk of renegotiating the terms of the deal. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told the U.N. General Assembly in September that it will be a great pity if this agreement were destroyed by rogue newcomers to the world of politics, in a clear reference to Trump. He then added, Iran will not be the first country to violate the agreement, but it will respond decisively and resolutely to its violation by any party. How Tehran will react to the administrations decision once it's announced is unclear.

Senator Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, who had dinner with Trump on Monday night, has urged the president to call Tehrans bluff. Hes an influential critic of the Iran deal and believes that decertifying it and then holding out the prospect of renewed sanctionsbut not imposing them immediatelygives the administration leverage, and would eventually bring Tehran back to the table.

Supporters of the status quo, including many former Obama administration officials, believe Iran could leave the deal in response and race toward a nuclear breakout.

Well soon find out whos right.

Related Articles
Dont make these mistakes. (Getty Images)

Whether youre a first-timer or a seasoned pro, cooking a turkey can be overwhelming  but it doesnt have to be.

There are several common mistakes that people make when it comes to making a holiday turkey from the prep to the cooking and even serving.

Yahoo Canada spoke with Tom Fillipou, executive chef for Presidents Choice to learn about some common turkey-cooking mistakes you should avoid this holiday season and what things you should be doing so that your feast goes off without a hitch.

Starting off with high heat

Fillipou says that one of the biggest mistakes people make when roasting a turkey is starting the bird off at a very high heat in order to get a golden colour on their turkey.

I know that a lot of bad recipes tell them to do that, so its really not their fault, he says, but the best thing you can do with turkey is to do it low and slow, and baste a lot.

While there are many methods for preparing a turkey, from deep-frying to the paper bag method, Fillipou says theres no real magic trick for ensuring your turkey comes out juicy, aside from frequent basting.

The Turkey Farmers of Canada website offers various times for ensuring your bird is perfectly cooked, depending on size and method of cooking. Keep in mind that several factors can influence the cooking time of any meat and you should always use a meat thermometer to ensure doneness.

Cooking the turkey too far in advance

Fillipou says another common mistake turkey cooks make is that they tend to cook their turkey too far in advance because theyre nervous about it being ready in time for the big meal, and it ends up getting dry or not being as warm as it should be.

To fix that you basically want to, depending on how big your turkey is you want to figure out the timing, he says. Once you figure out the timing, the best thing to do is to maybe have the turkey done no more than an hour before the meal; to give it an opportunity to rest, and itll still hold its temperature and then you can start carving. Fillipou advises timing your turkeys finishing time between 40 and 60 minutes ahead of serving time.

Story continues

Be sure to keep proper food safety in mind. Leaving cooked turkey out at room temperature for longer than two hours ups the risk of your meat becoming a bacterial breeding ground.

You can store cooked turkey in the refrigerator in a covered container, plastic bag or aluminum foil for up to four days or in the freezer for up to three months. Promptly store any leftovers before the two hour window.

An improperly working oven

Fillipou says another mistake that could be causing stress when cooking your turkey is that your oven isnt regulated properly, so even though you think youre cooking at 350 degrees, you could be over or under enough that your food is either under- or over-cooked. Having your oven check by a professional and fixed if necessary will ensure all your cooking is back on track.

Not stuffing the turkey safely

One of the biggest tips people should know, says Fillipou, is that when youre stuffing a turkey is that both the bird and the stuffing should be cold.

Health Canada advises that if youre going to stuff your turkey, stuff it loosely just before roasting, and make sure to remove the stuffing as soon as its cooked. Your stuffing should reach a minimum internal temperature of 74C (165F) on a digital food thermometer.

Cross-contamination

Cross-contamination is a big concern when preparing multiple dishes for large meals around the holidays. Planning ahead and keeping distractions to a minimum can help to prevent the spread of food borne illnesses, as can proper hygiene and food preparation.

You want to make sure that you dont overwhelm yourself with doing too much and try to avoid having too many people in the kitchen, says Fillipou. He finds that using an option of a pre-stuffed turkey can help cut down on holiday stress and the potential for cross-contamination. All you need to do then is pop the bird in the oven, and worry about sides.

Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA!

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
Corey O'Connell and Kristin Lauritsch, two young woman adopted from South Korea by white parents. (Photo: Courtesy Corey OConnell and Kristin L)

Welcome to The Story We Share, a series of Q&As that profile two people with similar identities  but who live in very different places. As part of HuffPosts Listen To America tour, were exploring how peoples lived experiences overlap and diverge depending on their zip codes. What is the American Experience? It depends where you look.

***

In 2015, the controversy surrounding Rachel Dolezal, a white woman in Spokane, Washington living her life as a black woman, introduced the novel idea of transracial identity. In that context, transracial meant identifying with a race other than your own, but the word, for decades, has already had a significant use  for children adopted by families of a different race than their own.

Adoptees may face all kinds of hurdles, but transracial adoptees can face a specific kind of hardship given the fact that they grow up in between two worlds, or sometimes in one with a foot standing precariously, hesitantly in the other.

In that way, Corey OConnell, a 29-year-old grad student and nonprofit database consultant based in Brooklyn, but who grew up in New Jersey, and Kristin Lauritsch, a 27-year-old Peace Corps Volunteer from Virginia but currently stationed in South Africa, share a lot in common.

Both young women are South Korean transracial adoptees, raised by white parents in predominantly white towns. But each have been on two very unique journeys in coming to terms with and processing what it means to be adopted and American.

Below, Corey and Kristin share how growing up with white adoptive parents in two different communities has shaped their perspective, and their lives.

HuffPost: Where were you born? At what age were you adopted? And where did you grow up?

The only photo Corey has of herself in Korea. (Photo: Courtesy of Corey OConnell)

Corey (New Jersey): I was born in Pusan, South Korea, immediately placed in a foster home, and adopted when I was 4 months old. I grew up in Toms River, New Jersey.

Kristin (Virginia): I was adopted when I was 5 months old from Chollabuk-do, South Korea. I lived in New York until I was four at which time my family moved to the suburbs outside of Richmond, Virginia. Growing up outside of the former capital of the confederacy, there are still a lot of people with outdated mindsets. I was raised in an area thats predominantly white with limited racial or cultural diversity.

Story continues

Tell me about your parents, what were they like when you were growing up?

Corey (New Jersey): My parents are both white, both retired educators. My dad was a curriculum supervisor for my school district and my mom was everyones favorite math & science teacher. They were always (and still are) extremely warm, loving, encouraging, and supportive.

When/how did you and your parents first discuss the fact that you were adopted?

Corey (New Jersey): My being adopted was something I never remember NOT talking about. I have a younger sister who was also adopted, so I had to meet with the social workers and adoption agency representatives when I was a small child. Every year, my family celebrates the days that my sister and I arrived from the airport, our Special Days, and to me, its more significant than my birthday in a lot of ways. As soon as I was able to write, my parents sat down with me and helped me write a scrapbook with the story of my adoption  how they had wanted a child, they were so excited and prepared my bedroom, all my relatives went to the airport with them to pick me up, and after that we were a family. We would read it together every year on my Special Day. I was taught from a young age to own my story and embrace the fact that it was different from most of my peers.

Kristin (Virginia): I had a really amazing conversation once talking to a man who had adopted his son with his partner. We were discussing sexuality, and he talked about how he never discovered he was gay, he just always knew. He asked me when did you know you were adopted? which absolutely clicked for me  because I too, just always knew. When I shared the story with my mom, she told me that she and my dad had actually had a conversation with me before I started kindergarten, but I dont have any memory of it.

When did you first begin to think about race?

Corey (New Jersey): I remember being in kindergarten and playing Power Rangers or Captain Planet at recess. All the other kids always told me I had to be Trini, the Yellow Ranger, or the Gi, the Water Planeteer, because they were Asian and I looked like them. Even when I wanted to be Kimberly, the Pink Ranger, or Linka, the Wind Planeteer, I was told, You dont look like them so you cant. At Halloween, I was Belle from Beauty & the Beast because I loved books just like she did, but everyone told me I should have been Jasmine, because I looked like her. I never understood why I had to look like a character in order to like them. My mom also tells me that when everyone brought in baby pictures and people would try to guess whose was whose, I never understood why everyone automatically identified me, the only Asian kid in the class. For a long time, these were just things that happened... I never thought much about them until I was older.

The first time I really thought about the dichotomy between my Irish name and my race was when I took an online course in 9th grade through Johns Hopkins Universitys Center for Talented Youth. Almost all the other students had Western first names and Asian surnames, like Joyce Chang or Michael Kim. I realized that if they only saw my name on all my posts, they would have no idea I was an Asian girl, not a white boy.

Kristin (Virginia): Unfortunately I was not very aware of race growing up and had never really processed what it meant to be Asian or anything other than white. Although I was not conscious of race at a younger age, I was not immune to its effects. Its impossible not to think about race right now in the States, and living in South Africa, a country thats still healing post-Apartheid, has also led me to reflect a lot on race, identity, and privilege.

How do you feel about whiteness?

Corey (New Jersey): I have a lot of complex feelings about whiteness. Culturally, Im not Asian at all. I grew up with white parents in a white town with mostly white friends. Culturally, I feel white. Over time, Ive realized that often, I only ever feel like a person of color when other people treat me differently because I am a person of color. I still get stereotyped, fetishized, and harassed for it. I still get pigeonholed by both white and nonwhite people. I often feel guilty because I recognize that I come from a position of privilege as an East Asian versus other Asians and other people of color, and because I come from a white middle class family, and it makes me feel like Im not enough of a person of color to claim to be oppressed in any way. But at the end of the day, in the United States, Asians are still persecuted. We still suffer from prejudice and bigotry, from the persistence of the model minority myth and lack of representation in media or politics. I sometimes struggle with reconciling the fact that my identity was shaped by the white culture and family I grew up in, but that same culture is, in ways, harmful to me and people who look like me. It feels hypocritical at times to criticize whiteness when I am, in ways, complicit in perpetuating the oppressive social structures that support white supremacy, purely because I was raised as belonging to that culture and that is what is familiar to me. I try hard to check my privilege and educate myself about others struggles. Its an on-going journey.

Kristin (Virginia): Whiteness is something that Ive been struggling with, because culturally I am white. In recognizing my own internalized oppression, its been difficult to figure out how to move forward. A lot of who I am is influenced by whiteness, but I dont necessarily have strong cultural ties that would make exploring Asian culture feel authentic.

Have you ever felt the need to become more connected to/learn more about your Asian side?

Corey (New Jersey): As I was adopted through the Holt Agency, there was a built-in support group for families like mine: mostly Asian children and non-Asian parents. I was a little interested in the culture as a child, but as I grew older, that small interest dissipated completely, and I didnt try to revive it. I had other friends more interested in learning Korean or Mandarin, in taking classes to learn more about the cultures of the countries where they were born, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt that where I was born didnt define me in any material way. I didnt feel like I should feign an interest in Korea just because I was born there, when I had literally no ties to the country or culture otherwise. I dont think that its wrong or weird for other adoptees to be interested in their birth countries  I know a lot of other Korean adoptees in particular who are around my age have been going back to visit Korea  but I also dont think its wrong or weird for me to not be interested.

Kristin (Virginia): Im interested in Korean culture but to the same extent Im interested in other cultures in general. It doesnt feel authentic or innate to me at this point. Growing up, my parents made an effort to connect me to my Asian side, but I wasnt interested. I recently heard that by 15 months children have already started identifying differences in race. At a young age I had already decided that I wanted to assimilate with those around me, which meant eschewing my Asian side.

More recently I have been thinking about traveling to South Korea. People have asked me before if I have any interest in returning and for a long time my answer was always not particularly. However, at some point I had to self-reflect as to why I have such a strong interest in travel and experiencing new places and cultures but have never wanted to visit the place where I was born. It brings up a lot of questions, a lot of which I dont think Ive been ready to confront... but its a work in progress, so well see.

Were there other POC/Asians in your town/school growing up? If not, how did you navigate being the only one? If yes, were you able to connect/relate to them?

Corey (New Jersey): There were barely any other people of color in my schools growing up. My hometown was literally 89.9% white, mostly people of Irish and Italian descent. In high school, my white friends would tell me that they would forget that Im Asian because I was no different from them beyond my physical appearance. Others would say, Youre only Asian when its convenient for a joke. I would laugh good-naturedly because I was a teenager and I didnt want to be perceived as that person who didnt have a sense of humor or made everything about race, especially when ultimately, I didnt feel remotely defined by my race. By then, I had a few other Asian friends who came from Asian families, but even then, I felt I had more in common with my white friends. I always felt a little on the outside with my Asian friends in a way I didnt feel with my white friends, even though many of my white friends would make racist jokes to me pretty often.

I can recall those racist jokes, the crude caricatures drawn in my yearbook, the racist things said about other people of color, the casual use of racial slurs, and part of me wishes I had been capable of telling these people that these things werent okay  not so much for me, but for everyone else who they behaved this way towards. I didnt have the right words or understanding to be able to do this when I was younger, but I wish I had.

Kristin (Virginia): I grew up in a predominantly white community. In elementary school there were few POC and only one other Asian American student who was one of my best friends up until I changed elementary schools in third grade. Afterwards, we lost touch. My high school was more diverse, but there was still little Asian American representation. I was aware of being different and singled out but never confronted those feelings. Instead, I directed my energy into fitting in with my peers, who were predominantly white.

Was there a specific moment you can remember where you and your parents talked openly and honestly about race? Have you always been able to do so?

Corey (New Jersey): The only specific conversation I can remember right now is when my parents explained to me that I am Korean, and I am American, but I am not Korean-American. I dont really remember any others, but my parents have always been very present and willing to listen. Theyve always been pretty progressive. When I mention the casually racist or prejudiced things that people say to me at hair salons, restaurants, and so on, my parents get more indignant than even I do, and apologize to me for having to go through this. I think theyre aware that they cant truly comprehend what its like to experience these things, and I appreciate that they recognize that but still always back me up, no matter how minor an incident seems.

Do you have siblings? How has that informed your identity?

Corey (New Jersey): I have a younger sister who is also adopted, not related to me by blood. Some of my earliest fully-formed memories are of picking her up at the airport when I was 4. I never felt like our being adopted had any impact on our relationship as sisters  she never felt like less of my sister because she was adopted, the same way my parents never felt like they werent my real parents because Im adopted.

Kristin (Virginia): Im an only child, and despite the bad rep that only children get I think its played a vital role in developing my identity and personality. As a result I am very independent and self-sufficient, and its also given me the opportunity to explore and figure myself out without the pressure of following in the footsteps of an older sibling.

What do you feel about people who say that transracial adoption is wrong/leaves POC children at a disadvantage?

Corey (New Jersey): I dont think that as a general statement, transracial adoption is wrong or bad or a disadvantage for children of color. I think it very much requires for the adoptive parents to be aware of what theyre signing up for. They need to understand, especially if they adopt an older child of another race from a different country, that there might be some emotional problems and growing pains  too many adopted children end up being abandoned again because of this lack of understanding in advance. Also, I think white parents in particular need to understand that there will be things that their child experiences as a person of color that they can never fully understand, and their child might need to be exposed to a more diverse group of peers and adults to feel comfortable with themselves. Even as a child, the adoptee will see and experience the world differently than the parents will because of the color of their skin. I think adoptive parents need to really be prepared for that... as much as they could be, at least.

Kristin as a baby with her family. (Photo: Courtesy of Kristin L)

Kristin (Virginia): Personally, I very much so appreciate the experiences that being a transracial adoptee has given me and was adopted into a family that I love and that loves me incredibly. I am privileged to have had a successful adoption, which I know is unfortunately not the case for everyone.

There are undoubtedly challenges that come along with transracial adoption. I think that its important to acknowledge race and that adoptive parents should be aware and sensitive to the challenges they and their children will face. There are steps that can be taken to build consciousness and awareness for both the adoptee and his or her parents in regards to race and identity. But at the end of the day, in my opinion, giving a child the opportunity to grow up with a loving family takes priority over the challenges transracial adoption presents.

What, if anything, has been the greatest lesson youve learned growing up as a transracial adoptee?

Corey (New Jersey): I used to really struggle with the idea that culturally, I felt white, and racially, Im Asian, so when people see me, they automatically assign me a Korean identity that I dont feel is an accurate representation of me. At the same time, people who see me only on paper assume from my name that Im a white man. Even now, I sometimes feel like I dont fit in anywhere: Im not racially white so Im not white, Im not Korean enough culturally to identify as Korean, and as an Asian, Im not enough of a person of color to even call myself that. More and more, though, Ive become comfortable with the idea of existing between fixed identities. I dont have to be Korean or Asian. Your identity can be fluid, and you can create a space for whatever you feel you are, even though other people will always try to label you as one thing or another for their own comfort. Ive also learned to reserve judgement and try not make assumptions about other peoples identities by extension. Its so conditioned in us to do this, I understand why people do it to me  but understanding doesnt make it any easier.

Kristin (Virginia): Being other and not fitting neatly into a predetermined box is a unique experience that is hard to describe to those who have not had the experience, but its helped me build empathy and a sincere interest in understanding varied perspectives. Its part of who I am.

What is one thing you want people to know about being an American, transracial adoptee?

Corey (New Jersey): When people ask where Im from, I tell them New York or New Jersey. When they follow up with, Yeah, but what ARE you? I usually say, American. The fact that I was born in another country doesnt make me less American. It sounds really corny, but my heart and life are here, and thats what matters.

Kristin (Virginia): You know the old adage you cant judge a book by its cover? As trite as it sounds, its true. Dont make assumptions about peoples abilities, families, and backgrounds  and that goes for all people, not just those of us who are adopted. Its easier said than done, and our brains are hardwired to make assumptions. Take into account the millions of images our brains are infiltrated with from media and social media, we develop a lot of ideas about how people should sound or dress or behave based on how they look. But its up to us to challenge ourselves and give people a clean slate; really take the time to get to know individuals for who they are.

These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

MORE FROM THE STORY WE SHARE

Linked By Their Choice To Become Single Mothers, Two Women Share Their Stories

Two Gay Teachers From Very Different Worlds On Shaping The Next Generation

Two Trailblazers On Growing Up Black And Female In The North And South

Also on HuffPost

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Toyota Corona and Stephanie Stone.

Welcome to The Story We Share, a series of Q&As that profile two people with similar identities  but who live in very different places. As part of HuffPosts Listen To America tour, were exploring how peoples lived experiences overlap and diverge depending on their zip codes. What is the American Experience? It depends where you look.

***

From RuPauls Drag Race to Miley Cyrus music videos, drag has certainly become more mainstream in the last few years.

But for drag queens outside of the spotlight of pop culture fame, the experience of creating and performing a drag character differs greatly depending on the location that a queen lives.

Things like cultural attitudes toward LGBTQ people, venues that actually hire drag performers and safe and affordable transportation all play into the experience of drag from region to region in America.

In this edition of The Story We Share, Stephanie Stone, a veteran drag queen in the New York City scene and Toyota Corona, a greener queen hailing from Milwaukee, Wisconsin discuss their respective experiences doing drag in their individual communities.

In a big city, Stephanie can support herself full-time in drag, while Toyota has to rely on other sources of income, such as teaching or temp work, for survival as a queen. Theyve also developed as performers in two very different eras of drag culture  Stephanie started her career during the queer performance boom of the Lower East Side and Toyota in the years since Drag Race has exponentially increased interest in drag as an art form.

Read below to learn more about how these two are exceptionally different in a number of ways  but while sharing so much.

How did you get into doing drag? Where were you living?

Toyota Corona (Milwaukee): I started doing drag about three years ago on a whim. My good friend was moving away and I dressed up as her for the going away party and it stuck. Pretty soon I was doing it weekly for karaoke at a bar here in Milwaukee. We only have one gay club here in Milwaukee, LaCage, so that was really the only place to go to be seen and to see drag regularly. I entered and swiftly lost an amateur competition there and shortly thereafter started adventuring to Chicago to do drag in a big city. Trannika Rex was kind and dumb enough to book me in the pre-show for her weekly Drag Matinee. My big break came when I entered the first round of Trannika and Nicos Competition Crash Landing and somehow won. From there I was booked more and more in Chicago and Milwaukee.

Story continues

Toyota Corone performing.

Stephanie Stone (NYC): I came up in the Lower East Side in that whole era of a bunch of smaller bars and giant super clubs. And then, of course, after Giuliani all of that changed (laughs). But I think the same running thing was always, if I wear this make-up, do this thing, wear this dress, do that Ill get to a certain point in life. And that isnt the way life really ever works out.

I didnt start drag until I came here to New York to go to school and then just like everybody else, I was doing it at Halloween and then Halloween started to stretch to doing it more often. My first big [moment], when I really consider me starting my drag life was 2007 when I won Miss Fire Island. Then I kind of became a professional drag queen because I had a title.

Stephanie Stone.

What is your first memory of drag in general? Either at some earlier point in your life, or the first drag queen you ever saw?

Toyota Corona (Milwaukee): I think like a lot of baby homos, my first exposure to drag was from the 90s movies like Mrs. Doubtfire, To Wong Foo, and The Birdcage. I remember being 8 years old, wearing my moms makeup with towels as wigs and sheets as dresses to put on shows for an audience of one in the mirror of the bathroom while my family was asleep. I didnt really get the urge to do this again until college, but once I started I knew it was what I was supposed to be doing.

Stephanie Stone (NYC): First drag queen: Crow Bar in the East Village, Candis Cayne performing. Pitch black, you couldnt see your hand. I remember a flashlight came on and all you saw was her face and then her heel going next to her face over and over again doing high kicks and I was like what is that! It is FABULOUS! And with Candice you saw hair, face, heel. It was incredible! It was incredible.

What would you say are some of the major differences in the experience of drag for queens living in a smaller cities and towns versus queens living in larger metropolitan areas?

Toyota Corona (Milwaukee): I feel like although the scene is smaller [in Milwaukee], theres still a lot of competition to stand out just as it would be in a bigger city. Theres always someone younger thatll take your booking for less money and so its a good inspiration to constantly network, build your brand, and make sure that people keep coming back to see you specifically. A lot more queens here do drag as a hobby rather than as a profession. Thanks to the mainstream popularity of drag on TV and social media, drag artists in smaller cities can still see the whole landscape of drag and be inspired by it. Queens here follow the same makeup trends, buy accessories/wigs from the same brands, and get inspired by the same things that big city queens do.

Stephanie Stone (NYC): My heart goes out to [queens in smaller towns and cities] because I can only imagine how hard that is. Even with this idea of as far as weve come  I know better (laughs). I know better. Its what were going through right now  its always there in varying degrees. The bullies, the haters, the harassment of all kinds  theyre having to deal with that and it never goes away.

But the same people that called me sissy and faggot are calling her sissy and faggot  its just a different way. Its a very insidious drip, drip, drip thats constant on a person and you have to be strong and you have to fight.

Stephanie Stone.

How do you think access  things like access to performance venues, costuming, etc.  differ for a queen living in a smaller city in the Midwest, and a queen living in a more metropolitan area?

Toyota Corona (Milwaukee): There is a definitely lack of access to opportunities here in Milwaukee compared to a city like Chicago. In Chicago, you can see drag probably every night of the week. There are tons of venues and new shows popping up all the time. In Milwaukee, there are so few LGBTQ spaces that the shows are booked quickly or have rotating casts that are difficult to enter. But I found a home bar and drag family in D.I.X. two years ago.

We dont have the same high-fashion designers, photographers, hairstylists, etc., living here and working with queens like bigger cities do, but we do have dedicated people working behind the scenes to make sure we look good. Weve got talented people who might not get the recognition they deserve because the scene here is smaller.

Toyota Corona performing.

Stephanie Stone (NYC): Whats great about everything is that [queens in small towns] can use Amazon. I buy my shoes on Amazon. Back in the day there was not that  so theres a lot of advantages that I think a drag queen [in a small town] would have where she can get a lot of things in her house where she doesnt even have the embarrassment of having to go and try them on  its a whole situation because youve had to sneak and hide in the closet to kind of put this stuff together, whereas she can order it in a box and it comes straight to her house and she looks at a tutorial and it shows her how to use it. Thats fantastic, I think more power to that.

What about benefits and challenges?

Toyota Corona (Milwaukee): Its easy to get out of the no one knows me stage of drag when you live in a small city. After a few times coming out in drag, Id met and had face time with most of the key players in this city. In a bigger city with tons of queens, its hard to stand out at first and its harder to network when no one remembers who you are. There is a sense of camaraderie in a small city like Milwaukee  but the other side of that coin is a fierce competition because there are only so many gigs available.

Stephanie Stone (NYC): Well now theres a billion drag queens. Before there were four (laughs). So now you have to really set yourself apart. There are more opportunities... but then theres more opportunities for everybody. As we all know, in this business, the tide changes and after drag queens there will be something else and everyones gonna gag because it was really easy and then its not going to be so easy. Its kind of like those paper plates they give you in elementary school. They put the glue on it and then the glitter and then they shake it off and not everything sticks  thats it baby (laughs). You have to be prepared for the good times and the high times. Thereve been times when I worked crazy and everybody loved me and theres times where I couldnt get a gig at a gas station.

Stephanie Stone.

What is the queer community generally like where you live?

Toyota Corona (Milwaukee): Milwaukee has a decent-sized gay population, but a pretty small queer community. Theyre not the same thing. Today people want to wear the queer identity as a badge but are still stuck in patriarchal and homonormative cycles of behavior. Its not queer to slut-shame and to only fuck people who look just like you. There is a circle of lovely queer animals that Ive found here in Milwaukee, but theres nothing like queer culture in a big city. In Milwaukee theres still a stigma of shame around sex, around nudity, around owning your body. A year ago someone scoffed at me when I offered them poppers but in Chicago they scoff if you dont bring them out soon enough. Im happy to help push back against these stigmas and puritanical ideologies and Ill be as brazen and sexual and free as I need to be to inspire the people.

Toyota Corona.

Stephanie Stone (NYC): Its different. Its nice because its a little bit more relaxed here. I know that youre nervous when you come to your first New York club, but after awhile it gets into this cozy little groove and its a nice thing because you have the relaxation. Like, were in this bubble  youre in the bubble, youre in a club with gay people, youre leaving with gay people, youre going home to your gay roommates, youre going to your job where everybody knows youre gay  its a very, very different thing as opposed to [elsewhere]. I have lived many years of my life where I literally am very conscious of Im in a bubble. I dont know anyone outside of this bubble. So you have to be careful to always realize that there are other people in the world.

What is your relationship like with the straight, cisgender community as a drag queen?

Toyota Corona (Milwaukee): Ive never been a part of straight cis culture, so I try to bubble myself away from them as much as possible. Thankfully, most of the good ones venture to LGBTQ spaces and warmly embrace my fat tranny ass because its my turf. Ive gotten more harassment and hate from cis gay men than I have from cis straight people. Theres always the oblivious Beckys and Chads that come into a drag show to gawk and giggle with their friends, but I feel like I do a pretty good job of educating them on consent and drag show etiquette.

And many straight, cisgender men (and one woman, hey Yvonne!) have been kind to me, sexually, so I guess theyre not completely useless. Aside from getting boned I really dont waste time on the opinions of straight people.

Stephanie Stone (NYC): I love them! (laughs) We wouldnt be here without them. Im very, very lucky I think because of my social media and the things that I do and the things that I say, its pretty democratic. And so Im lucky to have very smart, creative dynamic gay people in my life and vice-versa, straight people in my life that both will comment on the same post or thread or think about things in the same way Im thinking about them. I think thats wonderful. I mean, I know some really fierce straight women who are just beyond fabulous  beyond! They go to the clubs and come and see me and do everything else  just like everybody else.

Stephanie Stone.

Do you think your drag is influenced by or a product of where you live? If you lived somewhere else, do you think your drag would be different?

Toyota Corona (Milwaukee): I think I would be a bawdy, sexual, blackout mess in any city. Milwaukee is a smaller city, but its still a city. Wisconsinites are Midwestern people with values leaning more towards the conservative side of things, but Im still a ball of filth with big tits, no ass, and a lot of sass. If I lived in, like, a rural town, I dont think I would be able to get away with a lot of what I say and do, but in Milwaukee, they get me and embrace me.

Toyota Corona.

Stephanie Stone (NYC): I dont think it would be any different (laughs). When I was growing up, I was very inspired by the socialites in the New York scene and carrying yourself a certain way and acting a certain way and all of that stuff. I worked around those women and I saw them and I like that  and I like the power and I like all of the glamour behind it  I love it! Its so great. If I was going to see somebody in say Ohio, I would still wear a giant beaded caftan and I would still do the same thing

Are you able to support yourself full time as a drag queen?

Toyota Corona (Milwaukee): Absolutely not. Even when I had multiple gigs per month with my name on them, its still only a few hundred dollars a month. I dont know anyone in Milwaukee supporting themselves solely from drag. In contrast, there is an echelon of queens in Chicago who only do drag. Even there its not the norm. I dont know what would have to happen in Milwaukee to make it viable for me to live off of drag, but Im already exhausted from thinking about that hustle. I used to think drag was the only thing I wanted to do, but now I realize its just one expression in my arsenal.

Stephanie Stone (NYC): Yeah. It hasnt always been like that, though. I worked retail for years and I always had other jobs, but for most of the time Ive always been able to do full-time. Its interesting, that question never really came up until there were all of these drag queens. Its so funny to me because I was doing that long before, and now that theres all of these drag queens everyone is constantly asking me, are you able to support yourself? And Im like yeah because Im not doing gigs that are $50! (laughs)

Stephanie Stone.

Have you ever felt threatened or experienced violence because of your identity as a drag performer?

Toyota Corona (Milwaukee): When I was first starting drag, my friends and I went to Walgreens after a night out to grab some hot pockets and makeup wipes. Someone standing outside made a comment about me that I didnt hear but my best friends little brother did and he told the guy to shut up. When we came out, it happened again and this time it was escalated into a physical alteration with my friends little brother getting pulled out of the car, my other friend screaming at people to turn over his phone that he dropped, and me yelling SIR PLEASE in a vain attempt to break this all up from the drivers seat. Eventually the cops came and we left and were able to laugh about it, but it quickly clicked in my mind that not everyone was as happy with me finding this self-expression as I was.

Since then Ive only been harassed by cab drivers and straight guys at the bar, but that usually ends with free rides or free drinks and Im all about a good deal.

Stephanie Stone (NYC): I guess so but thereve been so few instances of it. I think I carry myself in such an authoritative way, but that doesnt really mean anything  that doesnt bar you from that kind of violence, especially with misogyny the way it is in the world. But I think that Ive just been lucky.

Have you ever considered moving elsewhere for your drag career?

Toyota Corona (Milwaukee): Ive given the thought of moving to NYC and pursuing drag a thought here or there, but I would never make it. There are so, so many talented queens and already such tight-knit mini-communities in different pockets of the city that Id be overwhelmed immediately. I think Milwaukee is the speed I need right now for where I am mentally and emotionally. Chicago will always be just a short train ride away when I need to get re-energized with the vitality of a big city, but until them Im excited to get the chance to rebuild my friendships here and reestablish (or honestly just establish for the first time) Toyota Corona as one of the best entertainers in this city. So book me, yall!

Toyota Corona.

Stephanie Stone (NYC): Well, I love Paris. Who doesnt want to do drag in Paris? Come on! Its Paris  its the Moulin Rouge! Thats definitely what I would want to do. The only thing is their nightlife isnt that big. Its very small there. Its getting bigger, but its just a different way of doing it. Every city has its different way of doing things.

But Ive just been a New Yorker  I am. Ive tried, I think of other things and I cant (laughs). Im a tried and true New Yorker  Im the person that when youre on the plane I start tearing up when it comes back into the city. My Carrie Bradshaw moment.

If you could give yourself a message as a young queer person or a baby drag queen, what would that be?

Toyota Corona (Milwaukee): Start Hormone Replacement Therapy now. Rip the bandaid off that youre trans with your friends and family as early as possible because its gonna be so hard on you and everyone you know and youre gonna be sad all the time if you dont. You can skip college because that was a waste of time, or if you do still go, do the party thing more because you sat home a lot. And finally, yes, you still love Britney Spears and The Spice Girls now as you did then but when Ginger leaves, its gonna break your fucking heart, kiddo.

Stephanie Stone (NYC): Put on your makeup stronger than you think, girl! I mean, I think every drag queen thinks that. You always think you can go by drugstore makeup and put on two little things and think youre fabulous. But no, you need full coverage.

Also: Listen to yourself. Not anybody else.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. State Department has approved the possible sale of a THAAD anti-missile defense system to Saudi Arabia at an estimated cost of $15 billion, the Pentagon said on Friday, citing Iran among regional threats. The approval opens the way for Saudi Arabia to purchase 44 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) launchers and 360 missiles, as well as fire control stations and radars. "This sale furthers U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, and supports the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the face of Iranian and other regional threats," the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation agency said in a statement. Saudi Arabia and the United States are highly critical of what they consider Irans aggressive behavior in the Middle East. Iran also has one of the biggest ballistic missile programs in the Middle East, viewing it as an essential precautionary defense against the United States and other adversaries, primarily Gulf Arab states and Israel. THAAD missile systems are deployed to defend against ballistic missile attacks. Saudi-owned al Arabiya television reported on Thursday that the kingdom had agreed to buy Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems, an announcement that came as Saudi King Salman made during his visit to Russia, the first by a Saudi monarch. U.S. military sales to Saudi Arabia have come under increased scrutiny over the Saudi-led coalitions war in Yemen. Riyadh and its allies have been bombing the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen since the Houthis seized much of the countrys north in 2015. Riyadh says the coalition is fighting terrorists and supporting Yemens legitimate government but the office of the U.N. human rights chief has said Saudi-led air strikes cause the majority of civilian casualties. Lockheed Martin Co is the prime contractor for the THAAD system, with Raytheon Co playing an important role in the system's deployment. The United States deployed THAAD to South Korea this year to guard against North Korea's shorter-range missiles. That has drawn fierce criticism from China, which says the system's powerful radar can probe deep into its territory. (Reporting by Mohammad Zargham and Chris Sanders; Editing by Tom Brown and Alistair Bell)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive by the Taliban for five years after walking off his post in Afghanistan, is expected to plead guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, the Associated Press reported on Friday, citing two people with knowledge of the case.

"We have no comment on that report," said Eugene Fidell, one of Bergdahls lawyers, when reached by phone on Friday.

In 2014, Bergdahl was released in a prisoner swap with five Taliban detainees held by the United States in a decision that was criticized by many Republican leaders. President Donald Trump has called Bergdahl a "dirty, rotten traitor."

The Idaho native was charged in 2015 with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy by endangering U.S. troops. The latter offense carries a sentence of up to life in prison.

An Army spokesman at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where Bergdahls trial was scheduled to begin on Oct. 23, also did not confirm the AP's report.

"We continue to maintain careful respect for the military-judicial process, the rights of the accused and ensuring the case's fairness and impartiality during this ongoing legal case," said the spokesman, Paul Boyce.

Bergdahl has said he left his post in June 2009 to draw attention to "leadership failure" in his unit.

He was subsequently captured and suffered torture, abuse and neglect at the hands of Taliban forces, a military expert testified previously.

The head of the Army team that investigated Bergdahl has said he does not believe the soldier should face jail time.

The AP reported that sentencing will start on Oct. 23, citing the individuals with knowledge of the case.

(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins and Susan Heavey; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Jonathan Oatis)
GENEVA (Reuters) - Muslim Rohingyas continue to flee Myanmar to Bangladesh and the United Nations is bracing for possible "further exodus", the U.N. humanitarian aid chief said on Friday. Mark Lowcock, U.N. under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, reiterated the world body's appeal for access to the population in northern Rakhine state saying that the current situation was "unacceptable". "This flow out of Myanmar has not stopped yet, it's into the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya (who are) still in Myanmar, we want to be ready in case there is a further exodus," he told a news briefing in Geneva on Friday. "Half a million people do not pick up sticks and flee their country on a whim." An estimated 2,000 Rohingya are escaping Rakhine daily for Bangladesh, where 515,000 have fled since violence erupted on Aug. 25, Joel Millman of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) told a separate briefing. (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Alison Williams)
Eddy Aquilera, left, works in the milking parlor at Ripp's Dairy Valley farm, Sept. 12, 2017. Aquilera, who has worked at the farm for four years, is one of 11 immigrant workers there.

DANE, Wis.  On a recent summer evening, dozens of farmers, public officials, dairy workers and rural residents took their seats in the lofty pole barn of Ripps Dairy Valley farm to talk about the health of Wisconsins dairy industry.

The main topic of the night, pushed to the forefront by the election of President Donald Trump: immigration.

Well, its a hot topic, and every night on the news you hear about building a wall and what were gonna do, like were gonna kick everybody out, Chuck Ripp, who owns the farm with his brothers Troy and Gary, told the group. First of all, Trump has a lot of power, but I dont think he has that much power. He doesnt quite understand, I dont think, everything that involves in our lives all the time here on the dairy farm.

Chuck Ripp troubleshoots a machine in the milking parlor at his farm, Ripp's Dairy Valley, in Dane, Wisconsin, Sept. 12, 2017. He says he works long hours at the farm, which he co-owns with his brothers Gary and Troy. The dairy relies heavily on Latino workers.

The farmers interest in immigration issues marks a shift. A generation ago, Wisconsins agricultural landscape was dominated by small and medium-sized dairy farms run by the families that owned them, and immigration wasnt a top-line issue for dairy farmers.

But today, the nations No. 2 milk-producing state is home to a growing number of large, concentrated animal-feeding operations. These businesses, which operate 24/7, year-round, require work that some farmers insist most Americans will not do. The number of workers on dairies in Wisconsin has nearly doubled since 2006 to about 14,000, according to federal figures.

As dairies need for workers has grown, the move away from small family farms has dried up the pipeline that once supplied those workers, says Shelly Mayer, executive director for Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin, the trade group that hosted the event at Ripps Dairy. Rural areas in Wisconsin and across the nation have been losing population. Between 2000 and 2010, Wisconsins population grew by 6 percent, but more than a quarter of Wisconsins 72 counties lost population.

Story continues

Were just short of people, Mayer said. Immigration is... really a symptom of a rural labor shortage. I dont think any of the farmers are trying to work around the system. They just need a person they can rely on to care for cows.

Sergio Rivera cares for the calves at Ripp's Dairy Valley farm. Rivera is from Mexico and has been working at the farm since 2003. His wife and daughter live with him on the farm. Here there is more opportunities for work, he said. In Mexico, nada.

Id rather have a Latino

Tim Keller, who milks 330 cows on his 600-acre farm near Mount Horeb, about 25 miles west of Madison, has another theory about the importance of immigrant labor to dairy operations: Immigrants work harder.

Even if an American guy came up right now, I dont know if Id hire him, said Keller, who employs five immigrant workers. Id rather have a Latino.

Before Chuck Ripps farm started to grow, he and his brothers hired local high school students to help on the farm. But they never lasted. Now, 11 of the 12 non-family members who work there are Latino immigrants.

We cannot find the American person to come in and work full-time on a dairy, Ripp said. Its too many long hours. Its too hard of work. And its seven days a week, 365 on a dairy farm... A cow does not take a day off.

Weve run ads in the papers, looking for milking technicians or people to help milk cows and things like that, he went on. We dont even get a bite. We dont even get calls.

More than half of all dairy workers in the U.S. are immigrants, according to a 2015 industry-sponsored study, and farms that employ immigrant labor produce 79 percent of the nations milk. Dairy farmers have become accustomed to cheap, flexible labor, said Jill Lindsey Harrison, a former University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty member who has studied the rise in immigrant dairy workers in Wisconsin. But at 3.2 percent, Wisconsins unemployment rate is near a record low, and some businesses complain they cannot find enough workers to fill positions.

Theres another reason some farmers may turn to immigrant labor: Immigrants are willing to work long hours under pretty crummy conditions to support themselves and their families, explained Harrison, who now teaches at the University of Colorado Boulder. Wisconsin farmers have said it is nearly impossible to convince Americans to take the jobs, which entail cleaning out stalls, covering night, weekend and holiday shifts, and working in every type of weather, including rain, snow, blazing heat and subzero temperatures.

Immigrant workers who do not have legal status are easier to manage because theyre going to not ruffle any feathers, Harrison said. They are generally afraid to speak up for themselves and demand better jobs.

What if farmers just paid more?

Neil Rainford, a longtime labor activist, believes that more people would be willing to work on dairy farms if the wages were higher.

Neil Rainford, a longtime labor activist who has negotiated wages for employees in workplaces including a municipal sewer plant, a jail and an aluminum manufacturing facility, doesnt buy the argument that Americans will not clean out barns or get up before dawn to milk cows.

The other fields Rainford has organized are easily as dirty, dangerous and hard as dairy work, he said. In all those communities, it was a matter of what wages needed to be paid to get people to do onerous jobs that most people dont want to do.

The labor market for the dairy industry in Wisconsin is the same as any other labor market, he went on. If demand outstrips supply, then the price  of labor, in this case  must increase to meet demand.

Relying on immigrant labor drives down wages to unnaturally low levels for dairy work, meaning U.S. citizens cannot get jobs with family-supporting income in their home communities, Rainford said. (Rainford is a Madison-area field representative for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, but said he was speaking only for himself and not the public employee union.)

Undocumented workers do not qualify for public benefits like Obamacare or government-subsidized health care  meaning they have to labor without the basic social protections that are part of our social and legal compact, are easily exploited, suffer sub-market wages and benefits and are denied many of the basic minimums that we have agreed upon as a society, Rainford said.

But raising wages could leave farmers short when the sometimes-volatile price of milk drops, Oconto Falls farmer Tim OHarrow said at a forum on the future of the immigrant dairy workforce in Madison last month.

If we pay [workers] more, how do I get the money out of you [consumers]? OHarrow asked attendees at the Cap Times Idea Fest. Milk is a commodity. We dont control the price.

Immigrant labor keeps the economy of rural Wisconsin humming, argued Brad Barham, a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It is not replaceable by domestic labor  its not going to happen.

Uriel Lopez, left, has worked at Ripp's Dairy Valley farm for 10 years. Here he is seen in the milking parlor with Eddy Aquilera. Eleven of the 12 non-family members who work at Ripp's dairy are Latino immigrants.

How much is fair?

Farmers insist their immigrant workers are paid fairly, and that pay is rising.

In just the past year and a half, Ripp said, his farm boosted starting wages from $8.50 an hour to $11  plus housing  as the flow of immigrants crossing the southern U.S. border has slowed. Workers with their own housing start at $12 an hour, he said. Some of his longer-tenured Latino workers earn $15 an hour.

Dane County, where the Ripp farm is located, considers $12.50 an hour and above to be a living wage.

Americas No. 1 milk producer, California, is raising the minimum wage for nearly all workers, including those in agriculture. By 2023, farmers and other employers will have to pay at least $15 an hour. Employees working more than eight hours a day or 40 hours a week also will be eligible for overtime pay.

But raising pay too much could hurt the dairy industry, which has been hit by low milk prices, Chuck Ripp said in an interview.

As labor costs go up, people go out of business, plain and simple, he said. If it gets too high, people are going to say, I just cant do this anymore. Were going to lose some farms. And I dont think thats what the economy wants.

We could probably get [U.S. workers] to come with a lot higher wages, Ripp added. But the turnover would be very high. Troy Ripp said that it would probably take three to four domestic workers to cover the shifts that one of his immigrant laborers is willing to work.

A robotic feeder made by GEA Farm Technologies makes its way through the cow barn at the De Buhr farm in Lancaster, Wisconsin, on Aug. 31, 2017. Mechanization has increased on dairy farms as farmers struggle to find enough workers.

Machines vs. immigrants

Farms can deal with labor shortages with the help of Congress, increased automation and better pay and benefits, said Philip Martin, a professor emeritus of agricultural and resource economics at the University of California, Davis.

Martin said farm owners need to increase mechanization  such as automatic cow feeders and robotic milking systems  to improve productivity, make jobs less physically demanding and ultimately shrink the size of the workforce. Similar labor-saving devices have led to a sharp decline in the proportion of the U.S. workforce engaged in agriculture, he noted. About 200 years ago, 72 percent of the countrys employees worked on farms. Today, that figure is less than 2 percent.

Mark Misch sees the trend toward mechanization as he travels the Upper Midwest selling cow water beds, which are considered more comfortable for the animals.

A lot of people are looking into robots to replace the labor, having a robot do it, said Misch, who works for DCC Waterbeds in Sun Prairie. It could be a robot that milks the cows. It could be a robot that feeds the cows. Theres robots that push the feed up to the cows, so the people dont have to do those jobs.

Former ag secretary: Change the law

More machines and better pay will not be enough, Martin says. He noted that Congress is considering expanding the guest worker program to include dairy workers.

Currently, the so-called H-2A program is confined to seasonal farm workers. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) has proposed allowing dairy farms to bring in guest workers, calling it a small starting point of relief for farmers in need of labor. The measure passed the House Appropriations Committee in July, but still needs full House and Senate approval.

Then-Wisconsin Agriculture Secretary Ben Brancel meets with Henry and Carol Ebert during Farm Technology Days in Algoma, Wisconsin, June 6, 2017. Brancel, who retired in August, says the United States should change immigration law to accommodate the growing number of immigrants working in the dairy industry.

Ben Brancel, Wisconsins recently retired agriculture secretary, agrees that immigration law needs to be changed. Brancel, who served as a Republican lawmaker and state-level director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said politicians in Washington, D.C., need to stop arguing immigration policy at the extremes and adopt law changes that recognize the need for immigrant labor in agriculture while still limiting the people who can qualify for citizenship.

Unfortunately right now, there isnt any stability in immigration policy, said Brancel, who retired from public service in August to run his beef cattle farm in central Wisconsin.

Chuck Ripp also wants changes. He worries about his workers being arrested because some cannot legally drive in Wisconsin. And some of his employees  such as Sergio Rivera, who has worked on the Ripp farm for 14 years  can go long periods without seeing their extended families because they fear being barred re-entry into the United States.

I like [to go] back to Mexico to see my family... but right now its just more hard, said Rivera, who cares for calves on the farm.

Dairy cows are seen in a freestall barn on a farm in northern Buffalo County, Wisconsin, on March 8, 2017. Wisconsin is the nation's No. 2 milk producer and No. 1 cheese producer. Farmers here say tougher immigration policies are making it more difficult to find and keep workers.

Being denied re-entry would mean Rivera would be separated from his wife and daughter, who live with him on the farm. That bothers Ripp.

I really like these guys. I get to know them well, theyre working hard for me, Ripp said. It would be nice for me to know that Sergio could go home and then in a month come back. But right now, were all afraid that once they leave, once they go into Mexico, can they get back into America?

There is anecdotal evidence that some immigrant workers are leaving Wisconsin in the face of heightened enforcement.

In the Chicago regional office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which encompasses six states including Wisconsin, arrests are up under Trump, from an average of 538 per month at the end of Barack Obamas presidency to an average of 776 per month for the first six months under Trump.

At the same time, deportation rates have gone down, in part because of record backlogs in the courts. In the Chicago region, the pending case backlog is about 25,700, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse at Syracuse University.

Despite the threat of arrest emanating from Washington, Harrison, the former UW-Madison faculty member, said she does not expect a wave of voluntary departures.

Youve got people who are desperate to be here to work, Harrison said. So theyll keep a low profile. Theyll say yes to whats offered to them. Theyll make as much money as they can while they can. Its heartbreaking.

Elise Foley of HuffPost contributed to this story, which was reported in collaboration with HuffPost as part of its Listen to America bus tour, which is stopping in Milwaukee Oct. 6. The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (www.WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, other news media and the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.

Related Video:

Watch news, TV and more Yahoo View, available on iOS and Android.
Washington (AFP) - The United States warned Kenya's rival political camps to reject violence and respect electoral law on Friday, as protesters took to the streets.

Kenya is due to vote on October 26 in a re-run of an August presidential election that was marred by widespread irregularities, and tensions are mounting.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga has called for protests to force President Uhuru Kenyatta's government to overhaul the east African nation's electoral commission.

The majority Jubilee Party has rejected this demand and, amid threats of boycotts, observers are worried about a possible outbreak of political violence.

"The United States Government is deeply concerned by the deterioration in the political environment in Kenya," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

"Unfortunately, in recent weeks actors on all sides have undermined the electoral commission and stoked tensions," she said.

"While we support freedom of speech, baseless attacks and unreasonable demands on the electoral commission are divisive," she said, in a rebuke to Odinga's campaign.

But she also warned against overreaction by the security forces.

"Kenyan leaders and citizens must reject violence and call on others to do the same," she said.

"Security services should use the utmost restraint in handling demonstrations, and any response must be proportionate and appropriate."

Meanwhile, police fired teargas to disperse protests Friday as opposition supporters took to the streets in three main Kenyan cities.

dc/jm
WASHINGTON  As lawmakers seek to negotiate a deal to give legal status to young undocumented immigrants, one of President Donald Trumps senior policy advisers seems to be pursuing a strategy to torpedo the talks.

Stephen Miller, whos devoted much of his career to advocating for more deportations and slashing legal immigration, has been given significant latitude to work on the outlines of a potential agreement to protect recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which Trump announced last month he would end.

Trump also said he wanted Congress to pass legislation to give so-called Dreamers  young undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children  legal status before March, when they are set to begin losing protections in larger numbers. But theres doubt on Capitol Hill about whether Miller wants the same  and concern that he may have enough influence to sink a deal if he doesnt.

Word among Republican aides briefed on Millers motives is that he is trying to blow up a deal on DACA, using demands on legal immigration to open up a broader conversation that he knows will impede a smaller agreement.

One aide familiar with the discussions put it starkly: Either the president is negotiating in bad faith, or Stephen Miller has hijacked the negotiation.

The Stephen Miller wish list is a non-starter with Democrats, and this divides Republicans in both the House and Senate, the aide continued. Until Miller takes a backseat, the DACA deal is going nowhere.

According to this aide, the White House will soon ask that any deal on DACA include provisions from the so-called RAISE Act pending in Congress that include cuts to legal immigration  perhaps even slicing the current numbers in half. The White House also will seek to give state and local authorities the power to enforce immigration laws, as well as for provisions criminalizing anyone here without a legal status, the aide said.

Stephen Miller (Photo: Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images)

Miller also apparently wants to put the onus on Congress to designate individuals who qualify for temporary protected status in the U.S.  a move that that would likely stunt anyone from getting that designation. The status prevents certain individuals already in the U.S. from being deported to countries facing armed conflict or recovering from natural disasters.

Story continues

On top of all this, Miller still wants to add billions of dollars for border security, detention beds, and immigration judges.

Even Republican senators admit a wish list like that would stymie a resolution on DACA.

Once we start getting into the legal immigration debate and what the appropriate fixes are there, were in danger of getting into the comprehensive immigration reform debate, which leaves us basically empty-handed, Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) told HuffPost on Thursday.

We ought to be narrowly focused on the DACA fix that the presidents asked us to consider, Cornyn said. He added that once Congress had taken care of DACA and border security, then lawmakers could turn to these other issues in the next legislation.

Congressional Republican leaders seem to support making DACA permanent in exchange for some border security elements, though Democrats insist a border wall will not be part of that deal.

The most immediate thing we can do is address the DACA situation, Cornyn said, and I think the most logical way forward, is to combine that with border security and interior enforcement of immigration laws.

Asked specifically about Miller potentially trying to thwart an immigration deal on childhood arrivals, Cornyn said he didnt know why the White House aide would want to do that.

He doesnt want border security? Cornyn asked. This is a way for us to get what the president ran on, and what all of us believe is very important, which is border security and enforcement of the law.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said he wasnt necessarily against a larger bill. As many things that need to be addressed, should be addressed, because we wont do it again for three decades probably, he said.

But he added that once lawmakers started dealing with new limits on the number of legal immigrants, Congress would also have to address temporary visas.

Then suddenly the bill gets really big, he said. He acknowledged that Trumps stated wish list may be less complicated.

The president has been very clear: I want border security, I want DACA settled, Lankford said.

Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) said he wants further immigration reform  he was part of the gang of eight that drafted a comprehensive bill that passed the Senate in 2013  but now isnt the time.

Flake is a co-sponsor of the Dream Act, which would grant legal status to the young undocumented immigrants. And on Thursday he introduced a bill that pairs Dreamer protections with border security.

I think its tough enough to pass a deal that combines those two elements, he said.

With the deadline we have with DACA, I think its unrealistic to think we can do broader immigration [reform], he said.

Many Democrats are pushing for a clean Dream Act  that is, one that doesnt deal with other policies. But party leaders have said they would be willing to accept border security measures in exchange for legal status for Dreamers.

The two top Democrats in Congress thought they had that deal with Trump in September. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Trump had agreed in principle to pair Dream Act-style legislation with border security  nothing more.

Trump officials insist there was no such accord. When Trump met with Republican lawmakers on Monday, he told them he would demand more in exchange for legal status for Dreamers, potentially including border wall funding and cuts to legal immigration.

But Democrats seem unlikely to go along with that.

Turning efforts for a deal over to Stephen Miller is essentially letting a bull loose in a China shop, a senior Senate Democratic aide said in an email. If the president wants this to work, he needs to get control of the process.

Ali Noorani, executive director of the pro-reform National Immigration Forum, said he thinks Trump wants to do something to protect Dreamers from deportation and understands that will require a compromise with Democrats. But he doesnt think Miller goes along with that.

The president is being undermined by his own people, Noorani said.

There have been so many rumors, so many leaks about it, Noorani said of Miller, adding that the White House aide has seemed increasingly desperate to scuttle any sort of legislative compromise for Dreamers.

The argument over DACA threatens to become a flashpoint between some Hill Republicans and the Trump White House. Its unclear where Trump himself will come down, but if some lawmakers and aides are right, Miller could thwart even the smallest deal that trades DACA provisions for border security.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
Every single one of you has encouraged me, inspired me, to write what I am, to be who I am.  Julio

According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2016, the racial population of Iowa was over 91 percent white. However, in Des Moines Public Schools, the largest public school district in the state, almost 60 percent of the students served self-identify as non-white, a vastly different racial and ethnic makeup when compared to the state as a whole. Movement 515, our weekly after-school workshop series, provides young people access to free workshops in spoken word poetry and performance, graffiti writing and breakdancing  broadening the options of artistic forms of expression typically available to young people within the public education system.

Oftentimes, when measuring success or failure within the public education system, we turn to data to inform us which students are succeeding and which students are being left behind. The formal measures, however, are rigid and informed by systems such as colonization and capitalism, as opposed to culture and equity.

We believe in authentic, unadulterated, unfiltered student voice as necessary in bringing about solutions to problems directly impacting young people, showcasing the ways in which students are literate and thriving in ways a standardized exam can never capture. The strength of Movement 515 lies in the belief that vulnerability makes us stronger, more empathetic and more understanding human beings.

Des Moines Panther Puff Girls performance

What began with one workshop, and one young person writing poems in the corner of a library, has blossomed into weekly workshops in 30 Des Moines Public Schools, serving approximately 1500 young people in the 2016-2017 school year. Perhaps more important than the art that is created in the space is the community that is fostered, with familial relationships being the fuel that keeps the Movement moving forward. Unlike most district-wide activities, where students typically only share space during competition, Movement 515 meets as a district-wide community once a week, where they collaborate, build and share works with one another, helping dismantle stigmas they have of the schools represented. We intentionally ask students from each corner of the city to recognize the strength and power of collaboration.

Story continues

While the purpose of public schools is debated among scholars and society, Movement 515 operates under the philosophy there is no greater tool for constructing equity and social justice. Leading with love is an act of protest we practice within the Movement, as well as caring for those we may not automatically identify with. Youth-led activism through rallies, protests, walkouts, summits and public performances are crucial to our growth as humans collectively working together to create a more just world. Growing up in a predominantly rural state with very few people who reflect you can be isolating, but on any given afternoon in a classroom in public schools throughout Des Moines, theres a space with black, brown and white faces, a space that is waiting for you and your truth.
Niger is a difficult place for any military to operate.

Aside from its extreme poverty and harsh climate, the Central African country is located smack in the middle of one of the worlds most popular human smuggling routes and in a region beset by militant groups.

The reported deaths of three American soldiers in southwest Nigerafter a joint U.S.-Niger patrol came under attackhas drawn attention to America's role in the region.

U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) confirmed to Newsweek that the patrol came under hostile fire in southwest Niger and said it was working to confirm details of the incident.

But the New York Times, citing U.S. military officials, said that three Green Berets had been killed in the incident and two more wounded. A Nigerien official in the Tillaberi regionwhich includes the capital Niameytold Reuters that five of Niger soldiers had also been killed.

U.S. forces are deployed in Niger to provide training and security assistance to forces targeting violent extremist groups, according to AFRICOM. This includes intelligence and surveillance support, as well as training.

1005_US_Niger

PHILIPPE WOJAZER/AFP/Getty

Read more: Trumps travel ban now includes a vital counterterrorism ally in Africa

Niger is threatened by militant groups and insurgencies across several of its borders. In the west and southwest, it shares borders with Mali and Burkina Faso. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) has been active in the region for years and played a key role in seizing control of much of northern Mali in 2012, before a French counter-operation beat the militants back. A nascent affiliate of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) has also carried out attacks in Burkina Faso and Niger.

Story continues

To the north, Niger shares an over-200 mile border with Libya, where ISIS militants remain active. The U.S. recently restarted drone strikes on ISIS positions in Libya after a lull since January.

Libya is also the major departure point for African migrants and refugees trying to cross to Europe and more than 2,600 deaths have been recorded in the Mediterranean in 2017, the vast majority off the coast of Libya. Most of the migrants who make it to Libya pass through Niger.

Libya migrants

Ismail Zitouny/Reuters

Niger also shares a southeastern border with Nigeria, with both countries sharing part of Lake Chad. Boko Haram militants have moved with relative ease across the porous borders separating the two countries (and also Cameroon and Chad). The group has launched occasional attacks in Niger, but these have largely been confined to the southeast.

While Washington only has one permanent military base in Africalocated in Djibouti in the Horn of Africait is currently in the process of building a major drone base in Agadez, a barren desert city in central Niger that is a transit point for migrants en route to Libya.

Congress approved a $50 million request for the base in the defense budget past in 2015, though some reports estimate costs could rise to $100 million. An article on the AFRICOM site described the project as the biggest military labor troop project in U.S. Air Force history.

1005_US_Niger_2

OLATUNJI OMIRIN/AFP/Getty

And the U.S. relationship with Niger could prove even more important in coming months after a rift between Washington and another vital ally in the region, Chad.

President Donald Trump added Chad to the latest iteration of his proposed immigration ban, citing failures by the country to share information with Washington. Chadwhich has one of the regions strongest armiesresponded with dismay, and some experts have suggested the country may cool its cooperation with the United States as a result.

Related Articles
Destiny Tompkins was allegedly shorted on work hours at Banana Republic for wearing her hair in box braids. (Photo: Destiny Tompkins via Facebook)

A Banana Republic employee claims she faced discrimination over her braided hairstyle and was told by her manager that her look was inappropriate for working on the store floor.

Destiny Tompkins took to Facebook to share her allegations about the Banana Republic at the Westchester Mall in White Plains, N.Y. Above photos showing her hair styled in long braids and red hair accessories, Tompkins wrote that, after her district manager popped in for a store visit, her store manager, Michael, asked to speak with her.

He told me that my braids were not Banana Republic appropriate and that they were too urban and unkempt for their image, she wrote in her caption. She says Michael went on to tell her that if I didnt take them out then he couldnt schedule me for shifts until I did.

When Tompkins explained that box braids are a protective style for her hair, which dries out and becomes brittle in cooler air, she says Michael then recommended that she use shea butter for it instead of the braided hairstyle.

Tompkins elaborated on the personal trauma she felt from the remarks. I have never been so humiliated and degraded in my life by a white person. In that moment, I felt so uncomfortable and overwhelmed that I didnt even finish my work shift and ended up leaving. Over 22,000 people have reacted to Tompkinss Facebook post, and there has been an outpouring of comments in her support. What they did to you wasnt right, said one commenter, while another suggested that legal action should be taken.

And Tompkins could indeed have a case. The U.S.- based nonprofit Workplace Fairness notes that employers are allowed to regulate the hair look of their employees. However, codes for hair and dress may not be legal if theyre discriminatory.

Yahoo Lifestyle has reached out to Destiny Tompkins for comment and will update should she choose to share more details. And we called Banana Republics Westchester Mall location for comments from Michael, but a staff employee relayed the message that he was unavailable to speak. Another manager, who refused to give his name, explained that the issue is being dealt with through human resources.

Story continues

A spokesperson for the brand, Sheikina Liverpool, released the following statement regarding Tompkinss experience: As a company, we have zero tolerance for discrimination. We take this matter very seriously and we are actively conducting an investigation. We are committed to upholding an inclusive environment where our customers and our employees feel respected.

This isnt the first time a store employee has been challenged for wearing her hair in braids. In April 2016, Toronto-based Zara employee Cree Ballah, age 20, says she was told by her managers that her hairstyle wasnt a good look and the staff proceeded to fix her hair.

Some confusion here comes from the questions of what is considered a professional hairstyle and who gets to say. Does hair play a part in how well someone can perform tasks at a job? When you Google the term professional hairstyles for work, many images of Caucasian women come up. When you Google the term unprofessional hairstyles for work, many photos of women of color come up.

Could race be playing a factor?

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.




First Lady Melania Trump has been mocked for wearing sunglasses at night [Photo: Getty]

After visiting Puerto Rico on Tuesday, then heading to Las Vegas the following day, Melania Trump returned to the White House late Wednesday. Wearing a black lace skirt with a cotton sweater, she accessorized with a patent leather belt, high heels, and sunglasses  at night.

People took to Twitter to mock the first lady for her eyewear choice.

So do we think Melania wears the big sunglasses so she can hide an eye roll? pic.twitter.com/HZhF6RAhvx  Reitwoman (@reitwoman) October 4, 2017

Why the sunglasses at night, Melania.  Denise (@DeniseTut) October 5, 2017

I wear my sunglasses at night

So I can so I can

Forget my name while you collect your claim pic.twitter.com/34dUnkqtsX  Viscountess Sharilyn (@sharilyn) October 5, 2017

FLOTUS was also criticized for wearing sunglasses to meet Puerto Rico residents earlier in the week, with some saying her mirrored shades made her seem aloof and unapproachable.

Melania wears her mirrored sunglasses & hat pulled low so she can really project warmth & caring to the people of #PuertoRico  alison wonderland (@Alisonnj) October 3, 2017

A few social media users jumped to her defense:

Story continues

Melania doesn't care about your 'public plea' to remove her sunglasses and heels. It's none of your business what she wears !!!!  Julie Williams (@mssilvercity) October 5, 2017

To the dorks criticizing Melania for wearing sunglasses at night: Trumps just viewed devastation in PR, shooting in Vegas, must be hard..  Western_Veteran (@Jim_in_Colo) October 5, 2017

Lots of Trumps fashion choices have been ridiculed on the internet as of late. After the storm stilettos shaming when visiting Hurricane Harvey destruction in Texas, she was chided weeks later for wearing Timberland boots to assess Hurricane Maria damage.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.




BERLIN - Israeli political advisor Tal Silberstein is behind a smear campaign that has caused a political storm in Austria just days before the general elections in the country, according to Austrian media.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



Silberstein, a former advisor to Israeli prime ministers Ehud Barak, Ehud Olmert and Benjamin Netanyahu, is reportedly behind particularly vitriolic Facebook pages, which he opened as part of his work for the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPO).

The Facebook pages are not directly tied to the party's campaign, but they do target political rival Sebastian Kurz, who heads the right-wing Austrian People's Party, with content described to be "anti-Semitic and racist in part," according to Austrian newspaper Die Presse.

Tal Silberstein (Photo: AFP)

In an interview with Austrian media, Silberstein did not deny being behind the campaign but instead attacked his rivals and accused them of planting a mole in his team.

Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern, who hired Silberstein, denied having any knowledge of the dirty campaign, with Silberstein himself confirming Kern had no hand in it.

Silberstein was paid some 500,000 euros for his work for the SPO. He stopped working with the party in mid-August, when he was arrested in Israel in connection with the corruption case surrounding billionaire Beny Steinmetz

Negative campaigns are usually considered taboo in Austrian elections. A Facebook page titled "The truth about Sebastian Kurz," which was opened by Silberstein but made to look like a page run by the radical right-wing in the country, claimed American billionaire George Soros, a central figure in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, donated millions of dollars to Kurz's campaign.

The same page also mocked Kurz's age, presenting him as a baby. Kurz, who has been serving as Austria's foreign minister since 2013, was appointed to the role at age 27, making him one of the youngest foreign ministers in Europe.

Sebastian Kurz (Photo: GettyImages)

Another Facebook page titled "We're for Sebastian Kurz" was portrayed as one run by a close associate of Kurz's party and featured posts with populist positions. For example, a photo of masses of refugees was accompanied with the caption: "Thousands of refugees are waiting in Italy and NGOs are threatening to bring them to Austria. Should Austria allow this?"

The page also posted about an opinion poll asking whether the main border crossing between Austria and Italy should be closeda clearly populist position.

The elections are scheduled to be held on October 15. Kurz's Austrian People's Party is leading in the polls with 34 percent, compared to the SPO with only 25 percent.
Disturbing events are underway in Syria, which will pose a growing threat to Israel's security - unless things turn around.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



In the past, there was talk of finding a federal solution for Syria that would be brokered by the superpowers. The problem is that the US had abandoned the Syrian arena, leaving the entire area to Russia's whims.

Syria does not appear to really interest Washington, and Moscow has become the area's 'landlord.' This is bad news for Israel, because Russia is currently assisting its real allies in the Middle East, who happen to be Israel's most dangerous enemies: Iran, Hezbollah, and the Assad regime that depends on them for its survival.

Trump and Assad (Photo: AP)

The Russia-Iran-Hezbollah-Assad combination is a danger that cannot be ignored, as it is opening a second northern front against Israel.

In the past, Israel and the Assad regime were locked in a 'balance of terror' situation, leaving the Golan Heights quiet for decades. This balance has been undermined by the arrival of a new axis to support Assad.

Now that the US has, to all intents and purposes, left the Syrian story, Israel's interests are represented by no one but itself.

Israel has no real influence in Syria, and Moscow is not particularly interested in Israel's concerns. Russia has its own perspective on events in the region.

The Iranian-led axis can be expected to avoid creating provocations against Israel for the time being, and focus on consolidating its presence in Syria.

It could use this time to create a well-developed weapons industry, and move its forces into southern Syria. Then, when the time comes, the Iranian axis could face Israel from two directions: Syria and Lebanon. This would make life much harder for Israel.

Israel, for its part, must signal that it will not tolerate such developments. Its reported strike in September against the CERS Syrian weapons center near Damascus, where chemical and biological weapons are developed, as well as powerful ballistic missiles, is a good way to transmit this message. Beyond the tactical advantages of such a strike, there is also a strategic message here: Israel will not be intimidated into avoiding strikes when Jerusalem's red lines have been breached.

Nevertheless, the Israel Air Force could find itself facing advanced Russian-made air defense systems in the future, if Moscow decides to activate these, or allow the Assad regime to do so.

In addition, when one sends messages via weapons, it's not completely clear what the enemy receives and understands. Israel will need to be consistent on this front, while also continuing to walk a tightrope, by avoiding steps that spark an undesired war.

In the meantime, the Iranian-Hezbollah axis looks set on continuing to manufacture and smuggle weapons, despite being 'hit on the nose' every once in a while. For every alleged successful Israeli effort to thwart the weapons flow, there are additional weapons transfers that Israel could not stop.

The big picture is that Iran, Hezbollah, Assad, and Russia are winning the war in Syria. Their morale is high, and their appetite could increase.

Israel's interest, at this stage, is to disrupt and counterbalance the 'balance of terror' together with the US. Without American cooperation, this will be very hard to accomplish.

President Trump (Photo: AP)

It is critical for Israel that the US does not leave Syria before this issue is addressed.

If the Iranian-led axis is left unchecked, it will continue to create facts on the ground, and as soon as it is strong enough, it will launch a provocation against Israel. When Israel retaliates, the Iranian axis will be able to respond effectively. Until then, the focus of Iran and Hezbollah will be to build up their capabilities in Syria.

Israel can be expected to act smartly in places where these capabilities constitute a concern.

Ultimately, these events signal that Israel and Iran are engaged in a cold war; a war of minds and interests on Syrian soil.

The Iranians aren't about to exit Syria. They have invested too much money, time, and blood.

Israel's interest is, at this stage, to have a zone stretching from the Da'ara Road in south Syria to Damascus that is completely free of Hezbollah and Iranian forces and operations.

That, together with preventing the development of an advanced weapons industry on Syrian soil, forms the top priority Israeli interests.

The vital thing going forward is to have the Americans on board, and to ensure that when Israel's red lines are violated, Jerusalem acts.
Head of Dubai-based carrier Sir Tim Clark has indicated that the Emirati flagship airline does not fear competition from Air France-KLM after the joint venture launched its low cost and long haul subsidiary Joon to challenge competitors.

The subsidiary was unveiled late last month and will start operating in December from Roissy airport in France.

The single aisle aircraft will start long hauls from March next year, with 10 A350.

Clark in an interview with Netherland-based Het Financieele Dagblad newspaper indicated that he is fearless over the future competition with Joon.

I am not convinced they have the capacity to do anything in France, he said. If it were KLM alone, I might be a little worried. But Im not so sure, he said.

Thats why I say: bonne chance. It is a huge risk, he noted.

President of the Dubai-based airline says given the limited fleet of the French and Dutch subsidiary, there is no need to worry.

For Clark his company needs to buy more aircrafts, A380s in particular pointing out that the potential market is still huge.

Emirates currently operates 96 A380s.

The flagship carrier has been rumored to buy 150 of Boeings 777X aircrafts with delivery expected in 2020.

It will be first airline to fly the 350 to 435-seater aircraft tailor-made for long hauls.
Saudi Arabia announced Thursday military deal in which Moscow will deliver its latest S-400 air defense system and transfer expertise to Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI).

Aside from the S-400 air defense system, Riyadh will also buy Kornet anti-tank guided missile systems and multiple rocket launchers

Under the deal signed on the sideline of King Salmans historic visit, Moscow will also transfer cutting-edge technology to Saudi SAMI technicians for local arm production of the Kornet anti-tank guided missile systems, advanced multiple rocket launchers and automatic grenade launchers, reports say.

Saudi Arabia will also house a local plant for the production of Kalashnikov automatic rifle, including its ammunition alongside with training for Saudi.

The military agreement concurs with a $1bn Fund agreement for energy investment and a $1.1 billion agreement for Russias petrochemicals giant Sibur to build a plant in Saudi Arabia signed between the two countries.

King Salmans is the first Saudi reigning monarch to visit Russia; the USs top global rival.

Washington and Riyadh inked in May $110 arm deal. Saudi Arabia is the largest buyer of US weapons.
Chicken will be the best-positioned protein due to its low price position in times of pressure on consumer spending power but rises in production costs and the long-term impact of COVID-19 threaten to disrupt the sector, according to Rabobank.
Uganda will soon supply power to South Sudanese border towns as part of the East Africa Community agreement to help member states, state-run news agency Sudan Tribune reports.

According to Ugandas energy minister Simon Djanga, the 400 kilo-volts of power will be supplied to the towns of Kaya and Nimule in South Sudan to boost socio-economic activities in the border areas.

The agreement between the two nations will also help reduce migration to Uganda as the electrification will boost the economic activities in the area, South Sudans electricity and dams minister, Dhieu Mathok Wol, was quoted as saying.

Note that South Sudan and neighbouring Uganda have agreement to enhancing infrastructure development. The have agreed last July to undertake road construction projects in the border town of Kaya aimed at opening up new trade corridor between Uganda, South Sudan, and Congo.

Uganda is already implementing cross-border electrification with Rwanda and Tanzania. The country also plans to connect power to eastern DR. Congo according to the energy minister.

Ugandas current installed generation capacity is close to 900MW and developers are currently constructing many mini hydropower plants, which will add between 100MW and 200MW to the national grid.

According to USAID, South Sudan has the lowest electricity consumption per capita in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Unidentified gunmen have shot and killed Mahamudo Amurrane, the mayor of Nampula city, in Mozambiques northern province of Nampula late on Wednesday, police spokesman Inacio Dina said.

In response to the apparent assassination, People of Nampula, Mozambiques third biggest city, took to the streets to protest and to call for action to be taken.

Photos published by local media showed people burning tyres in the middle of roads.

According to the police, the mayor was murdered by a tall man who shot him three times as he left his private residence where he had been working with contractors.

Note that Amurranes MDM party had won Nampula city and three of the nations four largest cities in local elections in 2014.

Amurrane, a known anti-corruption crusader, mayor had been using private security after dismissing officers assigned to him by the state.

Since his election as mayor of Nampula, Amurrane has embarked on a quest to root out corruption in the citys administration and revitalize public infrastructure.

The US embassy described the killing as a detestable act and called for a thorough investigation.

Amnesty Internationals Regional Director for Southern Africa Deprose Muchena urged Mozambique authorities to launch a prompt, thorough, transparent, and impartial investigation into the killing, make public the report of any such investigation, and ensure that suspected perpetrators are brought to justice.
The United Kingdom on Thursday joined the United States of America to condemn violence perpetrated by government forces on the population of the North West and South West regions of Cameroon on October 1st.

The United Kingdom has called both the government and Anglophone population to dialogue and address the root causes of the problem.

According to the US State department, Cameroonian governments use of force to restrict free expression and peaceful assembly, and violence by protestors, are unacceptable.

The State department has also condemned internet cut in the regions and urged the government to respect human right and freedom of expression.

Since last month, the US embassy in Yaounde has issued a series of security messages warning citizens of unrest in Cameroons Anglophone regions.

Anglophone separatists choose October 1, the anniversary of the official reunification of the Anglophone and francophone parts of Cameroon, to declare independence for Ambazonia, the name of the state they want to create.

Ahead of the celebration, the government deployed the military to the South West and North West regions to quell the planned proclamation of independence.

The majority of Cameroons 22 million people are French-speaking, while about a fifth are English speakers.
@alextdaugherty

Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Miami, plans to introduce legislation with Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., on Friday that would ban the use of bump stocks. Bump stocks are a device that uses a gun's recoil to push the trigger back into the shooters trigger finger, effectively allowing a semi-automatic weapon to function like an automatic weapon.

"I think this prohibition, this ban on bump stocks should be codified," Curbelo told NBC's Chuck Todd on Thursday, arguing that Congress should pass legislation banning the device instead of leaving the decision to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. "There is definitely a lot of momentum here."

Curbelo said the legislation will be introduced "Noah's Ark" style, meaning that any potential cosponsor must join the bill with a member from the other party. He also said that the ATF would carry out the law and determine how to get rid of existing bump stocks in private hands if the law passes.

"We want to send a strong message and the bottom line is that these devices turn legal weapons into illegal weapons," Curbelo said. "We would be closing a loophole."

A host of other Florida Republican lawmakers said Thursday they support a bump stock ban.

A gunman who killed 58 people in Las Vegas used the device while firing on an outdoor concert from a high-rise hotel room.
@NewsbySmiley

Montys Raw Bar has seen better days.

The Coconut Grove institution of draft beer lore and political power lunches is surrounded by a punch-drunk marina of wobbly pilings and cracked concrete docks. A 12,000-square-foot patio of brick pavers undulates like the bottom of the bay. Somehow, a forest of tiki huts stood tall during Hurricane Irma, but exposed wood beams, dirt and piping around their perimeter reveal that the sea wall surrounding the restaurant most certainly did not.

Jose Hevia, president of Aligned Bayshore Marina, which owns the rights to the Dinner Key mainstay, puts it bluntly: We got clocked.

Millions of dollars will need to be invested into the old Grove locale in order to fix what Irma wrought. But for Hevia, theres a bit of a silver lining: His company was spending the money anyway.

Over the last two years, Hevia says Aligned Bayshore Marina has plunged some $4.5 million into upgrades to the restaurant, marina and retail center at 2550 S. Bayshore Dr., located on 6.7 acres of dry and submerged land owned by the city of Miami. He plans to throw at least another $3 million into the work. But to help finance the job, Hevia is asking voters to give their consent Nov. 7 to a potential 52-year extension on Aligned Bayshores city lease in exchange for a greater return to the city.

Were hoping the voters will appreciate our stewardship of the property, Hevia said.

To read the rest, click here.


via @anitakumar01

ORLANDO -- Some of Floridas newest arrivals  Puerto Ricans fleeing the broken island after Hurricane Maria  got a high-profile visit Thursday from Vice President Mike Pence, who will head to San Juan on Friday.

Dont go to San Juan  go inside the country, urged Everlinda Burgos, who landed at Orlando International Airport at 11:30 a.m. Thursday and met Pence less than six hours later. Thats where the disaster is. Theres towns you cant get into. They have no communications.

Were going to work every part of Puerto Rico, Pence said.

Burgos told the vice president that her son, who was unable to find a flight until November, remains in Puerto Rico. After she landed Thursday, she went to an airport relief center, one of three Florida Gov. Rick Scotts administration opened earlier this week to assist evacuees. Some had tears in their eyes as Pence went by.

Youll be here. Youll be fine, Pence told Burgos. Then youll be able to go back home. Theres no place like home.

Then, with her permission, he gave her a hug.

Pence is scheduled to travel to Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands on Friday as part of the White Houses push to draw attention to Marias devastation and the administrations recovery efforts. The vice president will meet with Puerto Rican Gov. Ricardo Rossello, Virgin Islands Gov. Kenneth Mapp, visit churches in both locations and take an aerial Virgin Islands tour.

More here.

Photo credit: Joe Burbank, Associated Press
via @Colleen_Wright

At a public event held Thursday night at Largo High, Rep. Chris Latvala, R-Clearwater, found himself defending a controversial education bill he helped champion that is now being sued by at least 14 school districts across the state, including Pinellas County.

Of all the questions asked at the "Meet Your Legislator" event, sponsored by the Pinellas County Council of Parent Teacher Associations and featuring Latvala and Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, the one about House Bill 7069 was among the first and most discussed topic.

"When Im faced with one of those kinds of bills, I ask myself, 'Does the good outweigh the bad?' And I think with 7069 that was the case," he said. "Im proud that I voted for it. Its one of those Im proud of explaining my rationale."

A mandate of 20 minutes of daily recess for elementary school students, increased funding for students with severe disabilities and the "Schools of Hope" provision -- which allows charter schools to set up shop in areas with failing schools -- were all positives, he said. But if there was one thing he could fix, he said it's a funding formula that hurts his school district.

The Pinellas County School Board voted unanimously last month to contribute $25,000 of non-taxpayer money to the legal fight against HB 7069, arguing that it unfairly favors charter schools. District officials say a new funding formula that allocates dollars to charter schools for construction and maintenance projects is based in part on how much debt a school district has and unfairly punishes districts with little debt, like Pinellas.

Latvala said that like a higher education bill that would've hurt the University of South Florida, he said he found out "after the fact" that Pinellas would be disproportionately affected.

After the meeting, Latvala said Pinellas was wasting money on the lawsuit, which he believed would fail. Several districts including Hillsborough, Manatee and Indian River have passed on joining the lawsuit.

"It's certainly their prerogative," Latvala said after the meeting. "It's money in the school system they could be using for other means."

Latvala, however, said he would try to help Pinellas, though he said no one from the school district has reached out to him.

"There were a lot of parts to 7069 that I believe will do a lot of good," he said. "We are looking to work on their funding issue."

Brandes will host another event at North Shore Elementary at 6 p.m. on Oct. 19, and Rep. Ben Diamond, D-St. Petersburg, will speak at Shore Acres Elementary at 6 p.m. on November 28. All events are free and open to the public.

-- COLLEEN WRIGHT, TAMPA BAY TIMES
Salman Rushdie has garaged the magic carpets and dived deep into 21st-century America, with its concerns about identity, guns, the 1 percent and even superheroes.

For his new book, "The Golden House," the Indian-born, British-raised and American-adopted Rushdie sought to write a realistic novel focused on the contemporary moment. It's, he says, about "what's going on, what's in people's heads, what's eating at people right now."

Yes, that means a presidential candidate from New York, a brilliant man on the autism spectrum and another who thinks he might become a woman. There are references to Bollywood, private islands, Jessica Chastain, people who claim Barack Obama is Muslim, and fatal shootings.

The narrator asks: "What is heroism in our time? What is villainy? How much we have forgotten, if we don't know the answer to such questions anymore."

The master writer has been an American citizen for less than two years. He's one Muslim-born immigrant who can't be deported: "I slipped in under the wire," he says dryly, talking by phone Tuesday from New York.

His comment is followed by a laugh, but becoming a U.S. citizen was far from a light decision: "Once you've made that decision, that's who you are." Even if, as he says, "in this time when the movies are being taken over by superheroes and supervillains, it seems as so is America."

Despite his novel's satirical edge and implied criticism of some current issues, at age 70, Rushdie doesn't ignore history. And he's more than willing to keep fighting for what he believes and writing novels that depict people as more than cartoon cutouts.

"We live in a world in which we're encouraged to be simple things. Literature is one of the places you can go to that shows how human nature really is."

In fact, some of the new book's themes are classic. References to politicians and such function as background, Rushdie says. The foreground is about a man who has taken a new identity, Nero Golden, and brought his sons to New York to start a new life.

It will be a rather tragic story, made obvious by the fact that the father has changed his first name to that of a Roman emperor who was the last of his line (and who had his own mother executed). Rushdie says the story is realism pushed in the direction of Greek tragedy. "Operatic realism," he says.

Instead of constant allusions to ancient gods or rulers (although there are some), Rushdie uses movies as the prominent motif, comparing one gangster to "The Godfather," a disturbed ranter to actor Klaus Kinski and N.Y. facades to "Rear Window." A would-be president is called the Joker, of Batman fame.

Rushdie had been thinking about his Golden family for maybe a decade and finally realized they could move to New York. His narrator who observes the mysterious Goldens (to some degree like Nick Carraway in "The Great Gatsby") became not a writer but a would-be filmmaker.

"I've been a kind of film addict all my life," Rushdie says. "I was finally able to use some of that in the book and to play certain kinds of cinematic games with the way the book is written."

He wanted to divert sharply from 2015's "Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights," saying he feels he's taken his fabulist writing as far as he can, noting that he's always been interested in modernism although he's often placed in a "magic realism box."

Rushdie's literary reputation had been cemented in 1981 with "Midnight's Children," which has twice been voted as the best Booker prize winner of all. Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, the author became more of a household name after 1988's "The Satanic Verses," which offended the Ayatollah Khomeini, who called for Rushdie's assassination.

He hasn't been in hiding for many years  during a 2002 interview he told me he lived an ordinary life and in 2009, when he was to receive the St. Louis Literary Award, he said he'd rather talk about the literary content of "The Satanic Verses" rather than the politics around it. Yet the identity theme in his new novel may remind the reader of the years the author was known as "Joseph Anton" to security forces.

More overt, though, is one fictional character's struggle with his gender. Rushdie says the character agonizes over possible transitioning much more than two of the author's own friends did. Although he expresses great sympathy for the issue, his book pokes a bit of fun at the confusing choice of various pronouns.

Another personal link to "The Golden House" is that it almost functions as his own sort of immigrant novel, a great ongoing, energizing tradition in American literature.

"I'm an immigrant American too. I can bring stories from elsewhere."

Now is a rich time for new writers here, he says.

But whatever the theme or subject, Rushdie seeks space for readers to form their own conclusions:

"What the novel does best is to allow readers access to worlds which might be worlds they would not otherwise have access to and allow them to live in that world and make up their minds what they think about it."
The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission will hold a public open house and meeting Oct. 11 and 12 in Chinook at the Chinook Motor Inn.

A public open house with the commission will be held Oct. 11 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The commission meeting will convene the following morning beginning at 8:30 a.m.

During the day on Oct. 11, the commission will tour a ranch south of Chinook, weather permitting, where Fish, Wildlife and Parks is considering a conservation easement.

The meeting will also cover, in part: a petition to repeal the Cromwell Channel no-wake zone ARM; ARM amendments to wake restrictions on the Missouri River in Great Falls; 2018 fishing regulations; Little Belt Creek instream flow water right lease; Misner-Teton River instream flow water right lease; Fargo Coulee conservation easement; Canyon Ferry Wildlife Management Area farming leases; Wall Creek Wildlife Management Area grazing lease renewal; Ear Mountain grazing leases; Blackfoot Clearwater Wildlife Management Area conifer expansion and grassland restoration project.

For the full agenda and background on the scheduled topics, go to the FWP website at fwp.mt.gov; under Quick Links click "Commission Meeting & Agendas.

FWPs website will offer live streamed audio of the meeting.
As you make your way to the polls on election day, consider the many things you'll vote on and their implications for the future of our city. 
A 21-year-old man accused of raping a 14-year-old girl after being found by police in her bedroom closet made his initial appearance in Missoula County Justice Court on Thursday.

Acting Justice of the Peace Tracy Rhodes set a $50,000 bail for Justin Cahoon, charged with sexual intercourse without consent. If Cahoon is released, Rhodes said, he is not to have contact with the girl or her family.

According to court documents, a Seeley Lake woman contacted a sheriffs deputy after seeing a video on Snapchat depicting sexual contact between Cahoon and a 14-year-old girl.

When interviewed by a nurse at the First Step Resource Center, the girl denied any such contact with Cahoon, according to a court affidavit. According to court documents, the girl texted Cahoon about the possibility of getting caught and indicated she would lie to officers.

Cahoon allegedly responded that (Y)oull be 16 by the time we are caught.

Montanas age of consent for sex is 16.

A detective got permission from the girls grandparents to check her home, and found Cahoon in the closet of the girls room.

In an interview with the detective after his arrest, Cahoon allegedly admitted to having kissed the girl but when asked about a sexual relationship indicated he wanted to speak with an attorney.
A local nonprofit has been awarded a nearly $800,000 federal grant to help a private developer create permanent jobs and train workers after the construction of a new hotel in downtown Missoula.

The Montana & Idaho Community Development Corp. announced this week that the grant, from the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, will be turned into a below-market (as in, relatively lower interest) loan to Mercantile Investors LLC, the development group building a new five-story Marriott hotel in downtown Missoula.

The MICDC will stipulate that the $779,678 grant, once turned into a loan, will be used to allow the developer to hire what it calls quality jobs that offer comprehensive benefits, including health benefits, as well as paid time off and retirement.

The MICDC will work with the Missoula Job Service, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and the hotel to fill the positions. Homeword Inc., another local nonprofit, will provide financial literacy, personal budgeting, credit enhancement and a savings action plan for employees.

This OCS grant is truly a win-win for Missoula, said Dave Glaser, president of MICDC, in a press release. It leverages federal funds to provide long-lasting, high-quality jobs with benefits and retirement plans. With that comes the opportunity for these individuals to increase wealth, gain self-sufficiency and improve the livelihood of their families and our community.

Glaser said the hotel will create roughly 35 permanent jobs once its up and running, not to mention the hundreds of temporary construction jobs while its being built.

The tourist economy is growing in Montana, and were very excited to link arms with local employment and job training organizations, and invest in a project that promotes quality, sustainable jobs for Montana workers, said hotel developer Andy Holloran.

The MICDC was one of only 25 organizations across the country to receive the grant this year, and it got one of the largest awards. Previously, the MICDC has used the same type of grant to fund expansions at Kettlehouse Brewing, Neptune Aviation and Consumer Direct in Missoula, along with a hotel in Sidney and a wood products plant in Deer Lodge.

Glaser said the MICDCs application was probably accepted because the feds recognized that it would provide jobs in a low-income area.

The idea is to incentivize a project to get going with this money, and once fully up and running, get these projects where they can create jobs, he said.

Stockman Bank is helping to finance the hotel construction, and Missoula market president Bob Burns said the grant, which came from the Office of Community Services within the Department of Health and Human Services, was important in completing the hotel project.

This grant is the final piece of the financing package, and one that will help with job creation that truly benefits the Missoula community, he said.

Stockman Bank is helping to finance the hotel construction, and Missoula Market President Bob Burns said the OCS grant plays an important role in bringing the project to fruition: This grant is the final piece of the financing package, and one that will help with job creation that truly benefits the Missoula community.

Sens. John Tester and Steve Daines of Montana both have supported the grant in the past.

Strengthening Montanas tourism economy is critical to growing good-paying jobs in our communities, Daines said in a press release. Thanks to projects like this, we will continue to attract those dollars to our state.
Are there ways to improve pothole and snowplowing issues without ballooning the city budget?

We need to get back to the basics. I've outlined ways to address the budget below, which, if implemented, would provide some additional funds without expanding the budget.

Along with the increased property taxes over the years, we seem to be seeing a decrease in the reliability of our bread-and-butter services including snow removal, pothole repairs, street repairs and open space maintenance. We need to pay more attention to infrastructure and invest in it at the right time.

I think our streets and parks employees are working hard, but with limited resources and we need to ensure the basic needs of the Missoula citizens are being met. A solid contingency fund could allow for emergency staffing and equipment usage but we wouldnt use it unless we needed it, ensuring it was available during unexpected times.

Personally, I live one block off a main artery and my roads went unplowed for two 10-day stretches. This led to my sons car being hit and run, which in addition to the tax increases, forced me to come up with a $1,000 deductible to fix his car, which should not have happened if the roads had been plowed in a timely manner.

Interestingly, citizens are required to shovel their walks by 9 a.m. but the City currently takes up to 10 days to plow. Potholes can sneak up on you the same way and we need to make sure we are not causing major damage to our vehicles because we cant get the job done.

Ultimately, we need to provide these simple services that we all pay for and it can be done in seasonal rotation as Missoula already does with many things.
University of Montana professor Tobin Miller Shearer, director of the African-American studies program, said he noticed something was wrong right away Thursday morning as he passed the bulletin board in the Liberal Arts building on campus.

The day before, Shearer had posted a flyer outlining a new class he is offering in the spring: White Supremacy History/Defeat.

But on Thursday morning, another sign  designed to look just like Shearers poster  had been put up atop his, this one detailing a fictitious course Black Nationalism History/Defeat.

Whoever made the new flyer had copied Shearers layout, including the font and location of a photo, and changing the bullet points of the course objectives from ones like Shearers Implement and evaluate a project to dismantle white supremacy in the U.S. to the same line directed at black nationalism.

The false sign said the class also would include group projects aimed at dismantling race-baiting hypocrisy.

Its very disturbing because of the amount of time that was put into making it look real, Shearer said.

A detail that stuck out to Shearer was that his name on the original flyer was replaced by the (misspelled) name of the former director of the program, who hasnt been at the school for a decade.

Its at best someone who knows the history of the program. At worst, its another faculty member who knows the history, Shearer said.

Shearer said this isnt the first time racially charged messages have been targeted at the African-American studies program. Last year Shearer found himself on a national Professor Watchlist put together by the conservative group Turning Point USA, which accused him of discriminating against conservative students and pushing a radical agenda. Students have reported other incidents of hate speech or hate acts to him, he added.

Shearer, who said he found the fake flyer harassing to himself and his students, reported it to the University of Montana Police Department, which did not return a request for comment on Thursday.

Im not surprised by this," Shearer said. "Im disturbed by this."
This summers catastrophic wildfire season and hazardous, persistent smoke pollution has all Montanans talking. The fires took the lives of two young men, destroyed homes and Sperry Lodge, blew a hole in the state budget, discouraged tourism and other businesses and burned more than 1.2 million acres of Big Sky Country. Fire and smoke throughout our region forced large-scale evacuations and school closures, curtailed outdoor recreation, threatened health, robbed us of our glory days of summer, and was red-flag risky to the chilly end.

As former smokejumpers, were no strangers to the threat wildfires pose to human life, property and the states economy. While wildfires are an annual occurrence and a natural, even necessary, part of our ecosystems, the scale and ferocity of this years fires and associated drought are extraordinary. They challenged the defensibility of our homes and communities. Its time for our elected leaders to set partisan politics aside and hold objective discussions about forces driving fire seasons and what were going to do about it.

Three years ago we penned an opinion in this paper highlighting links between our changing climate and increased drought and wildfire. Fourteen of the 15 hottest years on record have occurred since 2000. Temperatures increased 2-3 degrees since 1950 and are predicted to rise 4.5-6 degrees by mid-century. Summers are predicted to become drier and warmer. Winter snows are melting earlier. Our fire seasons are lasting longer. Forest fires are larger and fire behavior is more extreme.

This summers drought is one for the books. Our forests and grasslands became super-combustible and prone to dangerous, fast-moving mega-wildfires that threatened firefighters, public health and communities. Ranchers and farmers of eastern Montana lost an estimated $400 million worth of crops and cattle due to a drought that may be the worst seen in a century. Some of the same people faced devastating wildfires. These are impacts climate scientists have warned about for years, and recent history shows wildfires and droughts are intensifying.

Four years ago the state spent a record $57 million fighting fires; this year we blew past $100 million. This legislative session the state borrowed from the fire budget because they thought the wet winter meant wed have a manageable fire season. Now we have a budget shortfall, forcing the state to consider drastic cuts to essential public services that will impact the lives of citizens all over the state.

If this intensified level of wildfires and drought is our new normal, which climate models and recent experience both indicate, there are things we can do.

First, address the root causes. Global warming loads the dice in favor of more frequent mega-fires. We cant control the weather, but it is clear that human activity is causing global warming which in turn is leading to mega-fires and exacerbating fire seasons. We must confront global warming as the long-range solution to the rising temperatures. This means we must demand that our politicians foster science-based policies that better address the realities of climate change.

For example, we know that burning coal is the major driver of rising temperatures, so we must look to alternatives. Montana has everything it needs to be a clean energy leader: some of the most consistent wind in the country, abundant sunlight and large-scale transmission lines that transport electricity to customers on the West Coast. We must demand that our political leaders focus on this future and assist their citizens in making the transition to clean energy.

We can take affirmative steps to moderate global warming, right here in Montana. Our firefighters and our communities demand no less.
High-tech huckleberries to U.S. Sen. Steve Daines for co-hosting the next Montana High Tech Jobs Summit in Missoula next week. Starting Oct. 8 and continuing through Oct. 9, the University of Montana will welcome an impressive lineup of speakers, including the president of Microsoft, commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission and chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration is free for students and active-duty military, $10 for veterans and $20 for all others, and can be completed online at www.montanatechsummit.com. The following day, Oct. 10, Daines will give welcoming remarks at a Boost Your Business seminar at the Wilma in downtown Missoula, the public is invited to attend a free workshop hosted by Facebook, the Montana Chamber of Commerce, the University of Montana School of Business Administration and the Montana High Tech Business Alliance to learn how to engage customers on social media. Local small business owners can register for that event at https://boostmissoula.splashthat.com.

Chokecherry cushions to the news that Montana drivers have the second-highest odds in the nation of crashing into a deer. National insurance company State Farm crunched its claims data and calculated that the odds of getting into a vehicle collision involving a deer are highest in West Virginia, at 1 in every 43 collisions. That marked a slight improvement from last year, when the odds were 1 in every 41 crashes. In Montana, however, the chances increased by nearly 2 percent, to 1 in 57. The average damage claim increased as well, from less than $4,000 last year to $4,179 at last count. The news this week was especially timely given that October through December are peak months for vehicle collisions with deer  so watch those roads carefully.

Caring huckleberries to the Montana Caregiver Act, which went into effect Oct. 1. Amid all the worry about health care costs and divisiveness over health legislation, its heartening to remember that Montanas legislators overwhelmingly approved House Bill 163 to allow hospital patients to designate a personal caregiver and require hospitals to provide discharge plans and instructions to those caregivers. Sponsored by Forsyth Republican Rep. Geraldine Custer and introduced by Missoula Democratic Rep. Kimberly Dudik, among others, the bill was backed by a number of groups including AARP Montana which recognize the important role of regular folks in helping to provide health care for their loved ones.

Chokecherry honey to the hit suffered by Montanas honeybees this summer, and consequently to the states honey businesses. Not surprisingly, the dry weather, wildfires and smoke took a toll on the pollinators and severely shortened the honey-producing season. Wustner Brothers Honey, which owns about 300 hives in the Missoula area, reported a decrease of 50 percent in their honey yields  the roughest year weve seen in two generations of beekeeping, Sam Wustner told the Missoulian. Its a sad state of affairs for Montanas honey industry, which is the third-largest in the nation, grossing $21.5 million last year according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Hardbound huckleberries to our local book writers, sellers and festival directors for making Missoula a hot spot for lovers of the written word. Montana Book Festival director Karla Theilen did an excellent job of organizing an engaging, diverse program that included some 150 authors and five days worth of events for this years festival, which wrapped up last Sunday, and which also honored renowned author and The Last Best Place anthology co-editor William Kittredge, age 84, with a lifetime achievement award. Local bibliophiles were also treated this week to a special event featuring Stephen King and his son Owen, co-authors of the new novel Sleeping Beauties, thanks to Shakespeare & Co. bookstore owner Garth Whitson. All in all, the week served to highlight the wealth of top-notch talent that can be found in Missoula any time of year.
A 28-year-old Butte woman is facing two felony assault charges and multiple misdemeanors for endangerment and neglect in relation to a child-abuse case that Butte police have been investigating since February.

According to court documents, Amanda Carreia allegedly aided or agreed to commit the crime with Justin Taylor, who is currently facing similar charges.

Taylor was arrested in June and made an initial appearance in district court in August. His affidavit states that he allegedly beat his two daughters, ages 7 and 8, with a spatula, held them face down on the bed until they passed out, spanked the girls with a belt, hit one in the head and pulled the hair of one of the children.

In addition to the 7 and 8 year old, two other children, ages 23 months and 7 months, were living in Taylors home. Their welfare became the subject of a police investigation when in late February an elementary-school teacher called the Department of Health and Human Services due to concerns about the older children. Police removed the two younger children, and all the children were placed into foster care, according to court documents. When police arrived at the house in February, court documents say, all four children in the home allegedly had severe head and body lice, the living conditions of the children were unsanitary and basic hygiene for the children was not being met.

In May, Carreia was charged for her alleged involvement in the February incident and a warrant was issued for her arrest. On Tuesday, police apprehended Carreia, who was riding in a car they pulled over during a traffic stop, Undersheriff George Skuletich told The Montana Standard.

As of Wednesday morning Carreia remained in Butte county jail with a bond of $50,000.
A judge sentenced a 22-year-old man to eight years in prison Thursday for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl.

After emotional testimony from the victim and the mans ex-wife, District Court Judge Kurt Krueger sentenced Bryan Kelly Fitzpatrick to 20 years in the Montana State Prison with 12 suspended.

Prosecutors say Fitzpatrick made inappropriate comments and advances to the victim in December 2015 and then, when they were alone in a truck, stuck his hand down her pants, penetrating her vagina with his fingers.

Fitzpatrick was initially charged with sexual intercourse without consent, but it was later changed to sexual assault. He took the stand before sentencing, saying he did not blame the victim for what happened and apologized to her and her family.

I feel sorry that everybody has to sit in this room, he said.

But the victim said Fitzpatrick, who was 20 at the time of the assault, was a fraud and a liar who had shattered my self-esteem and my trust.

I will never forgive you for the things you caused me, she said during a lengthy statement to the court, crying and shaking throughout.

Fitzpatrick was married at the time of the assault. His wife, who has since divorced him, told Krueger that he blamed the victim for initiating the assault.

He said it was her idea and she wanted it, the woman said.

She said she had suffered depression and financial and emotional turmoil since the assault, but added, Today marks the moment I get my life back.

Fitzpatricks mother and sister also spoke, saying he was remorseful and took responsibility for his actions. He was immature at the time the assault occurred, they said, but had matured since then.

But when Deputy County Attorney Samm Cox questioned Fitzpatrick, he said he and the victim both did things to initiate the incident.

It was clear, Cox said, that Fitzpatrick still blames a flirtatious 15-year-old for what happened. He urged the judge to agree with a probation officers recommendation that Fitzpatrick get a 20-year sentence with 12 suspended.

There is no indication that this guy is safe for release into the community, Cox said.

Krueger, through his sentencing order, essentially agreed.

He said he had read statements Fitzpatrick made during a presentence investigation and found victim-blaming and not accepting responsibility.

The victim in this case has been traumatized by your actions, Krueger said.

Fitzpatrick and his attorney urged Krueger to order outpatient sex-offender treatment, but the judge declined. He also said no parole would be considered until two phases of that program had been completed inside prison walls.

Fitzpatrick is to be considered a designated sex offender after release, the judge said, and must abide by numerous terms. They include no interaction with children unless supervised and no use of computers or cell phones without permission from probation officials.
WASHINGTON  The Interior Department said Thursday it is withdrawing protections for 10 million acres of federal lands used by the threatened sage grouse to open it up for energy development.

The plan would allow mining and other development in areas where it now is prohibited in six Western states: Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming.

The Bureau of Land Management, an Interior agency, said a recent analysis showed that mining or grazing would not pose a significant threat to the sage grouse, a ground-dwelling, chicken-like bird that roams across vast areas of the West.

The proposal would affect less than one-tenth of 1 percent of sage grouse-occupied range across 11 states from California to the Dakotas, officials said.

The change comes as the Trump administration moves to reconsider an Obama-era plan to protect the sage grouse, a quirky bird with long, pointed tail feathers and known for the male's elaborate courtship display in which air sacs in the neck are inflated to make a popping sound.

Millions of sage grouse once roamed the West but development, livestock grazing and an invasive grass that encourages wildfires has reduced the bird's population to fewer than 500,000.

A proposal by the Obama administration to protect 10 million acres from development "to prevent 10,000 (acres) from potential mineral development was a complete overreach," said acting BLM Director Mike Nedd.

He and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke pledged to work closely with states to protect the health of the sage brush-dominated lands. Interior said Thursday it is seeking comment on plans to revise sage-grouse conservation plans across the bird's range.

"We can be successful in conserving greater sage grouse habitat without stifling economic development and job growth," Nedd said, adding that officials intend to "protect important habitat while also being a good neighbor to states and local communities."

Environmental groups said Interior was jeopardizing the bird's habitat  and its survival.

"The Interior Department is traversing down a dangerous path that could put this vital habitat at risk," said Nada Culver, a policy expert at The Wilderness Society.

Because of the importance of its sagebrush habitat, the sage grouse helps determines the health of an entire ecosystem, including the golden eagle, elk, pronghorn and mule deer, Culver said. A 2015 plan imposed by the Obama administration has reduced the threat of extinction by protecting the most important habitat while ensuring other activities continue on public lands, she said.

The 2015 plan was hashed out under President Barack Obama as a way to keep the bird off the endangered species list following a decades-long population decline caused by disease and pressure on habitat from energy development, grazing and wildfires.

Zinke order a review of the Obama plan this summer, saying he wanted to give Western states greater flexibility to allow mining, logging and other economic development where it now is prohibited. Zinke insisted that the federal government and the states can work together to protect the sage grouse and its habitat while not slowing economic growth and job creation.

Mining companies, ranchers and governors in some Western states  especially Utah, Idaho and Nevada  said the 2015 plan would impede oil and gas drilling and other economic activity. Republican governors in those states urged that conservation efforts focus on bird populations in a state rather than on habitat management, which frequently results in land-use restrictions.

On the other side, Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado and Republican Gov. Matt Mead of Wyoming have said they oppose any changes to the habitat-management model.

John Swartout, a senior adviser to Hickenlooper, said changes to the conservation plan  developed over years with local and state involvement  could lead to a future Endangered Species Act listing for the sage grouse.

"We didn't work this hard to throw it all away and get a listing" on the Endangered Species Act, Swartout told The Daily Sentinel of Grand Junction, Colo.

Comments on the plan will be accepted through late November.
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock might have found his dance partner.

After a grim list of proposed budget cuts released at the start of September, Bullock, a Democrat, has been discussing the possibility of calling the Republican-dominated Legislature back to Helena to figure out ways to offset the reductions, but said he wouldnt make that decision without a willing dance partner.

Sweeping 10 percent reductions, triggered by lower-than-expected revenues, would hit across nearly all of state government and do away with early childhood intervention programs, eliminate hundreds of state jobs and reduce the number of cameras monitoring for safety at the state prison.

But on Thursday, a document drafted by the Legislative Finance Committee provided the first hint that lawmakers may be willing to work with the governor on finding a mix of budget cuts and creative ways to find money, such as pausing general fund payments to a state health benefits program or lowering the amount of money Montana is required to keep in the bank.

During a lunch break on Thursday, five legislators huddled in an office to draft a recommendation to Bullock. The full committee unanimously approved the proposed memo at the end of the day. Those recommendations asked the governor to evaluate reductions that minimize harm to Montanas most vulnerable, to avoid making cuts that shift costs elsewhere, such as to local governments or other agencies, and to delay spending until later.

Sen. Llew Jones, R-Conrad, said for him, the memo shows a willingness to work together if the governor shows he can do his job. He said the list of proposed cuts were in part a scare tactic to encourage action by the Legislature, when the governor has a job to do first.

I can say the Legislature doesnt feel this list is realistic, Jones said. I was sad people saw a list of cuts I dont feel is real.

Instead, Jones said the governor should make the cuts he can while minimizing harm and not impacting on-the-ground services before calling legislators back to Helena. While Jones said he wouldnt vote for a permanent tax increase, he would be willing to include temporary measures or lowering Montanas required ending fund balance.

The Legislature will do its job if he does his job, he said.

On Thursday, Bullock, who has been talking with legislative leaders about options going forward, released the following statement:

"Today the Legislative Finance Committee recognized the proposed cuts would hurt Montanans but they failed to offer any realistic solutions. It's time for the Legislature to come to the table and find a better path."

Sen. Jon Sesso, a Democrat from Butte who was a part of the small group that drafted the recommendation to the governor, said to him the document indicates support of a special session.

The message I get from this is we have to have a special session to look at this, he said.

Lawmakers agreed some form of cuts will be necessary and its on the governors plate to make initial reductions, which would give lawmakers an idea of how much money they need to come up with.

He picks the song, Sesso said.

Over the last month, Montanans have packed hearings at the Capitol pleading with lawmakers to raise taxes to reduce the drastic impacts that would come by cutting nearly every state agency 10 percent. The bulk of the cuts -- 85 percent -- would come from the states largest agencies: the Department of Public Health and Human Services, the Department of Corrections and the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education.

On Wednesday, lawmakers heard hours of testimony from about 100 people who traveled from all over the state. They begged legislators to find a way to preserve services they said are essential to their lives, such as early childhood intervention, funding for services that help people with disabilities live independently and Medicaid rates that pay for space in nursing homes for the elderly.
Pocatello, ID  A local woman was arrested Wednesday for allegedly stabbing to death her husbands ex-wife last year in Oregon.

Angela Rose McCraw-Hester, 35, of Pocatello, is being held on a murder warrant out of Oregon and is awaiting extradition back to that state.

Her husband Matthew Hester, 36, of Pocatello, was also arrested Wednesday and charged with misdemeanor resisting and obstructing.

Police detectives from Oregon arrested the couple at their home in the 2000 block of Monte Vista Drive in Pocatello, authorities said.

Pocatello police assisted and said they detained other people at the house for questioning but it's believed that McCraw-Hester and her husband were the only ones arrested.

The couple is being held at the Bannock County Jail. It's expected that McCraw-Hester will be extradited back to Oregon while it's likely her husband will be released from jail soon because his bond is only $300.

McCraw-Hester is accused of murdering her husbands ex-wife, Annastasia Hester.

Annastasia Hester was stabbed multiple times in the early morning hours of June 10, 2016, in Gresham, Oregon. She was transported to an area hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries.

Authorities said Annastasia and Matthew were divorced at the time of the murder.

Detective Brandon Crate of the Gresham Police Department said Angela McCraw-Hester and Matthew Hester moved from Oregon to Pocatello in May of this year.

Since the beginning of this investigation, detectives with the East County Major Crimes Team have worked tirelessly to identify Annastasias killer, said Gresham police detective Aaron Turnage in a news release. From processing evidence to following clues that ultimately led us to Idaho, were thankful to reach this point and hope Annastasias family can experience some closure.
LETTS, Iowa  The shift begins at 7 a.m. with a cart full of bowls loaded down with the special of the day. Mike Hutchison said that it takes him approximately three hours to get all of his guests fed  an hour and a half if he shoots through it.

Theyre a tough crowd to please, but the way he moves in and out of cages, through hanging rope and wood beams, Hutchison seems to have figured it out. He has had plenty of time. Hutchison is the founder and director of the Iowa Parrot Rescue in Letts, Iowa.

First off, it was my wifes fault, Hutchison said. His wife Abi Hutchison was the assistant director of an after school program and one day in 1997, a mother sent her home with a canary. Soon, a friend eating dinner with them saw the canary and asked if the Hutchisons would take their bird. As these things tend to go, birds kept coming. They began keeping the birds in the living room and then they took over the bedroom. There just wasn't enough space. Hutchison had expanded the birds' living space into another bedroom and even up into the attic.

Within only six months, there were nine birds in the house, Hutchison said. It grew organically. It was one room at a time so when somebody said, wouldnt it be nice if we had a dedicated facility, we said, 'absolutely.'

They received the seed money from an anonymous donor to build a facility down the hill from their house. Mike incorporated the Iowa Parrot Rescue and filed for nonprofit status. The facility went up in 2008. Then the Recession hit.

When disaster strikes, economic or environmental, Mike will often experience a spike in people trying to get rid of their large birds. As he walks by the fluttering figures, hell introduce them by saying, Oh shes a Katrina bird, or hes from the recession. Disaster has a way of filling up the place.

We were running 25, 30 birds at a time, Hutchison said. And when the recession hit, suddenly we are running 75, 80. We had 100 (birds) a year coming in and being adopted.

With rescues like this one so few and far between, Hutchison said that without the work they do, there might not have been anywhere for them to go.

If we weren't here, people would be putting parrots on Craigslist, putting them on classifieds, and they would be transporting them to New Mexico or Colorado where there are opening. All of the sanctuaries have really long waiting list, Hutchison said.

Hutchison knows that many of the birds will outlive him. They have a life span comparable to a human. With that long-term responsibility, it can be hard to find a home for them.

A lot of these guys, you couldn't actually sell. In the first place, there is a glut on the market, Hutchison said. People have just bred so many, and most of these birds have been mishandled. They've been abused. They've been neglected. Some of them are in bad shape like these pluckers.

Pluckers are what he calls the birds that have begun pulling their feathers or the feathers of their partner out. Hutchison said its akin to chewing on fingernails as a nervous habit.

It's usually a depression. Sometimes it's chemicals in the air. Smoke. Air cleaners, Hutchison said. It becomes habitual. And then they don't stop and the follicles get scarred over.

Knowing what can happen through mistreatment, Hutchison said he sets strict limits on how many the rescue will take.

We won't overload. Once we hit capacity, then we have to find a home before we can take any more in, Hutchison said. We cannot give them a natural environment. We cannot make a perfect place for them. To do it perfectly, just these Macaws would have to have 100 square miles. It would have to be tropical with the right nut trees and fruit trees. Can't do it. We do the best that we are able with our resources in this climate zone.

"If I had my own way, none would be here. They wouldn't be pets. They'd be where they belong -- in the wild.

After all, its important to remember that these are wild animals. Unlike dogs and cats, parrots were never domesticated, he said.

These guys are at most two or three generations out of the jungle. They dont have thousands of years of being bred to be around people. They arent bred to be dependent. They arent bred to be tamed. They arent bred to be taken care of."

This past year, the Iowa Parrot Rescue got a $50,000 grant from Bob Barkers DJ&T Foundation that provides assistance to animal welfare organizations. Hutchinson used the money for improvements, including the addition of large solar panels for the rescue's roof in March.

At night and on cloudy days, we're buying electricity, Hutchison said. But on a really clear day, we're generating twice as much as we are using. My electricity bill last month was seven bucks. Before these panels, it would run about $200.

The facility received a new air conditioning system in June and in July some builders constructed an enclosed outdoor area for the birds to sunbathe in. Many of the birds outside are the huge and colorful residents that you imagine when you hear about a parrot rescue.

The little guys fly in and out on their own, Hutchison said. But the big guys they're just lazy. They only come out here if I carry them out. It depends on the weather and how they feel. A lot of them don't actually like to be out that much.

Among his flock, Hutchison has a Macaw named Betty Boop. Betty has the elongated features of their bigger cousins but is just a size smaller. She has a brilliant green body and categorically refuses to be placed in her cage in the evening. Without a place like the Iowa Parrot Rescue, hard to handle birds like her might not have a place to go.
Muscatine residents with a craving for Japanese food wont have to fish far for sushi and sashimi any longer. Osaka restaurant opened Thursday at 1903 Park Ave. Judging by the response on its opening day, the new hot spot is gearing up to be a hit.

While other local outlets have offered sushi as part of their broader menus, Osaka is unique in its sole dedication to Japanese cuisine, as well as its environment and presentation.

Walk inside and youre immersed in an expansive, warm crimson replete with Japanese decor, ebony and gold accents. Everything from hibachi to a vast array of sashimi to more than two dozen sushi rolls is available. There are plentiful vegetarian and vegan options, as well as entrees without fish for the reluctant.

Traditional sushi staples such as California rolls, spicy tuna and eel are on the menu and there are chef creations, such as the Muscatine Roll (with crabmeat, cream cheese, jalapeno and seasoned red tuna and salmon), the Mango Summer Roll (a mango-wrapped dessert roll with shrimp tempura and avocado), and the Pink Lady Roll (a heart-shaped sushi with shrimp, spicy tuna, avocado and crab wrapped in pink soy paper).

We want to offer many things for people to try and enjoy, said Faye Yuen, co-owner with her husband, Jerry Lu.

This is the third Osaka restaurant for Yuen and Lu, following previous Osaka spots in Galesburg and Mattoon, Illinois. Muscatine was a calculated move for the couple. Yuen said they noticed a gap in the market for a restaurant of their type.

There were no restaurants here with Japanese food like this, she said. There were no restaurants that just served sushi and sashimi and hibachi, so we thought it would be good to have one if people wanted it.

After putting out feelers and gauging the interest in the area, they decided to make the big leap.

We took about three months to find the right place, then it was another three months of putting it all together, she said.

After putting in months of work to renovate the space, the duo was up past 3 a.m. the night before the opening to make sure everything was as close to perfection as it could be.

It was a lot of hard work, but we wanted it to be its best, she said. It was worth it.

As momentum grows, so will the restaurant, Yuen said. Theyre already looking to expand and include a live hibachi grill complete with a chef to perform the signature live-in-the-round grilling before patrons.

Were looking forward to that, we think people will really like it, Yuen said.

Yuen and Lu are relishing the afterglow of the opening and looking forward to Osaka's future.

When I see people coming in and smiling and happy and liking the food, I feel good, Yuen said. Were happy to bring this to Muscatine and we look forward to being here a long time.
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 []
Great Wine Capitals San Francisco | Napa Valley awarded its hospitality leaders the 2018 Best Of Wine Tourism regional designations.

The Best Of awards categories include accommodations; art and culture; architecture and landscape; innovative wine tourism experience; sustainable wine tourism practices; wine tourism restaurant; and wine tourism services.

The 2018 Best Of regional San Francisco | Napa Valley winners are all located in Napa Valley and include:

 Accommodations  Napa River Inn

 Art and Culture  The Hess Collection

 Architecture and Landscape  Davis Estates

 Innovative Wine Tourism Experience  Shadybrook Estate Winery

 Sustainable Wine Tourism Practices  Etude Wines

 Wine Tourism Restaurant  Napa Valley Wine Train

 Wine Tourism Service  Napa Valley Wine Trolley

An additional level of recognition  The Regional Wine Tourism Award of Merit  has been awarded to four businesses as an honorable mention.

The 2018 Regional Wine Tourism Award of Merit San Francisco | Napa Valley winners are all located in Napa Valley and include:

 Accommodation  Las Alcobas

 Architecture and Landscape  Vineyard 29

 Innovative Wine Tourism Experience  St. Supery Estate Vineyards & Winery
AMERICAN CANYON COMMUNITY CHURCH:

Worship at 10 a.m. Programs for children and youth during worship service. 2 Andrew Road, American Canyon.

ARBOR ALLIANCE:

Join us Sundays at 5 p.m. Why 5 p.m. worship? It is a good time for busy people and young families. Kids church and nursery available. 721 Trancas St., Napa. thearborchurch.org; 530-304-4704.

BEIT ABBA:

Messianic Jewish ministry of The Fathers House is held the first and third Friday of each month at 7 p.m. Child care provided for ages infant to 7 years old. 2557 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Napa. tfh.org/beitabba.

CARMELITE MONASTERY:

Mass times: Sunday, 9 a.m.; Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. (except for the first Saturday of the month, Mass will be at 11 a.m.). Morning of recollection every first Saturday of the month: Spiritual Talk, 9-10 a.m.; Confessions, 10-11 a.m.; Mass, 11 a.m. Bible study, on Tuesdays with Father Michael Buckley: Tuesdays, 8:30-9:30 a.m. following the 8 a.m. Mass (contact the office to confirm time and day at 944-2454, ext. 103). Confessions-English: Monday, Wednesday, Friday; 10 a.m.-noon, 3-5 p.m., 8-9 p.m. Confessions-Spanish: Wednesday, 10 a.m.-noon, 3-5 p.m., 8-9 p.m. 944-2454; oakvillecarmelites.org.

CENTER FOR SPIRITUAL LIVING:

Services are 9 and 10:30 a.m. with Youth Program at 10:30 and Teen Group meeting at 10. Rev. Jay Langs talk will be about Taking a Stand for Possibility. Oct 7, Brain Dance workshop with Dr. Marty Sholders and Rev Jay at 10 a.m. Learn about new brain discoveries and how to apply them in your life. Oct. 11, Sound Healing Meditation, 6:30-7:45 p.m. Oct. 13, Spiritual Cinema Night features You Can Heal Your Life at 7 p,m. Oct. 14, Fall Clean-up Day, 8-11 a.m. 1249 Coombs, 252-4847.

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE CHURCH:

Sunday service and Sunday school for youths up to age 20 at 10 a.m. The Wednesday evening service is at 7:30. Child care provided at all services. New hours for the Reading Room, located in our church building, open to the public weekdays except Wednesdays, 1-4 p.m. All current Christian Science literature, including the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the renowned Christian Science Monitor, are available to all to read or purchase; 2210 Second St., Napa; 255-5255; christiansciencenapa.com.

CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST OF LATTER-DAY SAINTS, NAPA  SECOND WARD:

Sacrament meeting is each Sunday at 10 a.m., followed by Sunday School at 11:15 and Priesthood and Relief Society at 12:10 p.m. Young mens and young womens programs are on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Corner of Trower Avenue and Dry Creek Road, Napa. 224-6496.

COMMUNITY CHURCH OF LAKE BERRYESSA:

This Sunday, Pastor Bob will return to our series on the Book of John. Join us as we learn of Jesus beginning the final week of his life, entering Jerusalem in a way only Gods Son would, as a servant. We are a non- denominational Christian church welcoming all to enjoy the eternal life changing power of Jesus Christ. A weekly food distribution and AA group is available. 6008 Steele Canyon Road at Moskowite Corners. 252-4488.

CONGREGATION BETH SHALOM:

Celebrate Shabbat/ Sukkot with Rabbi Niles Goldstein and Music Director, Gordon Lustig. Friday, Oct. 6 at Hagafen Cellars, 4160 Silverado Trail, Napa. Wine Reception at 6 p.m. followed by a 6:30 Service. Be inspired at Torah Study with Rabbi Goldstein, Saturday, Oct. 7 from 9:30-10:30 a.m. Oct. 9, the CBS Soul Sisters Book group will review The Girl in the Blue Jacket at 7 p.m. Simchat Torah will be celebrated at CBS with Rabbi Niles Goldstein, Jay Blitstein and a musical guest on Oct. 13 at 5:30 p.m. 1455 Elm Street Napa, 253-7305, cbsnapa.org.

CORNERSTONE MINISTRIES:

Sunday service is at 10:15 a.m. Spanish Church begins at 1:30 p.m. Sunday school and childcare are available at both services. Our midweek service is at 6:30 on Wednesday nights. There is childcare and childrens activities at this service. Middle school and high school study meets on Wednesday nights as well at 6:30 p.m. in the Youth Room. On Thursdays at 6:30 p.m., Freedom From Bondage meets in our Youth Room. 3305 Linda Vista Ave., Napa; 252-2909. cmnv.org.

COVENANT PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH:

Worship with us at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 8. at 1226 Salvador Ave. Rev. Lynda Hyland Burris and liturgist Liz Groelle will lead the service. Using text from Matthew 21:33-46, Rev. Burriss sermon title for this week is Jesus is My Rock. The Covenant choir, directed by Mark Teeters, will sing His Eye is on the Sparrow. Sunday school is offered in a one-room-schoolhouse style for preschool through 8th grade. 255-9426; cpcnapa.org; facebook.com/cpcnapa.

CREEKSIDE COMMUNITY CHURCH:

Weekly worship service is Sunday at 10:30 a.m. Services and attire are casual with a blend of fellowship, music and teaching. Child care and childrens church offered during service. 1050 Hagen Road, Napa. CreeksideChurchNapa.org; 255-7266.

CROSSWALK COMMUNITY CHURCH:

Join us for either of our two services  9 or 10 a.m. Childrens programs available during the 10 a.m. service. 226-1812, 2590 First Street, CrossWalkNapa.org.

FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH:

This month is the 500th anniversary of Martin Luthers nailing of the Ninety Five Theses to the door of All Saints Church in Wittenberg, Germany, which resulted in the Protestant Reformation. You are invited to dig in and learn about five of the themes as we visit them throughout the month of October in a new sermon series title Nailed. This week well look at why Scripture Alone is a foundational principal. Sunday services are at 8:45 and 10:30 a.m. 2659 First Street, Napa. fccnapa.org.

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH:

Parish Associate Harrell Miller will be preaching Sunday on Not Far From the Kingdom of God  Part 2. Scripture reference will be Mark 12:2834. 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. We sing hymns at the 9 a.m. service and at 10:30 we have praise music led by Florida Stringer. Fellowship times, with coffee and treats, are at 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. Childcare for newborn to age 5 is available. Sunday School: Friendship Class, and Childrens Class will meet at 10 a.m. 1333 Third St., 224-8693, fpcnapa.org.

GRACE CHURCH OF NAPA VALLEY:

Sunday services: Worship service at 9 a.m. and 10:40 a.m. Adult Sunday school classes at 9 a.m. Childrens service at 9 and 10:40 a.m. Nursery and preschool care available. Junior high ministry meets Tuesday, 7 p.m.; high school meets Wednesday at 7 p.m. at 3765 Solano Ave., Napa. 255-4033, GraceNapa.org.

HIGHLANDS CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP:

If youre a regular church attendee, never been or maybe its just been awhile, we invite you to come join us this Sunday and start the adventure with us at 10:30 a.m. Spanish speaking service on Sunday evenings at 6:30 and an Alcoholics Anonymous group that meets weekly on Monday and Wednesdays from 6-7 p.m. 970 Petrified Forest Road, Calistoga.

HILLSIDE CHRISTIAN CHURCH:

We meet at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. at 100 Anderson Road, Napa. 255-3036; hccnapa.com.

HOLY FAMILY PARISH:

Holy Mass is celebrated at 9 a.m. on Sundays and in the traditional Tridentine Latin (Extraordinary) form of the Roman Rite, according to the 1962 Missal, at noon. Before Low Masses there is a recitation of the Most Holy Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 11:30 a.m. Confession is available after every Low Mass. Holy Family Parish is a Catholic mission-parish of St. Joan of Arc in Yountville. 1241 Niebaum Lane, Rutherford. 944-2461.

HOLY GROUND CHRISTIAN CENTER:

Sunday worship begins at 10 a.m., and Bible study is Wednesday at 7 p.m. 3860 Broadway, Suite 111, American Canyon. 373-2015.

LIVING VINE CHURCH:

We meet every Sunday morning at 10. 3305 Linda Vista Avenue, Napa. 226-5551.

MEMORIAL CHAPEL AT VETERANS HOME OF CALIFORNIA, YOUNTVILLE:

Sunday worship service, 10:15 a.m. Coffee fellowship one hour before service. Bible study on Wednesday at 1 p.m., Fellowship Room, with refreshments served; prayer meetings Thursday at 1 p.m. The memorial chapel is on the Veterans Home at Yountville campus on California Drive, across from the administration building. 944-4840.

MONT LA SALLE CHAPEL:

Roman Catholic liturgical services are open to all in this chapel of the De la Salle Christian Brothers at 4401 Redwood Road, Napa. Sunday Mass is celebrated at 11 a.m.

NAPA COMMUNITY SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH:

On Oct. 31, it will have been 500 years since Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. As we think about the Reformation, what would our modern-day reformation be, what important teachings would we nail to the door? Join us at 11 a.m. worship service this Sabbath, Oct. 7 for Pastor Glenn Gibsons sermon, Re4mation: Follow. napacomm.com, 1105 G Street, 252-2444.

NAPA METHODIST CHURCH:

We are a progressive and reconciling church, where everyone is welcome. 9:30 a.m. Sanctuary service and 11 a.m. modern-style Fusion Worship service held in the Asbury Room. Childrens Worship and Nursery are available during both services. Childrens Carol Choir meets between services from 10:30-11 a.m. Sixth- to eighth-grade Sunday School meets at 11. Silent Meditation is Mondays at 5:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. 625 Randolph Street. 253-1411, napamethodist.org.

NAPA-SONOMA FRIENDS MEETING (QUAKERS):

Sunday worship at 10 a.m. Silent meeting in the custom of Friends. Meet at the VOICES Youth Center, 780 Lincoln Ave., Napa. Enter at parking lot on left side of building, using door at end of wheelchair ramp. Quaker signs will be posted on Sunday mornings. We welcome visiting friends or those who are new to Quaker practice. nvquaker@gmail.com; 253-1505.

NAPA VALLEY BAPTIST CHURCH:

Join us Sundays at 9:30 a.m. for Bible Study for all ages, 10:30 a.m. for worship service and a fun, interactive and energetic childrens program for preschool through fifth grade. Nursery provided for all Sunday services. 2303 Trower Ave., Napa. napavalleybaptist.org; 252-2100.

NAPA VALLEY BIBLE CHAPEL:

We start Sunday services by remembering the Lords death, burial and resurrection during a time of worship and thanksgiving at 9:30 a.m., followed by a fellowship and coffee time starting at 10:30 a.m. At 11 a.m., we enjoy a time of Bible teaching. On Wednesdays at 6 p.m., we meet for a brief Bible study and a time of prayer. A movie night/home Bible study is held in downtown Napa at 6 p.m. on Fridays. 1559 Second Street, Napa. napavalleybiblechapel.com.

NAPA VALLEY COMMUNITY CHURCH:

This week in our celebration of the 500-year anniversary of the Reformation, we are looking at the life of man who jump-started the Reformation  Martin Luther. And in his life we will see how the doctrinal teaching known as Grace Alone resurfaced as the heart of the gospel. Sunday, 10 a.m., Sunday school and childcare provided. 4149 Linda Vista, Napa. napavalleychurch.org. NVCC is a ministry of the Christian Reformed Church.

NAPA VALLEY LUTHERAN:

Sunday worship at 10 a.m. Fellowship time follows. All are welcome because all belong to God. The church is located at the corner of Jefferson and Elm, Napa. 226-8166, napavalleylutheran.org.

NAPA VALLEY UNITARIAN UNIVERSALISTS:

Oct. 8, 9:30 a.m.: Leaders: Margaret Kelso and Alison Weber, Early Christian and Reformation U&Us: 11 a.m.: Swimming to the Other Side, Traditional service with Rev. Bonnie Dlott and Sunday Service Assistant Mary Lu Kennelly. After experiencing a sudden unwelcome change, it can be tempting to give in to sadness and despair. While grieving for the life before is important and necessary as it is after any kind of loss, the possibilities of grace, growth, and positive transformation are also present if we are open to them. Infant care, child care, and religious education provided. 1625 Salvador Ave., Napa; nvuu.org; 226-9220.

NEW LIFE TABERNACLE:

Sunday school at 10 a.m., followed by worship service at 11 a.m. Sunday evening service the first Sunday of every month. Bible study on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. 2625 First St., Napa. 255-1062; NewLifeNapa.com.

ST. APOLLINARIS CATHOLIC CHURCH:

Join us each third Saturday at the crossroads of faith and culture. St. Apollinaris Catholic Church, 3700 Lassen St. Napa. 257-2555.

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST:

St. John the Baptist Church holds daily masses in English at 7:30 a.m. and 12:05 p.m. Weekend masses are Saturday at 5 p.m. (English) and 7 p.m. (Spanish) and Sunday 8 a.m. (Spanish), 10 a.m. (English), noon (Spanish), and 5 p.m. (English). Wednesday evening mass at 7 (Spanish). Corner of Caymus and Yajome in downtown Napa.

ST. JOHNS LUTHERAN CHURCH:

Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. Childrens Church during the 10:15 a.m. service. 3521 Linda Vista Ave., Napa. 255-0119; StJohnsLutheran.net.

ST. MARYS EPISCOPAL CHURCH:

Worship on Saturdays at 5:30 p.m. or Sundays at 8 a.m. or 10 a.m. (organ and choir). Childrens Chapel (Sunday school) is at 9:50 a.m. Sunday. Nursery care is provided during the 10 a.m. service. Coffee hour follows the worship services on Sunday. 1917 Third St., Napa. 255-0991; StMarysNapa.org.

ST. STEPHENS ANGLICAN EPISCOPAL CHURCH:

Sundays at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., sing using the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. Refreshments and social time after the 10:30 service. Evensong and Bible Study Wednesdays at 6 p.m. 1250 Oakville Grade, Oakville. 944-8915; ststephensoakville.org.

ST. THOMAS AQUINAS CHURCH:

Mass times are Saturday at 4 p.m. (English), Sunday at 8 a.m. (English), 11 a.m. (English) and 1:30 p.m. (Spanish). Daily mass is at 9 a.m., except on the first Friday, which is at noon and in English. 2725 Elm St., Napa. 255-2949; stthomasaquinasnapa.com.

SALVATION ARMY:

Join us for services Sundays at 10 a.m. 590 Franklin St., Napa. napasalarmy.org.

THE FATHERS HOUSE:

Service times are Saturday at 6 p.m., and Sunday at 9 and 11 a.m. Child care and Kids Church are available (ages infant through sixth grade). Youth ministry Encounter meets every Wednesday night at 7. Celebrate Recovery meets on Monday nights at 6:30. 2557 Napa Valley Corporate Drive, Napa. tfh.org.

UNITY SPIRITUAL CENTER IN NAPA VALLEY:

Sunday, Oct. 8, Unitys speaker this week is Rev. Bob Brach. His message titled, Well, shut my mouth  or not, based on the book Living Originally, explores compassion in communication and the levels of listening. Our music is selected and performed by Lon Eakes. 11:40 a.m. Sunday Forum: Following a brief refreshment break, Rev. Bob will facilitate a one-hour forum about his message, allowing attendees to share viewpoints and ideas. Sunday Service and Forum held at the historic Grange Hall, 3275 Hagen Road (1/2 mile east of the Silverado Trail) Napa. UnityinNapaValley.org, 255-6881.

YOUNTVILLE COMMUNITY CHURCH:

Sunday, Oct. 8 at 10 a.m. we will have a guest speaker Jeff Mazzariello . The main church building has begun repairs and we are meeting at 1920 Finnell Road in Yountville while we are under construction. We will continue to have all of our Sunday school classes, services, and bible studies. Sunday School is at 9 a.m. for all ages. We have an Adult Bible class, Youth Group (fiftheight grades and high school students), and Childrens classes Jesus and Me, (Birth-Kindergarten) and first through fifth grades are offered. 944-2179.
Aaron, a Napa-based golden retriever trained to provide comfort to people in need, deployed to Las Vegas Monday following news of the mass shooting that killed least 59 people and injured hundreds on Sunday.

His first stop was to a local hospital, meeting victims of the shooting as well as the families of those who had been shot, according to one of his handlers, Ken Arnold. Arnold, along with handlers Janet Peterson and Linda Melsheimer, were sent to Vegas with Aaron by St. Johns Lutheran Church in Napa.

The church was asked to send Aaron and his handlers because of their affiliation with Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Ministry. The ministry has sent 17 comfort dogs from around the U.S. to Las Vegas so far.

When Arnold, Napa Valley College police chief, was contacted to deploy to Las Vegas, he hadnt heard the news of the shooting yet, he said. It was 5:30 a.m. when he woke up and saw the text asking if he could head to Las Vegas. He cleared his calendar, got permission from his boss and prepared to leave.

I always keep a travel bag ready just in case I gotta go, he said. Arnold has deployed with Aaron to other major events, including the Umpqua Community College shooting two years ago in Oregon in which 10 people died.

In the aftermath of the worst mass shooting in American history, Aaron and his handlers visited hospitals, schools, community groups, counseling centers and individuals.

One person Aaron encountered who was once able-bodied will probably never be able to walk again, Arnold said. Another had to be taken off life support, he said.

The first night, he said, even the hotel clerk broke down and started hugging Aaron, Arnold said. The woman had been working the night of the shooting, he said.

At the moment, she needed Aaron, he said.

When the team took a break to eat lunch on Wednesday, people in the restaurant they ate kept coming up to them, telling them what happened during the shooting and loving on all the dogs, Arnold said.

Were not counselors, Arnold said. Were giving them an outlet right now. Thats all we do  we just listen.

Youre grateful that you can be the goodness against such an evil act, Arnold said Wednesday. At the same time  you can only take so much of it yourself.

When their four-day trip is over, the handlers will debrief about the event and talk about their feelings and what they experienced while in Las Vegas, said Christy Kramer of St. Johns Lutheran Church.

The dogs as well as the handlers absorb a lot of the stressors and anxieties that theyre facing when theyre there, Kramer said. Its difficult, she said, but its a blessing to be able to do.

Editor's Note: This story has been modified from its original version to reflect the correct location of Umpqua Community College.
Low-cost housing is historically scarce in Napa  and fewer owners are willing to accept rental vouchers from some of those most in need of shelter.

Faced with a shortage both of supply and of willing partners, the city will begin offering cash incentives to landlords opening their rental properties to Napans without homes or at risk of losing them. The assistance program also is intended to match needy tenants to those with available housing, provide funds to cover damage to dwellings, and offer some funding to landlords between tenants.

The support program won unanimous approval Tuesday from the city Housing Authority, which includes the five members of the City Council.

Napas Housing Authority offers rental assistance through the Section 8 program, in which federal funds pay for vouchers that low-income tenants use to pay landlords. But the citys minuscule vacancy rate and the resulting high rents have left fewer property owners willing to take such vouchers  particularly from those they believe cant afford to pay for damage to the property, according to Lark Ferrell, city housing manager.

One of the themes that came up was that a Section 8 tenant is perceived as a higher risk than a market-rate tenant, she told the council. We dont have the money to help everyone thats in our program (about 1,100 renters)  that would take millions of dollars.

Instead, Napa will devote a more modest sum of $200,000 directly to landlords willing to rent to homeless people, with the hope of housing about 75 additional tenants.

City incentives will include $1,000 for each landlord taking rent vouchers for the first time in at least three years, and $500 for each additional unit rented out through the program at the same property. Napa also will cover up to $3,500 in tenant-caused damage during the first three years of a landlords Section 8 participation.

Meanwhile, the Housing Authority will refer recently homeless renters to Abode Services, which in July took over Napa Countys shelters and transient services from Community Action Napa Valley with a new emphasis on quickly moving clients into permanent housing. Abode is to aid clients in finding available rental dwellings, serve as a go-between for new tenants and landlords, and manage a 24-hour hotline for property owners taking part in Section 8, said Ferrell.

In addition to those living on the street or out of vehicles, candidates for the support program will include couch surfers frequently going from home to home and those recently given eviction notices, as well as those staying in emergency shelters or hotels. Candidates must be referred to the Housing Authority by Abode staff.

In addition, landlords can receive continuity payments equal to a months rent if a tenant in the program leaves the apartment for reasons other than eviction. Such a step is crucial to gain support from small-scale property owners who depend on month-to-month cash flow and cannot afford long vacancies, said Councilman Peter Mott.

More than $56,000 of the program budget, more than a quarter, will draw on funds from the successor to Napas old redevelopment agency, which California dissolved in 2012 along with those in other cities. The rest will come from Housing Authority funds.
VALLEJO -- The Animal Legal Defense Fund Thursday filed a suit against a Vallejo dog breeder and seller for allegedly keeping her California Carolina Dogs in inhumane and unsanitary conditions and illegally operating a kennel.

The complaint filed in Solano County Superior Court alleges the residential property of California Carolina Dogs at 900 Carolina St. in Vallejo has received complaints since at least 2013 about the strong odor of urine and feces, flies, dog bites, unsanitary breeding conditions and dogs running at large.

According to the complaint, California Carolina Dogs owner and operator Susan Brashear Anthony has illegally been operating a puppy mill with possibly as many as 50 dogs, which prioritizes breeding efficiency over the health and welfare of the dogs.

The alleged conditions violate the California Pet Breeder Warranty Act and Vallejo city ordinances, and California Carolina Dogs has never been licensed as a kennel, according to the complaint.

The Vallejo Municipal Code prohibits more than four dogs over four months old on any property unless it is a licensed kennel, according to the complaint.

The fence on the property was at least seven feet high in violation of the city municipal code's three-feet limit but it allows a height of four feet if it does not create a visibility hazard, the complaint states.

The suit claims Anthony uses a high fence to conceal conditions at the illegal breeding operation.

"The Animal Legal Defense Fund will hold individual breeders accountable for treating animals like cash crops and defying animal protection laws," ALDF executive director Stephen Wells said in a news release about the lawsuit.

The Solano County Sheriff's Office responded to complaints since 2015 about conditions on the property and unlicensed, unvaccinated dogs, according to the complaint. Anthony said she would surrender the dogs to shelters or humane societies but failed to do so, according to the lawsuit.

Anthony, 60, said Thursday afternoon she did not want to discuss the specific allegations in the complaint which she called part of "a history of harassment."

"My dogs are happy and the neighbors are happy," Anthony said.

Allegations about unsanitary conditions are unfounded," she said.

"I love my dogs. They're like my children," Anthony said.

Anthony questioned why the lawsuit was filed Thursday, on her birthday, and she said she will retain an attorney to recover her legal costs.

"There is no problem, they have fabricated a problem. If you have a problem you talk to your neighbor first," Anthony said.

The California Carolina breed is a species from Asia that crossed the Bering land bridge into North America, Anthony said.

"They were Indian camp dogs. It's a rare breed. They're not aggressive. I don't want them breeding with pit bulls. You can't just release them to anyone," Anthony said.

The suit asks the court to enjoin Anthony from operating a dog breeding business, having more than four dogs on the property, allowing dogs to be at large and disturbing the peace of citizens and having a fence over seven feet high.
If any of this years legislative bills was a no-brainer for easy passage and then approval by Gov. Jerry Brown, it was Senate Bill 568, sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Ricardo Lara of East Los Angeles.

No one at all, in Sacramento or anywhere else, argues with the premise behind this new law: California has long had far less influence in choosing Americas presidents than it should, principally because it has had virtually no role in vetting nominees of the two major parties.

More than 12 percent of the American people have been essentially disenfranchised for almost half a century, while small states like South Carolina and Wyoming gained influence. The tail has wagged the dog for decades, most recently giving the nation and world President Donald Trump.

Because the last couple of presidential primary elections here were held in June, the outcome in both parties was determined long before either partys campaign reached this Golden State. Candidates came here only to tap wealthy donors for campaign funds. Billionaire Californians might have had some influence, but not ordinary voters.

This has mostly been the California situation since 1972, when South Dakota Sen. George McGovern beat Minnesotas Sen. Hubert Humphrey in their Democratic contest to run against then-President Richard Nixon, a former Republican senator from Whittier.

No subsequent California primary in either party provided anyone with a decisive, or even significant edge. The closest to it came in 2008, when Hillary Clinton beat Barack Obama in the Democratic primary here in mid-March, the victory keeping her hopes alive two more months when theyd have died much sooner had she lost here.

That wasnt enough to satisfy anyone, so legislators and Brown threw up their hands and opted to return to the states traditional early June date.

But plenty of Californians remained unsatisfied, and the notion of an early primary was revived this year, in the form of Laras bill.

As first written, this measure held great promise. It moved the entire California primary up into March, contests for state offices coinciding with the presidential vote. And it gave future governors the ability to move the vote up even farther if other states tried to steal Californias thunder by moving their own votes ahead of California.

Earlier efforts to gain influence with mid-March votes in the 1990s and early 2000s were stymied when other states either moved their primaries ahead of California or shifted to the same date, which became a widespread Super Tuesday.

To prevent that, Lara wrote that new provision into his bill: If other states moved up, the California vote could be switched to a date as early as two weeks after New Hampshires first-in-the-nation primary, whose status is written into the rules of both major parties.

That, he thought, could discourage other states from once again stealing Californias influence.

But lawmakers amended this provision out when county voting registrars said they need certainty years in advance, that a shift even six months prior would make things too difficult for them. So California remains open to the same kind of frustrating one-upsmanship as in previous efforts to move the primary up.

The provision never should have been removed. The good news is that it can come back in next years legislative session, when voters will be more politically conscious than this year because of the upcoming mid-term elections.

Yes, the new March 3 date for the 2020 primary is unquestionably an improvement over early June. Even if lots of states also move their votes up, candidates wont be able to ignore California as theyve done so many other times.

But March 3 may not be good enough; an even earlier date might be advisable if the next governor wants Californians  and especially himself or herself  to have a major voice.

So heres to Gov. Brown for signing Laras measure, which virtually guarantees this state will at least have some voice next time around. But lets increase the volume of that voice by giving the next governor and the one after that, and so on, a chance to amplify Californias well-deserved voice.

Considering the many areas in which California leads America, why not politics, too?
Chicago does not have the strictest gun laws in the country. It's time for gun lovers to stop spreading that lie.

A decade ago that was indeed a title Chicago wore proudly. We were the only major city that still had an ordinance banning residents from keeping a handgun in their home.

The handgun ban made us the primary target of the National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment Foundation, and in 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court forced Chicago to fall into line with the rest of the country.

Since then, the courts have peeled off so many layers of our once stellar gun ordinance that it's barely recognizable. We're still maneuvering to keep gun stores and shooting ranges from opening in the city limits. But the courts have ruled against us on that, too, so we know it's just a matter of time.

Remember that old requirement that gun owners in Chicago register their firearms with the city and obtain a permit? Well, that's gone too.

And thanks to the Illinois General Assembly, which was pressured by the federal courts to pass a concealed carry law in 2013, people can walk the streets of Chicago with a gun attached to their waist and another strapped to their ankle.

Sorry, gun lovers, your attempts to use Chicago as a prop to bolster your claims that gun control laws do nothing to curb gun violence just don't hold up.

New York, in fact, has stricter gun laws on the books than Chicago. And guess what? Its homicide numbers are heading toward historic lows. Los Angeles has some pretty tough gun laws too. Its homicide numbers also pale compared with Chicago's.

Those kinds of details don't fit the conservative, pro-gun narrative, though. To use New York as a talking point, they'd have to admit that strict gun laws might actually have an impact on homicide rates.

We don't make excuses for our ghastly homicide numbers in Chicago. With 762 people killed last year, no one has to remind us that we have a serious gun problem. We own it. And we have to do something about it.

But we are tired of Donald Trump and pro-gun advocates using our city to promote their political agenda.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders dragged Chicago into the fray again on Monday when responding to a reporter's question about gun policy in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Las Vegas.

"One of the things that we don't want to do is try to create laws that won't stop these types of things from happening," Sanders said at a news conference. "I think if you look to Chicago where you had over 4,000 victims of gun-related crimes, they have the strictest gun laws in the country and that certainly hasn't helped there."

Sanders should listen to U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., who argues that the problem is Chicago being surrounded by red states that have completely surrendered to the pro-gun lobby.

With no gun stores in Chicago and no background check loopholes for private sales, one thing is clear. The guns being used to kill people on the streets aren't originating in Chicago. They're coming from someplace else.

When politicians and others repeat that ridiculous statement about Chicago's gun laws, it shows how out of touch they are with the problems urban areas face when it comes to gun violence.

When it comes to gun laws, big cities are only as strong as the states that border them. And in Chicago's case, that's Indiana. Thanks to Vice President Mike Pence, the former governor, Indiana has some of the weakest gun laws in the nation.

While Illinois has gone to great lengths to see that background checks are done for all gun purchases, Indiana has done the opposite. To buy a weapon in Illinois, the owner must have a valid firearms owner's identification card, issued by the Illinois State Police.

With no permit or license required to purchase a gun in Indiana, it is incredibly easy for a trafficker to drive across the state line, obtain a gun and use it to commit a homicide on the streets of Chicago.

Those with felony convictions commonly use straw purchases, in which they enlist someone with a clean record to purchase multiple guns and bring them into the city.

Law enforcement officials say 60 percent of the guns confiscated on the streets of Chicago come from Indiana, Wisconsin and Mississippi. The other 40 percent come from suburban Cook County and nearby suburbs.

It's tough, but we can try to sort out the bad apples in our own state and shut them down. But we're helpless when it comes to regulating Indiana, Wisconsin and Mississippi.

Congress could do something, though. Lawmakers could pass legislation requiring universal background checks. That would close federal loopholes on background checks at gun shows and other private sales.

Congress could also limit the number of guns that can be purchased by one person in a period of time. And lawmakers could toughen penalties for straw purchases.

Military-style assault weapons already are banned in the city of Chicago, but in most other places in Illinois and in most other states, they can be purchased as easily as a handgun. If Congress really wanted to stop massacres like the one in Las Vegas from occurring, lawmakers could pass a federal assault weapons ban to replace the one that expired in 2004.

The gun lovers in Washington don't want to talk about these things, though. It's a lot easier to just keep picking on Chicago.
The world of white wines offers hundreds of varieties and one variety that has caught my attention is semillon, specifically from the Hunter Valley in Australia.

Semillon is perhaps best known when harvested late with botrytis to produce Sauternes and Barsac, some of the worlds greatest dessert wines. As a young wine, it is commonly blended with sauvignon blanc for Bordeaux blends. But in the Hunter Valley, Australias oldest wine region, semillon is a wine to watch out for.

Chuck Hayward, founder of Vinroads and the former Australian and New Zealand Wine Buyer at JJ Buckley Fine Wines, is a big proponent of Australian wines. My interest in Aussie wine started in the late 80s when the first cheap and cheerful wines entered the US. They were just really good values, full of flavor and easy to like, he explained. Hayward started Vinroads as a consulting outfit dedicated to marketing and education for Australian and New Zealand wines in the U.S.

Hayward recently brought three winemakers, Iain Riggs, Chris Tyrrell and Mike de Iuliis, from the Hunter Valley to the U.S. for a series of seminars to take a deeper look into the region.

Less than two hours from Sydney, the Mediterranean climate of Hunter Valley is a relatively wet climate at a low latitude. A mountain range stands over the valley and many of the vines are planted on the creek flats with alluvial and calcareous soil and closer to the hills on silky chalk with seashells. The first vines were planted in the Hunter Valley in the 1820s and most vines planted today are still on their own roots. The Hunter Valley is a well-known region because of its proximity to Sydney but yet no one really knows it, Hayward explained. They make world-class wines and no one makes semillon like that anywhere on the planet.

U.K. wine writer Jancis Robinson has called Hunter Valley semillon one of Australias great gifts to the world of wine. The semillon grape was one of the first varieties planted in the Hunter Valley and was originally called Hunter River Riesling. Low in alcohol, semillon is built on acidity. Young semillon can be austere with citrus, melon and grassy aromas. As it ages, an array of richer flavors, including honeyed characteristics, develop. While shiraz, chardonnay and cabernet sauvignon are also grown there, semillon is the primary grape of the Hunter Valley.

The way semillon is made is relatively similar from winemaker to winemaker. Because it is a fragile varietal, it is mostly hand-picked. The grapes are picked and either whole bunch pressed or crushed straight to press and there is limited or no skin contact. The juice is quickly clarified and fermented with neutral yeasts. Only stainless steel is used and no malolactic fermentation takes place. The amount of time the wine is spent on the less is up to each winemaker and then the wine is filtered after a few months and bottled.

The difference from one semillon to another is nuanced and is really based on the vineyards. This was the conclusion drawn after tasting the first round of wines which focused on youthful semillon. The 2016 and 2017 vintages were all a light straw color with a green tinge and each just a little different from the next.

 2016 Brokenwood Semillon  Soil: riverbed vineyard with alluvial soils/Notes: lemongrass and hay

 2017 De Iuliis Semillon  Soil: clay and reddish soil/Notes: pineapple, citrus and under-ripe papaya with a little residual sugar

 2017 Thomas Wines Braemore Semillon  Soil: alluvial flats/Notes: lime and lemongrass

 2016 Tyrrells Wines Semillon  Soil: sandy loam and clay/Notes: lemon peel, grapefruit and apple with a honeyed character

 2017 Audrey Wilkinson The Ridge Semillon  Soil: sandy loam and red volcanic clay/Notes: lemon, lime and green apple

The next round was the maturing semillon with wines from the 2009 vintage. The wines still showed the primary characteristics of lemon and lime with secondary notes like lemon curd developing. The wines were all still so fresh but gaining complexity and the wines ranged in colors from straw yellow to a light-yellow gold. The 2009 Brokenwood ILR Reserve Semillon, the top semillon produced each vintage and released after six years of age, has notes of minerals, petrol and smoky flint and fills the mouth with a richness and acidity and tastes like a tart candy on the finish.

The 2009 De Iuliis Aged Release Semillon is a single vineyard wine with lots of citrus flavors with some toasty characteristics developing. It is bright and acidic on the palate with lots of aging potential.

The 2009 Thomas Wines Braemore Cellar Reserve Semillon is also a single vineyard wine with notes of petrol, lemon curd and honeycomb and a delicate freshness on the palate.

The 2009 Tyrrells Wines Vat 1 Semillon has notes of pineapple and riper tropical fruit and bright acidity on finish and the 2009 Audrey Wilkinson The Ridge Semillon also has grass and citrus notes.

The final round was the mature Semillon as we tasted wines from the 2005 vintage with more than 10 years of age. The color of the wines was a yellow-golden color but still had some luminous green notes. The 2005 Brokenwood Brycefield, Belford Vineyards Semillon has aromas of petrol, lemon rind and a little hint of spice whereas the 2005 De Iullis Aged Release Semillon is still a little tart with strong citrus notes, as well as lemon curd. The 2005 Thomas Wines Braemore Cellar Reserve Semillon has aromas of flint, petrol and lemon curd with a long finish and the 2005 Tyrells Wines Vat 1 Semillon has notes under-ripe tropical fruit and citrus with a rich palate and full mouth acidity that made me salivate. The 2005 Audrey Wilkinson The Ridge Museum Reserve Semillon is ripe with soft citrus and tropical fruit notes.

No matter the vintage, the semillons from Hunter Valley were all such a pleasure to taste and really exemplified how the young semillon is ready to drink and can be enjoyed with oysters and shellfish. But semillon has the ability to age and the wine blossoms over time. As the semillon gets older, it can be enjoyed with richer foods such as grilled fish, smoked salmon and white meats.
For decades, it has been called the Sonoma County harvest fair and the main reason is that it is held every year at the time of Californias wine grape harvest.

The fair is more than just about wine, of course. But since wine is the most important business in the county, the harvest fair wine competition is one of the most important for local wineries and grapegrowers, and its results are kept a secret until a week after the judging.

Results typically are released at a celebratory evening at which consumers can try many of the gold medal winners. That evening last Sunday included a sensational dinner coordinated by chef John Ash at Luther Burbank Center.

A great benefit of the event is that results announced at it give attendees a day or two a head start to buying the wines they like best. Some may well be bronze medal winners, which some consumers may prefer more than the judges did!

Results are always meaningful since the harvest fair brings in excellent wine judges, from as far away as Minnesota and Florida, and wines are all judged double blind, so no information can be imparted that would tilt judges in one direction or another.

Staging the judging at this time of year is important because, unlike competitions staged earlier, white wines from the year-ago harvest are usually all bottled and have had time to develop interesting characteristics.

As a judge this year, I tasted some superb 2016 white wines, many of which had not been seen at prior 2017 wine competitions. And many red wines also had the benefit of additional time in the bottle.

However, its next to impossible to make a valid comparison between competitions. Thats because the several dozen wine competitions staged around the United States each year are often radically different from one another, with different rules and judging systems.

There are no uniform rules dictating them all, and some seem to do things out of synch with the others. Because rules for each differ greatly, the results can as well.

For example, most major wine competitions these days long ago abandoned judging wine by price categories, which can lead to inexact results. Their directors argued that such an archaic system leads to odd results that are not necessarily as precise as they could be.

(Wines that are known by the judges to be low-priced often are disparaged by a few of them for no reason other than the fact that they are reasonably priced! And those who judge high-priced wines occasionally say, Id never pay $30 for that! and give an otherwise excellent wine a bronze medal when a silver or a gold would have been a better result.)

Another difference between various competitions: Some competitions inform judges of the vintage dates on all wines; others reveal only some vintage dates, and restrict such information on other wines. And others do not reveal vintages at all.

And some competitions assign wines to judges who have preferences to judge particular varietals (Sauvignon blanc experts are asked to evaluate that varietal), and decline to serve certain judges wines they feel uncomfortable with. Other competitions simply randomize how wines are evaluated.

The harvest fair is one of the most interesting of judgings for me because I live here (I have for 31 years) and am well acquainted with all of the countys subregions.

As such, my tasting notes have great meaning when I coordinate my tasting sheet with the final result code sheet. It tells me a lot about how each region is performing, especially with certain varietal wines, and it also allows me to determine which wineries need assistance with their production techniques.

I dont write about these technical issues, but I occasionally communicate with wineries to let them know why a particular wine got a bronze medal instead of a gold, to help the winery determine how to improve.

This year, my panel judged, among other wines, primitivo, a grape variety closely related to zinfandel. For several years, Sonoma County has planted a lot of acreage of this Southern Italian grape. At this years judging, I was surprised not only that the wines were so good, but also that there were so many.

Our panel was asked to evaluate 16 different Sonoma County primitivos. I had no idea so much was being made.

Some of the wines did, in fact, come across tasting like zinfandel, but the best wine of the flight on my score sheet had a charming uniqueness that really wasnt as much Zinfandel as it was something different and truly appealing. It is listed below.

Wine of the Week: 2015 Soda Rock Primitivo, Chalk Hill, Los Amigos Vineyard ($36): Cranberry and spiced oak with a trace of jam in the aroma leads to an exciting, fruit-driven mid-palate that has wonderful structure, and works beautifully with red meat pastas in tomato sauce. Soda rock also makes a $55 edition of this wine, but I preferred the less expensive version.
Posted by PickupTrucks.com Staff | October 6, 2017

By Aaron Bragman

GM has unveiled a new fuel-cell platform specifically designed to be a flexible chassis that can serve both commercial and military needs for a versatile zero-emissions truck. The Silent Utility Rover Universal Superstructure is a reconfigurable chassis that has GM's second-generation hydrogen fuel-cell system integrated into the structure, and it's able to be configured for a variety of light, medium or heavy-duty uses as needed.

GM says that the flexibility provided by such an integrated machine is significant, with the company able to easily adapt the system to be a utility truck, heavy commercial freight hauler, light- or medium-duty truck, or even a specific military application as needed. Given the SURUS' Hydrotec fuel-cell system, it can also be used as a mobile power generator to provide electricity as needed in remote locations, with the benefit of doing it far more quietly and with far fewer gas and heat emissions than a diesel generator.

The SURUS leverages several aspects of GM's big trucks integrated into a new application. The platform features two electric drive units, four-wheel steering, a lithium-ion battery and enough on-board hydrogen storage to give a truck up to 400 miles of range. It uses GM's existing truck chassis components, including the suspension, to create an all-terrain vehicle that can serve as everything from a light-duty truck to an autonomous battlefield ambulance.

The truck will be shown at the fall meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army Oct. 9-11 as a possible military platform. The idea is to use it and reduce needed manpower in dangerous situations by using the platform's built-in autonomous driving systems. GM envisions a train of vehicles slaved to each other that can be used for delivery purposes over hostile terrain using a lead-and-follow program.

The SURUS is a follow-up to the Chevrolet Colorado ZH2 fuel-cell-powered pickup that GM unveiled at this event last year and which has been undergoing testing with the U.S. Army since April. GM says that the testing has thus far gone well, with the Army enjoying the ZH2's significantly quieter operation versus a diesel equivalent, enabling it to get much closer to targets without being detected.

Manufacturer images
12:41

The Prime Minister is addressing a public meeting in Dwarka, Gujarat after laying foundation stone for a bridge between Okha and Bet Dwarka:



- Today, I am seeing a very different mood here in Dwarka. There is tremendous enthusiasm here. What we are working towards is not merely a bridge to reach Bet Dwarka, it connects us to our history and culture.



- I still recall how tough it was for people of Bet Dwarka. Lack of infrastructure meant transportation was tough, people faced difficulties if an emergency came up. We wanted to change this with a push on infrastructure.



- Development of the tourism sector cannot be in isolation. If we want to draw more tourists to Gir, we should also inspire the tourist to visit other parts like Dwarka.



- Building of infrastructure should enhance economic activities and add to the atmosphere of development.



- When Madhavsinh Solanki ji was CM, I recall front page advertisements for the CM coming to Jamnagar to inaugurate a water tank. This is how narrow their conception of development was. We have come a long way since then and are looking at more all round and extensive progress.



- We want development of ports and port-led development. The blue economy should help further the progress of India.



- Government of India is taking steps towards the empowerment of fishermen. We do not want our fishermen to live in poverty. We want to create more opportunities for them.



- Kandla Port is seeing unprecedented growth. This is because we devoted resources to improve the port. New lease of life was added to Alang, steps were taken for the welfare of the labourers working there. These are steps we are taking towards development.



- Marine policing is a sector we are looking at very closely. We are modernising marine security apparatus. An institute for this will be set up in this Devbhoomi of Dwarka. It will draw people and experts from all over India.



- Diwali has come early for our citizens due to the decisions taken in the GST Council. We had said we will study all aspects relating to GST for three months, including the shortcomings. And thus, the decisions were taken with consensus at the GST Council.



- When there is trust in a government and when policies are made with best intentions, it is natural for people to support us for the best interests of the nation.



- The common citizen of India wants the fruits of development to reach him or her. Nobody wants their children to live in poverty. We want to help our people fulfil that dream and want to fight poverty.



- The world's attention is being drawn to India. People are coming to invest here. All this will bring opportunities for the people of India. I see Gujarat contributing actively to the development of India and congratulate the Gujarat government.



Courtesy @PMOIndia/Twitter


SBDC assisting SIU alumnus with new app and business

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill.  Celina Maniece is a proud double alumna of Southern Illinois University Carbondale, so she was quick to partner with the universitys Small Business Development Center for help in developing, testing and marketing a new app and business. Her BizClips project, which also involves SIU students and local businesses, seeks to connect businesses, professionals and consumers through video-based imagery.

Maniece, currently of Laredo, Texas, grew up in Du Quoin and earned her bachelors degree in psychology in 2006 and her masters in workforce education and development in 2010. After years of research, she conceived the concept for a company and app to help business owners decrease marketing expenses while streamlining their hiring process.

As Maniece began to develop her company and app, she reached out to the SIU Office of Economic and Regional Development for technical assistance in Southern Illinois. The professional, interactive, video-based social media networking app and site is now in the research and development phase.

In early spring 2017, Maniece began collaborating with the Illinois Small Business Development Center at SIU. Robyn Laur Russell, director of business development and international trade, and Greg Bouhl, SBDC director, are providing valuable assistance to Maniece regarding conceptualization, development and programming of the app as well as business processes and how to monitor company and product development.

They also assisted her in the earlier stages of app development in learning to evaluate the work of programmers. In addition, theyve lent their expertise in creating marketing messaging to make it appealing to the public.

The SBDC has helped her conceptualize different ways and places to market the app, which Russell characterizes as a fun, interactive, turbo-charged link between students, companies, professionals and the public that could revolutionize how people and businesses connect.

BizClips is designed to help businesses and professionals seeking employment connect. Consumers can also get involved as they can learn about and rank businesses and their products or services. The SBDC is working to connect BizClips with SIU students and with businesses in the region to help test the app before it goes mainstream. Students who are interested in being involved in the cutting-edge product testing, providing feedback regarding functionality and utilization, can join a private beta test group which will launch in October.

Maniece, a member of the SIU Alumni Association, is looking for up to 200 SIU students from the region as well as additional businesses. Interested parties should send their email address (Android-based) or Apple ID, along with information as to whether they are SIU students or area businesses to info@mybizclips.com by Friday, Oct. 13. They will in turn soon receive the beta version of the app.

Along with early free access to the app and the benefits it offers, those involved in the testing will also be able to connect with counterparts in Texas who are simultaneously testing it as well. The combined data and input from testing in the two pilot regions will be used to improve the app before it goes to market.

Maniece is also working with Norma Rodriguez, certified business adviser at the SBDC at Texas A&M International University in Laredo. Russell notes that Maniece, through working with the SBDCs in the national network, became small business management certified and that this entire project shows how people, universities and agencies can collaborate to foster success.

The SIU connection will continue in the future, too, Russell said. Chelsea Robbins, an SIU marketing alumna from Du Quoin who attended SIU 2003-2004, is serving as the point person for BizClips in Southern Illinois, and plans are underway for Maniece to work with SIU marketing classes as they offer their expertise, just as they frequently do for other area businesses.

The collaboration involving SIU and the SBDC with BizClips is a perfect example of knowledge creation and expanding partnerships that support innovation, Russell said.

The Illinois Small Business Development Center/International Trade Center is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and is hosted by SIU Carbondale. For more information about the center and many services it provides to new and expanding businesses, visit www.sbdc.siu.edu, call 618/536-2424 or email sbdc@siu.edu.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-05 23:47:36|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

Brunei's Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah waves to the crowd during a Royal Procession in Bandar Seri Begawan, capital of Brunei, on Oct. 5, 2017. Brunei celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah's accession to the throne on Thursday, with a grand ceremony at his vast, golden-domed palace and meet-and-greet with his people, participated by over 80,000 Bruneians. (Xinhua/Jeffrey Wong)

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Brunei celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah's accession to the throne on Thursday, with a grand ceremony at his vast, golden-domed palace and meet-and-greet with his people, participated by over 80,000 Bruneians.

A series of commemorative events have been organized to mark the occasion, including the issuing of 50 Brunei dollars commemorative polymer note, commemorative coins, first day cover and special edition stamps.

The highlight of the celebration is a Royal Procession along the main streets of Bandar Seri Begawan on Thursday in a display of long-standing royal traditions and pageantry. Prior to that, a ceremonial guard of honor and an audience ceremony with the Sultan was held at Istana Nurul Iman, Brunei's royal palace.

The Sultan will also host a Royal Banquet on Friday for invited guests including a number of foreign senior officials, and members of royal houses from various countries, an official from Brunei's Information Department of the Prime Minister's Office told Xinhua.

Brunei is a state of 5,765 square km situated in the northwest corner of Borneo, with a population of approximately 420,000.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-05 23:52:40|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

TIRANA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The current situation of Albania's railway network is very bad as most of the network is completely amortized, according to a report issued Thursday by the Global Economic Forum.

Albania ranks 101st in the world in the Global Competition Index regarding the quality of railroads, the report showed.

According to this forum's report, Albania has no functional rail lines and that the network is largely dominated by the investments carried out about 50 years ago.

The railroad network in Albania was built during the period from 1946 until 1986, mainly to assist the country's industry while its total length is 420 km.

Meanwhile, the only railway that the Albanian government has promised to reconstruct is the one linking Albanian capital, Tirana to coastal city of Durres.

According to experts, Albania's railway network needs millions of euros to be revitalized.

The trains carried 60 percent of all passenger traffic some 20 years ago. Now that figure is less than 1 percent, the report said. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 00:07:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

MOSCOW, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Deals worth at least 2.1 billion U.S. dollars were signed during Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud's first visit to Russia, the Kremlin said Thursday.

The Public Investment Fund (PIF) of Saudi Arabia, Saudi national oil company Saudi Aramco, and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) signed an agreement to set up an energy investment fund of 1 billion U.S. dollars, a Kremlin statement said.

The PIF and RDIF also agreed to establish another 1-billion-dollar high technology investment fund, it said.

In addition, the Saudi fund will invest 100 million dollars in the construction and operation of roads, railways, city transport and other public-private projects in Russia.

Russian state arms export agency Rosoboronexport and Saudi Military Industries Corporation signed a contract for the licensed production of Kalashnikov AK103 assault rifles and cartridges in Saudi Arabia, as well as a memorandum on the purchase of Russian military products and localization of their production.

Russian and Saudi government bodies also sealed memorandums on cooperation in outer space exploration, information and communications, trade, economy, in particular oil-processing projects, science, technology and agriculture.

Before the signing of the documents, King Salman had talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

They discussed bilateral cooperation in trade, investment, culture and humanitarian sectors as well as international issues.

"It was a very meaningful conversation, substantive and very confidential," Putin said afterwards, calling the visit a "landmark event" which will enhance relations between Moscow and Riyadh.

King Salman said Saudi-Russian relations were characterized by similar views on many regional and international problems.

"We strive to continue positive cooperation between our countries to achieve stability in the world oil markets, which contributes to the growth of the world economy," he said.

It is the first time that a reigning Saudi Arabian monarch has visited Russia since the founding of the Middle Eastern country in 1926. Putin paid a state visit to Saudi Arabia in 2007.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 00:53:00|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

VILNIUS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- TransferGo, Lithuanian money transfer services startup, has started operations in China, announced the company on Thursday.

One of Lithuania's biggest startup companies explains the move is based on intensifying economic cooperation between Lithuanian and Chinese companies.

"During recent years, Chinese direct investments into Lithuania have increased almost six-fold. We hope that fast and cheap international money transfers would contribute to strengthening ties between Lithuanian and Chinese businesses," Daumanats Dvilinskas, chief executive of TransferGo, was quoted as saying in a press release.

Dvilinskas sees demand for money transfer services coming from companies purchasing commodities and goods directly from Chinese manufacturers.

The company says money transfers from businesses and individuals would reach a recipient in China within a day.

Up until now, in Asia the company's users were able to transfer money to Hong Kong, India and the Philippines. TransferGo currently operates in 46 countries with monthly transfers averaging around 15 million British pounds (19.7 million U.S. dollars). The company aims to expand beyond Europe.

Since its launch in 2012, the startup has raised 10.55 million U.S. dollars in total from private equity investors. TransferGo says its revenue has doubled in recent 12 months, without specifying the number.

Earlier this year, the Lithuanian regulator issued e-money institution license to Chinese fintech company IBS Lithuania, a branch of International Business Settlement Holdings Limited, allowing the company to issue and redeem electronic money, provide payment services across the European Union.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 00:58:01|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

RIGA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Phil Hogan, European Union's (EU) Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, visited Latvia on Thursday, with the bloc's Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) and subsidies to farmers dominating his meetings with Latvian officials.

Latvian Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis told the EU commissioner that Latvia is interested in a strong EU, including a strong and properly funded CAP.

The EU's support for rural development is also highly important to Latvia as it provides the opportunity to develop those rural territories that currently lag behind the average EU level. Prosperity of inhabited rural territories, especially near the EU's external borders, is also a matter of the whole bloc's security, said Kucinskis.

Both Kucinskis and Hogan agreed that it is time to provide equal direct subsidy payments to farmers in all EU member states and that the bloc's agriculture has to be properly funded.

At present, direct payments to Latvian farmers are the smallest in the EU.

The talks also touched on the damage Latvian farmers have suffered from recent heavy rainfall and floods. Kucinskis indicated that a state of emergency has been declared in 29 rural districts over the floods, which have caused an estimated 37.30-million-euro loss to the affected farms.

During meeting with Latvian Agriculture Minister Janis Duklavs, Hogan and the minister emphasized the necessity for a strong, modern and sufficiently funded agriculture policy.

The officials agreed that safe and high-quality food, clean environment, biological diversity in agriculture and populated rural regions have to be ensured in the EU despite challenges like Brexit, migration and security issues.

Duklavs also voiced hope for equality in the distribution of direct subsidy payments to farmers, calling for equal terms of competition in all EU member states. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 01:58:23|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

by Eric J. Lyman

ROME, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- If Italy's economy really is on the mend, analysts told Xinhua it is the export sector doing most of the work.

This year has seen signs that Italy's beleaguered economy may finally be on the mend after a decade of slow growth punctuated by occasional spurts of activity.

But so far, 2017 has seen at least a dozen upward adjustments in growth forecasts from the Italian government, ratings agencies, and multilateral organizations.

The latest, from the Italian Ministry of Finance, predicts the economy will grow 1.5 percent this year, up from 1.1 percent predicted in April, and 0.9 percent at the start of the year. Economists now say the stronger growth is expected to extend into 2018 and 2019.

Export growth is the main driver behind the trend. The same ministry figures predict exports will grow 4.8 percent this year compared to 2016, far more than the 3.7 percent rate predicted six months ago, and models from SACE, the Italian export credit agency, predict Italian exports will grow at a healthy 4.5-percent-per-year clip through at least 2020.

"Exports have almost always been one of the main drivers behind Italy's economic growth and that will certainly be true over the next several years," economist Beniamino Quintieri, SACE's chairman, told Xinhua.

According to information from SACE and statistics office ISTAT, Italian exports accounted for 25.8 percent of Italy's gross domestic product in 2010. That number rose to 30.4 percent last year, and SACE's models predict it to rise further, to 32.4 percent in 2020.

Analysts said the main factor behind the trend is the maturity of Italian companies, especially the medium-sized players that dominate the economy.

In the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, Italian companies were helped every time the government devalued the lira, Italy's currency. Those companies struggled after the value of the lira was fixed to other European currencies in 1998 in preparation for the launch of euro in January 1999 and introduction of the euro notes and coins in January 2002.

"The companies that managed to survive during that period, or that have emerged since then are very competitive," Stefania Tomasini, chief economist with Prometeia, an Italian consulting firm. "Overall, Italy's export sector is still 25 percent smaller than it was before the economic crisis that started a decade ago, but on a company-by-company basis Italian firms can now compare favorably to their counterparts in Germany and France."

Tomasini said improvements in the manufacturing process, better sales networks, healthier balance sheets, the use of cutting-edge technology, and the ability for companies to react quicker to changes in markets have combined to result in highly competitive industries.

She said that the production of machine parts, pharmaceuticals, high-end fashion, and food and wine products are among Italy's strongest export sectors.

"The growth in Italian exports is outpacing worldwide economic growth, which means the country is gaining in market share," Tomasini said. "It's a good trend, but there are still too few companies involved."

Figures from the Italian Ministry of Economic Development bear that out: Italian experts were worth 417 billion euros (500 billion U.S. dollars last year), good for about 2.9 percent of worldwide exports, in 2016, up from 390 billion (468 billion U.S. dollars), or 2.8 percent of all exports just three years later. But that is still lower than the 3.6-percent share Italian exports held in 2007, just before the worldwide economic crisis started.
Sudanese soldiers collect weapons voluntarily surrendered by residents in South Darfur State, Sudan, on Sept. 23, 2017. (Xinhua/Mohamed Khidir)

by Julius Gale

JUBA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Thursday expressed concern about the fate of people wounded in the fighting around Waat, in South Sudan's Bieh state, and requested all sides to allow the wounded access to health care.

The ICRC in a statement issued in Juba reminded all sides involved in the hostilities to respect and protect those not taking part in the fighting, including wounded combatants.

"The ICRC has been able to evacuate several wounded combatants so far and we stand ready to do it again. We are discussing with all sides to the conflict to ensure that the wounded have access to the medical assistance they are entitled to," ICRC's head of delegation in South Sudan, Francois Stamm said.

Fresh clashes erupted early this week between government forces and rebels loyal to the country's former deputy president Riek Machar known as SPLA-IO, which left over 90 killed and dozens injured, according to the South Sudan army (SPLA).

SPLA spokesman Lul Ruai Koang blamed opposition fighters for obstructing evacuation efforts by the ICRC on Wednesday, alleging that rebel fighters fired shells at the airstrip as the ICRC team tried to evacuate their wounded soldiers.

Lam Paul Gabriel, Deputy Spokesman of the rebels denied all the accusations, saying that the government is trying to restrict the ICRC to only rescue wounded government soldiers and leave out the rebels.

"Fighting is still ongoing and we are in full control of the airstrip. But the government is putting the ICRC under huge pressure not to assist our fighters, which is not acceptable," Gabriel told Xinhua by phone.

Photo taken on Sept. 22, 2017 shows the Kalma internally displaced person (IDP) camp where clashes between government forces and IDPs occurred in South Darfur, Sudan, on Sept. 22, 2017.(Xinhua/Mohamed Khidir)

The Red Cross said since the beginning of 2017, they have evacuated more than 590 people wounded in fighting and other situations of violence across South Sudan, and it has treated a total of 1,046 people affected by the conflict.

"We remind all parties involved in the fighting about their obligation to allow the war wounded prompt access to medical assistance," Stamm said.

"There are rules in war and it is crucial that international humanitarian law (IHL) be respected and that those affected by the fighting are protected," he added.

South Sudan has been embroiled in more than three years of conflict that has have taken a devastating toll on the people of South Sudan.

A peace pact signed in Addis Ababa in 2015 under intense international pressure was shattered again following renewed violence between rival government and opposition troops in the capital Juba in July 2016.

The conflict has since spread to other regions which enjoyed relative peace, causing mass displacement of least 4 million people from their homes, ethnic polarization and tribal violence that has killed tens of thousands of people.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 05:04:16|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

MAPUTO, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- A group of about 30 men attacked three police stations in the coastal district of Mocimboa da Praia, Cabo Delgado province of northern Mozambique, in an armed raid on Thursday.

The three police stations included the district police command, a police post and a natural resources and environment police patrol station, Inacio Dina, the spokesperson of the General Command of the Mozambican police said in a press conference in Maputo on Thursday.

"There was a prompt response from the police; two AK-47 rifles were seized. Unfortunately two police officers from the national protection force were shot dead, but the police are intensifying its actions to bring the situation under control. We are pleased to inform that two of the gang members were captured and they will provide information for the investigation," said Dina.

The spokesperson said it's still early to advance any information from the raid particularly to allegations that the attackers are linked to Islamic fundamentalist groups because they were using local languages including Swahili and Portuguese.

Early on Thursday, the initial information released by local individuals suspected that the gang was probably connected to the Somali terrorist group Al-Shabaab, but there is no evidence for such allegations.

Mocimboa da Praia is a category 3 municipality yet classified as village not city due to its shortage of key infrastructures. Local media reports indicate that three of the attackers were also killed and five more people were injured in the raid.

The village was closed for business the entire day and the situation was reported back to normal and under control around 18:00.

Cabo Delgado province is one of Mozambique's richest provinces in terms of mineral resources and it is also one of the country's major tourist destinations.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 05:24:22|Editor: huaxia

Video Player Close

TRIPOLI, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Libya's General Union of Teachers said on Thursday that teaching across the country has been suspended until its demands are met, local media reported.

"Teaching in all educational institutions from primary to high schools in Libya will be suspended until the House of Representatives (HoR) agrees to increase salaries and provide security for teachers," Abdulnabi Saleh, the head of the union, was quoted as saying.

The union also demands HoR adopt the teachers' law based on increasing salaries for teachers and providing them and their families with health insurance, and introduce educational training programs for teachers.

Libya is politically divided between an eastern government and a western one, thus having two ministries of education. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 06:09:32|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Britain and China can cooperate in many innovative fields to seize the opportunities in countries and regions along the routes of the Belt and Road Initiative, a leading British scholar has told Xinhua.

Sir Timothy O'Shea, principal of the Edinburgh University, was attending the Sustainable Silk Roads Conference held in Edinburgh.

Organized by Edinburgh University's Confucius Institute, the two-day conference has shed light on the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the opportunities it offers to Scotland.

The initiative, put forward in 2013, is aimed at building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road by promoting trade, financial integration, and infrastructure inter-connectivity and people-to-people exchanges between Asia, Europe and Africa.

O'Shea said Scotland's strengths in innovative technologies and low carbon solutions make it an ideal place to consider how sustainable strategies can be developed.

There will be very many opportunities in countries and regions along the routes of the Belt and Road Initiative, he said.

Britain has a lot of skills in engineering, advanced working in environmental science, and Britain is interested in different types of renewable energies. Britain and China can work very effectively in engineering, data science and environmental engineering, O'Shea said.

He believed there is potential in infrastructure, particularly infrastructure which is environmentally sound. Britain is good at that and there is a center for carbon innovation in the Edinburgh University.

"UK has many universities that are very strong in data science," he added.

The professor noted through China-Britain Business Council and other institutions the two countries have a lot of good connections and will establish new connections.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 06:49:42|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

HOUSTON, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Researchers from the Rice University, Texas of the United States found that the way a person's brain communicates directly impacts how well they perform simple and complex tasks.

According to a news release by the Rice University on Thursday, Simon Fischer-Baum, an assistant professor of psychology in Rice's School of Social Sciences said brain regions are organized into communities with lots of connections between regions in the community and fewer connections to regions outside of the community.

Fischer-Baum, also one of the study's authors, said "people's brains are different. Some people have brains that are better described as having rigid community structure - or higher modularity - while other people have brains without such rigid community structure - or lower modularity."

Throughout the course of the study, modularity was measured on a scale from zero to one. Zero represented low modularity - brains in which every region of the brain is just as likely to communicate with any other region; one represented high modularity - brains that can be divided into communities of brain regions whose members only communicate with each other.

In the study, the researchers had 52 participants -- 16 men and 36 women -- between the ages of 18 and 26 undergo functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a process that measures brain neural activity by detecting changes associated with blood oxygen levels.

The researchers found that participants with high-modularity brains were more successful at performing simple tasks than individuals with low-modularity brains. However, participants with low-modularity brains had greater success with complex tasks than participants with high-modularity brains.

Fischer-Baum said that this effect can be considered relative to the decline in working memory with age, which is a hallmark of the cognitive effects of aging.

Rice graduate student Qiuhai Yue is the study's lead author. Other co-authors include Fengdan Ye, a graduate student at Rice; Aurora Ramos-Nunez, a former research scientist in the Fischer-Baum lab and now an assistant professor of psychology at the College of Coastal Georgia.

The authors said the research has important implications for understanding the brain as a network.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 06:59:46|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese envoy to the United Nations on Thursday welcomed the adoption of a Security Council resolution on Colombia and commended parties in Colombia for their peace efforts.

China welcomes the unanimous adoption of Resolution 2381, which expands the mandate of the newly established UN Verification Mission in Colombia to also monitor a temporary cease-fire agreement between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN), said Wu Haitao, charge d'affaires of the Chinese mission to the United Nations.

The original mandate of the Verification Mission in Colombia covered only the government's peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's largest rebel group.

The temporary cease-fire agreement between the Colombian government and the ELN is a major progress in the Colombian peace process, said the Chinese envoy. China extends congratulations over the achievement and commends all concerned parties in Colombia for their peace efforts, he said.

Since the government reached a cease-fire agreement and a peace deal with FARC last year, the peace process in the country continued to witness new progress, resulting in positive momentum, said Wu. The cease-fire agreement with the ELN, which entered into force on Sunday, provided favorable conditions for the early realization of comprehensive and sustainable peace and stability in Colombia, he said.

With Resolution 2381, the Verification Mission in Colombia will oversee the cease-fire between the government and the ELN, he said. China hopes the UN Secretariat will get the preparation work done as soon as possible so that the Verification Mission can carry out its extended mandate.

"We also hope that the Verification Mission, on the basis of respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Colombia, will ensure the comprehensive implementation of the mandate by strengthening communication with the Colombian government and conducting good internal coordination work so as to provide constructive help for the greater outcome of the Colombian peace process," said Wu.

The Security Council in July approved the establishment of the Verification Mission in Colombia to verify the political, economic and social reintegration of former FARC combatants as well as security guarantees. On Sept. 14, it further approved the recommendations of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres concerning the size, operational aspects and mandate of the mission, including the deployment of 120 unarmed, non-uniformed international observers. The mission started operations on Sept. 26.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 07:09:49|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

HOUSTON, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- About 6 percent, or 43,000 units, of Houston's apartment supply were affected by Hurricane Harvey's flooding, local media Thursday quoted data from a real estate firm as saying.

Properties across Houston in the U.S. state of Texas were flooded, as many of Houston's apartment complexes are in or near the 100-year flood plain, the Richardson-based RealPage said.

West Houston complexes, especially those near the Barker and Addicks reservoirs, had significant damage. This far west Houston submarket, downstream from the reservoirs, shows more than 4,700 units, or 15 percent, were taken offline.

Both Barker and Addicks reservoirs released water after the water level was pushed to its limit caused by continuously heavy rainfall. Neighborhoods near the two reservoirs were heavily flooded since then.

According to the RealPage's report, on Houston's north side, more than 3,000 units were affected, accounting for 21 percent of the existing stock and the largest share across all neighborhoods.

The RealPage data is based on a survey of about 1,700 apartment properties located in areas where Hurricane Harvey caused the heaviest damage.

If apartment operators reported damage but were unable to provide a number of units impacted, RealPage assumed that all first-floor apartments were affected.

Category 4 Hurricane Harvey blew ashore on Aug. 25 as the most powerful hurricane to hit Texas in more than 50 years. The severe flooding brought by Harvey killed dozens of people and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 07:19:50|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Thursday adopted a resolution to expand the mandate of the Verification Mission in Colombia to enable it to monitor a temporary cease-fire agreement between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN).

In an unanimous vote, the 15-member council adopted Resolution 2381, which authorizes the deployment of up to 70 additional international observers to join the mission to help monitor the cease-fire in addition to its original task of overseeing a peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's largest rebel group.

The new resolution decides that the Verification Mission in Colombia will also verify compliance with the temporary cease-fire with the ELN at the national, regional and local level; to endeavour to prevent incidents through enhanced coordination between the parties and resolution of disagreements; to enable timely response by the parties to incidents; and to verify and report publicly to the parties on compliance with the cease-fire.

The Security Council in July approved the establishment of the Verification Mission in Colombia to verify the political, economic and social reintegration of former FARC combatants as well as security guarantees. On Sept. 14, it further approved the recommendations of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres concerning the size, operational aspects and mandate of the mission, including the deployment of 120 unarmed, non-uniformed international observers. The mission started operations on Sept. 26.

Thursday's Security Council resolution expands its mandate to include the peace process with the ELN, with which the Colombian government agreed on a cease-fire last month. The temporary cease-fire entered into force on Sunday and expires on Jan. 9, 2018.

The council members welcomed the adoption of the new resolution and were heartened by the temporary cease-fire with the ELN.

British ambassador to the United Nations Matthew Rycroft, whose country is the penholder of the resolution, said: "Let us do all we can to support the government of Colombia and the ELN in that effort (of peace)." "We know that this is just the start," he told the council after the vote.

China welcomed the adoption of the resolution and commended parties in Colombia for their peace efforts.

The temporary cease-fire agreement between the Colombian government and the ELN is a major progress in the Colombian peace process, said Wu Haitao, charge d'affaires of the Chinese mission to the United Nations. China extends congratulations over the achievement and commends all concerned parties in Colombia for their peace efforts, he told the council.

Since the government reached a cease-fire agreement and a peace deal with FARC last year, the peace process in the country continued to witness new progress, resulting in positive momentum, said Wu. The cease-fire agreement with the ELN provided favorable conditions for the early realization of comprehensive and sustainable peace and stability in Colombia, he said.

China hopes the UN Secretariat will get the preparation work done as soon as possible so that the Verification Mission can carry out its extended mandate, he said. "We also hope that the Verification Mission, on the basis of respect for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Colombia, will ensure the comprehensive implementation of the mandate by strengthening communication with the Colombian government and conducting good internal coordination work so as to provide constructive help for the greater outcome of the Colombian peace process."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 07:44:53|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

by Raimundo Urrechaga

HAVANA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Havana bar El Floridita, famed as the birthplace of the tangy daiquiri cocktail and a favorite haunt of U.S. writer Ernest Hemingway, celebrated 200 years of being in business on Thursday.

As befits the originator of one of the world's most popular drinks, the bar launched a competition to crown the "Daiquiri King of Kings," a contest in which eight top bartenders vie for the title by inventing a new daiquiri recipe.

All eight competitors have in the past won prior competitions and been named "Daquiri King," including Marlon Riera, who won the title three years ago.

"El Floridita is the 'cradle of the daiquiri' and every Cuban bartender that loves his profession likes this signature cocktail. Having such a popular and world-famous cocktail in our country is an honor," Riera told Xinhua.

The participating bartenders from Cuba, the U.S. and Argentina have two days to invent a winning recipe, which will be included in the bar's cocktail menu.

El Floridita's current star cocktail is the "Papa Hemingway" daiquiri, made with the traditional white rum, lime juice and Maraschino liqueur, but with an added dash of grapefruit juice.

Italian-American bartender T.J. Palmieri said "this bar is legendary (and) participating in this competition is an honor."

"I made a daiquiri that combines the best of my North American, Cuban and Italian heritage," he added.

Pedro Tejada, who bartends at the Havana restaurant Ajiaco, used exclusively Cuban ingredients in his version, such as "a rum liqueur called Guayabita del Pinar, which is only made in the western province of Pinar del Rio, and gives the cocktail an exquisite flavor and aroma."

Some 400 guests from 20 countries, along with members of the International Bartenders Association, have been invited to join in the anniversary celebrations.

"Two centuries have passed since the opening of this cultural icon ... representing Cuba's best culinary traditions," Ariel Blanco, the director of El Floridita, said.

The bar, founded in 1817, is one of Havana's top tourism attractions.
Wu Haitao (C, front), China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, addresses a UN Security Council debate on weapons of mass destruction (WMD) non-proliferation, at the UN headquarters in New York, on Dec. 15, 2016. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Thursday adopted a resolution to expand the mandate of the Verification Mission in Colombia to enable it to monitor a temporary cease-fire agreement between the Colombian government and the National Liberation Army (ELN).

In an unanimous vote, the 15-member council adopted Resolution 2381, which authorizes the deployment of up to 70 additional international observers to join the mission to help monitor the cease-fire in addition to its original task of overseeing a peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the country's largest rebel group.

The new resolution decides that the Verification Mission in Colombia will also verify compliance with the temporary cease-fire with the ELN at the national, regional and local level; to endeavour to prevent incidents through enhanced coordination between the parties and resolution of disagreements; to enable timely response by the parties to incidents; and to verify and report publicly to the parties on compliance with the cease-fire.

The Security Council in July approved the establishment of the Verification Mission in Colombia to verify the political, economic and social reintegration of former FARC combatants as well as security guarantees. On Sept. 14, it further approved the recommendations of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres concerning the size, operational aspects and mandate of the mission, including the deployment of 120 unarmed, non-uniformed international observers. The mission started operations on Sept. 26.

Thursday's Security Council resolution expands its mandate to include the peace process with the ELN, with which the Colombian government agreed on a cease-fire last month. The temporary cease-fire entered into force on Sunday and expires on Jan. 9, 2018.

The council members welcomed the adoption of the new resolution and were heartened by the temporary cease-fire with the ELN.

British ambassador to the United Nations Matthew Rycroft, whose country is the penholder of the resolution, said: "Let us do all we can to support the government of Colombia and the ELN in that effort (of peace)." "We know that this is just the start," he told the council after the vote.

China welcomed the adoption of the resolution and commended parties in Colombia for their peace efforts.

The temporary cease-fire agreement between the Colombian government and the ELN is a major progress in the Colombian peace process, said Wu Haitao, charge d'affaires of the Chinese mission to the United Nations. China extends congratulations over the achievement and commends all concerned parties in Colombia for their peace efforts, he told the council.

Since the government reached a cease-fire agreement and a peace deal with FARC last year, the peace process in the country continued to witness new progress, resulting in positive momentum, said Wu. The cease-fire agreement with the ELN provided favorable conditions for the early realization of comprehensive and sustainable peace and stability in Colombia, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 07:54:57|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- A man burned four children to death before setting himself on fire on Thursday at a kindergarten in Brazil's southeastern state of Minas Gerais.

Another 40 people were injured in the attack in the city of Janauba.

According to local mayor and police, a security guard at the school doused the children in alcohol and then set them alight. He died at the hospital from his wounds.

The regional hospital of Janauba reported that 40 other people were brought in, 25 of them with burns and 15 in a state of shock. The latter have since been released.

Among the patients remaining in hospital, 14 were children aged four and five, and the remainder are kindergarten staff. All of them present burns on over 20 percent of their bodies.

The attacker, aged 50, had worked as a night watchman at the school since 2008 and allegedly suffered from depression.

President Michel Temer reacted to the horrific incident, posting on Twitter: "I immensely regret this tragedy involving children in Janauba. I want to express my solidarity with the families."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 10:00:16|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

LUANDA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Country Director of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) Michel Kouakou said Thursday the 2.4 percent HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in Angola is "worrying," despite the government's efforts.

UNAIDS actions in Angola will continue to focus on supporting the government in actions to fight the disease, the official told the press on the sidelines of a national workshop aimed at strengthening the country's community health system.

He said the UNAIDS has been supporting the government in implementing a program launched in June called "Testing and Treating," for everyone suffering from HIV/AIDS.

Its goal, he said, is to reach, among others, 90 percent of the people diagnosed with AIDS under antiretroviral treatment by 2030.

The official also spoke of the need for preventive measures against the disease.

The national workshop ending on Thursday in the Angolan capital of Luanda, was organized by the Angola Network of AIDS Service Organizations (ANASO).
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 11:00:25|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

OTTAWA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- Ottawa is now focusing on getting more Chinese visitors to the city, Mayor Jim Watson of Ottawa told Xinhua in an interview during a series of celebration activities called Ottawa Welcomes the World, marking the 150th anniversary of Canada's founding.

On this occasion, Ottawa has hosted a series of activities allowing embassies in the capital to show their culture through music, art and food, among which, Beijing Week, organized by the Chinese embassy, officially opened here on Thursday.

Beijing's vice-mayor Cheng Hong attended the opening of the four-day spotlight on Beijing, featuring performances of acrobatics, folk music and traditional Chinese operas.

Ottawa and Beijing have been sister cities since 1999, when Watson signed the sister-city agreement in Beijing during his first term as Ottawa's mayor in 1997-2000, which has led to several joint initiatives.

Watson has been Ottawa's mayor over the past seven years after serving as a cabinet minister in the government of the Canadian province of Ontario, and was named as Canada's most popular mayor this year, according to a poll conducted in the country's 10 largest cities.

Nearly two years ago, he made his fifth visit to Beijing with a delegation of Ottawa's business leaders, and five agreements were signed covering such areas of technology, investment, private equity and venture capital.

Other partnerships have also been formed involving clean-tech, foreign-student exchanges and tourism, which will be highlighted in 2018 during the Canada-China Year of Tourism.

Watson is now mainly focusing on getting more Chinese visitors to Ottawa, and Michael Crockatt, president and CEO of Ottawa Tourism, will soon be in Beijing for tourism promotion.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 11:20:31|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

HONG KONG, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has been exercising "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" with a high degree of autonomy in strict accordance with the Basic Law, since Hong Kong returned to the motherland, a spokesman for the HKSAR government said on Friday.

This demonstrates the full and successful implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle, which has been widely recognized by the international community, he noted.

The spokesman made the remarks in response to a report issued by the United States Congressional-Executive Commission on China on Thursday local time.

"Foreign legislatures should not interfere in any form in the internal affairs of the HKSAR," the spokesman said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 11:25:33|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

ISLAMABAD, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Death toll of Thursday evening suicide blast that hit a shrine in Jhal Magsi district of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province has risen to 20, local media cited officials as saying on early Friday, adding that over 30 others were injured.

Local officials also said the killed people included two policemen and three children.

Home Minister of Balochistan Sarfraz Bugti said the blast happened during the Urs, the death anniversary of the shrine's saint, celebrations at the shrine. He confirmed that 27 people also got injured in the blast out of which 14 are in critical condition.

Hospital sources said the critically injured victims have been shifted to hospitals in neighboring districts of Larkana, Shahdad Kot and Jacobabad for treatment.

Provincial Health Minister Rehmat Saleh Baloch said they have declared a state of emergency in hospitals in the districts to ensure proper medical facilities to all the wounded people.

Bugti said that the incident happened when the suicide bomber tried to enter the shrine from the entrance allocated for women devotees, adding that the on-duty policeman stopped the bomber for body frisking when he blew up his explosive jacket, killing himself, the policeman and 16 others.

Bugti said the death toll could have been multiplied if the bomber succeeded in his plans to enter the shrine as there were over 800 people inside there when the attack happened.

Both the country's president Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi condemned the attack and expressed sorrow over the loss of lives. Abbasi also directed hospital administration to provide best possible medical treatment to the injured people.

In a late night post on Thursday, the Islamic State (IS) claimed the attack through its website. The extremism militant group claimed that the target of the attack was minority Shi'ite Muslims, but locals said that the killed and injured people included devotees of Shi'ite and Sunni sects.

According to the shrine's official website, it is of a Muslim saint who was born in 1852 A.D. and devoted his life for the wellbeing of people.

This is the third shrine attack in the country over the last the last one year. At least 135 people were killed and over 400 others injured in the previous two attacks, one in Balochistan and the other in neighboring Sindh Province. Both the earlier attacks were claimed by the IS.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 11:35:35|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

YANGON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- A total of 2,555 Muslim villagers have gathered near the Myanmar side of the border to continue crossing into Bangladesh over the last three days to flee the conflict in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state, Myanmar News Agency reported Friday.

The large number of Muslims seeking to leave different villages in Buthidaung township has prompted the security forces to inspect and conduct law enforcement measures there.

According to the report, a total of 17,013 Muslim villagers had left their villages since Sept. 26 as of Oct. 5.

Meanwhile, 16 people including eight Hindu women and eight children, abducted to Bangladesh by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) extremist terrorists on last Aug. 25 from Myanmar's northern Rakhine state, have been brought back to homeland over the last two days after a demand by the Myanmar side through diplomatic channel.

The returned Hindu women and children from Yebawkya village in Maungtaw survived a bloody massacre by the ARSA terrorists of at least 45 Hindu men then.

The spate of violence promoted some 30,000 locals in the northern state to flee south to Mrauk U, Sittway, Kyauktaw and Minbya, while hundreds of thousands of Muslims fled to Bangladesh border.

Meanwhile, Myanmar's National Human Rights Commission, in a statement on Wednesday, stressed emphasis on long-term peace and stability in the rehabilitation process in the northern state, calling for strict scrutiny of returnees to ensure extremist terrorists are excluded.

Bangladesh and Myanmar agreed on Monday to start the process of repatriation of refugees who have crossed into Bangladesh.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 11:45:36|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

TOKYO, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The rescue work for the 12 people unaccounted for after a fishing vessel from the Chinese mainland collided with a tanker of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is under way, according to the Chinese Consulate General in Osaka.

Three patrol vessels of the Japan Coast Guard have begun work since early Friday with frogmen sent to search for the missing people, said the consulate general.

The consulate general is keeping close contact with the Japanese side, it said.

The accident occurred on early Thursday in international waters some 400 km north of the Oki Islands in western Japan.

Four of the 16 crew members on board the fishing vessel were rescued, while 12 others were still missing.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 12:00:39|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- California Governor Jerry Brown signed the "Sanctuary State" bill into law on Thursday, showing a will to resist the White House's immigration policy.

SB (Senate Bill) 54, called by media as the "Sanctuary State" bill, was introduced by Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon on Dec. 5 last year, weeks after the 2016 presidential election, to defy Donald Trump's campaign pledge to tighten immigration policy.

"This bill would, among other things and subject to exceptions, prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies, including school police and security departments, from using money or personnel to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect, or arrest persons for immigration enforcement purposes," the bill read.

This means Californian law enforcement can not inquire an individual's immigration status, arrest people on civil immigration warrants, or participate in border patrol activities or joint task forces with the federal government if the primary purpose is immigration enforcement.

Meanwhile, the state law enforcement can only detain someone in a request from the federal government, notifying the latter to release or transfer someone to federal custody, after there's a felony warrant or the person has been convicted of one of the over 800 crimes listed on the bill.

The local Sacramento Bee newspaper reported that Brown had made some amendments before signing the bill, such as increasing crimes on the list from the initial 65 to over 800, including felony DUI(Driving Under the Influence), child abuse, gang-related offenses and some misdemeanors.

"These are uncertain times for undocumented citizens and their families, and this bill strikes a balance that will protect public safety, while bringing a measure of comfort to those families who are now living in fear every day," Brown said.

De Leon hailed Brown's move, saying the bill accomplished his initial objective to prevent California resources and police from being "commandeered" for Trump's policies.

"California's local law enforcement cannot be commandeered and used by the Trump Administration to tear families apart, undermine our safety, and wreak havoc on our economy," de Leon said at a news conference in Los Angeles, which was posted on his official twitter page.

De Leon posted six tweets Thursday after the bill was signed, saying that the "signing of SB 54 comes at critical time in US history. With Donald Trump, we have witnessed a racial divide we have not seen in decades," and "California Values Act SB 54 will now be law of the land -- building a wall of justice against Trump's racist and ignorant immigration policies."

The California Police Chiefs Association takes a neutral stand regarding the bill, the Sacramento Bee reported, adding that the sheriffs' organization remains against it and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions had publicly urged Brown to veto it.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 12:05:42|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- A vehicle connected to the mass shooting that took place in Las Vegas was located in Reno, 760 km northwest of the U.S. city where the tragedy occurred, local authorities said Thursday.

"The Hyundai that was sought in connection with the LV (Las Vegas) shooting was located during a search warrant executed at (Stephen) Paddock's house in Reno," Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) tweeted on its official page.

Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old gambler and real estate investor, rained down about 1,600 rounds of ammo from a 32th-floor suite of Mandalay Bay hotel into a crowd of more than 22,000 people attending a country music festival, killing at least 59 and injuring nearly 500 on Sunday.

The tweet showed the picture of the red Hyundai Tucson with Nevada license plate NV 114B40, but did not say when the SUV was found.

After the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, police issued a search warrant looking for the two vehicles tied to the shooter, one of which was the Hyundai Tucson. The other, a Chrysler Pacifica Touring with Nevada plate NV 79D-401, has been located at the parking lot of Mandalay Bay hotel.

About 100 people retweeted the news in one hour after it was issued by the LVMPD, with many doubting why the release of the information was delayed.

The Hyundai Tucson was suspected by local media as the vehicle driven by Paddock's girlfriend, 61-year-old Marilou Danley, who was not in the country at that time and only flew back to Los Angeles Wednesday night.

CBS news channel reported on Thursday that Paddock and Danley bought a Hyundai Tucson from a dealership in Reno, Nevada, on Aug. 1.

Employees at the car dealership told CBS that Paddock was an "educated consumer" and Danley was "extremely complimentary" of her boyfriend, adding that he had "saved her" from an abusive relationship with her former husband.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 12:05:42|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

HONG KONG, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has been exercising "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" with a high degree of autonomy in strict accordance with the Basic Law, since Hong Kong returned to the motherland, a spokesman for the HKSAR government said on Friday.

This demonstrates the full and successful implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle, which has been widely recognized by the international community, he noted.

The spokesman made the remarks in response to a report issued by the United States Congressional-Executive Commission on China on Thursday local time.

"Foreign legislatures should not interfere in any form in the internal affairs of the HKSAR," the spokesman said.

The Basic Law of the HKSAR specifies the guidelines of "one country, two systems" and "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" with a high degree of autonomy.

The previous economic and social systems of Hong Kong and the way of life have remained unchanged, and most laws continue to apply.

The Basic Law ensures the HKSAR has a high degree of autonomy and enjoys executive, legislative and independent judicial power, including that of final adjudication.

World Bank data show that Hong Kong's indicator of the rule of law, a core value of Hong Kong society, has jumped from behind 60th in the world in 1996 to the 11th place in 2015, well ahead of some major Western economies.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 12:10:45|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

by Mohmoud Darwesh

TRIPOLI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Although Libya's United Nations (UN)-backed government forces expelled the Islamic State (IS) from Sirte in the north last year, and the eastern-based army defeated rival militants three months ago, Libyans do not believe the war against IS is over.

Three suicide bombers on Wednesday attacked a court complex in Misrata city, located some 200 km east of the capital Tripoli, killing four and injuring more than 40.

The suicide bombers tried to blow up the cars inside the building. The security forces expelled them, forcing them to clash. Two attackers blew themselves up at the entrance of the complex.

Anti-explosives teams dismantled 156 kg of explosives and ammunition from a Hyundai the attackers failed to detonate.

IS claimed responsibility for the attack. "Dedicated soldiers of the Islamic Caliphate forces stormed the court complex, one of the most important strongholds of the unity government in Misrata," IS tweeted shortly after the attack.

Suleiman Al-Faqih, a member of the Libyan House of Representatives, or the parliament, believes that the behavior of IS is "extremist criminal," and is not affiliated with any divine law, but rather a clear expression of thirst to terrorize civilians and kill innocent people.

Al-Faqih told Xinhua that IS's attack on the complex is "a normal response, especially after its defeat in Sirte which forces of Misrata helped accomplish."

"Therefore, the group is trying to take revenge on the city, which had a prominent role in expelling it from its former stronghold," Al-Faqih said, referring to the northwestern city in the African country.

The court complex of Misrata includes all the courts in the city, as well as the offices of the public and sub-district prosecutors. IS members arrested in Sirte during the confrontations against government forces last year were supposed to be tried in the complex that day.

Al-Faqih believed IS's goals in Libya are larger than what was announced.

"They took advantage of security loopholes and hit the court complex of Misrata as an attempt to prove their presence and show everyone that they lost but did not die," he added.

Mohammed Al-Khoja, a Libyan researcher in terrorist groups' affairs, said the IS attack in Misrata provides an opportunity for security forces to deal seriously with such threats, and not settle with the achieved victory in Sirte and Benghazi.

Al-Khoja pointed out that the recent attack must be exploited to intensify intelligence efforts to track sleeper cells in Misrata and neighboring cities.

"How could IS have penetrated the highly protected court complex with intensive deployment of the joint security force?" Al-Khoja wondered, considering the terrorists' success in entering the complex with car bombs and explosive belts clear and strong evidence of the complicity of Misrata residents to facilitate the carrying out of the attack.

"Some IS leaders in Sirte, who were killed or arrested, are residents of Misrata and the surrounding cities. This is another evidence that their presence did not end within the city, and that the future will witness strong and violent attacks in retaliation for the military operation led by Misrata against the organization in Sirte," Al-Khoja said.

The recent attack is not a coincidence. Movements of the group were spotted on the outskirts of Sirte. The U.S. air force recently attacked IS members in valleys and desert areas in Libya.

"We have found many personal belongings of the organization's members, some of which are very recent," Mohammed Rajab, field commander of the forces allied with the UN-backed government, told Xinhua.

IS has carried out three different operations recently, Rajab said. One was in the east on a military gate in the town of Noufliya, the second in the south on the gate of Al-Jafra which killed 12 army soldiers, and the last in Misrata in the center of the country.

"The group appears to want to send out a message that it is still present in all Libya," Rajab said.

He also said that a curfew was imposed in the entire city of Sirte and its surroundings until further notice, following the suicide attack in Misrata.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 12:15:47|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The four high-level dialogue mechanisms established between China and the United States help promote bilateral relationship, according to U.S. officials and experts.

China and the United States held their first law enforcement and cybersecurity dialogue here on Wednesday, during which the two sides reached broad consensus on issues of counterterrorism, counter-narcotics, cybersecurity and immigration.

It was the last of the four high-level dialogues established during a meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and U.S. President Donald Trump in April.

In a statement last week, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson spoke highly of the significance of the U.S.-China relationship.

"Now more than ever, a strong, constructive relationship between the United States and China is important for the prosperity and stability of our two countries as well as the world," he said in a press statement released by the U.S. Department of State on the occasion of China's National Day, which fell on Sunday.

During a recent briefing here, U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said the United States wanted to have "a good understanding and a good working relationship with China."

"The better that we can both understand one another, the more that we can have meetings to talk about areas of mutual concern, areas where we can better work together," said Nauert.

In a recent interview with Xinhua, Harvard professor Joseph Nye, who coined the term "soft power," said that dialogues between the largest developing country and the largest developed country are important.

"I think the dialogues are important and we do need to have talks," said Nye. "I think the more that Chinese and Americans have contact with each other and understand each other, the less likely they are to have worst case analysis of the other."

Nye cautioned that people sometimes exaggerate the question of other people's intentions, seeing them as enemies when they don't have to be enemies.

"I think the more contact there is, the better," said Nye. "If China becomes more attractive in the eyes of Americans and America becomes more attractive in the eyes of the Chinese, then we're both better off."

The four high-level dialogue mechanisms have set the course for future cooperation between Beijing and Washington. The other three dialogues cover diplomatic and security issues, the economy, and social and cultural issues.

William Jones, the Washington Bureau chief for Executive Intelligence Review news magazine, told Xinhua that he believed that while the social and cultural dialogue often doesn't get as much attention as the economic or security dialogues do, it may prove to be the most important dialogue of all in the long run.

"The history of our countries, particularly during the period of the Cold War, has served to proliferate a rather skewed view of each other as 'enemies'," said Jones.

"Much has to be done therefore to create a greater understanding of each other and of each other's histories and culture," said Jones. "Without that, it will be difficult to understand actions and intentions on both sides."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 12:20:48|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

SYDNEY, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- A growing number of organized crime syndicates across the world are targeting the shores of Australia with over seven tons of illegal narcotics seized by law enforcement in the past three months.

Head of the International Operations Unit at the Australian Federal Police (AFP), assistant commissioner Scott Lee, explained to local media on Friday that since the beginning of this financial year, authorities have thwarted 22 major drug import attempts.

The most high profile seizure came in August, when the AFP and other international security agencies busted a group in the Netherlands.

Among the haul was 1.8 tons of MDMA, 136 kg of cocaine and 15 kg of methamphetamine, which the organization planned to smuggle into Australia.

The problem facing law enforcement now, according to Lee, is that the emerging criminal groups of today have vast, very far-reaching global networks.

The reason for this newly formed, multinational approach to drug crime, according to Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, is due to advances in technology and digital infrastructure.

"Organized crime is now a transnational business," a spokesperson told Xinhua.

"With these advances in technology dissolving the borders that previously protected people from overseas threats, this has left Australian vulnerable."

To combat the sophisticated syndicates, Australian authorities have looked to build relationships with other international law enforcement bodies.

Australian Justice Minister Michael Keenan said that strengthening international engagement, with a focus on disrupting the supply of methamphetamine at its source, is an important measure.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 13:36:08|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

by Raimundo Urrechaga

HAVANA, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- El Floridita, a famous bar in Havana, Cuba, known as the cradle of daiquiri, a cocktail made of lemon juice, sugar and rum, on Thursday celebrated its 200th anniversary by holding a unique competition for this icon of the Cuban tourism industry.

The competition aims to select the "King of Kings of the Daiquiri." At the scene, bartenders prepared the emblematic cocktail and handed out free cups to tourists and locals.

"This icon of our city culture emerged two centuries ago ..., representing the best of Cuban culinary tradition," said Ariel Blanco, the manager of El Floridita.

"This is a place of worship for daiquiri, where the wisdom has been transmitted by generations of bartenders," Blanco said.

Established in 1817 as the "Pina de Plata" (Silver Pineapple) and promoted by the father of the Cuban canteen, Constantino Ribalaigua, El Floridita is a must stop for visitors, where they can taste 17 varieties of daiquiris.

In the competition, eight bartenders competed with each other in making creative daiquiris and try to impress the jury and guests.

All competitors have been reputed as "King of Daiquiri" in recent years. To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the bar, the event organizers invited them to the special competition.

"El Floridita is the cradle of daiquiri and every Cuban bartender who loves his profession likes this cocktail," Marlon Riera, the winner of the competition in 2014, told Xinhua. He also said he felt honored to enjoy such a famous cocktail in his country.

Bartenders from the United States, Cuba and Argentina participate in the two-day event and the winning cocktail will be incorporated into the bar menu in the future.

"This is a mythical bar. Participating in this contest is a pride. I made a daiquiri that brings together the best of my American, Cuban and Italian heritage," said T.J. Palmieri, the only participant form the United States.

For this celebration, some 400 guests from more than 20 countries, as well as representatives from the International Bartending Association (IBA) board attend the event.

Some of the participants like Pedro Tejada, a bartender of the Havana restaurant Ajiaco, prepare daiquiris with purely Cuban products.

"I have prepared a daiquiri with tropical fruit, such as guava. And for a Cuban touch, I add to the traditional mixture Guayabita del Pinar, a specialty liquor in the Cuban western province of Pinar del Rio, which gives an exquisite aroma and flavor to the cocktail," Tejada said.

El Floridita is also known for U.S. writer Ernest Hemingway who lived several years in Cuba and frequented this bar. Today, a life-size bronze statue of the Nobel Laureate stands at the entrance in his honor.

A young Cuban bartender, Fabian Ramos, participated in the contest with a cocktail he called "Marlin Daiquiri," which contains orange and guava as essential elements.

"A visit to this emblematic place where Hemingway often came is special and participating in this event is an unforgettable feeling that I will always remember," Ramos told Xinhua.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 13:41:10|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

NEW DELHI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- At least eight newly born babies died in 24 hours at a government-run hospital in India's northeastern state of Assam, officials said Friday.

The deaths took place at the Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College hospital in Barpeta district, about 102 km west of Dispur, the capital city of Assam.

"Five infants died on Wednesday night and three on Thursday," a health official at the hospital said. "It is just a coincidence that these newly born children, aged one day to two months, died within the span of 24 hours."

Though authorities have ruled out medical negligence and claim the deaths occurred due to birth asphyxia (a medical condition resulting from deprivation of oxygen to a newborn), locals however, blame poor infrastructure and negligence at the hospital.

According to doctors, all the children were in critical condition, underweight and were in neo-natal intensive care unit (ICU).

Local health minister of Assam Himanta Biswa Sarma has ordered a probe into deaths.

"We have sent the director medical education and consultant from UNICEF to audit the deaths," Sarma told media.

In August this year, over 60 children died at a medical college hospital due to the lack of oxygen in northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 14:06:15|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian Congress managed to approve a complex and controversial electoral reform Thursday in time for the measures to be in effect for the 2018 general elections.

In order to be effective for the elections next year, in which Brazilians will choose a new president, state governors, as well as senators and federal and state representatives, the reform rules need to be signed into law until exactly one year before the election, thus President Michel Temer is expected to sign them by Saturday.

The new regulations will change several key aspects of the electoral system in Brazil.

One of the most controversial reform rules concerns hate speech and fake news. The new law demands the suspension of all publications denounced for promoting hate speech or spreading fake news from social networks and smartphone apps, which is a move to curb the practice of fake profiles slandering candidates.

However, the information will have to be suspended after a simple denouncement. Several congressmen argued that the text violates freedom of expression, for it does not require that the information is proved to be fake or slander before the suspension.

In other words, followers of a candidate would only need to denounce the posts defending a rival candidate to be deemed as fake news, and the pieces would be suspended without any sort of checking.

Press associations and other entities are pressuring Temer to veto this particular article, saying it constitutes censorship and is, therefore, unconstitutional.

The Congress also approved the creation of an electoral fund, which will provide public funds for the election. Corporate funding had already been forbidden in 2015. Donations from citizens were limited to the tenfold amount of the minimum wage, and campaign spending was also limited.

In addition, rules concerning parties' advertisement time on television and radio will be changed. A barrier clause will restrict advertisement time for parties which fail to achieve minimum requirements: either to have 1.5 percent of votes in at least nine states or to elect representatives in nine states. The requirements will gradually increase until 2030.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 14:51:21|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's exports rose 21.5 percent year-on-year to 82.2 billion ringgit (19.41 billion U.S. dollars) in August, with electrical and electronic (E&E) exports and exports to China hit record high.

Malaysia's External Trade Development Corporation, a national trade promotion agency under the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, said in a statement Friday that manufactured goods exports continued its upward trend in the month, expanding by 22.3 percent year-on-year, with E&E exports hitting a record high of 31.04 billion ringgit, a 20.1 percent year-on-year increase.

Meanwhile, exports for chemicals and chemical products increased by 15.7 percent, petroleum products 33.6 percent while liquefied natural gas jumped 101.8 percent.

Palm oil and palm oil-based agriculture products exports, however, declined 8.9 percent.

Malaysia's exports to China hit a record high, up 21.2 percent year-on-year to 11.3 billion ringgit, the highest monthly value ever recorded thus far.

The growth was due to higher uptake of petroleum products, manufactures of metal, chemicals and chemical products, E&E products and rubber products.

Malaysia's exports to the Association of Southeast Asian countries (ASEAN) went up 16.4 percent, to the European Union and the United States, were up 21.6 percent and 14.5 percent respectively.

Total trade for the first eight months was valued at 1.163 trillion ringgit, growing by 22.6 percent compared with the same period of 2016.

Exports surged 22.2 percent year-on-year while imports rose 23 percent.

"It is another strong month of exports performance though the growth has moderated from July," Socio-Economic Research Centre (SERC)'s executive director Lee Heng Guie told Xinhua.

However, he sees part of the rise aided by exchange rate valuation gains as the ringgit depreciated by 6 percent year-on-year in August.

For the export growth from January to August, Lee said the substantial improvements was supported by strengthening global demand from advanced and emerging economies, in which the demand was mainly led by electronics and electrical products.

He upgrades his full year export growth forecast to 17 percent, from 14.5 percent previously, but expects the growth momentum to slowdown to 8 percent in 2018.

Meanwhile, MIDF Research chief economist Kamaruddin Mohd Nor sees the growth momentum to sustain in the rest of the year as E&E sector is still strong.

"We conservatively maintain our export forecast this year at 14.5 percent because of the base effect in the last quarter, but there should be an upward surprise," he told Xinhua. (1 U.S. dollar equals to 4.2345 ringgit)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 14:56:22|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

PHNOM PENH, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's Ministry of Interior filed a complaint to the Supreme Court on Friday requesting the dissolution of the country's largest opposition party after its leader Kem Sokha was charged with "treason."

"Today, we filed a complaint to the Supreme Court to ask for the dissolution of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP)," Ky Tech, a lead lawyer for the Ministry of Interior, told reporters.

The complaint also requests the court to ban the CNRP's leaders from getting involved in political activity after the party is dissolved, he added.

Ky Tech said his lawyers team presented 21 pieces of evidence to the court, including three video clips showing CNRP leader Kem Sokha telling his supporters about his conspiracy with foreign powers in an attempt to topple the legitimate Cambodian government.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 15:31:31|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

WUHAN, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Xiong Qinghua was thought of by friends and neighbors as a freak, but now the farmer from central China's Hubei province is making hay in the art world.

"I am no Picasso. I am Xiong Qinghua, with my own style," the 41-year-old said, with no hint of irony.

Somewhat taciturn, Xiong is nothing if not persistent. Living in the village of Yongchanghe, he became interested in painting at the age of six.

"Everyone mocked me, telling me I was nothing but a peasant boy with no reason to paint," but he carried on.

He copied pictures from comic books; first with a pen, and later with a brush.

In junior middle school, he had a great art teacher who told him that he was "very talented and would become a great painter."

"With his encouragement, I practiced more and more, even during classes for other subjects," Xiong said. His painting improved, but his scores in other subjects dropped.

In the third year of his junior middle school, he decided to drop out. "I found the lessons quite hard, and I couldn't be bothered with homework," he said. "I had no confidence in the classes. Only painting gave me something to be proud of."

When not painting, he did some farm work.

"Why don't you learn some skills?" other villagers asked. The "skills" they talked about, of course did not include painting.

A matchmaker once introduced a woman to Xiong who unceremoniously dumped him which she found out about the constant painting.

In 1999, Xiong, 23 then, fell in love with Fu Aijiao, who was one of the few people who admired his talent.

After their first child was born however, Fu told him to go out and earn some money, so he followed her to Shenzhen and found a job.

"I worked on an assembly line, polishing pieces of metal," he said. "The work was not creative and I felt like a machine. I hated life like that and quit after three days."

Xiong told his wife that he would rather starve than do such work, and he meant it.

"She yelled at me, before collapsing on the bed and wailing," he said. "The more she cried, the more I was determined to become a good painter."

He went back to his hometown and took up the brush again. "I began to paint the real scenery and people I saw," Xiong said. "If you put what you see into a painting, it will be a good one."

When he felt frustrated, he would anaesthetize himself with pop songs, listening to Michael Jackson at maximum volume.

The turning point came in 2009, when former classmate Lei Caibing met him 18 years on.

"I was surprised to see him so haggard," said Lei.

Xiong showed him around in his "studio," where paint and sketches were strewn all over on the floor.

Lei was especially impressed by one painting of two big kites flying over a field of yellow flowers. Another painting showed a man whipping a cow pulling cart against a blue sky.

"These are the scenes of our past," he marvelled.

Lei posted photograph of the paintings online and soon Xiong had his first customer, a woman from Shanghai.

Xiong is no business man, so the woman talked with Lei and finally bought five paintings for 5,000 yuan (about 750 U.S. dollars) bringing a seachange to the attitude of other villagers. "They were surprised to see that a painting could sell 1,000 yuan," he said.

In 2010, Xiong had ten buyers. Two paintings about childhood games were sold to a gallery in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, for 10,000 yuan each.

In 2015, he signed a contract with a gallery in Beijing, where he sold around 200 of his works. Some of the buyers were from overseas. He even had an exhibition at the 798 Art Zone, a famous artistic community in Beijing.

Despite his success, Xiong's habits remain unchanged. He works uninterrupted all day, every day he can. He only takes a bite of a steamed bun for lunch.

"Someone suggested I found a company or a school, but I just want to improve my own painting," he said.

Xiong found his 16-year-old son is also talented in painting but not so hard-working. "He likes playing online games. 'Painting is no use,' he told me. He calls it a waste of time."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 15:46:33|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

CHONGQING, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- A memorial to war hero Qiu Shaoyun in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality has reopened for the National Day holiday after renovations.

Qiu died in the war to resist U.S. aggression and aid Korea (1950-1953). Born in 1926, he burned to death while protecting his troop's position on October 12, 1952.

The memorial, in the Tongliang district of Chongqing, Qiu's hometown, opened to public on October 12, 1962.

The renovation has taken two years, as the hall was brought up to date with the latest high-tech measures. A four-dimensional cinema and a VR area have been arranged to tell the story of Qiu, as story every Chinese child knows.

Qiu was concealed in the grass on Hill 391 before a general attack, but an American incendiary bomb fell nearby, and instead of betraying his position, and that of hundreds of fellow Chinese soldiers, he burned silently to death.

A case involving the hero grabbed public attention last year, when a man, Sun Jie, mocked Qiu as "barbecued meat" in an online post and was ordered to apologize to the family of the deceased hero.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 16:21:44|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

RIGA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed in an explosion that ripped apart a private two-story house in Latvian town Saulkrasti on Thursday night, a state fire service spokesperson said on public radio on Friday.

Inta Palkavniece, representative of the State Fire and Rescue Service, said they received a call from the eastern coastal town at around 8:30 p.m. Thursday local time (1730 GMT).

After the powerful first blast destroyed the house, there were successive explosions. Rescuers rushed to the scene to search for people possibly trapped inside the blazing house and to put out the fire.

Five bodies were found in the ruins during the rescue work.

The armed forces and police also joined in the rescue efforts as it was suspected that there were explosives in the house.

Streets in the area were closed to traffic for some time. However, people were not evacuated from nearby houses as the debris flying from the burning building did not pose any threat to the neighborhood.

According to unconfirmed reports aired by Latvian public television, the first blast was probably caused by a defective boiler. They said there had been a stash of fireworks in the house.

An investigation is under way.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 16:51:54|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

TOKYO, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Seven more bodies were found in the toppled Chinese fishing vessel after it collided with a tanker early Thursday, bringing the total death toll to 13, according to the Chinese Consulate General in Osaka.

The fishing vessel from the Chinese mainland collided with a tanker of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on Thursday in international waters some 400 km north of the Oki Islands in western Japan.

Earlier, one of the 16 crew members on board of the fishing vessel was found dead, three were rescued by nearby fishing vessels, while 12 others were missing.

Three patrol vessels of the Japan Coast Guard have begun work since early Friday with frogmen sent to search for the missing people, said the consulate general.

Five bodies were found in the toppled Chinese fishing vessel on Friday morning and seven more were found in the afternoon.

The bodies have been transferred to another Chinese fishing vessel nearby.

The consulate general said it will continue to keep contact with the Japanese side to coordinate for the follow-up issues.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 17:22:01|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed (R) shakes hands with French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe during the Africa 2017 Forum in Tunis, Tunisia, on Oct. 5, 2017. The 2-day forum kicked off on Oct. 5 in Tunisia. (Xinhua/Adele Ezzine)

TUNIS, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Tunisia and France have signed on Thursday a series of agreements worth a total of 92.3 million euros (108 million U.S. dollars) to boost cooperation in multiple areas.

The agreements were sealed at the first meeting of the Tunisian-French Cooperation Council with the attendance of Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed and his French counterpart Edouard Philippe.

The deals focus on partnerships in areas of development, finance, business, investment and small-scale financing, renewable energy, agriculture, education, scientific research and vocational training.

The most important agreement, with a value of 62 million euros (72.5 million U.S. dollars), concerns the promotion of investment and agriculture modernization.

Philippe praised the legal measures that Tunisia had taken to secure the investment, and that France would put more investment in Tunisia in the future.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 17:47:06|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

WELLINGTON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee on Friday announced a further New Zealand Defense Force (NZDF) C-130 flight to Vanuatu to deliver relief supplies for communities evacuated from Vanuatu's erupting volcano.

"The Vanuatu government has completed the precautionary evacuation of Ambae and more than 10,000 people are now in temporary accommodation on other islands," Brownlee said in a statement.

"New Zealand is committed to helping the government of Vanuatu meet the needs of those who have been evacuated and we are working closely with the local authorities and international partners to coordinate our response," Brownlee said.

A second C-130 flight will depart for Vanuatu on Friday carrying 100,000 NZ dollars (70,939 U.S. dollars) of relief supplies, such as mother-and-infant kits, hygiene kits, and chemical toilets, he said.

"This will bring our total contribution to 670,000 NZ dollars (475,290 U.S. dollars) and builds on the technical assistance and supplies we have already provided," the minister said, adding, "We will continue to work with the government of Vanuatu over the coming days to determine how we can assist further."

On Tuesday, the NZDF transported 12 tons of aid supplies for the thousands of evacuees who have fled Vanuatu's erupting volcano, according to a military statement.

Manaro's eruption intensified in late September, prompting the Vanuatu authorities to raise the alert level to four and order the compulsory evacuation of Ambae's 11,000 residents by Friday. Alert levels range from 0 to 5, with level 5 indicating a large-scale eruption.

The NZDF last week conducted an aerial survey of Manaro volcano to help Vanuatu's National Disaster Management Office determine if a large eruption was imminent. The aerial survey found huge columns of smoke, ash and volcanic rocks billowing from the crater of Manaro volcano.

The NZDF supported disaster relief efforts in Vanuatu following the devastation caused by Tropical Cyclone Pam in 2015, the statement said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 17:47:07|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

ULAN BATOR, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The newly appointed prime minister of Mongolia has asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to continue its 5.5-billion-U.S.-dollar economic bail-out program for his cash-strapped country.

Prime Minister Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, in his first meeting with Neil Saker, IMF resident representative, said he will continue cooperation with the IMF. He asked Saker to convey the request for resumption of the bail-out program, called "Extended Fund Facility," to IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

The IMF suspended the program in mid-September when the earlier government of J. Erdenebat was dismissed by parliament and said it needs to see if the new government is willing to continue the program.

Mongolian President Battulga Khaltmaa and some lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties are, however, critical of the program, saying it did not reflect Mongolian specifics and was tantamount to borrowing more just to pay previous loans, which is contrary to the government's plan.

According to the Mongolian Ministry of Finance, the country's foreign debt stands at 25.2 billion U.S. dollars. The government is due to pay back 500 million dollars in January 2018.

Finance Minister Choijilsuren Battogtokh has warned that if the government uses the hard currency reserve for foreign debt repayment, it may deplete the currency reserve necessary for keeping the national currency, the tughrik, stable, and may lead to its devaluation.

Currently, one U.S. dollar is equal to over 2,462 Mongolian tughrik.

Currently, with all the financial problems arising from the shortage of cash reserves, analysts predict that the government has no choice but to request resumption of the IMF's bail-out program.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 17:57:10|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

NAIROBI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Supporters of Kenya's main opposition party, National Super Alliance (NASA) on Friday engaged in street protests to force changes at Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) ahead of repeat presidential polls slated for Oct. 26.

NASA presidential candidate, Raila Odinga and his co-principals, had earlier this week appealed to their supporters countrywide to engage in peaceful protests against the electoral agency for bungling the Aug. 8 national polls.

The street protests on Friday were pronounced in the opposition strongholds of western and coastal Kenya and in Nairobi, where anti-riot police kept vigil in strategic locations.

Protesters had on Friday dawn blocked a road in Nairobi's populous Mathare slums where there was tension since Thursday night but were later repulsed by police.

Security has been beefed up in Nairobi with major roads and the precincts around IEBC headquarters in Nairobi heavily guarded.

Major roads leading to the lakeside city of Kisumu were blocked by protesters who later marched in the streets chanting anti-IEBC slogans.

In neighboring Siaya County, protesters led by local leaders marched peacefully to press for changes at the electoral body.

The situation was repeated in Kakamega town in western Kenya where protesters marched peacefully to demand overhaul of elections management in the country.

Opposition supporters also came out in large numbers in the coastal city of Mombasa to stage anti-IEBC protests albeit in a peaceful manner.

Street protests against the electoral agency have been taking place every Monday and Friday in opposition strongholds amid standoff with police.

One person reportedly collapsed on Monday in western Kenya town of Siaya, where police hurled tear gas canisters at protesters.

The protests were however peaceful in the coastal city of Mombasa and other opposition leaning counties in lower eastern and northeastern parts of Kenya.

The demonstrations against Kenya's electoral body that entered the second week on Friday have been condemned by the ruling Jubilee Coalition, clerics and private sector lobby.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto during a campaign tour of western Kenya on Thursday urged residents to shun street protests, terming them a drain on the economy and a threat to peaceful co-existence.

Opposition leaders have nevertheless insisted the twice a week protests will continue until their demand for radical changes in the electoral body are met.

The opposition demands include sacking and prosecution of officials accused of bungling the August 8 presidential election that was invalidated by Kenya's apex court on September 1.

Odinga and his lieutenants have insisted that an overhaul of the administrative structures in the electoral agency will be the only safeguard against malpractices during the repeat presidential polls.

He has also accused IEBC of failing to adequately address the concerns it has raised in its 'irreducible minimum' demands, protesting that the commission was proceeding with business as usual without any accountability or goodwill.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 18:07:16|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

MOGADISHU, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- International refugee rights organization has called for effective protection of Somali refugees, who have been forced to flee violence associated with extremist group Al-Shabaab.

In a report released on Friday, the International Refugee Rights Initiative (IRRI), which works to address causes of conflict-related displacement to ensure that the rights of those forced to leave their homes are respected, said that existing security strategies targeting refugees neither provide security for the country nor protect refugees.

Instead, says the report, the strategies foster fear and feelings of exclusion and can act as a smokescreen for criminal activity.

"The core message of this research is that the essence of refugee protection needs to be recovered and maintained," said Lucy Hovil.

"With the space for refugee protection shrinking globally, there is an urgent need to shift the narrative away from a growing emphasis on protection from refugees and back to an emphasis on protection for refugees," Hovil added.

Despite the fact that many Somalis are fleeing violence associated with the militant group Al-Shabaab, the report shows that their plight echoes a global tendency to label those who have fled "violent extremism" as extremists themselves and therefore as an implicit danger.

This, the report says, was particularly evident in Kenya, where securitized narratives have led to an over-emphasis on the use of threats and visible displays of force by authorities. Combined with negative political rhetoric and associated policy consequences, refugees have been left feeling marginalized and discriminated against.

The report looks at the impact that the increased securitization of refugee policy has had on the lives of refugees.

The report which is based on 80 interviews with Somali refugees living in Kenya, Uganda and the United States, as well as interviews with relevant NGO, UN and government actors, highlights some of the realities that refugees face when governments fashion a correlation between forced migration and insecurity that is both fundamentally flawed and has serious implications for people's lives.

The report says Somalis in Uganda, while coping with the same challenges that all refugees in the country face, spoke more positively about their welcome.

According to the report, although a few raised concerns about police surveillance and public attitudes, Somali refugees did not feel singled out on security grounds.

Many did, however, talk about the challenges of integration, especially language difficulties, but there was less evidence of a securitized approach influencing their daily lives in exile.

In the U.S., many talked about the negative implications created by President Donald Trump's travel ban and while economic and legal integration appeared more readily accessible, refugees described discrimination in employment, in relation to policing and among some segments of the public.

The report's findings point to the reality that policies, especially restrictions on freedom of movement and the emphasis on repatriation as the only viable durable solution, leave refugees marginalized and isolated. Negative rhetoric further alienates populations and fosters negative public perceptions of these populations among the host community.

"In East Africa, this has led some to opt for tahrib (migration through non-legal routes) despite the well-known dangers involved. Some interviewees expressed concern that these same factors have also made refugees more vulnerable to recruitment," IRRI said.

However, others argued that terrorist groups were more interested in recruiting those who could bring resources to the organization.

The report calls for the need to reorient global migration debates away from overtly securitized narratives that likely benefit neither refugees, nationals nor global security, towards an emphasis on greater protection through greater inclusion that is likely to facilitate better security through community engagement and cooperation.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 18:07:18|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

HANOI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Tra Fish and Vietnamese Seafood Products Fair opened here on Friday with 40 firms displaying various kinds of seafood at nearly 100 booths.

Addressing the three-day fair, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam said brackish water shrimp and tra fish, a common kind of catfish, are two key export items of Vietnam's seafood industry, and should be promoted to more domestic and foreign consumers.

Tra fish producers and processors in Vietnam are seeking ways to expand their markets in Vietnam's northern region and foreign countries, including China.

Vietnam earned nearly 6 billion U.S. dollars from exporting seafood in the first nine months of this year, seeing a year-on-year rise of 19.2 percent, according to the agriculture ministry.

The country made seafood export turnovers of nearly 7.1 billion U.S. dollars last year, with 44 percent coming from shrimps and prawns, 24 percent from tra fish and 7 percent from tuna.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 18:17:20|Editor: Lu Hui

Video Player Close

BAGHDAD, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Kurdish region held on Friday an official funeral ceremony as the body of the late Jalal Talabani, the first elected non-Arab president of Iraq arrived in Sulaimaniyah international airport.

An Iraqi Airway plane, transporting Talabani's body, arrived at the airport at 11:30 a.m. (0830 GMT), and his coffin was received as the Iraqi and the Kurdish regional anthems were played in the ceremony.

The Iraqi plane was exempted from a ban on international flights imposed a week ago by the Iraqi government on the Kurdistan region as a punishing measures for the referendum on independence held by the Kurdish region on Sept. 25.

The Iraqi President Fuad Masoum, a Kurd, and Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani attended the ceremony, in addition to the regional Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, as well as dozens of foreign and local delegates and dignitaries.

The Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi was represented in the ceremony by the Interior Minister Qasim al-Araji. The Iraqi Vice President Nuri al-Maliki, the Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, as well as other Iraqi and Kurdish top officials and political leaders were also present at the ceremony.

On Wednesday, Abadi declared three-day mourning for the death of Talabani and sent a plane to Germany to bring back his body, as he died the day before at age 84, a week after Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region held a controversial referendum on independence.

Talabani, a veteran leader of the Kurdish struggle for self-determination, stepped down as president in 2014, after a long period of treatment following a stroke in 2012.

He used to receive treatment in Germany, but his health deteriorated and passed away.

Talabani was a leading Kurdish statesman and founder of the PUK, one of the two ruling parties in the autonomous Kurdish region.

He was known as Iraq's peacemaker, who played a vital role in the country's unity since after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. But his health condition and long absence have caused a decline in his influence.

Talabani was elected as president in 2005, the first non-Arab to take the post, two years after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, a Sunni Arab.

The death of the Kurdish leader came as tensions are running high between the Baghdad government and the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan after the Kurdish region held a controversial referendum on independence of Kurdistan and disputed areas.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 18:22:21|Editor: Lu Hui

Video Player Close

WELLINGTON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) on Friday issued a public health warning advising the public not to collect or consume shellfish harvested from the Taranaki coastline from Awakino down to Oakura in the North Island.

Routine tests on shellfish samples taken from this region have shown levels of Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning toxins above the safe limit of 0.8 mg per kg set by MPI, said a ministry statement, adding that anyone eating shellfish from this area is potentially at risk of illness.

Mussels, oysters, cockles, scallops, kina or a green sea urchin, and all other bivalve shellfish should not be eaten, the ministry warned, adding that cooking shellfish does not remove the toxin.

Crab and crayfish may still be eaten if the gut has been completely removed prior to cooking, as toxins accumulate in the gut, the statement said, adding that if the gut is not removed, its contents could contaminate the meat during the cooking process.

Symptoms typically appear between 10 minutes and three hours after ingestion and may include numbness and a prickly feeling around the mouth, face, hands and feet, difficulty swallowing or breathing, dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, paralysis and respiratory failure, and in severe cases, death.

The ministry suggests those who become ill after eating shellfish from an area where a public health warning has been issued, to seek medical attention immediately and contact the nearest public health unit and keep any leftover shellfish in case it can be tested.

Monitoring of toxin levels will continue and any changes will be communicated accordingly, it said, adding that commercially harvested shellfish, sold in shops and supermarkets, or exported, is subject to strict water and flesh monitoring programs by the MPI to ensure they are safe to eat.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 18:37:28|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

SUVA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The 13th Triennial Conference of Pacific Women and 6th Meeting of the Pacific Ministers for Women wrapped up in Suva, the capital of Fiji on Friday as participants agreed to a series of recommendations and outcomes in empowering women.

One of the areas of focus was the need to compile data on women's contribution to economics, unpaid work, care and conditions of work.

Fiji's Minister for Women Mereseini Vuniwaqa acknowledged the importance of research to better inform governments.

"The lack of data here in our nation to drive and inform policy making, we see that as a challenge and I'm glad that it's come out very strongly in the outcomes document as well," she said.

Director General for the Pacific Community Colin Tukuitonga highlighted that another key strategy for the conference was the finalization of a revised Pacific Platform for Action that sets out a 12-year roadmap.

"To make sure that policy, legislation, programs and services have a clear and explicit set of expectation with respect to measures that we think would drive gender equality," Colin said.

Around 300 delegates nearly 20 countries attended the workshop which was themed on the economic empowerment of Pacific women.

The Pacific region has some of the highest rates of VAW (violence against women) in the world, where two out of three women reported experiencing physical or sexual violence by a partner - double the global average, said a report from the conference published on Friday.

Senior Program Officer (Gender) for the Pacific Women Support Unit Tara Chetty, presented research findings from the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea (PNG) led by the Australian National University in partnership with the International Women's Development Agency (IWDA) entitled "Do No Harm - Understanding the Relationship between Women's Economic Empowerment (WEE) and Violence against Women in Melanesia."

"The design of WEE must address gender norms and power relationships in the household, otherwise we add to women's workloads while putting women more at risk of violence," said Chetty.

There is a direct relationship between women's access to income and an increase in violence and control - which hinders WEE and significantly impedes women's ability to fulfil their potential - including education and employment opportunities, income earning capability and advancement in the workplace.

Reports by the Asian Development Bank Country Gender Assessment for Fiji (2015) stated that the estimated annual cost of intimate partner violence is 7 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is due to higher turnover in the workplace, lower individual work performance, increased health expenses and absenteeism or human resources costs, said Shabina Khan, UN Women EVAW (ending violence against women) Project Coordinator for Fiji and Kiribati.
File photo of South African President Jacob Zuma speaking in Boksburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa, on April 10, 2017. (Xinhua/DOC/Kopano Tlape)

CAPE TOWN, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) - President Jacob Zuma on Thursday added his voice to the chorus of condemnation against the ruthless killing of eight women.

"Such outrageous and inhuman action against defenceless women is a gross violation of the right to human life as enshrined in the Constitution," Zuma said.

The eight women, who belonged to one family, were killed in Embangweni Village near Greytown in KwaZulu-Natal Province on Tuesday night when unknown gunmen stormed two family homes a few meters apart and opened fire. The killers then doused the houses with petrol and set them alight.

The motive for the killing is unknown and details regarding the murder remain sketchy.

Zuma reiterated that violence against women has been declared a priority crime by the government.

Many perpetrators are being caught and are given long jail terms due to the cooperation of the public by coming forward with information, the president said.

"All forms of violence against women, children and the elderly should never be tolerated in our society," said Zuma.

South Africa has been gripped by a surge of killing of women and children this year.

In May, a three-year-old girl was raped and murdered by a family friend in Cape Town. It followed the murder of a teenage girl by her boyfriend in Johannesburg after a heated argument.

Since the beginning of this year, about 30 female killings have taken place in South Africa, shocking the nation that has been already plagued by rampant crimes.

South Africa has among the highest rates in the world for the rape and murder of women.

Statistics show that a woman is killed every eight hours in South Africa. More than 1,000 women are killed by intimate partners each year.

Intimate partner femicide, which is the most serious form of domestic violence, is the leading cause of the murder of women in South Africa.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 18:57:38|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

KATHMANDU, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Nepalese ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyay resigned from the post on Friday.

He handed over his resignation to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara at the ministry, Upadhyay told the local media.

"I decided to return to the Nepali Congress which is my natural political party. I joined diplomatic service after working many years in Nepalese politics. I am back to a public life now," said Upadhyay who previously served as a minister in the Himalaya nation.

Upadhyay is planning to contest the general election to be held in December this year, local media reports said quoting his party sources.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 19:02:39|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

by Xinhua Writer Meng Na

BEIJING, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- With the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to convene in about two weeks, it is a good time to look back at how China interacted with the world over the past five years and predict what foreign policy the next five years may bring.

The phrase "building a community of shared future for humanity," was written into the report of the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012. Five years on, the term is a now concrete plan with a clear direction and widespread approval.

Multi-polarity, globalization, cultural diversity, interdependence, scientific and industrial revolution have emerged as the key descriptors of the world.

At the same time, the people of the world find themselves in an era of multifarious challenges: global growth is lethargic and listless, the impact of the last financial crisis lingers like a cloud on the horizon, climate is changing in unforeseeable ways, the development gap yawns. The Cold War mentality and power politics still exist. Terrorism and refugee crises are spreading.

Against such a backdrop, the open, inclusive, clean world of lasting peace, common security and prosperity that President Xi Jinping envisages is a beacon to all who believe that a shared future is the only future.

What has the politics of confrontation and petty alliances given the world? The time has come for countries to form partnerships based on understanding, dialogue and respect.

Until major powers respect each other's core interests and major concerns, until they learn to keep their differences under control, they will be unable to build a new model of relations featuring cooperation instead of confrontation, respect before rivalry and win-win above acquisitiveness.

None of this can come to pass, as Xi told the world in January from Geneva, until "big countries treat smaller ones as equals instead of acting as a hegemon imposing their will on others."

Common, comprehensive, cooperative, sustainable security have been Xi's mantra for five years now.

China upholds WTO rules. China supports an open, transparent, inclusive and nondiscriminatory trade. It is China who is now champion of the open world economy, because, as Xi has said on many occasions, protectionism and isolation will benefit no one.

The Paris Agreement is the strongest bastion against climate change. China understands its obligations and is committed to fighting to save the planet and, calls for other countries to join the cause with the same enthusiasm and actions.

In February, the community of shared future for mankind was incorporated into a UN resolution for the first time. To build such a future, economic globalization must be open, inclusive, balanced and benefit all. To this end, President Xi's declared aspiration is to "both make the cake bigger and share it fairly to ensure justice and equity."

The G20 Summit, held in Hangzhou last September, adopted the Blueprint on Innovative Growth, put development at the heart of global macro policy for the first time, and formulated an action plan.

To build a community of shared future for mankind, President Xi put forward the Belt and Road Initiative. Over 100 countries and international organizations support the plan and a large number of early harvest projects are already making a difference to the lives of ordinary people.

Inclusive growth and development demand better infrastructure for all. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, for instance, already provides more public goods to the international community.

As the 19th CPC National Congress convenes and the world muses upon the possibilities for the next five years of China's foreign policy, one thing is certain.

Peace, development, partnership and multilateralism -- the community of shared future for humanity, tended and nourished by President Xi over the past five years -- will continue to be the guiding light.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 19:02:40|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

PARIS, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- After a spluttering performance, France, Eurozone's second major power, will see its economy expand by 1.8 percent in 2017, the highest performance since 2011, thanks to rising investments and consumer spending, according to data released Thursday by Insee, the national statistics institute.

This is a brighter prospect than Insee's previous estimate of a 1.6-percent growth this year. In 2016, it was a sluggish 1.1 percent.

The new economic outlook paints a rosy picture of domestic economic activities, saying the French business climate has attained its highest level since 2011, while for the industrial sector, it is the highest level since 2007.

Due to business confience growing, France is on course "to show solid growth through to the end of the year," with a 0.5-percent increase anticipated in gross domestic product per quarter.

The return to solid growth stems mainly from a 1.1-percent rise in consumers' spending, the country's main growth engine. A growing global demand will also help French exports grow by 3.3 percent.

An improvement in the business climate will make corporate investment rise by 3.9 percent, from 3.4 percent in 2016. Household investment -- mainly new home purchases - will grow by 5 percent.

In the second half of the year, employment is expected to grow slightly more than labor force growth, driving down unemployment to 9.4 percent at the year-end, compared to 10 percent in 2016.

After a waning economy in the past, Insee's optimistic outlook will be music to the ears of pro-market President Emmanuel Macron, who has seen his popularity slide after his economic reforms prompted public anger.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 19:27:45|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

KABUL, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- In the latest airstrikes more than 80 insurgents have been killed in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province, local media reported Friday.

Citing military officials, the leading television channel Tolo reported that 88 Taliban fighters have been killed and 78 others injured during the ongoing operations backed by air forces over the past six days in Imam Sahib district of the restive Kunduz province.

Both Afghan and the U.S.-led coalition forces have stepped up air raids on anti-government militants since unveiling U.S. new strategy for Afghanistan.

Hundreds of anti-government militants including Taliban outfit and the Islamic State (IS) group, according to military officials, have been killed over the past couple of months in air raids conducted by Afghan and U.S. forces elsewhere in Afghanistan.

To further intensify airstrikes on militants, the defense ministry would soon establish two more bases for unmanned planes to conduct drone attacks on the anti-government insurgents in the country, according to the ministry's spokesman General Dawlat Waziri.

"Airstrikes are very effective in the war against terrorists," spokesman for Afghan Interior Ministry, Najib Danish said recently.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 19:37:50|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

HONG KONG, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The police in China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) will launch a road safety campaign on Saturday, targeting drivers of public service vehicles.

During the five-day campaign, the police will take stringent enforcement action against undesirable driving behavior including using mobile communication devices while driving, speeding and seatbelt-related offences, local radio RTHK quoted the police as saying.

The campaign will target drivers of taxis, public buses, private light buses, private school buses and other public service vehicles.

From January to August this year, there were 4,304 accidents involving public service vehicles, causing 5,915 casualties, including 23 deaths.

This accounted for more than 40 percent of all traffic accidents during the period.

The police urged drivers of public service vehicles to observe traffic regulations, pay attention to road conditions, wear seatbelts and remind passengers to do the same.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 19:42:52|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

ANKARA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim will visit Baghdad soon for talks on joint stance against the Iraqi Kurds' independence referendum and enhancing bilateral cooperation, Iraq's Ambassador to Ankara Hisham al-Allawi said on Friday.

"We are looking for a win-win position," Ambassador Hisham al-Alawi told reporters at a news conference in Ankara.

Two draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) texts were prepared for cooperation on energy field and they will be finalized during the visit by Turkish prime minister to Baghdad soon, he said, adding that the date of the visit has yet to schedule.

The ambassador also said Iraq wants to open a new border gate with Turkey in Fishkhabur crossing which will bypass Iraqi Kurdish region and will enable transfer from Turkey to Iraq through Mosul province.

Touching further military cooperation possibilities between two countries, he stressed needs for withdrawal of Turkish troops from the Bashiqa camp in northern Iraq, an issue which has caused tension between Ankara and Baghdad.

Erdogan said on Thursday that Turkey, Iraq and Iran would take joint countermeasures after an independence referendum by the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) on Sept.25.

Three countries will also form a tripartite mechanism to decide on closing the flow of oil from northern Iraq.

Moreover, Ankara launched joint military exercises with Iraqi troops on their borders.

But Baghdad has emphasized the parties should resolve the Bashiqa camp problem in order to make progress on other areas.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 19:52:55|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

RIGA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Five people lost their lives in an explosion that ripped apart a private two-story house in Latvia's seaside town Saulkrasti on Thursday night, a fire service spokesperson told public radio on Friday.

Inta Palkavniece, the representative of the State Fire and Rescue Service, said a powerful blast ruined a house, and a series of successive explosions was still continuing in the collapsed and burning building. Rescuers rushed to the scene to search for people inside the house and extinguish the fire.

Bodies of five people were found in the ruins during the rescue works which were completed on Friday morning.

Officers of the armed forces and police were also involved in the rescue works because of suspicions that there might be explosives in the house. An investigation is under way to establish what caused the deadly blast.

Streets in the area were closed to traffic for some time, but people were not evacuated from nearby houses as the debris flying from the burning building did not pose any real threats to the area.

According to unconfirmed reports aired by Latvian public television, the first blast was probably caused by a defective boiler. They said there had been a stash of fireworks in the house.

An investigation is under way.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 19:57:58|Editor: Lu Hui

Video Player Close

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May delivers her keynote speech on the last day of the Conservative Party Annual Conference in Manchester, Britain on Oct. 4, 2017. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

LONDON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May gave her first reaction Friday to a plot by a group of Conservative MPs to end her reign at 10 Downing Street.

Former minister and one-time party chairman Grant Shapps says around 30 MPs have backed his call for her to be replaced as leader and prime minister.

May said she has the full support of her cabinet, with the BBC quoting May as saying the country needed "calm leadership" adding: "That's what I'm providing."

The under-fire prime minister was facing a fight for her political life Friday Shapps emerged as a ringleader in the call for her to go.

The party's poor showing in the June snap election when May lost her overall majority in the House of Commons had already weakened her position.

But the fiasco of her disastrous speech at this week's party conference has placed a great threat to her continued leadership. May's coughing fits which continually interrupted her speech, a prankster breaching security to approach her on the conference platform with the conference backdrop falling apart making it a triple disaster played out live on television.

Shapps said in media interviews: "I believe Theresa May is very decent person and unfortunately fought an election that didn't work out. We've not really managed to see that relaunch.

"There's that sort of lack of discipline in the cabinet and party conference this week and I think a growing number of my colleagues realize the solution isn't to bury our heads in the sand and hope things will get better."

The big question now will be whether enough backbench Conservative MPs sign a letter calling for a leadership election. It would mean around 48 MPs, 15 percent of the total number in the House of Commons, having to back a challenge to May by saying they had lost confidence in her leadership.

Environment Secretary, and one time leadership contender Michael Gove, said May was doing a "fantastic job" as prime minister.

Related:

PM May in fight to stay as UK lawmakers back plot to force her out
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 20:03:00|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

BEIJING, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- A group of scientists are pursuing international cooperation in human embryo editing.

Pei Duanqing with the Guangzhou institute of biomedicine and health of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and nine other scientists published an article in the latest online issue of Stem Cell, a subsidiary of the academic journal Cell, discussing the importance of sharing human embryo editing technology.

In light of recent editing developments, scientists and stakeholders from all nations should cooperate in this historic opportunity for medicine and basic human biology, the article said.

Altering human genomic DNA is not a new concept, but CRISPR methods are game changing. The efficiency and accuracy of CRISPR gene editing uncovers new areas that were previously inaccessible, Pei explained.

The scientists called for an international cooperative structure or consortium to allow problems to be tackled jointly and for data to be analyzed and shared collaboratively.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 20:08:02|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

BANGKOK, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Five South Korean nationals were arrested on Friday on charges of running a gambling website in the Thai capital, police said.

Acting Tourist Police commander Pol. Maj. Gen. Surachet Hakpan said the five South Koreans were arrested with their computers, cellphones and 150,000 won (131 U.S. dollars) in cash, allegedly used in the online gambling, seized at a condominium unit in Sathupradit area.

The police acted on a tip-off from the Embassy of South Korea in Bangkok.

The South Korean suspects were quoted as saying they had been hired by an unidentified businessman, who currently remains at large, to run the gambling online with some 700 fellow countrymen as their customers, according to Pol. Maj. Gen. Surachet.

Besides the charges of running the illegal business online, those South Koreans will be charged with money-laundering activity while the police investigation might possibly lead to arrests of other suspects on similar charges, the police said.
File photo taken on Aug. 3, 2008 shows a night view of Lianyungang Port in Lianyungang City, east China's Jiangsu Province. Lianyungang Port, whose construction began in early 1930s, is now one of the important outlets from eastChina to the Pacific Ocean. The port has been playing a pivotal role in connecting East Asia with Central Asia and Europe, offering an attractive alternative for the flow of trade between the three regions. (Xinhua)

EDINBURGH, Scotland, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Britain and China can cooperate in many innovative fields to seize the opportunities in countries and regions along the routes of the Belt and Road Initiative, a leading British scholar has told Xinhua.

Sir Timothy O'Shea, principal of the Edinburgh University, was attending the Sustainable Silk Roads Conference held in Edinburgh.

Organized by Edinburgh University's Confucius Institute, the two-day conference has shed light on the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and the opportunities it offers to Scotland.

The initiative, put forward in 2013, is aimed at building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road by promoting trade, financial integration, and infrastructure inter-connectivity and people-to-people exchanges between Asia, Europe and Africa.

O'Shea said Scotland's strengths in innovative technologies and low carbon solutions make it an ideal place to consider how sustainable strategies can be developed.

There will be very many opportunities in countries and regions along the routes of the Belt and Road Initiative, he said.

Britain has a lot of skills in engineering, advanced working in environmental science, and Britain is interested in different types of renewable energies. Britain and China can work very effectively in engineering, data science and environmental engineering, O'Shea said.

He believed there is potential in infrastructure, particularly infrastructure which is environmentally sound. Britain is good at that and there is a center for carbon innovation in the Edinburgh University.

"UK has many universities that are very strong in data science," he added.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 20:43:13|Editor: ZD

Video Player Close

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May delivers her keynote speech on the last day of the Conservative Party Annual Conference in Manchester, Britain on Oct. 4, 2017. (Xinhua/Han Yan)

LONDON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Britain's under-fire Prime Minister Theresa May was facing a fight for her political life Friday with a growing number of her own MPs said to favor a challenge to her leadership.

A former chairman of May's governing Conservative Party has emerged as a ringleader in the call for a new occupant at 10 Downing Street.

The MP and former minister, Grant Shapps, said in media interviews Friday he had the support of about 30 Conservative MPs, including five former cabinet ministers.

Although May's closest ministers in her governing cabinet have pledged their support for her, Shapps claimed some of her cabinet ministers privately agreed with his call.

In her first reaction to the day's developments Theresa May said she has the "full support of her cabinet". The BBC quoted May as saying the country needed "calm leadership" adding: "That's what I'm providing."

The party's poor showing in the June snap election when May lost her overall majority in the House of Commons had already weakened her position.

But the fiasco of her disastrous speech at this week's party conference has placed a great threat to her continued leadership. May's coughing fits which continually interrupted her speech, a prankster breaching security to approach her on the conference platform with the conference backdrop falling apart making it a triple disaster played out live on television.

The big question now will be whether enough backbench Conservative MPs sign a letter calling for a leadership election. It would mean around 48 MPs, 15 percent of the total number in the House of Commons, having to back a challenge to May by saying they had lost confidence in her leadership.

Shapps said in media interviews: "I believe Theresa May is very decent person and unfortunately fought an election that didn't work out. We've not really managed to see that relaunch.

"There's that sort of lack of discipline in the cabinet and party conference this week and I think a growing number of my colleagues realize the solution isn't to bury our heads in the sand and hope things will get better."

Shapps told Sky News those calling for May to go want her to step down of her own volition rather than be forced out.

Environment Secretary and one-time leadership contender Michael Gove, threw his weight behind May. In a morning radio interview Gove said: "No one is burying their heads in the sand. The critical thing is the PM (May) has been doing a fantastic job. She showed an amazing degree of resilience and courage this week, of a piece with the fantastic leadership she's shown throughout the time she has been prime minister.

"The truth is the overwhelming majority of Conservative MPs, the truth is the entirety of the cabinet, the truth is the overwhelming majority of people, want the prime minister to concentrate on doing the job that 14 million people elected her to do earlier this year."

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, British Home Secretary Amber Rudd pleaded with May not to resign as prime minister, saying Britain has reached a turning point as a nation.

According to various media reports, supporters of the plot to oust May believe they could reach the required number early next week when parliament re-opens after the conference season.

So far May has remained at 10 Downing Street with no planned engagements, recovering from the illness that she suffered throughout her conference week.

The drama will be played out in what is known as the 1922 Committee, the body that represents back bench MPs in the House of Commons.

Charles Walker, vice chairman of the committee, told the BBC: "What you're seeing here is probably the coalition of the disappointed people who think that their brilliant political talents have not been fully recognized, and really it doesn't reflect well on them."

The uncertainly around May's future led to a fall in the value of the sterling on Friday, with the pound worth around 1.30 U.S. dollars.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 20:58:18|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

KIEV, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Ukrainian parliament on Friday amended the law on a "special status" to the conflict-hit eastern region of Donbas, extending its term of validity for one year.

According to the statement on the parliament's website, the bill amending the law was supported by 229 votes in favor with the 226 minimum required.

The new legislation means that the Ukrainian authorities may offer a limited self-rule to Donbas for 12 months if certain conditions put forward by Kiev are performed.

The withdrawal of "illegal armed formations, their military equipment, as well as militants and mercenaries" from the territory of Ukraine is the key precondition for granting the "special status" to certain areas in Donbas, according to the law.

The bill is a part of the legislative acts, submitted to the parliament by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, that are aimed at returning Donbas under Kiev's sovereignty through peaceful means.

The Ukrainian parliament approved the law on the "special status" to some areas in Lugansk and Donetsk regions in September 2014 as a concession to rebels, who sought independence from Kiev.

In March 2015, the parliament passed the amendments to the legislation, saying that the region would acquire the "special status" only after holding local elections in accordance with the Ukrainian law and under international observation.

The law on the "special status" increases the authority of local communities by transferring more economic, financial and administrative powers to the regional governments. The legislation with a validity term of three years was due to expire on Oct.18.

In April 2014, the Ukrainian government started a military operation against armed groups, who seized cities and towns in Donbas region and declared independence from Kiev. The confrontation has snowballed into the violent conflict, which has killed more than 10,000 people and leaving about 24,000 injured.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 21:03:21|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

MADRID, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Spanish government's official representative in Catalonia, Enric Millo, on Friday apologized for the violent response by the Spanish National Police and Civil Guard during the illegal self-determination referendum.

Speaking to Catalan public TV, Millo said: "When I see these images; and more so when I know people have been hit, pushed and even one person hospitalized, I can't help but regret it and apologize on behalf of the officers that intervened."

The National Police and Guardia Civil seized ballot papers, boxes to stop people from voting on Oct. 1 in a vote declared illegal by Spain's Constitutional Court.

Meanwhile, the regional president of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont announced he would appear in the regional parliament on Tuesday to explain the situation.

The Spanish Constitutional Court has banned a Catalan parliament meeting on Monday when a unilateral declaration of independence is expected.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 21:23:26|Editor: Song Lifang

Video Player Close

Photo taken on Oct. 6, 2017 shows the destroyed Gikomba market in Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya's largest open air market, Gikomba, located in downtown Nairobi was on Friday dawn razed to the ground following a huge inferno suspected to have been started by business rivals. (Xinhua/Chen Cheng)

NAIROBI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's largest open air market, Gikomba, located in downtown Nairobi was on Friday dawn razed to the ground following a huge inferno suspected to have been started by business rivals.

The inferno that lasted hours destroyed property worth millions of dollars while disrupting livelihoods of small scale traders who eke out a living from selling second hand clothes, groceries and electronic gadgets in the market.

Nairobi County leaders led by the Governor, Gideon Mike Mbuvi, oversaw efforts to extinguish the raging inferno in Gikomba market that is popular with low income urban dwellers.

Mbuvi promised assistance to second hand clothes dealers affected by the dawn inferno in the expansive open air market.

No casualties were reported by midday on Friday when the fire was contained by disaster response teams from the national and county governments.

The Nairobi County Police Commander, Japheth Koome, told reporters that a combined team of firefighters drawn from National Disaster Management Unit and the county government had managed to extinguish the inferno in Gikomba market.

"We have managed to contain the fire that broke out in Gikomba market early this morning. Firefighting equipment and personnel have been deployed to prevent spread of the inferno to neighboring commercial buildings," said Koome.

Small scale traders operating in Gikomba market stared at a bleak future as the inferno razed down goods worth millions of dollars in stalls made of timber and iron sheets.

Jane Nzuki, a second hand clothes dealer told reporters that she lost 100,000 U.S. dollars when fire razed her stalls located inside Gikomba market.

"The fire has already cast a dark spell on my future and that of my children. It has destroyed my entire stock which was awaiting delivery to customers in many parts of the country," said Nzuki.

Gikomba market has been grappling with a spate of fires incidents blamed on business cartels or criminal groups.

The open air market suffered a raging inferno in 2015 that affected 10,000 small scale traders.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 21:33:28|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

BERLIN, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Leader of German business-friendly Free Democratic Party (FDP), Christian Lindner, has questioned and distanced himself from the policies of departing Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble, local media reported on Friday.

"New financial policies are more important to us than a new minister," Lindner told the newspaper Handelsblatt. Schaeuble is a veteran politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Lindner said that he was not impressed by Lindner's record as Finance Minister during the past four years.

Merkel has asked Schaeuble to step down from his post in order to assume the role of President of the new German federal parliament (Bundestag).

Aside from maintaining order in a legislative body occupied by a far-right party for the first time, Schaeuble's career change was widely viewed as giving Merkel's party a powerful bargaining chip during looming coalition negotiations in the form of the prestigious and powerful finance minister post.

The FDP is widely anticipated to join a "Jamaica" coalition with Merkel's CDU/CSU conservative alliance and the Green party (Gruene). The FDP has repeatedly signalized its interest in nominating the next German government's Finance Minister.

While Lindner raised no such claims on Friday, he criticized Schaeuble's failure to convince Merkel to take a harder line in Eurozone politics surrounding the conditions of the Greek bailout package.

The FDP leader further attacked Schaeuble for not having reduced the tax burden shouldered by German citizens during his tenure.

Lindner advocated for maintaining the German "black zero" goal of running continuous government surpluses, but questioned whether the fact that Germany has met this goal over the past years could be seen as Schaeuble's personal achievement.
The wreckage of a passenger bus is seen after it was hit by a train at a crossing near the town of Pokrov, in Vladimir region, Russia, October 6, 2017.

MOSCOW, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- A passenger bus collided with a train in a serious traffic accident taking place in Vladimir region east of Moscow on Friday, killing at least 19 people, the Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement.

"At the railway crossing near the Pokrov station in the Petushinsky district of the Vladimir region, a passenger bus collided with a train travelling between the cities of St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod," it said.

According to the Moscow railway press office, the bus was passing a railway crossing near the Pokrov station at 3:39 a.m. (0039 GMT) in the red light while its engine stalled and collided with the train.

Passengers with various injuries, including minors, have been hospitalized.

All of the dead were aboard the bus and they were foreigners, said the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs, without disclosing their nationalities.

Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Anuar Zhainakov said on Facebook that 55 Uzbek citizens and two Kazakh drivers were aboard the bus and one of the drivers was killed.

The Russian Emergencies Ministry said in a statement that it is interacting with Kazakh and Uzbek authorities to deal with the consequences.

More than 90 people and 24 units of equipment were put into the rescue work and the traffic has been restored, the emergencies ministry said.

The Moscow Interregional Investigation Department on Transport of the Russian Investigative Committee has initiated a criminal investigation into the accident for possible violation of road safety rules.

Currently, investigators are inspecting the scene of the collision, said the committee. Forensic medical examinations and other investigative actions are underway to establish all the circumstances of the accident.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 21:43:32|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

NEW DELHI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- A major fire Friday broke out at an incense factory in northern Indian city of Chandigarh, police said.

No loss of life was reported in the incident.

According to officials about eight workers inside the factory fell unconscious after inhaling smoke billowing out of the factory.

Firefighters rushed along with fire tenders to douse the flames that engulfed the factory.

"Eight to 10 labourers working inside the factory fell unconscious and were hospitalised immediately," said fire department officials, adding "many workers complained of suffocation as thick smoke inside factory."

The cause of the fire was not yet known.

"The flames have been contained and rescuers along with locals are trying to clear the raw material stored in the factory used for manufacturing incense sticks," a local police official said. "We are trying to ascertain the reason that triggered fire inside the factory and according action will be taken."

Chances of fire in Indian factories and buildings are often high as owners usually ignore safety standards of fire.
File Photo: Two teenagers holding a placard take part in the "Rise Up New York" rally at Foley Square in New York, the United States, May 1, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- California Governor Jerry Brown signed the "Sanctuary State" bill into law on Thursday, showing a will to resist the White House's immigration policy.

SB (Senate Bill) 54, called by media as the "Sanctuary State" bill, was introduced by Democratic Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon on Dec. 5 last year, weeks after the 2016 presidential election, to defy Donald Trump's campaign pledge to tighten immigration policy.

"This bill would, among other things and subject to exceptions, prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies, including school police and security departments, from using money or personnel to investigate, interrogate, detain, detect, or arrest persons for immigration enforcement purposes," the bill read.

This means Californian law enforcement can not inquire an individual's immigration status, arrest people on civil immigration warrants, or participate in border patrol activities or joint task forces with the federal government if the primary purpose is immigration enforcement.

Meanwhile, the state law enforcement can only detain someone in a request from the federal government, notifying the latter to release or transfer someone to federal custody, after there's a felony warrant or the person has been convicted of one of the over 800 crimes listed on the bill.

The local Sacramento Bee newspaper reported that Brown had made some amendments before signing the bill, such as increasing crimes on the list from the initial 65 to over 800, including felony DUI(Driving Under the Influence), child abuse, gang-related offenses and some misdemeanors.

"These are uncertain times for undocumented citizens and their families, and this bill strikes a balance that will protect public safety, while bringing a measure of comfort to those families who are now living in fear every day," Brown said.

De Leon hailed Brown's move, saying the bill accomplished his initial objective to prevent California resources and police from being "commandeered" for Trump's policies.

"California's local law enforcement cannot be commandeered and used by the Trump Administration to tear families apart, undermine our safety, and wreak havoc on our economy," de Leon said at a news conference in Los Angeles, which was posted on his official twitter page.

De Leon posted six tweets Thursday after the bill was signed, saying that the "signing of SB 54 comes at critical time in US history. With Donald Trump, we have witnessed a racial divide we have not seen in decades," and "California Values Act SB 54 will now be law of the land -- building a wall of justice against Trump's racist and ignorant immigration policies."

The California Police Chiefs Association takes a neutral stand regarding the bill, the Sacramento Bee reported, adding that the sheriffs' organization remains against it and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions had publicly urged Brown to veto it.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 21:53:35|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

ROME, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The head of Telecom Italia has said he will take a wait-and-see attitude about the direction the company will take under his leadership, local media reported on Friday.

On Italian island Capri, Arnaud de Puyfontaine, the company's executive chairman, said Thursday he has "no preconception on anything [regarding Telecom Italia] or what we will do to build the success of the company", according to Italian media reports.

The remarks came amid speculation that de Puyfontaine and newly installed Telecom Italia chief executive officer Amos Genish would look to spin off various parts of the company as a way to maximize profits.

Speculation about separating the fixed-line side of Telecom Italia's operations has been particularly intense in recent weeks.

Both de Puyfontaine and Genish came to Telecom Italia from French media giant Vivendi, where de Puyfontaine serves as CEO and Genish is a top manager.

The latest remarks came also amid rising concerns in Italy that Vivendi, which also chose two-thirds of Telecom Italia's 15-member board of directors, has too much influence over Telecom Italia, which is considered a "strategic" company in Italy, a status that gives the government extra say over its operations.

In a new development, Italy's state-owned lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti has said it was prepared to buy a large stake in Telecom Italia in order to keep it in Italian hands.

Separate from de Puyfontaine's remarks, Telecom Italia has started the process of selling its majority stake in broadcaster Persidera, a stake reported to be worth at least 300 million euros (360 million U.S. dollars) cash that could be used to pay down Telecom Italia's debt, which is thought to total 25 billion euros.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 22:03:39|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

NAIROBI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA) on Friday signed a 90 million U.S. dollars deal that will boost lending to Kenya's small and medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

AfDB Director General for the East African Regional Hub Gabriel Negatu told a media briefing in Nairobi that under the agreement they will extend the line of credit to the Kenyan bank in two tranches.

"The first portion of 50 million dollars will be for onward lending to SMEs in the infrastructure, transport, construction and agricultural sectors, while the second portion of 40 million dollars will be reserved for trade finance," Negatu said.

AfDB will provide the funding to CBA in foreign currency at lower than commercial lending rates.

According to the pan African bank, SMEs have difficulty in accessing foreign currency in the international markets due to Kenya's systematic risks.

Negatu said that the financing is part of the bank's commitment to promote inclusive economic development by increasing SME's access to credit.

The trade finance line of credit will represent the AfDB's first intervention in East Africa in the trade finance sector.

CBA has presence in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda and has over 22 million accounts in its Mshwari digital banking platform.

CBA Group Managing Director Isaac Awuondo said that the financing will enhance the bank's ability to target the SMEs which are a critical pillar of Kenya's economy.

Awuondo said that SMEs account for 80 percent of employment opportunities in both formal and informal sectors.

He added that SMEs typically face difficulty in accessing long-term finance required to fund development projects.

"So the financial assistance will help to overcome the critical challenge," he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 22:08:41|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

MOSCOW, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Friday that a large-scale Russia-Belarus military exercise has met its pre-set goals in maintaining security and fighting terrorism.

The Zapad 2017 (West 2017) joint drills, reportedly the largest military drills between Russia and Belarus since the Cold War, were held on Sept. 14-20 at six testing ranges in the two countries, with the involvement of about 12,700 troops, 70 airplanes, up to 680 combat vehicles and 10 warships, according to Kremlin press service.

Shoigu told a teleconference with Russia's senior military officers that military and public administration bodies have gained practical experience in these joint actions to ensure the security of Russia and Belarus.

Russian troops and weapons have returned to their permanent deployment bases as the drills concluded, he said, adding that worries of some Western politicians and media that the exercises might result in a seizure of foreign territories proved to be groundless.

Russia's European neighbors have been on high alert since the beginning of the drills. Skeptical about the "real intentions" of Moscow, members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) criticized a lack of transparency in the drills.

"All nations have the right to exercise military forces ... The important thing is that when forces are exercised there is maximum transparency and predictability to avoid miscalculations, misunderstandings and incidents," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier last month.

Shoigu reiterated that the drills were purely defensive in nature and aimed at locating terror threats, combating bandit sabotage groups and protecting important facilities.

The Zapad 2017 exercises were conducted in accordance with the requirements of the 2011 Vienna Document of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and they were observed by 95 representatives from 50 countries, the Russian minister said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 22:13:44|Editor: Zhou Xin

Video Player Close

LUANDA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Defense Sub-Committee of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is debating in Luanda, Angola, since Thursday the deployment of the organization's forces to the Kingdom of Lesotho.

The decision concerning deployment of SADC forces to Lesotho was decided by the region's troika summit held on September 15 in Pretoria, South Africa, following the assassination of Lesotho's Army commander Lieutenant General Khoantihe Motsomotso which led to the country's security deterioration.

The Luanda summit has decided to "immediately dispatch a SADC Alert Force, composed by the three components -- military, police and civil -- to ensure the normality of the situation favorable to the implementation of the necessary reforms, especially in the defense and security sector," said the Angolan Army chief of General Staff, Geraldo Sachipengo Nunda as chairman of the SADC Defense Sub-Committee.

The two-day SADC Army Chiefs' meeting ends Friday.

Angola holds since last August the presidency of SADC Politics, Defense and Security Body.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 22:13:44|Editor: Xiang Bo

Video Player Close

GENEVA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Otto Kolbl, an Austrian researcher at the University of Lausanne who has traveled extensively in China, stressed during an interview with Xinhua that China's Tibetan areas have experienced "impressive development" in the past decades.

Kolbl told Xinhua in his campus office, "We should not forget that lack of development is a even greater threat to the Tibetan people."

"If the Tibetan areas cannot offer to their inhabitants the prospects of a reasonably comfortable and prosperous life, the most dynamic Tibetans will continuously be tempted to leave the region," he stressed.

According to the scholar, compared to Bolivia and some other mountainous areas to which he has traveled, the infrastructure in the Tibet region is "very impressive", which gives the area a great advantage.

"Roads and mobile phone coverage are exceptionally advanced for a region with such a low population density.

"The Chinese central government has spent huge amounts of money to achieve this, and progress is ongoing," he said.

As an example, he said, "some fifteen years ago, to get from Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province, to Hezuo, the administrative seat of the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, took eight hours. Since the completion of the highway from Lanzhou to Linxia, it takes four hours."

Kolbl believed that local Tibetans are well-placed to capitalize on advantages from infrastructure improvement and from the development of their home area.

He noted that significant progress has taken place in recent years and a combination of several factors has led to the emergence of "a class of Tibetan entrepreneurs".

Kolbl explained that Tibetans have learned from the Han, Hui and other groups in China on how to engage in certain business activities where no Tibetan tradition existed in spheres such as the retail trade and tourism.

"The Chinese economy has achieved a level of development where more and more people can afford to travel for pleasure. The emerging tourism industry has channeled considerable funds to the Tibetan areas," he noted.

The Austrian researcher believes that Western media and academic researchers have a bias against the Chinese central government's policy towards Tibet and do not want to look at the facts on the ground there, by "sticking to their pre-conceived ideas".

"I recognized the Western campaign against China on the Tibet issue, especially at the end of 2007 and in 2008, and it has proven to be a disaster for Tibetans," he said.

"Tibetans never tried to build up their own independent country, and in the history no head of state ever recognized Tibet as an independent state," Kolbl added.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 22:38:50|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

VALLETA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Several countries have announced plans to ban plastics including products containing microbeads and single-use plastics in the coming few years at the Our Ocean Conference held in Malta on Friday.

France will ban single-use tableware by January 2020. It will also discontinue cosmetic products containing microbeads by January 2018 and cotton buds with plastic stems by January 2020.

Britain has committed to banning microbeads in cosmetics and personal care products, which end up in oceans as run-off and significantly contribute to plastic marine pollution. Britain hopes to have bans in place in manufacturing companies across the entire nation by June 2018.

New Zealand is also taking a lead by banning all "wash-off" products containing microbeads for cleaning purposes. Personal care products, household and car-cleaning products and any other products containing plastics will be banned as well. The ban is expected to come into effect by May 2018.

Banning plastic microbeads in cosmetics is seen as an easy way of reducing the amount of small pieces of plastic getting into the sea, partly because they are used as exfoliates and there are natural replacements, according to a report by British online newspaper The Independent.

However, most plastic gradually breaks down over time into tiny pieces, some of which are small enough to pass through the gut of animals and into their blood vessels and body tissues.

Micro plastic has spread all over the planet, with one estimate suggesting there are 300 billion pieces in the Arctic Ocean alone, the report said.

A major study found humans have produced a staggering 8.3 billion metric tons of plastic since 1950, creating 6.3 billion tons of waste. Nearly 80 per cent of that waste has been dumped in landfill sites or simply thrown away into the environment.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 22:53:54|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

BEIJING, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- A total of 67 million Chinese tourists traveled around the country on the sixth day of the National Day holiday, the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) said on Friday.

The figure represents an increase of 12.3 percent year on year, the CNTA said.

Tourism revenue generated on Friday totaled 54.6 billion yuan (8.23 billion U.S. dollars), up 15.1 percent from the same period a year ago.

The number of tourists in major scenic spots remained high with that in Changbaishan Mountain in northeast China's Jilin Province rising by 78 percent to 22,500, according to CNTA statistics.

Zhejiang Province in east China hosted 9.77 million tourists who spent a total of 7.974 billion yuan on Friday.

CNTA said the tourist market over the latter half of the holiday running from Oct. 1 to 8 was mainly driven by road trips, periphery tours and leisure travel.

Folk customs, rural tourism, camping, theme parks and tourism complex were increasingly popular.

China's air, road and railway transport systems are to enter another peak as people have started to return.

On Oct. 1, the first day of the holiday, 15.03 million trips were made by train, an all-time high. This year's National Day holiday was extended by one more day due to the Mid-autumn Festival which falls on Oct. 4.

A separate report from the China Railway Corporation said trains were expected to carry 12.57 million travelers on Friday.X To cope with the high passenger flow, CRC scheduled 539 extra trains on Friday.

This was the second day that CRC expanded its train services during the holiday. On Thursday, 503 additional trains were arranged.

Tickets were almost sold out for trains traveling back to major sources of tourists in the next three days, CRC said.

Airports in China are also seeing a growing number of passengers returning home.
People purchase firearms in a gun shop in Las Vegas, the United States, on Oct. 4, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

GENEVA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Switzerland has the highest gun ownership rates per capita among its neighbors and other Western countries, but mass shootings are rare, local media reported Thursday.

This was highlighted in Swissinfo, the website of the Swiss national broadcaster, after the mass shooting in Las Vegas in Nevada, the United States claimed the lives of 59 people and wounded hundreds of others this week.

In Switzerland there is a strong belief in the right to bear arms and the need for a militia army, just as there is in the United States. But mass shootings are rare with two such incidents in the last 20 years.

However, the news site reports that recent votes and agreements with the European Union have launched debates over who may own which types of guns, and the risks involved.

Last month, the Swiss cabinet presented what was described as a "light" version of the EU firearms legislation for consultation.

Under it only certain types of semi-automatic weapons -- such as those with magazines capable of holding more than 20 rounds of ammunition -- and certain high-capacity shoulder-supported guns would be banned.

Their Swiss plan excludes medical or psychological tests for firearm owners and participation in central arms register that is now part of new EU laws.

And although Switzerland has an image of being a safe country, statistics show the country has among the higher gun death rates in Western Europe.

Switzerland's higher gun death rate can be largely attributed to suicide with guns, since the latest available statistics show a gun suicide rate of 2.74 per 100,000 people, only slightly below the overall gun death rate of 3.01.

Fully automatic weapons are banned except for military purposes, as are most semi-automatic firearms that were once fully automatic.

Swissinfo notes that Switzerland has for some time had some of the most lax gun laws in Europe.

All Swiss have a right to possess firearms under the law but may require a license to do so.

For example, those looking to acquire a handgun need a permit valid for a maximum of nine months. However, no license is needed to possess firearms for hunting or sport.

Since Switzerland has a militia army, members of its military may keep an unloaded service weapons at home. The ammunition is, however, strictly regulated by the army.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 23:08:59|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- China and the United States are going to have closer cooperation in areas of counter-narcotics, cybersecurity and repatriation, according to an intergovernmental joint statement released on Friday.

The joint statement outlined main outcomes of the first China-U.S. Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity Dialogue which was held on Wednesday.

In the statement, the two sides expressed their intention to enhance bilateral cooperation on narcotics control and enforcement, including exchanging information on drug trafficking, combating illicit drug production, and sharing tracking information for packages to identify individuals and criminal drug-trafficking networks.

China and the United States gave a nod to continue the implementation of their consensus reached in 2015 on China-U.S. cybersecurity cooperation, including the agreement that neither country's government will conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property.

The two sides also intended to make a full use of the established hotline mechanism for addressing urgent cyber-crime and network protection issues and to communicate timely at the leadership and working levels.

Meanwhile, both sides agreed to develop a repeatable process to verify the identity of illegal immigrants in a timely manner.

The dialogue was co-chaired by visiting Chinese State Councilor Guo Shengkun, also minister of public security, and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Acting Secretary for Homeland Security Elaine Duke.

The meeting is one of four high-level communication mechanisms established during the Mar-a-Lago meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump at Palm Beach in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida on April 6-7, 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 23:14:01|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

BISHKEK, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- About 600 to 1,000 international observers are expected to arrive in Kyrgyzstan to monitor the country's presidential elections scheduled for Oct. 15, Chairwoman of the Central Election Commission (CEC) Nurzhan Shaildabekova said on Friday.

Shaildabekova told reporters during a presentation of the electoral system that 500 international observers have been accredited to date.

Shaildabekova said that all the polling stations are ready for the elections.

According to the CEC, 37 polling stations will be opened abroad, including two polling stations in Beijing and Guangzhou, China.

During the presentation, representatives of the CEC informed about the innovations in the electoral system in Kyrgyzstan.

This year, a regulation on the Information Election System has been developed, and a program to improve data analysis has also been improved.

The Information Election System is designed to prepare, process and display information on the progress and results of voting in elections and referendums of the Kyrgyz Republic.

At present, there are 12 presidential candidates, and one candidate has refused to participate in the elections, according to Shaildabekova.

According to the Constitution of Kyrgyzstan, the country's president is elected for a six-year term, and one person can hold the high office only once. President Almazbek Atambayev's term will end on Dec. 1, 2017.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 23:19:04|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

TEHRAN, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iran's northern neighbor Azerbaijan Republic's navy fleet docked in Iran's port city of Anzali for a three-day friendly mission, official IRNA news agency reported on Friday.

For the first time in the history of the two countries' bilateral ties, the navy fleet's visit to Iran aims to help consolidate cooperation among Caspian Sea littoral states, the report said.

Colonel Sobhan Bakirov, deputy commander of Azerbaijan Republic Navy and head of the fleet, will meet with commander of Iran's north fleet.

He will also pay tribute to Iranian martyrs and talk with governor general of Gilan province and governor of Bandar Anzali port.

The visit comes in response to Iranian naval fleet's trip to Azerbaijan to attend World Armies Contest in August.

Iran's north fleet have dispatched five navy fleets to Caspian Sea littoral states aiming at conveying Iran's message of peace and friendship and help consolidate ties and promote regional sustainable security.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 23:39:11|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

BANGKOK, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The conglomerate that owns all Thai 7-Eleven stores agreed to temporarily cease selling draft beer following protests by anti-alcohol networks on Friday, local media reported.

A representative from CP All, the food giant who runs the country's ubiquitous 7-Eleven convenience stores confirmed that the company would suspend the service of draft beer machines in the stores, according to local media.

7-Eleven began a trial of draft beer pouring machines recently. It's reported that the taps have been available at 18 stores in Bangkok and its neighboring provinces.

The debut of the service has been intervened by public health department.

"They complied with every step of law," said Asadang, spokesman of the Department of Disease Control under the Public health ministry, after inspecting the service.

He explained that the machine had labels attached to obscure beer brands' logos, and the machine is operated by store staff, which are fully within the law.

The conclusion has drawn criticism from the Youth Network of New Face Drinker Prevention, and the Stop Drink Network, who have staged protests against the service.

They said it encourages people to drink alcohol in public, unlike bottled or canned beer which is usually consumed at home. They also believes the idea of draft beer in convenience store might attract new drinkers.

"Once you pump the draft beer from the machine, you have to finish it immediately otherwise it would lose its freshness. This makes people to drink in public, which increases possibilities of drunk driving," said Kamron Chudecha from the networks.

Sale of alcohol is tightly regulated in Thailand, where alcohol cannot be sold at certain times of the day or on holy Buddhist days. Advertisement of alcohol is forbidden.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 23:39:12|Editor: Song Lifang

Video Player Close

Greek pensioners participate in a symbolic protest in Athens, Greece, on Oct. 6, 2017. Greek pensioners held the symbolic protest outside Greece's supreme administrative court, the State Council, on Friday against the planned new round of cuts to their income under the third Greek bailout program. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

ATHENS, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Greek pensioners held a symbolic protest outside Greece's supreme administrative court, the State Council, on Friday against the planned new round of cuts to their income under the third Greek bailout program.

Although the program ends in mid-2018, the latest pension system reform the government passed through the parliament in 2016 under the pressure of international creditors foresees more pension cuts from 2019.

Pensioners' unions along the umbrella union of civil servants ADEDY, the Athens Bar Association, the Technical and Economic Chamber of Greece and other unions have turned to the State Council requesting that the cuts are dismissed as unconstitutional.

The court held a hearing on Friday and, according to judicial sources, a verdict was expected in March.

According to official labor ministry data, half of the pensioners today are receiving pensions of less than 650 euros (760.5 U.S. dollars) per month.

Retirees have suffered more than one dozen reductions in the past seven years of the Greek debt crisis as part of austerity measures aimed to avert bankruptcy and fix state finances. Their average income has gradually shrunk to half since the start of the crisis. High income earners lost up to 70 percent of their initial pensions.

Under the planned new cuts the average Greek pensioner will lose a further 18 percent from 2019.

In addition to tax hikes, increasing prices of goods in the supermarket and given that many of these support their jobless children and grandchildren, households struggle to make ends meet, unions argued.

"We have had enough" retirees shouted on Friday outside the court in central Athens, while other protesters were reading the front pages of Greek newspapers at a nearby kiosk to learn the latest information concerning their pensions.

"The cutbacks we have already suffered are huge. From 1,200 euros we ended up receiving 750 euros per month as main pension. The 216 euros per month we used to get as auxiliary pension shrank to 60 euros. How can we possibly meet our financial obligations? It is very difficult," Vangelis Gatsos, a retired railways service employee, told Xinhua.

He travelled 500 km from Thessaloniki in northern Greece to protest against the injustice. He has a son who is still a university student to support.

Greek state hospital nurses also held a 24-hour strike and demonstration against a bill regarding their working conditions.

The draft bill equates nurses with university and higher-level degrees to non degree-holding nursing assistants Dimitris Skoutellis, president of the Panhellenic nurses union, explained.

"We will resist this bill, we will fight. Our university degrees are not garbage," he said. (1 euro = 1.17 US dollars)
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-06 23:44:13|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

WARSAW, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Windstorm "Ksawery", which swept Poland on Thursday night, has left two people dead and 39 injured, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said Friday.

Local media reported that one of the fatalities was a 67-year-old man who fell off his house roof while trying to secure it against the weather. The other was a woman who fell over from a tree and died in a hospital.

According to firefighters, around 890 building roofs were damaged and about 9,000 trees were uprooted by the winds.

At a video conference with State Fire Service commanders in the affected regions, Blaszczak said that he was informed the lives of the injured are not in danger.

According to Blaszczak, Poland's western provinces of Lubuskie and Wielkopolskie were most affected. He said that with the help of professional and voluntary firemen, province governors were "starting damage removal immediately".

Also on Friday, Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo attended a meeting with a crisis management team in the city of Zielona Gora, western Poland to discuss state emergency services' efforts in removing the damage caused by the gale winds.

After the meeting, Szydlo said those affected by the windstorm would receive financial support from the government.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 00:14:21|Editor: ZD

Video Player Close

File Photo: Chinese flags and American flags are displayed in a company in Beijing on Aug. 16, 2017. (Xinhua/AFP)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- In their first Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity Dialogue earlier this week, China and the United States pledged to produce stronger and closer bilateral cooperation in counter-narcotics, cybersecurity, repatriation and other fields.

FOCUS ON COOPERATION

The one-day meeting was co-chaired on Wednesday by visiting Chinese State Councilor Guo Shengkun, and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Acting Secretary for Homeland Security Elaine Duke.

At the meeting, the two sides agreed to commit to mutual respect, equity, frankness and pragmatism, make a full use of the dialogue mechanism and further strengthen bilateral communication and cooperation in law enforcement and cybersecurity.

Guo, also China's public security minister, called on the two sides to focus on cooperation and manage their differences so as to make bilateral cooperation in law enforcement and cybersecurity a new highlight in China-U.S. ties, and work relentlessly to promote global security governance and build a universal and secure community of shared destiny for mankind.

The meeting has proved to be very fruitful as demonstrated in an intergovernmental joint statement.

In the statement released on Friday outlining the fruitful outcomes of the meeting, the two sides expressed their intention to enhance cooperation on narcotics control and enforcement and gave a nod to continue their implementation of the consensus reached by the Chinese and U.S. presidents in 2015 on China-U.S. cybersecurity cooperation.

China and the United States also consented to develop a repeatable process to verify the identity of illegal immigrants in a timely manner.

The two sides also intended to make a full use of the established hotline mechanism for addressing urgent cyber-crime and network protection issues and to communicate timely at the leadership and working levels.

The two sides will continue to push forward pragmatic cooperation, guaranteeing mutual benefit and promote a peaceful, safe, open, cooperative and orderly cyberspace, Guo said.

The meeting is one of four high-level communication mechanisms established during the Mar-a-Lago meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump at Palm Beach in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida on April 6-7, 2017.

WELL-PREPARED DIALOGUE

The two sides attached high importance to the dialogue and already showed intention for cooperation in the preparatory stage leading up to the meeting, according to the Chinese officials who attended the event.

Since June, the U.S. law enforcement has handed over two criminal suspects to Chinese police, while the Chinese side has repatriated two wanted suspects listed on an Interpol red notice to the United States.

The two sides also conducted several rounds of talks on anti-terrorism, counter-narcotics, cybersecurity and immigration ahead of their gathering in Washington.

The Chinese officials described the bilateral cooperation on cases of mutual concern as "smooth, positive and pragmatic."

The U.S. side stressed the importance of bilateral cooperation in law enforcement and cybersecurity, saying that the two sides face common threats as well as interests in these areas.

The United States also agreed to work with China to use the dialogue mechanism to strengthen bilateral cooperation in related areas, promote specific cases through dialogue with the Chinese side and work to yield more outcomes to benefit both countries and their peoples.
A MiG-29 fighter jet flies during the Zapad 2017 war games at a range near the town of Borisov, Belarus September 20, 2017. (REUTERS PHOTO)

MOSCOW, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Friday that a large-scale Russia-Belarus military exercise has met its pre-set goals in maintaining security and fighting terrorism.

The Zapad 2017 (West 2017) joint drills, reportedly the largest military drills between Russia and Belarus since the Cold War, were held on Sept. 14-20 at six testing ranges in the two countries, with the involvement of about 12,700 troops, 70 airplanes, up to 680 combat vehicles and 10 warships, according to Kremlin press service.

Shoigu told a teleconference with Russia's senior military officers that military and public administration bodies have gained practical experience in these joint actions to ensure the security of Russia and Belarus.

Russian troops and weapons have returned to their permanent deployment bases as the drills concluded, he said, adding that worries of some Western politicians and media that the exercises might result in a seizure of foreign territories proved to be groundless.

Russia's European neighbors have been on high alert since the beginning of the drills. Skeptical about the "real intentions" of Moscow, members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) criticized a lack of transparency in the drills.

"All nations have the right to exercise military forces ... The important thing is that when forces are exercised there is maximum transparency and predictability to avoid miscalculations, misunderstandings and incidents," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier last month.

Shoigu reiterated that the drills were purely defensive in nature and aimed at locating terror threats, combating bandit sabotage groups and protecting important facilities.

The Zapad 2017 exercises were conducted in accordance with the requirements of the 2011 Vienna Document of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and they were observed by 95 representatives from 50 countries, the Russian minister said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 00:29:28|Editor: Song Lifang

Video Player Close

NAIROBI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday called for swift and thorough investigations to establish the cause of the fire that destroyed Nairobi's biggest open air market, Gikomba.

Kenyatta said in a statement warned that stern action would be taken against anyone found to be behind the incident suspected to have been started by business rivals.

"Security agencies should move with speed to investigate the cause of the fire, and those believed to be behind the criminal act should face the full force of the law," he warned.

The inferno that lasted hours destroyed property worth millions of dollars while disrupting livelihoods of small scale traders who eke out a living from selling second hand clothes, groceries and electronic gadgets in the market.

No casualties have been reported in the Gikomba fire whose cause is still unknown. Some traders managed to salvage their goods but a huge part of property stored at the market has been consumed by the fire.

Gikomba is one of the biggest open-air markets in the region, with most traders dealing in clothing and foodstuff.

Kenyatta said the government stands with all the traders who lost property because of the fire. He said the market will be rebuilt so that traders can start their business as soon as possible.

"The government will stand with the affected traders by building the market to enable them continue with their business," Kenyatta said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 00:34:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

KIGALI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- A Rwandan woman who showed interest in August's presidential election appeared in court in the Rwandan capital Kigali on Friday to answer accusations of inciting insurrection and forgery.

Diane Shima Rwigara, a 35-year-old businesswoman, appeared at the Intermediate Court of Nyarugenge with her mother and sister.

Rwigara were arrested on Sept. 23, according to Rwandan police. Her mother Adeline and sister Anne were charged with incitement and "discrimination and sectarianism," prosecution spokesman Faustin Nkusi told local press earlier this week.

The court, however, postponed the pre-trial hearing to Oct. 9 after Rwigara said her lawyer was not available.

"Our lawyer has been chased away several times whenever he wanted to meet and talk to us. We have not had time to talk to him and to understand the charges against us," Anne, Diane's sister, told the court.

Rwigara, the only female who showed interest in the presidential elections held in August, failed to meet all the requirements for being nominated as a candidate by Rwanda's National Electoral Commission (NEC). She fell short of the required number of signatures in all districts in the country, according to NEC.

According to the Rwanda penal code, those convicted of inciting insurrection will face punishment of 10 to 15 year sentence in prison while the use of counterfeited papers can bring a jail term of 5 to 7 years.
Russian Alexander Vinnik (C) is escorted by police officers as he arrives at a courthouse in Thessaloniki, Greece, on October 4, 2017. (AFP Photo)

MOSCOW, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday deplored a Greek court decision to extradite Alexander Vinnik, a Russian citizen suspected of money laundering, to the United States.

The ministry said in a statement that Russia's request to extradite Vinnik to his home country took precedence over others and the Greek verdict is unjust and against basic provisions of international law.

The statement urged Greek authorities to consider Russia's request and arguments.

Russian Foreign Ministry said Vinnik's lawyers will appeal the verdict in the Greek Supreme Court.

According to media reports, Vinnik, 38, is charged by U.S. authorities with masterminding an operation of laundering at least 4 billion U.S. dollars using bitcoin digital currency.

He was arrested in Greece in late July with U.S. assistance.

In September, a Moscow court found Vinnik guilty of large scale fraud and issued a writ against him. Russian Prosecutor General's Office then sent to Greek authorities a request to extradite him to Russia.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 00:39:32|Editor: Song Lifang

Video Player Close

GENEVA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The UN migration agency, IOM, said Friday more than 33,000 people have been displaced in the retaking of the town of Hawija near Kirkuk in northern Iraq in the fight against the Islamic State group.

IOM said its Displacement Tracking Matrix reported that the people have been displaced since the launch of the offensive two weeks ago and of them, more than 15,200 are still displaced and 17,700 have returned to their homes.

IOM spokesperson Joel Millman said at a UN media briefing that the latest wave of internally displaced people comes in addition to 102,708 people previously identified as displaced from Hawija between August 2016 and September 20, 2017 due to earlier military operations.

Iraqi forces on Sept. 21 began military operations against IS's final holdouts in central Iraq -- in Hawija district of Kirkuk, and Shirqat in Salah al-Din -- which were seized by the group in 2014, said the IOM.

"Across Iraq, more than 3.2 million Iraqis continue to be displaced due to the current crisis, which began in January 2014. Nearly half live in private settings, while 24 percent are in camps, and 12 percent are in critical shelter arrangements," like informal settlements, religious buildings, unfinished buildings, said Millman.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 01:14:44|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

KIEV, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- A brawl broke out in the Ukrainian parliament on Friday during consideration of bills regarding the return of the eastern region of Donbas under Kiev's sovereignty through peaceful means.

The bills, submitted by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Wednesday, have drawn criticism from some oppositional lawmakers, who claimed that the legislation offering concessions to pro-independence insurgents in eastern Ukraine "run counter to national interests of the country."

During the scuffles between lawmakers, a smoke grenade was thrown inside the parliamentary hall not far from the speaker's rostrum, but no one got hurt.

Despite the brawl, the parliament has passed one of the bills, which allows the Ukrainian authorities to grant a limited self-rule to Donbas for 12 months if certain conditions put forward by Kiev are met.

Another draft law, which stipulates that the conflict-hit region would be re-integrated into Ukraine on the basis of the Minsk peace agreements, was approved in the first reading.

After the voting, Parliament Speaker Andriy Parubiy has closed the meeting of the assembly in an urgent manner, saying it was "technically difficult" to work in the parliamentary hall.

The legislation on the peaceful return of Donbas is the latest attempt by the Ukrainian authorities to resolve the conflict between government troops and insurgents in eastern Ukraine that has claimed more than 10,000 lives since April 2014.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 01:24:46|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

ADDIS ABABA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) and Germany have agreed to further their cooperation in skills development in order to create jobs for young people.

The annual bilateral consultations on the development cooperation between the AU and Germany concluded later Thursday at the AU headquarters in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa.

This year's agreement focuses on further cooperation in job creation through enhancement of technical and vocational skills and entrepreneurship, which is in line with the AU theme of the year, "Harnessing the demographic dividend through investments in the youth," according to a joint statement at the conclusion of the two-day gathering.

"Our interest is that Africa can create sufficient jobs for its young and growing population. Economic transformation, skills development, better infrastructure and bigger markets for intra-African trade are central to create prospects for young people and to combat the root causes of forced migration," said Guenter Nooke, the German Chancellor's Personal Representative for Africa in the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and Head of the German Delegation.

"One central element of what we agreed with the AU Commission and NEPAD today is to jointly do more in the area of training, economic growth and digitalization," he said.

AU Commission Deputy Chairperson Kwesi Quartey noted the focus of the cooperation on education and skills development as significant, underscoring the Commission's focus to have every African child in school by 2020.

During the two-day consultations, further agreement has been reached in the areas of infrastructure and energy, migration and strengthening of the institutional capacities of the African Union Commission.

The two sides have also discussed the upcoming AU-EU summit in Abidjan, which will take place at the end of November.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 01:34:48|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

DAMASCUS, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Russian-backed Syrian army reached the outskirts of the key eastern city of Mayadeen on Friday, as the Islamic State (IS) militants have called for reinforcements to confront the attack of the Syrian forces.

State news agency SANA said the Syrian forces are carrying out with their offensive on the western outskirts of Mayadeen, in the southeastern countryside of Deir al-Zour province in eastern Syria.

Many IS militants were killed Friday during the wide-scale offensive, SANA added.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also confirmed the report, saying the government forces reached the western outskirts of Mayadeen, deemed as the capital of the IS stronghold in Deir al-Zour.

This comes as the army has expanded its operations in Deir al-Zour province, after capturing 75 percent of the capital city of Deir al-Zour.

Only al-Mayadeen and Bukamal remain under the IS stronghold in the southeastern countryside of Deir al-Zour, on the border with Iraq.

Sheikh Muhammad Amlah, a leader of tribesmen fighters alongside the Syrian army, was cited by the pro-government al-Watan daily on Friday as saying that the army is advancing toward Mayadeen city as well as the area of Muhasan and other areas on the eastern bank of Euphrates River.

In the northern countryside of Deir al-Zour, the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continued their offensive against IS.

The group has already captured the town of Sur and currently fighting to reach the town of Bsereh.

Meanwhile, activists said the IS is calling for backup to fend off the army offensive on Mayadeen.

The battles are the latest in a string of offensive launched to eradicate the terror group from Syria.

The military forces have recently captured all of the eastern countrysides of Hama province in central Syria from IS, making the entire province clear of IS.

The group is also losing key ground in the eastern countryside of the central Homs province.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 01:39:49|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

by Julius Gale

JUBA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Friday that it will gradually resume operations in South Sudan's western Equatoria region, which were suspended following the killing of its staff last month.

A South Sudanese national, who worked as driver with ICRC, was shot on Sept. 8 while delivering relief assistance.

The ICRC said since the shooting, they have carried out only life-saving activities, such as medical evacuations for the wounded.

"Since the tragic incident, we have received assurances and security guarantees and now feel confident to gradually restart to our activities in the Equatoria region," said Francois Stamm, ICRC's head of delegation in South Sudan.

"At the same time, we renew our call to all parties to the conflict to respect the neutrality of humanitarian workers and the Red Cross. Any attack on our staff and other humanitarian workers is unacceptable and seriously hinders the delivery of much-needed humanitarian assistance," Stamm added.

The activities of the ICRC in the Equatoria region include distribution of seeds and tools to communities, visits to detainees in prison, and medical evacuations.

According to the UN, South Sudan has become a hostile environment for aid workers. Since the outbreak of civil war in the East African country in 2013, more than 80 aid workers have been killed, including 18 this year alone.

Under international humanitarian law, intentional attacks against humanitarian relief personnel may constitute war crimes.

South Sudan has been embroiled in more than three years of conflict that has taken a devastating toll.

The peace pact signed in Addis Ababa in 2015 under intense international pressure was shattered again following renewed violence between rival government and opposition troops in the capital Juba in July 2016.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 01:49:53|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- A UN official said on Friday that September marked the "deadliest month" of the year for Syrians as heavy air attacks caused high numbers of civilian casualties.

Hospitals, ambulances, schools and displaced people escaping violence are being routinely targeted by airstrikes in Syria, resulting in high numbers of deaths and injuries, said Panos Moumtzis, the United Nations Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria Crisis.

"I am appalled by reports of high numbers of civilian casualties due to heavy air attacks in Syria," said Moumtzis in a news release issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

"September was the deadliest month of 2017 for civilians with daily reports of attacks on residential areas resulting in hundreds of conflict-related deaths and injuries," he said.

This week, airstrikes on Raqqa City killed dozens of people and injured many others while some 8,000 others remain trapped there.

Between Sept. 19-30, airstrikes on residential areas in Idlib killed at least 149 people, the majority of whom were women and children.

"Attacks on medical facilities are depriving people in need of their right to life-saving medical care," stressed Moumtzis.

Schools and hospitals in Idlib have been forced to close for fear of being targeted. Three explosions in Damascus city caused the death of 20 people and injured 15 more. Civilian casualties were also reported in Rural Damascus, Hama, Aleppo and Deir-ez-Zor.

"I would like to praise the phenomenal work carried out by humanitarian workers and in particular national staff," he said, noting that rescue workers on a daily basis risk their lives to help others.

"The UN calls on all parties to the conflict to immediately take all measures to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure throughout Syria," Moumtzis said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 02:04:57|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

by Chrispinus Omar

NAIROBI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- A coalition of 15 African countries Friday welcomed a proposal by Britain on a full ban on domestic ivory sales.

The countries that are part of the Elephant Protection Initiative (EPI), an African-led initiative to stop illegal ivory trade, said the move by London will secure a meaningful future for elephants across Africa.

"The unprecedented crisis we face, with Africa's natural heritage being destroyed and communities put at risk due to poaching by illegal armed gangs, will only stop when people stop buying ivory," CEO of Stop Ivory John Stephenson said in a joint statement issued in Nairobi.

The EPI was established in February 2014 at the London Conference on Illegal Wildlife Trade by leaders from Botswana, Chad, Gabon, Ethiopia and Tanzania as an urgent response to this elephant poaching crisis.

They have since been joined by countries including Uganda, Gambia, Malawi, Kenya, Liberia, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, Sierra Leone and Somalia.

The statement came after Britain's Environment Secretary Michael Gove said London will impose a ban on ivory sales to help bring an end to elephant poaching.

Through a 12-week consultation period, the British government will work with conservationists, the arts and antiques sectors and other interested parties on legislation for a ban.

Kumara Wakjira, Chair of the EPI Implementing Board, said the illegal ivory trade threatens not only the survival of Africa's elephants and environment but also communities who daily face the threat of illegal armed poaching gangs and traffickers.

"We look forward to seeing the ban in place before we return to London for the Illegal Wildlife Trade Conference in 2018," he said.

The Elephant Protection Initiative recognises that domestic ivory markets must be closed if elephant populations are to survive.

Over the last two decades, poaching and illegal wildlife trade in and around protected areas in Africa have been on the rise.

According to EPI statistics, between 2009 and 2014, Mozambique lost half its elephants, while Tanzania lost a staggering 60 percent -- an estimated 95,000 individuals from these two countries alone.

As profits rise, the illegal wildlife trade has become a transnational phenomenon, estimated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to be worth up to 20 billion U.S. dollars a year, making it the fourth biggest illicit activity after trade in guns and drugs, and human trafficking.
Wounded Syrians receive medical care at a makeshift clinic in the rebel-held town of Douma, on the eastern outskirts of Damascus, on Sept. 26, 2017 following reported air strikes by Syrian government forces. (Xinhua/AFP)

UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- A UN official said on Friday that September marked the "deadliest month" of the year for Syrians as heavy air attacks caused high numbers of civilian casualties.

Hospitals, ambulances, schools and displaced people escaping violence are being routinely targeted by airstrikes in Syria, resulting in high numbers of deaths and injuries, said Panos Moumtzis, the United Nations Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria Crisis.

"I am appalled by reports of high numbers of civilian casualties due to heavy air attacks in Syria," said Moumtzis in a news release issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

"September was the deadliest month of 2017 for civilians with daily reports of attacks on residential areas resulting in hundreds of conflict-related deaths and injuries," he said.

This week, airstrikes on Raqqa City killed dozens of people and injured many others while some 8,000 others remain trapped there.

Between Sept. 19-30, airstrikes on residential areas in Idlib killed at least 149 people, the majority of whom were women and children.

"Attacks on medical facilities are depriving people in need of their right to life-saving medical care," stressed Moumtzis.

Schools and hospitals in Idlib have been forced to close for fear of being targeted. Three explosions in Damascus city caused the death of 20 people and injured 15 more. Civilian casualties were also reported in Rural Damascus, Hama, Aleppo and Deir-ez-Zor.

"I would like to praise the phenomenal work carried out by humanitarian workers and in particular national staff," he said, noting that rescue workers on a daily basis risk their lives to help others.

"The UN calls on all parties to the conflict to immediately take all measures to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure throughout Syria," Moumtzis said.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 02:30:01|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

NAIROBI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The street protests against Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) carried out by supporters of the main opposition party, National Super Alliance (NASA), turned chaotic on Friday in Nairobi and western parts of the country, hurting businesses.

What began as a peaceful march against electoral agency's officials accused of bungling the Aug. 8 polls later turned into violent confrontation between protesters and anti-riot police.

The protests in Nairobi were marked by interludes of calm and running battles between police and opposition supporters who marched towards the headquarters of the electoral agency to demand resignation of senior officials.

Police fired tear gas canisters at rowdy protesters in a busy street forcing businesses to close and pedestrians to scamper for safety.

Heavy presence of security officers near the offices of the electoral body and strategic locations in Nairobi's Central Business District forced the demonstrators to agitate peacefully.

The street protests in Nairobi had subsided in the afternoon though major business outlets like hotels and supermarkets closed doors to avert looting by criminal elements disguising as demonstrators.

There was uneasy calm in the streets of Nairobi on Friday afternoon as business owners and pedestrians remained alert to avoid being caught up in violent protests.

Heavily armed security officers patrolled the streets as traders started opening their businesses.

The situation was different in the lakeside city of Kisumu that became the epicenter of chaos when protesters stormed into a supermarket and engaged in a looting spree before police fired tear gas to chase them away.

Besides looting one of the largest retail chains in the city, protesters in Kisumu raided the premises of water utility and vandalized pipes thereby cutting off the supply of the commodity to residential areas.

The police were forced to lob teargas canisters and shoot in the air to disperse supporters opposed to the retention of the IEBC team ahead of the Oct. 26 vote.

Several of them broke into the supermarket, defied workers who tried to stop them and injured some of them. Property worth an unknown amount of money was stolen and the store's windows smashed.

The protesters only left after police fired teargas at them after arriving in Land Cruisers and water cannon trucks.

The crowd left in the direction of Kondele where shops remained closed for fear of similar occurrences.

Hundreds of youthful protesters had on Friday morning blocked major roads in Kisumu thus paralyzing transport before the police chased them and restored order in Kenya's third largest city.

Businesses incurred huge losses on Friday in many towns in western Kenya as opposition supporters heeded a call by their leaders to protest against the electoral agency ahead of October 26 repeat presidential polls.

The protests turned violent in the border town of Busia when mobs hurled teargas canisters at police officers hence triggering violent confrontation that lasted two hours.

Businesses came to a standstill in Busia town that neighbors Uganda as security officers engaged protesters in running battles.

The street protests against the electoral agency were largely peaceful in the Coastal city of Mombasa.

NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga and his co-principals were conspicuously absent when the street protests took off in their strongholds.

Several local leaders in opposition leaning zones led the protests and vowed to continue with the push for reforms in elections management to avert foul play in future.

The Opposition leaders instructed their supporters to continue with the demos every Monday and Friday until the IEBC heeds to the demands to effect changes at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

NASA is demanding among other issues the firing and prosecution of about 10 IEBC officials among them the chief executive officer, Ezra Chiloba.

NASA maintains there will be no Oct. 26 election as long as the current commission remains as currently constituted.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 02:35:04|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

HELSINKI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The first-ever tuition fees for non EU/ETA students to pay the Finnish universities and polytechnics have created a much smaller revenue than envisaged.

A survey carried out by the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat indicated on Friday that the enrollment has declined. The number of study-based residence permit applications reflect the situation.

By the end of September, 4,355 non-EU/ETA students had filed for a residence permit, a quarter fewer than in the same period in 2016. The decline has been the sharpest from Vietnam.

Most new students have been from China and Russia. Finland has remained a popular choice also in Pakistan, Nepal, Nigeria, Cameroon, India and Morocco, the newspaper reported.

Until last year, university and polytechnic education was free to all students. From this year on, non-EU/ETA students must pay a tuition fee of on average 10,000 euros per year.

Those EU/ETA citizens that have a permanent residence permit in Finland need not pay. If a foreign student can attend classes given in Finnish and Swedish, there are no charges.

Birgitta Vuorinen, a senior official at the Ministry of Education, told Helsingin Sanomat that the tuition fees are expected to create such an income to the universities and polytechnics that "can then be used to develop their courses".

Helsingin Sanomat also reported that some nine percent of residence permit applications submitted by students have been rejected by the Finnish Immigration Service. In most cases, the reason has been uncertainty about meeting the living costs. A student must have at least 6,720 euros in his or her possession upon entering Finland.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 03:05:11|Editor: Song Lifang

Video Player Close

BUJUMBURA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- At least five cases of cholera were reported this week in Rugombo town in Cibitoke province, 72 km northwest of the Burundian capital Bujumbura, the Burundi News Agency reported Friday.

All those five cholera cases were reported at Rusiga, adding that lack of clean water is the origin of the propagation of cholera in that area, the state-run agency reported.

The Burundi Red Cross has deployed its agents to pulverize drugs in infected households at Rusiga to avoid the propagation of the epidemic, it reported.

Cibitoke Governor Joseph Iteriteka on Friday held a meeting with health and administration officials based in Cibitoke province to look at ways of curbing the propagation of cholera in Rugombo and Cibitoke town, according to the report.

During the meeting, they urged the country's Water and Electricity Company (REGIDESO) to supply water to the two towns --Rugombo and Cibitoke -- as they are the worst threatened, reported the agency.

The Burundian Imbo western lowlands extending from the north in Cibitoke province to the south in Makamba Province near Lake Tanganyika are vulnerable to cholera every year in the dry season, especially between August and October.

By the end of August this year, the east African country's health ministry confirmed 24 cholera cases in Nyanza-Lac in the southwestern province of Makamba, which originated from a fisherman who had come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo with symptoms of cholera.
Rasha Kamal(L) and Shiamaa Kamal display their courseware during an interview with Xinhua in their office at the Ain Shams University in Cairo, Egypt on Sept. 28, 2017. (Xinhua/Ahmed Gomaa)

CAIRO, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Recommended by their brother Abdullah Kamal, a famous Egyptian journalist who foresaw the rise of China as a global power, twin sisters Rasha and Shiamaa Kamal decided to study the Chinese language in the 1990s only for better understanding the mighty economic force.

Now, they have become the building blocks of a bridge that connects the cultures of China and the Arab world, working as established translators and lecturers in the Chinese language.

"Since my first year in al-Allsun Language College in 1996, my sister and I, had a clear objective to contribute to promoting knowledge, transferring and introducing as much information as we can about China into the Arab world," Rasha Kamal, a 38-year-old professor of Chinese language at the Ain Shams University, told Xinhua.

Since 2011, Rasha has translated and edited 36 books about China, including China's great economic leap, the Belt and Road initiative, the biography of Deng Xiaoping, the architect of China's reform and opening up policies, and a series of books about Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China.

"I'm very keen on cooperating with China's Ministry of Culture to define the Chinese history, culture and civilization from the Chinese original perspective, not from the West's mistaken understanding," said Rasha, the younger sister.

Shiamaa, chair of the Chinese Department of the Badr Private University in Cairo, told Xinhua that Egyptians are now more eager to read, study, watch and get involved in activities that could deepen their knowledge about and connection with the success stories of China.

The number of Egyptian students studying in the Chinese Department in al-Allsun is now 250, a sharp rise from 40 in 1995. Meanwhile, many private universities across Egypt have opened new departments recently to teach the Chinese language and literature.

The Kamal twin sisters, both passionate Chinese culture lovers, said they have taken part in most of the meetings, seminars, workshops, art shows, music concerts, book fairs in Arab countries about China since their graduation in 2000, to raise the awareness and knowledge about the Asian power.

"It's our role as academic instructors and translators to erase the false perception about a country that had been conservative and closed for decades," said Shiamaa, who just attended a seminar recently in the United Arab Emirates on the Belt and Road initiative.

Proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the initiative aims to build a trade and infrastructure network that connects Asia with Europe, Africa and the Middle East along the ancient trade routes, to seek common development and prosperity.

China has been transferred into a global power over the past 40 years from a poor developing country, through its tremendous determination, confidence and hard work.

"China's hands are now extended to the third-world countries based on mutual interests and cooperation rather than confrontation, with a focus on the principal of give and take," Rasha said.

After achieving an economic leap that has great impact on global politics, China has started to pay much attention to promoting its culture, or the soft power.

China, which used to be a closed nation with a full concentration on advancing its own culture, has now become a more open society to other cultures, Rasha noted.

The Kamal sisters see the Belt and Road initiative as "a golden chance for enhancing the cultural ties."

Shiamaa, who has translated three books on the Belt and Road initiative into Arabic, noted that there are so many different minorities, ethnic groups, religions and historic backgrounds that would be translated to connect the countries along the Belt and Road routes.

Rasha praised the initiative not only because it focuses on promoting partnerships and cooperation with participants, which is totally different from the Western models, but also because it shows China's determination and great efforts to convince its partners to support and advance it.

She cited that China, in marketing the Belt and Road initiative, has established research centers, held seminars and conferences, and translated related information into several languages.

Official statistics found that Egyptian youths like to work in China's projects that are spreading in the entire region, and to learn the Chinese language in order to work as tourist guides.

With nearly 200,000 Chinese tourists visiting Egypt in 2016, China has become the fourth largest source of tourists for Egypt, in a major boost to its tourism industry that has been suffering from a slowdown due to political turmoil and terror attacks since 2011.

Accordingly, the two sisters believe Egypt and China should enhance coordination, not only between their culture ministries, but also between the publishing and translation industries in the two countries.

Besides attending many book fairs and seminars on China in the Middle East in 2017, Rasha also traveled to many Arab and European countries to promote her books about China from the Chinese angle, in cooperation with Chinese writers, novelists and translators.

"When I translated a series of books on the history, geography, food, and minorities in Xinjiang, I felt like the guard for that treasures, not merely a translator," Rasha added.

Rasha is now working on translating more books about China into Arabic, including those about the Belt and Road initiative.

"Our mission is not only translation, but to introduce the Chinese culture to the Arab people," Rasha said.

The twin sisters now dream of translating the Islamic-Chinese encyclopedia into Arabic, as they see it as a very important step for correcting the inaccurate information about Chinese Muslims and introducing the Chinese philosophies, ethics and social disciplines to the Arab countries.

"The Arabic and Chinese languages might be difficult, and their distance is far apart, but the cultural rapprochement would narrow the gap and eliminate the difficulties," Shiamaa said.
File Photo: Chinese flags and American flags are displayed in a company in Beijing on Aug. 16, 2017. (Xinhua/AFP)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- In their first Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity Dialogue earlier this week, China and the United States pledged to produce stronger and closer bilateral cooperation in counter-narcotics, cybersecurity, repatriation and other fields.

FOCUS ON COOPERATION

The one-day meeting was co-chaired on Wednesday by visiting Chinese State Councilor Guo Shengkun, and U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Acting Secretary for Homeland Security Elaine Duke.

At the meeting, the two sides agreed to commit to mutual respect, equity, frankness and pragmatism, make a full use of the dialogue mechanism and further strengthen bilateral communication and cooperation in law enforcement and cybersecurity.

Guo, also China's public security minister, called on the two sides to focus on cooperation and manage their differences so as to make bilateral cooperation in law enforcement and cybersecurity a new highlight in China-U.S. ties, and work relentlessly to promote global security governance and build a universal and secure community of shared destiny for mankind.

The meeting has proved to be very fruitful as demonstrated in an intergovernmental joint statement.

In the statement released on Friday outlining the fruitful outcomes of the meeting, the two sides expressed their intention to enhance cooperation on narcotics control and enforcement and gave a nod to continue their implementation of the consensus reached by the Chinese and U.S. presidents in 2015 on China-U.S. cybersecurity cooperation.

China and the United States also consented to develop a repeatable process to verify the identity of illegal immigrants in a timely manner.

The two sides also intended to make a full use of the established hotline mechanism for addressing urgent cyber-crime and network protection issues and to communicate timely at the leadership and working levels.

The two sides will continue to push forward pragmatic cooperation, guaranteeing mutual benefit and promote a peaceful, safe, open, cooperative and orderly cyberspace, Guo said.

The meeting is one of four high-level communication mechanisms established during the Mar-a-Lago meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump at Palm Beach in the southeastern U.S. state of Florida on April 6-7, 2017.

WELL-PREPARED DIALOGUE

The two sides attached high importance to the dialogue and already showed intention for cooperation in the preparatory stage leading up to the meeting, according to the Chinese officials who attended the event.

Since June, the U.S. law enforcement has handed over two criminal suspects to Chinese police, while the Chinese side has repatriated two wanted suspects listed on an Interpol red notice to the United States.

The two sides also conducted several rounds of talks on anti-terrorism, counter-narcotics, cybersecurity and immigration ahead of their gathering in Washington.

The Chinese officials described the bilateral cooperation on cases of mutual concern as "smooth, positive and pragmatic."

The U.S. side stressed the importance of bilateral cooperation in law enforcement and cybersecurity, saying that the two sides face common threats as well as interests in these areas.

The United States also agreed to work with China to use the dialogue mechanism to strengthen bilateral cooperation in related areas, promote specific cases through dialogue with the Chinese side and work to yield more outcomes to benefit both countries and their peoples.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 03:25:16|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

An investigator is seen from one of the broken windows of Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas, the United States, Oct. 4, 2017. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Clark County Coroner Thursday night released an official list of 59 decedents from Sunday's mass shooting on the Las Vegas strip.

"Coroner John Fudenberg extended condolences to all those affected by the incident and encouraged families to contact the Family Information Center in Las Vegas if they need any assistance related to the Coroner's Office processes." the Coroner's office said in a press released on its official website.

On the list, there are 37 female victims and 22 dead men including Stephen Paddock, the 64-year-old gambler and real estate investor, who rained down about 1,600 rounds of ammo from the 32th floor suite of Mandalay Bay hotel into a crowd of more than 22,000 people attending Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival Sunday night.

The oldest victim is Patricia Mestas, born on July. 25 of 1950 and the youngest is 20-year-old lady Bailey Schweitzer, who was born on April 5 of 1997.

In order to identify the victims in time, the Clark County Coroner's office got help from cities that are no stranger to mass casualties, including New York City and San Bernardino of California, where 14 people died in a shooting in December 2015.

The Clark County Coroner office did not mark the victims' nationality, but there is no typical Chinese name on the official list. It could prove the preliminary conclusion of the Consulate General of China in San Francisco that no casualty of Chinese citizen in the deadliest mass shooting in American modern history..

"We have received no call or message for help from Chinese nationals," Zha Liyou, Deputy Consul General of the People's Republic of China in San Francisco told Xinhua early, "We haven't received any request for help from Chinese citizens via the Consular Protection 24-hour hotline, messaging platform or the hugely popular social-messaging platform WeChat."
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 03:45:20|Editor: Song Lifang

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Pentagon confirmed on Friday that three U.S. soldiers were killed in a joint mission in southwest Niger earlier this week.

The soldiers, who were part of a joint U.S. and Nigerian train, advise and assist mission, were attacked on a patrol on Wednesday, said the Pentagon in a statement.

All the soldiers were assigned to the third Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

The incident was still under investigation, the statement added.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 04:15:29|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

BUCHAREST, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu promised on Friday that his country would continue to be a responsible and active ally of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Melescanu made the remark when meeting with NATO Parliamentary Assembly President Paolo Alli, who is in Bucharest to preside the 63rd Annual Session of the Assembly.

The two officials underlined the importance of maintaining the Alliance's capacity to deal with all threats to the member states and highlighted the importance of NATO-EU cooperation in as many areas of common interest as possible for the two organizations, which is all the more necessary in the context of strengthening the EU's role in the field of security and defense.

According to a press release issued by the Foreign Ministry, Melescanu voiced appreciation for the work of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and emphasized the unique and extremely important role that this format plays in connecting allied objectives and policies to the needs and expectations of citizens in the member states.

"Romania will continue to be a responsible and active ally in promoting a strengthened NATO profile and will remain a trustworthy dialogue partner for its allies," stressed the head of the Romanian diplomacy.

Alli appreciated Romania's important contributions to the Alliance, materialized, among other things, in its significant participation in allied missions, hosting the Aegis Ashore rocket defence system and in meeting the Alliance's objective to allocate 2 percent of GDP to defense.

NATO Parliamentary Assembly gather in Bucharest, Friday through Monday. It is the third time for Romania to host the Assembly. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg is going to be present at the plenary session on Monday.

According to official Agerpres news agency, the support for NATO's actions in Afghanistan, the closer NATO-EU cooperation, the stability and security in the Black Sea area, the risks of the instability in Eastern Asia, the humanitarian crisis in Syria and Iraq are among the topics to be approached.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 04:15:30|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

NAIROBI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Friday expressed concern over the political developments in Kenya and urged the parties to shun violence and avoid changes to the electoral law ahead of the Oct. 26 presidential re-run.

A statement from the U.S. State Department received in Nairobi said Washington is closely monitoring Kenya's electoral process and what politicians are saying and doing.

"Kenyan leaders and citizens must reject violence and call on others to do the same," the U.S. said in the statement which came hours after the opposition, the National Super Alliance (NASA) supporter staged protests to press for the reforms at the electoral body including changes in staff who bundled the Aug. 8 general elections.

The U.S., which expressed its deep concern by the deterioration in the political environment in Kenya, called on security services to use the utmost restraint in handling demonstrations, and any response must be proportionate and appropriate.

It said the U.S. remains committed to supporting a free, fair, and credible election "that is consistent with Kenya's Constitution, current laws, and institutions, and we do not back any party or candidate."

But Washington said in recent weeks actors on all sides have undermined the electoral commission and stoked tensions.

The U.S. said changing electoral laws without broad agreement just prior to a poll is not consistent with international best practice, increases political tension, and undermines public perceptions of the integrity of the electoral process.

The statement comes as political stalemate is stalking Kenya following the annulment of President Uhuru Kenyatta's win in Aug. 8 polls by the Supreme Court.

The East African nation is currently facing uncertainty as political leaders from major parties namely NASA and Jubilee engage in grandstanding over fresh elections scheduled for Oct. 26.

Analysts have warned that without an election within the constitutionally mandated 60-day window, Kenya will enter unmarked treacherous constitutional political terrain.

Washington said a peaceful and transparent poll that provides all Kenyans a voice in choosing their next President will require that the electoral commission have the independence and support it needs to fulfill its Constitutional and legal obligations.

"While we support freedom of speech, baseless attacks and unreasonable demands on the electoral commission are divisive. We fully support the commission's efforts to engage leaders and parties in dialogue, and urge all to participate openly, seriously, and in good faith," it said.

The statement comes after street protests against Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) carried out by opposition supporters turned chaotic on Friday in Nairobi and western parts of the country thereby hurting businesses.

What began as a peaceful march against electoral agency's officials accused of bungling the Aug. 8 polls later turned into violent confrontation between protesters and anti-riot police.

Meanwhile, President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday urged Odinga to stop destroying the country's economy for his selfish interest and urged him to stop putting his personal interest before the interests of 45 million Kenyans.

Kenyata, who spoke in reaction to the destruction in the lakeside city of Kisumu of private property, including a supermarket, and water supply system of the lakeside town, said Odinga should take responsibility for the damage being caused to the economy through his actions.

Speaking in Meru town in central Kenya, where he wrapped up his campaign tour of the populous county, Kenyatta said Odinga should be mindful of the interest of the Kenyan people and should engage in politics that does not jeopardise the nation's wellbeing.

He said the opposition was bringing up endless demands before the Oct. 26 fresh presidential election because they know Kenyans will reject them as they did in the Aug. 8 poll that was nullified.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 04:55:42|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The International Olympic Committee has suspended Rio 2016 Games chief Carlos Nuzman following his arrest on corruption charges.

Nuzman, who has denied any wrongdoing, is accused by Brazil's federal police of bribing IOC members to support Rio de Janeiro's candidacy to host last year's Games.

The 75-year-old, who represented Brazil in volleyball at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, has also been removed from a commission to help organize the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

In a statement, the IOC said the Brazilian Olympic Committee was also suspended due to its responsibility for Rio's bid. The decision means subsidies and payments to the body from the IOC have been blocked.

The IOC added that the bans would not extend to Brazilian athletes.

"The IOC will accept a Brazilian Olympic Team in the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018 and in all other competitions under the umbrella of the Brazilian Olympic Committee with all rights and obligations," the statement read.

Police have accused Nuzman of stashing 16 gold bars weighing 1kg each in a depositary in Geneva and 155,000 US dollars in cash in his Rio de Janeiro home.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 05:20:50|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

TEGUCIGALPA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Tropical Storm Nate left Honduran territory on Friday, leaving at least three people dead and 27 families driven out of their homes, according to aid agencies.

Honduras' Permanent Commission for Contingencies (Copeco) maintained a yellow alert in 16 of 18 departments, as rivers burst banks and infrastructure was damaged.

On Thursday afternoon, two people were dragged under by the rapid rise of a river in the southern department of Valle. Another was found dead in the department of Choluteca while at least three more were missing.

At least 27 families have lost their homes in the southern town of Nacaome and San Lorenzo, according to Copeco.

However, these statistics are expected to rise since several southern towns have been cut off by the river Choluteca.

Three separate landslides also cut off sections of the highway linking Tegucigalpa to the south of the country on Thursday.

Nate is now heading for the Mexican peninsula of Yucatan, having left at least 23 people dead and 27 missing across the Central America.

At 10 a.m. on Friday, it was 280 km southeast of the tourist island of Cozumel and 345 km east of the city of Chetumal, on the Atlantic coast.

It currently had maximum sustained winds of 85 km/h and gusts of up to 100 km/h.

It is set to hit the coast of Quintana Roo and Yucatan on Friday afternoon, dropping intense rains of about 75-150 milliliters and the government has announced a yellow alert.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 05:25:51|Editor: Song Lifang

Video Player Close

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) shakes hands with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro during a welcome ceremony in Ankara, Turkey, on Oct. 6, 2017. Erdogan met Friday with Maduro here, showing a positive signal to improve ties with the Latin American country. (Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya)

ANKARA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Friday with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro in Ankara, showing a positive signal to improve ties with the Latin American country.

The meeting focused on steps to promote energy and trade cooperation between the two countries, Erdogan said at a joint press conference.

The two countries signed five cooperation agreements on aviation, tourism, agriculture, trade and foreign relations, he added.

The two leaders also discussed possible partnerships in mining, tourism, transport and defense, the Turkish president noted.

"Venezuela is a very precious partner for us. We want our Latin American friends to live in peace and well-being," Erdogan said.

Erdogan also announced Turkey's plans to dispatch more diplomats to Venezuela, as well as to build a Turkish cultural center and a mosque in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela.

For his part, Maduro hailed the five agreements as a sign of "new vision," as his Friday visit came two months ahead of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between Turkey and Venezuela.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 05:40:58|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

KHARTOUM, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Sudan government on Friday welcomed the U.S. administration's decision to permanently lift the 20-year-old economic sanctions on Sudan.

"Sudanese leadership, government and people welcome the positive decision made by the U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday to permanently lift the economic sanctions on Sudan," said Sudan's Foreign Ministry in a statement.

"Sudan regards it as a positive development in the history of the Sudanese-U.S. relations and a natural outcome of a frank, transparent and constructive dialogue that reviewed all concerns between the two countries," it added.

The statement reiterated that Sudan would continue cooperation with the U.S. in all the issues of mutual concern, namely in relation to preserving international peace and security and combating all forms of terrorism, illegal immigration and human trafficking.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 05:51:00|Editor: Song Lifang

Video Player Close

TRIPOLI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations said on Friday that 138 Nigerian illegal immigrants in Libya have been repatriated.

A total of "138 stranded Nigerian migrants received Thursday voluntary humanitarian return assistance home, 70 of whom were previously at the detention centers of Trig al Seka and Tajoura," said UN Support Mission in Libya.

The migrants returned home within a program of the International Organization for Migration, the mission added.

Libya is a preferred point of departure for illegal immigrants hoping to cross the Mediterranean into Europe because of insecurity and chaos in the country following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 06:16:07|Editor: Song Lifang

Video Player Close

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. State Department has approved on Friday a possible 15-billion-U.S. dollar sale of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) systems to Saudi Arabia, according to a statement released by the Pentagon.

The Middle East country has requested to purchase 44 THAAD launchers, 360 missiles, 16 fire control station and 7 radars, said the statement.

The sale was part of the 110-billion-USD package of defense equipment and services initially announced during U.S. President Donald Trump's May trip to Saudi Arabia, said an official from the U.S. State Department on condition of anonymity.

"This potential sale will substantially increase Saudi Arabia's capability to defend itself against the growing ballistic missile threat in the region," said the statement from the Pentagon.

Congress has been notified about the possible sale and has 30 days to review the deal.

THAAD missile systems are deployed to defend against ballistic missile attacks.
Source: Xinhua| 2017-10-07 06:26:09|Editor: Mu Xuequan

Video Player Close

TRIPOLI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Clashes between two armed groups affiliated with the UN-backed government broke out Friday in Libya's capital Tripoli, killing two and injuring three others, a security source said.

"Clashes broke out Friday between the Battalion 42 and the Central Security Battalion in southern Tripoli, killing two people and wounding three," the source, who asked to remain anonymous, told Xinhua.

The clashes came after the two battalions kidnapped each other's members on Thursday night, with Battalion 42 opening fire first by attacking the headquarters of the Central Security Battalion to free its detained members.

The clashes, which lasted several hours, have already ceased, the source noted.

In Tripoli, clashes between armed groups over disputed ownership of military and security headquarters or the control zones in the capital, take place from time to time.

Libya has remained in chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi. The country is struggling to make a democratic transition amid political division and unrest, as well as dominance of armed groups and militias with shifting loyalties.
Address by the President of India at India-Ethiopia business dialogue to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the India Business Forum in Addis Ababa

Ethiopia, Fri, 06 Oct 2017 NI Wire

Address by the President of India Ram Nath Kovind at India-Ethiopia business dialogue to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the India Business Forum in Addis Ababa on October 5, 2017

It is my pleasure to be here for the India-Ethiopia Business Dialogue and to address a business community that is, really, the legatee of an age-old relationship.

Ethiopia and India are old civilisations with young populations. Ethiopia is the cradle of humankind. Earlier today, at the National Museum in this city, I was privileged to get a glimpse of the remains of Lucy, who is in a sense our common mother. It is not without reason that Ethiopia, a stead-fast friend and a sister civilisation for India, is the focus of my first overseas visit since taking charge as President of India.

Our countries have been trading with each other for centuries. Trade relations between Ethiopia and India flourished during the ancient Axumite Empire from the 1st century AD. The earliest recorded evidence of our bilateral commercial engagement is in the form of Indian traders coming to the ancient Red Sea port of Adulis to trade silk and spices for gold and ivory.

In the 19th century, the pioneers of Indian investment to Ethiopia were businessmen from our western state of Gujarat, who migrated to this rich and fertile land.

In recent years, Ethiopias remarkable economic growth and progress has been an object of global admiration. And I am happy to note that India has been a partner in this growth through trade and commerce, through investments and sharing of expertise, as well as through the large and vibrant Indian business community present in Ethiopia.

I would like to congratulate the Indian Business Forum (or IBF) that represents this community. It is playing a lead role in encouraging Indian investment and promoting trade and commerce between India and Ethiopia. I understand IBF was set up in 2005 and is marking its 12th anniversary. I am also happy to learn that this Forum is the first partner-country forum of its kind in Ethiopia and represents more than 100 Indian companies.

India is now among the top three foreign investors in Ethiopia. Indian investment has made a mark in textile and garments, engineering, plastics, water management, consultancy and ICT, education, pharmaceuticals and healthcare. Indian investments in Ethiopia have had a significant presence in manufacturing and value addition to local resources. They have created jobs in this country, and they have contributed to the prosperity of Ethiopian families.

Ethiopia has been the largest recipient of Indian concessional lines of credit in Africa with over US$ 1 billion committed to projects in power transmission and sugar. I am happy to learn that the Finchaa sugar project has been completed and handed over to the Ethiopian side. Two other projects in the sugar sector have also gone into production, and are expected to be handed over shortly.

It is a matter of pride for us that Indian investment is lauded and is considered a model worthy of emulation. In this regard, I would like to acknowledge efforts of IBF and its members. You have been fair and loyal partners to the people and business stake-holders of Ethiopia as well as excellent ambassadors of your country. In India, we are proud of you.

Friends

Indias bilateral partnership with Ethiopia is deep and wide. In the past seven decades, our diplomatic engagement has helped us collaborate in virtually every avenue of human activity. Both our governments have identified trade and economic relations as a priority for the near future. The economic relationship covers trade, private investment, concessional loans for infrastructure projects and development assistance, largely for capacity building.

The Indian economy is in the early stages of an exciting journey. Ambitious policy measures such as the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) have made doing business in India easier. GST has unified the Indian market, hitherto segmented among multiple states and tax jurisdictions. Under our flagship programmes like Make in India and Start-up India, we have made concerted efforts to attract technology, investments and best practices from across the world.

Our programmes directed at the social sector  such as those for skilling our youth and providing housing for all  and massive infrastructure programmes are opening up new opportunities and creating the impulse for rapid growth. We are also willingly embracing technology and digital solutions, and using these to better the lives of our most underprivileged fellow citizens.

These reforms and initiatives are aimed at transforming the country and laying the foundations of a New India. Yet, there is much we can both learn from and share with the world, and particularly with partner developing countries like Ethiopia. I would say to our global friends that there has been no better time to engage with India.

Both Ethiopia and India have young populations. Our youth are our greatest resource. But to realise their potential, we need to educate them and give them the skills needed to become productive in an increasingly complex world. After all, the building of a 21st century economy requires the building of human capital  and equipping it for 21st century economic realities.

Along with a similar demographic profile, Ethiopia and India face similar challenges related to the health and well-being of our populations. India has been a source of affordable pharmaceuticals, generic medicines and specialised healthcare for the people of Africa, including Ethiopia. Education and health care will remain focus areas of our engagement with Ethiopia.

Friends

This business dialogue has helped us in bridging gaps between our business communities. Most important, it has identified actions the two governments could take to further facilitate investments and trade  be it in the realm of visa policies, banking procedures and laws, or customs regulations and practices.

Both our government want to create an enabling environment. For this, we value the specific recommendations made by our business communities today.

Indias relationship with Ethiopia is symbolic of its engagement with the African continent, of which Addis Ababa is such a vital hub. At the Third India Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi in 2015, we had announced the offer of concessional credit of US$ 10 billion over the next five years to Africa. This was in addition to the ongoing credit programme. We have also committed to a grant assistance of US$ 600 million that will include an India-Africa Development Fund of US$ 100 million and an India-Africa Health Fund of US$ 10 million. The Asia-Africa Growth Corridor is another initiative brimming with potential.

I would invite you to partner us in these frameworks and benefit from them. It is critical that such large projects are designed transparently and bring prosperity to local communities. In the end, trade and investment works best  or I would say works only  when it helps host communities and people on the ground.

As Ethiopias long-standing partner, India remains optimistic about and invested in your growth story. We look forward to building on our numerous synergies and complementarities in sectors ranging from light manufacturing to food processing, clean and renewable energy to healthcare. And in terms of capacity building of both people and institutions. Today, we have made a new beginning as partners in innovation and technology. With our space programmes to inspire us, the sky is the limit for India and Ethiopia. Literally.

On a closing and more down-to-earth note, I must call upon Ethiopia and India to work together to push for reform in institutions of international financial and monetary governance, and make these relevant to our age. It is only appropriate that such ancient business partners as India and Ethiopia strive together for a more equitable and contemporary global economic architecture.

We owe this to the principles that we share. We owe this to the multilateral order that we both treasure. We owe this to the young people in both our countries who will inherit the future.

With these words I wish Ethiopian and Indian business delegations present here and IBF  and all others in this room the very best.

Thank you.

Source: PIB
India's trade and investment relationship with Ethiopia is very strong, says President; symbolic of India's commitment to African Continent

New Delhi, Fri, 06 Oct 2017 NI Wire

The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, graced and addressed the India-Ethiopia Business Dialogue, organised to commemorate the 12th Anniversary of the India Business Forum in Addis Ababa (October 5, 2017).

Speaking on the occasion, the President said that Ethiopia and India have been trading with each other for centuries. Trade relations between Ethiopia and India flourished during the ancient Axumite Empire from the 1st century AD. Today the economic relationship covers trade, private investment, concessional loans for infrastructure projects and development assistance, largely for capacity building.

The President said that India is now among the top three foreign investors in Ethiopia. Indian investment has made a mark in textiles and garments, engineering, plastics, water management, consultancy and ICT, education, pharmaceuticals and healthcare. Indian investments in Ethiopia have had a significant presence in manufacturing and value addition to local resources. They have created jobs in this country and contributed to the prosperity of Ethiopian families. He congratulated the Indian Business Forum for playing a lead role in encouraging Indian investment and promoting trade and commerce between India and Ethiopia.

The President said that India's relationship with Ethiopia is symbolic of its engagement with the African continent, of which Addis Ababa is such a vital hub. At the Third India Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi in 2015, India had announced the offer of concessional credit of US$ 10 billion over the next five years to Africa. This was in addition to the on-going credit programme. We have also committed to a grant assistance of US$ 600 million that will include an India-Africa Development Fund of US$ 100 million and an India-Africa Health Fund of US$ 10 million. The Asia-Africa Growth Corridor is another initiative brimming with potential.

The President invited business stake-holders in Ethiopia and Africa to partner us in these frameworks and benefit from them. He stated that it is critical that such large projects are designed transparently and bring prosperity to local communities. In the end, the President added, trade and investment works best - or rather works only - when it helps host communities and people on the ground.

Earlier in the day, the President visited the Presidential Palace in Addis Ababa and led delegation-level talks with his counterpart, President Mulatu Teshome. The talks covered a gamut of developmental and trade themes. President Kovind mentioned India's willingness to positively consider support for power transmission projects in Ethiopia, as well as announced specific assistance in the areas of healthcare, education and agriculture. The two Presidents witnessed the signing of two bilateral agreements - the first on Trade Facilitation and the second related to the Information Communication and Media sector.

Later this evening, the President will hold talks with Mr Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, as well as attend a banquet in his honour to be hosted by President Teshome.

Source: PIB
Share



Its seems like an eternity since we got the news that Nokia (News - Alert) would be buying Alcatel-Lucent. But it wasnt all that long ago.





The deal closed just a year ago next month.

So government regulators are still working to ensure Nokia meets at the requirements it committed to in an effort to receive government approval for the deal. And one of those commitments was that Nokia would hire 500 research and development people and maintain a workforce of 4,200 employees for two years.

Nokia earlier this week confirmed thats still the plan. And Frances Junior Economy Minister Benjamin Griveaux reiterated that message.

In fact, Griveaux said Nokia plans to have 2,500 R&D jobs before the end of next year. And it plans to have created 330 of the promised 500 R&D jobs by the end of 2018.

However, the Finnish company will still be able to cut hundreds of jobs in other areas, according to an Oct. 2 Reuters (News - Alert) report. Early last month, Nokia announced plans to eliminate nearly 600 jobs in central and support areas by the end of 2019, Reuters notes. That prompted French government officials and trade unions to explore whether those cuts were a breach of the companys earlier commitments.

Layoffs in the tech industry are a recurring theme. According to reports, tech layoffs surged 21 percent last year. Cisco, Dell (News - Alert), IBM, Intel, and Microsoft were big contributors to that trend in 2016.

And in July of this year, TheStreet noted that Microsoft (News - Alert) had plans to lay off thousands in its global sales force, Intel eliminated 11 percent of its workforce, Cisco in May revealed plans to cut 1,100 more people this year, IBM (News - Alert) has already killed thousands of jobs, Ericsson has been growing thinner, and HP has been trimming down. In June The New York Times reported that Verizon planned to lay off 2,100 people once it completed its Yahoo acquisition.

John Oliver of HBOs Last Week Tonight recently did a piece on corporate consolidation, and it went viral. In it he talked about the popular refrain that small businesses are the backbone of the American economy. He said the rate at which small businesses are started has been falling since the 1970s. Meanwhile, he said, corporate consolidation is on the upswing  creating ever-larger companies that have more power.

Edited by Mandi Nowitz
Never send a cop to do a man's job
The Adaka Boro Avengers have warned that it would launch attacks on Bonny, Nembe and Forcasdos trunk lines if NNPC GMD, Maikanti Baru, does not heed to its demands.

File photo: Bakassi militants

One of the militant groups in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, Adaka Boro Avengers (ABA) has accused the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru of disrespecting the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu and also, appointing only northerners into the oil firm.

According to The Sun, ABA warned that Nigerias oil sector does not belong to the Fulanis alone but to every citizen in this country.

They demanded that Baru should tender an open apology to Ibe Kachikwu and also, drop his appointees on the NNPC board, within two weeks, or the group would disrupt hostility at Bonny, Nembe and Forcasdos trunk lines.

A statement signed by ABA spokesman, General Edmos Ayayeibo, noted that the relative peace in the Niger Delta is still fragile.

It as come to our notice that president Muhammadu Buhari, and his All Progressives Congress-led administration doesnt care about the unity of Nigeria.

We expected the number one citizen of this country to address the issues affecting every region of Nigeria on independence day, rather, he aggravated the relative peace in the various regions, especially in the Niger Delta.

President Muhammadu Buhari speaks to the country as if we are in a military dictatorship. We voted for him not to blame PDP, but to do what he was promising the people of Nigeria during his campaign, tagged Change.

All president Muhammadu Buharis subordinates and all his appointees are ruling the country as if we are in a military era.

Nigerias oil sector doesnt belong to the Fulani alone. It belongs to every citizen in this country. The Nigeria unity has broken and the centre can not hold again.

To Buhari, restructure the country now or you will leave us with no choice. Long live Federal Republic of Nigeria, Long live Niger Delta.
Omololu Ogunmade and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari has invited the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, to meet with him to discuss the contents of his letter, alleging irregularities in the $24 billion contract awards and insubordination by the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru.

Presidency sources informed Reporters Thursday night that the minister will meet with the president possibly Friday or in the next few days.

Kachikwu had in the correspondence said that he would have liked to discuss the concerns raised in the letter personally with the president, but had been blocked by certain unnamed persons in the State House despite several attempts to see him.

In the letter, dated August 30, 2017, Kachikwu also alleged that Baru undermined his office by unilaterally making senior executive appointments without recourse to the board of NNPC which he chairs, and as stipulated in the law governing the operations of NNPC.

The minister had pleaded with Buhari to suspend the appointments until due process had been complied with.

Meanwhile, more facts have come to light on what led to the breakdown of relations between Kachikwu and Baru, with sources revealing to Reporters that the cold war started when Kachikwu, in his capacity as GMD of NNPC, restructured the organisation in March 2016.

Kachikwu for almost a year had held the dual post of Minister of State for Petroleum and GMD of NNPC before he was removed and replaced by Baru in July 2016.

During the restructuring, which led to the creation of five divisions and 20 Autonomous Business Units (ABUs), Baru who had been appointed Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production of the corporation eight months earlier, was moved out of the post to the ministry as Kachikwus technical adviser.

Baru, a source in NNPC confided, did not take kindly to the redeployment and immediately started moving mountains to supplant Kachikwu as the GMD of the state-run oil firm.

With the assistance of his friends in the presidency, Baru eventually got his desire when Buhari announced Kachikwus removal and made Baru the new head of NNPC.

However, the source explained that when Buhari appointed Baru the new GMD, he was unaware that he had approved his redeployment to the ministry as Kachikwus adviser three months earlier.

The source explained that the president did not know Baru personally at the time and simply approved the redeployments that came with the restructuring, but Kachikwus letter has now helped to shed more light on what led to the division between his minister and the NNPC GMD.

However, ever since the letter became public, it has elicited strong reactions from Nigerians who have expressed divergent views over the propriety or otherwise of the issues raised by Kachikwu.

Joining the fray Thursday, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) called on the president to immediately suspend and investigate Baru over the award of multi-billion dollar contracts without the approval of the NNPC board.

The main opposition party equally alleged that the $24 billion contract scam at NNPC might have been fuelled by the need to oil Buharis second term bid.

PDP said the sum involved in the NNPC scandal was $24 billion, pointing out that less than 10 per cent of the amount ($2 billion) was involved in the arms funds scandal allegedly diverted by the former National Security Adviser (NSA) Col. Sambo Dasuki, over which hundreds of Nigerians had been arrested and hounded.

It expressed great shock at the loud silence of the president over what it termed the humongous corruption scandal and other illegalities currently being exposed at the nations cash cow, the NNPC, in which two of his henchmen  Kachikwu and Baru  are the dramatis personae.

PDP also used the opportunity to warn that it would take legal measures to remove any of its members in the House of Representatives who justify their defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on grounds that the PDP is divided.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja, the spokesman of the PDP, Dayo Adeyeye, said its suspicion on the matter was reinforced by the unfolding events that seem to indicate that powerful people in the corridors of power are tacitly involved in the NNPC contract scandal.

We suspect and our suspicion is reinforced by the unfolding events that powerful people in the corridors of power are tacitly involved in this.

If the presidents powerful Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, could sit on the NNPC board and such a calamity is taking place without an eyelid being blinked, we are forced to believe that the stealing is being done to the advantage of the president who has shown by his body language that the only thing that matters most to him for now is his second term ambition, he said.

The PDP spokesman maintained that the opposition party was demanding both the suspension of Baru and immediate probe of the issues raised by Kachikwu.

When converted to naira, according to him, the sum of $24 billion said to be the subject of the latest controversy, is about N9 trillion, a sum that is bigger than the nations annual budget.

Will it be considered hate speech if we say the money being stolen by President Buharis men is being kept aside into a special pool for the prosecution of his second term ambition?

We challenge the president to prove us wrong by allowing his allies being caught in acts of brazen stealing of our commonwealth get punished in accordance with the laws of the land.

Anything aside this, we will take as confirmation of our suspicion that the rot is from the very top, he said.

PDP also challenged the president to do the needful and order a thorough investigation into the matter.

We demand as bona fide Nigerians, an express order from President Muhammadu Buhari to the NNPC GMD asking him to go on compulsory leave so that an investigation into the matter at stake can be conducted without interference.

We also demand an order from the president to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-graft agencies to immediately commence investigations into all issues of corruption levelled against Baru as well as other persons who might have overtly or covertly participated in the illegal act.

As a political party, we expect that the president, who prides himself as an indefatigable corruption fighter, would for once try to live above board by genuinely allowing one of his own, accused of corruption, get properly investigated and prosecuted as a show of his impartiality in the war against corruption, PDP added.

The party further challenged Buhari to correct the impression Nigerians have about his so-called anti-corruption war that it is not just a tool for the persecution of perceived enemies.

According to PDP, the president should not give the impression that he is trying to shield Baru as he did with Babachir Lawal, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF).

We view the allegations levelled against Baru by Kachikwu as too grave to be swept under the carpet and we insist that the NNPC GMD must be treated like an accused who should not have the opportunity to influence investigations into his alleged misdeeds.

In this light, we demand the immediate suspension of the NNPC GMD so that a proper investigation can be carried out by the relevant anti-corruption agencies.

Ordinarily, if there was sincerity in the anti-corruption war, President Muhammadu Buhari should not wait for any prompting before he takes decisive action on this matter, but as customary with his administration, we suspect that hes trying to shield Baru as he did Babachir Lawal, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), whom he merely suspended to allow the hullabaloo generated by the fraud perpetrated in the management of the emergency funds for the IDPs, die down.

Also, up till now, we have never heard anything again about the millions of dollars and naira discovered in an Ikoyi apartment.

Nigerians have not forgotten the acts of illegality and double standards perpetrated by the president in refusing to hand over Babachir Lawal to the EFCC for proper investigation and possible prosecution for graft, but rather preferring to give the task of investigation of the open sleaze to the vice-president, in a move not known to any law of this nation.

Even at that, the report of the Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo-led committee is gathering dust on the shelf of the president because he probably cannot bear to see one of his closest allies punished by the laws of the land, even when all the facts show that blatant and unbridled theft was perpetrated by the presidents man.

The sum involved in the NNPC scandal is $24 billion; less than 10 per cent percent of that ($2 billion) was involved in the so-called arms scandal allegedly diverted by the former NSA over which hundreds of Nigerians have been arrested and hounded.

Nigerians can now see the hypocrisy in the so-called anti-corruption fight. We might as well say that the privileged class of APC members enjoy total immunity from the anti-corruption campaign.

We have been saying this for months that the looting of the nations resources under this administration is record-setting in the history of this nation and we are being proven right on a daily basis by the little revelations that are being made by even those working under the administration.

We wonder what the stench will be when the real and hidden atrocities being perpetrated under the watch of President Buhari are finally exposed when Nigerians throw the APC government out of power in 2019.

This we find is one of the very many reasons the nations economy has nosedived under the inept administration of the APC.

The allegations raised by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources is a confirmation of our earlier stance that the APC administration is in tatters, an administration without coordination, one planted firmly in the hands of a cabal that is sucking the nation dry while the president continues to feign ignorance of the sickening stench.

If not, how on earth can President Muhammadu Buhari justify a situation where a minister he appointed to serve under him, presiding over an important sector like the oil sector, be turned to a mere house-help who must get clearance from some outsiders before accessing the president?

How on earth will a mere MD of a corporation have the temerity to sideline a minister under whom he works and take decisions without consultation with the appropriate authority. How on earth could the NNPC GMD have been bold enough to sideline the entire board of NNPC and take such far-reaching decisions that have grave implications for the nations economy alone?

Much as we commend the National Assembly for indicating interest in probing the allegations against the NNPC GMD as approved in the adoption of the motion moved by Senator Samuel Anyanwu at the Senate plenary on Wednesday, we wish to appeal to the leadership of the Senate to prevail on the ad hoc committee set up for the purpose of the investigation to make their sitting open to all Nigerians so that nothing will be surreptitiously swept under the carpet.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) reiterates our support for the drive to eliminate corruption from the workings of the Nigerian government, but we hold firmly to our stance that the APC government under President Buhari must lead and live by example.

We say no to soft landing to corruption and corrupt members of the APC government. We say no to double standards in the fight against corruption, the party said.

When contacted Thursday on the Kachikwu letter and the issues raised by the PDP, surprisingly, the ruling APC declined to comment.

The APC National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, who spoke on behalf of the party on the allegations erupting in NNPC, said: We cannot comment on that now. In fact, we have no comment on it.

The APC National Vice-Chairman, South-west, Dr. Pius Akinyelure, is a board member of NNPC.
I have little doubt that Ibe Kachikwu, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Energy, regrets the day that he left the relative comfort of the private sector and entered the stormy waters of Nigerian politics.

I am sure that he curses the day that he met President Muhammadu Buhari, that he opted to join the APC and that he accepted the long-awaited and much sought after invitation to be a member of his troubled cabinet and fast-sinking government.

As the saying goes, not all that glitters is gold and as the fiery and courageous black American civil rights leader and cleric, Malcom X, once said, in the final analysis, whether he be a house nigger or a field nigger, a nigger remains a nigger and one day masser still gonna give him a damn good whoppin!

Today Kachikwu has finally come to understand and hopefully accept the fact that no matter how much he tried to be a loyal and true member of Buharis kitchen cabinet and inner circle and no matter how much he considered himself to be a key and indispensible member of the tyrants feared and dreaded cabal, he remains nothing but the proverbial house nigger who is at best tolerated by his masser and owner and who is being played and upstaged by a very small boy and a relatively junior member of the Hausa Fulani ruling elite by the name of Maikanti Baru that has been mandated to run the affairs of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The golden rule is as follows: all slaves and house niggers must know their place and they must never venture to cross the line or to join issues or cultivate the nerve and temerity to challenge the authority of ANY of the massers sons, including the most trucluent, impudent, obnoxious, objectionable and stubborn ones.

The massers son may know next to nothing and he may be rotten and vile in all his ways yet his bloodline and race still sets him apart: he was born to rule and remains the head whilst house niggers like Kachikwu and the rest of us were born to serve and remain the tail.

And that is the story of Nigeria. That is why a fine and upstanding Governor like Willie Obiano of Anambra state will sit before President Muhammadu Buhari, remove his beautiful fedora hat and place it on his lap like a pliant puppy and obedient little schoolboy and pay homage and obesience to the maximum dictator.

He knows his place. He knows how to behave in front of masser, he knows never to look him in the eye and he knows that masser is to be feared, reverred, worshipped and loved by every good house nigger and slave as if he were God.

It is in this context that one must ask why Kachikwu should be in the least bit surprised that he has not been granted access to President Buhari and that the northern Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has completely usurped his functions and undermined his authority?

Did he really expect things to be any different in a Buhari administration? Has he forgotten that he is Igbo? Has he forgotten that his people are part of those that the President once disdainfully referred to as the 5 per cent?

When I said that Buhari hated the Igbo some time back many were shocked, many disputed my assertion, many were in disbelief and many were in denial even when the evidence to prove and substantiate my assertion was incontrivertible and compelling.

Today a good number of hitherto and erstwhile doubting Thomas, cynics and skeptics have seen the light, finally agreed with me and voiced their observations and concerns loudly and publicly.

The President himself affirmed our grave allegations and confirmed our worst fears during the course of his reprehensible, uninspiring and downright shameful Independence Day speech in which he insulted the Igbo elders and leaders and basicallly told them to go and control their children and wards.

This is bad enough but permit me to share something with you today that is even more disconcerting and troubling: the truth is that deep down Buhari has nothing but contempt for southerners, Middle Belters and Christians.

As painful as it is for some to hear and as difficult as it is for others to accept, there it is. That is the BITTER TRUTH!

Sadly Ibe Kachikwu jumped in the sack with the wrong set of people. He got into bed with a brood of vipers and a horde of vampires who secretly hate and despise his own.

He chose to wine and dine with an insatiable and rappacious set of self-seeking, self-serving, flesh-eating, blood-drinking, spirit-crushing, destiny-destroying and soul-wounding demons and devils and now the chickens have come home to roost.

He chose to overlook the fact that to Buhari and his tiny cabal of ethnic and religious supremacists ALL southerners and Middle Belters are second class citizens and dispensable slaves.

And neither will his mouthwatering and earth-shaking revelations about the monuemental fraud, graft and corruption that is going on under his watch at the Petroleum Resources Ministry in any way help or protect him.

As a matter of fact his singing and spiling the beans will rather make things worse for him because sooner or later those he has courageously chosen to expose will hit back with all the force and fury of a wounded lion and with the venom and spite of a cuckolded husband and a cheated wife.

From what I have seen and heard the truth is that the EFCC are already in the process of a detailed investigation and are closing in on him.

These people are blackmailers and gangsters.

To them siphoning 24 billion USD from the coffers of the Northern (sorry I meant Nigerian) National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by awarding questionable and fake contracts outside of due process means absolutely nothing. As a matter of fact that is what is expected of their cronies and agents.

Where else will they get the money for Buharis 2019 presidential campaign from?

My friend and brother Reno Omokri captured the situation rather well when he wrote the following:

the first time Muhammadu Buhari was Petroleum Minister in the 1970s, Fela sang 2.8 billion Naira missing. Now he is Petroleum Minister again and Kachikwu is singing $26 billion missing! Why is it that huge billions tend to go missing or spent without due process whenever Buhari is Minister of Petroleum? However, Kachikwu was naive for writing that letter to Buhari! He does not know that Baru was brought in to do exactly what he is doing!

Omokri is absolutely right. What a messy and stinking cesspool and pit of poisonous snakes Ibe Kachikwu has found himself in.

And quite apart from all that it must be a living nightmare and pure hell for an intelligent, well-educated, enlightened, cosmopolitan, Harvard-trained former Shell executive and Federal Minister to have his powers curtailed and usurped and to be treated with contempt and disdain by the Chief Executive Officer of a corporation that is under his own Ministry!

This is made even worse by the fact that that Chief Executive Officer probably, if at all, went to some fourth-rate rodent-infested school or university near the borders of Chad or Niger Republic or some other dubious institution of higher learning not too far from the dusty, dry and barren sand slopes of the Sahara desert.

Poor Ibe Kachikwu! I guess that he has to live with the consequences of the choices that he has made. His situation reminds me of the verse in the Holy scriptures that says it is a great evil under the sun when the sons of slaves ride around on horseback whilst the sons of the King are walk around on bare feet.

This goes against the natura order of things and something ought to be done about it. My first prayer for him is that he does a thorough spiritual search and attempts to discover who and what his principal, President Muhammadu Buhari, really is and what he seeks to achieve in our country.

My second prayer is that he finds the decency and courage to resign from the government that he serves before it is too late, before they turn on him and before he is thoroughly discredited and rubbished out of office by his traducers and powerful adversaries.

And finally my third prayer is that he restores his confidence, his self-respect and his dignity, that he stops walking around barefoot, that he finds and puts on his royal shoes and that he mounts and rides his horse.

Gone are the days that he should be running behind the carriages and horses of slaves and working for those that do not have ten percent of his wisdom and knowledge. He is far better than that.

Yet whatever he chooses to say or do one thing is clear: in Nigeria the keepers of wealth are not the keepers of compassion.

They are cruel and relentless and their greed and wickedness knows no bounds. They hate more than any other yet they accuse others of hate speech.

They steal more than any other yet they accuse others ofstealing and corruption. They kill more than any other yet they accuse others of killing.

They engender and enthrone modern-day apartheid, fascism and slavery more than any other yet they accuse others of espousing and enunciating their very own deep-seated and insidious intolerance and racism and their unbridled and perfdious religious bigotry.

They are a government of double standards, lies and deceit. A government that uses its army to commit mass murder, genocide and ethnic cleansing against its own people.

A government that protects, encourages and supports the barbaric activities of evi and deadly Janjaweed ethnic militias that slaughter and dispossess innocent souls, including defenceless women and children, in the name of herding cattle.

A government that cannot stomach strong opposition or critical and consistent criticism. A government that is so terrified of its own shadow and that is so averse to righteousness, wholesomeness, equity and truth that it is ready to wipe out a whole race of people simply to deny them their right of self-determination and silence their voices.

They are a government of the corrupt, for the corrupt and by the corrupt: a government whose sole purpose and not so hidden agenda is to re-establish the hegemony of the core Muslim north and turn the Nigerian people and state into a colony of servile vassals, gutless quislings, broken serfs and hopeless slaves.

Yet they shall fail because, like the brilliant, beautiful, dazziling and passionate American Amazon, Dana Loesch, recently said, we will shatter their violence of lies with the clenched fist of truth.

They shall fail because history testifies to the fact that no matter how unyielding, brutal, savage, relentless, deceitful, mendacious and bloodthirsty they may be, the agents of satan and the forces of darkness have NEVER been able to conquer, defeat or overwhelm the children of God and the spirit of the people.

It shall be no different in our shores. It is only a matter of time.

The notion of a united Nigeria after the 2017 genocide against the Igbo and state-sponsored terrorism coupled with the wholesale rejection of the idea of restructuring by the core north is absurd and far-fetched.

There cannot be peace where there is no justice. There cannot be tranquility and harmony where there is inequality. There cannot be love and peaceful co-existence where there is hate, condescension and fascistic philosophies. There cannot be camaraderie and fellowship where the tyrant unleashes the full force of his tyranny against the people.

The fact of the matter is that if he continues to send his army to kill innocent civilians, if he refuses to bring to justice the military personnel that slaughtered the Shiite Muslims two years ago and that have been murdering young Igbos and IPOB members since he came to power and if he continues to condone the mass murder of northern Christians and Middle Belters by his Fulani kinsmen and herdsmen the resistance and opposition to his administration will continue to be relentless and the agitation for restructuring and the quest to exercise the right of self-deternination by the various ethnic groups in our country will continue to increase and become far more aggressive and pronounced.

Many may suffer. Many may be killed. Many may be detained and incarcerated. Many may be wrongly accused, villified and in bondage. Many may be dispossesed, humiliated and scattered.

Many may be tortured, brutalised, maimed and scarred and many may suffer all shades and manners of indignity, shame, poverty, lack, deprivation and hunger.

Yet despite all these deep, harrowing and seemingly endless travails, one thing is sure: our liberation shall eventually come because no matter how dark the night, joy comes in the morning. The Bible says many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him of them all.

In the end Gods glorious light shall bring the tyrant to his knees, dispel the darkness and break the chains of servitude, subjugation and evil.

In the end deliverance, freedom, joy, peace, justice, abundance, vindication and the victorious lamp of liberty shall rise from Zion as the freedom bell rings and our nation is healed and restored.

In the end the Lords will shall be done, His counsel shall stand, His pupose shall be established, His name shall be glorified and we shall prevail.
Wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Patience, has dragged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, before the Federal High Court in Abuja, demanding N2billion as general damages/compensation for the violation of her fundamental rights.

Patience is praying the court to declare that incessant harassment she has suffered in the hands of the EFCC, through negative media publications, denigrating and degrading her person as corrupt, without any invitation by the anti-graft agency, trial or conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction, amounted to gross violation of her rights under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution.

She also wants, A declaration that indiscriminate freezing of her bank accounts and those of her relatives by the EFCC under the guise of investigation of proceeds of crime, without any invitation or interrogation by the respondent is a violation of her rights to own property and to fair hearing guaranteed under Sections 44 and 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution.

A declaration that the invasion, breaking into and ransacking of the applicants family property by the agents of the respondent in the absence of the applicant or any member of her family, while purporting to be executing a search warrant is a violation of the applicants fundamental human rights to private and family life guaranteed under the provisions of Section 37 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

A declaration that the incessant harassment of the applicant by the respondent on the ground of her political views expressed by reason of her being a member of the opposition party in Nigeria, is a violation of the applicants fundamental human right to freedom from discrimination, guaranteed under Section 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

An order of court restraining the respondent, whether by itself, its agents, privies or any person acting on its behalf from further violating the applicants fundamental rights adumbrated above.

The suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/586/2017, was supported by a 21-paragraph affidavit dated June 30 and deposed to by one Sammie Somiari.

The affidavit disclosed that the applicant had on January 4, 2017, directed her lawyers to file a rights enforcement suit at the Federal High Court Port-Harcourt, marked FHC/PH/FHR/17/2017 against the EFCC.

Mrs. Jonathan told the court that while parties had joined issues in the suit, the EFCC continued to violate her fundamental rights by invading and sealing up some of her properties in Abuja, including a property belonging to her Non-Governmental Organisation.

She said that based on continuous violation of her rights, especially with respect to the properties in Abuja, she instructed her lawyers to withdraw suit no FHC/PH/FHR/17/2017, pending in Port-Harcourt and file the instant suit.

Mrs Jonathan told the court that before her husband joined politics sometime in 1998, she had a private business she was managing.

She said that between 1999 and 2015, while her husband climbed the political ladder from being the Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State till he became the President of Nigeria, she continued to run her private businesses even though she was at various times the first lady of Bayelsa State and that of Nigeria.

She said that when her husband was in office as the President, between 2012 and 2013, she had some health challenges that necessitated her going abroad for treatment and later surgeries.

Because of the challenges of having to travel with substantial cash for her medical treatment and the need not to contravene the Nigerian Law or any other law on money laundering, she sought for opinion of the then Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Lamorde, who advised her to obtain credit cards from her banks.

It was based on the advice of Lamorde, that Mrs Jonathan invited her banks and informed them of her desire to obtain credit cards.

That on the 22nd of March, 2013, she opened 5 different accounts in Skye Bank Plc and credit cards were issued in respect of the said accounts.

On one of her medical trips abroad, her Debit Visa Card with Skye Bank Plc stopped functioning as she could not pay her medical bills with the said card.

Upon her return to Nigeria, she made enquiries through Skye Bank as to what happened to her Debit Card.

That her enquiries revealed that it was the Respondent (the EFCC) that placed a No Debit Order on the said account and four others.

She said the Commission later told her lawyers that the accounts were subject of money laundering investigations.

The applicant told the court that EFCC, in its determined bid to make life unbearable for her, applied and secured an order from Justice Binta Nyako of the high court, freezing not only her accounts, but also the ones belonging to her late mother, Mama Sisi Charity Oba.

The Respondent has demonstrated a pathological dislike for the Applicant as the activities of the operatives of the Respondent overlook the fact that the Applicant was never a political office holder.

The investigation into the operations of her pet project, NGO when she was first lady is an unprecedented act of animorsity against her as none of her project was funded by the government at any level, the affidavit further read.

She maintained that unless it is restrained by the court, EFCC would continue to harrass her, adding that the agency waged a psychological war on her by its incessant threats of arrest of her relations, such as Mrs. Esther Oba, Tamunotonye Oba and her elder brother, Mr. Aseminaso Nyengierefaka
Doyin Okupe has lambasted his former party the PDP and the ruling APC as he said the two parties have lost their relevance in the country.

Doyin Okupe

A former Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Dr. Doyin Okupe on Thursday admitted that his former party the Peoples Democratic Party and the ruling All Progressives Congress are expired parties.

He said that the Accord Party is Nigerias only hope for political development. The Nation Reported that Doyin said this in Ibadan, Oyo State, while addressing the partys delegates at the 2017 South West stakeholders summit held at the Olubadan Stadium complex, NTC Road, Iyaganku, Ibadan.

The meeting attracted partys delegates from Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti States.

Also, a former member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Bukola Ajaja, was publicly presented with the party flag as the new leader of the party in Oyo State by the South West zonal chairman, Mr. Kayode Ojo.

Okupe, who left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Accord Party, said the current two dominant parties in the country  All Progressives Congress (APC) and the PDP have failed to deliver democratic dividends to the citizens, and as such leaving Accord Party as the best alternative for the people.

He said: the Peoples Democratic Party and the All Progressives Congress are big trucks which old age and misuse has affected their relevance. Today, the PDP and APC have expired as a party. PDP as an automobile has spoilt its back aisle while APC crank shaft has broken.

Accord is the only hope for political development in Nigeria. This party is for Nigerian youths to achieve their lofty dreams and ambition of managing their own affairs in this country. I am old and not interested in any office again. Nigerian youths can be whatever they want to be in Accord.

You dont need the so much touted experience, myself and some elders here will teach you on the job to master it. Youths cannot be allowed to flourish in either PDP or APC but well provide the necessary platform to excel and teach you all in Accord. Well teach you how it is done in an ethical manner; not how to kill, steal or corrupt the system. Accord is the best platform to realise your dream. This party is preparing the solid platform for the youths evenly.
Protesters have flooded the British High Commission in Abuja and urged the United Kingdom to produce the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu. Scores of protesters on Thursday, October 5, stormed the British High Commission in Abuja demanding that the United Kingdom government produce the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu.

The protesters led Venantius Torkuma, the executive director of Advocates of Social Justice for All (ASJA) said, Kanu must be brought back to Nigeria to face his trial. Torkuma and his group called on the British government to release the leader of the IPOB immediately to Nigerian authorities.



The group also vowed to occupy the High Commission until Kanu is produced. Torkuma said:

Quote

We had clearly stated that we shall occupy this High Commission if the UK fails to produce Kanu.

Our stance was informed by the knowledge that the UK was instrumental to the escape of the terrorist leader only for it to turn around to ask Nigerian authorities for clarification on the state and status of Kanu.

Because Nnamdi Kanu holds dual citizenship of Nigeria and the United Kingdom, we do not refute the High Commissions right to inquire about its citizen so to speak.

But we do have issues with what the High Commission did in the period preceding when Kanus IPOB was declared a terrorist organization and what it did afterwards. It smacks of the worst case of double standard possible,

Torkuma said.



Torkuma also accused the UK government of keeping mute when her citizen, Kanu, was peddling hatred across Nigeria. He said:

Quote

It did not see this time as a period to negotiate for him to return to London as its citizen to go peddle his terrorism there. But it had the resources to provide emergency travel documents for the IPOB leader the moment a Nigerian Federal High Court ruled that he leads a terrorist organization.
The court has ordered the suspension of Mondays session of the regional Catalan parliament, where the declaration for unilateral independence from Spain was billed to take place.

The speaker of the Catalan parliament, Carme Forcadell, accused the Madrid government of using the courts to deal with political problems and said the regional assembly would not be censored.

But she said parliamentary leaders have not decided whether to defy the central court and go ahead with the session.

The suspension order further aggravated one of the biggest crises to hit Spain since the establishment of democracy on the 1975 death of General Francisco Franco.

But Spanish markets rose on perceptions the order might ward off, at least for now, an outright independence declaration.

Spanish Prime Mariano Rajoy called on Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont to drop independence plans or risk greater evils.

Secessionist Catalan politicians have pledged to unilaterally declare independence at Mondays session after Sundays referendum, banned by Madrid and marked by violent scenes where Spanish police sought to hinder voting.

The constitutional court said it had agreed to consider a legal challenge filed by the anti-secessionist Catalan Socialist Party.

Spanish shares and bonds, hit by the political turmoil in Catalonia, strengthened after the news of the courts decision. The main IBEX stock index rose 2.5 percent and the yield on Spains 10-year bond fell.

Spains Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said in an interview that the turmoil was damaging Catalonia.
We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. Please use the button below to verify an existing account or to purchase a new subscription.
The recent outrageous apartheid-like decision made by Algerian authorities banning migrants from using buses and taxis prompts the worst fears of human rights activists who see tougher times ahead for migrants amid growing anti-migrant populism in Algeria.

The segregationist move to ban migrants from using taxis and buses comes in a wave of anti-migrant drive launched by the Algerian authorities in a blatant disregard for human dignity and in total violation of basic human rights.

The transportation authority has indeed threatened to impose fines on drivers who venture to transport migrants, pro-regime media reported shamefully.

Prohibiting migrants from using public transportation comes after widespread hateful rhetoric against migrants. Migrants should therefore brace for the worst under the leadership of current Prime Minister, Ahmed Ouyahya, who bluntly embraces racist stands against African migrants.

Last July, Ouyahya uttered heinous remarks when he described Sub-Saharan migrants as a source of crime, drugs and other calamities.

Surfing on the tide of populism, Ouyahya refused to consider migration from a human rights perspective, saying in a hostile and defying tone that the matter is part of the states sovereignty.

These people are on Algerian territories illegally, he said, adding that the law does not allow the State to hire foreign workers.

He went on in his racist comments, saying that the State should protect Algerians from anarchy by imposing strict rules on these people (migrants).

Persisting on the same xenophobic remarks, Foreign Minister Abdelkader Messahel accused Sub-Saharan migrants of involvement in crime and drug trafficking.

That was not the first time Algerian politicians make racist remarks against migrants in an attempt to ignite nationalist fervor at times of financial crisis. Last year, presidential advisor and surprisingly Head of Algerias human rights commission Farouk Ksentini made scandalous statements, bluntly accusing sub-Saharans of spreading HIV and diseases in Algeria.

It is no wonder then that a large segment of Algerian society is following suit, spreading hate on social media. Recently, a Twitter hashtag #cleaning Africans off Algerian cities was launched by local anti-migrant activists.

Algeria is rebuked in several international human rights reports for its ill-treatment of Sub-Saharan migrants as it continues its mass expulsions of these migrants and asylum seekers who are abandoned in harsh conditions on the border with Niger.

These arbitrary expulsions came amid the wave of anti-migrant populism expressed by senior political figures, ascribing the sluggish economic growth on poor Sub-Saharans, most of whom have fled poverty and armed conflicts in their countries to look for work in Algeria or transit to Europe via neighboring Libya.
The Moroccan government has decided to set up a ministerial commission tasked with drawing up a new strategy aimed at ensuring the countrys water security.

The creation of this ad-hoc commission was ordered by King Mohammed VI. Thus, the issue of water has became a priority and strategic matter for the government, said Thursday Prime Minister Saadeddine El Othmani.

In recent months, some Moroccan village dwellers had expressed anger against the difficulty of accessing drinking water, the delays experienced by some water supply projects or the poor quality of the water.

According to latest official statistics, Morocco has 140 large dams with a capacity exceeding 17.6 billion m3 and several thousand boreholes and wells to capture groundwater. These dams helped secure the drinking water supply for Moroccan communities and develop a large-scale modern irrigation system which supported the countrys competitive agricultural sector.

Yet, the water sector continues to face difficulties due to depletion of water resources, flash floods, cycles of droughts and over exploitation of groundwater resources.

To address these challenges and ensure the countrys water security, the Moroccan government worked in 2015 a National Water Plan (PNE) which seeks to provide universal access to drinking water, improve the output of drinking water supply networks and water use efficiency.

It also seeks to enhance water storage, boost desalination projects, encourage the reuse of treated wastewater, and the possibility of transferring water from areas having excess to those suffering shortage.

The plan stresses the need to protect the water resources, wetlands and oases, insisting on better sustainable groundwater management & watershed development.
Mauritanian activist Biram Dah Abeid Wednesday was forced to abort conference on human rights abuses and racism in his country after receiving instructions from Senegalese authorities.

The leader of the anti-slavery movement (IRA) Wednesday called off Thursday-planed conference on the situation of human rights and racism in the North African country where he has been opposed to President Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz.

The conference scheduled to take place at Amnesty International (AI) office in Dakar was cancelled after the activist reportedly informed via Whatsapp attendees among whom Boucounta Diallo, a prominent Senegalese lawyer, Alioune Tine, AI Director for West and Central Africa and Seydi Gassama, the AI Director in Senegal.

He reportedly told his colleagues that he decided to cancel the event in order not to cause diplomatic row between his country and Senegal adding that Nouakchott was making fuss about the event.

Already on September 30, a first conference to address human rights situation and racism in Mauritania was called off few hours before it was planned to happen.

Senegalese authorities, namely the office of President Macky Sall, the foreign ministry and the justice department reportedly called on the event organizers to suspend their plan citing the fate of the Senegalese Diaspora in Mauritania after Nouakchott days earlier arrested and deported 13 Senegalese fishermen over illegal fishing in the north of the country, in city of Nouadhibou.

Nouakchott was angered on September 13 after Biram Dah Abeid held a press conference just a stone throw from the Senegalese president to shed light on the expulsion of 15 US anti-slavery activists from Mauritania after authorities refused to grant them visa at the airport on September 8.

The activists expelled by Nouakchott managed with the help of Biram Dah Abeid to move to Dakar to attend the press conference.

Nouakchott deemed the press conference a provocation and pressured Senegalese authorities to rein in the activist and former presidential hopeful who is staunchly opposed to the Mauritania leader whom he accuses of condoning slavery and imposing Arab supremacy on black Mauritanians.
Nigerien soldiers in Bosso. Photo: Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images

A fourth member of the U.S. Army Special Forces is dead in the aftermath of a deadly attack in Niger, the Pentagon said Friday. While the first three soldiers died in the attack on Wednesday, the fourth had gone missing. CNN says Nigerien troops discovered his body in a remote area of the country on Friday.

The Wednesday attack took place near the border of Mali and Niger and was carried out by a group of around 50 militants. Its unclear what group those fighters represented and the reporting on it varies. CNN says they were ISIS fighters, while the Times called them a heavily armed Qaeda force.

Military officials arent sure how the missing soldier became separated from the rest of the troops but they do not believe he was captured, CNN says. With the help of French and Nigerien forces, U.S. troops set out on a rescue mission while other even more Special Forces soldiers were flown into Niger to assist.

The death of a fourth American, combined with the five dead Nigerien soldiers, brings the death toll from the attack up to nine.

News of the attack brought attention to the little-covered U.S. presence in Niger, where 800 troops are on the ground. In a statement confirming the details of the attack, United States Africa Command explained why the U.S. is there. US forces are in Niger to provide training and security assistance to the Nigerien Armed Forces, in their efforts to counter violent extremist organizations in the region, the statement said.

And theres no shortage of those organizations in the region. CNN identifies at least three that Niger and the U.S. are fighting: Islamic State in Greater Sahara, the ISIS-affiliated Boko Haram and al Qaedas North African branch, al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb.

In a press conference at the Pentagon Thursday, Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie defended the U.S. presence in the country. Niger is an important partner of ours, we have a deep relationship with them, he said. We are committed to that relationship, we believe that they are as well in fact I think its a very good success story.

President Trump has yet to make a statement about the soldiers who died in the attack. Asked about Trumps silence on Friday, Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the White Houses thoughts and prayers are with the dead soldiers.
Guess who would have to negotiate Trumps theoretical better deal with Iran? Photo: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Rex Tillerson is unlikely to go down in history as one of our better secretaries of State. In the past few months, he has been the subject of not one but two Politico Magazine headlines accusing him of ruining the State Department by driving out its best diplomatic talent, whether through his corporate-style restructuring of the department or through the daily indignity of working as career public servants and nonpartisan experts in an administration that disdains both.

Yet if Tillerson quits or is fired before the end of the Trump administration, it will not be on account of those complaints from Obama-era diplomats. Rather, it will be because, as Rich Lowry puts it, In a nationalist administration, he is a man without a country  or more simply, because he doesnt agree with the president about foreign policy and refuses to follow bad orders. There are only so many times a person can be undercut by their boss, whom they openly consider a moron, while trying to do their job, before they walk away.

As Donald Trump attempts to kill the Iran nuclear deal without getting any blood on his suit, the tensions between Tillerson and Trump have made themselves felt again. Earlier this week, CNN reported that Tillerson was working with some lawmakers to try to head off Trumps plan to decertify the deal by amending its implementing legislation and removing the requirement that the president recertify it every three months.

At the moment, it looks like that effort either has already failed or will do so imminently, but the way a senior administration official described Tillersons take on the problem says a lot about the circumstances under which the former Exxon CEO is trying to work. Tillerson has said the problem with the JCPOA is not the JCPOA, the official told CNN, using the acronym for the deals official title, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Its the legislation. Every 90 days the president must certify and it creates a political crisis.

During the Obama administration, this was not a problem, as the president was unlikely to cancel his own signature foreign-policy achievement before it had a chance to work. But now that we have a president who rode into office threatening to tear the deal up, the recertification process is a massive liability. In other words, the problem with the JCPOA is not the JCPOA: Its Donald Trump.

In the words of CNNs anonymous source, the virtue of ending this quarterly political crisis caused by Trumps will-he-or-wont-he game is that it would allow our diplomatic and national security corps to get back to work on dealing with everything else that is a problem with Iran. Tillersons proposal was to have the administration report to Congress about Irans allegedly aggressive behavior in general and American efforts to counter it, rather than specifically certifying compliance with the JCPOA itself. This would give Trump an opening to routinely denounce Irans ballistic missile tests, or its support for militias in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, without putting the nuclear deal in jeopardy and forcing Tillersons staff to constantly play defense.

In that regard, Tillerson seems to have a better handle than his boss does on what the point of the deal is in the first place. The Obama administration had no illusions about getting Iran to scuttle its nuclear ambitions once and for all (a politically unfeasible task for Tehran even if the government wanted to do it). Thus, the deal was never designed to do that. Instead, it was meant to give the U.S. and our allies the time, breathing room, and modicum of rapport to engage Iran diplomatically in a non-crisis environment. It was the start of a process, not a quick fix.

But this kind of long-term, trust-building diplomacy is anathema to Trump. In his doctrine, any deal in which he doesnt win is worse than no deal at all, so the Iran agreement is a disaster because it does not compel Iran to give in completely and immediately to the demands of the United States. Trump apparently thinks that by throwing relations with Iran back into crisis mode, he can succeed where previous administrations failed at bullying Iran into submission.

The secretary of State would by definition be responsible for securing Trumps hypothetical better deal; Tillerson would prefer not to be in that impossible position. Hed clearly prefer to keep the existing agreement in place, even if he doesnt much like it, and attempt to make progress toward more achievable goals with Iran. Tillersons habit of running the State Department like an underperforming business division may be damaging U.S. diplomacy in the long run, but at least he knows how deals with foreign adversaries actually work.

Tillersons attempts to outmaneuver his boss on Iran and North Korea may also help explain why he hasnt rage-quit his cabinet position yet despite having ample cause to do so. If he sees his role as a check on the presidents worst ideas and impulses, he might feel compelled to stick around as long as possible to keep catastrophe at bay. Perhaps Tillerson has calculated that its better to hang onto a job he never wanted and in which he has no hope of achieving great things than to resign and run the risk of being replaced by a nationalist lunatic in the Sebastian Gorka mold.
And the winner is  Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images

As President Donald Trump gets ready to decertify the Iran deal and continues to spar with Little Rocket Man over North Koreas missile program, the Norwegian Nobel Committee seems to be sending a not-so-subtle message about nuclear weapons. This year, the committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, a group advocating for nuclear disarmament.

In July, the Geneva-based NGO helped push for negotiations on a United Nationsbacked nuclear-weapons prohibition treaty. A total of 122 countries backed the ban, though all nine nuclear powers, including the U.S., opposed the negotiations. At least 53 countries have signed on to the agreement since the formal ratification process opened at last months General Assembly, reports the New York Times. It will go into effect if at least 50 countries ratify it within 90 days. Only three  Guyana, the Vatican, and Thailand  have completed that process so far.

The organization is receiving the award for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its groundbreaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons, the committee said in a statement about ICAN.

The committee appears to be responding to the tense geopolitical climate, particularly the escalating tensions between the United States and North Korea over Pyongyangs nuclear-weapons program. Nevertheless, the chairwoman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said they werent trying to put Trump on notice. Were not kicking anyone in the legs with this prize, Berit Reiss-Andersen said.

Still, the judges honoring of ICAN came as something of a surprise, especially since the front-runners included Pope Francis and the White Helmets, the volunteer first responders rescuing civilians in Syria. In fact, when ICAN first got the news that it had won the Peace Prize, its executive director thought it was a prank.
Kelly in October, after giving up his phone. Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images

White House tech support has discovered that a personal cell phone belonging to John Kelly, President Trumps chief of staff, has been compromised, potentially by hackers or foreign governments, Politico reports.

Kelly reportedly handed the phone over to tech support earlier this summer, complaining that it wasnt working properly. The former secretary of Homeland Security, who was tasked with bringing order to the West Wing in July, had only used the phone sparingly, Politico says. He used his government-issued phone more often.

Still, it remains possible that information on Kellys phone was stolen. Or, as one expert explained to Politco, something worse.

Bill Marczak, a senior research fellow with the Citizen Lab at the University of Torontos Munk School of Global Affairs, said the worst-case scenario would be full access, where an attacker would be able to essentially control a device, including its microphone and camera.

Its not clear what, if anything, the hackers did with their access to the phone. But it is clear that National Cyber Security Awareness Month, as the FBI has dubbed October, is not off to a great start.
Pity the billionaire. Photo: Lars Niki/Getty Images for United States Olympic Committee

The Republican donor class is in a tantrum. Retired oil investors are spitting bile in Mitch McConnells face at black-tie dinners. Agribusiness moguls are reminding Iowa Republicans that campaign contributions dont grow on cornstalks. New York real-estate investors are giving GOP bundlers lectures about personal responsibility; and a few cosmopolitan elites are even crawling into bed with Steve Bannons merry mutineers.

Conventional wisdom holds that this rage is justified  or, at least, understandable. Conservative megadonors spent eight years pouring precious capital into Republican coffers. They were promised that a unified GOP government would take a sledgehammer to the collectivist health-care system, and return all the money that Uncle Sam had been wasting to the job creators whod earned it. And yet, nearly ten months into unchecked Republican rule, Obamacare remains the law of the land, and tax reform is creeping forward at a ominously slow pace. Can anyone blame Republican donors for closing their wallets to an enterprise thats produced such poor returns? After all, as one GOP-bankrolling energy executive told Politico on Thursday, When youre in a business and you tell your stakeholders youre going to build a building or something, you have to follow through. I cant borrow money to build a building and then not follow through, which is what these guys are doing.

Alas, the idea that right-wing plutocrats have been ill-served by the Trump government is a delusion. The Republican Party is not a business, and well-heeled reactionaries arent its only stakeholders. Rather, the GOP is a political party in a (dysfunctional) representative democracy, which is, at least theoretically, accountable to its voters  only a tiny fraction of whom share its donor wings Randian worldview.

And yet, the Trump-era Republicans have done their utmost to comport themselves as though they have a fiduciary duty to the Koch retreats annual attendees.

On the regulatory front, the Trump administration and the Republican Congress have done the bidding of their conservative donors even when doing so required them to perform a heavy-handed satire of business-friendly governance. The White House has expanded the liberty of coal companies to dump mining waste in streams; pushed to preserve the rights of retirement advisers to gamble with their clients money; allowed internet-service providers to track and sell consumers data without seeking their permission; banned states from setting up retirement savings plans for private-sector workers (a betrayal of federalism that serves no purpose beyond eliminating one of Wall Streets potential competitors); freed employers from the burden of logging all workplace injuries; ended discrimination against serial labor-law violators in the bidding process for government contracts; and relaxed enforcement on evasion of the estate tax.

Meanwhile, wide swaths of the federal bureaucracy have ceased executing any duly passed laws that conservative donors dont like. Health and Human Services is openly sabotaging the Affordable Care Act. The Environmental Protection Agency is declining to enforce new regulations against smog pollution, and working to cripple the Justice Departments capacity to prosecute renegade polluters. The Education Department is letting for-profit colleges fleece their students  while its leader tours the country propagandizing against the very concept of public education. Ben Carson is gravely wounding the Department of Housing and Urban Development through his signature combination of compassionless conservatism and parodic incompetence.

Meanwhile, Trump is restocking the federal judiciary with Federalist Society fanatics, and his more-conservative-than-Scalia Supreme Court pick is poised to deliver a death blow to the American labor movement. And actuarial science strongly suggests that Trump will get to appoint another right-wing justice or three by terms end.

But, okay: Republicans didnt just promise to paralyze the regulatory state and paint the judiciary red. They promised repeal and replace. Dont donors have rational cause for grievance on the legislative front?

In a word: No.

Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to replace Obamacare with a more generous and universal system of health-insurance provision. A large swath of congressional Republicans did the same. And yet, once in office, Trump and his party agreed to buck nearly every substantive promise they had made to voters, in service of the donor classs grotesquely unpopular priorities.

Donald Trump could have launched his presidency with an infrastructure stimulus. Such a bill would have enjoyed broad popularity and bipartisan support. It would have divided the Democratic caucus against itself, and affirmed the presidents credentials as a master deal-maker. Instead, Trump spent his entire honeymoon period (such as it was) trying to cajole Congress into gutting Medicaid and federal subsidies for health insurance  policies that made Trumpcare the most unpopular piece of major legislation in the modern era.

House Republicans from purple districts could have bucked the toxic bill, and given themselves some insulation from the wrath of the resistance in 2018. Instead, the vast majority sacrificed their own political best interests to advance the donor classs whims.

Senate Republicans could have used their relative political invulnerability to bring Trumpcare into greater conformity with popular opinion. They could have looked at surveys showing that a majority of conservative Republicans support an increase in federal health-care spending, and oppose tax cuts for the rich; observed the near-unanimous opposition to their health-care bill from doctors, hospitals, insurers, retirees, and the disabled; and contemplated their minuscule four-vote majority in the upper chamber  and decided it was time to make a course correction.

Mitch McConnell could have negotiated a bipartisan agreement to appropriate funds shoring up the Obamacare marketplaces, in exchange for measures granting red states greater regulatory flexibility. Such a bill would have been closer to the substantive preferences of Republican voters than Trumpcare ever was. It would have stabilized the individual market and kept premiums in check. And it would have allowed the GOP to honor the Senates procedural norms, and collect the plaudits of the centrist press.

Instead, Senate Republicans chose to serially debase themselves, and their institution, in service of their donors fringe ideology. To sidestep the overwhelming opposition of their ostensible constituents, Senate Republicans avoided hearings and town halls; kept their bills secret until days  or hours  before voting; tried to pass said bills faster than the Congressional Budget Office could score them; and, when that failed, attacked the CBO as a Democratic front group. In so doing, they made a joke of their past criticisms of the Obamacare process, and a mockery of their own promises to voters on the issues of Medicaid, the opioid crisis, and preexisting conditions. And they ensured that  as their party seeks to protect its majority in next years midterms  premiums in the individual market will spike by double digits.

Despite the fact that senators are insulated from special-interest pressure by their lengthy terms and name recognition, all but three members of the Senate Republican caucus were willing to forfeit their very integrity just to prevent the partys Atlases from shrugging.

In return for campaign contributions, the Republican Party has awarded its donor class a subservient federal bureaucracy, a second Lochner era in American jurisprudence, and the slavish obedience of the House of Representatives, and 49 GOP senators. Any other interest group would die to have this much clout within one of Americas two major parties.

Conservative megadonors arent pitching a conniption because the GOP has failed to serve their interests  they are throwing a fit because the party has spoiled them rotten. Back in the day, revanchist plutocrats would have been grateful to see the United States slouching towards oligarchy. Todays mollycoddled generation expects it to have arrived there months ago.
Candidate Trump speaks out against the Iran deal during a tea party rally in D.C. on September 9, 2015. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Two years ago, when President Obama and his five global partners negotiated a deal that lifted some economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for a verified freeze and rollback of its nuclear weapons program, there was every reason to believe that the deal was permanent. When its congressional opponents concluded that they couldnt muster the votes to kill it, they settled for a requirement that the White House recertify every three months that Iran is keeping to the deals terms.

For a Democratic president and a Republican Congress, this was supposed to be the foreign-policy equivalent of the endless House votes to repeal Obamacare  a free spot for political posturing with no actual implications. A number of skeptics, from current Secretary of Defense James Mattis to GOP senators Rand Paul and Bob Corker, came around to the idea that they were better off with the deal than without it. Why? Mattis put it succinctly: If he had to go to war with Iran, he would very much prefer that they not have nuclear weapons.

Even then-candidate Donald Trump seemed to buy into this approach. Trump frequently said the Iran deal was terrible, and that he could negotiate something better  but was noticeably slower than his GOP rivals to promise to tear it up.

Oh, what a difference a year makes. It has been reported that Trump is angry about Irans support for terrorist groups elsewhere in the Middle East and its continuing development of threatening conventional weapons. The president is also said to be annoyed at the unanimity among his Cabinet members that the agreement should stay in place. Whichever it is, although his administration has presented no evidence that Iran is violating the terms of the deal, it seems he intends to decertify the agreement in a speech next week.

But wait, does that mean Trump is launching a full push to reimpose the level of sanctions that crippled Irans economy before the agreement? Uh, no.

In a maneuver that is beginning to look familiar  see the recent battles over health care, Dreamers, and transgender military service  Trump seems to want to be able to declare that the deal is bad while someone else takes responsibility for changing it.

This approach lets Trump tell his base that hes taken strong action against a foe, while Congress determines what the move actually is  and what its effects are.

Its easy to dismiss this as another rhetorical sleight of hand  Trump gonna Trump  and it is tempting to both advocates and critics of the deal to minimize this decision.

But it turns out words matter in international relations. This playing with rhetoric is going to have three real-life effects, starting right now.

First, it makes life easier for Iranian hardliners, and more difficult for Iranians who have argued  against hostility and threats  that their country should stick to the deal. Iran experts believe that increased sanctions and hostile rhetoric from Washington will eventually goad hardliners in the Iranian government into breaking the deal and returning to nuclear-weapons development.

Of course, thats exactly what everyone on both sides of the debate claims to want to avoid. Opponents of the deal believe that Tehran can be pressured into making more concessions  both on its nuclear activities and in other areas, like its support for extremist groups  without pushing it out of the deal, by a combination of increased U.S. sanctions and inflammatory talk. But even if that were true, it would require a careful and well-executed strategy to push Tehran just hard enough. Thats hard for the Trump administration to execute with most of its senior slots for diplomats and Iran experts empty, and its chief diplomat, to put it mildly, compromised.

The second concrete outcome Trumps actions have already had? Further alienating the group of countries that are our co-signers on the Iran deal: our closest European allies, plus Russia and China. All have made it clear to the president, Congress, and anyone who will listen that they believe the Iran deal is working and want it to stay just as it is. The president has resolutely ignored them, humiliating embattled U.K. prime minister Theresa May by responding to her arguments with you make your decisions; Ill make mine, and telling her hed made a plan but wouldnt share it.

But so what? America First, right? Not when it comes to affecting Irans behavior. You want Iran to stop building long-distance missiles, propping up Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, and shipping weapons to Israels foe Hezbollah? You need their partner-in-crime Russia to change its strategy. You want to choke off Irans international oil sales? You need Europe and China.

Now, instead of working with Washington to strengthen pressure on Tehran, those governments are all over Capitol Hill asking members of Congress to keep the deal in place. When is the last time European allies made a public effort to influence our Congress to oppose the foreign-policy preferences of a president? Pretty much never.

The third real-time effect is on that little matter of North Korea and its nuclear saber-rattling. Remember them? Unlike Tehran, they have nuclear weapons and a regime that has threatened to use them against us. For any kind of negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear program to work, Pyongyang must believe that Washington will keep its word. So must China, which will have to bring Kim Jong-un to the table. Watching Washington ignore its allies and tear up a complex agreement that took two years to negotiate will make it harder, not easier, to align China, South Korea, Japan, and others to pressure the North effectively.

Secretary Mattis, and all of Trumps cabinet, have made it clear that theyd rather negotiate than fight, and theyd rather take on countries without nuclear weapons. Even if Trumps threat to decertify turns out to be a giant head fake, his rhetoric has made those two very sensible, non-partisan security goals much harder.
No deal. Photo: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Iowa has a plan to stabilize its Obamacare marketplaces by transferring insurance subsidies away from low-income people and toward the middle class, while also setting up a reinsurance program to limit insurers losses.

Progressives hate the proposal. But the conservative Republicans who wrote it think its grand  and, critically, so does the states largest insurer, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which has promised to reverse its plan to leave the states individual insurance market if the reforms are put into effect.

In its broad outlines, Iowas proposal would do much of what every version of Trumpcare has aspired to: bring down premiums for middle-class people aggrieved by their lack of access to Obamacare subsidies; screw over the poor; and please insurers.

And yet, when President Trump got wind of the plan in late August, he ordered his Health department to kill it. As the Washington Post reports:

For months, officials in Republican-controlled Iowa had sought federal permission to revitalize their ailing health-insurance marketplace. Then President Trump read about the request in a newspaper story and called the federal director weighing the application.

Trumps message was clear, according to individuals who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations: Tell Iowa no.

 It was a Wall Street Journal article about Iowas request that provoked Trumps ire in late August, according to an individual briefed on the exchange. The story detailed how officials had just submitted the application for a Section 1332 waiver  a provision that allows states to adjust how they are implementing the ACA as long as they can prove it would not translate into lost or less-affordable coverage.

Iowas aim was to foster more competition and better prices. The story said other states hoping to stabilize their situations were watching closely.

Trump first tried to reach Price, the individual recounted, but the secretary was traveling in Asia and unavailable. The president then called Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency charged with authorizing or rejecting Section 1332 applications. CMS had been working closely with Iowa as it fine-tuned its submission.

Now, theres a strong case that Iowas waiver request should be denied  its proposed reforms are so right-wing, they may actually be illegal. The courts wont stand for this, health-care law expert Nicholas Bagley wrote last month. The [Affordable Care Acts] guardrails are really restrictive they suggest that a states waiver can be approved if and only if it doesnt make a substantial number of people worse off than they were under the ACA. Iowas waiver flunks that test.

But its highly unlikely that Trump tried to block the waiver out of deference to the letter of Barack Obamas law. While the Journal did mention opposition from the National Alliance on Mental Illness and the American Cancer Society toward the bottom of its story, the articles main thrust was that Iowas plan would keep its largest insurer in all of its counties, reduce premiums for the middle class, and serve as a potential model to other Republican-controlled states looking to strengthen their exchanges.

Given that the Trump administration is now openly sabotaging the Affordable Care Act, its safe to assume that the president tried to kill Iowas request for the very worst of reasons. In recent weeks, Health and Human Services has spread doubt about whether it will enforce the tax penalty for refusing to sign up for insurance; cut funding for the laws outreach groups; slashed Obamacares advertising budget by 90 percent; spent a portion of the remaining ad budget on propaganda calling for the laws repeal; cut the open-enrollment period by 45 days; announced that it would be taking healthcare.gov (where people can enroll in Obamacare online) offline for nearly every Sunday during that time period, for maintenance purposes; instructed its ten regional directors not to participate in state-based events promoting ACA enrollment; and, when asked about their rationale for pulling out of those events, released a statement saying, The American people know a bad deal when they see one and many wont be convinced to sign up for Washington-knows-best health coverage that they cant afford.

And the presidents most ambitious act of sabotage may still be to come. Under Obamacare, participating insurers are required to keep deductibles and co-payments affordable for low-income people. In practice, this means that insurers must underprice the risk of covering such individuals, and, thus, accept a financial loss. To make that proposition more appealing to these for-profit companies, Obamacare provides them with cost-sharing reductions  subsidies that defray the insurers losses.

But for complicated reasons relating to a lawsuit that House Republicans brought against the Obama administration, Donald Trump can cancel those subsidies at will. And he has threatened to do just that, over and over again, for months. These threats, alone, have led many insurers to either pull out of the exchanges, or else jack up premiums high enough to offset the costs of covering low-income enrollees without Uncle Sams help.

But, according to the Post, the number of insurers participating in Obamacare is still too high  and the premiums on its plans still too low  for the Trump administrations taste: A White House aide told the paper Thursday that officials are considering action to end the payments in November.

Its still possible that Iowas waiver will be approved  the White House has yet to formally reject it. Regardless, the fact that Trump intervened directly to block it has two significant implications. First, it establishes that the administrations sabotage campaign wont end with Tom Prices tenure at HHS (this thing goes all the way to the top). Second, it confirms that Trumps approach to Obamacare is not ideological, but wholly egotistical.

Iowa wanted to subvert the ACA for the sake of advancing a version of Trumps own ostensible health-care agenda. The president scrambled to block it because he has zero interest in promoting any particular health-care policy  last week, Trump said at a high-dollar fundraiser that he was thinking I might very well end up making a deal with the Democrats, because Republicans hadnt been able to put a health-care bill on his desk.

Which is to say: Our president isnt deliberately increasing the number of Americans who will go without insurance next year so as to advance an ideological project, but solely out of a (likely misguided belief) that doing so will increase his chances of one day writing his name on a fancy-looking document  and declaring Barack Obamas signature achievement officially dead.

Say what you want about the tenets of movement conservatism, at least its an ethos.
Cant build that. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Currently, the federal government subsidizes residential development on floodplains. It does this by offering flood insurance to homeowners who live in such areas at rates much lower than the underlying risk would dictate. This policy has left the National Flood Insurance Program $25 billion in debt. It has also left millions of Americans living in places that they really probably shouldnt, given the way the tides are turning.

Our catastrophic hurricane season has drawn national attention to both the problems with the NFIP, and the difficulty in addressing them: Cutting back the flood insurance program would compound the suffering of Americans who were victimized by Harvey, Irma, or Maria. But leaving it as is will ensure that millions more Americans suffer a similar victimization in the years ahead.

On Thursday, the Trump administration unveiled its vision for the future of the program  and, at least first glance, it appears (surprisingly) sensible.

As Bloomberg reports:

On Wednesday Mick Mulvaney, the director of White House Office of Management and Budget, sent a letter to Congress calling for changes to the taxpayer-subsidized National Flood Insurance ProgramMulvaneys proposals included preventing homes built in flood plains after 2020 from obtaining insurance under the program. Those homes could instead seek private coverage, which is often prohibitively expensive  if its available at all.

[E]nvironmental groups say this is a rare policy idea in which they are in agreement with Trump.

This sends a signal to developers and builders, and people living in flood-risk areas, said Laura Lightbody, director for the Flood-Prepared Communities project at the Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington. We want less people in harms way, and less development in these coastal areas and riverine areas.

Lightbody said the change could have another benefit: making it easier for local officials to restrict development along the coast. Tighter rules on flood insurance gives them political cover to make those decisions, she said.

The policy is vigorously opposed by the National Association of Home Builders, which warned Bloomberg that the change would reduce the number of homes built on the coasts of Florida and Louisiana  a development that wouldnt just hurt the construction industry, but also, uh  flood enthusiasts?

To be sure, there is not enough housing stock in this country. And limits to development can impair affordability. But it seems unlikely that the solution to these problems is to build lots of homes in places that no one would want to live if the government wasnt willing to spend billions of dollars subsidizing the cost of their inevitable flood repairs.

Lawmakers face a deadline of December 8 to reauthorize the program, and as part of an emergency aid package for Puerto Rico, Florida, and Texas, Trump asked Congress to write off $16 billion the program owes the U.S. Treasury.
Milo Yiannopoulos. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

There are many shocking details in Joe Bernsteins blockbuster BuzzFeed article about the inner workings of Breitbart  so many that its hard to know where to start in describing it. With Milo Yiannopouloss extremely cozy relationships with white-nationalist and neo-Nazi figures? With the revelation that ostensibly liberal journalists and tech figures were tipping Milo off? With the video of Milo singing America the Beautiful to a room of Nazi-saluting white nationalists?

Ultimately, the juicy details are just flourishes on a bigger picture, one thats essential to anyone trying to understand (and check) the rise of the alt-right. That picture shows the aggressive, coordinated way in which conservative billionaires helped turn Milo Yiannopoulos, once a failed British tech editor mired in legal trouble for not paying his contributors, into MILO, a conservative star famous for his popular, gonzo  and sometimes violence-provoking  appearances at college campuses around the country.

Its important to be clear here: Yiannopoulos does have legitimate, organic appeal. It would be impossible to build a platform like his if he wasnt charismatic or even, to some people, charming. There is a big audience for content designed to shock and provoke, particularly when it targets women, minorities, and liberals. If Yiannopoulos hadnt figured out how to speak the language of predominantly white American conservative anger and resentment, and to do so in a way that appeals to young people, none of us would have heard of him.

But Bernsteins article shows very clearly just how much help he has had along the way. He has been veritably showered in far-right money from Robert and Rebekah Mercer, the billionaires described by the Huffington Post as the reclusive duo who propelled Trump into the White House, who are also major Breitbart investors. As Bernstein reports, Steve Bannon first introduced Yiannopoulos to the Mercers on their yacht at Cannes in 2016, where they were in town to promote Clinton Cash, a film Bannon and the Mercers were releasing through Glittering Steel, their production studio.

After the meeting, Bannon began pushing Yiannopoulos to do more and more live shows  apparently with the enthusiastic support of the Mercers. Soon Dan Fleuette, Bannons coproducer at Glittering Steel and the man who acted for months as the go-between for Yiannopoulos and the Mercers  was enlisted to process and wrangle the legion of young assistants, managers, trainers, and other talent the Breitbart tech editor demanded be brought along for the ride. When Yiannopoulos expressed security concerns, Bannon told him they would be using the Mercers private security detail.

Thus began a relationship that would extend past Yiannopouloss tenure at Breitbart, which ended after a moderate-conservative group resurfaced video of him appearing to condone pedophilia:

After firing Yiannopoulos, [Breitbart editor-in-chief Alex] Marlow accompanied him to the Mercers Palm Beach home to discuss a new venture: MILO INC. On February 27, not quite two weeks after the scandal erupted, Yiannopoulos received an email from a woman who described herself as Robert Mercers accountant. We will be sending a wire payment today, she wrote. Later that day, in an email to the accountant and Robert Mercer, Yiannopoulos personally thanked his patron. And as Yiannopoulos prepared to publish his book, he stayed close enough to Rebekah Mercer to ask her by text for a recommendation when he needed a periodontist in New York.

That was February. In April, Yiannopoulos claimed to Vanity Fair that he had been given $12 million  he wanted to protect the identity of the donor  to start a new venture geared at making the lives of journalists, professors, politicians, feminists, Black Lives Matter activists, and other professional victims a living hell. Which more or less brings us to today. Yiannopoulos continues to be a loud, well-funded traveling outrage machine  one who, thanks to his secretive benefactors, is able to charge student groups zero dollars to tell his young, adoring audiences that they are being screwed over by a small cabal of wealthy, powerful elitists who dont care about them.

As this circus has raged on, of course, the farthest edges of the far-right have benefited greatly. The money that flows to Yiannopoulos benefits them in an indirect but important way. As the anti-racist group Hope Not Hate explained in a recent report and undercover investigation, the popularity of what the group calls alt-light figures like Yiannopoulos  light because they usually shy from the sorts of explicitly racist arguments made by the Richard Spencers and Jared Taylors of the world, with the exception of their rhetoric on Islam (seen as an acceptable punching bag, even for moderate conservatives)  have shifted the boundaries of the conversation, acting as a gateway drug to more extreme and explicit forms of political hate.

After all, its only natural that among the subset of young people who hear Yiannopoulos (or Mike Cernovich, or Paul Joseph Watson, or ) rant about globalists and migrants and liberals and Muslims over and over and over again, some of them are going to seek out harder fare. Just a few years ago, there simply wasnt much of a youthful reactionary movement, online or offline. Thats changing, and its in part because of, well, a small cabal of secretive conservative funders.
If youre like us, youve probably wondered what famous people add to their carts. Not the JAR brooch and Louis XV chair, but the hand sanitizer and the electric toothbrush. We asked Uzo Aduba of Netflixs Orange Is the New Black what she cant live without, from the Christmasy candle to the Korean marinade.

Hearthwick Flame Cinnamon Chai Candle $40 now 50% off $20 Ive since moved, but at my old apartment I didnt have a fireplace. Im from Boston so its classic New England, and in fall your fireplace is going, and I missed that smell in New York. My assistant found this crackling Christmasy candle, and I fell in love with it. Im telling you, I bought a case of them. They burn very quickly is the only thing. But they smell so great even from outside the hallway of my apartment building  even when theyre not burning! Its a light waft from the hallway in a good way. And every time someone comes over to my apartment, theyll be like, It smells delicious. The candles so warm that it makes me wanna curl up with a great book and a blanket. $20 at Macy's Buy $30 at Bed Bath & Beyond Buy

We Rub You Korean BBQ Marinade $10 You werent expecting this one, were you? Its actually the most delicious marinade Ive ever used for grilling, ever. Its awesome on an aged rib-eye because it has just enough sweetness in it and caramelizes on the steak. You also dont need to marinade for a long time. You throw it on the steak 20 minutes before cooking, and itll still be the bomb dot com. I was actually thinking about it after deciding to put this on my list and made it last night! My local grocer actually recommended it to me, and I fell in love. I have tried the spicy version, but I dont think I like it as much as the original. $10 at Amazon Buy $10 at Amazon Buy

Jo Malone Orange Blossom Fragrance $136 My actual fragrance blend is a secret, actually, because its a blend of two different fragrances that only I know, but its mostly orange blossom. To me, orange-blossom fragrance doesnt have a fruity scent to it, but theres some power. Whenever I smell orange blossom, to me, thats what a woman should smell like  not a girl. My stylist actually turned me onto the fragrance. $136 at Sephora Buy

Tom Ford Square Optical Frames $345 I wouldnt be able to see without these, so of course I need my glasses if I want to watch a movie or drive. Theyre actually the first glasses Ive had since high school  I bought them in London, which felt like a very adult purchase to make. I wanted something that felt strong but still feminine. I liked that these were mature and effortlessly cool. Theyre not doing the most, you know? $345 at Neiman Marcus Buy

Celine Solo Small Trio Pouch Crossbody Bag $722 This bag is chic and cool but can still hold a lot of stuff. I love it because its the perfect mixture of style and functionality. New York isnt like L.A. because you have to walk around so much with your stuff  you want to look cute, and this one is so gorgeous with the black. I like that the leather has some texture on it, too. $722 at Vestiaire Collective Buy

Tiffany Twist-Knot Earrings in Gold $850 I dont know if this is me being typically Nigerian, but in our culture, you never leave your house without something in your ears. Thats how I was raised; I feel naked if I walk out of the house without any earrings on. I like a simple piece like these because theyve got an interesting shape on closer examination and really just go with everything. Theyre timeless, and I can wear them when Im 50 or 60. $850 at Tiffany Buy

get the strategist newsletter Actually good deals, smart shopping advice, and exclusive discounts. Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us.

The Strategist is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Some of our latest conquests include the favorite shopping items of Lena Dunham, Olivia Wilde, Carole Radziwill, Plum Sykes, John Cameron Mitchell, Aubrey Plaza, and Linda Rodin. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.

Every editorial product is independently selected. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission.


Government has reacted to a statement issued by Acholi religious leaders denouncing the planned removal of the presidential age limit from Ugandas constitution, saying the people of God have a poor grasp of the law.

Dr Chris Baryomunsi, the acting information minister, told The Observer yesterday: The [religious leaders] statement [was] deliberately drumming up emotions in the public.

The Acholi Religious Peace Initiative said amending Article 102 (b) of the constitution to allow anyone stand for president beyond the age of 75 was tantamount to treason. President Museveni will be 77 at the next election in 2021.

The statement signed by Gulu Archbishop John Baptist Odama, said: Article 3 of the Constitution provides that any person who singly or in concert with others by violent means suspends overthrows or abrogates or amends any part of the constitution shall commit the offence of treason

Gulu Archbishop John Baptist Odama

This means that amending Article 102 (b) of the constitution forcefully clearly amounts to the offence of treason. This is contrary to Article 3 of the constitution. The leaders wondered whether if the offence is committed by the president, does it mean that Article 3 overrides Article 98 (4) which gives the head of state immunity?

Can a criminal suit of treason be instituted against the person of the president of the Republic of Uganda? wondered the bishops. Last week, presidential guard soldiers invaded parliament, beat up, viciously manhandled and dragged opposition MPs from the chamber.

Baryomunsi, however, said the [the statement] has a lot of falsehoods which reflect poor understanding of parliament procedure.

I saw they are saying that when someone reaches 75, [he/she] should leave office but Article 102 (b) is clear. When one is 75 years, it means they cant be nominated to stand for president.

The bishops letter follows spreading opposition to the amendment. Makerere University law dons said this week that the amendment assails the spirit of the constitution.

The Uganda Joint Christian Council has also said that amending the constitution cant be left to politicians.

Countrywide, Ugandans continue to stage protests in spite of violent reprisal attacks by the police.



amwesigwa@observer.ug
On October 3, the academic staff, school of law, Makerere University, issued a joint statement on the current political crisis, particularly the private member's bill that aims to amend Article 102(b)so as to scrap the age limit for one to stand as president. Here is the full text of the statement.



RAPE OF THE SANCTITY OF PARLIAMENT

The grave occurrences in Uganda since discussion commenced of the proposed constitutional amendment to Article 102(b) have exposed the violation by the Executive, and lack of commitment on the part of some legislators to the rule of law.

This has eroded the doctrine of the separation of powers and checks and balances which are critical tenets of any democracy.

The 1995 Constitution of the republic of Uganda envisaged that power would never be concentrated in any single arm of government but that each would be sufficiently autonomous and yet have its powers checked.

Igara West MP Raphael Magyezi presents his bill for first reading

The events at parliament on September 26 and September 27, 2017, where members of the Special Forces Command (SFC) and the police invaded parliament to forcefully evict parliamentarians is a repeat of the 1966 overthrow of the 1962 Constitution and replacement with the pigeon hole Constitution.

Effectively, Prime Minister Milton Obote usurped parliamentary power using the military. The military, in turn, then overthrew the executive in the 1971 coup detat.

A year later, Chief Justice Benedicto Kiwanuka was murdered in cold blood. The trend of militarization of politics is being re-enacted; starting with the 2005 Black Mamba invasion of the High court and now the siege of parliament and invasion of its chambers.

All evidence points to the fact that the rape of the sanctity of parliament was deliberately planned to intimidate the legislators to pass an amendment that favours a single individual.

We thus condemn in the strongest terms possible the actions of the executive, the military and police. It is actions like these which destroy the independence of institutions that are critical for democratic governance.

We foresee that if such attacks are not unequivocally denounced, the military may be tempted to usurp the powers of the same executive that is currently using them as happened in 1971.

We equally condemn the actions of the speaker of parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, for surrendering her powers and thereby exposing parliament to the whims of the executive arm of government and, in particular, to sections of the army and police.

Speaker Rebecca Kadaga

It is now in the public domain that members of the cabinet met with the speaker on the morning of September 27, 2017. Whatever was discussed is claimed to be privileged, which fuels perceptions of bias and partiality on the part of the speaker.

It is notable that the same speaker had rejected piecemeal amendments of the Constitution when on September 26, 2016 Nakifuma member of parliament Robert Ssekitoleko sought permission to table a bill to amend the constitutional mandatory retirement age for judicial officers and members of the Electoral Commission. In her words:

Other than expediency, I have failed to see the urgency of this bill. The danger with granting you leave to table this bill is that tomorrow I will have no ground to deny other members seeking to amend different clauses of the Constitution...Most of these reforms are contained in the Citizens Compact on Free and Fair Elections and were submitted to the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee ahead of the 2016 elections. I have set a precedent; this is a House of repute. It is a serious House, and not a playing field.

Evidently, the speaker backtracked on her position above by allowing the Magyezi proposal, thus turning parliament into a playing field for the executive.

We condemn the failure by the speaker to follow the proper procedure laid down in the parliamentary rules of procedure in suspending members. We further condemn the assault on members of parliament by the security forces.

We equally condemn the members of parliament who applauded the speaker in the subsequent sitting for such disregard of the rules.

We condemn the ban by the executive director, Uganda Communications Commission, of live coverage of these important debates on the proposed removal of the age limit. This was unwarranted and unconstitutional as it violates the right to freedom of expression and information.

In addition, the directive to media houses not to host any of the expelled members of parliament is an outrageous violation of the Constitution.



OUR POSITION ON THE LIFTING OF THE AGE LIMIT

As citizens and law teachers, we are also concerned with the broader issue of the proposed constitutional amendment to favour a single individual.

It is not coincidental because in 2005 when the Constitution was amended to remove presidential term limits, the sole beneficiary of that amendment was Yoweri Museveni.

Twelve years later, as the same person is approaching ineligibility to contest the position of president, the only article that would stand in his way is being removed. Fifty-five years after independence, Uganda has never witnessed a peaceful transfer of power from one president to another.

In order to stem this history of violent change of presidents, President Museveni, who would have been in power for 35 years in 2021, needs to set an example and hand over power peacefully to another elected president.

It is also absurd that some members of the legal fraternity are intentionally misleading members of the public that Article 102(b) is discriminatory and that the amendment is in line with the Supreme court ruling in the case of Amama Mbabazi vs. YK Museveni & Others.

It should be emphasized that the issue of age was never an issue in the Mbabazi petition and the same should, therefore, not be an issue for amendment. The view that Article 102(b) is discriminatory is legally unsound and untenable because it makes a mockery of all standard-setting provisions in the Constitution.

The Constitution has many provisions that impose limitations relating to age, capacity, soundness of mind, the qualifications and retirement for public servants, etc.

Every democratic and peace-loving Ugandan should not forget the history of the country. The Constitution was enacted bearing in mind that history of political turmoil and constitutional instability.

Having removed the term limit safeguard in 2005, Uganda continues to face the danger of life presidency and the continued violent change of leadership.



RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. That parliament rescinds the motion allowing presentation of a private members bill to amend Article 102(b).

2. That all organs of the state and private actors respect the freedoms of expression of all including media freedom.

3. That the Uganda Human Rights Commission should take immediate action against all violators of human rights both within and outside parliament in connection to the age limit debate.

4. That the security forces desist from engaging in partisan politics and the political persecution of citizens opposed to the age limit amendment.

5. That all citizens of Uganda exercise their rights and duty under Article 3 to defend and protect the Constitution.



The statement was co-authored by 24 law dons.

Slyvia Tamale

Frederick W. Jjuuko

D. Naggita-Musoke

Ernest Kalibbala

Hadijah Namyalo

Yusuf Nsibambi

Maria Nassali

Phiona M. Mpanga

Emmanuel Kasimbazi

Ahumuza Dianah

Rachel Kigozi

R. Kakukungulu M.

David J. Bakibinga

Ben K. Twinomugisha

J. Oloka-Onyango

Ronald Naluwairo

Robert Kirunda

Daniel R. Ruhweza

Christopher Mbazira

Zahara Nampewo

Adoch Caroline

Patricia Atim POdong

Busingye Kabumba

Benson Tusasirwe
Bodyguards of Buganda Katikkiro (Prime Minister) Charles Peter Mayiga on Sunday, October 1 stepped in to save Kabula MP James Kakooza from angry youths during a funeral at Nakawanga village in Lwengo district.

Kakooza had joined colleagues who travelled to the dusty village for the burial of Vincent Nsamba, father of Masaka municipality MP Mathias Mpuuga.

Among the nearly 20 MPs at this funeral, many of whom wore red head bands and caps to express their opposition to a bill seeking to amend the constitution and remove presidential age limits, Kakooza was the only lawmaker known to support the amendment.

He came in late. When the master of ceremonies, Busiro East MP Medard Lubega Sseggona, announced his arrival, mourners went wild, demanding that he leaves the function but organisers led him to a safe place behind the priests.

MP Mathias Mpuuga (2nd right) with other mourners

But the mourners insisted that Kakooza, known for leading the push to scrap presidential term limits in 2005, was not fit to be at this highly political funeral. Mpuuga stepped in.

There are so many people in NRM who are held hostage by the regime and are desirous of being liberated; Hon Kakooza is one of them, Mpuuga said.

Mpuuga spoke after Kira municipality MP Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda and former FDC president Dr Kizza Besigye had seemed to urge their audience to turn against those who promote Musevenis agenda.

Besigye said such leaders ought to be treated as outcasts.



Focus now should be on those leaders who have betrayed the country; it is time for each one of us to show on which side they are...whether on the side of the people or you are siding with the captors, and those working with the captors should stand away from those of us who are fighting for the common good, Besigye said.

From the relative safety of his seat behind the priests, Kakooza smiled sheepishly as four-time former FDC presidential candidate Col Kizza Besigye paid tribute to the anti-amendment MPs for the fight they put up in Parliament last week and for coming up with the red band solidarity symbol.

The red is meant to tell the story of our history and the journey ahead of us; it tells a message that it is time to stop, the red light tells [Museveni] to stop...Togikwatako [dont touch it], Besigye, who wore the red band at a media event over the weekend, said.

He said he is happy with the level of determination among Ugandans.

They are taking around their amendment on land but wherever they went, they met stiff resistance until when [Museveni] decided to market it himself but still he is not finding it easy, Besigye said.





KATIKKIRO WEIGHS IN

Speaking after a challenge from Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, the Katikkiro warned of the dangers, which lie ahead.

Politics is not a game as some want to portray it; politics if mis-handled, can lead to loss of lives... Uganda needs serious politicians but not players in politics. At the moment, Uganda needs politicians that are consistent because an inconsistent politician cant take Uganda anywhere, Mayiga said.

Mayiga struggled to calm the mourners when he said that inconsistent MPs do not deserve the title. As the casket containing Nsambas remains was rolled to the grave, a group of youths donning green T-shirts with red ribbons tied around their heads and arms went and camped near Kakoozas car.

Kakoozas aide who had remained inside the car, alerted the legislators police guard who sought the assistance of the Katikkiros guards.

Before going to the burial of [Masaka Municipality MP Mathias] Mpuugas father, I already had intelligence information about that group [that wanted to harm me] because we know where they came from and how they travelled to that place, Kakooza said.

MP Kakooza sought for assistance of Katikkiro Mayiga's (C) guards

Despite having guards, Kakooza told this writer that he sought for the assistance of the Katikkiros guards to drive away his car.

TREASONOUS

DP president general Norbert Mao said opposition political parties are working together in this fight.

The president has two options; one, to respect the constitution and serve out his last term. Secondly, to go on with the current machinations and we forcefully drive him out of power, Mao said.

The politicians spoke after Rev Fr Henry Kasule, the parish priest of Kitovu parish, and Rev Fr George William Lubega spoke against the amendment.

At a night vigil mass, Fr Kasule spoke against the removal of the age limit before Fr Lubega referred to the 2005 statement by Emmanuel Cardinal Wamala against scrapping of the two-term limit.

Lubega thanked MPs opposed to the age limit removal for fighting for constitutional governance in Uganda adding that Mpuugas father had died a miserable man since he passed on when the constitution is being changed to suit an individuals wishes.

sadabkk@observer.ug
Three months after they launched on to the national political stage in August, members of an NRM-leaning pressure group; Kick Age Limitations Out of the Constitution (KALOC), have met President Museveni.

The president met the youths on October 1 at Serere district headquarters on the sidelines of a thanksgiving ceremony for Serere Woman MP Hellen Odoa and her Serere County counterpart Patrick Okabe.

Earlier on the same day, Museveni launched new drought-resistant crop varieties developed by the National Semi-Arid Resources Research Institute, Serere.

According to sources familiar with the meeting, the presidents protocol officials had wanted photos of the meeting kept away from the public to conceal Musevenis interest in the age removal bill but some excited KALOC members posted them on their social media platforms.

President Museveni (seated) with members of Kick Age Limitations Out of the Constitution (KALOC) after the October 1 meeting in Serere PHOTO:COURTESY

The Observer has since learnt that the groups meeting with Museveni was fixed by Usuk MP Peter Ogwang, one of the key promoters of the age limit removal bill.

The group, which met the president included Ibrahim Kitatta, the secretary general of the National Youth Council; Kassim Kamugisha, the Kabale NRM youth league chairman; Ismail Lesin from Luweero, Samuel Odong who doubles as NYC and NRM youth league publicity secretary; and Robert Anderson Burora from Wakiso.

The meeting lasted about 10 minutes. During the meeting, insiders say, the youths gave an update of their activities and told the president they had managed to change the narrative from the upper presidential age limit.

Other leaders were focused on the upper age limit until we brought the lower limit into the picture as well as other laws like Article 183 (2)(b) of the Constitution, which sets the same limitations for aspiring LC-V chairpersons as in Article 102 (b), Kitatta, the KALOC national coordinator, said.

He declined to delve into details of their meeting with Museveni but sources familiar with the meeting told The Observer that Museveni encouraged the youths to continue with their campaign.

He reportedly told the youths that their message resonates well with his campaign to get the country into a middle-income status. This was after the youths told him that their campaign is focusing on ideology, and not biology.

The youths argue that the age of leaders shouldnt be used to determine their usefulness to society.

The ideology of a person should be at the forefront of determining who should lead society, the youths told Museveni.

KALOC youth attending an event earlier

The president reportedly promised to fix another meeting with the youths once he returns to Kampala after his radio campaigns in Eastern Uganda.

In the weeks that followed the formation of KALOC, which trumpets the importance of removing constitutional age limits for qualified presidential candidates, the group met high-profile NRM and government officials including Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda.

In a subsequent interview, Rugunda told The Observer that the KALOC youths are his comrades and said:

I see nothing that provides a scientific or rational reason that somebody who is above 75 years cannot be president.

Until October 1, President Museveni had carefully avoided to be associated with the ongoing campaign to scrap article 102 (b) from the Constitution, which caps the upper age for a presidential candidate at 75 years.

Without its amendment, the article automatically disqualifies Museveni from the 2021 presidential race because by then, he will have clocked 77 years of age way beyond the constitutional limit. So, by all intents and purposes, the push for the removal of age limits is widely seen to benefit President Museveni.



RED RIBBONS

Appearing on the Soroti-based Etop FM later that evening, Museveni harshly criticized the opposition-led red ribbon campaign against the scrapping of the constitutional age limits for presidential candidates.

We cannot allow anyone to block our legal way...Uganda has solved bigger problems like the Karimojong cattle rustlers, Joseph Kony and his LRA rebels and the ADF, we cannot be bogged down by people wearing red ribbons, Museveni said.

The red ribbons were banned by Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga last week as she suspended 25 MPs leading to a fight between opposition MPs and plain-clothes Special Forces Command (SFC) soldiers who stormed the Parliamentary chamber and evicted the lawmakers.

The fight and eviction of MPs has drawn fierce criticism for Kadaga from within and outside parliament. A group of 35 MPs under the Parliamentary Forum on Constitutional Supremacy have since petitioned the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) to investigate the violation of the rights of Ugandan MPs.

We demand that Kadaga apologizes to Ugandans for colluding with the military to unleash terror on some MPs and for abdicating her cardinal role of protecting and defending the sanctity of parliament in bending over to pressure from the executive, Aswa MP Reagan Okumu told journalists on Tuesday.



sadabkk@observer.ug
Ibrahim Abiriga at parliament

Arua municipality MP Col. Ibrahim Abiriga failed to appear in City Hall court to answer to charges of being a public nuisance for urinating in public.



Abiriga had been summoned by Grade One magistrate Beatrice Khainza to appear before the court today, Friday, following the emergence of pictures showing him urinating in a public place, contrary to provisions of the Kampala City Council (KCC) maintenance of law and order ordinance 2006.



Prosecution alleges that on September 27, 2017, along Kyaggwe road in Kampala, Abiriga, a member of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, eased himself on the fence of Ministry of Finance. A picture of him went viral a day later causing a public uproar on the conduct.



Abiriga later admitted in a televised interview that he had failed to control himself because he was "badly off after taking a lot of Coke Zero soda."



Today, in court, however Abiriga was represented by his lawyer Usaama Ssebuwufu. The lawyer told court presided over by Moses Nabende that Abiriga had travelled to his constituency in Arua, by the time the summons were issued.

"The client was served late, there was late service of summons, so he was unable to attend court today. And we also received instructions yesterday that he had already travelled for official duties. So we asked court to extend to enable him to appear in person", he said.

Urinating in public: MP Abiriga unable to appear in court because "summons were served late" says his lawyer Usaama Sebuufu ? @bamulanzeki pic.twitter.com/BXKe1xrK0G  The Observer (@observerug) October 6, 2017

Ssebuwufu pleaded that the matter is fixed on a later date when his client will be able to appear. The two parties resolved that the matter is adjourned to October 25.



According to the KCC maintenance of law and order ordinance 2006, a person commits a nuisance by easing himself or herself in any street or place where he or she may be seen by the public.



The ordinance prescribes a penalty of a fine not exceeding two currency points (Shs 40,000) or imprisonment not exceeding two months or both for any person who contravenes any of its provisions.
iPhone maker Apple has sought certain concessions for setting up manufacturing unit in India and the government is considering them, DIPP Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said today.

There are already 90 phone companies manufacturing handsets in the country, he said.

When asked about Apple's proposals, Abhishek told reporters: "They are asking for certain exemptions. The government is considering it. But there are 90 manufacturers who are already manufacturing here. So Make in India is going quite strong."

In March, the then Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had informed the Rajya Sabha said that the government has not accepted 'most of the demands' of iPhone maker Apple which wants to set up manufacturing unit in India.

Apple India has sought concessions including duty exemption on manufacturing and repair units, components, capital equipment and consumables for smartphone manufacturing and service/repair for a period of 15 years, she had said in a written reply.

In a communication to the government, the Cupertino-based technology major has asked for incentives from the Department of Revenue and Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeITy).

Apple also wants relaxation in the mandated 30 per cent local sourcing of components.

It also wants reduction in customs duties on completely- knocked-down and semi-knocked-down units of devices that are to be assembled in the country.

Further, when asked about US-based electric car major Tesla, he said that the company has not applied for cutting edge technology concessions and they have to abide by sourcing norms of the country.

As per current FDI policy, a foreign company that wants to set up single brand retail store would have to mandatorily source 30 per cent of goods from India.

On the proposed industrial policy, Abhishek said that the ministry is having consultations with the stakeholders.

The ministry had constituted a task force chaired by V Kamakoti of IIT Madras to explore possibilities to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI) for development across various fields.

This committee is likely to take some time to submit its report, Abhishek said.

"Smart manufacturing being one of the major initiatives in industrial policy, we would like to give them enough time.

The policy is going to be a trend setter and guiding stone for the next 10-15 years," he said on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum event.

"It is a very important policy. So we would like to give it enough time. The committee will be giving its report by November, I think," he said.

When asked about promoting investments in the country, he said that Invest India is promoting FDI proposals worth USD 85 billion.

"We are doing good job for investment promotion and we are working with states also that s why FDI is increasing," he said.

On the ease of doing business, he said the DIPP has taken lot of steps to improve India s ranking.

"This year we have done 200 reforms, which we have claimed to the World Bank," he added.
Oscar Bartoli

About Me Avvocato, giornalista pubblicista, collabora con molti media italiani. Risiede negli Stati Uniti dal 1994 e vive tra Washington D.C., Veracruz e Bangalore (India). Consigliere comunale per il Partito Liberale a Palazzo Vecchio (Firenze) porta ancora addosso i segni delle percosse che i 'compagni' comunisti di allora gli hanno dato per essere andato a parlare nelle piazze dove comandava solo il PCI. Ha lavorato per molti anni nel gruppo SMI,leader europeo nel settore metalli non ferrosi, successivamente nell'IRI come responsabile dei contatti con i media e in seguito direttore IRI USA. Ha insegnato per dieci anni alla scuola di giornalismo della Luiss e per due anni alla Catholic University di Washington DC. Tiene un corso sulla comunicazione nel Master di Relazioni Internazionali dello IULM di Milano. Rotariano da decenni ha contribuito a creare due Club a Roma, e' stato presidente del Cassia Romana ed attualmente fa parte del Washington Rotary Club. Da giovane, per pagarsi gli studi ma, soprattutto, perche' gli piaceva, ha lavorato come chitarrista - cantante suonando nelle case del popolo, circoli cattolici, night clubs, radio e televisione.

Da non perdere - "Lei non sa chi sono io" Oscar Bartoli- Prefazione Romano Prodi- Editore Ciuffa

-"E anche questa e' America", prefazione di Walter Veltroni - Luiss University Press

- "Massoneria FAQ. Elogio della conoscenza (e dell'informazione)" di Oscar Bartoli e Stefano Bisi Betti Editrice

- "Mezzogiorno di Fuoco: duello all'ultimo spot" di Oscar Bartoli - Editore goWare

- "W.D.C (sotto traccia)" di Oscar Bartoli, Editore Luca Betti

- "DC Undercover"

(Scarith Books/New Academia Publishing 2013)

- "Borgo Pinti, storia di una famiglia fiorentina" by Oscar Bartoli editore Mauro Bonanno

Blog Archive
18 ppl killed in suicide attack at a shrine in Balochistan

QUETTA: At least 18 people were killed and 30 others injured in a suicide attack at a shrine in Balochistans Jhal Magsi district Thursday evening, officials said.



The explosion took place outside Dargah Pir Rakhel Shah in Fatehpur town of the district where Urs celebrations were underway, officials said, adding scores of people had gathered at the shrine to pay their respects at the time of the blast.



Thursdays are usually busy in terms of attendance at shrines as the day is considered spiritually significant.



Jhal Magsi district police officer Mohammad Iqbal confirmed that it was a suicide blast. He said a constable was killed while attempting to stop the suicide bomber from entering the shrine. Police grabbed him and the suicide bomber detonated the explosives, he said.



The death toll and nature of the blast was also confirmed by a district health officer.



The medical superintendent of Gandawah Hospital, Dr Rukhsana Magsi, said that 18 dead bodies were brought to the hospital. She said that 30 injured were brought to District Headquarters Hospital Gandawah of which 18 were shifted to Quetta and Larkana for medical treatment.



Initial reports suggested that the explosion took place when the dhamaal  a devotional dance performed at shrines  was being performed after Maghrib prayers. Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said that if the attacker had managed to enter the shrine, the death toll would have been much higher.



To a question that whether the government was aware of looming terror threats to the shrine, Bugti said, We are in a war zone. We [share] a porous border with Afghanistan. Keeping all these factors in mind, our security forces ensured a peaceful Moharram and they will continue to fight terrorism in Balochistan.



Earlier, Balochistan government spokesperson Anwarul Haq Kakar said 13 people had been killed. We have confirmed reports it was a suicide attack, he said.



A bomb attack on the same shrine killed 35 people in 2005. On March 19, 2005, at least 35 people were killed and many injured when a suicide bomber exploded himself at the shrine. The dead had included devotees from different sects who were in attendance at the shrine.



The suicide bomber struck outside the shrine at a time when it was packed with people, attending anniversary celebrations at the shrine, another government official, Asad Kakar, said.



Members of both Sunni and Shia sects visit the shrine daily, with attendance climbing significantly during festivities.



Security forces reached the shrine soon after the explosion and established a cordon around it.



According to a blog maintained by the shrines administrators, Sufi Rakhel Shah was born in 1852 AD in the district of Mirpur, Balochistan. His father, Noor Shah, claimed descent from Hazrat Ali. His eldest brother, Sufi Abdul Nabi Shah, was a disciple of Fakir Jaanullah Shah, a devotee of Sufi Innayatullah Shah.



Rakhel Shah, who is said to have been influenced by his brothers spiritual way of life, was for a time a disciple of Sufi Abdul Sattar of Dargah Jhoke Sharif, which is located in lower Sindh. After spending some time there, Rakhel Shah returned to Fatehpur to live a life of asceticism and charity.



This was the second deadly attack on a shrine in Pakistan in 2017. In February this year, a suicide bomber had killed more than 80 people and injured more than 250 in an attack targeting the busy Lal Shahbaz Qalandar shrine in Sehwan, Sindh.



Thursdays attack happened hours after chief of the militarys media wing highlighted the armys efforts in combating terrorism across the country and brought up the role of non-state actors that the army believes are being sponsored by enemy agencies.
Khawaja Asif warned India against surgical strike on Pakistan

WASHINGTON: Foreign Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif warned on Thursday that if India launched a surgical strike on the countrys nuclear installations, nobody should expect restraint from Pakistan either.



Indian Air Force chief B.S. Dhanoa said on Wednesday that if India needed to carry out a surgical strike, his aircraft could target Pakistans nuclear installations and destroy them.



The foreign minister addressed the Indian air chiefs remarks at a talk at the US Institute of Peace in Washington on Thursday, urging Indian leaders not to contemplate such actions as those could have dire consequences.



Yesterday, the Indian air chief said we will hit, through another surgical strike, Pakistans nuclear installations. If that happens, nobody should expect restraint from us. Thats the most diplomatic language I can use, said Mr Asif.



The foreign minister, who is in Washington on a three-day official visit, met US National Security Adviser Gen H.R. McMaster on Thursday, a day after he held wide-ranging talks with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. While both US and Pakistani sides have described the Asif-Tillerson talks as positive and useful, Mr Asif indicated that his meeting with Gen McMaster was not as friendly as the earlier meeting.



I will not be extravagant, yesterdays meeting went very well, todays meeting with Gen McMaster in the morning, I would be a bit cautious about it. But it was good. It was good. It wasnt bad, said the foreign minister when asked if his trip to Washington was going well.

Talks with Tillerson



The shared interest in a secure, prosperous and democratic Pakistan was one of the key issues discussed in a frank conversation between Mr Tillerson and Mr Asif, says the US State Department.



The two top diplomats met at the State Department in Washington on Wednesday for talks aimed at halting a rapid deterioration in bilateral ties.



They talked about the importance of partnering together to establish peace and prosperity in the region. They talked about their mutual commitment to advancing a multifaceted relationship between the United States and Pakistan based on our shared interest in a secure, prosperous, and democratic Pakistan, said State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert when asked what was discussed in the meeting.



The foreign minister and the secretary talked about the presidents South Asia strategy that was announced back in August. They also exchanged ideas about how our countries can work together to help stabilise Afghanistan, she added.



Although their relations were already tense, the tensions worsened after US President Donald Trumps Aug 21 policy speech in which he warned Pakistan to eradicate alleged terrorist safe havens from its soil or be ready for the consequences.



Later, senior US officials told various media outlets that the United States could stop providing economic and military assistance to Pakistan, degrade its status of a major non-Nato ally and place Pakistani officials with alleged ties to terrorists on a terrorist-watch list.



At the State Department briefing, a journalist pointed out that when the new US strategy was unveiled, the language about US-Pakistani ties was much harsher than what Secretary Tillerson used in his remarks after the meeting. Was none of (the punitive actions underlined by US officials) discussed with the Pakistani foreign minister? the journalist asked.



We typically dont provide the fulsome types of readouts, we dont do a play-by-play, a blow-by-blow of everything that happens in our private diplomatic conversations, the spokesperson responded.



What I just read to you, thats what I can provide to you from the meeting. I know our conversations with the Pakistani government continue to be frank, she added.



Another journalist reminded Ms Nauert that in response to a question at this stakeout on Wednesday, Secretary Tillerson had expressed concerns about the future of government of Pakistan. What did he mean by that?



Ms Nauert said she did not get the chance to ask the secretary about those remarks and thats why she did not know what he meant.












Vistas de pagina en total

Precio del Brent To get the BRENT oil price, please enable Javascript.

Precio del WTI To get the oil price, please enable Javascript.

Precio del Oro To get the gold price, please enable Javascript.

Dolar USA Vs Euro

Archivo del blog





































PROHIBIDO OLVIDAR



OTAN = Asesinos



OTAN = NATO = Muerte



Mas temprano que tarde los derrotaremos



Hipocresia 3.0



El principe Carlos habla sobre el alto costo de la vida Es un chiste?



Las verdades son simples



Opinar es un peligro



Ejemplo de dignidad



El Nuevo Orden Mundial



Historica foto para el record Guinness







Se pegaron un tiro en el pie



Si palabras



Ya no enganan a nadie



No hacen falta palabras







Lo volvio a hacer



Capitalismo=embuste



Historico Bitcoin



La bateria mas grande de Holanda



El futuro es solar



Nec plus ultra, nec variatur



Fisica y culturalmente



Jamas nos callaran



Sin ellas, no seremos



Deja vu



Nada que celebrar



Hasta cuando?



Colombia Hoy



Para nunca olvidar



'Parasite' painted on a statue of Queen, Elizabeth in Kent, England



Sin palabras



La UE le apunta a la paz



Cada vez mas solo



LULA y su Pueblo



Bye Bye



Homenaje al genial Quino



Fueron ellos



Una imagen que resume



Tan bajo ha caido que se deja tocar el trasero?



Porky y el Nene (archiconocido narcotraficante)



Ladrones al poder



Asi mira el perrito a su amo



Crazy



Clamor popular



La nueva inquisicion



Bolivia



Chile Hoy



Eso es todo amigos!



Piensalo!



Pinerachet



No More Trump



Adios Macri, hasta nunca



La Marioneta se desinfla



Asi o mas cinico



Almugre



Mexico en 1794



Mas arrastrado imposible



Hasta cuando!



La pura verdad



Solidaridad con Palestina



Serie Capitalismo



Espejismos de la clase trabajadora



Asi es!



Comerciantes o delincuentes



No pasaran!



Asi es la vida



USA HOY



01/01/1959



La avaricia no tiene limites



AYUDA HUMANITARIA?



Chile Hoy



Asi son las cosas



Mapa Electoral de Venezuela



Patagonia argentina?



Un aniversario mas del mayor genocidio de la Humanidad



Retrato del franquismo en Espana



Visca Catalunya!



El Chulo de Madrid



Cuando la policia se roba la democracia



Una imagen dice mas que mil palabras



La purita verdad



Asi gobierna la maldita burguesia



Mi pobre clase media



Como Chavez nadie



Comparte La Colmena via twitter Twittear

Programa de la MUD



Asi o mas clarito



Por que Trump no ataco Corea del Norte?



Hace 15 anos Por que la OEA no se pronuncio?



Una verguenza nacional



La luz que nos guia



La Union Europea Premio Nobel de la Paz?



Feudalismo ayer y hoy



Obama, el mentiroso



Curiosa coincidencia



Un mundo de cerdos



No es extrano?



La Marioneta



Los ricos protestan, los pobres celebran



MARICORI Y OBAMA



Cuantas muertes este ano?



USA TODAY



USA HOY 6



USA HOY 5



USA HOY 4



USA HOY 3



USA HOY 2



USA HOY (1)



Insaciable



Cronologia de un agresor



Guarimbear en USA



Mexico hoy



Bolivar y Chavez



Primero Amargado



Dios los cria y ellos se juntan



USA hoy (III)



USA hoy (II)



USA hoy



Mexico hoy



Mexico hoy



Mexico hoy



Obama



La verdad sea dicha



Los ricos



Que no nos vea Obama



Pobre Obama



SOS PALESTINA



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



VICMAN



Archivo del blog Archivo del blog marzo (4) abril (9) mayo (8) junio (10) julio (11) agosto (10) septiembre (17) octubre (11) noviembre (15) diciembre (10) enero (9) febrero (10) marzo (8) abril (5) mayo (6) junio (8) julio (13) agosto (10) septiembre (7) octubre (12) noviembre (8) diciembre (15) enero (17) febrero (11) marzo (11) abril (12) junio (6) julio (11) agosto (15) septiembre (5) octubre (15) noviembre (14) diciembre (11) enero (13) febrero (9) marzo (10) abril (8) mayo (7) junio (12) julio (12) agosto (8) septiembre (8) octubre (4) diciembre (8) enero (35) febrero (20) marzo (29) abril (19) mayo (21) junio (27) julio (21) agosto (28) septiembre (40) octubre (47) noviembre (21) diciembre (34) enero (62) febrero (81) marzo (117) abril (141) mayo (114) junio (111) julio (126) agosto (98) septiembre (160) octubre (234) noviembre (493) diciembre (319) enero (219) febrero (267) marzo (230) abril (291) mayo (347) junio (223) julio (179) agosto (191) septiembre (239) octubre (350) noviembre (406) diciembre (353) enero (284) febrero (202) marzo (274) abril (250) mayo (232) junio (251) julio (188) agosto (249) septiembre (230) octubre (178) noviembre (141) diciembre (164) enero (187) febrero (147) marzo (211) abril (190) mayo (199) junio (164) julio (162) agosto (174) septiembre (182) octubre (225) noviembre (114) diciembre (132) enero (223) febrero (147) marzo (133) abril (108) mayo (387) junio (465) julio (785) agosto (748) septiembre (485) octubre (681) noviembre (754) diciembre (805) enero (708) febrero (896) marzo (735) abril (831) mayo (723) junio (555) julio (658) agosto (619) septiembre (457) octubre (455) noviembre (295) diciembre (269) enero (534) febrero (556) marzo (205) abril (119) mayo (194) junio (255) julio (294) agosto (182) septiembre (207) octubre (340) noviembre (351) diciembre (281) enero (114) febrero (128) marzo (216) abril (195) mayo (116) junio (141) julio (182) agosto (181) septiembre (50) octubre (72) noviembre (104) diciembre (88) enero (168) febrero (102) marzo (151) abril (207) mayo (43) junio (72) julio (35) agosto (146) septiembre (54) octubre (46) noviembre (48) diciembre (57) enero (133) febrero (218) marzo (196) abril (177) mayo (156) junio (158) julio (264) agosto (456) septiembre (524) octubre (473) noviembre (355)

Chavez Cuanto te queremos!



Por culpa de Chavez



Cerveza Polar







Algun dia Colombia volvera a la ideologia de Bolivar







Translate













LOS REVOLUCIONARIOS NO TOMAN CACA-COLA No se trata solamente de un capricho, sino de una sana actitud en todos los sentidos. Desde la solidaridad con el pueblo colombiano donde la empresa Caca-Cola ha cometido los mas grandes abusos contra sus trabajadores incluyendo el presunto secuestro y asesinato de los dirigentes del sindicato, hasta la proteccion de la salud de nuestros hijos, enviciados por ese jarabe de cola y azucar, que les produce obesidad prematura. Pensemos tambien los revolucionarios, que ese dinero que gastamos en los refrescos es utilizado por esas empresas para financiar el terrorismo en nuestro pais. Es cierto, no se trata solo de la Caca-Cola, sino tambien de la cerveza, de los cigarrillos y todos esos articulos innecesarios y mas que eso, daninos para nuestra salud. Podriamos incluso pensar en un dia de parada para cada uno de ellos. Es cuestion de irnos organizando. Pero para empezar, que tal si dejamos de comprar Caca-Cola y sus similares?



























Cuando lo extraordinario se vuelve cotidiano...



Discurso del Acto de Grado en Barinas en 12 de Febrero del 2005 Queridos Graduandos:



Mas que un discurso, quiero dirigirles algunas palabras que escribi anoche, despues de visitar en las clinicas, a los estudiantes heridos, a consecuencia de los enfrentamientos con la policia de hace apenas dos dias.



Me ha tocado por razones del destino, ser la persona que les otorgue el titulo que bien merecieron con sus estudios. Y me siento sumamente orgulloso de serlo. Me consta que la Universidad de Los Llanos Occidentales Ezequiel Zamora, a pesar de lo dicho por los enemigos de esta universidad, es una universidad de primera.



No tendremos la mejor planta fisica, en los salones hace calor. En el comedor hace calor. Pero no es en lo material que las cosas deben valorarse. El mayor capital es el ser humano. Y en eso, nuestra UNELLEZ, lo digo con conocimiento de causa, esta sobrada. Los llaneros venezolanos son nobles, valientes, de coraje.



En la UNELLEZ hacen vida, en este momento, aproximadamente 67000 personas. El 97% de ellas son estudiantes. Jovenes que, como Ustedes hasta el dia de hoy, buscan ese titulo, que constata los anos de dedicacion y de estudio.



Los jovenes son el rio de la vida, ustedes graduados deben ser los capitanes de esos barcos que naveguen por el rio de la vida.



Nuestra Patria atraviesa momentos muy dificiles porque decidio dejar de ser esa matrona de edad vetusta y complaciente, para ser joven, rebelde y altanera. Nuestra imagen ya no es la de una acaudalada ricachona mayamera. En nuestro rostro brilla ahora la sonrisa del Che Guevara, con su diente delantero torcido, su pelo largo y su boina con la estrella.



Entender esto, a mi me ha tomado practicamente toda la vida. Tengo 53 anos, y ya perdi mi oportunidad de derramar sangre joven a causa de un ideal.



Ustedes son jovenes, estan en la flor de la vida. No cometan por favor el error de renunciar a su instinto de rebelion. El Che Guevara fue Ministro de a Economia en Cuba. Los billetes y las monedas se adornaban con su rostro. Nada de eso le importo. Primero fue a Angola donde paso un penoso ano de combate. Despues se fue a Bolivia, donde encontro la muerte. El Che era el ultimo que comia, el que cargaba la mochila mas pesada. Siempre se sacrificaba por los demas en un estoicismo que mas parecia fervor religioso que ideologia marxista.



Si quieren un modelo de vida. Ahi lo tienen.



Dije hace unos momentos que el 97% de la poblacion de la UNELLEZ es estudiante. Se imaginan Ustedes la Universidad que podriamos tener si todos los estudiantes tuvieran la abnegacion, la combatividad del Che?



Los momentos que se avecinan van a requerir de una gran unidad del pueblo venezolano. La alternativa de continuar siendo libres o regresar a la pobreza se nos planteara en los proximos dias de forma enmascarada, o quizas peor, desenmascarada, vestida con uniforme de soldado del Imperio.



Por nuestra parte podemos esperar lo mejor. La macroeconomia no podria ir mejor, la justicia social ha mejorado notablemente. Las misiones ocupan un papel muy importante en el pago de dicha justicia social. Aqui en Barinas ya hemos cumplido con dos de las misiones, la mision Robinson y la mision Sucre. No hay analfabetismo y no hay exclusion en la educacion superior, en estas tierras de Zamora.



Pero ay malhaya! Son precisamente estos exitos los que nos hacen mas antipaticos al Imperio. Para ellos, somos inclusive un mal ejemplo que se esta contagiando al resto del continente y cuidado sino al resto del mundo.



Nunca venceremos al Imperio. Estara siempre ahi, acechando. Por lo menos hasta que el mismo no se autodestruya. Porque, sepanlo senores, el neoliberalismo es canibal. Cuando le ataque el hambre, se devorara a si mismo.



Ustedes, queridos graduandos, a partir de hoy pasan a conformar la elite profesional que debe sostener este pais en los proximos cuarenta o cincuenta anos. Anos decisivos para el logro de nuestra libertad y del rescate de nuestra Soberania.



No se dejen comprar. No se dejen corromper. No se dejen gritar. No se dejen pisar. Que nadie les diga que comer, o que vestirse, o que leer. Sean siempre autenticos, rebeldes, contestatarios. Pero eso si, profundamente patriotas, dignos de ser hijos de Bolivar.



Muchas gracias y que Dios los bendiga.





Alguna duda?



Medio siglo de Holocausto Palestino



Oscar Zanartu Nacio en Caracas en 1960. Ha realizado exposiciones individuales en las galerias Minotauro, Clave y San Francisco, y en salas de Coro, estado Falcon, y Puerto Ordaz, estado Bolivar. En Paris su obra ha sido exhibida en el Centro Cultural Tanagra, en la Exposicion Cite Internationale des Arts, en las galerias De Mars y Arver Space, al igual que en la Galeria Municipal Levallois, en Levallois Perret (Francia). En muestras colectivas, su obra se ha expuesto en Belgica, Francia, Estados Unidos y Venezuela; en Caracas intervino en la exposicion "Del genesis a la memoria", 1995, organizada por la Fundacion La Previsora. En 1982 obtuvo el Premio Nacional Critven y en 1990 la Mencion de Honor Jose Antonio Paez, en la Embajada de Venezuela en Paris. En 1991 se le concedio el primer premio de Pintura Itinerante, en Levallois Perret, Francia.



OZ1



OZ2



OZ3



OZ4



Homenaje a Jason Galarraga



La Victoria de Samotracia



Odalisca



Mas fotos de la nevada del pasado agosto 2008



























La Sierra Nevada de Merida



Nuestro precioso Churum Meru



Homenaje a Picasso



Autoretrato



Sabes lo que bebes en una Coca-Cola?

La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.

Mi profesion?

Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.

Sal en la Coca Cola?

A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.

De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:

Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gusto

Acido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)

azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)

Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantas

Mucha Cafeina

Conservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o Potasio

Dioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebe

Sal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracion

El uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.

Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.

Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.

En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).

Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.

La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.

Bebidas Light?

Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el

Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.



Publicado por loretahur



En realidad, la formula secreta de la Coca-Cola se puede detallar en 18 segundos en cualquier espectrometro optico, y basicamente la conocen hasta los perros. Lo que ocurre es que no se puede fabricar igual, a no ser que uno disponga de unos cuantos millones de dolares para ganarle la demanda que te metera la Coca-Cola ante la justicia (ellos no perderian).La formula de la Pepsi tiene una diferencia basica con la de la Coca-Cola y es intencional, para evitar el proceso judicial. La diferencia es a proposito, pero suficientemente parecida como para atraer a los consumidores de Coca-Cola que prefieren un gusto diferente con menos sal y azucar.Tuve que aprender quimica, entender todo sobre componentes de gaseosas, conservantes, sales, acidos, cafeina, enlatado, produccion, permisos, aprobaciones y muchas otras cosas. Monte mi propio mini-laboratorio de analisis de productos.A patadas. El Cloruro de Sodio no solo refresca sino da mas sed, como para pedir otra gaseosa. Y no resulta desagradable porque la sal mata literalmente la sensibilidad al dulce... del que por cierto tambien tiene mucho: 39 gramos de azucar.De los 350 gramos de producto liquido, mas del 10% es azucar, o sea que en una lata de Coca-Cola mas de un centimetro y medio es puro azucar en polvo. Aproximadamente tres cucharadas soperas llenas de azucar por lata!!La formula de la Coca Cola es muy sencilla:Concentrado de azucar quemado caramelo- para dar color oscuro y gustoAcido fosforito (para darle el sabor acido)azucar (HFCS-jarabe de maiz de alta fructosa)Extracto de hojas de la planta de Coca (Africa e India) y otros pocos aromatizantes naturales de otras plantasMucha CafeinaConservante que puede ser Benzoato de Sodio o PotasioDioxido de Carbono en cantidad para sentir freir la lengua cuando se bebeSal para dar la sensacion de refrigeracionEl uso del acido fosforito y no del acido citrico como en todas las demas gaseosas, es para dar la sensacion de dientes y boca limpia al beber. El acido fosforito literalmente frie todo y dana el esmalte de los dientes, cosa que el acido citrico lo hace en menor grado.Trate de comprar acido fosforito para ver las mil recomendaciones de seguridad que te dan para su manipulacion (quema el cristalino del ojo, quema la piel, etc...). Esta prohibido usar el acido fosforito en cualquier otra gaseosa; solo la Coca Cola tiene permiso. Porque claro, sin el acido fosforico, la Coca Cola sabria a jabon.El extracto de coca y otras hojas casi no cambia en nada el sabor. Es mas bien un efecto cosmetico. El extracto forma parte de la Coca-Cola porque legalmente tiene que ser asi. Pero sin el, no se nota ninguna diferencia en el gusto, que esta dado basicamente por las cantidades diferentes de azucar, azucar quemada, sales, acidos y conservantes.Sabor a que...? ja, ja, ja.Aqui en Bartow, sur de Orlando, hay una empresa quimica que produce aromatizantes y esencias para zumos. Envian diariamente camionadas de sales concentradas y esencias para las fabricas de helados, gaseosas, jugos, enlatados y comida colorida y aromatizada.Cuando visite por primera vez la fabrica, pedi ver el deposito de concentrados de frutas, que deberia ser inmenso, especialmente los de naranja, pina, fresa y tantos otros. El encargado me miro, se rio y me llevo a visitar los depositos inmensos... pero de colorantes y componentes quimicos.Las gaseosa de naranja no contiene naranja.En los zumos dizque de fresa, hasta los puntitos que quedan en suspension estan hechos de goma (una liga quimica que envuelve un semi-polimero).Pina, es un popurri de acidos y goma.La esencia para helado de aguacate usa peroxido de hidrogeno (agua oxigenada) para dar la sensacion espumosa tipica del aguacate.Quieres saber la cantidad de basura que tiene un refresco 'light'? Yo ni siquiera los uso para destapar mi lavaplatos pues temo que danen los tubos de PVC. Los productos endulzantes 'ligth' tienen una vida media muy corta. Por ejemplo el aspartamo , despues de tres semanas mojado, pasa a tener gusto de trapo viejo sucio.Para evitar eso, se agregan una infinidad de otros productos quimicos, uno para alargar la vida del aspartamo, otro para neutralizar el color, otro para mantener el tercer quimico en suspension porque sino el fondo de la gaseosa quedaria oscuro, otro para evitar la cristalizacion del aspartamo, otro para realzar el sabor, dar mas intensidad al acido citrico o fosforito que perderia su sabor por el efecto de los cuatro productos quimicos iniciales... y asi sucesivamente.Un consejo final !!Despues de toda mi experiencia con la produccion de bebidas embasadas, puedo afirmar sin dudar un segundo: la mejor bebida es el agua, como tambien los jugos exprimidos de naranja o limon. Nada mas, cero azucar y cero sal.Publicado por loretahur

MARGARINA o MANTEQUILLA La margarina fue producida originalmente para engordar a los pavos; cuandolo que hizo en realidad fue matarlos.Las personas que habian puesto el dinero para la investigacion quisieronrecobrarlo asi que empezaron a pensar en una forma de hacerlo.Tenian una sustancia blanca, que no tenia ningun atractivo como comestible,asi que le anadieron el color amarillo, para venderselo a lagente en lugar de la mantequilla.Que tal esa?... Ahora han sacado algunos nuevos sabores para vender mas alos incautos como usted y yo.CONOCE USTED la diferencia entre la margarina y la mantequilla?Siga leyendo hasta el final... porque se pone bastante interesante!Comparacion entre mantequilla y margarina:

1.- Ambas tienen la misma cantidad de calorias.

2.- La mantequilla es ligeramente mas alta en grasas saturadas: 8 gramos,comparada con los 5 gramos que tiene la margarina.

3.- Comer margarina en vez de mantequilla puede aumentar en 53% el riesgo deenfermedades coronarias en las mujeres, de acuerdo con un estudiomedico reciente de la Universidad de Harvard.

4.- Comer mantequilla aumenta la absorcion de gran cantidad de nutrientesque se encuentran en otros alimentos.

5.- La mantequilla provee beneficios nutricionales propios mientras lamargarina tiene solo los que le hayan sido anadidos al fabricarla.

6.- La mantequilla sabe mucho mejor que la margarina y mejora el sabor deotros alimentos.7.- La mantequilla ha existido durante siglos mientras que la margarinatiene menos de 100 anos.

Ahora... sobre la margarina:

1.- Es muy alta en acidos grasos trans. (Si, esos que recien ahora loscientificos descubrieron que son malisimos y los gobiernoscomenzaron a prohibirlos) .

2.- Triple riesgo de enfermedades coronarias.

3.- Aumenta el colesterol total y el LDL (el colesterol malo) y disminuye elHDL (el colesterol bueno).

4.- Aumenta en cinco veces el riesgo de cancer.

5.- Disminuye la calidad de la leche materna.

6.- Disminuye la reaccion inmunologica del organismo.

7.- Disminuye la reaccion a la insulina.

Y he aqui el factor mas inquietante (AQUI ESTA LA PARTE MAS INTERESANTE! ):A la margarina le falta UNA MOLECULA para ser PLASTICO...!!Solo este hecho es suficiente para evitar el uso de la margarina de porvida, y de cualquier otra cosa que sea hidrogenada (esto significaque se le anade hidrogeno, lo cual cambia la estructura molecular de lassubstancias).Usted puede ensayar lo siguiente:Compre un poco de margarina y dejela en el garaje o en un sitio sombreado.Dentro de unos dias notara dos cosas:

* No habra moscas; ni siquiera esos molestos bichos se le acercaran (esto yale debe decir a usted algo).

* No se pudre ni huele mal o diferente porque no tiene valor nutritivo; nadacrece en ella. Ni siquiera los diminutos microorganismos puedencrecer en ella.Por que? Porque es casi plastico!!



No a la guerra, Si a la Paz



Misterios de la ciencia...



Los costos de la guerra



medicos y capitalismo...



Capitalismo...



medicos (2)



Quien educa a nuestros hijos?



Los Medios...



Sin Palabras...



Chistes feministas

- Cual es el problema, Eva?

- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz...

- Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.

- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...

- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.

- Que es un hombre?

- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.

- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.

- Cual es el truco?.

- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.

- Cual?

- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.





Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas?  Porque todos son unos cerdos

Un dia, en el Paraiso, Eva llamo a Dios: Tengo un problema.- Cual es el problema, Eva?- Se que me has creado, que me has dado este hermoso jardin, todos estos maravillosos animales y esa serpiente con la que me muero de risa... pero no soy del todo feliz... - Como es eso, Eva? - replico Dios desde las alturas.- Me encuentro sola, y ademas estoy harta de comer manzanas...- Bueno Eva, en tal caso, tengo una solucion... creare un hombre para ti.- Que es un hombre?- Un hombre sera una criatura imperfecta, con muchas artimanas. Mentira, hara trampas, sera engreido... vamos, que te va a dar problemas... Pero, va a ser mas fuerte y rapido que tu y le gustara cazar y matar cosas... Tendra un aspecto simple, pero como te estas quejando, le creare de tal forma que satisfaga tus... eh... necesidades fisicas... Y tampoco sera muy listo, y destacara en cosas infantiles como pegarse o dar patadas a un balon... Necesitara tu consejo siempre para actuar cuerdamente.- Suena bien - dijo Eva, mientras levantaba la ceja ironicamente.- Cual es el truco?.- Pues... que lo tendras con una condicion.- Cual?- Como te decia, sera chulo, arrogante y muy narcisista... asi que le tendras que hacer creer que le hice a el primero... recuerda... es nuestro secreto... de mujer a mujer.Por que a los hombres no les puede dar la enfermedad de las vacas locas?  Porque todos son unos cerdos

Ellas...



Ellas (2)...



Tres venganzas femeninas VENGANZA NUMERO 1

Hoy mi hija cumple 21 anos y estoy muy contento porque es el ultimo pago de pension alimenticia que le doy, asi que llame a mi hijita para que viniera a mi casa y cuando llego le dije:

-Hijita, quiero que lleves este cheque a casa de tu mama y que le digas que: Este es el ultimo maldito cheque que va recibir de mi en todo lo que le queda de su puta vida!!! Quiero que me digas la expresion que pone en su rostro.

Asi que mi hija fue a entregar el cheque. Yo estaba ansioso por saber lo que la bruja tenia que decir y que cara pondria.

Cuando mi hijita entro, le pregunte inmediatamente: -Que fue lo que te dijo tu madre?

-Me dijo que justamente estaba esperando este dia para decirte que no eres mi papa!



VENGANZA NUMERO 2

Un hombre que siempre molestaba a su mujer, paso un dia por la casa de unos amigos para que lo acompanaran al aeropuerto a dejar a su esposa que viajaba a Paris.

A la salida de inmigracion, frente a todo el mundo, el le desea buen viaje y en tono burlon le grita:

- Amor, no te olvides de traerme una hermosa francesita Ja ja ja!!

Ella bajo la cabeza y se embarco muy molesta.

La mujer paso quince dias en Francia.

El marido otra vez pidio a sus amigos que lo acompanasen al aeropuerto a recibirla.

Al verla llegar, lo primero que le grita a toda voz es:

- Y amor me trajiste mi francesita??

- Hice todo lo posible, - contesta ella - ahora solo tenemos que rezar para que nazca nina.



VENGANZA NUMERO 3

El marido, en su lecho de muerte, llama a su mujer. Con voz ronca y ya debil, le dice: - Muy bien, llego mi hora, pero antes quiero hacerte una confesion.

- No, no, tranquilo, tu no debes hacer ningun esfuerzo.

- Pero, mujer, es preciso - insiste el marido - Es preciso morir en paz.

Te quiero confesar algo.

- Esta bien, esta bien. Habla!

- He tenido relaciones con tu hermana, tu mama y tu mejor amiga.

- Lo se, lo se Por eso te envenene, hijo de puta!!!



machismo y cibernetica



Chiste machista La NASA ha enviado al espacio una mision experimental tripulada por dos monos y una mujer.Apenas abandona la atmosfera, se establece comunicacion con Houston.

-Atencion, simio 1, verifique sistemas hidraulicos, controle adecuada presion de los propulsores de arranque. A 60.000 pies disminuya un 25% la velocidad.

El simio hace la sena de OK.

-Atencion, simio 2, nivele al cruzar la estratosfera y active sistemas anticongelantes. No olvide monitorear sistemas de comunicacion e indicadores de presion. Comprendido?.

El simio hace la sena de OK.

-Atencion, Houston llamando a mujer: no se olvide.

-Mujer: Si, si, ya se! -interrumpe enojada- que no me olvide darles de comer a estos monos de mierda y que no se me vaya a ocurrir tocar nada!.



.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti.

Un abogado mantiene un romance con su secretaria.Al poco tiempo, esta queda embarazada y el abogado, que no quiere que su esposa se entere, le da a la secretaria una buena suma de dinero y le pide que se vaya a parir a Italia.Esta pregunta: Y como voy a hacerte saber cuando nazca el bebe ? El abogado responde: Para que mi mujer no se entere, tan solo enviame una postal y escribe por detras: Spaghetti. Y no te preocupes mas, que yo me encargare de todos los gastos.

Pasan los meses y una manana la esposa del abogado lo llama al bufete, algo exaltada: Querido, acabo de recibir el correo y hay una postal muy extrana viene desde Italia. La verdad, no entiendo que significa.El abogado, tratando de ocultar sus nervios, contesta:Espera a que llegue a casa, a ver si yo entiendoCuando el hombre llega a casa y lee la postal, cae al suelo fulminado por un infarto.Llega una ambulancia y se lo lleva. Ya en el hospital, el jefe de cardiologia se queda consolando a la esposa y le pregunta cual ha sido el evento que precipito tan masivo ataque cardiaco.

Entonces la esposa saca la postal y se la muestra diciendole: No me explico, doctor; el solamente leyo esta postal. Vea usted mismo lo que trae escrito.Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti."Tres con salchicha y albondigas y dos con almejas



Gol !!!!



Chistes de Borrachos Entra un borracho a su casa todo manchado con lapiz labial por todos lados hecho un desastre, y la mujer le pregunta:-Hombre que te paso?Y el borracho le responde:-No me vas a creer, me pelee con un payaso!



Este es un borracho que entra en un bar y le dice al camarero:-Me da cinco copas de whisky?Al rato:-Me da cuatro?Al rato:-Me da tres copas?Despues:-Me da dos copas?Luego le dice:-Me da una copa?Y le dice al camarero:-Ves? Cuanto menos bebo, mas borracho estoy!


Biddeford-Saco-OOB Courier

"When you shake a veteran's hand today, look them in the eye and give them a heartfelt thank you," said USAF Ret. Col. Jen Fullmer, parade grand marshal, who spoke at the event.
DEAR ABBY: Suggesting that an older couple (Upset in Washington, June 13) move to a community for people over age 55 because theyre bothered by the neighbors children playing outside early in the morning is just one more example of how we have ended up living in a world of intolerance and division.

Im the mother of a lively 6-year-old boy, and I would suggest that what really needs to happen is a kind and thoughtful discussion about how the kids can be taught to respect their neighbors and play more quietly in the mornings. Theres no reason why a compromise cant be reached.

Communities for older adults are, in my opinion, beneficial when they provide long-term care and are integrated into the larger community and society. Places that amount to self-contained towns populated only by people over 55 are the product of a society unwilling to be compassionate about different needs and priorities, and unaware of the benefits of shared intergenerational wisdom and enthusiasms.

MASSACHUSETTS MOMMY

DEAR MOMMY: Like you, many readers were against the idea of the couple being forced to move because of the noise. They offered suggestions for coping, as well as opinions about the parenting of the neighbor children. Read on:

DEAR ABBY: When people move into a neighborhood, they need to try to fit in rather than demand the neighbors accommodate them. That young mom and her kids are the newbies. The older couple has lived there a long, long time.

I say yes to getting soundproof windows. And perhaps Upsets husband should have a talk with his doctor about his health-related sleep problems. However, ultimately, the parents must take responsibility for their young kids instead of shoving them outside for the neighbors and unlucky drivers to deal with. Let the kids play inside at 8 a.m.

P.S. Sometimes, being nice to the neighbor kids and getting to know them one-on-one can make a challenging situation better. It did for me.

ALSO IN WASHINGTON

DEAR ABBY: In my neighborhood, the landscapers arrive at 7 a.m. to mow, blow and edge. The racket wakes everyone. The answer for us was the white noise machine our daughter got us. During a nap I use it because garbage trucks and delivery vans make more noise than kids playing or the school bus.

ANN FROM SUN CITY

DEAR ABBY: I called the police because of screaming children. After they came, I never heard the screaming again. Years earlier in another neighborhood, cops came to make kids stop the noise. Ill repeat what the officer told me: Everyone is entitled to peace.

MICHIGAN READER

DEAR ABBY: There may be a local ordinance that there must be no noise before 9 a.m. Upset should check into this.

CLAIRE IN NEW YORK

DEAR ABBY: Indulgent parents who fail to teach their children respect for others breed young adults who feel theyre never wrong about anything. You should have suggested the children be confined to their backyard to burn off their energy.

Im relatively certain other neighbors have been disturbed but are afraid to say anything. The retirees should ask around. Maybe if others share their annoyance, they can approach the mom as a group.

DIFFERENT OPINION IN GEORGIA

DEAR ABBY: Children have a right to play outside before school, but playing unsupervised in the street is a tragedy waiting to happen. Also, why should people who have lived in their home for 31 years have to move? It doesnt appear they had problems with other neighbors until that young family moved in. That mother should comprehend that this is not just about noise, but also about her childrens safety.

CAREFUL IN CONNECTICUT
LAKE GEORGE  The village got some good news this week with the announcement it will receive more than $4.27 million from the state toward its multimillion-dollar project to build a new wastewater treatment plant.

Also receiving funding locally were Washington Countys Sewer District 2, which will get nearly $4.7 million; and Hagues wastewater treatment plant, which will get nearly $99,000.

The money was part of nearly $44 million in grants Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Thursday.

Lake George leaders want to build a $17 million plant to replace the villages 85-year-old facility. The village is under a consent order from the state Department of Environmental Conservation to reduce excessive emission of nitrates, which contribute to algal blooms in the lake and can degrade water quality.

The Village Board last month voted to retain the services of the Chazen Companies to complete design work for the project. The schedule calls for the final construction plans to be submitted to the state by October 2018. The work would be bid out in the winter of 2019, with construction taking place from the summer or fall of 2019 to late spring in 2021.

Mayor Robert Blais was not available for comment on Friday. Blais had been lobbying for state funding more than a year, so the full cost of the project is not borne by village taxpayers.

Blais said previously that if the village had to borrow the full $17 million, its local tax rate would increase by almost 70 percent and the municipality would exceed its constitutional state debt limit.

Lake George Association Director Walt Lender said he is pleased with the funding. The organization has worked for years to protect the lake from pollutants and has written letters of support for grants to build a new plant.

Its a little bit too much for village residents alone or even residents of the watershed alone, without any additional partnerships, he said.

Lender said he hopes the village can obtain additional state funding, as well as federal funding.

I know the village is looking under every single possible stone, he said.

Other grant funding awarded locally included $98,563 toward upgrades to Hagues wastewater treatment plant. Hagues plant has been flagged for exceeding limits on levels of nitrate and phosphorus. The latter serves as a food source for phytoplankton, which can multiply and block sunlight, compromising the lakes ecosystem by limiting the growth of underwater meadows known as nitella.

Washington County Sewer District 2 received funding for two separate projects  $3.7 million toward a $14.8 million long-term control plan and $975,923 toward a $3.9 million project to relocate a trunk sewer in Fort Edward.

Laura Oswald, director of economic development, said the county has sought funding for some of these projects for the last three years.

The Fort Edward project involves removing water and sewer infrastructure that currently goes across the property of Irving Consumer Products and relocating those utilities onto a public right of way, according to Oswald.
JOHNSBURG  A large bull moose was killed after a collision with a tractor-trailer on Route 8 one night last week west of Bakers Mills.

The collision happened just before 1 a.m. Sept. 27 near Fox Lair campsites and the trailheads to Siamese Ponds and Kibby Pond.

A tractor-trailer driver reported the moose crossed the highway, then turned and walked back into the highway in front of the truck, police reported.

The Warren County Sheriffs Office responded, and an officer had to shoot the badly injured moose to euthanize it as it lay in the road.

Someone cut off one of its antlers before a state Department of Transportation crew could arrive later that day to remove the carcass.

Paul Jensen, the state Department of Environmental Conservations regional wildlife manager, estimated the moose weighed 800 to 900 pounds, and said it was likely 4.5 years old.

Although the states moose population has grown over the past few decades, only a couple of vehicle-moose collisions happen annually in the Adirondacks, Jensen said.

The collision numbers have actually been dropping in recent years, which may be a result of fewer moose emigrating to the area from New England, or the fact that the animals have established home ranges in remote areas away from heavy traffic.

Moose populations in New England have dropped the past few years as the animals struggle with an increase in ticks that infest them and weaken them to the point they die during the winter. One study estimated 70 percent of calves have died from the problem in recent years.

In New York, Jensen said the winter tick issue has not been noted as a major problem, and the moose population is considered stable to growing. There are believed to be 800 to 1,000 in northern New York.

Were trying to get a better estimate of the population, he said.

The remote, 114,010-acre Siamese Ponds Wilderness Area stretches north of Route 8 where last weeks accident happened, and Jensen said that area is known to be a regional hotspot for moose activity.

We have semi-regular sightings of them in that area, Jensen said.

Authorities said there has also been a moose frequenting swampy areas off Route 8 to the east in the town of Chester in recent weeks.
QUEENSBURY  One person was hurt when a sport-utility vehicle crashed into a utility pole on Round Pond Road on Friday afternoon.

The driver of a Honda SUV suffered what police said seemed to be minor injuries during the 2 p.m. collision near Birdsall Road.

The road was closed for a period of time as the vehicle was remove and pole remnants secured until repairs could be made.
FORT EDWARD  The Fort Edward man who was being sought by police for a day and a half because he allegedly threatened to kill a police chief after pointing a gun at dogs surrendered to Fort Edward Police late Thursday.

Devin A. Pratt was arraigned in Fort Edward Village Court on two felony counts of criminal possession of a weapon, and bail was set at $75,000 cash or $150,000 bail bond. He was not able to post it as of late Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Pratt emailed a Post-Star reporter, saying he did not make any threats to kill Fort Edward Police Chief Justin Derway, and that the rifle that police seized from him was legal and purchased last year from a licensed New York state dealer.

I did not threaten Derways life to any third party. However, I did tell Derway to his face while he was yelling and pointing in mine that if he put his hands on me I would kick his ass, Pratt wrote.

Pratt wrote that he has retained counsel and planned to surrender with different law enforcement agencies other than Fort Edward Police. He did not disclose his location at the time.

Police have been searching for him since Tuesday, after a string of encounters that started when officers were called about a man pointing a rifle at dogs on Culvert Street. Derway said Pratt was found to have an AR-15 rifle that was later deemed illegal, and he made threats to third parties about Derway. A warrant for his arrest on a felony count of criminal possession of a weapon was issued, police said.

Pratt, who is a vice president of the Bay Ridge Volunteer Fire Company, said he and Derway knew each other through fire service, have had political differences and have never gotten along.

Pratt, 43, said he pointed the rifle at two pit bulls that attacked his dog as he walked it on a leash and were approaching his property again. He yelled at them as well, and they backed off. The dogs owner was not around, and he pointed out that he called 911 to report the situation. Pratt said his dog was injured and needed veterinary care.

Derway then arrived and took the rifle, and when Pratt asked for a receipt for it, a confrontation ensued in the police station and the chief refused, Pratt wrote. Pratt said he went to the Fort Edward courtroom next door to ask for judicial intervention, but the chief ordered him to leave or be arrested.

Police later concluded that the gun was illegal, although it was not specified how, and filed the felony charges. Derway said a second charge was added after consultation Thursday with the Washington County District Attorney's Office.

Pratt, though, wrote that the gun was purchased from a licensed dealer, and that he made no modifications to the rifle that would make it noncompliant.

The fire company has suspended Pratt, pending the outcome of the police investigation.
The Trump administration is unflinching in its misbegotten campaign to protect the coal industry from what has become an obvious and inevitable decline. Eight months in, the administration has already killed, or is in the process of killing, rules that would prevent the dumping of coal mining wastes in streams, impose a temporary moratorium on new mine leases in the West, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants  one of President Barack Obamas most important efforts to resist climate change. All of this to prop up an industry whose workers would be best served not by false promises of new mining jobs, but by aggressive programs to retrain them for a changing economy.

The latest ritualistic bow from Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency who has presented himself as an industry savior, was to order last week a two-year postponement of the Obama administrations tighter controls on lead, mercury, arsenic and other coal plant wastes that threaten human health. Delaying the rules effective date to November 2020, Mr. Pruitt said, merely resets the clock.

What it does, rather, is to try to twist the clock back to the day when coal was essentially a monopoly fuel, a day that practical-minded utility executives know is long gone. In fact, these executives are busily shutting down coal-fired plants in favor of more affordable energy sources like natural gas and wind and solar power.

Were not going to build any more coal plants; thats not going to happen, Chris Beam, head of Appalachian Power, West Virginias largest utility, bluntly told the state last April, despite President Trumps phantasmagorical campaign promise to resurrect lost jobs for coal miners. No less candid, Lynn Good, the head of Duke Energy, Americas largest utility, defended the closing of 12 coal plants across five years, with more to come, in order to cut the companys coal-fired energy output by a third: Our strategy will continue to be to drive carbon out of our business.

In February, one of the nations biggest coal-fired plants, the Navajo Generating Station in Arizona, set plans to shut down by the end of 2019  more than two decades earlier than expected  in order to turn to alternatives, cut consumer prices and shed the notoriety of being the third-worst carbon polluter in the nation, according to the ratings of the (pre-Trump) E.P.A.

While environmental rules have played some role in the closing of coal-fired plants, the main driver is cheaper and abundant natural gas. Coals use in power generation has been declining since 2007, and by 2016 coal-fired plants produced only 30 percent of the nations total generation, compared with 50 percent in 2003.

The trend will continue; in 2017 and 2018, at least 46 coal-fired units will close at 25 electricity plants in 16 states, according to the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. In its outlook for 2017, the institute skewered Mr. Trumps campaign vows, saying, Promises to create more coal jobs will not be kept  indeed the industry will continue to cut payrolls.

About 60,000 coal industry jobs have been lost since 2011, and three of the four major mining companies have gone bankrupt, according to a new study by Columbia Universitys Center on Global Energy Policy. Even so, Mr. Trump remains obstinate in his war on coal statements and steadfast to his bloated campaign promises to laid-off miners, despite expert opinion, expressed in the study, that lifting vital environmental controls will not materially improve the coal industrys prospects.

It is shocking that an administration led and staffed by supposedly shrewd business executives deliberately overlooks the blossoming of profitable and cleaner energy products simply because of Mr. Trumps hollow showmanship before his campaign base.

Until now, the E.P.A. and the environmental safeguards Congress has ordered it to enforce have been crucial to the development of new technologies. To have Mr. Pruitt sully that history with false promises to a fading industry is irresponsible.
Editor:

The town of Queensbury is most fortunate to have John Strough, someone with multifaceted interests, as its supervisor. In my experience he has been uniquely supportive of many issues.

Moments that stand out for me include:

As councilmen he and Tony Metivier walked the length of Assembly Point with residents concerned about road degeneration and lake impact; in subsequent workshops, John initiated remediation options for stormwater and septic, including bringing close to fruition the septic transfer law now pending; the town installed the areas blue fertilizer restriction setbacks from waterbodies signs, collaboratively formatted by John, with Tonys implementation; Johns leadership in passing the addendum extending protective set back distances; John has worked closely with Dunhams Bay to improve septic. He has walked with lakeside residents to examine invasive vegetation, given credence to our numerous underwater algae photos, helped obtain funding toward Sunset Lane catchment basins, partnered on a stormwater management guide for lakeside homeowners and signed multiple letters for water quality and historical grant applications.

Responding to a request to support principles of the Paris Accord, John Strough has created an environmental town panel of citizens and officials to engage NYSERDA incentives in lessening carbon footprint. With Catherine Atherden and Claudia Breymer of TricountyNY Transition, John chaired the plastic bag initiative at the County Board.

He attends countless local meetings, political, environmental, as well as in the arts and history. A favorite memory is when he delivered his Military Road lecture at the LGHA to a packed audience. No wonder he has the affection and respect of many. He cares about town history as well as its individuals. John is sincere, tireless, informed and participatory; a leader among area leaders. We need to ensure he continues his momentum on all issues as supervisor.

Lisa Adamson, Assembly Point Water Quality and LGHA Curator, Lake George
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:
M.A. Ford opened the doors of its northwest Davenport manufacturing facility Friday to dozens of high school students, many of whom could be the future work force for the region's manufacturing base.

As part of National Manufacturing Day, the century-old company hosted 50 students from Davenport's West and North High schools to tour the company's area production facilities.

Plant manager Jeff Bigalk, who has worked at M.A. Ford since graduating from Davenport West High School in 1979, led the students through the plant, discussing production techniques, technology, skill sets and the capabilities of the skilled work force.

"All our operators do their own setup, so they own that (product)," he told the engineering and manufacturing students. "They don't just push a button. That keeps the interest level up."

In addition to seeing production of M.A. Ford's high-performance cutting tools, the students visited next door to see the expanded Miracle Tool operation  the Davenport-based M.A. Ford's joint venture with Mitsubishi Materials.

According to Bigalk, M.A. Ford and Davenport West have partnered on many initiatives including employing providing part-time jobs for students as early as their senior year. "It's a good way to hire the younger generation who is not going to go to college and give them a career," he said, adding that three recent graduates now are full-time employees.

Gale Kraft, the company's human resources manager, said it is key that the region "increase that hiring pool, because it's not out there." She said companies could continue "to rob" one another companies for talent "but we've got to expand the pool."

But she has seen a stabilization after a round of retirements at M.A. Ford. The Davenport company, which includes a production plant in Vero Beach, Florida, and operations in Europe, Asia and Hong Kong, has recently hired so many young replacement workers that "we have to focus on benefits for young families again. That's great."

Erica Ralfs, a junior at West, was visiting M.A. Ford for a second year with her school. "I love this plant,'' said Ralfs, who is considering a manufacturing career. "I find it interesting to be able to makes tools of your own."

Founded in 1919, M.A. Ford produces cutting tools, such as countersinks, burrs, end mills and drills, for a number of industries including manufacturing, aerospace, automotive, medical and more. It employs 250 in Davenport.

"This is a possible career solution for them,'' said Davenport West instructor Greg Smith, whose 30 computer integrated manufacturing, or CIM, students participated. "We're trying to revitalize manufacturing."

Smith, who has worked summer externships at M.A. Ford to better understand today's manufacturing for his students, said they will be the workforce that must step up to fill the Quad-Cities' future manufacturing jobs.

The factory tour was a scene that repeated itself across the Quad-City region as others observed National Manufacturing Day. Students touring M.A. Ford also visited the John T. Blong Technology Center as part of Junior Achievement's High School Advance Manufacturing Careers Expo. Other events included Olympic Steel, Bettendorf; HON/HNI Corp. and Allsteel in Muscatine; Big River Packaging, Clinton; and Central DeWitt High School.

Iowa Workforce Development's labor data indicates the state had 214,800 manufacturing jobs as of August  an increase of 1,400 jobs from a year ago. The state's Future Ready Iowa initiative is focused on training Iowans for the high tech jobs of tomorrow.
WOLF LAKE, Ill.  The Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois has closed one of its roads to ensure the safety of snake species that cross it on their way to hibernate.

Snake Road is about 2.5 miles long and located in the LaRue-Pine Hills Research Natural Area, on the western edge of the forest, the Evansville Courier and Press reported. The road will be closed until Oct. 30, allowing dozens of snakes and other amphibians to cross the road from the area's swamps to its bluffs for hibernation.

"Snakes get a bad rap. They are not aggressive. They are very afraid of people," said Illinois Department of Natural Resources biologist Scott Ballard.

"If somebody steps on a dog and it bites them, we say, 'Oh it was just defending itself.' If somebody steps on a snake and it bites you, it's always, 'It attacked.' Well no, there are only two snake species in the world that will actually attack," Ballard said.

He noted that poaching snakes is a Class A misdemeanor in Illinois with a fine of $700 to $1,000.

Ballard said the animals will burrow down 2 or 3 feet to get below the frost line, so they don't freeze and die. They've been feeding on wetlands and storing fat to help sustain them from November to March.

Ballard said there are about 100 species of reptiles and amphibians in Illinois. Fifty-six of them have been found in LaRue-Pine Hills' acres, including frogs, lizards, salamanders and turtles. Some of those species have been documented as threatened or endangered in the U.S.
Grace Lutheran plans pet weekend

A weekend in which pet food and supplies are collected is planned for Oct. 14-15 at Grace Lutheran Church, 1140 E. High St., Davenport.

According to church member Diana Sanderson, the pet supplies are donated to local shelters, which this year includes Rescued, 2105 16th St., Moline. Food, blankets, towels and money is collected during the weekend.

Sanderson, who used to be a nurse, said she saw first-hand how pets can benefit people, but many need help buying pet food and supplies. There are two drives each year made at Grace Lutheran.

Fall Harvest luncheon is Oct. 17 in EM

Christ United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall is the site for the sixth annual Fall Harvest Luncheon, featuring soups and salads.

The event is 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 17 at 3801 7th St., East Moline. Tickets are $9, and proceeds assist United Methodist Women's projects. Tickets are on sale and will be sold at the door. For more information, call 309-755-2508.

Church Women United to look at teen depression

The topics of teen-age depression and suicide will be discussed in a public session on Thursday, Oct. 19, at St. John's Lutheran Church, 4501 7th Ave., Rock Island.

The Rock Island-Milan unit of Church Women United presents the program, in partnership with Transitions Mental Health Services. The Mickle Communications documentary, "If Only You Knew: The Journey Through Teen Depression and Suicide," is a program feature.

Holocaust Institute features performance artist

Judy Winnick, an actress and performance artist from Colorado, will portray Alice Herz-Sommer in a one-act play as part of the Holocaust Institute: Music and Hope.

The Oct. 26 program is free and open to the public. It is 4-7:15 p.m. at the Rogalski Center, St. Ambrose University, Davenport.

The program: Registration and hors d'oeuvres, exhibits, 4-5 p.m.; Holocaust educator presentations and Winnick's program, 6 p.m.

Herz-Sommer is a concert pianist who performed more than 100 concerts for fellow prisoners in the Terezin Concentration Camp, during World War II. A question-and-answer session will follow.

NPR faith reporter to visit St. Paul on Nov. 12

Tom Gjelten, an NPR reporter who covers issues of religion, faith, and belief, is St. Paul Lutheran's 2017 Faith & Life Series speaker. On Sunday, Nov. 12, 10:45 a.m. and 4 p.m., Gjelten will speak at the church, 2136 Brady St., Davenport.

Every fall, the church brings individuals of national stature to the Quad-Cities  sparking new ideas about what it means to live faithfully. The presentations are free and open to the public. After the presentation, a reception will be held.
Iowans have voted to add a right to keep and bear arms into the state constitution, a move that will make it more difficult to pass gun restrictions.
The spirit of Buffalo Police Chief Terry "T.J." Behning, now at University Hospitals in Iowa City, was present at Thursday's assembly to honor "every day heroes," or first responders.

Buffalo Elementary School in Buffalo was the site of the assembly, and some of the students wore T-shirts that read: #TJStrong

The event was combined with an anti-bullying program conducted by school counselor Tara Appel.

First responders who were honored included police officers from Buffalo, Walcott and Davenport, the MEDIC EMS team from Blue Grass, and several military veterans from the Blue Grass American Legion.

The highlight of the hour-long assembly, however, was a video message sent by Behning.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," he said in the message from his hospital room. "You would not believe all the support ... it makes me feel great!

"Everything is going well ... the signs you made me are straight-awesome," Behning said. "I love you guys! Thanks!"

Buffalo officer Josh Bujalski, among those honored on Thursday, said T.J. and his wife, Heidi, have been in good spirits since he was injured Sept. 25.

Behning was hurt when his squad car was struck at the intersection of Scott County Road Y40 and Iowa 22. He was trying to deploy stop sticks in response to police pursuit involving a person who allegedly was driving a stolen vehicle.

The driver of the truck, Logan Jeffery Shoemaker, 20, was arrested shortly after the crash and faces multiple charges, including attempted murder of Behning.

Buffalo students ended the assembly by singing the school's song, which begins: "Our schools in Buffalo, Iowa, USA! I like my school in every way!"

As they left school for the day, they were given candy provided by a Behning family member.
DES MOINES -- States are willing to give a little money to get a few jobs, and Iowa is no exception.

But Iowas various economic development programs, which each year dole out hundreds of millions of dollars in tax relief to businesses looking to move or grow here, have received some extra scrutiny in recent months.

State lawmakers have wondered whether the state is giving away too much money to businesses, and state economists say the giveaways often are unnecessary.

But at the local level, economic development officials say those programs are vital and have provided a return on the investment to the taxpayers who are footing the bill.

The focus intensified with the construction of a $3 billion fertilizer plant in Lee County, in the states southeast corner. The project, which was completed this past spring, has been awarded more than $100 million in state tax breaks and has generated 165 permanent jobs.

Late this summer, the Iowa officials announced they were offering Apple $20 million in tax relief for a new data center in suburban Des Moines as part of an overall $200 million assistance package (the rest was local relief). The project is expected to create roughly 50 permanent jobs.

While the $20 million in state money for Apple was not as large as the incentives given to the fertilizer plant, the announcement coincided with news of trouble with the state budget. State officials were forced to make a third adjustment to the budget year that ended June 30, bringing the total in spending cuts and borrowing to $262 million. Critics suggested Iowa should not be foregoing millions of dollars in future tax revenue while the state budget is requiring multiple adjustments to balance.

The debate has seeped into the political realm as candidates line up to run for governor in 2018. Multiple Democrats have argued the state is too generous with its tax incentives.

But local economic development officials say its all worth it.

These programs are an important tool and complement the incentives that are offered by the communities that we represent, said Lisa Skubal, vice president of economic development with the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance and Chamber. Debi Durham (executive director of the state economic development board) has done an excellent job being fiscally responsible for how they review projects, and I applaud the attention to detail, that they look at it and evaluate not only for external projects but for existing businesses.

Big money, big projects

One such example in the Cedar Valley would be a $14.8 million incentive package put together for John Deere, which used the assistance to help fund a $90 million upgrade at the companys Waterloo Works Foundry. The project helped the company retain a projected 295 jobs, 138 of which have been realized, according to the state economic development boards 2016 report.

All of the projects we have, regardless of size, there isnt one that I can think of that wasnt a good deal, Skubal said.

Deere also was the recipient of a $10.8 million incentive package for a $43.7 million investment in 2005. That project created 300 jobs, according to the economic development boards 2016 report.

McKesson Corporation in 2015 received a $4.2 million incentive package to help build a new, $65 million pharmaceutical distribution center in Clear Lake. The project was expected to create 164 jobs.

Chad Schreck, president and CEO of North Iowa Corridor, the areas economic development organization, said the company has produced roughly 250 jobs.

I think it most definitely was worth it, Schreck said of the incentive package.

CF Industries Nitrogen scored a $31 million incentive package for its $1.7 billion expansion project in Sioux City. The project, which was completed this past spring, created 100 new jobs.

It gave this whole area a great manufacturing facility for years to come, said Nick DeRoos, the general manager of the CF Port Neal complex who also served as project director for the expansion.

In the Cedar Rapids area, Rockwell Collins has been a big beneficiary of state incentives: four projects since 2007 totaling more than $28.5 million in tax relief. The various projects have created just more than 800 jobs.

Bait or handout?

State economists argue that in many cases, state tax incentives are awarded to companies that would proceed with the project regardless.

David Swenson, an economist at Iowa State University, said for example fertilizer plants and pork processing plants should not require tax incentives because Iowa is the most logical landing spot for their facilities. Even data centers, like those opened in and incentivized by Iowa in recent years --- Apple was preceded by Google and Microsoft --- do not need money dangled in front of them because Iowa has low energy costs and a favorable climate.

They were going to happen anyway, Swenson said. Economists cant make this work out. Economists will look at this and say the taxpayer never gets paid back.

Swenson said economic development officials delude themselves into thinking they are creating jobs when they, in fact, are simply putting bait to attract jobs that would happen in the economy nonetheless.

Peter Fisher, an economist with the liberal-leaning Iowa Policy Project, called most state tax incentives a waste of money for many of the same reasons.

I think its gotten out of hand, Fisher said. Its just not worth it.

Fisher pointed to his previous research, which in 2013 concluded corporate tax breaks are a very inefficient means of promoting state economic growth.

Most of the lost revenue simply flows to corporations who are doing nothing different, nothing that they wouldnt have done anyway, Fishers report says.

Theory and reality

These arguments against tax incentives may sound good in theory, but do not match the reality of competition for projects that will create new jobs, one economic development official said.

John Stineman is executive director of the Iowa Chamber Alliance and a principal consultant with Strategic Elements in Des Moines. He called Swenson and Fishers arguments a great philosophical discussion, but said the reality is that Iowa competes with other states for projects, and that he thinks it would be self-defeating for the state to not offer competitive tax relief packages.

At the end of the day you do have to compete for projects, Stineman said. Were not about to lay down arms in that fight over academic principle. ... There is a competition taking place and were going to do the best we can.

Durham said more than 80 percent of Iowa's economic development portfolio is in existing companies, which means the state is focusing on local growth first. She said she understands the criticism of forfeiting future state revenue to chase businesses, even calling the criticism valid. But, she said, the states tax incentive programs must be considered by the bigger picture.

You cant do it without incentives, Durham said. Apples going to do it somewhere, it doesnt mean theyre going to do it in Iowa. ... It is simply naive to believe in this world that we have to compete in that we dont need incentives to land deals.

Durham touted Iowas incentive program, which in most cases requires jobs to be created at a certain wage threshold and does not award the incentives until the project is completed. She pointed to a report published in May by the non-partisan Pew Charitable Trusts that hails Iowa as one of 10 states with the best tax incentive programs.

Iowa is leading other states because it has a well-designed plan to regularly evaluate tax incentives, experience in producing quality evaluations that rigorously measure economic impact, and a process for informing policy choices, the report says.
Weeds and overgrown vegetation have taken over the former Buchanan School and Naval Training Center for years, but that will change soon. The state of Iowa has awarded grant funding to help redevelop the Davenport property into 18 senior apartments.

The Iowa Economic Development Authority notified the city of Davenport in April of preliminary approval to award more than $2.5 million in the form of a Community Development Block Grant. As more funding became available, the award amount has ballooned to close to $3 million on top of $500,000 in grant funding to control stormwater runoff.

Project manager Chris Ales said the development at 2104 W. 6th St. has been eyed since 2014, when they unsuccessfully applied for the same state aid.

"I believe this building arguably could have been causing some blight in the neighborhood," Ales said during Wednesday's Davenport City Council committee-of-the-whole meeting. "I'm optimistic to say that once we've finished, it will turn in the other direction and this will serve as an anchor and hopefully generate some redevelopment in the surrounding neighborhood."

Buchanan School was built and opened in 1904. It closed in 1940 and remained vacant until its purchase in 1951 when it became a U.S. Naval Training Center until 1978.

The building was purchased again in 1988 and used as a storage space for an antique auto parts business.

The cost of the project, indicated on its application to the state, is $5.4 million. The developer may also apply for Urban Revitalization Tax Exemption benefits.

Ales said about half of the apartments are expected to be market rate. The remaining units will be limited to people with incomes at or below 80 percent of the area median income.

In anticipation of receiving the award, Ales said he has gone into the building over the past month to begin stabilization of the structure, which he noted was in poor shape.

Work is expected to begin later this fall with completion targeted by the end of 2018.

Aldermen will vote to accept the state's award at Wednesday's City Council meeting.
Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner's new television ad touting the state's education reform law drew complaints from Democrats on Thursday that the Republican governor is claiming credit for something he actually opposed for months.

The ad, which is running in the Quad-Cities, points to the reform law signed in August and boasts of record high spending for public education, changes to the school funding formula and help for private schools.

In announcing the ad Wednesday, the campaign said "Improving education was a major reason why Bruce ran for governor."

Democrats, however, pointed to Rauner's opposition to the original reform bill, which he derided for months as a "Chicago bailout." The governor issued an amendatory veto of the legislation, but the bill that eventually came back and was signed into law closely resembled the original version. It did contain language allowing for tax credits for people who donate money to private school scholarships.

"Apparently Bruce Rauner has decided to run his reelection campaign in an alternate universe, said Sam Salustro, Illinois communications director for the Democratic Governors Association.

Democrats also noted a part of the ad that referred to the final reform bill as "nothing short of a miracle" was actually a reference in a news story to state Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, a leader in getting the law through.

Justin Giorgio, a spokesman for the campaign responded: "While other governors over the past two decades were unable to pass school funding reform, Governor Rauner made sure it got done. He campaigned on education reform and made it a priority upon taking office."
An incident involving Bettendorf Middle School students and threats earlier this week prompted a police investigation and reassuring message to parents.

The incident was Tuesday afternoon, according to Celeste Miller, district spokeswoman. The e-mail message went out on Wednesday.

This is the same time of the week that threats on social media were investigated at North High School in Davenport, but police found the threats to be not credible.

Davenport Superintendent Art Tate wrote a letter to parents about threats, social media, and 24/7 instantaneous actions that increase levels of anxiety and feelings of vulnerability.

The Bettendorf Middle School incident was investigated by the resource officer, Jim Bennett, said Police Chief Phil Redington.

The value in having an officer like Bennett stationed at the school is to investigate threats as they occur, Redington said.

"We want to assure the school is a safe environment, and it is," he said.

The electronic message was signed by Lisa Reid, Bettendorf Middle School principal. Here is the text:

"Today, Bettendorf Middle School administration was notified of a verbal threat made by a student towards other students. Upon receiving this notification, administration worked collaboratively with staff to thoroughly investigate and evaluate this incident.

"Administration, along with the Bettendorf Police Department, have concluded that the students and staff of Bettendorf Middle School are safe.

"Bettendorf Middle School takes all threats seriously and appreciates the quick response of students and staff to report this incident."

In addition to sending the message to parents, Reid made a similar announcement to students over the intercom system.
Habitat for Humanity Quad-Cities always relies on volunteers to help build its homes, but the people working Friday in Milan were a bit unusual  they were 11 RVers from different parts of the country who took a break from sight-seeing to help Habitat.

The volunteers are part of a network of more than 5,000 people who travel the country with the dual purpose of recreation and volunteering through a Habitat International program called Care-A-Vanner.

Jim and Ginny Keen, from near Dayton, Ohio, were among the 11 wrapping up two weeks of work on Friday at the Quad-City affiliate's 106th home.

Jim is a retired broadcast engineer for National Public Radio and Ginny is a retired math professor from the University of Dayton. They knew they'd have to do more in retirement than laze around on a beach.

Ginny happened upon the Habitat International website and immediately was drawn to the Care-A-Vanner program's motto "travel with purpose."

"How much more of a message could there be?" Keen said Friday, taking a break from driving screws into drywall and smoothing rough edges in preparation for "mudding" and taping by professionals.

Owning an RV and volunteering for Habitat were both new to the Keens, and they found they enjoy both. After three years, this is their 15th build.

Their next destination will be their home for recuperation  "we aren't spring chickens," Ginny said  and then start out again after the first of the year.

Because most RVers are retired, the average age of Care-A-Vanners tends to be on the high side. For Milan, it was 67.4 years, Keen said.

When the group arrived on-site, the house was framed and had a roof. Their jobs included installing the siding, soffits and fascia; insulating the basement, and hanging the drywall.

By noon Friday they were cleaning up and taping paper to the floor to protect it from the next step  "mudding" by the drywall finishers.

"We like to think of ourselves as giving the affiliate a jump-start," said Jo (Jolyn) Kempf, of Bettendorf, one of four Quad-City RVers helping with the build. "Then during winter, locals can come in and do the finish work."

On Saturday, she and her husband, Bill, intend to drive to the western Iowa community of Storm Lake to help with a "build" there.

Another Quad-City RV couple was Tom and Judy Fox of Davenport. Having local RV volunteers is unusual; usually the entire group is from outside the area. Other volunteers in Milan were from Scottsdale, Arizona, Council Bluffs, Iowa, and Lake Crystal, Minnesota. During their stay, they headquartered at the KOA Campground in Milan.

People find out about the Care-A-Vanner program in various ways, then sign up online for a specific time and location that fits into their schedule. When they arrive on site, they usually don't know the other people unless they encountered them previously or were friends who signed up together.

Each site has a Habitat superintendent; in Milan it is Andy Juhasz, Rock Island, and Dave Colgan, Bettendorf.

This is the second time the Quad-City affiliate has used the Care-A-Vanner program; the first was in May.

The partner family that will buy the home and provide sweat equity are Ayaovonor and Sylvie Thomede, currently of Rock Island, but originally from the African nation of Togo.
Prescription opioid drug overdose death has become an increasingly well-documented epidemic in Iowa and across the country in the past 15 years. More and more, people are using prescription opioid medications, often transitioning to heroin, destroying families and lives. Too often, it proves fatal.

The University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center recently convened a meeting of stakeholders in Des Moines to address methods of countering this growing crisis. Representatives from more than a dozen fields, including law enforcement, substance abuse treatment, medicine, public health and pharmacy, in addition to elected officials or their representatives, met in April to identify priorities that government leaders and policy makers could consider to address the epidemic.

The numbers in Iowa are disturbing, in both rural and urban areas. As many as 1,239 people died from an overdose of prescription opioids in Iowa between 2002 and 2014, and heroin deaths have increased nine-fold in 15 years. While rates of prescription opioid deaths are low in Iowa compared to other states, the death rate has quadrupled in the past 20 years. This makes Iowa only one of four states with such a dramatic increase. Prescription opioids account for the most overdose deaths among all opioid-involved deaths in Iowa.

The nine-fold growth of heroin deaths is two to three times higher than the national average. While prescription opioid overdose deaths have decreased in recent years, heroin deaths have risen as prescription opioid users switch to the more accessible and affordable drug.

In response, the stakeholders brought together by the university arrived at five priorities to address the crisis. Specifically, the stakeholders identified the need to:

 Provide evidence-based physician training in pain management and opioid prescribing to medical students while still in medical school. For current licensed professionals, develop a presentation that will provide a historical perspective with up-to-date data focusing on evidence-based solutions to alter the course of this epidemic.

 Educate physicians, nurses, pharmacists and other practitioners to ensure a strong knowledge base in recognizing patients at high risk for opioid abuse and addiction

 Make Iowas Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP), a database of selected controlled substance prescriptions dispensed by Iowa pharmacies, an accurate and effective clinical tool for all prescribers

 Strengthen capacity to conduct opioid drug overdose surveillance and prescription opioid monitoring among multiple organizations and agencies

 Ensure that Medicaid and other state health programs adequately cover all FDA-approved medication assisted treatment and evidence-based behavioral interventions, and encourage or require commercial health plans to adopt similar policies

We will discuss these recommendations in more detail on Monday, Oct. 16 with the legislative interim study committee tasked to comprehensively evaluate Iowa's response to the opioid epidemic. This committee wants input from various relevant agencies and entities and plans to submit a report with its findings and recommendations to Gov. Kim Reynolds, R-Iowa, and the general assembly by Nov. 15, in time for action during the next legislative session.

The next step is for stakeholders across Iowa, including our political leadership and policy makers, to work together to identify ways to curb the opioid epidemic. We hope our report is an important part of that process.

The report, The Prescription Opioid Crisis: Policy and Program Recommendations to Reduce Opioid Overdose and Deaths in Iowa, was funded by a grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The full report is available at www.uiiprc.org.
Iowa Democrats say one of the top keys to being successful in the 2018 elections --- after consecutive setbacks in the previous two --- is a message focused on jobs and the economy.

Yet one of the first issues seized by Democratic candidates for Iowa governor has been the states tax incentive programs, which are designed to entice companies to come to or expand in Iowa, thus creating jobs.

Are those messages at odds?

Some Iowa Democrats don't think so, but at least one Democratic state lawmakers does.

The 2016 election was especially jarring for Democrats in a state that twice voted for Barack Obama but went by almost 10 percentage points to Donald Trump.

One of the best ways to recoup those voters is to focus on an economic message, Democrats say.

I think the top three issues are jobs, jobs, jobs. And then jobs after that, Sean Bagniewski, chairman of the Polk County Democrats, said at the groups Steak Fry fundraiser this past weekend.

But ever since the announcement that the state awarded $20 million in tax relief to Apple for a data center it plans to build in suburban Des Moines, multiple Democratic candidates for governor have railed against the states tax incentive program.

Fred Hubbell, a Des Moines business running for the Democratic nomination, has handed out apples at campaign events to highlight his opposition to the incentives awarded for the data center project.

Is such opposition counter-productive to Democrats pledge to campaign on an economic platform?

Troy Price, chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, doesn't see it that way.

Democrats are always excited when companies come to Iowa, but the problem is, (Republican Gov.) Kim Reynolds and the GOP are giving away piles of money to out-of-state corporations to create a handful of jobs, Price said in an emailed statement to the bureau. Theyre doing this despite the fact that companies like Microsoft say they didnt choose Iowa because of the incentives.

Price said Democrats will make the argument they want the tax dollars of hard-working Iowans to go toward better schools, affordable health care and good paying jobs.

Sue Dvorsky, a former state party chairwoman, said Democrats can highlight the large dollar amounts that the state is yielding relative to the number of jobs created. The Apple project is expected to produce only 50 permanent jobs.

But Chaz Allen is not as sure the message is a winning one for Democrats.

Allen is a Democratic state senator from Newton, where also served as mayor, which only recently has begun to recover from the 2006 closure of a Maytag plant there. Allen also serves as one of two state legislators --- non-voting members --- on the state economic development board.

Asked if an anti-tax breaks message will be a winner for Democrats in 2018, Allen replied, I dont think so.

Jobs have to come first. People have to have a reason to live here, and thats usually a job, Allen said. Jobs is what weve got to be working toward.

John Stineman, a Republican political consultant who worked on Steve Forbes 2000 presidential campaign, said Democrats attack the incentives program at their own peril. He noted Democrats have been highly critical of the more than $100 million in state tax relief awarded to a $3 billion fertilizer plant in Lee County, in southeast Iowa, and yet former Gov. Terry Branstad in 2014 won that county for the first time in six gubernatorial election victories.

Thats directly related to economic development and the jobs that were created, Stineman said. It was the Iowa Fertilizer Plant and the hundreds and thousands of construction jobs and the money that was spent in those communities.

Reynolds campaign, naturally, defended the administrations use of state tax incentives, pointing to the states low unemployment rate.

The Apple economic development Project will employ hundreds of Iowans (when including temporary jobs like construction) and build on the continued growth of the Silicon Prairie, Reynolds campaign spokesman Pat Garrett said in an email to the bureau. The project is a home run. We will continue to focus on building a better Iowa, which means improvements and reforms for better jobs, a 21st century education, and a well-trained workforce.
Clinton County officials confirm that the man believed to be behind the deadliest mass shooting in American history was born in 1953 in Clinton, Iowa, the namesake county seat town of 25,719 people along the Mississippi River.

The Clinton County Recorder's office confirmed a birth certificate was on file for Stephen Craig Paddock born on April 9, 1953, at the former Jane Lamb Hospital. He would be 64 today, the same age as the Stephen Paddock who is alleged to have fired semi-automatic weapons into a crowd of Las Vegas concertgoers Sunday evening. He was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his room at the Mandalay Bay hotel, the same room from which he fired into the crowd below.

At least 59 people were killed in the attack, including the shooter, and more than 500 were injured.

According to the Clinton County records, Paddock's birth father was Benjamin Paddock, of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, a fact which also matches biographical reports on the gunman. His mother was born in Illinois.

The Arizona Daily Star, which is owned by Lee Enterprises, the parent company of the Quad-City Times, reported that before the 1950s ended the family had moved to Tuscon, Arizona, and then moved again to California in the 1960s.

It's unclear how long the family may have been in the Clinton area.
The above organizations are recognized by Queens Crap as being beneficial to the city as a whole, by fighting to preserve the history and character of our neighborhoods. They are not connected to this website and the opinions presented here do not necessarily represent the positions of these organizations.The comments left by posters to this site do not necessarily represent the views of the blogger or webmaster.Street or satellite shots used here are from Google Maps or Windows Live Local
The year of 2017 pushed extremes with the driest June on record, one of the hottest July documented, and powerful hailstorms. This spring and summer presented cattlemen with a challenging summer drought, which will impact decisions into the fall and winter.

Nebraska Extension and the Nebraska Grazing Lands Coalition are a cover crop field tour this fall to assist cattlemen make economic and sustainable decisions with their cowherds and rangelands.

Special guest will be Dale Strickler, an agronomist with Green Cover Seed. The tour will cover ways to improve soil health, increase grazing acres, implement a double cropping system and alternatives to cash crops.

The tour will be from 10 a.m. to noon, Oct. 11 at Terrell Farms at Mirage Flats, 4396 440th, Rd Hay Springs (13 miles south of Hay Springs on NE-87 and 2 miles east of Kelly Bean on 440th Rd).

No pre-registration or cost. Call the Sheridan County Extension Office 308-327-2312 for more information.
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. | During a ceremony, the Ellsworth Airfield Operations Building was renamed the Millie Rexroat Building, on Oct. 2, 2017.

The 28th Bomb Wing dedicated the airfield operations building to Ola Millie Rexroat, so her legacy can live on and be remembered by all who walk through the building.

Rexroat was a member of the Women Air Force Service Pilot (WASP) corps and, after the WASP was disbanded, she went on to serve as an air traffic controller in the USAF Reserves, as a captain. A records review revealed she was the only WASP of Native American Descent.

She never forgot that she was a Native American, said Forest R. McDonald, son of Millie Rexroat. She never forgot her heritage and her native culture, it was very important to her.

Rexroat was a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe from Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where she spent summers with her grandmother.

Everything my mother did, it sent a message to me when I was very young, McDonald said. If you really want to do something, dont let anyone tell you that you cant just because of who or what you are. It wasnt something she ever said to me, its just who she was. Its something Ive always kept with me.

During the unveiling, Col. John R. Edwards, commander of the 28th Bomb Wing, spoke in front of many of Rexroats friends and family members that were present during the ceremony.

Capt. Ola Millie Rexroat joined in 1944, Edwards said. Before flying for the WASP corps, she knew she had to support the war effort and thought the best way she could do that was applying for the WASPS, where she would learn how to fly an aircraft before she could even drive a car.

While serving as a WASP, Rexroat towed targets behind a T-6 Texan for air-to-air gunnery and ground-to-air anti-aircraft practice for male pilots. She also transported personnel and cargo. After the WASPS disbanded, Rexroat served another ten years in the Air Force Reserves as an air traffic controller.

It is (with) great pride that I can be here to honor Millie Rexroat and the legacy she gave to us, Edwards explained. She was someone who led with inspiration, courage and dedication to the country, and is an inspiration for many Native Americans, for all Americans.
ELLSWORTH AIR FORCE BASE, S.D. | Consider this scenario: Its 2 oclock in the morning. You and your family are fast asleep when you awaken to the smoke alarm sounding and the smell of smoke. What do you do? If you and your family dont have a plan in place, it could jeopardize your safety, or even prove deadly.

In a typical home fire, you may have as little as one to two minutes to escape safely from the time the smoke alarm sounds. Thats why home escape planning is so critical in a fire situation. It ensures that everyone in the household knows how to use that small window of time wisely.

Developing and practicing a home escape plan is like building muscle memory, said William Beck, assistant fire chief assigned to the Ellsworth Air Force Base Fire Department. That pre-planning is what everyone will draw upon to snap into action and escape as quickly as possible in the event of a fire.

This years Fire Prevention Week theme, Every Second Counts: Plan 2 Ways Out! works to better educate the public about the critical importance of developing a home escape plan and practicing it. The Ellsworth AFB Fire Department is working in coordination with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the official sponsor of the Fire Prevention Week for more than 90 years, to reinforce those potentially life-saving messages. Fire Prevention Week is October 8-14, 2017.

Home escape planning is one of the most basic but fundamental elements of home fire safety, and can truly make the difference between life and death in a fire situation, said Lorraine Carli, NFPAs vice president of Outreach and Advocacy.

In support of Fire Prevention Week, the 28th Bomb Wing encourages all households to develop a plan together and practice it. A home escape plan includes working smoke alarms on every level of the home, in every bedroom, and near all sleeping areas. It also includes two ways out of every room, usually a door and a window, with a clear path to an outside meeting place (like a tree, light pole, or mailbox) thats a safe distance from the home.

To further its education and awareness campaign, the Ellsworth AFB Fire Department will conduct fire safety presentations at local schools throughout Fire Prevention Week.

Additionally, the Ellsworth AFB Fire Department is hosting a parade Oct. 7 through base housing. The parade will start in Prairie View Housing at 10 a.m. Immediately following the parade, there will be open house at the fire station from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

NFPA and the Ellsworth AFB Fire Department offer these additional tips and recommendations for developing and practicing a home escape plan:

Draw a map of your home with all members of your household, marking two exits from each room and a path to the outside from each exit.

Practice your home fire drill twice a year. Conduct one at night and one during the day with everyone in your home, and practice using different ways out.

Teach children how to escape on their own in case you cant help them.

Make sure the number of your home is clearly marked and easy for the fire department to find.

Close doors behind you as you leave  this may slow the spread of smoke, heat, and fire.

Once you get outside, stay outside. Never go back inside a burning building.

To learn more about this years Fire Prevention Week campaign, Every Second Counts: Plan 2 Ways Out and home escape planning, visit firepreventionweek.org.
CHADRON, Neb. | The woman accused of driving during a fatal September crash on Slim Buttes Road has been charged with seven felony and misdemeanor counts in Dawes County Court, including vehicular homicide.

Kimberly Eagle Bull, 32, of Pine Ridge, will appear in court at 10 a.m. Oct. 18. In addition to the vehicular homicide charge, Eagle Bull is charged with driving under the influence, transporting a child while intoxicated, three counts of child abuse and false reporting. All are felonies except for transporting a child while intoxicated and false reporting.

Eagle Bull is accused of being the driver of a minivan that lost control and rolled Sept. 9. Christina Roubideaux, 6, died the next day from injuries suffered in the crash. Four others were also in the car at the time, including two more children; all of the passengers were transported to the hospital with injuries.

Court records indicate that Eagle Bulls blood alcohol content tested at 0.15 percent or higher, which is an enhanced offense carrying higher sentencing guidelines. The false reporting charge stems from officers reports alleging that Eagle Bull initially denied being the driver of the car when they responded to the scene.

Eagle Bull has been appointed a public defender and remains in the Dawes County Jail in lieu of 10 percent of a $50,000 bond.

The crash was the third alcohol-related fatal accident since liquor sales in Whiteclay were halted in April. Troylin Pourier, 49, died in July, three days after wrecking a pickup on Highway 87 between Rushville and Whiteclay. Her blood alcohol content was three times the legal limit for driving. Francis Ray Rencountre, 46, died after rolling his vehicle on a Sheridan County road; that accident also injured a passenger in the vehicle. Rencountres BAC was reported as 0.283 percent, more than three times the legal limit.

The Nebraska Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit by the liquor stores seeking to have their licenses restored at the end of September. Supporters of the stores have long argued that shuttering the businesses would result in more instances of drunken driving and alcohol-related crashes on roads leading into Nebraska from the Pine Ridge Reservation. Opponents, however, note that there were fatalities and drunken driving incidents while the liquor stores were still open and called for increased law enforcement in the region.

At a recent Whiteclay Summit sponsored by the Nebraska Legislatures Whiteclay Task Force, discussion included the need for a detoxification and rehabilitation center to combat alcoholism and how to create economic development to lift the region out of poverty.
Hunters who use dogs to begin a mountain-lion hunt on private land outside the Black Hills would be allowed to continue onto most public land outside the Black Hills, under a petition that was advanced to a formal proposal Thursday by the state Game, Fish & Parks Commission.

The commission, meeting at the Outdoor Campus West in Rapid City, voted 6-1 in favor of advancing the petition to the proposal stage, with further consideration at a future commission meeting. The lone no vote was cast by Commissioner Cathy Peterson, of Salem.

The public petition came from Brad Tisdall, of Rapid City, who is president of the South Dakota Houndsman Association. He said the group sometimes obtains licenses to hunt problem mountain lions for landowners outside the Black Hills, but if the lions move from private land onto certain parcels of public land where the hunting of mountain lions with dogs is not allowed, the hunt has to stop.

The landowners are upset with us, Tisdall said.

Mountain lions roam primarily in the Black Hills. They can be hunted statewide, but there are restrictions on hunting with dogs, which are used to tree the lions. The hunting of mountain lions with dogs is allowed only in Custer State Park and on private land outside the Black Hills Fire Protection District. The district boundary basically follows Interstate 90 from the Wyoming border to Rapid City, and S.D. Highway 79 south to the Cheyenne River, and the Cheyenne River to the Wyoming line.

Current rules allow mountain-lion hunts with dogs that begin on private land outside the Black Hills Fire Protection District to continue onto public land only if the public land is managed by the state Office of School and Public Lands or the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, with the exclusion of the Fort Meade Recreation Area near Sturgis. Land outside the Black Hills that is managed by the U.S. Forest Service  such as national grasslands  is currently off-limits.

The logic behind the current rule is that land managed by the Office of School and Public Lands and the BLM is not always fenced or well-marked, so it would be difficult for hunters with dogs to know when they are crossing into a prohibited area. That rule was established as a compromise to allow some hunting of mountain lions with dogs to progress onto public land, while keeping some other public land off-limits to avoid conflicts with other users of that land.

The new proposed rule would allow dog hunts for mountain lions that begin on private land outside the Black Hills Fire Protection District to continue onto any public land, presumably even including the Fort Meade Recreation Area, even though the area is specifically excluded by current rule. Another wrinkle is that the Fort Meade Recreation Area allows hunting only by archery and not with firearms, according to statements made at Thursdays meeting.

Other examples of public land that would be newly opened for dog hunts that originate on private land would include the Buffalo Gap National Grassland, located south and east of the Black Hills; the Fort Pierre National Grassland in central South Dakota; and the Custer-Gallatin National Forest in northwest South Dakota, including the Short Pines, Cave Hills and Slim Buttes areas.

There was no mention of Badlands National Park, which is subject to special national laws regarding hunting and would presumably remain off-limits. Nor was anything said Thursday at the meeting about other public lands such as national wildlife refuges.

Some people spoke against allowing the petition to become a proposal, including Nancy Hilding, president of the Prairie Hills Audobon Society.

They got the hound hunting on the prairie, she said of the compromise that led to the current rule, and now they want more.

Another mountain-lion petition from Tisdall was rejected 6-1 by the commission Thursday, with Commissioner Scott Phillips casting the dissenting vote. That petition sought to relieve mountain-lion hunters in Custer State Park of a rule that requires them to harvest the first legal mountain lion they have a reasonable opportunity to harvest.

The commission meeting will continue this morning. Among other business Thursday, the commission:

 Elected Barry Jensen as chairman and Gary Jensen as vice chairman after Chairwoman Cathy Peterson, who attended by telephone, expressed a desire to relinquish her role as chairwoman because of health problems.

 Advanced a proposal to establish rules and standards for the use of signs and buoys to mark closed non-meandered waters, which are lakes or other water bodies that were dry decades ago when land was originally surveyed but have since been filled by flooding.

 Advanced a proposal to issue 40 additional antler-less elk licenses this winter in Custer State Park, beyond 20 licenses that have already been issued for this fall, because of concerns linked to chronic wasting disease in the animals.

 Advanced a proposal to allow landowners to hire out-of-state aerial hunters to kill problem coyotes, rather than only in-state aerial hunters as a current rule dictates.

 Recognized the Black Hills FlyFishers for $145,000 the group has contributed to GF&P water-quality projects this year and next year.

 Recognized the Club for Boys, of Rapid City, for its programming that introduces boys to outdoor recreational opportunities.

 Recognized Dick and Sue Brown, who are retiring as development directors for the South Dakota Parks and Wildlife Foundation after helping to raise over $12 million since 2008 for projects including the establishment of Good Earth State Park at Blood Run, the construction of the Outdoor Campus West in Rapid City and the remodeling of a former visitor center at Custer State Park into the Peter Norbeck Outdoor Education Center.

 Advanced a proposal to remove the 15-inch minimum size restriction for walleye on Lake Poinsett.
Arrest warrants were issued Thursday for two people accused of carrying out a deadly shooting in northeastern Rapid City the previous day.

Police continued to search Thursday for Rapid City residents Maricelo Garcia, 21, and Cierra Walks, 19, in the killing of 20-year-old Clinton Farlee on Wednesday.

Farlee was shot at his home in the 600 block of East Boulevard North around 2 p.m., according to Rapid City police. He was hit by a bullet in the chest and died that evening after being taken to Rapid City Regional Hospital.

Garcia is charged with first-degree murder, a killing involving premeditation, according to the criminal complaint against Garcia obtained from the Pennington County Courthouse. The crime is classified under the most serious felony category in the state.

Walks is charged with being an accessory to a crime by allegedly helping Garcia evade authorities, her criminal complaint states. The offense carries a sentence of up to five years in prison.

According to police reports filed at the courthouse, the shooting was preceded by an argument between Farlee and his girlfriend and the two defendants.

Farlee and his girlfriend were standing in the doorway of their house, with the door open, when Garcia and Walks drove into their yard and walked to the front door, the reports state. After a few minutes of arguing, Farlee apparently said hed had enough, went inside the house with his girlfriend and closed the door.

Garcia kicked the door open, backed away from the door and ordered Farlees girlfriend to get out of the way, investigators said.

Maricelo pulled out a gun  and fired one round toward Clinton striking him in the chest, reads one of the police reports.

Garcia and Walks then got into their SUV, which Walks allegedly drove away from the scene.

Witnesses told police that on Monday, Garcia and Walks had showed up at the house. While arguing with Farlee, Garcia reportedly took out a handgun, put it down and challenged Farlee to a fight.

No physical violence occurred, but Garcia threatened to come back and rob and shoot Farlee, witnesses said. Farlee's 19-year-old girlfriend is pregnant.

Farlees death is the first fatal shooting among the seven homicides in Rapid City this year, based on information from law enforcement and the courts. Four of the previous deaths allegedly resulted from stabbings; two are believed to have been caused by beatings.

On July 28, according to court records, Garcia posted a $1,000 surety bond on grand theft and simple assault charges and was released from the county jail. He was supposed to attend a court hearing Thursday.

The charges carry maximum sentences of two years in prison and a year in jail.

Garcia's new charge of first-degree murder is punishable by death or life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Russian court upholds Navalnys 20-day detention for unauthorized protest action

MOSCOW, October 6 (RAPSI)  The Moscow City Court has upheld a 20-day-long detention of opposition politician Alexey Navalny for a repeated violation of the regulations governing organization and conduct of public events after an unauthorized rally in Nizhny Novgorod, the Moscow City Courts press-service told RAPSI on Friday.

Earlier, Navalny has appealed his detention.

On October 2, the Simonovsky District Court of Moscow found Navalny guilty of administrative violation related to organization of public rallies and detained him for 20 days.

The politician was arrested by police when he was preparing to leave for Nizhny Novgorod, where he planned to hold a rally, unauthorized by authorities. According to prosecutors, Navalny and other politicians called for a rally in Nizhny Novgorod on September 29. The rally was not authorized by the citys administration despite similar rallies being recently approved by nine other Russian cities.

In 2017, Navalny was repeatedly detained for participation in rallies, notably ones that took place on March 26 and June 12.
Bulgarian prosecutor launches probe into Russian businessmans fraud claims

MOSCOW, October 6 (RAPSI)  A probe has been launched into a complaint by Russian national Andrey Varganov, who alleged fraud on part of his Bulgarian business partner, RAPSI was told by Vera Marinova, a prosecutor from the prosecutor's office of the city of Silistra.

Varganov asked the investigation into the case to be transferred to the town of Kavarna where he resides at the moment, since Ivan Parushev, the head of the investigative department of Silistra, is a close relative to the participant of the criminal case Chudomir Dobrev Ivanov.

The petition was officially registered on Thursday and attached to the case.

According to Marinova, Parushev should file a request to withdraw from the case.

Constantine Karanikolov, Varganovs lawyer, also says Parushev should withdraw. If he fails to do so and proceeds with the improper investigation, he will face criminal charges himself and up to six years of imprisonment, according to Karanikolov.

Varganov organized coal suppliers business in Bulgaria together with local partners. The businessman claims that the funds transferred to the account of the company were illegally appropriated. Moreover, Varganov alleges that the company could be used by Chudomir Dobrev Ivanov for money laundering, as hundreds of thousands of euros were transferred using the account in 2015-2016.

Varganov filed the claim to the prosecutor's office and turned to the Russian embassy in Bulgaria for support after he and his family began receiving threats.
CROW AGENCY  Crews of Crow Tribe employees worked into the night Wednesday and again Thursday morning to deliver trailer-loads of bottled water to homes in Crow Agency, where the municipal water supply has been shut down after a break-in at the water treatment plant.

The tribes chairman, A.J. Not Afraid, declared a state of emergency Wednesday after workers at the water treatment facility discovered the plant had been broken into overnight and much of its contents had been destroyed.

Citing concerns that the water supply may have been compromised by the vandalism, the tribe issued an advisory to city residents not to touch the municipal water supply until testing determines it's safe. The shutdown applies to about 1,600 residents in the city, said Candy Felicia, who is the director of the Crow Tribe's Water Authority.

She estimated the vandalism caused at least $1 million in damage to the facility.

"We are looking at approximately three months or more to get it up and running," Felicia said. "The main thing is we've got to get all this equipment replaced. It has to be bought out of state."

Officials sent water samples to a lab in Helena for testing and hoped to have results back later in the day, said Environmental Protection Agency On-Scene Coordinator Martin McComb, who arrived with an EPA emergency response crew from Denver on Thursday morning.

The tribal plant is definitely going to be down for a little while, McComb said after an initial assessment. But an adjacent water treatment plant managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs was unaffected, and he said it would be able to temporarily satisfy demand.

In the meantime, water sitting in the distribution lines running throughout the town may still be contaminated. If that water turns out to be contaminated, Felicia said, flushing out that water could take another week or two.

About 20 employees with the tribe and the Crow Tribal Housing Authority were loading cases of bottled water onto trucks and delivering them to residents throughout Crow Agency, said Laura Little Owl, director of the tribe's Fish and Game Department, who was helping coordinate water distribution.

We probably worked until about 9 last night and delivered a case to every home in Crow Agency, Little Owl said.

Laura Rideshorse, the Crow Disaster and Emergency Services Coordinator, said the Red Cross has contacted her office to offer help, and would also be supplying bottled water once the tribes resources are exhausted, if necessary. The federal Department of Veterans Affairs had also offered to help provide water to veteran residents affected by the outage, Rideshorse added.

The Crow Agency School was closed Wednesday and Thursday as a result of the water issue, said Hardin Public Schools Superintendent Dennis Gerke. The school district is awaiting word from the EPA before deciding whether to close the school through the rest of the week.

Investigators with the Federal Bureau of Investigation were also at the plant Thursday morning. Those at the scene declined to comment, and an FBI spokesman in Billings said the agency is investigating, but would not comment on whether any arrests had been made.

A suspect was taken into custody at some point on Wednesday in connection with the break-in, according to Jared Stewart, a media liaison for Not Afraid. Stewart said he didnt have any additional information on the case, however.

At the tribes water treatment building, a wrenched-open door offered a glimpse of overturned filing cabinets and other furniture, with papers burned and strewn across the floor. A shotgun appeared to have been fired through the window of a door into a small, adjoining building in the back of the plant, where bullet holes riddled the regulator on a tank of chlorine used to treat water, as well as the wall behind it. The chlorine tank itself was not damaged, McComb said.

Much of the equipment inside the facility had also been burned and shot, said Tanner Black Eagle, the lead operator at the plant who was among the employees to see the damage firsthand when he arrived at work Wednesday.

He noted that a large amount of chemicals appeared to have been dumped into the system, possibly compromising the treated water in the clear well. The normally sealed hatch to the clear well had been forced open, he said.

Thats my main concern, is the possibility of contamination, even the oils on your hands  thats how crucial it is that that is sealed, Black Eagle said, adding that broom handles and other objects had been thrown in.

Referring to Filter Aid," a treatment chemical used at the facility, he added, We only use one gram per gallon, and they dumped 40 pounds of that stuff throughout the system.

Plant foreman Brewster Pretty On Top said it will take time to repair the computer system that controls the plants operations, which he said had also been shot during the break-in.

Thats the heart and soul of the water treatment system, Pretty On Top said.

Felicia also said the plant wouldn't reopen without substantially beefed-up security, including guards keeping watch around the clock.

"Weve worked really hard to get the plant to where its at these past few months," she said. "Its pretty much a whole new crew thats come aboard. Were going to rebuild. Were going to go on. This time we just have to be a bit smarter about security."
Arghakhanchi, Nepal: At least four persons killed and dozens other injured when a passenger bus met with an accident at Sabdanda of Malarani Rural municipality of Arghakhanchi district on Friday morning.

The ill-fated bus with registration number Lu. 1 Kha. 7518 was heading for Butwal from Dandakateri of the district. It is said that the bus had met accident at around 8:30.

The details of the deceased are yet to be ascertained. But the locals involved in the rescue operation have said that a 10 year old toddler and a 40 years old woman had died on the spot.

Among the injured passengers, seriously injured seven passengers are being airlifted to Kathmandu. Others injured are rushed at the district hospital of Arghakhanchi district.

It is said that at least 50 passengers were boarded in the bus. All the passengers have received injuries. Negligence of the driver and overload of the bus is believed behind the fatal accident.
KATHMANDU: As the process of forging an electoral alliance between and among political parties has presently intensified, the Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal (FSF-N) and Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal (RJP-N) have decided to go for the upcoming elections to the House of Representatives and State Assemblies together.

Issuing a press statement today, both parties have announced their agreement on forging the electoral alliance.

FSF-N Chair Upendra Yadav and RJP-N presidium coordinator Mahantha Thakur said that the process for the alliance had already begun.

They have claimed that their alliance is for fighting against all sorts of discriminations against Madhesis, indigenous nationalities and ethnic communities at home.RSS
United Nations police, from Nepal, attend an end of operations ceremony for the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Thursday, October 5, 2017. The UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti is coming to an official end on October 15. Immediately afterward, the UN will start a new mission made up of international civilian police officers and civilians.

PORT-AU-PRINCE: A UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti that has helped maintain order through 13 years of political turmoil and catastrophe is coming to an end as the last of the blue-helmeted soldiers from around the world leave despite concerns that the police and justice system are still not adequate to ensure security in the country.

The UN lowered its flag at its headquarters in Port-au-Prince during a ceremony Thursday that was attended by President Jovenel Moise, who thanked the organisation for helping to provide stability. After a gradual winding down, there are now about 100 international soldiers in the country and they will leave within days. The mission will officially end on October 15.

Immediately afterward, the UN will start a new mission made up of about 1,300 international civilian police officers, along with 350 civilians who will help the country reform a deeply troubled justice system. Various agencies and programs of the international body, such as the Food and Agricultural Organisation, will also still be working in the country.

It will be a much smaller peacekeeping mission, said Sandra Honore, a diplomat from Trinidad and Tobago who has served since July 2013 as the head of the UN mission in Haiti known as MINUSTAH, its French acronym. The United Nations is not leaving.

MINUSTAH began operations in Haiti in 2004, when a violent rebellion swept the country and forced then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide out of power and into exile. Its goals included restoring security and rebuilding the shattered political institutions. In April, the Security Council deemed the country sufficiently stable and voted to wind down the international military presence, which then consisted of about 4,700 troops.

Many Haitians have viewed the multinational peacekeepers as an affront to national sovereignty. UN troops are believed to have inadvertently introduced the deadly cholera bacteria to the country and have also been accused of causing civilian casualties in fierce battles with gangs in Port-au-Prince and of sexually abusing minors.

But the mission, with additional help from the US and other nations, is also credited with stabilizing the country, particularly after the January 2010 earthquake, and building up the national police force.

The job may not be complete but they have essentially done much of what they were originally designed to do in terms of preventing any kind of armed takeover of the state, in terms of increasing the safety of civilians, said Mark Schneider, a senior advisor with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. It takes work to maintain that and Haiti needs to maintain that.

MINUSTAH, Schneider said, has been key in helping Haiti develop a credible civilian national police from almost zero to its current level of about 15,000 officers, which most experts believe is still too small for a country of nearly 11 million. The police force was intended to replace the army, which was disbanded by Aristide in 1995 because of its repeated role in a series of coups and that the Haitian government is now seeking to reconstitute over international objections.

Haiti needs an atmosphere of peace so we can take responsibility for ourselves, said Haitian Sen. Jacques Suaveur Jean. We dont need foreign soldiers.

The new UN mission will consist of seven police units that can respond to major incidents, in addition to officers deployed throughout the country to advise and assist their Haitian counterparts. Civilians will also be working with the government to improve the countrys justice system, which the State Department said in this years annual human rights report has serious flaws, including severe prison overcrowding, prolonged pretrial detention and an inefficient judiciary.

Honore, in an interview ahead of Thursdays ceremony, cited the training and hiring of police officers as one of the UN successes.

MINUSTAH had already been scaling back before the Security Council voted to end the mission. In the aftermath of the earthquake, which killed 96 UN personnel, including former head of mission Hedi Annabi, the number of troops reached more than 10,000. But when Honore arrived there were about 6,200 soldiers from around 20 countries, a figure that dropped again by nearly a third within two years.

The cholera outbreak, which started in October 2010 after peacekeepers from Nepal contaminated the countrys largest river with waste from their base, killed an estimated 9,500 people and irrevocably damaged the reputation of the organisation in Haiti. Many critics felt the UN did not adequately respond to the outbreak, something the organisation sought to later remedy.

It was a fundamental error because it undermined the image not just of MINUSTAH, but of the international community, Schneider said.
Thank you for reading!

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.
About half a dozen dogs rescued from Hurricane Harvey romped along the boardwalk, in the surf and on the sand at Pismo State Beach Thursday, a
I find it odd that no major filmmakers are tacking the Syrian refugee crisis. An estimated five million people have fled the war torn country since 2012 and the number easily doubles when you add up internally displaced refugees.

I find it doubly odd that it is Aki Kaurismaki, the Finnish master of deadpan comedy, taking on the topical subject. First it was his French-language film Le Havre, which dealt with immigration. With The Other Side of Hope, Kaurismaki lends a hand, with his light touch, on Aleppo, without sacrificing the seriousness of the situation. Surprisingly, the result is an affecting, optimistic look at human kindness and decency. It also turns out to be one of his finest films.



There are two strands of narrative at the start of the film. One is about a Syrian refugee and the other follows an aging, troubled traveling salesman figuring out his life. Somewhere, their paths cross.

Khaled (Sherwan Haji) is first seen emerging from the mountain of coal in a cargo ship docked at a Helsinki harbor. As he seeks asylum as a Syrian refugee from Aleppo at a police station, the unsympathetic police put him in a waiting facility to be processed. There he meets an Iraqi refugee who's been in Finland for a while and seems to know the way around. Khaled is desperately looking for his sister, who was separated on their way out of Syria. He likes Finland and wants to get a job and settle down. But first, he needs to not get deported. His Iraqi friend gives him some pointers, "Don't look so glum. Be cheerful. They deport sad-looking ones."



Wikstrom (Sakari Kuosmanen), a middle-aged traveling men's shirt salesman, walks out on his wife and embarks on a restaurant business with the money he won at a gambling table. It's a little dumpy restaurant/bar called Golden Pint. The owner seems very eager to get out the dodge, and leaves three disgruntled employees behind -- a doorman, a waitress and a cook -- for Wikstrom to deal with.



In the meantime, Khaled flees from the refugee facility after a judge deems that his situation is not dire enough and decides to deport him back to Aleppo. Khaled gets into a fistfight with Wikstrom at a parking lot where he was sleeping. And Wikstrom decides to hire him for his restaurant.



There are many Kaurismaki comedic moments and sight gags throughout the film. His brand of minimalist comedy is truly unique.His cultural references are all mixed up and wrong; Kati Outinen, one of Kaurismaki's regulars, plays Wikstrom's client who says "I'm going to Mexico and dance Hula Hula." and Golden Pint crudely changes into a sushi restaurant to attract more customers, serving a spoonful of wasabi on each sushi. When they run out of fish, they use salted herring. It is priceless to see the defeat on the crew's faces as the customers leave in droves.



Khaled is pursued by Finnish Nazis with nationalist slogans on their jacket. Kaurismaki encapsulates them in one utterance near the end of the film, showing that Nazis, in any country, are ignorant assholes and absolutely need to be eradicated.



Extremely silly and endlessly charming, The Other Side of Hope reminds us that the complicated world we are living in doesn't need to be complicated. Through the Kaurismakian glass, the world is filled with decent people and it remains a hopeful place as long as people help each other out.

The Other Side of Hope plays as part of New York Film Festival 2017 at Film Society of Lincoln Center on October 5 and October 1010. Please visit the FSLC website for tickets and more information.
Seguin, TX (78155)

Today

Cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. High 58F. Winds NNE at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

Cloudy. Low 41F. Winds NNE at 10 to 15 mph.
If you are currently a print subscriber but don't have an online account, select this option. You will need to use your 7 digit subscriber account number (with leading zeros) and your last name (in UPPERCASE).
 AG Sessions announces new initiatives to address violent crime | Main | US Sentencing Commission continues diving into issues surrounding synthetic drugs 

October 6, 2017

Nearly 35 years after his double murder, Florida executes Michael Lambrix despite non-unanimous jury death recommendations

As reported in this local article, "Florida executed an inmate Thursday who was convicted of killing two people after a night of drinking decades ago." Here is part of the extended backstory:

Michael Lambrix, 57, died by lethal injection at 10:10 p.m. at Florida State Prison in Bradford County. For his final words, Lambrix said, I wish to say the Lord's Prayer. He recited the words, ending on the line deliver us from evil, his voice breaking slightly at times. When he finished and the drug cocktail began flowing through his veins, Lambrix's chest heaved and his lips fluttered. This continued for about five minutes, until his lips and eyelids turned silver-blue and he lay motionless. A doctor checked his chest with a stethoscope and shined a light in both of his eyes before pronouncing him dead. Lambrix was the second inmate put to death by the state since it restarted executions in August. Before then, the state had stopped all executions for months after a Supreme Court ruling that found Florida's method of sentencing people to death was unconstitutional. In response, the state Legislature passed a new law requiring death sentences to have a unanimous jury vote. Lambrix's attorney, William Hennis, argued in an appeal to the nation's high court that because his client's jury recommendations for death were not unanimous  the juries in his two trials voted 8-4 and 10-2 for death  they should be thrown out. The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that Lambrix's case is too old to qualify for relief from the new sentencing system. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday night denied Lambrix's last-ditch appeal. Lambrix was convicted of killing Clarence Moore and Aleisha Bryant in 1983 after a long night of partying in a small central Florida town, Labelle, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Fort Meyers. Lambrix said he was innocent. He and his roommate, Frances Smith, had met the victims at a bar, and returned to their trailer to eat spaghetti and continue the party, prosecutors said. At some point after returning to the trailer, Lambrix asked Moore to go outside. He returned about 20 minutes later and asked Bryant to come out as well, according to Smith's testimony. Smith testified at trial that Lambrix returned to the trailer alone after the killings, his clothes covered in blood. The two finished the spaghetti, buried the two bodies and then washed up, according to Smith's testimony cited in court documents. Prosecutors said Lambrix choked Bryant, and used a tire iron to kill Moore. Investigators found the bodies, the tire iron and the bloody shirt. Lambrix has claimed in previous appeals that it was Moore who killed Bryant, and that he killed Moore only in self-defense. It won't be an execution, he told reporters in an interview at the prison Tuesday, according to the Tampa Bay Times. It's going to be an act of cold-blooded murder. Lambrix's first trial ended in a hung jury. The jury in the second trial found him guilty of both murders, and a majority of jurors recommended death. He was originally scheduled to be executed in 2016, but that was postponed after the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in a case called Hurst v. Florida, which found Florida's system for sentencing people to death was unconstitutional because it gave too much power to judges, instead of juries. Florida's Supreme Court has ruled that the new death sentencing system only applies to cases back to 2002.

October 6, 2017 at 09:12 AM | Permalink

Comments

In my opinion, Lambrix was the most litigious death row inmate ever, with Thomas Arthur of Alabama a distant second.

I wonder how many briefs were submitted and opinions rendered in these 2 cases?

I know the 11th Circuit spent enormous amounts of time on them. Whether or not you are for the death penalty, one has to admire their attorneys for delaying the inevitable for many years.

Posted by: DaveP | Oct 6, 2017 9:29:22 AM

Meanwhile, John Thompson has died, outside of death row: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/opinion/john-thompson-exonerated.html

I understand the idea that he would not benefit from a recent ruling, but can also understand if someone would say "I support the death penalty, but 8-4 vote for it is a bit iffy." If it was so obvious, why did two and four jurors vote against it?

Posted by: Joe | Oct 6, 2017 10:30:57 AM

The Italian Death Penalty would have dispatched this vicious killer, like in 1984, and at no additional expense to the tax payer. This fool and his unethical lawyers cost the tax payer $millions. The most unethical of the lawyers were his judges. They had the power to end the long list of frivolous claims.

Basta to all lawyer cazzata.

Posted by: David Behar | Oct 7, 2017 9:12:37 PM

Dave. Do not admire people defrauding the tax payer. These claims are infinite in number, and completely invalid.

Posted by: David Behar | Oct 7, 2017 9:14:19 PM

Sorry but it WAS cold blooded murder. Anything done after the first trial ended in a hung jury is illegal under our constitution. As the state failed to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt! Or there would have been no hung jury to begin with. Sorry but in the case of a tie between the state and the citizen. Citizen should always win.

Posted by: Rodsmith3510 | Oct 8, 2017 2:29:52 AM

"The Italian Death Penalty" is the most disgusting idiocy DB throws on us.

Posted by: Claudio Giusti | Oct 9, 2017 11:07:08 AM

A small and capricious selection of offenders have been put to death.

RAMSEY CLARK



Posted by: Claudio Giusti | Oct 9, 2017 11:08:05 AM

Our prolonged examination of the situation in foreign countries has increasingly confirmed us in the assurance that capital punishment may be abolished in this country without endangering life or property or impairing the security of society. Further, we have the repeated assurances of the Home Office itself that abolition of the death penalty will not bring with it any serious or insoluble problem of administration.

Parliamentary Committee of the British House of Commons 1930

Quoted in Calvert 1930 p 48

http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/lords/1969/dec/17/murder-abolition-of-death-penalty-act



Posted by: Claudio Giusti | Oct 9, 2017 11:15:52 AM

I'd love to know the reasoning on why the death penalty is retroactive to 2002, but not prior.

Posted by: Erik M | Oct 10, 2017 4:19:24 PM

Post a comment
We have a brief update in the case of the standoff and officer-involved shooting on I-80 that shut down the freeway for much of last Wednesday. As CBS 5 reports, a total of 13 officers from two police departments fired multiple rounds at 45-year-old Demilo Hodge, who had led them on a chase following an attempted traffic stop in Fairfield, and one officer had first fired non-lethal rounds at the suspect.

Hodge was wanted in connection with the December 10, 2015 homicide of 68-year-old William Freeman of Fairfield, as the Solano Daily Republic tells us. At the time, the Fairfield Police Department released sketches of two suspects, one of whom was a black male in a hoodie. Freeman was found dead in his home during a welfare check, and police did not believe it to be a random act of violence. More details in the case, like how Hodge may have been connected to Freeman, have yet to be released.

Hodge's vehicle, a black Chevrolet Suburban that he used as part of a wine country limo service he owned, was spotted in Fairfield around 8:40 a.m. on September 27, and officers there attempted to pull him over. He led them on a chase to the East Bay, where Richmond Police officers joined in the chase when he passed through their jurisdiction. (Earlier reports suggested Hodge was first spotted in Richmond.)

Over a dozen officers from both departments chased him south on I-80, where CHP officers laid a spike strip down in Berkeley that ultimately disabled Hodge's vehicle. After he collided with a median barrier, Hodge's SUV came to a stop in the middle of the freeway in Emeryville, where a trained crisis negotiator had what's described as a "lengthy" exchange with Hodge.

What followed sounds like the phenomenon of "suicide by cop." Hodge suddenly exited his vehicle, raised a gun, and allegedly fired a shot in the direction of the line of squad cars. 13 officers then unleashed the barrage of bullets captured on multiple cellphone cameras by motorists who were stopped on both sides of the freeway. He was fatally wounded and succumbed to his injuries at a hospital.

Police say suspect who led them on chase down I-80 fired at officers 1st prompting them to fire back. Scary moments for commuters. Watch... pic.twitter.com/oN23Z7XuAA  Jodi Hernandez (@JodiHernandezTV) September 27, 2017

Emeryville Police and the Alameda County District Attorney's Office are each conducting their own investigations into the shooting, the results of which we will not likely hear for weeks or months.

Per CBS 5, the names of all the officers who fired shots have been released:



The Fairfield police officers who fired their department-issued guns included Sgt. Brent Pucci, with 20 years of law enforcement experience; Sgt. Kelly Rombach, with 16 years of experience; Officer John Divine, with 13 years of experience; Officer Erik Aagaard, with 12 years of experience; Officer Shane Raftery, with 4 years of experience; and Officer James Sehr, with 3 years of experience. Officer Michael Ambrose, with 7 years of experience, was the officer who deployed the less-lethal weapons, according to department spokesman Sgt. Matt Bloesch. The Richmond police officers who fired their weapons included Sgt. D Decious, with 16 years of experience; Sgt. C. Llamas, with 15 years experience; Detective A. Diaz, with 9 years of experience; Detective M. Ricchutto, with 6 years of experience; Officer B. Mendler, with 9 years of experience; Officer O. Guzman, with 5 years of experience; and Officer C. Tagorda, with 10 years of experience.

Previously: Man Killed By Police On I-80 Was Fairfield Homicide Suspect; Witnesses On Freeway Sought
On Wednesday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo rescinding workplace protections for transgender people.

BuzzFeed procured Sessions' memo reversing the Obama Administration policy, which reads, in part: "Title VIIs prohibition on sex discrimination encompasses discrimination between men and women but does not encompass discrimination based on gender identity per se, including transgender status." Following the issuance of this memo, the Justice Department now expects the rest of the federal court system to fall in line with their interpretation, going against the increasing number of federal court rulings that protect trans employees.

The protections were previously put in place through a memo issued by the Obama Justice Department. In that memo, originally obtained by the Washington Blade, then-Attorney General Eric Holder said that the protections offered by the Civil Rights Act extended to trans people, making discrimination on the basis of gender identity illegal. He wrote, "After considering the text of Title VII, the relevant Supreme Court case law interpreting the statute, and the developing jurisprudence in this area, I have determined that the best reading of Title VIIs prohibition of sex discrimination is that it encompasses discrimination based on gender identity, including transgender status."

How to interpret Title VII has been an ongoing topic of debate for quite some time, though, with more progressive, liberal administrations often making attempts to interpret the Civil Rights Act's protections on the basis of sex to also mean that the government must offer protections on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation as well. One of the biggest fears going into this current administration was that the progress and protections established for the entire LGBTQ community over the past eight years (and longer) would vanish. With this news of Sessions' memo from Wednesday, those fears are coming true.

The administration's reversal of LGBTQ protections has been an ongoing one since Trump took office. Just last week, Slate reported that the Department of Justice filed an amicus brief arguing that Title VII also doesn't protect employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The brief read, in part: "Employers under Title VII are permitted to consider employees out-of-work sexual conduct. There is a common sense, intuitive difference between sex and sexual orientation." However, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission interprets Title VII's protection on the basis of sex to also mean employees are protected against anti-gay discrimination, as Slate pointed out in their report on the brief. It's been like that for over 15 years, spanning multiple administrations, and despite that fact, the current DOJ is moving to argue that they've all been incorrect interpretations.

Going further back, Towleroad reported back in March that Trump signed an order essentially allowing federal contractors to discriminate against LGBT workers. Trump's order rescinded another order set forth by Obama, which required federal contractors to prove that they're complying with 14 different federal laws. One of those laws protects employees based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Though Trump's order only applies to federal contractors, it was still a symbolic move  in rescinding it, Trump signaled to the rest of the world that enforcing such protections weren't a priority for this administration.

The Justice Department appears set on disregarding how the thinking around workplace protections has changed in the last decade. Sharon McGowan, a former lawyer with the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division spoke with BuzzFeed about Sessions' latest memo, saying, "The memo is devoid of discussion of the way case law has been developing in this area for the last few years. It demonstrates that this memo is not actually a reflection of the law as it is  it's a reflection of what the DOJ wishes the law were."

This move by the DoJ comes at a time when, according to the Transgender Law Center, laws regarding trans people are considered "low" or "negative" for over half the country, despite the trends in case law.

Sessions has made no secret of his disdain for progressive politics and civil rights groups. It came out back during his 1986 confirmation hearings for a federal judgeship, as the HuffPo reported last year, when one colleague said that Sessions referred to the ACLU and NAACP as "un-American" and said they "did more harm than good when they were trying to force civil rights down the throats of people who were trying to put problems behind them."

Related: Chelsea Manning, Nancy Pelosi And Others React To Proposed Trans Military Ban
In the latest update in the sexual misconduct and exploitation case that roiled the Oakland Police Department and affected several other law enforcement departments over the last year and a half, an Alameda County judge has dismissed the cases against two of the remaining officers set to be tried for their involvement with the formerly underage woman known as Celeste Guap. (Last year, as the case unfolded, Guap said through her attorneys that she wanted to be known by her real name, Jasmine Abuslin.) Judge Jon Rolefson dismissed a case Wednesday against Contra Costa Sheriffs Deputy Ricardo Perez, who had been charged with oral copulation with a minor and lewd acts in a public place, on the basis of insufficient evidence, as the East Bay Express reports. And today, as the East Bay Times reports, Judge Rolefson dismissed the case against Oakland Police Officer Giovanni LoVerde, who had a similar charge against him, also on the basis of lack of evidence.

"Somethings wrong in Alameda County, the East Bay Times quotes defense attorney Michael Cardoza as saying. Why would you file these cases with no evidence?"

The Alameda County District Attorney's Office filed charges against six officers last year in connection with this case, and now three have had those charges dropped  though the DA's office spokesperson Teresa Drenick suggests that they will be appealing in the case of Perez. Former OPD officer Brian Bunton also had all charges against him dropped by the same judge last month  you may recall that Guap herself appeared to testify in the case against Bunton back in May. Bunton was accused of misdemeanor prostitution and felony obstruction of justice in relation to sexual encounters he had with Guap in a hotel room, and for allegedly alerting her to an upcoming prostitution sting by police.

Three other officers accused, ex-Livermore cop Daniel Black, former Oakland sergeant LeRoy Johnson, and former Oakland Police Captain Al Perrodin all took plea deals relating to Guap. Johnson is known to have been friends with Guap's mother, a police dispatcher, and he was convicted of failing to report the exploitation despite his knowledge of it, and sentenced to three years probation.

Drenick suggested that Guap was consulted in the plea deal decisions the DA's office made, and said "We are always mindful of how difficult it has been for the victim in these matters to testify in open court about her exploitation.

The scandal first erupted in May of last year, when it came to light that over two dozen law enforcement officers from different departments had had contact, some of it sexual, with Guap, who had been working as a sex worker in the East Bay for several years. A possible revelation of sexual contact with Guap before she turned 18 appears to have led to the suicide of one officer who was one of her initial points of contact with the department, and the investigation into that suicide indirectly led to the scandal revelation, which in turn led to the resignation of former Oakland police chief Sean Whent.

One former OPD officer, Terryl Smith, remains charged with five counts of illegally using a law enforcement computer system, because he allegedly used a database to run Guap's information multiple times. He is due back in court in February.

Civil suits like the one that Oakland settled with Guap in May for nearly $1 million may still be pending. Cadoza, the defense attorney, lashed out about that too, telling the East Bay Times, now that the criminal proceedings have unraveled, "The city got scammed."



Previously: Celeste Guap Testifies For First Time Against Accused Oakland Officer In Sex Scandal


While she has enjoyed mostly only good press and boundless popularity for her previous two iterations of The Museum of Ice Cream in NY and LA, the last few weeks since the opening of the San Francisco iteration has brought a bit more critical attention from the media to 25-year-old founder Maryellis Bunn. First there was Eater's discovery that not all local ice cream shops were comfortable with the "partner" model in which they donate thousands of dollars of product in exchange for brand exposure at the MoIC. Then you had Wired's take on the rise of "selfie factories" in which LA Times art critic Christoper Knight said that installations like this "aren't significant art exhibitions any more than a Chuck E. Cheese arcade." And now we have New York Magazine casting a fair bit of shade on Bunn in a new profile about her and the San Francisco MoIC.

Perhaps this is just part and parcel with opening anything new in San Francisco? We're a town that likes to say no to things, after all. But it's interesting that NY Mag didn't delve this deep when Bunn opened the original MoIC in New York last summer, and is only coming for her now that the Instagram-friendly "selfie factory" concept has proven to be an inarguable winner, and not just with Millennials (but mostly). By the way, the SF MoIC has already been extended through February, and remains sold out.

A few of the choice takeaways:

Though Bunn denies any talent for social media, her personal brand is on point, with a well-curated Instagram account of aspirational adventures: relaxing at an onsen, swinging in an ocean hammock in the Maldives. She is unnervingly millennial.

As a recent Parsons graduate living in the West Village, Bunn found the citys existing institutions disappointing: They hadnt adapted to larger cultural currents, she said, leaving little that would engage and capture her demographic.

On a recent afternoon [in San Francisco], a family of four, wearing plush birthday hats shaped like upside-down ice-cream cones and procured from Etsy, stood in the line that wrapped around the corner. I hope you all die from this shit, howled a man in fatigues as he zipped past on a scooter; the security guard, wearing an earpiece and a pink bow tie, didnt blink.

Ice cream is just a way to get people in the doors and feel safe, Bunn said. Then I have the opportunity to do anything. On a recent visit to Disneyland, she was disheartened to find that the experience was nearly identical to the one she remembered from childhood. To some, thats nostalgia, she said... [But, she said,] Millennials dont have the attention span. Our generation doesnt want to spend six hours doing anything."

In the two hours that Bunn and I spent together, she neither laughed nor smiled. When I mentioned this, she was unsurprised. Thats pretty accurate, she said. Im not what most people would think would be the mind behind this. Im hyperserious.

Thinking further ahead, she would like to curate and host the inaugural party on Mars... But Bunns long game is even more ambitious than going to Mars. When I asked what her ultimate dream was, Bunn looked at me as if it were obvious. I want to be the next Disney, she said. I could take all of those different installations that we just went through, and I could build them out into city blocks. It would be my Heaven. Could you imagine?

Previously: Photos: Here's Your Sneak Peek At The SF Museum Of Ice Cream, Which Opens To Ticketholders Sunday


The Rev. Kristine Stedje will be installed as pastor at First Lutheran Church Sunday afternoon.

The 4 p.m. Installation Worship Service will be held at the church, 3939 Cheyenne Blvd. It will be followed by a celebration dinner in Fellowship Hall.

Stedje succeeds the Rev. Alan Wicks as the churchs senior pastor. Most recently, she served at Peace Lutheran Church in Menomonie, Wisconsin.

A native of Kalispell, Montana, Stedje attended Lutheran Bible Institute in Seattle, receiving a biblical studies degree. She completed her bachelors degree at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and worked in human resources, first for the Pillsbury Company, then at Qwest Communications.

Following a lengthy career in human resources, Stedje decided to switch careers and become a minister. She graduated from Luther Seminary, also in St. Paul, and, during her tenure, served as an intern at St. John Lutheran Church in Arthur, N.D. She was ordained at Central Lutheran Church in Minneapolis in 2014 before accepting the call in Menomonie.

The public is invited to attend the afternoon event.
Pancake breakfast

Riverside United Methodist Church, 617 Wright Ave., will hold its Pancake Breakfast and Bake Sale from 7 to 11 a.m. Saturday. Breakfast will include pancakes, French toast, sausage, eggs, coffee, orange juice and water. Cost will be $6 for adults, and children 10 and under are free.

Fall bazaar

Faith Lutheran Church, 3101 Hamilton Blvd., will hold its Fall Bazaar from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and its Soup and Salad Luncheon from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

Homecoming service

The congregation of Grace United Methodist, 1735 Morningside Ave., will join the alumni, students and parents of Morningside College at the annual Homecoming worship service at Eppley Auditorium at 10 a.m. Sunday. Music will be provided by the college choir and Dr. Jeremy Owens, organist for Grace Church. The campus chaplain, the pastor of Grace Church and representatives of the student body will bring brief messages. Regular Sunday classes for Grace Church will meet as usual at 8:35 a.m. at the church, and the monthly children's activity will meet at the church at 11 a.m.

Blessing of the Animals

On Sunday at 2 p.m., St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Spirit Lake, Iowa, will hold its second annual Blessing of the Animals service. Weather permitting, it will be on the grassed area south of the church to celebrate Saint Francis's Day; if it is raining, the service will be indoors. You may bring your pet or a photograph of your pet to the service. Pets may also be blessed by simply naming them during the service.

Revival 2017

On Saturday, Oct. 14, at 1 p.m., in partnership with Trinity Episcopal Church, Emmetsburg, Iowa, and the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, St. Alban's Episcopal Church in Spirit Lake, Iowa, will host "Revival 2017." This is a worship experience taking place in Episcopal churches across the state throughout the year. It is an opportunity for local congregations and communities to gather together to reawaken and rediscover God's Holy Spirit at work among us.

Catholic Daughters

Catholic Daughters Court Ave Maria 269 will meet on Oct. 11 beginning with a 5 p.m. Mass at St. Joseph Catholic Church. A potluck dinner will be served by the A-Z members and the meeting will follow the Mass. A craft/rummage sale will be held with the proceeds going to Catholic Charities. All members are asked to bring a craft, canned food, or baked item.

German dinner

Redeemer Lutheran Church, 3204 S. Lakeport, invites the public to their authentic German Dinner on Oct. 10, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Adult meals will be $10 and carry-outs available. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the church. There will also be a bake sale and German band. For more information, call 276-1125.
If confirmed for a national post, Iowas agriculture secretary said Thursday he would ensure crop insurance remains as a support for the countrys farmers.

I read it as I wrote it. Crop insurance is the most important part of the farm safety net, Bill Northey said in opening remarks during a hearing on his nomination to serve in the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

While our farm safety net has worked for many, many producers, I do also hear that there are producers who are left out. I am committed to this committee to work with you to make sure all producers have the risk management tools that they need, Northey added.

The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing for just over an hour Thursday to vet Northeys nomination to serve as the USDAs Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation. The hearing also included Nebraska Department of Agriculture Director Greg Ibach, who has been nominated to a separate USDA position.

Committee Chairman Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, hailed Northey and Ibach as farmers with boots-on-the-ground experience.

They know what weighs on the minds of farmers and ranchers, the challenges they face on daily basis, and the focus and drive they put into their lifes work, Roberts said.

The committees ranking Democrat, Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, pushed Northey to expand access to crop insurance and prioritize land and water conservation practices.

I know you personally understand that agriculture needs to be a part of the solution in addressing water quality issues, Stabenow said. If confirmed for this role, I urge you to continue to prioritize the protection of our land and our water.

President Donald Trump officially selected Northey in September to serve in the USDA. The FPAC secretary would oversee three USDA agencies: the Farm Service Agency, the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Risk Management Agency. Programs under the role would include crop insurance, conservation, disaster assistance and producer lending services, Roberts said Thursday.

Northey told committee members of conservation efforts in Iowa, including the states nutrient reduction strategy and planting of cover crops.

The momentum is really growing. Do we have a long ways to go? Absolutely. We have lots more that needs to get done, but what Im excited about is the momentum, both in the interest of farmers and outside groups, Northey said.

Northeys nomination still requires a vote by the Senate Agriculture Committee and then the full Senate.

Were going to do that as expeditiously as we possibly can, Roberts said of his committees vote.

Both of Iowas U.S. senators, Republicans Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, are members of the Agriculture Committee.

Should the Senate approve his nomination, Northey would be sworn in to the post and resign as Iowas Agriculture Secretary.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds would appoint Northeys replacement, who would serve the rest of his term. The state position is up for election in 2018. A spokeswoman for the governor said Thursday her office still is gathering resumes and did not have an update on possible successors.

Northey, a Spirit Lake corn and soybean farmer, has served in multiple roles with state and national farm groups. A Republican, he is currently serving his third term as the states agriculture secretary and is a state co-chair of Reynolds 2018 gubernatorial campaign.

I will be an advocate within the administration for the producers in the countryside, Northey said at Thursdays hearing.

Northey, 58, graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in agricultural business and received a masters in business administration from Southwest Minnesota State University. He has three children with his wife, Cindy.

Introducing Northey Thursday, Grassley hailed him for his leadership during an outbreak of avian flu in Iowa two years ago and his conservation work in the state.

Perhaps his most important quality is his vision that he has shown leading the Iowa Department of Agriculture. As an example, Bill was focused on water quality issues in Iowa years before many farmers and press outlets became engaged, Grassley said.

Grassleys grandson, state Rep. Pat Grassley, is among the names circulated as possible replacements for Northey.

l
AKRON, Iowa | An Akron woman has been arrested in connection with the shooting death of an unidentified man.

Becky J. Hebert, 33, has been charged with second-degree murder. The name of the victim has not been released. Authorities say Hebert shot the man during an argument at a rural Akron home Friday morning.

Authorities were notified at 12:15 a.m. of a shooting at 13203 Evergreen Ave. A caller said someone had been shot and requested an ambulance.

Upon arrival, officers found a white male in his 40s with a gunshot wound. He was transported to a Sioux City hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later. Sheriff Mike Van Otterloo said the name of the man may be released Saturday.

Hebert was arrested in Le Mars at 12:15 p.m. Friday. In addition to second-degree murder, a Class B felony, she has been charged with willfully and deliberately causing the death of another. Her bond has been set at $25,000.

The release said Hebert and the deceased had been arguing prior to the shooting and there was a witness. There were other people in the home and there were no other injuries.

Van Otterloo said law enforcement has been called to the residence previously for domestic violence and disturbances. He would not release the relationship between the deceased and Hebert but said the two have been living in that residence together.

The investigation is ongoing.

An autopsy will be conducted by the State of Iowa Medical Examiner's Office in Ankeny.

The Le Mars and Akron Police Departments assisted with the incident.
SIOUX CITY | A Northwest Iowa man has been arrested on felony charges, after police seized a credit card reader/writer and many credit cards from him.

The work involved police activity in Storm Lake and Denison. A Storm Lake Police Department release on Friday said an initial report from Des Moines pointed to a person unlawfully using the another person's credit card at businesses in Storm Lake.

A police investigation showed the credit card was used to buy merchandise at a Casey's General Store multiple times through Thursday.

Police stopped Orlando Miranda Diaz, 28, of Denison, in Storm Lake, and reported finding several fraudulent credit cards in his possession Thursday. After a search warrant was executed, police said the car of Diaz was found to have a credit card reader/writer, 13 iTunes gift cards, three cell phones and a Visa debit card.

Diaz was arrested on the felony charges of Ongoing Criminal Conduct and Forgery. He was booked into the Buena Vista County Jail on $25,000 bond.

The investigation is continuing and additional charges are pending.
PRIMGHAR, Iowa | A Calumet, Iowa, woman has pleaded not guilty to stealing more than $24,000 from her employer.

Jamie Riedemann, 32, entered her written plea Wednesday in O'Brien County District Court to three counts each of second-degree theft and credit card fraud and single counts of first-degree theft and tampering with records.

According to court documents, from January 2014 through August 2016 Riedemann turned in fraudulent time cards that resulted in overpayment to her of more than $10,000 from Calumet Carriers, a Calumet trucking company that employed Riedemann as the business office manager.

Riedemann is also accused of using company credit cards and checks and writing company checks to herself to pay for nearly $12,500 in personal expenses, including purchase of clothing, meals, groceries and electrical work to a property she owned. She also spent more than $1,800 in company money to buy computers for the City of Calumet and the Calumet Fire Department, court documents said.
Editor's note: This is the eighth in a series of profiles on the nine candidates running for three open Sioux City Council seats in Tuesday's primary election.

Brett Watchorn, 29, is seeking his first term on the council.

Watchorn, a manager at Walgreens, said he was inspired to run during the council's discussion over whether to limit fireworks discharge in future years. He said he also was frustrated with the council's decision to move forward with the Convention Center hotel project, which he said put too many hotels downtown and not enough attractions.

Watchorn is among six challengers and three incumbents vying for three open seats in Tuesday's primary election. Residents will vote to narrow the field to six candidates in advance of the Nov. 7 general election. Sioux City's council seats are officially nonpartisan.

Age: 29

Occupation: Manager, Walgreens

Elected office experience: I've served as president and am currently serving as vice president of the Iowa Fencing Division Board. I also serve as a member of the Sioux City Fencing Club board of directors, which is a non-profit organization.

Top issues for 2018:

1. I'd like to focus on finding better incentives to bring in new profitable businesses and residents, whether that be adjusted zoning regulations or tax incentives.

2. I will push for repairing existing infrastructure (i.e. pools, streets, parks and sidewalks) before devoting money to new frivolous projects.

3. If elected, I guarantee there will be an end to the pit bull ban, as well as a full review of other ordinances that restrict the personal freedoms of our citizens.

4. I will also lend my full support to the acquisition and implementation of body cameras for our police department.

Why should residents vote for you?
SIOUX CITY | Three hundred thirty-five miles to traverse Iowa.

That's nothing in a vehicle, but try it on a bicycle. And churn through all those miles in 24 hours.

That's the quest about 30 people will embrace beginning at 4 a.m. Saturday in Sioux City. They have then 24 hours by early Sunday morning to reach Dubuque, to officially complete RAID, or the Ride Across Iowa in a Day event.

Riding more than 400 miles over seven days on the Register's Annual Great Bike Ride across Iowa, or RAGBRAI, is comparably a cakewalk.

This year is seventh time avid cyclists will attempt the trans-Iowa trek. The routes cover a north section from Sioux City to Dubuque some years, and Council Bluffs to Muscatine for a southerly option in other years.

Darren Johnson, of Ames, is organizing RAID 2017, and will ride himself for the sixth time. Johnson has made the full distance once, last year, so he's learned participants can readily tell if the completion can be achieved as the day unfolds, based on what time checkpoints are reached.

Eighteen bicyclists finished the ride in 2016. The fastest can reach the Mississippi River in 15 hours, with a 22 mph average across the state.

"That is really cooking, for 335 miles," Johnson said.

Factoring in stops, a rider will have to average 14 mph for all 24 hours to reach Dubuque in time. But Johnson really doesn't recommend stopping. Some RAID participants will ingest foods and gels while riding.

"You just have to keep going...You have to have your nutrition dialed in. It is basically an eating contest," Johnson said.

The conditions will also determine how riders fare over the day, and for now the forecast has a 40 percent chance of rain in the morning and 12 mph buffeting winds to push riders east, with temps into the mid-70s by afternoon.

"A tailwind will make or break a lot of guys," Johnson said.

There are RAID volunteers who traffic control in limited places, so participants have to arrange their own support with a following vehicle.

Riders leave Sioux City at 4 a.m. Sioux City will be dozens of miles behind by the time the sun rises Saturday.

The participants also have the choice of riding a half-RAID of 167 miles to Webster City, or the last half, from Webster City to Dubuque, leaving on that piece at 11 a.m.

Kent Harfst will leave Sioux City on Saturday morning, then end the half-state ride at his home in Webster City. It is his first time on Ride Across Iowa in a Day.

"Since RAID is scheduled to stop in Webster City I thought it would be a good time to try...Regardless of the length of time, I am hoping to finish some time Saturday afternoon," Harfst said.

Harfst has about 3,000 miles on a bike this year.

"For me and many of the other riders, it is not a competition. It is a long ride with a bunch of persons who love to ride and challenge themselves," Harfst said.

Johnson has relatives in Plymouth County, just north of the Sioux City beginning.

"I am really looking forward to this northern route, because I've ridden many of those roads," he said.
The National Rifle Association announced Thursday that it supports a review of bump fire stocks to see if they are in accordance with federal law.

The group's support comes following the mass shooting that took place in Las Vegas earlier in the week and amid calls to ban the devices, which allow semi-automatic weapons to simulate automatic weapon fire.

The NRA is typically the nation's most prominent lobbyist group against stricter gun regulations.

"The National Rifle Association is calling on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) to immediately review whether these devices comply with federal law," the NRA said in a statement. "The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations."

The debate on banning bump stocks is taking place on Capitol Hill. Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo is planning to introduce legislation Thursday to ban the sale of them.

"I think we are on the verge of a breakthrough when it comes to sensible gun policy," Curbelo told reporters Thursday.

Curbelo said his office has been "flooded" with calls from fellow lawmakers inquiring about the bill.

The White House is open to legislation to ban bump stocks, press secretary Sarah Sanders said Thursday, and added that the administration wants to be part of the conversation in the days to come.

"We're certainly open to that moving forward," Sanders said.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi reiterated her proposal to increase background checks and call on House Speaker Paul Ryan to create a select committee to find common ground on gun violence at a CNN town hall Wednesday.

Pelosi also noted that there could be bipartisan support around the banning of sales on bump stocks.

"I do think there would be bipartisan support coming together to pass a bill to make it illegal to sell those because you can buy them now," Pelosi said Wednesday.

On Thursday, Ryan also signaled he would be open to examining the legality of bump fire stocks, telling Hugh Hewitt in an interview that "clearly that's something we need to look into."

CNN's Deirdre Walsh and Lauren Fox contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON -- Fake news has come to the high court.

At Tuesday's argument before the Supreme Court about gerrymandering -- the science of using map-drawing and Big Data to keep ruling parties in power even when a majority votes for the opposition -- Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. was searching for a way to uphold the unsavory practice. But there was a problem: Gerrymandering is making a mockery of the right to vote in Wisconsin, the focus of the case before the court, where a redrawn map allowed Republicans to hold more than 60 percent of the state assembly while getting less than half the vote.

And so Alito resorted to subterfuge. He waited until the closing minutes and hit Paul M. Smith, the lawyer arguing against the Wisconsin plan, with the last question of the argument.

"You paint a very dire picture about gerrymandering and its effects," Alito said, "but I was struck by something in the seminal article by your expert, Mr. McGhee, and he says there, 'I show that the effects of party control on bias are small and decay rapidly, suggesting that redistricting is at best a blunt tool for promoting partisan interests.' So he was wrong in that?"

The question baffled Smith, who said he would need to see the context.

"Well," Alito retorted, "that's what he said."

No, it isn't.

I called Eric McGhee, the expert, after the argument. The quote Alito pulled was not from the "seminal article" McGhee co-wrote proposing the legal standard for gerrymandering at the center of the case. It was from an earlier McGhee paper, using data from the 1970s through 1990s. In the paper at the center of the case, by contrast, "we used updated data from the 2000s," McGhee told me, "and the story is very different. It's gotten a lot worse in the last two cycles. ... The data are clear."

Why would Alito resort to this sleight of hand? Perhaps because it's clear that if he stuck to the facts, he'd have to acknowledge that the growing abuse of gerrymandering threatens democracy.

Political gerrymandering has become dramatically more precise in disenfranchising voters with the revolution in data analytics -- both in states such as Wisconsin and in Congress, where Democrats need to win the popular vote by more than seven points to break even in the House. (Democrats abuse gerrymandering, too, though they hold power in fewer states.) There's also no obvious legal reason that the court can't intervene to curb the practice on grounds of free speech or equal protection.

"What's really behind all of this," Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said during arguments, is "the precious right to vote. If you can stack a legislature in this way, what incentive is there for a voter to exercise his vote?"

Smith predicted that if the court fails to intervene in Wisconsin, "you're going to have a festival of copycat gerrymandering the likes of which this country has never seen. ... The country is going to lose faith in democracy."

Three members of the court's conservative bloc -- Alito, Neil Gorsuch and John Roberts Jr., the chief justice -- were searching for reasons not to intervene. (A fourth, the silent Clarence Thomas, previously voted against court involvement.) That likely leaves the decision to Anthony M. Kennedy, who is more prone to bouts of fairness than his conservative colleagues.

In an unusual soliloquy, the chief justice argued that the court shouldn't get involved in the Wisconsin case because then it would have to intervene in others. "It's going to be a problem here across the board," he lamented.

The poor dears. Maybe, given that democracy is at stake, they could shorten their summer holiday, which just ended Monday?

Roberts continued: "The intelligent man on the street" will deduce that, if the Supreme Court rules with Democrats in a gerrymandering case, "it must be because the Supreme Court preferred the Democrats over the Republicans. ... And that is going to cause very serious harm to the status and integrity of the decisions of this court in the eyes of the country."

Now he's worried about the public standing of the court? After Bush v. Gore, campaign finance rulings that give the wealthy dominance over elections, and the brazen politics of the Merrick Garland fiasco?

In the gerrymandering case, the justices have a chance to restore "integrity" by defending the principle of one person, one vote. Alternatively, the five Republican appointees can defend their patrons by allowing this perversion of democracy to continue.
Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical left and Islamic terrorism.Interior Minister Gerard Collomb made it official. France is "in a state of war.Its not just rhetoric. Bombs turn up in a posh Parisian suburb. Two young women are butchered at a train station. And its just another week of an Islamic World War III being fought in France.From the November attacks in 2015 that killed 130 people and wounded another 400+, to the Bastille Day truck ramming attack last year that killed 86 and wounded 458, the war is real.French casualties in France are worse than in Afghanistan. The French lost 70 people to Islamic terrorist attacks in Afghanistan. And 239 to Islamic terrorist attacks in France.The French losses in Afghanistan were suffered in over a decade of deployment in one of the most dangerous Islamic areas in the world. The French losses in France were suffered in less than two years.Theres something very wrong when Afghanistan is safer than Paris.10,000 French soldiers were deployed in the streets of their own country in Operation Sentinelle after the Charlie Hebdo - Kosher supermarket attacks in 2015. Thousands of French soldiers are still patrolling, guarding and shooting in French cities which have become more dangerous than Afghanistan.Operation Sentinelle has deployed twice as many French soldiers to France as to Afghanistan. And French casualties in the Islamic war at home have been far higher that they were in Afghanistan.When the French intervened to stop the Islamist takeover of Mali, they suffered a handful of losses. The 4,000 French soldiers came away from Operation Serval with 9 casualties and Operation Barkhane amounted to 5 dead. The Gulf War? Another 9 dead. Its a lot safer to be a French soldier fighting Al Qaeda in a Muslim country than a Parisian civilian going to a concert in his or her own city.French casualties in the struggle with Islamic terror in just the last two years are approaching the 300 casualties of the Korean War.France is at war. Thats why there are soldiers in the streets.Its new anti-terrorism bill creates a permanent state of emergency. Suspected extremists can be placed under administrative detention in their own homes and neighborhoods under police surveillance and remote monitoring.Pop-up checkpoints can appear in public spaces that are designated as security zones where anyone can be stopped and searched. Mosques can be shut down for six months. Public gatherings can be banned. Warrantless searches can be conducted within miles of potential targets.The Interior Ministry will have police state powers. And it will be able to wield quite a few of them without having to go through the formality of asking judges nicely for permission.Some of these measures should be familiar. France is the new Israel.France's Interior Minister called the anti-terrorism bill, a "lasting response to a lasting threat". The choice of words recognizes that Islamic terrorism is here to stay.The State of War is permanent. And France has no plans for winning the war. Instead its trying to get better at playing defense. And thats what most Western domestic counterterrorism efforts amount to.France is just taking the lead because it has the biggest problem.The British put soldiers on the streets after the Manchester Arena bombing. The Italians and the Belgians began deploying soldiers in cities around the same time that the French did.When an illegal alien Muslim terrorist due to be deported murdered two young women in Marseille while shouting, Allahu Akbar, French soldiers opened fire. The 24-year-old who shot the terrorist was a reserve member of a regiment of combat engineers in the French Foreign Legion.The French Foreign Legion isnt off fighting in a foreign desert somewhere. Its fighting in France.French soldiers are told to loudly announce, Stop or I Shoot. And then open fire. And thats what he did. And French soldiers are being forced to learn the phrase and expect to come under attack.In February, French soldiers were attacked by a Muslim terrorist outside the Louvre. The Egyptian Jihadist shouted, Allahu Akbar and came after them with a machete. One soldier from the 1st Regiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes was wounded. The attacker was shot down.The 1st Regiment de Chasseurs Parachutistes had been deployed to Afghanistan and Mali. Now they were at the Louvre. You dont need to be Napoleon to know that counts as a major retreat.A month later, a Muslim terrorist shouted "I am here to die in the name of Allah" while holding a female air force soldier hostage at Orly Airport.He got his wish courtesy of her fellow soldiers.In August, six soldiers from the 35th Infantry Regiment were hit by a BMW driven by a Muslim terrorist. Members of a regiment which had been deployed in Afghanistan were sent to a military hospital after an attack in the wealthy Levallois-Perret suburb of Paris. A year earlier, soldiers from the 5th Infantry Regiment had been hit by a Tunisian shouting, Allahu Akbar while they were guarding a mosque.France has entered its longest state of emergency since the Algerian War. The 2015 attacks saw its first state of emergency since 1961. But where is France supposed to withdraw from this time? Paris?It was one thing to abandon the beleaguered Algerian Christians and Jews to Muslim terror. And to abandon them a second time when they fled to France only to face persecution by their old Islamic neighbors who had tagged along and settled down in Marseille. But can France abandon the French?The issue once again is colonialism. But the new colonists are Algerians, Tunisians and other Islamic imperialists who have settled in France and wave the black flag of the Jihad over their no-go zone settlements in French cities. And they have made it abundantly clear that they will not stop there.Last year, former Prime Minister Manuel Valls said that, "Every day attacks are foiled... as we speak."And its no wonder. Thousands of Muslim settlers left France to fight in Syria and Iraq. Valls was looking at 15,000 potential threats domestically. France has one of the largest Muslim populations in Europe. We dont know exactly how many millions of Muslim settlers live in France. But we can measure their growth by the expansion of the terror threat. Islamic terrorism is, despite the spin, reducible to Islam.There is no Islamic terrorism without Islam. As Islam expands, so does Islamic terrorism.France is in the middle of a civil war. The civil war is based on religious differences. As the religious divide between the Islamic colonists and the militantly secular French government increases, the violence will worsen. The outcome of the war will determine whether France will be a secular republic or an Islamic state. The Jihadists have a plan for winning the war. The French authorities dont.And what goes for France also goes for Western Europe. And for the West.The French combination of social appeasement and police state enforcement isnt working. The same model ultimately fails wherever its applied. Breaking up terror cells and stopping attacks is far better than the alternative, but the scale of the problem will always continue increasing because of demographic growth and a globalized terror infrastructure.Demographics dictate that Frances terror problem will only keep growing. And the French authorities understand this. Thats why its governments increasingly talk about Islamic terrorism as a lasting threat.Our War on Terror has squandered endless blood and treasure while avoiding the root cause. Western nations deploy massive armies to root out small terror networks while allying with their Gulf backers. Soldiers patrol major cities waiting for a terrorist or several terrorists to attack. Meanwhile the mosques that indoctrinate them to hate and kill non-Muslims are also protected by those same soldiers.Thats not how you win a war. Its how you lose everything.
Giant Black Hole Pair NASA

Astronomers have identified a bumper crop of dual supermassive black holes in the centers of galaxies.

This discovery could help astronomers better understand how giant black holes grow and how they may produce the strongest gravitational wave signals in the Universe.

The new evidence reveals five pairs of supermassive black holes, each containing millions of times the mass of the Sun. These black hole couples formed when two galaxies collided and merged with each other, forcing their supermassive black holes close together.

The black hole pairs were uncovered by combining data from a suite of different observatories including NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), and the ground-based Large Binocular Telescope in Arizona.

Astronomers find single supermassive black holes all over the universe, said Shobita Satyapal, from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, who led one of two papers describing these results. But even though weve predicted they grow rapidly when they are interacting, growing dual supermassive black holes have been difficult to find.

Before this study fewer than ten confirmed pairs of growing black holes were known from X-ray studies, based mostly on chance detections. To carry out a systematic search, the team had to carefully sift through data from telescopes that detect different wavelengths of light.

Starting with the Galaxy Zoo project, researchers used optical data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) to identify galaxies where it appeared that a merger between two smaller galaxies was underway. From this set, they selected objects where the separation between the centers of the two galaxies in the SDSS data is less than 30,000 light years, and the infrared colors from WISE data match those predicted for a rapidly growing supermassive black hole.

Seven merging systems containing at least one supermassive black hole were found with this technique. Because strong X-ray emission is a hallmark of growing supermassive black holes, Satyapal and her colleagues then observed these systems with Chandra. Closely-separated pairs of X-ray sources were found in five systems, providing compelling evidence that they contain two growing (or feeding) supermassive black holes.

Both the X-ray data from Chandra and the infrared observations, suggest that the supermassive black holes are buried in large amounts of dust and gas.

Our work shows that combining the infrared selection with X-ray follow-up is a very effective way to find these black hole pairs, said Sara Ellison of the University of Victoria in Canada, who led the other paper describing these results. X-rays and infrared radiation are able to penetrate the obscuring clouds of gas and dust surrounding these black hole pairs, and Chandras sharp vision is needed to separate them.

The paper led by Ellison used additional optical data from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey to pinpoint one of the new black hole pairs. One member of this black hole pair is particularly powerful, having the highest X-ray luminosity in a black hole pair observed by Chandra to date.

This work has implications for the burgeoning field of gravitational wave astrophysics. While scientists using the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) have detected the signals of merging black holes, these black holes have been of the smaller variety weighing between about eight and 36 times the mass of the Sun.

The merging black holes in the centers of galaxies are much larger. When these supermassive black holes draw even closer together, they should start producing gravitational waves. The eventual merger of the dual supermassive black holes in hundreds of millions of years would forge an even bigger black hole. This process would produce an astonishing amount of energy when some of the mass is converted into gravitational waves.

It is important to understand how common supermassive black hole pairs are, to help in predicting the signals for gravitational wave observatories, said Satyapal. With experiments already in place and future ones coming online, this is an exciting time to be researching merging black holes. We are in the early stages of a new era in exploring the universe.

LIGO is not able to detect gravitational waves from supermassive black hole pairs. Instead, pulsar timing arrays such as the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) are currently performing this search. In the future, the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) project could also search for these gravitational waves.

Four of the dual black hole candidates were reported in a paper by Satyapal et al. that was recently accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, and appears online. The other dual black hole candidate was reported in a paper by Ellison et al., which was published in the September 2017 issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and appears online.

NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program for NASAs Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, controls Chandras science and flight operations.

NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, managed and operated WISE for NASAs Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The Space Dynamics Laboratory in Logan, Utah, built the science instrument. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colorado, built the spacecraft. Science operations and data processing take place at the Caltech/IPAC. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

Read More from NASAs Chandra X-ray Observatory.

For more Chandra images, multimedia and related materials, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/chandra
Coffee Design is proudly sponsored by Savor Brands , your boost in coffeedence through maximizing designs in packaging, sustainability and tech.

One Village Coffee has been roasting fine coffees for a decade in Souderton, Pennsylvania. The company had a bit of a brand refresh recently, with the help of lifestyle blog The Fresh Exchange. Fresh Exchange designed boxes for One Villages coffees using light and bright photography and playful hand-written lettering. We adore collaborations like these.

We asked Director of Sales and Marketing Victoria Perez to explain everything.

Tell us a bit about your company.

One Village Coffee has been roasting specialty coffee for 10 years-its our anniversary! Our mission is to connect coffee growers to roasters to coffee drinkers through our approachable coffee. You can taste our commitment to quality in our Villager blend, which does a pretty stunning job balancing a washed Ethiopian and washed Colombian. You can sense our commitment to stewardship when you see our B Corporation Certification and our majority female executive leadership team.

10 years ago, our founders envisioned a Village, inspired by coffee growing communities they witnessed on trips to Africa and Honduras. Today, that Village is actively growing and connecting more people to specialty coffee every day.

Your design debuted in July of 2017. What did it look like before?

Our package used to be a bag. We loved that the bag was compostable so we kept that element. We have found one of the best entry points into specialty coffee is teaching coffee lovers the concept that coffees can taste different from one another. We wanted to design a package front that instantly communicated that the coffee on shelf was going to taste different than the coffee sitting next to it. We turned to photography. Coffee is beautiful. The familiar images of different coffee cups helps new specialty coffee enthusiasts realize they can have fun trying different coffees way more effectively than our words ever could.

Mike Gilger of The Fresh Exchange designed your packaging. Tell us more about that collaboration!

When thinking about this project, we literally called Mike and said, Hey, could you fly into Philadelphia tomorrow for a photo shoot? Mikes response? He hopped on a plane. He spent over two days straight with us photographing and still managed to stay up late drinking wine by the campfire and charming us with life stories. Mike is a part of our Village, and being around him reminds us about the human connection at the heart of our identity. Oh, and not only did he execute a perfect spontaneous photo shoot, he also was the graphic designer of the box and the current logo.

What coffee information do you share on the package?

Each package features the name of the coffee as well as the broad taste category we have assigned to it (think red/white/sparkling or IPA/lager/porter). We also feature the notes we taste. Our single-origin boxes feature a lot more detail, as we know they target established coffee enthusiasts more than our other coffees. Those boxes feature facts like roast date, processing method, and origin specifics.

Curious about those taste categories?

Yes, yes we are.

Check them out below.

Classic: Those traditional dark roasts you grew up drinking in coffee shops and grandmas kitchen. Brews up great in any device, from a drip pot at the office to a French press at home. These blends are great with milk & sugar.

Modern: Creative blends showcasing the signature style of the specialty roaster who created them. These blends tend to be balanced and flexible, holding up in a drip pot while tasting distinctive as a hand pour. Try these black.

Single Origin: Coffee from a single producer, farm, or co-op roasted lightly enough that the inherent nuances of the coffee bean itself can be discovered (similar to wine grapes). These are great for those craving a distinct taste experience. Try these black as a hand pour.

Where is the bag manufactured?

The bag is manufactured by Pacific Bag Incorporated and the box is manufactured by Graphic Packaging, Inc. Both are warehoused locally which means we have been able to invite the teams to Our Village and connect over cups of the very coffee they are packaging.

Any special features on the bag/branding?

Those awesome photos on the back of the box? Those are us! Those photos were taken at the homes of our executive leadership team. Our hands are the ones pouring and brewing the coffee. Our Director of Coffee was the one pouring the latte art for the front of the box. We feel connected to that package and hope that helps our fans connect to us.

Is the package recyclable/compostable?

The bag is compostable and the box is recyclable. The box is made with recycled material by a company who plants more trees than it cuts down.

Where is it currently available?

You can purchase One Village Coffee directly on our website (which we recommend, because we roast to order) or at many local grocery stores across the nation.



Location: Pennsylvania

Country: United States

Release Date: July 2017

Designer: Mike Gilger, Company: One Village CoffeeLocation: PennsylvaniaCountry: United StatesRelease Date: July 2017Designer: Mike Gilger, The Fresh Exchange

Coffee Design is a feature series by Zachary Carlsen on Sprudge. Read more Coffee Design here.
Trump Ends ObamaCare Abortion and Contraceptive Mandate

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2017 / Standard Newswire / -- The Trump administration announced today that employers will now be exempt from the federal requirement to provide insurance coverage for contraception in their health insurance plans if it conflicts with their sincerely held religious or moral beliefs. This now limits a rule created under the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act that required that employers, including non-church religious organizations, must cover all forms of contraception, from birth control pills to abortion drugs and devices at no cost to the employees.

The Trump administration stated legal reasons for issuing two rules: one for religious and the other for moral objections. The administration acknowledges that the Affordable Care Act law did not provide protection for nonreligious, moral conscientious objections as required by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Both rules would take effect as soon as they are on display at the office of the Federal Register.

Liberty Counsel filed an amicus brief in 2016 on behalf of Little Sisters of the Poor, a group of nuns dedicated to serving the elderly poor, whose case went to the U.S. Supreme Court. Little Sisters of the Poor argued that the ObamaCare mandate violated their free exercise rights under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The U.S. Supreme Court sent several cases representing Christian colleges, ministries and businesses dealing with religious exemptions to the ObamaCare contraception and abortion drugs and devices mandate back to lower courts to get the sides to reach a compromise.

Liberty Counsel filed the first private lawsuit against ObamaCare the day it was signed into law in 2010.

"The Trump Administration's decision to reverse the federal requirement for employers to provide insurance coverage for contraception and abortion drugs and devices upholds the religious freedom for Little Sisters of the Poor, and many other nonprofit organizations, who cannot and will not participate in killing innocent children," said Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel. "The federal government should never force Christian ministries to violate their faith or face crippling fines in order to continue their mission. We commend President Trump for fulfilling his promise to uphold the religious liberties of these organizations under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act," said Staver (photo).

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.
Harvey Weinstein--Champion of Women's Rights

NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2017 / Standard Newswire / -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue (photo) comments on the fall of Harvey Weinstein:

Harvey Weinstein and I have been doing battle for decades--he is the supreme Catholic basher in Hollywood. Now we know that he is a serial abuser of women. He never paid a price for his anti-Catholic bigotry, but this is different: liberals are supposed to object to womanizers.

What makes this case so interesting is that Weinstein is known as a great champion of women's rights. Just recently, he marched in a women's rights parade in Utah; it was during the Sundance Film Festival. He also helped endow a chair at Rutgers in Gloria Steinem's name. Now he is pledging, as part of his Mea Culpa Campaign, to raise $5 million to support scholarships for women directors at the University of Southern California.

If Rutgers and USC have any integrity, they will follow the lead of Spelman College: the black college terminated a professorship endowed by Bill Cosby, another great champion of women's rights.

Several Democrats in Washington are donating money given to them by Weinstein to charity. Good for them. Which raises the question: Has Harvey contributed to the Clinton Foundation? We know he is best friends with Hillary, and, of course, Bill, a real champion of women's rights.

On the Republican side of the aisle, we learned today that Rep. Tim Murphy, a pro-life lawmaker, is planning to resign. This follows revelations of his adulterous affair which included a bid by him to have his lover have an abortion.

Imagine Murphy trying to cover his behind by pledging to give money to crisis pregnancy centers! It's unfathomable. But when women-abusing champions of women's rights give big bucks to universities on behalf of women's rights, the liberal community doesn't blink. It's all so typical.

Good luck, Harvey, you will need it. And by the way, are you still going to bring out your latest Catholic-bashing flick, Mary Magdalene? In February you took some cheap shots at me when the movie was under production.

In the event you decide to grease the Catholic League, please know that we would shamelessly take your money. And then we would buy boxes of chastity belts, sending you a ton of them.
Thank You, Mr. President! Trump Administration Adds Rules to Protect the Conscience of Americans

Contact: Troy Newman, President, 316-683-6790 ext. 111; Cheryl Sullenger, Senior Vice President, 316-516-3034; both with Operation Rescue , info.operationrescue@gmail.com

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2017 / Standard Newswire / -- Today, the Trump Administration announced new rules that will provide new conscience protections for Americans.

As a result of the rules, those who have moral or religious objections to contraceptive and abortifacient services will now be exempt from paying for them in Obamacare insurance policies. The exemptions will apply to individuals as well as organizations and small businesses.

In May, President Donald Trump signed the "Executive Order Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty" in which he advised the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor, to consider amending rules under the Obama Administration that essentially forced Americans to violate their consciences with mandated payments in their Obamacare health insurance policies for contraceptive and abortifacients that they found morally objectionable. Today's action is in response to that directive.

"Thank you, Mr. President, for your leadership in protecting the religious liberties we hold dear," said Troy Newman, President of Operation Rescue. "We are sincerely grateful for this action that will now restore governmental respect for the deeply held beliefs of Americans who oppose abortion, abortifacient drugs, and certain life-destructive contraceptives."

The unjust "Obamacare Mandate" had suffered repeated losses in the US. Supreme Court, which ruled the government is not allowed to punish organizations or businesses for their religious beliefs.
Christian Medical Association and Freedom2Care Applaud Administration's Actions to Protect Conscience in Healthcare

Contact: Margie Shealy, Christian Medical Association, 423-341-4254

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2017 /Standard Newswire/ -- Today the nation's largest association of Christian health professionals, the 18,000-member Christian Medical Association (CMA, www.cmda.org) applauded the administration's actions to restore conscience freedoms in healthcare. The administration took action concerning the Obamacare contraceptives mandate, insurance premiums used to pay for abortions, and regarding government respect for religious freedom.

"We are thankful to see these vital conscience freedoms restored in healthcare," noted CMA Senior Vice President Gene Rudd, MD, and Ob-Gyn physician. "For millennia, medical ethics have provided for conscientious opposition to abortion by physicians who took up the practice of medicine as a healing art never to be used for the destruction of human life. And until recently, our government reinforced those ethical principles with conscience protections. We are heartened to see our government heading back in the direction of these vital freedoms that protect patients, medicine and freedom in our country."

Jonathan Imbody, director of Freedom2Care (www.Freedom2Care.org), which is affiliated with CMA said, "As Americans who have inherited a nation founded upon freedom of faith, conscience and speech, we can agree that the government must never force individuals to violate their deepest held beliefs on vital and extremely controversial issues such as abortion. When our leaders forget these principles, and take to forcing nuns to participate in matters they consider wholly immoral, the American people realize that our fundamental freedoms are in jeopardy. If the government can take away the rights of one group, then no one is safe from government coercion.

"These actions today by the administration are an important step back in the direction of freedom and respect for one another, and we look forward to more actions in the future, including restoration of the conscience rule for health professionals that President Obama gutted."
Judicial Watch Sues Justice Department for Mueller Russian Special Counsel Budget

Mueller's Budget Under Wraps



Contact: Jill Farrell, Judicial Watch, 202-646-5172



WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2017 /Standard Newswire/ -- Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) concerning the budget and administrative records of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:17-cv-02079)).



The lawsuit was filed after the Department of Justice failed to respond to an July 10, 2017 FOIA request seeking the following:

A copy of the budget prepared and submitted by Robert S. Mueller III or his staff in his capacity as appointed "Special Counsel to oversee the previously-confirmed FBI investigation of Russian government efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election and related matters." Temporal scope of this request is from 17May2017 to 10July2017.

A copy of all guidance memoranda and communications by which the Justice Management Division will review the Special Counsel's Office's "Statement of Expenditures" prior to or for the purpose of making each public. Temporal scope of this request is from 1June2017 to present.

A copy of each document scoping, regulating, or governing the Special Counsel's Office appointed under the leadership of Mueller III. Temporal scope of this request is from 17May2017 to present.

On July 7, 2017, The Washington Post reported that Special counsel Mueller submitted a proposed budget to the Justice Department, "but officials declined to make the document public and committed only to releasing reports of the team's expenditures every six months."



Judicial Watch is pursuing numerous additional FOIA lawsuits related to the surveillance, unmasking, and illegal leaking targeting President Trump and his associates during the FBI's investigation of potential Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election.



"The Mueller special counsel investigation is growing with seemingly little concern about costs to the taxpayer," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "Is the Justice Department hiding basic budget information about the Mueller special counsel operation because taxpayers and Congress would be outraged by the costs? Mr. Mueller is not above the law and he shouldn't be able to keep his budget secret. No one else in DC seems to be providing oversight of the Mueller juggernaut, so once again it is up to the citizens group Judicial Watch which is going to court to demand accountability."



MORE: www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-sues-justice-department-mueller-russian-special-counsel-budget/
The essential component of totalitarian propaganda is artifice (het toepassen van kunstgrepen. svh) . The ruling elites, like celebritie...
It's Election season and our editor's mailbox is overflowing. Who do your neighbors support? Read about it here.
The general rifle deer season will open on Saturday, Oct. 14.

With the unusually harsh winter of 2016-17 in the rearview mirror, many hunters are wondering what affect all that cold and snow will have on the deer populations of Southwest Washington.

The answer depends on who you talk to. However, the main consensus is that it did not do as much damage as may have been thought.

District 9

Susan Van Leuven, the manager of the Klickitat Wildlife Area in Klickitat County says deer know how to handle extreme weather. She said that while the reports of dead deer were higher than normal, most of the animals simply moved to better areas.

The deer moved down into the Klickitat Canyon at lower elevations, said Van Leuven. There was some mortality, but more deer may have survived than thought. The deer kill was not as bad as expected.

She reports that hunting on the new Simcoe Mountain Unit on the wildlife area last year seemed slow early on, but later hunters may have done better. Simcoe Mountain is a permit-draw unit starting this year with the permits spread over archery, rifle, and muzzleloader seasons.

On a darker note, the first ever outbreak of Adenovirus Hemorrhagic Disease in Washington was discovered in a herd east of Goldendale. Frequent sightings of dead fawns were reported and when samples were sent to the laboratories the disease was confirmed. Van Leuven said this may have reduced the herd in a small area.

However, the affects shouldnt last long. Deer are resilient and should bounce back in a few years. So far the outbreak has been confined to the East Klickitat Game Management Unit (382.)

Stephanie Berg is Washingtons Wildlife Biologist for District 9. She reports that overall fawn survival has been much below average. However, hunters should still see plenty of adult deer in District 9.

That was kind of a double whammy on the deer east of Klickitat, said Berg of the outbreak and the hard winter. That area is a nice little piece of deer habitat. Hunters should still see plenty of adults, though.

Hunting guide Brian Lewis owns Twisted Horn Outfitters, and he has been hunting around Mount Adams and further west for archery deer. From what he has seen so far the decline in deer numbers may be minimal.

I have not seen any difference in deer numbers between this year and last, said Lewis. The deer will migrate wherever they need to, (to survive). We had a pretty good spring with good vegetation, and thats usually what a deer needs.,

Looking ahead, Lewis has noted that weve had some good cold snaps in September, and that could relate to a colder October, possibly with snow. That would play into hunters hands.

In 2016 deer hunters in District 9 harvested 2,161 deer, including 1,948 bucks. Modern firearms hunters took 1,603 of those deer.

The best Game Management Units in District 9 included the East Klickitat Unit (382) where a total of 339 deer were taken. Modern firearms hunters harvested 209 of those deer. The Battle Ground Unit (564) produced 433 deer, with 258 taken by rifle hunters.

Washougal Unit (568) hunters killed 361 deer with firearms, and a total of 449 animals. West Klickitat Unit (578) hunters took a total of 291 deer.

District 10

Further west in blacktail deer country, Eric Holman, state biologist for the WDFW District 10, Reports that the harsh winter may have been hard on the local population.

It was an unusually hard winter even in Western Washington. It probably removed some animals from the population including young and older deer, said Holman.

He expects hunters will see average or slightly below average numbers of blacktail deer this year.

However, long-time hunters know deer herds are well below historic numbers. Ray Croswell is a former lands agent for the Fish and Wildlife Department, and his assessment is that if you want to bag a Southwest Washington buck it will take some hard work.

Youd better be scouting. There are pockets of deer out there, but there are more predators these days, he said. They are pushing the deer into the towns.

Croswell points to burgeoning numbers of black bears, which are efficient predators of fawns.

He said hunters that want to be successful need to get in and hunker down. When it comes to blacktails, patience is a virtue.

Some of the best units in District 10 include Ryderwood (530) where hunters took a total of 448 deer, including 400 in the modern firearms season in 2016. The Coweeman Unit (550) also produces plenty of deer. 422 deer were harvested there, with 361 taken by rifle hunters.

Other good units include Mossyrock (505) with a total take of 363 deer, and the Winston Unit, which gave up of 395 deer.

What to know

Western Washington general rifle season: Oct 14 thru 31, late season Nov 16-19

Eastern Washington rifle season: Oct 14-24

Always check the regulations before you hunt.

Guided hunts: Twisted Horn Outfitters: 360-624-5232, www.twistedhornoutfitters.com/
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray brought national attention to Cowlitz Countys opioid problem Thursday.

The ranking Democrat on the Senate Health and Education Committee cited her recent trip to PeaceHealth St. Johns Suboxone clinic during a hearing about the federal response to the opioid crisis.

I was recently in Longview, Wash., a small town in my home state, and visited a local hospital, Murray said. I was told by staff that nearly 50 percent of all babies born there last year have mothers who struggle with substance abuse. That was just overwhelming and heartbreaking, and it speaks to what Ive heard from all over my state in every community.

Murray was confronted with the staggering statistic on Aug. 7 at PeaceHealths Broadway campus.

That is a stunning number and should be a wakeup call that this is not somebody elses problem. Its all of ours, she said at the time.

Since then, St. John has partnered with Youth and Family Link to create a new hotline that health care providers can call to connect addicted mothers with services. The hospital has also retrained staff to care for babies suffering from opioid withdrawal in Longview instead of transferring them to PeaceHealth Southwest in Vancouver.

Murray and the committees chairman, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), called the hearing to interview a panel of experts about federal efforts to combat the opioid crisis. President Donald Trump recently declared the problem a national emergency.

The opioid crisis is tearing our communities apart, tearing families apart, and posing an enormous challenge to health providers and law enforcement officials, Alexander said.

Roughly 64,000 people died from drug overdoses in 2016, according to a report by the National Center for Health Statistics published in early September. That represents a staggering 22 percent increase in overdose deaths from the previous year.

In one year, drug overdoses killed more Americans than the entire Vietnam War did, a headline on the website Vox.com noted.

Traditional opioid painkillers, such as OxyContin and Percocet, were involved in about 14,400 overdose deaths last year, the report found. Heroin was involved in more than 15,400 overdose deaths, while non-methadone synthetic opioids like fentanyl were linked to more than 20,100 overdose deaths.

It is one of the few public health problems that is getting worse instead of better, Dr. Debra Houry, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, said at the hearing.

Francis Collins, director of the National Institute of Health, said the country must develop alternative ways to address pain, which opioids are often prescribed to control.

NIH, of course, is in the business of generating evidence, and theres a lot we still need to know, he said.

In her comments, Murray also criticized the Trump administration and congressional Republicans for recent efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

What weve seen in every repeal bill is drastic cuts to treatment and addiction service and hits to Medicaid and critical patient protections that are today provided under current law, she said.

I hope we can turn a page on those fights and focus on moving forward.
Drugs  Woodland police Thursday arrested Randolph Henry Hoffman, 62, of Rainier on suspicion of third-degree driving with a suspended license, a probation violation and a drug violation.

Theft Woodland police Thursday arrested Roberta Joann Prouty,54, of Rainier on suspicion of second-degree theft with a special circumstance and third-degree theft.

Drugs  The Longview Police Street Crimes Unit Thursday arrested Tasha Lynn Jones, 39, of Kelso on a Department of Corrections warrant and on suspicion of a drug violation and manufacturing and delivering drugs.

Assault  Longview police Thursday arrested Matthew David McClure, 29, of Kelso on suspicion of second-degree assault.

Theft

200 block of Pacific Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. Keys.

1000 block of Second Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. Blower and hand-dolly.

100 block of Eight Avenue, Kelso. Thursday. Tools.

300 block of 24th Avenue, Longview. Thursday. Bicycle.

1000 block of Hudson Street, Longview. Mountain bicycle.

Burglaries

500 block of 21st Avenue, Longview. Thursday. Typhoon Q500 drone, Spektra white metal detector and used speaker JBL.

2100 block of Cascade Way, Longview. Tuesday or Thursday. Large backpack with GoPro cameras, black 3DR solo drone, accessories, iPad and other expensive items.

Stolen Vehicle

50 block of Port Way, Longview. Thursday. White 2006 Jeep Wrangler with black hard top and tinted windows. Washington 828UTA.The Daily News, Longview, Wash.
Waiting for Godot

Waiting for Godot is a play that focuses on several characters waiting for Godot to show up. Theyre not sure who Godot is, but are convinced that when Godot arrives, things will be better. Finally a messenger comes and announces that, Godot will not be coming.

The Millennium story could well be interpreted through the lens of this play. For five years, many in our community have been waiting for Godot  waiting for MBT to come to fruition. They were convinced that upon MBTs arrival, the economy and employment would improve. Its a classic story of wasted opportunities while waiting.

This past week, a messenger announced that, Godot is not coming. Ecology denied a key water permit for the project and concluded that the project would cause unavoidable harm to the environment and imperil future generations.

Finally, some agency and agency director with authority, has challenged us to direct our attention on the big picture  the environment, quality of life for our posterity, public health, and renewable energy sources.

John Steppert

Longview

Taxpayers tab

I read with interest the article about government fraud in New Jersey. A community of Orthodox Jews was targeted for abusing the social systems; this takes from all of us. It struck me as ironic that at the same time that the FBI is going after this large group that took $2 million in benefits they were not entitled to, our very own cabinet members are racking up the taxpayers tabs for unnecessary chartered flights. The price tag on Tom Prices abuses runs over $1 million all by himself in eight months alone! Seems to me wed be money ahead to collect from Tom Price and his buddies in the cabinet in one swoop instead of all these petty targets. Also would like to see the president reimburse us for all his wasteful rally trips. Just some tax saving ideas from a taxpayer.

Marion Oman

Long Beach

Vote for Merz

The mayoral race in Kalama gives us an opportunity to decide whether bureaucracy will decide our next mayor or whether the voters will decide. At issue appears to be a claim by some other candidates that Tom Merz, a write in candidate, does not have the prerequisite requirement of one-year residency in Kalama prior to the term of office. Such restrictions are written in to law to prevent jumping over into a jurisdiction solely for political advantage, typically devoid of consideration for the values and needs of the new jurisdiction.

The general attitude of the Legislature is to let the people decide with their ballots the outcome of an election. That is what should happen in Kalama. The citizens are faced with some clear choices: bureaucrats versus their own native son, Tom Merz.

Kalama fundamental values are at stake, and those values are best understood by those who grew up here, learned from Kalama elders, and experienced the seminal nature of a wonderful community. I hope Kalama will keep its values, and I will help this by voting for Tom Merz and urging you to do so also.

Arne Mortensen

Kalama

Longview Schools

How would you like to build three modern, safe, new elementary schools with enough space to lower class sizes, get rid of portable classrooms, and remodel one additional school all at a lower property tax rate than youre paying right now?

Sounds amazing, right? But you have that opportunity next month if you vote YES for the Longview School District bond measure. With the changes in state school funding and current bonds paying off, property owners will actually pay less in 2019 that we do in 2017. For more information, go to voteyesschools.com.

Please join me and vote yes for Longview Schools.

Melinda McCrady

Longview
WASHINGTON  I finally made it in.

After numerous checks of my email, spam folder and a very unhelpful call with a customer representative, I was able to register for the free credit monitoring service offered by Equifax following its massive data breach, which affected 143 million consumers.

Through its service TrustedID Premier, I can view my Equifax credit report as well as my files at the other two major bureaus, Experian and TransUnion. I can also lock my Equifax file for the time being, which hopefully will prevent identity thieves from applying for credit in my name.

But do I feel safe?

Not at all.

There are still so many other ways that fraudsters can use the information stolen from Equifax  including my address and Social Security, drivers license and credit card numbers  to cause chaos in my financial life.

The monitoring service wont protect me from someone using my information to file a fraudulent tax return. And because a freeze or credit lock still allows companies you have an existing relationship with to pull your credit files, I remain vulnerable.

This latest data breach adds to a long list of others that have put millions of consumers in jeopardy of becoming identity-theft victims. So its no wonder many of you have a lot of questions. Email me at colorofmoney@washpost.com and Ill try to get answers.

Here are some queries Ive already received from readers, which I ran by an Equifax spokesperson.

J. Lindley from Las Vegas wrote, I have not succeeded in several attempts to enroll in Equifaxs free monitoring. I dont want to resort to freezing my accounts, as Ive been working to get a mortgage, among other things that require credit reports. And the hassle of freezing and unfreezing seems insurmountable, given that Im a single person who works 10 hours or more a day at a job that gives me little downtime to make personal calls. For now, Im sticking to checking all my banking accounts daily.

Equifax: Due to the number of consumers who have requested enrollment in the TrustedID Premier product, we are experiencing periodic delays in issuing confirmation emails. We assure you we are working diligently to send confirmation information as quickly as possible, and apologize to the consumers who have not yet received their confirmation emails.

Another reader asked: We had a freeze in place at Equifax, TransUnion and Experian at the reported time of the Equifax breach. Did the hackers obtain our PIN and therefore invalidate our freeze?

Equifax: A consumer who had a freeze on their Equifax credit report may be part of the impacted population. However, because a credit freeze allows consumers to restrict access to their credit reports, it is difficult for potentially impacted information to be used inappropriately if a consumer had a freeze in place. It is also important to note that the incident did not impact Equifaxs core consumer credit database, which is where a freeze is applied. Therefore, a consumer does not need to refreeze their credit report, as the freeze continues to be in place until the consumer removes it.

A reader named Marvin, like so many others, wondered why hes been having so much trouble placing a freeze on his file.

Equifax: We have completed an upgrade to our [interactive-voice response] application processor and we are expanding the server capacity to enable more calls to come through. We are also expanding the number of lines into the system with our telephone carrier.

Lois Ambash from Needham, Massachusetts, wrote, Ive read that if I accept the services offered by Equifax in the wake of the breach, I will be forfeiting my right to sue, even as part of a class action. Is this true? My state Attorney General, Maura Healy, has filed suit against Equifax on behalf of all residents. If the suit is successful, I dont know how I would be affected.

Equifax backed off from forcing people to agree to mandatory arbitration, writing in a statement: Because of consumer concern, the company clarified that [arbitration and class-action waiver] clauses do not apply to this cybersecurity incident or to the complimentary TrustedID Premier offering. The company clarified that the clauses will not apply to consumers who signed up before the language was removed.

Finally, Renee of Annapolis, Maryland, asked me, given Equifaxs security issues, if I was concerned about having to enter the last six digits of my Social Security number during the registration process for TrustedID Premier.

Sure, Im worried. But theres a lot I need to do to protect my financial information. So Ive decided that its worth the risk to take up Equifax on its free offer to help.
Dedicated to the Restoration of Progressive Democracy
Conservative plot to oust British PM: Ex-party chairman

Conservative Party Leader and Prime Minister, Theresa May, coughs during her address to delegates at the Conservative Party Conference at Manchester Central, in Manchester, England.

AFP, London :

A plot by around 30 Conservative MPs including former cabinet ministers to call on British Prime Minister Theresa May to resign is gathering momentum, a former party chairman said on Friday.

Grant Shapps, identified as the ringleader of the effort to oust May amid her faltering performance at the party's conference this week and continued cabinet infighting over Brexit, publicly urged her to resign in several interviews.

Senior party figures contradicted Shapps, however, with Environment Secretary Michael Gove pointing out that the "overwhelming majority" of Conservative MPs, including the "entirety" of the cabinet, still backs May.

"A growing number of my colleagues, we realise that the solution isn't to bury our heads in the sand and just hope things will get better," Shapps told BBC radio after details of his plot were leaked to British media. "It will have to be her decision. I had rather hoped that we would be able to get to the point where we could go to her privately and have this conservation," said Shapps, a former minister.

He added there was increasing support among a "broad spread" of Conservative MPs for a leadership contest in the first open declaration of an organised effort to oust May since her poor performance in a June general election.

Her leadership has also been strained in recent weeks by Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, who publicly undermined efforts to present a united front over Brexit with several newspaper columns and interviews setting out his own stance on the issue.

Speculation around May's position then intensified in recent days after a chaotic address to the Conservative party's autumn conference on Wednesday marred by coughing fits, a falling set and a prankster's interruptions. Under the party's rules, a leadership race can be triggered if at least 48 MPs express their support.

But leading figures in the Conservative party disagreed with Shapps.

"I really think this is now just going to fizzle out," said Charles Walker, deputy head of the party's powerful 1922 Committee, which would initiate any leadership contest. A former interior minister, May came to power last year after her predecessor David Cameron stepped down in the wake of the Brexit referendum in which he had campaigned for Britain to stay in the European Union.

Her position has been badly weakened in this year's general election in which she ended up losing her parliamentary majority and her cabinet has been riven with divisions over Brexit strategy in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, Senior British Conservatives rallied to the support of embattled Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday, after a lawmaker said he had a list of 30 colleagues who want her to resign.

Grant Shapps, a former party chairman, said "a growing number of people feel it's time to make a change" after a poor election result and a disastrous conference speech by May earlier this week.
Cambodian govt files lawsuit to dissolve main opposition party

Reuters, Phnom Penh :

Cambodian government lawyers filed a lawsuit on Friday to demand the dissolution of the main opposition party, in a move that would help Prime Minister Hun Sen extend his 32-year rule when the poor Southeast Asian nation votes in an election next year.

The attempt to disband the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) comes after its leader, Kem Sokha, was charged with treason following his arrest on Sept.3.

In their lawsuit on Friday, government lawyers said the opposition had conspired with foreigners to topple the government, citing a 2013 video clip that shows Kem Sokha talking about a plan to take power with the help of Americans. "Today we filed a lawsuit at the Supreme Court on behalf of the Interior Ministry to ask to dissolve the CNRP," Ky Tech, one of the government lawyers, told reporters.

"The CNRP, besides colluding secretly with foreigners ... also intends to serve foreigners," the lawsuit said.

The U.S. embassy said it was unable to comment on the lawsuit filed by the government on Friday, but it had earlier rejected the accusations relating to Kem Sokha.
Putin and Saudi King turn the page on decades of tensions

King Salman of Saudi Arabia shaking hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday.

AP, Moscow :

In a major break with decades of rivalry, Russia and Saudi Arabia on Friday struck a slew of deals, including contracts for Russian weapons as part of a groundbreaking first visit by a Saudi monarch.

The Kremlin talks between Saudi King Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin mark a thaw in relations between the countries, which have often been tense since the Cold War times when the kingdom supported of Afghan rebels fighting the Soviet invasion in the 1980s.

Observers say that Riyadh's decision to boost ties with Moscow reflects the expanded clout Russia has won in the Middle East with its military blitz in Syria. And it shows the Saudis' interest in keeping Russia signed up to a global deal to limit oil production and push up the price of their valuable crude exports.

Hosting the Saudi king in the ornate Kremlin interiors, Putin hailed his visit as a "landmark event" that will give a "strong impulse" to bilateral ties.

Salman said he was looking to expand relations with "friendly nation" Russia "in the interests of peace, security and development of the world economy."

The Saudi monarch noted that the two nations agree on many international and regional issues and intend to continue their efforts to shore up global oil prices.

Following the talks, Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) said it signed agreements with Russia's state arms trader, Rosoboronexport, for the purchase of cutting-edge Russian weapons, including the long-range S-400 air defense missile systems.

In line with Saudi Arabia's intention to localize weapons production, the deals envisage the transfer of technology for the local production of Russian Kornet-EM anti-tank missiles, TOS-1A rocket launchers and AGS-30 automatic grenade launchers and the latest version of the Kalashnikov assault rifle.

While the U.S. has remained Saudi Arabia's top weapons supplier and its most critical Western ally, Thursday's deals highlighted Riyadh's intention to expand ties with Russia.

The Saudis have also been eyeing Russian nuclear power technologies and appear ready to expand food imports from Russia, which is set to remain the world's biggest wheat exporter this year. Food security is a major concern for Saudi Arabia, which stopped local production of livestock feed and wheat due to water scarcity.

Salman's visit comes after decades of tensions, most recently over the war in Syria, where Saudi Arabia had backed the Sunni rebels fighting to oust President Bashar Assad, while its arch-rival, Shiite powerhouse Iran, had teamed with Russia to shore up his rule.

Analysts see Salman's trip to Moscow, which follows other visits by Gulf royals, as the clearest sign yet that Russia's high-risk gamble in Syria has paid off.

"A number of Gulf leaders have been going with greater regularity to Moscow and I think for a simple reason: Russia has made itself much more of a factor in key parts of the Middle East as the U.S. has taken a step back in some ways, particularly in Syria," said Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

Saudi-U.S. ties grew strained under the Obama administration over its backing of a nuclear agreement with Iran and its cautious stance on the Syrian conflict. Relations improved under the Trump administration, but Washington's focus in Syria continues to be on fighting the Islamic State group, not on ousting Assad.
Prabarona Purnima celebrated in Khagrachhari

A Correspondent :

The Prabarona Purnima, one of the important religious functions of the Buddhist community people, was celebrated here on Thursday.

On the occasion, the Buddhists thronged at century-old Yongda Buddha Bihar in the town early Thursday and performed prayer with flower, fruits and foliage's. They also lighted candles in front of the Buddha statue seeking blessing for the people of the society and the country.

Former Member of Khagrachhari Hill District Council (KHDC) Animesh Chakma Rinku said, "Today is one of the happy days for us as because after three-month long "Barshabas" we get this day. In last three months, the Bhikkhus slept inside the Bihar. They had to visit other Bihars in daytime but had to return to their own Bihar before dusk. This special prayer is performed in the whole three months."

Chairman of KHDC Kongjori Chowdhury said, "After three-month long prayer and special religious function, the Buddhists have celebrated the Prabarona Purnima. They will also perform Kathin Chibor Dan ritual in the next one month."
12 including Chinese a national held

Chittagong Bureau :

Police arrested 12 persons including a Chinese citizen for forgery with people in the name of arranging lottery competition from Khulshi area in the port city Chittagong on Thursday.

Sources said, Chinese citizen Shing Zeng along with 12 other locals opened an office -Bangladesh Development Foundation. The office and its staffs are selling lotteries among the people of the city and surrounding areas.

They collected money from the workers of the locality by the name of lottery. The Detective Branch and Counter Terrorism Unit of police raided the area and nabbed the Chinese citizen Shing Zeng along with 12 other locals in this connection.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Chittagong metropolitan Police Abu Bakkar Siddik said the arrested Chinese citizen Shing Zeng along with 12 other locals were engaged with collecting money from the poor people in the name of lottery. They had no permission in this regard.
Aussie dollar falls sharply

Xinhua, Sydney :

The Australian dollar has taken a dive against the greenback on Friday after strong economic data and positive comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve strengthened the American currency.

At the Asian market open 7 a.m. (AEDT), the Australian dollar was trading at 77.90 U.S. cents, down from 78.27 U.S. cents on Thursday.

"U.S. factory orders rose 1.2 percent in August, less affected by the hurricanes than expected. Durable goods orders for August were finalized at +2.0 percent," Westpac Bank's senior market strategist Imre Speizer told investors in a morning note.

Following the data, San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams said: "One more hike this year and another three next year are appropriate given the economy's strength."

At 9:30 a.m. (AEDT), the Australian dollar was buying 77.91 U.S. cents.


Concept of strict liability offence

Appellate Division (Criminal) :

Nazmun Ara Sultana J

Syed Mahmud Hossain J

Md Imman Ali J

Md Anwarul Haque J

Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd.

......Petitioner

vs

Ferdous Khan @ Alamgir and another.......Respondents

Judgment

February 9th, 2014

Negotiable Instruments Act (XXVI of 1881)

Sections 138 and 140

The liability under Section 138 can be termed as a strict liability offence. Pursuant to Section 140, the person, who issued the cheque, whether on his own behalf or on behalf of a company of which he is in charge or for which he is responsible cannot escape liability under the Act . (10)

Morever, if for any reason whatsoever, let alone the omission of the company as an accused, the other persons who are in charge of the affairs of the company or have knowledge about the affairs of the company cannot escape from criminal liability if they are served with the notice. .. .... (11)

Punjab Ali Pramanik vs Mohd. Mokarram Hossain, 29 DLR (SC) 185 and Mohammad Eusof Babu vs State. Criminal Appeal Nos. 7-22 of 2011 [68 DLR (AD) 298] ref.

Md Nazril Islam, Senior Advocate, Instructed by Nurul Islam Bhuiyan Advocate-on-Record-For the Petitioner.

None Represented -For the Respondents.

Judgment

Md lmman Ali J. : The delay of 112 days in filing the criminal petition for leave to appeal is hereby condoned.

2. This criminal petition for leave to appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 6-5-2010 passed by a Division Bench of the High Court Division in Criminal Miscellaneous Case No. 4883 of 2009 making the Rule absolute.

3. The facts relevant for disposal of the caseare that Islami Bank Bangladesh Ltd., Agrabad Branch, represented by its Principal Officer Abdul Wadud, as the payee, has filed a petition of complaint against one Ferdous Khan alias Alamgir under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instrument Act, 1881, (the Act alleging, inter alia, that the respondent is the Managing Director of Bagdad Exim Corporation Ltd. aprivate company limited by shares. On application of the respondent for loan, to run his business, the payee bank sanctioned loan against the name of the company of the respondent the sum of Taka 25,87,26,294.70 on 30-6-2007. When the bank asked to repay the loan, the respondent issued two cheques on 25-1-2008 and 25-2-2008 respectively, on behalf of Bagdad Exim Corporation Ltd., as its Managing Director, each cheque for Taka 2,40,28,588. These two cheques were deposited on 26-2-2008, but both were dishonoured on the same date due to insufficiency of fund. Thereafter, demand notice was sent on 2-3-2008 at the business address of the respondent by the lawyer of the bank and the respondent received the same on 10-3-2008 but the respondent did not pay the amount due under the cheques. Thereafter, on 8-5-2008 the bank filed a complaint petition under Section 138 of the Act against the respondents before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Chittagong who took cognizance of the case, whereupon the CR Case No. 107 of 2008 was registered.

4. The respondent No. 1 voluntarily surrendered before the learned Magistrate on 28-10-2008 and obtained bail. At this stage the respondent filed Criminal Miscellaneous Case No. 4883 of 2009 under Section 561A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, wherein Rule was issued.

5. By the impugned judgment and order the Rule was made absolute thereby quashing the proceeding instituted under Sections 138 and 140 of the Negotiable Instruments Act. Hence the petitioner filed the instant criminal petition for leave to appeal before this Division.

6. Mr Muhammad Nazrul Islam, learned senior Advocate appearing on behalf of the petitioner submitted that the High Court Division failed to appreciate that the accused being the Managing Director of the company cannot avoid his liability to pay the amount due under the dishonoured cheques. He further submitted that the omission of the name of the company as accused is a simple case of defect of party which can be cured by adding the company as party at a later stage. He also submitted that the accused being the Managing Director and having signed the cheques as the authorized and competent person is liable under Section 138 read with Section 140 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

7. We have considered the submissions made by the learned Advocate for the petitioner, perused the impugned judgment and order as well as other materials on record.

8. The liability under Section 138 of the Act can be termed as a strict liability where a cheque has been returned to the payee having been dishonoured by the bank unpaid, either because of the amount of money standing to the credit of that account is insufficient to honour the cheque or that it exceeds the amount arranged to be paid from that account then the person, issuing the cheque is strictly liable. Section 140 of the Act provides that:

"If the offence under Section 138 is committal by a company, then every PERSON who, at the time the offence was committed, was in charge of, and WAS responsible to, lite company for the conduct of the business of the company, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished. "

9. The High Court Division quashed the proceedings against the Managing Director of the company, who signed the cheques on behalf of the company, as the company, being the principal, was not made an accused in the case.

10. The person, who issued the cheque, whether on his own behalf or on behalf of a company of which he is in charge or for which he is responsible cannot escape liability under the Act. In such circumstances, the proceeding against the accused cannot be quashed. The matter will be decided upon trial whether or not the omission of the company as accused is fatal to the prosecution of the Managing Director of the company, who issued the cheques on behalf of the company. The case referred to by the learned Judge of the High Court Division namely Punjab Ali Pramanik vs Mohd. Mokarram Hossain, 29 DLR (SC) 185 has no manner of application in the facts and circumstances of the instant case.

11. The point in issue was elaborately discussed and decided by this Division in Mohammad Eusof Babu vs State and another, Criminal Appeal Nos. 7-22 of 2011 [68 DLR (AD) 298]. One of us was a party in that decision. It was held that if for any reason the company is not prosecuted, the other persons who are in charge of the affairs of the company or have knowledge about the affairs of the company cannot escape from criminal liability if they are " served with the notice.

In the light of the above discussion, the impugned judgement and order is set-aside and accordingly the criminal petition for leave to appeal is disposed of.
Bangladesh Noujan Sramik Federation organised a rally in front of the Jatiya Press Club on Friday in protest against terror attacks on leaders and activists of the federation
Maria Nur feels easy in hosting

Sheikh Arif Bulbon :

Maria Nur is one of the popular faces in the field of hosting now. She has fame as a fashion conscious host to all. In media, she started her career as a radio jockey (RJ). In 2009, she first worked as a RJ in Radio ABC. But she came into limelight to host a travelling related show Circle - The Globe under the direction of Shahriar Shakil for Channel 24. Basically by this show she came close to the viewers. In fact, this show brought her limelight in media. Later she also got appreciation to host another show Travelers Story on Channel 9. Her position became strengthen then.

Maria also got appreciation to play in role of a RJ act in a TV serial titled Five Female Friends on Gtv. Earlier she acted against Tauquir Ahmed in a single episode play titled Kobitar Nari O'Kobitar Nari under the direction of Golam Muktadir Shan. Her acting in role of Bonolota in that play was highly appreciated to all. That Bonolota is todays Maria Nur. In last Eid, her acting in play Dampottyo directed by Tauquir Ahmed was also cherished the viewers. Tania Ahmed gave its direction.

While talking about her career Maria Nur told this correspondent, I always feel comfortable in hosting. Sometimes I like acting. I am grateful to them who helped me in the beginning of my career as a host in media. I have liked to work under Tania Apus direction because she thought about choreography and costume design by herself. But I was not supposed to act in that play because during shooting of that play in 2015 I could not manage my schedule during that time. Only for me it was done one year later.

Hailed from Comilla daughter of Md Abdul Latif Khan and Nasima Khan Maria completed her honours and masters from Dhaka City College and diploma in fashion designing from Shanto-Mariam University of Creative Technology. Her birthday is March 21.


Rohingya children suffering from malnutrition

AN estimated 7,500 Rohingya children in the squalid camps in Cox's Bazar are suffering from severe acute malnutrition, said UNICEF as it launched on Monday last a $76.1 million appeal for its emergency humanitarian response to the Rohingya crisis. Up to 60 percent of the over 500,000-plus Rohingyas who have fled Myanmar since August 25 are estimated to be children. Most are now living in harsh and insanitary conditions in makeshift camps and settlements spread across the district. AFP reported that more than 14,100 children are at risk of dying from malnutrition at the Rohingya camps. Moreover, 1,500 children have been separated from parents and close relatives. Another fact is that majority of Rohingya children are not fully immunized against diseases such as polio.

When a war breaks out, women and children are the most likely to suffer. These children are scattered at the Kutupalong registered camp, Balukhali makeshift, Leda makeshift, Nayapara registered camp, Thainkhali settlement, Unchiprang settlement and houses of local people. Of the 23,622 newly arrived children, those below five are being screened for malnutrition at Kutupalong. Children are also found to be suffering from mental trauma.

Different UN Agencies and NGOs, including UNICEF, ISCG, Save the Children, BRAC and Community Development Centre (Codec), have been working for Rohingya children at the makeshift camps. An oral cholera vaccination campaign targeting all children over 1 year is planned in October, and 900,000 doses of the vaccine are expected to arrive in Bangladesh by October 7. The World Food Program (WFP), meanwhile, appealed for $75 million in emergency aid to help reduce the suffering of Rohingyas over the next six months.

UNICEF's Head of Communication Mr. Jean-Jacques Simon emphasized on counselling of these Rohingya children. He also mentioned that they have provided many child-friendly spaces at the camps. UNICEF has provided mobile clinics for Rohingya children and also for Rohingya mothers who gave birth on the border and in Bangladesh.

If we really want to end the suffering of these ill-fated children we must make sure that they return safely to Myanmar with their legal citizenship rights. WFP Executive Director David Beasley said a wonderful thing. Quoting from him "I say we can end world hunger with a few billion dollars. I tell donors, if you can't give us the money, stop the wars."
More than exemplary punishments are needed

THE wife and also a mother of a toddler was ruthlessly and repeatedly raped by a gang of eight men for hours until Wednesday midnight while her husband was struggling to free his hands tied to a tree outside. Released after the gang-rape at Kajupara village in Puthia upazila of Rajshahi, the couple went straight to Puthia police around 2:30am on Thursday and the victim's husband filed a case against eight men with Puthia Police Station. Police arrested seven of the accused in relation to the horrific crime.

Rape may not be a new phenomenon in Bangladesh, but its pattern is increasingly becoming terrifying, perverted and beastly. A little over a month ago we had witnessed the gang-rape and eventual murder of a 27-year-old woman inside an inter-city bus. And coupled with the above rape case it appears, the beasts among rapists and criminals in Bangladesh have become extreme. What has become evident, however, is that the reason this continues is because there are not enough laws and regulations when it comes to rape, and the ones that do exist are backward and regressive. However, good that this time, because of the husband's prompt reporting, the police was able to catch seven out of the eight rapists.

Bangladesh needs to do a better job of protecting its women. The culture of rape that exists is a sickening reminder of how far we have yet to progress as a nation. Also it is unimaginable that less than two percent of rape cases filed in the country over the last five years have ended in conviction. Legal experts point out that because the legal process is so diffident and humiliating, the bulk of cases ends in out of court settlements. According to police data, 18,668 rape cases were filed during the last five years and there were only 22 convictions. The bulk of rape victims shy away from pursuing cases because it is simply too embarrassing.

If we need to start treating rape cases with much more seriousness, and in specialized courts, then that is what we must do. If we require speedy trials for rape, then that it how it must be. But a solution has become imperative to deter the incidence of horrifying tales of rapes across the country. Too long has this disease flown through the bloodstream of our nation, and also for too long have rapists escaped the clutches of the law. The recurrence of such horrible perverted crime must end.




Who is suppressing the truth?

Gulam Rabbani :

Who is lying about Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha's health? The question is now in every mind in the country.

The Law Minister and the Attorney General said that the CJ had taken leave because he was suffering from cancer. But the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) leaders claimed that the Chief Justice was forced to take leave.

The Law Minister on Thursday said that there was no bar from the government side to meet with the Chief Justice. He also claimed that the Chief Justice was not under house arrest.

But when the leaders of the SCBA trying to meet the CJ they had been barred by the law enforcement agencies.

Meanwhile, the Law Minister on Thursday met with the Chief Justice. Even the CJ, along with his wife, performed Lakshmi Puja at the Dhakeshwari Temple of Old Dhaka the same day. Surendra Kumar Sinha met with International Crimes Tribunal Prosecutor Rana Dasgupta and Gono Forum leader Advocate Subrata Chowdhury there.

Rana Dasgupta told reporters that the Chief Justice was in good physical condition. Advocate Subrata Chowdhury said, "Surendra Kumar Sinha stayed in the temple for 15 minutes, but I had no conversation with him."

Responding to a query about the Chief Justice's health, Subrata Chowdhury said, "He came here walking, and left the temple walking too."

Prime minister's International Affairs Adviser Dr Gowher Rizvi met with Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha on Friday.

Dr Gowher went to the residence of the Chief Justice around 11:00am. They held a meeting for over an hour.

However, further details could not be known.

In this circumstance, the 'sudden leave' of the Chief Justice spread speculation across the country.

Only the government people are being allowed to meet the Chief Justice while others not, raising the question what is the fact and what is going on. It was learnt that the government leaders are allowed to meet him in a bid to convince him to go abroad.



The Senior Lawyers thought that if the Chief Justice went on leave on medical grounds then why he had been inaccessible? Why the lawyers' leaders were prevented to meet with him? They thought that the judges were also silent in this regard. But the mystery regarding the Chief Justice should be cleared.

The Senior Lawyers of the Supreme Court Bar sat in meeting several times and took some resolutions. They decided that it was a matter of concern not only for the lawyers but also for the whole country. Even they sought directions from the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha went on one month's leave on Tuesday, ahead of retirement in January next. The Law Minister and the Attorney General said that he had taken leave because he was suffering from cancer.

The bar leaders went to meet with the Chief Justice on October 2, 2017 after hearing the news of his one month leave. But the law enforcing agencies barred them to do it, the Bar leaders said. They also claimed that the Chief Justice was forced to take a month's leave. The CJ was under tremendous pressure to go on leave.

The leaders of the Supreme Court Bar Association on Friday tried once again to meet Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha but failed.

Advocate Umme Kulsum Rekha, Vice President of the Bar, said that her colleagues started the journey from the Supreme Court at 5.00pm to meet CJ as per previous decision taken in a meeting with the senior lawyers. But the members of the law enforcement agencies barred them in front of the Motso Bhaban in the city, she added.

After receiving this news over phone Advocate Umme Kulsum, who had already reached before the gate of CJ's official residence, briefed the journalists.

The Chief Justice's leave application came on the heels of a widespread debate on the 16th Amendment case verdict that restored the provision of the Supreme Judicial Council after scrapping the 16th Amendment to the Constitution.

After the Chief Justice went on leave, the BNP and like-minded quarters alleged that he has been sent on forced leave ahead of retirement in January following an outrage in the ruling party over the verdict.

A number of Awami League leaders and pro-AL lawyers demanded the Chief Justice's resignation, accusing him of undermining Parliament and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman in the 16th Amendment case verdict.

On September 13, the Jatiya Sangsad passed a resolution calling for legal steps to nullify the SC verdict. The Law Minister said on several occasions that the government would seek a review of the judgment.

A M Mahbub Uddin Khokan, Secretary of the SCBA, said that what was happening regarding Chief Justice was the great fraud in history by the government. "If we fail to return the CJ it will be a great loss for the Judiciary and a scare will spread among the other judges of the Supreme Court," he said.

The Bar Secretary also said, "If the mystery regarding the CJ is not disclosed then our image will be under minded globally."
Myanmar crackdown could draw Int'l terrorists

Washington, AP :

The State Department says Myanmar's crackdown that has caused an exodus of a half-million Rohingya Muslims to Bangladesh could destabilize the region and invite international terrorists.

Patrick Murphy, a senior U.S. official for Southeast Asia, says the U.S. has urged Myanmar's civilian

and military officials to take action to stop the violence.

He told a congressional hearing Thursday that despite government assurances that security operations halted Sept. 5, vigilantes are still reportedly committing arson attacks on Rohingya homes and blocking humanitarian assistance. Rep. Ed Royce, Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, described it as ethnic cleansing and urged the administration to press harder for humanitarian access.

Rep. Eliot Engel, the committee's top-ranking Democrat, said the U.S. should consider imposing targeted sanctions on Myanmar's military.


BCL leader, youth killed in Ctg

Sudipta Biswas

UNB, Chittagong :

A leader of Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL) and a young man were killed in separate incidents in the port city on Friday morning.

Sudipta Biswas, 26, son of Babul Biswas of Sadarghat area and assistant secretary of city unit BCL, was beaten to death by miscreants in Dakhshin Nalapara area of city.

Quoting family members, Marjina Akhter, Officer-in-Charge of Sadarghat Police Station, said some youths called Sudipta out of his house around 8 am and beat him up mercilessly, leaving him critically injured.

The injured was rushed to Chittagong Medical College and Hospital where doctors declared him dead.

Besides, Joy Das, 22, son of Subal Das, a resident of Koibolyadham Mandir area, was stabbed to death in the morning.

Alamgir Hossain, officer-in-charge of Akbar Shah Police Station, said that some a group of youths locked into an altercation with some senior youths of the area over fireworks during Laxmi Puja.

Later, Joy settled the matter after slapping some youths of the junior group that enraged the junior group.

Later they attacked joy around 11:30 am and stabbed him, leaving critically injured.

He was rushed to CMCH where doctors declared him dead.
1 killed, 5 hurt in Kushtia AL infighting

UNB, Kushtia :

A man was killed and five others were injured in a clash between two factions of Awami League at Dhalsa village in Mirpur upazila on Friday morning.

The deceased was identified as Shamsul Islam Haque, 50, an AL activist.

Azizur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Mirpur Police Station, said supporters of Chhatian union parishad chairman and also union AL president Jasim Uddin Mandal locked into a clash with the supporters of its

AL general secretary Tasel Ali Mondol around 8am over establishing supremacy in the area, leaving a man dead on the spot and five others injured. The injured were taken to Mirpur health complex. On information, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control, the OC added. Police, however, detained Fuad in this connection.
UNHCR seeks $84m additional fund

Staff Reporter :

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, on Friday sought for $83.7 million additional funds in a bid to help over half a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh for the next six months.

It came up with the call through a press briefing in Geneva.

According to latest estimates, some 515,000 refugees have fled Bangladesh from Myanmar since 25 August, including people continuing to arrive this week.

The new arrivals have joined an estimated 300,000 refugees who were already in Bangladesh before the crisis.

"The emergency assistance is focused on refugee protection, shelter, water and sanitation and bolstering the capacity of the local host communities across bordering Cox's Bazar district in Bangladesh," said UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic.

Andrej Mahecic said UNHCR's supplementary

appeal is meant to meet urgent additional requirements from September 2017 through to February 2018. It is vital, even at this stage that the response reflects mid- to long-term needs, while at the same time ensuring that voluntary return of refugees in safety and dignity remains a viable option.

"We are grateful for the prompt and generous initial response both from the governments and private donors so far, contributing already $24.1 million since the onset of the emergency," he added.

While addressing the urgent and immediate refugee needs in Bangladesh, UNHCR is concerned about the continuing influx from Myanmar and stresses once again the need for the root causes to be addressed. Delivery and improving conditions remains our utmost priority.
Spain apologises to injured Catalans

BBC Online :

The Spanish government's representative in Catalonia has apologised to those injured during police efforts to stop Sunday's independence referendum.

But Enric Millo blamed the Catalan government for holding an illegal vote. Meanwhile the government in Madrid has issued a decree making it easier for companies to move their headquarters away from Catalonia.

A Catalan minister told the BBC his government would go ahead with an independence debate in parliament.

"Parliament will discuss, parliament will meet," said Catalan foreign affairs chief Raul Romeva. "Every attempt the Spanish government has used to impede things to happen, they have been demonstrated completely not only useless but counter-productive," he told the BBC in English. Catalan President Carles Puigdemont now plans to address the Catalan

parliament on Tuesday - later than was expected.

Spain's Constitutional Court earlier suspended the parliament session that had been planned for Monday. There is speculation that the parliament will declare independence unilaterally, based on last Sunday's disputed vote, which was declared illegal under Spanish law. Spain's Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is chairing a cabinet meeting to discuss the next moves in the confrontation with Catalonia.

Meanwhile, the Catalan chief of police, Josep Lluis Trapero, has appeared before a judge in Madrid on suspicion of sedition against the state. His Mossos d'Esquadra force is accused of failing to protect Spanish national police from protesters ahead of the 1 October independence referendum.

The "sedition" hearing took place at the national criminal court in Madrid. The defendants are accused of failing to help Guardia Civil police tackle thousands of pro-independence protesters outside the Catalan Economy Department in Barcelona on 20 September. Along with Commander Trapero, another Catalan police officer and two leading independence activists, Jordi Cuixart and Jordi Sanchez, are also being investigated in Madrid.

They all left the court after the morning hearing free, without facing any Spanish restrictions. It is not yet clear what they told the judge. The Guardia Civil submitted an official accusation against the Mossos.

Leading newspaper El Pais says the allegation of sedition is extraordinary in post-Franco democratic Spain.

As recently as August the Mossos was being widely praised for quickly tackling the Islamist cell that carried out the Barcelona terror attack in that month. Organisers of Sunday's vote put the turnout at 42%, with 2.2 million people taking part. They say 90% voted for independence, but have not published the final results. There have been several claims of irregularities. Hundreds of people were injured during violence at polling stations as police, trying to enforce a Spanish court ban on the vote, attempted to seize ballot boxes and disperse voters. The Spanish government refuses to hold negotiations on Catalonia's independence bid. The Catalan leaders say they want international mediation and have repeatedly urged the EU to get involved.

Catalonia is Spain's richest region and accounts for 19% of Spain's GDP. On Thursday, Sabadell, a major bank, decided to transfer its legally registered base from Barcelona to the south-eastern Spanish city of Alicante. Its HQ and workforce will remain in Barcelona.

CaixaBank, another large Barcelona-based institution, is reported to be considering a similar move. This would ensure the banks remained within the eurozone and under the supervision of the European Central Bank, even if Catalonia broke away from Spain.
China, India arm-twisting to Bangladesh

Kazi Zahidul Hasan :

Regional powers like China and India have offered multi-billion dollars of loan to Bangladesh due to their growing interests on the country, economists said on Friday.

They said Bangladesh is located at a very strategic position in South Asia where both the countries are in a race to assert their control. As a result, they focused on Bangladesh pertaining various political and economic policies.

"China and India have immense geo-political and geo-economic interests in the South Asian region. Bangladesh is very important for them due to its strategic location, physical proximity and proximity to the Bay of Bengal," Dr Ahsan H Mansur, an economist, told The New Nation yesterday.

He said China fervently needs the cooperation of Bangladesh to assert more control over Indian Ocean and Malacca straits and implement its "One Belt One Road" initiative. For India, Bangladesh is a strategic country to tighten its grip in South Asia.



"Bangladesh needs tens of billions of dollars for developing its infrastructure. So, loans from India can help mitigate its massive funding needs," said Dr Mansur.

Bangladesh on Wednesday signed a new concessional line of credit (LoC) deal of US$4.5 billion (approximately Tk 36,000 crore) with India for implementation its priority projects. This brings India's resource allocation for Bangladesh to more than US$8 billion over the past six years.

"We see nothing wrong to take Indian loan. But, the government agencies must ensure quality procurement and fast project implementation under the Indian line of credit," said Dr Mansur who works at the Policy Research Institute Bangladesh as Executive Director.

He also said timely implementation of projects is very vital to make the projects viable and competitive.

"India has already signed several LoC deals with Bangladesh, but a contentious Teesta water-sharing deal remained elusive. Even, India does not boldly stands besides Bangladesh to solve the Rohingya crisis," Dr Mansur said, adding, "India must address common concern of Bangladesh for deepening Dhaka and New Delhi ties further."

He observed China is providing commercial credit to Bangladesh under a number of mega projects. Such credit may put Bangladesh into a debt trap. "Bangladesh should aware of this and pursue the Chinese authorities for concessional credit," he added.

When asked, Dr Mansur said, their (China-India) relation with Bangladesh is more strategic than moral. If their friendship was established with ethical values they may boldly stand beside Bangladesh on Rohingya issue and strike Teesta water-sharing deal.

Bangladesh signed $25 billion loan deal with China for nearly 30 development projects during President Xi Jinping's visit to Bangladesh in last October.

"India and China is competing themselves for establishing their influence in the South Asian region. They earlier provided loans to Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Pakistan and now giving it to Bangladesh as part of their policy to tighten their grips in the region," Dr Khandoker Ibrahim Khaled, a former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, told The New Nation on Friday.

He, however, said their loans have created an opportunity for Bangladesh to develop its infrastructure and mega projects.

"Bangladesh has potential to become a regional economic corridor connecting SAARC and ASEAN states. So, China and India are now moving towards Bangladesh due to their political and economic interests," said Dr Ibrahim Khaled.

"Their (China and India) interest is growing on Bangladesh because it has become a big market for their products and services. The huge population of Bangladesh and their rising disposable income has forced them to expand their business further," Dr Zahid Hussain, an economist, told The New Nation yesterday.

He also said China wants to relocate their 'Sun Set' industries to Bangladesh due to cheap labour and quality work.

"Apart from the trade and investment, China and India are giving importance to Bangladesh for developing regional connectivity. Bangladesh with its unique geopolitical position between China and India can gain a lot if it can sensibly handle their influence and properly utilize their loans," Dr Zahid Hussain added.
2000 Rohingyas still arriving a day in BD

Rohingya children are waiting in the long queue with empty bowls for food. This photo was taken from Jamtola at Ukhiya Upazila in Cox\'s Bazar district on Friday.

An estimated 2,000 Rohingya refugees a day are still arriving in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, having fled violence in Myanmar's North Rakhine State, according to IOM staff monitoring the Bangladesh-Myanmar border.

The new arrivals bring the total number of refugees to cross into Bangladesh since 25 August to an estimated 515,000. Observers believe that as many as 100,000 more people may be waiting to cross into Cox's Bazar from North Rakhine's Buthidaung Township.

Many of the refugees arrive in Teknaf - Cox's Bazar's southernmost upazila or sub-district - but then move north to Ukhiya sub-district and the vast, teeming makeshift settlements of Kutupalong, Balukhali and neighbouring satellite sites.

They arrive exhausted, hungry and usually with nothing more than the clothes on their back, having walked for days and then braved a dangerous river or sea crossing. Many show signs of malnutrition.



Yesterday, Nunavet, 70, walked aimlessly through Kutupalong, tired and in desperation. The frail, skeletal old lady was hungry. Her face, etched with deep wrinkles, spoke not just of fatigue, but of a life of hardship endured over the years. Overcoming the language barrier, she mumbled through her ailments, pointing to her empty stomach, aching back and sore feet.

IOM, the UN Migration Agency, this week appealed to the international community for USD 120 million through March to provide desperately needed aid to Nunavet and other Rohingya refugees who have flooded into Cox's Bazar over the past six weeks. It aims to target 450,000 individuals (90,000 households) over the next six months.

The IOM appeal is part of a broader humanitarian response plan seeking USD 434 million to help 1.2 million people, including the Bangladeshi host community.

At the request of the Government of Bangladesh, IOM is hosting the Inter Sector Coordination Group, which is coordinating the work of aid agencies responding to the humanitarian crisis triggered by the influx. It is also leading the coordination of three sectors - shelter and core relief items, displacement site management and communication with displaced and host communities.

IOM's operations focus on six sectors: shelter and core relief items; site management; water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH); health; coordination; protection; and communication with communities.

Life-saving services delivered IOM and its partners include clean water and sanitation, shelter, food, security, health care, education, and psychological support for the most vulnerable individuals, many whom are suffering from acute mental trauma or are survivors of sexual violence.

In the settlements, people standing in line for aid snake around the various distribution points set up by aid organizations and local NGOs. As they wait for hours for rice, biscuits, plastic sheets, jerry cans and hygiene materials, the number of children stand out. An estimated 58 per cent of the refugees are under the age of 18.

To date, IOM has distributed some 40,000 plastic tarpaulins to provide basic shelter for the refugees since 25 August. These include some 4,000 shelter kits comprising two plastic sheets, two ropes, two blankets, and one sleeping mat per family, donated by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development (DFID).

The sheer numbers of new arrivals have led to dangerous congestion in the existing settlements. On 14 September, the Bangladesh Government allocated 2,000 acres of forest land to set up a new camp adjacent to the existing Kutapalong makeshift settlement. Yesterday, it allocated another 1,000 acres of land to cope with the spiralling numbers.

Officials plan to use the vast site to accommodate all the Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar - both new and old arrivals - in one settlement. At close to 700,000 people, this will become the world's largest refugee camp.

The challenges of establishing the camp on inaccessible, hilly terrain, are vast. The site is entirely undeveloped and will require planning and infrastructure investment for roads and bridges, the installation of drainage systems and soil protection earthworks to reduce the risk of landslides. It is currently accessible by just one road - the Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Highway - which is already permanently congested by aid trucks and local traffic.

In the meantime, aid agencies are warning of acute shortages of food, which could soon lead to widespread malnutrition. An estimated 218,000 people are already in need of urgent nutrition support, including 145,000 children under the age of five and thousands of pregnant and lactating women.

IOM medical staff, who have carried out over 33,000 consultations since 25 August, say that healthcare is also stretched to the limit, partly due to the lack of access to clean water and related growing numbers of diarrhoea cases. IOM has already delivered 310,000 litres of clean water to refugee sites, but this remains a drop in the ocean in the context of daily needs.

On Thursday, IOM and the World Health Organization (WHO) led a health sector meeting with some 30 agencies to work on a preparedness plan for a diarrhoea outbreak. Health sector agencies will also launch a cholera vaccination campaign on 10 October. Over the next year, 650,000 people will be vaccinated in the settlements and adjacent host communities.


Rohingyas are starving, begging for help

Al Jazeera News, Cox's Bazar :

Rohingya trapped inside Myanmar say thousands are starving and in need of medical care in northern Rakhine State, where a half-million majority Muslim ethnic Rohingya have fled an army crackdown and communal violence. Abdulla Mehman, who works for an aid agency in the Buthitaung Township, said more than 2,000 people in his village, Kwan Dine, had run out of food, with many others facing shortages.

"We are not allowed to move about freely, and people are struggling to survive," Mehman told Al Jazeera by telephone on Tuesday. "Some people are starving." Rohingya families in at least four other villages in northern Rakhine - Kin Taung, Bura Shida Para, Kyar Gaung Taung, and Sein Daung - also reported urgent food shortages and accused soldiers and Buddhist neighbours of intimidation, looting, extortion and cattle theft.

The reports are difficult to verify independently, as the region has been under an army lockdown, but the witness accounts are in line with what Rohingya refugees in neighbouring Bangladesh have been telling Al Jazeera. About a half-million Rohingya are thought to remain in Myanmar's westernmost state.

"Please help us," a Rohingya woman from the village of Kin Taung, speaking on the condition of anonymity, begged



in a telephone conversation this week. "We are sick, but we cannot seek medical treatment. We cannot work and we cannot eat." A group of 20 diplomats who visited northern Rakhine on an official tour on Monday described the humanitarian situation there as "dire", and urged Aung San Suu Kyi's government to resume "life-saving services without discrimination". People could die in Rakhine State if aid does not arrive soon, Human Rights Watch said. The Myanmar government could not be reached for comment.

It has previously promised to deliver aid to communities affected by the violence.

Accounts by refugees pouring into Bangladesh of mass killings, gang-rapes, and burning of whole villages has led the UN to accuse the Myanmar government of ethnic cleansing, a claim it denies.

The woman in Kin Taung told Al Jazeera that soldiers had threatened to rape the civilians and burn down homes of Rohingya, and were extorting money, food and cattle from them.

Her family had to bribe soldiers to keep their homes safe, she said.

Her husband, a 30-year-old farmer, said: "If any Rohingya are seen on the streets after the Maghrib prayer (dusk), then we are fined 200,000 Burmese kyat ($147). If they find cattle, they take that also."

Nay San Lwin, a Rohingya activist based in Germany, said northern Rakhine was "like a prison" and that thousands of Rohingya were continuing to flee their homes after the army intensified a campaign of intimidation and arson this week. Paul Seger, Switzerland's ambassador to Myanmar, who joined the government tour of Rakhine, posted a video on Twitter of smoke rising from some villages on Monday.

He also posted a video of shuttered shops and deserted streets in the once-bustling town centre of Maungdaw.

The office of the army chief Min Aung Hlaing, in a Facebook post on Thursday, blamed the fresh bout of arson on the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Front (ARSA). The refugee crisis erupted after ARSA fighters attacked border posts on August 25. In some areas, the violence has ebbed, but Rohingya said they lived in fear.

"The situation is calm now, but we cannot go to the shops to buy necessities because we are afraid the Buddhists may beat us," Abu Tayeb, a teacher in Bura Shida Para in north Maungdaw, said by telephone.

"We cannot get adequate food and we cannot pray [at the mosques]."

Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch told Al Jazeera that he was "concerned" by the lack of information about the hundreds of thousands remaining in Rakhine.

He added: "It is imperative that the Myanmar authorities give full humanitarian access to northern Rakhine or people will die." Mehman, the aid worker from Kwan Dine, said he will not flee even when his food reserves run out next week. "Bangladesh is not my country," he said. "The government wants to push us out. I don't want to leave, even if I have to eat leaves."
The Undead Archives

I have finally salvaged my pre-Blogger TDR archives and added them into Blogger. They are almost totally in the form of one giant post for each month. And the formatting strayed from the originals. Sorry. But historians everywhere can rejoice that this treasure trove of my thoughts is restored to the world.
If you are looking for the new Immoral Minority posts, you should know that they can be found here at our new home Please stop by to get caught up on politics, join the conversations, or simply check out the new digs.
The best bang for your buck! This option enables you to purchase online 24/7 access and receive the Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday print edition at no additional cost * Print edition only available in our carrier delivery area. Allow up to 72 hours for delivery of your print edition to begin. Print edition not available for Day Pass option.
Unity Fellowship Community Church of Orangeburg is looking to promote cultural diversity in the spirit of food, fun and fellowship during its first Taste of Unity event.

The event will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7, at the church located at 1852 Joe Jeffords Highway.

Various churches will be participating in the event, including Iglesia Cristiana De Avivamiento, First Baptist Church of Orangeburg and Unity Fellowship. Embark Church of Orangeburg will also be represented at this years event.

Organizer Felicia Lawrence of Unity Fellowship said the outside event will include dishes from the Hispanic, Indian, Caucasian and African-American communities, along with music, games and team-building exercises. Face painting and bounce houses will be among the childrens activities, while seniors can enjoy bingo games.

"The whole goal is to bring folks together from different paths and use food as a way of doing so. Food has always been a conduit to do that. But, of course, we're gearing up with ice-breakers and team-building games just to kind of make sure that we don't remain in our little groups, but get out and mingle and get to know each other, Lawrence said.

A lot of activities have been planned to ensure that we get to know our neighbors no matter what their nationalities and backgrounds are, she said.

The Rev. Jerome Anderson, pastor of Unity Fellowship, said, Because of the divisiveness of our country, its so important that the Christian community come together and just be a model of what unity ought to be like. Its a calling for us to stand and do that now.

We have to start the process of understanding and appreciating our differences so that we can begin to show more unity, Anderson added.

Ana Harrell of Iglesia Cristiana De Avivamiento said she and members of her church will be singing during the event, noting that she believes the event will be a good way to bridge divides among cultures.

The pastor let us use the church here. We started like three or four months ago and we wanted to get to know more about each other. Its a wonderful chance to get to know each other and share different cultures, Harrell said.

Dee Dee Prickett of First Baptist Church of Orangeburg said, We have a group that does mission trips like to Haiti and different places. And, so some of those persons get a feel for another culture. But this will be an experience for the persons who don't get to travel on those trips. I encourage them to come. It's not a matter of what your skin color is. We all bleed red, and that's kind of how we need to think about it."

Padma Duvva, who attends Unity Fellowship, said she and other members of the Indian community will present the Indian National Anthem at Taste of Unity. She said the event can educate members of the community about other cultures.

We feel this is the best time to share our cultures. I notice most of the kids where I teach dont know about other cultures  . They have no clue about the other countries cultures, Duvva said.

Lawrence added, It's funny because I really think the idea of this is to see how much alike we are. I think thats what we're gonna get out of it. I think that's the whole goal.

But if it's something that's so different, fine. I spoke with Padma, and she was saying, 'I cook with really hot spices,' and I said, 'Now, I like really hot food, but my body won't allow me to do that anymore.' So we laugh about that, but theres a lot of similarities in the ingredients of most of the foods.

She said the ultimate goal is to hold the event on a quarterly basis.

Lawrence noted, We want to pass the ball. If another church would like to take it and put a twist to it -- it doesn't have to be food, it would be wonderful if we could keep this going on a quarterly basis. That would be awesome."
NEESES  Neeses Town Council members paid special tribute to one of their own during council's Oct. 2 meeting.

Councilwoman Renee Olenick, a cancer survivor, was presented with a framed copy of the town's proclamation designating October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in the community.

"Many families in the Neeses community have experienced some form of cancer at one time or another. But more families now have 'cancer survivors.' Our town council has been affected by breast cancer, and we have a cancer survivor seated at this table tonight," Mayor Joe Corbett said.

"Renee Olenick has demonstrated to us that she is committed to serving her community. During her treatments, Renee continued to attend as many meetings as possible, assist when called upon, and did not neglect her duties as a council member," he added.

"We are thankful for Renee and appreciate her hard work. Renee, we would like to present to you a framed copy of tonights Cancer Awareness Proclamation. You are an inspiration to us all."

Olenick said she has been cancer free for five years since her initial bout with breast cancer.

Town Clerk Sonja Gleaton added, During her treatments, Renee continued to fulfill her obligations to the town.

Corbett noted that the proclamation was issued to build awareness of breast cancer in the community, and he thanked Olenick for her service while she contended with cancer.

Sandra Griffith, who is seeking a seat on Neeses Town Council in the upcoming Nov. 7 municipal election, announced that a bake sale fundraiser for the American Cancer Society will be held from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 14, at the Orangeburg County Administrative Centre. For more information about the event, contact Gloria Breland at gbreland@orangeburgcounty.org or Sabrina Coleman at scoleman@orangeburgcounty.org.

Griffin said tables at the bake sale will be $5 each.

In other business, James Williams, the coordinator for the 2nd Annual Neeses Fall Festival, announced this year's event will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21, at the Firemens Shed and the Giant Flea Market off of U.S. 321. Gospel groups Twin Rivers, Robert Hay and Quinn and Kathy Berry will perform a free concert, and food will be sold by vendors, Williams said.

Many local churches will be participating in the event as well and will have tables at the Giant Flea Market, he said.

In addition, the clerk announced that the annual Neeses Community Health Fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28, at Neeses Town Hall. The Regional Medical Center will provide free blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose screenings and health-related vendors and the Orangeburg County Sheriffs Office will also participate, she said.

We are not going to have a Halloween theme this year. We will have a health theme only. Its a service we provide for our citizens. Anyone in any town in the region can come, Mrs. Gleaton said.

Also during the meeting:

The clerk reported all but two businesses in town had obtained business licenses. Corbett noted that the licenses are due immediately.

The mayor reported he meet with S.C. Department of Transportation personnel about resurfacing some roads in the town and cutting some tree limbs.

Councilman Kenneth Gleaton, recreation director, reported the fire department was continuing to water the sod on the baseball field. He once again thanked Turf Connections for donating the sod.

The clerk reported Neeses' Marine Corps Reserves Toys for Tots campaign had begun. The public is asked to donate unwrapped, new toys for needy children and to drop them off at Neeses Town Hall through Dec. 16.

Olenick asked everyone to remember Marshall Baughman, a member of the Neeses Adopt-a-Highway group who is having health issues. She also announced that the Regional Medical Center is collecting blood to benefit Gwendolyn Michelle Hoover.

It was announced that the Neeses Municipal Election will be held Tuesday, Nov. 7 at the Livingston Municipal Complex. Voters will elect four council members to serve two-year terms. The candidates for town council are Wanda H. Ammons, Julie Renee Olenick, Joe Corbett, Sandra Griffith, and Jimmy E. Hoffman. Kenneth L. Gleaton does not have any opposition in the mayor's. The polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.

Griffith, during public comments, talked about her platform as a town council candidate, noting she is concerned about crime in the area. She said she helped plan the next Neeses Crime Watch meeting on Monday, Oct. 9. Griffith said she invited County Councilman Heyward Livingston and the Livingston Town Council to the meeting, which will be held at 6:15 p.m. at Neeses Town Hall. I am going to color-code maps to show where certain types of crime are in certain areas of our communities for the meeting, she said.

Council went into executive session to discuss penny sales tax projects. No action was taken when council returned to public session.
A 45-year-old trucker will serve time in prison for causing the accident that killed a Georgetown man on Neeses Camp Road.

On Thursday, David Lee Gullikson of Hephzibah, Georgia, pleaded guilty to reckless homicide caused by injury from a vehicle.

Judge R. Ferrell Cothran Jr. sentenced him to seven years in prison, suspended to the service of one year. He must also serve three years of probation.

Gullikson has been housed at the Orangeburg County Detention Center for the past five months.

He apologized to the family of Kenneth Edward Avis, the 48-year-old trucker who died in the collision on Aug. 19, 2016.

I never meant for anything like this to happen, Gullikson said.

Gullikson, a single father of seven children, said hes been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the accident.

Theres not a day that goes by that I dont think about it, he said.

The collision occurred as Gullikson was hauling 8,800 gallons of gasoline, Assistant Solicitor Tommy Scott said.

He decided to change his route and backed his tanker onto Neeses Camp Road.

Avis didnt see the tanker until it was too late.

Mr. Avis truck went through the tank of Mr. Gulliksons, Scott said. When the trooper arrived, it was basically a big fireball.

Gullikson was uninjured.

In court, Teresa Marie Avis, wife of the deceased trucker, said, My life has been turned upside down.

Avis said that she, her two children and two grandchildren are without someone they loved.

My granddaughter will never know her grandfather, she said.

Avis estate settled a lawsuit in the matter for $11 million in July. About $3.8 million will go toward attorney fees, pro rata costs and probate fees.
Forecasters now believe Tropical Storm Nate will make landfall farther to the west than they expected earlier. That should spare The T&D Region the worst of the storm.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Jeff Linton said area residents should continue to monitor the storm over the next few days.

"Significant impacts can occur well away from the center and on the strong east side of the storm," Linton said. "There is still a threat of impacts here, including flash flooding, and also severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are not out of the question."

The storm will be felt in the area Sunday night into Monday, Linton said.

The storms path could shift eastward again and end going through the South Carolina Upstate.

The NWS is forecasting Orangeburg's chance of rain will increase to 40 percent Saturday and Saturday night and to 60 percent Sunday.

The chance of rain will diminish to 50 percent Sunday night into Monday.

Tropical Storm Nate formed Thursday morning near Nicaragua. It is expected to strengthen into a hurricane as it enters the Gulf of Mexico this weekend.

The Thursday forecast has the storm making landfall near the border of Mississippi and Louisiana before moving up into Alabama and Tennessee.
I have had two envious work assignments in Puerto Rico, one on the northern coast and one on the southern. My experiences in both cases were picturesque and charming, as I enjoyed pleasant Caribbean springtime respites from my Western Pennsylvania doldrums.

My heart aches today as I think of the challenges these residents face as they seek to survive the immediate shortages, prioritize their needs, and work to establish their new normal. While San Juan and Washington make critical decisions to assist the commonwealth, it is also important that we recognize similar vulnerabilities on the mainland.

In preparation for my 2016 trip to the island, I read about Puerto Ricos water shortages. According to CNN (Aug. 4, 2015), the government was rationing residential water use, turning off tap water in people homes, sometimes for days at a time. Although the immediate cause of the acute shortage was a reduced level of rainfall, the chronic problem, according to many residents, was that the government has mismanaged the islands water supply and pipes for years.

As Maria approached the island, we read about an unstable electric grid in serious need of repair. Simply put, the island was not prepared for Maria. It was a literal perfect storm, with a direct hit of a powerful hurricane, on a bankrupt island with a decaying infrastructure. The cataclysmic results were easy to predict. Our hearts continue to bleed for the struggling residents.

While Washington continues to bicker about partisan issues like health care and tax reform, very little has been done to address the nations crumbling infrastructure, a bipartisan issue. In its 2016 report, Failure to Act: Closing the Infrastructure Investment Gap for Americas Economic Future, the American Society of Civil Engineers argues that 10 key sectors of infrastructure are currently inadequate to meet our needs, let alone to address the increasing demands of a growing society. We need to invest in our aviation, bridges, drinking water, electric grid, inland waterways, ports, public transit, rail, roads, and wastewater. Failure to make these investments will result in growing economic waste.

We can be certain that natural disasters will continue to happen. We dont know exactly where and when they will occur, but the hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods and blizzards will keep coming. We have taken some steps to prepare for these by tightening our building codes. Nevertheless, we seem to be unwilling to invest in our crumbling infrastructure.

Of course, such infrastructure work requires money, and we have spent ourselves into a $20 trillion hole. Just as Puerto Rico found it impossible to improve its infrastructure because of its bankrupt finances, the mainland is staring into the face of the same scenario. We increase social services every time the Democrats are in power. We reduce taxes every time the Republicans are in power. Meanwhile, our bridges continue to crumble, our drinking water is contaminated, while Nero fiddles.

Granted, our tax code should be simplified and our health insurance system needs attention. Meanwhile, however, our current government has done little to address the bipartisan issue of a crumbling infrastructure. If we continue with the status quo, the next natural disaster may take out 100 percent of our power, phone service, gasoline delivery and drinking water supplies.

Louis Pasteur said, Chance favors the prepared mind. Puerto Rico was not prepared, and it has not been favored. We have been warned. Failure to plan for the rainy day will result in cataclysmic loss. I pray that the lessons coming from Puerto Rico will encourage all Americans to strengthen our infrastructure to ease the losses of the next disaster, whether it is named or not.
Scholarships are more important than ever in higher education. As the total cost for a four-year degree continues to rise across the country, students are turning to Pell Grants, loans, financial aid and private scholarships to help cover the cost of their education.

In South Carolina, we have the Legislative Incentive for Future Excellence (LIFE) Scholarship, which is a merit-based scholarship program that may be used toward the cost-of-attendance at a South Carolina public or private college or university. Once a high school or home school program graduate has received the scholarship, he/she must maintain a minimum cumulative 3.0 grade-point average by the end of each academic year.

For context, a 3.0 GPA is a B grade or equivalent to an 85 on the percentile scale. Maintaining a 3.0 GPA is no easy task. So, why are we putting such a high amount of pressure on students to do so each year so they can retain their LIFE scholarships? After they achieve the 3.0 the first year, I believe the GPA requirement should be lowered or completely replaced with another measure of academic progress. Also, I propose that we exempt all 300 and 400-level courses from counting toward the scholarships GPA requirement. Most upper-level courses are for a students major and are more difficult by design.

College presidents around the state and across the country have all heard the many anecdotal stories about students panicking regarding the potential loss of their scholarship because they bombed a test or project, which significantly lowered their class grade. Weve all also heard the stories of students deciding to take what they deem to be easier classes so they can maintain their scholarship. This is antithetical to what college is about and, I believe, detrimental to the students academic experience and their preparedness for the workforce.

In my opinion, we should be letting students know that, from time to time, we all struggle, but its not about how you fall, but how you get back up and learn from the experience. This is how you grow and develop lifelong learners and productive citizens. We should encourage students to take the tougher and more challenging courses and to dive headfirst into complex subject material rather than worry about maintaining the perfect scholarship GPA. Students need to take the courses that will prepare them for careers in our global society, not the courses that are an easy A to maintain a 3.0 GPA.

Amending the LIFE Scholarships GPA requirement may also very well encourage students to take more courses in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math). If students know that a 3.0 GPA is not required for them to maintain their scholarship, they may decide to pursue a degree in STEM or earn a minor in these subjects. And we all know that universities in South Carolina and around the country need to produce more graduates in the STEM fields, which is a priority of many employers.

Scholarships have the power to change the entire trajectory of a students life. I see that reaffirmed daily. Oftentimes, scholarship support is the one thing keeping students from dropping out. Scholarships provide students the opportunity to become the next great entrepreneur, talented artist or groundbreaking scientist. Its on us to call on our state legislators to make changes to the LIFE Scholarship GPA requirement. Its the right thing to do, and it will lead to more students earning their degree. Every college degree earned by a South Carolinian is a long-term investment in the success and future of our state.
The march stopped for an exhortation and short prayer in the vicinity of the Kingstown Vegetable Market.

The Christian community in St. Vincent and the Grenadines united in a grand march around Kingstown, in demonstration of its disgust occasioned by the recent spate of murders here.





The march, according to Rev. Chesley Ferdinand of the New Testament Church of God, organized against the norm: in the middle of the week, in the middle of the day, in the middle of the town, was a message from God.

Wendell Davis, Administrative Bishop of the New Testament Church of God in SVG, St, Lucia and Dominica told THE VINCENTIAN that on the National Day of Prayer last Monday, he had been praying, and the Spirit of God told him to get up and do something specific.





"He said we are praying, thats good; we are fasting, thats good; but its time to come out and show our united strength, he stated, "and He told me that were going to have a march of over three thousand people through the streets of Kingstown. I will bring the powers of darkness down, He said; and thats what I obeyed.

Rev. Kelron Harry, District Superintendent of the Church of the Nazarene, Windward Islands, summed up the impact of the activity on persons looking on. "This shows that there is still a yearning for the gospel. The responses of people through the street is showing that they want to see the church make a stand, he offered,

"We were well received: persons didnt frown or push their faces when they saw the truck and the people passing, showing that they who dont know Christ are still looking to see Gods response to violence and crime, he added.





The march commenced at the Girls High School bus stop on Murrays Road, turned onto Bay Street at the Customs Department, moved along Bay Street and turned into the Windward Bus Terminal, then continued to the Leeward Bus Terminal.

The marchers then headed back up Bay Street and turned into the street between P. H. Veira and the Kingstown Vegetable Market. From there, it headed towards Back Street and came to a final stop at Heritage Square, where a rally was held.





Go forward, Wendell Davis affirmed, "We are now looking for a decrease in crime and violence. We are also looking to follow this up in our schools and communities, hoping to have town hall meetings of a Christian nature, to have the reintroduction of Sunday School and Sabbath School on Saturdays. It is not about denominations! We must teach tolerance to our children, and patience, the power of saying sorry, and accepting forgiveness.





He is firm in the belief that God will provide the next step as time goes on, as there must be a curbing, something to bring change.

Participant Diane Questelles added her voice to the discussion, saying, "I believe God can do it for the nation.




Digicel is committing to help the people of Dominica to rebuild in the wake of the devastating category five hit from Hurricane Maria.





On a visit to the island on Tuesday 26th September to see the damage first hand and establish how Digicel can assist in kick starting the countrys recovery, Digicel Chairman and founder, Denis OBrien, met with The Honourable Mr. Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister of Dominica, to offer Digicels support.

As such, Digicel will concentrate on three key areas in the south-east region of Dominica: the Kalinago Territory, La Plaine and Castle Bruce.





With meetings that were expected to take place during the course of last week with Government Ministers and church and community leaders in its chosen communities, Digicel will work to help transform the lives of people there, by supporting community projects in the areas of education and housing.

In the meantime, Digicel engineers, riggers and technical teams are working round the clock to restore the networks, with good progress being made up to last week.





Commenting on Digicels commitment, Denis OBrien, commented; "Our first priority is to get our networks back to full strength, and our teams are working tirelessly to do that. But of course, were also clear on the role we can play in helping the country to recover and rebuild. Our work to help transform the communities of Kalinago Territory, La Plaine and Castle Bruce in the southeast, will see them being given new opportunities and, in time, build in them a new sense of hope for the future. We cant wait to get started.
If you see himvon the streets of Kingstown, it will be easy for you to pass him off as the average Vincentian.





It is when you hear about his circumstances, that you realise that we living in a small world. Or perhaps how fortunate we have been here.





Jervonne Christopher is Dominican. He arrived here recently from his homeland. He survived the wrath of Hurricane Maria, September 18, a storm that skipped three categories to develop into a category 5 hurricane when it passed over Dominica.





Christopher, in between sharing recollections of the challenges to survive in the midst of destruction, told THE VINCENTIAN on Wednesday, that he was making himself comfortable, though he seemed to exist in limbo as he awaited the reconstruction at home.





Other family members are preparing to head to Guadeloupe, he said, in hopes of restarting their lives, so to speak.

"The whole experience hasnt sunken in as yet, he confessed. He admitted that his stay here is "indefinite.

Christopher remains bent on honing his song- writing skills while here. (WKA)




(L-R): Dr. Perdro Perez-Ferrer, Anesthesiologist; Dr. Rafael Pinila Gonzalez, General Surgeon; Minister of Health Luke Browne, and Grace Walters, Hospital Administrator arrive at the MCMH on Oct. 2.

The Republic of Cuba has, once again, come to the assistance of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.





Two Cuban medical specialists - Anesthesiologist Dr. Perdro Perez-Ferrer and General Surgeon Dr. Rafael Pinila Gonzalez arrived in the state recently, to take up duties at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, effective October 2.

Minister of Health, Wellness and the Environment, Luke Browne, was on hand to welcome the Cubans as they were about to commence their duties, and thanked them and Cuba for so readily responding to requests from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, at a critical time.





Minister Browne described the arrival of the two medical professionals as a "significant development in the operations at the MCMH, as it moves to effect its rightful place in the delivery of health care services in the country.





According to Browne, "The hospital is now in an even better position to efficiently perform surgeries, make life- saving interventions and give effect to the governments policy of Health for All. (Source: Ministry of Health)




left:Attorney Kay Bacchus-Baptiste led the NDPs detailed argument in the partys call for the removal of the special registration period for voters. Right:Daniel Cummings, MP for Central Kingstown and a vice president of the party delivered the opening remarks and set the tone and purpose of the press conference.

The opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) is challenging the Dr Ralph Gonsalves-led Government to abolish the 15-day special voter registration period, which was established under Section 17 of the Representation of the People Act.





The matter arose out of a letter written to Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves by opposition leader Dr Godwin Friday on September 18th, 2017, calling for the abolition of the special registration period.

The Prime Minister, responding in a letter dated September 25th, stated firmly that he would not abolish the special voter registration period. He accused the NDP of attempting to prevent the registration of new voters, most of whom would be supporting his party.





"There is absolutely no evidence that this special registration period compromises in any way, the fair and proper conduct of general elections. I continue to be amazed at the bare-faced attempt by your NDP to subvert popular democracy and disenfranchise, practically, young first-time voters through your ignoble demand, Gonsalves stated in his letter to Dr Friday.





During a press conference hosted on Wednesday by the opposition New Democratic Party (NDP) at its headquarters Murrays Road, attorney Kay Bacchus-Baptiste, who is part of a legal team representing two NDP candidates who filed petitions following the December 2015 general elections, refuted Dr Gonsalves claims.





She asserted that because the 15-day special registration period poses challenges for observers and others to monitor, it was a threat to democracy.





According to Bacchus-Baptiste, after an election writ is issued by the Governor General, there is a special 15-day registration period,and because of the haste to register voters, it leaves very little time to monitor the registration. She said that at the end of the 15 days, the office of the Supervisor of Elections has 3 days to publish the final list before the day of the elections.





Bacchus-Baptiste referred to Dr Fridays letter in which Observer Missions made statements of concern.

"A former Supervisor of Elections described it as nerve wrecking. Following the 2015 general elections, the current Supervisor of Elections reported: The Special Voter Registration period which ended on Monday November 23rd, 2015, again proved to be a most challenging exercise for all stakeholders in the process, she realled.





She quoted an OAS Observer Mission report which, following the 2015 elections, stated: "The Special 15-day period to register overloads the work of the Electoral Department. It is therefore suggested that the admission of new registrants to the voters list be closed in advance of the elections, perhaps on the date that the elections are announced.





Also expressing concern in its 2015 elections report, the National Monitoring and Consultative Mechanism (NMCM) stated: "Since the inception of the NMCM, the body has called for the abolition of the fifteen-day registration period after the Election Writ has been issued. This period could be opened to illegitimate transfers and registrations, as it does not provide parties with the time to make objections. It also places extreme pressure on the office of the Supervisor of Elections to have the final list published without the necessary time for checks and balances.





Bacchus-Baptiste called on Vincentians to agitate for the total elimination of the 15-day special registration period.





"Weve got to get rid of that piece of legislation, Bacchus-Baptiste stated.

Prime Minister Gonsalves said, in his letter of September 25, that the special voters registration period "is to ensure that all eligible voters are facilitated optimally to be registered.





"Let me state emphatically yet again, that the ULP government will not countenance your bogus and hypocritical stance on this matter. The special electoral registration period will remain, he also said.

Bacchus-Baptiste refuted Dr Gonsalves claim about cutting out youth voters, contending that only about a quarter of those who register in the 15-day special period are youth voters. She referred to North Windward constituency where she said that in the 2010 elections, 78 persons registered and only several were young people. She said they were registered before they reached the age of 18 years.





"You cannot check it. It is illegal. It is wrong. It is an affront to our democracy. We have to call for its abolition, Bacchus-Baptiste reiterated.
D Man Age (L) receives award from President of Vincy Liberators New York Douglas Doug Howard (R) and Vice President Ian Sardine. (Photo credit: Ernie Hoyt). Inset: De Man Age performing in the 2017 preliminary judging of the Brooklyn-based Dynamite Calypso Tent.

A Brooklyn, New York-based Vincentian group recently honoured former National Calypso Monarch Errol D Man Age Rose for his 41 years of contribution to the advancement of the calypso art form, in and outside of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.





Vincy Liberators New York bestowed the extraordinary award on D Man Age, known for his biting social and political commentaries, at a gala ceremony in Brooklyn devoted exclusively for him.

In a joint statement submitted to THE VINCENTIAN after the ceremony, Ian Sardine, vice president, and Lavern Williams, public relations officer, said the group wanted to honor D Man Age "while hes alive and not waiting until hes dead to take flowers to his grave, where he [obviously] would not be able to appreciate it.

Sardine and Williams stressed that D Man Age "needed to be acknowledged and recognized for his contribution and hard work over the years, adding that they were "disgusted with the Ministry of Culture and Calypso Organization in SVG [St. Vincent and the Grenadines] for not honoring D Man Age over the years, and for not recognizing him as a Cultural Ambassador for his years of service, commitment and contribution.





D Man Age, one of the founders of Vincy Liberators New York, was presented with a plaque and a cheque for US$1000.00, in addition to all proceedings from the ceremony that was broadcast live on Nice Radio in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Success Radio in Canada, according to Marissa "Lady M Gregg, a former radio personality in Brooklyn, who served as Mistress of Ceremonies, along with calypsonian Skarpyon.

Why Calypso?

"This is not something that was part of my agenda since singing, D Man Age told THE VINCENTIAN in a brief interview after the ceremony, alluding to the honor. "I got into calypsos in the 70s to be more politically conscious. [Social activist and political activist] Renwick Rose, my cousin, Patches Knights [calypsonian], [the late social and political activist] Caspar London and even [Prime Minister Dr.] Ralph Gonsalves were conscious individuals.





"I wanted to sing to set the example for those guys who made me politically conscious about the administration that was suppressing and repressing them at that time, he added, stating in the same breath that such was still going on now.





"Thats how songs like Ghetto and all those things came out, he continued.





Before calypso





Before pursuing his singing career, Vincy Liberators New York said D Man Age, was "a dedicated and devoted educator/teacher at the Kingstown Methodist School.





He attended and completed two years at the Teachers Training College, and was later transferred to the Questelles Primary School "because of his song, Dey Go Ban It, Vincy Liberators New York said.

"After being politically victimized for his calypsos and political and social commentaries, he showed his dedication for the teaching profession by walking to and from Kingstown [the capital] to fulfill his duties as an educator in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the group said.





The group said D Man Age also had a passion for the steel pan at a very young age, stating that he visited the pan yard after school on afternoons, mastered the instrument, and became an official member of the Starlift Steel Orchestra.





The citation by the Vincy Liberators New York claimed that he was dubbed D Man Age, "because he was much smaller for his age as a youngster growing up in his village [Rose Place in Kingstown].

De Man Age, now a member of the Brooklyn-based Dynamite Calypso Tent since his migration to the USA, has taken part in numerous calypso competitions over the past 41 years.





Achievements





Among his achievements are National Calypso Monarch titles; in 1978, in which he did Dey Go Ban It; and In De Ghetto; 1999 in which he won with Country to Build; and 2000 with If Ah Coulda Ah Woulda.

To his credit, Vincy Liberators New York said D Man Age has over 100 recorded songs/tracks and 10 recorded albums, adding that he has also recorded in other genres, including reggae.





Yet, it is for a number of non-winning calypsos for which de Man Age will remain unforgettable. These, according to the Liberators citation include: This Society Needs a Spectacle, Who have Eyes to see, Let them See, Dey Smoking Too; Take Back We Country; and What More Do You Want From We.

A personal testimony

Douglas Doug Howard  the Edinboro, Kingstown-born former president of the Brooklyn-based St. Vincent and the Grenadines Progressive Organization of New York, an affiliate of the main opposition New Democratic Party (NDP), known by the acronym SPOONY  said that he has known D Man Age for most of his life, and that he admires the calypsonian "because he doesnt brag, boast, beat his chest, nor wear what hes done on his sleeves.





Howard  who, along with some members, broke away from SPOONY, a few years ago, over a bitter internal dispute to help form Vincy Liberators New York  further described D Man Age as "someone who touches lives in a tangible way, through the message in each song.





"This honuor for D Man Age is long overdue, said Howard in a statement in the souvenir journal, adding that D Man Age, over the years, has been "consistent with his songs and deliveries.

The ceremony also featured performances by calypsonians Rejector, Fabulous T, Jose Juan, Lively, Gregory Olive, Denis Bowman, Ziggy and D Man Age himself.





Those who performed in his honour, those who bestowed the honour, those who patronized the honouring event, and Vincentians at large agree that, as the journal said, "D Man Age is known and described as best calypsonian: fearless, calm, focused, a peoples person, role model, mentor, humble, selfless, hardworking, great father, disciplinarian, (and) respectful.
Left:Example of a burnt spliff that landed Ronald Lewis before the court. Middle:Defence lawyer Grant Connell questioned whether there was a change of heart by the local constabulary regarding arrest for small amounts of marijuana. Left:Senior Prosecutor Adolphus Delpleche did not disclose what he said were unique circumstances surrounding the case.

Defence lawyer Grant Connell has lashed out against some police officers in the lower ranks for "giving priority to arresting and charging persons with possession of very small amounts of marijuana, in the wake of an upsurge in gun-related crimes here.





Connell was speaking with THE VINCENTIAN on Monday, shortly after his client, Ronald Lewis of Arnos Vale, appeared at the Serious Offences Court charged with possession of a partly burnt marijuana cigarette, commonly referred to as a spliff.





The Arnos Vale resident was arrested at Calliaqua last Friday, September 29. He pleaded not guilty when taken before Chief Magistrate Rechanne Browne, and the matter was adjourned to January 29, 2018.

"In this present climate when there has been an upsurge in gun crimes, it is rather disturbing to know that some police officers would give such priority to arresting somebody for a partly burnt cannabis cigarette. If the Police put the same priority on guns as they put on ganja, we will have a safer society, Connell told this publication.

According to Connell, "Some police officers in the lower ranks seem not to have gotten the memo on the topic.





The lawyer acknowledged that, "It (marijuana) is still illegal, so the police officer who made the arrest did nothing contrary to the law, but he added, "If the officers action makes sense in relation to the broader picture, then thats a horse of a different colour.





Connell said that what he also found disturbing was that after his client was charged, the officer in charge at the Calliaqua Police Station denied him station bail, and it was only after he (Connell) used his contacts, that a member of the Police High Command applied common sense to the situation, and Lewis was eventually granted station bail.





Directive of former COP





Connell noted that immediate past Commissioner of Police Michael Charles had given a directive, during his tenure, for station bail to be granted to persons charged with possession of 15 grams of marijuana and under.

The lawyer also referred to a backpage story in THE VINCENTIAN of Friday, September 29, in which Deputy Commissioner of Police Colin John stated, during an interview with THE VINCENTIAN, that if someone was seen in possession of very small amounts of marijuana, such as five grams and under, an arrest is not normally made, once that person does not show disrespect for the police, or lawful authority while in possession of the drug.





John had made it clear, in the interview, that marijuana was still illegal under the Drug Prevention and Misuse Act, but for more efficient use of resources, the police were diverting their resources to the solving of more serious crimes, including possession of larger amounts of marijuana, and harder drugs.





Undisclosed unique circumstances





When contacted on Tuesday, Senior Prosecutor Adolphus Delpleche, who has, on several occasions, withdrawn charges for very small amount of marijuana, told THE VINCENTIAN that the prosecution would be proceeding against Lewis because of the facts and circumstances in the matter.





"The possession of cannabis is still an offence on our law books, so it is not an automatic decision that every time somebody is arrested for small amounts of cannabis the matter would be withdrawn. As a prosecutor, the facts and circumstances in each case would dictate my prosecutorial discretion in giving a defendant a chance, Delpleche explained.





Delpleche did not disclose the facts and circumstances in Lewis case as the matter was before the Court, but he described them as being "unique.

Lewis station bail was continued.
Remedial work  patching  came as response to the strike action this week.

Road repair work in the Redemption Sharpes area was to commence about one week before mini-bus drivers and operators decided to withdraw their services, at the beginning of this week.





When this did not happen, Minister of Transport and Works, Senator Julian Francis said he advised the officials at the Roads, Buildings, and General Services Authority (BRAGSA) to hire a new contractor.

Francis made the disclosure on last Tuesdays edition of ULP Speaks aired on Star FM.





According to the Minister of Works, following previous strike action by mini bus operators, significant work was in the Central Kingstown constituency, from the Block 2000 area, through Lodge Village to the vicinity of Brownes Hardware.





The area identified for attention in the next phase, was from Brownes Hardware up to Trigger Ridge.

"The men decided to withdraw their services because the road is too bad so what I can do is to try fix the road.  I am not vex with the fellas; they have taken a decision, Francis rationalized.





Francis said that he had spoken to President of the National Omni-Bus Association (NOBA) Anthony Code Red Bacchus and explained to him that work was in the pipeline for the area, but there were some factors that were delaying the project. The road repair work in Central Kingstown is part of a project outlined by government, to address the five roads requiring immediate attention, in each constituency.





This project was well underway though the shortage of asphalt hot mix, adverse weather and bad planning were hindering completion in the time anticipated, Francis said.





The entire project is estimated to cost EC$13 million.

Since the strike action by mini bus operators this week, remedial road work had gotten underway in the Sharpes area.





Francis appealed to the mini bus operators ",to have a second look at what they have done and realize that Central Kingstown is not the only area, and to "give the travelling public a break.




The World Pediatric Project (WPP) held its general orthopaedic mission at the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital with consultation day being Sunday, 24th September, and corrective surgeries undertaken between Monday, 25th and Thursday, 28th September.





This mission, according to Eastern Caribbean Representative Jacqueline Browne-King, was organized to cater to those persons who would not have received consultations during the previous clinic, regularly scheduled during April each year, and about other six cases out of Barbados.





"With this additional clinic on stream, she explained, "cases are now more totally covered in terms of issues like physical onsite assessment, which identify landmarks in the progress of individual cases, especially for regional cases. It reduces the number of persons on the waiting list.





A team of volunteer specialists, with lead surgeon Pediatric Orthopaedic Surgeon - Dr. Eric Gordon, worked assiduously in fulfilment of the WPP mandate, i.e. Every child, regardless of geography, will have access to quality, life-saving critical care.





Other team members included: Pediatric Orthopedic Fellow, Dr. Justin Roth; Pediatric Anesthesiologist, Dr. Robert Moore; Recovery Nurse, RN Kim Cordia; OR Nurse, Patricia Long; Physical Therapist, Tracy Przybyiski; Team Leader, Megan Donnelley; and Company Representative, Sarah Poorman.





With consultation day completed, the records showed that a total of thirty patients were seen. Dr. Gordon elaborated, "This has been a fantastic trip. We were able to see about thirty children in the office. We evaluated them, and twenty of them will be seen for surgery this week, doing various orthopaedic procedures. Hopefully, well help them get back to those things they enjoy doing.





A tale of success and joy





One of these patients was Marcelley Noriega from Grenada.





He was quite willing to volunteer his story chronicling his journey through two hip replacement procedures in 2016 and 2017; this, after being on the programme for what he called, "many years.





Marcelley, who, because of severe, ongoing pain, was unable to attend school, said, "My journey wasnt the easiest one, but World Pediatric Project  the doctors, the staff, everyone involved in the organization made it somewhat easier for me.





He made sure to speak of the benefits that his involvement in the Project brought to his personal life, saying, "The hip replacements were successful. No longer do I have to walk around, with people looking at me like if Im an alien or I did something wrong. Now, I can walk with my head held high and chase my dreams.

Apart from offering direct attention to and care for the young patients, the missions of the WPP envelop a broader focus, engaging the interest of health care workers who grasp the opportunity to work alongside specialists from whom they can garner updated information, and learn new techniques and procedures.

Medical students are also engaged in clinic attendances in which they observe, scribe for the lead surgeon or specialist, and advance their own learning by posing questions about procedures and techniques.

The next WPP mission, focusing on urology, should be convened in October. The World Pediatric Project continues to "Heal a child. Save the world!
By Azernews





By Sara Israfilbayova

Baku International Sea Trade Port, the oldest and largest seaport on the coast of the Caspian Sea, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Constanta Port (National Maritime Ports Administration) on the sidelines of the Silk Way summit in Romania.

The two ports intend to ensure and promote an increase in quality and quantity of all types of transportation by using their facilities, according to the MoU.

The document points out the possibility of transporting cargo via Constanta by rail road from China to the Central and Western Europe and to Eastern Europe and Baltic states by Danube.

The MoU was signed by director general of Baku Port Taleh Ziyadov and general manager of Constanta Port Dan Nicolae Tivilichi.

Azerbaijan, which has set a goal to become a major commercial and transportation hub in the region and facilitate the regional trade, is currently engaged in development of the Baku International Sea Trade Port in Alat.

Recently, the Port signed a MoU on technical cooperation in Singapore with SMRT International Pte Ltd and Ectivise Solutions Pte Ltd to enhance the operational effectiveness of the new Port of Baku.

The two Singapore-based companies will advise and support the Port of Baku in its efforts to introduce new technologies and innovative solutions in the Port and Free Trade Zone operations.

The Port of Baku is located on an area of 400 hectares (ha) of land, of which about 100-115 ha cover the area for the development of the international Logistics and Trade Zone. The northern areas around the port are reserved for future expansion of logistics, industrial, and manufacturing activity.

The Port is expected to become one of the leading trade and logistics hubs of Eurasia. The implementation of all three phases of construction is projected to increase the capacity up to 7,660 tons on a daily basis.
















By Azernews





By Sara Israfilbayova

World oil prices are down on Friday, as investors are wary of the tropical storm Nate heading to the Gulf of Mexico.



U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 is down by 0.14 percent at $50.72 per barrel, meanwhile Brent crude LCOc1 dropped by 0.11 percent at $56.94 a barrel, according to RIA Novosti.

Traders are worried on the eve of the expected storm. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) informed that Hurricane Nate appeared on the coast of Nicaragua.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) reported that oil and gas companies began evacuating their employees from platforms in the American part of the Gulf of Mexico because of the storm.

The regulator also added that the companies stopped production by 14.55 percent of the production capacity of oil and 6.4 percent - gas in the Gulf of Mexico in the U.S.

Thus, oil production in the region was reduced by 254,600 barrels per day. At the same time, investors do not exclude that the refinery will suspend its work in the region, which will reduce the demand for raw materials.

Investors weighed the possibility of an extension to the OPEC-led deal against expectations that growing output in the U.S. and Libya could weigh on oil prices.

Libya restarted its largest oil field after gunmen forced a shutdown of the field over the weekend while U.S. production hit its highest level in more than two years.

Oil prices are being preserved by news about the visit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

The sides discussed the joint actions of countries that positively influenced the situation on the market, as well as the possibility of further cooperation in this direction.

During the previous trading session, support for quotations was the prospect of extending the global OPEC pact + on limiting the extraction of raw materials.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said, within the framework of the energy week, being held on October 3-7 in Moscow that Riyadh welcomes Russia's readiness to extend the agreement by the end of 2018, as previously announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

OPEC and other major oil producers such as Russia and Azerbaijan reached an agreement in December 2016 to remove 1.8 million barrels a day from the market.



OPEC and its partners decided to extend its production cuts till March 2018 in Vienna on May 25, as the oil cartel and its allies step up their attempt to end a three-year supply glut that has savaged crude prices and the global energy industry.

The next meeting of the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) is scheduled for the day prior to the full ministerial meeting on November 30 in Vienna.
By Azernews





By Laman Ismayilova

German-Azerbaijan Cultural Society "Kapellhaus" will host the 8th Arts and Crafts festival in Baku.

The festival will present ethnic handmade crafts by talented artists on October 20-21, Azertac reported.

Visitors will be able to join the creative associations and may also participate in workshops on ceramics and marbling art.

The festival is held twice a year - fall and spring, providing an opportunity to see the works of talented artists of the city. It's an excellent opportunity for artists to express themselves through an art.

Last time, more than 60 talented artists and fine crafters gathered under the same roof to show the power of their imagination.

Beautiful samples of arts and crafts including stained glass paintings, ceramics, beading, embroidery, decoupage, jewelry, aromatic soaps, handmade, woodcarving and dolls were put on sale.








By Azernews





By Kamila Aliyeva

Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the two Central Asian nations, continued their efforts in bringing the relations to the highest level as Tashkent hosted a meeting of Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev and his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev on October 5.

In a short time, due to the will of the two presidents, a historic level of mutual understanding between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan was reached, Mirziyoyev said, the press service of the Kyrgyz President reported.

He warmly welcomed the high guest, noting that this state visit is a symbolic continuation of the agreements concluded during the historic state visit to Bishkek.

"I think the peoples of the two fraternal countries will appreciate it. After our meetings in Beijing, Astana, historical negotiations in Samarkand, we achieved great results in all directions. If we talk about our political relations, then there is no unresolved issue left. We support each other within the UN, the CIS and the Islamic Cooperation Organization. In trade and economic relations, as we agreed, we will not interfere with our entrepreneurs," Mirziyoyev said, adding that the business forums in Bishkek, Tashkent confirm the establishment of contacts between entrepreneurs.

He went on to say that the greatest gratitude of citizens, especially residents of border areas, is connected with the opening of checkpoints, which people have waited for many years. These events are positively regarded by residents, according to the Uzbek leader.

The head of Uzbekistan also noted the cultural and humanitarian cooperation of the two countries. Currently, Bishkek holds the days of culture of Uzbekistan, in connection with which the famous creative collectives, writers and other representatives of the creative intelligentsia came to the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

Mirziyoyev also said that this state visit would open up new cooperation directions in a number of spheres, in particular, in the military-technical area.

Atambaev, in his turn, also emphasized with what joy the residents of the country took the news about the opening of checkpoints, which have been closed for years.

Following the meeting the sides signed more than 10 bilateral documents on various areas of cooperation.

Both presidents signed the Declaration on Strategic Partnership, Strengthening Friendship, Good-Neighborliness and Confidence between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, UzA reported.

During the press conference which was held after the meeting, the sides noted that the talks were held in a spirit of mutual understanding and sincerity and that the parties are united on all strategic issues.

It was stressed that the dynamically developing trade, economic and cultural-humanitarian ties, the activities of the open border checkpoints and the expansion of direct contacts between the regions are of great importance in the further strengthening of bilateral relations.

Mirziyoyevs visit to Kyrgyzstan on September 5 of the current year was the first by an Uzbek leader in 17 years.

Along with the signed border agreement during the visit, the sides voiced desire to reconsider the water and energy issues which caused controversy in the past.

A number of recent diplomatic meetings between Kyrgyz and Uzbek officials have indicated a significant improvement in bilateral ties between the two countries.

The parties also stressed that one of the key factors of Central Asias well-being is the integrated use of water and energy resources, taking into account the interests of all the states of the region. The importance of open dialogue and the search for mutually acceptable solutions in this sphere were underlined in this regard.

The two countries trade turnover rose by twofold in the first half of the current year and it is expected that the volume of bilateral trade will total $280 million in late 2017.
By Azernews





By Rashid Shirinov

Every month the state debt of Armenia continues its steady growth and the countrys government is unable to stop this baleful trend.

Armenia will complete the year with the state debt of $6.7 billion, the countrys Finance Minister Vardan Aramyan has recently told local journalists.

The official noted that Armenias state debt amounted to $6.259 billion by the end of August this year, and he did not exclude that it will exceed $7 billion next year.

Meanwhile, the data by the countrys National Statistical Service shows that Armenias state debt grew by $58 million in August alone. Thus, Armenias debt is increasing monthly, but the well-being of the countrys population is not improving. One third of Armenia lives in poverty, according to statistics, and this indicator is not decreasing for many years. In addition, the unemployment rate in Armenia is highest in the CIS area.

This suggests that the government of the country continues to spend the borrowed loans for its own needs, but not for improving the social and economic situation in Armenia.

Armenian Economist Vilen Khachatryan has commented on the country's high debt rate in his interview for Aravot.

This year there is again a shortfall process, we borrow more than it was planned. This is a policy, which, you could say, is becoming a vicious practice and continues regardless of what is declared at the ministerial level, the expert said.

He added that this ongoing process and the debt that can exceed the $7-billion threshold mean that compared to previous years, Armenia will cross the 60-percent-of-GDP threshold, and the issue of the debt threshold will be once again raised at the Armenian Parliament.

We have not come to this yet, but everything leads to this indicator, Khachatryan said.

Answering the question of whether it will be more complicated to service a $7-billion debt, Khachatryan said: Of course, yes. The debt burden in the form of principal and interest on an annual basis already equals to some $300 million, and in subsequent years, in the face of growing debt, it will be even more serious burden for the government.

Given the huge state debt, the Armenian government should have fixed the situation in the countrys economy long ago. The state debt was slightly above $3 billion in 2009, but now the figure rapidly approaches $7 billion.

However, the Armenian authorities turn a blind eye to the problem, saying that if they stop taking debts, it will lead to a decline in the countrys economy. The continuation of borrowing money from abroad will anyway lead to a default in the country sooner or later.
By Azernews





By Kamila Aliyeva

Russia is open to proposals to increase the number of participants in the Astana talks aimed at resolving the situation in war-torn Syria.

"We believe that it would be useful to expand the number of observer countries, and in this sense we are open to discussion, but of course this requires an agreed decision of all countries that initiated this process," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said after the meeting with his Kazakh counterpart Kairat Abdrakhmanov, Kazinform reported.

At the same time, he noted that the success of the Astana process is promoted by a number of countries without formal participation.

"Now, for example, Saudi Arabia, which has undertaken to unite disparate groups of oppositionists, including the so-called and Er-Riyadh group as well as the Moscow and Cairo groups, is of great help to all of us. Let me remind you that there is also an Astana group as several opposition meetings took place in the capital of Kazakhstan. In parallel, our Egyptian colleagues work in this direction. And they played a very important role in providing an agreement on two of the four zones of de-escalation. We will welcome the same constructive attitude on the part of everyone who is ready to make a useful contribution," Lavrov concluded, recalling that currently there are three guarantor countries participating in the Astana process that is Russia, Turkey and Iran.

He mentioned that Astana talks also involve Kazakhstan - as an organizing country, sides to the Syrian conflict - governmental and opposition, and observers from the United States and Jordan.

To date, six rounds of negotiations on the ongoing Syrian conflict were held in Astana.

Guarantors of a nationwide Syrian ceasefire regime - Russia, Turkey and Iran - had agreed on May 4 in the Kazakh capital, Astana, to establish "de-escalation zones" in war-torn Syria. The zones would cover the city of Idlib and certain parts of Latakia, Homs, Aleppo and Hama as well as Damascus, Eastern Ghouta, Daraa and Quneitra.

The establishment of the fourth one in Idlib province was the spotlight of the sixth meeting on Syria in Astana and Putin-Erdogan recent talks.

While the Astana process is separate from the UNs Geneva talks on Syrian crisis, the attendance of the UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura links the Kazakh platform to broader international efforts.

Syria has been locked in civil war since March 2011. According to UN's special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, around 400,000 people have died in the conflict while half the population has been driven from their homes.
Vermaelen backs Koeman for success with Everton

Thursday, 5 October, 2017





Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

The Belgian international and former Arsenal star was asked about Koeman's current struggles with the Blues and he expressed little doubt that his former boss can find the solutions.

He's shown at Southampton and Ajax that he's a great manager, said Vermaelen, who played under the Dutchman in Amsterdam, to Sky Sports.

He has the experience to turn it around for sure.

Vermaelen came close to reuniting with Koeman this past summer when Everton approached Barcelona about signing him as cover for the injured Ramiro Funes Mori.

The defender doesn't go into details but hints that there was substance to those reports.

He wouldn't be drawn either on speculation that he still might return to the Premier League.

I don't want to go into details, he said. "Barcelona always said they didn't want to let me go. All big clubs need at least four centre-backs.

"They were happy with my pre-season and kept me.

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer

About these ads
Saudi-based alfanar, a leading electrical power company in the region, said one of its subsidiaries Alfa Solar Company, has signed a strategic $57-million loan deal with European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) to fund a 50 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Egypt.



Announcing the deal, alfanar said the EBRD loan will be complemented by a parallel loan of up to $28.5 million provided by the ICD.



The project will be 100 per cent compliant with the country's green economy evolution approach and will support the expansion of renewable energy generation to meet Egypt's targets in this area including its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution.



The project will be among the first utility scale solar project to be implemented in Egypt exploiting the country's significant renewable energy potential.



All of the facilities will be located in the proposed 1.8-GW Benban solar complex in Egypt's Aswan province and will be supported by Egypt's FiT programme for projects of up to 50 MW that is aimed at delivering more than 4 GW of wind and solar power capacity.



This project will offset 900,000 tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions each year, once operational. The power purchase agreement (PPA) for the project was signed by the Project Company with EETC on May 7.



Sabah Mohammed Al Mutlaq, the chairman of Alfa Solar and vice-chairman of alfanar company, said: "The collaboration with EBRD and ICD for financing this project had been a pivotal element in taking the project forward."



"Globally, countries are experiencing the effects of climate change and renewable energy investors and financier's role is vital to cultivate more investment in the region for green energy and scale down the effects of global warming," remarked Al Mutlaq.



"This partnership will assist the socio-economic development in Benban by providing the local population with infrastructure, job creation and skills training," he noted.



"The region has tremendous potential for generating power from the natural resources, and Alfanar will continue to actively consider venturing with EBRD as well as ICD for additional renewable technology projects in solar, wind as well as energy from waste," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU), a member of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, has signed a partnership agreement with the Institut Pasteur, an internationally-renowned institute based in Paris, France, to work closely in the field of biomedical research.



The two research intensive entities will collaborate in the fields of academics, research, teaching and knowledge sharing, remarked Sheikha Hind bint Hamad Al Thani, the chairperson of Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Vice-chairperson and CEO of Qatar Foundation, after signing the deal with Dr Christian Brechot, the president of Institut Pasteur at a ceremony held in Paris.'



Named after the renowned Louis Pasteur, the Institut Pasteur brings with it 130 years of breakthrough discoveries in preventing and treating infectious diseases.



With ten Nobel laureates, the Institute's contributions to field of medicine and physiology are innumerable. Today, the 130 research units of its Parisian campus site continue to make contributions of global impact to biomedical research.



"HBKU has consistently and diligently played a prominent role in promoting and facilitating innovation, scientific research and academic excellence, in Qatar with the aspiration of global impact. We firmly believe that our commitment to being a global leader in innovation and education has yielded numerous achievements since our inception," noted Sheikha Hind.



"Today, with this new partnership with the Institut Pasteur, our researchers, scholars, academics and students will be further emboldened to facilitate ground-breaking discoveries in healthcare, biomedical sciences, and genomics," she added.



Christian Brechot, the president of the Institut Pasteur, said one of the Institut Pasteur's fundamental missions is to bring its expertise to support capacity building in biomedical research through training and education.



"The Institut Pasteur has been involved one year ago in training medical professionals from the Qatar ministry of health by organizing an intensive outbreak investigation course in Doha. The signing of the agreement with HBKU enlarges the frame of the partnership to higher education and research institutions led by Qatar Foundation," he stated.



"Hence, it will include in addition to infectious diseases the research on most prevalent chronic diseases in the region like diabetes, cancer, neurodegenerative and genetic diseases, particularly in the context of the successful Qatari genome project," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
Saudi Aramco has launched a wide range of strategic business collaborations with Russian companies with the signing of five memoranda of understanding (MoUs) covering many areas of energy and manufacturing sectors and innovation.

The MoUs were signed as part of the Royal visit to Russia by Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

The MoUs inlcude:

* MOU with Saudi Public Investment Fund and Russian Direct Investment Fund  Investment in Energy Services & Manufacturing: The MoU will pave way for new business development in the energy value chain, oilfield services and manufacturing, the Ras Al Khair maritime yard development and potential partnerships in the Energy Industrial City developed by Saudi Aramco.

* MOU with Gazprom  Gas Collaboration: The MoU will enable Saudi Aramco and Gazprom, Russias premier gas company to develop a significant business portfolio in international upstream gas, allowing the introduction of new vendors and suppliers to the kingdoms market. Among the elements of the MoU are LNG trade, LNG value chain and exploration / development as well as product storing.

* MOU with LITASCO  Trading Collaboration: The MoU will see collaboration with Swiss-based LITASCO (the international marketing and trading arm of Lukoil  one of Russias largest oil companies) which will give Saudi Aramco and the kingdom access to Mediterranean refineries where Russian companies have been expanding. The proximity of the Mediterranean with the Red Sea provides an important strategic supply point to the kingdom.

* MOU with Gazprom Neft  Technology and R&D collaboration: The MoU with Gazprom Neft (a subsidiary of Gazprom and Russias fourth largest oil producer) will involve technology and R&D collaboration as well as training.

* MoU with Russian Direct Investment Fund and SIBUR  Strategic marketing for petrochemicals: The MoU will enable all parties to jointly evaluate potential opportunities for cooperation in the petrochemicals sector, including marketing of petrochemicals products, both on in Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Amin H Nasser, Saudi Aramco president and CEO said the rich endowment of resources of both Saudi Arabia and Russian can enable companies from both countries to collaborate in creating synergies for a sustainable energy future with business and operational initiatives driven by technology, research and innovation.

He was speaking at a panel discussion at the Saudi-Russian Business Investment Forum organised by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (Sagia), the Council of Saudi Chambers, and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF).

Nasser said vast opportunities for collaboration between companies from Saudi Arabia and Russia are created by both the kingdoms existing economic pillars and the development and diversification envisaged by Saudi Vision 2030.

Nasser outlined a number of areas for potential collaboration with Russian companies in industrial localization; international gas; downstream petrochemicals; technology, research and innovation; trading; and climate change and carbon management.

Nasser also provided strategic insights on the future of energy and how Saudi Arabia and Russia could pool their sizable resources together in driving the global energy transformation by factoring in alternative energy which can complement oils existing preeminence, particularly gas and downstream / chemicals.

Nasser stressed that all these could only be achieved with technology, research and innovation. Saudi Aramco considered this as key drivers of future success, and Saudi Aramcos goal is to be a world-leading creator of energy and chemical technologies.

We have already established eight research centres around the world that complement our main research facilities in Saudi Arabia. Considering Russias considerable strengths in science and technology, as well as highly talented researchers, scientists and engineers, we are exploring collaboration in R&D field, he said.

Trading, according to Nasser, would also be an integral enabler to the strategic partnership with Russian entities involving opportunities in and refined products swaps, trading logistics, shipping and storage facilities, and new market venturing.

He also highlighted Saudi Aramcos industrial localisation program In-Kingdom Total Value Add, or iktva, as another area of opportunity for Russian services and manufacturing companies to collaborate with Saudi partners.

Considering the large oil and gas resources possessed by our two countries, we also have a common interest in strengthening oils position and there are numerous to collaborate in these areas, he said. - TradeArabia News Service
Commvault, a global leader in enterprise data protection and information management, is consolidating its leadership position within the Middle East, South Africa and Turkey (Mesat) with the promotion of Wael Mustafa to the position of area vice president (AVP) for Mesat.



As AVP for the region, Mustafa will be focused on delivering market leading solutions to regional organisations to transform their data into powerful strategic assets.



The appointment indicates Commvaults continual expansion in the Middle East, with Mustafa committed to fostering new and existing customer relationships still further; focused on Commvault technical innovations to establish new partnerships, and expanding the businesses focus on vendor agnostic, hyperscale, cloud and as-a-service data management offerings, said a statement.



We have made growing our business in emerging markets such as MESAT a priority over the past few years, and the results have been substantial, said Christian Lang, vice-president Commvault EMEA. Mustafas deep enterprise IT industry experience and the commitment to sales and channels excellence he demonstrated in his previous role, make him perfectly suited to expand our presence within the region. He will help further strengthen our position as the company Middle Eastern organizations partner with to not only backup their data, but transform that data into a valuable strategic asset.



Prior to joining Commvault in 2015 as Mesat territory and channel sales director, Mustafa spent more than 15 years serving in various roles at Zain and EMC where he developed a passion for sales and an intimate knowledge of backup and data management systems.



I am looking forward to facing the challenges and opportunities that my new role will bring. I personally see great opportunities in the region as Commvault is increasingly recognized by our customers, partners, and industry analysts as a leader in the market due to the breadth and quality of our solutions. - TradeArabia News Service
Masdar Institute of Science and Technologys Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium (SBRC)  a non-profit entity supported by Etihad Airways, Boeing, Takreer, Safran and General Electric  has announced that its flagship project, the Seawater Energy and Agriculture System (SEAS), has reached a critical milestone in its development of sustainable aviation biofuels through the first harvest of the biofuel feedstock.



A unit of the Khalifa University of Science and Technology, the Masdar Institute said harvesting of the first crop of oil-rich plants grown in the desert using seawater brings the UAE closer to fueling aircraft with locally-produced biofuel.



Dr Alejandro Rios G, the director of the SBRC, led a team of Masdar Institute researchers in harvesting the first crop of the biofuel feedstock Salicornia, which is a local salt-tolerant and oil-rich plant.



The harvesting took place at a two-hectare SEAS pilot facility in Masdar City, where seafood and sustainable biomass are being cultivated using saltwater and desert land to contribute to the UAEs sustainable food and fuel security.



Harvesting the Salicornia is the first in a series of steps before the oil collected from its seeds is ready to be refined. The steps include drying and grinding the plants, winnowing out the seeds, extracting the oil from the seeds by pressing, and finally cleansing the oil to remove any impurities.



In February 2018 the clean Salicornia oil is to be processed at the Takreer Research Center for conversion into aviation biofuel. Once the process is complete, the biofuel will be mixed at low concentration with regular jet fuel to power a flight by Etihad Airways on a Boeing aircraft.



Dr Steve Griffiths, the interim executive VP for research, Khalifa University of Science and Technology, said: "In achieving this key milestone, the SBRC is closer to establishing a truly sustainable model for aviation fuel production using only our local resources."



The success of the Seas pilot facility, and the collaborative research effort that has supported it, exemplifies our commitment to providing sustainable solutions to the UAEs food security and energy needs, he noted.



Etihad Airways CEO Peter Baumgartner said: "Alternative sustainable fuels are a key facet in ensuring the future of aviation. This milestone, leading to our first flight on a truly sustainable homegrown biofuel, is a reflection of the commitment not just of our airline and the SBRC partners but of Abu Dhabi."



Bernard Dunn, the president, Boeing (Middle East, North Africa and Turkey) said: This is another critical step in achieving our joint ambition of developing sustainable aviation biofuel. As Abu Dhabi takes ambitious steps in this direction, the Seas facility is showing solid results that will help make our collective future more secure.



Dr Mikael Berthod, VP at Takreer Research, said: "With this new great achievement, the SBRC demonstrates its commitment to the development of a sustainable biofuel industry in the UAE. In Takreer and throughout the entire Adnoc Group, we are transforming how we identify, develop and deploy technology to increase profitability and productivity."



"In line with this, Takreer from the beginning of the project, looked forward to this step as the Salicornia oil obtained from this harvest will be the feedstock that will be processed in the research center, to produce the first ever biojet fuel 100 per cent made in UAE," observed Dr Berthod.



"With this new fundamental step, the dream to produce biofuel from the desert and the sea is now becoming a reality and will allow us to achieve the expected future jet fuel specification," he added.



The Seas pilot facility has six aquaculture units that use seawater to raise fish and shrimp. The fish farm produces a nutrient-rich effluent, which is directed into the halophyte fields where it fertilizes the oil-rich Salicornia plants.

The leftover effluent from the process is then diverted into the cultivated mangrove forests, which further purify the water and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere while sheltering fish nurseries that live around their underwater roots.



"The collaborative nature of the SBRC has been key to our success and will continue to be instrumental in overcoming future challenges of scalability," remarked Dr Rios.



"With engagement across all points of the supply chain spectrum, from R&D to refinery and use, we look forward to establishing the UAEs aviation biofuel industry and promoting cleaner skies," he stated.



According to him, food security is a challenge for desert regions, especially as populations rise.



Close to 70 per cent of the UAEs seafood is currently imported, and SBRCs integrated system, with extensive aquaculture as a key element, will not only support the need for aviation biofuels, but also support growing food demand in a sustainable way, he added.-TradeArabia News Service
An Etihad Airways cargo flight from Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam was forced to divert its path after its pilot passed away mid-flight, said a report.



Flight EY 927 made an emergency landing in Kuwait, where a medical team was present to assist him, said a report in WAM.



The pilot was pronounced deceased upon arrival.



"We are deeply saddened by the loss, and are focused on taking care of our late colleagues family at this time, to whom we offer our heartfelt condolences," the report said citing a statement from the UAE carrier.
Movenpick Hotel Istanbul was named Europes Leading Business Hotel and Turkey's Leading Conference Hotel at the 24th annual World Travel Awards Europe Gala Ceremony held in St. Petersburg, Russia.



Celebrating major achievements in key sectors within the travel, tourism and hospitality industries since 1993, the award is based on the independent votes casted by hundreds of thousands of travel professionals across the globe.



The two awards were presented to Bozkurt Atabek, general manager of Movenpick Hotel Istanbul by Graham Cooke, president and founder of World Travel Awards.



Since opening its doors in 2003, Movenpick Hotel Istanbul continues to welcome its guests with personal attention and service that exceeds guests expectations, said Atabek. This award is a testimony to our teams commitment to excellence and guest satisfaction, and we will continue to reflect the values and dedication that makes us a unique place to stay, meet and dine, whether our guests are travelling on business or on pleasure.



Atabek added: Going green and being sustainable is also an important topic for us and we are once again proud to earn Green Globe, Greening Hotels and Green Star re-certifications in 2017, a quantifiable proof of our leadership in sustainable tourism and environmental responsibility.



Located at the heart of Istanbuls contemporary business and chic shopping district, amid a wonderland of architecturally distinguished skyscrapers, Movenpick Hotel Istanbul offers 249 guest rooms created with the business and leisure travellers in mind. It also offers extensive meeting and banqueting facilities for up to 600 guests, innovative flavours from Mediterranean, Swiss and Turkish cuisines at AzzuR Restaurant and a fully equipped wellness centre. - TradeArabia News Service


The aviation sector has the power to generate significant prosperity in the Mena region as it currently supports 2.4 million jobs and contributes $157.2 billion to the GDP of regional states, a senior International Air Transport Association (Iata) official has said.



Iata highlighted five priorities which must be addressed in order for aviation to deliver maximum economic and social benefits in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region, Muhammad Ali Albakri, Iatas regional vice president for the Middle East & Africa said.



A safe, secure, efficient and sustainable air transport industry pays huge social and economic dividends. But despite the vast benefits enabled by aviation connectivity, the operating environment for airlines in Mena remains challenging, Albakri said.



Speaking at the Iata Middle East and Africa Aviation Day in Jordan, Albakri noted that passenger demand is set to expand by 5.7 per cent each year on average over the next 20 years, to become a market of 380 million passengers in 2035.



He urged the regions governments to address five key challenges, so that aviation is able to support this growth. They include:



 Infrastructure Air Traffic Management (ATM) is an issue of pressing concern. Studies show that the average ATM delay in the Gulf is 29 minutes with the potential to double by 2025.



Without an increase in the overall efficiency of the ATM systems in the region through improved airspace design, Menas world-class hubs will be compromised with gridlock. We appreciate the many programs that are in progress - including the GCC Air Navigation Committee, the Middle East ATM Enhancement Program and others. But we must drive these efforts even harder to achieve a real breakthrough, Al Bakri added. Ultimately, cooperation between states to achieve change is paramount. Regional governments cannot allow their geographical fragmentation and political complexity to get in the way of finding a long-term solution.



 Rising taxes and charges: There has been a recent proliferation of new charges and taxes in the Middle East that added $1.6 billion in extra costs in 2015 and 2016. Iata urges governments in the region to establish a charges consultation process in line with ICAOs policies which highlight the key principles of non-discrimination, cost-relatedness, transparency and consultation.



Excessive taxes and charges affect the ability of aviation to meet demand and impede economic growth. Governments will earn more revenues in the long-term by promoting aviation through lower taxes, than they will by making a short-sighted cash grab with taxes in an attempt to plug budget deficits. Every dollar that a passenger spends in the region creates jobs and spreads prosperity. And every dollar collected in taxes or charges is an incentive for travellers to go elsewhere. We must work together to reverse this trend, Al Bakri said.



 Security: Keeping aviation secure is integral to a states responsibility for national security, as highlighted in a UN Security Council Resolution. Governments have the ultimate responsibility to keep flying safe and secure. But we are in this together. Consultation on security issues among Governments and between Governments and industry needs to happen as a matter of course not as an afterthought, said Al Bakri.



The lack of consultation prior to the recent ban on large PEDs caused airlines and passengers major inconvenience and left many unanswered questions. While we welcome that the ban was replaced by alternative measures, airlines have had to bear the brunt of the cost burden of implementing these new measures. However, the principle that was confirmed by UN Security Council resolution 2309 puts the responsibility for security clearly on the states. said Al Bakri.



There is an opportunity through the publication of ICAOs Global Aviation Security Planalso known as GASePto provide a comprehensive framework for governments around the world to improve security measures in line with global standards. But GASeP will only be effective if governments cooperate  on capacity building, information sharing, identifying conflict zones and so forth.



 Smarter Regulation IATA urges governments in Mena to adopt Iatas Smarter Regulation framework to avoid unintended consequences when designing or implementing aviation policies. Recently there has been a proliferation of regulations across Mena such as the new consumer protection regulations in Saudi Arabia and that have placed an undue burden on aviations ability to act as a catalyst for economic and social development. Smarter Regulation is the solution to achieve positive policies that support the growth of aviation and ultimately boost social and economic development, said Al Bakri.



The Iata AME Aviation Day in Jordan welcomed a broad spectrum of aviation stakeholders from governments, policy makes, regulators, airlines and manufactures as well as a number of VIP guests from Jordan. - TradeArabia News Service


Meet award-winning artisans and buy their products at Kerala Arts and Crafts Village
The Interior Departments decision to make potentially broad changes to federal protections for sage grouse shook Wyoming on Thursday, the energy rich state that built the foundation of sage grouse management in the west.

Interior is seeking public input on some of the staples of federal plans that precluded sage grouse from an Endangered Species Listing two years ago, including caps on the amount of land use activities that can take place near important breeding and nesting grounds and the boundaries that surround crucial habitat. The announcement kicks off a 45-day comment period.

Its a blow to environmental advocates, who say the bird has already lost significant portions of its habitat, about 75 percent, to allow for varying degrees of development. But its an opportunity for others, ready for a chance to amend provisions that limit either grazing or energy development.

Wyoming is considered key to the birds survival, and has emerged as a leader in sage grouse conservation over the last decade. It is largely responsible for the strategy mimicked by the feds, which entails identifying crucial habitats and surrounding them with the best protections. After years of wrangling, Wyoming ranchers, oil and gas companies and environmental advocates paired with state and federal agencies on the states management team to build the Wyoming plans.

The state has been a leader, intent on protecting its energy economy and preserving sage brush habitat. As such, it has the most to lose if the plans fail.

Advising caution

Todays suggested changes to federal management plans were expected, but diverse leaders in Wyoming, including Gov. Matt Mead, have spent the last few months cautioning against aggressive updates.

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said the sage grouse strategies had stoked anger, and needed to include more western voices. He has also made it clear he wants to open more lands to oil and gas development and initiated a 60-day review of the plans earlier this year.

Mead repeated his earlier admonishment to the feds in a statement Thursday, noting that it was state and federal plans that kept the bird from being listed as an Endangered Species.

As BLM looks to make changes to its federal plans, I would encourage the agency to find ways to better align with Wyomings state plan, he said. There are positive changes that can be made to the federal plans, but we should be careful and thoughtful about how we do that.

Many environmental groups in Wyoming have criticized Zinkes comments as uninformed and voiced outrage Thursday. Middle of the road environmental groups, say changes should be minor, not wholesale.

For Brian Rutledge, conservation policy and strategy advisor for the Audubon Society, the Interiors narrative of state cooperations and fairness to energy development is a false flag. Concessions to energy have already been made, he said.

The compromise wasnt because we wanted less land for the bird, Rutledge said. We were trying to make room for humans, and human expression at the same time. It was frankly a compromise loaded to the human side.

There are groups in Wyoming that say the federal sage grouse plans did not do enough to protect the grouse from further declines. For them, the Interiors direction plays chicken with extinction.

The Department of Interior is now abandoning all pretense of protecting sage-grouse in a stampede to ramp up commercial exploitation of public lands, said Erik Molvar of Western Watersheds, the group that filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2007 forcing a decision on listing the grouse before its numbers declined further.

Room for change

One of the hallmarks of Wyomings work on the grouse is that it brought diverse interests to the table. After Thursdays announcement, some remained positive that federal updates were necessary.

Jim Magagna, of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, said he understood the fears from environmental groups, but said that no one in the grazing world wants to go too far in unraveling the plans. Those who want wholesale changes that would damage Wyomings efforts over the years are probably in the minority, he said.

There are, however, a few issues that should be clarified or adjusted for ranchers in the federal plans which went farther than Wyomings, he said.

At the end of the day, Wyomings conservation efforts will remain in place regardless of the federal changes, he said.

Western Energy Alliance, an industry group, said the plans were built on exaggerations of industrys impact on the bird and ignored the way new technology has reduced the footprint of oil and gas drilling on the landscape.

The plans discouraged on-the-ground, local conservation efforts and ignored state plans, except for Wyomings, in favor of a top-down, one-size-fits-all approach, said President Kathleen Sgamma, in a statement Thursday.

Sgammas organization, based in Colorado, was not one of the industry partners that developed Wyomings approach to management, but has been vocal in its support of changes to the federal plans in recent months.

The nod to Wyomings sole influence is not insignificant. While Wyoming shot forward to protect its energy economy from the fallout of an ESA listing, other states were less influential on the federal plans.

Rep. Ron Bishop, R-Utah, has repeatedly advocated for changes. Speaking to another BLM decision Thursday  withdrawing a proposal that would have restricted hard rock mining on 10 million acres of the sage brush ecosystem for up to 20 years  Bishop applauded Zinkes efforts.

States have proven to be more than capable of managing wildlife and conservation within their borders and will continue to be the best advocate for the species, he said of sage grouse protections. Secretary Zinke is developing a better policy through input from states and people on the ground with local knowledge and expertise.

The cry for state leadership strikes some in Wyoming as odd, given that the state was so involved in sage grouse management up to this point.

Mary Throne, a Democrat running for governor in the state, pointed out that the plans were Wyoming-grown.

I dont know why D.C. has to come in and tell us to go back to the drawing board, she said Thursday. Sometimes the state-driven decisions that are tailored to your specific circumstances are better.

Differing views

Many who are closely involved with sage grouse management in Wyoming have said the plans to protect the bird should be continually reviewed to ensure that the strategies are working. Industry groups, included those involved in developing Wyomings plans, have said the feds took things too far.

For Rutledge, an influential voice in Wyomings sage grouse debate, the hope now is that there are moderate industry voices that stand up for the plans. At the end of the day, the Western governors particularly from Wyoming, Colorado and Nevada, are needed to keep the plans from falling apart in the Interior Departments hands, he said.

We already gave up nearly 70 percent of the habitat, Rutledge said. What else can we give up and (still) hang on to any of these species.

Arno Rosenfeld contributed to this report.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the Wyoming Breast Cancer Initiative has put together events around the state to raise awareness and funds for Wyoming breast cancer programs.

Volunteers with WBCI have organized a statewide Paint Wyoming Pink Restaurant Week that runs from Sunday to Oct. 14. Each night of the week will feature a different local restaurant in Cheyenne and Casper. Restaurants will donate a portion of their proceeds from their evening event to the initiative. Funds are granted to breast cancer programs across the state.

Casper participating restaurants include: Monday, The Office Bar & Grill; Tuesday, Raccas Pizzeria Napoletana; Wednesday, Keg & Cork; Thursday, The Gaslight Social; Oct. 14, Guadalajara Mexican Restaurant.

Cheyenne participating restaurants are: Sunday, Texas Roadhouse, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Monday, Toppers; Tuesday, Rib & Chop House; Wednesday, The Paramount Ballroom; Thursday, Wing Shack, and Friday, Kathys Friends Drink for Pink at the Knights of Columbus, 5 to 10 p.m.

The Rib & Chop House is also contributing $2 from each pink Magic Margarita at each of its locations statewide to the initiative for the month of October.

In addition, Coal Creek Tap in Cheyenne is hosting Brews for Boobies from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. One dollar from every pint and pizza sold will fund breast cancer programs across Wyoming.

On Oct. 28, Wyoming hosts New Mexico for Homecoming at War Memorial Stadium. Tickets are available in sections B or G with a face value of $60. The Pink Game is sponsored by Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, with proceeds going to the initiative. Breast cancer survivors receive one free ticket. Attendees are asked to wear pink. For more information, visit www.wyomingbreastcancer.org.

The Wyoming Breast Cancer Initiative is in its second full year of granting money to be used as a resource for Wyoming citizens with breast cancer. Wyoming Community Foundation serves as the fiscal agent.
Most late-term abortions would be outlawed under legislation shepherded through the House on Tuesday by U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyoming. The bill, which would ban abortions after 20 weeks, is a major priority of the GOP and conservative groups. It faces certain Senate defeat.

The House approved the measure by a near party-line 237-189 vote. Cheney, Wyomings lone representative in the House, helped oversee debate on the bill in her capacity as a member of the powerful House Rules Committee.

The bill would ban abortions after 20 weeks, arguing that is the point at which fetuses become capable of feeling pain.

Extensive scientific evidence has made clear babies at 20 weeks of age can feel pain and survive outside the womb, Cheney spokeswoman Maddy Weast said in an email. We have a much better scientific understanding regarding this important issue than we did at the time Roe vs. Wade was passed and its our moral obligation to do everything possible to protect the sanctity of human life.

Weast said Cheney was honored to manage the floor debate on the rule necessary for the bill to pass.

Critics dissent

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has said fetuses cannot experience pain before at least 24 weeks of development. In an interview with The Associated Press, the groups chief executive officer, Hal Lawrence, said overwhelming evidence shows fetuses younger than that have reflex activity but lack the neurological development to sense pain.

They cant tell what it is, Lawrence said. If you cant interpret it, it cant hurt.

The measure would make it a crime for anyone to perform most abortions on fetuses believed to be 20 weeks into development. Violators could face five years in prison, though mothers undergoing such procedures could not be prosecuted.

Exceptions would be made to save the mothers life and for incest and rapes reported to government authorities.

NARAL Pro-Choice Wyoming executive director Sharon Breitweiser said in a statement that her organization did not believe the concept of fetal pain was rooted in established science and noted that the Wyoming Legislature had defeated similar measures in the past.

Bills could bar abortion after 20 weeks, weaken patient privacy protections Women could be barred from receiving abortions after about 20 weeks and could face felony ch

(T)he abortion-ban bill supported by Rep. Cheney further stigmatizes legitimate health care providers and sets a dangerous precedent regarding womens health, Breitweiser said.

Abortion in Wyoming

The Supreme Court legalized abortion in 1973 but opened the door to some state restrictions. Wyoming requires parental consent for any minor seeking an abortion and bans the use of public funds for abortions except in the case of life endangerment, rape or incest, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that favors abortion rights.

The Legislature passed two additional restrictions last year. One requires doctors to notify women seeking abortion that they may see an ultrasound of the fetus if they wish and another prohibits the use of aborted fetal tissue in scientific research.

Wyoming adopts first new abortion restrictions in 28 years CHEYENNE  Gov. Matt Mead signed into law Wyomings first restrictions on abortion in nearly

Despite the relative lack of legal restrictions on abortion, few clinics in Wyoming actually perform abortions and none offer the procedure close to 20 weeks. The only two clinics listed by advocacy group Women For Women Wyoming are in Jackson and do not perform abortions after 12 weeks.

Clinics in neighboring states offer abortions through 21 weeks.

Abortions after 20 weeks are rare. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Of over 664,000 reported abortions in 2013, just 1.3 percent occurred at least 21 weeks into development.

While President Donald Trump was prepared to sign the bill, Democratic opposition means the measure will never reach the 60 votes in the Senate that it would need to pass. Republicans have a 52-48 Senate majority.

The Democratic-controlled Senate didnt consider a similar bill the House approved in 2013. A House-passed measure in 2015 fell short in a GOP-run Senate.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.
We've collected a few front pages from newspapers.com to give you a look at some Oct. 6 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.
PHOENIX  The Senate Ethics Committee voted Thursday to investigate whether a Democratic senator broke the law in how she gathered signatures to thwart expansion of the voucher program that lets parents use public dollars to send their children to private and parochial schools.

In a party-line vote, the Republican-controlled panel concluded there is enough evidence in allegations against Sen. Catherine Miranda of Phoenix that she violated state election laws to warrant a further look. But they agreed to postpone further action against her  including the possibility of recommending she be expelled from the Senate  until the Attorney Generals Office looks into the issue.

The vote came over the objections of Sen. Martin Quezada, D-Phoenix, who said Thursdays hearing was little more than a dog and pony show, with the GOP lawmakers having already made up their minds ahead of time.

Sen. Steve Montenegro, R-Litchfield Park, acknowledged that he had motions to pursue the investigation already prepared before going to the meeting, even before hearing a report from committee staff. But Montenegro sidestepped repeated questions of whether the outcome of Thursdays vote was predetermined.

Tom Ryan, Mirandas attorney, said he sees something more sinister behind the investigation, which was triggered by a complaint from a supporter of universal vouchers.

This is payback, he said after the hearing, saying Republicans and other supporters of universal vouchers want to punish Miranda for refusing to vote to expand the program. Ryan said if the committee intends to have a hearing, he will present evidence that this is an organized political attack.

Were going to be issuing subpoenas ourselves. Were going to be hiring a private investigator, he said. And were going to get to the very bottom of what the hells going on here because Im not going to let Senator Miranda be railroaded like this.

Miranda was not at Thursdays hearing.

The complaint is based on posts on social media showing Miranda holding up a referendum petition to block the voucher expansion until voters get a chance to have their say in November 2018.

That picture shows there already are several signatures on the sheet. What it also shows is that Miranda had not filled in a box on the petition signifying whether she was collecting them as a volunteer or paid circulator.

What makes that significant is state election law requires the box be checked before any signatures are gathered. Violations are a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail.

Ryan did not dispute that the box was not filled out. But he said anything his client did was unintentional, and he questioned why the Republicans are pursuing the matter, which ultimately could allow the full Senate to vote to expel her.

This is using a thermonuclear bomb to wipe out a gnat, he said.

The complaint comes as the Secretary of States Office said foes of expanding the voucher program have gathered more than enough signatures to force a public vote.

At issue is a change in existing law, which now limits taxpayer-provided vouchers to students in special circumstances, like having disabilities or attending schools rated D or F.

The new law, if it takes effect, would eliminate all preconditions, though a political compromise caps the number of vouchers at about 30,000 by 2023.

In the meantime, voucher supporters are going to court in December in a bid to have many of the signatures declared invalid. Their legal complaint involves various alleged violations of election laws, including those like the one of which Miranda is accused.

Ryan said if his client failed to check the box indicating her status as a circulator, thats a matter for the Secretary of States Office to consider when deciding if the signatures should be counted. But he said its overkill to use that as a basis to conclude that Miranda violated the law, and in a manner that would allow the Senate to conclude she acted in an unethical fashion.

Theres no indication that she was trying to defraud anybody, he said. She told everybody she was a volunteer.

Ryan said theres no real crime here.

At worst, youve got somebody being possibly negligent, he said.
A Tucson woman who ran an illegal massage parlor that's customers included police officers and government employees was sentenced to two years of probation last week.

Stephanie Garcia pleaded guilty in August to felony charges of keeping a house of prostitution and receiving the earnings of a prostitute, according to Pima County Superior Court documents.

On Sept. 26, she was sentenced to two years of probation for each count, scheduled to run concurrently, documents show.

Garcia was arrested in February 2016 and charged with eight felonies, including illegal control of an enterprise, money laundering, maintaining a house of prostitution and receiving the earnings of a prostitute.

In January 2015, Tucson police raided multiple residences across town in connection with a years-long investigation into illegal massage parlors that offered sexual services in exchange for money, according to Arizona Daily Star archives.

The investigation initially was focused on a business called "By Spanish," but police later learned of a second business called "Daisy's Delights," Star archives show.

Detectives learned that Garcia had been an employee of "By Spanish" but left the business to form "Daisy's Delights" on her own, employing a "booker" to make appointments and communicate with clients.

The investigation revealed that eight employees of the Tucson Police Department were either customers of or had knowledge of the illegal massage parlors, resulting in most of the employees losing their jobs with the department and state certifications for police work.

The operator of "By Spanish," Clarissa Lopez, was sentenced in April to two years of probation, after pleading guilty to the same charges as Garcia.
Tucson police arrested a second man in connection with a homicide of a man found with blunt force trauma on a south-side street Sunday, Oct 1.

The victim, identified as Jimmain Middleton, 35, died Monday, Oct. 2, at Banner-University Medical Center Tucson, said Sgt. Kimberly Bay, a Tucson Police Department spokeswoman.

On Thursday, Oct. 5, Adan Jesus Medina, 30, was arrested after he was released from a hospital and booked into the Pima County jail on suspicion of first-degree murder in Middleton's slaying, Bay said.

A relative of Medina's, Alexis Noe Medina-Luna, 21, was taken into custody Tuesday, Oct. 3, and booked into the jail also on suspicion of first-degree murder, Bay said.

On Sunday shortly after 7 p.m., police and Tucson Fire Department paramedics responded to a report of a check welfare on a man down in the street in the 3600 block of East Ellington Place, said Bay.

The neighborhood is east of South Palo Verde Avenue and south of East 32nd Street.

When paramedics arrived, they took over treatment of the man, who later was identified as Middleton. People were giving Middleton first aid, said Bay. Paramedics took him to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Detectives learned that Middleton, who lives in the area, was assaulted by Medina-Luna and Medina. After the assault, both Medina-Luna and Medina ran from the scene, said Bay. She said detectives found out that Medina was suspected of vandalizing mailboxes before the confrontation with Middleton.

Middleton spoke to both men and a fight broke out and Middleton suffered fatal injuries, said Bay.

Investigators also learned that on the same night, at about 7:30 p.m., police went to the 700 block of West Valencia Road to a report of a fight that began inside a residence and then moved out into the street, Bay said. The fight between Medina-Luna and Medina ended when Medina was struck by a vehicle that left the scene, she said.

Both men returned to the residence, and when officers arrived they noticed Medina was seriously injured and he was taken to the hospital by paramedics, Bay said.

Medina-Luna was arrested for domestic violence/aggravated assault with a dangerous instrument, and domestic violence/aggravated assault, Bay said. He was booked into the jail on those charges that night and later released.

Investigators are asking anyone with information to call 911 or 88-CRIME, an anonymous tipster hotline.
A Tucson woman was arrested early this morning after setting her cat on fire and attempting to stab a Tucson fire captain in the chest when he tried to get her to leave her apartment, officials say.

Tucson police and firefighters went to an apartment complex in the 4300 block of East 29th Street at about 2:30 a.m. for reports of an apartment fire, said Sgt. Pete Dugan, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.

The 911 caller reported seeing smoke coming from a downstairs unit, and as the fire captain and others approached the smokey apartment, a woman who lives there lunged at the captain with a knife, striking him in the chest, Tucson Fire Department spokesman Capt. Andrew Skaggs, said in a news release.

The knife could not penetrate the firefighters thick jacket and he escaped, Skaggs said.

The woman- who was naked- stayed in the doorway threatening to stab anyone who tried to come in to the apartment, but with the door now open, firefighters were able to see a small fire on top of the stove in the apartment's kitchen, Skaggs said.

Tucson police approached the woman and tried to get her to drop the knife, eventually using a Taser to subdue her, Dugan said.

When firefighters and police were able to enter the apartment, they saw that the fire was coming from a cat that was on top of the ignited stovetop, Dugan said.

The woman, identified as 41-year-old Ebony Hurndon, was booked into the Pima County jail in connection with charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, arson of an occupied structure and animal cruelty, Dugan said.
On Aug. 1, 1966, Charles Whitman, a former Marine sharpshooter, took bolt action rifles to the observation deck atop the Main Building tower at the University of Texas at Austin and opened fire on random students. During the next 96 minutes he killed 15 people and wounded 31 others. We've come a long way in the weapons that allow one to kill and injure massive amounts of victims.

Despite the carnage, conservatives continue to argue that more gun laws are not the answer. It is indisputable that appropriate gun laws could have prevented Steven Paddock from purchasing his assault type rifles and their modifiers from his local gun shop. Gun laws will not prevent future massacres, but they can certainly limit their impact.

Ed Espinoza

West side
Re: the Oct. 6 article "California's new sanctuary law limits local police cooperation."

It looks like it may be time for us to re-open the private vehicle agricultural inspection lanes at the ports of entry on our western and northern borders. These ports of entry lanes were once used to inspect private vehicles for plants, agricultural products and livestock entering Arizona.

At this time we could ask that the United States Border Patrol be added to the staff in order to check the legal status of all people entering the state. Could you imagine the lines of people and vehicles having to produce a passport or birth certificate in order to gain entry into the other continental states?

Perhaps we could ask President Trump to extend the border wall and/or fence up the west border of our fair state (and have California pay for it)?

We will also have to beef up our border patrols along Arizonas western and northern borders.

Bill Kendall

Downtown
As he was leaving office in 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, gave a speech from the White House warning the nation of the dangers inherent in letting an ascendant "military-industrial complex" gain too much influence over the democratic functioning of the United States government.

How ironic it is, then, that today we are dependent on three scions of that same military-industrial complex (retired Gen. John Kelly, White House Chief of Staff; retired Gen. James Mattis, Secretary of Defense; and former ExxonMobil chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson, Secretary of State) to rein in the excesses of our current Republican president. Hang in there, gentlemen, we need you.
Our democracy depends on the belief by citizens that elections are free and fair, and that the resulting government bodies are legitimate. However, with rampant gerrymandering of district boundaries, it is widely recognized that elections are skewed toward those holding political power, thereby perpetuating their favored positions.

In its landmark decisions, Reynolds vs Sims (1964), Baker vs Carr (1962), Wesberry vs Sanders (1964), and Avery vs Midland County (1968), the U.S. Supreme Court held that districts with widely varying population numbers within a state are inherently unconstitutional, resulting in the equal population rule. Another widely recognized criterion, which has not been enforced, perhaps because of the lack of a clear metric for measurement, is that districts be compact.

Currently, many districts are custom designed to provide unfair partisan advantage. A straightforward way to make redistricting fairer is to enforce compactness along with the equal population rule. The requirement to maintain districts giving protected classes of voters such as black or Native American a chance to elect someone from their own group could be accommodated within this framework.

An elegant approach to determining if districts are compact is to require that in drawing district boundaries, the total length of those boundaries be minimized. This would result in relatively compact districts, in contrast to the sprawling distorted districts which are often created under the current systems. With computer technology such as GIS (geographic information systems), minimum boundary length and equal population can be implemented.

The U.S. Supreme Court listened to oral arguments this week on a reapportionment case from Wisconsin (Gill vs Whitford) in which the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled that the districts created by the state legislature are unconstitutional because they were impermissibly drawn to favor candidates from one party (Republican), thereby depriving voters from the other party (Democratic) of their right to choose their own representatives.

The lawyers for the plaintiffs argued that an acceptable criterion for judging the fairness of reapportionment is the difference between the percentage of votes cast for each partys candidates and the percentage of seats won by each. In the 2012 Wisconsin election, Republicans won 48.6 percent of the total vote cast while obtaining 60.6 percent of the legislative seats. With less than half the total vote, Republicans in Wisconsin obtained a substantial majority in the legislature.

While this percentage difference is a valid measure of malapportionment, its use in evaluating districts is hard to implement because these percentages depend on how many people are registered to vote, how many actually voted, and how they voted. Thus, the measure is a moving target that would be different for each election, and could only be computed based on prior elections.

An important advantage of the minimum boundary length system is that it is independent of the number of citizens registered to vote, actually voting in prior elections, or how they voted.

In contrast to the use of prior election results in judging the fairness of district boundaries, basing the criteria on the total length of boundaries for all districts combined, along with equal populations, is conceptually unambiguous. The district boundaries created under this rule could be challenged only by presenting an alternative set of districts with more nearly equal populations and shorter boundaries. In densely populated areas such as metropolitan Chicago, the central city districts would be physically small. Sparsely populated rural districts would include a large territory.

Justice Anthony Kennedy has indicated openness to looking at the issue of compactness if there is a robust tool for judging. This proposal could provide the court with an appropriate tool.

When the equal population rule was implemented in state government, there was a huge shift in political power from entrenched rural interests from sparsely populated counties to heavily populated urban areas, resulting in dramatic improvements in governance. Implementation of a minimum boundary length rule has the potential to shift political influence from the far left and far right of our political spectrum toward the center, which would better represent the preferences of the U.S. population.
Bangkok Airways is slated to launch a new direct route between the Vietnamese island of Phu Quoc and Bangkok later this month, the Thai carrier announced on Thursday.

The service, launching October 29, hopes to meet the rising demand in tourist travel between Bangkok and Phu Quoc, an up and coming holiday destination in Vietnam, according to Bangkok Airways.

The aim of this new launch is to provide better flight connections for European, Thai, and Vietnamese customers, as well as offer regional connecting routes to Phu Quoc Island for its long-haul codeshare partners, the carrier said in a press release.

Four weekly flights will commute between Bangkoks Suvarnabhumi Aiport and Phu Quoc International Airport on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Sundays using ATR 72-600 70-seat aircraft.

Currently, travelers to Phu Quoc from Thailand are forced to transfer flights in Ho Chi Minh City or the central-Vietnamese city of Da Nang  another Bangkok Airways destination.

The fast growing economy in Phu Quoc has the potential for travel demand from local and expatriate travelers, while Phu Quoc, as a paradise island in Vietnam, attracts tourists from around the world, Bangkok Airways vice president for sales Varong Israsena Na Ayudhya said in a statement.

Located in the Gulf of Thailand, beautiful Phu Quoc - known as Pearl Island, is Vietnams largest island at approximately 600 square kilometers.

Phu Quoc is known for being a tourism hot spot in Southeast Asia and is managed as a Special Economic Zone. It has an expected annual economic growth of 25  30 percent.

In 2016, Phu Quoc attracted over 1.45 million tourists from around the world. Its 30-day visa free policy for foreigners makes it particularly attractive to German, English, French, Swiss, and Russian tourists.

We believe this launch will bring sustainable benefits for the tourism development of Thailand and Vietnam in the future, said Songkrot Palakawong Na Ayuthaya, corporate communications director for Bangkok Airways.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
As low-cost airlines become an increasingly popular alternative to land travel, Vietnams railway operators are struggling to meet demands for lower fares and better service.

Despite Vietnam Railways, the operator of the countrys north-to-south train system, introducing modern train cars to its fleet and cutting travel times, passengers are still taking to the skies, especially during periods of high travel demand.

Meanwhile, price seems to be the biggest obstacle for local railway companies who say they are forced to keep ticket prices high in order to cover the cost of exorbitant service fees.

In 2015, Saigon Railways, a Vietnam Railways subsidiary, reported VND1,811 billion (US$79.78 million) in revenue. However, the company had to repay its parent firm more than VND1,105 billion ($48.68 million), or 61 percent of its earnings, to cover transportation, operations and infrastructure fees.

The remaining 39 percent was directed towards employee salaries and maintenance on trains and stations.

The situation has continued to decline since 2016, when passengers began turning their back on train travel in favor of low-cost air carriers. As Saigon Railways revenue shrank to VND1,515 billion ($62.33 million) 63.7 percent was paid to Vietnam Railways.

The huge fees owed to Vietnam Railways led to rising operational costs and prevented Saigon Railways from cutting its ticket prices, according to a company representative.

New intermediaries offering train services in Vietnam, combined with unnecessary cost overruns, are also factoring into high ticket prices.

The biggest paradox is that Saigon Railways directly runs the trains but doesnt hold the right to manage production costs or adjust ticket prices, the representative concluded.

Even Luong Quoc Viet, a Vietnam Railways inspector, admitted that the current fee scheme imposed by the Vietnam Railways only benefits the parent firm while placing a heavy burden on those under its umbrella.

The fees are not in line with market forces and are based on no scientific grounds, he said.

Industry insiders suggest that the service fees be managed by an independent entity, such as the Vietnam Railway Authority, to ensure fairness.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam has dismissed the Party chief of Da Nang from his post and eliminated him from the committee for violating principle, including using invalid degrees and accepting cars and houses from businesses.

The committee announced on Friday that it had decided to remove Nguyen Xuan Anh as Secretary of the Da Nang Party Committee.

The central committee is convening its sixth meeting in Hanoi, scheduled for October 4 to 10.

Anh was to chiefly blame for the wrongdoings committed by the standing board of the Da Nang Party Committee, the central body said in the announcement.

He blatantly broke the Partys rules, breached regulations on what Party members are not allowed to do, and went against other standards set by the Party, the committee said, adding that his violations were severe and negatively affected the Partys credibility.

So Anh has been removed from his Secretary position and dismissed from the Central Party Committee, the announcement said.

The central committee noted that it had fired Anh after comprehensive discussion and consideration.

The Central Committee is the highest authority within the Communist Party of Vietnam, elected every five years by the Party National Congress.

The current 12th Central Committee has about 175 full members and 25 alternate members, and appoints the all-powerful Politburo.

Born on January 1, 1976, Anh was elected as Secretary of the Da Nang Party Committee for the 2015-2020 period in October 2015.

He also became Chairman of the municipal Peoples Council for the same term in June 2016. Anh had been voted a member of the 12th Party Central Committee in January 2016.

The citys leader has been famous for his statements against the abuse of authority, wastefulness, and corruption among officials.

Central inspectors said that Anh, as the head of the Da Nang Party Committee, had to be held chiefly accountable for all the offenses the standing board of the 2015-2020 term had committed, namely rotating and appointing officials against the Partys regulations.

The board made several unauthorized decisions, including allowing businesses to use and implement projects on public land.

The lax management and supervision of the standing board regarding land and urban order led to various negative consequences, upsetting local residents.

Secretary Anh was also responsible for several personal violations, including using invalid degrees, and accepting cars and houses as gifts from local businesses.

The official obtained his masters degree and PhD in business administration following a study program at the United States California Southern University between 2001 and 2006, the inspectors said.

In October 2007, the Southern California University for Professional Studies (SCUPS) was renamed California Southern University, whose degrees are not recognized by the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training, meaning that Anhs masters and PhD degrees are not valid in Vietnam, they added.

The inspectors also concluded after a check that Anh had received a car for his daily work commute and used two houses, all gifted by local businesses.

He returned the car amid public outcry.

It is not immediately clear who will take over from Anh.

The chairman of Da Nang, Huynh Duc Tho, has also been warned for multiple land management violations.

Born in 1962, Tho was voted Chairman of the Da Nang administration for the 2011-16 tenure in January 2015, taking over from Van Huu Chien, who had retired.

In June 2016, Tho was reelected for the 2016-21 tenure.

Located on the central coast, Da Nang is one of the most vibrant cities in Vietnam.

In November, it will host the APEC meetings with the participation of U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and other world leaders.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
A parliamentary group commissioned to support the 2017 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum this November in central Vietnam has been established by the United States House of Representatives in Washington D.C.

A ceremony announcing the For-APEC groups establishment was held on Thursday.

Speaking at the event, Vietnamese Ambassador to the U.S. Pham Quang Vinh thanked members of the U.S. Congress, the National Centre for APEC, and the business community for their show of support for APEC and the U.S.-Asia relations.

Over the past two decades, APEC has emerged as an important forum for the promotion of regional economic development and cooperation, bringing about multiple benefits for member economies, including the U.S., Vinh said.

U.S.- Vietnam ties were deepened by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phucs May visit to the U.S., the diplomat continued, adding that President Donald Trumps upcoming trip to Vietnam is expected to continue elevating bilateral relations between the two countries.

As the host of this years APEC forum, Vietnam has been working with other member economies to boost APECs development. So far, Vietnamese diplomats have held more than 200 APEC-related meetings, Vinh stated.

Vietnam will continue its work to ensure the success of APEC Economic Leaders Week in the central city of Da Nang in November.

At the ceremony, several U.S. congressmen confirmed the Asia-Pacific regions important role in the countrys economy and security.

Their statements solidified the view that the U.S. Congresss establishment of For-APEC is an important means of enhancing economic trade and cooperation in the region.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Check out news you should not miss today, October 6:

Politics

-- Bulgarian Ambassador to Vietnam Evgueni Stoytchev on Thursday received the For peace and friendship among nations insignia by the Vietnam Union of Friendship Organizations for his contributions to strengthening mutual understanding, friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

-- The Central Highlands provinces of Dak Lak and Dak Nong on Thursday launched a project to build a 100km-long border patrol road which is expected to complete in 2020.

Society

-- National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines and budget airlines VietJet and Jetstar are collectively offering more than 3 million tickets for Tet holiday which will fall on February 16 next year.

-- The Saigon Railway Transport Company Limited will begin selling Tet tickets from October 15 with more than 300,000 tickets available online and via ticket agents.

-- The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Transportation will pilot charging car parking fee on three streets in District 1 via a mobile app from this month.

-- The southern province of An Giang has installed 350 surveillance cameras at 14 communes and town in An Phu District to prevent crime with a budget of VND800 million (USD35,200).

-- Environment police of Binh Duong is handling an industrial landfill which has been illegally operated by a local named Huynh Thi Ha at Di An town for the past five years.

-- A fire on Thursday afternoon burned down four houses of four brothers in a family at Tan Nghia Commune in the southern province of Dong Thaps Cao Lanh District.

Lifestyle

-- Luxury bubble milk tea is enjoying its heyday in Ho Chi Minh City as there are always long lines of customers happily waiting and paying high for a cup of the cold drink at stores around the city.

-- Alla Sokolova, a Latvia-born photographer now living in France, has recently won five medals including two gold, one silver and two bronze, at the 9th International Artistic Photo Contest in Vietnam (VN-17).

Education

-- Ho Chi Minh City will continue to arrange flexible school time to reduce traffic, following the success of a pilot program initiated in 2006.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Two company executives and their driver were badly injured after a group of men robbed them and burned their car in Hau Giang Province in Vietnams Mekong Delta.

Officers from the provincial Department of Police confirmed on Thursday that they are investigating the attack on Wednesday night of Tran Van Ri, director of Ho Chi Minh City-based Kien Binh Company; Vo Thi Chien, the firms deputy director; and Cai Van Trung, the driver.

The three victims were en route from the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho to Vi Thanh City, Hau Giang on National Highway 61C in Nhon Nghia Commune,Chau Thanh A District, Hau Giang when the incident occurred.

The incident happened on a section of National Highway 61C in Nhon Nghia Commune, Chau Thanh A District on September 4, 2017. Photo: Tuoi Tre

At around 11:00 pm, a gang of four to six suspects riding two to three motorbikes blocked the cars path and began spraying the victims with tear gas.

Chien was stabbed during the attack and her handbag was snatched, along with a considerable amount of money inside.

The attackers then poured gasoline on the car and set it on fire.

Local residents were quick to arrive at the scene and help transport the victims to a local hospital for emergency help. The three were then transferred to Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City.

The burned car after the attack. Photo: Tuoi Tre

According to doctors, Chiens injuries were the most severe, with burns across her body, two stab wounds on her stomach, and another on her thigh.

The car was totaled by the fire.

Lieutenant Colonel Le Van Hue, deputy chief of the police department in Chau Thanh A District, affirmed that officers are investigating the case.

We are coordinating with the provincial Department of Police to verify whether or not the crime arose from personal conflicts, Lt. Col. Hue added.

The burned car after the attack. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Former A Current Affair reporter Ben McCormack will have to wait until November 24 to find out his fate.

The 43-year-old appeared in the Downing Centre District Court this morning a week after lawyer Sam Macedone entered guilty pleas on his behalf to 2 charges of using a carriage service to transmit, publish or promote child pornography.

Macedone said he would tender psychiatric reports at the sentencing, which he expected would last three hours.

Judge Paul Conlon said after reading the police facts it was clear they were not typical of the charges McCormack had pleaded guilty to.

Last month his lawyer told media McCormack had engaged in fantasy talk.

The agreed facts, however, reveal the online chats included the exchange of images which werent able to be retrieved.

McCormack was suspended by the network following his arrest in April, but has since resigned.

Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years.

Source: News Corp Yahoo
58 people are dead and over 500 were injured in the worst mass Shooting in recent American history. Thousands of people were affected. Mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, husbands, wives, young, and old; the bullets were indiscriminate. People gathered for a music festival, on a night that would alter the lives of thousands of people, and stun a nation, again.

Yes, again. Remember there was the Orlando nightclub shooting that claimed 49 people. The San Bernardino shooting killed 14. There was the Roseburg Oregon incident, where 9 people were killed; Charleston South Carolina where another 9 people lost their lives; the Sandy Hook shooting which took the lives of 27 people, including 20 children.

In Aurora Colorado, 12 people were killed in a theatre; Fort Hood Texas where 13 people were shot and killed on a military base, and the Virginia Tech massacre that took the lives of 32 people. There were countless other shootings in between the ones listed here, and this is only going back 10 years.

American voters must demand gun control

We react with shock and with anger, but it fades, sadly, because we are becoming numb to it. All too often we hear these stories, and we say there should be changes, and we say that somebody should do something - but who? It isn't enough anymore to simply desire the change. The American voter needs to demand it. And if it cannot be delivered by those in power now, then the voters need to exercise their right and put people in power that can create change - people that are willing and able to be the change what America needs so desperately.

Stephen Paddock had purchased thirty-three guns in the months leading up to the massacre. All of these were purchased, apparently, legally. How can one man, purchase nearly three dozen guns in 12 months, and not raise a red flag? Why would someone need this many guns? Not for hunting, not for self-defence. Then for what? Unfortunately, that answer came too late for the victims of Stephen Paddock's crime.

Back to the original point: these were all purchased legally. Does that seem right? Does that seem to be in the spirit of the 2nd Amendment? Dozens of firearms, is that the right of every American if they choose? I may be unpopular in saying so, but the answer is 'no'.

And now, America must make a decision. Do they continue on, with this archaic interpretation of their 2nd Amendment, or do they bring themselves into the 21st century, and realize that Gun control is desperately needed in the United States?

No one is advocating for the confiscating guns, but fully-automatic guns or components that make a gun fully automatic (or similar items, such as a bump-stock) should be prohibited. Handguns should be registered. Background checks should be mandatory for all sales, and those who have been deemed to be mentally ill should be banned from purchasing guns. These are not sweeping changes, but they may be enough to stop the next mass shooting. Maybe not, but it's far better than doing nothing. What is concerning is that groups are lobbying to make owning a gun and their various accessories easier. The laws are being directed in the wrong direction.

The Australian example

The truth remains that doing nothing is not the answer, and is no longer an option.

American legislators cannot stand idly by while innocent people are murdered on a regular basis. When Australia suffered their worst mass shooting in 1996, it took them only twelve days to draft legislation that saw roughly one million firearms turned in, bought back, or otherwise taken out of the general population. Since then, there have been no mass shootings in Australia.

Why is America so resistant to this? Why does the NRA have so much sway over law-makers? At what point do the American people stand up and tell their government that enough is enough? At what point do the people in government listen to the voters, not the lobby groups, and actually pass legislation? It needs to be real legislation that brings about change and prevents another disgrace like the Las Vegas shooting, or all the ones that have preceded it.

At what point does the body count warrant changes to the law? How many men, women, and children must die before something is done? How long before the next shooting? And when that day comes, whose hands will be covered in the blood of those innocent victims for not acting?
Prison Reform has been on the lips of many for a long time coming. Some have said punishment is all that matters, while others have said full rehabilitation is the way to go. I believe in the latter - it speaks to the real concept of prison. However, England and Wales' prison system is failing miserably. It's failing its staff and its prisoners. All the worse factors are on a rise, and nobody knows when the numbers will come down.

One too many prison suicides

Prison suicides are at its peak. In the last week, two prison suicides have made the news; a transgender woman at all-male Parkhurst jail, Isle of Wight and a family man, Andrew Rawlins at HMP Bristol.

These are a result of poor mental health care for inmates who are vulnerable to the unfavourable conditions of prison. According to the report on Mental Health in prisons published by the National Audit Office in April 2017, the number of self-inflicted deaths in 2016 was recorded at an all-time high of 120 and almost double that for 2012. In addition, self-inflicted harm increased by 73% between 2012 and 2016 to 40,161.

Prison mental health care criticised following suicide https://t.co/QvKcipiQcS  Prison Reform Trust (@PRTuk) 2 October 2017

Access to mental health care in prison is low; prisoners cannot get care when needed and trained staff are regularly unavailable. It was recorded that only 34 percent of prisoners were transferred within 14 days to prisons in 2016-17 for needed mental health care.

Of the prisoners transferred to hospitals, 7 percent (76 people) waited for more than 140 days and in one case, someone waited for more than a year. This is an appalling response to what requires much attention.

The NAO report also said: "The data on how many people in prison have mental health problems and how much government is spending to address this is poor.

Consequently, the National Offender Management System (NOMS) now Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) as of April 2017, NHS England and Public Health England do not know the base they are starting from to meet their objectives."

It is worrying that government hasn't invested effort into the very essence of prison which is to ensure that offenders are living comfortably in successful rehabilitation so that they may not re-offend again upon release.

If you don't know who has been diagnosed with mental health issues on arrival to prison (and what they have been diagnosed with), how can you provide the services to cater for their needs? More so, how may you prevent the likelihood of that one person not inflicting harm on themselves or worse yet, kill themselves in turn?

The staff cuts don't help

Since 2010, the funding for NOMS was reduced by 13 percent between 2009-10 and 2016-17 and over the same period, NOMS cut its staff by 30 percent. "Prisons have struggled to cope with reduced resources. When prisons are short-staffed, governors run restricted regimes where prisoners spend more of the day in their cells, making it more challenging to access mental health services," the report added.

The prison staff cuts not only affect areas such as access to mental health but also areas of safety for prisoners and prison officers. In a prison in Hertfordshire, although nobody was injured or killed, only 20 officers were on duty to supervise more than 1,000 inmates during a riot in July of this year. In December 2016, there was a prison riot at private managed HMP Birmingham and another at HMP Swaleside on the Isle of Sheppey in the same month. As a result of cuts to funding and staff shortages, fewer prison officers are trained to deal with these riots - and more investment goes into specialist tactical groups like Tornado, Gold Command, and National Tactical Response Group to calm prisoners down - in the long run, this doesn't give the government value for money.

Worryingly, assaults on staff have increased by 32 percent in the last 12 months and quarter, another record high, of which 25 percent of these were serious assaults. Some of the serious assaults recorded were internal injuries, cuts requiring suturing. and permanent blindness.

The government has a 'plan'

The government, specifically Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in partnership with Prisoners Governor's Association, HMPPS, Department of Health, NHS England and Public Health England need to come together to solve these problems in a wholesome manner. However, it must be acknowledged that Liz Truss (then the Justice Secretary) made an attempt in putting forward the Prisons and Courts Bill 2016-17 to Parliament.

In hopes that it becomes law to promote essential reform, modernisation and effectiveness in prisons. Since that fell through, worrying uncertainty still looms, for everybody. Although, it can serve as a blueprint for the future.

Overall, it is widely known (and expected) that more effort is necessary to measure rehabilitation progress in prisons in England and Wales because a place where overcrowding, drugs, bullying, low numbers of staff, and violence prevail is a toxic environment. Overcrowding in prisons could mean that people who deserve to go to prison for their heinous crimes don't go and the people that are in prisons continue to suffer to their own detriment with drugs use, bullying and high risk of violence and suicides contributing to the failure of the prison system.

Note: The NAO examined only health services provided in England in the report because the issues around health are devolved. However, the report covered prisons in both England and Wales.
The ridiculously privileged Trump family like to act like theyre just like you, and thats how the familys patriarch, US President Donald Trump, got the votes of idiotic rednecks in the South, who are just normal people with normal jobs, in last years divisive . But Donald Trump, Jr. spent half an hour talking smack about minorities and the LGBTQ community and liberals and got paid $100,000 for it.

Trump, Jr. charges $50,001 and above

Thats what the University of North Texas is paying Trump, Jr. to speak at a fundraising event for the college on 24 October, according to the student newspaper, The North Texas Daily.

Trump, Jr. public speaking agency, All American Speakers, quotes his speaking fee at $50,001 and above. This page has since been removed, since its utterly absurd. Apparently theres so much competition to get him to appear that a bidding war has driven the price to double his quote.

All Trump, Jr. does when he speaks at these universities is bash liberals and mock the diversity of women, minorities, and LGBTQ students in American colleges. He doesnt have anything interesting to say. The only thing about him thats special is that hes the son of the star of The Apprentice who then became the President of the United States. He isnt worth a dime, and hes stupidly rich as it is. He already has millions and he doesnt use a penny of it for a good cause.
Operation Conifer Report

A report from Wiltshire police claims former British Prime Minister Edward Heath would have been questioned, under criminal caution, over sexual abuse claims had he been alive today. Chief Constable Mike Veale said he was Satisfied there were compelling and obvious reasons to investigate allegations. He goes on to say that the report does not apportion guilt nor does it suggest or conclude guilt. It is made clear in the report that Heaths account would be as important as other evidence gathered during the investigation.

Additionally, it is vital that no inference of guilt be drawn even though he would have been questioned.

Sir Edward Heath died in 2005 and served as the United Kingdoms prime minister between 1970 and 1974. The report said that in seven cases, allegations received led to Heaths suspected involvement. None of the seven alleged offences took place during his tenure as prime minister.

Chronology of Allegations

The allegations, for which he would have been questioned, spanned from 1961 to 1992. The allegations of rape and indecent assault involve five boys under the age of consent, ranging from 10-years-old to 15, and two adult males.

The first two assaults allegedly took place in 1961 and 1962 while Heath served as MP (Member of Parliament) for Bexley and Lord Privy Seal.

Then again in 1964, Heath allegedly indecently assaulted another boy during three paid sexual encounters while he was secretary of state for industry.

The next assault allegedly occurred while Heath was the leader of the opposition in 1967.

After his time as prime minister, Heath allegedly indecently assaulted an adult male at a public event in 1976.

Much later, between 1990 and 1992 it is alleged that Heath indecently assaulted a boy of 12-14. At that time, he was serving as MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup.

Finally, in 1992 Heath allegedly indecently assaulted an adult man after consent was withdrawn. This, again, was said to have been during a paid encounter.

The report made public today is not the full version.

That will be part of the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse.

Heath's supporters

People that knew Sir Edward personally have rallied to his defence. Including his godson Lincon Seligman who had known Heath for 50 years. Following the report, Seligman told the BBC that the reports are still just allegations and he does not Believe them.

In a statement, Lord Armstrong of Ilminster and Lord Hunt of Wirral said that they, and those that knew Heath, are convinced that the reports of sexual abuse will be found to be untrue.
The Palestinians have been divided for years, as two very different factions have tried to find a way forward to create a separate state for the Palestinians within the Middle East. Yet, this division has resulted in a weakened position for the Palestinians, as the international community views the division as a lack of commitment to move forward.

Yet, it appears that the Palestinians are taking steps to change that. Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah visited Gaza for the first time in almost two years on October 2. This visit could be the first step toward a reconciliation between the two factions, which have made Peace Talks virtually impossible because neither side was willing to compromise with the other.

According to the Guardian, A delegation led by Abbas prime minister, Rami Hamdallah, held a cabinet meeting in Gaza amid difficult negotiations for Abbas Palestinian Authority, which runs the West Bank, to take over the administration of Gaza where more than 2 million people live in poverty.

The Palestinian Authority

The PA is internationally recognized, whereas the Hamas government in Gaza has been ignored internationally, due to the group being deemed a terrorist organization by many international leaders and governments.

The Gulf Today reported that The UN welcomed the visit, saying it was carefully optimistic of ending the split which is seen as a key complicating factor in potential peace talks with Israel.

Neighboring Egypt, which is a force within the region, played a role in bringing the two sides together.

The pressure to bring the two sides together has continued to increase as Hamas continues to be isolated by the international community. During the time that Hamas has been in charge of Gaza, they have also had three conflicts with Israel, which has also contributed to its isolation.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbasheralded an agreement brokered by Egypt that will see militant group Hamas cede control of the Gaza Strip to his government, a significant development for the Palestinian national movement but one that faces obstacles to implementation.

An obstacle to this reconciliation is the fact that Hamas still has its military division in Gaza and that remains a central force in the region.

Israel has not lifted its blockade of Gaza, due to continuing security concerns.

According to the Ahram.org, the United States has also weighed in on the issue of a unified PA. The United States, which is trying to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks that collapsed in 2014, is watching developments closely with the aim of improving humanitarian conditions in Gaza, Jason Greenblatt, U.S.

President Donald Trumps Middle East envoy, said on TwitterThe United States stresses that any Palestinian government must unambiguously and explicitly commit to non-violence, recognition of the State of Israel, acceptance of previous agreements and obligations between the parties, and peaceful negotiations, said Greenblatt.

What does all this mean for the Middle East?

A united Palestine could mean that peace talks can begin to move forward between Israel and the Palestinians. This could bring stability to this area of the Middle East, which would then impact the ability of international agencies to focus on other hotspots.

However, other countries within the area, such as Iran, could see this reconciliation as having a negative impact on its standing in the region.

Within all these contrary points of view, peace may still be elusive, but the healing of the division within the Palestinian Authority could be the critical and necessary first step to real change within the region.

Hamass relations with Iranian regime darkened following the Syrian civil war, especially after the clashes in Aleppo in early December 2016 which led to retaking the city from the rebels. Hamas issued a statement on December 14, announcing that a genocide has taken place in Aleppo, writes Al-Monitor. This provokes Iran because of its support for Bashar Al Assad financially and military aids.
President Donald Trump made his way to North Dakota on Wednesday to give a speech on tax reform. Along side him was his daughter and special assistant Ivanka Trump, which led to an odd situation that quickly went viral on social media.

Donald and Ivanka

When Donald Trump announced his plans to run for president, he did so on the floor of Trump Tower in New York City with his family by his side. Due to Trump's name being in the spotlight for decades, his family were no strangers to the headlines and media. Despite this, the last two years has been an interesting one for the family, including Ivanka Trump.

As the months moved on during the 2016 presidential election, aspects of Trump's past came to the surface, with one issue revolving around his relationship with his daughter. At times over the years, the former host of "The Apprentice" has made public comments about Ivanka, including during controversial interviews on the Howard Stern radio show. At one point when asked what he and his daughter had in common, the billionaire real estate mogul replied, "sex." Various images have made their way on the internet, showing the two a little too close for comfort for some critics. As reported by The Hill on September 6, Trump made yet another remark about his daughter that made headlines.

President Trump on @IvankaTrump accompanying him in North Dakota: "She actually said, 'Daddy, can I go with you?' I like that." pic.twitter.com/yYbefy1Dz6  CSPAN (@cspan) September 6, 2017

On Wednesday, Donald Trump arrived for a campaign-style rally in North Dakota to discuss his plans for tax reform.

While addressing the crowd, the president made mention of his daughter in a unique way. "Look at Ivanka," Trump said, before adding, "come on up honey." "She's so good. She said 'Dad can I come with you. Actually she said 'Daddy can I go with you?' I like that," Trump continued.

"Sometimes they'll say, you know, he can't be that bad a guy. Look at Ivanka." -- Trump, being super creepy pic.twitter.com/OvOiOgMMNH  Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) September 6, 2017

Ivanka Trump embraced her father with a hug and a kiss before saying a few kind words to the crowd.

"You treated us very very well in November and have continued to so we like showing the love back," Ivanka said.

Twitter reacts

As expected, critics of the president were quick to mock and troll the president and his daughter. "Sources close to Ivanka Trump say Ivanka Trump opposed Donald Trump's decision to say she said 'Daddy can I come too,'" John Podhoretx of the New York Post tweeted out.

Starting to think Ivanka Trump and her dad have kind of a strange relationship. Just a hunch on my part  Patrick Monahan (@pattymo) September 6, 2017

"Daddy can I go to North Dakota?" - Ivanka Trump



"Yep. And you can follow him to prison, too." -65,853,516 Americans  Sevenfold747 (@Sevenfold747) September 6, 2017

"Starting to think Ivanka Trump and her dad have kind of a strange relationship. Just a hunch on my part," Patrick Monahan wrote. "'Daddy can I go to North Dakota?" - Ivanka Trump. 'Yep. And you can follow him to prison, too.' -65,853,516 Americans," another tweet read.

Sources close to Ivanka Trump say Ivanka Trump opposed Donald Trump's decision to say she said "Daddy can I come too"  John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) September 6, 2017

Can't decide what's more gross - Your dad's sexual innuendos toward you, or your acceptance of them. #Gross & #Deplorable - #GTFO of the WH  Kyle (@HighRoller2k5) September 6, 2017

"This is one sick man & an even sicker relationship.

@IvankaTrump doesn't have something better to do than mooch a free trip?" another Twitter user wondered. The trolling continued as opponents of Donald Trump continued to poke fun at the relationship between the commander in chief and his daughter Ivanka Trump.
Two massive Black Holes were discovered at the center of a distant galaxy by scientists. They published their findingings in the journal Nature Astronomy. Their findings are in an article titled A candidate for sub-parsec binary black hole in the Seyfert galaxy NGC 7664. Meanwhile, Australia announced their plans to finally create a national space agency.

More information on the two black holes

The discovery of the two black holes was made by the Very Long Baseline Array. It is a system of ten radio telescopes operated remotely from their array operation center in Socorro, New Mexico.

The research team then analyzed the observations that were made of NGC 7674. It is a distant spiral galaxy located around 400 million light-years from Earth.

According to their published article, they found that two unique, compact sources of radio-wave emissions were coming from the center of the galaxy. These separate radio sources both have properties associated with gigantic black holes according to Preeti Kharb, the lead author of the study.

These two black holes are separated by less than one light-year. They also combine to take up around 40 million times the mass of the sun. This is only the second time that a known system of double black holes has been discovered. The first came back in 2006 in another distant galaxy named 0402+379.

Austalia announces plans for space agency

It was reported by Agence France-Presse (AFP) that Australia announced that they are committed to creating a national space agency. The announcement came during the week-long Space Generation Congress that was being held in the city of Adelaide. This new space agency will likely be centred in Australia's capital city.

This is because the city already plays a major role in national and international space activities.

Acting science minister Michaelia Cash said, it's crucial that Australia be part of this growth. According to stats from Australia's government, the global space sector has been increasing each year since the late 1990s at a rate just under 10 percent.

It has also been driving revenue each year worth $323 billion dollars.

Ironically, Australia actually has a rich space history. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the country launching its first satellite. At the time of launch, Austalia was only the third country to do so -- behind only the United States and the Soviet Union.
This years Atlantic hurricane season has been very busy and very destructive to the islands and mainland coasts that have been in their collective paths. It has not been very long since Hurricanes Harvey and Irma wreaked some havoc along the Gulf Coast so close to each other, and then there was the overpowering Hurricane Maria that tore up Puerto Rico and left it a federal disaster area. But there are still a few months left and plenty of letters in the alphabet to boot. The National Hurricane Center is tracking the sixteenth tropical depression to develop this season, and signs are looking likely that it will become a new storm, and carry the name Nate.

Birth of another hurricane

On Wednesday, October 4, the National Hurricane Center gave a report drawing attention to a new tropical depression forming out in the lower Caribbean.

Their forecast has it moving north into the Gulf of Mexico as the week draws to a close and will become strong enough to be a named storm. It will be the 14th for this years Atlantic season, designated Nate. Come the weekend itself, the NHR is predicting that the depression will have grown and strengthened into a full-fledged hurricane.

As if it could not get any worse, the new hurricane is being forecast to make landfall on the US Gulf Coast on Sunday, October 8. The point of entry ranges from somewhere between Louisiana and western Florida. The NHC is expecting direct impacts by Nate with wind, heavy rainfall and storm surges, though it is still too early to gauge their magnitude and the time when these will strike.

Current whereabouts

According to the National Hurricane Centers tracking data, the tropical depression that will surely become tropical storm Nate (and perhaps hurricane) was about 180 miles SSE of the Nicaragua-Honduras border, as of 5 PM ET. The moment a depression reaches a wind speed of 39 mph it will be assigned a name.

TD16s current speed of 35 mph means it only needs 4 mph. more to be officially called Nate. Meteorologist Dan Kottlowski of AccuWeather notes that Nates development into a hurricane will be spurred when it moves north to the east-southeast of Mexicos Yucatan peninsula with its warm waters.

At present, the NHC is issuing tropical storm warnings for Nate along the Honduran and Nicaraguan coasts.

Rain is also forecast to fall in heavy volume in parts of Panama and Costa Rica. The Gulf Coast, where Hurricane Nate will make landfall, could be looking at high winds, coastal flooding and beach erosion, with New Orleans (LA), Mobile (AL), and Florida at risk of being severely impacted.
A former Arkansas Judge's unique method of doling out community service is likely to have him spending time in a federal prison. Joseph Boeckmann, 71, pleaded guilty today in US District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas to single counts of wire fraud and Witness Tampering. The original grand jury indictment listed 21 counts against Boeckmann, including bribery.

The indictment detailed a scheme in which Boeckmann, a former Arkansas district court judge, chose certain offenders, all teens and young men ranging in age from 16 to 20, and sentenced them to community service rather than paying a fine or spending time in jail.

He asked the offenders to stay after court to talk with him alone.

Judge asked young offenders to pose for nude photos while engaged in sex act or to be spanked

When the judge was alone with the offenders, he told them if they would perform the community service he designated, the charges against them would be dismissed. He gave them his personal telephone number and told them to call him. Once they called, he gave them the instructions for their community service, which started innocently enough with the judge instructing the offenders to pick up trash and aluminum cans and bring what they collected to his home.

Accounts from the young offenders whose stories were outlined in the grand jury indictment of what happened when they arrived at Boeckmann's home differed, but none of them were consistent with what would pass the legal definition of community service.

A victim referred to as "D" in the indictment told investigators his choices to complete his community service included posing naked while masturbating for Boeckmann or having his bare bottom paddled. Victim "I" was offered the same options, while others performed personal service of a non-sexual nature for the judge, with most of them posing for photos.

Except for the initial trash collection, none of those named in the indictment performed what would normally be considered community service. Boeckmann also tried to convince an employee to delete photos on his computer and attempted to keep the offenders and the employee from testifying against him.

Judicial Commission investigation uncovered judge's community service arrangements

Boeckmann's community service arrangements were uncovered after the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission of the State of Arkansas received a tip and began an investigation. When it began to uncover numerous cases of the judge ordering the unusual community service, he was removed from the bench and the information was turned over to the federal government for prosecution.

Boeckmann, who has been under house detention since his arrest, will remain there until his sentencing.
Just 48 hours after the worst mass shooting in American history, Donald Trump is starting to elaborate further on his thoughts. After making remarks about the incident to a group of reporters, it didn't take long for backlash to follow.

Trump on Vegas

It was late Sunday night when 64-year-old Stephen Paddock of nearby Mesquite, Nevada opened fire from the 32nd floor of a Vegas hotel. The targets were the thousands in attendance at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, which was finishing up their third and final day of the show just outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

As the police rushed to the scene and located the shooter, they made their way to his room but found Paddock had taken his own life before they could take further action. As of press time, 58 deaths have been reported, with over 500 left injured because of the shooting in question. In a tweet on Monday morning, President Donald Trump sent his "warmest regards" to those impacted, before quoting Bible verses during a speech at the White House. As reported NBC News on October 3, Trump addressed the issue further before heading off to Puerto Rico.

As Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump headed to Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, the president met with reporters for a brief period and spoke about the mass shooting in Las Vegas.

"Look, we had a tragedy," Trump said. "What happened is in many ways a miracle," he continued, before adding, "The police department has done an incredible job." The commander in chief was pressed on if he would take action on gun control, which he replied, "we'll be talking about gun laws as time goes by."

President Trump, referring to first responders: "What happened in Las Vegas, is in many ways a miracle" https://t.co/2XlfM6NKdg  NBC News (@NBCNews) October 3, 2017

Donald Trump then spoke about the shooter himself, Stephen Paddock, describing him as "sick" and a "demented man." "Were looking into him very seriously," he concluded.

Instant reaction

After Donald Trump's remarks about the Las Vegas shooting being a "miracle," social media went viral in opposition. "I genuinely hate everyone who voted for him," one Twitter user wrote.

It wasnt a mass shooting, it wasnt a terrorist attack, according to our PRESIDENT the one and only Donald Trump, it was a miracle  Newhouse (@IsaiahNewh) October 3, 2017

While the Fake News talks about the miracle of life, i your new prophet donald trump the large handed am here to preach the miracle of death  Cloutcucker (@The_Sass_Hole) October 3, 2017

Good morning, babies. It's Tuesday, October 3rd and Donald Trump will call 600 people shot a "miracle" before he'll say "terrorism".  Alexandra but a  (@alexandraerin) October 3, 2017

"How in God's name, Donald Trump, can you say that the shooting in Las Vegas was a 'miracle'?

What is miraculous about it?" another tweet wondered. "Donald Trump just called America's worst mass shooting 'in many ways a miracle' THIS CANT BE REAL," an additional tweet added.

Donald trump just called America's worst mass shooting "in many ways a miracle" THIS CANT BE REAL  tye (@tyeejade) October 3, 2017

How in God's name, Donald Trump, can you say that the shooting in Las Vegas was a "miracle"? What is miraculous about it? #LasVegasMassacre  ExpatSoutherner (@Tedards) October 3, 2017

"While the Fake News talks about the miracle of life, i your new prophet Donald Trump the large handed am here to preach the miracle of death,"yet another tweet noted. "It wasnt a mass shooting, it wasnt a terrorist attack, according to our PRESIDENT the one and only Donald Trump, it was a miracle," one tweet pointed out. As the backlash continued to pour in, the opposition to the president continued to grow.
As Las Vegas recovered from the horrific country music concert massacre that took place on Sunday, Sean Hannity expressed his rage at Democrats. He accused them of taking advantage of the tragedy to push their agenda for stricter rules on gun ownership. According to The Daily Mail, the show host gave an impassioned monologue on his Monday night show at Fox and lectured left-wing supporters who, hours after the shooting, called for the US to change the current laws that govern gun ownership.

Democrats responded despicably to the Las Vegas massacre

Since the Sunday incident, top Democrats, including former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton have spoken against the NRA.

However, Mr. Hannity has described their actions as "despicable" and "sick". According to the Fox host, such calls are insensitive, because some victims are still in the hospital fighting for their lives, and the facts surrounding the Vegas massacre are yet to be determined. He added that liberals are oblivious to fact that the bodies of those who perished in the incident are not yet in the morgue, and that parents are anxiously watching their children in the hospitals.

Hannity accused Democrats of rushing to politicize the Vegas attack like they do other tragedies, in an effort to score cheap mileage and push their agenda to have more controls instituted on gun ownership. Hannity did not spare some media outlets; He replayed news footage from CNN, MSNBC, and GMA, where police officials and security experts tried to make sense of the horrific massacre in Las Vegas.

Hillary Clinton: We need to stop the NRA

The NRA has been lobbying for gun silencers to be made more readily available. On Monday, Hillary Clinton tweeted that the crowd was alerted by gunshot sounds, hinting that the death toll could have been higher if the shooter had used a silencer during his attack. Hannity aimed criticism at the former First Lady, saying that nine hours after the shooting, she "went deep into the gutters of politics." He wondered whether Mrs.

Clinton and her fellow liberals have any decency, or whether they really care for the affected families. He claimed that if President Donald Trump had brought up the second amendment immediately after the Vegas incident, national media would implode.

As per the Fox News Insider, Hannity went on to mention the mass shootings - including Sandy Hook and the Pulse nightclub massacre - that took place during the Democratic presidencies of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

He, however, omitted the fact that after the said tragedies, the same calls for stricter gun control were raised. Hannity stated that it is imperative for Americans to put politics aside, face up to the gun lobbies, and join forces to make sure that such incidents do not happen in the future.

Donald Trump promised to address the issue on Tuesday after his visit to Puerto Rico, which is still recovering from the havoc wrought by Hurricane Maria. The Republican took to Twitter to send his condolences to the victims and families of Sunday's massacre in Las Vegas.
As North Korea tried to position itself as a nuclear state force, the communist regime earned the ire of the international community. But Kim Jong-un confidently went on with his bluster after Russia gave his regime a new internet link. Now the rogue state made another threat to Japan.

Following his speech at the UNGA, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received harsh criticisms from North Korea through its state-run news agency, KCNA. The North labeled Abe a headless chicken after the Japanese prime minister sought members of the United Nations to pressure Kims regime to completely stop its nuclear weapons development.

The Norths leader also threatened Japan with a nuclear attack, Asia Times reported.

Mail Online reports that the recent North Korean threat followed the warnings of Itsunori Onodera, the defense minister of Japan, about the possibility of another missile test on October 10.

A ghastly threat on Japan

During the past two months, Kim Jong-uns regime launched two missiles that flew across Japanese territory. North Koreas most recent missile launch had an altitude of about 770 kilometers over a distance of around 3700 km, positioning it in range of the Island of Guam, a US military base. The missile flew for about 19 minutes across Japanese territory. After that, the rogue nation began threatening to reduce the United States to ashes and darkness and sink Japan.

According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea proclaimed that the Japanese nations existence was no longer necessary, Fox News reported. The state-run news agency added that the four islands of the archipelago needed to be totally sunken into the sea by the nuclear bomb of North Korea.

Japan boosts its defense

The Japanese government condemned the nuclear threats of Kim Jong-un. One top government official called it provocative and outrageous. In any case, Japan has already prepared its military for any eventuality.

Furthermore, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe sought a public mandate on his stricter defense policies as well as his diplomatic policies in addressing the unrelentingly growing threats from Kim Jong-uns regime.

Confident of his approval ratings, Abe dissolved the lower house of the parliament of Japan for a snap election on October 22.

Additionally, KCNA made a horrible announcement that Japan would become the first victim of a nuclear catastrophe. The Japanese would be sacrificed because of the political ambition of some militarist reactionaries, the state-run news agency concluded.
Over the last 24 hours, Donald Trump has once again continued his attack on the alleged "fake news" media following an NBC News report regarding Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. In response, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders was quick to come to the president's defense.

Sanders on 'fake news'

On Wednesday morning, NBC News broke a bombshell story that exposed the alleged rift between Donald Trump and Rex Tillerson. According to the report, Tillerson nearly resigned over the summer, while getting into a heated argument with the president, going as far as calling him a "f**king moron." As expected, the former host of "The Apprentice" and his team denied the allegations, with Trump lashing out on Twitter on more than one occasion to attack NBC News, as well as the media in general.

Trump labeled the network "fake news," claiming they were "more dishonest than even CNN" and a "disgrace to good reporting." Not stopping there, Trump doubled down on Thursday morning, ranting again on Twitter and calling on Congress to investigate the media. These issues, and more, were discussed during the October 5 press briefing at the White House, as reported by CBS News.

"[POTUS] is an incredible advocate of the 1st Amendment," @PressSec says, asked about Trump tweet calling for investigation of news outlets. pic.twitter.com/puaiuJck2x  CBS News (@CBSNews) October 5, 2017

During Thursday's White House press briefing, Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended Donald Trump's social media outburst, while getting into a heated exchange with reporters.

Sanders explained that Trump has "great frustration with the fact that a lot of times you have inaccurate information thats being presented as factual." Sanders continued her attack, claiming that the media has "opinions that are being presented as news and theyre not."

Q: Does Pres. Trump believe Sen. Intel Cmte should investigate U.S. media organizations? @PressSec: "I don't know that that is the case." pic.twitter.com/nRnXswD8H5  CBS News (@CBSNews) October 5, 2017

Sarah Huckabee Sanders then clashed with Jim Acosta of CNN who pressed her on whether or not Donald Trump "valued" the First Amendment.

Sanders responded "absolutely," before telling the media in attendance that they "have a responsibility to tell the truth" and "to be accurate."

Twitter reacts

In response to the press briefing, critics of the president wasted no time firing back. "Sarah Huckabee Sanders just said only 5% of the mainstream news coverage is pro-Trump.

Someone please explain NEWS vs. PR to these morons," one tweet read.

Is it just me or does Sarah Huckabee Sanders seem like she'd be super easy to Catfish?  Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) October 5, 2017

Sarah Huckabee Sanders just said only 5% of the mainstream news coverage is pro-Trump. Someone please explain NEWS vs. PR to these morons.  HelpPuertoRico Lisa (@Lisa_Battleaxe) October 5, 2017

"I like how (SHS) is lecturing journalists on what 'news" & 'facts' are when she lies daily for a pathological lying moron," one Twitter user wrote. "Here goes Sarah Huckabee Sanders using victims of the Las Vegas shooting as propaganda to praise her King, she can talk about that right?" an additional tweet added.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders lecturing journalists to tell the truth is a little too much bullsh*t for me to handle this week.  Zerlina Maxwell (@ZerlinaMaxwell) October 5, 2017

Here goes Sarah Huckabee Sanders using victims of the Las Vegas shooting as propaganda to praise her King, she can talk about that right?  Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) October 5, 2017

I like how Sarah Huckabee Sanders is lecturing journalists on what "news" & "facts" are when she lies daily for a pathological lying moron.  Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) October 5, 2017

"Is it just me or does Sarah Huckabee Sanders seem like she'd be super easy to Catfish?" comedian Lena Dunham posted. "(SHS) lecturing journalists to tell the truth is a little too much bullsh*t for me to handle this week," yet another social media user added. As the backlash continued, the opposition to Donald Trump and the White House only got worse.
Anthony Michael Sanders, 33, was charged with the murder of his two-year-old daughter, Ellie Mae in Fort Worth, Texas in 2015. He was facing the death penalty for his alleged crime when his seven-year-old son confessed to his mother that he was the cause of his sisters death.

Sanders has been in jail since 2016 and has repeatedly denied killing his daughter. At the time of her death, Sanders son had told his parents that his sister was asleep and that he could not wake her up.

Father was caring for both children at the time of the girls death

As reported by the International Business Times, at the time of the childs death, Sanders had been caring for the children on December 12, 2015 for the whole day, starting at 10 AM, while his wife had attended an art show.

Investigators believed Sanders had held his hand over Ellie Maes mouth, suffocating her, after she possibly interrupted him while he was playing computer games.

Fast forward two years and Sanders was awaiting trial and facing the death penalty for his crime when his son finally confessed to his mother that he had been the cause of his sisters death. According to court documents, Sanders wife, Cassie Wright, had told the prosecuting attorney, Dale Smith, that her son had admitted to accidentally killing his little sister. The document stated that the mother told them it was the first time her son had said anything like this. However, she added that she doesnt believe her son and that what he is saying doesnt make sense.

Texas man cleared of killing 2 year old daughter after 7 year old son confesses. https://t.co/UUXgUgZdaA  Gabriel Malor (@gabrielmalor) October 6, 2017

The boy was allegedly crying when he told his mother he had placed a pillow on his little sisters legs and had then accidentally rolled it onto her face. He said he found the pillow was too heavy to move off his sisters face.

Capital murder charge dropped

The capital murder charge against Sanders was dismissed and while his trial date was scheduled for September 11, he was released from jail on September 13. The Star-Telegram quotes Tim Moore, Sanders attorney, as saying his client was relieved the murder charge had been dropped, saying Sanders had denied killing his daughter right from the start.

The child had other injuries when she died

The arrest warrant affidavit had stated that Ellie Mae was covered with bruises, including around her eyes. There had also been blood behind her ear and what looked like two bite marks that appeared to be from an adult, on her back. Sgt. Jason Babcock, the police spokesman at the time of the arrest, had said Sanders had given no explanation for Ellie Maes injuries.

When asked about the further injuries, Moore said he doesnt believe Sanders will face any charges related to the toddlers injuries, saying that was up to the district attorneys office. As far as he was aware, Moore said that the case is over and there will be no further charges.
On Thursday, Donald Trump met with military leaders at the White House. During the photo-op, the president made controversial remarks that didn't go over well on social media.

Trump and military

When Donald Trump kicked off his campaign for president, he did so with a few talking points in mind. One of them was his unapologetic defense of the United States military. The former host of "The Apprentice" vowed that he would be the best president in history in regards to military men and women, as well as veterans. Trump's stance on the armed forces was similar to the typical Republican Party line, but he took his devotion to another level.

While the billionaire real estate mogul spoke about avoiding foreign entanglements in the future, he also talked a big game about using force when necessary. Since being sworn into office last January, Trump has ordered military strikes in Afghanistan, while also threatening potential war with North Korea on more than one occasion. As reported by NBC News on October 5, Trump made cryptic comments about possible war during a meeting and photo-op at the White House.

JUST IN: "Maybe it's the calm before the storm," Pres. Trump says alongside US military leaders. "You'll find out." https://t.co/NMljtvsnJF  NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) October 5, 2017

While meeting up with several military leaders on Thursday, Donald Trump made comments that left many scratching their heads.

"You guys who know what this represents?" Trump asked while pointing to the military leaders around the room. When one reporter asking the president to elaborate, Trump replied, "maybe it's the calm before the storm."

The reporters in the room quickly asked for clarification.

"What's the storm?" asked one reporter. "What storm, Mr. President?" another reporter wondered. Donald Trump refused to give anymore information, answering with "You'll find out."

Twitter reacts

In response to Donald Trump's questionable remarks, Twitter went vital with uncertainty. "Hopefully he is referring to a forthcoming Twitter storm," podcast host Jamie Weinstein tweeted.

Well this is terrifying https://t.co/6BQHCqvexA  Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) October 5, 2017

Hopefully he is referring to a forthcoming Twitter storm https://t.co/QkT7SBblav  Jamie Weinstein (@Jamie_Weinstein) October 6, 2017

Trump: This could be the calm before the storm



Mueller: That's my cue. Hold my beer.#MuellerTime  2U (@THEblindhomer) October 6, 2017

"He is just not equipped to be in that office, and anyone who retains the ability to perceive reality knows it," one Twitter user wrote. "Maybe I'm old fashioned but I don't like when presidents suggest there'll be military news & then cut away to an indefinite commercial break," an additional tweet added.

Just what the country wants -- another Trump-invoked storm. https://t.co/Xhav0c5sOq  John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) October 5, 2017

Trump: "It's the calm before the storm."



Funny. I've been thinking the same thing about the Mueller probe & how quiet he's been. #inners  Ron Asher (@rmasher2) October 6, 2017

Well this is terrifying https://t.co/6BQHCqvexA  Chris Cillizza (@CillizzaCNN) October 5, 2017

"Well this is terrifying," Chris Cillizza noted.

"Not a joke, safe to assume North Korea, Iran, Syria, etc are obligated to take this seriously. All we can do is hope they do not over-react," David Rothschild posted. As the negative reaction continued, it showed that many Americans are still concerned about how Donald Trump handles himself in the White House.
Donald Trump is not a fan of the mainstream media and he's made that known since the early days of his campaign for president. In his most recent posts on Twitter, the president has found a new target in the press.

Trump on Twitter

It all started back in the summer of 2015 when Donald Trump caused a media frenzy on the floor of Trump Tower. With his family behind him and cameras in front, the former host of "The Apprentice" announced that he would be running for president in the Republican primary. During his announcement, Trump labeled illegal immigrants from Mexico as "rapists" and "murderers" which instantly triggered a negative response from the media.

In the two years that would follow, Trump's relationship with the press has been anything but positive, as he's called any report he doesn't agree with as "fake news." The billionaire real estate mogul has made a habit out of bashing reporters and journalists, which became such an issue during the election that many felt unsafe covering the campaign rallies. Fast forward to present day and Trump has not been happy with the how the media has covered his administration as of late. In response, Trump has lashed out on social media on more than one occasion, before singling out NBC News during a tweet on October 4.

NBC news is #FakeNews and more dishonest than even CNN. They are a disgrace to good reporting. No wonder their news ratings are way down!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2017

As seen on his Twitter feed on Wednesday morning, Donald Trump expanded his latest attacks on the mainstream media to pick out a new top target, this time going after NBC News.

"NBC news is #FakeNews and more dishonest than even CNN," Trump tweeted.

The @NBCNews story has just been totally refuted by Sec. Tillerson and @VP Pence. It is #FakeNews. They should issue an apology to AMERICA!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2017

Not stopping there, Donald Trump continued his attack on NBC News, while going as far as referring to them as a "disgrace" of a network who has low ratings.

"They are a disgrace to good reporting," Trump wrote, while stating, "No wonder their news ratings are way down!" Trump's rage apparently stems from an NBC News report that claimed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called the president a "moron." In a follow-up tweet, Trump piled on news outlet. "The NBC News story has just been totally refuted by Sec.

Tillerson and VP Pence. It is Fake News," he wrote, while adding, "They should issue an apology to AMERICA!"

EXCLUSIVE: Tillersons fury at Trump required an intervention from Pence https://t.co/QvIxVoVm7O  NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) October 4, 2017

Moving forward

As Donald Trump continues to bash the press for covering his administration in an alleged unfair manner, the president has many other issues on his plate. Following his controversial trip to Puerto Rico, Trump is scheduled to head to Las Vegas on Wednesday just days after the worst mass shooting in American history. Despite talking up the job he's done as commander in chief, the most recent round of polling show's Trump's approval rating at just 35 percent.
The next time you make a purchase at Walmart, you might want to think it over. Americans were truly unaware that whenever they buy seafood for dinner, they may have financially supported Kim Jong-uns regime and its nuclear missiles program, USA Today reported. And worse, their purchases could mean a support to forced labor among North Koreans.

Newsweek reports that Kim Jong-uns regime outsourced quite a number of North Koreans to work in Chinese seafood processing companies. On a daily basis, these ardent workers would wake up very early on metal bunk beds in Chinese dormitories.

They would spend their entire day, processing seafood that ended up in stores like Walmart as well as in homes in the United States, Eater reported.

An inconvenient truth

Approximately 3,000 individuals from Kims regime were sent to work in Hunchun, located a few miles from the borders of Russia and North Korea, The Star reported. With privacy strictly forbidden, these workers would hardly ever leave their compound unless permitted. They could not make any telephone calls or email. And when going to the factories, they would either walk in pairs or groups. And to ensure that nobody would go astray, the workers were closely watched by North Korean minders. The worst part could be the payment they received.

These North Korean workers would only get a small percentage of their wages, while 70 percent of their salaries would be taken by Kim Jong-un's regime, Associated Press reported.

Evidently, North Korean workers brought in an estimated revenue between $200 million and $500 million annually. That very large sum could definitely account for a substantial portion of Kims nuclear weapons programs, which according to South Korean authorities would cost over $1 billion, Associated Press reported.

Walmart and ALDIs indirect collaboration to North Korea

Reading between the lines, Americans who bought salmon for dinner at ALDI or Walmart unintentionally subsidized the development of nuclear weapons in Kim Jong-uns communist regime. And what was more horrible was the inadvertent support they gave to modern day slavery.

On the other hand, under a law signed by President Trump, all American companies are strictly prohibited to import products made by workers from North Korea.

Violators could face grievous criminal charges for materially benefiting from the work of North Koreans.

Moreover, all Western companies that are involved said they would probe the matter. But some companies asserted that they had already cut off ties with Chinese suppliers, Associated Press reported.
The aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting on Sunday brought back the longstanding argument on the need to legislate Gun Control laws to prevent such violence from happening again. Politicians are torn when it comes to this issue but why is it many experts believe that gun control wont happen in America?

Apart from the recent mass shootings in Las Vegas, the United States also bear witness to several shooting incidents that took many innocent lives, such as the Pulse nightclub incident in Orlando, Sandy Hook and Columbine, among many others. Thats is why many are calling the attention of political leaders to finally look for effective gun regulation methods.

Americas gun laws unchangeable?

Following the Las Vegas shooting, U.S. Senate Democrats are reportedly pushing to address the technicalities in the nations permissive gun legislations. However, experts said that the Vegas attack on Sunday night wont be the key to radically alter the gun laws in the U.S.

It is quite challenging to change the gun regulations in America. The reason? Perhaps it is due to the fact that any push for any gun control measures or accessibility restriction to firearms (for the mentally ill, domestic abusers and terror suspects) has been repeatedly hindered by the Congress?

Congress is mostly controlled by the Republicans, some Democrats and independents who are against any alterations to the laws, Global News noted.

According to University of Torontos Department of Sociology associate professor Jooyung Lee, the overall public opinion and political action on gun control do not meld in America.

In addition, only a minority of the population feel that any change to gun laws in the country is unacceptable.

No hope for firearm regulation?

When U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited the University Medical Center to meet the injured victims, The Guardian noticed that the president avoided answering inquiries about gun control.

Since Trump dodged the issue, a BBC News report explained why the legislation on firearms control seems unlikely to happen in the country.

One reason cited is the National Rifle Association (NRA), which is considered an influential interest group in the American political arena. With its five million members, the organization contributes funds to individual candidates, state and local parties, the national party and party committees.

Unfortunately, the group opposes the proposals that aim to boost gun regulation or restrictions on gun ownership. SUNY Cortland political science researcher Robert Spitzer even claimed that the organization is anti-safety technology, but pro-development when it comes to more exotic weaponry, advanced features, and things like making it easier to buy silencers," as Wired quoted.

Another reason cited why gun regulation laws are not enacted is gerrymandering, which is defined as an act of manipulating the boundaries of an electoral constituency to favor one party or class. Due to this, there are many safe seats for Republicans compared to Democrats.

More than half of Americans want stricter gun laws, Pew study finds https://t.co/ZornCPgYWu #DSNWorld #usguncontrol  D S N  (@DannyShookNews) June 22, 2017

The Senate and the courts

If ever the bill will pass the Congressional scrutiny, it would still face some hurdles in the Senate. With the so-called filibuster, the stricter firearm regulation bill should earn the votes of 60 out of 100 senators and not through the simpler 51-vote majority.

In addition, big-city voters like California, Massachusetts or New York are also outnumbered by Southern and rural states, which are pro-gun advocates. As for the stand of the Supreme Court, it ruled that the right to own personal weapons like guns is sanctified in the constitution.
luann de lesseps' estranged husband, Tom D'Agostino, is speaking out about the recent end of his marriage to the "Real Housewives of New York City." Just hours before De Lesseps' one-on-one "Watch What Happens Live" special with Andy Cohen is set to air, D'Agostino spoke to E! News about their breakup and revealed a very shocking new detail about the end of their seven-month marriage.

After De Lesseps confirmed her plans for divorce with a tweet to her fans and followers early last month, the reality star made several statements about the end of her relationship and thanked fans for their support.

Meanwhile, D'Agostino chose to stay silent until today.

"I fell in love, got married quickly and am very sad that two people in love are not together," D'Agostino told the outlet. He then seemingly took aim at LuAnn De Lesseps for publicizing false reasons behind their breakup to sensationalize her storyline on "The Real Housewives of New York City."

Why did LuAnn De Lesseps pull the plug on her marriage after just seven months?

During a sneak peek at tonight's "Watch What Happens Live" special with her friend and boss, Andy Cohen, De Lesseps told Cohen that there were allegedly numerous events that led her to call it quits on her marriage. As she explained to Cohen in the preview clip, she reportedly discovered that her husband had made contact with one of his former girlfriends and ultimately met up with the woman and some other friends.

"I found out about it the next day in the press," De Lesseps said of the incident, adding that Tom D'Agostino's outing with his ex-girlfriend was the final straw.

What has LuAnn De Lesseps been doing since her split?

As E! News revealed, the reality star has been doing tons of traveling since she and her husband parted ways last month.

In fact, in addition to taking trips to Mexico and Switzerland, she's been spending tons of time in New York City and The Hamptons. As for who she's been spending time with, De Lesseps has been seen with her "Real Housewives of New York City" co-stars Carole Radziwill and Sonja Morgan, as well as "Sex and the City" author Candace Bushnell and her children, son Noel and daughter Victoria De Lesseps.

De Lesseps' estranged husband will not be featured on tonight's show.

To see more of LuAnn De Lesseps, check out her tell-all interview with Andy Cohen on tonight's new episode of "Watch What Happens Live" at 11 p.m. on Bravo TV.
Mike is ready to take Pearson Specter Litt to the next level as plans to boost the business with a Power Move in Suits Season 7, Episode 9. However, Harveys past might be a roadblock for the plan. Meanwhile, Rachels father, Robert Zane is likely to team up with his daughter in the penultimate episode. Does daddy Zane have any ulterior motives behind this? Warning: This article contains spoilers from the upcoming episode of the series.

Episode 9 spoilers

According to the official synopsis released by the network, Mike wants to push forward a power move that can help the business and give it some boost.

However, things get complicated because of Harveys past. Meanwhile, Rachel Zane is shocked when her father Robert offers her a chance to join forces with him. But, it has to be seen if Robert truly wants to help her or he has something else planned against Harvey and his firm. Elsewhere, Brian is mentored by Louis Litt. The chemistry between Louis and Brian will be an interesting watch in the episode.

After last weeks 100th episode, The Hollywood Reporter spoke with episode director Patrick J. Adams (Mike) and executive producer Aaron Korsh about the special installment. Adams was asked about his reaction after he read the episode titled 100. He stated that after seven years, he felt like this episode could be a love letter to the show as the writer wrote it that way.

He added that the episode has numerous classic moments. He mentioned that it was an opportunity for him to showcase what he has learned not just as an actor but as a director.

The actor is also asked how the tone was different in the 100th episode compared to the early days. Adams stated that Suits grew up over the years and so does everyone associated with it.

He added that the cast members were interested in portraying the roles as they are more weighted. Talking about weighted, Korsh stated that at this stage they are quite established and are able to introduce darker storyline like Mike going to jail. Now, that he is out of prison and an integral part of the team, it will be interesting to see how he takes things forward for Pearson Specter Litt.

How to watch Episode 9 online?

Fans of the show can watch the latest episode of Suits online through live stream mode on USA. The episode will telecast on the USA Network on Wednesday, Sept. 6. The final episode of the current season titled "Donna" will air on Wednesday, Sept. 13.
After a few months on the job, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders is now a household name. While Sanders has done her job in defending Donald Trump at every turn, she ran into a metaphorical brick wall during her recent appearance on "The View."

Sanders on "The View"

After Donald Trump pulled off his shocking and historic upset win over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton last November, it was only a matter of time before he named the team that would surround him in the White House. When it came to his press secretary, the former host of "The Apprentice" tapped Sean Spicer for the role.

While initially Spicer seemed like a safe pick, and one of the least controversial, it ultimately ended in disaster. Spicer struggled to defend Trump during the first six months of the administration, and made multiple blunders along the way. Following Spicer's exit, Sarah Huckabee Sanders was chosen to fill the vacancy. Since then, Sanders, daughter of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, has has her fair share of controversial moments, which continued during an interview with the hosts of "The View" on September 6.

While joining the set of "The View" along side her father, Sarah Huckabee Sanders was grilled on more than one occasion about Donald Trump, with various hosts chiming in. "The president has said that he is at war with the Fake News media," co-host Sara Haines said, before asking what responsibility the president should have in labeling all of the media as "fake." Following Sanders deflection, Haines replied "It's dangerous because the media is here for purpose.

It has a very important historical role. When people don't know the difference between these mediums, and they are saying 'fake news,' you are taking away a checks and balance in society."

Fellow co-host Joy Behar also got in on the action, asking Sarah Huckabee Sanders, "Is the media not supposed to report on the fact that 95 percent of what he says is a lie?" Sanders denied the accuracy of Behar's statement before "The View" panel pointed out that the information was from the fact-checking site Politifact.

"It's from PolitiFact. Its not just the dreaded New York Times, it is other outlets that say it," Behar noted.

Co-host Whoopi Goldberg then decided to comment, stating, "You have to get someone in the office who recognizes what the truth is." Goldberg went on to reference Donald Trump's birther claim about Barack Obama which questioned, without credible evidence, where the former president was born.

Next up

While Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the rest of the team at the White House do their best to defend Donald Trump, the president is not being seen in the best light with the American people. In the most recently released round of polling, Trump is sitting on an approval rating of just 35 percent.
General Hospital is throwing curveballs left and right regarding the Jason situation. Steve Burton's return to the show after five years is a big deal. When he left, fans were upset because he was one of the most beloved characters in Port Charles. Finding out he went to do The Young and the Restless was something that angered the die-hard General Hospital fans, and when he announced his exit from Genoa City, there was hope he'd return to Port Charles.

Will the real Jason please stand up

The General Hospital writers have planned this twin storyline that we are in the middle of right now for several months.

Andrew and Jason are reportedly the twins no one knows about. The biggest question is, who is the real Jason Morgan? According to Hollywood Life, Steve Burton is the real Jason Morgan. The hints dropped during yesterday's episode make it seem that way. When patient six asked Griffin (Matt Cohen) for his phone, he commented about it being new. Technology has changed drastically since 2012, and that would be something Jason would notice. He remembers Sam (Kelly Monaco) and Sonny's (Maurice Benard) phone numbers, even after five years. If he was the long-lost twin, how would he remember this stuff?

Fans are throwing out theories about the twins and where they will go with this. It has been said that the Jason storyline will unravel over the course of a nine-month time span.

General Hospital likes to make viewers wait. This has caused a lot of upset, especially because now that patient six has escaped. Is he going to be held captive again? Will the guys from the clinic grab him? At this point, anything can happen.

Who will Sam choose?

There are plenty of questions surrounding who Sam will choose once Jason and Andrew are revealed.

General Hospital fans have weighed in as well. There is a large group who held out hope that Steve Burton would return and the original JaSam (Jason and Sam) would reunite. Now, there are others who like her better with Billy Miller. Speculation is that Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) will end up with the one who is shunned by Sam.

This means trouble for Franco (Roger Howarth), and it is something he put in motion by keeping the truth from his lady love.

As November sweeps approach, General Hospital fans are anxious to see where this story is headed. Seeing Steve Burton back on the small screen is surreal, especially when someone else is with Kelly Monaco.
Scooter riders cover up with scarves and masks to brave the cold weather in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, where temperatures have dropped below 20 C for the first time since summer. YU TIAN/FOR CHINA DAILY

A strong cold front that has swept north to south has sent temperatures plummeting in many parts of China, with more chilly weather expected to come on Sunday.

Residents in the north should also brace for more smog on Friday, according to forecasts by the National Meteorological Center.

The country has been enjoying an eight-day break since Sunday for National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival. Yet many people in the north have had to celebrate in the coldest weather for years.

The highest temperature in Beijing on Monday was 19 C, down by 7 degrees from the day before. Some areas in the northeast have experienced a drop of between 12 to 20 degrees, bringing temperatures to below zero.

Due to the cold front, the northeastern part of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region experienced its coldest Mid-Autumn Day in a decade on Wednesday, when the mercury fell by more than 10 degrees.

The region is forecast to see snow from Thursday to Saturday, according to the local meteorological center. Authorities have warned drivers about potentially icy road conditions and suggested tourists wrap up warm as they return home after the holiday.

From Tuesday to Thursday, Chongqing as well as Sichuan and Hubei provinces have also been hit by heavy rains, which meant many residents were unable to see the bright full moon with their families, a tradition of Mid-Autumn Festival.

The cold front has also affected the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in northwestern China, bringing snow to Hami prefecture and the Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture. Snowfall in some areas has reached 20 centimeters.

Although rain and snow has caused problems for some, others have been enjoying the stunning views created by the weather conditions.

Ma Xin, 60, has spent the holiday in Kanas, an area in Xinjiang's Altay prefecture that is famous for its lakes created by glacial movement.

"It suddenly began to snow on Thursday when I was taking pictures of the golden pine tree forests. It was just magical," he said.

Ma, who lives in the regional capital, Urumqi, said he often visits Kanas to enjoy the scenery and noted that the snow had fallen earlier than usual this year.

However, he added that he would be cutting his trip short this year because he is concerned the roads will be icy, and thus the traffic will be slower.
One of the main reasons chemist and structural biologist Raymond Stevens decided to come to Shanghai to embark on a new phase of his scientific career was the passion and curiosity of the students in the city.

Raymond Stevens has helped develop medicines used to treat a variety of diseases. Gao Erqiang / China Daily

Unlike most instances where the audience would leave following a short question and answer session toward the end of the talk, Stevens found himself in a rather peculiar situation in Shanghai in 2009 - the students simply wouldn't leave him alone.

"I really needed to go to the bathroom so I started making my way out of the lecture hall. The girls stopped outside the door to the men's restroom. But the boys went in with me and continued with their questions!" laughed Stevens, who is today the director of the iHuman Institute at ShanghaiTech University.

"I wasn't offended at all. In fact, I was amazed at how curious and interested they were in science. It was then that I realized I should perhaps be spending more time in China."

In 2011, two of his former students who became professors in Shanghai were looking to start their own chemistry labs and approached the American to help with the endeavour. He obliged, and later met the president of ShanghaiTech University who urged him to start a research institute within the campus.

Stevens admitted that he was initially apprehensive about the idea because he was not able to speak or read Chinese and knew nothing about setting up an institute in Shanghai. His family, however, were eager to stay and experience more of China.

Family aside, the fact that Shanghai is a thriving hub for chemistry research was another major pull factor.

"I've traveled around the world a lot and the resources available at Shanghai's Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park are probably the best in the world," he said.

"Also, almost every major pharmaceutical company is here because this is where the research is happening. Right now there are five Nobel Prize winners associated with ShanghaiTech, and there's a reason why they are coming here - they know that there are a lot of new breakthroughs happening in Shanghai. They want to be where the action is," he added.

Established in 2012, the iHuman Institute has since ascertained itself as one of the most impressive research facilities in the country. While universities typically produce one research paper every few years, iHuman has already published 12 within five years.

According to Stevens, the institute has also greatly contributed to the city's push to become a global scientific hub by hiring 150 scientists, 18 of whom are top professors from elite schools such as Harvard University, the University of California, San Francisco and the Scripps Research Institute.

Born into a military family, Stevens' first job was actually as a trainer in the US army who taught basic infantry skills.

He said that joining the military was his way of giving back to the country and learning more discipline and organization skills.

Stevens first studied computer science in college before he was urged to make the switch to chemistry by a renowned professor named John Ricci.

Describing himself as someone who "loves building and mixing things", Stevens said that crossing over to chemistry was not a difficult decision to make.

As part of his undergraduate program in chemistry, Stevens got to work in a nuclear reactor in New York and did research on metal materials that could be used to store hydrogen for space exploration purposes.

Part of the work involved using a technique called X-ray crystallography to view the hydrogen atoms.

This technique would later form the basis of his research into life science. Throughout his illustrious career, Stevens has helped develop medicines that are used to treat diseases including the influenza virus, diabetes, multiple sclerosis and liver fibrosis.

"Our ultimate goal at iHuman is to create a device that would allow us to see all the atoms in the human body at once," he said.

"This would allow people to undergo a scan and know if there are problems, like a growing tumor, or nerve degradation. We believe such a technology will dramatically change healthcare. The better and faster we are at diagnosing diseases, the better we can make new medicines to treat them."

For his outstanding contributions to the city's development in the sciences, Stevens was conferred the prestigious Shanghai Magnolia Silver Award on Sept 6.

"I want iHuman to be the best place in the world for human cell signalling research. We're definitely on that path. Everyone already wants to come and visit after reading our publications," he said.

With regard to the future, Stevens expects to stay in the city for the next decade and more.

"I've lived in a lot of different places in the world and Shanghai is the only place that feels like home. I would eventually return to my hometown, but perhaps only after 15 or 20 years," he said.
A look at the lives and motivations of three of the Americans who were conferred

the Shanghai Magnolia Award this year, Alywin Chew reports

Telling China's side of the story

Leonard Pratt is currently a foreign expert at International Channel Shanghai which is under SMG. Jia Haoyu / for China Daily

As a veteran journalist with nearly 40 years of experience under his belt, Leonard Pratt has worked in several countries and covered numerous major events.

But Pratt, who has been based in Shanghai for more than a decade, noted that there isn't a specific event that he would consider to be the most memorable.

Rather, he pointed to his time in China and having the opportunity to watch the nation grow as one of the most satisfying aspects of his career.

"I first came to Shanghai in 1982. I remember being down by the Huangpu River and looking across and there was nothing there. It was mud and dirt, and some warehouses were falling into the water," said the 72-year-old. "Today, when I look across the river, I see an incredible city that has been built in just 30 years. It's simply unbelievable."

Following his graduation from Columbia University, Pratt worked for the Associated Press and was based in countries such as Vietnam and Japan. He later moved to NBC National Radio and Television Company.

In 1985, NBC posted him to Beijing to oversee the coverage of news coming out of China. A few years later, Pratt relocated to Hong Kong to head NBC's Asian coverage. His return to the Chinese mainland came in 2006 when he moved to Shanghai to help produce a unique medical television program aimed at educating Chinese medical professionals around the country.

Having enjoyed his time working on this project in Shanghai, Pratt did not hesitate when friends in the industry encouraged him to join the Shanghai Media Group (SMG) as a foreign expert in 2011. Today, he regularly appears on one of SMG's business programs titled Money Talks.

As a Western journalist, his decision to work for Chinese State-owned media was naturally one that raised a few eyebrows.

"Some of my friends have referred to this issue, and I tell them I'm doing the same thing I would be doing for any other medium in China or elsewhere  providing an audience with helpful and complete information that is important for their understanding of the society and the economy in which they live," said Pratt.

"I think the Western media sometimes compete with one another to be less than sympathetic in their reporting of China. To be balanced, though, I think they do a fair job of it. The reporting may sometimes seem aggressive, but then the Western media are aggressive about everything, not just China," he added.

The American said that the country now has an important role to play as a counterbalance to Western influence. He also pointed out that China's rapid rise on the global stage is a clear illustration of its expertise in areas such as urbanization which it can teach to other developing nations.

"There are many areas in the world where people are living on farms and surviving on a subsistence economy. When you get these people into an urban environment like how China has done  more than 50 percent of the country now live in cities  that makes them more productive and easier to educate. This is something that China can teach its peers," said Pratt.

Apart from contributing to foreigners' understanding on China, Pratt has also lent a helping hand to Chinese citizens through the You Dao Foundation, a charity organization that helps the children of migrant workers secure education.

For his contributions to the city's development, Pratt was conferred the Magnolia Silver Award in 2014. On Sept 30 this year, he was presented with the Gold Award.
A federal grand jury on Tuesday returned a superseding indictment against former University of Illinois graduate student Brendt Christensen that charges him with kidnapping resulting in the death of visiting Chinese scholar Zhang Yingying, who went missing on June 9.

The family of the missing scholar said they were "extremely pained and saddened" when they were informed that police and prosecutors had obtained more solid and compelling evidence to show why Zhang is presumed dead, according to Wang Zhidong, a lawyer representing the Zhang family.

The family also expressed their relief and appreciation for the progress made by the police and the prosecutors, urging the US judicial system to hold a fair trial and mete out harsh punishment to the suspect.

They said their greatest hope was still to find Zhang and take her back to home.

The four-page superseding indictment - which adds additional charges to the previous indictment - alleges special findings that Christensen acted "in an especially heinous, cruel or depraved manner, in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse to the victim," and that the crime occurred after "substantial planning and premeditation".

If convicted of the charges, Christensen faces the death penalty or mandatory life in prison. The decision on whether the death penalty will be sought is in the hands of US Attorney General Jeff Sessions, according to the US attorney for the central district of Illinois.

Wang said the family has asked the FBI many times to share information with them, and the police and the prosecutors have shared some of their findings to explain why they believed Zhang is dead.

The family would not disclose any information related to the case to make sure the trial is fair, and said they would keep hoping that Zhang is still alive until she is found, Wang said.

Christensen will be arraigned on the charges from the updated indictment on Oct 11 before Magistrate Judge Eric Long, according to Sharon Paul, spokeswoman for the US attorney for the Central District of Illinois.

The indictment also charges Christensen with two counts of making false statements to FBI agents in June, which could result in five years in prison on each charge if convicted.

He was previously charged with kidnapping Zhang on June 9.

"The special findings are factors alleged by the grand jury. There isn't a timeline for release of these allegations; they are part of the case to be considered at trial," Paul wrote in an email to China Daily.

Police still have not located Zhang's body, according to Paul.

Christensen has been held in the Macon County jail since his arrest by US marshals on June 30. His trial date has tentatively been set for Feb 27.

ruinanzhang@chinadailyusa.com
A Kenyan student from Beijing Language and Culture University teaches a Chinese student how to play a Kenyan drum in Beijing in June. Ren Pengfei / Xinhua

The increasing number of African students seeking to further their education in China is a clear sign of the quality of education provided in the country, a senior government official said on Wednesday. Chinese Ambassador to Zambia Yang Youming said China was grateful for the appreciation expressed for the country's education system by African countries and has promised that China will continue providing high quality.

"The increasing number of students from Africa is a good indicator of the appreciation the people of Africa have for the quality of education in China, and that is why they have decided to send their children," Yang told reporters during a news briefing at which he unveiled an appreciation letter from 11 of the 26 Zambian students who went to China last year to study singing and dance under a program arranged by China's first lady, Peng Liyuan, and her Zambian counterpart Esther Lungu.

Yang also unveiled another letter in which the Chinese first lady responded to the letter written by the students.

He said China has now become a prime destination not only for Zambian youth who want to study overseas but for Africa as a whole, and that China is second only to France in attracting students from Africa.

He said the promotion of people-to-people exchanges is important as it affords a way to learn about the cultures of other countries. Chinese universities expect to see increasing numbers of students from Africa seeking to study, he added.

According to Yang, countries should develop their education systems and people to achieve meaningful development.

Reuben Sakala, one of the students who studied singing and dance at Nanjing University of the Arts and Nanjing Normal University, said Zambia has a lot to learn from China's progress over the past 50 years.

He said Chinese people were committed and dedicated to their work and to their culture.

Xinhua
Please turn JavaScript on and reload the page.

Loading...

Checking your browser before accessing the website.

This process is automatic. Your browser will redirect to your requested content shortly.

Please wait a few seconds.
HA NOI  The Unlisted Public Company Market (UPCoM) welcomed the listing of nearly one billion shares of four companies on October 5. The share value registered for trading is equal to VN11.8 trillion (US$518 billion).

This was the highest number of shares registered for listing on UPCOM in a single day so far, according to stock market news website tinnhanhchungkhoan.vn.

Of the four companies, Lien Viet Post Joint Stock Commercial Bank (LienVietPostBank) had the largest number of registered shares with 646 million to be listed.

The shares were traded at the reference price of VN14,800 per share under the code LPB.

In July, LienVietPostBank was given approval by the State Bank of Viet Nam to raise capital to VN7.5 trillion through the issuance of shares.

The bank has decided to limit the maximum ownership of foreign investors at 5 per cent of charter capital.

As of July 17, the banks largest shareholder was the Vietnam Post Corporation, holding 12.54 per cent of the companys charter capital.

In 2016, the post-tax profit of LienVietPostBank reached VN1 trillion, up 103 per cent year-on-year. In the first six months of 2017, its post-tax profit totalled VN706.5 billion.

Another company also listed on the UPCOM on the same day was Hua Na Hydropower JSC, the owner of the Hua Na Hydroelectric Power Plant in the central province of Nghe An.

With a total investment of VN7.1 trillion, the plant has a design capacity of 180MW and an average annual power output of 716.7 million Kwh.

Hua Na Hydropower JSC has registered to list 225.6 million shares on the UpCOM with the code HNA. Reference price on the first trading day was VN10,000 per share.

The company was licensed for operation by the Department of Planning and Investment of Nghe An Province in May 2007. It was established by the Vietnam Machinery Installation Corporation (LILAMA) and the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) with initial chartered capital of VN1.2 trillion. In May 2015, the company increased its chartered capital to more than VN2.2 trillion.

Since July 25 this year, Hua Na Hydropower JSCs two largest shareholders, who hold 89.25 per cent of charter capital, were PetroVietnam Power Corporation and North Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank. The co-founder LILAMA owned more than 8.72 million shares, equal to 3.8 per cent of charter capital.

In the first six months of 2017, the company gained VN207.5 billion in revenue, up slightly compared to 2016s figure of VN202 billion. During the period, the company recorded a loss of more than VN87 billion, bringing total accumulated losses to more than VN178 billion.

Also on October 5, nearly 33 million THN shares of Thanh Hoa Water Supply JSC were also listed on UPCOM at the reference price of VN10,000 per share.

In the first half of 2017, the company earned nearly VN136 billion in revenue and nearly VN6.3 billion in post-tax profit.

The fourth company having shares listed on UPCOM was Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park Joint Stock Company, with 60 million shares under the code HPI and being traded at the reference price of VN16,000 per share.

HPI is known as the sixth biggest industrial park operator in Viet Nam after Becamex, VRG, IDICO, Sonadezi and VID Group.

In the first half of 2017, HPI earned a profit of VN38.1 billion, up nearly six times compared to the same period last year.

HPIs existing shareholders include Tan Thuan Industrial Promotion Company Limited and Tuan Loc Investment Construction JSC, who respectively hold 40.54 per cent and 33.33 per cent of the companys charter capital.  VNS
Vietnam Urban and Industrial Zone Development Investment Corporation (IDICO) sold its entire offering of more than 55.3 million shares in an initial public offering at HCM Stock Exchange on Thursday. Photo cafef.vn

HA NOI  Vietnam Urban and Industrial Zone Development Investment Corporation (IDICO) sold its entire offering of more than 55.3 million shares in an initial public offering at HCM Stock Exchange on Thursday.

IDICO auctioned 55.3 million shares, equivalent to 18.44 per cent of its charter capital, at the initial price of VN18,000 (US$0.79) per share. A total of 656 investors participated in the auction. Total bidding amounted was 269.3 million shares, five times higher than the total offering.

All the shares were sold at an average of VN23,940 per share.

Foreign investors purchased 41.35 million, equal to 75 per cent of total shares.

IDICO has charter capital of VN3 trillion ($132.2 million), equivalent to 300 million shares. Under the equitisation plan, the State will retain a 36 per cent stake in IDICO while the amount sold to the public amounted to 55.3 million shares, or 18.44 per cent of its capital.

Another 135 million shares, or a 45 per cent stake, will be offered to strategic investors.

The Government plans to divest entirely from IDICO by the end of 2018.

In the lead-up to the sale, IDICO CEO Nguyen Van at said 12 investors had expressed interest in becoming strategic partners. Kinh Bac City Development Share Holding Corporation, Bitexco Group and SSG Corporation have submitted documents and made deposits.

IDICOs representative said all three companies could become strategic partners if total bidding was lower than a 45 per cent stake. If the total bidding is higher than 45 per cent, the company will organise an auction with the initial price being set higher than the average winning price in the IPO.

The most important criterion for selecting strategic investors is that investors must have experience in at least one of the three core business lines of IDICO, including construction of technical infrastructure in industrial zones and transport; electricity production and trading; and construction and development of urban and residential areas.

Prospective investors must have total assets of at least VN2.5 trillion and owners equity of at least VN1.5 trillion. They must have enough financial capacity to buy at least 15 per cent of IDICOs charter capital.

IDICOs representative said the companys next development strategy would depend much on its strategic partners.  VNS
HA NOI  Viet Nam needs to implement policies of climate change mitigation in an inclusive and comprehensive way. Of that, mitigation actions might benefit the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people, experts have said.

The statement was made at a conference on solutions to limit global warming held between the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and non-governmental organisations on Thursday.

Nguyen Van Huy, representative of the ministrys Department of Climate Change, said that Viet Nams development towards becoming an industrialised country has increased impacts on the climate, especially greenhouse emissions.

In 2013, emissions were 3.5 times higher than in 1991, and are forecast to triple by 2030 compared to 2010.

Thus, the country has set up and implemented climate change mitigation policies to gradually shift the domestic economy towards a low-emission growth path.

Huy said the Vietnamese Government has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 8 per cent, to 25 per cent with domestic resources only or with international finance as part of efforts to limit global warming to below 2 or 1.5 degrees Celcius.

Currently, authorised agencies are focusing on the evaluation of greenhouse gas emissions in many fields.

Huy said experience and lessons shared at the conference would help the country succeed in achieving its target.

Julia Balanowski, an independent consultant, said that Viet Nam seemed to pay too little attention to mitigation actions that might benefit the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people.

She said that 70 per cent of the worlds population still lived in poverty, and many in rural areas faced a high number of blackouts and shortages of clean water and adequate sanitation.

Living on the edge of poverty, these people had very low per-capita emissions, which was much less than those in industrialised countries. However, they were the most affected in terms of development disadvantages and low resilience to the impacts of climate change.

She cited that in many cases, subsidies for energy projects or reforestation take land away from agriculture, seriously affecting incomes and agricultural production of local people. In some other cases, local residents were displaced to serve such projects.

Balanowski said that politicians and citizens needed to understand the links between mitigation actions and the welfare of the poor and most vulnerable in Viet Nam. This would be essential for the sustainability of any mitigation actions.

Vu Minh Hai, chairwoman of the NGO Climate Change Working Group, said that Viet Nam needed a portfolio of climate change adaptation and mitigation measures.

She explained that there were differences and trade-offs between adaptation and mitigation. For example, some adaptation measures could increase emissions such as the construction of sea dykes, which degraded mangroves or reduced carbon sinks.

Meanwhile, mitigation actions could reduce adaptive capacity. For example, a project of investing in renewable energy or large scale reforestation would lead to displacement of populations and threaten local food production.

Hai said industrialised countries needed to uphold their ecological debt towards countries such as Viet Nam, and vulnerable groups should have the opportunity to pursue mitigation as an option.

At the conference, experts suggested that Viet Nam should consider fairness and equity in climate change mitigation activities such as developing a set of poverty-focused measures and starting common dialogues about sustainable development for all involved.

Policies in climate change mitigation, adaptation and development strategies needed to be discussed and planned in conjunction with each other to ensure inclusiveness.

The country also needed to improve government resourcing to build institutional capacity, create supporting schemes for the poor to implement green agricultural technology or biotechnology.  VNS
AK NONG  Some 15ha of agriculture land and farm produce of 50 households in Nam Nir Commune, Krong No District, ak Nong Province, was lost in a landslide in Krong No river.

According to the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, along Krong No river, which is located on the border of ak Nong and ak Lak provinces, there are 19 land erosion spots covering a length of 8.5 km in total and spanning over five communes of Quang Phu, ak Nang, uc Xuyen, Nam Nir and Buon Choah.

Each landslide spot is five to 30 metres wide and five to 10 metres deep.

Nguyen Van ong, a local of Nam Nir Commune said, I lost nearly one hectare of agriculture land due to the landslide. A 50-square-metre hut with farming devices also collapsed into the river.

Tran Thi Thao, a nearby resident, is also worried that her house may collapse anytime. Farmers grow grass along river banks to avoid erosion but it does not work, she said, adding that many households have moved to other areas.

My family cannot afford to buy land so we have to stay here, she said.

According to the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the landslide occurred due to overexploitation of sand.

Water released from the Buon Tua Srah hydropower plant has altered the flow of the Krong No river. This has resulted in changing the geological structure of the river bed which has weak geology and has caused erosion of the land.

The department has proposed suspending operations of Xuan Binh, Phu Binh and Quynh Mai companies in the eroded areas while stepping up inspection and supervision on sand exploitation in landslide areas and imposing fines for violations.

ak Nong Provinces authorities have asked the Buon Kuop hydropower company to manage water flow without sudden release.

The hydropower and sand mining companies must assess damages to evaluate compensation for residents affected by the landslide.

With the aim of providing long-term solutions, authorities of ak Nong and ak Lak provinces will co-operate to manage sand exploitation in the river and conduct studies on building an embankment at the eroded areas.  VNS
HA NOI  Traditional water puppetry shows of the Vietnam National Puppetry Theatre will be performed at the upcoming the 21st Festival de LImaginaire in France at the invitation of the Maison Des Cultures Du Monde (World Cultural House) director on November 22-26.

As revealed by the vice director of the theatre Nguyen Tien Dung, about 17 artists will join the tour.

The performances in France this upcoming November has supplemented the list of countries that the Vietnam National Puppetry Theatre has been going on tours this year.

Since this September, artists from the theatre group have performed in many arts events around the world, including 5th China-ASEAN Theatrical Festival Week; Japan Festival in Kanagawa, Japan; Gyeonggi Asia Arts Festival in Korea; and "Tea in Mytischi" Festival, the fourth international puppet festival, organised in Mytischi City, Moscow.

Most recently, they have returned from art performances organised for overseas Vietnamese in Singapore at the invitation of the Vietnamese Embassy in Singapore. The event aimed to introduce Viet Nams traditional arts forms and language to the audience, especially Vietnamese children overseas.

Particularly, a performance by the Vietnam National Puppetry Theatre was awarded the highest prize at the "Tea in Mytischi" Festival last September, which showcased 28 excellent performances by 14 art troupes from eight countries  Argentina, Belarus, Brazil, Viet Nam, as well as Germany, Lithuania, Moldova and host country Russia.

Viet Nams performance titled Mau Sac Viet Nam (Viet Nams Colours) impressed the audience with its unique cultural features, traditional tunes and colours of modern theatrical music of the country, by portraying lively poetic pictures of the landscape and everyday life.  VNS
HA NOI  The original version of uong Kach Menh (Revolutionary Path) book written by President Ho Chi Minh will be displayed for the first time at a special exhibition in Ha Noi on October 10.

Entitled Light from the Revolutionary Path, the exhibition will be held at the Viet Nam National Museum of History to mark the 90th anniversary of the first publication of the book.

With more than 150 documents, artefacts, and photos, the exhibition will introduce to the public the books great significance as well as the revolutionary generations contribution - the first red seeds that Nguyen Ai Quoc, an alias of Ho Chi Minh, germinated for the Vietnamese Revolution, according to Nguyen Van Cuong, the museums director.

This book helps the young generation learn more about the leaders great ideas, vision and revolutionary methods, he said. Thereby, it contributes to arouse patriotism, national pride to protect and build the country.

An original: A page from uong Kach Menh (Revolutionary Path) written by President Ho Chi Minh.  Photo courtesy of the museum

The book included lectures by Nguyen Ai Quoc at training courses for staff of the Vietnamese Revolutionary Youth League, held in Guangzhou, China, between 1925 and 1927. The first printed versions were moved secretly to French contgrolled Viet Nam before 1930.

The book is said to be one of the great works in terms of revolutionary theory and practice. Through the book, Nguyen Ai Quoc, the first Vietnamese communist, presented the essence of Marxist-Leninist revolutionary doctrine and the Vietnamese revolutions basic development direction in the most intelligible way.

This book played an important role in propagating Marxism-Leninism in Viet Nam in the late 1920s. Following the guiding line of Revolutionarfy Path, the first students came back to Viet Nam to prepare for the foundation of the Viet Nam Communist Party in 1930. They also led the suiccessful August General Uprising in 1945 to found the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam and open a new era in the nations history.

The book currently stored at the museum is one of the few original prints of 1927 and was recognised as a National Treasure in 2012.

The exhibition will also introduce some objects used by Communist Partys leaders and soldiers between 1925-1945. A documentary film will also be shown.  VNS
HA NOI  Vietnamese musicians will perform at a concert combining traditional music and romantic poems by German poet Heinrich Heine tonight at the Goethe Institute in Ha Noi.

Heine (1797-1856) was one of the most famous German romantic poet, famous for his love poems as well as for his subtle irony. Some of his poems are recited at schools and at public events, said institute director Wilfried Eckstein.

The Vietnamese version of Heines Lyric Intermezz by Chu Thu Phuong was released at the end of last year in Ha Noi.

"This version cannot be performed with traditional music," said the concert music editor Vu Nhat Tan. "It needs a second adaption by musician am Quang Minh to make the German poems suitable for Vietnamese traditional music".

Inspiration: German poet Heinrich Heine.  Photo Hanoi Goethe Institute

Tan and Peoples Artist Thanh Hoai edited traditional music pieces of chau van (ceremonial singing); Hue singing; tuong (classical opera), cheo (popular theatre) and xam (blind buskers singing).

Performing at the concert will be popular traditional artists such as Peoples Artist Minh Gai, Peoples Artist Xuan Hoach  and Meritorious Artist Thuy Ngan and Hoai.

"By offering Heine as material for contemporary appreciation and interpretation we intend to promote cultural dialogue," said Eckstein.

"We acknowledge the great importance of Vietnamese traditional music for contemporary audiences. In Germany some poetry and texts from the Romantic period have also gained relevance and appreciation. We are looking for works from contemporary authors from Viet Nam and German to be translated and brought into a dialogue with each other."

This is the second time Goethe Institute has held a concert to combine German poetry with Vietnamese traditional music. The first adapted poems by contemporary Jan Wagner. It was held in Ha Noi and HCM City in May.

Tonights concert will begin at 8pm including presentation of translator Phuong.  VNS
PARIS  The French writer and actress Anne Wiazemsky, who famously wrote a best-selling account of her short marriage to New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard, died of cancer in Paris on Thursday, her family said.

"Anne died this morning. She had been very sick," her brother Pierre Wiazemsky, an actor, said.

Wiazemsky, 70, made her screen debut as an elfin 19-year-old in Au Hasard Balthazar, Robert Bressons classic 1966 film about a mistreated Christ-like donkey, before meeting Godard -- then at the height of his fame  a year later.

They married during the shooting of his 1967 film La Chinoise, in which Wiazemsky plays a member of a Maoist revolutionary cell.

Her grandfather, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Francois Mauriac, opposed the marriage to the radical maker of Breathless and Contempt, who was 17 years her senior.

But the French student uprising and strikes of May 1968, in which Godard became a major player, overwhelmed them.

"The further it went on, the more our paths diverged," Wiazemsky said in an interview this year.

She later wrote a book about their short-lived relationship, Un An Apres (One Year Later). It was the basis of a recent comedy about Godard, Le Redoutable (Redoubtable), by the Oscar-winning director of The Artist, Michel Hazanavicius.

One of Wiazemskys last public appearances was at the movies premiere atthe Cannes film festival in May.

She appeared in more than 35 films, most memorably alongside Terence Stamp in Pier Paolo Pasolinis Theorem, which was initially banned for obscenity in Italy in 1968 for its story of a lost disciple of Christ who seduces a whole family.

But she gradually set aside acting for writing, publishing more than a dozen novels. Her final book, Un Saint Homme (A Holy Man) came out last year.  AFP
STOCKHOLM  British author Kazuo Ishiguro, best known for his novel The Remains of the Day and whose emotional uprooting from his native Japan has left an indelible stamp on his work, won the 2017 Nobel Literature Prize on Thursday.

The 62-year-old "in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world," the Academy wrote in its citation.

Contacted by the BBC, Ishiguro said he was "flabbergastingly flattered" by the award.

"Its a magnificent honour, mainly because it means that Im in the footsteps of the greatest authors that have lived. So thats a terrific commendation." he said.

Ishiguro said he was writing an email at his desk when he received the "totally unexpected" news.

"I thought it was a hoax in this time of fake news, I didnt believe it for a long time," he told journalists.

Ishiguro has written eight books as well as scripts for film andtelevision.

In 1989, he won the Man Booker Prize for The Remains of the Day, which was published the same year, and in 1995, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his services to literature.

An exquisite novelist

"This years laureate is a brilliant and even exquisite novelist," Sara Danius, the permanent secretary of the Swedish Academy, told the TT news agency after the announcement.

She called The Remains of the Day a "masterpiece", and described the author as a "writer of great integrity" who developed his own "aesthetic universe".

Born in Nagasaki in 1954, nine years after the US dropped a nuclear bomb on the city, Ishiguro moved to Britain with his family when he was five years old.

He only returned to visit Japan as an adult some three decades later.

Both his first novel A Pale View of Hills from 1982 and the subsequent one, An Artist of the Floating World from 1986, take place in Nagasaki a few years after World War II.

"The themes Ishiguro is most associated with are already present here: memory, time, and self-delusion," the Academy said.

"This is particularly notable in his most renowned novel, The Remains of the Day," which was turned into a 1993 film starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Charting the life of a painfully shy, duty-obsessed English butler, the film was nominated for eight Oscars.

"Ishiguros writings are marked by a carefully restrained mode of expression, independent of whatever events are taking place," the Academy said.

I was taken away

In a 1989 interview with New York-based Bomb Magazine, Ishiguro said: "I tend to be attracted to pre-war and post-war settings because Im interested in this business of values and ideals being tested, and people having to face up to the notion that their ideals werent quite what they thought they were before the test came."

In a 1991 interview with former Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe of Japan, he said the Japan he wrote about in An Artist In the Floating World was "very much my own personal, imaginary Japan."

"This may have a lot to do with my own personal history. As a small child, I was taken away from the people I knew, like my grandparents and my friends.

"I couldnt forget Japan because I had to prepare myself for returning to it. So I grew up with a very strong image in my head of this other country, a very important other country to which I had a strong emotional tie," he said.

"Im beginning to see as I get older that my leaving Japan at the point when I did was, in complicated ways, a key defining thing," he said in a 1995 interview with the Financial Times.

Jane Austen with Kafka

His more recent fiction contains elements of fantasy.

With the critically-acclaimed dystopian work Never Let Me Go from 2005, Ishiguro introduced "a cold undercurrent" of science fiction into his work.

Ishiguros characters often painfully come to terms with who they are without closure.

"If you mix Jane Austen and Franz Kafka then you have Kazuo Ishiguro in a nutshell  but you have to add a little bit of Marcel Proust into the mix. And then you stir but not too much, and then you have his writings," Danius said.

His latest novel, The Buried Giant from 2015 explores "in a moving manner, how memory relates to oblivion, history to the present, and fantasy to reality," the Academy noted.

In the book, an elderly couple go on a road trip through an archaic English landscape, hoping to reunite with their adult son, whom they have not seen for years.

Emulating Dylan

His publisher Faber & Faber wrote on Twitter after the announcement, "Were THRILLED Kazuo Ishiguro has won the Nobel Prize!"

Ishiguro, who early in his life wanted to be a rock star, "a new Dylan or something", was not among those tipped for this years Nobel.

Now, he and Bob Dylan have that in common.

Last year, the Swedish Academy stunned the world by awarding the prestigious honour to the American rock legend and counter-culture icon.

The Nobel comes with a prize of nine million kronor (US$1.1 million).  AFP
Tran Van Tung

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Van Tung tells Vietnam News Agency about the application of science and technology to mitigate damages of climate change.

Could you describe a key research programme applying science and technology in environmental protection and natural disaster prevention?

Since 2000, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) has worked with relevant ministries and agencies to develop key science and technology programmes that cover a wide range of areas, including the prevention and mitigation of natural disasters and their impacts.

Among such programmes is KC08 national science and technology programne built in five-year periods.

During the 2001-05, it was called "Programme for Environmental Protection and Disaster Prevention."

From 2006 to 2010, it was entitled "Science and Technology Programme for Environmental Protection, Disaster Prevention and Rational Use of Natural Resources".

For the period 2011-15, the MoST decided to change the theme to "Science and Technology Research Programme for Environmental Protection, Natural Disaster revention and Rational Use of Natural Resources". The 2016-20 period is titled "Scientific Research Programme for Environmental Protection and Natural Disaster Prevention."

During the implementation of the KC08 programme, various solutions, initiatives and new technologies have been proposed and applied to prevent natural disasters and minimise damages.

Those include the application of technologies to improve dam safety of small and medium reservoirs in areas prone to flash floods and landslides by building walls and bentonite trench walls for waterproofing and preventing surface and foundation overflow.

It also includes applying high technology in the construction of warning systems for overflowing clusters in case of flash floods in northern and central mountainous provinces, providing early warning to local authorities and people in flood-hit areas; installing and applying geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing technology in building a mapping system for flash floods and landslides warning, monitoring and detecting.

How does the programme help boost environmental protection and natural disaster prevention and what are the challenges in applying it?

Many technologies have been applied in recent years to minimise damages caused by natural disasters.

Thanks to this research programme, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) has developed a system of zoning maps and warnings of the risk of flash floods and landslides.

The ministry has step by step handed the system over to local use.

However, given that natural disasters due to impacts of climate change tend to be more extreme and unpredictable in terms of frequency and intensity, the programme must be accelerated.

A continuous strange weather phenomenon in the past three years including heavy rains resulted in serious damages.

The rains in the northern coastal Quang Ninh Province in August, 2015, northern mountain Sa Pa Town in 2016 and northern mountain Yen Bai and Lao Cai provinces in 2017 were clear proof.

How can scientific and technological research programmes be more effective in environmental protection and disaster prevention?

The implementation of disaster mitigation activities cannot be implemented individually. It should be integrated with others activities in the context of ensuring effective sustainable development. Scientific and technological solutions for environmental protection and natural disaster prevention should also be integrated with others activities.

Scientific and technology achievements should be transferred and applied to localities particularly those in mountain remote areas.

New initiatives or proposals should also be focused to provide information and warning at the right time.

A list of high risk flash flood and landslide points would contribute greatly to population evacuation plans in response to natural disasters.  VNS
A NANG  South Korea plans to open a Consulate Office in a Nang City to boost tourism and investment.

The South Korean Ambassador to Viet Nam, Lee Hyuk, announced this at a meeting with the citys leaders during a recent working visit to a Nang.

Korean tourists are the second largest segment of foreign tourist arrivals to a Nang. More than 430,000 arrived last year, nearly 20 per cent of total foreign travellers. At the same time, Korean investors poured US$244 million into 83 projects, the fourth biggest foreign investment in a Nang.

Both Vietnamese and Korean budget airlines have operated daily flights between Korean cities and a Nang since 2014.

Tway Air, a low-cost airline based in Seoul, has launched a new direct flight connecting a Nang and Daegu. This is the companys third route between the two countries and is in addition to direct flights from a Nang to Pusan and Muan.

According to the citys tourism department, there are 12 flights from Korea to a Nang every week, carrying an average of 1,500 passengers.  VNS
Ha Noi will take over three delayed transport projects from the Ministry of Transport to speed up efforts in curbing traffic jams in the city.  Photo cafef.vn

HA NOI  Ha Noi will take over three delayed transport projects from the Ministry of Transport to speed up efforts in curbing traffic jams in the city.

The three projects are the Le Van Luong Tunnel on the citys Ring Road No 3, the Me So Bridge Project crossing the Hong River and connecting Phap Van-Cau Gie Expressway with Ha Noi-Hai Phong Expressway, and the interchange between Phap Van-Cau Gie expressway and Ring Road No 3.

According to the ministry, investment was planned for the projects but had failed to materialise due to a shortage of funds.

The Le Van Luong Tunnel, designed to incorporate four lanes over a width of 19.1m, requires investment of VN547 billion (US$24 million). It is part of projects on Ring Road No 3 that are developed using Japans overseas development assistance (ODA). However, the tunnel project is ineligible to receive the ODA disbursement because it has been implemented late.

The Me Tri Bridge, 1.5km long and 16m wide, requires investment of VN4.5 trillion ($198 million). The bridge should have been built under a Built-Operate-Transfer (BOT) contract but the BOT investor refused to continue the project.

The interchange between Phap Van-Cau Gie Expressway and Ring Road No 3 needs investment of VN800 billion ($35.2 million) but the ministry failed to find sufficient funding.

Vice Chairman of Ha Noi Peoples Committee Nguyen The Hung said that the project on completing the interchange between Phap Van-Cau Gie Expressway and Ring Road No 3 included two bridges crossing Linh am Lake and two approaching roads to the viaduct.

The bridges and the approaching roads, once completed, could help reduce traffic congestion at the southern gate of Ha Noi.

The city will spend its budget to build the two bridges and the approaching roads this year, Hung said.

Meanwhile, the city would call for investment, especially from the private sector, for the other two projects taken from the transport ministry.  VNS
Viet Nam has more than 18 million unofficial workers, according to a report released in Ha Noi on Wednesday.  Photo vnexpress.net

HA NOI  Viet Nam has more than 18 million unofficial workers, according to a report released in Ha Noi on Wednesday.

A joint effort by the General Statistics Office (GSO) of Viet Nam, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs, the report polled nearly 20,000 households each month in 63 cities and provinces nationwide from 2007. Data about unofficial workforce were added into survey questionnaires from 2014.

Information gathered revealed that about 60 per cent of unofficial workers live in rural areas in the Mekong and Red River Deltas. In the northern mountainous mid-lands and the Central Highlands regions, workers are mainly involved in agriculture and forestry. Unofficial workers in Ha Noi and HCM City make up more than 20 per cent of the total nationwide.

Most unofficial workers are involved in manufacturing and processing, construction, wholesale-retail and vehicle repair, accounting for about 70 per cent of the total. Lodging and catering services account for another 11 per cent.

The monthly wages of these workers averages VN4.4 million (US$192) a head compared to VN6.7 million for the formal sector. Up to 97.9 per cent of unofficial workers lack social insurance compared to the 80.5 per cent of workers in the formal sector who do have social insurance.

Vulnerable group

Unofficial workers are known to have unstable jobs, lack labour contracts or are forced to work on verbal contracts to earn low income.

About 76.7 per cent of unofficial workers have no official labour contracts, according to the report.

Particularly, their employers operate on a micro or small scale, lack business registration or fail to pay social and health insurance or other welfare to workers.

The report shows that up to 43.9 per cent of unofficial workers are classified as being vulnerable. Female workers tend to do jobs that are more vulnerable than male workers. A total of 59.6 per cent of female workers work in vulnerable jobs while the figure is 31.8 per cent for males.

Director of the Institute of Labour Science and Social Affairs ao Quang Vinh said unofficial workers always had insecure employment, disadvantages in wage arrangements, inadequate welfare and insufficient employment conditions.

To reduce their vulnerability, he suggested adopting specific action plans to encourage business households to apply for registration and provide them with support in capital, technology, consumption and workforce training.

Nguyen Thi Xuan Mai, head of the GSOs Population and Labour Statistics Department, said the State should encourage unofficial workers to join voluntary social insurance via aids.

Director of ILO Viet Nam, Chang Hee Lee, said the unofficial economy was a common challenge in many countries. To reduce unofficial workers, it was necessary to promote official employment by creating opportunities for unofficial workers to work in companies, to have labour contracts and to be paid social and health insurance.

The report would serve as a basis to help ministries and agencies put forward appropriate policies, he said.  VNS
HA NOI  Instead of being wary about investors, tourism management authorities should collaborate with them in preserving the natural environment, says Dr Nguyen Hoang Tri, Secretary of the National Committee for UNESCOs Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) in Viet Nam.

With about 2.3 million hectares of special use forests (SUF), 31 national parks and 68 natural reserves, and dozens of other forests, Viet Nam is seen as a prime eco-tourism destination.

However, rapid and haphazard development of tourism infrastructure in natural reserves and SUFs in the last few years has raised concerns that development was taking place at the expense of the environment.

Tourism inside and around protected areas like the Phong Nha  Ke Bang and Bach Ma national parks, as well as the Son Tra and Lung Ngoc Hoang natural reserves, has also raised concerns over the loss of biodiversity.

Ways to address these concerns and preserve the nations natural environment in the context of an eco-tourism boom were discussed at a conference held in Ha Noi on Wednesday.

Most tourism projects in the country are implemented without conducting comprehensive environmental impact assessments (EIA), said Dr Le Hoang Lan of the Viet Nam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment. The result is that the risks and consequences that the projects can have on the environment are not accounted for, she said.

Current regulations only require tourism investors to address damage caused to forests by paying money or replanting trees, but such losses cant be measured with money, like losing rare animals like rhinos, Lan said.

Re-growing forests does not ensure recovery of biodiversity, she said, adding that regulations should require investors to restore biodiversity in damaged areas.

Overlaps and loopholes in laws and regulations on natural resource management have complicated the task of preserving biodiversity in the country, public policy specialist Nguyen Quang ong said at the conference.

For example, the 2010 decree on SUF management actually allows investors to engage in activities forbidden by the Law on Forest Protection and Management, he said.

Both the environmental and agricultural ministries have their own guidelines on planning natural reserves for tourism, which are too many, unstructured, and too complicated, he added.

They need to redefine their functions and untangle this management mess, he said.

Dr Nguyen Quoc Dung of the Institute of Investigation and Forest Planning, said that management of national parks has been arbitrarily decentralised in some localities.

Instead of being managed by the provincial Peoples Committees as regulated, some national parks are being administered by lower-level agricultural and forest protection departments, he said.

Dr Nguyen Hoang Tri, secretary of the National Committee for MAB Viet Nam, said that the private sector, particularly tourism investors, should not be excluded from the policy making process.

Tourism is an important sector for economic development, and it should be encouraged to grow, he said.

Since private investors have their own perspectives on tourism, public management agencies and policy makers should not be scared of them, but instead engage them in dialogues and collaborate with them in the task of environmental protection, he added.

Other experts proposed a comprehensive review and evaluation of environmental preservation and development in the last two decades, so that a more effective legal foundation can be laid for eco-tourism development.

The carrying capacity of facilities at eco-tourism sites, and the monetary value of biodiversity loss caused by eco-tourism, are the two most difficult factors to evaluate, said Nguyen Viet Dung, deputy director of the Center for People and Nature.  VNS
HCM CITY  The HCM City Department of Education and Training has urged administrators at primary and secondary schools to reduce traffic congestion during peak hours when parents and others pick up students.

Nguyen Van Gia Thuy, the departments representative, said that schools with big yards should continue to allow parents to park their motorbikes in the space.

For schools without a large yard space, the Peoples Committee said they should continue to find alternative parking spaces so that parents do not park in front of schools on roads. Such parking leads to traffic jams, Thuy said.

Principals at schools were also told to continue to carry out the project Avoid Traffic Jams through Staggered Hours, which was introduced in 2007.

To avoid traffic congestion, many schools in the city vary their start and finish times. Pre-schools, for example, start at 7.30am and finish at 4pm.

Primary, secondary and high schools open 15 and 30 minutes earlier, and the morning shift ends at 11am and 11:30am, respectively.

The afternoon shift begins at 1pm for high school students, while those who study at primary and secondary schools start at 1:15pm.

Primary school students finish their day at 4:45pm; secondary schools at 5:15pm; and high schools at 5:30pm.

On streets with high traffic, the department said that foreign education centres must also reduce traffic congestion in front of their schools.

At a conference held on Wednesday in HCM City, Dr Du Phuoc Tan, head of the urban management studies department at the HCM City Institute for Development Studies, said the project had helped reduce traffic jams during peak hours but that congestion still occurred at schools located intersections or markets.

After school, many students gather at vendors or stalls in front of schools, blocking traffic.

The number of students is expected to continue to increase, causing pressure during the peak pick-up hours, Tan said.

A representative of the city traffic police said that schools with exits on more than one street should open their doors to relieve overcrowding when students leave school.

The police representative said there were too many foreign language centres and some even located on the same street, causing traffic jams when students are picked up.

He said the citys Department of Education and Training should carefully review plans on opening new foreign language centres.

The departments deputy head, Bui Thi Diem Thu, told Viet Nam News that the department would work with traffic police and fine parents for parking on streets during pick-up hours at schools.

The department is also working with the Department of Transport and transport companies to provide bus pick-up services for students at a reasonable fee, according to Thu.  VNS
BINH DUONG  The southern province of Binh Duong plans to call for investment in 20 projects in transport infrastructure, healthcare and education during the 2017-20 period, chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee Tran Thanh Liem said.

In the education sector, there are three projects -- Thu Dau Mot University, and Binh Chuan 2 and An Phu 2 primary schools.

The Thu Dau Mot University project is estimated to require the largest amount of capital at VN4 trillion (US$177.8 million), which can be in the forms of Build-Transfer (BT) or Build-Own-Operate (BOO). Under the project, Thu Dau Mot University will be developed into a multidisciplinary training facility in line with the provincial research orientation.

Of the 15 transport infrastructure projects, the project to develop a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system between Binh Duong New City and Suoi Tien Bus Station in HCM City will be the costliest, with investment estimated at VN1.96 trillion.

The projects purpose is to expand the regional link between Binh Duong and ong Nai provinces and HCM City, reduce traffic jams and improve traffic safety for vehicles traveling on the My Phuoc-Tan Van road, and boost development of the industrial sector in the province.

The province will also have to mobilise VN980 billion to build the 540m-long Bach ang 2 Bridge across the ong Nai River in Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) or BT models.

In the healthcare sector, the province will prioritise a 500-bed hospital specialising in traumatic brain injury, orthopaedics, and obstetrics in Di An Commune, with investment of VN2 trillion, and a VN240 billion general hospital in Bau Bang District. The hospitals should be invested in forms of BT or BOO.  VNS
UNITED NATIONS  The Saudi Arabia-led coalition fighting in Yemen was Thursday placed on a UN blacklist for killing and maiming children, drawing fresh calls from rights groups to step up pressure on Riyadh over the conflict.

The group was briefly included on the annual list of shame last year before a threat by Saudi Arabia to cut off its funding to UN programs forced a reversal.

In announcing the move, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted that the coalition had taken some measures to improve the protection of children.

"In Yemen, the actions of the coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen objectively led to that party being listed for the killing and maiming of children," said a report released along with the list as an annex.

In 2016, the coalition was responsible for 683 child casualties and for 38 verified attacks on schools and hospitals, it said.

Yemens government forces, pro-government militias, the Huthi rebels and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) were also cited for violations, but in a separate section of the list that said they had failed to protect children.

Guterres spoke to Saudi King Salman ahead of the release of the list, which UN officials had shared with Riyadh months earlier to avoid a repeat of the clash that followed the blacklisting by his predecessor Ban Ki-moon last year.

Ban removed the coalition from the list and publicly complained that it was unacceptable for countries to "exert undue pressure" on the United Nations to avoid scrutiny.

Saudi Arabia denied that it had pressured Ban and has since insisted that the coalition is respecting its obligations under international humanitarian law.

Saudi Ambassador Abdallah al-Mouallimi is scheduled to hold a news conference at the United Nations on Friday.

In a statement, Guterres stressed that the blacklist was "not only to raise awareness" but also to "promote measures that can diminish the tragic plight of children in conflict."

The UN chief said he was encouraged that some governments were taking steps to spare children from the horrors of conflict and voiced hope that "more will follow."

Suspend Saudi weapon sales

The report and the list were on Thursday sent to the Security Council, which includes countries such as the United States, Britain and France that support the coalition in its war against Iran-backed Huthi rebels.

Human Rights Watch applauded the decision to include the coalition on the list but disputed the view that the military was taking measures to protect children.

"The coalition needs to stop making empty promises to exercise caution, take concrete action to stop these deadly unlawful attacks in Yemen, and allow desperately needed fuel and aid to reach those in need," said Jo Becker, HRWs childrens rights advocate.

"Until this happens, governments should suspend all Saudi weapons sales," she said.

The report said the coalition was responsible for 683 of the total 1,340 child casualties last year in Yemen and for 73 per cent of the 52 attacks on schools and hospitals.

The council will hold a debate on the report on October 31.

Swedish Ambassador Olof Skoog, who leads the councils committee on children and armed conflict, backed Guterres efforts to engage with Riyadh on the next steps and said the list should serve to "promote change."

The Saudi-led Arab military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi after the Huthis forced him into exile.

The United Nations has listed Yemen as the worlds number one humanitarian crisis, with seven million Yemenis on the brink of famine and cholera causing more than 2,000 deaths.  AFP
WATERLOO  Business owners, managers and human resource professionals are invited to attend the 2017 Economic Inclusion Summit from 8 a.m. to noon Oct. 20 in Tama Hall at Hawkeye Community College, 1501 E. Orange Road.

Attendees are provided a concentrated experience with multiple presentations. This years keynote presentation is an interactive theater experience that addresses workforce and cultural difference in the workplace.

Additionally, Kyle Roeds, senior human resource manager at Omega Cabinetry/MasterBrand Cabinets, will discuss Non-Traditional Methods for Finding Talent in the Cedar Valley. The Diversity & Inclusion Partnership will introduce a new online collection of resources to help businesses develop or improve diversity and inclusion practices.

This is the seventh year for the event, previously called the Diversity & Inclusion Summit.

Continuing education credits for human resources professionals are available for attendees. There is no cost to attend, but seating is limited; register by Oct. 13 online at cedarvalleyalliance.com.
WATERLOO  Two Davenport residents were arrested after they allegedly broke into a Waterloo home and had two youths help them carry stolen property.

Police also recovered a stolen Hyundai taken from Davenport and a stolen Volkswagen Jetta taken from a Waterloo address.

Joshua Isaac Davis, 18, was arrested for third-degree burglary and two counts of second-degree theft. The youths aunt, Alicia Ordinia Privett, 25, was arrested for second-degree theft, third-degree burglary and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Waterloo police received a report of a break-in at 813 Kern St. around 4:20 p.m. Tuesday and a report of a Volkswagen taken from a garage at 1109 Bertch Ave. that same afternoon.

A few hours later, officers received a complaint about an erratic driver on Rhey Street and found the stolen Hyundai parked nearby. While they were investigating, Davis walked to the vehicle and tried to open the door. He ran when he saw police and was detained a short distance away, according to court records.

Officers found items stolen from the Kern Street home in the vehicle, and the Volkswagen keys were in Daviss pocket, records state.

Witnesses told police Privett had led Davis and the two youths  girls ages 14 and 16  to the Kern Street home. One of the girls helped carry stolen items, and the other drove one of the stolen cars from the scene, records state.

Man reports armed robbery

WATERLOO  A Waterloo man told police he was robbed at gunpoint by a group of teens Wednesday night.

Mark Capers, 47, told police he encountered the group of six in the area of Western Avenue and Belmont Street around 8 p.m. Wednesday. Two of the suspects had handguns and demanded money, and Capers turned over $500 in cash and other items.

No injuries were reported.
Actor Morgan Freeman is on a mission.

The Oscar-winning actor has traveled the globe, interviewing people of various races, cultures, social and economic backgrounds.

On the heels of the award-winning The Story of God with Morgan Freeman, the team is back with a six-part series exploring what connects humanity.

This is my journey: to discover the ties that bind us and the common humanity inside us, says Freeman. This is The Story of Us.  It was an incredible global journey to understand how human culture has taken on so many remarkable forms.

Installments premiere at 8 p.m. on NatGeo TV, starting Wednesday. (Check service provider listings.) Topics are freedom, peace, love, social division, power and rebellion. In each episode, Freeman poses a question, then contextualizes it with a variety of perspectives and insights.

What does it mean to be free? In The March for Freedom, Freeman talks to people about their beliefs about freedom  from a man born into slavery in North Korea to a woman born a man in war-torn Afghanistan.

The Fight for Peace grapples with whether conflict and violence are necessary forces that propel society forward. Freeman explores the ways we war and how we broker peace.

Freeman talks to a former drone pilot who now lobbies Congress to outlaw their use; explores post-genocide reconciliation in Rwanda; and examines the tenuous peace in Northern Ireland.

Admittedly, I was troubled by this episode. Its graphic. I was especially troubled by Bolivian highlanders and lowlanders  sworn enemies  who ease tensions through an annual, ritualized, fist fight. The tradition, Freeman notes, has helped the bitter rivals avoid war.

Abbey Road opens part three, The Power of Love. The Beatles made the site famous in June 1967 when they broadcast a live performance of All You Need Is Love to a worldwide audience.

It was the Summer of Love, Freeman recalls. There was a sense of hope. Its easy, right? It seems naive now. But stop and think for a moment about how our lives are built around love.

Among those Freeman interviews is Joshua Coombes, founder of #DoSomethingForNothing, a global social movement that encourages small, daily acts of kindness. Coombes gives free haircuts to homeless people as a way to restore dignity.

Remaining episodes include Us and Them, The Power of Us and The Spirit of Rebellion. The series coincides with a revised, updated edition of National Geographic People of the World: Cultures and Traditions. Ancestry and Identity. The book is available from most major booksellers.
WATERLOO  Shiloh Baptist Church recently welcomed a new pastor to their pulpit, the Rev. John Harrell.

Harrell is a graduate of the Baptist College of Florida.

He has served as pastor at Mount Ararat Baptist Church in Blakley, Ga., and was an associate pastor at New Hope Baptist Church in Zephyrhills, Fla.

WATERLOO  First Presbyterian Church will host a series of presentations this fall on current health care issues faced by aging populations.

The sessions will be from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Oct. 24, with a different topic featured each night.

The programs will be in Calvin Hall at the church, 505 Franklin St. The public is welcome to attend at no cost.

The program schedule includes:

Tuesday  How Do I Pay for Care?

Oct. 17  Transitioning to Facilities.

Oct. 24  Elder Abuse.

Questions may be directed to the church office, 233-6145.

WATERLOO  Gospel Temple Church of God in Christ will host a pastor appreciation for the Rev. O.G. Evans through Sunday.

The Rev. Dale from St. Mark Baptist Church will lead a 7 p.m. service tonight, and Victor Evans of Promise Land Ministries in Dubuque will lead the 5 p.m. service Saturday.

Frank Livingston of Mount Sinai Christian Fellowship Ministries will speak at the 4 p.m. service on Sunday.

WATERLOO  The men of Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church, 432 Newell St., will host the 25th annual Harvest Day program at 6 p.m. Saturday.

The program includes male choirs from Waterloo, Cedar Rapids and the Quad Cities.

The public is welcome. Call the church at 232-6171 with any questions.

WATERLOO  The Catholic Parishes in Waterloo will host a Rosary Rally at noon Oct. 14 in Lincoln Park.

The rally will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the reported appearance of Mary in Portugal. The rosary will be prayed simultaneously in English, Spanish, Burmese and French.

Refreshments will follow in Scallon Hall at Queen of Peace Parish. In case of rain, the rally will be at the church.

WATERLOO  Friends in Faith, the singles ministry of the Catholic parishes in Waterloo, will sponsor a Singles Mingle for single Catholics, ages 35 and older, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Oct. 14 at Cedar Falls Family Restaurant.

For more information, call 239-3001 or go to waterloocatholics.org/singles.
Kiwanis Club meets Tuesday

WATERLOO  The Waterloo Noon Kiwanis Club will meet at noon Tuesday at the Waterloo Elks Lodge.

This weeks program has Charles Pearson presenting African-American Trail in Waterloo.

Guests are always welcome to visit club meetings. Call President Julie Versluis, 233-1900, extension 2016, for more information.

Woodworkers meet Tuesday

WATERLOO  The regular meeting of the Cedar Valley Woodworkers will be Tuesday at the Waterloo Center for the Arts.

The business meeting starts at 6 p.m. At 7 p.m. the featured program will be presented by Bob Behnke, tech service manager, Franklin International, on the various types of Tite-bond glues for wood projects. Guests are welcome.

For more information, call President Jerry Krug, 231-0172.

UNI faculty art exhibit planned

CEDAR FALLS  The University of Northern Iowa Gallery of Art, in association with the UNI department of art, will present the 2017 Department of Art Faculty Exhibition from Monday through Nov. 17. The opening reception begins at 7 p.m Monday in the Kamerick Art Building south lobby.

The exhibition is a formal presentation of recent accomplishments by the faculty in the UNI department of art and includes painting, drawing, printmaking, graphic design, sculpture, ceramics, photography, mixed media, performance and installation art as well as art history scholarship.

All events are free and open to the public.
Blood drive set

in Cedar Falls

CEDAR FALLS  An American Red Cross blood drive for Technology Park is planned for noon to 4 p.m. Tuesday at DISTek Integration.

Schedule an appointment at redcrossblood.org or (800) 733-2767.

Hy-Vee to host

costume party

WATERLOO  The Ansborough Hy-Vee will host a Kids N the Kitchen Halloween costume party from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Oct. 14.

Kids will decorate pumpkins and make spooky treats. Kids of all ages are welcome.

Register and pay at customer service or by calling 233-3266.

Immigration film

series set at UNI

CEDAR FALLS  Documentary filmmaker Luis Argueta will debut the third in his trilogy of films about immigration at 7 p.m. Thursday in Room 002 of Sabin Hall at the University of Northern Iowa.

The film will be followed by roundtable discussion. A community presentation of the new film is scheduled for 5 p.m. Oct. 14 in the Commons at Blessed Maria Assunta Pallotta Middle School in Waterloo, followed by a discussion primarily in Spanish.

Remembrance

event slated

WATERLOO  In honor of National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, the NICU Developmental Care Team at UnityPoint Health-Allen Hospital will host a special event Oct. 15 in the south dining room at Allen.

People should enter at Entrance 2 off Dale Street.

There will be family activities, refreshments, a brief prayer by chaplains and a memory balloon release. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m., with the balloon release to take place at 6 p.m.

Anyone who has suffered a miscarriage, stillbirth or infant loss due to SIDS, prematurity or other causes is encouraged to come.

Museum takes

part in RiverFest

SHELL ROCK  The Shell Rock Community Museum will participate in Shell Rocks RiverFest from 2 to 4 p.m. Oct. 14.

The new agriculture exhibit will be open to visitors, as well as the museum, with a mural by Ruth Cousins on display. She will be available to answer questions and describe the process.

In addition, Jim Olmstead will be there with his book, The Trip of a Lifetime. Its an account of the trip he and his wife made down the Shell Rock River by canoe.

The museum is at 127 E. Adair St., across from the school.
INDEPENDENCE  Next weeks hearing, where defense attorneys were scheduled to ask the court to dismiss hit-and-run charges against reality TV star Chris Soules, has been postponed.

Soules, 35, of rural Arlington, is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal accident in the April crash that killed Kenneth Mosher outside of Aurora.

His attorneys have asked the court to dismiss the charges on the grounds that Iowas hit-and-run statutes are unconstitutional. A hearing on the matter had been slated for Tuesday in Buchanan County District Court.

"Bachelor" crash trial delayed INDEPENDENCE  The court has granted a delay in the trial for reality TV star Chris Soules.

But the Iowa Attorney Generals Office has since filed an appearance to assist in the prosecution, and the designated assistant attorney general, Scott Brown, isnt available Tuesday, according to Buchanan County Attorney Shawn Harden. He said the defense didnt resist the request.

Judge Andrea Dryer postponed the hearing, and a new date will decided later.
ELDORA  A former Iowa Falls man accused of fleeing the scene of a fatal accident in 2015 is asking the court to delay his trial.

Charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, 30-year-old Nikolas Andrew Stephens had been scheduled to go before a jury this month.

Meanwhile, since that accident, Stephens has been arrested twice in vehicle incidents using the same pickup truck.

Authorities say Stephens hit Timothy Steven Nussbaum, a 23-year-old Hutchinson, Minn., resident who was in Iowa as part of a work crew, as Nussbaum walked to his Iowa Falls hotel. Stephens is then accused of removing the disabled vehicle from the crash scene and leaving with a relative for Des Moines without summoning help.

Nussbaums body was later found face down in a ditch the following day.

Last week, Stephens attorney, David Johnson of Clarion, asked the court to throw out the charge, arguing the states hit-and-run statutes violate the United States Constitution.

Iowa law requires motorists to return to the scene or report their location to authorities following a fatal crash, and Johnson argues that violates the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and the Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable search and seizure.

Because Stephens cannot be held criminally liable for failing to comply with an unconstitutional statute, the charge against him must be dismissed as a matter of law, Johnson wrote in his motion.

The same argument was advanced by attorneys for reality TV star Christopher Soules of Arlington, who is charged with leaving the scene of an April crash that killed an Aurora farmer in Buchanan County. In that case, Soules called 911, identified himself and attempted to render aid before leaving.

Johnson referenced the Soules case in asking the Hardin County court to postpone Stephens trial.

The same issue has been raised in a case in Buchanan County and a hearing is scheduled.  In the interest of judicial economy, the parties wish to observe the results of the Buchanan County case and potential appeal before proceeding with a hearing, trial and potential appeal in this case, Johnson wrote in his motion. He said the Hardin County Attorney isnt resisting the request.

Meanwhile, Stephens, who has been out on a $5,000 bond in the Hardin County case, was released from the Story County Jail in Nevada on Thursday after serving time for one of the two arrests he has accumulated since fatal crash.

In both cases, he was still driving the silver 2004 Ford Ranger pickup that struck and killed Nussbaum.

Court records show that in January  about five months after his leaving-the-scene arrest  he was pulled over on Interstate 35 in Story County for weaving, and state troopers noticed the odor of marijuana. They found marijuana, a pipe with marijuana residue, pills of the muscle relaxant cyclobenzaprine, Xanax and the sedative Klonopin. Methamphetamine was found in a backpack, court records state, and he was arrested.

Then on May 7, he allegedly veered off the roadway at Highway 5 and Highway 92 south of Pleasantville, striking two street signs, according to an accident report. The Ford Ranger suffered disabling damage, and Marion County deputies found unopened Coors Light bottles around the vehicle, the report states. A marijuana grinder and pill bottle with marijuana residue were also located, records state.

Authorities noticed an odor of alcohol, and Stephens was taken to Knoxville Hospital. He told officers he thought he fell asleep and awoke after the crash, according to the accident report.

A preliminary breath test about an hour after the crash showed Stephens had a blood-alcohol level of .025, which was under the legal limit. He declined to give a urine sample, records state. Deputies arrested him for operating while intoxicated, possession of drug paraphernalia and failure to have an ignition interlock device.

In early August, Stephens pleaded guilty to operating while intoxicated and unlawful possession of a prescription drug in the Story County traffic stop and was sentenced to 20 days in jail with a year of probation. When he failed to show up to the jail on time, he was sentenced to two extra days for contempt.

By late August, prosecutors in Marion County were asking the court to up the $3,000 bond he posted for street sign crash.

Assistant Marion County Attorney Ross Gibson noted Stephens remained free despite the three encounters with law enforcement. He called him an ongoing threat to the community and asked for a $50,000 bond.

All three offenses included dangerous driving by the defendant, Gibson wrote in his request. The defendant struck a pedestrian, killing the pedestrian, and fled the scene in the Hardin County case. The defendant was driving erratically in the Story County case. In the instant case, the defendant crashed his vehicle into two street signs and put his vehicle in a ditch.

But following an Aug. 24 hearing, bond remained as set.

In the meantime, Nussbaums mother, Jennifer Forcier of Hutchinson, filed a suit against Stephens and Thomas Jason Kruse, Stephenss uncle who owned the 2004 Ford Ranger pickup Stephens was driving in the fatal crash, according to court records.

Attorney Frederick James of Des Moines is representing the estate in the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit, Nussbaum was walking on the gravel shoulder of the highway, and the suit alleges Stephens didnt brake or swerve to avoid Nussbaum and then, possibly accompanied by others, attempted to hide the body and the truck before leaving the scene without summoning aid.

A medical examiner determined he died of blunt force injuries after being hit by a vehicle and ruled the death a homicide, according to the lawsuit.

Nussbaum leaves behind a young son.
Fifth in a series of articles from our fall Inclusion magazine, highlighting diversity in the area.

CEDAR FALLS  By most standards, Leticia Aossey is doing well.

At 21, Aossey is a senior at the University of Northern Iowa and made the Deans List. Shes working on a bachelors degree in social work, with a minor in communications.

Shes planning ahead, too  theres commencement in May and an internship. She also applied to the University of Iowa in Iowa City, where shell pursue a doctorate in social work. She aims to finish in five years.

She sets her bar high for herself; she has to.

A Cedar Rapids native, Aossey grew up in a series of foster homes throughout Linn County. By the time she was 18, she had been shuttled through 18 foster homes and attended 14 different schools.

I used education as my outlet, she says. It made me forget about my home life. When I got home from school, Id eat, do my chores, do my homework, go to sleep. I didnt even hang out with friends on school nights.

Education was a way for her to take charge of her future.

Growing up, it was clear that if you dont have money, you figure out a way to get a scholarship, Aossey explains. I didnt want to get stuck in that town. I knew there was a bigger world out there, and the only way to see it was  through education.

Her love of learning made her an advocate for kids like herself. When Aossey was in her early teens, she was introduced to a statewide organization called Achieving Maximum Potential.

AMP has been my biggest support, she says. When I was 13 or 14, I was in a bad place in my life. I was lost. I didnt have anybody to lean on, and I was dealing with terrible caseworkers, terrible homes. AMP became my home.

The organization has 13 councils throughout Iowa and serves all children in out-of-home placement.

Theres a lot of bonding with people who understand, says Aossey. They have me go and talk about things like college, the advocacy work we do, how kids can get involved  like I did.

At 14, Aossey became central council representative from Cedar Rapids. AMP provided opportunities for public advocacy and speaking. She attended Foster Youth in Action, a conference hosted in California. The group also hosted State Legislative Days, where she learned to lobby legislators on behalf of Iowas children.

Advocacy came naturally to Aossey. Today, she dispels misconceptions about young people like her.

One myth is a child is in foster care because she or he did something wrong, she says.

Some people think its the kids fault, she explains. When people find out I grew up in foster care, theyll say, Well, what did you do? Its rarely the kids fault. There are those occasions, but 90 percent of the time, its the parents that are the reason the child gets taken away.

In Aosseys case, her parents were teenagers when they had her. They struggled with addiction and other issues. Eventually, they lost parental rights when Aossey was in her early teens.

It happened around the same time I got into AMP, which saved me, she recalls.

Moving with regularity, switching schools and changing family dynamics made it tough to develop connections, says Aossey.

Few realize children of color are disproportionately represented in Iowas foster care system, she notes. This can cause issues for children in terms of adjusting to new homes and/or schools. (Aossey is of biracial heritage; her father is white and American Indian, and her mother is of Puerto Rican heritage.)

You become family with some of those homes; theyre constants in my life, she explains. Im the godchild of parents from one of the houses. There were caseworkers I was close to, too  that made a big difference.

By her late teens, Aossey was able to transition to independent living under a supervision program. She remained in in the foster care system until she turned 21.

I got to my apartment, and I only had two garbage bags of clothes to my name, Aossey recalls. Thats the way it is with most kids in foster care. We cant afford nice suitcases; we travel with garbage bags.

AMP was there to help, organizing a drive to furnish the apartment and outfit her kitchen.

Aossey pays this support forward serving as a mentor to children in foster care. Shes been to Washington, D.C., to meet with members of Congress to talk about bills that affect children.

These and other experiences helped her develop and solidify career plans: She wants to become a federal policy writer.

I want to be commissioner of the Childrens Bureau in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, she says. I want to go big or go home.
CEDAR FALLS  U.S. Rep. Rod Blum, R-1st District, said Friday that Congress continues to piece together a Republican tax reform plan.

Think of this tax package as a jigsaw puzzle, and what we have released  and what the Senate, the House and the White House have agreed on  is the border pieces, Blum told a Republican Women of Black Hawk County meeting. All the rest in the middle is being worked out and discussed over the next four weeks.

He said because so much is unknown its too early for criticism. Congress and the White House have released a nine-page proposal that outlines some of the goals.

Blum offered three goals during the meeting  to spur economic growth, partially through corporate tax cuts, tax cuts for an as-yet-undefined middle class and simplifying the tax code so the average person can do their own taxes.

Blum adds voice in opposition to partisan gerrymandering WATERLOO  U.S. Rep. Rod Blum, R-1st District, wants the rest of the country to emulate Iowa

Blum said he hopes to see the closure of loopholes as well. He acknowledged there will be some benefits for the wealthy.

Along the way, is some rich person going to get some benefit? Are they going to save a dollar in taxes? Of course they are, Blum said, noting the top 10 percent of wage earners pay 70 percent of federal income taxes. Were Republicans in this room; why are we vilifying people who are successful?

He said people with higher incomes are more likely to be job creators. He also cited the adage about rising tide lifting all boats and argued the tax proposal would help everyone.

Blum argued tax cuts would more than pay for themselves through economic growth, a claim many experts dispute.

Blum remains optimistic about Obamacare repeal WATERLOO  There was a moment this spring when U.S. Rep. Rod Blum, R-1st District, saw what 

We need immigration reform and we need welfare reform, combined with this tax reform, and wow, I believe we can go on a 20-year expansion of our economy and just set the pace for the world, Blum said in a separate interview.

He stressed the House plans to pass its tax reform proposal in November. Blum said the House has been productive under the Republican administration of President Donald Trump but has seen many bills fall by the wayside in the Senate.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who surprised attendees of the luncheon by joining them, said the Senate had set pieces in place by passing a budget so it can pass tax reform through reconciliation this year, meaning it would only need 51 votes rather than 60 to proceed.

Grassley urged Blum to encourage the House to adopt that budget without delay so the Senate could get moving on its tax reform proposal.

Blum said he hoped to see the bill become law yet this year.
CEDAR RAPIDS  As the demand for naloxone, a countermeasure to opioid-related overdoses that health officials say claimed 180 lives in Iowa last year, is increasing, the cost will drop as the result of an agreement the Iowa Attorney Generals Office reached with a drugmaker.

The deal makes public agencies  law enforcement, emergency medical services and hospitals  eligible for a $6-per-dose rebate on naloxone purchases, Attorney General Tom Miller told a news conference Wednesday at the Cedar Rapids Fire Department Central Station.

Quite literally, naloxone may be someones only lifeline if they overdosed on prescription painkillers or heroin, Miller said. Naloxone revives a person experiencing an opioid overdose by quickly stopping and reversing its effects.

The two-year agreement with Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, a California drug manufacturer that supplies more than half of the naloxone dosages administered by Iowa first responders, makes the rebate available regardless of where the naloxone is bought.

The agreement came in response to the growing number of opioid-related overdoses and the cost that comes with administering naloxone.

One of the situations we see as there is more demand for a drug  prices sometimes tend to skyrocket, Miller said. While were fortunate to have naloxone and its so effective, we must also realize that making it available impacts budgets that fund Iowas first responders and public health care providers.

The regular price for a dosage of naloxone runs from $23 to $48, Miller found. Cedar Rapids Fire Department Training Chief Andy Olesen said many of the first responders in the area buy naloxone through Mercy Medical Center to get the best possible price.

Miller said the rebate agreement will provide some relief to public agencies that are pushed for public resources in so many ways. We also think it may be an indirect way to restrain increases in the future.

Negotiations have not been successful with all pharmaceutical companies, but Miller is continuing his efforts.

There are more than 900 EMS providers in Iowa. About 800 doses of naloxone have been administered across the state this year, according to data provided to Millers office. Speakers at Millers news conference offered various numbers, but agreed naloxone use is increasing.

In Cedar Rapids, first responders administered 78 naloxone doses between March 1 and Oct. 1, according to Amy Kunkle, the departments EMS program director.

The regional EMS provider for Cedar Rapids and surrounding communities, Area Ambulance Service, reported administering naloxone to 102 people in 2016.

In Scott County, Linda Frederiksen of MEDIC EMS said administration of naloxone has gone from occasional to daily. So far, 450 doses have been administered this year and the county is on track to hit 600 before years end. Her company alone has administered 306 doses to 215 people this year, she said.

Those numbers highlight a trend emergency medical service providers are reporting: the need for more than one dose of naloxone to treat someone who is overdosing. Thats increasingly the case with people who use illicit opioids, which often are smuggled into this country, according to Dale Woolery of the Governors Office of Drug Control Policy. Some agencies have doubled and tripled the number of naloxone injectors they carry, he said.

Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 33,091 people died of an opioid overdose in 2015, or about 91 people per day. Emergency rooms treated more than 1,000 people per day for misusing prescription opioids.

Data provided to Millers office showed that several of the Iowas larger EMS agencies report administering from dozens to hundreds of naloxone doses so far this year and last year:

Davenport MEDIC EMS  317 though Sept. 25; 319 in 2016.

Des Moines Fire Department EMS  180 through Sept. 1; 191 in 2016.

Dubuque EMS  32 through mid-September; 57 in 2016.

Council Bluffs EMS  41 through Sept 21; 51 in 2016.

West Des Moines EMS  34 through Sept. 21; 48 in 2016.

Sioux City Siouxland Paramedics  70 through Sept. 22; 28 in 2016.

Mason City EMS  23 through Aug. 31; 17 in 2016.

A state law passed last year eased restrictions on the opioid antidote, enabling adults at risk of opioid-related overdose and their family and friends to purchase the drug from a pharmacy without a prescription.

Last month, Miller announced Iowa is part of a multistate investigation that seeks to determine whether opioid manufacturers and distributors engaged in unlawful practices in the marketing, sale and distribution of opioids.
Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading.

Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy
To kickstart President Donald Trumps campaign pledge to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, six contractors are building eight prototypes of concrete and other materials in San Diego County.

Meanwhile, a USA Today investigation covering the entire 2,000-mile route revealed the daunting aspects of Trumps proposal, which he estimated at $10 billion to $12 billion.

The president must surmount numerous obstacles. For starters, only 69 of the 292 House Republicans told USA TODAY they support the project. In addition, it faces inevitable delays and significant costs regarding land acquisition, and must traverse hostile remote terrain ranging from a meandering river to rugged mountains to shifting desert sands.

The border currently is nearly wide open with only 640 miles of fencing  300 miles to block vehicles, 340 miles to block people.

While Trump advocated a concrete structure 20- to 40-feet high, his administration has recently talked about an 18-foot bollard wall.

Testifying before Congress in April, then Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly didnt offer any clues. There is no way I can give the committee an estimate of how much this will cost, Kelly said. I mean, I dont know what it will be made of. I dont know how high it will be. I dont know if it will have solar panels.

The length also is unknown. During the campaign, Trump said it would be along the entire border, but gradually shrank it to 1,000 miles, then 700 miles. You have the mountains. You have some rivers that are violent and vicious. You have some areas that are so far away that you dont really have people crossing. So you dont need that, he said.

Back in 2009, following the passage of the 2006 Secure Fences Act, which provided funding for all but 119 miles of the current fence, the General Accounting Office produced an estimate for the 1,200-mile Texas-Mexico border. With a tall, steel bollard-slat fence, it placed the cost between $6.5 million and $15.1 million per mile. The total cost for just that stretch would have been $7.8 billion.

Trumps first-phase budget request was $24.5 million per mile. Extrapolated along the entire border, thats $46.5 billion, which doesnt include logistical problems.

It cant be built in the middle of the Rio Grande. The current fence is built either on levees or a mile away. A floating fence was built on Southern California sand dunes to accommodate their natural movements.

Most of the border is in remote rugged mountain or desert areas far from existing roads, which would need to be built to transport construction workers, 30,000-pound slabs of precast concrete, cement mixers and cranes.

Then theres the matter of acquiring land from private parties. As part of the Secure Fence Act, federal officials need to buy  or seize  4,900 parcels of land in Texas. Its been expensive and time consuming thus far, resulting in 320 condemnation cases settled for between $100 for an easement and $5 million for six acres. Nine years late, 85 cases are still contested.

Its effectiveness is questionable.

After the construction of the bollard wall along the California-Mexico border, smugglers built more than 20 super tunnels  some are 70-feet underground  and equipped them with lighting and ventilation systems along wood-beamed passageways.

They also went around with boats on the coast and over in ultralight aircraft.

Much of the smuggling of people and narcotics occurs at existing border crossings. Meanwhile, more than 600,000 people who entered the U.S. legally in 2016 overstayed their visas  an issue a wall wont resolve.

The estimated unauthorized immigrant population in the U.S. soared from 1990, when it was about 3.5 million, to a peak of 12.2 million in 2007, just prior to the Great Recession. It has gradually, if not substantially, declined since.

According to the Pew Research Center, the number of unauthorized immigrants in the United States fell from 11.3 million in 2009 to 11 million in 2015. The biggest decline was from Mexico, dropping from 6.35 million to 5.7 million.

This August, perhaps owing to the presidents rhetoric against immigrants, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported apprehensions dropped by 24 percent from the prior year.

Another big factor has been beefing up the Border Patrol, which now has 18,600 agents watching the southern border  triple the number in 1996  along with cameras and motion sensors that didnt exist then.

Whatever one thinks of the benefits or problems regarding immigration (legal or not), the political reality is much needed reforms in the present system wont occur until a congressional majority is assured effective security is in place.

Congress shouldnt hastily approve the wall  whatever its composition and length  until a cost-benefit analysis is undertaken. More effective and inexpensive approaches should be considered.
past daily news Sep 13 (1) Sep 09 (15) Sep 06 (12) Sep 04 (10) Sep 03 (10) Aug 31 (17) Aug 29 (14) Aug 26 (13) Aug 22 (11) Aug 21 (12) Aug 19 (21) Aug 14 (6) Aug 13 (10) Aug 10 (10) Aug 08 (9) Aug 07 (10) Aug 06 (10) Aug 05 (8) Aug 03 (8) Aug 02 (7) Aug 01 (7) Jul 31 (14) Jul 29 (1) Jul 27 (7) Jul 25 (5) Jul 24 (10) Jul 22 (11) Jul 19 (16) Jul 17 (6) Jul 16 (10) Jul 15 (13) Jul 12 (7) Jul 11 (5) Jul 10 (8) Jul 08 (8) Jul 07 (3) Jul 06 (5) Jul 05 (8) Jul 04 (11) Jul 03 (8) Jul 02 (7) Jul 01 (5) Jun 30 (8) Jun 28 (7) Jun 27 (8) Jun 26 (7) Jun 25 (8) Jun 24 (6) Jun 23 (6) Jun 22 (9) Jun 20 (5) Jun 19 (9) Jun 18 (8) Jun 15 (9) Jun 13 (13) Jun 11 (11) Jun 09 (19) Jun 06 (10) Jun 04 (10) Jun 03 (8) Jun 01 (6) May 31 (5) May 30 (5) May 29 (6) May 28 (7) May 27 (7) May 26 (6) May 25 (4) May 23 (6) May 22 (6) May 21 (4) May 20 (7) May 19 (9) May 18 (4) May 17 (6) May 16 (5) May 15 (7) May 14 (3) May 13 (3) May 12 (9) May 10 (3) May 09 (7) May 08 (4) May 07 (3) May 06 (5) May 05 (8) May 03 (9) May 02 (1) May 01 (5) Apr 30 (8) Apr 29 (5) Apr 28 (4) Apr 27 (7) Apr 26 (12) Apr 25 (4) Apr 24 (8) Apr 23 (7) Apr 22 (5) Apr 21 (3) Apr 20 (1) Apr 19 (5) Apr 18 (3) Apr 17 (6) Apr 16 (6) Apr 15 (5) Apr 14 (2) Apr 13 (4) Apr 12 (2) Apr 11 (4) Apr 10 (3) Apr 09 (3) Apr 08 (3) Apr 07 (5) Apr 06 (3) Apr 05 (10) Apr 04 (2) Apr 03 (3) Apr 02 (9) Apr 01 (7) Mar 31 (10) Mar 30 (6) Mar 29 (7) Mar 28 (5) Mar 27 (3) Mar 26 (10) Mar 25 (4) Mar 24 (5) Mar 23 (10) Mar 22 (6) Mar 21 (5) Mar 20 (11) Mar 19 (8) Mar 18 (5) Mar 17 (4) Mar 16 (11) Mar 15 (10) Mar 14 (7) Mar 13 (7) Mar 12 (5) Mar 11 (3) Mar 10 (3) Mar 09 (5) Mar 08 (6) Mar 07 (8) Mar 06 (6) Mar 05 (12) Mar 04 (6) Mar 03 (8) Mar 02 (6) Mar 01 (8) Feb 28 (7) Feb 27 (5) Feb 26 (6) Feb 25 (7) Feb 24 (3) Feb 23 (6) Feb 22 (4) Feb 21 (3) Feb 20 (1) Feb 19 (6) Feb 18 (4) Feb 17 (4) Feb 16 (2) Feb 15 (5) Feb 14 (3) Feb 13 (6) Feb 12 (6) Feb 11 (4) Feb 10 (6) Feb 09 (6) Feb 08 (4) Feb 07 (6) Feb 06 (4) Feb 05 (2) Feb 04 (3) Feb 03 (5) Feb 02 (1) Feb 01 (4) Jan 31 (8) Jan 30 (2) Jan 29 (4) Jan 28 (1) Jan 27 (4) Jan 26 (7) Jan 25 (4) Jan 23 (4) Jan 22 (8) Jan 21 (2) Jan 20 (2) Jan 19 (3) Jan 18 (4) Jan 17 (2) Jan 16 (7) Jan 15 (6) Jan 14 (4) Jan 13 (6) Jan 12 (5) Jan 11 (4) Jan 10 (5) Jan 09 (4) Jan 08 (5) Jan 07 (4) Jan 05 (5) Jan 04 (4) Jan 03 (3) Jan 02 (2) Jan 01 (1) Dec 31 (5) Dec 29 (4) Dec 28 (5) Dec 26 (3) Dec 25 (2) Dec 24 (3) Dec 23 (2) Dec 22 (4) Dec 21 (4) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (3) Dec 18 (2) Dec 17 (1) Dec 16 (4) Dec 15 (2) Dec 14 (3) Dec 13 (7) Dec 12 (5) Dec 11 (4) Dec 10 (3) Dec 09 (2) Dec 08 (2) Dec 07 (4) Dec 06 (4) Dec 05 (1) Dec 04 (5) Dec 03 (3) Dec 02 (5) Dec 01 (6) Nov 30 (5) Nov 29 (10) Nov 28 (6) Nov 27 (2) Nov 26 (3) Nov 24 (2) Nov 23 (5) Nov 22 (4) Nov 21 (3) Nov 20 (6) Nov 19 (2) Nov 18 (5) Nov 17 (5) Nov 16 (3) Nov 15 (2) Nov 14 (3) Nov 13 (3) Nov 12 (2) Nov 11 (4) Nov 10 (5) Nov 09 (4) Nov 08 (5) Nov 07 (5) Nov 06 (5) Nov 05 (4) Nov 04 (5) Nov 02 (4) Nov 01 (4) Oct 31 (9) Oct 30 (9) Oct 29 (3) Oct 28 (2) Oct 27 (6) Oct 26 (6) Oct 25 (6) Oct 24 (3) Oct 23 (6) Oct 22 (4) Oct 20 (3) Oct 19 (6) Oct 18 (5) Oct 17 (5) Oct 16 (4) Oct 15 (5) Oct 14 (2) Oct 13 (4) Oct 12 (7) Oct 11 (5) Oct 10 (4) Oct 09 (5) Oct 08 (10) Oct 07 (1) Oct 06 (10) Oct 05 (6) Oct 04 (8) Oct 03 (3) Oct 02 (4) Oct 01 (6) Sep 30 (5) Sep 29 (1) Sep 28 (6) Sep 27 (6) Sep 26 (5) Sep 25 (3) Sep 24 (6) Sep 23 (5) Sep 22 (7) Sep 21 (6) Sep 20 (6) Sep 19 (5) Sep 18 (3) Sep 17 (5) Sep 16 (5) Sep 15 (5) Sep 14 (6) Sep 13 (4) Sep 12 (5) Sep 11 (7) Sep 10 (6) Sep 09 (5) Sep 08 (3) Sep 07 (4) Sep 06 (8) Sep 05 (6) Sep 04 (7) Sep 03 (3) Sep 02 (4) Sep 01 (5) Aug 31 (8) Aug 30 (6) Aug 29 (6) Aug 28 (6) Aug 27 (1) Aug 26 (4) Aug 25 (3) Aug 24 (7) Aug 23 (4) Aug 22 (4) Aug 21 (4) Aug 20 (7) Aug 18 (5) Aug 17 (8) Aug 16 (8) Aug 15 (4) Aug 14 (6) Aug 13 (5) Aug 12 (4) Aug 11 (2) Aug 10 (5) Aug 09 (4) Aug 08 (8) Aug 07 (4) Aug 06 (3) Aug 05 (4) Aug 04 (4) Aug 03 (10) Aug 02 (9) Aug 01 (8) Jul 31 (1) Jul 30 (3) Jul 29 (2) Jul 28 (11) Jul 27 (10) Jul 26 (10) Jul 25 (7) Jul 24 (5) Jul 23 (3) Jul 22 (2) Jul 21 (7) Jul 20 (10) Jul 19 (8) Jul 18 (7) Jul 17 (1) Jul 16 (10) Jul 14 (7) Jul 13 (6) Jul 12 (11) Jul 11 (7) Jul 10 (5) Jul 09 (6) Jul 08 (5) Jul 07 (8) Jul 06 (4) Jul 05 (6) Jul 04 (6) Jul 03 (7) Jul 02 (6) Jul 01 (2) Jun 30 (7) Jun 29 (7) Jun 28 (5) Jun 27 (8) Jun 26 (5) Jun 25 (6) Jun 23 (4) Jun 22 (4) Jun 21 (5) Jun 20 (8) Jun 18 (2) Jun 17 (3) Jun 16 (4) Jun 15 (3) Jun 14 (7) Jun 13 (4) Jun 12 (7) Jun 11 (3) Jun 10 (2) Jun 09 (8) Jun 08 (8) Jun 07 (8) Jun 06 (10) Jun 05 (14) Jun 04 (6) Jun 03 (6) Jun 02 (8) Jun 01 (6) May 31 (7) May 30 (2) May 29 (7) May 28 (7) May 27 (2) May 26 (4) May 25 (5) May 24 (4) May 23 (5) May 22 (5) May 21 (5) May 20 (3) May 19 (10) May 18 (6) May 17 (3) May 16 (6) May 15 (2) May 14 (3) May 13 (5) May 11 (1) May 10 (5) May 09 (3) May 08 (4) May 07 (2) May 06 (4) May 05 (6) May 04 (5) May 03 (5) May 02 (1) May 01 (6) Apr 30 (6) Apr 29 (7) Apr 28 (8) Apr 27 (9) Apr 26 (14) Apr 25 (6) Apr 24 (6) Apr 23 (7) Apr 22 (1) Apr 21 (8) Apr 20 (3) Apr 19 (6) Apr 18 (4) Apr 17 (7) Apr 16 (1) Apr 15 (8) Apr 14 (1) Apr 13 (7) Apr 12 (10) Apr 11 (7) Apr 10 (2) Apr 09 (2) Apr 08 (4) Apr 07 (3) Apr 06 (6) Apr 05 (6) Apr 04 (9) Apr 03 (4) Apr 02 (5) Apr 01 (2) Mar 31 (5) Mar 30 (4) Mar 29 (8) Mar 28 (5) Mar 27 (9) Mar 26 (4) Mar 25 (5) Mar 24 (11) Mar 23 (10) Mar 22 (9) Mar 21 (10) Mar 20 (11) Mar 19 (5) Mar 18 (7) Mar 17 (3) Mar 16 (7) Mar 15 (6) Mar 14 (6) Mar 13 (9) Mar 12 (6) Mar 11 (3) Mar 10 (3) Mar 09 (5) Mar 08 (6) Mar 07 (13) Mar 06 (6) Mar 05 (3) Mar 04 (7) Mar 03 (4) Mar 02 (5) Mar 01 (6) Feb 28 (6) Feb 27 (4) Feb 26 (5) Feb 25 (6) Feb 24 (6) Feb 23 (9) Feb 22 (6) Feb 21 (7) Feb 20 (8) Feb 19 (6) Feb 18 (3) Feb 17 (4) Feb 16 (6) Feb 15 (5) Feb 14 (7) Feb 13 (5) Feb 12 (3) Feb 11 (4) Feb 10 (5) Feb 09 (9) Feb 08 (8) Feb 07 (7) Feb 06 (10) Feb 05 (7) Feb 04 (2) Feb 03 (8) Feb 02 (7) Feb 01 (5) Jan 31 (4) Jan 30 (4) Jan 29 (7) Jan 28 (3) Jan 27 (7) Jan 26 (8) Jan 25 (6) Jan 24 (6) Jan 23 (5) Jan 22 (4) Jan 21 (6) Jan 20 (8) Jan 19 (6) Jan 18 (8) Jan 17 (12) Jan 16 (5) Jan 15 (4) Jan 14 (8) Jan 12 (6) Jan 11 (6) Jan 10 (7) Jan 09 (4) Jan 08 (6) Jan 07 (4) Jan 06 (6) Jan 05 (9) Jan 04 (9) Jan 03 (4) Jan 02 (6) Jan 01 (8) Dec 31 (2) Dec 30 (1) Dec 29 (5) Dec 28 (4) Dec 27 (8) Dec 26 (4) Dec 24 (5) Dec 23 (7) Dec 22 (12) Dec 21 (4) Dec 20 (7) Dec 19 (3) Dec 18 (5) Dec 17 (3) Dec 16 (1) Dec 15 (7) Dec 14 (10) Dec 13 (7) Dec 12 (12) Dec 10 (3) Dec 09 (6) Dec 08 (7) Dec 07 (12) Dec 06 (6) Dec 05 (13) Dec 04 (6) Dec 02 (8) Dec 01 (8) Nov 30 (6) Nov 29 (7) Nov 28 (7) Nov 27 (4) Nov 26 (8) Nov 24 (2) Nov 23 (5) Nov 22 (11) Nov 21 (7) Nov 20 (3) Nov 19 (10) Nov 18 (7) Nov 17 (6) Nov 16 (11) Nov 15 (10) Nov 14 (7) Nov 13 (3) Nov 12 (5) Nov 11 (12) Nov 10 (4) Nov 09 (14) Nov 08 (10) Nov 07 (11) Nov 06 (8) Nov 05 (5) Nov 04 (11) Nov 03 (9) Nov 02 (10) Nov 01 (8) Oct 31 (12) Oct 30 (5) Oct 29 (5) Oct 28 (5) Oct 27 (11) Oct 26 (13) Oct 25 (9) Oct 24 (10) Oct 23 (8) Oct 22 (5) Oct 21 (11) Oct 20 (8) Oct 19 (6) Oct 18 (5) Oct 17 (5) Oct 16 (6) Oct 15 (4) Oct 14 (9) Oct 13 (10) Oct 12 (11) Oct 11 (9) Oct 10 (10) Oct 09 (7) Oct 08 (5) Oct 07 (10) Oct 06 (9) Oct 05 (14) Oct 04 (9) Oct 03 (12) Oct 02 (4) Oct 01 (9) Sep 30 (5) Sep 29 (7) Sep 28 (13) Sep 27 (10) Sep 26 (11) Sep 25 (3) Sep 24 (9) Sep 23 (7) Sep 22 (10) Sep 21 (12) Sep 20 (12) Sep 19 (4) Sep 18 (5) Sep 17 (7) Sep 16 (11) Sep 15 (8) Sep 14 (5) Sep 13 (8) Sep 12 (8) Sep 11 (6) Sep 10 (10) Sep 09 (5) Sep 08 (9) Sep 07 (8) Sep 06 (11) Sep 05 (2) Sep 04 (8) Sep 03 (2) Sep 02 (6) Sep 01 (9) Aug 31 (9) Aug 30 (7) Aug 29 (9) Aug 28 (4) Aug 27 (8) Aug 26 (6) Aug 25 (5) Aug 24 (8) Aug 23 (4) Aug 22 (5) Aug 21 (2) Aug 20 (4) Aug 19 (6) Aug 18 (4) Aug 17 (4) Aug 16 (6) Aug 15 (3) Aug 14 (4) Aug 13 (7) Aug 12 (6) Aug 11 (3) Aug 10 (5) Aug 09 (8) Aug 08 (9) Aug 07 (7) Aug 06 (7) Aug 05 (7) Aug 04 (7) Aug 03 (11) Aug 02 (6) Aug 01 (9) Jul 31 (11) Jul 28 (7) Jul 27 (11) Jul 26 (5) Jul 25 (5) Jul 24 (1) Jul 22 (3) Jul 21 (2) Jul 20 (9) Jul 19 (8) Jul 18 (6) Jul 17 (7) Jul 15 (4) Jul 14 (2) Jul 13 (6) Jul 12 (10) Jul 11 (11) Jul 10 (2) Jul 09 (3) Jul 08 (5) Jul 07 (5) Jul 06 (6) Jul 05 (3) Jul 04 (6) Jul 03 (5) Jul 02 (3) Jun 30 (8) Jun 29 (5) Jun 28 (6) Jun 27 (4) Jun 26 (4) Jun 25 (1) Jun 24 (5) Jun 23 (11) Jun 21 (5) Jun 20 (5) Jun 19 (7) Jun 17 (4) Jun 16 (7) Jun 15 (4) Jun 14 (6) Jun 13 (4) Jun 12 (4) Jun 11 (6) Jun 10 (6) Jun 09 (8) Jun 08 (6) Jun 07 (8) Jun 06 (7) Jun 05 (5) Jun 04 (7) Jun 03 (1) Jun 02 (9) Jun 01 (5) May 31 (8) May 30 (7) May 29 (5) May 28 (5) May 27 (4) May 26 (4) May 25 (4) May 24 (3) May 23 (5) May 22 (2) May 21 (3) May 20 (7) May 19 (11) May 18 (1) May 17 (7) May 16 (3) May 15 (4) May 14 (3) May 13 (4) May 12 (4) May 11 (11) May 10 (2) May 09 (6) May 08 (6) May 07 (2) May 06 (3) May 05 (4) May 04 (5) May 03 (8) May 02 (4) May 01 (4) Apr 30 (6) Apr 29 (13) Apr 28 (5) Apr 27 (7) Apr 26 (5) Apr 25 (5) Apr 24 (2) Apr 23 (7) Apr 22 (9) Apr 21 (11) Apr 20 (2) Apr 19 (2) Apr 18 (5) Apr 17 (5) Apr 16 (6) Apr 14 (5) Apr 13 (2) Apr 12 (9) Apr 11 (10) Apr 10 (6) Apr 09 (5) Apr 08 (3) Apr 07 (10) Apr 06 (7) Apr 05 (7) Apr 04 (7) Apr 03 (9) Mar 31 (12) Mar 30 (9) Mar 29 (7) Mar 28 (4) Mar 27 (3) Mar 26 (6) Mar 25 (3) Mar 24 (8) Mar 23 (7) Mar 22 (4) Mar 21 (10) Mar 20 (6) Mar 19 (6) Mar 17 (7) Mar 16 (11) Mar 15 (6) Mar 14 (9) Mar 13 (4) Mar 12 (6) Mar 10 (3) Mar 09 (9) Mar 08 (10) Mar 07 (4) Mar 06 (5) Mar 05 (3) Mar 04 (2) Mar 03 (4) Mar 02 (5) Mar 01 (5) Feb 28 (3) Feb 27 (8) Feb 26 (9) Feb 24 (11) Feb 23 (8) Feb 22 (9) Feb 21 (8) Feb 20 (7) Feb 19 (4) Feb 18 (9) Feb 17 (6) Feb 16 (5) Feb 15 (7) Feb 14 (11) Feb 13 (2) Feb 12 (5) Feb 11 (5) Feb 10 (3) Feb 09 (10) Feb 08 (9) Feb 07 (9) Feb 06 (2) Feb 05 (9) Feb 03 (7) Feb 02 (5) Feb 01 (7) Jan 31 (4) Jan 30 (5) Jan 29 (6) Jan 28 (5) Jan 27 (2) Jan 26 (7) Jan 25 (7) Jan 24 (8) Jan 23 (4) Jan 22 (14) Jan 20 (8) Jan 19 (10) Jan 18 (11) Jan 17 (9) Jan 16 (5) Jan 15 (3) Jan 14 (9) Jan 13 (6) Jan 12 (7) Jan 11 (7) Jan 10 (2) Jan 09 (7) Jan 08 (6) Jan 07 (10) Jan 06 (8) Jan 05 (7) Jan 04 (9) Jan 03 (8) Jan 02 (5) Jan 01 (14) Dec 30 (13) Dec 29 (13) Dec 28 (9) Dec 27 (5) Dec 26 (4) Dec 25 (7) Dec 24 (4) Dec 23 (5) Dec 22 (4) Dec 21 (8) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (8) Dec 18 (9) Dec 16 (8) Dec 15 (5) Dec 14 (5) Dec 13 (8) Dec 12 (4) Dec 11 (17) Dec 09 (8) Dec 08 (5) Dec 07 (10) Dec 06 (12) Dec 05 (6) Dec 04 (8) Dec 02 (6) Dec 01 (7) Nov 30 (9) Nov 29 (6) Nov 28 (11) Nov 27 (6) Nov 26 (15) Nov 24 (7) Nov 23 (15) Nov 22 (9) Nov 21 (6) Nov 20 (11) Nov 18 (11) Nov 17 (13) Nov 16 (8) Nov 15 (13) Nov 14 (7) Nov 13 (7) Nov 12 (3) Nov 11 (13) Nov 10 (13) Nov 09 (6) Nov 08 (9) Nov 07 (6) Nov 06 (4) Nov 05 (12) Nov 04 (8) Nov 03 (9) Nov 02 (8) Nov 01 (6) Oct 31 (10) Oct 30 (8) Oct 29 (3) Oct 28 (8) Oct 27 (15) Oct 26 (10) Oct 25 (10) Oct 24 (13) Oct 23 (9) Oct 21 (8) Oct 20 (13) Oct 19 (6) Oct 18 (11) Oct 17 (8) Oct 16 (14) Oct 14 (9) Oct 13 (11) Oct 12 (9) Oct 11 (13) Oct 10 (7) Oct 09 (15) Oct 07 (7) Oct 06 (11) Oct 05 (18) Oct 04 (14) Oct 03 (1) Oct 02 (10) Sep 30 (11) Sep 29 (11) Sep 28 (11) Sep 27 (15) Sep 26 (7) Sep 24 (9) Sep 23 (11) Sep 22 (7) Sep 21 (17) Sep 20 (20) Sep 19 (4) Sep 18 (11) Sep 16 (10) Sep 15 (12) Sep 14 (9) Sep 13 (12) Sep 12 (14) Sep 11 (4) Sep 10 (8) Sep 09 (9) Sep 08 (5) Sep 07 (13) Sep 06 (15) Sep 05 (8) Sep 04 (11) Sep 03 (10) Sep 02 (12) Sep 01 (12) Aug 31 (14) Aug 30 (14) Aug 29 (8) Aug 28 (8) Aug 27 (9) Aug 26 (12) Aug 25 (6) Aug 24 (8) Aug 23 (12) Aug 22 (6) Aug 21 (5) Aug 20 (6) Aug 19 (9) Aug 18 (4) Aug 17 (7) Aug 16 (11) Aug 15 (2) Aug 14 (12) Aug 12 (15) Aug 11 (11) Aug 10 (6) Aug 09 (7) Aug 08 (3) Aug 07 (4) Aug 06 (5) Aug 05 (7) Aug 04 (7) Aug 03 (4) Aug 02 (5) Aug 01 (5) Jul 31 (7) Jul 30 (5) Jul 29 (9) Jul 28 (8) Jul 27 (8) Jul 26 (7) Jul 25 (6) Jul 23 (8) Jul 22 (6) Jul 21 (5) Jul 20 (9) Jul 19 (5) Jul 18 (15) Jul 15 (14) Jul 14 (5) Jul 13 (6) Jul 12 (12) Jul 11 (8) Jul 10 (3) Jul 09 (11) Jul 08 (8) Jul 07 (7) Jul 06 (10) Jul 05 (4) Jul 04 (4) Jul 03 (5) Jul 02 (7) Jul 01 (8) Jun 30 (7) Jun 29 (10) Jun 28 (8) Jun 27 (4) Jun 26 (5) Jun 25 (4) Jun 24 (2) Jun 23 (11) Jun 22 (5) Jun 21 (7) Jun 20 (3) Jun 19 (7) Jun 18 (10) Jun 17 (11) Jun 16 (5) Jun 15 (5) Jun 14 (7) Jun 13 (14) Jun 11 (6) Jun 10 (8) Jun 09 (9) Jun 08 (11) Jun 07 (14) Jun 06 (16) Jun 03 (8) Jun 02 (12) Jun 01 (5) May 31 (7) May 30 (15) May 28 (7) May 27 (5) May 26 (21) May 25 (14) May 24 (10) May 23 (7) May 22 (8) May 21 (11) May 20 (5) May 19 (4) May 18 (10) May 17 (11) May 16 (5) May 15 (6) May 14 (7) May 13 (12) May 12 (10) May 11 (7) May 10 (13) May 09 (4) May 08 (7) May 07 (3) May 06 (6) May 05 (9) May 04 (14) May 03 (7) May 02 (10) May 01 (10) Apr 30 (6) Apr 29 (9) Apr 28 (5) Apr 27 (9) Apr 26 (8) Apr 25 (8) Apr 24 (6) Apr 23 (14) Apr 22 (16) Apr 21 (11) Apr 20 (7) Apr 19 (16) Apr 18 (8) Apr 17 (7) Apr 16 (10) Apr 15 (8) Apr 14 (5) Apr 13 (11) Apr 12 (10) Apr 11 (8) Apr 10 (12) Apr 09 (5) Apr 08 (13) Apr 07 (9) Apr 06 (11) Apr 05 (15) Apr 04 (7) Apr 03 (15) Apr 02 (5) Apr 01 (11) Mar 31 (12) Mar 30 (10) Mar 29 (8) Mar 28 (7) Mar 27 (12) Mar 26 (8) Mar 25 (8) Mar 24 (7) Mar 23 (15) Mar 22 (17) Mar 21 (9) Mar 20 (8) Mar 19 (4) Mar 18 (16) Mar 17 (8) Mar 16 (19) Mar 15 (13) Mar 14 (7) Mar 13 (20) Mar 11 (5) Mar 10 (11) Mar 09 (13) Mar 08 (13) Mar 07 (7) Mar 06 (6) Mar 05 (9) Mar 04 (10) Mar 03 (16) Mar 02 (16) Mar 01 (13) Feb 29 (8) Feb 28 (6) Feb 27 (16) Feb 26 (10) Feb 25 (6) Feb 24 (12) Feb 23 (14) Feb 22 (9) Feb 21 (11) Feb 20 (8) Feb 19 (12) Feb 18 (12) Feb 17 (11) Feb 16 (8) Feb 15 (9) Feb 14 (7) Feb 13 (10) Feb 12 (11) Feb 11 (13) Feb 10 (5) Feb 09 (6) Feb 08 (4) Feb 07 (9) Feb 06 (13) Feb 05 (10) Feb 04 (11) Feb 03 (7) Feb 02 (19) Jan 31 (21) Jan 29 (11) Jan 28 (10) Jan 27 (13) Jan 26 (7) Jan 25 (5) Jan 24 (2) Jan 23 (8) Jan 22 (13) Jan 21 (11) Jan 20 (9) Jan 19 (13) Jan 18 (4) Jan 17 (11) Jan 15 (7) Jan 14 (13) Jan 13 (9) Jan 12 (9) Jan 11 (5) Jan 10 (8) Jan 09 (7) Jan 08 (7) Jan 07 (6) Jan 06 (11) Jan 05 (7) Jan 04 (7) Jan 03 (3) Jan 02 (8) Jan 01 (5) Dec 31 (10) Dec 30 (9) Dec 29 (7) Dec 28 (9) Dec 27 (4) Dec 26 (1) Dec 25 (5) Dec 24 (6) Dec 23 (6) Dec 22 (7) Dec 21 (6) Dec 20 (7) Dec 19 (13) Dec 18 (16) Dec 17 (10) Dec 16 (13) Dec 15 (11) Dec 14 (8) Dec 13 (4) Dec 12 (9) Dec 11 (10) Dec 10 (12) Dec 09 (10) Dec 08 (13) Dec 07 (7) Dec 06 (12) Dec 05 (8) Dec 04 (11) Dec 03 (12) Dec 02 (16) Dec 01 (14) Nov 30 (10) Nov 29 (11) Nov 28 (15) Nov 27 (16) Nov 26 (11) Nov 25 (9) Nov 24 (13) Nov 23 (10) Nov 22 (1) Nov 21 (7) Nov 20 (12) Nov 19 (10) Nov 18 (11) Nov 17 (11) Nov 16 (10) Nov 15 (3) Nov 14 (10) Nov 13 (14) Nov 12 (8) Nov 11 (13) Nov 10 (10) Nov 09 (6) Nov 08 (9) Nov 07 (11) Nov 06 (12) Nov 05 (17) Nov 04 (12) Nov 03 (11) Nov 02 (5) Nov 01 (12) Oct 31 (11) Oct 30 (11) Oct 29 (10) Oct 28 (18) Oct 27 (16) Oct 26 (11) Oct 25 (9) Oct 24 (12) Oct 23 (11) Oct 22 (14) Oct 21 (12) Oct 20 (17) Oct 19 (12) Oct 18 (13) Oct 17 (15) Oct 16 (14) Oct 15 (10) Oct 14 (16) Oct 13 (12) Oct 12 (13) Oct 11 (8) Oct 10 (12) Oct 09 (21) Oct 08 (22) Oct 07 (19) Oct 06 (18) Oct 05 (6) Oct 04 (17) Oct 03 (13) Oct 02 (14) Oct 01 (13) Sep 30 (14) Sep 29 (15) Sep 28 (12) Sep 27 (11) Sep 26 (15) Sep 25 (13) Sep 24 (9) Sep 23 (10) Sep 22 (12) Sep 21 (8) Sep 20 (4) Sep 19 (12) Sep 18 (12) Sep 17 (16) Sep 16 (21) Sep 15 (14) Sep 14 (7) Sep 13 (5) Sep 12 (10) Sep 11 (16) Sep 10 (7) Sep 09 (8) Sep 08 (10) Sep 07 (7) Sep 06 (5) Sep 05 (8) Sep 04 (9) Sep 03 (8) Sep 02 (11) Sep 01 (10) Aug 31 (4) Aug 30 (6) Aug 29 (1) Aug 28 (10) Aug 27 (8) Aug 26 (8) Aug 25 (14) Aug 24 (4) Aug 23 (3) Aug 22 (5) Aug 21 (13) Aug 20 (9) Aug 19 (13) Aug 18 (3) Aug 17 (3) Aug 16 (3) Aug 15 (6) Aug 14 (8) Aug 13 (7) Aug 12 (12) Aug 11 (9) Aug 10 (8) Aug 09 (14) Aug 08 (6) Aug 07 (1) Aug 06 (4) Aug 05 (8) Aug 04 (6) Aug 03 (6) Aug 02 (2) Aug 01 (6) Jul 31 (6) Jul 30 (3) Jul 29 (6) Jul 28 (8) Jul 27 (7) Jul 25 (4) Jul 24 (6) Jul 23 (5) Jul 22 (3) Jul 21 (7) Jul 20 (5) Jul 18 (6) Jul 17 (5) Jul 16 (4) Jul 15 (9) Jul 14 (2) Jul 13 (8) Jul 12 (1) Jul 11 (5) Jul 10 (8) Jul 09 (3) Jul 08 (3) Jul 07 (13) Jul 05 (2) Jul 04 (5) Jul 03 (6) Jul 02 (6) Jul 01 (7) Jun 30 (7) Jun 29 (3) Jun 28 (1) Jun 27 (4) Jun 26 (7) Jun 25 (4) Jun 24 (6) Jun 23 (9) Jun 22 (4) Jun 21 (3) Jun 19 (4) Jun 18 (7) Jun 17 (7) Jun 16 (7) Jun 15 (11) Jun 12 (6) Jun 11 (3) Jun 10 (10) Jun 09 (3) Jun 08 (3) Jun 07 (4) Jun 06 (2) Jun 05 (9) Jun 04 (8) Jun 03 (9) Jun 02 (6) Jun 01 (4) May 30 (7) May 29 (9) May 28 (13) May 26 (8) May 25 (5) May 24 (2) May 23 (8) May 22 (9) May 21 (7) May 20 (4) May 19 (6) May 18 (7) May 17 (8) May 15 (9) May 14 (5) May 13 (8) May 12 (6) May 11 (6) May 09 (7) May 08 (6) May 07 (11) May 06 (7) May 05 (4) May 04 (11) May 03 (5) May 02 (4) May 01 (9) Apr 30 (6) Apr 29 (4) Apr 28 (9) Apr 27 (4) Apr 26 (3) Apr 25 (5) Apr 24 (3) Apr 23 (10) Apr 22 (8) Apr 21 (9) Apr 20 (3) Apr 19 (4) Apr 18 (8) Apr 17 (7) Apr 16 (4) Apr 15 (6) Apr 14 (8) Apr 13 (3) Apr 12 (6) Apr 10 (2) Apr 09 (4) Apr 08 (5) Apr 07 (5) Apr 06 (2) Apr 05 (2) Apr 04 (5) Apr 03 (7) Apr 02 (7) Apr 01 (12) Mar 31 (12) Mar 30 (3) Mar 29 (1) Mar 28 (2) Mar 27 (6) Mar 26 (2) Mar 25 (5) Mar 24 (4) Mar 23 (7) Mar 22 (4) Mar 21 (6) Mar 20 (9) Mar 19 (9) Mar 18 (8) Mar 17 (9) Mar 16 (7) Mar 15 (11) Mar 13 (5) Mar 12 (12) Mar 11 (9) Mar 10 (12) Mar 09 (4) Mar 08 (5) Mar 07 (5) Mar 06 (5) Mar 05 (5) Mar 04 (6) Mar 03 (11) Mar 02 (5) Mar 01 (8) Feb 27 (9) Feb 26 (9) Feb 25 (8) Feb 24 (6) Feb 23 (4) Feb 22 (3) Feb 21 (6) Feb 20 (3) Feb 19 (10) Feb 18 (9) Feb 17 (7) Feb 16 (5) Feb 15 (2) Feb 14 (8) Feb 13 (12) Feb 12 (8) Feb 11 (10) Feb 10 (7) Feb 09 (6) Feb 08 (3) Feb 07 (2) Feb 06 (7) Feb 05 (4) Feb 04 (11) Feb 03 (5) Feb 02 (7) Feb 01 (4) Jan 31 (5) Jan 30 (8) Jan 29 (12) Jan 28 (6) Jan 27 (8) Jan 26 (13) Jan 24 (8) Jan 23 (12) Jan 22 (8) Jan 21 (10) Jan 20 (8) Jan 19 (6) Jan 18 (9) Jan 17 (6) Jan 16 (4) Jan 15 (11) Jan 14 (4) Jan 13 (6) Jan 12 (7) Jan 11 (6) Jan 10 (2) Jan 09 (6) Jan 08 (5) Jan 07 (6) Jan 06 (4) Jan 05 (4) Jan 04 (3) Jan 03 (6) Jan 02 (2) Jan 01 (3) Dec 31 (6) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (6) Dec 28 (4) Dec 27 (4) Dec 26 (2) Dec 25 (3) Dec 24 (5) Dec 23 (7) Dec 22 (5) Dec 21 (4) Dec 20 (4) Dec 19 (5) Dec 18 (8) Dec 17 (5) Dec 16 (9) Dec 15 (7) Dec 14 (3) Dec 13 (10) Dec 12 (10) Dec 11 (9) Dec 10 (10) Dec 09 (11) Dec 08 (5) Dec 07 (5) Dec 06 (6) Dec 05 (9) Dec 04 (3) Dec 03 (8) Dec 02 (10) Dec 01 (6) Nov 30 (1) Nov 29 (3) Nov 28 (9) Nov 27 (3) Nov 26 (7) Nov 25 (12) Nov 24 (3) Nov 23 (8) Nov 22 (4) Nov 21 (3) Nov 20 (12) Nov 19 (6) Nov 18 (10) Nov 17 (12) Nov 16 (5) Nov 15 (5) Nov 14 (12) Nov 13 (3) Nov 12 (7) Nov 11 (8) Nov 10 (7) Nov 09 (6) Nov 08 (5) Nov 07 (5) Nov 06 (6) Nov 05 (12) Nov 04 (9) Nov 03 (6) Nov 02 (14) Nov 01 (3) Oct 31 (6) Oct 30 (7) Oct 29 (9) Oct 28 (9) Oct 27 (3) Oct 26 (6) Oct 25 (9) Oct 24 (8) Oct 23 (4) Oct 22 (3) Oct 21 (4) Oct 20 (2) Oct 19 (11) Oct 17 (6) Oct 16 (7) Oct 15 (7) Oct 14 (8) Oct 13 (5) Oct 12 (8) Oct 11 (6) Oct 10 (5) Oct 09 (11) Oct 08 (10) Oct 07 (8) Oct 06 (3) Oct 05 (7) Oct 04 (8) Oct 03 (3) Oct 02 (10) Oct 01 (3) Sep 30 (7) Sep 29 (6) Sep 28 (5) Sep 27 (8) Sep 26 (11) Sep 25 (11) Sep 24 (15) Sep 23 (8) Sep 22 (9) Sep 21 (4) Sep 20 (8) Sep 19 (9) Sep 18 (10) Sep 17 (10) Sep 16 (5) Sep 15 (5) Sep 14 (7) Sep 13 (5) Sep 12 (5) Sep 11 (8) Sep 10 (6) Sep 09 (7) Sep 08 (5) Sep 07 (2) Sep 06 (4) Sep 05 (7) Sep 04 (11) Sep 03 (7) Sep 02 (7) Sep 01 (2) Aug 31 (3) Aug 30 (1) Aug 29 (10) Aug 28 (5) Aug 27 (4) Aug 26 (10) Aug 25 (6) Aug 24 (9) Aug 22 (11) Aug 21 (8) Aug 20 (12) Aug 19 (8) Aug 18 (4) Aug 17 (4) Aug 16 (3) Aug 15 (6) Aug 14 (4) Aug 13 (7) Aug 12 (8) Aug 11 (7) Aug 10 (12) Aug 08 (5) Aug 07 (6) Aug 06 (6) Aug 05 (8) Aug 04 (5) Aug 03 (4) Aug 01 (7) Jul 31 (6) Jul 30 (12) Jul 29 (4) Jul 28 (5) Jul 27 (7) Jul 25 (7) Jul 24 (8) Jul 23 (8) Jul 22 (3) Jul 21 (8) Jul 20 (6) Jul 19 (3) Jul 18 (8) Jul 17 (2) Jul 16 (7) Jul 15 (6) Jul 14 (9) Jul 13 (10) Jul 11 (9) Jul 10 (8) Jul 09 (3) Jul 08 (7) Jul 07 (7) Jul 06 (7) Jul 05 (10) Jul 04 (4) Jul 03 (6) Jul 02 (6) Jul 01 (8) Jun 30 (5) Jun 29 (6) Jun 28 (1) Jun 27 (15) Jun 26 (10) Jun 25 (9) Jun 24 (16) Jun 23 (6) Jun 22 (12) Jun 20 (6) Jun 19 (8) Jun 18 (10) Jun 17 (6) Jun 16 (7) Jun 15 (5) Jun 14 (5) Jun 13 (13) Jun 12 (7) Jun 11 (14) Jun 10 (3) Jun 09 (2) Jun 08 (2) Jun 07 (7) Jun 06 (16) Jun 05 (7) Jun 04 (18) Jun 03 (12) Jun 02 (8) May 31 (3) May 30 (6) May 29 (6) May 28 (7) May 27 (4) May 26 (4) May 25 (6) May 23 (4) May 22 (8) May 21 (5) May 20 (6) May 19 (2) May 18 (9) May 17 (1) May 16 (5) May 15 (5) May 14 (7) May 13 (7) May 12 (7) May 11 (4) May 10 (4) May 09 (5) May 08 (10) May 07 (4) May 06 (13) May 05 (4) May 04 (10) May 02 (2) May 01 (5) Apr 30 (9) Apr 29 (6) Apr 28 (3) Apr 27 (4) Apr 26 (9) Apr 25 (9) Apr 24 (7) Apr 23 (11) Apr 22 (7) Apr 21 (3) Apr 20 (10) Apr 19 (6) Apr 18 (5) Apr 17 (6) Apr 16 (6) Apr 15 (7) Apr 14 (11) Apr 13 (4) Apr 12 (5) Apr 11 (9) Apr 10 (4) Apr 09 (6) Apr 08 (6) Apr 07 (3) Apr 06 (6) Apr 05 (10) Apr 03 (9) Apr 02 (9) Apr 01 (12) Mar 31 (4) Mar 30 (9) Mar 29 (10) Mar 28 (7) Mar 27 (8) Mar 26 (8) Mar 25 (15) Mar 24 (11) Mar 23 (8) Mar 22 (7) Mar 21 (14) Mar 20 (6) Mar 19 (11) Mar 18 (11) Mar 17 (12) Mar 16 (8) Mar 15 (8) Mar 14 (13) Mar 13 (8) Mar 12 (10) Mar 11 (8) Mar 10 (7) Mar 09 (3) Mar 08 (12) Mar 07 (15) Mar 06 (16) Mar 05 (9) Mar 04 (6) Mar 03 (12) Mar 02 (20) Feb 28 (11) Feb 27 (8) Feb 26 (11) Feb 25 (6) Feb 24 (14) Feb 23 (5) Feb 22 (6) Feb 21 (8) Feb 20 (11) Feb 19 (7) Feb 18 (4) Feb 17 (8) Feb 16 (11) Feb 15 (3) Feb 14 (10) Feb 13 (4) Feb 12 (10) Feb 11 (7) Feb 10 (7) Feb 09 (4) Feb 08 (6) Feb 07 (5) Feb 06 (4) Feb 05 (10) Feb 04 (5) Feb 03 (4) Feb 02 (4) Feb 01 (3) Jan 31 (3) Jan 30 (5) Jan 29 (2) Jan 28 (6) Jan 27 (3) Jan 26 (2) Jan 25 (5) Jan 24 (7) Jan 23 (4) Jan 22 (4) Jan 21 (5) Jan 20 (5) Jan 19 (6) Jan 18 (7) Jan 17 (6) Jan 16 (4) Jan 15 (3) Jan 14 (5) Jan 13 (4) Jan 12 (5) Jan 11 (3) Jan 10 (5) Jan 09 (6) Jan 08 (6) Jan 07 (3) Jan 06 (1) Jan 05 (4) Jan 04 (5) Jan 03 (3) Jan 02 (6) Jan 01 (2) Dec 31 (6) Dec 30 (1) Dec 29 (5) Dec 27 (1) Dec 26 (2) Dec 25 (4) Dec 24 (8) Dec 23 (2) Dec 22 (1) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (8) Dec 18 (3) Dec 17 (4) Dec 16 (3) Dec 15 (3) Dec 14 (3) Dec 13 (3) Dec 12 (4) Dec 11 (4) Dec 10 (7) Dec 09 (5) Dec 08 (2) Dec 07 (5) Dec 06 (6) Dec 05 (10) Dec 04 (9) Dec 03 (4) Dec 02 (2) Dec 01 (8) Nov 29 (5) Nov 28 (7) Nov 27 (5) Nov 26 (9) Nov 25 (3) Nov 24 (5) Nov 23 (6) Nov 22 (5) Nov 21 (12) Nov 20 (12) Nov 19 (10) Nov 18 (4) Nov 17 (3) Nov 16 (8) Nov 15 (7) Nov 14 (7) Nov 13 (6) Nov 12 (12) Nov 11 (6) Nov 10 (3) Nov 09 (4) Nov 08 (10) Nov 07 (5) Nov 06 (5) Nov 05 (9) Nov 04 (4) Nov 03 (4) Nov 02 (3) Nov 01 (3) Oct 31 (10) Oct 30 (4) Oct 29 (11) Oct 28 (3) Oct 27 (7) Oct 26 (7) Oct 25 (6) Oct 24 (7) Oct 23 (11) Oct 22 (2) Oct 21 (7) Oct 20 (4) Oct 19 (6) Oct 18 (7) Oct 17 (5) Oct 16 (8) Oct 15 (5) Oct 14 (5) Oct 13 (3) Oct 12 (7) Oct 11 (20) Oct 10 (2) Oct 09 (4) Oct 08 (21) Oct 07 (20) Oct 06 (34) Oct 04 (24) Oct 03 (21) Oct 02 (3) Oct 01 (7) Sep 30 (3) Sep 29 (5) Sep 28 (6) Sep 27 (5) Sep 26 (6) Sep 25 (5) Sep 24 (2) Sep 23 (8) Sep 22 (4) Sep 21 (3) Sep 20 (9) Sep 19 (11) Sep 18 (5) Sep 17 (7) Sep 16 (6) Sep 15 (3) Sep 14 (7) Sep 13 (8) Sep 12 (11) Sep 11 (7) Sep 10 (6) Sep 09 (5) Sep 08 (3) Sep 07 (6) Sep 06 (10) Sep 05 (7) Sep 04 (7) Sep 03 (5) Sep 02 (4) Sep 01 (8) Aug 31 (5) Aug 30 (7) Aug 29 (10) Aug 28 (7) Aug 27 (6) Aug 26 (6) Aug 25 (3) Aug 24 (8) Aug 23 (6) Aug 22 (6) Aug 21 (8) Aug 20 (8) Aug 19 (4) Aug 18 (2) Aug 17 (5) Aug 16 (7) Aug 15 (4) Aug 14 (3) Aug 13 (4) Aug 12 (6) Aug 11 (6) Aug 10 (4) Aug 09 (8) Aug 08 (6) Aug 07 (4) Aug 06 (6) Aug 05 (4) Aug 04 (12) Aug 03 (3) Aug 02 (4) Aug 01 (10) Jul 31 (3) Jul 30 (7) Jul 29 (3) Jul 28 (6) Jul 27 (4) Jul 26 (5) Jul 25 (4) Jul 24 (7) Jul 23 (10) Jul 22 (8) Jul 21 (5) Jul 20 (4) Jul 19 (7) Jul 18 (9) Jul 17 (10) Jul 16 (11) Jul 15 (5) Jul 13 (5) Jul 12 (9) Jul 11 (11) Jul 10 (12) Jul 09 (6) Jul 08 (5) Jul 07 (8) Jul 06 (9) Jul 05 (10) Jul 04 (8) Jul 03 (10) Jul 02 (12) Jul 01 (8) Jun 30 (5) Jun 29 (6) Jun 28 (23) Jun 27 (18) Jun 26 (12) Jun 25 (14) Jun 24 (15) Jun 23 (11) Jun 22 (11) Jun 21 (15) Jun 20 (9) Jun 19 (8) Jun 18 (11) Jun 17 (7) Jun 16 (6) Jun 15 (6) Jun 14 (6) Jun 13 (5) Jun 12 (6) Jun 11 (9) Jun 10 (10) Jun 09 (9) Jun 08 (6) Jun 07 (2) Jun 06 (6) Jun 05 (4) Jun 04 (3) Jun 03 (4) Jun 02 (3) Jun 01 (6) May 31 (3) May 30 (5) May 29 (8) May 28 (7) May 27 (2) May 26 (2) May 25 (8) May 24 (7) May 23 (6) May 22 (9) May 21 (6) May 20 (5) May 19 (6) May 18 (9) May 17 (10) May 16 (11) May 15 (5) May 14 (11) May 13 (6) May 12 (7) May 11 (7) May 10 (5) May 09 (3) May 08 (10) May 07 (8) May 06 (11) May 05 (5) May 04 (9) May 03 (3) May 02 (2) May 01 (5) Apr 30 (5) Apr 29 (8) Apr 28 (6) Apr 27 (4) Apr 26 (9) Apr 25 (11) Apr 24 (4) Apr 23 (11) Apr 22 (7) Apr 21 (5) Apr 20 (7) Apr 19 (10) Apr 18 (8) Apr 17 (10) Apr 16 (8) Apr 15 (4) Apr 14 (5) Apr 13 (7) Apr 12 (11) Apr 11 (6) Apr 10 (7) Apr 09 (6) Apr 08 (3) Apr 07 (3) Apr 06 (9) Apr 05 (10) Apr 04 (7) Apr 03 (2) Apr 02 (6) Apr 01 (4) Mar 31 (3) Mar 30 (4) Mar 29 (3) Mar 28 (5) Mar 27 (10) Mar 26 (5) Mar 25 (4) Mar 24 (5) Mar 23 (7) Mar 22 (6) Mar 21 (9) Mar 20 (5) Mar 19 (5) Mar 18 (9) Mar 17 (2) Mar 16 (8) Mar 15 (10) Mar 14 (9) Mar 13 (10) Mar 12 (10) Mar 11 (2) Mar 10 (1) Mar 09 (6) Mar 08 (4) Mar 07 (4) Mar 06 (3) Mar 05 (3) Mar 04 (7) Mar 03 (6) Mar 02 (8) Mar 01 (9) Feb 28 (6) Feb 27 (3) Feb 26 (8) Feb 25 (7) Feb 24 (3) Feb 23 (4) Feb 22 (4) Feb 21 (7) Feb 20 (4) Feb 19 (4) Feb 18 (2) Feb 17 (1) Feb 16 (6) Feb 15 (6) Feb 14 (5) Feb 13 (4) Feb 12 (7) Feb 11 (2) Feb 10 (2) Feb 09 (5) Feb 08 (5) Feb 07 (9) Feb 06 (4) Feb 05 (9) Feb 04 (3) Feb 03 (3) Feb 02 (10) Feb 01 (9) Jan 31 (5) Jan 30 (8) Jan 29 (5) Jan 28 (3) Jan 27 (4) Jan 26 (5) Jan 25 (6) Jan 24 (5) Jan 23 (4) Jan 22 (8) Jan 21 (3) Jan 20 (3) Jan 19 (7) Jan 18 (3) Jan 17 (6) Jan 16 (8) Jan 15 (7) Jan 14 (9) Jan 13 (1) Jan 12 (7) Jan 11 (1) Jan 10 (3) Jan 09 (3) Jan 08 (5) Jan 07 (4) Jan 06 (2) Jan 05 (3) Jan 04 (5) Jan 03 (4) Jan 02 (4) Jan 01 (4) Dec 31 (3) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (5) Dec 28 (8) Dec 27 (4) Dec 26 (4) Dec 25 (2) Dec 24 (4) Dec 23 (4) Dec 22 (7) Dec 21 (5) Dec 20 (3) Dec 19 (4) Dec 18 (6) Dec 17 (4) Dec 16 (5) Dec 15 (5) Dec 14 (8) Dec 13 (3) Dec 12 (6) Dec 11 (8) Dec 10 (5) Dec 09 (4) Dec 08 (4) Dec 07 (7) Dec 06 (7) Dec 05 (6) Dec 04 (6) Dec 03 (7) Dec 02 (1) Dec 01 (6) Nov 30 (2) Nov 29 (8) Nov 28 (16) Nov 27 (7) Nov 26 (5) Nov 25 (2) Nov 24 (6) Nov 23 (5) Nov 22 (5) Nov 21 (5) Nov 20 (15) Nov 19 (8) Nov 18 (2) Nov 17 (3) Nov 16 (5) Nov 15 (7) Nov 14 (6) Nov 13 (9) Nov 12 (7) Nov 11 (8) Nov 10 (3) Nov 09 (5) Nov 08 (8) Nov 07 (9) Nov 06 (9) Nov 05 (1) Nov 04 (4) Nov 03 (8) Nov 02 (6) Nov 01 (3) Oct 31 (6) Oct 30 (7) Oct 29 (3) Oct 28 (3) Oct 27 (4) Oct 26 (4) Oct 25 (8) Oct 24 (4) Oct 23 (1) Oct 22 (6) Oct 21 (1) Oct 20 (8) Oct 19 (6) Oct 18 (10) Oct 17 (6) Oct 16 (15) Oct 15 (4) Oct 14 (5) Oct 13 (3) Oct 12 (9) Oct 11 (7) Oct 10 (1) Oct 09 (5) Oct 08 (7) Oct 07 (3) Oct 06 (8) Oct 05 (5) Oct 04 (3) Oct 03 (7) Oct 02 (6) Oct 01 (6) Sep 30 (8) Sep 29 (6) Sep 28 (13) Sep 27 (10) Sep 26 (8) Sep 25 (8) Sep 24 (8) Sep 23 (3) Sep 22 (7) Sep 21 (9) Sep 20 (7) Sep 19 (8) Sep 18 (4) Sep 17 (3) Sep 16 (4) Sep 15 (8) Sep 14 (5) Sep 13 (7) Sep 12 (7) Sep 11 (9) Sep 10 (4) Sep 09 (10) Sep 08 (4) Sep 07 (12) Sep 06 (13) Sep 05 (15) Sep 04 (5) Sep 03 (4) Sep 02 (6) Sep 01 (9) Aug 31 (7) Aug 30 (6) Aug 29 (8) Aug 28 (11) Aug 27 (2) Aug 26 (6) Aug 25 (15) Aug 24 (6) Aug 23 (8) Aug 22 (5) Aug 21 (6) Aug 20 (7) Aug 19 (2) Aug 18 (5) Aug 17 (5) Aug 16 (11) Aug 15 (4) Aug 14 (6) Aug 13 (9) Aug 12 (4) Aug 11 (5) Aug 10 (6) Aug 09 (5) Aug 08 (7) Aug 07 (9) Aug 06 (4) Aug 05 (4) Aug 04 (4) Aug 03 (8) Aug 02 (9) Aug 01 (10) Jul 31 (11) Jul 30 (4) Jul 29 (3) Jul 28 (11) Jul 27 (4) Jul 26 (7) Jul 25 (7) Jul 24 (4) Jul 23 (8) Jul 22 (5) Jul 21 (4) Jul 20 (10) Jul 19 (6) Jul 18 (9) Jul 17 (6) Jul 16 (7) Jul 15 (6) Jul 14 (4) Jul 13 (7) Jul 12 (8) Jul 11 (6) Jul 10 (14) Jul 09 (6) Jul 08 (5) Jul 07 (4) Jul 06 (9) Jul 05 (8) Jul 04 (5) Jul 03 (8) Jul 02 (5) Jul 01 (5) Jun 30 (6) Jun 29 (3) Jun 28 (3) Jun 27 (4) Jun 26 (8) Jun 25 (3) Jun 24 (5) Jun 23 (14) Jun 22 (11) Jun 21 (5) Jun 20 (8) Jun 19 (7) Jun 18 (4) Jun 17 (3) Jun 16 (12) Jun 15 (12) Jun 14 (10) Jun 13 (10) Jun 12 (9) Jun 11 (6) Jun 10 (12) Jun 09 (4) Jun 08 (3) Jun 07 (12) Jun 06 (6) Jun 05 (7) Jun 04 (6) Jun 03 (3) Jun 02 (4) Jun 01 (8) May 31 (4) May 30 (3) May 29 (8) May 28 (7) May 27 (4) May 26 (3) May 25 (5) May 24 (9) May 23 (16) May 22 (12) May 21 (11) May 20 (7) May 19 (10) May 18 (8) May 17 (8) May 16 (10) May 15 (8) May 14 (5) May 13 (1) May 12 (6) May 11 (9) May 10 (9) May 09 (10) May 08 (9) May 07 (6) May 06 (5) May 05 (7) May 04 (10) May 03 (7) May 02 (9) May 01 (10) Apr 30 (4) Apr 29 (9) Apr 28 (12) Apr 27 (9) Apr 26 (4) Apr 25 (5) Apr 24 (9) Apr 23 (4) Apr 22 (7) Apr 21 (8) Apr 20 (9) Apr 19 (6) Apr 18 (4) Apr 17 (2) Apr 16 (4) Apr 15 (10) Apr 14 (7) Apr 13 (5) Apr 12 (7) Apr 11 (7) Apr 10 (7) Apr 09 (6) Apr 08 (7) Apr 07 (10) Apr 06 (8) Apr 05 (8) Apr 04 (9) Apr 03 (6) Apr 02 (4) Apr 01 (4) Mar 31 (11) Mar 30 (12) Mar 29 (16) Mar 28 (8) Mar 27 (10) Mar 26 (12) Mar 25 (6) Mar 24 (9) Mar 23 (3) Mar 22 (12) Mar 21 (12) Mar 20 (14) Mar 19 (8) Mar 18 (7) Mar 17 (8) Mar 16 (4) Mar 15 (10) Mar 14 (9) Mar 13 (9) Mar 12 (6) Mar 11 (5) Mar 10 (13) Mar 09 (8) Mar 08 (10) Mar 07 (12) Mar 06 (6) Mar 05 (4) Mar 04 (2) Mar 03 (3) Mar 02 (12) Mar 01 (8) Feb 29 (11) Feb 28 (5) Feb 27 (3) Feb 26 (13) Feb 25 (10) Feb 24 (13) Feb 23 (10) Feb 22 (9) Feb 21 (18) Feb 20 (6) Feb 19 (7) Feb 18 (9) Feb 17 (5) Feb 16 (9) Feb 15 (7) Feb 14 (6) Feb 13 (5) Feb 12 (6) Feb 11 (4) Feb 10 (8) Feb 09 (5) Feb 08 (8) Feb 07 (10) Feb 06 (7) Feb 05 (7) Feb 04 (5) Feb 03 (11) Feb 02 (4) Feb 01 (3) Jan 31 (12) Jan 30 (7) Jan 29 (7) Jan 28 (7) Jan 27 (12) Jan 26 (7) Jan 25 (11) Jan 24 (4) Jan 23 (6) Jan 22 (8) Jan 21 (12) Jan 20 (11) Jan 19 (6) Jan 18 (6) Jan 17 (11) Jan 16 (9) Jan 15 (4) Jan 14 (3) Jan 13 (6) Jan 12 (9) Jan 11 (9) Jan 10 (10) Jan 09 (5) Jan 08 (10) Jan 07 (5) Jan 06 (6) Jan 05 (8) Jan 04 (5) Jan 03 (8) Jan 02 (7) Jan 01 (7) Dec 31 (10) Dec 30 (11) Dec 29 (6) Dec 28 (5) Dec 27 (10) Dec 26 (4) Dec 25 (5) Dec 24 (7) Dec 23 (2) Dec 22 (9) Dec 21 (8) Dec 20 (8) Dec 19 (5) Dec 18 (1) Dec 17 (5) Dec 16 (6) Dec 15 (5) Dec 14 (13) Dec 13 (8) Dec 12 (7) Dec 11 (9) Dec 10 (12) Dec 09 (7) Dec 08 (11) Dec 07 (9) Dec 06 (11) Dec 05 (10) Dec 04 (6) Dec 03 (8) Dec 02 (6) Dec 01 (14) Nov 30 (7) Nov 29 (8) Nov 28 (8) Nov 27 (6) Nov 26 (9) Nov 25 (10) Nov 24 (12) Nov 23 (10) Nov 22 (10) Nov 21 (10) Nov 20 (4) Nov 19 (4) Nov 18 (8) Nov 17 (9) Nov 16 (9) Nov 15 (12) Nov 14 (6) Nov 13 (9) Nov 12 (3) Nov 11 (9) Nov 10 (10) Nov 09 (10) Nov 08 (7) Nov 07 (8) Nov 06 (10) Nov 05 (8) Nov 04 (7) Nov 03 (10) Nov 02 (11) Nov 01 (10) Oct 31 (5) Oct 30 (8) Oct 29 (8) Oct 28 (8) Oct 27 (11) Oct 26 (6) Oct 25 (9) Oct 24 (10) Oct 23 (5) Oct 22 (14) Oct 21 (10) Oct 20 (8) Oct 19 (11) Oct 18 (13) Oct 17 (7) Oct 16 (6) Oct 15 (9) Oct 14 (7) Oct 13 (12) Oct 12 (13) Oct 11 (9) Oct 10 (8) Oct 09 (9) Oct 08 (7) Oct 07 (12) Oct 06 (8) Oct 05 (13) Oct 04 (11) Oct 03 (7) Oct 02 (5) Oct 01 (14) Sep 30 (12) Sep 29 (12) Sep 28 (11) Sep 27 (11) Sep 26 (7) Sep 25 (10) Sep 24 (3) Sep 23 (7) Sep 22 (8) Sep 21 (8) Sep 20 (8) Sep 19 (7) Sep 18 (5) Sep 17 (14) Sep 16 (7) Sep 15 (11) Sep 14 (13) Sep 13 (11) Sep 12 (9) Sep 11 (5) Sep 10 (4) Sep 09 (13) Sep 08 (11) Sep 07 (11) Sep 06 (16) Sep 05 (1) Sep 04 (10) Sep 03 (8) Sep 02 (8) Sep 01 (7) Aug 31 (1) Aug 30 (6) Aug 29 (2) Aug 28 (3) Aug 27 (6) Aug 26 (8) Aug 25 (5) Aug 24 (5) Aug 23 (6) Aug 22 (7) Aug 21 (6) Aug 20 (4) Aug 19 (9) Aug 18 (7) Aug 17 (7) Aug 16 (10) Aug 15 (2) Aug 14 (5) Aug 13 (5) Aug 12 (10) Aug 11 (5) Aug 10 (4) Aug 09 (8) Aug 08 (3) Aug 07 (5) Aug 06 (12) Aug 05 (5) Aug 04 (7) Aug 03 (6) Aug 02 (7) Aug 01 (14) Jul 31 (7) Jul 30 (7) Jul 29 (13) Jul 28 (10) Jul 27 (6) Jul 26 (7) Jul 25 (7) Jul 24 (4) Jul 23 (12) Jul 22 (14) Jul 21 (6) Jul 20 (9) Jul 19 (12) Jul 18 (9) Jul 17 (4) Jul 16 (6) Jul 15 (8) Jul 14 (15) Jul 13 (8) Jul 12 (10) Jul 11 (6) Jul 10 (6) Jul 09 (6) Jul 08 (6) Jul 07 (9) Jul 06 (15) Jul 05 (6) Jul 04 (10) Jul 03 (6) Jul 02 (6) Jul 01 (11) Jun 30 (7) Jun 29 (4) Jun 28 (8) Jun 27 (8) Jun 26 (5) Jun 25 (11) Jun 24 (9) Jun 23 (10) Jun 22 (8) Jun 21 (8) Jun 20 (6) Jun 19 (5) Jun 18 (15) Jun 17 (8) Jun 16 (13) Jun 15 (15) Jun 14 (11) Jun 13 (6) Jun 12 (15) Jun 11 (7) Jun 10 (7) Jun 09 (18) Jun 08 (20) Jun 07 (17) Jun 06 (9) Jun 05 (9) Jun 04 (12) Jun 03 (13) Jun 02 (14) Jun 01 (8) May 31 (13) May 30 (8) May 29 (6) May 28 (8) May 27 (17) May 26 (8) May 25 (13) May 24 (12) May 23 (9) May 22 (4) May 21 (4) May 20 (11) May 19 (14) May 18 (6) May 17 (10) May 16 (4) May 15 (5) May 14 (28) May 12 (9) May 11 (17) May 10 (15) May 09 (12) May 08 (5) May 07 (4) May 06 (10) May 05 (8) May 04 (10) May 03 (5) May 02 (6) May 01 (8) Apr 30 (8) Apr 29 (12) Apr 28 (6) Apr 27 (11) Apr 26 (12) Apr 25 (6) Apr 24 (3) Apr 23 (5) Apr 22 (10) Apr 21 (19) Apr 20 (13) Apr 19 (11) Apr 18 (11) Apr 17 (5) Apr 16 (12) Apr 15 (11) Apr 14 (17) Apr 13 (6) Apr 12 (16) Apr 11 (10) Apr 10 (1) Apr 09 (18) Apr 08 (14) Apr 07 (6) Apr 06 (10) Apr 05 (21) Apr 04 (12) Apr 03 (4) Apr 02 (13) Apr 01 (8) Mar 31 (10) Mar 30 (11) Mar 29 (10) Mar 28 (8) Mar 27 (6) Mar 26 (12) Mar 25 (15) Mar 24 (10) Mar 23 (12) Mar 22 (12) Mar 21 (8) Mar 20 (4) Mar 19 (11) Mar 18 (7) Mar 17 (7) Mar 16 (9) Mar 15 (10) Mar 14 (4) Mar 13 (2) Mar 12 (14) Mar 11 (13) Mar 10 (7) Mar 09 (9) Mar 08 (17) Mar 07 (5) Mar 06 (7) Mar 05 (13) Mar 04 (10) Mar 03 (14) Mar 02 (12) Mar 01 (18) Feb 28 (8) Feb 27 (2) Feb 26 (9) Feb 25 (13) Feb 24 (17) Feb 23 (13) Feb 22 (12) Feb 21 (11) Feb 20 (11) Feb 19 (16) Feb 18 (17) Feb 17 (15) Feb 16 (15) Feb 15 (15) Feb 14 (10) Feb 13 (8) Feb 12 (10) Feb 11 (15) Feb 10 (11) Feb 09 (13) Feb 08 (10) Feb 07 (9) Feb 06 (6) Feb 05 (15) Feb 04 (15) Feb 03 (11) Feb 02 (14) Feb 01 (15) Jan 31 (11) Jan 30 (9) Jan 29 (19) Jan 28 (9) Jan 27 (9) Jan 26 (16) Jan 25 (19) Jan 24 (17) Jan 23 (8) Jan 22 (15) Jan 21 (9) Jan 20 (11) Jan 19 (7) Jan 18 (9) Jan 17 (6) Jan 16 (7) Jan 15 (12) Jan 14 (9) Jan 13 (14) Jan 12 (11) Jan 11 (13) Jan 10 (8) Jan 09 (8) Jan 08 (20) Jan 07 (11) Jan 06 (11) Jan 05 (8) Jan 04 (14) Jan 03 (6) Jan 02 (7) Jan 01 (7) Dec 31 (14) Dec 30 (15) Dec 29 (7) Dec 28 (10) Dec 27 (4) Dec 26 (3) Dec 25 (11) Dec 24 (9) Dec 23 (9) Dec 22 (15) Dec 21 (12) Dec 20 (11) Dec 19 (4) Dec 18 (16) Dec 17 (6) Dec 16 (12) Dec 15 (14) Dec 14 (11) Dec 13 (10) Dec 12 (6) Dec 11 (10) Dec 10 (17) Dec 09 (11) Dec 08 (12) Dec 07 (16) Dec 06 (11) Dec 05 (5) Dec 04 (12) Dec 03 (15) Dec 02 (15) Dec 01 (12) Nov 30 (16) Nov 29 (7) Nov 28 (11) Nov 27 (13) Nov 26 (13) Nov 25 (16) Nov 24 (15) Nov 23 (10) Nov 22 (10) Nov 21 (4) Nov 20 (8) Nov 19 (9) Nov 18 (16) Nov 17 (11) Nov 16 (11) Nov 15 (10) Nov 14 (9) Nov 13 (6) Nov 12 (10) Nov 11 (12) Nov 10 (15) Nov 09 (9) Nov 08 (10) Nov 07 (6) Nov 06 (7) Nov 05 (12) Nov 04 (14) Nov 03 (10) Nov 02 (13) Nov 01 (9) Oct 31 (9) Oct 30 (11) Oct 29 (18) Oct 28 (13) Oct 27 (23) Oct 26 (12) Oct 25 (14) Oct 24 (20) Oct 22 (18) Oct 21 (18) Oct 20 (19) Oct 19 (12) Oct 18 (11) Oct 17 (5) Oct 16 (18) Oct 15 (8) Oct 14 (11) Oct 13 (9) Oct 12 (13) Oct 11 (6) Oct 10 (7) Oct 09 (27) Oct 08 (14) Oct 07 (10) Oct 06 (9) Oct 05 (7) Oct 04 (10) Oct 03 (6) Oct 02 (9) Oct 01 (13) Sep 30 (12) Sep 29 (13) Sep 28 (8) Sep 27 (9) Sep 26 (8) Sep 25 (14) Sep 24 (4) Sep 23 (14) Sep 22 (20) Sep 21 (11) Sep 20 (6) Sep 19 (9) Sep 18 (14) Sep 17 (8) Sep 16 (17) Sep 15 (6) Sep 14 (11) Sep 13 (9) Sep 12 (4) Sep 11 (7) Sep 10 (14) Sep 09 (12) Sep 08 (17) Sep 07 (12) Sep 06 (13) Sep 05 (9) Sep 04 (20) Sep 03 (16) Sep 02 (16) Sep 01 (10) Aug 31 (13) Aug 30 (4) Aug 29 (9) Aug 28 (6) Aug 27 (8) Aug 26 (11) Aug 25 (10) Aug 24 (14) Aug 23 (12) Aug 22 (13) Aug 21 (10) Aug 20 (13) Aug 19 (15) Aug 18 (8) Aug 17 (10) Aug 16 (8) Aug 15 (3) Aug 14 (11) Aug 13 (12) Aug 12 (15) Aug 11 (10) Aug 10 (17) Aug 09 (6) Aug 08 (13) Aug 07 (11) Aug 06 (13) Aug 05 (11) Aug 04 (11) Aug 03 (10) Aug 02 (7) Aug 01 (6) Jul 31 (10) Jul 30 (21) Jul 29 (14) Jul 28 (13) Jul 27 (16) Jul 26 (10) Jul 25 (15) Jul 24 (17) Jul 23 (15) Jul 22 (15) Jul 21 (19) Jul 20 (17) Jul 19 (9) Jul 18 (7) Jul 17 (26) Jul 16 (18) Jul 15 (20) Jul 14 (16) Jul 13 (19) Jul 12 (11) Jul 11 (5) Jul 10 (13) Jul 09 (11) Jul 08 (8) Jul 07 (12) Jul 06 (16) Jul 05 (9) Jul 04 (5) Jul 03 (15) Jul 02 (11) Jul 01 (14) Jun 30 (13) Jun 29 (19) Jun 28 (8) Jun 27 (9) Jun 26 (16) Jun 25 (22) Jun 24 (17) Jun 23 (11) Jun 22 (15) Jun 21 (14) Jun 20 (8) Jun 19 (17) Jun 18 (10) Jun 17 (10) Jun 16 (17) Jun 15 (13) Jun 14 (14) Jun 13 (4) Jun 12 (13) Jun 11 (15) Jun 10 (25) Jun 09 (10) Jun 08 (23) Jun 07 (14) Jun 06 (20) Jun 05 (10) Jun 04 (11) Jun 03 (12) Jun 02 (21) Jun 01 (14) May 31 (10) May 30 (14) May 29 (8) May 28 (23) May 27 (20) May 26 (16) May 25 (13) May 24 (12) May 23 (10) May 22 (18) May 21 (14) May 20 (12) May 19 (18) May 18 (14) May 17 (13) May 16 (4) May 15 (7) May 14 (16) May 13 (13) May 12 (8) May 11 (18) May 10 (8) May 09 (7) May 08 (13) May 07 (11) May 06 (15) May 05 (18) May 04 (17) May 03 (7) May 02 (5) May 01 (11) Apr 30 (19) Apr 29 (21) Apr 28 (18) Apr 27 (16) Apr 26 (8) Apr 25 (11) Apr 24 (9) Apr 23 (20) Apr 22 (23) Apr 21 (5) Apr 20 (16) Apr 19 (13) Apr 18 (6) Apr 17 (6) Apr 16 (16) Apr 15 (18) Apr 14 (13) Apr 13 (14) Apr 12 (9) Apr 11 (3) Apr 10 (16) Apr 09 (14) Apr 08 (12) Apr 07 (18) Apr 06 (7) Apr 05 (11) Apr 04 (9) Apr 03 (19) Apr 02 (17) Apr 01 (16) Mar 31 (16) Mar 30 (22) Mar 29 (16) Mar 28 (16) Mar 27 (19) Mar 26 (31) Mar 25 (25) Mar 24 (26) Mar 23 (27) Mar 22 (22) Mar 21 (22) Mar 20 (13) Mar 19 (21) Mar 18 (20) Mar 17 (24) Mar 16 (18) Mar 15 (9) Mar 14 (9) Mar 13 (29) Mar 12 (15) Mar 11 (11) Mar 10 (11) Mar 09 (20) Mar 08 (12) Mar 07 (6) Mar 06 (21) Mar 05 (22) Mar 04 (19) Mar 03 (9) Mar 02 (20) Mar 01 (11) Feb 28 (11) Feb 27 (27) Feb 26 (15) Feb 25 (18) Feb 24 (17) Feb 23 (19) Feb 22 (24) Feb 21 (10) Feb 20 (14) Feb 19 (25) Feb 18 (16) Feb 17 (19) Feb 16 (23) Feb 15 (8) Feb 14 (11) Feb 13 (25) Feb 12 (16) Feb 11 (12) Feb 10 (18) Feb 09 (12) Feb 08 (14) Feb 07 (8) Feb 06 (27) Feb 05 (28) Feb 04 (24) Feb 03 (17) Feb 02 (20) Feb 01 (23) Jan 31 (16) Jan 30 (20) Jan 29 (26) Jan 28 (17) Jan 27 (21) Jan 26 (24) Jan 25 (16) Jan 24 (14) Jan 23 (16) Jan 22 (17) Jan 21 (19) Jan 20 (21) Jan 19 (17) Jan 18 (13) Jan 17 (14) Jan 16 (10) Jan 15 (21) Jan 14 (16) Jan 13 (19) Jan 12 (30) Jan 11 (14) Jan 10 (11) Jan 09 (8) Jan 08 (23) Jan 07 (13) Jan 06 (21) Jan 05 (15) Jan 04 (18) Jan 03 (9) Jan 02 (12) Jan 01 (15) Dec 31 (18) Dec 30 (7) Dec 29 (13) Dec 28 (11) Dec 27 (8) Dec 26 (6) Dec 25 (8) Dec 24 (28) Dec 23 (12) Dec 22 (12) Dec 21 (17) Dec 20 (19) Dec 19 (19) Dec 18 (22) Dec 17 (24) Dec 16 (17) Dec 15 (29) Dec 14 (22) Dec 13 (12) Dec 12 (22) Dec 11 (24) Dec 10 (25) Dec 09 (18) Dec 08 (15) Dec 07 (21) Dec 06 (24) Dec 05 (30) Dec 04 (28) Dec 03 (26) Dec 02 (22) Dec 01 (33) Nov 30 (23) Nov 29 (9) Nov 28 (18) Nov 27 (25) Nov 26 (17) Nov 25 (23) Nov 24 (27) Nov 23 (12) Nov 22 (10) Nov 21 (15) Nov 20 (23) Nov 19 (23) Nov 18 (24) Nov 17 (21) Nov 16 (20) Nov 15 (13) Nov 14 (15) Nov 13 (27) Nov 12 (23) Nov 11 (19) Nov 10 (21) Nov 09 (13) Nov 08 (16) Nov 07 (16) Nov 06 (32) Nov 05 (24) Nov 04 (20) Nov 03 (29) Nov 02 (12) Nov 01 (15) Oct 31 (20) Oct 30 (22) Oct 29 (27) Oct 28 (20) Oct 27 (23) Oct 26 (21) Oct 25 (15) Oct 24 (23) Oct 23 (26) Oct 22 (27) Oct 21 (28) Oct 20 (24) Oct 19 (13) Oct 18 (9) Oct 17 (30) Oct 16 (8) Oct 15 (20) Oct 14 (14) Oct 13 (17) Oct 12 (16) Oct 11 (8) Oct 10 (19) Oct 09 (22) Oct 08 (16) Oct 07 (18) Oct 06 (23) Oct 05 (7) Oct 04 (15) Oct 03 (21) Oct 02 (17) Oct 01 (22) Sep 30 (25) Sep 29 (20) Sep 28 (17) Sep 27 (13) Sep 26 (20) Sep 25 (15) Sep 24 (24) Sep 23 (23) Sep 22 (18) Sep 21 (20) Sep 20 (11) Sep 19 (24) Sep 18 (25) Sep 17 (25) Sep 16 (19) Sep 15 (21) Sep 14 (15) Sep 13 (10) Sep 12 (23) Sep 11 (23) Sep 10 (25) Sep 09 (25) Sep 08 (17) Sep 07 (3) Sep 06 (17) Sep 05 (14) Sep 04 (24) Sep 03 (16) Sep 02 (11) Sep 01 (19) Aug 31 (20) Aug 30 (11) Aug 29 (24) Aug 28 (24) Aug 27 (16) Aug 26 (26) Aug 25 (21) Aug 24 (15) Aug 23 (19) Aug 22 (15) Aug 21 (25) Aug 20 (27) Aug 19 (19) Aug 18 (24) Aug 17 (14) Aug 16 (10) Aug 15 (15) Aug 14 (16) Aug 13 (21) Aug 12 (30) Aug 11 (19) Aug 10 (8) Aug 09 (12) Aug 08 (17) Aug 07 (21) Aug 06 (26) Aug 05 (23) Aug 04 (21) Aug 03 (12) Aug 02 (7) Aug 01 (19) Jul 31 (21) Jul 30 (25) Jul 29 (29) Jul 28 (23) Jul 27 (17) Jul 26 (11) Jul 25 (21) Jul 24 (14) Jul 23 (15) Jul 22 (19) Jul 21 (15) Jul 20 (9) Jul 19 (10) Jul 18 (15) Jul 17 (22) Jul 16 (18) Jul 15 (21) Jul 14 (20) Jul 13 (7) Jul 12 (9) Jul 11 (29) Jul 10 (19) Jul 09 (17) Jul 08 (26) Jul 07 (21) Jul 06 (18) Jul 05 (14) Jul 04 (20) Jul 03 (17) Jul 02 (24) Jul 01 (23) Jun 30 (23) Jun 29 (18) Jun 28 (16) Jun 27 (16) Jun 26 (17) Jun 25 (23) Jun 24 (32) Jun 23 (29) Jun 22 (8) Jun 21 (17) Jun 20 (25) Jun 19 (28) Jun 18 (19) Jun 17 (25) Jun 16 (23) Jun 15 (9) Jun 14 (11) Jun 13 (14) Jun 12 (22) Jun 11 (19) Jun 10 (17) Jun 09 (15) Jun 08 (16) Jun 07 (7) Jun 06 (29) Jun 05 (27) Jun 04 (24) Jun 03 (22) Jun 02 (22) Jun 01 (13) May 31 (9) May 30 (26) May 29 (19) May 28 (15) May 27 (15) May 26 (23) May 25 (13) May 24 (12) May 23 (24) May 22 (13) May 21 (21) May 20 (18) May 19 (16) May 18 (7) May 17 (12) May 16 (25) May 15 (24) May 14 (23) May 13 (19) May 12 (17) May 11 (8) May 10 (6) May 09 (14) May 08 (21) May 07 (26) May 06 (14) May 05 (14) May 04 (3) May 03 (3) May 02 (24) May 01 (13) Apr 30 (15) Apr 29 (24) Apr 28 (24) Apr 27 (11) Apr 26 (8) Apr 25 (13) Apr 24 (27) Apr 23 (15) Apr 22 (21) Apr 21 (19) Apr 20 (17) Apr 19 (8) Apr 18 (20) Apr 17 (27) Apr 16 (27) Apr 15 (21) Apr 14 (8) Apr 13 (8) Apr 12 (7) Apr 11 (7) Apr 10 (22) Apr 09 (15) Apr 08 (15) Apr 07 (17) Apr 06 (14) Apr 05 (5) Apr 04 (12) Apr 03 (19) Apr 02 (17) Apr 01 (19) Mar 31 (25) Mar 30 (13) Mar 29 (9) Mar 28 (16) Mar 27 (23) Mar 26 (22) Mar 25 (17) Mar 24 (25) Mar 23 (16) Mar 22 (13) Mar 21 (24) Mar 20 (27) Mar 19 (20) Mar 18 (24) Mar 17 (17) Mar 16 (11) Mar 15 (6) Mar 14 (20) Mar 13 (28) Mar 12 (30) Mar 11 (20) Mar 10 (21) Mar 09 (12) Mar 08 (8) Mar 07 (17) Mar 06 (20) Mar 05 (19) Mar 04 (15) Mar 03 (17) Mar 02 (8) Mar 01 (12) Feb 28 (16) Feb 27 (17) Feb 26 (8) Feb 25 (23) Feb 24 (15) Feb 23 (8) Feb 22 (10) Feb 21 (24) Feb 20 (14) Feb 19 (24) Feb 18 (19) Feb 17 (27) Feb 16 (13) Feb 15 (11) Feb 14 (15) Feb 13 (13) Feb 12 (13) Feb 11 (21) Feb 10 (16) Feb 09 (15) Feb 08 (10) Feb 07 (17) Feb 06 (21) Feb 05 (17) Feb 04 (14) Feb 03 (23) Feb 02 (5) Feb 01 (8) Jan 31 (17) Jan 30 (22) Jan 29 (23) Jan 28 (10) Jan 27 (24) Jan 26 (12) Jan 25 (9) Jan 24 (12) Jan 23 (19) Jan 22 (19) Jan 21 (14) Jan 20 (21) Jan 19 (12) Jan 18 (8) Jan 17 (20) Jan 16 (14) Jan 15 (23) Jan 14 (8) Jan 13 (20) Jan 12 (9) Jan 11 (7) Jan 10 (18) Jan 09 (11) Jan 08 (18) Jan 07 (13) Jan 06 (12) Jan 05 (12) Jan 04 (11) Jan 03 (10) Jan 02 (9) Jan 01 (9) Dec 31 (12) Dec 30 (11) Dec 29 (6) Dec 28 (9) Dec 27 (13) Dec 26 (15) Dec 25 (8) Dec 24 (6) Dec 23 (8) Dec 22 (5) Dec 21 (6) Dec 20 (14) Dec 19 (17) Dec 18 (14) Dec 17 (14) Dec 16 (13) Dec 15 (9) Dec 14 (9) Dec 13 (11) Dec 12 (16) Dec 11 (18) Dec 10 (4) Dec 09 (24) Dec 08 (11) Dec 07 (19) Dec 06 (6) Dec 05 (26) Dec 04 (15) Dec 03 (20) Dec 02 (17) Dec 01 (11) Nov 30 (10) Nov 29 (18) Nov 28 (21) Nov 27 (10) Nov 26 (22) Nov 25 (16) Nov 24 (12) Nov 23 (8) Nov 22 (18) Nov 21 (9) Nov 20 (17) Nov 19 (16) Nov 18 (16) Nov 17 (5) Nov 16 (9) Nov 15 (21) Nov 14 (17) Nov 13 (20) Nov 12 (16) Nov 11 (13) Nov 10 (9) Nov 09 (10) Nov 08 (16) Nov 07 (15) Nov 06 (18) Nov 05 (19) Nov 04 (16) Nov 03 (11) Nov 02 (5) Nov 01 (17) Oct 31 (17) Oct 30 (21) Oct 29 (9) Oct 28 (16) Oct 27 (6) Oct 26 (6) Oct 25 (16) Oct 24 (18) Oct 23 (14) Oct 22 (17) Oct 21 (10) Oct 20 (6) Oct 19 (8) Oct 18 (11) Oct 17 (12) Oct 16 (14) Oct 15 (19) Oct 14 (15) Oct 13 (11) Oct 12 (9) Oct 11 (10) Oct 10 (23) Oct 09 (13) Oct 08 (15) Oct 07 (20) Oct 06 (13) Oct 05 (4) Oct 04 (16) Oct 03 (17) Oct 02 (17) Oct 01 (20) Sep 30 (17) Sep 29 (9) Sep 28 (8) Sep 27 (14) Sep 26 (20) Sep 25 (19) Sep 24 (13) Sep 23 (11) Sep 22 (9) Sep 21 (5) Sep 20 (8) Sep 19 (21) Sep 18 (12) Sep 17 (20) Sep 16 (16) Sep 15 (10) Sep 14 (6) Sep 13 (18) Sep 12 (14) Sep 11 (24) Sep 10 (17) Sep 09 (16) Sep 08 (16) Sep 07 (10) Sep 06 (20) Sep 05 (13) Sep 04 (23) Sep 03 (14) Sep 02 (12) Sep 01 (11) Aug 31 (11) Aug 30 (13) Aug 29 (18) Aug 28 (14) Aug 27 (21) Aug 26 (10) Aug 25 (8) Aug 24 (10) Aug 23 (17) Aug 22 (15) Aug 21 (14) Aug 20 (20) Aug 19 (20) Aug 18 (7) Aug 17 (9) Aug 16 (11) Aug 15 (12) Aug 14 (14) Aug 13 (19) Aug 12 (14) Aug 11 (6) Aug 10 (12) Aug 09 (7) Aug 08 (18) Aug 07 (16) Aug 06 (16) Aug 05 (20) Aug 04 (12) Aug 03 (8) Aug 02 (12) Aug 01 (14) Jul 31 (16) Jul 30 (16) Jul 29 (11) Jul 28 (8) Jul 27 (9) Jul 26 (17) Jul 25 (20) Jul 24 (17) Jul 23 (11) Jul 22 (18) Jul 21 (7) Jul 20 (10) Jul 19 (14) Jul 18 (11) Jul 17 (15) Jul 16 (12) Jul 15 (10) Jul 14 (8) Jul 13 (8) Jul 12 (17) Jul 11 (18) Jul 10 (16) Jul 09 (13) Jul 08 (10) Jul 07 (12) Jul 06 (8) Jul 05 (16) Jul 04 (14) Jul 03 (17) Jul 02 (13) Jul 01 (16) Jun 30 (19) Jun 29 (7) Jun 28 (19) Jun 27 (21) Jun 26 (27) Jun 25 (23) Jun 24 (23) Jun 23 (12) Jun 22 (9) Jun 21 (18) Jun 20 (15) Jun 19 (24) Jun 18 (21) Jun 17 (13) Jun 16 (9) Jun 15 (9) Jun 14 (18) Jun 13 (24) Jun 12 (18) Jun 11 (23) Jun 10 (25) Jun 09 (24) Jun 08 (27) Jun 07 (5) Jun 06 (25) Jun 05 (30) Jun 04 (23) Jun 03 (22) Jun 02 (16) Jun 01 (17) May 31 (18) May 30 (19) May 29 (17) May 28 (23) May 27 (15) May 26 (10) May 25 (19) May 24 (16) May 23 (16) May 22 (27) May 21 (20) May 20 (26) May 19 (6) May 18 (8) May 17 (20) May 16 (8) May 15 (18) May 14 (5) May 13 (21) May 12 (9) May 11 (8) May 10 (12) May 09 (18) May 08 (11) May 07 (27) May 06 (12) May 05 (16) May 04 (19) May 03 (14) May 02 (18) May 01 (18) Apr 30 (25) Apr 29 (27) Apr 28 (11) Apr 27 (10) Apr 26 (18) Apr 25 (10) Apr 24 (29) Apr 23 (29) Apr 22 (14) Apr 21 (15) Apr 20 (20) Apr 19 (22) Apr 18 (16) Apr 17 (32) Apr 16 (12) Apr 15 (21) Apr 14 (21) Apr 13 (15) Apr 12 (13) Apr 11 (14) Apr 10 (16) Apr 09 (20) Apr 08 (36) Apr 07 (22) Apr 06 (11) Apr 05 (28) Apr 04 (20) Apr 03 (29) Apr 02 (32) Apr 01 (18) Mar 31 (12) Mar 30 (9) Mar 29 (15) Mar 28 (22) Mar 27 (24) Mar 26 (17) Mar 25 (17) Mar 24 (13) Mar 23 (5) Mar 22 (12) Mar 21 (15) Mar 20 (18) Mar 19 (19) Mar 18 (16) Mar 17 (10) Mar 16 (6) Mar 15 (18) Mar 14 (24) Mar 13 (18) Mar 12 (18) Mar 11 (17) Mar 10 (13) Mar 09 (12) Mar 08 (18) Mar 07 (25) Mar 06 (16) Mar 05 (16) Mar 04 (22) Mar 03 (17) Mar 02 (6) Mar 01 (23) Feb 29 (19) Feb 28 (25) Feb 27 (26) Feb 26 (23) Feb 25 (12) Feb 24 (13) Feb 23 (15) Feb 22 (26) Feb 21 (31) Feb 20 (12) Feb 19 (21) Feb 18 (15) Feb 17 (10) Feb 16 (15) Feb 15 (19) Feb 14 (15) Feb 13 (25) Feb 12 (20) Feb 11 (9) Feb 10 (7) Feb 09 (28) Feb 08 (20) Feb 07 (22) Feb 06 (20) Feb 05 (19) Feb 04 (14) Feb 03 (16) Feb 02 (28) Feb 01 (37) Jan 31 (27) Jan 30 (31) Jan 29 (18) Jan 28 (14) Jan 27 (10) Jan 26 (18) Jan 25 (26) Jan 24 (34) Jan 23 (21) Jan 22 (21) Jan 21 (18) Jan 20 (18) Jan 19 (18) Jan 18 (26) Jan 17 (24) Jan 16 (23) Jan 15 (30) Jan 14 (20) Jan 13 (18) Jan 12 (24) Jan 11 (11) Jan 10 (23) Jan 09 (22) Jan 08 (17) Jan 07 (17) Jan 06 (9) Jan 05 (18) Jan 04 (15) Jan 03 (19) Jan 02 (14) Jan 01 (6) Dec 31 (12) Dec 30 (4) Dec 29 (15) Dec 28 (11) Dec 27 (7) Dec 26 (10) Dec 25 (16) Dec 24 (13) Dec 23 (16) Dec 22 (11) Dec 21 (26) Dec 20 (28) Dec 19 (14) Dec 18 (25) Dec 17 (23) Dec 16 (19) Dec 15 (22) Dec 14 (38) Dec 13 (26) Dec 12 (25) Dec 11 (27) Dec 10 (31) Dec 09 (15) Dec 08 (30) Dec 07 (31) Dec 06 (27) Dec 05 (38) Dec 04 (25) Dec 03 (27) Dec 02 (15) Dec 01 (36) Nov 30 (23) Nov 29 (17) Nov 28 (23) Nov 27 (13) Nov 26 (16) Nov 25 (14) Nov 24 (18) Nov 23 (21) Nov 22 (21) Nov 21 (24) Nov 20 (20) Nov 19 (23) Nov 18 (17) Nov 17 (17) Nov 16 (34) Nov 15 (25) Nov 14 (17) Nov 13 (21) Nov 12 (18) Nov 11 (9) Nov 10 (15) Nov 09 (9) Nov 08 (9) Nov 07 (12) Nov 06 (8) Nov 05 (4) Oct 29 (1) Oct 01 (1) Jul 29 (1) May 11 (1) Jul 11 (1)
Oct 6, 2017 | By Julia

Just in time for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, South African prosthetics company iMedTech has launched a new initiative for low-income breast cancer survivors. Spearheaded by iMedTech founder and acclaimed mechanical engineer Nneile Nkholise, the new project aims to 3D print 1000 prosthetic breasts for 1000 mastectomy patients in need.

While 3D printed prosthetics are nothing new, Nkholises initiative focuses squarely on the underrepresented issue of artificial breast forms. Its a type of prosthetic thats often overlooked by the mainstream media, yet just as important as 3D printed limbs such as arms and legs when considering the trauma of breast cancer survivors. Take into account the target group of low-income South African women, who lack the resources and funds necessary to acquire a prosthetic, and the iMedTech plan pretty much tops the list of the best news weve heard all week.

As an award-winning technologist, Nkholise is no stranger to groundbreaking innovation. At only 28-years-young, the South African engineer is the founder of iMedTech Group, a Thaba Nchu-based organization that fabricates prostheses using additive manufacturing technology. The idea was born out of Nkholises graduate research at the Central University of Technology, where she discovered that the same methods for treating burn victims and patients with facial deformations can be used to benefit women who have undergone a mastectomy.

Since graduating several years ago, Nkholise has applied her research extensively in the fields of education and technology. Beyond her work with iMedTech, the up-and-coming social entrepreneur is also renowned for project Minute Words, a fun, educational game that uses 3D printed components to engage primary school students in building their vocabulary.



With iMedTech, Nkholise is keen to see those educational opportunities extended to young African women as well. The progressive organization boasts a primary commitment to employ African women under the age of 30 with research experience in mechanical engineering, thus providing a professional platform for innovation and industry development for those often excluded from the field. We all know being a black woman in tech isnt easy (to say the least), but with iMedTech, Nkholise is carving a new space for others like her to grow, learn, and thrive.

So far, her hard work has already started to pay off. Nkholise recently represented South Africa at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit in San Francisco, and was named one of Africas top female innovators at the World Economic Forum last year. The iMedTech founder has also been featured in Forbes Africa Woman magazine, and has participated in the Discovery MedTech Silicon Valley program and Tony Elumelu Foundation. By showing just how much rural African women are capable of achieving in the tech world when given the opportunity, Nkholise is quickly changing the perception that technological advancement can only emerge from first-world nations.

Posted in 3D Printing Application

Maybe you also like:












Oct 6, 2017 | By Tess

French ceramic 3D printing company 3DCeram has entered into a new alliance with Japanese industrial manufacturer Sinto. 3DCeram is confident that the partnership will enable it to not only improve its technologies, but also expand into the Asian and American markets, where Sinto is already prevalent.

Based in Limoges, France, 3DCeram has become a key player in the field of ceramic 3D printing, developing materials and processes for the novel technology. Notably, the company has pushed forward the notion that 3D printed ceramics can have applications beyond pottery and home decoration, and can be used in the aerospace, defense, biomedical, automotive, and luxury goods industry.

Sinto, a Japanese leader in foundry equipment manufacturing, seems to be on the same page about the potential of 3D printed ceramics and will support 3DCeram in its continued growth. In fact, the Limoges-based company has suggested that Sinto will help it in increasing its production capacity for ceramic 3D printers.

Notably, 3DCeram is hoping to benefit from Sintos established reputation in the Asian and American markets so that it can accelerate and expand its ceramic 3D printing exports.

This agreement for the acquisition of a majority stake crowns our efforts to build a successful SME and reinforces our role as responsible managers, attentive to the sustainability of 3DCeram in France and internationally, with the will to grow our teams, commented Christophe Chaput and Richard Gaignon, co-leaders of 3DCeram.

Ceramic parts 3D printed by 3DCeram

This [agreement] allows us to seamlessly consider the future with even more solid funding, to continue our growth, and to offer our customers 360 optimized solutions, built on long-term partnerships, they added.

3DCeram, which currently employs 20 people at its French headquarters, has seen significant growth since its founding. In 2016, for instance, the company experienced a turnover of around two million euros, and saw a 70% overall growth upon 2015.

It currently has operations in a number of countries including France, the UK, Ukraine, Russia, China, South Korea, and Japan. By partnering with Sinto, the company will surely continue to grow its presence and stake in the Asian market, and even perhaps break onto the U.S. market.

We have been working in a relationship of trust with our employees and partners for the past eight years, which has enabled us to achieve our growth objectives, and we thank them for that," 3DCeram said. "Today we choose to move on to a new stage in our history in order to ensure a sustainable expansion with the support of the Sinto team, which we know share the same entrepreneurial spirit that drives us on a daily basis. It will accompany us in the pursuit of our projects.

3DCeram's CERAMAKER 3D printer

From Sintos perspective, the Japanese firm is reportedly eager to add 3D printing technology to its repertoire and will benefit from the partnership with 3DCeram.

Posted in 3D Printer Company

Maybe you also like:












Edward White at Paris Review:

During her several months of training, Litvyak took every opportunity to assert her individuality. First, she refused to have her light brown curls cut short like all the other recruits. When she finally relented, she got hold of peroxide to bleach her hair white-blonde. When handed her standard-issue uniform, she customized it with a glamorous fur collar, an offence for which she was, briefly, arrested. It may seem odd that Litvyak felt so free to express her sense of agency given that she was forever being watched, not only by her military superiors, but by agents of party and state. Yet, despite the horrors it brought, many Soviet citizens experienced the war as an oasis of (relative) freedom, when one could speak and act without worrying about toeing the party line. To think, the writer Nadezhda Mandelstam acidly remarked to her friend Anna Akhmatova, that the best years of our life were during the war when so many people were killed, when we were starving, and my son was doing forced labor. Ivakina branded Litvyak a swanky, flirtatious, aviatrix. It was meant to be a lacerating indictment, but if shed been asked to describe herself in three words, Litvyak mightve plumped for the same ones.

Despite Ivakinas reservations, Raskova felt that Litvyaks obvious flaws were outweighed by her instinctual brilliance in the air. It was a rare gift that no amount of training could provide. Nothing threatened Litvyaks place in Air Group 122, not even the revelation that she had lied on her application form and grossly overstated her experience as a pilot .

more here.
This Northernmost enclave of Napa Valley is certainly its most rustic, which means it still feels like real people live and work here. If Napas grandeur is a bit over the top for you, or if you just want to end your day in a more down-to-earth spot (while still enjoying some pretty luxe amenities), then Calistoga is the place.

Another bonus in Calistoga: the natural volcanic hot springs. Originally discovered by the Wappo tribe more than 500 years ago, their rumored healing powers remain a draw today, along with venerable wineries, classy eateries, quirky shops, and luxury resorts.

Where to Eat + Drink in Calistoga There's no shortage of pie at House of Better. (Emma K. Morris) For a place with such a small town feel, Calistoga has an enormous number of restaurants to visit. And brunch. Lots of brunch. Local Favorites Calistoga Creamery(1473 Lincoln Ave.) isa sweet little scoop shop that uses organic Strauss dairy in their interesting ice cream flavors. // Lincoln Avenue Brewery(1473 Lincoln Ave. B) is a low key respite from the Wine Country scene tucked down a path behind the creamery, and a perfect place to grab a pint or two. // Enjoy another pint on the patio at the Calistoga Inn (1250 Lincoln Ave.), the first brewery to produce beer commercially in Napa County after Prohibition. They even sneak their brews onto the dining menu in dishes like their Best Hash & Eggs (Calistoga Red Alebraised corned beef griddled with pepper, onions, and potatoes, plus poached eggs). If you're feeling nostalgic for college dorm life, you can snag one of 17 minimalist rooms upstairs, complete with common restroom and shower facilities. // Follow the sweet, smoky smells of authentic Louisiana barbecue to the top of Calistoga's main drag, where Buster's Original Southern BBQ (1207 Foothill Blvd.) is firing up the grills. Buster's is a carnivore's dream; have your choice of tri-tip, ribs, chicken, pork loin, pulled pork, hot links and dogs, slathered in their original sauces (which are all family recipes). Go for live jazz and blues on Sunday afternoons. Upscale Favorites + Brunch The upmarket Evangeline(1226 Washington St.) is a quaint patio bistro in le style francais but with "a Creole soul." Here, elegant luncheons include chichi classics like a tour de fruits de mer. There's also a killer croque, gumbo, and a very memorable fried quail. Brunch is back after a pandemic-era pause, with some classics like a Cobb salad, a version of biscuits and gravy with an inverted house-made biscuit on top, and stellar fried chicken and waffles. Dont miss the knockout apple tarte tatin. This is also a great place to enjoy cocktails if you are a little bit sick of all the wine. // The weekend brunch at Sam's Social Club (1712 Lincoln Ave.) is also a must, with decadent sharable yummies like candy cap churros, black truffle deviled eggs, and a few healthy items such as a grilled avocado toast or the breakfast salad. Enjoy Sams large outdoor deck with views of the hillside where you might spot Bambie chowing down on her own meal of leafy greens. // Yet another go-to brunch spot is Lovina(1107 Cedar St.), housed in a historic Craftsman with a pretty garden patio and wonderful food. Perfectly dressed little gems, an amazing BLT, and fun stuff on Model Bakery English muffins will keep you coming back here every time you visit. // Dinner at Solbar (755 Silverado Trail N), Solage's Michelin-starred restaurant, is where youll find chef Gustavo Rios specializing in healthy indulgence. That being said, if you see the butterscotch pudding on the dessert menu, order it and savor every last velvety bite. It will never leave your memory. In addition to recently expanded outdoor seating areas, Solage recently opened Picobar, a more casual, poolside modern Mexican restaurant with outstanding tacos and agave-based cocktails. New Restaurants in Calistoga In the pandemic shuffle, a slew of other new places keep opening up. House of Better(1507 Lincoln Ave.), located at Dr. Wilkinsons Backyard Resort & Mineral Springs (see below) is also a great bet for brunch. Southwestern flair is the theme, with hatch green chilies gracing woodfired flatbreads and New Mexican flat enchiladas, and a signature apple chile pie. Dont leave without trying a slice. They also have fun drinks and a great atmosphere. // Up the street a bit is the new Amaro Italian Kitchen(1457 Lincoln Ave.), a classy bar and classic Italian vibe that replaces Veraison, (but the owners remain the same). As the name suggests, they have one of the most extensive selections of Amaro in the country, and a tempting menu full of things you definitely want to eat while sipping a negroni. // Palisades Eatery (1414 Lincoln Ave.), which opened in 2019, is a cheerful spot where you can find a huge menu with a ton of salads, tacos, sandwiches, pizzasomething for pretty much anyone. // Set to open any day now is the Calistoga Depot(1458 Lincoln Ave.), JC Boissets latest, ambitious build-out of the historic depot and rail car cluster. A cafe and marketplace called Provisions will offer food, plus a distillery, beer, and even some really great lemonade for the kiddos.

Where to Stay in Calistoga A guestroom at the Four Seasons Napa Valley. (Courtesy of Four Seasons) There are as many wonderful places to stay in Calistoga as there are places to eat. The lodging landscape is ever-evolving, with new properties and renovations happening all the time. A big unveiling last year was Dr. Wilkinsons Backyard Resort & Mineral Springs(1507 Lincoln Ave.), the reopening of the iconic 1952 wellness retreat adding a hip new vibe to its vintage charm. A new spa, three mineral pools of varying temperatures, a fun restaurant with pie, and affordable (at least for here in the Napa Valley) rooms will solidify this place as a go-to spot to stay. Dont miss filling up your reusable water bottle (provided for you in your room) with their gigantic Calistoga spring water spigot, complete with multiple filtering layers and lovely brass trim. Remember: Good hydration is key here in wine country. Another new property, and one that was anticipated literally for years, is Four Seasons Napa Valley(400 Silverado Trail). The complete build-out, which included 85 guest rooms and suites, private residences, a vineyard site and tasting room, three restaurants (The Living Room at Truss, The Restaurant, and Campo), a fully supervised Kids for All Seasons center (huge bonus for you parents!), and a central pool was finally completed at the end of 2021. It is the kind of place that makes you feel worlds away from regular life. The Francis House(1403 Myrtle St.) opened pre-pandemic to much fanfare, and remains an intimate (only five rooms), impressive place to stay. The house, which sat vacant for over 50 years, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is also notable structurally, as Napas only example of French Second Empire architecture. Lovely landscaping, outdoor fountains, a pool house with a salt room, and the finest amenities make this a special occasion kind of place. If you are looking for a bit of autonomy, The Bungalows(207 Wappo Ave.) is a great option. These three stand-alone modern craftsman cottages are tucked away on a side street across from Indian Springs, placing you in a great, walkable location that feels away from the bustle at the same time. Each one has a kitchen and dining area, so you can stay in if you start feeling over-fed from all the dining out. Calistoga Motor Lodge & Spa (1880 Lincoln Ave.) might not have all the bells and whistles of its fancy neighbors, but it does have three magical geothermal hot spring pools and is oozing with nostalgia and fun. This 1940s roadside motel has been given a midcentury modern makeover, with minimalist rooms inspired by the great American road trip, each outfitted with camper banquette seating (and a hula hoop). Take advantage of a guided hike or bike ride offered in the mornings, or if you're not an early riser, cruiser rentals are free for the first two hours. Both lawn and analog games abound in an effort to nudge you to unplug. And don't leave without scheduling a treatment at the Moonacre Spa and Baths, designed as an ode to traditional European bath houses. Indian Springs Resort & Spa (1712 Lincoln Ave.) is really pretty magical. Witness the Olympic-sized swimming pool, filled with heated mineral water from the property's four natural geysers, as well as a smaller adults-only pool. Not a bit of luster has been lost in the wake of a recent expansion, which added 72 bohemian chic rooms housed in two-story buildings with private decks; three awesome two-bed, two-bath bungalows with yards for outdoor entertaining; and the restaurant, Sam's Social Club. Happily, all the new additions are respectful of the 17-acre property's laid back, natural vibethere are still plenty of gardens, hammocks, walking paths, and lawn games (anyone for a game of croquet?). Long known as the place to stay here in Calistoga, Solage, Auberge Resorts Collection (755 Silverado Trail N) finished a $30 million redesign in 2021, somehow making a spot that was already pretty incredible even more appealing. The work included adding new suites, public area and room renovations, and a transformation of the onsite restaurant, Solbar. Pool cabanas, a new hot tub and pool deck, as well as the brand new Picobar restaurant have made the property even more of a destination, even if you are only just dropping by for a margarita.

Where to Wine Taste by Car or Bike in Calistoga (Courtesy of Frank Family Vineyards) Founded in 1895, Larkmead(1100 Larkmead Lane) is an estate with many stories to tell. The winery is under the helm of Kate and Cam Solari Baker, who have deep dedication to the sites special expression and preserving the rich heritage of the label. Kate is also an accomplished artist, and a tasting here will let you get a peek at her work, including a whole series in which she uses her mothers old ledgers in collage to recreate aerial maps of the property blocks and the surrounding Napa Valley. It is not to be missed (plus the work of winemaker Avery Heelan is pretty good, too). Built in 1884 and formerly Landmark Winery, this beautiful stone cellar is another historical gem. In 1958, Hanns Kornell (of Kornell Champagne) produced the first French champagne method sparkling wine in California. Now Frank Family Vineyards (1091 Larkmead Lane), Napa Valley's third oldest winery, is still one of the only producers around that makes their bubbly in-house. They've also got an impressive range of still winesthe reserve chardonnay is a must-have for your cellarand cozy tastings take place either inside an adorable yellow craftsman, or out on the sunny lawn, where happy dogs often frolic about. Brian Arden Wines (331 Silverado Trail) is a small family winery that makes less than 5,000 cases a year, so you'll want to hurry on over to get a taste of their limited release varietals like cabernet sauvignon, zinfandel (made from family vineyards planted in the 1880s), and even a malbec, before they sell out. Brian Arden's gorgeous, cozy, and modern tasting room never feels overcrowdedthough you'll likely run into a few friendly pupsand it's the perfect place to watch the sunset over the Napa Valley Palisades through the floor-to-ceiling picture window. The best part? It's a very short bike ride away from downtown Calistoga and all the lodging we mentioned earlier. And now that the Four Seasons is across the street, it makes for a very convenient tasting experience. Speaking of Four Seasons, the onsite tasting room of Elusa Winery(400 Silverado Trail) is a special collaboration, making them one of the very few hotel properties on a working vineyard. The 4.7 acre organic vineyard is smack in the middle of things, so you can look out your window and witness the grape-to-glass operations. This is a unique partnership between winemaker Jonathan Walden and consulting winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown, and a tasting session here will feel pretty cool, especially if you opt for the one where you drink wine out in the vines. When you've had your fill of pools, spas, and shopping the odd boutiques on Lincoln Avenue, bike over to the historic Chateau Montelena(1429 Tubbs Lane) for wine tasting in an 1888 Gothic-style estate. The winery was made famous in the 1970s at the legendary Paris tasting where its Chardonnay beat out French competitors. French in style, the wines are delicious, but we're most smitten by the picnic grounds: private, reservation-only pagodas on idyllic Jade Lake. Up on Diamond Mountain sits Theorem Vineyards (255 Petrified Forest Rd.), a property that was completely resuscitated by Kisha and Jason Itkin after they fell in love with the rustic site in 2008. Today, it is an astounding place to visit, with Kishas bold aesthetic and high design. The most recent addition is the Tasting Barn designed by Richard Beard, which stands on the exact footprint of the original 19th century dairy barn. A tasting here (another Thomas Rivers Brown project), featuring wines by winemaker Kathleen Ward (hand-picked by Thomas himself for the post), plus the sweeping views of Mount St. Helena and creative food from estate Culinary Director Josh Mitchell, will have you hooked. Try his fermented hot sauce from peppers grown onsite.

Where to Wine Taste on Foot in Calistoga Summer vibes at Picayune Cellars tasting room and mercantile. (Robb McDonough)

Downtown Calistoga has plenty of walk-in friendly wine tasting rooms that you can casually pop into on foot. Housed in the historic Calistoga National Bank Building, the inside of Huge Bear Wines(1373 Lincoln Ave.) is surprisingly luxe, and yes, there's a huge bear to take a selfie with. They also donate $1 from each bottle purchased to a charitable cause. // Picayune Cellars(1329 Lincoln Ave. suite B) is a great two-birds-one-stone kind of place. Owned by French native, Claire Ducrocq Weinkauf, makes lovely wine in the classic Negociant model and has assembled her tasting room into a crafty mercantile, featuring one-of-a-kind goods and a relaxing little courtyard space out back. // Close by is Cami Vineyards(1333B Lincoln Ave.), a hybrid tasting room and art gallery featuring local artists (including founder Laurie Shelton) and estate wines. You can opt for food pairings along with the estate wines (and olive oil!) which comes with some killer focaccia. // Situated in a retro, 1930s-era gas station, Tank Garage Winery (1020 Foothill Blvd.) produces small collections of unique wines that celebrate the heart and soul of vintage California culture and creativity, ranging from refreshing rose, to delicious red blends and aromatic chardonnays. Tank also partners with local artists and illustrators to create labels for each bottle that embody the taste of their wine blends. The Instagram-worthy space is decorated with funky art and vintage items such as classic motorcycles, guitars made from old oil cans, and pinball machines. There's even a speakeasybut you'll have to figure out the password for yourself.

Where to Shop in Calistoga (Courtesy of @westofpoppy) Sister-owned sister stores, Rove Boutique(1371 Lincoln Ave.) and West of Poppy(1365 Lincoln Ave.) are basically next door neighbors with equally cute goods. Flowy maxi dresses, unique earrings, and everything you would ever want to wear are on offer. Duck in after some wine tasting and you will absolutely end up with a new outfit. // Husband-and-wife potters Jeff and Sally Manfredi have been making their unique Calistoga Pottery (1001 Foothill Blvd.) using post-harvest grapevine-ash glazes and copper oxides in Calistoga since 1980. Grab a stoneware mug and ask Sally for her recommendations on the areaword has it she's the "unofficial mayor of Calistoga." You can see Calistoga Pottery at wineries such as Round Pond and Frog's Leap, as well as Bottega and Terra restaurants. // Another local couple, Christian Parks and Laura Koerth, use classic European techniques (they met at the French Pastry School in Chicago) to create Earth & Sky Chocolates (1454 Lincoln Ave.) confections that look like colorful works of art and are almost too dreamy to eat. The pair is also committed to sourcing ingredients from Napa Valley, including wildflower honey, distilled bourbon-whiskey, and beer. Their little shop at the Calistoga Depot is under renovations, but you can make an appointment to pick up a box of chocolate bon bons, their signature treat available in creative flavors like Banana-Bourbon and Rum-Mint-Lime. // Ditch the luggage you're traveling with for something fun, colorful, and new at Catch Calistoga (1365 Lincoln Ave.). Tote bags, clutches, purses, duffels, and more from Toss Designs come in a variety of playful textures and printsthink palm trees, checkers, pom poms and confettithat will make a statement wherever you go. For something more sleek, shop the Infinity collection, where you can essentially build your own bag. // Blackbird (1347 Lincoln St.) is where you'll find a curated inventory that includes Chilewich placemats, Baggu metallic leather pouches, and regional books by Wine Country architect Howard Backen and Michelin-starred chef Christopher Kostow. // If you're looking for a new conversation piece at home, or a gift for the person that has everything, Roam Antiques & Design (1124 Lincoln Ave.) has the goods in the form of rare and eclectic treasures, like an 1800s wine corker machine made in San Francisco, or a giant pre-WWII searchlight from Britain. Sure, you don't actually need it and it will take up the better part of an SF studio apartment, but it'll look so, so cool. // Nearby is The Vintage Treehouse(1117B Lincoln Ave.), another antique spot for endless browsing, with a more farm-y vibe and eye-catching signage.
A painter's process is almost always a private experience. Intimate and vulnerable, it's about letting thoughts, feelings, frustrations, and new learnings flow freely onto canvas; finding answers to questions and expanding the art through trial and error. This Friday, however, San Francisco artist Heather Day, known for her sweeping, organic sapphire hues, will expose her evolution to the public at the opening of her solo show with Athen B. Gallery.

Called Conversations and Color, the exhibit takes over a 4,000-square-foot storefront near the Embarcadero to meld perspective and rhythm in 100 new paintings and some sculptural installations. The artist describes the show as the "culmination of a year and a half of unbridled curiosity and discovery," where she left the studio to wander and paint what she learned from cities and nature. The more she painted, the more she wanted to keep exploring; and each painting shares a moment or realization from her experiences.

Presenting such a personal show after a year and a half of keeping new work to herself, Day emphasizes that this is about absorbing the art.



"It's about taking a step back and appreciating paint for its process. The show represents a year of looking and listeningand ultimately translating our experiences into something physical."

"Not What You Expected" Acrylic, spray paint, soft-pastel on Canvas. 36" x 48". 2017.

"It was research, a quest in search of candor...from the communication between positive and negative space to the punctuation of color, I listened to the ambiguity of ideas, memories and experiences; and I made conversations in a new way," she says.

This is where Day's show transitions from a walk-through gallery experience to a tete-a-tete on the creative process. Guest speakers, including the gallery's director Sorell Tsui, Facebook design program manager James Fleming, and seven female artists including Day will come in to open up a dialogue with the community on topics ranging from music to painting to tech. A curated lecture series called "I Say," these onsite conversations are scheduled for October 10, 17, and 24.

"I wanted to push the envelope further and take full advantage of this downtown space and bring the public in through engaging talks...our speakers span multiple careers and genres, as do our topics," Day says.

The full schedule of speakers and topics can be seen below.

// Conversations and Color, a solo exhibit by Heather Day, opens Oct. 6th (reception 6-10pm), 160 Spear St. (Embarcadero),athenbgallery.com, heatherday.com.
Forget everything you know about the barbershop experienceChurch Barbershop & Apothecary is redefining haircut etiquette with next-level sophistication.

"We felt there was a huge opportunity to offer traditional barber services with an updated holistic approach towards care," says Beatrice Gonzalez, whose joint venture with her husband, Ryan, opens this weekend in a tony address on Octavia Street, next door to Seldom Seen. "Our ongoing goal is to provide a space that welcomes all people while offering something truly unique: 100 percent botanical products made entirely in-house, beautiful and thoughtful design, and top-notch service."



Like the male version of Population Salon, a trendy parlor that promotes healthy living that's frequented by fashionistas and influencers,Church Barbershop & Apothecary feels more like someone's living roomthanks to raw interior finishes, natural lighting and ever-changing "wildcrafted" floral arrangementsthan a place to get a sweet fade (though you totally can). Even the stereotypical black-and-white checkered floor has been reimagined with a Pendleton-esque geometric design, hand painted by SoMa-based New Bohemia Signs. The overall effect is quiet, but the shop drips with subtle splendordesign-savvy eyes will instantly spot custom carpentry, travertine countertops, the Venetian leather banquette designed by local artisans, Belmont barber chairs imported from Japan...the list goes on.

Wits its meticulous decor and very conscious curation of products, the barber shop has been nurtured as one might a first child, and that is just what the venture is, the first for Ryan and Beatrice who are melding their backgrounds in business and marketing (him) and all-natural products (her) and tapping the help of their close friends who own and operate barber shops in SF and New York.

Beatrice spent the past two years working with formulators to the launch Church Apothecary's own product line of shampoos and conditioners created with wildflowers and spirulina, shave gel, volcanic clay pomade, and rose water. The Church Ritual line of skincare, called skin food, is formulated to actively heal and protect skin without the use of chemicals, toxins and fragrances, and is integrated into each service they offer. Try the signature Sunday Service ($75), a 60-minute haircut and transformative facial, or a simple Church Haircut ($50) capped off with a hot or cold compress soaked in steam-distilled neroli or rose oils.

// Church Barber + Apothecary opens Saturday, Oct.7; 524 Octavia St. (Hayes Valley); services can be booked online at churchbarber.com.
A Fresh Approach To Fighting MS



The first sign of trouble came when Jim Swartwood, now 56, couldnt read the license plate on his pickup truck from 20 feet away. Swartwood, of Big Lake, Minn., saw an eye doctor, then a neurologist. Tests revealed he had 19 lesions on his brain, a sign of multiple sclerosis. More symptoms of this debilitating nerve condition soon came, and the MS drugs he tried didnt do much. In 2013, Swartwoods doctor got him into a clinical trial for a medication called Ocrevus. His symptoms subsided. The dreaded relapses didnt come.

Most treatments for MS focus on T cells, a kind of white blood cell. But in 2001, Stephen Hauser, chair of the neurology department at the University of California, San Francisco, teamed up with Genentech to test Ocrevus, which targets a different kind of white blood cell called B cells. Last March the drug was approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Its not a miracle cure, but it slows the diseases progression and reduces relapses.

Swartwood now lifts weights and plays racquetball. Who knows what will happen tomorrow? he says. But I know I will be blessed no matter what. David Ferry
Here is a look at key cases, issues and whats at stake, according to AARP Foundations annual U.S. Supreme Court Preview.

Protecting older investors from fraud

The Cyan, Inc. v. Beaver County Employees Retirement Fund case could make it harder to guard the financial security of older people and other investors. The question the Supreme Court is considering is whether state courts have jurisdiction to hear class action fraud claims that shareholders file using the federal Securities Act.

Shareholders of networking-products maker Cyan  including two pension funds that invested in the firm ahead of its May 2013 initial public offering (IPO)  sued in California state court after the stock performed poorly. The plaintiffs alleged that the companys IPO registration statement was misleading. (The companys shares went public at $11, but were worth far less when Cyan was acquired by telecom-equipment maker Ciena for $4.77 a share in 2015.) Cyan contends state courts lack jurisdiction over such suits.

Retirement and pension fund managers rely on the claims made in the companys prospectus to make investment decisions. Having access to both state and federal courts is essential to fully protect investors, according to attorney Julie Nepveu.

Promoting prescription drug affordability

The patent review process directly affects prescription drug affordability and the speed of new drugs to the market. The case of Oil States Energy Service v. Greenes Energy Group could eliminate an administrative review process that Congress created to expedite the examination of questionable patents, ultimately forcing all patent challengers to spend more time and money in court, according to AARP attorney Barbara Jones.



Oil States filed an infringement suit against Greenes in 2012 over a patented oilfield tool used in hydraulic fracking. Greene's then challenged the underlying patent before the federal Patent Trial and Appeal Board. The board invalidated Oil States patent, and an appellate court affirmed that decision. The case before the Supreme Court challenges that decision and the entire administrative process used by the Patent Trial and Appeal Board.

Protecting voting rights and fighting electoral fraud

In Ohio, failing to vote over two years can result in removal  or purging  of a citizens name from voter rolls, making them ineligible to vote. If older citizens names are purged from voter registration rolls, theyll face difficulties reregistering, says AARP Foundation attorney Dan Kohrman. The A. Philip Randolph Institute, retired veteran Larry Harmon and the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless successfully sued to stop these purging actions triggered by failures to vote, based on an assumption that not voting means a voter has moved. In 2016, an appeals court agreed that the practice violates federal law. Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted persuaded the Supreme Court to review the matter in the case of Husted v. A. Philip Randolph Institute.

Helping older workers fight back

The right of older workers to band together to challenge unlawful employer practices  such as employment discrimination based on age or disabilities  is at stake in the case of National Labor Relations Board v. Murphy Oil USA, Inc. For many employees, class action and collective cases are the only affordable way to combat unlawful employment practices, according to AARP Foundation attorneys.

The case will review three separate lower court cases and examine whether contracts that bar employees from pursuing work-related claims collectively or on a class action basis are prohibited under the National Labor Relations Act. Three appellate courts disagreed on whether an employer violates the NLRA by requiring workers to agree to arbitrate disputes on an individual basis only, waiving all rights to pursue class action suits and collective claims.


Suspends Redomiciling Activity

Perth, Oct 6, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - The Board of Directors (Board) of Liquefied Natural Gas Limited ( ASX:LNG ) ( LNGLY:OTCMKTS ) (LNGL or the Company) has resolved to suspend all activity related to the redomicile of the Company to the United States in order to focus on current business.



LNGL's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Greg Vesey, said: "The Board's decision allows management to maintain its focus on marketing the offtake at Magnolia LNG and Bear Head LNG, to concentrate on opportunities to create additional long-term value for LNGL shareholders, and to strengthen liquidity. The Board and the Company's management team are continuing to monitor market conditions to potentially re-engage on the redomiciling efforts at an optimal time for the Company and its shareholders."



"We remain committed to bringing the Company to the U.S. market at an appropriate time best suited to maximize investor value," added Paul Cavicchi, Chairman of LNG Limited. "A U.S. listing is the right step for LNGL, but we must ensure we proceed deliberately and remain attentive to all shareholder expectations."





About Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd





Liquefied Natural Gas Limited ( ASX:LNG) ( OTCMKTS:LNGLY) (LNGL) is an ASX listed company whose portfolio consists of 100% ownership of the following companies:

- Magnolia LNG, LLC (Magnolia LNG), a US-based subsidiary, which is developing an eight mtpa or greater LNG export terminal, in the Port of Lake Charles, Louisiana, USA;

- Bear Head LNG Corporation Inc. (Bear Head LNG), a Canadian-based subsidiary, which is developing an 8  12 mtpa LNG export terminal in Richmond County, Nova Scotia, Canada with potential for further expansion;

- Bear Paw Pipeline Corporation Inc. (Bear Paw), which is proposing to construct and operate a 62.5 km gas pipeline lateral to connect gas supply to Bear Head LNG; and

- LNG Technology Pty Ltd, a subsidiary which owns and develops the Company's OSMR LNG liquefaction process, a midscale LNG business model that plans to deliver lower capital and operating costs, faster construction, and improved efficiency, relative to larger traditional LNG projects.


SEEK Receives Proceeds From Completion of Zhaopin Transactio

Melbourne, Oct 6, 2017 AEST (ABN Newswire) - SEEK Limited ( ASX:SEK ) ( SKLTY:OTCMKTS ) advises that it has received proceeds of cUS$176 million in relation to the Zhaopin transaction. The total proceeds are split between:



- cUS$64 million relating to proceeds from the special dividend as part of transaction consideration; and



- cUS$112 million relating to a capital return.



To view the table for the changes to SEEK's balance sheet, please visit:

http://abnnewswire.net/lnk/2T9S48A9





About SEEK Limited





SEEK Limited (ASX:SEK) (OTCMKTS:SKLTY) is a diverse group of companies, comprised of a strong portfolio of online employment, educational, commercial and volunteer businesses. SEEK operates across 18 countries with exposure to over 2.9 billion people and approximately 26 per cent of GDP. SEEK makes a positive contribution to people's lives on a global scale. SEEK is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, where it is a top 100 company with a market capitalisation close to A$6billion and has been listed in the Top 20 Most Innovative Companies Globally by Forbes, and Number One in Australia.
If arrest is a formality, so is the release. Infamous businessman and former Rajya Sabha member Vijay Mallya, who is wanted in connection with Rs 9,000 crore bank loan default committed by his now-defunct company Kingfisher Airlines, has been re-arrested in London, after having fled for safer shores in Britain. The self-proclaimed King of the Good Times, nevertheless, bailed out in record 24 minutes.

I have money; I can even buy law

Mallya reportedly spent about GBP 650,000 to get his first bail, when the Scotland Yard arrested him in April, and had to shell out again similar sum. This reminds of Michael Jackson expending $35 million to cover up molestations of 24 boys.

Even after Kingfisher Airlines collapsed in October 2012, the flamboyant businessman maintained his high-flying lifestyle, eventually becoming a denigrated symbol of Indias broader bad-debt crisis.

The two Indian law enforcement agencies, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) reportedly found that Mallya had diverted funds of over Rs 6,000 crore to shell companies outside India, including entities in the United Kingdom.

The Crown Prosecution Service, the agency of public prosecutors that serves England and Wales, is moving charges against the fugitive, on the basis of evidence furnished by the ED. The ED legal experts claim that the data is sufficed to set the extradition process in motion, indicating a prima-facie case against the proclaimed offender.

Mallya, who has been living in self-imposed exile in London since early last year, is battling the extradition request by the Indian government. The wilful defaulter is facing about half-a-dozen arrest warrants back in India, including foreign exchange violations, debt recovery, money-laundering and embezzlement cases against him. Most of the loans given to him have allegedly been laundered to buy assets abroad.

New Delhi had already told London that it had a legitimate case against Mallya and asserted that if an extradition request is honoured, it would show British sensitivity towards our concerns. Having said that, the defendant will have the right to appeal to the higher courts against any decision of the apex court.

Indian authorities have charged Mallya with criminal conspiracy, dishonesty and corruption, following series of investigations. The Modi government is keen to secure Mallyas return to India; where they hope his criminal prosecution will send a warning sign to other big-ticket defaulters, as part of crusade against corruption and crony capitalism. Mallya is just a small fish. There are sharks who owe banks in excess of Rs 20,000 crore and no one knows who the promoters of these companies are.

If and when the 61-year old defaulter is extradited, its anybodys guess how long our legal process will take to try him. Still, Mallya comes under English jurisdiction, as he holds Indefinite leave to remain in the UK.

India, earlier, gave names of 57 suspects hiding in the UK and the latter gave a list of 17 suspects they wanted extradited from India. Both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his UK counterpart, Theresa May committed for increased cooperation to facilitate extradition requests from both sides under the Mutual legal assistance treaty (MLAT) or Letter Rogatory were issued.

No punishment for me, I am a damn celebrity

Remember, India has not had much luck in extradition cases in the UK. The prominent refusal of Lalit Modi is a case in point. Indias request for his extradition was denied by the British courts after Modi argued that he was being unfairly victimised as part of a political vendetta and that the Indian courts would not give him a fair hearing.

Arent white-collar crimes committed by celebrities still treated as peccadilloes? Spend a few minutes researching the sentences politicians, film stars and celebrities receive for the same crimes committed by the common man, and it is clear that celebrities get away with more crime.

The GOI has already complied with all the extradition procedures. Does Mallya have enough legal evidence to show that he has not laundered the funds? Will he be brought as a prisoner? Whether the liquor baron would actually be extradited from London is the billion-dollar question. After all, some are more equal!

(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
There seems to be no end to the Kangana Ranaut-Hrithik Roshan feud as both actors continue to make allegations against each other. Earlier this year, Hrithik had sent Kangana a legal notice for defamation and also sought public apology from her. Kangana nevertheless responded with a 21-page reply that accuses the actor for intimidating and threatening her. Thus the tussle between both the actors have turned into a legal battle with their lawyers Rizwan Siddique and Dipesh Mehta sending notice on behalf of their clients. Lawyers of celebrities are often under media scrutiny and they need to handle the case sensitively. If anything goes wrong it may tarnish the reputation of celebrities. Many times media publishes report about the celebrities even before the case is heard and it becomes difficult for lawyers to maintain confidentiality. Thus media trials against stars can pose a challenge for their lawyers too.

Advocate Abbas Kazmi said, Celebrities have to face the public and media trial. Media sensationalises those reports and it should be highly condemned. Celebrities have their own personal lives and feel that they are being victimised. Many of them feel that despite doing charity work their image is being tarnished. They tend to become frustrated as everything changes within a short span of time.

Advocate Sushan Kunjuraman said, Media will only sell what people wants to watch and read. They are more interested in the personal lives of celebrities and want to know what they wear, eat and where they travel. Maximum celebrities crave for publicity. However, there are 10 per cent of such celebrities who dont want their personal lives to be reported by media. Media will leave no stone unturned to garner TRPs. They had aired footage of slapping incident of AAP leader 50 times. Elphinstone stampede incident visuals were aired throughout the day.

Advocate and social activist, Abha Singh said, A petition regarding this incident is yet to be filed in the court and it is only being reported by media. Even though actors have filed a complaint with the cyber cell why they have failed to investigate this matter? If a persons email account is hacked then three years imprisonment can be awarded to the accused as per the Information Technology act. Public relation firms are planting stories in media and celebrities are getting unwanted publicity. If Hrithik s reputation is affected then he has to file a defamation case but he is not taking any initiative in this regard.
With the widening alcohol prohibition threatening to impact the countrys tourism industry, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said it is not the states business to decide what a tourist should eat and drink.

Indian states cant get into what a tourist wants to eat and drink. Just not possiblewhat he wants to eat and drink is his individual business and not the states business, he said at India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum (WEF) here.

He was asked whether states banning beef and alcohol have failed to realise what Dubai did so brilliantly, as the country needs tourists who should be extended every facility they need.

I have been a long term believer on couple of things. Tourism is essentially civilisational in character; you cant have garbage and filth and say that we have great heritage sites. So, India must focus on cleanliness. It is number one. Number two its about seamless experience, he said.

At least four states  Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Daman  have announced plans to bar liquor sales, adding to the list that includes Gujarat, Bihar, Nagaland and Manipur which are already dry.

The proponents of prohibition maintain India has highest whiskey sales in the world leading to a plethora of social ills and needs to be checked. Also, they say, drunk driving is a leading cause of road accidents and binge drinking is a big problem in the country.

Asked by the moderator if he has told the political leadership about his views on the impact of this prohibition on tourists, he said: I have said it all the time that for a touristits about creating experiences. In the evening he wants to relax and he wants to chill out and therefore you need to create that evening experience for (him) in terms of Indian culture.
By Martin Walker



A downloadable version of the full essay can be found at: Slingshot Publications

It was soon noticeable, following the finding on fact by the GMC Fitness to Practice Hearing against Dr Wakefield, Professor Murch and Professor Walker-Smith, that those who had supported the prosecution, were concerned that the provisionally defeated arguments over the IBD aspect of MMR vaccine damage might now be replaced by a more searching look at the adverse effects of the Urabe strain mumps MMR vaccine. The UK NHS had introduced these two versions of MMR while knowing that they had been taken off the market in Canada after being held responsible for cases of mumps meningitis.

How it happened that hundreds of legal claims for neurological damage based on Urabe strain MMR, got pushed to the back of the legal queue, while the more difficult IBD and regressive autism cases were prioritised to fight a very public battle over autism causation, needs continuing analysis.

To return now to the legal battle over Urabe as some in Britain intend to do, will undoubtedly be an uphill struggle, one which will have to be undertaken without reference to the IBD conflict; a battle that might take place beyond the autism community within the apparently weaker vaccine damage community.

Hopefully the autism community will extend their support and campaigning zeal to these Urabe cases if they reach court, on the understanding that a victory over Urabe would inflict a considerable defeat on the UK government and Big Pharma which would pave the way for renewed MMR claims on the basis of IBD and regressive autism.

Martin Walker's essay the Urabe Farrago, which was written to give voice to those parents who were refused access to the legal process, provides preliminary information and interpretation about the cavalier and cruel approach of both the government and political appointed NHS functionaries, to UK public-health policy. Hopefully the arguments and information in the essay will provide us with tools with which to undermine the UK government's philosophy of vaccine-damage denial.

A downloadable version of the full essay can be found at: Slingshot Publications
By John Stone

Ian Birrell is not a minor journalist and he has experience with the disability scene. Years ago I used to see his wife and daughter at my sons music therapy sessions and I know the family had to cope with difficulties of a special order. But he is also well connected, and was David Camerons speech writer during the 2010 election.

This weekend I was dismayed to see a journalist  in this case Birrell - once again smear Andrew Wakefield. Birrell is capable of doing research but instead he just repeats the old whispers. I noticed that back in May he had written an excellent piece on the contaminated blood scandal with which the United Kingdom Department of Health in the early 1980s wiped out a generation of haemophiliacs, and went on to try and pull the wool for more than three decades. Quite rightly he is outraged, but what he does not seem to understand is the flawed culture that leads to such things. Another example was the Camelford water disaster, in which at exactly moment that DH was arranging to import a known to be faulty version of the MMR vaccine, they began a twenty-five year cover up of the poisoning of residents by aluminium sulphate in a Cornish village  they may not in this instance have got the media to believe them, but from the legal point of view it was perfectly executed exercise in time wasting.

One thing that Birrell could learn from the contaminated blood incident is that things that are supposed to be good for you are not always. Preventing disease is a fine idea, but what happens if the products are neither as safer or effective as claimed in the propaganda, and what happens when there ever more of them?

Birrell can state that Wakefield was disgraced (I suppose Jan Hus was disgraced when the Papal inquisition put a dunce's cap on his head and set light to him) and that the General Medical Council erased him from the register, but that is superficial stuff. History asks intelligent people to ask serious questions. The reality is that the proceedings against Wakefield and colleagues were based substantially on false allegations and these were shown in detail to be false allegations when they were reviewed by a High Court judge, Sir John Mitting, in the case of Wakefields senior colleague Prof Walker-Smith. Though neither Wakefield or Prof Murch was in a position to appeal it does not mean that claims which were inherently false were somehow true about them. If the products are so wonderful, why this incredible litany of lies which has to be endlessly repeated?








Web Toolbar by Wibiya









Web Toolbar by Wibiya





Date: 11 September, 2017.

Place: Toronto, Province of Ontario, Canada.

On 11 September, a very strange event occurred in the city of Toronto, Ontario.

According to an anonymous report published on Mutual UFO Network (MUFON) online database, a woman and her boyfriend affirmed to have seen a group of blinking lights hovering in the sky above them.

I was with my boyfriend sitting at the end of a dead end street with a small forested area around us, the woman related. The sky was clear and we live in Toronto, so it's not unusual to have objects flying in the sky (i.e. airplanes, helicopters, drones.), she added.

She affirmed that her boyfriend first saw the strange objects. He noticed the lights in the sky first. These lights were flashing, moving sporadically (hovering, moving up and down, right and left) and changing colours (they would be flashing red, blue and white light, then change to one solid white, and then back to the three coloured lights again), she expressed.

We watched the lights for approximately an hour and a half trying to figure out what it was. We realised he [her boyfriend] had the sky view app, and we could use this to see if it was a satellite, the Toronto resident said. It appeared to be a green orb moving on the screen. It was to the left of the "Crab" constellation. I'm unsure which direction we were facing. We tried clicking the green orb (you can do that with stars and satellites to get info) but it wouldn't work. We spent approximately 10 minutes attempting to click on the orb, she continued.

Then, things became even stranger. I was sitting in the passenger seat, and that's when I heard twigs snapping just inside the forest to my right. I looked over and just inside I could see two blue eyes (they looked like oval-shaped lights) about 6 or 7 feet tall, the unknown witness stated. I began to panic and asked my boyfriend if he saw it. Then I looked at him frantically, and looked back and screamed "DO YOU SEE THAT!?" as I pointed at it. That's when I saw the outline of the right side of its face like the moon just giving a light outline. That was enough. That was terrifying, she added.

We drove around until the sun came up. I didn't want to stop. It was honestly one of the scariest things I've ever experienced. I just don't know how else to explain it. We spent hours trying to give explanations, the Toronto woman reported.

Draw your own conclusions

For further information: https://mufoncms.com/cgi-bin/report_handler.pl?req=view_long_desc&id=86611&rnd=
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

A steady rain in the morning. Showers continuing in the afternoon. High 58F. Winds E at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch..

Tonight

Rain showers early with overcast skies late. Low 44F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
Christianity in Cradle Iraq Will 'End' Absent 'Bold Action'

WASHINGTON -- The United States must take "bold action" by the end of 2017 to prevent Christianity in Iraq -- the cradle of Christendom -- from disappearing in just "a few short years," warns former Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA). Wolf's comments came via written testimony prepared for a Senate panel hearing Wednesday on the future of Iraqi minorities after the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) is defeated.

I am sad to say that if bold action is not taken by the end of the year, I believe a tipping point will be reached and we will see the end of Christianity in Iraq in a few short years and a loss of religious and ethnic diversity throughout the region -- a loss which will not be regained and could result in further destabilization, violent extremism and terrorism across the Middle East. In other words, ISIS will have been victorious in their genocidal rampage unless concrete action is taken.

While I went expecting to hear further reports about security concerns related to ISIS, I was surprised to find that most individuals I spoke with were concerned about the various military factions controlling their towns and villages -- in particular, the Hashd al-Shaabi (also known as the Popular Mobilization Forces or PMF).

The Hashd-al Shaabi militia, which is backed by Iran, and other militia groups are filling the vacuum left post-liberation. This is part of the Iranian goal of creating a land-bridge from Iran, through Iraq to Syria to reach a port on the Mediterranean. Such a land-bridge will allow Iran to move fighters, weapons, and supplies to aid Hezbollah and other terrorist groups. This will be a direct threat to Israel and the United States military as well as others in the West.

Unfortunately, to a large extent, U.S. Government assistance has not been forthcoming to Iraq's Christian and Yezidi communities even though the President, Vice President, Congress and Secretary of State have declared them victims of genocide. Many of the displaced Christians, for example, have had to seek the mainstay of their aid from private charitable sources on a piecemeal basis for over three years. This is becoming increasingly difficult as many individuals who give to humanitarian organizations are facing donor-fatigue.

Congressman Wolf, the co-founder of the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, a religious freedom organization focused on helping Christians and other ethnoreligious minorities in Iraq, told the Senate Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Human Rights:Wolf noted that U.S. assistance to minorities in Iraq has failed to reach Christians, Yazidis, and other groups. "There is still time [to save Christianity], but the hour is late and we are about to run out of time," the former congressman cautioned Senators, "We cannot allow ISIS to be successful in their genocide." According to Wolf, ISIS remains a threat to Iraq's minority groups, but minorities are also concerned about the presence of a Baghdad-sanctioned Shiite militia, the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU/PMF). Rep. Wolf told the Senate panel:Iran maintains influence over the PMF militias, legalized by the Shiite-led government in Baghdad as an official component of the Iraqi military late last year. Echoing other analysts, Wolf said:Although PMF troops are predominantly Shiite, the force also includes a few Sunnis, Christians, Yazidis, and other minorities. Some Yazidis, or Yezidis, claim a lack of support from the United States and other countries has pushed them into the ranks of the Iran-allied PMF. Nevertheless, Wolf said the Shiite militiamen had complicated the lives of some minority groups, namely those in the Yazidi-majority Iraqi town of Sinjar. The United States has officially declared that Christians and other minorities in Iraq have been victims of genocide at the hands of ISIS. However, they were still looking for the U.S. government to take meaningful action to help them a year after the genocide declaration. Congressman Wolf pointed out:Wolf acknowledged that the United States had already invested significant blood and treasure in promoting peace and stability in the Iraqi region. Specifically, he said more than 4,000 Americans have paid the ultimate price, and the United States government has spent an estimated $2 trillion of U.S. taxpayer money on Iraq. The ISIS terror campaign in Iraq dealt a significant blow to all minorities, particularly the Yazidi community. Wolf revealed that an estimated "3,000 of their women and girls" kidnapped by jihadists are "still in captivity." Soon after visiting Iraq in August, the congressman told Breitbart News that, despite the uphill battle Christians in Iraq face, there is hope for them -- one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. "Christians have a future in Iraq. As you know, more biblical activity took place in Iraq than any other country in the world, other than Israel," said the former lawmaker, adding, "I think there's an opportunity to save Christianity in the cradle of Christendom. Now is the time. We have an administration that's open to doing something."
October 6, 2017

CAIRO  An Egyptian court of misdemeanors in the Giza governorate sentenced on Sept. 25 prominent human rights lawyer and potential presidential candidate Khalid Ali to three months in prison after being found guilty of offending public decency.

Ali swiftly responded, saying the case was fabricated. Following the sentence, he wrote on his Facebook page, When we addressed the Egyptian issue of Tiran and Sanafir, we knew we would have to pay for it.

Ali became well known after he succeeded on Jan. 16 in obtaining a ruling that nullifies the agreement ceding sovereignty over the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir to Saudi Arabia. However, the transfer was later approved by parliament in June of this year.

The ruling completely ignored the defense; the lawyers were allowed to present neither arguments nor technical reports to prove video manipulation, said Ali, noting that he will challenge the ruling issued against him after the release of a video in which he appears to be making a hand gesture deemed offensive to public decency. The video was originally taken following the issuance of the Tiran and Sanafir verdict, as Ali was celebrating with a crowd of his supporters who carried him on their shoulders.

In this context, Amnesty International said in a Sept. 25 report that Ali's conviction was politically motivated as he is considered the top contender of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for the 2018 presidential elections.

Ali had hinted at his intentions to run for office in an interview with Reuters on June 7.

This ruling is a clear signal that the Egyptian authorities are intent on eliminating any rival who could stand in the way of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisis victory in next years elections. It also illustrates the governments ruthless determination to crush dissent to consolidate its power, the Amnesty statement read.

According to law experts, if Ali is convicted in a final judgment for a dishonorable crime, he will be prevented from exercising his political rights; he cannot run for parliamentary, presidential or other public office in accordance with the Egyptian Penal Code.

Hamdeen Sabahi, the founder of the Egyptian Popular Current and a former presidential candidate, announced during an interview with BBC's program "Bila Kouyoud" ("No Restrictions) on Sept. 10 that there was ongoing dialogue between political factions to agree on a candidate to go against Sisi.

The Strong Egypt Party, led by former presidential candidate Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, announced Sept. 25 its support for any efforts to build a national assembly of true opposition forces and public political figures from various affiliations to work on  confronting the current regimes policies of corruption and tyranny.

Aboul Fotouh expressed his solidarity with Ali in a Sept. 26 tweet, writing, We are all witnessing the remarkable performance of Khaled Ali in defending the islands of Tiran and Sanafir, so we are not surprised that he is being punished.

Sisi, a former army commander, is widely believed to be seeking a second term and running for office next year.

Masom Marzouk, a former assistant foreign minister, said that an opposition front will be announced within the next few days and will include many parties of the democratic current and various public figures.

Marzouk told Al-Monitor over the phone that the opposition is considering suggesting a presidential candidate but it is yet to agree on a name, and that it hasnt been able to reach a final decision on whether or not to take part in the next elections.

Marzouk said, Announcing the opposition front will only be the starting point. We seek to form a popular base as we try to develop a flexible formula for consensus in order to save Egypt. We will submit dossiers and a comprehensive program of public opinion clarifying and rectifying the situation of education, health, social justice and transitional justice, as well as reconciliation, administrative reform, refining laws, restoring Tiran and Sanafir, and reorienting the foreign compass in order to ensure Egypt's position and independence.

He pointed out that coordination within the opposition is in its final stages, after which a unified vision will be presented to the citizens.

Marzouk also noted the pressure and security threats facing the opposition, explaining that the Egyptian media is controlled by the regime and does not allow different opinions, But he said they are prepared to confront this as a national duty of theirs.

Amnesty International said May 24 that the Egyptian authorities had intensified their crackdown on opposition activists ahead of the upcoming presidential elections and arrested between May 19 and May 23 at least 36 people in 17 provinces who are affiliated with five opposition parties and youth political groups. Many were arrested following comments they had made online regarding the elections.

In the same context, journalist Abdullah al-Sinawi told Al-Monitor over the phone that the current facts do not indicate that the upcoming presidential elections will be fair and democratic, noting that the political atmosphere in Egypt is poisoned.

He believes the absence of fair conditions for the competition between the candidates will ultimately make the elections a formality, with no signs of democracy whatsoever.

Sinawi denounced the regime-affiliated media attacks against the oppositions political action, stressing the need to open the public domain instead of facing terrifying scenarios.

According to Ammar Ali Hassan, an independent expert in political sociology, the opposition's attempts to meet once again provide an opportunity for political discussions and create an opposing opinion to confront and pressure the current authority.

Speaking to Al-Monitor, Hassan said that the upcoming presidential elections is an opportunity for the opposition to present itself and make a name for itself on the political scene.

Hassan fears the upcoming elections would be restricted and there would not be much room for freedom. This is particularly true since Sisi took it upon himself June 29 to appoint the heads of the judicial bodies, who in turn are selecting the members of the independent High Elections Committee  thus the committee will be biased to the current regime.
October 5, 2017

HASANKEYF, Turkey  All we want to do is to maintain our heritage and our history, and for that we are called terrorists! a resident of Hasankeyf told Al-Monitor. In this historic southeastern town, which has been at the top of Turkey's agenda and the site of explosions throughout September, few people are willing to speak on the record for fear of being branded as terrorists.

Hasankeyf, a town in the southeastern province of Batman, dates back 12,000 years. Situated on the banks of the Tigris, the area has been home to many of the civilizations of Mesopotamia. Today, it is at the end of its existence. The old town, with its many visible artifacts and more still awaiting excavation, will be submerged under the Turkish governments pet project, the Ilisu Dam. When completed, it will be Turkeys largest hydroelectric dam and the crown jewel of the Southeastern Anatolia Project. The waters of the Tigris will rise by 60 meters (197 feet) in places, leaving most of the historical area under water and forcing about 80,000 people to leave ancestral homes and move to the new town  some 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away  against their will.

The first work toward the Ilisu Dam began in 1954, when a group of people  who the residents thought were eccentric Western tourists  arrived on mules. This group spent the next few weeks measuring the flow of the river with strange and exotic-looking equipment. They were the first group of engineers, employees of the State Water Works, doing groundwork to build the dam, which would modernize the irrigation of southeast Anatolia but leave the historic town under water.

Various civil society groups battled the regulatory dam project for decades, and sometimes they thought they'd gotten the upper hand. In 2009, Germany, Switzerland and Austria withdrew their support from the project because the dam would destroy the cultural heritage and ecosystem of the region. Consequently, Turkey used its own domestic resources to build the dam worth 1.2 billion euros ($1.4 billion), refusing to stop from the construction that was kicked off with a 2006 ceremony attended by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister at the time.

In September, daily life in Hasankeyf was often interrupted by the sounds of explosions. The images from the region are reminiscent of the Islamic States destruction of Palmyra. Despite eyewitness accounts and video footage that shows explosions in the cliffs around the ruins of the Hasankeyf citadel, government officials firmly maintain that no explosives were used. According to a statement made by the Batman governors office, expert teams are clearing away the large stones that are bound to fall and pose a danger to the people. They claim that they use only environmentally friendly methods and not dynamite. The officials also maintain that a 50-meter (164-foot) wall will prevent the historic castle from being inundated.

The artisans who work in the old bazaar near the historic town have already been given instructions to move to the new Hasankeyf. Shop owner Mehmet Emin Aydin said that the explosions have destroyed not only the landscape, but also their businesses, their way of life and their mental state. Speaking to Al-Monitor, Aydin said, "When the bazaar is closed, our business will plummet. The new area where they want to put us is completely deserted. No tourist will pass through there until they build the road, and no road will be built until the dam is fully operational. We, the tradesmen, are the victims.

Ayvaz Tunc, 60, is a tradesman who returned home to Hasankeyf after years elsewhere. He went to other places to work for years and returned to open a cafe on the banks of the Tigris with his children. I am old and I want nothing for myself, he said. All I want is that they let this beautiful landscape remain as it is  for my children, for future generations, for my country, for my people.

The well-traveled man said that Hasankeyf is one of the most beautiful spots in Turkey. Let Hasankeyf remain as it is, with its natural beauty, with its historical heritage, he said. Let tourists come and see this place  do not let it go under water.

Al-Monitors efforts to talk to others were rejected. Many fear that if they say anything, they would get in trouble with the local authorities. Others simply say it is no use to talk about it anymore because Hasankeyfs destruction is already happening and nothing can stop it.

Arif Ayhan, a member of the board of directors of the Hasankeyf Tourism Culture and Development Association and a longtime activist against the dam, told Al-Monitor that the government will want to complete the dam quietly, without controversy.

"The authorities want to end this conversation. The scientific delegation here is simply lying to our face, he said, referring to the claims that there were no explosives used. They do not care about human rights. All they want to do is to deceive the people.

Ayhan said of the demolition, "Dynamite is wrong. We are talking about a historical place. Why could they not work a little slower, see what is under the rocks? Why do they have to use dynamite?

The activist said he's aware of the positive contributions the dam will make to the region, but he resents the way history is sacrificed for development. It is irrevocable now. I think we are at the point of no return  the dam will be completed, historical areas will be left under water. We will have to leave our homes. We believed for a long time that there would be a solution and we would not have to move, but we see that there is no solution for us in sight.

Ayhan said that the tradesmen will not leave the bazaar yet and will hold another meeting in the coming weeks. Let them close down the bazaar, he said. Let the construction vehicles come and force us.

The local authorities have said that they will wait to evacuate the bazaar until the end of October so that some of the artifacts can be carried to the new site. A famous monument near the bazaar, the tomb of Zeynel Bey, a 150-ton mausoleum that is thought to be 650 years old, was moved last spring.

The government remains unmoved on the Ilisu Dam, despite all domestic and international pressure, for many reasons. Irrigation is paramount for Turkey, given the ever-growing scarcity of water. There is also a political aspect: With this dam, Turkey will control the flow of water to the downstream countries of Iraq and Syria as well as the roads of the region, which is dominated by the Kurdistan Workers Party.

But are the benefits worth destroying 12,000 years of history? If the Turkish government ever does second-guess the idea, it will likely be too late.
October 5, 2017

The mourning ceremonies of Muharram are age-old traditions among Shiite Muslims around the world, especially those in Iran. The rituals commemorate the martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammads grandson Hussein ibn Ali and his companions in the seventh-century Battle of Karbala. In recent years, however, the ceremonies have prompted concern among Iranian clerics and religious intellectuals over what they consider to be deviations from core principle.

In Iran and other Shiite-majority countries, the first 10 days of the Islamic lunar month of Muharram are marked with a mourning procession (dasteh), going to prayer halls and performing the rituals of sineh-zani (beating ones chest with the hand) and zanjir-zani (flagellating ones back with small chains). In the past, the chest beating and flagellating were confined to mosques and prayer halls and took place solely on the ninth and 10th days of Muharram, known as Tasua and Ashura. These two days saw groups of mourners dressed in black marching in the streets, and as they did so, they chanted eulogies and flagellated themselves in unison, to display their devotion to Hussein. These days, however, these processions are sometimes organized differently.

Self-selected groups or heyat (religious associations) are now taking to the streets any time they like during the first 10 days of Muharram. In the past, these rituals also involved eulogies of Shiite figures as well as historical and philosophical narratives about Ashura and Husseins uprising against the Umayyad caliph Yazid. Over time, however, such remembrance has become less prominent. The declining historical and philosophical aspects of Muharram are not new, but rather part of an ongoing trend that has been a source of concern for clerics and religious intellectuals for quite some time.

The past decade has seen eulogists (madahan) grow in prominence in regard to Muharram traditions. Prior to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejads two terms in office (2005-13), eulogists only dealt with religious matters related to Muharram and Ashura. Being a eulogist was not considered an independent profession; it did not pay a self-sustaining wage. In fact, only those who had exceptional voices recited eulogies in mosques and prayer halls during Muharram, and they did so while retaining full-time occupations.

Following Ahmadinejads victory in the 2005 presidential election, eulogists began to become independent of mosques and gradually got involved in political issues as well. Members of this group, who until then could only be found in mosques and prayer halls during Muharram, were suddenly visible year-round, appearing at other religious ceremonies. During this same period, their incomes grew so much that being a eulogist became a well-paying job, as reported by Al-Monitor last year.

So why has Iranian society apparently welcomed the content presented by eulogists even though it is baseless or involving exaggeration of Hussein's hardships to whip up crowds by intensifying their sense of mourning? Leila Ashuri, a sociologist, told Al-Monitor, Youths need to discharge their excitement and energy. They also have a desire to participate in festivals. This enthusiasm has prompted eulogists to try and advance their careers by singing rhythmic eulogies, which have no literary or religious substance and sometimes even adapt melodies to songs by pop artists.

Shiite religious authorities do not approve of the current trend. In a meeting with eulogists in April 2015, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, criticized the promotion of certain new aspects in mourning ceremonies. He asked, What is the advantage of this jumping up and down in religious ceremonies? How is this a mourning ceremony? Im not upset about the youths excitement. The young need to discharge their energy and it is normal. But then this immense potential of mourning is left on the ground, a potential that through a good and meaningful performance by eulogists can prepare and send them to work with determination.

In a November 2012 interview, Rasoul Jafarian, an Islamic history researcher, said, It is some years now that a bunch of eulogists and preachers have become the headmasters of thinking. By spreading superstition, eulogists are destroying the philosophy of Imam Husseins uprising, which was to stand up against oppression and not remain silent in the face of corruption.

Hojatoleslam Masih Mohajeri, editor-in-chief of the conservative daily Jomhuri Eslami, published an editorial Sept. 20 in which he wrote, Every year on the eve of Muharram, senior clerics warn and advise eulogists to refrain from spewing baseless content, but they dont listen. If we conduct research on this, we will unfortunately see that in recent decades, the Ashura culture has declined in terms of content and the baseless statements made by eulogists have made these ceremonies more superficial than ever.

On Oct. 1, Qom-based Grand Ayatollah Abdollah Javadi-Amoli, who is respected by all the political factions in Iran, said, Shedding tears is not the purpose of Muharram. These mourning ceremonies are not held so people can shed tears. Crying is a tool for preserving religion, and the tears themselves are not the goal.

A great deal of the clerics' criticism concerns the spread of superstitions and far-fetched narratives that the eulogists use to make their eulogies more appealing to audiences. In these narratives, they portray Hussein as increasingly innocent in an attempt to make him more sympathetic and sad, and thus make the audience cry more passionately. A eulogist who elicits such a response is viewed as a success. Although clerics and religious intellectuals have expressed their concern about the dangers of lessening the meaning and depth of the mourning ceremonies, it is ultimately the eulogists who hold the reins.

Nazri, another contested ritual of Muharram, is the cooking of food and distributing it to people, including the poor. Those who cook or pay for the food to be prepared do so as an act of charity and in the hope of getting their prayers answered by God. Clerics and religious philosophers, however, consider such activity a diversion from the principle of Muharram and have been critical of it.

Also of note, the new Muharram rituals popular among youths do not end with jumping up and down. In Iran, wearing black attire has long been a tradition at the mourning ceremonies. The current style of dress deviates from tradition. These days, salons are giving males Muharram-style haircuts, and young women sport nail polish with Muharram- and Ashura-related designs. Some people have begun painting religious slogans on their cars.
October 6, 2017

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas concluding sentence in his Sept. 20 UN speech has validated the desire of many young Palestinians to seek equal rights in a single binational state.

The 82-year-old Palestinian leader, making what was perhaps his last speech to the UN General Assembly, surprised many by saying that if Israelis continue to put obstacles in the way of a two-state solution, other options do exist. Freedom is coming and is inevitable, and that occupation shall come to an end. It will either be the independence of the State of Palestine, living side by side in peace and security with the State of Israel on the 1967 borders, or equal rights for all of the inhabitants of the land of historic Palestine from the river to the sea, Abbas said in his UN address.

Abbas suggestion that Palestinians might opt for a binational state comes as Palestinian youths are increasingly losing hope and support for the two-state solution and preferring to struggle for equal rights in a single country. A report published June 28 by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Revitalizing Palestinian Nationalism: Options Versus Realities, examines some alternatives.

The report provides evidence for many Palestinians supporting binationalism as the most repeated alternative to the two-state solution, even while admitting its ultimate weakness. Public support for binational proposals, in which Palestinians and Israelis would share a single state, remains relatively low; and advocates have yet to articulate a viable strategy to achieve that vision. However, given the emerging Palestinian demographic majority between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, binational options may become more appealing in the years ahead, the report stated.

Perry Cammack, one of the reports authors and a former policy aide for President Barack Obama, told Al-Monitor that the study and its content show the nuances and complications of the Palestinian approaches to solving the conflict. Cammack, who spoke to Al-Monitor a week before Abbas speech, probably didnt expect some of the ideas articulated by Palestinians in their report to take center stage. Cammack said that the alternative ideas of Palestinians reflected in the Carnegie report have often been at the fringe and none enjoys nor is likely to enjoy the full backing of the Ramallah-based leadership.

Hard-core Palestinian supporters of the one-state solution, however, havent been very excited by the words of the Palestinian leader. Mohammad al-Helu, an activist from Nablus with the Popular Movement for One Secular Democratic State, told Al-Monitor that Abbas reference was nothing more than a tactic to force Israelis and the United States back to the two-state solution. This is a cheap tactic and not the first time that Abbas uses this language of waving the flag of the one-state [solution] as an alternative if the Israelis remain intransigent.

The Popular Movement for One Secular Democratic State calls for the establishment of an international solidarity movement, composed of individuals and organizations, to organize and spearhead efforts to realize the objectives of one democratic state in Mandate Palestine.

Helu noted that activists have been calling for a single secular democratic state for some time, pointing to the November 2013 Munich Declaration as an example. We have been calling for this since 2003. The two-state solution is a racist and unethical plan that doesnt provide any solutions to Palestinians in Jerusalem and the diaspora. It is neither just nor is it a lasting plan, he told Al-Monitor by phone from Ramallah.

Palestinian activist from Bethlehem Sami Awad welcomed Abbas reference to the one-state solution.

Awad, executive director of the Holy Land Trust in Bethlehem, told Al-Monitor that a two-state solution would likely not be democratic, as it would entail Israelis and the United States giving far greater priority to security over democracy. I prefer to fight for equal rights in a single state that might be an apartheid state initially rather than be part of an undemocratic two-state solution, Awad told Al-Monitor.

With the exception of a few prominent Palestinian intellectuals, like Islamic studies and philosophy professor Sari Nusseibeh of Al-Quds University, the idea of a one-state solution has been largely articulated by intellectuals outside of the region. David Remnick, the editor of The New Yorker, lists in a November 2014 article some of those who have espoused the one-state solution. The one-state idea has been boosted over the years by academics such as Edward Said, Tony Judt, John Mearsheimer and Virginia Tilley, and by activists such as Ali Abunimah, the Palestinian-American co-founder of a website called Electronic Intifada.'

Ironically, the idea of a single state was the bedrock of the ideology of the PLO. Hussam Mohamad, a professor of international relations at Eastern Mediterranean University in Cyprus, wrote in 1997 of the Palestinian strategy over the years: On a general level, PLO military strategy and political thought can be divided into three phases: the total liberation phase (1964-1968); the secular democratic state phase (1969-1974); and the two-state solution (1974-1990s).

It is not clear if Abbas' words reflect a strategic shift in Palestinian policy or a tactic to goad Israelis and the United States into backing the two-state solution. Regardless of the motivation, his reference to the concept has legitimized many who feared that talking about it will be seen as unpatriotic to the national idea of an independent Palestinian state alongside Israel.
October 5, 2017

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip  Every year, Palestinian farmers wait for October to see what their olive harvest will produce. Olives are a major seasonal crop for them, one that symbolizes Palestinian resilience in the face of constant Israeli settlers attacks targeting areas adjacent to Israeli settlements throughout the West Bank.

Such attacks pose a great challenge to Palestinian farmers, as they include the uprooting of trees, the burning and confiscation of land, the obstruction of olive harvesting operations and the theft of olive crops, all inflicting heavy losses on the farmers. The latest such incident occurred on Oct. 3.

This situation gave rise to three campaigns aimed at helping Palestinian farmers harvest olives. One was supported by the British Consulate staff, another was launched by the Wall and Settlement Resistance Committee of the PLO, and the We Are With You campaign was initiated by the Agricultural Development Association (PARC).

Hundreds of Palestinian and foreign volunteers, farmers and families are taking part in these campaigns that are being implemented across the West Bank throughout the month of October, which is the olive harvest month.

The British Consulate in Jerusalem, which is supporting and funding some of these campaigns for the third year in a row in addition to its own campaign, distributed logistical equipment to 600 Palestinian farmers in 43 local communities in the West Bank in preparation for the olive harvest season. The equipment included wooden ladders, saws, olive groves and flat sheets of plastic, among other equipment.

The British governments Dubai-based Foreign Office Blogs said Sept. 27 that a number of British Consulate staff and representatives of European governments are taking part in the olive harvest process, particularly in the most marginalized areas. This is part of the United Kingdom's continued commitment to ensure Palestinians' rights to cultivate their lands and condemn any activities that pose a threat to this right.

The head of the Wall and Settlement Resistance Committee of the PLO, Walid Assaf, told Al-Monitor that the campaign the committee launched on Sept. 27 consists of three stages. The first is distributing equipment to farmers, the second is organizing volunteer work in partnership with local community institutions and foreign volunteers, and the third is sending workers and activists to agricultural land adjacent to the Israeli settlements or behind the separation wall to harvest olives.

Assaf explained that the equipment provided by the committee in cooperation with the British Consulate and many local institutions has been distributed to 800 farmers in the West Bank and will be distributed to other farmers in the Palestinian areas across the West Bank. He noted, however, that their support remains simple compared to the challenges faced by farmers due to the settlers attacks.

While the weekly reports issued in September by the PLOs National Bureau for Defending Land said that the settlers attacks on Palestinian agricultural lands in the West Bank widely increased as the olive harvest season drew near, Assaf explained that the presence of hundreds of volunteers in the Palestinian agricultural lands during the olive-picking season helps limit these attacks. This, he added, prompted them to take additional steps aimed at bringing more volunteers this year, especially foreigners who usually start arriving in the Palestinian territories at the beginning of October on their own personal initiative to help pick olives.

In this vein, Nablus-based PARC announced the completion of all arrangements related to the launch of its 10th annual voluntary olive harvest campaign titled We Are With You, and expects hundreds of participants in the campaign.

Khaled Mansour, the campaign coordinator, said in a press statement published by al-Quds newspaper on Sept. 26 that the launch of the campaign comes in light of escalated settler crimes against Palestinian farmers, land and property across Palestinian villages and towns, and restrictions on the movement of farmers in the vicinity of settlements.  This deeply affects farmers, prevents them from accessing their lands, and denies them the right to harvest and transfer olive crops safely and freely.

Yaser al-Zaghari, a 47-year-old Palestinian farmer whose farm is close to the Givat HaRadar settlement in the northwest of Jerusalem, told Al-Monitor that the campaigns organized by Palestinians with the help of foreigners have succeeded in recent years in protecting them while harvesting olives.

Zaghari said that before the start of the harvest season, settlers cut trees in the lands located near the settlements and the Israeli army fired gas bombs containing toxic substances around olive trees during the sporadic confrontations with Palestinians. This inflicts damage on both the crops and the trees.

He pointed out, however, that the suffering of Palestinian farmers whose lands are now on the western side of the separation wall, which Israel began building in 2002, is greater than his suffering. Many of them are denied access to their lands by the Israeli army.

Dounia Shtewie, a 37-year-old French activist who helps Palestinians harvest olives in the northern West Bank town of Nablus, told Al-Monitor that she decided to start helping Palestinians harvest olives in hotbeds after she heard about the different kinds of suffering they are exposed to. She decided to show solidarity with Palestinians in the face of Israeli attacks.

Shtewie, who has been living in Nablus since October 2015, added, The help that many foreign activists and I provide to Palestinians in the olive harvest season aims at allowing them to exercise their right to crop harvesting. We also try to encourage them to cling to the land that the Israelis are trying to take away from them.

I spend 10 hours a day helping Palestinians pick olives. I also document the settlers attacks using my own camera, she added.

She said that as they work, she and farmers get stoned by settlers who are accompanied by wild dogs.

While Shtewie did not hide that she had concerns over the dangers surrounding her volunteer work in those areas, she said it was worth the risk.

These campaigns remain vital in reducing settlers attacks on farmers even if they do not stop them altogether. During the harvest season and thanks to the presence of foreigners and the solidarity they are showing the Palestinians, Israeli attacks are reduced for fear of accidentally killing one of the foreign volunteers and causing a diplomatic crisis with the volunteers' countries of origin. Meanwhile, the Israeli military continues to turn a blind eye to these attacks.
October 5, 2017

The US government has stopped paying Kurdish peshmerga fighters salaries after a yearlong agreement expired over the summer, and there are no current plans to renew it.

Under the deal negotiated by the Barack Obama administration in July 2016, the United States agreed to pay stipends to some 36,000 Kurdish fighters battling the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq. The agreement was expected to be renewed over the summer for another year, but US and Kurdish officials tell Al-Monitor that talks stalled as the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) pursued a divisive referendum on independence and the IS presence in the region began to collapse.

The department does not currently fund stipend payments for the peshmerga, Defense Department spokesman Eric Pahon told Al-Monitor. The memorandum of understanding between the Department of Defense and the KRG facilitating stipend support during the Mosul operation expired in July 2017, and the final stipend payment was transferred in early September.

Peshmerga sources flatly accuse the Donald Trump administration of withholding support because of opposition to last months nonbinding referendum. The United States has taken Baghdads side in the dispute and refused to recognize the results, which indicate overwhelming support for Kurdish independence.

There was a plan to renew and sign a new similar memorandum of understanding, but the United States discontinued it because of the referendum, Brig. Gen. Hajar Omer Ismail, director of coordination and relations for the Ministry of Peshmerga, told Al-Monitor. He said no weapons had been received for a while even before the memorandum of understanding expired.

Pahon declined to comment on what he called internal business matters. He said the United States and the KRG did not have any talks on the table about renewing the memorandum of understanding for months prior to the Sept. 25 vote, so the referendum has no effect at this point.

The Pentagon in May released a budget request for fiscal year 2018 that assumed that the memorandum of understanding would be renewed this past summer. The request for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1 calls for $270 million for peshmerga stipends and $95 million for sustainment," 26% more than the $289.5 million requested for fiscal 2017 during Obamas last year in office.

The budget request says the cost estimate for fiscal 2018 assumes the Department of Defense and the Ministry of Peshmerga would extend the memorandum of understanding for sustainment of peshmerga forces involved in achieving key objectives to counter IS. The request said the memorandum of understanding would, in addition to providing stipends, also facilitate Department of Defense "provision of weapons, ammunition, food, fuel, mobility assets, and sustainment support to the peshmerga.

That May request may be moot, however, now that the memorandum of understanding has expired. Pahon said the budget is not a static entity and is expected to go through tweaks and changes to match current operating conditions as the counter-IS campaign targets the militant groups last remaining holdouts in Iraqs Anbar province.

Regardless, Pahon said the Pentagon continues to support the peshmerga with other forms of military cooperation and security assistance such as training and equipment.

The stipend is not the entirety, or even the bulk, of our support for peshmerga forces fighting [IS], he said. We are providing the necessary support to our partner forces, at the approval of the government of Iraq, for ensuring the defeat" of IS.

Congress has also weighed in on the issue. A provision in the House of Representatives annual defense bill released in June threatened to cut funding for the peshmerga if the KRG decides to split from Baghdad, a clear signal to Erbil ahead of the referendum.

Separately, the Trump administration authorized a military sale in April worth nearly $300 million to equip two peshmerga brigades and arm them with 36 howitzers and small arms. Sources in Erbil say those weapons have yet to arrive.

Ismail, the Kurdish general, told Al-Monitor he did not remember the last time peshmerga troops received US weapons shipments, and said remaining American-supplied ammunition stocks were not enough for the fight against IS.

If the referendum does impact relations between Baghdad and Erbil, the Pentagon worries it could limit the fight against IS at a time when the militant group has lost more than 90% of its self-declared caliphate. In operations over the summer, Pentagon officials said, peshmerga fighters established a defensive line that ensnared or killed hundreds of IS fighters fleeing from Tal Afar.

Experts expect military support to continue to the peshmerga once tensions around the referendum subside.

There are probably some hurt feelings, Michael Knights, a Lafer fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Al-Monitor. I think you would just wait for things to cool off.
October 6, 2017

CAIRO  Cairo has been rounding up support for Moushira Khattab, its preferred candidate for the post of director-general for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Another eight candidates will be competing against Khattab in the election scheduled for Oct. 9, including Hamad al-Kawari, former Qatari minister of information and culture; Audrey Azoulay, French minister for culture and communication; and Qian Tang of China, UNESCO's assistant director-general for education. Khattab and Kawari's candidacies have launched another diplomatic confrontation between Qatar and the Arab countries boycotting it since June 5.

In July, the boycotting countries  Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates  announced their support for Khattab, who has also gained the backing of the bloc of 13 African countries on UNESCO's Executive Board, who announced their support in a resolution at a summit in Addis Ababa.

The boycotting Gulf state's support of Khattab's candidacy apparently represents a retraction of their earlier decision to support Kawari. Last year, Arab League Deputy Secretary-General Ahmed Ben Helli had said that the Gulf states would support Kawari's nomination, viewing him as a representative of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The Gulf countries boycotting Qatar have no seats on UNESCO's 58-member Executive Board and are therefore not eligible to vote. On July 31, Khattab told the press that high-level circles in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain had confirmed that they would promote her candidacy to countries on the board. She viewed their support as an expression of those countries growing belief in Egypts chances of success.

Observers told Al-Monitor that the race has become more competitive with Azoulay running  UNESCO's headquarters are in France  not to mention the candidacies of Vera el Khoury Lacoeuilhe of Lebanon and Saleh al-Hasnawi of Iraq, who will be competing with Khattab and Kawari for the votes of the Arab bloc, which consists of Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and Sudan.

Zahi Hawass, former Egyptian antiquities minister, offered his assessment of the race, telling Al-Monitor, The competition is limited to the Egyptian, French and Chinese candidates, but it remains fierce given their importance on the international arena. He went on to say that he believes Khattab is most likely to win and that Kawari has no chance.

Said al-Lawandi, an international relations expert at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, told Al-Monitor, Countries boycotting [Qatar] will assume a significant role in promoting the Egyptian candidacy among member states of the UNESCO Executive Council to spite Qatar. He noted, Winning the vote is a priority for Doha, which has in its possession a lot of money to be pumped into Hamad al-Kawaris campaign.

Joseph Hammond of the American Media Institute recently wrote, Qatar is unlikely to win the support of Senegal, which severed ties with Qatar at one point over the crisis. It also will not be able to draw on Chad, which downgraded its ties with Doha as well. He further noted, Qatars al-Kawari, though, has used the countrys wealth to criss-cross the globe to gather support.

Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE suspended diplomatic and economic relations with Qatar in June after accusing it of supporting terrorist groups and Iran. Kuwait was unsuccessful in its efforts at mediating the crisis.

Abdullah al-Sanawi, an Egyptian journalist for Ash-Shorouk, told Al-Monitor, The war among Arabs was declared in this years voting, and the door is open to all possibilities. He added, The Qatari candidate has a big chance, influence and financial resources, in addition to the fact that his country is standing behind him. He, however, will not obtain the Arab support that Khattab has.

Sanawi further stated, Although the African bloc affirmed that its vote will go to the Egyptian candidate, one cannot be sure that the African votes will necessarily be in her favor given that some of the states may alter their stance a few days before the voting. I hope that Khattab made sure that the votes will actually go for her, to avoid a repeat Egyptian defeat in this international forum. Khattab has a chance of winning this vote. This chance, however, will decrease with the presence of a candidate from France, where UNESCO headquarters are, and the other three Arab candidates.

The previous Egyptian defeats Sanawi referred to occurred 10 years apart. In 1999, the Egyptian candidate for director-general, Ismail Serageldin, founding director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, lost to Koichiro Matsuura of Japan. In 2009, Farouk Hosny, former culture minister, lost to the current director-general, Irina Bokova of Bulgaria, after being accused of anti-Semitism.

Mustafa al-Fukhi, director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, said in a Sept. 14 interview on MBC Masr that Kawari has no chance of winning, suggesting that some countries will not vote for him out of fear of the repercussions of the ongoing crisis.
October 2, 2017

ALEPPO, Syria  Child labor has become a catastrophic problem plaguing many Syrian cities and towns. Instead of enrolling in school, children are working for several reasons, mainly because the family provider was killed in the war or arrested by the regime or the Islamic State (IS). Other reasons include extreme poverty, the high cost of living and soaring levels of unemployment as a result of the country's 7-year-old civil war. Despite much talk of cease-fires and "safe zones," the war is still raging in many regions.

In areas of the Aleppo countryside liberated during Operation Euphrates Shield (August 2016-March 2017), child labor has been on the rise. Children have dropped out of school and entered the job market, many in difficult and dangerous jobs unsuitable for children.

Child labor in the Euphrates Shield areas soared after Turkey declared the end of that military operation against IS. As stability was gradually restored, more shops opened their doors. Professions picked up after having been defunct during IS rule. The area attracted thousands of displaced people from different Syrian regions.

During a recent visit to the area, Al-Monitor noticed that most of the working children seem to be those who are displaced and living under the poverty line in refugee camps. Others who are originally from the area have returned, and some have lost one of their parents.

Al-Monitor visited the main cities in the Euphrates Shield area now under control of the Free Syrian Army: al-Bab, Marea, Azaz and Jarablus. Children from 7 to 17 years of age work for pay in all shops and professions, mainly blacksmithing, carpentry, car and motorcycle maintenance, tailoring and retail, in hardware stores, grocery stores, fast-food shops and cigarette kiosks. Children typically earn a monthly wage of $40-$50 and work at least 12 hours a day.

Six children under 15 work with me," Chadi Hafez, who owns a carpentry workshop in Azaz, told Al-Monitor. Three of the children lost their fathers in the war. "They had to take on huge responsibilities to provide for their families the basic daily needs and to pay the rent. Each child earns $50 per month, and children come to me daily asking for work. Most of them are displaced or harmed by the war.

Al-Monitor observed that displaced children whose families are poor and lost everything when they fled their homes constitute a large segment of the working children in the area. Being constantly on the move and bearing the high cost of new living arrangements left them with no savings. Business owners employ the displaced children, who accept low wages and long hours because they are desperate.

Wassim Salam, 14, started fixing motorbikes in al-Bab after his father was killed in February in a Russian air raid on Deir Hafer in eastern Aleppo province. He and his four sisters moved 25 miles northwest to al-Bab for safety.

"I am the eldest and the sole provider," he told Al-Monitor. "I had to find a job that covers the living costs.

Salam added, I leave the house daily and head to work at 8 in the morning, except for Fridays [which are holy days]. I help the boss fix motorbikes, and I stay at work till 8 at night. I earn 30,000 Syrian pounds [$58] per month. The pay is low, but it is better than waiting for people to take pity on me and my family.

Mahmoud Saleh, 13, from Jarablus, told Al-Monitor, IS killed my father at the end of 2014 and left me with three siblings and my mother. I had to work with my uncle in a vegetable store in the [Jarablus] market. I left school after fifth grade. I was not happy to drop out of school and go to work, but I have no other choice.

Psychologist Enas Youssef said most children who work face physical violence and psychological abuse that have a lasting negative impact on their lives. The work environment also stresses them, makes them susceptible to diseases and puts them in danger of wounds or physical injuries because they use sharp tools and their bodies are weak.

Youssef told Al-Monitor, Working children suffer several psychological issues that stay with them and worsen. For instance, the child withdraws from people and becomes introverted. He also feels responsibility prematurely at a time when he really needs to play and be carefree like his peers. Children also show signs of depression. Dropping out of school prevents them from learning necessary skills like reading and writing. Some professions also leave chronic physical harm on children like damaged discs and breathing problems if chemicals are used on the job.

There are no laws banning child labor in the region. There are no solutions, either, to curb the phenomenon. Civil initiatives to reduce child labor are also missing despite the gravity of the problem, which gives rise to ignorance and a physically, psychologically and socially damaged generation that will not be easily healed.
October 5, 2017

Probably no president was ever called "uncle" by his eminent counterparts and by the people on the street. Yet in every Middle East country where Kurds live, "mam" ("paternal uncle" in Kurdish) was the honorific title of Jalal Talabani, a legend of Kurdish politics and former president of Iraq from 2005 to 2014.

When they use honorific titles, Kurdish men are usually addressed as "kak," which translates to "sir." For example, his followers and Kurds in general often address Massoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of Iraq, as "Kak Massoud." Such a title of respect never suited Jalal Talabani. "Mam," however, was a sign of affection. I do not recall any time that I have addressed him in any other way in the more than 40 years we knew each other.

Talabani, Iraq's first non-Arab president after Saddam Hussein, died Oct. 3 at a time when his lifetime goal for an independent Kurdistan triggered intraregional tensions that only his savvy leadership could moderate.

Talabani became incapacitated after he suffered a stroke in December 2012; he underwent treatment in Berlin for more than a year. Since then, he has had no apparent political role in Kurdish and overall Iraqi decision-making. Yet, despite his absence in the political scene for almost five years due to his frail health, unable to speak and move, his physical presence on this earth seemingly provided a bizarre sense of confidence to all those locked in intense political struggles with each other.

Financial Times called Talabani "a giant of Iraqi Kurdish history" and "a pragmatic and important binding force," and underlined his paradoxical life as a man of reconciliation and moderation who spent many years in the mountains as a legendary Kurdish fighter opposing Iraq's Arab nationalist regimes. With his death, Talabani generated an aura of respect among a wide range of international personalities representing diverse and even hostile interests.

Talabani's erstwhile political rival and friend Barzani said, "I myself lost a friend, brother and a strong supporter." Meanwhile, Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, Barzani's new nemesis in the aftermath of the Sept. 25 independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, also expressed his sadness. Abadi described Talabani as a "faithful partner" in the new Iraq, which signaled a tacit criticism directed at Barzani. The Iraqi prime minister added, "In these sensitive times we're more than ever in need of his moderation, wisdom and insistence on the unity of Iraq and Arab-Kurdish brotherhood in a united Iraq. We'll always remember his definition of the people of Iraq as a wreath of flowers of different varieties."

For the US State Department, Talabani was "a true statesman and a leader for all Iraqis." UK Ambassador to Iraq Frank Baker praised Talabani on Twitter as a "huge political figure in Iraq's history." Baker said Talabani showed "wisdom and compassion throughout his life."

It is interesting to see that instead of Talabani's "Kurdishness" to which he had devoted his life, his "Iraqiness" was exaggeratedly emphasized by Western officials. For instance, UK Minister of State for the Middle East Alistair Burt called him "a respected statesman who served Iraq with distinction."

To understand the huge vacuum that Talabani left in the already turbulent and scarred Middle East, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's words must be considered. Zarif saw "an irreparable tragedy for both Iran and Iraq" in Talabani's death. Along similar lines, the Iranian Kurdish organization Komala, the archenemy of Iran's Islamic regime, described Talabani as "one of Kurdistan's absolutely finest and greatest."

As a close friend of "Mam Jalal" since 1973 and as someone who played a joint role with him in establishing Turkey's relationship with the Kurdish political movement for the first time since the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, I know very well that he identified himself with the city of Kirkuk  Talabani was a Kirkuki above anything else. The words of Dr. Najmaldin Karim, the governor of Kirkuk and personal physician of Talabani, are to the point: "The world, Iraq, the people of Kurdistan and Kirkuk today lost one of the most prominent leaders of the liberation [movement]  a most eminent advocate of human rights." Karim, who is also a fellow member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) that Talabani had founded and led, added, "We in the city of Kirkuk are more saddened than anyone else by the loss of President Mam Jalal because he loved our city and was defending the Turkmens, Kurds, Arabs, Chaldeans and Assyrians."

Such a gigantic personality was Mam Jalal. Although he was not actively involved in politics since his 2012 stroke, the knowledge that he was alive served as an invisible safety valve to prevent things from completely getting out of control in Iraq, Kurdistan and the region.

Talabani's political absence since December 2012 already created a huge gap. His demise would be felt even more strongly in resolving the seemingly insurmountable conflicts engulfing the Middle East.

Without a doubt, Talabani's own party, the PUK, will most directly feel the impact of his death. The movement had weakened when Talabani's deputy, Nawshirwan Mustafa, had left the PUK and founded Gorran (Movement for Change) in 2009. The PUK became crippled and riddled with acute factional infighting after Mam Jalal's health declined in 2012. Barham Salih, one of Mam Jalal's deputies, recently left the PUK to form his own political entity and participate in the upcoming Kurdish elections on Nov. 1. After Mam Jalal's death, it will be even more difficult to maintain the unity of his movement and overcome the differences among its many leading personalities and factions.

Talabanis death will also help to strengthen Barzani, at least for the foreseeable future. Without Talabani on the political stage and with the leaders of Turkey's Kurdish movement  from Abdullah Ocalan to Selahattin Demirtas  behind bars, Barzani is likely to emerge as the only Kurdish leader with national stature and international reputation.

That comes with a price: In the absence of Kurdish checks and balances, Barzani's aspirations could only be checked by a number of regional and international players. Until now, these players contributed to the further destabilization of the Middle East. As a man who could build bridges, reach compromise and operate and establish balance, Talabani's absence would be felt more than ever.

Mam Jalal was not only a larger-than-life figure, but he was a Kurd larger than Kurdistan itself. The Middle East, along with Kurdistan and Iraq, will become even more dangerous without him.
Gov. Kay Ivey announced today the formation of the Southern Automotive Manufacturers Alliance during an address to the Southern Automotive Conference in Birmingham.

SAMA is being formed by the state automotive manufacturing organizations of Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi. Georgia, which will host next year's Southern Automotive Conference, will be an apprentice member. It also includes the Southern Automotive Women's Forum, the South Carolina Automotive Council and the Kentucky Automotive Industry Association.

In addition, Ivey announced that Alabama will be the first state to offer Manufacturing Skills Standards Council credentials at every state community college this spring.

The MSSC standards are described as a federally recognized training, assessment and certification system focused on the skills and knowledge needed in manufacturing. Students will be able to earn certification as a production technician or logistics technician.

The announcement of a cooperative southern auto association during the final day of the state's hosting the regional automotive conference shows Alabama state and commercial officials are angling for future expansion in the sector that is already the state's leading export.

Ivey said the formation of SAMA will benefit all of its member states, as automotive manufacturing can impact several states through supply chains.

"We can achieve so much more working together than we can working apart," she said. "This new effort is an indication of our spirit of cooperation as well as healthy competition among our states. By joining together, we will enhance each state's attractiveness to automotive businesses."
Michael Hodges, son of the founder of Alabama's largest church, is no longer pastor of the Greystone branch campus of the Church of the Highlands, which has 15 branch campuses that have more than 40,000 in attendance every week.

Founder and Senior Pastor Chris Hodges, speaking at the ReCreate Women's Conference at the church on Sept. 30, mentioned that his son had a moral failing and was no longer the Greystone pastor. He gave no further details. He released his new book, "The Daniel Dilemma: How to Stand Firm & Love Well in a Culture of Compromise," at the women's conference.

All references to Michael Hodges were removed from the church's web site in September and his social media accounts were deactivated. Since Sept. 25, Charles Kelly has been listed on the church web site as the pastor of the Greystone campus.

Michael Hodges had previously held the position as Greystone pastor, and had been on the church staff since 2015 with other titles including director of ministry partnership and placement, and as a member of the Highlands College Team, which teaches students at the church's ministry training program.

The church has not responded to a request for a statement on the status of Michael Hodges, or announced whether he will be reinstated to the church staff.

One current Church of the Highlands staff member, Associate Pastor Dino Rizzo, went through a plan for restoration to the ministry supervised by Chris Hodges after Rizzo left his previous church following an inappropriate relationship.

Rizzo took a sabbatical in July 2012 and then resigned as senior pastor of the Healing Place Church he founded in 1993 in Baton Rouge, La.

Hodges and other overseers devised a restoration plan which required counseling for Rizzo and his wife. It required Rizzo to step down from ministry for one year, and have a second year of supervised ministry, before he was considered restored to the ministry.

Rizzo now coordinates missions, Dream Centers, Local Outreach and Prisons ministry for Church of the Highlands.
A man and a woman from Detroit were arrested in Alabama, accused of using stolen identities and cloned credit cards in the Birmingham metropolitan area.

Authorities on Thursday identified the suspects as Shaakira Cummings-Mcelrath and Darrell Adams.

The Secret Service Financial Crimes Task Force on Sept. 27 received information about alleged wrongdoing by the pair. They did not elaborate on the specifics of the crimes.

Task force investigators located them near the intersection of Red Lane Road and Parkway East in Birmingham and took them into custody. Both were processed through the Homewood City Jail.

Cummings-Mcelrath was charged with identity theft and possession of encoded data. Adams is charged with identity theft, possession of encoded data and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

The Secret Service Financial Crimes Task Force is comprised of Investigators from the United States Secret Service, Homewood, Vestavia, Mountain Brook, Birmingham and Alabaster police, as well as investigators with Walmart, Target and the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office.
A man was killed Thursday night during an exchange of gunfire between a police officer and the man, authorities said.

Leeds Police Chief Ronald Reaves said officers were responding to a call about a dog shot in the Cahaba Hills subdivision at 6:45 pm. While officers were talking to witnesses for that incident, authorities heard gunshots in the area.

The officers went towards the gunshots and encountered an armed man in the 1000 block of Melissa Circle. Reaves said the man was a resident of the area.

After officers instructed the man to put down his weapon, police said the man started shooting at the officers. Reaves said an officer fired two rounds at the man, who died at the scene. No officers were injured during the exchange of gunfire, Reaves said.

The name of the deceased man has not been released. Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is assisting with the investigation.

As protocol, the SBI will investigate the shooting and the officer who fired the weapon will be placed administrative leave until the investigation is complete.
Two high-ranking state officials removed from their positions last year by former Gov. Robert Bentley have been cleared of wrongdoing.

Both James Nolin, finance department chief information officer, and Rex McDowell, assistant director of finance information/administrative services, received letters of apology in recent days from Gov. Kay Ivey.

In the letters, the governor cited two state audits and an FBI investigation that all determined there was no criminal activity by either Nolin or McDowell.

Ivey wrote that Bentley's decision to remove the men from their positions "was unsupported and unjustified by any evidence presented to the governor. Moreover, even if Gov. Bentley had been presented with evidence of criminal activity, it was, in my view, premature and inappropriate to publicly comment before the investigation had begun."

The removals occurred in June 2016 after Alabama Law Enforcement Agency head Stan Stabler reported concerns of a computer security breach.

Bentley dispatched a letter dated June 10, 2016 to the FBI in which he requested the bureau's help to determine the full scope of the supposed breach.

Nolin, as a newly-hired probationary employee, was fired and McDowell was placed on administrative leave without pay.

According to Bentley's letter to the FBI, Stabler informed the governor that "several contract personnel working for (the finance department's Information Services Division) were improperly granted access to IT resources that support ALEA and the state of Alabama's CJIS (Criminal Justice Information Systems) network."

CJIS, a part of the FBI, is the world's largest repository of criminal fingerprints and history records available to investigators and police professionals that is the "cornerstone of protecting the nation," according to the FBI website.

Bentley's letter said that ALEA, in consultation with U.S. attorneys, "confirmed that some actions of senior managers within the Department of Finance and its Information Services Division are potentially criminal in nature."

In her letters to Nolin and McDowell, Ivey said that was not the case.

The incidents, Ivey wrote, were an "innocent misunderstanding."

In the letters, Ivey said the men deserved for their names to be cleared publicly since the media published Bentley's concerns about criminal activity.

"On behalf of the governor's office and the people of Alabama, I extend a sincere apology for the difficulties you endured throughout this ordeal and as a result of the unwarranted negative publicity," Ivey wrote to both men.
A Madison County burglary convict has been recaptured after escaping a work-release site in Florence, Alabama prison officials said.

Legendre (ADOC)

Christian Anthony Legendre was caught in Harvest around 7 a.m., according to the Alabama Department of Corrections. He surrendered without incident.

Legendre had been on the run since Wednesday when he walked away from a work-release job in Florence. In August 2016, Legendre was sentenced to serve five years in prison for a burglary conviction in Madison County. At the time of the escape, he was incarcerated at the Decatur Work Release Center, but assigned to the Florence job site.

Legendre is being charged with escape.
Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on Monday laid the cornerstone for the Grand Mosque of Algiers, a $1.3-billion project that should become the worlds third largest mosque.



China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) was last month awarded the contract to build the huge monument, facing the sea in the east of Algiers, over four years.

The mosque will sit on 20 hectares in the Mohammadia area of the capital. Its minaret soaring 270 meters (886 feet) into the sky, it will hold 120,000 worshippers and feature a library of 1 million works and seating for 2,000.



It will also house a museum and a research center and become the worlds third largest mosque after those in Mecca and Saudi Arabia in Medina.



Algiers currently has three grand mosques: Djamaa el-Kebir, built in the 11th century; Djamaa el-Djedid, built in 1660; and the Ketchaoua, at the foot of the Casbah, also built during the Ottoman rule in the 17th century.
Fatma Naib undertook a journey to understand why so many communities continue to subject their daughters to female genital mutilation and what it would take for them to stop.

Editors note: Al Jazeera has won a Peabody Award for the documentary The Cut.

Talking about female genital mutilation (FGM) makes people uncomfortable. I get that. Who wants to think about vaginas  particularly those of young girls  being cut?

But here is what I learned from making a film about FGM: We need to feel uncomfortable and we need to feel outraged if we are to do anything about it.

FGM and me

I am originally from Eritrea but moved to Sweden when I was 11 years old. Although it has been banned in Eritrea since 2007, the country still has one of the highest rates of FGM in the world. According to UNICEF, around 83 percent of Eritrean women and girls are subjected to it.

{articleGUID}

I remember when I first became aware of FGM. I was about eight years old and we were at a relatives house. It was full of women and children. Food was being shared and the atmosphere was festive. It felt like a celebration.

Then, I entered another room, where my female relative  a girl of three or four  was laying in bed, covered with a white sheet, clearly in agony.

I asked my mother what was wrong with her. She had been circumcised or purified, my mother explained. It was the same terminology we used for male circumcision, so I understood that something had been done to her private parts and that it had involved some form of cutting.

I asked my mother whether I had been cut? She told me I hadnt, and we left it at that. I never thought to ask her why.

The percentage, types of cutting and reasons vary but the end result is the same: Girls and women lose a part of their body. by Fatma Naib, journalist

As I grew up, I didnt think much more about FGM. It wasnt something we talked about. It never became a page in my book of childhood memories.

But as I approached adulthood and my friends began to think about marriage and childbirth, the topic started to creep into our conversations. It was only then that I realised how many of them had undergone FGM. There were no stories of their pain and suffering because most were too young when it happened to remember it, but there was plenty of anxiety and fear about what it would mean when the time came to have sex or give birth.

Still, it felt like something that happened to others; something I couldnt quite relate to.

Then, I went to Senegal to make a web documentary about FGM for Al Jazeera. Coming face to face with young children affected by it, witnessing their pain and the way it impacted entire communities there, made me wonder more about my own  and why my immediate family had chosen not to follow a practice so widely followed there.

A journey to understand FGM

In our documentary film, The Cut: Exploring FGM, I travel to Somaliland, Kenya and Sweden in search of answers that might bring me closer to an understanding of that.

I wanted to understand why different cultures do it and what it would take for them to stop. I went armed with the numbers, the statistics, the facts. But those numbers on a page are nothing compared with hearing first-hand accounts of having your clitoris removed  often without anaesthesia, with a razor, a knife or, in some cases, with scissors.

{articleGUID}

In Kenya, I met Domtila, an anti-FGM activist who told me how shed witnessed her cousin being held down while her clitoris was sliced at, bit by bit, leaving her vagina brutally mutilated.

There was Khadan, a young midwife in Somaliland who had just had a baby and explained how many women like her who have undergone FGM have to be cut open before their wedding night, and again, when they give birth.

In Somaliland, I met Nura, a cutter who estimates that she has performed FGM on around 100,000 girls. As part of the procedure, the girls vaginas are often sown closed, leaving just a small opening for urine to pass through. I was shocked when Nura showed me just how small that opening can be.

That is what most worried 18-year-old mother-to-be Shaartu, when Anab, a midwife in Somaliland who has made it her mission to eradicate FGM there, met her.

I was stitched when I was 10 years old. And then, when I was getting married, I was cut open, Shaartu told Anabs group of outreach nurses. I have seen girls who have been circumcised like me and could not give birth, who died  So, its possible that I cant give birth and I die.

I also met 23-year-old Kadar in a trendy cafe in Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, who explained that hed prefer to marry a woman who had been subjected to FGM. Culture is stronger than womens opinions and views, he told me with a broad smile that revealed shiny braces.

In Kenya, I was moved by the story of 18-year-old Elly, a member of the Pokot tribe, where girls typically undergo FGM between the ages of 13 and 18, despite the practice being illegal in Kenya. She refused and ran away from home. Her family responded by shunning her and refusing to pay for her education.

A member of the Maasai, 26-year-old Nice persuaded the 7,000 people in her village to end the practice. One of the ways she approached this was to show the men of the community what it entailed and one of the tools she used was a video clip of a two-year-old girl undergoing the procedure. I turned away, unable to watch it, but that babys screams stay with me  as does the memory of Jackson, a Maasai warrior who upon watching the video declared that he would kill anyone who tried to do that to his daughter.

As much as inspiring women like Domtila, Anab and Nice are needed to end FGM, so, too, are men like Jackson.

Learning to talk about FGM

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an estimated 200 million women and girls alive today have been subjected to FGM.

It happens all over the world  in Asia, Africa, the Middle East but also in Latin America, North America, Asia-Pacific and Europe. It takes place in peoples homes, on the floor of a cutters mud hut in remote villages and in hospitals.

How widespread the practice is, the form to which girls and women are subjected and the justifications their communities give may vary from one place and culture to another, but the end result is the same: girls and women lose a part of their body.

INTERACTIVE: Breaking the cycle of FGM

It is a violation of human  and often, childrens  rights.

To change this, we must change attitudes. And to do that we must take into consideration the different cultures, traditions and socioeconomic issues that are intertwined with the practice.

This needs to be led by people like Domtila, Anab, Nice and others we talked to in this film.

But to help them, we must talk openly about FGM. Not bristle at its mention.

I remember an editor once telling me that FGM wasnt an interesting topic.

And, perhaps, in this digital click-chasing world, it doesnt capture peoples attention in the way that an exercise selfie or a picture of food on Instagram might.

It makes people uncomfortable. I understand that. But we need to keep talking about FGM until no more women and girls are subjected to it.
Thousands of ethnic Rohingya remaining inside Myanmar live in fear, with many in desperate need of food and healthcare.

Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh  Rohingya trapped inside Myanmar say thousands are starving and in need of medical care in northern Rakhine State, where a half-million majority Muslim ethnic Rohingya have fled an army crackdown and communal violence.

Abdulla Mehman, who works for an aid agency in the Buthitaung Township, said more than 2,000 people in his village, Kwan Dine, had run out of food, with many others facing shortages.

We are not allowed to move about freely, and people are struggling to survive, Mehman told Al Jazeera by telephone on Tuesday.

Some people are starving.

Rohingya families in at least four other villages in northern Rakhine  Kin Taung, Bura Shida Para, Kyar Gaung Taung, and Sein Daung  also reported urgent food shortages and accused soldiers and Buddhist neighbours of intimidation, looting, extortion and cattle theft.

The reports are difficult to verify independently, as the region has been under an army lockdown, but the witness accounts are in line with what Rohingya refugees in neighbouring Bangladesh have been telling Al Jazeera.

About a half-million Rohingya are thought to remain in Myanmars westernmost state.

Please help us, a Rohingya woman from the village of Kin Taung, speaking on the condition of anonymity, begged in a telephone conversation this week.

We are sick, but we cannot seek medical treatment. We cannot work and we cannot eat.

A group of 20 diplomats who visited northern Rakhine on an official tour on Monday described the humanitarian situation there as dire, and urged Aung San Suu Kyis government to resume life-saving services without discrimination.

People could die in Rakhine State if aid does not arrive soon, Human Rights Watch said.

The Myanmar government could not be reached for comment.

It has previously promised to deliver aid to communities affected by the violence.

Accounts by refugees pouring into Bangladesh of mass killings, gang-rapes, and burning of whole villages has led the UN to accuse the Myanmar government of ethnic cleansing, a claim it denies.

The woman in Kin Taung told Al Jazeera that soldiers had threatened to rape the civilians and burn down homes of Rohingya, and were extorting money, food and cattle from them.

Her family had to bribe soldiers to keep their homes safe, she said.

Her husband, a 30-year-old farmer, said: If any Rohingya are seen on the streets after the Maghrib prayer (dusk), then we are fined 200,000 Burmese kyat ($147). If they find cattle, they take that also.

People will die

Nay San Lwin, a Rohingya activist based in Germany, said northern Rakhine was like a prison and that thousands of Rohingya were continuing to flee their homes after the army intensified a campaign of intimidation and arson this week.

Paul Seger, Switzerlands ambassador to Myanmar, who joined the government tour of Rakhine, posted a video on Twitter of smoke rising from some villages on Monday.

Just returned from N #Rakhine Saw villages burned/still smoking. Empty paddy fields. Area looks deserted from above. So sad! pic.twitter.com/2dU8X8zuJ9  Botschafter PaulSeger (@BotSchweizDE) October 2, 2017

He also posted a video of shuttered shops and deserted streets in the once-bustling town centre of Maungdaw.

The office of the army chief Min Aung Hlaing, in a Facebook post on Thursday, blamed the fresh bout of arson on the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Front (ARSA).

The refugee crisis erupted after ARSA fighters attacked border posts on August 25.

In some areas, the violence has ebbed, but Rohingya said they lived in fear.

The situation is calm now, but we cannot go to the shops to buy necessities because we are afraid the Buddhists may beat us, Abu Tayeb, a teacher in Bura Shida Para in north Maungdaw, said by telephone.

We cannot get adequate food and we cannot pray [at the mosques].

Peter Bouckaert of Human Rights Watch told Al Jazeera that he was concerned by the lack of information about the hundreds of thousands remaining in Rakhine.

He added: It is imperative that the Myanmar authorities give full humanitarian access to northern Rakhine or people will die.

Mehman, the aid worker from Kwan Dine, said he will not flee even when his food reserves run out next week.

Bangladesh is not my country, he said. The government wants to push us out. I dont want to leave, even if I have to eat leaves.

Additional reporting by Anamur Rahman
We asked Kamal Hossain, who runs a booth to locate lost children, to photograph the crisis from his perspective.

Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh  A recently arrived Rohingya couple stood sobbing in the sudden afternoon downpour outside a booth on the main drag of the Kutupalong registered refugee camp. It was Wednesday, September 27, and that morning, their four-year-old son had disappeared while his mother was washing herself.

The child, who someone had dropped off at this lost and found booth for missing children, sat crying in the covered stall.

Kamal Hossain, who runs the booth that helps reunite Rohingya children with their families, didnt immediately hand the child over to the couple. He had first to ensure that they were his parents. So Kamal gently coaxed the boy to point out his mother in the crowd of onlookers.

Tell me who is your mother? Is that your mother? he asked, pointing at different women.

After an agonising wait for the couple, Kamal was satisfied that the boy had identified his mother with a nod of his head. The woman reached out to hold her son, crying with relief.

Here you will find so many people and [you] cannot be sure who is good or bad, Kamal later explained. Part of his work involves cross-checking that children are being reunited with their families and not with someone else who can sell them or abuse them.

In this thoroughfare, a dirt road congested with refugees on the move, edged with clinics and schools and a registration centre, Kamal and his simple microphone booth have become a constant presence  and a source of hope for people looking for lost family members in the ever-changing throng.

The most recent round of brutal repression by the Myanmar army  described as ethnic cleansing by the UN  has forced more than half a million ethnic Rohingya to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh.

Soon after the refugees began to arrive in the border area, Kamal found a woman crying outside his office gate in Kutupalong.

Kamal, who works as a security guard for the international aid organisation, Handicap International, learned that the womans child had gone missing.

Kamal, himself a Rohingya refugee from Boli Bazar in Myanmar, whose family fled army violence and came to Bangladesh in the 1990s, pondered how he could help.

I thought for the entire day, what to do, how can I find the child, recalled the wiry, soft-spoken man with a gentle smile. It had to be something that could penetrate the crowds, he concluded.

Kamal decided to hire a microphone for eight days, paying 3,000 Bangladeshi Taka (about $36)  his monthly salary  figuring that if he announced missing childrens names people can hear me and they can pass it from person to person.

Kamal helped to track down the womans child. So I continued it, he said. I feel so good when one person is finding another person through [this]. The UNHCR now supports the initiative, and Kamal works at the booth full-time.

READ MORE: Who are the Rohingya?

He makes announcements about individuals whose families have reported them missing or about unaccompanied minors who have been brought to his booth.

I announce five things: name of the village [in Myanmar], name of the child, name of mother, name of father and age of the child, said Kamal, adding that he usually includes a description of the childs clothing. He meticulously records everything in a workbook.

Kamal starts work at around 8:30am and finishes late at night. He says he makes around 40 to 50 announcements a day. He can usually be spotted inside the booth with other volunteers. Outlets for refugees to charge their mobile phones for free (charging stations usually have a fee of about 10 Bangladeshi Taka, around $0.12) were recently installed on the large wooden table the microphone sits on.

On Saturday, Kamal said that more than 1,200 people  mostly mothers  had registered missing family members, while he estimates that about 700 families have been reunited. According to Kamal, many reunited families dont report back, but those whose family members are still missing tend to return time and again to the booth asking for news.

Kamal, who has three children, the oldest a 12-year-old son, has sheltered three Rohingya girls, aged around 16, 12 and seven, in his familys home in the camp. People found the two younger girls by the road and the other in a market and brought them to the booth.

Theyre not safe here as they are girls and there are so many men  anything can happen to them, thats why I took them along with me, he said.

READ MORE  I watched my son drown: Rohingya boat survivor

He would announce their names in his daily broadcasts; two have since been reunited with their families, one through the announcements.

In this refugee crisis, where more than half a million Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh since August 25 and more continue to come, Kamal says the wealthy are able to help with money and aid. Im poor. I dont have this chance. I can do only this thing, he said, referring to the announcements.

Still, Kamal has made a intangible difference to many peoples lives by reuniting families. As a refugee who has lived in Bangladesh for years, we wanted his unique, personal perspective on what his fellow Rohingya are enduring.

Al Jazeera provided Kamal with an instant camera and asked him to photograph what he believes people need to see. This is what he came back with:

Two days after he started the microphone announcements, Kamal said his friend found the girl pictured above and brought her to his booth.

The child, who is about seven years old, had become separated from her family two days after they arrived in Bangladesh.

Kamal sheltered her in his family home. He put her picture up on his Facebook page along with his mobile number and said the girls uncle, who lives in Malaysia, found the post and contacted her father. On Saturday, the girls father came to collect her.

When they were reunited they started crying, he said. Kamal said he photographed them near the booth.

For Kamal, this is the most important picture that he took. It depicts, he said, the reality of what is happening in Myanmar and the nature of the violence being inflicted upon the Rohingya.

[The] Myanmar army killed her husband and another child in front of her. They were four in the family. Her husband and son were killed, Kamal said, adding that the girl was stabbed and the woman was raped.

While leaving, they burned the house down with mother and daughter inside, he said. The woman was severely burned.

If people see this picture, they will know the real scenario here, and they will come and work for them. [Theyll see] that they need support, Kamal reflected.

The mother and child in the picture are now staying with a family in the Kutupalong registered refugee camp.

This is Rohima, who Kamal said is about 16 years old and comes from a village in Maungdaw township in Myanmar.

She was with her family. She was crossing the border and then she lost her parents and as she doesnt know anything about Bangladesh  where to go, what to do  she followed some refugees and just came here, he said.

Rohima turned up at his booth and asked him to make an announcement for her.

I dont have any power to mic anywhere else. I can only mic here, he said. Its almost around 20 days that this girl is at my house and I havent found her parents.

Kamal said he announces her case every hour and wishes he could spread the news that she is looking for her parents so that she might find them.

He said she has become like a daughter and has bonded with his wife, but said it would be difficult to accommodate her indefinitely.

The man in the photograph was injured in a road accident while he was collecting aid soon after he arrived in Bangladesh, Kamal said.

Kamal is critical of those distributing aid by the side of the road.

There are so many people from Myanmar, they came here, and they dont know anything about the country. They came here, and they encountered with accidents, so I captured this picture so that people give aid somewhere else  not just right beside the road  to our people, he said.

The man sustained a head injury from the accident and is roaming around. Kamal said he found him in Balukhali camp and on Saturday he was in front of his booth.

He can speak. If he says 10 sentences, maybe two are correct, he said.

This picture is important, he believes, because the people [who] are providing aid beside the road, they need to know this, they need to go to some safer place to provide aid because people are in need of it and they will definitely go there.

With reporting by Afrose Jahan Chaity
It turns out the sway Britain has with the United States was over-estimated by both PM Theresa May and Brexiteers.

Theresa May celebrated her sixty-first birthday on Sunday. A video appeared of her supporters giving the British premier a rendition of Happy Birthday described even by a supportive newspaper as excruciating. It was filmed on the first day of her Conservative partys annual conference. Her keynote speech went badly  a prankster handing her a fake dismissal notice to the delight of the attendant media  the branded sign behind her promising a better Britain collapsed, and a painfully embarrassing dry throat and persistent cough betrayed her nervousness.





The front page of the Sunday Times, also usually a pro-May newspaper, had spoiled her celebrations further with a devastating splash. Insiders claimed she was on the edge of breakdown under the pressure of Brexit, combined with dashing around the world trying to secure replacement trade deals. Party insiders have suggested up to four in five of her MPs may have stayed away from the annual conference. At a time when Britain needs energetic leadership more than most, Number Ten has a decidedly average tenant.

Nowhere is Mays inability to lead more obvious than in her naivete about Donald Trump and trade. Egged on by anti-European hardliners, she has hoped to tempt Trump into a dazzling new commercial arrangement now Britain is outside the European Union. Not only has she offered him a highly controversial state visit, but has been deliberately slow to criticise his bigoted approach to Muslims, and favourable overtones towards neo-Nazis.

All the flattery now appears to have been for nothing. Mays terrible birthday was rounded off with news of a new trade war, instead of a trade deal, with the United States. The US Department of Commerce accused aviation firm Bombardier of receiving too much state aid from the Canadian and British governments, and have suddenly levied a 219 percent tariff against a significant part of their business.

READ MORE: Lee Nelson pranks PM Theresa May with P45 stunt

Bombardier may be Canadian  but some four thousand Northern Irish jobs are now at risk  because the wings for the planes are made in an enormous factory in Belfast, upon which much of the Northern Irish economy relies. Worse still, both sides of the peace process have said the fragile truce is now at risk. The move even threatens the stability of the Westminster government, because the factory lies in the heartland of the Democrat Unionist Party, currently in coalition with Mays Conservative Party.

What makes the move so striking is that the Boeing-Bombardier animosity is nothing new; these kinds of struggles have gone on for decades, but normally without such punitive consequences. No doubt the allure of a protectionist president in the White House, and a weak United Kingdom outside of the EU, has emboldened the Boeing lawyers.

Thousands of jobs, peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland, the stability of her own government, and the future of the UK, are now all at risk. by

May has threatened retaliatory tactics are now on the way, as it becomes clear that Trump has duped her. The sway Britain has with the US is over-estimated though, by both her and the Brexiteers crowing to get out of Europe, too many of whom she has welcomed into senior cabinet positions.

When May flew across the Atlantic to meet Trump this time last year to kick off trade talks, Trump duly nodded along, but no American newspaper gave May a front-page splash. Instead, the glory of New York Times, Chicago Tribune and Washington Post front pages fell to Mexicos President Enrique Pena Nieto, who was visiting Trump at the same time. The fifth largest economy in the world had been deemed less important than the fifteenth. How could this be?

Although Trumps anti-Mexican policies made the Nieto visit perhaps a sexier story, trade figures also explained the discrepancy. American annual trade in goods and services with Mexico comes to an estimated $579.7bn, making them the countrys third most important trade partner. Meanwhile, UK annual trade comes to only $100bn.

Mexico being Trump Americas third biggest trade partner hasnt stopped him threatening trade wars against them though, just as Canada being his second biggest hasnt stopped him levying the Bombardier tariffs, just as China being the USs largest foreign trade partner hasnt stopped isolationist Trump declaring trade war against Beijing.

If Trump is prepared to declare trade wars on top partners like those then, why would he hesitate to declare war on Britain too? Only last month he announced plans to withdraw from a free trade deal with South Korea, an economy with which the US trades roughly the same as Britain, and the Bombardier tariffs look like empirical evidence his priority really is America First.





The hedge against Trump declaring a global trade war would have been to remain a member of the EU, which accounts for nearly $700bn in trade with the US  or seven times as much as the UK does, and a sum far greater than that of China, or Mexico, or Canada. A trade war would be threatened, but even Trump might not make good on it. The combined gross domestic product (GDP) of the EU is after all equal to that of the US, and the EU has a far larger population, which matters when it comes to trade.

Brexiteers need a wake-up call too then  Trump tariffs are what life outside the EU really looks like. Putting their faith in Trump was folly. When the new president said America First  it turns out he meant it. May listening to them was equally stupid. After all, the challenges presented by the Bombardier tariffs are only a taste of things to come. On Thursday, Trump indicated he would oppose a new UK-EU agricultural deal, in a move designed not to hold the UKs hand, but to force it, and exploit the UK as it leaves the EU.

There is time for May to turn this tariff disaster around though  the US Department of Commerce still needs to take a final decision, and they likely wouldnt be fully imposed until February.

The real question is whether she has it in her to take on Trump, Brexit, or anything else. Nothing about her premiership so far has suggested she does. Perhaps those plotting to remove her might get on with it. Thousands of jobs, peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland, the stability of her own government, and the future of the UK, are now all at risk.

Editors note: A previous version of this article incorrectly claimed Airbus was involved in a dispute with Bombardier.

Alastair Sloan is a London-based journalist. He focuses on injustice and human rights in the UK and international affairs, including human rights, the arms trade, censorship, political unrest and dictatorships.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial policy.
Geneva-based group pushes for a UN treaty to ban nuclear weapons, but world nuclear powers have refused to sign up.

The Geneva-based International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has received the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Sunday.

ICAN has been at the forefront of pushing for an end to the use of nuclear weapons through the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which has 50 signatories including Brazil, South Africa and Vietnam to date.

The Nobel committee cited ICANs efforts for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons, and for its groundbreaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition on such weapons, in an announcement in Oslo, Nowary on October 6.

ICAN Executive Director Beatrice Fihn told reporters that given the current political atmosphere around the world, the call to ban nuclear weapons is more imperative.

The treaty is meant to make it harder to justify nuclear weapons, to make it uncomfortable for states to continue the status quo, to put more pressure on them, she said.

Here are some things to know about the winner of this years Nobel Peace Prize:

Banning nukes

In a landmark resolution, 123 countries voted to start talks on a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons in the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2016.

In July, a UN conference adopted the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

It is the first multilateral legally-binding instrument for nuclear disarmament to have been negotiated in 20 years, the UN said in a statement.

The treaty opened for signature during the annual UN General Assembly last month.

As of September 20, 50 states had signed the treaty, which bans the use, development, testing or storing of nuclear weapons under any circumstances.

However, some of the top nuclear powers have yet to sign on to the pact, including the United States, Russia and China.

Significantly, Iran, which has been accused by the US President Donald Trump of pursuing a nuclear programme, has signed the treaty.

Strength in numbers





Before the Nobel committees announcement, ICAN was a little-known organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Originally founded in Australia in 2007, ICAN has now become a global coalition of 468 non-government organisations spread over 100 countries.

International partners include peace organisations to humanitarian and environmental groups.

Among its coalition partners are The Ceasefire Campaign in South Africa and the Africa Peace Forum in Kenya.

Physicians for Social Responsibility in Bangladesh is also a partner, as well as the Arab Network for Research on Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War.

Nobel Committee: ICAN has in the past year given the efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons a new direction and new vigour.  The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 6, 2017

Public figures who have voiced support for ICAN include Nobel Prize winners the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, as well as artist and activist Ai Weiwei, and internationally-known artists Herbie Hancock and Yoko Ono.

Lets act up! Ban nuclear weapons completely and unconditionally, Ai Weiwei was quoted as saying as he declared his support for the nuclear weapons ban treaty.

Its roots

In 2006, the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which won the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize, adopted ICAN as a major priority at its world congress in Helsinki Finland. A year later, ICAN was formed in Australia, and its international campaign is officially launched in Vienna, Austria.

Beatrice Fihn said ICAN founders were also inspired to establish the group following the success of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which won the Nobel Prize in 1997.

As part of its work to push for the nuclear prohibition treaty, ICAN launched in 2012 the campaign Dont Bank on the Bomb, pushing for divestment from hundreds of banks, pension funds and insurance companies with investments in companies producing nuclear arms.

Call for global responsibility

Online, many celebrated the news that ICAN was awarded this years prize.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres congratulated the campaign, saying now more than ever we need a world without nuclear weapons.

Congratulations to ICAN on their Nobel Peace Prize. Now more than ever we need a world without nuclear weapons. #NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/dLDqqZIdoL  Antonio Guterres (@antonioguterres) October 6, 2017

Others called the Nobel committees decision a resounding call to global responsibility.

#NobelPeacePrize to ICAN (@nuclearban) is a resounding call to global responsibility and stronger diplomacy for #peace pic.twitter.com/IGvp35Sh73  Irina Bokova (@IrinaBokova) October 6, 2017

Challenges

While ICANs Beatrice Fihn said that the prize is a huge boost for her organisation and other groups working on the nuclear weapons issue, the world faces significant hurdles related to the nuclear weapons and threats of war.

Just before the Nobel committee made the announcement in Oslo, US President Donald Trump had threatened not to re-certify the nuclear deal agreed between world powers and Iran.

We must not allow Iran  to obtain nuclear weapons, Trump said.

The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed and chaos across the Middle East. That is why we must put an end to Irans continued aggression and nuclear ambitions. They have not lived up to the spirit of their agreement, he said.

Iran has denied it is pursuing a nuclear weapons programme and said it would continue to abide by the deal. The UN nuclear monitor also said that Iran is in compliance with the deal.

Trump has also threatened to destroy North Korea if necessary after its leader Kim Jong-un said that nothing could stop his country from acquiring ballistic missiles with the capability of carrying nuclear warheads.
The possible sale of the advanced system can go ahead if congress does not object within 30 days.

The US government has approved the possible sale to Saudi Arabia of an advanced missile defence system worth $15bn, the Pentagon said.

The Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD), which has already been supplied to Saudi Arabias neighbours Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, is one of the most capable anti-missile batteries in the US arsenal and comes equipped with an advanced radar system.

Saudi Arabia had asked to buy 44 THAAD launchers and 360 missiles, as well as fire control stations and radars.

This sale furthers US national security and foreign policy interests, and supports the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the face of Iranian and other regional threats, the Pentagons Defense Security Cooperation agency said in a statement on Friday.

The sale can go ahead if the US Congress does not object within 30 days.

READ MORE: Questions raised over $110bn arms deal to Saudi Arabia

THAADs recent deployment by the US military in South Korea to protect against a possible North Korean attack drew protests from Beijing, who feared its sensors would be able to penetrate into Chinese airspace and upset the balance of power.

But the state department said it would advise Congress that, in Saudi hands, the system would act to stabilise the situation in the Gulf and help defend US forces in the region and their allies.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region, it said.

Aerospace giant Lockheed Martin Co is the prime contractor for the THAAD system, with defence contractor Raytheon Co playing an important role in its deployment.
Interior ministry files lawsuit asking CNRP be dissolved on ground that it was involved in plot to topple government.

The government of Cambodia has taken the first legal steps seeking to disband the countrys main opposition party, the latest in a series of moves that would help it gain an advantage ahead of a general election next year.

The interior ministry on Friday filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court asking for the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) to be dissolved on the ground that it was involved in a plot to topple the government, said spokesperson Khieu Sopheak.

The CNRP is the only party aside from the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party with representatives in parliament, and no third political grouping comes close in terms of popularity and support. The opposition posed an unexpectedly strong challenge in 2013s general election, and the government has since taken steps to tighten its grip on power.

READ MORE: Cambodia  Switching off independent radio stations

Khieu Sopheak said the government had received 21 pieces of concrete evidence to prove that the opposition party has intentionally sought to topple the government through a colour revolution'  a term used to describe movements to replace governments in a number of countries.

The attempt to disband the CNRP comes after its leader, Kem Sokha, was charged with treason following his arrest on September 3. He could face up to 30 years in prison.





In their lawsuit on Friday, government lawyers said the opposition had conspired with foreigners to topple the government, citing a 2013 video clip that shows Kem Sokha talking about a plan to take power with the help of Americans.

The opposition party has denied the treason allegation, saying the charge is politically motivated. Many senior CNRP leaders have since fled the country, fearing arrest.

One of the remaining opposition MPs derided allegations that the CNRP had been involved in planning a US-backed coup.

This is intended to destroy democracy in Cambodia, Mao Monyvann said of the move to shut down the CNRP.

Western countries have condemned the opposition leaders arrest, and have questioned whether next years election can be fair following the crackdown on opposition leaders, activists and journalists.

OPINION: Cambodia rejects paying dirty debt to the US

Hun Sen, prime minister of Cambodia and a former Khmer Rouge commander who defected from the genocidal group and helped drive it from power in 1979, is allied to China, and Beijing says it supports the Cambodian governments efforts to maintain national security and stability.

The Cambodian Peoples Party narrowly won the last election four years ago after losing seats to the opposition in what was Hun Sens worst election result since Cambodia returned to full democracy in 1998.

The ruling party lost ground in local elections in June, after which, according to opposition members, Hun Sen stepped up a campaign against dissenting voices.

Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watchs Asia division, criticised the international community for not responding more strongly to Hun Sens crackdown.

The international community obligated itself to protect human rights and democracy in Cambodia when they signed the Paris Peace Accords, but now they are looking the other way as that dream dies, Robertson told Reuters news agency.

Prime Minister Hun Sen is effectively putting an end to Cambodian democracy, he said.

An English-language newspaper, The Cambodia Daily, was shut down after being accused of not paying a huge tax bill  an assessment it strongly disputed. More than a dozen radio stations that broadcast dissident voices or used programming from US government-funded Voice of America and Radio Free Asia were forced to stop broadcasting for alleged breach of regulations.
Undocumented Afghans in Europe are given a choice of voluntarily returning to their country, or getting deported.

Seven years ago, Qais Ahmadi left Afghanistan for Germany after his father was murdered by unknown assailants in eastern Afghanistans Laghman province.

His journey to Germany was not easy. He borrowed a few hundred dollars from his neighbours and friends and set off on a journey, part of which was on foot. He reached Iran first and from then on to Turkey, Greece, Norway and finally Germany.

As I am the only son of my family. My mother forced me to leave Afghanistan as she was worried that I would get killed as my dad was, Ahmadi, 30, told Al Jazeera.

READ MORE: Traumatised Afghan refugees fear deportation from EU

Ahmadi was deported from Munich in 2016 when he did not qualify for asylum.

My heart was shattered when I heard I will be sent back to Afghanistan.

I was earning some money from washing cars in a private company and used to have a normal secure life. I even used to send some money back home to my mother,

Now I am back in Afghanistan and starting from zero. I have no job and feel very scared here. This place is not secure, so many people are dying every day.

Ahmadi, like many thousands of Afghans, was returned to his native country from Europe between 2015 and 2016, during which the number of deportees nearly tripled from 3,290 to 9,460, according to a new report by Amnesty International released on Thursday.

READ MORE: In Europe, Afghan refugees anticipate deportation

In the report, the rights group said European governments had remained willfully blind to the dangers of returning the thousands of Afghan asylum seekers, including children.

The group called on the nations to impose a moratorium on sending people back until security in Afghanistan improved.

Afghans who sought asylum in Europe feel far more secure than in Afghanistan. These people, who worked hard in European countries for years, are now being sent back where they are targeted, Omar Waraich, deputy South Asia director for Amnesty, told Al Jazeera.

Afghan government has to deal with the recent influx of people who have not lived in Afghanistan for years and have no home, no possessions or safety, can you imagine what their situation would be like.

The majority of Afghans who leave the country to seek asylum in Europe do so through Iran and Turkey, then cross the Mediterranean Sea by boat.

Difficult options

To increase deportations, European governments are implementing a policy of paying refugees to voluntarily return to their home country.

The report reveals the case of Sadeqa (not her real name) who fled Afghanistan in 2015 in fear for her life. The Norwegian authorities denied her asylum and gave her a choice between being detained before being deported or being given EUR 10,700 to return voluntarily.

READ MORE: EU deal clears deportation of unlimited Afghan refugees

This needs to stop immediately; it is unethical according to international human rights laws to give refugees money and ask them to return back to their home country, Hafizullah Miakhil, spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, told Al Jazeera.

They should not be returned until the situation in Afghanistan gets a little better, there is war going on here, these are war-struck people exposed to many other threats.

Afghanistan has suffered through decades of violence and conflict, and almost 16 years of war after the US invasion in 2001.

Intelligence service reports say at least 20 armed groups, including the Taliban and affiliates of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) group, operate in Afghanistan, mostly in border areas near Pakistan.

Civilian casualties remained high in Afghanistan, with 11,418 people killed or injured in 2016, according to the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. Thats up from 11,002 civilian casualties in 2015, according to UNAMA.

In 2016, the five European countries from which the most Afghans were returned were: Germany (3,440), Greece (1,480), Sweden (1,025), the United Kingdom (785) and Norway (760), according to the report.

Protection recognition rates need to be harmonised across the EU and take into account the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan, Duniya Aslam Khan, spokesperson for the UNHCR, told Al Jazeera.
Sudan welcome US decision to end its 20-year trade embargo as a positive decision but urges Washington to go further.

The United States will lift some of its toughest long-standing sanctions imposed on Sudan, according to US officials.

The US state department announced its decision to revoke the penalising economic and trade measures  in place since 1997  on Friday.

It cited the Khartoum-based governments sustained positive actions to maintain a cessation of hostilities in conflict areas in Sudan, improve humanitarian access throughout Sudan, and maintain cooperation with the United States on addressing regional conflicts and the threat of terrorism.

READ MORE: US sanctions on Sudan under the spotlight

A statement from State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the sanctions will come to an end on October 12.

Yet, some targeted sanctions will remain, and Sudan will remain on the US list of states sponsors of terrorism which carries a ban on weapons sales and restrictions on aid.

Positive decision

Sudan welcome the US decision to end its 20-year trade embargo as a positive decision but called for Washington to go further and take the country off its blacklist of state terror sponsors.

The leaders of Sudan, the government of Sudan and the people of Sudan welcome the positive decision taken by American President Donald Trump of removing the economic sanctions completely, the official SUNA news agency quoted a statement issued by the foreign ministry.

The ministry said the historic decision will further help Sudan cooperate with the US on issues of international peace and security, illegal immigration, human trafficking and fighting terrorism.

Sudan is looking forward to building a normal relation with the United States, but wants its name to be removed from the list of state sponsors of terrorism as there is no reason to have Sudan in that list, the ministry statement added.

Months of diplomatic talks

The decision by US President Donald Trumps administration comes after a 16-month diplomatic effort, the state department said.

It follows a process that was started by Trumps predecessor, Barack Obama, at the end of his tenure.

Shortly before leaving office in January, Obama temporarily eased penalties against the country.

The administration said at the time that a few crisis areas in Sudan, like the western province of Darfur, had seen some significant stabilisation, but others, like the southern Nuba mountain region, remained volatile.

In July, the state department announced it would postponed by three months a final decision on whether to permanently lift the sanctions, setting up an October 12 deadline.

Human rights groups see the decision to remove sanctions as premature.
Media close to Iraqs central government critical of funeral ceremony because coffin was not draped by the Iraqi flag.

A funeral with full military honours has been held in northern Iraq for veteran Kurdish leader, Jalal Talabani.

The 83-year old former president of Iraq was in a coma when he died in a German hospital on Tuesday.

His body was flown home from Germany to the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah, his hometown, where a red carpet and a guard of honour awaited on the tarmac on Friday.

A champion of the Kurdish independence struggle, Talabani was president of Iraq for nine years until 2014, the first non-Arab Iraqi leader and widely respected as a mediator between Shia, Sunni and Kurds.

A 21 gun salute was given for the leader, his coffin draped in the red, white and green Kurdish flag, stamped in its middle with a golden sun.

A military band played the Iraqi national anthem, Mawtini (my nation), and Chopins funeral march.

Kurdish flag

The Kurdish flag on the coffin triggered a wave of protests on media and social media close to Shia political groups which support the Iraqi government.

Al-Etejah TV even interrupted its broadcast because the coffin was not draped by the Iraqi flag.

Talabanis death, following a decades-old struggle for Kurdish statehood, came after Iraqs Kurds voted 92.7 percent in favour of a split from Iraq in the September 25 referendum.

The vote, rejected by the Iraqi central government as illegal, has put a deep strain on ties between the Kurds and central Iraqi authorities, who have cut off international flights to the region and threatened further action.

Iraqs head of state plays a largely ceremonial role and is elected by members of parliament.

Talabani was one of the longest-serving figures in contemporary Iraqi Kurdish politics, but for much of the past 40 years, he opposed successive governments in Baghdad.

Among Kurds, he was widely referred to as mam (uncle) Jalal.

Political career

Talabani was an avuncular politician and a skilled negotiator, who spent years building bridges between the countrys divided factions, despite his efforts for Kurdish independence.

Born in 1933 in the mountain village of Kalkan, he studied law at Baghdad University.

In 1956, while still a student, he went into hiding to evade arrest for his political role as founder and secretary-general of the Kurdistan Student Union.

After graduating from law school in 1959, he was called to serve in the Iraqi army where he commanded a tank unit.
Joint army drills with Gulf Arab allies cancelled out of respect for the concept of inclusiveness, US army says.

The US military has halted some exercises with its Gulf Arab allies over the ongoing diplomatic crisis targeting Qatar, trying to use its influence to end the months-long dispute, authorities told The Associated Press.

While offering few details, the acknowledgement by the US militarys Central Command shows the concern it has over the conflict gripping the Gulf, home to the US Navys Fifth Fleet and crucial bases for its campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group, as well as the war in Afghanistan.

The Gulf crisis began June 5, when Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched an economic boycott against Qatar, closing off the nations land border and its air and sea routes.

The quartet of Arab nations pointed to Qatars alleged support of extremists and ties to Iran.

READ MORE: Qatar-Gulf crisis  All the latest updates

Qatar long has denied supporting extremists and shares a massive offshore natural gas field with Tehran that makes its citizens have the highest per capita income in the world.

Initially, US military officials said the boycott and dispute had no effect on their operations.

Qatar is home to the massive al-Udeid Air Base, the forward headquarters of Central Command which oversees the US-led coalitions bombing campaign against ISIL, also known as ISIS, and manages a direct line to Russia to manage Syrias crowded skies.

But as the dispute went on, James Mattis, the US defence secretary, travelled to Doha to offer his support. The Trump administration also agreed to an in-the-works sale of F-15 fighter jets to Qatar for $12bn.

Inclusiveness

Air Force Colonel John Thomas, a Central Command spokesperson, acknowledged the US would be cutting back on the exercises.

We are opting out of some military exercises out of respect for the concept of inclusiveness and shared regional interests, Thomas said in a statement.

We will continue to encourage all partners to work together toward the sort of common solutions that enable security and stability in the region.

Officials in Qatar did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while the boycotting nations have not acknowledged the disruption in military exercises with the US.

READ MORE: Qatar presses UN to take action against blockade

The Gulf diplomatic crisis has caused a rift in the Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional Arab bloc created in part as a counterbalance to Iran.

The US military holds exercises in part to build the confidence of local forces, many of which use American-made equipment.

Among the exercises likely to be affected is Eagle Resolve, an annual exercise held since 1999 that has GCC countries send forces alongside Americans to simulate working as a multinational force in battle.

This years Eagle Resolve exercise, held in Kuwait in March, involved 1,000 US troops.

US and Gulf allies have regularly held joint, smaller-scale exercises in the region.
While some doubt rapprochement will work, others hope a unified leadership will usher into era of growth and peace.

The latest reconciliation deal between the governments of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank was welcomed by Palestinians.

The division began in the summer of 2007 after Fatah, led by US-backed strongman Mohammed Dahlan, attempted a pre-emptive coup against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Hamas, who had won the general elections six months prior, managed to chase Fatah out of Gaza after bloody civil infighting took place between the two sides.

While some have expressed scepticism over whether the reconciliation will hold out, many hope that a unified Palestinian leadership will usher in economic growth and political stability.

Al Jazeera interviewed Palestinians from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and asked them their opinions over ending the 11-year division.

Gaza Strip

Mohammed al-Homs, 23, student:

I hope there will be positive outcomes despite the fact we havent seen anything on the ground. I believe this issue needs more time to be resolved. The arrival of the Palestinian Authority government in the Gaza Strip is a good sign that this reconciliation will finally work.

The division has erased 11 years of my life. Every graduate, every worker, every young man has had 11 years of their lives wasted away in a blockade, wars, and destruction.

We hope we can live, that a graduate can find a job after university, that they can finally have a horizon to look forward to and stop thinking about leaving Gaza in search of a better life.

Awad Qishta, 56, university professor:

We hope we can see something concrete happening on the ground, like the opening of the borders and paying government employees their full salaries.

The infighting of the political factions and the media wars pitted against each other is unhealthy and unsuitable to the Palestinian people. We want our entire homeland, not just pieces of it.

I wish for everyone to find a job after they graduate, to secure their future, to live in peace and security.

Faris Lutfi Nasr, 60, retired:

This time it looks like the reconciliation will have a positive outcome because of the presence of those who wish to work in the interest of the Palestinian people. It is not like the previous times where each party was working to secure their own benefits.

The youth  from graduates, employees, workers  have been miserable for the past 11 years. Yet if this reconciliation succeeds then these people who have been crushed from all sides, who have suffered financially, mentally and from low morale, will have a new life and will work to build a better society.

Areej Hmeid, 25, unemployed:

I see that there is room for a reconciliation to take place because in all honesty, people  even from Fatah and Hamas  are fed up with the status quo. People have died waiting for the border crossings to open and youth have suffered from unemployment.

I am cautiously optimistic because Hamas and Fatah have both agreed on the same conditions as opposed to each side presenting their own list of conditions.

The division has affected me personally in that I am still unemployed after years of graduating from university. I also lost my dear sister who was sick and waiting for the border to open to receive treatment in Egypt. It almost destroyed my family because she was 21 years old, in the flower of her youth.

Furthermore, my mother was stranded in Egypt for eight months and couldnt get back into Gaza. She only managed to come back when the border was open to accept the return of the Hajj pilgrims.

Ahmad Mohammad al-Jafarawi, 22, student:

In my personal opinion, as someone from Gaza, I am not optimistic. Reconciliation attempts have occurred in the past without any results. The agreements of the past failed. We hope this time it will succeed and our situation will improve, from opening the borders to ending the siege.

As a fourth-year university student, I hope I will be able to find a job after I graduate. But the way things stand I dont see that I have a chance. I hope this reconciliation will offer graduates before me, and those in my year, job opportunities.

Saja Sami Hamdan, 18, student:

Last time an agreement was signed, a war was waged on Gaza [by Israel].The steps taken towards reconciliation this time occurred before in 2014. We hope this will be a serious attempt at reconciliation that does not hold any ulterior political motives.

I just want to say that when posters of [Egyptian President Abdel Fattah] el Sisi were raised in Gaza, that is not a good sign. Sisi is the one responsible for closing the border in our faces for years.

We hope things will improve in the near future because Gaza is full of youthful energy and intellectual resources that need to be accommodated instead of wasting away.

We need the youth to be guided towards what is good for them. Some of them have turned to painkillers because they stay at home all day for lack of jobs. We need jobs in Gaza, and electricity.

READ MORE: Why Fatah and Hamas won\t reconcile

West Bank

Mohammed Rashid Abdeljabbar, 70, retired:

We pray for this reconciliation to succeed. No one is against it. We are one nation, one people. The government and the officials know what the people want. Getting rid of unemployment is one.

They need to help their own people out. 11 years of Gaza being under blockade is enough.

Hikmat Hamed, 24, writer:

We hope that this time the reconciliation will be made in the interests of the Palestinian people and not in the interests of political parties. It is the people who were the victims of the division all these years. The reconciliation should first of all weld the Palestinians back together.

Palestinians in Gaza had paid the higher price for the division, more than the West Bank. Gaza should be rebuilt again with the correct infrastructure and be afforded opportunities in terms of economic growth and jobs.

Majd Imad Abumayaleh, 21, student:

Anyone who works in the interests of the Palestinian people from either side (Fatah and Hamas) is important. The biggest loss of this division was the Palestinian cause which was further fragmented by the factions self-interest.

We hope that the reconciliation will result in progressive concrete steps. What we need is a true political representation of Palestinians that can talk in a unified narrative.

Ruwaida Lutfi Omar, 65, grandmother:

We all hope that Palestinians can be united again, and for all political parties to be on the same page. But Israel wants us to remain divided. It is important that we can cooperate with each other. I saw the television interview with [Egypts President] Sisi, and it looks like Egypt is serious about it this attempt.

Mai Abughorbiah, 39, government employee:

The reconciliation is a national victory, and should have been done some time ago. I hope this reconciliation will act as moral and economic support for Gaza and the West Bank. I consider the two as one heart.

I hope the roads will open for us to visit each other. Gaza has been through so much; it has been strangulated, and there are many cases of suicide we are hearing about.
Alan Cayetano says all those killed in drug raids were criminals, despite evidence disproving his claim.

The Philippines top diplomat defended President Rodrigo Dutertes deadly war on drugs, saying all those who were killed during police operations were criminal drug dealers, despite evidence to the contrary.

In an exclusive interview with Al Jazeeras UpFront, Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alan Cayetano denied reports that the suspicious deaths of individuals in the countrys ongoing drug war are not being investigated.

Thats not true, Cayetano told UpFronts Mehdi Hasan. Independent investigators have seen the progress.





Cayetano added that every single one of them is being investigated.

When asked if all the victims of the polices anti-drug operations were, in fact, criminal drug dealers, Cayetano said: Yes.

Police and media, however, have documented several cases of individuals who were not involved in drugs being killed.

In August, a 17-year-old high school student was shot and killed by police. Witnesses said police officers forced the teen to hold a gun, fire and run.

Those close to the student, Kian Loyd delos Santos, said he was not a drug dealer or user. His case sparked rare public outrage over the countrys war on drugs.

In another incident in September 2016, a four-year-old girl on the Philippine island of Negros was killed when police fired at her father, a suspected drug dealer.

Family members denied that Althea Fhem Barbons father, Alrick, was a part of the drug trade. Both Alrick and his daughter died from bullet wounds.

In another incident, a man, who had been shot by police for allegedly selling drugs, told Al Jazeera that the evidence against him was planted.

The Philippines drug war, which was launched by the Duterte administration in mid-2016, has received intense backlash from the Catholic Church, human rights groups, and the international community.

Since Duterte took office, more than 13,000 people have been killed in the war on drugs, according to activists.

But the Duterte administration has disputed that number, saying only 3,451 drug personalities were killed during police operations from June 30, 2016, to July 26, 2017. More than 2,000 other cases are considered drug-related homicides by unknown assailants, while at least 8,200 other killings are under investigation, the government said.

Cayetano told Al Jazeera that the campaign had been misrepresented for political reasons.





The perception that was thrown to the international community was led by certain human rights groups associated with our opposition, and associated with some people in the Catholic Church, he said.

But, they did not give the international community the correct facts.

During the interview, Cayetano was asked if it was difficult to represent President Duterte, due to his controversial statements including rape jokes, calling the Pope a son of a b**** and the US ambassador to the Philippines a son of a w****.

Not at all, he said. Filipinos are prouder now than ever.

He adds that those things are being said by Western media, which the president did not say.

Duterte has also been recorded making a lewd hand gesture against human rights groups and the European Union, disproving Cayetanos denial.

In September of last year, Duterte directed profanities at UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and US President Barack Obama after they made similar comments about the mounting death toll in the Philippines.

Duterte later apologised for calling Obama a son of a w****.

The interview with Cayetano will air on Friday at 19:30 GMT. You can always watch it online.
Caught in the middle of a war of words between US President Donald Trump and politicians in Puerto Rico, the debt-riddled and impoverished US territory is suffering from severe food shortages, a lack of clean water, and widespread power outages after Hurricane Maria slammed into the island last month.

The White House has appeared to walk back on Donald Trumps suggestion that Puerto Ricos $72bn in debt should be cancelled so the island can recover from the hurricanes devastation.

Prior the hurricane, the island had undergone a severe austerity programme for several years in order to pay its debts, leaving the US territorys infrastructure vulnerable to damage.

READ MORE: Puerto Ricans denounce US hurricane relief efforts

As politicians decide what to do about the islands debt and recovery, Puerto Rican community groups are taking matters into their own hands.

Xiomara Caro-Diaz is a lawyer and activist who is overseeing 15 community groups on the island that are leading recovery efforts where they say the government is falling short.

Al Jazeeras Shihab Rattansi spoke to Caro-Diaz in the capital San Juan about the progress being made, Trumps response and what lies ahead for the devastated US territory.

Al Jazeera: Is the work now an extension what you all were doing before the hurricane?

Xiomara Caro-Diaz: Well, in a way its a deepening of what we were doing already, but its also the urgency that has come with it.

Its like a veil has been lifted off of Puerto Rico and its now for the world to see the poverty that already existed and what it means in terms of poor infrastructure, the impact of a hurricane of this magnitude.

In the end, it feels like the hurricane was just the beginning, and what has happened afterwards feels like were still in the middle of a storm.

Al Jazeera: What are the connections between the austerity measures that were already under way and whats happening now as a result of the hurricane?

Caro-Diaz: Puerto Rico is $72bn [in] debt, and thats directly connected to the economic policies that Congress passed that allowed specific industries like the pharmaceutical industry, which made millions and billions of dollars off of Puerto Rico.

At the same time, the infrastructure suffers. They [these industries] dont pay taxes.

So, you have a place that has historically been kept poor, that has been used to make billions of dollars and extract wealth, and at the time same time, the infrastructure that goes from peoples homes, which they dont make enough money to have a cement home, so the impact is much worse.

But it also goes to the extent of what happens to our roads, the electricity.

How is it that after we have made so much money for all these industries, [but] nothing is left behind?

Al Jazeera: Donald Trump says he wants to forgive Puerto Ricos debt. What do you make of that?

Caro-Diaz: Id like to see that on paper. I think that Donald Trump is someone difficult to trust, who came here and ridiculed the people of Puerto Rico.

It was embarrassing to watch the governor laugh while he [Trump] was making jokes about Puerto Rico, and even diminishing the amount of people that we have lost and the amount of deaths that weve had, some of which we havent even counted for.

So if thats true, I want to see it on paper.
Riyadh dismisses UN report blaming Saudi-led coalition for the killing and maiming of hundreds of children in Yemen.

Riyadh has rejected a United Nations report that placed a Saudi Arabia-led military coalition to a blacklist of child rights violators for causing the deaths and injuries of hundreds of children in war-torn Yemen.

According to UN figures released on Thursday, the alliance was responsible for killing and maiming 683 children in 2016.

The UNs annual report on children in armed conflict also blamed the coalition for 38 verified attacks on schools and hospitals during the same period but noted that it had taken some measures to improve the protection of children.





In response, Saudi Arabias ambassador to the UN said on Friday that the information and figures contained in the world bodys report were inaccurate and misleading.

We express our strong reservation in respect to this information, said Abdallah al-Mouallimi, reading a statement at the UN.

We exercise the maximum degree of care and precaution to avoid civilian harm, he added.

A Saudi-led military coalition was formed in March 2015 to support Yemens internationally recognised government in fighting Houthi rebels.

The conflict has killed more than 10,000 people and displaced millions.

Al Jazeeras Mike Hanna, reporting from the UN headquarters in New York, said that the Saudi UN envoy insisted in his statement that the brunt of the responsibility for the violence must rest in the hands of the Houthi opposition.

The Houthis were also included in the UNs annual list of shame, accused of being responsible for the killing or maiming of 414 children. The rebel group was also named in last years report.

In total, the document published on Thursday highlighted the killing of 502 Yemeni children in 2016. It also said that 838 children were wounded last year.

The blacklist also named Yemen government forces, pro-government militia and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula for violations against children in 2016  as it also did in last years report.

The report from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was submitted to the Security Council.

In a statement, released along with the report, Guterres said the blacklist was not only to raise awareness but also to promote measures that can diminish the tragic plight of children in conflict.





The coalition was the only side in Yemens war that was left out of last years report.

Though it had initially been placed on the 2016 report, it was later temporarily removed by then-UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who cited unacceptable pressure by the Gulf countries, including threats by Saudi Arabia to cut funding to the UN. Saudi Arabia denied threatening to cut off of humanitarian funding.

Ban described his decision to remove the coalition off the list as one of the most painful and difficult, but stood by his choice warning that millions of other children would suffer grievously in places such as Palestine, South Sudan and Syria if funding were cut.

Parties listed in the report are not subjected to UN action. But the report, which was produced by Virginia Gamba, shames those listed in the hope of pushing them to implement measures to protect children.

OPINION: Will seven million starving Yemenis ever find justice?

Caroline Anning, senior advocacy adviser on Yemen for the UK-based Save the Children NGO, told Al Jazeera from London, said children in Yemen are trapped in the middle of a really brutal war and are being attacked from all sides.

They are injured in air strikes, their schools are being bombed, Anning told Al Jazeera from London.

Children being maimed and we see that every day, children with burns all over their bodies, children and toddlers with life-threatening injuries.

But there is also the other side of it, the humanitarian crisis, Anning added.

There are huge numbers of children who are on the brink of starvation, children impacted by cholera  all of that is a direct result of the conflict.
Catalonias head of police has appeared in court facing accusations of sedition.

Catalonias head of police has appeared in court facing accusations of sedition.

Spanish media are reporting that pro-secession parties in Catalonias parliament are working on a declaration of independence for Tuesday.

Catalans who support the unity of Spain say theyll hold a demonstration in Barcelona to denounce separatist leaders.

Al Jazeeras Karl Penhaul reports from Barcelona.
US president says Irans aggression must be stopped, as reports suggest he may decertify landmark nuclear agreement.

President Donald Trump said that Iran had not lived up to the spirit of the nuclear deal agreed with world powers and suggested he would reveal his decision on whether to certify the agreement soon.

We must not allow Iran  to obtain nuclear weapons, Trump said during a meeting with military leaders at the White House on Thursday.

The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed and chaos across the Middle East. That is why we must put an end to Irans continued aggression and nuclear ambitions. They have not lived up to the spirit of their agreement, he said.

Asked about his decision on whether to certify or decertify the landmark nuclear deal, Trump said: Youll be hearing about Iran very shortly.

READ MORE: Donald Trump denounces Iran over nuclear deal

Trump is expected to announce his decision October 12, the Washington Post reported, but wrote he would likely avoid recommending the US reimpose sanctions on Iran.

Worst deal ever negotiated

If Trump, who has called the accord the worst deal ever negotiated, does not recertify it by October 16, Congress has 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions suspended under the accord.

The agreement provided Iran with billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for widespread curbs on and access to its nuclear programme.

James Mattis, the defence secretary, told legislators on Tuesday that it is in the best interest of US national security to remain in the deal.

If we can confirm that Iran is living by the agreement, if we can determine that this is in our best interests, then clearly, we should stay with it, Mattis testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

I believe at this point in time, absent indications to the contrary, it is something the president should consider staying with.

During the same hearing, General Joseph Dunford said he believed Iran is not in material breach of the accord, which he said has delayed Tehrans nuclear capability.

READ MORE: UN nuclear watchdog defends Iran agreement

The White House said Trumps team has presented a united strategy that the national security team all stands behind and supports. And the president will make that announcement soon.

A unilateral US exit from the agreement would likely have undesirable consequences for Washington  isolating it from its negotiating partners that include close European allies, and potentially forcing Washington to sanction them if they continue to keep with the accords parameters.

Irans options

In September, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told Al Jazeera his country may also abandon the deal if the US decides to withdraw from it.

The deal is supported by the other major powers that negotiated it with Iran and its collapse could trigger a regional arms race and worsen tensions in the Middle East.

If Washington decides to pull out of the deal, Iran has the option of withdrawal and other options, Zarif said, adding that, Washington will be in a better position if it remains committed to the deal.

Iranian authorities have repeatedly said Tehran would not be the first to violate the agreement, under which Tehran agreed to restrict its nuclear programme in return for lifting most international sanctions that had crippled its economy.

The prospect that Washington could renege on the deal has worried some of the US allies that helped negotiate it. French President Emmanuel Macron said last week that there was no alternative to the nuclear accord.
A key deadline is looming and all eyes are on US President Donald Trump who has never liked the accord.

Embarrassment and the worst deal ever. This is how US President Donald Trump has described the nuclear deal between Iran and six countries, including the United States.

But it was signed during Barack Obamas time as US president.

Trump has to review it by October 15 and decide if Iran is keeping to its end of the bargain, and whether it serves US interests.

The signatories to the pact say Tehran is complying and they are against scrapping or modifying it.

But the US president says Iran is not living up to the spirit of the agreement.

Could this be the end of the deal?

Presenter: Dareen Abughaida

Guests:

Foad Izadi  Professor of world studies at the University of Tehran

Hillary Mann Leverett  Former US state department official

Tariq Rauf  Former head of the Verification and Security Policy Coordination Office at the International Atomic Energy Agency
We speak with the foreign minister for a wide-ranging interview, and discuss whether President Trump is fit for office.

In this weeks UpFront, we speak with Philippine Foreign Minister Alan Peter Cayetano, about President Rodrigo Dutertes drug war, and the governments approach to ISIL and foreign policy challenges.

In the Reality Check, we examine the real legacy of Christopher Columbus, who is still celebrated annually in October by many around the world.

And we speak with two mental health professionals about why they believe Donald Trump is a danger to the public and the international community.

Headliner  Is Dutertes drug war undermining the rule of law?

Thousands of people have been extrajudicially killed in anti-drug operations since President Rodrigo Duterte took power and launched a war against drugs.

Polling shows Filipinos are largely supportive of the Duterte governments efforts, but allied governments, the Catholic Church and local and international human rights groups have all expressed concern about the drug wars brutality and its operation outside the law.

So, how does the Philippine government justify its drug war?

For this weeks headliner, we speak to Philippine Foreign Minister Alan Peter Cayetano about these drug-related killings as well as ISIL (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group, also known as ISIS) and other foreign policy challenges confronting the Philippines.

Cayetano denied reports that killings in the countrys ongoing drug war are not being investigated, adding that every single killing is being investigated.

On the subject of North Korea, Cayetano discussed the countrys decision to cut trade relations. I have communicated to our trade minister, so we are actually going to stop, he said. Explaining the decision further, Cayetano said, North Korea keeps telling us that they are our friends and they have warm relationships. But, they dont give an opening to talk of how to stop the nuclear weapon programme there.

Reality Check  Columbus Day: What are we celebrating?

Millions of children have been taught the legend of Christopher Columbus, the explorer who discovered the Americas. Many around the world celebrate him in October and nearly half of US states celebrate Columbus Day as an official holiday.

In this weeks Reality Check, we discuss the dark legacy that is frequently glossed over on celebrations that bear Columbus name.

Assessing Trump: Is the president fit for office?

From pundits to US Senators and former officials, many have expressed concern that US President Donald Trump is mentally unfit for office. But the profession most capable of making this judgement  psychiatric and mental health experts and practitioners  have remained largely silent.

Mental health professionals usually abide by an ethical norm called the Goldwater Rule, which states that it is unethical for a psychiatrist to offer a professional opinion [on a public figure] unless he or she has conducted an examination and has been granted proper authorisation for such a statement.

President Trump, however, is prompting some psychiatrists to speak out, arguing that his mental unfitness for office is apparent and uniquely dangerous.

The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump is a new book that offers a collection of essays from 27 psychiatrists and mental health experts, all offering a bleak assessment of the presidents mental state. But is it even possible to diagnose Trump from afar in this way?

Bandy Lee, an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine and the editor of this new book, and Betty Teng, a trauma therapist and one of the contributors to it, join us to discuss their views and why they believe the US president is a danger to the world.

Editors note: Bandy Lees assessments are her own views and do not represent those of Yale University.

Follow UpFront on Twitter @AJUpFront and Facebook.
When Jason Conner returned to the U.S. after his deployment in the Marine Corps, his first stop was at a gas station.

He was amazed at all the products the gas station held, the many options he had and that the language written on the products was something he understood.

It was only a gas station, but thats a moment I will never forget, Conner said.

Conner, vice president of the Collegiate Veterans Society, organized the societys float for UFs Homecoming Parade on Friday. He said Homecoming at UF serves as a reminder of his own return to the U.S. from the military.

Homecoming is completely different for (student veterans) in a way, Conner said. The first time I stepped foot in America, it was a whole different feeling.

A five-ton military truck is set to drive down University Avenue and serve as the societys float in the parade.

We are going to be wearing our military shorts, running around, waving flags and supporting some praise, he said.

Charlotte Kemper, the Veterans Affairs counselor at UFs Collegiate Veterans Success Center, has been walking in the parade with the Collegiate Veterans Society since she started working at UF in 2013.

Its very exciting because they come together for the camaraderie, she said.

David Leh, a U.S. Navy veteran and UF engineering junior, said Kemper is like a cheerleader for the veterans in the center and that her presence helps them.

The Collegiate Veterans Society holds their biweekly meetings tucked away in Yon Hall, a building hidden in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

The space serves as a home away from home for student veterans, Leh said. When hes not in class, hes in the office studying or hanging out with friends.

Enjoy what you're reading? Get content from The Alligator delivered to your inbox Subscribe Now

The center is a resource for student veterans to receive counseling, study and spend their free time surrounded by fellow student veterans, Kemper said.

Strewn across a cork board are images of student veterans from their time in the military. One of the walls holds a map of the world covered in pins to show the far away places these student veterans were deployed to, from different U.S. locations to places including Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia.

The center was established in January 2013, Kemper said. UF is one of only 94 universities in the nation with a Collegiate Veterans Success Center.

Traditionally, the Veterans Affairs program is (to) call an 800 number and sit on hold, Kemper said. But with this program, its an open door.

UF competed with other universities to be selected by the Veterans Affairs Office for the Collegiate Veterans Success Center to be established on campus. Kemper said UF was chosen for the space because they proved themselves most eager to provide for the veterans.

UF volunteered a physical location for their center and decided to have a success counselor on campus, which Kemper said was unique.

Kemper works closely with student veterans and dependents to ensure they are receiving their veteran health and education benefits, systems that can sometimes be complicated to navigate, she said.

Its just a joy to be able to make a difference and help even in the tiniest way, she said.

Samantha Cooper, a UF agricultural education and communication senior, served in the U.S. Air Force for five years, spending some of her time in Djibouti, Africa. She was medically discharged from the Air Force three years ago and started at UF in Fall 2016.

She chose UF specifically because of its resources for veterans.

This is a school that is well known for taking care of its veterans, Cooper said.

The help Kemper provides is not limited to veteran benefits, Cooper said. She described Kemper as her lifeline for all issues that come up in her life.

I was having trouble with computer access just to get sport tickets, and she sat with me on the phone with these people just to get that taken care of, Cooper said. She does things she definitely does not have to for us.

When Cooper was in the Air Force, she had direct resources to assist her with any of her needs and was continuously under instruction, she said. Adjusting to the abrupt end of that assistance after being discharged was difficult for her.

When you come out and you do every aspect of your life, you have to figure out everything, she said.

Leh said the center builds a sense of community for student veterans.

We are older than the average student, and we have had experiences that are different from the average student, so its nice to come here and express how we feel where everyone will understand, Leh said.

Cooper said the space helped her find her way on campus.

(The center) is our safe space, Cooper said. Its a family.

@camille_respess

crepess@alligator.org

Photographs of members in uniform and in the field are displayed on the walls of the Collegiate Veterans Success Center.
President Jacob Zuma is still waiting for Parliament to finalise the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Amendment (MPRDA) Bill. In January 2015, the President referred the MPRDA Bill back to the National Assembly for reconsideration. The Constitution requires that the President must assent to and sign the Bill referred to him by the National Assembly. []http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Appa-sourceTheAfric...
In todays GOP, claiming that American Muslims dont deserve equal rights has become so normal that prominent Republicans no longer object. So goes the daunting thesis of Peter Beinarts piece published on September 28th in the Atlantic. Zuhdi Jasser and the other 17% of Muslims who self-affiliate as Republican might disagree with this notion, but they would only be making anecdotal arguments. Beinart, however, has the rock-solid evidence to support his dramatic claim: over ten years ago, Alabama Judge Roy Moore suggested that Keith Ellison was not fit to be seated in Congress because of his adherence to Islamic doctrine, yet few prominent Republicans have disavowed his decade-old statement (even after Judge Moores highly publicized victory last week).

If we are to accept Beinarts verdict that Republicans have a Muslim problem, by his logic, we may have to contend that Democrats have a Catholic problem. An situation eerily similar to Moores occurred during a Senate hearing for Professor Amy Coney Barretts nomination to a federal appellate court. Several prominent Democrats implied that Barrett was incapable of being an impartial judge due to her religious identity. Senator Dianne Feinstein probed Barrett on a paper she wrote several years ago, regarding the relationship of Catholic Doctrine to the American legal system. In a grim voice, Feinstein concluded her interrogation by telling Barrett that The dogma lives loudly in you. Wise Feinstein (like Yoda) sensed a strong force in Barrett, but this was a dark, malevolent, and almost ancient presence: the force of traditional Catholic Dogma. She went on to say that this force was of concern when you come to big issues that large numbers of people have fought for years in this country.

But of course, Democrats could never harbor the bigoted and unconstitutional belief that someone should be excluded from participating in government office because of their religious identity. The Democratic Party champions religious diversity -- for Christs sake, they gave us our first Catholic President! That being said, how do we grapple with the fact that Feinstein questioned Barrett so harshly on her Catholicism?

This may be a Hail Mary, but I think I have the answer. Democrats are not Anti-Catholic, they are Anti-orthodox-Catholic.

By orthodox-Catholic I mean a person that believes and attempts to adhere to the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Yuck! And Democrats are not unique in being suspicious of these shady individuals. In fact, some Catholics take issue with the orthodox among them. In the same Senate hearing, Minority Whip Dick Durbin, himself a Catholic, asked Barrett Do you consider yourself an orthodox-Catholic? Durbins was not a question of solidarity but rather a McCarthy-like inquiry into Barretts ties to the seedy underbelly of the Catholic Church.

To todays Democratic Party, Catholics and orthodox-Catholics are seen as very distinct groups, the latter of which are more of a hate-organization than a religious denomination. Orthodox-Catholics maintain antiquated practices like traditional marriage and some shun modern marvels like the birth-control pill. They affirm the doctrine of Transubstantiation but are not so keen on transgenderism. They hold delusional beliefs, like that of the Madonna being a virgin (she was actually married to Sean Penn and Guy Ritchie) and that Jesus Christ is central to the salvation of mankind. They believe God is the omniscient Judge, not Ruth Bader Ginsberg. The Southern Poverty Law Center has classified hate groups for much more benign offenses.

The list of orthodox-Catholic transgressions is endless, but their original sin is that they are Pro-Life, or more accurately, Anti-Choice. They believe that the unborn deserve rights and that there is something inherently sacred about human life. They believe planning for parenthood should not include the option of eradicating a fetus. When Feinstein spoke of the big issues that people have fought for, she was most certainly referring to Roe v. Wade. And an orthodox-Catholic is dangerously prone to believe that this court decision was drastically wrong.

Unrestricted access to abortion is such a fundamental tenet of the Democratic platform that it must be protected from all threats. Yes, an appellate court judge is unlikely to singlehandily overturn a Supreme Court decision; however, they could be an obstacle to the Democratic Partys stated goal of revoking the Hyde Amendment, a provision barring the use of federal funds from paying for abortions. Every day a woman is at risk of becoming pregnant because the heartless Little Sisters of the Poor wont buy her an IUD. It would behoove us to remember that these orthodox-Catholics types are the ones who prevent a Christians income taxes from being used to pay for her trip to the friendly neighborhood abortionist. It is indeed clear that Feinstein and fellow Democrats are doing Gods work by protecting us from these zealots.

And this is what it comes down to: the orthodox are to Catholics as ISIS is to Muslims. The Democratic Party does not see them as a religion with constitutional rights, but as a hate group to be squelched. Therefore, Feinstein and her fellow Senators on the left were not applying a religious test, but rather a human-decency test. The Democratic Party loves Catholics! They think its cute that they still go to Church on Christmas. Saint Christopher pendants really spruce up an outfit and the world owes them immensely for Fish and Chip Fridays. Democrats dont have a problem with Catholics like Republicans do with Muslims. This is a fact. Its just those damned orthodox-Catholics -- they are the ones that dont deserve equal rights.
Newton, Massachusetts, that Ground Zero (or Mecca?) of political correctness, provides America with a glimpse of the false, or at least highly distorted, understanding that modern liberals would have Americas youth believe about the practice and history of Islam and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) has published an important new monograph, entitled "Indoctrinating Our Youth: How a U.S. Public School Curriculum Skews the Arab-Israeli Conflict and Islam," that has meticulously dissected the materials used by the Newton Public Schools system in its high schools -- Newton North and Newton South -- to teach 9th and 10th graders about Islam and the never-ending Arab-Israeli conflict. The short book is a fine case study in the process by which our nations young adults are propagandized about Islam, and develop a bias against America and Israel. It should be read by every parent of high school-aged (and younger) students, high school administrators, and teachers.

The core of the book is a set of teaching materials that my friend and colleague, the Harvard/MIT-trained defense policy expert and intelligence specialist, Dr. William Saxton (now head of the nonprofit research and education organization, Citizens For National Security) and I, working through Judicial Watch, obtained from the City of Newton after we waged a nearly two-year long administrative jihad with the attorneys of Newton to release the records. In addition to our time, we were required by Newtons legal eagles to pay thousands of dollars to have the materials provided to us, to cover the collection and processing of these presumably public materials.

In the first of several open records requests I sent to the City of Newton, filed on October 31, 2014, I sought all records relating to the teaching of Islam and the Arab-Israeli conflict, including such items as lesson plans, handouts, textbook titles and excerpts, class notes, multimedia presentations and the like. What was eventually produced in the nearly 600 pages of material was deeply concerning, as the experts at CAMERA revealed.

The authors of "Indoctrinating Our Youth" did yeomans work in carefully examining the materials used to teach the 9th grade World History unit on Islam and the 10th grade World History unit on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which exposed the use of slanted texts written by Muslim apologists, such as Georgetowns John Esposito, often factually flawed material, superficial anti-Israel/pro-Palestinian opinion pieces in nonscholarly publications like Time magazine and the Guardian newspaper, and videos produced in collaboration with the likes of University of California Irvine Professor Mark LeVine, a prominent advocate of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, which is bent on the economic destruction of the state of Israel.

Examples abound in "Indoctrinating Our Youths" explication of Newtons whitewashing of Islam in its teaching materials. The authors note the use in the 9th grade course of a textbook called A Muslim Primer: Beginners Guide to Islam, written by Ira Zepp, to discuss the status of women in Islam. The CAMERA analysts note that Mr. Zepp has no formal credentials in Islamic scholarship and the chapter used fails to offer a serious, dispassionate survey of womens conditions in Islamic culture.

The CAMERA experts note: A more serious shortcoming is the authors [Zepps] concealment of information about practices like honor killings, genital mutilation, the stoning of women accused of adultery, or the treatment of women as property in some Islamic countries.

"Indoctrinating Our Youth" cites Dr. Saxton, whose organization, Citizens for National Security, is the nations leader in examining school textbooks for factual accuracy. They write, Saxton estimates that he fields about six inquiries related to inaccuracies in textbooks on the subject of Islam and the Arab-Israeli conflict every day.

A major fault that the CAMERA analysts found of the Newton schools Islamic materials is the teachers heavy reliance on unvetted, unscholarly, and frequently dubious hand-outs given to students, often pulled off the Internet, which contain unsupported assertions. For example, one hand-out given to Newton students stated that all Muslim scholars agree on the fact that the first, greatest jihad is the personal-spirited struggle towards discipline.

As the CAMERA authors point out, highly renowned scholars of Islam, like Bernard Lewis of Princeton, offer a different definition of jihad, contending that it was used traditionally to rally Muslims to war against non-believers and that its object was to bring the whole world under Islamic law. Similarly, they note, Muslim scholar Khaleel Mohammed of the University of San Diego stressed the importance of understanding that over the course of Islams history, the main emphasis of jihad has shifted between the inner struggle to the obligation to war in the name of Islam. He [Prof. Mohammed] stated, Islam knows its share of violence, and to deny that history is disingenuous.

In my own review of the raw materials from Newton, I thought the CAMERA authors may have been too generous in their assessment of the Newton materials. On one page of a lesson plan [page 105] in which the Spread of Islam is discussed, to explain the rapid spread of the religion, the teachers notes indicate: In general, decent conquerors (easier on some than their previous conquerors had been) offered: 1.) convert of [sic] Islam; 2.) pay a reasonable tax; 3.) die. Sound like decent conquerors to me.

In one class assignment [page 216] entitled Cities: Connecting the Islamic World, students become pretend Muslims. The teacher writes: As our concluding project on the Islamic world, you will work in groups to simulate a historical hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca in class. Each of you will be part of a group of Muslim pilgrims from one of the following eight Islamic cities or regions, around a rough time period. The teacher then lists out eight Islamic cities (which includes Jerusalem, by the way). Each group of students is told they will set up a tent (presumably imaginary?) which will display newspaper articles the students have written about their cities and cultural artifacts they have created to represent their Islamic hometowns.

Imagine for a moment if the classroom assignment were to pretend to be part of a group of Christian pilgrims visiting Rome to attend Mass given by the pope in St. Peters Square, or a group of orthodox Jews visiting the Wailing Wall to pray, and each student had to write articles and bring artifacts from their Christian or Jewish city. I suspect Newtons liberals would be outraged and ACLU lawyers would have a field day on talk shows about separation of church and state.

This analysis of Newtons Islamic teaching materials should serve as a signal flare to parents everywhere. Find out what your children are being taught about Islam and Israel. Is it imbalanced? Is it inaccurate? Is the violent history of Islam virtually ignored, as it is by Newton? If so, it might be time to chat with the school board.

William F. Marshall has been an intelligence analyst and investigator in the government, private and non-profit sectors for over 30 years. Presently he is a Senior Investigator for Judicial Watch, Inc. (The views expressed are the authors alone, and not necessarily those of Judicial Watch.)
There is a delicious sense of irony in gun-control advocate Jimmy Kimmel beefing up his armed security after falsely claiming on his late-night talk show after the Las Vegas massacre that President Trump had made it easier for the mentally ill to get guns. Guns are okay to protect the liberal elites, but not for the rest of us, who cant be trusted or dont know any better.

The same double standard exists for Democratic members of Congress who demand their constituents be disarmed even as they welcome back Rep. Steve Scalise, the victim of a shooting where a bad guy with a gun was stopped by a good guy with a gun. Many members of Congress are alive today only because Scalise, being a member of the House leadership, had his armed security detail with him

Dr. Kimmel has no way of knowing even now that the Las Vegas shooter was mentally unstable. Certainly the meticulous planning and preparation by the shooter over a long period of time would seem to indicate that while the shooter was evil, he was perfectly competent and sane. Certainly Kimmels charge against Trump is not true: Noting that President Trump had offered prayers for the victims families, and that Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, had said that this wasnt the time for political debate, he went on: We have fifty-nine innocent people dead. It wasnt their time, either. So I think now is the time for political debate. He reminded his audience that, in February, Trump had signed a bill that made it easier for people with mental illness to buy guns. The Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan, a number of other lawmakers who wont do anything about this because the N.R.A. has their balls in a money clip, also sent their thoughts and their prayers today. Which is good. They should be praying. They should be praying for God to forgive them for letting the gun lobby run this country.

Steve Scalise owes his life to the Second Amendment, which was written not to shoot deer, but to shoot tyrants. The Second Amendment was written to protect the other nine in the Bill of Rights, including the First Amendment, which gives Jimmy Kimmel the right to sound like the blooming idiot he is.

What President Trump signed was a bill overturning an executive order that would tar the innocent with the broad brush of mental illness, people which included the elderly and veterans, in order to pursue the Obama administrations gun control agenda:

Here's what happened earlier this year: Congress voted to overturn a last-minute Obama-era regulation that would give the Social Security Administration the power to revoke a person's Second Amendment rights based on whether he receives disability for a mental impairment that keeps him from working, or if he "[uses] a representative payee to help manage their benefits."

As my Washington Examiner colleague David Freddoso explained at the time, the repeal of the Obama-era regulation, "doesn't allow people to buy guns who have been properly adjudicated by a court of law as mentally ill or unstable." The Obama-era rule was designed to take away people's rights without due process of law. It would have flagged the names of people who, for example, have an anxiety disorder or depression which keeps them from working, and who, as the SSA puts it, need help in managing [their] personal money affairs,'" he added. "As the many non-political mental health and autism advocacy groups that supported the House action noted, there is no link between these factors and a propensity for violence."

The Obama administration repeatedly tried to use mental health as a means, not to make us safer, but to deny us our gun rights under the Second Amendment. Consider Obamas pick of Dr. Vivek Murthy to be our Surgeon General, someone who firmly believes gun control is a health issue, something that can and should be used to gut out Second Amendment Rights. As Investors Business Daily editorialized during his confirmation process:

Murthy's approach to attacking the Second Amendment has been to say private ownership of firearms is a public health issue. The 37-year-old Murthy is president and co-founder of the anti-gun group Doctors for America, which advocates ObamaCare and gun control laws. His group, which has been dubbed Docs vs. Glocks, has pushed Congress to ban "assault" weapons and "high capacity" magazines. Doctors for America has promoted the invasion of privacy by doctors by advocating they ask patients if they have guns at home, including asking children if their parents own guns. He would have doctors counsel their patients against exercising their Second Amendment rights. One wonders how private that information would remain if entered into the medical records the government would be privy to under ObamaCare.

Back in 2013, a piece of legislation called Toomey-Manchin proposed that doctors be allowed to unilaterally place a patients name in the background check system in a way that violated patient doctor confidentially under HIPAA as well as our Second Amendment Rights:

The Toomey-Manchin proposal contains a provision that lets a doctor add a patient to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) without ever telling the patient he or she has been added. This would seem to violate doctor-patient confidentiality, due process and the presumption of innocence in one fell swoop. As the Heritage Foundation reports, this "gun control legislation eliminates any (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) privacy protection for mental health records in connection with the NICS system, leaving only what privacy protection the attorney general cares to provide."

The Obama administrations idea of keeping guns out of the hands of the mentally ill is based on a bizarre and discriminatory definition of who might be mentally unstable. Back in 2013 it was reported that the Veterans Administration was sending letters to vets warning them that they might be declared mentally incompetent and have their Second Amendment rights stripped unless they could prove otherwise:

The contempt by the Obama administration for our Constitution and our rights has reached a new low with news the Veterans Administration has begun sending letters to veterans telling them they will be declared mentally incompetent and stripped of the Second Amendment rights unless they can prove to unnamed bureaucrats to the contrary. "A determination of incompetency will prohibit you from purchasing, possessing, receiving, or transporting a firearm or ammunition. If you knowingly violate any of these prohibitions, you may be fined, imprisoned, or both pursuant to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, Pub.L.No. 103-159, as implemented at 18, United States Code 924(a)(2)," the letter reads. While mental health is a factor in the current gun control debate and recent mass shootings in Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo., and elsewhere have in common the questionable mental state of the shooters, to single out returning vets from Iraq and Afghanistan this way is unconscionable and unconstitutional.

As the Los Angeles Times has reported, the Obama administration would like to make our Social Security records part of the background check system. The move would strip some four million Americans who receive payments though a representative payee of their gun rights. It would be the largest gun grab in U.S. history.

A potentially large group within Social Security are people who, in the language of federal gun laws, are unable to manage their own affairs due to "marked subnormal intelligence, or mental illness, incompetency, condition, or disease." There is no simple way to identify that group, but a strategy used by the Department of Veterans Affairs since the creation of the background check system is reporting anyone who has been declared incompetent to manage pension or disability payments and assigned a fiduciary.

Keeping guns out of the hands of the truly mentally unstable is a worthy goal, but it should not be used as a cause for disarming veterans who carried a weapon in defense of their country or senior systems who might need some assistance in paying their bills.

They deserve the presumption of innocence and sanity. Stripping away their Second Amendment rights in the name of mental health would be a gross injustice that would not make us safer, but would merely create millions of unarmed victims for the next shooter with an agenda.

Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investors Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.
(NOTE: Most of the articles linked within are in Portuguese from Brazilian media. The images and video contained here may be disturbing.)

Powerful institutions in Brazil are force-feeding that nations young on pornographic images, and many angry Brazilians have reached their limit. A headline in the New York Times was as innocuous as possible given the subject: Brazilian art show sets off dispute that mirrors political battles. The one in the UK Daily Mail following a subsequent exhibition was a bit more difficult to water down: Fury as a girl, four, is encouraged to touch a naked man in Brazilian art exhibition as politicians call on judges to prosecute the artist.



As could be expected, neither article was able to tell the full story of the depravity of each production, nor did they fully capture the emerging fury of a Brazilian populace that is tired of seeing the results of an overly sensualized culture and the hypersexualized status quo. The stage for both these events, and others in between them, seemed to be set in place two months ago by a seemingly unrelated yet no less controversial media event, again aimed at kids. Here begins the timeline up to September 29th of this year:



- (August 1, 2017) HBO Brasil generated a backlash by broadcasting Festa da Salsicha (the Brazilian version of the all-but-X-rated Sausage party) during the afternoon childrens prime time television hours. Christian psychologist Dr. Marisa Lobo and others organized a Boycott HBO social media movement. Within the month, HBO stopped broadcasting Festa da Salsicha during that time period and was also fined $2 million Brazilian Reals (around $632,000 USD) for displaying pornographic content at inappropriate times and not making clear what the content was about on the companys channel, web site and social media.

- (September 6, 2017) An article appeared about an LGBT-themed exhibit called Queermuseu titled: Santander promotes pedophilia, pornography and profane art in Porto Alegre (WARNING: link contains artwork depicting not only nudity but various types of graphic sexual acts). Porto Alegre is the southernmost large city in Brazil, in an area which could be said to be the most Europeanized, given the high numbers of residents with ancestry from many other nations outside Portugal, particularly Germany. The project was sponsored by Santander Bank, under the auspices of Brazils Culture Incentive Law (read: heavily taxpayer financed).

- (September 10, 2017) Santander Brazil cancels the Porto Alegre exhibit, issuing an apology to all those who felt offended by some work that was part of the show. Dr. Lobos church immediately closed their Santander accounts, and on the following day the Brazilian Baptist Convention encouraged any of their other members to do likewise.



- (September 11th, 2017) It was reported that the Queermuseu promoters had sent out promotional material and guides for teachers to schools throughout Porto Alegre (Brazils tenth largest city, whose metropolitan population of 4.2 million citizens is roughly equivalent to that of greater Phoenix). It is unclear how many schoolchildren actually toured the exhibit.

- (September 12th, 2017) Estadao, the second most popular newspaper in Sao Paulo (population: 12 million) and fourth most-read newspaper in Brazil published a fascinating editorial by multi-time Brazilian volleyball Olympian Ana Paula Henkel, in which she said that the Queermuseu art exhibit would not be able to pass the American Miller Test of obscenity, and hoped that friends in her adopted home of California would understand her displeasure with the exhibit.



- (September 13, 2017) Reports begin coming in from elsewhere in Brazil about public art exhibitions involving nudity, from Boa Vista (in the far northwest, in a Brazilian state bordering Venezuela) and Campo Grande (in a state bordering Paraguay).

(September 29th, 2017)  Despite a ruling by the Federal Public Ministry that the Queermuseu art exhibit doesnt contain pedophilia (but should include information or protection measures for children and adolescents with regard to possible depictions of nudity, violence or sex in the works exposed) and in spite of protests by pro-Queermuseu supporters, Santander refuses to reopen the exhibit. In the meantime, venues in Belo Horizonte (Brazils sixth largest city) and Rio de Janeiro (second largest city) express an interest in hosting it.

On the same day, news begins to break about La Bete (translating from French to Portuguese as the bug, but which my high school French teacher decades ago told our class also means the stupid)  a Brazilian art show again underwritten with public funds and sponsored by Banco (bank) Itau, which took place at the Goethe-Institut Brasilien in Salvador (Brazils fourth largest city), where thid picture was taken featuring the nude Wagner Schwartz, a 45 year old artist and choreographer from Rio de Janeiro state, holding hands with the four schoolgirls.

When the video below surfaced of Mr. Schwartz naked body being touched by the four year old girl in front of a subsequent La Bete audience at the Sao Paulo Museum of Modern Art (MAM), Brazilian social media ignited as if a lit cigarette had been tossed into an Amazon River full of gasoline:



The little girls mother was in attendance for her daughters fateful star turn. The far left received immediate blame by many throughout the nation, with protests at the MAM venue and calls from more conservative politicians for investigations. The hashtag #PedofiliaNaoeArte (Pedophilia isnt art) immediately became one of Twitters hot trends on September 29th, and is still quite active as of the time of this writing.

No matter how over-sexualized Brazils culture is or has been, there are many Brazilians who have had more than enough of it. They hate when telephone booths in Rio are plastered with for sale pictures of prostitutes for kids or other family members to view. They despise their nation being considered for the beyond-dubious honor of overtaking Thailand as the worlds premier sex tourism destination for children, adolescents and adults. They are ashamed that there are known child sex trafficking points for every 10 miles of a highway like the BR-116 (the length of the Interstate road between New York and Los Angeles via Chicago). And most importantly, they know that there is for all intents and purposes an institutionalized system, via many in the arts, media and even political communities, of grooming children (and adults) for a lifetime of enslavement to sexual addictions and sin for whatever purpose, as Bruce Walker recently noted so eloquently on this site.

Kurt Wayne is the founder of Pornografia Destroi ("Pornography destroys" in Portuguese), an online ministry fighting pornography, prostitution, sex trafficking, sexual abuse and the hypersexualized culture while working to help those leaving the grip of sexual addiction in the nations of Brazil, Angola, and Portugal, as well as the rest of the Portuguese-speaking world.
Following a meeting with his top generals, Donald Trump had a photo op with the brass during which he made some rather cryptic remarks that have tongues wagging in Washington.

CNN:

"You guys know what this represents? Maybe it's the calm before the storm," Trump said at the photo op Thursday night, following a meeting with his top military commanders. When reporters present asked what he meant, Trump replied: "It could be, the calm, the calm before the storm." Reporters asked if the storm was related to Iran or ISIS. Trump replied: "We have the world's great military people in this room, I will tell you that. And uh, we're gonna have a great evening, thank you all for coming." When asked again what he meant, Trump said only: "You'll find out." Reporters in the room asked for a hint, but Trump concluded the questioning. "Thank you everybody," Trump said.

The president did not have to have a public meeting with his generals. He could have had a video conference anywhere if he wanted to talk about going to war and kept it secret. Instead, the public meeting along with his cryptic words appears to be sending Kim Jong-un a message: we haven't forgotten about you, and time is running out.

Is it a coincidence that secretary of state Tillerson spent last weekend in China talking to the leadership about North Korea? That was another very public signal sent to Kim. China's attitude is crucial if the U.S. is going to take out North Korean nukes and their missile program.

With relations between Beijing and Pyongyang at a historic low point, you have to wonder if the Chinese have begun planning for the aftermath of a U.S. strike rather than looking for ways to prevent it.

Associated Press:

The scene along the China-North Korea border in the wild mountains of northeast Asia provides some clues. Despite a dearth of traffic and trade, construction crews are at work on a six-lane highway to the border outside the small Chinese city of Ji'an along the Tumen River, a corridor that could facilitate the rapid movement of tanks and troops. Guard posts, barbed wire-topped fences and checkpoints manned by armed paramilitary troops mark the frontier along the border  signs of concern about potentially violent border crossers or even more serious security threats. China's unwillingness to discuss its plans is likely a strategic choice by the notoriously secretive PLA, but potentially threatens unintended consequences were a major crisis to emerge, experts say. "Each party has its own plans for action in the event of an emergency, but if they act individually without communicating with others, it raises the possibility of misjudgment and unnecessary military conflicts," said Jia Qingguo, dean of the school of International Studies at elite Peking University. "There has long been a danger in this respect. Someone must take control of North Korea's nuclear weapons," Jia said. Coordination is also needed on the handling of civilians, particularly with those international agencies experienced in dealing with such crises, Jia said. Among the refugees may be tens of thousands released from North Korean labor camps who may need medical treatment for communicable diseases and malnutrition. "Refugees are a huge issue that could involve a tremendously large number of people and potentially become a humanitarian crisis," Jia said. Asked about Chinese preparations for a North Korean crisis, defense ministry spokesman Col. Wu Qian offered assurance but no details at a monthly news briefing on Thursday. "Dialogue and consultation is the only effective way to solve the problem concerning the Korean Peninsula, and the military option cannot be an option," Wu said. "The Chinese military has made all necessary preparations to safeguard national sovereignty and security and regional peace and stability."

The U.S. is not likely to follow up an air campaign against North Korea with an invasion. But China may recognize that the Kim regime has to go and could take matters into its own hands. In fact, the Chinese may be resigned to that option, knowing they are not deterring the U.S. from taking military action against Kim.

The Chinese may have whispered something to Secretary Tillerson that gave tacit approval to air strikes by the U.S. We will never get a public assurance of that, but even China must now recognize the threat to peace of the Kim regime. A U.S. strike in tandem with a swift Chinese takeover of North Korea that would prevent Kim from doing something crazy might be seen by some as the optimal solution to the crisis.

"Calm before the storm"? Indeed.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions sent a memo to federal prosecutors informing them that the Obama-era guidelines on giving employment protection to transgendered people under the Civil Rights Act will no longer apply. Sessions said the Obama administration interpretation went beyond the scope of the law to include transgendered people with minorities, women, and other protected groups.

Washington Times:

"Title VII's prohibition on sex discrimination encompasses discrimination between men and women but does not encompass discrimination based on gender identity per se, including transgender status," Mr. Sessions wrote. He rolled back a 2014 policy by then-Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., who said Title VII prohibited employers from making "sex-based considerations" based on gender identity or a person's identification as transgender. The decision roiled civil rights activists, who saw the memo as a direct attack on transgender individuals. James Esseks, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's LGBT and HIV Project, called it "another low point." "This Department of Justice under Jeff Sessions has time and time again made it clear that its explicit agenda is to attack and undermine the civil rights of our most vulnerable communities, rather than standing up for them as they should be doing," he said. Mr. Sessions' policy "flies in the face of case law that has reached the opposite conclusion," said Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the former head of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division. LGBT rights group Freedom for All Americans pointed to cases it said established a precedent for extending Title VII protections to gender identity  including the Supreme Court's 1989 ruling in the Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins case that found that sex discrimination includes sex stereotyping. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has twice ruled that gender identity is protected from discrimination under Title VII, while the 7th Circuit ruled this year that Title VII protects gay workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation. The 11th Circuit has ruled in favor of a transgender woman who was fired because she intended to transition from male to female, though the complaint in that case was brought under the Equal Protection Clause and not Title VII. The 11th Circuit has rejected gender identity as a basis for a Civil Rights Act claim, and other courts have also ruled that way.

What exactly is Session saying here? The bottom line is that the Obama administration had no constitutional right to expand the definitions under Title VII without the consent of Congress.

"The Department of Justice cannot expand the law beyond what Congress has provided," said DOJ spokesman Devin O'Malley. "Unfortunately, the last administration abandoned that fundamental principle, which necessitated today's action." Mr. Sessions' memo goes on to say that it should not "be construed to condone mistreatment on the basis or gender identity, or to express a policy view on whether Congress should amend Title VII or provide different or additional protection." "The Justice Department must and will continue to affirm the dignity of all people, including transgender individuals," he wrote. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, said Congress should step in and clear the issue up by passing the Equality Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity protections to Title VII.

The "stroke of a pen" argument is inherently weak. If Congress wants to amend the Civil Rights Act to include "gender identity," that is the best way to go about doing it.

But activists don't want to go through Congress because they will fail. More importantly, taking the issue to Congress will spark a debate on the issue of transgenderism, and the last thing transgender activists want is to have to justify to the American people why someone making a personal choice about his gender should be granted the same protections given to blacks, women, and others who are born a minority or female.

Obviously, as with all other issues in the culture war, this one will almost certainly end up in the Supreme Court. There, it faces an uncertain future, as the current make up of the court is predisposed to expand the definition of civil rights wherever possible. So in the end, the activists may well get their way  and America will be poorer for it.
One of the best progressive con games is the one where they tell you they are protecting your health by adding a new tax. The wave of taxes on so-called "sugary drinks" (that are sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup)  i.e., Coca-Cola, Pepsi, etc.  was sold as a measure to "encourage" consumers to switch to (purportedly) healthier alternatives that remain untaxed, such as pure fruit juices, for instance, which are just as caloric but are "natural" and are the type of drink favored by the high-income and education class that runs things in this country. In other words, the Ruling Class imposes its culinary preferences on those whom it rules.

It is all for our own good, and only villains would dare oppose this high-minded mission:

Jim Krieger, MD, MPH, [is] the executive director of Healthy Food America. "For too long, the big soda companies got away with putting profits over their customers' health."

You know the drill. Just like global warming, a new tax is necessary to save ourselves from own decisions.

Unfortunately for the driving force behind the soda tax imposed on Cook County, Illinois, Board president Toni Preckwinkle, the voters caught on, the industry sued (and were threatened over it), and now county supervisors are to vote on repeal.

Suddenly, when push is to come to shove, Preckwinkle has dropped the health issue and admits that it's all about the money. Andy Grimm of the Chicago Sun-Times:

[A] day ahead of making her budget address to a Board of Commissioners said to be lined up for a close vote on pulling back the county's penny-per-ounce tax on sodas and sweetened beverages, Preckwinkle was not shy about saying what would happen without the estimated $200 million in tax revenue projected to come from the tax. "(We will) make significant cuts to public health and public safety, because that's where 87 percent of our money goes," Preckwinkle told reporters, following an unrelated press conference on criminal justice reform.

Hey, it's Cook County, so it's all about the money.

As Grimm recounts:

The tax narrowly passed last year with the president casting a tie-breaking vote. Furor over the tax, stoked in part by a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign by soda industry groups, reached a fever pitch this summer, when consumers around the county first saw the beverage tax tacked onto their grocery receipts. Preckwinkle reminded commissioners of the financial implications for the county if the tax is pulled back in a fiscal note sent out Friday, which said the county health system and public safety funds, which were slated to receive 75 percent of the new soda tax revenue. The lost revenue would require an 11-percent cut to those departments' budget, according to the memo.

Hal Dardick of the Chicago Tribune reminds us how things always work in Chicago:

Preckwinkle sweetened the deal by giving each commissioner control over $500,000 in gas tax revenue to spend on transportation projects in their districts.

The repeal vote is next week.
The horrific Las Vegas shooting will undoubtedly be recorded in the history textbooks as one of the most tragic events in early 21st-century history. Any loss of life for any reason is tragic, regardless of the cause. Yet the manner in which this occurred, the senselessness of it, and the apparent trend this type of killing has become lead us to question multiple aspects in our society. The most prevalent of these is, "should there be greater control?" While we can all agree on a certain amount of regulation, it may not be the right question.

Increased gun regulations, which may indeed decrease the loss of the life in these instances, will not halt all loss of life. Let us take an example to which we can all relate. If we banned semi-automatic weapons, those who would legally or illegally obtain other forms of guns would still hold the ability to commit such acts. If we adhere to the belief that one life is as important as many, regulation is simply not the answer.

Hence the next question: is this a fundamental problem that can be attributed to our culture or society? Let us take media coverage of such events. Every time these shootings occur, the focus is on reporting the details of the event itself. This is not limited to the actual shooting; it includes the steps the shooter took to achieve the end  the type and number of guns, the timing, and a multitude of other meticulous details that led to what the shooter may have thought was success. In other words, these are directions for others to potentially follow. The individual who for any reason would be more apt to commit such atrocities has now been told how to do so with success.

Of course, the job of the media is to report, and the American public has a right to know what has happened. Yet what is not prevalent in the media as well as in many other forums following such events is advocacy for peace. Yes, we host politicians who state the immorality of it and that we should come together in the aftermath to support one another. But how often do we host mental health experts with advice for those who feel an inexplicable need to commit such acts? How often do we highlight religious leaders who would speak to the joy of peace? Perhaps, more effective, when do the media seek out an individual willing to admit he could have been that person, once again for any reason, yet chose not to carry out such atrocities?

I often argue that human emotion and ideology are what many times move individuals to action. Additionally, history has demonstrated the power of information and words. While ratings are undoubtedly higher when discussing the detailed events, at times, the media are feeding the wrong emotions and ideology. While one should not place the fault solely on the media, in any forum, there must be a greater balance between discussing events and advocating peace. Perhaps when we truly begin to publicly promote a culture of self-regulation in our society, we will see this horrific trend decline.

Dale Schlundt holds a master's degree in adult education with a concentration in American history from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Dale has taught at Northwest Vista College and Our Lady of the Lake University and is currently a faculty member at Palo Alto College. He is co-founder of Palo Alto College's new program for individuals with intellectual disabilities, Project Access, and a co-chair for the Texas Regional Alignment Network.
The scenario was disgusting enough: Rep. Tim Murphy of Pennsylvania, a Republican in a safe seat, was forced to resign for urging his illicit and pregnant girlfriend to go get an abortion. It was in direct contravention to his anti-abortion stance in his elected office, which of course made him a liar. Out.

(It would be nice to see that same standard held to politicians who run for office on platforms of tax cuts or repealing Obamacare and then vote against such measures.)

Politico helpfully added that Murphy was a rather hellish person to work for and the GOP didn't want him around as a liability for all of them based on his brutish behavior, so o.k., he's out for that, too.

The important thing to note is that he failed, he was a defective legislator and he's OUT.

Compare and contrast to the Democrats' chief billy-goat, New Jersey's Sen. Bob Menendez, who not only saw fit to help procure "girlfriends" from the Dominican Republic, exerting corrupt influence of office to get these girls visas to the U.S., he's also wallowed in the fleshpots, taken free flights, taken free hotel rooms, taken free vacations, and taken tons of campaign contributions. In return, he helped his Florida sidekick doctor who'd been accused of Medicaid fraud, and enlisted the services of then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to fix various jams. Not only is he a lecher at odds with his own principles on a scale unimaginable in comparison to Murphy, he also sold his office for campaign contributions and he's in the dock.

In other words, it's not just a bad press report as Murphy got, it's the long arm of the law.

And is anyone from his party pressuring him to resign on principle? Not in the least. From CNN:

Sen. Bob Menendez would not say Thursday whether he would quit his job if convicted on federal corruption charges and insisted his poll numbers "will rise" if he's acquitted. The New Jersey Democrat, back in the Capitol for a whirlwind day during a break in his corruption trial in Newark, refused to say what he would do if he were convicted. "I have no intention of being anything but exonerated," Menendez told CNN. "So therefore, I'm not contemplating anything but reelection next year."

While it's true that Murphy had a safe seat and Menendez does not, the heart of the matter is the principle involved, the scope of the hypocrisy and the capacity for the miscreants' doings to badly reflect on their parties as a whole. The GOP did not want that to happen, and endured the bad press the Murphy resignation generated. The Democrats, on the other hand, have the 'well, we just have to win, then' attitude, pioneered by Bill Clinton, winning at any cost, principles be damned. Any questions as to why they are considered soulless mercenaries of zero principles, despite their virtue-signalling and desire to want to run your life?

It's a disgusting reflection on Democrats, who will cling to office without resigning, no matter what they do. Republicans should make an issue of it in the next election.
Another commandeered a truck to drive victims of the Oct. 1 massacre in Las Vegas to the hospital.

At first, Vanessa, a concertgoer, fled the Vegas venue, which was being sprayed with bullets from high-velocity rifles. Then she turned and ran back. She credits her professional sense of duty as a nurse. We all know that it was Vanessa's heart that enabled her to push past the fear and place herself in the crosshairs.

From her hospital bed, Addison Short profusely thanked a stranger who had helped her escape the confines of the country music concert in the Vegas Village. She was hobbled by a gunshot to the leg. The first words Addison uttered to the ego in the anchor's chair quizzing her were words of gratitude for her rescuer. Short also gave thanks for having a minor injury.

"April" is a girl who stopped her car to pick-up a bloodied young Canadian couple. The young man had been shot in the head. He's fine. Heartbroken as he and his girlfriend are, they're still a vision of wholesomeness  Canadian clones of the Americans attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival.

Heather Gooze, 43, cradled young Jordan McIldoon, 23, in her arms until he went limp. She was a bartender who had attended the concert, he a Canadian mechanic from Maple Ridge, British Columbia. He loved the Vancouver Canucks and his girlfriend, who was at the three-day country music happening as well.

As she spoke to CNN's John Berman and Poppy Harlow, Heather's moral resplendence only accentuated the depravity of the two notorious fake-news pornographers.

"No, ma'am, I didn't run." A cowboy hat clutched to his chest, Brian Mckinnon recounted how his best friend petered out in his arms. Only after his friend had passed did Brian flee. But then he stopped in his tracks, went back, put his pal's signature hat back on, and waited beside him.

They may never know his name, but a man they'd never met shielded two young women from bullets. He was shot as he hovered over them, protectively, his blood oozing onto their shirts. Anthony Rabone, an off-duty firefighter and paramedic, secured his girlfriend; stabilized his brother, who had sustained a chest wound; and then charged back into the concert killing field.

Vanessa, aforementioned, captured the Vegas valor on display that day: there were so many citizens, she said  ordinary people, doctors, cops, paramedics, off-duty nurses  everyone was just communicating and working together. It was completely horrible but also utterly amazing.

Even the medics interviewed could not help but effuse about the unusually fabulous folks they were treating.

Men moved into leadership roles quickly, using barricade gates, maintenance ladders, and banners to carry the injured out. Many of these men do the dirty jobs Mike Rowe dignified in his eponymous TV series. They're firemen, commercial fishermen (like the late Adrian Murfitt), heavy-duty mechanics (rest in peace, Jordan McIldoon), and pipe-fitters, like 29-year-old Austin Davis, RIP, from Riverside County, California. Davis had gone to the festival with family friends.

Yes, who goes to a concert with "family friends"  grown-up sons with middle-aged moms, entire nuclear families together, young and old; teens who don't twerk their tushes (like Iggy Azlea's primate-in-estrus act), but belt out "God Bless America." These fans are families, literally. These are the people who pitched in during the massacre of 58 concertgoers (489 people were injured).

Those cow-kickin' country music-lovers in cowboy hats and Tony Lama boots are the finest folks on Earth.

Let's not beat about the bush. Middle America, patriotic America, oddly monochromatic America is the America we saw in Vegas in all its splendor. The same America is berated daily, and dangerously, by the envenomed coastal elites  in print, in cyberspace, and on the idiot's lantern.

Hand-on-heart, I can say that the larger-than-life personalities who died in Las Vegas are the best of America, the very heart of America. They are what makes America great.

Ilana Mercer has been writing a weekly paleolibertarian column since 1999 and is the author of The Trump Revolution: The Donalds Creative Destruction Deconstructed (June 2016) and Into the Cannibals Pot: Lessons for America From Post-Apartheid South Africa (2011). Follow her on Twitter, Facebook, Gab, and YouTube.
The newest star in the New York Times editorial board firmament is Bret Stephens, a former member of the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board. Yesterday, he went full gun-grabber in an op-ed in the Nation's Newspaper of Record, calling for a repeal of the Second Amendment as the headline. This matters, because more than any other single voice, the New York Times dictates the boundaries of the Ruling Class's national political discussion. Its attitudes are then spread throughout the rest of the legacy media.

My first reaction was the same as Jim Geraghty: Go ahead and make my day.

Call me crazy, but I think Stephens' proposal is a giant bear trap for liberals and Democrats. We haven't amended the Constitution since 1992, when we decreed any law affecting Congressional salaries cannot take effect until the next election  i.e., banning members of Congress from voting themselves a pay increase. We've never repealed a part of the Bill of Rights. And that's just what Stephens is urging Democrats to openly embrace, promise, and campaign on. Can you picture some Democratic candidate supporting the repeal of the Second Amendment? The attack ads would declare: "John Smith thinks the U.S. Constitution gives you have too many rights . . . and he wants to cut the Bill of Rights by ten percent!" Or even better: "If John Smith doesn't think you deserve your Second Amendment rights . . . how many more of your Constitutional rights does he want to take away?" If the Democrats made a sustained push for a Constitutional amendment repealing the right to bear arms, Republicans would never have to worry about getting out the vote again. NRA membership would explode. Pro-gun Democrats would switch parties. Portions of key groups within the party could recoil, no pun intended. According to the most recent Pew Research Center survey, 32 percent of African-Americans say either they or someone else in their household owns a gun. The most incendiary Republican accusation of Democrats  that they don't really care about the Constitution, that they just want ever-expanding government power and the authority to micro-manage every little decision in your life  would be largely verified in many American minds.

George Neumayr and David Harsanyi join Gerraghty in thoroughly debunking the false and misleading data and reasoning used by Stephens. Howie Carr brought up some of Stephens's recent history:

Funny, but less than 15 months ago, Stephens was tweeting out: "Prediction: In two years Europeans will clamor for their own 2nd Amendment." But that was then, and this is now, post-Las Vegas, and if there's one thing "conservatives" in The New York Times must do, it's to attack anything that deplorables support, even if it's the Bill of Rights.

Sean Hannity devoted a portion of his Fox News show's opening to attacking Stephens. Start at 4:23:

Stephens, however, avers a longer-term strategy:

Repealing the Amendment may seem like political Mission Impossible today, but in the era of same-sex marriage it's worth recalling that most great causes begin as improbable ones.

He is, in other words, breaching the first line, speaking the formerly unutterable as a respectable member of the elite. And he is historically correct. This is indeed how his "great causes" such as transgenderism gain purchase and inevitable victory. He may see himself as a brave first voice in the media that will someday be credited as helping along a great cause that eventually triumphed, as gun violence disappeared from America.

He's dreaming, if that's what he really secretly fantasizes. This could be a disaster for the Dems, and the way they work, the fanatics get to drive the political agenda. They show up at candidate forums and demand fealty to their demands and doctrines. They are organized. So expect a lot of pressure, Dems.

A number of my friends who were fans of Stephens in his earlier years at the WSJ are shocked and puzzled at his political devolution. I am not. Stephens, over time, socialized himself into the dominant media culture of Manhattan, even while at the Journal. His wife is a music critic for the New York Times, after all.

At the Times, he has moved rapidly left. It is a basic process of socialization into a work culture. When people come into an organization, they adapt the values of their group environment over time. Or else they become outcasts or isolates. This is how all groups work. Back when sociologists were concerned with real things, George Homans explained how this works in detail, with examples. It is all but forgotten in sociology, but it is the basis for Harvard Business School's training of executives on how to manage groups of people.
(ANSAmed) - PARIS, OCTOBER 6 - Libyan Premier Fayez al-Sarraj, on Friday told Le Monde there was no ''secret deal'' between Italy and human traffickers to stop migrants leaving Libya. Answering a question on a purported pact with a trafficking militia group in Sabratha, Sarraj said: ''There is an accord with Italy to help Libyan municipalities in the north and south develop the economy and create jobs. But there is no accord of the type you are talking about, that is to say supporting an armed group''.

Le Monde on September 14 published a front-page article claiming that Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti negotiated with Libyan human traffickers to halt migrant flows.

In the interview published on Friday, Sarraj also expressed the hope that an embargo on weapons in Libya issued by the UN Security Council in 2011 will be lifted. ''We have already started at the UN a process to request a partial lifting of the embargo'', he said, stressing that, among other things, ''we cannot fight such a phenomenon without equipment and weapons for our coast guard and control our southern borders. We have therefore asked Europeans for surveillance material, in particular in the south''.

Sarraj also said: ''Our coast guard cannot fight with Zodiacs, highly armed and equipped smugglers' vessels. At the same time, we cannot protect our borders in the south only with unequipped off-road vehicles''.

In the interview, he stressed that ''ISIS continues to pose a threat in Libya, as in other countries'' and noted that ''our objective is to guarantee that the army responds to the executive power, or civil authority''.

The stabilization in Libya, he concluded, is ''key to fight illegal emigration. If we will not succeed, then this flow of migrants will affect Libya and Europe together with terror organizations trying to infiltrate it''. (ANSAmed).


(ANSA) - Rome, October 6 - The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) "confirms the priority that nuclear disarmament has assumed in the eyes of world public opinion", the Italian foreign ministry said Friday.

It said Italy "shares this priority, in the framework of international commitments taken on, as it fully shares the deep concern for the catastrophic use of nuclear weapons and the goal of a world free from such devices".

The foreign ministry underscored that this objective "must be pursued through an inclusive, gradual and realistic process, aimed at favouring an irreversible, transparent and verifiable process of nuclear disarmament". The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty remains "central", the ministry said, also as far as concerns nuclear disarmament.

"Italy is committed to strengthening it and favouring its internationalisation".


(ANSA) - Rio de Janeiro, October 6 - The Brazilian government has a plan to send former leftist terrorist Cesare Battisti back to Italy in the coming days, the site of daily O Globo reported on Friday. The idea is to fly Battisti out on a federal police aircraft directly to Rome from Corumba - the city where he has been held since he was arrested two days ago on suspicion of tax evasion and money laundering.

One of the magistrates who handled cases of Battisti's former guerrilla group the Armed Proletarians for Communism (PAC), Pietro Forno, said "he is a professional escape artist, he has an honorary degree in escapes".

Forno said "he is a common criminal who got radicalised, to use a vogue word, in jail. Radicalisation does not just concern Islamist terrorism".

A Brazilian judge earlier on Thursday upheld Battisti's arrest.

In his decision, the judge said Battisti's attempted escape to Bolivia was a Breach of his status as political refugee and also an offence to Brazilian public order.

Recalling that the Italian has benefited from asylum in Brazil for years, the judge said Battisti had "enjoyed all the rights inherent in the situation of refugees and all basic rights".

Italy is working to bring back Battisti from Brazil so he can serve two life terms for four 1970s murders.

He was arrested Wednesday in Corumba, on the border between Brazil and Bolivia. The alleged would-be escape was launched after reports that the Brazilian government is moving towards extraditing Battisti for the murders committed in the 1970s 'Years of Lead' of rightist and leftist terror. Battisti tried to flee Brazil in a Bolivian taxi, the police who arrested him in Corumba said Thursday.

Italy is "strongly determined" to get Battisti back from Brazil, Justice Minister Andrea Orlando said Thursday.

"All the necessary steps have been taken" and more will be taken after Battisti's arrest for trying to take money out of Brazil to Bolivia on Wednesday, Orlando said. Orlando noted that Italy's extradition request had been "stalled for some time" by Brazilian authorities. Battisti told Brazilian police Thursday he was not afraid of being extradited to Italy because he feels "protected" by a 2010 decree from former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who granted him a "permanent visa" to stay in the South American country, according to the website of Brazilian daily Estadao.


ROME, OCTOBER 6 - Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak, the Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria, Egypt, said Christians "must be helped to remain in Egypt", speaking Friday at a press conference in Rome organised by ACS, a Vatican-based international foundation supporting persecuted Christians worldwide. Sidrak said Christians must be "supported" just as the entire country is supported.

"Because when Christians are attacked, it's all of Egypt that's destabilised," Sidrak said.

The ACS press conference addressed the situation of Christians in Egypt following the attacks on Palm Sunday in Tanta and Alexandria and in Minya last May.

Sidrak said Egypt is experiencing "great difficulties in economics, thought, and strategy, and is struggling with the need to fight against ignorance and fundamentalism," he said.

He said, however, "We must also recognise the efforts that Egyptian authorities are making".

Sidrak said the authorities took the recent attacks seriously.

"Security measures were increased, but these also had reflections on the Christian community," he said.

"The work of ensuring better safety for the faithful also fell on us," he said.

Rather than speak on persecution of the Christian communities, Sidrak prefers to speak about discrimination and a certain hate on the part of some fundamentalist movements.

He said that what needs to be changed, above all, is the "religious thought expressed by al-Azhar", the Cairo mosque comprising the highest institution of Sunni Islam, which Sidrak said "must be helped to change".

He said that there are some fundamentalist elements within the institution.

Sidrak said there also needs to be a change in the "educational system in the schools", and in both cases he expressed "hope that the international community can support Egypt" in this change.

Out of a population of about 94 million residents in Egypt (104 million including the diaspora), Sidrak said an estimate of how many Christians there are (Coptic Orthodox, Coptic Catholic, and Protestants) is purposely not made, "out of fear of creating difficulties".

However, ecumenical relationships with the Christian community aren't always easy.

There are many "mixed" families - those with Christians from different religions - and he said a certain resistance exists on the part of some Coptic Orthodox clergy who maintain "thoughts about refusal of the other".

ACS President Alfredo Mantovano said "what we can do" to support Christians in Egypt "is give them a hand so they may be strengthened and remain there".

"If we don't care about their fate, then we should at least care about our own, by trying to stop terrorism from arriving here," he said.


100,000 civilians fleeing eastern Syria, sources say Intense airstrikes, Russia-govt offensive on Deir ez-Zor

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, OCTOBER 6 - More than 100,000 civilians are fleeing the Euphrates Valley in eastern Syria, where a Russian-Syrian government offensive is taking place in ISIS-controlled areas, local sources in Deir ez-Zor told ANSA.



Deir ez-Zor is the capital of the region bordering Iraq where for weeks the Russian-Syrian government offensive and Kurdish-US offensive have taken place.



According to the sources, who reported estimates of the displaced along the same lines as UN figures, hundreds of minors including very small children have been left without parents, died or gone missing in the intense airstrikes of recent days on cities south of Deir ez-Zor.(ANSAmed).




Barcelona judge opens probe into police violence Prefect apologizes for violence

(ANSAmed) - BARCELONA, OCTOBER 6 - A judge in Barcelona has ordered an investigation into police charges against civilians on October 1 in Catalonia.



The magistrate decided to investigate following a complaint filed by the Catalan government regarding police activity in 23 polling stations where 130 people were injured.



The judge invited the prosecutor's office, which defined the use of force by Spanish police officers as proportionate, "to not minimize the seriousness" of the events.



The Spanish prefect in Catalonia, Enric Millo, publicly apologized for the violent police charges last Sunday during the referendum.



"I saw the images and I know that there are people who received blows, pushes, and that there's still a person in hospital," Millo said.



"I can only apologize on behalf of the officers involved," he told public broadcaster TV3.(ANSAmed).




ISTANBUL - The story of Alessandro Cedrone, currently the general music director of the Ankara State Opera in Turkey's capital, is in many ways a typical story of Italian "brain drain", despite the fact that his destination wasn't typical of the majority of young Italians seeking opportunities abroad.

He arrived in Turkey 10 years ago, freshly graduated from the Frosinone Conservatory of Music just south of Rome. In Turkey at that time, where negotiations had recently begun for the country's accession to the EU and there was palpable enthusiasm for the future, Cedrone saw an opportunity.

"My teacher at the time, Dario Lucantoni, was called to Ankara and offered for me to come with him on a contract as choir director," Cedrone told ANSAmed.

"In Italy I was teaching violin in schools. I decided to leave everything and try this adventure," he said.

Now 38, he has since risen to his current position with the Ankara State Opera.

"I saw there was fertile ground here to work," he said.

"My goal was to direct an orchestra, and in Italy, where there are few productions and I didn't have any backing, I wouldn't have found an opportunity like this," he said.

Next week Cedrone will be in Budapest, then in Rovigo with "The Barber of Seville", and in December he will conduct "La Boheme" in his adopted home city, Ankara, where he speaks with his orchestra in Turkish.

"I now have a repertoire under my belt and they call me from all over Europe, but I never would have been able to do this if I had stayed in Italy," he said.

"Even though there aren't very large theatres here, there's a good percentage of young people at performances, thanks also to a policy of affordable tickets. Seeing an opera costs just a bit more than going to the movies. Oftentimes too there are students from schools and universities, so the venues fill up. And contrary to what people may imagine, there are even women in veils," he said.

In addition to Ankara, Turkey has opera houses in Istanbul, Samsun, Smirne, Antalya, and Mersin.

It's not unusual for foreigners to be called to work there, to enhance their professional expertise.

However, Cedrone says that uncertainly about the future has recently been growing.

"They've been talking about a theatre reform for years, passing from the current state-run management to private management. But it still hasn't happened, and in the meantime investments are blocked. Orchestras aren't offering new permanent contracts, and young musicians prefer to look elsewhere," he said.



He says the risk is that in the hands of private management, the complex and costly machine of the opera house won't manage to survive.



In today's Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdogan, many have denounced a climate of increasing pressure in the world of art and culture.



"I hope the openness towards the importance of theatre espoused by Ataturk will continue," Cedrone said.(ANSAmed).


No secret Italy deal with Libya traffickers - Sarraj Denies reports published by Le Monde

(ANSAmed) - PARIS, OCTOBER 6 - Libyan Premier Fayez al-Sarraj, on Friday told Le Monde there was no ''secret deal'' between Italy and human traffickers to stop migrants leaving Libya. Answering a question on a purported pact with a trafficking militia group in Sabratha, Sarraj said: ''There is an accord with Italy to help Libyan municipalities in the north and south develop the economy and create jobs. But there is no accord of the type you are talking about, that is to say supporting an armed group''.



Le Monde on September 14 published a front-page article claiming that Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti negotiated with Libyan human traffickers to halt migrant flows.



In the interview published on Friday, Sarraj also expressed the hope that an embargo on weapons in Libya issued by the UN Security Council in 2011 will be lifted. ''We have already started at the UN a process to request a partial lifting of the embargo'', he said, stressing that, among other things, ''we cannot fight such a phenomenon without equipment and weapons for our coast guard and control our southern borders. We have therefore asked Europeans for surveillance material, in particular in the south''.



Sarraj also said: ''Our coast guard cannot fight with Zodiacs, highly armed and equipped smugglers' vessels. At the same time, we cannot protect our borders in the south only with unequipped off-road vehicles''.



In the interview, he stressed that ''ISIS continues to pose a threat in Libya, as in other countries'' and noted that ''our objective is to guarantee that the army responds to the executive power, or civil authority''.



The stabilization in Libya, he concluded, is ''key to fight illegal emigration. If we will not succeed, then this flow of migrants will affect Libya and Europe together with terror organizations trying to infiltrate it''. (ANSAmed).




Italy holds lead on Mediterranean cruises, report says Spain surpasses Greece as French route grows

(ANSAmed) - PALERMO, OCTOBER 6 - Italy still holds the lead in terms of cruises in the Mediterranean, according to a report released by research and consulting company Risposte Turismo included in the new edition of Italian Cruise Watch, a research report presented Friday to mark the opening of the 6th edition of Italian Cruise Day.



Mediterranean Spain surpassed Greece (at the end of 2016 back to 2007-level cruise traffic), while the Mediterranean France route grew.



The report also contained an in-depth monograph, this year dedicated to cruise traffic in Spain, Greece, and France, and a comparison with Italy during the period from 2007-2016.



Regarding vessel calls, data from the past decade showed Greek traffic on more than one occasion surpassed Italy's lead.



In Spain, traffic grew in terms of passengers but not in vessel calls, with the 2016 level nearing that of 2007.



In data regarding the main ports of call for each country (Civitavecchia, Barcelona, Pireo, Marseilles), the monograph showed Barcelona's strength as the top port in the Mediterranean, although it was recently surpassed by Civitavecchia.



The study also showed Marseilles registered the highest growth between 2007-2016, surpassing Pireo since 2013.(ANSAmed).






remaining of

Thank you for reading! On your next view you will be asked to log in to your subscriber account or create an account and subscribepurchase a subscription to continue reading.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

One Artesian among 12 individuals charged; one remains at large

Two Artesia residents are in custody and one remains at large following an extensive multi-agency investigation into methamphetamine and firearm trafficking in Eddy and Chaves counties.

Federal, state and local agencies joined forces in the spring to disrupt and dismantle a criminal organization that was allegedly trafficking large quantities of methamphetamine and numerous firearms in southeastern New Mexico. The results of that investigative effort included the filing of federal drug trafficking and firearms charges against 15 defendants.

The investigation, which was initiated by the DEA, ATF and HIDTA Region VI Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, initially targeted a methamphetamine trafficking organization that was allegedly supplied by Daniel P. Bruton, 38, of Artesia, and Marcos A. Martinez, 30, of Roswell.

The investigative team quickly expanded to include HSI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Border Patrol, the New Mexico State Police, the Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force, and the Eddy County Sheriffs Office, and the investigative targets expanded to include other alleged drug traffickers in Eddy and Chaves counties.

During the course of the investigation, which concluded with a major law enforcement operation Wednesday, law enforcement seized more than 2.5 kilograms of methamphetamine and 44 firearms.

Based on the investigation, a federal grand jury returned five indictments Thursday charging the 15 defendants with federal methamphetamine trafficking and firearms offenses. One of the indictments charges 10 individuals, including Bruton and Martinez.

That 34-count indictment alleges Bruton, Martinez, and their co-defendants conspired to violate the federal narcotics trafficking and firearms laws from May through October in Eddy and Chaves counties, as well as elsewhere in New Mexico. The indictment includes 55 overt acts that discuss the conspiracys operations, including the quantities of methamphetamine  ranging from multiple ounces to five pounds  allegedly distributed by the defendants on a routine basis. It also describes the firearms  including assault rifles that allegedly were to be smuggled into Mexico  allegedly used by the defendants in relation to their drug trafficking activities.

This was a good cooperative investigation that will have a large impact on trafficking methamphetamine and gun violence in our community, said Cmdr. James McCormick of the PVDTF.

Twelve of the 15 defendants charged in the five federal indictments are in custody, including seven who were arrested Wednesday. Three defendants have yet to be arrested and are considered fugitives. They are Robert C. Ponce, 42, of Artesia; Erick Miranda-Santos, 21, of Carlsbad; and Chelcy Vasquez, 25, of Dexter. Anyone with information as to their whereabouts is urged to contact the DEA at 575-526-0700.

Martinez and Jason Cunningham, 37, of Carlsbad made their initial appearances in federal court in Las Cruces Thursday morning. They remain in federal custody pending detention hearings, which are schedule for Oct. 11 in Las Cruces.

The following defendants made their initial appearances in federal court in Roswell Thursday morning: Bruton; Sergio Mario Chavez, 33, of Artesia; Kenneth R. Dickerson, 56, of Carlsbad; Isela Hernandez, 25, of Roswell; Joshua A. Masters, 42, of Carlsbad; Timothy G. Tanner, 28, of Carlsbad; Jerry O. Twaddle, 37, of Carlsbad; Ethen G. Watts, 27, of Carlsbad; Linda M. Watts, 28, of Carlsbad; and Randi I. Young, 25, of Carlsbad. They remain in federal custody pending Oct. 11 detention hearings in Las Cruces.

The investigation was designated as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program, a Department of Justice program that combines the resources and unique expertise of federal agencies, along with their local counterparts, in a coordinated effort to disrupt and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations.

This investigation was a coordinated effort to crackdown on drug trafficking in Eddy and Chaves Counties and to improve the quality of life for the good people who live there, Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney said. It was part of our continuing statewide fight against drug trafficking and the violence that goes hand-in-hand with it. The federal, state and local law enforcement community remains committed to keeping New Mexicos smaller communities safe from drug trafficking organizations that think they can go unnoticed operating in our smaller cities and towns.

Yesterdays arrests show the value of information sharing and coordination with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to target criminal organizations that are responsible for the drug related violence in our communities, said Acting Special Agent in Charge Steve Borak of DEAs El Paso Division. By working together to reduce drug trafficking and use across the Nation, we are making our communities safer and our families stronger.

The results of this enforcement initiative exceeded our expectations. Our goal is simple: by working together with our law enforcement partners in targeting armed traffickers and trigger pullers keeping them from interacting with the good people of New Mexico, stated Special Agent in Charge John J. Durastanti of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). I wish to acknowledge the leadership of Acting U.S. Attorney James D. Tierney and his office as these prosecutions move forward.

These cases were investigated by the DEA, ATF, HSI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Border Patrol, the New Mexico State Police, the HIDTA Region VI Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, the HIDTA Region VI Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force, and the Eddy County Sheriffs Office. The following agencies participated in yesterdays law enforcement operation in Carlsbad, Artesia and Roswell: the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Office of Law Enforcement & Security, the HIDTA Region VI Lea County Drug Task Force, the Lea County Sheriffs Office, the Dona Ana County Metro Narcotics Task Force, the Artesia Police Department, the Carlsbad Police Department, the Hobbs Police Department, the Las Cruces Police Department, and the Roswell Police Department. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Clara N. Cobos and Assistant U.S. Attorney Renee L. Camacho of the U.S. Attorneys Las Cruces Branch Office are prosecuting the cases filed as the result of the investigation.

The Pecos Valley Drug Task Force is comprised of officers from the Eddy County Sheriffs Office, Carlsbad Police Department and Artesia Police Department and is part of the HIDTA Region VI Drug Task Force. The HIDTA Chaves County Metro Narcotics Task Force is comprised of investigators from the Roswell Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the FBI and the Chaves County Sherriffs Office. The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA) program was created by Congress with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. HIDTA is a program of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) which provides assistance to federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies operating in areas determined to be critical drug-trafficking regions of the United States and seeks to reduce drug trafficking and production by facilitating coordinated law enforcement activities and information sharing.

HSI will continue to work jointly with our law enforcement partners in its mission to disrupt and dismantle criminal organizations that threaten public safety and national security, said Jack P. Staton, Acting Special Agent in Charge of HSI El Paso. This enforcement operation exemplifies what that collaboration and team work can accomplish to make our communities safer.

The apprehensions made yesterday illustrate the continued cooperation and vigilance of New Mexicos law enforcement agencies at the federal, state, and local levels, U.S. Marshal for the District of New Mexico Conrad E. Candelaria said. There is no doubt that the apprehension of these individuals will prevent further acts of criminal behavior and reduce the harm to our citizens in Southeastern New Mexico.

Summary of Federal Charges

Indictment in United States v. Daniel P. Bruton, et al., 17-CR-2690

Count 1 of the Indictment charges the ten defendants with participating in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted on this count, defendants Daniel P. Bruton, Marcos A. Martinez, Jerry. O. Twaddle, Ethen G. Watts, and Isela Hernandez each face a statutory penalty of a mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life imprisonment and a $10 million fine. If convicted, defendants Kenneth R. Dickerson, Robert C. Ponce and Erick L. Miranda-Santos each face a statutory penalty of a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years of imprisonment and a $5 million fine. If convicted, defendants Linda M. Watts and Chelcy A. Vasquez each face a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years of imprisonment and a $1 million fine.

Counts 2, 3 and 25 charge certain defendants with distributing a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. The maximum statutory penalty for a conviction on each of these counts is imprisonment for 20 years and a $1 million fine.

Counts 4 and 5 charge one of the defendants with distributing more than 50 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. The maximum statutory penalty for a conviction on each of these counts is a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years of imprisonment and a $5 million fine.

Counts 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 17, 19, 22, 24, 28, 29 and 32 charge certain defendants with using communication facilities to facilitate drug trafficking crimes. The maximum statutory penalty for a conviction on each of these counts is imprisonment for four years and a $250,000 fine.

Counts 8, 16, 18, 23, and 26 charge certain defendants with possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. The statutory penalty for a conviction on this count is a mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life imprisonment and a $10 million fine.

Counts 9 and 20 charge certain defendants with possession with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. The maximum statutory penalty for a conviction on this count is imprisonment for 20 years and a $1 million fine.

Counts 13 and 21 charge certain defendants with being felons in possession of firearms and ammunition. The maximum statutory penalty for a conviction on this count is imprisonment for ten years and a $250,000 fine.

Counts 15 and 31 charge certain defendants with possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. The statutory penalty for a conviction on this count is a mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life imprisonment and a $10 million fine.

Count 27 charges one defendant with possession of a firearm during an in relation to a drug trafficking crime. The statutory penalty for a conviction on this count is imprisonment for not less than five years, which must be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed and a $250,000 fine.

Count 30 charges certain defendants with distribution of more than 500 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. The statutory penalty for a conviction on this count is a mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life imprisonment and a $10 million fine.

Count 33 charges one defendant with attempt to possess with intent to distribute a mixture and substance of methamphetamine. The maximum statutory penalty for a conviction on this count is imprisonment for 20 years and a $1 million fine.

Count 34 charges one defendant with receiving, concealing and facilitating the transportation of four AR-15 assault rifles from the United States. The maximum statutory penalty for a conviction on this count is imprisonment for ten years and a $250,000 fine.

Charges Against Defendants

Daniel P. Bruton, 38, of Artesia, N.M., is charged in Counts 1, 6, 8-10, 12, 15 and 24-27 of the indictment. Bruton was arrested on Oct. 4, 2017.

Marcos A. Martinez, 30, of Roswell, N.M., is charged in Counts 1, 16, 22, 23, 28-30, 32 and 34 of the indictment. Martinez was arrested on Oct. 1, 2017.

Jerry O. Twaddle, 37, of Carlsbad, N.M., is charged in Counts 1, 19, 28 and 31 of the indictment. Twaddle was transferred from state custody into federal custody on Oct. 5, 2017.

Ethen G. Watts, 27, of Carlsbad, N.M., is charged in Counts 1, 2, 4-14 and 16-19 of the indictment. Ethen Watts was arrested on Oct. 4, 2017.

Kenneth R. Dickerson, 56, of Carlsbad, N.M., is charged in Counts 1, 17 and 18 of the indictment. Dickerson was arrested on Oct. 4, 2017.

Robert C. Ponce, 42, of Carlsbad, N.M., is charged in Counts 1, 11, 14, 20 and 21 of the indictment. Ponce has yet to be arrested and is considered a fugitive.

Erick L. Miranda-Santos, 21, of Artesia, N.M., is charged in Counts 1, 22 and 23 of the indictment. Miranda-Santos has yet to be arrested and considered a fugitive.

Linda M. Watts, 28, of Carlsbad, N.M., is charged in Counts 1 through 3 of the indictment. Linda Watts was arrested on Oct. 4, 2017.

Isela Hernandez, 25, of Roswell, N.M., is charged in Counts 1, 29 and 30 of the indictment. Hernandez was arrested on Oct. 4, 2017.

Chelcy A. Vasquez, 25, of Dexter, N.M., is charged in Counts 1, 32 and 33 of the indictment. Vasquez has yet to be arrested and is considered a fugitive.

Indictment in United States v. Sergio Mario Chavez, 17-CR-2691

Sergio Mario Chavez, 33, of Artesia, N.M., is charged with possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine on July 18, 2017, in Eddy County, N.M. The statutory penalty for a conviction on this count is imprisonment for is a mandatory minimum of ten years and a maximum of life imprisonment and a $10 million fine. Chavez was arrested on Oct. 4, 2017.

Indictment in United States v. Jason R. Cunningham, 17-CR-2692

Jason R. Cunningham, 37, of Carlsbad, is charged with distributing a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine on Sept. 27, 2016, in Eddy County, N.M. The maximum statutory penalty for a conviction on this count is imprisonment for 20 years and a $1 million fine. Cunningham was arrested on Oct. 4, 2017.

Indictment in United States v. Joshua A. Masters, et al., 17-CR-2693

Joshua A. Masters, 42, and Randi I. Young, 25, both of Carlsbad, N.M., are charged with distributing methamphetamine on March 8, 2017, in Eddy County, N.M. Masters also is charged with distributing methamphetamine on Jan. 26, 2017, in Eddy County, N.M. The maximum statutory penalty for a conviction on this count is imprisonment for 20 years and a $1 million fine. Masters was arrested on Oct. 4, 2017, and Young was transferred from state custody to federal custody on Oct. 5, 2017.

Indictment in United States v. Timothy G. Tanner, 17-CR-2695

Timothy G. Tanner, 28, of Carlsbad, N.M., is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and with possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number on June 2, 2016, and possession of more than five grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute on Aug. 4, 2016, in Eddy County, N.M. Tanner was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because of his prior convictions on drug trafficking and evidence tampering offenses. The maximum statutory penalty for a conviction on the firearms charges is imprisonment for ten years and a $250,000 fine. The statutory penalty for a conviction on the methamphetamine trafficking charge is imprisonment for a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 40 years and a $5 million fine. Tanner is currently in state custody and will be transferred into federal custody to face the federal charges against him.

Charges in indictments and criminal complaints are only accusations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
I wrote a Wall Street Journal column about Roman Polanski in 2009. In it, I made prominent and invidious mention of Harvey Weinstein. This is what I said about him eight years ago.

* * *

Nowadays you practically have to kill somebody to get blacklisted in Hollywood. Mere rape, by contrast, scarcely jiggles the needle of outrage. Producer Harvey Weinstein actually went so far as to describe Mr. Polanskis odious conduct as a so-called crime. The names of such noted filmmakers as [Woody] Allen, Jonathan Demme, Michael Mann, Sam Mendes, Mike Nichols, Martin Scorsese and Steven Soderbergh can be found on an international petition whose 100-plus signers demand the immediate release of Roman Polanski.

On Thursday [Weinstein] gave an interview to the Los Angeles Times that will live long in the annals of arrogance. Not only does Mr. Weinstein believe that Mr. Polanski should be set free at once, but he claims that Hollywood has the best moral compass, because it has compassion. We were the people who did the fundraising telethon for the victims of 9/11. We were there for the victims of Katrina and any world catastrophe. Thats the voice of a man who spends his days listening to toadiesand who knows nothing of the deeply felt beliefs of the ordinary people who pay their hard-earned money to see his pictures. I wonder how many of them will henceforth be inclined to steer by the compass of anyone who thinks that rape is a so-called crime.

Mr. Weinstein is, of course, a moral idiot. But why did so many of Mr. Polanskis artistic peers rush to defend him? Is it really because Chinatown is so good? Perhaps, though I suspect its at least as likely that certain of the people who signed the Free Polanski petition are also thinking of the skeletons in their own well-filled closets. Rich and famous people, after all, are accustomed to having their own way, no matter what it is or whom it hurts. (Ask David Letterman.) When one of their own gets caught in the act, their instinct is to circle the wagons.

The unseemly rapidity with which Mr. Polanskis friends lined up to support him is also a demonstration of the extent to which Hollywood is isolated from the rest of the world. Its a company town, a place where the powerful can go for months at a time without hearing anyone disagree with them about anything. It was no joke when Mel Gussow gave the title Dont Say Yes Until I Finish Talking to his 1971 biography of Darryl F. Zanuck. Anyone who lives in a tightly sealed echo chamber of self-congratulation, surrounded by yes-men who are dedicated to doing what he wants, is bound to lose touch with reality sooner or later. Can there be any doubt that this is what has happened to the signers of the Polanski petition? Like Mr. Weinstein, they sincerely believe that whatever they think, say, do or want is right. In fact, Im sure that most of them will be staggered to learn (assuming that their flunkies have the nerve to tell them) that when it comes to preying on teenage girls, most people think otherwise.

* * *

Read the whole thing here.

UPDATE: Harvey Weinstein called me up after this piece was originally published in the Journal. Instead of yelling at me, he told me how much he liked my biography of Louis Armstrong. I was astonished, politeand suspicious. I never heard from him again, nor did I want to. But having read the recent stories about him, I now realize that it was part of his modus operandi. Had my piece been more than a sideswipeor if Id had occasion to write about him againI expect he would have called a second time and dangled a quid-pro-quo bribe of some kind (i.e., offering to option one of my books). I never made that mental connection, though, until yesterday.

I guess Im just not cynical enough.
The Council reached a consensus to raise the composition threshold on companies with a turnover of up to Rs 1 crore.

The GST Council at its 22nd meet reached a consensus on increasing composition threshold on companies with a turnover of up to Rs 1 crore. Photo: PTI

New Delhi: The GST Council at its 22nd meeting held in the national capital at Vigyan Bhawan on Friday reached a consensus on increasing composition threshold on companies with a turnover of up to Rs 1 crore, said Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Y Ramakrishnudu.

The Council headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley met on Friday to review the implementation of the historic tax regime, weed out the teething troubles and make structural changes by addressing the feedback from companies.

Ramakrishnudu's announcement comes in the wake of a proposal to raise the threshold for the composition scheme from a turnover of Rs 75 lakh to a turnover of Rs 1 crore.

Composition scheme allows traders to pay a standard tax rate.

The Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister also said that the Council discussed issues faced by small traders and quarterly filing of returns for small businesses.

Relief for exporters and relaxation of norms that requires small traders to file three returns every month was also expected to be on the cards.
Indian Air Force confirmed the crash of an Mi-17 V5 helicopter in Arunachal Pradesh.

Court of Inquiry has been ordered into the crash incident. (Photo: PTI/Representational)

Tawang: Five Indian Air Force Personnel, 2 from Indian Army were killed and one was critically injured after an Air force chopper crashed in Arunachal Pradesh during a training sortie on Friday morning.

Indian Air Force confirmed the crash of an Mi-17 V5 helicopter in Arunachal Pradesh.

#UPDATE: Total 7 dead in Mi-17 V5 helicopter crash; 5 IAF crew members and two personnel of Indian Army #ArunachalPradesh: Indian Airforce  ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2017

Court of Inquiry has been ordered into the crash incident.

Quoting Indian Air Force official news agency ANI said, "Around 6 am today, an Mi-17 V5 helicopter while on an Air Maintenance mission crashed in Arunachal Pradesh. Court of Inquiry ordered."
China has started constructing a road just 10km from the location of the last conflict.

According to sources, China has been gradually increasing its troops in the Doklam Plateau which could further escalate the current situation as India has reasons to be concerned about it. (Photo: PTI/Representational)

New Delhi: China has maintained a sizeable presence of its troops near the site of the Doklam standoff and has also started building a road in the area, just 10 km from the location of the last conflict.

The Doklam Plateau is claimed by both China and Bhutan as their territory. India backs Bhutan's claim.

According to sources, China has been gradually increasing its troops in the Doklam Plateau which could further escalate the current situation as India has reasons to be concerned about it.

Thwarted in its last attempt, China has now shifted its unused road construction material North and East of the standoff site.

According to a report in NDTV, the road construction workers brought into the area are accompanied by up to 500 soldiers. There is no indication that the soldiers will be permanently based in the area - the Chinese town of Yatung.

A report in The Indian Express however, said that 1,000 Chinese troops are still present on the plateau.

An indication of tension between the two countries due to the presence of Chinese forces in the Chumbi Valley in the Doklam Plateau was also given by Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa on Thursday on the eve of Air Force Day.

"The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, their forces in Chumbi Valley are still deployed and I expect them to withdraw as their exercise in the area gets over," Dhanoa told media.

There has been territorial disputes between China and Bhutan over Doklam and India has been staunchly supporting Thimphu over the issue.

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day standoff in Doklam since June 16 after the Indian side prohibited the construction of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army. Bhutan and China have a dispute over Doklam.

The standoff ended on August 28.

Days after the standoff ended, Army Chief Bipin Rawat had said China has started "flexing its muscles" and warned that the situation in India's northern border could snowball into a larger conflict.

There are also reports that People's Liberation Army (PLA) has increased more troops on its forward post in Yatung.

Sources said though Chinese troops have been deployed in Doklam Plateau, they leave the area during winters.

But, there were indications that they may leave the area this time, they added.

(With inputs from agencies)
The defence spokesperson said that helicopter crashed around 6 am while it was on an air maintenance mission.

The crash took place when it was flying at an altitude of 17,000 feet and the crew members were preparing to drop kerosene supply to one of the forward posts in the area. (Photo: ANI)

Guwahati: At least seven defence personnel, including two army officers, were killed when a Russian made Mi-17 V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed on Friday morning near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.

The defence spokesperson said that helicopter crashed around 6 am while it was on an air maintenance mission. A court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of crash, he added.

The deceased were identified as Wing Commander Vikram Upadhyay, Squadron Leader S Tiwari, MWO AK Singh, Sergeant Gautam and Sergeant Satish Kumar of the Air Force, and Sepoy E Balaji and Sepoy HN Deka of the Army.

The crash took place when it was flying at an altitude of 17,000 feet and the crew members were preparing to drop kerosene supply to one of the forward posts in the area.

Security sources said that while jerry cans of kerosene were being offloaded, the net holding the cans got entangled in the aircrafts rear rotor. The chopper caught fire and crashed to the ground, killing all onboard. When the chopper caught fire, one of the crew members jumped out, but couldnt survive, sources added.

The bodies of seven, including the pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and two army personnel, were found at the crash site at Yangchi, 130 km from Tawang town and close to the border with China.

The defence sources pointed out that senior pilots were flying the chopper  one was a wing commander and the other was a squadron leader.

The crash has also come as shock for the defence experts, who said that Mi-17V5, supplied to India, ranks among the most technically advanced helicopters of the Mi-8/17 type, incorporating the best engineering solutions of previous generations.

Designed to transport cargo inside the cabin, the Mi-17V5 is considered to be one of the world's most advanced military transport helicopters.

It is significant that over 150 such helicopters are in service and 48 more have been requisitioned. The Mi-17 can carry a substantial payload to higher altitudes. The defence spokesperson said that only the court of inquiry can ascertain actual cause of crash and refused confirm any lapses while dropping kerosene supply.
Pallavi had gone missing while returning from a law firm at Fort in south Mumbai where she was doing her internship.

Police had found the body of a girl on the tracks between Parel and Currey Road station on Wednesday evening. (Photo: Twitter/@CAnareshdhoot)

Mumbai: 20-year-old daughter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) president Nilesh Vikamsey was found dead on railway tracks in Central Mumbai, a senior GRP official said on Thursday.

Pallavi had gone missing while returning from a law firm at Fort in south Mumbai where she was doing her internship.

She was last seen boarding a local train at CSMT station on Wednesday at around 6 pm, the official said.

When Pallavi did not return home her family members filed a missing complaint with MRA Marg police station, the official said.

Police had found the body of a girl on the tracks between Parel and Currey Road station on Wednesday evening.

It was on Thursday that Pallavi's relatives confirmed that it was her body, said a senior official.

"We found body of a woman on tracks between Parel and Currey road yesterday at around 7.30 pm. Today, her relatives confirmed her as Pallavi Vikamsey," said DCP Samadhan Pawar, spokesperson of GRP (Central Railway).

Later, the body was handed over to them after postmortem, he said.

"Prima facie it appears that the girl committed suicide," the official confirmed.

Until now, no foul play has been noticed in this case, so an accidental death case has been registered at Dadar police station, he said, adding further investigation into the matter is underway. Pallavi, a law student, was the youngest daughter of Nilesh Vikamsey.
World Bank Prez said recent slowdown was an aberration which will correct in coming months, and GDP growth will stabilise during the year.

New Delhi/Washington: The recent slowdown in India's economic growth is an "aberration" mainly due to the temporary disruptions in preparation for the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the World Bank said on Thursday, pointing out that it will get corrected in the coming months.

World Bank President Jim Yong Kim also said that the GST is going to have a hugely positive impact on the Indian economy.

"There's been a deceleration in the first quarter, but we think that's mostly due to temporary disruptions in preparation for the GST, which by the way is going to have a hugely positive impact on the economy," Kim told a group of reporters during a conference call ahead of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank at Washington.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley would be leading the Indian delegation to the annual meeting next week.

Kim was responding to questions on slowdown in India's growth in the first quarter, which the Opposition and several economists have attributed to demonetisation and the GST.

India's GDP grew 5.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis during the April-June period (Q1).

During the previous quarter (January-March) the GDP had grown by 6.1 per cent.

The GDP growth rate for the same quarter in 2016 was 7.9 per cent.

Responding to questions, the World Bank president insisted that this slowdown is temporary.

"We think that the recent slowdown is an aberration which will correct in the coming months, and the GDP growth will stabilise during the year. We've been watching carefully, as Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi has really worked on improving the business environment, and so, we think all of those efforts will pay off as well," Kim said.

Next week, both the World Bank and the IMF are expected to come out with their new GDP figures and growth projections for India and the rest of the world.

"Let me just say, as I said from the beginning. I'm not sure that I could say that any country in the world is investing enough in their human beings. I think there's no country in the world that can't improve its healthcare system.

There's no country in the world that can't improve its educational system," Kim said.

Ahead of the annual meeting, Kim said after years of disappointing growth, the global economy has begun to accelerate, and trade is picking up as well, but investment remains weak.

"We are concerned that downside risks such as a rise in protectionism, policy uncertainty, or possible financial market turbulence could derail this fragile recovery," he said.

"Countries need to continue to advance their reform agenda, they need to invest in people. They need to build resilience against overlapping challenges, including the effects of climate change, natural disasters, as well as conflict, forced displacement, famine and disease."

Responding to a question on India and human capital, Kim said Prime Minister Modi has made a huge commitment to sanitation issues, and 'Swachh Bharat' is one of the "most effective programmes" anywhere.

"I know that Prime Minister Modi himself personally is very committed to improving opportunities for all of India. But, India has a lot of challenges. We look at some of the educational outcomes, we've looked at some of the health outcomes, and India has room to improve, like most other countries," he said.

"Our job is to take the political will and commitment that Prime Minister Modi has clearly demonstrated and has communicated to everyone, and then bring to India the most effective intervention that will, as quickly as possible, improve the stock of human capital," Kim said.

That's the message for every country in the world, he said.

"The Bank stands ready, with lots of new insights on how to improve health outcomes and improve education outcomes to help every country in the world with financing, with technical knowledge, and with direct support around implementation that will lead to a situation where we can talk about an emerging equality of opportunity, which has got to be the central focus of all this work," he said.

Kim said investing in people drives economic growth. But far too many leaders undervalue the contribution of human capital which one builds through effective investments in people through health care, quality education, jobs and skills.

"Human capital is the key to reducing poverty and to reducing inequality," he said.

This year, the Bank is producing a new report in a series on 'The Changing Wealth of Nations'.

For the first time, it has added human capital to its wealth analysis, in addition to produced capital, things like machinery and buildings, natural capital, energy, forests, agricultural lands, and net foreign assets, he said.
Will the Prime Minister again call the Chinese Premier to Sabarmati and swing with him and have a good sleep? he added.

Lucknow: The Congress on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tell the country what was happening at Dokalam and about his policy on the issue with Rahul Gandhi taking a swipe at him demanding an explanation on road construction by China if he was done with chest thumping.

The comments came a day after reports claimed China maintained a sizeable presence of troops near the site of the Dokalam standoff with India and had started widening a road, around 12 km from the area of conflict.

Modiji, once youre done thumping your chest, could you please explain this? Mr Gandhi tweeted, tagging a news report.

Echoing the stand of the Congress vice-president, the party said that what was the discussion which the Prime Minister had with the Chinese Premier during the Brics meeting. At the AICC briefing, Mr Sibal said, Your (Modis) meeting was good, but what was the result of it and what is happening about it. Please tell the country as to what is happening at the border, especially along the Dokalam plateau.

Will the Prime Minister again call the Chinese Premier to Sabarmati and swing with him and have a good sleep? he added.

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day standoff in Dokalam that began from June 16 over road construction activity at the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction. The tension eased after talks between top officials of both the countries.

The Congress, in an article put out on its website, also said that the fresh Dokalam development underscores that deft diplomacy was not practised and requires an explanation from the government.

The article said the news that China has stationed over 1,500 troops in close proximity to the standoff zone makes warnings given out by Congress leaders earlier sound prophetic.

Newspaper reports said that the Chinese Army had begun constructing a road about 10 km from the point of stand-off, with more of its troops standing guard. Indian and Chinese troops were in a standoff situation on the Doklam plateau for over two months since June.

The Indian Army later crossed the Sikkim border to stop the construction work. While India and Bhutan maintained that it violated the status quo in the tri-junction, Beijing claimed that it was Chinese territory. Around 1,000 Chinese troops are still present on the plateau, which is approximately 800 metres from the faceoff site. Earlier, before returning to Delhi, Mr Gandhi interacted with party workers and the local people in Amethi.
He did it as part of a religious practice and complained that his vision was deteriorating for the past few months.

Doctors said recovery may take a year depending on the damage to the retina (Photo: Pixabay)

While every religion has different rituals and practices, there are some which may not be recommended when it comes to personal health. India has witnessed cases like a child dying while fasting and superstition coming in the way of effective diagnosis.

A man from New Delhi approached doctors as he developed yellow dots in both of his eyes after looking straight at the sun for 10 minutes every day. The man who did it for 35 years as a religious practice complained that his vision has become blurry for the past few months.

Doctors diagnosed the 62-year-old with solar retinopathy. Doctors said that the condition is usually caused by watching a solar eclipse but the practice of sun gazing can also lead to the disorder.

It was initially thought that the persons high blood pressure was responsible for the worsening vision. But doctors discovered the real problem when he shared his history of religious practices involving looking at the sun.

Recovery from the problem can take around 12 months depending on the kind of damage that has been caused to the retina.
Accurate threat intelligence relies on identifying the patterns and tools that signpost a particular threat actor.

Kaspersky Lab believes that such attacks are likely to be implemented mainly by nation-state backed groups, targeting foreign or less competent actors. It is important that IT security researchers learn how to spot and interpret the signs of these attacks, so that they can present their intelligence in context.

Sophisticated threat actors are actively hacking other attack groups in order to steal victim data, borrow tools and techniques and re-use each others infrastructure  making accurate threat intelligence ever harder for security researchers, according to Kaspersky Labs Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT).

Accurate threat intelligence relies on identifying the patterns and tools that signpost a particular threat actor. Such knowledge allows researchers to better map different attackers goals, targets and behaviors, and to help organizations determine their level of risk. When threat actors start hacking each other and taking over tools, infrastructure and even victims, this model quickly starts to break down.

Kaspersky Lab believes that such attacks are likely to be implemented mainly by nation-state backed groups, targeting foreign or less competent actors. It is important that IT security researchers learn how to spot and interpret the signs of these attacks, so that they can present their intelligence in context.

In a detailed review of the opportunities for such attacks, GReAT researchers identified two main approaches: passive and active. Passive attacks involve intercepting other groups data in transit, for example as it moves between victims and command and control servers  and are almost impossible to detect. The active approach involves infiltrating another threat actors malicious infrastructure.

There is a greater risk of detection in the active approach, but it also offers more benefits as it allows the attacker to extract information on a regular basis, monitor its target and their victims, and potentially even insert its own implants or mount attacks in the name of its victim. The success of active attacks relies heavily on the target making mistakes in operational security.

GReAT has encountered a number of strange and unexpected artefacts while investigating specific threat actors that suggest such active attacks are already happening in-the- wild.

Examples include:

1. Backdoors installed in another entitys command-and- control (C&C) infrastructure Installing a backdoor in a hacked network allows attackers to establish persistence inside the operations of another group. Kaspersky Lab researchers have found what appear to be two in-the- wild examples of such backdoors.

One of these was found in 2013, while analyzing a server used by NetTraveler, a Chinese-language campaign targeting activists and organizations in Asia. The second one was found in 2014, while investigating a hacked website used by Crouching Yeti (also known as Energetic Bear), a Russian-language threat actor targeting the industrial sector since 2010. The researchers noticed that, for a brief period of time, the panel managing the C&C network was modified with a tag that pointed to a remote IP in China (likely a false flag). The researchers believe this was also a backdoor belonging to another group, although there are no indicators as to who this might be.

2. Sharing hacked websites

In 2016, Kaspersky Lab researchers found that a website compromised by the Korean-language DarkHotel also hosted exploit scripts for another targeted attacker, which the team called ScarCruft, a group targeting mainly Russian-, Chinese- and South Korean-organizations. The DarkHotel operation dates from April 2016, while the ScarCruft attacks were implemented a month later, suggesting that ScarCruft may have observed the DarkHotel attacks before launching its own.

3. Targeting-by- proxy

Infiltrating a group with an established stake in a certain region or industry sector enables an attacker to reduce costs and improve targeting, benefiting from the specialist expertise of its victim.

Some threat actors share rather than steal victims. This is a risky approach if one of the groups is less advanced and gets caught, as the inevitable forensic analysis that follows will also reveal the other intruders. In November 2014, Kaspersky Lab reported that a server belonging to a research institution in the Middle East, known as the Magnet of Threats, simultaneously hosted implants for the highly sophisticated threat actors Regin and Equation Group (English-language), Turla and ItaDuke (Russian-language), as well as Animal Farm (French-language) and Careto (Spanish). In fact, this server was the starting point for the discovery of the Equation Group.
A suicide bomber detonated explosives outside the mausoleum of the Sufi "saint" Pir Rakhel Shah. There are also 24 injured. Among the victims, the security guard who prevented the kamikaze from entering the temple crowded with the faithful.

Quetta (AsiaNews / Agencies) - At least 20 people died, and another 24 were injured, in the Kamikaze attack that last night devastated the entrance of Sufi Pir Rakhel Shah mausoleum, in Jhal Magsi district, Pakistani province of Balochistan.

Mohammad Iqbal, district police officer, reports that the attacker, armed with an explosive belt, detonated his bomb when a security guard attempted to prevent him from entering the sanctuary. The attack has already been claimed by the Islamic State on Amaq, the propaganda site of the Caliphate militants, who exulted the "martyrdom operation."

Yesterday the mausoleum was crowded with hundreds of faithful gathered together to commemorate the anniversary of their sufi "saint". According to testimonies collected by the police, the attendant waited for the end of the evening prayer and struck while performing the dhamaal, a ritual of music and dance typical of Sufi traditions.

Sarfaraz Bugti, Minister of Interior of Balochistan, said that only the timely intervention of the security guard, among the victims of the explosion, avoided a heavier toll. "If the attacker - he said - had managed to enter the dargah (mausoleum), it would have been a massacre."

Yesterday's was the second assault on a Sufi worship site in 2017. Earlier, in February, an attack on the Sufi sanctuary of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan City caused more than 80 deaths and 250 wounded. Sufism is a current of moderate Islam and involves mystical and liberating practices (such as music and dance). Such practices are ostracized by extremists, who regard them as heretical and an insult to Islam.
by Nirmala Carvalho

Dilip Ekka heads St Josephs School. Nationalists want to undermine Indias Catholic educational system. For Sajan K George, Christians have "been targeted by extremist groups because they work for tribal development.

Ranchi (AsiaNews)  Some members of the extremist Hindu Mahasabha, an old right-wing nationalist party, and the Bajrang Dal, the youth wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad, have filed a complaint against the head of a Catholic school.

According to the plaintiffs, Dilip Ekka, headmaster of St Joseph's School in Latehar, Jharkhand, is boycotting local Hindu shops, preventing people from buying the products they sell. The Catholic man has rejected all the charges.

Speaking to AsiaNews, Fr Michael Kerketta SJ, a Jesuit theologian and professor of systematic theology at Ranchi, said that nationalists are attacking the school headmaster in order to undermine Indias Catholic schools.

"These are all false allegations, he said, made for propaganda purpose. These people want to sow divisions. The school the headmaster heads provides quality education to everyone, regardless of caste and belief, and it especially open to tribal students."

Police are currently looking into the matter, but thus far, they have not seen anything that can be pinned on the headmaster.

"For now, there are just suppositions, said Mahuadand Deputy Police Superintendent O P Tiwari. The two communities have always lived in peace in this area. If necessary, we shall invite the parties to a meeting to clarify any misunderstanding."

Mahuadand District, where members of the two radical nationalist groups filed their complaint, has a large Christian population. According to the 2011 census data, Christians represent 44.69 per cent of the residents against 20.79 per cent for Hindus.

For Sajan K George, president of the Global Council of Indian Christians (GCIC), there is another relevant aspect, namely the great work by Catholic schools, and more generally by Christians, in favour of tribal groups. This may bother majority Hindus.

In recent weeks, "Jharkhand has been targeted by extremist groups, who want to undermine intercommunal harmony and divide Tribals by seizing their lands."

Ranchi Archbishop Telesphore Toppo has spoken out on behalf of local ethnic groups, leading some Hindu radicals to retaliate by handing out photos showing him burnt in effigy.

Tribals have always been exploited and excluded by the Hindu majority, which now also wants to bring them back to their [Hindu] origins through the anti-conversion law, but Tribals have never been Hindus, explained the GCIC president.

Catholic schools are an issue because "they are located in tribal areas and provide a good education. By contrast, tribal educational underdevelopment is very convenient for the Brahmin mind-set, which is to keep Tribals within the oppressive [hierarchical] structure."
First, historic visit by a Saudi monarch to Russia. At the center, a $ 3 billion deal for arms sales, including an advanced air defence system. Added to this are investments in the energy sector for one billion. The common goal of stabilizing the oil market.

Moscow (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Energy, trade, but especially weapons and military technology including an air defence system - are at the heart of the agreement between Moscow and Riyadh, in the context of the first official voyage of a Saudi-historical monarch  historical US ally  to Russia. Analysts and experts say the total value of arms sales is around $ 3 billion. Investment in energy - a key sector for the kingdom, which under the "Vision 2030" reform plan intends to get rid of oil - have reached one billion.

King Salman - accompanied by a delegation of 1000 people - made an official visit to Russia, where he met with President Vladimir Putin. The monarch has dealt with the issue of oil prices, ensuring the country's cooperation in a "stabilization" of the markets.

The two leaders also addressed issues around which there are different positions, in particular the Syrian conflict in which Moscow is the main Damascus ally, while Riyadh is close to anti-Assad opposition movements (and jihadist groups). Putin spoke of a historic meeting, which will help to strengthen ties between the two nations.

Observers' attention is, however, focused on the intensification of trade between the two countries on military technology and armaments. A breakthrough, just a few months after Donald Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia, during which Washington and Riyadh signed milestone agreements in industry and renewed a strong partnership after the frosty times of Barack Obama's presidency.

Saudi Arabia has signed preliminary agreements for the purchase of the S-400 air defense system and "advanced technologies" of Russian production. Added to this are Kornet anti-cargo missiles and last generation rocket launchers. Riyadh's interest in military technology, American or Russian, confirms once more that the Middle East is the center of world trade in arms.

In a note Saudi Arabian Military Industries emphasized that this agreement will play a "fundamental role" in the growth and development of the country's military potential. "The memorandum of understanding - adds the note - includes the transfer of technology to local production."

The two countries have also reached an agreement for the production in Saudi Arabia of the Kalashnikov and its ammunition. Additionally, training and education programs are being promoted by Russians in Saudi Arabia, aimed at "creating hundreds of jobs".
Myanmar authorities want to join Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to make the country an important hub connecting Southeast Asia and South Asia. Some US$ 10 billion are earmarked for conflict-torn Rakhine.

Yangon (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Myanmar is looking at ways to complement schemes like Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in order to develop its infrastructure.

Construction Minister U Win Khaing yesterday told the ASEAN and Asia Forum in Singapore that his country needed to improve its infrastructure quickly to cope with the mass internal migration to its cities.

The government said that it was in contact with various potential partners, including China and Japan, in order to promote Myanmar as a hub to connect Southeast Asia and South Asia, the minister said.

The BRI blueprint is Chinas ambitious push to revive trade along ancient routes through Asia to Africa and Europe.

Beijing has pledged massive investment in Myanmar, including commitments to build roads, railways, ports, and oil pipelines.

About US$ 10 billion in Chinese investment has been earmarked for a deep seaport, a trading estate and a special economic zone in Kyaukphyu in Rakhine, as well as other infrastructure projects in the remote western state affected by a major humanitarian crisis.

In 2013, China and Myanmar agreed to a joint venture in a 17 sq. km area for an industrial and infrastructure base serving the two countries.

Private firms are also involved in the plan. A China-led consortium is behind a US$ 7.3 billion deep-water port development and a US$ 2.45 billion oil and gas pipeline.

Earlier this year, work on the Chinese-financed US$ 3.6 billion Myitsone Dam was suspended amid protests over environmental concerns. It would have become the first dam to cross the Irrawaddy River, the mythic cradle of the Burmese civilisation.
The author was born in Nagasaki in 1954 and then moved to Britain where he read English and philosophy and later studied creative writing. The Swedish Academy noted recurring themes in his novels: memory, time, and self-delusion. The Japanese press stressed his Britishness. The author defines himself as a funny homogeneous mixture of Japanese and British culture.

Stockholm (AsiaNews/Agencies)  Japanese-born British author, Kazuo Ishiguro, 62, won 2017the Nobel Prize for Literature. In its motivations, the Swedish Academy said in his novels of great emotional force, [Ishiguro ] has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world.

His bio-bibliographic notes point out that the themes most associated with his work are memory, time, and self-delusion, especially his first books, set in Nagasaki shortly after the bomb.

Ishiguro, who inked eight books as well as scripts for film and television, told the BBC after the award, that it was "a magnificent honour" and flabbergastingly flattering.

The world is in a very uncertain moment and I would hope all the Nobel Prizes would be a force for something positive in the world as it is at the moment, he added.

Born in Nagasaki in 1954, Ishiguro immigrated with his family to the United Kingdom when he was five years old after his father, an oceanographer, was invited to work at the British National Institute for Oceanography. He read English and philosophy at Kent University, then went on to study creative writing at the University of East Anglia. He returned to Japan only as an adult.

In their news reports, Japanese papers strongly stressed the authors Britishness. In a 1989 interview with BOMB Magazine, he was asked him how much he was Japanese and how much the British responded.

People are not two-thirds one thing and the remainder something else, he said. Temperament, personality, or outlook dont divide quite like that. The bits dont separate clearly. You end up a funny homogeneous mixture. This is something that will become more common in the latter part of the centurypeople with mixed cultural backgrounds, and mixed racial backgrounds. Thats the way the world is going.
The "serious phenomena" online that primarily affects children, from pornography to live-online rape and violence. Do not underestimate the problem, do not rely solely on automatic technical solutions, such as filters built on more sophisticated algorithms, do not ideologize the freedom of the network. The Rome Declaration.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The digital world has "beautiful potential", but within it are also "serious phenomena" that affect primarily children and stop what they serve, but technical solutions such as filters are not enough. Instead, there is a "mobilization" made of awareness of the severity of problems, laws, technology control, helping children and families, creativity in education, so as to develop sensitivity and moral formation of the young. The theme of the protection of young people in the digital age was addressed today by Pope Francis as he received the participants at the first "Child Dignity in the Digital World" Conference promoted and organized by the Center for Child Protection at the Gregorian Pontifical University.

With the current development of the digital world, the Pope observed, on the one hand, "we are filled with real wonder and admiration at the new and impressive horizons opening up before us, on the other, we can sense a certain concern and even apprehension when we consider how quickly this development has taken place, the new and unforeseen problems it sets before us, and the negative consequences it entails. Those consequences are seldom willed, and yet are quite real. We rightly wonder if we are capable of guiding the processes we ourselves have set in motion, whether they might be escaping our grasp, and whether we are doing enough to keep them in check ".

"We know," he said, "that minors are presently more than a quarter of the over 3 billion users of the internet; this means that over 800 million minors are navigating the internet. We know that within two years, in India alone, over 500 million persons will have access to the internet, and that half of these will be minors. What do they find on the net? And how are they regarded by those who exercise various kinds of influence over the net? We have to keep our eyes open and not hide from an unpleasant truth that we would rather not see. For that matter, surely we have realized sufficiently in recent years that concealing the reality of sexual abuse is a grave error and the source of many other evils? So let us face reality, as you have done in these days. We encounter extremely troubling things on the net, including the spread of ever more extreme pornography, since habitual use raises the threshold of stimulation; the increasing phenomenon of sextingbetween young men and women who use the social media; and the growth of online bullying, a true form of moral and physical attack on the dignity of other young people. To this can be added sextortion; the solicitation of minors for sexual purposes, now widely reported in the news; to say nothing of the grave and appalling crimes of online trafficking in persons, prostitution, and even the commissioning and live viewing of acts of rape and violence against minors in other parts of the world. The net has its dark side (the dark net), where evil finds ever new, effective and pervasive ways to act and to expand. The spread of printed pornography in the past was a relatively small phenomenon compared to the proliferation of pornography on the net.

A network that is global, crosses every border and is capable of reaching anyone, including children. " As a result, today no one in the world, or any single national authority, feels capable of monitoring and adequately controlling the extent and the growth of these phenomena, themselves interconnected and linked to other grave problems associated with the net, such as illicit trafficking, economic and financial crimes, and international terrorism."

"But we must not let ourselves be overcome by fear, which is always a poor counsellor. Nor let ourselves be paralyzed by the sense of powerlessness that overwhelms us before the difficulty of the task before us. Rather, we are called to join forces, realizing that we need one another in order to seek and find the right means and approaches needed for effective responses. "

Three mistakes to avoid

In order for this mobilization to be effective, Francis indicated three mistakes to avoid:

The first is to underestimate the profound impact of violent and sexual images on the impressionable minds of children "and that produce psychological disorders," psychological problems that emerge as they grow older, the dependent behaviours and situations, and genuine enslavement.

Without concealing that these images create problems even in adults. " We would be seriously deluding ourselves were we to think that a society where an abnormal consumption of internet sex is rampant among adults could be capable of effectively protecting minors.

The second mistaken approach would be to think that automatic technical solutions, filters devised by ever more refined algorithms in order to identify and block the spread of abusive and harmful images, are sufficient to deal with these problems. Certainly, such measures are necessary. Certainly, businesses that provide millions of people with social media and increasingly powerful, speedy and pervasive software should invest in this area a fair portion of their great profits. But there is also an urgent need, as part of the process of technological growth itself, for all those involved to acknowledge and address the ethical concerns that this growth raises, in all its breadth and its various consequences.

Here we find ourselves having to reckon with a third potentially mistaken approach, which consists in an ideological and mythical vision of the net as a realm of unlimited freedom. Quite rightly, your meeting includes representatives of lawmakers and law enforcement agencies whose task is to provide for and to protect the common good and the good of individual persons. The net has opened a vast new forum for free expression and the exchange of ideas and information. This is certainly beneficial, but, as we have seen, it has also offered new means for engaging in heinous illicit activities, and, in the area with which we are concerned, for the abuse of minors and offences against their dignity, for the corruption of their minds and violence against their bodies. This has nothing to do with the exercise of freedom; it has to do with crimes that need to be fought with intelligence and determination, through a broader cooperation among governments and law enforcement agencies on the global level, even as the net itself is now global.

These include raising awareness of the gravity of the problems, enacting suitable legislation, overseeing developments in technology, identifying victims and prosecuting those guilty of crimes. They include assisting minors who have been affected and providing for their rehabilitation, assisting educators and families, and finding creative ways of training young people in the proper use of the internet in ways healthy for themselves and for other minors. They also include fostering greater sensitivity and providing moral formation, as well as continuing scientific research in all the fields associated with this challenge.

The Rome Declaration.

For her part, the Pope said, the Catholic Church offers "its willingness and commitment As all of us know, in recent years the Church has come to acknowledge her own failures in providing for the protection of children: extremely grave facts have come to light, for which we have to accept our responsibility before God, before the victims and before public opinion. For this very reason, as a result of these painful experiences and the skills gained in the process of conversion and purification, the Church today feels especially bound to work strenuously and with foresight for the protection of minors and their dignity, not only within her own ranks, but in society as a whole and throughout the world. She does not attempt to do this alone  for that is clearly not enough  but by offering her own effective and ready cooperation to all those individuals and groups in society that are committed to the same end. "

During the meeting Francis was given the Rome Declaration, approved during the conference. It contains an appeal "to all, to stand up to defend the dignity of children".

The text, in 13 articles, addresses " world leaders to undertake a global awareness campaign to educate and inform the people of the world about the severity and extent of the abuse and exploitation of the worlds children, and to urge them to demand action from national leaders. " Equally strong is the appeal to "leaders of the worlds great religions to inform and mobilize members of every faith to join in a global movement to protect the worlds children."

The Rome Declaration therefore called for "parliaments all over the world" to take action to improve "legislation for more effective protection of minors" and demand " eaders of technology companies to commit to the development and implementation of new tools and technologies to attack the proliferation of sex abuse images on the Internet, and to interdict the redistribution of the images of identified child victims. "
Shame "opens the door to healing". And when the Lord sees us so, ashamed of what we have done, and humbly ask for forgiveness, He is the omnipotent: He erases, embraces us, cares for us, and forgives us.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Shame for sins committed "is a grace", because it opens the way to the forgiveness of God said Pope Francis at Mass this morning at Casa Santa Marta. He was commenting on the first reading from Prophet Baruch who said, "Justice is with the Lord, our God; and we today are flushed with shame.

"Priests, king, leaders and fathers, all of us are sinners, the Pope said citing Baruch.  We are sinners because God has asked to do one thing and we have done the contrary. He has talked to parents, the family, the catechist, in the church, in the sermons, and he has spoken to us in our hearts.

The Pope explained that sin is a rebellion, an obstinacy that consists in giving into the "perverse inclinations of our heart" in "small idolatries of every day" such as cupidity, envy, hate, and especially slander, which he described as a "war of the heart destroying the other." According to Baruch, it is because of sin that there are so many evils. Sin, the Pope said, ruins the heart, life and the soul by weakening and making it ill. Sin is always in relationship to God.

Sin, the Pope further explained, is not like a stain that one gets rid of at the dry cleaners. It is an ugly rebellion against God who is all good. If one regards sin this way, then instead of getting into a depression if one has the great sentiment of shame, it is the grace of God , according to Baruch the Pope said. It is shame that "opens the door to healing", the Holy Father said, and invited all to feel ashamed before the Lord for our sins and ask for healing. And when the almighty Lord sees us ashamed of what we have done, and we humbly ask pardon, He embraces and forgives us. The Pope urged all to be grateful to the Lord for manifesting His might in His mercy and forgiveness.
The Seoul Unification Ministry has asked North Korea not to violate South Korean property rights. In 2004, 124 Korean companies invested in clothing and utensils production facilities, with 54,000 Northern workers. The collaboration is worth over 500 million dollars a year to Pyongyang.

Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - North Korea is intent on re-opening and re-operating Kaesong's inter-industrial complex, which has been shut down since 2016.

In February 2016, the South closed the complex in response to Norths missile launches and the fourth nuclear test. The propaganda site Uriminzokkiri said that the industrial zone is located within the territory under the sovereignty of North Korea and other nations [without naming South Korea] should not interfere with the issue.

Uriminzokkiri adds that the manufacturing industries present there will be used even more actively. This means that Pyongyang will begin using kaesong production facilities, which are owned by South Korean companies.

Already in recent days rumours circulated that North Korea was using clothes packing facilities in Kaesong.

Opened in 2004, the Kaesong industrial area hosted 124 South Korean companies, with 54,000 Northern workers in clothing and utensils production. South Korean investments and salaries paid to North Korean workers made up a substantial foreign currency reserve package for Pyongyang: over US $ 500 million a year.

Last year, North Korea said it would freeze all South Korean property in the industrial area. The Seoul Unification Ministry said Pyongyang should guard against taking over other people's property flouting the ownership rights of South Korean companies.

According to analysts, the increasingly warlike attitudes of the North show a desperate attempt by Pyongyang to remain an important interlocutor on the peninsula, having lost China's support and underwritten the isolation of the international community.
by Vladimir Rozanskij

The famous icon of the Angel with the Golden Hair will be moved to a chapel used as a museum, accessible only to government officials and their guests. Like in Soviet times, the icons saved from destruction, can be admired by foreign leaders and delegations, not by the faithful.

Moscow (AsiaNews)  One of Russias most famous and beloved icons, the ancient icon of the Angel with the Golden Hair, may no longer be on display at the Russian Museum where it is presently kept. Some reports indicate that Sergei Shmakin (picture 2), a businessman and sub-deacon, plans to move it with the blessing of Kirill (Gundyayev), the Patriarch of Moscow. The rather surprising news has sparked discussions in Russia about the country's cultural and religious heritage.

Pictures for sale

Russias ancient icons, known and revered all over the world, are not only valuable relics of Christian faith and Orthodox Christian tradition, but also represent a very significant part in the recent history in state-Church relations, and between Russian society and its cultural identity.

As it is widely known, the Church endured terrible persecution, arrests and killings, including confiscations and looting during the Soviet era. Persecution began with the decree of confiscation of Church properties of 23 February 1922, shortly after the end of the civil war that had caused a great famine throughout Russia. Lenin and Trotsky gave the latter as justification to go after the Church , whilst preserving formal respect for religious freedom. When the Church refused to hand over its golden items and sacred vessels, dresses and icons, the Bolsheviks took the opportunity to accuse the Church of further starving the already hard-pressed people, and to turn against it at a time when people were already enraged by the war between the Reds and the Whites, which lasted for five years after the revolution. The Vatican, in an attempt to save the situation, even proposed to ransom all the Church's valuables in Russia, both Catholic and Orthodox, by raising funds around the world.

After the plundering and the mass arrests of priests and bishops came the closure and often destruction of Church buildings, with the loss of many treasures of artistic and spiritual value, up to the spectacular demolitions under Stalin, who had the great cathedral of Christ the Saviour next to the Kremlin levelled. Only after the collapse of communism was it rebuilt.

The sacrilegious fury of Russias Communists failed to turn against the icons. Books and all kinds of material were burnt, but not the sacred pictures, which were almost left untouched. According to the Orthodox tradition in general and Russias in particular, devotion to the images has very deep and symbolic roots. Icons are a window on the infinite and a sign of the deitys presence among people, so that even the most hateful atheists, even just out of superstition, dared not desecrate them.

Museums and commerce

Many icons were stolen, hidden by the faithful or by the persecutors themselves, for no other reason as to sell them in the underground market. Even today, antique dealers around the world sell old, more or less authentic Russian icons. Many others have been confiscated and buried in inaccessible warehouses, to avoid at least public veneration.

Over time, however, the Soviets began to yield to the charm of sacred images, and began to set up special showrooms in various museums, not open to ordinary citizens, but only to party officials and their guests, foreign delegations for example, to whom they proudly showed that they had preserved religious monuments. The museums with the most famous icons were the Tretyakov Gallery, with the works of Andrei Rublev, the Museum of Novgorod the Great, and the Russian Museum of St Petersburg, from which the Angel with the Golden Hair is about to disappear.

The Angel with the Golden Hair and Rus

The precious angelic icon, symbol of the Russian Museum since 1934, when it was miraculously found, would not be the first to be removed from the public. Shmakin himself was involved a few years ago with the removal from the museum of the Icon of the Mother of God Hodegetria, called Toropetskaya, dating back to the 13th century.

On that occasion, the businessman-cum-subdeacon worked out a deal with Patriarch Kirill, getting the icon "temporarily" for the opening of a new church in a new prestigious real estate development. The luxury homes in the exclusive village have long been handed over to their owners, but the church has not been built and the icon is rotting away in some warehouse with the danger that it might be permanently damaged (icons are painted on wood and need to breathe and be closely protected).

The icon of the Angel, which shows off the face of the Archangel Gabriel, is considered even older. It is attributed to Simon Ushakov, iconographer of the first Novgorod school of the 12th century, at the dawn of Christian history of ancient Rus. It is not only a museum asset but also an icon on which the identity and origins of the Russian Orthodox faith is based. Its preservation requires even greater care, because of its age and the particular technique of painting. Each of the Angel's hair is made with a single golden thread.

Shmakin's plan calls for moving the icon by only 200 meters, from the Museum to the ancient imperial chapel in the Mikhaylovsky Palace, where no liturgical ceremony is celebrated, since it is only museum. The icon would then be admired only by officials and their guests, like in Soviet times. A similar solution was adopted years ago by the leaders of the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, who moved Our Lady of Tenderness of Vladimir to the palatine chapel. In this case however, the choice was justified by the throngs of devotees gathering in front of the icon in prayer, and the church inside the Tretyakov Palace is still accessible to all visitors, who are officially invited to stand in devotional silence in front of the Mother of Russias faith.

The goal behind the initiative of taking icons out of museums is to bring them back into churches, but in fact they have usually ended up being used to the glorify Russias new rulers and exalt their sacredness and closeness with heavenly thrones and dominations.
by Kamran Chaudhry

The Rawadari Tehreek group condemns the attack on the Pir Rakhel Shah shrine, in Balochistan. Radicals are against dhamal, the whirling dance, because it provides an emotional outlet. For Sufi poet, terrorism poses greater challenges to activists who cure the evils of society.

Lahore (AsiaNews)  Christian activists and well-known Pakistani Sufi artists have condemned the attack against the Pir Rakesh Shah Sufi mausoleum, in Jhal Magsi, Balochistan province, which was claimed by the Islamic State group. The latest death toll stands at 31.

"Shrines are targeted because of popular dances and music, said Samson Salamat, head of Rawadari Tehreek (Movement for Tolerance), who spoke to AsiaNews about the attack.

Sufism is a moderate trend within Islam that includes mystical practices (like music and dance). However, the latter are ostracised by extremists, who regard Sufis as heretics and an insult to Islam.

The "dhamal (ritual whirling) is performed by both men and women. It is popular with drums and allows performers to find an emotional outlet. Terrorists want to end this tradition.

However, dhamal does not harm anyone and does not violate any human rights, Salamat said. It combines pleasure and devotion. Such attacks undermine religious freedom."

Yesterdays attack is the second this year. In February another Islamic State militant blew himself up at the Sufi shrine in Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, in the city of Sehwan, Sindh.

Three days after that attack, Rawadari Tehreek activists performed the famous dance at the shrine to protest against the murder of 85 innocent people. "We did it to challenge the terrorists," Salamat said.

"The philosophy of Sufism preaches love, harmony between religions, and sense of humanity, said Baba Najmi, a Punjabi Sufi poet who has performed for the past 40 years.

Killing innocent people is inhuman. We cant do anything, he lamented. Only a change of heart can stop these terrorists who have lost touch with the earth, country, and religion."

For Sufism, "Everyone deserves to be loved and cared for without distinction of belief. The government has its responsibilities. The current wave of terrorism poses greater challenges to activists who cure the evils of society. Our poetry bears witness to that mission."
by Thanh Thuy

The two are committed to Vietnamese immigrants in Japan. Commissions from the two Bishops Conferences are set to work together against exploitation.

Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews)  The Catholic Church of Vietnam and Japan are working closely together on various topics, but the main focus remains pastoral care, immigration, and evangelisation.

Since 1979, some 200,000 Vietnamese have immigrated to Japan. Many of them are Catholic with specific needs related to their religion.

According to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan (CBCJ), the country is home to about 450,000 Catholics, or 0.37 per cent out of a population of 120 million people. There are 1,800 priests (including 519 foreigners) who serve sixteen dioceses in three archdioceses: Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagasaki.

In 2002, Vietnamese Card Gioan Baotixita Pham Minh Man launched a programme for consecrated vocations to proclaim the Gospel in Japan, under Mgr Phaolo Bui Van oc, archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City.

This year, the CBCJ released its pastoral orientation, centred on Toward the Kingdom of God and Reaching out to the Countrys Border.

In it, the Bishops Conference calls on dioceses and parishes to work with the Commission for Immigrants, Refugees and Residents in Japan (J-CaRM) to help foreign Catholics to participate actively in the sacraments and be educated in the faith in their own language.

This also entails promoting integration by translating pastoral information and setting up diocesan counselling offices on social issues.

On 24 September, the bishops organised the Day of Migration and Refugees to raise awareness among Catholics about the presence and needs of immigrants.

For the occasion, Mgr Giuse o Manh Hung, president of the Commission for the pastoral care of migrants of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Vietnam (CBCV), led a delegation from 23 to 28 September to work with J-CaRM in Japan.

The two commissions looked at the situation of Vietnamese immigrants in Japan. The Japanese hosts reported that 88,000 of them are in the country for vocational training. This figure does not include students who have come for university level studies.

At the same time, the Church is concerned about the rising number of cases of exploitation and sexual abuse of immigrants.

For this reason, the two commissions decided to set up a support group that includes Vietnamese priests. Japanese bishops will provide two pastoral centres in Tokyo and Osaka.

Social and legal aid workers have also set up programmes and mobilised government authorities to protect migrants from labour exploitation.
Photo of SURUS courtesy of GM.

General Motors has developed a medium-duty chassis cab truck powered by a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain for commercial buyers that the company is also pitching to the U.S. military, the company announced.

GM will show the truck, which is known as the Silent Utility Rover Universal Superstructure (SURUS), at the fall meeting of the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) from Oct. 9 to 11.

The truck uses GM's Hydrotec fuel cell system and offers autonomous capability, according to GM. It has been developed to handle large payloads over longer distances. The vehicle is a hydrogen-electric hybrid using GM's second-generation fuel cell system, two electric drive units, and lithium-ion battery pack that enables more than 400 miles of range.

Commerical applications include use as a utility truck, mobile and emergency backup power generation, flexible cargo delivery systems, commercial freight, and medium-duty uses.

The vehicle also uses four-wheel steering, advanced propulsion power electronics, GM truck chassis components, and an advanced suspension.

The SURUS commercial platform was developed with the help of research from GM's joint testing project with the U.S. Army of its hydrogen-powered Chevrolet Colorado ZH2.

GM will continue testing the SURUS truck through the spring of 2018.
Photo via EveryCarListed/Flickr.

The average fuel economy of new vehicles sold in September remained unchanged from August at 25.3 mpg, according to Brandon Schoettle and Michael Sivak, researchers from the University of Michigan's Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).

September is up 5.2 mpg since October of 2007 (the first month of monitoring), but still down 0.2 mpg from the peak of 25.5 mpg reached in August of 2014.

The average fuel economy for model year 2017 vehicles (sold October 2016 through September 2017) was 25.2 mpg, which increased from 25.1 mpg for each of the preceding three model years.

The University of Michigan Eco-Driving Index (EDI)  an index that estimates the average monthly emissions of greenhouse gases generated by an individual U.S. driver  improved to 0.81 in July, which was down from 0.83 in June.

The EDI indicates that the average new-vehicle driver produced 19% lower emissions in July than in October of 2007, but 3% higher emissions than the record low reached in November of 2013.
The death toll of those from Kern County who died in a mass shooting in Las Vegas Sunday climbed to four after a substitute teacher from Taft 
Joseph Luiz can be reached at 395-7368 or by email at jlui@bakersfield.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @JLuiz_TBC.
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
Moon, Planets Put on a Show Above Oregon, the Coast Tonight and This Week

Published 10/05/2017 at 6:37 PM PDT - Updated 10/05/2017 at 7:00 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff





(Oregon Coast) - Right now the full moon is extra stunning on these early fall nights, which still fit into the Second Summer phenomenon on the Oregon coast  or Indian summer if you're inland in places like Portland or Eugene. It's a time when the best weather of the year happens along the beaches  and that's certainly been true as of late. More great weather inland and on the beaches is coming, after a brief downturn towards rainy over the weekend.

There's a lot going on in those skies above Portland and the Oregon coast, and this weather will give great glimpses of the moon and two planets interacting. See Oregon Coast Weather

October's full moon is called the Harvest Moon, according to Jim Todd, astronomy expert with Portland's OMSI. It refers to the full moon that comes closest to the fall equinox, which happened in September.

October's full Moon, called the Harvest Moon, refers to the full Moon that comes closest to the first day of autumn, Todd said. Depending on the year, the Harvest Moon can fall before or after the autumnal equinox which arrives annually on or near September 22. This year, the Harvest Moon reaches full phase on October 5 at 11:40 a.m. PDT.

Todd said that before mankind had artificial lighting, every civilization was very aware of the daylight hours beginning to wane quicker and quicker around the autumnal equinox. This is a time when the sun rises due east and sets due west.

But back then, people also understood lunar behavior, harvesting by the light of the moon, Todd said.

Look for the Harvest Moon as a large orange full moon low above the eastern horizon after 7:09 p.m. on October 5, with the sunset happening around 6:25 p.m. on the Oregon coast.

The orange color of a moon near the horizon is a true physical effect, Todd said. When looking toward the horizon, we are actually looking through a greater thickness of Earths atmosphere than when looking directly overhead. The atmosphere scatters blue light (the reason the sky looks blue). The thickness of the atmosphere in the direction of a horizon scatters blue light most effectively, but it lets red light pass through. So a moon near the horizon takes on a yellow, orange or reddish hue.

It will look bigger than usual as well when it's near the horizon, a trick of the eyes that remains controversial to this day. Todd said it's a matter of perception  a trick of the brain  which makes you think it's larger than other times.

When an object is perceived to be nearer, the brain may compensate by making it look smaller to us, Todd said. Likewise, an object thought to be farther away will be seen as larger.

It's literally called "the moon illusion."



Two worlds in our solar system will come closer together than usual tonight, with Mars and Venus getting .02 apart (two fifths of a moon apart) from the perspective of those in Oregon and along the Oregon coast.

Earth Sky News said right about now  through much of early October  you can use the dazzling planet Venus to find the much fainter (and elusive) planet Mars, both in the direction of the sunrise. The magazine said you usually need binoculars to see Mars, and this time the two planets will be within the same binocular field in the first week of October. They get at their very closest tonight.

Venus is normally the third brightest object in the sky (after the sun and moon), outshining Mars by some 200 percent at this moment.



Mars is actually at its dimmest point in the year as it's wandering on the far side of the sun, from the perspective of the Earth. In fact, Mars is just days away from aphelion  its farthest point away from the sun. This puts both the Earth and Mars at their farthest possible points from each other.

With the full moon visible now, and the near-full moon really visible again from Monday through much of the week, this will make it an extraordinary time to check out the beaches of the coast at night. Oregon Coast Lodgings for this event - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours More moon moments of the Oregon coast below:

















More About Oregon Coast hotels, lodging.....

More About Oregon Coast Restaurants, Dining.....

Coastal Spotlight



LATEST Related Oregon Coast Articles

Back to Oregon Coast

Contact Advertise on BeachConnection.net

All Content, unless otherwise attributed, copyright BeachConnection.net Unauthorized use or publication is not permitted
Farm equipment, hands and China might be unrelated subjects, but they represent the different possibilities of Lief Anson Wallace's photographic work.

Encompassing many themes and yet just one - recognizing the unseen, the overlooked - each piece captivates contrasts and isolates the subject to celebrate its individual qualities.

The self-taught Wallace still has the camera his mother gave to him when he was 13.

"It was a little Kodak Instamatic," said Wallace, 62, of Beaumont. "When I took the photograph, everything had to be just right. I couldn't dodge and burn it. I couldn't crop it. So over time, it all just developed."

Lief Anson Wallace, 'Visions of China: Ancient to Modern' When: Friday and Saturday, from 12:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m.; closing reception Saturday.

Where: Beaumont Art League, 2675 Gulf St., Beaumont

Cost: Free See More Collapse

As winner of the Beaumont Art League's 2016 Annual Membership Show, Wallace's solo photographic exhibition, titled "Visions of China: Ancient to Modern," will be on display at the BAL's Brown Gallery through Saturday, with a closing reception at 7 p.m.

While the bulk of Wallace's exhibition displays images from his 2013 trip to China, the show also includes images from his Hand Series tetraptych as well as a series on old farm equipment.

Winning him his solo exhibition, Wallace's ongoing series featuring four hands-related pieces was inspired by a trip he took to New Orleans.

"I was in New Orleans, and I look over at this table of young people, and every one of them were sitting there and all were looking at their phones," Wallace said. "The light was shining on their faces because it was nighttime, and I thought they should be enjoying the moment there in New Orleans. I know it's the new thing, but you're really missing out on a lot of stuff.

"So I thought I'll do a series on hands of tasks that people see that they probably take for granted everyday - cutting food, cutting their hair, doing nails. I was trying to highlight the hands. I wanted people to see other people's hands that are doing things other than being on the phone. That's the impetus of where that came from."

The series, much like other pictures in the exhibition, involves a distortion of the image, with the photographic frame limited and the subject revealed as the immediate focus, a deliberate style, Wallace said.

"I took care of my mom for many years, and she had Alzheimer's at the end, and it's very tough," he said. "After a while I had to have some way to express it. Your life is your memory - what you did yesterday, what you're doing today, what you might do tomorrow. Well hers is encompassed only in the immediate since she couldn't remember. I came up with this style of whatever I was doing, making it black and focusing in right there to represent that immediacy, that's what's going on right then."

Representing a range of Wallace's work, the exhibition incorporates his photos of old farm equipment, homing in on the rusty nature of what once was, personalizing the bygone contraptions in light of their former glory.

"To me, those represented what built America," he said. "The farm equipment back when America was producing stuff and actually making stuff, and now it's all kind of decaying. That's what made America, and now you look at it, and it's kind of sad."

Melding his passion for Asian culture with photography, the majority of Wallace's displayed pieces were taken during his trip to China.

"I've always been inspired by Asian culture and architecture," Wallace said. "There's so much of it that's left. They have some cities that almost go back 10,000 years, and then they have the new."

Some photos depict the juxtaposition between ancient and modern architecture that Wallace noted during his trip.

"I was inside the mosque in Xi-An, and then I looked up and saw Internet Cafe," Wallace said. "All of these modern buildings now that were butted up right against this big complex - new Internet Cafe and a 1,300-year-old mosque."

Wallace said he hopes people come away from his exhibit with a different view of China, a more personalized, individualized view.

"I was trying to single in instead of showing groups and groups of people," he said. "There's a billion almost four hundred million people in China, and I didn't want to just show scenes of tons of people because it's not always just tons of people. Geographically, it's about the same size as America. So they have almost five times as many people, but there's still a lot of wild land there; there's forests; there's deserts."

His shot of the Great Wall, with one man in the frame, encapsulates this theme.

"There usually is a bunch of tourists, and all of a sudden I'm walking and getting pretty much at the top of where we were at and for some reason I turned around, and there was nobody there except this one guy," he said. "This is in June, and he's dressed in black from head to toe. He was looking out through the little portals there. I thought that's a pretty neat picture to just have this one guy instead of these hordes of people going up and down."

With a desire to capture the individual, some of Wallace's photos feature his portraits of Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an, singling out separate sculptures from the rest of the army.

"I was going around, and I was taking a picture of one of the sculptures, and my guide goes, 'Oh, you don't need to take a picture. That's a nobody.' I said, 'Even a nobody deserves to have their picture taken.'"

Kara Timberlake is a freelance writer.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

When Keisha Carter walks into Portus Lounge on a Wednesday, bartender Ruben Rosales doesn't have to ask what she wants.

He grabs a glass and starts mixing. Her drink is ready when she gets to the bar.

"I always start with the Wager," Carter said. The drink is made with Rebecca Creek whiskey, Frangelico hazelnut liqueur, maple syrup and pineapple juice.

But after that, Carter gets adventurous. She talks with Rosales to figure out what to try next.

More Information J. Wilson's

Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday

Where: 4190 Gladys Ave., Beaumont

Info: www.facebook.com/jwilsonsbmt Portus Lounge

Hours: 5 p.m. to midnight Tuesday through Thursday and 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Friday and Saturday

Where: 6632 Phelan Blvd., Beaumont

Info: www.facebook.com/PortusBar See More Collapse

Rosales, who has worked at several bars in Southeast Texas, said ordering something new can be hard for customers stuck in routine.

"They always want to stick with what they know," Rosales said.

Doing so can lead to a mundane drink experience, and it doesn't have to be that way. A little knowledge and bravery can go a long way for people looking to upgrade their drink order from a Long Island Iced Tea to something more refined.

It just takes a willingness to talk with whoever is mixing their drinks.

"I like to test their knowledge and try their suggestions," Carter said. "I've found several new favorites just being open to suggestions."

Drinks like the French 75, Washington apple and strawberry mule have made their way into Carter's drink rotation.

Justin Northcutt, a bartender at J. Wilson's, said he think there's a fear factor when it comes to ordering something different.

He said sometimes customers try to customize orders, have a bad experience and are afraid to do it again.

"A lot of people are afraid of being disappointed," Rosales said. "They don't want to send the drink back or ask for a refund and ask for something different, so they stick with what they like."

Northcutt tries to help customers by asking them what they like instead of what they want.

"Then I can customize something based on that and give them a new experience," Northcutt said "Going out should be an experience. You shouldn't expect anything less than that when you go out somewhere."

Rosales said people shouldn't be afraid to talk with their bartender and be honest about their tastes.

"You want to enjoy what you're drinking," Rosales said.

Both Northcutt and Rosales suggested paying close attention to ingredients when deciding to branch out from your typical drink order.

The freshness of ingredients is important, and customers should realize they can be customized to taste, Northcutt said.

Rosales noted quality, not quantity should be the standard. Paying more generally means the liquor will have more flavor, which adds dimension to a cocktail.

But overall, remember bartenders are there to serve you, and it's OK to expect a high-quality experience.

"I'm definitely for people demanding and expecting something new every time," Northcutt said.

>> We asked Northcutt and Rosales to suggest upgrades based on customers' standard orders. Scroll through the gallery above to see their suggestions.

Menu intimidation

A common cause of drink disappointment is a lack of understanding of drink menus and ingredients. Here's a list of common bar terms and their definitions so you know what you're ordering. Go ahead and stash it in your wallet for quick reference. We won't tell.

Bitters: The plant-based liquid is mixed water and alcohol. They're used in several drinks in small amounts to enhance flavor.

The plant-based liquid is mixed water and alcohol. They're used in several drinks in small amounts to enhance flavor. Dirty: Ordering a dirty martini means the bartender will add olive brine to the drink.

Ordering a dirty martini means the bartender will add olive brine to the drink. Double-strained: A drink that's strained once to remove ice and a second time to remove any remnants of the fruit it's mixed with.

A drink that's strained once to remove ice and a second time to remove any remnants of the fruit it's mixed with. Dry: Ordering a dry martini means you want less vermouth. A "wet" martini has more vermouth.

Ordering a dry martini means you want less vermouth. A "wet" martini has more vermouth. Liqueur: An alcoholic beverage made from a distilled spirit and flavored with things like fruit, cream, herbs, flowers, etc. It usually has added sweetener.

An alcoholic beverage made from a distilled spirit and flavored with things like fruit, cream, herbs, flowers, etc. It usually has added sweetener. Mixers: A soft drink that enhances the flavor of a cocktail, like tonic and fruit juices. Look for the use of fresh fruit whenever you can.

A soft drink that enhances the flavor of a cocktail, like tonic and fruit juices. Look for the use of fresh fruit whenever you can. Muddled: Fruits or herbs are mashed together to infuse flavors into a drink, giving a more complex taste.

Fruits or herbs are mashed together to infuse flavors into a drink, giving a more complex taste. Neat: A drink served neat is poured directly from the bottle and served at room temperature.

A drink served neat is poured directly from the bottle and served at room temperature. On the rocks: A drink served over ice.

A drink served over ice. Shaken: A method of mixing that dilutes the flavor more than stirring. Typically used with clear liquors.

A method of mixing that dilutes the flavor more than stirring. Typically used with clear liquors. Soda back: A side of soda served with a shot or drink to sip on following the drink. Add it to your order if you're not used to drinking things neat.

A side of soda served with a shot or drink to sip on following the drink. Add it to your order if you're not used to drinking things neat. Sours: Drinks mixed with lemon or lime juice and sweetener.

Drinks mixed with lemon or lime juice and sweetener. Stirred: A method of mixing a drink that doesn't dilute the flavor as much as shaking. Typically used with dark liquors.

A method of mixing a drink that doesn't dilute the flavor as much as shaking. Typically used with dark liquors. Twist: Ordering a drink with a twist means it will come with an added citrus peel that adds aroma and flavor to the drink.

Ordering a drink with a twist means it will come with an added citrus peel that adds aroma and flavor to the drink. Up: A drink chilled by being shaken or stirred with ice but then strained and served without ice.

AFletcher@BeaumontEnterprise.com

Twitter.com/afletcher727
Pakistan Army spokesperson Major General Asif Ghafoor while addressing a press conference on Thursday reportedly admitted to associations between terrorist groups and the country's top intelligence agency Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). However, he added that the "links" do not necessarily mean "support" of the terror organizations. He further clarified that there's a difference between support and having links and links can be positive.
Unite union officials Kieran Ellison and Collum Bell ask the Northern Ireland fans for their support before last nights World Cup qualifier with Germany

Bombardier was last night preparing itself for a new setback that could put thousands of its Northern Ireland workers at risk.

The US government appeared set to rule in favour of Boeing, accusing Bombardier of 'dumping' - selling at a cut-price or below cost - its C Series aircraft.

In a preliminary ruling last week the US Department of Commerce imposed a 220% tariff on the jets following a complaint by Boeing that its Canadian rival had received State subsidies.

The C Series wings are built in Belfast, where thousands of jobs are now at risk.

Some reports were speculating late last night that Bombardier was expecting to be hit by additional export duties on the C Series when the Department of Commerce announced preliminary anti-dumping costs.

The aerospace giant had said it wouldn't be shocked if the US announced another "absurd" duty.

Colin Bole, Bombardier's sales chief for commercial aircraft, said the company expected the second duty to be a "significant number", but one that also made no sense.

Shortly before the second report was due to be released last night, Bombardier appeared to be trying to put its own spin on things.

Reuters reported that Bombardier's aerospace business spent $2.4 billion in the US last year, and made use of more than 800 suppliers in all but three US states.

The figures were said to have been part of a confidential Bombardier paper seen by Reuters.

The report suggested more than half of the materials Bombardier buys for the C Series come from US suppliers.

As well as having the potential to hit jobs, the Bombardier-Boeing trade row could damage the wider economy and the peace process, the Republic's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney told a senior American official this week.

And President Donald Trump was made aware, during a phone call with Prime Minister Theresa May, that the ongoing dispute would affect Northern Ireland directly, according to DUP leader Arlene Foster.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph yesterday, Mrs Foster said the Prime Minister was completely aware of "the damage this would do to Bombardier, and the Northern Ireland economy".

"She tells me that the President seized that this was Belfast when she spoke to him," Mrs Foster said.

"He said: 'Oh, right, so that would have a big impact on Northern Ireland'.

"So he knows it's not a Canadian issue, and this is going to have an impact on Northern Ireland."

"This is only the second part of a two-pronged complaint.

"I did at the Conservative Party conference have an opportunity to meet with the High Commissioner for Canada, and obviously I spoke to the Prime Minister at the conference about Bombardier.

"It is around the twin-track approach, putting forward the evidence to show that there hasn't been any damage to Boeing, but at the other side to have the political track going as well, to have the Canadian government, the American government, to put the pressure on there.

"This is a global issue, and I fully understand that. And that is why we need the support of our own government, working with the Canadian government."

The US International Trade Commission will ultimately decide in February whether to uphold or reject the proposed tariff.
Business services giant Concentrix has been "vindicated" over claims it botched a tax credit outsourcing plan that led to a backlog of 180,000 cases, its boss here has claimed.

Philip Cassidy, senior vice president at Concentrix, was speaking as it unveiled a 14m office at the former Maysfield Leisure Centre in Belfast.

The company, which employs around 1,400 here, is set to expand its workforce as a result of the new development.

However, at the beginning of this year Concentrix faced criticism over how it handled the outsourcing of benefits.

It was brought in by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to cut fraud and error in the benefit system, but there were complaints that claimants wrongly had their benefits cut, and people were unable to get through on the phones.

Mr Cassidy told a Westminster committee he "absolutely" did not accept that the failure of customer service was solely down to the firm.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph yesterday, he said he believed the firm has been "vindicated" over the handling over the contract.

He said: "I think appearing in front of the committee allowed us to put our side of story... I think in the end the select committee realised we had done the right things as far as our processes allowed.

"From that perspective, I think the select committee vindicated Concentrix."

The firm's second office in Belfast at Maysfield complements the existing one at Fountain Street.

"We are around about 1,400 people and have capacity for significantly more," Mr Cassidy said.

"We believe we have significant growth plans. Putting 14m into this facility is a great commitment to Belfast and Northern Ireland."

Concentrix has a range of clients, including those in the technology, financial and retail sectors.

"It gives us additional capacity and we have just gone live with one of our clients... that gave us growth, and they have growth plans as well," he added.

"It's meant extra jobs... that one was 25 people, but (we are) scheduled to grow further."
Wirefox agreed its deal for the City Park just weeks after buying the 11-storey Capella building (pictured) in Glasgows financial district

A Co Down property firm which recently bought CastleCourt shopping centre is taking on another Scottish office development in a 41m deal.

Holywood firm Wirefox, headed by BJ Eastwood, has completed the purchase of City Park, a 294,000sq ft building on the edge of Glasgow city centre.

The five-storey building underwent major redevelopment works in 2002 to convert it to office space.

It's currently occupied on a "multi-let basis" by a variety of tenants.

It was formerly a tobacco and cigar factory.

It comes just weeks after Wirefox announced the 43.5m acquisition of another office development in Glasgow.

Wirefox purchased the 11-storey Capella building, which is made up of more than 100,000sq ft of office space and is located in the heart of Glasgow's international financial services district.

Meanwhile, in May, Wirefox completed the 18m purchase of Silvan House in Edinburgh, which is let to the Scottish government, as well as the Southergate shopping centre in Dumfries town centre last September for 6.75m.

The purchase of the City Park and Capella buildings further extends Wirefox's growing Scottish portfolio.

The firm bought six commercial properties on the outskirts of Glasgow, known as the Rockford portfolio, for 35m in May.

The portfolio includes nine office blocks, comprising of 384,146 sq ft of office space.

In July, Wirefox completed the purchase of CastleCourt shopping centre in Belfast for 125m from Hermes Investment Management, in one of the biggest transactions to take place here in recent years.

The new owners said they plan to invest "significantly" in the centre.

CastleCourt first opened its doors to the public in 1990, becoming Belfast's first major shopping centre.

The centre was developed by John Laing on the site of the former Grand Central Hotel, whose guests included The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

In 2004, CastleCourt underwent a significant refurbishment to upgrade the existing food court, car park and customer facilities and more recently was re-branded.
An artists impression of what the new Twisel Brae luxury housing development will look like

An award-winning interior designer is helping develop a series of large luxury homes in Co Down, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal.

Kris Turnbull is the designer behind the interior of the Twisel Brae development, based in Holywood. The development is being sold and marketed by Colliers, and built by Cobain Group and Akm Construction.

The eight detached homes will range from 550,000 to 750,000, and 2,200 sq ft to 4,000 sq ft, in the town centre development, located not far from Holywoods Maypole.

Colliers is due to bring the properties to the market within the next two weeks, its understood.

The developers say that the award-winning international interior architect and designer Kris Turnbulls influence permeates the very fabric of these stunning homes.

With a deep understanding of how great design impacts on lifestyle and functionality, Kris and his experienced team have cleverly engineered these spaces to optimise their size, aspect and flow.

The interior designer, who has based his business at a converted church on the Lisburn Road in Belfast, also owns top-end restaurant Saphyre.

David Menary of Colliers, said the pioneering collaboration between The Cobain Group and Kris Turnbull Design brings an unprecedented level of interior and exterior finish to these homes.

The Colliers new homes team are thrilled to be bringing these unique, high specification properties to market  we anticipate significant interest from those who appreciate such a unique opportunity such as Twisel Brae.

And aside from the luxurious fixtures and fittings on offer, those buying a property can also have the optional extra of top-end home automation.

That turns the houses into smart homes, including everything from door locks and window blinds to underfloor heating and alarms.

Established in 2007, Kris Turnbull Studios, which also has offices in London, works with private clients, prime development projects and boutique hoteliers across the UK, Europe and the Middle East.

Those behind the new luxury homes say they are inspired by the rich character of the surrounding woodland.

The interiors at Twisel Brae draw on the contrasts between rustic and refined, said a spokesperson.

Sleek, urban spaces achieve a new level of glamour and luxury through meticulous attention to detail in the materials and finishes.

Clean lines and industrial references are softened by a neutral colour palette and use of stunning natural timber for effortlessly understated style.

Elsewhere, one of KFC tycoon Michael Herberts property firms has been given the go-ahead to build a new luxury 104-apartment development in east Belfast.

His company Kirk Bryson wants to build Parklands, a new apartment development based at Knocknagoney in Belfast.

It will feature 104 apartments, including 18 one-bedroom flats along with 83 two-bedroom flats and three with three bedrooms.
Paul Compton, Site Director at Donnelly Group Boucher Road and Stephen Robinson, National Sales Manager at Suzuki GB PLC at the new Donnelly Suzuki showroom at Boucher Road.

Donnelly Group has acquired SMW Suzuki in Belfast from the Agnew Group.

The showroom on the Boucher Road will be the third Suzuki site for the Donnelly Group, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.

It will be known as Donnelly Suzuki from October 2.

Their other Suzuki sites include Eglinton and Newtownabbey.

Paul Compton, Site Director at Donnelly Group, said: Suzuki has been a manufacturing partner of Donnelly Group since 2005 so we are delighted to build on that partnership with the addition of a third Suzuki showroom.

It is an exciting time for the manufacturer with the launch earlier this year of a new Swift model while vehicles such as the S-Cross, Vitara and Ignis continue to win awards and plaudits from those in the motor and consumer industries.

Donnelly Suzuki is also offering customers the opportunity to avail of the Suzuki Scrappage Scheme which provides an allowance of up to 2,000 off selected new models.

Many of the existing employees at the Suzuki showroom will be transferred to Donnelly Group.

Stephen Robinson, National Sales Manager at Suzuki GB PLC, commented: The opening of the Suzuki showroom on Belfasts Boucher Road by the Donnelly Group ensures a smooth transition of the business for its employees and customers alike.

With new Suzuki vehicles already available at Eglinton and Newtownabbey, we have first-hand knowledge of Donnelly Groups strong track record.

We look forward to further developing that relationship at the new Belfast site.
Dan Gordon as Frank Carson in his new play

Fresh from its success at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, a one-man play about Northern Ireland's best-loved comedian Frank Carson is returning to Belfast next month.

Dan Gordon's Frank Carson: A Rebel Without A Pause will run at the Lyric theatre from November 1-5.

The east Belfast writer has won huge critical acclaim for the show following its turn at the Fringe Festival this summer.

Paul Whitelaw, in his review in The Scotsman, said: "This is a labour of love. Gordon's performance is tremendous.

"He captures Carson's jovial machine-gun stage persona with impressive accuracy - the show is full of gags - while subtly softening his delivery during the off-stage confessionals."

Gordon, 51, decided to write the play after being approached by Tony Carson, Franks son, after a performance of Dans acclaimed play The Boat Factory in London.

The show is the culmination of three years of research, during which he was given access to Carson family archives as well as notes and tapes left by the comedian.

Expand Close Frank Carson / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Frank Carson

The play charts Franks tough upbringing in the docklands of Belfast where he was raised in poverty between two world wars.

His beloved brother was killed in WWII and Frank himself later served in the Middle East.

On returning to Belfast, Frank performed in talent shows, parish teas, charity and variety shows.

Through the sixties he played a pivotal role in St Columbs Hall Sunday night variety shows in Londonderry, he then built a huge following across the UK as he toured the working mens clubs before bursting onto our television screens and staying there for fifty years.
Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling were reduced to hysterical laughter during a recent interview with This Morning's Alison Hammond.

The Hollywood pair are in the UK promoting their new film Blade Runner 2049 and had a chat with Hammond during a press junket at a London hotel.

While giving never-ending interviews can be long and boring way to spend your day if you're a star, the pair seemed to find Hammond's interview skills hilarious and thoroughly enjoyed her chat.

Before the interview begins, the former Big Brother star tells them she's never seen the original film, with an amused Gosling responding: "I appreciate your candour."

With cameras rolling, she tells them: "Bleak, dystopian, an absolute nightmare to be honest - and that's just my interviewing technique."

Gosling then decides to pour himself a whiskey, prompting Hammond do to the same.

The interview just gets better and better with Hammond joking with Ford that money must have been the main reason he returned to the role.

"I said, 'Show me the money!' I said, 'Show me the script', " he joked before taking a swig of Gosling's whiskey.

With Ford and Hammond lost in laughter at one point, Gosling gets up to 'help the camera guys out' seeing as the other two don't seem to need him there.

Hammond ends the interview by taking another swig of whiskey, before telling the pair: "You know, I don't drink..."

Watch the hilarious video below:
Bombardier employs more than 4,000 people at its Belfast factories

One of Northern Ireland's largest employers is facing a proposed 300% duty on its exports of planes to the US amid an international trade dispute, the US government said on Friday.

A second preliminary levy of 80% has been loaded on the sales of aerospace manufacturer Bombardier.

The Canadian-owned multinational is already facing a planned 220% tariff on its aircraft as part of a separate investigation, the US Department of Commerce confirmed.

Bombardier employs more than 4,000 people at its Belfast factories and is due to begin delivering a blockbuster order for up to 125 new jets to Atlanta-based Delta Airlines next year.

US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross said: "The United States is committed to free, fair and reciprocal trade with Canada, but this is not our idea of a properly functioning trading relationship.

"We will continue to verify the accuracy of this decision, while doing everything in our power to stand up for American companies and their workers."

Prime Minister Theresa May had lobbied President Donald Trump over the dispute sparked by complaints from rival Boeing that Bombardier received unfair state subsidies from the UK and Canada, allowing the sale of airliners at below cost prices in the US.

Unions have warned thousands of jobs could be in jeopardy.

The US government said its intervention was prompted by concern to prevent "injurious dumping" of imports into the country, "establishing an opportunity to compete on a level playing field".

The Commerce Department said Bombardier had failed to provide information requested.

It added: "The antidumping duty law provides US businesses and workers with a transparent, quasi-judicial, and internationally accepted mechanism to seek relief from the market-distorting effects caused by injurious dumping of imports into the United States."

Dumping means the export of a product at a lower price.

The US government preliminary decision affects imports of 100-150 aircraft from Canada.

The department said it will instruct US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to collect cash deposits of duties.

The wings for the new aircraft, which are due to be delivered to the US next year, are made at Bombardier's plant in the DUP stronghold of East Belfast.

The Northern Ireland party's 10 MPs are propping up the PM's minority administration in the House of Commons and are expected to play a crucial role during upcoming Brexit business in Parliament.

The alleged unfair subsidy arose after Northern Ireland's powersharing administration and the UK Government pledged to invest almost 135 million in the establishment of the C-Series manufacturing site in Belfast.

The programme also received one billion US dollars from the Canadian provincial government in Quebec in 2015 when its fortunes appeared to be ailing.

Boeing's complaint said it was seeking a "level playing field" for global competitors, but Bombardier accused its rival of hypocrisy.

Boeing says it is the world's largest manufacturer of military aircraft. Whether its payments from governments constitute a purely commercial matter is contested.

The C-Series operation's immediate future was thought to have been secured after Bombardier signed a 5.6 billion US dollar (4.16 billion) deal in 2016 to provide the aircraft.

The manufacturer has been a major employer in Northern Ireland for 30 years.

Trade unionists expect a final ruling on the pricing policy to be made in February.
Bombardier has been hit with a possible further 80% tariff on planes sold in the United States - throwing further doubt on the job security of its thousands of Northern Irish workers.

The Canadian manufacturer has been accused of 'dumping' - selling at a cut-price or below cost - of its C Series aircraft by rival airline Boeing.

This comes after a preliminary ruling last week by the US Department of Commerce imposed a 220% tariff on the jets after a complaint from Boeing that Bombardier had received State subsidies.

In theory, if both rulings are upheld it will mean a 300% tax for Bombardier.

A statement this evening from US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross confirmed that it had decided in favour of a preliminary anti-dumping duty of 79.82%.

"The United States is committed to free, fair and reciprocal trade with Canada, but this is not our idea of a properly functioning trading relationship," said Secretary Ross.

"We will continue to verify the accuracy of this decision, while do everything in our power to stand up for American companies and their workers."

None of the C-Series jets have yet to be imported to the United States, but the action is being taken on the grounds that Bombardier had earlier announced it would be selling $5 billion worth of the jets to Delta Airlines.
Stephen Nolan and loyalist Jamie Bryson have clashed on the radio over the UVF threats in Cantrell Close, with the broadcaster at one point venting his frustration telling the blogger to "cut the crap".

During a discussion on the presenter's Radio Ulster Show, Mr Bryson was asked if the UVF would condemn the threats which forced four families to leave their homes.

Read More

The blogger has repeatedly said the organisation was not behind the threats.

Mr Bryson, stressed he was only acting as a go-between for mediators and the terrorist organisation, stressing he was not a member of the UVF or had held direct discussions with its members or leadership.

"Let's follow the logic of that through," he said to Mr Nolan when asked if the group would condemn the threats.

"Every time there's a fight in the street, is the Nolan show going to phone me up to contact mediators to ask them to contact UVF to ask if they were involved?" he said

"Would they have to arbitrate on every incident?"

"Cut the crap," Mr Nolan cut in, "let's just cut the crap - everyone in Northern Ireland knows how to read between the lines on what you are saying.

"I would dare say you are quite close to thinking of the UVF, are they going to condemn the threats?"

Mr Bryson responded: "The UVF have made their position quite clear. How many times must they have to say it?

"How can I make a decision for the UVF? That is absurd."

The BBC presenter was amazed Mr Bryson, who rose to prominence during the Belfast flag protests, could not get a message to the group.

"My goodness chief mediator," he said, "You can't get a message to the UVF can you? You think anyone in this country believes you?"

Mr Bryson responded: "Were the UVF to ask my advice if they should issue another statement I would say no. That is absurd it would mean they would have to issue a statement every week arbitrating on every minor thing."

Read More

During the course of the debate, Mr Bryson said Sinn Fein was the "genesis" of the UVF being blamed. Mr Nolan said it was not the republican party which placed the flags around the housing estate, to which Mr Bryson pointed out they were "commemorative UVF flags".

"They are flags that say UVF on them full stop," responded Mr Nolan, "they are flags which say UVF in a shared housing area full stop."

"It was all about 'let's get east Belfast UVF," said Mr Bryson, "they are hardly going to sue."

Asked if he supported shared housing, Mr Bryson described it as a "loaded question". He said that if people wanted to live together it was a "good thing".

"But to lump together as part of a political agenda on the shift of electoral patterns is wrong," he said, "it is about changing electoral demographics."

During the debate, Mr Bryson also suggested Nolan was trying to imply he was in direct contact with UVF commanders.

"And you would have to get up very early in the morning to catch me out," he said.

"I got up very early this morning," responded Mr Nolan.
TV presenter Eamonn Holmes is backing a Belfast tree - that has a historic connection to the father of medicine - to be named Northern Ireland's finest.

The tree at Belfast City Hospital is a direct descendant of the Plane Tree of Kos - under which Hippocrates first taught in 500BC.

It was planted in Belfast in the Sixties from seeds gifted by Greek physician, Dr Dimitrios Oreopoulos, who was undertaking an MD in kidney research at Queen's.

It has made it to the final of the Woodland Trust's Northern Ireland Tree of the Year competition.

Belfast-born Holmes announced his support for the tree as he paid tribute to the bravery of organ donors in Northern Ireland.

After Holmes broadcast an interview on the subject, Drew Murray, from Antrim, was so moved he donated his kidney to a complete stranger and saved someone's life.

Holmes was then asked by Mr Murray to become a patron of the Northern Ireland Kidney Patients' Association.

The This Morning broadcaster said: "How could I say no? Because what I had to do was really very little by comparison to the example that he showed."

Holmes said that to him the tree represents "brave organ donors, people like Drew, without whom the work would grind to a halt".

"They go out of their way to give others the gift of life, completely selfless, completely amazing," he said.

"They are, simply, our heroes."

The presenter said the tree represented hope, humanity, compassion and growth.

"It represents empathy, science, nature and it also represents the future, and that is very, very important in the field of work that we are talking about," he added.
Ian Hurst, who has accepted substantial damages from NGN, arriving to give evidence at the Leveson inquiry

A former intelligence officer whose computer was hacked has accepted substantial undisclosed damages from News Group Newspapers.

Ian Hurst brought proceedings at London's High Court against NGN, publisher of the defunct News of the World, and News UK & Ireland Ltd (formerly News International Supply Company Ltd) for breach of confidence and misuse of private information.

Mr Hurst served in the Intelligence Corps and the Force Research Unit in Northern Ireland between 1980 and 1991 when he retired.

His primary role was to recruit and run agents within Republican terrorist groups in order to obtain tactical and strategic intelligence.

Mr Hurst's counsel, Jeremy Reed, told Mr Justice Mann on Friday that NGN now accepted that Mr Hurst's privacy had been invaded.

He said that it accepted vicarious liability for the circumstances which ultimately led to the wrongful acts of Philip Campbell Smith, who was known to some for his expertise in computer hacking and email interception.

He added that NGN recognised it would be impossible to determine the full extent of the wrongdoing directed at Mr Hurst and his family, but it acknowledged that, at the very least, his emails were intercepted routinely and intensively over a period of several months during 2006.

It had agreed to pay him substantial damages and his legal costs.

Anthony Hudson QC, for NGN, said it offered its "sincerest and unreserved" apologies.

"News Group Newspapers accepts that such activity happened, accepts that it should never have happened, and has undertaken to the court that it will never happen again.

"Indeed, News Group Newspapers took steps several years ago to ensure that nothing like this could happen again."

Mr Reed said the reason why Mr Hurst was initially targeted is likely to have been because a then, but now former, employee of News Group Newspapers Limited wished to locate the whereabouts of Freddie Scapaticci, the former head of the IRA Security Division.

Mr Hurst had named Mr Scapaticci in a book he co-authored as being an agent of the British government with the codename "Stakeknife".

He added that Mr Hurst regularly engaged in sensitive and confidential and in some cases, privileged, correspondence by email with a variety of people.

These included his solicitors at the time, members of the Irish republican movement, people within the security services, members of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and former members of the Armed Forces who had infiltrated the IRA - including individuals in the police witness protection programme, resulting from their inclusion near the top of the Real IRA's hitlist.

Mr Hurst was entirely unaware of Mr Smith's activities until 2011 when he was contacted by BBC Panorama. An investigation was then launched by the Metropolitan Police.

Mr Reed said: "After the initial shock of being informed that he was a victim of computer hacking and email interception, Mr Hurst became increasingly shocked and appalled as he began to discover the extent of the unlawful activity against him.

"He was horrified to see copies of actual emails which had been intercepted and genuinely feared for the safety of many of the people with whom he had been in contact.

"Mr Hurst was and remains embarrassed that someone was able to access his computers in this manner and that the trust which others have placed in him has been jeopardised and degraded as a result.

"Mr Hurst is also furious that his personal correspondence and private family information has been invaded in this way. He feels completely violated and humiliated.

"Likewise, his wife and daughter were most distressed to learn the facts of this matter. They are both particularly upset that their privacy has been invaded in this manner.
The UVF is facing growing pressure to withdraw sectarian threats after the Chief Constable blamed the organisation for forcing Catholic families from their south Belfast homes.

George Hamilton pointed the finger at the loyalist terror group yesterday afternoon, just hours after its flags were taken down from lampposts in Cantrell Close.

"There are people using the guise of the UVF who we believe are members of that organisation who are threatening people because of their community background, because of their religion, to leave their home - that is not acceptable," he said.

Read More

Although Mr Hamilton was not sure if the threats were supported by the leadership of the terror group, which he described as "chaotic and disorganised", or if they were made by individual members, when asked outright if it was the UVF, he replied: "Yes."

The attribution of blame comes after a week of mounting pressure on police to confirm once and for all who was behind the threats.

The East Belfast Community Initiative (EBCI) - a group that claims to mediate on behalf of loyalists linked to the local UVF - removed the flags in the cul-de-sac yesterday.

Loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson, a spokesman for the group, said the "perfectly lawful and legitimate" flags were taken down as a "goodwill" gesture following discussions with South Belfast DUP MP Emma Little-Pengelly as part of a bid to de-escalate tensions.

The Chief Constable insisted he was willing to take tough action against the UVF, but expressed frustration over the difficulty of finding witnesses due to the fear of reprisals.

He also said it was too early to say if dissident republicans were behind threats against two elderly loyalist community workers in the same area this week.

Sinn Fein MLA Mairtin O Muilleoir welcomed the removal of the flags, but called for the UVF to go further and withdraw threats against families.

Expand Expand Expand Expand Expand Previous Next Close George Hamilton One of the UVF flags in Cantrell Close, off the Ravenhill Road Jamie Bryson Emma Little Pengelly Gerry Kelly / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp George Hamilton

He also called for the "equally wrong" threats against the community workers to be lifted immediately.

But Mr Bryson disputed Mr Hamilton's claim, telling this newspaper that he accepted "the word of the UVF", who had been clear in saying it wasn't behind the threats that forced the Catholic families to flee.

He added: "That's their position and it hasn't changed, so how can they withdraw threats they never made?"

He added that if the Chief Constable was correct in his assertion, then he should take action.

"Last week the Chief Constable said he didn't know and now he's coming out with these allegations," he said. "If he has evidence, then he should do something with it."

There was mixed reaction among the residents of the mixed housing development

"I'm glad the flags are gone, but the threats should be lifted too," one resident said.

But a Protestant couple weren't so optimistic.

"I don't know why they are trying to force Catholics and Protestants to live together - it's never going to work," they said.

The young residents, who were one of the first families to move in to the cul-de-sac off the Ravenhill Road, said that while UVF threats were unjustifiable, flags were a reality their neighbours must accept.

"Why should we change them?" they asked.

"Can you imagine us moving into Short Strand and demanding they take down their flags?

"It's got to be expected, this is all about common sense and there's no point complaining - at the end of the day this is a Protestant area."

Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly, the party's policing spokesman, also called for the UVF to withdraw the threats and vowed to pressure the PSNI to bring individuals before the courts.

"It is 2017 and the UVF continues to be involved in murder, racketeering, extortion, drug dealing and issuing sectarian threats," he said.

"They have no other purpose than to serve their own ends."

Separately, police seized a quantity of suspected drugs following a search of a property in Cantrell Close yesterday.

Police said suspected cannabis and class A controlled drugs, along with other drugs paraphernalia, were seized.
BBC flagship current affairs programme Question Time is set to make its way to Belfast, with members of the public invited to appear in the audience.

BBC flagship current affairs programme Question Time is set to make its way to Belfast with the Northern Irish public asked to apply to appear in the audience.

Presenter David Dimbleby, and an assembled panel that will include former Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers and Labour Shadow NI Secretary Owen Smith will face questions from an audience in Titanic Belfast on October 12.

Speaking about the upcoming visit, Mr Dimbleby - who has presented the programme since 1994 - said: "I am very much looking forward to Question Time returning to Belfast. What really matters is that we have a lively audience who want to speak their mind. Its a chance for Belfast to get its voice heard not just by politicians but right across the UK."

People from Belfast and the surrounding area are asked to come forward to apply for places in the audience.

They can do so through the programme's website, or by calling 0330 123 99 88.

The programme has been to Belfast 18 times since it debuted in 1979, with the last visit in January 2016 featuring appearances from Theresa Villiers, former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Peter Hain, the DUP's Nigel Dodds, Sinn Fein's Declan Kearney, and comedian Grainne Maguire.

The programme has always focused on lively political debate, and thrown up a few controversial incidents in its 38 years.

In 2009 the programme was critcised after an invitation was extended to the leader of the British Nationalist Party Nick Griffin.

An episode in 2015 sparked controversy due to an appearance by George Galloway, who was then leader of the Respect Party.

The programme was recorded in Finchley - an area of London with a large Jewish population - and saw it asked if Mr Galloway bore some responsibility for a rise in anti-semitic incidents in the UK due to his being an outspoken critic of Israel.
Prosecutors also said the words "IRA hahaha" were daubed in blood-smeared graffiti in a locker room broken into at the Glenavon House in Cookstown, Co Tyrone.

An intruder challenged in a hotel while allegedly carrying a knife and wearing a chef's hat and apron claimed he was there to start work, the High Court heard on Friday.

Prosecutors also said the words "IRA hahaha" were daubed in blood-smeared graffiti in a locker room broken into at the Glenavon House in Cookstown, Co Tyrone.

Jamie McCann, 21, is accused of carrying out the raid and, in a separate incident, threatening to set himself and a filling station on fire with a petrol pump.

Granting him bail, a judge ruled that his drug and mental health problems could be better dealt with outside custody.

McCann, of Mount Carmel Heights in Strabane, faces charges of burglary, theft, criminal damage and possessing an article with a blade or point in a public place over the incident at the Glenavon House early on July 18.

Crown lawyer Adrian Higgins said a man was seen walking around the hotel carrying a chef's knife and dressed in a hat and apron.

The items were allegedly stolen by breaking into an employee's locker.

Mr Higgins told the court blood had been smeared in that area, with "IRA hahaha" written in graffiti.

CCTV footage allegedly shows the intruder arrive at the hotel on a BMX bike, force open the locker and remove the items before entering the kitchen and restaurant areas.

"The male was challenged by staff and said he was there to start work, but no staff recognised him," the prosecutor said.

When he was confronted a second time he made off on the bike, leaving the hat, apron and knife behind.

McCann was arrested after a member of the public reported a man near the hotel, lying beside the BMX allegedly stolen earlier that morning.

"He may have been the worse for wear from alcohol," Mr Higgins suggested.

Although McCann was released over that incident, he was detained again on August 27 for alleged offences including attempted arson, theft, disorderly behaviour, criminal damage and assault on police.

It was claimed that he stole a packet of cigarettes from a filling station on Coleraine's Strand Road.

"Police received additional information that the male proceeded to the forecourt of the garage, lifted a petrol pump and threatened to burn both himself and the premises."

McCann ended up in accident and emergency after allegedly trying to head-butt a police officer arresting him and then punching a camera in custody.

"I believe the applicant injured himself by breaking a wrist during the course of committing the criminal damage," Mr Higgins added.

Describing the alleged behaviour as "bizarre and erratic", Mr Justice Treacy said McCann seemed disturbed.

Defence counsel Thomas McKeever confirmed his client has addiction and mental health issues.

Granting bail to an address in Larne, the judge banned McCann from entering Cookstown or part of Coleraine.

He also cautioned him: "You're still a young man with your whole life ahead of you, don't waste it on drugs."
Nicola Sturgeon said Ireland and Scotland are united on virtually every issue of substance relating to Brexit

Nicola Sturgeon has declared Ireland and Scotland allies in the Brexit negotiations.

The Scottish First Minister told an audience of business leaders in Dublin that she will argue for the Irish border to remain open in the wake of the UK's split from Europe.

She also said the Republic and Scotland are united on virtually every issue of substance relating to Brexit.

After talks with Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, Ms Sturgeon told an audience of about 1,500 business figures that staying in the European single market and the customs union is the obvious answer to the negotiations.

"The fact that the UK Government is committed to leaving the EU means that Scotland - like Ireland, and like Northern Ireland - now faces a dilemma which is not of our choosing. We want to remain a full member of the EU but face being taken out against our will," she said.

"We deeply regret that.

"However, we believe that if the UK is determined to leave the European Union, it should remain a member of the single market and the customs union.

"In my view, that is the obvious compromise solution. It's democratically justified - the vote to leave was a very narrow one across the UK and two of the four nations of the UK chose to remain."

Ms Sturgeon's talks with the Taoiseach focused on Brexit.

In her speech to the Dublin Chamber, she also disputed Prime Minister Theresa May's remarks in Florence last week and claimed that in Scotland many people have felt absolutely at home in Europe.

She also emphasised the social and economic links between Scotland and Ireland, and noted the shared interest in ensuring the growth of a global economy is matched by a focus on inclusion.

Ms Sturgeon said l eaving the single market will be deeply damaging for Scotland's businesses, universities, trade and jobs.

"On virtually every issue of substance relating to Brexit, the Irish Government - and the Irish business community as a whole - has an ally in Scotland," the First Minister said.

"Like you, we didn't want Brexit.

"Like you, we support single market and customs union membership.

"And, like you, we know that Ireland's circumstances require particular attention and we will argue strongly for an open border.

"We believe that those positions are in the best interests of Scotland, of Ireland, and of everybody on these islands."

Ms Sturgeon told business figures the global political developments are a challenge to build a fair and inclusive society.

She added: "Scotland certainly hasn't got everything right, but - like Ireland - I think that we are at least facing up to the right issues.

"That's important from a political, social and moral perspective - and it's also crucial to ensuring that our economic policies are successful and sustainable."
A 19-year-old man has been charged with endangering the safety of an aircraft

A 19-year-old man has been charged with endangering an aircraft after a laser was allegedly directed at a police helicopter.

The incident happened when the Police Service of Northern Ireland helicopter was in the skies above Belfast on Thursday night monitoring crowds attending the Northern Ireland vs Germany football international.

The accused, who was arrested in the north Belfast area on Thursday night, has been charged with endangering the safety of an aircraft and shining a light to dazzle or distract a pilot.

He is due to appear in court in Belfast on Thursday November 2.
File image. In 2016/17 there was a total of 54 counselling sessions delivered to young people with body image issues across Northern Ireland.

Young girls in Northern Ireland are 13 times more likely than boys to call Childline for concerns about their appearance and weight - with one 12-year-old telling the service "she didn't like herself".

The figures released by the NSPCC reveal that among the reasons cited by the young people struggling with self-esteem issues was "body-perfect" images on TV, magazines or seen on social media.

In 2016/17 there was a total of 54 counselling sessions delivered to young people with body image issues across Northern Ireland.

Of those, 40 were with girls, three were with boys and in 11 cases the childs gender wasn't known.

The figures are part of the total 2,609 counselling sessions, delivered across the UK, to young people with body image problems, with 980 of these received by 12- to 15-year-old girls.

A further 120 counselling sessions were delivered to girls aged 11 and under.

A number of young people in Northern Ireland who were counselled by Childline about how they look also revealed that they were struggling with depression and eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia.

These issues were heightened when the individual also suffered bullying at school and online - driving some victims to try and change the way they look.

Im feeling really sad and I dont like myself. I keep comparing myself to pictures of people in magazines and people on TV and I wish I looked like them. I dont want to talk to people about this because I dont want to worry them. One 12-year-old girl told Childline

A female teenager in the 16-18 age range said: I feel so embarrassed about the way I look. I hate my body, when Im with my friends I always feel like the fat one. I cant dress like my friends because it makes me feel fat and ugly. Im too embarrassed to tell anybody how Im feeling and its making me really lonely.

Mairead Monds, Childline manager for Northern Ireland, said: Our Childline counsellors based in Belfast and Foyle talk to dozens of young people from across the UK every week about anxieties surrounding their appearance.

And last year (2016/2017) Childline delivered 54 counselling sessions to young people from Northern Ireland on this issue.

Young people  especially girls  are telling us that they feel extreme pressure to have the perfect body and looks which conform with people they see on social media, television and magazines.

Our counsellors find young people often struggle to find anything positive to say about their skills, achievements or appearance. Childline and the NSPCC are working hard to help children growing up today to overcome societys unhealthy obsession with appearance and feel happy, secure and confident.

Childline founder Dame Esther Rantzen added: Its very sad and extremely worrying that girls in particular are so unhappy with the way they look. Without the right support and a general change in attitude across society there is a real danger these issues could intensify and continue into adulthood.

Its important all young people realise that everyone is different and everyone has the right to grow-up slowly and be comfortable in their own skin. Childline will continue to provide vital support for young people to ensure those on a journey of self-acceptance never feel alone. 

Any adult concerned about the welfare of a child or young person can call the NSPCC helpline for free, 24/7, on 0808 800 5000.

Children can call Childline at any time on 0800 111, visit www.childline.org.uk or download the For Me app.
There has been steady interest in the rundown house at 148 Connsbrook Avenue

A Victorian terraced house in the Sydenham area of east Belfast has gone on sale for just 25,000.

The three-storey on Connsbrook Avenue, close to the Holywood Road, boasts four bedrooms, but needs extensive renovation.

It is one of the cheapest houses on offer in the city. A dwelling in a similar state on nearby Parkgate Avenue also priced at 25,000 eventually sold for three times that amount, and is currently undergoing a facelift.

Estate agent Cary Laughlin from O'Connor Kennedy Turtle Commercial Property Consultants said the building had been vacant and derelict for a number of years.

He said: "It has just come on to the market and there has been a lot of interest, which was part of the plan and the reason we put it up at that price, to gather in a lot of interest, to get a bit of a bidding war going, which has already commenced.

"We have had a few offers and we are at 30,000 at the moment. There is going to be an open viewing for the property next Thursday.

"When we took it on board it was vacant and derelict.

"It had been broken into but we have it secured now. When we got it, it was in bad repair."

Asked what sort of customer he envisaged being interested in the house, he said: "Anyone that is looking for a good investment.

"I do reckon it will get close to 40,000. It is up to the buyer what they want to do with it.

"We are recommending refurbishment, but if you want to turn it into apartments it would be a bit trickier.

"East Belfast is a good market. Anything that comes on to the market gets snapped up relatively quickly."

Fellow estate agent Alan McKinstry, who is also dealing with the property, said: "It is a perfect opportunity for someone who has a bit of cash round them to go in, tidy it up and then potentially sell it on or lease it out to someone."

An application to demolish the house and build three apartments was given approval in December 2008 but the work was never begun. The planning permission has now expired.

The end terrace three-storey property has two reception rooms, a kitchen, four bedrooms, a bathroom and a private rear yard.

The next cheapest house on the market in the Sydenham area is a two-bed terrace on Kyle Street, which is currently on the market for 69,950.

Another basement buy in Belfast is a two-bedroom terrace house on Parkmount Street with an initial asking price of 32,000. It will go to auction at the Stormont Hotel this Tuesday.
Meet the six little puppies who were dumped in a blue box and abandoned on a doorstep in Lurgan.

A hairdressing salon in the town got quite a surprise last week when they found the blue box containing six little bundles of fur.

The pups were taken to Almost Home Animal Rescue NI who think they are only around 14 days old and look like Akitas.

They are appealing for anyone who has information about their mum to come forward, confidentially if preferred, as they want to make sure she is safe.

Trustee Karen Matthews told the Belfast Telegraph: Can you imagine, it must be awful. We are trying to find out if anyone has an Akita that has passed away and want to find the mum and make sure she is safe over next couple of days.

I worry about her, its stressful enough when puppies are taken away when they are eight or nine months, it must be horrendous. Im sure shes been left thinking whats happened.

We need to make sure mum is safe.

However thankfully the little puppies, whose little eyes are only just opening, are doing great.

Karen said: Theyve been great but they are missing mummy.

The hairdresser who discovered them is very animal orientated and brought them to us. They had been left in a blue carrier with a wee blanket.

Their wee eyes are only just opening so they can only be around 13 or 14 days old.

Karen says their main concern now is for the mother.

The puppies will stay with the Almost Home Animal Rescue NI until they are ready to be re-homed hopefully in the next six to wight weeks.

Theyll stay and be bottle fed at the minute. Its good fun and they are all lying sound asleep.

You tend to find they are always unwanted and dont get a good press but they are wonderful and so loyal.

However they are one of the dogs that would be destroyed more than any dog.

Karen added: No matter what has happened the mum is going to miss them and wonder where her babies are.

Almost Home Animal Rescue can be contacted on 079 2292 1852.
The family of Gerry Conlon and a British soldier injured in the IRA's Guildford bombing are calling for a fresh inquiry into the original police investigation of the case.

Lawyer Kevin Winters has written to the Attorney General on behalf of Mr Conlon's sister Anne McKernan and a survivor who was injured in the explosion at the Horse and Groom Pub.

Read More

The development follows the discovery of new evidence.

It was uncovered by author Richard O'Rawe, whose book In the Name of the Son: The Gerry Conlon Story published by Merrion Press will be launched in Belfast tonight.

Mr Conlon, who died three years ago, was wrongly jailed for the 1974 bombings in which four British soldiers and a civilian died.

His conviction was overturned in 1989.

The survivor suffers from post traumatic stress disorder.

Mr O'Rawe said he visited the national archives at Kew to examine documents relating to the Guildford Four case last year.

He said he found material relating to a report by forensic scientist Douglas Higgs, which stated that the IRA bombings carried out between October and December 1974 in England were the work of the same team.

"That report meant that the Guildford Four couldn't have been responsible, as two of these bombings occurred after they were arrested," Mr O'Rawe said yesterday.

"They were in jail at the time of the explosions, so it couldn't have been them.

"This punched a massive hole in the Crown case but the report was withheld from defence counsel. I immediately informed the Conlons' solicitor, Kevin Winters."

In a letter to the Attorney General, Jeremy Wright, Mr Winters states: "Following recent examination of archival material we say there is a basis upon which you can direct a new investigation into alleged criminality on the part of the Surrey police investigation team and the prosecutors with whom they worked in securing the wrongful conviction of Mr Conlon and others.

"On the basis of this material we submit that your offices can review the case in its entirety with a view to directing a fresh criminal enquiry."

Mr Winters refers to the "failure to disclose information in relation to a concession made on foot of other separate criminal proceedings and the suppression of forensic evidence".

It is alleged that the leading Crown prosecutor in the trial of the Balcombe Street gang, Sir John Mathew QC, had asked Mr Higgs to alter a statement which he had made in January 1975, to omit reference to the Woolwich bombing - and that Mr Higgs had complied with the QC's request.
The stash of fireworks found at the businesses in the Shankill area / Credit: PSNI

Detectives from the Paramilitary Crime Taskforce have discovered a large stash of counterfeit goods and fireworks after carrying out searches at two commercial premises in the Shankill Road area.

These were carried out on Friday with the aim of disrupting paramilitary activity.

No arrests have been made at this time, but the goods and fireworks seized are estimated to be valued in the thousands of pounds.

Speaking about the searches, Detective Inspector White said: "Our enquiries are ongoing and we will continue to focus our attention on those involved in organised criminality and its links to paramilitaries."

These discoveries came a day after police in Armagh uncovered a large stash of illegal fireworks worth 25,000 and a quantity of class B drugs at a property in the Jonesborough area.

Speaking about the seizure, Detective Inspector Gawley said: "Its important to remember that fireworks are made from explosive material and if misused, can cause serious and life-changing injuries.

"The law clearly states that fireworks - except indoor fireworks and sparklers - must be bought from reputable, licensed dealers who are required to keep sales records.

"Fireworks bought from other sources may not be British Standard approved thus presenting an even bigger risk of injury. It is also illegal to possess, sell, handle or use fireworks if you do not have a licence."

Anyone caught using fireworks in Northern Ireland without a licence can be fined 5,000.

Up until 1996 fireworks were banned in Northern Ireland, but this was lifted following a paramilitary ceasefire.

The ban was reinstated in 2002 after a number of officers were injured during rioting in Belfast.

Anyone with any information about fireworks being used or sold illegally is asked to contact police on the non-emergency number 101 or independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Harte took the car on the "spur of the moment".

A suicidal hijacker, who intended to drive into Belfast's Lagan river in a stolen car last February, instead ended up being jailed for a total of ten months on Friday.

Belfast Crown Court heard that while Michael Robert Christopher Harte took the car 'on the spur of the moment', he didn't get too far and was dragged from the Citroen C3 motor as he drove off.

Harte, who then attacked police and damaged his cell, later claimed that he was "feeling suicidal" because his medication was being "chopped and changed".

Prosecution barrister Peter Magill said Harte told police, he wasn't in his "right mind" and, "I can't swim. I thought I'll steal the car and I'll drive it into the Lagan," while also claiming, "If I really wanted to steal the car I would have went to west Belfast cause I'm from west Belfast".

Mr Magill said that the car owner and her boyfriend were delivering computer equipment in Belfast's Joy Street, and had double parked, leaving the keys in the ignition. Harte, who just happened to be passing spotted the mistake, jumped into the vehicle and went to drive off.

He added while Harte was quickly over powered, "it happened on the spur of the moment, he saw the opportunity and took it".

Defence barrister JonPaul Shields said while it was "not an excuse", at the time Harte was "suicidal" after being put out of the hostel he was living at the time, and had no access to his medication, "which contributed to his thought processes, or lack thereof".

However, Mr Shields said while it was not preplanned, it would have been a "very frightening" experience for those involved, and that Harte was "the author of his own misfortunes" and was under no illusions that he faced a custodial sentence.

Sentencing him to a total of 20 months, Belfast Recorder Judge David McFarland said the significant aggravating factor was Harte's 73 previous convictions and the fact that just the day before he had been given a suspended term for assaulting police.

Judge McFarland said although Harte was quickly overpowered during this "opportunistic, but shocking incident", and despite the Magistrate's warning ringing in his ears, he unfortunately decided to extend the incident, assaulting police again.

Harte, with a hostel address on Belfast's Ormeau Road, will serve ten months in custody followed by a similar period on supervised licensed parole.
Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire yesterday urged local politicians to look at the "bigger picture" and strike a compromise to restore power-sharing.

He encouraged the DUP and Sinn Fein to finally resolve their differences so the region can look to a more positive future.

If no deal is reached by the end of the month, the Secretary of State will move to pass a budget for Northern Ireland in the House of Commons.

Speaking at a business breakfast in Belfast yesterday, Mr Brokenshire said that, while the atmosphere in talks between the parties had improved, there was still work to do to reach a deal.

"Do I think it is possible? Yes, I do", he told the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (Acca) Business Leader Forum. "I think this is eminently doable, but it still requires that spirit of compromise.

"I would encourage the leaders of both main parties to underline the leadership they have both already shown to continue to do that and to look beyond the issues that have separated them. It is doable, it is achievable - but we are not there yet."
Allies of Theresa May have claimed the plot to oust her from Number 10 is set to fizzle out after former Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps was identified as the ringleader.

Mr Shapps insisted there was growing support among a broad spread of Tory MPs for a leadership contest in the wake of the Prime Ministers chaotic party conference speech.

But Charles Walker, vice chairman of the powerful Conservative backbench 1922 Committee, said the attempt to force her out lacked credibility and was set to fail.

Number 10 must be delighted to learn that it is Grant Shapps leading this alleged coup, he told the BBC.

Grant has many talents but the one thing he doesnt have is a following in the party. I really think this is now just going to fizzle out.

What you are seeing here is probably the coalition of disappointed people who think their brilliant political talents have not been fully recognised.

Mr Shapps was named by the Times as the leader of a group of around 30 Tory MPs planning to send a delegation to Mrs May to tell her she must go.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

He accused the party whips of deliberately leaking his name to the newspaper in an attempt to smoke out the rebels.

The plan, he said, had been for a group  including five ex-Cabinet ministers  to approach Mrs May in private with a list of names to avoid the embarrassment of a formal leadership challenge.

But those loyal to the Prime Minister said it was clear that the rebels lacked the 48 MPs they needed to force a contest under the party rules.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

Mr Shapps said support for a leadership election was growing, with some current Cabinet ministers privately signalling their support.

They are Remainers, they are Brexiteers, he told BBC Radio 4s Today programme.

A growing number of number of my colleagues, we realise that the solution isnt to bury our heads in the sand and just hope things will get better. It never worked out for Brown or Major and I dont think it is going to work out here either.

He acknowledged, however, that they could not force the Prime Ministers hand and that it was up to her to decide whether she wanted to carry on.

Expand Close (PA graphic) Press Association Images / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp (PA graphic)

It will have to be her decision. I had rather hoped that we would be able to get to point where we could go to her privately and have this conversation, I am very sorry that the whips have not made this possible, he said.

He added: I am slightly surprised that the whips decided to brief a newspaper about it. That was their idea to smoke people out,

Senior ministers, meanwhile, continued to rally round Mrs May, with Environment Secretary Michael Gove  who ran against her in last years leadership contest  saying she was doing a fantastic job.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

He said the overwhelming majority of Tory MPs  including the entirety of the Cabinet  wanted her to carry on.

She showed an amazing degree of resilience and courage this week, of a piece with the fantastic leadership she has shown through the time that she has been Prime Minister, he told the Today programme.

The truth is that the overwhelming majority of people want the Prime Minister to concentrate on doing the job which 14 million people elected her to do earlier this year.

I think it would be disrespectful to those 14 million people to do anything other than concentrate on those areas where action is necessary.
Eberhaard van der Laan, the popular former mayor of Amsterdam who once snubbed Russian president Vladimir Putin over Moscow's laws on gay "propaganda" , has died after a long battle with lung cancer.

Amsterdam Municipality, which 62-year-old Mr Van der Laan led for seven years before stepping down last month because of his failing health, said early on Friday that Mr Van der Laan died on Thursday night.

"Amsterdam weeps for its dear mayor and all of the Netherlands mourns" with the city, Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte said in a statement.

A lawyer and member of the Labour Party, Mr Van der Laan was a government minister for housing and integration for two years before being appointed mayor in July 2010.

He made headlines in April 2013 when he said he was too busy to meet Mr Putin during the Russian president's visit to Amsterdam.

The move was widely seen as a snub to Mr Putin because of Russian legislation banning gay "propaganda".

Rainbow flags flew at half-mast around the city during Mr Putin's visit.

Soon after taking office, Mr Van der Laan won respect for personally reaching out to parents of children abused by a paedophile in an Amsterdam day care centre.

He displayed his tough side by cracking down on youth crime and anti-social behaviour in neighbourhoods.

In a Facebook post, Dutch King Willem-Alexander paid tribute to Mr Van der Laan, calling him "a driven mayor with a heart for his city and a fiery belief in a society to which everybody belongs".

In September, he wrote an open letter to all Amsterdam residents announcing he was setting aside his work.

He closed the letter with a line that underscored his affection for both the city and its residents: "Take good care of our city and of each other. Farewell."

Following the announcement, hundreds of people gathered outside his official residence, a historic canal-side mansion, and applauded the mayor.

Mr Van der Laan is survived by his wife, Femke, and five children.

AP
Iraqi leaders were among world dignitaries a t Iraqi Kurdistan's Suleimaniyeh airport to pay their respects to the late former Iraqi president Jalal Talabani, who died three days ago in Germany.

His coffin, draped in the Kurdish flag, was offloaded from a plane on Friday in front of waiting VIPs.

Iraqi Kurdistan president Mahmoud Barzani, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif and representatives from the US, UN, EU and other states and organisations laid wreaths at the coffin.

Thousands of mourners were waiting for his body to arrive in Suleimaniyeh for a funeral procession.

Mr Talabani, a Kurdish leader who once battled Iraq's central government, accepted the largely symbolic post of Iraq's presidency in 2005.

He was hailed in death as a unifying figure in national politics.

AP
In this video grab provided by the RU-RTR Russian television via APTN, Russian emergency situation employees work at the scene in Pokrov (AP)

Nineteen Uzbekistan citizens were killed in Russia when a train slammed into a bus.

Russia's state Investigative Committee said another five passengers on the bus were injured in Friday's collision, which occurred in the town of Pokrov, about 53 miles east of Moscow.

The Uzbek Foreign Ministry said 56 people on the bus were Uzbek citizens and two others, drivers, from Kazakhstan.

The local administration said the bus was carrying migrant workers from Uzbekistan heading to their native country.

According to preliminary information, the bus got stuck in a railway crossing because of a technical malfunction.

The train's driver hit the brakes, but was unable to prevent the collision.

AP
Shutterstock.com

On August of 1492, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus set sail on his flagship, Santa Maria, on a exploratory mission to chart a new western sea route to the lands of South and Southeast Asia, but along the way, he just so happened to stumble upon the continent which would later be named America. The rest, as they say, is history.

Except, in the case of Christopher Columbus, history is lying to you.

Heres the reality. Columbus didnt set out to explore. He set out to make a buck. And he succeeded in ways which now make many shudder.

Columbus was obsessed with the idea of discovering a new trade route to potentially lucrative Asian territories. But there existed a huge obstacle to this goalnamely, the hostile Ottoman Empire, which blocked most of the known land and sea routes to Southern Asia.

Instead of trying to trek through hostile territory, Columbus came up with an idea: why not just sail westward around the globe until he made it all the way around, ending up in Asia?

But Columbus made two mistakes here. The first is that he grossly underestimated the western distance between Spain and Asia. The second is that he assumed that he would encounter no landmasses along the way.

On October 12th, one of Columbus men sighted what was thought to be Asian land, coming ashore not in what we know as North America, but in the Bahamas. In the ensuing weeks, he sighted Cuba, thinking it was mainland China, and Hispaniola, which he took to be Japan. He never did set foot on American soil.

Up to this point, we can understand Columbus. He was a businessman looking for a new trade route. But what he did next is where the popular narrative of Christopher Columbus truly diverges from reality.

Rather than exploring this new country, communicating with its native peoples, and establishing diplomatic ties, he did something reprehensible. To find out what, lets look to one of his journal entries.

As soon as I arrived in the Indies, on the first Island which I found, I took some of the natives by force in order that they might learn and might give me information of whatever there is in these parts.

But thats not all. He went on to write that the Natives were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features. They do not bear arms, and do not know them, for I showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of cane. They would make fine servants. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.

Columbus men tested the sharpness of their blades on the Natives, murdered both adults and children, using them as a source of food for their dogs, and helped themselves to Native women.

All of this is plainly outlined in Columbus own hand, and in those of his compatriots.

Such was the brutality of Columbus and his men that one witness wrote that Such inhumanities and barbarisms were committed in my sight as no age can parallel. My eyes have seen these acts so foreign to human nature that now I tremble as I write.

Columbus returned to Spain with news of a vast realm of potential slaves, vast veins of gold, and miles of fertile, agricultural land, and was awarded 17 ships, the title of admiral of the ocean sea, and was given over a thousand men to continue his expeditions.

To make good on these exorbitant promises, Columbus forced large numbers of Natives into slavery, setting them to work in gold mines, removing the hands of those unlucky enough to not produce enough gold per month.

Within a few short years, Columbus efforts killed or enslaved roughly a third of the 300,000 Natives on the island of Hispaniola.

Columbus gladly traded blood for this gold. In his final years, he revealed the naked framework of his worldview, writing that Gold is the most precious of all commodities; gold constitutes treasure, and he who possesses it has all he needs in the world, as also the means of rescuing souls from purgatory, and restoring them to the enjoyment of paradise. And, indeedColumbus exploits helped make Spain one of the wealthiest nations on earth.

This is what we celebrate on Columbus Day.

The first celebration of his holiday came in 1792, when New Yorks Columbian Order, as well as Italian and Catholic communities who took pride in Columbus birthplace and faith, commemorated the 300th anniversary of his landing.

It wasnt until 1937, though, that President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed it a national holiday, which came as a result of intense lobbying by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic fraternal service organization named in honor of Christopher Columbus.

Although the majority of Americans admire Columbus, and support celebrating his life in the form of an official holiday, opposition exists. Most notably, Native American groups have regularly protested Columbus Daya holiday celebrating an event which cost their ancestors their dignity, freedom, and lives.

Some U.S. cities and states have abandoned the holiday altogether. Los Angeles, for example, recently replaced Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day, taking a cue from the city of Berkley, which did the same 25 years prior.

The debate about the American celebration of Columbus Day is a loud one. Should we continue to venerate a mans accomplishments when theyre steeped in blood and lies? Should we ignore his morality in favor of his discoveries? Are those discoveries valid when the Americas were already discovered by their native inhabitants?

These are big questions. But however you decide to spend the 12th day of October, it shouldnt be a decision based upon the desire to be right. It should be based on the desire to be truthful. Recognize Columbus misdeeds, even as you recognize his importance in the overall narrative of America.

We are a country woven of darkness and light, and in recognizing our own darkness, we can avoid repeating it. We can avoid condoning it. And most of all, we can avoid unknowingly justifying and celebrating an event that caused the suffering of untold numbers of human beings.

Wesley Baines is a graduate student at Regent University's School of Divinity, and a freelance writer working in the fields of spirituality, self-help, and religion. He is also a former editor at Beliefnet.com. You can catch more of his work at www.wesleybaines.com.
Altar servers rehearse their duties at the San Roque Cathedral in Caloocan, east of Manila, Sept. 14, 2017.

A Catholic Church leader on Monday said several police officers whom he declined to identify had come forward offering to testify against President Rodrigo Dutertes war on drugs after the recent deaths of three teenagers triggered protests.

Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a statement that the men had come forward because they were bothered by their consciences.

They have expressed their desire to come out in the open about their participation in extrajudicial killings and summary executions, he said, adding that the church was willing to provide protection and shelter to the witnesses.

He said the church would not turn the witnesses over to the government if their preference was to stay with the institution.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets in northern Manila in late August to join the funeral march for Kian Loyd delos Santos, 17. The teen was last seen being led away by two plainclothes officers moments before he was killed.

A senate investigation into the death showed the boy was shot at close range, contrary to police statements that he had fought it out with officers. It also said a gun was in the boys left hand, when in fact, he was right-handed.

Villegas asked the Catholic faithful to accommodate potential witnesses and to give them access to seminaries and other secure buildings because they could have something important to tell the nation or testify on before the proper forum.

The archbishop did not reveal the names of the potential witnesses, but his statement appears to signal a shift in the churchs stance.

Although to date it has tried to avoid direct confrontation with the nations leader, the new pronouncement appears to challenge Dutertes year-old presidency. More than 80 percent of the Philippines 103 million people are Catholics.

Duterte has pledged a speedy and truthful probe into the boys killing and claimed the killings of teenagers were aimed at discrediting his regime.

Fear for their lives

Shortly after delos Santos killing, police were accused of taking a 14-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man into custody. The boys mutilated body, his head wrapped in packing tape, was found two weeks later.

The 19-year-old was killed in Manila, allegedly after trying to rob a taxi driver and engaging in a shootout with police.

Relatives of the two said they went out to buy food and never returned home.

Sen. Bam Aquino on Monday appealed to the church to encourage witnesses to come out and share what they know about the killings.

Two activist priests, Robert Reyes and Bong Sarabia, testified before a Senate inquiry that they had been approached by some witnesses who were afraid to testify.

The priests told the senators they were also approached by police officers who have first-hand knowledge about the killings.

The witnesses have refused to reveal what they know because of fear for their lives and reprisal from people who might be affected by their disclosure, Aquino said.

Lets cooperate and find a way so the truth will come out, so that we all will have justice, he said.

Hopefully, we can come to a situation where the (police) will be more transparent with groups and sectors that have raised serious concerns with the war on drugs.

Felipe Villamor in Manila contributed to this report.
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency chief Aaron Aquino (center), discusses the seizure of methamphetamine valued at 5 million pesos during the raid at a local mayors house, Oct. 6, 2017.

Ten suspected drug dealers were killed and more than 140 others arrested in nationwide counter-narcotics raids, police said Friday amid a growing public clamor to stop such operations that mostly target the poor, according to rights groups.

In the southern Philippines, drug enforcement officers raided the house of a local mayor and confiscated a methamphetamine laboratory, authorities said. The mayor, who was not at the house, surrendered later.

The raids were carried out Thursday under the national polices program, including in several cities and towns in Bulacan, a province near Manila, provincial police chief Senior Supt. Romeo Caramat said. Officers from 23 police precincts carried out 69 buy-bust operations across the province.

The arrested suspects and recovered pieces of evidence were brought to Bulacan Crime Laboratory Office for appropriate examination, Bulacan police said in a statement. It said police forces were continuously and relentlessly implementing its intensified campaign against illegal drugs directed by President Rodrigo Duterte.

A lot of explaining to do

In southern General Santos City, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency members said they raided the house of Aniceto P. Lopez Jr., the mayor of Maasim town and discovered a mini laboratory for making methamphetamine hydrochloride, or ice.

The agents also recovered stash of the drug valued at about 5 million pesos (U.S. $97,500). Apart from Lopez, four people, including a village councilman, were arrested, drug enforcement chief Aaron Aquino said.

Lopez is the alleged leader of the El Patron group, a local drug syndicate operating in the southern region, Aquino said.

Aquino said police had information linking the drug ring to Reynaldo Parojinog, the mayor of southern Ozamiz city, who was killed along with 14 other members of his family during a police crackdown in July.

Parojinog was the third local executive killed in the drug war, and like the two others, he publicly denied allegations of being involved in the drug trade.

Duterte has a list of about 150 people allegedly tied to the drug trade, including mayors, village officials, judges and members of the police and military. He has refused to divulge how he obtained the list, but has waved it around when making public speeches.

His spokesmen said Duterte had his own sources, but rights groups and the church have questioned the veracity of the list, saying it was an automatic death sentence for anyone on it.

Aquino said the raiding team also found a blue book allegedly containing transaction records and names of several people that he did not divulge.

The mayor had a lot of explaining to do with regard to the contraband and other illegal items seized from his house, Aquino said.

Drugs, ammunition and paraphernalia were recovered during Thursdays raids, which came about six weeks after more than 100 people were killed in a week-long operation.

Mayor Aniceto P. Lopez Jr.s ID card. (Courtesy of Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency)

Teen deaths

Earlier, Duterte had praised police for the drug war, but he was forced to moderate his tone after three teenagers were killed in August.

The trio died in separate incidents, triggering widespread street protests led by the politically influential Roman Catholic Church. More than 80 percent of the countrys 103 million people are Catholics, making the Philippines Asias bastion of the religion, where the church traditionally has played a role in shaping public opinion.

A closed-circuit TV camera filmed one of the boys, Kian Loyd delos Santos, 17, being led away by officers, challenging the official police version that he died following a shootout.

Duterte met with the boys parents and promised them justice, saying he never ordered the police to kill anyone but only to defend themselves if they came under attack.

Shortly after delos Santos killing, police were accused of taking a 14-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man into custody. The boys mutilated body, his head wrapped in packing tape, was found two weeks later.

The 19-year-old was killed in Manila after allegedly trying to rob a taxi driver and engaging in a shootout with police.

Felipe Villamor in Manila contributed to this report.
Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra answers questions during an interview in New York, March 9, 2016.

Fugitive ex-Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will face four charges, including royal defamation and computer-related crimes, Thailand's attorney general said Friday, a day after police announced a third warrant had been issued for his sister Yinglucks arrest.

Thaksin, 68, a former telecommunications tycoon, lives in exile after he was deposed in a 2006 military coup while attending the U.N. General Assembly in New York. He briefly came back and subsequently fled the country in 2008 just before a court sentenced him to two years in prison on corruption charges.

We will contact the Technology Crime Suppression Division to issue an arrest warrant on Thaksin for royal defamation and violation of Computer Crime Act, Attorney General Kemchai Chutiwong told reporters.

We will set up a committee to file the cases to the Supreme Courts politician figures criminal section, Kemchai told reporters, without providing details on how Thaksin had violated the Lese-Majeste, the nations strict royal defamation law.

Kemchais statements came a day after Gen. Srivara Ransibrahmanakul, the deputy police commissioner, told reporters that a third arrest warrant had been issued against Yingluck Shinawatra for violating immigration laws by not using an official border checkpoint to travel out of the country.

Warrants against Yingluck

The Supreme Court issued the first warrant on Aug. 25, when Yingluck breached bail and skipped her sentencing in a corruption-plagued rice subsidy scheme. The second warrant came out on Sept. 27 when she was sentenced in absentia to five years in prison for criminal negligence related to the botched rice program.

Throughout her trial, Yingluck, 50, has repeatedly claimed innocence, saying she was a victim of political persecution.

Yingluck was believed to have fled to Dubai after passing through the Cambodian border. She became the nations first female leader in 2011, but a military coup toppled her government three years later.

Srivara, the deputy police chief, told reporters on Tuesday that the United Arab Emirates had confirmed Yingluck went from Dubai to England. On Thursday, Thai officials shrugged off local reports, quoting unnamed sources, that England has approved Yinglucks application for political asylum.

Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, who serves as defense minister, told reporters he had no prior knowledge that Yingluck was seeking asylum.

The British Embassys political office in Washington did not return calls from BenarNews for comment.

Thaksin, who travels frequently, owns homes in Dubai and London. His suspended court cases involved a bank loan scandal and charges of malfeasance for allegedly pushing for legal amendments to allow his own businesses to pay less taxes and fees.

Thaksin would be the highest-profile Thai to face Lese-Majeste, the law that prohibits defaming, insulting or threatening the Thai royal family. Conviction carries a penalty of three to 15 years in prison.

Since the military seized power in May 2014, at least 82 people have been charged under Lese-Majeste, according to iLaw, a rights advocacy group. Those cases so far have resulted in 38 convictions and seven acquittals, the group said.
Election Day has come and gone with little drama, locally. The area voted as expected, most local leaders kept their seats and will continue to serve. Read moreElection Day: No big surprises
ein Google-Unternehmen

Google-Dienste anzubieten und zu betreiben

Ausfalle zu prufen und Manahmen gegen Spam, Betrug und Missbrauch zu ergreifen

Daten zu Zielgruppeninteraktionen und Websitestatistiken zu erheben. Mit den gewonnenen Informationen mochten wir verstehen, wie unsere Dienste verwendet werden, und die Qualitat dieser Dienste verbessern.

neue Dienste zu entwickeln und zu verbessern

Werbung auszuliefern und ihre Wirkung zu messen

personalisierte Inhalte anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen

personalisierte Werbung anzuzeigen, abhangig von Ihren Einstellungen

Wenn Sie Alle ablehnen auswahlen, verwenden wir Cookies nicht fur diese zusatzlichen Zwecke.

Nicht personalisierte Inhalte und Werbung werden u. a. von Inhalten, die Sie sich gerade ansehen, und Ihrem Standort beeinflusst (welche Werbung Sie sehen, basiert auf Ihrem ungefahren Standort). Personalisierte Inhalte und Werbung konnen auch Videoempfehlungen, eine individuelle YouTube-Startseite und individuelle Werbung enthalten, die auf fruheren Aktivitaten wie auf YouTube angesehenen Videos und Suchanfragen auf YouTube beruhen. Sofern relevant, verwenden wir Cookies und Daten auerdem, um Inhalte und Werbung altersgerecht zu gestalten.

Wir verwenden Cookies und Daten, umWenn Sie Alle akzeptieren auswahlen, verwenden wir Cookies und Daten auch, umWahlen Sie Weitere Optionen aus, um sich zusatzliche Informationen anzusehen, einschlielich Details zum Verwalten Ihrer Datenschutzeinstellungen. Sie konnen auch jederzeit g.co/privacytools besuchen.
For Immediate Release, October 6, 2017 Contact: Hannah Connor, (202) 681-1676, hconnor@biologicaldiversity.org Public Records Sought on Size, Location of Factory Farms in 8 'Hurricane Alley' States Data Critical to Protect Public Health, Environment During Storm Flooding ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. The Center for Biological Diversity filed public records requests today seeking information from eight southeastern states on the size and location of concentrated animal-feeding operations potentially in the path of catastrophic hurricanes. Todays requests seek records from Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana, which are home to some of the nations largest concentrations of industrial animal-feeding operations, producing hundreds of millions of pounds of animal waste every year. People living in Hurricane Alley desperately need accurate information about factory farms to protect themselves against exposure to toxic animal waste, said Hannah Connor, a senior attorney at the Center. As we learned last year in North Carolina and again this year in Texas we cannot quickly respond to industrial pollution released by catastrophic flooding unless we know the sources. As part of its responsibility to oversee the operation of major U.S. industries, the Environmental Protection Agency typically gathers a wide range of basic information, including the size and locations of industrial-scale operations. But when it comes to the nations sprawling concentrated animal feeding operations, which house millions of animals and produce more than 1 trillion pounds of animal waste every year, the EPA has complied with an industry request that it rely largely on states to provide that information. The Clean Water Act clearly gives the EPA authority to gather this important information, but the agency caved to industry pressure and said it would simply trust states to collect it, said Connor. The only way we can be sure that trust is warranted is to make sure the states have compiled accurate, up-to-date records. The importance of that information was highlighted last year when Hurricane Matthew struck the Southeast, causing catastrophic flooding in North Carolina, which is home to one of the nations highest concentrations of industrial animal-feeding operations. Matthews flood waters not only resulted in 25 deaths across the Southeast but killed millions of confined hogs, chickens and turkeys in North Carolina factory farms and spewed a toxic slurry of animal waste across miles of the coastal floodplain, threatening public and environmental health. During flooding from Hurricane Floyd in 1999, North Carolina hog lagoons released tons of animal waste into the storm waters and coastal waterways, raising nitrogen levels and killing fish. We know catastrophic flooding from hurricanes is likely to become more common across the Southeast in coming years, said Connor. But we cant do a good job of preparing for the health risks they pose and responding quickly to those threats when the big storms hit unless we know where to look.
For Immediate Release, October 5, 2017 Contact Randi Spivak, (310) 779-4894, rspivak@biologicaldiversity.org Trump Administration Threatens Iconic Bird Species Interior Moves to Undermine Greater Sage Grouse Conservation Plan WASHINGTON The Trump administration today formally launched a federal review expected to scale back protections for the greater sage grouse and open the door to more fossil fuel development in the imperiled birds vital habitat. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke opened public comment and triggered timelines that could ultimately give fracking, mining and livestock companies increased access to public land. The Secretary also formally announced his intent to abandon a proposal to protect 10 million acres of the most important sage-grouse habitat from new hard-rock mining claims. Todays decision follows Zinkes June announcement that he planned a review of sage-grouse conservation plans. This move shows Zinkes total contempt for imperiled species and the places they need to live, said Randi Spivak, public lands director at the Center for Biological Diversity. Zinke might as well form a shotgun posse to kill off these animals directly. The Trump administration is perfectly willing to wipe out sage grouse, and a host of other species, to reward its industry friends. Sage-grouse success also benefits pronghorn, elk, golden eagle, native trout and nearly 200 other bird species. Over the past 200 years, agriculture, oil and gas drilling, livestock grazing and development have reduced sage grouse range by nearly half, and the birds populations have steadily declined. Zinke has been an outspoken critic of an unprecedented, years-long sage-grouse conservation effort covering 10 western states. At the insistence of certain states and industry, the final federal conservation plans weakened measures recommended by sage grouse experts assembled by the Department of the Interior. The plans also include loopholes, exemptions, modifications and waivers for compliance. Sage-grouse conservation plans already reflect major political concessions to western states and big industries, said Spivak. If Zinke truly cared about the public lands and wildlife hes sworn to protect, hed strengthen these modest plans to give grouse and their habitat the protection they need and deserve. Instead, sage grouse extinction will be part of Zinkes legacy.
Business of Design speaker Q&A: Yehuda Raff

Business of Design (BoD) is back with a speaker lineup of note. The two-day seminar is held annually in Cape Town and Johannesburg during October and doesn't just focus on design in itself but has a much broader vision for the field in all areas of business. Delegates include everyone from business owners and creative entrepreneurs to retailers, marketing and brand executives, trend analysts, design students and other employees from various industries.

Tracy Lynn Chemaly on Business of Design and other things By Jessica Tennant 18 Jul 2016 New to the conference is 'Open Sessions', a platform for delegates to ask the BoD founders (Trevyn and Julian McGowan of The Guild Group, and Laurence Brick and Cathy OClery of 100% Design South Africa and Platform Creative Agency) as well as fellow delegates any questions they may have, and together overcome any barriers to growth and challenge new ways of doing business. Yehuda Raff I asked Yehuda Raff, founder and director of iPartners Africa, what he loves most about being in the business of design and to let us in on what hell be sharing during his Cape Town session. Why are you excited for Business of Design this year? Why are you excited for Business of Design this year?

Cape Town continues to increase its force as a design capital through the progress of its key role players in the design sector. Business of Design is the opportunity to engage with the portion of the sector that is ready to shift their focus to the commercial aspect of design business. I get most excited by people building businesses, taking risks and backing themselves and their own talent.

Comment on the importance of events such as this that recognise the role design plays in (and the impact it can have on) various industries? Comment on the importance of events such as this that recognise the role design plays in (and the impact it can have on) various industries?

The world is changing, faster every day, requiring new solutions constantly. We have come to understand the role of and need for both analytical and design thinking; for the resolving of the many complex problems businesses, communities and individuals face. Events like this bring to the fore the requirement for a balance between commercial and design outcomes for success. They also highlight the multiple roles creative talents can begin to take across industries.

What do you love most about being in the business of design? What do you love most about being in the business of design?

While I am not a designer, I regard going to work as my creative expression. I am in love with the process of creating something that didnt exist before. I imagine those in the business of design feel similalrly.

What is the title/subject of your talk and/or what are you going to be sharing? What is the title/subject of your talk and/or what are you going to be sharing?

I am sharing my experience of going through the EO Accelerator programme, which is all about scaling up a business. I am going to talk about a number of business principles, systems and ways of understanding a business so that it can grow. The goal is to contribute to the delegates understanding of the requirements for scale and to share some of the tools I was taught.

Whats the key takeout? Whats the key takeout?



If you want to scale, you have to shift from in to on the business.

There actually are right and wrong turns on the journey and if you are at the stage where you want to significantly commercialise your offering, then best buckle up, read, learn, implement, unlearn, relearn, implement, repeat.

The Cape Town version takes place 11-12 October, followed by Johannesburg on 18-19 October, and our readers qualify for a R450 discount. To take up this offer, email az.oc.ngisedfossenisub@ycart with Bizcommunity as the subject. In the meantime, follow #BODCT and/or #BODJHB for more pre-event speaker interviews over the next couple of weeks to get your creative juices flowing.
President Jacob Zuma missed the deadline for appointing an SABC chief operating officer because none of the candidates "met expectations", Communications Minister Ayanda Dlodlo said on Thursday.

"The candidates did not have the level of experience that made one comfortable. They were good, but they did not meet my expectations," Dlodlo told reporters in Johannesburg.

Dlodlo slammed the media "narrative" that the public broadcaster's interim board had implied the SABC was "inherently reckless and susceptible to corruption".

"There has not been recklessness. There has been no corruption," she said.

Acting SABC CEO Nomsa Philiso acknowledged that the public broadcaster's funding model was not working.

"The truth of the matter is that the advertising model is not just affecting the SABC. The pie is shrinking for other entities as well," Philiso said.

Funding model review

She said the broadcaster was reviewing its funding model, which is heavily reliant on advertising.

"We are looking at other models, which relate more to how we exploit our content and how we play in the digital space," Philiso said.

Parliament's portfolio committee on communications interviewed 34 candidates and submitted a list of 12 names to the president for approval and appointment as non-executive members of the board on 5 September.

Zuma had 21 days to ratify the list, but according to a report in the Sunday Times he has been reluctant to sign off on the names because he does not trust some of the candidates.

Zuma's spokesman, Bongani Ngqulunga, said the president was "still applying his mind".

Source: The Times
There was not an ANC MP in sight when Parliament's standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) kicked off its hearing into the KPMG debacle on Thursday morning.

Themba Godi, chairman of the standing committee on public accounts (Scopa). Photo: SA Breaking News

Only four MPs, other than Scopa chairperson Themba Godi, were there at the start: DA Scopa members Tim Brauteseth and David Ross, the DA's David Maynier, who is a member of the standing committee on finance, and EFF Scopa member Ntombovuyo Mente.

Auditor-general Kimi Makwetu was also in attendance.

Scopa member for the ANC Nyami Booi had to apologise for attending a recent briefing by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) on the KPMG report, as his presence gave the impression that Parliament was partisan on the issue in favour of SARS and that the revenue service was being run from Parliament.

Godi welcomed the KPMG delegation led by newly appointed KPMG SA CEO Nhlamulo Dlomu and asked that they reflect on questions the committee sent them honestly and account to Parliament openly.

"We had chosen to invite you because we believed it was in your own interest for you to use a public platform like this to reassure people that there is still reason for KPMG to engage with the public," said Godi.

Godi also urged KPMG to take the opportunity the committee gave them as a platform to clarify matters and ease fears that the recent scandals had compromised other work done by the firm.

"On Monday, it's the last day for annual reports to be submitted. The critical question " should be if there is any anxiety around whether your work is the kind of work we [as the state] can utilise with no hesitation," he said.

The blows to KPMG's business have been unrelenting since its report directly affecting the government's response to reports of a rogue unit at SARS. These have prompted businesses to dump the firm and seek the services of other auditing firms.

The firm is also being investigated by the Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors for audit and advisory work which it did for the Gupta-owned Oakbay finance institution, at a time of heightened scrutiny over the phenomenon of state capture.
Farmers in the Eston, Mid-Illovo and Richmond areas of KwaZulu-Natal have been praised for their support and generosity to drought-stricken farmers in the Eastern Cape.

A baling machine collects loose grass and turns it into bales on a farm in Mid-Illovo to be transported to farmers in need in the Eastern Cape

Speaking at a meeting of the Mid-Illovo Farmers Association (MIFA), the Beaumont Eston Farmers Association (BEFA) and the Richmond Agricultural Society (RAS) in September, President of Agri Eastern Cape, Doug Stern explained how the drought has not only caused an agricultural and financial crisis but has also had an impact on the South African economy. And with the Eastern Cape accounting for a third of all livestock in the country, this is now a national crisis, he said.

This is the third consecutive year that the province has had way below average levels of rainfall. As a result, our farmers have had to drastically reduce their stock levels in order to survive and, in trying to keep what stock they do have alive, they have now exhausted all funds available to them to keep afloat, said Stern.

Any bit of feed helps

Expressing his thanks, Stern said: The aid received from farmers in KZN has greatly lifted the morale of our farmers affected. Any bit of feed helps and makes a difference to the survival of animals, adding: We couldnt be more grateful.

One of the people leading the charge of the aid initiative in Mid-Illovo is Farm Manager MJ Hillhouse, who, after receiving a desperate plea from a fellow farmer in the Aberdeen area of the Eastern Cape, raised the call for help with his local farming community. At first, Hillhouse merely asked for donations of animal feed as well as any financial contributions to assist with the transportation of the feed but was met with such generosity that the operation quickly expanded to include a full baling process.

Agri EC President, Doug Stern, with MJ Hillhouse, the farm manager from Mid-illovo who started the aid relief initiative

Hillhouse said the response to help has been overwhelming and where farmers have not been able to contribute to the relief efforts financially, they have offered the use of machinery, labour and their own time.

Since the initial call for aid was raised in early September, already around 31 interlink truckloads of grass bales have been delivered to those worst affected in the Eastern Cape, along with four truckloads of yellow maize and a 34t load of molasses. Currently, there are 72 truckloads of grass, two of yellow maize and one more load of molasses ready to be transported.

More farmers join the cause

Word has also spread as far afield as Winterton and Ladysmith, where local farmers there have been keen to join the cause.

Sandy La Marque, CEO of the KwaZulu-Natal Agricultural Union, Kwanalu, commended Hillhouse and the farmers who have been so willing to get behind this aid effort.

Everyone can sympathise with the plight of farmers in the Eastern Cape who have been so badly affected by the drought and it is our farming communities across KZN who continue to do us proud at every turn with their selfless commitment to assisting those in need regardless of the demands on their own time and pockets, La Marque said.

Urging more farmers to get behind this aid initiative, La Marque added: I think all farmers realise that at any point the tables could turn and it could be any one of them in desperate need of assistance.
A Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) officer has been sentenced to three years imprisonment or R5000 fine for accepting a R100 bribe.

Officer Lydia Matsapola was sentenced by the Roodepoort Magistrates Court on Thursday after she was arrested in a sting operation by members of the National Traffic Anti-Corruption Unit (NTACU) in March last year.

Matsapola had stopped an undercover agent for driving a vehicle without a valid licence disc. She accepted a R100 bribe in exchange for allowing the agent to drive away without the required fine.

Matsapola was charged under the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act. She was further sentenced to five years imprisonment, suspended for five years provided she is not found guilty of a similar offence, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said on Thursday.

The magistrate also declared her unfit to possess a firearm. The Road Traffic Management Corporation said it will now apply to have the officer unregistered as an unauthorised officer to prevent her from ever working in the law enforcement fraternity.

The sentence should send a message to other traffic law enforcement officers that bribery and corruption have very negative consequences, the cooperation said.

North West cops nabbed for dishonesty

In North West, three other traffic officers have been dismissed by the Department of Community Safety and Transport Management after being found guilty of dishonesty.

The three were arrested by NTACU in December 2016 for taking bribes from undercover officers.

An internal disciplinary hearing found that the three breached the relationship of trust that existed between them and their employer and ordered their dismissal.

The three are expected to appear in the Brits Magistrates Court on charges related to bribery. They are currently on bail of R2000 each.

Meanwhile, the Gauteng Department of Community Safety has also dismissed a provincial inspector, Clement Khonke, for accepting a R200 bribe from an anti-corruption agent in December 2016.

Khonke is facing criminal charges and is expected to appear in the Springs Magistrates Court soon. He is currently out on R1000 bail.

Members of the public have been encouraged to report fraud and corruption involving traffic law enforcement officers to the National Traffic Anti-Corruption Unit on 0861 400 800 or az.oc.cmtr@ucatN.
At the recent Gartner Symposium, I attended a session by Gartner Research Director, Magnus Revang on why user experience (UX) is hard for IT to deliver and what to do about it.

What is UX?

There are about 27 definitions of user experience out there, which goes to show that even the experts can't agree on what it is that needs to be delivered.

Revang gave delegates the following one:

User experience includes all the users' emotions, beliefs, preferences, perceptions, physical and psychological responses, behaviours, and accomplishments that occur before, during, and after use. [ISO 9241-210, 'Human-Centred Design Processes for Interactive Systems]

According to him, companies often get the goal wrong. When it comes to getting people to sign up for a newsletter, for example, why is it that the form you need to fill in is so lengthy and intimidating? The goal is clearly not to get people who are interested in the content to sign up, but rather to populate the CRM system. If the goal was simply to get signups for the newsletter, the form would be short and quick and easy to fill in.

A good user experience should not be the goal, says Revang - it doesnt make you money. User experience is rather a means to attain business value and helps you to reach your goal. It isn't the goal in itself. He says the goals in IT today are increasing, but you cant measure user experience without knowing what outcome you want to achieve.

Why is it hard to deliver UX - especially for IT?

Revang says there has been a decline in routine tasks and jobs thanks to automation through IT. However, our workloads haven't decreased as a result. In fact, we are doing more work than ever today but we're doing more non-routine work. Non-routine work's goal is not automation but rather empowerment, he says.

IT is good at automation, but not necessarily good at delivering solutions that empower people. That's because IT often applies large, complex engineering to systems that need to be human-centric, simple, relevant, and non-leading. CIOs and IT managers need to remember that users need to be empowered and therefore they need to listen to users and find out what they need.

Tesler's Law of the Conservation of Complexity states that:

The user had to deal with complexity because the programmer couldnt. But commercial software is written once and used millions of times. If a million users each waste a minute a day dealing with complexity that an engineer could have eliminated in a week by making the software a little more complex, you are penalising the user to make the engineers job easier.

The consequence of adding a feature

Basically, there's a choice: are you incentivising developers to simply develop features and collect data? Or are you incentivising them to develop software thats easy to use? Do you want the complexity to be exposed to the user or to the system?

This leads to the adding of features. The cost of features is astronomical, says Revang. He used the example of Netflix which doesnt have advanced search  it added the feature which probably took months to develop. However, that one feature was at the expense of all the other features that were already there. As soon as the advanced search feature was added, the other features were irrelevant and underused. So Netflix decided to remove the advanced search feature. Just like that.

When considering adding features, remember that you have the user on the one hand and the system on the other:

User System One more thing to misunderstand One more thing to maintain One more choice to make One more thing to test One more thing to read One more thing to monitor One more failure waiting to happen One more thing to consider One more distraction One more thing to build and deploy

What do we need to start doing?

User experience is done by multi-skilled teams which can comprise of a developer, a front-end developer, an interaction designer, a graphic designer, an information architect, a content strategist, a copywriter, and editor, and SEO specialist, an analyst, a business developer, a scrum master, a product owner, and a project manager.

He is is of the opinion that no one can do it alone - it all happens in teams. For development, you need a user researcher, an experience lead, a visual designer, a front-end developer, an interaction designer (how things flow and behave), and a content strategist.

When it comes to the design process, you need to follow the steps of discovery (find out what users want), synthesis, prototyping, construction, and refinement.

Revang says it's extremely hard to find good UX examples but after a lot of digging, he showed delegates the best example he could find: the UK government portal.

During the 2008 financial crisis, the UK government had to cut budgets, so developers were given more autonomy to create the site.

What came out of that was a simplistic site that is incredibly easy to use. These were the design principles:

Start with needs

Do less

Design with data

Do the hard work to make it simple

Iterate. Then iterate again.

This is for everyone

Understand context

Build digital services, not websites

Be consistent, not uniform

Make things open: it makes things better

He closed off by giving delegates some final recommendations:

Define what good UX is before you start

Do user research

Follow a design process

Focus on quality over quantity

Use data to inform design decisions

Make teams accountable, but also increase autonomy

In the end, remember that good design can never rescue a bad service.
Vodafone announces global brand relaunch

Today, 6 October, Vodafone made a global announcement across all of its markets that it is relaunching its brand positioning, which marks the biggest relaunch it's had in its 33-year history. What's changed is the strategy positioning of the brand, its strapline and pay-off line, and its visual identity.

Nyimpini Mabunda Its a momentous occasion for Vodafone, which is our parent company, says Nyimpini Mabunda, chief officer of the Consumer Business Unit at Vodacom Group Limited. Its quite a significant change. We have had power to you since 2009, and in South Africa this will be the third time that were changing. With that comes one of the biggest campaigns theyve done, which launched globally today, with local executions in the various markets. South Africa was one of the top five (out of 14) markets within the Vodafone network chosen to develop the new positioning and tasked with localising the campaign to ensure that it resonates with as many markets as possible.The brand positioning strategy was developed after a period of extensive research and concept testing, including quantitative and qualitative inputs from more than 17,000 people in 10 countries. Additionally, advertising concepts were tested with more than 10,000 people in 17 countries. As a result, the new positioning simply reads: The pay-off line is actually ready with a question mark, and the pretext to it, which is the context for readiness, is the future is exciting, explained Mabunda, who went on to explain the thinking around this: What were saying is that theres reason to be optimistic. In the short term theres anxiety around the world, particularly with the youth, with whats happening with the economy, politics, and so on. Technological advancement and digital breakthrough is creating a level of optimism that we havent seen in a long time, and people are expecting technology to contribute quite positively to their lives and to add value to the quality of life in general. I interviewed Mabunda to find out more Talk us through the evolution of Vodafones brand positioning. Talk us through the evolution of Vodafones brand positioning.

The brand reposition is part of aligning with our business strategy and vision 2020, which CEO Shameel Joosub outlined during the last financial results. Vodacoms strategy adapts as consumer needs change and our brand identity is part of this evolution.

Our new brand positioning reflects our commitment to support customers and their communities adapt and prosper as exciting technology trends emerge. At the same time, weve updated our visual identity to reflect the increasing importance of digital marketing channels.

What are some of the things the new brand position speaks to? What are some of the things the new brand position speaks to?

This is a long-term repositioning of our brand. At a time of widespread public anxiety about the future, we think its important to emphasise that many of the technological innovations anticipated over the next 20 years will have a profoundly positive impact for everyone.

One of the innovations we are experimenting with is a voice authentication system. This means shorter call times and potentially a reduction in identity fraud.

In Europe, there are already a lot of interesting concepts being explored such as the Vodafone Smart Bikini which will tell you when it is time to get out of the sun. This could be relevant for the South African market and something we can look into with enough consumer demand.

We have also recently launched the Connected Farmer. Vodacoms Connected Farmer aims to assist in providing farmers with the services they need through the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices, enhanced productivity and, most importantly, risk reduction.

Sourcing from smallholder farmers as a result becomes more realistic and executable for food manufacturers and retail businesses, increasing the number of smallholders and subsistence farmers in commercial agricultural value chains. This has been proven in the deployment of the Connected Farmer platform in East Africa.

Whats the objective? Whats the objective?

The objective is to support and help our customers embrace new technologies and the possibilities of the future. Theres so much to look forward to! For example, according to Futerra (the research commissioned by Vodafone), with breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI), machines will increasingly support human intelligence. AI will become the ultimate personal assistant, anticipating our needs to help us spend less time doing menial tasks. Our personal digital assistants will manage more complicated tasks too, such as anticipating our needs, protecting our time, monitoring our health, even helping us avoid problems, and stay safe. In the medium- to long-term, we can also anticipate major innovation around healthcare and education, as they become more immersive, using technologies like virtual, augmented and mixed reality.

Whats next?





We believe there are very good reasons to be optimistic about the future as emerging innovations in science and technology begin to have a profoundly positive impact on society. Vodacom has a long and proud history of bringing new technologies to hundreds of millions of people, enhancing quality of life and transforming the workplace. Our brand positioning is intended to embody that mission and purpose to help our customers adapt and prosper as these remarkable trends reshape the world.
Contact, staff newspaper of the City of Cape Town, was awarded Best Corporate Publication at an award ceremony held in Johannesburg last week. The annual corporate publication competition, run by the SA Publication Forum, awards corporate publications across the media spectrum, from magazines, newsletters and newspapers, to websites, digital publications, DVDs and more.

Contact is the winner of the Best Corporate Publication award.

The award for the Best Annual Report went to Pretoria-based agency, Brand et al for the Redefine Properties: 2016 Integrated Annual Report. The Best DVD award went to Absa for its staff video newsletter, Beat TV Live, whereas a regular entrant in the Digital Magazine and E-newsletter categories, North-West University, took top honours for their digital staff newsletter, Eish!.

Cape Town agency Tip Africa had great success, winning the one-off category with Your Story. Our History. 1916-2016, the story of Ackermans, as well as Best Electronic Newsletter, Wild e-newsletter, created for the Wild Card Programme, Discover Heritage, National Heritage Council (Best External Magazine category B) and the printed magazine, Wild, (Best External Magazine category A).

Other Cape-based agencies that excelled were New Media and Pure Creative Agency that were either winners or runners-up in various categories. The SA Publication Forum is a platform for uniting corporate publication practitioners to network and share information and has been presenting the annual corporate publication competition for the past 16 years.

For the full results, click here.


        

                  .     .     .
Barclays Bank of Botswana under its Agri-Business Unit recently hosted Young Farmers Association for a roundtable series aimed at sharing skills, knowledge and deepening relationships.

This is one of the many initiatives from Barclays in support of the agricultural community as it continues to contribute and support Botswanas agricultural sector.

Barclays Director of Business Banking, Andre Potgieter was truly excited to kick off this collaborative effort, through platforms that encourage dialogue, sharing of ideas, and insights. He said, the potential that our young farmers in Botswana have to transform the agricultural space is huge, and as Barclays Bank of Botswana we are committed to helping them in this regard. The promotion of increased participation of youth in agriculture satisfies many key aspects that stand to benefit our communities and our economy.This he said includes: job creation, economic diversification, and the potential to reduce the countrys huge food import bill. The roundtable discussions were headlined by Ernst Janovsky, one of the well-regarded Agricultural Economists in South Africa and a well-known speaker on agricultural economics. His sound academic background and extensive practical experience as a farmer and member of the agricultural industry at large has proven invaluable over the course of his career.




Shumba Energy Chairman, Alan Clegg says fossil fuels are required in Botswana for sustainable energy production and economic growth in the next 50 to 80 years.

Clegg explained that the gross domestic product in all modern and developing countries in Africa correlates directly with consumption of energy as does life expectancy.

Until a reliable, new and reasonably priced base-load source of energy is found, fossil fuels are required and in Botswana Coal Resources Development (CRD) is the next leg for its industrialisation and future sustainability in economic growth for the next 50 to 80 years, said Clegg.





Recently Botswana Oil (BOL) issued a tender asking investors to build a coal to liquid (CTL) plant for production of fuel in Botswana in a bid to secure its energy supply.

Botswanas current demand for petroleum products stands at 1.2 billion litres per annum, all of which is imported, mostly from South Africa.

Commenting on Shumba Energy financial report, Clegg explained that analysis of established coal markets has shown increase and consolidation throughout the year with prices going to US$ 105 per tonne.

Markets like South East Asia and China which are supplied mainly by Australia have bounced back with the benchmark Australian export price sustaining levels of over US$85 per tonne and they are now making return on capital of US$5 to US$10 per tonne.

Price levels are also expected to increase to US$110 to 120 dollars per tonne by mid 2018 as the Chinese government continues to shut down mines on safety and environmental concerns.

Clegg said although it is unlikely that the company will enter the seaborne coal market for some years yet, Shumba Energy retains their intentions to export onto the seaborne spot markets.

This continues to depend largely on the logistical infrastructure establishment and transport costs, but positive signs for this have emerged in the reporting period from regional governments and parastatals like Transnet in South Africa, said Clegg.

Shumba Energy is currently working on three mining projects, Morupule South Mine Project, Letlhakeng coal exploration project and Sechaba mine project in Botswana.
Botswana Innovation Hub(BIH) will host an inaugural innovation day dubbed as, Innovation Botswana 2017 at the BIH Science and Technology Park in October 26th 2017 in Gaborone.

Addressing a media brief this Wednesday, BIH Director- ICT and Marketing, Tshepo Tsheko explained that the event aims to celebrate innovation and create a platform for networking, dialogue and exhibition with intention of bringing together local and regional players in the science, technology and innovation space.

Tsheko said, we need to celebrate and showcase innovations that Batswana are working on, together with Internationals. This is to bring innovators and innovation seekers together; business to business interactions; funding and technical support and pitching opportunities.





BIH brings together all players. We are constantly saying if there is anything we havent identified, we want to know how we can make it a success. This will be carried out in an effort to sensitise stakeholders and the public on the current developments that have been taken by the BIH in line with its mandate of ensuring that Batswana are aware of the role of innovation in diversifying the economy.

BIH Public Relations Manager, Tigele Mokobi said they look forward to seeing key stakeholders such as Minister of Tertiary Education Dr Alfred Madigele, BIH Board chairperson Neo Moroka, together with various Chief Executive Officers, Vice Chancellors and Head of Departments of BIH partner with institutions in government, academia and the business community.

These will form a viable platform for the development of Innovation in Botswana. Mokobi says, innovation Botswana 2017 will be the first of what will become an annual event, going forward it will be titled Innovation Botswana followed by a year in which it is held. We look forward to moulding it into a coveted platform that will become a think tank for Botswanas best strides in innovation

The overall objective of the event is to empower participants with a clear view and appreciation of the local innovation space. BIH Director- Cluster Development, Budzanani Tacheba added that it will be an appreciation of what we have in Botswana and be able to export to other markets.

Through Innovation Botswana 2017, the public will be given insight into what innovators are developing in their own spaces while also raising awareness on what legislative policies government is putting in place to support technology entrepreneurs.

The day will also accord participants an opportunity to engage stakeholders in dialogue during the scheduled plenary sessions, workshops as well as see and appreciate the creations coming from local innovators.
Letso Leipego and his company, Letz Photography is on a mission to tell a different story about Botswana and her culture.

The local company is currently working on a project dubbed Tell My Story that seeks to tell the story of Batswana through the lens. It will give audiences locally and outside the country a glimpse of the culture and the people of Botswana.

Tell my story will be showcased in an upcoming exhibition in the coming weeks. Leipego, 26, a native of Hukuntsi tells BG Style that the exhibition will be made up of different works of art.





His biography explains that his photography is founded in a curiosity around light: an emphasis on contrast, and a highly stylised manipulation of light and shadow. This playful illumination (or its reverse) evokes the artists motivation for creating the work. Leipego makes pictures that call attention to things that the observer tends to overlook, says the biography. His curiosity in light and darkness, the bio says, extends to a curiosity about people living on the edge of mainstream society, whose stories and histories are seldom illuminated with the same intensity as is present in his striking photographs. Tell My Story is a provocative series of portraits of people from the Kgalagadi area in Botswana. True to his style, Leipego has photographed all his subjects in their own environments. The influence of his extensive work as a fashion and commercial photographer is clearly evident in this collection; however the images, like the characters they display, are layered with hidden qualities and references. It is this notion of revelation that is so central to Leipegos photography: through tricks of light and innovative composition strategies, he brings a revelatory tone to a style of ethnographic photography that has often been marred by a shadowy legacy, the bio says.

Leipego says in an interview that he fell in love with art in Primary school. His exposure to art, especially photography took a different turn when he was introduced to the subject as a module while studying Advertising at Limkokwing University. Initially, he treated photography as a hobby but soon realised that this was something that he enjoyed. And the rest is history.

A member of Thapong Visual Arts Centre, Leipego takes pride in capturing his subjects in potrait form. After I took the deliberate decision to pursue art, I learnt different tricks of the trade on the internet, he says. In his early days, he worked at a printing shop as a way of making extra cash in order to buy equipment. Today his company has two employees, including Leipego and a Graphic Designer.

One of his challenges are clients who dont understand what photography is all about. But he says that all is not lost, as he is trying to educate them. It is up to us to teach them, he notes.
Transformation seems to be the right word to describe the new unveiled Avani Hotels and Resorts, formerly known as Gaborone Sun.

Beginning with the reception area, to the exquisite, spacious rooms, theres been lots of changes made. The foodies will also love the mouth-watering desserts that they have.

Creativity is yet another catchphrase to describe how the newly-opened hotel was designed. The rooms and bathrooms are quite spacious and will make guests feel they are home away from home.





The new-look hotel is a perfect fit for the 21st Century. They say that a design for living space serves as a trendy lifestyle hub with social and private spaces where guests can interact, catch up with friends and meet up for business or enjoy time out.

Avani also provides Wifi for guests to transact business. Newly appointed General Manager Riaan van Rooyen says Avani is now the capitals leading leisure and business resort.

It is clearly evident from the sheer size and scale of the renovation that Avani Hotels & Resorts is committed to cementing relationships with the communities of Gaborone and Botswana as a whole. Avani Gaborone is now the capitals leading leisure and business resort, said Rooyen.

He was addressing the media last week, which also had an opportunity to spend a night experience to view the hotel. Believe it or not the experience was super because the P79 million spent on renovations was just worth it.

The interior composes of natural light that gives great effect, while on the other hand there is The Pantry just by the reception side. The Pantry offers fresh quick bites for people on the move, as well as comfort food and fresh fruit juices, barista coffees and many more.

Sometimes, sleeping in a hotel might be embarrassing especially when ones key wont unlock the door. This would call for one to take a lift or walk down the stairs if ones room is upstairs. Well, that is not the case with the new Avani.

There are telephones installed in front of every room as a remedy for such an embarrassment. One would just simply call reception and the key issue would be fixed in an instant. What if your phone battery is dying and you only have a cord without an adapter?

Oh well, Avani will save you the embarrassment. They have such ports for charging phones just with a cord. How lovely! I got to see that portable miracle port and charged my phone. As I switched on, it did not only charge but the bulb on the other side of the bed also lit the room.

That lounge room comprising of that elegant furniture also gives the mind full refreshment. It is where guests can just chill in and enjoy their stay at Avani.
From the very moment she was crowned the 2017 Miss Botswana, Nicole Gaelebale was a big bundle of controversy.

But for the queen, thats the moment she knew that God answers prayers. She knew then that perseverance pays and most of all that dreams do come true.

For most, her win came as a shock, not only because some thought her counterparts deserved it better but because she was the same girl who tried five times without any luck, yet still came back and eventually won. Her story is one of a kind, and her kind is rare.





The 2017 queen hails from Mahalapye and is a daughter amongst two other siblings to a single mother. Being raised by a strong single mother who I have watched defy all odds to raise three strong children, I would not have been my mothers child, if I had given up at any point, she says.

Nicole comes across as a humble, sweet and a gentle young lady. Her height enchanting and she wears the most mesmerising and warm smile that can be felt from a distance.

In an exclusive interview with BG Style the young lady shares that her love for pageantry began when she was still a little girl, But I never won, she jokingly laughs.

It is only in 2008 when my efforts were rewarded when I took away the Miss Ledumang Secondary and in the same year scooped Miss Teen and I never really stopped.

Her strong-will resonates well with her patience and grit to become what she saw as herself. My dream is to become Miss World and I will not stop until I am there, she maintains.

Gaelebale draws most of her inspiration and drive from her mother, who she says has been a big part of her growth in the pageantry. She is not a quitter, and therefore instilled similar values in me.

There was a year I was confident I was going to take the Miss Botswana title, but I became a princess instead, I was so sad and for sometimes the thoughts of giving up reigned on me.

I even sold all my shoes, thinking it is all over. But you see, the thing with having a dream, it keeps reminding you why you started in the first place. I had to stand up again and keep on.

She says at 26, her dream almost faded right in front of her. The contest usually takes up to 25, but this year it was extended by a year.

This presented her an opportunity to try again. I tried again only to realise that it was the very year I would win. Had I given up, I would not be Miss Botswana today, she says boldly.

In retrospect she says all the time she spent investing in contesting for Miss Botswana while coming out unsuccessful were all worth it. Preparation is key and only meaningful preparations are rewarded in the end, she adds.

The queen urges young women and girls to never give up in their dreams no matter how long it takes. Take that time as a time to prepare, learn and build as much as you can, and trust Gods timing.

For her, she turned all her losses to gains by preparing for Miss World all the times she did not win. The aim is to win Miss World, but I realised if I am to attain that far I would first need to win Miss Botswana.

Through this time I was able to learn that pageantry is not all about looking good and showcasing what you have but more to do with what you will give back to the people.

During her preparation, she has been able to gather herself, her strengths and most of all ready her NGO for the task ahead. Now after all these years we are more than ready for Miss World.

Gaelebale will represent the country at Miss World grand finale which will be held on 18 November 2017. Under her belt she has titles like Miss Botswana first runner up 2015, Miss Earth 2014 and Miss Global Botswana 2012.

It has been a long walk to victory, she teases.


Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa during a news conference ahead of Air Force Day in New Delhi on Thursday. A PTI photo

NEW DELHI (PTI): The Indian Air Force is capable of effectively countering any threat from China and Pakistan simultaneously in a two-front war, Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa said on Thursday, and indicated existing tension between Chinese and Indian troops in Doklam.



Noting that the Chinese troops were currently present in the Chumbi Valley in the Dokalam Plateau, the IAF Chief said a peaceful resolution of the issue would be in the interest of both the countries.



"The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, their forces in Chumbi Valley are still deployed and I expect them to withdraw as their exercise in the area gets over," Dhanoa told reporters ahead of IAF Day, which is marked on October 8.



Indian and Chinese troops were locked in an over two-month-long standoff after India stopped the construction of a road by China in Doklam in the Sikkim sector on June 16.



Asked about concerns over Pakistan's tactical nuclear weapons and whether the IAF would be able to disarm Islamabad of its nuclear arsenals if necessary, Dhanoa said his force had the capability of locating, fixing and striking across the border.



Asserting that the IAF was capable of a two-front war to counter China and Pakistan, he, however, said the possibility of such a scenario was "low". At the same time he added that India's response had to be based on the enemy's capability as intentions could change overnight.



"We need a strength of 42 squadrons to carry out full spectrum operations in a two-front (war) scenario. It does not mean that we are not capable of fighting a two-front (war) as we speak. We have a plan B," Dhanoa said.



Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat had said last month that the country should be prepared for a two-front war, insisting that China had started "flexing its muscles", while there seemed to be no scope for a reconciliation with Pakistan whose military and polity saw an adversary in India.



Currently, the IAF has 33 fighter squadrons and Dhanoa said the force would get the authorised strength of 42 fighter squadrons by 2032.



Asked whether the IAF was ready for a surgical strike across the border, he said it was ready to deal with any challenge and a call on such an operation would have to be taken by the Government.



"Surgical strike is a decision that has to be taken by the Government. The IAF has the capability to carry out the full spectrum of air operations," he said.



He said a war-like situation may arise if the IAF crossed the border.



On whether the IAF provided any support to the Army for the surgical strike last year and during the Doklam face-off, the IAF Chief said, "Whatever was asked from the Air Force was provided". He refused to share further details.



The IAF chief, however, said no Air Force assets were involved during the Myanmar operation and the surgical strike across the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir last year.



"The IAF is prepared to fight at a short notice in full synergy with the other two sister services should the need arise," he said, adding that the force was in a high state of readiness to fight a war.



About a possible confrontation with China, he said India's air power was "adequate". At the same time, he talked about what China could or could not do from Tibet.



"Our capability is adequate," he said.



The IAF chief also spoke on a range of issues including steps being taken to enhance the strike capability of the force such as the acquisition of S-400 'Triumf' long-range air defence missile systems from Russia and 36 Rafale combat jets.



He said the contract for five S-400 missile systems would be signed soon and their delivery would start two years after the deal was struck.



The IAF chief also talked about the mid-life upgrading of Mirage 2000, MiG-29s and Jaguar fleets, adding that the IAF was working to fully achieving a network-centric operational capability.



Dhanoa said a proposal for 83 indigenously built Light Combat Aircraft Mark I was being finalised, adding the force is getting 40 Light Combat Aircraft (LAC) and an RFP (request for proposal) for 83 more LCA will be issued. He said the IAF would be getting 36 more Sukhoi fighters and their delivery would start from 2019.



Dhanoa also said test firing of BRAHMOS missile would start from next month. The BRAHMOS supersonic missile systems are being integrated with the Sukhoi-30 MKI frontline fighter.



Referring to a string of accidents involving the IAF's choppers and aircraft, Dhanoa said, "Our losses in peacetime are a cause of concern. We are making concerted efforts to minimise accidents and preserve our assets".



He said security at all the IAF installations had been significantly enhanced after last year's terror attack on the Pathankot base. The steps included putting in place an integrated perimeter security system and buying lethal weapons.



"These men and women under my command are confident of taking on any threat and are fully prepared to undertake the full spectrum of air operations and respond to any challenge in the most befitting manner," said Dhanoa.



When asked about the Army Chief's two-and-half front war comment also referring to internal security threats, Dhanoa said, "As a democracy we don't use kinetic air power against our own people."






NEW DELHI (PTI): In a major move, the Indian Air Force will start the process this month to acquire a fleet of single engine fighter jets which are expected to significantly enhance its overall strike capability.



Chief of Air Staff B S Dhanoa said having a new fleet of single engine jets was a "priority" for the IAF and the request for information (RFI) for it is likely to be issued "very soon".



Another top official of the IAF told PTI that the RFI, kick starting the acquisition process, will be issued this month.



The fighter jets will be produced jointly by a foreign aircraft maker along with an Indian company under the recently launched strategic partnership model which aims to bring in high-end defence technology to India.



"The RFI for the single engine fighter is likely to be issued very soon," Dhanoa said addressing a press conference.



A request for information is a business process aimed at gathering information on the capabilities of various suppliers.



Swedish defence giant Saab and Indian conglomerate Adani group last month had announced a collaboration, mainly eyeing the contract for single-engine jets for the IAF. US defence firm Lockheed Martin is also seen as a major competitor for the deal.



Dhanoa said IAF is giving priority to the single engine fighters as the twin-engine fighters will cost more.



"Right now, we are concentrating on the single engine so as to make up the numbers with lower cost," he said. The IAF currently has 33 fighter squadrons against authorised strength of 42.



The IAF chief, however, said the force has requirement of twin engine jets as well.



In September last year, India had signed an Euro 7.87 billion (approx Rs 59,000 crore) deal with the French government for the purchase of 36 Rafale twin-engine fighter jets.



The IAF was keen on a follow-on order of 36 additional Rafales.



The supply of Rafales is schedules to start from September 2019. Sources said the IAF will start receiving a fresh fleet of 36 Sukhoi fighters from 2019 as well.



Asked about purchase of refuelling tankers for the IAF, Dhanoa said, as the RFP for buying them has been withdrawn, the IAF is now upgrading the IL-78 so that it can carry more fuel. The IL-78 is a Soviet-built four-engined aerial refuelling tanker.



"There is a requirement of tankers which we will pursue again for acquisition," he said.



Asked about the fifth-generation fighter aircraft project (FGFA) with Russia, Dhanoa said a high-level committee has submitted its report to Defence Ministry which will take a call on it.



"The case is with the Ministry of Defence. The preliminary design phase has been completed. The Varthaman committee has submitted its report which is classified and we have also given our response," Dhanoa said.



In 2007, India and Russia had inked an inter-governmental pact for the FGFA project.



In December 2010, India had agreed to pay US$ 295 million (Rs 1,897 crore) towards the preliminary design of the fighter, which is called in India as the 'Perspective Multi-role Fighter'.



However, negotiations faced various hurdles in the subsequent years.



Answering a question, the Air Chief said that the IAF will consider procuring Predator unmanned combat aerial vehicle in case it is offered by the US.



Predator is a remotely piloted unmanned aerial vehicle used primarily by the US Air Force.




An artistic illustration of the TeamIndus-designed spacecraft landing on Moon. Internet imagery

BENGALURU (PTI): An international panel of judges from the Google Lunar XPRIZE who are in Bengaluru to review the moon mission plan of TeamIndus have said that the team has made "substantial progress" and is moving in the "right direction".



TeamIndus is the only Indian team competing for the US$ 30 million prize that requires privately funded teams to land their spacecraft on the surface of the moon, travel 500 metres and broadcast high definition video, images and data back to Earth.



"I think we have seen very substantial progress...They are heading in the right direction. However, I would say in space you always can expect the unexpected and this team has the ability to tackle the problems," Chairman of the panel Professor Alan Wells told reporters in Bengaluru.



TeamIndus will launch its 600 kg spacecraft on board ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PDLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota and it will inject the spacecraft into an orbit 800 km above the surface of the Earth.



The spacecraft will take 4 kg Japanese Hakutos rover on it to the moon along with its own indigenously designed and developed robotic rover.



The panel of expert judges consisting of eminent space scientists and aerospace engineers drawn from some of the finest institutions from around the world are on a five-day review visit.



The exercise formed part of the overall review to gauge readiness of TeamIndus Moon Mission as it nears launch.



TeamIndus Fleet Commander Rahul Narayan said, "We see this engineering review as well as the support from the panel as validation that we are on the right path. We will now be integrating the learning from the review into fine-tuning the mission in the days ahead," he said.



On the launch schedule, Narayan said they were hopeful of completing the mission in next three to six months.



The deadline for the completion of mission fixed by the Google Lunar XPRIZE is March 31 next year.



In response to a question on investments, Narayan said, "The total cost of the programme is expected to be around Rs 450 crore, out which more than half has been collected and spent and for the rest, talks are on with sponsors and others who are interested in spending on this mission."



Tata, Nandan Nilekani (Infosys), Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal (Flipkart) and Venu Srinivasan (TVS Group), K Kasturirangan (former ISRO chief) among others are supporting TeamIndus as its advisers.



Other than TeamIndus the other four finalist teams who have a verified launch contracts are SpaceIL (Israel), Moon Express (USA), Synergy Moon (International) and HAKUTO (Japan).




The first three women fighter pilots of Indian Air Force.

NEW DELHI (PTI): The first three women fighter pilots of India are set to script history next month when they will fly military jets after completing a strenuous training in the coming three weeks.



Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh were commissioned as flying officers in July last year, less than a year after the Government decided to open the fighter stream for women on an experimental basis.



"You will be glad to know that their performance has been on par with other pilots despite the strenuous and demanding nature of flying," Chief of Air Staff B S Dhanoa said addressing a press conference.



A senior IAF official involved in training of the three women pilots said they will steer the combat jets next month.



Currently, the three women pilots are flying Hawk advanced jet trainers.



The IAF Chief said the next batch of three women trainee pilots has been selected for the fighter stream in July and is presently undergoing stage-2 of fighter pilot training.



"On successful completion of training, the three women fighter pilots will be commissioned into the fighter stream in December this year," Dhanoa said.


Bosses at Caixabank have agreed to move its base from Barcelona to the eastern city of Valencia, outside Spain's Catalonia region.

The move confirms a trend that started after Catalans voted on Sunday for secession from Spain in a poll not recognised by Madrid which in turn introduced legislation on Friday to make relocations easier.

In a statement, the bank said the reason for the relocation was to "completely safeguard the legal and regulatory framework substantial for its activity" and to remain in the eurozone and under the supervision of the European Central Bank.

Regional separatist authorities in the northeastern region of Catalonia have pledged to declare independence regardless of Spain's constitution and the opposition of central authorities in Madrid.

Caixabank's move was possible after Madrid approved a decree allowing firms' executives to bypass shareholders' approval for moving its registered address.

Half a dozen listed companies, including Banco Sabadell, have already approved a similar move.

The new decree from Madrid means Caixabank, Spain's third largest bank by assets, can now relocate before next week, when separatist authorities in Catalonia want to declare independence.

At least half a dozen other companies, including the fifth-largest lender, Banco Sabadell, have already relocated or agreed to do so.

The moves have no immediate effect on jobs or company assets, but are seen as a blow to the Catalan government.

Spain's economy minister Luis de Guindos said: "This is the result of an irresponsible policy that is causing uneasiness in the business community."

Two Catalan companies, textiles maker Dogi and reprographics company Service Point Solutions, saw their shares surge after they said they had plans to relocate.

Cava-maker Freixenet, a household name, is also considering a move while telecommunications provider Eurona and biotech firm Oryzon have already completed their relocations.

AP
Update 5.12pm Catalonias parliament will defy a Spanish court ban and go ahead with a debate that could lead to a declaration of independence, a regional government official said, as Spains worst political crisis in decades looked set to deepen.

Secessionist Catalan politicians have pledged to unilaterally declare independence at Mondays session after staging an independence referendum last Sunday.

Madrid had banned the vote and sought to thwart it by sending in riot police who use batons and rubber bullets on voters.

Earlier:Spain's government has approved a decree making it easier for companies to move their official base out of Catalonia.

Meanwhile, Spain's main stock index is down slightly, with Catalan banks leading losses amid uncertainty over the region's independence bid.

The Ibex 35 index lost 0.9% to 10.126 points in Madrid by midday on Friday.

The biggest fallers were Banco Sabadell, the country's fifth-largest bank by assets, and Caixabank, Spain's third-largest.

Sabadell said it would move its base out of Catalonia, and executives at Caixabank are due to discuss a similar move.

Two Catalan companies, textiles maker Dogi and reprographics company Service Point Solutions, saw their shares surge after they said they had plans to relocate.

Cava-maker Freixenet, a household name, is also considering a move while telecommunications provider Eurona and biotech firm Oryzon already completed their relocations.

The moves are largely symbolic, with no immediate effect on jobs or company assets in Catalonia, but are seen as a blow to the Catalan government's secession hopes.

Catalan president Carles Puigdemont has requested to address the regional parliament next Tuesday amid growing challenges for his government to deliver on a pledge to declare independence.

The moves towards secession for Spain's northeastern region follows a disputed referendum last weekend.
The Ireland Chapter of Project Management Institute (PMI) has announced the shortlist of finalists for the inaugural National Project Awards.

Winners of the seven categories will be revealed at a gala dinner at Spencer Dock, Dublin, hosted by principal sponsor PwC on November 1.

The National Project Awards recognise and honour individuals, project teams and organisations that have excelled within the project management discipline.

The shortlists are as follows:

Project Professional of the Year (sponsored by PwC)

Eamon McCormack, Oath

Emma Daly, Aspira

Derek Tierney, Department of Finance

Killian Kenny, Stryker

PMO of the Year (sponsored by Aspira)

AIB Payments Transformation Programme PMO

Childrens Hospital Group PMO

DePuy Synthes Plan PMO

Pramerica PPMO

Private Sector Project of the Year

AIB - Remote Scanning Enterprise Workflow Solution

RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland) - National Training Programme for Emergency Medicine

Stryker  The Anngrove Global Centre for Product Innovation

Ulster Bank  Payment service using Apple pay

Public Sector Project of the Year (sponsored by the Institute of Public Administration)

Failte Ireland  Irelands Ancient East Orientation Signage

Ervia  Limerick Gasworks Site Remediation Project

HSE  Kidney Disease Clinical Patient Management System

New Childrens Hospital Design Project

SME Project of the Year (sponsored by Progressive Financial Services)

Cora Systems  Healthcare Service Improvement Project

Exigent Networks  High Capacity Wireless Broadband Project

Sonalake  Automation of Fibre to the Premises

Treemetrics  Satmodo Forestry Technology Project

Project Management for Social Good (sponsored by AIB)

Dell EMC  Volunteer Project Management Programme

Donal Walsh Live Life National Film Competition

Team Limerick Clean-Up

Three  Charity partner e-mentoring system

The National Project Awards also includes one honorary nomination, the Distinguished Contribution to Project Management, with the winner to be announced on the night.

Ireland Chapter of PMI President Niall Murphy said: "The calibre of entries in this years awards has been excellent and reinforces what extraordinary talent there is within the industry.

"Across the country, there are dedicated people and teams driving best practice in project management and we look forward to celebrating their successes in November."

Feilim Harvey, Partner in PwC heading up their Portfolio and Programme Management Practice in Ireland added: "It is clear from the quality of the submissions that programme management disciplines are superbly applied in projects in Ireland.

"The calibre of programmes, and outcomes achieved, are a testament to the skills and commitment of the teams involved. PwC looks forward to hosting the finalists in November for the tremendous occasion."
An afterschool project in Dublins north inner city fears it will have to close because of a lack of funding.

CASPr tries to help young children escape from the gangland feud and drug-dealing in the area by providing afterschool activities and childcare.

They run an afterschool project to facilitate primary school children to do their homework, to go swimming or take a music class. They also provide weekly trips to the cinema and some annual activities, incuding the Christmas panto.

The project also helps the children's parents through training programmes.

Its projects can be located here.

CASPr has issued a plea for funding to stay open ahead of next week's Budget in order to continue its work and provide children with a safe space to study and play.

Ann Carroll, a project manager with CASPr, said by way of example that a local child who pricked its finger with a used syringe ended up in Temple Street Children's Hospital.

Colleague Ruth Breen said the gangland feud had also impacted heavily on the area.

"We had to pull the shutters down in our project one day because there was a shooting just around the corner. Unfortunately, the children know the people who are shooting and who are getting shot," she said.

The CASPr project is shortly reducing to two and a half days because of a lack of funding, with fears it will have to shut altogether.

If that happens, chairperson Brian OToole said these children will be the next generation in trouble.

He said: "The children we're looking after (as teenagers) are the ones going to get themselves into piles of trouble (later, unless proper intervention happens)."

The centre is in the heart of the Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe's constituency and ahead of next weeks Budget, the workers are appealing for it to be saved.
A Dublin man is to be sentenced next week after he admitted claiming his dead mother's pension for up to 17 years.

Father-of-two Brian Bobey (64) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to fraudulently taking a total of 158,726 in benefits from the State between 1997 and 2013.

The court heard today that Bobey began claiming his mother's pension after her death in May 1997 and stopped in October 2013, following an investigation by the Department of Social Welfare.

None of the money has yet been repaid by Bobey, who still lives at his late parents' house in Walkinstown Parade, Dublin, with his partner and daughter.

Garda Niall Gaynor told Garrett McCormack BL, prosecuting, that Bobey cooperated fully when a warrant was obtained to search his house, telling gardai he knew it was in relation to my mam's pension.

He met gardai by appointment and identified himself on CCTV footage entering a post office to collect the pension.

Garda Gaynor agreed with counsel for the State that there was no evidence to suggest Bobey had been living any sort of high life from falsely claiming the pension.

The court heard Bobey himself was in receipt of disability benefit since he lost the sight in his right eye due to a tumour.

Bobey has 15 previous convictions, the most recent of which was in 2002 for drink driving.

The rest of the convictions are historic and relatively minor, dating back to 1971 when he was charged with loitering at the age of 18.

Blaise O'Carroll SC, defending Bobey, said his client had cared for both of his parents who suffered ill-health in their final years, his father having pre-deceased his mother by two years.

Bobey's daughter Grace Bobey took the stand and told Mr O'Carroll SC that her father had always been there for her.

When counsel asked Ms Bobey her age, Judge Patricia Ryan intervened and told Mr O'Carroll SC that this wasn't a very gentlemanly question and didn't require an answer.

He's a great dad, I can't fault him, to be honest, said Ms Bobey, who agreed that her father had supported her in every way.

The court heard that Bobey was born in the council house where he is still a tenant, paying rent of 35 a week.

His income from social welfare is 195 a week, which Judge Ryan said she couldn't impose upon as it was decided based on need.

Mr O'Carroll said his client had been one of six children whose father was a gambler and a violent alcoholic and would come home every Friday and tell his wife there was no money left.

As a child, Bobey worked for coalmen, breadmen and milkmen and gave the money to his mother, with whom he was very close.

The court heard that Bobey had been refused social welfare for a time because a previous employer had failed to declare him.

His counsel said he had a very difficult life overall and that one of his daughters, the mother of his grandchild, had died by suicide in the UK.

He's incredibly remorseful [for the offences], said Mr O'Carroll.

Judge Ryan adjourned the case for sentencing next Friday, October 13.
A grave digger who slipped on ice fracturing his ankle at a funeral has been awarded over 50,000 by a High Court judge.

Mr Justice Kevin Cross said gravedigger Nicky O'Brien (pictured above) struck him as a most decent individual who did not exaggerate his injuries and did not even mention to the court he has been left with scars.

Grave digging, the judge said is a noble vocation and the graveyard where the accident occurred -St Ibars cemetery near Wexford town - is a typical old Irish graveyard which has hazards and is not laid out with precision amd military grace as those in continental Europe.

The judge said he believed the accident was caused by the slippy nature of the ground which was sheltered by a headstone.

If there had been grit, the judge said this accident would have been avoided.

Mr Justice Cross also rejected there was contributory negligence on the part of Mr O'Brien.

"He was not running. He was wearing his work boots. He did nothing inappropriate," Mr Justice Cross stated.

Mr OBrien had told the court he was walking away after the grave of an elderly woman had been covered to be filled in later when his foot went and he fell.

I felt a crack in my foot. The path was slippy . It should have been salted and it wasnt, he said.

He later had to have reconstruction surgery on his right ankle said he was out of work for about eight months after the January 8, 2009 accident.

Mr Justice Kevin Cross said the issue in the case was what caused Mr O'Brien's fall, and was it because of the slippy nature of the ground because of frost and ice.

The judge accepted that salt had been requested and a bag of sand at the cemetery had been exhausted.

Mr O'Brien in his evidence said was supported by the cemetery caretaker at the time and a mourner at the funeral.

Mr Justice Cross said in the case he was being asked by the Wexford Borough Council side to prefer the theory offered by a witness from the Met Office who had examined the reports and the data for the date in question over the evidence of witnesses to the accident. Mr Justice Cross said he he believed the witnesses to the accident.

He awarded 40,000 for pain and suffering to date and a further 10,000 for pain and suffering into the future which came to a total of 50,850.

Nicky O'Brien (56),Windmill Heights, Wexford had sued his employer at the time Wexford Borough Council as a result of the accident on January 8, 2009.

He claimed Wexford Borough Council permitted the footpath to be and remain in a dangeorus and unsafe condition and allegedly failed to warn him of the hazardous nature of the path.

He has further claimed there was an alleged failure to warn employees and the public in general of the existence of the hazard on the footpath and the Council had not provided grit and salt which could have been spread on thecemetery paths .

The Council denied the claims and contend that Mr O'Brien failed to take any care for his own safety.
The jury will resume deliberations on Monday in trial of a man, charged with murdering the mother of his children, by strangling her in her new home.

Danny Keena of Empor, Ballynacargy, Co Westmeath is charged with the murder of 43-year-old Brigid Maguire on November 14, 2015. His Central Criminal Court trial has heard that she died of strangulation.

The 55-year-old farmer has pleaded not guilty to murder, but guilty to her manslaughter at her home on Main Street, Ballynacargy. He had previously strangled her to the point of dizziness, and she and her two children had left him only two months before her death.

The defence has asked for a verdict of manslaughter rather than murder by reason of provocation; Ms Maguire had told him he was a bad father to their son.

The prosecution has said that this case was one of the least appropriate for a defence of provocation, noting testimony that he had previously strangled her and threatened to kill her.

Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy charged the seven men and five women of the jury, telling them that there was no room for sympathy or prejudice. He said that the fact the accused was sorry was of no relevance.

He explained that there were two available verdicts: guilty of murder or not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.

The jury had spent two hours and 11 minutes considering its verdict today before being sent home for the weekend. Deliberations will resume on Monday morning.

Yesterday: Remy Farrell SC, prosecuting, pointed to evidence that the accused had threatened to kill his partner on previous occasions. He had also described to his niece the method he would use to take his own life afterwards.

Mr Farrell said this showed that he had certainly given a little thought to killing her and what he would do afterwards.

This is a man, who had committed the act of strangulation on his partner prior to actually killing her, he said. Thats extraordinary.

He was referring to the accused mans admission to both his sister and gardai that he had 'choked her previously. He had told gardai that Ms Maguire had been dizzy as a result.

The defence say that the last occasion where he did it is the occasion where he lost complete control and that its not really his fault. she provoked him, he said.

The reason he did what he did was because he was angry, he was jealous, he was bitter, suggested Mr Farrell. What he did on that night was something hed done before, although with much, much worse consequences.

He told the jury that part of the definition of provocation specified that there could be no time for passions to cool. He pointed to the accused mans description of having held his hands around her neck for 60 seconds.

Its death by strangulation, a very up-close and personal way to kill somebody, face to face, he said, asking the jurors to just sit in the jury room for 60 seconds and note how long it felt.

Consider how long it would be to have your hands around someone elses throat, he suggested. Brigid Maguire was, unfortunately, not given a short death.

He said this was not a case of provocation.

This is one of the clearest cases of murder you might hope for, he said.

However, Colm Smyth SC, defending, asked the jury to consider the circumstances that prevailed at the time.

He said that the couple had been separated since September, that his client had been providing an income to help maintain the family but was finding it difficult to be away from his children, especially his son.

He noted that it had come to Mr Keenas attention that their son had been absent from school.

It was in that respect that he approached the house on the evening, to talk to her, he said, reminding the jury that a witness had seen him around this time and described him as normal.

Brigid was texting during this time, he continued.

He was referring to evidence gleaned from her phone, which showed intimate communication with a male.

Its clear she wasnt listening to him (the accused) and told him to f**k off and get the f**k out of the house, he said.

I suggest you can infer that she had little interest in what Danny Keena had to say, he said.

He was anxious that the boy would spend some time with him, he continued. He said it was declared by Brigid that he was no good of a father.

The accused was deeply hurt, he said.

You must look through his eyes, warts and all, said Mr Smyth.

Its probably one of the most hurtful things you can say to a man, he suggested. It brings into question everything a man stands for.. I cant think of anything more hurtful than that.

He said that this hurtful comment combined with the circumstances of the evening and preceding weeks had triggered in him the reaction that led to what he did.

To say that because he was an abuser in the past, he was not entitled to the defence of provocation is utter nonsense, he said. If ever there was a case where provocation should apply, I suggest its this case.

He asked for a verdict of not guilty of murder, but guilty of manslaughter.

The couples teenaged son had been one of the last witnesses in the trial. He became emotional as he gave evidence yesterday morning, testifying that the accused had previously threatened to kill his mother.

The boy, who is not being named because of his age, was giving evidence via live television link.

He became upset as soon as Mr Farrell asked him to describe what it was like when he and his sister were living with their parents in Empor.

It was really sad because hed never leave my mother alone and hed always pick on her, he replied. Hed threaten her and say everything was your fault and all this. He would say Id kill you.

He was asked if he remembered an incident with milk.

My mother got her hair done and he just came with the milk and spilled it all over her hair and shed done nothing to him, he replied. I told her I hated him for what he did, for what he would be doing to her.

He also recalled being woken one night when he was in sixth class.

I walked in and he held the hammer and was threatening her, he said. I was so scared that me and my sister were trying to protect her. He told us to go away but we didnt.

He said his father then went and got a poker.

Only for we were there that night, he began. If I went away, he would have done something really bad to my mother.

He said he had to go back to bed.

He wouldnt let us leave, he explained. I slept with my mother but I couldnt sleep at all.

He said he used to ask his father, whom he described as a bully, why he had to take everything out on his mother.

He recalled that he, his mother and sister finally moved out in September 2015, but that they had tried to leave before that.

Hed never let her. Hed always find a way to stop her, he said,. When we moved that time, he was at work.

He said it was good to get away.

Mammy was happy, he said. But, he started threatening her again. He used to call into the house.

Under cross examination by Mr Smyth, he agreed that he had enjoyed going to football matches with his father at weekends.

He was asked again about the incident with the milk and became so upset that he was given a break from testifying.
The first Irish naval vessel to take part in a major operation targeting human traffickers heads for the Mediterranean today.

The LE Niamh will be taking part in Operation Sophia, the EU mission to capture boats used by people smugglers, and return migrants to the Libyan authorities.
Update 3.49pm: Labour Housing spokesperson Jan OSullivan has raised concerns for the Housing Minister's plans to introduce shared accommodation for young professionals.

"I am concerned that a plan to roll out a shared living type situation for young professionals would lead to lowered standards of accommodation," she said.

She called for more detail on how the arrangement would work and asked for clarity as to whether it would be akin to bedsits or digs.

Deputy O'Sullivan also said the arrangement would only suit a small number of people.

The London example cited by the Minister, on which it seems this plan is based, is also not cheap, with the average en-suite room costing around 280 per week, or just over 1,000 a month.

The majority of those in the target age-group are likely to be in entry-level jobs on relatively low pay, and would struggle to afford such prices," she said.

She further raised concern on the issue of how many people will be living in the shared space, as Minister Eoghan Murphy said this would be up to the builder.

However, Deputy O'Sullivan said she was "encouraged" by the proposal to remove the need for a mandatory parking space at apartment buildings as a means of encouraging the use of public transport.

I welcome the recognition that a one-size fits all approach to housing is not a solution, but we also cant see a situation where theres a race to the bottom in living standards," she said.

The Minister should also get on with properly regulating short-term holiday lettings or new rental accommodation, particularly in Dublin where the need is greatest, will simply get used up for this more lucrative market," Deputy O'Sullivan added.

Her criticisms were compounded by comments from the Workers Party who described the suggestions as "offensive".

North Inner Dublin City Councillor Eilis Ryan said the shared living arrangement would mean young adults could end up living with dozens of other people and this would "not be anybody's definition of a home".

"It is offensive to suggest that young people should no longer assume they have the right to a secure home. And this is what Minister Murphy is effectively doing," she said.

Cllr Ryan said the arrangement would also be too expensive.

the example he cites in London, "the collective" actually costs 900quid a month. For a bedroom. Total joke.  Eilis Ryan (@eilistweets) October 6, 2017

"Minister Murphy pointed to 'the collective' in London as an example to be replicated. But rents at 'the collective' start at over 900 a month, for less space, autonomy and rights than traditional rental accommodation.

I think if he thinks this isn't already how most young people in full time employment live, he is deluded :/  Eilis Ryan (@eilistweets) October 6, 2017

"Even by London's standards, this is far from affordable. So why is the Minister telling us it will be affordable here?" she said.

The councillor accused the Government of doing everything it can to avoid building public housing.

"This 'co-living' proposal is transparently driven by the interests of developers. Who else other than a developer benefits from squeezing more adults into the one living space?

"It is laughable that the Minister expects us to believe that such ridiculous arrangements are more likely to provide decent homes for young people than the obvious solution - building public housing," Cllr Ryan added.

Earlier: High rise apartment blocks could be on the way as the Government has proposed scrapping height restrictions for city buildings.

They are also getting rid of the mandatory requirement to have car parking spaces in apartment buildings.

They plan to develop communal housing blocks for young professionals, in a similar set up to student accommodation.

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy will also seek to bring down the cost of building apartments, by reducing the requirement for parking spaces in new builds.

Announcing the proposal, he insisted that people do not need the expense of a car that is lying idle in cities where there is sufficient public transport on offer.

Mr Murphy said: "The onus will be on the developer to prove why there should be car-parking places provided in apartment buildings.

Basically we are going to remove the requirement that there should be any parking spaces at all.

I have also announced my intention to remove the numerical height when it comes to restrictions for building apartments.

This is to make sure that we have viable high density developments - particularly in our city centre cores.

Speaking this morning, Minister Eoghan Murphy said the height restriction on apartment blocks in place in cities around the country does not make sense  however he warned there will be no free-for-all for high rise developments, should the restrictions be eased.

Minister Murphy called for more studio and one-bed apartments as well as specialist developments for older people and down-sizers.

He said he is also considering communal living apartment blocks  similar to those used for student accommodation  for young professionals.

We have to free ourselves from the mindset that everyone will live in a three-bedroom house at every stage of their lives, he told the conference.
Credit: Steve Sergent Pop Evil will embark on a U.S. tour later this fall. The outing, which will feature support from DED on select shows, begins November 16 in Lexington, Kentucky and wraps up December 1 in Belvidere, Illinois. Visit PopEvil.com for ticket info.

Along with the tour, Pop Evil is working on their new album, which will be the follow-up to 2015's Up. That disc featured the singles "Footsteps," "Ways to Get High" and "Take It All." The new album, the band's fifth studio release, is due out early next year.

Here are Pop Evil's new tour dates:

11/16 -- Lexington, KY, Manchester Music Hall

11/17 -- Dayton, OH, Oddbody's

11/18 -- Cleveland, OH, House of Blues Cleveland

11/20 -- Pittsburgh, PA, Jergels

11/21 -- Joliet, IL, The Forge

11/24 -- Evansville, IN, KC's Time Out Lounge and Grill

11/25 -- Springfield, MO, The Regency Live

11/26 -- Huntsville, AL, Sammy T's Music Hall

11/28 -- Johnson City, TN, Capone's

12/1 -- Belvidere, IL, The Apollo Theatre AC

Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Niall Horan has announced that he will kick off his 2018 World tour in Dublins 3Arena on March 12 and continue to Belfasts SSE Arena on March 13.

Fresh from his sold-out Olympia gig earlier this year, the Mullingar native also announced that his debut solo album, Flicker is set for release on October 20,

Rising star Julia Michaels will join as special guest on the European shows, which includes stops such as London, Brussels, Milan and Lisbon.

Tickets for the Dublin gig are from 49.80 including booking fee and both dates are on sale next Friday, October 13 at 9am.

By pre-ordering the album, you'll also gain access to a pre-sale from Wednesday, October 11.
Beatrice Fihn, the boss of the anti-nuclear weapons group that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, sent a tweet describing Donald Trump as a moron just two days ago.

The tweet read: "Donald Trump is a moron."

The executive director of the Geneva-based International Campaign To Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican) told a news conference after the prize announcement she was trying to make a joke, "which I kind of regret now".

The joke was based on reports that US secretary of state Rex Tillerson had said the same of Mr Trump.

She added: "I think that the election of President Donald Trump has made a lot of people very uncomfortable with the fact that he alone can authorise the use of nuclear weapons."

Mr Trump has threatened North Korea with "fire and fury" over the military programme that has seen the Asian country carry out nuclear tests and develop its missile potential.

I spoke to @plough_shares about #nuclearban and developments of new norms around weapons. https://t.co/qgXtOGiVjP  Beatrice Fihn (@BeaFihn) October 2, 2017

- AP
Theresa May's allies publicly rallied round their embattled leader as opponents plotted to force her out.

British Home Secretary Amber Rudd insisted the British Prime Minister "should stay" despite the "presentation fails" in her calamitous conference speech and Margot James attacked sacked ministers for wanting to "get their own back".

Former party chairman Grant Shapps said the Conservatives "must look for a new leader" after he was accused of leading a plot to oust the PM.

Ms Rudd called on the party to look at the policies set out at the Tory conference instead of the "presentation fails".

In an article for The Daily Telegraph in England, she said: "We, Theresa May's Government, want to ... set out a better path, one that actually leads to a prosperous, secure and united country.

"We can do that, and we will under her leadership. She should stay.

"Do not doubt that the Prime Minister's absolute commitment to tackling the injustices is a real one. And as the Prime Minister also said this week, we are at a turning point for the nation.

"Trust that it is us who will take Britain in the right direction."

Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said the comments were "spot on".

Business minister Ms James hit out in The Times at "ex-ministers who are extremely embittered individuals who just want to get their own back on the fact they don't feel recognised".

Critics of the PM were said to be attempting to "drum up" a delegation of around 30 MPs to tell her she has lost support and must resign.

Challenged by The Times on whether he was behind a push to pressurise the PM into quitting, Mr Shapps said: "I think having lost an election the party must look for a new leader to take us forward."

Ed Vaizey, who was sacked by Mrs May when she became Prime Minister, said he found it "increasingly difficult" to see a way forward under her leadership.

He told BBC Oxford: "I think there will be quite a few people who will now be pretty firmly of the view that she should resign.

"The Tory Party conference was a great opportunity to reboot the party and therefore reboot the country to give it a clear sense of direction, and that didn't happen.

"So yes, I am concerned. I am finding it increasingly difficult to see a way forward at the moment, and it worries me."

Behind the scenes, senior Conservatives insisted most MPs still believed she should carry on for the sake of the party in the face of the threat from a resurgent Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn.

However, there was said to be growing pressure for a Cabinet reshuffle among loyalists angry at the repeated challenges to her authority by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

The already febrile mood was heightened by Mrs May's conference address in Manchester when a prankster managed to hand her a fake P45, part of the stage set fell down, and she struggled with a persistent cough.

Under party rules, 48 MPs would need to write to the party's backbench 1922 Committee expressing no confidence in Mrs May in order to trigger a leadership contest.
At least 22 people have died in Central America as Tropical Storm Nate dumped heavy rain across the region.

The storm could potentially strike the Gulf Coast of the United States as a hurricane over the weekend and Louisiana has declared a state of emergency.

The US National Hurricane Centre said the storm could cause dangerous flooding by dumping as much as 15 to 20 inches (38 to 50 centimetres) of rain as it moved over Honduras, with higher accumulations in a few places.

Nate had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) by Thursday evening and was likely to strengthen over the northwestern Caribbean Sea into Friday before a possible strike on the Cancun region at the tip of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula at near-hurricane strength.

It could hit the coast near New Orleans over the weekend at hurricane strength, forecasters said.

In Nicaragua, Nate's arrival followed two weeks of near-constant rain that had left the ground saturated and rivers swollen.

Authorities placed the whole country on alert and warned of flooding and landslides.

Nicaragua's vice president and spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said that at least 15 people had died due to the storm.

She did not give details on all the deaths, but said two women and a man who worked for the Health Ministry were swept away by a flooded canal in the central municipality of Juigalpa.

Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Department blamed seven deaths in that country on the storm and said 15 people were missing as flooding drove 5,000 residents into emergency shelters.

In Louisiana, governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency and mobilised 1,300 National Guard troops, with 15 headed to New Orleans to monitor the fragile pumping system there.

With forecasts projecting landfall in southeast Louisiana on Sunday morning, Mr Edwards urged residents to ready for rainfall, storm surge and severe winds - and to be where they intend to hunker down by "dark on Saturday."

Louisiana's governor says Nate is forecast to move quickly, rather than stall and drop tremendous amounts of rain on the state.

State officials hope that means New Orleans will not run into problems with its pumps being able to handle the water.

AP
How you can help Give A Christmas to Lower Bucks families in need
A 24-year-old man is facing a slew of felony charges for illegal straw purchase of 21 guns at gun stores, almost exclusively in Bucks County. Leonard Truesdale was arraigned on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022, on 21 counts each of making false statements on firearm purchase forms, criminal conspiracy to make false statements on firearm purchase forms and selling or transferring...
latest news

October 31, 2022

Buddy TV

In November, there are hundreds of new and returning TV showsit can be overwhelming to try and choose what to watch. That's why we've selected some of the best options...
New study looks at end-of-life decision-making for people with intellectual disabilities

Researchers interview first responders for insight into understudied area

Whats most important in all of the work we do is knowing that people can die badly. We know we can make changes that illuminate some of the uncertainties and improve care for people who are dying."

BUFFALO, N.Y.  A new study by researchers at the University at Buffalo provides a groundbreaking look at how advance care planning medical orders inform emergency medical service (EMS) providers experiences involving people with intellectual disabilities.

Most states in the U.S. have programs that allow terminally ill patients to document their end-of-life decisions. In New York, the Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment form (MOLST) allows individuals to document what measures health care providers, including EMS providers, should take near the end of a patients life.

Studies suggest that this approach to person-centered advance care planning can alleviate a dying patients pain and suffering, according Deborah Waldrop, a professor in the UB School of Social Work and an expert on end-of-life care. Yet little research on end-of-life decision-making has been done on the growing population of older Americans with intellectual disabilities, which the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities defines as a disability characterized by significant limitations in learning, reasoning, problem solving, and a collection of conceptual, social and practical skills.

Waldrop and Brian Clemency an associate professor of emergency medicine in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, authored one of the first scholarly examinations of how pre-hospital providers assess and manage emergency calls for patients who do not wish to be resuscitated or intubated. Jacqueline McGinley, a doctoral candidate in UBs School of Social Work, joined their research team and served as first author for their most recent work.

Through a series of interviews with five different emergency medical service agencies in upstate New York, the researchers asked EMS providers specifically how forms like the MOLST shape what they do in the case of someone with an intellectual disability.

The best available research before our study suggested that as of the late 1990s, fewer than 1 percent of people with intellectual disabilities had ever documented or discussed their end-of-life wishes, says McGinley. But with this study, we found that about 62 percent of the EMS providers we surveyed had treated someone with an intellectual or developmental disability who had these forms.

That disparity points to the need to illuminate this understudied area of how people with intellectual disabilities are engaging in end-of-life discussions, according to McGinley.

She says the EMS providers charge is to follow protocol by honoring the documents, their directions and organizational procedures. The MOLST, as its name implies, is a medical order that providers are professionally bound to respect. Their procedures are identical for all emergency calls involving someone who is imminently dying regardless of a pre-existing disability, the studys results suggested.

But questions remained.

We heard from providers who wrestled with the unique issues that impact this population, including organizational barriers when working across systems of care and decision-making for individuals who may lack capacity says McGinley.

There are approximately 650,000 adults age 60 and older in the U.S. with intellectual disabilities, according to Census Bureau figures from 2000. Demographers expect that figure to double by 2030, and triple within the foreseeable future.

Person-centered advance care planning specifically involves the individual in discussions about their health history, possible changes to their current health status and what future options might be available in order to best inform that persons end-of-life decision-making.

The results, published in the Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, suggest that medical orders largely favor efforts to prolong life. This may be due to a reluctance to discuss advanced care planning in this population. Still, this sociocultural context must be strongly considered as future research explores how people with intellectual disabilities engage in end-of-life discussions.

Since January 2016, Medicare pays for patients to have advance care planning conversations with medical providers. In fact, at least once a year, as part of a service plan through the state, people with intellectual disabilities have face-to-face discussions with their service providers, according to McGinley, who notes the importance of this built-in opportunity to have conversations about serious illness and the end of life.

Whats most important in all of the work we do is knowing that people can die badly, says Waldrop. We know we can make changes that illuminate some of the uncertainties and improve care for people who are dying. Knowing how forms, like the MOLST, are applied in the field is an incredible step in the right direction.
An extra 2 billion allocation of funding for affordable housing, such as council and social housing, has been announced by Prime Minister Theresa May in her speech at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester.

The funding, which was first outlined in the Conservative Manifesto, will be made available for councils and housing associations, who can then bid for the cash to build affordable housing. In areas with high rent, the homes can be used to build houses under 'social rent', which can be up to 80% of full market rent in those areas. This takes the total budget available for affordable housing up to almost 9 billion.

This extra funding will build up to 25,000 homes over five years - or 5,000 per year.

Industry response to the announcement with mixed. While many welcomed the additional funding and the signal it sent about the importance of housebuilding to the Government, others said this was just a small step in the right direction.

Julia Evans, Chief Executive of BSRIA, said: "This is an important first step: undoubtedly  the UK's housing shortage needs action, not only to help people in communities across the country, but also for the construction industry to attract and retain workers. This announcement will revitalise industry confidence, but we must see a spade in the ground. Increased housebuilding is an absolute must for the industry but the proof has to be in the pudding and words must turn into action. It shouldn't be a case of sticking plasters around the edges of this crucial societal and industry issue."

Meanwhile Carolyn Fairbairn, CBI Director-General, said the construction industry would welcome the announcement. She said: "There is no question that the UKs housing shortage needs action, not only to help people in communities across the country, but also for businesses to attract and retain workers. Strong, decisive intervention alongside the UKs many world-class homebuilders is the key. The Prime Minister has called on business to respond and get building; she will get the answer she has asked for."

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), also welcomed the news, saying that her announcement was a "braver and bolder" stance on housebuilding than any Prime Minister in recent years.

He commented: "The Prime Minister's plan is also an opportunity to help shape a stronger local housebuilding industry. If councils can start to engage with smaller, local builders to deliver this new generation of council housing, it could further help to diversify the industry. This would also boost the capacity of the private sector through the provision of more public sector work. Indeed, the increased use of small and medium-sized building firms will limit the problem of land banking, as this is something small builders simply dont do."

Brian warned, however, that there were still significant roadblocks to the Prime Minister's vision of a buoyant housebuilding market. "Following Brexit, the serious shortage of skilled labour the construction industry is already dealing with will be exacerbated if it becomes much more difficult for EU tradespeople, who have come to play a crucial part in plugging the industrys chronic skills gap, to move to and work in the UK.

"Although the industry must seek to overcome this crisis by recruiting and training many more young people than we currently do, the Government must also be mindful and realistic about the continuing need there will be for skilled EU workers as it puts in place its post-Brexit immigration policy. Otherwise it will risk jeopardising the delivery of the bold new housebuilding ambitions the Prime Minister outline today."

For the House Builders' Association, the additional funding will help create a new generation of council houses, but is unlikely to have a significant impact in solving the overall housing crisis. According to the HBA, planning reform is needed in order to help industry build more houses.

Rico Wojtulewicz, HBA policy advisor, said: "Removing the borrowing cap on local authorities would certainly enable them to invest more in their local communities, but only radical planning reform will allow us to tackle the current housing crisis.

The current planning process remains a considerable barrier to many SME housebuilders and developers and we can only assume Councils will fall foul of the same barriers. Overhauling the planning system is vital to building more homes and ultimately solving the housing crisis."
A team of seven Kent Blaxill cyclists from Colchester have completed a three-day, 519-mile challenge in France to raise more than 3,200 for three charities.

The money raised by the building supplies company riders will be going to Essex Age Concern, Cancer Research and the British Heart Foundation.

The cyclists, who rode in two relays, were among 200 riders to complete the Alsace Challenge from Arras to Riquewihr in eastern France, a route which in the last third incorporated the Vosges Mountains.

The Kent Blaxill team, which was also sponsored by Hughes & Co Design of Colchester, comprised Kent Blaxill managing director Simon Blaxill, Kevin Pryke, Josh Blaxill, Nick Blaxill, Nick Tanner, Ed Hughes and Mike Barnard.

It was a challenging route, with 4,115 metres of climbing on the last day, said Simon Blaxill, but we also passed through some stunning scenery in the Champagne district, the Vosges Mountains and Alsace. Fortunately the weather held until a cloudburst in the last 20 miles.

The riders paid their own expenses, with the charitable donations coming from friends, Kent Blaxill customers, staff and suppliers.

Anyone wishing to donate can do so at: www.justgiving.com/cyclingchallenge17
Families need help: Donate and Give a Christmas

During the holiday season, in partnership with NJ 211, we are pleased to offer the Give a Christmas program to Burlington County residents.
When she turned to filmmaking after an unfulfilling stint in acting, Rima Das decided to put herself in the shoes of the very first people who made movies. The director of Village Rockstars, which is garnering applause in the festival circuit this year, felt it was too late for her to enrol in a film school to learn the ABC of cinema. Armed with lessons learnt in Mumbai after an exposure to world cinema, the professional environment of Prithvi Theatre and trials in the cut-throat world of Bollywood and advertising, she returned to her roots in Assams Kamrup district to tell stories with a do-it-yourself approach that is both incongruous and eminently possible today.
Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app.

Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006.

Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more.

Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them.

26 years of website archives.
The proposed corporate governance code framework is expected to have a significant impact, forcing companies, including several blue-chip names, to reconstitute their boards, rope in more directors, and seek shareholders blessings on big pay packets for top executives and royalty payouts.
The number of women in the male-dominated is set to increase in the coming years. In a bid to keep attrition under check, domestic logistics players are increasingly laying a thrust on gender diversity to ensure trained staff of higher longevity.
look well placed to close the 2017 calendar year with double-digit growth in spite of all their worries about higher taxes under the goods and services tax (GST) regime. This will be the first year of a double-digit growth after two years of little or no growth. Last years growth was impacted due to a ban on high-capacity diesel cars (2,000cc and above) in the national capital region (lifted by Supreme Court) in August 2016. Demonetisation also dented sales.
A day after selling HyperCity, Raheja-owned said it would exit from the duty-free airport retail business. It said it had disposed of 40 per cent shareholding in Nuance Group India to The Nuance Group AG of Switzerland for a consideration of Rs 6 crore.
Having spent his childhood years in Mussoorie, and no stranger to India, Chris Anderson, head of TED, is bringing to television in a tie-up with STAR India. For the non-profit TED, renowned for its ideas-based conferences, available free on the internet, it is its first such project on TV globally. In India to announce the launch of the show hosted by Shah Rukh Khan, Anderson and Juliet Blake, head of TV and curator of special projects at TED, speak to Urvi Malvania. Edited excerpts:
The Yogi Adityanath government has set an ambitious target of constructing 25 km road a day, which would further be ramped up to 35 km a day next year.
Union Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and several senior BJP leaders on Friday joined the party's march against the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala over the killing of saffron workers as it passed through the politically volatile Kannur district on the fourth day.

Braving rain, hundreds of party workers resumed the march from nearby Panur and walked through the streets of Kannur, which is the home town of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

The padyatra will move to neighbouring Kozhikode district tomorrow.

The party said that the 15-day-long march, flagged off by the party's president Amit Shah, is to expose the alleged 'red and jihadi terrorism' under the CPI(M)-led LDF government rule in the southern state.

Hitting out at the left party, Meghwal alleged that the communists do not believe in democracy.

India is a pluralistic country where all political parties have the freedom to function, Meghwal said, adding that people in the state would give a befitting reply to CPI(M)'s attitude of obstructing the functioning of other political parties.

The minister of state for water resources also visited the house of K T Jayakrishnan Master, a firebrand BJP worker who was hacked to death allegedly by CPI(M) activists in front of students while he was taking a class in a local school in the district in December 1999.

Meanwhile, the CPI(M) said it would organise 'mass gatherings' at district headquarters across the state on October 9 to expose the alleged false campaign unleashed by the BJP as part of its ongoing 'Janarakasha Yatra'.

CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told reporters in Kozhikode that the party would conduct various programmes to counter the "communal agenda" of Sangh Parivar for one month from October 15.

Though president Amit Shah was expected to participate in the march when it passed through the chief minister's home town Pinarayi yesterday, he changed the plan at the last minute as he had to attend a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

The remarks by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who took part in the march on October 4, against the medical facilities and law and order situation of the state had triggered a strong reaction from ruling CPI(M) and opposition Congress leaders.

More ministers and top leaders of the BJP and NDA are expected to take part in the march, which concludes in Thiruvananthapuram on October 17.
It is just not the government's business to tell the people what they should eat or drink because it would hurt the tourism industry, NITI Aayog CEO said on Friday, amid alcohol prohibition and beef ban diktats in the country.

In an address to the World Economic Forum, Kant also questioned how can tourists visiting India chill out if they are barred from making their eating and drinking choices.

"Indian states can't get into what a tourist wants to eat and drink. Just not possible. What he wants to eat and drink is an individual's business and not the state's business," he said.

The remarks come a month after Union Tourism Minister K J Alphons advised foreigners visiting the country that they should eat beef at home and then come to India.

Kant was asked about his views on states banning beef and alcohol with Gujarat, Bihar, Nagaland and Manipur already dry states and Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Daman announcing plans to ban liquor sales.

"I have been a long-term believer on couple of things. Tourism is essentially civilisational in character, you can't have garbage and filth and say that we have great heritage sites. So, India must focus on cleanliness. It is number one. Number-2 its about seamless experience.

"I have said it all the time that for a tourist...its about creating experiences.

"In the evening he wants to relax and he wants to chill out and therefore you need to create that evening experience for (him) in terms of Indian culture."
China has maintained a sizeable presence of its troops near the site of the Sikkim border standoff with India and even started building a road on the Doklam Plateau, just 10 km from the location of the last conflict. The Doklam Plateau is claimed by both Beijing and Bhutan as their territory. India backs Bhutan's claim.


China has issued another travel advisory to its citizens in India, asking them not to take photographs of border areas and military installations.
The body of twenty-year-old Pallavi Vikamsey, daughter of the President of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) Nilesh Vikamsey was found on railway tracks in Central Mumbai on Wednesday evening.
The Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday issued notice to Madhya Pradesh Government a day after a group of farmers were allegedly detained, stripped and beaten up by the police in Tikamgarh district of the state.

Farmers were returning from a protest that sought drought-hit status for the Tikamgarh district.

The NHRC has asked the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police (DGP) of Madhya Pradesh to file a report in the matter within four weeks.

Earlier this week, reports surfaced that the Police in Tikamgarh allegedly locked up farmers and forced them to strip after they staged a protest against the state government.

Meanwhile, the Tikamgarh Police has denied that the farmers were beaten and said that a probe into the matter has been initiated.

(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.)
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday evening said reports of the Chinese increasing the number of troops or constructing a road at Doklam were incorrect.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday confirmed that there were no new developments at the face-off site in the Doklam plateau, since the August 28 disengagement.

"There are no new developments at the face-off site and its vicinity since the 28th August disengagement. The status quo prevails in this area. Any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect," the official spokesperson of the MEA, Raveesh Kumar, said.

He later took to Twitter and posted the statement there as well.

There have been unconfirmed reports doing rounds that China had shifted its unused road construction material to the North and the East of the Doklam face-off site and was back to building a road that had earlier initiated the crisis.

Also yesterday, Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa said that Chinese troops were still deployed at Tibet's Chumbi Valley post the Doklam stand-off, adding that he hoped they would withdraw soon.

Dhanoa added that the Indian Army was prepared to effectively counter any threat from China, while confronting a two-front war also involving Pakistan, which has recently intensified border issues.

The Indian Army and the China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) had, on August 28, decided to disengage their troops from Bhutan's Doklam plateau after months-long stand-off.

(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.)
Stopping Rohingya refugees from crossing Indias porous eastern border with Bangladesh is straining the resources of guards battling to halt a flow of smuggled cattle in the opposite direction, security officials say.
Congress Vice President demanded today that petrol and diesel be brought under the Goods and Services Tax regime to prevent "excessive profiteering".

He also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi should not view the new tax reform to further electoral interests.

"Time to correct the 'One Nation, Seven Tax', multiple form filing and draconian power of taxman. Make it 'Good' and 'Simple' beyond rhetoric," Gandhi said on Twitter.

In a series of tweets, he said, "Wish Modiji viewed economic slide and GST mess from prism of solving suffering of people than furthering electoral interests."

The Congress leader said, "Then, 1st step would be to bring Petrol/Diesel under GST to prevent excessive profiteering from common man as GOI alone earns Rs 2,73,000 crore."

His statement came on a day when the GST Council met to give relief to small and medium enterprises and exporters.

In a video message on the Congress Twitter handle, Gandhi asked the government to support small and medium businesses and the informal sector to create jobs and "not unleash taxmen on them".

He asked the prime minister to focus on job creation.

Gandhi said around 30,000 youth are demanding jobs and only 450 get them everyday, thereby creating an army of 10- lakh unemployed youth a month.

He warned that the youth, farmers and small businessmen are getting angry at the government and this is not good for the country.

"This will be dangerous for the country," he said.

Gandhi accused the government of "attacking" these small and medium businesses first through demonetisation and then through the GST.

"Instead of helping them, the government is attacking them... These are brutal attacks on these sectors which will wipe them out. Without respecting these sectors you cannot get jobs... For employment generation, small and informal sectors need to be helped," he said.

The Congress leader alleged that the government was spending all its energies on big businesses but neglecting the small and medium sectors.

On Twitter, he said the textiles sector is the second biggest job generator that yearns for correcting the "distorted" GST structure.

"Traders, MSMEs, small businesses suffer and cronies profit," Gandhi said.

(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.)
SpiceJet co-founder Ajay Singh on Friday pitched for bringing aviation- turbine fuel (ATF) under the ambit of goods and services tax (GST) to lower cost. The move will help bring down fares and boost the sectors growth, Singh said at the World Economic Forums India Economic Summit.
The stock market is a fickle animal. Three months ago, sentiments could not have been more bullish after a strong rally. But, the tide has turned since, with pessimism on the macro front bringing down stock prices. When there is so much negativity surrounding the future growth prospects of the economy, I always find it useful to look at the contrarian view. And there is no report that is more bullish than the Morgan Stanley research piece on Indias digital leap.

Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal. They do not reflect the view/s of Business Standard.
The 22nd is underway in New Delhi on Friday and easing the teething pains brought in by the new tax regime in order to give the economy a boost amid the current slowdown is the reported agenda on the plate.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the top leadership of the European Union on Friday deliberated on a range of key issues to boost overall ties between India and the 28-nation bloc.

The two sides reviewed a full spectrum of their ties at the 14th summit with a focus on ramping up two-way trade and investment. They also inked three pacts, including one on an international solar alliance, after the summit.

We agreed on fighting against terrorism together and increasing cooperation towards it: PM Modi at India-EU joint statement pic.twitter.com/e9HiQLSmYT  ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2017

European Council President Donald Franciszek Tusk, and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker were part of the high-level EU delegation.

Raveesh Kumar, the spokesperson of External Affairs Ministry, tweeted:

India and the EU have been strategic partners since 2004.

The 28-nation bloc is India's largest regional trading partner with bilateral trade in goods standing at $88 billion in 2016.

India received around $83 billions of foreign direct investment from Europe between 2000 and 2017, constituting approximately 24 per cent of the total FDI inflows into the country during the period, said Kumar.

The 13th summit was held in Brussels on March 30 last year.

The meet had failed to make any headway on the long-stalled negotiations for a free trade agreement.

Launched in June 2007, the negotiations for the proposed EU-India Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) have witnessed many hurdles with both sides having major differences on crucial issues such as intellectual property rights and duty cut in automobile and spirits.




The Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday made a series of deliberations on the new tax regime to provide relief to thousands of small firms and exporters.
Coal stocks at power plants across the country have declined to a point where they can meet the requirement for an average of only six days.
States should not decide what a tourist should eat or drink, NITI Aayog Chairman Amitabh Kant said on Friday at the World Economic Forum (WEF) event amid growing prohibition on food and alcohol by state governments.
The Uday Kotak-led committee on corporate governance's proposal to put in place a common 'stewardship code might compel Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and top mutual funds (MFs) to play a more active role in this regard.
The synthetic textile industry is divided in its reactions to the latest revision in the goods and services tax (GST) rates announced by the countrys finance minister, Arun Jaitley, on Friday.
Negotiations on the proposed trade and investment pact between India and the European Union (EU) will restart "once circumstances are right for both parties", European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Friday.
India will have 10-15 with government as the majority stakeholder, from 21 now, as part of its plan to consolidate lenders, ministrys principal economic advisor Sanjeev Sanyal said on Friday.
Tackling bad debts will be the priority for State Bank of India, its newly appointed chairman Rajnish Kumar said on Thursday, but India's largest bank will not shy away from opportunities to grow, including in infrastructure lending.

India's state-run have been battered by soured loans, a $140 billion problem which has choked off new credit and dampened economic growth. SBI, which accounts for more than a fifth of India's banking assets, saw stressed assets rise after it absorbed five subsidiary earlier this year.

Analysts and investors alike have pointed to bad debt as Kumar's number one headache as he takes the top job at SBI-replacing Arundhati Bhattacharya, who became one of India's highest-profile executives during her four years at the helm.

A veteran banker regarded by investors and colleagues as an astute operator, Kumar, 59, also put sour loans at the top of his agenda - but said had tackled the debt issues that came as a result of absorbing the smaller lenders. Asset quality would "look much much better" in future, he said.

SBI, which had soured loans of $35 billion, or 12 percent of its loan book at end-June, is due to report quarterly earnings in the coming weeks.

"We are already in discussions on how we revive credit growth, how we resolve the (non-performing assets). That discussion, we will try to bring it to a conclusion very quickly. And you will see some changes," he told reporters at SBI's Mumbai headquarters.

The bank is also, however, considering how to juggle the debt conundrum with the need to grow-including infrastructure where Kumar described lending opportunities as 'unlimited'.

As a whole, Asia has a huge infrastructure funding gap, and India has a chronic need to overhaul everything from creaking railways to roads and overcrowded ports.

Kumar said the bank would consider having separate senior executives dealing with stressed assets and loan growth, to avoid having too many top managers focused only on bad debts.

GROWTH ON HORIZON?

SBI, which has more than 400 million customers, was propelled into the list of the world's largest as a result of its latest deal, part of a government effort to slowly clean up the cluttered state-owned banking sector.

But it is not about growth at all costs, Kumar said, and he dismissed concerns the bank could be forced into some lending as the economy slows.

Infrastructure lending, for example, has been highly problematic for Indian banks-biggest chunk of bad loans are from the infrastructure and metals sector-and he said the bank would tread carefully.

"There is definitely a change in the underwriting standards... We will be much more cautious," he said.

"Sometimes people equate it with risk aversion - but let me tell you it is not risk aversion. We are still looking for opportunities in financing good infrastructure projects."

Last month, Fitch Ratings estimated Indian banks need $65 billion to meet all of global Basel III banking rules by March 2019 - well above the $11 billion budgeted by the government.

But Kumar said the bank was "well poised" and did not expect to need more capital from the government before March 2019.

"At this juncture, a quick resolution of the (non-performing assets) should be his priority," said Aalok Shah, an analyst at Centrum Broking.

"The unfortunate thing for (state-run) banks has been the frequent change of senior management team. It's comforting that he was a part of the senior management team and a part of all the discussions, so he's not new to the system."

Kumar, whose predecessor was paid a salary of roughly $44,500 last year, takes over on October 7.
The First Meeting of India-Australia Joint Steering Committee was held here today. Shri TVSN Prasad, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs and Mr. Stephen Bouwhuis, First Assistant Secretary, International and Auscheck Division, Criminal Justice Group, Attorney-General's Department led the respective delegations. .

.

Todays meeting is a follow-up to the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime exchanged between the two sides during the visit of Australian Prime Minister Mr. Malcolm Turnbull to New Delhi in April this year and his talks with the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. .

.

During the Joint Steering Committee meeting the two sides discussed scope for cooperation in counter-terrorism and checking extremism and radicalization besides steps to check illegal financial transactions and counterfeiting and cybercrimes. Issues related to human trafficking and people smuggling, combating illegal drug trafficking and sharing information between law enforcement agencies were also discussed. .

.

The two sides agreed to pursue further the agenda for cooperation in specific areas with meetings of operational Joint Working Groups involving concerned agencies. .

.
Nobel Prize for Physics, 2017 Indian Connection

The 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics has been conferred to three scientists namely Rainer Weiss, Barry C Barish & Kip S Thorne under the LIGO Project for their discovery of gravitational waves, 100 years after Einstein's General Relativity predicted it. The Nobel Prize for Physics 2017 celebrates the direct detection of Gravitational waves arriving from the merger two large Black holes in a distant galaxy a Billion of light years away. Gravitational waves carry information about their dramatic origins and about the nature of gravity that cannot otherwise be obtained. This opens a new window to Astronomy since Gravitational Waves are an entirely new way of observing the most violent events in space.

This is a proud moment for India also, since the discovery paper has 39 Indian authors/scientists from nine institutions-, CMI Chennai, ICTS-TIFR Bengaluru, IISER-Kolkata, IISER-Trivandrum, IIT Gandhinagar, IPR Gandhinagar, IUCAA Pune, RRCAT Indore and TIFR Mumbai. primarily funded through individual/ institutional grants by Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Science & Technology and Ministry of Human Resource Development AE, DST and MHRD, who are co-authors of this discovery paper.

Late Professor CV Vishveshvara of RRI, Bengaluru (DST AI) and Professor SV Dhurandhar of IUCAA, Pune and some other Indian scientists made seminal contributions to this field which contributed towards the principles behind the LIGO Detector.

The group led by Bala Iyer (currently at ICTS-TIFR) at the Raman Research Institute in collaboration with scientists in France had pioneered the mathematical calculations used to model Gravitational Wave signals from orbiting black holes and neutron stars. Theoretical work that combined black holes and gravitational waves was published by C. V. Vishveshwara in 1970. These contributions are prominently cited in the discovery paper.

An opportunity for India taking leadership in this field has opened up with the LIGO-India mega-science project that was granted in principle approval by the Union Cabinet on Feb 17 2016.

LIGO-India brings forth a real possibility of Indian scientists and technologists stepping forward, with strong international cooperation, into the frontier of an emergent area of high visibility and promise presented by the recent GW detections and the high promise of a new window of gravitational-wave astronomy to probe the universe.

The global science community is unanimous that the future of Gravitational wave astronomy and astrophysics, beyond the first discovery, lies with the planned global array of GW detectors, including the LIGO-India observatory. Inclusion of LIGO-India greatly improves the angular resolution in the location of the gravitational-wave source by the LIGO global network. For the discovery event observed by the two advanced LIGO detectors in the US, with a hypothetical LIGO-India in operation, there would have been 100 times improvement in the angular resolution.

The LIGO-India proposal is for the construction and operation of an Advanced LIGO Detector in India in collaboration with the LIGO Laboratories, USA. The objective is to set up the Indian node of the three node global Advanced LIGO detector network by 2024 and operate it for 10 years. The task for LIGO-India includes the challenge of constructing the very large vaccum infrastructure that would hold a space of volume 10 million litres that can accommodate the entire 4 km scale laser interferometer in ultra high vacuum environment at nano-torrs. Indian team is also responsible for installation and commissioning the complex instrument and attaining the ultimate design sensitivity.

The LIGO-India project is being jointly executed by lead institutions: the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune of the University Grants commission, and DAE organisations, Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), Gandhinagar, the Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), Indore and the Directorate of Construction & Estate Management (DCSEM) of DAE.

LIGO-India is being jointly funded by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST). A LIGO-India Apex committee, together with the LIGO-India Project Management Board (LI-PMB) and LIGO-India Scientific Management Board (LI-SMB), were constituted in August 2016 to oversee the project execution, and there has been rapid pace of progress since then. LIGO-India is on track for commencing operations by 2024.
PM to visit Gujarat on 7th and 8th October, 2017

.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, will be visiting Gujarat on 7th and 8th October, 2017. .

.

On the morning of 7th October, the Prime Minister will visit the Dwarkadheesh Temple. At Dwarka, he will lay the Foundation Stones of a bridge between Okha and Beyt Dwarka; and other road development projects. He will address a public meeting. .

.

From Dwarka, the Prime Minister will arrive in Chotila, in Surendranagar district. He will lay the Foundation Stones for a greenfield airport at Rajkot; six-laning of Ahmedabad-Rajkot National Highway; and four-laning of Rajkot-Morbi State Highway. He will also dedicate a fully automatic milk processing and packaging plant; and a drinking water distribution pipeline for Joravarnagar and Ratanpur area of Surendranagar. He will address a public meeting. .

.

The Prime Minister will then proceed to Gandhinagar. He will dedicate the newly constructed building of IIT Gandhinagar, and launch the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA). PMGDISHA is aimed at imparting digital literacy to citizens in rural areas. It will provide access to information, knowledge, education, and healthcare. It will create avenues for livelihood generation, and financial inclusion through digital payments. He will address a public meeting. .

.

On the morning of 8th October, the Prime Minister will arrive in Vadnagar. This will be Shri Narendra Modis first visit to the town, since assuming the office of Prime Minister. He will visit the Hatkeshwar Temple. At a public meeting, the Prime Minister will launch the Intensified Mission Indradhanush, to accelerate progress towards the goal of full immunization coverage. It will provide greater focus on urban areas and other pockets of low immunization coverage. The Prime Minister will distribute e-tablets to health workers to mark the launch of ImTeCHO. ImTeCHO is an innovative mobile phone application to improve performance of ASHAs through better supervision, support and motivation for increasing coverage of proven maternal, newborn and child health interventions among resource-poor settings in India. ImTeCHO stands for Innovative mobile-phone Technology for Community Health Operations". TeCHO" in Gujarati means support"; therefore, ImTeCHO" means I am support." The Prime Minister will address a public meeting. .

.

The same afternoon, the Prime Minister will arrive at Bharuch. He will lay the foundation stone for Bhadbhut Barrage, to be built over the Narmada River. He will flag off the Antyodaya Express between Udhna (Surat, Gujarat), and Jaynagar (Bihar).He will unveil plaques to mark the laying of foundation stone, and inauguration of various plants of Gujarat Narmada Fertilizer Corporation. He will address a public meeting. .

.

The Prime Minister will return to Delhi on the evening of 8th October. .

.
Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Labour & Employment, laid the foundation stone for renovation and ugradation of ESIC Model Hospital in Beltola, Guwahati today. While addressing the gathering, Shri Gangwar said that, this hospital will prove a boon for the beneficiaries of ESI Scheme in North Eastern Region in general and beneficiaries of Guwahati in particular. Shri Gangwar also stated that centre is giving special focus on labour welfare and development of North Eastern States. The Ministry of Labour & Employment is all geared up to for the betterment of the life of the working class of this region. .

.

Shri Gangwar informed that with the upgradation and renovation of ESIC Model Hospital, Beltola, Guwahti, all the indoor and outdoor facilities viz. OPDs, 24x7 Emergency Service, ICU, Operation theatres, Pathology Rooms, Radiology, Physiotherapy, Wards, etc. will be made available. Shri Gangwar appreciated ESIC for upgrading this hospital to 100 bedded, and due to which more than 2 lakh Insured Person and around 7.00 lakhs family members from North Eastern Region will be benefited. .

.

Shri Pallab Lochan Das, Minister of State (IC) for Labour & Employment, Govt. of Assam appreciated and thanked the efforts of Union Minister of State (IC) for Labour and Employment and was full of praise for the reforms undertaken by the Union Govt. Smt. Bijoya Chakravarty, the Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha also thanked the Union Minister for upgradation of ESIC Model Hospital and said that this Hospital would be exclusively run for the benefit of insured persons and their family members under ESI Scheme. .

.

Smt. M. Sathiyavathy, Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Govt. of India also spoke on the occasion and reiterated that Ministry of Labour & Employment, Govt. of India is taking decisions keeping in view of the principle of the workers welfare and well being. .

.
As Japanese Prime Minister campaigns in a snap election, he looks set to enter into an unprecedented third term in office, and become Japans longest serving postwar prime minister. So who is he? What is the secret to his success? And why is he both so fervently supported an  and intensely hated?
Russian air strikes killed 14 civilians as they were crossing the Euphrates river near the jihadist-held town of Mayadeen in eastern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said today.

"They were crossing the river on makeshift rafts in a village south of Mayadeen," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said, adding that three children were among those killed overnight.

Russia has in recent days intensified its air raids in support of Syrian regime forces battling jihadists across the country.

Abdel Rahman said the civilians were fleeing the village of Mahkan, south of Mayadeen, which lies about 420 kilometres east of Damascus and is one of the Islamic State group's main remaining bastions.

Mayadeen has been under IS control since 2014, when the group swept across swathes of Iraq and Syria and proclaimed a "caliphate", but regime forces this week advanced to within five kilometres of the town.
The US military is "ridding" the world of terrorism, President has said, asserting that America's goals were denuclearising North Korea and stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Trump's remarks came after he held a meeting with top US military leaders yesterday. The meeting was also attended by the President's advisers, including the National Security Adviser H R McMaster, Chief of Staff John Kelly and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.

"I put my trust in you to execute our mission aggressively and effectively, and you are delivering. We're ridding our world of terrorism and terrorists as much as it can be done," Trump said.

Noting that he wanted to discuss certain critical things with the military, Trump also listed out some of his priorities.

"In North Korea, our goal is denuclearisation. We cannot allow this dictatorship to threaten our nation or our allies with unimaginable loss of life. We will do what we must do to prevent that from happening. It will be done, if necessary - believe me," he said.

The US must not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed and chaos across the Middle East, he alleged, adding that this is why America must put an end to Iran's continued aggression and nuclear ambitions.

"They have not lived up to the spirit of their agreement," he said.

Trump said in Afghanistan he had lifted restrictions and expanded authorities for commanders in the field.

"You know that very well, and everyone in this room is very happy that it's been done finally. We've made more progress in our campaign to defeat ISIS in the last eight months than in many, many previous years, all combined," Trump said.

Earlier, Trump issued a national security memorandum aimed at integration, sharing and use of national security threat actor information to protect Americans.

National security threat actor information comprises identity attributes and associated information about individuals, organisations, groups or networks assessed to be a threat to the safety, security or national interests of the United States, the memorandum said.
Onion prices, which saw a sharp fall for two weeks after government raids on wholesale traders, have rebounded steadily to hit their highest in six weeks.
In a bid to find an amicable solution through dialogues on rollback of new districts in Manipur, another high-level round of tripartite talks involving the Centre, the Manipur Government and United Naga Council was held in Manipur's Senapati district headquarters.

Joint Secretary (North East) in the Ministry of Home Affairs, Satyendra Garg, chaired the high-level talks with the participation of three Manipur Government ministers, Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Dr .J. Suresh Babu and Commissioner (Works & IPR) K. Radhakumar Singh.

Eleven members of the United Naga Council (UNC), including President Gaidon Kamei participated in the talks.

During the talks, state government representatives agreed to place the objections raised by the UNC representatives on the constitution of District Boundary Commission by the State Government, before the state government for further consideration.

It was also mutually agreed that the previous proceedings will be upheld by the party concerned.

"The Government of Manipur informed in the meeting that they have constituted the District Boundary Commission under a retired high court judge. The UNC had objections to it and had reservation because they thought that they had a patriarchal point of view about the boundary commission. So, government representatives have taken note to it. They will go and discuss it further with the government," Garg said.

Garg added that issues are being considered by the Government of Manipur and sensitivity of the issues are being addressed to find a long lasting solution.

Kamei said, "Just setting up a Boundary Commission or redrawing of the boundary will not solve problem. The crux of the problem needs to be address. "

Dr. J. Suresh Babu said, "The issue is that the commission will look into the boundary, means the villages. We have made our point very clear that in the earlier district creation, there is no question of any village being touched. Earlier, there was a sub-division which has now become a district, which is the upgradation of the administrative set-up. But we literally have not touched any of the villages from one district to another. So, this particular boundary commission which has been set up, we were under the concept that this will address the grievances of the UNC."

It has been decided that the next round of the tripartite talks will be held on November 10.

It is also noteworthy to mention that Ministry of Home Affairs has been chairing the talks right from the first tripartite talks held on March 19, 2017.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A top Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) official recently said that the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's actions are not those of a maniacal provocateur but a "rational actor" who is motivated by clear, long-term goals that revolve around ensuring regime survival.

"There's a clarity of purpose in what Kim Jong Un has done," CNN news quoted Yong Suk Lee, deputy assistant director of the CIA's Korea Mission Center, who discussed the escalating tensions between North Korea and the United States during a conference organised by the agency at George Washington University.

Lee further said, "Waking up one morning and deciding he wants to nuke" Los Angeles is not something Kim Jong Un is likely to do.

"He wants to rule for a long time and die peacefully in his own bed," he added.

The U.S.-led efforts to apply additional diplomatic pressure on North Korea in recent months have been met with greater defiance, as the Kim regime continues to march toward realising its nuclear ambitions.

United States President Donald Trump took to Twitter to advise Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to stop negotiating with North Korea's Rocket Man because the U.S. will do what has to be done.

"I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man," Trump tweeted on Sunday.

Trump had first termed North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un as "Rocket Man who is on suicide mission" at United Nations General Assembly session last month.

President's comments come a day after Rex Tillerson disclosed the United States has direct lines of communications with Pyongyang.

"We ask, 'Would you like to talk?' We have lines of communications to Pyongyang - we're not in a dark situation, a blackout," Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson said.

"We have a couple, three channels open to Pyongyang," he added."We've made it clear that we hope to resolve this through talks," he said, emphasizing the principal objective "is a peaceful resolution."

"I think the most immediate action that we need is to calm things down," Tillerson added. "They're a little overheated right now, and I think we need to calm them down first."

After oil sanctions, North Korea's leaders have hinted that more ballistic missile and nuclear weapons tests will take place.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday hoped all states will reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) by five per cent on petroleum products.

Talking to reporters here after meeting Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Pradhan said,"Considering the interests of the consumers, the Government of India has reduced excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs. 2 per litre. We have appealed to all the state governments to cut Value Added Tax (VAT) by five per cent on petroleum products."

He appealed to state governments to reduce VAT as per their budget to provide relief to consumers.

"Various state governments are being run by different parties. The Centre and each state levy a tax on petroleum products. The collected tax is used for the development of that state. The VAT rate on petroleum products in states varies from 16 to 47 percent. I have urged all chief ministers to reduce VAT and am hopeful that all the states, including Bihar, will consider it as per their budget," Pradhan said.

The Centre reduced the basic excise duty rate on petrol and diesel to cushion the impact of the rise in international crude prices.

Currently, an excise duty component of Rs 21.48 per litre is levied upon petrol, and consequent to the reduction in excise duty, this will come down to Rs 19.48.

Since 2015, the Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre has hiked excise on petrol by Rs. 12 per litre, and on diesel by over Rs 13 per litre in installments.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the President of the European Council, Donald Franciszek Tusk, and the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, in New Delhi on Friday.

At the invitation of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi,President of the European Council along with President of the European Commission are in New Delhi for a three-day visit (from 5- 7 October) to attend the14th EU-India Summit 2017 on Friday.

Tusk and Juncker are being accompanied by a high-level delegation, including the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, Federica Mogherini to mark the 55th anniversary since the establishment of EU-India diplomatic relations.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also met Tusk and Juncker and the delegations level talks has started to discuss a host of key issues including counter-terrorism and reviving of the Free Trade Agreement talks.

The visiting dignitaries also paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi at his memorial at Rajghat.

The EU is India's largest regional trading partner with bilateral trade in goods standing at USD 88 billion in 2016. The EU is also the largest destination for Indian exports and a key source of the investment and cutting edge technologies. India received around US$ 83billion in FDI flows from Europe during 2000-17 constituting approximately 24 percent of the total FDI inflows into the country during the period.

India and EU are also strategic partners since 2004. The 13th India-EU Summit was held in Brussels on 30th March, 2016. The 14th India-EU Summit aims to deepen the India-EU Strategic Partnership and advance collaboration in priority areas for India's growth and development.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Government of India has decided to rescind the notification on the Gems and Jewellery sector, wherein the dealers in precious metals, precious stones and other high value goods were notified as person carrying on designated business and professions under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA).

The Centre had earlier received representations from various associations in the Gems and Jewellery sector with respect to certain incongruities in Notification No. 4/2017 dated August 23, 2017.

A separate notification after due consideration of points raised and wider stakeholder consultation in this regard, shall be issued separately, said a statement on Friday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Himachal Pradesh High Court quashed the petition of state Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in connection with income tax related cases.

The High Court on Thursday had dismissed Virbhadra Singh's appeal against the order passed by the Income Tax Commissioner, calling for a fresh assessment pertaining to the 2009-2010 financial year.

The division bench of acting chief justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Sandeep Sharma observed the petition.

Singh had challenged Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) decision of dismissing his appeal filed against the I-T department's move to reopen assessment of tax returns submitted by him for financial years 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Friends of Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been sentenced to death by a Pakistani military court for alleged espionage, on Friday expressed confidence on his release and said they are waiting for the day when the retired Indian Navy officer will return to the country safely.

"We are expecting good news. We just want Kulbhushan to return back to India. I will be very happy if it happens," Tulsidas Pawar, a friend of Jadhav told ANI.

Another friend of Jadhav, Vandana Pawar echoed similar emotions and said even Jadhav's parents are eagerly waiting to meet him.

These reactions from Jadhav's friend came after a senior Pakistan Army officer on Thursday asserted that the mercy petition of Jadhav is in its final stages and it is close to a decision.

Pakistan Army spokesman, Major General Asif Ghafoor was quoted as saying that "Kulbhushan Jadhav's mercy petition has come to the Army Chief. There is a process, everything goes through a process but I can assure that it is near finalisation and we will give you news about this very soon."

Jadhav in June had sought mercy from the Pakistan Army chief over the death sentence after his plea to an appellate court was rejected.

His execution was stayed after India moved the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The 22nd meeting of the goods and services tax (GST) Council has begun at the Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi this morning.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is presiding over the meeting.

The GST Council is expected to look at ways to provide relief to exporters in terms of faster refunds as well as compliance. It is also likely to focus on ways to improve the functioning of the GST Network.

A committee headed by Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia is expected to submit a preliminary report to the council on steps needed to provide relief to exporters. The council will then recommend some relaxation so that the working capital of exporters that is locked up in refunds is released.



FM @arunjaitley chairing the 22nd GST Council meeting at Vigyan Bhavan New Delhi pic.twitter.com/FP4Yrdf8iL  Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) October 6, 2017

Based on feedback received from business entities other structural changes in the new national tax regime are also expected to be considered.

Friday's review comes amid criticism over the way GST is being implemented.

Two days ago, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised that glitches in the GST system would be fixed. In this regard, he met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi has appealed to the council to consider removing some of the difficulties being faced by the small taxpayer.

Speaking in Patna yesterday, he suggested that taxpayers with a turnover of up to 1 crore 50 lakh rupees may be permitted to file their returns on a tri-monthly basis.

The course correction comes against the backdrop of stinging attacks on the government for what the opposition and some in the BJP have alleged was a hurried and sloppy implementation of the mega tax reform.
Manipur's traditional Mera Houchongba festival which endeavors to promote brotherhood and unity among indigenous communities, was celebrated at the Manipur Royal palace (Sana Konung) in Imphal in the presence of titular monarch Leishemba Sanajaoba recently.

The royal palace, which usually is deserted, was filled with a riot of colours as hundreds of people, both from the hills and the valley, took part in the festivities attired in their traditional colourful dresses.

Organised by the Mera Hou Chongba Thoushil Lup, the event saw an exchange of gifts such as traditional fabrics, vegetables and fruits among the hill and valley people settled in the state, besides a performance of cultural dances.

Village chiefs hailing from various tribal communities such as the Mao, Maram, Maring, Tangkhul, Kabui, Zeme, Liangmei, Tarao, Chiru, Kom, Kharam, Haokip, Gangte and Paite and royal palace officials sat on the dais for the duration of the festival.

Mera Houchongba has been celebrated for a long time to project solidarity among different ethnic groups in the Manipur and to give more strength to the process of "consolidation of the idea of Manipuri nationalism."

It is a historical fact that the population of Manipur is founded on the principle of pluralism. It can be stated that from ancient times "some kind of autonomy is enjoyed by every ethnic people in their own way; it is also accepted that the king of Manipur is the central authority."

Inhabitants of the hill regions of the state display feats of strength before the king.They also indulge in war dances and sham fights. The day concludes with a feast that includes a vegetarian and non-vegetarian spread.

The festival has been observed since the first century C.E. Before 1891, it was observed in Lampak, which is located to the West of Kanglasa and south west of Nungoibi.

The festival is observed and celebrated in the month of Mera, which falls in September or October.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dubbing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill as 'faulty', the Congress Party on Friday said the minor changes in the tax reform would not make any difference. "The GST council should review the whole implementation process that is what we expect from them. Minor changes are not going to solve the problem," Congress leader P. C. Chacko told ANI.

Chacko's statement came as the 22nd GST council meeting is currently underway.

Chacko further said the whole implementation process of the GST was inadequate. And that the Centre should be ready to face the consequences.

"Today the entire country is suffering, be it trader, farmer, exporter. The GST was supposed to bring some relief for common people. The price of not a single item of mass consumption reduced since implementation of the GST. What is the purpose of GST?" he asked.

The Congress leader also questioned as to why petroleum products have not been brought under the ambit of GST.

"If the petroleum products prices are not controlled I am sure that consumer goods are not going to be cheap. Transportation cost will increase in turn prices of every item will increase. India is suffering because of the faulty implementation," he said.

The GST council is likely to assess the improvements in the GST Network's functioning.

It may also take decision on providing some relief to exporters in terms of faster refunds as well as compliance.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Acting chairperson of Commission for Women (NCW) Rekha Sharma on Friday said the panel's initial investigation has found eve-teasing 'rampant' in Banaras Hindu University (BHU) campus.

Addressing the media in Varanasi over the violence lashed in the university after alleged molestation of a varsity girl, the chairperson said, "We found eve-teasing is rampant in campus and even campus' boys have been involved in it. We have told the Deputy Commissioner to send legal-aid for sensitization of the campus."

Sharma's comments come a day after NCW began a probe into the September 23 baton-charge on protesting women students of BHU, who were demanding action in an alleged sexual harassment case.

Commenting over safety concerns of the students, she informed that special security cameras have been installed in the campus and high-tech ones will be installed soon.

Also, the SSP has been asked to deploy forces in the campus for few days, Sharma told.

Talking about instigation of violence on the campus, Sharma said, "There were many issues about which the girls wanted to talk peacefully but the protest took another turn when it was hijacked by outsiders."

Sharma said the NCW has asked the authorities to increase security near Naveen Hostel as the condition there is "terrible."

The NCW chairperson said, "A decision will be taken in a day or two over curfew timings in the hostels. And same timings will be announced for both the boys and girls."

Commenting over illegal stay at hostels, she said, "Few boys, not BHU students, are staying illegally in the hostels. We have asked girls to identify them. The list of the identified will be given to the SSP. They will be rounded up and will immediately be ousted from the campus and a legal action will also be taken against them."

Earlier the NCW chief had told the media that BHU Vice-Chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi would be given a chance to express his side also, but today she said that the VC had not met her or picked up her calls.

"VC neither met me nor picked my calls. He'll be summoned to Delhi. He didn't play his part in controlling the situation," Sharma said.

Violence had erupted in the BHU campus after alleged September 21 incident, when a first-year female student of the university alleged that she was molested by three bike-borne men outside the campus.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Nepal's envoy to India, Deep Kumar Upadhyay, has submitted his resignation to Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday to ease his way to contest the elections slated for next months.

Upadhyay on Friday submitted his resignation letter to Nepal's Foreign Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara stating his plan to return to the 'normal life' and is planning to contest the election from the Nepali Congress from Kapilavastu, the birth place of Lord Buddha.

The Government of Nepal is yet to decide over his resignation application, which he submitted 11 months after taking charge. He has made the plan to announce his candidacy for the election as soon as his resignation is accepted by the government.

Upadhyay, who also served as the Minister and Central Committee Member of Nepali Congress, was appointed as the envoy for the first time in 2015 and was called back in 2016 by KP Sharma Oli-led Government.

The KP Oli Government at that time blamed him of making attempts to collapse the government, but was again re-appointed by Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'-led government.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif has warned India against launching a surgical strike on the country's nuclear installations, saying if that happens, nobody should expect restraint from Islamabad.

"Yesterday, the Indian Air Chief said we will hit, through another surgical strike, Pakistan's nuclear installations. If that happens, nobody should expect restraint form us. That's the most diplomatic language I can use," the Dawn quoted Asif as saying at the US Institute of Peace in Washington.

India's Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa on Thursday said that the Indian Air Force (IAF) has the capability to "locate, fix and strike across the border," in response to a question about handling the tactical nuclear weapons of Pakistan, at the annual press conference in New Delhi.

According to the report, Asif urged Indian leaders not to consider such actions as those could have dire consequences.

Earlier, Asif, who is on a three-day official visit to US, met US Security Adviser Gen H.R. McMaster and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Relations between the United States and Pakistan became strained on August 21 this year when President Donald Trump announced his new strategy for South Asia and squarely blamed Pakistan for sheltering terrorists in safe havens. He also threatened to stop economic and military assistance to Islamabad and offered India a greater role in Afghanistan, ignoring Islamabad's concerns.

Pakistan has since downgraded delegation-level visits, but is still talking to the American leadership on a case-by-case basis.
The (EIB) will provide 500 million to support the construction of a new 18 station Rapid Transit line in Bangalore and the purchase of 96 train cars for use on the line.

The formal exchange of contracts was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, and the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, besides other senior political representatives from India and the European Union.

This support for investment to expand the second longest urban metro system in the country is the largest ever EIB loan in India and also the largest ever support for sustainable transport outside Europe.

The loan agreement was formally exchanged by Andrew McDowell, EIB Vice President, and representatives of the Ministry of Finance at the 14th India European Union Summit.

The new support for investment by the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation to improve city transport is the largest ever support for sustainable transport outside Europe and will cut travel time for some journeys from two hours today to 15 minutes.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank is expected support the project in the first ever joint financing between the EIB and the AIIB.

"Daily travel for hundreds of thousands people on the Namma Metro will be transformed by expanding urban transport in Bangalore.

"The impressive Reach 6 project shows how a world city is providing 21st century sustainable transport for its citizens. The EUR 500 million financing agreed with the European Investment Bank, the Bank of the European Union, demonstrates Europe's commitment to support world class climate related investment across Asia and the increased momentum of EIB financing for urban transport across India. This new loan follows backing for the impressive Lucknow Metro announced with Prime Minister Modi last year and stronger engagement here in India through our New Delhi office opened last March," said Andrew McDowell, Vice President responsible for South Asia.

The EIB is the world's largest international public bank and is owned by the 28 European Union member states.

Speaking at the summit, the EU Ambassador to India Tomasz Kozlowski said that "The loan for the Bangalore Metro will contribute greatly to a project that will reduce traffic congestion and pollution in a city that has seen explosive growth in recent years."

"Successful implementation of Phase 1 of Bangalore Metro has transformed sustainable transport in the city. Working with the is both helping to finance new stations and trains, and share technical experience from projects around the world." added Pradeep Singh Kharola, Managing Director of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited, a joint venture of the Government of India and the Government of Karnataka.

Once operational in 2021, the new 22-kilometer Reach 6 Metro Line is expected to bring about a transformation of public transport in the southern Indian city. The project includes both underground tunnels and elevated tracks. Economic activity in Bangalore will benefit from reduced journey time and lower costs.

The improved transport links are also expected to reduce green-house gas emissions.

Reach 6 is a key part of the second phase of the Bangalore Metro and a key component of the future rail link to Bangalore Airport. More than 800 people are expected to be employed during construction.

The loan agreement was signed by Andrew McDowell, European Investment Bank Vice President at the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of India ahead of the 14th India - European Union summit. Representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank are present at the contract signature.

The Bangalore Metro is the first infrastructure project to be jointly financed by the European Investment Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. It is the EIB's second sovereign loan with the Republic of India.

The European Investment Bank is one of world's largest financiers for transport worldwide. Over the last five years it has provided more than EUR 70 billion for transport investment around the world.

As well as providing EUR 450 million for construction of the new Lucknow Metro, In recent years the EIB has supported investment in urban transport across Asia in Hanoi, Vientiane and Bangladesh.

The EIB is also backing expansion of sustainable transport across Europe, Latin America and Africa including in London, Paris, Dublin, Buenos Aires, Antananarivo and Cairo.

(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.)
Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Shahidul Haque on Friday said the solution to the Rohingya crisis has to be found in Myanmar as it was created there.

"Our position is very clear, the problem has been created in Myanmar and the solution has to be found in Myanmar," Haque said at a press conference.

"We can help the Myanmar Government, but solution can't be their stay in Bangladesh. We want them to go back as soon as possible," he added.

Haque further said that Bangladesh has given Myanmar a written proposal on how to take back the Rohingyas and in this regard, a working group consisting of representatives of both countries has been set up.

Earlier, Bangladesh and Myanmar had agreed to form a joint working group, which will draw up plans for the repatriation process of Rohingya refugees.

Nearly half a million Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh due to violence in the Rakhine state that has claimed lives of at least more than 100 people and displaced several others.

Bangladesh is currently sheltering 507,000 Rohingya refugees in the country.

Myanmar troops launched a crackdown in the Rakhine state in response to attacks on three border posts last year that killed nine police officers, since then many Rohingya Muslims have tried to move into Bangladesh illegally.

Rohingyas are not recognised by Myanmar as its citizens and are called Bengali by them.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
United States Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigative team had interviewed veteran British spy Christopher Steele, who compiled the explosive Trump-Russia dossier, according to a report.

The dossier contains a series of memos detailing an alleged collusion between Russian efforts to aid Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Steele was hired by the Washington firm.

The information provided by Steele may help Mueller and his team assess if contacts between the Trump campaign and potential Russian operatives resulted in a collusion, CNN has reported.

Mueller is now working to determine whether any of the series of contacts between Trump campaign associates and suspected Russian operatives broke US law.

The FBI and the US intelligence community last year took the Steele dossier more seriously than the agencies have publicly acknowledged. James Clapper, former director of national intelligence, said in a January 2017 statement that the intelligence community had "not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable."

Ever since the dossier came to light in January, President Trump and his allies have downplayed the dossier and insisted that it is a complete work of fiction. In a series of tweets earlier this year, President Trump said the memos were written by a "failed spy" who had relied on "totally made-up facts by sleazebag political operatives."

Former FBI Director James Comey had also expressed concerns to his counterparts that if the FBI alone presented the dossier allegations, then the president-elect would view the information as an attempt by the FBI to hold leverage over him.

Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, the chief of staff for the National Security Council, was interviewed on Thursday. Kellogg was shown information and asked questions related to President Trump's former national security adviser Michael Flynn, the Hill reported.

President Donald Trump's former national security adviser, retired Gen. Michael Flynn, first declined to comply with a Senate subpoena in May, asserting his Fifth Amendment rights.

Flynn resigned in February after reports he misled senior members of the White House about his contacts with Russian officials. Mueller has asked for documents concerning Flynn and a Justice Department warning about Flynn's ties to a Russian diplomat.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Sale of Articles of Rural Artisans Society (Saras) Mela commenced at Punjab Agricultural University here.

Artisans and artists from 25 different states of the country are participating in the fair.

Cultural heritage of various states were put on display on the opening day of the mela.

The atmosphere of the mela was reverberated with music and folk dance from different states which pulled a lot of crowd.

The joyous festival was inaugurated yesterday by Deputy Commissioner Pradeep Kumar Agarwal.

Speaking on the occasion, Kumar said, "It is matter of pride for us that the mela has been set up in Ludhiana. Artists from nearly 16 states have arrived here and adorned the festival. This is a platform where artists from self-help groups could display their items and sell their handmade products."

The Deputy Commissioner also informed that nearly 220 stalls from various states are put up at the Mela.

People who became part of the festival on the first day said that this is an opportunity for people to get acquainted with culture, art and craft of different states.

The 12-day long fest will conclude on October 16.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The United States President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he is close to announcing his decision on whether to decertify the Iran nuclear agreement.

"You'll be hearing about Iran very shortly," The Hill quoted Trump as saying, when asked by reporters if he will certify or decertify the Obama-era agreement.

Trump further said that Iran has not "lived up" to the spirit of the deal.

In a meeting with the military leaders, Trump emphasised that Iran must not be allowed to obtain the nuclear weapons.

"The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed and chaos across the Middle East. That is why we must put an end to Iran's continued aggression and nuclear ambitions. They have not lived up to the spirit of their agreement," he added.

Trump has repeatedly lambasted the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - one of the most important foreign policy legacies of his predecessor, Barack Obama - most recently at the U.N. general assembly last month.

Under the U.S. law, Trump has time till October 15 to certify that Iran is complying with the nuclear deal. If he declines to certify Iran, then the Congress will have the option to re-impose sanctions on Iran, which would effectively end the deal.

Earlier on Tuesday, the U.S. Defence Secretary James Mattis had openly contradicted Trump's position on the Iran nuclear deal, while testifying before the Congress, by backing the nuclear deal with Iran and saying it is in the interests of national security to maintain it.

During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, Mattis was asked whether he believed it was currently in the US national security interest to remain in the agreement.

After a significant pause, he replied, "Yes, senator, I do.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The U.S. State department has approved the likelihood of the sale of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD), a U.S. missile defence system, to Saudi Arabia's Government for an estimated cost of 15 billion dollars.

The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), in a statement, said, "This sale furthers U.S. national security and foreign policy interests, and supports the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the face of Iranian and other regional threats."

The Saudi Government has requested 44 THAAD launchers, Interceptor missiles, Fire Control and THAAD radars. Also included are, THAAD Battery maintenance equipment, generators, electrical power units, trailers, communications, publications and technical documentation and other related elements of logistics.

"This potential sale will substantially increase Saudi Arabia's capability to defend itself against the growing ballistic missile threat in the region," the statement added.

Lockheed Martin and Raytheon are the principal contractors for the THAAD system.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The global leading IP surveillance solution provider, VIVOTEK, has announced that it is aggressively looking to scale up in India. The company which is growing at a 30 percent year on year rate is looking to double its revenue in the next two years.

Commenting on the future roadmap of the company, India and SAARC Country Manager, VIVOTEK Inc., Sanjeev Gulati said, "In India, burgeoning terrorist attacks, increasing occurrences of crime, data thefts, remote monitoring, development of public infrastructure, increasing IT spending, government initiatives and increasing security spending is driving the IP surveillance market in ways hitherto unforeseen. The procurement of security surveillance products has become a lot easier if compared to the traditional modes. Also, Tier 1, 2, 3 and even Tier 4 cities and towns are displaying stupendous growth and they represent an important market for us. Initiatives like the 'Make in India' and 100 smart cities will give the IP surveillance industry a major fillip to move on the right path."

VIVOTEK's key focus area in the Indian market is both product and solution oriented. The vertical markets where the company plays a major role include transport and highways, smart city projects, retail markets, industrial market, and the hospitality industry.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
For the first time in two years, Indian companies doing business in Europe have shed their pessimism and see a rebound in their business prospects in the region. The gradual turn-around has been achieved by Indian corporate by successfully re-positioning and re-aligning their operational capabilities in one of the most demanding and organized markets in the world. Capitalising on and riding on the back of improved economic performance by number of European economies, Indian companies have been able to grow and create a niche for their products there.

Furthermore, there has been a marked rise in number of companies who have successfully been able to reduce their losses while doing business in the region, says a FICCI Survey on Are Winds of Change Bringing Good Tidings for Indian Companies Doing Business in Europe.

These are heartening signs for Indian corporates as despite a gradual slowdown in IndiaEurope trade and economic relations, the region still remains India's largest trading partner.

The Survey notes that the current economic situation, though resulting in number of procedural and regulatory obstacles for Indian companies to expand and or do business in the continent, is still providing needed returns on the investments made.

Indian entrepreneurial zeal is looking towards tapping into the improved economic scenario in Europe to their advantage. This has resulted in ever-increasing interactions and joint ventures with the European companies. SMEs sector in India has also played a pivotal role in forging new business alliances with European companies. It has been done to get needed technologies and operational expertise to become globally competitive. The skill upgrades and development has only added due momentum to the growing synergies between Indian and European enterprises.

The survey findings reveal that the gradual economic recovery in Europe has far deeper ramifications on the business interests of Indian companies. This includes, holding on to their current level of businesses, furthering their footprint across the region, seeking a more pliant policy framework from respective European economies to ease the process of doing business there and seeking easy movement of human resources to finish the existing projects and or undertaking the new ones in the coming times.

The ongoing negotiations to sign an equitable and balanced FTA between India and the EU are also closely monitored by Indian industry. The issue of visas and movement of professionals in the EU still remains one of the most contentious concern areas for Indian companies.

In the initial years of liberalization, Indian companies focused on increasing exports, getting into joint ventures or technology transfer agreements with foreign companies to make their presence felt in global markets.

In recent years, Corporate India has steadily moved towards building globally competitive enterprises. Healthy performance at home, the desire to venture abroad coupled with liberal policies on outward investments, served as a catalyst to establish a footprint globally and expedited the process of Indian companies entering foreign markets through the acquisition route.

EU clearly represents a large consumer base (close to 500 million potential consumers) if the entire bloc of 27 countries is considered to be a single market. It's economic, trade and investment policies generally welcome foreign investment traditionally viewing it as a means to promote employment and capital formation

Other attractions of the EU include well developed capital markets, political and social stability, established and transparent legal systems to name a few.

The following are the highlights of the Survey findings:

With number of major European economies namely Germany and France apart from Greece, Spain and Italy, showing signs of economic consolidation and growth in recent months, Indian companies have overwhelmingly expressed optimism that the worst is over for them while engaging the region commercially.

From 2015 when 75% of Indian companies surveyed had responded that the ongoing crisis had resulted in their business prospects in the region being adversely impacted, this year 25% of the surveyed companies expressed concerns about their business prospects taking a hit due to current economic scenario in Europe.

Over 65% of companies surveyed noted that even when the markets were slow in registering increased domestic demand, they have been able to register growth in their product(s) category.

Most significantly 61% of the surveyed companies who reported increase in their business prospects, their losses have come down from 20% in 2015 to less than5% this year. 18% respondents reported an increase of 2-5% in their businesses.

Half of the surveyed companies expected the current economic situation would improve in the coming 1-2 years' time.

Encouragingly, 30% respondents expressed optimism that the economic situation in the European Union would begin to look up in a year's time. Even some of those companies who have seen their margins decline in the last two years, have shown optimism about the future business prospects for their product category in next one year's time.

To keep their balance sheets stable, over 57% of the Indian companies surveyed have already begun to diversify their markets within and outside Europe. This is in stark contrast to 2015 survey as over 40% of these companies have initiated efforts to make inroads into Central and East European markets. 60% of these companies are primarily focusing on greener pastures in African countries, Middle East, South Asia and even in North America.

Over 20% respondents have pointed out that during the current economic turmoil, rather than facilitating foreign investments and businesses, the respective European Governments have made its processes more stringent in obtaining and renewing longterm visas, work permits, family and dependent visas and overall ease of doing business in the region. Of these, there was unanimity that getting a business visa remained the most worrying issue for them to effectively engage the European economies.

10% of the respondents suggested that Indian government could favorably look at providing subsidies and lower duties for promoting India-EU trade.

As the survey indicates, despite the number of policy and regulatory impediments, India's outbound investments in the EU may see smaller deals but the activity will continue. Numbers of Indian companies are viewing the current economic crisis as an opportunity to enhance their investments.

To maximize their benefits and to alleviate their business losses in terms of reduced demands in European markets, Indian manufacturers are aggressively pursuing new business plans. This includes increased imports of high-end machinery and technology from Europe due to highly competitive prices being offered by European exporters. This could have long-term spin-offs for Indian industry in terms of added capacities and reduced capital expenditures.

As the economic fundamentals for Indian companies to stay invested in the country(s) of their business interest are sound, they are willing to stay put and not leave their European businesses for better avenues in other parts of the globe just as yet.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Granules India rose 3.40% to Rs 118.45 at 14:23 IST on BSE after the company said it received establishment inspection report from the US drug regulator for Vizag facility.

The announcement was made during trading hours today, 6 October 2017.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 178.32 points, or 0.56% to 31,770.35.

On the BSE, 4.76 lakh shares were traded in the counter so far, compared with average daily volumes of 1.65 lakh shares in the past one quarter. The stock had hit a high of Rs 120.35 and a low of Rs 114.10 so far during the day. The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 157 on 18 May 2017. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 91.45 on 9 November 2016.

The stock had underperformed the market over the past one month till 5 October 2017, falling 10.16% compared with 0.22% decline in the Sensex. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one quarter, falling 18.85% as against Sensex's 0.74% rise. The scrip had also underperformed the market in past one year, falling 4.54% as against Sensex's 12.40% rise.

The small-cap company has equity capital of Rs 25.38 crore. Face value per share is Re 1.

Granules India announced that US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has issued Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) to the Granules OmniChem facility, a 50:50 joint venture company of Granules India and Ajinimoto OmniChem N.V., located at Vizag, Andhra Pradesh, India. This facility was inspected by USFDA in December 2016 and there were seven observations during the inspection. This facility currently manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) intermediates.

On a consolidated basis, net profit of Granules India declined 5.54% to Rs 36.80 crore on 10.18% rise in net sales to Rs 378.73 crore in Q1 June 2017 over Q1 June 2016.

Granules India is a vertically integrated pharmaceutical company, headquartered in Hyderabad, India. It manufactures active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), pharmaceutical formulation intermediates (PFIs) and finished dosages (FDs), distributed to customers in both regulated and semi-regulated markets.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The IPO opens today, 6 October 2017

MAS Financial Services' initial public offer (IPO) committee of the company at a meeting held yesterday, 5 October 2017, finalized allocation of 29.61 lakh shares to 15 anchor investors at the upper end of the IPO price band at Rs 459 per share aggregating Rs 135.91 crore.

MAS Financial Services is raising Rs 460.04 crore through IPO, which comprises of a fresh issue of shares by the company aggregating up to Rs 233 crore and an offer for sale (OFS) of shares aggregating up to Rs 227.04 crore by the selling shareholders.

The offer for sale comprises of an offer aggregating up to Rs 112.66 crore by DEG (Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft MBH), Rs 79.34 crore by FMO (Nederlandse Financierings - Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden N.V.) and Rs 35.04 crore by Sarva Capital LLC. The offer includes a reservation aggregating up to Rs 7.0 crore for eligible employees.

The price band for the IPO has been fixed at Rs 456-459 per share. The issue opened today, 6 October and closes on 10 October 2017.

Net proceeds from the fresh issue will go to augmenting the capital base to meet future capital requirements. Further, there will be the benefits of listing of the equity shares on the stock exchanges, enhancement of the brand name and creation of a public market for equity shares in India.

On consolidated basis, MAS Financial Services reported net profit of Rs 23.70 crore on income from operations of Rs 104.02 crore in Q1 June 2017.

MAS Financial Services is a Gujarat-headquartered non-banking finance company (NBFC) providing loans to middle- and low-income borrowers as well as micro, small and medium enterprises.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
On 11 October 2017

Network 18 Media & Investments will hold a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company on 11 October 2017.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Held on 05 October 2017

The Board of Supreme Infrastructure India has approved the increase in the limit of issuance of equity shares / convertible securities of the Company by way of preferential allotment to Non Promoters from Rs 75 crore to Rs 140 crore.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Plans to expand in New Zealand and Australian markets

Tara Jewels announced that the Company is in talks of 49% of a Top Australian Retailer Bevilles Jewelller. The proposed strategic investment would give Tara Jewels access to highly profitable New Zealand and Australian markets.

Bevilles Jeweller is a 80 year old retailer with an annual turnover of 34 million AUD (Rs 170 crore).

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tata Steel announced production and sales numbers for Q2 September 2017. The company's sales rose 15.73% to 6.4 million tonnes in Q2 September 2017 over Q2 September 2016. Production grew by 4.71% to 6.22 million tonnes in Q2 September 2017 over Q2 September 2016. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 5 October 2017.

Bank of Baroda revised lower its Marginal Cost of Funds Based Lending Rates (MCLR) across various maturities by 5 basis points effective 7 October 2017. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 5 October 2017.

PSP Projects said that the meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on 11 October 2017, to approve amongst other items of agenda, for availing financial assistance from banks. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 5 October 2017.

Shriram Transport Finance Company said that discussions between the Shriram Group and IDFC Group regarding the potential combination and the due diligence exercise is continuing and the parties have agreed to extend the exclusivity period up to 8 November 2017. The announcement was made after market hours yesterday, 5 October 2017.

The board of directors of the company in its meeting held on 8 July 2017 had accorded approval for entering into a confidentiality, exclusivity and standstill agreement (CES) to evaluate a potential combination of certain businesses and subsidiaries/affiliates/associate companies of the Shriram Group engaged in the credit and non-credit financial services sector with the IDFC Group. This proposed potential combination was subject to regulatory approvals and other various processes including due diligence. The CES was drawn up for a period of 90 days from 8 July 2017.

Powered by Capital Market - Live News

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
At least 27 people were killed in a targeted bombing and a rocket attack in the Syrian city of Deir al-Zor, authorities said on Friday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said 14 people died in an alleged bombing by Russian aircraft targeting the Mahkan area, reports Efe news.

According to the NGO, 13 people died when a rocket struck near a school in the al-Qusur neighbourhood.

Both attacks took place on Thursday night.

The attacks come as violent clashes continued on the outskirts of Deir al-Zor between Syrian government forces, its allies, and the Islamic State.

--IANS

ksk/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday opposed the bail plea of a woman Director of a Dubai-based company in a money-laundering case related to the AgustaWestland VVIP chopper deal.

Public Prosecutor Navin Kumar Matta requested Special Judge Arvind Kumar not to grant bail to Shivani Saxena, citing serious nature of offence filed against the woman accused.

The prosecutor told the court that if she was released on bail, she could tamper with evidence or influence the witnesses.

The court has listed the matter for October 7 for further hearing.

On September 13, the Directorate charge-sheeted Shivani Saxena under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The ED, in June last year, filed the first supplementary chargesheet in the case against British national Christian Michel James, Delhi-based Media Exim Pvt Ltd and its Director R.K. Nanda and former Director J.B. Subramaniyam in its ongoing money-laundering probe in the Rs 3,600 crore helicopter deal.

The first charge-sheet was filed in the case in November 2014 against businessman Gautam Khaitan, his wife Ritu, Chandigarh-based firm Aeromatrix and two alleged Italian middlemen -- Guido Ralph Haschke and Carlo Gerosa.

The charge-sheet said the alleged middlemen managed to make inroads into the Indian Air Force to influence and subvert its stand on reducing the service ceiling of helicopters from 6,000 metre to 4,500 metre in 2005, after which AgustaWestland became eligible to supply a dozen helicopters for VVIP duties.

Shivani, wife of Rajeev Shamsher Bahadur Saxena, a resident of Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, was arrested on July 17.

The ED alleged that Shivani and her husband Rajeev were partners and Directors in Dubai-based companies UHY Saxena and Matrix Holdings Ltd, through which proceeds of the crime were routed and used for buying immovable properties and shares.

According to the agency, Britain-based AgustaWestland International Ltd paid 58 million euros in kickbacks, through Tunisia-based Gordian Services Sarl and IDS Sarl, who transferred the money to Mauritius-based Interstellar Technologies Ltd in the guise of consultancy contracts and this firm, in turn, sent the money to these two Dubai companies.

Shivani Saxena was the second accused arrested by the Directorate in the case. In 2014, the agency had arrested lawyer Gautam Khaitan for his alleged role in routing the kickbacks in the purchase of 12 AW-101 helicopters. Currently, Khaitan is out on bail.

The case is based on the investigation being conducted by the Central Bureau of Investigation, which had arrested former IAF chief S.P. Tyagi and two others in connection with the case in 2016.

--IANS

akk/nir/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP chief Amit Shah would be attending the ground breaking ceremony later this month for a grand temple in honour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi that would have a 100-feet statue of him, retired irrigation department engineer J.P. Singh, the brain behind the move, said on Friday.

The ground breaking ceremony would be held on October 23 in Sardhana.

The temple, spread over five acres, is likely to cost Rs 30 crore, Singh said.

Identifying himself as a "long standing fan of Prime Minister Modi", Singh said that he has been an admirer of the style of functioning of the BJP leader and that he had given the land for the temple from his private foundation. He also urged people who like Modi to "openly contribute" with funds for the temple.

Singh explained that he had nurtured his dream of building the temple for a long time but could not execute it since he was in a government job.

A Modi temple exists in Rajkot, on 350 sq feet, built by a group called Om Yuva group. A statue of Modi costing Rs 1.7 lakh has been installed in that temple.

Prime Minister Modi had strongly disapproved of the idea of a temple in his name and had then called it against the tenets of Indian culture.

--IANS

md/rn

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Heavy rains failed to dampen the response to the state-wide 'Jana Raksha Yatra' led by Kerala BJP president Kummanem Rajasekheran, which completed its Kannur leg on Friday.

The padyatra, which reached Kuthuparamabu near here, is a show of strength by the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and meant to highlight alleged violence by CPI-M cadres on BJP and RSS supporters.

The campaign is to end on October 17 in the state capital, and according to the original plan, BJP national president Amit Shah is expected to attend it.

Shah had flagged off the yatra on October 3 and participated in the padyatra in Payyanur in Kannur district.

On Friday, the padyatra saw the presence of Union Minister of State for Water Resources Arjun Ram Meghwal. During the lunch break the BJP leaders visited the home of K.T. Jayakrishnan, a school teacher who was brutally murdered by the CPI-M while he was teaching at a school near here in 1999.

Jayakrishnan was the vice president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha at the time.

Coordinator of the yatra and a former state BJP president V. Muraleedharan told reporters that their yatra is "already a success as since it has begun the top brass of the CPI-M has gone berserk in their remarks".

"The CPI-M is depicting those people who died due to sickness and in road accidents as martyrs and even its party organ is coming out with false stories. Fake videos are also being circulated to belittle our yatra, but those who have seen the response to the yatra know what the truth is," said Muraleedharan.

On Saturday, the yatra enters Kozhikode district and will see two Union Minister Sadananda Gowda and Dharmendra Pradhan take part.

--IANS

sg/rn

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Based on Philip K Dick's novel 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep', this film is a follow-up to one of science fiction's most iconic film, which was directed by Ridley Scott 35 years ago.

While the original, themed with -- what is life and who has the right to it -- set the pace for a lot of dystopian sci-fictions to foray into the noir-flavoured, dangerously decaying Los Angeles, Director Denis Villeneuve's version, set some 30 years after the original, makes it a direct sequel to the first.

An opening title reminds us that replicants - genetically engineered creatures that are indistinguishable from humans are designed to be safe and servile. But Blade Runners - those who hunt down and "retire" older replicants, still operate.

Officer K (Ryan Gosling) is one such Blade Runner who tracks down independent-minded replicants who are past their date of planned obsolescence and are committed to survival. Killing them might look like a cruel injustice, but it is just a job for K, who soon gets into an emotional and ethical dilemma.

Ryan Gosling is great as the new Blade Runner. He punctuates a purposefully inexpressive performance with minute inflections that makes him a believable character.

He is aptly supported by Ana de Armas as Joi the electronically produced holographic woman who adores K, Jared Leto as Niander Wallace the head of a company that produces the replicants, Sylvia Hoeks as the ruthless woman Luv and Robin Wright as Lieutenant Joshi the head of LAPD (Los Angeles Police Department). They are all perfunctory in their demeanour.

Harrison Ford, in a worn out version, returns as Deckard, the replicant hunter of the first film. He has been in hiding for the last 30 years. His presence perks up the narrative couple of fold but it isn't as emotionally satisfying as we might have liked it to be.

The plot written by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, is convoluted and meanders, sending the audience into a long dark tunnel with no light in sight. But you are glued to the screen for its visual delight.

Cinematically, the film is an artist's treat. Every frame is exquisite. The hazy screen and the arid landscapes tell us the world has been drained of its richness, its abundance having been exploited to the point that even a dead tree has become a novelty. Technology may hold sway, but the Earth has become infertile.

With reality and holographic models merging to create an intriguing and exciting cinematic universe, one expects such futuristic films to be fast paced and action packed, but instead, the film is slow, tediously slow.

Nevertheless it is fascinating as a potent, unwaveringly brutal and emotionally devastating film.
Blue Origin, a commercial space company founded by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, plans to launch humans into space within the next 18 months, CEO of the space firm Bob Smith said.

These people Blue Origin plans to launch into space will be everyday citizens, not astronauts, Smith said at the first meeting of the newly revamped National Space Council - an executive group aimed at guiding the US space agenda -- on Thursday.

Blue Origin has not yet indicated exactly how much the tickets will cost, CNNMoney reported.

The firm earlier announced its plans to launch space tourists by 2018.

A 2019 launch would put Blue Origin's first space tourism trip slightly behind its competitor SpaceX, headed by Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

"Within the next 18 months we're going to be launching humans into space," Smith was quoted as saying.

"These won't be astronauts...these will be everyday citizens," Smith added.

SpaceX plans to take two tourists on a trip around the moon sometime in the last quarter of 2018.

Sending paying customers to space is part of Blue Origin's early business strategy.

The company wants to conduct frequent launches to the edge of space -- where passengers can briefly experience weightlessness and marvel at the view.

--IANS

gb/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In view of the increasing influx of illegal immigrants, especially Rohingyas, the BSF has identified 140 "vulnerable" locations on India-Bangladesh border and initiated a campaign to prevent their influx by curbing the activities of touts, the BSF chief said on Friday.

"We both (Border Security Force and Border Guards Bangladesh) are aware that the issue is very very serious as a large number of Rohingyas have entered Bangladesh and India. Both the forces discussed the issue and have taken steps to curb the menace," BSF Director General K K Sharma said here.

He was addressing media persons at the end of a four-day bi-annual Directors General-level talks, which began on October 2, between a 26-member Indian team and a 24-member Bangladesh delegation led by BGB chief Major General Abul Hossain.

The BSF officer said his counterpart had assured of major steps to deal with the movement of Rohingya Muslims, who have fled Rakhine state in Myanmar after security forces' action since August 25, by setting up roadblocks/checkpoints on various routes to ensure no one crossed into Indian territory illegally.

Sharma said BSF had identified "140 vulnerable border posts" along the 4,096.7-km India-Bangladesh border, from where some touts and organised groups help Rohingyas sneak into India.

"There are organised criminals on both sides who assist in their (Rohingyas) entry to India. So, we are mounting a campaign against these touts. We have deployed forces to strengthen security at these vulnerable posts. More manpower, technological inputs, and gadgets have been put in place."

Surveillance equipment, the BSF chief said, from other BSF posts have been diverted and deployed all along the eastern frontier.

"We are in touch with our sister agencies, intelligence agencies, to identify and take action against these touts. Because, these people (Rohingyas) cannot come on their own," Sharma said.

The BSF Director General said the border force has "sensitised" local populace to inform authorities about people entering Indian illegally.

He said the BSF is constantly in touch with the BGB on a daily basis. "Our commanders on the border can speak to each other quickly and share intelligence on any movement of Rohingyas."

BGB chief Hossain told the media that his country had already begun mandatory registration of all Rohingyas entering Bangladesh.

He said his country was planning to fence the country's border with Myanmar.

"Five lakh people (Rohingyas) have already come to Bangladesh. It is a problem for our country... they (Rohingyas) cannot spread all over the country. Our government has taken a decision and the refugees have been housed in Cox's Bazar district," the BGB chief said.

He said the BGB had identified exit and entry points (of Rohingyas), which are being guarded by the force, and have started registration of the refugees.

"Our citizens have been informed to share details on any such person to law enforcement agencies," Hossain said, adding Myanmar had told Bangladesh to set up a joint working committee to find out Rohingyas and send them back to their native place.

At the DG-level talks, the BGB raised issues like firing, killing, injuring, and beating of Bangladesh nationals by the BSF as well as arrest or detention of Bangladesh citizens.

Smuggling of firearms, ammunition, explosive, drugs, development works within 150 yards of the International Border, assistance for river bank protection works along the border, confidence-building measure, exchange of visit by BGB-BSF medical team, prevention against attacks on BSF personnel by Bangladeshi criminals, and prevention of trans-border crimes was discussed at the meet.

On Friday, a Joint Record of Discussions was signed by the Directors General of BSF and BGB. The next DG-level talk will be hosted by the BGB in Dhaka in February/March 2018.
A Spanish court on Friday handed Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho a seven-month prison sentence for two tax crimes in 2011 and in relation to his image rights in 2012 after a deal was struck with prosecutors.

The court also fined the former Real Madrid player, who acknowledged the charges against him, 142,822 euros ($167,216), although the state attorney had asked for a one-year jail sentence and a 300,000 euro ($351,691.5) fine, reports Efe.

The court said that the player had paid back the evaded taxes amounting to 545,981 euro ($640,146.34) and confessed before his trail.

The 39-year-old Carvalho spent two seasons at Real Madrid between June 2010-June 2012.

Carvalho joined Chinese Shanghai SIPG in 2017 after three years in Monaco.

In Spain, jail sentences under two years tend to be served under probation.

--IANS

tri/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Catalan police chief will appear in a court here on Friday as part of a probe into alleged sedition against the state in the lead up to the region's independence referendum which was deemed illegal by Spain.

The Mossos d'Esquadra forces, led by Major Josep Lluis Trapero, are facing accusations of not protecting members of the Spanish Civil Guard during a raid on the Catalan Finance Ministry prior to the referendum, reports Efe news.

The incidents took place on September 20 when a large group of people surrounded the building while Spanish police searched it for referendum material on a court order.

Apart from Trapero, the presidents of two of Catalonia's most powerful pro-independence organisations, Jordi Sanchez of the Catalan National Assembly and Jordi Cuixart of Omnium Cultural, would also give statements.

National Court judge Carmen Lamela summoned the Catalan officials as part of an investigation into possible sedition, which is punishable by eight to 15 years in prison under Spanish law.

The prosecution is unlikely to ask for a prison sentence for the Mossos chief, though it will wait for his testimony to end before taking a decision on possible punitive measures, official sources told Efe.

The Mossos have already said that Trapero will say that the Catalan police strictly adhered to court orders and the state prosecutors in its actions regarding the referendum of October 1.

The presidents of the national assembly and the Ominum have also said they will testify.

Meanwhile, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy will chair a cabinet meeting to discuss the next moves in the confrontation with Catalonia.

Organisers of the vote put the turnout at 42 per cent, with 2.2 million people taking part.

--IANS

ksk/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The CBI questioned RJD chief Lalu Prasad's son Tejashwi Yadav for over seven hours on Friday in connection with its ongoing probe into alleged irregularities in the 2006 IRCTC hotels maintenance contract case.

Tejashwi Yadav, a former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, reached the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) headquarters on Lodi Road in south Delhi around 11.15 a.m. and was questioned till 6.30 p.m.

"Tejashwi was questioned for over seven hours by CBI investigators. He faced more than 100 questions in connection with the IRCTC case," CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal told IANS.

Dayal further said that the CBI may call Tejashwi Yadav again for another round of questioning but the next date was yet to be decided.

The questioning comes a day after Lalu Prasad was questioned for seven hours in connection with the case.

The CBI had on September 26 issued fresh summons -- the third in a month -- to the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief and his son in the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp (IRCTC) contract case.

Tejashwi Yadav appeared before the CBI after skipping two earlier summons.

The CBI on July 5 filed a corruption case against Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav for alleged irregularities in the allotment of contracts for IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri in 2006 to a private firm when the RJD chief was the Railways Minister.

The contracts were given to Sujata Hotels, a company owned by Vijay and Vinay Kochhar -- both named in the CBI FIR as accused -- in lieu of bribe in the form of a three-acre commercial plot at a prime location in Bihar's Patna district, the CBI said.

A preliminary CBI inquiry found that the said land was sold by the Kochhars to Delight Marketing Company and payment was arranged through Ahluwalia Contractors and its promoter Bikramjeet Singh Ahluwalia, another accused person.

The ED has since questioned Ahluwalia.

Delight Marketing, which bought the property from the Kochhars, was later taken over by Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav, alleges the CBI.

Sarla Gupta, wife of RJD chief's close associate and former Union Minister Prem Chand Gupta and a director of Delight Marketing, is a co-accused in the case, apart from then IRCTC Managing Director P.K. Goel.

The ED had on July 27 registered a separate case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act following the CBI FIR and was probing Lalu Prasad and others for alleged transfer of money through shell companies.

The ED has summoned Rabri Devi to appear before it next week.

--IANS

rak/him/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Soon after he became the Mayor of Copenhagen, Morten Kabell sent back his official car and decided commute to office by electric bike, contributing towards taking the city to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025.

Kabell is one of the seven Mayors of Copenhagen, which has a population of around six lakh.

"There are seven Mayors each one with different areas of responsibilities that are clearly demarcated. The city council has eight parties," Kabell told a group of visiting international journalists.

According to him, the biggest challenge was asking the Danes to do away with their cars and switch over to public transport and cycles.

"I sold the official car and come to office on an e-bike," he added.

According to him, using a cycle is a faster way to commute and the city administration has reduced the number of car parking slots to discourage the use of cars to promote public transport and cycles.

"For distances of five-seven kilometres people here pedal their cycles. We would want that to up to 10 kms. People can also use e-bikes," Kabell said.

A sizeable number of Danes in Copenhagen commute to their work place on cycles.

The bicycle lanes are broad and the administration is planning to widen them to avoid traffic jams and also discourage the use of cars.

"Cars occupy space and also transport only one person at an average. You have to plan a city where cars can be used. There the people can buy cars and drive," he added.

"We are growing city. The city is growing by two per cent per annum. The challenge is building infrastructure, school and other facilities," Kabell said.

Speaking about achieving carbon neutrality by 2025 Kabell said as per the current plans, the city will achieve 92 per cent of the target by that time.

"Working out schemes to achieve the balance eight per cent will not be difficult," he said confidently.

Copehnagen aims to be the first city in the world to become carbon neutral by 2025.

"So far we have achieved 33 per cent of our target. Property owners have been asked to provide for district heating and cooling in their buildings," Kabell said.

The city is benchmarking its emissions against 2005 levels.

A biomass power plant is also being built and is expected to be operational in 2020 so that 80 per cent of the city's district heating system will be carbon neutral.

According to Kabell, source separation of waste at the household level is in place with the municipality giving containers to segregate the waste so that the organic waste could be used in the biomass plant.

The city's streetlights have been changed to energy efficient LED bulbs and the majority of the garbage trucks run on gas.

Kabell was categorical that it is the responsibility of rich nations to reduce pollution levels and it is not right on their part to ask other nations to do so.

"We recycle most of our waste. We have a district cooling system during summer. Our plans would make Copenhagen a sustainable city," Kabell added.

The indoor air quality has been improved with installation of valves to let in fresh air, he said when queried on the primary focus on reducing energy consumption by retaining heat/chillness within the four confines of the rooms with efficient sealing.

Though the water needs of the city met from ground water sources, the city does not have plans to harvest rain water to recharge aquifers.

(Venkatachari Jagannathan is in Denmark at the invitation of Danfoss A/S. He can be contacted at v.jagannathan@ians.in)

--IANS

vj/vm

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A fire engulfed Butcher Island which serves as an oil terminal, around 8.3 km off the Gateway of India in the Arabian Sea on Friday evening. There were no reports of any casualties or the massive oil tanks getting affected.

According to the fire brigade, the blaze was noticed around 5 p.m. on the island and was initially battled by a team of safety officers stationed there.

Later a team of Mumbai Port Trust, which owns the island, was despatched by a speedboat to help battle the conflagration, around an hour's journey.

The small island, also known as Jawahar Dweep, serves to offload crude oil from oil tankers which is stored in the containers there before they are shipped to an oil refinery in Wadala.

A MbPT official said they have not taken any decision to seek help from the Mumbai Fire Brigade, Indian Coast Guard or Indian Navy so far.

--IANS

qn/rn

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council is actively discussing relief measures for traders, including quarterly return filing and increasing threshold limit for Composition Scheme, sources said on Friday.

"Council members requested quarterly return filings for businesses with turnover less than Rs 1.5 crore," a Council member said on the sidelines of its ongoing meeting.

A state Finance Minister said that the Council was discussing the issues being faced by small traders.

Raising the threshold limit for Composition Scheme from the current Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore is also under discussion.

"Rs 1 crore threshold in the Composition Scheme is also supported by the GST Council members," he said.

--IANS

mm/rn

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Haryana Police on Friday claimed that Honeypreet Insan, the closest aide of jailed Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, is misleading police in the investigation into her role in violence in Panchkula and elsewhere after the August 25 conviction of Ram Rahim on two counts of rape.

Panchkula Police Commissioner A.S. Chawla told media persons here that Honeypreet was not fully cooperating with the police in investigation and was evasive in her replies.

"She is misleading the police," Chawla said.

The officer said Honeypreet, who was on the run from law for 38 days after she was booked for sedition, stayed in Bathinda for a few days and also in Rajasthan and Delhi.

Chawla said efforts were on to nab other two top functionaries of the sect, Aditya Insan and Pawan Insan, who were also on the run since August 25.

"We will arrest the other people on the run as well," he said.

Honeypreet, whose real name is Priyanka Taneja, was on Wednesday sent to six-day police remand by a court in Panchkula. She was arrested from neighbouring Punjab on Tuesday.

Police officials said raids were being conducted in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and some other places to arrest those behind the violence.

The police had been on Honeypreet's trail for over a month and raids were conducted in Nepal, Rajasthan, Bihar, Haryana and Delhi.

Honeypreet, in her mid-30s, has been the closest aide of Ram Rahim for nearly a decade. Her former husband Vishwas Gupta had alleged an illicit relationship between the two.

The woman -- who has been claiming to be Ram Rahim's "adopted daughter" -- starred as the lead heroine in five films he directed, produced and acted in over a period of three years.

Ram Rahim has been sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of over Rs 30 lakh. His conviction led to violence in Panchkula and Sirsa in Haryana, leaving 38 people dead and another 264 injured. Isolated incidents of violence were also reported from Delhi and several places in Punjab.

--IANS

js/nir/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian naval ship Trishul on Friday thwarted a piracy attempt on an Indian merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden, official sources here said.

"INS Trishul thwarts piracy attempt on Indian ship MV Jag Amar at 1230 hrs this noon in the Gulf of Aden," Navy's Spokesperson Captain D.K. Sharma said in a tweet.

The details of the anti-piracy operation were yet awaited.

In May, INS Sharda, deployed for anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, rescued a Liberian merchant vessel Lord Mountbatten from a pirate attack.

In April, INS Mumbai, Tarkash, Trishul and Aditya, which were passing through the Gulf of Aden on way to deployment to the Mediterranean sea, had saved another merchant ship MV OS 35 from pirates.

--IANS

ao/tsb/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dissident BJP leader remains unfazed by all the criticism he has faced for his strong critique of the economy and asserts that lack of jobs will be a major issue in the next Lok Sabha elections.

He also feels any attempt at polarising voters on issues like the Ram temple or Article 370 of the Constitution will not work on a country-wide basis.

On demonetisation, which he has been strongly critical of, Sinha says he would have opposed it "tooth and nail" had he been the Finance Minister.

"I feel vindicated (on the Indian Express article attacking the government's handling of the economy). My first satisfaction is that the issue is being debated. There is quite an informed debate going on. I stand by the facts and figures I quoted. I see no signs so far of a respite for the stressed sectors of our economy.

"RBI has not revised rates. On the fiscal side again, the indications are that even if they don't go for fiscal expansion, the target of fiscal deficit will be breached the way expenditure is happening this year," Sinha told IANS in an interview.

Sinha said he made a point on the economy and it was his assessment -- and there can be a differing point of view. "But they (government) have not answered a single issue. Out of the council of ministers, my son (Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha) has come out. People said it should be dismissed as a father-son feud. It was reducing it to the level of such flippancy that the serious issue would be lost. I am happy that it has not."

Asked about whether the BJP would find the going tough in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and if the ruling party would attempt to polarise votes on issues like the Ram temple, uniform civil code and Article 370, the BJP veteran said it was too early to answer that question as there are about 18 months still left.

"The Indian voter is unpredictable and I should know given the 2004 elections," he said in a reference to the defeat suffered by his party then after it advanced the polls on the "Shining India" campaign. "New India" is the slogan now, he added.

He said there are two issues in the economy. "One is jobs and (the other) price rise. The Indian voter is worried if my lad has a job or not. That adds to frustration. As far as employment is concerned, it will be a major issue. Household after household will be suffering from unemployment."

On the question of polarisation, Sinha said, "That kind of polarisation has never worked on a country-wide basis. It may in pockets, but I don't think it will meet with electoral success. One thing is very certain. Either it (temple construction) will have to be with the consent of the parties concerned or through a court judgement. You will succeed only if there is a conflicting environment. Then only polarisation will take place. And it does not work every time. "

Admitting that the only good thing about the Modi government is that so far there have been no corruption charges, Sinha said the common man however does not benefit from it. He benefits from cutting-edge administration. "Nothing has changed on that front. For the common man, there is hardly any relief."

Sinha said there was no clear policy emerging on how to tackle the distress in various sectors. He referred to the way the share market was behaving and called it a case for study. RBI has said it will prevent volatility from market.

"There is a camp which says that rupee should be allowed to depreciate because it is affecting exports. We don't see any clear policy emerging.

"From the economic point of view, exports have come down, foreign demand is not there. Industrial demand is not there. Overall demand in the economy is not there. That is one reason why private investment is not taking place. There is no generation of fresh capacity. This is serious... because economic growth will take place only on the basis of rising demand. In 3.5 years of this government, there is no demand."

On demonetisation, Sinha said he would have opposed it tooth and nail had he been the Finance Minister. "It is a long debate what demonetisation can achieve, what it has achieved and what can be achieved through alternative means.

"We are talking of cashless. We have a whole host of measures to go cashless. I think there are 1.8 million cases (of disproportionate deposits). And all these cases will take their own time. If the Income Tax department has to handle these cases, then tax terrorism has returned. We are declaring to the world we are a country of thieves and black money holders.

"By when will we see the outcome of these cases, we don't know. The fact of the matter is that they have blundered badly as far as this move of demonetisation is concerned."

To a question on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the problems encountered by traders on account of its implementation, he said, "Now suddenly it has become the biggest reform since 1947 and they are tom-tomming it. I am seriously questioning the understanding of taxation that these people possess. Fifteen years (after) I introduced CENVAT with three rates, they introduce GST with five official rates -- and with many more cesses. There can't be more than three rates."

Sinha said that demand needs to be created and there was need to create an investment for demand for goods first in the economy. "We have to create demand for investment goods. That will lead to more job opportunities, money will flow into people's pockets through employment and then demand for consumption goods will rise. But this is not happening now."
A criminal along with an accomplice looted a gun from a security guard here on Friday but was arrested within half hour, police said.

The incident occurred in Vasundhara residential locality.

The police said two bike-borne criminals looted the gun from Nathu Ram at Mukut Banquet Hall after firing two shots in the air from a pistol.

A police team which pursued the criminals opened fire, triggering a gun battle, injuring one of the snatchers.

The man, later identified as Kamaluddin, was arrested while his accomplice escaped, Superintendent of Police Akash Tomar said. A pistol, a motorcycle and the gun were recovered from his possession.

--IANS

sps/mr/nir

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Addis Ababa, Oct 6 (IANS/MAP) The Moroccan Minister of Agriculture held talks with his Ethiopian counterpart here on the prospects of bilateral cooperation in the sector.

Moroccan Minister Aziz Akhannouch during the meeting with Ethiopia's Eyasu Abraha on Thursday, praised the cooperation between the two countries in the agricultural sector. He highlighted the existence of large-scale projects launched and scheduled in this regard.

Akhannouch also talked about a mega project for the setting up of an integrated fertilizer production platform, launched on the occasion of King Mohammed VI's visit to Ethiopia last November, as well as the caravan of the "map of soil fertility", which will be launched soon.

He also expressed his department's willingness to share the experience of the Green Morocco Plan with Ethiopia, notably in the fields of water saving, research and solidarity-based agriculture.

For his part, the Ethiopian Agriculture minister highlighted the importance of the integrated fertilizer production platform, adding that the project will serve as a good basis for bilateral cooperation.

--IANS/MAP

soni/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) 2017 will roll with Shubhashish Bhutiani's "Mukti Bhawan" as its opening film here next month, while Rima Das's "Village Rockstars" is the closing film.

Acclaimed actor Adil Hussain, who plays a pivotal part in "Mukti Bhawan", will present the film at the fest, where a special screening of "A Death in the Gunj" will be presented in person by Konkona Sen Sharma.

Also, Amit Masurkar-directed "Newton", India's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Deepak Rauniyar's Oscar entry from Nepal "White Sun", Lijo Jose Pellissery's acclaimed crime drama "Angamally Diaries" and Rahul Jain's "Machines" are a part of the lineup, read a statement.

To be held from November 2-5, DIFF is an alternative, boutique independent film festival held annually in McLeodganj. The sixth edition will showcase a mix of independent features, documentaries, shorts and animation films from India and around the world.

The list of international filmmakers attending DIFF this year includes Yoshinori Sato, who with support from the Japan Foundation will bring his feature film, "Her Mother". Director Yaniv Berman will present his film "Land of the Little People", with the support of the Israeli Embassy, and in collaboration with the Embassy of Switzerland in India, Swiss director of Kurdish-Syrian origin Mano Khalil will present his feature film "The Swallow".

From India too, various filmmakers from different regions like Sikkimese filmmaker Karma Takapa and Malayalam filmmaker Lijo Jose Pellissery will be a part of the fest.

DIFF 2017 will also focus on a special programme for children curated by Film curator and Director of the South Asia Children's Cinema Forum, Monica Wahi. This includes "Revolting Rhymes", an animation film based on the book by the well loved children's author Roald Dahl; a Dutch feature length children's drama, "The Day My Father Became a Bush" by Nicole van Kilsdonk and Suresh Eriyat's short animated film "The Tokri".

As part of the children's special programme, this year DIFF is also partnering with the Embassy of Switzerland in India to mark the 70-year friendship between both the countries. This will include a special open air screening of the film "Heidi", directed by Alain Gsponer, a screening of "My Life as a Courgette", a stop-motion animation comedy film by Claude Barras and fun activities and games for children at the Swiss pop-up stall.

The festival will also host a selection of short films from India, curated by renowned Marathi filmmaker Umesh Kulkarni.

These apart, there will be panel discussions and conversations that provide insights into the world of independent filmmaking, and the fourth edition of the DIFF Film Fellows, Programme, a mentorship initiative for aspiring filmmakers in the Indian Himalayan region.

--IANS

rb/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
New Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit said on Friday after taking charge that he will strictly go by Constitutional provisions while discharging his duties and promised there will be no "political considerations" in his decisions.

"I have decided that all my decisions will be in accordance with the Constitutional provisions. In all the decisions which I may take there will be no political considerations," he told reporters after being sworn in as Governor.

He said there would be "total transparency" in his decisions, which he added would be based on "merit".

The DMK leader and the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, M.K. Stalin, hoped that Purohit won't commit the "mistakes" his predecessor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao did.

"The new Governor has said he will follow law, integrity and Constitution and brook no political interference. We also hope he will not commit the mistakes of his predecessor," he told reporters.

The DMK, its allies and the T.T.V. Dinakaran faction of the AIADMK have been critical of the previous Governor for not conceding to their demand for an immediate floor test for the AIADMK government to prove its majority in the Assembly after a split in the ruling party.

--IANS

vsc/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif has warned that if India launched a surgical strike on the countrys nuclear installations, nobody should expect restraint from Islamabad either, the media reported on Friday.

Asif's made the remarks on Thursday in response to Indian Air Force chief B.S. Dhanoa's statement on Wednesday that if India needed to carry out a surgical strike, his aircraft could target Pakistan's nuclear installations and destroy them, reports Dawn news.

The Foreign Minister while addressing a discussion at the US Institute of Peace here urged Indian leaders not to contemplate such actions it could have "dire consequences".

"Yesterday (Wednesday), the Indian air chief said we will hit, through another surgical strike, Pakistan's nuclear installations. If that happens, nobody should expect restraint form us. That's the most diplomatic language I can use," Asif said.

The foreign minister, who is in Washington on a three-day official visit, met US National Security Adviser Gen H.R. McMaster on Thursday, a day after he held wide-ranging talks with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

While both Islamabad and Washinton have described the Asif-Tillerson talks as "positive" and "useful", the Foreign Minister indicated that his meeting with McMaster was not as friendly as the earlier meeting.

"I will not be extravagant, yesterday's meeting went very well, today's meeting with Gen McMaster in the morning, I would be a bit cautious about it. But it was good. It was good. It wasn't bad," Asif said.

--IANS

ksk

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Model-actress Paris Jackson, 19, says she never aspired to be in the spotlight or walking a red carpet.

Paris attended the People's Ones to Watch party here earlier this week, reports people.com.

"I originally wanted to just kind of stay out of the spotlight and become a psychologist or a nurse at a psychiatric ward," she said.

The daughter of pop icon Michael Jackson, who died in 2011 when she was 9, says the realization that she wanted to enter public life came as she approached high school graduation.

"I realized it would be a shame to waste the platform I was given. Having the ability to go into the acting and fashion world, I just figured why not use that to make my platform bigger. That way, instead of helping the world one by one with patients, I could help the masses," she added.

Paris is not just the face of Calvin Klein, but will also make her film debut alongside Amanda Seyfried in the 2018 film "Gringo". She also speaks out on social issues, and is a newly announced ambassador for the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation.

"I feel very lucky to have gotten to fly to Africa and be a part of the work we're helping make possible."

--IANS

rb/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
French carmaker Renault is looking to achieve five per cent share of the Indian passenger car market in the next three to four years, a company official said on Friday.

"We want to achieve five per cent market share in the medium term i.e. in next three to four years. Now our market share is close to four per cent," company's Country CEO and Managing Director Sumit Sawhney said here on the sidelines of the unveiling of the new premium SUV Captur.

Last year, the carmaker was the seventh largest player in the passenger car industry in India and is maintaining the same position this year, he said, adding that it is developing its portfolio in India.

Currently, it is selling three cars -- Kwid, Duster and Lodgy -- in India.

The price of the newly-unveiled car would be announced some time this month and deliveries would start from next month onward, he said.

The carmaker has the intention to have "localisation" in manufacturing the new premium SUV "close to 80 per cent".

Industry-wise, the SUV segment grew by 46 per cent this year in India, he said.

He said, as a strategy, the carmaker planned to launch one car every year and future launches would be made in the "less than four metre" segment and higher than "four metre segment".

"In India, almost 70 per cent of the cars sold in India are less than four metres. So, one has to launch cars in this segment...."

"What we will try to bring would be products more than and less than four metres but these products should have innovation. They should have a potential to either create a new segment or redefine a segment," Sawhney said.

He said the carmaker has the capability to manufacture electric cars and wants to understand the policy for them.

--IANS

bdc/him/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Energy major Reliance Industries on Friday said it has entered into an agreement for the sale of its assets in the "Marcellus Shale Play" of northern and central Pennsylvania.

According to a BSE filing, Reliance Marcellus II, LLC, a subsidiary of Reliance Holding USA, Inc., and Reliance Industries has signed "agreements to divest all of its interests in certain upstream assets in north-eastern and central Pennsylvania".

The filing said that assets, which are currently operated by Carrizo Oil and Gas, were sold to BKV Chelsea, an affiliate of Kalnin Ventures for a consideration of $126 million, subject to customary closing terms and conditions.

"Additionally, Reliance could receive contingent payments of up to $11.25 million in aggregate based on natural gas prices exceeding certain thresholds over the next three years," the company said in a regulatory filing to the BSE.

"The assets produce mainly gas and are located in Susquehanna, Wyoming and Clearfield Counties of Pennsylvania."

The company said the sale of assets will be consummated in accordance with the terms of a purchase and sale agreement, dated October 5, 2017, by and between Reliance and the buyer.

The transaction is anticipated to close by the end of the third quarter of FY2018.

--IANS

rv/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Seven defence personnel were killed after an Mi-17 V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday.

Tawang district Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Meena said the chopper crashed around 6.30 a.m. killing all the seven people on board.

The chopper was on a routine Air Maintenance Mission, Meena quoted a Defence officer as saying.

The crash site is located at some four-to-five hours drive from Tawang. "It is a forested area," Meena said adding that the bodies are being brought to the helipad near Tawang.

"We are told that there were no civilians and all were defence personnel," he said.

Earlier in July an Indian Air Force chopper engaged in a flood rescue mission crashed near Papum Pare district in the hill state killing four persons including three IAF crew and one India Reserve Battalion (IRB) personnel.

The frequently changing weather condition in Arunachal Pradesh makes flying of choppers difficult in the area and there have been several incidents of crashes in the hill state in the past.

The then Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Dorjee Khandu, and four others also died in a chopper crash in the hill state in 2011.

--IANS

ao-ah/in/vm

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday said the Central government's "one nation one election" plan doesn't seem possible because a majority of political parties may not agree.

"It doesn't look possible because so many (parties) may not agree. It's a multipolar country, not a unipolar country," he told reporters when asked about the proposal for simultaneous elections to the Parliament and state assemblies.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) President feels that it should be left to the wisdom of respective state governments.

"The Government of India can give some free advice. I have seen (Union Minister) Dharmendra Pradhan's statement. His advice is very good. He can advise BJP Chief Ministers first," said Rao when asked about the Minister's suggestion.

"It's not the question of my supporting or not. The question is things are not clear. Let the Government of India put forth its proposal, then people will think (about it)," he added.

--IANS

ms/him/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday said the Central government's "one nation one election" plan doesn't seem possible because a majority of political parties may not agree.

"It doesn't look possible because so many (parties) may not agree. It's a multipolar country, not a unipolar country," he told reporters when asked about the proposal for simultaneous elections to the Parliament and state assemblies.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) President said that the Central government should put forth its proposals first.

"It's not the question of my supporting or not. The question is things are not clear. Let the Government of India put forth its proposal, then people will think (about it)," he added.

On Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's advice to the states to reduce VAT on petroleum products by 5 per cent, KCR said it should be left to the wisdom of respective state governments.

"It's the wisdom of the respective state governments to do so. The Government of India can give some free advice. I have seen Dharmendra Pradhan's statement. His advice is very good. He can advise BJP Chief Ministers first," said Rao.

--IANS

ms/him/vd

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Six people, including five children, died in a blaze in an apartment building in Japan on Friday, a media report said.

The fire engulfed a three-story building in Hitachi. It started at around 4.50 a.m. and took almost an hour to be extinguished.

The blaze was started by a 32-year-old man who surrendered himself to the police. He claimed that he deliberately started the fire, Xinhua news agency reported.

"I set fire to my house," a police official quoted the man as saying. He, too, was injured in the blaze. "My wife and five children were in my house," he told the police.

Those killed in the blaze were a woman, four boys aged three to six, and an 11-year-old girl. The bodies were found in a room on the first floor of the apartment.

--IANS

in/

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will visit Bangladesh on October 23 for the next bilateral Joint Consultative Commission (JCC) meeting to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations and take forward decisions taken so far, a media report said.

Bangladesh Foreign minister A.H. Mahmood Ali and Sushma Swaraj will lead their respective sides at the meeting which is likely to be held on October 23, the United News of Bangladesh reported.

Sushma Swaraj is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on October 23, a diplomatic source told UNB on Friday.

The meeting will coordinate, oversee and follow-up implementation of initiatives as well as explore new avenues for cooperation.

The meeting comes after the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries met in New Delhi. Bangladesh Foreign Secretary M. Shahidul Haque met his Indian counterpart S. Jaishankar on Thursday and discussed the visit of Sushma Swaraj and the Rohingya crisis.

India's Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during his Dhaka visit this week said connectivity is crucial to the success of the Bangladesh-India bilateral development partnership, sub-regional economic cooperation and economic prosperity in the region.

"India-Bangladesh relations are at their best today and stand out as a model for other countries to emulate," he said after his meeting with Bangladesh Finance Minister A.M.A. Muhith. The two sides signed the final agreement of $4.5 billion third Indian Line of Credit (LoC).

Both Bangladesh and India reviewed the bilateral relationship, in particular economic cooperation, which has recorded "significant progress" in recent years.

Bangladesh and India think Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's visit to India was a landmark event that resulted in the signing of a record 36 agreements.

Several investment proposals by Indian public and private sector companies in Bangladesh are in the pipeline, UNB said.

--IANS

rn/bg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Thousands of people on Friday bid farewell to former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani who died earlier this week.

Tatabani's funeral in northern Iraq was attended by several high-level officials including President Fuad Masum, President of Iraqi Kurdistan Masoud Barzani, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Iraqi Interior Minister Qasim al-Araji, Efe news reported.

Talabani, a veteran leader of the Kurdish struggle for self-determination, was in coma when he died in a German hospital on Tuesday.

His body was flown to the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah, his hometown, where a red carpet and a guard of honour awaited on the tarmac on Friday.

The death of the 83-year-old came at a sensitive time in relations between Kurdish leaders and Baghdad.

Last week, people living in northern Iraq voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence for the Kurdistan Region in a referendum, despite outrage in Baghdad, Iran and Turkey.

Talabani had not been well enough to give his views on the referendum, but it had been only half-heartedly backed by his Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party, BBC reported.

He had historically opposed full Kurdish independence, arguing for semi-autonomy within a democratic Iraq.

The flight carrying Talabani's body was given special dispensation to land amid an Iraqi-government-imposed ban on international flights to the Kurdistan Region following the plebiscite.

The coffin was received by a guard of honour and given a 21-gun salute, followed by the Iraqi national anthem, on the tarmac of Sulaimaniya airport. It was then taken to the city's grand mosque.

--IANS

soni/mr

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A trade union affiliated to the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) in Telangana swept the polls in state-owned Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL), defeating the alliance of opposition parties.

Telangana Boggu Gani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS) retained its hold in the largest public sector company in the state, winning nine out of 11 divisions in the elections held on Friday.

TBGKS polled 23,800 votes while All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) of Communist Party of India (CPI), which was backed by the Congress party and Telugu Desam Party (TDP), polled 19,300 votes. AITUC won two divisions.

It was a significant victory for TRS in the run-up to 2019 elections as the opposition parties had joined hands to take advantage of what they called growing public resentment over TRS' misrule. It was a battle of prestige for both sides as their top leaders campaigned in the bitterly fought elections.

Singareni mines are spread over six districts of Telangana. About 95 per cent of total 52,534 coal workers cast their votes to elect the recognised union.

Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao described the result as historic. He said TBGKS polled 45 per cent votes, the highest in Singareni's history. The TRS chief said no union in the past won nine divisions.

His son and cabinet minister K.T. Rama Rao tweeted that the "immoral" alliance of opposition parties sans any ideology couldn't stop TBGKS from sweeping Singareni.

Rama Rao congratulated his sister TRS MP K. Kavitha, who led the party's campaign.

KCR, as the Chief Minister is popularly known, said it was yet another victory for TRS, which won all the elections since 2014. He said the TRS won the election despite opposition parties coming together and making a false propaganda against the government.

The TRS president said despite defeat in every election, the opposition parties were not learning their lesson. Stating that the TRS government has taken several historic steps to make Telangana a golden state, he advised the opposition parties to at least now mend their ways and play a constructive role.

He said BJP leaders during the campaign claimed that their party is the alternative to TRS but the union affiliated to BJP got only 246 votes.

Describing Singareni as a greater company than Coal India, the Chief Minister said all the promises made to workers would be implemented.

He announced that the workers will be provided representation in the Singareni board and six new underground mines will be opened soon.

KCR said steps will be taken to ensure that Singareni diversifies into other sectors.

He made it clear that Singareni, the Road Transport Corporation and electricity department will not be privatised.

--IANS

ms/rn

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A number of women activists on Friday wrote an open letter to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the State Women's Commission (SWC) to seek their intervention in a young woman Hadiya's "forcible" confinement at her parents' house and demanded state protection for her.

"As women's rights activists from across the country, we urge you to take steps to ensure that Hadiya is not forcibly confined in the home of her natal family, denied the right to cohabit with her husband, and be subjected to coercion for exercising opting for faith of her choice," the letter to the Chief Minister read.

The letter -- signed by around 70 women activists and kindred groups -- demanded an immediate visit by the women's panel members to Hadiya, and a probe of human rights violations, if any, in her case.

The women activists also demanded that she be given access to a phone through which she can communicate beyond her parental home's walls in "virtual house arrest".

Hadiya, 24, was born Akhila Ashokan in a Hindu family in Kerala. She converted to Islam and married Shafin Jahan, 27, in December 2016.

On May 25, the Kerala High Court declared as "null and void" their marriage, terming it a "sham" and ordered for placing her in her parents' protective custody.

On August 16, the Supreme Court ordered an National Investigation Agency probe supervised by retired apex court Justice R.V. Raveendran into the conversion and her subsequent marriage to Jahan.

Jahan has since challenged the High Court order in the top court, saying the order was an "insult to the independence of woman in India".

The women activists also thanked the women's commission's efforts in the case through a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court and urged the Vijayan to ensure restoration of Hadiya's rights and freedom.

"It is alarming to have an adult woman today to be ordered into 'protective custody' of her parents home under court orders, denied mobility, communication, and the company of her friends and well-wishers.

"Reports of domestic violence at the hands of her family which, if true, is a travesty that places upon your commission the duty of initiating an inquiry. This situation cannot be ignored or allowed to continue," the letter added.

--IANS

vn/tsb/dg

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In West Bengal, television channels start a countdown for the Pujas about a month and a half in advance. The ticker at the corner of the screen tells you how many more days there are to go. Thanks to the Trinamool Congress regime, which has encouraged the Pujas as an industry, Durga Puja now comes much earlier than it did in my younger years. While earlier the official Pujas began only a week after Mahalaya, now they actually start from Mahalaya itself. So a five-day event has been masterfully turned into a 10-day one by Mamata Banerjee and all Bengalis bless her for it. More new clothes, more restaurant hopping, more photo opportunities  all help to hold up the state economy even if other investments are few and far between.
Three police personnel were rewarded today for foiling a weapon snatching attempt by militants in Shopian district of Jammu and Kashmir, an official said.

Director General of Police (DGP) S P Vaid sanctioned a cash reward of Rs 3,000 each for Constables Ghulam Hassan, Asif Iqbal and Khursheed Ahmed along with 'Class-I' commendation certificates, he said.

"The DGP rewarded the three officers for foiling the weapon snatching bid by militants at Panjer village in Shopian district," he added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Six Dalits are among 36 non-Brahmins, who have been recommended for appointment as priests in temples in Kerala being managed by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).

The recommendation in this regard was made by the Kerala Devaswom Recruitment Board, a press release said.

This is for the first time six people from the scheduled caste community have been recommended for the appointment as priests.

A written examination and an interview on the lines of those conducted by the Public Service Commission (PSC) was held to prepare for the appointment of part-time priests, the release said.

Devaswom minister Kadakampally Ramachandran had made it clear that there should be no room for corruption and the selection should be on the basis of merit and by following reservation norms.

A recommendation had been made for the appointment of a total of 62 priests, including 26 from forward caste, it said.

The TDB manages at least 1,248 shrines, including the famous Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan has violated the ceasefire over 600 times so far this year, the highest in the last one decade, an official said.

Pakistani troops have opened fire on Indian territories more than 600 times till September 30. Eight civilians and 16 security personnel were killed in the firing, a Home Ministry official said.

It is the highest number of ceasefire violations in nearly a decade, the official said.

There were nearly 450 ceasefire violations in 2016 in which 13 civilians and as many security personnel were killed.

The truce between India and Pakistan along the International Border, the Line of Control and the Actual Ground Position Line in Jammu and Kashmir had come into force in November 2003.

India shares a 3,323-km-long border with Pakistan of which 221 km of the IB and 740 km of the LOC fall in Jammu and Kashmir.
Nearly 80 per cent of risk may be traced back to genes inherited from the child's parents, according to the largest study of twins for the disorder to date.

The study, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, indicates that genetics has a substantial influence on risk for .

"The new estimate of heritability of schizophrenia, 79 per cent, is very close to the high end of prior estimates of its heritability," researchers said, referring to previous estimates that have varied between 50 and 80 per cent.

Researchers, including those from the University of Copenhagen, used a record of all twins born in Denmark since 1870 to assess genetic liability in over 30,000 pairs of twins.

They found a similar estimate of 73 per cent, indicating the importance of genetic factors across the full illness spectrum.

"This study is now the most comprehensive and thorough estimate of the heritability of and its diagnostic diversity," said Hilker.

"It is interesting since it indicates that the genetic risk for disease seems to be of almost equal importance across the spectrum of schizophrenia," even though the clinical presentation may range from severe symptoms with lifelong disability to more subtle and transient symptoms, said Hilker.

"Hence, genetic risk seems not restricted to a narrow illness definition, but instead includes a broader diagnostic profile," she said.

The researchers used a new statistical approach to address one of the factors that contributes to inconsistencies across previous studies.

Usually studies of heritability require that people be classified as either having schizophrenia or not, but some people at risk could still develop the disease after the study ends.

Researchers applied a new method to take this problem into account, making the current estimates likely the most accurate to date.
Al-Qaida-linked fighters today attacked a key central Syrian village at the crossroads between areas under government control and those controlled by insurgents, activists said.

In eastern Syria, meanwhile, government forces reportedly entered a town that's one of the biggest strongholds of the Islamic State group.

According to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Syrian forces and allied militiamen entered western parts of Mayadeen, including the town's wheat silos compound and the sheep market.

The government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media earlier said that troops were marching south from Deir el-Zour toward Mayadeen, under the cover of airstrikes.

If the report proves true and Syrian troops indeed entered Mayadeen, it would mark another blow for the extremist group, which has lost wide areas of Iraq and Syria in its self-declared caliphate over the past year.

Omar Abou Leila, from the monitoring group DeirEzzor 24, said he cannot confirm or deny the report, though he added that it was possible, given the government forces' days-long advance.

Airstrikes on Mayadeen and nearby areas over the past days have killed and wounded scores of people, including 15 civilians -- women and children among them -- who were killed when a missile slammed into a government-held neighborhood in the city of Deir el-Zour yesterday evening.

The attack on the village of Abu Dali in central Hama province was led by al-Qaida-linked Hay'at Tahrir al Sham Arabic for Levant Liberation Committee and also known as HTS. It came two weeks after insurgents attacked a nearby area where three Russian soldiers were wounded.

Earlier this week, Russia's military claimed the leader of the al-Qaida-linked group was wounded in a Russian airstrike and had fallen into a coma. The military offered no evidence on the purported condition of Abu Mohammed al-Golani.

The al-Qaida-linked group subsequently denied al-Golani was hurt, insisting he is in excellent health and going about his duties as usual. The group's fighters have been gaining more influence in the northwestern province of Idlib and northern parts of Hama, where they have launched attacks on rival militant groups, as well as areas controlled by the government.

Abu Dali had been spared much of the violence and had functioned as a local business hub between rebel-run areas and those under President Bashar Assad's forces.

The Observatory said al-Qaida fighters captured several areas in the village today. The HTS-linked Ibaa agency did not mention the attack but said Russian warplanes were bombing areas the group controls in northern Syria.

Violence in eastern Syria has escalated significantly in recent weeks as Syrian troops with the help of Russian air cover have been closing in on Mayadeen.

The DeirEzzor 24 monitoring group said the missile in yesterday evening airstrike that killed 15 hit near a school in the Qusour neighborhood. Three children and three women were among those killed, the group said today, blaming IS for the attack. The school and a nearby residential building were destroyed.

The Observatory also reported the incident, putting the number of civilians killed at 13. Both the Observatory and DeirEzzor 24 also reported that an airstrike hit the village of Mehkan, just south of Mayadeen, and said it killed several families.

Syrian troops broke a nearly three-year siege on parts of Deir el-Zour last month and are now fighting to liberate the remaining parts of the city from IS.

In Russia, the military said one of its helicopters had made an emergency landing in Syria but that its crew was unhurt.

According to the Defence Ministry, the Mi-28 helicopter gunship landed in Hama province today due to a technical malfunction. The two crewmen were not injured and were flown back to base. The ministry said the helicopter was not fired upon.

The ministry's statement followed a claim by IS-linked Aamaq agency, which said the group had downed a Russian helicopter south of Shiekh Hilal village in Hama.

Also today, the Russian military accused the United States of turning a blind eye and effectively providing cover to IS operations in an area in Syria that is under US control.

The Defence Ministry's spokesman, Maj Gen Igor Konashenkov, said IS militants have used the area around the town of Tanf near Syria's border with Jordan -- where US military instructors are also stationed to launch attacks -- against the Syrian army.

The area has become a "black hole," posing a threat to Syrian army's offensive against the IS in eastern Der el-Zour province, he added.

The Russian accusations likely reflect rising tensions as US-backed Syrian forces and the Russian-backed Syrian army -- both of which are battling IS -- race for control of oil and gas-rich areas of eastern Syria.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Thousands of Islamist hardliners marched in Bangladesh's port city of Chittagong today calling for the government to arm Rohingya Muslim refugees fleeing a crackdown in Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state.

More than half a million Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since attacks by militants belonging to the Muslim minority on Myanmar police posts sparked brutal reprisals by security forces.

The refugees accuse Myanmar's army -- flanked by mobs of ethnic Rakhine -- of slaughtering them and burning their villages in a campaign which the United Nations says amounts to "ethnic cleansing".

Myanmar's military have blamed the unrest on the Rohingya.

Up to 15,000 people joined the demonstrations in Bangladesh's second largest city, police said, organised by hardline Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam to protest against the killings of the Rohingya.

"We demanded a halt to the genocide of the Rohingya," Hefazat spokesman Azizul Hoque Islamabad told AFP.

"We have also asked the government to train and arm the Rohingya so that they can liberate their homeland," he said.

Communities in Chittagong share close cultural, religious and linguistic ties with the Rohingya, and images on social media purportedly showing abuses against the Muslim minority in mainly Buddhist Myanmar have aroused strong sympathy in Bangladesh.

Islamist parties, including Hefazat, have staged several demonstrations over the issue in recent weeks and some firebrand leaders have called on the government to go to war with Myanmar to liberate Rakhine for the persecuted Rohingya.

Experts said Bangladeshi Islamist extremist groups could exploit the situation and forge closer ties with Rohingya militants.

The plight of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority who are reviled and denied citizenship in Myanmar, has roused anger across the Islamic world, with protests held in Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The influx has also put Bangladesh under immense strain, with the South Asian country already hosting at least 300,000 Rohingya refugees in squalid camps along its border with Myanmar before the latest surge in arrivals.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a move that will gladden the cycle enthusiasts, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has proposed to come up with an 11-km-long cycle track in the city over the weekends.

In a statement issued here today, the civic body said the cycle track will be operational between the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA) in south Mumbai and the Worli-end of the Bandra-Worli Sealink over the weekends.

The cash rich-BMC has invited sponsors to help it realise the plan.

"From NCPA to Wilson College via Babulnath to Haji Ali and from Haji Ali to Worli, this 11-km stretch has been proposed to prepare for cycle track which will be used by the cyclists on Sundays or Saturdays only between 6 am to 11 am," statement issued by the civic body said.

"The basic infrastructure for the cycle track will be developed by the civic body. However, arranging bicycles, operation and coordination with different stakeholders and cycle enthusiasts will be undertaken by the industrialists, NGOs or other organisations and therefore, they are requested to come forward and contact at the A administrative ward of the BMC by October 13," it said.

An official, who did not wish to be named, said that in lieu of the arrangements, maintenance and operation of the cycle tracks, sponsors would be eligible to use the stretch for their own advertorial display, that will be discussed only after the parties come forward and express their willingness.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Board examination for class X in CBSE schools will be reintroduced as part of the ongoing reforms in the education system, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar today said.

At present, it is optional for CBSE students to choose either the board exam or a school-based examination.

It has also been decided to conduct examinations in classes V and VIII and students who would fail in the end-term examinations would be detained in these classes, Javadekar told reporters here.

However, the students would be given an opportunity to improve and appear for another examination before being detained, the Union Minister said.

Under the existing arrangement students up to Class VIII are promoted to the next class irrespective of their performance.

The minister said 25 states have approved the central government's move in this regard.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) today said it has signed two more advance pricing agreements (APAs) in September with Indian taxpayers as it looks to reduce litigation by providing certainty in transfer pricing.

The two APAs signed during September, 2017 pertain to automobile and healthcare consulting sectors.

"With the signing of these two agreements, the total number of APAs entered into by till date has reached 177. This includes 164 unilateral APAs and 13 bilateral APAs.

"In the current financial year, a total of 25 APAs (2 bilateral and 23 unilateral) have been signed till date," the said in a statement.

The statement said international transactions covered in these two APAs include the provision of IT-enabled services, provision of software development services and provision of engineering design services.

It pointed out that APA scheme endeavours to provide certainty to taxpayers in the domain of transfer pricing by specifying the methods of pricing and determining the arm's length price of international transactions in advance for a maximum period of five future years.

Noting that since its inception, the APA scheme has attracted tremendous interest among multi-national enterprises (MNEs), the statement said, "The progress of the APA scheme strengthens the government's commitment to fostering a non-adversarial tax regime.

(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.)
A study group has been set up by the government to examine the problems being faced by the people residing near the International Border and and the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of regular ceasefire violations by Pakistan, an official said.

The group will meet people living in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir, security forces deployed there, district administration officials and local public representatives and submit its report within two months.

"The competent authority has approved the constitution of a study group for considering various problems being faced by the people residing near IB and LOC in the wake of regular threats of cross border firing," an order issued by the home ministry said.

Special secretary in the home ministry Rina Mitra will head the team. The principal secretary (home) in the Jammu and Kashmir government, the divisional commissioner of Jammu and the divisional commissioner of Srinagar are members while the joint secretary (J&K) in the home ministry is the member- secretary of the group.

The study group will prepare a detailed report of the issues being faced by the public living near IB and LOC and submit its recommendations on the remedial action that needs to be taken to address these issues, the order issued yesterday said.

India shares a 3,323 km long border with Pakistan of which 221 km of the IB and 740 km of the LOC fall in Jammu and Kashmir.

There has been a sharp increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistan in recent times. Till August 1, there were 285 violations by Pakistani forces while in 2016, the number was 228 for the entire year, according to Army figures.

There were 83 ceasefire violations, one BAT (border action team) attack and two infiltration bids from the Pakistani side in June in which 4 people, including 3 jawans, were killed and 12 injured.

Eleven people, including nine soldiers, were killed and 18 injured in Pakistani ceasefire violations in July.

On August 27, five civilians, including a woman and two minor boys, were injured in a ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops in Poonch district.

On September 1, an Assistant Sub Inspector of the Border Security Force (BSF) sustained bullet injuries due to enemy fire from across the LoC at a forward post in Krishna Ghati sector.

An Army jawan was killed as Pakistani forces violated the ceasefire by firing from across the LoC in Poonch district on October 3.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Claiming UN support for its controversial One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, China on Friday rejected US criticism saying the project has not changed its stand that the Kashmir issue should be resolved by India and Pakistan bilaterally.

"We have repeatedly reiterated that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is an economic cooperation initiative that is not directed against third parties and has nothing to do with territorial sovereignty disputes and does not affect China's principled stance on the Kashmir issue," the Chinese Foreign Ministry told PTI here.

The ministry was responding to comments by US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis that the Belt and Road Initiative "also goes through disputed territory, and I think, that in itself shows the vulnerability of trying to establish that sort of a dictate".

In a globalised world, there are many belts and many roads, and no one nation should put itself into a position of dictating 'One Belt, One Road', Mattis told a Senate Armed Services Committee during a Congressional hearing on October 4.

Mattis' comments were widely interpreted as the US backing India's stand on OBOR especially related to the $50 billion CPEC which is being built through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). India has protested to China in this regard.

Rejecting criticism that it is dictating to the world through OBOR, the ministry said it is an "important public product".

It is an important platform for China to cooperate with relevant countries. It is an open and inclusive development platform and more than 100 countries and organisations actively supported and participated in it since it was proposed four years ago, it said.

More than 70 countries and organisations which have signed cooperation agreements with China on OBOR, including the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council, have incorporated it in their important resolutions, it said.

Over 130 countries and more than 70 international organisations sent representatives to attend the international cooperation summit - 'Belt and Road Forum', organised by China here in May and spoke highly of the initiative, the ministry said.

"This fully explains that the OBOR initiative is in line with the trend of the times and conforms to the rules of development and is in line with the interests of the people of all countries and has broad and bright prospects for development," the ministry said.

India skipped the Belt and Road Forum due to its sovereignty concerns over the CPEC, a flagship project of China's prestigious Silk Road project, officially called OBOR.

The 3,000-km CPEC is aimed at connecting China and Pakistan with rail, road, pipelines and optical fibre cable networks.

It will connect Xinjiang province with Gwadar port, providing China with access to the Arabian Sea.

The project, when completed, would enable China to route its oil supplies from the Middle East through pipelines to Xinjiang, cutting considerable distance for Chinese ships to travel to China.
In a bid to bring in transparency in its proceedings, the Supreme Court Collegium has decided to upload on the apex court website the decisions taken by it, including on elevation, transfer and confirmation of judges.

The Collegium is headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and has four senior-most judges of the apex court -- Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph.

"The decisions henceforth taken by the Collegium indicating reasons, shall be put on the website of Supreme Court, when recommendation(s) is/are sent to Government with regard to cases relating to initial elevation to High Court Bench, confirmation as permanent Judge(s) of High Court, elevation to the post of Chief Justice of High Court, transfer of High Court Chief Justices/Judges and elevation to Supreme Court, because on each occasion, the material which is considered by the Collegium is different.

"The Resolution is passed to ensure transparency and yet maintain confidentiality in the Collegium system," the resolution, adopted on October 3, said.

In the first uploaded resolution, information was provided on the appointment of Ashok Menon, Annie John and Narayana Pisharadi R as judges of the Kerala High Court.

The resolution gives details about the elevation of the three Judicial Officers as Kerala High Court judges whose names were recommended by the then Chief Justice of the High Court on February 2, 2017 in consultation with two of his senior-most colleagues. These names had received concurrence of the Chief Minister and the Governor of Kerala.

Similarly, the Collegium recommended the appointment of S Ramathilagam, R Tharani, and P Rajamanickam as Judges of the Madras High Court.

The names of the T Krishnavalli, R Pongiappan, and R Hemalatha have been recommended by the Collegium for appointment as Judges of the Madras High Court.

While clearing the three names from Kerala, the Collegium noted that nothing adverse was found against them, either from the High Court Collegium or in the intelligence reports.

In the case of Madras High Court, ten names were recommended and six were found suitable for appointment as high court judges based on the criteria adopted by the Collegium.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The today said it will revisit the $900 billion exports target by 2019-20 as the country's shipments are not able to show healthy growth rate in the first three years.

After holding over three-hour long meeting with exporters, Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia said that certainly there is a need to revisit the export target because in the external world nobody calculated for the global commodity prices and currency fluctuations.

"We are certainly not going to aim for the same target because we have not been able to show that growth rate in the first three years," she told reporters here.

On April 1, 2015, the government announced a slew of incentives and new institutional mechanisms as part of the new Foreign Trade Policy (2015-2020) to nearly double country's goods and services exports to $900 billion by 2019-2020.

India exports goods worth around $300 billion per fiscal year, while services exports amounted to around $150 billion annually.

On whether the ministry would come out with the mid-term review of the foreign trade policy, she said Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu would take a call after returning from Morocco, where he is going for a WTO (World Trade Organisation) meeting.

"Whether we will issue a formal statement of intent (on the policy), the minister has to take a view on that," she said.

However, she added that the mid-term review is on and some got addressed through the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Speaking to reporters, Prabhu said that it was agreed at the meeting that each export promotion council (EPC) "is now going to prepare a concrete strategic action plan for what can be done in the foreseeable future" to boost exports.

He said the ministry would act on the suggestions made by the stakeholders today.

"We will together act on those inputs in the next two-three weeks and therefore we will also prepare a plan," he said adding most of the issues are related to the finance ministry and "we are going to take those issues with them".

People who participated in the meeting include leading exporters, EPCs, associations, industry chambers, spices board.

Minister for Textiles and Information and Broadcasting Smriti Zubin Irani also participated in the meeting.

Prabhu also stressed the importance of export-led growth and called for enhancing competitiveness and integration with global value chain.

The deliberations flagged global and domestic challenges faced by exporters.

GST related issues regarding working capital blockage, delay in refunds and usability of Merchandise Exports from India Scheme and Service Exports from India Scheme scrips were raised by exporters.

In the context of the mid-term review of the FTP, exporters requested inclusion of more products under these schemes and interest subsidy scheme and also increase the rates of incentive.

The meeting also provided inputs for a new export strategy focusing on integrating India into the regional and global value chain, focus on high and medium technology sectors of exports and unleashing the potential of services such as tourism and e-commerce.

In a series of tweets, Prabhu said: "We must align our standards with global standards. Benchmarking will stimulate exports, ensure India's integration with global value chain".

"We are working on short, medium and long-term strategies. There can be short-term challenges but the future belongs to India," he added.

India's exports recorded a double-digit growth of 10.29 per cent after a gap of three months to $23.81 billion in August, mainly on account of rise in shipments of chemicals, petroleum and engineering products.

Cumulative exports during April-August 2017-18 increased by 8.57 per cent to $118.57 billion, while imports grew by 26.63 per cent to $181.71 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $63.14 billion.

(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.)
Pakistan's Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal today denounced the practise of issuing fatwa or religious decrees by clerics on social media to incite violence and religious hatred.

Addressing the National Assembly, he rejected edicts by religious men in favour of jihad after a growing trend of hate speeches and materials available on internet.

"Only state can declare jihad and no group has the authority in Islam to declare jihad...I humbly request religious leaders to condemn fatwas posted on social media," he said.

If people were allowed to issue fatwas against other for committing sins or declaring them heretics, then there would be a chaos in the country, Ahsan said.

"It is only up to God to decide who is going to heaven and hell and not our job," he said.

Ahsan's remarks comes a month after army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa said only state should have monopoly over the use of force and authority to declare jihad.

Pakistan authorities are struggling to contain several groups involved in violence and a practice by clerics to denounce opponents as heretics and liable to death.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Himachal Pradesh chief minister and Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Prem Kumar Dhumal today accused the Virbhadra Singh-led Congress government in the state of pushing it 10 years back.

"Himachal was on top five years ago, but due to the Congress' misrule over the last five years, it has slipped to the 17th position (in the country) in terms of industrial growth. As regards law-and-order, it is rated among the worst states," he said in a statement.

"The Congress government has pushed the state 10 years back," Dhumal said, adding that it would be remembered as the worst regime Himachal had ever had and for the mafia raj.

The BJP leader alleged that the state government had failed to honour even 30 per cent of its poll promises and added that there was no section of the society which was not hurt by its "anti-people" policies.

The Virbhadra Singh government had turned the 'Dev Bhumi' to 'Aparadh Bhumi' (land of gods to land of crimes) by shielding the criminals and it was a matter of shame that the chief minister and some of his cabinet colleagues were facing corruption charges, he said.

Singh is facing money laundering charges and a disproportionate assets case.

Dhumal claimed that the Congress government had lost the trust of the people who, he said, would throw it out in the next state Assembly polls, due later this year.

He further claimed that the leaders of the ruling party were frustrated and demoralised as they had lost the trust of the people due to the unfulfilled poll promises, poor law- and-order situation and failure to properly utilise the central funds and implement the development projects.

Dhumal alleged that the central funds had lapsed due to the casual approach of the state government and thus, the state was deprived of the benefits.

The opposition leader thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Bilaspur and said it would prove to be a boon for the people of the region.

Hitting out at a section of Congress leaders for levelling "false" accusations against BJP leaders, Dhumal claimed that they would be "exposed" in the upcoming election and the saffron party would come to power in Himachal with a thumping majority.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) has issued a notice to the principal of a south Delhi school where a six-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a sweeper, asking how its male staff had access to women's toilet.

The girl was allegedly raped in a washroom of the school in Malviya Nagar on Wednesday.

The Commission asked the school how the male staff had access to women's toilet, measures it took after the incident was reported and if police verification of the staff, including the accused, had been conducted.

The women's panel also asked school authorities to provide it with a copy of the CCTV footage.

"Exercising the powers conferred under Section 10 of the DCW Act, the Commission has instituted an inquiry into the matter," it said in the notice.

The principal of the school has been asked to respond to the notice by October 10.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The death toll in the suicide attack at a prominent Shia shrine in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province has risen to 22, officials said today.

A suicide bomber detonated his explosives vest when he was stopped by a police officer guarding the Dargah Fatehpur, according to Deputy Commissioner Asadullah Kakar.

The attack, claimed by the Islamic State group, took place when there was a heavy rush of devotees who had gathered at the shrine in the village of Jhal Masgi, located about 400 km from Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province.

Devotees gather at the shrine of the revered Sufi saint every Thursday to participate in a sufi dance called 'dhamaal' and prayers.

At least 22 people, including three children, were killed and more than 30 others injured in the bombing, Geo TV quoted a senior police official as saying.

Officials said the death toll rose after an under- treatment victim succumbed to his injuries at the Chandka hospital in Larkana.

Investigations are under way and police have collected evidence from the site of the blast, the official said.

He said the bravery of police officials and security guards at the entrance of the shrine ensured that the suicide bomber could not harm the people who had amassed inside.

The Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility for the attack in a brief statement carried by its propaganda 'Amaq' agency.

This was also the second attack on the Pir Rakhel Shah shrine since 2005. In March, 2005, at least 35 people were killed when a suicide bomber exploded himself at the shrine.

Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti said the shrine was holding its annual Urs and hundreds of devotees from all over the country had come to pay their respects.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi condemned the attack and vowed that his government will act against militants with full might.

Yesterday's attack is the second major strike at a shrine in Balochistan where in November 2016, at least 52 people were killed and 102 injured in a blast at the shrine of Shah Norani in Khuzdar district.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Air Odisha and Air Deccan's plans to start flights from the national capital are facing rough weather as Delhi airport operator DIAL is unwilling to offer requisite slots for landing and take off, industry sources said.

The two new operators -- which won bids to operate flights under the government's ambitious regional connectivity scheme -- have sought permission for at least 16 movements of their planes from the Delhi airport.

A take off or landing is considered as one movement.

According to sources, DIAL is willing to give only two slots -- one early morning arrival and one late evening departure -- each to Air Deccan and Air Odisha, in the forthcoming winter schedule.

DIAL (Delhi International Airport Ltd) is the joint venture company that operates the country's busiest aerodrome.

With the airport operator willing to provide only two slots whereas the airlines' requirement is for 16 slots each, their proposed flight services from the national capital would be impacted, sources said.

"DIAL has expressed its inability to provide required slots to both Air Deccan and Air Odisha, citing their shortage. They have offered two movements per day to each carrier, which will put their proposed winter schedule into a tailspin," one of the sources said.

Winter schedule is from the last Sunday of October to last Sunday of March.

DIAL made its position clear at a meeting of the slot allocation committee of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) here, which was convened at the direction of the civil aviation ministry, they added.

Queries sent to DIAL did not yield any response, while Air Deccan and Air Odisha officials were not available for comments.

"Strangely, DIAL has also offered slots between midnight to early morning notwithstanding the fact that UDAN is the government's scheme that aims to connect undeveloped areas with metros and major cities in the country," another source said.

Five airlines were awarded 128 routes in March this year during the first round of bidding under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), also known as Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN).

The winners of the routes in the first round, including Air Odisha and Air Deccan, were given six months time to start operations and that deadline expired on September 30. Of the 128 routes, only 15 have been operationalised so far.

Air Odisha and Air Deccan (34 routes) had bagged the maximum number of 50 and 34 routes, respectively, under UDAN.

The two operators have already informed the ministry that between them they have six 19-seater Beachcraft B-1900D aircraft to begin operations.

Last month, an Air Odisha official said some of the RCS airports, which it plans to fly to, were not ready causing the delay in operations apart from the slots issue.

At present, the airport sees an average of 1,200 flight movements everyday.

To handle rising traffic, DIAL plans to expand the passenger handling capacity of two operational terminals, recommission operations at terminal-2 and build a new runway by 2021.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Just four days before the scheduled Metro fare hike, the Delhi government today warned Rail Corporation (DMRC) chief Mangu Singh of strict action if it went ahead with the proposed increase in ticket prices.

In his letter to Singh, Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government was "strongly" opposed to the proposed Metro fare hike from October 10.

The development comes a day after Gahlot directed Chief Secretary M M Kutty to convene a meeting of all government-nominated directors on the DMRC board to aggressively oppose the hike at the board meeting.

The minister had said as the DMRC managing director was nominated by the state government in consultation with the Centre, as per rules, he was expected to put forward the view of the city government at its board meeting.

"If at any time, it is felt by the government of Capital Territory (NCT) that its views are not being presented in the right perspective, the government shall be constrained to act as per the prevalent and applicable rules and regulations," Gahlot said.

The proposed increase in Metro ticket prices, within five months of the previous hike, is scheduled to be effective from October 10.

The AAP government is opposed to the hike by the DMRC. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has termed the move "anti-people".

Delhi Metro, which has been operational in the capital since 2002, carries around 27 lakh passengers every day. It has become the lifeline of the city with a punctuality of over 99.7 per cent.

(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.)
A 60-year-old woman foot came under a moving bus after she fell from it allegedly due to the negligence of the driver and conductor in central Delhi's Daryaganj area, the police said today.

In the yesterday incident the woman's foot was badly injured and later had to be amputated, they said.

Based on her complaint, a case has been registered against the driver and conductor. The matter is being probed, the police said.

The victim, a resident of Seelampur, after meeting a relative admitted at the LNJP Hospital was waiting at the Delhi Gate stop for a bus to return home, they said.

The police said that apparently she was irked after repeatedly not finding a bus for Seelampur and boarded a low- floor bus.

However, the conductor allegedly told her the bus would not go to Seelampur, they said.

The woman in her complaint alleged that she was asked to get down from the moving bus and the conductor did not even ask the driver to stop the vehicle.

The police said that while getting down from the bus, she fell down and the rear wheel ran over her foot.

She was rushed to a hospital by the bus driver where doctors amputated her foot, they said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A doctor couple, who are staying separately, are fighting claiming the body of their 2-year-old daughter after her death two days ago in a private hospital here.

The baby was brain dead for almost a year. She was on life support system at her mother's place.

After she died at the hospital on Wednesday, the body was handed over to the mother who had admitted her there.

The baby's father then lodged a complaint with Patuli police station demanding the baby's post-mortem yesterday.

"The couple has filed for divorce and the matter is pending. They have been staying separately for more than two years. The father of the baby has lodged a complaint with us demanding post-mortem," an officer of Patuli police station said.

The baby's mother, who had left with the body for her parents' place at Memari in Burdwan district was contacted by the police and the cremation was stalled, he said.

The body was brought back to Kolkata and had been kept at MR Bangur Hospital last night.

Police had initially decided that the post-mortem would be conducted at Kantapukur morgue but following objection of the father, the body was moved to Calcutta Medical College today.

But the post mortem was yet to be done because it was too late today.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Punjab minister and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sucha Singh Langah, who is in police custody in connection with a rape case, was today charged with hurting religious sentiments, police said.

A delegation of the Guru Granth Sahib Satkar Committee led by a Shiromani Gurudwara Parbhandhak Committee member filed a complaint with the police, alleging that a purported video of the Akali leader with a woman in embarrassing position was against the Sikh conduct, Senior Superintendent of Police Harcharan Singh Bhullar said.

Bhullar said an investigation found Langah involved in hurting religious sentiments. Section 295-A of the IPC was added to the FIR registered against him in the rape case, he said.

The IPC section deals with deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings.

The police booked Langah on September 28 on a complaint by the widow of a vigilance official that the Akali leader raped her repeatedly since 2009. He was booked for rape, extortion, cheating and criminal intimidation.

The victim had also submitted a video clip to the police to support her accusations.

On Wednesday, a Gurdaspur court sent Langah to five-day police custody after he surrendered before it.

Yesterday, the Akal Takhat - the top temporal seat of the Sikhs - ex-communicated Langah, a baptised Sikh, from the Sikh community after his arrest in the rape case.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Moscow today slammed a Greek court's ruling that a Russian national accused of helping criminals launder billions of dollars using Bitcoin should be extradited to the United States.

Alexander Vinnik, who headed BTC-e, an exchange he operated for the cyber currency, was indicted by a US court in July on 21 charges ranging from identity theft and facilitating drug trafficking to money laundering.

Vinnik said he would appeal the extradition decision of the Thessaloniki court on Wednesday.

"We consider that the verdict is unjust and violates the norms of international law," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

"Greek authorities received a request from the Russian attorney general that Vinnik be extradited to Russia" which "should have priority, as Vinnik is a Russian citizen," the ministry said.

"Such a ruling is all the more surprising considering the context of friendly relations between Russia and Greece...we hope the relevant Greek authorities will take into account the request of the Russian attorney general (at appeal)."



The final decision on whether to extradite Vinnik will be made by the Greek justice minister.

The Russian has been languishing in a Greek jail since his arrest on July 25 in the tourist resort of Halkidiki, near Thessaloniki.

According to US authorities, Vinnik "stole identities, facilitated drug trafficking, and helped to launder criminal proceeds from syndicates around the world".

BTC-e, founded in 2011, became one of the world's largest and most widely used digital currency exchanges, but according to the US indictment, it was "heavily reliant on criminals".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A major fire broke out at two fuel storage tanks on Butcher Island off the east coast of Mumbai this evening but no casualty has been reported, an official of the Mumbai Port Trust said.

The fire broke out around 5 pm at tanks 13 and 14, which have storage capacity of around 10 to 15 lakh litres each, said the MPT fire brigade official.

Butcher Island houses an offloading terminal, and petrol and diesel storage tanks.

Fire-fighting operations were on and no casualties had been reported so far, he said.

Cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Five children and a woman died in Japan today in a fire that was apparently started deliberately by the father of the family.

Police discovered five bodies at an apartment in Hitachi City some 100 kilometres north of Tokyo after the blaze was extinguished in the early hours today, Jiji Press reported.

A child found in critical condition later died in hospital.

Local media said the children were aged between three and 11.

A man in his 30s told authorities he had started the fire, according to Jiji, citing unnamed police sources. He is believed to be the father of the five children.

A police spokesman was not immediately available for comment.

(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.)
Florida has executed an inmate who was convicted of killing two people after a night of drinking decades ago.

Michael Lambrix, 57, died by lethal injection at 10:10 pm (local time) at Florida State Prison in Bradford County.

For his final words, Lambrix said, "I wish to say the Lord's Prayer." He recited the words, ending on the line "deliver us from evil," his voice breaking slightly at times.

When he finished and the drug cocktail began flowing through his veins, Lambrix's chest heaved and his lips fluttered.

This continues for about five minutes, until his lips and eyelids turned silver-blue and he lay motionless. A doctor checked his chest with a stethoscope and shined a light in both of his eyes before pronouncing him dead.

Lambrix was the second inmate put to death by the state yesterday since it restarted executions in August.

Before then, the state had stopped all executions for months after a Supreme Court ruling that found Florida's method of sentencing people to death was unconstitutional. In response, the state Legislature passed a new law requiring death sentences to have a unanimous jury vote.

Lambrix's attorney, William Hennis, argued in an appeal to the nation's high court that because his client's jury recommendations for death were not unanimous, the juries in his two trials voted 8-4 and 10-2 for death, they should be thrown out. The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that Lambrix's case is too old to qualify for relief from the new sentencing system.

The US Supreme Court last night denied Lambrix's last- ditch appeal.

Lambrix was convicted of killing Clarence Moore and Aleisha Bryant in 1983 after a long night of partying in a small central Florida town, Labelle, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) northeast of Fort Meyers. Lambrix said he was innocent.

He and his roommate, Frances Smith, had met the victims at a bar, and returned to their trailer to eat spaghetti and continue the party, prosecutors said.

At some point after returning to the trailer, Lambrix asked Moore to go outside. He returned about 20 minutes later and asked Bryant to come out as well, according to Smith's testimony.

Smith testified at trial that Lambrix returned to the trailer alone after the killings, his clothes covered in blood. The two finished the spaghetti, buried the two bodies and then washed up, according to Smith's testimony cited in court documents.

Prosecutors said Lambrix choked Bryant, and used a tire iron to kill Moore. Investigators found the bodies, the tire iron and the bloody shirt.

Lambrix has claimed in previous appeals that it was Moore who killed Bryant, and that he killed Moore only in self- defense.

"It won't be an execution," he told reporters in an interview at the prison Tuesday, according to the Tampa Bay Times. "It's going to be an act of cold-blooded murder." Lambrix's first trial ended in a hung jury. The jury in the second trial found him guilty of both murders, and a majority of jurors recommended death.

(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.)
Business magazine Forbes, famous for its annual ranking of the world's wealthiest, is launching a French edition to chart President Emmanuel Macron's progress in turning his country into a "startup nation".

Forbes is a fortnightly magazine but the French-language edition, which will hit newsstands today, will be published only every three months.

The first issue will retrace the 100-year history of the publication and look ahead to the next 100 through interviews with business magnates including Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and French internet billionaire Xavier Niel.

France has a reputation for being a place where it is difficult to do business and for being sniffy towards the self-made.

Forbes first stuck a toe in the market last year by launching a French-language website.

"Many people say France is becoming the 'startup nation' and the discourse is changing. We have a president who is promoting entrepreneurship and free enterprise," Dominique Busso, the media entrepreneur behind the venture, told AFP.

"We must not be afraid to say that you can succeed in France, nor have fear of failure," Busso said, echoing former investment banker Macron, who has said he wishes more young French people dreamed of becoming billionaires.

The French magazine is being produced under licence from Forbes.

It will contain some material translated from the American edition but give pride of place to local content.

The first issue will have a print run of 100,000 copies.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The country's foreign exchange reserves fell by $2.590 billion to $399.656 billion in the week ended September 29 due to decline in foreign currency assets, RBI data showed.

In the previous week, the reserves decreased by $262.3 million to $402.246 billion, after touching a lifetime high of $402.509 billion in the week to September 15.

The foreign currency assets, a major component of the overall reserves, decreased by $2.565 billion to $375.186 billion, the data showed.

Expressed in US dollar terms, FCAs include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US currencies such as the euro, the pound and the yen held in the reserves.

Gold reserves remained unchanged at $20.691 billion.

The special drawing rights with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) declined by $10 million to $1.502 billion.

The country's reserve position with the IMF declined by $15.2 million to $2.276 billion, the apex bank said.

(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.)
Former Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan today attacked the economic policies of the BJP government and claimed that the party was "not ready to listen to anyone including the RSS" over the same.

"The BJP government at the Centre is not listening to anyone...they (BJP leaders) are ignoring the RSS leaders as well over the issue. A resentment is brewing within the RSS against the BJP government," claimed Chavan at a press conference here.

He said common people and trading community are angry over the economic policies of the government and it (policies) have also impacted the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Chavan said, "We (Congress) have been saying that BJP brought demonetisation to convert black money. The decision has helped BJP leaders to buy property by converting their black money through various means a few months before it was announced."



To a question that the BJP was likely to hold mid-term polls, Chavan said Congress is ready to face the election in such a scenario.

The former chief minister also hit out at BJP's ally Shiv Sena, for adopting double standards.

"Sena wants to stay in power and at the same time it wants to play the role of opposition," he said.

Opposing the bullet train project, Chavan said, even the then Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu had opposed introducing the bullet train and he put the proposal into cold storage for three years.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Suspected militants today shot dead a man in Tral area of south Kashmir's Pulwama district, the police said.

Rafiq Ahmad Bhat alias Dadaa, a former militant, was shot at and critically injured by the ultras at Tral Bala at 1.50 pm, a police official said.

He said Bhat was taken to a local hospital where doctors referred him to a hospital here.

However, he succumbed to injuries on the way.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An alleged hawala operator and three others were today granted bail by a Delhi court in connection with a medical college corruption case.

The court gave the relief to alleged hawala operator Ram Dev Saraswat, middleman Biswanath Aggarwala, Lucknow-based medical college chairman B P Yadav and his son Palash Yadav, who were arrested along with former Chhattisgarh High Court judge Ishrat Masroor Quddusi.

The four accused were grated bail on a personal bond of Rs one lakh each with a surety of the like amount.

Quddusi, who has also served as a judge in Orissa High Court, was granted bail on September 27 by the court which observed that he had deep roots in society.

The case lodged by the CBI alleged that the accused tried to settle a matter relating to Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow which was debarred from admitting new students due to sub-standard facilities.

While allowing their bail pleas, Special CBI Judge Manoj Jain directed all of them to surrender their passports within three days and not come in contact with any prosecution witnesses directly or indirectly.

It also directed them to join the investigation as and when required.

Seeking the relief for Saraswat, his counsel Vijay Aggarwal claimed that he has nothing to do with the conspiracy and has already spent over two weeks in custody.

B P Yadav and Palash, through their counsel S K Sharma, also sought the relief on the grounds of parity and contended that they were victims of circumstances.

Prasad Institute of Medical Sciences is one of the 46 colleges debarred by the Medical Council of India (MCI).

The court had earlier granted interim bail to Bhawana Pandey, the lone woman accused in the case, for treatment of her four-year-old son who is suffering from autism.

While granting bail to Quddusi, the court had considered that he had an unblemished track record as a high court judge for 17 years and there was no question of his non-cooperation with the probe agency.

The CBI had opposed the bail pleas on the ground that they might tamper with evidence and influence important witnesses in the case.

According to the CBI, the arrests were made on September 20 after search operations at eight locations, including the residence of Quddusi in Greater Kailash area of South Delhi, as also in Bhubaneswar and Lucknow.

The CBI had alleged they were not cooperating in the probe and had to be quizzed regarding similar cases involving medical colleges debarred by the government from admitting students due to sub-standard facilities.

The probe agency has alleged that Quddusi had obtained an instalment of gratification from B P Yadav and it needed to investigate how it was paid.

It has alleged that Rs 1.86 crore were recovered and "a larger nexus needed to be considered as 46 colleges were debarred".

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A French woman who travelled three times to Syria in support of her jihadist son was given a 10- year jail sentence today after being convicted of being part of a terrorist conspiracy.

Christine Riviere, 51, was sentenced for her "unfailing commitment" to jihad and for helping a number of young women travel to Syria as part of attempts to find a bride for her son, Tyler Vilus.

It was the maximum sentence possible.

Vilus travelled to Syria to fight alongside the Islamic State group.

Riviere, who has been nicknamed "Mama Jihad" in the French press, visited him three times in 2013 and 2014.

She told the court she feared he would not return home.

She was arrested in July 2014 as she was preparing a fourth visit.

Vilus was arrested a year later in Turkey, from where he was extradited to France.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Goa court today granted anticipatory bail to Leader of Opposition Chandrakant Kavlekar and his elder brother in connection with a case filed against them under the state's gambling act.

Kavlekar and his brother Babal have been booked under relevant sections of the Goa Gambling Act by the Crime Branch after hundreds of matka (gambling) slips were found at the LoP's house during a raid last month in connection with a disproportionate assets case.

The Anti Corruption Bureau is investigating Kavlekar and his wife Savitri in connection with a case of disproportionate assets.

District Court Judge B P Deshpande today granted anticipatory bail to Kavlekar and his brother asking them to furnish sureties of Rs 50,000 and Rs 20,000 respectively.

Kavlekar had got interim anticipatory bail on September 23 when he was summoned by the Crime Branch. The court had passed the order restraining police from arresting him until his anticipatory bail application was disposed.

After getting the interim relief, the Congress leader had appeared before the investigating officer who grilled him for more than an hour.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The government will launch the next tranche of sovereign gold bond (SGB) scheme, the second in 2017-18, on October 9 to cash in on festive fever.

The bonds will be sold through banks, Stock Holding Corporation of India Limited (SHCIL), designated post offices and recognised stock exchanges namely the NSE and BSE, the finance ministry said in a statement today.

The sovereign gold bond scheme was launched in November 2015 with an objective to reduce the demand for physical gold and shift a part of the domestic savings, used for purchase of gold, into financial savings.

"Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, has decided to issue Sovereign Gold Bonds 2017 -18 - Series-III. Applications for the bond will be accepted from October 09, 2017 to December 27, 2017," it said.

The Bonds will be issued on the succeeding Monday after each subscription period, it said.

Under the scheme, the bonds are denominated in units of one gram of gold and multiples thereof. Minimum investment in the bonds is one gram with a maximum limit of subscription of 500 grams per person per fiscal year (AprilMarch).

The maximum limit of subscribed would be 4 kg for individual and HUF and 20 kg for trusts and similar entities per fiscal (April-March) notified by the government from time to time, it said.

The annual ceiling will include bonds subscribed under different tranches during initial issuance by the government and those purchase from the secondary market, it said.

The government has so far issued nine tranches of SGBs since its launch.

To promote digital payment, it said, the issue price of the gold bonds will be Rs 50 per gram less for those who subscribe online and pay through digital mode.

Investors in these bonds have been provided with the option of holding them in physical or dematerialised form.

As per the statement, the bonds with tenure of 8 years will be tradable on stock exchanges within a fortnight of the issuance on a date as notified by the RBI.

The investors will be compensated at a fixed rate of 2.50 per cent per annum payable semi-annually on the nominal value, it said.

Payment for the bonds will be through cash payment (up to a maximum of Rs 20,000) or demand draft or cheque or electronic banking.

The maximum amount subscribed by an entity will not be more than 500 grams per person per fiscal year. A self- declaration to this effect will be obtained. In case of joint holding, the investment limit of 500 grams will be applied to the first applicant only.

Price of bond will be fixed in rupees on the basis of simple average of closing price of gold of 999 purity published by the India Bullion and Jewellers Association Limited for the week (Monday to Friday) preceding the subscription period. The issue price of the gold bonds will be Rs 50 per gram less than the nominal value.

The bonds can be used as collateral for loans. The loan- to-value ratio is to be set equal to ordinary gold loan mandated by the Reserve Bank from time to time.

The capital gains tax arising on redemption of SGB to an individual has been exempted. The indexation benefits will be provided to long-term capital gains arising to any person on transfer of bond.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Railway Minister Piyush Goyal today called for innovation in making the railways safer while stressing that enough money is available for the purpose.

Speaking at the International Conference on Technological Advancements in Railway and Metro Projects, Goyal also said that budget allocations are a limitation and tend to hold back research and innovation.

"Personally, I believe a budget is a limitation, it holds you back. Allocation of a budget doesn't allow scientists to flourish as he wants to. Budgets restrict innovation," said Goyal as he called for out-of-the-box thinking to improve rail safety features like as signaling systems and fog vision for locomotive pilots.

The railways is embarking on a massive programme to ensure safety of the entire network, he said. "As much money as required is available for safety.

"I am not even saying it will be made available, I am saying it is available," he said, adding that he cannot make the railways safe without new ideas and he hoped that the conference will help generate innovations.

The rail minister also pointed to Vice President Venkaiah Naidu's speech on September 27 at the IISc Bengaluru where he said that innovation plays a key role in driving the knowledge-based economy.

To highlight his point, Goyal said that the last time a train with additional speed, comfort and safety features was introduced was way back in 1969 -- the Rajdhani Express.

"From 1969 to 2017 we have not embarked on any major new technological initiative that will take us to international standards of passenger safety, comfort, convenience and speed," he said.

Japan, he said, has progressed technologically as it has managed to create an ecosystem where scientists and researchers can think out-of-the-box.

"Our plan for the future is to create an ecosystem where the scientific community will choose to stay in India and not go to NASA," the minister said.

He said the railways is open to engaging with experts in improving the environment, stations and passenger convenience.

Enumerating his expectations from the scientific community, Goyal said he needs technology and knowhow to improve driver vision during foggy weather, make the signaling system better, manufacture tracks faster and more efficiently, and predict track failures or fractures.

"I do believe that the time has come for us to aggressively go in for newer technologies and better ways of doing work. We will have to work collectively to see what can be done faster and smarter," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The European Union (EU) today gave thumbs up to India's Goods and Services Tax (GST) saying the new tax regime would facilitate .

Visiting EU leaders also welcomed India's efforts to promote economic and social development and expressed interest in participating in initiatives such as 'Make in India' 'Digital India', 'Skill India', and 'Startup India'.

"The EU closely follows Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's economic reforms, including the historic introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which can facilitate and promotes market integration in India by realising a simple, efficient and nation-wide indirect tax system," a said India-EU Joint Statement issued during India-EU Summit.

The 14th annual summit between India and the European Union (EU) was held here. India was represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The EU was represented by Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and Jean Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission.

Modi appreciated the ongoing participation by EU companies in the flagship initiatives and called for their deeper engagement in India's developmental priorities.

The statement further said that the EU side encouraged the greater participation of Indian business organisations into the Enterprise Europe Network.

"The leaders noted the progress made on EU-India cooperation on resource efficiency and circular economy. Both sides agreed to enhanced cooperation and exchange of experience and best practices in the field of Intellectual Property rights (IPR) and public procurement," it said.

The leaders expressed their shared commitment to strengthening the Economic Partnership between India and the EU and noted the ongoing efforts of both sides to re-engage actively towards timely relaunching negotiations for a comprehensive and mutually beneficial India-EU Broad Based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA).

With regard to import tolerance level of tricyclazole in rice the relevant plant protection companies will be invited to present new scientific data in order for the European Food Safety Authority to carry out an additional risk assessment without delay, the statement said.

On this basis, the European Commission would expeditiously consider whether to review the above-mentioned Regulation.

Both the sides also supported early institutionalisation of cooperation between the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to focus on the exchange of knowledge and expertise in the area of methodologies for data collection, risk assessment and risk communication.

Leaders welcomed the establishment of an Investment Facilitation Mechanism (IFM) for EU investments in India as a means to improve the business climate and hoped that the IFM will ease sharing of best practices and innovative technology from the EU to India.

"Leaders acknowledged that the 'Make in India' initiative may offer investment opportunities for companies based in the EU Member States," it said.

Further, the two sides reiterated the importance of reconciling economic growth and environmental protection.

"They highlighted the importance of moving towards a more circular economic model that reduces primary resource consumption and enhanced the use of secondary raw materials," the statement added.

Leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to work together with all Members of the WTO to make the eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference a success with concrete results.

(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.)
'Hang by the neck till death.'



This legal mode of executing a death row convict today came under the scanner of the Supreme Court which sought the government's response on a plea seeking setting aside of the legal provision.

Terming the Constitution as a "compassionate" and "organic" guiding book, a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the legislature can think of changing the law so that a convict, facing death penalty, dies "in peace and not in pain".

The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, issued notice to the Centre and sought its response within three weeks on the PIL, which also referred to the 187th Report of the Law Commission advocating removal of the present mode of execution from the statute.

Lawyer Rishi Malhotra, who filed the PIL in his personal capacity, referred to Article 21 (Right to Life) of the Constitution and said it also included the right of a condemned prisoner to have a dignified mode of execution so that death becomes less painful.

The plea said the Law Commission in its 187th Report had noted that there was a significant increase in the number of countries where hanging has been abolished and substituted by electrocution, shooting or lethal injection as the method of execution.

"It had categorically opined that hanging is undoubtedly accompanied by intense physical torture and pain," the plea said.

The lawyer also referred to various apex court judgements in which the practise of hanging a death row convict has been assailed.

The plea said "dying with dignity is part of right of life" and the present practice of executing a death row convict by hanging involves "prolonged pain and suffering".

The present procedure can be replaced with intravenous lethal injection, shooting, electrocution or gas chamber in which death is just a matter of minutes, it said.

The PIL sought quashing of section 354(5) of the Criminal Procedure Code, which states that when a person is sentenced to death, the sentence shall direct that he be hanged by the neck till he is dead.

It said that execution was not only "barbaric, inhuman and cruel", but also against the resolutions adopted by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

The plea also said that execution should be as quick and as simple as possible and free from anything that unnecessarily sharpens the poignancy of the prisoner's apprehension.

It sought to declare "right to die by a dignified procedure of death as a fundamental right as defined under Article 21 of the Constitution of India".

"This also includes the right to a dignified life up to the point of death including a dignified procedure of death. In other words, this may include the right of a dying man to also die with dignity when his life is ebbing out," it added.

Drawing a comparison, the petition said that while in hanging, the entire execution process takes over 40 minutes to declare prisoner to be dead, the shooting process involves not more than few minutes. In case of intravenous lethal injection, it is all over in 5 minutes.

"The Act of the execution should produce immediate unconsciousness passing quickly into the death. It should be decent. It should not involve mutilation," the plea added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Madras High Court today enhanced the compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Tribunal to a road accident victim.

The court enhanced the compensation to Rs 2.84 from Rs 13,000 saying that the tribunal was wrong in rejecting the medical bills raised for treatment by a Siddha doctor.

Justice J Nisha Banu, allowing an appeal by Karthick Raja, who suffered 60 per cent disability, ordered the New India Insurance Company at Tirunelveli to pay the amount.

The judge said the enhanced compensation should be paid with 7.5 per cent interest in two weeks to Raja, a minor, who met with the accient in 2006.

The judge said Siddha, Ayurvedic and Unani systems of treatments were recognised by the Indian Medical Council.

The petitioner, a minor, was hit by a lorry in July 2006.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Madras High Court today permitted the Registrar General to continue with the selection process for the posts of sanitary workers for the court.

The bench, comprising Justice M. Sathyanarayanan and Justice N. Seshasahee, constituted specially to hear the case, was passing interim orders on a petition filed by an advocate.

The petition stated that the advertisement was not published in vernacular language and hence it was in violation of a Supreme Court order.

The bench said "In the light of the facts and circumstances of the case, this court permits the Registrar General of Madras High court to continue the selection process but the appointment and selection of the candidates for the posts of scavengers and sanitary workers is subject to the result of writ petition."



With a view to filling 68 posts of sweepers and 59 posts of sanitary workers in the High Court, the court had requested the state director of information and public relations to publish the notification dated July 14 in all the editions of two dailies, one Tamil newspaper and another English, in Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry.

Accordingly it was published in all the editions of the two dailies throughout Tamil Nadu.

The petitioner contended that the above notification was not issued in the vernacular language and hence it is violative of a supreme court direction.

The Registrar General in his counter affidavit said the petitioner "misread and misinterpreted" the apex court judgment.

The apex court judgment made it clear that the notification should be given in two vernacular newspapers and "the word vernacular used in the judgment is only the language of the newspaper in which the advertisements ought to be carried out and not the very language in which notification has to be issued."



Therefore the allegation that the advertisement is contrary to the law laid down by Supreme Court is far from truth, the counter said.

A total of 2569 hall tickets have been issued for the examinations to be held on October 8 to candidates who have applied for the above posts.

The minimum educational qualification for the posts was fixed as eighth standard pass.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India and Australia today discussed ways to enhance cooperation in tackling terrorism, radicalisation and cyber-crimes, the home ministry said.

The India-Australia joint steering committee discussed the issues threadbare at its first meeting here.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed the scope for cooperation in counter-terrorism and checking extremism and radicalisation besides steps to check illegal financial transactions, counterfeiting and cyber-crimes, a home ministry statement said.

Issues related to human trafficking and people smuggling, combating illegal drug trafficking, and sharing information between law enforcement agencies were also discussed.

The two sides agreed to pursue further the agenda for cooperation in specific areas with meetings of operational joint working groups involving agencies concerned, the statement said.

Today's meeting is a follow-up to the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in combating international terrorism and transnational organised crime exchanged between the two sides during the visit of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to New Delhi in April this year and his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Additional secretary in the home ministry TVSN Prasad and Stephen Bouwhuis, Australia's first assistant secretary in the International and Auscheck Division, criminal justice group, Attorney-General's Department, led the India and Australia delegation respectively led the delegations respectively.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India and the European Union today expressed "deep concern" over the Rohingya refugee crisis during their 14th summit with the two sides urging Myanmar to work with Bangladesh for their return.

After the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tusk, the two sides underscored the need for early return of the displaced people of all communities to northern Rakhine state in Myanmar.

Addressing a joint press event, Tusk said the two sides wanted de-escalation of tensions and full adherence to international obligations in Myanmar and access of people to humanitarian aid.

"The Rohingya people must be able to return voluntarily with safety and dignity. We call for implementation of recommendations of the (Kofi Annan-led) International Rakhine Advisory Commission to tackle the root cause of this crisis. As a neighbour India stands first in the line to respond," Tusk said.

Responding to a PIL last month, the NDA government had told the Supreme Court that Rohingya Muslims are "illegal" immigrants in the country and their continued stay had "serious national security ramifications".

Millions of Rohingya Muslims have fled the conflict-hit Rakhine state to Bangladesh and India after the escalation of tensions following a military crackdown.

The joint statement said both sides took note that the violence was triggered by a series of attacks by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) militants which led to loss of lives amongst the security forces as well as the civilian population.

"India and the EU expressed deep concern at the recent spate of violence in the Rakhine state of Myanmar that has resulted in the outflow of a large number of people from the state, many of whom have sought shelter in neighbouring Bangladesh," the joint statement said.

When asked at a media briefing by the Ministry of External Affairs, about the comments made by Tusk on the issue, Ruchi Ghanshyam, Secretary (West) said, "The EU has talked about their expectations and the agreed position is in the joint statement."



The joint statement said India and the EU also recognised the role being played by Bangladesh in extending humanitarian assistance to the people in need.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India and the European Union today resolved to deepen their cooperation to combat terrorism by taking "decisive and concerted actions" against globally proscribed terrorists and terror entities including 26/11 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and Dawood Ibrahim.

After the 14th India-EU Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, European Council President Donald Franciszek Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker adopted a 'Joint Statement on Cooperation in Combating Terrorism' that seeks to deepen their strategic and security cooperation.

Addressing a joint press event with the EU leaders, Modi said, "We have agreed to strengthen our security cooperation and work together against terrorism. We will not only further strengthen our bilateral cooperation on this issue, but will also increase our cooperation and coordination in multilateral fora."



Tusk said, "We have adopted a joint declaration on counter terrorism in which we agreed to counter violent extremism and radicalisation, particularly online, and to deal effectively with the threat by foreign terrorist fighters, terrorist financing and arms supply."



Later briefing reporters, Ruchi Ghanshyam, secretary (west) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said it was for the first time that the EU had not only agreed to mention terrorist entities but also terrorists in an India-EU document.

She said the joint statement on combating terrorism talks of cutting flow of funds and economic resources to individuals and to other entities involved in terrorism.

"The leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation to take decisive and concerted actions against globally proscribed terrorists and terror entities including Hafiz Saeed, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Dawood Ibrahim, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Jaish-e- Mohammed, Harkat-ul-Jihad, the Haqqani network, al Qaeda, ISIS and their affiliates," she said.

The two sides, she said, reaffirmed their commitment to jointly combating terrorism and violent extremism in all their forms and manifestations irrespective of their motives.

"They (the two sides) have agreed to exchange information on domestic and international terrorist designation listing proposals," Ghanshyam said.

The leaders strongly condemned the recent terrorist attacks in many parts of the world, underlining their common concern about the global threat posed by terrorism and extremism.

Ghanshyam said the leaders also called for perpetrators of the recent terrorist strikes like those in Pathankot, Uri, Nagrota in Jammu and Kashmir) Stockholm (Sweden), Nice (France), London, Barcelona (Spain), Brussels (Belgium) and also the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks to be brought to justice.

"They recalled that responsible states should take adequate measures to ensure that their territories are not used for terrorist activities," Ghanshyam said, in an apparent reference to Pakistan.

The leaders welcomed the joint commitment to exploring opportunities to share information, best practices, including those related to countering online threat of radicalisation, and to engage in capacity building activities such as training and workshops.

They emphasised on the need to deepen cooperation within the UN and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The EU congratulated India on becoming a signatory to the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and welcomed its subscription to The Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (HCoC).

They also noted New Delhi's intensified engagement with the Nuclear Suppliers' Group (NSG), the Wassenaar Arrangement and the Australia Group.

The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing maritime security cooperation in the Indian Ocean and beyond.

They noted that the recent joint manoeuvres (PASSEX) between the EU Naval Force and the Indian Navy off the coast of Somalia was a successful example of naval cooperation.

"The EU looks forward to India's possible participation in escorting World Food Programme vessels in the near future," Tusk said.

The EU appreciated the "positive role" being played by India in extending development assistance in Afghanistan, including for building social and economic infrastructure, governance institutions and human resource development and capacity building.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India's practice session on the eve of their first Twenty20 match against Australia was called off due to intermittent showers.

The JSCA International Stadium Complex ground has been under covers because of continuous rains since yesterday.

The Indian players arrived in the city last evening following a short break after the five-match ODI series, which the hosts won 4-1, but they were denied practice because of a downpour.

"We came here and it started raining. We have not planned anything as of now. Once we practice, we will have an idea (about the conditions)," India pacer Jasprit Bumrah said at the match-eve conference.

"The rain is not in our hands. We think of what we can do. We will try to give our best effort," he added.

According to the local Meteorological Centre, a cyclonic circulation is persisting over the northwest Bay of Bengal, which is capable of causing heavy rainfall here for at least two days.

"There's chance of a light to moderate rainfall towards the evening. The upper air cyclonic circulation is going to persist for 2-3 days," R S Sharma, weather scientist at the Met Centre, told PTI.

All the tickets are sold out and a minimum of five-over- a-side is needed for a Twenty20 match to take place.

The last T20 International was held here in February 2016 when India defeated Sri Lanka by 69 runs.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said India will feature among the top three economies in the world by 2025-30.

Singh and Union Road and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari laid foundation stones for many development projects during their two-day visit to Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which began yesterday.

Singh, who was speaking at an event in Port Blair in Andaman and Nicobar Islands Islands yesterday, lauded the efforts of Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari and said that development projects like the ones inaugurated on the occasion contribute towards development of the country's economy, according to a statement by Ministry of Shipping.

"Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's dynamic leadership, India, which now figures in the top ten economies of the world, will emerge as one of the top three economies by 2025- 30," the home minister has said.

Singh and Gadkari inaugurated an alternate sea route to Baratang Island and laid the foundation stone for extension of dry dock in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Singh said that the home ministry's advisory panel on Andaman and Nicobar Islands recently held a meeting and deliberated on various issues with regard to the islands.

On the prevailing security situation, the home minister said that development and security of the country was of uttermost importance.

"Erecting walls and boundaries will not provide security to the country, our strength lies in sea and air which need to be strengthened," he added.

Stating innovation, technology, research and entrepreneurship were the need of the hour, Gadkari urged for private investment to developing shipbuilding industry in the islands.

He announced that 14 new ships will be added in Andaman and Nicobar Islands in another three years.

Asserting that there is a need to replace diesel- generated power, he said development of hydel, solar and wind power in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands must be explored.

"As a step towards curbing pollution caused by diesel power generation, plans are being made to set up LNG and CNG based power in the Islands soon," he stressed.

The minister also urged private investors to develop cruise tourism in the islands.
India's exports to China, which have been showing signs of revival this year after years of slump, registered a 40.69 per cent rise year-on-year to reach $10.60 billion in the first seven months of 2017.

Fired by exports of zinc, iron ore and steel, total Indian exports to China registered a 38.6 per cent increase year-on-year in August this year totalling to $1.26 billion, the sharpest increase this year.

However, the trade deficit expanded to $44.51 billion in the first seven months despite surge in Indian exports as imports from China continue to increase.

The India-China bilateral trade increased 18.34 per cent year-on-year to reach $55.11 billion from January to August this year, according to official data accessed by PTI here.

India's exports to China increased by 40.69 per cent year-on-year to reach $10.60 billion during the seven months.

India's imports from China saw a year-on-year growth of 14.02 per cent to reach $44.50 billion.

The cause for surge of Indian exports to China was a result of exponential increase of 353.99 per cent of exports of zinc and related items, 248.19 per cent of iron and steel and 100.7 per cent increase in ores and slag and 151.17 per cent rise in copper.

India was the second largest exporter of diamonds to China totalling to $1.63 billion with a market share of 32.97 per cent after South Africa.

India was the second largest exporter of salt, sulphur, earths and stone, plastering materials, lime, and cement to China totalling to $692 million with 17.39 per cent market share after Turkey.

India's cotton exports, including yarn and woven fabric, to China showed a growth of 6.77 per cent to reach $844 million.

The country was the third largest exporter of cotton to China after Vietnam and the US accounting for 15.05 per cent share in the Chinese market.

India-China bilateral trade increased by 14.93 per cent year-on-year in August to reach $7.51 billion.

Despite the increase in Indian exports to China, Indian business and trade circles associated with bilateral trade however advise caution as it is mostly led by iron ore and steel exports which started declining in 2013 due to a domestic crackdown on mines as well as China scaling down its steel production due to the global economic crisis.

The trade deficit began expanding ever since iron ore exports, the mainstay of Indian exports started declining.

Last year, the trade deficit climbed to $52 billion.

India has been pressing China to open up its pharmaceutical and IT software sectors to expand the base of Indian exports.

So far, there has been no major breakthrough in both areas, despite promises by China.
Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Smriti Irani today chaired a meeting to "review new design and relaunch" of website of the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

The website provides government's press releases and other information to people.

"Chaired a meeting to review new design and relaunch of the @PIB_India website," Irani said in a tweet.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Islamic State-linked militants may have been responsible for the ambush in southwestern Niger that killed three US Army special operations commandos and several local Niger forces, US officials said today.

Yesterday's attack came after US and Niger forces met with local tribal members about 200 kilometres north of Niger's capital, Niamey, near its border with Mali. Two American troops were wounded.

Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou said several of his nation's soldiers died in the attack, blaming it on Mali-based Islamic extremists near Niger's village of Tongo-Tongo in the Tillaberi region.

"Our country is once again the target of a terrorist attack, with a large number of victims," he said.

Some officials originally suspected the attack was the work of al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb.

But Americans official said today the US now has reason to believe it was extremists affiliated with IS. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the incident publicly.

At a Pentagon press conference today, Lt. Gen. Ken McKenzie, director of the US military's Joint Staff, declined to provide many details of the attack, saying operations were still ongoing.

McKenzie said he was not prepared to say whether IS was increasing its presence in the region or if it was responsible for the attack. He said that as campaigns against IS in Iraq and Syria gain success, "it is inevitable that people will try to go ... to other places." Those include the Maghreb, where Niger is located.

Asked whether the US forces had adequate protection, including readily available medical evacuation, McKenzie said rapid evacuation is a primary concern when developing any US mission.

A number of Islamic extremist groups, including al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, operate in the region and sporadically launch cross-border raids. Despite the intervention of French troops in 2013 that pushed the extremists from their strongholds in northern Mali, they continue attacks. Boko Haram, based south in Nigeria, has also staged several attacks in Niger.

The two wounded US service members were evacuated in stable condition to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, US Africa Command said in its statement.

McKenzie wouldn't provide details on the evacuation of the US Green Berets or if the Pentagon met its goal of getting wounded troops out within an hour of their injuries. A US official said the wounded were taken out by a US aircraft.

US special operations forces have been routinely working with Niger's forces, helping them to improve their abilities to fight extremists in the region. That effort has increased in recent years, said McKenzie.

"I would say that over the last few years we have increased our military presence in that country," said McKenzie. "Niger is an important partner of ours. ... We have a great opportunity there to do train, advise, assist, to do a variety of things with them to help them stand on their own two feet."



The White House said President Donald Trump was notified about the attack last night as he flew aboard Air Force One from Las Vegas to Washington.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Israel today decided to ease restrictions on Palestinians entering during the Jewish Sukkot holiday, which began on Wednesday, the army said.

On Tuesday, the army said crossings from the West Bank and Gaza into Israel would be closed to Palestinians for 11 days until midnight on October 14.

But today they decided those with pre-existing work permits would be allowed in "according to the needs of the market", an army spokeswoman told AFP.

The decision applies to Palestinians working in agriculture and hospitals, according to media reports.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians work inside Israel, where they can find higher salaries.

Israel, which controls access to the Palestinian territories, regularly closes them off during Jewish holidays, citing security fears.

But the closure announced Tuesday was unusual in its length.

Israeli media saw it as a reaction to a September 26 attack at the entrance of a West Bank settlement in which three people were killed.

The Palestinian attacker, who was shot dead, had a permit to work inside the settlement and the incident raised fear of attacks during the holiday period.

Sukkot, which continues until October 12, commemorates the Jewish journey through the Sinai after their exodus from Egypt. This year, it is followed by a weekend.

The holiday sees thousands of worshippers head to the Wailing Wall, one of the holiest sites for Jews in the Old City of Jerusalem, to pray.

The location is close to Islam's third holiest site, the Haram al-Sharif compound, known to the Jews as the Temple Mount, which was the focus of angry protests in July after Israeli forces limited access over the killing of two police officers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actors Jason Biggs and Jenny Mollen have once again become proud parents to another baby boy.

The couple have been blessed with their second son, whom they have named Lazlo, reported Us Weekly.

The little one was born on October 2 at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.

The representative for Mollen said in a statement, "Mom, dad and big brother Sid are doing great!"



Both the actors shared videos from the delivery room.

Mollen also livestreamed as she left the hospital, saying she was heading home to eat her placenta, to which Biggs added, "I'm gonna even try it!"



She had announced that the couple were expecting their second child in April through Instagram.

Their first son, Sid, was born in 2014.

Biggs met Mollen on the sets of "My Best Friend's Girl" and got hitched in April 2008.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Lt Governor Anil Baijal today asks the Delhi Police to launch an 'omnibus app' integrating its various mobile applications for people convenience while reviewing law and order situation.

The Lt Governor also asked the police to further improve quality of investigation and prosecution.

It comes as Baijal held a review meeting over law and order situation with the chief secretary, principal secretary (home), police commissioner and senior police officers at the L-G Secretariat.

"In the meeting, the L-G appreciated the improved detection rates but sought a corresponding improvement in quality of investigations and prosecutions too for improvement in conviction rates," the L-G office said in a statement.

It stated that the L-G suggested recruiting legal interns for assisting the police in this effort and also advised to put a mechanism in place to analyse data and trends of heinous crimes along with their success rates in final conviction.

"Lt Governor also stated that in place of multiple apps which have been launched by the Delhi Police for citizens, there should only be one 'omnibus app' that integrates all other apps on a single platform," the statement also said.

He also noted the steps taken by police for curbing serving of liquor in public places, and directed to intensify such drives in collaboration with the officers of excise department particularly to check serving liquor to under-aged youngsters.

According to the L-G office, Baijal stressed that the meetings of district-level committees be conducted regularly and effectively once a month to provide an effective platform for the people to put forth their grievances and suggestions.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
State Bank's first woman chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya retires today, "40 years, one month and two days" after joining the country's largest lender as a probationary officer.

Her journey started at the bank's main branch in Calcutta with large manual ledgers all around. It ends with the bank embracing cloud computing.

"I've seen it all and ensured that SBI is future- proof. And it's been a fantastic journey" is how Bhattacharya describes her long innings.

She wanted to become a journalist -- her school teachers vouched that she was editor-material. She calls her entry into banking an "accident".

But it didn't turn out to be a mishap. She rose to the top, becoming SBI's first woman 'chairman' (laws governing the 214-year-old bank do not provide for the gender-neutral designation 'chairperson').

After leaving her imprint in every department of the bank, she now plans to do a PhD in banking and finance.

For a literature-lover young woman who graduated from Calcutta's Lady Brabourne College in 1977, banking was just a career option for supporting the family following her father's retirement from Bokaro Steel plant as an engineer.

But she had no occasion to regret it. "Life at SBI has really been a fantastic journey, as these 40 years, one month and two days were really fulfilling and I am sure only very few had such a long stint," she told PTI in an exclusive interview on the last day of work.

Her chairmanship began with a massive clean-up of books which saw the bank having red ink all over before the things improved. But unfortunately she leaves the bank not in the pink of health, though a slew of adverse factors beyond her control had largely to do with it.

Two of the biggest challenges she faced were Delhi-mandated merger of five associate banks and the failed Bharatiya Mahalia Bank, and a mountain of bad loans which she inherited. These factors contributed to a great extent to the poor numbers the bank reported in the March and June quarters.

What next? "I am keen to enrol for PhD at the earliest," she said with a smile.

"I was toying with the idea for long. But I'm looking for a thesis-based PhD programme and not coursework-based one, as I won't be able to be a regular student. I'm in touch with some western universities," Bhattacharya said.

"I've seen the bank from a long distance, from the days of huge ledgers to now when everything is on cloud. I'm happy that I've future-proofed the bank. We've come a very long distance," she said.

She doesn't want to brag about headline achievements like the mega merger and digitisation, because by focusing on the big picture, "we often forget little details". Instead, she is happy that she leaves the bank as a highly professional as well as a "very compassionate" organisation.

No other public sector organisation puts so much emphasis on learning as SBI, she said. Also, no other public sector organisation has a chief ethics officer, or boasts of a CSR body such as the SBI Foundation, she pointed out.

"Because I believe that professionalism, learning and compassion are what makes real organisations. There have been a lot of basic changes done within the bank to strengthen it from the bottom up.

"We've really turned around the things," she said, adding the stress was on creating "professionalism amongst everybody, which can't be created unless you create a learning organisation, which is knowledge-based and compassionate".

When she found that many of her women colleagues, who constitute 20 per cent of the workforce, were losing out on career progression due to the inability to take up rural postings because of accommodation issues, she ensured that the bank itself provided accommodation in rural areas.

"This was done to empower our women staff...so that they are well-positioned to take up higher jobs, and they do not fall off the workforce. These are the smaller bits and pieces that we've worked on," Bhattacharya said.

"These little things we've done have created a change and that change you will see as the time goes....we have also done the large things like the merger and going digital. Large things also cause short-term pains, but there will be long-term gains."



Asked if she had any unfinished tasks, she said, "No person can say that I have completed by entire agenda....There are bits and pieces of my agenda that I haven't finished. But the good thing is that in SBI, we work as a team and also the succession is from within, due to which I go with a lot of satisfaction that my unfinished agenda will be finished by the next person who comes in."



On October 7, 2013 Bhattacharya became the first woman chairman of SBI. Before that she had handled as many as 11 areas, starting with the forex wing of the bank in Calcutta, and going on to work in the entire gamut of retail, rural and corporate banking. Before becoming the chairman she was chief finance officer and MD.

As chairman, she got one-year extension last October so as to see through the merger of associate banks.

Married to Pritimoy Bhattacharya, an IIT Kharagpur professor, she has a 23-year-old daughter, Sukrita, who is a student. Post-retirement, Mumbai will continue to be their home.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A major fire broke out at a fuel tank farm of the Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) located on the Butcher Island off the east coast of Mumbai this evening, with authorities suspecting that it was caused by a lightning strike.

The fire started around 5 pm when Mumbai and surrounding areas witnessed thundershowers, but no causality has been reported, officials said.

"The fire is contained to one tank farm owned by Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited. It is under control, but firefighting is on," Mumbai Port Trust chairman Sanjay Bhatia told PTI by phone.

A BPCL spokesperson said a lightning strike amid thundershowers was the apparent cause behind the fire. "One diesel tank caught fire due to the lightning and thundershowers. MbPT fire tenders are at work to put it out. No casualties were reported," he said.

Butcher Island houses a marine oil terminal of MbPT.

Oil tankers discharge crude at the terminal, and it is transported to refineries at nearby Mahul through submerged pipelines, port officials said.

Mumbai Port Trust's fire brigade officials said that apart from the in-house fire brigade personnel on the island, additional help is also being taken from the Victoria Dock fire station.

According to the MbPT website, four vessels were to call on Jawahar Dweep (as Butcher Island is officially known) today, with the last one supposed to have been anchored at 4.12 pm. The website said that the BPCL has eight tanks on the island with an installed capacity of 1.79 lakh kilolitres.

Bhatia said as a precautionary measure, vessels in the vicinity of the island have been moved away.

The Indian Navy has a base near the island. Navy officials said they were monitoring the situation, though there are no naval assets on the island.

Officials from the Indian Coast Guard also said that they are in contact with the MbPT and can send fire-fighting equipment, if needed.

Manohar Rao, executive director and head of safety, BPCL, said that prima facie the cause of the fire was lightning, though further probe will be carried out tomorrow.

Some tanks of the HPCL at Visakhapatnam had caught fire due to lightning strike two months ago, Rao noted.

He also said the tank which caught fire today was a "dormant tank". It was not in operational use and had only some residual fuel in it, he added.

An experts' team from the Mumbai fire brigade has reached the spot to assist the fire-fighting. Process of decanting -- removal of fuel from the tank through a pipe -- has been started, said a fire brigade official here.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Niger's President Mahamadou Issoufou said today his country had been attacked by "terrorist groups" and there had been many casualties, in comments made after a joint US-Nigerien patrol was ambushed.

"Our country has just been attacked once more by terrorist groups, an assault which sadly has resulted in a large number of casualties," he said at a regional meeting in the capital Niamey.

Yesterday, a US-Nigerien patrol was ambushed in southwestern Niger near the border with Mali, the Pentagon and Nigerien officials said.

Three US soldiers were killed and two were wounded, the US Africa Command said in a statement from its headquarters in Germany.

The slain soldiers were not identified, but US media reports described them as Green Beret special forces in Niger to train local forces.

There was a fourth fatality from another nation, according to the US statement, which did not give further details.

Issoufou spoke at the opening of a forum of first ladies of the West African regional group Ecowas, which was dedicated to obstetric fistula, a leading source of child birth injuries.

He called for a minute's silence "to the memory of our soldiers who have fallen on the field of honour" and to the memory of "all victims of terrorism."



"Women and children pay a heavy price for terrorism, directly as innocent victims and indirectly as mothers and spouses," Issoufou said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Theresa May has come under fresh pressure from within her own party to step down as British prime minister as it emerged today that a former Conservative party chairman is leading an attempted coup against her.

Grant Shapps, co-chair of the ruling Tory party between 2012 and 2015, claims having the backing of nearly 30 party MPs including former Cabinet ministers.

He plans to spend the weekend taking that number up to the required 48 MPs to write to the chairman of the Conservative Party's powerful 1922 Committee of backbench MPs to trigger a leadership contest within the party.

"I think it's time we actually tackle this issue of leadership and so do many colleagues. We wanted to present that to Theresa May privately. Now I'm afraid it's being done a bit more publicly," Shapps told the BBC.

While 61-year-old May's own Cabinet has rallied around her, Shapps accused them of trying to overlook a series of blunders that made May's leadership of the party and the country untenable.

Calls for the British premier's resignation have been growing ever since a doomed general election in June, which lost the Tories their overall majority in Parliament.

Most recently, calls for May to step down have been revived as a result of a disastrous speech at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester.

Her key policy messages were all lost in a series of mishaps, including an interruption by a prankster, her own coughing fit and, to make matters worse, a faulty party message sign falling off on stage letter by letter.

"I think a growing number of my colleagues realise the solution isn't to bury our heads in the sand and hope things will get better. We have spoken to people from the Cabinet and ones who privately agree, I'm sure today publicly they will say otherwise," said Shapps during a series of media statements on the issue.

He said the group of MPs supporting him included members across policy divides and covered Brexiteers and those who supported remaining in the European Union (EU).

But at the same time there are partycolleagues who have jumped to May's support and accused Shapps of stirring up trouble when an "overwhelming majority" want her to carry on as premier.

"The truth is the overwhelming majority of Conservative MPs, the truth is the entirety of the Cabinet, the truth is the overwhelming majority of people, want the prime minister to concentrate on doing the job that 14 million people elected her to do earlier this year," said UK environment secretary Michael Gove, who had been one of the leadership contenders for the Conservatives alongside May when David Cameron exited 10, Downing Street after the Brexit vote last year.

Gove's intervention came as UK home secretary Amber Rudd made a very public appeal in 'The Daily Telegraph' asking Mayto continue despite the "trio of mishaps" that blighted her conference speech.

"We, Theresa May's government, want to set out a better path, one that actually leads to a prosperous, secure and united country. We can do that, and we will under her leadership. She should stay," she wrote.

Charles Walker, the vice-chairman of the influential Tory backbench 1922 Committee, also came out strongly against the Shapps-led coup attempt.

He said, "No 10 must be delighted that it's Grant Shapps leading this alleged coup. Grant has many talents but one thing he doesn't have is a following in the party, so really I think this is going to fizzle out to be perfectly honest".

May, meanwhile, is recovering from her cold and cough that ruined her party speech at home in her Maidenhead constituency before spending the weekend at the prime minister's country retreat in Chequers.

Next week, on Wednesday, the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs will meet for the first time since the party conference for what could be a crucial moment for the party's future and May's own leadership.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A six-year-old girl was allegedly raped and killed by a man in Kundam town of Jabalpur district, police said today.

The rape and murder of the minor sparked a protest in the town, about 40 km from the district headquarters.

The girl had gone missing from a religious programme organised to mark 'Sharad Purnima' near a school last night, Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjiv Uike said.

"Some artistes from Chhattisgarh were presenting a cultural programme when someone informed that a girl was lying in a pool of blood behind the school building," Uike said.

The ASP said after seeing the crime scene, it was suspected that the girl was raped and killed as her clothes were not in order and the head was smashed with stones, he said.

"We investigated and looked for the person who first shared the information about the girl's body. We zeroed in on a person identified as Sushil Dixit (26). After the arrest, we interrogated Sushil, who admitted to his crime," he said.

Uike said Dixit admitted he lured the girl on the pretext of giving her chocolates and took her to the backside of the school building.

He said: "The accused admitted he raped the girl and later smashed her head against the wall and stoned her to death."



A case has been registered against the accused for rape, murder and other relevant sections of The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Uike said.

Shocked by the incident, area residents observed a 'bandh' in Kundam. A large number of people staged protest at local police station demanding the capital punishment for the accused.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan today said his government will bring a bill in the next session of the Assembly to provide death penalty for those guilty of sexual violence against children.

"We will bring this bill in the next session. After the Assembly passes it, it would be sent to the Centre," Chouhan said.

The chief minister was speaking at a function here to welcome Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi's 'Safe Childhood - Safe India' campaign, aimed at spreading awareness about child safety.

"We should be united in uprooting the deadly mentality which gives rise to sexual violence against children....It is very painful when we hear of sexual assaults on kids as young as two years," Chouhan said.

Satyarthi said that his tour, which started on September 11, will cover 11,000 kilometres and pass through 22 states before concluding, on October 16, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mumbai police have shared with their Thane counterparts details of the cases registered against Chhota Shakeel, the close aide of fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, officials said.

Thane police had sought this information to see whether they can invoke the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the Thane case in which Dawood's younger brother, Iqbal Kaskar, has been arrested.

"Thane police had requested us to provide details of the cases against Chhota Shakeel and we have provided them all the required information," an official said.

"It was to study whether they can invoke the stringent MCOCA in the extortion cases, registered in Thane in which Dawood Ibrahim, his brothers Anees and Iqbal, close aide Chhota Shakeel and other gang members shown as accused," he added.

According to the official, Thane police are taking legal help to invoke MCOCA in extortion racket in which Iqbal Kaskar was arrested by its Anti Extortion Cell (AEC).

"To invoke MCOCA, there should be two chargesheets that proceeded to trial by a sessions court against one of the accused in the last 10 years. Shakeel's earlier cases can be a perfect base to invoke MCOCA in current extortion case, as there are more than two charge sheets proceeded to trial in the court," he said.

The police official, "Chhota Shakeel has dozens of charge sheets proceeded to trial by sessions court in the last 10 years, so police are examining whether this can be help in invoking MCOCA in Thane extortion cases."



Kaskar and two of his aides -- Mumtaz Sheikh and Israr Ali Jamil Sayyad -- were arrested on September 18 by the Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) of Thane Police, led by "encounter specialist" Pradeep Sharma and his team, in an extortion case of Rs 30 lakh and four flats from a builder.

They had also been booked following another complaint of extortion lodged by a Thane-based jeweller.

Recently, the AEC of the Thane crime branch had arrested Borivali-based businessman Pankaj Gangar in connection with the extortion racket.

Gangar, a close aide of "matka king" Pappu Savla, had been sending Rs 10-15 lakh per month to Dawood's aide Chhota Shakeel, the police had said earlier.

He used to transfer the money to Shakeel through illegal hawala transactions, they had said.

Chhota Shakeel, whose role had also emerged in the extortion racket case, had been declared a wanted accused, the official said.

A few days back, Kaskar and his gang members were also booked in one more case of extorting Rs 3 crore from a prominent builder in north Mumbai.

According to the official, while going through his past cases, which were charge sheeted against these accused, police found that Iqbal Kaskar was acquitted in two cases. The last charge sheet filed against Dawood Ibrahim was in 1999 at Bandra Police Station.

"Matka king Pankaj Gangar was recently arrested for funding Chhota Shakeel through hawala was also an accused in Shiv Sena corporator Kamlakar Jamsandekar murder case in which he was later acquitted," he said.

(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.)
NATO gave a chilly reception to nuclear disarmament group ICAN's Nobel Peace Prize win today, saying efforts to end the atomic bomb must take into account the "realities" of global security.

The Geneva-based organisation, recognised by the Nobel committee for its decade-long campaign, was a key player in the adoption of a treaty symbolically banning nuclear weapons, signed by 122 countries at the UN in July.

NATO, which has three of the world's nuclear powers in its ranks, strongly criticised the treaty, saying it risked undermining the international response to North Korea's atomic weapons programme.

Jens Stoltenberg, the alliance's secretary-general, welcomed "the attention given to the issue" of disarmament by the Nobel Committee and said NATO was committed to creating conditions for a world without nuclear weapons.

But he restated his criticism of the nuclear ban treaty -- which was shunned by all nuclear powers -- saying it put years of progress on non-proliferation at risk.

"What we need is verifiable and balanced reduction of nuclear weapons. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which all NATO Allies have signed, remains the cornerstone of international efforts to do so," he said in a statement, adding that NATO would remain a nuclear alliance as long as nuclear weapons existed.

"NATO regrets that the conditions for achieving nuclear disarmament are not favourable today, but efforts towards disarmament must take into account the realities of current security environment."



Disarmament campaigners hailed the July treaty as an important step but most NATO members boycotted the talks to prepare the text, as did Japan -- the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks, in 1945.

Nuclear powers argue their arsenals serve as a deterrent and say they remain committed to the gradual approach to disarmament outlined in the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A Nigerian man was arrested by Kolkata Police from Bengaluru for allegedly asking for kidney donations in a fake website he created in the name of a reputed private hospital here, police said today.

A city police team arrested David Uzoma Ubah from his Bengaluru residence following a complaint from the authorities of the hospital.

The 37-year-old man hailed from Olodi in Nigeria.

Ubah created a fake look-alike website of the hospital to give an air of authenticity, a senior police officer of the Kolkata Police said.

He then posted advertisements asking for kidney donations stating that donors would be compensated by the hospital itself.

The accused posted similar advertisements on another website mentioning a mobile number along with the name of a doctor working with the hospital, the IPS officer said.

The Nigerian was being brought here on transit remand following his arrest in Bengaluru on Tuesday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Numaligarh Refinery Limited has paid the highest ever dividend of Rs 168.92 crore to the Assam Government for the financial year 2016-17.

This is the highest ever dividend payout of 186 per cent during a year, i.e Rs 18.60 per fully paid equity share of Rs 10 each, an official release said here today.

The final dividend cheque of Rs 78.1 crore was handed over today to Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal by NRL Managing Director P Padmanabhan.

This dividend is in addition to the interim dividend of Rs 90.82 crore handed over to Assam government earlier during the year.

The Assam government has an equity shareholding of 12.35 per cent in the company.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
3drenderings/iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a woman accused of dressing up as a clown and killing another woman nearly three decades ago, then marrying her widower.



Here is what we know about the case.



A mysterious killing



On May 26, 1990, Marlene Warren was at her home in Wellington, Florida, with her 22-year-old son, Joseph Ahrens, and several of his friends, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said. While finishing breakfast, they saw a car pull into the driveway and someone dressed as a clown came to the front door with flowers and balloons.



"Marlene answered the front door and as the clown offered the items to her, witnesses heard a gunshot and Marlene fell to the ground," the sheriff's office said in a news release.



The person in the clown costume "calmly" walked back to the car and drove away, the sheriff's office said. Marlene Warren was shot in the face and died from her injuries.



Detectives initially identified a woman named Sheila Keen as a suspect, but she was not arrested, according to the sheriff's office.

Twenty-four years went by before the cold case was reopened in 2014. Witnesses were re-contacted and more DNA analysis was conducted, the sheriff's office said.



In the years that had passed, Sheila Keen had married Marlene Warrens husband, and the two had been living in Tennessee where they ran a restaurant, according to the sheriff's office.



"As a result of the investigation, probable cause was established linking Sheila Keen Warren [as she is now known] to the murder of Marlene Warren," the sheriff's office said.



This year, the case was presented to a grand jury, which issued a true bill for first-degree murder. An arrest warrant was obtained for Sheila Keen Warren, 54, the sheriff's office said. On Sept. 27, 2017, she was found in Virginia and arrested without incident.



Ahrens, Marlene Warren's son, told ABC affiliate WPBF that the news was a "big shock" but the arrest has made him "happier than I've been in many years."



Marlene Warren's stepfather, Bill Twing, was overcome with emotion, telling ABC News, "Its bringing a whole lot back."



"Its sadness, but good sadness. They found somebody, hopefully," he said. I havent been this sad in a long time, but its a big load off my back."



Prosecution seeks death penalty



Sheila Keen Warren, who was extradited to Palm Beach County, appeared at a first appearance bond hearing Wednesday.



State Attorney Dave Aronberg, whose office is prosecuting her for first-degree murder, said Wednesday that his office is seeking the death penalty.



"My office is committed to pursuing justice for the victim, Marlene Warren," Aronberg said in a statement. "I have made this decision in consultation with our death penalty committee, which carefully reviewed the statutory aggravating and mitigating factors under Florida Law."



ABC News has reached out to the husband, Michael Warren, for comment repeatedly but has not heard back.



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Pakistani forces today violated the ceasefire along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district.

The troops resorted to small arms firing along forward areas in Baba Khori and Kala along LoC around 1930 hours, a senior district officer said.

The firing is going on intermittently, he said, adding there is no casualty.

The Pakistani Army had targeted the Poonch sector by initiating unprovoked and indiscriminate firing of small arms, automatics and mortars on October 4. Three Army jawans had suffered injuries in the incident.

On October 3, an Army jawan was killed when the Pakistani Army violated the ceasefire along the LoC in Poonch.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Pakistan International Airlines has decided to operate another flight to India from this month after an increase in number of passengers travelling between the two countries, officials said today.

Earlier, the PIA was operating only one flight a week from Lahore.

"We have decided to operate another flight from Lahore to New Delhi from this month as passenger volume has increased a little," PIA spokesman Mashood Tajwar told PTI.

"The second weekly flight (Saturday) for India has been restored after a meeting of the PIA officials. We will operate ATR plane for the second flight as well," Tajwar said.

To a question about any chances to restore Karachi-Mumbai flight operation, he said: "At the moment no deliberations have been made on restoration of this flight operation. Since most passengers are opting for train and road routes for India, only two ATR flights a week from Lahore are economically viable".

The PIA in May last year had suspended Karachi to Mumbai weekly flight and cut one Lahore to Delhi flight, citing low passenger volume.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
China today defended the presence of its troops in the Dokalam area, over a month after the standoff with India ended, saying its soldiers are patrolling the region, also claimed by Bhutan, to exercise Beijing's sovereignty.

"The Donglang (Doklam) area has always belonged to China and has been under the effective jurisdiction of China," the Chinese Foreign Ministry told PTI here in response to questions about a report that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is beefing up troops in the area.

"There is no dispute. The Chinese border forces have been patrolling in the area of Donglang, exercising their sovereign rights and safeguarding territorial sovereignty according to the historical boundary," the ministry said in a written response.

The 73-day Dokalam standoff which began on June 16 over PLA's plans to build a road in area claimed by Bhutan, ended on August 28 following mutual agreement between India and China.

Recent reports in India said China has beefed up its troop strength in the area.

Yesterday, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa said Chinese troops were currently present in the Chumbi Valley, which is in the Dokalam Plateau, and added that a peaceful resolution of the issue would be in the interest of both countries.

"The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, their forces in Chumbi Valley are still deployed and I expect them to withdraw as their exercise in the area gets over," Dhanoa said.

About Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar's visit to Bhutan, the first such visit after the Dokalam standoff, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said "although China and Bhutan have not yet established diplomatic relations, the two countries have maintained traditional friendly relations".

It said China has always respected Bhutan's sovereignty and independence.

"China hopes that other countries also respect Bhutan's sovereignty and independence and develop normal bilateral relations with Bhutan, at the same time also hopes it can help enhance the mutual trust between regional countries, safeguarding regional peace and stability," it said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sri Lankan police today fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse a protest by Opposition leaders near the Indian Consulate in Hambantota against the handover of the airport operations to India.

At least 26 people were arrested while four policemen suffered minor injuries, police said.

The members of the Joint Opposition backing ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa staged the demonstration to protest the Sri Lankan government's deal with India to handover the Mattala Mahinda Rajapaksa International Airport (MRIA) in Hambantota.

This was a major infrastructure project of Rajapaksa during his presidency with loan support coming from China.

"We are opposing the deal with India to handover Mattala MRIA," said DV Chanaka, a local opposition parliamentarian.

"We should not allow our state assets being sold to foreigners," he added.

The protesters numbering about 1,000 included Namal, the elder son of Rajapaksa, and several opposition lawmakers.

The police had obtained a court order preventing any protest in the judicial area of Hambantota. However, Chanaka said they were protesting peacefully.

In January, a similar protest was held by the opposition against the move to handover the Hambantota sea port to China on a long lease. Scores of people were arrested then.

The government, which charged that Rajapaksa had built costly infrastructure projects in Hambantota with commercial loans from China, has been forced to enter the long lease with a Chinese company to set off debt on an equity partnership.

The Opposition claim that by giving India the Mattala airport, the government is making Hambantota a playground of international super powers - China and India.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Participating in the Delhi BJP's Janaraksha Yatra against political violence in the Left-ruled Kerala, Union minister Mahesh Sharma alleged today that it was an impediment in tapping the "unlimited" tourism possibilities in the state.

The march, which began at the state BJP's office on Pandit Pant Marg, was participated by senior party leaders and ended in a sit-in near the CPI(M) office on Bhai Veer Singh Marg.

Sharma said violence and development cannot go together and added that "freedom" from "leftwing thinking" was needed for the development of Kerala.

"There are unlimited possibilities for development and tourism in Kerala. But the leftwing violence is an obstruction to it," he was quoted as saying in a statement by the party.

BJP's national general secretary (organisation) Ramlal said the party workers will "expose the leftwing violence" in Kerala.

"RSS and BJP workers are fighting for a cause in Kerala but the leftists who have lost their ground are getting their political opponents killed," he said.

Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari and national vice president Shyam Jaju and other leaders too addressed the party workers.

The BJP is organising protests in Delhi under the party's fortnight-long Janaraksha Yatra. BJP chief Amit Shah launched the campaign in Kerala's Kannur district on Tuesday.

Shah is expected to participate in one of these protests at the CPI(M) office in Delhi on Sunday, party leaders said.

Kerala has been witnessing violence involving the workers of the BJP-RSS combine and the CPI(M). The two opposing sides have faced killings of their workers and attacks on their offices.

Several political killings have been reported in the state since the Left Democratic Front government led by the CPI(M) came to power in May 2016. Both sides charge the other for the violence.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
India's ties with Ethiopia is symbolic of its engagement with Africa, President Ram Nath Kovind said as he invited business stake-holders from the region to partner with India and benefit from them.

Addressing the India-Ethiopia Business Dialogue, organised to commemorate the 12th Anniversary of the India Business Forum here yesterday, the president said Ethiopia and India have been trading with each other for centuries.

"Trade relations between Ethiopia and India flourished during the ancient Axumite Empire from the 1st century AD," he said, noting that the economic ties now covers trade, private investment, concessional loans for infrastructure projects and development assistance, largely for capacity building.

President Kovind said that India's relationship with Ethiopia is symbolic of its engagement with the African continent, of which Addis Ababa is such a vital hub.

He recalled that at the Third India Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi in 2015, India had announced the offer of concessional credit of USD 10 billion over the next five years to Africa.

"We have also committed to a grant assistance of USD 600 million that will include an India-Africa Development Fund of USD 100 million and an India-Africa Health Fund of USD 10 million. The Asia-Africa Growth Corridor is another initiative brimming with potential," the president added.

He invited business stake-holders in Ethiopia and Africa to partner India in these frameworks and benefit from them.

The president pointed out that India is now among the top three foreign investors in Ethiopia.

"Indian investments in Ethiopia have had a significant presence in manufacturing and value addition to local resources. They have created jobs in this country and contributed to the prosperity of Ethiopian families," he said.

He also congratulated the Indian Business Forum for playing a lead role in encouraging Indian investment and promoting trade and commerce between the two countries.

Earlier in the day, President Kovind visited the Presidential Palace in Addis Ababa and led delegation-level talks with his Ethiopian counterpart Mulatu Teshome.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of two bilateral agreements the first on Trade Facilitation and the second related to the Information Communication and Media sector.

Later in the evening, President Kovind held talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

During their talks, both leaders affirmed commitment to stronger bilateral ties, according to the official twitter account of the President.

"We have agreed to consider fresh line of credit of USD 195 million for development of Ethiopia's power transmission," the president said.

Kovind arrived here from Djibouti on Wednesday on the second leg of his maiden visit abroad. His visit is the first by an Indian president to Ethiopia in 45 years since President V V Giri's trip in 1972.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress today asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tell the country what was happening at Dokalam and about his policy on the issue with Rahul Gandhi taking a swipe at him demanding an explanation on road construction by China if he was done with "chest thumping".

Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal asked Modi to explain his policy to deal with the issue and whether he intended to invite Chinese President Xi Jinping to Sabarmati again.

The comments came a day after sources said China maintained a sizeable presence of troops near the site of the Dokalam standoff with India and had started widening a road, around 12 km from the area of conflict.

"Modiji, once you're done thumping your chest, could you please explain this?" Gandhi tweeted, tagging a report headlined, "With 500 Soldiers On Guard, China Expands Road In Doklam".

At the AICC briefing, Sibal said, "Your (Modi's) meeting was good, but what was the result of it and what is happening about it. Please tell the country as to what is happening at the border, especially along the Dokalam plateau."



"What is going to be your policy in this regard and whether you will again invite President Xi to Sabarmati for a swing with him and have a good sleep," the former minister asked.

Sibal asked what was happening in Dokalam today and said it is "very disappointing" that Modi met Xi at the BRICS Summit and there was a lot of talk about the meeting that would help ease the border tension with China as Chinese troops had withdrawn and so had India, removed their equipment and this matter will not be escalated further.

"But what we are hearing now is that in the Dokalam plateau near the trijunction and 10 km within the chicken neck, a new road is being constructed and the same equipment is being used there. Reports also say that some 500 to 1,000 Chinese soldiers are also deployed there," he said.

The Congress leader also referrd to the statement of Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat who said that the Chinese will be doing excursions and "we should be ready for that".

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day standoff in Dokalam that began from June 16 over road construction activity at the India-Bhutan-China trijunction.

The tension eased after talks between top officials of both the countries.

The Congress, in an article put out on its website, also said that the fresh Dokalam development underscores that deft diplomacy was not practiced and requires an explanation from the government.

The article said the that China has stationed over 1,500 troops in close proximity to the standoff zone makes warnings given out by Congres leaders earlier sound prophetic.

"In the absence of the NDA government not clarifying particulars as to the de-escalation, this fresh development looks alarming and underscores that deft diplomacy was not practiced," the article said.

It said that Indian surveillance has reportedly detected new bunkers, and some road re-laying has also been done in the vicinity. China is reportedly using the road construction materials it brought to Doklam, to strengthen infrastructure in the environs of the standoff zone.

The Congress said it is widely evident that a build-up of roads and bunkers is a step towards China's stated goal to "exercise its sovereign rights" in the region.

It said Army Chief Rawat has termed these as 'salami slicing tactics' and warned that continued tensions may snowball into a larger conflict.

In military parlance, 'salami slicing' is a series of many minor actions, often performed by covert means, that as an accumulated whole produce a much larger result that would otherwise be difficult to execute all at once.

The Congress article said in September, China also opened a strategic highway to Nepal via Tibet and China's state-run Global Times alarmingly stated that this highway is just a "forerunner" to a railway link.

It said as per a recent report, China is reinforcing its claim on the Doklam territory by upgrading the road around 10- km north and east of the earlier face-off site.

"One cannot be sure whether these events had been discussed on the table during the standoff. If it is so, then a legitimate question arises, what all concessions have the government made to the Chinese to solve the crisis?



"Is this just the tip of the iceberg? If instead, the government is getting cold feet, then China's salami tactics are working," the article said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today held discussions with party workers here on strengthening the organisation before wrapping up his three- day visit to his Lok Sabha constituency Amethi.

Party workers belonging to Salon assembly segment as well as those belonging to Rae Bareli met Gandhi, the party's Amethi unit spokesman Anil Singh said.

"He (Gandhi) discuseed the various problems faced by the people as well as ways and means for further strengthening the party organisation," Singh said.

Besides the workers, party MP Sanjay Singh and former MLA Amita Singh also met Gandhi before he left for Delhi, the spokesman added.

Gandhi, who arrived in Amethi on October 4, has been targeting the BJP governments at the Centre and as well as in Uttar Pradesh over various issues.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An 18-year-old student of a junior college near here allegedly attacked two lecturers with a sharp weapon today after he was asked to attend classes with a proper haircut.

The incident occurred on the campus of Jogeshwari High School and Junior College in Wagholi area.

The teachers--Dhananjay Abnave and Darshan Chaudhary sustained head injuries in the attack by Sunil Bhor, a class 11 student.

"According to the teachers, Bhor, who was indisciplined, was reprimanded two days ago in the classroom by Abnave over his long hair and was asked to attend the classes with a proper haircut.

"On Thursday, Bhor came to the classroom with haircut, but since he was wearing a cap, Abnave asked him to remove the cap or leave the classroom," a police officer said, adding that Bhor left the classroom.

Narrating the sequence of events, the police officer said Bhor, who was carrying a sharp weapon, attacked Abnave when students were returning to their respective classrooms after the morning player.

"When Chaudhari rushed to intervene, he too was attacked," he said, adding that Bhor allegedly made casteist remarks at Abnave before fleeing.

Police have booked Bhor under section 307 (attempt to murder) of the IPC and relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

He remains absconding.

Both teachers were rushed to a nearby private hospital, where their condition is stated to be stable.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actor Rose McGowan shared a cryptic tweet following the New York Times report revealing decades of sexual harassment allegations against Hollywood heavyweight Harvey Weinstein.

The story includes the account of multiple women, including Ashley Judd, accusing Weinstein of sexual harassment.

The newspaper reported that Weinstein has "reached at least eight settlements with women" including one allegedly with McGowan back in 1997.

After the article was published, McGowan tweeted, "Women fight on. And to the men out there, stand up. We need you as allies. #bebrave."



According to the NYT article the USD 100,000 settlement to McGowan was 'not to be construed as an admission by Mr Weinstein, but intended to avoid litigation and buy peace'.

The "Scream" actor, however, did not comment further except for her short tweet.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel today sought dismissal of an election petition filed against him by BJP candidate Balwantsinh Rajput in the Gujarat High Court following his defeat in the August Rajya Sabha polls, claiming there was no substance in his allegations.

Along with a detailed response presented before the court of Justice Bela Trivedi, Patel's lawyers also filed documents related to proceedings in four such matters to back the Congress leader's claim that Rajput's petition was in contravention of the provisions of the Civil Procedure Code and the Representation of People Act.

As Rajput's lawyers sought time to file their reply, the court posted the matter for further hearing on October 12.

Citing various provisions of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC), Patel, political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, claimed since Rajput's petition was "vague and general", and not in consonance with the CPC, it was liable to be dismissed.

Patel's lawyer Pankaj Champaneri also contended that Rajput's petition should be dismissed on the ground that he had failed to present any valid "cause of action", which according to him, is necessary to be shown while filing an election petition.

Invoking section 82 of the Representation of People Act, Champaneri told the court that the Election Commission of India (EC) cannot be made party in such cases.

Rajput, who was a Congress MLA, had quit the party just ahead of the August 8 Rajya Sabha elections held for three seats and was fielded as a BJP candidate.

Rajput lost the election to Patel after the EC passed an order invalidating the votes of former Congress MLAs Raghavjee Patel and Bholabhai Gohel over flouting the rules for conduct of the poll.

A complaint was lodged by Congress' polling agent Shaktisinh Gohil before the counting of votes was taken up on August 8 evening. Gohil alleged that the two MLAs had shown their ballots to some BJP members present in the hall before casting them.

MLAs casting votes in Rajya Sabha elections are barred from showing their ballots to any person other than the polling agents of their respective parties.

The two Congress MLAs had voted for BJP candidate Rajput instead of Patel. The votes were invalidated by the EC, paving the way for Patel's victory.

In his plea, Rajput demanded that EC's order be set aside as it was "patently illegal and void ab initio (from the very beginning)".

He contended that once the Returning Officer (RO) had exercised his discretion and accepted the two votes, the EC had no power or jurisdiction to hear any appeal against it.

The only remedy available to the affected person was to file an election petition, Rajput said.

Rajput also alleged that Patel won because of "corrupt practices".

He claimed that two Congress MLAs who voted for Patel had also shown their ballots to people other than the party's polling agent and demanded that their votes should not be taken into account.

If that is done, Rajput contended, he would win the poll and Patel will stand defeated.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The sale of stake by few Indian banks in their insurance arms is credit positive for these lenders as the proceeds received would strengthen their loss-absorbing buffers, Moody's said.

Earlier this week, State Bank of India's life insurance subsidiary, SBI Life Insurance, listed its shares on the Bombay Stock Exchange, less than a week after ICICI Lombard General Insurance (ICICI Lombard), the general insurance subsidiary of ICICI Bank did the same.

"The initial public offerings (IPOs) of these banks' insurance subsidiaries are credit positive because the banks will receive proceeds that will strengthen their loss-absorbing buffers," the report said.

The listings will also unlock the value of the insurance subsidiaries for any future sell-down by the banks, it added.

"Although we expect the banks to retain their majority stakes in their insurance subsidiaries, selling the stakes provides a potential source of capital should there be acute solvency stress," the report said.

Following the IPO, SBI Life is valued at Rs 70,000 crore (USD 10.8 billion).

SBI sold 80 million shares or an 8 per cent stake and will record a gain on the sale of about Rs 5,520 crore.

"We expect that SBI will use some or all of the gain to strengthen its loan-loss reserves for non performing loans (NPLs) and thereby limit pressure on its profitability," the rating agency said.

The gain equals about 300 basis points of the bank's NPLs as of June 2017, and will more than offset the additional provisioning required for the 12 large NPL accounts cited by the central bank in a June 2017 assessment.

As per the RBI norms, SBI will be required to provide an additional Rs 3,540 crore of provisioning in FY18, for these 12 accounts.

SBI's remaining 62.1 per cent stake in SBI Life is worth around Rs 43,500 crore, which equals around 22.4 per cent of the public lender's common equity tire I (CET1) capital as of June 2017.

ICICI Lombard is valued at Rs 29,500 crore (USD 4.5 billion).

ICICI sold 31.8 million shares or a 7 per cent stake, and will record a gain on the sale of about Rs 1,970 billion.

This will be gradually added to ICICI's capital position and will strengthen its ability to absorb any increases in credit costs in FY18, the report said.

ICICI's remaining 55.9 per cent stake in ICICI Lombard is worth around Rs 16,500 crore and equals about 17.5 per cent of the bank's CET1 capital as of June 2017.

ICICI also has a 54.9 per cent stake in listed life insurance subsidiary ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, which as of September 27, was worth Rs 31,000 crore and equals about 32.8 per cent of the bank's CET1 capital as of June 2017.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court today asked some searching questions on a plea seeking reopening of the probe into Mahatma Gandhi's assassination and appointed senior advocate Amrender Sharan as amicus curiae to assist it in the matter.

A bench comprising Justices S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao was initially of the view that "nothing can be done in law" in the case which was decided long ago, but later told Sharan, a former additional solicitor general, that its observation was not binding on him to make an assessment of the matter.

The bench, which posted the matter for further hearing on October 30, raised a volley of questions including how evidence could be collected now to order further investigation into the case which had led to the conviction and execution of Nathuram Vinayak Godse and Narayan Apte on November 15, 1949.

Gandhi was shot dead at point blank range in New Delhi on January 30, 1948 by Godse, a right-wing advocate of Hindu nationalism.

The bench, which during the hearing observed that "we are not inclined to go into it", later changed its mind after the petitioner said he should be given a time as his appeal before the National Archives and Research Administration, Maryland in the USA, was yet to be decided for de-classifying of certain sensitive documents connected with the assassination.

The petition filed by Mumbai-based Dr Pankaj Phadnis



, a researcher and a trustee of Abhinav Bharat, has sought reopening of the probe on several grounds, claiming it was one of the biggest cover-ups in the history.

He has questioned the 'three bullet theory' relied upon by various courts of law to hold the conviction of accused Godse and Apte, who were hanged, and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar who was given the benefit of doubt due to lack of evidence.

He has also claimed that there could be a third assassin other than the two convicted persons and submitted that there was a need to investigate whether the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), an intelligence agency of the US during World War II and a predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), had tried to protect Gandhi.

At the outset, Phadnis sought some time to file certain additional documents to buttress his plea that reopening of investigation in the assassination case was required.

"What can we do now at this stage," the bench asked the petitioner, who said that after he filed the plea, he has got certain crucial documents related to the case.

"Why should we reopen this now? We will give you as much time you want but you tell us why should we reopen a finding that has been affirmed," the bench asked the petitioner.

When the court asked the petitioner about the law of limitation, Phadnis said he was aware of it.

He also referred to the report of Justice J L Kapur Commission of Inquiry, which was set up in 1966, on the issue.

He argued that appeals filed by the convicts in the assassination case were dismissed in 1949 by the East Punjab High Court, following which the Privy Council had sent the matter back on the ground that the Supreme Court of India will come into existence in January 1950.

"The Supreme Court never adjudicated this matter," Phadnis claimed and added that the Kapur commission report has not come to the apex court.

"The observations (in the report) may or may not be accurate but the fact is that execution was carried out by judgement of a sessions court which was confirmed by the high court," the bench said.

When he said that another person might be involved in firing shots at Mahatma Gandhi, the bench said "we want to go by the law and not by passion".

"You say that there was someone else, a third person who killed him (Gandhi). Is that person alive today to face the trial," the bench asked.

Responding to the query, Phadnis claimed that the assassination could have been carried out by an organised body, named 'Force 136' (a British special intelligence unit).

However, the bench sought to know about the identity of the person and said "we cannot convict an organisation. Do you know whether that person is alive?"



Phadnis, however, said he did not know if that person is alive but probe should be ordered to ascertain the truth.

During the hearing when he raked up the issues between India and Pakistan, the bench said, "your motive may be nobel, We are not questioning your motive or your desire to have peace between the two countries".

The petitioner thereafter referred to the telegram sent from the US Embassy on January 30, 1948 and said that Herbert Tom Reiner, Disbursing Officer, was within five feet of Gandhi when he was shot, and with the aid of Indian guards, he had apprehended the assassin.

However, the bench said, "Is Reiner alive today?"



When Phadnis said Reiner had died recently, the bench said, "then who will give evidence? Who is going to probe what Reiner saw?".

To this, he said, "the evidence are documented records" and forensic examination would establish how many shots were fired at Gandhi on that fateful day.

At the fag end of the hearing, the bench told the petitioner that it needed legal assistance in the case and asked Sharan, who was present in the court room, to assist it.

"Mr Sharan, will you please assist us? This is a matter of great passion for him," the bench said.

The senior counsel said he would assist the top court and sought two weeks to go through the documents filed by Phadnis.

Phadnis has challenged the decision of the Bombay High Court which on June 6, 2016 had dismissed his PIL on two grounds -- firstly, that the findings of fact have been recorded by the competent court and confirmed right up to the apex court, and secondly, the Kapur Commission has submitted its report and made observations in 1969, while the present petition has been filed 46 years later.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court on Friday reserved its verdict on a plea seeking restoration of its last year's order banning the sale of firecrackers in Delhi- Capital Region.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) supported the plea before a Bench headed by Justice A K Sikri and said November 11, 2016, order should be restored and the use of firecrackers banned in Delhi-NCR.

The apex court had through this order suspended all licences which permitted the wholesale and retail sale of firecrackers within the territory of NCR.

On September 12 this year, the top court had temporarily lifted the earlier order.

During the hearing, advocate Gopal Shankarnarayanan, appearing for petitioner Arjun Gopal, told the bench that the ban on the use of firecrackers should be restored as the NCR had witnessed a huge rise in air pollution during and after Diwali last year.

He said the rise in air pollution during last Diwali was because of several reasons including the extensive use of firecrackers.

Advocate Vijay Panjwani, appearing for the CPCB, said they supported the petitioner's plea. "I am not opposing the petitioner," he said, adding "November 11, 2016, order must be restored".

The council, appearing for the permanent license selling crackers, opposed the plea and said the September 12 order temporarily lifting the ban, was "well-reasoned" and passed after hearing all the parties, including the CPCB.

The bench, while reserving the order, said it would try to deliver the verdict on Monday.

It had yesterday observed that the matter had "progressed from time to time" after the order was passed in November last year.

The apex court had last month temporarily lifted its earlier order suspending licences for sale of firecrackers, saying a complete ban would be an "extreme step" and a graded approach was needed to curb pollution caused by them.

The court, however, had said its order lifting the ban on the sale of firecrackers might require a "review" after Diwali depending on the ambient air quality after the festival.
The Supreme Court today reserved its verdict on the crucial issue whether firecrackers would be sold in Delhi-National Capital Region during the upcoming festive season of Diwali.

The apex court, after a hearing of over one-and-half-hour on a plea seeking restoration of its last year's order banning the sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR, reserved its order and said it would "try" to deliver the judgement on Monday.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) told a bench headed by Justice A K Sikri that they "support" the plea and seek restoration of the apex court's November 11, 2016 order.

The top court, through its last year order, had suspended all licences which "permit sale of fireworks, wholesale and retail within the territory of NCR".

On September 12 this year, the apex court had temporarily lifted its earlier order and permitted sale of firecrackers.

During the hearing, advocate Gopal Shankarnarayanan, appearing for petitioner Arjun Gopal, told the bench that the ban on use of firecrackers should be restored as the NCR had witnessed a huge rise in air pollution during and after Diwali last year.

He said the rise in air pollution during last Diwali was because of several reasons, including the extensive use of firecrackers.

He said the main worry was about the level of particulate matter (PM) 2.5 in the air which causes serious health hazards for people, including children who are the most vulnerable.

Seeking recall of last month's order, Shankarnarayanan argued there was a "misdirection" as the top court was dealing with the plea of firecracker manufacturers but it passed the order which also concerned the issue of licences.

He referred to an earlier report of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and said that 13 Indian cities were named in the list of 20 most-polluted cities in the world.

Advocate Vijay Panjwani, appearing for the CPCB, said they supported the petitioner's plea. "I am not opposing the petitioner," he said, adding "the November 11, 2016 order must be restored".

The counsel, appearing for the permanent licencees selling crackers, opposed the plea and said the September 12 order temporarily lifting the ban, was "well-reasoned" and passed after hearing all the parties, including the CPCB.

He argued that all aspects raised by the petitioner now were considered by the apex court while passing the order last month and though firecrackers impacted air quality, it was "not the greatest cause of PM 2.5".

He also referred to the CPCB's data of air quality after Dussehra last month, saying despite the fact that firecrackers were used in burning the effigy of Ravana, the PM 2.5 level had not gone up.

"Firecrackers are not a great culprit for PM 2.5. It might be other things," the counsel argued, adding the rise in air pollution during Diwali was also due to crop burning in the neighbouring states of Delhi.

He asked "is it only in Delhi that firecrackers contribute to PM 2.5 and not in other places? Diwali is celebrated in the entire country".

However, the bench observed, "if everybody will come and say that we contribute so less, then why so much of pollution is there?"



The counsel for permanent licencees selling crackers said that "most pollution by firecrackers were caused due to the use of Chinese firecrackers".

The petitioner contended that lives of around five crore people residing in Delhi-NCR should not be put to a risk due to severe air pollution caused by the firecrackers during the festive season.

The apex court had last month temporarily lifted its earlier order suspending licences for sale of fire crackers, saying a complete ban would be an "extreme step" and a graded approach was needed to curb pollution caused by them.

The court, however, had said its order lifting the ban on sale of fire crackers might require a "review" after Diwali depending on the ambient air quality after the festival.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Supreme Court today said it would hear next month a batch of pleas challenging the newly- amended Finance Act, which changed the search and selection and removal process of members and presiding officers of tribunals including the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra posted the matter for hearing on November 23 after Attorney General K K Venugopal sought some time for arguing the matter.

Venugopal told the court that he would be seeking a short adjournment for taking instructions from the government.

The court had on September 4 refused to grant an interim stay on the Act.

The bench is hearing several petitions, including the one filed by CAT, challenging the constitutional validity of provisions of the Finance Act.

The CAT has challenged the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the 'Tribunals, Appellate Tribunals and Other Authorities (qualifications, experience and other conditions of service of members) Rules, 2017'.

The CAT said the 'Tribunals, Appellate Tribunals and Other Authorities (qualifications, experience and other conditions of service of members) Rules, 2017', framed under the Finance Act, provides that the search-cum-selection committee to select its administrative members will be headed by a nominee of the central government.

Earlier, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) or his nominee had a role in the selection of administrative members of CAT, the tribunal had told the court.

The panel had also sought an interim stay on the provisions of the new Act and the Rules, under which a new Search-cum-Selection Committee for the post of Administrative Member would be set up.

However, on the issue of selection of CAT's chairperson and judicial members, the 2017 Rules provide that this committee would be headed by the CJI or his nominee



The Finance Act, which came into effect from April 1, led to the framing of the 2017 Rules which allegedly gave "unbridled" powers to the Executive to decide on the qualification of the members, their appointment and removal among other issues, one of the petitions filed by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said.

The apex court had earlier issued notice to the Centre on two other similar pleas filed by Ramesh and an NGO Social Action for Forest and Environment (SAFE).

The NGO had sought the quashing of Part 14 of the Finance Act and Rules framed under it. It alleged that the alterations brought about by the Finance Act would weaken the functioning of tribunals including the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and curtail their powers.

Senior advocate Mohan Parasaran, who had appeared for Ramesh, had submitted that the power of judiciary has been compromised by the provisions of the new law.

The petition has said the changes brought about by the Act would weaken the functioning of tribunals including the NGT and curtail their powers.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif has slammed powerful Republican Senator John McCain for comparing the war in Afghanistan with that of Vietnam.

"Senator McCain was drawing parallel between Vietnam and the war in Afghanistan. Let me remind him through this forum, he has a poor sense of history," Asif said here while speaking at the US Institute of Peace, a Congress supported think-tank.

Asif's remarks surprised the audience mainly because McCain has often come to the defence of Pakistan and has been opposed to taking any punitive measure against the country.

McCain, the Chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, is known as a friend of Pakistan.

A former Republican presidential candidate, McCain is widely respected across the political spectrum and in the American military establishment.

The reason for Asif's outburst against McCain was not immediately clear.

Asif said that when the Americans took over the Vietnam War, they had actually lost the war from day one.

"Because in Indo-China the French were too clever for the Americans. They handed over a lost war, a losing war to the Americans. And the Americans were too happy to fight for one and half decade a war which had no end," he said.

And then they had to bomb Laos and Cambodia for having sanctuaries, he added.

"There were many many other causes. So let's not play to the galleries. Let's not play to your constituents. Let's face the verdict of history. The verdict of the history was that you perused a folly in Vietnam and you lost it," he said.

The verdict of history will be that if the way the Afghan problem is being pursued, the United States will lose Afghan War also, Asif said as he expressed his opposition to the new South Asia Strategy of the Trump Administration.

In fact, the US has already lost the war, he said. "You are just trying to salvage the situation over there."



Asif also warned that pursuing a military solution will force the Taliban and ISIS to join hands.

"That will be the biggest curse for us to face, for the region to face. We don't want to see that situation happening in our region. So that is why we want to cooperate with the Americans with full vigor, honesty and commitment," he said.

Asif also claimed that Pakistan is the only country which is fighting and winning the war against terrorists.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two senior police officials convicted by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case are set to walk free from jail after a court suspended their 17-year sentence, media reports said today.

The Lahore High Court's (LHC) Rawalpindi Bench suspended the 17-year jail sentences and fines handed out to Additional Inspector General of Police Saud Aziz and Senior Superintendent of Police Khurram Shahzad by an anti-terrorism court on August 31.

Aziz was the Rawalpindi city police officer and Shahzad the Rawal Town SP when the former prime minister Bhutto was assassinated in 2007.

The two police officers were convicted for criminal negligence and washing the crime scene.

The anti-terrorism court had acquitted five alleged members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for want of evidence.

Bhutto, 54, also the chief of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was assassinated in a suicide attack at an election campaign rally in Rawalpindi's Liaquat Bagh on December 27, 2007.

They were both awarded 10 years in prison under Section 119 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and seven years under Section 201 of the PPC, and fined Rs 1 million each for "facilitating commission of an offence".

While Aziz has retired from the police force, Shahzad is the SSP Special Branch in Rawalpindi.

They had both challenged their conviction in the LHC's Rawalpindi Bench which, yesterday, suspended their conviction. The court accepted their bail plea against surety bonds of Rs 200,000 each, Dawn newspaper reported.

The two police officers are likely to be released from Adiala Jail later today, media reports said.

On September 29, the Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) filed a petition in the LHC's Rawalpindi Bench challenging the anti-terrorism court's (ATC) decision in the murder case.

The PPP has also challenged the ATC's decision.

The party has alleged that Benazir had repeatedly stated that Musharraf was not providing her security.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Shoppers Stop today said it has exited from the duty-free airport retail business after disposing of 40 per cent stake in Nuance Group India, which operates stores at the Bengaluru International airport.

Nuance Group India Pvt Ltd (NGIPL) was formed as a 50:50 joint venture between Shoppers Stop and Nuance Group AG Switzerland. However, the shareholding was reduced to 40 per cent in April 2017.

The company has disposed of its 40 per cent stake in NGIPL to the Nuance Group AG Switzerland at a consideration of Rs 6 crore, Shoppers Stop said in a regulatory filing.

The joint venture NGIPL operates duty free store at the Bengaluru International airport.

With the disposal of the shareholding in NGIPL to the Nuance Group AG, the shareholders agreement with them stands terminated with immediate effect and accordingly the company has exited from the duty free airport retail business, Shoppers Stop said.

The stock closed 1.19 per cent up at Rs 513.20 on BSE.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Space crunch in a woman's house is no ground to deny her the custody of her children, a Delhi court has said while refusing to hand them over to the father.

Additional Sessions Judge Vrinda Kumari rejected the plea of the man against a lower court order awarding his wife the interim custody of their two children in a domestic violence case, saying their interest would be best protected by their mother.

"The two minor children are of tender age and their interests would be best protected if they were looked after by their mother (respondentaggrieved).

"Space crunch at the house of father of the respondent- aggrieved (mother) is no ground to deny the interim custody of the minor children to the mother," the judge said.

A magisterial court had on May 5, 2017 granted the woman, a south Delhi resident, the custody of the two minors.

Challenging this order, the man had contended that the trial court did not appreciate the fact that his wife intentionally and deliberately did not reconcile with him and filed the false and frivolous application.

He denied all the allegations of the complaint lodged under the Domestic Violence Act.

The man, an east Delhi resident, had also alleged that there was space crunch at his estranged wife's parental home which could be inconvenient to the children.

The court, however, rejected his contention and noted that the appeal nowhere raised vital questions about the children's education.

"It is silent on some of the very vital issues such as the minor son not being sent to school for almost two months. The petition is also silent on the observation of the trial court that the name of the minor son was struck off from the school because of his absence for almost two months," it said.

Upholding the magisterial court order, the judge noted that Metropolitan Magistrate personally met the children to assess the situation and reached the conclusion that the custody of the minor children should go to the woman.

The woman, in her complaint, had alleged that the man tried to kill her using a knife as well as by strangulating her and had demanded cash and jewellery as several occasions.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
No-frills airline SpiceJet today said it would launch flight services between the national capital and Jaisalmer from October 29.

On the same day, the carrier would also start operating direct flights between Jaisalmer and Jaipur as well as re- commence services between Delhi and Jodhpur.

Jaipur-Jaisalmer would be the fourth sector under the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) for SpiceJet, which would operate 78-seater Bombardier Q400 on this route, it said in a release.

"Tickets for the RCS seats on the Jaipur Jaisalmer route will be available at Rs 2,330 (all in) whereas the RCS fare on the Jaisalmer Jaipur route will be Rs 2,280 (all in)," the airline said.

Jaisalmer would be the airline's 45th domestic destination.

Under the RCS -- which seeks to make flying more affordable as well as improve connectivity -- certain number of seats are sold at lower prices. Airlines participating in the scheme, also known as UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik), are provided viability gap funding by the government.

"The airline which was awarded 6 proposals and 11 routes under UDAN has introduced four new flights under the scheme and is the only airline which has not sought subsidy or viability gap funding for the same," the release said.

SpiceJet operates an average of 384 daily flights, with a fleet of 35 Boeing 737NG and 20 Bombardier Q400 planes.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Despite paying off 95 per cent of investors, had to pay Rs 19,000 crore to market regulator Sebi which is nothing but a double payment of single liability, Chairman of the firm Subrata Roy said here today.

"Sebi has around Rs 19,000 crore (including interest earned) of Sahara's money, while Sebi has only repaid Rs 64 crore to the investors in the last 60 months and it also holds Sahara's original documents of landed properties worth Rs 20,000 crore," Roy said while announcing the commencement of Pariwar's 40th anniversary.

Sahara knows very well that all this money will return to it as per the Supreme Court's order, as it has already repaid 95 per cent of its Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures (OFCD) investors, he said.

'"Sahara's fundamentals are very strong but it is also true that we are facing a huge short-term liquidity problem, but it is not because we have to deposit the money in Sahara-Sebi account but due to the embargo imposed on us," he said.

The entire Sahara Group is under an embargo which means that if any asset is sold or mortgaged to raise funds, then that entire money shall go to the Sebi-Sahara account.

"Even if only the cash amount which Sahara has is deposited to Sebi, which stands at Rs 19,000 crore, and if it is considered as a cash reserve, Sahara will stand 19th on the September 2017 chart of top cash-rich companies of India, where the first 17 are banks," Roy added.

Once the embargo is lifted and the money is back, Sahara will be one of the biggest cash-rich companies of India and its growth will be phenomenal, Roy said.

"This acute current cash flow issue is really severe but temporary in nature. The company is financially sound, fundamentals are intact and assets are way more than the liabilities," he added.

(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.)
Sudan today welcomed the US decision to end its 20-year trade embargo against Khartoum as a "positive decision".

Earlier in the day, Washington announced it was ending the embargo, citing improvements made by Sudan in its human rights record.

"The leaders of Sudan, the government of Sudan and the people of Sudan welcome the positive decision taken by American President Donald Trump of removing the economic sanctions completely," the official SUNA agency quoted a statement issued by the foreign ministry.

The US decision came after months of diplomatic talks between the two countries that began during the tenure of former US president Barack Obama.

The lifting of sanctions is "in recognition of the Government of Sudan's sustained positive actions to maintain a cessation of hostilities in conflict areas in Sudan," US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

And she cited what she said was Khartoum's sustained commitment to "improve humanitarian access throughout Sudan and maintain cooperation with the United States on addressing regional conflicts and the threat of terrorism."



Washington had imposed the sanctions in 1997 over Khartoum's alleged support to Islamist militant groups. Now slain Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden lived in Sudan between 1992 to 1996.

Following a significant improvement in relations, Obama eased the sanctions in January before leaving office with a view to lifting them completely after a six month review.

But in July, Trump extended the review period to October 12. On Friday his administration decided to lift the embargo permanently.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft, a squadron of which has been set up here, has the capability to play an important role in case of a military conflict, Air Vice Marshal Vikram Singh said here today.

He was speaking after viewing a spectacular paradiving exercise by seven para jumper instructors from one of the six aircraft of the C-130J Hercules squadron of the IAF at the Air Force Station Arjan Singh, earlier known as Panagarh air base.

AFS Arjan Singh is the base for the second C-130J Super Hercules squadron after the one at Hindon AFS near Delhi.

"The state-of-the-art aircraft with its tactical airlift and airdrop capabilities is a huge jump," Singh, the Air officer Commanding, Advanced Headquarter, Eastern Air Command, said.

"In any future conflict, it will play a very important role," he said.

Asked whether the C-130J Super Hercules will play an important role in case of a military conflict between India and China, Singh said, "We don't buy aircraft with one particular adversary in mind, but given its capabilities it will certainly play an important role in such a scenario."



"The closest border with China due north is Sikkim and it will take less than an hour for the C130J to reach from here," he said when asked about the time that it might take to put up an operation.

India and China were engaged in a bitter border standoff over the construction of a road at Doklam earlier this year that lasted close to three months.

"It is the first transport aircraft with a head-up display which is normally found in a fighter aircraft," the Air Vice Marshal said, ahead of the 84th Air Force Day on October 8.

A head-up display is any transparent display that presents data without requiring users to look away from their usual viewpoints, thus saving precious time.

"It has infra-red sensor that gives the crew a monocromatic view in front and down below and thus helps the aircraft to fly very low and with accuracy at night," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Cleanliness should not just be about cleaning courtyards but a concept that includes non-violence and exists in our minds and hearts, Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee, Mahatma Gandhi's granddaughter, said here today.

According to the trustee of the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust, who was in the city to attend the inaugural session of the 5th South Asian Sufi Festival, the meaning of 'swachhta' should be taken in the broader sense.

Swachhta is not just about the cleaning of courtyardit should be in our minds and hearts," she said.

"One should be free from himsa... that is real swachhta, Bhattacharjee told reporters.

She added that people said the Ganga was polluted but the river was not polluted, it was humans who made it so.

We should take swacchta in a broad sense which means that there should be non-violence and the environment should be clean, she said.

About 130 Sufi delegates from different countries, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (but not Pakistan) are scheduled to participate in the festival organised by the Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature.

This is the second consecutive year with no participation from Pakistan.

... this is a political matter and we have nothing to do with this. We need to take permission from authorities like the Ministry of External Affairs and the Home Ministry for organising such events and we don't invite delegate from any country for which there is no permission, said Ajeet Cour, president of the Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature.

The government recommends the names of the countries from where delegates could be invited and we follow the recommendation, she added.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A man in his 20s has been arrested at the airport in the Swedish city of Gothenburg for allegedly trying to travel with explosive material, the police said today.

The man was passing through security control on yesterday morning at Landvetter Airport when the screening showed "something explosive", police spokesman Peter Adlersson told AFP.

Adlersson, who did not disclose what the suspect was carrying, said he was "going to fly to another EU country".

Swedish daily Aftonbladet said the man was carrying acetone peroxide (TATP), a component of bombs used in several attacks across Europe, including Manchester, Brussels and Paris.

Police are inspecting his belongings to determine if they could have posed a threat, Adlersson said.

Authorities have not disclosed the suspect's identity but the Swedish daily Goteborgs-Posten said he is a German citizen.

He was arrested on suspicion of "attempted public destruction", the public prosecutor's office said in a statement today.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
One calls himself the 'father' of MNREGA, the other a 'one-man army' railing against the system, while yet another has been shooting off letters against corruption to ministers and bureaucrats for over a decade.

Jantar Mantar, the country's resistance square, has them all, and more -- army veterans demanding 'One Rank One Pension', farmers from Tamil Nadu clad in green loincloths raging against the State and followers of at least two controversial self-styled godmen, currently behind bars.

Here, some do stand out for their eccentricities and outlandish ideas, but a stroll down the road that connects Sansad Marg and Ashoka Road in the heart of the national capital reveals that not all the causes are frivolous.

A day after the National Green Tribunal banned all protests and dharnas in the area on grounds of pollution, the protest hotspot appeared to be going about business as usual, but a sense of uncertainty, anger and agony was all too palpable -- uncertainty on the future of their demonstrations, anger against the "unfair" NGT order, agony over the establishment "not willing" to lend them an ear.

"Ramlila Maidan does not even have a tree. Here at least we get some shade. It's not that we are treated very well here. Officials from the corporation routinely take our blankets and other things away," said Sunil Gore, a farmer from Madhya Pradesh who has been on a dharna since July 3 demanding a fair Minimum Support Price for crops.

The farmers from Tamil Nadu, who has been camping here for nearly three months, said they may move the court against the decision of the NGT.

The leader of the OROP movement Major General Satbir Singh (Retd) slammed the order as "unfair", saying it amounted to throttling free speech.

"You have shade, water, food facilities, urinals here. There are three hospitals over there (at Ramlila). Do they want that place to be utilised like that? We are beseeching the conscience of the government. It is a surprising decision. It is patently unfair," Singh said.

The shopkeepers in the area appeared divided on the issue. While some rejoiced at the prospect of "some semblance of order", others lamented that they were staring at losses and possible closure.

"See, it may appear that we do brisk business whenever there are protests but on the contrary we suffer losses. The police puts up barricades and restrict movements in the area which does not really help. And the protesters from near and far prefer to eat at the nearby Gurdwara rather than shelling out money," said a shopkeeper, who has been doing business in the Central Delhi neighbourhood since 1992.

But Vishnu, who runs a mini grocery store of sorts, disagreed. His business, along with that of three others adjoining his shop, depends entirely on protesters, he said.

Ankit, a water vendor, believes opening up the street to public transport will help. "If buses start running and passenger shelters are put up, there will be an uptick in sales," he said.

Jantar Mantar, named after a nearby astronomical observatory built by Maharajah Sawaii Jai Singh II of Jaipur, emerged as the protest square after the government banned demonstrations at the Boat Club area near Rajpath in the late '80s.

The proximity to seats of power like the Parliament, North Block, South Block and a number of ministries, and good connectivity from all parts of the city added to the site's popularity.

Meanwhile, there has been no communication from the authorities, the police or the New Delhi Municipal Council regarding the ban, said Shyamlal Bharti, who left his family behind in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh to get official acknowledgment of the "fact that he conceptualised MNREGA".

MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) is a demand-driven wage employment programme.

Protest veterans like Machindranath Suryawanshi, locally known as the 'Juta Mar Baba' for his strangely-named 'Akhil Bharatiya Juta Mar Andolan', and Jaswant Singh from Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh don't seem particularly bothered.

Suryawanshi, who hails from Maharashtra's Latur, says his movement is against the all-pervasive corruption. In his spare time, he doubles up as a writer of letters or petitions for others who flock to him for help.

Singh, who claims to have served the Uttarakhand Police at some point, says his "one man struggle" is to get justice for two youths of an indigenous tribe of the hill state who were jailed "wrongfully" in 2005.

"Idhar, hum zameen mai sote hai, aasman ko orke, hume kis baat ka dar ya pareshaani. (Here we sleep on the ground, embracing the sky, what will we be worried or scared about).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Heavy rains accompanied by lightning wreaked havoc in Palghar district neighbouring Mumbai today, leaving three persons dead and 15 injured in separate incidents.

The lightning struck at various places across the district, causing damage to a temple and a bungalow in Thane city, Palghar District Disaster Control Officer (DDCO) Vishwajit Kadam said.

The deaths due to bolts from the sky were reported in Manor, Kev and Kasrud villages in the district.

The deceased are identified as Sangeeta Sutar, Ekanth Shelar, and Bharat Pardhi.

At least thirteen people were injured in separate incidents of lightning strike in Manor and Mhaskarpada villages while two persons were injured in a similar incident in Kallalepada hamlet in Boisar taluka of the district, Kadam said.

All the injured were admitted to various state-run health centres in the district.

In Palghar town, the wall of a bakery collapsed due to heavy rain, but nobody was injured in the incident.

At Tembikhodave hamlet, part of a temple was damaged in the lightning strike.

At Makunsaar village, electricity polls collapsed due to heavy rains.

Palghar District Collector said that the administration is closely monitoring the situation and is coordinating with various agencies.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The later afternoon thundershowers brought a temporary relief to Mumbaikars battling the sultry October heat and increased humidity since last few days.

"The city was expecting to get some showers, as the daytime temperature in the last two days was around 34 degree Celsius, which was more than one to two degree Celsius above the normal maximum temperature. The showers will bring some relief to citizens," K S Hosalikar, deputy Director, India Meteorological Department (IMD), Mumbai, told PTI.

The weather department has also issued a forecast of similar thundershowers tomorrow as well.

The thundershowers, which started at around 4 P.M, however, didn't have any impact on the schedule of suburban trains.

According to the Met official, most of the times such thundershowers are the part of the returning monsoon.

"A strong wind followed by lightening and showers is a common phenomenon. And such showers generally continue for two hours," the official said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BJP chief Amit Shah today said his party's government has ensured that tribal regions in Gujarat are not behind any other part in development as he blamed lopsided policies of earlier governments in the country for their lack of progress nationally.

Under the Modi government, Shah said, time had come for tribals to attain "self-rule" in its true sense.

In a blog, Shah said that in his home state of Gujarat, where the BJP has been in power for over two decades, 14.75 per cent of budget is spent on the development of tribals, who are in considerable numbers in 14 districts.

"It is due to the efforts of BJP governments that Gujarat's tribal areas are not behind other regions in any criterion of development," Shah said.

Gujarat is going to polls later this year and has significant tribal population.

He said the BJP government at the Centre had started a welfare scheme for tribals in 2014 and later brought in a law to ensure that 10 per cent of royalty on the income made from minerals, which are mostly in areas inhabited by scheduled tribes, is spent on developing these places.

Over Rs 9,100 crore has been deposited in District Mineral Foundation constituted for this purpose, he said, adding the money will be spent on local area development.

"Tribals, like the rest of the country, got self-rule in 1947 when the British left, but the time has come for them to attain self-rule in the true sense and the BJP and the Modi government are fully committed in this direction," he said.

In this context, Shah mentioned his recent three-day stay in Jharkhand, where he visited the village of tribal legend and freedom fighter Birsa Munda.

The BJP government in the state has prepared a programme for all-round development of villages of martyrs, he said. It is paying tributes to them with its work and not just flowers, he added.

Tribals had been left behind in development as they lived in remote areas and also due to apathy of governments which exploited mines and minerals but did not work to develop those places, he said.

The previous NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee had formed a ministry for the development of tribals, he noted.

The way the Modi government is working, all regions with tribal population, including the Northeast, will have all- round development and they will complete their journey from 'swaraj' (self-rule) to 'suraj' (good governance), he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Uttarakhand High Court has asked the CBI to explain what steps it has taken to probe the alleged irregularities - running into hundreds of crores of rupees - in the procurement of land for NH-74 in Udham Singh Nagar district.

The Trivendra Singh Rawat government in the state had recommended the investigation more than six months ago.

The scam relates to land acquisition for widening the National Highway-74, for which farmland was shown asnon- agricultural land allegedly with the complicity of officials to increase compensation by up to 20 times. Irregularities to the tune of Rs 240 crore were detected in the scam by the SIT.

A division bench of the high court comprising Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Lokpal Singh yesterday asked the CBI to file an affidavit before it by October 28, explaining the steps it has taken to investigate the alleged scam.

The order came on a plea by Rudrapur resident Ram Narayan who had sought a CBI probe in the matter, his lawyer Aditya Singh said.

The alleged scam happened during the previous government.

It was unearthed after the BJP came to power in the state in March. Chief Minister Rawat soon recommended a CBI probe into the issue on the basis of a report submitted by then Kumaon commissioner D Senthil Pandiyan, who headed an Special Investigation Team (SIT) which was looking into the scam.

However, a CBI probe is yet to be ordered in the matter.

The opposition Congress has accused the BJP government at the Centre of shying from a CBI probe to save some influential people involved.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The UK government today unveiled plans to impose a near-total ban on the sale and export of ivory products, a move that is likely give a boost to global elephant conservation plan.

UK Environment Secretary Michael Gove announced a consultation to end the trade in ivory of all ages as a "radical and robust" action against the menace of elephant poaching for their tusks.

An estimated 20,000 elephants are killed every year in Hong Kong and Asia to feed the global ivory trade and conservationists, in the UK led by Prince William, warn that unless action is taken elephants could become extinct in some countries within decades.

"The need for radical and robust action to protect one of the world's most iconic and treasured species is beyond dispute. Ivory should never be seen as a commodity for the financial gains or a status symbol so we want to ban its sale," Gove said.

The plans will put the UK "front and centre" of global efforts to end the trade in ivory, he added.

Gove also said that the decline in elephant populations fuelled by poaching for their tusks "shames our generation."



At present, there is a ban on sale of raw ivory in the UK but the sale of "worked" or "carved" older ivory ornaments and antique items, made before 1947, to other country is allowed.

Campaigners claim that this legal market has been used as a cover for illegal ivory trade.

The new consultation launched today encompasses antique ivory produced before 1947.

However, there would be exemptions for items such as pianos with ivory keys, items with historical value and sales to and between museums.

The UK would be following the US, which has already introduced a similar ban, while China and Hong Kong have promised to close their ivory markets.

The 12-week consultation process on the new proposals, which ends on December 29, will lead to new draft legislation covering a ban on sales and exports in the UK by the New Year.

While environmental groups have welcomed the government's new stand, there are concerns over the size and scale of exemptions to the ban, which could become loopholes and undermine attempts at a complete crackdown on the global ivory trade.

"This illegal trade involving organised criminals is a global problem requiring global solutions; to end it anywhere means ending it everywhere," World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) CEO Tanya Steele said.

"This is about a lot more than banning ivory sales in one country. It means working with global leaders and communities around the world, particularly in China and south-east Asia, to implement bans and stop the illegal trade," she added.

In October 2018, the UK is set to host a major international conference on the illegal wildlife trade, bringing global leaders to London to tackle the strategic challenges of the trade.

It is hoped that the new near-total ban will be in place by then.

The US-based Wildlife Conservation Society said it was "a critical step in joining other nations to reverse the precipitous decline of African elephants."



"The implementation of a strict ban without loopholes that traders can exploit is essential in the fight against the poaching of elephants and the trafficking in their ivory," it added.

After China, the United States is the world's second- largest consumer market for illegal ivory. The US has announced a near-total ban on the trade of African elephant ivory with the exception of antiques.

China has also said it will ban all ivory trade and processing by the end of the year.

African ivory is highly sought after in China, where it is seen as a status symbol and its price goes up to USD 1,000 a kilo.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The US today condemned the terror attack on a Shia shrine in Pakistan's troubled Balochistan province that killed 18 people while asserting that it would continue to work with its partners to combat the terrorism.

"We offer our deepest condolences to the victims and their families, and wish a speedy recovery to those injured," State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said.

She said the US continues to work with Pakistan and its partners across the region to combat terrorism.

"We stand with the people of Pakistan and the broader South Asia region in their fight against terrorism," she said.

A suicide bomber yesterday blew himself up at the Dargah Fatehpur in the Jhal Magsi district of Balochistan, killing at least 18 people and injuring 25 others.

The ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack in a brief statement carried by its propaganda 'Amaq' agency.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Export of American crude oil to India will create jobs, economic stability and national security in both countries, US Energy Secretary Rick Perry has said, days after the first ever shipment of US crude oil landed in Odisha.

The shipment, loaded at Saint James, Louisiana and Freeport, Texas terminals last month, docked at Paradip port in Odisha on October 2.

"This event represents the growing and important strategic energy partnership between the US and India, and I look forward to exploring new opportunities to expand the role of reliable, responsible, and efficient energy sources with our allies," Perry said yesterday.

He said the export of US crude oil to India will create jobs, economic stability and national security in both countries.

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US, Indian companies ramped up purchases of American crude.

To encourage US crude purchases, the government has allowed refiners to use a foreign rather than an Indian-owned vessel for the purchase. Indian refiners typically have to use domestic vessels for their crude imports.

In a blog post yesterday, the US State Department said increased Indian purchases of US crude oil are a direct outcome of the June visit of Modi to the White House during which the leaders committed to expanding and elevating bilateral energy cooperation through a Strategic Energy Partnership.

"We expect this first shipment of crude oil will be followed by many more as both the Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum have placed orders for over 2 million barrels from the United States," said Tom Vajda, Office Director for the India Desk in the South and Central Asia Bureau of the State Department.

US crude oil shipments to India have the potential to boost bilateral trade by up to USD 2 billion.

"Not only does this week's shipment demonstrate the strength of the US-India bilateral relationship, but also how our relationship with India continues to benefit the American economy," Vajda said.

Buying US crude has become attractive for Indian refiners after the differential between Brent (the benchmark crude or marker crude that serves as a reference price for buyers in western world) and Dubai (which serves as a benchmark for countries in the east) has narrowed.

India, the world's third-largest oil importer, joins Asian countries like South Korea, Japan and China to buy US crude after production cuts by oil cartel OPEC drove up prices of Middle East heavy-sour crude, or grades with a high sulphur content.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A woman director of two Dubai- based firms, arrested in a money laundering case relating to the Rs 3,600 crore VVIP chopper deal, today sought bail from a special court.

Shivani Saxena, an "active" director of Dubai-based M/s UHY Saxena and M/s Matrix Holdings, told special judge Arvind Kumar that the investigation against her was complete as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has already filed a charge sheet.

Senior advocate Mohit Mathur, appearing for Saxena, told the court that the allegations against her were not serious because in the CBI case, based on which the current money laundering matter was filed, she was not an accused.

During the hearing which remained inconclusive, the advocate said that Saxena was suffering from various ailments and she should be granted the relief. The court will resume the hearing tomorrow.

The ED had on September 13 filed a charge sheet against her and others.

Shivani Saxena and her husband Rajiv are residents of Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, an archipelago which is home to the most expensive properties in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the charge sheet said.

The ED alleged that the two Dubai-based firms were the entities "through which the proceeds of crime have been routed and further layered and integrated in buying the immovable properties/shares, among others" in this case.

The agency claimed that its probe had found that AgustaWestland, United Kingdom, had "paid an amount of Euro 58 million as kickbacks" through two Tunisia-based firms.

"These companies further siphoned off the said money in the name of consultancy contracts to M/s Interstellar Technologies Limited, Mauritius and others which were further transferred to M/s UHY Saxena and M/s Matrix Holdings Ltd, Dubai and others," the charge sheet had alleged.

The ED had also arrested in this case Delhi-based businessman Gautam Khaitan who is currently out on bail. It had registered a PMLA case in 2014 and named 21 people in its money laundering FIR.

On January 1, 2014, India had scrapped the contract with Finmeccanica's British subsidiary AgustaWestland for supplying 12 AW-101 VVIP choppers to the IAF over alleged breach of contractual obligations and charges of kickbacks of Rs 423 crore paid by it to secure the deal.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
West Bengal governor Keshari Nath Tripathi today expressed deep grief on the death of seven defence personnel in an IAF chopper crash near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.

In a statement released from Raj Bhavan here Tripathi conveyed his condolences and sympathy to the bereaved families.

An Mi-17 V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh today killing all seven military personnel, icluding two pilots and two armymen on board at around 6.30 am.

The chopper, which had taken off from Khirmu helipad near Tawang and was on its way to Yangste, was on air maintenance mission and was also scheduled to drop off kerosene jerry cans at an Army camp.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The 3-day international exhibition - 'World Dental Show 2017' opened in Mumbai today showcasing the evolving global technologies and techniques in dentistry.

The exhibition was hosted by the Indian Dental Association (IDA) has witnessed participation from the international exhibitors from China, Germany, Israel, Malaysia, Russian Federation, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, UK and US, numbering about 120 are displaying their latest dental wares in 250 well furnished stalls.

"I congratulate the IDA for its plans to launch its new research and educational centre at its head office in Mumbai. I suggest that the 'Make in India' initiative we should not depend only on foreign imports on dental material and equipment but indigenously produce the same on our own here in the country. I assure that I would extend all possible help from Maharashtra Government to support IDA in whatever help needed in development of dental research and trade," Maharashtra industry minister Subhash Desai said after inauguration.

The show will facilitate the Exhibitors from across the globe to meet the 'who is who' in the Indian dental arena and provide them to use this platform to build networks of influence, launch new products and create awareness about new clinical claims, IDA secretary Ashok Dhoble said.

*********************** ECGC signed an MoU with AOFI



Mumbai: Specialised state-owned insurer, ECGC today said that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Export Credit Agency of Serbia which aims at developing cooperation between the Serbian and Indian export credit agencies to increase the mutual trade of goods and services between the two countries.

The MoU includes exchange of information and mutual assistance and cooperation in training staff and organisation of workshops on export credits matters. *************************** USIF to set up office in Mumbai and Delhi



Mumbai: US Immigration Fund, which is the largest EB-5 fund raiser in the world, has decided to set up initial offices in Mumbai and Delhi to attract Indian investors seeking permanent residency in the United States.

Speaking at a press event in Mumbai, Nicholas A. Mastroianni II, the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the multi-billion dollar US Immigration Fund said that India is fast catching up with China in creating investors who believe in expanding businesses overseas.

The EB-5 program was created by the US Congress in 1990 to enable high-net-worth foreign investors to obtain a American visa by investing in a US-based business in a manner that would benefit its economy by creating jobs.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
In a letter on Friday, Enders defended the decision to report anomalies to UK authorities, which had triggered the probes, and said he and general counsel John Harrison had the board's backing to "lead us through the process of bringing this issue to closure".

The potentially lengthy investigations could however lead to "significant penalties" against Airbus, he said, according to a text obtained by .

Airbus declined to comment.

Enders wrote to staff as fresh reports emerged over a separate investigation into alleged fraud in the sale of Eurofighter combat jets to Austria in 2003.

Enders is among individuals placed under investigation in Austria over the case, which is also the subject of a lengthy probe in Germany. He has denied any wrongdoing and criticised the Vienna probe as an abuse of the legal system.

Munich prosecutors said on Friday they expected soon to complete their investigations into the $2 billion deal, but declined to comment on a report by German weekly Der Spiegel that they would file charges soon.

French publication Mediapart said on Friday a vehicle allegedly used to funnel payments in the Eurofighter case had also served as a conduit for wider payments to obscure jurisdictions. Such payments are being investigated in the investigation over Airbus's use of middlemen in foreign deals.

Airbus has denied any wrongdoing in the Austria case. It had no immediate comment on the Mediapart story.

Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO) launched a probe into the use of agents in commercial jet deals in 2016, followed this year by France's fraud police.

The SFO acted after Airbus alerted UK authorities to inaccurate statements it had itself made over several years on the use of intermediaries in applications for support for jetliner exports.

Airbus has meanwhile launched a sweeping internal investigation in the hopes of obtaining a deferred prosecution agreement from the UK, which could lead to a costly settlement such as one Rolls-Royce agreed with UK authorities earlier this year.

The use of outside U.S. lawyers and robust questioning of staff has raised hackles inside the company and led to French media speculation of a backlash against German-born Enders.

But in the letter, Enders spoke of attacks by vested interests and urged staff to ignore "simplistic and nationalistic bluster" and to focus on industrial priorities.

He called on staff to support the top management and the board in tackling the compliance issues and predicted Airbus would emerge stronger from the affair.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by John Irish and Susan Fenton)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
LONDON (Reuters) - National banking regulators will get leeway in applying a new rule aimed at ensuring that lenders hold enough long-term funding, the global Basel Committee said on Friday.

The new rule is known as the net stable funding ratio, or NSFR, and the discretion is aimed at gaining national regulator support to ensure the regulation stays on track for next year.

"This should facilitate the implementation of the NSFR, which is expected to begin on 1 January 2018," Basel said in a statement following a two-day meeting.

Banks say the rule unduly penalised them in the way derivatives liabilities are treated when calculating the ratio.

The committee has agreed to allow member countries to apply a much lighter treatment for derivatives liabilities, Basel said.

The rule, part of the Basel III accord aimed at averting a repeat of the 2007-09 global banking crisis, has faced opposition. The U.S. Treasury Department has called for a delay until the NSFR is "appropriately calibrated and assessed" to avoid unnecessary capital and liquidity requirements.

"The committee is considering whether any further revisions to the treatment of derivative liabilities are warranted, and if so, will undertake a public consultation on any proposed changes," Basel said.

Michael Lever, head of prudential at AFME, a European banking industry body, welcomed the announcement.

"It will be important however that these authorities apply this discretion in a proportionate, transparent and consistent fashion," Lever said.

There should also be an appropriate observation period before making any further adjustments, Lever added.

Basel did not comment on whether it made progress this week on completing other Basel III rules which face divisions between Europe and the United States.

(Reporting by Huw Jones,; Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Ed Osmond)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Shares in Indian retailer Shoppers Stop rose nearly 9 percent to a three-year high on Friday, a day after it agreed to sell its supermarket chain Hypercity to domestic rival Future Retail for 6.55 billion rupees ($100.42 million).

The deal also sent shares of Future Retail sharply higher, as investors bet it would improve its growth prospects as Indian shoppers increasingly switch from buying groceries at mom-and-pop stores to bigger supermarkets such as Hypercity.

In a deal announced late Thursday, the companies said Future Retail is buying a 100 percent stake in Hypercity by purchasing Shoppers Stop's 51.09 percent shareholding and the remainder from real estate developer K. Raheja and related companies.

Analysts said selling off its supermarket chain would allow Shoppers Stop to focus on its core department store business and cut debt levels, while Future Retail, which operates the Big Bazaar supermarket chain, will be able to expand its store count in the country to more than 900.

"We expect the deal to be a winwin proposition for both players," said Edelweiss in a note to clients.

Shoppers Stop shares were up 1.1 percent at 0940 GMT, after earlier rising as much as 8.7 percent to their highest since October 2014. Future Retail shares were up 2 percent after earlier rising as much as 6.1 percent.

The cash-and-stock deal includes 1.55 billion rupees in cash and 5 billion rupees worth of shares with the remainder being debt.

The deal is expected to close in three to five months, the companies said.

Shoppers Stop also received a boost last month when an affiliate of Amazon.com agreed to buy a 1.79 billion rupee stake in the Indian retailer.

"We believe, Shoppers Stop Ltd is in a sweet spot," said Edelweiss in its note to clients.

($1 = 65.2600 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Swati Bhat; Editing by Sunil Nair)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hundreds of government employees file in and out of the U.S. agency for auto safety in Washington every working day, investigating potentially dangerous vehicles and managing a $900 million annual budget.

But an administrator is not among them - nobody has been nominated to the top job since President Donald Trump took office.

Also missing from the roughly 550 people on the payroll of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA, are a permanent chief counsel, director for government affairs, chief financial officer and enforcement chief.

While a deputy administrator was appointed last week, slow progress in bringing in senior politically appointed officials has nearly frozen key decision-making at the agency, according to five former NHTSA officials, consumer groups, lawmakers and some business leaders.

They said that without leadership in place NHTSA has either pushed back or failed to act on rules setting new standards for improving how buses fare in rollover crashes, a system to remind passengers in rear seats to wear seat belts, and new tire standards.

Eight months into Trump's presidency, senior positions in many government agencies across Washington remain vacant, including roles at the State Department, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and throughout the Transportation Department that oversees NHTSA.

Some of the vacancies are the result of Trump's efforts to slim down the federal bureaucracy. Others are simply waiting to be filled.

The White House blames Democrats for dragging out the confirmation process for its nominees, and says vetting picks has been more complicated than usual because many come from the business world rather than government.

While many companies applaud Trump's moves to roll back federal bureaucracy, some also complain that delays in bringing aboard political appointees is hindering government decisions that could impact business.

The frustration extends to some U.S. diplomats, private-sector lawyers and others who regularly deal with government agencies, according to interviews.

'IN A STALL'

In September, the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association urged Trump in a letter to accelerate his efforts to nominate a NHTSA administrator so the agency can comply with a 2015 road safety law passed by Congress.

The law ordered NHTSA to write regulations setting minimum tire standards for fuel efficiency and traction in wet conditions and create an online database for consumers to check for tire recalls.

U.S. manufacturers and consumer groups support the regulations, drawn up in response to vehicle deaths linked to faulty tires, because they will raise standards and make the U.S. market less accessible to poorly made versions.

"We don't want the U.S. to be kind of the dumping group for the really low technology because there isn't a standard to meet," said Dan Zielinski, the association's senior vice president.

Two former NHTSA leaders and consumer groups say the agency is also moving slowly on other regulatory issues, such as improving side impact standards.

"This agency is in a stall ... They are not going to do very much without political leadership," said Joan Claybrook, a former NHTSA administrator under President Jimmy Carter and a prominent consumer advocate.

NHTSA said in a statement Friday that safety is its top priority. The agency is "committed to meeting all obligations as required" by the 2015 law. NHTSA has an ongoing review of all regulatory actions as part of an administration-wide effort.

A White House spokeswoman declined to comment on NHTSA but said "capable and professional staff" are filling essential positions throughout the government on an acting basis until confirmations go through.

Leadership shortages extend beyond the NHTSA. The White House had by Oct. 4 nominated 387 political appointees for civilian positions in the executive branch and 160 have been confirmed by the U.S. Senate, according to the non-partisan Partnership for Public Service.

Both numbers were well below those in the first eight months under at least the last four presidents. In the same period of Barack Obama's presidency, 497 candidates were nominated and 337 confirmed.

One senior administration official said it aims to have all top positions - those at the level of assistant secretary and above - nominated by year's end.

Still, some political appointee jobs are expected to stay empty, the White House spokeswoman said. "The federal government has grown unrestrained for decades because politicians have been too afraid to 'drain the swamp'," she said.

Follow Trump's impact on energy, environment, healthcare, immigration and the economy at The Trump Effect https://www. .com/trump-effect

'BEHIND THE CURVE'

In many cases, dire warnings from opponents that Trump's delays in putting forward political nominations for approval would cause chaos have proven overblown.

But there are examples of government slowing down because mid-level employees do not have the authority or are unwilling to make decisions.

At the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which analyzes proposed transactions to ensure they do not harm national security, private-sector lawyers complain of slow decisions on big deals.

"There is an unwillingness for the staff people to make a decision," said Michael Gershberg, a trade and investment attorney with Fried Frank.

A lobbyist who works on CFIUS deals said some companies have had to refile proposals because CFIUS failed to reach a decision within 75 days. That drives up legal and financing fees and creates uncertainty about the deal. Deals that have been refiled include a bid by Jack Ma's Ant Financial to buy MoneyGram and Zhongwang USA's $2.33 billion bid for Aleris Corp.

The Senate last week confirmed Heath Tarbert, who is expected to oversee CFIUS, as an assistant secretary of the Treasury.

At the State Department, only six of the top 40 jobs have been filled, and no confirmed officials are in place to run regional bureaus that handle foreign relations. Instead, they are in the hands of career diplomats with limited authority.

The United States does not have an ambassador in place in such key allied countries as South Korea, Jordan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

"We're pretty much frozen in amber here," one official said.

A congressional aide said it was hard to determine the precise impact of the vacancies.

But he added that U.S. policy in the North Korea missiles crisis would likely be helped by an ambassador in Seoul, a fully empowered assistant secretary of state for East Asia and an active special envoy for North Korea.

"That's just one example in the region with the most prominent national security crisis, and really one of the most serious in a long time," he said.

Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, testifying in Congress on Sept. 26, addressed the slow pace of filling posts.

"We're behind the curve. We should be ahead of the curve. And we're doing all we can to catch up," he said. "Our work is getting done. It would be better done if we had those positions filled."

(Additional reporting by Roberta Rampton, Diane Bartz and Warren Strobel; Editing by Kieran Murray and Paul Thomasch)

(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.)
By Ami Miyazaki and Linda Sieg

TOKYO (Reuters) - Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, whose new conservative party is challenging Japan's ruling bloc in an Oct. 22 election, said on Friday she would not visit the controversial Yasukuni Shrine for war dead if she ever became prime minister.

Koike, often floated as a possible first female Japanese premier, reiterated, however, that she did not intend to run in the election and said nothing would change her mind. Speculation has persisted despite her repeated denials.

Asked if she hoped to become prime minister, Koike told Reuters: "My strong intention is to do my best as the governor of Tokyo, so I have not thought about that."

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the lower house election in hopes his ruling bloc would keep its majority in the chamber, where it now has a two-thirds "super" majority, but Koike's fledgling Party of Hope has clouded the outlook.

Koike calls her party a "reformist, conservative party", and many of its security and diplomatic policies echo those of Abe's equally conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).

Abe, who took office nearly five years ago, visited Yasukuni Shrine, seen by China and South Korea as a symbol of Japan's past militarism, in December 2013. The visit sparked an outcry from Beijing and Seoul and an expression of disappointment from ally Washington and he has not gone in person since then.

Koike, 65, who has visited the shrine herself, said paying respects to war dead was common in other countries but added she would not go if she were premier based on a "comprehensive decision" balancing personal beliefs and diplomacy.

"I would refrain from that," she said.

A former LDP member and defence minister, Koike also said

there was no need for a major change in the Bank of Japan's hyper-easy monetary policy and there should not be any sudden change under the next central bank chief.

Noting that the BOJ had adopted a hyper-easy monetary policy, she added: "Unfortunately, this has not cured deflation. But I think there is no need for a big change in direction."

Asked about desirable policy under the next BOJ governor, she said, "There will probably be parts that are an extension of current policy. If there were a sudden change, I think that would have an impact on the stock market."

BOJ Governor Haruhiko has been the main architect of monetary policy under Abe, and his five-year term expires in April.

Koike also said, however, that there was need for bolder, speedier reforms than those carried out by the prime minister.

"In a fast-changing world, Japan's progress is way too slow," said Koike, who first entered parliament from a small reformist party in 1992 and later joined the LDP. She defied the LDP to run for governor last year and her novice local party won a July Tokyo assembly poll by a landslide.

(Reporting by Linda Sieg and Ami Miyazaki; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Nick Macfie)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Weeks after tension in Doklam rose, the Chinese mission to India issued its first advisory to its citizens against travelling in India. This advisory, issued in July, asked Chinese citizens to maintain a low profile and to respect Indian laws and law enforcement officials. The next advisory was issued in August, reinstating the cautionary statements. Now, more than a month after the standoff was resolved, the Chinese Embassy in India has reissued its advisory. The statement, first after the standoff was resolved, warned Chinese citizens of probable situations that they might face and that the Embassy has addressed recently.

The statement included instances like denial of visas or even investigation. It also mentioned that Chinese citizens might not get visas to visit "restricted areas" like Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The statement mentioned that some tourists were also asked to return upon arrival, while some were arrested or investigated, an Indian Express report mentioned. "(Visitors should) not photograph India's border and military facilities and vehicles. While travelling on India's border neighbouring Nepal, avoid visiting border markets, and do not enter the territory of other countries by mistake," the advisory further mentioned.

Chinese citizens make up for 3% of foreign tourists visiting India every year. From January - May 2017, 1,19,000 Chinese citizens visited India. As for Indian tourists, China is emerging as a very popular destination, with the count estimated to reach 50 million by 2020.



It must be mentioned here that sources have claimed that China has retained 1,000 of its troops in the plateau. They have even started building a road to the Doklam plateau, just 10 km away from the site of the last standoff.



Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa said on Thursday, "The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, their forces in Chumbi Valley are still deployed and I expect them to withdraw as their exercise in the area gets over."

However, if China continues to increase the strength of its troops in the plateau, it could escalate tension between the two countries, as India might be concerned with this move.
The Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council meet that was held in the national capital on Friday saw several decisions to ease tax compliance for small taxpayers along with tax rates slashed for a total of 27 items. The concerns about delayed tax refunds raised by exporters were also taken up during the meeting and remedies, both short-term and long-terms have been devised. This was the 22nd meeting of the all-powerful GST Council.

"After receiving GST return for July and August, we have come to know of the experiences and transitions faced by traders of various kinds. Traders and states have expressed their concerns to us. Small scale enterprises and exports were two major concerns among them, Arun Jaitley said at the press briefing after the GST Council meet," said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier said that the government has taken feedback regarding GST. "We have directed the GST Council to resolve the bottlenecks in GST implementation. All the concerns of businesses will be addressed by this government," PM Modi said on difficulties being faced by traders and businesses after GST implementation. PM further added that 19 lakh new taxpayers came into the tax net after GST implementation and at least 1 lakh youth have been received training in the nuances of the indirect tax regime.

GST rate cuts

Several items had disguised excise attached to them during the VAT regime which led these items getting placed in higher tax slabs under GST on the basis of equivalence, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while addressing a press briefing after the GST Council meet.

The goods which saw a decline in GST rates include sliced dried mangoes (5%), khakra and plan chapati (5%), ICDS food packets (5%), unbranded namkeen (5%), unbrabded ayurvedic medicines (5%), plastic waste (5%), rubber waste (5%), paper waste (5%), manmade yarn (12%), flooring stones expect marble and granite (18%), stationary items (18%), clips (18%), diesel engine parts (18%), pumps parts (18%), and e-waste (5%).

Moreover, job works related to zari embroidery, imitation jewellery, food items, printing, and government contracts involving high element of labour will all attract GST at the rate of 5 per cent.

GST made easy for small businesses

The GST Council also approved raising the threshold for composition scheme from Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore, along with allowing quarterly filing of returns for businesses with turnover upto 1.5 crore . These decisions are expected to lessen tax compliance burden on small and medium taxpayers.

Under the composition scheme, businesses pay a fixed rate to avoid GST paperwork. It is believed that the higher thresholds will ease the compliance burden and also reduce the filing load on the system. In composition scheme, taxpayers are classified under three categories based on the GST rates they pay - traders pay 1 per cent GST, manufacturers 2 per cent and restaurants are charged 5 per cent GST.

Moreover, taxpayers which are exempt from composition scheme but annual turnover up to Rs 1.5 crore will file their GST returns on quarterly basis istead of every month.

"The system of quarterly retruns will be operationalied from October 1, and GST returns for the same will have to be filed in January. However, the return for the month of July that is to be filed till October 10 has not been relented. So small taxpayers should not think that they do not have to file any taxes this month. We will inform about the necessary details regarding August in due time," said Hasmukh Adhia, Secretary to GST Counil.

"Bulk of tax revenue which comes from big players will be encouraged, whereas medium and small taxpayers will be kept in the tax net with minimum tax burden to enhance the tax base," said the Finance Minister.

GST rate cut for AC restaurants

GST Council meet today also recommended setting up Group of Ministers to examine key rate cut issues regarding AC restaurants. The committee will come up with mechanism to reduce GST on AC restaurants in ten days. GST Council has also discussed bringing down tax rate on AC restaurants with no ITC from 18 per cent to 12 per cent.

Relief to exporters

The GST Council also devised methods to ensure faster tax refund to xporters in response to representations about their working capital being held up in the form of delayed refunds. Now, exporters will receive cheque of their refunds by Ocrober 10 for the returns filed in July and October 18 for the returns filed in August. But, this would be an interim solution, said Jaitley.

He further added, "As a long-term solution, an e-wallet will be created for every exporter in which a notional amount would be credited as advance refund and they can pay their IGST or GST paid through this. The credited amount will be offset from their actual refund. This arrangement will be developed by an appropriate technology company by April 1, 2018".

e-Way Bill round the corner

Finance Minister Jaitley said that e-way bill software has been made functional in the state of Karnataka on pilot basis with pleasant experiences. Nation-wide roll put will begin from the month of January next year, he added.

The govenment intends to completely implement e-way bill software across India by April 2018.
In little over a month from now, sometime in later half of November to be precise, Soumya Swaminathan will head for Geneva. This scientist-doctor (she is a pediatrician by profession) will be taking charge as the Deputy Director General (programmes) at the World Health Organisation (WHO). She incidently is the first Indian to take up this role. Known for her work in tuberculosis, Swaminathan, who currently heads the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) as its Director General, talks to Business Today on her new appointment, her goals and priorities and on what her father Dr M S Swaminathan, known to many as the father of India's green revolution, had to say on his daughter's transition into the new and global role in healthcare. The excerpts:

On her personal goals while at the WHO: My goals and priorities will be aligned with the WHO Director General's (Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus's) goals and priorities.He has already outlined his vision and priorities that have been validated by all the member countries.If you look at those priorities, I agree completely with them be it about universal health coverage, making sure that epidemics are handled properly, addressing the burden of non-communicable diseases or just looking at access to diagnostics and drugs. Those will be my priorities too.But obviously if I work there for a few years, I would hope to feel that I have contributed in some way to global health and to bringing back focus to certain areas. Though helping to achieve universal health would be the biggest challenge and the biggest achievement. And on this, it is the countries that have to really do it . It will need to be done by their ministries of health and by the people. We can only play a stewardship, facilitation, coordination and supporting role in bringing health as a priority for countries.

On where she sees as the key gaps for India in programmes: India has made a commitment to universal health coverage with the plan articulated well in our national health policy. It is not an easy task for a country of India's size and heterogeneity (with relatively low infant mortality rates- IMR) in Kerala, Goa, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to relatively high numbers in Assam, Odisha, Chhattisgarh. So, within the country we have many differences which we need to address and bring everybody upto the same level.

One big gap in India and where she would want to leverage her position to nudge India to move ahead: For us preventive and promotive healthcare is really important right now because that will only keep people in good health. Which is why even in the National Health Policy you will find mention of health and wellness centres and it is there that the preventive and promotive healthcare will be delivered. If we can achieve that then I think we would have had substantial health gain.

Father's reaction to her new role at WHO: In many ways my career seems to have followed his career path except that he did everything at a much younger age. His view is that international exposure brings to you a different kind of perspective and from his own life, he said, he learnt a lot after he went out of the country while for instance, as the Director General, International Rice Research Institute, the Philippines (1982-88). This, he says, helps bring lot of insights and learnings from other countries. So , I am also hoping that my stint at the WHO will also be a good learning experience so that I can come back and keep contributing in India.
Delhi-based real estate tycoon Kushal Pal Singh of DLF was named as the top real estate entrepreneur this year on the Grohe Hurun India Real Estate Rich List, where 60 per cent of the list comprises first generation entrepreneurs. Singh, 87, is the wealthiest real estate baron in the country with a fortune of Rs 23,460 crore, a statement said.

Other self-made entrepreneurs who made the list include Mangal Prabhat Lodha, 61, of Lodha Group in second position and Jitendra Virwani, 51, of Embassy Property Developers, in third position the list revealed. While Lodhas networth stood at Rs 18,610 crore, Virwanis fortune is at Rs 16,700 crore. Smitha V Crishna (66), of Godrej Properties is the richest woman on the list with a fortune of Rs 2,210 crore.

Mumbai came out as the preferred city with 38 individuals making the list, followed by New Delhi and Bengaluru with 19 and 17 individuals respectively, the statement said. "With a growing middle class population, it is imperative that India produces respectable brands in real estate in the next few years," Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and Chief Researcher, Hurun Report India, said in a statement. The report noted that the top five cities accounts for 86 per cent of top 100 real estate rich-listers in India.

The report also cautioned that majority of real estate developers are discreet, "so for every entrepreneur who they have found, they may have missed two." "The cut off of Rs 300 crore is surprisingly low for a big country like India," Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher, Hurun Report Global noted. The report further noted that RBI Housing price index indicates that demonetization has a positive impact on housing prices.

"Housing price index rose 10 per cent for the 9 months ended on September 2017 compared to marginal growth rate of 3 per cent in the previous fiscal. All major cities have recorded a price increase after demonetization except Jaipur where the prices are 3 per cent below the pre-demonetization level," the report said.

Lucknow, Chennai and Ahmedabad recorded post demonetization housing price rise of 30 per cent, 20 per cent and 17 per cent respectively. The report said that based on a survey with the real estate agents in and around the country, one could expect the house price to go up in the short-term and a possible correction in five years especially in small cities. "This is supported by inventory overhang and possible long-term effects of the current GDP slow down," it said.
State owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) network in a bid to counter Reliance Jio has paired with Indian smartphone manufacturers to build low-cost devices which will be paired with voice and data pack bundle to provide more value. According to PTI report this tie-up, BSNL has tied-up with Micromax Informatics and Lava International to build these handsets.

"BSNL has tied up with Micromax and Lava to provide instruments to BSNL customers at low cost. We are coming out with bundled offers on the handsets manufactured by Micromax and Lava with BSNL SIMs...the cost details are being worked out," BSNL's Hyderabad Telecom District (HTD) Principal General Manager K Ramchand told PTI reporters in Hyderabad.

According to him, six rural exchanges are commissioned with Wi-Fi in Hyderabad Telecom District and another 112 rural exchanges will be covered by December end this year.

The launch of the Rs 429 plan led the path to more subscribers in Andhra and Telangana regions. According this new plan from BSNL, the user gets 1GB of data per day for a period of 90 days.

A smaller recharge worth Rs 249 also offers 1GB per day but at a validity of 28 days. As a part of the offer, the company is also offering unlimited BSNL to BSNL calls.

Though BSNL is still operating on 2G and 3G spectrums, the state-owned company is planning to soon launch its 4G services with VoLTE. Also, BSNL is working on 5G speeds to prepare for future competition in the growing segment.

Most telecom companies are shifting to a new strategy to acquire more users. After Reliance Jio launched the JioPhone in July this year, other telecom brands are also preparing their arsenal with ultra-cheap smartphones or feature phones that can operate on 4G networks.

Airtel and Idea-Vodafone are also planning to launch their versions of cheap smartphones, which might also run Android applications, unlike Reliance JioPhone.
The promising artificial intelligence (AI) medical treatment industry, in which AI medical startups in China alone raised more than 18 billion yuan ($2.7 billion) by the end of August, has attracted many big names, both from home and abroad. Photo: Visual China

Over a year ago, a hospital in Hangzhou in eastern Zhejiang province welcomed a new guest: a machine with artificial intelligence (AI) technology that can diagnose solid or fluid-filled lumps in a patients thyroid.

So far, the robot, located in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University, has achieved an accuracy rate of 85%, a higher mark than the doctors from the best hospitals in China, who are 70% correct when diagnosing thyroid nodules.

The machine cant replace human experts for now, but it is hard to tell the future, Dr. Zhao Qiyu, from the ultrasound image department of the Zhejiang University hospital, told Caixin.

Doctors are still at the center of medical treatment, with AI playing only a supporting role. But the promising industry, in which AI medical care startups in China alone raised more than 18 billion yuan ($2.7 billion) by the end of August, has attracted many big names, both home and abroad, to explore opportunities.

U.S. tech giant IBM in 2014 invested $1 billion in the new cognitive business Watson, while Google acquired British AI startup DeepMind, partly for medical data services. Microsoft and Apple have launched several wearables to monitor and collect users physical information.

In China, search engine king Baidu in 2016 rolled out the Baidu Brain to aid doctors when they consult with patients remotely over the internet. Alibaba-affiliated AliHealth debuted its medical image processing platform Doctor You in July to support doctors. And Tencent, a month later, unveiled an AI-aided product to assist doctors in screening for early-stage esophageal cancer.

AI is just starting in the medical world, and if it is to become more important than just an assistant, it must overcome issues such as access to patients data, which are largely locked within the hospital system in China, and it must develop a viable business model.

Medical Image

Last year, hospitals were just talking about AI. Now many of them have brought it in, said a founder of an AI startup to screen medical images, whose company expands to a new disease every two to three months.

Image recognition for diagnostics has been a hot subindustry where many AI medical firms first start, as medical images are standardized and quantified. Robots study images faster and more accurately than human beings, and they can make up for a shortage in doctors in China.

Zhejiang De Image Solutions Co. Ltd. is the developer behind the thyroid nodules machine in the Zhejiang University hospital. Company Chief Science Officer Kong Dexing said the machine, using deep learning algorithms, can achieve an accuracy rate of 60% after having studied hundreds of cases, and the rate will reach 85% with 140,000 case studies, which is faster than average young doctors.

The technology is a huge supplement to screen ultrasound images that are blurry to the human eye, and is largely applied to observe lung cancer, thyroid cancer and diabetic retinopathy, a diabetes complication that affects eyes and can lead to blindness.

AI image recognition can also relieve pressure from the countrys shortage of doctors. For example, there were more than 68 million people diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy in China, according to a 2016 post by the Fred Hollows Foundation, while the number of oculists was only 36,000, according to a seminar last year.

The proportion of people diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy accounts for only 10% of the real number of sufferers, according to the National Health and Family Planning Commission.

However, so far such image recognition developers havent obtained any medical care permissions from the Chinese authorities, who havent banned them from conducting businesses.

Almost the entire AI industry is operating without any certificates, a founder of an image recognition startup told Caixin. Regulatory approvals also come much slower than the speed at which we innovate, he said.

The startups in the sector have been seeking to work with hospitals and stand-alone image diagnostic centers for larger survival possibilities, and more importantly, for more data.

Hunger for Data

Data is the core of developing AI-based medical care technology. However, such treasure has been closely guarded by hospitals. Startups have been trying to obtain data.

Hospitals are not willing to open their database. For one thing, they are responsible for protecting patients privacy; for another, they dont see the point of sharing, said Yu Zhong, founder and CEO of health care software and solutions developer Meridian Medical Network Corp.

The path to getting data is even thornier. China for now doesnt have a national system that can track clinical records of individuals. Even if some hospitals have started to build such digital platforms, they dont share with one another and the data are not standardized enough for machine use.

Meridian Medical managed to get the data of more than 200 hospitals by partnering with industrial associations, including the Chinese Medical Association and the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology.

Other struggling peers, such as Zhejiang De Image Solutions Co. Ltd., which supplies the thyroid nodules machine, provide equipment and services to hospitals for free, in exchange for access to their data.

Profitability Challenge

IBM has been ahead of worlds major tech companies in expanding to the AI-focused medical care sector. Its Watson for Oncology, a cancer treatment option technology, has landed in 13 countries, including China, where around 200 large and midsized hospitals have applied it to assist doctors.

The technology can provide more affordable cancer treatment solutions, as a patient can get up to 20 options for just a few thousand yuan, said Hua Songyuan, general manager of Hangzhou Cognitive Care, which first introduced IBMs Watson to China in August 2016.

Another major success in the foreign AI medical care industry that has entered China is the da Vinci surgical system, the worlds first robot surgeon to facilitate complex operations. Chinese drugmaker Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co. Ltd. helped da Vinci developer Intuitive Surgical Inc. enter the China market last year.

But neither IBM Watson nor da Vinci has seen encouraging financial returns.

The revenue of IBMs cognitive solutions business, which Watson belongs to, declined 2.5% to $4.6 billion in the second quarter of the year, while gross margin decreased to 79% from 82.2% a year earlier.

Fosun Pharma reported that sales of the da Vinci system were down 52% in the first half of the year on the Chinese mainland and in Hong Kong, as the regulatory approval process was slow.

Other smaller startups in China have struggled as well. Zhejiang De Image Solutions had losses of 6.75 million yuan from 2016 to June 2017, according to its Shenzhen-listed parent company, Zhuhai Hokai Medical Instruments Co. Ltd.

AI medical care has just come out of the laboratory, and still has risks in commercialization, while they face regulatory uncertainties, according to a report by Everbright Securities.

Progress has been slow. Startups have just begun to find some steady clients. Meridian Medical, for example, turned to insurance companies that are willing to pay for Meridians medical data and records to improve their insurance products and pricing models.

Contact reporter Coco Feng (renkefeng@caixin.com)
| BY Ricki Green |

Applications have opened for this years second Copy School in Sydney, sponsored by NewsMediaWorks, with another world-class line-up of guest creative tutors.

Copy School is designed to encourage the best quality copywriting across all media channels and engages some of Australias leading advertising creative directors and copywriters, as well as news media editors, to pass on their knowledge and experience.

Copy School, to be held from Monday 27th November to Friday 1st December as five half-day workshops, is seeking up to 20 young copywriters, or those wanting to become a copywriter, to attend the workshop series.

The convenor of this Copy School is Phillip Putnam who will host some of the industrys best senior creative talent and a senior newspaper editor. All tutors donate their time to be at the Sydney Copy School, including:

Ted Horton  chief creative officer  Big Red, Melbourne

Ralph Van Dyke, founder  Eardrum

Jonathan Kneebone  founder/writer and project director  The Glue Society

Ben Sampson, creative director  The Monkeys

Rebecca Currasco, creative consultant

Tim Brown, creative partner  Disciple

Rob Morrison, creative director, Ogilvy, Sydney

Alexandra Smith, education editor, The Sydney Morning Herald

Roseanna Donovan, creative consultant

Copy School will provide participants with a real world brief that will be presented and critiqued on the final morning of the course.

The workshop fee is just $250 per student. Copy School will donate the fully tax deductible fee to The Oasis Centre, Salvation Army.

Copy School Sydney will be held at Fairfax Media, 1 Darling Island Road, Pyrmont from 9am to 12pm daily.

Says Ray Black, convenor, Copy School: Sydney Copy School continues to be a great success, due in no small part to the commitment and generosity of our tutors. Copy School is focused on how to creative great, effective advertising for brands and has attracted a range of students from junior writers at agencies to marketers themselves.
| BY Ricki Green |

MKTG has launched Awkward, a through-the-line campaign for McGuigan Wines that will roll out

across Australia and the UK.

MKTG won the work after a competitive pitch, and its was selected for its unique approach, offering a single-minded and simple advertising idea around the etiquette of bringing wine to an occasion.

Following the successful introduction of Bring a McGuigan in 2016, this years campaign from MKTG is a humourous series of people cringing as they drink terrible wine  reminding consumers to Bring a McGuigan to avoid ending up in an awkward situation like the people in the images.

MKTGs campaign includes national out of home, print, office display ads, a national off premise program and social media. The campaign will also roll out in the UK in out of home, digital and in-store communication.

Says Roger Maconachie, senior brand manager, McGuigan Wines: We look for brave ideas in a competitive marketplace and the MKTG creative team didnt disappoint. Wine is a highly fragmented category with thousands of me too brands, so it was important we developed creative that would disrupt, entertain and resonate with consumers.

MKTGs Awkward Moments was the stand out idea; the strength was is in its simplicity and recognition of many Australians irreverent sense of humour toward wine etiquette. We enjoyed a very thorough development process with the MKTG team and are confident the campaign will help McGuigan Wines reach its awareness objectives.

Says Cam McGeachie, general manager of MKTG Sydney: We had a lot of fun developing Awkward Moments for McGuigan and were proud to be bringing a fresh style of communication

to the wine category, moving away from the typical flowing wine, vineyeards, cellars and bottles that swamp the industry.

This campaign demonstrates MKTGs power as a strategic and creative business, and we look forward to seeing it drive real retail ROI for McGuigan Wines in Australia and overseas.

Client: Roger Maconachie, Senior Brand Manager, McGuigan Wines

Advertising Agency: MKTG, Sydney

General Manager : Cam McGeachie

National Strategy Director: Michael Blumberg

Creative Lead: Owen Kane

Account director: Erin Hunter

Production: Susan Sheehan
| BY Ricki Green |

RARE, the diversity initiative led by two of Australias leading creatives, is pleased to announce the availability of eight, fully funded scholarships to attend the masterclass between 20  24 November, thanks to Clemenger BBDO Melbourne.

As part of its sponsorship of RARE, Clemenger BBDO has placed eight places on offer to industry talent who arent able to obtain sponsorship via their agencies or those that arent able to self-fund attendance at the event.

Valued at $800 each, the eight places are now open for application on the RARE website, https://rare-syd.com by nominating that youre applying for a scholarship in the application process.

Says Nick Garrett, CEO, Clemenger BBDO Melbourne: RARE is one of those fantastic initiatives that cause you to sit up and take notice, and its a huge honour to do our bit and help support Stef and the team. I firmly believe that diversity of thinking will future proof our industry and were happy to support those who cant otherwise fund their way to the event.

RARE is a four-day masterclass featuring industry leaders from around the world, aimed at giving creative talent from diverse backgrounds the network and knowledge they need to succeed.

Says Stefanie DiGiavincenzo, RARE co-founder and Clemenger BBDO creative director: The response weve had to date has been incredible in that its firmly validated what were doing and why were doing it. These scholarships are incredibly important for those who otherwise mightve been prohibited by cost, and were so grateful to Clemenger for making them possible.

Further information on the RARE program and applications for tickets to the masterclass are available online now at https://rare-syd.com. 80 spots are available, with applications closing on Sunday, October 15.
Friday, October 6, 2017 at 2:26AM

The internet was abuzz with news earlier that Android Wear might have been abandoned by Google after the section dedicated to these products disappeared from the Google Store. But it seems the reason isnt as drastic as that one. With the growing number of Google hardware, it seems the company wants to focus on promoting and selling Google-made products. Hoi Lam, a Googler who works with the Android Wear team, confirmed this news on Twitter. Lam adds they have been working over the past year on custom store fronts with online retailers for Android Wear. You can see his series of tweets below the cut.

Don't be sad!  The Google Store team made a change that they will only stock Google made hardware. 1/  Hoi Lam (@hoitab) October 5, 2017

Our team knew the plan for a year now and invested in custom store fronts with online retailers, e.g. https://t.co/ARBUBReHbq 2/  Hoi Lam (@hoitab) October 5, 2017

Together with all our partners (online / offline), we will reach more people all over the world than ever before! 3/  Hoi Lam (@hoitab) October 5, 2017

When I visited partner stores in London and Shanghai, they couldn't be more excited about our line up this fall!https://t.co/pCMtnDWl64 4/  Hoi Lam (@hoitab) October 5, 2017

On the technical front, I have more to share about how we think about updates - stay tuned! end/

 Hoi Lam (@hoitab) October 5, 2017

Source: Android Authority
Regardless of the time of day I can't think of anywhere else in Australia to rival this as a location for Devonshire Tea. Sure the Blue Mountains has some knock-out tea rooms overlooking the spectacular Megalong Valley escarpment, but this view is even bigger and even more dramatic and what's more, we have it to ourselves. Oh, apart from the lyrebird fossicking through the scrub just behind us, and Kerry Wellsmore, my hosts' straight-talking neighbour (as much as you can be a neighbour when your driveways are five times longer than Northbourne Avenue).
The couple bought the original house in the early 1980s and raised their family there. Mr Meldrum said the decision to knock down the family home was not a hard one to make, given the increasing cost of living and because he and his wife were empty nesters.
But Mr Lowe said the company had not yet formally sought remission, but if it did, it would likely be under the remission's energy efficiency criteria, rather than economic stimulus criteria, as "sustainable development is a principle we actively pursue".
THIS WEEK IN CAPE BRETON: Raising the peace flag, reviewing future plans for Centre 200 and more

SYDNEY  During a time of conflict around the world and with racial tensions on the rise in many parts, its clear there are those who want to find a bright, positive light wherever they can. Over the next several days, the YMCA of Cape Breton will ...
Our Promise: Welcome to Care2, the world's largest community for good. Here, you'll find over 45 million like-minded people working towards progress, kindness, and lasting impact.

Care2 Stands Against: bigots, racists, bullies, science deniers, misogynists, gun lobbyists, xenophobes, the willfully ignorant, animal abusers, frackers, and other mean people. If you find yourself aligning with any of those folks, you can move along, nothing to see here.

Care2 Stands With: humanitarians, animal lovers, feminists, rabble-rousers, nature-buffs, creatives, the naturally curious, and people who really love to do the right thing.

You are our people. You Care. We Care2.
Ford wants to position the next-generation Focus as a more premium product when it finally launches in Europe next year.



This comes from Jim Farley, Fords head of global markets, who spoke to investors after CEO Jim Hackett outlined the companys future plan to cut costs by $14 billion and shift a third of the internal combustion engine budget to electrification purposes, among other, AutoNews reports.

Farley also said that they expect the new Focus volumes to be slightly lower than they are currently, which sounds like the right thing since more and more people switch to SUVs instead.

Ford will follow the same strategy with the Fiesta when the new Focus debuts in Europe in early 2018, with a range-topping Vignale and a crossover-like Active version joining the lineup. It goes upmarket in exactly the same way as the new Fiesta, Farley said.

Ford will continue building the Euro-spec versions of the new Focus in Saarlouis, Germany while the U.S.-spec models will be built in China.

Farley also said that the European arm of Ford will accelerate urban utility products, an area where our brand is really strong, without giving more information. What that means is that Ford could be working on another compact SUV to sit under the Kuga.

After its official debut in January or February of 2018, the new Ford Focus will most likely hit the European dealerships in late summer.

PHOTO GALLERY
Earlier this week, Ford CEO Jim Hackett spoke at Grand Valley State University and told attendees he wouldnt ride in an autonomous vehicle on public roads yet because the trust isnt real high.



That surprised a number of different people considering Ford is investing in the technology and it is notable as GM CEO Mary Barra has taken to Twitter to reveal shes certainly not afraid of autonomous driving. In a tweet, Barra revealed she spent 30 minutes on Wednesday cruising around San Francisco in an autonomous Chevrolet Bolt developed with the assistance of Cruise Automation.

Despite sounding like a perfectly crafted opportunity to troll her crosstown rival, the event was likely setup in advance. However, it sends a not so subtle message that Hackett doesnt believe in his companys technology while Barra does.

Since General Motors acquired Cruise Automation last year, the company has been testing an assortment of autonomous Bolts in San Francisco and Scottsdale, Arizona. The company has also launched an autonomous ride-hailing service called Cruise Anywhere. Even though a handful of its vehicles have been involved in collisions, a spokesperson recently revealed All our incidents this year were caused by the other vehicle.

Photo Gallery
GM is looking to solve some of the worlds toughest transportation challenges with the help of their flexible autonomous fuel cell platform, dubbed the Silent Utility Rover Universal Superstructure, or SURUS.



This platform will be presented at the fall meeting of the Association of the United States Army, and could even be adapted for military use, not just commercial.

SURUS redefines fuel cell electric technology for both highway and off-road environments, said Charlie Freese, executive director of GM Global Fuell Cell Business.

General Motors is committed to bringing new high-performance, zero-emission systems to solve complex challenges for a variety of customers.

SURUS is equipped with GMs new Hydrotec fuel cell system, autonomous features and truck chassis components. Put it all together and you should have a high-performance, zero-emission propulsion system that reduces human exposure to harm and minimizes any logistical burdens. Other benefits include quiet and odor-free operation, off-road mobility, field configuration, instantaneous high torque, exportable power generation, water generation and quick refueling times.

Some of the applications currently evaluated by General Motors for SURUS are utility trucks, mobile and emergency backup power generation, flexible cargo delivery systems, commercial freight, light and medium-duty trucks and military-specific configurations.

Powering the platform are two advanced electric drive units, a lithium-ion battery system and a Gen 2 fuel cell system. It also comes with four-wheel steering, hydrogen storage capabilities and an advanced suspension system.

The hydrogen storage system is said to offer more than 400 miles (643 km) of range.

PHOTO GALLERY
Toyota is looking to appeal to those who would like the roominess of a cargo van and the powerful design of an SUV stuffed together in one vehicle, with the new Tj Cruiser Concept.



Designed for drivers with lifestyles where work and play dovetail seamlessly, according to the manufacturer, the studys Tj initials stand for Toolbox and joy, while the Cruiser has a long tradition with Toyota.

It features a boxy design, special coating used on the hood, roof, and fenders to protect them against scratches and dirt, sturdy suspension, and 20-inch wheels, wrapped in chunky tires, which, combined with the on-demand all-wheel drive system will help it get out of some muddy situations.

Understanding why Toyotas designers chose this weird shape means checking out the cabin, and to do so, you can either use the regular front doors, or the sliding rear ones that provide better access inside. The show cars front and rear passenger seats can be folded down flat, and this allows users to load items up to 3 meters (10 feet) in length.

Moreover, hauling things such as surfboards, bikes, or other equipment can be made safely, thanks to the numerous tie-down points and deck boards that enable easy anchoring.

Beneath its versatile body lies the next-generation TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture), and a hybridized 2.0-liter that have yet to be detailed, but the manufacturer will likely share everything there is to know about the Tj Cruiser Concept during the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show, where it debuts on October 25.

PHOTO GALLERY
Smoking directly next to a fuel pump is never a good idea and if you do it, you probably deserve a Darwin Award.



In Bulgaria recently, the passenger of an Opel Astra thought itd be alright to continue smoking as he pulled up next to a pump. Before long, security camera footage shows a gas station worker coming into view, desperately trying to convince the man to stop smoking.

However, a Carscoops reader tells us that the passenger refused, prompting the worker to unhook a fire extinguisher and spray the passenger to avert a catastrophe.

Despite the worker potentially saving his life, the smoker doesnt seem all that happy with the workers actions, getting into a fierce argument with him shortly after.

Local media publications swiftly caught on to the story with Zapernik reporting that police have launched an investigation into the incident.

VIDEO
The 2019 Infiniti QX50 has been spied by a CarScoops reader in Tennessee.



Set to debut later this year, the redesigned crossover was previewed by the QX50 concept which was unveiled at the North American International Auto Show in January.

Looking instantly recognizable, the production model has a bold front fascia with a prominent grille that is flanked by slender headlights and vertical air intakes. We can also see a sculpted hood, a rakish windscreen, and prominent character lines.

The camouflage hides a number of styling details but the QX50 features a gently sloping roofline and a tailgate-mounted spoiler. Other highlights include slim taillights and a dual exhaust system.

Infiniti has been tight-lipped about the production model but has previous stated a mid-sized crossover could be one of the ideal applications for the 2.0-liter VC-Turbo power unit revealed by the company in 2016. Designed to challenge the notion that hybrid and diesel powertrains are the only engine options that can deliver high levels of efficiency and torque, the 2.0-liter VC-Turbo has an adjustable compression ratio that can be optimized according to driving conditions.

The company hasnt released detailed specifications but the engine is expected to produce around 268 hp (200 kW) and 288 lb-ft (390 Nm) of torque. Regardless of the final numbers, the engine will be introduced next year and promises to be about 27 percent more fuel-efficient than a V6 engine with a similar performance rating.

Thanks to Sam for the pictures!

Photo Gallery
Government agencies auction stuff off all the time but the vehicles and equipment that is up for grabs usually isnt very interesting.



Thats certainly not the case in a U.S. Marshals auction in Texas where a handful of high-end vehicles are up for grabs.

Apparently seized from a couple of doctors who were using their practice as a pill mill, Dr. John Couch and Dr. Shoo-loo Ruan who were arrested back in 2015, the collection includes everything from a 1987 BMW M6 Coupe to a 2009 Spyker C8 Laviolette.

Perhaps one of the most interesting cars is the auction is a 1999 Shelby Series 1 Convertible. It has a starting bid of $75,000 and just 1,117 miles on the odometer.

Another rarity is the 2006 Saleen S7 which only has been driven for 1,153 miles. The combination of exclusively and low mileage means the car isnt cheap as it has a starting bid of $250,000.

Italian exotics are well represented as the auction includes a 1994 Lamborghini Diablo VT Coupe, a 2007 Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, and a 2007 Ferrari F430 Spider. Users can also bid on a 2008 Lamborghini Murcielago Convertible and a 2013 Maserati GranTurismo.

If these vehicles havent caught you attention, theres a 2005 Bentley Arnage and a Bentley Continental GT and GTC. The auction also has a handful of Porsche 911s as well as coupe and convertible versions of the Mercedes SLS AMG. Rounding out the collection is a 1969 Chevrolet Corvette, an Audi R8 Spyder, an Aston Martin DB9 Volante, and a Mercedes-McLaren SLR.

The doctors have been sentenced to up to 21 years in prison and all of the money from the auction will be used to pay restitution and the injured parties.

Thanks to Matt B. for the tip!

Photo Gallery
The legal battle between Uber and Waymo is heating up and it looks like the competition wont be limited to the courtroom.



Citing two people familiar with Waymos plans, The Information is reporting the company will launch an autonomous ride-hailing service this fall.

Little is known about the service but Engadget says it could be launched as early as this month and will reportedly be available to customers in Phoenix, Arizona. This isnt too surprising as the company has already invited residents of the Phoenix metropolitan area to try out its vehicles as part of an early rider program.

Interestingly, the report says Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin wanted to launch the autonomous ride-hailing service last year. However, engineers pushed back on this plan and the company eventually decided to team up with Lyft.

Despite the impending launch of its ride-hailing service, everything isnt exactly cozy at the company. The Information reports a number of employees are upset with Waymo CEO John Krafcik as they believe he isnt knowledgeable enough about autonomous vehicles and that has caused him to support unrealistic deadlines and hiring freezes.

Photo Gallery
Photo: Preserved Light Photography Need to knows for wine and food

In a few short weeks, speakers from around the world will come together in Kelowna to educate and share perspectives on the future of wine and culinary tourism.



International experts from 12 different countries will share their expertise during the four days of meetings. Many professionals from the Okanagan wine and culinary tourism industry will be on hand.



Its exciting to have speakers from as far away as Germany and Australia be a part of the same discussions as local stakeholders like Howard Soon and Rhys Pender, says John Hull, associate professor of tourism at Thompson Rivers University.

It shows that the Okanagan really can compete on the international stage when it comes to food and wine," he added.



The Wine and Culinary Tourism Futures Conference goal is to promote and increase dialogue, foster communication and increase collaboration between academia and industry on a global scale ensuring a positive future for the industry, said Donna Senese, associate professor of geography.

As the host city, it makes sense to have the expertise from this region as part of the conference presenter," she added.



Registration is now open for the conference, which runs October 17 to 20, with package options for the full four days or just a single day.



For a full list of speakers and conference schedule, head to the event's website.
Photo: Fall Wine Festival

The Okanagan Fall Wine Festival will close with one of its banner events in Penticton this weekend.

"Cropped" takes place Friday and Saturday evening, billed as B.C.'s largest wine tasting and farmers market.

The event features over 200 wines, an indoor farmers market and nearly 1,000 guests each night for a Thanksgiving wine tasting experience.

"Its really great to have so many different wineries in one place and for it to land on Thanksgiving weekend," said Kate Deglow, marketing and public relations manager. "Its a great time of year to be able to try all the Okanagan wines before they all shut down for the winter and to be able to taste them all in one room is really nice."

"You can always go on wine tours but its hard to hit them all, especially some of the ones that are the furthest apart in Naramata all the way down to Osoyoos."

The event will also include a blindfolded pinot tasting where attendees can sample a pinot noir, pinot gris and pinot blanc, while attempting to guess which is which and where each is from.

"Its great to have all the wineries in one room and the added touch of having a farmers market is really cool," Deglow said. "Its B.C.'s largest wine tasting and farmers market event, so its pretty cool that that can happen in the little town of Penticton."

Cropped is a get home safe event with $75 cab vouchers provided to each guest.

The event runs from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre on Oct. 6 and 7.

There are still tickets available for purchase online.
Photo: Alanna Kelly

The president of the union representing jail guards in Kelowna says The Commissionaires is treating employees more like fast food labourers than the specialized work force they are.

The guards are members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 338, and last week renewed their threat to strike, after negotiations between The Commissionaires and the union broke down.

Lee Mossman, the president of CUPE Local 338, says The Commissionaires is paying its employees the lowest price they can get away with, causing retention issues and "health and safety concerns among workers.

You cant treat jobs like these like fast food employees, with a transient workforce, where you get the lowest paid person that walks through the door. We dont think that police services like that should be handled with that kind of attitude; its specialized work, he says.

For more on exactly how much less Kelowna guards are paid compared to guards in nearby cities, as well as Mossman's reaction to The Commissionaires trying to have the guards deemed an essential service, check out the full story on Castanet's sister business news website, Okanagan Edge.
Madison Erhardt

Robert Greig was a veteran of over 250 skydiving jumps when one jump went horribly wrong.

"When the four of us went to separate and open our chutes, the fourth guy flew into me. We hit the ground at 70 km/h and ended up nine inches deep in the dirt," said Greig who suffered a badly broken leg and several other serious injuries.

After his near death experience, Greig received 31 units of blood, four units of plasma and two units of platelets to help save his life.



Following years of recovery and as soon as he could, Greig started donating his blood.

Thursday marked the 31st time he had given blood.

"This is number 31. It's the number of blood (vials) that I used. It's a special day for me. I want to give back and thank all those who gave. They kept me alive when I needed it," Greig added.

If you would like to donate blood head to blood.ca.
Photo: Colin Dacre

A Summerland man has been sentenced to two years in prison for molesting a child on two separate occasions.

Justice Allan Betton handed down the sentence Thursday in Penticton court, after ordering a publication ban on the accuseds name to protect the identity of the victim, who was under the age of 10 at the time of the sexual assaults.

The accused's relationship with the victim is also being withheld, but he was in a position of deep trust.

The victim told her parents in Feb. 2015 after the accused lured her into his bed where he pulled down his pants and had her touch his penis. He then laid on top of her and touched her.

She also reported a previous incident, that occurred in the summer of 2014, where the man brought the child into his bed while he was naked and performed oral sex acts.

Throughout the trial earlier this year, and during Thursdays sentencing hearing, the accused maintained his innocence.

He suggested that [the victim] may be angry... or has some other self serving reason for making the allegations, Betton told the courtroom.

The victim has been undergoing counselling since the incidents.

"The impact on the victim is impossible to assess... and that will likely come to be known in the years to come," the judge said.

The lack of remorse and refusal to accept responsibility makes him far harder to treat while in custody, argued Crown prosecutor Nashina Devji.

The accused is a functioning alcoholic with three DUIs and has experienced seizures when he tried to stop drinking, she said, requesting a sentence in the three to 3.5 year range.

He had no previous related criminal convictions.

Defence lawyer Don Skogstad said that a two year sentence would be more appropriate. He noted that his client is small and frail, and would be safer in a federal penitentiary in the Fraser Valley, given the nature of his convictions.

Justice Betton said the two year sentence is in line with similar previous cases.

Upon release, the accused will be banned from attending public parks or areas frequented by children and be denied any contact with anyone under 16 without court permission for 10 years.
Photo: The Canadian Press This undated file photo provided by the Pulaski County Sheriffs Office shows former Arkansas district judge Joseph Boeckmann.

An Arkansas judge who gave lighter sentences to men guilty of minor crimes in return for nude photographs or sexual favours could get a bit of leniency himself after admitting Thursday that he engaged in what one state official called one of Arkansas' worst-ever cases of judicial misconduct.

Joseph Boeckman had faced possible sentences of 260 years in prison and $2.5 million in fines if convicted of all charges in a 21-count indictment alleging he abused the power of his office for years. He pleaded guilty to two counts under a plea bargain that calls for him to face about 2 1/2 to 3 years in prison for wire fraud and witness tampering.

U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker accepted Boeckmann's guilty plea but warned that she is not obligated to impose the recommended sentence. Federal prosecutors said they would drop 19 other charges after Boeckmann's sentencing, which will likely occur in 2018. The plea agreement places fines in the range of $10,000 to $100,000.

Boeckmann spoke only briefly during Thursday's hearing. "Yes, ma'am," he said after a series of four questions on whether he understood the deal and agreed to be bound by it. He told the judge later that he was pleading guilty because he was guilty.

He and lawyer Jeff Rosenzweig declined comment outside court. Baker said Boeckmann could remain free pending sentencing, though he still must stay away from Wynne, where he held court in eastern Arkansas until last year.

The 71-year-old's raised right hand shook as he swore to answer questions truthfully. He carried a cane, though he didn't always use it.

As a district court judge in Cross County, 160 kilometres east of Little Rock, Boeckmann mainly handled lower-level offences such as traffic tickets and misdemeanours from 2008 to last year. Dozens of men who had passed through his court accused the judge of misconduct dating to his time as a prosecutor decades ago. Some said they posed nude in exchange for money to pay their fines.

Attorney Peter Halpern of the U.S. Department of Justice told Baker that Boeckmann had arranged for a third party to threaten a man who had complained about the abuse to state investigators. Boeckmann admitted doing so Thursday.

According to Halpern, Boeckmann would typically offer men a sentence of "community service" in lieu of court fines and fees  picking up bottles and cans while Boeckmann took photographs. An investigation by The Associated Press into court and law enforcement records last year showed that of the 254 men Boeckmann sentenced to community service over a seven-year period in one of three districts he oversaw, just 13 of the cases included timesheets and court records showing completion of the sentences.
Photo: Kelowna RCMP

The Kelowna RCMP says theyve broken up a sophisticated fentanyl and carfentanil trafficking operation on the dark web.

The police probe started in September 2016  dubbed Project E-Neophile  looking into two Kelowna residents suspected of importing both fentanyl and carfentanil from overseas. The drugs were then trafficked throughout the world via the internets dark web.

Over several weeks, police watched the suspects mail drug packages to various destinations across North America. Then, a user profile alleged to be linked to the suspects went dark and remained inactive until early July 2017, when the suspect launched a new user profile on a different dark web marketplace.

On Aug. 10, 2017, officers raided a downtown Kelowna business in the 1500 block of Pandosy and a home in the 1100 block of Loseth Drive. Arrests were made at both locations.

As many as 25 packages suspected of containing fentanyl or carfentanil, destined for Canadian, American, European and Australian cities, were intercepted by authorities. In addition, two unsecured firearms were seized from the residence along with approximately $68,000 USD in Bitcoin," said Cpl. Jesse ODonaghey, spokesperson for the Kelowna RCMP.

ODonaghey said in excess of 120 grams of bulk fentanyl and carfentanil was seized, in addition to another three kilograms of unknown powders and substances.

In communications with the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, it has been indicated this may be one of the most significant and perhaps the most sophisticated fentanyl/carfentanil trafficking and exportation enterprises that has been uncovered in Canada to date, said Sgt. Alex Lynch of the Kelowna RCMP Street Enforcement Unit.

A 35-year-old Kelowna man and a 28-year-old Kelowna woman each face potential charges. Both have since been released from custody on strict conditions and will appear in court on Dec. 8, 2017.
Photo: CTV A person has died in a crash in Delta Thursday.

A person has died in a vehicle collision in Delta Thursday afternoon.

The serious crash occurred just after noon on Nordel Way near Highway 91.

The crash involved an SUV and a large transport truck. The nature of the collision is unknown at this time.

Police have said little about the crash, but confirmed it was fatal.

The SUV was covered in a yellow tarp Thursday afternoon, and the driver's side of the SUV was smashed in.

The Nordel Way overpass was closed as crews investigated.

 with files from CTV Vancouver
Photo: Contributed

Regional District Okanagan-Similkameen board members voted against a motion to bring forward a 'standard of shared responsibility' on servicing rural roads between the district and the provincial government.

The motion was proposed by Electoral Area D board member Tom Siddon.

If passed by board members, an agreement for a new rural roadside maintenance service and a joint funding agreement would have been proposed to the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure.

Siddon said the RDOS has "no teeth" in making sure that bylaws are enforced and that maintenance is done along ministry road right-of-ways in the region.

He took issue with signage on those right-of-ways, as well as squatters camping out for days at a time and a lack of grass cutting.

"I think we need an agreement, at the very least, with (the ministry) on who does what. What we can do and what they should do," Siddon declared.

"And I'm only talking about rural communities... People there who pay taxes to the province, they don't understand that we have no jurisdiction when they start phoning the director saying 'well why don't you do something about this?'"

The issue of road improvements in the region was also brought forward at last week's Union of B.C. Municipalities convention.

Board members collectively decided that the most feasible option currently is to ensure the ministry is held responsible for work being done, rather than to get involved and use additional funds for the service.

"It's about measuring the work that's getting done. And I don't see this (motion) as getting to that root cause, I see this as another add-on to the taxpayer," Penticton city councillor Andre Martin said.

"(The ministry) should be doing their job. And if they're not doing their job, then their contract should be revisited. Doing this would just be letting them off the hook."

RDOS Chair Karla Kozakevich, who represents Electoral Area E, said she suspects a new public service would need to be created if the motion were passed, which wouldn't be in taxpayers' best interest.

"It's like charging folks twice on service."

Kozakevich added that she meets twice a year with ARGO Road Maintenance, a company contracted by the ministry.

She sees them prior to the winter's snowfall, and asks how they plan to take care of the roads in Naramata. After the winter, the two parties debrief to determine what went well and what didn't.

"I started off by bringing an MLA, because I was so annoyed with the service," she said. "I think it's gotten a bit better. And it may be that each of us, as rural directors, need to take some additional steps."

A total of 13 board members voted against the motion, but discussion on the right-of-ways issues is expected to continue at a later date, with the ministry involved.

"The very fact we're having this discussion, I think should put (the ministry) on notice that they have to rethink their service levels," Electoral Area F director Michael Brydon said. "We all pay a rural tax in rural areas, and it's significant. And we don't have control, we don't have a say.

"Maybe now's not the time... But I do think it's interesting we've had this debate. Maybe we need to communicate to our MLAs better, if they even have a say on what goes on."
Photo: RCMP A man dressed in skeleton Halloween costume robbed a Nanaimo liquor store last weekend.

A knife and bat-wielding skeleton robbed a Nanaimo liquor store last weekend, making off with cash.

The man wearing the Halloween costume entered the Harewood Arms Beer and Wine store on Eighth Street on Sept. 30 and began banging the bat on the counter and demanding money.

The cashier handed cash over to the man and the suspect fled the store. He was last seen running west towards Howard Avenue.

A police services dog was unable to find the masked man, but the two weapons he used were found nearby.

While the store's employees weren't injured, police say they were traumatized by the robbery.

Police have asked anyone with information about the robbery to call the Nanaimo RCMP at 250-754-2345.

 with files from CTV Vancouver Island
Photo: Alaska Highway News

A man who was acquitted of terrorism-related charges for posting online comments celebrating lone-wolf terrorists will remain locked up in British Columbia after the Immigration and Refugee Board ruled his release would endanger the public.

Adjudicator Trent Cook of the board's immigration division said Thursday in an oral ruling that Othman Hamdan's behaviour and online activity make it necessary to keep him incarcerated pending the outcome of an immigration review.

"While your posts may not be criminal, I cannot pretend that they do not exist. Nor can I ignore the impact that I think they are likely to have on those who read them and in turn on the Canadian public," Cook told Hamdan.

"In my view, anyone who actively promotes and calls on people to engage in terrorist activity is engaging in behaviour and conduct that puts the Canadian public in danger, regardless of if that conduct meets the standard necessary to obtain a criminal conviction."

A date has not yet been set for Hamdan's admissibility hearing to determine if he should remain in Canada.

Hamdan, 35, is a Jordanian national of Palestinian descent who came to B.C. after living in the United States and was granted refugee status following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge found Hamdan not guilty in September of allegations of encouraging murder, assault, and instructing a person to carry out a terrorist activity, ruling that Hamdan's comments might be offensive but they didn't constitute inciting terrorism.

The allegations stemmed from 85 Facebook posts between September 2014 and July 2015, one of which reads, "Lone wolves, we salute you."

"He was trying to highlight what he perceived to be hypocrisy and injustice, support some of the actions of (the Islamic State) in its defence of Sunni Muslims in Iraq and Syria and promote discussion about these issues," B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bruce Butler said of Hamdan in his ruling last month.

At the time of his arrest in July 2015, Hamdan was living in the northern B.C. community of Fort St. John. He described himself in court as a non-practising Sunni Muslim.

Cook said Thursday that he acknowledges Hamdan was found not guilty, but the acquittal was "by no means an absolution of your conduct."
Photo: Instagram - Farhad Rahnamoon Last winter, some stuck motorists played some pickup hockey on a closed Coquihalla.

With the long weekend approaching, the provincial government is warning motorists of potential delays on the Coquihalla Highway.

Construction near the Box Canyon area continues 40 kilometres north of Hope, along with resurfacing of the Dry Gulch Bridge 13 kilometres further north.

Heavy traffic volumes and two major road and bridge construction projects between Hope and Merritt may cause delays, the Ministry of Transportation said in a news release.

Construction speed limits remain in place in these areas, even when workers aren't on scene.

Police will be monitoring these areas over the long weekend.
Photo: Google Maps

Police in Belize say they're investigating the fatal shooting of a Canadian man.

Police spokesman Raphael Martinez says Gabriel Bochnia was shot Wednesday night as he and his wife and their three children were returning to their home in the Chula Vista area of Corozal.

Martinez says as Bochnia, 38, got out of his vehicle to open the gate, a man with a rag over his face came from behind the bushes and shot him in the abdomen.

He died of his injuries in hospital.

Martiniez says Bochnia's wife  27-year-old Jeshanah Maritza Zetina  and the children were not injured and the attacker fled the scene.

Martinez could not say how long Bochnia had lived in Belize or where in Canada he was from, adding that the investigation is in its early stages.
Photo: The Canadian Press

President Donald Trump delivered a foreboding message Thursday night, telling reporters as he posed for photos with his senior military leaders that this might be "the calm before the storm."

White House reporters were summoned suddenly Thursday evening and told the president had decided he wanted the press to document a dinner he was holding with the military leaders and their wives.

"You guys know what this represents?" Trump asked. "Maybe it's the calm before the storm. Could be the calm, the calm before the storm."

"What storm Mr. President?" one reporter shouted. ISIS? North Korea? Iran?

"You'll find out," the president said. "We have the world's great military people in this room, I will tell you that."

Earlier in the evening, the president said they would be discussing the most pressing military issues facing the country, including North Korea and Iran.

Trump said "tremendous progress" had been made with respect to the Islamic State group, adding, "I guess the media's going to be finding out about that over the next short period of time."
Photo: The Canadian Press

A failed search for meteorite fragments has turned into a big fossil find for a six-year-old girl in Saskatchewan.

Lily Ganshorn was out with her dad Jon in an area around Lake Diefenbaker in August when she spotted a big shale rock. Her father says Lily wanted him to break it and he happily obliged.

"As soon as we break it open, all of a sudden it's like holy smokes ... it just started shimmering. I grabbed it, went out, washed the thing off and this thing is just almost glowing. It was so phosphorescent," Ganshorn said in an interview with The Canadian Press.

"And I'm looking at this thing and it's like, man, we found something here."

Ganshorn got in touch with the University of Saskatchewan, which told him to send pictures.

In mid-September, paleontology graduate student Meagan Gilbert confirmed the find as an ammonite  a shelled creature related to a modern day squid or octopus.

Southern Alberta, southwestern Saskatchewan, and an area stretching down into Montana were part of the Bearpaw Formation seabed about 75 million years ago.

That's where the ammonite would have come from, said Gilbert.
Photo: Google Maps

Inuit leaders and hunters are angry over European plans to launch a satellite that would drop a rocket stage likely to contain highly toxic fuel in some of the most ecologically sensitive waters of the Canadian Arctic.

"The fact space agencies are willing to use the Pikialasorsuaq/North Water as a toxic dump underscores the pressing need for local management of this sensitive ecosystem," said Nancy Karetak-Lindell, acting chairwoman of the Inuit Circumpolar Council.

"These marine waters are, in fact, our source of food."

Next Friday, the European Space Agency plans to launch the Sentinel 5P satellite, an environmental probe designed to monitor trace gases in the atmosphere. A second launch of a similar satellite is planned for 2018.

Both are to be launched from Russia using Soviet-era rockets fuelled by hydrazine. Hydrazine is so toxic that nearly every space program in the world  including Russia's  has moved away from it.

The second stage of the rocket, containing up to a tonne of unburned hydrazine, is expected to splash down in water between Greenland and Baffin Island  an area that is part of Canada's exclusive economic zone.

The North Water Polynya is an 85,000-square-kilometre ocean that is free of ice year-round. It shelters most of the world's narwhal, as well as about 14,000 beluga whales and 1,500 walrus.
Photo: CTV

Victoria's iconic English-style double-deckers are being retired.

Wilson's Transportation says it's replacing the eight 1950s and '60s tourist buses.

Maintaining the old vehicles is becoming difficult, the company says.

"They're iconic and part of the tourism landscape here in Victoria, but our maintenance department has challenges," CEO John Wilson told CTV.

Their last trips will take place around Victoria's Inner Harbour this weekend.

The fleet is being replaced with three new double-deckers.

Some of the fleet will be kept for use during community events.

 with files from CTV Vancouver Island
Photo: The Canadian Press

A lawyer representing British Columbia in its fight against the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion says the federal cabinet's approval of the project is "lopsided" because it put Alberta's economic needs ahead of B.C.'s concerns about oil spills.

Thomas Berger said outside the Federal Court of Appeal on Thursday that the $7.4-billion project would disproportionately impact the interests of B.C. residents in the event of a marine spill of diluted bitumen.

While Alberta would get the lion's share of benefits through development of its oil resources and access to Pacific Rim markets, B.C. would bear the entire environmental risk, he told The Canadian Press in an interview.

In its approval of the project last November, the governor in council breached its statutory duty to provide reasons for deciding it was not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects, Berger said on behalf of the attorney general of B.C., which is an intervener in the case.

"The governor in council made its choice but it did not give any reasons. All we got was the conclusion. It's like getting a judge's verdict without getting any reasons," Berger said.

"I urged the court to rule that the cabinet had to obey the command of Parliament, which is the order in council must set out the reasons for making the order," the former B.C. Supreme Court judge said.

"I told the court, 'This isn't technical, it's fundamental,' " Berger said.

Alberta, which favours the pipeline project on the grounds it would create jobs and investment opportunities, is scheduled to make its arguments in the Federal Court of Appeal next week.

Several First Nations, two environmental groups and the cities of Vancouver and Burnaby are also against the pipeline expansion that the federal government approved last November.

Indigenous groups have maintained a seven-fold increase in tanker traffic would substantially increase the risks of diluted bitumen spills, with no known means of adequately cleaning it up, and put endangered southern resident killer whales in peril.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The union representing about 2,500 striking workers at GM's CAMI assembly plant in Ingersoll, Ont., says the two sides remain far apart on job security and economic issues.

The members of Unifor Local 88 walked off the job Sept. 17 as negotiators worked to have GM designate the plant as the lead producer of the Equinox SUV, which is also produced at two plants in Mexico.

The union says it has been meeting with the automaker daily since Sept. 27 and have "worked through a lot of the contract language" but is awaiting a response from GM on the outstanding issues.

Unifor says the two sides have agreed to pause the talks over the long holiday weekend and reconvene next Tuesday, but will be ready to resume bargaining "at a moment's notice" should GM respond sooner.

Last Sunday, Unifor president Jerry Dias dismissed the company's latest contract offer as "fluff," saying it still allows the company to shift its resources away from the Ingersoll plant.

He said the union will not back any deals unless they're confident that more jobs won't be shifted to Mexican plants.

Dias said pre-strike production at Ingersoll was 400,000 vehicles but had since dropped to 190,000 vehicles.
Photo: Ethan Delichte

British Columbia's Conservation Officer Service reports more than 20,000 conflicts between humans and wildlife around the province between January and October of this year.

Environment Ministry spokesman Mike Badry says about 14,000 of those complaints involve confrontations with black bears.

He says 469 bruins, or approximately one bear in every 30 complaints, had to be destroyed.

Spring and early summer produced the greatest number of complaints about bears, but Badry says the confrontations have tailed off, making 2017 an average year for complaints about wildlife.

He warns that confrontations could increase because bears are now focused on finding as much food as possible before they hibernate.

Homeowners are urged to secure all food sources, such as garbage or compost and to ensure fruit trees are picked clean.

"These bears are trying to put on weight for denning throughout the winter, so they are highly motivated to find food," Badry says.

"That is where we really put the emphasis on attractant management."
Photo: The Canadian Press

After being arrested in Rio de Janeiro and accused of storing gold bars in Switzerland, Brazilian Olympic Committee president Carlos Nuzman was suspended by the IOC on Friday.

The decision came hours after Brazilian authorities investigating a 2016 Olympic vote-buying case asked for help from prosecutors in Switzerland.

The Brazilian Olympic Committee was also provisionally suspended and had its funding frozen.

Nuzman, a 75-year-old lawyer, was also removed from the IOC's panel overseeing preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee announced the decisions after an emergency conference call of its executive board. The IOC said its decision will not affect Brazilian athletes, who will continue to receive scholarship funds and be eligible for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Nuzman was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of obstructing investigators from Brazil and France, who detained and questioned him one month ago. Their case explores suspicious payments linked to how the city won the hosting rights for the 2016 Olympics.

Brazilian prosecutors revealed Thursday they believed Nuzman has stored 16 bars of gold in a depository in Geneva and greatly increased his wealth while overseeing the Rio bid and organizing committees.

The office of Switzerland's attorney general said Friday it is "currently analyzing" a request from Brazil for legal assistance.

"The request has been transferred from the Federal Office of Justice (FOJ) to the (attorney general's office) as the competent authority for execution," the federal office said in a statement.

Brazilian prosecutors have implicated Nuzman in a bribery scheme of at least $2 million to help win votes from IOC members, who chose Rio as host city in 2009 in a four-city contest. The losers were Chicago, supported by then-President Barack Obama, Madrid and Tokyo.

Nuzman is believed to be a central figure in channeling at least $2 million of a Brazilian businessman's money to Lamine Diack, a former IOC member from Senegal who helped control African votes.

Diack has been arrested in France as part of a wider case of alleged corruption while he was president of track and field's governing body, including blackmailing athletes to cover up doping cases.

The French case has also implicated four-time Olympic sprint medallist Frank Fredericks of Namibia. He was an IOC executive board member in October 2009 when he got a $300,000 payment linked to Brazil and the Diack family on the day Rio won.

On Thursday, Brazilian authorities said Nuzman's net worth increased by 457 per cent in his last 10 years as the country's Olympic leader.

Nuzman was arrested because investigators found he tried to hamper the investigation by regularizing assets likely gained with illicit money. Last month, he allegedly amended his tax declaration to add about $600,000 in income.

Nuzman's lawyers said he denies wrongdoing, and the IOC said he had the presumption of innocence while its ethics commission studies the case.
Photo: Sarah Rowley

Viewer photos submitted show that residents in the south and central Okanagan woke up to a playful sunrise on Friday morning, under partly cloudy skies.

Some of the cloud is expected to burn off this morning across the region, with a mix of sun and clouds and seasonal temperatures on the way to begin the Thanksgiving long weekend.

Temperature highs are expected to reach 18 degrees in Penticton and Kelowna and 16 degrees in Vernon.

Light rain can be anticipated in the North and Central Okanagan overnight, and further down the valley just a chance of overnight showers in the South Okanagan.

A mix of sun and clouds is expected in the Okanagan for Saturday and Sunday.

Thanksgiving Monday is shaping up to be the best day of the long-weekend forecast, with clear, sunny skies and highs of 16 to 18 degrees throughout the valley.
Photo: The Canadian Press

OSLO - The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, a group of mostly young activists pushing for a global treaty to ban the cataclysmic bombs.

The award of the $1.1-million prize comes amid heightened tensions over both North Korea's aggressive development of nuclear weapons and U.S. President Donald Trump's persistent criticism of the deal to curb Iran's nuclear program.

The prize committee wanted "to send a signal to North Korea and the U.S. that they need to go into negotiations," Oeivind Stenersen, a historian of the peace prize, told The Associated Press. "The prize is also coded support to the Iran nuclear deal. I think this was wise because recognizing the Iran deal itself could have been seen as giving support to the Iranian state."

The Geneva-based ICAN has campaigned actively for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was adopted by 122 countries at the United Nations in July. On Sept. 20, the first day the treaty was open for signature, 51 countries signed it and three submitted their ratifications. The treaty needs 50 ratifications to go into force, which advocates are confident will happen.

The United States, Russia, Britain, France and China all boycotted the negotiations; India, Pakistan and North Korea did not vote.

ICAN also organized events globally in 2015 to mark the 70th anniversaries of World War II's devastating U.S. atomic bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Last month in Berlin, ICAN protesters teamed up with other organizations to demonstrate outside the U.S. and North Korean embassies against the possibility of nuclear war between the two countries. Wearing masks of Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, protesters posed next to a dummy nuclear missile and a large banner reading "Time to Go: Ban Nuclear Weapons."

The group "has been a driving force in prevailing upon the world's nations to pledge to co-operate ... in efforts to stigmatize, prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons," Norwegian Nobel Committee chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said in the announcement.

The prize "sends a message to all nuclear-armed states and all states that continue to rely on nuclear weapons for security that it is unacceptable behaviour. We will not support it, we will not make excuses for it. We can't threaten to indiscriminately slaughter hundreds of thousands of civilians in the name of security. That's not how you build security," ICAN executive director Beatrice Fihn told reporters Friday in Geneva.

She said that she "worried that it was a prank" after getting a phone call just minutes before the official Peace Prize announcement was made. Fihn said she didn't believe it until she heard the name of the group being proclaimed on television.

ICAN leaders later popped open some bubbly to celebrate the prize, and held up a banner with their group's name in their small Geneva headquarters.

"We are trying to send very strong signals to all states with nuclear arms, nuclear-armed states  North Korea, U.S., Russia, China, France, U.K., Israel, all of them, India, Pakistan  it is unacceptable to threaten to kill civilians," she said.

Reiss-Andersen noted that similar prohibitions have been reached on chemical and biological weapons, land mines and cluster munitions.

"Nuclear weapons are even more destructive, but have not yet been made the object of a similar international legal prohibition," she said.

Reiss-Andersen said "through its inspiring and innovative support for the U.N. negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons, ICAN has played a major part in bringing about what in our day and age is equivalent to an international peace congress."

Asked by journalists whether the prize was essentially symbolic, given that no international measures against nuclear weapons have been reached, Reiss-Andersen said "what will not have an impact is being passive."

Anita Friedt, the U.S. acting assistant secretary of state for arms control, told the U.N. General Assembly this week that it would be irresponsible for the U.S. to support the treaty, citing the threat from North Korea.
Photo: The Canadian Press

The spokesman for Spain's government declared Friday that "coexistence is broken" in Catalonia, blaming separatist authorities in the wealthy northeastern region for pushing ahead with their independence bid.

Government spokesman Inigo Mendez de Vigo, who is also the cabinet's minister of cultural affairs, called on the Catalan regional government to drop its secessionist bid in order to begin a dialogue.

A disputed independence referendum in Catalonia last Sunday has led to Spain's biggest political crisis in decades, with the national government in Madrid condemning the vote as illegal, unconstitutional and invalid.

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont wants to address the regional parliament next week "to discuss the political situation" in Catalonia. That request comes after Spain's constitutional Court suspended the Catalan parliament session on Monday during which separatist lawmakers wanted to discuss secession.

"In order to dialogue, you must stay within the legal framework," Mendez de Vigo told reporters on Friday.

The minister also warned Catalans that a parliamentary declaration of independence "is not enough" and that the international community needs to recognize independent nations.

No country has openly said it would support an independent Catalonia and the European Union says it would be kicked out of the bloc and forced to stop using the common euro currency. The EU says Catalonia would have to apply to rejoin, a lengthy, uncertain process.

Puigdemont says the referendum is valid despite a constitutional Court ban on holding it and the fact that only 40 per cent of the region's 5.5 million eligible voters turned out amid strong police pressure to shut down the vote. Catalan officials say 90 per cent of those who cast ballots favoured independence.

Puigdemont has asked now to address the regional parliament Tuesday to "report on the current political situation." Catalan lawmakers were meeting Friday afternoon to discuss the request.

The top Spanish official in Catalonia, Enric Millo, who is in charge of security, said Friday he regretted that hundreds of people were injured Sunday in the police crackdown on the independence vote  the first statement by a Spanish official lamenting the injuries.

"I can only say sorry" for the injuries, Millo told Catalonia's TV3 television.

He also tempered the apology by saying the Catalan government was responsible for the situation by encouraging people to vote despite the constitutional Court order suspending the referendum.

Spain has defended police actions, saying there were firm and proportionate. Videos on Sunday saw police yanking voters and others by their hair and kicking and hitting them.

Catalan authorities say about 900 people were treated for injuries during Sunday's vote, when Spain's anti-riot squads fired rubber bullets, smashed into polling stations and beat protesters with batons to disperse voters.

The political turmoil has led to unease in Spain's business sector. Spain's main stock index was down slightly Friday, with Catalan banks leading losses amid the uncertainty.

Spain's government approved a decree Friday that would make it easier for Catalan companies to move base out of the region. The move will allow for the relocation of the registration of Caixabank Spain's third largest bank in global volume of assets. Caixabank's board was due to meet in Barcelona on Friday to discuss the issue.

At least half a dozen companies, including the fifth largest lender, Banco Sabadell, have already relocated from Catalonia or agreed to do it.

"It's very sad what we are seeing," Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said Friday. "This is the result of an irresponsible policy that is causing uneasiness in the business community."

In Madrid, Spain's National Court unconditionally released two senior officers of Catalonia's regional police force and the leaders of two pro-independence civic groups being investigated for sedition in connection with the referendum. The four are to be questioned again in coming days.

The case is linked to Sept. 20-21 demonstrations in Barcelona, when Spanish police arrested several Catalan government officials and raided offices in a crackdown on referendum preparations.

The four are Catalan police chief Josep Lluis Trapero, Catalan police Lt. Teresa Laplana, Jordi Sanchez, the head of the Catalan National Assembly, and Jordi Cuixart, president of separatist group Omnium Cultural.

After being questioned for about an hour, Trapero left the courthouse to applause by Basque and Catalan party representatives and insults from bystanders.

"I ask strongly that the Spanish government, the national parliament and the head of state (the king) understand that time and the hours are very important to find a debated solution and give way to a political solution," Sanchez said.

Laplana, who had remained in Barcelona, declined to testify for medical reasons while Cuixart refused to testify, saying he didn't recognize the court's capacity to question him for a crime he didn't commit.

Spanish authorities say the demonstrations hindered the Spanish police operation, and that Catalan police didn't do enough to push back protesters blocking Spanish police officers from leaving a building.

Carles Campuzano, the spokesman for the Democratic Party of Catalonia, described the hearing Friday as an outrage, saying that demonstrations could not be considered illegal.

"It's just another expression of the absolutely mistaken, authoritarian, repressive response by the (Spanish) state to the pacific, democratic and civic demand of Catalan society," he told reporters.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has urged Puigdemont to cancel plans for declaring independence in order to avoid "greater evils."
If you have just started your journey in an online casino or are looking for a new site to play,...
ABC News(LAS VEGAS) -- An unarmed security guard at Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino was the first to take on gunman Stephen Paddock, getting shot in the process, but providing crucial help for police looking to stop the massacre.



The security guard, identified as Jesus Campos by the International Union, Security, Police and Fire Professionals of America, was shot in the leg after Paddock fired at him through a door, police said.



Police said Paddock managed to fire off over 200 rounds as the security guard approached the suspect's room alone. But the guard managed to direct police to the exact location of Paddock's suite and even provided a hotel key to officers looking to clear rooms on the 32nd floor before they insisted he get medical attention.



Reached by phone Wednesday night, Campos told ABC News, "I'm fine."



The guard who found the shooter and helped bring the massacre to an end said, "I was just doing my job."



Campos provided information over the phone that helped authorities locate the 32nd-floor room that Paddock was firing from, a spokesperson for the union said.



Campos was on "random patrol" as a security officer at the hotel when he found the shooter, said Liliana Rodriguez, who identified herself as a coworker of Campos' at Mandalay Bay on a GoFundMe page she set up for him.



Campos went to investigate a door alarm on the 32nd floor of the hotel when he "came under fire," Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said in a press conference Friday.



McMahill called Campos an "absolute hero" who was "doing his job, diligently."



"I can tell you that this was a remarkable effort by a brave and remarkable man," McMahill said. "We haven't done a good enough job recognizing his actions."



Campos was unarmed when he engaged with Paddock, the union spokesperson confirmed, which was first reported by The Daily Beast.



"Any one of us could have been in the position he was in," Rodriguez wrote. "Most importantly we are a home away from home and at the end of the day we are a team and we should all go home together."



Speaking Thursday evening, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo praised Campos, saying he aided officers in their search for Paddock.



Lombardo added that Paddock fired "well over 200 rounds" into the hallway when the security guard approached. Paddock had set up a camera in the hallway, apparently to watch for approaching authorities.



"It's amazing" that Campos didn't sustain more injuries, Lombardo said.



"His bravery was amazing," Lombardo added. "He gave our officers the key card for the room and then continued clearing rooms until he was ordered to go seek attention."



On Sunday, about 22,000 concertgoers were attending the final night of the Route 91 Harvest Festival on the Las Vegas Strip -- across the street from the Mandalay Bay hotel -- when Paddock began his deadly assault.



It took authorities just minutes to locate where the bullets were coming from after the attack rang out. Once police breached the door to Paddock's suite on the 32nd floor of the hotel, they found him dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.



A total of 58 people were killed and hundreds were injured in the attack. A motive is still not known, but police said the shooting was "obviously premeditated."





Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Hormann, LLC officials announced Thursday that the company will invest nearly $64 million to establish a manufacturing facility in Sparta.

Hormann plans to create approximately 200 new jobs at the new operation in White County.

We are constantly trying to attract world-class companies like Hormann to Tennessee, Governor Bill Haslam said. Hormanns investment in White County underscores the confidence global businesses have in Tennessees skilled workforce and business-friendly environment. Id like to thank Hormann for creating 200 well-paying jobs in the Upper Cumberland and bringing us one step closer to making Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.

Earlier this year, Governor Haslam and I met with Hormanns leadership team in Germany, Department of Economic and Community Development Bob Rolfe said. This fourth generation family-owned and operated business will be a fantastic partner and employer in the Upper Cumberland. White County residents have a strong legacy in advanced manufacturing, and the creation of about 200 skilled manufacturing jobs by Hormann will have a tremendous impact on residents in the community.

Headquartered in Germany, Hormann is a leading manufacturer of building entry systems. Hormanns products cover a wide range of doors for residential and commercial applications. Founded in 1935, Hormann is family-operated and serves customers in more than 60 countries.

We are very proud to be welcomed to Sparta, Tn.," said Christoph Hormann, managing partner, Hormann Group Companies. "We want to thank everybody involved, especially Governor Haslam, Commissioner Rolfe and County Executive Denny Wayne Robertson. They supported and encouraged us from the first moment we brought our project to them. We are very much looking forward to having the chance to contribute to the future growth of this region.

We have learned that doing business in the United States is more than adapting products and marketing strategies  it is a matter of building relationships through respect, individualism, faith and courage. My family and I are looking forward to expanding our business further and becoming a strong partner in the Upper Cumberland to contribute to regional wealth, Hormann added.

Having started as an engineer with Hormann over a decade ago, I am one of the longest serving Hormann employees in North America, Hormann President Camron Rudd said. As such, I have been fortunate to witness first-hand the companys growth, and it has been an honor to contribute to the companys success. Today, I am proud to serve as the company president, and I am very much looking forward to expanding our operations to Tennessee. I am convinced that White County and the Upper Cumberland is the best place for Hormann LLC to be, and I look forward to many years of continued success in the Volunteer State.

Plant construction is scheduled to begin in early 2018. The 350,000-square-foot facility is expected to be operational in mid-2019. Hormann will produce residential and commercial sectional garage doors at the facility, serving customers across North America.

Local officials and the Tennessee Valley Authority applauded Hormann for its investment in White County.

We are extremely excited and pleased to welcome Hormann to White County, White County Executive Denny Wayne Robinson said. This will bring more than 200 much-needed jobs to our community. White County is working hard to enhance our workforce and create opportunities. Companies like Hormann are helping us build a bright future where our citizens can find high quality jobs right here at home.

TVA and Caney Fork Electric Cooperative congratulate Hormann on its exciting announcement to create 200 new jobs in White County, TVA Senior Vice President of Economic Development John Bradley said. We are pleased to work with the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development and White County to further TVAs mission of service and help facilitate new jobs creation and prosperity in the community."


RXBar, maker of a fast-growing line of protein bars launched four years ago from a west suburban basement, announced an agreement Friday to be acquired by Kellogg Co. for $600 million. (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune) (Chris Walker / Chicago Tribune)

Four years after launching in a west suburban basement, RXBar, maker of a fast-growing line of protein bars, is being sold to Kellogg Co. for $600 million.

The sale, expected to close in November, will add a trending brand to Kellogg's snack portfolio while allowing Chicago-based RXBar to continue its rapid expansion, executives said Friday.

Advertisement

"We'll remain as a stand-alone business within Kellogg and just leverage the resources to expedite growth and keep doing what we're doing," said Peter Rahal, 31, RXBar's CEO and co-founder.

The millennial-led Chicago company, which makes "clean-label" protein bars with whole-food ingredients, has taken off quickly through retail and online channels, with projected sales of $120 million this year.

Advertisement

Building a following in gyms before expanding to major grocery chains nationwide, RXBar went from producing 1.5 million bars in 2014 to a projected 120 million this year.

"RXBar is an excellent strategic fit for Kellogg as we pivot to growth," Kellogg CEO Steve Cahillane said in a news release. "With its strong millennial consumption and diversified channel presence including e-commerce, RXBar is perfectly positioned to perform well against future food trends."

A graduate of Glenbard West High School and Ohio's Wittenberg University, Rahal started RXBar out of his parents' Glen Ellyn basement in 2013 with childhood friend Jared Smith.

Rahal will stay on as CEO under Kellogg, reporting to Deanie Elsner, who leads the U.S. snacks business for the Battle Creek, Mich.-based food giant. Smith will continue in his role as chief risk officer.

Rahal's culinary background was a homegrown affair, with both sides of his family history rooted in the juice business.

First whipped up in the Rahal family's kitchen, the bars have a base of egg whites, fruit and nuts and provide 12 grams of protein in about 210 calories. There are 11 flavors, along with a recently introduced kids line, wrapped in simple packaging.

The business ramped up and out of the basement quickly, producing about 400 bars a shift in the subterranean makeshift kitchen. It peddled fresh batches, packaged with a label designed with PowerPoint, to area gyms, initially on consignment.

The company's first "hire" was Rahal's mother, who didn't last long.

Advertisement

"She got fired because she couldn't put the labels on right," Rahal said.

Within two months, Rahal and Smith moved out of the basement and into a facility on North Western Avenue in Chicago's West Town neighborhood, which they rented on a month-to-month basis. Rahal quit his full-time job with a logistics company to focus on building the startup venture.

In May 2014, they found a manufacturing partner in California and stopped making the bars in house in a bid to increase production. They moved to the West Loop and hired their first real employees in October 2014.

The company did $2 million in sales in 2014, its first full year in business.

The business really took off in November 2015 when they redesigned the packaging and expanded to more traditional retail distribution outlets, Rahal said.

RXBar, which now has 75 employees, is on Ohio Street, across from its first customer: River North CrossFit. The bar is distributed nationally at Whole Foods, Target and other major retailers.

Advertisement

E-commerce remains a major distribution channel as well.

Rahal, who sold the first bars door-to-door to gyms in Chicago, said the company's success was based on its simplicity.

"Our growth is a reflection of the size of the problem we solved with our product," Rahal said. "The size of the growth reflects how many people actually wanted a natural protein bar  a brand that was real and upfront."

The company is planning to move by spring into a new nine-story building being completed on North Wells Street, where it will occupy the entire building, Rahal said.

While change abounds, Rahal said the bars will remain the same going forward.

"If you're a customer of ours, you won't feel a change," he said. "What will change is there will be more places you can get the bars, so more people will eat our products."

Advertisement

Rahal said he is excited to start the next chapter of growth, but he acknowledged the dizzying rise from suburban basement startup to $600 million sale was a lot to process.

"It's surreal," Rahal said. "I haven't digested it."

rchannick@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @RobertChannick
Jarek Swigulski, regional president of Mars Food North America, said his company is working to contemporize the Uncle Ben's brand. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Mars Food hopes its new home on Goose Island will prove fertile ground for growing a relatively small sliver of the global Mars business, known more for chocolate and pet care.

And in making the move from Los Angeles to Chicago, the new North American headquarters for the food business adds to Mars' growing stronghold in Illinois, where the company now has more than 2,400 employees, five factories and five Chicago offices.

Advertisement

Beyond the pristine 20,000-square-foot open-plan office, situated across Blackhawk Street from the Mars Wrigley global innovation center, Mars Food begins this new era with a mostly revamped 75-person corporate workforce, some of whom were moved from other Mars business units in town  one of the benefits of moving to Chicago.

Their mission: Grow and evolve a business anchored by Uncle Ben's, the portfolio's lone $1 billion brand.

Advertisement

"It's not only symbolic, it's really a new chapter. The management team is new. We had to hire these people, onboard them, and still the process is in the making.  Longer term, we think it's a transformational change for us," said Jarek Swigulski, Mars Food's regional president for North America.

For any packaged food company, the future appears challenging as shoppers have increasingly eschewed older brands in the center-store aisles for food they consider to be fresher, more natural and of better quality. And Uncle Ben's, launched more than 70 years ago, is no spring chicken.

But Swigulski said the company considers Uncle Ben's age an asset. And Mars has more than offset sales declines in dry rice products with "very, very significant" growth in its microwavable Ready Rice products, he said.

At the same time, Mars Foods has worked to reduce sodium and incorporate other grains to contemporize Uncle Ben's, he said.

"With such a long history, you have to rejuvenate the brand," Swigulski said.

Though Mars Food has other brands in other countries, the North American headquarters in Chicago will support only Uncle Ben's, Seeds of Change and, once the acquisition closes later this year, Tasty Bites. All three brands reflect the company's focus on convenience and deliberate shift into more varied grains and legumes, he said.

Swigulski declined to provide sales or profit figures for the privately held business unit, but said sales were growing in the U.S. and globally.

Long known as a secretive company, closely guarding its methods from competitors, Mars is reaching outward more to appeal to a new generation of workers, executives said.

Advertisement

"It's more and more important to people to work for companies they have a shared value with," said Caroline Sherman, vice president of corporate affairs for Mars Food North America. "There's no way for people to know that about us if we don't tell our stories."

Mars is the sixth largest private company in the U.S., with $35 billion in revenue, according to this year's Forbes rankings. Chocolate, candy and pet care make up most of the business.

Mars Food is dwarfed by some of its new neighbors in Chicago's food industry. Kraft Heinz, for example, has eight brands that bring in more than $1 billion in revenue; Mondelez International has six.

Within the Mars ecosystem, the food business is also small. Of the more than 50,000 Mars employees in the U.S., only about 300 support the food business.

Being smaller allows Mars Foods to be more agile in creating its own path forward, Swigulski said. Unlike some other global companies, the business units of Mars function independently for the most part, he said.

"People in Mars understand you buy your freedom and the right to make the calls if you deliver the results. It's a performance-driven culture," Swigulski said.

Advertisement

In Chicago, which Swigulski called the "(consumer packaged goods) capital of the U.S.," Mars Food will have greater access to the workforce that will help drive those results.

"It may be a little bit of a slow burner, but it's a strategic transformation to us," Swigulski said. "If we didn't believe the business would benefit, why the hassle?"

gtrotter@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @GregTrotterTrib
Cubs projected Game 1 lineup and NLDS roster

LF Ben Zobrist Could play RF, only hit off Strasburg a home run.

Advertisement

3B Kris Bryant Needs to carry strong finish into playoffs.

1B Anthony Rizzo Rest after division clinching should help.

Advertisement

C Willson Contreras Could play largest role in lineup.

SS Addison Russell Secret weapon? Started one game vs. Nationals in '17.

RF Jason Heyward .405 lifetime vs. Strasburg.

CF Albert Almora Jr. 2-for-6, two doubles vs. Strasburg.

2B Javier Baez Duplication of 2016 NLDS performance could be needed.

Reserves

C Alex Avila Fifth postseason but in bench role this time.

INF Tommy La Stella Developed into one of NL's best pinch hitters.

Advertisement

OF Ian Happ Switch-hitting, ability to play multiple positions a plus.

OF Jon Jay Five postseasons should serve him well.

OF Kyle Schwarber All or nothing role in NLDS?

Rotation

Kyle Hendricks Team's best starter during stretch drive; never rattled.

LH Jon Lester Good health could enhance career 2.79 ERA vs. Nationals.

Advertisement

Jose Quintana First playoff appearance of six-year MLB career.

RH Jake Arrieta Nationals have given him fits; right hamstring a concern.

RH John Lackey Seasoned insurance policy if Arrieta isn't ready.

Bullpen

Wade Davis Veteran closer has been at his best in postseason.

Carl Edwards Jr. Could be called upon to face lefties.

Advertisement

Brian Duensing Ready to face Murphy, Harper.

Mike Montgomery Could play bigger role with rotation's health issues.

Hector Rondon Regained 98-mph fastball, confidence.

Pedro Strop No time for bouts of wildness.

Justin Wilson Has shown enough flashes to contribute.

Nationals projected Game 1 lineup

Advertisement

SS Trea Turner

RF Bryce Harper

3B Anthony Rendon

2B Daniel Murphy

1B Ryan Zimmerman

LF Jayson Werth

Advertisement

C Matt Wieters

CF Michael Taylor

Reserves

C Jose Lobaton

INF Wilmer Difo

1B Adam Lind

Advertisement

OF Alejandro De Aza

OF Howie Kendrick

OF Victor Robles

Rotation

Stephen Strasburg

Gio Gonzalez

Advertisement

Max Scherzer

Tanner Roark

Bullpen

Matt Albers

Sean Doolittle

Matt Grace

Advertisement

Brandon Kintzler

Ryan Madson

Oliver Perez

Enny Romero
There are noodle soups and there is pho, Vietnam's richly complex gift to the world.

Pho (say: fuh) may prompt wisecracks and punny tee shirts, judging by those we saw at Ho Chi Minh City's Ben Thanh Market during a recent trip. But in Vietnam and at Vietnamese restaurants around the world, there is artistry in its creation.

Advertisement

From Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon), chefs at high-end restaurants, cooks at chain eateries and street vendors, those serving customers who slurp the restorative brew while perched on child-size plastic stools, understand pho's power.

"When you eat a bowl of soup in Vietnam, you experience almost everything, culinarily speaking, that the Vietnamese value," chef Charles Phan writes in his book, "Vietnamese Home Cooking" (Ten Speed Press, $35).

Advertisement

Those values? A stock that's "never thickened," a mix of textures plus aromatics, often fresh herbs, toasted garlic and chopped green onions. And while Phan notes that Vietnamese cooks prepare both brothy meal-openers and full-meal noodle soups, it is the noodle soup called pho that is the worldwide star.

And breakfast in Vietnam.

Each morning, despite the warm sultry weather, we slurped our way through huge bowls of comforting herb-blessed pho. As a child in Da Lat, Phan recalls awakening each day to street vendors selling bowls of pho.

"If you're having a bowl of hot soup, it just really kind of balances you to start your day," Phan told us during a phone chat from San Francisco, home to his Slanted Door family of restaurants. "I just always feel calm and rejuvenated when I drink broth."

The deeply-flavored pho broth paired with noodles and meat  usually pho bo (beef) or pho ga (chicken)  plus garnishes, soothes and satisfies at breakfast (or lunch or supper).

"When people walk by, when you smell the aroma from the pot, you can tell whether it's beef or chicken," Vu Khang, a chef at Hoa Tuc restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City and instructor for its cooking classes, told us. "You know it's beef pho when you smell cardamon, cinnamon, star anise and cloves."

Also influencing the stock's flavor, says Phan: "We don't roast the bone, we blanch the bone. ... And there's none of the sweetness that comes from celery and carrot. Instead, it comes from a roasted onion and ginger, star anise and the other spices."

There are regional variations, of course, as well as from cook to cook. Khang, for example, considers the broth in Hanoi lighter in color than that served in Ho Chi Minh City, and Phan finds cooks in the north use fewer spices and varieties of meats.

Advertisement

Whatever the variations, pho makes a delicious meal. It may not replace oatmeal at your breakfast table. Then again, slurping oatmeal isn't OK but, as Phan says, slurping pho is perfectly fine.

jhevrdejs@tribune.com

Beef noodle soup (Pho bo)

Adapted from Charles Phan's "Vietnamese Home Cooking." The aromatic stock is often flavored with star anise, cinnamon, clove and cardamom. Pho soup bases can be found in some supermarkets. If you don't have access to such a product (and don't have time for the 5-plus hours needed to make pho stock) consider simmering a light beef broth (hold the carrots and celery) with a small cinnamon stick, a whole clove, a star anise pod and a cardamon pod. To make slicing the raw beef top round paper-thin, freeze the meat for 15 minutes, slice thin then pound thinner with a meat mallet.

Prep: 30 minutes

Cook: 50 minutes

Advertisement

Makes: 6 servings

1 pound beef brisket

3 quarts beef stock

Fish sauce

1 package (16 ounces) dried wide rice noodles, cooked according to package directions

12 ounces beef top round, thinly sliced

Advertisement

1 bunch green onions, trimmed, thinly sliced, about 1 cup

Garnishes: Thai basil sprigs, mung bean sprouts, lime wedges, jalapenos thinly sliced into rings, sriracha sauce, hoisin sauce

1 Place brisket in a large pot; add stock. Heat to a boil over high heat; lower to a vigorous simmer. Simmeruntil cooked through, 30-45 minutes. To check doneness, remove brisket from pot; poke with chopstick. Juices should run clear.

2 A few minutes before brisket is ready, prepare an ice water bath. When brisket is done, remove from pot; submerge in ice water. Reserve cooking liquid. When brisket is cool, remove from ice water. Pat dry; thinly slice against the grain. Set aside.

3 Return stock to a boil. Season with fish sauce, if needed. Arrange garnishes on a platter, sauces alongside. Divide cooked rice noodles evenly among large warmed soup bowls. Divide brisket slices among the bowls, then raw beef slices (they will cook lightly when stirred into the broth). Ladle boiling hot stock over top. Top with green onions; serve immediately with garnishes.

Preparing stock for pho can be a bit involved. Or at least, it might seem that way compared to other stocks you've made.

Advertisement

In San Francisco chef Charles Phan's book, "Vietnamese Home Cooking" (Ten Speed Press, $35), he writes that the stocks "are hardly the sexiest, most exciting recipes in the book, (but) they are some of the most important."

Consider the flavor sources, from the bones to the spices. His recipe calls for blanching (not roasting  because, as he explains, most Vietnamese kitchens don't have ovens) bones before returning to the pot for a long slow simmer (5 hours) because. He suggests making the stock one day, the soup another.

"Don't overwater it (the stock). You can always add more water to it," Phan says. "And pay attention to the fat ratio. Without the fat, you're not going to taste the broth."

So, he adds, "You need to skim the fat, but you need to make sure that you add some back into each bowl so you don't (lose flavor).

"A flavorful broth is absolutely key to the success of that recipe."

Beef stock

Advertisement

Adapted from Charles Phan's "Vietnamese Home Cooking." He suggests discarding the solids  which includes oxtails and bones with marrow  once the stock is cooked. If you are a fan of either, we suggest nibbling some of the meat off the oxtail bones or dig the marrow out. Or use the oxtail meat for another meal, shredded into a marinara or barbecue sauce. And the marrow? Eat as is or spread on toast.

Prep: 45 minutes

Cook: 6 hours

Makes: About 9 cups broth

1 large yellow onion, unpeeled

1 piece (3 inches long) fresh ginger, unpeeled

Advertisement

2 pounds oxtails, in 2- to 3-inch pieces

2 pounds each: beef neck bones, shank bones, marrowbones

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground white pepper

1 piece (3 inches long) Chinese cinnamon

Advertisement

1 whole star anise pod

1 whole clove

1 black cardamom pod, optional

1 Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place onion and ginger on rimmed baking sheet; roast until onion is soft, about 1 hour. Remove from oven; cool. Peel, then halve onion. Slice unpeeled ginger into 1/4-inch thick coins.

2 Meanwhile, prep the bones: To ensure a pot is large enough to blanch the bones without boiling over, put the oxtails, neck and shank bones in a large pot with enough water to cover by 1 inch. Remove bones. Heat water to a rolling boil. Add oxtails, neck bones and shanks back to pot. Return to a boil; boil 3 minutes. Drain pot's contents into a colander; rinse under cold running water.

3 Rinse pot; add rinsed bones and marrow bones to pot. Add onion, ginger, sugar, salt and 8 quarts fresh water to pot. Heat to a boil over high heat; skim off any foam. Lower heat to a simmer; simmer, skimming as needed to remove surface scum, 4 hours.

Advertisement

4 Add pepper, cinnamon, star anise, clove and cardamom. Continue simmering and skimming, 1 hour.

5 Remove from heat. Using a slotted spoon, discard large solids. Strain stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a large container. Allow to cool. Refrigerate overnight.

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >

6 The next day, skim off most of the surface fat (there will probably be a lot). Leave some fat to give the stock better flavor and mouthfeel. Store in airtight containers up to 3 days in the refrigerator or up to 3 months in the freezer.

Know your noodles

Noodles are an important ingredient in Asian dishes, from Japan's soba (buckwheat) to the rice noodles used in Thailand's pad thai. "Vietnamese Home Cooking" author Charles Phan offers a few tips on working with noodles, including the delicate rice noodles used in pho:

Cellophane: Also called glass noodles or bean thread noodles. Made from mung beans. Popular as a filling (think: spring rolls). To use, cover with hot water and soak 10 to 15 minutes.

Advertisement

Rice: Can be flat or round (called "bun"), thin, medium or wide. Use flat noodles in pho and stir-fries. Round ones (thinnest caled vermicelli) in spring rolls, soups. To use, boil dried versions in unsalted water until "tender yet still have some bite."

Egg noodles: Usually dried, sometimes fresh. Various sizes. Use in soups and stir fries. To use, boil, drain, rinse.

Charles Phan's tips for assembling pho:
The blues is our city's soundtrack.

But it was not, as some might have come to believe, born in a Grant Park festival or a North Side club. It came up from the Mississippi Delta and was raised in Memphis before exploding in the smokey small South and West side bars of Chicago.

Advertisement

It is here that the blues are deep in the concrete and flow through the air in sounds and in all those whispered names  Muddy and Buddy and Willie, Koko and Junior, Howlin' Wolf and Sunnyland Slim, Corky and Billy and on and on.

Now you can add to that crowd the name Jimmie Kane Baldwin.

Advertisement

Never heard of him? That's understandable. He is not real. He is the creation of local writer Kevin Guilfoile who, along with an audience, will see and hear Baldwin in screenings Oct. 14, 18 and 21 of a new movie titled "Chasing the Blues," part of this year's Chicago International Film Festival (chicagofilmfestival.com).

"It will be exciting to see it, to see Jimmie Kane Baldwin, on screen. This thing, this man, has been in my head for so long," Guilfoile was saying one recent morning. "I can't wait."

He was with Scott Smith, the director of the movie; Smith and Guilfoile collaborated on the screenplay. They were both standing in Val's Halla Records, that cathedral of music on vinyl and cassette run by Val Camilletti at 239 W. Harrison St. in Oak Park (valshallarecords.com).

"I love this place," said Smith. "And it gives the movie credibility, authenticity."

Val's Halla was one of the many local locations for filming "Chasing the Blues," a movie shot late last year in speedy fashion  18 days. It took much longer to make  10 years.

The movie, set artfully in three time periods, features two record collectors, each seeking to possess a legendary and perhaps cursed piece of vinyl that is the only existing copy of the only song recorded on the Southwest Side by the aforementioned Jimmie Kane Baldwin. This mysterious three-fingered guitar player just walked in the doors of Cicero Records and started to play and then he was gone. The song is said to contain the ghostly screams of a woman who Baldwin murdered in Mississippi on the same day that the great bluesman Robert Johnson died in 1938.

The two men try to con an old woman out of the record, they get in trouble, they go to jail, and they get out and go at it again. It's an extremely compelling and darkly comic ride.

The film was born in 2007 when Smith was given a copy of a Guilfoile short story titled "O Death Where Is Thy Sting?" It was contained in a collection titled "Chicago Blues" (Bleak House, 2007). Edited by Libby Fischer Hellman with an introduction written by me, it contained 21 stories. The man who reviewed the book for the Tribune, Dick Adler, called Guilfoile's story "spooky."

Advertisement

"I thought the story was great," says Smith, a longtime creative director for advertising agencies such as Element 79 and Leo Burnett and the co-founder in 2009 of a film/commercial production outfit called Fulton Market Films (fultonmarketfilms.com) with John Fromstein, this film's executive producer and the man who gave Smith Guilfoile's short story). "I immediately saw it as a feature film."

He called Guilfoile, whom he had met before, since Guilfoile too toiled in the ad business before devoting himself to writing full time, and asked, "Want to collaborate on a script?"

"I was flattered," says Guilfoile. "Though there has been some movie interest and deals involving my novels (2005's "Cast of Shadows" was followed by 2010's "The Thousand") but no one had ever asked me to collaborate on writing a script. I was excited to work with Scott. The structure of a screenplay is so different. This was a great learning experience for me."

Happy with their collaboration  even though "we must have rewritten the ending seven times," says Guilfoile  Smith began the arduous process of getting it on screen.

The script sat around and was passed around for years. "I had almost forgotten there was a script when Smith called and said we might get the movie made," says Guilfoile. But eventually the project took flight, getting not only attention but, more crucially, financing and a couple of names, not huge name but names nonetheless: Jon Lovitz and Steve Guttenberg.

"You don't want to use actors just for their names but it helps," says Smith.

Advertisement

Guttenberg came to Chicago for one day of shooting; his part is relatively tiny. Lovitz has a more substantial role and his work greatly impressed the writers.

"He was awesome," says Guilfoile.

"He was very serious about the role," says Smith. "And he was filled with good ideas."

The stars of the independent film are Grant Rosenmeyer and Ron Connor as the rival collectors, Anna Maria Horsford as the sweet and lonely woman they are trying to swindle and Chelsea Tavares as an ambitious young musician. Chicago restaurant/nightclub impresario Billy Dec has a small part near the film's end, and Val's Halla employee Shane Blakeley has one at the beginning. (chasingtheblues.com).

Though Smith had been a top-three finalist in the Matt Damon-Ben Affleck TV competition "Project Greenlight" (projectgreenlight.com) for a comedy short he directed in 2007, his only previous feature length work had been the delightful 2009's "Being Bucky," about the seven people who play the University of Wisconsin's mascot.

"It was a very tight schedule and with 30 people or so in the cast and crew sometimes a bit of chaotic, but I couldn't be more pleased," said Smith.

Advertisement

Guilfoile was reluctant to visit during shooting.

"I did visit the set for one day," he says. "But that was it. I thought that because of my days working in advertising that I would know just enough to be really annoying."

The hope is that "Chasing the Blues" will gain attention here and at the other festivals in which it is entered (Austin, Fort Worth). That could lead to a distribution deal that will in turn lead to a theatrical release that in turn  It's hard to predict any true course in the movie business.

In the meantime, Guilfoile is working with producers/writers Joan Rater and Tony Phelan of "Grey's Anatomy" success on developing his novel "Cast of Shadows" into a TV series.

That is a great book and, so, it contains the potential to be a great show, one of these days.

But more of the moment, how is "Chasing the Blues"?

Advertisement

My colleague, movie critic Michael Phillips, will have his say closer to the film's premiere.

But here's my modest take, borrowed from something Koko Taylor once said about the first time she heard Muddy Waters play the blues: "It just reached out and grabbed me, and it ain't turned me loose yet."

rkogan@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @rickkogan

[ RELATED: Why do we make music? The guys in Molehill surely know  ]

[ Wisdom from Bob Dylan from his very first stops in Chicago  ]

[ 53rd Chicago International Film Fest: Red carpet, blue ribbon titles  ]







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)
Samantha Power has been called the conscience of U.S. foreign policy and will kick off this year's Chicago Humanities Festival, which is themed "Belief." (Sergei Chuzavkov/AP)

The Chicago Humanities Festival, the annual program with the mission of connecting people with the ideas that create and change culture, will kick off this fall's "Belief" series with a conversation between Samantha Power and acclaimed foreign affairs journalist Robin Wright.

Power, Barack Obama's appointee to the United Nations, will talk with Wright about how she currently views the state of human rights around the world  possibly addressing the genocide in Syria, the occupation of Palestine and the attack on transgender rights here in the United States. Power will also posit what she believes is the most humane way forward on human rights.

Advertisement

Once called the "conscience" of U.S. foreign policy, Power was, at 42, the youngest person to ever hold the U.N. post. Before serving under the Obama administration, she earned a reputation for her interventionist approach to foreign affairs. In her 2003 Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide," Power criticized Washington's "toleration of unspeakable atrocities, often committed in clear view." During her time in academia, she was known as the Ivy League Joan of Arc.

After she became a senior adviser to President Obama and the United States ambassador to the United Nations, Power earned even more nicknames. "People call her the activist-in-chief," Madeleine Albright told the New Yorker in 2014.

Advertisement

Now on the outside of the White House, Power has turned her critical eye to the ways that foreign propaganda shaped the 2016 election. "During the Cold War, the larger struggle against communism created a mainstream consensus about what America stood for and against," she wrote in a New York Times op-ed last month. "Today, our society appears to be defined by a particularly vicious form of 'partyism' affecting Democrats and Republicans alike. This divisive environment can make the media more susceptible to repeating and amplifying falsehoods."

In dialogue with Power, journalist Wright will bring her years of experience as a foreign affairs analyst to the table. Wright is a fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace and just wrapped a fellowship with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, where she furthered her expertise on Middle Eastern policy and focused on International Security and Defense.

She has reported from 140 countries on six continents, covering moments of historical transformation. She was on the ground during Iran's revolutions of the 1970s and the country's war with Saddam Hussein in the '80s. Wright was then one of the first journalists to visit Baghdad when Hussein lost power in 2003.

For both Wright and Power, belief is not just a set of guiding principles, but a changing ideology worthy of constant interrogation.

5:30 p.m. Monday, Fourth Presbyterian Church of Chicago Sanctuary, 126 E. Chestnut St., Chicago; sold out, call 312-605-8444 to be added to the wait list.

khawbaker@tronc.com

Twitter: @roaringgilmore

[ RELATED: 53rd Chicago International Film Fest: Red carpet, blue ribbon titles  ]

[ 'Disposable' women? TV wives keep dying on shows centered on male actors  ]

[ Hillary Clinton on Jimmy Fallon: 'I want our country to understand how resilient we are'  ]







Watch the latest movie trailers.

Expand Autoplay Image 1 of 126 Woody introduces the gang to a homemade spork toy with self-esteem issues in "Toy Story 4." Read the review. (Pixar / AP)
NEW YORK  "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda released a new original song Friday to raise money for Puerto Rican hurricane relief and he's enlisted some of the biggest Latin stars in music to help.

"Almost Like Praying" features Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Camila Cabello, Gloria Estefan, Fat Joe, Luis Fonsi, John Leguizamo and Rita Moreno, among many others. All proceeds from the download and stream go to The Hispanic Federation's disaster relief fund .

Advertisement

"I was like every Puerto Rican with ties to the island, with family on the island. We all had a terrible few days of silence. For some, those days were weeks," Miranda told The Associated Press. "For me, that helplessness turned into, 'OK, well what can I write that will help? Can I write a tune that we can monetize?'"

Miranda said he made an a cappella demo in a bathroom in Austria  where he was on vacation  and sent it to Atlantic Records, enlisting help. The subsequent recording process took a breath-taking 72 hours and took him to studios in New York City, Los Angeles and Miami to link up with the music stars. "Everyone said yes and then it became the logistics of getting everyone recorded," he said.

Advertisement

The song borrows from "Maria," the classic song from Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's "West Side Story" and Miranda said the song popped into his head after the hurricane by the same name devastated Puerto Rico on Sept. 20.

The song's lyrics list all of the 78 towns of Puerto Rico. Miranda said he didn't want inland and mountainous communities to be ignored as bigger cities get power and food.

"This song is designed so that those towns never feel forgotten again," he said. "I cannot wait for Puerto Ricans to hear Luis Fonsi sing the name of their town or J.Lo to sing the name of their town."

One verse turned out to be exceedingly hard to get. Miranda reached out to the rapper PJ Sin Suela but never heard back. Sin Suela finally answered on Saturday, saying he was on the island and had just gotten power. He offered to help and Miranda asked if there was a studio nearby where he could record a verse.

Sin Suela found one in San Juan and recorded the verse but couldn't get enough bandwidth to email it to Miranda. Estefan, who was flying to Puerto Rico the next day on a relief mission, volunteered to pick it up. On Monday night, while Miranda was working on the song in Miami, Estefan sent him a photo of her holding a memory stick  containing the missing verse.

"Everyone cried, we were in tears. We screamed, 'We got this verse out of Puerto Rico!'" said Miranda. "That gives you an example of the effort and the cooperation involved."

Also featured on the song are Ruben Blades, Pedro Capo, Dessa, Juan Luis Guerra, Alex Lacamoire, Ednita Nazario, Joell Ortiz, Anthony Ramos, Gina Rodriguez, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Tommy Torres and Ana Villafane. (Ricky Martin and Daddy Yankee were too busy with relief efforts to join in). "Everyone is doing their part. I've never seen such mobilization in my life," Miranda said.

The Tony, Emmy and Grammy-winning Miranda has long used his megaphone for social causes, including asking Congress to help dig Puerto Rico out of its debt crisis, performing at a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton on Broadway, lobbying to stop gun violence in America and teaming up with Jennifer Lopez on the benefit single "Love Make the World Go Round."

Advertisement

Miranda has been critical of President Donald Trump's response to Hurricane Maria but had nothing but praise for the ordinary Americans who have sent diapers, baby formula, batteries and money and other aid to the island. Many communities there are still waiting for power and clean water.

"This was an unprecedented disaster and requires an unprecedented federal response. They have not yet gotten an unprecedented federal response," Miranda said. "I am longing and waiting and jumping up and down for a federal response to match the response of our people."

RELATED STORIES:

Trump said he wants to bail out Puerto Rico. His budget head says he didn't mean it.

'MasterChef Junior' contestant cooking up pies for Puerto Rico

Trapped in the mountains, Puerto Ricans don't see help, or a way out







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)
The Steven Spielberg portrayed in Susan Lacy's satisfyingly comprehensive 2 1/2-hour HBO documentary "Spielberg" is a wide-open book. It's all so clearly been about a lonely suburban boy who found solace in filmmaking and grew up to envision and direct an unforgettable list of movies about lonely boys (sometimes girls) who find cathartic resolution amid middle-American angst, war, political chaos, futuristic ennui and supernatural phenomena. Beginning, essentially, with a shark.

Steven Spielberg as a young man. (HBO )

"He certainly likes torturing the audience," observes one of the film's many sources, film critic J. Hoberman, on the subject of Spielberg's breakout hit, 1975's " Jaws." "Has he ever been in analysis?"

Advertisement

No need! Turns out that nearly everything you'd want to know about Spielberg is front-and-center in his blockbusters, broken down for us here in the simplest exercise of auteur theory: Lacy (who created PBS's "American Masters" series) gets Spielberg to talk about personal baggage and how it surfaces on-screen. Childhood fears ("Jaws"), ostracization and parental divorce ("Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial"); his disavowal and later acceptance of being Jewish ("Schindler's List"), his reconciliation with his father ("Saving Private Ryan"), his reactions to 9/11 ("Munich," "War of the Worlds").

"Steven doesn't want to make little, personal movies," says actor Bob Balaban. "He wants to make big personal movies."

Advertisement

Steven Spielberg on the set of the 1993 film "Schindler's List." (HBO)

"Spielberg" (airing Saturday) has the feel of official business, with the man himself happily participating in long conversations about his creative process, while dozens of other sources - his 100-year-old father, Arnold, and his mother, Leah, who died at 97 in February; his siblings, peers, longtime collaborators, actors, film critics and historians - supply their own observations and asides. It also features a thrilling, chronological examination of his movies (the best of them, along with some flops such as "1941" and "Hook") that gives shape and depth to the definition of the Spielbergian style.

Describing "Spielberg" makes it sound like an exercise in fawning, and it is indeed gentle and reverent. But it does include a note or two of well-aired criticism: In a clip from an old "60 Minutes" interview with the late Ed Bradley, a younger Spielberg is confronted with the opinion that his films were big but hollow - "Not art," Bradley suggests. Like his pal George Lucas, Spielberg testily rejects what he calls a "pretentious" notion that art must be serious and not move the viewer in an emotional way.

A sequence about his 1985 adaptation of Alice Walker's "The Color Purple" suggests that Spielberg's vision for the movie hasn't held up (critic David Edelstein says "There's something so false, so Disney-storyboard about that movie"). "He could never go where Alice (Walker) went with that book," offers producer Kathleen Kennedy, a longtime collaborator. "I just wasn't the right guy to do that," Spielberg says.

Steven Spielberg, Vin Diesel, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg and Tom Sizemore on the set of the 1998 film "Saving Private Ryan." (HBO )

Perhaps Lacy brings Spielberg low at this point to prepare the viewer for the exultant second half of her documentary, which sticks to a theme of ascent and maturity. Spielberg's workaholism costs him personally (it's strange that, of the dozens of people who are interviewed in the film, we hear nothing from his wife, Kate Capshaw, or any of his seven children), but it paid off extraordinarily. In 1993, he once again conquered the summer box-office with "Jurassic Park," fully unleashing the age of computer-generated effects and then, only months later, he released his personal masterpiece, "Schindler's List," which cleaned up at the Academy Awards.

From there, "Spielberg" coasts mainly on afterglow and continued output, providing example after example of its subject's many contributions to the art of filmmaking. And it offers the pleasant reassurance that, at 70, Spielberg considers his work far from finished.

"Spielberg" (150 minutes) airs Saturday at 8 p.m. on HBO.

RELATED STORIES:

'Close Encounters': Messy as it is, it means more to me than 'Star Wars' ever did

Advertisement

From 1977: Gene Siskel's Chicago Tribune Spielberg interview

10 fall movies to save the world (maybe)







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)
September 5 was a bittersweet day for Michelle Zepeda, 28. As she was taking her daughter to her first day of preschool, President Donald Trump's administration announced the removal of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), the program that allowed her and her husband David Blancas, 30, to graduate from college, get a masters degree, a good job and start a family. Until that day, the family planned to buy a home. Now, facing the possibility of deportation, their future is uncertain.

"I was trying to enjoy that moment. I remember seeing the other parents and I thought, 'it is not fair that they do not have to think about this, about what will happen with their children's future.' They were able to fully enjoy taking their kids to their first day of school," Zepeda said. The mother took a deep breath, and began to cry.

Until that day the couple had, "big dreams" of buying a house for their two children, Adenine, who is almost 4 years old and Tanok, of 6 months, Blancas said.

Advertisement

"When we talk about the 'American Dream', we often include a nuclear family and education, and I think we exemplify that dream," Blancas said. "We were saving to buy our house and we were about to do it, but with [the phasing out of DACA] those dreams and goals had to be put on pause because we do not know what will happen in the next months."

In the announcement, on September 5, it was confirmed that DACA would be eliminated and President Trump gave Congress six months to develop a legislative solution to grant legal status to the 800,000 undocumented immigrants sheltered by the program.

Blancas and Zepeda met at Aurora University, said Zepeda, who learned of her status when she sought to get a driver's license, at age 16.



Blancas was aware that he was not like other kid from age 7, "but I did not know what it really meant," to be undocumented, he recalled.



When he realized that his relationship with Zepeda was serious, Blancas decided to tell her that he was undocumented.



"I thought she was going to break-up with me and it turned out that she was also undocumented," Blancas said.



The Blancas-Zepeda family in the backyard of their house, in Streamwood, Illinois. (LAURA RODRIGUEZ/HOY)



Although DACA had not yet been created, in July 2011, the two decided to fight for their dreams together, and got married.

It was thanks to the support of his family and community, Blancas said, that both were able to graduate from college. Shortly after DACA was implemented, Blancas went on to earn a master's degree from Lewis University, and became a teacher at Chicago Academy High School, a public school in Chicago.

Advertisement

Soon after their first daughter was born, Zepeda decided to pursue her master's degree and started a part-time program at Depaul University.



It was, the family we had always dreamed of, Zepeda said.



Today, Blancas is director of teacher support at OneGoal, an organization committed to helping students from low-income communities graduate from college. Zepeda finished her master's program in July 2017, and takes care of the couples little ones. But now, everything is in the balance.

Blancas' DACA work authorization officially expires in September 2018. Zepeda's expires in September 2019.

"Thanks to DACA I was able to get the job of my dreams, help society, raise a family," Blancas said. "But not anymore. My permit expires in a year, which means I have one year to plan for the future of my wife and both my children."

Although he does not want to do it, Blancas does not rule out the possibility of moving his family to another country.

Michelle Zepeda with her son Tanok Blancas, in the backyard of their house, in Streamwood, Illinois. (LAURA RODRIGUEZ/HOY)

"It's the same thing our parents did with us, by bringing us here from Mexico, and they tried to make sure it did not to happen to us. But now, we are forced to do it for our children's well-being," Blancas said.

The couple does not welcome another temporary protection, like DACA, because beneficiaries live in constant uncertainty, Zepeda said, and they insist that the solution be immigration reform for the 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States.
Diane Guerrero sits on the floor of the stage at Ryan Auditorium in Northwestern University on October 3, 2017. (LAURA RODRIGUEZ/HOY)

As the daughter of deported parents, Hollywood star Diane Guerrero, 29, spoke "for and to all the shadow children, the kids that split between the cracks," she said during a talk at Northwestern University, in early October, as part of the school's Latinx History Month.

Guerrero began her journey as an immigration advocate after publishing her memoir, "In the Country We Love" in which she reflects on the emotional toll immigration policies take on families in United States. The actress opens up about her struggle with alcohol abuse, severe depression, self-harm, and suicidal ideation.

Advertisement

"It was as if somebody stole my voice," she told the nearly 500 attendees in the university's Ryan Auditorium. "And I've been working to get it back."

Guerrero admitted that she continues to struggle with depression and anxiety every day, but that sharing her experience and encouraging others to speak out, "makes it easier."

Advertisement

The trauma of her parents' deportation is common among Latinx youth, she said. Guerrero decided to cope with her struggle through advocacy, by "making them [the shadowed children] visible, and resisting."

That's why she encouraged the the undocumented and children of undocumented immigrants in the audience to "work hard to regain that voice taken from us."

"The biggest hindrance for any human being able to move forward is mental health, specially at this moment," she said referring to the youth protected under the now phased out Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Guerrero also emphasized that self-love is "essential to moving forward in order to help oneself and continue to help others."

"I know my family loves me, but the hardest part is to love myself," she said.

Diane Guerrero, OITNB star, gives a talk in Northwestern University as part of the LatinX Heritage month ON October 3, 2017

However, issues on mental health in the Latino community are often stigmatized because "our struggle has been so real and we have been so oppressed that there is no room to worry about your feelings," she added.

"Most parents don't believe in mental health and they consider therapy a luxury," Guerrero said. "But it's really important to address it, our immigrant families need it the most right now."

During the talk, Guerrero announced that she will be meeting with actresses Gina Rodriguez and America Ferrera in the following weeks to develop a plan to empower their Latino community on and behind the screen.

Advertisement

"These are my homegirls," Guerrero said. "We all support each other [and] this is an act of love. Many other Latina actresses are going to be there, to [figure out a project] and see how can we be of service on a larger scale."
Matt Bellina was a 30-year-old officer in the U.S. Navy flying out of the Pacific Northwest to protect the country when he started showing symptoms of the deadly Lou Gehrig's disease in 2012. Now he's taken on a new fight: a law making it easier for terminally ill patients to get access to experimental drugs.

He's getting closer to his goal, with the House now the last stop for the effort known as Right to Try after the Senate unanimously passed similar legislation in August.

Advertisement

"I need to know before I die that if my children find themselves in this unenviable position, that this nation that I proudly served will respect their liberties and their right to make their own decisions about their medical treatments," Bellina, a father of three boys, said Tuesday at a health subcommittee hearing at the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

On the surface, Right to Try is a no-brainer. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have voiced support, as have many Democrats, and a federal law would reinforce legislation already passed in 37 states and under consideration in the remaining 13.

Advertisement

But it's more complicated than that.

Critics including drugmakers, researchers and ethicists say tending the urgent needs of one person, no matter how compelling, can lead to greater harm and slow development of medicines for thousands of others. They say there's already a system in place, called compassionate use, that gives access to experimental drugs after an independent reviewer and the Food and Drug Administration have signed off. Under the Right to Try bills, the entire process takes place between the patient, the doctor and the company, leaving out all others.

The FDA commissioner said at the House hearing Tuesday that legislation should be used narrowly, for patients expected to die within months -- which isn't what people with progressive diseases like Bellina's are pushing for.

And a federal law isn't going to improve the approval rate of requests for compassionate use, which already stands at 99 percent, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said. The main hurdle to get to the treatments isn't the regulator, said Gottlieb, who was treated himself for cancer with a drug therapy that wasn't approved for his condition.

"There is a perception that there are certain companies and products that aren't necessarily being offered under the current construct, and the Right to Try legislation might provide more of an opportunity for companies to offer products in a different setting," the commissioner said. "The biggest obstacle to offering drugs through expanded access is supply constraints."

Neither the FDA nor lawmakers can compel companies to make their experimental products available, not under the existing compassionate use framework and not under Right to Try bills. To critics like Ira Loss, an analyst who has been tracking the FDA for four decades at Washington Analysis, that renders any law useless.

"This is an unfortunate effort that will only lead to disappointment in the end for those who try to take advantage of it," Loss said in a phone interview. "It's not necessary in my view."

PhRMA, the pharmaceutical industry's trade association, hasn't taken a formal position on the matter in the past and declined to comment after the hearing.

Advertisement

For drugmakers, Right to Try can be fraught with risks: Patients who are already terminally ill may suffer complications or die after taking their experimental medicine, potentially jeopardizing clinical studies for other patients. Consequences could be devastating for biotechnology startups, the center of some of the most daring medical innovation, as they have a limited supply of their novel therapies.

Opponents favor improving existing programs such as compassionate use. The FDA took such steps Tuesday, with measures that may make manufacturers more willing to provide drugs. The agency will allow companies not to publicly report side effects and serious adverse reactions for compassionate-use patients if there's no evidence suggesting the drugs caused the problem. The goal is to ease concerns that complications arising from compassionate use put development of the medicines on hold -- and scare away investors.

There's no timetable scheduled yet for a House vote on the two Right to Try proposals under consideration. The two bills -- one for drugs and the other for both medicines and medical devices -- allow terminally ill patients to use unapproved products without the permission of the FDA and without any ramifications for the manufacturer if anything goes wrong.

For patients like Bellina, a national law is necessary. His disease, formally known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, attacks nerve cells in the brain and progressively takes away the patient's control of voluntary muscles -- the brain itself isn't affected. Most die from respiratory failure within three to five years. There are very few treatments, but several companies are experimenting with therapies. Bellina hopes that removing barriers for drugmakers to make their products available to people like him will eventually help the quest for a cure.

"It's not that they are heartless and don't want to, but they are afraid," he said by email after the hearing. "The company could always say no, but this bill makes it a lot easier to say yes."

Bloomberg's Cynthia Koons contributed.






If you only read one essay in "Nasty Women: Feminism, Resistance, and Revolution in Trump's America"  and really, why would you stop at one?  make it Chicago author Sarah Hollenbeck's "As Long as It's Healthy."

It's a searing, gorgeous examination of our descent, as a nation, toward cruelty, told through the lens of a woman born with Moebius syndrome, which causes partial paralysis of the facial muscles.

Advertisement

"My experience of being a disabled woman is discovering in small, sharp explosions what I look like through the feedback of strangers," Hollenbeck writes.

In the essay, Hollenbeck, co-owner of Chicago's Women & Children First bookstore, wrestles with whether to try to have a baby with her husband, Andy, and wonders if her maternal tug is, at least in part, a desire to show the world her body can behave "normally."

Advertisement

President Donald Trump's mocking of, among others, New York Times reporter Serge Kovaleski for his congenital joint condition  and winning the election anyway  felt to Hollenbeck like a shift in the world in which she'd be raising a child.

"I am furious when I think about all the black, brown, refugee, and queer babies, and the 'unhealthy' ones like me, like Annie (Hollenbeck's sister), being born into a world that feels unequivocally less nice now than it was more than 30 years ago," she writes.

"For me, what is new about this era is a top-down unkindness," she writes. "Instead of making a new human, I feel a responsibility to be a better caretaker for the humans who are already here."

Her essay is excerpted here. It deserves to be read in full.

So does Zerlina Maxwell's "Trust Black Women."

"We know what it's like to be left out of important conversations about issues that affect us directly," Maxwell writes. "We know what it's like to see our suffering ignored.  We know what it's like to be underestimated.  And we know what it's like to persevere anyway."

So does Cheryl Strayed's "She Will."

"Nasty Women: Feminism, Resistance, And Revolution in Trump's America" (Picador)

"Though I've never been under the illusion that sexism has vanished, before Trump was elected there was a history-lesson element to the stories I told of my first consciousness about what it meant to be female in America, a quality that had made the sexism I experienced as a girl seem antiquated and nearly extinct," the "Wild" author writes. "The message was: This is the way it used to be! Isn't that amazing? In witnessing the presidential race and Trump's eventual win, I've concluded that I had it wrong. This isn't how it used to be. It is the way it is. It amazes me still."

Advertisement

Samantha Irby's "Country Crock" is fantastic. Sarah Jaffe's "Donald Trump's War on the Working Class" is essential. Carina Chocano's "We Have a Heroine Problem" is brilliant.

Just read the whole book. It's only getting more relevant by the hour. Trump called the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, who's been sleeping on a cot and wading through sewage and trying to save her ravaged island, "nasty" the other day. (She responded by showing up on TV in a "NASTY" T-shirt.)

Oh, and there's a party. Next Friday, Oct. 13, Women & Children First will host an author panel featuring "Nasty Women" contributors Irby, Hollenbeck, Kate Harding and Samhita Mukhopadhyay. Chicago author Megan Stielstra will also participate. Deejay Maggie Tomasek will add the tunes.

It's at 7 p.m. at Wilson Abbey, 935 W. Wilson Ave. You can buy tickets on the Women & Children First site.

Friday the 13th. A room full of nasty, brilliant women. Books. Music. Resistance.

I love this town.

Advertisement

hstevens@chicagotribune.comTwitter @heidistevens13

[ Related: Celebrating the magic of a birthday, even as the world mourns  ]

[ Trump golf ball tweet should earn unanimous rebuke from congressional women  ]

[ Can a band of suffragettes save Shakespeare's problematic 'Shrew'?  ]






Members of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church carry one of three replica statues of the Virgin Mary from Jalisco, Mexico, known as "Las Reinas de Jalisco," or "The Queens of Jalisco," during a procession celebrating their arrival at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church on Oct. 5, 2017, in Chicago. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

Raised by his grandmother in Mexico after his parents separated, Gabriel Rojas recalls the breathless anticipation of his mother's annual visits and the joyful celebration when she arrived.

That same elation overcame Rojas, the choir director at St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, on Thursday, when three replica statues of the Virgin Mary arrived from Mexico to kick off four days of prayers and processions through the Back of the Yards neighborhood.

Advertisement

"This situation is like the same thing  we are waiting for our mother to visit us," said Rojas who has lived in the Back of the Yards since he came to the U.S. in 1998. "We feel protected in a spiritual way. ... As immigrants sometimes we feel lonely, like being in the middle of the desert, and she's the one who is there with us."

In a neighborhood plagued by gang violence and where many fear a crackdown on immigrants who came into the U.S. illegally, Rojas and other parishioners at St. Joseph believe the opportunity to pray with the three statues together will comfort residents, kindle unity and inspire peace.

Advertisement

For the church, it's a chance to bring parishioners back.

"This gets them out," said the Rev. Hugo Leon Londono, a Colombian priest with Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and the pastor of St. Joseph.

United in Chicago for the first time on Thursday, the trio of revered images  Our Lady of Zapopan, Our Lady of the Rosary of Talpa and Our Lady of San Juan de Los Lagos, known as The Queens of Jalisco  were paraded around Back of the Yards Thursday night.

They will tour the neighborhood again on Saturday as part of a "Humanity Walk for Peace," which will intersperse prayers for children, families, first responders, those in charge of police oversight and elected officials among the mysteries of the Rosary  meditations on key events in the life and death of Jesus. An outdoor Mass at the end of the trek will be dedicated to victims of gun violence.

St. Joseph parishioner Mark Wojciechowski said the parish wanted to do something extraordinary to overcome the despair in the community. Since President Donald Trump took office, the parish has seen a decline in attendance, prompted by fears that immigration officials are waiting outside, he said, though there have been no reports of that.

At the same time, in the police district that includes Back of the Yards, more than 40 people have been killed so far this year, according to Chicago Tribune statistics.

"All you hear from Back of the Yards is shootings and gangs," Wojciechowski said. "It's time to give some hope and something back to the community. There has to be some kind of starting point."

The traveling statues, miniature replicas from three shrines in the Mexican state of Jalisco, also enable those who can't risk or afford traveling to Mexico to fulfill their "mandas," a custom of traveling to one of the virgin's statues in or near their hometown to show their gratitude for answered prayers.

Advertisement

Since many of Chicago's Mexican immigrants hail from Jalisco, the three statues offer a personal connection, Londono, said.

"People claim that praying deeply in front of these images, they've seen miracles," he said. "As a community we are in need of stopping violence. We have a very strong gang activity. That's a strong petition as a community."

While there are hundreds of similar statues portraying the Mother of God in different places with different titles, each one pays tribute to a particular miracle that locals believe the virgin helped bring about in the region for which she is named.

"They're all part of the same sacred reality," said University of Notre Dame theology professor Timothy Matovina, who specializes in Latino Catholicism. "They go to certain ones for different things and others for other needs."

Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos, second in popularity to Our Lady of Guadalupe, has traveled to Chicago annually for the last 20 years. Many Mexican Catholics believe she performed her first miracle in the early 1600s by bringing a young acrobat back to life after a disastrous circus accident.

Also in the 1600s, Our Lady of Talpa is believed to have restored herself to splendor when church custodians tried to bury the decaying statue that originally had been a gift from a Spanish missionary. She is believed to have later halted the spread of plagues.

Advertisement

But perhaps the most meaningful of the images for residents of Back of the Yards is Our Lady of Zapopan, an image that dates to 1541.

Many Mexican Catholics believe a missionary priest wore the virgin's image around his neck as he implored Mexico's indigenous population to make peace with the Spaniards. The image reportedly emitted rays of light that persuaded the warring factions to lay down their arms, earning her the nickname of "La Pacificadora," or "She Who Makes Peace."

Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >

She is also believed to have halted plagues, violent storms and military battles.

The unprecedented act of bringing together a triumvirate suggests that the community considers itself in "dire straits," Matovina said.

"We don't need just one of them. We're bringing out the whole pantheon here," he said. "It's as if they're saying, 'We need to storm the gates of heaven and bring out all of our intercessors and all of our helpers.'"

Rojas, who was raised Presbyterian but converted to Catholicism after he moved to the U.S., said he will kneel before the images this weekend and pray for his family, the church and those suffering in Mexico and the U.S. from the recent series of natural disasters. The presence of all three images serves as a reminder that the virgin can appear anytime and anywhere she's needed, he said.

Advertisement

"Every time the Virgin Mary appears there is a big necessity," Rojas said. "People are suffering. She comes and appears again."

mbrachear@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @TribSeeker
Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel waits before Game 3 of the World Series at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Oct. 28, 2016. (Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune)

It's playoff time, folks, and that can only mean one thing  Mayor Rahm Emanuel is again wagering food stuffs with a rival mayor.

Like a suburbanite loading up at Costco, Emanuel has previously won five cases of beer; two bottles of whiskey; 122 Cuban sandwiches; nine pastrami sandwiches; nine french dip sandwiches; three five-pound burritos; a 25-pound salted nut roll; "1905" salads; a case of chilis; a case of mustard; 12 bottles of Sriracha; unspecified Boston delights and a "Yogaworks for Everybody" DVD from the mayors of Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Tampa, San Francisco and St. Paul. Not content with that haul, Emanuel is now trying to score some sausage and beer from Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Advertisement

Issuing some weak smack talk too mild to bear repeating, Emanuel has staked sausage from Publican Quality Meats, prime bone-in ribeye steaks from Harry Caray's Italian Steakhouse, two growlers of Vice District Brewing Co's Habitual beer and a donation to Puerto Rico on the Cubs beating the Washington Nationals in the division series.

Though the recent success of the Cubs and Blackhawks means he has surely come out ahead over the course of his reign, his gambling habit has in the past cost him untold Giordano's deep-dish pizzas, cases of Lagunitas beer, bacon-flavored chocolate bars from Vosges' Haut-Chocolate, Eli's cheesecake, Garrett's popcorn and a 3-D printed model of the Willis Tower, which had to burn.

Advertisement

Charitable donations to hometown charities typically form part of the friendly bets, but this time whoever loses will pay into the Puerto Rice relief effort.

kjanssen@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @kimjnews






Three people are in custody after leading police on a chase that ended in a collision following the theft of several purses from a Gold Coast boutique Friday morning.

Officers were on patrol when they spotted a man running out of a retail store holding "multiple purses'' about 11:45 a.m. in the 900 block of North Michigan Avenue, police said.

Advertisement

The man got into a vehicle with two others inside and fled east, with police giving chase, police said. The pursuit ended with the suspects' car crashing into several other vehicles, police said.

They fled on foot but police chased them again and took them into custody.

Advertisement

Police got the purse back and charges are pending.






A Philadelphia man is facing felony charges after causing more than $10,000 in damages to the 16th floor restaurant at the Trump Tower in Chicago, throwing tables and chairs and breaking glass, according to police.



Holdson Marcelin, 36, was arrested around 5:30 p.m. Monday after he was held by hotel security, police said. He was charged with one felony count of criminal damage between $10,000 and $100,000.



Police did not say what led to the disturbance, which allegedly included Marcelin pouring wine on the restaurant's furnishings.



He appeared in bond court Tuesday and was released on his own recognizance. Marcelin lives in the 400 block of East Mentor Street in Philadelphia.

A table at Sixteen in Chicago's Trump Tower. (Bill Hogan / Chicago Tribune)
The Las Vegas shooting massacre has inserted Chicago again into a national conversation about gun laws and crime. (John Locher / AP)

Sunday's mass shooting in Las Vegas that left nearly 60 people dead and hundreds wounded prompted the Trump administration to once again shine a spotlight on Chicago. The White House's view? That the city has the strictest gun laws but still has soaring homicide numbers.

"I think if you look to Chicago, where you had over 4,000 victims of gun-related crimes last year, they have the strictest gun laws in the country. That certainly hasn't helped there," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters the day after the shooting.

Advertisement

That's once again inserted Chicago into a national conversation about gun laws, crime and the link between the two. Does Chicago have the strictest gun laws in the nation, as the White House suggests? And why haven't the laws on the books prevented crime? We examine.

Does Chicago have the strictest gun laws in the country?

Advertisement

It did after Mayor Jane Byrne pushed through the ban on firearms not already registered with Chicago police in March 1982. The city's ban lasted until 2010, when the Supreme Court struck it down by a majority vote of 5-4. Two years later, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago struck down as unconstitutional the state's ban on carrying concealed firearms. In 2013, the General Assembly passed a law making Illinois the last state to grant its residents the right to concealed carry. Right now, New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco have stricter gun laws on the books, experts say.

A refresher course on gun ownership in the city, and concealed carry

City residents can own firearms but with several conditions: You must be 21 years old and possess a firearm owner's identification (FOID) card and concealed carry license, both issued by Illinois State Police.

Prior to getting a concealed carry license, residents must complete a 16-hour training course, which includes a gun range test that residents must pass, as well as coursework on gun safety. They are also subject to a background check and must pay a $150 application fee. Applicants may be denied a concealed carry license, or have law enforcement agencies object to their applications, if they have particular criminal convictions.

Those who keep guns in the home must hold only a valid FOID card. Gun owners who carry a firearm outside the home must have an FOID and a concealed carry permit.

How are Illinois' gun laws different from other states?

Among gun rights advocates, Illinois is still viewed as having very restrictive gun laws. It is, for example, one of five states that prohibit gun owners from carrying handguns that are visible to the public, while 31 other states allow for what's known as the "open carry" of a firearm  no permit required  though in some cases the gun must be unloaded.

In Illinois, by law, those with concealed carry permits are prohibited from bringing firearms into schools, public parks and playgrounds, government buildings, all public transit, and any building with a "no gun" sign or sticker clearly visible at the entrance.

Advertisement

Also, Illinois doesn't recognize out-of-state-issued concealed carry permits, so out-of-towner permit holders can't legally walk around town with a gun in their coat. But non-Illinois residents, if they're driving through the state, can have it in the car.

Have many people have concealed carry permits in Illinois?

As of June, there were 246,769 active concealed carry license holders in Illinois, according to Illinois State Police statistics.

Can you legally purchase a semi-automatic or fully automatic rifle in Illinois?

Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >

Stephen Paddock, the gunman in the deadly Las Vegas mass shooting who ultimately took his life, had numerous weapons in his hotel room. A dozen of them included "bump stocks," attachments that can effectively convert semi-automatic rifles into fully automated weapons.

In Illinois, fully automatic rifles are illegal to sell, purchase, carry or own in Illinois, except for law enforcement, military members and federally licensed gun dealers. Such rifles  which fire as long as the trigger is pulled  can be purchased only with the approval of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Those who apply with the ATF are subject to an extensive background check, pay an annual fee and must receive permission from the highest law enforcement authority where they live. Semi-automatic rifles can be legally purchased in the state, so long as someone holds a FOID card.

Advertisement

So why haven't Chicago's laws halted or slowed the number of shootings and homicides?

Police and prosecutors agree that the city's black market for illegal guns has thrived in no small part because of street gangs and their drug operations. Firearms, mostly handguns, are often purchased at private gun shows in neighboring states and at gun shops in Southern states with more relaxed gun laws. Those firearms are then sold on Chicago streets at a premium.

The Associated Press contributed.

wlee@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @MidNoirCowboy







[ Rep. Kelly: Trump press secretary wrong about Chicago gun laws  ]

[ Column: The truth  and lies  about Chicago's gun laws  ]

[ Emanuel criticizes Trump over Las Vegas response; Rauner wants 'dialogue' about guns  ]
Chicago police investigate the scene at M & M Quick Foods in the North Austin neighborhood on Dec. 30, 2011, where off-duty Officer Clifton Lewis was killed. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

Latrice Tucker took the witness stand Friday in Cook County court wearing a gold necklace emblazoned with the Chicago police badge number of her slain fiance.

Her voice steady, she remembered Clifton Lewis as a "gentle giant" devoted to his work.

Advertisement

Just days before he was fatally shot during a botched robbery at his second job in 2011, Lewis had become engaged to Tucker, his longtime girlfriend.

"How is it that I went from planning the happiest day of my life to planning and having to say goodbye forever?" testified Tucker, now 43.

Advertisement

Later Friday, Judge Erica Reddick sentenced Edgardo Colon to 84 years in prison, saying the slaying left an "utter hole" for Lewis' family and police colleagues.

"He was someone who excelled at being an officer," the judge said.

In July, a jury convicted Colon of murder, armed robbery and aggravated battery. Prosecutors at trial this summer said Colon acted as the driver while two accomplices, wearing masks and brandishing weapons, charged into the M & M Quick Foods in the 1200 block of North Austin Boulevard and fatally shot Lewis as he took cover behind the counter and returned fire. Graphic security footage played for jurors showed the shootout. The gunmen escaped with money and Lewis' weapon.

Lewis, 41, a decorated eight-year veteran of the Police Department, had just taken the second job after the store had been targeted for a robbery weeks earlier.

Colon's attorney, Assistant Public Defender LaFonzo Palmer, sought a 77-year prison term, the minimum possible, calling Colon's actions "stupid" but not malicious. He said Colon had confessed to police on video because "he couldn't deal with the guilt that he was feeling."

Colon had passed up a possible 35-year prison sentence if he had testified against the two men accused of being the gunmen, Assistant State's Attorney Andy Varga revealed in court. The two, Alexander Villa and Tyrone Clay, are awaiting trial.

Speaking briefly before the sentence was imposed, Colon, 40, maintained he was innocent but offered condolences to Lewis' family.

Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >

"No life should be snatched away like Mr. Lewis' was," he said.

Advertisement

After court, Tucker described Lewis to a Tribune reporter as a "softie."

After his death, she said she heard numerous stories about Lewis' kindness on the job: the sweater he bought for an offender who complained of cold in the lockup and the arrestee who turned her life around after Lewis gave her hope.

"He really cared about these people," Tucker said.

mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @crepeau

RELATED:

[ First of three defendants convicted in slaying of off-duty Chicago cop  ]






William Curl accepted a plea for killing an NIU student Toni Keller but then tried to take it back. A judge denied his request Friday. (Illinois Department of Corrections)

The man who pleaded guilty to killing a Northern Illinois University student failed to prove his rights were violated and cannot withdraw his plea, a judge ruled Friday.

The decision ended the bid by William Curl to take back his plea to the 2010 murder of Antinette "Toni" Keller, an 18-year-old Neuqua Valley High School graduate whose body was found burned in a DeKalb park days after she told friends she was going there to sketch.

Advertisement

DeKalb County Judge Robbin Stuckert, in an 11-page opinion, said Curl failed to establish that his constitutional rights were denied when he pleaded guilty in 2013 to killing Keller, a freshman from Plainfield. The judge had granted Curl a hearing last month to present claims that he was pressured by both prosecutors and his own attorney to plead guilty, and that he did not receive required medication before making the plea.

But the judge said she was not convinced by any of Curl's assertions that he received inadequate representation or that his case was treated unfairly.

Advertisement

About a dozen police officers from NIU and DeKalb, where Curl lived, were on hand to hear the ruling.

"This is what we were hoping for," Commander Bob Redel said.

The police presence was intended to show support for Keller's parents, Roger and Diane, who attended the hearing in September but were not in court Friday.

Daywatch Weekdays Start each day with Chicago Tribune editors' top story picks, delivered to your inbox. >

Brenda White, of Lockport, who identified herself as a family friend, attended the hearing and later said of the ruling: "Hopefully, the family can get some peace and live their lives, though it won't be easy."

Keller, an art student, left her NIU dorm Oct. 20, 2010, telling friends she was headed to Prairie Park to sketch. Her charred remains were later discovered along with some of her possessions.

The investigation eventually centered on Curl, who allegedly had deep scratches on his chest that he told friends he had received during a sexual encounter in the park. He was interviewed by police and then left the area for Mexico and was later apprehended in Louisiana.

During police interviews, he gave several accounts, including one in which he said he and Keller were having sex in the park when she hit her head on a rock and died. He made an unusual plea deal in 2013, maintaining that he was innocent but acknowledging that there was evidence to find his guilty. He received a 37-year sentence.

He later filed a petition to withdraw his plea. Curl said that then-DeKalb County State's Atty. Richard Schmack had come to the jail and told Curl that his son would be charged unless Curl pleaded guilty. Curl also asserted that his attorney, public defender Thomas McCulloch, did not provide adequate representation, and the attorney wanted Curl to plead guilty so McCulloch could avoid media exposure.

Advertisement

But the judge said Curl failed to present any credible evidence of those claims. Stuckert also said there was no evidence that Curl's interviews with police or later guilty plea were influenced by drug use, or the alleged withholding of prescription medication, as Curl claimed in his petition.

Clifford Ward is a freelance reporter.
A man was taken into police custody after a barricade situation Friday afternoon on the South Side in the Gresham neighborhood, police said.

Chicago police and the SWAT team were called about 2:45 p.m., to a domestic-related incident at a residence in the 7800 block of South Lowe Avenue. When they arrived, police learned a man had barricaded himself in a residence, police said.

Advertisement

The SWAT team was called out to assist officers.

Later Friday afternoon, police said the situation was over and a man was taken into custody.
Gov. Bruce Rauner has parted ways with chief of staff Kristina Rasmussen after she served less than three months helping him oversee what he had proclaimed an effort to build "the best team in America to turn the government around."

Brought in as the governor's third chief of staff since July is Rodger Heaton, a former federal prosecutor. The move reflects the continued reshuffling of the first-term governor's team heading into his re-election as sharp divisions have developed between Rauner and rank-and-file conservative Republican lawmakers.

Advertisement

Rasmussen joined the Rauner administration July 10 as part of a major staff shakeup only days after some Republican lawmakers bucked the governor and joined with Democrats to enact a tax hike and spending package over his veto to end a 21/2-year budget stalemate.

Rasmussen was part of a Rauner replacement team hired from the right-to-libertarian-leaning Illinois Policy Institute, where she served as chief operating officer and president. Rauner had been a donor to the group prior to becoming governor.

Advertisement

Six weeks in, however, Rauner purged a new communications crew that he largely imported from the policy institute. The action followed a series of controversies that embarrassed the governor. That left Rasmussen as one of the few holdovers from the group. Even then, her future in Rauner's team was viewed as tenuous.

Appearing in South Elgin on Friday afternoon, Rauner sought to downplay the series of changes in top aides as part of a "process of always trying to get the right team together for the right circumstances at the right time."

Rasmussen, he said, "came in during very challenging times and did a wonderful job."

"We've worked together very well, and I've know her for years and we'll continue to work together in the future in various ways," Rauner said.

But Rasmussen's short time on the job came as the governor has faced a summer that marked the most politically tumultuous time of his tenure. He signed legislation opposed by conservatives aimed at helping undocumented immigrants, increasing voter registration and expanding abortion rights.

It was Rauner's decision to sign a bill to expand taxpayer-subsidized abortions to women on Medicaid and under state employee health insurance that has created the most severe political problems for him.

As a candidate in 2014, Rauner pledged to an abortion-rights group that he supported the goals eventually contained in the legislation. But in April, as he sought to keep Republican lawmakers unified in the budget fight against majority Democrats, Rauner pledged to veto the bill.

While the once-allied policy institute has said its focus is on economic issues, Rauner's move on the abortion bill rankled the group's top leadership and agents, including those who serve as affiliated political operatives and are active in funding legislative campaigns.

Advertisement

When Rasmussen was named chief of staff, Rauner downplayed the changes by calling them "modest and minor" and an effort to bring in "fresh troops" in his ongoing battle against his chief political nemesis, Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan.

"We're building the best team in America to turn the government around," Rauner told the Quad Cities' WHBF-TV after Rasmussen's first two weeks on the job.

Rasmussen was hired to replace Richard Goldberg. The former deputy chief of staff to former U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk had been with Rauner since the 2014 campaign. Goldberg's departure and the hiring of policy institute workers created an exodus of staff that included several people who had worked to help Rauner get elected.

Remaining in the administration from the policy institute is Michael Lucci, who is deputy chief of staff for policy. In recent weeks, the administration reorganized some staff under Lucci to help develop new policy initiatives.

In turning to Heaton, who begins his role as chief of staff Monday, Rauner is looking for stabilityafter months of political turbulence, despite vows from some GOP lawmakers that they won't support his agenda or re-election.

Heaton, who was U.S. attorney for the central district of Illinois from 2005 to 2009, has served as Rauner's public safety director and homeland security advisor as well as chairman of a special commission reviewing changes in the criminal justice and sentencing system.

Advertisement

"I'm excited to promote Rodger to be our team leader," Rauner said in a statement. "His combination of legal, legislative and policy experience will help us build on the significant improvements that Kristina accomplished in a very compressed and challenging time."

Earlier Friday, Rauner once again declined to say what, if any, changes in gun laws he would support in the aftermath of the mass killing of concertgoers by a sniper in Las Vegas. That's despite growing GOP support for banning bump stocks, a device that can effectively turn a semi-automatic rifle into an automatic firearm.

"We should have a thoughtful conversation about how we can keep people in America safe, safer," Rauner said. "And there are good conversations going on. I encourage those. And I hope that we can come to some good conclusions. There are many ideas, many points of view." But Rauner repeatedly ignored reporters questions about what ideas he favors.

Beacon-News freelance reporter Linda Girardi contributed to this report.

rap30@aol.com

Twitter @rap30
Last week, the Supreme Court announced that it would hear what is sure to be a landmark case with multiple constitutional issues in play. According to the Heritage Foundation's Elizabeth Slattery, Janus v. AFSCME "will be one of the biggest cases of the term and could have huge implications for unions across the country." Mark Janus, an employee at the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, is fighting what he believes to be a violation of his First Amendment rights. In the last case challenging government unions' unconstitutional practices, Supreme Court justices deadlocked by a 4-4 vote. But now, I am hopeful that Trump appointee Justice Neil Gorsuch will come to the rescue and stand over the public-sector unions' casket with a mallet and a wooden stake.

At the heart of Janus v. AFSCME is the question of whether constitutional protections are infringed upon when government unions such as the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) use compulsory "agency fees"  which are meant to cover the cost of negotiating collective-bargaining agreements - to fund what the Competitive Enterprise Institute described in its brief to the Supreme Court as "advocacy on such issues as: right-to-work statutes, infrastructure spending, government privatization and contracting, the minimum wage, voter-identification laws, tax policy, immigration reform and enforcement, gun control, D.C. statehood, marijuana legalization, 'racial justice,' and Supreme Court nominations, among many others." In other words, they use union members' money to advocate on a nearly endless list of partisan issues. If that isn't political speech, I don't know what is.

AFSCME's persistent quest for more government has manifested itself through years of intense lobbying and political contributions to members of the Democratic Party. The union, which bills itself as "the nation's largest and fastest growing public services employees union with more than 1.6 million working and retired members," uses its enormous political war chest derived from compulsory dues to elect officials who are beholden to the AFSCME view that government itself must only be concerned with growing larger and consuming more public money, rather than better serving the people and becoming more accountable. Limited government is the opposite of what government unions need to enrich themselves.

No matter how you look at it, AFSCME is a relentless drain on the body politic. It has taken the idea of a union and applied it to public institutions where no union belongs  specifically, our own governments. AFSCME is essentially a single-issue political party whose sole interest is in advocating for the growth of government and government for government's sake. And it is, in reality, a parallel organization for the Democratic Party.

To some degree, AFSCME actually wields more power and is more potent than Democratic Party committees themselves. Democratic Party institutions still have to solicit funds. Yet the union's interpretation of the law simply allows it to demand payment from government employees regardless of whether they seek AFSCME's services or agree with its political objectives. And so it goes  members are compelled to hand over their money, that money is used to elect Democrats, Democrats advocate for more government and AFSCME's influence grows.

Just last year, AFSCME spent more than $55 million on political activities and lobbying efforts from its national headquarters in Washington. That means tens of millions of dollars in compulsory payments went on to almost exclusively support Democrats in elections throughout the country  at all levels of government. And that was only for 2016. AFSCME spent more than half a billion dollars on liberal political initiatives from 2005 to 2015.

Theoretically, government exists to serve the people. And our elected leaders are supposed to manage the government. If voters are dissatisfied, they can remove those leaders. But the government union stays, unelected by American voters and unaccountable. No matter what.

The debate over whether government unions should exist at all, representing the interests of the protected government class over those of the American people, is for another time. The reality we are faced with today is one where organizations such as AFSCME have, as the Competitive Enterprise Institute noted, "demonstrated unbridled creativity in channeling the fees paid" by individuals such as Janus "to fund a range of ideological activities as wide as any political party's." The fact is, money is fungible and can be easily redirected wherever government union officials  or AFSCME leadership in this case  intend for it to go.

The Supreme Court has yet to set a date for when it will hear Janus' case, but it looks as though AFSCME's day of reckoning is near. And labor unions across the country know it.

AFSCME's incentive to support more government and more spending on government employees is hindering our ability as a nation to operate effectively and with proper accountability to voters. In AFSCME v. Janus, the Democratic Party has a lot at stake. It won't back down without a fight. Every Democratic candidate who wants to keep the gravy train running  and certainly any Democrat interested in running for president  will have to make as much noise as possible. It's going to get ugly.
The academic dream is a powerful thing. To be surrounded by brilliant colleagues, working on discovering new insights for the betterment of society, is a heady prospect. To enjoy ironclad job security, to rest easy deep into middle age as your peers in the private sector grow anxious about being laid off, would be an almost unimaginable relief. And to enjoy both the company and the respect of smart, energetic youngsters, not to mention free gyms, lots of time off and good health care  well, it's no surprise that for many, academia is an ideal job.

But for most, that dream never becomes a reality. U.S. universities are seeing the rise of a growing underclass of poor, overeducated college teachers known as adjuncts, clinging to low-paid, insecure jobs with little hope of advancing to the coveted ranks of the tenure track.

Advertisement

The raw numbers tell the story  tenured and tenure-track positions have increased by about a quarter since 1975, as the country has grown and the university system has expanded. But part-time positions have more than quadrupled. Meanwhile, the number of doctorates granted in the U.S. grew by about two-thirds.

This shift happened during a time when U.S. college tuition was soaring. Now college enrollment is stagnating or even falling, meaning that more tuition increases are unlikely. If universities were shifting toward adjuncts and away from the tenure track when times were booming, imagine what they'll do now, when they're forced to conserve their resources. If the tenure-track felt out of reach before, it's about to become even more illusory for all but a lucky few.

Advertisement

What is life like for an adjunct? Not great, according to New Faculty Majority, a website founded by pro-adjunct activists. In 2010, the median part-time college teacher pay had a full-time equivalent of $24,000  less than half the salary of the median kindergarten teacher. And not all part-time faculty can even get full-time work hours. Adjuncts also received essentially no wage premium based on their credentials  in other words, so much for that advanced degree. Benefits were also minimal, with only 23.4 percent of part-time teachers at public universities receiving health coverage. Reports from the American Association of University Professors paint a similar picture.

For a graduate student, this kind of low-paid work can be just another cost of getting an education. But for an adjunct, it's a life of poverty. The Guardian recently ran an article about the harsh life of adjuncts, telling one anecdote about a middle-aged teacher turning to prostitution to pay the bills. Other stories include homelessness and dependence on food banks.

Why would a highly educated, skilled worker in a rich country such as the U.S. condemn herself to a life in the poorhouse? Surely, someone with the intellectual firepower to teach college students could get a job in digital media marketing, or as a paralegal, or in any of the other middle-class occupations available to educated, hardworking Americans.

One answer is that adjuncts are making such sacrifices for the chance to pursue the academic dream. That would put academia in roughly the same class of occupations as acting and professional sports, where large numbers of unsuccessful lower-level aspirants struggle for years in the hopes of landing a coveted chance at a glamorous, high-status position.

But how many adjuncts really achieve that moonshot? I couldn't find data on the likelihood of making that leap, but anecdotally it's said to be unusual. And there are certainly several huge barriers in place.

The first is simply long odds  with the number of tenure-track positions barely growing and adjunct numbers exploding, the chance of going from the latter to the former keeps getting worse.

Second, tenure-track jobs often are the result of publishing research. Unlike grad students, adjuncts often hold other jobs and don't have a lot of extra time to work on papers.

Third, in order to interview for tenure-track jobs, adjuncts typically have to pay their own travel costs and conference registration fees (unlike other candidates).

Advertisement

And fourth, there's the chance that a long career as an adjunct simply makes a candidate look less promising, even before age discrimination is taken into account.

There are other reasons to be a poor adjunct, of course. Some people undoubtedly love teaching college kids, and are willing to endure poverty in order to do it. Others are retired and need something to do. But it's possible that many adjuncts are desperately chasing an academic illusion that, realistically, they will never catch. Overoptimism is one of the most consistent findings in the psychology literature on behavioral biases.

There's also the cultural factor. Many people who go through the academic system idolize it. Their mentors and life advisers tend to be tenured professors, to whom doing anything other than academia probably sounds like failure.

What will end the misery of the adjuncts? Unionization helps improve pay and conditions a bit but doesn't change the basic equation. Nor are universities likely to be morally shamed into treating adjuncts more like tenure-track faculty.

The only solution is for fewer people to go into the nontenure-track college lecturing profession. Lower the supply of overoptimistic quasi-academics willing to endure relentless poverty to cling to the fading light of the university fantasy, and the wages of adjuncts should rise.

Bloomberg

Advertisement

Noah Smith is a Bloomberg View columnist.

nsmith150@bloomberg.net
The Japanese live with some of the tightest gun-control laws in the world and are bewildered by the lack of restrictions in the United States. Tsunehiro Nakamura coaches his 10-year-old daughter, Sora, on shooting a rifle that fires a strobe-light beam rather than bullets. (Anna Fifield, The Washington Post)

It was fall in Tokyo, and Saki Arai needed a gun. Saki manages the Bistro Hibino and wanted to hunt wild game for her farm-to-table restaurant.

If Saki lived in, say, Tulsa, instead of Tokyo, getting a gun would have been almost as simple as buying a gallon of milk. She would visit one of the 20 licensed firearms dealers in the area, present her driver's license, fill out a couple of forms and leave the store with her gun. In Japan, however, obtaining a firearm isn't so easy.

Advertisement

Saki's first step was to attend a one-day training session organized by the Tokyo police, held once a month for those interested in acquiring a gun license. On a crisp September day, Saki and her husband, Tak, took off work to attend the beginner class, which started promptly at 9 a.m. Throughout the course of the day, the officer in charge outlined the steps they would need to follow and the responsibilities of owning a gun. The couple paid 6,800 yen  about $60  for the session and were provided with several books to review for a test they had to complete that afternoon.

After they finished the class and passed the exam, they were instructed to contact their local police prefecture to apply for training at a licensed shooting range. They prepared the items they would need for their application; a certificate of residency, photo identification, a list of past jobs and addresses. Saki and Tak were required to visit a mental-health professional to be assessed for competency to own a firearm. When they completed the interview, they received a certificate.

Advertisement

Next, Saki and Tak visited their neighborhood police station, where they were directed to an officer sitting up straight in his chair in a crisp blue suit. He invited them to sit and asked them several questions. "Why do you want a gun?" "Where do you live and what do you do for a living?" "Do any of your relatives have mental-health issues?" Each answer was carefully documented, and one hour after arriving, they left the station.

In the days that followed, their application was checked against police databases  a process similar to our national background check  and subsequently they were notified they were approved to move to the next step, a training session at the Narita Shooting Range, about 90 minutes by car from Saki and Tak's apartment. When they arrived, they were served tea and told what to expect from their day: a classroom overview followed by a written exam covering gun safety, training on the range and a target session. After an hour of instruction and the exam, they headed to the range to practice. Both Saki and Tak passed the exam.

Over the next few days, a policeman made an unannounced visit to Tak's office, where he conducted separate interviews with two employees. He also went to Saki's restaurant and visited several of their neighbors, whom he asked questions such as "Do you ever hear screaming voices from their apartment?" The officers who handle these interviews have wide discretion to deny an application to anyone they deem high-risk. Their decision is final.

Saki and Tak are both responsible, law-abiding people, and it was not a surprise when they received notice that they could move to the next step  selecting a gun and making a formal submission to the National Police Agency. They collected and mailed in all of the necessary documents. In just under two months, they received their temporary license, required by gun shops to complete a sale.

At the Shibuya Juho-ten (Royal Gun Shop), near Shibuya metro station, they each picked out an $800 Remington shotgun; however, they were not yet allowed to take them home  the shop was required to hold them until their official license was issued. With a letter from the shop, they went back to their prefecture police station a few days later to make their final application and receive their license. It was now January, winter in Tokyo. Four months after starting their process, they joined the small number of Japanese citizens who own guns.

After obtaining hunting permits, Saki and Tak packed up their Remingtons, bird calls and waders and embarked on trips to Ibaraki prefecture, a popular duck-hunting spot about three hours away. The ducks they shot were given to Saki's chefs, who served them with fresh maitake mushrooms.

They now can hunt freely, but they are still bound by firearm regulations. For example, each time they visit a gun shop to purchase shotgun shells, they need to present their license. The store uses this to record how much ammunition they buy. They are also required to log these purchases in their "bullet-tracking book," along with a record of each time they fire. They had to take their guns for inspection at their police prefecture after three months to ensure that there have not been any modifications made without authorization. They also underwent an unannounced home inspection to assess how they store their guns and ammunition. The requirements for storage include keeping the guns and bullets in separate rooms and providing for wall-mounted lockers.

While lengthy and complex by U.S. standards, the entirety of the process Saki and Tak went through is designed to manage the risks inherent in firearms. There is no question that Japan's approach places a burden on those who wish to bear arms but it also limits the ability of someone who is dangerous to get a gun. It's hard to argue with the results: In 2015, there were more than 13,000 nonsuicide gun deaths in the United States; in Japan, there was only one.

Advertisement

Japan is the second-largest developed economy in the world and has brought us many innovations, including bullet trains, Pokemon and Blu-ray Discs. Maybe one innovation we have overlooked is what it can teach us about a truly well-regulated firearm market.

Karl Denzer is an executive at a financial services company and frequent traveler to Japan.
Chicago Public Schools CEO Forrest Claypool greets Mayor Rahm Emanuel before the mayor and Claypool address a City Club of Chicago breakfast held at Maggiano's Banquets in Chicago on Thursday, Sept. 7, 2017. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

Chicago Public Schools officials can breathe easier now that Illinois lawmakers have lavished hundreds of millions more dollars on the district. On Thursday, school officials released a revised budget proposal that includes that windfall of state funding and higher property taxes. We imagine smiles at City Hall, too, where Mayor Rahm Emanuel plots his 2019 re-election campaign.

So who would disrupt this Kumbaya moment to remind leaders of the urgent imperative of closing more schools? That would be us.

Advertisement

Why? Because the district's enrollment loss is relentless: CPS officials project another drop of at least 8,000 this year, to around 370,000 students. That comes after a plunge of 11,000 last year. Enrollment has been sliding for years as age cohorts shrink and neighborhoods empty out.

Remember those disturbing 2013 figures from a school closings commission headed by now-Chicago Board of Education President Frank Clark? The commission concluded that more than half of Chicago's public schools  some 330  were underutilized. Another 140 were less than half full. In total, schools had about 100,000 empty seats, CPS reported. In other words, supply and demand were seriously out of whack.

Advertisement

In 2013, CPS officials managed to close nearly 50 elementary schools amid a political uproar. But that was only a down payment to shrink the system to fit its enrollment. More schools must close or consolidate  including half-filled high schools, which weren't touched in the earlier closings. CPS is making progress. The district plans to build a new high school in Englewood, in part by closing several surrounding schools with skimpy enrollments. Smart move.

A self-imposed moratorium on school closings  a City Hall cave to political pressure  ends in 2018. By Dec. 1, CPS officials must announce closings, consolidations or other significant school actions. District guidelines require that school principals, parents or other "community members" request such actions. CPS says it will consider "safety and security, school culture and climate, school leadership, quality of the facility and an analysis of transition costs," among other factors. In other words, anything and everything.

So, CPS, how about also considering that all the money squandered on underpopulated buildings could be redirected into classrooms? Into education?

Politicians and community activists are gearing up to fight closings. Chicago Democratic Rep. La Shawn Ford, Democratic state Sen. Kimberly Lightford and a group of Austin community leaders plan to send a letter to CPS and Mayor Emanuel demanding that no more Austin schools be closed. The prospect of more closures "brings back bad memories," Ford tells us. "The community wants to stand firm on no closures, period, even if there's a promise of a new school."

Similar letters from other neighborhoods likely will follow. Few parents want neighborhood schools, no matter how dismal or underpopulated, to close.

CPS is off the critical list. But the district has a long road to reach financial health. It needs a robust reserve fund. It needs to operate like other districts: not in perpetual crisis mode.

Yes, shutting schools is traumatic  for students, parents, teachers, neighborhoods. But CPS can't keep running expensive, half-empty schools. That siphons money from better-attended schools and cheats every student in the system of the best possible education at the best possible facilities.

In a 2012 Tribune commentary, then-commission Chairman Clark wrote:

Advertisement

"Nearly half of Chicago's schools were built before 1930, and maintaining aging facilities is increasingly expensive. Shuttering some underutilized buildings means we won't be paying for new boilers, new roofs and new windows for old, outdated structures.  The consolidation effort has been called educational apartheid. I understand the sentiment, but strongly disagree with the conclusion. I would say that doing nothing amounts to educational malpractice."

We hope current board President Clark listens to former closings board Chairman Clark.

CPS leaders, you've been granted a financial respite by lawmakers and taxpayers. Remember the only constituency that matters: Your students. Don't squander this chance to give them a better education in a district that is stronger because it is sized to fit their needs, not the desires of adults. Anything else is, as the man said, educational malpractice.

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.
Congress should do taxpayers a favor and eliminate the income tax deduction for mortgage interest. It's popular but distorts the housing market. (Elise Amendola / AP)

Home ownership is commonly regarded as a big part of the American Dream. But most adults know that pursuing some dreams can be too expensive to justify. The mortgage interest deduction, a subsidy to homebuying, is one of those. Curtailing or abolishing it should be a big part of any serious tax reform.

The real American dream is more about the broad prosperity and ample opportunity that derive from strong economic growth than it is about purchasing a house. Many Americans rent their dwellings, and the housing crash that helped cause the Great Recession made them glad they did. Some homeowners ended up in foreclosure. Many others found themselves trapped in homes that were worth less than they owed.

Advertisement

The deduction encourages home ownership by letting buyers deduct the interest they pay each year on their mortgages. But at this point, economists believe, it doesn't have much net effect. That's because the tax break has inflated home prices, largely if not entirely offsetting the benefit.

Economists generally oppose the deduction, because it gives Americans an incentive to put their money into houses rather than other investments that would yield higher returns. It encourages people to buy more expensive homes and to take on more debt than they otherwise would. It drains money from other sectors of the economy and maximizes the impact of housing downturns. Again, the crash of 2008 was an awful lesson.

Advertisement

The deduction also robs the Treasury of tax revenue  a gaudy $70 billion a year. This is money that could be used to finance a simpler, more efficient tax code with lower rates. If the deduction remains intact, any attempt at reform will be limited in scope and value.

Middle-class homeowners may bridle at the idea of losing their biggest tax break. But most Americans get little or no benefit from the mortgage interest deduction. About 70 percent of filers can't make use of it, because they don't itemize their deductions.

Among those who do, the rich gain far more than the average person. "For households making above $200,000 a year, the average benefit is $1,784 a year in tax savings," wrote Bruce Katz of the Brookings Institution in The Wall Street Journal. "For households earning $65,000 a year, the deduction generally yields less than $200 a year in tax savings."

The most reasonable argument against scrapping it is that the change would probably cause a one-time decline in home values. For Americans currently priced out of the market, any reduction counts as a virtue, not a vice, because it would make housing more affordable. But Anthony Randazzo, director of economic research for the Reason Foundation, calculates that "the direct influence on pricing of homes should be minimal."

What would existing homeowners gain? They could expect to get lower rates, as well as a simpler tax code. They would probably also get a higher standard deduction, which would make it profitable for many to dispense with the headache of itemizing. President Donald Trump's tax framework, which leaves the mortgage interest deduction alone, would double the standard deduction. But many members of Congress understand that lower tax rates would help Americans more than this deduction does.

They would reap the biggest potential payoff from a simpler, better tax code that pays the government's bills: a healthier economy that boosts capital investment and creates more and better-paying jobs. If Congress and the president can agree on a plan that will do all that, the mortgage deduction won't be missed.

Join the discussion on Twitter @Trib_Ed_Board and on Facebook.
A bump stock device, at left, that fits on a semi-automatic rifle to increase the firing speed, making it similar to a fully automatic rifle, is installed on a AK-47 semi-automatic rifle, (right) at a gun store on Oct. 5, 2017, in Salt Lake City, Utah. (George Frey / Getty Images)

"Bump stocks." Hardly anyone had heard about them before they were found in the late Las Vegas shooter's arsenal. Association with that massacre has made the devices, which can enable a semi-automatic rifle to fire almost as rapidly as a machine gun, so widely despised that even the National Rifle Association has turned against them in a surprising move  after unsurprisingly blaming Barack Obama.

"Despite the fact that the Obama administration approved the sale of bump stocks on at least two occasions," said the statement that NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and NRA political strategist Chris Cox released Thursday, "the National Rifle Association is calling on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to immediately review whether these devices comply with federal law."

Advertisement

That announcement, with which the NRA broke the media silence it routinely imposes after gun-related mass killings, came as a surprise, since the NRA rarely encounters a firearm it doesn't like. Yet the organization bans bump stocks at its own headquarters firing range, as do many ranges. The devices increase the speed at which bullets are fired, but they decrease accuracy and are less safe than a semi-automatic weapon alone.

Even before the NRA's announcement, conservatives were framing the legalization of the suddenly despised gun accessory as Obama's fault. "It was President Obama's ATF, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, in 2010 that decided not to regulate this device," White House adviser Kellyanne Conway told CNN's Chris Cuomo, calling the deregulation of bump stocks an Obama administration blunder. "That should be part of the conversation and part of the facts that you put before your viewers."

Advertisement

Indeed, a day earlier the Washington Post quoted Obama-era ATF official Rick Vasquez, who approved the devices, as saying the Obama administration did not think bump stocks violated federal regulations against machine guns because the devices do not modify the machinery of guns themselves.

Vasquez, a firearms consultant and trainer, mocked the device as "a goofy little doodad" for "those guys who want to look like super ninja when they're out on the range." Federal law bans the sale of machine guns manufactured after 1986 and restricts the sale of those made before then.

"If you want a machine gun," said the former Marine, "join the Marines."

Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock apparently used a recent version of that "goofy little doodad" for his killing spree before taking his own life, law enforcement authorities said.

If blaming Obama first, an unwritten but often-employed practice by Washington Republicans, helps give political cover to lawmakers who will outlaw those "doodads" at last, that's a small price to pay.

But true gun safety reform would not end there. It still sounds ironic to blame new gun carnage on a Democratic president who tried as hard as Obama did to overcome Republican resistance to gun legislation. One bill after the massacre at Virginia Tech in 2007 would have limited the size of magazines. Another, after the 2012 mass shooting at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school, would have expanded background checks of gun buyers. Another, after last year's Orlando nightclub massacre, would have stopped gun sales to buyers on terrorism watch lists.

NRA and Republican resistance held, despite Obama's expansions of gun owners' rights. He signed bills in 2010 that allow Amtrak passengers to pack guns in their luggage and carry loaded firearms into national parks.

Yet gun sales surged after each of his elections, partly because of widespread fears stoked by paranoid conservative voices that Obama was going to confiscate everyone's privately owned guns before sundown on Inauguration Day. The argument that small concessions to gun regulation now will bring gun confiscation down the road still exerts a powerful grip on gun owners.

Advertisement

These days the NRA competes not only against gun safety proponents but against extreme groups like the Gun Owners of America, which announced its opposition to a bump stock ban shortly after the NRA called for that possibility to be considered.

Both the NRA and the GOA are more interested in winning another issue, "reciprocity" laws that would make concealed-carry permits issued in one state valid in other states. Before lawmakers consider that bold move, they should consider others, such as universal background checks. Whether background checks would have averted Pollack's mass slaughter or not, we're better off with them than without them.

Clarence Page, a member of the Tribune Editorial Board, blogs at www.chicagotribune.com/pagespage.

cpage@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @cptime
Rather than putting a ton of effort into an outing and then just hitting one spot, why not extend the adventure? This week, we're pairing a visit to the Chicago Architecture Foundation's 320 square-foot city model with drinks at Prairie School.

Main attraction: Chicago Architecture Foundation

Advertisement

224 S. Michigan Ave. 312-922-3432

How much: Free

Advertisement

Stop by the Chicago Architecture Foundation's Atrium Gallery to check out their 320 square-foot model of the city. The model, which took 1,600 hours to 3D print in its entirety, represents 400 blocks of the city and over 1,000 buildings, so you can admire all the architecture without all the walking.

Don't stop: Prairie School

326 N. Morgan St.

How much:

Get a lesson in design at Fulton Market's new cocktail bar. Prairie School is inspired by the designs of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, who contributed numerous architectural treasures to the city of Chicago. Leading mixologist of the bar is James Beard Award winner Jim Meehan, and bar snacks are made by former Longman and Eagle chef, Jared Wentworth. Let the Midwestern hospitality of this bar bring the date home.

Do you have a two-for-one outing idea to share with us? Email agorden@redeyechicago.com with the details.
Not so long ago, the West Loop was known as one of America's most notorious skid rows. Madison Street west of the Kennedy was a maleficent mile of burlesques, flop houses and sleazy taverns. I moved to the neighborhood in 2003 into a building that held an annual progressive Christmas party called The Taste of Skid Row.

That building, the Green Street Lofts, was one of the first buildings converted to condos west of the Kennedy, and the name of party commemorated the experiences of early tenants, when, as one longtime resident told me, "There was nothing around except drug dealers and homeless dudes standing around trash can fires."

Advertisement

This was back before Stephanie Izard brought her flock of "goat" restaurants to pasture on Randolph Street, and heck, even before that unmistakable beacon of true gentrification, Starbucks, had landed. There certainly was no gleaming citadel of a Target, as there is now.

Back then on Fulton, actual meatpackers, not the glossy magazine-friendly Publican Quality Meats butchers, hosed down the sidewalks in front of their abattoirs. In 2007, under the Lake Street "L" tracks near the corner of Green and Lake streets, someone got shot in front of Chromium night club.

Advertisement

Chromium, after the fallout of that murder, closed and lay dormant for years, until a few years ago when husband and wife Frank and Kara Callero and their partner Steve Zaleski acquired the space and transformed it into the recently opened BLVD restaurant.

Karen Herold's design features gleaming chandeliers, a tsunami wave-shaped towering central staircase, art deco paneling, custom banquettes and custom-built tables. It's probably the most magnificent restaurant interior I've seen in years. In fact, when I think of similar amazing restaurant designs, like GT Prime or the now closed Embeya, I realize her studio also designed them.

"We wanted to create experiences for people. We wanted to do that by channeling 1950s Hollywood, the lounges on Sunset Boulevard," said Kara Callero. "That was when people went out to dine for more than just a meal. The experience was about more than food. It was about the atmosphere, the drama, and people-watching. We wanted to recreate that, but in a contemporized way."

BLVD's dining room looks like a set piece for one of those Charlize Theron Dior television commercials. There's a glitz, glamour and even a touch of fantasy that transforms you when you're dining here.

BLVD's champagne room. (Kailley Lindman / Handout)

Servers are nattily attired in well-cut purple suits, which look like some kind of collaboration between former Vogue editor at large Andre Leon Talley and the dearly departed Prince.

As I surveyed the room and its sharply adorned attendants, I thought:

Maybe fine dining isn't truly dead.

If you have a beautiful room and servers in luxuriant finery, you run the risk of intimidating or projecting haughtiness, a few of the reasons that fine dining is dying. The trick of BLVD is that while the room feels like a show, it is not showy. Though the servers dress with a Savile Row fleekness, they're also very approachable.

Advertisement

However, fine dining is also about serving great food. The original menu at BLVD was conceived by Pump Room vet Ross Mendoza. Current executive chef Johnny Besch has not reconfigured the menu, but having worked with Michelin-starred darlings like Laurent Gras at L20 and demigod Alain Ducasse, Besch brought a detailed level of refinement to many of the existing dishes.

One great example is a bowl of roast summer corn, charred scallion, crab and parmesan ($18). I've had similar dishes and they eat like a dry succotash or maybe slightly refined street elotes. Besch has added in thick nubs of king crab and lays down a base of silky corn pudding, which provides a cohesive richness and velvety finish.Cacio e pepe ($16) features a creamy swaddle of chewy house-made noodles bathed in Parmesan bursting with black pepper. It's so good, I kind of go full Cookie Monster only lifting my head once the plate has been cleanedmy chin and Cheshire Cat grin dripping in remnants of noodle bits.

Tournedos Rossini ($62), a dish thought to be invented by another French legend, Escoffier, is so classic, it's basically extinct. Besch revives it well. Hunks of ruby-red rare filet mignon wearing caps of black truffle and a drizzle of heart-stopping demi-glace, poured tableside, perch on custardy beds of brioche. My only issue is the truffles in this preparation have a slight whiff of funk, but not the intoxicating earthy perfume of a winter truffle from Perigord. Also, truffles should be shaved so they melt on your tongue, and these are thick like scalloped potatoes and are a chore to chew.

I order a glass of red to go with the filet, and ask about a California red blend called The Cleaver ($17), one, because I've never heard of it, and, two, there is a sort of ironic symmetry in drinking a wine named after the butcher's tool that likely hacked the cut of beef I'm consuming. I appreciate that my server describes the varietal make-up of the wine and tells me that it's medium bodied, but she doesn't lead with the important fact that it's super sweet. The opening sip is like gulping melted cherry Slurpee. While I don't like that particular glass, the list is a creative and interesting one. An Albert Bichot sparkling cremant de Bourgogne ($16) is toasty and creamy.

Cacio e pepe. (Paul Strabbing / Handout)

Jiggly scallops ($28), briny, and perfectly rare at the center are complemented by a white corn souffle, making this sort of a scallop version of shrimps and grits. Tender popcorn shoots and bacon jam add salt and sweetness, but I still longed for a little acidity to cut through the richness.

Not everything is an artery threatener at BLVD. Pale pink scrims of raw Hamachi ($16) glisten with bright plum sauce and pop with the sharp tang of pickled onion.

Advertisement

But, then again, the brandade croquettes ($12), fried savory doughnuts swimming in bonito and kombu-infused remoulade, likely mitigate any good you're doing to your body with lightly cured seafood. I loved the smoky umami quality of the remoulade, but the heat of the doughnuts and the plate underneath warmed it up by the time it reached our table. Warm aioli, unfortunately, conjures Miracle Whip left out too long on a picnic table in July, and that is decidedly not my thing. Besch might drizzle the remoulade on top to avoid the heat transfer from the plate.

What I especially appreciate about the entire meal is that everything is seasoned perfectly. Even at the best restaurants, there is almost always one dish that needs salt or has too much salt. I mention this to Besch, telling him I understand a head chef can't season every dish and he must rely on his team. Besch laughed and said, "That's exactly what I'm doing right now. I garnish and season every single dish that comes across the pass." Young chefs, take note!

Besch oversees dessert as well as the savory offerings. If you've ever seen the panic the dessert challenge induces in savory cooks on TV's "Top Chef," you know this could be an epic disaster.

Malted milkshakes ($7) are crowned with a stick of house-made toffee that has a deep caramel butteriness and a honeycomb-like lightness. I could eat a bag or two. Besch told me he does this most days before service. It's his kryptonite. The milkshakes are served in tiny vintage milk bottles in a mini-crate channeling the way your great grandma probably received her daily dairy delivery. We asked for them to be "boozy" ($5 upcharge), but when the shakes arrived, they were not spiked. Our server adjusted the charge on our bill and apologized for the oversight.

Speaking of milk, tiny bottles of ice cold moo juice adorned with paper straws comes free, and as an accompanying surprise, with the chocolate peanut butter cake ($13). Our server warned us the cake was big, but unless you're at a steakhouse, a declaration like that is usually a tease. At BLVD, it's an understatement. It's not so much a slice as it is a quarter of a whole cake. 50 Cent once rhymed, "I love you like a fat kid love cake." Well, I'm a fat kid, and I love this cake. I kinda want to marry its moist chocolatey layers and gooey peanut butter ganache binder.

Eat. Watch. Do. Weekly What to eat. What to watch. What you need to live your best life ... now. >

A yuzu-lime curd ($11) tart featuring coconut shortbread and garnishes of tiny meringue islands was refreshing and tropical, though an overwhelming butter flavor muted the citrus flavor in the curd. But, look at me, indulging in first-world problems complaining about too much butter. I should really be telling you about the raspberry ginger sorbet, which wafted the essence of a berry patch.

Advertisement

The Bottom Line

The partnership group behind BLVD is called Sancerre Hospitality. Sancerre is the perfect wine to order when you're about to chow downthe mineral base and the acidity of a good Sancerre stimulates the taste buds and makes your mouth water. BLVD is Sancerre's first restaurant, and because it's such a fine entry, like a good Sancerre, it makes me yearn for any new restaurants that may follow.

Review: BLVD

817 W. Lake St. 312.526.3116

Rating: !!! Three stars (out of four)

[ Check out more of Michael Nagrant's restaurant reviews here.  ]

Michael Nagrant is a RedEye freelancer. Reporters visit restaurants unannounced and meals are paid for by RedEye.
A Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to six years in prison for traveling to Aurora for a sexual encounter with children.

Kane County Associate Judge Linda S. Abrahamson Friday sentenced 38-year-old Shane R. Lewis of Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

Advertisement

A Kane County jury on Aug. 2 convicted Lewis of involuntary sexual servitude of a minor, a Class X felony; traveling to meet a minor, a Class 3 felony; and grooming, a Class 4 felony, according to a press release from the Kane County State's Attorney's Office.

Kane County prosecutors presented evidence that on Jan. 8, 2015, Lewis, who was in the Chicago area for business purposes, traveled from DuPage County to an Aurora hotel with the intent to pay to have sex with what he believed would be a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl, according to the release.

Advertisement

When Lewis arrived at the hotel, he met a person he thought was the girls' mother, confirmed that he wanted sex, paid the person $200, and was arrested by officers from Homeland Security Investigations and the Aurora Police Department, the release stated.

Lewis testified during the trial that his intent was to engage in sexual conduct with the children, according to the release.

In addition to the prison term, Lewis must register for 10 years as a sexual offender in accordance with the Illinois Sexual Offender Registration Act.

"Mr. Lewis has taken great pains to avoid responsibility for his actions. He has blamed everyone but himself, and he has failed to see how he is a part of the unconscionable problem that is child sex trafficking," Kane County State's Attorney Joe McMahon said in the release.
Jonathan Olsen was fired after abusing department resources to access information about a woman amid criminally charges of harassment on social media. (Kane County Sheriff)

An Aurora police officer was fired after abusing department resources to access information about a woman amid criminal charges of harassment on social media, Aurora Police Department records show.

In a letter recommending the city terminate Jonathan Olsen's employment, which began in 2006, Aurora Police Chief Kristen Ziman stated she agreed with the findings of the Office of Professional Standards lieutenant, patrol commander and employee review board. His termination date was Sept. 9, police spokesman Dan Ferrelli said.

Advertisement

Ziman wrote that Olsen "abused his power and authority to watch and harass another person in a series of actions over a period of time," and violated the public's trust by using a confidential law enforcement network.

Olsen, 37, of the 200 block of Lineas Lane, Geneva, was charged with electronic harassment in April while Aurora police investigated allegations that he improperly accessed personal information. He was given a notice to appear without having to post bond, said Geneva Police Cmdr. Julie Nash.

Advertisement

In late August, two more counts of electronic harassment were added to the complaint filed in Kane County. His attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

In July, when the Beacon-News first reported on the case, it had not been made clear whether the criminal and internal investigations were related, and Olsen was still on regular duty at the police department. However, the Beacon-News reported Olsen had been ordered suspended without pay for 10 days, ending June 6, for violating general orders for confidential information and/or unauthorized use of records. He did so repeatedly, also violating the general orders for obedience to laws, according to the chief's September letter.

Olsen is accused of posting an image on his Instagram account of a female, showing a cold sore on her mouth, along with a message calling her a derogatory sexual slur, according to a complaint provided by Geneva police.

Two months before the Instagram post, a lieutenant with Aurora's Office of Professional Standards received a report from Sugar Grove police listing Olsen as the suspect in several alleged incidents of harassment, according to internal disciplinary records provided by the Aurora Police Department.

Sugar Grove Police Chief Pat Rollins said a third party had brought allegations involving Olsen to their attention, but nothing that was alleged fell into their jurisdiction.

Both Sugar Grove and Geneva police departments were investigating Olsen because of allegations he was harassing a female he'd been involved with romantically via several social media platforms, according to Ziman's letter.

"He admitted to committing these behaviors as a means to offend her," Ziman wrote. "These actions are not indicative of a police officer who is sworn to uphold the laws."

Olsen also obtained information for his personal use by running a man's license plate through the Law Enforcement Agencies Data System, LEADS, according to the letter. He also allegedly harassed the man on social media, Ziman's letter stated.

Advertisement

After Olsen was interrogated and admitted to that violation, Geneva police alerted Aurora authorities that he ran a license plate of an undercover vehicle parked in front of the home of one of the alleged victims, according to the letter.

He also ran a third license plate seeking information on a vehicle that was parked in the woman's driveway, according to the letter.

Using the LEADS system for personal reasons opens up the police department to sanctions that could ultimately cause their LEADS capabilities to be suspended, according to Ziman's letter, which states Olsen can't be trusted to use the tools afforded to a police officer to enforce laws.

"When an officer can no longer be trusted, they can no longer be an effective police officer," Ziman wrote.

All three electronic harassment counts Olsen is charged with are Class B misdemeanors. He's next due in Kane County Branch Court Oct. 24 before Associate Judge Keith A. Johnson.

hleone@tribpub.com

Advertisement

Twitter @hannahmleone
A bump stock device (left), that fits on a semi-automatic rifle to increase the firing speed, making it similar to a fully automatic rifle, is shown next to a AK-47 semi-automatic rifle (right), at a gun store on Oct. 5, 2017, in Salt Lake City, Utah. (George Frey / Getty Images)

Members of Congress from the Fox Valley called for review of some gun measures after a gunman killed at least 58 people and wounded hundreds of others Monday in Las Vegas.

Area Republican and Democratic U.S. representatives agreed that "bump stocks," devices found in the Las Vegas gunman's hotel room that allow a semiautomatic rifle to fire hundreds of rounds per minute, should be addressed. But beyond that, their views differed.

Advertisement

Democrats Bill Foster (Naperville) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (Schaumburg) separately called for other gun control measures in addition to a "bump stocks" ban.

Republicans Peter Roskam (Wheaton) and Randy Hultgren (Plano) issued statements urging the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to review a determination authorizing the sale of "bump stocks" while reiterating that the U.S. Constitution grants the right to bear arms.

Advertisement

Their comments came as the National Rifle Association, the Trump administration and Republican congressional leaders showed support for regulating the "bump stock" devices.

The NRA's comments could be significant in the national gun policy debate. Kirk Miller, a Northern Illinois University sociology professor who has researched American gun culture, said part of the reason the debate about gun control is contentious today is because of the political power of gun rights groups, including the NRA, while groups advocating gun control have not had the same sustained energy.

That trend can be traced back to a shift in NRA actions, Miller said. Where the organization was once a hobbyist group focused on developing resources for hunters or those interested in rifles, in the 1970s and 1980s it became much more political, he said.

Two of four Fox Valley members of Congress have received donations from the NRA, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks money in politics and the effect on elections and policy. Hultgren's campaign or "leadership PAC" has received $16,000 from gun-rights groups during his career, plus more than $2,200 in other support from outside groups. Roskam's has received $41,650, plus nearly $16,600 in other support, according to the center.

Neither lawmaker responded to an emailed question about the donations.

High-profile incidents involving firearms and death also spark anxiety around public safety and guns and an emotional response, Miller said.

Those high-profile, emotional events can spark discussion about gun laws, but also often shift conversation away from other types of gun violence that are more common, such as suicides and homicides, he said. Still, he said, if a national discussion about guns doesn't happen after a shooting such as the one in Las Vegas, it may never happen.

"There's a good case to be made that we live in an era of mass public shootings," he said. "And that there's just kind of a tolerance that has developed in response, despite the emotional outpouring, the kind of sick feelings perhaps that people have in trying to wrap their head around the awfulness of these kind of incidents."

Advertisement

Some area congressmen said gun measures should be addressed in the wake of the shooting in Las Vegas. Foster said Congressional action on guns is overdue.

"Some people say it's too early to be talking about (gun policies)," Foster said. "But for those victims who were shot down just trying to have a night out listening to music, it's too late for them."

Foster, saying he was heartbroken by the shooting, outlined several gun control measures he supports, including those addressing assault weapons. The Las Vegas shooting has raised the urgency of addressing "bump stocks," he said.

He said lawmakers should talk about limits on the type of weapons the Second Amendment applies to.

Krishnamoorthi called for what he said were "common sense" gun control measures, such as those addressing perceived loopholes in background check requirements for would-be gun purchasers. He said the Las Vegas shooting highlighted that gun violence must be addressed in a bipartisan way.

"We are all thinking about the victims of the shooting and our thoughts and prayers are with them," he said. "But thoughts and prayers aren't enough. We have to do something to basically limit gun violence."

Advertisement

Hultgren said in a statement he was "outraged and heartbroken," and that ATF should review their definition of automatic weapons and their determination regarding bump stocks. The agency reportedly had determined "bump stocks" were firearm parts and so are not regulated by federal laws.

Talking about illegal gun purchases, he said gun laws, including tougher penalties, should be focused on how firearms are obtained.

"The Constitution is clear about the right of citizens to keep and bear arms," he said. "Great care should be exercised before restricting the rights of the vast majority of law-abiding citizens, while we still ensure violent criminals cannot gain access to guns."

Roskam in a statement described his sadness for those killed and injured and the "compassion and unity" shown as humanity helped one another, while also pointing a finger at ATF.

"I support current laws that ban automatic weapons," he said. "The so-called bump stock violates the spirit of the law and should be addressed immediately. While I support the Second Amendment and the rights that it affords, I urge the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives...to reverse the policy that allows semi-automatic weapons to be modified to be automatic, rapid fire weapons."

A potential challenger to Roskam, Becky Anderson Wilkins, issued a statement calling on Roskam to "step out from under the thumb of the NRA" and "take meaningful action to advance gun violence prevention now." Anderson Wilkins, a Naperville City Councilwoman, is one of a slew of candidates running in the 2018 Democratic primary for Roskam's seat.

Advertisement

A candidate running in the Republican primary for Foster's seat could not be reached.

The Associated Press contributed.

sfreishtat@tribpub.com

Twitter @srfreish
A memorial displaying 58 crosses by Aurora resident Greg Zanis stands at the Welcome To Las Vegas Sign. Each cross has the name of a victim killed during the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival. (Mikayla Whitmore / AP )

LAS VEGAS  An Illinois man known for honoring the victims of mass shootings around the country installed 58 white crosses on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday.

Greg Zanis drove nearly 2,000 miles from Aurora to install the crosses on a patch of grass near the iconic "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign, not far from the site of the Route 91 Harvest country music festival where 58 people were killed on Sunday night.

Advertisement

Zanis, a 66-year-old retired carpenter, made his first cross 20 years ago when his father-in-law was killed.

"That just changed my life," Zanis said. "My first cross was for somebody that I loved. And when I put up these crosses here, I always think of my personal loss here too. Always."

Advertisement

Zanis has become well-known for erecting more than 20,000 of the markers over the past two decades, including after the Columbine and Sandy Hook school shootings and the massacre at an Orlando nightclub.

The crosses, which Zanis said took him two days to cut and paint, feature a red heart.

He plans to keep the tribute up for 40 days before giving the crosses to the families of the victims.
Mardell Sartain sits with Snoopy Dog in the area of her home where her partner of 30 years was killed almost a year ago. (Denise Crosby/Beacon-News )

When Mardell Sartain awoke to a "big explosion" in her home in Aurora almost a year ago, she had no idea what had happened  or how her life was about to change.

Racing downstairs in the early morning hours of that Sunday, Nov. 6, she saw the man she'd cherished for 30 years clutching the phone in his hands. He looked at her, then uttered his final three words.

Advertisement

"I got shot."

Sartain admits she has selective memory of the night 64-year-old Samuel Smith Jr. was killed in their home on Iowa Avenue on Aurora's West Side.

Advertisement

She remembers some blood coming from his chest. She remembers Sam falling to the floor. And she remembers police officers who arrived at the scene after she called 911 taking her DNA and asking her point blank, "What really happened here tonight, Mardell?"

That question remains unanswered.

Sartain, of course, understands that those at the scene, especially family, must be ruled out as suspects. And she praises the Aurora Police Department for how they have handled the case, despite the fact that no arrests have been made in what police describe as "a very active investigation."

Samuel Smith Jr., shown at a White Sox game in the months before he was killed last November at age 64 in his Aurora home, loved sports and was an avid biker and fisherman, his family said. (Robin Sterkel photo)

But there are leads, as well as "some persons of interest," noted Aurora Police Department spokesman Dan Ferrelli, and police are also waiting for the rest of the forensics to come back on evidence being processed.

Elaborating further on the case would jeopardize the integrity of the investigation, he added, but the Smith slaying is considered "a top priority."

"We're doing everything we can to solve it," Ferrelli said. "There is nothing we want more than to bring a sense of justice to the Smith family and hold accountable the person or persons responsible for this reprehensible crime."

According to police, more than one shot was fired in the home that night. The family is not even sure where on the property Smith took the fatal bullet, but Sartain is convinced the explosion that awoke her was when the glass on the front door shattered.

Trauma and grief have blocked much of the evening from her mother's mind, daughter Robin Sterkel says. Sartain remembers nothing about the hospital or Smith's funeral, nor can she recall the next two weeks when she stayed at her daughter's Yorkville home.

Advertisement

Almost a year later, she is emotionally stronger, but desperately seeking closure, which is hard when she and other loved ones struggle to figure out the motive in this slaying. Why, they ask, would anyone kill this gentle man who loved dogs and children and gave so much to others while expecting so little in return?

Smith had a great sense of humor, they noted, and was always a rule follower. While he was bothered by the many times he felt racially profiled, Sterkel said, Smith taught son Donovan and stepson Dustin Allen the importance of hard work and being respectful at all times.

"And he always watched over things going on in the neighborhood," she said. "Maybe the killers thought he saw something and shot him for it. We just don't know."

Raised by a poor but loving mother in Louisiana, Smith came to Aurora to escape the cotton fields of his native home, the family said. He went on to become a roofer until he was forced on to disability following a heart attack and stroke about 15 years ago that left him reliant on a heart defibrillator.

Smith was a fan of fishing, biking and the New Orleans Saints, as well as the Bears, White Sox and Bulls. And he also loved dogs and children, said Sterkel, whose two grown daughters have long considered him their grandpa.

Sterkel, who as program coordinator for Wayside Cross' Urban Youth Ministry often works with kids who have lost loved ones to violence, said that "now more than ever, I know what they are going through." And because she also understands the issues that can drive young people to violence, she insists there is no bitterness in her heart for whoever killed her beloved Smith.

Advertisement

"We want whoever did this to be caught, to spend time in prison," she said, as her mother nodded in agreement. "But we have no hatred. We only want to know what happened."

Mother and daughter insist forgiveness is what Smith, who loved young people, would have wanted.

"I know he would be happy that his death gave me another connection to those kids, that I can say I do understand what they are going through," Sterkel said. "He would say, 'You keep helping those babies.'

"I try to remember that when the sadness comes."

Sartain, who began grief counseling a few months ago, also admits to waves of depression. After Smith's heart attack, she became his caregiver, but those roles reversed, said the long-time waitress at Harner's Bakery Restaurant in North Aurora. When her health began to fail, Smith easily stepped into that role  taking care of "everything in the house" and even making sure her coffee would be ready first thing in the morning, she said.

Just as he did the night he was killed.

Advertisement

Despite the slaying there, Sartain won't move out of the home she and Smith shared for 25 years for a couple of reasons, including the fact that it was built by her grandfather, and she hopes to pass it along to a fourth generation someday.

She also feels Smith's presence, sometimes thinking she is "going to see him walking around the corner of the kitchen" when she wakes up, she said.

"I sleep downstairs now, on the couch," she said, "so I can be close to where he died."

dcrosby@tribpub.com

Twitter @dencrosby

Vigil for Samuel Smith Jr.

A vigil sponsored by the Aurora Prayer Coalition for Reconciliation will be held to recognize the first anniversary of the killing of Samuel Smith Jr. It will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the dead-end in the 800 block of Iowa Avenue. Smith was shot and killed in the early morning hours of Nov. 6 at his home. No arrests have been made.
In Illinois, as of Jan. 1, 2008, no gift certificate/card issued by a single merchant or affiliated group of merchants can expire. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, file)

I recently found two Fannie May gift certificates valued at $10 each. I contacted their customer service and was told that the certificates have no value. Someone paid $20 and now they are worthless!

I also have $50 worth of Ulta gift certificates. They were purchased in 1999 and 2000 with a register print on them. Ulta said they too have no value.

Advertisement

What are companies doing with the money? Gift cards now don't expire unless the company is no longer in business. Many people are finding old gift certificates while cleaning up or finally getting to that junk drawer.

I appreciate your help,

Advertisement

Christine, Willowbrook

Christine is correct. In Illinois, as of Jan. 1, 2008, no gift certificate/card issued by a single merchant or affiliated group of merchants can expire. This was confirmed by Greg Rivara, press secretary to Illinois State Treasurer Michael W. Frerichs. Rivara additionally explained that such cards cannot charge fees or be converted to cash.

Per Illinois law, the following do expire: Gift certificates issued through an awards, loyalty or promotional program; gift certificates sold below face value at a volume discount to employers or nonprofit and charitable organizations for fundraising purposes and gift certificates issued for food products.

However, if an "open loop" stored-value card (one that can be spent anywhere), such as a pre-paid Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Discover card, is not used within five years, it is considered abandoned, and by law, any remaining balance must be turned over to the Illinois State Treasurer's office as unclaimed property.

A fact worth noting: A card's five-year countdown can be reset when additional funds are added or the cardholder simply calls the 800 number to check the balance. When I asked Rivara how the latter contact with a card company could be proven, his advice was: "Request that the company's records reflect the call, and record the date, time and name of the person with whom you spoke."

If an open loop card's balance has been turned over to the Illinois state treasurer, a consumer can technically reclaim its value from the treasurer's office. However, Kendall Houghton, a partner at the Washington law firm Alston & Bird, and a national authority on unclaimed property, told me via email: "Although the Illinois treasurer's office has a mechanism in place for paying claims to owners of escheated property (property turned over to the state), it seems unlikely that a gift card owner will ever be able to successfully recover these funds, as most cards are reported without the necessary cardholder information. Thus, as a practical matter, the law will likely serve primarily to generate additional revenue for the state."

Rivara confirmed this: "Unfortunately, if there is no name associated with the card when it is reported to the Illinois treasurer, it is virtually impossible to claim the funds."

He noted there is a provision in the law requiring that gift cards still be honored after their value has been reported to the treasurer's office, as the card issuer will be reimbursed by the treasurer for its value. But in reality if a card is declined by a retailer for inadequate funds, there is little a consumer can do to counter this.

Advertisement

When I asked Illinois attorney general spokesperson Eileen Boyce whether Christine might have any chance at being reimbursed for her gift certificates' value, she told me: "For cards issued before 2005  the retailer issuing the certificate would have needed to disclose the expiration date and fees or provided a way [i.e., a phone number] that consumers could check the balance, expiration date, and fees."

Though there were no expiration dates or fees printed on Christine's gift certificates, there were phone numbers. So it's likely there were expiration dates, but cardholders had to call to discover them. And prior to 2005, retailers kept any gift certificate money that wasn't redeemed for goods or services prior to a certificate's expiration.

"If Christine would like to file a complaint with our office, we would be glad to send the complaint to the companies that issued the gift certificates and ask them to respond," Boyce offered. Complaints can be filed at www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov.

 Need help?

Send your questions, complaints, injustices and column ideas to HelpSquad@pioneerlocal.com.

Cathy Cunningham is a freelance columnist.
A small group of friends and first responders gathered in Park Forest Oct. 5, 2017, to commemorate the life of Kristina Hickey. (Renae Morgan )

A small, but dedicated group committed to bringing their childhood friend's killer to justice held a vigil at the site of the old Marshall Field's in Park Forest where the 15-year-old girl's body was found more than three decades earlier.

About 20 attendees, including a couple firefighters first on the scene that day in 1984, paid tribute to Kristina Hickey Thursday evening by sharing memories and lighting candles for their fallen friend.

Advertisement

"It was very low-key, but very emotional," said the vigil's organizer Renae Morgan, who has been on a mission to have her close childhood friend's unsolved killing re-examined by police.

Christopher Abernathy, a member of Hickey's friend group whom she had briefly dated the summer prior to her death, was convicted of the teen's rape and murder in 1987, but later exonerated by DNA evidence and freed.

Advertisement

Oct. 10, 1984 copy photo of Kristina Hickey, 15, who was found murdered in Park Forest. Christopher Abernathy was convicted in 1984 of her rape and murder. A Cook County judge agreed to a prosecutor's request to toss out the conviction of Abernathy, a teenager when the crime was committed. DNA evidence indicated the girl was sexually assaulted by a man who hasn't been identified, said his lawyer, Lauren Kaeseberg, a staff attorney at the Illinois Innocence Project, which is based at the University of Illinois-Springfield. Park Forest Police Dept. photo. ( Park Forest Police Dept./HANDOUT )

Morgan held her first candlelight vigil for Hickey in the freezing cold and snow shortly after Abernathy was released from prison in February 2015, and has been lobbying law enforcement officials to re-open Hickey's cold case ever since.

"We thought we had the right person; now we want the right person," said Morgan, whose online petition requesting that Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx "fast-track" Kristina Hickey's cold case has garnered more than 800 signatures.

Morgan said she's reached out to officials at the state's attorney's office, state police and Park Forest Police Department to request that Hickey's case be re-opened and prioritized, but has not gotten a response.

"We have no idea if anyone is actively looking into this case, and that's what we would all like to know," she said. "We've gotten no response from anyone we've emailed, mailed letters to, called."

The state's attorney's office and Park Forest police did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Hickey's case, but a state police spokesman confirmed that the agency was actively investigating Hickey's 33-year-old killing.

"The Illinois State Police (ISP) has an open investigation regarding this homicide and is committed to bringing the killer to justice," ISP spokesman Donald Orseno said in an emailed statement. "The ISP investigates all leads and will continue to thoroughly pursue any new evidence."

Hickey, who was last seen alive on Oct. 3, 1984, vanished while walking home from a choir performance at Rich East High School, where she had been a sophomore, according to a Chicago Tribune report.

A small group of friends and first responders gathered in Park Forest Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017 to commemorate the life of Kristina Hickey, a 15-year-old Park Forest girl who was sexually assaulted and stabbed to death in the village 33 years ago. The case remains unsolved. (Renae Morgan)

Her body was found two days later in the bushes outside a shopping plaza near the school; her pink and white dress torn and her throat slit, the report states.

Advertisement

Morgan, who had become fast friends with Hickey after the pair met at the Park Forest Aqua Center a few years earlier, said the killing shocked and devastated the community.

"It impacted a lot of people, not just in Park Forest," she said, adding that while Hickey's killing made her stronger, it also tested her ability to trust others because it forced her to look differently at Abernathy, the accused, whom she had also considered a friend.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

"It was very difficult because we hung around him, too, for two summers and now he's being accused of doing this act," she said.

Morgan described Hickey as a smart, genuine and funny music lover who was quick to help others, but not afraid to stand up for herself.

"I can't even imagine what she would have become," Morgan said of her friend. "I mean she was that much of a go-getter."

Morgan, who plans to continue holding vigils for Hickey and to crowdfund the construction of a memorial bench in her honor, said she would continue pressing law enforcement officials to find the person responsible for her death.

Advertisement

Anyone with information regarding Hickey's slaying is asked to contact the Illinois State Police at 847-294-4400.

zkoeske@tribpub.com

Twitter @ZakKoeske
Former Markham Mayor David Webb Jr. is seen during a council meeting at Markham City Hall in 2013. (Nuccio DiNuzzo / Chicago Tribune )

A south suburban construction company president has been charged in a criminal complaint with bribery for allegedly giving kickbacks to a local mayor, federal court records show.

Authorities on Thursday unveiled a criminal complaint against Michael Jarigese, president of Tower Contracting. The complaint identifies the suburban mayor as "Public Official A." Prosecutors wouldn't confirm the mayor's identity but sources including Jarigese's attorney, Ken Cunniff, told the Tribune former Markham Mayor David Webb is the mayor referenced in the complaint. Cunniff also denied the bribery allegations.

Advertisement

An attorney for Webb, Theodore Poulos, declined comment. Webb has not been charged with any crime.

An FBI agent's affidavit attached to the complaint brought by prosecutors lays out a bribery scheme where the former mayor asked Jarigese for $100,000 after noting his company had already done substantial work for the city.

Advertisement

Jarigese said he would look into it and get back to the official, and when the two met again later, Jarigese gave the mayor a check for $75,000 made out to a shell company, according to court records.

Jarigese later gave the mayor a check for $10,000 made out to the shell company, according to court records. The former mayor took it to be a payment toward the $100,000 he had requested, the court records said.

At other times, court records show, Jarigese would visit the mayor in his office with small cash payments hidden in a coffee cup that he would hand over.

The mayor said that construction projects were assigned to contractors in a number of ways, including the design build process, according to court records. On those projects, a public bidding process is not needed, and the mayor "could better steer work to a particular contractor when a project did not involve the public bidding process," court records show.

According to the complaint, the mayor routed bribes to a shell company incorporated in Illinois around 2003 under the name of a member of the public official's family.

The mayor also established a second shell company under the name of a business associate in Illinois around 2009, court records said.

The shell companies originally were intended to do work related to real estate and remodeling/rehabilitation, court records show, but the mayor said they never did such work.

A previous federal subpoena to Markham obtained by the Daily Southtown sought records related to KAT Remodeling, Inc. and KAT Realty Investments, Inc.

Advertisement

According to Secretary of State records, KAT Remodeling was incorporated in 2003, with Andre Webb as its agent. KAT Realty Investments was incorporated in 2009 by Joseph Letke, a former municipal accountant who was involved with questionable deals, including in Markham, according to state records. Cunniff said those two companies were the shells. Andre Webb has not been charged with wrongdoing.

Bank records for Shell Company A show $153,931 deposited in a checking account, including $85,000 from Tower Contracting checks, between June 2008 and June 2013, according to court records.

By having Jarigese and another individual write checks to the shell companies, the mayor told prosecutors he could make it look like it was for "legitimate work" and not bribes or kickbacks, according to court records.

When Jarigese gave the mayor the $75,000 check, he also brought an invoice, court records said. Jarigese told the mayor the invoice would help demonstrate that the company had done work for Tower, court records said.

The mayor told prosecutors he understood that Jarigese gave him the $75,000 check because they'd been getting work from the city and wanted to secure future work, according to court records. In exchange, the mayor would use his power to steer work their way, court records show.

Webb was elected the small suburb's mayor in 2001 and declined to run for re-election this spring amid a federal investigation. Front-page stories in the Chicago Tribune and Daily Southtown have detailed questionable conduct by city officials, including Webb.

Advertisement

Between 2010 and 2015, city records show Markham paid Tower Contracting over $15 million. Campaign records show Tower donated $34,400 to Webb's campaign fund between 2010 and Webb's last year in office. Tower lists the city of Markham prominently on its website as a client.

Webb's campaign has been fined by the state for failing to file required paperwork by the deadline and once for accepting a campaign contribution over the legal limit, state records show. In 2011 and 2012, the campaign received $12,500 in contributions from Tower Contracting, or $2,500 over the legal limit for one election cycle.

A 2013 Chicago Tribune investigation spotlighted a roller rink purchase by Markham. The city paid $1.7 million for the rink  more than three times what the property was worth based on a previous appraisal  according to the Tribune.

The seller was a company led by the city attorney.

Last fall, the Southtown scrutinized Webb's campaign fund and found he has been one of the more prolific local political fundraisers in the state, taking in more than $1 million in contributions since 2000.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Much of Webb's political war chest came from city vendors, with Markham paying out at least $72 million since 2001 to Webb's political supporters, a Southtown analysis showed.

Advertisement

The city and Webb's campaign fund also have been linked to Adrianna's, a controversial nightclub and banquet hall.

Webb spent at least $127,000 in campaign funds at Adrianna's banquet hall, which shares a name and building with the nightclub. At least eight people were shot at the club or in its parking lot, two fatally, between Christmas Eve 2010 and July 2016. The club was renamed in summer 2016 and then shut down later that year after another violent incident.

The city also gave the property's developer at least $904,868 in tax breaks and spent nearly $40,000 at Adrianna's banquet hall, Markham records show. The club was renamed and then shut down last year after another violent incident.

gpratt@chicagotribune.com

sfreishtat@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @royalpratt, @srfreish
Beecher said that its longtime police chief Jeffrey L. Weissgerber died Thursday after a sudden illness.

Weissgerber, who was the village's longest-serving employee, was 57, and arrangements were pending as of Friday, according to a news release posted on the village's website.

Advertisement

He was hired in 1988 as a full-time police officer by the village, promoted to sergeant in 1992, then lieutenant in 1994, according to the village. Weissgerber served as acting police chief in 1998 and again in 2000, and was appointed chief May 1, 2000, according to the village.

"In his service to the Village, his calm demeanor, kindness, sense of humor and understanding of policing in a small community will be sorely missed," the village said in the release.
The Cook County sheriff's office has a tentative $3.25 million settlement with a female detainee who allegedly was sexually assaulted by two male detainees at the Markham Courthouse, and the sheriff's office wants to fire nine employees who allegedly allowed the alleged attack to occur, Sheriff Tom Dart announced Friday.

"Our investigation has shown gross misconduct on behalf of the involved employees," said Cara Smith, Dart's policy chief. "We don't have any evidence at this point that there was anything intentional, but the negligence was extraordinary."

Advertisement

Prosecutors allege that Hamidullah Tribble, 21, of Chicago, and Nelon Drake, 29, sexually assaulted a 52-year-old female detainee in the holding area of the courthouse on May 2 while all three were in custody.

The men allegedly gained access to the woman's cell by asking a sheriff's deputy to use the toilet inside, prosecutors said.

Advertisement

Both men are charged with criminal sexual assault, a class 1 felony, for the alleged attack.

On Thursday, the sheriff's office and the woman reached a prelitigation settlement in principle of $3.25 million, which Smith said she believed "was in the best interest of everyone involved."

She said Dart would seek to terminate all employees  both deputies and supervisors  found culpable in the sheriff's office's internal investigation of the alleged sexual assault, with the first wave of those terminations expected to hit next week.

Male and female detainees are always supposed to be kept in separate cells, per department policy, Smith said.

"There's a very bright line," she said. "It should never happen. This isn't some nuanced policy. This is a long-standing prohibition.

"You don't house male and female detainees together. Period. Under any circumstances. So that fact that this occurred evidences a really shocking level of negligence on behalf of the staff that was involved."

According to prosecutors, Tribble and Drake had been brought from the Cook County Jail to the Markham Courthouse on the morning of May 2 and were housed in the same lockup cell, which did not have a toilet.

The female detainee was placed alone in a cell across from them that did have a toilet, prosecutors said.

Advertisement

Tribble, who was being held on $100,000 bail for charges of aggravated kidnapping of a child, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and unlawful restraint, requested to use the toilet in the female detainee's cell, and a sheriff's deputy permitted him to do so, according to prosecutors.

Once inside the cell, prosecutors allege that Tribble sexually assaulted the woman. Upon finishing, he requested the deputy let him out, and he returned to his cell.

Drake  who is being held on a first-degree murder charge in one case and on charges of attempted murder, armed robbery, aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated unlawful restraint in another case  then requested to use the toilet in the female detainee's cell, prosecutors alleged.

After he entered the woman's cell, she sat crying while covering her face with her hands, prosecutors alleged. Drake then allegedly sexually assaulted the woman, prosecutors said.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Afterward, a witness saw both men "high-five," prosecutors said.

Later, as the men were being transported out of lockup, they reported to a deputy that the woman had forced herself on them when they entered her cell to use the toilet, prosecutors said.

Advertisement

All three detainees were then sent to separate hospitals to have sexual assault examinations performed. The tests confirmed that both men had sexual contact with the woman, prosecutors said.

A report detailing the findings of the sheriff's office of professional review's investigation into the matter is expected to be complete by next week, Smith said.

In the wake of the incident, the sheriff's office has implemented a series of reforms, including mandating that deputies assigned to any area of a courthouse without fixed cameras wear body cameras, performing unannounced security audits of all court facilities and assigning more trained supervisors to the Markham Courthouse, Smith said.

zkoeske@tribpub.com

Twitter @ZakKoeske
Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 Superintendent Scott Tingley listens in during a regular board meeting at Lincoln-Way Central High School in New Lenox on Thursday, April 14, 2016. (Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune )

Countering public criticism for Lincoln-Way High School District 210's recent financial woes, Superintendent Scott Tingley opened Thursday night's board meeting with a defense of his past decisions and touted his administration's current fiscal course.

Tingley also separated himself from Lincoln-Way's decision to withhold from the public an independent financial firm's 2014 report that included a dire five-year financial projection for the district. He also accepted responsibility for presenting a balanced budget in June 2014, shortly after PMA Financial predicted the district would be $8 million in the red and out of cash reserves by summer 2016.

Advertisement

The district released the report this week after a rebuke from the Illinois attorney general that said the findings by PMA Financial were improperly withheld when the Daily Southtown requested the document through a Freedom of Information Act request.

"The board was provided a copy of the analysis and projections. The PMA information was contrary to what they had been led to believe in the past," Tingley said in prepared remarks. "There were individuals who were not confident in the PMA numbers provided. It was then decided that the document would not be presented at a public meeting, and this was NOT MY recommendation."

Advertisement

The Illinois State Board of Education in 2015 placed the district on its financial watch list, a prediction also included in PMA's report. School district officials later voted to shutter Lincoln-Way North High School, which was nearly brand new at the time, as a way to balance spending.

Tingley noted in his remarks Thursday that when he succeeded former Lincoln-Way Superintendent Lawrence Wyllie in July 2013, the district's financial and business operations were not under scrutiny. Deficits of only a few million dollars had been reported publicly over the previous years before Tingley took over, he said.

He acknowledged, however, that the district should not have crafted the 2014-15 budget  the first under his watch  as it had during Wyllie's tenure.

"That was a mistake," Tingley said. "We now know that the district's business operations were not up to standard. Presenting a balanced budget in June 2014 was a result of my own inexperience and in working with the Business Manager at the time."

Federal prosecutors last month indicted Wyllie on fraud charges and alleged he hid the district's "true financial health" by misusing millions in bond dollars and presenting the public with false information. Wyllie, 79, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In providing a timeline of his administration, Tingley attempted to show he did not hide anything and noted that the district's financial projections were discussed in public meetings.

He said that "within a short time" of taking over as superintendent he noticed "inconsistencies in the accounting" and a deficit of a "few million dollars" had been publicly reported in previous years.

At the time, Tingley said, school officials thought they might be able to balance the budget through cutting programs and making other cuts.

Advertisement

"We could not cut  or fundraise  our way out of the many years of deficit spending that we had inherited," Tingley said.

Concerned about declining revenues, and the increasing need for using tax anticipation warrants to cover spending, Tingley said he saw in January 2014 the need for an "outside perspective" from PMA.

School board officials eventually decided to use PMA's report as a "planning document" in the district's teacher contract negotiations and thus felt it was exempt from release to the public under the state's open records law.

Since the document was no longer being used for negotiations, the attorney general advised the district to release it, he said.

The district has turned around, with a surplus this year of $3 million, and academically the students are performing better than ever, he said, crediting the "incredible job" of the faculty.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

However, three members of the public who spoke during public comment at Thursday night's meeting asked the board to remove him as superintendent.

Advertisement

The district cannot heal "under the direction of untrustworthy leadership," said resident Jay Curatolo.

The "true picture of impending doom" was held "secret" for another year and until after the board election in April 2015, he said.

Resident Ted Westerberg said after the meeting that "everything" Tingley said was "true."

"I attended all those meetings. None of this was a secret," he said.

slafferty@tribpub.com

Twitter @SusanLaff
Texas de Brazil, a Brazilian-American steakhouse chain, will open its third Chicago-area location at Orland Square Mall in Orland Park, according to the mall's owner.

The restaurant is slated to open sometime next year, offering diners a menu of 16 different cuts of meat as well as a salad bar containing more than 50 items, according to Simon Property Group.

Advertisement

The Texas-based chain has more than 50 U.S. and international locations, and currently has restaurants in Chicago and Schaumburg.

The mall is "proud to have been selected as the site of Texas de Brazil's newest venture in the market, and are confident it will quickly become a favorite among our local shoppers and visitors alike," Cathy Mein, the mall's director of marketing and business development, said in a news release.

Advertisement

For the uninitiated, steakhouses such as Texas de Brazil feature an all-you-can-eat food feast, and the chain said that costumed "gauchos" bring out skewers of charcoal-grilled meats such as seasoned beef, lamb, pork, chicken and Brazilian sausages that they carve at diners' tables.

Diners are given a two-sided disk, with one side having a green circle and the other side a red border. Green indicates to the servers to continue bringing more food while red means the diner needs to take a break.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Fogo de Chao is another well-known chain in this category and it has restaurants in Chicago, Naperville and Rosemont. Orland Park was, a number of years ago, home to a similar steakhouse, Sabor do Brasil, which had been on Harlem Avenue just north of 159th Street.

Texas de Brazil also offers a la carte dessert options and a full bar with an extensive wine list, according to Simon.

At the company's Chicago location, dinners are $48 or $25 for salad bar only, while lunch prices are $25 or $20 for salad bar only, according to the chain's website.

Texas de Brazil will join other food options at the mall, including The Cheesecake Factory, ChikWich Market Fresh Grill, Panda Express, Schoop's, Taco Bell and Zoup. The timing of the steakhouse's planned opening next year is not yet fully determined, and the chain has not yet submitted plans to the village.

It was not clear where at the mall the new restaurant would be located. At a recent Village Board meeting, Mayor Keith Pekau said the steakhouse would be near the Carson Pirie Scott store.

mnolan@tribpub.com

Advertisement

Twitter @mnolan_J
South suburban doctors John Kahler, left, and Zaher Sahloul traveled to Yemen last month to help tend to refugees of that country's political strife. They and a third doctor recently formed MedGlobal, Inc., a nongovernmental organization that supports medical relief groups in war-torn countries. (Zaher Sahloul)

Syrian Muslims, Rohingya Muslims and Yemeni Muslims are very different from each other in terms of literacy rates, lifestyles and occupations, says retired pediatrician John Kahler. Yet, today, all of these groups are struggling with escalating violence in their homelands, resulting in growing humanitarian crises around the world.

That is why Kahler and two other south suburban physicians  all of whom have repeatedly journeyed into dangerous war zones  have now formed their own nongovernmental organization that affords them the flexibility they say they need to reach all of the groups in need of medical care.

Advertisement

Kahler, of Palos Park; Zaher Sahloul, a critical care specialist at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn; and Anu Shavaraju, a cardiologist also at Christ, have come to be called "the combat doctors" because of the aid they have organized and delivered to Syrian refugee camps in Greece, Jordan and Lebanon, as well as to those suffering inside Syria's besieged capitol city, Aleppo.

In the past the doctors worked through the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), which Sahloul once led and helped grow from a $70,000 budget in 2011 to more than $33 million today and which focuses specifically on providing aid to Syria and its refugees.

Advertisement

The newly formed MedGlobal, Inc. (medglobal.org) will enable them to provide similar relief to the Rohingya Muslims, who now are seeking refuge in Bangladesh, as well as to the Yemeni Muslims, more than half of whom have been displaced in that war-torn country, Kahler said.

Based in the south suburbs, MedGlobal has five purposes: to treat women, children, mental health issues, chronic disease and infectious disease among marginalized populations, Sahloul said.

"The world is facing many disasters and conflicts. There are more refugees and displaced people today than at any other time in our recent memory," Sahloul said.

"We believe that doctors and nurses, not only governments, have a responsibility to address the growing health care needs and to make lives better. There is a need not only for one but thousands of NGOs to make our world better and more equitable," he added.

Much has been written about the Syrian conflict but relatively new to westerners is the struggle of the Rohingya.

The Rohingya are a Muslim minority in a country that is predominantly Buddhist. Impoverished and unskilled, they have endured longstanding oppression at the hands of the Myanmar (formerly Burma) government, Kahler said.

This past summer the situation worsened. As the government works to revoke their citizenship, taking away their right to vote and urging them to leave the country, they are being increasingly targeted by violent mobs. Villages have been burned to the ground. Many have fled quickly with little more than the clothes on their backs, Kahler said.

On Sept. 20, the Inter Sector Coordination Group (ISCG) reported that an estimated 429,000 people had entered Bangladesh seeking refuge since Aug. 25. The total number affected is estimated at more than 1 million, the organization states.

Advertisement

"It's ethnic cleansing," said Kahler, who on Oct. 14 will head to Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh to assist medical groups tending to the refugees, most of them pregnant women and children, all of them now in desperate need of food, water and medical care.

"It's chaos right now. There are a lot of players on the ground. But this is the beginning or early phase of a true humanitarian crisis," Kahler said. He believes it is the most dire situation of all on the planet.

At a time when the world is filled with crises, that is saying something, he adds.

Kahler, who did his pediatric training at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, spent the last 20 years serving the poor in medical mission work in Africa, Mexico, Central America and, most recently, in Greece, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen.

Last year, Kahler and Sahloul were among the last western doctors out of Aleppo, Syria, before fighting escalated in that capital city making it too dangerous for Americans to be there. They received humanitarian awards for that work and were honored as Chicagoans of the Year 2016 and Bush Foundation Daily Points of Light.

And, just last month, they were among the first in several years to head to Yemen, a country where internal fighting has resulted in massive movements of refugees and an outbreak of cholera that has affected more than 700,000 people.

Advertisement

"We had a Jeep full of armed guards in front, a Jeep full of armed guards in back," Kahler said.

The five-hour trip down to the area where the refugee camps are located was fraught with concern, he said, "because the rumor was al-Qaeda has a bounty: $200,000 for a shot American, $1 million for a kidnapped American."

While there, Kahler said, the doctors saw hundreds and hundreds of patients.

"We learned that of 30,000 recent deliveries, only 9,000 had any medical care at all. Only 3,000 had an attendant at the birth and 99 percent of those who did, had midwifery care," Kahler said. "Over there, midwifery care is different than in the United States. It ends with the mother. When the baby's born, the midwife's job is only to the mother. The baby is handed to anyone in the room."

Of particular concern, he said, is a growing number of cerebral palsy cases among newborns, due to a lack of pre- and post-natal care.

Sending in doctors who can train locals on how to care for newborns in the first critical hours of life, as well as setting up a field hospital that can serve pregnant women could help curb the cases, he said.

Advertisement

"One of our programs I pledged to this group is that I would come back and get a group of trainers and midwives to help train," he said.

Meanwhile, they are heading for Bangladesh to help the Rohingya refugees.

Kahler leaves with a team next week; Sahloul will soon follow. Shivaraju is working on a MedGlobal project for Lebanon.

"Our intent is to partner with other NGOs already in place," Kahler said. "That way you're not just going in saying, 'You need to do this, that and the other.' You're going in and saying 'What needs to be done? What can we help you with?'"

He said 60 to 70 percent of the Rohingya refugees are women and children, and at least 30 percent of the women are pregnant.

Generations of political repression, he said, have left the population illiterate, with skills only in farming and fishing.

Advertisement

"They are not like the Syrian refugees who were doctors and teachers and who are now trying to get their credentialing in other places. Rohingya are wedded to the area," Kahler said. "This is the only area in the world where Rohingya live. Now that they've been displaced, they're just hopeless."

Sahloul said, "We believe that a child in Yemen or a Rohingya refugee woman has the same right as my family in Chicago and should have the same access to health care."

MedGlobal, he said, will incorporate innovations such as electric medical records and telemedicine.

"We built our NGO based on diversity and cultural sensitivity. We are more agile than bigger NGOs and more flexible. We also are able to take more risky missions because of the experience of our volunteers, many of them are seasoned humanitarians who volunteered in challenging places like Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Greece," Sahloul said. "Our last mission to Yemen is an example. Our team of four doctors from Chicago was able to reach an area that hasn't been reached by American doctors in the last 10 years. We were embraced by local people and our mission was covered widely in the local and national Yemeni media. Imagine the positive messages our mission has sent to the Yemeni people. This is how we win the hearts and minds."

Still, with so many other disasters unfolding here in America, one can't help but ask if Americans shouldn't concentrate their concern and charitable dollars closer to home.

"The American people are one of the most charitable people in the world," Sahloul said.

Advertisement

That is evidenced by the outpouring of help sent to Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, he said.

"We have access to the best medical resources in the world. Our doctors are the best. We have to do our part and help victims of other disasters," he added. "America is at its best when we project our values. America first means, to me, that we should be the first to respond to disasters in the world and the first to donate and the first to volunteer. That is how can we continue our role as the world leader by using our soft power, our doctors, nurses and technology to help others."

The doctors, and other medical volunteers, pay their own travel expenses, Kahler said. "Any money (that is donated) goes to helping those on the ground. It buys medicines and goes toward building a field hospital."

"Why not keep your money local?" he repeats my question. "There's no reason not to. But I find a lot of the people who ask that question, don't give to either."

"I worked at Cook County Hospital most of my life," Kahler, 70, said. "It's where I met my wife, who is a social worker in the inner city. So, it's not like I haven't served the poor locally. I've served them my whole life. This is just a different version of that help."

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Helping those in need, he said, "is as much a part of my Catholic upbringing as it a part of Zaher's Muslim upbringing.

Advertisement

"There's a humanitarian call; there's a need," Kahler said. "It is rewarding to be able to help. It's literally the most rewarding thing I've ever done."

The public's attention span is short, he said. People tend to care for awhile and then move on. Conflicts fall off the front page.

"You notice you don't hear much about Syria anymore but the bombing continues unabated," Kahler said. "Yemen has already fallen away and we have a major humanitarian crisis of malnutrition there. The Rohingya are immediate. They have nothing. Zero. They need us."

"The United States," Sahloul said, "is the city on the hill for the whole world, not just for the American people."

dvickroy@tribpub.com

Twitter @dvickroy
SPRINGFIELD  You've probably never heard of Mark Janus.

He's just an Ordinary Joe tucked away in a government building in Springfield investigating child support claims. But soon his name may become well-known throughout the United States.

Advertisement

He doesn't believe government workers should be forced to pay money to a union that they don't agree with. So, he is suing the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees.

The United States Supreme Court recently agreed to hear his case. If he prevails, which I believe he will, it will reshape labor law throughout the nation.

Advertisement

"I'm both anxious and excited. This is extremely historic," Janus told me. "I found out when I got a text from my lawyer. . . and the case is in the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. And then it hit me: 'Wow, this is a really big deal.'"

Mark is represented by AFSCME against his will. To keep his job, he has to pay them a chunk of his paycheck.

It's not fair. But it's just the way it is.

And he's been doing it for 16 years.

Last year, a California teacher named Rebecca Friedrichs made the same argument before the U.S. Supreme Court.

I sat through the arguments. Based on the questions asked by the justices, it looked like the majority of members of the high court agreed with her.

And then Justice Antonin Scalia died.

The court ended up deadlocked with a four-four vote and failed to issue an opinion.

Advertisement

So now newly appointed Justice Neil Gorsuch will almost certainly cast the deciding vote in the Janus case.

If Janus wins, government workers throughout the nation will gain freedom. And unions leaders will have to work to maintain their membership rather than rely on a captive membership.

It seems fair. In fact, that is the way it already is in 28 states  including all of Illinois' neighbors.

Janus said one motivation for his lawsuit is Illinois state government's dire fiscal condition.

"It doesn't seem like the union listens. The state is in awful financial shape. I went to a union meeting and said we shouldn't ask for more. Others at the meeting said the same thing. Even with the 32 percent income tax hike we had this year, the state is still broke. But the union bosses went and demanded pay raises that the state can't afford."

If the high court rules in his favor, anyone who works for any unit of local or state government anywhere in the United States would no longer have to pay unions anything.

Advertisement

They could choose to, but they wouldn't have to.

Why just government workers? Because everything government does is political.

And, in political matters, free speech is paramount.

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Chief Justice John Roberts asked during oral arguments in the Friedrichs' case for an example of "non-political speech" that the union negotiates at the bargaining table.

The example David Frederick, a lawyer for unions involved in the case, gave was mileage reimbursement rates.

But Roberts countered that even that constitutes political speech because it deals with how tax dollars should be spent.

Advertisement

"Everything that is collectively bargained with the government is within the political sphere," added Justice Antonin Scalia.

And nobody should be forced to support a political cause they don't believe in.

And the stand Janus is taking is simple: Every worker should be free to choose.

Scott Reeder, a veteran statehouse journalist, works as a freelance reporter in the Springfield area and produces the podcast Suspect Convictions.
Commissioner Sean Morrison, R-Palos Park, addresses the Cook County Board Sept. 13 about the countys sweetened beverage tax. Morrison on Friday announced a compromise deal to eliminate the tax, effective Dec. 1. (Lou Foglia/Chicago Tribune )

Every so often, something happens that restores one's faith in democracy and representative government.

I think Friday's announcement of a compromise deal to repeal Cook County's unpopular sweetened beverage tax is one such instance.

Advertisement

"The people have spoken," Orland Park Mayor Keith Pekau told me. "That's exactly the way our system is supposed to work."

A county board majority changed course on the tax amid relentless criticism from residents, business owners and municipal leaders. As recently as a month ago, it was unclear whether enough commissioners would override a veto by County Board President Toni Preckwinkle of a repeal, if it came to that.

Advertisement

Twelve commissioners  enough to override a veto  are cosponsors of an amended repeal ordinance unveiled Friday that will allow the county to continue collecting the soda tax through Nov. 30, said Commissioner Sean Morrison, R-17th, of Palos Park. If Morrison's measure is approved as expected next week, the tax will be eliminated effective Dec. 1.

"It has not been easy task but in the end, we have reached an agreement that will address the concerns of our residents and businesses and set forth a goal to chart a new fiscal course for Cook County," Morrison said in a statement.

Friday's announcement followed news on Thursday that Commissioner John Daley, D-11th, had flipped his position and would vote to repeal. In addition to Daley, commissioners who previously supported the tax and cosponsored the repeal bid are Dennis Deer, D-2nd; Jesus Garcia, D-7th; and Stanley Moore, D-4th.

"When the president said she needed new revenue, I believed her," Moore told me Friday. At the time, he said, he supported the tax instead of cutting county funding for health and public safety services.

"My communities feel taxed out," Moore said. "They're exhausted. The soda tax, the bag tax, property taxes, water tax, sewer tax  our community has spoken. I'm a representative of the community."

I sought reaction Friday from two south suburban commissioners who initially voted for the tax  Deborah Sims, D-5th of Posen and Ed Moody, D-6th, of Crestwood  but did not immediately receive responses.

I believe the repeal compromise is significant because it shows how constituent anger about policy can effectively translate into political power. Candidates running on anti-tax platforms have declared challenges to Moody and Sims in February's Democratic primaries.

Commissioners were caught between a rock and hard place. If they stood with Preckwinkle's calls to keep the soda tax, they risked losing their seats to primary challengers.

Advertisement

With veto-proof majority support, the repeal compromise is set for votes by the finance committee Tuesday and the full county board on Wednesday.

With voters and residents showing clear support for cuts in services instead of increased taxes, commissioners now face the difficult task of reducing the county's nearly $5 billion in annual expenses by 11 percent.

"The choice commissioners face is between financial stability and a preservation of services in public health and public safety or significant budget cuts in these areas," Preckwinkle spokesman Frank Shuftan told me in an email response on Friday.

Hours before Friday's announcement of the repeal compromise, the Can the Tax Coalition released a letter signed by 13 suburban mayors urging commissioners to repeal the tax. Preckwinkle cast the tie-breaking vote last November when the county board decided 9-8 to impose the tax, which took effect Aug. 2.

"The tax is just bad policy and it is having a devastating impact on our communities," the letter said, in part. The tax put towns and businesses at a competitive disadvantage, caused consumer flight and job losses, and negatively impacted local sales tax revenues, the letter said.

South suburban municipal leaders signing the letter included Pekau, Alsip Mayor John Ryan, Chicago Ridge Mayor Charles Tokar, Lemont Mayor John Egofske, Matteson Mayor Sheila Y. Chalmers-Currin, Midlothian Mayor Gary L'Heureux, Palos Park Mayor John F. Mahoney and Worth Mayor Mary Werner.

Advertisement

Worth Mayor Mary Werner urged Cook County Board members on Sept. 13 to repeal the unpopular soda tax. (Lou Foglia/Chicago Tribune )

"This is the first time in years I can recall where everyone  Republicans, Democrats and independents  all stood up for the same thing, and it worked," Werner told me. "Commissioners did not anticipate this type of anger."

In the more than two months since the soda tax took effect, Werner and other municipal leaders throughout the suburbs have heard from residents and merchants about the tax, she said. Shoppers protesting the tax were leaving the county to buy not just beverages, but all their groceries, and often gas, as well.

"I'm hoping they will all come back and shop in Cook County again," Werner said. "Unfortunately, now many residents realize there's no sales tax in Indiana, or it's cheaper to shop in Will County. I hope we haven't lost them forever."

I think there are some key takeaways to learn about citizen uproar over the soda tax. One is that voters are smart enough to see through slick messaging. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg provided $5 million for TV commercials that tried to sell the soda tax as a health issue that would help reduce obesity and diabetes among children.

Savvy consumers paying attention to the debate, however, knew that low-income food stamp recipients were exempt from the tax. That meant the soda tax would provide no additional incentive for more than 872,000 Cook County residents to drink less soda or other "unhealthy" beverages. The tax included sport drinks favored by athletes and recreation enthusiasts.

Millions of dollars spent on messaging couldn't convince enough people that the soda tax was about health. I think people felt strongly all along the tax was always about revenue.

Advertisement

Daily Southtown Twice-weekly News updates from the south suburbs delivered every Monday and Wednesday >

Another takeaway is that elected officials  especially Cook County Democrats  need to grasp public frustration over the cumulative effect of high taxes.

I think policymakers at the state, county and local levels need to work together to reduce such costs as pensions and benefits for government workers. More revenue can simply no longer be the only answer.

"When we see something that's bad for our constituents we should work to change policy, and that's what we've done," Pekau said about the soda tax repeal compromise.

Also, I think Preckwinkle underestimated public outrage over the tax when she blamed opposition on lobbying by "Big Soda." It's true the beverage industry helped organize and coordinate some opposition. But I also saw firsthand a lot of authentic, grassroots, "vote with your feet" reaction by ordinary citizens.

Finally, I wish commissioners the best in their efforts to identify ways to reduce county expenditures. They face difficult choices about service cuts that will undoubtedly impact residents. But the people have spoken, and they've made clear they can no longer bear the burden of high taxes in Cook County.

tslowik@tronc.com

Advertisement

Twitter @tedslowik
Streamwood High School teacher Meagan Balzer collects money from students during a school-wide fundraiser for victims of Hurricane Harvey in September. School District U46 schools have collected more than $10,000 this fall for disaster relief in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Mexico. (Rafael Guerrero / Courier-News )

In response to hurricanes and earthquakes devastating the U.S. and Latin America this summer and fall, School District U46 has raised more than $10,000 in disaster relief.

On Thursday, the district announced it had surpassed the five-figure dollar mark, with schools continuing to raise resources for victims of Hurricane Maria and the September earthquakes in Mexico.

Advertisement

"We've seen overwhelming generosity from U46 students, their families and our staff in responding to the needs of those in Texas and Florida," said U46 CEO Tony Sanders in a written statement. "Now we are seeing the same spirit of giving aimed at those struggling in Mexico and Puerto Rico, where many in our district have family and friends."

In a news release, U46 officials detailed some of the ongoing fundraising efforts for the two communities.

Advertisement

Oakhill Elementary School in Streamwood has raised more than $1,200 through a "Penny Wars" fundraiser. Century Oaks Elementary in Elgin will be collecting new and unopened battery packs, flashlights and money through the end of this week.

Also happening this week is students at the DREAM Academy in Elgin have been wearing jeans to class  and temporarily skipping the school's dress code  if they donate $1 per day. Employees at the district's central office building next door did something similar last week. Otter Creek Elementary in Elgin is also hosting a coin challenge this week, with each day of the week corresponding to pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, or donors' choice.

Staff at the main U46 office building hosted a bake sale this week, and the staff are also collecting batteries and flashlights for victims in Puerto Rico, according to the release.

The money collected from these latest fundraisers and collections will be sent to either "The Puerto Rican Agenda" to help Puerto Rico, or "Chicago con Mexico," which is aiding reconstruction in Mexico following the magnitude-7.1 earthquake last month.

More than $9,000 was collected for victims of Hurricane Harvey in Texas and Louisiana and Hurricane Irma in Florida, district officials said. The schools that participated include Bartlett, Hawk Hollow, Hillcrest, Hilltop, Spring Trail, Ronald D. O'Neal, Clinton, Oakhill and Liberty elementary schools; Kenyon Woods and Larsen middle schools; and Larkin and Streamwood high schools.

In the Streamwood High School Miracle Minute fundraiser, more than $2,800 was collected, said Jaimee Shearn, a Streamwood teacher and event organizer, in an email last month.

Funds raised are being donated to organizations such as the American Red Cross, C.E. King High School in Houston, the Autism Society of Texas' Hurricane Harvey Disaster Fund, Salvation Army and Feed My Starving Children, according to the release.

Fifth graders in Cheri Swanson and Michelle Mann's class at South Elgin's Clinton Elementary School sent backpacks, spiral notebooks, pocket folders, markers, crayons, pencils, post-it-notes, highlighters, index cards, and scissors to fourth graders in Melissa Contrera's class at Travis Elementary in Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District in Texas to support their peers impacted by Hurricane Harvey. (School District U46)

raguerrero@tribpub.com
York High School has named six alumni who will be honored this year as Dukes of Distinction, a recognition program launched in 2013.

The honorees in the York Distinguished Alumni Program are nominated by a panel of alumni judges and recognized for having distinguished themselves through significant or extraordinary accomplishments, service or an outstanding contribution to society.

Advertisement

David Bosse, Blake Byrne, Thomas Fisher, Linda French, Judith Bond Johnson and Mary McEnerney Wooley will be inducted during a reception at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 2 at the York High School Commons, 355 W. St. Charles Road, Elmhurst. The program is free and open to the public.

Bosse, a 1980 graduate, has worked as a firefighter for the Lisle/Woodridge and later Bartlett departments. During his career, he worked the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, receiving the Armed Forces Humanitarian and Mutual Aid Box Alarm System medals for his service.

Advertisement

He also assisted the New York Fire Department after the 9/11 attacks. He received the Medal of Merit after saving a man from a burning building and taking him to safety.

Bosse retired in 2016 after 20 years of full-time service.

Byrne, a 1953 graduate, spent 35 years in television broadcasting before retiring in 1997. He is chairman of Byrne Acquisition Group, with TV and radio stations in Wisconsin and South Carolina. He founded the Skylark Foundation, advocating for the protection of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered rights and supporting diversity.

Byrne is a supporter of the arts and an avid art collector. He is a lifetime trustee of the Museum of Contemporary Art and was the founding chairman of the Nasher Museum. He was honored with a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, an honor given for making a significant contribution to the arts in France.

Fisher, a 1966 graduate, is a brigadier general. He began his military career in the Michigan Army National Guard and continued with the Utah Army National Guard. He was promoted to brigadier general in 2016, a position appointed by the president of the United States and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

He serves as land component commander. He was deployed to Iraq from 2003 to 2005 and graduated from the U.S. Army War College with a masters of strategic studies.

French, a 1982, is a 12-time U.S. National Badminton Champion. As captain of her team, she led York High School to a second-place finish in the team state finals in 1981 and 1982. She won the Illinois state badminton singles title in 1979, 1981 and 1982.

French was selected to join the U.S. Olympic Badminton Team in 1992 and was also on the 1996 U.S. Olympic Team. Extensive travel inspired her to serve as an immigration lawyer. She represents athletes, businesses and individuals.

Advertisement

Johnson, a 1955 graduate, is a nurse and was the first to receive a Ph.D. from the adult education program at the University of Minnesota. Her company, HealthQuest, serves individuals, companies and hospitals whose interest is living with chronic illness.

Johnson's Ph.D. thesis, the I Can Cope cancer patient education course, was adopted by American and international hospitals. Johnson has lived and traveled abroad. She was appointed as a Fulbright Scholar in 2010. She is editor of the journal Asian Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing and presents on living with chronic illness and patient education.

Wooley, a 1964 graduate, is an influential medical and health research advocate. She is president/CEO of Research!America, a nonprofit alliance dedicated to making health research a higher national priority.

She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences Board on Life Sciences and a founding member of the Board of Associates of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research. She holds two honorary doctorate degrees.

Wooley was awarded the Adam Yarmolinsky Award for distinguished service from the National Academy of Medicine and is a member of the visiting committee of the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Evanston City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz discusses the proposed FY 2018 city budget at City Hall in Evanston on Oct. 5, 2017. ( Genevieve Bookwalter/Pioneer Press )

Evanston's city manager said more than a dozen people stand to lose their jobs at the end of the year as the city tries to figure out how to close a $6 million hole projected for the 2018 city budget.

City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz said layoff notices were handed out Thursday.

Advertisement

Those whose jobs are proposed to be cut were notified that their last day could be Dec. 31 if aldermen approve a proposed budget plan, he said.

Aldermen are expected to be hear a full fiscal year 2018 budget proposal at the Oct. 16 City Council meeting.

Advertisement

Officials said that Evanston is facing a shortfall in its proposed $338 million budget for FY18, which starts Jan. 1. The city employs 820 full-time workers, and the layoffs could impact a combination of full-time and part-time employees.

"This was a difficult process," said Bobkiewicz.

Pink slips are expected to be given to three people from administrative services  human resources, parking repair work and equipment mechanic workers. Two other vacancies in that that department won't be filled, according to information in the proposed city budget.

In the community development department, one vacancy won't be filled and one customer service representative may be let go.

The Evanston Police Department won't fill two civilian vacancies and one records input operator could be cut, according to the budget proposal.

The city's health department could lose one secretary. Additionally, the current role of medical director is proposed to be eliminated.

Four people may be laid off from the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department, including the festival coordinator, administrative supervisor and managers from the Levy and Chandler Center recreation centers.

The public works department could be hardest hit, with five layoff proposed, including one parks and forestry worker, an infrastructure maintenance bureau chief, an environmental services bureau chief and an equipment operator.

Advertisement

And across city departments, a total of nine vacancies are proposed to not be filled, according to the budget plan presented by Bobkiewicz and Assistant City Manager Marty Lyons. The officials added that three furlough days are proposed for workers in 2018.

"We're pleased that there aren't more service reductions, more layoffs. Anytime you have any is too many," said Bobkiewicz.

In addition to the layoffs, city administrators are looking at increasing recreation fees, hiking property taxes and charging more for metered parking, among other proposed revenue ideas to deal with the anticipated deficit.

Those and other options will be presented to the City Council Monday. A spending plan is expected to be approved by Dec. 1, according to Bobkiewicz.

A hiring freeze is proposed for the police and fire departments, which would affect seven positions.

"We didn't touch police and fire at all through the recession. This is a big deal," Lyons said.

Advertisement

The only new position proposed to be created in the budget is for a "video records clerk" to process recordings made by the police body cameras that aldermen previously approved buying for the police department.

Meanwhile, a management audit is proposed for the police department to see if a staff reorganization might be more efficient and save the city money, Bobkiewicz and Lyons said.

More than $5 million of the anticipated $6 million deficit comes from money lost in building permit fees from 2017 to 2018, according to the budget proposal. The decrease arrives as Northwestern University slows down a building boom that in recent years contributed millions to city coffers, the city managers said.

The rest stems from an anticipated decrease in sales tax and Illinois income tax revenue of about $1.4 million, according to the budget plan.

On the expenses side, while health insurance costs decreased about $316,000, union workers are expected to receive a 3 percent general wage increase. That pay raise is projected to cost the city about $2.4 million, according to the budget documents.

To make up those lost funds, Lyons said his staff is proposing a 1 percent increase in the city's tax levy, which would translate into a $18.12 annual property tax increase on a home with a market value of $400,000, according to budget documents.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, city staff also is proposing expanding parking meters hours from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. to 8 a.m.-9 p.m. and an increased, uniform cost of $1 per hour. That is the current parking meter rate in downtown Evanston.

There's also a proposal to charge a 20 cents per ride fee on Uber and Lyft ride share services and charging a 25 percent fee on all Air BnB stays. Additionally, parking meter violations are proposed to double from $10 to $20 and monthly parking lot fees go from $40 to $60 in city-owned lots.

If approved, Bobkiewicz said, the proposed measures should result in about $2 million of new revenue and $4 million in savings.

"The plan is responsible, balanced, and continues to provide needed services to the residents of Evanston without increasing the tax burden so horrifically that it has a continued impact," Bobkiewicz said.

gbookwalter@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @GenevieveBook
Bluff erosion and flooding at Lakefront Park and Glencoe Beach will be the focus of a planned study for the Glencoe Park District.

On Oct. 3, park board commissioners meeting as the Special Projects and Facilities Committee informally agreed to move forward on a study that will look at flooding and bluff erosion and make recommendations to fix drainage problems. A formal vote authorizing the analysis, which would be conducted by three water management firms, is expected at the Oct. 17 regular board meeting.

Advertisement

The study is expected to cost approximately $80,000 and take three to four months to complete, according to Park District spokeswoman Erin Maassen.

Chicago-based landscape architectural firm Altamanu Inc. will lead a team examining the problems. Altamanu recently completed a restoration of the playground outside West School leading into West Park, and is also completing a playground enhancement at Astor Park.

Advertisement

Altamanu principal John Mac Manus told the park board that excess water pressure is slowly moving the bluff and damaging buildings at the beach. Water is pushing down on the staircase that leads to the beach and the existing halfway house, where park district staff members collect admission fees from beachgoers during the summer, he said.

"The water floods the staircase," Mac Manus said after the meeting.

Chris Leiner, the Park District's director of parks and maintenance, said flooding was such a problem that a portion of the staircase had to be replaced. Maassen said after the meeting the repairs occurred in 2012.

Mac Manus said he fears there could be similar erosion-related issues someday at the beach house, home to the locker rooms and concession stands.

Park board member Lisa Brooks said she was open to some changes to the beach structures depending on costs, current needs and other future considerations.

"I hope you entertain not necessarily having to preserve everything as is," Brooks said.

The estimated costs of any repairs would come as part of the study, Mac Manus said.

Commissioner Steve Gaines suggested that a bond sale referendum could be placed in front of Glencoe residents to fund the renovation.

Advertisement

"This is a project of such magnitude that we should do it right for future generations," Gaines said. "This is a long-term overdue renovation of our crown jewel."

The Park District last put a bond sale in front of voters in 2006 to pay for renovations to the Takiff Center, Maassen said. She added the measure passed with approximately 60 percent of the vote.

Gaines emphasized the importance of the study, pointing to the Takiff Center, the Watts Ice Center and the beach as the main drawing points for the Park District.

"This might be the single most important study we have ever undertaken," Gaines said.

Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
Glencoe School District 35 said Thursday it has found no evidence to either support or disprove allegations of sexual abuse leveled by a former student against a retired teacher, and is ending its investigation into the matter.

"Upon completion of a detailed and thorough review, we have found no institutional information or personal knowledge to support or deny these allegations. We have discovered no information to indicate that anything pertaining to the allegations was known to District 35," District 35 President Gary Ruben said in reading from a prepared statement at a school board meeting. "Likewise, we have found nothing to indicate that the alleged conduct occurred at our schools or while any student was in the care of the District."

Advertisement

Former District 35 student David Stroud claimed he was abused in the early 1970s by a teacher who retired more than 20 years ago; the district's statement said the alleged incidents took place in the student's home. That teacher has denied having abused Stroud or any other children.

Pioneer Press is not naming the former teacher, who has not been charged in the matter. On Friday, the former teacher, reached by phone, said he was pleased with the resolution of the district's investigation.

Advertisement

"That is what I would expect them to say," he said. "I did nothing and I didn't expect them to find anything."

The former teacher said he has a faulty memory but doesn't remember teaching David Stroud, though he reviewed class rosters and noticed that he taught Stroud's brothers. He also said he never hired a lawyer, but was questioned by a police officer about a year ago.

The teacher said it has been a "hellish time."

"I just want this to go away and leave me alone," he said. "I just don't know why (Stroud) would do something like this."

As part of its investigation, the district examined documents including the teacher's personnel file, school board meeting minutes and students records, and contacted former employees and board members who might have known about the teacher during his tenure at District 35, according to the statement.

The board "also made a decision to release the teacher's personnel file and related documents to any interested member of the public, with the hope such documents might be helpful," it added.

"This is a very difficult situation and the board is deeply concerned," it said. "We have worked diligently to respectfully and compassionately listen and respond to all who have contacted the District, directly or indirectly, with information or opinions to share."

Stroud, 55, who lives in Durango, Colo., said Friday that he "did not expect anything different" from the board.

Advertisement

"I'm disappointed, without a doubt," Stroud added.

Stroud said he will continue to pursue the matter and hopes others come forward.

"We are reaching out and waiting for someone to go to the Glencoe police, which is essential, because the school board is not doing anything," he said.

District 35 said earlier this year it had received two anonymous calls and some emails with similar claims against the teacher. It also said that previous allegations by Stroud had been reported to the Glencoe Public Safety Department, which includes police, in 2012 and 2014, but no charges were filed.

Glencoe Public Safety Director Cary Lewandowski said last month that no charges had been made against the former teacher following an investigation.

On Friday, he said he could not comment further about the matter because of a pending Freedom of Information Act request that involves non-releasable information.

Advertisement

However, Lewandowski added, "We also have concerns about this issue and continue to encourage people to contact us if they have any information."

The district's statement also encouraged anyone with information about the matter to contact Glencoe public safety officials, and said it would reconsider "as appropriate" its decision to end its investigation if new information surfaces.

Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelancer for Pioneer Press.
Charles Reed, 34, of Waukegan, was charged with one count of solicitation to meet a child after an undercover officer posing as the child agreed to meet him, police said. (Waukegan Police)

A Waukegan man who police said approached a teenager waiting for a bus and sent a lewd photo to what he believed to be a juvenile's phone this week has been arrested.

Charles Reed, 34, was charged with one count of solicitation to meet a child after an undercover officer posing as a female juvenile agreed to meet him, Waukegan police Cmdr. Joe Florip said.

Advertisement

The teenager had been approached by a man about 8 a.m. Tuesday as she waited for her bus at the corner of Beach Road and Bertrand Lane, according to a statement issued Friday by Waukegan police. The statement added that the man gave the girl his phone number and asked for her to send him texts.

After the girl and her family notified the Waukegan Police Department about the incident, an undercover officer posing as a teen sent a text to Reed's phone, according to the release. Police report the man sent back a lewd photo and requested to meet.

Advertisement

The undercover operation was undertaken jointly by the Lake County State's Attorney's Office and Waukegan police.

Reed was arrested about 3 p.m. Wednesday at the arranged meeting spot in the 3900th block of Bertrand Lane, police report.

He remained in the Lake County jail Friday in lieu of $25,000 bond, and his next court date is scheduled for Oct. 11.

Twitter @NewsSun
Naperville attorney Sadia Covert speaks during a forum on race relations in Aurora in February. (Sean King/The Beacon-News )

Naperville attorney Sadia Covert has announced she is a candidate for the DuPage County Board District 5.

Covert joins Dawn Desart and Kevin Oyakawa in seeking the Democratic nomination in the March 18 primary for two open seats in the district, encompassing parts of Naperville, Aurora, Lisle and Warrenville.

Advertisement

The seats up for election are held by Republican Janice Anderson, of Naperville, who is seeking another four-year term, and Republican Tonia Khouri, of Aurora, who is stepping down to run for the 49th District House seat. The 5th district's third seat, held by James Healy, is not up for election until 2020.

Covert, a 34-year-old mother of three, is an attorney at Covert & Covert, which has offices in Naperville, Warrenville and Schaumburg.

Advertisement

"Like the other two candidates, Sadia Covert is someone who will work with the Republicans on the county board," DuPage Democratic Party Chairman Robert Peickert said in an email statement. "That is her strength. She is a necessary voice who will bring balanced government in DuPage County."

Covert worked with legislators to co-author House Bill 2390, which strengthened hate crime law in Illinois, according to her website. Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the measure into law in August.

While Covert could not be reached for comment, she said on her website that being able to work with people in both parties is key to a successful government.

"In these troubling, divisive times, it is important to have a county board member that will work with both sides of the aisle for an efficient and functioning government," she said.

A Benedictine University graduate, Covert earned her law degree from Western Michigan University and passed the Illinois Bar exam in 2009. She worked as an unpaid law clerk in the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office in 2008.

Gary Gibula is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
Shelley Grimaldi kisses her granddaughter, Olivia, as she plays the piano. Grimaldi is undergoing treatment for breast cancer but hasnt let it stop her from remaining devoted to her grandchildren and family, her son says. (Jody Grimaldi)

Dear Bella, Rosie and Ava,

It's no coincidence that your Gammy's radiation treatment ends at 3:30 p.m., a half hour before Ava gets out of preschool. She scheduled it that way so she can pick her up on the way home.

Advertisement

Five days a week, for seven weeks straight, Gammy drives herself to the clinic to get 67 years' worth of cells zapped clean, then puts on a smile and watches you all while I finish work.

Although your favorite movie hero, Wonder Woman, is make-believe, I would argue there are real Wonder Women living all around us. They are the strong, proud women who are fighting breast cancer. They are your grandma, Gammy.

Advertisement

It should come as no surprise that even through her disease, Gammy still helps us out. When I had you, Bella, 13 years ago and we lived in Chicago, she drove downtown from Naperville through rush-hour traffic most days of the week to play the role of Gammy-nanny. It was a nonpaying position, but she didn't mind. You were her first grandchild and I was her firstborn. Of course she was going to come!

When you were born three years later, Rosie, followed by you, Ava, Gammy still donated her time. Yes, we now lived closer, but Gammy was there before work in the morning and she was still there in the evening, when Mommy and Daddy returned from work.

Through the flu and the terrible 2s, she came. Through rain, snow and blizzards, she was there. Throw in piano lessons and after-school activities, and it's been Gammy-on-the-Spot. Rider, our crazy dog, is no problem, she is the only one to watch him when we go on vacation.

It's not because she feels obligated or lonely. It's done purely out of love for her grandchildren and for her son and daughter-in-law. So we can lead a happier life.

When we received the bad news this spring that Gammy had breast cancer, we all were very scared. You girls had many questions. Will she lose her hair? Will she still be able to come over?

Well, one major surgery later and nearly six weeks of post treatment, and I think she has put our fears to bed. Though Gammy may have moments of weakness privately, she doesn't share those with us. Your Gammy pulls on her pink cape every day and stands upright, focused on helping others and the next challenge ahead.

You little ladies are so fortunate to have a remarkable grandma setting an example for how to be a strong woman during times of distress. But she is not alone. There are female superheroes like Gammy everywhere, battling an evil force known as breast cancer every day, yet still doing all they can to make the planet a better place for the people they love.

These are the real-life Wonder Women...

Advertisement

With love and hope,

Daddy

Jody Grimaldi, president and founder of Grimaldi Public Relations, lives in Woodridge.
Many bars and restaurants, including Hackneys on Lake in Glenview, were able to reinstate happy hour promotions after Gov. Bruce Rauner approved legislation changing the law, but the Naperville Liquor Commission has opted not to do so in the city. (Kevin Tanaka / Pioneer Press )

Naperville residents will have to be content without happy hours, the city's liquor commission decided Thursday.

A proposal to allow bars and restaurants to offer happy hour drink specials, which have been against the law in Naperville for decades, met with a negative vote from the commission, which favored maintaining the city's stricter rules.

Advertisement

Happy hour promotions were also against the law in Illinois from 1989 to 2015, when Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation that allowed them to return with several restrictions, including a limit on promotional times to four hours per day and 15 hours per week, a requirement that happy hours to be advertised a week in advance and a prohibition on happy hour promotions after 10 p.m.

A statewide ban on "two for one" drinks remains in effect.

Advertisement

One Naperville bar/restaurant, the Old Town Pour House near Diehl and Naperville roads, had approached Mayor Steve Chirico about lifting the happy hour ban so that it could better compete with nearby businesses in Warrenville and Wheaton.

However, no one from the Pour House or any other bar or restaurant in Naperville attended the meeting to push for the change.

The Naperville City Council has kept a tight rein on liquor regulations in the wake of several alcohol-related incidents, including a 2014 drunken-driving crash that ended with two young men drowned in a quarry and a 2012 stabbing murder of an elementary school teacher during a disturbance inside a club on Chicago Avenue.

New city ordinances that kicked in January 2015 prohibited customers from re-entering a bar or buying a shot of liquor in the hour before closing, limited non-craft beers to a maximum of 22 ounces, ended the practice of announcing "last call for shots," banned the reduction of regular alcohol prices by more than 50 percent and mandated that security workers undergo additional training.

"All of our restrictions remain in place," City Prosecutor Kavita Athanikar said after the meeting.

Despite the commission's action, bars and restaurants still have the ability to promote daylong drink specials, such as "tequila Tuesdays" and "half-price wine Wednesdays" and to offer food specials in conjunction with a liquor deal.

wbird@tribpub.com
The Naperville Central student who brought an unloaded handgun to high school Tuesday could be expelled for as long as two years under Naperville School District 203's student discipline policy.

The rules state that a student who brings a weapon to school or a school-sponsored event or activity "shall be expelled for a period of not less than one year." The policy also specifies the school board can expel a student for a weapons violation for no more than two years.

Advertisement

What will happen to the Naperville Central student from Tuesday's incident will remain between the district and the student's family, said Michelle Fregoso, District 203 director of communications.

Due to privacy issues, "we can't discuss student discipline," Fregoso said.

Advertisement

That is not to say the public can't seek guidance by reading the district's policy, she said.

Every student should know that bringing a gun to school is a student discipline violation. Before the start of the school year, students in grades 6 to 12 sign a waiver that they've read and understood the district's discipline policy. Parents of all students also are provided a copy.

"Naperville North High School and Naperville Central High School even provide planners with the student discipline policy inside to every student," Fregoso said.

The discipline policy outlines what happens if a student violates any one of 54 offenses, from excessive tardiness to drug or weapons possession.

In the last few years Illinois school districts have scrapped their zero-tolerance policies approach to one focusing on behavior improvement. A law went into effect last year in Illinois prohibiting automatic suspensions or expulsions for certain behavior.

The one exception in District 203 is when a student brings a weapon to school. It is the only act of gross disobedience or misconduct by a student where a defined punishment is suggested.

The policy does, however, allow the superintendent and board to modify the expulsion on a case-by-case basis. One example would be an elementary student who inadvertently brings a knife to school as part of a Halloween costume.

Fregoso said the district received between 20 and 25 calls, emails and social media contacts from parents and the public related to Tuesday's gun incident in which a teacher reported a student acting suspiciously and contacted a dean, who removed the student from the classroom.

Advertisement

Interactions between the dean and the student lead to the discovery of an unloaded handgun, and the dean immediately reached out to the Naperville police officer assigned to the school.

Most the people who reached out to the district raised concerns about student safety, although five praised the teacher, dean and officer for their quick responses, Fregoso said.

"It was positive reinforcement for what we had done," she said.

subaker@tribpub.com

Twitter @SBakerSun1
Water-filled barricades, similar to those sold by Perimeter Security Products, will be purchased by the Naperville Police Department with funds from a grant and money from Napervilles SECA fund. (Perimeter Security Products)

The Naperville Police Department will use $7,500 in SECA reserve funds to purchase 30 barriers designed to hinder vehicle ramming attacks at public events.

Naperville City Council members voted 6-3 this week to use money earmarked for Special Events and Cultural Amenities despite the plastic, water-filled barricades not specifically falling under "social events and artistic experiences" cited in the SECA mission statement.

Advertisement

Councilwoman Rebecca Boyd-Obarski was the most vocal in her opposition, saying the program's reserve fund should not be used to purchase something that is the police department's "ordinary cost of doing business."

The reserve balance is there as a "fallback," Boyd-Obarski said, "not as a pot of money to supplement other budgets. I don't mean to sound quite that critical, but that's how it (feels)."

Advertisement

Council members Becky Anderson and Benny White also voted "no."

SECA funding is overseen by an advisory commission, with nonprofit groups requesting grant money annually for public events and programs to be held in the city. The commission's recommendations go to the City Council for final approval.

When events such as Ribfest, Last Fling or the Riverwalk Fine Art Fair don't use the entire amount requested, the leftover dollars go to the program's reserve fund. The fund's balance currently sits at $320,000.

The barriers to be purchased by the police department will be used at many of the events sponsored with SECA money. They are designed to block "a perpetrator (from) deliberately aiming a motor vehicle at a target with the intent to inflict serious/fatal injuries or significant property damage by striking with massive force," according to city documents.

Of the $7,500 price tag, half will be returned to SECA once a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is received, Deputy Chief Jason Arres said in an email.

Reserves in the SECA fund ensure the city meets its grant obligations should income from the city's 1 percent food and beverage  which funds the program  fall short and be insufficient to pay already approved grants, said Rachel Mayer, the city's finance director.

This is not the first time the council has authorized the use of SECA reserve funds to pay for non-SECA related items. Last year, it approved $80,000 from the fund to pay for upgrades to Sportsman's Park.

Boyd-Obarksi said she approved of the measure because the council was advised the reserve fund was more than sufficient for anticipated needs, and it was a "one-time" action.

Advertisement

The year-end funding request could be paid for with other city money, Mayer told the council before its Tuesday night vote.

"We could absolutely look to another funding source if that's what council's requesting," she said.

The decision to tap SECA money instead of the police department's operating budget for safety equipment was deliberate, Arres said.

"We are nearing the end of our budget year and were looking at alternate funding sources so as to not affect the (city's overall) general fund," Arres said in his email. "Again, this seemed to make sense as the barriers are used for special events and the costs can be recouped in future years."

ehegarty@tribpub.com
Following an August prostitution bust, the village of Oak Park is seeking to establish new licensing and operations requirements for all massage parlors within the village. ( Steve Schering/Pioneer Press )

Oak Park trustees are expected to seek stricter regulations for massage parlors operating in the village. Action on the issue could occur later this month.

The new proposed ordinance was presented for a first reading at the Oct. 2 village board meeting, and it includes new licensing and operations requirements for all businesses providing massage services.

Advertisement

"These are really strengthening our regulations before a business could obtain a business license to operate a massage parlor," Village Manager Cara Pavlicek said. "We have had a number of issues with prior businesses. We have revoked several business licenses. From those lessons learned and best practices, this is what we're recommending."

The proposed changes come after an August prostitution bust conducted by Oak Park police led to the closure of three massage businesses in the village. Four people were taken into custody during the Aug. 8 sting, officials said.

Advertisement

Village spokesman David Powers said the licenses for all three businesses were later revoked permanently by the village.

According to the ordinance, the village board has determined that the regulation of massage establishments and massage services is necessary to preserve public health, safety and welfare of its citizens.

The ordinance includes specific definitions of "massage," "massage establishment," and "massage therapist," and includes new operating requirements for such businesses.

According to the ordinance, "no massage establishment shall allow [its] employees, agents and independent contractors to touch, or offer or agree to touch, the sexual or genital areas of any person while on its licensed premises and any such touching, offer or agreement is in violation of this article for which the licensee is strictly liable for purposes of license revocation and suspension."

In addition, the ordinance also requires all establishments to maintain clear glass, which is not painted over, darkened or blocked by any cloth or obstruction, at the entrance of the establishment so that the front area where patrons are greeted is visible from the outside.

The ordinance also prohibits such establishments from employing anyone who does not hold a current, valid license issued by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. The business is also required to maintain a current list of all licensed massage therapists who perform massage services at the premises.

"We are requiring proof of state licensing for each massage therapist, service rates need to be properly displayed, service records need to be kept and we are saying no advertising or displaying of services that would be illegal," Development Customer Services Director Tammie Grossman said.

Businesses will also be subject to inspection by the village twice a year to assure compliance with the new code and all applicable laws and regulations.

Advertisement

Trsutee Simone Boutet had recommended waiving a second reading and adopting the ordinance that night, but she later withdrew her motion following staff input.

Pavlicek said the ordinance includes an increased application fee, with a second reading suggested to gather additional public comment before adoption.

"This puts it a little more out in the public now," Trustee Bob Tucker said. "If people have comments or are concerned about the fee, let's hear from them and get to a second reading."

Village staff said a second reading and adoption of the new ordinance could occur as soon as the Oct. 16 village board meeting.

sschering@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @steveschering
Officials unveil a sculpture titled Blue Woman in the Twilight outside the Park District of Oak Parks Gymnastics and Recreation Center, 21 Lake St., on Thursday. (Steve Schering / Pioneer Press)

Though it was unveiled as the village's newest piece of public art on Thursday, the sculpture outside the Gymnastics and Recreation Center might look familiar to Oak Park residents.

The work, titled "Blue Woman in the Twilight," was designed by Illinois sculptor Jacqueline Willis, and it was once part of the village's Sculpture Walk on Harrison Street. Thanks to a collaborative effort between the Parks Foundation of Oak Park and the Park District of Oak Park's Arts Advisory Committee, the piece was purchased to become a permanent fixture at the gymnastics center, 21 Lake St.

Advertisement

"Both we and the park district love the sculpture walk on Harrison Street," said Parks Foundation board member Adrienne McMullen. "This piece ended up being our favorite, and with private donations we were able to buy it for the park district."

Officials said site was chosen for its visibility and the volume of people who would be able to view it. Willis, who is a faculty member at Bradley University, combined her love of engineering and art to create the piece.

Advertisement

"This is like a gateway into Oak Park," McMullen said. "The park district picked this spot, and it's viewed by thousands of people who enter Oak Park and visit the center."

According to Park District Executive Director Jan Arnold, the gymnastics center was designed, like most park district facilities, to include an art component.

"The park district tries to incorporate art in all of our parks," Arnold said. "We appreciate the opportunity to bring public art to our sites."

According to McMullen, the Parks Foundation is working to structure a four-pillar approach, which is to include a scholarship program, support for large projects like the proposed community recreation center, fundraising to acquire additional green space and to provide public art to enhance the village.

The donation is the Parks Foundation's first major gift to the park district, and officials are hopeful it won't be the last.

"When we choose [to purchase a piece] from the sculpture walk, it makes the sculpture walk more appealing to artists," Parks Foundation board member Jacob Worley-Hood said. "Two years ago, we tried to get another work for this site, but couldn't come to an agreement. This time, we purchased from an Illinois artist, which is great. I think it's the perfect place for this piece."

sschering@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @steveschering
A judge has denied bail for a Gary man charged with murder and conspiracy to commit murder involving a key witness in the man's earlier attempted murder case.

Lake Superior Court Judge Samuel Cappas issued his ruling Thursday in the case involving Ronnie Major, who is charged with two other men with murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the 2010 killing of Jocelyn Blair, who was an eyewitness in Major's attempted murder case from 2008.

Advertisement

Major, 47, Antoine Gates, 40, and Michael Rivera, 60, were charged last year in the Dec. 19, 2010 of Blair, who was gunned down at a Gary restaurant three months before Major went on trial in the attempted murder case. A jury convicted him of a lesser crime of battery, and he was sentenced to six years, with two years served in the Indiana Department of Correction and four years in Lake County Community Corrections.

During one of the hearings, Cappas heard testimony from Major's nephew, Jamell Brooks, 26, who said he was with Gates and Michael Rivera at the Sin City Desciples motorcycle clubhouse at 8th Avenue and Virginia Street in Gary when Blair arrived. Major had told them to "take care of her," Brooks said.

Advertisement

Brooks said he, Gates, and his stepfather followed Blair and Rivera to the the Coney Island restaurant, 2490 Broadway, Gary. Brooks said Gates shot and killed Blair. After the homicide, Brooks said Gates had "stacks" of money, about $10,000, bundled together with rubber bands. Brooks also testified that Gates instructed him to hide the gun at Gates' mother's garage.

Defense attorney Scott King said the only overt act Major is linked to is conspiracy, which is a bondable offense. After the hearing, King said he is considering whether to appeal Cappas' decision to the Indiana Supreme Court.

Major, Gates and Rivera are scheduled to go to trial starting Jan. 29. All three men have pleaded not guilty.

Brooks is charged with five others in a separate 2010 killing.

Ruth Ann Krause is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
Protesters rallying again against the deportation of immigrants from Gary/Chicago International Airport were not allowed out of the cordoned-off section of the parking lot Friday.

Police kept the more than 200 protesters away from the Gary Jet Center, where a busload of immigrants was expected to be boarded onto a plane for deportation. Protesters were hemmed in by blue barricades in the northwest section of the parking lot on one side and a fence separating the entrance road to the airport from the parking lot on the other side.

Advertisement

But the increased police presence did not stop those attending from gathering close to the fence to try to spot the white buses with blocked-out white windows that were believed to be transporting immigrants to a waiting plane that will fly them to Brownsville, Texas, near the Mexico border, for deportation. The group chanted loudly once the bus arrived, in an effort to let those boarding the plane hear.

Northwest Indiana Resistance's Ruth Needleman, who, along with L.E. Whitman, organized the rally, said police would not let her erect protest signs on the parkway leading into the airport when she arrived, something she has done for previous rallies organized by the group. Northwest Indiana Resistance is a coalition of regional action groups organized after the Trump administration's travel ban was enacted in January.

Advertisement

"We will not stand by and see our neighbors deported, young people with so much promise pushed out of their country by this administration," Needleman told the crowd.

A bus with whited-out windows transports Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees at the Gary/Chicago International Airport on Oct. 6, 2017. (Kyle Telechan/Post-Tribune )

Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Air Operations started using the airport for detainee removal flights in June 2013, and 12,509 people have been flown out as of June 28, 2017. The immigrant detainees are bused into Gary from a detention center about 40 miles away in Broadview, Ill.

Protesters also showed support for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which former President Barack Obama introduced in 2012, has given nearly 800,000 young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally a reprieve from deportation and the ability to work legally in the form of two-year, renewable work permits.

Sara Galvan Orozco, of Chicago, is a DACA participant. Galvan Orozco, 20, arrived in the U.S. when she was 6 months old. She attended Harold Washington High School in Chicago and was a Rahm Emanuel Star Scholar.

"I refuse to apologize for being an immigrant," she said to cheers from the crowd. "We should never apologize for being here, for having our parents bringing us here."

After she spoke to the crowd, Galvan Orozco said she is still reeling from the Trump administration's announcement that the DACA program would end if Congress doesn't preserve its protections through legislation.

"I guess I'm just like in a state of shock. I can't believe it's real," Galvan Orozco said. "The fact that DACA has been taken away hasn't hit me emotionally yet. My only concern is my mom."

Protestors gather in the parking lot of Gary/Chicago International Airport on Oct. 6, 2017, to protest deportations. (Kyle Telechan/Post-Tribune )

Galvan Orozco said her status has prevented her from returning to Mexico and visit family. She has two older brothers and a sister in Mexico City she has never met.

Advertisement

"I know if I visit, I can't come back," she said.

The protest drew participants from as far away as California, as well as a labor union activist from Brazil. A strong representation from organized labor helped push crowd numbers above 200.

"An attack on immigrants is an attack on worker's rights," said Shirley Burke, executive board member of United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers Local 1177 in Chicago.

Labor representatives called for the end of NAFTA and the organization of labor across the continent.

Matthew Paskash, of Portage, has attended the prior rallies and said he will continue to do so. Paskash said it will be an uphill battle, but people have to push for legislative change and a path to legal status for immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

"Frankly, it's a moment right now where folks need to get off the fence. We need to be out here," Paskash said. He added that he knows a few families in the U.S. illegally and said he is out there to be their voice and to let them know somebody has their backs.

Advertisement

Carrie Napoleon is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
More than 90 Northwest Indiana school districts have signed up for free state lead testing for water fountains, sinks and fixtures.

Sixty-two schools in Lake County and 29 schools in Porter County so far have opted to have the state test lead levels, according to the Indiana Finance Authority's website. The department plans to finish the majority of testing by May 2018.

Advertisement

About 150 districts have signed up for the state's testing program statewide, according to IFA's website.

A list of specific Region schools that have opted for state testing was not immediately available. The department's program pays for lead testing, particularly for aging water faucets, drinking fountains and plumbing fixtures. Schools are responsible for remediation costs, although the state does have loan programs available.

Advertisement

A spokeswoman for IFA said lead testing in Northern Indiana schools has not yet begun. Preliminary results in southern Indiana were currently being analyzed, she said. The EPA action threshhold is 15 parts per billion (PPB) for lead in drinking water.

In a separate initiative, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced that part of a settlement agreement with Heritage Environmental Services, LLC would fund the installation of drinking water foundations and PCB-free light fixtures at Carrie Gosch pre-K Center, 4001 Indianapolis Blvd., and Block Middle School, 2700 Cardinal Dr., in East Chicago.

The settlement stemmed from "multiple hazardous waste violations" in July 2012 at a company facility in Indianapolis, according to the statement. The cost for upgrades at both East Chicago schools is expected at $290,195, according to the settlement. The improvements are expected to be done by Jan. 2018.

In June, the University of Iowa released the results of an environmental study between 2012 and 2015 that found aging caulking and light fixtures lead to diminished air quality inside four East Chicago schools. The report did not identify the schools.

"The city of East Chicago is grateful to be the recipient of funds made available by the EPA to help improve some of our schools' lights," Superintendent Paige McNulty said in a statement. "The EPA has been very helpful in analyzing our schools' needs and making a plan on how to replace the lights as needed. They have worked with school district personnel to ensure that it is not disruptive to our school day. We are hoping to have this project completed by January."

The Indiana NAACP is holding multiple events related to the city's lead crisis  stemming from arsenic and lead soil contamination from a former lead smelter site in West Calumet  next week. It plans to hand out air, soil, and water lead testing kits to students at Block Middle School and the East Chicago Urban Enterprise Academy on Oct. 10.

mcolias@post-trib.com

Twitter: @meredithcolias
Service to Hammond, Highland and Munster by the Gary Public Transportation Corp. is threatened by a lack of community funding. (Joe Puchek / Post-Tribune )

Part of the funding needed to maintain bus service through Hammond, Highland and Munster is potentially coming from the county.

The County Council narrowly approved committing up to $150,000 to support the Gary Public Transportation Service's South Lake Corridor, which runs through Hammond, Munster and Highland, but those affected communities are hesitant to dedicate money for the bus service.

Advertisement

"They do transportation for the region," said Councilman Jamal Washington, D-Merrillville.

Washington said many Lake County residents rely on the bus service to go to appointments and run errands throughout the area. It's not just a north county bus service, Washington said.

Advertisement

"They take a lot of residents from the north to the south," Washington said.

The Gary Public Transportation Corporation plans to end the Lakeshore South route, absent support from Hammond, Munster, Highland or another funding source to cover the nearly $200,000 needed for that service. GTPC held a forum on the service Wednesday met with the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission, but it has still not met with leaders from the affected communities.

The corporation's Lakeshore South route runs through Hammond, Munster and Highland, which serves commercial districts in the three communities. The transportation service's board voted to end that route in December unless local funding comes into play.

The line through Hammond, Munster and Highland has more than 2,000 riders per month, according to GPTC, and more than 6,000 riders on the Lakeshore Connection.

"GPTC has been following the advancement of funding at the county level, as a response to GPTC's request to preserve Lakeshore service in Hammond, Highland and Munster," said GPTC General Manager Daryl Lampkins, in a statement. "This potential success should be counted as a very fortuitous early step in affirming Northwest Indiana's commitment to regional transit."

Lampkins said he plans to continue talking with county officials and saw it as a first step to getting other communities and organizations on board.

Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott, Jr. said he was never approached by GPTC or Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson to talk about funding for the route, but he sees the solution requiring more than money from the three affected communities.

"It should be a regional solution," McDermott said. "It's a regional issue."

Advertisement

McDermott said he thought the County Council and Board of Commissioners should step in and support the service since the taxpayers in the northern communities shouldn't shoulder all the cost of the bus route.

As the Hammond Common Council continues reviewing its 2018 budget, the mayor said funding the bus route is not on the list.

"There's nothing in the budget," McDermott said.

The funding proposal failed to enjoin the full support of the council.

Councilman Eldon Strong, R-Crown Point, said he didn't agree with funding the GPTC and didn't think the benefit was enough for residents in his district.

"When you took your oath, did it say south county? It said Lake County," said Councilwoman Elsie Franklin, D-Gary.

Advertisement

"I just don't support this," Strong said.

"The City of Gary pays taxes just like everybody else," Washington said. "You're helping a whole community, a whole region."

Washington said he represents all Lake County and will vote to dedicate money for public safety and roads in south county and services in north county.

Strong said he's not taking a shot at Gary but opposing the funding.

"I just do not approve the spending of this money," Strong said.

While the council has put money toward the project, the extent of that support is still questionable.

Advertisement

Council President Ted Bilski, D-Hobart, who voted against the funding, said he wanted to see what other communities are willing to contribute before committing the county to $150,000.

"This is not a policy vote. It's an economic vote," Bilski said. He said if the county sets aside $150,000, does the council expect a group would ask for any less than that amount.

"If we opt out at this point, we're not really giving them support," Franklin said. "We're saying 'perhaps'."

Councilwoman Christine Cid, D-East Chicago, said she knew both GPTC and the Northwest Indiana Regional Planning Commission are holding public hearings to talk about the funding possibilities for the regional bus service.

"At this time, I would agree to putting $1 in there for now," Cid said.

Councilman David Hamm, D-Hammond, said now is the time to appropriate the money, otherwise the county will have to take the funding from other budget lines next year.

Advertisement

"I think now is the wise time," Hamm said.

Washington said the $150,000 isn't guaranteed funding.

"Leave it the way it is," Washington said. "If it doesn't work out, we don't use it."

clyons@post-trib.com

Twitter @craigalyons
An Amazon corporate office building is seen in Sunnyvale, California. The Northwest Indiana Forum is organizing its pitch for the company's second headquarters, as is the city of Gary. (Lisa Werner / Moment Editorial / Getty Images)

Business leaders and public and union officials from Hammond to South Bend are teaming up to pitch Northwest Indiana's advantages in a bid for Amazon's second headquarters.

The Northwest Indiana Forum is organizing its pitch as well as the city of Gary.

Advertisement

The Forum's steering committee has 65 members including Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr.; State Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary; South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg; Randy Palmateer, Business Manager of the Northwest Indiana Buildings & Construction Trades Council; Majestic Star Casino CEO Peter Ligouri; and NIPSCO President Violet Sistovaris.

Gary has put together its own working group that includes representatives from the Northwest Indiana Forum, the Northern Indiana Public Service Company, the city's economic development team, and consulting firm SEH, Incorporated. The response is being coordinated with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation.

Advertisement

More than 100 cities across the United States have rushed to pitch themselves after Amazon announced in September that it's looking for a second North American headquarters. The deadline for local and state governments to submit their proposals to Amazon is Oct. 19.

The new headquarters would bring an estimated 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment.

Amazon's preference is to be near a metropolitan area with more than a million people, but it has said it would consider urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong technical talent.

Gary made a splash with an September ad in the New York Times replete with Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson's phone number. Freeman-Wilson said that the city's response is much more than a "Hail Mary" pass.

"This response combines Gary's location, the availability of vacant land and transportation assets with Indiana's favorable business climate and fiscal strength," Freeman-Wilson said in a statement. "The region's proposal is also enhanced by the existence of a commuter rail system that will facilitate travel between Gary and Chicago in approximately 35 minutes."

Forum CEO Heather Ennis said the state's pro-business climate is an asset.

"I believe in Northwest Indiana  our physical assets, our people, and our business climate. When you couple these features with our proximity to Chicago, we will continue to attract meaningful business investment," Ennis said in a statement. "I am proud to be a part of this team to move the region forward. We welcome opportunities like Amazon and many others that might want to be a part of the bright future of Northwest Indiana."

The Lake County Council is considering a resolution to support a bid to lure Amazon to Northwest Indiana. The council will vote on the non-binding measure on Tuesday.

Advertisement

"Amazon coming to this region would be a huge boost," said Councilman Jamal Washington, D-Merrillville.

Council President Ted Bilski, D-Hobart, said he'd be concerned that if Amazon came to the county, the company would likely seek huge tax breaks and potentially only create low-wage jobs.

"I do question that," Bilski said.

Bilski said he saw both pros and cons with Amazon locating a facility in the Region.

"I think it has a lot of pros," Washington said.

Reporter Craig Lyons contributed to this report.
Dunes Action asked a federal historic preservation council to review proposed modifications of the pavilion at Indiana Dunes State Park because the structure, built around 1930, is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

The answer was no.

Advertisement

On Thursday, Dunes Action, a grassroots organization fighting Pavilion Partners' plans to sell liquor at the pavilion and build an adjacent banquet center, received a letter from the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, stating the project did not meet their qualifications for a review.

"While you have raised a number of issues regarding the manner in which the (Indiana State Historic Preservation Office) has conducted its review of this Project, we see no basis to recommend that their previous review be invalidated, and a new review conducted," the letter states, adding that with collaboration between stakeholders and the state office, "we believe that many of your concerns can be addressed during the planning and implementation process."

Advertisement

Dunes Action, along with Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, or PEER, asked for the review late last month because of concern that modification of the pavilion might violate the National Historic Preservation Act.

In their joint letter, Dunes Action and PEER note plans for the addition to the pavilion of a rooftop bar; the addition of two balconies on the second floor of the structure, facing Lake Michigan; and the addition of outdoor dining terraces beneath the balconies.

None of those changes were mentioned in the response from the advisory council, said Dunes Action member Norm Hellmers.

"We think they're wrong. I believe the (council) has reached an incorrect decision based on incomplete and false information," he said. "I think the recourse is for us to point out what they did wrong and try again."

The letter from the council notes that the Indiana State Historic Preservation Office has said the proposed project "would not alter the character defining elements significant to this historic Pavilion, with the exception of the replacement windows and the entry canopy removal."

Hellmers said opponents don't have a problem with replacing the windows or restoring the entrance canopy, which is long gone, but they are concerned about the rooftop bar, the balconies and the dining terraces.

"We sent them plans. They didn't mention that. We sent photographs. They didn't mention that," he said.

The volley of letters is the latest effort by Dunes Action against the project, which was first revealed early in 2015. It involves a public/private partnership between Indiana Dunes State Park and Pavilion Partners, led by Valparaiso businessman Chuck Williams.

Advertisement

After local and state liquor boards denied a liquor permit for the pavilion, Indiana law was amended to allow state parks to apply for the permits.

Opponents have said they were against the project because of safety concerns about selling alcohol at the lakefront, as well as perceived secrecy about the partnership.

The interior of the pavilion has been gutted and Pavilion Partners paid for showers and bathrooms to be built in a comfort station west of the pavilion. An elevator shaft now comes out of the pavilion's roof and roof repairs were made about a year ago, but no additional work has been done at the pavilion.

Williams has not released formal plans for the rehabilitation of the pavilion or the banquet center, which would sit east of the pavilion, though officials have said the pavilion would include casual and fine dining restaurants, as well as a rooftop bar.

Amy Lavalley is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.
In this June 21, 2012 file photo, former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels speaks after being named as the next president of Purdue University by the school's trustees in West Lafayette, Ind. Daniels said Purdue's acquisition of Kaplan University would not receive or require taxpayer dollars, assurances that are now in question. (Michael Conroy / AP)

WASHINGTON  The U.S. Education Department wants Purdue University to absorb the debts and liabilities of Kaplan University as a condition for approving the state school's controversial purchase of the for-profit college, a request that critics say could place Indiana taxpayers at risk.

Purdue acquired Kaplan's 15 campuses and learning centers in April to form a new online college, dubbed NewU. The deal was met with swift resistance from some Purdue faculty, consumer groups and liberal lawmakers because of the for-profit company's continued involvement in the new public university. Foes of the deal asked whether NewU would require public funding.

Advertisement

But Purdue president Mitch Daniels, the former governor of Indiana, said the new venture would not receive or require taxpayer dollars. Those assurances are now in question as details of an Education Department review of the acquisition have emerged.

In a letter obtained by The Washington Post, Michael Frola, a senior official at the Education Department, takes issue with Purdue's unwillingness to cover all liabilities arising out of Kaplan's participation in the federal student aid program. The state university said it would take responsibility only for liabilities tied to NewU, not those that Kaplan may have accrued before the closing of the deal. Those liabilities can include tuition refunds to students or reimbursing the department for the canceled loans of former students.

Advertisement

Frola said the department will not approve the change of ownership unless Purdue will "assume responsibility for liabilities resulting from the operation of Kaplan University as an educational institution, whether they are known or unknown, and whether they accrue prior to, or after the closing of the transaction."

The debts and liabilities backed by Purdue "constitute an instrumentality of the State of Indiana for the purpose of the department's regulations," he said. In other words, the department ultimately holds Purdue and the state of Indiana responsible for any liabilities resulting from the operation of Kaplan University.

The schools need the Education Department to bless the acquisition so that students of NewU can receive federal grants and loans to attend. Frola said Purdue could have Kaplan Higher Education cover the costs of any liabilities, an option that Purdue spokesman Brian Zink said the school will pursue.

But Zink said nothing in the department's stipulation prevents Purdue, NewU and Kaplan Higher Education from divvying up the responsibility for all debts and liabilities.

"This is a basic principle of freedom of contract," he said. "The department has been very clear that it recognizes this principle in calls it has had with representatives of Purdue and Kaplan."

Purdue will pay $1 for Kaplan's academic operations. The for-profit company will provide a range of services in exchange for 12.5 percent of the NewU's total revenue. But Kaplan will get paid only after the new school generates enough revenue to cover its operating costs and other expenses.

Kaplan, an affiliate of Graham Holdings, referred all questions to Purdue. Graham Holdings is a renamed version of the company that previously owned The Washington Post, until Jeffrey P. Bezos bought The Post in 2013.

Robert Shireman, a senior fellow at the think tank Century Foundation, said the conditions being imposed by the Education Department conflict with Indiana law that prohibits use of public money for NewU.

Advertisement

"Governor Daniels wanted to be able to profit off of something he would call a public institution, but without the public taking any of the responsibility. And the federal government is saying no," said Shireman, a former undersecretary of education and critic of for-profit colleges.

The state legislature has affirmed Purdue's right to have the new venture included in the public university system, but only as an affiliate without access to public funds. NewU will rely on donations and tuition to stay afloat.

"I don't think there is any fear in the General Assembly that the state of Indiana is going to end up accruing additional liability because of the deal with Kaplan," said Indiana state Rep. Robert Behning, R-Indianapolis, chairman of the House education committee.

Behning said the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, which approved the Kaplan purchase in August, thoroughly vetted the transaction and he has "a great deal of faith" that Daniels would not place the university in harm's way.

"Folding Kaplan into a traditional institution of higher ed, I would think, would be a positive thing for the U.S. Department of Education," Behning said. The acquisition uses "some of the market powers and services" Kaplan has "to drive costs down."

The services Kaplan will provide NewU have been a point of contention among opponents of the deal, who say the for-profit company will have too much control. Kaplan will provide operational support, including marketing, human resources and financial aid administration, to the new institution for an initial term of 30 years. After six years, Purdue can buy out Kaplan.

Advertisement

The arrangement prompted Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, to write Purdue's president in September urging him to take steps to protect students from Kaplan's "long history of troubling practices."

Attorneys general in Illinois, Delaware, Florida and North Carolina have launched investigations into the recruiting and enrollment practices of the for-profit chain in recent years. Kaplan officials have said they were only inquiries, and in the case of Florida, the attorney general found no violations. Still, Massachusetts reached a settlement with Kaplan College in 2015 over allegations that it misled students about job placement rates for its vocational programs. That same year, Kaplan paid $1.3 million to resolve a federal whistleblower's allegation that the company employed unqualified instructors in Texas.

"The very organization  and in some cases individuals  responsible for Kaplan's shameful record as a for-profit college are slated to continue to be responsible for a variety of key functions of New University," Durbin and Brown wrote in the letter. "Without clear protections for students built into this transaction by Purdue ... Indiana taxpayers risk becoming owners of a predatory for-profit college."
Rural Indiana is at a crossroads, with the future of our small towns and unincorporated areas dependent on how they respond to a world that is shifting around them.

If these communities are going to meet this challenge, they will need to rely on their biggest asset: that "sense of place" and intimacy that is ingrained in them which so many urban and suburban areas try to replicate.

Advertisement

The challenges these areas face are daunting. As agriculture and manufacturing has dramatically improved efficiencies, fewer jobs exist and Hoosiers (especially young college-educated ones) are migrating to urban and suburban areas for better opportunities gnawing away at tax bases. The population that remains is aging and families are shrinking, with more and more of them being headed by a single parent or two working parents. Fewer and fewer boomerang kids  the ones who move away to start careers but return home later to raise families  are coming home.

Around the state you will see small communities which have bucked these trends with a strong sense of place. They have defined themselves clearly, perhaps by promoting homegrown artists or local histories. They have created cultures that attract young entrepreneurs and celebrate special residents. They have nurtured civil discourse and encouraged collaboration. They have tapped into stories that intrigue us, spotlighted special architecture or focused on talented groups among them.

Advertisement

In other words, they have drawn from the humanities  history, literature, poetry, philosophy and ethics, world languages and cultures, religious studies, archaeology and related disciplines  and the arts to improve their quality of life and their sense of purpose.

This requires an investment most of these communities don't have. They don't have the large tax bases, generous corporate partners and thriving philanthropic communities that sustain larger cities. And while some enjoy the support of a wealthy benefactor or family, most tax revenues are stretched beyond the ability to consider nonemergency investments. That is where the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grants and agencies make a big difference.

Indiana has made a concerted effort to promote the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and math), and, as a college president and engineer, I support that effort one hundred percent. But I don't believe that this emphasis should be at the expense of the arts and humanities.

Few problems can be solved to the third decimal point. Instead, they require human creative solutions: the kinds of solutions that are found in our history, our literature and our public conversations  that define us and give us a sense of place  and that are helped along by grants from the NEH and NEA.

Elimination of the NEH or NEA will not automatically spell the end of Indiana's rural communities. However, these cuts may drive yet another nail in the coffin for struggling communities. For some, it will be one nail too many.

Ellspermann is the President of Ivy Tech Community College and the former lieutenant governor of Indiana.
All votes in the CO-3 election won't be counted until the end of this week

Adam Frisch attending new member orientation in D.C., with the official outcome of the race between him and Boebert unclear
ABCNews.com(NEW YORK) -- The parents of the American student who died after being released from a North Korea prison are looking to get the State Department to add the country as a state sponsor of terrorism.



Twelve senators -- six Democrats and six Republicans -- sent a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson requesting North Korea be added to the State Department's list at the urging of Warmbier's parents. ABC News confirmed the State Department did receive the letter. Among the signatories are both senators from Warmbier's home state -- Ohio Republican Rob Portman and Democrat Sherrod Brown -- and his alma mater University of Virginia -- Virginia Democrats Tim Kaine and Mark Warner.



The bipartisan group asks Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to consider "the totality of North Korea's actions -- including detainment, detention and treatment of Americans citizens," "continued weapons sales and the transfer of sensitive technologies to other state sponsors of terrorism," "a long record of violent and destabilizing acts domestically and internationally," and "its alleged assassination of Kim Jong-nam" using a deadly nerve agent known as VX.



USA Today was first to report Warmbier's parents were making the push.



"We have received the letter, are reviewing it, and will respond," a State Department official told ABC News.



There are currently only three countries officially on the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism -- Iran, Syria and Sudan. The three countries have all spent decades on the list. Iran was added in 1984, Syria was added in 1979 and Sudan was added in 1993.



North Korea was previously listed as a state sponsor of terror, from January 1988 until 2008, when President George W. Bush removed them as part of an agreement to deal with their nuclear program that later failed.



Warmbier's parents requested North Korea be added to the list in a Fox News interview last month. The State Department said at the time that although they held North Korea accountable for Otto Warmbier's unjust imprisonment, the Secretary of State would have to determine the country provided support for international acts of terrorism to legally meet the standard.



Designation as a state sponsor of terrorism would result in sanctions, including "restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance; a ban on defense exports and sales; certain controls over exports of dual use items; and miscellaneous financial and other restrictions," according to the State Department website.



North Korea is already under very strict sanctions as passed by the United Nations Security Council last month after the country conducted its sixth and most powerful nuclear test.



"This is the strongest set of sanctions that the Security Council has imposed," a U.S. official told ABC News at the time. "It represents yet another major step."



Otto Warmbier died in June just six days after he was evacuated from North Korea upon his release from prison. Warmbier's mother Cindy told Fox News last month that her son returned to the U.S. blind, deaf and "jerking violently" when taken off the plane.



Warmbier spent 17 months in captivity in North Korea. He had been convicted and sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in January 2016 after he stole a propaganda poster.



Warmbier's parents met with Sen. John Cornyn, R.-Texas, on Wednesday, who tweeted a photo and said he supported designating the country as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Honored to meet with Fred & Cindy Warmbier, Ottos parents, about my support for designating DPRK as a state sponsor of terror. pic.twitter.com/oWfaWNahZZ  JohnCornyn (@JohnCornyn) October 4, 2017





Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.




US requests China not to implement Cybersecurity Law

The US has requested China not to implement its controversial new Cybersecurity Law, according to a document published by the World Trade Organization (WTO) on September 26. Many foreign governments and business organizations have also expressed unease at the law, in force since June 1 this year, due to its data localization provisions, restrictions on the cross-border flow of information, and government security reviews.

While the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) did not delay implementation of the law, it gave businesses a grace period lasting until December 31, 2018 to comply with the cross-border data flow requirements.

The law is a key component of Chinas campaign for cyberspace sovereignty, a concept that allows Beijing to govern, monitor, and regulate the internet within the countrys borders. Other controversial measures introduced by the law include real-name recognition for online commenting and restrictions on celebrity gossip reporting.

The CAC has already punished leading Chinese tech firms such as Tencent, Baidu, and Weibo for failing to comply with aspects of the law while the US tech giant Apple has announced plans to establish a data center in Guizhou province to comply with the laws data localization requirements.

RELATED: Business Advisory Services from Dezan Shira & Associates

China unveils new energy vehicle production quotas

Automakers will need to produce a certain amount of new energy vehicles (NEVs) as a prerequisite to manufacture and import fossil fuel-powered vehicles into China. This is according to a new policy released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) that requires automakers to obtain an NEV score equivalent to achieving 10 percent NEV production in 2019 and 12 percent in 2020.

Production of various types of NEVs, such as electric, plug-in hybrid, and fuel cell vehicles, contribute to a higher NEV score. Those who fail to reach the 10 percent mark will have to purchase credits to bridge the difference; failure to comply will result in hefty fines.

The rules apply to automakers that manufacture or import over 30,000 traditional vehicles per year.

The rules are widely considered the worlds most aggressive in promoting the shift from fossil fuel-powered vehicles to NEVs. China is strongly pushing its auto industry towards NEVs as a means to clean up the countrys notorious air pollution and become a global leader in the technology.

China recently revised its Catalogue of Industries for Guiding Foreign Investment and Free Trade Zone Negative List, which both loosen restrictions on foreign investment in the NEV industry.

RELATED: Investing in Chinas Green Industries

China issues shorter validity tourist and business visas to Indian nationals

The Chinese embassy in New Delhi has issued tourist and business visas to Indian nationals shorter than the usual 30-day limit. This has been done on a case-by-case basis, and the embassy has not publicly announced a change in policy.

Tourist visas (L visas) and business visas (M visas) for China typically carry a validity of either 30, 60, or 90 days per visit.

Issuing certain Indian nationals shorter stays appears to be in contrast with Chinas loosening visa requirements for temporary visitors. Various cities in China, including Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou, now allow for visa-free visits for either 24, 72, or 144 hours.

However, China and India only recently resolved a three-month border standoff at Doklam, and tensions between the two countries remain high.

It remains to be seen whether the issuance of shorter validity visas constitutes a wider change in Chinas visa policy towards India, or if it is only a temporary measure. Businesses sending Indian nationals to China on business are advised to monitor for further developments and prepare for contingency plans in case their visits are cut short.



About Us China Briefing is published by Asia Briefing, a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. We produce material for foreign investors throughout Asia, including ASEAN, India, Indonesia, Russia, the Silk Road, and Vietnam. For editorial matters please contact us here, and for a complimentary subscription to our products, please click here. Dezan Shira & Associates is a full service practice in China, providing business intelligence, due diligence, legal, tax, IT, HR, payroll, and advisory services throughout the China and Asian region. For assistance with China business issues or investments into China, please contact us at china@dezshira.com or visit us at www.dezshira.com

Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure

Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide.

An Introduction to Doing Business in China 2017

This Dezan Shira & Associates 2017 China guide provides a comprehensive background and details of all aspects of setting up and operating an American business in China, including due diligence and compliance issues, IP protection, corporate establishment options, calculating tax liabilities, as well as discussing on-going operational issues such as managing bookkeeping, accounts, banking, HR, Payroll, annual license renewals, audit, FCPA compliance and consolidation with US standards and Head Office reporting.

Chinas Investment Landscape: Identifying New Opportunities

Chinas foreign investment landscape has experienced pivotal changes this year. In this issue of China Briefing magazine, we examine how foreign investors can capitalize on Chinas latest FDI reforms. First, we outline new industry liberalizations in both Chinas FTZs and the country at large. We then consider when an FTZ makes sense as an investment location, and what businesses should consider when entering one. Finally, we give an overview of Chinas latest pro-business reforms that streamline a wide range of administrative and regulatory measures.

Dezan Shira & Associates
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has been exercising "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" with a high degree of autonomy in strict accordance with the Basic Law, since Hong Kong returned to the motherland, a spokesman for the HKSAR government said on Friday.

This demonstrates the full and successful implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle, which has been widely recognized by the international community, he noted.

The spokesman made the remarks in response to a report issued by the United States Congressional-Executive Commission on China on Thursday local time.

"Foreign legislatures should not interfere in any form in the internal affairs of the HKSAR," the spokesman said.

The Basic Law of the HKSAR specifies the guidelines of "one country, two systems" and "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" with a high degree of autonomy.

The previous economic and social systems of Hong Kong and the way of life have remained unchanged, and most laws continue to apply.

The Basic Law ensures the HKSAR has a high degree of autonomy and enjoys executive, legislative and independent judicial power, including that of final adjudication.

World Bank data show that Hong Kong's indicator of the rule of law, a core value of Hong Kong society, has jumped from behind 60th in the world in 1996 to the 11th place in 2015, well ahead of some major Western economies.
The Christian Times

Jardine Malado

06 October, 2017

Chinese authorities have taken two women and a three-year-old boy into custody for conducting missionary work in the city of Xianning, Hubei.

On Sept. 22, Pastor Xu Shizhen, her daughter, Xu Yuqing, and Xu Yuqings 3-year-old son, Xu Shouwang, were arrested by the police and religious affairs bureau personnel after they took part in Zion Churchs efforts to spread the Gospel in the citys public parks and squares.

Believers take part in a weekend mass at an

underground Catholic church in Tianjin

November 10, 2013.

(Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon)

According to China Aid, the local religious affairs, public security, and national security bureaus frequently interrupted the Christian women while they sang, danced, and preached.

Family members who went to the police station on Sept. 24 were told that the two women were separated from the child. The authorities kept him at the station while they transferred his grandmother and mother to other facilities.

The operation to block the evangelistic activities of Zion church was spearheaded by the deputy director of the Xianan District Religious Affairs Bureau, Yang Haijun.

On Sept. 13, Yang led police officers to Change Square to prevent Xu Shizhen and other church members from sharing their faith with others.

In late August, Xu Shizhen had received a notice from the religious affairs bureau, accusing the church of violating the Regulations on Religious Affairs and ordering her to stop its missionary work.

Xu Shizhen had previously served as the pastor of Hongqiao Church before it was acquired by the Three-Self Church in April 2012 after officials forcibly occupied its building and damaged church property. She decided to leave the church and start a new one, but the police continued to harass them.

The Chinese government has been stepping up its crackdown on churches ahead of the implementation of the revised edition of its Regulations on Religious Affairs in February.

Last month, The Association of Christian Students, an institution affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party, issued a report detailing plans to launch a specialized management program targeting private churches, illegal religious organizations, and preachers who have not been ordained by the state.

Under the program, churches will be forced to register with the state-run Three-Self Patriotic Movement. Smaller churches will be forcibly combined with registered churches, and those that refuse to register will be banned.

The government will reportedly shut down churches that have been deemed by the public security and religious affairs bureaus as illegal religious organizations, organizations influenced or controlled by foreign powers intending to infiltrate [the country], or [religious] gathering places that broke the laws or are under the control of cults.

Due to its stringent rules on religion, China has been ranked in the Open Door USAs World Watch List as the 39th country where Christians face the most persecution.

ChinaAid Media Team

Cell: +1 (432) 553-1080 | Office: +1 (432) 689-6985 | Other: +1 (888) 889-7757

Email: [email protected]

For more information, click here
Alipay, the Chinese payment platform, is to enable users of its digital wallet to make more mobile non-cash payments across Britain, Europe and the United States.

Alipay has expanded its partnership with Adyen, the Dutch company which provides online or in-store payment platforms for more than 4,500 businesses worldwide.

From this week, in-store payment terminals operated by Adyen's clients are now capable of generating QR codes compatible with the Alipay mobile app.

Myles Dawson, UK country manager at Adyen, said the move was driven by Alipay's continued expansion into the European market as well as merchant demand.

Adyen's retail partners include fashion brands Mango, Superdry, Crocs and River Island. The company also runs online and mobile payment operations for large tech companies including Facebook, Uber, Spotify and Netfl ix.

Alipay opened offices in London and Milan in 2015, and last year signed partnership deals with Barclays in the United Kingdom, BNP Paribas in France, UniCredit in Italy and SIX Group in Switzerland.

"We've integrated it into our platform and offered it out to all of our retailers,'' Dawson said. "We've got a strong base of customers in luxury retail, and they obviously have a big Chinese consumer base, so opening up this payment method in store attracts those shoppers."

Alipay was established by e-commerce giant Alibaba in 2004, since when it has become one of the world's largest third-party online payment systems, with more than 520 million active users.

More than 10 million outlets accept Alipay in China, where mobile wallets have swiftly become the preferred form of payment among urban consumers.

Whereas most payment terminals in China are capable of scanning a QR code generated by a mobile app, Adyen has reversed the system so retailers in Europe and the US will not have to update their hardware.

Souheil Badran, president of Alipay in North America, said: "Europe and the US are popular destinations for Chinese tourists, so it's vital that retailers are able to cater to their needs."

Under the new system, payment terminals will prompt a customer to press enter for Alipay, generating a QR code on the terminal screen which users can scan with their phones. The shopper then authorizes the payment on the Alipay app, completing the transaction.

Retailers must opt into the new system, and Adyen is in the process of informing its clients.

Dawson said Adyen and Alipay are looking to expand the system to Singapore, Canada and Australia.
On Sept 18, tourists visit the 2017 Cross-Straits Mid-Autumn Lantern show of Kunshan in Zhouzhuang Town, an ancient waterside town in Jiangsu Province. The official starting ceremony was held on Sept 20. Yang Lei / Xinhua

Since the National Day holiday is combined with the Mid-Autumn Festival, this year, Golden Week will last from Oct 1 to 8, enabling people to get together with their families, whether staying at home or travelling around.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is a traditional Chinese festival for family reunions and enjoying lantern shows. The lighted lanterns are a sign of hope for life.

Kunshan, locating in southeast Jiangsu province, has held cross-Straits lantern shows since 2013 to celebrate reunion with Taiwan compatriots. Kunshan has become one of the areas with the most intensive investment from Taiwan. Thousands of Taiwan companies have been set up there since 1990.

2017 is the 30th anniversary since cross-Straits communication restarted. The 2017 Cross-Straits Mid-Autumn Lantern show of Kunshan will be held in Zhouzhuang Town and Huijusi Square at the same time, from Sept 20 to Oct 20, lasting a whole month.

There will be four theme areas made up of 120 sets of colored lanterns, illustrating landscapes of Kunshan, Taiwan and Zhouzhuang, plus features of Chinese traditions. Also, there will be a series of activities, including lantern lighting, cross-Straits story shows, art exhibitions, cuisine tastings and lantern riddles.
New first-tier cities present a world of opportunity as the battle for expertise intensifies

Job hunters attend a talent recruitment fair held in Chengdu, Sichuan province, on Sept 10. Provided to China Daily

The search for talent and expertise is not unusual but its frequency seems to have accelerated this year, and a competition has begun.

In February, the Hubei provincial capital Wuhan announced a plan to attract 1 million university graduates in the next five years. The news seems have triggered a domino effect.

The Shaanxi provincial capital Xi'an and Hunan provincial capital Changsha drafted similar five-year plans in May and June. While Xi'an plans to invest 3.8 billion yuan ($578 million) to attract 1 million candidates with suitable expertise, Changsha will invest 10 billion yuan to do the same. At least another eight provincial capitals have so far announced preferential policies to attract talent and expertise. Smaller cities are doing the same.

Experts said an unprecedented battle for talent has started in the country and will continue to become fiercer as innovation and technology-driven industrial upgrading continues across the country.

Statistics have shown a trend of talent flowing to other cities from crowded and resource-strained first-tier cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen.

Experts believe competition for talent will speed up the flow and that first-tier cities will face the task of introducing additional talent with international perspectives as the country goes ahead with economic globalization.

Many cities have lowered or even lifted the threshold for talent with bachelor or higher degrees to get hukou, or household registration. Many also offer cheap apartments, subsidies for buying homes, or even cash rewards.

Currently in China, without hukou, people may be excluded from the benefits of social welfare locals enjoy. In some cities, for example, children without hukou are restricted from schools.

The Wuhan government is building apartments especially to accommodate 200,000 people with expertise introduced to the city over the following five years. Those graduates who have left college in the last three years can apply for the apartments if they don't own a home in the city.
China Daily Hong Kong Edition won 11 awards, including four top prizes, at the HK News Awards 2016, organized by the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

HONG KONG  As the China Daily Hong Kong Edition, a leading English-language daily, marks its 20th anniversary on October 6, 2017, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor led the tributes to the newspaper's civic commitment and influential role in advancing the "one country, two systems" principle.

"Throughout the historic transformational period of the past two decades, China Daily Hong Kong Edition has earned the respect and loyalty of readers through its insightful commentary and reporting. The publication has established itself as an influential player in the city's vibrant media scene, which includes more than 80 international media groups operating in the city," wrote Lam in her message of congratulation marking China Daily's 20th anniversary in Hong Kong.

The occasion also drew high praise from many other most respected leaders in Hong Kong. They spoke of China Daily's leadership role in opening closer dialogue and cooperation, drawing together Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and the entire Asia Pacific region.

Tung Chee-hwa, vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the first chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), said in his congratulatory message that China Daily Hong Kong "has evolved in step with enormous changes taking place in global media and continues its efforts to remain ahead. The paper serves the local community and also enjoys a vast readership outside Hong Kong, through several platforms embracing traditional and new media. I am confident that China Daily will remain at the forefront, and will go from strength to strength in the coming years".

Leung Chun-ying, vice-chairman of the CPPCC and former chief executive of the Hong Kong SAR, also commended the paper, stating that over 20 years, "China Daily bridges over the language barrier to provide English language readers with first-hand information on China and hence foster better understanding of one-fifth of mankind." Leung expressed his confidence that China Daily Hong Kong would play an even more significant role in the future, as the Belt and Road Initiative evolves.
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.

License for publishing multimedia online 0108263



Registration Number: 130349 Registration Number: 130349
KASHGAR, Xinjiang - Batur Mamut was moved to tears while watching his daughter's "clapper talk" performance in fluent Putonghua (standard Chinese).

"I am just extremely happy to see my child speaking Putonghua so well," said the 51-year-old taxi driver from Shufu County in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Most villagers his age in Kashgar's remote rural areas only speak Uygur language, which has been a common barrier for those who seek jobs in eastern cities.

However, among the younger generation that situation is quickly changing, as children are becoming bilingual from as early as kindergarten age.

Batur Mamut's daughter Nursebi Batur is a fourth grader at the central primary school in Tokkuzak Township.

The story she performed in clapper talk, a traditional Chinese form of narrative singing accompanied by a pair of clappers, was about the changes that have taken place in the school since 2014.

In April 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping visited the school and told teachers that it is important to facilitate bilingual education for children from China's ethnic minority groups.

If they can master standard Chinese, it will be easier for them to find jobs, and more importantly, contribute to national unity, according to Xi.

Following the president's instruction, the school and education authorities have taken many steps to boost the children's bilingual abilities.

More and more courses are being taught by bilingual teachers and new styles of learning are being explored, including clapper talk, which requires performers use bamboo clappers to mark the beats.
HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has been exercising "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" with a high degree of autonomy in strict accordance with the Basic Law since Hong Kong returned to the motherland, a spokesman for the HKSAR government said on Friday.

This demonstrates the full and successful implementation of the "one country, two systems" principle, which has been widely recognized by the international community, he noted.

The spokesman made the remarks in response to a report issued by the U.S. Congressional-Executive Commission on China on Thursday.

"Foreign legislatures should not interfere in any form in the internal affairs of the HKSAR," the spokesman said.

The Basic Law of the HKSAR specifies the guidelines of "one country, two systems" and "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong" with a high degree of autonomy.

The previous economic and social systems of Hong Kong and the way of life have remained unchanged, and most laws continue to apply.

The Basic Law ensures the HKSAR has a high degree of autonomy and enjoys executive, legislative and independent judicial power, including that of final adjudication.

World Bank data show that Hong Kong's indicator of the rule of law, a core value of Hong Kong society, has jumped from behind 60th in the world in 1996 to the 11th place in 2015, well ahead of some major Western economies.

Hong Kong has gained 3.2 percent of economic growth on average each year since 1997, quite remarkable for an economy which was essentially already developed 20 years ago.

Hong Kong remained the freest economy in the latest report on world economic freedom by the Fraser Institute, a Canadian think tank.

Of the five broad areas of assessment, Hong Kong continued to attain a high ranking in regulation and freedom to trade internationally in the report issued in September.

HKSAR Chief Executive Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the continuous development and prosperity of the motherland not only gives Hong Kong strength to rise to challenges, but also provides opportunities for Hong Kong to explore new directions for its development.

"As long as we capitalize on our strengths, stay focused, seize the opportunities before us and stand united, I am sure that Hong Kong can reach even greater heights," she said Sunday at the National Day reception in celebration of the 68th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
TOKYO - The rescue work for the 12 people unaccounted for after a fishing vessel from the Chinese mainland collided with a tanker of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is under way, according to the Chinese Consulate General in Osaka.

Three patrol vessels of the Japan Coast Guard have begun work since early Friday with frogmen sent to search for the missing people, said the consulate general.

The consulate general is keeping close contact with the Japanese side, it said.

The accident occurred on early Thursday in international waters some 400 km north of the Oki Islands in western Japan.

Four of the 16 crew members on board the fishing vessel were rescued, while 12 others were still missing.
GUANGZHOU -- Anti-fraud centers in south China's Guangdong have stopped 79,000 people from being cheated in a year, said local authorities on Friday.

The centers prevented fraudulent transactions involving 37,000 bank cards, helping people avoid economic loss of 1.1 billion yuan (about 165 million US dollars) and disabled 110,000 telephone numbers used for fraud.

Guangdong took the lead in China in setting up anti-fraud centers in September last year, with the cooperation of telecom operators and banks, and extensive use of warning text messages.

A total of 3,960 people suspected of telecom fraud were apprehended in the past year, including more than 400 in Cambodia, Kenya, Armenia and other countries.

China has been strengthening its fight against telecom and Internet fraud, with 32 provincial anti-fraud centers and 206 city-level anti-fraud centers established as of May.

The increase in telecom and Internet fraud has been contained, according to the Ministry of Public Security. Economic losses caused by telecom and Internet fraud in 2016 decreased by 10.9 percent.
President Xi Jinping speaks at the National Financial Work Conference in Beijing July 15, 2017.[Photo/Xinhua]

As the world is plagued by mounting global security challenges, both old and new, the new proposals by Chinese President Xi Jinping on international security have given a boost to global stability.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 86th Interpol General Assembly on Tuesday, Xi proposed better cooperation and innovation, upholding the rule of law and seeking mutual benefit to build a community of shared security for mankind.

Security and stability are fundamental to peace and development around the world, which is far from tranquil. Global security is facing challenges such as widespread terrorism, cybercrime and organized crime, which all threaten national security, social stability and economic development around the world.

In an increasingly interconnected world, security problems go beyond national borders. A security flaw in one country can easily become an Achilles' heel for regional, even global security.

The security of a country cannot be ensured by an individual government or single country; rather, the joint efforts of different governments are needed to improve cooperation and combat crime.

As Xi put it, "Countries should adopt a concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and jointly respond to security challenges."

With its remarkable progress in combating crime and the development of a sophisticated law enforcement and crime prevention system over the years, China today enjoys sustained economic growth and social stability, and its people feel safe.

More and more people believe China is one of the safest countries in the world, which in turn has contributed to global security.

While focusing on its own security and development, China has helped its neighbors, sharing its experience and making contributions to enhancing their security capabilities.

The country has actively participated in global law-enforcement and security efforts, working with other countries to strengthen extradition, international telecom fraud and drug trafficking cooperation.

China resolutely supports the international fight against terrorism, and it is engaged in in-depth cooperation with more than 70 countries and regions to combat cybercrime.

The country has sent 2,609 peacekeepers to serve in UN missions in nine regions, including South Sudan, Darfur in Sudan, Mali and Liberia, making it the largest contributor of troops among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Xi also unveiled concrete measures to support Interpol in the next five years, with a special focus on underdeveloped countries and regions.

These include giving support to joint global actions against terrorism, cybercrime and new organized crime, and upgrading Interpol communication systems and criminal investigation labs for 100 developing countries.

The Chinese government also plans to set up an international law enforcement college under its Ministry of Public Security to offer training to 20,000 law enforcement personnel from developing countries.

Ensuring global security is an arduous, complicated and prolonged mission.

While Interpol observes its motto of "Connecting Police for a Safer World", China's proposal and action may well serve as solutions to international security cooperation and a safer world.
Popular TV series and movies sometimes unconsciously boost tourism in the location where they were filmed.

It happened in Budapest, where the Chinese TV series Love Actually was shot last year. Featuring in Chain Bridge, Fisherman's Bastion and other iconic buildings in Budapest, the TV series showed the audience the mysterious and ancient European architecture of the city. It made Budapest a favorite destination for Chinese visitors.

"The beauty of Budapest shown in the series is breathtaking. I have added Hungary to my travel destination list and just can't wait to visit," says Wang Min, a college student who loves to travel. A fan of the show posted pictures of his flight tickets to Budapest online and said, "I am ready to walk every street that these two actors have walked in the TV series".
Police crime scene tape marks a perimeter outside the Luxor Las Vegas hotel and the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, following a mass shooting at the Route 91 Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, October 2, 2017. [Photo/Agencies]

The nine-minute shooting spree in Las Vegas was nauseating, a maelstrom of carnage, lives lost and physical and mental injuries that will haunt the victims for the rest of their lives. Sadly, such an event was completely predictable, given the abundance of guns in America and a lack of gun control legislation. The shooter, Stephen Paddock, had two groups as accomplices: the National Rifle Association gun lobby, and the best legislators and politicians special interest money can buy.

Sadly, no end is in sight. A mass shooting is an incident of gun violence with four or more victims, excluding the shooter. I always thought Onea-Day was a famous vitamin brand, but no, it's the frequency of US mass shooting incidents. Las Vegas was the eleventh mass shooting that week, the third of that weekend and the twenty-ninth since Sept 2. It seems as though many Americans have a fierce individualist streak born in the heat of our Revolutionary War, as exemplified by New Hampshire's state motto: "Live free or die." And with the increased political polarization culminating in Donald Trump's election, this trend has accelerated.

The NRA began in the 19th century as a gun safety organization, but in the 1970s, with the rise of conservative Republicans, morphed into a gun rights lobby. Using finely honed carrot-and-stick approaches, the NRA is so powerful it strikes fear into the heart of any public official who dares oppose it. The NRA has two major tools: a huge treasury to shower compliant officials with campaign contributions, and a well-publicized report card grading how officials voted on key NRA issues. Even if you vehemently disagree with their position  as I do  you have to admire their lean, mean take-no-prisoners model that in 40 years has made them into a lethal career-killing machine to those who oppose them.

Aside from killing virtually every meaningful gun safety law, the NRA's most game-changing accomplishment was to get the United States Supreme Court in 2008 to overturn two centuries of constitutional law. The court ruled that the Second Amendment guaranteeing the right to bear arms applied not only to governments, but to individuals.

Gun-related deaths have reached epic, epidemic proportions. The number of Americans killed by gun violence intentionally, accidentally or by suicide since 1968 is greater than all combat deaths from the Revolutionary War to the present. This includes an estimated 750,000 deaths in the Civil War, 405,399 in World War II, 116,516 in World War I and 58,220 in Vietnam.

The Washington Post has estimated there are more guns in the US than there are people. That's 357,000,000 guns, including half a million machine guns. Yes, it is perfectly legal to own machine guns manufactured prior to 1986. In a rare loss, the NRA was defeated that year, after attempting to make the sale and possession of all machine guns legal. They are pushing for a quick vote on this issue and on making suppressors legal, and think this time they will have Trump's support. They may be right, as contributions to the NRA and gun sales ironically skyrocket after a big mass shooting incident. Case in point: After the bloodbath in Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary in December of 2012, resulting in the deaths of 20 children and six adults, contributions to the NRA's political arm increased 350%, accompanied by a spike in the sale of weapons.

You'd think mass shooting incidents would affect these people, but they adhere to the same cold-blooded tactics. When an incident happens, they disappear for a time to let emotions cool. Then they say that a time-consuming investigation is needed, by which time the horror has been long gone from public view. In the meanwhile, they get their cronies to offer prayers to the victims, or as Trump did, offer "warmest condolences". Accomplice and NRA contribution recipient Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is typical. He said the shooting was a "moment for national mourning and for prayer" but went on to slavishly follow the NRA playbook by saying that the investigation has not even been completed, therefore "it's premature to be discussing legislative solutions, if there are any." Notice the foreboding last phrase.

This devastating attack that resulted in 59 deaths and more than 500 injuries has produced one ironic local example to show just how absurd the NRA's extreme position is. When street performers dressed as Stormtroopers from Star Wars were panicking crowds in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, the county was able to pass an ordinance prohibiting the open carry of toy guns. Thanks to the NRA, they would never have been able to do the same with the real thing.

Harvey Dzodin is a research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization.
Founded in 1952, the Dongeejiao plant is a two-hour drive from Jinan, the capital of Shandong province. [Photo by Yang Feiyue/China Daily]

A tourist town, a museum and donkey ranch greet us when we reach Dongeejiaoalso the name of a time-honored brandafter a two-hour drive from Jinan, the capital of Shandong province, in early September.

Dongeejiao, which makes donkey-hide gelatin, was once a household name.

The gelatin is a traditional Chinese tonic that is one of the three treasures, along with ginseng and pilos antler, in the bible of traditional Chinese medicine, the Compendium Of Materia Medica.

The gelatin is believed to help in treating blood deficiency, insomnia and lung diseases.

The Dongeejiao plant was founded in 1952 but the brand suffered a decline over the years thanks to fewer animals.

But now, hybrid black donkeys with oily skin roll on the ground at the plant's ranch, as the company has a new lease of life thanks to a plentiful supply of the animal.

The black donkey features a thick skin, says Li Mengqi, a tour guide with Dongeejiao.

Also, the height of the hybrids is 15 percent more as compared with the other animals, while the weight and hide is 30 percent more.

The feeding cycle for the hybrids is also shorter by three to six months, which means a 35-percent benefit for the company.

The number of donkeys in China is now 6 million and rising, according to the national animal husbandry authority.

But China used to have 9.4 million over 1996-2012, before the decline set in and affected gelatin output.

So, to ensure a steady supply of donkeys, Dongeejiao set up a total of 20 black donkey breeding sites across the country.

As donkeys do not reproduce as frequently, artificial insemination is resorted to, says Li.

"We manually collect sperm and preserve it in diluted yolk with liquid nitrogen.

"The sperm can be preserved for 10 years like this."

As of now, the ranch at Dongeejiao has 108 males, and each donkey produces enough sperm to ensure the birth of 800-1,000 donkeys a year.
A group of tourists from China's Fujian province, wander along a street in Budapest, where the Chinese TV series Love Actually was shot last year. With high exposure on Chinese screens, the Hungarian capital attracted more than 80,000 Chinese tourists in the first half of this year.[Photo by Yang Enuo/China Daily]

Popular TV series and movies sometimes unconsciously boost tourism in the location where they were filmed.

It happened in Budapest, where the Chinese TV series Love Actually was shot last year. Featuring in Chain Bridge, Fisherman's Bastion and other iconic buildings in Budapest, the TV series showed the audience the mysterious and ancient European architecture of the city. It made Budapest a favorite destination for Chinese visitors.

"The beauty of Budapest shown in the series is breathtaking. I have added Hungary to my travel destination list and just can't wait to visit," says Wang Min, a college student who loves to travel. A fan of the show posted pictures of his flight tickets to Budapest online and said, "I am ready to walk every street that these two actors have walked in the TV series".

With high exposure on Chinese screens, the Hungarian capital attracted more than 80,000 Chinese tourists in the first half of this year, which indicates year-on-year growth of more than 50 percent, according to data collected by the Chinese travel agency Tuniu.

This TV series gained warm support from the Hungarian government when it was filming in Budapest. Officials sent the crew member a Rubik's Cube with a Hungarian symbol as a gift, further strengthening the mood of cooperation.

Meanwhile, Hungary decided to speed up the visa procedure for Chinese travelers from the end of 2016, to attract more investment and tourists from the world's second-largest economy.

Besides tourism, people-to-people and cultural exchanges between the two countries, China and Hungary have developed many new opportunities for interaction and cooperation.

The two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in June, 2015. The MOU, aimed at jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, was said to be the first such document China had ever signed with a European country.

Cultural exchanges have always been the focus of cooperation between the two countries. In April this year, the Chinese Film Festival was held in Budapest and Jackie Chan, the action movie superstar, took along his latest film, Kung-Fu Yoga.

"This effectively promoted Chinese culture and helped Hungarians to understand China better," says Gabor Cserkesz, president of Budapest-based Chinese Art Center. "Movies are a good medium for us to get to know each other."

Through the five Chinese movies shown the festival, the Hungarian audience could learn more about the history of Chinese culture and the lives of Chinese people.

Food is another popular way of bridging the cultural divide. Early in April, an event featuring Chinese traditional food was held in Budapest. Hungarian people learned how to make dumplings and use chopstickslearning important lessons about Chinese culture while also enjoying some delicious food.
RIO DE JANEIRO -- The Brazilian Congress managed to approve a complex and controversial electoral reform Thursday in time for the measures to be in effect for the 2018 general elections.

In order to be effective for the elections next year, in which Brazilians will choose a new president, state governors, as well as senators and federal and state representatives, the reform rules need to be signed into law until exactly one year before the election, thus President Michel Temer is expected to sign them by Saturday.

The new regulations will change several key aspects of the electoral system in Brazil.

One of the most controversial reform rules concerns hate speech and fake news. The new law demands the suspension of all publications denounced for promoting hate speech or spreading fake news from social networks and smartphone apps, which is a move to curb the practice of fake profiles slandering candidates.

However, the information will have to be suspended after a simple denouncement. Several congressmen argued that the text violates freedom of expression, for it does not require that the information is proved to be fake or slander before the suspension.

In other words, followers of a candidate would only need to denounce the posts defending a rival candidate to be deemed as fake news, and the pieces would be suspended without any sort of checking.

Press associations and other entities are pressuring Temer to veto this particular article, saying it constitutes censorship and is, therefore, unconstitutional.

The Congress also approved the creation of an electoral fund, which will provide public funds for the election. Corporate funding had already been forbidden in 2015. Donations from citizens were limited to the tenfold amount of the minimum wage, and campaign spending was also limited.

In addition, rules concerning parties' advertisement time on television and radio will be changed. A barrier clause will restrict advertisement time for parties which fail to achieve minimum requirements: either to have 1.5 percent of votes in at least nine states or to elect representatives in nine states. The requirements will gradually increase until 2030.
Leela Greenberg and her classmates on the streets of Shanghai film an episode of the online series China Business 101, which she hosted and co-produced. [Photo/China Daily]

China is becoming increasingly popular with business school students globally

When Jason Klanderman arrived in Shanghai in August 2016 to complete a year of overseas studies, he noticed some cycles scattered around the city that were made by China's Mobike. They were available for short-term rentso-called sharing bikes.

Three months later, the Mobike cycles were popping up in groups of hundreds and thousands all over the city. That was followed by the fast rollout of more than a dozen similar bike-sharing schemes.

Klanderman, who is studying on the global masters in management program at the London Business School, was even more surprised when he started noticing the Mobike cycles appearing on London's streets a year later.

"Very quickly, Mobike became a popular case study across various classes, from supply-chain management, to e-commerce and marketing," he said."Being able to see Mobike's unbelievable growth with my own eyes and then discuss my observations with our professors was so exciting."

The mind-boggling speed of the expansion of the Chinese start-up is perhaps an indicator of the vibrancy and disruptive innovation that fueled China's economic miracle during the past three decades.

A desire to understand China's economy has made the country an increasingly popular destination for business school students globally, thanks to the increasing availability of courses that take students to China.

LBS's global masters in management program, which started two years ago, sends students to the Shanghai-based Fudan University in their second year. So far, the program's graduates have recorded the highest employability rate among all of LBS's programs. More than 95 percent of graduates have found jobs within three months of graduation, and half of them chose to stay in Asia to work.

Such China-focused initiatives are many.

University College London has recently launched a new entrepreneurship-focused

MBA program in partnership with Peking University in Beijing. Meanwhile, Oxford's Said Business School takes all its executive MBA students to China for studies and on visits to companies.

Harvard Business School runs an incredibly popular China immersion program, which requires MBA students to be sent on internships with Chinese companies. They are instructed to conduct market research in China with the help of translators that they combine with academic theories to propose suggestions to the companies they work with.

"Because students are paired with real Chinese companies that have real innovation challenges, they get to work with managers who really think about innovation and have tried things, and are interested to see the perspective of someone not from China," said Felix Oberholzer-Gee, a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School.

The Grenoble Ecole de Management in France offers a China-focused doctorate of business administration program in partnership with China's Tongji University, Sun Yat-sen University, and Chongqing University. The program supports students in conducting in-depth research into unique Chinese business phenomenon.

Examples of past students' research includes analysis of how traditional Chinese medicine experiences are incorporated into modern hospitals, the rapid expansion of high tech Chinese companies, and supply chain management practices of multinationals in China.

"When our students' research papers were published in international peer review journals, they found a keen audience among leading Western academics who are really curious about China's economic growth story," said Jeff Yan, an associate professor of management, technology and strategy at the Grenoble Ecole de Management.

Data from GMAC, administrators of the GMAT business school entrance exam, show that, since 2008, German, Spanish, and Swiss citizens have sent more GMAT scores to China than some regions of North American and Europe.

According to 2016 data from the Observatory on Borderless Higher Education, China ranked the top hosting country for universities' international branches. Examples of business schools that have branches in China include the Hult International Business School and UBC Sauder, both of which have campuses in Shanghai.

Meanwhile, the number of foreign students directly attending Chinese business schools has also grown. The Shanghai-based China Europe International Business School (also known as CEIBS) is now teaching its MBA degree in English and 33.5 percent of its students are non-Chinese.

The effort of students seems to be paying off. Students on some of the most prestigious Western programs can expect to earn 80-100 percent more money after graduating, and CEIBS graduates earn 157 percent more on average after completing an MBA.

Programs at schools based in China now occupy 14 percent of the FT's top 50 MBA rankings, with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and CEIBS the top performers.

The familiarity and excitement that business school students develop for China during their studies there often prompt them to remain after graduation and work in China.

"Life and studies at CEIBS definitely helped me to acclimatize to the Chinese business environment and Chinese culture," said Leela Greenberg, a 29-year-old graduate of the CEIBS MBA program who is from the United States.

After graduation, Greenberg joined a global leadership trainee program at the Hangzhou headquarters of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.

"I'm amazed by Alibaba's incredibly fast pace of globalization, which also gives me many learning opportunities and allows me to develop a career as a bridge between China and the world. It's the best thing that CEIBS helped me to achieve," Greenberg said.
CKGSB China Start program, foreign students experience Tai Chi in China, as a part of their culture studies. [Photo/China Daily]

In the warmth and tranquility of the Swiss Alps, a group of Chinese tour operators gather for a lesson in innovation and inspiration.

The group is being sponsored by TravelSky Technology, the Beijing-based State-owned travel information provider, to attend an executive business education course hosted by Switzerland's IMD Business School.

The venue is the Chateauform Chalet de Champery, a boutique hotel exemplary of Swiss hospitality that has been especially chosen with the intention of inspiring the tour operators.

But unlike the five-star luxury hotels that are now commonplace in China, Chateauform is characterized by a certain simplicity and unique designs aimed at encouraging interaction.

Guests spend most of their downtime in the lounge, as no television is available in their rooms. Drinks are readily available but no barman is seen, so guests are prompted to serve each other.

Howard Yu, a professor of strategic management and innovation at IMD, who led the lesson, said the goal is not for the Chinese tour operators to copy the model wholesale, but to adopt ways of thinking that they can import back into their businesses.

"A lot of these guys in China are very busy," Yu said. "They constantly look at what their competitors are offering, because they feel they're facing the danger of falling behind. We wanted to show them how Western pioneering companies can get ahead of competition by developing innovative solutions to satisfy customer needs, instead of being copycats."

The Chateauform lesson is just one example of tailor-made China-oriented executive training programs being offered by leading business schools globally.

Once a shrinking market in the years following the financial crisis, executive programs in recent years are experiencing a revival.

China's Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business launched an executive program called China Start. It offers international startup companies the chance to visit leading Chinese incubators and platform businesses, such as the e-commerce platform JD.com, to discuss collaboration opportunities.

Leveraging on its huge alumni network, the business school takes these overseas businesses on the China Start program to meet Chinese investors. Of 10,000 alumni so far, more than half are company chairs or chief executives.

In 2015, the University of Oxford's Said Business School, Harvard Business School and Peking University jointly created an executive degree program to help Chinese family businesses overcome challenges such as succession planning, structural shift and globalization.

"The program's teaching is so well designed and touches the very heart of challenges we face as a family business," said Guo Feng, 34, a second-generation family business owner who participated in the program.
Eric Thun, a professor at Oxford University, teaches EMBA students about China. [Photot/China Daily]

Professors from leading Western business schools are increasingly using Chinese companies for their written case studies, as the businesses have garnered global attention because of their unprecedented growth levels and as they have become dominant players in their fields.

Big names, including Alibaba, Xiaomi, WeChat, and Didithe Chinese-equivalents of Amazon, Apple, WhatsApp and Uberare increasingly quoted and scrutinized in top business school journals and described to students around the world.

"I find it interesting to analyze innovative Chinese companies like Xiaomi as they champion new business models," said Robert Burgelman, a professor of management at Stanford Graduate School of Business."It is also interesting to research how some Chinese companies first achieve scale in their huge domestic market, and how they might build on the advantages of achieving that level of scale to gain competitive advantage in competing abroad."

In a business case Burgelman co-wrote with colleagues about Xiaomi, he closely analyzed the Chinese smartphone maker's incredible journey it was valued at more than $10 billion three years after it was set up in 2010, a valuation that was almost twice that of Black-Berry at the time.

Chinese companies did not have such a strong presence on the syllabuses of Western business schools in past decades.

Shanghai-based China Europe International Business School led the construction in 2013 of a China-focused MBA case study platform in collaboration with 13 MBA schools globally. It has now officially accepted more than 500 cases.

Harvard Business School's China center in Shanghai, which opened in 2010, now extensively supports the university's top researchers in conducting China-focused research and case study development.

New York University Stern School of Business has established a China Initiative to help grow China-focused research and discussions, and facilitate China-related discussions between the university's faculty and other academics, students, alumni, and the wider local intellectual community.

Jennifer Carpenter, an associate professor of finance at NYU Stern, started the initiative. She said studying China's businesses is incredibly challenging and rewarding because it requires academics to engage with facts and data through a completely different perspective.

"China is often hard to understand because it's a totally different system. You cannot run China data through a US model," Carpenter said.

Historically, most of the academic theories taught at business schools have been US-centric. Now, the different economic growth model and Chinese businesses' innovation strategies are prompting scholars to question their inherent assumptions and find alternative approaches, Carpenter said.

Her research delves deep into China's financial system's controlled process of reform and opening-up, and how that influences China's stock market, capital market, and financial regulations.

"Because China is very different from the US, it prompted me to question why is the US capital market structured the way it is, hence studying China also allowed me to understand the US better."
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May addresses the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, October 4, 2017.[Photo/Agencies]

LONDON -- British Prime Minister Theresa May gave her first reaction Friday to a plot by a group of Conservative MPs to end her reign at 10 Downing Street.

Former minister and one-time party chairman Grant Shapps says around 30 MPs have backed his call for her to be replaced as leader and prime minister.

May said she has the full support of her cabinet, with the BBC quoting May as saying the country needed "calm leadership" adding: "That's what I'm providing."

The under-fire prime minister was facing a fight for her political life Friday Shapps emerged as a ringleader in the call for her to go.

The party's poor showing in the June snap election when May lost her overall majority in the House of Commons had already weakened her position.

But the fiasco of her disastrous speech at this week's party conference has placed a great threat to her continued leadership. May's coughing fits which continually interrupted her speech, a prankster breaching security to approach her on the conference platform with the conference backdrop falling apart making it a triple disaster played out live on television.

Shapps said in media interviews: "I believe Theresa May is very decent person and unfortunately fought an election that didn't work out. We've not really managed to see that relaunch.

"There's that sort of lack of discipline in the cabinet and party conference this week and I think a growing number of my colleagues realize the solution isn't to bury our heads in the sand and hope things will get better."

The big question now will be whether enough backbench Conservative MPs sign a letter calling for a leadership election. It would mean around 48 MPs, 15 percent of the total number in the House of Commons, having to back a challenge to May by saying they had lost confidence in her leadership.

Environment Secretary, and one time leadership contender Michael Gove, said May was doing a "fantastic job" as prime minister.
On October 4, 2017, Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Guo Shengkun, together with US Attorney General Jefferson B. Sessions  and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke, co-chaired the first China-US Law Enforcement and Cybersecurity Dialogue (LECD). The LECD is one of four dialogues agreed to by President Xi Jinping and President Trump during their first meeting in Mar-a-Lago in April 2017 and is an important forum for advancing bilateral law enforcement and cyber priorities between our two governments.

The following topics were discussed:

1) Repatriation. Both sides acknowledged the need to make continued progress in the area of repatriation of foreign nationals with final orders of removal. The China and United States committed to develop a repeatable process whereby the identities of individuals with final orders of removal are verified in a timely manner and travel documents are issued within 30 days of verification. This process should be finalized within three months following the LECD.

2) Counter-narcotics. Both sides intend to continue to enhance cooperation on narcotics control and enforcement. Such cooperation may include: exchanging intelligence and operational information on trafficking of new psychoactive substances and other synthetic drugs, opioids, and cocaine; combating the illicit production and trafficking of fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances and precursor chemicals, with attention to applicable laws, scheduling actions, and use of express mail and consignment services; exchanging technical information on the relevant science and law; demand reduction cooperation; exchanging views on international narcotics control issues through UN-based and other multilateral forums; and sharing tracking information for packages between the two countries so as to identify individuals and criminal networks responsible for narcotics trafficking.

3) Cybercrime and Cybersecurity. Both sides will continue their implementation of the consensus reached by the Chinese and American Presidents in 2015 on China-US cybersecurity cooperation, consisting of the five following points: (1) that timely responses should be provided to requests for information and assistance concerning malicious cyber activities; (2) that neither countrys government will conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets or other confidential business information, with the intent of providing competitive advantages to companies or commercial sectors; (3) to make common effort to further identify and promote appropriate norms of state behavior in cyberspace within the international community; (4) to maintain a high-level joint dialogue mechanism on fighting cybercrime and related issues; and (5) to enhance law enforcement communication on cyber security incidents and to mutually provide timely responses.

Both sides reiterated that all consensus and cooperative documents achieved at the three rounds of the China-US High-Level Joint Dialogue on Combating Cyber Crimes and Related Issues since 2015 remain valid.

Both sides intend to improve cooperation with each other on cybercrime, including sharing cybercrime-related leads and information, and responding to Mutual Legal Assistance requests, in a timely manner, including with regard to cyber fraud (including business email compromises), hacking crimes, abuse of internet for terrorist purposes, and internet dissemination of child pornography.

Both sides will continue to cooperate on network protection, including maintaining and enhancing cybersecurity information sharing, as well as considering future efforts on cybersecurity of critical infrastructure.

Both sides intend to maintain and make full use of the established hotline mechanism for addressing urgent cybercrime and network protection issues pertaining to significant cybersecurity incidents, and to communicate in a timely way at the leadership level or working level, as needed.

4) Fugitives. Both sides will continue to cooperate to prevent each country from becoming a safe haven for fugitives and will identify viable fugitive cases for cooperation. Both sides plan to continue regular meetings and working groups to identify priority cases. Both sides commit to take actions involving fugitives only on the basis of respect for each others sovereignty and laws, and any violation of the above mentioned principles will be addressed in accordance with law.

While differences remain, both sides intend to make actual progress on all of the above matters, to make possible another Dialogue in 2018 to measure that progress.
Kidnapped Priest Tom Uzhunnalil to Receive Mother Teresa Award for Social Justice 06 October, 2017 by Samuel Smith/CP , |

The Indian priest who was kidnapped and held hostage by Islamic extremists in Yemen for over 18 months before he was released last month will be awarded the Mother Teresa Award for Social Justice.

The Harmony Foundation in Mumbai has named Father Tom Uzhunnalil as this year's recipient of the Mother Teresa Award for Social Justice.

Abraham Mathai, the founder of the Harmony Foundation, told ucanews.com that that Uzhunnalil, a Salesian priest, earned the award because he decided to continue his ministry in Yemen despite having the chance to leave the country.

Mathai explained that Uzhunnalil is a prime example of the theme of this year's award ceremony: "Compassion Beyond Borders  a compassionate response to the refugee crisis."

"[Uzhunnalil] had the option of leaving Yemen in 2015 but he chose to stay and provide humanitarian aid in the midst of such terror," Mathai said.

Uzhunnalil was captured by Islamic terrorists who attacked a Missionaries of Charities retirement home in Aden where he worked as a chaplain in March 2016. In the attack, 16 people were killed, including four nuns. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State.

Read more about Father Tom Uzhunnalil at The Christian Post.
Astonishingly, for three years U.S. government bureaucrats have refused to help endangered religious minority communities like Christians and Yazidis survive the genocide ISIS began in 2014. These communities stand on the brink of extinction.

As a witness from Iraq testified at a congressional hearing I chaired Tuesday (Oct. 3)  the 10th hearing I have convened on the atrocities  foreign aid decisions will determine whether Christianity and religious pluralism will survive in Iraq at all.

The U.S. Agency for International Development is reviewing a proposal from the Nineveh Reconstruction Committee to repair 6,800 religious minority homes damaged or destroyed by ISIS on the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq.

The NRC is an ecumenical partnership between the Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Catholic Church and Syriac Orthodox Church. It has already restored more than 2,200 houses and two towns, enabling more than 11,000 displaced Christians to return home. Two Christian charities, the Knights of Columbus and Aid to the Church in Need, have provided most of the funding, together with support from the government of Hungary. But more is needed.

The decision by USAID, led by former Ambassador Mark Green, about this proposal will determine whether the initiative proceeds and succeeds, or terminates, threatening the future of these communities.

Just before Christmas last year, I led a human rights mission to Erbil, in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, to meet with genocide survivors. We saw firsthand the medical care, food, shelter and education the Chaldean Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil was providing to most of the Christians who escaped ISIS, as well as some Yazidis and Muslims. The Nineveh Reconstruction Committee will be an efficient and cost-effective steward of U.S. resources and supports this proposal.

President Trump declared at the National Prayer Breakfast in February that mass murder and other atrocities ISIS committed against religious groups were genocide, and Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Tillerson later repeated his declaration  making him the second consecutive secretary of state to declare this genocide determination. There are two actions the president should take now to stop bureaucrats from obstructing assistance to genocide survivors whose very existence as a people teeters on a precipice.

First, the president should issue a presidential decision directive or presidential memorandum instructing the State Department and USAID to fund entities  including local faith-based ones  that can capably provide on-the-ground humanitarian and recovery assistance to the religious and ethnic minority communities targeted for genocide.

Second, the president should task a senior administration official to coordinate this effort and make sure these instructions are fully implemented. There should be accountability at the State Department and USAID if the internal obstruction continues.

Congress required the secretary of state to determine by March 17, 2016 whether violent Islamist extremists were committing genocide against Christians and people of other faiths in the Middle East. The House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution declaring the genocide two days before the determination was due and the Senate later unanimously passed a similar resolution. The budget for fiscal year 2017 required the State Department and USAID to use some of the funds specifically to assist genocide victims from religious minorities.

But career staff at the State Department and USAID have continued to ignore the genocide declarations (and the law). So Congress must do more. In September 2016, I introduced a bipartisan bill with my friend Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., to ensure U.S. assistance is directed to these communities and introduced it again as H.R. 390 (Iraq and Syria Genocide Emergency Relief and Accountability Act) almost immediately after the new Congress began this January. The House unanimously passed H.R. 390 in June and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously passed it in September. I hope the full Senate passes this urgently needed legislation.

Key government bureaucrats have been blind to people of faith for decades. They often see individuals merely as individuals or cases, rather than parts of a people or community of faith whose lives and destinies are beautifully bound together  and who are often targeted together. They also miss that prioritizing religious freedom globally enhances our national security, including our fight against terrorist groups that target religious groups as part of their ideology, propaganda and recruiting.

This is why my good friend former Congressman Frank Wolf authored the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998 and I authored the Frank Wolf International Religious Freedom Act that was signed into law in December. These laws are intended to ensure our government does not marginalize religious freedom abroad, nor favor particular religious groups nor discriminate against others (as some bureaucrats claim happens).

The same Christian faith that led me to public service and to fight for children, people with autism, veterans and victims of human trafficking, has also led me to dedicate myself to persecuted people of all faiths.

At the hearing I chaired on Tuesday, a young Yazidi woman who uses the name Shireen testified. She was abducted by ISIS and then enslaved, tortured and assaulted for nine months. She said she was sold five times to abusers. Shireen bravely recounted her own heartbreaking story, and testified about her 19 family members still missing, and the plight of the Yazidis and Christians. She told Congress:

Yazidis, Christians and other religious minorities, especially the non-Muslim minorities, cannot survive in Syria and Iraq under the current conditions. Without serious action from you and the world governments many of these people will continue to flee their ancient homelands of Syria and Iraq.

May Shireens courageous witness and testimony give voice to those who cannot speak for themselves: the murdered, the brutalized, the missing, those who rest in mass graves, and the many still believed to be enslaved and enduring unspeakable crimes. May her experience guide our actions and finally move us to do more to deliver desperately needed assistance to the survivors of the ISIS genocide.

Chris Smith of New Jersey, a Republican first elected to the House of Representatives in 1980, is a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and chairman of its global human rights subcommittee. He is also current co-chairman and past chairman of two U.S. human rights bodies: the U.S. Congressional Executive Commission on China and the Helsinki Commission. The views expressed in this opinion piece do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service

Courtesy: Religion News Service

Photo: In this March 13, 2017 file photo, Iraqi civilians flee their homes during fighting between Iraqi security forces and militants of the Islamic State group, on the western side of Mosul, Iraq.

Photo courtesy: AP/Felipe Dana

Publication date: October 6, 2017
More than 80 years ago, the first president of Princeton Evangelical Fellowship aspired for the organization to allow students to enjoy Christian fellowship one with another, to bear united witness to the faith of its members in the whole Bible as the inspired Word of God, and to encourage other students to take, with them, a definite stand for Christ on the campus.

In 2017, the Ivy League student ministry remains fully committed to this purpose  just without calling themselves evangelical.

The long-running organization changed its name this year to become Princeton Christian Fellowship, citing baggage surrounding the evangelical label.

Theres a growing recognition that the term evangelical is increasingly either confusing, or unknown, or misunderstood to students, the organizations director, Bill Boyce, told The Daily Princetonian.

Its not an issue limited to the 8,000-student campus; a number of evangelicals across the country share his concerns, particularly after last years election linked evangelical identity with support for President Donald Trump in the public eye.

Princeton Christian Fellowship began discussing its name change prior to Trumps election, though the decision was officially voted into place in May and announced at the start of this school year, the school paper wrote.

Were interested in being people who are defined by our faith and by our faith commitments and not by any sort of political agenda, said Boyce, who has led the campus group since 1985.

Princeton Christian Fellowships decision corresponds with younger Christians draw to institutions that focus on Jesus and downplay labels, according to Kara Powell, executive director of the Fuller Youth Institute.

I dont see it as a negative move, said Powell. Anything that puts Christ in the title is something that I applaud, especially because as I see organizations using the term evangelical less, theyre still adhering to core principles.

I would be more concerned if organizations who were moving away from the term evangelical were moving away from what it means to be evangelical.

Of the 24 recognized Christian groups at Princeton (including chapters of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and Baptist Student Fellowship), not a single one uses evangelical in its name.

Princeton Christian Fellowship holds weekly worship on Fridays, plus retreats, mission trips, and parties during the semester. For evangelism on campus, the group offers an outreach program where students can ask them faith questions in exchange for a free quesadilla.

The president of the ministry, a senior, said students support the change, and dont miss the evangelical name. Aside from the nostalgia, theres no good reason to keep it around, Jay Sourbeer told the Princetonian.

Following Trumps election, several leaders, authors, and bloggers announced they would no longer identify as evangelical, while others called into question the usefulness of the term.

A CT Pastors reader survey revealed that 1 in 3 evangelical pastors felt less comfortable identifying as evangelical around non-Christians after the election.

On the CT site, theologian Ron Sider defended the label, based on its meaning throughout church history. Baylor Universitys Thomas Kidd offered a counter-perspective, arguing whatever its historic value, the word evangelical in America has become inextricably tied to Republican politics.

If Princeton's campus ministry wishes to maintain its focus around its members shared doctrinal commitments while protecting their freedom to apply those commitments in a variety of political ways, it might do well to shed the label evangelical, said Mika Edmonson, who participated in a roundtable discussion over evangelical identity at The Gospel Coalition in August.

Edmonson, a Orthodox Presbyterian Church pastor in Grand Rapids, brought up howin addition to political baggageevangelical identity can skew white since African Americans in particular are less likely to use the term.

If the Princeton campus ministry found the term evangelical obstructing cultural and ideological diversity among their ranks, they've done the right thing by leaving it aside, he said. As ministries make more room for political and cultural diversity within their midst, they may increasingly choose to drop the term.
In the final two years of his presidency, Barack Obama declared October National Youth Justice Awareness Monthand with good reason. The United States has the highest rate of youth confinement of any developed country, with more than 173 of every 100,000 minors in confinement. On average, about 2,900 cases per day pass through American juvenile courts. Given the number of vulnerable young people, the National Institute for Juvenile Justice Ministries is currently working on an initiative to ensure that every juvenile facility has a church or ministry connected with it. (Read more about it.)

While young people are on the inside, we want them to be able to build these relationships so that when they get out they have places to go, said Amy Williams, a juvenile justice advocate based in Chicago. We also want to be the one-stop shop for anybody that does this kind of work.

Williams never set out to do youth ministry. Ive just always had a heart for kids that society thinks have no value, she said.

More than a decade ago, Williams intentionally moved into Chicagos West Side to mentor and support young people who were caught in gangs, incarcerated, or otherwise connected to the criminal justice system through supervision, probation parole, lockup, or post-lockup transition. I intentionally moved into a gang neighborhood and hit the streets building relationships with young people, she said. The work can range from community service to having guys move in with me once they return from lockup.

Williams recently spoke with CT about how family tragedy led her to this ministry, why she connects so well with the young men she mentors, and how Christian youth workers can affect change in marginalized communities.

You primarily mentor young men. How did that start?

I grew up around boys. Its what I know. I was bullied a lot by girls growing up, and my brother and his friends embraced me and brought me into their circles. So a lot of it is rooted in my close relationship with my brother.

During my high school and college years, he began getting in trouble. He later joined the Crips in Los Angeles and did time in the criminal justice system. I felt like I did everything I could to save him, and I couldnt. As a result, Ive tried to make it my lifes work to help every kid that I possibly can.

Female mentors are often lacking in many gang intervention and juvenile justice circles. When Im doing outreach ministry, there are streets in gang neighborhoods where I can walk on as a woman, because Im not a threat. If a mans walking, they might be like, What do you want? Whats up with you? What are you doing here? But I feel like these guys see women as offering compassion and a safe place where they can explore their emotions and feelings.

Whats your philosophy of ministry?

My ministry is a beautiful thing in that its not really formal. Its my lifestyle. Its my life choice. Its just who I am. I moved into a gang neighborhood in Humboldt Park, Chicago, not as a part of a church ministry but in response to God saying, This is what I need you to do. When I wake up in the morning I say, Well, Holy Spirit, what do we do today? Where do we go? Whatever it is that you want me to do, you will have to provide every single resource to get it done.

If you think about how we feel overwhelmed by the violence, imagine how these families feel; they have no resources, no connections, and no God in their lives. Its a lethal absence of hope, as Father Greg Boyle puts it. And violence is just a symptom. Our communities often think that more policing and incarcerating is going to fix the problem. But if the root issues arent addressed, the violence will persist.

Article continues below

What advice do you give to Christian youth workers?

I tell youth workers that one of the best things you can do is to be what I call a resource advocate. That means knowing what is available in the community and then connecting young people and their families with these resources. We often think that we have to be the end-all, be-all, but the truth is, there are already so many people out there doing the work.

Even if there arent a ton of resources in the communitywhich it is the case here in Chicagotheres always a way for a child of God to find that resource. He hasnt forsaken these young people. The community may have, but God never will. These are his babies, too. So were not called to go in and save these kids; were just called to walk this journey with them.

Of the young people you work with, whats the average age of exposure to gangs?

A lot of my young people arent first-generation gang members. Their grandfather was a gang member who then raised their dad to be a gang member, who then raised them to be a gang member. This is what theyve seen. This is what theyve known. This is whats been in their families. I worked with a young lady whose father more or less ran the Latin Kings for years. She didnt want to be a part of it, but her mom, her dad, and all of her brothers were involved in that life.

Ive seen a one-year-old throwing up gang signs and wearing the Latin King colors. Everybody thinks its cute and laughs at him, so hes going to keep doing it. And if thats all that hes being raised around, what is his path, unless theres some kind of intervention?

Tell us about a specific relationship that youve had with one of your mentees.

His name is Jonathan Sanchez. Ive never heard of anyone with such a horrific childhood. His growing up years included everything from foster care to child abuse to sexual molestation. His father was a gang leader and his mom was an addict. At the age of 10, he became affiliated with a gang and at the age of 11, he caught his first casea gun case. He spent more than half of his life in prison. When he was imprisoned, nobody came to visit. He and I got connected after Jonathans sister-in-law reached out to me through my website. She said, Hes getting out of a lockup. Were trying to get him to a halfway house. Can you please help?

The first time I met him, I was taking him to get his tattoos removed. He was like, I do not have the right to die anymore. What can I do to change my life? And so our mentoring relationship began and we became family. Jonathan wanted his story to be heard, and he wanted to help young people. He had been a top leader in his gang and just decided he couldnt do it anymore and needed to do what was best for his son.

So we began that journey, and it was beautiful until October 23 of last year, when he was killed. He was helping a friend when a drive-by rival gang came through. The bullet wasnt meant for him, but he took the bullet and didnt survive. I talked to him an hour before he was killed, and the last thing we said to each other was, I love you. He was supposed to be speaking with me at an event that weekend.

Article continues below

How has his death affected you this past year?

I have made it my mission to tell Jonathans story. Once he completed parole, I was going to take him to the Urban Youth Workers Conference (UYWC) in Los Angeles as a reward. After his death, UYWC created a scholarship in his name to bring a youth and a youth worker who also wanted to change lives and have an impact.

As sad as it is, its still one of the most beautiful stories.

Given that you often encounter these kinds of sad and tragic events in your line of work, what do you do to take care of yourself?

I have buried nine guys in the last three and a half years. After I buried two guys within 30 days and three guys last year, I honestly was at a place where I was like, Whats the point?

I have to be very, very intentional about having the courage to step back in the midst of ministry. It can be very hard to say, I need time. The world goes on and if I take a break, my kids are still going to be incarcerated. Theyre still going to do whatever. But I can be of no good to them if Im in a place of burnout.

And so I have a small group of people that Ive given permission to tell me when Im doing too much, to pull me aside, ask me the hard questions, love on me, validate me, encourage me  all of those things. And other than God, they are my foundation. They are God on earth, and he uses them to keep me in balance.

Grief is  man. I always say grief is a bitch. Thats the only word I can think of. Its really hard.

Whats your family background?

I was born and raised in Maine to biracial parents during a time when that just wasnt what you did. My moms mom pretty much disowned her for marrying a black man. Meanwhile, my paternal grandma took her into her home on the South Side of Chicago and showed her what it means to raise kids of color.

When I was older, my mom remarried and we moved to North Carolina. We moved to a predominantly black environment where people werent used to someone who was light-skinned, with green eyes and long hair. It was hard dealing with people who made assumptions based on my appearance without necessarily knowing my story.

These common misconceptions ultimately fueled your work.

For me, Im able to look past everything that these kids put out there and see their story. Ive been so drawn to that all my life. Its important that people build relationships with young people so that they can begin to understand their backgrounds, their family stories, and why theyve made the choices theyve made. This allows the church to minister from a place of relationship, rather than from a savior mentality or a place of pity or judgment.

How did you find Jesus?

I didnt grow up in the church. I didnt grow up as a Christian. I never had anybody minister or witness to me. I met a lady in college who invited me to visit her church a couple of times. I finally went, and I literally just thought I would go on Sundays, hear the Word, and then go home. I didnt realize it was a lifestyle thingthat it would be something bigger than two hours on a Sunday. But man, God set me up and he got me.

Gods funny like that, isnt he?

He is so. Hes hilarious. He got jokes. Here I am still.
Harvey Weinstein--Champion of Women's Rights

NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue (photo) comments on the fall of Harvey Weinstein:

Harvey Weinstein and I have been doing battle for decades--he is the supreme Catholic basher in Hollywood. Now we know that he is a serial abuser of women. He never paid a price for his anti-Catholic bigotry, but this is different: liberals are supposed to object to womanizers.

What makes this case so interesting is that Weinstein is known as a great champion of women's rights. Just recently, he marched in a women's rights parade in Utah; it was during the Sundance Film Festival. He also helped endow a chair at Rutgers in Gloria Steinem's name. Now he is pledging, as part of his Mea Culpa Campaign, to raise $5 million to support scholarships for women directors at the University of Southern California.

If Rutgers and USC have any integrity, they will follow the lead of Spelman College: the black college terminated a professorship endowed by Bill Cosby, another great champion of women's rights.

Several Democrats in Washington are donating money given to them by Weinstein to charity. Good for them. Which raises the question: Has Harvey contributed to the Clinton Foundation? We know he is best friends with Hillary, and, of course, Bill, a real champion of women's rights.

On the Republican side of the aisle, we learned today that Rep. Tim Murphy, a pro-life lawmaker, is planning to resign. This follows revelations of his adulterous affair which included a bid by him to have his lover have an abortion.

Imagine Murphy trying to cover his behind by pledging to give money to crisis pregnancy centers! It's unfathomable. But when women-abusing champions of women's rights give big bucks to universities on behalf of women's rights, the liberal community doesn't blink. It's all so typical.

Good luck, Harvey, you will need it. And by the way, are you still going to bring out your latest Catholic-bashing flick, Mary Magdalene? In February you took some cheap shots at me when the movie was under production.

In the event you decide to grease the Catholic League, please know that we would shamelessly take your money. And then we would buy boxes of chastity belts, sending you a ton of them.
Judicial Watch Sues Justice Department for Mueller Russian Special Counsel Budget Mueller's Budget Under Wraps



Contact: Jill Farrell, Judicial Watch, 202-646-5172



WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2017 /Christian Newswire/ -- Judicial Watch announced today that it filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) concerning the budget and administrative records of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. (Judicial Watch v. U.S. Department of Justice (No. 1:17-cv-02079)).



The lawsuit was filed after the Department of Justice failed to respond to an July 10, 2017 FOIA request seeking the following: A copy of the budget prepared and submitted by Robert S. Mueller III or his staff in his capacity as appointed "Special Counsel to oversee the previously-confirmed FBI investigation of Russian government efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election and related matters." Temporal scope of this request is from 17May2017 to 10July2017.

A copy of all guidance memoranda and communications by which the Justice Management Division will review the Special Counsel's Office's "Statement of Expenditures" prior to or for the purpose of making each public. Temporal scope of this request is from 1June2017 to present.

A copy of each document scoping, regulating, or governing the Special Counsel's Office appointed under the leadership of Mueller III. Temporal scope of this request is from 17May2017 to present. On July 7, 2017, The Washington Post reported that Special counsel Mueller submitted a proposed budget to the Justice Department, "but officials declined to make the document public and committed only to releasing reports of the team's expenditures every six months."



Judicial Watch is pursuing numerous additional FOIA lawsuits related to the surveillance, unmasking, and illegal leaking targeting President Trump and his associates during the FBI's investigation of potential Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election.



"The Mueller special counsel investigation is growing with seemingly little concern about costs to the taxpayer," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "Is the Justice Department hiding basic budget information about the Mueller special counsel operation because taxpayers and Congress would be outraged by the costs? Mr. Mueller is not above the law and he shouldn't be able to keep his budget secret. No one else in DC seems to be providing oversight of the Mueller juggernaut, so once again it is up to the citizens group Judicial Watch which is going to court to demand accountability."



MORE: www.judicialwatch.org/press-room/press-releases/judicial-watch-sues-justice-department-mueller-russian-special-counsel-budget/

Share Tweet
'New York Times' OK with Censoring Art

NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2017 / Christian Newswire / -- Catholic League president Bill Donohue (photo) comments on the New York Times' reaction to art that was banned by the Guggenheim:

When the Catholic League protested a vile video exhibit at the Smithsonian in 2010 that featured large ants crawling over Jesus on a crucifix, an editorial in the New York Times said, "The Catholic League is entitled to protest." But it strongly criticized the decision of the museum to pull the video, saying that it was giving into the "bullying" of Rep. John Boehner. It cited its support for "culturally challenging images."

When the Catholic League protested a filthy exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum of Art in 1999 that featured a huge portrait of Our Blessed Mother adorned with elephant dung and pictures of vaginas and anuses, an editorial in the New York Times applauded the decision of the museum to "defend artistic freedom."

When the Catholic League protested an obscene play at the Manhattan Theatre in 1998 that featured Jesus having sex with the twelve apostles, an editorial in the New York Times cheered the performance, saying, "This is not only a land of freedom; it is a land where freedom is always contested."

But when the Guggenheim decided to ban three exhibits that upset animal rights activists, two of which are videos--the exhibition starts today--the New York Times failed to issue an editorial defending the art. What gives?

Why is it that when Catholics are offended, the New York Times always lectures us on the need to understand that art is supposed to make us "uncomfortable." Is it saying that the artistic community has no right to make the animal rights crowd "uncomfortable"?

Why the silence on the Guggenheim censors? We'd love to read an editorial in the New York Times that explains its reasoning.

Contact James Bennet, editorial page editor: james.bennet@nytimes.com
Patrick T. Fallon

Lowe's plans to hire more than 200 employees at nine Texas stores Saturday as part of its plan to add 3,500 staff members to help customers rebuild in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.

The home improvement retailer will hold interviews from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to fill positions including cashiers, loaders, customer service associates and sales specialists in flooring, millwork, appliances and pro services. The jobs include seasonal, part-time and full-time positions.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Facebook employees were embedded in President Donald Trumps digial operations in San Antonio, adviser Brad Parscale told CBS News 60 Minutes in an interview scheduled to run Sunday.

Parscale ran the digital operation out of San Antonio widely credited with helping Trump win last year and thats now under scrutiny as part of a broader look at Russias meddling in the 2016 election. Parscale, whos agreed to meet with House lawmakers investigating the matter, oversaw the campaigns targeted social media outreach as digital director.

Meet the Trump campaign digital director whose strategic use of Facebook political ads may have been a critical factor in Donald Trumps victory, CBS News said the press release.

Asked about the campaigns use of Facebook, Parscale told Lesley Stahl the campaign took opportunities that I think the other side didnt, according to a clip of the segment posted Friday.

Well we had their staff embedded inside our offices, Parscale said of Facebook. Facebook employees would show up for work every day in our offices.

Facebook, Google and Twitter employees were there multiple days a week, Parscale said, helping them learn how to use the platform. Parscale had previously said that his staff worked side-by-side with staff provided by Facebook, Twitter and Google, according to a statement he posted July 14 to Twitter.

Parscale has been making headlines this year for major changes to his business, as well as for agreeing to interview with the U.S. House Intelligence Committee as part of its ongoing investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

I have accepted a request from the House Intelligence Committee to meet with them for a voluntary interview, and I look forward to sharing with them everything I know, Parscale said in the July statement.

Parscale said at the time that the presidential campaign used the same online marketing strategies as corporate America and that he wasnt aware of any Russian involvement in the digital and data operations.

Earlier that month, Parscale also said he was moving his firms political data and marketing operation from San Antonio to Florida in pursuit of an airport with more direct flights. And it was later announced on August 1 that Giles-Parscale was selling its commercial design and online services to e-commerce service provider CloudCommerce in a deal valued at $9 million.

Although he has moved his political work to Florida in search of better airports with more direct flights to Washington and New York, Parscale told the Express-News this summer he considers San Antonio his home.

The story is scheduled to broadcast on 60 Minutes on the CBS Television Network on Oct. 8, and 60 Minutes runs from 6 to 7 p.m. CDT.

sehlinger@express-news.net | Twitter: @samehlinger
A Milwaukee woman accused of killing her son by restraining him with belts and burning him alive faces life in prison.

Firefighters arrived to Amelia Di Stasio's apartment on Sept. 28 after neighbors complained of smoke, reports news station Fox 6. Responders found her son, Antonio Di Stasio, 4, dead in the bathtub with his hands bound behind his back by belts. Fox 6 also reports he was found with a garbage bag over his head and the majority of his body was burned.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Conroe businessman A. Lavoy Moore believed in the motto "Whatever It Takes."

He employed the practice in his Moore Supply Company as he spent many early mornings and late nights delivering supplies to plumbers from Beaumont to Baytown and beyond. Often his wife, Anne Gentry Moore, was right there at his side with a thermos of coffee or to help drive part of the trip.

And once while his daughter, Susie Moore Pokorski, was working for the company, one of the trucks was down and a water heater needed to be delivered.

She had a brand new convertible that the water heater fit just right in. That day she delivered a water heater in her convertible, because that's what it took to get the job done. He asked and we said "Yes, sir and we went and did it," she said.

He also employed his "Whatever It Takes" attitude in the many local and regional organizations he was involved with, from the Conroe Rotary and United Way to the YMCA to the Chamber and the First United Methodist Church.

An avid music lover, Moore is remembered today for his keen business sense, devotion to local organizations including his support of the Conroe Symphony Orchestra and his love of family and good friends.

Early life

Arrol Lavoy Moore was born on Nov. 16, 1923 in Nacogdoches in East Texas.

His father, Millard, was a journeyman plumber and tinner with Hunt Plumbing Company during the Depression.

As a young man, Moore also worked at the Hunt supply house after school and during the summer while attending Nacogdoches schools.

"He had a great respect for Mr. Hunt as man of integrity and honesty," said Pokorski.

Growing up, Moore also found a love for music.

He was in a trio with his brother, Roy, and a family friend, called the Benton Trio after their music teacher, Tom Benton.

"He made sure they were technically proficient, knowing their scales and music theory," said Moore's middle daughter, Bonnie Moore Hanley. "They could all play pretty much anything with strings."

They played a variety of shows and competitions in Texas and the southern states.

Once they won a national music competition where the prize was a trip to Hollywood to record music.

Moore's mother said "Absolutely not," according to Hanley.

She wanted her sons raised as fine Christian young men and was not interested in the influence that Hollywood might have on them.

The second-place winner went instead.

Education and the war

Moore attended college for two years at Stephen F. Austin University before going into the U.S. Army, serving in the 102nd Infantry division.

He served in northern Europe in the Belgium and Netherlands area.

While in The Netherlands, he befriended a little girl in the town of Heerlen. He'd share the chocolate he got in his rations with her. Then one day, she invited the soldier home to meet her family. They shared a meal with him and he became lifelong friends with the family - The Habbits, according to Hanley.

In the 1970s Moore's family traveled to The Netherlands to visit the family and they traveled to the States to visit the Moore family in return.

Moore attended the University of Texas when he returned from the war.

When Moore first attended college, it was to study music.

But he thought better of it after the war and changed his major to business administration, knowing that he'd one day want to support a family.

He graduated from the University of Texas in 1948.

He returned to Nacogdoches and joined Hunt Supply Co. making $250 a month.

A move to Conroe

Within a year, he was made manager of the Conroe branch of Hunt Plumbing Supply and he moved to Conroe in 1948.

Shortly after arriving in Conroe he met Anne Gentry, whose family had a long history in Conroe.

Gentry was a flight attendant for TWA.

She met Moore at a Christmas party where he entertained on the piano.

"At some point in the evening she ended up on the piano bench next to him and he gave her a kiss on the cheek. She didn't like that. She thought it was way too forward," Hanley said. "After the party, he asked to walk her home and she said 'Absolutely not.'"

They met up again in the spring in between her work and within six months of meeting they were married in July 1949.

Their first child, Jane Anne, was born in 1952.

He continued to work for Hunt Supply until after Mr. Hunt's death.

He decided to go into business for himself and Moore Supply Company was opened on Oct. 6, 1953.

It opened in an old home that was slated for demolition on property owned by his father-in-law Thomas Earl Gentry. The same space is now where Soules Insurance is located.

His first employee was Leonard McGee, who had worked with him at Hunt. McGee continued with Moore Supply for 20 years after that.

In October 1955, Moore opened a branch in Nacogdoches that was run by his father and later his nephew, Tommy Moore.

Sadly, their first daughter, Jane Anne, died in December 1955 at age 3 from encephalitis.

The Moores later had daughters, Susie, Bonnie and Nancy.

As a girl, Bonnie remembers having dinner and then her mother loading the girls up in the car to take their dad a plate of dinner at the office. They'd visit and he'd play with them a bit. Anne and the girls returned home. The girls took a bath and got in their pajamas and they'd pile in the car again to go and tell their dad good night at the office and they'd collect his supper dishes to take home.

Hanley said this happened quite a bit in her younger years.

Yet, both daughters remembered that their dad always made time for their activities from plays to band concerts.

"One time, he was meeting with a manufacturer and he looked at the clock and said 'It's time to go," Hanley said. "He took the man to my play with him and they finished up after it was over."

The company eventually moved over to Ave. A and Second Street, which is where Hanley and Pokorski have the most memories.

While they were in high school, both daughters worked at Moore Supply Company in the summer. They'd also sometimes help at their grandfather's shop - Gentry's Men's Wear, especially around Father's Day.

Eventually branches were opened in Beaumont, Bryan, Baytown, Humble, Huntsville, Tomball and other towns across Texas.

The "Supply House Times" named Moore Supply "Wholesaler of the Year" in 1983. The magazine referred to the company at that time by saying: "The saga of Moore Supply is pure romance; a screaming-eagle success story if ever there was one."

A family business

As far back as Hanley can remember, she and her sisters were welcome at Moore Supply.

Both daughters agreed that it was a very family friendly company that sometimes employed several generations of the same family.

Pokorski started working for the company in 1979 as a marketing manager where she was in charge of showroom merchandising and training showroom sales people.

She built relationships with custom builders and interior designers to develop the non-traditional market.

"I loved the company and loved the industry," Pokorski said. "I learned a lot about wholesale distribution."

She called the company a major player on the national scene as a master warehouse that shipped products all over the country.

Moore also served as president for the Wholesale Distributors Association and for the American Supply Association.

Youngest daughter Nancy worked in the Austin showroom of Moore Supply.

In 1982, Hanley's husband, Mark, came on board with the company.

He was a banker in Dallas and started out with Moore Supply loading pipe in a warehouse.

Mark said he and his father-in-law both felt like he had things to bring to the table within the company.

Bonnie Hanley said her husband has covered just about every job within the company. Today he is still a part of the company, as are their sons, Matt and Brian.

Moore sold Moore Supply on Dec. 16, 1996 to the Colburn family out of Chicago. At that time there were 32 locations in Texas and Arkansas.

Now the company is a part of the Hajoca Corporation - the second largest plumbing distribution company in North America.

A regional office for the North and South Texas regions of Hajoca is now located at 300 N. Loop 336 in Conroe next to the warehouse for Moore Supply Company.

Moore stayed on with the company for three more years even as it changed hands.

Community and hobbies

The Moores enjoyed friendships with people from around the world.

"They'd meet people and they'd keep in touch," Bonnie Hanley said.

They had friends in South Korea and were good friends with Skylab II astronaut Col. Jack Lousma.

Moore collected Model T and Model A cars as well, with the girls eventually driving his Model A "Josephine" to high school when they got their driver's license.

Additionally, both Lavoy and Anne Moore have had a lifelong love of the performing arts.

Anne was on the committee to renovate the Crighton Theatre in the late 1970s and they were longtime supporters of the Conroe Symphony Orchestra.

Today, CSO awards the Lavoy & Anne Moore Award each June to a musician within the group.

Lavoy Moore passed away on Dec. 18, 2001 and Anne Gentry Moore passed away on May 1, 2013.

Visit www.mooresupply.com for more information on Moore Supply Company.

Editor's Note: Some of the biographical information taken from an article in American Supply Association's magazine "Supply House Times." An ASA staff writer did an article on Moore when he was president of the group in 1975.
The Monticello power plant, one of Texas's largest coal-powered plants, will close permanently next year, Vistra Energy announced Friday.

The 1,800 megawatt power plant, which opened more than 40 years ago, is the latest in a string of coal plant closures nationwide as a glut of cheap natural gas and continued advances in solar and wind energy technology continue to depress wholesale power prices.

"The market's unprecedented low power price environment has profoundly impacted its operating revenue and no longer supports continued investment," said Curt Morgan, CEO of Dallas-based Vistra. "This was a difficult decision made after a year of careful analysis."

Monticello, which is located in Titus County, is scheduled to cease operations on Jan. 4, 2018. Vistra, the legacy company of Texas power giant Energy Future Holdings, which declared bankruptcy in 2014, said approximately 200 employees would be laid off as result of the closure.

The announcement comes as Energy Secretary Rick Perry is pushing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to adjust the regulations governing wholesale power markets to try and stop further closure of coal and nuclear power plants, which he says are critical to maintaining a reliable electrical grid.

The former Texas governor is facing opposition from a disparate set of special interests, from the oil and gas industry to environmentalists to wind energy developers, who argue any shift would unfairly give coal and nuclear an advantage over other power sources.

But were FERC to agree to Perry's proposal, it would not have made a difference for Monticello. The plant operates within the Electric Reliability Council of Texas grid, which uniquely in the United States does not cross state lines and thus is not under FERC's jurisdiction.

Coal plants in East Texas, which rely on an underground supply of lignite, have long been targeted by environmentalists for their contribution to the state's air pollution, with some attributing the haze as far away as Big Bend National Park to their emissions.

"This is great news for air quality in Texas and offers the chance for a cleaner, safer future for our kids," said Environment Texas Director Luke Metzger. "With record flooding, drought and wildfires in recent years, Texas has been taking a beating from global warming."
Houston-based Elite Street Capital has purchased the 16-story 2100 West Loop South office building in the Galleria area.

HFF, which announced the deal, brokered the sale and arranged acquisition financing. H. Dan Miller and Martin Hogan represented the seller, Buchanan Street Partners and CarVal Investors.

Renovated in 2014, the 162,336-square-foot building is 88.7 percent leased, according to HFF. The building is just outside Loop 610 between Westheimer and San Felipe.

Buyers have invested in office properties including Greenway Plaza, Greenspoint Place and Five Houston Center this year.

RELATED: Greenway Plaza owner Parkway to be acquired in mega deal

"Office investors have returned to Houston in a huge way with YTD volume over five times what it was in 2016," Miller said in an announcement.

RELATED: Brookfield to buy Houston Center

Matt Kafka and Michael Johnson of HFF arranged a five-year, 4.25 percent, fixed-rate acquisition loan through Greystone.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Citizens of Roman Forest gathered for a night of social fellowship with local law enforcement, firefighters and EMS workers during the Oct. 3 National Night Out event held at Roman Forest city hall.

The event was hosted by the City of Roman Forest, the Roman Forest Police Department and the East Montgomery County Fourth of July Celebration Committee.

"National Night Out is an opportunity for everybody to meet police, firefighters and government officials," said Roman Forest Police Chief Stephen Carlisle.

The three organizations hosted a spaghetti dinner provided by Italianos. The dinner served as a fundraiser for next year's Fourth of July fireworks show.

"That's all paid for by donated funds," said Carlisle referring to the fireworks show.

Special Events Committee Chairwoman Laura Carlisle, wife of Chief Carlisle, commented on how much of an impact the fireworks show brings to Roman Forest, noting that an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 people attend the show.

"That's our main event of the year," she said.

National Night Out also had assistance from the Law Enforcement Explorers, a group of boys from the Boy Scouts working with the Roman Forest Police Department in a career-oriented program.

"We give kids opportunities to advance their skills when coming into law enforcement," said Lt. Jacob Wilson of the Law Enforcement Explorers. "We practice different things a cop would do in a day-to-day basis."

Students in the Law Enforcement Explorers program served meals and also assisted visitors in participating in a variety of activities to educate about the dangers of drug use.

Roman Forest Mayor Chris Parr also commented on the event's success, stating that in an age where society has moved toward social media it is nice to get out and know other people in your area.

"The one thing we need to do is get to know our neighbors," he said.

Parr also says the event may need a larger venue next year.

Chief Carlisle discussed how important events such as National Night Out are for communities as they help strengthen bonds among the citizens, public servants and local officials.

"It gives the public a chance to run into the police in a positive manner," he said. "From my point of view it helps build relationships between the police and the community."

Officer Carlos Herrera also commented on the importance of National Night Out stating it gives the chance to get to know their officers who do anything to look out for the local public.

"It's an opportunity to mingle with the community," he said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Need some help planning your week?

We've gathered a list of activities going on in Houston Oct. 5-12 for residents of all ages.

A couple of these events will be great for the whole family to attend.

MUSIC NEWS: Pink brings Beautiful Trauma World Tour to Houston

The Original Greek Festival is in its 51st year and will run Thursday, Oct. 5 through Sunday, Oct. 8. There's plenty of food to try and spectacular performances of traditional Greek dances to see.

Bacon lovers should plan on attending the International Bacon Fest on Saturday, Oct. 7. Festivities start at 1 p.m., and you better believe there will be a bacon eating competition.

CHECK THIS: Tumbleweeds hosts 'official' Selena tribute in Houston

Performances from Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Portugal. The Man, Chris Tucker and Dwight Yoakam can be seen at various venues around town.

Also, game two between the Astros and Red Sox will be held at Minute Maid on Friday, Oct. 6.

Check out the gallery above for a list of activities and things to do in Houston for kids, young and old.
For the second year in a row, Ross Sterling Middle school is hosting a Hispanic Heritage Month full of educational opportunities and food tastings for students and community members.

Jadhai Blackwell, secretary to the assistant principal, has worked closely with Veonda Mahoney, eighth-grade principal, on putting together a number of festivities to play out during the designated Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 dates. Ross Sterling uses the time to highlight the struggle for independence many Central American countries endured.

The festivities kicked off Sept. 20 with Hispanic dress-up day, and students were able to wear the colors of their countries or anything symbolizing their country of origin.

On Sept. 27, they had pinata day, and students were asked a series of questions throughout the week and awarded a ticket for each correct answer. Tickets could be exchanged for the opportunity to hit the pinata or spent on some traditional Mexican snow cones, respados

A dancing with the stars event was held Oct. 4 and included a dance off with Latino music playing throughout various times of the school day for a chance to win a Los Cucos gift card.

Next up is a Day of the Dead celebration, which is a prominent holiday in Mexico, allowing students to paint faces on skulls that can be placed on a small stick to carry around throughout the day.

Lastly, the school plans to host Fiesta Night at Ross Sterling in the evening with 12 different tables, each one dedicated to a different country.

Each table will have specific foods popular to each country.

"We tried to get everyone together, no matter what race you are, and the kids get so involved, and we like that kids look forward to participating in something," Blackwell said.

Fiesta Night is open to the community at no cost. It is scheduled for Oct. 13 from 6-8 p.m.

National Hispanic Heritage Month has been celebrated by Latino Americans since it was first enacted into law on August 17, 1988, by then President Ronald Reagan. Sept. 15 was chosen because of the relevance and importance it had to Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Each of those countries gained their independence from Spain on Sept. 15, 1821.

Mexico celebrates its independence day on Sept. 16, Chile celebrates on Sept. 18 and Belize on Sept. 21. Both Mexico and Chile gained independence from Spain in the year 1810, while Belize gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1981.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Which Houston-area suburbs have the most violent crime by population?

New data released by the FBI shows how prevalent violent crime is in most of Houston's suburban cities.

The 2016 data lists the population for each city, plus the number of murders, manslaughters, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults for last year. This data released last week contains the most up-to-date stats for each community.

DANGEROUS CAMPUSES: Texas colleges with the most violent crime, according to the FBI

Now Playing: Texas News & Crime Video: Houston Chronicle

Those five crimes account for the FBI's annual violent crime statistic, which is broken down in this report by incidences per 1,000 in population.

The Houston area's suburbs, none of which surpassed the City of Houston in violent crime rates, are ranked from most violent crimes per 1,000 to least.

See where your city falls on the list, and get a look at how many violent crimes occurred in your community last year.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Author and speaker Lorraine Grubbs discussed how individual businesses and organizations can make their environment more positive for employees and customers during the Oct. 4 luncheon hosted by the Greater East Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce.

Grubbs is a team builder who focuses on helping businesses and their employees create safe and happy work environments. She is a former team leader at Southwest Airlines, where she acquired the skills and knowledge needed to create a happy workforce that customers came to enjoy.

"What makes you happy?" asked Grubbs. "What if you could take that feeling to work with you every day and keep it with you?"

Grubbs once owned a private charter company, where she met famous lawyer Richard "Racehorse" Haynes. He is notable for winning seemingly impossible cases in court. Grubbs asked Haynes as she asked all of her passengers what was his secret to success.

Haynes responded by telling Grubbs he studied often about a variety of topics regarding his cases, including those tied to any medical areas should a doctor ever have to take the stand.

"I better know as much or more as that doctor about that particular subject," said Grubbs, explaining Haynes' viewpoint.

Grubbs took this advice to heart and later met Southwest Airlines CEO Herb Kelleher.

Kelleher accepted an Aviation of the Year award at a different chamber of commerce luncheon and asked for the group to hold their applause. He proceeded to ask his employees to stand up and receive the applause. This attitude from Kelleher led to Grubbs taking a job at Southwest Airlines.

Southwest Airlines taught Grubbs the value of having fun in the workplace, which she elaborated on in her 2004 book titled "Lessons in Loyalty."

Grubbs later wrote "Beyond the Executive Comfort Zone," which she used with a business that wanted to double in size in 10 years. She described how businesses must deal with velocity, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity when it comes to growth.

"Every leader needs to learn to make good decisions under the worst decisions," she said.

Grubbs moved onto her happy workplace system, which she divided into four beacons from her book "How to Create a Happy Workplace." The first beacon is to hire based on attitude and train the skills. She cited an incident where Southwest Airlines had two individuals apply for the same flight attendant job.

One employee had all of the answers required for the job along with the necessary skills. The other brought with her stories about her customers and how she bonded with them in her previous career as a hair dresser. She did not know anything about the airline industry, yet she was the one who got the job.

"She knew the customers. She knew their lives," Grubbs said. "We were looking for people who recognized the value of customer service."

The second beacon is motivating employees with reward and recognition. Grubbs says there is the traditional reward, such as an annual company picnic, but she says there is a better method.

"The value in having loyal employees is when you can give them something in the spur of the moment when you see them doing something," she said.

One example is to pass out cards expressing thanks for all of the hard work employees have done for the company.

The third beacon is leadership and building a dedicated following. Specifically, Grubbs said one should strive for ego-less leadership.

"You can't be looking at yourself first," she said.

Grubbs said one must look at four areas, which include looking at yourself, looking at how much you know about your business, leading your team and leading into the future. Another important aspect is to learn to laugh at yourself.

The fourth beacon is owning the business. Grubbs emphasized that this is all about understanding how much your employees are invested into your business.

"We said we were in the customer service business," said Grubbs, referring back to Southwest Airlines.

Grubbs says Southwest Airlines started to think about what their customers would think about their business if they disappeared tomorrow.

"We gave America the freedom to fly," Grubbs said.

For more information about Grubbs and her books, visit www.lorrainegrubbs.com.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Texas rapper Tay-K 47 - whose music video featuring him posing with his own wanted poster raked in more than 62 million views on YouTube even as he sat in jail on murder charges - is the suspect in a fatal shooting at a San Antonio Chick-fil-A, according to records obtained by mySA.com.

New details have emerged in the murder charge against 17-year-old Taymor Travon McIntyre. He is in the Tarrant County Jail on unrelated capital murder and aggravated robbery charges.

That McIntyre was charged with capital murder in Bexar County was first reported at the time of his much-publicized arrest in late June, but no details of the accusations against him were disclosed.

RELATED: S.A. skateboarder dragged by car speaks out, shares graphic photos of her injuries

Now Playing: S.A. ranked first out of 15 largest U.S. cities in 2016. Video: San Antonio Express-News

According to a police report obtained by mySA.com, McIntyre is a suspect in an April 23 fatal shooting at a North Side Chick-fil-A at 27 Northeast Loop 410.

The police report said witnesses saw three people arguing in the back of a black SUV on the Loop 410 access road and someone in the front passenger seat pointed a gun at the victim, identified as 23-year-old Mark Anthony Saldivar.

Saldivar got out of the car and started yelling for help, then stood in front of the SUV, witnesses reportedly told police. The driver accelerated at Saldivar but Saldivar held onto the SUV as it swerved, then jumped onto the vehicle after it pulled into the Chick-fil-A parking lot and began kicking the windshield, police said.

RELATED: Affidavit: Gym owner describes how he used lighter to set fatal fire in S.A. shopping center

The front passenger stepped out of the car, shot Saldivar once, and the four occupants of the vehicle, one of whom has now been identified at McIntyre, drove off, according to an affidavit.

The identities of the three other suspects are not known at this time.

Saldivar's body was found in the Chick-fil-a's parking lot with loose marijuana in his mouth and a bag of it underneath him.

A few days after the shooting Crime Stoppers offered a $5,000 reward on info leading to the arrest in connection to Saldivar's death. A police report says surveillance cameras captured the shooting.

RELATED: Man arrested for threats to kill on S.A.'s Main Avenue 'Strip' days after Las Vegas attack

According to a probable cause affidavit, McIntyre also participated in a botched armed robbery at a home in the 1500 block of Aspen Court in Mansfield, Texas, on July 27, 2016, with several others.

Authorities allege he conspired with four others to rob Ethan Matthew Walker. After sending three women into Walker's home to scope it out, McIntyre and another person rushed into the home with "guns pointed at everyone," according to the affidavit.

Walker came out of a room and tried to shoot McIntyre and the other suspect, but they fired back and killed him. Another victim was also shot, police said.

The five suspects then fled, but but one later confessed to the robbery during interviews with officers.

McIntyre was later arrested in connection to the killing. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, he and another juvenile charged in the case slipped their ankle monitors on March 27, 2017.

RELATED: SAPD: Teen stabs 28-year-old boyfriend during argument over infidelity

He apparently made his way to San Antonio, where about a month later he was allegedly involved in Saldivar's killing. He was eventually arrested June 30 in Elizabeth, New Jersey by the U.S. Marshals' New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force.

He remains in the Tarrant County Jail on a $500,000 bond.

Since his arrest, McIntyre's music video for his song "The Race," in which he poses in front of his own wanted poster, has been viewed more than 62 million times, his music has been featured on iTunes and Spotify, and his fans have started a hashtag, #FreeTayK47.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns
ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- President Donald Trump is expected to "decertify" Iran's compliance with the Iran nuclear agreement next week because his administration has determined it no longer serves America's national security interests, sources have told ABC News.



Trump has until Oct. 15 to make a decision about Iran's compliance in the 2015 agreement, which he has repeatedly called one of the "worst deals" for the United States. He last recertified Iran's compliance in July.



If Trump chooses decertification, Congress must decide within 60 days whether or not to reimpose nuclear sanctions against Iran, which would constitute a material breach and could effectively destroy the agreement.



The president's own top military officials and diplomats have said Iran is in technical compliance with the Iran deal. But, in recent months, they've also played a balancing game: seeming to recommend the U.S. stay in the deal, while at the same time giving the president room to say it isn't in America's national security interests.



Secretary of Defense James Mattis



Twelve days before the Oct. 15 deadline, Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee that it was in America's national security interest to remain part of the agreement.



He went on to say that "If we can confirm that Iran is living by the agreement, if we can determine that this is in our best interest, then clearly, we should stay with it. I believe, at this point in time, absent indications to the contrary, it is something the president should consider staying with."



But Mattis immediately couched that response, adding, "There is another requirement we certify that it's in our best interest.



The certification process is not part of the agreement, but a requirement of U.S. law, which says the president must determine every 90 days if Iran is complying and if the deal is in U.S. national security interests.



The Trump administration will reportedly use that second factor as grounds for decertification, given Irans destabilizing activity in the Middle East -- something Mattis has often raised.



The president has to consider, more broadly, things that rightly fall under his portfolio of looking out for the American people in areas that go beyond the specific letters of the JCPOA," he said, referring to the Iran deal's formal name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. "In that regard, I support the rigorous review that he has got going on right now."



Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford



"Iran is not in material breach of the agreement, and I do believe the agreement to date has delayed the development of a nuclear capability by Iran," Dunford told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.



Critics of the administration jumped on those remarks -- from Trumps top military adviser, no less -- to bolster their claim that without the deal, Iran will be closer to a nuclear bomb.



Dunford also warned in his reconfirmation hearing before Congress last week that "holding up agreements that we have signed, unless there's a material breach, would have an impact on others' willingness to sign agreements."



Like Mattis, he said that because Iran is in compliance with the deal, the U.S. "should focus on addressing the other challenges: the missile threat they pose, the maritime threat they pose, the support of proxies, terrorists, and the cyberthreat they pose."



Secretary of State Rex Tillerson



Tillerson acknowledged in early August that he and the president have had differences of opinion on the Iran deal, with Tillerson urging certification and Trump seeking ways to decertify. But more recent statements show the secretary trying to align with his commander in chief, at least publicly.



At the United Nations General Assembly in late September, Tillerson said Trump was "very carefully considering" whether the administration finds the Iran deal "to continue to serve the security interests of the American people or not."



In particular, Tillerson has raised the issue of the deals so-called sunset provisions where limits on Irans nuclear program expire.



"One can almost set the countdown clock to when Iran can resume its nuclear weapons programs, its nuclear activities," Tillerson said. "And thats something that the president simply finds unacceptable."



But citing a flaw that Trump can criticize the deal for doesnt mean Tillerson favors tearing up the accord. Instead, he too has urged dealing with Irans other activities in addition to these shortcomings.



The agreement "represents only a small part of the many issues that we need to deal with when it comes to the Iran relationship," he told reporters Wednesday.



Copyright  2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
With the next potential hurricane already sweeping through Central America, the U.S. Coast Guard has set port conditions and restricted vessel traffic for Gulf Coast ports from Louisiana to Florida.



Tropical Storm Nate may hit New Orleans as soon as Saturday.

The latest hurricane of an already tumultuous storm season is currently making its way through Central America and the U.S. Gulf Coast could be next.

As a result of projections for Tropical Storm Nate that anticipate the system strengthening to a category 1 hurricane before making landfall in Louisiana, the U.S. Coast Guard has set the port conditions for New Orleans and Mobile to X-Ray and Whiskey, respectively.

This signifies that, all oceangoing vessels and barges over 500 gross tons will be required to depart the ports and head out to sea when Hurricane Condition Yankee is set; generally 24 hours before the on-set of gale force winds. Inland vessels and barges greater than 500 gross tons are required to seek safe refuge in a port outside of the impacted ports, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

Ports and mariners are cautioned that the Captain of the Port (COTP) New Orleans may quickly set Port Condition Yankee and further conditions as the situation develops. The COTP anticipates setting Port Condition Yankee at 4:00 p.m. local time, October 06, 2017, USCG said.

Additionally, due to the lack of available space in the Lower Mississippi River, the COTP has closed the river to all inbound vessels that do not have berth arrangements confirmed by the appropriate pilot. The traffic in Egmont Channel has been restricted to one way for vessels with drafts greater than 34 feet as well.

Port condition Whiskey was set for the ports of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Manatee and the entire Captain of the Port Zone Mobile, including Gulf Intercoastal Waterway (GICWW), Port of Panama City, Port of Pensacola, Port of Mobile, Port of Pascagoula and Port of Gulfport, the Coast Guard said.

The Alabama State Port Authority said it was limiting some traffic and had asked for all ships to be finished loading and unloading by 6 p.m. Friday.

According to the latest Maersk Line customer advisory, New Orleans Terminal will not be accepting any specialized cargo, such as refrigerated, hazardous, or O.O.G. cargo on Friday, Oct. 6. The terminal at Mobile will be closing at 3:00pm on Friday and is expecting a Monday, Oct. 9 closure as well, and is only allowing import pickups and export reefer pickups, the Maersk Line notice stated.

Currently, only one vessel on a Maersk Line service, the MSC Toronto, is affected by the port restriction. The vessel , sailing on the TA6, has a delayed entry into New Orleans, according to Maersk.

Tropical Storm Nate, which has already killed at least ten people in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, is expected to make landfall on the Gulf Coast on Saturday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

As a result, oil refineries, including Exxon Mobile Corp, Statoil, BP Plc and Chevron Corp in the gulf have evacuated staff and suspended operations. Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Anadarko Petroleum Corp have suspended some production and some drilling activity in the Gulf, according to a report from Reuters.

The current storm path path affects oil pumps that produce 1.6 million barrels of crude per day (bpd), or 17 percent of U.S. output. .As of Thursday, about 14.6 percent of U.S. Gulf oil production  254,607 bpd  was offline, the U.S. Department of the Interiors Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos made her first publicized visit to storm-torn schools on Friday.

She painted pictures with elementary schoolchildren that depicted life before and after the hurricane, according to local media reports. She handed out snack packs to children in their classrooms.

DeVos was not visiting any of the Harvey-affected schools that once served more than 1.4 million Texas students.

Instead, she spent the day in Immokalee and Everglades City, Florida, according to the Naples Daily News, where schools were closed for 11 days.

DeVos' trip to Florida, less than a month after Hurricane Irma caused severe damage to the Florida Keys and parts of the state's Southwest Coast, comes before she has made any public appearance at a Hurricane Harvey-affected school.

Now Playing: A new poll of nearly 2,000 registered voters has found that education secretary Betsy DeVos and attorney general Jeff Sessions are two of President Trumps least-liked cabinet members. Video: GeoBeats

Some schools affected by Harvey are in worse shape than those in Florida.

Aransas Pass ISD on Thursday opened its first school since Harvey made landfall, 41 days after the storm. For the rest of the district's five schools, classes will not resume until Oct. 16.

Aransas County ISD will welcome its students back on Monday, nearly seven weeks after Harvey slammed into the area.

The only public visit DeVos made to Texas after the storm was to a Hurricane Harvey Relief Center in Pearland, where she accompanied President Donald Trump and several other members of his Cabinet.

According to a news release by the U.S. Department of Education, DeVos, Trump and other Cabinet members met with local congressional delegations to discuss recovery efforts. The release did not say that DeVos visited a school or spoke with local education leaders or students.

"Texas and Louisiana have a long road to recovery ahead, but the resilience of those in areas affected by Hurricane Harvey was evident today," DeVos said in a statement at the time. "The Department of Education will continue to work side-by-side with the people of both states as they begin to piece their lives back together, and get their communities and schools up and running again."
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

A party this week marked the one-year work anniversary of Texas Children's Hospital's first full-time therapy dog.

Elsa, a three-year-old golden retriever, provides therapeutic interventions and is funded by a donor family. She is trained to work with children battling various illnesses and started the job last October.

"Elsa has become a welcome distraction from pokes and procedures, a shoulder to cry on, a paw to hold and the best cuddle buddy anyone could ask for," Elsa's handler and child-life specialist Sarah Herbek said on Texas Children's blog.

Elsa helped Molly LeBlanc, a patient who was battling polycystic kidney disease, get out of bed after a procedure, ABC13 reports.

RELATED: Texas Children's first full-time therapy dog gets results nobody else can

"She has shown unconditional love to our patients, families and staff," Herbek said. "[She] has truly become a part of the Texas Children's Family."

The anniversary celebration included dog-themed crafts. Patients decorated bows for her collar and she wore a pink shirt that said, "It's my gotcha day!"

"Texas Children's looks forward to celebrating many more milestones with Elsa," Texas Children's Hospital posted to their Facebook page.

RELATED: Texas Children's Hospital closes the floodgates
As thousands of people waited in line for special emergency food assistance, Houston-area church leaders and nonprofit groups Friday demanded that Gov. Greg Abbott and others extend the application deadline for Texans who suffered because of Hurricane Harvey.

Storm victims waited for hours to apply for the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program -- also known as D-SNAP -- which provides one-time, emergency food aid for those devastated by natural disasters.

"I'm reminded of the great miracle of Jesus feeding 5,000," said Sam Dunning, of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. "We have the opportunity as a community to do the right thing by extending this deadline. The needs of people, children, the elderly and all in-between cannot be constrained by deadlines artificially set by man."

The deadline for the program, which provides cards that can be used only for food and drinks but not alcohol or tobacco, expires at 7 p.m. Friday.

At a press conference in east Houston, Dunning pleaded for Abbott and other lawmakers to extend the program, calling the thousands left hungry "nothing short of a travesty."

Others at the press conference, hosted by The Metropolitan Organization, said they believe thousands of people still have not gotten help and could overload local churches and other nonprofits.

"People tend to look to the churches as the ideal place to get answers," said Rev. Simon Bautista, of Houston's Christ Church Cathedral. "It puts a lot of pressure on our shoulders, and it is hard to tell people, 'We're sorry, we cannot help you with much.'"

More than 200,000 people have received D-SNAP funds in Harris County since the program opened Sept. 22, according to preliminary numbers.

Those who qualify receive benefits on a Lone Star Card, which is used to provide food stamps under the regular SNAP program in Texas. To qualify for the D-SNAP benefits, a family must live in a county declared a federal disaster area, have experienced loss of income or home and not receive regular SNAP food benefits.

Through the program, families receive amounts equal to two months of the maximum SNAP benefits for their household size, which range from $192 a month for one person to $760 for a family of five, plus $144 for each additional person.

The state health department, which oversees the program, said Wednesday that getting people food assistance has been their main focus for the last two weeks.

Jasmine Davis contributed to this report.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

About three dozen protesters rallied in front of Republican Sen. John Cornyn's Houston office Thursday, chanting and holding signs asking Congress to pass legislation protecting young immigrants who are here illegally.

"Undocumented, unafraid," they yelled.

Francisco Martinez, 26, wore a cap and gown to illustrate that many so-called "Dreamers," as they are known after failed legislation of the same name, are students and professionals who contribute greatly to American society.

"We're not here as bad people," Martinez said. "We came here to study, to work, to provide."

Now Playing: October 5th is the deadline for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients for renewing their DACA and employment authorization documents. Robert Painter with American Gateways has the details. Video: Fox7

He came here from Mexico when he was 10, and the temporary work permit he received in 2012 under a program launched by former President Barack Obama allowed him to get a driver's license, buy a car, go to university and have a professional job.

"Everything just changed," he said.

President Donald Trump has rescinded the program, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, with a gradual phase-out starting Friday. He has pushed Congress to pass a legislative solution by March, or some 800,000 young immigrants with the permits would no longer be able to work and be subject to deportation.

Martinez said the permit allowed him to start working with CBRE, the world's largest commercial real estate company, where he makes about $3,500 a month. The company is helping him obtain his building engineer qualification. His salary, far more than if he was working without documents, has allowed him to support his mother, who is here illegally and a cook at a restaurant.

He pays taxes and has saved enough money to last year buy a $160,000 house just north of downtown. His wife, an American citizen, stays home to look after their 1-year-old daughter. The administration's decision to end the program was "just heartbreaking," he said.

"I felt like I was doing everything right and now everything is so uncertain," he said.

Oscar Hernandez, an organizer with Houston's chapter of United We Dream, the country's largest immigrant youth organization, said protests were nationwide Thursday and expected to ramp up in the coming weeks.

"We want to make sure that this isn't the end of DACA, but this is the start of our fight for the Dream Act," he said. "The administration's attempt to scare our community hasn't worked. More people are willing to fight."

Rev. Philip Wilhite, a pastor at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Conroe, said he came down here with about 15 other parish members to show their support for legislation protecting young immigrants. About 60 percent of his congregation is Hispanic, and includes many with DACA permits.

"They've come over innocently," he said. "I've seen the differences they make in this country."
Sometimes you need a local to answer some of the most burning questions about Houston.

Chron.com recently noticed that Google's search feature was full of strange questions about the city of Houston, its climate, cuisine, people, and hatred for Dallas.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Houston hosts hundreds of massage parlors described in sleazy online sex forums like RubMaps.com that generate about $107 million in illicit revenues each year, according to a new study by Vanessa Bouche, a Texas Christian University political science professor and human trafficking expert.

Erotic pseudo spas both here and in other U.S. cities often serve as fronts for sophisticated multinational human trafficking rings that import and exploit mostly Asian victims, often from China or Thailand, according to U.S. State Department reports, federal court cases and other studies.

Houston has long been considered a hub for human trafficking - a form of human slavery - and Bouche's study, which employs a unique method to gauge the economic power of the growing network of rogue businesses, underscores how lucrative fake massage parlors can be.

Bouche mined internet sex forum reviews to identify 207 Houston-area massage parlors that appeared to be both illicit and blatantly open for erotic business. She then picked 32 massage parlors to study in-depth, placing hidden cameras on public streets near entrances and collecting 24-hour surveillance videos in December 2015.

Based on reviews of that sample, she estimates that 2,869 men per day visit illicit massage parlors across Houston for sexual services that ranged in cost from $50 to $100. Most of the so-called illicit massage parlors - IMPs - are in suburban strip malls and were busiest between noon and 4 p.m.

"Men are visiting these places for services on their lunch hour," Bouche said.

Tips? Reach the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888

The study underscores that these businesses are common, lucrative and incredibly easy to detect, and yet spa operators have been very difficult to stop even in Houston, where state and federal authorities have active anti-human trafficking task forces and use civil lawsuits to sue landlords and criminal front companies.

For more than a decade, Houston-based state and federal agents have busted large multinational rings that kidnapped and sold Mexican and Central American women and teens out of cantinas near the Port of Houston. They also have successfully gone after U.S. traffickers who used online advertising and Backpage.com to lure American teenagers into prostitution and then sold them to strangers.

Related: Notorious brothel madam gets life in sex-trafficking case

But locally and nationwide, federal prosecutors have made only a handful of criminal cases against the owners of erotic massage parlors who prey on mostly Asian immigrant victims, said Bouche, who also maintains a database of human trafficking prosecutions.

'An interesting puzzle'

Last year, federal prosecutors in Minnesota made a case against Thai sex traffickers tied to spa operations in multiple U.S. cities, including Dallas and Houston.

"One of the reasons it does pose an interesting puzzle is you have a city that has done a lot to oppose sex trafficking, but less has been done in this particular sector," she said.

JoAnne Musick, chief of sex crimes for the Harris County District Attorney's Office said her unit continues to try to coordinate with the county attorney and others to tackle the massive massage parlor problem.

"We routinely work with police to build cases and prosecute the workers, buyers, managers and owners who are part of the illicit massage business," Musick said. "Based on the sheer number of operations, this is a tremendous battle."

In December 2015, the Houston city council approved a tough massage parlor ordinance to allow police better access to inspect facilities. In the aftermath, officers targeted several rogue operations, including PH Spa that was open seven days a week and where officers found lingerie, condoms and erotic posters as well as bedrooms.

Related: City strengthens law to crack down on illicit massage businesses

Under the new law, uniformed officers can inspect, either with the owner's permission or a warrant, any facility that advertises massage services, in addition to state licensed massage parlors.

Yet many illicit spas operate in unincorporated Harris County beyond the reach of that ordinance, The new study shows.

The TCU research reveals illicit massage parlor clusters in the International District in southwest Houston, in the Galleria area, in Katy and along F.M. 1960 in northwest Houston. The report was coauthored by TCU's Sean Crotty, an expert in urban economic geography.

In the last two years, Assistant County Attorney Celena Vinson has filed 24 civil lawsuits to try to shut down and evict massage businesses that appear to harbor human trafficking by using laws designed against "public nuisances."

Related: Crackdown forces closures of illicit massage parlors, spas

But even when she wins, Vinson said her goal is not to rescue victims or even to prosecute owners but rather to get landlords to evict illicit massage businesses by presenting information about illegal activity that often must be gathered through time-consuming undercover police work and repeated prostitution stings. Unfortunately, the same rogue operations tend to pop up in another location or reopen under another name. Vinson said she will use the new research as a tool to continue that fight.

Mattresses a clue

Vinson urges citizens to report illicit massage parlors. Unlike legitimate massage studios, the so-called IMPs sometimes simply refuse women customers. Entrances often have odd security doors or barriers that block the view to massage rooms. Employees often appear to live on-site - mattresses, refrigerators, suitcases and cooking facilities are commonly seen by inspectors.

"No legitimate (massage) business should have a mattress," she said.

Vinson and criminal prosecutors say it's often difficult to determine true owners of rogue massage businesses she attempts to target through civil actions. Many have registered business names that lead only to shell companies with post office boxes for addresses.

Ringleaders have proven particularly difficult to prosecute, according to a review of dozens of Texas and federal trafficking cases. When arrests are made, it's typically women who are arrested for prostitution, Vinson said.

"In those cases, arguably you are arresting the victims," she said.

Some of the latest massage parlor-related arrests came at a Cypress massage parlor called LL Spa on Huffmeister Road on July 24. Two women were arrested for prostitution; at the time, officials said they found no evidence of human trafficking.

But gathering that evidence isn't easy. Victims often are extremely reluctant to testify against their handlers, said Dottie Laster, a longtime anti-trafficking activist who has rescued Asian immigrant victims exploited in massage parlors in Houston and elsewhere.

Related: Human Trafficking reports on the rise

Bad reviews can hurt

Victims often are brought here by their traffickers who often hold them captive, threaten or beat them and force them to work without pay or as prostitutes to pay off immigration debts.

Yet customers who comment on massage parlors online seem to assume victims are willing prostitutes. One of the most popular Houston illicit massage parlor sites in Bouche's study had more than 100 online forum reviews. Posters don't realize that negative reviews they post about women's body parts or indifferent attitudes could produce beatings from handlers, Laster said.

"If she gets a negative rating some punishment most likely will occur," Laster said.




A woman in Abilene will serve life in prison after she was found guilty of murdering her newborn.

Amber Craker was found guilty of capital murder and tampering with evidence on Thursday, reports news station KRBC.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

A Texas bar is demanding Buzzfeed take down a photo that features the wateringhole's logo behind a white nationalist.

Milo Yiannopoulos, a former editor at large for Breitbart, is the feature of a Buzzfeed article detailing how the alt-right fixture pushed Nazis and racists into mainstream America. The article also features a photo of Yiannopoulos singing karaoke at One Nostalgia Tavern in Dallas, which has caught the ire of the karaoke bar.

FIRED: Vice staff writer out after email to Milo Yiannopoulos calls NYT columnist Lindy West a 'fat feminist'

"Friends of one Nostalgia! Please know that I, Amiti, am working diligently to get this vile picture of the scumbag in front of our logo and on our stage taked off of #buzzfeed's article," the bar wrote in a Thursday Facebook post. "Those of you who know me, know that I took the microphone out of his hand and promptly kicked them out of the bar. They do not represent us and should not be associated with our bar in any way. If there's any way you can assist, please do! #notwiththem #takethispicturedownnow."

According to Buzzfeed, Yiannopoulos sang "America the Beautiful" at One Nostalgia Tavern on April 2, 2016 "in front of a crowd of 'sieg heil'-ing admirers, including Richard Spencer."

One Nostalgia Tavern owner Kent Smith said he had no idea who Yiannopoulos and Spencer were. He told Chron.com that the crowd was kicked out as soon as they started raising their hands.

"We don't want to have any connection with them. The photo looks like we invited them in, which we didn't," Smith said. "If I knew who Richard Spencer was, I would have kicked him out immediately."

Inquiries to Buzzfeed from Chron.com were not returned on Friday.

ALT-RIGHT BOOKS: Texas assistant principal reassigned after writing alt-right kids' book

Amiti Perry told the Dallas Observer that Yiannopoulos, Spencer and other white nationalists came into the bar around 1 a.m. that night. She said she had no idea who they were and they were jovial.

At the end of the night, Yiannopoulos got on stage and sang a cappella.

"They started 'America the Beautiful,' and I looked at my co-workers and said, 'This is odd,'" Perry told the Dallas Observer. "Then all of the sudden, halfway through the song, I see, from behind the stage, about 15 arms go up in the salute."

INFILTRATING FACEBOOK: Steve Bannon reportedly tried to place a mole inside Facebook before joining Trump's campaign

That's when Perry said she lost it and kicked the group out, reportedly telling them, "You are not welcome here, at all." She said the group shouted "Trump, Trump, Trump" and "Make America White Again" before they were forced to leave.

Yiannopoulos told Buzzfeed in a statement that he didn't see his colleagues saluting due to his "severe myopia."

Perry told the Dallas Observer that the bar did not invite Yiannopoulos, Spencer and his group there.
The debate for sensible gun laws erupted this week after Sunday night's mass shooting in Las Vegas.

While it may be impossible to tell how many of the 59 individuals who died from automatic gunfire would have been spared by stricter regulations, when tracking gun violence on a mass scale, the data is clear: more guns means more deaths.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Six years before her son was arrested in connection to a string of bank robberies in San Antonio, Lorena Larios Smith was shot to death in a North Side parking lot as she chatted with a date she had met online.

The 46-year-old immigrant from Mexico who had worked her way out of poverty in the U.S. was sitting in a car in front of Club Rio, at U.S. 281 and Bitters, around 3:30 a.m. on May 28, 2011 when a gunman demanded she and her date get out of the car. When she refused he opened fire, police said.

A bullet went through the left side of Smith's neck. When first responders found her the dress she was wearing was covered in blood. She was pronounced dead an hour later.

RELATED: Teen found shot to death in East Side street was mourning mother, trying to earn GED

Now Playing: Lorena Mendoza Smith, 46, was talking with a friend on May 28, 2011 in the parking lot of Club Rio and Hooters near U.S. 281 and Bitters Road when someone apparently drove up near her vehicle and shot her. Video: San Antonio Express-News

The gunman was never identified.

Just hours before Smith was killed, Bexar County Sheriff's Sgt. Kenneth Vann was gunned down at a red light, prompting a massive law enforcement hunt for the killer that resulted in an arrest a week later. Smith's family members believe the unfortunate timing of the two shootings may be to blame for the case going cold. Smith's son, Dorian Larios Degage, now 28, told MySA a month after the slaying that one of the family's greatest fears was that the case would go unsolved.

"There's going to be another family where a kid loses a mother," Degage said. "For it to be forgotten and become a cold case is something that none of us want."

Degage's family also believes that night set into motion a series of events that led to his most recent troubles.

He was arrested last month in connection to a string of at least four bank robberies dating back to May. Friends and family say a downhill slide after his mother's death and recent spiraling drug addiction preceded the crimes he is accused of.

"This is very far out of left field for someone like Dorian. But addiction will dissolve your integrity," said Wade Fry, a friend and former bandmate of Degage's.

RELATED: Tay-K 47, who rapped about life on the lam, charged in fatal shooting at San Antonio Chick-fil-A

According to friends and family, Degage's addiction began with a motorcycle accident on Feb. 25, 2013, one day before he and Fry were to go see the psych-rock band Tame Impala, a major influence on their own band, American Dream, at the time. Degage, whom Fry, 27, labeled an "auditory and visual genius" with rare musical talent, was hospitalized with a broken leg and prescribed pain killers. When he ran out of those, he looked for relief elsewhere.

"He couldn't find the good clean stuff that comes from the pharmacies so he proceeded to find it on the streets," Fry said. "It tapped out a lot of his finances. I guess just to soothe his pains."

Maria Romisch, 50, is Degage's aunt, took on a motherly role in his life after his biological mom was killed.

"He got involved with drugs and people who do drugs," she said. "Drugs and crime work together."

RELATED: Man accused in sex assault near UTSA ran nightlife entertainment business

The San Antonio Police Department's Robbery Task Force Unit began tracking the robberies attributed to Degage after a May 10 heist at a Lone Star National Bank. It wasn't until late August that police obtained credible information naming him as a suspect in the Lone Star robbery and two other similar ones around San Antonio, according to an arrest affidavit.

According to police, Degage's modus operandi was to pass notes demanding money to bank tellers and then flee after receiving the cash.

"Burglary $2,000 in 100's and 50's," read one such note, according to his arrest affidavit.

On Aug. 23, detectives found Degage at an apartment complex in the 1500 block of Thousand Oaks and arrested him without incident.

RELATED: Suspect allegedly killed teen brother with shotgun, then mourned his death on Facebook

Romisch said at least one robbery, the one where Degage demanded $2,000, could be explained by his desperation after a drug dealer threatened to kill Degage's white German Shepherd if he didn't pay off a $2,000 debt.

Others, Romisch and Fry said, could've been motivated by the primal need for another fix.

"Opiate addiction is such a momentous epidemic, and I'm about to lose one of my best friends because of it," said Fry. "If he had never been in that accident or tried an opiate, I doubt he would be there right now."

Romisch said Degage should be held responsible for his alleged actions, but after his mother's murder, "everybody went down the hill."

"Everybody carried that pain in some way," she said. "Dorian in one way. Dillon (his younger brother) in another way. We all went through that."

According to MySA archives, Degage and his brother inherited Smith's house, a $200,000 home in Shavano Park that Smith had designed and built herself. The house was a symbol of everything the single-mother and immigrant had worked for. She had come to the U.S. with little money and education. During the first years in San Antonio, Smith could rely on her husband for support, but when he stopped working, he made Smith work as a dancer at strip clubs across the city, relatives said.

RELATED: Teen driver who allegedly ran over skateboarder was out on bond for shooting, car burglary charges

She later divorced her husband, but continued to dance at clubs for years, single-handedly providing for her two boys, and after about a decade she had almost paid off the mortgage on her home and put herself through nursing school.

Then she was killed.

"That is the ironic thing," Degage said after the shooting. "She always wanted to search for that American dream. Wanted to show her parents she was independent, that she could succeed in this country."

The boys later sold the home, and Degage blew through his share of the money, Romisch said.

Like his mother, Degage had "huge dreams," Fry said. If convicted, those dreams could be killed just like his mother's were in that North Side parking lot six years ago.

Robberies are considered second-class felonies in Texas, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Should prosecutors pursue punishment in all four cases, Degage could face up to 80 years in prison.

"My sister was a strong character," Romisch said. "Dorian got into it with her, but they loved each other. They had that special bond. But after she was killed, he got lost."

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns
AUSTIN -- Attorney General Ken Paxton was all over the news this week, not for work his office is doing but for developments in his securities fraud trial.

A judge pushed back his trial date to 2018 and a Dallas-area district attorney is now digging through his legal defense fund, raising the specter that more charges could be coming.

Here's what you need to know to get caught up:

What's the deal with this additional investigation?

Because Paxton can't tap his campaign coffers to cover his legal bills, he began raising money from wealthy friends and family, who often gave five-figure checks. In the last two years, he raised $546,700, according to campaign finance records.

The criminal district attorney of Kaufman County, which is southeast of Dallas, is looking into one of those donations, a $100,000 "gift" given by the CEO of a company that was under investigation by the a attorney general's office at the time. Paxton's spokesman said the two are personal friends.

Is that legal?

That's what the DA is looking into. Even ethics experts were torn about the legality of the donation at the time. Under an exemption in the state's bribery law, Paxton can accept "a gift or other benefit conferred on account of kinship or a personal, professional, or business relationship independent of the official status of the recipient."

Internal rules in the attorney general's office say agency employees "shall never" take gifts from an entity "the employee knows is being investigated" by the office.

What's the deal with this donor and his company?

In 2015, businessman James Webb gave Paxton a $100,000 check. Webb is the founder of Preferred Imaging, a company that was under investigation at the time by the attorney general's office and the U.S. Department of Justice on allegations of Medicaid fraud.

The attorney general's Texas Civil Medicaid Fraud Division and the DOJ in June of 2016 co-signed a $3.5 million settlement of a whistleblower lawsuit accusing the company of violating Medicaid billing rules.

Although the settlement was made on Paxton's watch, the attorney general's office said at the time that Paxton had nothing to with the case. They said the feds took the lead on the case, and the attorney general's office did none of the investigation.

What happens next?

The district attorney in Kaufman County, Erleigh Norville Wiley, is expected to reveal in the next several weeks whether they have a case.

What was Paxton originally charged with, again?

Paxton, a tea party favorite who climbed his way up from a state Rep to the attorney general, was indicted in July of 2015 and charged with three criminal felonies: two for securities fraud and one for failing to register with the state as an investment adviser. If found guilty, he could face up to 99 years in prison and thousands of dollars in fines.

He also faced mirroring civil complaints by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. A federal judge tossed those charges not once, but twice.

Paxton was supposed to go to trial on that registration charge on Dec. 11. That was until the judge issued a continuance in the case -- meaning the trial is now delayed, likely until March.

Why delay the criminal trial?

The special prosecutors, who were appointed to build a case against Paxton, wanted the trial put off for two reasons:

1) Because they haven't been paid for about 18 months of work. The three special prosecutors are fighting with the Collin County Commissioner's Court over its refusal to pay them for about $200,000 worth of billed hours working on this case.

That's now on appeal before the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals, the state's highest criminal court. The court indicated it is interested in the case, but has yet to decide whether it will make a ruling or let the lower court's decision not to pay the special prosecutors stand.

2) Hurricane Harvey has wreaked havoc on the Harris County court system. The storm caused enough damage to close the 20-story criminal justice center -- the hub for criminal cases -- for up to a year. Judges are now doubling up in other courtrooms, caseloads are piling up and lots of cases and trials are being delayed while the court system tries to get dockets back on track.

Which of those reasons did the judge agree with?

We don't know. Jude Robert Johnson wouldn't say.

Wait, what happens is the special prosecutors aren't paid?

One of the special prosecutors said they would withdraw from the case, meaning new attorneys or district attorneys would be appointed to take up the case -- which means Paxton's legal saga could be stretched out even longer.

Isn't Paxton up for reelection?

Yes -- he plans to run for reelection in 2018. He has no formidable challenger, yet.

His wife, Angela, is also running for office. This is her first time running, and she's taking on Phillip Huffines, chairman of the Dallas County GOP, for the District 8 Senate seat vacated by Sen. Van Taylor, who is giving it up to run for Congress.

Andrea Zelinski covers politics for the Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook. Send her tips at andrea.zelinski@chron.com.
A group of diverse but like-minded individuals, the members of ARC have come together in their common desire to fight hatred, bigotry, intolerance and violence because of the harm these antisocial behaviors cause to our society. In that effort, we will not use or sanction the use of illegal actions (such as violence or intimidation) in pursuit of our desired aims and if we learn of anyone who does use these unethical methods we will report those individuals to the authorities. Instead, we will use the guarantees found in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that ensure freedom of legal speech and expression.
We attempted to send a notification to your email address but we were unable to verify that you provided a valid email address. Please click here to update your email address if you wish to receive notifications. Otherwise, you may click here to disable notifications and hide this message.
Copiii cu nevoi speciale din Stefan Voda au conditii de reabilitare mai bune, datorita UE si Fundatiei Soros Moldova
Our struggle is to bring social, political, and economic justice to our nation. This is an effort of the Chicano/Mexican American Digital History Project. https://sites.google.com/site/chicanodigital/
Disorderly conduct, Front Street: A North Olmsted woman, 43, was arrested at about 1 a.m. Sept. 30 after she caused a commotion at Grindstone Tap House, 826 Front.

Bar workers called police and said the woman, who was intoxicated, refused to leave. When officers arrived, they noticed the woman was unsteady on her feet and smelled of alcohol. She said someone had stolen her wallet phone from a table in the bar. The woman's demeanor swung from calm and cooperative to loud and belligerent as she spoke to police.

Police interviewed people in the bar but no one knew anything about the wallet and phone. When officers relayed that information to the woman, she became furious. Officers ordered her several times to calm down. They offered to log into her cell phone account on their cruiser computer and attempt to locate the phone using tracking software. However, police were unable to access her account, due to an incorrect user name or password she provided.

Officers then asked the woman to contact someone for a ride home. She gave police a relative's phone number, but the relative's voicemail was full and unable to take additional messages. The woman's bursts of anger continued and she threatened to harm herself. Police called paramedics, who took the woman to a local hospital, even though she later denied wanting to harm herself.

Operating a vehicle under the influence, East Bagley Road: A Brook Park boy, 17, was arrested at about 1 a.m. Oct. 1 after he nearly hit two pedestrians with his Ford Focus.

Police saw the Focus weaving on northbound Prospect Road and again on eastbound East Bagley. As the car approached Baldwin Wallace University, four pedestrians started to cross East Bagley in a crosswalk. The Focus almost hit the first two pedestrians, who made it across the street. The other two pedestrians waited for the car to pass before crossing.

Police stopped the Focus, and the boy failed field sobriety tests. Officers found a mason jar containing marijuana and a digital scale in the car's trunk.

Animal bites, North Rocky River Drive: A dog bit a mail carrier at about 1 p.m. Sept. 30 on North Rocky River.

The mail carrier said she was placing mail in a mailbox when the dog ran from the side of a house and bit her on the right ankle. The dog was on a leash. The mail carrier went to Southwest General Health Center in Middleburg Heights for treatment.

Police visited the house with the dog but no one answered the door. They turned the case over to the city's animal control officer.

Theft, Daisy Avenue: Cash totaling $460 was reported stolen at about 6 p.m. Sept. 29 from a house. The money had been hidden in a dresser drawer. The victims suspect a contractor who had worked alone in the house, but the contractor denied involvement.

Operating a vehicle under the influence, Prospect Road: An Olmsted Falls man, 32, was arrested at about 11:55 p.m. Sept. 29 after police saw his GMC Acadia turn right from Front Street onto West Bagley Road without signaling.

The Acadia then turned left onto Mulberry Street, again without signaling. Police stopped the vehicle after it had turned onto Prospect. The driver smelled like alcohol.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Thursday's crime and courts comments section.
Body found, Interstate 480-West 139th Street: Police found a Parma man, 43, deceased in his car after he crashed the vehicle into a median wall on 480 near West 139th Street.

It happened at about 2:30 a.m. Aug. 8. The car, with heavy front-end damage, ended up sideways in the right lane of 480 eastbound. Police said they waited several weeks to release the report because they were following up with the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner.

Drunkenness, Brookpark Road: A Cleveland man, 66, was arrested at about 4 p.m. Sept. 26 after police found him drunk and unable to care for himself outside Crazy Horse Saloon, 16600 Brookpark.

Someone called police because the man was urinating on the side of the building. When police arrived, the man was stumbling across the parking lot.

Animals at large, Middlebrook Boulevard: Two pit bulls attacked a German shepherd at about 5:15 p.m. Sept. 26 on Middlebrook.

The pit bulls snuck through a hole in a fence in their yard to attack the German shepherd next door. The German shepherd's owner, 17, tried to separate the dogs, and was bitten on his chin and arm. He did not go to the hospital. The German shepherd suffered bites and scrapes, and was taken to an animal hospital, but will recover.

The pit bulls were given back to their owner but the city's animal control officer is investigating.

Operating a vehicle under the influence, Rademaker Boulevard: A Brook Park man, 35, was arrested at about 8 p.m. Sept. 2 after police found him unconscious in his vehicle, which was stopped in the middle of the street.

The vehicle was in drive, the engine was running and the man had his foot on the brake. The man, upon waking, told police he was tired. He smelled like alcohol.

Burglary, Fayette Boulevard: A TV, video-game system, watches and a white powdery substance were stolen between Sept. 8-18 from a house when the victim was out of town. A door window was broken to gain entry.

Theft, Smith Road: Cash totaling $700 was stolen between 7-10:30 a.m. Sept. 21 from a locker in Planet Fitness, 5755 Smith. Someone cut the lock on the locker.

Operating a vehicle under the influence, Smith Road: A Rhode Island man, 42, was arrested at about 11:30 p.m. Sept. 21 after police saw him speeding on Smith. He was drunk.

If you'd like to comment on this story, visit Thursday's crime and courts comments section.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It wasn't the trips to the beach or the sand castles. Or the excursions to Niagara Falls. Or the sight-seeing jaunts to quaint towns and cities.

Seph Lawless remembers something very different about those family vacations he would go on as a child.

"I would look out the back window of my family's red Mercury station wagon as we drove through various parts of America," he says. "Each year, I would notice more and more abandoned structures along the way. The deserted houses, factories, churches and schools completely fascinated me. I found them to be eerily beautiful and similar to the ancient ruins of Greece."

America has long cherished the ruins of Greece; they remind us of the democratic values and a civilization this country was built upon.

American ruins are a different story... crumbling tombstones to some more prosperous time, when the Midwest was the engine in the economic powerhouse and there was a vibrant working-class and the country made stuff.

Few have managed to divine the haunting melancholy and eerie beauty of America's ruins like Lawless.

The Cleveland photographer -- who has just released "Abandoned: Hauntingly Beautiful Deserted Theme Parks" (Skyhorse Publishing; 216 pages; hardcover; $30) -- has criss-crossed the country in search of landscapes littered with faded reminders of a glorious past. He has snuck into shuttered factories, jumped fences and crawled through windows and walls like some post-industrial Huckleberry Finn looking for thrills.

(At 2 p.m. Saturday, Lawless will appear at a launch party for "Abandoned: Hauntingly Beautiful Deserted Theme Parks" at Barnes & Noble Booksellers Crocker Park, 198 Crocker Park Blvd, in Westlake.)

His photos are the reward.

Seph Lawless - a pseudonym that started as a social media handle - has become the darling in a new wave of urban explorers documenting the end of an era. His 2014 book, "Black Friday: The Collapse of the American Shopping Mall," earned him an international profile for its unvarnished yet alluring look at abandoned, dying shopping malls.

It landed him appearances on FOX News, CNN and ABC News and NBC and critical acclaim in the Guardian, Slate and Huffington Post because it tapped into a broader cultural angst about a variety of conflicting forces: technology, industry, politics, globalism and the gutting of the working class.

"I had no idea what was happening - suddenly everything just started taking off," says Lawless, in his chic but minimalist West Side apartment that doubles as a studio. "In 2014, my first European exhibition 'Autopsy of America' opened in Munich, Germany and I remember being flown in to speak on opening night not thinking anyone would be there."

He was shocked when he was greeted by 400 people - and that a kid from Cleveland who started posting photos on Instagram of the disappearing Midwest could connect with people an ocean away.

And, perhaps, more than that: They were connecting with him.

Wasn't supposed to be a photographer

"I've never thought of myself as a great photographer or that good technically," he says. "Honestly, for most of my life I never imagined that I was going to ever be one."

In any other previous era, his path would have been chosen for him.

The son and grandson of Ford factory workers, Lawless grew up in Olmsted Falls in the 1970s and '80s - "We were pretty middle-class, pretty average, back when a factory job could afford your family a good home."

Lawless belongs to the first generation of Americans that saw that celebrated piece of the American pie shrinking. The auto industry in the 1970s will be remembered for a number of turning points, all pointing toward demise. An oil crisis in 1973 caused by an OPEC embargo hurt sales of those big gas-sucking lugs that were almost all Made in America. American manufacturers stumbled badly in an attempt to make smaller cars, like the Vega, Gremlin, Maverick and Pacer. The Pinto hurt Ford's image when it was revealed - after a company cover-up - that the gas tank could blow up when hit from behind. By the end of the decade, Chrysler was begging the federal government for a bailout.

"If I would've been born a generation earlier I would've been a factory worker and probably leading a decent life," he says. "I ended up having to go to college."

"Having to" - because he never really wanted to attend Cuyahoga Community College in Parma.

"I liked sociology, but I was never that into school," says Lawless. "I would work odd jobs and then I met a guy who was doing a cleaning supply company..."

Lawless dropped out of Tri-C and started one himself, until selling it a decade ago.

"I did pretty well, but I wanted to start doing photography," he says. "And then Instagram came along."

American Ruins

The photo-sharing application's debut in 2010 provided a platform for Lawless' photos. It also inspired his name.

"I was just looking for a handle for social media and when my photos started taking off," he says. "I decided to keep it."

The rise of Instagram coincided with an increasing interest in what has come to be known as "ruins porn." A form of photography that focuses on urban decay, "ruins porn" has been derided by some art critics as being exploitative -- but there is no question that it speaks to our time, sociologically and aesthetically.

"There are three kind of people that enjoy what I do," says Lawless. "First, you have people that see it as a documentation of modern ruins, much like the ruins of Rome or Greece. Then you have people that like the creepy 'Walking Dead' zombie-like aspects. And then you have the people that see it as a commentary on the effects of globalism and the death of a country."

In May, Lawless saw the release of "Autopsy of America: Death of a Nation" (Carpet Bombing Culture; 200 pages; hardcover; $40), a photography book that appealed to the sociological part of the ruins equation.

"I really liked sociology, but the idea of going to school for years so I could teach it didn't make sense to me," says Lawless. "But in some ways, I've gone on to do sociology. I want my photos to stand on their own as art, but there's also a human story here, where these places that were once the centers of communities are crumbling, just like the communities themselves."

In the process, he has found struggling communities pitted against one another.

"I did a book about the North Wilkeboro Speedway, which was a NASCAR track for years that is rotting away in North Carolina," he says. "Most of my friends are liberals and they thought it was a joke and there was a lot of mocking of it because it was the south and it was NASCAR. And it upset me, because racing is a big part of these people's lives and I see don't see what I'm doing as comedy - because these are human stories."

While Lawless has gotten a first-hand glimpse at a country in decline, he has been more struck by the lack of a response to it.

"The media and politicians and a lot of people don't get how hard life has gotten for people in America," he adds. "I know all about the Midwest because I grew up here, but all around the south and in rural parts you see one abandoned place after another - yet sometimes I wonder if anyone even cares."

The path back to childhood

Lawless traveled a different path for "Abandoned." The book bounces from one left-for-dead amusement park to another, including two former area institutions - Geauga Lake and Chippewa Lake.

"After doing more serious stuff I wanted to do something a little easier, lighter," he says. "A lot of people are nostalgic for these places and the thought of them brings people joy and sadness."

Of course, the sadness comes from them being closed. There is also humor, however.

One of the parks - Prehistoric Forest, which operated in Onstead, Michigan - boasted a "Jurassic Park"-like theme.

During its heyday, a safari train would take kids past massive dinosaurs that roamed a forest -- well, actually they just stood there, looking menacing - until it went extinct in 2002 after a 39-year run.

Most of them are still standing. One, laying face-down, appears to be playing dead.

"I went to these places mostly by myself," says Lawless. "And I'd wonder what it must've been like coming here as a kid."

As a kid, before he became Seph Lawless, he often went to amusement parks on family vacations.

But what he remembered more than the destinations were the roads taken in getting there - and those dinosaurs of 20th century industry fading and crumbling into the American past.

"They caught my eye as a kid, but I never thought that someday I'd be taking photos of these things," he says. "My life was supposed to be a straight line, where I would work in the Ford factory like my dad and grandfather."

Ah, but those were different times -- and no line is straight anymore.

PREVIEW

"Abandoned: Hauntingly Beautiful Deserted Theme Parks"

What: A book launch party featuring Seph Lawless.

When: 2 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Barnes & Noble Booksellers Crocker Park, 198 Crocker Park Blvd, in Westlake.

Admission: Free.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Now that the nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2018 have been announced, fans can spend the next two months debating who should get inducted.

You could make a case for any of the 19 acts on this year's ballot. But only a third of them (if that many) will be honored at the annual Induction Ceremony held on April 14 at Cleveland's Public Auditorium.

Predicting whom the 900 or so voters will choose is never an easy thing. But there are recent trends that hint at what the Class of 2018 might look like. Here's who we think will have their name called, in order of how sure we are about them:

Radiohead

Newly eligible, first-time nominees have had a nice run in recent years. Green Day, Pearl Jam, Tupac and Nirvana all earned induction on their first try. Radiohead's resume holds up with any of those artists. They are the last important rock band and this is a no-brainer.

The Moody Blues

After topping lists of top Rock & Roll Hall of Fame snubs for years, you have to assume The Moody Blues are a sure bet to get in on their (long overdue) first nomination. It was never a matter of if voters would put a check mark next to the band's name, but when they would get the chance.

Nina Simone

There are those who will argue that Simone isn't rock and roll. Whatever. She's one of the most important artists of all time whose long wait for a nomination and potential induction fall in line with those of Joan Baez, Bill Withers, Linda Rondstadt, and Bobby Womack. Simone is a surprise nominee, but a pleasant one.

The Eurythmics

The Rock Hall hasn't always been kind to acts that have an electronic sound (Just ask Kraftwerk). But the lack of women being nominated and inducted over the years will help The Eurythmics stand out. Annie Lennox is a true star and David A. Stewart is one of the most respected songwriters and producers of his time. They fit all the criteria to suggest sweet dreams are made of this.

Bon Jovi

Not much has changed with Bon Jovi, in terms of its resume, since the band was nominated for the Rock Hall in 2011. But the induction process has to some extent. Chicago, Steve Miller, Deep Purple, ELO, Journey, Yes and Cheap Trick have all been inducted in recent years. Clearly the voters have put an emphasis on popular classic rock acts. I also expect Bon Jovi to run away with the Fan Vote, which has been the best indicator of eventual induction we have.

Dire Straits



This final spot is an interesting one. In some ways, Rage Against the Machine feels like an obvious choice. Dig deeper, and maybe not. It's rare that we get two first-ballot Hall of Famers. It happened last year. But before that you have to go back to 2005 (U2, The Pretenders). Clearly, Radiohead is this year's Pearl Jam. Is Rage as solid a bet as 2pac? Meh. If Rage falls more in line with Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers or even Nine Inch Nails (which seems likely), they'll have to wait a few years.

That leaves an opening for another classic rock act. Sorry Judas Priest fans, the Rock Hall voters don't like metal all that much. And while Depeche Mode and The Cars have better resumes, the voters will be excited to finally have a chance to honor Mark Knopfler (like they were with Steve Miller). So Dire Straits it is.

MORE ON THIS YEAR'S ROCK HALL NOMINEES
Tropical Storm Nate has killed at least 22 people in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras before it moves north towards the US, BBC News reports.

October 6, 2017, 10:19 Storm Nate kills at least 22 in Costa Rica, Nicaragua

STEPANAKERT, OCTOBER 6, ARTSAKHPRESS: A state of emergency has been declared in the Central American nations, where more than 20 people are missing.

It has caused heavy rains, landslides and floods which are blocking roads, destroying bridges and damaging houses.

In Costa Rica, nearly 400,000 people are without running water and thousands are sleeping in shelters.

At least eight people have died in the storm there, while another 11 were killed when it moved north and reached Nicaragua, where as much as 15ins (38cm) of rain had been predicted to fall by the US's National Hurricane Center.

Three people have been killed in Honduras, including two youths who drowned in a river, and several are reported missing.

One man was also reportedly killed in a mudslide in El Salvador, according to emergency services.

In Costa Rica, all train journeys were suspended and dozens of flights cancelled on Thursday.More than a dozen national parks popular with tourists have been closed as a precaution.

The storm also caused extensive damage to infrastructure in Nicaragua.

Nate was expected to move off the eastern coast of Honduras at 23:00 ET (03:00 GMT) on Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Forecasters say the storm will gain strength and become a category 1 hurricane before it makes landfall on the southern coast of the United States on Sunday.

Residents from Florida to Texas have been told to prepare for the storm, which, if it does strike, will be the third major storm to hit the southern coast his year.

Both Texas and Florida are still recovering from the damage inflicted by Hurricane Harvey, which hit the former in August and caused "unprecedented damage", and Hurricane Irma, which made landfall in Florida in September.

Oil companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico says they are evacuating staff from platforms which lie along the predicted path of the storm.
YERIMA, THE WIDOW of famous New Guinea explorer Jim Taylor, has died in the Goroka. She was 79.

Jim Taylor (1901-87) was most noted for leading patrols into the Highlands in the 1930s: in particular the 1933 patrol in the Wahgi Valley with Dan and Mick Leahy and surveyor Ken Spinks and for the Hagen-Sepik patrol with John Black in 1938-39.

After World War II, in which he reached the rank of Major with Australian New Guinea Administrative Unit (ANGAU), Taylor married Yerima and settled at Goroka where he became a prominent coffee grower.

Yerima had two daughters and an adopted son. Her daughter, Dame Meg Taylor was an adviser to Michael Somare in his early days as prime minister and later Ambassador to the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Dame Meg, now a senior officer with the World Bank in Washington, flew back to PNG for the funeral.

Peter Johnson remembers Yerima as perhaps the first woman in the Highlands to drive a vehicle. She drove a Landrover at speed, he recalls.

Source: Explorers wife dies by Noel Pascoe, Post-Courier. Spotters: Peter Johnson, David Wall. Photo: Meg Taylor
The House of Representatives approved a $4.1 trillion spending plan Thursday that will serve as a vehicle for advancing tax reform in Congress.

The budget passed by a 219-206 vote. No Democrats supported the resolution, which would boost military spending, slash funding for Medicaid and other social programs and repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Eighteen Republicans voted against the budget. Two New York congressmen, U.S. Reps. John Katko and Peter King, opposed the multi-trillion dollar spending plan.

Katko, R-Camillus, released a statement to explain his vote. He thought the budget "came up short" for his district.

"This proposal claims entitlement savings by making billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid and other programs, but it effectively shifts this burden to the states and fails to address the underlying causes of rising costs," he said. "New York taxpayers simply cannot afford another unfunded mandate."

Most New York Republicans supported the House GOP budget plan. U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney voted for the resolution. She said it would help reduce the national debt, cut spending and spur economic growth.

Tenney, R-New Hartford, also touted reforms to Medicaid and Medicare. She said Medicaid was "on an unsustainable path."

"Within the next 10 years, our budget will balance and our deficit will be reduced by $6.5 trillion," she said. "To ensure a strong national defense, the primary role of the federal government, the budget increases defense spending, giving our troops the resources necessary to successfully complete their missions."

After the vote, the White House issued a statement praising the House for passing the budget resolution.

The comments from the White House acknowledged the real reason for the measure: to advance the Republicans' tax reform plan.

With GOP control of Congress and the White House, leaders are optimistic that tax reform can be achieved. A framework for tax reform has been released, but specifics are lacking.

The Middle-Class Growth Initiative, a project of the GOP-aligned American Action Network, hailed the passage of the budget resolution as the "first step to making comprehensive tax reform ... a reality."

"We urge Congress to keep pushing forward," said Michael Steel, spokesman for the initiative. "Middle-class families have waited decades for an overhaul of our broken tax code, and they can't afford to wait any longer."

Here is how New York's House delegation voted on the GOP budget:

YES (7)

Rep. Chris Collins (R), Rep. Dan Donovan (R), Rep. John Faso (R), Rep. Tom Reed (R), Rep. Elise Stefanik (R), Rep. Claudia Tenney (R), Rep. Lee Zeldin (R)

NO (20)

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D), Rep. Joseph Crowley (D), Rep. Eliot Engel (D), Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D), Rep. Brian Higgins (D), Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D), Rep. John Katko (R), Rep. Peter King (R), Rep. Nita Lowey (D), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D), Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D), Rep. Gregory Meeks (D), Rep. Grace Meng (D), Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D), Rep. Kathleen Rice (D), Rep. Jose Serrano (D), Rep. Louise Slaughter (D), Rep. Tom Suozzi (D), Rep. Paul Tonko (D), Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D)
Your digital subscription includes access to all content on our agricultural websites across the nation. Access unlimited content and the digital versions of our print editions - This Week's Paper.
If the election were held today, a majority of New York voters would give Gov. Andrew Cuomo a third term.

The latest Siena College poll released Thursday found 52 percent of voters support Cuomo, a Democrat, for re-election. Nearly two-thirds of Democrats and 31 percent of GOP voters would support him.

Cuomo's favorability is now 57 percent, up from 56 percent in September and 52 percent three months ago. His job approval marks are mixed. While 48 percent give him an "excellent or "good" rating, 50 percent say he's doing a "fair" or "poor" job as governor.

Siena pollster Steve Greenberg attributed his improved job approval rating to better marks among Democratic and independent voters.

The increase in support for his re-election comes from an unlikely source: Republicans. Last month, 46 percent of GOP voters said they "prefer someone else" in the gubernatorial race. This month, 34 percent said they would back a candidate other than Cuomo.

Greenberg said Cuomo's numbers are strong. He also acknowledged his campaign war chest. As of July, the governor had more than $25 million in the bank.

"However, we're 11 months from a potential Democratic primary and 13 months from the general election," Greenberg said. "That's a long, long time with the potential for many political, governmental, economic, social and other events  some within his control, many outside his control  to intervene and change the dynamic, maybe to his benefit, maybe to his detriment."

Siena will continue to monitor Cuomo's standing, Greenberg added. The polling institute hasn't asked voters for their opinions of Cuomo's potential challengers, including a handful of Republicans who are exploring gubernatorial bids.

The Republican bench includes Harry Wilson, a corporate restructuring expert who ran for state comptroller in 2010, and state Sen. John DeFrancisco, the number two Republican in the state Senate.

Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb and Dutchess County Executive Marc Molinaro are exploring runs for governor. Two former Cuomo foes, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino and Buffalo businessman Carl Paladino, have also expressed interest in the race.
CORNWALL, Ontario  The Cornwall Community Police Service would like to thank the public for their assistance in locating Jason Copp. Jason Copp, 22, of no fixed address was arrested on Oct. 5, 2017 on the strength of a warrant and charged with the following:

Dangerous operation of a motor vehicle

Assault with a weapon  peace officer

Mischief  danger to life  peace officer

Possession of property obtained by crime over $5000 (stolen vehicle)

Drive disqualified X8

Fail to stop at the scene of an accident

Breach of probation X5

Breach of a peace bond

Mischief over $5000 (damage to police cruiser)

Possession of a stolen credit card

It is alleged in the early morning hours of Oct. 4, 2017 the man was spotted operating a stolen vehicle in the area of Water Street and Bedford Street. The stolen vehicle was blocked in a driveway on Bedford Street at which time the cruiser was rammed by Copp. Copp then fled the scene on foot. The passenger of the vehicle Teressa Kaboni, 19 of Owen Sound was taken into custody on scene and charged with possession of property obtained by crime (stolen vehicle) and possession of a stolen credit card. A warrant was then obtained for the arrest of Copp. On Oct. 5, 2017 the man was located at a Bedford Street address, taken into custody on the strength of the warrant and held for a bail hearing.

WARRANT

CORNWALL, Ontario  Evan Jarvis, 24, was arrested on October 5th, 2017 on the strength of a warrant. It is alleged the man was wanted for fraud related charges and warrant was issued for his arrest. On October 5th, 2017 the man attended police headquarters to deal with the matter. He was taken into custody on the strength of the warrant and released to appear in court on November 21st, 2017.

CORNWALL, Ontario  Jeffrey Novick, 43, of Monkland was arrested on October 5th, 2017 on the strength of a warrant. It is alleged the man breached his undertaking and probation orders and a warrant was issued for his arrest. On October 5th, 2017 a member of the Cornwall Community Police Service assumed custody of the man from OPP as they had the man in custody on the strength of Cornwalls warrant. He was taken into custody and released to appear in court on November 21st, 2017.

CORNWALL, Ontario  Jason Major, 36, of Cornwall was arrested on October 5th, 2017 on the strength of a warrant. It is alleged the man failed to attend court on September 7th, 2017 for drug related charges and a warrant was issued for his arrest. On October 5th, 2017 the man was taken into custody on the strength of the warrant and released to appear in court on November 2nd, 2017.

BREACH

CORNWALL, Ontario  Rodney Helmer, 44, of Cornwall was arrested on October 5th, 2017 and charged with breach of recognizance for communicating with someone who has a criminal record. It is alleged the man was spotted by police in breach of his conditions on two occasions and an investigation ensued. On October 5th, 2017 the man was taken into custody, charged accordingly and released to appear in court on November 2nd, 2017.

IMPAIRED, OVER 80

CORNWALL, Ontario  Jocelyn Hudon, 57, of Gatineau was arrested on October 6th, 2017 and charged with impaired operation of a motor vehicle, over 80 and breach of recognizance for failing to keep the peace. It is alleged the man was operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in the area of Second Street and Brookdale Avenue in the early morning hours of October 6th, 2017. The man was taken into custody during a traffic stop, charged accordingly and held for a bail hearing.

CORNWALL, Ontario  Celeste Campeau, 20, of Glen Walter was arrested on October 6th, 2017 and charged with impaired operation of a motor vehicle and over 80.It is alleged the woman was operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol in the area of South Branch Road in the early morning hours of October 6th, 2017 when the vehicle left the road. Police were contacted and attended the area. The woman was taken into custody on scene, charged accordingly and released to appear in court on October 19th, 2017.
Every Friday, The Citizen features a pet available for adoption from the Finger Lakes SPCA of Central New York.

This week, we spotlight Candy.

Q: Who is your best friend?

A: Well, how about you? Seriously, my two siblings are my current BFFs. We have always been together, but I know that the time will come for us to be separated. That will make me so sad that I can't even bear to think about it. I think I'll have another treat  that will make me feel better!

Q: What has been your worst experience?

A: If you're talking about something really, really bad  it hasn't happened and I hope it never does. However, I do recall that one of my good shelter people set a trap for my mom and siblings and me so that we could be taken off the street and brought here to safety. That was kind of scary, but it's all good now. I have forgiven her for tricking me with that tasty tuna.

Q: If you could describe yourself, what would you say?

A: In a word, I am stunning. I mean, check out that picture. Am I not gorgeous? Well, besides that I am a playful kitten, I try really hard to keep my room in order. I am somewhat successful at that and I am very faithful about my litter box habits. I am one of the "meeters and greeters" for our visitors so I earn my keep and catnip. My name, Candy, describes me perfectly  sweet! Other than that, I am your all-round very special shelter kitten!

Q: If you could visit any place in the world, where would that be?

A: I would like to visit Japan! You may or may not be familiar with the maneki neko, or beckoning cat statues. In Japanese culture, these statues are often calico cats and are thought to be a symbol of good fortune. The statues are placed at the entrance of homes and businesses to welcome prosperity. The maneki neko goes all the way back to the 1870s, making this a very old belief and probably the reason for my calico popularity worldwide. We are very special cats.

Q: If you could meet someone famous, who would that be?

A: I would like to meet Willow, the lost calico cat! Perhaps you have heard of her. She became famous in 2011 when she was found in New York City, five years after disappearing from her Colorado home! We don't know how she got to the Big Apple, but she had been microchipped and that eventually led to her being reunited with her family. If Willow could talk, she would have a "tail to tell."

Q: Do you have an interesting fact to share?

A: This is a well-known fact but worth repeating here. Did you know that 99.9 percent of calico cats are females? This is true. I won't go into the X and Y chromosome thing but male calico cats are extraordinarily rare and when one is born, its prospects for nine lives are not good.

Q: Do you have any advice for our good Citizen readers?

A: I do! On Sunday, Oct. 15, my shelter people along with the very good people at the Auburn United Methodist Church will have a Blessing of the Animals ceremony. This is a lovely spiritual event and it celebrates the unconditional love that fur-friends give to their humans and the bond that exists between them. All creatures are welcome. Our canine friends must be leashed and all others must be in appropriate carriers. The blessing will take place at Hoopes Park at 3 p.m. I'm not sure if I will be there, but my shelter people are hoping to see many of you. Thank you and love, Candy and friends.
Area musician Irv Lyons Jr. has been nominated for a Native American Music Award in the Best Pop category for his newest album, "Doing it All."

A left-handed guitarist whose style is a cross between Santana, John Mayer and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lyons has released three albums and previously been nominated for the award, also known as the NAMMY. He has also been nominated for a Syracuse Area Music Award.

Lyons is also a member of the NAMMY-nominated group The Ripcords. Both frequently perform in the Auburn area. Lyons is also the former executive director of the Cayuga Community Health Network.

For more information, visit indigocny.com.
4 The Spacesuits In Alien Were Death Traps (And Ridley Scott Put His Children In Them)

The primary baddie in the movie Alien is generally recognized to be, well, the alien. We'd like to posit that it was in fact Ridley Scott. Buckle up folks. Every last one of you who wished you had a cool '70s/'80s movie director for a dad is about to do a total 180.

The stories of how Scott rigged the chestbursters and scared the bejeezus out of even his cast and crew are well-chronicled, but we seem to have collectively forgotten how his dedication led him to nearly bake his own children alive. See, Scott had been busting his tail to make one of the most glorious sci-fi horror films of all time, and he made absolutely sure that every scene in Alien was going to be goddamned worth it. That meant fighting a bunch of people over the inclusion of the creepy-ass Space Jockey exploration scene.

20th Century Fox

Continue Reading Below Advertisement

Though given its shape, they probably meant "Space Jockstrap."

The money people at Fox wanted to cut this scene, calling it a waste of time and not seeing the prequel money it was setting them up for. Scott needed the scene, so in order to get it, he built a smaller set and put a handful of kids, including his two boys Jake and Luke, in prop spacesuits. Spacesuits, we should mention, which were lined with nylon and not ventilated in the slightest. They were already filming in a heat wave, and the actors kept passing out. Similarly to outer space, they had to keep oxygen tanks on hand for the actors so they could be revived. Scott apparently saw that and thought, "You know what would be neat? If I put my children through that."
AUBURN  In 1915, many were sure that women would earn the right to vote in New York state. After losing a 1912 vote, suffragettes ramped up their image, wearing purple, white and gold to show their support. But as it turned out, there were still many women wearing black, white and pink  the colors of the anti-suffrage movement.

Cayuga Museum Curator Kirsten Wise said she was shocked to find a folder filled with anti-suffrage propaganda from Cayuga County last year. She was even more shocked to discover that many women actually took over the movement in the early 1900s.

Now, as New York prepares to celebrate the 100th anniversary of women winning the right to vote in November, the museum will explore both sides of suffrage in a new exhibit.

"We had always planned to do an exhibit (recognizing this anniversary), but ours is a little different because we found some anti-suffrage material in our collection," Wise said. "We didn't really realize that there was this huge organized movement of anti-suffragists ... so we're featuring both sides of the protest. I don't know if a lot of other places are doing that."

The exhibit is called "Woman's Protest: Two Sides of the Fight for Suffrage in New York." Wise said the title is actually a play on words as "Woman's Protest" was actually the name of a national anti-suffrage publication at the time  a publication that made its way to Cayuga County.

Wise said she came across information about an Auburn chapter of the New York State Anti-Suffrage Association. She also discovered that the leader of the association, Alice Chittenden, visited Auburn to give a speech.

"We did find a lot of evidence of anti-suffrage activity in the area," Wise said. "I found a newspaper clipping where 'Woman's Protest' had just hit the shelves and came to the area, so I know it was definitely local."

There is also evidence that some prominent figures in Auburn were against women's suffrage, Wise said. One of the biggest anti-suffragists the curator came across in the city was the Rev. Allen Dulles. According to Wise, Dulles was quoted in several newspaper articles from the 1910s, preaching that he did not think women should have the right to vote.

"One of his big arguments was that it would cost taxpayers a lot of money when you're adding more people to vote, so in order to hold the election it would be really expensive," she said.

Then there was Edward Sandford Martin, an Auburn native who wrote and published the book "The Unrest of Women" in 1913. He was also the first literary editor of Life Magazine.

"There were a lot of local men who were outspoken about the issue," Wise said. "I was hoping to find a really prominent women in Auburn who was an outspoken anti-suffragist, but we didn't find that. ... The men were doing a lot of talking for them here."

Still, Wise said the museum wants to be careful about how it portrays the anti-suffrage movement. She pointed out that many of the women who wore the black, white and rose were very similar to the women who donned the purple, white and gold  highly educated and involved in social movements.

"(Anti-suffragists) weren't terrible people and I don't want to paint them in a bad light," she said. "They just thought that the way to enfranchise women was to help them be better wives and mothers and that they didn't need to get their hands dirty in politics. ... It was just a very different time."

The museum will display materials from both movements in the exhibit, which will run from Friday, Oct. 13, through Saturday, Dec. 30. Wise said the museum worked with the Howland Stone Store Museum in Sherwood and a private collector out of Buffalo to gather posters and banners that were used locally 100 years ago.

In addition, the Cayuga Museum will host two lectures in the Carriage House Theater behind the museum. Wise said the museum received a grant from the Cayuga Community Fund to fund the lectures and the exhibit.

"These are really exciting objects for people who are really into women's suffrage history," she said. "They're really one-of-a-kind pieces."
Channel programs News

Moody's Cuts Sirius' Credit Rating Amid Fears That Proposed Forsythe Buy Will Be Financial Strain

Michael Novinson

Share this

Moody's Investors Service lowered Sirius Computer Solutions' credit rating from B1 to B2 out of concern that the planned purchase of Forsythe Technology will strain its financial flexibility.

The New York-based bond credit rating agency publicly disclosed that Sirius would pay $350 million to buy Forsythe, adding that the acquisition will be funded largely with debt. The ratings downgrade could, therefore, affect Sirius' ability to borrow money, with investors seeing the company as a riskier bet and demanding higher returns.

"Although the rating agency views the acquisition of Forsythe as strategically sound  execution risks and costs of integrating Forsythe will further strain the company's credit metrics over the next couple of years," Moody's wrote Tuesday in a rating action and credit opinion.

[Related: 10 Things You Need to Know About The Colossal Sirius-Forsythe Deal]

Skokie, Ill.-based Forsythe, No. 37 on the 2017 CRN Solution Provider 500, is expected to have $1.2 billion of sales in 2017, meaning that Sirius' purchase price was equivalent to 29 percent of current year revenue. In contrast, Office Depot agreed this week to acquire solution provider CompuCom for $1 billion, or 91 percent of the Charlotte, N.C.-based company's expected $1.1 billion in current year sales.

Sirius' adjusted debt rose to more than five times its EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation, and amortization) after being acquired by private equity giant Kelso & Co. in November 2015.

Moody's expected the debt-to-EBITDA ratio to fall after the Kelso purchase, but Sirius used debt and cash on hand to finance $81 million worth of acquisitions including Continuum Security Solutions, IBM-based infrastructure provider thinkASG, NorthWind Consulting Services, and U.S. government security and networking powerhouse Force 3.

The Forsythe acquisition will only further delay deleveraging plans, with Moody's expecting San Antonio, Texas-based Sirius, No. 26 on the 2017 CRN Solution Provider 500, to use the majority of its free cash flow in 2018 to repay debt.

Sirius has additionally needed to reorganize its procurement systems to accommodate the acquisition of its largest IT distributor partner  Avnet Technology Solutions  by Tech Data. Moody's believes the deal presents an incremental risk to Sirius' sourcing of high-end systems, especially if Tech Data encounters hurdles in its integration of operations.

Moody's expects that Sirius will likely explore options to diversify its supplier base and potentially reduce its large reliance on Tech Data's distribution capabilities. Tech Data declined to comment for this story, while Sirius didn't respond to requests for comment.

The rating agency also identified Sirius's high concentration of IBM products and services at a risk factor, with Moody's saying that Big Blue today accounts for 36 percent of Sirius's $2.2 billion in annual sales. That is down from 52 percent in September 2015, and the figure is expected to further decline to 23 percent  or $746.5 million of a combined $3.26 billion in revenue  once the Forsythe deal closes.

Many of Sirius' products and services remain confined to IBM's offering, however, which Moody's said doesn't include business application software like customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.

On the other hand, Moody's said IBM's discount pricing model ensures that price increases or declines do not proportionately affect Sirius' profitability. Sirius has additionally made progress in diversifying its vendor base to include products from Cisco, Dell EMC, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and NetApp, according to Moody's.

In fact, the combined Sirius-Forsythe Cisco operation brought in $731.8 million of sales in the year ended June 30, 2017, accounting for 22 percent of overall revenue and coming in just $14.7 million shy of the company's IBM business. Moody's said Sirius must manage the vendor diversification process in a manner that doesn't bring its IBM relationship into jeopardy.

Moody's praised Sirius for growing its recurring revenue business to 35 percent of overall sales, and for maintaining a retention rate of 70 percent. Sirius' operating margins should be stable for the next year thanks to the stickiness of its client base, Moody's said, with high switching costs translating into high renewal rates.

However, Moody's said IT services account for less than 15 percent of Sirius' overall revenue today. IT services constitute 60 percent of global IT spending, according to Moody's, and are growing at a much faster clip than the industry as a whole.
Channel programs News

CRN Exclusive: Polycom Hires Juniper Veteran As North America Channel Chief

Steven Burke

Share this

Polycom, which is dramatically increasing its channel investment, has hired Juniper Networks channel veteran David Bankemper as its new North America Channel Chief.

Bankemper, a 28-year channel veteran who was formerly vice president of channel systems North America for Juniper, will be responsible for partner strategy, enablement and acquisition in the US.

Bankemper's appointment comes with Polycom Vice President of Global Partner Organization Nick Tidd mounting a full court press in the Microsoft Skype unified communications market against rival Cisco's Spark platform.

[Related: 8 Key Announcements At Microsoft Ignite 2017]

"Dave brings us tremendous channel loyalty and stability," said Tidd in an exclusive interview with CRN. "He spent nine years at Juniper and before that many years at Lenovo and IBM. Partners know Dave. What he brings to the team is a strong channel and business acumen so we can drive share of wallet."

Tidd, who was handling both US and Global duties before hiring Bankemper, said he is counting on the channel veteran to build on Polycom's strong channel foundation. "We've got Polycom fans," he said. "I need superfans that eat, breathe and sleep Polycom."

That "superfan" charter means making sure that Polycom is getting the biggest share of wallet from its existing loyal partner network, said Tidd.

As part of the channel offensive, Polycom has tripled its inside sales force from 10 to 30  chartered with working with partners to increase sales  and also added new engineering talent to help partners with presales configuration and price quotes.

Tidd said the new channel reps are driving a "high touch" model in the field with partners to go after new market opportunities with Microsoft Skype collaboration at the top of the list.

Polycom, which has a co-development agreement with Microsoft, recently reannounced it is offering its full portfolio of voice and video technology on the Microsoft Teams platform.

Tidd is also significantly increasing the marketing investments aimed at growing the business with a new marketing collateral including "campaigns in a box."

Polycom is currently segmenting its partner base in preparation for a new "value" based points partner program aimed at recognizing and rewarding strategic investments with the company. That program will include detailed analytics on partner sales performance.

The new partner offensive is aimed at capitalizing on the the migration from proprietary on premise platforms to cloud and open platforms including team meetings, on the go travel scenarios and huddle rooms.

Frost & Sullivan, a San Antonio, Texas headquartered market research firm, has forecasted a 12. 6 percent three year compound annual growth rate for the open desktop communications platforms versus a decline of 8.5 percent during the same period for proprietary platforms.

Tidd says he is taking the channel to "first call" advisor status for architecting unified communciations and collaboration with a robust services portfolio.

Polycom's unique co-development and commercial agreement opens the door to huge growth opportunities for partners, said Tidd.

"The opportunity for partners is to build off the productivity tools and surrounding it with collaboration (voice, video and interoperatbility)," he said. "Where there is mystery there is margin and there is a ton of mystery in architecting workflow and assessment with Microsoft. Partners need to look to someone like Polycom that understands the Skype operational framework and has native workflow support. Polycom is the No. 1 provider of native workflow support. The Skype iconology across our video and voice products creates a seamless experience. That is a significant opportunity for the channel."

Frank Vitagliano, the CEO of Computex Technology Solutions, Houston, Texas, No. 121 on the CRN 2017 SP500, said he is going to look at bringing Polycom on as a vendor as a result of the Bankemper hire.

"I will absolutely take a look at Polycom because of David's presence," said Vitagliano, a channel icon who worked with Bankemper at both IBM and Juniper. "If Polycom is making an investment in a guy like David it is an indication that they are serious about playing in the channel."

Bankemper has both deep channel knowledge and the strong character and integrity it takes to be successful as a channel chief, said Vitagliano.

"David is a top shelf guy who totally understands what partners need and how to put a program together and manage sales activity," said Vitagliano. "He knows how solution providers think and has run and managed sales teams selling both high volume low margin products like PCs and high margin products like networking gear. What's more, he is a quality individual who works hard, and has integrity. He is the kind of person you want to do business with."
Channel programs News

Denali Advanced Integration Celebrates 25th Anniversary by Raising Record $75,000 For Seattle Children's Hospital

Steven Burke

Share this

Lee'or and Wendy Rutenberg say they will be forever grateful for the miracle of life that the doctors and nurses of Seattle Children's Hospital gave their daughter Sadie  the first child in the US HALO IDE trial to receive the smallest mechanical heart valve in the world.

"We spent six months at Children's Hospital waiting for her to get that valve," says Lee'or Rutenberg of the painful ordeal leading up to the surgery. "Those people became our family. They were there for us every single day. They welcomed us. They took care of us. They hugged us. They cried with us."

On September 9, Lee'or, his wife Wendy and their beaming daughter Sadie  now three years old  took center stage at the fourth annual Denali Dash 5K Run and 1K walk for kids. Hosted by Denali Advanced Integration, a global system integrator headquartered in Redmond, Washington, the Denali Dash has become an annual community celebration of Seattle Children's Hospital.

This year's Dash- held at Marymoor Park - attracted more than 600 members of the Seattle community raising $75,000- a new record for the event which doubled as a celebration of Denali's 25th anniversary.

Since its founding by Denali CEO Majdi Daher and his brothers, the company has contributed $4.5 million to a variety of community organizations.

Denali, which was founded by the brothers to help bring their parents and siblings to America in the aftermath of the Gulf War, has made giving back  or what Majdi calls giving a "hand up"- a central part of the Denali "Above the Rest" culture of excellence.

"We are a family that lost everything and because we were fortunate to be in a great country like ours today, we were afforded the opportunity to build our business from the ground up," says Daher. "We didnt do it alone. There are other people who helped us get to where we are today. So giving back is not something we take for granted. It is an obligation. It is our duty to give back. It is our duty to help others because we live in a place where we are so fortunate for the things we have."

Daher says what he is most proud of is the energy, excitement and opportunity that Denali has created with events like the Dash for community members to give back to worthy causes like Seattle Children's Hospital.

"The Denali Dash is an invitation for people to participate," says Daher. "There are a lot of people out there who want to participate, but they don't have the platform or the opportunity to do that. Our events are a venue for others to connect with established community partners such as Seattle Children's Hospital, Providence Senior and Community Services, EvergreenHealth and Wounded Warrior Project. It's exciting to see people jump in and donate their hard-earned time, money and expertise."

That participation and rousing community spirit was in full display once again at this year's Dash which featured Seattle Power 93.3 DJ Kat Fisher, the Seahawks Blue Thunder drum line and the best of Seattle's food trucks. The Dash has also become one of the premier fundraising events within the technology services business. This year among the Denali technology partners participating were: BlueStar, Zebra, Cisco, Dell EMC, APC, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Samsung, Ingram Micro, Tech Data, Scansource, Panasonic, Cradlepoint, Cohesity and Ergotron.

Rob Dorsey, the vice president of sales for BlueStar, the premier mobility distributor and a longtime supporter of Denali's charitable efforts, says Denalis commitment to giving back to the community is an inspiration for him and BlueStar. Majdi has shown me how to give back," he said calling the Denali founder a mentor. "There are a lot of things that we can do as executives and partners that we don't put enough time and energy into. Majdi puts enough time and energy into it for all of us."

Dorsey said he was particularly excited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Denali at this year's event. One of the crowning achievements of the company is its history of giving," he said, noting Denali's ability to pull together technology vendors and the community to help others.

Kira Haller, a development director at Seattle Children's Hospital, said the hospital is thankful for the Denali partnership. "Events like the Denali Dash 5K and Kids Dash help Seattle Children's find better treatments and eventually cures for patients all over the region," she said. "I know Denali is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. I want to congratulate all of the employees at Denali and Majdi specifically. He has built a great company and we are so proud to be a partner."

The one constant over the last 25 years of rapid change in the technology services business has been Denali's customer first focus, said Daher.

"We exist to serve the customer," said Daher. "That was the goal when we started this company and that remains our mission today. Hitting the 25 year milestone is a great thing but to me the work is never done. There are still customers that need our expertise to deploy technology globally. There are technologies that we need to represent. We have a constant hunger to fight on behalf of the customer and present them with solutions that really help them advance their business."

Daher says what continues to drive him is the need to move faster to solve customer problems. "Our customers are facing a lot of challenges, and thats what keeps me going" he says. "The transformation that is going on with technology. The pressure that our customers face on their journey to digital transformation. I feel extremely under accomplished because I am not fixing their problems at the rate that I should. That fire continues to burn. We are extremely motivated. It is like a bonfire that is burning out of control. We wont rest until all of our customers achieve outstanding business outcomes."
Storage News

SolidFire Founder Dave Wright Returns To The NetApp Stage For An Encore

Joseph F. Kovar

Share this

Dave Wright, founder and CEO of SolidFire when that company was acquired by NetApp, signaled his return from sabbatical Wednesday by running across the stage in response to a call for a stagehand to unveil the latest product based on SolidFire technology.

Wright, who helped engineer NetApp's 2016 acquisition of SolidFire, in April left the company on a sabbatical.

Enterprise scale with

He made his surprise reappearance at the NetApp Insight 2017 conference during a Wednesday keynote introducing the pending availability of the new NetApp HCI hyper-converged infrastructure appliance which was built in large part on SolidFire all-flash storage technology.

[Related: NetApp CEO Kurian Opens Insight Conference With Moment Of Silence For Las Vegas Shooting Victims, Intros Data Vision]

When the NetApp HCI presenter asked for a stagehand to help pull the covers off a rack full of NetApp HCI appliances, Wright dashed from the left of the stage, stopped in the center, waved at the audience, and then dashed to the right of the stage to pull the cover off. He then pointed at the rack, smiled, and left the stage.

A NetApp spokesperson declined to respond to a request for more information, other than to confirm that Wright had indeed returned from sabbatical and that he will be acting as an evangelist for the company's SolidFire technology going forward.

NetApp partners were excited that Wright has returned to the company.

Who was that stage hand?

SolidFire was an amazing acquisition for NetApp, but one that initially left a lot of people skeptical, said John Woodall, vice president of engineering at Integrated Archive Systems, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based solution provider and long-time NetApp channel partner.

Wright didn't really need to return to NetApp, but the fact that he did speaks volumes about his dedication to what the company is doing with his technology, Woodall told CRN.

"He made enough money from the acquisition, and didn't need to come back," he said. "But this was his baby. He sees the value in it. And NetApp also sees the value by bringing it into a wide range of products."

Wright's return shows he is passionate about the SolidFire technology, Woodall said. "His coming back says, 'What's going on here is worth my time,'" he said. "It's just like with [NetApp Co-founder and Executive Vice President] Dave Hitz, who is still with the company after 27 years. Dave Wright is saying he wants to be involved."

Glenn Dekhayser, field chief technology officer at Red8, a Costa Mesa, Calif.-based solution provider and NetApp channel partner, told CRN that, even though it was understood that Wright would only temporarily step away from NetApp, his first thought on seeing Wright run across the stage was, "Wow, Dave Wright's back at NetApp?"

"Given the increased prominence of the SolidFire platform in the NetApp go-to-market strategy, I'd say this is the perfect time for him to get back in front," Dekhayser said.
The Week Ending Oct. 6

Topping this week's roundup of those having a rough week is Verizon, which disclosed this week that a 2013 security breach at Yahoo  which Verizon bought earlier this year for $4.48 billion  impacted 3 billion user accounts, not 1 billion as thought earlier.

Also making the list this week are Sirius Computer Solutions, whose credit rating was cut this week because of the debt it is amassing to acquire Forsythe Technology; Lenovo, which faces dissension from its partners over channel program changes that will diminish their profit margins; Brocade partners, for whom the resolution of the Broadcom acquisition couldn't come soon enough; and Amazon, which was ordered by the European Commission this week to pay $295 million in taxes.

Not everyone in the IT industry was having a rough go of it this week. For a rundown of companies that made smart decisions, executed savvy strategic moves  or just had good luck  check out this week's Five Companies That Came To Win roundup.
This article was first published on NerdWallet.com.

Navient Corp., the nations largest student loan servicer, is facing four lawsuits alleging that it harmed student loan borrowers throughout the repayment process.

Pennsylvanias attorney general was the latest to file a suit, which came in early October. The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Illinois and Washington attorneys general sued Navient in January.

Among other things, the CFPB alleges that since at least January 2010, Navient misallocated payments, steered struggling borrowers toward multiple forbearances instead of income-driven repayment plans, and provided unclear information about how to re-enroll in income-driven repayment plans and how to qualify for a co-signer release. The CFPB is asking Navient to compensate the borrowers the agency says were harmed.

The Illinois, Washington and Pennsylvania suits make similar claims to the CFPBs allegations and also allege that Navient, when it was part of Sallie Mae, made subprime loans to students, particularly those attending for-profit schools. Navient broke off from Sallie Mae Bank, one of the largest private student loan lenders, in 2014.

The allegations in Pennsylvanias suit are completely unfounded, Navient said in an October 5 statement. The company has also rejected the allegations in the other three cases, filing motions to dismiss them. In a March 2017 fact sheet, it said the CFPB, Illinois and Washington suits are based on new servicing standards that are being applied retroactively.

Borrowers should regularly check their student loan accounts to make sure their loans are being serviced correctly. Betsy Mayotte, Director of consumer outreach and compliance at American Student Assistance

In August 2017, a U.S. District Court judge denied Navients motion to dismiss the CFPBs case. The case is now moving toward the discovery process of gathering evidence, which could lead to further motions, a trial or a settlement, says Suzanne Martindale, a staff attorney at Consumers Union, the policy and action arm of Consumer Reports.

The lawsuits could potentially take years to play out because of the sheer amount of evidence that the CFPB, Illinois and Washington have gathered during their investigations, Martindale says.

Regardless of the outcomes, borrowers should regularly check their student loan accounts to make sure their loans are being serviced correctly, says Betsy Mayotte, director of consumer outreach and compliance at American Student Assistance, a nonprofit that helps students pay for college.

Heres what student loan borrowers should know.

How to check if Navient is your loan servicer

Your student loan servicer is the company you make payments to each month. Its not always the same company that lent you money in the first place.

Since 2010, the U.S. Department of Education has been the direct lender for all federal student loans, but it contracts with private, third-party companies, including Navient, to handle loan servicing. Prior to 2010, private banks, including Sallie Mae, lent federally guaranteed student loans under the Federal Family Education Loan program.

Log on to the Federal Student Aid website to find your federal loan servicer. In addition to Navient, other major federal loan servicers include FedLoan Servicing, Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation & Affiliates and Nelnet.

Navient services more than $300 billion in federal and private student loans for more than 12 million borrowers, or over a fourth of the U.S.s 44 million student loan borrowers. Its important to know whether you have federal or private student loans, or both, Martindale points out, because different types of loans have different borrower protections. For instance, youre eligible for income-driven repayment plans and potentially federal loan forgiveness programs if you have federal loans.

You can look up your federal loans on the Federal Student Aid website. Check your credit report to see all of your debts, including both federal and private student loans.

What to do if youre frustrated with your student loan servicer

When it comes to student loan servicing, consumers cannot easily take their business elsewhere, Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said in a statement in January, when the agency filed the lawsuit.

It is possible to switch student loan servicers through federal consolidation or student loan refinancing. But you shouldnt consolidate or refinance solely to switch servicers because there are potential risks associated with each, says Adam Minsky, a Boston-based lawyer specializing in student loans. Also, theres no guarantee youll be better off with a different servicer.

The other servicers arent exactly rainbows and sunshine, Minsky says.

Even if you cant change servicers, there are a number of things you can do to voice your concerns and protect yourself as a borrower: File complaints, check your credit report for errors, learn about your repayment options, and watch out for companies that charge fees for student loan help.

File complaints

You can file complaints to one or more of the following entities:

The CFPB alleges that Navient ignores borrowers complaints. But getting your concerns in writing is still worth doing, if only to improve the system for others, Seth Frotman, student loan ombudsman and assistant director of the office for students at the CFPB, said in a press call in January.

We receive thousands of complaints, Frotman said. That has dramatically informed our work around improving the student loan servicing market.

Check your credit report for errors

The CFPB also alleges that Navient incorrectly reported disabled borrowers accounts as in default when the borrowers had actually gotten loan relief through the governments Total and Permanent Disability discharge program. To guard against a mistake like that, which could severely hurt your credit score, check your credit report for errors. You can get one free credit report every year from each of the three major credit bureaus.

Get up to speed on your repayment options

Student loan servicers are supposed to help you understand the various repayment options. By learning about the options yourself, you can be empowered to hold your loan servicer to that standard. Keep in mind, though, that each of the following options has risks.

Income-driven repayment plans can lower your monthly federal student loan payments by capping your payment at a percentage of your income. They also offer loan forgiveness after you make on-time payments for 20 or 25 years, depending on the plan.

Student loan forgiveness programs, such as Public Service Loan Forgiveness, can relieve your federal student loan debt if you work for a certain type of employer and make on-time payments for a certain period of time

Federal consolidation doesnt lower your monthly payments or save you money, but its sometimes necessary in order to qualify for income-driven repayment or a forgiveness program. Consolidating is frequently confused with student loan refinancing, which is a way to save money on interest by getting a lower rate.

Watch out for companies that charge fees for help

You can sign up for the above options on your own for free. But some companies that arent affiliated with the Department of Education capitalize on subpar student loan servicing practices by charging fees to enroll borrowers in free federal student loan programs. So-called student debt relief companies often advertise messages such as Obama Student Loan Forgiveness on Facebook and Google. If youre tempted by such an offer, know that you dont have to pay for student loan help.

If your servicer isnt answering your student loan questions, reach out to the Department of Education or your states attorney generals office for help.

Teddy Nykiel is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: teddy@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @teddynykiel.

The article Navient Lawsuits: What Student Loan Borrowers Need to Know originally appeared on NerdWallet.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Hes yukked it up with Chris Dodd at the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party.

Then there was the $35,800-a-plate supper club he hosted at his Westport home for Barack Obama, bringing together the likes of Anne Hathaway and Aaron Sorkin with Connecticuts governor, Dannel P. Malloy.

But Harvey Weinstein, who has given tens of thousands of dollars to Democrats in the state to go along with VIP access to Hollywoods elite, is suddenly a pariah in the party that once exalted him after a series of sexual harassment allegations against the movie mogul.

Democrats distanced themselves Friday from Oscar-winning studio executive after a New York Times report detailing decades of alleged sexual advances toward actresses and other women looking to break into the motion picture industry  and hundreds of thousands of dollars of quiet settlements paid out to them. The bombshell report coincided with the $1.65 million sale of one of two adjacent properties owned by Weinstein in Westport.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., who received $2,700 from Weinstein for his 2016 re-election campaign, said Friday that he will donate the money to the Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence.

When I read the New York Times piece, I was aghast at how many and how often these instances of harassment and intimidation were, Blumenthal told Hearst Connecticut Media. I was deeply disturbed.

Blumenthal said he decided immediately that we should donate the money to an organization that does really good work against sexual violence, and that was our decision.

U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., received $1,000 from Weinstein in 1996.

We will be making a $1000 contribution to Domestic Violence Services of Greater New Haven, said Jimmy Tickey, DeLauros campaign manager.

Weinstein, the Miramax co-founder and Academy Award winning producer of Shakespeare in Love, gave $24,800 to Connecticut Victory 2010, according to the Federal Election Commission. The PAC was created as a joint fundraising vehicle for Dodd, who retired from the Senate at the end of 2010, and Democrats.

Since 2011, Dodd has served as the head of the Motion Picture Association of America, commanding an annual salary in excess of $3 million to be the top lobbyist for six movie studios. The Weinstein Co. is not part of the consortium, but Weinstein and Dodd were photographed hobnobbing with actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt at the Vanity Fair Oscars after-party in 2013.

Election filings show Weinstein gave $7,200 to Dodds 2010 re-election campaign, before the senator opted to retire. In 2004, Weinstein contributed $3,000 to Dodd.

A request for comment was left Friday for Dodd and the MPAA, from which the former senator is leaving at the end of 2017.

Weinstein apologized Thursday in a statement to the Times and announced he was taking a leave of absence from his production company.

The Connecticut Democrats, through their spokesman Leigh Appleby, pivoted from Weinstein to President Donald Trump.

Were the first to condemn this type of alleged behavior, and we do, Appleby said. That is more than we can say about our Republican colleagues who have flatly refused to speak out against the racist, hateful, misogynistic head of their party who was also the single largest donor to the Connecticut GOP in 2016.

Appleby was referring to the Trump Victory Fund, a a joint fundraising vehicle for Trumps campaign, the Republican National Committee and some 21 state parties, including Connecticuts GOP.

Im not surprised that the Connecticut Democrats have taken a defensive posture, said J.R. Romano, the state Republican Party chairman. Again, this is Democrats  do as I say, not as I do. Its their modus operandi. Theyre consistent in being hypocritical and condescending without holding themselves accountable.

Malloy was on the guest list for Weinsteins 2012 Westport fundraising dinner for Obama.

Like many reading the news today regarding Mr. Weinstein, the governor was shocked to learn of these allegations, which are quite disturbing, Malloy spokeswoman Kelly Donnelly said Friday. The fact is, sexual violence, including harassment, has no place in our society. All people deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.

http://twitter.com/gettinviggy; nvigdor@hearstmediact.com; 203-625-4436
Contributed Photo / Contributed Photo

SHELTON - A man convicted in the 1980s for a series of rapes has been arrested for failing to register as a sex offender.

David Pollitt, 64, of 264 River Road, was arrested after moving back to back to Connecticut from Georgia and failing to register, police said.
MILFORD - Two Bridgeport residents were arrested Thursday for allegedly shoplifting $443 in merchandise from Macys in the Connecticut Post mall.

Police said the two removed store senors on the items by using pliers and a magnet.
AUBURN  The Equal Rights Heritage Center is taking the next step toward completion following the Auburn City Council's approval of two resolutions regarding the project.

Council unanimously approved the site's State Environmental Quality Review and authorized City Manager Jeff Dygert to advertise construction bids for the project.

Part of the environmental review requires city staff to determine what, if any, impacts a project will have on surrounding areas. Initial reviews identified a "potentially moderate to large impact" concerning historic and archaeological resources, as well as transportation. However, both of those impacts were later determined to have no impact upon further review.

The New York State Historic Preservation Office indicated in a letter to the city that after further review of the project's architectural plans, SHPO officials found "no adverse impact on cultural resources."

Similarly, while 80 parking spots will be lost as a result of the project, the city will continue to make improvements to the Lincoln Street parking garage to make up for the lost spots. According to a parking study conducted downtown in April, the parking garage is underutilized and 250 parking spots in the garage go unused on an average day.

When New York state officials visited Auburn on Sept. 15 to announce the official name of the welcome center, they said the plan is to begin construction by March 2018 and and have the center open to the public by the fall.

Councilor Jimmy Giannettino noted that one of the original goals of the city's Historical and Cultural Sites Commission, which was formed over 20 years ago, was to build a welcome center in Auburn.

"It's coming to fruition and it's an exciting time," Giannettino said, adding that tourism brought over $100 million into Cayuga County last year.

Mayor Michael Quill agreed, saying tourism is a "big boost" to the local economy.

Additionally, the council approved to accept a $100,000 state Department of Transportation grant that will allow the downtown Centro bus transfer station to move from Lincoln Street to Dill Street. According to the council resolution, "the relocation of the Auburn Centro bus transfer station is necessary in order to further the Equal Rights Heritage Center project."

In other news

 City council members unanimously agreed to finance the additional money needed to update a portion of the city's water distribution system, also known as the North Street Water Main Project.

During the Sept. 28 council meeting, Director of Municipal Utilities Seth Jensen said the scope of the work has expanded since the council originally voted to fiance the project in April 2016.

Updates to Auburn's water system more than double original cost The projected cost to reconstruct the city's water distribution system has more than doubled

"I understand the cost of this project is expanding but it's also important to note that the scope of the project expanded," Giannettino said. "If we're going to do it, I think it's important to do it right and do it correct the first time."

The additional work is expected to cost more than double the project's original budget of $1,045,000, for a total project cost of $2.2 million. The project received a $627,000 grant from the state Environmental Facilities Corporation to help fund the repairs.

The original scope of work included replacing pipes on North Street from Carpenter and York streets and York Street from North to Wiley streets.

The most expensive change to the project involves replacing 1,000 feet of pipes on York Street between Willey Street and the Chase Street extension. This section of pipes was not properly installed, Jensen said last week, and has caused multiple water-main breaks in the area, which has negatively impacted operations at the NUCOR Steel plant. NUCOR officials recently invested $30 million in its Auburn facility.

"An action like this is very important," Councilor Terry Cuddy said. "We're following through on our promise to manufacturing in Auburn."
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 ...
A high school near Downtown Memphis has decided the best way to make sure its students learn without distractions is to separate classrooms by biological sex.

Booker T. Washington High School principal Alisha Kiner found same-sex classrooms lead to a better education after much research, according to WMC-TV Action News 5. Though The Daily Helmsman could not reach Kiner for comment, several studies back up her reasoning and show girls are often cheated in integrated classrooms.

American University professors Myra and David Sadker published Failing in Fairness: How Americas Schools Cheat Girls, in 1993 that took over three years and observed over 100 classrooms to come to the conclusion boys and girls are treated differently in an educational setting.

Teachers call on boys in class eight times more often than girls do, according to the study. Boys are also more encouraged to work through problems on their own, while teachers will help girls who are stuck on a problem.

Another study done by Janet Hyde, a University of Wisconsin-Madison psychology professor, suggests same-sex classes do have benefits. Hyde said in 12 years of research, she has never seen a coeducational class statistically outperform a same-sex class.

Advocates say boys are more likely to participate in foreign language and the arts programs in same-sex classes, while girls are more likely to participate in science lessons.

There is evidence that suggests that single-sex classrooms do have academic advantages, particularly for girls, Daniel Kiel, law professor at the University of Memphis who studies education law and reform, said. That research is not absolutely definitive, and it is certainly not the case for all students, but it is robust enough to suggest that single-sex classrooms are at least worth trying.

An AASA (the School Superintendents Association) study by Jim Rex, state superintendent of education in South Carolina, and David Chadwell, same-sex program coordinator in South Carolina, shows new data continuing to emerge and information teachers can use to differentiate their classroom.

Rather than limiting students to their biological sex, according to this study, teachers in all classrooms can implement lessons that better meet the needs of their students.

School officials always need to be careful when they adopt a policy of separation of students based on any characteristics, whether that be sex or anything else, Kiel said. But if school officials are smart about design and implementation and are attentive to the research about how classroom environments can affect learning, then I think there is potential for practices like this to work.

However, there are some people who disagree with these studies, like Benjamin Duffey, an English teacher at South Gibson County High School in Medina, Tennessee. He says diversity is a strength in the classroom.

I think this further removes the classroom from the real world  one of the cool things about teaching high school is getting students to discuss, argue and work together, Duffey said. Same-gender classrooms make replicating real-world discussions very difficult  the workforce is not same-sex.
AURELIUS  When the Socci and Bell families were asked to speak to law enforcement about domestic violence, both wanted to leave officers with the same message: Show compassion.

On Friday morning, the Soccis and Bells shared similar stories with members of the Auburn Police Department, Cayuga County Sheriff's Office and New York State Police. It was part of a special training program to teach law enforcement new techniques to investigate and prosecute domestic violence cases in the county.

First, John and Tina Socci spoke about their daughter, Katie, who was killed in Auburn on June 14, 2011. The couple recalled the months and days leading up to Katie's death, describing how her ex-boyfriend, David McNamara, had begun stalking the mother of his child and going through her trash.

Tina Socci stood beside her daughter's picture  a picture that was taken two days before police found her body in a shallow grave. That same day, Tina said Katie had gone to McNamara's probation officer and complained about his stalking.

"The probation officer said, 'Let's just see what he does,'" Tina said, crying. "Two days later, she was dead."

Then, five months after Katie's death, Kelly Bell said she received her own devastating news  Bell's daughter, Bridget, had died. She was stabbed to death in Auburn by her ex-boyfriend, Ryan Brahney, on Nov. 21, 2011.

Kelly Bell held a picture of her grandson, Finn, as she addressed the officers Friday morning.

"This is the real victim here," she said.

But both the Soccis and Bells said compassion helped them through their loss, and they asked officers to keep that in mind as they investigate domestic violence cases in Cayuga County.

"I can't tell you how important even a little bit of compassion is to victims of domestic violence," John Socci said. "We knew (the officers) weren't just doing their job. We knew they cared for us."

"Your chief (Shawn Butler) took the compassion to become our friend," Bell added. "It only takes five minutes of your time ... five minutes and compassion."

According to Det. Lt. Brian Schenck of the Cayuga County Sheriff's Office, reports of domestic violence have risen in the county. Last year, he said local law enforcement investigated over 2,200 cases  roughly 300 more cases than 2014.

That's why Patty Weaver, the domestic violence services coordinator at the Cayuga/Seneca Community Action Agency, said Friday's training was crucial to the community, as the program hopes to prevent and prosecute more cases.

"Domestic violence has always been an issue ... but now that we are raising more awareness around it, I think more people are reaching out for help and assistance," she said. "This training will allow us to help more people."

Mark Wynn was in charge of the training program Friday. A retired lieutenant from the Nashville Police Department, Wynn said he has worked in domestic violence issues for 40 years; he now spends his time teaching other departments new techniques.

One of the main issues Wynn wanted to tackle Friday was how to prosecute a case without victim cooperation.

"What often happens in cases is the victim pays a heavy price for cooperating with anybody because they have a very controlling and abusive partner," he said. "So I want to talk to these officers about what it looks like when a victim minimizes what's happening and how to use that when you prosecute your case. ... You can go forward and prosecute a case without a victim."

Weaver said around 130 officers and victim advocates attended the training, which is partially funded by a two-year $200,000 state grant. The program was held both Thursday and Friday to allow more officers to participate.

Auburn Police Chief Shawn Butler said he made the training mandatory for nearly all of his sworn officers. So far, he said he received positive feedback.

"This is really going to take us to the next level," he said. "(Domestic violence) is something we deal with every day and if we can take a different perspective on how we investigate these calls or give a little bit more support to victims ... hopefully we can prevent the tragedy that (the Soccis and Bells) live with every day of their lives."

"Had we sat through this (training) six years ago, things might have been different," John Socci said. "To us, this is priceless ... because I know it will make one hell of a difference for other families down the road."
The fairly new Board of Trustees for the University of Memphis met Wednesday and debated over a few issues facing the campus community.

The board approved two new academic programs, announced a paid parental leave for university employees and revealed an updated campus master plan for construction.

The university will implement two new programs: a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Mass Media and a Ph.D. in Counselor Education and Supervision.

The U of M will also offer a paid six-week parental leave, both maternal and paternal, for employees who are new parents.

President M. David Rudd said the program would include both adoptive and biological parents, and it will absolutely cover same-sex parents as well, according to The Commercial Appeal. The U of M is the first higher education institution will offer this incentive in Tennessee.

The board also proposed a new campus plan for construction around Southern Avenue. The Scheidt Family Music Center should soon be the first project to break ground.
After Sunday nights horrific mass shooting in Las Vegas, killing 59 people and injuring 527 others, the news filled up with reports saying this was the deadliest mass shooting in recent United States history.

I was curious why it was necessary to distinguish recent or modern U.S. history. Is not all U.S. history fairly recent compared to the history of other countries? I soon learned exactly why I was so wrong.

This was an ordinary occurrence in the U.S. until the mid-1900s. Race wars ignited so many mass killings throughout early-to-middle U.S. history, and many are not remembered at all today.

A riot in Tulsa, Oklahoma, resulted in the deaths of at least 300 black residents after a white mob raided a majority black part of town in 1921, according to the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum. The mob burned 35 blocks in the city, and about 800 people were hospitalized. The area was known as a place where wealthy African Americans resided.

In Elaine, Arkansas, two years earlier, hundreds of black citizens were murdered by a group of white police officers, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas, though it is not clear exactly how many deaths were caused by the killing spree.

The Sacramento River Massacre in 1846 was a large-scale slaying of at least 120 Native Americans. Explorer John Fremont was informed a group of Native Americans was planning to attack his crew, so he found the tribe and killed most of them, including women and children, according to The Washington Post.

Another mass killing of Native Americans took place in 1890 at Wounded Knee Creek in southwestern South Dakota. The U.S. Army led an attack on the Sioux tribe in the area and slaughtered about 150 of the members, according to the History Channel.

The killing was first referred to as a battle, but it has recently been realized that the conflict could have been completely avoided by the U.S.

Here in the Bluff City, on the bluff in fact, there was a mass killing of African Americans by white citizens and police officers in 1866: the Memphis Massacre. It was the first large-scale public massacre since the end of the Civil War, according to the University of Memphis history departments blog post Memphis Massacre 1866.

An estimated 46 black people were killed, many black women were raped, and many shops were burglarized and burnt down. While there were not as many deaths as in Las Vegas, this massacre was still a large-scale attack that destroyed the area near Beale Street and the Mississippi River and was a public killing of African Americans that came with no repercussions.

So, the Las Vegas shooting is the deadliest mass killing in the countrys history if you do not count African American or Native American lives, which much of the U.S. still does not today.

While the lives lost during all these killings should be mourned, it is important to know the historical scope of this eras massacres. There was a time when not everyone was outraged over them.
Sir Ted Heath outside his home 'Arundells' in Salisbury, Wiltshire

And thus another deplorable police investigation into allegations of sex crimes by a dead public figure draws to its shoddy end.

The Chief Constable of Wiltshire announced yesterday that, while there is no evidence for him to pronounce on the matter of guilt or innocence, Sir Edward Heath would have been interviewed under caution about seven allegations out of 42 made against him, most of them by former rent boys.

At a time of straitened police budgets, Mike Veales officers have spent 1.5 million of taxpayers money on Operation Conifer, including 34,542 on air tickets and car hire, and 556 on purchasing books about the former prime minister.

The real shame of this story, however, is not the squandered cash; it is the lack of judgment displayed by Wiltshire police from beginning to end of this saga, which even now the Chief Constable seeks to justify with his mealy-mouthed conclusion.

Veales officers put themselves in the wrong from the day in 2015 that they chose to hold a televised press conference outside Heaths old house in the Cathedral Close at Salisbury, appealing for victims of his alleged paedophile activities to come forward.

Veale now admits they have found nothing that would for a moment stand up in court. Yet he delivers an outcome that leaves the former Tory prime ministers reputation smeared. No wonder a former Director of Public Prosecutions, Lord Macdonald, declares that they are covering their backs at the expense of a dead man... The police went completely over the top.

I knew Heath somewhat, mostly as a journalist, though I once attended a lunch party at his Salisbury house. He was a relentlessly ungracious man and a poor prime minister. But he was also a genuine public servant who did his best according to his own lights.

His crippling loneliness as a human being demanded sympathy in his lifetime, pity now that he is dead. He seemed fully able to communicate only at the keys of a piano or the helm of a yacht. But none of this makes him a paedophile.

Queen Elizabeth II and Field Marshal Edwin Bramall. In the case of Lord Bramall, it eventually emerged that large sums of public money had been spent by the police and his home raided mob-handed at dawn

The notion that he committed assaults on boys between 1956 and 1992  especially during the last 22 years, when he had constant police protection, is ridiculous, indeed contemptible.

During his lifetime, he was generally considered asexual, and this seems overwhelmingly likely to have been the case.

We have already seen the police conduct probes of Field Marshal Lord Bramall (a D-Day veteran and former head of the Armed Forces) and the late Leon Brittan, who was a Tory Home Secretary, which have ended with the Met Police being obliged to apologise and pay large sums of compensation, which are nonetheless inadequate, given the pain caused to the accused and their families.

Even the investigators now admit that Nick, the anonymous accuser pointing finger in those cases, was a fantasist.

Since the exposure of the crimes of Jimmy Savile and a handful of other showbusiness celebrities, there has been a willingness to indulge witch-hunts against other public figures.

The police choice of the word victim  implying guilt  rather than the proper one of accuser is a giveaway.

Leon Brittan with his wife Diana Clemetson

I am afraid I am cynical enough  especially as a friend of Lord Bramall  to believe that some officers are eager to fell tall poppies, to investigate and frankly humiliate some big names.

Chief Constable Mike Veale said yesterday that he would have been guilty of an indefensible dereliction of his duty had he not launched an inquiry into the claims against Heath.

It is understandable the police should be nervous of allegations of an Establishment cover-up, when some victim organisations clamour vociferously to this effect.

Veale himself has been subjected to a bombardment of emails from victim lobbyists.

It is hard to exaggerate the absurdity and extravagance of some allegations being hurled about  for instance, that Heath was a member of an international network of Devil-worshipping paedophiles who devoured babies.

Another claim  dismissed by the police  held that he conducted orgies on a yacht.

One of his accusers has been cautioned for pretending to be three different informants, while another remains under investigation.

It deserves emphasis that not one of the official drivers, aides and scores of close-protection police officers who served Heath has lent a scintilla of credence to the allegations against him.

If Veale was a big enough man properly to fill his boots, he should have had the guts to say from an early stage of Operation Conifer that, amid so much obvious fantasy material, it was not in the public interest to continue investigations into a dead man, on such slender or non-existent evidence, after such an interval of time.

Sir Edward Heath has been accused of raping a 11-year-old boy and touching children as young as ten even when he was Tory leader, an incendiary police report said

Meanwhile, it becomes ever more plain that providing anonymity for accusers in such cases as these is ever more perilous. Too many fantasists and attention-seekers have become entangled in historic sexual abuse claims.

Genuine victims deserve deep sympathy and respect  but so also do those, dead or alive, accused of committing terrible crimes, unless or until they are found guilty.

There must be a case for reviewing accusers unlimited right to make devastating allegations against named individuals without cost or risk to themselves. Sir Keir Starmer deserves some of the blame. Today, he is a member of the Labour Shadow Cabinet, but between 2008 and 2013 he was Director of Public Prosecutions.

At the height of the Savile frenzy, he endorsed the Inspectorate of Constabularys edict, circulated to all forces in reference to sexual abuse cases, that the presumption that complainants should always be believed should be institutionalised.

This was madness, has now been amply proved to be madness, and must be undone as swiftly as possible.

Childrens identities in such cases should always be shielded, but todays accusers are middle-aged men. Is it really in the interests of justice, especially towards those accused, that they should be able to say anything they wish about anyone famous they choose, without facing even the embarrassment of being publicly exposed if they are found to have lied?

Allegation: Ted Heath was accused of raping a 12-year-old boy who said he worked out his identity after seeing a picture of him with Margaret Thatcher (right) and Dame Pat Hornsby Smith (left). This may be the picture he described

In the case of Lord Bramall, it eventually emerged that large sums of public money had been spent by the police and his home raided mob-handed at dawn, on the evidence of Nick  whom you or I would have realised in ten minutes was a fantasist, a revelation that dawned on the investigating officers only after 15 months.

I will listen respectfully to anybody who wishes to tell me that Ted Heath was a grumpy old sulk who hated Margaret Thatcher and got us into the Common Market under false pretences.

Not for a moment, however, will I believe anybody who suggests that he was a sexual deviant, a rapist of small boys.

In a properly-run world, Wiltshires Chief Constable would lose his job over his forces shabby, foolish, bungled inquiry into the former prime minister.

From the day of that disgraceful press conference in Salisburys Cathedral Close in 2015, Veale and his officers behaviour has been unworthy of their uniforms, of their duty to the public interest. His nasty statement yesterday seems the last straw.

If Veale stays at his post, the best we may realistically hope is that other policemen learn the lesson, and launch no more witch-hunts against dead politicians.

How can we hope to persuade able men and women to enter political life, without receiving some personal respect, unless they do something to forfeit it?

The best service we can do Ted Heath is to dismiss the slur on his memory left by yesterdays police statement, and remember him as he deserves: an honourable man.
When my saintly late mother told me years ago that she would be happy to bequeath her body to medical science and organs to anyone who wanted them, I was appalled.

My mind flew back to my university days, when a medical student friend spoke of a macabre sight he witnessed at the dissection laboratories where he and his fellows practised surgery on donated bodies.

Late one evening, he had returned to the labs to pick up something hed left behind earlier in the day. He arrived just in time to see one of the assistants, who was in charge of preparing the dead for dissection, doing his nightly round of locking the doors and switching off the lights.

When my saintly late mother told me years ago that she would be happy to bequeath her organs to anyone who wanted them, I was appalled, writes Tom Utley (file photo)

According to my friends testimony, the assistant paused by each of the draining corpses to say goodnight, giving it an affectionate pat on the naked buttocks before moving on to the next.

The idea that my revered mothers body might one day be treated with such outrageous indignity filled me with horror. I recoiled, too, from the thought that when the time came for her funeral, we would be able to bury or burn only those parts of her which the medical students or transplant surgeons had deigned to leave behind.

Soul

But she was adamant. A devout Roman Catholic, she believed unquestioningly in the resurrection of the body and life after death. But that was all about her immortal soul, she said.

As for her mortal remains, shed be past caring what happened to them  and if anyone wanted to harvest her organs or practise surgery on her corpse, well, she would be only too delighted to think she might be of some use after her death.

In my hopes of dissuading her, I looked up Catholic teaching on the subject, only to find it was firmly on her side. As Pope John Paul II put it in his 1995 encyclical, Evangelium Vitae (the Gospel of Life): There is an everyday heroism, made up of gestures of sharing, big or small, which build up an authentic culture of life.

A particularly praiseworthy example of such gestures is the donation of organs, performed in an ethically acceptable manner, with a view to offering a chance of health and even of life itself to the sick who sometimes have no other hope.

Indeed, according to documents in the U.S. National Library of Medicine, no church or religion formally forbids the donation or receipt of organs  although transplantation from the dead may be discouraged by some, including native Americans, Roma Gypsies, Confucians, Shintoists and some orthodox rabbis.

Some South Asian Muslim scholars oppose donation on the grounds that the body is an amanat (trusteeship) from God and must not be desecrated after death.

But these few exceptions aside, the weight of religious opinion appears to regard organ donation as an act of charity and an unalloyed virtue. Even Jehovahs Witnesses, famous for their opposition to blood transfusions, are said to have nothing against donating organs or tissue, as long as blood is drained from them first.

Theresa May will no doubt argue she was striking a blow for moral rectitude when she announced that she proposed to change organ donation law

In light of this, Theresa May will no doubt argue she was striking a blow for moral rectitude when she announced, in her accident-prone conference speech, that she proposed to change organ donation law. Under her plan, all adults in England will be assumed to be willing to donate their organs after death unless they opt out.

A similar scheme operates in Wales, while Scotland is bringing in a soft opt-out scheme, where organs cannot be removed without explicit consent of relatives.

Far be it from me to lecture a vicars daughter on morality, but in my view the Prime Ministers proposal is very wrong. Indeed, I reckon it is specifically condemned by many religious authorities including my mothers church, in which I and almost five million of my fellow UK citizens were brought up.

Organ transplants are not morally acceptable, says the Catholic Catechism, if the donor or those who legitimately speak for him have not given their informed consent. By what twisted interpretation of the English language can failing to tick an opt-out box on an NHS form be construed as informed consent?

Agonising

I should say at once that I am among the 23.5 million on the donor register, having ticked the opt-in box on my driving licence application form. But I took the decision only after much agonising, and with countless qualms and reservations.

For one thing, Ive never had complete faith in the medical professions ability to distinguish between a living human and a corpse. I have a recurring nightmare that one day I may wake up on a morgue slab to find surgeons helping themselves to my liver and kidneys, and any other bits and pieces they may fancy, under the mistaken impression that Im dead.

You may say that this could never happen in the developed world these days but once in a blue moon, it does. Indeed, a few years ago a New York hospital was fined $6,000 for ignoring signs of life in a 41-year-old woman who was pronounced dead from a drug overdose. As in my nightmare, she came round to find surgeons leaning over her, gloved and masked, preparing to harvest her organs.

For one thing, Ive never had complete faith in the medical professions ability to distinguish between a living human and a corpse

Other considerations made me hesitate before adding my name to the register. I feel queasy about the idea that after Im dead, a part of me could live on in the body of someone else. I prefer to think of death as the final full stop for every bit of me.

Come to that, nor do I much like the thought of being an organ recipient, with someone elses bits and pieces throbbing away inside me (although I reserve the right to change my mind if the day comes when I need a transplant).

Meanwhile, isnt it just possible that some part of our essence or spirit may reside in our mortal remains? Many clearly think so. Why else do human beings set so much store by funeral rites? Why was I so distressed by my mothers plans? And why, if a dead body is no more than an inanimate object, do most of us feel such extreme revulsion for necrophilia?

Such are the profound questions many of us would wish to ask ourselves before deciding whether or not to offer our organs for donation. Can we really be presumed to have considered them all, merely from failing to tick a box on a form?

Gimmick

But my objections to Mrs Mays plan are as much political as moral and ethical. Leave aside the paucity of evidence that opt-out schemes increase the availability of organs to those in desperate need. Indeed, the number of transplants in Wales actually fell in the first year of the new scheme, while the length of the waiting list for organs increased.

No, Mrs Mays proposal seems to bear all the hallmarks of a gimmick, thrown into her speech because she felt it was too light on policy  and with money so tight, at least it wouldnt cost much.

Mrs Mays proposal seems to bear all the hallmarks of a gimmick, thrown into her speech because she felt it was too light on policy

But isnt it profoundly un-Tory to suggest the state has ownership rights to all our mortal remains, unless we explicitly insist otherwise? If the Government plans to nationalise our hearts and kidneys, what on earth will we be able to call our own?

Why, then, did I join the donor register, feeling as squeamish as I do?

It was partly as, like my mother, I recognised it was the morally correct and charitable thing to do. But I confess I also calculated there was precious little risk that the NHS would actually wish to harvest the organs of an elderly, lifelong chain-smoker, with innards pickled in industrial quantities of booze.

The central point is that it was my personal decision, made after careful consideration and not by default.

As for my mother, Im delighted to report that when her time came, no one asked for her organs and she went to her cremation with her mortal remains and her dignity intact.

One final thought. Since I started this column, 43 unwanted emails have arrived in my inbox  many from online retailers, touting for business. I can only conclude that in the past, I must have failed to tick the box indicating I dont wish to receive news of special offers and promotions.

Would Mrs May presume from this that Ive given my informed consent to a daily deluge of junk mail? If so, I assure her she needs to think again.
We ask a celebrity a set of devilishly probing questions  and only accept THE definitive answer. This week its novelist Santa Montefiores turn

Novelist Santa Montefiore is in the hot seat for this week's definite article as we ask our most probing questions

The prized possession you value above all others My antique engagement ring with three diamonds. It was handed down in my husbands family on his fathers side. Sebag [history author Simon Sebag Montefiore] gave it to me in 1997 and we married a year later.

The biggest regret you wish you could amend I wish Id spent more time with my sister Tara [socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson who died on 8 February from natural causes], especially in the last year of her life. She had not been well, so she was elusive. I miss her so much.

The temptation you wish you could resist Sugar. I have a particular weakness for Werthers Original sweets.

The book that holds an everlasting resonance A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle is about conquering the ego and living in the now.

Driving across the Arizona dessert is Santa's happiest memory

The poem that touches your soul A traditional Gaelic blessing that begins, May the road rise up to meet you. Its deeply spiritual.

The priority activity if you were the Invisible Woman for a day Id sit in the woods at our cottage in Hampshire at dusk and watch the night animals, like foxes and owls, come to life.

The pet hate that makes your hackles rise... Patronising men  normally City bankers  who I meet at dinner parties and they say, So, do you make any money from writing? in a tone that makes it sound like its a little hobby that I do with a quill in a leaking attic.

The film you can watch time and time again The Bridges Of Madison County with Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep. Its such a beautiful, touching love story and I always cry.

The person who has influenced you most Sebag. Hes so perceptive about people and he has taught me how to observe. If not for his example I wouldnt be able to write the books I do.

The figure from history for whom youd most like to buy a pie and a pint Eva Peron. People loved her or hated her, so she was either a saint or a monster. Id like to know the truth and make up my own mind.

The piece of wisdom you would pass on to a child. Stick up for yourself. You deserve respect.

The unlikely interest that engages your curiosity Im drawn to the paranormal and Im fascinated by life after death. Im psychic and Ive seen spirits. I dabble in tarot cards too.

The treasured item you lost and wish you could have again My youth. Im 47 and I keep very fit, but I played lacrosse for England when I was young and Id like my teenage body back.

The unending quest that drives you on To make my next book better than the previous one.

The misapprehension about yourself you wish you could erase That Im prim and a goody-goody. Im actually very worldly and nothing shocks me.

The event that altered the course of your life and character The year I spent in Argentina when I was 19  my mother Patty is Anglo-Argentine. I based my first novel, Meet Me Under The Ombu Tree, on the experience and if it werent for going there I probably would never have become a writer.

The crime you would commit knowing you could get away with it Id break into Harrods and help myself to all the shoes and clothes that took my eye.

The song that means most to you I love Ennio Morricones score to the film Cinema Paradiso. I wrote my second novel to it on a loop and I play it whenever Im writing about Italy.

The way you would spend your fantasy 24 hours, with no travel restrictions... The day would start with breakfast at The Carlyle hotel in New York. Id have pancakes with maple syrup and a decaf latte, then go shopping with girlfriends.

Santa says that she is drawn to the paranormal and dabbles in tarot cards

Then Id go to Argentina where theyd finally be making the movie of Meet Me Under The Ombu Tree, which has been in development for years. Ill be cast as the lead character Sofia and the gorgeous Javier Bardem would be my lover Santi!

Wed have Argentine steak for lunch with wine and Javier would be mad for me, but Id fight him off. Later Id go horseriding in Montana with Sebag and our children Lily, 16, and Sasha, 14. Wed then check into the Amangiri hotel in Utah, which is surrounded by extraordinary landscape.

Later, Id meditate with the Dalai Lama. In the evening wed have chicken curry in Rajasthan at the Dev Shree hotel, which is owned by some dear friends. Wed end the day at Klosters, Switzerland, with extended family and friends doing a torch-lit ski from the top of the mountain at midnight.

The happiest moment you will cherish forever Driving across the Arizona desert on our family holiday this summer was so exciting and magical.

The saddest time that shook your world Taras death was so shocking it hit me like a train. I find it impossible to comprehend that I wont see her again.

The unfulfilled ambition that continues to haunt you To play the piano properly. I can play chords and read music, but I only muddle through.

The philosophy that underpins your life Everything happens for a reason. Even a bad experience is OK, if you learn from it and become wiser.

The order of service at your funeral I dont want a classic funeral, I want my family to say some prayers and read poems to help get me where Im going.

The way you want to be remembered As a loving mother and wife and a storyteller who entertained and touched people.

The Plug The Last Secret Of The Deverills by Santa Montefiore is published by Simon & Schuster, 14.99.
An Adelaide toddler has all the makings of a serious rock climber, according to her parents who say the tot has been climbing the walls  literally - since before she was out of nappies.

While most parents would balk at their child scaling walls of up to three metres  without ropes  Bella's mother Andie Torrealba Meriba isn't in the slightest bit fazed by her daughter's unusual antics.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, Andie explained both she and her husband Giancarlo are avid rock climbers. The couple climbed throughout her pregnancy, only stopping weeks before Bella was born.

Scroll down for video

Baby Bella began rock climbing before she was even out of nappies. Her parents say the toddler is a natural

Both her parents are avid rock climbers with Bella's mum climbing throughout her pregnancy

Jokingly, Andie said 'climbing might be in her DNA'.

In addition to taking up climbing as a hobby, Andie is also a climbing instructor at Adelaide's Bouldering Club.

'Bella would often come to work with me so I imagine she thinks climbing is something everyone does,' she said.

'She thinks of climbing the same way we think of walking. It's natural for her.'

The toddler's mother says she 'thinks of climbing the same way we think of walking. It's natural for her'

Andie said she'd noticed Bella's abilities at around three months old, well before she'd even started to crawl.

'She was hanging from our arms very, very easily.

'Then when she was about six months old she started hanging from just one arm, then she was hanging from her crib.'

When Bella was about six months old she started hanging from one arm, then she was hanging from her crib

Bella's natural ability to grip was a clear sign to both Andie and Giancarlo that their young daughter had the makings of a potential climber.

'When she was eight months we built her a small wall  really to help her stand up before she started walking,' she said.

'Then she started climbing it and she seemed to really like it.'

Bella climbing at eight months - with the help of her dad Giancarlo

Andie said they couldn't keep their daughter off the wall, and that she had become a 'bit obsessed'.

That Christmas, their present to Bella was another climbing wall  a bigger one, in pink - which the family installed in their living room.

The 2.2-metre new wall proved no match at all for young tot's skill, said Andie, with Bella scaling it with minimal effort.

Even when the climb was made more difficult by her parents adding extra angles, Bella simply took the challenge in her stride.

Encouraging the tiny tot's Ninja Warrior side, Andie and Giancarlo suspended gymnastic rings from the lounge-room ceiling.

'Before long she was climbing the wall, then swinging from one ring to the other like a monkey,' she said.

Encouraging Bella's Ninja Warrior side, her parents Andie and Giancarlo suspended gymnastic rings from the lounge-room ceiling

At 16 months old, the fearless toddler was tackling 3.4-metre-high walls in just seconds, and scaling 20-metre walls in under four minutes.

The avid climber also took to 'bouldering'  clinging to the underside of a rock at the gym and making her way along it upside down.

While Andie stresses safety is always her number-one priority, Bella doesn't generally use ropes when she climbs - although ropes and her parents are always nearby.

Instead, she explains Bella prefers to climb up and down by herself, using a harness. Her proud mum said she is a natural who is able to 'solve' a climb by figuring out the easiest way to complete it, and she does so without needing any help.

'She doesn't let anyone help her, and tells me to go away if I try to help her.

'Technique-wise she's very good, and because she's being doing it for a long time she's also extremely strong.

While Andie stresses safety is always her number-one priority, Bella doesn't use ropes when she climbs

'She's learned what she can do and what she can't and she's figured out what's safe and what isn't.

'She won't try a move that's risky if myself, or my husband, isn't there.'

Andie said Bella's antics have seen her become an international sensation with videos of her climbing having been seen by hundreds of thousands of people.

Bella is still honing her skills on outdoor climbs with her rock climbing-obsessed family

While Bella's still honing her skills on outdoor climbs with the family, she's busy taking inspiration from all things  and people  climbing-related.

'She loves monkeys so she eats lots of bananas, and she loves Spider-Man because of the way he can scale walls,' Andie said.

Both parents believe Bella has the makings of becoming a pro rock climber when she's older.

The young rock climber takes the business of scaling walls seriously

'She already has little callouses on her hands from hanging and swinging,' she said.

'You can tell she loves it, there's a good chance that she'll become a pretty serious climber.

'Right now she's just having fun, and she can already do pretty impressive stuff,' she concluded.
He had changed schools eleven times and had to be put into homeschooling

Ben, 13, from Nottinghamshire had his hand broken by bullies for being a gypsy

A 13-year-old boy was forced to change schools 11 times because he was bullied so severely because of his background, before eventually being pulled out of mainstream education altogether.

Appearing on this week's Gypsy Kids: Our Secret World, Ben, 13, from Nottinghamshire revealed how he became the victim of violent bullies who ultimately drove him out of mainstream education.

Ben's ordeal initially stopped when he joined his eleventh school, where he settled in so well began giving motivational speeches about overcoming bullying - before he was once again targeted at his new school.

This particular gang broke his hand and Ben was forced to leave, with his mother making the difficult decision to home school him rather than see him suffering further.

Ben, 13, from Nottinghamshire, had his hand broken when he was pounced on by a group of 16 bullies for being a Traveller

Ben appeared on Gypsy Kids to talk about how he'd overcome bullying, revealing that he was happy in his eleventh school.

The programme revealed that two thirds of Traveller children have been bullied or physically attacked because of their background.

In the hope to change this Ben began motivational speaking in his last school to encourage fellow victims.

Speaking before he was attacked, Ben said: 'Now I'm at this new school I'm getting more respect and understanding of who I am.

'Everyone knows I'm a gypsy, they just think "he's a nice lad," so what's the point of giving me more problems?'

But Ben's happy ending soon took a turn for the worse, as during filming for the show he was attacked by a 16-strong group of schoolboys who knew he was a Traveller.

His mother said she didn't want anymore calls from the school telling her Ben had been attacked

Ben had just settled into his eleventh school and thought it was the first school where he wouldn't be bullied

Ben was left with a broken hand and his parents were forced to pull him out of school for his own safety.

He said: 'I was walking to English and there was about 16 lads who circled me and my sister. They started hauling abuse at me, calling me g***o and p***y then they started to attack me.

'I was thinking here we go again. Am I ever eventually gonna leave this behind?'

Despite fearing that the gang may attack him with a knife, Ben was desperate to return to school.

The schoolboy had even embarked on a career as a motivational speaker, inspire people with his story about how he overcame bullying

Ben's mum made the difficult decision to pull him out of the school because she didn't want him to be attacked again

But Ben's parents decided not to let him return to school after a meeting with teachers left them feeling scared for his safety.

Ben's mother told her son: 'There's a million and one options that we can look at, but school is not going to be one of them, babe.

'If the school had turned around to me and said ''This is what we're going to put in place, we're going to make sure these boys are kept away and we're going to nip it in the bud'' then it would be a whole different story.'

She added: 'We don't want phone calls anymore saying Ben's been attacked, he's got broken bones and he needs to go to hospital.'

Home schooling remained the only option for Ben, with the family having tried every local school, and the next closest establishment being over 25 miles away.

After initially being opposed to homeschooling, Ben said he was enjoying having one-on-one time with his parents

After his initial protests Ben quickly learned to love the one-on-one tuition he received.

Ben said: 'I feel positive about the future because I know whatever it holds for me I know it's going to be good. My family have always been supportive with me.

'Home schooling for me is being absolutely amazing at the moment and the reason for that is because I'm always getting one-on-one. In a classroom for 30 kids you wouldn't normally get that one-on-one time.

'It's going to be hard moving forward for me but I know I can be positive and still do the things that i want to do.'

Gypsy Kids: Our Secret World airs Thursdays at 10pm on Channel 5.
A pet personal stylist whose dressed Simon Cowell's Yorkshire terriers has revealed how doting owners are prepared to spend thousands on trinkets such as diamond ID tags, with some shopping for their pets on a daily basis.

Melody Lewis runs PetLondon, a boutique on Wigmore Street where her clients, who include Geri Horner and Lady Victoria Hervey, buy entire wardrobes for their much-loved pets, carefully curated by the in-house personal shopper.

'A few years ago people would come in and buy a winter coat,' she said. 'Now, they will look for three or four options, one if it's raining, a jumper, and one as a weekend coat.

'We have Rebecca as our personal shopper as it's something people require help with. Because dogs have even more shapes and sizes than humans, you need expert advice.'

Melody even has a modelling agency for furry friends, with clients on her books appearing in Vogue and ad campaigns for designers such as Stella McCartney, while she also negotiates contracts for pets to work with brands as influencers and ambassadors.

But perhaps the most famous dogs she's worked with are Squiddly and Diddly, Simon Cowell's dogs who she dressed for Britain's Got Talent.

Melody Lewis runs PetLondon on Wigmore Street as as well as an agency for pet models and social media influencers

Melody and her team picked out sequinned Union Jack hoodies for Squiddly and Diddly to wear to the launch of Britain's Got Talent in 2014

Dog lover Geri Horner has been to Melody's boutique to pick up luxury trinkets for her dogs

'Simon Cowell was looking to dress his Yorkshire Terriers for Britain's Got Talent. His team called and explained they wanted something to encapsulate what the show was about,' she recalled.

'It was the launch of the 2014 show and all the judges were taking their pets along for the photocall.

'We'd just had a set of fabulous sequinned Union Jack flag hoodies arrive and they were absolutely perfect. We were thrilled to be able to help.

'Simon's assistant came along for a fitting and Rebecca ensured the dogs had the right size hoodies and were comfortable.

Pet journalist Rachel Spencer and her dog Daisy try the personal shopping experience with stylist Rebecca at PetLondon

Dog lover Lady Victoria Hervey is another fan of the luxury boutique for pets

Daisy tries out a red frilly dress at the boutique where doting owners snap up entire wardrobes for their pets

'Seeing them on TV wearing the outfits we styled them in was fantastic and the hoodies proved so popular that year because Simon's dogs had been such great ambassadors.'

On the books of her modelling agency, Melody has Starina the cat, who has been in Vogue and Tatler and in Stella McCartney campaigns, and Lilliput the Maltese, who is the most followed of her breed on Instagram.

She set up the agency nine years ago after going on a TV set and seeing miserable dogs stuck in cages all day and being ordered about by a stern dog handler.

Melody felt strongly much loved pets should be taking part instead who enjoyed having fun and being made a fuss of during the shoots.

Starina Esperanza is one of the feline models of Melody's books and has starred in campaigns for Vogue and Stella McCartney

Lilliput is the most followed Maltese dog on Instagram and is a model on Melody's books

She has an animal handler, Adam, who works alongside her making sure the animals are settled and cared for on set.

She explained: 'Dogs are such intelligent creatures, they don't deserve to be treated like that, so that was the major push for me to set up the agency.

'Now, I work with Instagram famous pets who go on shoots all over the world, but it's fun for them, they enjoy it, and they have fabulous lives.'

When it comes to the shop Melody says her customers spend an average of 60 per visit, but she has had clients spend into the thousands.

Melody's VERY spoiled pet clients Ralph Bolonoodle, a mini Poodle and Bolognese, has 5,000 Instagram followers and goes shopping every day with owner Lisa Perlman, 38. The full time mum from Edgware, North London bought him as a pup a year ago as company when her oldest child started school. She said: 'He has a whole wardrobe of harnesses, leads and outfits, and they change every day. 'He has 20 jumpers, 15 coats, 30 hand made leads and collars, bow ties, bandanas. 'I love things to match. I enjoy buying clothes for Ralph more than I do for myself.' Rebecca styled him in a 55 blue linen shirt, a 24 yellow neon collar and a 12 sailor hat. Teacup chihuahuas Suki and Bear have outfits and accessories worth thousands of pounds. Owner Manon Fischer-Dieskaw, 29, has spent much of her savings indulging her pets. Suki, 16 months, has been signed as a pet model. 'She looks so cute in her outfits that I thought, 'why not?' said Manon, a piano teacher. 'She has 30 different outfits; T shirts, tutus, skirts, jumpsuits, jumpers, by the Louis Dog brand as they fit best.' During her visit to the boutique Manon spent 210 on outfits for her dogs - a neon yellow collar, a pineapple print dress, a green hair clip, a pineapple print a black suede collar and two striped t-shirts. Manon added: 'They look so sweet. I try not to think about the cost!' Bear has a nibble on his sister Suki's brand new neon yellow collar Piano teacher Manon admitted she's spent most of her savings on her teacup chihuahuas Suki and Bear Advertisement

She said: 'Some of our customers who come from overseas can be more impulsive. They don't have the chance to buy again, so they have very large shopping bags.

'If we have clients from America for example, they will want to take something different back for their pet to wear that they won't see at home.

'We had a lady come in who was here on holiday who had twelve cats and bought every single one of them a different outfit.

'She came in with photos of the animals and we styled them all by working with the images. No single day is the same.

'Virtual personal shopping for dogs is something we can see happening in five years time. The customer would show their pet in 3D and we could advise them on what would work for them.

Starina, pictured on a visit to the boutique, enjoys a career as a high end fashion model

Daisy the dog is measured for a new outfit. As dogs come in all shapes and sizes, a personal shopping service is even more pertinent that it is for humans, according to Melody

Daisy in a cherry print summer dress that comes with a matching bag for her owner

'Once phones become 3D we should be able to project the shape of the animal from the phone, then fit it from the projection.'

At the moment, the most popular item is jumpers and coats, and harnesses, as owners don't want collars putting pressure on dog's necks.

An 18 carat gold and diamond ID tag is the most expensive item in the shop at 1,999

The most extravagant item in store is a 1,999 diamond ID tag made of solid 18 carat gold in the shape of a heart, bone or star.

Melody explains: 'The ID tag really is breathtaking. It's a beautiful piece of jewellery and just shows how devoted people are to their pets.'

Dressing up animals has been met with some criticism. The RSPCA has said pets can find wearing some costumes frightening and that they restrict dogs telling us how they are feeling.

Melody says that her team act responsibly though and when pets are being styled, they ensure they can still express their natural behaviour.

She said: 'Pets need protection from the elements, when it's raining or cold, particularly those with short coats such as Chihuahuas and French Bulldogs.

Daisy modelling a tutu and checked collar with a pink and white beaded lead

Personal shopper Rebecca tries to tempt Daisy with a range of harnesses

'People also really love their pets and want to make their pet feel good. We humanise them and treat them as we would any other member of the family and want them in the cosiest, softest jumper they can.

'We are responsible. We wouldn't dress up a St Bernard or a Husky because they have thick coats and don't need any help keeping warm, we would tell them it wasn't right.

'The animal comes first. As long as a dog is enjoying themselves, that's what is important.'

Daisy tries a new collar on for size at PetLondon where the most expensive trinket is a 2,000 diamond and gold ID tag
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is always one of the most hotly-anticipated events on the industry calendar - but this year's runway event looks set to be the most exciting yet, after it was revealed it will feature the lingerie giant's first ever designer collaboration.

And far from working with just any old fashion label, the brand is making its first move into the high-end industry with a bang - teaming up with none other than Kardashian-loved brand Balmain, and its creative director Olivier Rousteing, 32.

As well as debuting on the runway at the fashion event in Shanghai with several specially-designed pieces, the VSxBalmain collaboration will also be available to those people who won't be strutting their stuff on the catwalk.

Scroll down for video

The secret's out! Victoria's Secret announced that it would be partnering with Balmain, headed up by creative director Olivier Rousteing, for a limited-edition capsule collection

According a statement made by the lingerie company, the designs are 'an offering that looks to the sexy, modern silhouette that Victoria's Secret is known for while incorporating Balmains instantly identifiable style'.

VSxBalmain: The collection will be sold in stores and online starting November 29

It continued: 'The collection builds upon the houses couture legacy while reflecting the way women want to dress today.'

Although little is currently known about what the collection will include, the brand released a very sneak peek at the first designs in a teaser video posted online on Thursday.

And in an interview with the New York Times, Olivier gave a few more clues when he spoke about his vision for encouraging woman to feel sexy and his plan to break some rules within the fashion industry.

He said: 'Sometimes high fashion doesnt welcome sexy in.

'But for me, sexy is about confidence and feeling attractive and loving being beautiful.

'Why shouldnt women be allowed to embrace feeling like that? There is nothing wrong with sexiness in my world.'

A sneak peek! The brand shared a teaser video for the collaboration online on Thursday

Guessing game: Unfortunately the video gave very little away in terms of what the collaboration will include

Breaking the rules: Olivier said he was proud to be bringing about change in the industry

He continued to say that although some call his presence controversial, he doesn't necessarily disagree with it but thinks of his disruption into the industry as something to be proud of.

'A lot of people call me controversial and say I have been disruptive. Maybe I have. But I am just a young guy believing in the power of my world and using the chance I have been given to express it. Sometimes I have to break some rules, like when I started Balmain,' he told the New York Times.

'I broke rules because I came from a relatively unknown background, being so young at 24 and being black. But actually, what I am is a French designer. Bringing about change. Fighting the establishment.

'So I am also proud of that: being someone who is not afraid to make his own rules.'

But the rules are always flexible when it comes to fashion as this is the first time that Victoria's Secret has partnered with a luxury brand to create an exclusive collection.
The woman who founded beauty giant Mecca Cosmetica has revealed the story behind her astonishing success - from a young girl playing with her mother's makeup to owning a AU $100 million company.

Mecca owner Jo Horgan often shies away from the spotlight - instead letting her glittering makeup empire speak for itself.

The business mogul first discovered cosmetics when she played around with her mother's makeup pots while growing up in the UK, and at the age of 28 took a gamble and sold her home to open a boutique store in Melbourne.

Mecca founder Jo Horgan (pictured) sold her own home to open the first store in Melbourne's South Yarra

The Mecca founder created her international empire in 1997 after working in L'Oreal for years

'I really was one of those kids constantly getting into my mum's make-up pots and trying things on,' Jo told PerthNow.

'I would watch her taking off her make-up, cleansing, moisturising. I can still to this day remember the smell of all those different products. I remember coming home from boarding school on the weekends and sitting there next to her, chatting as she was doing that.'

Jo started in the makeup industry by taking up a job with Parisian beauty brand L'Oreal and fell in love with the allure of cosmetics and the way it made women feel.

She decided to bring the niche 'mecca' style to Australia in 1997 and, by 2003, she had launched her own Mecca brand which ranged from moisturiser to powder brushes.

Mecca founder Jo Horgan (pictured) sold her own home to open the first store in Melbourne's South Yarra

She decided to bring the niche 'mecca' style to Australia in 1997 and, by 2003, she had launched her own Mecca brand which ranged from moisturiser to powder brushes

'I feel that Australian women are naturally fashion-forward and plugged in. Now, with the advent of digital, Australian beauty consumers are incredibly attuned to whats going on internationally,' Jo told the publication.

Selling her own home to set up a tiny makeup store was a spectacular risk - which ultimately paid off.

This year marks two decades since Jo lifted the veil on niche beauty on Australian shores and she is now the head of a multi-million dollar beauty business.

Mecca now has 80 physical stores across Australia and NZ and two online, with both Mecca Cosmetica and its bigger counterpart Mecca Maxima drawing in scores of beauty lovers every day.

'I feel that Australian women are naturally fashion-forward and plugged in. Now, with the advent of digital, Australian beauty consumers are incredibly attuned to whats going on internationally,' Jo told the publication

This year marks two decades since Jo lifted the veil on niche beauty on Australian shores and she is now the head of a multi-million dollar beauty business

Mecca now has 80 physical stores across Australia and NZ and two online, with both Mecca Cosmetica and its bigger counterpart Mecca Maxima drawing in scores of beauty lovers every day

Jo's 1990s vision transformed into a $100m business which stocks hundreds of brands and thousands of different products.

'I am really proud of the fact that Mecca is an Australian born and bred company that has focused 100 per cent on Australian and New Zealand women,' Jo adds.

Just last month Mecca unveiled its biggest ever location in Brisbane, a sprawling store spread over two levels and on a 550sqm lot.

More than 2,000 fans lined up outside the new retailer awaiting the grand opening, eager to get their hands on a bottle of foundation or the newest liquid eyeliner.

Stunning images from the inside of Mecca's now flagship store reveal shelves upon shelves of illustrious brands ranging from Lancome to Yves Saint Laurent.
As her parents' wedding day neared, four-year-old Paige would proudly tell everyone she met that she was going to be their flower girl.

Then Paige was unexpectedly diagnosed with brain cancer and given just days to live. Her big dream of seeing her parents say 'I do' suddenly seemed impossible.

But her aunt Innez Stonnell decided to make Paige's greatest wish come true, planning a beautiful wedding at her hospital in just 24 hours.

It was a magical night for a family that has been living in a nightmare for the past eight weeks.

Four-year-old Paige fulfilled her dream to be a flower girl at her parents' wedding after they rushed the ceremony when she was given just a week to live

Paige's parents Tania Miller and Jacob Skarratts (pictured) were emotional as they tied the knot in a beautiful hospital ceremony just a day after receiving the devastating news

But they were overjoyed that Paige was able to be a part of their special day. For months she had excitedly been telling strangers she would be their flower girl in a wedding next year

Paige was a happy and healthy four-year-old girl when she was suddenly struck by terrible headaches two months ago.

'She would scream in pain while she was playing,' Innez told Daily Mail Australia. 'We now know that was from the tumour.'

Paige's mother Tania Miller took her daughter to the emergency room, but doctors said it was simply a headache despite the fact that her face had started to drop.

They booked Paige for a CT scan in a couple of months, but she would need the appointment far sooner.

Just a few weeks later, Paige was struck by a terrible headache once again and this time her 'face dropped even more noticeably', Innez said.

Her father Jacob Skarratts immediately took Paige back to the emergency room, where the pediatrician on call rushed them to a CT scan the next day.

Paige (pictured here with her mum and two-year-old sister Imogen) was diagnosed with a brain tumour the size of a lemon just weeks ago

Her mother Tania's wedding dress was picked out by her aunt Innez Stonnell, who planned the wedding day in just 24 hours. Tania was all smiles as she got ready for the big day

The nurses helped Paige get ready in her hospital bed with a gorgeous flower girl dress

Tania became emotional as she got her hair and makeup done right next to her daughter's bed

The loving mother had been the first to take Paige to the hospital eight weeks ago, when she got an excruciating headache that left her in tears

'That was the day that changed our lives,' Innez said.

The scan showed that Paige had a tumour the size of a lemon. Just days later she was taken to Lady Cilento Children's Hospital in Brisbane for surgery.

'They were unable to remove the whole mass, and found out that she is terminal,' Innez said.

Her parents decided to start Paige on chemotherapy last week in the hope of prolonging her life, but after the first night of treatment they knew something was terribly wrong.

'Paige was vomiting and was really sick,' Innez recalled.

'They took her back to the hospital, where they were told that the tumour had grown back a little bigger than it was before, and she had fluid and blood on her brain.'

Doctors took Jacob and Tania into another room to deliver the heartbreaking news: There was nothing else medicine could do. Paige only had a week or two left to live.

At first doctors believed Paige was just suffering from a headache, but a few weeks later it happened again and her face began to droop. She was rushed in for a CT scan

It was then doctors found the tumour. Just days later she was taken to Lady Cilento Children's Hospital in Brisbane for surgery

Paige started chemotherapy last week but after the first day of treatment doctors found the tumour had grown. She was given a week or two to live

As they broke down in tears, the parents knew they wanted to get married before they lost their little girl forever. So Innez decided to start right then and there.

'Something that they had wanted to do for so long was get married, and they couldn't bear the thought of Paige not being there,' Innez explained.

'So I offered to help them and got started straight away!'

Innez decided to focus on the main aspects of a wedding. She asked the hospital for permission, found a celebrant, and picked up a wedding dress for Tania.

Others helped chip in as well. A close friend of Innez's sister made the cake, and a mum from Paige's kindergarten who worked with a wedding co-ordinator organised the music and decorations.

The entire wedding cost $1,000. It was a magical night that the entire family will never forget.

Tania got her makeup and hair done right next to Paige's hospital bed and became emotional as she put on her daughter's special gold flower girl shoes.

On the wedding day, a nurse dressed as superman wheeled Paige down the aisle so she could fulfill her flower girl duties

She was then joined by her mother Tania, who beamed as she was led down the grass courtyard in the hospital

Paige's father Jacob couldn't help but get emotional as he gazed at his eldest child

The entire family broke down in tears after the ceremony as they surrounded Paige

A nurse dressed up as Superman wheeled Paige down the aisle as she fulfilled her flower girl duties with two-year-old sister Imogen.

Thirty family, friends and nurses watched as Jacob and Tania each grabbed one of Paige's hands as they met at the altar in the courtyard of the hospital.

And the parents couldn't help but break down in tears as they hugged Paige after saying 'I do'.

Although Paige could not open her eyes, Tania and Jacob were just happy she could be there and feel the love of her family all around her.

Paige is still fighting, and the family have raised more than $28,000 for her medical treatment on GoFundMe.

As their daughter continues to battle cancer, Tania and Peter are holding on to the beautiful memory of Paige on their wedding day - one they will now have forever.

'It was the most special day,' Innez said.

'If you could bottle up the feeling of the atmosphere on the night, it would be priceless.'
Millennials get a bad press, and no wonder. Look at them! Or to be more accurate, look at them through my vinegary gaze.

They are always wafting around in a daze, taking pictures of rainbows in puddles or scrolling through their phones with the intensity of a snake charmer staring down a cobra.

They spend money they should be saving on ridiculous pumpkin-spiced lattes from overpriced coffee shops, or ordering Deliveroo pizzas while worrying the wi-fi signal is going down in their safe space.

Like meerkats, they move around together in self-sufficient little gangs, sharing the same acceptable Leftist opinions, uninterested and unable to connect emotionally with the world outside.

Find: Workmen refurbishing the Manchester's Ritz club found the wallet, containing 12 pence, a Midland bank bard, which expired in 1987, and a handwritten library pass

No snowflake born in the past two decades of the 20th century seems to know how to dress a wound or put up a shelf or make supper out of an onion, a baked potato and a tofu sausage.

But they do all love Jeremy Corbyn because he is a freedom fighter and a vegetarian who digs Venezuela and wears corduroy ironically, just like them. They can only communicate within and beyond their circle via their smartphones or other hand-held devices, and even then only in cryptic acronyms.

They live by the maxim of YOLO (you only live once) and often suffer from FOMO (fear of missing out), even if they often have problems coping IRL (in real life).

Not all Millennials are like this, of course  dont all msg me at once, haterz  but a recent survey did more to reinforce the stereotype than to knock it down.

Mystery: Sarah, pictured, used to go to Ritz because it had a 'spongy' floor that Sarah and her mates could bounce around on to Eighties hits from Bananarama and drink beer for 70p a pint.

When questioned for a study by an electronics company about aspects of the daily grind that wear them down, the little darlings said their chief First World problems were worrying about avocados not being ripe for their hipster brunches, or that supplies of prosecco might run out.

Just like they did last summer in London (hold me now, Im still trembling).

They also worried about having to wait in all day for online deliveries, forgetting their online passwords, leaving their phones at home and not getting enough likes on Instagram. The researchers, working with a behavioural psychologist from Goldsmiths, University of London, then compared these trivial worries with those faced by people (now aged 50 or over) two decades ago.

We are, as The Who once pointed out, talking bout my generation.

Respondents in 1997 werent worried about ripening fruits or vegetables, they were concerned with sweating the big stuff  about having a happy relationship, earning enough to pay the bills and buying a home.

Other issues included affording a holiday  you are not going to believe this, kids, but going abroad was not mandatory and no one ever had a gap year.

Another gripe from my generation was having to get up from the sofa to turn over the television channels, which was indeed a right old pain. Still, there was less dissatisfaction among the young back then, in a time which already seems like ancient history.

We werent constantly bombarded with envy inducing social media images of the lifestyles of the rich and famous, neither were we choosing our sex-dates on Tinder, or buying things we couldnt afford simply by clicking a button.

Sarah Dales long-lost wallet is the perfect example of how times have changed; it is a relic from another age, as fascinating as the Stone Age purse covered in dog teeth unearthed in Germany five years ago. Almost!

Sarah's brown wallet, which is a living time capsule of a Midland bank card and handwritten library pass, was discovered behind a radiator during refurbishment work at the Ritz nightclub. She said she doesn't remember the night in question because she went to the club all the time.

Now working as a top lawyer, Miss Dale was a law student when she mislaid her wallet behind the radiator of a Manchester nightclub, where it has lain untouched for 30 years.

That doesnt say much for their hygiene standards, but lets not dwell.

The wallet contained 12p, a 50 Midland Bank cheque card, some photographic ID, a pay slip, a library card and a residents association card. This reveals that young Sarah went out into the world, met her neighbours, borrowed and read books, had both a job to get her through university and a savings account.

Note that there were no credit or debit cards. Not only were there fewer things to buy back then, controls such as cheque cards made it harder for young people to get into debt.

Few youngsters had credit cards or flexible friends, nor were they allowed or encouraged to rack up huge bills on the never-never. Now the country is groaning with debt, on both national and personal levels  and that is not a change for the good.

We didnt have as much back then, and the only fear of avocado we had was a brief period when it was fashionable to have avocado-coloured bathroom suites  which everyone hated.

However, I think life was much easier and more fun than it is today for the snowflakey Millennials who have so much more in terms of choice, but who seem so hidebound by their technology, instead of getting out there and living a life, like we did.

No wonder they are so annoying.

Why I think more of Theresa now

Is it safe to come out now? Can we bear to look? No, Theresa May has not had the best of weeks, but I thought there was something noble in her doggedness in the face of disaster.

Doing her rounds of interviews during the conference, she had a new, hopeful, cheery little note patched onto her voice. Then her keynote, troop-rallying campaign speech was beset by problems and deemed a disaster.

Theresa May has not had the best of weeks, but I thought there was something noble in her doggedness in the face of disaster

Yet I thought she ad-libbed rather well, considering spontaneity is not one of her strong points. It certainly took guts to get through the damn thing, but somehow she struggled on. The Prime Minister looked near to tears when Philip May jumped up to hug her at the end, but this made me think more of her, not less.

She made it to the end, she did her duty and she has a husband who clearly loves her. That is not nothing. And if bad luck really does come in threes  croaky voice, idiot prankster, falling scenery  then it should be plain sailing from now on.

Fingers crossed.

It was television presenter Davinas turn to shine this week, showing off a large slice of her fruity botty in a frilly swimsuit

Davina gives ageing the bum's rush

Sometimes I think it would just be quicker and simpler for all of us if Davina McCall, Myleene Klass and Holly Willoughby just got together every morning and did the can-can down the Mall in their knickers. For all three women make a point of regularly oversharing on social media about their gorgeous bodies, their gorgeous lives, their gorgeous holidays and their gorgeous clothes.

It is exhausting  for us, not them. They might argue that it is an important and lucrative part of marketing themselves, of course. However, it cant hurt that their fans add adoring comments to each post. Thats always a nice ego boost for the diligent narcissist, no matter how famous.

It was television presenter Davinas turn to shine this week, showing off a large slice of her fruity botty in a frilly swimsuit. First foray into thong bikini . . . at 50, she wrote. This might look like Im showing off . . . I am.

Well, who could blame her? After giving up sugar in 2015  and illegal drugs a few decades earlier  Davina has become super-fit, a woman who trains as hard as an athlete and is in terrific shape. She was celebrating her 50th birthday by hiking in France with her girlfriends, where they went mad and had some sugar-free cake.

Many happy returns, Davina! Although I suspect the idea of marking a 50th with no champagne, no sugar, no chocolate, no husband and no children on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere isnt going to catch on any time soon.

No substitute for Kim

Oh dear. Handbags on the Sex And The City front, where the stars have fallen out over making a third Hollywood film. Kim Cattrall, who played sex-mad Samantha, has pulled out at the last minute  calling her co-stars toxic.

Sarah Jessica Parker finds this regrettable, but believe me it wasnt as regrettable as Sex And The City 2, which was an insult to all of us. I can see why Kim is not keen.

Sarah Jessica Parker (left) and Kim Cattrall (shown right) star in Sex And The City 2

At 61, she is a decade older than her co-stars. Even super-cougars like Samantha have a shelf life, and it would be awful to see her prowling around Manhattan throwing herself at geriatric younger men.

Diehard fans want the film to go ahead with or without her. But Samantha is irreplaceable, the key character. Its not like Miss Ellie in Dallas, who was summarily replaced with another actress when Barbara Bel Geddes retired. That would never work for SATC, would it? Unless Ab Fabs Patsy Stone was free . . .

A gran with clout

Thank you as always for all your emails and letters. Last week, I wrote about the death of Liz Dawn, who played Vera Duckworth in Coronation Street.

My appreciation of gritty, Northern women met with great appreciation  from gritty Northern women.

My favourite email was from 72-year-old Judith K, from Bury, who was babysitting her small grandson while her daughter was on holiday in Marrakech. Pausing only to note that she only ever went to Blackpool on hols, Judith wrote: Yes, I am one of those who accept no nonsense. In the playground this morning my grandson was playing up and I shouted at him: Ill clout your ears if you dont pack it in. The yuppie Cheshire mums were horrified, but I just thought, get a life.

And consider themselves well and truly clouted.

Archaeologists in Turkey think they have discovered the final resting place of Saint Nicholas. Maybe so, but can we just get one thing straight? Santa Claus is not, repeat, not dead. OK?
An Australian mother has penned a heartfelt letter to the son she fell unexpectedly pregnant with at the age of 25.

When self-confessed 'career woman' Elizabeth Anile first discovered she was expecting a baby she thought 'this isn't how my life is supposed to go'.

But as her son, Oliver, celebrated his first birthday she shared a letter she wrote to him on her blog Bambi & Baby.

Here she shares her story in her own words.

Elizabeth Anile penned a heartfelt letter to the son she fell unexpectedly pregnant with at the age of 25

'This isn't how my life is supposed to go' I muttered, stunned, as two bright pink lines on the pregnancy stick stared back at me.

I was only 25. A career woman. I'd just landed my dream gig with a metropolitan TV network after spending two years interstate chasing my television reporting dreams.

Your dad was overseas. I'd simply taken a pregnancy test to alleviate what I was sure were unfounded concerns. I mean, after all, I was only a day late. There was no way I was pregnant.

Except, I was.

'I'm pregnant. I'm having a baby,' I said out loud to no one in particular.

I know you'll roll your eyes at this, but I'd visited a psychic a few weeks earlier who emphatically told me as I sat down, 'right so you're pregnant.'

Despite my protests that I was absolutely not, she was adamant.

Elizabeth - a self-confessed 'career woman' was initially adamant she was not pregnant - but she was

I laughed about it with everyone I came across, 'how ridiculous!' I would say while downing a glass of wine/a margarita/anything alcoholic (sorry!).

A week later, I experienced strange cramps and I knew this was the beginning of you. I called your dad straight away. He'd just returned from a night out with his friends.

'So, I'm pregnant.'

' are you sure?'

'Pretty certain'

A heavy silence clogged the line between Melbourne and Hong Kong.

'Wow, okay I'll be home tomorrow. Let's talk more then. I love you and I miss you.'

As the shock died down, your dad and I realised you were exactly what we wanted.

'As the shock died down, your dad and I realised you were exactly what we wanted,' Elizabeth wrote to her son

Sure, the timing wasn't ideal. But your dad and I were in love, and the rock on my finger proved we were committed to spend the rest of our lives together. We'd been blessed. You were our shining light.

A few months of morning sickness later, we were told you were a boy. I will never forget the phone call I made to your dad when I found out the news.

He sobbed down the end of the phone. 'A boy!' he wailed 'we're having a boy!' A tiny, beautiful, baby boy. We couldn't be more excited. I'm not sure how it was possible, but we somehow fell even more in love with you.

From that night, we started to picture you. Would you have my lips? Dad's eyes? Mum's colour hair? Dad's nose?

We'd select the qualities in each of us we wanted you to inherit, as if there was a buffet of traits we could pick and choose from to create our perfect child.

The doting mother penned an emotional letter to her son Oliver (pictured) on his first birthday

I visited my obstetrician every few weeks for a check up. That's where we'd see your beautiful face beamed on the ultrasound screen. Dad would insist on joining me every time, even when I said he didn't have to.

He was desperate to see your fingers, your toes. He's a worry wart, your dad. He would confirm at least nine times the pregnancy was progressing as normal, and you were healthy.

'He's the best looking kid I've seen all day,' our obstetrician would shoot back with a smile.

'I'm sure he says that to everyone,' Dad would say as we walk out.

'But with us, he really means it,' I would reply.

Over the months, you grew bigger, healthier, stronger. You were such a wriggle worm, it's like you always had something to do in there.

My heart would swell with love. We'd created this little human. I couldn't be more excited for our little family. Our future was so bright,' Elizabeth wrote

Each night dad would come home from work and place a hand on Mum's belly. This was my favourite time of the day. We'd feel you move, and when there was an exceptionally big kick, Dad's eyes would light up.

My heart would swell with love. We'd created this little human. I couldn't be more excited for our little family. Our future was so bright.

It was seven weeks before your due date when I started to feel uncomfortable. I complained to the hospital, the obstetrician, the midwives, but I think everyone thought I was overreacting. I was, after all, on the final stretch. Pregnancy in the third trimester is never a walk in the park.

But a week later, six weeks before your due date, you were ready to meet Mum and Dad.

The problem was, we weren't ready for you. Your nursery was in boxes. I hadn't even packed my hospital bag. In fact, dad was due to fly out the following week for an overseas work trip!

Baby Oliver was born prematurely and spent more than two weeks in special care but is now a healthy and happy little boy

When we arrived at the hospital, my waters broke.

'You've officially gone into labour,' the midwife told me. I cried.

Dad stayed with me the entire time. He dabbed a cold face washer on my head to cool me down. He cuddled me in between contractions. Before we knew it, it was time to push, and there you were.

You were perfect in every possible way. But you were supposed to keep cooking. So after a very quick cuddle with mum, you were gone, rushed to the special care nursery, a place you would call home for the next 2.5 weeks.

'He looks exactly like you,' I told your dad as he scrolled through the photos on his phone, tears streaming down my face. This was never how I imagined I would give birth to my first child.

We were supposed to be bonding, cuddling, getting to know one another. But you were gone. It still breaks my heart to this day we didn't get to have the start to our lives together we deserved.

'The last year has been the most challenging in my life. But its also been the most magical, electrifying, life-changing. I wouldn't take back a second of it for the world,' the mum wrote

For the next few weeks, Dad and I dedicated our lives to getting you big and strong so we could take you home. That day finally came. Our family of two was now officially three. I was complete. My heart was whole.

Now you are one year old. Where did that time go?

Such a milestone calls for reflection though many memories have morphed into a drowsy blur. From battling the dreaded four-month sleep regression, when you decided nighttime rest was overrated, to cradling you at 3am as you battled a fever, to frantically speeding to Byron Bay hospital when you fell off the bed and bumped your head.

The last year has been the most challenging in my life. But its also been the most magical, electrifying, life-changing. I wouldn't take back a second of it for the world.

I watched you grow from a small, smushed, premature baby who was taken off me moments after he was born, to this beautiful, strong-willed, sensitive soul who looks at me like I'm magic, loves me unconditionally, and forces me to look up and see the rainbow on a rainy day. Nothing can take away from that experience. You are my world. You're a piece of my soul.

'You are my world. You're a piece of my soul,' Elizabeth wrote to her little boy, adding that he has got her through her 'darkest days'

You might not understand my words, yet, but when you're old enough I can't wait to explain your significance to me. Not just as a mother and son. But as soul mates. You will never know it, but you got me through my darkest days. You encouraged me to smile when my heart was breaking. You forced me to keep on going, when all I wanted to do was wallow in bed all day with the doona over my face.

So even though your mum and dad are no longer together, my darling boy, I wrote this letter on your first birthday so you know you were the product of two parents who loved one another more than anything in the world. I'm so sorry we couldn't have stayed that way forever.

You were a symbol of our love. We wanted you and loved you from the moment we found out you existed. We dreamt about you. We talked about you. We played with you as you kicked your tiny feet against dad's hands on mum's stomach. Not a day goes by where I don't reflect on the moment I found out I was pregnant with you.

I'm thankful for your dad, because we gave one another the greatest gift in the world. And for that, I count my blessings.

Happy birthday my angel. You're my greatest achievement.

Mum
Australian-born royal Crown Princess Mary dazzled in a designer outfit as she hosted a reception at Amalienborg Palace in Denmark.

The Princess, 45, looked positively radiant in a gold silk top and midnight blue chiffon skirt from London-based designer Roksanda Ilincic as she attended the event for recipients of the Crown Princess Mary Scholarships 2017.

The scholarships have historically supported Danish students pursuing studies in Tasmania, with each recipient receiving AU $2,000 towards the cost of their studies.

Scroll down for video

The Princess, 45, looked positively radiant in a gold silk top and midnight blue chiffon skirt from London-based designer Roksanda Ilincic

But those hoping to emulate the fashionable Royal's glamorous look on the occasion may require deep pockets - with her outfit worth an eye-watering AU $1800.

The Ilya textured silk satin top retails for 637 Euros, which is equivalent to AU $958, while the Colvin ruffled seersucker-chiffon midi skirt has retailed for around AU $910 online.

The sartorially-savvy Princess is not afraid to up the stakes in the style department, with her latest appearance coming hot on the heels of another Royal engagement - the opening of Denmark's parliament.

Those hoping to emulate the fashionable Royal's glamorous look on the occasion may require deep pockets - with her outfit worth an eye-watering $1800

For that occasion, Mary looked to be channeling the Sixties as she stepped out in a powder blue coat with her husband Prince Frederik.

The annual event marked the start of the new Danish parliamentary year, and is traditionally attended by the Danish royalty, including head of state, Queen Margrethe.

Other royals officiating included Princess Marie, Prince Joachim and Princess Benedikte.

At the opening of Denmark's parliament Mary looked to be channeling the Sixties as she stepped out in a powder blue coat with her husband Prince Frederik

Princess Mary naturally displayed her signature style wearing an elegant pale blue tweed asymmetric belted coat

She topped off the statement look with a large diamond brooch, diamond earrings and a royal purple pillbox hat

The dress code for the official event was formal, and Princess Mary's demure ensemble was perfectly paired with nude pumps, a royal purple velvet pillbox hat and a posey of brightly coloured roses.

A large statement brooch, diamond earrings, a violet-coloured clutch and gloves added a modern twist to her classic look.

It's not the first time the Princess has rocked a look that appears to take inspiration from the iconic Sixties.

Crown Prince Frederik - impeccably attired in a classic charcoal grey three piece suit

Crown Princess Mary being received by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark

Previously the stylish royal has been seen in a Peter Pan collar and the purple pillbox hat she wore to the opening of Parliament has been paired by Mary with similar-style outfits before.

The hat is perhaps a nod to the iconic style of former American First Lady Jackie Kennedy, who became well known for her glamorous gloves and hats.
Haunted by her mother's screams, as she was raped and murdered by a brutal stranger, a woman has spoken movingly about her agonising 12 year wait to see her killer jailed.

The killer entered the home in Bridgton, Maine where Sarah Perry, then 12, shared with her mum, Crystal Perry, 30, and is believed to have raped the single parent, before stabbing her more than 50 times, leaving her mutilated body on the kitchen floor  all as her terrified schoolgirl daughter cowered in the next room.

Despite their hard work, officers found no solid leads and all Sarah could do was try to move on with her life, but 12 years later she received a call to say police had found a DNA match.

A local Bridgton man, a mason called Michael K Hutchinson, who was just 19 at the time of Crystal's death, had been arrested for threatening someone and a DNA sample linked him to the horrific murder all those years earlier.

Finally, Sarah took to the stand at Cumberland County Court, giving an impassioned speech about her memories of that night and how it had affected her.

Despite pleading not guilty, Hutchinson was convicted and is now serving a life sentence.

Sarah Perry, 35, from Bridgton, Maine had an agonising 12 year wait to see the man who raped and murdered her mother brought to justice

Sarah with her mother Crystal who raised her daughter as a single parent

Recalling the day her mother died, Sarah said: 'I'd gone to bed, after enjoying an ordinary day with my mother and having dinner with her.

'I heard her screaming, 'No,' before hearing a kitchen drawer opening and the sound of knives clinking against each other.

'At first, I wasn't alarmed. I thought my mum and her then-partner were arguing.

'But there was yelling and a loud, thudding noise and I knew something was very wrong.'

Michael Hutchinson is now serving a life sentence after being convicted with killing and sexually assaulting Crystal Perry, 30

When an eerie silence descended, Sarah summoned the courage to creep out into the kitchen, where she saw her mum's body.

She said: 'I called 911 to get the emergency services, but the phone lines weren't working,'

It was May 12, 1994, in Bridgton, Maine - the town where horror writer Stephen King  a native of the state  set his novel-turned Netflix series, 'The Mist.'

Fearing for her safety, Sarah ran outside and banged on neighbours' doors  but no one answered, so, her heart thumping, she kept running for a mile, before finding an open Italian cafe.

'All the way I was thinking, 'Mom might be okay, although I don't think I really believed it,' recalled Sarah. 'The police were called and she was dead. They did a really through investigation and, of course, I was the key witness.

Sarah (left) pictured with friends lives in New York where she works as a writer and says she hopes her mother would be proud of her

'For a long time, they were convinced I must have witnessed something and repressed it, but I hadn't. I'd stayed in my room.'

Moving to live with an aunt in Texas, Sarah was gutted when, despite their hard work, the police found no solid leads.

After that, she went to university in North Carolina.

Sarah, now 35, single and working as a writer and fact-checker, tried to put the horror of her mum's murder behind her, remembering how she was 'more like a sister' than a mother.

Crystal and her daughter Sarah were more like friends than mother and daughter

'Some people thought we were sisters,' she said.

'We would do things together. We'd go to the mall, out for dinner and to the movies.

'We were really close.'

She stayed angry with the man, who had murdered the mother she loved, but was determined to move on with her life.

'Of course, I was angry,' she said. 'The person that killed her had taken away her future and left me without her.

'But, I thought she'd be proud of me  for moving on and going to college.

'However, I didn't go home. It held too many bad memories. And the person who had killed her was still out there.' Then, in 2006 she received a call from a Maine number  sending her into panic mode.

'As I answered I was nervous,' she explained. 'Then the police said something I will never forget. 'There is a DNA match.' A local Bridgton man, a mason called Michael K Hutchinson, who was just 19 at the time of Crystal's death, had been arrested for threatening someone.

Sarah, 12, was hiding in her bedroom as her mother (pictured) was attacked

A DNA sample linked him to the horrific murder all those years earlier.

Finally, after waiting for 12 long years, Sarah would see justice done. In 2007, she took to the stand at Cumberland County Court, giving an impassioned speech about her memories of that night and how it had affected her.

'I went back home for the trial,' she said. 'In court, Hutchinson denied the offence, saying he was innocent. But he was found guilty.'

Convicted of murder, he was sentenced to life in jail.

Reports from a 2009 appeal, lodged at Maine's Supreme Judicial Court, which Hutchinson lost, said: '[T]he victim was stabbed over 50 times, with sufficient force that the knife tip actually broke off and became embedded in her head, all in addition to the fatal wound she sustained in her chest.

Sarah Perry pictured as a child. She grew up in Bridgton, Maine with her mother Crystal

'At some point during this stabbing, the victim was screaming. This case involves a brutal sexual assault and murder.'

While Sarah is relieved to have some closure, she cannot forgive the brute who killed her mum.

'Maybe I could if he admitted it,' she said. 'But he hasn't, so how can I? I can't go and see him and have a dialogue.'

At last facing her demons, in the past year, Sarah has returned to Maine and looked into her mother's murder herself.

Sarah went home to Maine for the trial and gave an impassioned speech about her memories of that night and how it had affected her

At last facing her demons, in the past year, Sarah has returned to Maine and looked into her mother's murder herself.

'I've been back home, searched through the police files and learnt about my mother,' she explained. 'The police put in hundreds and hundreds of hours of work and, as a result, it was easy to convict her killer once they had a DNA match.'

Glad that her mum can finally rest in peace, Sarah feels sure she has grown into a woman she would be proud of.

'I am living in Brooklyn, New York, I'm educated and I am happy,' she said. 'I'm sure she would think I've done well and be proud of me.'

After The Eclipse by Sarah Perry is available for preorder now at audible.co.uk
They attended a lavish reception in honour of the Sultan of Brunei's Golden Jubilee earlier this week.

But it was back to basics for the Countess of Wessex and Prince Edward as they visited to the British Garrison, Seria, on Friday.

Sophie, 52, was dressed appropriately in a khaki shirt and trousers, along with a camoflauge hat, as she sampled a meal of rice and beans from a mess tin.

The mother-of-two later looked in very high spirits as she swapped her hat for a helmet during the trip to the jungle.

Sophie Wessex was seen sampling a meal of rice and beans from a mess tin during her visit to the British Garrison, Seria, on Friday

Sophie and her husband Edward, who was also kitted out in a camouflage jacket, were later seen trekking through the jungle.

They were also seen watching a demonstration of tracking techniques by Gurkha soldiers based at the garrison.

Earlier in the day, the royal couple visited Hornbill School which serves children of British service personnel.

The pair are visiting Brunei to attend celebrations as the Sultan of Brunei becomes the world's second longest reigning Monarch behind Queen Elizabeth II.

The royal, 52, looked in very high spirits as she donned a protective helmet during the visit

Sophie and Prince Edward posed for photographs with Gurkha soldiers after watching them perform a demonstration of tracking techniques

The royal couple were both kitted out in khaki clothing during the visit to the military base

Earlier in the week, they attended an audience with the Sultan and his wife, Queen Saleha.

Other guests in attendance included Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte .

The festivities will continue on Friday when southeast Asian leaders and Middle Eastern royalty attend a banquet to mark the jubilee.

Sophie and Edward appeared to enjoy the visit, taking in their surroundings in the jungle

Sophie wore a belted khaki shirt with matching trousers, while Edward wore a camouflage jacket with white chinos

The pair looked very much at ease during the joint visit to the British Garrison, Seria

Sophie and Edward met with Gurkha soldiers during their trip to the jungle in Brunei

The couple were presented with huge garlands as they arrived at the military headquarters

Both Sophie and Edward proudly showed off their red, green and black garlands

Sophie, who was dressed in all-khaki ensemble, looked very thoughtful while trekking through the jungle

The Sultan ascended to the throne of the Muslim country, perched on the north of the tropical Borneo island in October 1967.

Queen Elizabeth became the world's longest serving monarch a year ago following the death of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, whose reign spanned seven

Brunei, with a population of about 400,000, is one of the world's wealthiest nations thanks to abundant oil and gas reserves.

A soldier was seen helping Sophie put on a belt to finish off her all-khaki ensemble

Sophie looked amused after the solder finished making the adjustments to her outfit

The Countess of Wessex was seen sharing a joke with husband Edward during the visit

The royal couple, who are in the country for the Sultan's Golden Jubilee, were seen watching on as soldiers performed a military demonstration

A soldier was seen showing off his military kit to Sophie and Edward as they toured the base

It was back to Sophie as she sampled a meal from a mess tin (left). She later swapped her camouflage hat for a helmet (right)

She and Edward looked more serious as they watched a military demonstration taking place

Sophie looked to be in deep conversation as she met with soldiers at the military camp

The Earl and Countess of Wessex later posed for a group photo with soldiers during the visit

Earlier in the day, the royal couple visited Hornbill School which serves children of British service personnel.

The pair are visiting Brunei to attend celebrations as the Sultan of Brunei for his Golden Jubilee celebrations

He becomes the world's second longest reigning Monarch behind Queen Elizabeth II

Sophie and Edward also went to a school, with pupils showing off their traditional dress

The Countess of Wessex was seen admiring the art work on display during the visit

Edward and Sophie were presented with yellow scarves as they visited Hornbill School, which serves children of British service personnel

A group of schoolgirls looked delighted as they showed off their traditional dress to the royals

The royal couple watched on as a group of schoolchildren showed off their drumming skills

Sophie flashed a wide smile at cameras as she arrived at the school during a day of engagements

The Countess was seen speaking to one of the pupils as she observed an art class

Edward met with pupils studying at the school during his and Sophie's visit on Friday

Sophie looked to enjoy having a discussion with a youngster about her work

Edward also met teachers at the school, attended by the children of military personnel

Sophie was greeted on arrival to the British garrison, before being given a tour of the headquarters

Soldiers held up large umbrellas for Sophie and Edward to protect them from the rain

However, the wet weather didn't appear to dampen Sophie's spirits, with the Countess smiling as she was given a tour

Sophie and Edward appeared to share a joke, with the pair both seen laughing

The royal couple attended a lavish reception in honour of the Sultan of Brunei's Golden Jubilee earlier this week

The pair certainly appear to be enjoying their visit, with a busy day of engagements
They say love can be found in the most unlikely of places.

And one couple who are set to tie the knot have proved it's true - after starting their romance when the bride-to-be put out a last-minute call for a wedding date on Twitter.

Madison O'Neill, from Ames, Iowa, sent out a tweet two years ago that read: 'So hmu [hit me up] if you wanna be my date to a wedding tomorrow'.

Remarkably, her now fiance, Chuck Dohrmann, responded to her invitation, messaging her: 'Dude I'll be your date to a wedding!'.

Madison O'Neill and Chuck Dohrmann, originally from Iowa, are now engaged after the pair went to a wedding together two years ago

Madison had put out a last-minute call for a plus one on Twitter, writing: 'So hmu [hit me up] if you wanna be my date to a wedding tomorrow'

Madison revealed she had hesitated at first after receiving the response from Chuck, admitting she was 'nervous' about going with him to the wedding.

But the pair, who had gone to the same high school, ended up going to the wedding together and quickly hit it off - with Chuck confessing he'd called in sick at work in order to go.

Sharing screenshots of their exchange on Twitter - along with a picture of Chuck down on one knee - Madison wrote: 'crazy how things work out.'

She explained: 'That wedding was our first date over 2 years ago and we just got engaged last week'.

The pair, who had gone to the same high school, ended up going to the wedding together and quickly hit it off

Chuck Dohrmann had responded to Madison's invitation, messaging her: 'Dude I'll be your date to a wedding!'

'We went to the same high school but he was a grade older and I always thought he was obnoxious. But we didn't actually know each other.'

She also revealed that Chuck got down on one knee in San Diego, where he now lives, and that she is moving out there to be with him next summer.

Their story has provoked a huge response on social media, with many describing it as 'amazing'.

One wrote 'This is crazy. But amazing, at the same time. Fate works in crazy ways,' while another added: 'Love and romance truly is alive.'

Another added: 'I love hearing stories like this. Congratulations to the both of you.'

Madison explained how the wedding had been their first date over two years ago, adding that she'd thought Chuck was 'obnoxious' at high school
Couples looking for a joint Halloween costume this year can now consider going as the First Couple.

While there have been Donald Trump costumes on the market for years, online retailer Yandy is now selling one for women who want to pretend to be his wife Melania for the the night.

The costume, which is inspired by the Ralph Lauren ensemble that the 47-year-old wore on Inauguration Day, is currently available to buy for $69.95.

Scroll down for video

Sexy or scary? Yandy is selling a Halloween costume inspired by Melania Trump

The look: The costume looks like the Ralph Lauren Collection outfit she wore on Inauguration Day in January

Yandy certainly had its share of recognizable outfits to choose from when it picked a memorable Melania look.

The public buzzed about the black lace ensemble and matching veil she wore to meet Pope Francis in March, as well as the Top Gun-inspired bomber jacket, aviators, and stiletto heels she wore on her trip to Texas following Hurricane Harvey.

They settled on the sky blue Ralph Lauren Collection dress and jacket she wore on January 20, which she accessorized with matching Manolo Blahnik pumps and gloves.

'With the historic swearing-in of her husband, Donald J. Trump, as the 45th President of the United States, the first lady-elect will become America's new First Lady wearing an American designer who transformed American fashion, Ralph Lauren,' Melania's spokesperson said at the time, according to WWD.

Style: Melania wore a '60s-style blue dress and jacket with gloves and matching pumps

Gloves and shoes sold seperately: Yandy's version is tighter and features a skin-baring cut-out

Yandy's version, like most of the e-retailer's costumes, is made 'sexy'. The costume features a short, tight turquoise skirt and a matching jacket, which worn together show off the wearer's stomach.

They recommend styling it with matching heels and white gloves, which are not included.

'Stand by your hubby in this exclusive Model Wife costume featuring a blue crop top with 3/4 length sleeves, a high collar, a wrap front with velcro closure, and a matching high waisted skirt,' reads the description.

While this appears to be the first widely-sold Melania costume, shoppers won't be the first to dress as her for Halloween.

In 2016, journalist Jemima Khan, 43, did her best impression of Mrs. Trump at a UNICEF Halloween charity event in London in mid-October.

Going all-out: Last October, journalist Jemima Khan dressed as Melania for Halloween

Accessories: In addition to a Melania-approved outfit, she wore a Trump dummy that groped her, held a campaign sign, and carried around Michelle Obama's convention speech

Jemima wore a figure-hugging white sheath dress that seemed ripped from Melania's closet, platform heels, and lots of diamonds. She held up a Trump 2016 sign, squinted her eyes, and pouted her lips to look more like the First Lady.

And for the crowing touches, she hung a dummy wearing a Trump mask from her shoulders and carried around a copy of the speech Michelle Obama delivered at the Democratic National Convention, which Melania repeated almost word-for-word in her own convention speech.

Melania's husband, meanwhile, has his likeness popping up on plenty of costumes.

Besides straight-forward masks and shirts made to look like suits, there are plenty of costumes that poke fun at the President.

The team behind the successful F**kjerry social media accounts and have created the 'Ride on Trump' costume  which is cleverly designed to make it look like the wearer is sitting on the president's shoulders.

Poking fun: This year, there is also a 'Ride on Trump' costume designed to make the wearer look like he or she is sitting on the President's shoulders

Resemblance: The step-in costume features a disheveled-looking Trump wearing a navy suit, a long red tie, and an American flag pin on the lapel of his jacket

'Hate Trump? Love Trump? Want to cry? This costume is for you!' the site says of the $79.99 disguise.

The getup features a disheveled-looking Trump wearing a navy suit, a long red tie, and an American flag pin on the lapel of his jacket. In addition to his wild orange hair, his mouth is open as if he is yelling, and he has a pair of stuffed legs hoisted over his shoulders.

The costume is designed so Trump's bottom half is made up of the wearer's legs, which allows the person to walk, skip, jump, and run while appearing to be on the president's shoulders.

The site selling the costumes insists it is 'probably the funniest costume of all time'  and while most of Trump's critics wouldn't be caught dead wearing a costume inspired by him, the makers note that this getup is for his 'haters and lovers alike'.

'Haters can make fun of his scary face, s**t on him (figuratively), and express themselves with signs and other augmentations. While lovers can suit up and throw on a MAGA hat for a presidential Halloween,' they explained.

Inspiration: The $79.99 costume is one of the many Donald Trump costumes that is being offered this Halloween season

Rising trend: Other retailers are offering similar getups, including this 'Ride a President' costume by Fun World that is being sold for $72.86 on Amazon

Just the beginning: Trump got his own 'sexy' costume when Yandy rolled out the Donna T. Rumpshaker disguise in 2015; it's still on sale, as is an updated '2.0' version

Doubling up: Birthday Express is capitalizing on anti-Trump sentiment by pairing it's prison costume with a Trump mask in a special bundle package

Cry about it: The same brand is bundling it's giant baby costume with a Trump mask. Both are available on Jet.com

However, it seems like the costume is going to be a hit this year, as other retailers are offering similar getups.

There's also the $69.99 'Donna T. Rumpshaker' costume, which debuted in 2015 and is still for sale. Itcomes with a blazer, dress shirt, tie, 'comb over wig', booty shorts, and a red hat that reads 'Making America Great.'

Yandy is also selling a second version that features a cut-out in the shirt, meant to show off the wearer's breasts.

A company called Birthday Express is making use of the option to mix-and-match costume pieces and is selling two 'bundles' that make fun of Trump: the Donald Trump Baby Costume Bundle Set, which includes a giant baby costume and a Trump mask, and the Donald Trump for Prison Costume Bundle Set, which comes with an orange prison jumpsuit and Trump mask.

Look like the First Daughter: Blonde hairpieces branded as 'Ivanka Trump wigs' are being sold online

Buy now? Most of the wigs appear to come from China and were rebranded to tap into a demand for hair like Ivanka's

All the pieces: There are several sellers on eBay; the wigs are perfect for a DIY Ivanka Halloween costume

Identical: The fake hair is the same length and color as Ivanka's and is styled how she usually wears it

Ivanka fans will find that costumes inspired the First Daughter are harder to come by, and will require a DIY effort.

To that end, a handful of e-retailers and eBay sellers are selling 'Ivanka Trump' wigs for anywhere from $13.49 to $41.98.

The wigs in question likely weren't manufactured specifically for Ivanka Trump cosplayers, but rather have been ingeniously re-marketed with her name.

The wigs are, of course, blonde, with a very slight ombre that is darker at the roots. They're parted directly down the middle, comes down to just above the chest, and curls inward  just like Ivanka usually wears her hair.

Not for sale: There don't appear to be any full Ivanka costumes on the market yet

Make your own: However, a DIY version could easily be done with a wig and a floral dress

Formula: The First Daughter almost always wears a feminine fit-and-flare dress, heels (frequently pumps), and a ladylike bag

Interestingly, most of the online sellers offering the wig with Ivanka's name attached are based in China, where there had reportedly been an uptick in women requesting plastic surgery to look more like Ivanka.

As for the rest of an Ivanka costume, DIYers have already begun coming up with ways to put it together for October 31.

Typical suggestions include wearing a floral fit-and-flare dress, high heels, and a ladylike bag.

Someone dressing as Ivanka might also have her significant other dress up as Jared Kushner, wearing a suit with a bullet-proof vest on top  as Jared did in Iraq earlier this year.
She's known for her love of a striking hat and perfect colour co-ordination from head to toe.

And Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, 46, certainly didn't disappoint on her latest outing, while attending a teaching conference in Amersfoort.

The mother-of-three looked striking in an oversized navy fedora teamed with a matching coat and heels in a similar shade.

She opted for a purple and navy striped dress that matched both her headwear and her textured clutch bag.

And she topped off the outfit with a glittering cooper cuff bracelet and matching earrings.

Maxima of The Netherlands today proved she's the Queen of co-ordination in a head-to-toe navy and purple ensemble

The proud mother-of-three was seen holding up a gold coloured picture of her three daughters, Catharina Amalia, Alexia and Ariane

Queen Maxima waves cheerfully as she visits the fifth Teacher's Congress in Amersfoort

At one point the proud-mother-of three was seen holding up a golden image of her three daughters Catharina-Amalia, 13, Princess Alexia, 12, and Princess Ariane, 10.

The Dutch Queen was attending the fifth Teacher's Congress in Amersfoort, a two-day event for those working in primary, secondary, special and secondary vocational education.

The conference, organized by the Education Cooperative, takes place at ROC Midden Netherland.

It's been a busy week of engagements for the royal who yesterday attended a conference for Gender and Health of Women in Amersfoort.

The Dutch Queen was in sunny spirits despite it being damp afternoon in Amersfoort

The Queen is known for her love of elaborate head wear and co-ordination
With fashion shows to attend and televison premieres and books to promote, stars brought their beauty A-game to the red carpet this week.

Karlie Kloss reinvented the sleek ponytail with a head-turning accessory, Julianne Moore demonstrated how to make green eyes pop and Cara Delevingne dyed her hair the perfect fall color.

Read on below for the celebrity beauty highlights of the week and get tips you can use to copy them at home.

KERRY WASHINGTON

Kerry Washington, 40, was glowing this week as she promoted the final season of ABC's Scandal

Kerry Washington has been busy promoting season seven of Scandal, which premiered on Thursday, in New York City this week. Appearing on shows like The View and Good Morning America, the actress was spotted in four different looks in two days.

Our favorite is the one she wore to film Late Night With Stephen Colbert. Her lipstick matched the pink flowers on her Dolce & Gabbana dress and her hair was pulled into a high, half-up-half-down look.

The actress' hairstylist Takisha Sturdivant-Drew revealed that she created the look by parting Kerry's hair across the center from ear to ear. Next, she gathered the top half into a ponytail and curled the bottom half with a medium-size iron to give the style soft texture.

KARLIE KLOSS

A stunning touch: Make-up artist Beau Nelson applied a shimmery blue pigment along Karlie Kloss', 25, lower lash line for a party celebrating Swarovski during Paris Fashion Week

During Paris Fashion Week, Karlie Kloss' hairstylist Jen Atkin updated the classic sleek ponytail by making two key changes while creating the look.

First, instead of scraping hair back, the pro parted the model's hair down the center. Then, she embellished the look by securing a Chloe + Isabel barrette halfway down the lengths.

For an extra-glossy finish, Jen prepped Karlie's hair with Ouai Rose Hair & Body Oil and finished the look with Kevin Murphy Session Spray Strong Hold.

OLIVIA CULPO

What about bob? Olivia Culpo's, 25, hair grew a few inches in one day thanks to extensions and her talented stylist Justine Marjan

GHD brand ambassador Olivia Culpo celebrated the launch of the styling tool company's new Nocturne collection in New York City on Thursday night.

Before making her entrance, Olivia tasked hairstylist Justine Marjan with lengthening her bob using extensions in just 30 minutes.

The result was a gorgeous beachy style that extended past her shoulders.

For the make-up, artist Liz Castellanos used Tarte Cosmetics Maneater Liquid Liner to create a cat-eye and Mac Cosmetics Lipstick in Velvet Teddy for a neutral yet defined pout.

JULIANNE MOORE

Green eyed girl: Julianne Moore, 56, accentuated her eye color during Paris Fashion Week by wearing copper eyeshadow

Julianne Moore's green eyes were the center of attention in the front row of the Louis Vuitton show in Paris this week thanks to her emerald dress and copper eyeshadow.

The warm metallic hue is one of the best eye shadow colors for green-eyed girls to wear to make the shade really pop (try Alima Pure Pressed Eyeshadow in Luxe).

For the actress' hair, stylist George Northwood created what he called 'the perfect half bun'.

CARA DELEVINGNE

The perfect fall color: Cara Delevingne, 25, matched her new hair color to her eyeshadow at a signing for her first novel, Mirror Mirror

Since shaving her head last spring for her role in the upcoming film Life in a Year, Cara Delevingne has been having fun experimenting with the short crop.

She's appeared on red carpets with her head studded in Swarovski crystals and embellished with a faux tattoo. As it's grown out, she's dyed her pixie cut platinum blonde, pastel pink and now a caramel shade of brown.

The hair change comes as she promotes her first novel, Mirror Mirror, which hits shelves next week.
Oh, to have been a fly on the wall when that meeting took place. Chloe Green, daughter of Topshop tycoon Sir Philip and his wife, Tina, has formally introduced her folks to her new boyfriend.

Hes Jeremy Meeks, a former convict and gangster turned model, with a rap sheep as colourful and extensive as his tattoo collection, an abandoned wife and a seven-year-old son at home in the U.S.

Known as the hot felon, he has captured the heart of heiress Chloe, who is the apple of Daddys eye. He has enjoyed a passionate summer frolicking on a yacht on the Mediterranean, and hanging out with her in Los Angeles. Now, hes taken the next step and met the family.

Part of the family: Jeremy Meeks with Chloe Green and (left) her mother, Tina, at a charity ball in Monaco last week

Last week he was seen with Chloes mum on the gargantuan 100 million Lionheart yacht owned by Daddy Green.

Since then hes popped up in Monaco with Lady Green and Chloe, wearing sportswear and an unimpressed expression. He even posed, in evening dress, between mum and daughter at a charity ball last week.

Although they have yet to be pictured together, family sources have confirmed to the Mail that Meeks has met the big man himself. Despite previously dismissing Chloes boyfriend as little more than a holiday romance, the most astonishing twist in this unlikely love story is that Sir Philip, who is worth around 4 billion, gives every impression he approves.

A Monaco-based friend said: Chloe is smitten and all Philip wants is for his little girl to be happy. She gets whatever she wants.

The word is that the Greens are doing up an apartment in their 29-storey block  the most prestigious address in Monte Carlo  with a view to Chloe moving in . . . with Jeremy.

Their first pad is no starter home. Dame Shirley Bassey has one of the apartments, and Sir Phil and Lady Greens penthouse is said to be worth 12 million.

Jeremy Meeks and Chloe Green attend the cocktail for the inaugural 'Monte-Carlo Gala for the Global Ocean'

Even the blocks smallest two-bedroom apartment reputedly costs upwards of 4 million. For that, you get unsurpassed views of the sea, use of a beautiful pool and a residents-only cafe and cocktail bar.

A local source said: The felon is moving in with her. Im not sure when. Philip and Tina have met him and seem to be thinking if they ride it out she will tire of him, but if they put up a fight it will only push her into his arms.

But, a source within the family denied Chloe and Jeremy are moving in together, and stressed Meeks is due to return to LA next week. He said Chloe has a London flat and splits her time between the UK and LA.

Yet still the subject is the talk of the town. People in Monaco dont care about Meekss criminal past as almost everyone there is a crook in some shape or form, the source said.

Theres a bit of a people in glass houses attitude. Although they do gossip, and theyre all gossiping about this. Its all anyone can talk about at the yacht club.

And theres plenty to gossip about. A, 6ft 1in figure, all gangster inkings and brooding menace, Meeks more than embodies Somerset Maughams observation that Monte Carlo is a sunny place for shady people.

Born and raised in Stockton, California  his mother was a heroin addict, his father in prison  he maintains his tough childhood drove him to crime. Stockton Police say Meeks, 33, was one of the most violent criminals in the area.

The US criminal whose mugshot went viral due to his rugged good looks (left) and Philip Green at a Burberry Prorsum show (right)

He was convicted of possessing an unlicensed semi-automatic pistol and jailed for two years in 2014. Before that, he had been in court over offences including resisting arrest, negligent driving and identity theft. In 2002 he served two years for grand theft  stealing 230 worth of goods.

There was also a conviction for robbery and corporal injury to a child, a shocking incident in which he beat a 16-year-old to a pulp.

The teardrop tattoo under his left eye symbolises, according to prison lore, the death of a gang member, while another inking on his right forearm shows the word Crips  the name of a notorious LA gang involved in hundreds of murders and drug dealing.

His police mugshot taken in 2014 launched a modelling career after his release in 2016. That brought him, this spring, to a party at the Cannes film festival.

There he met Chloe, 26, the daughter of controversial former BHS owner Sir Philip Green. A flamboyant and foul-mouthed billionaire from North London, he moved his family to Monte Carlos capital Monaco in 1998. His wife Tina, who is the ultimate owner of his clothing conglomerate, is resident in the principality, where there is a zero per cent rate of income tax.

In a domestic set-up which will have saved paying the British taxman millions, Sir Phil remains domiciled in the UK, and visits the family home in Monte Carlo at weekends. Chloe was raised and went to school there.

She has had an eventful romantic history including an affair with her bisexual Made In Chelsea co- star Ollie Locke, and a romance with J.Los ex-husband Marc Anthony. Shes less well known for working: until three years ago, Chloe designed shoes sold in Topshop, part of Sir Phils empire, but she hasnt worked since.

At that first meeting this spring there was evidently instant chemistry between gilded youth Chloe and her bad boy. Within weeks they were lovers.

Officially she has denied they are betrothed, possibly sensitive to the fact that her intended is still married to someone else, albeit in the process of getting a divorce

Despite protests from his wife of eight years, Melissa, a nurse, who found out she was being replaced via paparazzi photographs of Chloe and Jeremy canoodling on a yacht in the Med, romance ensued.

The pair spent much of the summer in hotels in LA while Melissa and son Jeremy Junior remained at the drab former marital home in Stockton. Meeks and Chloe went to a festival in Barbados in August, and last month she travelled with him to Israel where he was filming a glasses advert. They returned to California, with Meeks posting a picture of them cuddling on the beach, writing: When you find The One.. You Know.

Rumours they were engaged were fuelled by pictures of Chloe showing off a diamond ring on the third finger of her left hand. Officially she has denied they are betrothed, possibly sensitive to the fact that her intended is still married to someone else, albeit in the process of getting a divorce.

Last week, Meeks had his first taste of the Riviera high society when he and Chloe attended a charity ball thrown by Prince Albert of Monaco. Chloe wrote on Instagram: No one else I would rather have on my arm than you.

That evening, in the famed Salle Garnier, Meeks listened to live music by Nelly Furtado and Robin Thicke, and mingled with A-list guests including Leonardo DiCaprio and Prince Albert himself.

Some 10.5 million was raised on the night via an auction of items which included paintings by Picasso and Francis Bacon. One theory doing the rounds in Monaco is that Jeremy Meeks is actually proving a calming influence on Chloe.

In a domestic set-up which will have saved paying the British taxman millions, Sir Phil remains domiciled in the UK, and visits the family home in Monte Carlo at weekends. Chloe was raised and went to school there

His eccentric agent Jim Jordan, claims to have a calling to help beautiful people.

In 2016 he said: For him, the celebrities growing up were, like, gang people. And when I talked to Jeremy and got to know his heart, I understood this is something real. And I chose to have a vision for him.

That vision is a pledge that Meeks will dissuade teens from carrying guns. Like his promise to have his tattoos lasered off, it has not materialised.

Instead he works out four times a week, claims to have found God, and has embraced modelling, twice appearing at events for Topman in LA.

Hes certainly worked more than Chloe. She has been noted for spending summer partying on her yacht, Lionchase, which is at the disposal of her and her brother, Brandon.

According to her social media, she spent months last year ricocheting from one sun-drenched adventure to the next. There are suggestions that the bill for running her yacht last summer paid, naturally, by doting Daddy  was well over 1 million.

Now though, she has apparently been on a cookery class in Tuscany and is talking about going into business with her mother, who designs interiors for apartments, planes and yachts via the company Green and Mingarelli Design.

Whats next? No one is ruling out a wedding, although a family source confirmed this week that the pair are definitely not engaged. Not yet, anyway

Her arm of the company would concentrate on the younger, blingier market. Her parents are apparently keen to encourage her in the direction of a job, and this seems as good a bet as any.

Whats next? No one is ruling out a wedding, although a family source confirmed this week that the pair are definitely not engaged. Not yet, anyway.

If they were to marry, Meeks would need to convert to Judaism. Only a year ago, he gave interviews about his new-found Christianity.

Chloe, however, has a renewed interest in her Jewish faith, as evidenced by her visit to the Western Wall in Israel when she was there with Meeks.

She captioned a picture of her touching the wall: If only you could feel what I feel.

Due to his parole conditions, Chloes beau has been declined entry to the UK, which makes the idea of her having a place in Monaco more attractive.

The tiny principality is agog to see what happens next. And, just maybe, Mr Meeks is not Sir Philips biggest headache.

His retail empire, the Taveta group reported in June that pre- tax profits have plunged by 79 per cent and turnover is down 17 per cent to 2.02 billion.

The company is reeling from bad publicty over the closure of BHS, which collapsed in 2016 with debts of 1.3 billion, and a tough fashion market, during which Topshops UK sales fell for the first time in a decade.

Following the repayment of 363 million into the BHS pension fund this year, Sir Philip has emerged with his knighthood intact, but with significant damage to his reputation.

Would it be too cynical to suggest that with Chloe and her hot felon we have a new villain? The spotlight has at last moved on.
Dr Joshua Stephany did not know he was still scarred from examining the 49 victims of the Orlando shooting last year until he watched the news this week.

The chief medical examiner in Florida's Orange County, his team was responsible for the wreckage left behind by the Pulse Nightclub shooting, and the events of the past week have hit home for him.

'It can take a toll on you. I think it didn't really hit me until Las Vegas: how raw it is,' Dr Stephany said, adding that he felt a sense of deja vu as details of the Las Vegas shooting became public this week.

Dr Stephany had to take a break after each time he notified a family that their loved one had been murdered at a nightclub last year.

And his case is not unique: in the wake of mass tragedies, coroners can quickly become emotionally exhausted from the grueling scenes they witness, the high number of bodies they examine and the heartbreaking questions from victims' family members they must answer.

While they are trained to examine dead bodies for a living, the unstopping work and violent scenes they must hone in on for hours at a time can have harmful effects on their mental health, requiring counseling months after the incident.

Here, coroners speak of their experiences responding to tragedies that tore at the fibers of their communities.

Pictured: Dr Joshua Stephany (left) and Dr James Gill (right). Dr Stephany said that it takes a while for the weight of a mass shooting to sink in during the aftermath of a tragedy

A medical examiner's main priority after a mass shooting is getting all victims autopsied quickly so that they can answer any questions victims' family members have.

And their work is crucial in the aftermath, as what they find can be used in court to convict criminals responsible for mass devastation.

Dr Brian Peterson who is president of the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) said that if a medical examiner were to take their time, it would prolong the grief process for victims' loved ones.

'The longer you take, the more you're holding them up,' he said.

Dr Peterson practices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and his office responded to the 2012 shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, in which a gunman killed six people in a Sikh temple.

Dr Stephany said that the process of explaining victims' violent deaths over and over to relatives was trying.

'The main question they want to know is: did my loved one suffer?' Dr Stephany said.

You're thinking about the horrific nature of this stuff [but] we see it all the time. A lot of it is internal Dr Brian Peterson, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners

And answering this question honestly can be difficult, Dr Peterson explained, adding that he does not sugar coat what he presumes happened to a victim if he believes they were capable of experiencing pain when they died.

'I try to walk a careful line there. I'll give a technical explanation' of what happened to their body, Dr Peterson said. He added that if someone died an instant death - which he said is rare - he is happy to share that with their family members.

Dr Stephany said that in some cases, family members of the Orlando shooting victims did not want to speak with his team. 'Some people are in denial,' he explained.

Even though medical examiners are used to the kind of work that they have to do following a mass tragedy, the sheer number of bodies they receive can be mentally overwhelming.

A woman kneels by a tribute to 58 people who were killed in Las Vegas Sunday night

This is the street outside Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut where 27 people were killed 11 days before Christmas in 2012

'You're thinking about the horrific nature of this stuff [but] we see it all the time. A lot of it is internal,' Dr Peterson explained. 'Each one of them is our patient. We're doctors too.'

Dr James Gill, chief medical examiner at the office in Connecticut that autopsied the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, said: 'We're used to seeing people shot, but when you see it on a massive level, that takes a toll.'

Christian Burgess, who oversees a mental health resource available to people in the US who have been affected by or responded to a natural or man-made disaster, echoed this notion.

Since 9/11, we're constantly drilling for worst case scenarios Dr Joshua Stephany, chief medical examiner in Florida's Orange County

Burgess said that it is important to remember that, even though medical examiners are accustomed to studying dead bodies, they are still human. 'We think they have a high degree of resilience,' Burgess explained.

He added that, even so, coroners need to prioritize their mental health in the days following their response to a tragedy.

Dr Gill said that even staff members in his office who had worked there for years needed counseling a year after the Sandy Hook shooting, explaining that they experienced symptoms related to PTSD.

Without a doubt, the fact that they were autopsying so many children added to the crushing emotions, he said. 'It's so unexpected to see elementary school students. There's so much innocence there.'

Burgess said that if medical examiners experience seemingly mild symptoms such as having trouble sleeping, concentrating or performing day-to-day tasks after a mass shooting, they should seek help from a professional.

Here, law enforcement officials are gathered outside the site of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in 2016

The Columbine High School shooting in 1999 took the lives of 13 students. Here, students of the school are seen evacuating during the shooting

'Even mild symptoms can escalate over time. All of this can lead to depression,' he explained, adding that feelings of hopelessness, despair and shame can plague coroners after witnessing trauma-inducing scenes.

No matter how 'used to it' medical examiners appear to be, Burgess said, they can still be troubled by the exposure to tragedies. 'Any of these people are at risk following the disaster.'

Often times, though, coroners do not fully understand what they are experiencing and helping with until after the disaster has come and gone.

Because their first response is to throw themselves into their work, they often do not let the weight of the tragedy sink in until after the fact, Dr Stephany said.

'We didn't really grasp the concept' of the deadliest US shooting, he explained.

Dr Brian Peterson is the president of the National Association of Medical Examiners

'It took less than a year-and-a-half for them to take that title,' he added, referring to the Las Vegas shooting.

On Monday, he sent an email to Clark County's medical examiner Dr John Fudenberg, who is now autopsying the Las Vegas shooting victims.

The email let Dr Fudenberg know that he is supported, Dr Stephany said.

In addition to the emotional trauma, the overworked coroners experience physical exhaustion after having to spend hours on end contemplating violent scenes.

'You all of a sudden realize you're tired,' Dr Peterson said about responding to mass shootings and staying on your feet for 12 hours at a time.

Since the opioid epidemic took effect, medical examiners' offices have been desperately understaffed because of the rising number of overdose deaths in the US.

Nevertheless, they have to focus their usual workload in addition to a staggering number of new bodies in the aftermath of a mass shooting, which feels like a balancing act.

The first thing that a medical examiner's office does after an event that results in mass fatalities is set up a family services center, Dr Peterson said.

AMERICA'S GUN CONTROL PROBLEM Because of loose gun control laws in the US, the chance of an American being murdered by a gun is 25 times higher than the chances of residents in other developed countries. The rate of homicides that involve guns is 20 times higher than those in other developed countries. As of 2013, 88 Americans were killed with guns each day. And homicides that involve guns shave one year off the life expectancy rate for black American males. Guns are more likely to kill black American males aged 15 to 34 than any other cause. When four or more people are shot and killed - excluding the shooter - the event constitutes a 'mass shooting', and from 2009 to 2016 there were 156 mass shootings in the US, which resulted in 848 fatalities. Thirty-four percent of those shootings involved a person who illegally owned a gun. About one-fourth of mass shooting victims in the US is a child. And 42 percent of shooters who initiate mass shootings exhibit 'red flag' behavior before doing damage. Sandy Hook (2012): 27 victims, killed by white male Adam Lanza Pulse (2016): 49 victims, killed by Asian male Omar Mateen Las Vegas (2017): 58 victims, killed by white male Stephen Paddock Columbine (1999): 13 victims, killed by white males Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold Advertisement

They set up an offsite base because, usually, their offices are not big enough to accommodate the number of bodies that are turned over to them, he said.

He added that coroner's offices have contracts with other states or counties, which state that, in the event that they are responsible for high numbers of victims, their office can turn to them for refrigerated space to store some of the victims until they can be examined.

Dr Stephany said that his team was prepared to work with other entities when tragedy struck his community.

'Since 9/11, we're constantly drilling for worst case scenarios,' he said, explaining that these drills require his team to work with hospitals, law enforcement and other agencies.

But, even though they had drilled, the Orlando shooting proved difficult, Dr Stephany said.

His county medical examiner's office had to work with the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security, and they had not been used to working with federal agencies, he said.

And Dr Peterson emphasized that working together is crucial, saying: 'For something like Las Vegas, it's a matter of cooperating.'

In addition to having to figure out all agencies' roles after mass casualties are passed over to them, medical examiners have to focus on getting their job done as quickly as possible.

After setting up an offsite base, examiners try to identify the victims, which can be tremendously challenging in a setting such as the concert venue in Las Vegas 58 victims were at when they were killed on Sunday.

Even if they have identification on them, it could be fake. And often coroners have to turn to dental records and DNA to match a body with a name.

Although they are trained for the worst, the long hours and grueling scenes medical examiners face after such incidences are a challenge.

Even through the overwhelming emotions that came with the autopsies, though, Dr Stephany saw a silver lining when his team was faced with a tragedy.

What surprised him was 'how much this community united, even though it was a gay club. We got support from around the country. The vigil was 50,000 strong the next day.'

'It could have been divisive, but it was not,' Dr Stephany said.
Indian doctors have warned there is 'nothing' they can do to save a baby who was born with two severe birth defects.

The boy, called Babu, suffers from encephalocele - a rare condition which caused him to be born with a flat head and a sac on the back of his neck.

His parents, Jyotsna and Jhontu Das, were told their son had no hope of survival - despite him now being two months old, local reports suggest.

They are now desperately chasing a 'miracle' as they believe Babu could 'live forever' - despite doctors warning they are 'helpless' to save him.

Babu is now spending his final days in the comfort of his own home, as his parents try their best to prolong his life.

The boy, called Babu, suffers from encephalocele - a rare condition which caused him to be born with a flat head and a sack on the back of his neck. Doctors told local reports that the sac on his back is unable to be seen at this angle

Babu is now spending his final days in the comfort of his own home, as his parents try their best to prolong his life

Waiting on a miracle

His father Jhonto said: 'If Babu has lived this far he might live forever. We are waiting for a miracle that can save our child.'

Jyotsna added: 'When doctors have nothing to help it is better we look after him in our own ways.

'We will give all the comfort and love to our son with the hope that he will live a long life.'

When Babu was born

Numerous ultrasounds were taken during Jyotsna's pregnancy, but none showed that the child had encephalocele.

Doctors at National Medical College in Kolkata just warned that Babu had an enlarged head that could be easily treated when he was born.

But once he was born, medics were forced to explain to the illiterate parents that there was no way of treating him.

His parents, Jyotsna (pictured) and Jhontu Das, were told their son had no hope of survival - despite him now being two months old, local reports suggest

They now desperately chasing a 'miracle' as they believe Babu could 'live forever' - despite doctors warning they are 'helpless' to save him

Since then, the poverty-stricken couple have been running from one hospital to another in the hope of a surgery.

But a team of surgeons at Bangur Institute of Neuroscience, also in Kolkata, re-iterated the same fate for the infant.

If Babu has lived this far he might live forever. We are waiting for a miracle that can save our child Jhonto, Babu's father

'We are helpless'

Dr Pitboron Chokroborty, from the hospital, said: 'The baby is born with the brain outside of his skull. This has happened due to a rare disease called anencephaly.

'This is an extreme case of deformity and nothing can be done to save the child. We are helpless, if we take him to operation table he will die the very moment.'

Anencephaly is another serious birth defect, and can often result in children being born without the front part of their brain.

Doctors offered to care for Babu, but the parents rejected their offer and instead decided to keep him at home to look after him.
Time-wasting patients are placing more strain on the NHS by not turning up to their GP appointments, damning research suggests.

Frustrated doctors have revealed that around one in 20 of their consultations are 'wasted' by patients who fail to attend.

Around 17 million appointments, which each last for around 10 minutes, are lost on a yearly basis because patients don't turn up, a survey suggests.

Leading medics have branded the figures as 'disappointing', as general practice is already considered to be 'at breaking point'.

Desperate patients now routinely have to wait three weeks to see their doctor, while surgeries are struggling to recruit as GPs leave in droves.

Frustrated doctors have revealed that around one in 20 of their consultations are 'wasted' by patients who fail to attend

The new poll, undertaken by GPonline - a website aimed at doctors, was based on answers from 217 GP partners.

It calculated that the average practice loses 5.1 per cent of appointments each year to patients who don't turn up.

However, it believes the figure could be much higher as one in seven GP partners said they lose significantly more than that.

Figures estimate that 340 million appointments are conducted each year.

Wasted appointments

Dr Richard Vautrey, head of the British Medical Associations GP Committee, told GPonline: 'Every appointment wasted in this way is one less available for a patient who really needs to see a GP.

'It's important for patients to work with their practice to deal with this problem and ensure that wherever possible patients inform the practice at the earliest opportunity should they no longer need the appointment they booked.

'When practices are working as hard as possible to enable patient access, despite the severe limitations resulting from under-funding and workforce pressures, it's disappointing that so many patients are not attending booked appointments.'

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, chair of the Royal College of GPs, said: 'General practice is under intense strain. We are making more consultations every day than ever before  yet our patients are waiting longer and longer for appointments.

'When patients dont turn up for appointments, it can be frustrating for both GPs and for other patients who could have had the appointment otherwise.'

Pay for your appointments

Angry doctors have before demanded that NHS patients should pay for their routine appointments, stating it to be the only way to end the crisis.

ONE ILLNESS PER GP APPOINTMENT GPs are insisting that patients raise only one problem per appointment because they are so short of time, it was revealed in January. And those with multiple illnesses are being banned from booking longer 20-minute consultations  instead being told to book a standard ten-minute appointment for each condition they want to discuss. Surgeries are increasingly introducing the controversial policy to cope with rising demand. But campaigners described the rules as outrageous and warned they would put off patients from discussing potentially important health worries. Dozens of practices have imposed the one problem per appointment policy, including the Chorley Surgery, in Lancashire, which claims it is to improve clinical safety. A message on its website states: We kindly ask that all patients try to stick to our one problem per consultation policy. Advertisement

Some respondents in the survey suggested a similar practice should be adopted for those patients who repeatedly miss their appointments.

A controversial scheme that sees receptionists screening patients to cut the number of GP appointments has been introduced in recent months to free up doctors' time.

Are doctors to blame?

But some believe doctors are to blame. MPs in April warned millions of patients are being denied appointments because surgeries have two-hour lunch breaks.

In a damning report, they said that half of Englands 7,600 surgeries shut down at some point during the core hours of 8am and 6.30pm.

The MPs cautioned this leads to worse outcomes for patients and overcrowding in already stretched A&E units.

Waiting times to see a GP could sky-rocket and hit three weeks by 2022, research by Pulse magazine in June suggested.

Patients currently have to wait an average of 13 days for a routine appointment, according to a survey of GPs  up from ten days in 2015.

Dwindling GP numbers

And GP numbers are known to be dwindling in recent years, placing even more pressure on an over-stretched health service.

This continued crisis has left many patients at risk, with staff unable to cope with the rising demand and slashed funding.

The shortage of doctors comes despite the NHS adopting a 2.4 billion plan in April to recruit 5,000 extra GPs by 2021.

Thousands of new 'doctors on the cheap', called physician associates, are also being drafted in and trained to prop up the health service.

An army of them will work in surgeries and hospitals by 2020 to diagnose patients, recommend treatments and perform minor procedures.
I feel pleasantly obligated to relate to the people of the Auburn area the story of my evacuation from Hurricane Irma. I live in Fort Lauderdale with my wife, Elena, a naturalized citizen from Europe. We own a house and a small business here and have been through many storms tropical in nature. This one was different ... Category 5 and headed right at us.

The Tuesday prior to the predicted weekend impact I had already shuttered the house and was looking at options to keep safe. Virtually all flights out were booked. On Wednesday morning the phone rang. It was a dear friend whom I had attended college with in Seneca Falls more than 35 years ago and still kept in touch. He and his wife had visited us a few months earlier. They were retired now and had purchased a home on Cayuga Lake a few years ago. You have to get out of there! he said. Come on up here, we have lots of room, its a nice time of year and you can stay here. He was right. Mandatory evacuation orders were issued the next day. There was already a shortage of gas but we managed to find some, threw some vital documents and some warmer clothes that we rarely wear into the car and left, still wondering if I had done all I could to protect our property.

Elena had never been to the northeastern portion of the country and was taken in by the mountains and valleys of Virginia and Pennsylvania on the way to the Finger Lakes region. We arrived in Union Springs to refreshingly cooler weather and steaks on the grill at our hosts picturesque lakeside home. We marveled at the sunset on the lake by the light of a cozy fire outside.

The next day, Saturday, was filled with the best the region has to offer, beginning with a morning boat trip to visit a neighbor and friend on the other side of the lake to deliver a bucket of pears recently gathered from a tree on our friends property. A short road trip to Skaneateles was next for lunch at Dougs Fish Fry and a stroll along the downtown streets that one normally sees only on a postcard. We stopped on the way back to the lake to pick sunflowers and gladly deposit quarters in the roadside honor box. Following a brief rest we were in downtown Auburn to attend the TomatoFest and what was the surprise highlight of our trip, the Mark Doyle/Joe Whiting reunion concert. The venue was the perfect setting with fantastic seating and acoustics. We were both amazed at the virtuosity of the musicians, the atmosphere and overall quality of the event. We are exposed to many concerts and festivals in south Florida but none to match the magic of that evening.

In addition, every person we met who knew of our circumstances was quick to offer best wishes and promises of prayers for a positive outcome. The entire experience was entertaining as well as heartwarming.

Soon it was time for the long return drive after watching enough TV coverage to know that our neighbors in the Keys had taken a direct hit of the worst that Irma had to give and could not have fared well while Miami and Fort Lauderdale had received a less destructive, but still severe, blow. We arrived home to downed fences on our property, power outages and gas shortages but overall minimal damage considering how bad it might have been. We felt lucky to escape major damage but fortunate, indeed, that the circumstances took us to a beautiful area filled with wonderful people.

I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to our hosts and everyone we met along the way in Auburn. We will be back when we have more time to spend experiencing all the area has to offer under less stressful circumstances.

With many thanks!
The Indian Navy has thwarted a piracy attempt on an Indian merchant vessel MV Jag Amar in the Gulf of Aden while it was going to Saudi Arabia.

'The Indian Navy's INS Trishul, a stealth frigate, thwarted the attempt. The attack took place at around 12.30 pm. The Indian Navy's Marine Commandos are currently on board MV Jag Amar,' an Indian Navy spokesperson said.

During the raid by Navy's marine commandos, the forces recovered one AK-47 assault rifle along with one magazine and 27 rounds while 12 suspected pirates in one skiff, grapnel and ladders have also been recovered.

The Indian Navy's INS Trishul, a stealth frigate, thwarted the attempt

INS Trishul is deployed in the Gulf of Aden to address any piracy-related issues faced in the region along with the coast of Somalia in Africa.

In the last six months, this is the third piracy attempt foiled by Indian Navy in the Gulf of Aden, a key shipping route near the southern tip of the Red Sea between Somalia and Yemen.

In May, INS Sharda, had stopped pirates from taking control of a Liberian registered ship, the MV Mountbatten. In April, the Indian and Chinese Navies had came together to protect a bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden which had come under attack from pirates overnight.

Foreign navies have been deployed off the Gulf of Aden to operate convoys and monitoring a transit corridor for ships to pass through vulnerable points. India had joined this effort in October 2008 and has escorted thousands of ships.

Several attempts of piracy were foiled by the Indian Coast Guard ships near the Lakshadweep islands as Somalian pirates had hijacked big ships and were using them as mother vessels to travel into deep sea to launch attacks on oil tankers and bulk carriers to demand ransom money from insurance companies.
Preparing to drive Peugeot's new 5008 family-friendly seven-seater SUV is a bit like getting ready for an aeroplane flight.

How much can you get away with packing? Will you be able to keep it in the cabin, or must you book it into the hold?

Well, this new French vehicle is flexible when it comes to room, and will happily accommodate surfboards, fishing tackle and all manner of sporting kit and luggage.

Scroll down for video

Space master: The Peugeot 5008 can seat seven or take a 1,000-litre load

Indeed, if you're really pushed for load lugging space, the two third-row seats, just 11kg each, lift out and can be carried away like hand luggage. This boosts boot space from 720 litres to 1,060 litres.

The remaining seats, apart from the driver's, also fold down. All three in the centre row can be adjusted individually, reducing the irritation of being 'piggy in the middle'.

More important, it drives well, looks stylish and feels fairly upmarket with a commanding driving position and a smart dashboard with lots of high-tech and driver assistance features  from automatic emergency braking to 360-degree parking cameras.

The range starts at 24,495 and there is a choice of four petrol and six diesel versions and four trim levels.

Peugeot's new 5008 is built in France but now hitting British roads on UK plates

Load lugger: Taking the third row of seats out increases the boot space from 720 litres to 1,060 litres

Though styled much more like an SUV, this second-generation 5008 (the first was launched in 2009) still has some of the mini-bus driving style of a multi-purpose vehicle or MPV.

I drove what's predicted to be the biggest seller, the Allure PureTech with a 1.2 litre petrol engine with automatic six-speed gearbox.

It travels from rest to 62 mph in a stately 10.4 seconds with a top speed of 117 mph and has a base price tag of 27,695. It's a practical, easy-to-drive car for young families and couples.

The two rear seats weigh 11kg each and can be carried out easily like hand-luggage to provide more space in the boot

The 5008 is flexible when it comes to room, and will happily accommodate surfboards, fishing tackle and all manner of sporting kit and luggage

The Allure PureTech with a 1.2 litre petrol engine and automatic six-speed gearbox travels from rest to 62 mph in a stately 10.4 seconds with a top speed of 117 mph

It won't blow your socks off, but at 54.3 mpg you might be able to afford to buy a few more pairs. Its nearest rivals are Skoda's Kodiaq and the Nissan X-Trail, and UK deliveries begin from January.

Analysis of more than 400 million MoT records from the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, by consumer website Honest John.co.uk, shows that one in six cars fails its first test, with brakes, lighting and tyres among the most-common reasons. Critics of the governments decision to extend the date of the first test from three to four years think this will increase even further.

Enjoy the Rolls-Royce lifestyle Cheers: Ray gets a brief taste of the high life , sipping bubbly in the back of a chauffeur driven roller Whisper it, but I spent part of this week driving, and being driven in, the worlds quietest car: the new flagship Rolls-Royce Phantom. If youre super-rich  or a big lottery winner  it could be just the limo for you. Its also the most technologically advanced car Rolls-Royce has ever built. While its a delightful and easy drive, I also experienced the luxury lifestyle being chauffeur-driven in the back. With the champagne chilling on ice, you can even view works of art behind the glass screen on the dashboard, and enjoy the twinkling starlight headliner in the roof from scores of pinpricks of light. This vast, 2.6 ton beast, priced from 350,000, can move, too  0-62mph in 5.4 seconds thanks to the powerful all-new 6.75 litre twin-turbo V12. Orders are being taken now, with delivery in January.

Seventy years of Italian supercar-maker Ferrari are celebrated in a major exhibition by the Design Museum in London from next month.

Created in collaboration with the car-maker, Ferrari: Under the Skin celebrates in its anniversary year, seven decades of precision design, from the launch of the first Ferrari car in 1947 to the latest production cars.

The exhibition opens on November 15, 2017, and runs to April 15, 2018. Details at: designmuseum.org.
Sometimes the figures are wrong. If you believe the official economic statistics, productivity in the West has been stagnant for a decade, and the UK has a particularly serious problem.

The inevitable conclusion would be that our children are likely to be the first generation to have a lower standard of living than their parents, because rising productivity has, since the Industrial Revolution, been the key driver of higher living standards.

But this cannot be right, can it? Try this. The past decade has been that of the iPhone. It has seen the explosive growth of services such as Uber, Airbnb, Amazon, Alibaba, Google, Facebook and WhatsApp.

The first apps were launched in July 2008. Intuitively all this must have increased the world economys productivity, but in ways that are very hard to measure. Take photos.

Game changer: The past decade has been that of the iPhone. It has seen the explosive growth of services such as Uber, Airbnb, Amazon, Alibaba, Google, Facebook and WhatsApp

In 2000 there were 80billion photos taken worldwide. In 2016, about 1,600billion, 20 times as many. The cost of each photo, the film, the developing, the printing, was about 50p. Now it is effectively zero.

The result? A decline in GDP. But as anyone who has FaceTimed their children in Australia or the US will testify, there has been a huge increase in our pleasure as a result of the communications revolution. That real increase in our standard of living barely shows in the statistics.

Roughly ten times as many will be reading these words online as opposed to in print, but someone reading online hardly registers in GDP, whereas someone reading in print will be at the end of a long production and distribution chain.

Some of us think there has been a loss of quality here, in that the printed word is more valuable than the Google headline.

But there is no question the new system of communication is vastly more efficient than the old one.

Take another example. Suppose you manage to avoid a jam on the M6 because your sat nav picks it up and directs you round another way.

That saves you half-an-hour and a deal of frustration. But that advance in your quality of life does not appear in GDP in any way.

Economics is about measuring economic activity. We know a lot about measuring incremental advances  the fact that new cars are a bit better than last years, or airline flights have got a bit cheaper.

But we struggle to measure the value of something that did not exist a few years ago that involves half the worlds population (Facebook and the other social networks), yet is virtually free.

Actually, there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes to try to do so. That example of the fall in the cost of photography comes from Professor Hal Varian, chief economist at Google.

He believes the world has a measurement problem, not a productivity problem. He also thinks that a lot of economic advance will come from analysing data better  make decisions on data, not on opinions.

Here in the UK a group of academics chaired by Professor Will Stewart of UCL have been developing better ways of measuring the output of the telecommunications industries.

In a recent paper they showed you could redo the numbers to show that GDP was actually rising much faster than the official numbers suggested.

Between 2010 and 2015 data usage in the UK rose nine-fold, but because data had got so much cheaper the official numbers suggested the output of the telecoms industry had fallen by 4 per cent.

None of this is to claim that UK productivity is wonderful. It isnt. There is also a trade-off between job creation and productivity.

We have the highest proportion of people in work ever recorded, but our success in getting people into jobs means that some of those are not being used as efficiently as they might be.

France has higher productivity than the UK but at the cost of double the level of unemployment.

So yes of course, the UK does need to figure out how to use its people more efficiently. Allow for everything and there is still some sort of gap in our performance.

But the idea that there is a global productivity crisis  that real wealth is not increasing  is nuts.

Further, since the UK has been very swift at grabbing the new technologies, I suspect that we are not lagging as badly in productivity as the experts think.
Brains in abundance: Ofcom boss Sharon White

A successful civil servant must be bestowed not just with brains but an ability to glide effortlessly from one master to another, with an adeptness for winning friends on each side of the political spectrum.

Sharon White possesses such rare gifts in abundance. Her impressive career has taken her right across Whitehall, into Downing Street, over the pond to the Washington embassy, even to the World Bank.

But while shadowy Sir Humphrys may squirm and obfuscate, tireless Sharon has a hard-earned reputation for briskness and efficiency.

Former Justice Minister Kenneth Clarke describes her as one of the brightest people he has ever worked with. Even Labour snoot Margaret Hodge, not someone who exactly oozes the milk of human kindness, is a fan.

White is chief executive of Ofcom, the regulatory body in charge of Britain's communications industries.

The 275,000-a-year post is one of the most powerful in British media, putting White in charge of a range of weighty issues from Britain's broadband infrastructure to regulating the BBC.

As such, the role requires dogged independence. Unlike her predecessors Stephen Carter and Ed Richards, both such blatant New Labour creatures, it helps that Sharon's politics are largely impenetrable.

In fact, her whole life outside of work remains something of a closed book.

The daughter of Jamaican immigrants, she is married to Robert Chote, the Office of Budget Responsibility chief with whom she has two young children, though aspects of their home life and intertwining careers remain undiscussed. As for recreations, her guarded Who's Who entry reads simply: 'Childcare'.

Born in London's East End, White grew up in Leyton where her father Curtis worked for British Rail, and her mother, Blossom, was a machinist.

After attending the local all-girls comprehensive, she won a place at Cambridge to study economics where contemporaries included former health secretary Andy Burnham. Peers recall Sharon as a hard-working, 'emotionally mature' person with little time for parties or student high jinks.

A regular church goer, she took a year out to work in a deprived area of Birmingham after which she joined the civil service in 1989, taking a job at the Department of Education.

She was soon fast-tracked through the ranks to the male-dominated Treasury. Here she met Chote, then an up-and-coming journalist for the FT. Wags dubbed them 'Mr and Mrs Treasury'.

She went to work in the British embassy in Washington after that, where she and Chote married in a ceremony at the ambassador's residence. Not one for convention, guests say Sharon wore a black, strapless Giorgio Armani dress, sans veil.

Thanks to Tony Blair, the couple were spared a transatlantic marriage when he recruited Sharon to the Downing Street policy unit. Stints at the World Bank and the Department for International Development followed before she joined the Ministry of Justice in 2009.

By the time she was made second permanent secretary to the Treasury in 2013, there was a young family to care for. Colleagues would sometimes pop over to White's home in London's Tufnell Park and sit cross-legged on the floor thrashing out details of the Government's austerity programme.

In 2015, culture secretary Sajid Javid recommended her for the Ofcom job. It's been an eventful couple of years. There's been the Sky takeover proposal to deal with, the never-ending saga over BT's Openreach division and more recently, the 5G sell-off, which looks set to monopolise her time over the coming months.

Important stuff you might think, though her former boss Ken Clarke thinks she needs to return forthwith to the more serious business of government. Permanent secretary to the Treasury, perhaps. Some go as far to suggest White as a future head of the civil service when serpentine Sir Jeremy Heywood slithers off, stage left.

She took a directorship this week with Barratt Developments, a rare foray into the private sector. This will do her no harm in terms of experience but one suspects her future lies firmly in the public arena.

This is perhaps no better illustrated than her first day at Ofcom when White gathered her 790 staff into the canteen and reminded them of their first duty: To serve the citizen. Humble words, you might say, she chooses to live by.
The FTSE 250, which is 25 next week, has become a 453billion powerhouse at the heart of the economy.

Often touted as a bellwether for the UK economy, the index is comprised of medium-sized British businesses which tend to be more domestically focused than the international giants of the FTSE 100.

The FTSE 250 index launched on October 12, 1992 as a measure of essentially the 101st to 350th biggest listed companies.

It had just 831.38 points when it was launched eight years after the creation of its larger counterpart the FTSE 100.

The FTSE250 is comprised of medium-sized British businesses which tend to be more domestically focused than the international giants of the FTSE 100

Things didn't start well. Three days after it launched, the FTSE 250 had dropped 10 points to 821.6. But that would be the lowest it would ever fall.

Yesterday it reached a record high of 20,166.54. Companies on the index have seen their total market cap soar from 98billion and investors who have tracked it since its launch have seen an annualised return of 11.6 per cent a year.

But the mid-cap market's correlation with the health of the UK economy also means investing in it can be a bumpy ride.

The day the result of the Brexit vote was revealed saw the biggest-ever one-day fall on the index, 7.2 per cent. However, those who held their nerve recovered their losses within a month.

The FTSE 250's worst-ever losing streak began in April 2007, just months before the credit crunch hit global stock markets. It dropped 42.2 per cent between April 2007 and December 2008.

The mid-market's best-ever run came between 2003 and 2006 when it recorded an impressive 12 consecutive quarters of positive growth, gaining some 113.13 per cent over that period.

Rocky start: The FTSE 250 index launched on October 12, 1992 eight years after the creation of its larger counterpart the FTSE 100. Three days after launch, it dropped 10 points to 821.6

Jason Hollands, managing director at Tilney Bestinvest, says: 'The mid-cap index has been the stand-out performer of the UK stock market for some time now, having returned 133 per cent over the past decade.'

Investors who want to tap into the often impressive performance of this index can pick from a handful of cheap tracker funds such as HSBC FTSE 250 Index tracker, which charges just 0.17 per cent a year and aims to mirror the market's performance.

For those hoping for even more, there are a number of managers whose funds focus on these mid-cap stocks.

Hollands likes the Axa Framlington UK Mid Cap fund which has beaten the FTSE 250 over the past five years, delivering a return of 118.7 per cent.

Rob Morgan, investment analyst at Charles Stanley, likes the Neptune UK Mid Cap fund whose manager Mark Martin he says is 'a very good stock picker'.

Investors who want a steadier return can pick a fund which invests only some of its money into this part of the stock market.

The Standard Life UK Equity Income Unconstrained fund has 38 per cent of its money in medium-sized stocks. The Threadneedle UK Equity Income fund has 42 per cent of its assets in these companies.
EasyJet carried a record 24.1million passengers on its planes in the three months to 30 September, a trading update revealed.

With passenger numbers up, the airline expects its annual pre-tax profits to come in at the upper end of estimates between 405million and 410million.

The airline has been drawing in more customers as Ryanair flight cancellation chaos continues and Monarch Airlines collapsed.

Record numbers: EasyJet carried a record 24.1million passengers on its planes in three months

Despite easyJet's optimism over its profits, the group is expecting to take a 100million hit for the year as a result of 'adverse' currency exchange rates. Last year, the group achieved profits of 495million.

Easyjet's share price has not seen a boost from the news however and is down 0.93 per cent to 1,272p on Friday.

The headline cost per seat, a metric for low-cost airlines, is expected to rise by around 1 per cent, excluding fuel and at constant currency.

The firm's fuel bill is expected to fall between 230million and 235million compared to a year ago.

Carolyn McCall, easyJet's chief executive, said: 'easyJet has finished the year with continued positive momentum delivering both a strong final quarter and a strong second half.

'Passenger numbers and load factor in the final quarter set new records and the second half profit was over 100m higher than summer 2016.

'The market continues to be challenging and easyJet has had to absorb a significant currency impact of 100m in the year.

'However, easyJet continues to operate Europe's strongest network and the current turmoil in the sector provides easyJet with opportunities to capitalise on its strong customer proposition and grow and strengthen our positions in Europe's leading airports still further.'

The airline said it had increased its capacity by 8 per cent in the last quarter compared to a year ago.

In a bid to modernise its services, easyJet plans to launch in-flight movies on its planes. The airline also plans to make improvements to its automatic bag drop system.

To mitigate the potential impact of Brexit on its services, easyJet has applied for a new air operator's certificate in Austria to allow it to continue flying in the European Union.

EasyJet will publish its full annual results on 21 November.

'EasyJet may have Ryanair to thank for a blockbuster summer,' noted ETX Captial analyst Neil Wilson. 'In the three months to September 30th the airline enjoyed record passenger numbers and load factors  a September surge no doubt helped by the cancellations at its main rival.'

'EasyJet looks set to benefit from not only Ryanair passengers rebooking over the coming months, but also absorbing the demand on routes from the collapse of Monarch. This should help with load factors over the winter with the airline, along with Ryanair, enjoying the biggest complementary route coverage. There is also the potential for moves to be made on Monarch assets, especially the landing slots.'
Unilever values its spreads business at 6.1bn

Bidders vying for Unilevers spreads have less than two weeks to submit an offer.

The consumer goods giant has invited private equity bidders to submit offers for the 6.1bn business  which includes I Cant Believe Its Not Butter, Flora and Stork, by October 19  according to sources.

The sale process first kicked off in late September, with Unilevers banks sending out confidential information to a series of heavyweight buy-out funds which are rumoured to have been mulling over the deal since the summer.

Offers have been dominated by private equity groups, which have teamed up in three rival consortiums.

Bain Capital and Clayton Dubilier & Rice reportedly form one group, Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners another, while investment firm KKR is rumoured to have partnered up with Singapores sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Limited.

American investment fund Apollo is said to be looking to bid alone.

In April Unilever announced it would be selling its spreads business in a bid to boost shareholder returns after it rejected a 115billion takeover by Kraft Heinz earlier this year.

Last month it snapped up South Korean skincare firm Carver Korea for 2billion from Bain Capital Private Equity and Goldman Sachs in a bid to move further into the beauty division.
Hollywood Bowl is on course to grant a special dividend to shareholders after a makeover of its bowling sites saw sales and earnings soar.

The group, which floated on the London Stock Exchange last September, said it was reaping the benefits of the refurbishments and rebranding of its Bowlplex sites into Hollywood Bowl centres.

It did up nine of its sites in the year  adding VIP coloured lanes with extra storage, seating and mobile-phone charging points.

Striking gold: Hollywood Bowl refurbished nine of its sites in the year  adding VIP coloured lanes with extra storage, seating and mobile-phone charging points

It also revamped its dining experience to reflect the American atmosphere, importing open-top Cadillacs into some of its sites so customers can sit in the iconic car while dining.

The move saw sales in the second half of the year grow 10 per cent against the year before while sales for the full year grew 8.9 per cent. Same-branch sales increased 3.5 per cent.

As a result Hollywood bowl said it now expects earnings for the year to be marginally ahead of board expectations.

It added that it is 'considering returning capital' to shareholders and a further update will be given during its full year results announcement in December. It will either be in the form of a special dividend or a share buyback.
ITV is demanding more than 140million a year for use of its main channel by pay TV rivals.

The commercial broadcaster wants Virgin Media and Sky to pay up for ITV1, which is home to prime-time hits such as Coronation Street, Victoria, The X Factor and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.

Cable-and-satellite broadcasters have been able to carry the channel cost-free for years thanks to laws designed to help the cable-and-satellite TV markets when they were in their infancy.

But in a victory for ITV over the summer, legislation means it can demand cash from operators such as Virgin Media  with an implicit threat it could pull its channels if no agreement is reached.

ITV wants Virgin Media and Sky to pay up for ITV1, which is home to prime-time hits such as Coronation Street, Victoria, The X Factor and Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway (pictured)

Now these operators are preparing for a major showdown, with a similar bill possible for Sky as it provides more TV through the internet instead of satellite dishes in future.

This week analysts at Liberum put the amount that ITV could extract from the companies at more than 140million.

The fees increase will be a top issue in Carolyn McCall's in-tray when she takes over as ITV chief executive in January, with the broadcaster seeking to reduce its reliance on falling advertising revenues.

McCall, however, is expected to face a difficult battle, with Virgin Media insisting there is 'no reason' it should pay. The negotiations are further complicated because Virgin's owner, Liberty Global, is ITV's second biggest shareholder.

VIEWING FIGURES 7,800 Hours of shows produced by ITV Studios last year

21.4pc Share of TV audiences held by ITV channels

60pc Of TV viewers reached by Coronation St, about 21.6m people

1bn ITV will spend making TV shows this year

150 Countries showing ITVs hit drama Victoria

But an ITV spokesman said: 'ITV should be paid fairly by pay TV platforms that make money from our multi-billion pound investment in original UK content, so we can continue to invest in the programmes that our viewers enjoy.'

Under the laws, Virgin and Sky have also been able to transmit the main channels of the BBC, Channel 4 and Channel 5 because they are considered public service broadcasters. While the other broadcasters have supported its lobbying in the past, ITV has been the most vocal in its calls for change.

Subscription TV providers already pay ITV for its other channels, such as ITV2. They also argue they already compensate the public broadcasters such as ITV and the BBC by giving them top-billing on set-top box TV guides, as well as highly-prized channels such as '103' and '101' respectively.

Ministers, despite changing the law which allowed ITV to make its demands, have said they would not favour broadcasters levying extra costs on TV providers for their main channels.

Tom Mockridge, chief executive of Virgin Media, said earlier this year: 'The Government has been clear, new fees should not be paid for mainstream channels.

ITV is already fully compensated through its prominent position, audience reach and additional advertising revenue this delivers. It is carried for zero fee by all UK platforms and there is no reason why this shouldn't continue to be the case at Virgin Media.'

A Government spokesman said yesterday: 'Having carefully considered the wide range of views which have been expressed on this matter, the Government believes it is for the market to determine what fees, if any, are applicable.'
Borrowers who have been self-employed for just one year will be considered for a mortgage by Halifax after it revealed it had relaxed its income assessments.

Previously the lender asked for self-employed mortgage applicants to submit three years of signed-off accounts to prove they earned what they claimed.

Now it says it will accept two years of accounts as a minimum and in exceptional circumstances, the bank will also consider those who had worked for themselves for just 12 months.

Halifax says it is committed to supporting self-employed borrowers who need a mortgage

Borrowers will be able to apply for any deal from the Halifax range, but they will need to apply through a mortgage broker as the relaxed income standards are available only through Halifax's broker arm, Halifax Intermediaries.

The move has been made to help those who are self-employed but struggle to move home or remortgage when they need to.

Ian Wilson, head of Halifax Intermediaries, said: 'There are almost five million self-employed workers in the UK and almost 40 per cent of employment growth has come from the self-employed or small business owners over the past decade.

'Adapting our policy to support self-employed people is part of our ongoing commitment to making it easier for them.'

Securing a mortgage if you're self-employed has been much harder since tough new mortgage rules were brought in during 2014.

These made it mandatory for borrowers to prove their income, while lenders have to be able to demonstrate they have seen evidence of this and that the borrower can afford to repay the mortgage.

Many homeowners who took mortgages before these rules were brought in are now stuck with their existing lender because they no longer 'fit' the template income that lenders are looking for today.

David Hollingworth, of mortgage broker London & Country, said: 'This kind of flexibility is improving although the self-employed with only a year of accounts will still be more limited in options.

'Some specialist lenders can consider those with only one year of accounts but rates may be a little higher so it makes sense to consider mainstream lenders in the first place and if there is some track record of income, there may be an option available.'

Several smaller lenders that deal solely through mortgage brokers have begun to specialise in helping borrowers with more complex incomes including those with multiple jobs, who work on contract or whose income comes from multiple sources.

These include Paragon, The Mortgage Lender, Kensington Mortgages, Precise Mortgages, Aldermore, TSB, Virgin Money, Vida, Bluestone, OneSavings Bank and many of the small building societies.

Santander, Metro Bank and Coventry Building Society also offer good options for the self-employed, according to mortgage brokers.

Jonathan Harris, of mortgage broker Anderson Harris, said: This is a sector that has been poorly represented and supported by mortgage lenders for sometime. The main issue has been a general lack of understanding from lenders regarding the way that the self-employed take their income and minimise unnecessary personal tax.

However, lenders have upped their game, recognising that the self-employed are heavily invested in their businesses and therefore represent a low risk to them.'

He added: 'Scottish Widows, for example, is excellent with professionals, such as lawyers or doctors, buying into a practice and becoming self-employed and those becoming members of limited liability partnerships.'

If you have been self-employed for a number of years, then most lenders will be happy to entertain you and lend according to your income. How they calculate the amount they'll let you borrow depends on how your business is structured.

Mark Harris, of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: 'If you have a track record of earning income through self employment, HSBC and Atom Bank have keenly-priced products.

'But there are also those workers who have changed from employed to self-employed but have been so for a short period  should the applicant still be working in the same industry, Halifax can be flexible and look on the merits of the case.'
What is the mission of the Cayuga Museum? Director Eileen McHugh told The Citizen (Jan. 20, 2012): Theodore Case himself chose the Cayuga Museum as the keeper of his legacy. Indeed, Case gifted the entire Willard estate with a humble request that the museum uphold the legacy of Movietone. Cases carriage house is part of this estate.

According to the Oct. 1, 2017, front-page story of The Citizen, Ms. McHugh and the museum board changed the name of the Case carriage house theater from Theater Mack to The Cayuga Museum Carriage House Theater. I, for one, object. The names of two men intrinsically connected to the building are missing from this title: Peter Mack and Theodore W. Case.

Peter Macks vision and his creative and generous contributions to the Case carriage house have been invaluable to our community! Thousands have enjoyed a plethora of outstanding functions and performances in this gathering gem. Furthermore, Peter continued to use his musical talents to draw even more people to Auburn, at his cost. Peter Macks pervasive support for the museum he has cherished since childhood deserves our utmost praise and his name should continue in the theaters title.

Theodore W. Case is unquestionably Auburns most accomplished son. But who knows? Most visitors to the Case carriage house theater do not realize the hallowed ground on which they walk. They have no idea that Auburn, New York, is the official birthplace of talking movies and that the very first sound-on-film studio on the planet lies directly above the theaters stage. Imagine, in this historic building Case experimented with and perfected the sound technology that ultimately revolutionized the civilized world! His name absolutely should appear in the theaters title.

Keeping Theodore W. Cases legacy alive is Ms. McHughs primary obligation. Including Cases name in the theater title would show a good-faith effort. Omitting his name, well, raises eyebrows to a hidden agenda.

Hold the museum accountable to their job. Change the theater title to one that shows gratitude to Peter Mack and hometown honor to Theodore W. Case. Tell Ms. McHugh and the Cayuga Museum board members to rename the theater: Theater Mack at the Case Carriage House.

Toni Colella

Auburn

Colella is co-author of "Now We're Talking: The Story of Theodore W. Case and Sound-on-Film."
John Edgar Rust, 26, of Alexandria, posted a 4chan chat thread on November 11 last year which concluded by saying, 'After all, it's not murder if they're black'

A Virginia man has been charged with making racist threats to kill African Americans at Howard University using the wifi in a Panera Bread store.

John Edgar Rust, 26, of Alexandria, posted a 4chan chat thread on November 11 last year which concluded by saying, 'After all, it's not murder if they're black'.

Concerns over safety led to some students missing lectures at the historically black university and ramped up security on campus.

Rust was convicted of sexual battery against a minor in 2012, according to the Virginia Sex Offender Registry, and subsequently banned from the Internet.

But he managed to get online by using Panera Bread's in-store wifi.

The affidavit shows investigators quickly honed in on Rust, but the investigation required detailed computer forensics to bring charges.

Rust is scheduled to make an initial appearance Thursday. Court records do not list an attorney. He could face five years in prison if he is found guilty

Research on firearms and explosives were allegedly found on Rusts laptop, according to the Washington Post.

He also search for articles reacting to his own threats on his phone, according to the FBI.


Philip Bull (pictured) killed a couple while driving his elderly wife to hospital

A pensioner who killed a couple while driving his elderly wife to hospital has blamed 'unintentional acceleration' as he admitted to causing their deaths.

Philip Bull, 90, ploughed into Clare Haslam, 44, and Deborah Clifton, 49, in the car park of Withington Community Hospital in March.

The couple, who lived together in Chorlton, Manchester, were both taken to hospital but died a short time after.

Bull, from Wythenshawe, Manchester, pleaded guilty to causing their deaths, as the victim's family wept with relief in the public gallery.

Appearing on behalf of the defendant, Richard Vardon said: '[This is] one of the most difficult cases to come before the court.

'Might I ask for an adjournment of three weeks so the court can have the fullest possible picture in relation to the defendant and his circumstances.

'The court will be aware that Mr Bull was dropping of his elderly wife at the hospital who suffers from Alzheimer's, prior to this terrible incident.

'The defendant has pleaded guilty and he recognises the enormity of what occurred on this occasion.

Bull, 90, ploughed into Clare Haslam, 44, (right) and Deborah Clifton, 49, (left) in the car park of Withington Community Hospital in March

'This case effectively can be characterised as a tragic case of unintentional acceleration.

'There is a considerable body of learning about the very typical dynamic of this vehicle and this is not unique to Mr Bull's age.

'I don't for a moment suggest that the defendant's feelings are anything comparable to the family of the deceased.'

Appearing on behalf of the prosecution, Adrian Farrow asked for the court to impose an interim driving disqualification until Mr Bull is sentenced.

The women were described as 'inseparable' by family and had a daughter together.

A joint family statement, released a short time after their death, said: 'Clare and Debbie were like an old married couple, they would fight like cat and dog, bicker at the slightest thing but ultimately they were made for each other, so blissfully happy and without doubt soulmates.

Bull, from Wythenshawe, Manchester, pleaded guilty to causing their deaths, as the victim's family wept with relief in the public gallery

'Clare was popular and well-liked by many, she was so full of life, but as a young lady she was really lacking in self-confidence until she met Debbie.

'Her and Debbie became inseparable and did practically everything together including raising their adorable little girl.'

Adjourning the case to October 26, Judge Hilary Manley, said: 'I will adjourn this very sensitive case and I do impose an interim driving disqualification.

'Philip Bull, you must return to this court on that date, in the meantime you will be remanded on unconditional bail.'
Morgan Geyser, now 15, lured Payton Leutner to the woods before tackling her to the ground and stabbing her 'everywhere' as her friend Anissa Weier urged her on

A schoolgirl who stabbed her classmate 19 times to please the fictional character Slenderman cried in court as she recounted the attack.

Morgan Geyser, now 15, lured Payton Leutner to a woodland clearing in Waukesha, Wisconsin, before tackling her to the ground and stabbing her 'everywhere' as her friend Anissa Weier urged her on.

Leutner, who like her attackers was 12 at the time, survived the attack by crawling out of the trees and flagging down a passing cyclist.

Geyser told the court: 'Anissa and I took [her] in the forest and said that we were going to play hide and seek.'

'Anissa said that she couldn't do it and that I had to. I tackled her. I stabbed her.'

Geyser pleaded guilty to first-degree intentional homicide over the 2014 stabbing in an agreement with prosecutors to avoid prison time.

The plea agreement calls for Geyser to be found not guilty by reason of insanity, meaning she will be committed to a mental hospital for 40 years.

Morgan Geyser, left, is seen in court on September 29, while Anissa Weier, right, is pictured on February 20

Leutner, who like her attackers was 12 at the time, miraculously survived the attack by crawling bleeding from the woods and flagging down a passing cyclist. She is seen here in a photo provided by her family in 2017

Anthony Cotton, Geyser's attorney, says she is remorseful for the attack and wrote the letter without prompting from anyone.

Her co-defendant Weier pleaded guilty to a reduced charge last month and faces at least three years in a mental hospital.

Earlier this year a spokesperson for Lautner's family issued a statement to People magazine saying that the now 15-year-old is thriving as a high school freshman.

'Today, Payton is a strong young woman who is excelling in school and doing many things that a teenager would do with her family and friends,' the spokesperson said.

WHO IS SLENDER MAN? The Slender Man is a fictional character prevalent on the internet after originating as a meme in 2009. The mythical creature is often depicted as an unnaturally tall, thin figure with a blank, featureless face, wearing a black suit. The character is said to have long, tentacle-like arms, which can be extended to capture prey. It is said to stalk, abduct and traumatize children and, depending on interpretations of the myth, can cause memory loss, insomnia and paranoia. It is also said to be able to create distortions in photographs and teleport. It is understood to have originated in a Photoshop contest on the Something Awful Forums in 2009. It then went viral with numerous works of fan art and short scary stories published online known as 'creepypasta'. The character has developed its own life online, with two feature-length films funded in part by Kickstarter appearing in 2012. The meme that appears most is that of a tall malevolent figure, who silently stalks down his prey. Advertisement

Last month, Weier pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of attempted second-degree homicide, just weeks before her trial was set to begin.

Following the trial, the jury accepted her insanity plea, finding that she was not legally responsible.

Geyser, who was diagnosed with early onset-schizophrenia in 2014, is heavily medicated, though 'more lucid with the medication than she ever was'.

During a hearing in August, Weier said that she didn't want to harm Leutner and that the stabbing plot was Geyser's idea.

She said she participated because she was afraid of what would happen if she didn't.

'I believed that if I didn't go through with it, Slender Man would come and attack and kill myself, my friends and my family. Those I cared about the most,' she said.

Slender Man started with an online post in 2009, as a mysterious specter whose image people edit into everyday scenes of children at play.

He is typically depicted as a spidery figure in a black suit with a featureless white face.

He was regarded by his devotees as alternately a sinister force and an avenging angel.

The case has been the subject of public fascination, with video of the girls' police interrogations featured in the 2016 HBO documentary 'Beware the Slenderman.'

'Morgan jumped on top of Bella and started stabbing her repeatedly, and that's when I turned around because I couldn't stand to see that,' Weier tells police in the interrogation video, using a nickname for the victim.

Geyser, during her own police interview, claimed it was Weier who jumped on Leutner and 'held her to the floor.'

'I think Anissa stabbed her first, and then I continued.'


Murder suspect: Kylr Yust on Thursday was charged with murdering 17-year-old Kara Kopetsky and 21-year-old Jessica Reunions a decade apart

A Missouri man has been charged with murder in the deaths of two Kansas City-area females who disappeared about 10 years apart.

Kylr Yust, 27, was charged Thursday with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of abandoning a corpse in the deaths of 17-year-old Kara Kopetsky, of Belton and 21-year-old Jessica Runions, of Raymore.

Yust is being held on $1million bond. He has been in the Jackson County Jail for the past year, accused of burning Reunions' car.

On Friday, he was transferred to the Cass County Jail to face the more serious charges. He had long been a suspect in the two deaths.

Runions was seen leaving a gathering with Yust before she disappeared in September 2016.

Kopetsky had filed a protection order against Yust in April 2007, a month before she went missing after walking out of Belton High School.

Scroll down for video

Victims: Kopetsky (left) went missing in May 2007. Reunions (right) was last seen alive leaving a party with YUst in September 2016

On April 4 of this year, a skull was discovered in a rock quarry nine miles away - a skull that the FBI later confirmed through DNA testing belonged to Kopetsky.

Chillingly, Kopetsky's remains were not the only ones discovered there.

Her skull was found by a mushroom hunter in the quarry outside Belton, which is around 20 miles south of Kansas City.

The next, day police discovered the bones of Jessica Runions close by in the quarry.

Runions was last seen leaving a party on September 8 with the 27-year-old Yust.

Her burned-out car was found two days later and Yust was charged with setting it ablaze. His trial for that charge had been scheduled for October, but on Friday prosecutors in Jackson County announced that they were dismissing that case.

Yust was also linked to Kopetsky, who filed a protection order against him in April 2007; she vanished six days before a scheduled court hearing.

Final glimpse: Kopetsky vanished from Belton High School on May 4, 2007. She's seen here in footage taken just before she disappeared

Rhonda Beckford looks around in her daughter Kara's room in June 2007, a month after her disappearance

According to court documents, she claimed that he had kidnapped and restrained her, choked her and threatened to cut her throat during their nine-month relationship.

'I'm unsure what he will do next, because the abuse has gotten worse over time,' the application for protection read.

Yust has a lengthy criminal history. In 2011, he was charged with two counts of animal abuse for smashing a kitten against a bathroom floor and then drowning two kittens in a creek.

A week before that, he was placed on two years probation after pleading guilty to charges of beating and choking his 18-year-old pregnant girlfriend

Kopetsky had filed a protection order against Yust in April 2007. Her skull was found by a mushroom hunter in a quarry outside Belton in April 2017

According to police, he allegedly threatened the girl by saying he could dispose of body parts in a pig pen at a family farm.

That same year, another person filed a protection order against him.

In 2013, he was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison for felony drug trafficking and in 2014 he pleaded guilty to a theft charge.
Ivory sales will be banned in Britain following intensive lobbying by Prince William.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove unveiled plans last night to outlaw the sale of almost all items to combat elephant poaching.

He warned that the slaughter of elephants for their tusks, a practice that has devastated populations, shames our generation.

Ivory sales will be banned in Britain following intensive lobbying by Prince William (pictured in 2015)

About 20,000 elephants are slaughtered annually due to the global demand for ivory. If current rates of poaching continue, the animals could become extinct within decades in some African countries, experts warn.

Under current rules, worked or carved ivory items produced before March 3, 1947, are allowed to be sold in the UK, although the sale of raw ivory of any age is prohibited.

The new proposals, which are being consulted on, would ban sales of the older worked items in nearly every instance.

The ban will cover almost all ivory, except for items which are not deemed to contribute to the poaching of elephants. These exemptions include musical instruments such as pianos with ivory keys, items containing a small amount of ivory and those with significant historic, artistic or cultural value.

Sales to and between museums would also be exempted.

Mr Gove said that the plans will put the UK at the centre of the fight against the trade. The decline in the elephant population fuelled by poaching for ivory shames our generation.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove unveiled plans last night to outlaw the sale of almost all items to combat elephant poaching

Ivory should never be seen as a commodity for financial gain or a status symbol  so we want to ban its sale. These plans will put the UK front and centre of global efforts to end the insidious trade in ivory.

The UK Government is also training an anti-poaching force to end the practice and sharing information to stop wildlife trafficking, according to Defra.

William has made combating elephant poaching one of the causes closest to his heart and is a vocal supporter of a ban.

He is patron of Tusk, a charity that campaigns to end the ivory trade, and has lobbied the UK and other governments on the issue. Last year, he warned officials at an international conference on the illegal wildlife trade that ivory treated as a commodity is the fuel of extinction.

He said: Ivory is not something to be desired and when removed from an elephant it is not beautiful. So, the question is: why are we still trading it? We need governments to send a clear signal that trading in ivory is abhorrent.

Britain is not a big market for ivory and is not thought to contribute significantly to elephant poaching. But conservation groups have called for a ban amid concerns the legal market in ivory in the UK has been used as a cover for trade in illegal ivory. The UK also makes legal shipments of antiques to Asia, helping supply the worlds largest ivory markets which are driving the poaching crisis.

There has been a dramatic increase in the amount of ivory sold to China by the UK since 2005, the charity WWF says.

Stop Ivory chief executive John Stephenson said: The unprecedented crisis we face with Africas natural heritage being destroyed and communities put at risk due to poaching by illegal armed gangs  will only stop when people stop buying ivory. WWF chief executive Tanya Steele welcomed Mr Goves plans, but warned there was a long way to go and they should be introduced within a year.

Whilst discussions roll on, 55 African elephants a day are killed. We need to be the generation that ends the illegal ivory trade once and for all, she said.

The US has already introduced a near-total ban while China and Hong Kong have announced plans to close their markets. Mr Goves proposals will be subject to a 12-week consultation.

A WWF poll found that 75 per cent back a ban on the ivory trade in the UK, while 90 per cent are concerned about the poaching threat to elephants.
Westpac sent an email to staff urging them to vote yes to gay marriage, claiming it would prevent 3,000 suicides a year.

The message from the bank's youth network, representing staff under 30, was sent to 10,000 of 40,000 staff and called voting yes a 'no brainer'.

But the bank admitted its statistic used in the email was a mistake and actually referred to research only talking about suicide attempts.

Westpac sent an email to staff urging them to vote yes to gay marriage, claiming it would prevent 3,000 suicides a year

'We said that we would get that information clarified to the staff and we will do that,' Westpac spokesman David Lording told The Australian.

The email brought up an open letter Westpac signed last year, along with other prominent Australian companies, supporting gay marriage.

'While we're not one to tell anyone how to roll, this is a no-brainer (if Tony Abbott's daughter is publicly voting yes, so should you),' it read.

'Along with ensuring all our colleagues and mates feel included and have equal rights, legalising SSM would prevent 3000 suicides per year.'

The bank admitted its statistic used in the email was a mistake and actually referred to research only talking about suicide attempts

The bank in a statement distanced itself from the email, calling the youth network 'a group of young, enthusiastic Westpac employees who get together to discuss a range of issues'.

But former Australian Securities Exchange and ABC chairman Maurice Newman questioned whether gay marriage was something companies should be 'occupying their time with'.

'It is a dangerous precedent for companies to come out and prosecute social issues. That is for politicians,' he said.

Liberal senator Matt Canavan said it was 'contemptible' to use suicide to 'blackmail other Australians with guilt' into voting yes in the ongoing postal vote.

The message from the bank's youth network, representing staff under 30, was sent to 10,000 of 40,000 staff and called voting yes a 'no brainer'

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, also an opponent of gay marriage, said companies and sporting bodies like the AFL should stay out of politics.

'Why are these companies involved in political campaigns?' he told 2GB radio.

'Stick to your knitting. I don't want sporting organisations or groups involved in delivering banking services telling us how to live our lives.'

The email's claim relied on a September 21 press release by the University of Sydneys Brain and Mind Centre telling Australians to consider the link between LGBTI discrimination and suicide.

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton, an opponent of gay marriage, said companies and sporting bodies like the AFL should stay out of politics

It said as many as 3,000 youth suicide attempts a year could be prevented if gay marriage was made legal.

That claim relied on U.S. research published in April in JAMA Paediatrics finding a seven per cent reduction in suicide attempts by high school students from gay marriage being instituted.

The research was disputed by other academics as the motives for suicide attempts weren't reported and there was often not a 'single cause'.

Last year there were 2,866 suicides, down from 3,027 the year before, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Two more Trump administration cabinet officials are facing tough questions about their use of government and private charter aircraft while on the job, just a week after the president fired Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price for abusing the same privilege.

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao has used government planes instead of cheaper commercial airline flights seven times in the past eight months.

The Washington Post reported Thursday that Chao used the government planes to fly to Paris for an annual air show and to Sardinia for a meeting of industrialized democracies. Other destinations included cities within an hour's flight of Washington.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin billed taxpayers $800,000 for just seven government aircraft flights.

The Treasury Department's Office of Inspector General said Thursday that everything was legal, but wrote that the department had offered insufficient justification for not traveling on commercial aircraft.

Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin (pictured with his wife Louise Linton) spent $800,000 of taxpayer funds to take just seven trips on military jets  and the government says it was all legal

Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao used government planes instead of flying commercial for an air show in Paris and a meeting of industrialized democracies in Sardinia  and she flew on the jets to other destinations within an hour's flight of Washington

Mnuchin's use of a plane at taxpayer expense to travel to Kentucky in August with his wife to view the solar eclipse and speak to business leaders prompted an outcry from Democratic party lawmakers and spurred the Treasury's watchdog agency to examine whether it violated travel or ethics policies.

Cabinet members rarely use government planes or chartered aircraft for domestic travel, but the practice has received significant attention in the wake of Mnuchin's trip.

On Friday, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price resigned after an outcry over his use of private charter planes for government business at a cost of more than $1 million.

He has pledged to reimburse the government, but will pay less than $52,000  the cost of the equivalent commercial fare for the routes he flew.

Mnuchin said on Sunday he did not regret using a government plane for the Kentucky trip, calling it 'completely justifiable.'

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price was forced out last week after it emerged that he spent more than $1 million on chartered jets (the cost of flying Air Force One for less than six hours)

'It was approved by the White House and there were reasons why we needed to use that plane,' he said on NBC's 'Meet the Press' program.

Mnuchin told NBC that he would only use a private plane for government purposes 'if either there was a national security issue or we couldn't get somewhere.'

Mnuchin's travel requests included one, later withdrawn, for a government plane for use on his European honeymoon.

The Treasury Department has described Mnuchin's August trip to Kentucky as official government travel. Mnuchin spoke to business leaders in Louisville and visited Fort Knox, the site of significant U.S. gold reserves.

Mnuchin and his wife, Louise Linton, also viewed the Aug. 21 solar eclipse in Kentucky with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and others.

Public uproar over the trip began to mount after Linton posted a photo of herself deplaning on social media and listed the expensive designer brands she was wearing in the caption.

Chao, the transportation secretary, uses jets owned by the Federal Aviation Administration, which is part of her department.

The most common plane sue uses is a Gulfstream IV business jet. Chao also has access to a Cessna business jet that the FAA charges other government agencies about $5,000 an hour to fly.

The planes are housed at a hangar at Reagan National Airport close to Washington.

One of the benefits for officials who use the planes is that they are able to avoid airport security lines. Past transportation secretaries also occasionally made use of the planes, and they are often used to transport accident investigators to air crash sites.

Chao is the wife of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

Her office has said in the past that she tries to fly commercial when possible, and uses government planes when commercial flights aren't available or for 'security protocols.'

Lead by example? President Donald Trump has used Air Force One 17 times this year to spend weekends at his golf and resort properties in Florida and New Jersey

Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, was the official 'Winter White House' this year, and got seven presidential visits on the taxpayers' dime

The White House insisted on Thursday that taxpayers should continue to pay $180,000 per hour for President Donald Trump's weekend flights aboard Air Force One to and from his properties in New Jersey and Florida.

Press secretary Sarah Sanders, however, dodged a question from DailyMail.com about whether that use of taxpayer money set a permissive tone that seemed to justify his cabinet members' use of private and government jets for their own travel.

Trump is 'not allowed to travel in a different way other than in a secure airplane as Air Force One,' Sanders said during Thursday's press briefing.

And she insisted that 'every weekend that he's traveling, no matter where he is, the president is working.'

But in response to a separate question about whether Trump 'undercut' his secretary of state after he was accused of calling the president a 'moron,' Sanders made it clear that it's Trump who 'is the leader of the cabinet. He sets the tone. He sets the agenda.'

'This is a president that is committed to helping move his agenda forward, and certainly I think that those weekends have been very successful in doing that,' she added.

She cited key meetings with world leaders, but didn't address why they couldn't have taken place at the White House.

Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price was kicked out the door last Friday following revelations that he spent more than $1 million in taxpayer funds on private flights, largely for routes that are served by commercial airlines.

White House counselor Kellyannd Conway was on at least one of those flights, a 137-mile trip from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia and back  at a cost of $25,000.

Energy Secretary Rick Perry chartered a jet to Ohio a week ago.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has spent $58,000 of government funds on non-commercial flights to his home state of Oklahoma since taking the job.
If BBC Radio 2 pays its male DJs more than their female counterparts, it is because they are more talented, its boss has claimed. Lower salary: Radio 2s Zoe Ball

If BBC Radio 2 pays its male DJs more than their female counterparts, it is because they are more talented, its boss has claimed.

In a bizarre interview, Lewis Carnie also insisted Chris Evans is well worth his 2.2million salary, and that there is no gender pay issue at Radio 2 - despite clear evidence to the contrary.

At Radio 2, there is no gender pay gap. No ones comparing like with like. That misleads the entire situation, Mr Carnie said in an interview.

On a per show basis, the pay gap doesnt existWe wouldnt care what anybody is  gender, sexuality or ethnic origin  its totally irrelevant. Whats important is the talent, and theyre paid according to that.

Six of the stations nine biggest earners are men, including Mr Evans, Jeremy Vine on up to 750,000 and Steve Wright on up to 550,000.

Claudia Winkleman and Vanessa Feltz are the stations biggest earning female stars, on 500,000 and 400,000 respectively. However, Miss Winkleman gets that money for her work on Strictly, rather than her Radio 2 show.

Meanwhile, the BBC has admitted that male staff earn 9.3 per cent more than women on average, and that the gap is considerably higher amongst its top-tier presenters.

Mr Carnies comments are likely to spark fresh anger amongst the BBCs female staff, who are already furious at the yawning gap in pay for male and female presenters.

The broadcaster was forced to admit this summer that it has twice as many male presenters as female ones on 150,000 or more  and that many of the men are paid considerably more than their female co-hosts.

To make matters worse, furious staff singled out Radio 2 as one of the worst offenders. At the height of the controversy, Womens Hour host Jane Garvey blasted Radio 2 on Twitter as extraordinarily male and entirely pale with big salaries.

The station doesnt have a single woman on air with a regular show from breakfast time until people get home from work. And even the female DJs it does have on air tend to be amongst the lowest paid.

Zoe Ball and Clare Balding take home up to 300,000 and 200,000 respectively, but none of the stations other female DJs earn enough to make the BBCs rich list.

None the less, Mr Carnie tried to claim yesterday that its female presenters are paid as much as or more than many of its male stars.

We have a lot of female talent  Zoe Ball, Sara Cox, Claudia Winkleman, Elaine Paige, Liza Tarbuck. Theyre paid in line or higher than many of the male presenters, the BBC boss told the Evening Standard.

The BBC declined to comment on how his claim squares with the BBCs disclosures earlier this year, saying it did not want to respeak for Mr Carnie.

The Radio 2 boss also said: Revealing everybodys pay is one of the most unhelpful things that has ever happened

Its a lose-lose situation. Because theres no gender pay issue here at all, it really hasnt helped us. I mean, what is the point of it? With the exception of Chris Evans, who has an extraordinary market value because other people are after him, everyone is kind of really in line.

Asked whether Mr Evans was worth the money, Mr Carnie added: As someone who brings nearly 10million listeners a week, yeah. Hes a phenomenal talent.

The BBC said yesterday: The BBC is conducting a review - including for Radio 2 - into the BBCs approach to on-air presenters, editors and correspondents which will conclude by the end of the year.

Earlier this week, a report on pay for rank and file BBC staff revealed that men at the corporation are paid an average of 9.3per cent more than women.

The BBC is due to publish a major report on pay for male and female presenters of all levels later this year.
Spain could soon erupt into civil war, a top EU official warned yesterday as the crisis in Catalonia deepened.

In a highly-charged intervention, Gunther Oettinger said the dispute over the regions independence risked spiralling into Western Europes first armed conflict for decades.

Despite the EUs reluctance to become involved, Mr Oettinger, an ally of Angela Merkel who serves as the blocs budget commissioner, said the situation is very, very worrying. There is a civil war imaginable now in the middle of Europe, he said. One can only hope that a thread of conversation will soon be recorded between Madrid and Barcelona.

The use of the phrase civil war is particularly antagonistic to Spain due to its bloody civil war from 1936 to 1939.

Anger: Thousands of demonstrators chant slogans outside the HQ of Spain's national police force in Barcelona

Catalonia, in particular, will baulk at the suggestion because the region played a key role in the conflict. Speaking at a discussion in Munich, Mr Oettinger insisted the EU should not intervene in the dispute and that moderation would only be conceivable if we were asked.

In another major development, Spains constitutional court tried to block Catalonian officials from declaring the regions independence by stopping a key parliamentary meeting next Monday.

Spains government warned the region that such a move amounted to blackmail. Last night the speaker of the regions parliament, Carme Forcadell, said the ruling by the court harms freedom of expression and the right of initiative of members of this parliament and shows once more how the courts are being used to solve political problems.

Meanwhile, Banco Sabadell, Spains fifth largest bank which owns TSB having bought it from Lloyds two years ago, announced it will move its registered domicile away from Catalonia.

A spokesman said it will launch rapid procedures that within days will move its legal base, but not its HQ and employees, to the eastern city of Alicante.

Gunther Oettinger said the dispute over the regions independence risked spiralling into Western Europes first armed conflict for decades

The board of Spains third largest bank, Caixabank, will meet today to discuss a similar move.

The Madrid government appeared to fan the flames of economic uncertainty in Catalonia by announcing it will change the law to make it easier for companies to re-locate their HQ without having to hold a shareholders meeting.

It means the economic stability of Catalonia is looking uncertain.

Madrid tried to shut down last weekends independence ballot with a policing operation that saw hundreds of people injured and turnout at just 42 per cent.

The constitutional court previously ruled that Sundays vote, in which 90 per cent of people backed independence, was illegal.

Catalonian officials ignored the order to the fury of Madrid, which said stopping the vote was to enforce the rule of law.
Sexism is apparently bad for dogs.

Academics Paul McGreevy, from the University of Sydney, and the University of Wollongong's Fiona Probyn-Rapsey have blamed gender stereotypes for harming the mental health of pooches.

'While we know how damaging stereotypes can be for humans, dog owners may not consider just how their conceptual baggage of gender stereotypes affects the animals they live with,' they said in an article published on The Conversation.

Scroll down for video

University of Wollongong's Fiona Probyn-Rapsey doggedly determined to address pet sexism

University of Sydney professor of animal behaviour Paul McGreevy says sexism dogs our pets

Owners are being advised to consider if they are imposing gender stereotypes on their dogs

Dr McGreevy, a professor of animal behaviour, and Professor Probyn-Rapsey, a humanities academic, said many dog owners were forcing their 'own gender identities' on to their pets.

'The lives of dogs depend upon how they conform to gender expectations,' they said.

They argued dog owners needed to reflect 'critically on gender stereotypes' to avoid canines being treated badly or being placed into an animal shelter.

Former Labor leader Mark Latham said it was ridiculous to impose on canines radical gender theories and the idea of a male patriarchy.

The academics say gender expectations are causing psychological harm to pet dogs

'They produced this incredible article extending all the radical gender theory that we've got in the human world to the world of the canine,' he said in a video for Rebel Media.

'Yes, the poor, harmless little dog has now got to be subjected to leftist gender theory.

'Whoever thinks of dogs in terms of gender?

'You're out there walking your dog, you're out there playing chase the stick, chase the ball, you've got to reflect on the gender stereotype of the dog. Seriously?'

Ex-Labor leader Mark Latham says imposing radical gender theories on dogs is barking mad

The university professors also criticised the use of the word 'b****' to describe a female dog

The academics criticised the use of the word b**** to describe a female dog, considering it is also a derogatory term for a woman.

'None of these animal metaphors have much to do with the animals themselves but more to do with how we use categories of animals to categorise humans,' they said.

'So unpacking and challenging gender stereotypes might just also improve the lives of animals too.'

They added that dogs reacted differently to men and women, arguing a dog's gender was an important factor in owner compatibility.
Jika Anda mencari situs web sbobet88 login yang andal dan aman untuk bermain poker online, permainan kasino, dan bentuk perjudian lainnya, Anda telah datang ke tempat yang tepat. Situs web kami menampilkan daftar lengkap permainan, opsi pembayaran, dan lainnya untuk memastikan Anda bersenang-senang saat bermain.

Agen Judi

judi adalah salah satu permainan poker online yang paling populer. Ribuan orang dari seluruh dunia telah bergabung dengan kasino online ini untuk bermain poker demi uang. Ini juga sangat mudah digunakan; yang Anda butuhkan hanyalah komputer atau smartphone dengan koneksi internet. Anda juga memerlukan koneksi wifi yang berfungsi.

adalah situs poker top di Indonesia karena berbagai macam permainan dan layanan pelanggan yang sangat baik. Sangat mudah untuk memahami mengapa begitu banyak orang menikmati bermain poker online dan menikmati kesenangan dan hadiah dari permainan. Ini juga nyaman untuk bermain dari rumah, sehingga Anda dapat bermain kapan saja.

tersedia di beberapa zona waktu, sehingga Anda dapat bermain kapan saja sesuai keinginan Anda. Anda bisa bermain saat pagi, siang, dan malam hari. Jika Anda merasa lesu, Anda selalu dapat bermain selama periode waktu yang kurang populer seperti jam 1  5 pagi.

Gim ini mudah dimainkan dan memiliki RTP tinggi. Ini memiliki banyak tema dan kompatibel di berbagai platform. Ia juga menawarkan permainan seperti Lucky Lion, Queens of Glory, dan Bubbles Bonanza. Flow Gaming juga menyediakan slot video dan permainan jackpot dengan RTP tinggi.

Selain itu, seorang petaruh harus mengamati tangan pemain lain sebelum mengambil keputusan. Ini akan membantunya membuat keputusan yang tepat untuk langkah selanjutnya. Selain itu, seorang pemain poker harus mempelajari dasar-dasar perjudian dan memahami konsekuensi dari kemenangan. Sebuah permainan kesempatan hanya sebagus pemainnya.

Saat memilih situs kasino, pastikan untuk memeriksa reputasinya. Beberapa situs memiliki reputasi buruk, sementara yang lain memiliki reputasi baik. Penting untuk membaca syarat dan ketentuan dan memilih situs terbaik berdasarkan detail ini.

Sebuah terpercaya Indonesia dapat menawarkan berbagai macam permainan dan deposit minimum yang rendah. Ini juga memiliki jackpot besar.

Situs Judi

Situs Judi adalah kasino online berlisensi yang menawarkan berbagai macam permainan dan menawarkan jaminan keamanan 100%. Permainan di situs ini sangat populer dan menawarkan jackpot besar setiap hari.

Beragam permainan judi online bisa Anda temukan di , antara lain mesin slot, baccarat, dan poker. Situs ini juga menawarkan berbagai permainan arcade dan togel. Situs ini juga menawarkan fitur putaran gratis bagi pemain untuk memenangkan uang gratis.

menawarkan berbagai macam metode pembayaran. Anda dapat menyetor menggunakan sebagian besar kartu kredit dan operator seluler utama dan bermain dengan uang sungguhan. Anda juga dapat menggunakan e-money untuk deposit.

adalah kasino online yang aman dan ramah pengguna. Situs ini tersedia dalam berbagai bahasa dan didukung oleh penyedia internasional yang andal. Terdapat pilihan live chat 24 jam yang dapat diakses melalui perangkat mobile Anda.

menawarkan keamanan dan privasi yang luar biasa. Informasi pribadi dan uang Anda 100% dilindungi. Situs web ini juga menawarkan berbagai permainan dan menggunakan dompet elektronik yang aman untuk pembayaran.

Anda harus memilih permainan yang Anda sukai untuk dimainkan. Dalam hal ini, permainan slot adalah pilihan yang paling cocok. Jackpotnya sangat besar! Jadi, bermainlah dengan cerdas dan menangkan yang besar! Jadi, nikmati permainan pilihan Anda dengan bantuan kasino online Indonesia.

di Indonesia adalah salah satu situs pembayaran online terbaik. Ini juga menawarkan berbagai macam permainan dan bonus. Selain pembayaran, ia juga menawarkan informasi lengkap tentang permainan slot.

juga menawarkan berbagai metode deposit. Anda dapat melakukan setoran melalui transfer bank, telepon, atau mata uang digital. Situs ini juga tersedia di Indonesia dan Asia.

adalah kasino online hebat yang menawarkan berbagai macam permainan slot. Selain itu, ia menawarkan bonus pendaftaran gratis. Dan, semua gimnya aman dan mudah diakses. Baik Anda seorang veteran atau baru memulai, adalah tempat terbaik untuk bermain.
A shopper has recorded the moment she spotted a huge python slithering through a car park at a shopping mall.

Mishka Minacova shot the clip at the Marketown mall in Newcastle, NSW, and uploaded the footage on her Facebook page on September 28.

'There are no snakes in the city, they said,' was how the video was captioned.

Scroll down for video

A shopper has recorded the moment a huge python was seen at a mall in Newcastle, NSW

She went on to further caption the clip with the hashtags #snakeinthecarpark #snakeintheshoppingmall #onlyinaustralia

The three-second video shows a brown python slithering its way through the car park.

No other information was provided in the caption accompanying the video.

The clip has been viewed more than 51,000 times and had over 700 shares.

Daily Mail Australia contacted Ms Minacova for comment.
US investigators have met with a former British spy who compiled a salacious dossier on President Donald Trump's alleged campaign ties to Russia, CNN reported on Thursday.

The investigators for independent special counsel Robert Mueller met with Christopher Steele this past summer, the news network reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Former FBI director Mueller leads a sweeping probe into possible Trump campaign collusion with Russian interference in the 2016 election.

'CNN has learned that the FBI and the US intelligence community last year took the Steele dossier more seriously than the agencies have publicly acknowledged,' the network reported on its website.

Scroll down for video

The investigators for independent special counsel Robert Mueller (left) met with former MI6 spy Christopher Steele (right) this past summer, CNN reported, citing two people familiar with the matter

The Wall Street Journal earlier identified former MI6 officer Steele as the author of the 35-page political research dossier which Trump branded as 'fake news.'

The dossier includes unsubstantiated claims that Russians possess videos involving prostitutes, filmed during a 2013 visit by Trump to a luxury Moscow hotel for the Miss Universe contest, supposedly as a potential means for blackmail.

The so-called 'golden showers' routine is a reference to an unsubstantiated claim that Trump solicited prostitutes and brought them to the presidential suite of a Moscow hotel where former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, had stayed.

Trump is then alleged to have had the call girls perform a 'golden showers' show where they urinated on the bed as a sign of disgust for Obama.

The suite was allegedly bugged by Russian intelligence, which then used the recorded incident as 'kompromat' - or compromising material with which it can blackmail Trump.

Steele compiled a report which alleges that Russia possesses embarrassing information about President Donald Trump (seen above) that it gathered supposedly as a potential means for blackmail

Although several news organizations were briefed on Steeles dossier before the election in November, most decided not to report on the material because its inflammatory and sometimes salacious content could not be verified.

The online site BuzzFeed News went ahead and posted a copy of the dossier, saying that while the claims there are unverified, it wants the readers to make up their own minds.

It also alleges that Trump advisors including his lawyer Michael Cohen maintained regular contact with Russian officials and others linked to Russian intelligence during the election and were exchanging information for 'at least' eight years.

The document, citing sources within the Russian security apparatus, alleges that the Kremlin was 'cultivating' Trump for at least five years. No evidence of this has been unearthed as of this writing.

It was also alleged in the document that the Russian government acknowledged that it was behind the hack of the Democratic National Committee, whose emails were then leaked to WikiLeaks. Russia has denied this allegation.

US intelligence chiefs who briefed Trump on alleged Russian interference in January reportedly included a two-page summary of the most credible claims from the collection of memos.

The information on Trump collected by Steele, whom officials say was one of MI6s most respected Russia hands, was laid out last year in political 'opposition research' initially financed by supporters of one of Trumps Republican primary election opponents.

After Trump won the Republican nomination in July, backers of Clinton picked up the support of Steeles work.

They were compiled before and after the November 8 election which Trump won.

The president has described Russian interference in the election as a 'total fabrication.'

Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Richard Burr, leading a separate investigation, said on Wednesday that Moscow had successfully sown 'chaos at every level' in the 2016 election.
Advertisement

Harvey Weinstein has revealed that he has had 'really tough conversations' with his family after the allegations of sexual harassment against him.

The Hollywood mogul said that he had to 'prove that I'm worthy' to his wife Georgina Chapman and his five children - but they were standing by him.

In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Weinstein, 65, expressed profound regret for his inappropriate behavior towards women stretching back decades.

He said that 'I own my mistakes' and that included frank talks with Chapman, 41, a British fashion designer and actress, and his five children aged between four and 22.

Weinstein also wants to 'earn the forgiveness' of actress Ashley Judd who accused him of repeatedly making indecent proposals to her 20 years ago.

Harvey Weinstein arrives at his home in NYC's West Village on Thursday night after revealing he has had 'really tough conversations' with his family after the allegations of sexual harassment against him

Harvey Weinstein is seen leaving the back entrance to his office in New York before heading to his West Village home in New York on Thursday night

Down and out in lower Manhattan: Weinstein was seen looking downcast earlier Thursday after news broke that he sexually harassed a number of female employees over the past three decades (above) in photos taken by DailyMail.com

No good will: He made a number of female employees massage him in his hotel room while he was naked revealed a New York Times investigation

Family: He is married to designer Georgina Chapman (above in February 2017) and the couple has two young children, with Weinstein also having three girls from his first marriage

Weinstein, who was photographed leaving his New York office late on Thursday and arriving home to his West Village pad, said: 'I have had tough conversations with my family, really tough ones but my family is standing with me.

'I have a journey and I have to prove to every person that's out there that I'm worthy of them and I have to prove to my family the same thing.

'This is going to be a journey, a lonely journey, but a journey where my wife and kids couldn't be stronger and couldn't be standing behind me more'.

Weinstein was named an honorary Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE, by the Queen for his contribution to the British film industry in 2004.

The multiple Oscar-winning founder of film companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company spoke to DailyMail.com after the bombshell New York Times report revealed his long record of misconduct.

The New York Times said he had reached at least eight settlements with women including one who said she was coerced into giving him a massage while he was naked.

Weinstein is said to have asked a young Judd to watch him shower and paid Rose McGowan $100,000 under a settlement for an incident shortly before her breakthrough role in 'Scream'.

Weinstein told DailyMail.com: 'I have had tough conversations with my family, really tough ones but my family is standing with me. He is seen clasping a mobile phone and paperwork as he arrives home on Thursday evening

Weinstein leaves his New York office on Thursday night carrying paperwork before arriving home to his West Village home in New York

'This is going to be a journey, a lonely journey, but a journey where my wife and kids couldn't be stronger and couldn't be standing behind me more,' he said

Sharing her story: Weinstein paid Rose McGowan (left) $100,000 and invited Ashley Judd (right) to his hotel room for a meeting and then asked if she would watch him shower

Helping hand: Weinstein exited his office on Thursday with attorney Lisa Bloom (above), who is known for her work with victims of sexual harassment

Heading for the hills: Weinstein sped off in his SUV up the West Side Highway after saying he would seek treatment

Speaking on the phone, Weinstein blamed his temperament for why he thought it was appropriate to behave in such a manner to young women who looked up to him as a way to gain a foothold in the movie industry.

He said: 'There's a difference between maybe what you're thinking (I was) behaving and anything else.

'The behaviour is more about temperament. I have a temper and it's not a good one so I think I act too imperiously.

'There's a difference between that any anything else'.

Weinstein, who has produced films like Pulp Fiction and Good Will Hunting, said that he was 'very remorseful to women and to men, everybody that I've offended'.

Weinstein is spotted having lunch at Bar Pitti with wife Georgina Chapman and newborn daughter India Pearl, in the West Village, NYC back in October 2010. His family is standing by him

He said: 'I own all my mistakes and I have to deal with that'.

In the New York Times article Judd, 49, said that she was invited up to Weinstein's room while filming 1997 thriller Kiss the Girls. When she got there, she said, he appeared in a bathrobe and asked if he could massage her or watch him shower.

She remembered thinking to herself: 'How do I get out of the room as fast as possible without alienating Harvey Weinstein?'

She soon got another invitation and was asked to give him a shoulder rub. When she declined he asked her to watch him shower again.

Judd said: 'I said no, a lot of ways, a lot of times, and he always came back at me with some new ask. It was all this bargaining, this coercive bargaining'.

Asked about her claims Weinstein said: 'Here's what I feel about Ashley. She wrote a story in Variety (that did not name Weinstein but described the incident) that was one way, now she's remembering this way.

'My feeling is I read her book [the memoir 'All That is Bitter and Sweet'] about being abused as a child.

'Whatever Ashley wants to say about me, I'm going to be supportive. I need to earn her forgiveness. I thought we had a relationship at one time, the goal is to get that back. I salute her like everybody else does.'

He elaborated on those thoughts in an interview with Page Six, saying: 'I know Ashley Judd is going through a tough time right now... Her life story was brutal, and I have to respect her. In a year from now I am going to reach out to her.'

Judd also said in the interview that she didn't work with Weinstein again, although she did appear in two more of his movies - Frida in 2002 and Crossing Over in 2009.

Kids: Weinstein and Chapman has a daughter India, 7, and four-year-old son Dashell (above in July)

Daughter: Weinstein with daughter Lily at The Weinstein Company & Netflix's 2014 Golden Globes After Party

McGowan reached a $100,000 settlement with Weinstein in 1997 when over the incident in a hotel room at the Sundance Film Festival. At the time she was 23 years old.

On Sunday McGowan tweeted obliquely about Weinstein, but did not mention any names, possibly because of the non-disclosure agreement she had signed at the end of the settlement.

'Anyone who does business with __ is complicit,' she wrote, 'And deep down you know you are even dirtier. Cleanse yourselves.'

'Women fight on,' she added. 'And to the men out there, stand up. We need you as allies. #bebrave'

She also wrote 'I want to buy the movie rights,' to which actress and director Asia Argento - best known for roles in xXx and Marie Antoinette - replied, 'I own the rights,' then added: 'It's gonna be the best movie of the last 20 years.'

McGowan responded to that by writing: 'We're gonna lobby for so many Oscars.'

Separately on Twitter, Judd tweeted a link to the NYT article, referencing 'decades of sexual harassment accusations'.

Rose McGowan, who was named in the NYT story as having settled a sexual harassment suit against Weinstein took to social media after it was released, but did not name any names

She also got into a jokey talk with actress and director Asia Argento, best known for her roles in xXx and Marie Antoinette

Ashley Judd also tweeted on Sunday, sending out a link to the NYT article, and referencing Weinstein's 'decades of sexual harassment accusations'

Asked about the 1997 incident, Weinstein told DailyMail.com: 'I promised to keep the peace and that's how I feel about it.'

He also denied the New York Times' claim that he had reached eight settlements with women and said their reporting was 'not right'.

He said: 'With any company with have non-disclosure agreement and whatever and for all sorts of reasons we don't reveal that. It's in our interests to make sure people feel good, that's what we do.'

In a comment to Page Six, he said: 'No company ever talks about settlements, and neither does the recipient, so I don't know how the Times came to this conclusion, but it is pure conjecture, the reporters have made assumptions.'

Weinstein said that Lauren O'Connor, who sent a memo to executives at the Weinstein Company in 2015 detailed his sexual misconduct, ended up settling.

Ex: Weinstein and first wife Eve Chilton

Weinstein said that The Weinstein Company hired Linda Fairstein, the former prosecutor known for investigating crimes against women, but the O'Connor withdrew her complaint and 'everybody sent nice letters to each other,' he told DailyMail.com.

Weinstein was also keen to point out that he was being targeted by forces that appear similar to those who turned on Hillary Clinton during her failed Presidential campaign.

Outside of the movie business Weinstein is a staunch supporter of liberal causes and has been a major fundraiser for the Democrats.

He said: 'There seems to be a group of people who are trying to finance a number of stories against me. I have to find out who they are.

'I'm not just owning my responsibilities, I know that. There are no excuses, but there are no excuses for people who are conservatives, Republicans, who are financing things against me in every area, be it personal, charitable, whatever.

'There's more at risk for the country but I worry about that in an era of fake news and these consortia that are financing news and I find myself a victim of it'.

In a statement when the allegations surfaced Weinstein said he has spent spent the last year taking counsel on gender power roles from Lisa Bloom, an attorney who has represented victims of sexual assault in prominent cases like Bill Cosby's trial.

And speaking to Page Six, he acknowledged that he has some way to go to improve his attitude towards women - and people in general.

'I have got to change, I've got to grow, I've got to deal with my personality, I've got to work on my temper, I have got to dig deep,' he said.

He said he was 'terribly embarrassed' for his company and staff, and suggested that he might book himself into a facility, or 'anywhere I can learn more about myself... I am going to fix myself, I am going to fix how I deal with women and how I deal with my temper and power.'

He added that he was seeing a therapist, ad well as talking to Bloom, and blamed some of his attitude on the environment that he grew up in.

'I came of age in the '60s and '70s, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different,' he said. 'I worked at a record company that, if you were five minutes late, they'd hit you with a baseball bat.

'I also have the worst temper known to mankind, my system is all wrong, and sometimes I create too much tension. I lose it, and I am emotional, that's why I've got to spend more time with a therapist and go away.

'My temper makes people feel intimidated, but I don't even know when I'm doing it. In the past I used to compliment people, and some took it as me being sexual, I won't do that again. I admit to a whole way of behavior that is not good. I can't talk specifics, but I put myself in positions that were stupid, I want to respect women and do things better.'

Weinstein has also retained star litigator David Boies and Charles Hader, who successfully represented Hulk Hogan in his sex tape lawsuit against Gawker, and plans to sue the New York Times for $50 million for writing a story that is 'saturated with false and defamatory statements about Harvey Weinstein'.

They plan to sue the New York Times - which Weinstein claims has a vendetta against him - for $50 million.

'What I am saying is that I bear responsibility for my actions, but the reason I am suing is because of the Times' inability to be honest with me, and their reckless reporting,' he told Page Six. 'They told me lies. They made assumptions.'

'The Times had a deal with us that they would tell us about the people they had on the record in the story, so we could respond appropriately, but they didnt live up to the bargain.

'The Times editors were so fearful they were going to be scooped by New York Magazine and they would lose the story, that they went ahead and posted the story filled with reckless reporting, and without checking all they had with me and my team.'

Miramax: David Parfitt, Donna Gigliotti, Harvey Weinstein, Gwyneth Paltrow, Edward Zwick and Mark Norman at the 1999 Oscars after 'Shakespeare in Love' won Best Picture

Weinstein hard harsh words for the newspaper and claimed that their reporting was 'sloppy' and 'disingenuous' and complained that they were only given 24 hours to respond to comments.

He told DailyMail.com: 'I'm very remorseful to women and to men, everybody that I've offend. The New York Times however gave us, they had a six month investigation, they told us all along they would give us time they said they would not have people off the record and they did.

'They said they would present every allegation to us, they did not, they left out seven or eight allegations.

'I grew up believing in the New York Times. I think now because of the Washington Post and the Wall St Journal being so f****** fantastic they're trying desperately to do things.

'They also have the reputation of being the New York Times, so which is it?

'They made a lot of mistakes in their reporting. They hurt innocent people.

'Me, I'm apologetic, I'm remorseful for all those people, any people that I hurt, I feel terrible but for the New York Times itself, you can't be this disingenuous, this sloppy, the poor an organization any more.

'You have to hold the New York Times accountable'.

A New York Times spokeswoman said: 'We are confident in the accuracy and fairness of our reporting.

'Mr Weinstein was aware and able to respond to specific allegations in our story before publication. In fact, we published his response in full'.
More nurses and midwives should be trained up to offer women abortion pills, according to one of the countrys top doctors.

Professor Lesley Regan, the head of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, wants the procedures to be available to women more readily.

Nurses and midwives can already hand out the tablets but only after two doctors have signed their consent.

Professor Regan wants to relax the laws so only one doctor needs to provide their consent whilst also training up more nurses and midwives in abortion care.

She said womens access to abortions was at crisis point, due to a shortage of trained doctors and nurses and hold-ups in forms being signed.

More nurses and midwives should be trained up to offer women abortion pills, according to one of the countrys top doctors (stock image)

There are a lot of women now who are finding that there are big barriers to them accessing (a) swift response to their request (for an early abortion) she told the Guardian

Many women and girls are finding it difficult to access.

The current need for two doctors signatures to certify that a woman is approved to undergo an abortion causes unnecessary delays in womens access to abortion services.

There are no other situations where either competent men or women require permission from two third parties to make a personal healthcare decision.

Individual doctors should be allowed to provide the assessment in the same way as when they treat their patients without the need to consult another doctor.

Last month the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists voted to back the decriminalisation of abortions and lobby the Government for a change in the law.

Professor Regan said they should be treated no differently from any other medical procedure  including removal of bunions  which only require one doctors signature beforehand.

Pro-life campaigners fear the measures will trivialise abortions and make them instantly available (stock image)

Her comments prompted more than 600 doctors to sign a protest letter warning that the College was risking its professional reputation.

But pro-life campaigners fear the measures will trivialise abortions and make them instantly available.

Dr Anthony McCarthy, communications and education director of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said: Why is Professor Regan assuming abortion is such a boon to women that it needs to be instantly available with no time for second thoughts or offers of help.

Professor Regans suggestions seek to trivialise abortion and show no desire to make it more rare or any realisation that abortion is even regrettable. Easier availability is likely to lead to increased use and an undermining of positive strategies that can assist women.

The number of abortions in England and Wales has remained steady for the past few years and there were 190,406 in 2016.

Approximately 80 per cent occurred within three to nine weeks of gestation, known as early abortions.

The main doctors union  the British Medical Association - voted to back decriminalisation at their annual conference in June.

The Royal College of Midwives came out in support last May, without consulting any of its 30,000 members beforehand.
A Current Affair reporter Ben McCormack will soon learn his fate after pleading guilty to two child pornography offences.

The prominent former Nine Network journalist will be sentenced on November 24, some six months earlier than his lawyer expected.

McCormack had last week pleaded guilty to two counts of transmitting, publishing or promoting child pornography using a carriage service.

Former A Current Affair reporter Ben McCormack arrives at the Sydney District Court on Friday morning

McCormack was a veteran reporter at the Nine Network program and was instrumental in A Current Affair's investigation of Hey Dad!'s Robert Hughes

In Skype messages with a West Australian teacher contained in a statement of court faces, McCormack described himself as a 'proud Ped' and 'boy lover'.

Under the username oz4skinboi, he confessed he would 'perve non-stop... at the beach, shopping centre and movie theatres' and would 'love' to 'play' with a boy.

'They are so beautiful. I want to make love to one so badly,' he said

On Friday morning, District Court Judge Paul Conlon said the facts of the case 'were not typical of that particular charge.... quite different in fact'.

An agreed statement of facts said McCormack exchanged pictures with the man but investigators could not access the photos and there was 'no evidence' the photos showed children being exploited.

McCormack was flanked by his lawyer, Sam Macedone, as he arrived at the Downing Centre

An exchange between Ben McCormack and the West Australian teacher is pictured above

Outside court, McCormack's lawyer Sam Macedone said he had 'no idea' whether McCormack will go to jail.

The charges carry a penalty of 15 years imprisonment.

Mr Macedone said he wasn't reading anything into the judge's remarks and would be making submissions to the court.

Daily Mail Australia understands McCormack's lawyers will submit evidence of his psychiatric history.
Last year, James Evans (pictured) was jailed for four years after having sex with a child rape victim he met on dating app Tinder

Police officers are being accused of sexually exploiting crime victims and witnesses every three days, figures show.

Since the start of April, the police watchdog has received 66 claims that predatory staff have taken advantage of vulnerable contacts.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission also revealed that since April 2014, it has received 320 referrals of sexual exploitation cases.

Some 57 required investigation and inquiries into 33 are still going on. The IPCC updated its guidance earlier this year to state that such cases should automatically be referred.

IPCC chairman Anne Owers said: Police personnel who exploit people in vulnerable positions for sexual gratification have no place in policing.

In some cases, victims of sexual abuse are being approached by an officer with the intention of beginning an improper relationship. This is unacceptable.

The figures were released after the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary yesterday criticised forces over their disappointing efforts to tackle sexual exploitation by police.

Last year a Scotland Yard officer was jailed for four years after having sex with a child rape victim he met on dating app Tinder.

PC James Evans, 26, swapped sex talk messages with the vulnerable 15-year-old schoolgirl.

She performed a sex act on him in his car, while he was driving her home from a session with child mental health services.

Despite knowing she was under 16 and a rape victim, Evans later took her to his flat in Ruislip, west London, where they had sex.

Evans, now of Pontypridd, Wales, pleaded guilty to six counts of sexual activity with a child. He was sacked from the Met in November last year.
Fans of the hit series Stranger Things will get a chance to watch the premiere of the second season for free at Sydney Opera House before it is released on Netflix.

Anyone eagerly anticipating the second instalment of the show can score one of 1,800 seats for the free showing from 12pm to 1.30pm on October 27.

Attendees, who are encouraged to dress up, will also get the opportunity to immerse themselves in the sci-fi fantasy series by enjoying '80s food and music, as well as arcade games, in the foyers.

Tickets will be available to the public as of 9am on October 13.

Scroll down for video

Fans of the hit series Stranger Things will get a chance to watch the premiere of the second season for free at Sydney Opera House before it is released on Netflix

Pictured are four of the main characters in the '80s inspired show - Will, Mike, Dustin and Lucas (from left to right)

Anyone eagerly anticipating the second instalment of the show can score one of 1,800 seats for the showing from 12pm to 1.30pm on October 27 (stock image of the Opera House)

Fans wanting to beat the crowd to the punch need to sign up for pre-sale access by subscribing to the Opera House newsletter before 11.59pm on October 10.

Subscribers will receive access to tickets at 10am the following morning.

People will be able to choose their seat in the theatre when registering for the event.

The entire second season of Stranger Things will be released on Netflix at 7pm on October 27.

Attendees will also get the opportunity to immerse themselves in the sci-fi fantasy series by enjoying '80s food and music, as well as arcade games, in the foyers (image from season two)

Fans are encouraged to dress up for the event (image from season two)

Tickets will be available to the public as of 9am on October 13 but eager fans can snatch up pre-sale tickets by subscribing to the Opera House newsletter (image from season two)

People will be able to choose their seat in the theatre when registering for the event (image from season two)

Stranger Things is created, written and directed by the Duffer Brothers.

'The Duffer Brothers have created a pitch perfect homage to '80s celluloid legends like Spielberg and Steven King that delivers the perfect shot of suspense and nostalgia,' Sydney Opera House Head of Contemporary Performance, Danielle Harvey, said.

'We are thrilled to present the world's biggest Stranger Things fan event as part of the Opera House's Contemporary Performance program  a home for visionary storytelling in popular culture.'
The young murderer of Sydney businessman Morgan Huxley has lost an appeal against his minimum 30-year prison term.

Daniel Jack Kelsall, 24, was sentenced in 2015 after a jury found him guilty of the indecent assault and murder of Mr Huxley at his Neutral Bay flat in 2013.

His barrister argued the sentence was crushing and 'manifestly excessive' but three judges in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on Friday dismissed the appeal.

Kelsall now faces up to 40 years and three months behind bars, with a non parole period of 30 years, for what was deemed the 'most chilling case of murder'.

Scroll down for video

Daniel Jack Kelsall, 24, had tried to argue his minimum 30-year sentence had his appeal rejected and faces up to 40 years and three months behind bars

A jury took only three hours in March 2015 to find Kelsall, then 22, guilty of stabbing Morgan Huxley, 20.

Kelsall was found to have stalked Mr Huxley, who was a marine engineer, as he returned to his unlocked Neutral Bay unit before stabbing him in the torso, neck and head as he lay in his bed.

The ex apprentice chef formally lodged his notice of appeal on June 1, before it was dealt with in the Court of Criminal Appeal.

Over the course of a two week trial in 2015, the jury heard how Mr Huxley had been discovered by his flatmate lying in a pool of blood.

A jury took only three-hours in March 2015 to find Daniel Jack Kelsall, then 22, guilty of stabbing Morgan Huxley (pictured), 20

Mr Huxley's blood was also found on the shoulder bag Kelsall was carrying that night - which the 22-year-old had tried to clean in an 'amateurish' attempt

Justice Robert Allan Hulme described Kelsall as 'disturbed' and his actions as 'utterly senseless'.

'This is a most chilling case of murder, whether the offender killed for the thrill of it or as a result of a fantasy or obsession, I'm unable to say,' Justice Hulme said.

Kelsall had finished work as a kitchenhand at the Sydney Cooking School on September 8, 2013 when he spotted Mr Huxley.

He was captured on CCTV wearing chef pants and running up from behind Mr Huxley as he left a pub, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Kelsall told the court he was invited into the 20-year-old's apartment before an intruder struck Mr Huxley over the head.

'It looked like this other person and Mr Huxley were fighting. I then got out of there  I stood up and ran out,' he told the NSW Supreme Court.

However police found Mr Huxley's blood on Kelsall's satchel, as well as the murderer's blood on his victim's penis.

It also emerged the killer stalked two other men in Neutral Bay, one just a week after he murdered Mr Huxley in his bedroom.

One young man told police that just a week after the murder and just streets away, a man he identified as Kelsall  and wearing the same cook's uniform  stalked him down Ben Boyd Rd almost to his front door.

Kelsall was found to have stalked Mr Huxley, who was a marine engineer, as he returned to his unlocked Neutral Bay unit before stabbing him in the torso, neck and head as he lay in his bed

The young man said he confronted Kelsall, who ran off, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Another man also told police he was having a cigarette outside a block of units in Spruson St several months before the murder when a man, who he later identified as Kelsall, jumped out from behind a bush.

Morgan Huxley's family spoke to the NSW Supreme Court at the sentencing in March, 2015 about the devastation Kelsall's crime had wrought.

His mother Deirdre said she couldn't find words to describe what it was like 'to be in the same room, and be so close to the killer of my son'.

Kelsall watched Ms Huxley as she said her son had been taken from her brutally and senselessly and 'apparently for the thrill of it'.

Mr Huxley's brother Oliver Huxley asked: 'What for? Why did he (Kelsall) take someone's life away?'

Kelsall (pictured) was found to have stalked Mr Huxley as he returned to his unlocked Neutral Bay unit before stabbing him in the torso, neck and head as he lay in his bed

He recounted how he imagined blow by blow how his brother would have spent his last moments.

Morgan Huxley's father Allan Huxley said his son was taken away from him and he didn't know why.

'I will have to live the rest of my life never having an answer,' he wrote in a victim impact statement read out by a support person.

Meanwhile, Morgan's sister Tiffany Huxley said the trial had been traumatic.

'My family and I had to sit there in silence as Morgan's killer told his calculated lies in court.'

Speaking outside court Mr Huxley's ex-girlfriend Jessica Hall said his 'life had been stolen by a worthless psychopath'.

Police found Mr Huxley's blood on Kelsall's satchel, as well as the murderer's blood on his victim's penis

Over the course of a two week trial, the jury in the NSW Supreme Court heard how Mr Huxley had been discovered by his flatmate lying in a pool of blood in the doorway of his Neutral Bay apartment on Sydney's North Shore.

The crown relied on a string of circumstantial evidence, which crown prosecutor Peter McGrath SC told the jury would leave them to infer only one thing - Kelsall was the killer.

The first was CCTV footage which shows an intoxicated and barefoot Mr Huxley leaving the nearby Oaks Hotel around 1.30am with Kelsall breaking into a jog behind him.

Kelsall tracked him into his home, indecently assaulted him as he lay on his bed, and then stabbed him at least 20 times, the crown said.

Kelsall's satchel (pictured) which was found by police with Mr Huxley's blood on it

His DNA had been found on Mr Huxley's penis and a single print matching his ring finger was on the businessman's bedroom door.

Mr Huxley's blood was also found on the shoulder bag Kelsall was carrying that night - which the 22-year-old had tried to clean in an 'amateurish' attempt.

But the key to all of this was Kelsall's 2012 confessions that he had intrusive thoughts about killing 'a random' with a knife.

The truth, Mr McGrath said, was awful but simple - Kelsall killed Mr Huxley for no reason.
Michael OLeary has pleaded with his pilots to stick with the airline and insisted he wasnt referring to them when he suggested it was an easy job.

In the three page letter sent to all pilots yesterday evening, the Ryanair boss promised significant improvements in pay and conditions, saying he would exceed rates paid by rivals such as Norwegian and improve job security.

The airline has faced a storm of criticism in recent weeks after announcing the cancellation of 715,000 customers flights, after realising it did not have enough pilots to ensure the smooth operation of its schedule.

Mr OLeary said the airline will now deliver significant improvements to your rosters, your pay, your basing, your contracts and your career progression over the next 12 months, he said in the letter addressed to all Ryanair pilots.

Michael OLeary has pleaded with his pilots to stick with the airline and insisted he wasnt referring to them when he suggested it was an easy job

In the letter, he claimed he hadnt been referring to Ryanair pilots when he claimed at the companys AGM last month that pilots get very well paid for doing what is a very easy job.

He said at the time that pilots only worked an average of 18 hours a week and that the computer does most of the flying. They are very skilled professionals.

Last night, he insisted that he had been referring to unionised pilots in other airlines.

I emphasised (as I always do) that Ryanairs pilots are the best in the business, who work hard, are well trained, and extremely professional.

He added: The critical comments taht I did make were specifically directed at pilots of competitor airlines and their unions who take every opportunity to criticise and denigrate Ryanair, our pilots, our safety, our operating performance and our business model despite our collective 30-year success.

In the three page letter sent to all pilots yesterday evening, the Ryanair boss promised significant improvements in pay and conditions

My criticism of these competitor pilots and their false claims are valid.

Mr OLeary said that he has always tried to treat the pilots with respect and urged them not to allow rival airlines to criticise Ryanairs success.

He said: I have over 30 years interacted personally and professionally with many of our pilots. Over this period I have always tried to be courteous, respectful and grateful for the outstanding job that you do, and this will remain my approach.

I treat you with the respect you are due as senior professionals in Ryanair, and I equally expect each of you to ensure that Ryanair is treated with the respect you are entitled to. We are a very secure employer  in a very secure industry  and so I ask you please so not allow competitor pilots or their local unions to demean or disparage our collective success.

In a section on page 2 titled Learning from this mistake, Mr OLeary set out future plans for the pilots, including previously mooted pay increases of up to 10,000, a 12 month loyalty/productivity bonus of up to 12,000 for captains and investment in technology such as iPads to deliver more apps to make it easier for pilots to request leave and roster changes.

Mr OLeary told pilots the airline will now deliver significant improvements to your rosters, your pay, your basing, your contracts and your career progression over the next 12 months'

Mr OLeary also partly dealt with demands by pilots at different bases across Europe for permanent contracts that would be based on local laws.

In his letter, he said Ryanair would negotiate on any differences in conditions between Ryanairs Irish contracts and those offered by local laws at European bases.

However, he stressed while he believed the differences would be very few, the pilots will continue to be employed on Irish contracts of employment.

The letter also promised to benchmark pilots pay against Ryanairs 737 competitors such as Jet2 and Norwegian.

He said that if any pilot could provide evidence that rival airlines at their base are paying more, they would not only match it but beat it.

He said that the pay increases will allow Ryanair to target 7373 recruits from weaker, lower pay airlines.

He included a screenshot of Norwegians financial performance at the bottom of the letter, claiming that the airline was in trouble. He added: If you have or are considering joining one of these less financially secure/or Brexit challenged airlines, I urge you to stay with Ryanair for a brighter and better future for you and your family.

The airline has faced a storm of criticism in recent weeks after announcing the cancellation of 715,000 customers flights, after realising it did not have enough pilots to ensure the smooth operation of its schedule

Mr OLeary signed the letter with Best wishes.

A Ryanair pilot, who asked to remain anonymous, told the MailOnline: 'As expected it's more propaganda rather than actually addressing the issues.

'Everyone at Ryanair has known about the pilot shortage for months and months. It's a running joke that "no we're not short of pilots " when it's crystal clear we are.

Pilots are continually being sent out of base to operate from 1 to 5 days in other bases.

'This can be anywhere in the network with contractors having to organise and pay for everything themselves and get an extra 20 per block hour.

'If your accommodation costs more than you make you are out of pocket.'

Ryanair did not respond to request for comment last night.
Advertisement

When Nazi Germany threatened the very existence of Britain in 1940, air power was the instrument of national salvation.

Through a titanic struggle in the skies, the Hurricane and the Spitfire, the two iconic fighter planes of the RAF, beat back the Luftwaffe, denying the Reich aerial superiority over southern England and thereby thwarting a massive German seaborne invasion.

Due to the magnificence of these aircraft and the valour of their crews, what could have been our darkest hour was transformed into our finest.

The historic squadron that performs at air shows today consists of six Spitfires, two Hurricane Mk 2Cs, one Lancaster bomber, a C47 Dakota and two Chipmunk training aircraft

Having saved the nation, it was the RAF that then took the fight directly to the heart of the Nazi homeland for the rest of the war. For night after night, Bomber Command pulverised German cities, industries and military infrastructure.

At the forefront of this offensive was the mighty Avro Lancaster, a heavyweight four-engined beast that could carry formidable loads at high speed. Once again, the quality of the plane was matched by the astonishing bravery of its crews: more than half of the 125,000 men who served in Bomber Command lost their lives.

Now the courage of crews and the magnificence of these planes are celebrated in a new book, published to mark the 60th anniversary of the Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight.

Established to pay tribute to men of the RAF who died in World War II, the Flight was formally inaugurated in 1957 and has become a much-loved national institution. Today it has six Spitfires, a pair of Hurricanes, and one of only two airworthy Lancasters, the other residing at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Ontario.

Every year, the aerial displays by the Flight are estimated to be watched by over seven million people, while its historic planes are faithfully maintained by a team of 30 RAF engineers.

What is so striking about the book is its photos that capture the remarkable qualities of this trio of aircraft.

The City of Lincoln, pictured above, is the only Lancaster in Britain still flying. The most successful RAF bomber of the war, it bore the brunt of the strategic aerial attack on Germany

The lethal Lancaster Bomber The City of Lincoln, pictured above, is the only Lancaster in Britain still flying. The most successful RAF bomber of the war, it bore the brunt of the strategic aerial attack on Germany. Of 7,377 built, 3,500 were lost on operations and another 200 destroyed or written-off in crashes. Led all the most controversial RAF raids of the war, including the assaults on Hamburg in the summer of 1943. Its ability to fly low and sustain punishment also meant that it carried out precision raids like the attack on the German experimental rocket plant at Peenemunde in August 1943. For the Dambusters raid, the crew first practised low-level flying over the Derwent reservoir in Derbyshire. During daylight training exercises, the cockpits were fitted with blue Perspex while the crews wore amber goggles to give the illusion of moonlight. Its huge, long bomb bay meant the Lancaster had a loading capacity far beyond any other bomber in the European theatre. At the end of the war, the Head of Bomber Command Sir Arthur Harris declared: The Lancaster was the greatest single factor in winning the war. Maiden flight: January 1941, entered RAF December 1941. Max speed: 275mph. Number built: 7,377. Weaponry: Initial loading capacity of 4,000lb but, by the end of the war, the Lancaster was able to drop the colossal, 22,000lb Grand Slam. When tested, it made a crater 70ft deep and 130ft in diameter. Wingspan: 102ft. AIRWORTHY NOW: 2. Advertisement

All three were triumphs of British engineering. Rugged and robust, the Hurricane  which first came into RAF service in 1937  was the real workhorse during the Battle of Britain, responsible for more than 60 per cent of Luftwaffe losses.

The Spitfire, with its elegant elliptical wing, was more modern, fast and versatile. When it entered service in 1938, its sleek beauty captured the nations heart but it was also deadly.

Give me a squadron of Spitfires, the German ace Adolf Galland said when asked how the broken Luftwaffe might win the Battle of Britain.

The Hurricane, in the foreground of the picture above, was overshadowed by the more glamorous Spitfire flying behind and its construction was considered outmoded, especially with its fabric-covered fuselage and, in early versions, wings

The hurly-burly Hurricane The Hurricane, in the foreground of the picture above, was overshadowed by the more glamorous Spitfire flying behind and its construction was considered outmoded, especially with its fabric-covered fuselage and, in early versions, wings. But the plane, the first in RAF service to pass the 300mph barrier, was solid and tough in combat. A jolly good machine, a rugged type, stronger than the Spitfire, was the verdict of the Fighter Command chief Sir Hugh Dowding in 1940. For every German plane shot down by the Spitfire, two were destroyed by the Hurricane and it proved a lethal ground attacker at El Alamein. Renowned for its ease of maintenance, it was designed by the moody but brilliant Sydney Camm, who began working life as a carpenter at an aircraft company before World War I. His fertile mind also designed the Hawker Hunter transonic fighter jet and the Harrier, the worlds first vertical take-off military plane. Maiden flight: November 1935, entered RAF 1937. Operational 1937-1947. Max speed: 340mph. Number built: 14,583. Weaponry: Eight .303 Browning guns unloading 20 rounds per second. Later featured cannon and could carry a 500lb bomb-load. Wingspan: 40ft. AIRWORTHY NOW: 13. Advertisement

As the spearhead of the RAFs bomber force, the Lancaster combined astonishing manoeuvrability with tremendous strength. At the end of the war, it was dropping the 22,000lb Grand Slam bomb. It was a perfect design. The power that surged through the machine was terrific, recalled Lancaster flight engineer Leonard Miller.

The book is further enriched by first-hand testimony of combat, like the account left by Spitfire pilot Eric Lock of 41 Squadron, the highest-scoring ace of the Battle of Britain, of a dogfight on September 5 1941, in which he shot down two bombers and an Me107 fighter.

Equally vivid are the recollections of George Johnny Johnson, the last surviving crewman from the 1943 Dambusters Raid, carried out by the Lancasters of 617 Squadron.

A stunning display of the Spitfires grace and aerobatic skill that made it so brilliantly successful in combat

The spectacularly acrobatic Spitfire A stunning display of the Spitfires grace and aerobatic skill that made it so brilliantly successful in combat. The b******* make such infernally tight turns. There seems no way of stopping them, complained one German pilot of a Spitfire Mark XIV in action. The plane was the masterpiece of Supermarines leading designer Reginald Mitchell. He initially considered Spitfire to be a bloody silly name  other titles considered were the Shrew and the Shrike. Sadly he never saw his masterpiece in action, dying of bowel cancer in 1937. The Spitfire was the first all-metal monoplane in Fighter Command, and served until 1955. At the start, it was difficult to build, mainly because the elliptical wing required such precision engineering. Indeed, the slowness of production in 1938 prompted a political crisis that led to the resignation of the Air Secretary Earl Swinton. Maiden flight: March 1936, entered RAF service August 1938. Max speed: 440mph with the Griffon-powered Mark XIV; 370mph with earlier Merlin-powered Mark V. Number built: 20,351 in 24 different marks. Weaponry: Eight .303 Browning guns, unloading 20 rounds per second. Later versions featured more powerful cannon and could carry light bombs, either one 500lb bomb under the fuselage or two 250lb bombs under each wing. Wingspan: 36ft 10in. Airworthy now: 55. Advertisement

Johnson was the bomb aimer in the attack on the Sorpe dam in the Ruhr valley and, after nine dummy runs, he secured a hit, though the damage was insufficient to crack the structure.

But two other dams, on the rivers Mohne and Eder, were breached, causing widespread devastation to the region.

Just as importantly, the Dambusters Raid became a justified symbol of Britains increasingly confident fight against the once impregnable Nazi war machine, a confidence that resulted in victory two years later.

Without the RAF and its three warhorses of the sky, the course of history would have been very different.
White House Chief of Staff John Kelly has been walking around with a compromised personal cell phone since December, according to government officials.

Kelly was secretary of Homeland Security between late January and late July, when he took the second most powerful job in the West Wing.

It's unknown whether foreign governments or hackers could have had access to his communications, including internal White House information.

White House computer staff identified a breach after Kelly handed in his cell phone, asking for tech support help, according to Politico.

Kelly said at the time that his personal phone hadn't been working properly for months  a tell-tale sign that it may have been hijacked by malware that gave outsiders access to the device's secrets.

White House officials believe Chief of Staff John Kelly's personal cellphone was compromised, raising concerns that hackers or foreign governments may have had access to data on the phone, it was reported Thursday. Kelly is seen above in New York last month

Kelly also has an official government phone, which appears to have not been affected.

And he has claimed that he has seldom used the compromised personal phone since taking a job in the White House.

A White House official told Politico that Kelly no longer has possession of the suspect phone, but has two different devices now  a personal cell phone and a government device that he uses most of the time.

Politico reported that many functions on Kelly's wonky phone were not working.

The executive branch department determined that the phone had been compromised and should not be used any more, according to a memo circulated this week inside the White House.

News of Kelly's phone was reported days after it was learned that current and former White House staffers - among them top aides including Gary Cohn (left), Jared Kushner (center), and Ivanka Trump (right) used their personal emails to conduct official government business

Officials worried about the depths of information that might have been compromised.

News of Kelly's phone was reported days after it was learned that a number of current and former White House staffers used their personal emails to conduct official government business.

One day after it was first reported that President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner used his personal email account while working as an employee of the federal government, current and former officials told The New York Times that at least five other colleagues did the same.

Ivanka Trump, Kushner's wife and the president's daughter, used a personal email account to communicate with government officials in February when she had an informal White House role, it was revealed last week.

It was also learned that former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon; top economic adviser Gary Cohn; another top policy adviser, Stephen Miller; and former chief of staff Reince Priebus also corresponded using their private email account.

The news is significant considering the president's withering criticism of Hillary Clinton for her use of a private home email server during the campaign.

Both Trump relatives are key White House advisors who accepted unpaid roles in the administration.

Government officials are legally required to conduct official business through a government-issued email so that the communications can be made available to the public.
Pictured: Sharron Phillips, 20, went missing in 1986, and is believed to have been murdered by a taxi driver

After a three-decade investigation, police say they have enough evidence to pin the murder of Ipswich woman Sharron Phillips on a taxi driver.

Ms Phillips, 20, was last seen making a call from a Wacol payphone, west of Brisbane, after her car ran out of petrol after midnight on May 9, 1986.

Behind the convenience store she stood in front of was a parked taxi belonging to Raymond Peter Mulvihill, Detective Inspector Damien Hansen told reporters on Friday.

'Raymond Peter Mulvihill died in 2002. As a result of the investigation and the evidence we have gathered, if Raymond Peter Mulvihill was alive today he would be arrested for the murder of Sharon Phillips,' Det Insp Hansen said.

Last year, a man who did not wish to be identified told Nine News he believed his father, a taxi driver, had committed the murder, and he believed his father 'may be responsible for more than one murder'.

He said not only did he believe his father had killed Ms Phillips, but that her body had been carried in the boot of his car, and had been dumped in a drain at Carole Park.

Pictured: Raymond Peter Mullvihill, who would have been arrested for Sharron Phillips' murder if he were still alive

Last year, the son of a taxi driver told Nine News he believed his father was behind the woman's disappearance and he had unknowingly carried her body in his car

Pictured: Mr Mulvihill's Ascot Taxi, which police believe was parked behind the convenience store where Ms Phillips was last seen

Ms Phillips' remains were not found in the police search of the drain, and police are still investigating their whereabouts.

Det Insp. Hansen said while Mr Mulvihill could not be brought to justice for the murder, it was not certain that nobody would face charges.

'We will investigate if anyone has assisted Mulvihill during the offence or after the offence,' he told reporters.

Police are now looking to speak to Mr Mulvihill's former neighbours on Russell Drive, Redbank, specifically a man named Jim.

A man, believed to be the son of Mr Mulvihill, told police he believed the woman's body had been dumped in a drain at Carole Park

Police say they are still looking for anyone who may have assisted with the murder, or after the fact

Ms Phillips' alleged killer, Raymond Peter Mulvihill, has since died and cannot face charges for the murder

A search of the Carole Park area returned no evidence of human remains, and Ms Phillips' remains are still missing

Ms Phillips' siblings earlier cast doubt on the alibi provided by their father, Bob, who died in 2015.

Police now say there is no evidence Mr Phillips had any connection to the murder of his daughter.

A report is being prepared for the coroner. Following an anonymous tip-off to the Nine Network earlier this year, Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath said there were no plans to reopen the coronial investigation into Ms Phillips' disappearance.
Brie Larson and Judd Apatow have become the biggest names to speak out in response to the sexual harassment claims against Harvey Weinstein as many Hollywood elites have remained relatively quiet.

An investigation by The New York Times claimed on Thursday that Weinstein repeatedly sexually harassed a number of female employees and movie stars over the course of his three-decade career as one of Hollywood's most celebrated studio heads.

'As always, I stand with the brave survivors of sexual assault and harassment. It's not your fault. I believe you,' Larson tweeted in response to the bombshell allegations without mentioning Weinstein by name.

Brie Larson and Judd Apatow have become the biggest names to speak out in response to the sexual harassment claims against Harvey Weinstein as many Hollywood elites have remained relatively quiet

Just an hour before, Hollywood director and actor, Judd Apatow tweeted at a Times reporter, without mentioning Weinstein by name: 'Wealthy people buy silence with settlements. The confidentiality clause allows predators to hurt other people. For decades'

Apatow then followed that up with: 'People with money pay off the people they hurt. Like Trump did with Trump U and like Cosby. If you accept the cash they keep doing it'

Larson and Apatow (right) took to Twitter following the Weinstein allegations

Harvey Weinstein arrives at his home in NYC's West Village on Thursday night after revealing he has had 'really tough conversations' with his family after the allegations of sexual harassment against him

Weinstein leaves his New York office on Thursday night carrying paperwork before arriving home to his West Village home in New York

Just an hour before, Hollywood director and actor, Judd Apatow tweeted at a Times reporter, without mentioning Weinstein by name: 'Wealthy people buy silence with settlements. The confidentiality clause allows predators to hurt other people. For decades.'

Apatow then followed that up with: 'People with money pay off the people they hurt. Like Trump did with Trump U and like Cosby. If you accept the cash they keep doing it.'

Lena Dunham also tweeted after the report was published: 'The women who chose to speak about their experience of harassment by Harvey Weinstein deserve our awe. It's not fun or easy. It's brave.'

But several Hollywood elites have skirted around the issue with some stars who have worked with Weinstein (pictured leaving his New York office) retweeting the New York Times article or others who have condemned Weinstein publicly

But several Hollywood elites have skirted around the issue with some stars who have worked with Weinstein retweeting the New York Times article or others who have condemned Weinstein publicly.

And filmmaker Scott Dickerson seems to believe that Hollywood elites will remain silent on the issue.

'I expect the Hollywood elite will remain largely silent about Weinstein. Me, I give zero f**ks about any repercussions for condemning him,' Dickerson tweeted Thursday afternoon.

And filmmaker Scott Dickerson seems to believe that Hollywood elites will remain silent on the issue

Actress Heather Matarazzo wrote that the truth is 'women, myself included, would be much more ready to call out their experiences in this industry if we knew that we would be taken care of'

Actress Heather Matarazzo wrote that the truth is 'women, myself included, would be much more ready to call out their experiences in this industry if we knew that we would be taken care of'.

Matarazzo didn't mention Weinstein by name, like several others, but she continued: 'But we don't. If we knew that men/women in the industry who claim to be "feminists" and are in positions of power would guarantee that they wouldn't shut their doors, and in fact would open them even wider who are willing to speak their truth.'

The shocking Times report alleged that Weinstein once asked Ashley Judd if she would like to watch him shower during a meeting in his room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills and paid $100,000 to Rose McGowan for an unknown incident shortly after she filmed her breakthrough role in the film 'Scream.'

That settlement is one of eight that Weinstein has reportedly paid out over the past 30 years, with Italian model Ambra Battilana also getting an undisclosed sum in 2015 after accusing the Hollywood executive of groping her and putting his hand under her skirt.

It was also inside his room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills where Weinstein allegedly stripped naked and forced a female employee to give a massage.

Lena Dunham also tweeted after the report was published: 'The women who chose to speak about their experience of harassment by Harvey Weinstein deserve our awe. It's not fun or easy. It's brave'

In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, Weinstein, 65, expressed profound regret for his inappropriate behavior towards women stretching back decades.

He said that 'I own my mistakes' and that included frank talks with Chapman, 41, a British fashion designer and actress, and his five children aged between four and 22.

Weinstein also wants to 'earn the forgiveness' of actress Ashley Judd who accused him of repeatedly making indecent proposals to her 20 years ago.

Judd recounted her encounter with Weinstein, saying she was doing night shoots for her 1997 film 'Kiss the Girls' when she got an invite to meet with Weinsten that she could not pass up.

She said she felt uncomfortable from the start and ordered cereal from room service because it would arrive quicker than a hot meal.

Judd said she was asked to give Weinstein a massage and then a shoulder rub, both of which she declined while trying to get herself out of the room.

The shocking Times report claimed that Weinstein once asked Ashley Judd if she would like to watch him shower during a meeting in his room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills

'This is going to be a journey, a lonely journey, but a journey where my wife and kids couldn't be stronger and couldn't be standing behind me more,' he said. Pictured leaving his office Thursday night

Weinstein paid Rose McGowan (right in 2007) $100,000 and invited Ashley Judd (left in 2015) to his hotel room for a meeting and then asked if she would watch him shower, according to the Times report

NDA: McGowan did take to social media after the report was released, but did not name any names (above)

That is when he asked her to help him pick out his clothes for the day and then watch him shower.

'I said no, a lot of ways, a lot of times, and he always came back at me with some new ask,' said Judd.

'It was all this bargaining, this coercive bargaining.'

She eventually made her escape by joking that Weinstein would have to help her win an Oscar before she would be willing to touch him, stating that the prestige of working for his studio made it too difficult to forcefully shut down his harassment.

'There's a lot on the line, the cachet that came with Miramax,' explained Judd.

Weinstein, who was photographed leaving his New York office late on Thursday and arriving home to his West Village pad, added to DailyMail.com: 'I have had tough conversations with my family, really tough ones but my family is standing with me.

'I have a journey and I have to prove to every person that's out there that I'm worthy of them and I have to prove to my family the same thing.

'This is going to be a journey, a lonely journey, but a journey where my wife and kids couldn't be stronger and couldn't be standing behind me more'.

A statement from his attorney Charles Harder had earlier added: 'The New York Times published today a story that is saturated with false and defamatory statements about Harvey Weinstein.

'It relies on mostly hearsay accounts and a faulty report, apparently stolen from an employee personnel file, which has been debunked by 9 different eyewitnesses.'

Harder went on to say: 'We sent the Times the facts and evidence, but they ignored it and rushed to publish. We are preparing the lawsuit now. All proceeds will be donated to women's organizations.'

Weinstein added that he is now taking a leave of absence from the company to 'deal with this issue head on'.
Australia's living former prime ministers cost taxpayers almost $221,000 in just three months with their phone bills alone adding up to more than $3,600.

John Howard, who held the top job from 1996 to 2007, was the biggest spender, incurring office expenses of almost $62,000 during the first three months of this year, Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority records show.

The former Liberal leader's office expenses were twice that for Bob Hawke ($30,178), Julia Gillard ($25,507) and Kevin Rudd ($29,039) when it came to office administration costs, including newspapers, and renting office space.

Four-time election winner John Howard was the most expensive former prime minister

John Howard's office expenses were double that for Bob Hawke, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard

Labor's Bob Hawke also won four elections but his office expenses bill was half John Howard's

Labor's Paul Keating cost taxpayers $32,173 between January 1 and March 31, which included the biggest phone and internet bill of $1,118.

Tony Abbott, who remains a Liberal backbencher, isn't yet entitled to a taxpayer funded office, beyond his Sydney electorate office, as he is still in parliament.

However, the expenses of the other living former prime ministers added up to $221,115 during the first quarter of 2017, which is more than the $203,000 base salary for a federal MP.

Their telephone and internet bills came to $3,612.

Labor's Paul Keating had the biggest telephone and internet bill of $1,118 for the March quarter

Australia's first female prime minister Julia Gillard had office expenses of more than $25,000

Do you want to know something? Kevin Rudd's office expenses came to more than $29,000

However, this was nothing compared to the cost of their domestic airfares which added up to $14,607 on top of another $24,000 for their car costs, which includes a chauffeur driver and hire vehicles.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, who earns $325,000 a year, has discretion over entitlements for his predecessors, who are entitled to a Life Gold Pass.

This entitles them to 10 domestic return airfares a year which cannot be used for commercial purposes.

The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority was established in April and released its first quarterly report on Friday into the expenses of past and present politicians.

Special Minister of State Scott Ryan said taxpayers were entitled to know politicians spent their entitlements 'appropriately and accountably'.
Hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine has been seized by authorities as one of the biggest drug hauls in history.

About 350 kilograms of the chemical drug was seized by Australian Border Force after a sea cargo container arrive in Port Botany from Thailand.

It is believed the drug, which was hidden inside 50 buckets of liquid plaster, had a potential street value of $3.6 million.

Hundreds of kilograms of methamphetamine (pictured) has been seized by authorities as one of the biggest drug hauls in history

About 350 kilograms of the chemical drug was seized by Australian Border Force (pictured)

Australian Border Force found the durg hidden inside 50 buckets of liquid plaster (pictured)

Three people were arrested for trying to import the drugs into Sydney late in September, including a tattoo-covered man (pictured)

Seven sealed packets of the white crystalline substance were buried inside each bucket and found on September 23.

Authorities also found 3.9 tonnes of liquid ephedrine concealed in green tea bottles eight days earlier.

There were more than 1000 cartons filled with bottles of ice tea full of ephedrine, making it the largest haul in history - double the last record of 1.4 tonnes in June 2017.

Three people were arrested for trying to import the drugs into Sydney late in September, including a tattoo-covered man.

A 31-year-old Glenmore Park man was arrested in Bringelly, NSW, six days after the methamphetamine haul and was charged with attempting to possess a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug.

The man was refused bail and will appear in Sydney Central Local Court on November 27.

Seven sealed packets of the white crystalline substance (pictured) were buried inside each bucket and found on September 23

Authorities also found 3.9 tonnes of liquid ephedrine eight days earlier in a bust (pictured)

There were more than 1000 cartons filled with bottles of ice tea full of ephedrine (pictured)

The drug bust happened after a sea cargo container arrived in Port Botany from Thailand

A 22-year-old woman, who holds a Chinese and Australian citizenship, and a 22-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday for their alleged roles in the importation of ephedrine.

The 22-year-olds both appeared in court Thursday and were refused bail.

Their charges carry a maximum of 25 years in prison where the 31-year-old man is facing a possibility of life behind bars.

A 22-year-old woman, who holds a Chinese and Australian citizenship, was arrested (pictured)

A 22-year-old man (pictured) was also arrested on Wednesday for his alleged role in the importation of ephedrine

The 22-year-olds both appeared in court Thursday and were both refused bail

The 22-year-olds' charges carry a maximum of 25 years in prison where the 31-year-old man is facing a possibility of life behind bars

Australia Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin praised the cooperation from Thailand with the arrests in Australia.

'We know our country has an insatiable demand for narcotics, and criminal networks will use every concealment method possible to get their harmful substances past our borders,' Commissioner Colvin said in a release.

'Stopping not one, but two, large-scale hauls of illicit substances before they could reach our communities is something all those involved should be proud of.'
Advertisement

Thousands gathered on Thursday night to remember a police officer, ex-soldier and father of two who was one of 58 people killed by the Las Vegas shooter on Sunday.

Charleston Hartfield, an 11-year veteran of the Las Vegas Metropolitan PD and father to a 15-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter, was on his annual visit to the Route 91 Harvest country music festival when Stephen Paddock opened fire on the 22,000 people in attendance.

Photos from his Instagram and Facebook feeds show him and his wife, Veronica, pulling funny faces in selfies just hours before chaos broke out.

In that moment, Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said, Hartfield - who had also put in 16 years of active military service - went into action to save lives, giving up his his own in the process.

Veronica, their son Ayzayah, 15, and their daughter Savannah, 9, all wept - as did several of Hartfield's colleagues - during the ceremony, which was held at the city's Police Memorial Park.

Scroll down for video

The wife and son of a police officer slain in Sunday's mass shooting are seen here on Thursday night at a memorial service. Charleston Hartfield was off-duty when he was killed; pictured are Veronica and 15-year-old Ayzayah

Hartfield's colleagues salute while 'Taps' is played during a vigil for the murdered officer at Police Memorial Park. He was off-duty at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival when Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire on the crowd, killing 58

Hartfield (pictured left, and right taking a selfie at the festival) was an 11-year veteran of the police force, and was in the Army for 16 years. He described himself as someone 'committed to bridging the gap with no filters or shaded perceptions'

Sgt. Ryan Fryman, who was on the scene of the shooting on Sunday night, hugs a fellow officer at the end of the vigil. Earlier in the week it had been announced that Hartfield had been saving lives when he himself was shot

As thousands gathered to pay respect to Hartfield, some said how he changed their lives; at one point, it was revealed, he threw a homecoming party for a family friend's daughter, who had been too sick with chemotherapy to go to her high school

Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo (fourth from left) is seen among the crowds remembering Hartfield on Thursday

The father-of-two was a 'very special, beautiful man,' and his death was 'a very special loss,' Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman (pictured left) said after the vigil. Hartfield's children are seen right

The father-of-two was a 'very special, beautiful man,' and his death was 'a very special loss,' Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman told the Las Vegas Review-Journal after the vigil.

Among those at the event were Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo, members of the US Army, and dozens of police officers, some of whom visibly wept during the ceremony.

But the event was led by Hartfield's wife, son and daughter. They walked in a procession - joined by police officers and Army soldiers - before joining the crowds in prayer for Hartfield.

The slain officer - who in July published a book titled Memoirs of a Public Servant, now a number-one seller on Amazon - was remembered as the sun fell on the crowds, and thousands of candles began to glow in the dusk.

'He was just a great individual, a positive individual,' said Troy Rhett, a longtime family friend, according to NBC News.

'He was dependable. You meet certain people in life who are all of those things and that's who Charles was for the community. He was the best of what we had all wrapped into one.'

One story told at the event was how Hartfield had made a homecoming party for a family friend's niece, who was too sick with chemotherapy treatments to attend her own high school event.

He also took her to his barber to get a haircut when she started losing hair.

'The healing process may take a long time but I know its something that we can start, and hopefully his family will be able to rebound from this,' Rhett said.

Hartfield's widow, Veronica, and their son, Ayzayah, are seen walking to the venue, accompanied by police and soldiers. Hartfield 'epitomizes everything good about America,' Brig. Gen. Zachary Doser of the Nevada Army National Guard said

Denita Hartfield (left) joins Veronica, Ayzayah and Savannah in prayer at the memorial service. Hartfield was remembered as a steadfast friend, a courageous public servant and a loving father

Las Vegas police officer Jonathon Ghebrecristos, second from right, cries during the beginning hours of the candlelight vigil. Hartfield died protecting innocents, Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said

Las Vegas police Sgt. Chris Dennis, right, wipes his eyes during the vigil. Hartfield was 'just a great individual, a positive individual,' said Troy Rhett, a longtime family friend

Nathan Ehlers (left), seven, and his eight-year-old brother Charlie Ehlers attend the candlelight memorial. Stan King, whose son was coached in football by Hartfield called him 'seriously one of the nicest guys ever,' and 'a true-blue American'

Thousands continued to remember Hartfield as night fell on Los Angeles

Rhett told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he'd texted Hartfield as soon as he heard about the shots, knowing that his friend of eight years was on the scene.

'I figured he was probably busy helping others,' he said. 'I don't know a better man than Charles. They say it's always the good ones we lose early. Theres no truer statement than that with Charles.  Our hearts have just been very heavy since hearing the news.'

As well as his work as a cop, Hartfield - also known as Charles, Chucky or 'ChuckyHart,' - coached youth football.

Among the children he coached was the son of Stan King, who called Hartfield 'seriously one of the nicest guys ever,' and 'a true-blue American.'

Hartfield had also helped design a wall to remember four officers who died on duty in 2010, saying that he 'thought it was important that [their sacrifice] was remembered.'

Speaking on Tuesday, a visibly emotional Undersheriff McMahill said in a news conference that 'Even though Officer Hartfield was at the concert as a civilian, he immediately took action to save lives.In that moment, he was acting as a police officer. He ultimately gave his life protecting others.'

Hartfield was a sergeant 1st class in the Nevada Army National Guard, and was assigned to the 100th Quartermaster Company, which is based in Las Vegas.

Brig. Gen. Zachary Doser, commander of the Nevada Army National Guard, told the Review-Journal that 'Sgt. 1st Class Hartfield epitomizes everything good about America.'

In his author description on Amazon, Hartfield described himself as 'A public servant from the early age of 18 who is committed to bridging the gap with no filters or shaded perceptions.'

LVMPD Sgt. Chris Dennis speaks during Hartfield's vigil on Thursday. In 2010 Hartfield designed a memorial wall for four slain officers, saying he 'thought it was important that [their sacrifice] was remembered'

Las Vegas police Sgt. Ryan Fryman, right, and other officers pay their respects at the memorial. 'I don't know a better man than Charles,' Rhett said. 'They say it's always the good ones we lose early. Theres no truer statement than that with Charles'

Members of the community - including a Buddhist Monk (third from left) gathered at the memorial service, which fell four days after the bloodshed on the Strip

Flowers adorn chairs before the candlelight memorial, which was attended by thousands on Thursday

Hartfield (left) was a sergeant 1st class in the Nevada Army National Guard. His family are seen right remembering their much-loved patriarch at the vigil

As Thursday wound on, the last two victims of the shooting were revealed.

The first of them was Brett Schwanbeck, 61, of Bullhead City, Arizona, who was an avid outdoorsman and 'the funniest guy in the world to be around,' Shawn Schwanbeck told The Las Vegas Review-Journal.

'He liked to be where no one else was at. He liked to get lost out in the middle of the woods,' Schwanbeck said, recalling the time that a bear walked through their campsite one time in Colorado.

'That was one of the coolest experiences of my childhood,' he said.

Colorado wasn't the only place Schwanbeck took his family; they also went hunting, hiking, fishing and exploring in Florida, Mississippi, Arkansas and California.

Schwanbeck died of a head wound on Tuesday after being shot in Sunday's bloodbath, his niece Carla Van Hoosen said. He had been at the music festival with his fiancee, Anna Orozco, who was not harmed. A GoFundMe has been set up in his name.

Van Hoosen said he was the most memorable and fun of her uncles and aunts, of whom she has more than a dozen - and that he would always go out of his way to help, even if it meant 'driving 500 miles'.

One, she said, she found herself stuck at a family gathering because one of her SUV's headlamps broke - so Schwanbeck grabbed his tools, took off the bumper and got to work.

'He was out there for hours fixing it,' she said. 'He kept saying 'This is why you dont buy a Chevy."'

Brett Schwanbeck, 61, of Bullhead City, Arizona, was one of the last two murder victims to be named. An outdoorsman with a great sense of humor according to his family, he died on Tuesday. He was hit in the head while at the music festival with his fiancee, who was unharmed

The final victim to be named was Austin Meyer of Marina, California. A huge fan of Bobby Bones and the Raging Idiots, one of the acts at the festival, he was attending as a surprise for his 24th birthday, and to celebrate his anniversary with his girlfriend, Dana.

His sister, Veronica, described him as 'Ambitious, smart, and hard working' to KSBW.

'Austin was a joy to be around,' she said. 'He always had a smile on his face, was [witty] and was always making people laugh.

'He was passionate about cars, loved sports, basketball in particular, and his favorite team [was] the Boston Celtics.'

Meyer had worked as a driver for Main Event Transportation in Monterey while living in Marina, but had recently quit his job and moved to Reno to attend Truckee Meadows Community College.

There, he was earning a degree in Transportation Technologies in the hope of opening his own auto repair shop after graduation.

'He was excited to get married and start a family,' Veronica said. 'He was very well loved by his coworkers and was looking forward to returning upon graduation,' she added.

The final murder victim to be named was Austin Meyer of Marina, California. He was celebrating his 24th birthday and his upcoming anniversary with his girlfriend, Dana, when he was shot

These are the faces of all 58 people who were killed when Stephen Paddock opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas on Sunday; 489 were injured. Paddock later shot himself dead

Earlier on Thursday, it emerged that Paddock's girlfriend told the FBI that prior to the shooting, he had developed 'mental health symptoms' and would scream at night, it has emerged.

Marilou Danley, 62, said Paddock, 64, 'would lie in bed, just moaning and screaming, "Oh my God,"' according to an ex-FBI official briefed on the situation.

Investigators - who interviewed Danley after she arrived back in the US from the Philippines on Tuesday night - believe that he may have been in 'mental or physical anguish,' that official and another ex-FBI source told NBC News.

However, they said that detectives are still no closer to determining Paddock's motive for the deranged shooting spree that saw him killing 59 people, including himself, and injuring 489 others.

Las Vegas mass killer Stephen Paddock (left) would scream in the night, his girlfriend, Marylou Danley (right, with Paddock) told the FBI. She said he'd had 'mental health symptoms'. FBI say he could have been in 'mental or physical anguish'

Danley has been speaking to the FBI since she was pictured here arriving at LAX on Tuesday night. Investigators don't think that Paddock's mental health had deteriorated to the point that it would have factored into his mass murder, however

Danley and Paddock had shared this home in Mesquite (pictured Wednesday; garage door was removed by police when it was raided Monday), and also lived together at other properties he had owned in Nevada and Florida

Paddock's hotel room was filled with guns, many with bump-stocks that would allow for automatic rates of fire. This was the scene after cops busted open his door to find him dead. He killed 58 people and wounded 489 others at Sunday's festival

Danley said in a written read out by her lawyer on Wednesday that she had no idea of Paddock's plans. The lawyer refused to answer questions - including whether she was aware of the 49 guns Paddock had secreted in multiple properties

While Danley's remarks suggest that Paddock was not well, investigators do not believe that his mind had deteriorated enough to set up and execute his elaborate mass-murder plan, which saw him firing on a crowd of 22,000 people at a country music festival.

Other areas now under investigation are the hour-long gap between 10:15pm, when Paddock unloaded more than 200 rounds into the hall outside his room, wounding a security guard, and 11:20pm, when police breached the room and found Paddock dead on the floor.

Paddock did not fire at all during that time. It was suggested by Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo that he may have been trying to devise a way to escape.

WHY DID THE INJURY COUNT DROP? On Wednesday the number of people injured in Paddock's shooting fell from 527 to 489. In a press conference, Sheriff Lombardo said that the initial numbers were composed of figures given by local hospitals during the crisis. They accidentally included some people who were counted twice and others who were treated for injuries not linked to the shooting, he said. The new figure is the new official statistic, he said. Advertisement

At around 10pm Thursday, Valley Health System announced that eight victims were still in critical condition at its hospitals following the shooting. Valley Health system has six hospitals in Las Vegas and Nevada.

That was an improvement on Wednesday, when 58 were still in critical condition, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Also on Thursday, police revealed that Paddock's Hyundai Tuscon, license plate 114B40, which had been hunted after the attack, was found when a search warrant was executed on his house in Reno.

The count of injured people has been lowered from 527 to 489, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said on Wednesday. The initial figure was accidentally inflated by hospitals in the confusion.

In a statement read out by her lawyer yesterday, Danley said she knew Paddock as a 'gentle' and 'quiet' man whom she loved and hoped to live a quiet life with.

She also said she had been oblivious to the violence he had been meticulously planning, and that she was out of the country during the attack because he'd bought her a surprise ticket to the Philippines - so, he said, she could visit her family.

Danley claimed that when he wired her $100,000 - ostensibly for her to buy a house for her family - she assumed that he was breaking up with her. She said she had no idea that he was planning violence.

On Thursday, Danley's brother in the Philippines, Reynaldo Bustos, 75, said that she had told him over the phone that her conscience 'is clear' over the killings.

On Thursday the number of critically injured patients in the Valley Health System hospitals fell to eight, from 58 on Wednesday. Valley Health system has six hospitals in Las Vegas and Nevada

Danley (left) told investigators that Paddock had bought her a ticket to the Philippines prior to the attack and told her to visit family there. While there she spent time with her brother, Reynaldo Bustos (right), at his home in Dasmarinas

In his native Tagalog, Bustos told ABC: 'I called her up immediately and she said, 'Relax, we shouldn't worry about it. I'll fix it. Do not panic. I have a clean conscience. I didn't have anything to do with this.'

Bustos and his family live in Village Park, an area where middle-class Filipino families' homes are built on lots which cost around $6,000. Danley arrived bearing gifts.

MARILOU DANLEY'S WHEREABOUTS IN THE DAYS BEFORE THE SHOOTING September 15: Danley arrives in the Philippines from Tokyo September 22: Danley leaves the Philippines for Hong Kong September 25: Danley returns to the Philippines from Hong Kong October 3: Danley cuts her trip to the Philippines short to return to the US to speak with investigators October 4: FBI says Danley isn't in their custody but won't disclose her location Advertisement

Bustos practices hilot, an ancient Filipino art of healing, and herbal medicine. He was not at home on Thursday and was treating a patient in Pampanga province, according to local sources.

He shares his home with his son Miguel and daughter-in-law Marizalyn Joy Bustos Waniwan. Along with Bustos' work as a faith healer, the family sells duck eggs and smoked fish.

'I saw a nice car parked on the street,' one neighbor told DailyMail.com. 'The next-door neighbor told me that it was Marilou.'

Danley is an Australian citizen who had renounced her Filipino citizenship, according to a local report by ABS-CBN. It is also not known precisely when she immigrated to Australia.

Her immigration status in the US has not been officially disclosed, but she married Geary Danley in 1990, and is likely to have qualified for a green card shortly after that.

A local told DailyMail.com that another of Danley's sisters, Dolly, owned land in a subdivision called Green Breeze.

Dolly is believed to live at a gated community, around 12 miles away, where homes start at around 3 million Philippine pesos or $60,000.

Danley visited Bustos' home; he says she told him after the Sunday killings that her conscience is 'clear'. Paddock had sent Danley $100,000 while she was there and told her to buy a house for her family, she claims; a lot costs around $6,000

Marilou Danley (second right) is from a large family which includes her sisters Liza Werner (center) and Amelia Manango (right), both of whom live in Australia - as did she until marrying an American man, Geary Danley, in 1990. Danley said she thought after receiving the money that he was planning to break up with her

As well as speaking to Danley, investigators are also looking at 'six media devices' left behind by Paddock, and also exploring his web browsing history.

His web history also led to the discovery, announced Thursday, that he had apparently been scoping out other major events over the past year.

In August he booked a hotel room overlooking Lollapalooza in Chicago - the massively popular rock event that saw appearances by The Killers, Chance the Rapper and Muse, and that was visited by Malia Obama.

According to TMZ, Paddock - who lived in Nevada, 90 minutes from Las Vegas - booked two rooms at the Blackstone Hotel, overlooking Grant Park, where Lollapalooza has been held since 2005.

He made the booking using Expedia and insisted on a 'view room' that would overlook the festival, which ran on August 3-6, and also demanded he be notified in advance if such a room was unavailable.

However, officials said that he did not show up to the hotel for the booking.

He also researched possible locations in Boston online, according to multiple reports.

Anonymous officials said that Paddock looked for hotels near Fenway Park, where the Red Sox play and the Boston Center for the Arts.

It was not known if the gunman went as far as making any reservations, but an officer speaking to NBC News under condition of anonymity said that no hotels give a view over the park.

It also emerged Thursday that Paddock had rented two rooms at the Blackstone Hotel (left) in Chicago on August 3-6 - in time for the Lollapalooza festival. Seen right is the festival from the Blackstone. Cops said he never turned to to the booking

This view shows show Paddock would have had an excellent vantage point over the festival - and could theoretically have opened fire on festivalgoers. Chillingly, his hotel aligns almost perfectly with the Children's Stage

'We are aware of the media reports and have been in communication with our federal partners,' a spokesman for the Chicago Police Department said.

'As you saw earlier this week the city conducts extensive public safety planning and training around major events, in close coordination with our law enforcement partners, to ensure public safety.'

KILLER 'REQUESTED FESTIVAL VIEW - AND GOT HIS ROOM FREE' Paddock had specifically requested a suit overlooking the music festival he later attacked. He made the request - naming the festival - when he checked in on Thursday September 28, a source told The Associated Press. However, the room wasn't immediately available, the source said, and he was put in another room. Because of that, when the suite opened up on Saturday, the hotel gave it to him for free, the source claimed. The following night, he knocked through two windows in the two-room suit and opened fire on the festival. Advertisement

It was confirmed by Lombardo yesterday that Paddock had also hired out a condo overlooking another Las Vegas festival, Life is Beautiful, which ran on September 22-24.

Depending on its precise position and elevation, the condo, which he booked on Airbnb, could have allowed him to open fire on the main stage, as well as several blocks of the 15-block festival.

There are also reports that he had attempted to book a room at the El Cortez hotel next to the Ogden, although they have not been substantiated.

It's unclear whether he had intended to attack that event, and if so why he had not done so.

Coincidentally, performers at Life is Beautiful included Muse and Chance the Rapper, who both played the main stage - and were also at Lollapalooza.

As the investigation into Sunday's shocking events moved into its fourth day, more details emerged about Paddock's final days - including his heavy gambling, 'creepy staring' and complaints about noise at the Mandalay Bay Resort the night before his massacre.

On Saturday night - the evening before he fired on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival - Paddock called in two noise complaints about loud country music being played in room 31-135, directly below him.

In the room was Albert Garzon of San Diego, who was in town for the festival with his wife and some friends.

On Thursday it emerged that the night before his spree, Paddock complained about noise from Albert Garzon in the room below. Garzon said he didn't realize the complaint came from the killer until he saw curtains hanging from broken windows

It also emerged that Paddock would spend as much as $100,000 an hour in eight-hour stints on high-stakes video poker machines such as these. His hands would move so fast he was like a 'stenographer,' one person who knew him said

Garzon said that he'd received a knock on his door at around 1:30am, and a member of security told him to turn down the music because the guest in the room above had complained about the noise, the New York Times reports.

Garzon turned down the music, but it wasn't enough - at 2am a different security guard said there had been another complaint, and so he turned the music off altogether.

It was only when he saw the curtains flapping through the smashed windows above on Monday that he realized he had been sleeping underneath Paddock's arsenal.

Other stories began to filter in from those who had encountered Paddock - particularly in the casinos, where some said he would play $125 hands of video poker so fast his fingers looked like a stenographer's.

John Weinreich, was an executive casino host at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno, where Paddock went so often that - according to his brother Eric - the whole Paddock family would be given the top floor to enjoy.

Weinreich said Paddock was a 'starer' who could make other players uncomfortable.

'He loved to stare at other people playing,' he said. 'It was not a good thing because it would make other VIPs in the high-limit area uncomfortable.'

'One of my guests once said to me, "He really gives me the creeps."'

Paddock was such an avid player of video poker he would play up to 1,000 hands an hour for eight hours straight - potentially spending as much as $800,000 in a day.

Paddock would play as many as 1,000 $125 hands an hour, for eight hours straight. One ex-casino worker said that Paddock would stare at people, which would creep out other players

DailyMailTV also learned that despite having millions to his name, the former accountant was so concerned about saving money that he often ate lunch at a retirees' center.

He joined the frail, elderly, homeless and disabled at the Mesquite Community and Senior Center in Nevada paying just $3.50 for a subsidized lunch.

Around three times a week Paddock enjoyed Mexican food, meatloaf and hamburgers while listening to cheery songs on the piano at the center.

But in contrast to the convivial surroundings, Paddock was an 'unsociable' and 'quiet' man who liked to sit alone to eat his lunch and who was 'in a world of his own,' other diners said.

And bizarrely, on the day Paddock drove 80 miles to Las Vegas to begin preparations for his death mission at Mandalay Bay, he popped into the government-run center to ask the cook for a recipe.

Local resident Marshall Meland, 78, told DailyMailTV that Paddock was in the center last Thursday morning but didn't stop for lunch.

'Instead he went straight up to the counter to speak with the cook and asked her about an enchiladas dish she cooks, he wanted to know how she made it,' Meland said.

'After that he left. No one took any notice of him. It wasn't until later after what he did that we realized he drove to Vegas that afternoon. Everyone at the center is shocked.'

That shock isn't just felt by those in Nevada, however; as far away as New York, police are now putting into place plans to avoid another attack, while the White House has suggested it might support regulation on 'bump-stocks,' the modifications that enabled Paddock to fire a semi-auto rifle like it was automatic.

Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway said Thursday that the White House, like Hill Republicans, 'welcome thoughtful conversations' on gun control matters - suggesting the White House might be comfortable with regulating bump-stocks

'Bump stocks' are legal and originally were intended to help people with limited hand mobility fire a semi-automatic without the individual trigger pulls required. They allow semi-automatic rifles to fire up to 800 rounds a minute, like a full-auto gun

The possibility of the Trump administration restricting access to bump-stock modifications was raised by Kellyanne Conway in an appearance on Fox News & Friends on Thursday.

She pointed to Republicans such as House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte, R-Va., who both said the same day that they will consider regulating the device.

'Many of them are open to a conversation, we always welcome thoughtful conversations,' Conway said, indicating the White House could give such a ban a blessing - a highly unusual step for a Republican administration.

Her thoughts - and phrasing - were redolent of remarks made by White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who told reporters: 'Members of both parties and multiple organizations are planning to take a look at bump stocks. We welcome that and would like to be part of that conversation.'

HOW DO BUMP-STOCK MODS WORK? Bump-stock modifications, which allow for full-auto fire on semi-auto guns, were found on 12 of the 23 rifles found in Paddock's hotel room. They're believed to be how he was able to fire thousands of rounds into the crowds at a music festival on Sunday in just 10 minutes. They are attached to the rear of the gun and allow the rifle to slide back and forward while firing, causing the trigger to 'bump' into the shooter's finger with the natural recoil of each shot. So long as the shooter keeps his or her finger over the trigger, the semi-automatic gun will keep firing rapidly - much like a full-automatic. Instead of pulling the trigger with their finger, users tense the finger, then pull the gun forward with their other arm, which would usually steady the gun. While the stock and pistol grip remain still, the rest of the gun moves forward, pulling the trigger onto the finger to fire a shot. The recoil then sends the gun back on the slide and the trigger away from the trigger finger. Continuing to pull the gun forward with the steady-arm causes the gun to jolt back and forth, repeatedly depressing the trigger and firing as many as 800 rounds per minute. Advertisement

However, Conway - always eager to stick the boot into Democrats - added: 'I would just note for the viewers, that since bump stock has not been in the lexicon before, this is a device that President Obama's ATF decided would not be regulated in 2010 and I think that's an important part of this conversation.'

Conway tried the same lines on Chris Cuomo, host of CNN's New Day but this time got short shrift, as he told her 'a lot of this doesn't wash.'

'All you need to know about bump stock is that it was legal, and that's what allowed him to lay down that field of fire. That's all you need to know about it.'

'There's no thoughtful conversation to have about it. Of course it was 2010. Of course it was the Obama administration,' he added, pointing out that bump stocks are a relatively new technology. 'I'm saying don't cheapen what happened in Las Vegas.'

The comments in favor of regulating the stocks made by Ryan and Goodlatte on Thursday follow those made by their GOP brethren, Sen. John Thune, R-S.D.; Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis; and Rep. Bill Flores, R-Tx.

Thune, the third-ranking Republican in Congress, said that bump-stock legislation was 'something I think we'll look at;' Graham said it was a 'good time' for a discussion on the matter; and Johnson said, bluntly: 'Automatic weapons are illegal. To me, that is part of that same type of process. So I have no problem banning those.'

Surprisingly, even the National Rifle Association (NRA) - which has vehemently fought gun control laws, and lobbies Congress heavily to loosen or maintain existing gun statutes - has called for a look into bump-stocks.

However, it didn't go as far as to demand a ban.

It said the ATF should 'immediately review whether these devices comply with federal law,' adding: 'The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semiautomatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations.'

But should the ATF modify federal statute to make such devices illegal, the move would circumvent Congress.

The concerns expressed by Republicans over bump-stocks echo those of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who introduced legislation that would ban the sale and possession of bump stocks on Wednesday.

'In just nine minutes an individual was able to turn a concert venue into a battlefield,' Feinstein told reporters at a Capitol Hill press conference, flanked by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., whose home state was rattled in 2012 by the Sandy Hook mass shooting, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., agreed with that move, and said she thought there was enough bi-partisan momentum to make it happen. However, no GOP members actively supported Feinstein's bill on its announcement.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced legislation alongside her Democratic colleagues on Wednesday to ban the sale and possession of bump stocks. The Las Vegas killer had 12 such devices on the guns found in his hotel room

Also on Thursday, some gun sellers revealed that sales of bump-stocks had gone up since they were linked to the deaths or injuries of more than 500 victims.

'Oh, God, yes, it's been insane. Since this story has broke, we've been getting about 50 people a day asking for them,' Michael Cargill, owner of Central Texas Gun Works in Austin, Texas, told CNN Money.

He said his distributors had sold out of the modifications, too.

'Now that someone has come out saying maybe we should ban them, they're definitely going to sell off the shelf,' Cargill said.

'All the distributors are out because customers bought them all,' said Josh Dagnese, the owner of Village Gun Store in Whitefield, New Hampshire, who sold his last bump-stock on Tuesday.

'I am unable to reorder because of the demand,' he said.

And Slide Fire, which sells bump-stocks, told CNN: 'We have decided to temporarily suspend taking new orders in order to provide the best service with those already placed.'

Gun stores across the country are now reporting that they started selling out of bump-stocks as soon as the modifications were linked to the mass shooting, likely ahead of any possible ban or restrictions

In response to Paddock's killing spree, the New York Police Department is now training bell hops and other hotel staff how to spot rifle bags.

Paddock had snuck 23 rifles, dozens of magazines, and countless rounds of ammunition into his suite in the Mandalay Bay hotel over the course of several days.

He used 13 suitcases to bring in the weapons, but the NYPD is training hotel staff to tell the difference between rifle bags and golf bags.

They have not released how exactly they will train staff. Police are regularly in touch with hotels and public transit staff across the city.

'Everybody knows what a rifle looks like. But what does a gun case look like, as opposed to a golf bag or regular luggage? So we have added that in,' Deputy Police Commissioner John Miller told ABC.

Tourists who were asked about the strategy supported it on Wednesday but argued that the hotel staff deserved to be paid more if they were expected to act as the first defense against potential disaster.

There has also been a heightened police presence in tourist-heavy areas of New York in the days since the shooting.

Tourists who were asked about the strategy supported it on Wednesday but argued that the hotel staff deserved to be paid more if they were expected to act as the first defense against potential disaster.

The Mandalay Bay hotel has not commented on its security since the atrocity.

Police say they want bell hops to know the difference between a suitcase and a rifle bag or case (above)
Police are hunting a male driver and his female passenger after a man was brutally stabbed in a suspected road rage attack.

Officers found a male pedestrian, believed to be a German backpacker in his 30s, with stab wounds to his abdomen and back, in Brisbane early on Friday morning.

The man was at the intersection of Milton Road and Petrie Terrace with a friend before a fight broke out with the driver of a car.

Officers found a male pedestrian in Brisbane early on Friday morning (pictured is the intersection)

Queensland Police Inspector Daniel Bragg said officers are looking for a small vehicle, possibly a green Holden Barina.

There was also female passenger in the car during the attack who police would also like to speak to.

'We'd like to talk to the driver and any witnesses who might be able to give us information,' Inspector Bragg told reporters.

Queensland Ambulance medical director Dr Stephen Rashford said up to ten staff members were trying to resuscitate the man in the early hours of the morning.

Footage from the crime scene appears to show an oxygen mask used to perform CPR.

Footage from the crime scene appears to show an oxygen mask used to perform CPR (pictured is the scene of the crime)

The man was rushed to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital where he remains in a very serious condition (pictured are officers at the scene of the crime)

'He was in a very unstable, critical condition before being transported to hospital,' Dr Rashford said.

The man was rushed to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital where he is still in a very serious condition.

Roads were closed off for more than three hours during peak hour causing traffic problems in the area.

A Queensland Police spokeswoman said investigations were continuing.

They have established an investigation centre at the city station and want to hear from anyone who might have seen a car leaving the area at 4am.
A police officer has been filmed tackling a young Indigenous girl to the ground during a confrontation in a small Queensland community on Thursday afternoon.

Officers are seen standing outside a Commonwealth Bank branch in Murgon, 270 kilometres north-west of Brisbane, while one policeman argues with a woman.

'Do you want to be locked up?,' he asks, stating the woman is 'causing a disturbance in the street'.

'Leave, go home,' he says, telling the group with the woman they should be in nearby Cherbourg, not Murgon.

Scroll down for video

A policeman was filmed pushing a woman towards a paddy wagon in Queensland before running at a young girl in school uniform

As the officer yells and the group swears at him, a young boy is seen putting his phone in the police officer's face.

The confrontation continues, as other officers discuss the situation with people milling around nearby.

Shortly afterwards, a woman is heard yelling 'lock us up', before the officer rushes at her and grabs her by the arms. She and others around her scream.

After directing the woman towards a waiting paddy wagon, the officer lets her go, before heading back towards the group.

In the scuffle with the first woman, it appears the officer lost his keys and a young girl wearing a school uniform picked them up.

As the officer heads back to the group, he sees the girl with his keys and moves towards her, pulling the girl to the ground as she screams.

Other police officers then move in.

The young girl is heard shrieking as the officer pulls her to the ground

The group starts to move on, yelling at the policeman as he yells back, and while one officer herds the group away, another approaches the officer at the centre of the drama.

A spokeswoman for Queensland Police told Daily Mail Australia: 'Police are aware of the incident and the matter has been referred to the ethical standards command'.

'As the matter is now under investigation it would be inappropriate to comment further.'
Litigator to the stars Gloria Allred criticized her daughter Lisa Bloom for representing embattled movie studio head Harvey Weinstein.

Allred, known for taking high-profile and often controversial cases, released a statement Thursday saying that her daughter, Lisa Bloom, is protecting the wrong side.

'Had I been asked by Mr. Weinstein to represent him, I would have declined, because I do not represent individuals accused of sex harassment,' Allred said.

'I only represent those who allege that they are victims of sexual harassment,' she added.

'While I would not represent Mr. Weinstein, I would consider representing anyone who accused Mr. Weinstein of sexual harassment, even if it meant that my daughter was the opposing counsel,' she said.

Harvey Weinstein arrives home from to his Brownstone in the West Village on Thursday night after saying he would be taking a sabbatical following the

Lawyer Gloria Allred said unlike her daughter, she would not represent embattled producer Harvey Weinstein (Pictured: September 9, 2017)

Lisa Bloom, Allred's daughter, said she has been counseling and advising Weinstein for a year

The celebrity attorney made the comments on the heels of an explosive New York Times report published Thursday claiming that Weinstein had been sexually harassing female employees for decades.

The paper said that Weinstein had paid out settlements to at least eight different women.

The Times also noted that Weinstein is currently being represented by Bloom, who has been advising the powerful producer for over a year 'on gender and power dynamics.'

Earlier on Thursday, Bloom released her own statement.

'As a women's rights advocate, I have been blunt with Harvey and he has listened to me,' she said.

'I have told him that times have changed, it is 2017, and he needs to evolve to a higher standard. I have found Harvey to be refreshingly candid and receptive to my message. He has acknowledged mistakes he has made.

'He is reading books and going to therapy. He is an old dinosaur learning new ways,' she added.

Bloom's relationship with Weinstein and his company is not purely a client-attorney dynamic.

Harvey Weinstein is seen leaving the back entrance to his office in New York before heading to his West Village home in New York on Thursday night

Harvey Weinstein attends Apollo in the Hamptons at The Creeks on August 12, 2017 in East Hampton, New York

Back in March, Bloom's book, Suspicion Nation, about the Trayvon Martin case, was optioned by the powerful Hollywood executive.

The Oscar-winning founder of film company Miramax is also said to have asked Ashley Judd to watch him shower and paid Rose McGowan $100,000 under a settlement for an incident shortly before her breakthrough role in 'Scream'.

Following the Times report, Weinstein released a statement saying that 'the way I've behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it'.

Weinstein added that he is stepping away from his role at Miramax for a temporary sabbatical.
Puerto Rico's fragile electricity grid was completely wiped out by Hurricane Maria last week, leaving the island of over 3 million residents without power.

Now Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks his company can come to the rescue.

The billionaire entrepreneur and clean energy champion said Thursday that his company's solar power grid can provide a long-term solution to Puerto Rico.

'The Tesla team has done this for many smaller islands around the world, but there is no scalability limit, so it can be done for Puerto Rico too,' Musk tweeted on Thursday.

'Such a decision would be in the hands of the PR govt, PUC (public utility commission), any commercial stakeholders and, most importantly, the people of PR.'

Tesla CEO Elon Musk thinks his company can come to the rescue of Puerto Rico after the island's fragile electricity grid was completely wiped out by Hurricane Maria last week

Puerto Rico's governor, Ricardo Rossello, seen above in the center walking alongside President Donald Trump on the right and an unidentified figure on the left, seems receptive to Musk's offer

Musk on Thursday proposed that Tesla install a solar panel grid that would enable Puerto Rico to move away from fossil fuel-powered electricity

Rossello tweeted to Musk: 'Let's talk. Do you want to show the world the power and scalability of your #TeslaTechnologies? PR could be that flagship project.'

Musk's company has already built solar panel farms (like the one above) in the Hawaiian island of Kauai

The panels absorb sunlight and convert it into electricity, where it is then stored in large-scale batteries like the ones seen above

It didn't take long for the governor of Puerto Rico to respond positively to Musk's tweet.

'Let's talk,' Ricardo Rossello replied.

'Do you want to show the world the power and scalability of your #TeslaTechnologies? PR could be that flagship project.'

Tesla has already built a large-scale solar power grid which will be used to power the entire island of Kauai in Hawaii.

The company banded together with local utility officials to install nearly 55,000 solar panels that can generate 13 megawatts of solar energy.

Hurricane Maria left the entire island and its 3.4 million residents without power and destroyed 80 percent of its transmission and distribution infrastructure, according to the Department of Energy

Three men walk between downed power lines in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Luquillo, Puerto Rico on September 21

In the wake of Hurricane Maria, Tesla announced it was sending hundreds of batteries that can store power generated by solar panels to Puerto Rico to provide emergency help

Kids bike in an area without grid power or running water about two weeks after Hurricane Maria swept through the island on October 5, 2017 in San Isidro

Homes damaged by Hurricane Maria stand amid thousands of trees that have been exfoliated by Hurricane Maria on Thursday in Puerto Rico

A resident checks her cell phone on her rooftop at dusk in San Isidro, Puerto Rico on Thursday

Tesla also installed 272 large commercial batteries, the Powerpack 2, to store the energy so that it can be used at night.

The system was due to be turned on in phases. Once fully operational, the company expects Kauai to reduce fossil fuel use by 1.6 million gallons per year.

Musk's clean energy brand is also powering similar projects on the island of Ta'u in American Samoa.

In the wake of Hurricane Maria, Tesla announced it was sending hundreds of batteries that can store power generated by solar panels to Puerto Rico to provide emergency help.

A company spokesperson did not say what Tesla's future plans were.

Maria destroyed Puerto Rico's antiquated and bankrupt electrical system, leaving millions in the dark and utility crews scrambling to help.

Now some politicians and renewable energy investors see a golden opportunity in the crisis to use federal funds to re-invent the US territory's grid as a storm-resistant network that relies less on costly coal and oil imports and more on local wind, solar, and batteries.

In this screen grab made from video on Wednesday, scientists return to land from Cayo Santiago, known as Monkey Island, in Puerto Rico, one of the worldis most important sites for research into how primates think, socialize and evolve

Members of the U.S. Army 1st Special Forces Command deliver boxes of ready-to-eat meals and water up a makeshift ladder to people that were cut off after the bridge collapsed when Hurricane Maria swept through the island in Utuado, Puerto Rico

Resident Mariza Delgado stands on her property with her dog Vima in San Isidro on Thursday

The neighborhood of Utuado was cut off from help for about two weeks and there is still a need for basic life necessities after the category 4 hurricane passed through

Carlos Pesquera hugs U.S. Army 1st Special Force Command SFC Charles Fernandez after receiving food and water for the first time in the wake of the devastation left across the island by Hurricane Maria on Thursday

Residents Mercedes Flete and her daughter Nitza Flores hug in San Isidro, Puerto Rico on Thursday

If it happens, it could ease power bills on an island that struggles with the second-costliest electricity in the United States, behind Hawaii, as well as infrastructure prone to failing in the region's frequent hurricanes.

'We cannot waste the opportunity of this crisis and federal aid package,' said Ramon Luis Nieves, a Puerto Rican politician in the Popular Democratic Party, who headed the island's senate energy committee until his term expired in January.

'We need to focus on not only getting the grid back up, but improving it so it can tolerate more renewable energy.'

A set of bills introduced this week by US Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon would call on the Department of Energy to make the US electric grid hardier against natural disasters, and would offer grants for small scale, grid connected solar and other projects.

A Wyden aide said Puerto Rico's utility, the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), could apply for such grants to modernize the grid, or get funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to rebuild and then apply for the grants to help pay for upgrades.

Efforts to reach a PREPA official were not successful.

That government support would be crucial. PREPA was $9 billion in debt before declaring bankruptcy in July. Its equipment was already 'degraded and unsafe,' according to a draft fiscal report the company filed in April.

Around half of Puerto Rico's electricity is generated from imported fuel oil, with another third coming from natural gas, and much of the rest from coal, according to the Department of Energy.

Renewables supply about 2.4 percent, though the island has set a goal to obtain 20 percent of its electricity from renewables by 2035.

The prospect of a new grid in Puerto Rico has some renewable energy companies and investors interested.

Jeff Ciachurski, CEO of Greenbriar Capital, a renewable energy investor in Puerto Rico, California and Arizona, said government support could open up new opportunities for the sector to take over market share.

'The federal government is in the driver's seat,' he said.

Sunnova, a residential solar installer with 10,000 customers in Puerto Rico, said it was working with the governor to try to restore power off-grid in the short-term, but said the destruction also creates an opportunity to create a new, renewable-friendly grid.

Vice President Mike Pence hands off a bundle of bath tissue as he helps load a container of supplies bound for Puerto Rico in Kissimmee, Florida on Thursday

Emma Perez, 9, left, and Summer Munoz,7, hand vice president Mike Pence a case of bottled water

'Everybody can agree that what the future and the new power industry and system look like is not what was there before,' John Berger, Sunnova CEO, told Reuters.

On Friday, Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello said his team is looking at alternative ways to bring power back on the island, including by using microgrids, small power networks that can work independently of the main grid.

Judith Enck, a former Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator for Puerto Rico, said solar-powered microgrids, as well as buried power lines, could allow for a more rapid recovery after storms.

Hurricane Maria left the entire island and its 3.4 million residents without power and destroyed 80 percent of its transmission and distribution infrastructure, according to the Department of Energy.

The Army Corps of Engineers has been placed in charge of restoring power as quickly as possible, a key step to restoring other basic services like water, fuel, and food.
The Flagstaff Police Department said it has arrested a suspect in the road rage shooting incident Tuesday in Railroad Springs in west Flagstaff.

The shooting took place around 4:30 p.m. on Northwestern Street. Upon arrival officers learned that William Cummings, 21, was shot during an altercation at that location. His injuries were non-life-threatening.

Officers obtained a suspect description and attempted to locate the suspect, who was described as a white male approximately 60 to 70 years old. He was further described as approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall and 180 pounds with gray hair and possibly a goatee.

He was last seen driving a black Toyota Tacoma with an Arizona license plate

Officers and investigators continued to follow up on leads and learned a suspect matching the description lived in the area. They identified William Frost, 69, as a potential suspect in the case. Detectives developed a photographic lineup and presented it to witnesses. Frost was identified as the suspect by the victim. An arrest warrant and a search warrant were obtained.

Frost was arrested Thursday for aggravated assault and booked into Coconino County Jail.
Two young female backpackers have relived the horror attack when a man kidnapped and tortured them at Salt Creek.

A German and a Brazilian woman were attacked on a remote beach in South Australia by 61-year-old Roman Heinze early last year.

Lena Rabente and Beatriz revealed the terrifying details of the attack which saw Beatriz tied up and sexually assaulted while Lena was repeatedly run over by Heinze's 4WD.

Scroll down for video

Lena Rabente and Beatriz (pictured) have relived the horror attack when Roman Heinze kidnapped and tortured them at Salt Creek

Lena (pictured) was run over several times by Heinze and Beatriz was tied up and sexually assaulted

The women managed to escape the frightening ordeal, and Heinze (pictured) was found in his car further down the beach

In an interview with 60 Minutes, Lena (left) said Heinze was 'totally insane' and that he wanted 'to kill [them]'

In an interview with 60 Minutes, Lena said Heinze was 'totally insane' and that he wanted 'to kill [them]'.

The women, who were 23-years-old at the time, met the 61-year-old through a Gumtree advertisement as they sought a lift to Melbourne.

Beatriz said Heinze told them he would show them some kangaroos, but it quickly turned into a nightmare.

Eery footage of the two smiling women as they sat in the car with Heinze is shown during the 60 Minutes preview, revealing the moments shortly before the most horrifying moment of their lives.

The women were taken to a remote beach at Coorong National Park and Beatriz was tied up, sexually assaulted and threatened with a knife after he set up camp.

'We knew that we had to fight that ... we had to do whatever to survive,' Beatriz told 60 Minutes.

Beatriz said Heinze (pictured) told them he would show them some kangaroos, but it quickly turned into a nightmare

During the interview, which will go to air Sunday night, the two women relive their real life 'Wolf Creek' which ended with Heinze (pictured) behind bars for 22 years

Her friend tried to save to but Heinze hit her on the head with a hammer and ran her over several times with his 4WD.

Lena said she got 'weaker and weaker' and was forced to 'jump on the bonnet' to save herself from being run over by Heinze.

The women were able to escape and Heinze was found by police in his bloodstained car along the beach.

Heinze confessed to assaulting another female backpacker in September 2014, had contacted another 13 backpackers and had pornographic videos found on his phone.

Heinze was jailed for 22 years.

During the interview, which will go to air Sunday night, the two women relive their real life 'Wolf Creek'.

Last month there were reports that the two women were looking to do a highly-paid television interview and a six-figure sum was accepted.
Rose McGowan shared a cryptic tweet not long after Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexually harassing multiple female employees and movie stars.

'Anyone who does business with __ is complicit. And deep down you know you are even dirtier. Cleanse yourselves,' McGowan tweeted Thursday afternoon.

The tweet came shortly after The New York Times claimed that Weinstein, who is one of Hollywood's most celebrated studio heads, paid $100,000 to McGowan for an unknown incident shortly after she filmed her breakthrough role in the film 'Scream.'

Scroll down for video

Rose McGowan (left, in 2015) shared a cryptic tweet not long after Harvey Weinstein (pictured on Thursday night) was accused of sexually harassing multiple female employees and movie stars.

McGowan, who was named in the NYT story as having settled a sexual harassment suit against Weinstein took to social media after it was released, but did not name any names

McGowan also wrote on Twitter: 'Women fight on. And to the men out there, stand up. We need you as allies. #bebrave'

That settlement is one of eight that Weinstein has reportedly paid out over the past 30 years, with Italian model Ambra Battilana also getting an undisclosed sum in 2015 after accusing the Hollywood executive of groping her and putting his hand under her skirt.

McGowan would not comment to the Times about her experience, but has been very vocal about the incidents of harassment and assault she experienced in her early years.

She has never named the perpetrators of these acts.

The incident between McGowan and Weinstein allegedly occurred in a hotel room at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival.

The tweet came shortly after The New York Times claimed that Weinstein (pictured leaving his NYC office on Thursday), paid $100,000 to McGowan for an unknown incident shortly after she filmed her breakthrough role in the film 'Scream'

That settlement is one of eight that Weinstein has reportedly paid out over the past 30 years. Weinstein was seen Thursday night leaving out the back entrance to his office in New York

She was 23 at that time.

McGowan did take to social media after the report was released however, writing: 'Women fight on. And to the men out there, stand up. We need you as allies. #bebrave'.

On Thursday, McGowan also engaged in a Twitter discussion with actress Asia Argento, known for her roles in films such as 'XXX' and 'Marie Antoinette.'

'I want to buy the movie rights,' wrote McGowan soon after it was revealed that Weinstein would be the subject of two bombshell exposes, though she did not say she was directly referring to that report.

'I own the movie rights,' replied Argento, who then added: 'It's gonna be the best movie of the last 20 years.'

McGowan would not comment to the Times about her experience, but has been very vocal about the incidents of harassment and assault she experienced in her early years. She has never named the perpetrators of these acts

McGowan also tweeted this not long after the Times story was published

She also got into a jokey talk with actress and director Asia Argento, best known for her roles in xXx and Marie Antoinette

McGowan responded to that by stating: 'We're gonna lobby for so many Oscars.'

The Times report also claimed that Weinstein once asked Ashley Judd if she would like to watch him shower during a meeting in his room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills.

But Weinstein denies parts of Judd's story, part of the reason he has chose to sue the Time according to a statement from his attorney Charles Harder.

'The New York Times published today a story that is saturated with false and defamatory statements about Harvey Weinstein,' said Harder in a statement.

'It relies on mostly hearsay accounts and a faulty report, apparently stolen from an employee personnel file, which has been debunked by 9 different eyewitnesses.'

Harder went on to say: 'We sent the Times the facts and evidence, but they ignored it and rushed to publish. We are preparing the lawsuit now. All proceeds will be donated to women's organizations.'
Advertisement

Theresa May insisted she has the 'full support' of the Cabinet today as furious Tories turned on the former minister leading an insurrection against her.

The PM dismissed calls to quit and said she was 'providing calm leadership' after Grant Shapps went public with his plot claiming that 'one or two' members of Mrs May's own team privately wanted her to go.

But the former party chairman admitted his coup attempt was still well short of the 48 names needed to force a contest for the top job.

And he was brutally lampooned by Conservative MPs, who branded him 'embittered', a 'used car salesman' and said he spoke for 'no-one'. One backbencher said Remainers were making a 'pathetic' bid to regain control of the party and said of the idea he had 30 supporters: 'Diane Abbott must be doing the adding up.'

The Conservative civil war has burst into flames in the wake of Mrs May's dire conference in Manchester, which culminated in her speech being wrecked by a prankster, sore throat and collapsing set.

The PM, pictured in her Maidenhead constituency today, dismissed calls to quit and said she was 'providing calm leadership' after plotter went public

Mrs May looked to have recovered from her heavy cold and chatted happily as she attended a Macmillan Cancer charity coffee event in Reading today

Grant Shapps, pictured giving interviews today, is trying to drum up 48 colleagues who will allow him to trigger a new leadership contest after the Prime Minister's speech disaster

Senior Tory MP Tim Loughton gave one of the fiercest responses to Mr Shapps. Another backbencher, James Cleverly, said he was doing the 'country no favours at all'

After rumours of a plot swirled yesterday, Tory whips decided to expose Mr Shapps' as the ringleader. Supporters of Mrs May hope the move will rob the coup attempt of momentum.

Mr Shapps took to the airwaves today after he was unmasked, insisting: 'The writing is on the wall for May. We can't just carry on. I think having lost an election the party must look for a new leader to take us forward.'

He insisted: 'One or two Cabinet members privately agree'.

However, speaking to reporters on a visit in her Maidenhead constituency this afternoon, Mrs May retorted: 'What the country needs is calm leadership and that is what I am providing with the full support of my Cabinet.'

Senior MPs derided Mr Shapps, with the vice chair of the powerful 1922 committee, Charles Walker, saying: 'No10 must be delighted to learn that it's Grant Shapps leading this alleged coup.'

Nadine Dorries said the mutiny was being orchestrated by Remainers who wanted to derail Brexit and stop Boris Johnson winning the leadership, naming former ministers Anna Soubry and Nicky Morgan as among the agitators.

'The plot is by remain MPs to topple the PM, destroy Boris and put a remain leader in place to delay and possibly destroy #Brexit,' she wrote on Twitter.

Plotting against the Prime Minister has reached fever pitch after a sore throat saw her cough and splutter through an agonising 65 minutes on the stage in Manchester - some critics are circling to have her removed

Business minister Margot James dismissed Mr Shapps, pointing to his connection to the Tory 'Road Trip' controversy from the 2015 election. Another Tory MP, Michael Fabricant said he would not 'buy a used car' from Mr Shapps

Conservative MP James Heappey sent Mr Shapps a message to 'shhhh' using a gif. Environment Secretary Michael Gove, pictured in Westminster today, said the plot story was 'boring'

She added later: 'If he has got 30 MPs on that list Diane Abbott must be doing the adding up.

'There is no way he has 30 names. The PM is safe.'

Another Tory MP, Michael Fabricant was even more damning - referring to Mr Shapps notoriously operating under the pseudonym 'Michael Green' during his pre-politics business career.

'I wouldn't buy a used car from one embittered colleague - let alone take advice from him about who should be PM. Theresa May should remain,' Mr Fabricant jibed. He then tagged Mr Shapps as a 'used car salesman'.

Former minister Tim Loughton also waded in. 'The only thing that needs burying in the sand is Grant Shapps no doubt together with Michael Green,' he said.

Senior backbencher Nigel Evans said: 'There is only one direction that the Shapps bandwagon is going to roll...and that is over him. May is here to stay so get on side please.'

HOW TORY LEADER CONTESTS WORK Unless the Tory leader resigns voluntarily, party rules set out a tight process for forcing a contest. Letters expressing no confidence in the PM must be sent by 48 MPs - 15 per cent of the total - to the chairman of the 1922 committee. MPs then vote in a series of rounds, with the candidate receiving the least support being eliminated until only two remain. Those two then go head to head for votes from ordinary party members. Advertisement

Mr Shapps is understood to have been getting vicious treatment on the private WhatsApp group operated by Tory MP. But highlighting his isolated status, Vicky Ford told BBC Essex: 'He is not even in our WhatsApp group!'

Environment Secretary Michael Gove called the plot 'boring' and told the Today programme: 'I don't know of a single Cabinet minister who wants her to go.

'Theresa May should stay for as long as she wants. The party wants her in place for the next election'.

Mr Shapps said he had been 'quietly' compiling a list of rebels and wanted to take it to No 10 with five former cabinet colleagues to urge her to resign without 'embarrassment'.

He also admitted he had 'preferences' for a new Tory leader but would not name names.

Fellow Cameron-era cabinet minister Ed Vaizey, a close friend of George Osborne and David Cameron removed by Mrs May after six years as minister for the arts, said: 'Quite a few people are firmly of the view she should resign.

'The Tory Party conference was a great opportunity to reboot the party and the country and give a clear sense of direction. That didn't happen and, yes, I am concerned.'

Asked if Mrs May should quit, he replied: 'I am finding it increasingly difficult to see a way forward, and it worries me.'

But Cabinet ministers and the 'men in grey suits' on the backbench 1922 Committee yesterday moved to kill off the plot by giving Mrs May their backing.

And there was growing anger at the activities of the plotters, many of whom are former ministers who were either sacked by Mrs May or who have fallen out with her in the past.

Business minister Margot James said: 'There are some ex-Cabinet ministers and ministers who are extremely embittered individuals who just want to get their own back for the fact that they don't feel recognised.'

Fellow Tory Mark Pritchard hit out at the 'cowardly' plot, saying: 'Attempts to drum up a delegation of 30 MPs to try and force the PM out will fail. They are also cowardly. If any MPs want her out, there is a process.' Mrs May sacked a string of ministers in her first reshuffle, including Mr Vaizey, then education secretary Nicky Morgan and then business minister Anna Soubry, all of whom have been sharply critical of the PM.

Mrs May's set-piece speech to the Tory conference on Wednesday was derailed when a prankster infiltrated the event and handed her a mock P45. She then suffered a prolonged coughing fit, and, in a final indignity, letters started falling off the conference slogan on the wall behind her.

Plotters, who have been seeking to oust her since the summer, seized on her misfortune to launch a fresh bid to remove her.

One said Mrs May could face a delegation as early as the weekend.

'It has to be all or nothing,' he said. 'We can't have a situation where a few go public with their criticism and the rest fade away.

'There is a small window of opportunity here, more people are coming forward.'

Tory MP Nigel Evans said Mr Shapps was going to get run down by his own bandwagon. Nadine Dorries said it was a Remainer plot to topple the PM

Comedian Simon Brodkin managed to get through security at the Manchester venue and hand Mrs May the P45 in one of several disastrous parts of the speech

Theresa May's troubled keynote speech got worse when the set failed and the slogan 'Building a country that works for everyone' as letters cascaded down behind the PM as she spoke

At the end of the shambolic speech , Philip May leapt on stage to give his embattled wife a huge hug and she appeared crestfallen afterwards

But party grandees yesterday moved to strangle the plot at birth. Cabinet ministers made it clear they would not back any attempt to topple the PM.

Business Secretary Greg Clark said most admired 'the guts and grace that the PM showed in the face of some pretty difficult and unexpected developments'.

But some ministers are said to be worried that Philip May could advise his wife to stand down after her gruelling performance.

One insider dismissed the concerns, saying: 'You should never underestimate her sense of duty. Or his.'

However, privately, even her allies fear this week's speech may have shortened her political shelf life.

TORY CHAIRMAN FACING CALLS TO QUIT OVER SHAMBLES Sir Patrick McLoughlin Tory chairman Patrick McLoughlin is facing calls to quit after a shambolic conference that saw a notorious prankster get within touching distance of the PM. The Cabinet minister is under intense pressure to take responsibility for the massive failure that meant comedian Simon Brodkin could get a pass. Brodkin, better known by his TV persona Lee Nelson, was able simply to walk up to the podium as Mrs May delivered her keynote speech and hand her a fake P45. The premier calmly put the document on the floor and carried on, but seemed to be thrown off her stride. For the next hour she endured the agony of her voice giving out due to a persistent sore throat, leaving observers wondering whether she would be able to finish delivering it at all. To cap off the misery letters then began falling off the Conservative slogan positioned in full view of TV cameras behind Mrs May. The blame game started even before the speech was over, with many pointing the finger at Sir Patrick. There had already been speculation that he would be dropped as part of a reshuffle in the wake of the disastrous election campaign. Advertisement

Mrs May has said she plans to fight the 2022 election. But friends think she may be forced to step aside within months of Britain leaving the EU in March 2019 to allow a new leader to take the fight to Labour.

Mrs May, who suffered from a heavy cold throughout the conference, took a planned day off yesterday at her constituency home.

Another senior backbencher told MailOnline: 'There are not enough plotters. There seems to be enough support for the PM.'

Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said Mrs May should stay to see through Brexit.

'It was a difficult day yesterday. The most important thing is that we hold the Conservative party together because the real tragedy would be if we end up with Jerem Corbyn getting into Number 10 Downing Street,' he told Sky News.

'That would be a tragedy for the whole country. We need to hold the Conservative party and the government together and move forward.'

He added: 'I think we are going to carry on with Theresa May, certainly until we get through the Brexit process.'

Meanwhile, Business Secretary Greg Clark said Mrs May had shown 'guts and grace'.

'The face that she stayed through it and gave a gutsy performance, I think she had immense respect for that,' he told the BBC.

And the head of the PM's policy board, George Freeman, insisted she would stick around out of a 'sense of duty'.

'I'm sure if the Conservative party asked her to go, she would, but I don't hear that happening this morning at all,' he said.

'And I think the prime minister has a very strong sense of commitment to duty, to public service. In the same way that Her Majesty the Queen puts public service at the heart of everything she does, the prime minister is driven by a very deep sense of public service to country.'

Mrs May's position has been bolstered by a huge backlash against Boris Johnson over his leadership manoeuvring this week.

He has been blamed for 'hijacking' the conference and undermining the chances of getting the party back on track after the dismal election result, which saw Mrs May stripped of her overall majority.

The Foreign Secretary, who was also criticised by colleagues over a tasteless joke about Libyan tourism reviving after 'dead bodies' are cleared away, could face open calls for him to be sacked when the powerful 1922 committee meets on Monday night.

The lack of an obvious successor would mean holding a full-blown leadership contest at a crucial stage in Brexit negotiations - which many MPs fear would tear the government to shreds.

Downing Street sources revealed cabinet colleagues called Mrs May to praise her for finishing the speech despite her sore throat, while Scottish leader Ruth Davidson said afterwards: 'If ever the PM needed a metaphor for service and duty and resolution through adversity, that battling performance was it! Huge respect'.

Loyal backbencher James Cleverly said: 'The cough and the prankster may dominate the headlines but we saw Theresa May stand unflinching and determined. We're proud of you'.

One senior figure thought to be at more immediate risk is Tory chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin.

There had already been speculation that the Cabinet minister would be dropped as part of a reshuffle in the wake of the disastrous election campaign.

The calamitous gathering in Manchester this week leaves him at even greater risk.

The Prime Minister has been blighted by a sore throat throughout the conference and was left gulping down water and throat sweets as her landmark speech went croaky

A Tory staff member takes the letters off the screen after Mrs May's calamitous speech to the party's conference yesterday

The PM attempted to laugh off the speech shambles by tweeting a picture of throat sweets next to her ministerial red bo
A Gold Coast grandfather accused of grooming young girls on Facebook for sex overseas has been granted bail.

Rex George Harrison was nabbed by Australian Federal Police at Brisbane Airport on Thursday just as he was about to fly to the Philippines.

AFP Commander Lesa Gale said the 63-year-old was talking a girl aged under 16 on Facebook 'in an attempt to engage in sexual activity with her and other children'.

Rex George Harrison, 63, was nabbed at Brisbane Airport as he was about to fly to the Philippines after allegedly grooming young girls on Facebook for sex

Harrison was granted bail in Brisbane Magistrates Court under strict conditions including living at house in Loganlea on the Gold Coast

'There are offenders who seek to use the anonymity of the internet to identify and target vulnerable children,' she said.

Harrison was granted bail in Brisbane Magistrates Court under strict conditions including living at house in Loganlea on the Gold Coast.

He told officers he believed his alleged victim was over 18, despite her referring to being in school in their online conversations, the court heard.

Commonwealth prosecutor Sophie Harburg said the father-of-three was an Australian citizen but did not live in the country.

He will face court again on October 27 facing up to 12 years behind bars.
Jeremiah Cottle, an Air Force veteran who invented the 'bump stock' device utilized during the mass Las Vegas shooting, previously spoke out on his incentive for the powerful piece of equipment.

Cottle had returned to his hometown of Moran, Texas in 2005 after serving time in the military where he suffered a brain injury and was forced to slow down - providing more time for extracurricular activities.

While out and about in his tiny hometown one day, Cottle had been shooting on a ranch with a buddy, when the pair grew frustrated as they weren't able to get their shots out as quickly as they hoped to.

Jeremiah Cottle (pictured), an veteran who invented the 'bump stock' device utilized during the mass Las Vegas shooting, previously spoke out on his incentive for the powerful device

Cottle said his inspiration came after he and a friend were out shooting one day and wanted to fire rounds faster

I 'couldn't afford a fully automatic rifle so (he) started to think about how (he) could make something that would work and be affordable,' Cottle said in an interview

Cottle said in an interview with local newspaper, The Albany News in 2011 that he and his friend 'couldn't afford a fully automatic rifle so (he) started to think about how (he) could make something that would work and be affordable.'

That's when the retired veteran began generating ideas for a the device model - which would later launch and be sold through his company, Slide Fire Solutions Inc. by 2010.

The 'bump stock' was eventually approved by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as it was deemed to be 'intended for people with limited use of their hands,' according to an NBC report.

'Most people think that a civilian can't own an automatic rifle, but they can if they have the money and if they go through all the paperwork,' Cottle said in the interview.

The device would later launch and be sold through his company, Slide Fire Solutions Inc. by 2010

The 'bump stock' was eventually approved by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

He previously made a demonstration video showing himself using the device on one of his guns, showing its effectiveness

The inventor previously made a demonstration video showing himself using the device on one of his guns, while explaining the process and it's extreme rate and effectiveness.

The bump stocks currently 'sell for $150 to $300' and 'are by far the most popular and well-known such devices on the weapons-accessory market,' according to NBC.

But since the devices were located on the rifles used by shooter Stephen Paddock during the concert massacre that killed 58 people and wounded 489 others - many are calling for a complete ban.

President Trump announced Thursday that his administration is considering whether 'bump stock' devices should be banned in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.

Now, the device has become widely controversial following the Las Vegas massacre

'Bump stocks' were found on the rifles used by shooter Stephen Paddock during the concert massacre that killed 58 people and wounded 489 others

President Trump announced his administration is considering whether 'bump stock' devices should be banned in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history

The NRA has since argued - calling for 'additional regulations' for the device

Trump said he and senior military leaders at the White House would discuss the matter Thursday and an ultimate decision will be made 'over the next short period of time.'

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders added earlier Thursday that the president welcomed a review of U.S. policy on the devices - which were used by the Las Vegas shooter to make his weapons more deadly.

The National Rifle Association has strongly argued that the devices be 'subject to additional regulations' among the controversy.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said a ban is 'clearly something we need to look into' following the deadly tragedy.
The man who shot and killed more 59 people in the largest mass murder in American history has been described as a fervent defender of the constitutional right to bear arms.

Australian man Adam Le Fevre was in a relationship with the sister of Marilou Danley  the partner of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock, who killed 59 people and wounded hundreds more in a massacre on Sunday.

He told 9News he went to Las Vegas with Paddock, 64, two years ago and had travelled to the Philippines with him twice.

Scroll down for video

Adam Le Fevre has described Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock as obsessed with guns and a strong defender of the right to bear arms

He told 9News went to Las Vegas with Paddock (pictured) two years ago and had travelled to the Philippines with him twice

Mr Le Fevre was in a relationship with the sister of Marilou Danley (pictured)  the partner of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock

'It is a very chilling thought to know that the person that is at the centre of the world's largest story at the moment was somebody that I knew, somebody that I was welcomed into their home, into their family, into their life.'

Mr Le Fevre said Paddock had a room full of guns in his home at Mesquite, Nevada, and was a stringent defender of the second amendment to the United States constitution.

Mr Le Fevre said Paddock had a room full of guns in his home at Mesquite, Nevada (pictured)

Paddock killed 59 people and injured hundreds more in a shooting from a Mandalay Bay hotel room

The hotel room (pictured) was full of guns and ammunition when entered by authorities

'He was very strict and very firm on the fact that it's a right. It's the freedom of every American to participate, to own a gun and use it when need be.'

He said Paddock claimed he earned up to $300,000 a year gambling at Las Vegas casinos.

The pair stayed in 'out-of-this-world penthouse suites like you wouldn't believe' because Paddock was a 'high roller'.
A Massachusetts museum dedicated to Dr. Seuss says it will replace a mural featuring a Chinese character from one of his books after three authors said they would boycott an event due to the 'jarring racial stereotype.'

The mural features illustrations from the author's first children's book, 'And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street.'

The museum, which is located in the author's hometown of Springfield, said Thursday that the mural will be replaced by images from later books.

'And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street' features a Chinese caricature that three authors deemed a 'jarring racial stereotype'

The caricature they're talking about is bottom left. In in their statement, the authors said: 'the selected art is a jarring racial stereotype of a Chinese man, who is depicted with chopsticks, a pointed hat, and slanted slit eyes'

Pictured here is The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, in Springfield, Massachusetts

Three children's authors, Mo Willems, Mike Curato and Lisa Yee, declined an invitation to the museum's inaugural Children's Literature Festival, which was originally set for October 14.

In a joint letter that Willems posted on Twitter Thursday, the trio said: 'we recently learned that a key component of this institution honoring Dr. Seuss features a mural depicting a scene from his first book, 'And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,' and within the selected art is a jarring racial stereotype of a Chinese man, who is depicted with chopsticks, a pointed hat, and slanted slit eyes. We find this caricature of 'the Chinaman' deeply hurtful, and have concerns about children's exposure to it.'

He continued: 'Two of us are Asian American (one is Chinese American) and two of us are the children of immigrants. We celebrate our ethnic differences and artistic commonalities as authors called to provide and represent the best for all our readers.'

Artist John Simpson works on the murals in the planned Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum housed in the William Pynchon Memorial Building

Mo Willems posted a letter on Twitter from himself, Mike Curato and Lisa Yee, declining their invitation to the museum's inaugural Children's Literature Festival

'We will not endorse racism in any form. Therefore, we have informed the museum that none of will be appearing at the October 14 event.'

The three authors signed their names at the bottom of the joint letter.

They had all been invited to appear at festival at the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum in Springfield, Massachusetts.

The 'jarring racial stereotype' appears in Dr. Seuss' book And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street

Mo (pictured here) said: 'We will not endorse racism in any form. Therefore, we have informed the museum that none of will be appearing at the October 14 event'

Mike (pictured here) along with Mo and Lisa had all been invited to appear at the festival at the Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum in Springfield, Massachusetts October 14

In light of the issue that Lisa (pictured here) Mo and Mike addressed, the festival has now been cancelled

In light of this issue the festival has now been cancelled, which the museum announced on their program calendar.

This also comes after a librarian rejected a donation of Dr. Seuss books sent by First Lady Melania Trump as she called them 'tired' and 'cliche.'

The White House earlier this month announced that one school from each state would receive a shipment of Dr. Seuss books as part of National Read a Book Day.

Cambridgeport Elementary School librarian Liz Phipps Soeiro (pictured here), rejected Dr Seuss donations from Melania Trump

Along with the donation came a letter from the First Lady, which emphasized to students that receiving 'an education is perhaps the most important and wondrous opportunity of your young lives'.

'Remember,' the letter says, 'the key to achieving you dreams begins with learning to read. Find what you enjoy, anything that interests you, and read about it.'

'Never stop learning and challenging yourself, and never give up on your dreams,' the letter concludes.

But Cambridgeport Elementary School librarian Liz Phipps Soeiro, whose school represents Massachusetts in the initiative, said that her award winning library wasn't in need of the literature.
A wheelchair-bound Japanese pensioner has died after being attacked by a swarm of giant Asian hornets.

Chieko Kikuchi, 87, was being taken back home from a nursing facility in western Ehime Prefecture when a swarm of the insects descended on her.

A carer, who was escorting her at the time, and paramedics who were called to the scene watched helplessly as she was stung 150 times in a 50-minute ordeal.

Chieko Kikuchi, 87, died after a swarm of giant hornets stung her 150 times in 50 minutes as she was being taken home from a nursing facility (file image)

The carer initially tried to save Kikuchi herself but was unable to get through the swarm because it was too think.

She called the nursing facility for help who dispatched paramedics to the scene.

However, the medics arrived without protective clothing because they were wrongly told Kikuchi had already been dragged to safety.

Eventually the insects retreated and she was rushed to hospital but died of her injuries the following day.

The insects came from a nest that was attached to a building near the woman's home, according to the Japan Times.

The attack happened back in September but was only reported on Friday.

Kikuchi, who is wheelchair-bound, was being escorted by a carer who called for help. But when paramedics arrived they had no protective clothing so were forced to watch helplessly as Kikuchi was stung to death

After the ordeal, which lasted around 50 minutes, the woman was rushed to hospital but died the following day, the firefighter said.

'It was an unusual operation for us,' he admitted.

A forestry agency official said hornets often attack people when their nests are affected.

'To avoid getting stung by hornets, you should keep away from their nests, wear protective jackets and use a wasp killer spray,' the agency official said.

Some 20 people die from hornets stings every year in Japan, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock had the same type of explosive compound in his car and house that is thought to have been used in last year's bombing of Chelsea, Manhattan.

Paddock, who killed 58 people and wounded hundreds in Sunday's massacre, had 50 pounds of Tannerite in the car he parked outside the Mandalay Bay hotel.

He also had an unknown quantity of the substance - most commonly used by marksmen as an exploding target - at his home in Mesquite.

Paddock also had fertilizer that can be used as an explosive alongside an armory of 49 guns - with 23 of them in his hotel room alone.

In 2016, 31 people were hurt in New York City and New Jersey when three bombs - suspected to have been planted by al-Qaeda-inspired Afghan migrant Ahmad Khan Rahim - exploded. Tannerite residue was found at the site of one of the explosions - in Chelsea, Manhattan (pictured)

Paddock had a room full of guns in his home at Mesquite, Nevada (pictured), police said after raiding it on Monday

These photos from inside Paddock's room at the Mandalay Bay show several assault rifles. Beside one pillar (right), a neat stack of magazines can be seen

In 2016, 31 people were hurt in New York City and New Jersey when three bombs - suspected to have been planted by al-Qaeda-inspired Afghan migrant Ahmad Khan Rahim - were detonated.

Tannerite residue was found at the site of one of the explosions - in Chelsea, Manhattan - as reported by the Scientific American.

There has been no word from police about why Paddock had Tannerite - which is a patented, legal product.

Cops had to use special robots search Paddock's Mesquite home the day after his rampage in Vegas.

They found a huge stockpile of ammunition, guns and explosive compounds.

He is believed to have had an arsenal of at least 49 weapons - including the 23 he took into the Mandalay Bay so he could murder dozens of people enjoying the Route 91 Harvest festival nearby.

Paddock's hotel room was filled with guns, many with bump-stocks that would allow for automatic rates of fire. This was the scene after cops busted open his door to find him dead. He killed 58 people and wounded 489 others at Sunday's festival

Investigators are still processing the festival site-turned-crime scene. The FBI warned in the press conference on Wednesday that it would be some time before all of the evidence that was being collected was properly examined

Paddock (pictured) also had fertilizer that can be used as an explosive alongside an armory of weapons that included 23 guns in the hotel room alone

Among his weapons were four DDM4 rifles, three FN-15 rifles, at least one AK-47 assault rifle and at least one Colt AR-15 assault rifle.

The fertilizer found in his car was ammonium nitrate - a notorious bomb-making ingredient favored by terrorists groups like the IRA and al-Qaeda.

It was also used by Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVey.
Sir Edward Heath's main accuser has today been unmasked as a convicted paedophile now in jail while a criminologist on the 1.5m inquiry said police demanded he prove the late MP was guilty.

The alleged victim claims the former prime minister raped him as an 11-year-old during a paid-for sex session at a London house in 1961.

But the man, who cannot be named and is now in his 60s, is a currently serving a long prison sentence for his campaign of sexual abuse of a teenager.

The convicted paedophile has previously been jailed for other abuse and has a history of dishonesty and uses several aliases, according to the Daily Mirror.

Wiltshire Police put his rape claim at the centre of its investigation and says it is one of seven credible allegations Sir Edward would be questioned under caution over had he not died in 2005.

But his past raised more questions over the force's two-year 1.5million inquiry and the politician's godson Lincoln Seligman told the paper last night: 'The revelation that the man at the centre of these claims is of questionable character raises serious questions over the veracity of the evidence'.

Sir Edward Heath has been accused of raping a 11-year-old boy - but it has emerged the accuser is a convicted paedo

Police have spent 1.5million investigating sexual abuse allegations against Sir Edward Heath, including 14,000 on spin to defend the controversial probe. He is pictured on his racing yacht Morning Cloud in 1975 where six people wrongly claimed he abused and murdered children on board

Police made an appeal for 'victims' outside his Salisbury mansion in 2015 (pictured) - but his loved-ones claim this proved police assumed he was guilty and the chief constable admitted this was a mistake

Sir Edward's godson Lincoln Seligman, 67, pictured yesterday, says the police actively encouraged fantasists to come forward and says Sir Ted had 'no interest in children

Army paedophile rings, satanic cults and yacht murders: The outlandish claims finally dismissed After two years, more than 1.5million in taxpayers' money and 1,580 investigative lines of enquiry, police have finally dismissed 35 outlandish accusations against Sir Edward Heath. Yesterday it was revealed that among the 'fantasy' claims that officers eventually abandoned were: 19 allegations ruled out because there was evidence it could not have taken place or police knew the person making the claims lacked credibility;

Six victims made disclosures including allegations that Sir Edward was involved in satanic or ritual abuse - but there was no evidence;

Five people alleged abuse and murder took place on board ex-PM's yacht morning cloud - but there were no witnesses and no missing children;

Sir Edward was part of a military paedophile ring - two men were arrested but released because there was 'no link' to politician or alleged victim;

Two people 'intentionally misled' the police. One was given a caution for wasting police time and the other is subject to an ongoing investigation;

One person made allegations of abuse under three different names;

Three people who said Sir Edward abused them later said they were mistaken when questioned;

Some allegations were made anonymously, second hand or on behalf of the dead;

104 close protections officers, chauffeurs, nurses, staff at his Salisbury mansion, military, civil servants and former colleagues were interviewed and found no information that linked him to child sexual abuse Sir Edward aboard his yacht Morning Cloud in Gosport, Hampshire DISMISSED: Abuse and murder aboard Sir Edward's yacht Morning Cloud Among the most incredible accusations was that Sir Edward sexually abused children and even murdered them on his yachts. A keen sailor, Sir Edward owned five yachts between 1969 and 1983, all of which he named Morning Cloud. Police received five separate accusations of crimes committed aboard vessels and carried out 'extensive enquiries' into his sailing history. As racing yachts require a significant crew, police were able to track down 34 former workers, 15 of which answered questions posed by officers. Not one of those former crew members linked Sir Edward to any instances of child abuse, or that children were even ever taken aboard his various boats. All of the accusations were dismissed by police officers, who were also unable to link the murder claims to any missing children cases. Sir Edward Heath is pictured during his time in the Royal Artillery during the Second World War DISMISSED: Involvement in a British Army paedophile ring A lieutenant colonel who served in the Royal Artillery during the Second World War, Sir Edward had a close affinity with the military and maintained several friendships from his time in service. Two people accused the former soldier of taking part in a paedophile ring based at 'military settings' in Wiltshire. Another two people with links to the British Army were also accused of involvement in the same ring, and were arrested and interviewed by police. However they were eventually released without charge, and no evidence was found that linked either of the men to Sir Edward. In July, it was reported that three of Sir Edward's alleged victims were sisters whose father was based at Wilton Barracks in Wiltshire. Another complainant, who was later discredited, also had a step-father at the same barracks. It was later discovered that the two men served alongside each other for eight years, meaning all the complainants could have known each other and possibly colluded their stories. Sir Edward was accused of stabbing youngsters in churches and burnt babies in satanic orgies before men, women and children gorged themselves on blood DISMISSED: Stabbing children in churches and burning babies in satanic orgies Police say six victims made disclosures including allegations that Sir Edward was involved in satanic or ritual abuse. The paedophile ring  which they say Sir Edward was part of  stabbed, tortured and maimed youngsters in churches and burnt babies in satanic orgies before men, women and children gorged themselves on blood and body parts, police were told. The seemingly far-fetched allegations were made by a family who allege that the politician was part of a satanic sex cult run by their own parents. This included a combination of emotional, physical, sexual and/or spiritual abuse with the abuse committed using symbols, ceremonies and/or group activities with a religious or supernatural meaning. 'Two of the alleged victims of ritual abuse died before Operation Conifer commenced,' the report states. 'They had made disclosures of alleged ritual abuse where it was alleged that Sir Edward was a perpetrator. 'There was limited opportunity to investigate those disclosure further.' Advertisement

In November, Dr Richard Hoskins, who was enlisted by detectives to examine evidence, said he had 'exposed a catalogue of fabrication' at the heart of the probe.

He also warned the force it should immediately end its investigation into a key accuser's 'pernicious' claims of satanic ritual abuse - one of 35 claims found to be fantasy, false or flimsy.

Writing for The Times he said: 'They believed from the outset that Edward Heath was guilty. That is all they wanted me to prove. When I appeared to question their position they pressured me about this.

'My report exposed a catalogue of fabrication and eventually the police accepted my points in full. But they carried on regardless. In conversation with officers, they were adamant Ted Heath was a paedophile'.

Wiltshire detectives dismissed 35 sex abuse allegations including incredible claims he was part of a murderous satanic sex cult.

The force said there was no 'corroborative evidence' to back far-fetched accusations by six people that he was part of a paedophile ring that stabbed youngsters in churches and burnt babies before gorging on blood.

Five people claimed Sir Edward abused and murdered children aboard his Morning Cloud yachts between 1964 and 1986 off Broadstairs, Kent - but police established there was no 'credible' evidence, no witnesses and no missing children.

An allegation he was involved in an Army child sex ring was ruled out after two other men were arrested and released because they had 'no link' to the former Tory leader.

Yesterday Wiltshire Police published its 1.5million two-year inquiry and revealed just seven out of 42 attacks allegedly carried out between 1956 and 1992 were deemed credible.

Interviews with hundreds of close protections officers, staff at his Salisbury mansion, military, civil servants and former colleagues yielded no information that linked him to child sexual abuse, the report said.

But officers revealed Sir Edward would still have been questioned under caution over an allegation he raped a 11-year-old boy he paid for sex in 1961 and touched children as young as ten while he was an MP, minister and Tory leader.

Controversial Edward Heath report says he would have been interviews by police Wiltshire Police lavished 1,542,841 on the beleaguered investigation into Sir Ted (pictured just before his death in 2005) The 100-page 'summary closure report' details 42 allegations made against Sir Edward Heath - only seven were deemed credible. Here are the key numbers: 42 disclosures, or allegations, were made relating to 40 separate individuals Allegations covered 14 different UK police force areas Alleged offences spanned 1956 to 1992 Sir Edward would have faced an interview under caution over seven sex crime claims if he were alive today 10 - the age of the youngest alleged victim in those seven accusations 24 people, including police officers and staff and eight retired detectives, worked on the investigation 1,580 lines of inquiry were generated, 203 of which were not completed as they were deemed irrelevant or disproportionate 284 witness statements were taken and 43 of Sir Edward's former private secretaries and office staff were interviewed 19 allegations did not meet the threshold for an interview under caution and Three claims were a case of mistaken identity 10 claims were made by third parties and three complainants were anonymous. Six people named Sir Edward in accusations of satanic or ritual abuse - but police found no corroborative evidence. 1,484,251 - the total cost of Operation Conifer Advertisement

Britain's former chief prosecutor Lord Macdonald QC said police made appeals to 'excite fantasists and attention-seekers' and said: 'They are covering their backs at the expense of a dead man. Shame on them'.

Chief Constable Mike Veale said it was not a 'witch hunt' and stood by his much-criticised use of the word 'victims' - but admitted it was a mistake to make an appeal outside the ex-prime minister's Salisbury mansion in 2015.

The occult abuse claims made by a group of women first emerged in February. They said Sir Edward Heath abused them as children and also accused their parents of being involved in up to 16 murders.

The seemingly far-fetched allegations were made by a family who said that the cult regularly slaughtered children as ritual sacrifices in churches and forests around southern England and also participated in similar ceremonies in Africa.

Some of the other allegations were found to be fantasy when it emerged that two people were found to be lying, one person made abuse claims under three different names and one allegation was made on behalf of the dead.

The former prime minister's family, friends and former colleagues said Wiltshire Police's incendiary report was made to give their two-year probe 'bogus credibility' and help Chief Constable Mike Veale avoid 'getting fired'.

Wiltshire Police concluded that Sir Edward would have been questioned under caution about seven allegations had he not died in 2005.

But would give no detailed accounts about the incidents, the people involved and why Sir Edward would be required to answer more questions if he were alive.

Lord McDonald says the word is clear evidence police believed the 'case against the former prime minister was already proved' before their expensive inquiry.

Sir Edward's godson Lincoln Seligman, 67, says the police actively encouraged fantasists to come forward as it emerged two people 'intentionally misled' the police.

He has also called for a judge-led inquiry to consider the seven remaining allegations to clear the late politician's name who he says 'had no interest in children'.

Robert Vaudry was Sir Edward's private secretary in 1992 when two of the alleged attacks took place but revealed police have never spoken to him'.

He said: 'The two (allegations) that happened in my time of working with him - I wasn't asked specifically about any one of those, and it may be that it could have jolted my memory, I may have been able to say 'oh no he wasn't even in the country on those times', but I wasn't asked about them, I just find that shocking'.

Police received 42 claims from 40 people reported to 14 different police forces. The alleged offences between 1956 and 1992 include child sexual abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse of an adult.

A source who worked on the investigation told The Times the files 'were full of fabrication, falsehood and fantasy'.

The newspaper also claims that detectives visited the offices of Private Eye to get to the bottom of why they made repeated jokes about Heath's sexuality in the 1970s.

They also spoke to people who knew him so they could investigate claims he was 'completely asexual' - claiming although it is a private matter it was relevant to their investigation.

The report says: 'Witnesses who were interviewed by investigators from Operation Conifer offered different opinions about Sir Edward Heath's sexuality.

'However two witnesses, who have not disclosed abuse, provided evidence that he was sexually active with consenting adults during parts of his life'.

The seven abuse claims police believe would have led to Sir Ted being interviewed by detectives Sir Edward Heath would have been interviewed under caution to hear his account of seven allegations against him, the Operation Conifer report states. The claims, between 1961 and 1992, relate to a period when Sir Edward was MP for Bexley, MP for Sidcup and MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup. He was also Lord Privy Seal for two of the allegations, leader of the Conservative Party for one, Father of the House for one and Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development for another. The allegations are: Edward Heath pictured in 1963 at a time where police believe the first substantial allegations were made about him Allegation 1 Date of offence: 1961 Date reported: April 2015 Location: The Metropolitan Police Service area Office: MP for Bexley, Lord Privy Seal Summary: Sir Edward allegedly raped and indecently assaulted a male, aged 11, during a paid sexual encounter in private in a dwelling. Allegation 2 Date of offence: 1962 Date reported: August 2015 Location: Kent Office: MP for Bexley, Lord Privy Seal Summary: Sir Edward, in the company of an unknown adult male, allegedly indecently assaulted a 10-year-old boy during a chance encounter in a public place. Allegation 3 Date of offence: around 1964 Date reported: June 2016 Location: Sussex and the Metropolitan Police Service area Office: MP for Bexley, Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development Summary: Sir Edward allegedly indecently assaulted a 15-year-old boy during three paid sexual encounters. One of allegations was made in 1976 - a year after Margaret Thatcher kicked him out of office Allegation 4 Date of offence: 1967 Date reported: August 2015 Location: Guernsey Office: MP for Bexley, Leader of the Conservative Party (Opposition) Summary: Sir Edward allegedly indecently assaulted a 15-year-old boy, not known to him, in private during a chance encounter in a public building. Allegation 5 Date of offence: 1976 Date reported: February 2016 Location: Jersey Office: MP for Sidcup Summary: Sir Edward allegedly assaulted, over clothing, an adult male during a chance encounter at a public event. The last main disclosure came in 1992 - towards the end of his political career Allegation 6 Date of offence: about 1992 Date reported: January 2016 Location: Wiltshire Office: MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup, Father of the House Summary: Sir Edward allegedly indecently assaulted an adult male after consent was withdrawn, in what had been a paid consensual sexual encounter in a hotel. Allegation 7 Date of offence: Between 1990 and 1992 Date reported: August 2015 Location: Wiltshire Office: MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup Summary: Sir Edward allegedly indecently assaulted a male, aged between 12 and 14 years, who was not known to him, in private during a chance encounter in private gardens. The report states that there is 'undermining evidence' for allegation seven, though Sir Edward would still have been interviewed about it under caution. Advertisement

These are the seven allegations that police say would have required Ted Heath to answer their questions from yesterday's report

Friends and colleagues say it was 'impossible' that ex-PM was a predatory paedophile Former colleagues of Sir Edward Heath have spoken of their surprise at the child sex allegations levelled at him, saying they believed it would have impossible for him to have committed such acts. They said that as prime minister, and previously leader of the opposition and a cabinet minister, Sir Edward would have had his own team of close protection police officers accompanying him. Penny Gummer (pictured), who was Sir Edward's secretary between 1971 and 1977, said: 'He had a driver and protection officers, a policeman outside his front door and a housekeeper in his house. 'The Irish situation meant that he had 24-hour protection and that certainly did not mean that he could summon or dismiss the security officers at whim. 'Those of us who worked for Mr Heath held him in very high esteem. He maintained old friendships from his university and army days until the end of his life. 'No-one with a weakness of character of which he is accused would have been able to hold the unfailing respect of his many friends and political colleagues, nor rise to the office of chief whip or prime minister.' Mark Dowland, who was a member of Sir Edward's yacht crew during the 1970s, said: 'My wife and I have been guests of Sir Edward at countless social functions including dinners at Downing Street and Chequers during his time as prime minster and later as an MP. 'At all times he was accompanied by a chauffeur and police protection. 'Entry to Arundells entailed being greeted by police officers and walking past numerous CCTV cameras. 'I cannot believe it would be possible for anyone to have entered Arundells without being filmed or challenged by the police. 'Whenever we met elsewhere he was delivered and accompanied by a chauffeur and police protection. The protection officer would always be in the same room as we dined or drank.' Peter Batey, who was Sir Edward's political private secretary between 1982 and 1986, said: 'I never knew him to have any sexual relationship of any kind or to show any sexual interest in or attention to anybody. 'His energies were focused on his passions of politics, music and the arts and ocean racing. 'When he moved outside his house, he was always accompanied by his special branch protection officers. 'When he went anywhere by car he was driven by a government driver, with a Special Branch officer in the front passenger seat and usually a private secretary in the back seat. 'To my knowledge, the Special Branch were with him constantly, except within the Palace of Westminster and on board Morning Cloud. 'When he went sailing, they put him on to the boat and then met him again as soon as he docked and his crew are vehement that nothing happened on Morning Cloud and, given that it was an ocean racer, they would have known.' Lord Charles Aldington, whose father was friends with Sir Edward, remembers spending his childhood with him. 'Ted would of course be deeply wounded by the accusations which the Wiltshire Police have been pursuing, but he would also be surprised and amazed,' he said. 'I hope that the Home Secretary will want to insist on an appropriate review of the processes of the Wiltshire Police in this case.' Advertisement

Seven 'victim disclosures' would have resulted in Sir Edward Heath being interviewed if he were alive - and many of the key claims appear to have been made by boys or men who claim the MP paid them for sex.

This included claims he raped a boy, 11, while a cabinet member in 1961 and the indecent assault of a boy, 15, on Guernsey when leader of the opposition in 1967.

Two allegations were made during his time as prime minister but dismissed and six more claimed he was involved in satanic or ritual abuse without 'corroborative evidence'.

In total 19 claims contained 'undermining information', three said they were later admitted mistaken and most damning two people 'intentionally misled' police.

But the report says: 'No inference of guilt should be drawn by the decision to interview under caution.

'The account of Sir Edward Heath would have been as important as other evidence gathered as part of the wider investigation.'

The main allegations deemed credible by police are:

In 1961 as an MP for Bexley he allegedly raped an 11 year old rent boy in a paid sexual encounter at a private address in London;

In 1962 he allegedly indecently assaulted a 10 year old boy in a chance encounter in a public place while Heath was in the company of an unknown man in Kent;

Around 1964 he is accused of indecently assaulting a 15 year old rent boy during three paid sex sessions in Sussex and London;

In 1967 he allegedly indecently assaulted a boy of 15 who was not known to him during a chance encounter at a public building in Guernsey. He was leader of the Tory party at this time in opposition.

In 1976 he allegedly indecently assaulted an adult male at a public event in Jersey. He apparently touched him over his clothing;

Around 1992 he is said to have indecently assaulted an adult man after 'consent was withdrawn' during a paid for sexual encounter in a hotel in Wiltshire;

Between 1990 and 1992 Heath is accused of indecently assaulting a boy aged between 12 and 14 who was not known to him during a chance encounter at a private party in Wiltshire;

Sir Edward Heath would have been interviewed under caution to hear his account of seven allegations against him, the Operation Conifer report states.

In a statement following the report's release, Wiltshire Chief Constable Mike Veale said officers have 'gone where the evidence has taken us', whether it supported the allegations or not.

He said: 'The report does not draw any conclusions as to the likely guilt or innocence of Sir Edward Heath.

'I am satisfied there are compelling and obvious reasons to investigate allegations made against Sir Edward Heath.'

He added that it would be an 'indefensible dereliction' of his duties not to investigate those allegations.

The claims, between 1961 and 1992, relate to a period when Sir Edward was MP for Bexley, MP for Sidcup and MP for Old Bexley and Sidcup.

He was also Lord Privy Seal for two of the allegations, leader of the Conservative Party for one, Father of the House for one and Secretary of State for Industry, Trade and Regional Development for another.

The report concluded: 'The Senior Investigating Officer concluded that there is sufficient suspicion to have interviewed Sir Edward Heath under criminal caution regarding his suspected involvement in child sexual abuse.

'This conclusion relates to seven of the 42 disclosures that were considered by the Operation Conifer investigation.'

Two of the alleged offences covered the period when Sir Edward was prime minister, although none of those met the formal interview threshold.

The report stressed that 'no inference of guilt' should be made from the fact he would have faced questioning.

Wiltshire Chief Constable Mike Veale said officers have 'gone where the evidence has taken us' while Assistant Chief Constable Paul Mills said it would be 'inappropriate to speculate' Sir Edward Heath's responses to allegations against him (both pictured yesterday)

A further 556 was spent on books about the former Conservative MP, although officers failed to interview many of those who worked with Sir Edward and knew him best

A national police investigation into child abuse allegations against Sir Edward Heath launched after claims by brothel keeper 'Madame Lyng-Lyng' who said she could prove he was a paedophile

The Wiltshire Police investigation, called Operation Conifer, concluded that seven of the claims would have been sufficiently credible to justify questioning Sir Edward, who was prime minister between 1970 and 1974, under caution.

Top QC slams police over 'disgraceful' treatment of Sir Ted to 'cover their own backs' Lord Macdonald QC, the former director of public prosecutions, who has lambasted senior police The country's former top prosecutor has lambasted senior police officers for their handling of the investigation into Sir Edward Heath - accusing them of 'covering their backs' at the expense of a man who can no longer defend himself. Lord Macdonald QC said Wiltshire Police's announcement that Operation Conifer had uncovered sufficient evidence to justify questioning Sir Edward under caution 'gives entirely bogus credibility' to the controversial two-year inquiry. The peer, the former director of public prosecutions, also accused the force of attempting to demonstrate its 'victim-friendly credentials at the expense of basic fairness'. 'For Wiltshire Police to have commenced an inquiry by holding a televised press conference outside Ted Heath's home inviting 'victims' to come forward was a disgrace,' Lord Macdonald told the Press Association. 'Firstly, because by referring to 'victims' in this way they were suggesting that the case against the former prime minister was already proved, and secondly because it is very well known that appeals of this sort always excite fantasists and attention-seekers. 'Why should fantasists have come forward in this case? Well, everyone knows that, during his lifetime, and as a single man, Sir Edward was the subject of sexual innuendo and gossip. 'This was, at the time, puerile and in poor taste, hardly reflecting well on those who encouraged it. 'But it has also made him an obvious target for lurid and trashy comment in death - and you can find this adolescence readily on the internet. 'The police knew all this, but it was more important to them to demonstrate that they had learned from past failures to investigate sex crime properly. 'So, they went completely over the top in the opposite direction; hence the press conference from which everything else has flowed. 'They preferred to prove their new victim-friendly credentials at the expense of basic fairness.' Lord Macdonald, who is now warden of Oxford University's Wadham College, added: 'It is no surprise at all that Wiltshire Police should have concluded that they would have interviewed Sir Edward had he been alive. 'This gives entirely bogus credibility to their investigation without meaning anything in forensic terms. 'The bar for interview is low, in most investigations as low as the police want it to be - and in the case of a dead man, virtually non-existent. 'They are covering their backs at the expense of a dead man. Shame on them.' Advertisement

The report does not address the question of Sir Edward's guilt or innocence because the remit of the two-year 1.5 million inquiry was to see whether there was enough evidence to interview the former MP for Bexley, who died at home in Salisbury in July 2005, aged 89.

He would have been interviewed over seven allegations of child sexual abuse had he been alive.

But they also found that some may have made up their claims, evidence given by others was inconsistent and one allegation was even made by the family of a dead man.

The former Prime Minister's godson Lincoln Seligman, 67, believes the report will contain nothing but 'innuendo' that will forever tarnish his godfather's legacy.

He said: 'My godfather had no interest in children'.

And he also slammed police decision to asked people to come forward with any allegations while already referring to them as 'victims'.

He said: 'If you are making a mass appeal for victims you will get some - even if they aren't victims at all'.

Commenting on claims police would have interviewed him if he was still alive Mr Seligman said: 'There is a very low bar (of evidence) required to be called in for a police interview - and if you are dead that's no at all

'All claims of sexual abuse should be properly investigated. But in this case they haven't properly investigated at all'.

Wiltshire Police were accused of a 'colossal waste of money' last night.

The two-year investigation has ended with no one facing charges and seemingly no concrete proof of any assaults.

The force has lavished 1,542,841 on the beleaguered investigation, according to the latest available figures, released after a freedom of information request.

This includes more than 14,291 on public relations to defend the reputation of Chief Constable Mike Veale and his team, who have faced sustained criticism for their handling of the investigation.

Over the past two years, detectives spent more than 34,542 on flights, car hire and public transport around Britain and the Channel Islands to investigate the child abuse claims, many of which have been found to be fantasy.

The force also had to pay 1,029 for vehicle repairs after crashing one of the hire cars they spent more than 22,000 renting during the inquiry, known as Operation Conifer.

The 24-strong investigative team racked up hotel bills totalling 32,757, plus 5,841 claimed back for meals and refreshments.

A further 556 was spent on books about the former Conservative MP, although officers failed to interview many of those who worked with Sir Edward and knew him best.

More than 914,000 went on salaries for retired detectives and staff working on the investigation, recruited after the force paid 4,819 for advertising.

The final bill for the inquiry is likely to be even higher but the costs were still being counted last night before the publication of a summary of the findings.

Allegation: Ted Heath was accused of raping a 12-year-old boy who said he worked out his identity after seeing a picture of him with Margaret Thatcher (right) and Dame Pat Hornsby Smith (left). This may be the picture he described

Claim: Police were also accused of covering up child sex allegations against the former Tory leader before his death (pictured alongside paedophile Jimmy Savile)

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has agreed to provide 1.1million in funding after a plea for financial support from Mr Veale to cover the costs of the inquiry.

Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor  who was himself hounded over false child abuse allegations by a fantasist known as 'Nick', who also made claims against Sir Edward  said: 'I find it astonishing that this amount of money was spent on PR to protect the reputation of Mike Veale.'

Describing the investigation as 'a carefully crafted witch hunt', he added: 'Operation Conifer could not and has not proved anything. It has been a 1.5million investigation into the sexuality or asexuality of a former prime minister.'

Dr Richard Hoskins, a criminologist called in by Wiltshire Police to review part of the inquiry, condemned the force's spending, saying he was convinced there was not a shred of credible evidence against the late former Tory leader.

He said: 'These items of expenditure show a total disregard for ordinary Britons who have paid their hard-earned taxes for this police gravy train.

'It was obvious to anyone with half a brain that most of the so-called evidence against Heath didn't stack up. The whole thing is a colossal waste of taxpayers' money. There is no transparency, no sense of accountability.'
Prince Charles' latest remarks have sparked outrage after he claimed pirates have been 'fantastic' for marine life because fisherman were too scared to do their job.

The 68-year-old royal said there had been a 'fantastic explosion' of bigger fish off the coast of Somalia due to the lack of activity in the sea.

Speaking to Sky News, Prince Charles said: 'As a result, there hasnt been any fishing there for the last ten or 15 years. And from that there has been a fantastic explosion of bigger and bigger fish.'

His comments came after delivering a keynote speech at the Our Ocean Conference in Malta, which came on the same day that he released a rehabilitated turtle back into the wild.

Prince Charles has been lambasted for his comments by former SAS trooper and anti-piracy expert Phil Campion and former solider Stephen Beardsley, who faced pirates in the Indian Ocean.

Mr Campion said: 'These are nasty gangs doing extreme harm, not worrying about life.

'Theres a few extra fish. Compare that to peoples lives lost, its insensitive. If Charles thought about it hed have a change of heart.'

Mr Beardsley said: 'They arent friendly, never mind environmentally friendly.'

Earlier this year, Somali pirates hijacked a commercial ship after pretending to beg for water.

An oil tanker crewed by eight Sri Lankans was boarded by armed pirates near Somalia's lawless northern coast.

During their peak years, Somali pirates earned hundreds of millions of dollars in randoms but western boats have now been forced to carry armed guards on board.

Scroll down for video

The Prince of Wales releases a rehabilitated turtle into the sea on Golden Bay beach after meeting veterinarians from Nature Trust Malta

It comes after Prince Charles also warned yesterday that plastic is now on the menu as almost every fish caught for the dinner table contains refuse dumped in our oceans.

He attacked the damaging effects of the throw-away, convenience lifestyles of many around the world, which sees eight million tonnes of plastic waste entering seas and oceans each year.

He also criticised perverse global fisheries subsidies, which encourage excessive and unregulated fishing, further depleting stocks.

Calling for urgent action, Charles said: All the plastic that we have produced since the 1950s that has ended up in the ocean is still with us in one form or another, so that wherever you swim there are particles of plastic near you and we are very close to reaching the point when whatever wild-caught fish you eat will contain plastic.

'Plastic is indeed now on the menu!

The royal got a helping hand as he laid the turtle on the sand close to the water's edge

The Prince of Wales with Queen Noor of Jordan (left) and Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat (right) after delivering the keynote speech at the Our Ocean conference

Charles was speaking at the Our Ocean Conference in Malta, where he helped to release a loggerhead turtle back into the sea after it had been treated after swallowing a piece of plastic.

He used his speech to launch a Blue Economy Initiative, a collaboration between the Princes International Sustainability Unit (ISU) and the World Resources Institute (WRI), which aims to encourage investment and policies that protect the oceans.

Charles said it was time for bold action, adding: Im afraid I really do wonder if the oceans fragility is yet truly grasped and how susceptible it is to the impacts of our economic activities?

We must act now. How, otherwise, will future generations ever forgive us for destroying the viability of the natural world that is our ultimate sustainer?

The Prince of Wales (left) meets Vince Attard (right) and volunteers on Golden Bay beach

The royal delivered the keynote speech at the Our Ocean conference in St Julian's

The Prince of Wales talks to Queen Noor of Jordan, the former wife of the late King Hussein

Charles backs Mail's call for bottle scheme that would slash litter Prince Charles last night backed the Mails call for a deposit and return scheme on plastic bottles and drinks cans, as it was claimed it would cut the number dumped as litter by more than a million a day. Charles said he had tried hard to cut the use of plastic bottles in the royal households. I was the first one to start a skip at Buckingham Palace, he told ITV News. I have been trying to get the point across that what we really need to look at very rapidly is what theyve been doing in Sweden for 25 years and Germany for 15 years and other countries in Europe  a deposit scheme on plastic bottles. That has worked brilliantly in those countries which have introduced it. The Daily Mail has led the way in calling for a decrease in the use of plastics, running a successful eight-year campaign to introduce a 5p charge for the use of carrier bags which has seen an 85 per cent slump in their use. Experts say that adding a small fee  around 15p  to plastic bottles and drinks cans would help clean up the streets, parks, beaches and the seas. Research by waste consultant company Eunomia suggest the number of plastic bottles that end up as litter would come down by 700,000 per day  255 million a year  across the country. At the same time, the number of cans would fall by 600,000 a day, or 220 million a year. Advertisement

Charles said the extent of the problem was enormous, systemic and inter-related, but he was optimistic that attempts made to stem the flow of plastics into the seas over the past decade would continue and increase.

He said: With some brave decisions, the ocean can recover its health and by doing so generate employment and economic growth. Will there, at last, be a realisation that this small, beautiful blue dot of a planet may have been misnamed? It is not earth, it is actually mostly sea and we are utterly reliant upon it.

Charles also highlighted the need to take equally far-sighted steps to deal with over-exploitative fishing.

He said: Surely the time is long overdue for taking a thorough, global look at perverse fisheries subsidies and their effects  particularly where they appear to contribute to overfishing, over-capacity and to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing?

Can it be right to argue on the one hand that our ocean must be protected while, on the other, activities that cause harm to the ocean should be subsidised?

The royal spoke about the growing threat to marine life from plastic waste

The Prince of Wales releases a rehabilitated turtle into the sea on Golden Bay beach

The prince joined in a discussion with volunteers ahead of the turtle release

The heir to the throne said he believed it was utterly crucial to create what he described as a circular economy, which allows plastics to be recovered, recycled and reused instead of created, used and then thrown away.

On our increasingly crowded planet this economic approach has to be a critical part of establishing a more harmonious relationship between humankind and the ocean that sustains us all. He also argued that the recent hurricanes that have battered the US and the Caribbean were directly linked to climate change and mans destruction of the globe.

He said: If the unprecedented ferocity of recent catastrophic hurricanes is not the supreme wake-up call that it needs to be in order to address the vast and accumulating threat of climate change and ocean warming, then we  let alone the global insurance and financial sectors  can surely no longer consider ourselves as part of a rational, sensible civilisation.

Charles told Sky News: Fish are eating what they think are plankton and in fact it turns out to be plastic so it all comes back into the food chain. He said many marvellous manufacturers were trying to develop alternatives to plastic, but added: People go to the supermarket and complain bitterly there isnt a piece of plastic between each slice of smoked salmon or whatever it is. The difficulty is what do you have instead of that?

There are alternatives beginning but they are apparently not yet good enough.
A single mum is seeking compensation from Qantas after a turbulent flight left her with life-changing hearing damage.

Joanna Spooner, 34, and her two children were flying from Hamilton Island to Brisbane in September 2015 when their flight was hit by turbulence.

She has permanent hearing loss and may never be able to fly again despite two years of ongoing medical treatment.

Now she is suing QantasLink, Qantas' regional brand, for compensation.

A single mum (pictured) is seeking compensation from Qantas after a turbulent flight left her with life-changing hearing damage

Joanna Spooner, 34, and her two children (pictured) were flying from Hamilton Island to Brisbane in in September 2015 when their flight was hit by turbulence

'I can't even hear my baby cry,' Ms Spooner told Daily Mail Australia, and says her hearing damage means she is no longer able to work.

She needs assistance taking care of her young children, and says the whole experience has been a 'living hell'.

She has been using a donated hearing aid, but needs one that is anchored to the bone.

That device costs $25,000, a hefty sum added on to the money she has already been forced to spend on her and her children's injuries.

Ms Spooner (pictured) has permanent hearing loss and may never be able to fly again despite two years of ongoing medical treatment

'I can't even hear my baby cry,' Ms Spooner (pictured with son Malakai, left, and daughter Mahala, right) said

To make matters worse, Ms Spooner has not been given medical clearance to fly, meaning she is unable to visit family interstate or take planned overseas holidays.

The ordeal began when Ms Spooner, nine-month-old Malakai and 11-year-old Mahala were on their way back from Daydream Island on the Great Barrier Reef.

Ms Spooner said she and daughter Mahala experienced sharp pain as the plane was hit by severe turbulence.

The statement of claims filed in the Brisbane Supreme Court states the small Dash 8 aircraft experienced turbulence from soon after take-off until landing.

Ms Spooner (pictured with son Malakai, left, and daughter Mahala, right) needs assistance taking care of her young children, and says the whole experience has been a 'living hell'

'It was hellish, even a big burly bloke from the mines said he couldn't handle it and said he was going to be sick,' Ms Spooner said.

'We were joking that if a guy like that was struggling it must be bad.'

Her son Malakai had a hard time throughout the flight and eventually found to have a ruptured eardrum.

'Fluid had leaked from the rupture around his newly-formed eardrum and set as hard as concrete,' Ms Spooner said.

'He was in so much pain and I could tell the nurse was horrified at what came out.'

The ordeal began when Ms Spooner (pictured, centre), nine-month-old Malakai (pictured, right) and 11-year-old Mahala (pictured, left) were on their way back from Daydream Island on the Great Barrier Reef

Ms Spooner had to physically restrain her son during the procedure because he was too young to be given a sedative.

Malakai's sister Mahala suffered months of pain and discomfort, telling her mother 'her ears wouldn't pop', but has since recovered.

Ms Spooner visited eight different doctors before a CT scan revealed damage her GP feared was a tumour.

After being diagnosed with barotrauma and perilymph fistula - where inner ear fluid leaks into the middle ear - in her right ear she was told to have surgery immediately.

Mahala (pictured) suffered months of pain and discomfort, telling her mother 'her ears wouldn't pop', but has since recovered

Ms Spooner said in her statement of claims neither she nor or children were sick at the time of the flight and have no history of hearing problems.

Shine Lawyers Aviation Law Solicitor David Adams said in a legal comment cabin pressure can cause oratory injuries.

'Under the Montreal Convention, an airline is strictly liable for any "accident" occurring onboard or during embarkation or disembarkation of an aircraft,' he said.

'An "accident" has several criteria to meet, and one is that a physical injury must arise. We consider that damage or injury to the ear drum is a physical injury for the purpose of an "accident" arising.'

Daily Mail Australia contacted Qantas for comment.
Pablo Escobar's son has warned filmmakers behind drugs cartel drama Narcos that story lines 'can cause real life conflicts' after a location scout for the hit show was brutally killed.

Carlos Munoz Portal, 37, was found shot to death on September 11 near the border of Hidalgo state - an area in central Mexico where crime is rampant.

The 37-year-old was a location scout for Netflix series Narcos which chronicles the violent world of drug trafficking - with the first two seasons focusing on notorious Colombian drugs baron Pablo Escobar, who was killed during a shootout in 1993.

Carlos Munoz Portal (pictured), 37, was found shot to death on September 11 near the border of Hidalgo state - an area in central Mexico where crime is rampant

Today, Escobar's son warned that Mexico had become a 'very violent place' and that although his billionaire father - once the world's most wanted man - died nearly 25 years ago 'nothing has changed except the names'.

Sebastian Marroquin, who now gives anti-violence talks, told MirrorOnline that there was now even more drug-trafficking and corruption - and that Netflix 'should be more responsible'.

'The drug dealers in Cali are watching Narcos and they don't like it. They don't like their names and their cities being used to tell things that aren't true.

Sebastian Marroquin, the son of Pablo Escobar, has warned Narcos filmmakers that they should be 'more responsible' after a location scout was killed in Mexico. He is pictured left and right, as a child, with Escobar

Munoz Portal was taking pictures while working on Season 4 of Narcos. Wagner Moura (pictured) plays Pablo Escobar in the crime drama

'By telling the story wrong, it can lead to conflicts in real life. Netflix should be more responsible.'

Munoz Portal was taking pictures while working on Season 4 of Narcos.

The Mexico State prosecutor's office said in a statement that the victim's bullet-riddled body was discovered in his car in farm fields in the township of Temascalapa, about 40 miles northeast of Mexico City, after an apparent chase over back country roads.

Netflix says Munoz was a 'well-respected location scout' and the circumstances of his death are still unknown.

Mexico's film institute says Munoz also worked on the television show 'Mozart in the Jungle' and movies including the James Bond film 'Spectre.'
A crowded bus that stalled on a level crossing was sliced in two by an intercity train killing at least 21 including three children in an appalling crash in Russia.

Part of the bus was dragged in front of the train engine some 200ft along the track.

Bodies and belongings were strewn by the railway track as shown in horrifying video and pictures from the crash scene in Vladimir region.

The driver of the bus en route from Kazakhstan to Moscow awoke passengers at around 3.35 am and pleaded for men to help him push the vehicle off the level crossing.

Scroll down for video

'Those who remained in the bus died. It got literally torn apart,' said Rita Shlyakhtina, the regional governor's spokesperson

The driver of the bus en route from Kazakhstan to Moscow awoke passengers at around 3.35 am and pleaded for men to help him push the vehicle off the level crossing

Dozens of passengers pushed the bus but they failed to move it off the tracks before the train came

But he didn't order all on board to leave immediately.

Dozens of passengers pushed the bus but in vain.

Then a railway crossing attendant at Pokrov station shouted: 'A train, a train.....'

He sounded an emergency alarm and the express train from St Petersburg to Nizhny Novgorod slowed but not enough to avoid appalling carnage.

The regional governor's press secretary, Rita Shlyakhtina, told RIA that the bus was going around a traffic jam when it arrived at the railroad crossing and stalled.

The bus stalled when it drove onto the railway line and was sliced in two by an intercity train killing at least 21 including three children

Bodies and belongings were strewn by the railway track during the crash

'People inside the bus were sleeping, there were around 50 of them. The driver shouted and 34 people ran out of the bus to push it. They survived.

'Those who remained in the bus died. It got literally torn apart,' she said.

Alexander Kiryukhin, head of Health Department of Vladimir region, told TASS: 'The survivors are currently in a temporary shelter, they are getting food and psychological help.

'A separate team is working on identifying bodies.

'Four of the injured passengers - two men, one five years old boy, one one or two years old girls - were taken to local Petushinskaya district hospital.

'They are in grave condition.'

Later Interfax cited officials putting the death toll at 21.

The passengers that got off the bus and tried to push it off the tracks survived

Part of the bus was dragged in front of the train engine some 200ft along the track

A Russian Railways spokesman said: 'A passenger bus was crossing railway lines next to Pokrov train station.

'The bus stalled as it drove onto the rail lines.

'The railway crossing attendant immediately signaled an obstruction on the track.

'The number 60 passenger train driver that was en route from St Petersburg to Nizhny Novgorod used emergency brakes and signaled emergency situation with lights and sirens.

'The emergency brakes allowed the train to slow down to a minimal speed, but the distance was too short to allow a complete stop.'

The bus was believed to be carrying Uzbek nationals - workers in Russian, and their families.

There were two drivers, both Kazakh citizens.
Rex George Harrison, 63, has been charged with grooming a young girl for sex overseas

A Gold Coast grandfather accused of grooming young girls on Facebook for sex overseas has been granted bail.

Rex George Harrison was nabbed by Australian Federal Police at Brisbane Airport on Thursday just as he was about to fly to the Philippines.

AFP Commander Lesa Gale said the 63-year-old was talking a girl aged under 16 on Facebook 'in an attempt to engage in sexual activity with her and other children'.

'There are offenders who seek to use the anonymity of the internet to identify and target vulnerable children,' she said.

Harrison was granted bail in Brisbane Magistrates Court under strict conditions including living at house in Loganlea on the Gold Coast.

Harrison was nabbed by AFP officers at Brisbane Airport on Thursday just as he was about to fly to the Philippines to meet an underage girl he allegedly groomed for sex

He told police he believed his alleged victim was 18, despite her referring to being in school

The 63-year-old was granted strict conditional bail on Friday, and must abide by rules including living at house in Loganlea on the Gold Coast

The accused paedophile was spotted leaving the Brisbane Police Watch House after being granted bail.

Dressed in jeans and a blue striped t-shirt with colourful tattoos lining both arms, he looked nervous as he exited the premises.

He wheeled a suitcase behind him and clutched a piece of paper as he waited outside the building on Friday afternoon.

He told officers he believed his alleged victim was over 18, despite her referring to being in school in their online conversations, the court heard.

Commonwealth prosecutor Sophie Harburg said the father-of-three was an Australian citizen but did not live in the country.

He will face court again on October 27 facing up to 12 years behind bars.
Levi Cracknell, 24, was accused of attacking her friend Emma Bent in a night club after having a one-night stand with Ms Bent's boyfriend

A woman who had a 2am catfight after she was accused of having a fling with her friend's long-term partner has been cleared by a jury in less than 20 minutes.

Levi Cracknell, 24, went behind Emma Bent's back to sleep with soldier Scott Clayton, also 24, in a one-night stand, a court heard.

But when Cracknell was shunned by 20-year old nursery nurse Emma she allegedly confronted her violently during a 2am alcohol-fuelled showdown at Shots Bar in Bolton, Greater Manchester.

Cracknell had denied assault claiming she was acting in self defence and on Thursday afternoon she was cleared by jurors at Bolton Crown Court in just 16 minutes.

In a police interview following the incident on July 30 last year, Cracknell said: 'My version was self defence, at the time I was talking to Scott, her partner.'

Cracknell claimed it was Emma who 'gripped' her hair first before knocking over a table with glasses on because she was 'really drunk'.

Emma landed on the broken glass and sustained cuts to the palm of her left hand and cuts to her knees and feet, which required hospital attention and stitches. Bouncers had to pick her up off the floor.

Ms Bent, 20, pictured with long-term soldier boyfriend Scott Clayton, 24. Mr Clayton was said to have had a one-night stand with Ms Cracknell prior to the attack

Bolton Crown Court heard the incident occurred after Emma found out her boyfriend of three years Clayton had been unfaithful to her with Cracknell.

Prosecuting, Brian McKenna said: 'Emma was not very pleased so decided not to have anything to do with Levi Cracknell.

Ms Cracknell pictured leaving Bolton Crown Court after hearing evidence against her regarding the alleged attack at Shots Bar in Bolton

'At 2am both of them were in the Shots Bar and Emma Bent was sat at a table where there were glasses and bottles.

'One of Levi's friends Alana Barlow came up to her and asked 'why are you not speaking to me anymore?'

'Emma Bent then said she didn't want to speak to her because she was a friend of Levi's but Levi then arrived and said 'who are you kicking off with?'

'Emma at that point stood up and told Levi it was nothing to do with her but Levi grabbed Emma by the hair and pulled her forward. She then pulled her over the table where all of the glasses and bottles fell and smashed.

'She continued to pull Emma Bent by the hair until she fell on to the glasses, and when on the ground continued to pull her. Miss Bent received cuts to her left hand, both knees and both feet.'

Giving evidence behind a screen, Emma told the jury: 'Me and Scott had been in a relationship for about three years and on the night I was still in a relationship with him.

'I had previously discovered he had been unfaithful to me and I was aware of a one night stand.

'When I found out I was furious with both of them but I eventually forgave Scott and took him back.

'I don't hate Levi but we are not friends, I'm angry at her. In fact me and Levi had been quite good friends until the discovery of what had taken place with Scott.

'Levi had no reason to come over and attack me. I didn't attack Levi and I don't hate her.'

Ms Cracknell heard evidence from prosecutor Brian McKenna, Ms Bent and witness Tamara Brocklehurst on Thursday

Tamara Brocklehurst, a friend of Emma, said: 'I saw Levi cross the table and grab Emma's hair and as she did that she brought her forward towards herself.

'There was a table in between. As Levi pulled her the table knocked over which caused Emma to fall on all the glass.

'Emma went on to the floor because Levi pulled her. Levi kept dragging her towards her and pulling her to the floor by her hair.

'Emma was on her hands and knees with her head down. If just looked like she was trying to get up and Levi had hold of her hair.

'It lasted between three and five minutes. It all happened very quickly until the bouncers came in.

Tamara added: 'I found out about the cheating about two months ago. Emma has never said before or after the incident anything about Levi. I wasn't aware before the incident anything about Levi. I think I've seen Emma drunk once.'

Ms Bent has said that she was angry at Ms Cracknell but had no plans to fight her when they met on a night out in July 2016

But in the interview, the court heard, Cracknell said: 'I saw Emma and my friend arguing, I've gone over like any friend would and said why are you arguing.

'Emma turned around and gripped my hair. She was pulling it - there was no punching all I was trying to do was get her off me because she was pushing my head to the floor.

'I've pushed her and she's fell into the table and all the glasses have smashed. I do have to admit she was really drunk I was not, I was sober.

'She fell into the table and went on the floor. I don't even understand how she had got on the floor. The bouncers dragged her out of the club, I've even got in touch with the Shots Bar for the CCTV but they said they don't have it anymore.

'I did what she had done to me and now I'm getting done for it. My friend who she was arguing with had riled her up so much and she took it out on me because there's so much history.

Mr Clayton and Ms Bent pictured together. The court heard Ms Bent knew about her boyfriend's one-night stand with Ms Cracknell but had since forgiven him

'To be honest, I wouldn't want to mess a girl's legs up, that's the best part about them isn't it? She spoke to Scott and said 'hello' but he never wants anything to do with her on a night out.

'I'm not petty, it wasn't even a real attack. She pulled my hair and she ended up getting hurt. I said 'if you think I've attacked you then you go and ring the police' I don't want to be made out like a liar.

'I had only been out an hour and had a pint of Strongbow Dark Fruits, Scott drank most of it, he kept taking my drink off me.'
British troops on leave in Las Vegas during the mass shooting have revealed how they ran through screaming crowds to save the wounded.

Speaking for the first time since the massacre on Sunday night, they said used pillows, tea towels, belts and their shirts as makeshift tourniquets to stop the injured bleeding out as dead bodies lay around them.

In an emotional interview, Trooper Ross Woodward, 23, said he used his army training to try and save a man who had been shot in his back but he tragically died as he was holding his hand.

Six troopers from the Queen's Dragoon Guards were in the city on the night gunman Stephen Paddock killed 58 people in the largest mass shooting in modern US history.

Ross Woodward, 23, said he used his army training to try and save a man who had been shot in his back but he tragically died

People scramble over barriers to get to safety as the gunfire rages on at the Las Vegas event

The British troopers had been taking part in desert training in Nevada and were on leave in the city drinking and visiting casinos at the time.

They were split between the Hooters Hotel and the Tropicana Hotel, close to where the concert was taking place.

Last night the men, who are yet to go to war, described the horrifying scenes as they rushed to the scene to help the wounded and save lives.

Trooper Woodward, from Nottingham, was walking towards the Tropicana Hotel from a casino when he heard gun shots and screams.

Speaking from the US before their flight home, he said: 'At first we just believed it was fireworks and then there was chaos. Everyone was screaming the 'gun man's coming'.

He said he started finding casualties, adding: 'Someone had been shot and I was trying to find the exit wound. He was just saying it was difficult to breathe.

Trooper Woodward (pictured in his civvies), from Nottingham, was walking towards the Tropicana Hotel from a casino when he heard gun shots

'I tried to help him but he kept telling me 'I can't breathe', he was getting more and more panicked.

'He died while holding my hand.'

Trooper Woodward went on to save three people who had been injured.

In another case he used a tourniquet and a tea towel as a field dressing. Then he helped a woman in a wheelchair who had been shot in the back.

He added: 'The training kicked in, and we went straight into action.

'I wouldn't consider myself a hero  I just think any soldier would have done the same in our position.'

His younger brother Curtis Dyer, 22, said the actions reflected the character of his sibling, who is originally from Beeston, Nottinghamshire, and had been training in the US with the British Army.

Mr Dyer said: 'He is the type of the person who would do it anyway, he's always there to help people when they need his help, the Army always brought out the best in him.

His younger brother Curtis Dyer (pictured together), 22, said the actions reflected the character of his sibling

Investigators are still processing the festival site-turned-crime scene. The FBI warned in the press conference on Wednesday that it would be some time before all of the evidence that was being collected was properly examined

'He's caring, he loves his job, he's quite family-orientated.

'He just looks forward to going away with the army, he looks forward to the free time afterwards, as you can imagine the Army work their balls off to protect us.

'It just like it happened by fate.'

His composure in the face of an attack which left 59 dead and more than 500 injured filled his relative with pride.

'I'm dead proud of what he's done, that he was able to do it,' Mr Dyer said.

'At least when it came to something like that he was there to help.

'Britain's keeping America safe more than anything else over there.'

As MailOnline revealed yesterday, Trooper Stuart Finlay, 25, who was with Trooper Woodward at the time, rushed to help a woman who had been shot in the small of her back and saved her life.

Trooper Stuart Finlay, 25, rushed to help a woman who had been shot in the small of her back and saved her life

He said: 'I applied pressure with towels from an apartment and tied a shirt around her.

'I maintained the pressure for some 10-20 minutes. I like to think I saved her life. I kept telling her she would be okay, that everything would be okay.

'I kept the conversation going.'

He went on to help a woman who had been shot in both legs, then made an improvised splint for a woman who had a broken leg.

He added: 'We ran towards where it was, running through the people who were running past us screaming. It was an instant reaction.

'We were just glad we could help.'

Trooper Chris May, 24, who was also with Troopers Finlay and Woodward, identified himself to policemen and was tasked to help the FBI.

He helped a man who had been shot in the head and applied pressure to the wound with a gauze before medics arrived before helping a woman who had been shot in the ankle.

He said: 'A woman appeared with her husband. When she arrived I had a quick look over her and she had a gunshot wound to her ankle.

'The round has gone straight through and she was bleeding severely.

'She was in shock, her husband said 'Help her, help her, she's going to die'.'

He added: 'There was complete panic, everyone was running through doors, screaming, just trying to get away.

'They believed someone was chasing them. We were trying to get everyone in the hotel.

'It was a pretty terrible thing to be part of.'

Trooper Dean Priestley (left), 28, from Wales and Trooper James Astbury (right), 22, from Ruthin, North Wales in Hooters restaurant when the incident started and people burst into the restaurant

Trooper Dean Priestley, 28, from Wales, was with Troopers James Astbury and Trooper Zak Davidson in Hooters restaurant when the incident started and people burst into the restaurant.

He said: 'You are never off duty. You always have this level of professionalism about yourself, where you feel like you should help, you should be there to help people.

'You have got the background, you have got the training to help people, so why wouldn't you.'

Trooper Astbury, 22, from Ruthin, North Wales, said: 'I hope we saved lives, I like to think we did what we could.'

Squadron Commander Major Ben Parkyn said of his men: 'I'm extremely proud of what these guys did. It was a pretty extraordinary thing to be faced with and their actions were pretty extraordinary.

'These are junior lads who had not done operational tours but behaved in the exactly the right manner when confronted with the situation.'

In another remarkable story of bravery, a British fireman who was celebrating his 20th wedding anniversary with his wife saved dozens of concert-goers during the massacre.

MailOnline also told yesterday how Tony Dumbleton, from Exhall, Warwickshire, was enjoying an evening walk with his wife Lucy, 43, on their first visit to America when they heard shooting.

Tony Dumbleton, from Exhall, Warwickshire, was enjoying an evening walk with his wife Lucy (pictured together), 43, on their first visit to America

First responders and bystanders carry an injured person to an emergency station located at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Tropicana Ave - one block north of the shooting

The fireman sprinted towards the shooting and dragged some of the injured to safety. The 43-year-old then used his first aid skills to apply bandages to their bullet wounds.

Mr Dumbleton, who has worked for the Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service for 18 years, said: 'I have dealt with a lot of trauma during my time in the fire service but never gunshot wounds.

'It's different because in the fire service you can be called to an incident and that's traumatic but then finding yourself in one  it's surreal.'

Another military man who bravely helped drag the injured to safety was Taylor Winston who 'stole' a truck from the parking lot after finding the keys in the ignition and used it to transport two dozen patients to local hospitals.

Winston, who joined the Marines at 17 and served two tours in Iraq before leaving in 2011, described the massacre as a 'mini war zone' but realized 'we needed to get them out of there regardless of our safety.'

Taylor Winston 'stole' a truck from the parking lot after finding the keys in the ignition and used it to transport two dozen patients to local hospitals

The van was left covered in blood after Winston rushed seriously injured festival goers to hospital

He told CBS: 'I started looking for people to take to the hospital. There was just too many and it was overwhelming how much blood was everywhere.'

'People started scattering and screaming and that's when we knew something real was happening,' Winston said.

'The shots got louder and louder, closer to us and saw people getting hit, it was like we could be hit at any second.

'Once we got to the fence, I helped throw a bunch of people over, and got myself over. It was a mini war zone but we couldn't fight back.'
A man has narrowly escaped death after falling off a powerful waterfall on the Yellow River in north-west China.

The man was reported to have crossed over the fence and slipped off a rock while visiting the picturesque Hukou Waterfall.

He was saved by rescuers who found him lying on a rock about 50 metres (164 ft) below the waterfall.

Thousands of tourists visited Hukou Waterfall in northwestern China on October 5

A 29-year-old man crossed the safety barrier and plunged into the waterfall suddenly

Shocking footage has emerged on social media which captures the moment the 29-year-old man, surnamed Wang, plunging down the cliff from the top of the waterfall.

Thousands of visitors were standing in the area as the incident occurred.

According to Beijing Youth Daily, an onlooker commented that he saw Wang crossed the safety barrier at the viewing platform and slipped from the rock and fell into the water.

Houkou Waterfall is the second largest waterfall in China. It's located on the Yellow River in Yichuan, Shaanxi Province.

Policemen and staff members from the scenic spot rushed to the bottom of the waterfall and found Wang lying on a rock 20 centimetres (7.9 inches) away from the fast-running water.

He suffered spinal and vertebral fractures and was taken to Yichuan People's Hospital.

Policemen and rescue team rushed to the bottom of the waterfall and searched for the man (left). They found the man near on a rock at the edge of the Yellow River (right)

Hukou Waterfall, located on the Yellow River, is the second largest waterfall in China with a height over 50 metres (164 ft)

Beijing Youth Daily reported that Wang, from central China's Hubei Province, was visiting the waterfall alone during the Golden Week holiday, an eight-day long national celebration, on October 5.

However, it remained unclear of the man's motives jumping off the waterfall.

Local propaganda department of Yichuan county confirmed the incident and posted a statement on Weibo today.

'We have successfully handled a case of tourist falling into a waterfall on October 5 where the man was saved in 10 minutes under the help of policemen and staff.'

Spokeperson of the department reminded tourists to follow the rules accordingly and not to cross the safety barrier.
ISIS is still saying it carried out the Las Vegas massacre after making a new claim that gunman Stephen Paddock converted to Islam six months ago.

There is no evidence that the terror group was in any way connected to the country music festival atrocity that claimed the lives of 58 people over the weekend and the FBI has explicitly denied there was a link.

But fanatics have again tried to claim that 64-year-old Paddock was a 'soldier of the Caliphate' and referred to him by the nom de guerre Abu Abdul Barr al-Amriki, meaning 'The American'.

ISIS is still saying it carried out the Las Vegas massacre after making a new claim that gunman Stephen Paddock converted to Islam six months ago. It has released a new infographic making the claims - but failed to provide proof of a link

Fanatics have again tried to claim that 64-year-old Stephen Paddock (pictured) was a 'soldier of the Caliphate' and referred to him by the nom de guerre Abu Abdul Barr al-Amriki, meaning 'The American'

Shortly after the slaughter, ISIS's 'news agency' linked the incident to their organisation insisting the attack had been retaliation for the U.S.-led coalition's fight against ISIS in the Middle East.

But not long after the initial statement by ISIS, the FBI said that the bureau had 'determined to this point no connection to an international terrorist group.

'As this investigation continues, we will continue to work with our partner to ensure that this is factually, thoroughly and absolutely investigated, to be able to bring comfort and peace back to this community,' FBI Special Agent Aaron Rouse said in a statement.

ISIS has now released an infographic about the mass killing taking up the second page of their 16-page weekly newsletter - but without producing any evidence to back up its claims.

A translation of the document by SITE, which monitors terror activity, indicates that it was titled 'The Las Vegas Invasion.'

Claims: ISIS said in an earlier release that Paddock had 'converted to Islam a few months ago' and that he was a 'soldier of the Islamic State'

His motives remain unclear and Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo (pictured) said on Wednesday that the investigation was proceeding cautiously in case criminal charges are warranted against someone else.

It adds: 'A soldier from the soldiers of the Caliphate targeted a large gathering of 22,000 Americans at a concert in the city of Las Vegas, inflicting nearly 600 killed and wounded.

'The executor of the operation, Abu Abdul Barr al-Amriki, 64 years old, converted to Islam six months ago.'

Under a sub heading called 'Method of Execution', the document adds: 'The brother Abu Abdul Barr stationed himself for the invasion on the 32nd floor of a hotel overlooking a concert, and opened fire continuously on the crowds using 23 guns and more than 2,000 rounds, and died, may Allah accept him, after exhausting his ammunition.

The hotel where Paddock set up his sniper's nest is depicted in red in the article.

The document says that the 'results of the operation' was 'panic and confusion of security in America and a number of European countries.'

Investigators are still processing the festival site-turned-crime scene. The FBI warned in the press conference on Wednesday that it would be some time before all of the evidence that was being collected was properly examined

Paddock gunned down 58 as he opened fire on crowds of concert-goers enjoying a festival in Las Vegas on Sunday.

His motives remain unclear and Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said on Wednesday that the investigation was proceeding cautiously in case criminal charges are warranted against someone else.

'This investigation is not ended with the demise of Mr. Paddock,' the sheriff said. 'Did this person get radicalized unbeknownst to us? And we want to identify that source.'

In a further twist, Paddock's brother Eric revealed earlier this week that he had not spoken to the 64-year-old for six months.

Authorities hunting for a motive behind the carnage are today looking into the possibility that he planned additional attacks, including a car bombing.

In addition, law enforcement was investigating whether Paddock had scoped out other music festivals in Las Vegas and Chicago - and even Boston's Fenway Park.

Las Vegas police also announced Thursday that they had found a vehicle they had been searching for as part of the investigation into the massacre.
A family friend of the man who shot and killed 59 people in the deadliest mass shooting in American history has revealed details of the strained relationship between him and his girlfriend - as well as his liking of casino-sponsored prostitutes.



Australian businessman Adam Le Fevre was in a relationship with the sister of Marilou Danley  the partner of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock, who killed 58 others and himself in the massacre on Sunday.

Mr Le Fevre told A Current Affair he went to Las Vegas with Paddock, 64, two years ago with his partner Liza and her sister Marilou, and had travelled to the Philippines with him twice, first in 2013.

He said Paddock was 'condescending' towards Ms Danley, 62, making her 'nervous and jittery', while also making the most of prostitutes offered to him by casinos.

Scroll down for video

Adam Le Fevre (pictured) said Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock was gun-obsessed and a staunch defender of the right to bear arms. Mr La Fevre was in a relationship with the sister of Marilou Danley, Paddock's girlfriend

He said Paddock (pictured centre) made Ms Danley feel 'nervous and jittery' and spoke to her in a condescending manner

Mr Le Fevre went to Las Vegas with Paddock (pictured centre during a family hotel stay with partner Marilou and her sister Liza) two years ago and had travelled to the Philippines with him twice

Pictured is a drone view of Paddock's house in 2015. The home was raided by police after the massacre that left 59 dead and close to 500 injured

Referring to offers of free prostitutes offered to Paddock by casinos in Las Vegas, Mr Le Fevre said: 'I did have no questions that some of those offers had been accepted, yes'.

He said the relationship between the shooter and his partner was 'not loving' or 'caring'.

'I experienced Steve talking to Marilou in an abrupt manner at times. Marilou... seemed very nervous and jittery around Steve, he would talk in a condescending way at times.'

Mr Le Fervre said he was confident Ms Danley had no knowledge of the planned attack, in which when Paddock opened fire on a music festival from his suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay casino before shooting himself dead.

Mr Le Fevre said Paddock had a room full of guns in his home at Mesquite, Nevada (pictured)

Paddock shot dead 58 people and injured more than 500 on Sunday when he opened fire on a music festival

'I think I know Marilou and the family well enough... and all of them a very loving family, and I believe if Marilou had the slightest inkling that something wasn't right, that she would've attempted to intervene and shared that with her family.'

Mr Le Fevre also revealed a photo of the pair taken via a drone, showing the pair in the backyard of Paddock's Nevada property.

'It is a very chilling thought to know that the person that is at the centre of the world's largest story at the moment was somebody that I knew, somebody that I was welcomed into their home, into their family, into their life.'

Mr Le Fevre said Paddock had a room full of guns in his home at Mesquite and was a stringent defender of the second amendment to the United States constitution.

'He was very strict and very firm on the fact that it's a right. It's the freedom of every American to participate, to own a gun and use it when need be.'

He said Paddock claimed he earned up to $300,000 a year gambling at Las Vegas casinos, working with a base of roughly one to two million dollars.

Paddock killed 59 people and injured hundreds more in a shooting from a Mandalay Bay hotel room. He broke the windows of his 32nd floor room and opened fire on a music festival crowd

The pair stayed in an 'out-of-this-world penthouse suites like you wouldn't believe' because Paddock was a 'high roller', Le Fevre said.

The girlfriend of Las Vegas mass murderer Stephen Paddock told the FBI he had developed 'mental health symptoms' and would scream at night, it has emerged.

Marilou Danley, 62, said Paddock, 64, 'would lie in bed, just moaning and screaming, "Oh my God,"' according to an ex-FBI official briefed on the situation.

Investigators - who interviewed Danley after she arrived back in the US from the Philippines on Tuesday night - believe that he may have been in 'mental or physical anguish,' that official and another ex-FBI source told NBC News.

The hotel room (pictured) was full of guns and ammunition when entered by authorities

However, they said that detectives are still no closer to determining Paddock's motive for the deranged shooting spree that saw him killing 59 people, including himself, and injuring 489 others.

Ms Danley voluntarily returned to the US in a bid to 'clear her name' of any involvement in the massacre that saw Paddock kill 59 people, including himself, and injure 489 others.

On Wednesday, Ms Danley's lawyer said she believed that Paddock had bought her a plane ticket to the Philippines and then wired $100,000 US dollars because he wanted to break up with her.

He suggested that she visit her family, something she was happy to do, she claimed.

When he wired the large sum of money, she worried that he wanted to end their years-long relationship.

He told 9News went to Las Vegas with Paddock (pictured) two years ago and had travelled to the Philippines with him twice

Danley is an Australian citizen who had renounced her Filipino citizenship, according to a local report by ABS-CBN.

It is not known precisely when she immigrated to Australia.

On her return to the United States she was met by the FBI after she touched down at LAX, and has been described by authorities as a 'person of interest'.

An attorney for Ms Danley insisted she knew nothing about the massacre and had no prior warning.
A Nebraska state senator claims Gage County violated the Nebraska Constitution by contracting to house inmates across the state line in Kansas.

Omaha Sen. Ernie Chambers has asked Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson to weigh in on the contract approved by the Gage County Board of Supervisors in late September.

The one-year contract reserves 10 beds in the Washington County, Kan. jail for Gage County inmates. A similar agreement was approved with Dawson County in central Nebraska to reserve five additional beds.

Both contracts were at a rate of $45 per bed, per day, whether or not they are being used.

This amounts to $675 per day, or $246,000 per year to house inmates in the other counties.

In a letter sent Wednesday, Chambers alleged that its a violation of the Nebraska Constitution to transport an inmate to another state for any offense committed in Nebraska.

Obviously, any person in the Gage County jail committed an offense within the state, he wrote. Such a person shall not be transported out of the state for such an offense. No contract can nullify the Nebraska Constitution.

Chambers went on to say its a bit much to use Nebraskans tax dollars to pay another state when no product is received and called on Peterson defend the Nebraska Constitution.

As Nebraskas top lawyer, do you have any interest in seeing that the Constitution of Nebraska is not so flagrantly violated? Chambers wrote. "Or are you of the legal opinion that a person lawfully may be transported out of the state for an offense committed within the state?

Gage County Board Chairman Myron Dorn declined to comment on the alleged violation, but did say Gage County isnt the first in Nebraska to house inmates across state lines. He cited Red Willow as one example.

A worker at the Red Willow County Sheriffs Department said their inmates havent been housed in Kansas for three to five years.

Gage County inmates have been held sporadically in Washington County for more than a year, though no beds were reserved.

The $45 cost per inmate at Washington County is $10 more than the standard rate Gage County previously paid. Officials justified the additional $10 per day because this would reserve the beds for Gage County, as opposed to saving the $10 and hoping the jail has room for Gage County inmates.

Not having a contract in place led to Gage County inmates being held in as many as seven different counties in Nebraska and Kansas, wherever open cells were available.

Talks of contracting with jails intensified this summer as the number of inmates reached double the Gage County jails capacity of around 27.

The board approved the contracts 5-1, with Gary Lytle voting in opposition and Matt Bauman absent.

Roger Harris, who serves as the Gage County Attorney, did not return calls regarding Chambers' allegations Friday.
The Home Secretary, pictured at conference this week, spoke out today as infighting reached fever pitch in the wake of Mrs May's dire showing in Manchester

Amber Rudd appealed for an end to the Tory civil war today - warning Britain was at a 'turning point' and Theresa May was the right person to be in charge.

The Home Secretary spoke out as infighting reached fever pitch in the wake of Mrs May's dire conference in Manchester, which culminated in her speech being wrecked by a prankster, sore throat and collapsing set.

Former chairman Grant Shapps has been unmasked as the ringleader of a concerted plot to oust Mrs May.

He said this morning that 'one or two' members of the PM's own team privately wanted her to go - as he revealed around 30 Tory MPs have signed up to his call for a change at the top.

But the ex-minister admitted the mutiny was still well short of the 48 names needed to force a leadership contest, and he faced ridicule from loyalists who accused him of being 'embittered' and speaking for 'no-one'.

One backbencher raged that he would not 'buy a used car' from Mr Shapps.

Ms Rudd, who is thought to harbour leadership ambitions of her own, called on the party to look at the policies set out at the Tory conference instead of the 'presentation fails'.

In an article for The Daily Telegraph, she said: 'We, Theresa May's Government, want to ... set out a better path, one that actually leads to a prosperous, secure and united country.

'We can do that, and we will under her leadership. She should stay.

'Do not doubt that the Prime Minister's absolute commitment to tackling the injustices is a real one. And as the Prime Minister also said this week, we are at a turning point for the nation.

'Trust that it is us who will take Britain in the right direction.'

HOW TORY LEADER CONTESTS WORK Unless the Tory leader resigns voluntarily, party rules set out a tight process for forcing a contest. Letters expressing no confidence in the PM must be sent by 48 MPs - 15 per cent of the total - to the chairman of the 1922 committee. MPs then vote in a series of rounds, with the candidate receiving the least support being eliminated until only two remain. Those two then go head to head for votes from ordinary party members. Advertisement

After rumours of a plot swirled yesterday, Tory whips took the decision to expose Mr Shapps' as the ringleader. Supporters of Mrs May hope the move will rob the coup attempt of momentum.

Mr Shapps took to the airwaves today after he was unmasked, insisting: 'The writing is on the wall for May. We can't just carry on. I think having lost an election the party must look for a new leader to take us forward.'

He insisted: 'One or two Cabinet members privately agree'.

The rebel said he had been 'quietly' compiling a list and wanted to take it to No 10 with five former cabinet colleagues to urge her to resign without 'embarrassment'.

He also admitted he had 'preferences' for a new Tory leader but would not name names.

But senior MPs derided Mr Shapps, with the vice chair of the powerful 1922 committee, Charles Walker, saying: 'No10 must be delighted to learn that it's Grant Shapps leading this alleged coup.'

Nadine Dorries said the mutiny was being orchestrated by Remainers who wanted to derail Brexit and stop Boris Johnson winning the leadership.

'The plot is by remain MPs to topple the PM, destroy Boris and put a remain leader in place to delay and possibly destroy #Brexit,' she wrote on Twitter.

Grant Shapps, pictured giving interviews today, is trying to drum up 48 colleagues who will allow him to trigger a new leadership contest after the Prime Minister's speech disaster

Plotting against the Prime Minister has reached fever pitch after a sore throat saw her cough and splutter through an agonising 65 minutes on the stage in Manchester - some critics are circling to have her removed

Comedian Simon Brodkin managed to get through security at the Manchester venue and hand Mrs May the P45 in one of several disastrous parts of the speech

Business minister Margot James dismissed Mr Shapps, pointing to his connection to the Tory 'Road Trip' controversy from the 2015 election. Another Tory MP, Michael Fabricant said he would not 'buy a used car' from Mr Shapps

Another Tory MP, Michael Fabricant was even more damning - referring to Mr Shapps' notoriously operating under the pseudonym 'Michael Green' during his pre-politics business career.

'I wouldn't buy a used car from one embittered colleague - let alone take advice from him about who should be PM. Theresa May should remain,' Mr Fabricant jibed.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove called the plot 'boring' and told the Today programme: 'I don't know of a single Cabinet minister who wants her to go.

'Theresa May should stay for as long as she wants. The party wants her in place for the next election.'

The PM, pictured in her Maidenhead constituency today, dismissed calls to quit and said she was 'providing calm leadership' after plotter went public

Cabinet ministers including (left to right) Philip Hammond, Amber Rudd and Boris Johnson looked on anxiously as the drama unfolded. Ms Rudd at one point urged Mr Johnson to stand up and applaud
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons has today won the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Geneva-based group was honoured for helping bring about a UN treaty in July banning nuclear weapons.

Nobel Committee President Berit Reiss-Andersen, said: 'Through its inspiring and innovative support for the UN negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons, Ican has played a major part in bringing about what in our day and age is equivalent to an international peace congress'.

Nuclear disarmament group ICAN coordinator Daniel Hogstan, executive director Beatrice Fihn (centre) and her husband Will Fihn Ramsay after ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prize for its decade-long campaign to rid the world of the atomic bomb

Committee President Berit Reiss-Andersen (pictured) said: 'We live in a world where the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time.'

Referring to the North Korea nuclear crisis, she added: 'We live in a world where the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time.'

Ican chief Beatrice Fihn said she was 'delighted' with the award but added: 'We're not done yet. The job isn't done until nuclear weapons are gone.'

In July, 122 nations adopted a UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons but the nuclear-armed countries - United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea - stayed out of the talks.

Reiss-Andersen said: 'This year's Peace Prize is also a call upon these states to initiate serious negotiations with a view to the gradual, balanced and carefully monitored elimination of the almost 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world'.

North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile during a test in July

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (seen in a file photo released by the Pyongyang government last month) is a rational politician and the US needs to understand that to deal with the nuclear-armed country, a top Central Intelligence Agency Korea expert said Wednesday

The Nobel prize seeks to bolster the case of disarmament amid nuclear tensions between the United States and North Korea and uncertainty over the fate of a 2015 deal between Iran and major powers to limit Tehran's nuclear programme.

US President Donald Trump has called the Iran agreement the 'worst deal ever negotiated' and a senior administration official said on Thursday that Trump is expected to announce soon that he will decertify the landmark pact.

The award will be presented, along with the $1million prize fee, on 10 December in Oslo.

Recent winners include Barack Obama in 2009 and the European Union in 2012.
An alleged failed attempt to steal a newborn baby from a Sydney hospital turned into a hit-and-run on Friday afternoon.

The infant was allegedly taken from Blacktown Hospital against the advice of the Department of Family and Community Services by a 47-year-old woman, believed to be her grandmother.

After leaving the hospital with the baby, the woman allegedly hit a pedestrian on Main Street, but did not stop the car.

This police officer saved a newborn baby girl who was stolen from a Western Sydney hospital

The woman then allegedly hit a 40-year-old man, who was taken to hospital with head injuries

The baby girl was in the car during a hit-and-run on Main Street, Blacktown on Friday afternoon

The infant was 'taken' from Blacktown Hospital by 'grandmother' against the wishes of DOCS

'The was a car speeding, and there was a lady inside,' a witness told 7News. 'In the back, there was a baby...The car hit a man and pulled him over.'

Police used CCTV to locate the child, who was in the car at the time of the incident.

She was unharmed, but taken to Patrick St Medical Centre as a precaution, before being returned to Blacktown Hospital.

The infant was taken to Patrick St Medical Centre to be examined after Friday's hit-and-run

The man allegeedly hiy by the baby's 'grandmother' was taken to nearby Westmead Hospital

The litttle girl was unharmed in the crash, and was eventually returned to Blacktown Hospital

A witness describes seeing the woman hit a man with her car, and then continuing to drive

The 47-year-old woman hit a pedestrian on Main St, drove away and then returned to the scene

The child's mother and grandmother are being questioned by police after Friday's hit-and-run

The woman reportedly returned to the scene just minutes later and was arrested just after 3pm on Friday.

The infant's mother and grandmother are reported to be in custody and are being questioned.

The 40-year-old man suffered head injuries in the collision and was taken to nearby Westmead Hospital, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Police are continuing to look into the incident and will provide updates as the investigation continues.

The infant girl was checked after the alleged hit-and-run at a nearby clinic and was unharmed

The child has been safely returned to the hospital, but her father is reportedly still on the run
A Cambridge college has apologised after it used an image of a Nazi death camp on a pamphlet for new students.

The gates of concentration camp Auschwitz bearing the German slogan 'arbeit macht frei' - work brings freedom - was used by Emmanuel College's chapel for a welcome service last night.

A second-year student at Emmanuel, who asked not to be identified, said 'The students who have seen that are understandably upset.

'I have no idea at all what possible aim of this is or whether it's some kind of joke about entering university life.'

A Cambridge college has apologised after it used an image of a Nazi death camp on the front of a pamphlet for new students last night

College Dean Rev Jeremy Caddick defended the pamphlet which were produced for a service held on Thursday.

College Dean Rev Jeremy Caddick defended the pamphlet which were produced for a service held on Thursday saying it was linked to his sermon on coping with acts of gross evil

He condemned suggestions the cover was a 'sick joke' about how hard students will have to work at the prestigious university.

He said the image tied in with a sermon which was a 'reflection' of the college choir's visit to the former camp that existed in German-occupied Poland last year and added: 'The point of putting the picture there is that it is an iconic image of evil.

'It is a sermon about our response to gross evil.'

However the college later apologised for the use of the image.

An Emmanuel College spokesman said: 'We understand that without context this image may have upset people and we apologise for its use in a way that has caused distress'.

Emmanuel College has apologised for the picture, admitting without any context it could have caused distress

The service drew comparisons between the sacrifice by Polish priest Maximilian Kolbe, who asked to take the place of another prisoner at Auschwitz who was due to be killed, and Jesus Christ.
The sister of a 28-year-old Las Vegas shooting victim has described her final moments as she lay 'dying in my arms'.

Athena Castilla cradled her sister Andrea after she was shot in the head, and desperately tried to find the wound so she could staunch the flow of blood.

She carried Andrea from the Las Vegas concert venue on a makeshift stretcher while whispering to her, 'You're our angel, you're going to be fine'.

Athena Castilla(left) cradled her sister Andrea(right) after she was shot in the head, and desperately tried to find the wound so she could staunch the flow of blood

'She was struggling to breathe and I just held her head,' Athena told ABC. 'We were trying to find the wound I've never seen so much blood in my entire life.'

Andrea was taken to hospital in a pickup truck but, as her sister would find out later, she was already dead.

'We couldn't give up on her,' she said. 'She deserved a chance to get helpshe was literally dying in my arms.'

Andrea was celebrating her 28th birthday at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas and her boyfriend, Derek Miller, planned to propose right afterwards.

Andrea, who lived in Huntington Beach, California, was protecting her younger sister when she was struck by a bullet and collapsed on the ground

The couple, who lived together in California, were at Route 91 to celebrate her 28th birthday with her younger sister and her fiance

Derek revealed his plans after he found out Andrea had died.

'He told me after she had passed,' Athena told People. 'They were planning on staying on until Thursday in our guest room.

He told me, 'I was planning on asking her this weekend with you guys... We talked about spending the rest of our lives together.'

Their brother Adam added: 'They had promise rings, and they always talked about it. Derek had asked my dad's permission. He wanted to start a family with her.'

Andrea, whose mother died of cancer when she was a teenager, worked at Sephora as a makeup artist.

Derek Miller, the boyfriend of Andrea Castilla, a 28-year-old woman shot dead in the Las Vegas massacre, had been planning to propose to her right after the Route 91 festival

Andrea, whose mother died of cancer when she was a teenager, worked at Sephora as a makeup artist

Her siblings say she was inspired by her mother's battle to make cancer patients feel beautiful.

'With an infectious smile Andrea was a free spirit that always had a positive outlook on life.

'She will be missed but never forgotten,' a GoFundMe page set up in her honor said.

Sunday's massacre saw gunman Stephen Paddock open fire on a crowd of 22,000 from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel casino.

He killed 58 and injured nearly 500 before taking his own life.
The legacy of Indigenous rights activist Evelyn Scott has been remembered by high-profile indigenous figures and government officials at a state funeral in Townsville.

The lifelong social justice campaigner died peacefully in her sleep in late September.

Mourners gathered at the Townsville Stadium on Friday, where Western Australian Senator Pat Dodson delivered a eulogy acknowledging Dr Scott's leading role in the referendum to recognise Indigenous Australians in 1967.

Aboriginal rights campaigner Dr Evelyn Scott (pictured) farewelled at moving state funeral

The legacy of Indigenous rights activist Dr Evelyn Scott was remembered by high-profile indigenous figures and government officials

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (left) and Sam Backo (son of Evelyn - right) deliver tributes at the state funeral of Dr Evelyn Scott

'I want to thank her family for giving this nation the opportunity to benefit from her grace, her experience and her wisdom,' Senator Dodson said.

'She has left our nation a richer, a fairer, a more equal place because of her commitment and her dedication.'

Born in 1935, Dr Scott's career started in north Queensland where she lobbied for legal, housing and medical services and indigenous women's rights.

Gracelyn Smallwood, an Adjunct Professor at James Cook University, recalled the lasting impression of remarks Dr Scott delivered at a Federal Council for the Advancement of Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders meeting in the 1950s.

Senator Pat Dodson (pictured) delivers an eulogy at the state funeral of Dr Evelyn Scott

Professor Gracelyn Smallwood (pictured) AM delivers the Welcome to Country at the state funeral

Family and friends pictured at the state funeral held for Dr Evelyn Scott

Senata Prior farewells her cousin Dr Evelyn Scott at the state funeral at Townsville Stadium

'She was very vocal and she was such a tall, striking Indigenous woman, that I've never forgotten,' Professor Smallwood told AAP.

'I was very impressed, hearing about human rights violations and advocacy for social justice.

'It's helped drive me to where I am today, 55 years down the track as a human rights activist, but (also) an advocate for all Australians, to understand truth and reconciliation in this country.'

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk lamented former governments' opposition to delivering equality.

Renata Prior (cousin of Evelyn) and Sam Backo (son of Evelyn) farewell Dr Scott

The lifelong social justice crusader (pictured) died peacefully in her sleep late September

'She has left our nation a richer, fairer and more equal place' Senator Dodson had said of Dr Scott

'Too often, the government of the day was focused on the management of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, with no objective or ambition to achieve equality of opportunity for all, least of all the First Australians,' the premier said.

'As Evelyn said, 'In true reconciliation, through the remembering, the grieving and the healing, we can come to terms with our conscience and become as one in the dreaming of this land'.

'Dr Scott, thanks to you, today we reach out our hands and we dare to share your dream.'
US-backed Iraqi forces announced Thursday they have retaken one of Islamic State's remaining strongholds after hundreds of militants surrendered amid fresh signs the terror group is collapsing and unable to defend its territory.

'They're giving up,' said Lieutenant General Paul Funk, who commands the coalition task force fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. 'Their leaders are abandoning them.'

In uncommon scenes, large groups of militants were turning themselves over to Kurdish Peshmerga forces, in the city southwest of Kirkuk.

The fall of Hawija in northern Iraq, after two weeks of fighting, is the latest in a string of defeats for Islamic State, also known as ISIS, and suggests the rank-and-file fighters are demoralised

Kurdish Peshmerga forces detain Islamic State militants southwest of Kirkuk on October 5 2017

Fighters from the Hashed al-Shaabi, also known as Popular Mobilisation Units, backing the Iraqi forces, in Hawija on October 5 2017

Fighters from the Hashed al-Shaabi pose in front of a defaced mural that depicts the emblem of Islamic State

The fall of Hawija in northern Iraq, after two weeks of fighting, is the latest in a string of defeats for Islamic State, also known as ISIS, and suggests the rank-and-file fighters are demoralised as the group struggles to defend what remains of the territory it seized in 2014.

'The speed at which the enemy gave up surprised me,' Funk said in a phone interview from Baghdad, after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the liberation of Hawija.

Funk said about 1,000 militants surrendered in the past three or four days of fighting in Hawija. The coalition had estimated up to 1,500 militants were defending the city when the offensive began.

Lieutenant General Paul Funk, who commands the coalition task force fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, has said he was surprised by the speed at which the enemy gave up

About 1,000 militants surrendered in the past three or four days of fighting in Hawija, according to the US military

Islamic State built its fierce reputation partly on the willingness of hardcore militants to fight to the last man

In July, Iraq announced that Mosul, the country's second-largest city, was retaken from ISIS after about nine months of intense fighting. Since that decisive battle, the pace of Islamic State's decline seems to have quickened.

US-backed forces in Syria have recaptured about three-quarters of Raqqa, the ISIS headquarters, after about four months of fighting in the city.

ISIS' fierce reputation rested partly on the willingness of hardcore militants to fight to the last man, and the militants rarely surrendered.

But many of the fanatical foreign fighters who initially provided the leadership have been killed and those remaining on the battlefield are conscripts, who often lack the will to fight.

Lieutenant General Paul Funk, who commands the coalition task force fighting Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, says ISIS fighters have been abandoned by their leaders

Last week ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi released an audio exhorting his fighters to continue the battle

Lieutenant General Paul Funk has said Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's efforts to persuade his men to continue fighting aren't working

The day after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi released the audio exhorting his fighters to continue the battle several hundred fighters surrendered

Lieutenant General Paul Funk says Islamic State fighters that have surrendered have complained that they haven't been fed or paid

'They're coming out with their hands up, putting their weapons down  full scale surrender,' Funk said. 'It's a growing trend.'

'What we are hearing (from those who surrendered) is, 'Our leaders have abandoned us, we haven't been fed, we haven't been paid,' Funk said.

Last week ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi released an audio exhorting his fighters to continue the battle. 'I don't think he's having much of an effect,' Funk said. The day after the audio was released, several hundred fighters surrendered.

Fighters who surrendered or are captured are held by Iraqi or Kurdish forces.

ISIS swept into Iraq from Syria in 2014, capturing large swaths of territory. From a mosque in Mosul, al-Baghdadi announced the establishment of the group's so-called caliphate.

Today, as few as 3,000 militants might remain in Iraq in Syria, down from estimates up to 30,000, though officials caution that the numbers aren't a good measure of the group's strength.

Fighters who surrendered or are captured are held by Iraqi or Kurdish forces

Today, as few as 3,000 militants might remain in Iraq in Syria, down from estimates up to 30,000, though officials caution that the numbers aren't a good measure of the group's strength

ISIS militants still control a string of towns and villages stretching along the Euphrates River in Iraq and Syria, where they are expected to make a last stand

Though Islamic State's numbers have been depleted officials have warned that it may still prove to be resilient, regenerating leaders and conscripting or recruiting new waves of fighters

Terror groups like Islamic State have proven resilient, regenerating leaders and conscripting or recruiting new waves of fighters.

Coalition officials said the fight is not over, despite the progress. ISIS militants still control a string of towns and villages stretching along the Euphrates River in Iraq and Syria, where they are expected to make a last stand.

'It won't be easy and won't be quick,' Funk said.

The victory in Hawija came as Baghdad and Iraq's Kurdish region remain in a political deadlock following a controversial Kurdish independence referendum. But on the battlefield Iraqi and Kurdish forces continue to collaborate, squeezing the jihadis who once controlled nearly a third of the country.

Iraqi forces, backed by fighters from the Hashed al-Shaabi, retook Hawija, one of the Islamic State group's last two enclaves in the country, on October 5

Iraqi forces overran the longtime insurgent bastion of Hawija after a two-week offensive

Abadi made the declaration on Thursday at a news conference in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, who has offered to help mediate between Iraq's government and the autonomous Kurdish region, which voted for independence last week.

'I want to announce the liberation of the city of Hawija today,' Abadi said, calling it a 'victory not just for Iraq but for the whole world.'

Still, Abadi's government is struggling to contain the fallout from the independence vote, which, while not binding or expected to lead to the formation of a Kurdish state anytime soon, was rejected as illegal by the Baghdad government as well as neighboring Turkey and Iran.

Iraq's central government has imposed a flight ban on the Kurdish region, while Turkey and Iran have sent troops to the land-locked region's borders to signal their opposition to any redrawing of the map.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday appeared to threaten a blockade of the Kurdish region, saying: 'All airspace will be closed, flights have already been banned. ... Soon the borders will be closed too.'
A German backpacker has died in hospital after he was stabbed in the stomach and back during a 'road rage attack' in the middle of Brisbane.

A man and woman believed to have been involved are still on the run following the incident at 4am on Friday morning.

The backpacker was at the intersection of Milton Road in Petrie Terrace with a friend before a fight broke out with the driver of a car.

Officers found a male pedestrian in Brisbane early on Friday morning (pictured is the intersection)

Details of what sparked the incident are not yet clear however Detective Superintendent Tony Fleming said 'anger was involved' and told the Courier Mail there was 'a lot of yelling'.

Officers found the 30-year-old German backpacker with stab wounds to his abdomen and back.

The man was rushed to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital where despite the best efforts of medical staff, he died from his wounds.

Efforts are now being made by police to contact his next of kin.

'Today is a tragedy,' he said. 'There is a family on the other side of the world who will be getting news that someone that they loved left home and is not coming home in the way they expected them to.'

Queensland Police Inspector Daniel Bragg said officers are looking for a small vehicle, possibly a green Holden Barina.

Footage from the crime scene appears to show an oxygen mask used to perform CPR (pictured is the scene of the crime)

There was also female passenger in the car during the attack who police would also like to speak to.

'We'd like to talk to the driver and any witnesses who might be able to give us information,' Inspector Bragg told reporters.

Mr Fleming said that CCTV footage will now be a main piece of evidence in the investigation.

Queensland Ambulance medical director Dr Stephen Rashford said up to ten staff members had tried to resuscitate the man in the early hours of the morning and been successful before he was moved to hospital.

Footage from the crime scene appears to show an oxygen mask used to perform CPR.

The man was rushed to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital where he remains in a very serious condition (pictured are officers at the scene of the crime)

Roads were closed off for more than three hours during peak hour causing traffic problems in the area.

A Queensland Police spokeswoman said investigations were continuing.

They have established an investigation centre at the city station and want to hear from anyone who might have seen a car leaving the area at 4am.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop took four taxpayer-funded trips to her hometown during her sister's birthday, but insists she was on official business.

Ms Bishop travelled to Adelaide coinciding with MaryLou Bishop's February 12 birthday four times - in 2010, 2011, 2012, and visited on the 11th this year.

The four flights cost the taxpayer about $7000, on top of a lavish $73,000 trip to North Queensland with foreign diplomats, also using public funds.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop took four taxpayer-funded trips to her hometown during her sister's birthday, but insists she was on official business

Ms Bishop travelled to Adelaide (pictured, stock image) coinciding with MaryLou Bishop's February 12 birthday four times - in 2010, 2011, 2012, and visited on the 11th this year

The Liberal deputy leader has come under fire in the past for flying home to spend her own birthday with family, and for trips to sporting events.

Ms Bishop claimed a travel allowance for her February trips to Adelaide, and for trips to celebrate her 58th and 60th birthdays, The Herald Sun reported.

The birthday flights cost taxpayers $2400 and $1600 respectively, while the trips coinciding with her sister's birthdays cost about $7000.

On this year's visit Ms Bishop is believed to have appeared at an event run by the Australian Chinese Medical Association for Chinese New Year as a guest speaker.

The four flights cost the taxpayer about $7000, on top of a lavish $73,000 trip to North Queensland with foreign diplomats, also using public funds (pictured is Julie Bishop)

The Liberal deputy leader has come under fire in the past for flying home to spend her own birthday with family, and for trips to sporting events (pictured is MaryLou Bishop)

The three-day Great Barrier Reef visit included a $26,890 charter boat for 112 guests, a photographer and meals at a top restaurant.

Photos of Ms Bishop snorkelling were intended to show efforts being made by Australia to protect the reef, she said afterwards.

A spokeswoman for Ms Bishop said her Adelaide trip were 'within official guidelines' and meetings and events were scheduled for each trip.

'The Foreign Minister does not schedule her official travel around birthdays,' the spokeswoman said.
A mother-of-two whose distraught family claim her cancer was misdiagnosed as depression, despite complaining on numerous occasions of stomach and chest pains, has passed away.

Tina Locke's cancer was spotted two years after she first visited doctors, but was dismissed as nothing more than depression, anxiety and fibromyalia, her family said.

By the time her cancer was diagnosed, it had already spread to her abdomen and surrounding lymph nodes.

The 43-year-old, from Penygraig, Rhondda, was eventually diagnosed with signet ring cell adenocarcinoma, a malignant cancer which is highly malignant form of cancer where chemotherapy is not an effective treatment.

Jason Locke (right) said that his wife Tina (left) from Penygraig, Rhondda, had been 'let down' by the NHS after her cancer was not diagnosed for two years, despite frequent complaints

Despite an immense effort to raise 300,000, which would have been enough to see her undergo treatment in Germany for a potentially life-saving immunotherapy, her condition deteriorated and she passed away on September 27.

Ms Locke was described by her husband Jason as a 'fine, beautiful Welsh woman who will never be forgotten'.

The family, which raised nearly 20,000 on their JustGiving page for Ms Locke, plan to spend some of the money on a bench in her honour at Rest Bay in Porthcawl - a place she had spent a lot of time during her last eight weeks.

'I have been grieving all year' Jason Locke, who fathered two children with his wife Tina, said his heart had been 'shattered into a thousands pieces' by her death. He told WalesOnline: 'I don't know how we'll ever get over it. We're just going to have to live with it,' he said. 'I have been grieving all year. In a way it's a relief that she's not suffering anymore but on the other hand we're so sad that she's not here. 'Tina was just loved by everyone. She was the most genuine, honest, caring person you could meet. She always put everyone before herself and she lived for her family.' Mr Locke said he called his wife the 'lady in red' as she resembled actress Kelly LeBrock. Advertisement

There has been an overwhelming show of support for Ms Locke and her family following her passing, including from Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood, who lives in the same town.

On a Facebook page dedicated to raising money to help Ms Locke, a post informing people of her death read: 'Hi all, as most of you already know, now it's been confirmed by the family, sadly the lovely lady Tina has now gained her angel wings and sadly passed away.

'We still would like to thank everyone for all your love and support! Tina sure put up a huge fight and she will be truly missed and still loved by everyone! At this time please can we all respect the family & children of tina and leave them grieve in peace!

'All our condolences go out to all the family, children, mother, husband, sisters & brother! You are now out of pain, rest in piece.'

One comment from Jodie Dalton read: 'You brave beautiful lady. RIP. Thoughts to all your family. You're pain-free now. Fly high, beautiful.'

Cerys Barton said: 'Devastated for all the family. Tina was a beautiful lady inside and out. Hard to believe this has happened.'

Carrie Langford added: 'So, so sad. Tina was such a lovely lady who will be truly missed. Such a cruel world, RIP Tina. Such a strong woman.'

Shereen Fowler Mark Davies said: 'My heart goes out to you all, sending big hugs your way x'

Mr Locke said he wanted to thank the people of the Rhondda and around the country donating money to the cause.

He said: 'If you're reading this, please give a round of applause to Tina and shout "hip, hip hooray" to celebrate the short life she had.'

An investigation into Tina's care was launched by Cwm Taf University Health Board in July.

The former hairdresser, who also acted as a carer to son Dylan, 15, was eventually diagnosed with signet ring cell adenocarcinoma, a form of cancer highly resistant to chemotherapy

Ms Locke passed away on September 27 after a battle with cancer. Her family said the fundraising money would go towards building a bench in her honour

After Ms Locke was diagnosed with cancer, Mr Locke said that the NHS had 'failed' his wife.

Earlier this year, Mr Locke said: 'Nobody took her seriously because she looked so well. She begged the doctors to give her tests.

'It's really shocking that this was allowed to happen. I will camp and protest on the steps of the Assembly until the money is given to send her to Germany. The NHS owes it to her.'

Lynda Williams, Director of Nursing, Midwifery and Patient Services for Cwm Taf University Health Board said: 'We are deeply saddened on the passing of Tina and our thoughts are with the family at this very sad time.

'We have met previously with Tinas family and will continue to liaise with them regarding any concerns or questions they may have.'
The Spanish government has urged Catalonia to hold a regional election to settle the political crisis sparked by separatist leaders' drive for independence.

The government hopes that an official election with a high turnout will show that Catalans are against the issue of independence.

'It would be good to start mending this fracture through regional elections,' spokesman Ignacio Mendez de Vigo told a news conference today.

Shortly after the government's election call, Spain's third-biggest bank, CaixaBank, announced it is moving out of the region.

Support for independence in Catalonia has consistently hovered around the 40 or 45 per cent mark - although latest polls don't account for Spanish police violence during the illegal referendum last weekend.

The 90 per cent yes vote on Sunday was skewed as the 42 per cent who turned out were more likely to support independence.

Spain's government today passed a new law to make it easier for companies to leave Catalonia. Caixabank's board is discussing relocation today

Dr Caroline Gray, Lecturer in Spanish Politics at Aston University in Birmingham, told MailOnline: 'The Spanish government may see this as the only way out of the impasse at it hopes that the ruling pro-independence parties could lose their majority in the Catalan parliament.'

As it stands, elections are next due in November 2019.

It comes after a Spanish official today apologised for police violence which injured 800 Catalans on Sunday.

Spain's anti-riot squads fired rubber bullets, smashed into polling stations and beat protesters with batons to disperse voters on the day.

Interior Ministry delegate in Catalonia, Enric Millo said on state TV: 'I can only say sorry.'

Thousands of citizens gather in Plaza Universitat during a regional general strike to protest against the violence that marred Sunday's referendum vote

General strike in Catalonia in protest of violence during the referendum last October 1, in Barcelona

He added: 'When I see images of violence, and more so when I know people have been hit, pushed and even one person who was hospitalised, I can't help but regret it and apologise on behalf of the officers that intervened.'

But he also blamed the Catalan government by encouraging people to vote despite a Constitutional Court order suspending the referendum.

This morning Spain's government passed a new law to make it easier for companies unsettled by instability to leave Catalonia.

At least six companies, including the fifth-largest lender, Banco Sabadell, have already relocated or agreed to do so.

The new decree will allow the relocation of Caixabank, Spain's third largest bank by assets, before next week, when separatist authorities in Catalonia want to declare independence.

People hold Spanish flags and shout slogans as they gather to stage a demonstration to protest Catalonia's illegitimate independence referendum, in Barcelona

Companies' moves to relocate have no immediate effect on jobs or company assets, but are seen as a blow to the Catalan government.

Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said: 'This is the result of an irresponsible policy that is causing uneasiness in the business community.'

The law was passed after Catalonia's police chief appeared at court in Madrid accused of preventing Spanish police from stopping the Catalan referendum.

Josep Trapero was accused of sedition for allegedly encouraging protesters to hinder Spanish police searching for illegal ballot boxes in Barcelona.

An investigating judge summoned him along with two leaders of protest groups.

Catalonia's police chief (centre holding a folder) appeared at court in Madrid this morning accused of not trying hard enough to stop the Catalan referendum

Trapero made a statement lasting 40 minutes in court. His explanation was deemed 'unconvincing' but he was allowed to walk free without charge. The judge will summon him and the other accused again.

Trapero's force was accused of failing to rein in pro-independence protesters in Barcelona on September 20 and 21 after national security forces raided regional government offices in a crackdown against the independence drive.

He arrived at Madrid's National Court this morning flanked by two fellow officers. He made no comment to waiting reporters.

The two other suspects are leaders of Catalonia's two most prominent pro-independence civil groups, Jordi Cuixart of Omnium Cultural and Jordi Sanchez of the Catalan National Assembly (ANC).

They were greeted outside the court by a cheering crowd of politicians from allied parties.

Catalan regional police chief Josep Luis Trapero, second left, arrives at the national court in Madrid

A small group of about eight anti-independence protesters also demonstrated outside the court yelling 'Catalonia is Spain,' before police made them leave.

A fourth defendant, senior Catalan police official Teresa Laplana, was due to appear before the judge by video link for health reasons, court officials said.

Tensions between Catalonia and the national government have plunged Spain into its worst political crisis in decades.

Announcing the summons on Wednesday, the court said the suspects were accused of 'a crime of sedition in relation to the gatherings and demonstrations carried out to forcibly prevent the authorities and their officers from performing their duties.'

The crime of sedition is punishable by up to 15 years in prison under Spain's penal code if committed by a member of the authorities.

In the September demonstrations called by Omnium and ANC, protesters damaged Civil Guard police vehicles and stopped officers from leaving the building they were searching.

Police prevented the defendants' supporters from entering the court building with them on Friday.

Parliamentary deputies argue with police who wouldn't let them get close when Catalan regional police chief Josep Luis Trapero arrived at the national court in Madrid

One Catalan lawmaker defiantly waved at police a voting paper from last Sunday's contested independence referendum.

Yesterday Spain's Constitutional Court suspended a session of the Catalan parliament scheduled for Monday in which local leaders were expected to declare Catalonia's unilateral independence from Spain.

The ruling followed a legal challenge by the Catalan Socialist Party, which opposes secession, according to El Pais newspaper.

It comes after Spanish PM Mariano Rajoy urged Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont to abandon plans to on Monday declare the region's independence 'to avoid greater evils'.
A man charged with murdering his two-year-old daughter has been cleared after his seven-year-old son admitted he was responsible.

Anthony Michael Sanders, 33, was accused of smothering Ellie Mae Sanders at their home in the Fort Worth suburb of Watauga in December 2015.

Investigators believed Sanders held his hand over her mouth out of anger for her interrupting his computer games while he was taking care of the children.

Anthony Michael Sanders (pictured), 33, was accused of smothering Ellie Mae Sanders at their home in the Fort Worth suburb of Watauga in December 2015

Jailed since April 2016, Sanders denied responsibility. He said he found his daughter not breathing after his son, then five, reported she wouldn't wake up.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports prosecutors recently learned the boy, now seven, had told his mother that he had hit his sister with a pillow and the pillow was too heavy to remove from the girl's head.

Sanders was supposed to be put on trial on September 11 but was released on September 13 instead.

His attorney, Tim Moore, said he was 'elated' by the move.

But Tarrant County's district attorney would not clarify what had happened and refused to discuss the matter.

The case reportedly began to crumble in August when Ellie Mae's mother, Cassie Wright, told prosecutors her son had admitted being responsible for his sister's death.

According to a Brady disclosure notice, the boy cried as he explained what happened.

'He was unable to move the pillow,' the notice states. 'He said that the pillow was a rectangle and was heavy. It had something zipped inside which made the pillow heavy.'

Prosecutors recently learned Sanders' son, now seven, had told his mother that he had hit his sister (pictured) with a pillow but the pillow was too heavy to remove from the girl's head

The boy then said he told his father, who removed the heavy object from the pillow but found Ellie Mae dead.

He did not explain what had happened because he was scared he would get in 'trouble', the notice adds.

Also in the notice is a statement by Tarrant County medical examiner's office explaining that there is 'enough of a difference in the strength of a five-year-old to overpower a two-year-old'.
Shocking footage has captured Indian women being whipped during a bizarre ritual to free them of 'evil spirits'.

Every year some 2,000 women queue for five hours to be lashed at the ancient Achappan Temple in Trichy, south India.

When their turn comes, they kneel on the ground to be ferociously flogged by a priest.

Shocking footage has captured young women being whipped during a ceremony to free them from 'evil spirits' in India

Every year some 2,000 girls queue for five hours to be lashed at the ancient Achappan Temple in Trichy, south India

When it's their turn, the girls kneel on the ground to be ferociously flogged by a priest

Many wince and writhe in pain as their family members watch on, hoping they will be cured.

One school girl Vishakha, who was made to sit in the queue by her parents, said: 'My parents think I'm possessed because I show no interest in my studies.

'Now my friends will laugh at me when they see the whip marks I'll get after attending a festival to cure mental disorders,' cried the young girl.

Other teenage girls were brought by their parents for either not yet attaining puberty or having irregular periods.

Many wince and writhe in pain as their family members watch on, hoping they will be cured

This is one of the priests who administered the whipping during the festival in south India

Some teenage girls were brought by their parents for either not yet attaining puberty or having irregular periods.

A priest insisted the whipping was not a crime, adding: It is a belief of devotees and the practice is an ancient tradition. We cannot alter.'

Some elderly women agree with the priest and believe the whipping will cure them.

One 60-year-old said: 'A lash here cures all ills, physical or mental. I have been receiving lashes at the temple for past decade and I have been cured of my illness. I have immense faith in the lashing.'

A priest insisted the whipping was not a crime, adding: It is a belief of devotees and the practice is an ancient tradition. We cannot alter.'

Some elderly women agree with the priest and believe the whipping will cure them
A neighbour from hell suspected of throwing acid over a pair of new parents angry about a pram left behind in the corridor of a flat has appeared in court.

The pensioner, only identified as 64-year-old Gottfried W, appeared yesterday in a court in Duisburg in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia facing charges of grievous bodily harm.

Last May, he allegedly threw a corrosive liquid over his neighbours in a flat in the city of Muellheim.

Gottfried W had been arguing with the couple over a pram left in the corridor, according to local media.

The victims, named only as 29-year-old Gerrit K (right) and 35-year-old Maria R. (left), are pictured with horrific acid burns after the shocking incident

The pensioner then allegedly went back into his flat before returning and throwing acid over the victims, who were named as 29-year-old Gerrit K and 35-year-old Maria R.

The state prosecutor said: 'There [in his flat] he took a 94 percent sulphuric acid out of the kitchen cabinet and threw it in the direction of the witnesses.'

Both victims suffered severe burns.

Another neighbour took them into his flat and put them under the shower while he called an ambulance.

The pensioner, only identified as 64-year-old Gottfried W, appeared yesterday in court facing charges of grievous bodily harm

The pair were rushed to hospital where they were both treated for injuries that will leave them with permanent scars.

The prosecutor said: 'They must deal with lasting scars.'

Gerrit K ended up with acid in his eye which could lead to him being partially blind.

He said: 'There has been stress for months, because the child's pram stands in the hall.

'He had already broken two buggies.'

Gottfried W, who worked as a painter and varnisher before his retirement, knew how much damage the acid could do, according to the prosecution.

One neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, said about Gottfried W: 'Hopefully we won't see him ever again.

'He had terrorised everyone here for months.'

Court spokesman Dr Matthias Breidenstein said: 'In case of a conviction, the accused can expect up to 10 years in prison.'
A US Air Force KC-135 air-to-air refueller has declared an emergency over UK airspace.

The aircraft was after leaving RAF Mildenhall when the pilot squawked the emergency #7700 code.

According to the Flight Emergency monitoring service, the Boeing jet was at 11,000 feet and heading out towards the North Sea when it declared the emergency.

A flight tracking website reported the KC-135 tanker declaring an emergency over The Wash

The US Air Force KC-135 tanker declared an emergency while flying in UK airspace, file photo

The KC-135 tanker fleet can refuel a wide range of aircraft including the B-52 bomber, pictured

The KC-135 can refuel fighter jets and other aircraft mid-air and can carry almost 91-tonnes of fuel in its tanks to top off other aircraft.

The KC-135s are based on the original design of the Boeing 707 passenger aircraft although have been extensively modified since entering service in 1956.

According to the US Air Force, the KC-135 can also be used to transport cargo or evacuate medical patients.

The Public Affairs Office at RAF Mildenhall, home of the 100 Refuelling Air Wing, told MailOnline: 'The KC-135 tanker was a transient aircraft from McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.

'As soon as it took off, it declared an in-flight emergency after a few warning lights came on. The aircraft's auto pilot threw a warning error so the pilot decided to return to Mildenhall.'

Fire and rescue teams were put on standby while the aircraft returned to the airbase, which is about 30 miles south of Kings Lynn.

The aircraft landed safely at 12.07pm and the emergency teams were stood down.

Mechanics are now trying to troubleshoot the cause of the error message before the aircraft returns to service.
A West Virginia woman who police say was set on fire by her boyfriend last month has died.

Belinda Cox, 48, succumbed to her injuries on Wednesday night at West Penn Burn Center in Pittsburgh, according to Beckley Police Department.

Authorities say her boyfriend Dwayne Michael Lane, 47, set her on fire at their Earle Street home on September 17 after an argument.

Doctors had given Cox a 17 per cent chance of survival, saying that it would be a 'miracle' if she pulled through after 70 per cent of her body was burned - with 61 per cent being 3rd degree burns.

Belinda Cox, 48, has died after her boyfriend set her on fire last month, according to police

Dwayne Michael Lane, 47, is accused of pouring gasoline on Cox and chasing her with a lighter and a paper towel

Still, her family had been hopeful she would recuperate, and raised more than $3,000 for her medical costs as well as for her 14-year-old daughter, who she leaves behind.

'If you know her - you know kindness, a big beautiful smile, faith and lots of laughter,' Cox's family wrote on her YouCaring page. 'A true joy to her family and friends.'

Lane allegedly doused Cox in gasoline in one of the home's bedrooms and tried to keep her captive. When she escaped he chased her outside as two girls, ages 10 and 13, watched, according to the Charleston Gazette-Mail.

He had a lighter and a paper towel to ignite the fire, and when the first lighter failed, he grabbed a second one and continued to chase Cox until he got close enough to set her on fire, according to the criminal complaint.

Lane then tried to get back inside the house and light it on fire, but one of the two young witnesses locked the door, the complaint says. Once he fled the neighborhood, the girl threw water on Cox and called the police.

Police say they have learned that Cox and Lane had argued the day of the crime

Police found Cox unresponsive in a neighbor's yard in Earle Street, West Virginia (pictured), where she lived with Lane

Cox was found unresponsive in a neighbor's yard, and authorities say they later learned that Cox and Lane had argued.

The criminal complaint says police found Lane in an empty apartment less than two miles away and he was allegedly surrounded by gasoline-soaked clothes.

The complaint claims that at the time of his arrest, Lane said: 'I knew you would be coming. I'm done. I'm going for life.'

Lane is listed on Facebook as engaged to Cox, and they often shared pictures together, and friends and family called them a 'beautiful couple'.

Local media reports he was arraigned Thursday on a murder charge.

Lane also faces charges of arson, child neglect, kidnapping and domestic battery. He was being held without bail in the Southern Regional Jail.

Doctors had given Cox a 17 per cent chance of survival - 70 per cent of her body was burned, with 61 per cent being 3rd degree burns
The mayor of an Essex town was left stunned to receive a phone call from Tom Cruise congratulating him on his 'great town'.

Will Russell, who is civic leader of Brentwood, claims the Hollywood star called him on an unknown number as he was picking his son up from school.

The film star is currently in the area to film the latest instalment of the Mission Impossible franchise.

Cruise was spotted filming in Thorndon Country Park earlier in the week, and the 55-year-old was snapped getting out of a helicopter on the grounds.

The mayor of Brentwood, Will Russell (left), was stunned to receive a phone call from Hollywood actor Tom Cruise (right)

Cruise was spotted filming in Thorndon Country Park, Essex, earlier in the week, and the 55-year-old was snapped getting out of a helicopter on the grounds

Mr Russell said the actor wanted to thank residents for being so understanding of the production, as several major roads had to be closed while filming was underway.

'He didn't ring to say, "It's Tom Cruise," the mayor said.

'He asked if I was the mayor and went on to say that I did know him, and he wanted to say he had a wonderful time in Brentwood and it was a great town.

Mr Russell said the actor wanted to thank residents for being so understanding of the production

'He asked about what I did as mayor, and said it was important to have such a great community and I should be proud to have the position of mayor.'

Mr Russell, who also owns a salon, said: 'I asked who he was and he told me it was Tom Cruise.

'I didn't quite believe it at first and I became very guarded. Then I thought that I had no reason to doubt it.

'It sounded like him and he wasn't being ridiculous.

'He wanted to thank the people of the town. He wanted to say what a lovely forest we have.'

Cruise returned to filming on Tuesday for the first time since he broke his ankle when a tricky stunt went wrong.

At the time of his injury back in August, images taken showed a tethered Cruise leaping to a building, hitting its side and then crawling over the top and running away.

Cruise returned to filming on Tuesday for the first time since he broke his ankle when a tricky stunt went wrong

Cruise tried his hardest to leap as far as he could from building to building on the shoot in London

After he finished the take, Cruise was seen limping, though he was able to rappel back to the building he jumped from.

The accident took place on the roof of Baynard House, which is an office block in the Blackfriars district of London.

At the time it was not known if Cruise was only bruised up or if he had a more serious injury. It took days for anyone to learn that he was in bad shape and need weeks of rest.

Mission Impossible 6 is set to be released in 2018.
France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria have all imposed some restrictions on the wearing of full-face veils in public places

Denmark looks set to become the next European country to restrict the burqa and the niqab, worn by some Muslim women, after most parties in the Danish parliament backed some sort of ban on facial coverings.

Full and partial face veils such as burqas and niqabs divide opinion across Europe, setting advocates of religious freedom against secularists and those who argue that such garments are culturally alien or a symbol of the oppression of women.

The niqab covers everything but the eyes, while the burqa also covers the eyes with a transparent veil.

France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria have all imposed some restrictions on the wearing of full-face veils in public places.

'This is not a ban on religious clothing, this is a ban on masking,' Jacob Ellemann-Jensen, spokesman for the Liberal Party, told reporters on Friday after his party, the largest in the coalition government, decided to back a ban.

This would effectively mean a ban on the niqab and the burqa, he added. Around 200 women in Denmark wear such garments, according to researchers.

The three-party centre-right minority government, its ally the Danish People's Party and the main opposition Social Democrats have all said they are in favour of a ban, though they are still discussing how the ban should be designed and enforced.

'There will come a masking ban in Denmark. That's how it is,' Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen said on Facebook.

Around 200 women in Denmark wear full or partial face veils such as burqas and niqabs, according to researchers

His party, the Liberal Alliance, had previously been one of the staunchest opponents of a ban, saying it limited people's ability to freely choose their attire, but has now aligned its stance with that of the other coalition parties, the Conservatives and the Liberals.

'So if it is practically possible to have such a ban without betraying ourselves or our own values, then the Liberal Alliance will vote for it,' Samuelsen said.

The Social Democrats, Denmark's biggest party, has also signalled support in principle for a ban on garments such as the burqa, which it said oppressed women.

'We are ready to ban the burqa if that is what it takes ... But there are some dilemmas, not least with regards to how such a ban would be enforced,' said the Social Democrats' leader Mette Fredriksen during a debate in parliament on Thursday.

Norway's government in June proposed a ban on face-covering Muslim veils in kindergartens, schools and universities.
A crafty father turned the tables on a dim-witted conman by luring him into posing with a piece of paper naming him 'Poodat Wontflush' for a visa application to get into the UK.

David Walker was approached by the scammer, who claimed to be from Ghana, after liking one of his posts on Facebook and the fraudster quickly asked if he could visit him - believing him to be a woman.

Knowing that the con artist would eventually request money to complete the visit, the cunning father-of-two from Newcastle decided to play along to make a mockery of the scheme.

Hilarious images show the gullible fraudster posing with the ridiculous name on a piece of paper after 39-year-old David convinced him it was a 'vital part of the visa application process'.

David Walker was approached by the scammer, who claimed to be from Ghana, after liking one of his posts on Facebook. He convinced the man to pose with a sign reading: 'I am MC Poodat Wontflush'

David (pictured centre) with his children Emily, 10, (left) and Annabelle, six (right)

Once the crook said he needed money for the plane and a nude picture of his victim, David sent him a blank photo which claimed was a nude in the dark because the 'flash had broken'.

When the naive scammer asked why he couldn't see anything in the picture, David finally revealed his trick and said: 'Ahhh, I understand why my photo won't send properly. It's because you're a devious scamming tw**.'

David began deliberately trying to waste the time of suspected online predators after a family friend was conned into handing over thousands in an online romance.

Emergency breakdown call handler David said: 'Once the fraudster realised he had been tricked by me I think he was more despondent than angry.

'He was quite incredulous that he had managed to have been conned - when he was supposed to be the conman.

'He seemed quite dejected that he wouldn't end up getting any cash after all. Or perhaps he was genuinely heartbroken that this wasn't a real visa and so he wouldn't be coming to the UK after all. Bless his heart.

Knowing that the con artist would eventually request money to complete the visit, the cunning father-of-two from Newcastle decided to play along to make a mockery of the scheme

David began deliberately trying to waste the time of suspected online predators after a family friend was conned into handing over thousands in an online romance

'It's ridiculous that he didn't see the play on words. But I suppose if you think you are the scammer you are not on the lookout for being scammed.

'It was crazy really, he seemed up for doing anything to get his hands on the cash one way or the other.

'I certainly don't think his intentions were genuine. You can tell as he eventually says he needs a plane ticket - so he was trying to get cash from me.

'He was definitely after more than pictures of the victim - and who knows what he would have done with nudes if he had got them. Perhaps blackmailed the victim? Who knows.'

In this prank, David convinced the conman that he was a musician and rapper and asked the man to be his rap partner once he arrived in the UK, named MC Poodat Wontflush.

The fraudster replied 'you have a nyc idea' and said 'I lyk dat name'.

In this prank, David convinced the conman that he was a musician and rapper and asked the man to be his rap partner once he arrived in the UK, named MC Poodat Wontflush

David wrote: 'OK. This is a vital part of the visa application. I need you to write 'I am MC Poodat Wontflush' on the paper. Hold it up and take a selfie. I need it for your visa. Make haste! The visa shop closes soon.'

Ten minutes later, the conman replied with two images of himself holding up the ridiculous note.

The conman then wrote: 'OK dear. Poodat Wontflush needs a plane ticket too dear.'

He then requested a picture of David, who eventually sent a blank image, followed by the note: 'Oh b***ery, the flash has broken. But rest assured, that is a nude photo of me playing with a train set.'

The scammer wrote back: 'It's dark and I can't see any pic in it.' It was at this point that David revealed his prank.

This prank is far from a new thing for David, who regularly winds up scammers in his spare time.

David, pictured, said: 'If it hadn't been me winding him up, it could have been a vulnerable person who he conned and ripped off for cash. This kind of thing is happening regularly'

David said: 'I like to think by me winding up these conmen like this, it could be making a small difference. It is wasting their time for a start, which hinders them doing it to others. It might even put some off if I can do it well enough'

The father hit headlines in July this year when he talked his daughter into dressing him up in drag so that he could lure in a conman, before forcing him to beg forgiveness after he exposed his scam.

David said: 'I deliberately joined a group for divorced men and women as I knew this would be the kind of group that conmen would be on the prowl.

'Within minutes of me liking a post, this man had got in touch with me, so it shows that this place was a scammer's haven. They are clearly trying to prey on lonely men and women, it's not nice at all.

'If it hadn't been me winding him up, it could have been a vulnerable person who he conned and ripped off for cash. This kind of thing is happening regularly.

'I like to think by me winding up these conmen like this, it could be making a small difference. It is wasting their time for a start, which hinders them doing it to others. It might even put some off if I can do it well enough.

Emergency breakdown call handler David said: 'Once the fraudster realised he had been tricked by me I think he was more despondent than angry'

'By sharing these pranks it is also raising awareness of how many of these conmen are out there and the kind techniques they use. They may seem obvious to some people, but to others who are elderly or more vulnerable, they may not spot it.

'I get a lot of messages from people who see my scams and say they love them. Some have been victims of scams themselves and while this doesn't help them, they like that someone is getting back at them. This makes me really happy.

'This one really made me laugh but to be honest, some of these conmen will do anything if they think it they will be able to scam money out of you. So I just like to see how far I can take it with them.

'My wife still has a read of my pranks and will giggle at them. But it's her friends who tend to spot them first and tell her about them. They seem to be more into them than her.'
A twerking teenage girl has sparked controversy on a TV talent show after she performed a raunchy routine in front of her cheering father.

Sara Seifert, 18, from Vukovar, Croatia, shocked judges and viewers with her performance on the country's Super Talent show, the Croatian version of Britain's Got Talent.

A clip of the show shows her walking on stage wearing a blonde wig and a black dinner jacket before sitting down at a white piano as if to play a piece of classical music.

Daring: Sara Seifert, 18, from Vukovar, Croatia, shocked judges and viewers with her performance on the country's Super Talent show, the Croatian version of Britain's Got Talent

But as she sits down Miss Seifert whips off her jacket to reveal a pair of black hotpants, as piano music begins to play.

As the camera focuses on the teenager's bum, she begins to twitch her buttocks in time to the music as the judges look on open-mouthed.

Keeping her back to the audience, the teenager leaps to her feet and launches into a raunchy dance performance.

Twerking throughout, at one point on her knees, the judges looked stunned with one female member of the panel putting her hands on her head and fanning a male colleague with a piece of paper as if to cool him down.

Keeping her back to the audience, the teenager leaps to her feet and launches into a raunchy dance performance

Miss Seifert's raunchy performance, coupled with her father's delighted reaction, has sparked a national debate online.

However the teenager said that she did not see anything controversial in her father's actions as her parents always supported her in whatever she did.

Miss Seifert said she had expected a reaction to her routine but had been taken aback by the amount of criticism she and her father had received.

'Twerking is not easy,' she said. 'I never had any previous experience in dancing before. People should appreciate my efforts.'

She added that she had learnt to twerk by watching videos on YouTube and had been practising six days a week for four years to perfect her moves.

Miss Seifert says she intends to carry on twerking and revealed that she wanted to move to Ireland as her brother was living in Dublin.

In shock: Twerking throughout, at one point on her knees, the judges looked stunned with one female member of the panel putting her hands on her head (pictured)
Gordon Ramsay claims cocaine use has become so commonplace that diners have even asked him to sprinkle the drug on their puddings.

Now the TV chef has warned that use of the Class A drug in his industry is 'out of control'.

'I saw cocaine quite early on in my career. I've been served it. I've been given it', said Gordon.

'I've had my hand shaken and left with little wraps of foil in it. I've been asked to dust cocaine on top of souffles, to put it on as icing sugar coke's everywhere. It's spiralling out of control.'

Scroll down for video

The celebrity chef has witnessed the drug wreck the careers of colleagues, including close friend and protege David Dempsey who fell to his death after having a bad reaction to cocaine in 2003.

The preview clip for Gordon Ramsay on Cocaine shows the celebrity chef visiting a processing plant in the Colombian wilderness

The masked farmer was filmed dousing the coca leaves in petroleum, sulphuric acid and other chemicals to separate and purify the drug

Ramsay was clearly shocked by the procedure and winces as the acid is porn over a huge pile of coca leaves

In a new documentary for ITV, Gordon Ramsay on Cocaine, the celebrity chef will examine the drug's devastating global impact.

In a preview clip ahead of the programme's airing on October 19, he visits a coca farmer in Colombia who covers the leaves in cement powder, sulphuric acid, petroleum and battery acid as the farmer processes the drug.

Britain is Europe's biggest cocaine customer  importing around 30 tonnes of the potentially lethal product every year.

Britain is Europe's biggest cocaine customer  importing around 30 tonnes of the potentially lethal product every year

'I've cooked some serious s**t in my life but nothing quite on this level,' the chef added.

He has also witnessed the drug wreck the careers of colleagues, including close friend and protege David Dempsey who fell to his death after having a bad reaction to cocaine in 2003.

Ramsay said: 'With soaring cocaine deaths in Britain and along the coke supply chain, I'm determined to understand the criminal business behind this deadly drug.'
President Donald Trump jumped into the Virginia governor's race with an attack on the Democratic candidate by explicitly linking him to violent gangs.

'Ralph Northam, who is running for Governor of Virginia, is fighting for the violent MS-13 killer gangs & sanctuary cities,' Trump tweeted Thursday night. 'Vote Ed Gillespie!'

Trump's attack followed a new poll showing Northam with a wide lead in the race, and links him to a gang he has stressed in his call for tighter immigration, branding members as 'animals' and 'thugs.'

Gillespie is the former lobbyist and Republican National Committee chair who came close to defeating Virginia Sen. Mark Warner.

Donald Trump jumped into the Virginia governor's race with an attack on the Democratic candidate Ralph Northam by explicitly linking him to violent gangs.

Trump attacked Democrat Ralph Northam, the state's lieutenant governor, on immigration issues in a tweet late Thursday, accusing Northam of 'fighting' on behalf of violent MS-13 gang members. Trump urged Virginians to vote for Republican Ed Gillespie.

There have been no indications that Northam actually supports the violent gang, which is headquartered in El Salvador and known for horrific attacks on rival gang members and informers, as well as trafficking and other crimes.

Gillespie - a consummate Washington insider - has sought to keep Trump at arm's length throughout the campaign while also trying to rally Trump supporters with hard-edged attacks on Northam over immigration. Gillespie was a former operative on Capitol Hill before he began his rise.

Trump said the Democrat was 'fighting for' the violent MS-13

THE GANG'S ALL HERE: Virginia's Lt. Governor Ralph Northam talks to host Dean Obeidallah about his gubernatorial campaign during a SiriusXM Town Hall at SiriusXM Studio on August 27, 2017

YOU TALKIN TO ME? Gubernatorial debate between Republican candidate Ed Gillespie, left, and Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, Democrat, on September, 19, 2017 in McLea

Northam responded on Twitter he's been expecting Trump's attack and asked supporters for donations.

Virginia is just one of two states electing governors this year, a swing state contest viewed as a possible referendum on Trump's first year in office.

MS-13 has become a target of Trump in seeking support for a broader immigration crackdown.

Trump has repeatedly gone after the gang, terming members 'animals.'

Together we're going to restore safety to our streets and peace to our communities and we're going to destroy the vile, criminal cartel MS-13 and many other gangs,' he said on Long Island in July.

'They kidnap. They extort. They rape and they rob,' Trump said. 'They stomp on their victims. They beat them with clubs, they slash them with machetes, and they stab them with knives. They have transformed peaceful parks and beautiful quiet neighborhoods into bloodstained killing fields. They're animals.'

Trump later took heat for urging law enforcement officers: 'Please don't be so nice,' when arresting suspects, and not to use their hands to protect suspected gang members' heads.

Gillespie - a consummate Washington insider - has sought to keep Trump at arm's length throughout the campaign

Gillespie has tried to make more subtle links between his rival and gangs. An ad reported on by the Richmond Times-Dispatch notes that a Gillespie ad shows photos of tattooed Hispanic looking men who appear to be gang members. An ad shows the gang's motto of 'Kill. Rape. Control.'

Northam 'supported restoring rights to illegal immigrants who committed crimes,' according to a Gillespie ad.

Virginia is the only southern state that didn't back Trump, Fox News noted.

A Washington Post-Schar School poll released Thursday gives Northam a 13-point lead, though it could be an outlier.
A British teenager has today admitted trying to hack US government officials including the director of the CIA and Obama's intelligence chief from his council house bedroom.

Kane Gamble, 18, from Coalville, pleaded guilty to ten hacking charges at Leicester Crown Court this afternoon and was warned he could face jail.

Gamble, who lives in a small terraced house in north-west Leicestershire, had a hit list containing top names from the FBI, CIA and Obama administration in 2015 and 2016.

Using his computer at home his hacking targets included John Brennan, the then director of the CIA, and the former deputy director of the FBI, Mark Giuliano.

The cyber criminal even tried to hack the Comcast cable TV and broadband account belonging to James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence under President Obama, so he could divert his incoming calls in January 2016.

Today the teenager admitted eight charges of 'performing a function with intent to secure unauthorised access' to the computers and two charges of 'unauthorised modification of computer material'.

Kane Gamble, 18, has today (pictured) admitted trying to hack US government officials including the then director of the CIA John Brennan (right) at Leicester Crown Court

He is believed to have carried out the cyber attacks from the bedroom of this Leicestershire council house

Also on the list was Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser Avril Haines and his senior science and technology adviser John Holdren.

British teenager's hacking hitlist revealed John Brennan, head of the CIA in 2015/2016 James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence under President Obama Mark Giuliano, the then deputy director of the FBI Jeh Johnson, US Homeland Security Secretary Avril Haines, White House deputy national security adviser John Holdren, senior science and technology adviser to Obama Amy Hess, FBI special agent Vonna Weir Heaton, former intelligence executive of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency. Advertisement

Gamble's defence QC William Harbage QC said his client is 'autistic' and committed the cyber-crimes aged 15 and 16.

Reports at the time of his arrest in 2016 said a British teenager had infiltrated the personal e-mail account of Mr Brennan and posted details online and CNN said he ma have had linked to the 'Crackas with Attitude' hacking group.

The prosecution case was not opened and no details were given in court about the offences Gamble has admitted or if he was a so-called 'Cracka'.

In the first charge on the indictment, Gamble was accused of 'causing a computer to perform a function to secure unauthorised access to a program or data held in computers' belonging to Mr Brennan between June 1 and October 30, 2015.

The next offence involved the teenager attempting to gain unauthorised access to the computer of the then US Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson between July 4 and October 22, 2015.

On October 17, 2015, Gamble tried to access the computer of Ms Haines.

Between October 18 and Christmas Day 2015 Gamble targeted FBI Special Agent Amy Hess.

The teenager attempted to gain access to the computer of Mr Giuliano between October 29 and November 16.

The cyber criminal even tried to hack the Comcast cable TV and broadband account belonging to intelligence chief James Clapper so he could divert his incoming calls and also targeted deputy director of the FBI, Mark Giuliano.

Gamble tried to hack into an FBI portal between November 2 and November 22, 2015.

The next count involved a Comcast account operated by James Clapper, Director of National Intelligence under President Obama, which Gamble targeted between January 4 and January 12, 2016.

Between January 5 and January 18, 2016, he tried to gain access to the computer of Vonna Weir Heaton, the former intelligence executive of the US National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

Between January 17 and January 20, 2016, Gamble targeted a Comcast account operated by Mr Holdren.

The final charge involved an attempt to gain access to the US Department of Justice's network between January 26 and February 4, 2016.

Gamble, of Coalville, Leicestershire, will be sentenced at Leicester Crown Court on December 15.
Therapy dogs have been flown into Las Vegas to help people coming to terms with Sunday night's savage massacre.

The caring canines have so far visited schools, hospitals, first responders and a candlelit vigil.

They have provided hugs, company and unconditional love to victims, blood donors and others affected by the shooting.

They are part of a group called the LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs, which is associated with Lutheran Church Charities.

The marvelous mutts have provided hugs, company and unconditional love to victims, blood donors and others affected by the shooting

They are part of a group called the LCC K-9 Comfort Dogs, which is associated with Lutheran Church Charities

Tim Hetzner, president of the charity group, told ABC News the dogs have 'an incredible sense of when somebody is hurting'

Hetzner started the group in 2008 and has since deployed his 130 dogs to the likes of the Hurricane Harvey disaster zone and to help in the wake of the Sandy Hook and Orlando mass murders. Pictured: Some of the hardened troops deployed to Las Vegas

Tim Hetzner, president of the charity group, told ABC News the dogs have 'an incredible sense of when somebody is hurting'.

He added: 'They'll just come and lay themselves into somebody's lap.'

The 'key', Hetzer said, is 'for people to cry and for people to start talking about what they're are going through, and it's a key part of the healing process'.

The healing hounds have been received warmly wherever they have visited, including when they went to the Las Vegas Convention Center to comfort those waiting for news about their loved ones.

Hetzner started the group in 2008 and has since deployed his 130 dogs to the likes of the Hurricane Harvey disaster zone and to help in the wake of the Sandy Hook and Orlando mass murders.

The caring canines have so far visited schools, hospitals, first responders and a candlelit vigil

The healing hounds have been received warmly wherever they have visited, including when they went to the Las Vegas Convention Center to comfort those waiting for news about their loved ones

The dogs have been flown into Las Vegas to help people coming to terms with Sunday night's savage massacre

He explained: 'We only go where we are invited and we never charge who we serve. We try to put boots and paws on the ground within 24 hours.'

Stephen Paddock murdered 58 people in Vegas when he fired at a crowd enjoying the Route 91 Harvest country music festival from his Mandalay Bay hotel window.

Nearly 500 people were wounded in the atrocity, but police are still searching to find out why Paddock committed the worst mass shooting in recent American history.
This is the horrifying moment a man kills a dog with a bow and arrow on a street in China's Fujian Province.

CCTV footage shows the cruel man yanks an arrow out from the small poodle before shooting it again.

The dog owner found his dead pet's body in a rubbish bin after watching the footage earlier this Monday.

A pet poodle was shot in the leg as it was limping with an arrow impaled on it in Fuzhou, China

The man pulled an arrow out from the dog and aimed at it again (left). The dog was killed after several rounds of shooting (right)

Surveillance camera footage posted on Pear Video shows a small poodle limping with an arrow pierced onto its body in Fuzhou.

A man carrying a bow and several arrows followed the dog and allegedly pulled out the arrow from the dog's leg and shot again.

He then carried the dead poodle by a rope hung around its neck and disposed it in a rubbish bin on the street.

It seemed that the man was practising archery and using the dog as the aim.

The dog owner, whose name has not been revealed, spoke to Pear that had kept the dog for seven years.

CCTV footage shows the man carrying the dead poodle in public before disposing the body

The pet owner recognised the man was one of the neighbours living in the same area

He found his pet in a rubbish bin from reviewing the surveillance camera footage

'It always run out on its own and it happened a few times before, but (this time) couldn't find it until I looked for the CCTV of the neighbourhood,' said the owner.

He told the reporter that he had no acquaintance with the dog killer, however, he was sure that the man lived in the same area.

The incident was reported to Fuzhou police, but officers replied that they could not arrest the man as bows and arrows are not listed as restricted weapons.
The US government has hit back at the European Commission after it ordered Amazon to pay 223million in back taxes.

The Treasury said the EU was 'threatening to undermine principles of tax certainty and economic partnership between the European Union and the United States'.

The Commission's ruling followed a three-year investigation into a 2003 tax agreement between Luxembourg and the retailer that saw most of Amazon's European profits recorded in the country but not fully taxed.

Not impressed: US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin (pictured) criticised the EU via a spokesman

Competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager has already targeted Apple and McDonald's over their tax arrangements.

A spokesman for the US Treasury said: 'The Treasury Department is deeply concerned that the European Commission continues to impose retroactive tax assessments on US companies.'

Why does Amazon face back taxes? Amazon faces an unpaid tax bill of 221.5million (250m euros) because its 'sweetheart deal' with Luxembourg amounted to state aid, says the EU. The European Commission said the perks offered to the American retail giant amounted to 'illegal tax benefits'. Amazon paid just 15million in taxes on 19.5billion in sales across Europe last year, according to its most recent accounts. Advertisement

The spokesman went on to criticise the Commission's decision, saying its approach to state aid cases is 'unfair, contrary to well-established legal principles' and 'calls into question the tax rules of EU member states'.

'The Treasury Department will continue to monitor these cases and make clear its continued objection to the Commission's unilateral actions.'

Ms Vestager said on Wednesday that Luxembourg must now recover Amazon's allegedly unpaid taxes, as the company is now considering launching an appeal against the ruling.

The move by EU regulators adds to the risk of further friction between the US and EU over fair treatment of American business abroad.

The Commission last year hit US tech giant Apple with a 13 billion euro (11.5 billion) tax bill in the wake of an investigation which found that Apple paid 50 euros in tax for every one million of profit made outside the US in 2014.

The regulator separately announced on Wednesday that it was referring Ireland to the European Court of Justice for failing to recover the unpaid taxes from Apple.

Google is currently appealing against its own 2.42 billion euro fine from Europe's competition watchdog for breaching antitrust rules with its online shopping service.

It followed complaints that Google gave the service a prominent position on the internet search engine, while rival services were demoted.
Nearly 5,000 people were plunged into darkness after a hit-and-run crash caused a car to smash into a pole and knock out part of Atlanta's power grid.

Power in the business district of Midtown was down from about 9pm Thursday night after the crash on the intersection of North Avenue and Juniper Street.

A dark sedan struck a white Honda, which in turn hit a black Dodge Charger, cops said, with the Charger then driving on briefly until crashing into the pole outside a nearby Wendy's.

A dark sedan struck a white Honda, which in turn hit a black Dodge Charger, cops said, with the Charger then driving on briefly until crashing into the pole outside a nearby Wendy's (pictured on Google Street View)

Cops told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution the dark sedan left the scene.

About 4,700 Georgia Power customers were deprived of electricity while the pole and wires were replaced overnight.

By Friday morning, all but a couple of hundred customers had power returned.

Responding to a series of tweets from baffled customers, Georgia Power wrote: 'A vehicle accident has caused an outag [sic].

Responding to a series of tweets from baffled customers, Georgia Power wrote: 'A vehicle accident has caused an outag [sic]. We apologize for any inconvenience and we are working to restore power'

'We apologize for any inconvenience and we are working to restore power.'

No suspects have been arrested for the hit-and-run.

The driver and passenger in the Charger were taken to Piedmont Hospital and were conscious and breathing, police said.
Two history enthusiasts were burned by potentially lethal mustard gas they stumbled upon while digging in woodland next to an old RAF base.

Police confirmed a 38-year-old man and woman from Lincoln, and a second man, from Woodhall Spa, have been detained on suspicion of possession of a noxious substance.

A bomb disposal unit rushed to the spot in Lincolnshire and cordoned off Roughton Moor Woods while checks are made to see if any more of the lethal gas remains.

There is no suggestion of a terrorist link but police want to know why the lung and eye-burning gas was buried in the woods and also at a lake in nearby Stixwould.

Canisters (pictured in the dirt) of potentially lethal mustard gas were found by two historians who were digging in woodland next to an old RAF base

Mustard gas was used during the First World War, killing and badly injuring thousands of soldiers in the trenches. It was outlawed by the Geneva Protocol of 1925.

The drama began on Sunday when two people digging for old and collectable glass bottles in the wood had to be taken to hospital with minor burns and respiratory problems after they struck the mustard gas canisters.

RAF Woodhall Spa base was located in the area from 1942 until it was closed in the mid 1960s.

Lincolnshire Police said it was 'believed the canisters have been in situ since when the site was an operational RAF base'.

They said some of the wood has been cordoned off and emergency services are searching for any more devices.

Neither of the burns victim was seriously injured and they were both discharged from hospital on the same day, police added.

The canisters were taken to the 'doomwatch' top-secret Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down, in Wiltshire.

Lincolnshire Police Supt Phil Vickers said 'There is a significant amount of work that is on-going and you are aware there is a good number of partner agencies.

A bomb disposal unit rushed to the spot in Lincolnshire and cordoned off Roughton Moor Woods

'Military colleagues are assisting in the search that is being conducted - it is very slow. Our priority is always the safety of the wider community as well as the responders who are on the scene.

'It is going to take time before we 're satisfied that the search has been conducted safely.

'The search that is being conducted in the woodland does not involve dogs. It does involve technology such as ground penetrating radar.'

Officials are also combing the area by hand, the force revealed.

There has been a large police presence in Woodhall Spa and on Wednesday officials wearing gas masks descended on a house between Nettleham Road and Riseholme Road, in Lincoln, resulting in the three arrests.

Police have today confirmed the trio have been released on bail until October 25.

Some of the wood has been cordoned off and emergency services are searching for any more devices

Andrew Wortley, from MGR Guns in Woodhall Spa, said: 'It's not the first time we've had things like this found in Woodhall Spa - I think the bomb squad were out last year.

'This incident is a bit concerning though because it's mustard gas. The woods are where this stuff was found are where my kid goes to scouts.'

The Geneva Protocol of 1925 banned the use of poisonous gas and biological weapons in warfare but not their production or stockpiling.

Councillor Craig Leyland, who represents Woodhall Spa on the district council, said 'This is a very serious incident given the way it's being dealt with by the police, the MoD and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory at Porton Down and I can fully understand that people are concerned.

'There's an ongoing police enquiry that seems to be gathering pace.

'The use of mustard gas was banned in the 1920s but the presence of these shells here raises a lot of historical questions.'
Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump have been named the world's most influential Jews ahead of Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

The US President's daughter, 35, and her husband, 36, were described as 'the ultimate Jewish power couple' as they topped the 50-strong list for 2017.

They were named by the Jerusalem Post ahead of actress and model Gal Gadot, who recently starred in Wonder Woman, and the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Jared Kushner (right) and wife Ivanka Trump (left), the daughter of US President Donald Trump have been named the world's most influential Jews ahead of Wonder Woman actress Gal Gadot and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu

The US President's daughter, 35, and her husband, 36, were described as 'the ultimate Jewish power couple' as they topped the 50-strong list for 2017. The couple are pictured with their children

The newspaper described the pair as being 'at the heart of America's sensational political drama, of shifting power dynamics in the Middle East, of battles over refugee resettlement and debate over moral leadership in a nation divided on race'.

It added that they 'hold positions of extraordinary power and influence an unfireable pair of advisers entrusted by the president more than any other.'

The Jerusalem Post wrote that they were 'not natural servants' but that 'so long as they remain, they will continue to advise Trump on every policy issue of consequence to this administration, both foreign and domestic.'

Ivanka is described as being 'vocal on a range of issues, aggravating several senior White House aides'.

'But those who disagree with her tend not to last long in Trump's administration. Her portfolio squarely focuses on workforce development, specifically on reducing the skills gap, empowering women and combating human trafficking.'

They were named by the Jerusalem Post ahead actress and model Gal Gadot (pictured), who recently starred in Wonder Woman

Gal Gadot, who recently starred in Wonder Woman (pictured), was named second on the list

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (pictured) was named third on a list of the world's most influential Jews

The newspaper described the couple as being 'at the heart of America's sensational political drama

Meanwhile, Kushner is seen as leading 'the administration's effort to restart negotiations toward a comprehensive peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians  a tall order, made taller perhaps by his strategy of orchestrating a broader regional peace between the Jewish state and the Arab world.'

It adds that he is tasked with tackling criminal justice reform and 'an expanding national opioid crisis' through running the administration's new Office of American Innovation.'

Yesterday, pictures showed the couple, who married in 2009, enjoying soak up some much-needed time with their children as they enjoyed a quick break from their manic day-to-day lives as White House senior advisors in order to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

Taking full advantage both of their day off, and of the balmy October day, they strolled their way to the nearby Friends of Lubavitch Synagogue from their home in the upmarket D.C. neighborhood of Kalorama, with their three children Arabella, six, Joseph, three, and Theodore, one.
Two Russian mercenaries reportedly captured by ISIS jihadists are feared to have been executed because they refused to read out a statement saying they rejected their Christian faith and had become Muslim.

Roman Zabolotny, 39, and Grigory Tsurkanu, 38, held in Syria, also refused to say on camera that they had joined the terrorist group.

The men are believed to have been fighting for a private Russian mercenary force comprising ex-servicemen which saw action in Crimea and eastern Ukraine before Syria.

They were held by jihadists around the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, the last ISIS stronghold in the country.

They appeared in a video released earlier this week by ISIS news agency Amak which claimed inaccurately that the men were serving Russian soldiers.

Senior Russian MP Viktor Vodolatsky said: 'It is very sad but 99 per cent Roman Zabolotny is not alive, nor is the second prisoner.

'Before filming that video they were given a statement which they had to read.

'In this text they would reject their Orthodox religion, reject their motherland, become Muslim and join ISIS.

'They stayed loyal to the Orthodox faith and their Motherland until the very end, and this is what they were killed by those gangsters for.'

There has been no official confirmation from the Russian authorities about their fate, but Vladimir Putin's government is coy speaking about such mercenary forces in Syria and other hot spots, even though experts say they work closely with the armed forces.

Two suspected Russian mercenaries named in a video as Grigory Mikhailovich Surkanov (left) and Roman Vasilievich Zabolotny (right), are feared dead

One of the men is named in the video as Grigory Mikhailovich Surkanov (pictured). However, he has since been named as Grigory Tsurkanu

A local MP in Rostov-on-Don, Zabolotny's home city, also confirmed the pair had been 'executed', saying it happened the day after the video was made.

'Unfortunately, this is true,' said Anatoly Kotlyarov. 'Information was received that they were executed in a town square.'

His source is 'trustworthy' and 'the person who told me has never been mistaken in four years of our cooperation, especially when informing about the dead', he told Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.

When asked if there had been secret negotiations between Russian forces and ISIS over the captives, he said this was 'secret information' which he could not divulge.

An anonymous friend of father-of-two Zabolotny's was quoted saying: 'Last time I saw him he was about to go there.

'And when this video came out that he was captured, I used my own channels to clarify his fate.

'He is dead. Those bastards executed him.'

Zabolotny was reported to have been a devout Orthodox believer and went to Syria in order to protect Christians from terrorists.

A Russian group had offered to pay $1 million to ISIS for each of the men if they were freed.

A Zabolotny family member said they had not been informed he was dead.

'Negotiations are going on, there is no information about his death,' said the relative.

His father Vasily said: 'I am worried about my son, I am hardly coping. I am on the edge, sorry, I don't want to speak more.'

The pair were held by the jihadists around Deir Ezzor, the last ISIS stronghold in the country. One of the men is named in the video as Roman Vasilievich Zabolotny (left)

A day ago it was reported that the parents of Tsurkanu had been told by the FSB secret service 'not to make any noise' in the media amid hopes he would be released soon.

Tsurkanu was a former Russian paratrooper in the intelligence section of the country's air assault forces.

The men were believed to be fighting for a group called Wagner private army.

Ruslan Leviev, founder of Conflict Intelligence independent investigation group, said the pair were mercenaries.

They are believed to be mercenaries belonging to the so-called Wagner private army, allegedly deployed by Moscow in hot spots to lower casualty numbers among regular forces. One of the men, named as Grigory Tsurkanu, is pictured centre

'Our experience of watching this conflict tells us that Wagner private army mercenaries are the first to fight,' he said.

'We think it is a strategy of the Defence Ministry of Russia: sending mercenaries to the hottest places, we avoid losses among official soldiers and keep the image of a successful combat operation.'

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov sidestepped a question about the fate of the men.

'I repeat once again that, of course, the possible circumstances of their captivity and confirmation of their identity are things that are being dealt with by our relevant agencies,' he said.

ISIS news agency Amaq claimed the men were seized near the eastern city of Deir Ezzor.

They can be seen wounded and handcuffed in a video, explaining where they are from in Russia and where they were captured.

In the video, the bearded man can be heard saying: 'I am Zabolotny, Roman Vasilievich, born in 1979, in Rostov region, Aksaisky district, Passvet village.

'During counter attack of ISIS in the area of Cholya settlement I was taken prisoner of war.

'Surkanov, Grigory Mikhailovich was captured together with me, born in 1978, in Domodedovo district.'
A mother in Taiwan who crashed her car into a utility pole has reportedly chosen to go to the hospital with her pet dog and leave her seriously injured baby behind.

Before that, she had dropped her baby on the floor by accident as she tried to take him out of the wrecked vehicle, according to local media.

The baby, a two-month-old boy, reportedly sustained a severe cerebral haemorrhage and was knocked into in a coma.

The woman, from Taiwan, opened the car after crashing it into a utility pole on October 5

She took her two-month-old baby boy who was in a car seat out of the wrecked vehicle

However, the baby suddenly fell out of the car seat and hit the ground on his head

The accident occurred in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in the wee hours of October 5, reported Sohu.com.

The woman, surnamed Lin, drove a white car with her pet dog, her baby and a friend on board. She crashed the car into a utility pole as she tried to park it under her building.

After the accident occurred, Ms Lin got off the car and tried to get her baby out of the crashed vehicle.

A video report shared by Sina.com shows her trying to move an infant car seat to the side of the road. Unexpectedly, her baby dropped out of the car seat and hit the ground on his head.

It's believed that she had not fasten the seat belt for her baby in the car seat. The baby was also said to wear only a nappy and no clothing as he fell to the floor.

It's believed that the mother had not fasten the seat belt for her baby before the accident

She picked up her baby from the ground and then went to the hospital with her pet dog

According to the police, after the woman picked up her baby, she asked a friend to driver her and her pet dog to the hospital.

She left her baby at the scene of the accident to be looked after by her friend, surnamed Lv, who was her passenger.

It was not until an ambulance arrived that the severely wounded baby and Ms Lv were given medical attention.

The baby sustained a cerebral haemorrhage and was into in a coma, said a doctor (pictured)

A police officer said the mother had wanted to leave her baby in the care of her friend

The head of the local police station said in a press conference that the mother decided to go to the hospital first because she felt congestion in her chest as a result of the crash.

The officer also said she took her pet dog with her because she feared her friend might not have energy to look after her baby as well as her dog.

A doctor from the Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital said the baby boy suffered a serious cerebral haemorrhage and was in a coma when he arrived.

The doctor said the boy was undergoing neurological surgery.

The child is said to remain in a critical condition as of writing.
Investigators found red-stained sheets and an empty box of cold medicine at the North Carolina home where a man says he killed his wife in a medicated stupor.

Matthew James Phelps, 29, called 911 in the early hours of September 1, saying that he took cough medicine, had a dream and woke up to find his wife Lauren, also 29, dead.

He told dispatchers that he believe the cough medicine made him kill his wife.

Matthew Phelps, 29 (left), is awaiting trial on first-degree murder charges for the September 1 murder of his wife Lauren, right, also 29

'I think I killed my... There's blood all over me, and there's a bloody knife on the bed. I think I did it,' the aspiring preacher said in audio from the 911 call.

Phelps called police in the early hours of September 1, saying he took Coricidin cough medicine and woke up to find his wife stabbed to death

'I took more medicine that I should have. I took Coricidin Cough and Cold because I know it can make you feel good and sometimes I cant sleep at night,' he added.

He starts to sob as he adds: 'I cant believe I did this. Oh God. She didnt deserve this. Why?'

When police arrived on the scene, Lauren was still alive but mortally wounded. She was pronounced dead after being rushed to the hospital.

Her husband was taken into custody and is now facing first-degree murder charges in her death.

On Wednesday, the News & Observer published details about what investigators found in the home after carrying out a search warrant.

Phelps said he believe the cough medicine made him kill his wife in his sleep. Above, the couple's house

Phelps pictured above in court last month. He is being held without bail on first-degree murder charges

They took as evidence a 'white bedspread, a white sheet, and gray white comforter and several pillowcases that were all marred with an unknown red substance' - as well as an empty box of Coricidin Cold & Cough medicine, the same brand that Phelps said he took before the murder.

They also took four computers, receipts, a mortgage statement, a knife set, credit cards, and Lauren's iPhone from the home.

Phelps does not have a criminal record. He is currently being held at Wake County Jail without bail.

He was working for a landscaping company while studying missions and evangelism at Clear Creek Baptist Bible College in Pineville, Kentucky.

Lauren and Matthew had been married for less than a year before her death
A Scots hairdresser accused of infecting a string of lovers with HIV in a deliberate and cynical campaign turned down treatment to stop spreading it, a court heard today.

Daryll Rowe, 29, allegedly spurned offers of help after contracting the virus and sleeping with at least ten men he met on gay dating app Grindr.

In each case he either refused to wear a condom or sabotaged it before having sex. Four of the men became infected with HIV.

He is also accused of sending mocking and abusive texts in the aftermath including one that he allegedly sent saying: 'Maybe you have the fever cos I came inside you and I have HIV, lol. Whoops!'

Daryll Rowe, 29, (pictured today) allegedly spurned offers of help after contracting the virus and sleeping with at least ten men he met on gay dating app Grindr

Rowe declined anti-retroviral treatment in Edinburgh and was advised he was more infectious if he failed to take the treatment

Rowe, 26, is on trial at Lewes Crown Court, East Sussex, charged with four counts of causing grievous bodily harm and six counts of attempting to cause grievous bodily harm.

The hairdresser, who is originally from Edinburgh, denies all the charges.

Today a doctor who treated him at a sexual health clinic in the Scottish capital confirmed he turned down vaccinations for other illnesses and treatments which could manage his HIV infection and help prevent passing it on.

The court heard that days after having sex with a number of men Rowe goaded them by telling them he had HIV

Dr Sally Weilding from the Chalmers Centre said she explained to Mr Rowe there was treatment available for him and medication which could prevent him passing on the virus including a drug described as a morning after pill for HIV.

Dr Weilding said he declined treatment and failed to keep subsequent appointments at the clinic.

The court heard Mr Rowe visited the clinic after finding out his partner of a year had been having unprotected sex with another man.

In April 2015 blood tests showed he was in the early stages of infection by the HIV virus.

Sexual health nurse Laura Ellis from the Chalmers Centre in Edinburgh went through details of treatment for HIV and how to protect other sexual partners from the virus.

Mr Rowe failed to attend further follow-up appointments at the clinic in September and October, 2015.

Daryll Rowe, 26, infected at least four men and sent them mocking messages after meeting them through the gay dating app Grindr, the court heard

The court heard, Mr Rowe grew up in care and foster homes eventually settling with one family.

Wearing a blue suit and tie, Daryll Rowe sat impassively through the second day of his trial.

He denies ten counts of GBH with intent and attempted GBH with intent.

The trial at Lewes Crown Court continues.
Alan Barnes passed away last week surrounded by his friends and family, one year after being awarded the Legion dHonneur

Tributes have been paid to one of the last surviving D-Day veterans, who died at his home aged 98.

Alan Barnes, a Major in the Army, who served in Africa, Italy and France, died in Jersey last week surrounded by his friends and family.

He passed away on Thursday 28 September, a year after being awarded the Legion dHonneur  the highest French military honour  and just days before an annual reunion celebrating Normandy veterans.

Mr Barnes was part of the D-Day invasion on Normandy, which began the liberation of German-occupied northwestern Europe from Nazi control in 1944.

He returned to Normandy with his family in 2004 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the history defining landings.

Mr Barnes pictured with his wife Betty on their wedding day. The pair were married for 71 years

Leading the tributes was his son Ian who said he was deeply proud of his fathers war effort where he was part of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.

He was put in charge of water proofing all the vehicles that were taken over to France for the D Day landings, said Ian.

In 2004, Mr Barnes returned to Normandy with his family to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Normandy landings. He was met by crowds of French people, who cheered and applauded Mr Barnes and his fellow veterans

His time in France saw him arriving on the Normandy beaches D-Day plus 2 and we had a memorable visit there for the 60th anniversary in 2004.

I drove him there from St Malo and he was sat in the front seat with his beret on and wearing all his medals.

What is the Legion dHonneur? The Legion dHonneur, also known as the National Order of the Legion of Honour, is the highest French honour for military services. It was established in 1802 by Napolean Bonaparte, shortly after the French Revolution. The order is divided into five degrees of increasing distinction: Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), Commandeur (Commander), Grand Officier (Grand Officer) and Grand-Croix (Grand Cross). Membership is typically restricted to French nationals or foreign nationals who have served France and the ideals it upholds of liberty, equality, and fraternity. Advertisement

Gendarmes and Army personnel were saluting us everywhere we went.

What was most memorable was walking with him along the Normandy beaches resplendent in his beret and proudly wearing his medals.

Crowds of French people standing up, cheering and applauding.

It made us realise the contribution he had made to the war effort - especially in France.

The late Mr Barnes, who was a much-loved husband to Betty, 90, for 71 years, was also father to Juliet, father-in-law to Bernadette and William and grandfather to Emma, Jonny, Chris, Dominic and Ed, as well as a great-grandfather.

After serving in the war he returned to run the family garage business and was also a well-known motor-racing enthusiast.

Mr Barnes son said that his father gave up driving only last year and always had a love of cars.

In 1947, Mr Barnes was asked by the organisers of the International Road Races - the equivalent of Formula 1 today - to operate one of the pits on Victoria Avenue.

Mr Barnes is survived by Ms Barnes, 90, their two children, Ian and Juliet, his five grandchildren and a great-grandchild

Mr Barnes pictured during the Second World War. As a Major in the Army who served during the Normandy landings, Mr Barnes was instrumental in securing the victory of Britain and its allies against Nazi Germany

He used 8-mm cine film to record the road races, which Ian has now digitised and converted to DVD format.

Mr Barnes son believes that his father was the only person to have footage of the 1952 race.

The funeral is due to be held on Tuesday at the Crematorium Chapel, Westmount Road, at 2.30 pm.

Portsmouth's D-Day Museum estimates there remains approximately 500 surviving D-Day veterans in the UK, while the Normandy Veteran's Reunion puts the figure closer to 1,500.
The body of Ariel Gonzalez was discovered at his apartment in Broward County on September 13. Travis Watson(pictured) and Jacob Mitchell are suspects in the case

A threesome that took place in a man's Florida home during Hurricane Irma led to him being killed by one of the male participants and left to rot.

The body of Ariel Gonzalez was discovered at his apartment in Broward County on September 13 after police were informed of a bad smell coming from inside.

Gonzalez had been left 'wrapped in a comforter' and stuffed in a closet after the sexual encounter three days earlier with suspects Travis Watson and Jacob Mitchell.

The 50-year-old's body was in 'advanced stages of decomposition', according to a police report, which also described injuries to his head.

Mitchell considers Watson to be his husband, and was angry at Gonzalez for having oral sex with him, the Miami Herald reported.

Mitchell allegedly hit Gonzalez with a broomstick and doused him in hot grease after Watson asked the homeowner where he hid his money.

Neighbors told police they saw two men leaving Gonzalezs home during the hurricane, including one wearing a wig.

Watson has been charged with robbery without a firearm, kidnapping, and failure to report a death. He has been booked into Broward County Jail.

Police are still hunting Mitchell.
Advertisement

A California mother and her daughter were arrested in North Carolina after being caught with 130lbs of marijuana in their car.

Ruth Paez Diaz, 46, and Briann Marie Diaz, 26, were arrested after a traffic stop on Interstate 40, near Mebane, reports the Durham Herald-Sun.

Police investigated the mother and daughter from the San Francisco Bay Area for an unspecified traffic violation on the evening of October 2.

Pictured is the 130lbs of marijuana worth $500,000 found in a Toyota Camry driven by Ruth Paez Diaz, 46 and Briann Marie Diaz, 26

Ruth Paez Diaz is pictured at left and Briann Marie Diaz is pictured at right. They were pulled over for an alleged traffic violation in North Carolina. Police found the marijuana in their vehicle

In the course of the investigation, police brought in a K-9 officer.

The dog smelled the marijuana, which gave police cause to search the Toyota Camry.

The 130lbs of marijuana found had a street value of $500,000.

Both mother and daughter were taken into custody.

Both mother and daughter have been charged with trafficking marijuana

They have both been charged with trafficking marijuana.

They were held on $100,000 bond and are due to appear in court next week.
The Colorado hotel that helped inspire Stephen King's The Shining may have just been home to some paranormal activity after a photo was snapped showing two 'ghosts.'

After doing the 'spirit tour' at the iconic Stanley Hotel in Estes Park last month, the Mausling family from Aurora, Colorado, noticed a small girl walking down the stairs and another lingering in the mix with people on another portion of the steps.

John 'Jay' Mausling - who took the photo - and his wife, Jessica Martinez-Mausling, assert that their 11-member party had no little girls in it.

After doing the 'spirit tour' at the iconic Stanley Hotel in Estes Park last month, the Mausling family from Aurora, Colorado, saw two ghost in their photo - a little girl (right) and another figure on the steps with the people (left). Last year, a photo was taken showing a 'ghost' at the same location on the steps

John 'Jay' Mausling - who took the photo - and his wife, Jessica Martinez-Mausling, say no girls were in their group but one showed up in the image

Last year, a photo was taken showing what appeared to be a spooky figure on the steps, close to the same area.

'At first we tried to be logical and think we somehow missed her so we asked our kids, their girlfriends and our friend if they remembered seeing a little girl,' they said in an email to Huffington Post.

'Nobody did. We do not remember seeing anything on the stairs when we took the picture.'

The photo was checked for signs of foul play by Ben Hansen, a former FBI agent who is now host of Syfy's Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files.

'I really like this photo,' Hansen said.

'Assuming that it's not doctored, it ranks up there as one of the best photos of possible paranormal evidence I've seen.

'At first we tried to be logical and think we somehow missed her so we asked our kids, their girlfriends and our friend if they remembered seeing a little girl,' they said in an email to Huffington Post

King's third book, 1977's The Shining, was born out of an experience at the hotel and was named the third-best novel for the respected writer in a 2014 Rolling Stone poll. It was set at the spooky Overlook Hotel. It was turned into a movie in 1980

'If it is faked, I've got to hand it to them for their level of detail and creativity because there's usually enough easy signs to suggest hoaxing.'

The photograph may include another ghostly apparition not quite as obvious to the eye as the girl.

'Assuming that it's not doctored, it ranks up there as one of the best photos of possible paranormal evidence I've seen,' said former FBI agent Ben Hansen

At the time the photo was taken, the Mauslings claim that only the tour guide and someone on their phone were on the steps.

But the photo appears to show a third figure who is walking away from the tour group, up the stairs.

At first analysis, Hansen believed that the image showed some of the people in same motion blur but that soon would change.

He added: 'Through the stair railing posts you should see the lower half of this person like you do the tour guide and the shoes of the person on the stairs... but I can't make out any lower half.'

Because there was no litmus test done on the photo, it is hard to actually verify what is in it, according to Hansen.

Last year, a photo was taken showing what appeared to be a spooky figure on the steps, close to the same area.

The hotel has long served as a destination for those seeking the paranormal thrill.

King called the hotel 'the perfect  maybe the archetypical  setting for a ghost story' after a stint there in 1974.

On his official website, the lauded author shared that he and wife - fellow author Tabitha King - were the only visitors to the hotel when it was closing for the winter.

Stephen King called the hotel 'the perfect  maybe the archetypical  setting for a ghost story' after a stint there in 1974 and created The Shining, three years later

He said: 'That night I dreamed of my three-year-old son running through the corridors, looking back over his shoulder, eyes wide, screaming.

'He was being chased by a fire-hose. I woke up with a tremendous jerk, sweating all over, within an inch of falling out of bed.

'I got up, lit a cigarette, sat in the chair looking out the window at the Rockies, and by the time the cigarette was done, I had the bones of the book firmly set in my mind.'

King's third book, 1977's The Shining, was born out of the experience and was named the third-best novel for the respected writer in a 2014 Rolling Stone poll. It was set at the spooky Overlook Hotel.
The case, involving Sgt Emile Cilliers (pictured outside court today), 37, who serves with the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, was held up for the morning while a judge and barristers discussed the unusual issue

The attempted murder case against an army sergeant who allegedly tried to kill his wife by tampering with her parachute before a skydive was dramatically brought to a halt today after the judge told jurors to ignore a remark by a 'new and untrained' court official.

The case, involving Sgt Emile Cilliers, 37, who serves with the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, was held up for the morning while a judge and barristers discussed the unusual issue.

Cilliers is also accused of attempting to murder wife Victoria, 40, a few days earlier when he damaged a gas valve at their home in Amesbury, Wiltshire.

Cilliers allegedly wanted to get his hands on his wife's life insurance to pay off his debts, and was having flings with his ex-wife Carly, 38, and with lover Stefanie Goller.

The jury made up of nine women and three men has been told Cilliers, who had around 22,000 of debts, believed he would receive 120,000 life insurance as a result of Mrs Cillier's death.

Also today, the court was shown the parachute Cilliers is alleged to have tampered with.

Mrs Cilliers' main and reserve parachute failed, causing her to spin to the ground.

Miraculously she survived the 4,000ft fall but broke her pelvis, ribs and fractured her vertebra thanks in part to a freshly ploughed field and her light weight.

But the trial, expected to last five weeks at Winchester Crown Court, Hampshire, was delayed this morning after a juror's note revealed a court staff member had commented on the case.

Also today, the court was shown the parachute Cilliers is alleged to have tampered with. Mrs Cilliers' main (pictured) and reserve parachute failed, causing her to spin to the ground

Miraculously she survived the 4,000ft fall but broke her pelvis, ribs and fractured her vertebra thanks in part to a freshly ploughed field and her light weight. Pictured, an inspection of the parachute lines after the incident

Cilliers is also accused of attempting to murder wife Victoria, 40, (pictured on their wedding day in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2011) a few days earlier when he damaged a gas valve at their home in Amesbury, Wiltshire

Mrs Cilliers, pictured on another skydive, suffered multiple serious injuries in the fall in 2015

Cilliers is said to have started an affair with Stefanie Goller (above) after meeting her on Tinder

The jury heard Cilliers was involved in a sexual relationship with ex-wife Carly Cilliers (above)

Judge Justice Sweeney told jurors: 'I am sorry you had a very long wait this morning which arises against this background - one of your number has entirely rightly sent me two notes raising concerns, and counsel have been helping me to address these concerns.'

The court heard the letter handed to the judge showed jurors' questions in regards to Cilliers' bail and employment had been answered by court staff.

In the letter written by a juror and read out by Mr Justice Sweeney, it said that the court staff member had commented on the case itself, implying she had an opinion.

It went on: 'As jurors I feel we are taking this extremely seriously yet I was shocked that a court member would make such a simple mistake.'

Mr Justice Sweeney said: 'It was entirely appropriate for a member to bring this to my attention.'

Pictured, an inspection of Victoria Cilliers' parachute following the incident. The white material is the reserve parachute

The jury made up of nine women and three men has been told Cilliers, who had around 22,000 of debts, believed he would receive 120,000 life insurance as a result of Mrs Cillier's death

He added: 'Against the background of reminding you of those general notes, may I repeat you will decide the case only on the evidence that is put before you in this court room and what you apply in your joint common sense and experience of the world make of it.

'It was wrong that a member of staff who is new and untrained spoke with you about the case as opposed to an administrative matter related to you or receiveing a note from you intended for me.

'It should not have happened and it will not happen again. You must also make sure from your end that it does not do so ever again.

'I am sorry something was said by a member of staff that should not have been said.

'But now I have reminded you of your duties and spelt out in simple terms where the boundaries are between you and the court staff I am confident you will be able to conduct yourselves in accordance with the trial and duties we have gone through.

The court heard that in messages with Miss Goller (pictured), Cilliers suggested the chief rigger, who previously inspected the parachute, might be to blame for the faulty parachute

Two slinks, which attach the lines of the canopy to the rest of the rigging, were missing from one side of the parachute, the court heard, preventing it from working correctly. Pictured: Images show the use of slinks, also known as S-Links, on a chute

Parachute equipment is labelled above. Two vital pieces of equipment which fasten the parachute to the parachutist's harness were missing, the court heard

'I have made steps to ensure you are not put in any position like that in the future.'

Following the resumption of the trial, Mark Bayada, who has been chief instructor of the Army Parachute Association at Netheravon since 2013, continued giving evidence for a second day and told the court that during busy weekends, used parachutes could be left out overnight unpacked.

'Are you trying to kill me?' Messages read in court between Cilliers, his wife and 'lover' 'I do not want anything to jeopardise us' 'I am not going to lose you over this, you have no idea how much you mean to me.' From Emile Cilliers to Stefanie Goller, after allegedly lying that he moved out of the home he shared with his wife Victoria Cilliers to Emile Cilliers: 'Did you alter the gas lever into the cooker this am [sic] and there is dry blood around the lever.' From Cilliers to Victoria: 'That is weird. Is the stove working?' From Victoria to Cilliers: 'No, I did not want to try. I've opened back door.' 'Are you trying to kill me?' 'I read in a mag recently, brought it to the front of my mind. True life stories - my husband tried to kill me'. From Cilliers to Victoria: 'Seriously?' From Victoria to Cillier: 'Was only making a joke because of the blood on the handle, did not realise I was saying it a lot.' Advertisement

And he said it was 'possible' that club members might keep their 'un-jumped' parachutes out of the kit store overnight in order to be able to more efficiently jump the following day.

He previously told the court that he could not think of a reason why a piece of kit would be kept out of the store.

The prosecution allege that Cilliers deliberately kept his wifes parachute in her locker overnight because he had already tampered with it and did not want it to be discovered.

Mr Bayada said: 'The problem I have is its a club atmosphere, so jumpers do not want to burdened by rules and staff do not take enough care and attention.'

Mr Bayada said that in the days after the incident, Mrs Cillers father and the defendant visited him at the airfield.

He said: 'I informed them what I knew of the incident at the time, I also felt I had to inform them that it was on base equipment, equipment under my responsibility, and it looked like the reserve had failed and the reserve was not rigged on.

'It was quite a difficult conversation ultimately trying to tell people that it was an unusual cause of the accident.'

He said that they discussed insurance provided by British Parachute Association insurance, but he explained to them that 'it doesnt cover personal accident, it is only third party so would not pay out'.

Mr Bayada said he had known Mrs Cilliers professionally but had also attended social events where she was present.

Cilliers, now of Aldershot Barracks, Hampshire, denies two counts of attempted murder and criminal damage as to recklessly endanger life.

Earlier, Winchester Crown Court heard that Mrs Cilliers only survived her husband's attempt to sabotage her parachute through luck and a single attached line that made her fall from 'survivable'.

Mark Bayada, chief instructor of the Army Parachute Association at Netheravon since 2013, said it was 'luck' that Mrs Cilliers, 40, originally from Haddington, East Lothian, survived the jump.

The expert, who has been a parachutist with the military for 30 years, was one of the first people on the scene after Mrs Cilliers' fall and later examined her kit.

He said two vital safety straps attaching the canopy to the harness were missing from the right-hand side of the reserve chute, causing it to tangle into a ball.

Cilliers 'deliberately removed vital pieces of equipment intending that she should be killed when the reserve parachute inevitably failed', the court was told

The reserve parachute for Victoria was immediately found to be faulty, the court was told

Evidence shown in court reveals the gas valve that is alleged to have been adjusted by Cilliers

The top arrow shows damage to a nut made by a pair of pliers found in a toolbox located in the utility room of Cilliers's home

Prosecutors said that on forensic examination, the nut (left) revealed tool marks matching mole grips (right) seized from a toolbox locked in the utility room

The 37-year-old has served with the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers regiments since 2005

Only the single steering line remained on the right-hand side  but it was this millimetres-thick thread that saved her, Winchester Crown Court was told. Mr Bayada said: 'There was one line attached. It gave the chute enough lift to be a survivable landing. Without doubt it would have been a fatal accident without that [steering line].'

Mr Bayada was working at the base on Salisbury Plain on April 5, 2015, when he received a 'panicked' call from a colleague saying: 'Someone's been killed.'

The court heard how Mr Bayada rushed out to where Mrs Cilliers had fallen with another colleague, who got to her first and yelled: 'She's not dead.'

Mr Bayada then drove back to the base to find doctors and medically trained club members. When he returned he saw Mrs Cilliers lying on her back with the reserve parachute on the left-hand side.

The reserve parachute was only moved to shield her from debris as the air ambulance landed nearby.

The trial continues.

Cilliers (pictured) allegedly collected a parachute for his wife and during the afternoon took it into the men's toilets at the base, which is when the prosecution claim he tampered with it

Cilliers has served with the Royal Artillery and the Royal Engineer regiments

A photo issued by Wiltshire Police of the Netheravon Army Parachute Centre in the county
Alice McBrearty has been jailed for 16 months

A gifted young teacher sobbed in the dock as she was jailed for having a four-month relationship with a teenage boy.

Alice McBrearty, 23, used social media to contact the 15-year-old boy and the pair went out for meals together. She also bought him gifts, a court was told.

The teacher kissed him in a classroom, took him to a hotel for sex, and performed sex acts on him in her car and  as a birthday treat  in a garage. She also took the teenager to her parents home in Manor Park, East London, where they had sex.

At Snaresbrook Crown Court, she was jailed for 16 months after pleading guilty to seven counts of sexual activity with a child while in a position of trust.

Sentencing, Judge Sheelagh Canavan said: You engaged in a full-blown sexual relationship with a 15-year-old child. I accept he was consenting  what 15-year-old schoolboy would turn down such an attractive offer?

I accept you truly believed this was a great romance, you were in love with him and vice versa, and that age didnt matter. But it did.

You were supposed to keep him safe, to help him make the right decisions. Instead, you helped him make all the wrong ones. You knew better and you did it anyway. He was precisely at the age when he was at the mercy of his hormones.

You breached the trust between student and teacher to satisfy your physical and emotional needs. This was the grossest breach of trust over a period of months.

The judge described McBrearty as a bright, intelligent and gifted young woman, who knew right from wrong, but said she had committed the grossest breach of trust.

McBrearty, 23, kissed and had sex with the boy at her parents' home, in her car, in the classroom and in an IBIS hotel

Judge Canavan called her conviction a spectacular fall from grace.

McBrearty, who appeared in court dressed in black with her hair tied in a ponytail, admitted to having a sexual relationship with the pupil between February and May this year. The court heard that the relationship began when McBrearty sent the boy, who cannot be identified, a friend request on social media.

McBrearty and the teenager 'kissed passionately' in the classroom

Prosecutor Lisa Matthews said: He woke up one morning to see a friend request from Alice McBrearty on Facebook. He felt special and accepted it.

She messaged him asking for his number. They unfollowed each other but then she messaged him again and they started following each other on Instagram.

Dates began, with the pair acting as a couple, going for strolls and out for meals. Miss Matthews said: He appeared to be besotted with her.

Several members of staff raised concerns that McBrearty was getting too close to the pupil, but the affair continued.

The court heard the pair had seven sexual encounters, starting when the petite blonde took the youngster to her family home during the February half-term break.

On other occasions, she booked a room at an Ibis hotel in Londons Docklands for sex, and performed sex acts in a garage and in her car. She also kissed the pupil in a classroom at the school.

The relationship unravelled when the boys father went to the police after obtaining his sons telephone records. The pupil was interviewed by police and social workers, and admitted the affair.

His father said the family had been terrified about the impact of the case, not only on his son but on the familys honour, the court heard.

Emma Shafton, defending, said: This is a young lady who has had a spectacular fall from grace  university educated, comes from a respectable family  she has been utterly disgraced by this.

She told the judge her client is not sexually attracted to children, but added: She will of course be branded a paedophile for the rest of her life. She is a sex offender.

The court heard the relationship began in January, when McBrearty followed the boy on social media and asked for his phone number.

As a 'birthday treat' McBrearty picked the boy up and took him to a nearby garage for oral sex

The teacher was jailed for 16 months at Snaresbrook Crown Court after having an affair with a pupil

The barrister said McBrearty had been thrown in at the deep end after joining the profession through the Teach First fast-track training scheme and soon detested her job.

She added: She was low at the time. She was asked to teach subjects she had no experience in. That is why instead of socialising with her colleagues she socialised with students in the classroom.

McBrearty has resigned from the teaching profession. Miss Shafton added that while on bail, McBrearty has not been able to get a decent job that matches her qualifications and has instead been delivering parcels for Amazon on a zero-hours contract.

McBrearty pleaded guilty to the offences at an earlier hearing.
Advisors to President Donald Trump are floating CIA Director Mike Pompeo as a possible successor to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson as the president steams over Tillerson's failure to forcefully knock down a report he called Trump a 'moron.'

Trump offered 'total confidence' in Tillerson publicly following Tillerson's extraordinary statement where he defended Trump but failed to deny having called him a 'moron.'

That dramatic event followed an NBC report that Tillerson was on the verge of quitting last summer and had uttered the comment at a security meeting at the Pentagon.

But the president is furious that Tillerson didn't counter the story better and forcefully deny the comment,Axios reported.

CIA Director Mike Pompeo speaks with colleagues before delivering remarks at an event marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) June 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. Advisors to President Trump are floating him as a possible Secretary of State. The OSS was the precursor to the CIA

Instead, Tillerson said he wouldn't be part of 'petty nonsense' by addressing the question.

The report describes Trump as seething at how the story dominated cable news on a day he made his trip to visit victims and responders of the Las Vegas shooting. But the president helped amp up the coverage by tweeting and commenting publicly about the story, as did Tillerson by delivering a formal statement at the State Department to address the report.

Pompeo, a former House member, has regular contact withe the president, briefing him daily on the array of global threats.

He served three terms in Congress including on the Intelligence Committee, and was an Army Cavalry officer. Until he took over the CIA, he did not have experience running a huge government institution, of which State is among the most notoriously unwieldy.

Central Intelligence Agency Director Mike Pompeo delivers remarks at The Center for Strategic and International Studies April 13, 2017 in Washington, DC. This was the first public remarks by Pompeo since he took the helm at the U.S. spy agency

TEAM PLAYER: President Donald Trump, with National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster (L), Vice President Mike Pence (2nd R) and CIA Director Mike Pompeo (R), speaks during a security briefing on August 10, 2017, at his Bedminster National Golf Club in New Jersey

Any reshuffling would introduce more drama into an administration that has already seen multiple high level departures, including the resignation of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price last Friday.

Trump announced Pompeo as among his first security appointments, on the same day he announced Gen. Mike Flynn would be his national security advisor (Flynn was forced out following disclosures about his Russia contacts and failure to provide information to Vice President Mike Pence.)

NBC reported that Tillerson nixed plans to travel with Trump on Wednesday in order to try to contain the 'moron' story.

Meanwhile, the White House continues to try to project an aura of calm about the blowup and the fraught relations between Trump and Tillerson, a former Exxon CEO.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday that Trump wasn't bothered by the fact that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson didn't deny calling the president a 'moron.'

White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called NBC News' 'moron' story a 'pretty ridiculous accusation' and suggested it was below Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to deny he made the comment outright

'Look, as the secretary of state said, this is a pretty ridiculous accusation and, frankly, I think it's beneath the secretary of state to weigh in on every rumor out there,' Huckabee Sanders said. 'His spokesperson, however, did come out and clarify that the secretary of state never used those words,' she added.

Thursday marked the second day the White House, Tillerson and Vice President Mike Pence have pushed back on the story, first reported by NBC News, which said Tillerson was on the verge of quitting in July and even called the president a 'moron' at a Pentagon meeting with security officials.

Scroll down for video

President Donald Trump weighed in for the second consecutive day on Thursday following an NBC report that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson threatened to quit and called Trump a 'moron' during a security meeting

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had to make a rare public statement Wednesday fending off a report that said he wanted to quit his post. At the presser, he didn't explicitly deny calling President Trump a 'moron'

But Tillerson, in an extraordinary speech at the State Department Tuesday, did not directly deny having used the term. A state spokeswoman later said Tillerson 'does not use that language to speak about anyone.'

The president weighed in for the second consecutive day on Thursday.

'Rex Tillerson never threatened to resign. This is Fake News put out by @NBCNews. Low news and reporting standards. No verification from me,' Trump wrote on Twitter.

The report stated that Tillerson, who was in Texas for his son's wedding at the time, had threatened not to come back to Washington.

Tillerson appears to have persuaded a very important audience with his Thursday speech where he vouched for President Donald Trump's intelligence: the president himself.

Trump said Wednesday he was 'honored' by Tillerson's emphatic remarks following the NBC report as the drama unfolded on a day the president flew to Las Vegas to meet with shooting victims and responders.

The president blasted the report as 'fake news' and 'totally phony'  while expressing 'total confidence' in his secretary of state.

President Donald Trump told reporters he was 'honored' by Tillerson's comments following remarks at an event at University Medical Center in Las Vegas to honor shooting victims

His comments came hours after Tillerson addressed the report but refused to specifically deny having called the president a moron.

'I'm very honored by his comments. It was fake news. It was a totally phony story,' Trump said in Las Vegas, where he flew Wednesday to honor victims of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.

'Thank you very much,' the president continued. 'It was made up. It was made up by NBC. They just made it up. Total confidence in Rex. I have total confidence,' the president said.

In an extraordinary speech at the State Department, Tillerson vouched for Trump in unreserved fashion, calling him 'smart' and saying he 'loves his country.'

'He loves his country. He puts Americans and America first. Hes smart. He demands results wherever he goes,' said Tillerson.

But he wouldn't be specific when pressed on the 'moron' comment.

'Im not going to deal with petty stuff like that,' Tillerson said when asked about the alleged 'moron' remark, in comments carried live on cable networks.

Trump said he had 'total confidence' in his secretary of state, who is reported to have called him a 'moron'

Tensions reached the point where Vice President Mike Pence (right) counseled Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (left) on how to ease the tensions

'I mean, this is what I dont understand about Washington. Again, Im not from this place. But the places I come from we dont deal with that kind of petty nonsense and it is intended to do nothing but divide people and I'm just not going to be part of this effort to divide this administration,' he said.

The speech had an immediate effect. Trump tweeted moments after Tillerson spoke that the NBC story had been 'totally refuted.'

'The @NBCNews story has just been totally refuted by Sec. Tillerson and @VP Pence. It is #FakeNews. They should issue an apology to AMERICA!'

Tillerson has noted he serves at the pleasure of the president, even as he disputed reports he was ready to walk.

MORON THIS TOPIC: Tillerson said he hadn't spoken to the president, and hadn't been asked to make the remarks

Tillerson was emphatic  and specific  in denying he was going to quit.

'There has never been a consideration in my mind to leave,' he said.

Wednesday afternoon, after the numerous outlets noted that Tillerson had not explicity denied having made the 'moron' comment, State spokeswoman Heather Nauert was more precise.

'The secretary does not use that type of language,' Nauert said. 'The secretary did not use that type of language to speak about the president of the United States. He does not use that language to speak about anyone,' she said.

Trump also went after NBC and called on the network to make an apology.

According to the NBC report, Tillerson was on the verge of quitting in July, right around when President Trump delivered his infamously political speech to the Boy Scouts of America, even calling the president a 'moron,' according to NBC News.

Tillerson, who had previously served as president of the Boy Scouts, wasn't there as Trump heralded his own Electoral College win and talked up the 'record' crowd he drew at the National Scout Jamboree.

Several days earlier, after a July 20 Pentagon national security meeting, Tillerson referred to the president as a 'moron.'

The Pentagon incident came a day after a meeting in the White House Situation Room where Trump rattled his national security team by suggesting he might fire the top US commander in Afghanistan, comparing the decision-making process on troop levels to renovating a high-end restaurant in New York, participants in the meeting said.

Tensions reached the point where Vice President Mike Pence (right) counseled Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (left) on how to ease the tensions

Tillerson's reported utterance of the word 'moron' stunned the handful of high-level administration officials who witnessed the secretary of state's outburst.

Relations got so frayed that Vice President Mike Pence, who regularly hails Trump in public remarks, counseled Tillerson on ways to ease the tensions, according to NBC's reporting.

Vice President Mike Pence's office denied in a statement ever having discussed Tillerson's resignation with him.

'The vice president can also confirm that, as the secretary of state made clear, at no time did he and the secretary ever discuss the prospect of the secretary's resignation from the administration,' according to a statement following the NBC report.
A new anti-racism campaign launched by the Human Rights Commission has sparked outrage online.

One of the 30 second videos, titled 'Elevator - Racism. It stops with me', has been heavily criticised, with people calling it 'divisive and unrealistic'.

Conservative radio and television broadcaster Paul Murray posted a link to the video on his Facebook page.

Scroll down for video

A new anti-racism campaign (pictured) launched by the Human Rights Commission has sparked outrage online

One of the 30 second videos, titled 'Elevator - Racism. It stops with me' (pictured), has been heavily criticised, with people calling it divisive and unrealistic

Murray's caption read: 'Not a sketch, not a joke. THIS is what HRC thinks 'White Men' do in lifts. What rubbish!

The video shows a white businessman in a suit politely letting a white woman enter a lift in an office building before him.

Then he spots a woman of African background running for the same lift, but instead of giving her the same treatment he tries to stop her from entering.

The horrified white woman steps out of the lift, and both of them stare at the businessman in disgust as the words 'Racism. It stops with me' appear.

The man spots a woman of African background running for the same lift, but instead of giving her the same treatment he tries to stop her from entering (pictured)

Social media users were scathing in their responses to the video.

'I am angry that tax dollars have been wasted on such puerile, infantile rubbish,' wrote one person.

'In over 25 years in the workforce working with people of many ethnicities I rarely see anything like this. In fact I feel the HRC discriminate against white males.'

'Maybe she works in his office and every day she steals his yoghurt from the fridge that he specifically writes his name on, so he didn't want to hold the lift for her? Now he looks like the bad guy!' wrote another.

Others wrote they have never experienced being in a situation like the one portrayed in the ad.

The horrified white woman (pictured) steps out of the lift, and both of them stare at the businessman in disgust as the words 'Racism. It stops with me' appear

'I'm dark skinned and this has NEVER EVER happened to me in my 45 years. The divisiveness from this mob is truly breathtaking,' said a female commenter.

'As a brown skinned female who is 52 years old, I have never experienced any form of racism in my life,' said another.

'It's like the progressives need to invent problems because they can't find any real ones.

The Human Rights Commission said the videos 'depict casual racism in the workplace and the provision of goods and services'.

Conservative radio and television broadcaster Paul Murray posted a link to the video on his Facebook page (pictured)

'Racism frequently occurs at work and while people are doing everyday things such as catching a bus, riding a train, or flagging a taxi,' Dr Soutphommasane said

Australia's Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane said the videos, called Community Service Announcements, will be broadcast on national TV.

'Racism frequently occurs at work and while people are doing everyday things such as catching a bus, riding a train, or flagging a taxi,' Dr Soutphommasane said.

'This might come as a surprise to Australians who tend to think that racism is a thing of the past. But independent research and the experiences of many people tells us otherwise.

'We have developed these Community Service Announcements because we want to raise awareness of everyday racism and its impact.

Commenters on Facebook (pictured) were scathing in their written responses to the video

'We'd like to get people thinking about what they can do to help put a stop to racism.

'We hope these CSAs help create a culture where people are able to identify racism and have the confidence to respond appropriately and safely,' he said.

The elevator video, along with a similar one showing a racist taxi driver, will be shown on free-to-air television over the next two months.

The HRC said a woman of African background was chosen because independent research has found 'people with an African background frequently experience racism at work or while using public services such as transport'.
The owner of a vegan food truck in northeastern Pennsylvania has sparked outrage after writing dismissively of the deaths of 'meat eaters' in the Las Vegas massacre.

Delinda Jensen, 60, tells the Times Leader of Wilkes-Barre that she has received death threats and abusive comments, and was forced to close down her business in the wake of her post Monday night.

Jensen wrote: 'Yes I am jaded. Fifty nine meat eaters dead. How many animals will live because of this?" In a second comment, she used an expletive to say she didn't care about "carnists."'

Eating her words: Delinda Jensen (left), the owner of the Mother Nature Vegan Cuisine food truck in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was forced to go out of business after posting a message on Facebook dismissing the deaths of 'meat eaters' in the Las Vegas massacre

Firestorm unleashed: Jensen, 60, faced immediate backlash after posting this status update less than 24 hours after 58 concertgoers, who she dubbed 'carnists,' were murdered by Stephen Paddock, who also killed himself

Too little, too late: Jensen realized her error and tried to clarify her original post in a follow-up, but that did not help matters

Her post came less than 24 hours after Stephen Craig Paddock, 64, opened fire from his Mandalay Bay hotel room on concertgoers attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival on the Las Vegas Strip, killing 58 and injuring more than 500 others before turning the gun on himself as a SWAT team closed in.

Jensen and her son and business partner, 28-year-old Kyle Jensen, have been laying low in the wake of the controversy unleashed by her post.

Hunkered down: Jensen and her son and business partner, 28-year-old Kyle (pictured), have deleted their social media accounts and have been laying low since Monday

They have installed a security camera outside their Wilkes-Barre home and have made several calls to police because they feared for their safety after having threats and obscenities hurled at them by passersby.

Jensen, a former adjunct history professor at Maryland University, has deleted her Facebook account and hidden away her bright-green food truck, but she says that did nothing to stop the verbal abuse.

The 60-year-old tells the paper she's sorry for the post.

'Was it poorly written? Absolutely. Do I regret it? Yes. I am so sorry I wrote that,' she said Thursday. 'Meat eaters or not, no one deserves to die like that. I wasnt celebrating the death of those people. Thats not how vegans think  we are non-violent.'

Jensen noted that she wrote a second post after facing backlash to clarify her position, saying she 'did not delight' in the deaths of the victims, but by then it was too late. The follow-up read, in part: 'the consequence of this incident is, at least fewer animals will be consumed.'

The food truck entrepreneur lamented no longer having an avenue to apologize to the victims of the Las Vegas tragedy because she is afraid to go back on Facebook amid the firestorm sparked by her original status update.

Jensen, who is a recent convert to veganism, explained that she was trying to make the point that people who consume meat are responsible for the torture and slaughter of countless animals each year.

Epiphany: Jensen, a widow and former history professor, turned to veganism two years ago because she came to believe that eating meat was unethical

Her food truck, Mother Nature Vegan Cuisine, was offering people a healthy alternative to meat, according to Jensen, but as a result of what she described as 'a moment of stupidity,' her business has been destroyed.

Jensen had lost her husband to a suicide and says she has no other means of earning a living.

Her son, who has a degree in culinary arts, is optimistic that he will be able to find another job and says he is not angry at his mother for her outburst.
A massive overhaul may be coming to the triple-zero emergency service line, as people will be able to text the number for help and even send live video from the scene of accidents under proposed changes.

Police are looking for new ways to improve the emergency line in New South Wales, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Some of the options being mooted include using social media more effectively and allowing text messages and photos to be sent to notify emergency services.

People will be able to text 000 for help and even send live video from the scene of accidents under proposed changes

Police are looking for new ways to improve the emergency line in New South Wales

One in five people incorrectly believe they can text 000 in an emergency, according to a working paper issued by the National Emergency Communications Working Group.

It cited overseas examples where people have been left stranded when they tried to text an emergency line, and an example closer to home where a jogger died in Terrey Hills after it took an hour to locate him.

Police Minister Troy Grant said using new technology was vital, while a NSW Police spokesman said using data, videos and images was currently a critical part of their work.

It cited overseas examples where people have been left stranded when they tried to text an emergency line (stock image)

One in five people incorrectly believe they can text 000 in an emergency

Other options being considered by police include the use of mapping through smartphones to spot specifically where calls were coming from.

Police consider the triple-zero emergency line to be the most time-critical part of their work.

NSW Police will began a review into the triple-zero line from the end of October.
A woman has been attacked in Austria for telling a Muslim she was breaking the law by wearing a veil - just days after a burka ban came in to effect in the country.

The teacher reminded the burka-clad woman about the ban near the Zieglergasse metro station in the Austrian capital Vienna.

But moments later, she claimed she was pushed to the ground with her alleged attacker insisting she did not have to abide by the law.

A woman has been attacked in Austria for telling a Muslim she was breaking the law by wearing a veil - just days after a burka ban came in to effect in the country (file picture)

The teacher, who wished the remain anonymous, claimed that she had been branded a 'racist' as a group of young men gathered to support the burka-clad woman.

Police were called in to calm the situation.

The teacher is quoted as saying: 'They took my personal details and brought the burka-wearer to the police station for identification.'

According to the police, it was the first such incident in Vienna since the implementation of the burka-ban, which came into effect on October 1.

The law was adopted by Austria's parliament in May.

Those who cover their faces with a burka, niqab or a mask in public spaces will be fined 150 EUR (132).

The teacher reminded the burka-clad woman about the ban near the Zieglergasse metro station in the Austrian capital Vienna (file picture) only for her comment to be dismissed

It come as it emerged today that Denmark will ban full-face coverings, including Islamic veils such as the niqab or burka.

Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, of Denmark's liberal party that leads a centre-right governing coalition, said a law proposal was not aimed at any religion.

He also said it was not a ban of scarfs, turbans or kippa, the traditional Jewish skull cap. Mr Ellemann-Jensen spoke on Friday after a meeting in parliament.

The burka ban is believed to enjoy widespread support, including from the opposition Social Democrats.

The move is mostly seen as directed at the dress worn by some ultra-conservative Muslim women although few Muslim women in Denmark wear full-face veils.

No date for a formal vote was announced but Austria, France and Belgium have similar laws.
A statue depicting composer Stephen Foster (1826-1864) being inspired by an African American banjo player and slave named Uncle Ned is sparking controversy

The statue of 'America's first composer' in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has come under fire, with critics claiming it is racist and amounts to cultural appropriation.

Stephen Foster (1826-1864) was a musician who composed mostly parlor music, a form of music enjoyed by the white middle classes of his day.

He also composed some minstrel music, the latter being used to accompany formerly popular minstrel shows in which white performers appeared in blackface and mocked African Americans. By some accounts, he is the 'father of American music' or 'America's first composer'.

A 10-foot-tall statue depicting him sitting, with an African American banjo player beneath him, was built by Guiseppe Moretti, an Italian sculptor, in 1900. The statue, meant to show the banjo player inspiring Foster, is on public property on a high-traffic area of Forbes Avenue adjacent to the University of Pittsburgh.

Amid the removal of monuments to the Confederacy across the country, a city commission is looking into whether the Foster memorial should remain standing, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto has asked the commission to gouge public opinion about what the fate of the statue should be.

The statue is in a public park along a high-traffic portion of Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Penn Live notes: '[The statue] was designed to show Foster being inspired by a black musician, but the black man depicted in the sculpture, Uncle Ned, is a caricature popularized by minstrel shows'

A daguerreotype depicts Stephen Foster, sometimes considered the 'father of American music' or 'America's first composer'

At a public dialogue on Wednesday attended by the Post-Gazette and other local news outlets, residents spoke for and against the removal of the monument, which lies in Schenley Plaza.

One resident vehemently for the removal said: 'You should melt the metal part down and recoup a little bit of [money].'

A resident against the removal wrote in a letter published by the Post-Gazette: 'As far as the statue is concerned, others may see a black man at a white man's feet.

'I always saw a downtrodden, poor man teaching a well-to-do man that you can forget your woes through music.'

'Not only does it depict a white man in a dominant, oppressive posture over a black man portrayed as a slave submissively playing a banjo at his feet,' another resident for the removal said at the meeting. 'But it boldly represents the same white man unabashedly claiming the black man's work on his own,' Penn Live reports.

A resident who supports moving the structure but does not think it should be demolished said: 'I see history, true to its form.'

The sculpture was built by Giuseppe Moretti, an Italian sculptor, in 1900

An analysis by Penn Live notes that the statue was designed to show Foster being inspired by Uncle Ned, a caricature from minstrel shows of years past.

The lyrics for a song called 'Old Uncle Ned', which details the slave's plight, were written by Foster.

The song begins: 'Dere was an old N****, dey call'd him uncle Ned. / He's dead long ago, long ago! / He had no wool on de top ob his head / De place whar de wool ought to grow.'

Critics allege that the statue reflects a broader trend of white musicians appropriating ideas from African American music and reaping their cultural and financial benefits.

Meanwhile, an analysis by Trib Live argues that Foster was in fact an early advocate for the experience of African Americans. Some argue that 'Old Uncle Ned' subtly advocates for abolition.

And in attempting to answer the question of whether Foster himself was racist, the University of Pittsburgh's Center for American Music notes: 'Certainly Foster was a product of a society in which derogatory images of African-Americans pervaded almost every aspect of social discourse, from ordinary conversation to literature to visual and aural images and portrayals.'

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto said of the monument: 'Public sentiment that has spoken the loudest and the most has been on the removal of the statue from a public location'

Out of more than 100 written responses to the commission - independently of the public dialogue - almost half favored relocating or removing the Foster statue, reports the Post-Gazette.

A quarter favored keeping it in its place on Forbes Avenue. The remainder voted for other proposals, such as adding some sort of plaque that provides context for Foster's life and works.

Mayor Peduto said at a press conference: 'Public sentiment that has spoken the loudest and the most has been on the removal of the statue from a public location.'

Deliberations on what to do with the statue will continue throughout the month.
The disgraced ex-CEO of Equifax credit bureau has blamed the hack of over 145 million Americans' personal financial history on a single IT worker.

Richard Smith, who has been apologizing for the data breach in Washington DC, was testifying to the Senate Banking Committee.

He said a single person in the IT department failed to update - 'patch' - a security weak spot after the company was warned about it in March.

Richard Smith, who has been apologizing for the data breach in Washington DC, was testifying to the Senate Banking Committee

According to NBC, he said: 'An individual did not ensure communication got to the right person to manually patch the application.'

He also said that despite spending nearly $250 million on security, the firm's scanning software did not find a weak point until an intrusion was spotted on July 29.

Texas Congressman Jeb Hensarling - who chairs the House Financial Services Committee, to which Smith also testified - said 'criminals got everything they need to steal your identity' during the breach.

He added: 'This may be the most harmful attack on a company's personal information the world has ever seen.'

There were also digs at Smith about the awarding of a $7.25 million contract to Equifax with the IRS.

Seven members of the Senate Banking Committee are asking the IRS to rescind the contract.

There were also digs at Smith about the awarding of a $7.25 million contract to Equifax with the IRS

The senators said it shows a clear disregard for millions of Americans who had their personal information stolen.

The contract came to light as Equifax's former chief executive made the rounds at a series of congressional hearings this week on a data breach that affected 145 million Americans.

The IRS renewed a contract with Equifax to verify taxpayers' identities, but only until it could resolve a protest Equifax had lodged after the IRS went with another bidder.

The senators say in a letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen that 'we have no assurances that our constituents' personal information is safe in their hands.'
Advertisement

This tiny panda cub looks to be in absolute bliss as it enjoys a bear hug from its adoring mother.

Photos show Huan Huan carefully cradling her fluffy black and white baby in her arms at Beauval Zoo in Saint-Aignan, central France.

In one shot, the loving mother tenderly grips her cub between her teeth and affectionately licks him clean. In another, the tiny animal, called Mini Yuan Zi lets out a yawn.

The cub became the first Giant panda to be born in France on August 4, three years after its parents, Huan Huan and Yuan Zi arrived at the zoo.

Parental bond: This tiny panda cub looks to be in absolute bliss as it enjoys a bear hug from its adoring mother Huan Huan

Gently does it: Photos show Huan Huan carefully cradling her fluffly black and white baby in her arms at Beauval Zoo in Saint-Aignan, central France

Bath time: In one shot, the loving mother tenderly grips her cub between her teeth and affectionately licks him clean

In safe paws: The cub became the first Giant panda to be born in France on August 4, three years after its parents, Huan Huan and Yuan Zi arrived at the zoo

Pure bliss: Mother Huan Huan gently moves her fluffy black and white cub into position using her powerful jaws

Helping hand: The stunning photos were taken by wildlife photographer, Eric Baccega who had privileged access behind the scenes at Beauval Zoo, France

The photographer said Chinese experts are on hand to ensure the tiny cub receives the best possible care at the zoo in France

The young animal, which was born in August this year, has been named Mini Yuan Zi by zoo staff. It is shown letting out a tiny yawn

Comfort: The young bear looks entirely at ease as its mother cradles the youngster in her arms at the zoo in France

The panda cub undergoes frequent checks and receives extra care and attention from Chinese experts at the zoo




Zameer Ghumra from Leicester was today jailed for six years for trying to radicalise two young boys by showing them extremist videos published by ISIS

A pharmacist who showed a primary school child horrific videos of ISIS beheadings and told him and his brother to kill people who spoke out against Islam has been jailed for six years.

Zameer Ghumra 'brainwashed' the boys, teaching them to fight with butter knives and Nerf guns.

The 38-year-old pharmacist rewarded them with sweets to keep them onside and urged the youngsters to join the Islamic terror group - who he described as 'not bad people'.

When asked by one child how anyone could do something so 'disgusting' as behead a helpless captive, Ghumra replied: 'If you truly believe in Allah, you can do it.'

He was arrested in November 2015 while attempting to fly to Turkey, and charged with disseminating terrorist propaganda in the form of a graphic Twitter video between January 2013 and September 2014.

Ghumra, who had worked as a pharmacist for 11 years, denied the allegation - but was found guilty by a jury at Nottingham Crown Court following an eight-day trial.

Judge Gregory Dickinson QC, sentencing, told him today: 'This was a terrible thing to do.

'What makes this case particularly serious is the reason why the defendant showed to the child those dreadful scenes. It was part of a determined effort to indoctrinate and to radicalise the child and to turn this small boy into a terrorist.

'This is a most shocking crime. It has damaged these children.'

The judge added Ghumra hadn't shown any remorse, and said there was evidence he 'still clings to some of his extreme views'.

The court heard the boys' mother believed one had suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and had nightmares about being killed by a sniper.

Zameer Ghumra, 38, (pictured) 'brainwashed' two primary school-age youngsters, instructing them to not have non-Muslim friends and showed them ISIS beheading videos

Ghumra, pictured, also banned a poppy seller from the pharmacy he had managed

Jurors heard how Ghumra followed a number of ISIS-linked social media accounts and made the boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, do the same. He produced a sick 'business card' for one which described him as a 'Palestine Army General' and showed an image of an assault rifle.

Ghumra worked as a pharmacist in Oundle, Northamptonshire, but the court was told he was setting up a madrasa, an Islamic religious school, in his home town of Leicester.

He also claimed he had online conversations with jailed hate preacher Anjem Choudary, describing him as 'a good man' to the children.

And he told a customer in his pharmacy that ISIS fighters were 'not bad people' - adding: 'They're only defending themselves.'

Ghumra went on to tweet that 'Hitler was on the right track. They shouldn't have stopped him', and how Buckingham Palace could become a 'great mosque' once ISIS took over Britain.

While giving evidence, one boy told the court: 'He had Isis training videos and people being beheaded.

'There was talking and then the American soldier was beheaded.

'It made me feel disgusting. He said if you truly love Allah then you do it.

'I told him I get a horrid feeling when I see this.'

Nottingham Crown Court heard Ghumra wanted to recruit the boys into joining ISIS

The boy claimed he and his brother had been shown 'a lot' of beheading videos by Ghumra, adding: 'He believes in a very, very, very extreme Islam. He believes if anyone's non-Muslim and they say anything bad about Islam you kill them.

'And you can't make friends with any non-Muslim.

'He was teaching us about knives. He was teaching us to thrown knives and how to punch and kick. He already knew somehow and he taught us.

'We used to use butter knives. You have to hold it in a specific way and throw it in a specific way.'

The second boy told jurors how Ghumra had 'brainwashed' him.

It was part of a determined effort to indoctrinate and to radicalise the child and to turn this small boy into a terrorist Judge Gregory Dickinson

He said: 'He used to make us like him and get us into joining ISIS. Every time we started to stop liking him he used to buy us sweets or something to make us like him again. He used to keep on doing that.

'He said that Isis are good and he used to get us Nerf guns and trying to teach us how to survive in a situation like Isis.

'He said that if you don't follow the rules of Islam you go to hell.

'There was five or six pillars of Islam. You have to pray, you have to not drink alcohol and other stuff like that and other stuff he made up.'

Another witness told the court that Ghurma banned him from the pharmacy where he worked after he had urged him to have a poppy tin on display.

The witness said: 'He said words to the effect of, "You've got blood on your hands". He told me I was barred and to get out.

'It wasn't his pharmacy. He was just the manager.'

Prosecutor Simon Davis told jurors: 'We say what the defendant was doing, saying and telling the children to do, amounted to indoctrination, radicalisation, or whatever word you want to use, at an early age.

'He showed them Islamic State training videos, that included how to behead somebody.

'It was apparent the defendant had been brainwashing the children to the extent that anything non-Muslim was haram (forbidden).'

Ghumra denied the claims against him, telling the court: 'I realised ISIS was starting to make their own violence. As soon as I realised that I parted ways.

'I was anti-violence then and I'm anti-violence now.'

But he was found guilty by jurors after just two hours' deliberation.

Speaking after Ghumra was convicted, Sue Hemming, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'The CPS case was that he intended to radicalise them in the hope that they would go on to be involved in terrorism.

'The children were brave to give evidence and we would like to thank them for helping to secure this conviction of a dangerous man.'

Sue Hemming of the CPS said: 'Zameer Ghumra tried to brainwash impressionable children with this violent ideology by making one watch beheading videos and urging them both to adopt a hard-line religious outlook.

'The CPS case was that he intended to radicalise them in the hope that they would go on to be involved in terrorism.

'The children were brave to give evidence and we would like to thank them for helping to secure this conviction of a dangerous man.'

During the investigation, his computer contained more than 1,600 internet search entries for entries such as survival, bush craft and survival knives.

Ghumra also taught the children how to survive a bomb attack while warning them on their arrival in Syria, they would have to behead people.

Detective Chief Superintendent Martin Snowden, the head of counter-terrorism policing in the North East, said Ghumra's offending was 'significant'.

He said: 'Zameer Ghumra willingly abused a position of trust, showing young children a violent and explicit beheading video with no regard for the profound effect the disturbing material may have on them. That act alone is unforgivable.

'He also used social media accounts to follow terrorist content online and to advertise his teaching services. His teaching role increases his risk, potentially giving him direct access to young or vulnerable people who may look up to him as an authority figure.

'Terrorist publications and propaganda seek to encourage support for terrorism and the implications of sharing or disseminating them are extremely serious.'
Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein is facing calls to be stripped of his CBE over revelations he has sexually harassed female employees and movie stars for decades.

American Weinstein, 65, was named an honourary Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE, by the Queen for his contribution to the British film industry in 2004.

But the multiple Oscar-winning founder of film companies Miramax and The Weinstein Company has been embroiled in a sexual harassment scandal after the New York Times revealed a decades long record of alleged misconduct.

Now he is facing calls to strip his CBE.

Harvey Weinstein arrived at his home in New York City amid allegations of sexual harassment. The Hollywood mogul is facing calls to be stripped of his honourary CBE

Family: He is married to designer Georgina Chapman (above in February 2017) and the couple has two young children. Weinstein also has three girls from his first marriage

Critics took to Twitter to call for Weinstein to be stripped of his CBE. He was granted an honourary CBE in 2004 as an American citizen

Taking to Twitter, Brian Silvester said: 'Will Harvey Weinstein now lose his honorary CBE?'

And alongside a link to the New York Times' allegations, Melissa Santucci wrote: 'What is the policy regarding revoking a sexual predator's CBE?'

In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Weinstein said he regretted his inappropriate behavior towards women stretching back decades.

He also claimed his British fashion designer wife Georgina Chapman and his five children were standing by him.

He said: 'I have had tough conversations with my family, really tough ones but my family is standing with me.

'I have a journey and I have to prove to every person that's out there that I'm worthy of them and I have to prove to my family the same thing.

Sharing her story: It is alleged Weinstein paid Rose McGowan (left) $100,000 and invited Ashley Judd (right) to his hotel room for a meeting and then asked if she would watch him shower

'This is going to be a journey, a lonely journey, but a journey where my wife and kids couldn't be stronger and couldn't be standing behind me more.'

As an American citizen, Weinstein was granted an honourary CBE.

How a CBE can be removed Protocol sees honours forfeited where the person is considered to have brought the system into disrepute. A recommendation can be made by the Honours and Appointments Secretariat to the forfeiture committee to revoke an honour if a person has been found guilty of a criminal offence, and the final decision must be approved by the Queen. High profile cases of people being stripped of their gongs include Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe, who lost his honorary knighthood in 2008 over his 'abuse of human rights' and 'abject disregard' for democracy. Pervert entertainer Rolf Harris lost his CBE in 2015 when he was jailed for nearly six years for a string of attacks on girls as young as seven. Advertisement

Protocol sees honours forfeited where the person is considered to have brought the system into disrepute.

A recommendation can be made by the Honours and Appointments Secretariat to the forfeiture committee to revoke an honour if a person has been found guilty of a criminal offence, and the final decision must be approved by the Queen.

High profile cases of people being stripped of their gongs include Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe, who lost his honorary knighthood in 2008 over his 'abuse of human rights' and 'abject disregard' for democracy.

Pervert entertainer Rolf Harris lost his CBE in 2015 when he was jailed for nearly six years for a string of attacks on girls as young as seven.

Weinstein has instructed a team of top lawyers and plans to sue the New York Times for $50 million for writing a story that is 'saturated with false and defamatory statements about Harvey Weinstein'.

A spokesman for the paper said they stand by their reporting.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Recommendations to revoke honours are considered by the Forfeiture Committee. Each case is considered on its merits.

'The Committee's recommendations for forfeiture are submitted through the Prime Minister to The Queen. If The Queen gives her approval, a notice of forfeiture is placed in the London Gazette.'
The executive director of the nuclear disarmament group awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today called Donald Trump a 'moron' just two days ago.

Beatrice Fihn, who works for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), also tweeted that President Trump had threatened 'nuclear war'.

Her Geneva-based group was honored for helping bring about a UN treaty in July which banned nuclear weapons.

In July, 122 nations adopted a UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons but the nuclear-armed countries - United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea - stayed out of the talks.

Beatrice Fihn, who works for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican), tweeted that President Trump had threatened 'nuclear war'

On Wednesday, Fihn tweeted simply: 'Donald Trump is a moron'

On Wednesday, Fihn tweeted simply: 'Donald Trump is a moron.'

Her remark came after a report that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had called the president a moron after a meeting at the Pentagon.

But Fihn's Twitter account is littered with criticism of the commander in chief.

On Tuesday, she said the president 'threatens nuclear war, rejects diplomacy and multilateralism'.

She added: '[He] wants to build new types of nukes but somehow states that want to make a legally binding commitment to never use or possess nuclear weapons are the irresponsible ones?'

Fihn has also retweeted messages critical of Trump, including one showing an edited animation of the president holding up a cartoon with the words 'rocket man' next to it - a reference to his name for North Korea's dictator.

Nuclear disarmament group ICAN coordinator Daniel Hogstan, executive director Beatrice Fihn (centre) and her husband Will Fihn Ramsay after ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prize for its decade-long campaign to rid the world of the atomic bomb

On Tuesday, she said the president 'threatens nuclear war, rejects diplomacy and multilateralism'. She added: [He] wants to build new types of nukes but somehow states that want to make a legally binding commitment to never use or possess nuclear weapons are the irresponsible ones?'

On September 19, she wrote: 'Trump condemns use of chemical weapons in Syria minutes after he threatened to wipe out North Korea with nuclear weapons.'

Discussing the award today, Nobel Committee President Berit Reiss-Andersen said: 'Through its inspiring and innovative support for the UN negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons, Ican has played a major part in bringing about what in our day and age is equivalent to an international peace congress'.

Committee President Berit Reiss-Andersen (pictured) said: 'We live in a world where the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time.'

Referring to the North Korea nuclear crisis, she added: 'We live in a world where the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time.'

Fihn said she was 'delighted' with the award, but added: 'We're not done yet. The job isn't done until nuclear weapons are gone.'

Reiss-Andersen added: 'This year's Peace Prize is also a call upon these states to initiate serious negotiations with a view to the gradual, balanced and carefully monitored elimination of the almost 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world'.

On Tuesday, Fihn said the president 'threatens nuclear war, rejects diplomacy and multilateralism'

North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile during a test in July

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (seen in a file photo released by the Pyongyang government last month) is a rational politician and the US needs to understand that to deal with the nuclear-armed country, a top Central Intelligence Agency Korea expert said Wednesday

The Nobel prize seeks to bolster the case of disarmament amid nuclear tensions between the United States and North Korea and uncertainty over the fate of a 2015 deal between Iran and major powers to limit Tehran's nuclear programme.

US President Donald Trump has called the Iran agreement the 'worst deal ever negotiated' and a senior administration official said on Thursday that Trump is expected to announce soon that he will decertify the landmark pact.

The award will be presented, along with the $1million prize fee, on 10 December in Oslo.

Recent winners include Barack Obama in 2009 and the European Union in 2012.
Advertisement

Georgina Chapman was seen leaving her Manhattan home on Friday morning, marking the first time she has been seen in public since her husband's decades of sexual harassment were revealed by The New York Times.

The Marchesa designer appeared morose but did manage to flash a smirk as she made her way out of the $15million townhouse she shares with Harvey Weinstein an hour after her husband headed off to work.

Weinstein exited the home on Friday carrying some papers under his arm and flashing a big smile as he made his way to the waiting SUV outside, with his trip to the office coming less than 24 hours after he informed the Times that he was taking a leave of absence.

The embattled Hollywood heavyweight appeared surprisingly upbeat and chipper, especially given the fact that his board will be voting on Friday afternoon on whether or not to cut all ties to the founder and namesake of the company.

He is also facing new allegations of improper conduct, with British actress Jessica Hynes taking to Twitter on Friday and writing: 'I was offered a film role at 19, Harvey Weinstein came on board and wanted me to screen test in a bikini. I refused & lost the job.'

She then added: 'I'm sure there are many more...'

Scroll down for videos

Easy breezey: Georgina Chapman, 42, stepped out of her $15 million townhouse in the West Village of Manhattan on Friday at around 9.30am on her way out of the city(above)

In a fog: The morose designer did her best to smile in her first public outing since an expose revealed details of her husband's three decades of sexual harassment

Turning the corner: The Marchesa designer, who has a son, 4, and daughter, 7, with Weinstein did not comment on the bombshell investigation as she headed off to her atelier

These $1050 Valentino rockstud leather sandals were made for walking: Chapman was off to work on her upcoming bridal presentation, which she is showing in appointments and will present next week

Laughing lion: Weinstein looked remarkably chipper and cheerful for an admitted sexual harasser

More stories: Tony-nominated British actress Jessica Hynes said on Friday that she was once fired from a film when she refused to do a screen test in a bikini

Hynes, who earlier in her career went by Jessica Stevenson, in now 44 and has starred in the two most recent 'Bridget Jones' films as well as number of theatrical productions, being nominated for a Tony in 2009 for her role in 'The Norman Conquests' on Broadway.

Her claim is remarkably similar to a blind item that has been floating around for over a decade, and is well known to many in Hollywood.

Writer and comedian Jack Howard noted that, replying to Hynes: 'Holy s*** I knew the story but I didn't know who it was about.'

Hynes did not reveal what the film was, but it would have been around 1991 or 1992 when Weinstein was beginning his ascent up the ranks in the movie industry while working in London.

It was also in 1991 when he sexually harassed the first of his many victims who came forward to speak with the Times on the record about his behavior.

Laura Madden said that she was asked by Weinstein to give him massages while he was staying at hotels in Dublin and London at that time.

'It was so manipulative,' said Madden.

'You constantly question yourself  am I the one who is the problem?'

Opening the floodgates: It was revealed on Thursday that Weinstein once asked Ashley Judd if she would like to watch him shower during a meeting in his room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills

Revolting revelations: He also paid $100,000 to Rose McGowan for an unknown incident shortly after she filmed her breakthrough role in the film 'Scream'

Last day before new start: McGowan's settlement is one of eight that Weinstein has reportedly paid out over the past 30 years

One last look: Weinstein glanced out the car window as his SUV drove off on Friday morning

Chapman, 41, did not comment on any of the claims on her way out of the home, heading straight off to her atelier ahead of her label's bridal presentation next week.

Georgina was still wearing her wedding ring on Friday

She stayed similarly silent on social media Thursday, opting to post photos of her bridal line rather than address the bombshell report in the Times, which will soon be followed by at least one more story in the New Yorker.

Weinstein played a big role in Chapman's ascent in the fashion world, as the well-connected executive facilitated the relationships between his wife and stars like Blake Lively, Jennifer Lopez, Penelope Cruz and Sandra Bullock.

Chapman may have been a bit down on Friday, but her sartorial selections were, as usual, picture perfect.

The British-born designer paired $1,045 Valentino heels and a purse from the Italian brand with a jean jacket and skirt.

Chapman then added a pop of color with her silk blouse and a $1500 Gucci bow belt with pearl accents.

She kept her eyes hidden however behind a large pair of $500 Dior Diorama sunglasses, while her hair looked as if it has been perfectly blown out and styled on Thursday.

When wronged goes right: Chapman may have been a bit down on Friday, but her sartorial selections were, as usual, picture perfect

The British-born designer paired strappy Valentino heels and a purse from the Italian brand with a jean jacket and skirt

Hint of color: Chapman then added a pop of color with her poppy-print silk blouse and bow-tie belt

Project runway: She kept her eyes hidden however behind a large pair of Dior sunglasses, while her hair looked as if it has been perfectly blown out and styled on Thursday

Lips are (almost) sealed: Chapman, 41, did not comment on any of the claims on her way out of the home, heading straight off to her atelier

Work work work work work: Chapman's label Marchesa will hold their bridal presentation next week

It was revealed on Thursday that Weinstein once asked Ashley Judd if she would like to watch him shower during a meeting in his room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills and paid $100,000 to Rose McGowan for an unknown incident shortly after she filmed her breakthrough role in the film 'Scream.'

That settlement is one of eight that Weinstein has reportedly paid out over the past 30 years, with Italian model Ambra Battilana also getting an undisclosed sum in 2015 after accusing the Hollywood executive of groping her and putting his hand under her skirt.

It was also inside his room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills where Weinstein allegedly stripped naked and forced a female employee to give a massage.

Weinstein did not deny any of the explosive claims uncovered by the Times, saying: 'I appreciate the way I've behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it. Though I'm trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go.'

He added that he is now taking a leave of absence from the company to 'deal with this issue head on.'

Stepping out: Chapman stayed similarly silent on social media Thursday, opting to post photos of her bridal line rather than address the bombshell report in the Times, which will soon be followed by at least one more story in the New Yorker

Last looks: Chapman flashed a hint of a smile before continuing off to work, with her job possibly being the family's only source of income soon

On the case: A man came out ahead of Weinstein carrying a metal briefcase, the contents of which were unclear

The big moment: Weinsten looked proud as a peacock while making his way to his chauffeured vehicle

Got his back: Weinstein was closely followed from the second he stepped outside on Friday

Crisis management: Weinstein dealt with questions by raising his hand to nearby reporters and asking them to talk to it

Tough to stomach: 'I was with a bunch of other actors, and it was critical that it was actors: The exact same thing had happened to them by the exact same mogul,' wrote Judd in 2015

Judd recounted her encounter with Weinstein, saying she was doing night shoots for her 1997 film 'Kiss the Girls' when she got an invite to meet with Weinsten that she could not pass up.

She said she felt uncomfortable from the start and ordered cereal from room service because it would arrive quicker than a hot meal.

Judd said she was asked to give Weinstein a massage and then a shoulder rub, both of which she declined while trying to get herself out of the room.

That is when he asked her to help him pick out his clothes for the day and then watch him shower.

'I said no, a lot of ways, a lot of times, and he always came back at me with some new ask,' said Judd.

'It was all this bargaining, this coercive bargaining.'

She eventually made her escape by joking that Weinstein would have to help her win an Oscar before she would be willing to touch him, stating that the prestige of working for his studio made it too difficult to forcefully shut down his harassment.

'There's a lot on the line, the cachet that came with Miramax,' explained Judd.

Judd previously wrote about the same experience in 2015 for Variety without naming Weinstein, simply saying it was a studio mogul.

'I was with a bunch of other actors, and it was critical that it was actors: The exact same thing had happened to them by the exact same mogul,' wrote Judd.

'Only when we were sitting around talking about it did we realize our experiences were identical. There was a mutual strengthening and fortification of our resolve.'

She later wrote in that piece: 'The ultimate thing when I was weaseling out of everything else was, "Will you watch me take a shower?" And all the other women, sitting around this table with me, said, "Oh my godthat's what he said to me too."'
Theresa May has been forced to delay a trade mission to China - after being bumped for Donald Trump.

The trip was expected to take place next month, with Downing Street hoping it would show post-Brexit Britain ready to thrive on the world stage.

But the plans have been put on hold after Beijing apparently decided it needed to prioritise an Asian tour by the US president.

The setback is embarrassing for the government as dozens of business leaders are said to have been approached accompany the PM and forge closer links with the world's second-largest economy.

Theresa May met Chinese premier Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Hangzhou in September last year (pictured). But she thought to have been forced to delay a trade mission to the country from next month

Sources told Sky News the visit had been pencilled in for the week of November 6, a time when Parliament is due to be in recess.

Mr Trump is set to visit five Fear East countries, including China and Japan, in early November.

The Chinese Communist Party's congress, which takes place every five years, is also due to be held at the end of this month and reportedly complicated the situation further.

Ministers have been eager to demonstrate Britain's pull beyond the EU, with the PM making high-profile trips to India, the Middle East and Japan.

Mrs May met Premier Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Hangzhou, China, in September last year.

She heralded a 'golden era' for China-UK relations and said she was determined to deepen ties.

In an interview in January, Mrs May confirmed that she would be going there again on a trade mission.

'I'm certainly going to be making a visit to China and we are looking at what timing would be appropriate,' she said.

US president Donald Trump is set to visit five Fear East countries, including China and Japan, in early November

'We're obviously looking at our trading relationship with China.'

Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable said: 'This postponement shows Britain is well down the list of Chinese priorities.

'All those promised free trade deals that we were told would be easy seem to be gradually disappearing.'
An appeal launched to see Family Court removed from the process of teenagers gaining access to sex-change drugs has been backed by Federal Attorney-General George Brandis.

Mr Brandis agrees teenagers wanting hormone treatment should no longer be required to go through the judicial system as it is 'therapeutic' to treat the 'disease' of gender dysphoria.

Family and Community Services however have hit back at the top law officer's believes support citing the decision to begin hormone treatment is not reversible, the Daily Telegraph reported.

Attorney-General George Brandis (pictured) supports an appeal for child sex-change

The appeal aims to exclude Family Court from teens wanting to access hormone drugs

The department believes if the child was to change their mind later it could have a long-lasting impact like infertility or damage the brain as it develops through adolescence.

In submission obtained by Newscorp the Attorney-General supports the ACT-based A Gender Agenda, which represents 'intersex, transgender and gender diverse people' as well as the Australian Human Rights Commission and Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital, who have the highest number gender dysphoria cases in the country.

The NSW Department of Family and Community Services are the only body to oppose the landmark case believing the court should oversee that the decision is in the best interest of the child.

Family and Community Services disagree with the top law officer's believes

The case was initially launched by the father of a 17-year-old who was born female but identified as male from nine-years-old, the Daily Telegraph reported in September.

The child, identified under the pseudonym Kelvin, then changed schools to start as a male, used a chest binder and attended the Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Intersex and Questioning 'campout' on the Central Coast in 2014.

His father has launched the appeal to remove the court from the process at all despite having decided Kelvin fully understands what is required with starting the hormone treatment.

No applications for hormone treatment have been denied since the first transgender case in 2004.

The ACT-based A Gender Agenda, represents 'intersex, transgender and gender diverse people' as well as the Australian Human Rights Commission and Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital - who have the highest number gender dysphoria cases in the country

The Family Court has seen around 60 similar cases between now and then.

Putting a case forward costs an estimated $20,000-plus in legal fees deterring many families from launching the action, meaning the child must wait until they are 18 to start the process without the court approval.

Multiple Family Court judges have indicated the issue is not for the courts.

'A number of judges have expressed the view that this is not a matter that should be before the court,' Associate Professor Fiona Kelly, the editor of Australian Journal of Family Law said on Monday.
Advertisement

The parents of a brain damaged seven-month-old baby whose doctors wish to end his life say he deserves his chance to 'fight for his life' in a new High Court battle echoing the tragic case of Charlie Gard.

Specialists at King's College Hospital in London say giving further intensive care treatment to seven-month-old Isaiah Thomas is 'futile, unduly burdensome and not in his best interests'.

Isaiah's mother Takesha Thomas and father Lanre Haastrup want treatment to continue.

Pictured: Seven-month-old Isaiah Thomas is currently in intensive care and his parents are locked in a High Court battle to keep him alive, echoing the tragic case of Charlie Gard

Charlie Gard's parents Chris Gard and Connie Yates fought Great Ormond Street through the courts to prevent doctors ending his life until they lost their battle and his life support was withdrawn in July.

Miss Thomas said outside the High Court today: 'We believe that Isaiah deserves his chance to fight for his life and that there is still more that can be done for him. We do not think it is in our son's best interests to stop the treatment which is keeping him alive'.

His father Lanre said previously: 'It's like the Charlie Gard case. They want to end my son's life'.

The couple say they have 'lost all trust' in the hospital, after Isaiah suffered brain damage, resulting from complications during labour on February 18 this year.

'He deserves the chance to fight': Parents Takesha Thomas and father Lanre Haastrup (pictured outside the hospital in August) wish treatment to continue

His mother Takesha, from Peckham, 'almost died' herself after giving birth to Isaiah after losing a pint of blood, leaving her in a coma for several days.

Isaiah Thomas's parents Takesha and Lanre are asking Mr Justice MacDonald (pictured) to dismiss the advice of Specialists at King's College Hospital in London and let him live

His mother Takesha, from Peckham, 'almost died' herself and lost nearly half of her blood, leaving her in a coma for several days.

She said in August: 'I could feel the baby shaking inside of me. He was inhaling blood'.

Isaiah's 'respiratory drive' was damaged, which means although he is growing normally he has trouble breathing on his own.

His doctors believe it would be better to let him die but his parents are refusing to accept he can't be helped.

Today a judge examined preliminary issues around Isaiah's case at a hearing in the Family Division of the High Court on Friday.

Mr Justice MacDonald made an order barring staff caring for Isaiah, whose family home is Peckham, south-east London, from being identified in media reports.

He said it was vital that medics were allowed to focus on Isaiah's care without any distractions publicity might generate.

Great Ormond Street medical staff had the same treatment during the Charlie Gard legal battle.

A further preliminary hearing has been listed for October 13.

Barrister Fiona Paterson, who represented King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, told Mr Justice MacDonald that Isaiah was born at King's College Hospital on February 18 with a severe brain injury thought to have been caused by a deprivation of oxygen.

Charlie Gard's parents Chris Gard and Connie Yates fought Great Ormond Street through the courts to prevent doctors ending his life until they lost their battle and his life support was withdrawn in July

How Charlie's battle became a worldwide phenomenon Charlie Gard died on July 28, shortly before his first birthday, after a lengthy court battle over his treatment for a rare inherited disease. His parents wanted to take him to America for an experimental treatment and raised more than 1.3million in public donations to pay for it, including tens of thousands from Daily Mail readers. More than 84,000 people donated to the fund after details of the family's plight emerged. But a High Court judge ruled the treatment was not in Charlie's best interests after doctors from Great Ormond Street Hospital warned there was no evidence it would succeed, and that Charlie had suffered severe brain damage. His genetic condition  infantile onset encephalomyopathy mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome  sapped energy from his muscles and left him unable to move or breathe unaided, although his parents insisted he continued to respond to them. His parents set up the Charlie Gard Foundation would help other youngsters with mitochondrial diseases or rare childhood illnesses. Advertisement

'Isaiah has been and continues to be ventilator-dependent and currently cared for in the trust's paediatric intensive care unit,' she said in a written case outline.

'A second opinion has been obtained on Isaiah's diagnosis, prognosis and possible treatment options.

'Unfortunately, it appears that there are no further investigations or forms of treatment which will benefit Isaiah.

'The treating team considers that, in the light of Isaiah's poor prognosis, continuing intensive care treatment is futile, unduly burdensome and not in his best interests.'

Lawyers representing the trust told the judge that Isaiah's parents opposed the application.

Mr Justice MacDonald said the order he had made barring the naming of medics would be reviewed at future hearings.

A Serious Incident Report from King's, published on July 28, found there was a delay in identifying that the baby's heartrate had dropped significantly for approximately 27 minutes, before a doctor was summoned and an emergency caesarean was ordered.

The report said 'ten or more minutes' could have been saved, which would not have resulted in the delivery of a perfectly healthy baby, but would likely have reduced the severity of the neurological damage. The report found no grounds for disciplinary action.

Isaiah is currently hooked up to a ventilator which breathes for him, and he is fed through a nasal tube.

He rests in a shared room in King's neonatal intensive care ward, where his mum and dad take turns to visit him 'unrelentingly, every day'.

Lanre, a 38-year-old practising lawyer living in Brockley, visits his son from 9pm to 1am after work. Takesha, a stylist, takes care of Isaiah from 11am and 4pm.
Corey Dunkin planned a trip to McDonald's with some mates to get chicken nuggets

A Sydney man's joke trip to McDonald's with a couple of mates spiraled out of control on social media, with 10,000 people 'interested' in attending the Facebook event.

Corey Dunkin, who is a bit bemused by what he calls his 'fifteen minutes of fame' said he organised the event.

'I was going to go anyway, so I thought I'd see who wanted to come along,' he said.

And on Thursday night, hundreds of people joined him in ordering nuggets at the George St McDonald's in Sydney.

A McDonald's run with mates became an international Facebook event for Dunkin (centre)

Hundreds of nugget-enthusiasts poured into McDonald's to get a photo with Corey Dunkin

'The idea of just going to McDonald's to get some nuggets for myself was really funny to me,' Mr Dunkin told Daily Mail Australia.

'So I thought others would find it funny too.'

Originally creating the private event in August with a few friends, Mr Dunkin decided to open it up to see what would happen.

The event called 'I'm going to go get some Chicken McNuggets' had over 4,000 people who clicked 'going' on Facebook.

'I've got to start organising more events, I guess,' Mr Dunkin told news.com.au. 'I must be doing something right.

'I was really surprised to see so many people turned up. I can't believe people went out of their way to come. It's just crazy.'

If Mr Dunkin has his way, October 6 will become an annual, international celebratory day for chicken nuggets.

Corey Dunkin was treated like royalty when he arrived at the George St McDonald's in Sydney

People clamoured for a photo of Corey Dunkin (left) and McDonald's reserved at table for him

People took to social media to call Corey Dunkin 'royalty', 'a hero' and a 'glorious celebrity'

He said he was inspired and encouraged by the number of interstate and overseas posts he had received from people joining him 'in spirit'.

Posts began to trickle in from people who couldn't make it to Sydney but were indulging themselves in towns like Wyong, Woollongong and Canberra.

And then, posts started coming in thick and fast from overseas - the event page began receiving pictures and messages from Malaysia, Singapore and even Russia.

The event drew several inteernational reponses after the original social media post went viral

McNugget lovers from Wyong and even the ACT posted to thier support to the event page

A group of friends from Woolongong wrote on Mr Dunkin's page that they were 'lovin' nuggets

A girl has posted pictures of her meal to Facebook, saying that she is 'representing Canberra'

A Russian man wrote that he'll join 'remotely' and eat 10 nuggets on the other side of the woold

Posts came from as far away as Singapore and Malaysia offering support for Corey Dunkirk

One girl even took the opportunity to spread the #VoteYes message from the McNuggets event

'I guess a lot of people like nuggets,' said Mr Dunkin, who now has a shirt with the nugget drawing on it available to buy.

Unsure of how many would attend the popular event Friday night, the chicken nugget fan said he would be happy if ten people showed up.

With the event quickly going viral, the illustrator sent a message to McDonald's advising them of the possible influx of nugget orders.

What started as a joke Facebook event ended with hundreds of strangers gathered in Sydney

Sudden social media personality Cory Dunkin orders McNuggets at the George St McDonalds

'I'm going to be turning up to McDonald's at George Street Sydney on October 6 at 7pm to eat some Chicken McNuggets,' he wrote.

'I will be bringing along mates if that's OK.'

McDonald's replied saying they loved that he loved nuggets.

Mr Dunkin sent a message to McDonald's advising them of the possible influx of nugget orders

McDonalds replied saying they would reserve a table especially for the occasion (pictured)

'We get it, so we've reserved you and your friends a table on Friday night,' McDonald's responded.

The fast food outlet even said they would open a register just for Mr Dunkin and his friends so they can get their nuggets as quick as possible.

Despite the huge amount of interest online, the illustrator - who even drew a Snapchat filter of a chicken nugget for the occasion - said he doubted even a quarter of the people will turn up.

Mr Dunkin drew a chicken nugget to celebrate the occasion, which became a Snapchat filter

Hundreds of Snapchat users posted images and videos using Mr Dunkin's new nugget filter

Mr Dunkin said that he would like October 6 to be an international day of nugget celebration

'All I figured I'd do is turn up, eat my nuggets and then leave,' Mr Dunknin told Daily Mail Australia.

But he couldn't leave, because hundreds of supported turned up to support the cause and get a selfie with the suddenly viral sensation.

'Thank you SO MUCH for coming this was a great event and so glad to see everyone else loves nuggets as much as I do,' wrote an elated Mr Dunkin posted on his event page after the gathering.

Corey Dunkin chatted to friends and strangers that turned up to his 'joke' McDonald's event
Jamie Harron, 27, was arrested for alleged public indecency

A British electrician is facing up to three years in a Dubai jail after brushing an Arab man on the hip with his hand.

Jamie Harron, 27, made light contact with a Jordanian man to avoid spilling his drink while moving through the crowded Rock Bottom Bar on a night out.

He was arrested for public indecency and then sentenced to 30 days in jail after he missed his hearing due to a mix up over dates.

Now he faces being arrested and jailed for up to three years when he turns up to his rescheduled hearing on Sunday.

His solicitor working with NGO Detained in Dubai said Mr Harron was now 'under immense pressure and stress'.

It comes just days after Edinburgh plasterer Billy Barclay, 31, was released after being held for trying to swap a 20 note, which he did not know was forged, at a bureau de change in Dubai.

On the night of the incident Mr Harron, from Stirling, had been having a drink at the with friends at a popular venue for young people in the Tecom area of Dubai.

Mr Harron and friend had just bought their first drink when they noticed a Jordanian man who was looking over at them from the edge of the dance floor in a 'confrontational' manner.

They decided to move to avoid any aggravation, but Mr Harron had to walk past the man, and as he passed, he placed his hand on the right hand side of the top of the man's hip to ensure that when passing they didn't bump and spill drinks 'in a move familiar to most UK patrons of crowded pubs'.

He said there was no intention to upset the man in any way. The man said nothing and didn't show any reaction.

But once Mr Harron and his friend had sat at a new table, they looked over to see the man was now shouting and swinging his arms around, 'clearly agitated'. Mr Harron asked his friend if he thought the man might be shouting at them.

Jamie Harron, 27, made light contact with a Jordanian man to avoid spilling his drink while moving through the crowded Rock Bottom Bar on a night out

Now he faces being arrested and jailed for up to three years when he turns up to his rescheduled hearing on Sunday

Unsure, but not wanting problems, the British pair moved to another table, even further away.

After the incident was seemingly over, Mr Harron and his friend relaxed for another 20-30 minutes chatting when suddenly police appeared outside.

The man went out to meet them, and he began animatedly talking with them, pointing at Mr Harron, who got up and went to see what the problem was.

The man, his friends and the police were all speaking in Arabic, the accuser occasionally shouting in English, 'He's been drinking, and he touched me improperly, I will get you deported, do you know who I am?'

The police asked Mr Harron to apologise which he 'gladly did'. But his accused was 'not mollified' and demanded police arrest him.

After days in Al Barsha prison, where he was not allowed to wash himself or brush his teeth, prosecutors told Mr Harron he was charged with drinking alcohol and 'public indecency.'

He was left in a foul smelling cell with another eight nationalities sleeping on the floor with one 'revolting' mattress between them.

When he was released to stay with friends his passport was seized by police.

He failed to turn up to his hearing after the court moved the date without telling him or his lawyer which means he is now facing a further 30 days' detention.

He has already spent over 32,000 in expenses and legal fees. His entire savings are gone, his company has sacked him, and when his case is eventually heard he faces further jail time and a hefty fine.

Detained in Dubai said Mr Harron had been to Dubai many times on holiday and 'knows and respects' the country's laws.

Detained in Dubai said: 'Jamie denies this latter charge vehemently, restating that his only intention was to avoid spilling a drink.

'Tourists who consume alcohol at licensed venues can still be arrested for having alcohol in their system. Most tourists are not aware of this fact. A number of British nationals have been caught out by this contradictory application of the law.

'When Jamie was in his prison cell the night of the arrest, his friend accompanied him to the police station. The accuser and his friends were also there.

The accuser's friends were telling him to just drop the matter, and that he had taken it too far. Jamie's friend was sitting next to them all and heard the whole discussion.

'Jamie's friend is acting as his witness, as is the sympathetic security worker of the pub where the incident happened. The bouncer saw the whole incident and confirms Jamie's version of events.'

Rock Bottom Bar (pictured) is popular with British ex-pats even though it is illegal to have alcohol in your system in Dubai

Bill Barclay was detained in front of his two children after handing over what turned out to be a counterfeit Scottish note at a bureau de change

Jamie said today: 'I am really stunned that it has gone this far. I have witnesses who are willing to present themselves in court, even the bouncer at the bar. I can not believe I am facing these allegations when I followed the laws in their entirety. Now it is possible that I will be arrested [on Sunday] for failing to appear at a court hearing that neither I, nor my lawyer, were advised of.'

She said: 'He was expecting to appear in court but the court moved the date without telling him or his lawyer. This led to a sentence of 30 days imprisonment for failing to present himself at the hearing.

'Jamie has been advised by his lawyer that he is at high risk of being jailed for a duration of up to three years. It is quite outrageous that he has been held in the country for so long already.

'This is another example of how vulnerable tourists are to arrest and detention in Dubai and at how drawn out and disorganised legal proceedings are.

'We have received a wave of new cases of British nationals detained in Dubai and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office need to increase travel warnings to citizens intending to visit or live in the country.

'If Jamie is sentenced to prison, he faces human rights violations and torture. The English High Court has ruled against extradition to the UAE based on the 'very real risk of unfair trials and torture' but the UK government has refused to increase warnings, largely due to their financial and diplomatic ties with the UAE.

'Both Jamie and his family are anxious for him to be back home in Stirling as soon as possible.'

His case follows that of Edinburgh plasterer Billy Barclay, 31, who was released this week after being held for trying to swap a 20 note, which he did not know was forged, at a bureau de change in Dubai.
Newly minted U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman said Friday that America's relationship with the Kremlin is 'at an all-time low.'

Russian President Vladimir Putin expelled 755 American diplomatic staffers from Russia in late July.

That move was a response to new U.S. sanctions leveled against his government as a consequence of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

In response, the US suspended issuing non-immigrant visas in Moscow for a week in August and stopped issuing visas at its consulates elsewhere in Russia.

U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman said Friday that America's relationship with the Kremlin is 'at an all-time low'

'We all know that were facing difficult times  probably the most difficult period in the relationship since the end of the Cold War,' Huntsman said in a 'Fox & Friends' interview conducted by his daughter Abby

'It's really unfortunate that the Russians made the decision that they did, to cut  substantially cut  our diplomatic presence in Russia,' Huntsman said on 'Fox & Friends.'

'We all know that were facing difficult times  probably the most difficult period in the relationship since the end of the Cold War,' he said.

'This is a little bit like 1986 all over again, where we went through the same kind of tit-for-tat which serves really no purpose at all.'

Huntsman said that Moscow and Washington 'have been hand in hand on the same team in wars in history.'

'We found ourselves on the same page of certain issues before, but today the relationships are at all-time low.'

Huntsman presented his diplomatic credentials to President Vladimir Putin (right) at a ceremony Tuesday in the Kremlin

Huntsman said he will dedicate himself to repairing the diplomatic ties between Putin's government and Trump's.

'The last thing I want to tell the president, or the secretary of state, or secretary of defense in the months and years ahead,' he said, is: "We did our very best sir, but we didn't get anywhere".'

'I think the taxpayers expect more than that.'

Huntsman presented his diplomatic credentials on Tuesday to Putin, who complained about the strained relationship.

Watch the latest video at <a href="http://video.foxnews.com">video.foxnews.com</a>

'The current level of the ties cannot satisfy us,' Putin said.

'We stand for constructive, predictable and mutually beneficial cooperation.'

Putin also said both the U.S. and Russia should not meddle in each other's 'domestic affairs.'

Huntsman, the former Utah governor who once called for Donald Trump to drop out of the presidential race, won easy confirmation as US ambassador last week.

He was the nation's top diplomat to Singapore under President George HW Bush and ambassador to China under President Barack Obama before returning to the US to run for president in 2012.

Huntsman had an up-and-down relationship with Trump during last year's campaign.

The former governor was slow to endorse any candidate for the Republican nomination, though he did back Trump once he became the presumptive nominee.

But Huntsman then called for Trump to drop out of the presidential race after the release of a 2005 audio in which Trump was captured on a microphone making lewd comments about women.

Although Trump has called Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election a hoax pushed by Democrats to sully his victory at the polls, Huntsman said at his confirmation hearing last week that 'there is no question, underline, no question' that Moscow interfered.

He also said he would not hesitate to remind Russian officials that they are accountable for their actions.

Relations between Russia and the United States cooled following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, where fighting since 2014 has left 10,000 people dead.
Advertisement

DailyMail.com has obtained drone photos that offer a birds-eye view of construction on Trump's new Mexican border wall.

The photos show laborers hard at work on eight different prototypes for the new border wall, which Trump hopes will more effectively keep would-be illegal immigrants from crossing into the U.S.

The prototypes are being constructed in the California desert, near San Diego. Construction began at the end of September, after being stalled three months when firms that didn't win contracts protested.

Reporters and photographers were invited by Customs and Border Patrol to visit the construction site this week, where crews already had large slabs of concrete poured.

Scroll down for video

Drone photos show construction beginning on eight new border fence prototypes in the California desert this week

Construction firms are currently building eight prototypes for the new border wall. At the end of the building process, the best prototype will likely be chosen and put into place along the entire border

It's been reported that four of the prototypes will be made of concrete while four will be see through

This graphic shows how President Donald Trump (pictured centre right) is planning the U.S.A./Mexico wall. Prototypes are being built in the California desert

Most of the prototypes seemed to be concrete-based, contradicting President Trump's comments last week that the wall would be see through.

Each prototype will be up to 30 feet high and 30 feet long. Bidding documents say four of the prototypes are to be solid concrete and four are to be made of 'other materials.'

Building a new border wall was the cornerstone of Trump's presidential campaign. At first, he said that Mexico would pay for the wall, but the Mexican government has said time and time again that they will not foot the bill.

Trump still maintains that Mexicans will pay for the wall eventually, but says American taxpayers will front the cost until they do.

The prototype building process will last about three more weeks, CBP said. After that, the agency may pick several winners, or none.

The prototype building process will last about three more weeks, Customs and Border Patrol said. After that, the agency may pick several winners, or none.

The construction process is taking place in the California desert near San Diego

Building a new border wall was a cornerstone of President Trump's campaign. He hopes a better wall will curb illegal immigration and restore jobs to Americans

It said in a news release that the prototypes 'will inform future design standards which will likely continue to evolve to meet the US Border Patrol's requirements.'

But the agency is also braced for massive protests and is beginning construction under tight security, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Already there are fears of protests as big as those at the Dakota Access Pipeline last year, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Concrete barriers have been placed at access points to the construction site and chain link fences have been built across open land.

One area could be being designated a 'free speech zone' for protesters to congregate, the LA Times said.

Announcing the start of construction, Ronald Vitiello, CBP's acting deputy commissioner said in a statement: 'We are committed to securing our border and that includes constructing border walls.

'Our multi-pronged strategy to ensure the safety and security of the American people includes barriers, infrastructure, technology and people.

Construction on the prototypes began at the end of September after being stalled three months

Construction started three months late because construction firms who did not win a contract protested

Once the new border wall begins construction, protesters will likely have a large presence on construction sites across the country

Above, another look at construction being done at the prototype site this week

'Moving forward with the prototypes enables us to continue to incorporate all the tools necessary to secure our border.'

The administration faces several federal lawsuits in San Diego that seek to block the prototypes and plans to replace existing barriers in California.

A complaint filed last week by California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, largely mirrors two others by environmental advocacy groups that allege the administration overstepped its authority to speed up construction of the wall.

At issue is a 2005 law that gave the Homeland Security secretary broad powers to waive dozens of laws for border barriers, including the National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Air Act and Endangered Species Act.

The finished border wall prototypes will be 30 feet tall by 30 feet wide. Above, a look at construction taking place this week

the new border wall prototypes loom for residents on the Mexican side of the border on Thursday

Local residents look at border wall prototypes under construction in San Diego, CA, on Thursday

Aurelia Lopez and her daughter Antonia overlook construction of border wall prototypes on October 5, 2017 in Tijuana, Mexico

One model: This is one version of how Trump's border wall could look. Construction is now beginning on the prototypes

The lawsuits say that authority has expired.

The administration has not commented directly on the lawsuits but it has issued two waivers since August, the first since 2008, on grounds of national security.

Both waivers are in California, including one that covers the site of prototype construction.

Funding to extend the wall beyond its distance of 654 miles is in doubt.

Democrats have balked at Trump's $1.6 billion request to replace 14 miles in San Diego and build 60 miles in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings.

Caddell Construction Co. of Montgomery, Alabama, and W.G. Yates & Sons Construction Co. of Philadelphia, Mississippi, were awarded contracts to build one wall of concrete and one of other materials.

Other contracts for concrete prototypes went to Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. of Tempe, Arizona, and Texas Sterling Construction Co. of Houston.

Contracts for prototypes of other materials were awarded to KWR Construction Inc. of Sierra Vista, Arizona, and ELTA North America Inc. of Annapolis Junction, Maryland.
Parts from the engine that broke off an Air France plane during a flight to Los Angeles from Paris last week have been discovered in Greenland.

An Air Greenland helicopter spotted fragments of the Superjumbo on Wednesday after the flight data recorder was used to narrow down the search.

France's BEA accident agency is in contact with its Danish counterpart to organise the recovery of the parts.

Scroll down for videos

The Air France Airbus A380 suffered extensive damage of its number four engine, pictured, parts of which were found on Greenland

Passengers took photographs of the engine while the aircraft was above the Atlantic

Cabin crew gathered around to look at the starboard wing where number 4 engine is located

The flight was plunged into terror after the jet's engine disintegrated over the Atlantic ocean.

The pilot was forced to divert to Goose Bay in Canada after part of the cowling blasted off while the plane was flying at 38,000 feet.

Hundreds of passengers on board were left terrified as the engine was 'blown apart' with a 'loud thud and a lot of vibration'.

One traveller said they were 'just glad to be on the ground' following the mid-air drama.

Shocking images shared on Twitter showed the mangled fuselage from the window of the jet, with one passenger saying: 'I think the engine has seen better days.'

Passengers were relieved as the seven-year-old jet landed safely in Goose Bay in Newfoundland.

Air France said in a statement on social media: 'AF66 landed safely. Customers taken care by Air France and rerouting solutions on going.

'Technical issue identified, AF66 diverting per precaution to Goose Bay YYR for technical checks.'

The Airbus A380, file photograph, was forced to divert to Goose Bay in Newfoundland

The jet made it safely to the ground in Goose Bay, Newfoundland, pictured

The jet is powered by four Engine Alliance engines, which the manufacturers claim offer $6 million in savings a year with a lower fuel burn, greater range and larger payloads.

According to the company, its GP72000 engine is 'engineered for greater reliability and the lower maintenance costs that come with it'.

Of the almost 200 A380s in the skies, 125 are powered by Engine Alliance engines.

Goose Bay is the first airport available for large aircraft in North America when flying from Northern Europe.

Air France confirmed one of the aircraft's four engines was 'seriously damaged'.

The airline is currently working to transfer the passengers from Newfoundland to California.

Air France said the flight crew handled the emergency 'perfectly'.

The aircraft, which is one of ten A380s in the airline's fleet was carrying 496 passengers and 24 crew.

The A380 is the world's largest passenger aircraft.
Dr. Phil has sent a plane full of supplies for the victims of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico.

The TV host partnered with CVS to fill the private jet with $50,000 worth of goods including batteries and medicine for people who remain in destitute conditions on the island.

Actor Freddie Rodriguez, a Puerto Rican native, revealed Dr. Phil's good deed on Twitter and thanked him for his contribution.

'This is the image of when you call a friend for help. My people in Puerto Rico thank you profoundly sir,' he said.

Scroll down for video

This is the inside of a plane sent by Dr. Phil containing 3,000lbs worth of emergency supplies including batteries and medicine to the people of Puerto Rico this week

Dr. Phil replied humbly, writing: 'Happy to help, friend! Sending 3000 lbs of supplies for all those in need and will continue to work for Puerto Rico. More on the way.'

The plane will take 11 of Rodriguez's relatives out of the danger zone on its way back to reunite them with other family in Miami.

They have been stranded since the devastating hurricane hit the island on September 20.

More details of Dr. Phil's efforts in Puerto Rico will be revealed on Daily Mail TV.

Actor Freddy Rodriguez shared a photograph of the plane on Twitter and thanked Dr. Phil for the donation

The TV host vowed to send more in the way of supplies for the island's residents, many of whom are still without basic essentials

Dr Phil McGraw is one of the many celebrities who have chartered private planes to send help to Puerto Rico

Scores of celebrities have led their own relief efforts to help the island's residents by chartering private planes filled with supplies.

Real Housewives of New York City star Bethenny Frankel is among those leading the charge.

After dropping off much needed supplies of water, food, cash cards and money, they are bringing homeless Puerto Ricans back to mainland America to set up temporary homes.

The destruction in Puerto Rico far outweighs the damage caused in Texas and Florida by hurricanes Harvey and Irma earlier in the summer.

President Trump has faced scorn over his handling over the ongoing crisis in Puerto Rico.

Since Maria hit, he has sparred with San Juan Mayor Carmen Cruz and relentlessly pointed out that how the island - which has its own government but is a US territory - has 'tremendous doubt'.

FEMA has released huge amounts of funding to help with recovery and relief efforts and there are several thousand US National Guardsmen still in place in Puerto Rico to assist.

The relief effort in Puerto Rico is ongoing. There are thousands of National Guardsmen on the island offering assistance
Toronto Zoo has released a hilarious video of giant panda cubs falling over.

Footage shows the adorable animals sliding, rolling, tumbling and even nose-diving in their enclosure.

The compilation was released to coincide with the cubs' second birthday.

Panda-monium! Footage from the zoo shows the adorable animals sliding, rolling, tumbling and even nose-diving in their enclosure

'We at the Toronto Zoo wanted to show you just how promising the development of Canada's first giant panda cubs has been over the last 24 months,' the zoo said in a statement.

While the cubs' antics may seem painful, falling over is in fact a normal part of play for the animals.

In 2003, scientists from Zoo Atlanda in Chengdu, and the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding published a study that described trends in the behaviour of giant panda cubs.

Among other findings, the study confirmed that falling was a normal and expected part of the play of the giant panda cubs being reared by their mother.

Oops! The compilation was released to coincide with the cubs' second birthday

Bang! While the cubs' antics may seem painful, falling over is in fact a normal part of play for the animals

Indeed, researchers suggested that the natural play experiences of growing cubs with their mothers and siblings may significantly contribute to the panda cubs development into reproductively successful adults.

The cubs will leave for Calgary Zoo in March 2018.

Oops-a-daisy! This panda hasn't quite got the hang of climbing trees just yet

Playtime: A study from 2003 confirmed that falling was a normal and expected part of the play of the giant panda cubs being reared by their mother
Afolake Adeniji (pictured) was jailed for luring a 13-year-old girl to the UK from Nigeria to be her slave

A Nigerian fraud investigator who tricked a teenage girl into flying to Britain to be her personal slave for more than a decade has been jailed for two and a half years.

Afolake Adeniji, 50, was working in the fraud department at Plaistow Job Centre in east London when she persuaded Iyabo Prosper to fly to London from Africa in 2003 when she was just 13.

The teenager was living in poverty in Nigeria and was promised a better life and free education at Adeniji's home in Beckton, east London.

But instead, Miss Prosper was forced to wake up at 5.30am every day to look after Adeniji's children before spending the rest of her day cooking and cleaning for her family.

Prosecuting, Irshad Sheikh told Southwark Crown Court: 'She was completely submissive to the defendant and her family and any confidence she had was lost and ebbed away.

'Effectively that was what she was living - the life of domestic servitude.'

He added: 'It soon became apparent that Iyabo had become miserable, had become extremely depressed, was having negative thoughts and suicidal ideas.'

Miss Prosper, now 27, claimed Adeniji's verbal abuse has left her with post traumatic stress disorder.

She eventually 'plucked up the courage' to tell a friend how she was being treated and Adeniji was arrested in October 2014.

Adjenji was handed two and a half years behind bars at Southwark Crown Court (pictured)

She was convicted of arranging or facilitating the travel of Miss Prosper to the UK for exploitation but cleared of inflicting grievous bodily harm, following her victim's claims of being given post traumatic stress disorder.

Jailing Adjenji for two and a half years, Judge Stephen Robbins said: 'You subjected a young girl to a life of domestic servitude for a lengthy period of years.

'You used her for your own ends. You exploited her.'

The court heard Adeniji, who had been on bail since being convicted last month, will now be placed on suicide watch in custody.

Mr Sheikh told jurors during her trial that the then teenager 'was lured to the UK with the promise of education and a better life'.

He said: 'She was forced to clean, mind the defendant's children and effectively live the life of a house girl.'

Jurors heard Ms Prosper was forced to work 'for up to 16 hours a day', first at an unknown address in Beckton and then at another house in Eglington Drive, Chelmsford.

The court was told she had to share the box room occupied by Adeniji's children and would be up at 5.30am to get them fed and ready for school.

Household chores would occupy the rest of her day until she had to pick them up, prepare dinner for the family and tidy up before going to bed at around 10.30pm.

But Adeniji tried to convince the court the girl she made her slave was 'part of a loving family'.

She said: 'She was part of a loving family. She's making up all these stories.

'I did not need her to help me. Everything was already in place before she arrived.

'All I did was just to help Iyabo.'

Adjenji, 50, of Chelmsford, Essex was fired from her job at Plaistow Job Centre (pictured) in east London

She also claimed she got to know Miss Prosper through her older brother, who was working for her parents.

Mr Sheikh suggested he was also working as a 'houseboy' but Adeniji stood by the fact he wasn't, saying he was 'like a son to my parents'.

She has since been fired by the job centre, where she was working in the fraud and error prevention service.

She explained to jurors how she got to know Iyabo through her older brother, who worked at the home of Adeniji's parents.

Adeniji refused Mr Sheikh's suggestion that he too was a 'houseboy', instead describing him as 'like a son to my parents'.

'He was part of the extended family,' she added.

Adeniji was fired from her role at the job centre before her conviction.
Ashley Boyd, 26, confessed to a charge of stalking and pleaded guilty at Glasgow Sheriff Court

A former police officer who became 'fixated' with a married man and launched a campaign of harassment against him and his wife has been jailed for 11 months and given a five year non-harassment order.

Ashley Boyd, 26, confessed to a charge of stalking and pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice by convincing a friend to confess to the stalking she had done.

Kevin O'Connor, who used to be married to a former friend of Boyd, was tormented between March 2015 and October 2016 by Boyd who hacked his email and social media accounts.

Boyd, of Moodiesburn, Lanarkshire, gained access to his Facebook account and changed his relationship status to single and also posted offensive tweets about Mr O'Connor's wife from his Twitter account.

She even cancelled a hospital appointment for the man's wife while she was working for Police Scotland.

Upon sentencing, sheriff Paul Crozier said: 'Your conduct throughout this whole sorry episode has been destructive, self-serving and manipulative.'

Speaking outside after the sentencing, Mrs O'Connor said: 'I am relieved, I actually can't believe it.

'It has been an absolute nightmare, my health suffered, I have been ill constantly.

'This is punishment, we will be able to move on.'

Boyd and O'Connor used to work together at Boots, before Boyd joined Police Scotland, but their friendship deteriorated by 2013.

Boyd resigned in March 2015 and joined Police Scotland later that year. She resigned from the force in December 2016.

It has been an absolute nightmare

In January 2014, while serving Mr O'Connor at Boots, Boyd told him she knew his wife and hinted a number of women in the shop 'fancied' him. They used the same gym and Boyd told a friend she had a 'fancy for him' and went to the gym knowing he would be there.

In 2016, the O'Connors were on holiday when his sister texted him to say his Facebook page had been changed to say he was single.

He also received a text from a colleague saying she had a 'strange' conversation on Facebook. The woman claimed Mr O'Connor told her he was unhappy in his marriage and asked if it was him she had been speaking to.

Prosecutor Andrew Beadsworth said: 'Boyd appears to have become fixated upon Kevin O'Connor.'

Ashley Boyd was given a five non-restraining order and sentenced to 11 months in jail for her campaign of abuse against Kevin O'Connor

Les Brown, head of the criminal allegations against the police division, said: 'Ashley Boyd placed an innocent couple in a state of fear and alarm through her criminal behaviour.

'There was no justification for the abusive messages and the invasion of their personal lives.

'Boyd's decision to exploit a friend to evade investigation and prosecution exacerbated the tremendously difficult situation she had created.'

The 26-year-old is believed to have resigned from Police Scotland during the investigation.
Ashleigh Wade (left) was found guilty of the 2015 murder of her pregnant friend Angelikque Sutton and will spend the rest of her life in jail

The New York woman who cut a baby from her soon-to-be-wedded pregnant friend's stomach was found guilty of murder and will spend the rest of her life behind bars.

Ashleigh Wade, 24, of Bronx, New York was delivered the verdict - that took less than five hours - on Thursday and began sobbing uncontrollably.

The parents of victim Angelikque Sutton, 22, embraced as Wade cried.

'Justice prevailed,' said mother Deborah Sutton, according to the New York Post.

'The truth was revealed. My daughter was avenged with victory.'

It was a sentiment shared by the victim's father, Bishop William Sutton, who added that his daughter 'was a beautiful girl.'

For two weeks the jury relived the gruesome details surrounding the 2015 day when Wade slit Sutton's throat and cut the baby out of her stomach - stabbing her more than 50 times.

She had been lying to people that she was pregnant and asserted that the girl - named Jenansis by relatives and still alive - was hers.

Juror number seven, a middle aged woman, passed out cold on Thursday in a Bronx courtroom during the trial due to grisly crime scene photos.

The baby, Jenasis Bradley, (above) turns two years old in November. The beautiful tot amazingly survived being cut out of her mother, allegedly by Wade, in 2015

Medical examiner Declan Mcguone was displaying an enlarged photo of Sutton's discarded uterus and umbilical cord on a large-screen TV just feet away from the jury box when the juror was overcome, the New York Daily News reported.

The judge cleared the gallery as Mcguone used his medical expertise to evaluate the woman, who passed out around 3.10pm.

After a 45-minute recess, Justice Margaret Clancy announced that the woman had recovered, but adjourned the trial until Friday.

During jury selection, Clancy had given jurors the unusual option of opting out of serving due to the extremely gruesome nature of the case.

In November 2015, Sutton, 22, was nearly nine months pregnant and on her way to the courthouse to marry Patrick Bradley when she stopped by the Bronx home of her friend, the defendant Wade.

But Wade, who unsuspectingly lured Sutton to the apartment by promising her a gift, had other plans for Sutton, prosecutors said.

Ashleigh Wade (left) has pleaded not guilty to killing Angelikque Sutton (right). Jurors were given the unusual option of opting out of serving due the the gruesome nature of the crime and one fainted on Thursday due to gruesome photos

Wade allegedly cut Sutton's throat, preventing her from screaming before cutting her baby girl from her womb.

Wade had feigned pregnancy in the months prior to the horrific murder and needed her friend's baby to perpetuate the lie, Assistant Bronx DA Meredith Holtzman said earlier in the trial.

'The defendant attacked Ms. Sutton by stabbing and slashing her repeatedly in the face and neck,' Holtzman said.

'The defendant cut Ms. Sutton's larynx  her voice box. Ms. Sutton could not scream, could not say a word. She cut her major blood vessels.

'What the defendant did to her next is almost unspeakable.

Wade (above) was found by her boyfriend cradling Jenasis next to the dead mother's body. She also screamed at police 'It's my baby!' as they took her into custody

'Because after she had rendered Ms. Sutton unable to scream, unable to move, the defendant took a kitchen paring knife and sliced Ms. Sutton's abdomen open at the bottom half.

'Once she had cut Ms. Sutton's abdomen open, the defendant cut Ms. Sutton's uterus entirely out. She cut that uterus open, took baby Jenasis out, and discarded that uterus on the bathroom floor.'

Amazingly, Sutton's daughter survived the vicious attack and is now a thriving 22-month-old.

Holtzman said Wade had carefully planned for the attack and theft of the baby.

'She had baby clothes, baby shoes, diapers, formula, a crib, everything that an expectant mother would need, except a baby.

'She didn't have a baby. For that she needed Angelikque Sutton.'

Wade (above) allegedly told police at the crime scene she knifed Sutton 'as many times as she could'

Wade's defense attorney, Amy Attias, said that her client did not 'intentionally' kill Sutton and that 'something could have gone horribly and terribly and tragically wrong within Ms. Wade's own mind.'

Wade was found by her boyfriend cradling Jenasis next to the dead mother's body.

She also screamed at police 'It's my baby!' as they took her into custody.

NYPD office Jonathan Polanco Ortiz who had arrived to the crime scene in 2015 testified on Monday that it 'left a mark on his soul.'

Ortiz said that Wade confessed to the grisly murder when she saw police.

When asked how many times she knifed Sutton, Ortiz said Wade responded, 'As many times as I could.'

Sutton's husband-to-be and father of her child, Patrick Bradley, has attended the trial and listened to the horrific details in court.

Bradley, who had been dating Sutton for eight years at the time she was killed, posts photos of his daughter on Facebook showing she is happy and even learning how to box.
Toby Robyns, 52, (pictured) was arrested Bodrum Airport in Turkey over the coins

A British tourist who was arrested and locked up in a Turkish jail after trying to fly home with 'treasure' coins he found while snorkelling is 'delighted and relieved to be back at home'.

Toby Robyns, 52, spent six weeks in prison after being detained at Bodrum Airport on August 19.

He was flying back to his home in Southwick, West Sussex, when officers became suspicious of 12 coins he had in his bag.

The father-of-five had picked up the coins while snorkelling off the Turkish coast near Turgutreis.

But the authorities accused him of 'finding Turkish artefacts without notifying authorities' and detained him.

After a terrifying six-week ordeal, the ambulance driver is finally home safe and sound.

He was acquitted on September 29, but if he was found guilty, he could have been facing a three-year jail term.

In a statement issued through his MP Tim Loughton, he said: 'I am delighted and relieved to be back at home with my family after the ordeal of the last six weeks.

'They have been unwavering in their support and worked hard to secure my release.

'I am also very grateful to friends and members of the local community who have been very supportive in so many ways which has undoubtedly made a difficult time more bearable.

The father-of-five was snorkelling off the Turkish coast near Turgutreis when he found the 12 coins near some shipwrecks

'It was never my intention to break any laws in Turkey and it has been difficult to understand how to impress my innocence to the authorities when it resulted from a simple mistake.

'I am therefore particularly grateful for the practical assistance and encouragement provided by the Foreign Office and especially the embassy staff in Turkey, my MP, Tim Loughton, my attorney, Murat Yilmaz, and my family contact in the UK, Burcu Orphan Holmgren, both of London Legal International.

'Given the pressure placed on my family over recent weeks I would be grateful if our privacy would be respected whilst we return to normal life and we do not intend to make any further comment.'

Mr Robyns was arrested on his way home at Bodrum airport and locked up at Milas Prison (pictured) before being moved to Mugala prison

Mr Robyns was reunited with his family on Monday after a stint at Milas and then Mugala prison near Bodrum.

He appeared in court the day after his arrest and was locked up at Milas's correctional facility, a compound that holds about 70 inmates and has guards stationed at the front gate and on the roof of the building.

Speaking shortly after his arrest, his friend James Stoneham, told The Sun, Mr Robyns had been 'dragged' off a flight.

He told the newspaper: 'He found a number of coins among the rocks and sand. When he went to get his flight home they dragged him off and searched his hand luggage.'

The 52-year-old found the coins where there are said to approximately 25 shipwrecks dating as far back as the fourth century.
Democratic senators started handing back the fortune Harvey Weinstein has donated and helped raise on Friday as his ex shame was revealed.

But Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the biggest recipients of his support and generosity, remained silent over whether they would do the same.

Weinstein is one of the Democratic Party's most prolific donors, having raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's campaigns alone.

One dinner in June 2016 which he hosted at his West Village home raised $1.8 million for Clinton, Deadline Hollywood reported.

But the movie producer was rapidly becoming persona non grata after he took a leave of absence from Miramax when it surfaced on Thursday that he had been accused of sexually harassing multiple women over the past two decades.

On Friday morning five liberal senators handed personal donations Weinstein had made to charity. More followed in the afternoon, among them Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader and therefore the party's most senior figure.

Patrick Leahy, the Vermont senator, was first out of the gate, giving $2,700 to charity, the Daily Beast reported.

Bundler: Harvey Weinstein was a huge Hillary Clinton backer, hosting New York fundraisers and maxing out his own donations to her campaign

Happy to be here: Hillary Clinton was the guest of honor as Harvey Weinstein held a fundraiser at his $15 million Manhattan home in June 2016, attended by Huma Abedin, her closest aide, whose pervert husband Anthony Weiner will go to prison next month for sexting a minor

Alliance: The film mogul was one of Obama's top 40 'bundlers' during his 2012 re-election, bringing in $679,275 for the candidate

Laughing liberal lion: Weinstein looked remarkably chipper and cheerful for an admitted sexual harasser as he left his home on Friday

He was followed by Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Christine Gillbrand, of New York and Corey Booker of New Jersey.

In the afternoon came Schumer, Al Franken of Minnesota, Kamala Harris of California, and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Buzzfeed reported.

HARVEY THE DEMS' CASH MACHINE Here are just some of the donations and fundraising Weinstein was behind according to public records $679,275 raised as a 'bundler' for Obama's 2012 campaign - one of the top 40 in the country $250,000 donations to the Democratic National Committee since 2003 $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation since 2003 $30,000 to the Hillary Victory Fund in 2016 $16,200 to Chuck Schumer in total $5,400 - the legal maximum - to Clinton's campaign in 2016 $5,400 to Richard Blumenthal in 2016 $5,400 to Martin Heinrich in 2017 $5,400 to Al Franken in 2014 $5,000 to Elizabeth Warren in 2012 $10,000 to Corey Booker in 2013 Advertisement

Charities which aid abused women will be among those the cash goes to from the senators.

At least four of the senators - Warren, Booker, Harris and Gillbrand - are seen as having presidential ambitions.

Their moves leave Clinton and Obama open to mounting embarrassment and for the 2016 presidential loser, allegations of hypocrisy.

But the Democratic National Committee said it would give only give $30,000 away - Weinstein had donated $250,000 to it since 2003 - and not a cent to charity.

Instead it will go to groups which try to get female Democratic candidates elected.

Weinstein has held numerous star-studded campaign events to bring in Hollywood money for Clinton and Obama since 2008, and poured money into Democratic senate and congressional campaigns.

He was one of Obama's top 40 'bundlers' during his 2012 re-election, bringing in $679,275 for the candidate  and putting him in the same category as DreamWorks founder Jeffrey Katzenberg and former Warner Bros. chairman Barry Meyer.

Weinstein also maxed out his personal contributions to Clinton with a $5,400 check to her 2016 campaign and $30,000 to her Hillary Victory Fund.

Since 2003, he has donated over $250,000 to the Democratic National Committee, which supports the election of the Democratic presidential nominee.

WHAT HARVEY GAVE THE CLINTONS... $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation $30,000 to the Hillary Victory Fund $5,400 to Hillary Clinton's campaign Unknown millions in donations from friends Advertisement

...WHAT THE CLINTONS ARE GIVING BACK $0 Advertisement

Weinstein gave another $250,000 to the Clinton Foundation and held multiple fundraising dinners for Hillary Clinton, who campaigned as a champion of women during her 2016 presidential run.

That total alone comes to more than $1.2 million - but that was the tip of the iceberg, as his ability to get A-listers and Hollywood's behind the scenes millionaires to come to parties made him a key part of the Democratic fundraising machine.

Clinton often spoke up against sexual assault during the election, even as opponents noted that multiple sexual harassment allegations were lodged against her husband, Bill Clinton, in the 1990s.

Ally: Malia Obama was an intern with Weinstein in a sign of how close he was to both Barack and Michelle Obama

'Every survivor of sexual assault deserves to be heard, believed, and supported,' said Clinton on Twitter on Nov. 22, 2015.

She also highlighted inappropriate sexual comments made by her opponent, Donald Trump, as a reason he could not be trusted as president.

Clinton has continued to speak out against what she characterizes as Trump's sexism during her recent book tour.

'When I see women [supporting Trump], I think why are they publicly disrespecting themselves? Why are they opening the door to have someone say that about them in their workplace? In a community setting? Do they not see the connection there?' said Clinton.

But the latest allegations against Weinstein  which include claims that he asked female subordinates and actresses to watch him shower and gave unwanted massages  raises uncomfortable questions for Clinton and other Democrats about one of their top supporters.

The New York Times reported on Thursday that Weinstein has reached legal settlements with at least eight women over alleged inappropriate sexual behaviour.

In one case, actress Ashley Judd accused the movie mogul of inviting her to watch him shower during a business meeting in a hotel room in the 1990s.

Several of Weinstein's female employees have allegedly accused him of making unwanted advances on them or other women over the past few decades.

Weinstein was an early supporter of Clinton, backing her in her primary bid against Obama in 2008.

Have it back: Elizabeth Warren and Corey Booker are giving donations received from Weinstein to charity in the first sign of Democrats turning on the mogul over his sexual harassment settlements

$1.5 million reasons to thank Harvey: Weinstein brought in cash to the Democrats from Hollywood as well as his own checkbook. Clinton isn't saying anything about handing the cash back

More A-listers: Leo di Caprio was among the guests at the high-rollers' dinner at Weinstein's home in June 2016

He was so vehement in his support of the former New York senator that he reportedly threatened to cut off donations to then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi if she did not support a re-vote to help Clinton during her contentious primary battle against Obama.

But Weinstein eventually came around and supported Obama during his 2012 re-election.

He was rewarded with at least 13 invitations to the White House during Obama's tenure.

Shortly after Obama's second election, Weinstein threw a fundraiser for the president at his home in the West Village  with tickets running as high as $32,400 a plate.

Guests included Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel. Obama praised Weinstein's 'incredible hospitality' during his speech.

'We are so grateful for [the Weinsteins'] friendship and support, and for the amazing movies that they've made,' said Obama.

That friendship has apparently continued after Obama left office. The president's older daughter, Malia Obama, interned with Weinstein's company earlier this year.

Weinstein continued to host of fundraising dinners at his home during Clinton's second presidential run in 2016.

Guests who paid thousands to mingle with Clinton at Weinstein's parties included Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lopez, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick and Anna Wintour.

Weinstein expressed regret on Thursday for the 'the way I've behaved with colleagues in the past' and said he has 'caused a lot of pain.' He said his behaviour was related to an outdated mindset of how to act in the workplace. He said he hired celebrity attorney Lisa Bloom to teach him how to interact more appropriately with women.

DailyMail.com has reached out to the Clinton Foundation for comment.
Two brothers who held a teenager down and raped her during a horrific ordeal were jailed for a total of more than 11 years today.

Alexander Stewart, 20, attacked the victim with convicted sex offender and older sibling Christopher Drummond, after meeting her through the Badoo dating website.

They assaulted her at Stewarts home at a flat in Invergordon High Street, in Ross-shire, on October 18 last year, where Drummond told his younger brother to give the teenager what she deserved.

A judge told the pair at the High Court in Edinburgh: 'Together you subjected the 19-year-old complainer to an appalling series of sexual assaults.'

The brothers were sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh today after the 19-year-old was held down and raped

Lady Carmichael pointed out that Drummond had initially ordered Stewart to hold the victim down.

Drummond, who claimed he was the boss in the house, gave his younger brother orders while the teenager begged Stewart to stop.

Lady Carmichael said: 'It was clear from the evidence that you Christopher Drummond dominated Alexander Stewart.'

She jailed Drummond for seven years for his part in the rapes, calling his attitude to women 'extremely troubling'.

Stewart was jailed for four and a half years and she told the younger brother that she considered he was someone who was prone to manipulation by his high-risk brother and was genuinely afraid of him.

The judge ordered that Stewart should be given a further period of supervision for 18 months and told both brothers that they would be on the sex offenders register indefinitely.

During the attacks They took off the victims lower clothing, restrained her in a bedroom and forced her legs apart before they both raped her.

The victim was then grabbed and pulled from the bedroom and raped again by Stewart.

A woman who saw the teenager following the assault and rapes committed on her said she was 'crying hysterically'.

Drummond, 23, a prisoner, and Stewart had denied assaulting and raping her during an earlier trial at the High Court in Edinburgh.

They were both found guilty of a charge of assaulting her and two charges of raping her.

Following the verdicts a court officer passed tissues to the pair to allow them to dab their eyes.

A woman told the court that on the night of the attack she had gone to Stewarts flat with her children and the victim. She said when they arrived they found someone else there called Christopher Drummond.

She said they had been sitting talking and Drummond commanded Stewart to play the accordion. She said Drummond got the teenager to sit on his knee.

The woman said: 'He was touching her in a playful way round her waist.'

She said Drummond and Stewart were drinking and thought it might have been Buckfast tonic wine they were consuming.

'At that point they seemed OK to me,' she said.

She said the teenager told her she wanted to stay when the time came to take the children home.

The woman said an incident in the flat had made her feel uncomfortable after she heard Drummond say: 'I didnt touch her.'

She told advocate depute Keith Stewart QC that she wanted the teenager to come back to her home.

Everyone left the flat, including Drummond and Stewart, to walk her home with the children as it was dark, she told the court.

'At that point she was still giggling and having a laugh with the boy,' she said.

'I just had a feeling that she needed to stay with me. I just had a feeling she shouldnt be left alone with the boys.'

She said that Stewart, Drummond and the teenager left her near her home. The woman said she asked the teenager one more time to come back to her house but she refused.

The teenager told her they were returning to Stewarts flat and she received a text message from the teenager confirming she had arrived.

She said the frightened girl later called her.

'Her voice sounded scared. I said: "Whats wrong? Whats wrong?"

'She said: "I am on the way back to you."'

The teenager told her where she was and she went to meet her.

The woman said: 'She was on her own. She was shaking and crying and she was pale.'

The woman asked her what had happened and called the police.

She said the victim was crying hysterically but eventually she was able to calm her down.

Following the pairs convictions the court heard Drummond had a more extensive criminal record than Stewart.

He has previously been placed on the sex offenders register and also has convictions for violence.

Lorenzo Alonzi, for Stewart, said he had been diagnosed with ADHD. The defence counsel added: 'He is someone who is highly susceptible to suggestion and easily led and manipulated.

'There has been a progressive acceptance by him of his guilt.'

Defence counsel David Moggach, for Drummond, said he still maintained his position that what had taken place was consensual.

He said Drummond had been visiting his brother but was 'quite oblivious and unaware' of any problems the younger man may have had.
Advertisement

British actress Jessica Hynes has come forward to claim she was dropped for refusing to screen test in a bikini for Harvey Weinstein as the Hollywood mogul faces a string of sexual harassment claims.

The Tony-nominated actress, best known for her roles in the BBC sitcom W1A and Channel 4's Spaced, claimed on Twitter today: 'I was offered a film role at 19, Harvey Weinstien came on board and wanted me to screen test in a bikini. I refused & lost the job.'

The 44-year-old added: 'I'm sure there are many more...'

Hynes, who earlier in her career went by Jessica Stevenson, has starred in the two most recent 'Bridget Jones' films as well as a number of theatrical productions, being nominated for a Tony in 2009 for her role in 'The Norman Conquests' on Broadway.

Writer and comedian Jack Howard said, replying to Hynes: 'Holy s*** I knew the story but I didn't know who it was about.'

Hynes did not reveal what the film was, but it would have been around 1991 or 1992 when Weinstein was beginning his ascent up the ranks in the movie industry while working in London.

This comes as allegations of Weinstein's decades of sexual harassment were revealed by The New York Times.

It was reported on Thursday that he once asked Ashley Judd if she would like to watch him shower during a meeting in his room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills and paid $100,000 to Rose McGowan for an unknown incident shortly after she filmed her breakthrough role in the film 'Scream.'

The payment was said to be 'to buy peace and avoid litigation and was not to be construed as an admission.'

Scroll down for videos

British actress Jessica Hynes has come forward to claim she was fired for refusing to screen test in a bikini for Harvey Weinstein as the Hollywood mogul faces a string of sexual harassment claims

The Tony-nominated actress, best known for her roles in the BBC sitcom W1A and and Channel 4's Spaced, claimed on Twitter today: 'I'm sure there are many more...'

Hynes, who earlier in her career went by Jessica Stevenson, has starred in the two most recent 'Bridget Jones' films as well as a number of theatrical productions, being nominated for a Tony in 2009 for her role in 'The Norman Conquests' on Broadway

Laughing lion: Weinstein (with an unknown associate) looked remarkably chipper and cheerful

Easy breezey: Georgina Chapman, 42, stepped out of her $15 million townhouse in the West Village of Manhattan on Friday at around 9.30am on her way to work (above)

In a fog: The morose designer did her best to smile in her first public outing since an expose reported details of her husband's alleged three decades of sexual harassment

That settlement is one of eight that Weinstein has reportedly paid out over the past 30 years, with Italian model Ambra Battilana also getting an undisclosed sum in 2015 after accusing the Hollywood executive of groping her and putting his hand under her skirt.

Earlier today, Georgina Chapman was seen leaving her Manhattan home, marking the first time she has been seen in public since the allegations against her husband came forward.

The Marchesa designer appeared morose but did manage to flash a smirk as she made her way out of the $15million townhouse she shares with Harvey Weinstein an hour after her husband headed off to work.

Weinstein exited the home on Friday carrying some papers under his arm and flashing a big smile as he made his way to the waiting SUV outside, with his trip to the office coming less than 24 hours after he informed the New York Times that he was taking a leave of absence.

It was in 1991 when he is alleged to have sexually harassed the first of his many victims who came forward to speak with the New York Times on the record about his behavior.

Laura Madden alleged that she was asked by Weinstein to give him massages while he was staying at hotels in Dublin and London at that time.

'It was so manipulative,' said Madden.

'You constantly question yourself  am I the one who is the problem?'

Last day before new start: McGowan's settlement is one of eight that Weinstein has reportedly paid out over the past 30 years

One last look: Weinstein glanced out the car window as his SUV drove off on Friday morning

Chapman, 41, did not comment on any of the claims on her way out of the home, heading straight off to her atelier ahead of her label's bridal presentation next week.

She stayed similarly silent on social media Thursday, opting to post photos of her bridal line rather than address the bombshell report in the New York Times, which will soon be followed by at least one more story in the New Yorker.

Weinstein played a big role in Chapman's ascent in the fashion world, as the well-connected executive facilitated the relationships between his wife and stars like Blake Lively, Jennifer Lopez, Penelope Cruz and Sandra Bullock.

Chapman may have been a bit down on Friday, but her sartorial selections were, as usual, picture perfect.

The British-born designer paired $1,045 Valentino heels and a purse from the Italian brand with a jean jacket and skirt.

Chapman then added a pop of color with her silk blouse.

She kept her eyes hidden however behind a large pair of $500 Dior Diorama sunglasses, while her hair looked as if it has been perfectly blown out and styled on Thursday.

Project runway: She kept her eyes hidden however behind a large pair of Dior sunglasses, while her hair looked as if it has been perfectly blown out and styled on Thursday

Work work work work work: Chapman's label Marchesa will hold their bridal presentation next week

It was also inside his room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills where Weinstein allegedly stripped naked and put pressure on a female employee to give a massage.

Weinstein said: 'I appreciate the way I've behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it. Though I'm trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go.'

He added that he is now taking a leave of absence from the company to 'deal with this issue head on.'

According to US media reports, Judd recounted her encounter with Weinstein, saying she was doing night shoots for her 1997 film 'Kiss the Girls' when she got an invite to meet with Weinsten that she felt she had to attend.

She said she felt uncomfortable from the start and ordered cereal from room service because it would arrive quicker than a hot meal.

Judd said she was asked to give Weinstein a massage and then a shoulder rub, both of which she declined while trying to get herself out of the room, it is claimed.

That is when he asked her to help him pick out his clothes for the day and then watch him shower.

It was revealed on Thursday that he once asked Ashley Judd (left) if she would like to watch him shower during a meeting in his room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills and paid $100,000 to Rose McGowan (right) for an unknown incident shortly after she filmed her breakthrough role in the film 'Scream.'

Crisis management: Weinstein dealt with questions by raising his hand to nearby reporters and asking them to talk to it

Tough to stomach: 'I was with a bunch of other actors, and it was critical that it was actors: The exact same thing had happened to them by the exact same mogul,' wrote Judd in 2015

'I said no, a lot of ways, a lot of times, and he always came back at me with some new ask,' said Judd.

'It was all this bargaining, this coercive bargaining.'

She eventually made her escape by joking that Weinstein would have to help her win an Oscar before she would be willing to touch him, stating that the prestige of working for his studio made it too difficult to forcefully shut down his harassment.

'There's a lot on the line, the cachet that came with Miramax,' explained Judd.

Judd previously wrote about the same experience in 2015 for Variety without naming Weinstein, simply saying it was a studio mogul.

'I was with a bunch of other actors, and it was critical that it was actors: The exact same thing had happened to them by the exact same mogul,' wrote Judd.

'Only when we were sitting around talking about it did we realize our experiences were identical. There was a mutual strengthening and fortification of our resolve.'

She later wrote in that piece: 'The ultimate thing when I was weaseling out of everything else was, "Will you watch me take a shower?" And all the other women, sitting around this table with me, said, "Oh my godthat's what he said to me too."'
Donald Trump sent an unmistakable challenge to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Friday, calling the Senate's filibuster rule a 'death sentence' for GOP's legislative goals.

'It's a disaster, OK? It's a disaster for the Republicans, the president said in an interview with former Arkansas governor and two-time presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

Huckabee conducted the discussion with Trump on his program that appears on the Trinity Broadcasting Network, a Christian evangelical cable channel.

'They have to get rid of it,' Trump said of the filibuster rule. 'If they don't get rid of it, it's just a death sentence.'

Scroll down for video

President Donald Trump says the U.S. Senate should scrap a rule requiring 60 senators to agree before a debate can be ended and a vote called on any legislation

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is content to let Democrats stymie most bills by voting in lockstep, fearing that scrapping the 'filibuster' rule would come back to haunt him if Republicans become the minority party in the future

Senate rules call for a majority vote to pass a bill, but a super-majority of 60 out of 100 senators must first agree to end a debate and move to a vote in the first place.

Any senator can bring the proceedings to a halt by mounting a 'filibuster,' which traditionally has meant occupying the Senate floor nonstop in order to helt the proceedings.

In recent years, however, the mere announcement of an intent to filibuster has been enough to put some bills on the back-burner.

'The problem we have is we have 52 senators. And they have to get rid of the just absolutely crazy voting where you need 60,' trump said Friday.

'It's called the filibuster rule, and it's a disaster.'

Mike Huckabee (right) has a Trinity Broadcasting Network show but was among the Republicans who challenged Trump in the 2016 GOP presidential primary race

Trump has been friendly with Huckabee, even appointing his daughter Sarah Huckabee Sanders to be his White House press secretary

Trump has called on the Senate numeroud times to scrap the archaic rule, a step that's within McConnell's power to take.

But he and other moderate Republicans have warned that it would be a dangerous precedent to set, since Democrats will inevitably win back control of the upper chamber of Congress some day  and would be free to operate under the same revised rules.

Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat who has since retired, banned the filibuster for most presidential nominations in 2013, a move calculated to help Barack Obama with tough confirmation fights.

Viewed at the time as 'the nuclear option,' it cleared logjams and put the GOP at a disadvantage.

Republicans turned the tables this year, however, waiving the filibuster for President Trump's nomination of Neil Gorsuch to serve on the Supreme Court and approving him with 54 'yea' votes, largely along party lines.

Huckabee ran against Trump in the 2016 GOP presidential primary, and mounted his first White House bid in 2008.

His daughter, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, is Trump's press secretary at the White House.
Former Chancellor George Osborne was left 'shocked and stunned' after narrowly escaping a prolific gang of moped robbers responsible for more than 100 raids across London, a court heard.

The 18-year-old ringleader Claude Parkinson and two other teenagers aged 15 and 16 stole high-value mobile phones to order across central London between April 18 and May 5 this year.

The trio from Islington, north London, admitted stealing 103 phones over an 18-day period across Westminster, Islington, Camden and Chelsea at Southwark Crown court earlier this year.

Evening Standard editor Mr Osborne said in a victim impact statement how the raiders made a grab at his mobile as he left the BBC's Broadcasting House in central London on May 4.

George Osborne (pictured left) narrowly escaped falling prey to one of London's most prolific moped gangs as he left Broadcasting House on May 4. Claude Parkinson (pictured right) and two others, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have been convicted of conspiracy to rob

The 46-year-old said: 'After the incident three or four members of the public approached me and asked if I was alright.

'I was physically unharmed but felt shocked and stunned.

'The incident happened so quickly that I barely registered what had happened until afterwards.

'The scooter was so close that it almost brushed past me.

'Had it hit me, I have no doubt I would have been seriously injured.'

The gang leader and one of his associates also admitted breaching a criminal behaviour order at Southwark Crown Court.

The trio are believed to be one of the most notorious gangs operating in the capital, responsible for 83 moped robbery and snatch offences out of the overall 212 reported between April 18 and May 5.

Arming themselves with a hammer and tyre-iron, the thugs would look out for pedestrians texting or making calls before mounting the pavement and either snatching the handsets or using the weapons to threaten the owners into handing them over.

Mr Osborne, 46, was leaving the BBC's Broadcasting House in central London when the gang 'brushed past him' on their scooters

Dramatic photos displayed in court show them roaring through streets with one raising a hammer above his head as they sped towards passers-by.

Samsul Chowdhury, 40, of Tower Hamlets, east London, who gave the gang a list of phones he wanted including what he would pay for them before flogging them overseas, admitted handling stolen goods.

Prosecuting, Paul Fairley said: 'Recently, the UK - and London in particular - has seen a huge increase in what is termed 'moped enabled crime' - robberies and thefts for, in the main, mobile phones.

'At the height of the period covering this indictment, the police team covering Westminster were seeing in excess of 100 such offences per week.

'The premise is simple. Obtain a stolen moped, or steal it for yourself.

'Dress up in motorcycle clothing which has the effect of providing a very effective disguise.

'Arm yourself if necessary and then drive about looking for mobile phones to steal.

'They are easy to find, they are expensive and the sell-on price for the thief is significant.

'They are in plain view and there for the taking - loosely in the hands of the many members of the public who walk along looking down at them - completely unaware of who might be waiting to pounce, driving up on to the pavements, coming alongside the victim, snatching the phones and then driving away.

'These offences are difficult to detect.

'Mopeds are highly manoeuvrable and are able to get away quickly, using routes which cars cannot follow.

'If CCTV footage is obtained, the riders are anonymous and so, as long as not detained at the scene of the crime, the chances of escaping detection are high.

'The offending rate was so high precisely because of the rewards available, and because there was a ready market.

'In this case, that market came in the guise of Samsul Chowdhury.'

It is not known how long the married father-of-two handled stolen phones.

The trio, all of Islington, north London, were found guilty at Southwark Crown Court (pictured)

But after he became notorious for it, it was not long until the former Asda worker was inundated by messages from members of London's criminal youth network.

The court heard that he 'employed a work ethic that in proper circumstances would be an impressive thing'.

When he was arrested on May 26 and his home searched, police found 35 phones, several laptops and other stolen items - some of which had come from two residential burglaries committed a week earlier.

Exchanges between one of the youngsters and Chowdhury show that contact was being made, negotiations conducted, bartering over price and the phones delivered to him within an hour of committing the robberies.

Interrogations of Chowdhury's account books noted 'pages and pages of carefully documented phones, prices the total of which runs into many thousands of pounds'.

Over a 42-day period between April 5 and May 17 there were 327 items with a total value of 52,150.

Mr Fairley revealed Parkinson was always the rider of the lead moped and was present on all five days of the robbery spree, while the other youngsters accepted involvement between April 21 and May 4.

He said that in the vast majority of offences no further violence was used after the snatch until the final day when they 'upped the ante and armed themselves' on May 4.

London Evening Standard editor Mr Osborne had people rush up to him after the incident outside BBC headquarters

Mr Fairley continued: 'This time, the group made an unwitting but ultimately disastrous mistake.

'As they drove past the BBC building in Westminster, they happened to pass in front of a BBC cameraman Ian Lawrence, who was standing holding a long lens camera whist waiting for a taxi.

'He realised what was happening and started taking pictures.'

The court heard that despite the distance, the images were so detailed they helped police trace Parkinson after officers were able to recognise his eyes through the visor, his bitten fingernails and distinctive clothing.

Describing the ringleader, victim Frederick Frank: 'The single rider snatched my phone in his left hand, calmly finding the power button and switching the phone off before accelerating off.

'The twin riders behind him were whooping with joy.

'They seemed like new recruits being shown the ropes by a modern day Artful Dodger.'

The court heard all three youngsters have previous convictions going back to their early teens for offences including theft and driving offences.

Judge David Tomlinson adjourned passing sentence until October 11.

Parkinson, of Thornhill Square, Islington, Chowdhury, of Usk Street, Bethnal Green, and the two youths were remanded in custody to return to Southwark Crown Court next week.
A man from Oregon drove all the way to Pennsylvania to pick up his new two-legged dog.

Nubz, who is a Husky/Chow mix, lost two of his paws because his mom chewed them off in the puppy mill in Missouri where he was born.

'Puppy mills typically have a lot of caged animals. They don't' have a lot of access to moving around,' said Laura Magruder, veterinarian at Evergreen Veterinary Hospital in Salem.

Scroll for video

'We don't know if it was the extra stress of the puppy mill or maybe she just wasn't ready to be a mom, but she ended up taking it out on her puppies unfortunately,' Magruder said.

Jim Havlinek drove across country from Salem to Philadelphia, which is about 2,900 miles, to pick up Nubz who is now 10-months-old.

He said he was driving around 9 hours a day when him and Nubz drove back to Oregon from Pennsylvania.

He said he started following Nubz when he was just two-months-old, according to KGW.

Nubz was born in a puppy mill and he lost two of his feet there because his mom chewed them

Comeback Kids: Animal Edition posted a video of the first meeting between Havlinek and Nubz on their Facebook page.

They commented on the video: 'Nubz was born in a puppy mill, and he lost two of his feet there. But he's worked SO hard to get better, and now he's ready to start a whole new life!'

Havlinek couldn't control his excitement when he finally got to meet Nubz as he said: 'He's everything. He's more than what I imagined.'

Nubz, who is a Husky/Chow mix, lost two of his paws because his mom chewed them off in the puppy mill in Missouri where he was born

Jim Havlinek drove across country to pick up Nubz who is now 10-months-old

Nubz pictured here wearing his prosthetic feet that Havlinek has to put on him every day

'I just want to give him a good life,' Havlinek said in the video about his new dog Nubz

Nubz pictured here as a puppy, right after he lost his two back paws

'I just want to give him a good life,' he continued.

Every single day Havlinek has to attach two prosthetic feet to Nubz' back paws, which he's more than happy to do as he said: 'My life revolves around dogs'.

'Why not give a dog the opportunity to have the best life possible when they really deserve it. He deserves it,' Havlinek continued.

Havlinek also has two other dogs Winston aka The Beast and Bailey.

'I think hes [Nubz] going to do great. He has indomitable spirit. Theres nothing thats going to hold him back,' Magruder said.

Jim Havlinek drove across country from Salem to Philadelphia, which is about 2,900 miles, to pick up Nubz who is now 10-months-old

This is the moment Havlinek met Nubz for the first time in Pennsylvania

Havlinek immediately took Nubz to the vet to make sure he was okay

Nubz is pictured lying here with Havlinek's other dog Bailey

Nubz is seen walking around with his prosthetic feet that Havlinek puts on him every day
Missing: Abby Patterson, 20, has not been seen for a month

A fourth woman has vanished in the small North Carolina town where three others have been found dead in mysterious circumstances this year.

Abby Patterson, 20, has not been seen for a month. She vanished from her family's home in Lumberton on September 5.

She told her mother she was going out to run errands and would be back in an hour but never returned.

She was last seen getting into an acquaintance's car and was never seen again.

Police have interviewed that acquaintance several times but no charges have been brought.

Her disappearance follows the grisly deaths of three other women whose remains were found within a three-block radius.

Christina Bennett, 32, and Rhonda Jones, 36, were both found dead on April 18. Bennett's remains were found inside an abandoned home and Jones's body was found in a nearby trash can.

Jones's friend Megan Oxedine was interviewed about her death at the time. Three weeks later, her naked body was found dumped in wooded area nearby.

Police in Lumberton have not yet been able to determine how each of the women were killed and have not even gone as far to say that they were murdered.

The woman's family are frantically appearing for information on her whereabouts online

They have advised that they do not believe Aby's disappearance to be connected to the other three women's deaths but say they are not ruling out any line of investigation.

The woman's desperate family are frantically appealing for her to come home.

They have offered a $5,000 reward for anyone who has information of her whereabouts.

The FBI is helping Lumberton Police Department with investigations.

On April 18, the bodies of Bennett and Jones were found inside a house which had been empty for months.

Killed: On April 18, the bodies of Rhonda Jones, a mother-of-five (above left and right), and Christina Bennett (not pictured) were found

Police found their bodies inside this abandoned home and in a trash bin that was outside

Megan Oxedine gave an interview about the first two deaths. Three weeks later, her remains were found in a wooded area by the side of the road

They were discovered when a person who was due to move in arrived and noticed a foul smell.

Police found Bennett's body first inside. They have not revealed exactly where but detectives were seen ripping floor boards up on the ground floor.

Police say they do not know if Abby Patterson is in immediate danger

They then discovered Jones's body in a trash can outside.

Megan Oxendine then gave an interview with a local news station to speak about their murders.

'I don't comprehend stuff like this. I don't understand how somebody could do somebody's child, mother, niece, like that,' she told CBS.

Speaking of Jones, a mother-of-five who she knew, she said: 'I ain't never seen her act out or nothing, she's just quiet, she didn't really mess with too many people.'

On June 3, Oxendine's body was found beside some trees at the side of a road nearby.

Lumberton Police Captain Terry Parker told DailyMail.com that the department was working with 'limited information' and had not been able to find a link between the three deaths earlier this year.

He said he had no reason to believe that Patterson was in immediate danger but urged the public to be cautious.
Ernesto Padron, a 52-year-old bank robbery suspect, was shot dead by police after a two-hour car chase Friday morning through Miami-Dade County

A 52-year-old bank robbery suspect was shot dead by police after leading cops on a two-hour car chase and then jumping in a river.

The dramatic chase started just after 7am, when officers tried to serve a warrant at a home in northwest Miami-Dade County, where a suspected bank robber was believed to be staying.

The suspected robber, identified as Ernesto Padron, fled the home and then stole a Brown BMW SUV from a man at a nearby gas station.

He took off in the car towards the city of Miami, as news helicopters followed from above.

At one point, he nearly struck an officer's car when he drove into a dead end.

He managed to get out of the dead end and then ditched the car near Northwest 21st Street and 14th Ave.

Scroll down for video

The suspect stole a Brown BMW SUV when officers tried to serve a search warrant at his house

He later ditched the SUV before carjacking another woman's SUV in Miami

The second carjacking victims said she thought Padron was an undercover police officer

The second carjacking victim is seen exiting her car as Padron gets in the driver's seat

He then drove the SUV under a bridge and abandoned the second vehicle

It was there that he threatened a woman on her way into work, taking out his gun and ordering her to get out of the car.

The woman obliged and Padron took off again, this time driving under a bridge where workers saw him jump into the Miami River.

News footage shows him diving down multiple times in an apparent attempt to hide from cops.

When he was surrounded, officers ordered Padron out of the water, tossing him a life belt.

But he refused and continued to hang onto a wall on the side of the river for about 40 minutes.

Eventually, officers shot at Padron, and then pulled him out of the water. They performed first aid, but Padron was pronounced dead at the scene.

In a Friday press conference, Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez said they were forced to shoot Padron after he made threatening comments towards officers, saying he 'will not go down easy'.

Workers told police (responding to the bridge) that they saw the suspect jump into the Miami River

The suspect refused to get out of the water for 40 minutes. he's seen above clinging to a wall

Officers surrounded Padron and eventually shot at him, when he refused to get out

Padron's body is seen on top of a police boat after the shooting

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement are now investigating the shooting.

Padron was allegedly wanted in the September 29 robbery of a Wells Fargo.

The woman who had her car stolen at the end of the chase has since spoken out.

She has been identified as Minerva Castellano, a worker at Veterans Administration Hospital.

'(He) just came to my window and put the gun in my face and told me, "Get the F*** out of the car right now, or I will shoot you,"' she told WPLG.

Above, the first SUV that Padron carjacked during the two-hour chase

It's believed that Padron was the man behind a recent robbery at a Wells Fargo bank

At first, she thought that Padron was a police officer who needed to commandeer her vehicle.

'I wasn't really scared at the moment, because I'm thinking it's an undercover cop, because I'd seen cops all over the place,' she said. 'I thought he was an undercover cop that needed my car, and it took me a while to get out. I'm strapped with my seatbelt. Luckily I had my purse with me, and I ran out -- no shoes -- I just got out.'

It wasn't until an actual officer came up to her and tried to ask her for a description of the suspect that she realized she had been the victim of a carjacking.

'I broke down at that point. I'm still a little shaken up,' she said.

Castellano was not injured in the incident, nor were any police officers.
to life without the possibility of parole Thursday for the shooting death of Ashley Doolittle, 18, in June 2016

A Colorado teen has been sentenced to life in prison for killing his rodeo queen ex-girlfriend in a jealous rage.

A judge in Larimer County told 19-year-old Tanner Flores he would spend the rest of his life behind bars without the possibility of parole Thursday for the shooting death of his former girlfriend Ashley Doolittle, who was just 18-years-old.

Flores was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and one count of felony kidnapping in a seven day trial in which prosecutors argued he was unable to move on after breaking up with an 18-year-old Doolittle in June 2016, after he learned of her plan to start dating other people.

Tanner Flores, 19 (right, during Thursday's sentencing) was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in the shooting death of his ex-girlfriend, aspiring rodeo queen Ashley Doolittle, 18 (left)

During an interview with police, Flores allegedly said he murdered Doolittle (pictured together) because he was angry that she had dumped him

On top of his life without parole sentence, he was also handed an additional 32-years in prison on the charge of kidnapping Doolittle, according to the Coloradoan.

'Tanner did more than murder Ashley, he destroyed two families,' said Ann Marie Doolittle, Ashley's mother, as she read a statement to the court.

Doolittle said her daughter was empathetic and even after she had decided she didn't want to date Flores anymore she was worried about his feelings.

Flores was flanked by his attorney's during sentencing in which he learned he would serve life in prison without the possibility of parole

Flores, pictured in his mugshot from 2016

'No one can begin to imagine the pain and agony that one goes through when they lose a child,' Doolittle said during her tearful statement.

Flores quietly declined to address the court. His family members, who had been in the courtroom every day of the trial, sat behind him during the sentencing hearing but did not offer any statements to the court.

The mother was also empathetic to her daughter's killers family.

'Our hearts go out to the Flores family, as we know they are going through their own grief and heartache,' she said.

Eighth Judicial District Judge Gregory Lammons concluded 'There's nothing I can say that Ms. Doolittle hasn't already said.'

Flores was arrested on June 10 on his late grandfather's property in Collbran, where he drove five hours after allegedly shooting 18-year-old Ashley Doolittle multiple times in the head while she was riding in his pickup truck.

According to his arrest affidavit, Flores was found with Doolittle's blanket-wrapped body in the cab of his pickup.

She had been reported missing by her family the previous day after her car was found abandoned near Lon Hagler Reservoir in Larimer County - five hours away.

Flores allegedly told police he'd murdered his ex-girlfriend because he'd been 'angry' that she'd ended their year-long relationship.

The teen shot her twice in the head and then drove her body five hours away to his grandfather's house in Collbran where he cleaned up the corpse and hid it in the back of his truck, according to the affidavit.

'Tanner was 'upset' over the breakup with Ashley,' one friend told officers, the document stated.

'Another friend stated that Tanner was 'really down' over the breakup and did not know why they were no longer together.'

'Tanner apparently sent a Snapchat message to several friends on (June 8) in the late evening that had a message that was suicidal in nature,' the affidavit said.

Flores' 1999 Dodge 2500 pickup truck was found near Doolittle's body in June 2016

Family members told officials Doolittle (left) had recently ended a one-year-relationship with Flores. He will undergo a mental health evaluation before the case against him can proceed

Flores' father also told deputies that his .22 caliber revolver was missing from a locked gun cabinet, the affidavit states.

Officials discovered Flores had been missing since 3:30pm on June 7 and issued an alert for him and his 1999 Dodge 2500 pickup truck.

Searchers began looking for Doolittle and Flores 'at first light' that Friday morning in the area near where her vehicle was found the previous day.

Peageant queen: Doolittle, the lady-in-waiting of Boulder County Fair and Rodeo, is pictured right, sitting next to the queen of the rodeo

A neighbor of the 18-year-old's grandfather later contacted the local police department after she saw Flores carrying what appeared to be a bundle of blankets out of the back seat of a truck.

She said that she had then noticed what she thought was a human arm.

Until their recent breakup, the couple had posted several pictures together on social media.

A picture posted to Doolittle's Facebook page in May of 2016 showed the couple posing together in festive outfits.

'Gorgeous babe, I love you,' Flores commented on another picture of Doolittle posted on May 18.

According to the Denver Post, Doolittle was enrolled as an agricultural business major at Colorado State University. She won a $1,000 to attend the university, and was also interested in horses and the rodeo, the Post reported.

A picture posted to the Boulder County Fair and Rodeo Royalty page showed Doolittle in a sash that says 'Lady-in-waiting', meaning she was poised to become the next queen of the rodeo.
Adolf Hitler admired camps where Indigenous Americans were contained in the hope of erasing their identity, an author has claimed.

The fuhrer's fascination with the conflict between cowboys and so-called Indians in North America was fuelled by his reading of Wild West adventure stories.

He was particularly interested in how camps in America aimed to changed the Indigenous people.

A group of students and parents from the Saddle Lake Reserve in Alberta en route to the Methodist-operated Red Deer Indian Industrial School, Alberta

An author claims Hitler was fascinated by camps used to contain Indigenous Americans before he set up Nazi concentration camps

Author Baron Alexander Deschauer, writing for the Mirror Online, said his new book Concentration Camps of Canada exposes the similarities between Hitler's Nazi camps and Indian reserves.

'It is this idea, of containing people, scrubbing away their identities by replacing their names with numbers and breaking their spirit with beatings if they veered from the rules that can be seen in the horrific concentration camps later created under the Nazi regime,' he writes.

'Is it possible that a regime known for its clinical barbarianism could have been inspired by a country like Canada - better known for its wheat fields, Rocky Mountains, and limitless opportunities?'

He claims Hitler merged his vision of the Third Reich with the 'cowboy and Indian' conflict to which he was drawn.

Like millions of other Germans, he enjoyed Karl May's adventure stories, keeping his entire collection of works in his bedroom.

The containment of Indigenous Americans in camps was supposed to erase their identity, with numbers sometimes replacing names. Pictured: The Sioux Council of New York

Mays books have now sold more than 200 million copies to date and Mr Deschauer says they sparked Hitler's interest in the notion of cowboys taming the Wild West.

He was especially interested in camps, which in the United States were known as Indian reservations and in Canada were called Indian reserves.

Mr Deschauer writes: 'It is difficult for us to imagine a world without the harrowing images of the Nazi concentration camps.

Adolf Hitler was fascinated by WIld West stories depicting the fight between cowboys and so-called Indians

'Broken bodies, walking dead, and sallow eyes in striped prison outfits fill our minds eye.

'Forced labour, strict discipline, and winnowing rations kept the prison population in check.

'Names were replaced with numbers. Identities all but ceased in the camps.'

The methodology used at concentration camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau (pictured) was strikingly similar to that used to contain people Indigenous to Canada, according to Baron Alexander Deschauer

Though he admits it is unclear whether Hitler drew direct inspiration from the Canadian system, his methodology was strikingly similar.

'The United States government had created concentration camps as early as 1838, the use of this method became prevalent from the 1860s as the borders of the United States moved westwards,' he writes.

'The US government referred to these concentration camps as "Indian reservations" - referring to land that the government had to set aside to house the "Indians".'

The author admits it is unclear whether fascist leader Adolf Hitler drew direct inspiration from the Canadian camps

He claims Canada differed in its approach, attempting to force the assimilation of Indigenous people contained in its reserves by basic education and physical training.

This included boys being taught agriculture and girls being instructed in domestic chores.

'The colonial government decided to try and assimilate the Indigenous people into society, by "taking the Indian out of the Indian",' he writes.

Hundreds of women and children were packed into one room at the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in Germany

'A boarding school system called residential schools was thought to be the most effective way of washing away the unwanted cultures, languages, and customs.

'Children were taken from their families and placed in these residential schools.

'They were not allowed to speak their language, act "like Indians" or even wear their familiar clothing.'

Pupils were even stripped of their names and assigned a number or a Christian name.

Speaking languages other than French of English risked beatings, as did failing to confirming to the curriculum, which was created by the Church.

Pope John Paul II laying flowers as he visits Auschwitz-Birkenau, the former Nazi concentration camp in Poland on June 7, 1979

'Eighty thousand survivors of this system are still alive today,' he writes.

'Broken from reliving memories, many testified of the horrors to Canadas Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

'Where the Nazi camps lasted a little more than a decade, Canadas continued for almost 150 years.'

Campbell Papequash told Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission how he was forced to attend a residential school in 1946.

'After I was taken there they took off my clothes and then they deloused me,' he said.

'I didnt know what was happening but I later learned about it, that they were delousing me; "the dirty, no-good-for-nothing savages, lousy."'

And Murray Crowe told how his clothes were burned at the school he attended in Ontario.

Gilles Petiquay, said every pupil of the Pointe Bleus School he attended was assigned a number.

Child survivors of Auschwitz-Birkenau at the camp on the day of its liberation by the Red Army

'I remember that the first number that I had at the residential school was 95,' he said.

'I had that number95for a year. The second number was number 4. I had it for a longer period of time. The third number was 56. I also kept it for a long time. We walked with the number on us.

Others claimed children were chained together, with one boy being flogged by a teacher while chained to a bed.

About 3,500 children died under the care care of the schools, according to official figures.

But unofficial figures say the number of children buried in unmarked graves could be in the tens of thousands.

In 2004 the Royal Mounted Police apologised its role in the residential schools.

Four years later, prime minister of Canada Stephen Harper formally apologised both for the creation of the schools and the abuses inflicted on children.

December 1890: Bodies of Sioux Indians are piled into a mass grave hacked into the frozen Dakota soil after the tragedy at Wounded Knee

Mr Deschauer's book, based on a true story, is the tale of an Indigenous boy who undergoes forced assimilation in schools and reserves.

'Nazis understood the role of their camps. On the surface, it provided a source of free labour, available subjects for their medical experiments, and a place to put dissidents without killing them outright - initially at least,' he said.

'Nazi camps ensured that all able bodies were put to work - making toys, shoes, counterfeiting foreign currency, as well as munitions.

'The reality is that it formed a key component of Hitlers strategy. His war was total - cultural, physical, and emotional. His objective was to cleanse Germany and the world of unwanted people (from Jews to Gypsies) and unwanted cultures.

'The camps have become synonymous with death but there were things worse than death - people being reduced to the living dead.'

The book is available in hardback, paper and e-edition formats on Amazon, where it is also on sale in audio form.
The US military said on Friday that a fourth soldier was killed during an attack on Wednesday in Niger, raising the death toll from an incident that has thrown a spotlight on the US counter-terrorism mission in the West African nation.

Reuters had learned previously that one US soldier was missing after Wednesday's operation.

It withheld publication of this information at the request of the Pentagon, which maintained that its rescue and recovery effort would be jeopardized.

The Pentagon disclosed on Friday that the service member's body had been located. It declined to release a name, pending notification of his family.

'The body of another US service member has been recovered from the area of the attack, bringing the number of US service members killed in this attack to four,' Colonel Robert Manning said in a statement.

Staff Sergeant Dustin Wright, 29, of Lyons, Georgia was one of three US Army Green Berets killed in an ambush by suspected ISIS terrorists in Niger on Wednesday

Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35, of Puyallup, Washington, was identified as another casualty of the ambush

Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio, was identified as a third fatality of the ambush, the Pentagon announced

No group has taken responsibility for the killings, although the United States suspects that a local branch of Islamic State was responsible.

At least four Niger soldiers were killed in the ambush.

Eight Niger soldiers and two US troops were wounded in the attack, but they were evacuated from the area on Wednesday after the attack unfolded.

The US military on Friday published the names of the three Army Special Forces soldiers from 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) who were killed when their reconnaissance patrol with Nigerien forces came under fire.

They were Staff Sergeant Bryan Black, 35, of Puyallup, Washington; Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; and Staff Sergeant Dustin Wright, 29, of Lyons, Georgia.

All three fatalities were commandos stationed in Fort Bragg, the US Army base in North Carolina which is the largest military installation in the world.

Black enlisted in the Army in October 2009.

US Army soldiers carry Wright's casket after arriving at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Thursday

His service was a decorated one during which he earned accolades and awards, including the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon and the National Defense Service Medal, according to The Seattle Times.

Johnson served as a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear specialist (CBRN). He first enlisted in the Army in 2007.

'Unfortunately, we lost another one,' Springboro Mayor John Agenbroad told the Journal-News of Butler County, Ohio.

Agenbroad made the comments on the same day his grandson, Jackson Book of Springboro, was deployed to Iraq.

'Were so stretched out with all the wars,' said Agenbroad, who is also a veteran.

'Its a shame our young men and women have to spend so many deployments in these places. The odds are against them.'

'Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson was an exceptional soldier in all regards,' said Lt. Col. Megan Brogden, commander of Group Support Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group.

'We, as a nation, are fortunate to have men like Jeremiah.

'He not only represented what we should all aspire to be, but he lived it. His loss is a great blow and he will be missed and mourned by this unit.'

News of Wright's death was delivered to his family Wednesday by an Army casualty notification team, according to Southeast Georgia Today.

US troops are in the West African nation to train the local government's forces to combat jihadist elements there. The file photo above shows US Army Special Forces troops observing as Nigerien service members fire their weapons in an exercise in Diffa, Niger in March

Ardie Wright, Dustin's father, flew to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Thursday morning to meet his son's casket.

He was accompanied on the trip by Dustin's mother, Terri Criscio, and his brother Will.

'The news was shocking and confusing,' Criscio's sister, Ginger Russell, said.

'There are still so many questions, but we are here to help Dustin's parents and siblings carry this burden.

'Dustin was the most lovable, funny jokester who never met a stranger and would give his last dime to help someone in need.

'He made the ultimate sacrifice. He is our homeown hero. He was loved by so many.'

Denise Collins, Dustin's cousin, spent time with Ardie Wright before his departure for Delaware.

'He was naturally very upset and kept saying that no father should have to bury his son,' she said.

'We agreed, but we know these things can happen when you join the service and are in a different country where they don't care and actually hate Americans.

'He was fighting for some of those people.'

Collins said Dustin was 'a very special person, a very unique young man.'

'He took great pride in being able to serve his country,' she said.

'I told someone today that Dustin knew exactly what could happen one day when he signed up and he was ready for it.

'He was ready to serve our country to the best of his ability and the fact he was a Green Beret proves to me that he did that.'

Niger's army said the joint Nigerian-American patrol on the Mali-Niger border was ambushed by militants riding in a dozen vehicles and on about 20 motorcycles near the village of Tongo Tongo.

Islamist militants form part of a regional insurgency in the poor, sparsely populated deserts of West Africa's Sahel.

Jihadists have stepped up attacks on UN peacekeepers, Malian soldiers and civilian targets since being driven back in northern Mali by a French-led military intervention in 2013.

Malian militant groups have expanded their reach into neighboring countries, including Niger, where a series of attacks by armed groups led the government in March to declare a state of emergency in the southwest.
A 15-year-old Oregon girl, her 19-year-old boyfriend and another man have been indicted for allegedly bludgeoning her father to death in his sleep and planning to kill another man.

Ellen Friar, her lover Gavin MacFarlane and 22-year-old Russell Jones II were arrested on Monday after the girl's father, 50-year-old Aaron Friar, was found dead east of Medford.

Local police say the victim was bludgeoned to death as he slept in his home in the 500 block of Benson Street in Medford.

An autopsy performed on the victim found the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head and the death was ruled a homicide.

According to investigators, Ellen Friar has been dating MacFarlane, but her father did not approve of their sexual relationship.

Scroll down for video

Gavin MacFarlane (pictured left), 19, and Russell Jones, 22, (pictured right) were charged with murder after authorities say they helped kill MacFarlene's lover's father

Baby-faced murder suspect: Ellen Friar, 15, MacFarlane's girlfriend and the victim's daughter, will be tried as an adult

The body of 50-year-old Aaron Friar (center, pictured with friends) was found east of Medford, Oregon, on Monday

Medford police believe Friar was killed in his sleep at his Medford home on Benson Street over the weekend (Pictured: Benson Street)

Detectives believe that after killing Friar, his daughter and the two young men stole his car and used it to transport his body to a dirt embankment in the 9100 block of East Antelope Road, on the Oregon-California border, where it was recovered Monday afternoon.

On Thursday, the Jackson County grand jury returned an indictment charging Friar, MacFarlane and Jones with felony murder; murder; two counts of criminal conspiracy to commit murder; robbery in the first degree and tampering with physical evidence.

The conspiracy charges stem from the trio's alleged plan to kill Russell's father, Russell Pierce Jones I.

The district's attorney office did not provide any additional information on the apparently failed or aborted plot on Mr Jones' life.

Star-crossed lovers: According to investigators, Ellen Friar (pictured left) has been dating MacFarlane, but her father did not approve of her sexual relationship with the older man

The 19-year-old has been charged with third-degree rape stemming from his affair with the 15-year-old suspect

The trio of suspects are suspected of conspiring to kill the father of Russell Jones (pictured above)

MacFarlane was also charged with third-degree rape for having sex with Ellen Friar, who is a minor.

Speaking to the station KTVL, Utahna Stamper, a friend of Aaron Friar, described him as a generous man who was always willing to lend a helping hand with home repairs.

The grand jury heard an hour of testimony from six witnesses on Thursday and deliberated for just seven minutes before indicting the three suspects.

MacFarlane and Jones are being held in Jackson County Jail without bond. Ellen Friar was ordered held at the Jackson County Juvenile Detention Facility, but she will be tried as an adult.

Court records obtained by Mail Tribune show that in 2015, Jones pleaded guilty to third-degree sexual abuse involving a child under age 16 and was sentenced to probation and community service.
It wasn't just Rep. Tim Murphy's abortion antics that forced him to resign from Congress this week, but how the pro-life Pennsylvania Republican ran his Congressional office, allowing his chief of staff to bully other aides.

Politico reported that senior Republicans feared that negative stories about Murphy's office would come gushing out if he remained on Capitol Hill until the end of his term, as he originally announced he would do  so they pressured him to quit at an earlier date.

He'll be gone on October 21, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., announced yesterday.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette had unearthed a memo, purportedly written by Murphy's Chief of Staff Susan Mosychuk, which criticized his 'inability to hire and retain competent staff' along with his 'hostile, erratic, unstable, angry, aggressive and abusive behavior.'

But former staffers are pointing fingers at Mosychuk, saying: 'It's what she would do.'

Scroll down for video

Anti-abortion Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., not only asked his mistress to get an abortion, but allowed his chief of staff to be verbally abusive to other staff, Politico reported

Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa. (center), reportedly allowed his chief of staff Susan Mosychuk (second from right, in front), verbally abuse other members of his staff, a number of former aides say

Murphy admitted to having an affair with 'friend' Shannon Edwards (left), while he was married to wife Nanette Missig (right). Edwards said the pro-life advocate asked her to get an abortion

'The description in the memo is not what he does,' an aide told Politico. 'She was the one who would verbally abuse staff. He was bad, but you can deal with a tough member. She was literally terrorizing people.'

Staffers detailed an extremely cozy relationship between Mosychuk and Murphy, with Nick Rodondo, Murphy's former district director, saying on Pittsburgh's KDKA radio that he saw the two of them feed each other at events.

'It was one of the worst places I have ever worked in my life. There was screaming. Intimidation. Nothing you ever did was right,' Rodondo also said.

Mosychuk deployed Mean Girls tactics like calling staffers out on their bathroom breaks, hauling them back into the office. She'd make staffers who angered her take the stairs, refusing to ride with them in the elevator. And she'd keep her screams hidden to constituents by using a white noise machine to drown them out, Politico all found.

The publication also reported that she's verbally abuse aides, calling them 'worthless,' their work 'garbage,' and asking them, 'Do you or do you not have a f***ing college degree?'

An ex-staffer who DailyMail.com spoke to corroborated Politico's report.

'Working there was a nightmare,' the aide said. 'I cried every other day in that office because of Susan.'

The staffer recalled being 'dragged' into Mosychuk's office who was 'furious' that the D.C.-based aide was claiming mileage expenses for driving the congressman around in the aide's personal car, with Mosychuk saying the money needed to go to the lawmaker's district staffers.

Meanwhile, for several years Mosychuk received money from both Murphy's congressional office budget and his campaign, which may have violated House rules.

During 2008, Mosychuk earned between $156,500 and $231,500 on Capitol Hill, Politico learned, and brought in another $75,000 from the campaign.

But that year the House Ethics Committee had capped outside income for top aides at $25,830.

The cap was slightly more in 2010, at $26,550.

However, Mosychuk reported earning $47,000 from the campaign, as well as $158,600 from the Congressional office.

Mosychuk, through a Murphy spokeswoman, said this was permissible because she took 'leave without pay' when she worked for the campaign.

'Ms. Mosychuks salary and compensation is documented, reported and in full compliance with all the rules prescribed by the House Committee on Ethics,' Murphys' Communications Director Carly Atchison said in a statement to Politico. 'As a matter of public record, this includes both her congressional salary and compensation earned from the campaign while on [leave without pay] status in 2008 and 2010, fully documented and compliant with House rules.'

It was Ryan on Thursday who announced publicly that Murphy was out.

Murphy publicly posted on Facebook about how he supports the bill to protect human life

'It was Dr. Murphy's decision to move on to the next chapter of his life, and I support it,' Ryan said. 'We thank him for his many years of tireless work on mental health issues here in Congress and his service to the country as a Naval reserve officer.'

The 65-year-old Murphy had an affair with 32-year-old Shannon Edwards, a Pittsburgh forensic psychologist who had offered to help him with his mental health legislation that got signed by President Obama last year.

Text messages revealed during Edwards' divorce proceedings revealed her asking Murphy how he could privately ask her to get an abortion while publicly declaring himself to be a pro-life conservative.

'And you have zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options,' she wrote, as reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

'I get what you say about my March for life messages,' Murphy responded. 'I've never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced. I told staff don't write any more. I will.'

Edwards, it turned out, wasn't pregnant.

Murphy is married to Nanette Missig and has an adult daughter, Bevin.

The revelation came as the House on Tuesday approved Republican legislation that would make it a crime to perform an abortion after 20 weeks of fetal development.

Murphy, a member of the House Pro-Life Caucus, is among its co-sponsors. He avoided the media in Washington after voting for the legislation, and efforts by reporters to talk to him were unsuccessful.

NARAL Pro-Choice America quickly criticized 'the height of hypocrisy' displayed by Murphy's support for the legislation.

'You shouldn't have to be a member of Congress just to access your right to abortion,' said Sasha Bruce, a vice president for the pro-abortion rights group.

In the past the US congressman has been applauded by the Family Research Council for his views on abortion.

The HR 7 bill was passed by congress in January, which states the use of federal funds to pay for abortions will be permanently prohibited.

The law also states that federal medical facilities and health professionals aren't allowed to provide abortion services.

'I proudly sponsored and voted for this important bill to clearly stand for the dignity and value of all human life, both the born and the unborn,' said Murphy at the time.

'Passage of HR 7 in the wake of the President's executive action gives me great hope we will once again be a nation committed to honoring life and ensuring American taxpayer dollars are never spent to end a life before it even begins.'

Murphy recently acknowledged his affair with Edwards, which became public as a result of her divorce proceedings.

In a press statement he said: 'Last year I became involved in an affair with a personal friend. This is nobody's fault but my own, and I offer no excuses. To the extent that there should be any blame in this matter, it falls solely upon me.

'I ask the media to respect the privacy of my family. They have done nothing wrong and deserve to be left alone,' the statement added.

Edwards is a practicing psychologist and performs evaluations of defendants for the Allegheny County court system.

Edwards maintains that she did not begin to have a intimate relationship with Murphy until her marriage had fallen apart.

'We had a collegial and friend relationship before anything else,' Edwards told the court.

Dr. Jesse Sally, who married Edwards on July 28, 2012, however, claims that his marriage was destroyed by the affair, and filings showed that he knew Edwards was having an affair with 'a well-known political figure in the community.'

Sally said he believed the affair began in February 2016.

Murphy said that his relationship with Edwards ended last year.
Fred Gray, 42, was arrested on Thursday at Orlando International Airport for yelling 'it's about to explode' during a visit by Mike Pence

A man from Florida was arrested on Thursday at Orlando International Airport for yelling 'it's about to explode' during a visit by Vice President Mike Pence.

Fred Gray, 42, allegedly went up to a woman at the information desk at 5pm and said: 'You see this backpack? It's about to explode. It's about to explode' according to WKMG.

People in the airport heard Gray screaming and they started to run away.

The incident may have occurred during Pence's visit, but Gray insisted he didn't care about his presence.

Reports also say that Gray said he doesn't like 'those people.'

Several minutes later Gray allegedly asked a security agent if he could ship a package somewhere to which the agent said no.

Gray then said: 'Yeah, I've got to get this bag checked in before it explodes.'

Gray is charged with two counts of making a false bomb threat and is currently at Orange county jail - the judge set his bond at $4,000

The agent told him there was nowhere to ship anything in the airport, to which Gray responded: 'Retarded but OK.'

The 42-year-old tried to defend himself to police as he told them it was a free country and he has free speech.

According to the affidavit Gray claims he did say his bag was going to explode but he simply meant his bag was so full he thought his things would fall out.

Eventually Gray's backpack was confiscated so a K-9 unit could sniff it out but they didn't find any explosives.

Fred Gray, 42, allegedly went up to a woman at the information desk at 5 p.m. and said: 'You see this backpack? It's about to explode. It's about to explode'

Mike Pence waves to supporters before assisting volunteers working on the relief effort for the Puerto Rico victims of Hurricane Maria

Gray is charged with two counts of making a false bomb threat and is currently at Orange county jail.

The judge set his bond at $4,000.

Pence and Panama President Juan Carlos Varela were both at the airport when Gray reportedly made the comments.

They're in town for the Hurricane Maria survivors who had to flee Puerto Rico following the devastating storm.

Vice President Mike Pence and Panama President Juan Carlos Varela were both at the airport when Gray reportedly made the comments
The White House refused to explain on Friday what Donald Trump meant the previous evening when he appeared to forecast a military conflict somewhere in the world.

The president told reporters Thursday night that a jovial photo-op with his top generals could represent 'the calm before the storm.'

Friday afternoon during an event with American manufacturers, Trump was asked what he had meant.

'You'll find out,' he said, winking.

An hour later during a press briefing his spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders insisted that 'you'll have to wait and see.'

Scroll down for video

Donald Trump refused on Friday to clarify what he meant Thursday night when he said a jovial meeting with his top general could be 'the calm before the storm'

'You'll find out!' Trump told reporters with a wink when they asked what 'storm he had been talking aobut

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders insisted Trump wasn't trying to sow confusion but won't telegraph his military moves in advance

Trump created a 'calm before the storm' storm after discussing Iran and North Korea with U.S. military leaders at the White House

Sanders said that while Trump's words are vague, he's not trying to sow confusion.

'I wouldn't say necessarily that he's trying to throw people off, but he's not trying to broadcast or telegraph his exact actions,' she said. 'I think we've seen what a failure it is when an administration does that.'

Sanders cautioned that Trump 'certainly doesn't want to lay out his game plan for our enemies.'

But she also refused to say which to which enemy the president had issued his cryptic warning.

'We've got a lot of bad actors in the world: North Korea, Iran, there's several examples there,' she said, adding that 'I haven't been specific about anything.'

The president created endless speculation by appearing to suggest that the U.S. could soon be embroiled in a military conflict

Before Trump created a national 'calm before the storm' storm, he had been discussion with top defense officials the threat from North Korea how to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

'In North Korea, our goal is denuclearization,' he said.

'We cannot allow this dictatorship to threaten our nation or our allies with unimaginable loss of life. We will do what we must do to prevent that from happening. And it will be done, if necessary, believe me.'

During his speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month, Trump said the United States would 'totally destroy' North Korea if needed to defend itself or U.S. allies.

During his speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month, Trump said the United States would 'totally destroy' North Korea if needed to defend itself or US allies. North Korean ruler Kim Jong-un is seen in the above file photo taken on September 29, 2017

The president on Thursday also had tough words for Iran, saying the country had not lived up to the spirit of an agreement forged with world powers to curb its nuclear program. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is seen above talking to reporters in Tehran on May 22, 2017

The president on Thursday also had tough words for Iran, saying the country had not lived up to the spirit of an agreement forged with world powers to curb its nuclear program.

A senior administration official said on Thursday that Trump was expected to announce soon he would decertify the landmark agreement.

Trump has filled top posts within his administration with military generals, including his chief of staff, retired General John Kelly, and national security adviser, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster.

McMaster, who normally dresses in civilian clothes at the White House, wore his uniform for the meeting.

Without being specific, Trump pressed the leaders to be faster at providing him with 'military options' when needed.

'Moving forward, I also expect you to provide me with a broad range of military options, when needed, at a much faster pace.

'I know that government bureaucracy is slow, but I am depending on you to overcome the obstacles of bureaucracy,' he said during their cabinet room meeting.
The family of a former City worker have blamed cannabis for 'devastating' his mind before he fell to his death from a block of flats.

Aaron Dover, 42, had smoked potent forms of the drug since he was 15 and his mother believes its effects ultimately led to his death.

The Cambridge-educated IT expert worked for banks including Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse before being gripped by mental illness.

After three years of psychotic episodes which isolated him from his wife and family, he locked himself inside a friend's home in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur and fell from the balcony.

Aaron Dover, 42, had smoked potent forms of the drug since he was 15 and his mother believes its effects ultimately led to his death

Details of the tragedy came as experts warned yet again of the long-term dangers of cannabis abuse. Researchers found users are more prone to violent crime.

Despite this a number of figures, including Nick Clegg, Richard Branson and Sting have backed a campaign for drug laws to be relaxed.

Yesterday Mr Dover's mother Jenny, 69, of Hampstead, north London, said cannabis played a key role in his decline and warned others the Class B drug was not 'harmless'.

'Aaron smoked it since he was 15 and people do not realise how dangerous it can be to someone's mental health,' she said.

'The effect on the brain of taking cannabis over a long period of time can have this devastating effect. Aaron had been to Cambridge and was a high flyer academically.

'He was very successful in the City before he became ill. This could happen to anyone.'

Mr Dover enjoyed a 19-year City career after studying physics at St John's College, Cambridge and University College, London.

After three years of psychotic episodes which isolated him from his wife and family, Aaron locked himself inside a friend's home in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur and fell from the balcony. Yesterday Mr Dover's mother Jenny, 69, of Hampstead, north London, said cannabis played a key role in his decline and warned others the Class B drug was not 'harmless'

But in 2013 he suffered his first psychotic episode and his mental health rapidly deteriorated with erratic and paranoid behaviour.

Last year he fled to Thailand after he was sectioned under the Mental Health Act. He took health chiefs to court to force them to release him, telling friends he was locked in the 'Hannibal Lecter ward' at Highgate Mental Health Centre in London. While abroad his health continued to decline.

Mrs Dover told North London Coroner's Court of the last conversations she had with her son. 'He still had totally delusional ideas,' she said. 'He thought he was going to be penniless and locked up for 20 years in prison if he came back to this country. He thought that if I visited him I was going to bring the police with me.'

Mr Dover was admitted to hospital in the Far East before travelling to Kuala Lumpur in March to stay with a friend.

Mr Dover was also said to have written a note to the girlfriend of the man he was staying with saying: 'I just want to die'. On March 16, he fell to his death from an apartment balcony.

Consultant psychiatrist Dr Petros Lekkos, of the Camden Mental Health Team, said cannabis played a part in his mental illness. He said: 'The earlier one starts it, it can affect the adolescent brain more.' Coroner Andrew Walker recorded a verdict of death by a fall.
Tropical Storm Nate gained strength late Friday when it was officially upgraded to a hurricane which is headed straight for US Gulf Coast.

States of emergency have been declared across parts of four states and New Orleans ordered some vulnerable residents to evacuate in anticipation of the hurricane's making landfall this weekend.

The US Gulf Coast braced Friday for a fast-moving blast of wind, heavy rain and rising water.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu on Friday ordered an evacuation of some areas and a mandatory curfew ahead of Nate.

The curfew will be in effect from Saturday evening to Sunday morning, the mayor said at a news conference.

Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi declared states of emergency as the storm twisted toward the US Gulf Coast on Friday after killing at least 22 people in Central America.

On track: Tropical Storm Nate reached hurricane strength late Friday - prior to arriving on the shores of New Orleans on Sunday

Power: This map shows Nate as it passed over the Yucatan Peninsula on the way into the Gulf of Mexico

Torrential: The rain fall over the weekend and into next week shows that up to eight-inches is expected to fall over Mississippi and Alabama

The map above shows current wave heights as of 8:00pm Eastern time on Friday

The National Hurricane Center anticipates storm surge throughout much of the Gulf Coast, with Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama bearing the brunt of the hurricane

Nate is likely to result in power outages across wide swaths of the southeastern United States

Hurricane warnings are in effect in New Orleans, Biloxi, and Mobile. The storm is expected to do some damage as it moves inland

Nate is currently generating considerable winds in surrounding areas, including Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico

The New Orleans region is likely to sustain the strongest winds once Nate makes landfall

The most precipitation has been recorded in isolated regions of Central America

The National Hurricane Center issued hurricane and storm surge warnings for southeast Louisiana and the Mississippi and Alabama coasts.

Nate is the latest in a succession of destructive storms this hurricane season.

The storm is forecast to dump 3 to 6 inches of rain on the region - with isolated totals of up to 12 inches. That much rain led authorities to warn of flash flooding and mudslides.

By midafternoon Friday, Nate was moving at a speed of 21 mph (33 kph). Its center was located about 125 miles (200 kilometers) east-southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, and was expected to reach the U.S. late Saturday or early Sunday.

Evacuation orders were issued for some coastal communities, including the Louisiana towns of Jean Lafitte and Grand Isle.

The current path has the storm dumping rain on New York early next week

Path of destruction; Municipal employees work on damage in the Panamerican Road, following the passage of Tropical Storm Nate, in Rivas, Nicaragua, on October 6

Damage: A view of a sinkhole on the street after the passage of Tropical Storm Nate in San Juan del Sur's bay in Nicaragua on October 6. Later that day, it strengthened to a hurricane

Shelly Jambon, owner of Sureway Supermarket in Grand Isle, said she plans on riding out the storm at her store even though it's across the street from the beach.

She bought it two years before Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 and has weathered far more threatening storms than Nate.

'It's a mild one for us,' she said. 'Seventy to 80 mph winds? We get that in a winter storm.'

The state mobilized 1,300 National Guard troops. Some were headed to New Orleans, where summer storms already have exposed problems with the city's fragile pumping system.

'We don't anticipate that this is going to cause a devastating impact to New Orleans or exceed the ability for the pumps,' Gov. Jon Bel Edwards said Thursday.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu has ordered an evacuation of some areas and a mandatory curfew ahead of Nate. Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi declared states of emergency as the storm twisted toward the U.S. Gulf Coast

Nate has already killed at least 22 in Central America. Costa Rica was hit hard, seen here on Friday as

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency in six southernmost counties. State officials, at a briefing Friday in Gulfport, warned that Nate's main danger in that state will be from up to 10 feet of storm surge in low-lying coastal areas, as well as from winds that could damage mobile homes.

'If you are in an area that has flooded, I would recommend you evacuate that area until the storm has ended and the water has receded for your own personal safety and for the safety of the first responders that will be responding in the event you are trapped,' Bryant said.

The storm threatened to disrupt one of the Mississippi coast's biggest annual tourist events, the 'Cruisin' the Coast' auto show.

Biloxi firefighters warned more than 700 recreational vehicle campers that they may need to leave early.

The event continued as normal Friday, but Saturday's events were cancelled, replaced by a brief closing ceremony.

Dozens of offshore oil and gas platforms and drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico have been evacuated as Nate churns through warm waters.

Ingalls Shipbuilding, the Mississippi coast's largest industrial employer, announced Friday that only a skeleton crew of necessary employees would work Saturday and Sunday at the Pascagoula shipyard.

The northern Gulf Coast areas targeted by Nate largely have been spared the worst effects of a catastrophic hurricane season, but Louisiana's emergency declaration for Nate isn't its first since the start of the summer.

In August, a weakened Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Louisiana after dealing a devastating blow to Texas and then nudging back into the Gulf of Mexico.

Edwards also issued an emergency declaration in August for storm-related flooding in New Orleans.

Members of the New Orleans Fire Department fill sandbags in preparation for Tropical Storm Nate in New Orleans on Friday

The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning from Grand Isle, Louisiana to the Alabama-Florida border.

Officials ordered the evacuation of part of coastal St. Bernard Parish east of New Orleans ahead of the storm.

Earlier Thursday, a voluntary evacuation was called in the barrier island town of Grand Isle south of New Orleans.

New Orleans officials outlined steps to bolster the city's pump and drainage system. Weaknesses in that system were revealed during summer flash floods.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement's New Orleans office said in a news release that as of midday Thursday, six production platforms, out of the 737 manned platforms in the Gulf, had been evacuated. No drilling rigs were evacuated, but one moveable rig was taken out of the storm's path.

The agency estimated less than 15 percent of the current oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut-in, which equates to 254,607 barrels of oil per day.

On Alabama's Dauphin Island, owners hauled boats out of the water ahead of the storm's approach.

Tourists canceled beach reservations for the weekend. The major concern was that Nate's storm surge was projected to coincide with high tide.

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Director Lee Smithson expressed confidence that the federal government would be able to provide help to Mississippi even as the Federal Emergency Management Agency continues to respond to previous hurricanes in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Bryant authorized the use of the Mississippi National Guard to respond to any damage.

Officials said they would open 11 evacuation shelters in areas away from the immediate coast, and that the regional bus system could transport people who can't drive to shelters on their own.

'This is a fast-moving storm,' Smithson said.
Mohammed Taj (pictured) pretended he was left disabled by a bus crash in Pakistan in 2011

A fraudster who pretended a bus crash left him disabled in a bid to get 100,000 compensation was jailed after being caught using a wheelchair he didn't need.

Mohammed Taj, 56, was handed three years in prison after being convicted of fraud by false representation and conspiracy to commit fraud.

He 'grossly exaggerated' the injuries he suffered when the bus he was in crashed in Pakistan in October 2011.

The smash with a lorry did kill several people and left Taj, of Alum Rock, Birmingham, injured, but did not cause him to be permanently disabled - as he claimed.

But he was caught out when CCTV footage captured him driving to a medical appointment, getting out of the car, and swapping with his wife just a few feet around the coroner.

His wife, Shanaz Zaman, 46, was then seen pushing him into the building in a wheelchair he clearly did not need.

She was handed a 12-month suspended sentence and a 20-hour rehabilitation order for conspiracy to commit fraud alongside her husband at Birmingham Crown Court this week.

The appointment they were driving to was part of his bid to falsely claim an 80,000 payout for his bus crash injuries.

When detectives from the City of London's Police Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IEFD) realised he was faking his disability, they raided the couple's home.

During the search, officers discovered a second claim for permanent disability, which related to the same crash and had paid out more than 20,000.

Taj (pictured), of Alum Rock, Birmingham, was caught red-handed when he was put under surveillance and captured on CCTV driving to a medical appointment in February 2013

Having taken out a Disabling Injuries Protection Plan in September 1998, with the American Insurance Group (AIG), Taj made a claim against this plan in February 2012.

He had previously submitted several accident claims and AIG launched an investigation.

As part of the investigation AIG arranged for Taj to attend an independent medical examination in February 2013 and hired a private investigation company to carry out surveillance on Taj when he attended this appointment.

The medical examiner compiled a report detailing numerous injuries including dislocations, fractures and facial injuries and Taj claimed he needed a wheelchair and two crutches to remain mobile.

But CCTV footage obtained from surveillance, uncovered the couple's scheming.

After the appointment, Taj was pushed back to the car in a wheelchair where he got up with the use of crutches, got into the driver's side of the car and drove away.

He later claimed he attended the appointment in a wheelchair and, was helped into a specialist taxi for the disabled, and also that he had been unable to drive since the collision in 2011.

AIG referred the case to IFED in March 2014 and during a search of his home police discovered documents that showed Taj had made a further insurance claim with a second insurance company totalling 22,500 for permanent total disability.

The second insurance company was supplied with a copy of the surveillance following Taj's arrest and confirmed that, had it been made aware of the footage prior to settling Taj's claim, it would have rejected it.

Taj answered bail in December 2014 and was interviewed for a second time.

The 56-year-old was in a bus crash in Pakistan in October 2011 and did require treatment, but he was not left permanently disabled as he made out to his insurance company

The CCTV footage shows him driving to an appointment, getting out and swapping with his wife, before she stops and wheels him inside in a wheelchair he doesn't need

He was jailed for three years and his wife Shanaz Zaman, 46, was handed a year's suspended sentence at Birmingham Crown Court this week

It was during this interview that he was arrested for a second offence of fraud by false representation over the second insurance claim.

City of London Police Detective Sergeant Mohammed Darr, who led the investigation for IFED, said: 'Taj was determined to take advantage of the insurance industry by making two false claims.

'However, due to the hard work of our officers and the co-operation of the insurance companies, his cunning attempts to deceive medical professionals were ultimately unsuccessful.

'His actions have resulted in his conviction and sentencing here today which sends out a clear message that insurance fraud will not be tolerated.'

David Halstead, Fraud Manager at AIG added: 'Whilst we are pleased to have prevented Taj from defrauding AIG, this is another sad example of someone's greed getting the better of them.

'Had Taj been honest and truthful, it's likely he would have received some compensation.

'Instead, he chose to lie to us and the medical experts who were trying to help him. As a result, he has ended up with no money and a criminal record.

This should serve as a lesson to anyone tempted to commit this type of fraud in the future.'
A man accused of threatening rail passengers with an 11-inch blade while shouting 'Allahu Akbar' has been arrested in Belgium.

The suspect, aged in his 40s, was apprehended by police at Brussels-South station after he allegedly began ranting on a train.

As well as 'Allahu Akbar' (Arabic for 'God is Great) the man is said to have shouted: 'We're going to kill all of you'.

A knifeman accused of threatening rail passengers with an 11-inch blade while shouting 'Allahu Akbar' was arrested at Brussels-South station (stock image)

He is also claimed to have screamed that he wanted to 'finish the work started by the Nazis', according to RTL.

Police were waiting for the suspect on the platform as the train arrived at Brussels-South after which they allegedly found him in possession of a knife.

Nobody is believed to have been hurt during the incident, which took place on Monday, but the man is now being held in custody on suspicion of being linked to a terrorist organisation.

Today authorities extended his detention by one month as the case is being investigated.

Belgium has been affected by the rise of terrorism recently and in August, a knifeman was shot dead in Brussels after attacking a group of soldiers, injuring two.

And in March 2016 35 people were killed and more than 300 were injured in the Belgian capital when suicide bombers attacked the airport and Maalbeek metro station.
Law enforcement have said they are 'confident' Stephen Paddock carried out the Mandalay Bay massacre from his hotel room alone.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said on Friday that investigators are sure no one else was in the room before he shot dead 58 and injured almost 500 on Sunday.

Earlier, NBC News had reported a mysterious charger that did not mach any of Paddock's cellpones - raising the possibility that another person had been with Paddock beforehand.

Police are still looking into whether gunman Stephen Paddock (above with girlfriend Marilou Danley in 2013) had an accomplice who helped him plot his attack or knew about it

However, later police said that they have now matched all the cell phones and all the chargers and that they belong to Paddock.

'We're very confident there was not another shooter in that room,' said McMahill during a press conference in Las Vegas on Friday afternoon.

'What we cannot confirm is whether anybody else knew about this incident before he carried it out.'

This comes as local and federal officials announced they are erecting billboards around the city appealing to the public to come forward with information about the shooting.

The billboards will have the message 'If you know something, say something' and investigators hope this will help generate leads for the case which has so far left law enforcement struggling to find a motive.

'There are still a number of people out there that know that something looked out of place,' said McMahill

'Someone may have been acting suspiciously that night, or in the years prior, the months prior. Someone that may have seen something or knows something.'

The FBI's special agent in charge in Las Vegas said that the idea is to reach 'as many people as we possibly can' and that they will not stop until 'they have the truth'.

At a press conference on Friday, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Undersheriff Kevin C. McMahill said they were no closer to establishing a motive for the mass murder

But at the press conference on Friday, McMahill said detectives were no closer to understanding what motivated Paddock's killing spree.

'To date we have run down well more than 1,000 leads in this investigation. Some of it has helped create a better profile into the madness of this suspect but we do not still have a clear motive or reason why.

'In the past, terror attacks or mass murder cases, motive was made very clear by a note that was left by a social media post, by a telephone call that was made.

'Today, in our investigation, we don't have any of that uncovered. I wish we did.'

He confirmed that Paddock was the only gunman, as suspected, and said there was no proof that anyone else accessed the room in the days before the attack.

Authorities are however still investigating whether someone knew Paddock was about to commit the worst mass shooting in US history.

The only other named person of interest is Paddock's girlfriend, Marilou Danley, who was in the Philippines on Sunday night.

Paddock paid for her ticket there and also wired her $100,000 in cash but Danley, 62, believed it was his way of breaking up with her.

She flew back to the US on Wednesday at the request of police after earlier telling family that her conscience was clear.

Detectives appeared convinced on Friday that someone else, somewhere, held information which could solve the mystery of what drove Paddock to commit the killings.

Police have confirmed that Paddock was the only shooter in the Mandalay Bay suite where he carried out the attack and say no one else accessed the room beforehand

'It's really imperative that the listening public have a very clear understanding that there are still a number of people out there that know something looked of place.

'If you know something, you need to say something,' McMahill said.

One suggested motive that was put forward by a reporter on Friday was that Paddock was 'obsessed' with the month of October however McMahill could not give any credit to the suggestion that it is what may have caused the killings.

We have not stopped nor will we stop. We have a long way to go. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Undersheriff Kevin C. McMahill

He said they were 'keenly' pursuing his medical records to verify reports that he was taking prescription drugs and had potentially deteriorated into mental illness.

At Friday's press conference, detectives also gave further detail about some of the explosives that were found inside Paddock's car which was parked in the hotel parking lot.

It contained 50lbs of tannerite - an exploding target which triggers mass explosions when shot at. It is made out of ammonium nitrate and aluminum powder.

McMahill said he did not know what Paddock planned to do with the material but said it had not been modified in anyway to turn into an IED as was reported.

He also dismissed claims that someone else accessed the room using Paddock's key card while his Hyundai was not in the parking lot.

Detectives are working through 'voluminous' amounts of surveillance footage from inside the hotel, he said, but have so far not been able to find any other suspect.

It was also revealed that hotel security guard Jesus Campos, who alerted police to Paddock's specific location after being shot in the leg when he disturbed his killing spree, was on the floor investigating an open door on one of the rooms.

Along with the dozens of guns and ammunition found inside the room (above), Paddock had 50lbs of the explosives tannerite in his Hyundai in the underground parking lot of the hotel

On Friday, workers were seen repairing the blown out windows in Paddock's suite which he smashed to gain a clear view of the crowd

The suite was on the 32nd floor of the iconic hotel. Paddock blew out two of the windows

McMahill did not say whether it was Paddock's room which triggered the alarm but he offered a clearer picture of how Campos found himself in the firing line.

'Jesus Campos is a true hero. He was dispatched to what they call a door alarm on the 32nd floor,' he said, clarifying that such an alarm was issued when a door was left ajar.

'He went up there to investigate and as he was doing his job diligently, he came under fire from our suspect.

'He was struck in the leg, and he turned around retreated. He notified his dispatch which was absolutely critical to us knowing the location as well as advising the responding officers as they arrived on that 32nd floor.

'This was a remarkable effort by a brave and remarkable man. I don't think we've done a good enough job of recognizing him and his actions. For that I apologize.

'I want to clear the record. He is an absolute hero,' McMahill added.

Marilou Danley, Paddock's 62-year-old girlfriend, is seen returning to the USA at LAX on Wednesday morning

Insiders say Marilou (above with her back to the camera) was often 'jittery' around Paddock

The undersheriff also dismissed, again, the repeated claims from ISIS that Paddock carried out the attack in the name of Islamic terror.

The FBI also announced on Friday the launch of a designated campaign to the public for information.

Police are not yet able to tell the survivors who abandoned their belongings at the concert venue as they fled the scene when they will be able to retrieve them.

'We have thousands of pieces of property left on the field that day. We are diligently looking at ways to catalogue it, collect it and find the mechanism to return it but we're still days away from allowing that to happen,' he said.

The Route 91 Harvest festival was not the first music event Paddock targeted.

Undersheriffs said they are still 'days away' from being able to tell the survivors when they can collect personal items that were left at the scene. Above, piles of organized items including a strollers and wheelchairs are seen lined up into various piles of evidence

Makeshift memorials have been set up across Las Vegas in memory of the victims

In August, he rented hotel rooms overlooking the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago which Malia Obama attended with friends.

Paddock never showed up for the event despite reserving a suite in the hotel.

Police say they 'will not sto' until they determine what Paddock's motive was

A picture is slowly emerging of how he deteriorated into a gambling addiction in recent years, at times blowing $100,000 a time on video poker.

Paddock, whose family said made millions through real estate deals, was considered a low roller but spent enough in the casinos that he frequented to be treated favourably by staff.

His $500-a-night suite at the Mandalay Bay was comped because he always spent so much there.

Such was his relationship with other casinos that his girlfriend Marilou would be given all-expenses paid shopping trips by some of the establishments.

Paddock and Marilou lived in a $400,000 home in a retirement community in Mesquite, Nevada.
With raunchy routines, cleavage-baring costumes and even a steamy smooch under the disco ball (Debbie McGee, we're looking at you), the new series of Strictly Come Dancing should be living up to its reputation of getting viewers hot under the collar.

But just two weeks in, fans have sensed an uncharacteristic chill in the air.

A froideur has descended on the judging panel, where Darcey Bussell, 48, and until recently the show's only female judge, appears on far-from-friendly terms with Shirley Ballas, 57, Strictly's new head honcho.

The tension became apparent in week one, when a nervous Shirley mistakenly called Holby City star Chizzy Akudolu 'Lizzy'. Darcey made no attempt to disguise her glee, laughing loudly and putting her head in her hands as Shirley tried to make amends.

Viewers have sensed tension between Strictly Come Dancing's female judges Darcey Bussell (pictured left) and Shirley Ballas (pictured right)

Later in the episode, Darcey offered constructive criticism on actor Joe McFadden's footwork  and Shirley saw a chance to get her own back.

'I have to slightly disagree with my learned friend,' she said, before doling out exactly the opposite advice. Darcey pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows.

Then on last Saturday's show the two women spent much of the evening leaning away from one another and pointedly cosying up to Bruno Tonioli and Craig Revel Horwood on their opposing sides.

When celebrity chef Simon Rimmer waltzed to Liverpool anthem You'll Never Walk Alone, Shirley was moved to tears. And eagle-eyed viewers will have spotted that when she stood up to hug Simon after his emotional routine, Darcey put her head in her hands  once again.

When Shirley, 57, mistakenly called Holby City star Chizzy Akudolu 'Lizzy'. Darcey, 48, made no attempt to disguise her glee, laughing out loud and putting her head in her hands

On Sunday night's 'Dance Debrief', there was another awkward encounter. First Darcey seemed to snub Shirley's invitation to dance; then Shirley sat in front of Darcey on the sofa, leaving her craning her neck to see.

'Have Shirley and Darcey fallen out already?' asked one fan on Twitter. Another simply commented: 'Body language between Darcey and Shirley. Ouch.'

So what's really going on between the two Strictly sirens? Certainly, it would be difficult to find two more dissimilar characters.

Darcey, a former prima ballerina at the Royal Ballet, had a privileged childhood which saw her attending musical theatre school in London and sashaying from one gilded opportunity to the next, soon becoming the darling of British ballet. She now lives in Australia with her husband of 20 years and two daughters.

Shirley, meanwhile, is a working-class girl from Merseyside who started dancing at seven and worked her way up to winning world titles in Latin and ballroom.

She's been divorced twice, has a 31-year-old son and apparently has a thing for younger men (her most recent boyfriend was a Russian 26 years her junior).

Sources on the show say there is palpable tension between the pair. 'Shirley's arrived all guns blazing and that has put Darcey's back up,' says a show insider. 'She's theatrical and loud, whereas Darcey is reserved and demure.

There was more icy moments as the episode went on, with Darcey (pictured centre left) snubbing Shirley's (pictured centre right) offer to dance

'They are professional and civil towards one another at work but they aren't friends.'

The BBC has refused to comment on the dynamic between the two women. But fans who have watched them on set say the lack of chemistry is even more tangible in real life. One audience member who attended the live shows last weekend says Shirley and Darcey barely exchanged pleasantries.

Not only is Darcey said to be peeved at having another woman on the show, but she doesn't appear to like having Shirley as her superior. Some suggested Darcey fancied the top job after Len Goodman's recent retirement, although friends insist she wasn't in the running. 'She didn't have enough ballroom expertise,' one acquaintance reveals.

For a woman like Darcey  the only belle of the Strictly panel for five years  getting used to female company can take time.

A source connected with the show says Darcey dislikes the format of the judges' weekly entrance dance, too, which sees her paired with Craig, who had a second hip replacement this summer.

'She feels somewhat put out that Shirley gets to do dazzling moves with Bruno and she is stuck with a few steps with Craig. She feels this puts her in a bad light.'

She's also said to be less-than-impressed by revelations about Shirley's private life, after her ex-husband Corky Ballas claimed that Shirley cheated on him with at least ten men during their 23-year marriage. 'She worries it's bringing the show into disrepute,' a show insider reveals.

It doesn't help that Shirley is everything her clean-as-a-whistle colleague is not. Warm, giggly and girlish, she has a knack for charming everyone she encounters. While Darcey struggled to settle into Strictly back in 2012, alienating viewers with her Sloaney mannerisms, Shirley's only problem seems to be an excess of enthusiasm  professing to 'love' almost every dance routine.

Darcey put her head in her hands a second time as Shirley got emotional over one of the dances

Darcey, by contrast, has never looked more like an ice queen.

Sharon Savoy, a three-times world dance champion who competed at the same time as Shirley, says the woman she knows hates hostility and will be doing her best to get on with everyone. 'She will combine her world champion expertise with her hometown girl charm,' Sharon explains.

'Shirley was an admirer of my ballet background and I'm confident she will respect Darcey's Royal Ballet perspective and enjoy her camaraderie.'

Shirley may be new to Strictly, but she has buckets of experience. She's already impressed viewers with her dance-specific terminology and comprehensive critiques. All this only serves to show up Darcey, whose comments can sometimes be light on detail.

Also fuelling friction between the two is the thorny issue of pay. According to figures released earlier this year by the BBC, Len and Bruno both earned between 200,000 and 249,000 a year, while Darcey and Craig are on between 150,000 and 199,000.

As the new head judge, Shirley is believed to be on a similar salary to her predecessor. For Darcey, with five years' loyal service under her belt, that can't be easy to swallow.

Will they both survive? Only time will tell. But one thing is certain:these two dancing queens are two very different creatures.
A plot to oust Theresa May collapsed into a shambles yesterday as Tory MPs and ministers united to condemn the betrayal of rivals seeking revenge.

Shortly before midnight on Thursday, former Tory chairman Grant Shapps publicly kicked off his challenge to the Prime Minister in a radio phone-in, claiming he had around 30 names of MPs who wanted her resignation.

But within hours he faced humiliation and isolation as his promised support failed to materialise.

Prime Minister Theresa May arriving for a Macmillan Cancer charity coffee event in Reading today

Dozens of his colleagues lined up to ridicule the embittered ex-minister  with some accusing him of seeking to topple Mrs May in a bid to thwart Brexit.

A Sky News survey of 103 Tory MPs last night found only three who wanted the Prime Minister to go.

Having killed off the plot, a defiant Mrs May used her first public appearance since her party conference speech to say her leadership had the Cabinets full backing.

Speaking in her Maidenhead constituency, she said: Now what the country needs is calm leadership, and thats what I am providing with the full support of my Cabinet. Last night Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon urged the plotters not to revive any attempts to oust the Prime Minister, warning them they risked damaging her hand in Brexit negotiations.

The headline-hungry friend of Brussels The party rebel Anna Soubry was first to call for the prime minister to consider her position on election night Before all the votes had even been counted on election night, Anna Soubry was first out of the blocks calling for Theresa May to consider her position. The staunchly pro-Europe ex-minister has rarely been out of the headlines since the Brexit vote  despite her Broxtoe constituency in Nottinghamshire voting Leave. Following a series of threatened rebellions on key votes, in August she warned Mrs May she could quit the Tories unless the PM softened her stance on Brexit. The 60-year-old, whose right to attend Cabinet was removed by Mrs May last year, has said it is not impossible she would jump ship  but that she was not currently ready to do so. Miss Soubry, who once described herself as not a girl but a tough old bird, began her career as a TV journalist on ITVs This Morning before becoming a barrister. She was elected in 2010 and quickly promoted by David Cameron. In 2013, she had to apologise to Ukip leader Nigel Farage after making lewd remarks about him. Advertisement

We are at a critical point now of the key negotiation for Brexit to deliver a successful Brexit for this country and I would urge all colleagues in Parliament to get behind the Prime Minister and the Cabinet so we get the best possible outcome for our country, he told ITV.

Mr Shapps broke cover on Thursday after he was named as the ringleader of a gang of MPs planning to send a delegation to Mrs May to tell her she must go, confirming his role on a late night BBC Radio 5 live phone-in. He said the plan had been for a group  including five ex-Cabinet ministers  to approach Mrs May in private with a list of names to avoid the embarrassment of a formal leadership challenge.

In a series of interviews yesterday morning, he insisted support for a leadership election was growing among a broad spread of Tory MPs. He told the BBCs Today programme: They are Remainers, they are Brexiteers. A growing number of my colleagues, we realise that the solution isnt to bury our heads in the sand.

Cameron Crony who has changed his tune Ed Vaizey told the BBC that a number of his colleagues think May should go A close ally of David Cameron and George Osborne, Ed Vaizey was the first to put his head above the parapet on Thursday when he told the BBC there would be a number of Tory MPs firmly of the view Mrs May should go. His intervention led to speculation he was doing the bidding of Mr Osborne, who has made no secret of his dislike of Mrs Mays leadership. During the EU referendum the 49-year-old was given the task by Mr Cameron to try to persuade their friend Michael Gove to support Remain. The Wantage MP was axed as culture minister as part of Mrs Mays bloodletting of Mr Camerons allies when she came to power. He now serves as a trade envoy for the PM. After the general election, he said the campaign had been a bit on auto pilot. But when asked if Mrs May was right to stay on, he said she was clearly the best person to do that job. By Thursday he had dramatically changed his tune. He said he saw no way forward for her, adding: There will be quite a few people who will now be pretty firmly of the view that she should resign. Advertisement

But he was angrily denounced by fellow Tory MPs  who said it was clear the rebels lacked the 48 MPs they needed to force a contest under the party rules, and questioned whether they could even muster as many as 30. Charles Walker, vice-chairman of the powerful 1922 Committee, dismissed Mr Shapps and his supporters as a coalition of the disappointed who had been overlooked for promotion.

Grant has many talents but the one thing he doesnt have is a following in the party. I really think this is now just going to fizzle out, he told the BBC. Nadine Dorries MP claimed Mr Shapps was part of a group of Remain-backing MPs  including ex-ministers Nicky Morgan and Anna Soubry  seeking to oust Mrs May as part of a bid to delay and possibly destroy Brexit.

Flip-flopping education chief sacked by Theresa Nicky Morgan has enjoyed being perceived as one of the awkward squad Since being sacked from the Cabinet by Mrs May, Nicky Morgan has boasted that she is revelling in being in the awkward squad. In June the diehard Remainer  who was nicknamed Ms U-Turn during her time as education secretary for her flip-flopping on key policies such as gay rights  demanded Mrs May leave No 10 by the end of next year to allow a different leader to complete Brexit. Once that shape of Brexit is concluded, once those deals are very much on the table, the Conservative Party must not miss the opportunity... to think about who we want to be our future leader, she told the BBCs Newsnight. Mrs Morgan, who is now chairman of the Treasury committee, has been a frequent critic of the PM on Brexit and grammar schools. She also caused fury in No 10 last year when she took a swipe at the PM for wearing 995 leather trousers in a magazine photoshoot  despite owning a 950 handbag herself. Advertisement

Appearing later on Sky News, she added: If Grant Shapps has 30 names then Diane Abbott is doing the counting. Environment Secretary Michael Gove said the entirety of the Cabinet want Mrs May to carry on. She showed an amazing degree of resilience and courage this week, of a piece with the fantastic leadership she has shown through the time that she has been Prime Minister, he said.

Allies of Boris Johnson also vehemently denied claims they had been in cahoots with Mr Shapps.

Scandal-hit former whip who backed Johnson Andrew Mitchell was claimed to have referred to the prime minister as dead in the water and weak during a dinner In the wake of Junes election, former chief whip Andrew Mitchell became the focus of attempts to oust the PM following claims he told a private dinner she was dead in the water, had lost her authority and was weak. But the Sutton Coldfield MP distanced himself from the latest plot on Thursday, telling students at the Cambridge Union that Mrs May deserved respect for making it through her difficult conference speech. Mr Mitchell is best known for the plebgate scandal when he was forced to resign from the Cabinet in 2012 after swearing at a Downing Street policeman. He always denied using the word pleb. Mr Mitchell is an ally of Brexit Secretary David Davis. Despite backing Boris Johnson in last years leadership contest, the former international development secretary was disappointed when Mrs May decided not to bring him back onto the front benches. He is thought to hold a grudge and has form for wielding the assassins knife, having been linked to attempts to oust Iain Duncan Smith when he was leader. Advertisement

Home Secretary Amber Rudd made a public appeal for Mrs May to stay on, saying the UK had reached a turning point as a nation. However she appeared to position herself as a potential leadership successor as she offered up her vision for post-Brexit Britain.

In an article for the Daily Telegraph following Mrs Mays chaotic conference speech, she hammered home several new Tory policies.

Last night Conservative MP for Ribble Valley Nigel Evans told the Sun: 'I think Walter Mitty was more believable than Shapps.'

ANDREW PIERCE: Grant Shapps is a second rater driven by braggadocio, vanity and vainglorious self-promotion

There are giants in politics. And there are pygmies. Top of the league of the second category is Grant Shapps. But like so many of this type  and sadly, Westminster is full of them  they make up for lack of talent in braggadocio, vanity and vainglorious self-promotion.

Those qualities, combined with an awesome lack of judgment, have got him into terrible trouble in the past.

He was David Camerons surprise choice as Tory chairman in 2012. But his tenure ended in 2015 when he was demoted to an obscure post in the Department for International Development.

Grant Shapps, former chairman of the Conservatives, is a second-rater driven by vanity, writes Andrew Pierce

Camerons aides assumed Shapps would quit rather than endure such a public humiliation. But this was a man with scant self-knowledge and he took the job, convinced he would soon be summoned into the Cabinet.

Unsurprisingly, the call never came. On the contrary, he was forced to resign for his part in one of the most unpleasant episodes in recent Tory party history.

Shapps had played a key role in an initiative known as the Road Trip, which was designed to win marginal seats in the 2015 general election. Supporters were ferried to canvass voters in target Tory seats. It was the brainchild of Tory official Mark Clarke  known as the Tatler Tory after being tipped by Tatler magazine as future Cabinet minister.

However, it was later discovered that Clarke had bullied a Road Trip activist who subsequently committed suicide. Clarke was also accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour  propositioning activists or trying to kiss them  and after the scandal was exposed he was expelled from the party and banned for life.

Although Shapps duly resigned as a minister, the father of the young man who killed himself said: Grant Shapps has fallen on his sword... The Conservative Party brand is tarnished and needs a wholesale clear out. This is not the end of the story.

While Shappss involvement was investigated and he was interviewed by the Electoral Commission during an inquiry into Road Trips excesses, he was not accused of any wrongdoing.

Even so, his Westminster career had hit the buffers. Shapps has been deeply embittered ever since. One MP colleague described him as among a coalition of disappointed people who think their brilliant political talents have not been fully recognised.

Grant Shapps edited his own online Wikipedia biography to alter his exam results and delete donors to his private office

And yet this was not the first time that this mountebank had embarrassed Tory party chiefs.

In 2012, Shapps was accused of having breached the code of conduct for ministers and MPs when it was revealed he held a second job after entering Parliament, something he had repeatedly denied.

The MP had been exposed as having used a pen name Michael Green to run a web marketing company which told people how to become filthy stinking rich online by buying his self-help books, which cost 150. There were photos of Shapps in 2004 at a conference in Las Vegas wearing the name tag of his alter-ego. He also posed in publicity material as a successful businessman in convertible cars and a private plane.

At the time he said he had used the pseudonym to separate business from politics but he insisted he had never traded as Green after becoming an MP. He threatened to sue a constituent who suggested otherwise.

Shapps  who by now had got the nickname Duracell Bunny, for his dogged ability to keep going despite countless scandals  was embarrassed again when it emerged that he had edited his own online Wikipedia biography to alter his school exam results and delete the identity of donors to his private office.

He was also reported to the Director of Public Prosecutions over unflattering edits made to the Wikipedia entry of a Labour MP. The edits were blocked because of suspicions they were being operated by Shapps or someone close to him. Shapps denied the allegations. But such stories appalled Tory activists.

At first sight, Shapps, 49, was ideal Tory MP material. Born and brought up in Watford, he attended grammar school and is a cousin of Mick Jones, former guitarist of the punk rock group The Clash.

After getting a diploma in business and finance at Manchester Polytechnic, Shapps set up a printing firm in the US and became a self-made millionaire. He became an MP in 2005 and was made party housing spokesman in 2007. Throughout, his company HowToCorp continued to thrive with the help of Michael Green and under the charge of his wife, to whom Shapps transferred ownership when he became a frontbencher.

Once an ardent Remainer during the EU referendum, Mr Shapps says he's committed to Brexit

Although he says in private that he is a Thatcherite and Eurosceptic, nothing Shapps he has said in public testifies to this. An ardent Remainer in the EU referendum, he now says he is committed to Brexit.

As party chairman he was a passionate supporter of Camerons gay marriage policy. But his views were the polar opposite of most party members, leading to tens of thousands failing to renew their subscriptions over a policy they considered to be a pet project of the metropolitan clique who surrounded Cameron.

Shapps had largely disappeared from public view until the eve of this weeks Tory conference when he disloyally wrote an article calling on Theresa May to raise her game.

Three weeks previously, he had been asked on Radio 4, if he ever wanted to be Prime Minister.

He replied: Yeah, everyone would want to do that in their right mind. I dont think theres any reason why I couldnt do it.

Most Tory MPs provide a million reasons why Grant Shapps could never do it.
You use the phrase civil war sparingly in these parts. Some people still remember the last one, the fratricidal terror which cost more than half a million lives and led to four decades of fascist dictatorship.

Yet that grim unmentionable is now part of daily conversation here in Catalonia as Spain stands on the brink of a cataclysmic split that has left both sides  as well as Brussels  stunned by the pace of events.

Brexit is a mere irritant in the European Union scheme of things compared to what could unfold here.

At the end of a week in which we have seen state troopers beating up pensioners, plastic bullets being fired at crowds, ballot boxes being torn from polling stations, police forces turning on each other, middle-class professionals denouncing their monarch and a general strike, we now face the serious possibility of paramilitary forces shutting an elected parliament next week.

Riot police cart away a woman from a school during referendum clashes in Barcelona, pictured. Police officers had been deployed to prevent people from entering polling centres

This follows events on Sunday, when the coalition regional government of Catalonia  Spains prosperous top right corner, incorporating the great metropolis of Barcelona  held an independence referendum, against the wishes of the national government.

The Catalan government argued that it had been elected to deliver this referendum and was merely delivering on its promise. The national government in Madrid declared the exercise illegal, citing a court ruling that the vote was in breach of the Spanish constitution. Then it deployed brute force.

Although turn-out was only 43 pc, and many in favour of sticking with Spain boycotted the vote, it is clear that the majority voted for independence.

Walk through Barcelona each evening and witness the open-air protest meetings followed by a 10pm chorus of saucepan-bashing and horn-honking (now traditional forms of protest here) to sense the mood of popular revolt.

A group of pro-union supporters demonstrate in a square in Calatonia, pictured. The Catalan government argued that it had been elected to deliver this referendum

Where this anger goes next, however, is anyones guess. Yesterday, as the Catalan president suggested that independence could be proclaimed as soon as Tuesday, the Spanish government escalated tensions even further.

It has issued a decree making it easier for businesses to relocate from Catalonia to Spain.

Some are already heading for the exit.

If this sort of popular uprising was being quashed in some tinpot dictatorship  such as the Marxist utopia of Venezuela so admired by Jeremy Corbyn  you can be sure most Western politicians would be clamouring for sanctions and diplomatic reprisals against the regime.

Thousands of citizens gather in Plaza Universitat during a regional general strike to protest against the violence that marred Sunday's referendum vote

But it is happening in one of the most civilised parts of an EU member state.

So what is Brusselss response to this brazen assault on the most fundamental human right of 7.5 million EU citizens  namely the right to vote?

The European Commission has shamefully declared that the Spanish governments proportionate use of force was necessary to uphold the rule of law. This was followed by a mumbled, half-hearted, bit of blather about the need for dialogue.

Brussels panjandrums are happy to lecture Britain on the inalienable rights of EU citizens in a future post-Brexit Britain, but they have shown no concern at all for the rights of Catalans in this very awkward bit of Spain.

Carles Puigdemont, the leader of Catalonia, has announced that the region will declare independence in a matter of days

For, they are terrified that this upsurge of separatism will spread to the Basque Country, to Corsica, Flanders in Belgium and regions of Italy  and imperil that long-cherished vision of a European superstate.

On Sunday, the Madrid government dispatched thousands of riot police and paramilitary troops to remove ballot boxes, smashing their way into dozens of polling stations  many in schools  where locals formed human chains to protect their votes.

Voters were beaten up, election organisers arrested and more than 800 people were injured. The memory of an old woman being dragged along by her hair will not dim easily.

At Barcelonas Jaume Balmes high school, PE teacher Albert Davi, 50, shows me photos of the moment the riot police came out of the shadows to storm the school on Sunday.

We didnt expect much trouble because this was a small polling station  only three ballot boxes, he tells me.

A combination of students, teachers and parents tried to block the entrance but when police started beating them with batons and kicking in the doors, they relented.

Ballot boxes and voting papers were seized.

At one polling station, returning officers had to count the votes in the local church while the priest conducted Mass to provide cover.

With many Catalan police reluctant to confront their own citizens, thousands of reinforcements from the national police and the paramilitary Guardia Civil have been shipped in  literally. Two large cruise liners full of troops currently sit on the quayside of the Port of Barcelona awaiting further orders.

Meanwhile, two of the most senior officers from the Catalan police force have been arrested for siding with the people and are accused of sedition. They face up to 15 years in jail. This is the same local force that won international praise just weeks ago for its rapid response after the deaths of 15 people in terror attacks here.

Pro-union supporters walk past a home made appeal for help during a demonstration in a square in Calatonia

To repeat, this is happening at the heart of the EU, with the blessing of EU leaders. Of course, the people of Catalonia never expected the wholehearted support of the EU. But they did, at least, expect them to be fair-minded.

How about a gentle reminder from Brussels that, on the whole, members states should avoid attacking schools and hitting pensioners on their way to vote?

Nope. Not a batsqueak of criticism. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker  usually happy to pronounce on any subject  left it to his vice-president, Frans Timmermans, to deliver the formal Brussels position. None of us wants to see violence in our societies, he said.

However, it is a duty for any government to uphold the law, and this sometimes does require proportionate use of force.

If the Commission thinks that paramilitary suppression of a local election is proportionate, what on earth would it take to earn its condemnation? A squadron of tanks and a naval bombardment?

Much as Scottish Nationalists and Plaid Cymru may rant about the evil English Tories, Westminster has been a beacon of democratic probity compared to this shower.

As far as the EU is concerned, then, those uppity Catalan separatists had it coming. And theyd better not come looking for tea and sympathy in Brussels.

In disrupting the vote with violence, Madrid politicians may have hoped to devalue its credibility. But there can be no quarrel with the result: 90 per cent of votes cast favoured independence. Separatists believe Catalonia has a moral, cultural, linguistic, economic and political right to self-determination.

Above all, they say, their region has for too long contributed more to Spain than it has received  by almost 10 billion euros a year  making it one of the most highly-taxed parts of Europe.

With their own language (the 14th most popular in the EU), a population to match Switzerlands and what many see as the relentless arrogance of Madrid, millions of Catalans feel the time has come.

Indeed, the Spanish government of prime minister Mariano Rajoy has  almost overnight  succeeded in converting many lifelong unionists into fervent Catalan separatists.

In other parts of Spain, however, he is being criticised for being too weak. A former (socialist) deputy prime minister has urged him to send in the army to quell this coup detat. There have been extraordinary scenes as police and paramilitary forces have set off for Catalonia amid a sea of Spanish flags and chants of Go get em.

It may be 42 years after the death of General Franco, whose brutal military dictatorship divided the country, but you dont have to dig deep to find a lingering authoritarian streak in many Spaniards.

Three years ago, when Catalonia held a consultative referendum on independence  also declared illegal by the courts  Mr Rajoy ignored it, only to be denounced by hardliners for being a big softie. Hence this weeks decision to get tough. And the EU is with him all the way.

It is not hard to work out why. First, the EU is a club whose prime loyalty is to the ruling politicians of its member states, not to those ghastly voters who seem to have trouble knowing what is good for them. Second, Spain is a staunchly loyal member of the Eurozone.

Thats the real reason for the EU leaderships tacit acceptance of state-sponsored thuggery.

For if Catalonia were to secede from the Union  what we might call Catalexit  Spain could spiral into an economic crisis that could imperil the entire Eurozone.

In echoes of the financial crisis of recent years, the argument goes, Spain is too big to fail.

It was possible to prop up a failed economy such as that of Greece. But Spain is another story. In short, if a Catalonian break precipitated the meltdown of the Spanish economy, it would be far more painful to the EU than Brexit and threaten the very future of European monetary union.

Former French prime minister Manuel Valls (himself half-Catalan) has gone as far as to say it would mean the end of Europe.

Unperturbed, the president of the Catalan government, Carles Puigdemont, says he will address the regional parliament on Tuesday with a view to proclaiming independence.

However, Spains constitutional court has already declared that such a parliamentary gathering would be against the law.

So the stage is set for an almighty showdown at this palatial state legislature, a former 19th century armoury heaving with chandeliers and red velvet.

Of course we will be in parliament. We have a mandate from the people who voted for us, says pro-independence MP, Roger Torrent.

Even MPs who are not ardent separatists feel it is their duty to turn up and vote for change.

Albano Dante Fachin, from the Left-wing Podemos party, says he is not formally in favour of independence. Yet last weeks events have changed everything.

I never imagined I would see the police sent in by the Spanish government to beat up old people for voting, he tells me. This is not about independence any more. It is about democracy.

Like many Catalans I meet, he says he was appalled by the intervention from King Felipe of Spain.

Rather than calling for unity, the king appeared on national TV to accuse the Catalan leadership of eroding national unity and irresponsible conduct. Crucially, he made no mention of the injured.

The people of Barcelona made their feelings very clear, bringing forward the nightly bashing of saucepans by an hour in response to the Kings message. Might the monarch not just be following orders from his prime minister?

Not at all. The feeling among many people is that the King was behind all this. He is the head of the armed forces and is a young capable guy, says Alfred Bosch, former MP, professor of politics, city councillor and prominent independence campaign member.

He says Felipes father, Juan Carlos, would never have made such a heavy-handed intervention.

There are, of course, many people in Catalonia who still want to remain part of Spain, people such as Susana Beltran Garcia of the unionist Ciudadanos Party.

The referendum was declared illegal by the constitutional court and Prime Minister Rajoy should never have let it happen, she says. Most people in Catalonia do not want independence.

Perhaps the most sinister sight here in Barcelona is the two cruise ships full of Guardia Civil troops.

Much to the amusement of the locals, one is a family cruise liner with a huge portrait of the cartoon character Tweetie Pie across the hull. But the smiles soon fade. Its like having an occupying force in your city. They are not our police. They have come from outside to repress us, says Richard Marti, 66. Its like the days of Franco.

Meanwhile, Catalonia is now being warned of the usual plagues straight out of the Remain camps Project Fear handbook.

Spains finance minister Luis de Guindos has promised Catalonia that it faces brutal impoverishment while Spain will be fine.

From Brussels come dark warnings that Catalans would have no currency at all if they part company from the rest of Spain.

There will certainly be pain if independence goes ahead.

Life for many Catalans is very agreeable. They have a much better standard of living than other parts of Spain, considerable autonomy and they also have a beautiful, world-class city in the shape of Barcelona. So why jeopardise all this?

Spains fifth largest bank, Sabadell, this week announced that it is to shift its HQ from Catalonia to Spain.

Other companies, including the even larger Caixabank, are planning to move. The Spanish stock market took a tumble this week. More importantly, so did the euro.

And that is why EU leaders will do all they can to help Spain put down this stroppy little rebellion.

Having weathered this years series of major elections in Germany, France, Holland and Austria, which saw a rise in support for Eurosceptic parties, Brussels had hoped that life would revert to business as usual.

All of a sudden, though, a potentially disastrous crisis has blown up out of nowhere.

And it must be quelled.

The jackboot is now back in European politics.
McDonald's has announced it's trialling a new item on their menu - a vegan burger.

The fast food chain revealed the new burger, aptly named the McVegan, will be available until November 21.

While the new item is sure to be a hit, the burger is currently only available at one participating outlet in Tampere, Finland.

McDonald's Finland has announced it's trialling a new item on their menu - a vegan burger

The burger is currently only available at one participating outlet in Tampere, Finland

It is expected the burger will be trialed in other countries, including Australia, if it is successful in Finland.

The McVegan looks to be similar to a Big Mac burger but features a soy-based patty instead.

With lettuce, tomato, onions, ketchup and mustard, the new item has already set social media alight.

McDonald's Suomi, the Finnish Instragam account for the fast food giant, gained over 500 'likes' for an image of the McVegan.

Many comments urged the company to make the burger an international menu item.

The McVegan looks to be similar to a Big Mac burger but features a soy-based patty instead

One woman wrote she 'boycotted McDonald's for 20+ years' but decided to try the new burger

Hungry customers who were able to try the burger took to social media to share a photo of the meal

'Bring it worldwide' and 'bring it to Australia' were popular comments on the post.

Hungry customers who were able to try the burger took to social media to share a photo of the meal.

One woman wrote she 'boycotted McDonald's for 20+ years' but decided to try the new burger.

While it's unknown whether the McVegan will come to Australia, the plant-based item will be available in Finland until the end of November.
Defence chiefs face a 50 million bill for helping UK territories devastated by Hurricane Irma  but will not get a penny from the foreign aid pot.

The Royal Navy launched an unprecedented relief effort after Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands and the Turks and Caicos islands were devastated last month.

As thousands of homes were left without roofs, electricity and water, more than 2,000 military personnel were deployed to the Caribbean alongside the navy's flagship HMS Ocean.

But now the Ministry of Defence has been landed with the massive bill for the rescue operation  because international rules prevent the money being reimbursed from the 13 billion foreign aid budget.

Under foreign aid rules mean the military could be billed 50million for its Hurricane Irma relief efforts (pictured) in the Caribbean

The British Overseas Territories are deemed too wealthy, according to criteria set by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

It comes amid fears the Navy could lose its capability to 'fight on beaches' if HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, two specialist landing ships, are taken out of service under cost-cutting proposals.

Last night Tory MPs said the Department for International Development (Dfid) should be made to pick up the tab, as they hit out at rules governing how the controversial budget is spent.

Tory MP Andrew Rosindell said: 'We have a colossal Dfid budget and it is outrageous that money cannot be used for disaster relief in this situation. Instead the bill is being paid for by the Ministry of Defence.

'That cannot be right and it highlights the need for radical change to the way we operate our overseas aid budget.'

Fellow Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg added: 'Dfid money clearly ought to be used to help the British Virgin Islands.'

HMS Ocean was deployed to Turks and Caicos to help thousands affected by the devastating storms

Last year, the UK spent 13 billion on foreign aid under the Government's pledge to spend 0.7 per cent of national income on international development.

But under OECD rules, aid spending counts towards the target only if it is used in eligible countries which are deemed poor enough. While some UK territories are on the list, the three affected by Irma are not.

In her party conference speech on Wednesday, Prime Minister Theresa May said it was 'absurd' that aid cash could not be used to help those affected by the hurricane. After reaffirming her commitment to keeping the 0.7 per cent target, she said: 'But let me also be clear: it is absurd that international organisations say we can't use the money to help all those that have been hit by the recent hurricanes in the British Overseas Territories.

'Many people on those islands have been left with nothing. And if we must change the rules on international aid in order to recognise the particular needs of these communities when disaster strikes, then that's what we will do.'

British troops start the clean up on Grand Turk, Turks and Caicos, after Hurricane Irma left buildings destroyed and people homeless

Speaking at a fringe event at the conference on Tuesday, Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon said the rules must be changed so money spent on the hurricane did not come out of his budget.

He said: 'It is extraordinary that the military aid we have been able to give to the Caribbean, all that aid we gave after the hurricane, is not classified as overseas development assistance.

'We do need to continue to improve those rules so more of what is quite clearly humanitarian relief and not an armed operation can be properly classified.'

International Development Secretary Priti Patel last month wrote to the OECD's development assistance committee calling for the current rules to be torn up, but she has so far been ignored.

After Hurricane Irma hit last month, defence chiefs sent HMS Ocean, Britain's biggest operational warship, to help provide relief. Last night, the governor of the British Virgin Islands praised the 'phenomenal' dedication of the British troops.

Gus Jaspert said he had awarded the entire UK military taskforce a badge of honour. 'They came, first off, incredibly rapidly  they were here within a short period.'

He said the troops offered a 'huge sense of community reassurance', adding: 'They worked incredibly hard. Their dedication was phenomenal. There is a huge appreciation for what they have done.'
Two boys, believed to be cousins, were standing on a townhome balcony when the railing gave way, leaving one dead and the other injured after the fall.

The heartbreaking accident took place on Brighton Avenue in Perth Amboy, New Jersey around 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office confirmed.

The children reportedly fell at least 12 feet down onto the pavement, and the 9-year-old boy sadly died shortly afterward.

The 13-year-old boy was transported to the Robert Wood Johnson Hospital following the incident and said to be in stable condition.

Scroll down for video

Two boys, believed to be cousins, were standing on a townhome balcony when the railing gave way, leaving one dead and the other injured after the fall

The heartbreaking accident took place on Brighton Avenue in Perth Amboy, New Jersey around 5:30 p.m. Thursday

Perth Amboy Police chief Roman Mckeon told PIX11 the children were under watch by adults, but they were inside the home at the time of the sudden tragedy.

'They weren't on the porch, they were inside. But it looks like a tragic accident,' Mckeon said in the interview.

Neighbors said they witnessed despairing family members of the boy lost for words as they stood outside in shock.

The children reportedly fell at least 12 feet, and the 9-year-old boy sadly died shortly after

Neighbors said they witnessed despairing family members of the boy lost for words as they stood outside in shock

One of them could be heard saying 'I lost him' in Spanish when they returned back home that evening, according to News 4.

'You could hear people crying inside ... It's heartbreaking,' neighbor Michael Torres told PIX11 late Thursday.

Officials are currently investigating other balcony decks on the building as well as the landlord - though criminality was not suspected.

The 9-year-old boy attended Robert N. Wilentz Elementary School in Perth Amboy.

Officials at the school have requested grief counselors be available for students Friday.


Stuart Campbell earned himself an eight-year jail sentence by wearing a newly fitted GPS tracking device on his leg while raiding five houses

A bungling burglar earned himself an eight-year jail sentence by wearing a newly fitted GPS tracking device on his leg while raiding five houses.

Prosecutors claimed it was the first such case in Britain.

Career criminal Stuart Campbell, 42, had committed more than 200 burglaries in the past, and had even been nicknamed The Creeper by police, thanks to his skill at stealing items from bedrooms as the occupants slept just inches away.

But his reputation for stealth deserted him after he agreed to be fitted with the satellite tracking device while on probation. It provided irrefutable evidence of his guilt for fresh crimes on the very day it was fitted.

Portsmouth crown court heard yesterday that Campbell had been released from prison in June after serving three years for burglary.

Upon his release he voluntarily agreed to have a GPS tracker fitted to his leg, which the Integrated Offender Management Unit was to monitor.

He failed to charge it properly, but it started working regardless  and within hours of it being put on his leg, he went out on a crime spree.

James Kellam, prosecuting, said after the hearing: Stuart Campbell is a prolific burglar with an appalling criminal history, having been before the courts 31 times between 1987 and 2014.

The night after the tracker was fitted in June this year, Mr Campbell committed five burglaries in a residential area of Waterlooville in Hampshire, stealing mainly contents of handbags, keys, credit cards and cash.

Cambell, of Havant in Hampshire, only then cut the tracker off his leg. But it was too late. When he came under suspicion for the wave of burglaries he was immediately a suspect.

Portsmouth crown court heard yesterday that Campbell had been released from prison in June after serving three years for burglary. Upon his release he voluntarily agreed to have a GPS tracker fitted to his leg, which the Integrated Offender Management Unit was to monitor

Mr Kellam continued: When analysing the data from the tracker, the Integrated Offender Management Unit was able to trace Campbells movement before he discarded the device.

The data placed him at the scene of each and every burglary with which he was charged.

Faced with the compelling evidence provided to us by Hampshire Police, he was left with no choice but to plead guilty.

This case, which we believe is the first in which data from a GPS tracker has been used to secure a conviction, demonstrates how advancing technologies help us build stronger cases to put before the court.

As well as pleading guilty to the five GPS-tracked crimes Campbell asked for another 12 burglaries to be taken into consideration.

Five years ago it was reported that the self-confessed professional burglar had gained an extra criminal string to his bow while inside for housebreaking  when he got another nine months for dealing cannabis worth more than 1,250 to fellow convicts.

He bungled his criminal activities on that occasion too. He had known police were due to visit him to seek more confessions of burglaries  but the officers arrived at the jail earlier than expected, and when they performed their usual routine search they found the huge drugs stash in his underpants. He had been selling the cannabis at cell doors.

Campbell, a heroin and cocaine addict, was jailed for five years in 2005 for 126 burglaries, but within three years was out and being convicted for burgling another 80 houses.
Investigators have thwarted an ISIS-inspired mass shooting and bomb plot targeting Times Square, concert venues, and the subway system in New York City.

Prosecutors on Thursday unsealed charges against Canadian citizen Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, 19, Philippine citizen Russell Salic, 37, and Talha Haroon, a 19-year-old US citizen residing in Pakistan.

All three were arrested months ago, but the charges had been sealed as investigators with the FBI and NYPD Counterterrorism Unit searched for possible co-conspirators.

El Bahnasawy is in US custody and has pleaded guilty to federal terror charges, while the other two men await extradition from foreign custody to face charges in the US.

Prosecutors say the three men plotted to bomb and shoot up heavily populated areas of New York City during the Islamic holy month of Ramadhan in 2016.

The FBI and NYPD Counterterrorism Unit have thwarted a mass shooting and bomb plot against Times Square and other New York sites. Pictured: NYPD forces guard Times Square

El Bahnasawy sent this image of Times Square to an undercover posing as an ISIS operator, writing: 'we seriously need a bomb at times square... Look at these crowds of people!'

El Bahnasawy took the lead on the ground, entering the US from Canada to secure a cabin near New York City to use as an operating base and bomb-making facility, according to investigators.

Meanwhile, Haroon met with explosives experts in Pakistan and planned to join El Bahnasawy in the US to carry out the attacks, and Salic sent support funds from the Philippines, according to prosecutors.

The three men communicated with each other using a messaging app, but were tricked into revealing their plan to an undercover agent on the app posing as an ISIS member.

'[W]e seriously need a car bomb at times square... Look at these crowds of people!' El Bahnasawy messaged the undercover agent along with a picture of the New York City landmark last May, according to prosecutors.

El Bahnasawy also spoke glowingly of a plan to 'shoot up concerts cuz they kill a lot of people,' the indictment said.

'[W]e just walk in with guns in our hands. Thats how the Paris guys did it,' the message said in apparent reference to the November 2015 attacks on the Bataclan theater, which left 130 dead in Paris.

Meanwhile, Haroon allegedly felt that the New York subway was a 'perfect' target, telling the undercover there would be plenty of 'women and kids' to target and adding: 'when we run out of bullets we let the vests go off.'

El Bahnasawy sent this image of the NYC subway, modified with circles and arrows. 'The 2 subways we will blow up will be the purple one, and the green one,' he wrote in one message, likely referring to the 7 train and the 4-5-6 line, which intersect at Grand Central Station

Harron also mused about an attack on Times Square in Midtown Manhattan, allegedly sending the message: 'We surround the whole street and trap them and kill as many as possible.'

'I wanna kill... them in thousands' he allegedly wrote, 'we have to make a ocean out of their blood... Leave no one standing.'

'NY Needs to fall. Its a must,' Haroon allegedly texted the undercover federal agent.

In the Phillipines, Salic, aka 'The Doctor', allegedly played the money man, sending funds to support the plot against New York City.

Prosecutors said that Salic gloated about the benefits of operating out of the Philippines in a message to the undercover: 'Terrorists from all over the world usually come here as a breeding ground... hahahaha... But no worry here in Philippines. They dont care bout IS[IS]... loll Only in west.'

One co-conspirator allegedly texted the New York subway was a 'perfect' target, telling the undercover there would be plenty of 'women and kids' to target

Investigators monitored the plot to see how serious the men were, and sprang into action after El Bahnasawy purchased bomb-making materials and secured the cabin in the US.

On May 21, 2016, El Bahnasawy entered the US from Canada and made his way toward the New York metro area. The FBI arrested him that night in Cranford, New Jersey.

Haroon was arrested in Pakistan in September 2016 and Salic was arrested in the Philippines in April 2017.

El Bahnasawy has pleaded guilty to his role and awaits sentencing, as the two other men await extradition to the US to face charges.

All three men face sentences of life in prison.
Infamous gangster rap producer Marion 'Suge' Knight said Friday that he believes that billionaire music mogul Andre 'Dr. Dre' Young paid $20,000 to have him killed.

Knight claims in new legal documents turned into the Los Angeles County Superior Court that in July 2016, he was shown a check made out to a man named Dwayne Johnson cut by Dr. Dre.

'This check is critical in the defense of my case,' Knight wrote in the legal fillings.

Marion 'Suge' Knight (pictured right) believes that music mogel Dr. Dre paid to have him killed

Knight contends that the money was a partial payment to have him killed in January 2015, the same day he fatally ran over a man with his vehicle.

Knight is being tried for a hit-and-run incident that left one man dead and another man critically injured during a parking lot confrontation in Compton, California. His trial is scheduled to begin next year.

Knight is being tried for a hit-and-run incident that left Terry Carter (pictured) and another man critically injured

The court documents allege that Knight met with a private investigator and Johnson in July 2016, where Johnson told both of them that he was initially paid $20,000 by Dr. Dre to carry out the targeted killing, according to TMZ.

Johnson was present the day Knight used his car to run over Terry Carter and Cle 'Bone' Sloan. Carter later died of his injuries.

'This check tends to show that at least one of the individuals present at the scene ... had been paid a substantial amount of money to participate in my murder,' Knight added in the court briefing.

Knight stated in the court filings that he never received a copy of the check and the investigator now claims it never existed, according to The Los Angeles Times.

In response, an attorney for Dr. Dre called the allegations 'absurd and 'defamatory,' TMZ reported.

Cle 'Bone' Sloan was also critically injured after Knight used his car to run over himself and Carter on January 29, 2015

Knight's request to subpoena Dr. Dre's banking documents in the court filings was denied on Friday after Judge Ronald S. Coen ruled that the records were not relevant to the case.

Knight has plead not guilty to federal charges, contending that he acted in self defense when he ran over Carter inside the Tam's restaurant parking lot on January 29.

Knight has already spent two-and-a-half years behind bars as he waits for his trial to commence.
German officials say that a spike in radioactivity has been detected in the air in western and central Europe.

Elevated levels of the isotope Ruthenium-106 have been reported in Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and France since September 29.

The source of the Ruthenium-106 is still unknown, but calculations indicate it may have been released in eastern Europe.

Scroll down for video

New analyses on the source of the radioactive substance ruthenium-106 suggest a release in eastern Europe, at a distance of more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from Germany

RUTHENIUM 106 Ruthenium is part of the platinum group of metals. It is a hard, silvery-white metal with a shiny surface. Its melting point is about 2,300 to 2,450C (4,200 to 4,400F) Its discovery is credited to Polish chemist Jedrzej Sniadecki, who announced the announced the discovery of the element in 1808. Chemists were unable to confirm Sniadecki's work and, as a result, the element was rediscovered twice more in later years. The primary uses of ruthenium are in alloys and as catalysts for industrial processes. Ruthenium-106 is an isotope, or variant with a different number of neutrons in its nucleus, used for radiation therapy to treat eye tumours. It is sometimes as a source of energy, known as radioisotope thermoelectric generators, used to power satellites. Advertisement

Experts from Germany's Federal Office for Radiation Protection (FORP) raised the alarm yesterday, after five Weather Service stations detected traces of the particle.

This follows air monitoring stations across the continent recording an increase in the isotope.

The levels detected are low, 17,000 times lower than the limit set for this particle, and do not pose a threat to human health as of yet.

Officials added that the source could not be an accident at a nuclear power plant.

In a written statement, a spokesman said: 'New analyses on the source of the radioactive substance ruthenium-106 suggest a release in eastern Europe, at a distance of more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) from Germany.

'Since only ruthenium-106 has been detected, an accident in a nuclear power plant can be excluded as a cause.

'With this small amount of radioactivity there is no health hazard to the population.'

Ruthenium is part of the platinum group of metals.

Ruthenium-106 is an isotope, or variant with a different number of neutrons in its nucleus, used for radiation therapy to treat eye tumours.

It is sometimes as a source of energy, known as radioisotope thermoelectric generators, used to power satellites.

German officials say that a spike in radioactivity has been detected in the air in western and central Europe. Elevated levels of the isotope Ruthenium-106 have been reported in Germany, Italy, Austria, Switzerland and France since September 29

RADIOACTIVE LEAK IN JANUARY This is not the first time that radioactive material has been detected in the air across Europe this year. Air quality stations across the continent detected traces of radioactive Iodine-131 in January. Iodine-131 can cause harm because it has a very short half life of just eight days, making it very radioactive. The pattern of movement of the particles suggested they may also have originated in Eastern Europe. Advertisement

Ruthenium is a hard, silvery-white metal with a shiny surface.

Its melting point is about 2,300 to 2,450C (4,200 to 4,400F)

Its discovery is credited to Polish chemist Jedrzej Sniadecki, who announced the announced the discovery of the element in 1808.

Chemists were unable to confirm Sniadecki's work and, as a result, the element was rediscovered twice more in later years.

The primary uses of ruthenium are in alloys and as catalysts for industrial processes.

This is not the first time that radioactive material has been detected in the air across Europe this year.

Air quality stations across the continent detected traces of radioactive Iodine-131 in January.

Iodine-131 can cause harm because it has a very short half life of just eight days, making it very radioactive.

The pattern of movement of the particles suggested they may also have originated in eastern Europe.
While Hurricane Irma hit Florida as a ferocious category 4 storm last month, the sunshine state has withstood much stronger storms in the past.

According to new research, category 5 hurricanes may have slammed Florida repeatedly 12,000 years ago, during a climatic shift called The Younger Dryas.

While there were hurricane-suppressing cooler sea surface temperatures at the time, these conditions were outweighed by slowed ocean circulation - which plays a powerful role when it comes to generating hurricanes.

Scroll down for video

While Hurricane Irma hit Florida as a ferocious category 4 storm last month, the sunshine state has withstood much stronger storms in the past. According to new research, category 5 hurricanes may have slammed Florida repeatedly 12,000 years ago

The study, published in the journal Geology, involved analyzing turbidites: a type of undersea landslide deposit that can provide a record for storm events.

As the last ice age ended, turbidites captured records of Florida's stormy days.

Dr Michael Toomey, a researcher with the US Geological Survey and the lead author of the study, has previously used turbidites in the Bahamas to link them with modern hurricanes.

For this study, the researchers examined turbidites in cores collected offshore the Dry Tortugas, Florida, and spanned the shift from the cooler, Younger Dryas into the warmer early Holocene.

The turbidites, which contained smashed up shells and jumbled sediments, revealed that during the Younger Dryas days, Florida was surprisingly hurricane-prone - at a time when cooler sea surface temperatures may have put the brakes on such intense storms elsewhere in the Atlantic.

WHAT ARE TURBIDITES? Turbidites are a type of undersea landslide deposit that can provide a record for storms and other geological events. The sedimentary rock is composed of layered particles that grade upward from coarser to finer sizes and are thought to have originated from ancient currents in the oceans. Turbidites are deposited in the deep ocean troughs below the continental shelf, or similar structures in deep lakes, by underwater avalanches which slide down the steep slopes of the continental shelf edge They are important components of sedimentary deep-sea rocks at the base of continental slopes, and they're also found below the major river deltas of the world where the forms abyssal cones. Turbidites are important because they can provide a chronological record of the frequency and properties of geological events. Source: Britannica.com Advertisement

To understand why Florida was so hurricane prone at the time, the research team analyzed computer models that simulated ocean and atmospheric conditions near Florida during that period.

Currently in modern times, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) brings cool water south and warm water north.

But during the Younger Dryas period, the AMOC is thought to have weakened considerably, slowing circulation and reshaping environmental conditions across much of the Northern Hemisphere.

The results indicated that lower sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic, near Barbados for example, correspond with a drop in storm potential intensity.

An American flag is torn as Hurricane Irma passes through Naples, Florida on Sunday, September 10, 2017. According to new research, category 5 hurricanes may have slammed Florida repeatedly 12,000 years ago, during a climatic shift called The Younger Dryas

Sea surfaces near Florida cooled as well - however, the change there was not as dramatic as further south or to the north.

Dr Toomey says that the relative warmth of waters offshore the southeastern US compared to the regional Atlantic seems to have set the stage for intense hurricanes near Florida.

'The modeling work suggests other factors, such as wind shear and humidity at mid-latitudes, outweighed changes in sea surface temperature at our core site,' says Dr Toomey.

Tommy Nevitt carries Miranda Abbott, 6, through floodwater caused by Hurricane Irma on the west side of Jacksonville, Florida on Monday, September 11, 2017. Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida as a category 4 storm

Models and geologic records both show that by the early Holocene, as the AMOC regained strength, Florida's hurricanes subsided.

According to Dr Toomey, the results show that when it comes to generating hurricanes, ocean circulation plays a powerful role.

In addition, the study demonstrates that on certain types of coastlines, turbidites have great potential for revealing ancient hurricane histories.

However, Dr Toomey warns against applying these results directly to future hurricane activity - he says for that, more field data and higher resolution models are needed.

'That's where I see this work headed next,' Dr Toomey says.
The movements of great white sharks in the Pacific and Indian oceans have long been the subject of academic study, but new research is just starting to shed light on the behaviour of their Atlantic Ocean counterparts.

Researchers say white sharks appear to venture offshore farther, with more frequency and at greater depths than previously known in the Atlantic.

Some of the 32 sharks tracked between 2009 and 2014 ended up as far east as the Azores, the Portuguese island chain located more than 2,300 miles (3,701 kilometres) from Cape Cod, where most of the animals were initially outfitted with satellite tags.

Scroll down for video

Captain Brett McBride places his hand on the snout of the crew's first specimen while scientists collect blood, tissue samples and attach tracking devices. Researchers say white sharks appear to venture offshore farther with more frequency than before

WHAT DID THEY FIND? Some of the 32 sharks tracked between 2009 and 2014 ended up as far east as the Azores, the Portuguese island chain located more than 2,300 miles (3,701 kilometres) from Cape Cod, where most of the animals were initially outfitted with satellite tags. They also were found to make frequent deep dives - as far down as 3,700 feet (1,127 meters) - and spend more time at those dark depths than previous studies in the Atlantic suggest. The research is exciting because it represents the 'first real insights into the movement patterns of white sharks' in the northern part of the Atlantic, says Tobey Curtis, a Massachusetts-based shark researcher for the National Marine Fisheries Service who was not involved with the study. Advertisement

They also were found to make frequent deep dives - as far down as 3,700 feet (1,127 meters) - and spend more time at those dark depths than previous studies in the Atlantic suggest.

The team, which included scientists from the state Division of Marine Fisheries, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, had its findings published last week in Marine Ecology Progress Series, a prominent scientific journal.

'Everything we knew previously indicated that the white shark in the Atlantic is more coastally-oriented, moving north-to-south and remaining on the continental shelf,' explained Gregory Skomal, the study's lead author.

'So what we're now describing is this other component, this offshore movement into open ocean.'

Dr Skomal says the work has implications for shark conservation efforts since it extends the known habitat for these ancient predators.

White sharks are not considered endangered or threatened, but it's illegal to hunt them in US waters.

'You've got US protection within 200 miles [322km] of shore, but you have sharks clearly leaving that protection that are vulnerable to harvest,' Dr Skomal said.

'We need to engage other countries fishing in these waters to talk about putting similar protections in place.'

Most of the tagged sharks in the Atlantic study generally followed a north-south migration along the Eastern Seaboard. Pictured is the global distribution of great white sharks

Researchers screw satellite and acoustic tags onto the dorsal fin of a great white shark. Some of the 32 sharks tracked between 2009 and 2014 ended up as far east as the Azores

The research is exciting because it represents the 'first real insights into the movement patterns of white sharks' in the northern part of the Atlantic, says Tobey Curtis, a Massachusetts-based shark researcher for the National Marine Fisheries Service who was not involved with the study.

'Prior to this, we were only able to piece together information about their distribution from widely scattered reports from fishermen, scientists and the public,' he said.

'Having tracks of individual sharks really helps fill in the gaps, and provides a more complete picture of white shark movements and migrations.'

The study seems to hew closely to what's been observed of white sharks in other oceans - that juveniles tend to stay in the relatively shallower waters of the continental shelf where food sources abound, while adults are more apt to venture into open ocean, observes Christopher Lowe, a shark researcher at California State University in Long Beach also not involved with the research.

Massachusetts shark expert Greg Skomal pulls the cap off a blood sample taken from an Atlantic great white shark before performing blood gas analysis. They also were found to make frequent deep dives - as far down as 3,700 feet (1,127 meters)

Research vessel Ocearch has set her anchor as the crew begins their search for great white sharks on the Atlantic Ocean, spending two to three weeks tagging sharks and collecting blood and tissue samples

Indeed, most of the tagged sharks in the Atlantic study generally followed a north-south migration along the Eastern Seaboard.

They head to Newfoundland and New England waters in the summer, then down south to the Carolinas and even the Bahamas for the winter.

Lowe says it remains to be seen what impact continued growth of white shark populations in the Atlantic has on these habits, or whether climate change is playing a role.

Another key question is finding out what these sharks are actually doing so far offshore.

Researchers in northern California suggest offshore movements are for mating, a ritual that has never been observed among white sharks.

But Dr Skomal and his team believe the animals are more likely foraging - it's just not immediately obvious what they're feeding on.

'That's the great mystery right now,' he said.
An 'unprecedented' level of access granted to Uber's iPhone app means the firm could be watching your every move.

Apple has given the company special powers that could be used to record a user's screen and access other sensitive data without their knowledge or permission.

Experts have warned that the feature, which is not listed in any of Uber's public information, may be available even when the app is closed.

Scroll down for video

An 'unprecedented' level of access granted to Uber's iPhone app means the firm could be watching your every move. Apple has given the company special powers that could be used to record a user's screen and access other personal data without their knowledge or permission

HOW IT WORKS Apps for the iPhone and iPad use entitlements to enable functions like the camera and Apple Pay. Some, marked com.apple.private, are normally strictly reserved to provide Apple's own products full functionality. Third-party apps that contain these sections of code are routinely rejected from the App Store. The specific permission in question is known as com.apple.private.allow-explicit-graphics-priority. It lets developers read and write to part of the devices memory that contains pixel and display data. This could allow an app's owner to access and record any information currently being displayed. Advertisement

Security researcher Will Strafach first raised the alarm on Twitter, after uncovering an unusual portion of the app's code.

Mr Strafach checked this against tens of thousands of other apps on the App Store and found that Uber was the only non-Apple software to include the string of data, known as an entitlement.

This gives the app permission to use abilities normally reserved for Apple's proprietary programs.

Speaking to Business Insider, he said: 'Granting such a sensitive entitlement to a third-party is unprecedented as far as I can tell.

'No other app developers have been able to convince Apple to grant them entitlements they've needed to let their apps utilise certain privileged system functionality.

'It is very odd to see Uber as the only app besides Apple's own apps granted access to this sensitive entitlement.'

Apps for the iPhone and iPad use entitlements to enable functions like the camera and Apple Pay.

Some, marked com.apple.private, are normally strictly reserved to provide Apple's own products full functionality.

Third-party apps that contain these sections of code are routinely rejected from the App Store.

The specific permission in question is known as com.apple.private.allow-explicit-graphics-priority.

It lets developers read and write to part of the devices memory that contains pixel and display data.

Apps for the iPhone and iPad use strings of code, known as entitlements, to enable functions like the camera and Apple Pay. The entitlement in question lets developers read and write to part of the devices memory that contains pixel and display data

Security researcher Will Strafach first raised the alarm on Twitter, after uncovering an unusual portion of the app's code. He found that Uber was the only non-Apple software to include the entitlement

This could allow an app's owner to access and record any information currently being displayed.

There is no suggestion that Uber has ever used this ability.

The San Francisco based firm say it is a legacy of a previous app version developed for the Apple Watch.

In a statement, Uber spokesman Melanie Ensign said: 'Apple gave us this permission because early versions of Apple Watch were unable to adequately handle the level of map rendering in the Uber app.

'Subsequent updates to Apple Watch and our app removed this dependency and we're working with Apple to remove the API completely.'
Breaking up with someone is always awkward, but a new study suggests that you shouldn't beat around the bush when doing it.

Researchers looked at the best way to deliver bad news, and found that most people prefer directness, rather than a build-up of small talk.

Instead of opening with the break-up, scientists suggest that a simple 'we need to talk' is enough to soften the blow, without adding too much of a buffer.

Scroll down for video

Instead of opening with the break-up, scientists suggest that a simple 'we need to talk' is enough to soften the blow, without adding too much of a buffer (stock image)

HOW TO BREAK BAD NEWS People value directness over an extended and overly polite lead in. Professor Alan Manning, who led the study, said: 'An immediate 'I'm breaking up with you' might be too direct.' When it comes to receiving negative information about physical facts, such as 'that water is toxic', most people want it straight up, without a lead-in. Though the buffer in giving bad news is almost always a bad idea, there are cases when it can be valuable. When trying to make a persuasive case for someone to change a firmly held opinion, strategic build-up can be important. Advertisement

Researchers from Brigham Young University in Utah looked at the best ways to deliver bad news, and found that people value directness over an extended and overly polite lead in.

Professor Alan Manning, who led the study, said: 'An immediate 'I'm breaking up with you' might be too direct.

'But all you need is a 'we need to talk' buffer - just a couple of seconds for the other person to process that bad news is coming.'

And when it comes to receiving negative information about physical facts, such as 'that water is toxic', most people want it straight up, without a lead-in.

Professor Manning said: 'If we're negating physical facts, then there's no buffer required or desired.

'If your house is on fire, you just want to know that and get out.

'Or if you have cancer, you'd just like to know that. You don't want the doctor to talk around it.'

In the study, 145 participants received a range of bad-news scenarios, and were given two potential deliveries for each.

When it comes to receiving negative information about physical facts, such as 'you have cancer', most people want it straight up, without a lead-in, according to the researchers (stock image)

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR RELATIONSHIP In his new book, The All-or-Nothing Marriage, Dr Eli Finkel says in order to have a happy relationship we need to ask less from this person and think of ways in which our friendships could give us more. But for many couples, the pursuit of these goals is unrealistic and rather than look for them all in a partner, people could benefit from outsourcing some of them to other members of their social network. Dr Finkel says as well as re-calibrating and decreasing the amount we ask out of our partner in a marriage we need to try and spend more quality time with them. This means scheduling in time to do things together - and stop tying to do relationships 'on the cheap', he said. Advertisement

For each received message, they ranked how clear, considerate, direct, efficient, honest, specific and reasonable they perceived it to be.

They also ranked which of those characteristics they valued most.

Results showed that for the most part, participants valued clarity and directness over other characteristics.

Professor Manning added: 'If you're on the giving end, yeah, absolutely, it's probably more comfortable psychologically to pad it out  which explains why traditional advice is the way it is.

'This survey is framed in terms of you imagining you're getting bad news and which version you find least objectionable.

'People on the receiving end would much rather get it this way.'

Though the buffer in giving bad news is almost always a bad idea, there are cases when it can be valuable.

When trying to make a persuasive case for someone to change a firmly held opinion, strategic build-up can be important.

Professor Manning said: 'People's belief systems are where they're the most touchy.

'Any message that affects their belief system, their ego identity, that's what you've got to buffer.'
Scott of the Antarctic's doomed expedition to the South Pole was 'sabotaged' by his second in command, a new study claims.

Captain Robert Falcon Scott and his crew of four died on their return to base having been beaten in the race to the pole by a Norwegian team led by Roald Amundsen.

The tragic deaths in 1912 have previously been blamed on poor planning by Scott, bad food supplies and unfortunate weather.

But in the new study, researchers suggest that the actions of second-in-command Lieutenant Edward 'Teddy' Evans 'on and off the ice can at best be described as ineffectual, at worst deliberate sabotage.'

Scroll down for video

Scott of the Antarctic's doomed expedition. This image shows the five members who died, Captain Laurence Oates (top left), Captain Robert Scott (top centre) Petty Officer Edgar Evans (top right); Lt Henry Bowers (bottom left); and Dr Edward Wilson (bottom right)

HOW DID THEY DIE? Of the five men in Scott's party, Petty Officer Edgar Evans was the first to die. He was killed from the effects of concussion at the base of the Beardmore Glacier. Later, suffering from frostbite and exhaustion, and recognising his slow pace was threatening the others, Captain Lawrence 'Titus' Oates bravely walked out into a blizzard with the words, 'I am just going outside and may be some time'. In plummeting temperatures with limited food and fuel, Scott, Dr Edward Wilson and Henry 'Birdie' Bowers were pinned down by a nine-day blizzard. They died sometime around 29 March 1912, 150 days out from base and just 18 km (11 miles) from the nearest depot. One year later, their bodies were discovered with 16 kg [35 lbs] of fossil-rich rocks collected as part of the returning scientific programme. Advertisement

Professor Chris Turney at the University of New South Wales in Sydney based his conclusions on papers he found 'buried' in the British Library in London, which give a crucial piece of evidence about Evans's trip back to camp.

Seven pages of notes detailed meetings held in April 1913 between Lord Curzon, president of the Royal Geographical Society, and Scott's and Wilson's widows, both of whom had read their late husbands' diaries and correspondence.

The documents showed members of Scott's expedition questioned Evans' leadership abilities, with Scott describing in letters he was 'not at all fitted to be second-in-command' and promised to 'take some steps concerning this.'

Evans had accompanied Scott to within 150 miles (240 km) of the Pole, but became seriously ill with scurvy.

Professor Turney claimed questions about Evans led Scott to send him back before pushing on to the South Pole with four companions instead of five.

Evans returned to camp and survived his bout of scurvy, and following the fatal expedition was made 1st Baron Mountevans.

Yet the new documents show that on the return journey from the Pole, Scott's expedition found rations carefully planted on the journey out had disappeared.

According to the notes found by Professor Turney, Kathleen Scott reported that: 'Scott's words in his diary on exhaustion of food & fuel in depots on his return It appears Lieut Evans  down with Scurvy  and the two men with him must on return journey have entered & consumed more than their share.'

Several days later, also according to the meeting notes, Oriana Wilson described how: 'there was a passage in her husband's diary which spoke of the 'inexplicable' shortage of fuel & pemmican [sledging ration] on the return journey This passage however she proposes to show to no one and to keep secret.'

In addition, the updated orders Scott gave to Evans to send a dog team out to meet the returning expedition were seemingly never delivered.

HOW IS 'TEDDY' EVANS TO BLAME? Evans (pictured) had gotten within 150 miles (240 km) of the Pole, but became ill with scurvy and returned to base In new research, Professor Chris Turney at the University of New South Wales in Sydney said the actions of second-in-command Lieutenant Edward 'Teddy' Evans 'on and off the ice can at best be described as ineffectual, at worst deliberate sabotage.' His studies are based on papers found 'buried' in the British Library in London, which give a crucial piece of evidence about Evans's trip back to camp. Evans had accompanied Scott to within 150 miles (240 km) of the Pole, but became seriously ill with scurvy. Evans returned to camp and survived his bout of scurvy, and following the fatal expedition was made 1st Baron Mountevans. Yet the new documents show that on the return journey from the Pole, Scott's expedition found rations carefully planted on the journey out had disappeared, which Professor Turney suggests were taken by Evans. In addition, the updated orders Scott gave to Evans to send a dog team out to meet the returning expedition were seemingly never delivered. Instead Scott and his team were left to die alone and starving in a blizzard. Advertisement

Instead Scott and his team were left to die alone and starving in a blizzard.

Of the five men in Scott's party, Petty Officer Edgar Evans (no relation to 'Teddy') was the first to die.

He was killed from the effects of concussion at the base of the Beardmore Glacier.

Later, suffering from frostbite and exhaustion, and recognising his slow pace was threatening the others, Captain Lawrence 'Titus' Oates bravely walked out into a blizzard with the words, 'I am just going outside and may be some time'.

The privately funded British Antarctic Expedition of 1911 to 1913 was watched with great interest back home as the two teams competed to reach the pole. New evidence suggests that second-in-command Evans was responsible for the expedition's fatal end

In plummeting temperatures with limited food and fuel, Scott, Dr Edward Wilson and Henry 'Birdie' Bowers were pinned down by a nine-day blizzard.

They died sometime around 29 March 1912, 150 days out from base and just 18 km (11 miles) from the nearest depot.

The tragic deaths in 1912 have previously been blamed on poor planning by Scott (pictured) and bad food supplies and weather

One year later, their bodies were discovered with 16 kg [35 lbs] of fossil-rich rocks collected as part of the returning scientific programme.

Professor Turney said the new documents exposed contradictions in Evans's testimony, who led the last party to see Scott and his men alive.

Professor Turney said: 'The new documents suggest at the very least appalling leadership on the part of Evans or at worst, deliberate sabotage, resulting in the death of Scott and his four companions.'

The papers also reveal how public records were altered in later recounts of the expedition to cover for Evans.

Documents uncovered by the historian showed Evans had a history of taking more than his share of supplies.

Public statements were changed to deflect blame from Evans' role in the missing rations after Scott's death, the papers show.

They also uncover why the President of the Royal Geographical Society, Lord Curzon, quashed a public committee of inquiry.

An expert has found new documents 'buried' in the British Library in London that suggest Evans ate too many rations and didn't call for dog team support when he was sent back with scurvy. Pictured is the expedition's 'Terra Nova' ship

Professor Turney said: 'It appears that Curzon and others associated with the expedition accepted that this may have been necessary because Evans had been stricken by scurvy when the food was removed.

'However, further analysis of key texts from the time indicates that this was not the case, and that the timeline of Evans' sickness was deliberately changed to align with the removal of the supplies.

'For too long Scott has been held responsible for the death of himself and the men of his party who made the fateful expedition to the South Pole.

'These new documents tell a very different story about how Scott's planning for the expedition was undermined, reveal that his orders were fatally ignored and why the man who arguably contributed the most to his death was never held accountable for his actions.'
In the cult classic, Blade Runner, sophisticated androids made with organic body parts, known as 'replicants', can match the strength and emotions of their human creators.

And according to an expert, advances in soft robotics could see replicants, such as those seen in Blade Runner and the Terminator, become a reality.

In an article for The Conversation, Fumiya Iida, a lecturer in mechatronics at the University of Cambridge looks at the future of building robots with human-like abilities.

Scroll down for video

According to an expert, advances in soft robotics show a promising way forward for technology that could be a new basis for Blade Runners (pictured, Harrison Ford) of the future

REAL BLADE RUNNERS From a scientific point of view, the real challenge is replicating the complexity of the human body. Each one of us is made up of millions and millions of cells, and we have no clue how we can build such a complex machine that is indistinguishable from us humans. It is impossible to predict when the robotic world of Blade Runner might arrive, and if it does it will probably be very far in the future. Although we have been able to identify and manipulate individual genes, we still have a limited understanding of how an entire human emerges from genetic code. But as long as the desire to build machines indistinguishable from humans is there, the current trends of robotic revolution could make it possible to achieve that dream. Advertisement

The new Blade Runner sequel will return us to a world where sophisticated androids made with organic body parts can match the strength and emotions of their human creators.

As someone who builds biologically inspired robots, I'm interested in whether our own technology will ever come close to matching the 'replicants' of Blade Runner 2049.

The reality is that we're a very long way from building robots with human-like abilities.

But advances in so-called soft robotics show a promising way forward for technology that could be a new basis for the androids of the future.

From a scientific point of view, the real challenge is replicating the complexity of the human body.

Artificial components are still hopelessly primitive

Each one of us is made up of millions and millions of cells, and we have no clue how we can build such a complex machine that is indistinguishable from us humans.

The most complex machines today, for example the world's largest airliner, the Airbus A380, are composed of millions of parts.

But in order to match the complexity level of humans, we would need to scale this complexity up about a million times.

There are currently three different ways that engineering is making the border between humans and robots more ambiguous. Unfortunately, these approaches are only starting points, and are not yet even close to the world of Blade Runner.

There are human-like robots built from scratch by assembling artificial sensors, motors and computers to resemble the human body and motion.

The new Blade Runner sequel will return us to a world where sophisticated androids made with organic body parts can match the strength and emotions of their human creators. Pictured is Blade Runner Ryan Gosling in deep thought

However, extending the current human-like robot would not bring Blade Runner-style androids closer to humans, because every artificial component, such as sensors and motors, are still hopelessly primitive compared to their biological counterparts.

There is also cyborg technology, where the human body is enhanced with machines such as robotic limbs, wearable and implantable devices. This technology is similarly very far away from matching our own body parts.

Soft robotics: a way forward?

Finally, there is the technology of genetic manipulation, where an organism's genetic code is altered to modify that organism's body.

Although we have been able to identify and manipulate individual genes, we still have a limited understanding of how an entire human emerges from genetic code.

As such, we don't know the degree to which we can actually programme code to design everything we wish.

But we might be able to move robotics closer to the world of Blade Runner by pursuing other technologies, and in particular by turning to nature for inspiration.

The field of soft robotics is a good example. In the last decade or so, robotics researchers have been making considerable efforts to make robots soft, deformable, squishable and flexible.

The film is set in a time when human figures are kept in glass cases (pictured). Being able to build soft machines would at least bring us a step closer to the robotic world of Blade Runner

This technology is inspired by the fact that 90 per cent of the human body is made from soft substances such as skin, hair and tissues.

This is because most of the fundamental functions in our body rely on soft parts that can change shape, from the heart and lungs pumping fluid around our body to the eye lenses generating signals from their movement.

Cells even change shape to trigger division, self-healing and, ultimately, the evolution of the body.

The softness of our bodies is the origin of all their functionality needed to stay alive. So being able to build soft machines would at least bring us a step closer to the robotic world of Blade Runner.

JOBS THAT PAY LESS THAN $20 ARE AT RISK OF ROBOT TAKEOVER There is an 83 per cent chance that artificial intelligence will eventually takeover positions that pay low-wages, says White House's Council of Economic Advisors (CEA). A recent report suggests that those who are paid less than $20 an hour will be unemployed and see their jobs filled by robots over the next few years. But for workers who earn more than $20 an hour there is only a 31 per cent chance and those paid double have just a 4 per cent risk. To reach these numbers the CEA's 2016 economic report referred to a 2013 study about the 'automation of jobs performed by Oxford researchers that assigned a risk of automation to 702 different occupations'. Those jobs were then matched to a wage that determines the worker's risk of having their jobs taken over by a robot. 'The median probability of automation was then calculated for three ranges of hourly wage: less than 20 dollars; 20 to 40 dollars; and more than 40 dollars,' reads the report. The risk of having your job taken over by a robot, Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Jason Furman told reporters that it 'varies enormously based on what your salary is.' Furman also noted that the threat of robots moving in on low-wage jobs is, 'another example of why those investments in education to make sure that people have skills that complements automation are so important,' referring to programs advocated by President Obama. Advertisement

Robot parts need to be soft and self-healing

Some of the recent technological advances include artificial hearts made out of soft functional materials that are pumping fluid through deformation.

Similarly, soft, wearable gloves can help make hand grasping stronger. And 'epidermal electronics' has enabled us to tattoo electronic circuits onto our biological skins.

Softness is the keyword that brings humans and technologies closer together.

Sensors, motors and computers are all of a sudden integrated into human bodies once they became soft, and the border between us and external devices becomes ambiguous, just like soft contact lenses became part of our eyes.

Nevertheless, the hardest challenge is how to make individual parts of a soft robot body physically adaptable by self-healing, growing and differentiating.

After all, every part of a living organism is also alive in biological systems in order to make our bodies totally adaptable and evolvable, the function of which could make machines totally indistinguishable from ourselves.

It is impossible to predict when the robotic world of Blade Runner might arrive, and if it does it will probably be very far in the future.

But as long as the desire to build machines indistinguishable from humans is there, the current trends of robotic revolution could make it possible to achieve that dream.
Advertisement

A 'lost chapel' which was the first dedicated House of Commons chamber has been recreated 180 years after it burnt down.

The chamber destroyed in the 1834 Palace of Westminster fire has been reconstructed with the help of 3D visualisation technology.

The House of Commons took shape in the medieval chapel of St Stephen, formerly a place of worship for the royal family.

Explore how the chapel would have looked in the 1360s

THE 'LOST CHAPEL' A 'Lost chapel' which was the first dedicated House of Commons chamber has been recreated 180 years after it burnt down. The House of Commons took shape in the medieval chapel of St Stephen, formerly a place of worship for the royal family. The models reveal not only the colours and textures of the building, but also similarities between political debate in the 16th century and today. It shows dark red beams around stained-glass windows and deep blue and gold patterns across the arched roof. Intricate gold and blue detail encircle scenes from the Old Testament - some of which were saved and are in the British Museum. Advertisement

With few traces of the original building still remaining, the chapel could only be resurrected through centuries-old documents in parliamentary and national archives.

Now art historians have brought St Stephen's Chapel and the Commons chamber back to life by pioneering a technique combining traditional archival research with digital reconstruction.

One reconstruction is from 1360s which shows the original chapel.

The second reconstruction is from the 1700s and shows the House of Commons after parliament members moved into the chapel building.

The models reveal not only the colours and textures of the building, but also similarities between political debate in the past and today.

The reconstruction from the 16th century shows dark red beams around stained-glass windows and deep blue and gold patterns across the arched roof.

Intricate gold and blue detail encircle scenes from the Old Testament - some of which were saved and are in the British Museum.

A dark green alter sits at one end with angels resting on four posts, near red, green and gold patterned pews.

Dr John Cooper, from the University's Department of History, said: 'St Stephen's was built by King Edward I to be a show-case of English royal splendour.

'When the Chapel was dissolved during the Reformation, it became a meeting place for politicians to debate the issues of the day.

Members of Parliament had previously met in a number of different locations.

'Once they took occupation of St Stephen's, however, they never left, even though there was never a grand plan for a new home for the House of Commons, said Dr Cooper.

'The move into St Stephen's was a by-product of the Reformation, but it had profound consequences for the future of British politics.'

Here is the medieval panorama in the 1360s. The 3D models of the Chapel and House of Commons have been installed on a touch-screen display in the Palace of Westminster

Explore how the chapel would have looked in the 1700s after parliament members moved in the building

When the Commons was gutted in the Westminster fire of 1834, a new debating chamber was constructed of strikingly similar design.

he blaze was caused by the burning of small wooden tally sticks which had been used as part of the accounting procedures of the Exchequer until 1826.

'Our politicians still meet there today, in a Victorian re-imagination of a medieval and Tudor building. It's a fascinating example of continuity in British political culture', said Dr Cooper.

The 3D models of the Chapel and House of Commons have been installed on a touch-screen display in the Palace of Westminster, and are now online.

Records reveal not only how St Stephen's Chapel was built, the masons, painters, sculptors and many workmen involved its construction and how much they were paid, but also the politics later conducted within its walls.

The chamber destroyed in the 1834 Palace of Westminster fire has been reconstructed with the help of 3D visualisation technology. This is the reconstruction between 1692 - 1707

Pictured is the House of Commons between 1692 - 1707. The models reveal not only the colours and textures of the building, but also similarities between political debate in the 16th century and today

The seating of the Commons was arranged so that politicians would be facing each other at close quarters, much like today.

The overcrowding in the room meant that discussion could rise to intense levels.

When divisions were called, some MPs were reluctant to get up to vote in case they lost their seats to someone else.

'The shape and architecture of St Stephen's Chapel frame so many aspects of how we do our business in the Commons today', said Chris Bryant MP.

The 3D models of the Chapel and House of Commons have been installed on a touch-screen display in the Palace of Westminster, and are now online. The overcrowding in the room meant that discussion could rise to intense levels

Records reveal not only how St Stephen's Chapel was built, the masons, painters, sculptors and many workmen involved its construction and how much they were paid, but also the politics later conducted within its walls

Seating of the Commons was arranged so that politicians would be facing each other, much like today (pictured). When divisions were called, some MPs were reluctant to get up to vote in case they lost their seats to someone else

'We shouldn't be bound by our history, but we should understand it better. This University of York project is enabling us to do just that.'

Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, historians at the University of York have constructed the model.

'It has been a fascinating journey through time and has taken us in unexpected directions', said Dr Cooper.

'Officials at the Palace of Westminster have really embraced the project and we have presented our findings at Parliamentary committees, where we hope our research will influence discussion on the restoration and renewal work required within the building today.'
Advertisement

Monday, October 2 was the saddest day ever - when considering the Twittersphere.

Researchers have been using a tool called the 'hedonometer' to track people's feelings on Twitter since 2008.

Following Monday's shooting in Las Vegas - the biggest mass shooting in modern US history which killed 59 people - the hedonometer tracked the saddest levels ever.

Scroll down for video

Researchers have been using a tool called the 'hedonometer' to track people's feelings on Twitter since 2008. Following Monday's shooting in Las Vegas - the biggest mass shooting in modern US history which killed 59 people - the hedonometer tracked the saddest levels ever. Pictured are the most frequently used words in Tweets from that day

THE TOP FIVE SADDEST DAYS OF 2017 SO FAR Las Vegas shooting attack (5.7) Vehicle attack by far-right extremist in Charlottesville, Virginia (5.88) Terrorist attack in Manchester (5.89) Terrorist attack in Barcelona (5.92), Fire at Grenfell Tower in London (5.92), terrorist attack on Quebec City mosque (5.92) US Ban of refugees (5.93), terrorist attack on London Bridge (5.93) Advertisement

The hedonometer uses an algorithm that works by randomly sampling 50 million (10 per cent) of all messages posted to Twitter each day - roughly 10 per cent of all messages posted to Twitter every day.

Words in messages written in English are thrown into a large 'bag' (containing about 100 million words per day) and the bag is assigned a happiness score based on the average happiness score of the words contained within.

To quantify the happiness of words, the researchers behind hedonometer created a list of the 10,000 most frequently used words from four places: Google Books, New York Times articles, Music Lyrics and Twitter messages.

Then, each of these words was analyzed on a nine point scale of happiness: (1) sad to (9) happy.

For example, words such as 'laughter' and 'happiness' score the highest, with scores of 8.50 and 8.44, respectively.

The words with the lowest happiness scores are 'terrorist' and 'suicide,' both scored at 1.30.

The score on an average day is 6 to 6.1, which may be because there are more positive than negative words in the English language.

But on Monday, happiness levels dropped to 5.7 - the lowest they've ever been.

The most commonly frequently used words on Twitter on Monday were 'shooting,' 'gun,' 'victims,' 'terrorist,' and 'terrorism.'

Dr Chris Danforth, a mathematician at the University of Vermont who co-founded the tracking tool with his colleague Dr Peter Dodds, told Vox that '[Our happiness cycles have] been incredibly regular for eight years until the last year.

Average happiness on Twitter since 2009. Happiness is generally expressed in waves, with lows that tend to follow natural disasters or terrorist attacks - however the election of Donald Trump was also one of the saddest days ever on Twitter

'Now the signal is jumping down a lot more, and the regular weekly cycle has fallen apart.

'It's more of a roller coaster now than it used to be.'

Dr Danforth says that the tool has found that happiness is generally expressed in waves, with lows that tend to follow natural disasters or terrorist attacks - however the election of Donald Trump was also one of the saddest days ever on Twitter.

High scores tend to happen around events such as Christmas and Mother's day, and other happily viewed occasions.

The tool, however, does exhibit some anomalies.

For example, on the day of Osama Bin Laden's death, there were low happiness scores.

'Many people presume this day will be one of clear positivity,' hedonometer's website says.

'While we do see positive words such as 'celebration' appearing, the overall language of the day on Twitter reflected that a very negatively viewed character met a very negative end.'

While Twitter users only represent a certain subset of the world's population, hedonometer claims that the demographics of Twitter are representative, and that the hedonometer's measure of happiness 'correlates very well with traditional surveys of well-being.'

In the future, the researchers behind hedonometer plan to include sources other than Twitter, for example Google Trends (what people are searching for), bit.ly (what people are looking at online), and the BBC (what people are reading), which will allow the tool to explore societal trends in different ways.

The team is also building a database of word-based measures for emotions others than happiness and sadness, such as fear, anger and surprise.
A London bar that first opened its doors 128 years ago and went on to create the gin and vermouth-infused Hanky Panky cocktail, has been crowned the best drinking den in the world.

The American Bar, at the swanky Savoy, claimed the top spot at The Worlds 50 Best Bars awards in London on Thursday night, taking the title from New York's Dead Rabbit.

Overall there were four spots in the British capital that made the top ten - including Dandelyan and the Connaught Bar, which came in at second and fourth place respectively.

The American Bar, at the swanky Savoy hotel, scored first place at The Worlds 50 Best Bars awards in London on Thursday night, taking the title from New York's Dead Rabbit

The American Bar, which was serving drinks in the same year the Eiffel Tower was still being completed, is said to be one of the most historically important bars open today.

Libations start at around 18 ($23.54) for a fairly simple concoction.

Overall there were four bars from the British capital in the top ten - including Dandelyan (seen above), which came in at second place

Last year's winner, Dead Rabbit, dropped to fifth place - a shock to many industry players

INSIDE THE CONNAUGHT BAR I recently treated my girlfriend to birthday drinks at the Connaught Bar - the world's 4th best watering hole - and it entirely lived up to the hype. Ok, it wasn't cheap, but then, when a bar is this special, it shouldn't be. At the time my other half was pregnant so the bar staff rustled up a mocktail for her, while I opted for a glass of champagne - a Jacquesson Cuvee Nr.739. A delightful beverage and served with grace - the waitress even let me check it first before pouring the glass. Always a sign that a bar takes its by-the-glass offerings very seriously. The orchid placed on the table as we perused the menu was also a nice touch. We've vowed to return. Acting Travel Editor Ted Thornhill Advertisement

However, if you fancy trying the infamous Hanky Panky creation - invented by the famed female bartender Ada Colema in the 1920s - you must be willing to part with 120 ($157) for the vermouth and gin concoction.

The newly-released top 50 list includes bars from 24 cities in 19 countries including Australia, Singapore, China, Holland, Italy, France and Spain.

While London dominated the top ten, the Worlds 50 Best Bars awards showed that U.S. cocktail culture is booming with 13 bars featured, including seven from New York.

Last year's winner, the sawdust-strewn Dead Rabbit, dropped to fifth place - a shock to many industry players, according to the award organisers.

But on the flip side, the same team responsible for the bar scored the Best New Opening award with their new spot, BlackTail (number 32).

Mixologists at the NoMad Bar in Manhattan celebrated coming in third on the list and being named the best drinking joint in North America

The Black Pearl of Melbourne took home two awards. It was named the Best Bar in Australasia, for a second time, and was also named Legend of the List

The Connaught Bar is famed for its martini trolley. This year the hotel watering hole came in at fourth place at the World's 50 Best Bars awards

INSIDE THE NOMAD The NoMad bar at the NoMad Hotel in New York is a sumptuous safe haven. Even on a sunny day you can hide away at this spot, which oozes a kind of old-school Manhattan library vibe. Think dark wood panelling, swathes of olive green leather and flicks of brassy gold. It's quiet and discreet and you don't need to raise your voice to have a proper conversation. My friend delights in the uber-extensive wine list - with some bottles over $10,000 - while I cradle a perfectly shaken olive vodka martini. By night the NoMad has even more swagger as smart city types clock off and the place fills with a gentle chatter. The NoMad bar is a go-to when I'm back in New York (the restaurant is also great for brunch) and it's no surprise it made number three on the world's best bar list this year. Travel reporter Sadie Whitelocks Advertisement

Mixologists at the NoMad Bar in Manhattan also celebrated coming in third on the list and being named the best drinking joint in North America.

Asia saw an additional four bars join the elite list this year to bring the regions total to 12, more than ever before.

Manhattan (number seven) in Singapore took the title of Best Bar in Asia, while Hong Kong bars maintained their position, with Quinary (number 40) and Lobster Bar (number 49) making the rankings once again.

Indulge Experimental Bistro (number 28) marked Taiwans debut in the list and Atlas in Singapore took home the award for the Highest New Entry, diving in at number 15.

Latin America continues to rise as a drinking destination with Floreria Atlantico, Buenos Aires, taking the award for Highest Climber, rising an incredible 26 spots to number 23.

Meanwhile, Mexico Citys Licoreria Limantour, number 14, retained the title of Best Bar in Latin America for the third year in a row.
You wouldn't know it from her modelling snaps - but this Swede has a daredevil streak.

And it nearly cost her her life.

Melissa Miller nearly died during a mountaineering mishap, contracting hypothermia on a gruelling winter expedition in Norway's mountains. And now the 31-year-old, from Borlange, Sweden, has issued a stark warning to fellow thrill-seekers about the dangers of extreme adventuring.

In action: Dressed in her climbing gear, Melissa pictured in the middle of a dramatic ascent on the Solheimajokull glaciers in Iceland

Popular: The Swedish-born beauty was struck-down with hypothermia on a daring mission

Beach body-ready: The 31 year-old flaunting her assets on the golden sands of a Thai beach

World-traveller: The brunette beauty seen posing for a snap at the entrance to Machu Picchu

Making a splash: The bikini-clad adventurer gliding smoothly through the clear-blue sea in Bali, Indonesia, where she's joined by a turtle

Miller - whose glamorous snaps have given her a huge Instagram following - spent months travelling the world in search of new experiences, everywhere from Thailand to Bali, before settling in Norway to scale the snow-capped peaks.

'I was studying to become a mountain guide and it was the first winter I had experienced in seven years. Well, you can say that I learned my lesson,' she said.

'Me and the group I was with were traveling by touring skis with skins and sleds, going uphill a lot. A few days in to the expedition we got caught in a white out, we could hardly see our hands in front of us.

'The wind was hard and the temperate dropped quickly. This forced us to stop and orientate a lot, checking the map and compass to make sure we didn't go in circles.

'At the time, I wasn't used to these cold and rough weather conditions, as I had spent seven years abroad in warm countries, which resulted in me doing my first mistake. I didn't temperate adjust.'

Risk-taker: Melissa almost lost her life during an expedition in the Norwegian mountains

Body beautiful: The Instagram star has amassed plenty of fans thanks to her fit figure

Scaling new heights: Surveying the green landscape in Bali, where she spent several months

Loving life: Standing in a black bikini beneath a waterfall in Bali with her arms stretched out

Strike a pose: After travelling the world, Melissa went to Norway to become a mountain guide

Selfie-esteem: The Borlange-born traveller still managed to pose for a photo while diving

Unsurprisingly, this oversight almost nearly cost her dearly.

She said: 'I became sweaty when we skied uphill with our heavy sleds, and when we stopped to navigate I became cold due to the wet clothes. Then I made mistake number two, I didn't change my sweaty clothes to dry ones.

'Eventually we had to stop and dig emergency pits to wait out the storm in. As I was sitting in the pit with my friend, with the red tarpaulin shaking from the wind over us, my body started to shut down.

'I remember how scared I was. I couldn't get warm. Suddenly my shivering and shaking stopped, which is a late sign of hypothermia. I thought about my mum, my dad and strangely I started to feel better, almost warm.

'I started to open my jacket, leaning back. My friend told me that my last words before losing consciousness was that I was getting hot and that I was going to sleep a little.'

Thankfully, her friend recognised this as a warning sign and slipped into emergency rescue mode.

'Luckily my friend reacted to this and immediately took action. He shook me, dragged me out of the pit, dressed me with all the clothes he would find and the whole group started the rescue,' she added.

Take a hike: Enjoying a photo opportunity high in the Andes mountains of Peru

Life's a beach: The stunning social media fave poses up a storm on a seaside swing

If you've got it, flaunt it! Melissa delights her myriad followers with another impressive snap

The curvaceous adventurer is currently studying fitness and health

These days, Melissa enjoys a less risky lifestyle.

She works as a model, an influencer and a blogger and is currently studying fitness and health.

She has worked in 11 countries and on her travels she's taken part in a range of adventurous activities including river rafting, sea kayaking, diving with sharks, snorkelling, bungee jumping and has even driven a quad bike on a volcano.

'I feel very grateful, blessed and lucky. But also, I know that I've worked hard to get to where I am today, for everything I've accomplished and done, so I'm also proud of myself,' she added.

'I feel rich in the way money can't compete with and I'm so grateful for my family and my amazing friends.

'Well, I've done and experienced a few things so when meeting new people, I don't lay it all out there at once. But the things I tell people about usually inspire them, I hope.

'I want to inspire people to live their life fully and completely, the way they want to, whatever that may be.'

Life in the great outdoors: Melissa tries to offset the cold Norwegian weather by lighting a fire

Taking the plunge: Snorkelling deep beneath sea level while surrounded by fish

Model behaviour: These days, Melissa enjoys less-risky activity, such as modelling
He's a federal MP, more used to being quizzed on his western Sydney electorate or role as Assistant Minister for Multicultural Affairs.

But on Thursday, Craig Laundy was forced to answer questions on a different subject entirely - rumours his younger brother Stu is chosen as the Bachelorette winner by Sophie Monk.

The experienced politician deftly evaded the Kyle and Jackie O Show's attempts to get him to spoil the finale, and claimed his brother was yet to tell him who won the show.

'It's all been very hush hush': Stu Laundy's politician brother Craig reveals he is yet to meet Sophie Monk

Jackie 'O' Henderson quizzed Craig the morning after his brother Stu made his hotly anticipated debut on The Bachelorette.

The 44-year-old father of four is widely tipped to win the series, with current betting odds placing him well ahead of the competition.

'Have you met Sophie yet?' Jackie asked Craig.

Trying to catch him out: Jackie 'O' Henderson quizzed Craig the morning after his brother Stu made his hotly anticipated debut on The Bachelorette

Will he be the last man standing? The 44-year-old father of four is widely tipped to win the series, with current betting odds placing him well ahead of the competition

'No I haven't, it's all been very hush hush, so obviously they want to protect the result of the show and we don't really have a bloody clue what is going on to be honest,' the politician replied.

When Jackie pressed Craig on whether Stu had told him what happens on the show, the MP claimed his brother was yet to inform him of the result.

But he did back his brother to win the series, claiming the former 'publican playboy' had plenty of moves.

'No I haven't': Craig confirmed to the Kyle and Jackie O Show that he had never met Sophie

Second chance: The pub millionaire came on the show after previously trying to arrange a date with the blonde last year

'He's kept absolutely quiet [about the result],' Craig said.

'Although I will say knowing Stu he's got plenty of game, so we look forward to watching how it unfolds and he will give the others a run for their money I'm sure.'

During Wednesday night's episode of The Bachelorette, Stu lavished attention on Sophie after making his arrival, popping a bottle of champagne.

The pub millionaire came on the show after previously trying to arrange a date with the blonde last year.
Harrison Ford accidentally punched co-star Ryan Gosling in the face on the set of Blade Runner 2049 in December.

And more than nine months on, Harrison claimed his hand is finally recovering.

The 75-year-old actor touched his hand as he told The Project's Julia Vogl: 'It's beginning to heal.'

'It's beginning to heal': Harrison Ford reveals his hand is FINALLY recovering after punching Ryan Gosling in the face while filming Blade Runner 2049, during an interview on The Project this week

The dynamic duo were sparring for a fight scene on the film when the former carpenter smacked his co-star in the mouth.

Ryan joked Harrison had been overeager during the fight scene: 'Let's see what happens? Let's throw a couple of extra.'

Harrison interrupted, saying: 'He is referencing a fight scene between the two of us in which he accidentally bumped into my fist with his face.'

Ouch! The dynamic duo were sparring for a fight scene on the film when the former carpenter smacked his co-star in the mouth

'He accidentally bumped into my fist with his face': Harrison joked that Ryan was at fault for the injury as the pair laughed at the accident

The stars laughed, as they acknowledged the humorous incident.

Ryan cheekily asked, 'how's your hand doing?' as Harrison returned: 'it's beginning to heal.'

Despite being hit by Harrison, the La La Land star praised working alongside the veteran actor: 'he's somebody I've admired for a long time, most of us, all of us had in working with him, but then when you work with him...it's better than what you think.'

'He's somebody I've admired for a long time': Despite being hit by Harrison, the La La Land star praised working alongside the veteran actor

'His job was to be out of the range of the punch. My job was also to make sure that I pulled the punch,' the actor, 75, explained in the cover interview for GQ's October's edition.

'But we were moving, and the camera was moving, so I had to be aware of the angle to the camera to make the punch look good.'

And he added:'Ryan Gosling's face was where it should not have been.'

Harrison defended himself, explaining: 'You know, I threw about a hundred punches in the shooting of it, and I only hit him once.'

Harrison has filmed hundreds of fake fight scenes over the course of his movie career.
She's the model and actress that's just released her debut novel Mirror Mirror, aimed at teenagers.

And during an interview on Thursday's The Project, Cara Delevingne opened up about what life was like for her during her younger years.

'I went through a pretty hard time in terms of mental illness,' the 25-year-old told the show's panel.

Scroll down for video

'I went through a pretty hard time in terms of mental health': Cara Delevingne, 25, spoke about her teenage years on Thursday's The Project while promoting her debut novel Mirror Mirror

Cara, who appeared on the program via satellite link from London, revealed why she chose to write a novel aimed at teenagers.

'I've spoken about a lot of the things I went through. I think being a teenager is really hard,' the catwalk stunner said.

'It's one of the times in your life where all the hormones...it's a turbulent roller coaster of feelings and emotions and not quite knowing who you are.'

'I think being a teenager is really hard' Cara, who appeared on the program via satellite link from London, revealed why she chose to write a novel aimed at teens

Candid conversation: The brunette admitted that she endured her own struggles during puberty but also said it 'made me who I am'

Cara admitted that she too went through her own struggles: 'You know, I went through a pretty hard time in terms of just mental health and other sorts of things.

'For me, it was also a beautiful time where I came up with a lot of things that made me who I am. And ever since then, it was my duty I feel, to give something back to teenagers.'

The Paper Towns actress went on to give an important message to teens, stating: 'It doesn't matter if you don't know who you are. It doesn't matter if you feel different or like an alien, because everyone else does.

'But it's important to communicate those feelings instead of bottling them all up.'

Suport: The Paper Towns actress went on to give an important message to teens, stating: 'It doesn't matter if you don't know who you are. It doesn't matter if you feel different or like an alien, because everyone else does'

Narrative: cara's novel follows outsiders Red, Leo, Rose and Naomi and their attempt to battle their personal and family issues while finding solace in their newly-formed band, Mirror Mirror

Cara's novel follows outsiders Red, Leo, Rose and Naomi and their attempt to battle their personal and family issues while finding solace in their newly-formed band, Mirror Mirror.

The social media sensation who counts Rihanna and Kendall Jenner as friends, previously told Elle UK: 'I've always had this wonderful connection with teenagers.

'Just having girls message me being like, "I'm really dealing with the pressure of my thoughts, my friends, eating disorders."

'That kind of thing, where I was like, I have an opportunity to really be there for them and helpbe a voice for teens and be honest as to how I suffered as a teenager.'

If you are struggling with mental health, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyondblue on 1300 22 4636
Educating Greater Manchester (Channel 4)

Rating:

Gypsy Kids: Our Secret World (C5)

Rating:

The plague of mobile phones in the classroom and the impact of social media were the hot topics in Educating Greater Manchester (Channel 4).

Many argue that phones should simply be banned from class and at Harrop Fold School, in Salford, you could see why.

In this documentary, children openly texted during lessons and one girl asked her teacher to hang on a minute while she finished a game before answering his question.

Another teenage girl claimed she would literally die if she had to be separated from her iPhone.

Educating Greater Manchester (Channel 4), pictured, takes on the topics of mobile phones and the impact of social media

Few teachers could have imagined that policing the social media activities of their pupils would become a large part of their job.

Yet last night we witnessed head Drew Povey intervene when GCSE students Lelo and Serena fell out over a boy they liked on Facebook.

Three years ago, Lelo was at a strict boarding school in Zimbabwe where no one had a mobile phone and everyone played traditional playground games.

As one of her Salford teachers said, she then moved to Manchester and encountered a world of: Eyebrows, boys and social media.

Rani and Jack, pictured, from Channel 4's Educating Greater Manchester, where children are seen openly texting throughout lesssons

Sporting a heavily drawn Scouse brow and false eyelashes, Lelo had sent the boy a picture of herself in her underwear which led to a foul-mouthed classroom attack from Serena.

Elsewhere a group of younger girls had uploaded a picture of pupil Caprice eating her lunch and made cruel jibes about her weight. As a result, she was refusing to eat.

Shy 15-year-old Tom had moved to Manchester from Wales and his extreme anxiety meant he had a time out pass to leave class whenever he wanted. Perhaps predictably this led to him missing more lessons than he attended.

Deputy head Ross Povey offered Tom, a talented drummer, the chance to compete in the schools talent show  on the condition he turned up for more lessons.

Older viewers will have watched open-mouthed as kids were bribed to go to class, used Facebook in maths and swore in the presence of teachers.

Its what has turned the Educating series into such frustrating  and compelling  viewing. It also makes you wonder who on earth would be a teacher in a modern comprehensive school?

Colourful fact of the week How pale and pasty the Strictly contestants look on It Takes Two. They dont get their radioactive spray tans until Saturday morning and look positively sickly by comparison the rest of the week. Advertisement

The air was also turning blue in another documentary, Gypsy Kids: Our Secret World (C5), where potty-mouthed Jimmy, eight, let his sister Annalise, ten, know in no uncertain terms what he believed the role of a woman was.

While she wanted to breed and sell horses like her father, Jimmy believed she should stay at home and clean the house like girls were meant to.

Over in County Westmeath, 11-year-old Shakira had ambitions to become a farrier, but in the misogynist traveller world her chances werent great.

Mum Mandy admitted that any gypsy husband would be a laughing stock if he had a wife who worked since it was considered shameful for a woman to have aspirations that extended beyond having children and washing floors.

Gypsy Kids: Our Secret World (C5) discusses gender roles and whether or not women in these communities should be working

One child who was trying to break the mould was Ben, 13, who wanted an education, but had recently left his 11th school in three years due to bullying by gorgers (non-travellers). He settled for home education, hoping to scrape a few GCSEs.

Although this series has featured some of the bling extravagances of gypsy life, the most interesting moments are when the children are allowed to talk about their hopes and dreams, which turn out to be no different to that of their gorger peers.
It's the hit song that counts former Prime Minister Tony Abbott among its detractors.

And now Macklemore's Same Love, which spent a month at number one when it was originally released in January 2013, is about to make history as it hits the top of the ARIA charts once again.

No other song has ever been number one on two separate occasions - or in two different years - in Australian history.

Making history! Macklemore's Same Love is due to return to the top of ARIA charts, already enjoying a run at number one in January 2013

'Same Love' has been at number one on the iTunes charts since last Thursday.

Online purchases of the song have skyrocketed in Australia following objections from some politicians to the American rapper performing the song at the NRL grand final on Sunday.

Macklemore's performance of the song at the landmark event went off without a hitch, and the 34-year-old has since claimed it as one of his 'greatest honours.'

The song knocked brand new track 'Rock Star' by Post Malone off the top spot and is currently out-selling the ARIA chart's second highest track by five to one.

Against the odds: Online purchases of the song have skyrocketed in Australia following objections to the American rapper performing the song at the NRL grand final

Honoured: Macklemore's performance of the song at the landmark event went off without a hitch, and the 34-year-old has since claimed it as one of his 'greatest honours'

Posting to Instagram after his performance, Macklemore confirmed he would donate his performance and song-writing royalties to the 'Vote Yes' campaign.

'One of the greatest honours of my career to perform Same Love last night at the #NRLGF,' he wrote in the caption.

'I will be donating all my Australian proceeds to the Vote Yes campaign. Equality for all.'

Macklemore, real name Ben Haggerty, has been a staunch supporter of marriage equality throughout his career.

He recently announced he will return to Australia in February to tour.

'Equality for all': Posting to Instagram after his performance at the final, Macklemore confirmed he would donate his performance and song-writing royalties to the 'Vote Yes' campaign
She claimed she was going to be less ostentatious in demonstrating her wealth in the wake of her traumatic Paris robbery.

However that seemed to have slipped Kim Kardashian's mind when she flaunted the fact she and daughter North had matching designer handbags on social media on Thursday.

The extremely wealthy reality television personality could not help but boast to her legion of followers about the expensive free gift sent to her four-year-old daughter by Alexander Wang.

Bag lady: Kim Kardashian has boasted daughter North now has a handbag to match the Alexander Wang purse she flaunted in New York last month

The 36-year-old shared a snap of a handwritten note from the American designer which read: 'North, got you matching bags with mommy. Hope you love.'

The fuzzy little handbag has yet to be listed as being available, but even his current children's line pieces cost as much as $1,000.

Classy Kim was no doubt hoping to regale her millions of adoring fans by sharing a sweet snap of her latest expensive consumer item.

And they in turn were surely pleased that their idol, who is worth an estimated $175 million, had got her hands on a prestigious freebie.

Of course hard-working Kim, who rakes in a fortune by making what are indubitably gruelling public appearances at parties and other endorsements, earns every penny.

Going West: She shared an image of the box the designer had sent

'We love you Alex': And he had even penned a thoughtful message

Fuzzy thinking: She flaunted the expensive fluffy handbag despite police previously saying such displays had made her a target for robbers

Kim's use of social media to flaunt her wealth, particularly a photo that showed off a massive diamond ring her husband Kanye West bought her, was cited by police as a reason she was targetted by robbers.

She was left devastated after held at being gunpoint, tied up and robbed of $10 million in jewellery, including the infamous bauble, in Paris last year.

Back in April she told Ellen the incident was making her rethink accessorising, saying: 'It's not to say I'll never wear jewellery again or anything like that. I truly don't know if I'd ever feel comfortable.'

The aftermath has been a long-running storyline on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, and in a new teaser she is shown sobbing down the phone to her Girls Gone Wild pornographer pal Joe Francis.

Going incognito: Kim, here with daughter North, is trying to keep a lower profile following her Paris robbery ordeal

Tears: She is seen sobbing as she expresses security fears while on vacation in Mexico in a new Keeping Up With The Kardashians teaser

The mother-of-two wept as she said she had serious safety concerns about being at friend Joe Francis' home in Punta Mita, Mexico.

As she sobbed she told him on the phone: 'I just have anxiety. Are you sure it's safe here?'

Former jailbird Joe told her: 'Look, I went through the same thing. I promise you it's safe. I have my kids there. It's safe.'

Back in 2011 he brought a group of three women to his home and ended up being charged with three misdemeanor counts of false imprisonment, one of assault causing great bodily injury, and one of dissuading a witness. He was convicted on all charges in 2013.

Demure: Kim showing off her more restrained image at the Forbe's Women's Summit in June
Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez like working up a sweat together.

The couple were photographed wearing workout gear outside Sirens And Titans Fitness in West Los Angeles on Thursday.

J-Lo, 48, showed off her toned midriff in a hooded black crop top, but it appeared the feel-good endorphins were yet to kick in, with the singer looking furious as she leaned up against their car.

Scroll down for video

Top of the crops: Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez were photographed wearing workout gear outside Sirens And Titans Fitness in West Los Angeles on Thursday

Not impressed: It appeared the feel-good post-workout endorphins were yet to kick in, with the singer looking furious as she leaned up against their car

The Selena star played up her taut dancer's legs in a pair of skintight black leggings, complementing pale green aviators with apple green sneakers.

Sweeping her hair up into a bun, she carried along a tan and orange purse.

Meanwhile, the dashing ex-New York Yankee draped his still-toned torso in a loose white T-shirt. He'd slipped into Adidas sweats and blue shoes.

J-Rod have been dating since at least March, and they've been seen getting cozy in locales including France, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Miami.

Legging it: J-Lo, 48, showed off a bit of her toned midriff in a hooded black crop top

He'd been married from 2002 until 2008 to Cynthia Scurtis, while she's racked up three ex-husbands: Ojani Noa, Cris Judd and Marc Anthony.

J-Lo and Marc have got nine-year-old twins called Maximilian and Emme, whereas Cynthia and A-Rod have two daughters: 12-year-old Natasha and nine-year-old Ella.

A-Rod, 42, swung by Jimmy Kimmel Live! this week, where the host asked: 'When your friends found out you were dating Jennifer Lopez, who's like the first guy to - who was most excited amongst your friends?'

'Honestly?' A-Rod replied. 'My daughters' - who 'think their dad is a hero now, for the first time,' he added with a laugh.

When you got it: The Selena star played up her taut dancer's legs in a pair of skintight black leggings, complementing pale green aviators with apple green sneakers

Abs-olutely fabulous: The mother-of-two showcased her incredible abs after her workout

The little girls 'think they went to Heaven, and now they're hanging out with Jennifer backstage, they're dancing, they're singing with her.'

A-Rod explained: 'We usually call at least once a day on FaceTime. Now, they call me three, four, five times. And it's funny, 'cause when I pick up the phone, I'm like: "Yeah." I could be anywhere - they call, I'll answer.

'So I'm like: "Hi, Tashi. Hi, Ella." And they - I can see 'em, they're like: "Hey, Daddy," and they're looking around behind me. And I'm like: "Hi, honey, how was school?" And they're like: "Uh, Dad...yeah, it was great. Where's Jennifer?"

'And I say: "Oh, no, no, she went to the set already, honey. She's working." "Oh, okay, Dad, I'll call you later. Bye! Love you!"'
Labour Of Love (Noel Coward Theatre)

Verdict: Art underestimates life

Rating:

After a tempestuous party-conference season, here is a West End play about . . . party politics. Can clever young playwright James Graham startle us with some apercus? Or has everything already been said?

Martin Freeman plays David, a Labour MP about to lose his working-class Nottinghamshire seat on election night 2017.

David was a Cabinet minister under Tony Blair or Gordon Brown (we are not told which) and has always argued that Centrism is how to win votes. But now Labour has become the party of university towns and ooh la-di-dah Battersea while old mining towns are turning Tory.

After a tempestuous party-conference season, here is a West End play about . . . party politics

Can clever young playwright James Graham startle us with some apercus? Or has everything already been said?

Tamsin Greig is a late addition to the cast, though you would not know it from her assured performance.

She plays Jean, Davids long-standing constituency agent. Jean is Oldish Labour, a provincial socialist who could see that New Labours compromised electability was preferable to ideological purity in defeat under Michael Foot.

At this stage, you may be clasping your temples, groaning: Weve had our bellyful of politics, please! Believe me, I sympathise. But this play is not just about nerdish Labour strategy. Directed by Jeremy Herrin, it is adroitly staged and the central relationship between the unhappily married male MP and his divorced female agent has potential.

Everything happens in Davids constituency office. The years ebb and flow. Whizzed-up video footage of major political moments haul us from 2017 back to the Thatcher years and points between. Mr Freeman dons a dicey wig to play David in younger years. Ms Greigs hairdo changes are more convincing.

Directed by Jeremy Herrin, it is adroitly staged and the central relationship between the unhappily married male MP and his divorced female agent has potential

The office changes, too: the wall portraits of the different party leaders (what a shock to be reminded of that clunker Ed Miliband!), the different Labour slogans over the years, the different TV equipment showing news footage from historic election nights.

Mr Freeman, a Labour activist, is extremely good as moderniser David, genuine in his belief that the party should soften its socialism to lure the innately conservative British electorate.

This is all done with some sub-farce comedy, a valiant turn from Rachael Stirling as Davids ludicrously hoity-toity corporate lawyer wife, and a few minor characters such as a Chinese businessman who is thinking of opening a factory in the constituency.

Mr Graham takes us through the Blairite red Tories v Bennite Trots issue at some length, albeit with brio (and bad language). To see Freeman and Greig on stage is a pleasure. Could she maybe lend Jean just a smidgen more vulnerability earlier?

Tamsin Greig is a late addition to the cast, though you would not know it from her assured performance

But how out of date the politics of this play felt. Where was Brexit? Mentioned only once!

Where was any discussion of immigration, which has been such an anguish to Labour people in English working-class areas?

And where was the fever about Corbynism which was evident not only in Brighton last week, but also in Labour constituency offices, for good or ill, since the summer of 2015?

The audience enjoyed the nostalgia, sighing happily when they saw Teletext, a fax machine and an early Nineties mobile telephone. Though it may return one day, at present political centrism seems to have gone the same way as those defunct innovations and that makes this play feel less potent and truthful than it might have done a year or so ago.

Im afraid that, at present, not even the most artful West End production can match real politics for raw theatre.
King Lear (Minerva Theatre, Chichester)

Verdict: A very kind human McKellen

Rating:

Last time we saw Sir Ian McKellen as King Lear with the Royal Shakespeare Company he stripped to his birthday suit. This time, he threatens to do the same  only to be stopped by his servants.

But the defining feature of this Lear is less his determination to disrobe and more the pathos of a lonely, frightened old man slipping into the oblivion of dementia.

So persuasive is the whiskery grandfather of the British stage that he seemed to me to be struggling with his lines, creating the sort of anxiety that comes with being around old people who you fear might fall over.

Last time we saw Sir Ian McKellen as King Lear with the Royal Shakespeare Company he stripped to his birthday suit. This time, he threatens to do the same  only to be stopped by his servants

Its not at all comfortable to watch, and when Sir Ians Lear pauses or hovers in his lines, you get the uneasy sense of a mind adrift.

Its a dangerous game that sometimes loses the rhythm of Shakespeares verse and the sense of its meaning.

Jonathan Munbys production, by contrast, is a strident piece of theatre that isolates McKellen, weighing him down with military regalia in the opening scenes where he tragically disowns his daughter Cordelia.

Groping through a mental fog thereafter, he seems to occupy a parallel universe. And yet, if he is unnervingly uncertain, McKellens soft features and rich, sibilant voice evoke warm humanity.

Its as painful to watch as seeing your own father facing his last bewildering demons.

Its not at all comfortable to watch, and when Sir Ians Lear pauses or hovers in his lines, you get the uneasy sense of a mind adrift

Its a dangerous game that sometimes loses the rhythm of Shakespeares verse and the sense of its meaning

Most notably among Lears followers, Sinead Cusack is a female Kent who assumes the manner of an unpaid carer bemused at the Kings whittering and anxious lest he injure himself. Danny Webb is, likewise, warmly attentive as the tormented Gloucester, who follows Lear into purgatory for his sins. And Phil Daniels has a tender rapport with him, as a George Formby Fool with a banjo.

The bad guys, meanwhile, relish their wickedness, although Id like to have seen Damien Molony as the illegitimate troublemaker Edmund being a more calculating bastard.

Kirsty Bushell, as the bad daughter Regan, is touchy feely in her depravity; while Dervla Kirwan is more austere and terse as her sister-in- crime Goneril.

The action is driven on as a bleak epic with portentous music, but amid the storm that floods the stage in the first half, its the vulnerability of McKellens frail Lear that is this productions shaky centre.

With barely 90 minutes between the matinee and another three-and-a-half hours in the evening, the 78-year-old is perhaps working too hard, but remains a theatrical stalwart.

PATRICK MARMION
She is always sure to make a sartorial statement.

And Rosie Fortescue once again stunned as she arrived in style to the miPic App pop-up shop launch in Spitalfields, London on Thursday.

The 27-year-old Made in Chelsea beauty made an impact in a blush pink faux-fur coat as she mingled with her co-star Oliver Proudlock.

Scroll down for video

Think pink: Rosie Fortescue, 27, made a statement in a blush pink faux-fur coat as she arrived in style to the miPic App pop-up shop launch in Spitalfields, London on Thursday

Rosie was clearly wrapped up warm in her statement outerwear and she played it safe with the rest of her ensemble.

The TV queen opted for a slinky midi-length dress which she teamed with trendy black sock boots and accessorised with a chained handbag.

Rosie ensured glamour on all levels, sporting a tousled blow-dry and enhancing her porcelain features with blusher and smokey eyeshadow.

The beauty looked to be in great spirits as she posed with her pal Oliver Proudlock.

Statement: Rosie was clearly wrapped up warm in her statement outerwear as she mingled with her co-star Oliver Proudlock

Style: The TV queen completed the look with a slinky midi-length dress which she teamed with trendy black sock boots and accessorised with a chained handbag

The MIC hunk looked undeniably trendy in a grey animal print coat, Serge hoodie and white skinny jeans.

Rosie has previously spoken about the social media body-shaming she has experienced in the past, with trolls criticising her naturally slim figure.

In an interview with MailOnline last year, Rosie explained: 'When I put up bikini pictures. It's more about the bikini and less about "look at me".

'But you know that when you're putting pictures out there, you're sort of putting yourself up for there for discussion by whoever's following you.

Glam: Rosie ensured glamour on all levels, sporting a blow-dry and enhancing her porcelain features with blusher and smokey eyeshadow - with Olivia Attwood (L) and Chloe Lewis (R)

Hitting back: Rosie has previously spoken about the social media body-shaming she has experienced in the past, with trolls criticising her naturally slim figure

'Sometimes they'll go, "Do you even have a job or are you just in the gym again?" or something they'll say, "You're really skinny".'

In spite of being blessed with a naturally svelte frame, Rosie said she works hard in the gym to keep healthy and toned.

She added to MailOnline: 'I don't want people to think that everyone has to be as skinny as possible, but this is my body and my natural body weight.

'I go to the gym to tone up. I don't go to the gym to lose weight and I wouldn't want anyone to think that I did anyway. I don't really do obvious cardio, I do weight training in the gym.

'I go to the gym to tone up': In spite of being blessed with a naturally svelte frame, Rosie said she works hard in the gym to keep healthy and toned

She added to MailOnline: 'I don't want people to think that everyone has to be as skinny as possible, but this is my body and my natural body weight'

'Exercise is a healthy thing and a positive thing. Some people will write, "Oh, this has inspired me" and tag their friends as if to say, "Yes, let's do this".

'It's not like I'm Instagramming a picture of a litre of vodka in front of me, saying, "Let's get drunk" or trying to encourage drinking.

'I'm encouraging something that is essentially beneficial to everybody. I'm not telling anyone to do it because everybody needs to be skinny.'
The Mountain Between Us (12A)

Rating:

Kate Winslet and Idris Elba cant be short of offers, so heaven knows what either of them saw in this project, a very silly story which ill-advisedly attempts to fuse smouldering romance with survivalist thrills amid the remote, snowy peaks of Utah.

Oh, and theres a lovable dog too, a golden retriever which miraculously survives a plane crash, an attack by a cougar, and weeks of starvation, to be just as woofy and waggy-tailed at the end of the film as he is at the beginning.

Winslet plays a fearless American photo-journalist called Alex who at the start of the film is in Salt Lake City trying, in the depths of winter, to get back to New York, where she is due to get married the following day.

If that doesnt sound quite enough like the plot of a trashy novel then consider this; Elba is a gorgeous British neurosurgeon called Ben (with a tragic personal life) who also needs to get back to the East Coast, in his case to operate on a dying child.

Kate Winslet and Idris Elba cant be short of offers, so heaven knows what either of them saw in this project, The Mountain Between Us

Kate Winslet plays a fearless American photo-journalist called Alex who at the start of the film is in Salt Lake City trying to get back to New York where she is due to get married the following day

Idris Elba stars in The Mountain Between Us as a gorgeous British neurosurgeon called Ben (with a tragic personal life) who also needs to get back to the East Coast

When their scheduled flight is cancelled they team up to charter a tiny plane with a worryingly ageing and out-of-shape pilot called Walter (Beau Bridges).

Walter likes to fly with his dog in the passenger seat, but when he goes and has a stroke several thousand feet up  well, suffice to say Im not referring to the hound alongside him.

The plane duly crashes on a mountain peak, killing old Walter but leaving Ben and Alex in only relatively minor states of disrepair. The dog is entirely unscathed.

So, with nobody even aware theyre there, somehow or other they must rescue themselves.

Kate Winslet and Idris Elba during filming of the Graham Norton Show in September to promote their film The Mountain Between Us

That means fighting off bitter cold and negligible food supplies, not to mention the snarling cougar. On their perilous way down the mountain, luckily, they find a cave from central casting, with fabulous stalactites. What they never find, alas, is a scrap of plausibility.

Of course, its always fun to watch Winslet acting her socks off, even though she keeps them firmly on here, at least until another convenient discovery in the wintry wilderness  a house with a bed  encourages Alex and Ben to get naked together.

But really, what a waste of talent this film represents, and that goes too for its director Hany Abu-Assad. He has Oscar nominations to his name, but now he also has this, a picture that deserves to be buried under 100ft of snow and never found again.
He's been a co-host on Brisbane's Hit105 since 2015.

But on Friday, Osher Gunsberg announced he would be leaving his breakfast radio post due to his TV commitments, namely as the new host of Bachelor in Paradise.

Hosting the show alongside radio presenters Stav Davidson, Abby Coleman and Matt Acton, Osher played an emotional song for the trio to declare he was leaving the show.

Emotional departure! Osher Gunsberg announced he would be leaving his breakfast radio post due to his TV commitments on Friday.

'I'm leaving Brisbane, I got too busy making TV,' Osher sang while strumming a guitar.

'I tried to make it, my schedule couldn't take it, plus they offered me some more money.'

The Bachelorette host confirmed he will host the new Australian version of Bachelor in Paradise earlier this week, and claimed that filming the show would clash with his radio commitments.

While his co-hosts looked shocked at Osher's decision, he also outlined that leaving the show meant he could finally spend some much needed time with his young family.

'I'm leaving Brisbane, I got too busy making TV': The Bachelorette host confirmed he will host the new Australian version of Bachelor in Paradise earlier this week, and claimed that filming the show would clash with his radio commitments

'I tried to make it, my schedule couldn't take it, plus they offered me some more money': While his co-hosts looked shocked at Osher's decision, he also outlined that leaving the show meant he could finally spend some much needed time with his young family

The departure from the airwaves marks the end of an era for the star.

Osher has been working in radio since he was 20-years-old, getting his first gig at Hit105 when it was originally known as B105FM.

Working the graveyard shift, he eventually moved to Adelaide to join SAFM (now known as Hit107), where his program director famously coined the name 'Andrew G,' which would stick with him through a large part of his career.

A long way: Osher has been working in radio since he was 20-years-old, getting his first gig at Hit105 when it was originally known as B105FM

At the same time he was a presenter for music network Channel V, he hosted the Australian countdown program Take 40 Australia on 2Day FM from 2004 - 2009.

It's yet to be confirmed who will replace Osher on the long-running Stav, Abby and Matt with Osher breakfast mainstay, and whether there will be a replacement announced at all.

Osher has co-hosted the show since 2015.
She has not yet confirmed pregnancy rumors.

But Khloe Kardashian posted a series of snaps promoting her new Good American denim line on Thursday, and fans are convinced she's showing a 'baby bump'.

In the photo the reality star, 33, is seen holding her stomach while posing in a skin-tight ensemble.

Is she showing? Khloe Kardashian posted a series of snaps promoting her new Good American denim line on Thursday, and fans are convinced she's showing a 'baby bump'

Khloe slipped into a black skirt, which is made out of a waxy materials that gives the appearance of leather from the new Good American denim line.

She posted the picture along with the caption: 'You'll be rocking these all season long ladies.'

Soon after the picture was posted, many Khloe fans speculated that the TV star was covering her baby bump.

One fan wrote: 'Definitely seems to have a baby bump.'

Sleek: In the photo the reality star, 33, is seen holding her stomach while posing in a skin-tight ensemble

Skin-tight: Khloe slipped into a black skirt, which is made out of a waxy materials that gives the appearance of leather from the new Good American denim line

Another fan commented: 'look at the belly guysss'

Someone even asked her: 'Are you having a baby?'

The comments didn't seem to bother the little sister of Kim and Kourtney, the 33-year-old continued to post more photos from her Good American photo shoot.

Khloe posted multiple photos of her self and Good American model Slick.

Alongside the picture the ex-wife of Lamar Odom write: 'This chick right here is crazy, sexy, cool all rolled into one @slickwoods! Slick was so much fun to shoot with!'

She ended the caption with: 'She's a force to be reckoned with! #GoodSquad #GoodAmerican'

Doting parents? Last month, Khloe's pregnancy was confirmed by Keeping Up With The Kardashian's producer Jeffrey C Jenkins (Photo from Instagram)

Last month, Khloe's pregnancy was revealed by Keeping Up With The Kardashian's producer Jeffrey C Jenkins.

He shared a picture of the expecting couple with the caption: 'Congrats my beautiful Khloe! You will be a great mom! God bless you all three! Mwah!!! @khloekardashian.'

Khloe and younger boyfriend Tristan, 26, were first spotted together in early September 2016 in Mexico.

Last December, the Keeping Up With The Kardashians star finalized her divorce from husband Lamar Odom.

The former LA Lakers star wed Khloe in 2009 but they separated four years later with Khloe filing for divorce in December 2013.

If the pregnancy rumors are true, this will be Khloe's first child, it will be the second for Tristan.
He is rarely pictured without his Love Island sweetheart Amber Davies.

But Kem Cetinay was pictured heading for a night out without his other half on Thursday, beaming as he headed to the Elbrook Gala Ball at Chak 89 in South London.

The 21-year-old was joined by an influx of fellow reality stars, including Jemma Lucy, who certainly made an impression in a barely-there ensemble.

Scroll down for video

Freedom! Kem Cetinay was pictured heading for a night out without his other half on Thursday, beaming as he headed to the Elbrook Gala Ball at Chak 89 in South London

Putting on a dapper display, Kem opted for a pair of ripped jeans and a grey t-shirt, shielding himself against the autumnal chill in a leather jacket.

Next to arrive was Ex On The Beach star Jemma Lucy, who certainly stood out in a cutaway dress featuring an array of open panels to the side, revealing her presumably underwear-free state.

The tattooed 29-year-old, who earlier this evening pledged to cover up her tattoo tribute to arch rival Katie Price, looked in good spirits as she posed alongside blonde and busty Charlie Doherty.

Semi-clad: The 21-year-old was joined by an influx of fellow reality stars, including Jemma Lucy, who certainly made an impression in a barely-there ensemble

Adding to the array of busty beauties was Casey Bachelor, who put on a more elegant display in a high neck white t-shirt dress, injecting a splash of colour with patent red shoes and a matching clutch.

Joining in on the red theme was Chloe Goodman, who sizzled in a simple strappy red slip.

Wearing her brunette hair in glossy curls, the former Ex On The Beach put on an unusually understated display.

Subtle: The tattooed 29-year-old, who pledged to cover up her tattoo tribute to arch rival Katie Price, looked in good spirits as she posed alongside a blonde and busty Charlie Doherty

Understated: Adding to the array of busty beauties was Casey Bachelor, who put on a more elegant display in a high neck white t-shirt dress

Bianca Gascoigne added to the blonde count, opting to leave more to the imagination that others.

Clad in a monochrome bardot dress, the Big Brother star cut a modest figure as she joined the party hosted by business man Fukhera Khalid who started Elbrook C&C 26 Years ago as a teenager, before hosting regular fundraising events.

Kem's appearance at the party comes just a day after he landed himself in hot water with grime artist Lethal Bizzle over his newly released single Little Bit Leave It, a collaboration with Love Island co-star Chris.

Red hot: Joining in on the red theme was Chloe Goodman, who sizzled in a simple strappy red slip

Lethal B accused the duo of failing to credit him for his catchphrase, and claimed they were disrespecting grime culture.

Co-star Marcel then also appeared to wade in on the argument, hinting that he had come up with the lyrics.

But the boys appeared unfazed by the controversy surrounding their release, with Chris joking: 'If this [Little Bit Leave It] was a pizza we'd be having a bit of pepperoni and that's it. We ain't even got to the crust or the tomato puree or nothing.'

Kem then added: 'Honestly, if it keeps going this way half of the country's going to have cuts in our song. Half of the viewers from Love Island are going to want a cut as well.'
Sofia Richie bared her belly while carrying a lunch takeout bag from Canter's Deli in West Hollywood on Thursday.

The 19-year-old Select Model cinched a grey Saint Luis T-shirt to better expose her taut tummy and wore black-checkered pants with white Nike Air Force 1s.

The biracial blonde - sporting cat-eye shades and a fanny pack around her neck - let her natural beauty shine through and scraped her bob in a tiny back bun.

Scroll down for video

Matzah ball soup? Sofia Richie bared her belly while carrying a lunch takeout bag from Canter's Deli in West Hollywood on Thursday

Richie was joined for lunch and shopping on nearby Melrose Avenue by her 34-year-old boyfriend Scott Disick's pal David 'Papi' Einhorn.

Sofia also happened to be driving the KUWTK bearded bad boy's white Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon.

The preppy 'Lord' Disick - who boasts 28.9M social media followers - shared a private jet snap on Facebook Thursday captioned: 'Business.'

That same evening, the 5ft6in Moschino catwalker and Papi grabbed sashimi seaside at Nobu in Malibu.

Not-so-typical teenager: The 19-year-old Select Model cinched a grey Saint Luis T-shirt to better expose her taut tummy and wore black-checkered pants with white Nike Air Force 1s

Hands full: The biracial blonde - sporting cat-eye shades and a fanny pack around her neck - let her natural beauty shine through and scraped her bob in a tiny back bun

In with the guys: Richie was joined for lunch and shopping on nearby Melrose Avenue by her 34-year-old boyfriend Scott Disick's pal David 'Papi' Einhorn

Intimate: Sofia also happened to be driving the KUWTK bearded bad boy's white Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon

It was only 24 hours after the May-December duo - who became official last month - dined at the same Japanese restaurant following their romantic Puerto Vallarta getaway.

Scott - who completed his fourth rehab stint at Cliffside Malibu in 2015 - will next host a boozy bash on October 13 at Washington State's Sugar Factory in Bellevue.

The hard-partying real estate heir also keeps busy co-parenting his son Mason, 7; daughter Penelope, 5; and son Reign, 2; with babymama Kourtney Kardashian.

The on/off couple's decade-long relationship finally came to an end in 2015 shortly after Disick was spotted canoodling in France with Richie's BFF, Chloe Bartoli.

The preppy 'Lord' Disick - who boasts 28.9M social media followers - shared a private jet snap on Facebook Thursday captioned: 'Business'

Sunset on the beach: That same evening, the 5ft6in Moschino catwalker and Papi grabbed sashimi seaside at Nobu in Malibu

Became official last month: It was only 24 hours after the May-December duo dined at the same Japanese restaurant following their romantic Puerto Vallarta getaway

Once the Tommy Hilfiger muse and the self-described 'sex addict' kicked off their fling, the 27-year-old stylist deleted all evidence of Sofia from her Instagram account and unfollowed her.

'Chloe stopped speaking to her. It's a mess,' an insider told Us Weekly on September 20.

'They were like sisters. They were the best of friends and were inseparable.'

Completed his fourth rehab stint at Cliffside Malibu in 2015: Scott will next host a boozy bash on October 13 at Washington State's Sugar Factory in Bellevue

September 29 family outing: The real estate heir also keeps busy co-parenting his son Mason, 7; daughter Penelope, 5; and son Reign, 2 (not pictured); with babymama Kourtney Kardashian

Another person not exactly thrilled at the pairing was the nepotistically-privileged socialite's famous father, Lionel Richie.

'Have I been in shock?! I'm the dad, come on,' the 68-year-old R&B legend told Us Weekly on Wednesday.

'I'm scared to death, are you kidding me?'

The other woman: The on/off couple's decade-long relationship finally came to an end in 2015 shortly after Disick was spotted canoodling in France with Richie's BFF, Chloe Bartoli (R)

'Lifers?' Once the Tommy Hilfiger muse and the self-described 'sex addict' kicked off their fling, the 27-year-old stylist deleted all evidence of Sofia from her Instagram account

An insider told Us Weekly: 'Chloe stopped speaking to her. It's a mess. They were like sisters. They were the best of friends and were inseparable.'

The Oscar, Golden Globe, and two-time Grammy winner fathered Richie with his alleged 'mistress'-turned-second wife Diane Alexander, whom he divorced in 2003.

Lionel joined ABC's American Idol judges panel September 29 alongside Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and original host Ryan Seacrest, and the 16th season premieres in March.

Meanwhile, the LA native - who dated Canadian crooner Justin Bieber last year - aspires to one day be married, have her own clothing line, and land the cover of Vogue.

'I'm scared to death, are you kidding me?' Another person not exactly thrilled at the pairing was the nepotistically-privileged socialite's famous father, Lionel Richie (R)

Privileged princess: The 68-year-old R&B legend fathered Richie with his alleged 'mistress'-turned-second wife Diane Alexander, whom he divorced in 2003
Andrew Lloyd Webber is hoping that producers of the musical Frozen will let it go to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane after the venues 35 million revamp.

The show, based on the phenomenally successful Disney animated film, completed a pre-Broadway run last Sunday at Denvers Centre for Performing Arts.

When I saw it in Colorado, Thomas Schumacher, president of Disney Theatricals, told me hed love to see it staged in London  and the Theatre Royal Drury Lane is surely on his list.

Director Michael Grandage is also a fan of the venue. But he and his team are taking nothing for granted until they see how Frozen fares in New York.

Andrew Lloyd Webber is hoping that producers of the musical Frozen will let it go to the Theatre Royal Drury Lane after the venues 35 million revamp

The show, based on the phenomenally successful Disney animated film, completed a pre-Broadway run last Sunday at Denvers Centre for Performing Arts

To re-open Britains most historic theatre with what could be Disneys biggest ever title would be a mega-deal for Lloyd Webber and his associates at his Really Useful Theatre Company.

The Frozen team  including Schumacher, Grandage, writer Jennifer Lee and songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez  have identified the cuts, tweaks and changes they need to make before the show, a fairytale about two royal sisters Elsa and Anna, begins previewing at the St James Theatre in New York in February.

The Broadway cast will include Caissie Levy as Elsa, Patti Murin as Anna, Greg Hildreth as Olaf and Jelani Alladin as Kristoff the ice salesman. (Alladin had a sore throat the night I was in Denver, so I caught his very fine understudy, Noah J. Ricketts.)

The Theatre Royal, which has housed musicals such as Oklahoma!, My Fair Lady, A Chorus Line, Miss Saigon and 42nd Street (a revival of which is currently running) will close in 2019 for an 18-month restoration.

When I saw it in Colorado, Thomas Schumacher, president of Disney Theatricals, told me hed love to see it staged in London  and the Theatre Royal Drury Lane is surely on his list

To re-open Britains most historic theatre with what could be Disneys biggest ever title would be a mega-deal for Lloyd Webber and his associates at his Really Useful Theatre Company

On the list of improvements will be creating more leg room for the audience, and making the line of the Circle rounder, so the theatre feels more intimate, like the London Palladium. If all the stars align, theres every chance Frozen could become as big a musical powerhouse as smash-hit Hamilton.

Its still early days and negotiations for Frozen to go into Drury Lane have yet to start.

Also, before Disney Let It Go to Lloyd Webber, theres a second suitor to be considered.

Disney and Schumacher have a long history with Cameron Mackintosh: Mary Poppins and Aladdin have played at the Prince Edward, which is owned by the Delfont Mackintosh group. In fact, Aladdins there right now.

Perhaps Mackintosh and his executives might argue that it could have run its course by 2020 . . . in which case Frozen could skate into the Prince Edward instead of making its home in Drury Lane.

Its still early days and negotiations for Frozen to go into Drury Lane have yet to start

There are few other places for Frozen to go. Possibly the Dominion in Tottenham Court Road  but as Ive already written, that will likely land the terrific Bat Out Of Hell.

Disneys Lion King is happily enthroned in the Lyceum for a long reign; while the London Palladium  still recovering from The Wind In The Willows  has a panto deal for the next couple of years.

Fortune smiles on Grinning man

When the new musical The Grinning Man played at the Bristol Old Vic, audience members began turning up dressed like the title character, who uses a silk scarf to hide the Joker-like smile that disfigures his face.

People sent in art work; and they learned the songs, marvelled Tom Morris, the Old Vics artistic chief, who directed the show last year and will perform the same duties when it transfers to the Trafalgar Studios, where previews will start on December 5.

When the new musical The Grinning Man played at the Bristol Old Vic, audience members began turning up dressed like the title character, who uses a silk scarf to hide the Joker-like smile that disfigures his face

The Grinning Man is based on Victor Hugos The Man Who Laughs. Morris explained that Hugo wrote it while in exile. Its a classic outsider story . . . an almost Phantom-style love story between a disfigured man and a beautiful blind woman he has grown up with.

He added that the tale is set in an imaginary, extremely brutal version of England. Louis Maskell, who played Grinpayne (he of the marked face) and Julian Bleach, as a psycho clown, will reprise their roles when producer Howard Panter transfers it to the Trafalgar.

The director said Maskells vocal range made him the perfect actor to interpret the numbers written by Tim Phillips and Marc Teitler.

Louis is a proper baritone high tenor, said Morris, who co-directed the National Theatre hit War Horse with Marianne Elliott.

Finn Caldwell and Toby Olie, who played various parts of horses in War Horse, have created puppets  including a wolf  for Morriss new show, through their company, Gyre and Gimble.
Bindi Irwin and Chandler Powell have found themselves at the centre of engagement rumours for months.

And the 19-year-old wildlife warrior does little to quieten the talk, as she graces the November issue of The Australian Women's Weekly.

Looking all grown-up, the daughter of the late Steve Irwin gushes of her 20-year-old wake boarding beau: 'I've found the one.'

'I've found the one!' Bindi Irwin, 19, does little to quieten talk of an impending engagement with Chandler Powell, 20, in the November issue of The Australian Women's Weekly

Bindi tells the monthly publication: 'I'm lucky I have found the one, the person I want to spend all my time with.

'We're both lucky to have found that person, because that doesn't always happen for people and we're still so young.'

However despite admitting that she feels her late father Steve would 'have loved' Chandler, Bindi insists the couple are in no rush to wed.

'For us we are happy just being together and enjoying the adventure. Why rush that next part of our lives as well?'

New look: The budding wildlife warrior's comments feature alongside a cover image that sees Bindi all grown-up. Donning a crisp white shirt with significant frill detailing, tucked into a high-waisted black skirt, the brunette stands proudly, her left hand on her hip

The budding wildlife warrior's comments feature alongside a cover image that sees Bindi all grown-up.

Donning a crisp white shirt with significant frill detailing, tucked into a high-waisted black skirt, Bindi stands proudly, her left hand on her hip.

Beaming for the camera, her long brunette locks fall in soft waves, framing her facial features that appear to sport a minimal makeup palette.

Tragic loss: Bindi's father Steve, died tragically just over 10 years ago, when she was eight years old. The Crocodile Hunter was pierced in the chest by a stingray barb back in 2006. Bindi revealed in the AWW interview that she feels her father 'would have loved' Chandler

Going strong: Bindi has been dating American wake boarder Chandler for just over three years

Bindi's father Steve, died tragically just over 10 years ago, when she was eight years old.

The Crocodile Hunter was pierced in the chest by a stingray barb back in 2006.

Bindi has spoken before of her grief at losing her father so suddenly, telling Sunday Style in 2015: 'You never actually move on from it.'

'As a little kid, I remember people coming up to me and saying, "I'm so sorry [for your loss], sweetheart, but time heals all wounds",' she told the publication.

First encounter: The couple first met in November 2013 when Bindi gave Chandler a tour of Australia Zoo

'There really isn't a greater lie. It's just not true. It's like losing a part of your heart,' she added.

Bindi has since grown up and gone on to find love of her own, dating American wake boarder Chandler.

Throughout their three-year union, fans have often questioned when the pair will walk down the aisle, due to their very gushing Instagram posts.

The couple first met in November 2013 when Bindi gave Chandler a tour of Australia Zoo.
She's not shy when it comes to shocking her fans via social media.

And Bella Thorne was at it again on Thursday, as the young starlet appeared in frightening zombie make-up in her latest series of Snapchat images.

The 19-year-old Florida native appeared to be preparing for a grisly photo shoot.

Scroll down for video

Hell-o! Bella Thorne appeared in frightening zombie make-up in her latest series of Snapchat images shared on Thursday

In the snaps, Bella can be seen sporting bright pink and deep cerulean eye liner, which also matched her sparkly lipstick.

It was her body make-up that really drew the eye however, as she seemed to sport several different areas of 'rot' which made it look as though the Shake It Up star was a member of the ever-popular living dead.

She covered up in a simple white spaghetti strap tank top, and accessorized with two metallic necklaces.

More bling took the form of a septum ring and several ear piercings.

Coordinating: In the snaps, Bella can be seen sporting bright pink and deep cerulean eye liner, which also matched her sparkly lipstick

Worse than acne: It was her body make-up that really drew the eye however, as she seemed to sport several different areas of 'rot' which made it look as though the Shake It Up star was a member of the ever-popular living dead

Her trademark fiery locks were pinned back in the photos, though that may have simply been to ensure access for the make-up artist.

Several snaps showed the beauty actually getting the crazy colors applied via airbrush.

It seemed that, as usual, the Blended starlet was having a good time, as she stuck her tongue out for one shot, which she captioned 'here we go.'

In progress: Her trademark fiery locks were pinned back in the photos, though that may have simply been to ensure access for the make-up artist

Getting ready: It seemed that, as usual, the Blended starlet was having a good time, as she stuck her tongue out for one shot, which she captioned 'here we go'

Behind the scenes: She also shared a few images from her time with YouTube star Logan Paul as he goofed around

She also shared a few images from her time with YouTube star Logan Paul as he goofed around.

Her avant-garde look was definitely in contrast to the last outfit she shared via Snapchat, which was almost angelic.

In those pictures, the former Nickelodeon star teased at her ample cleavage in a racy white mini dress which featured sheer polka dot fabric throughout.
She recently marked five years being cancer-free.

And on Friday Sally Obermeder was simply glowing, looking pretty in pink for an Avon event at The Ivy in Sydney.

The 44-year-old, who is an ambassador for the cosmetics brand, was all smiles for the cameras as flaunted her trim and toned figure in a gorgeous billowing frock.

Pretty in pink! Sally Obermeder showcases her trim and toned figure in a sheer dress at a cosmetics event

She dressed for the occasion in her flowing, sheer baby pink dress that featured puffy sleeves and a matching slip dress underneath.

Her makeup was kept simple to show off her flawless visage, with strong brows, lashings of mascara, kohl rimmed eyes, lightly blushed cheeks and a nude-pink lipstick.

The Daily Edition co-host wore her long locks out, styled in and voluminous waves.

Simply stunning: She dressed for the occasion in her flowing, sheer baby pink dress that featured puffy sleeves and a matching slip dress underneath

Flawless: Her makeup was kept simple to show off her flawless visage, with strong brows, lashings of mascara, kohl rimmed eyes, lightly blushed cheeks and a nude-pink lipstick

Keeping accessories to a minimum, she teamed the elegant look with a pair of strappy nude heels.

Sally, who also runs lifestyle blog SWIISH with her sister Maha Koraiem, recently opened up about being told she was cancer-free to Body+Soul.

'I feel like I've been holding my breath for five years and I can finally breathe properly again,' she said.

Trim and toned: Keeping accessories to a minimum, she also teamed the elegant look with a pair of strappy nude heels

Sally continued, 'There's always a low-level anxiety you live with  will it come back? Is this going to be it?  especially before a scan.

'I know the routine well but the inner dialogue and emotion is so full on, I was nervous going to that scan and when it came back clear... My gosh, the relief!'

The mother-of-two gave birth to her first daughter Annabelle in 2011, a day after she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.

In late 2016 she and her husband Marcus welcomed their second daughter Elyssa, via surrogacy.
She is usually sighted on the arm of her new boyfriend, former Bachelor star Matty 'J' Johnson.

But Laura Byrne, 31, decided to brave the red carpet by herself this week as she attended Priceline's Maui Moistures haircare launch in Bondi on Friday.

The brunette beauty posed up a storm at the exclusive event as she showcased her slender legs in a frilly gingham wrap-dress.

Flirty in frills! Laura Byrne, 31, decided to brave the red carpet without her beau Matty Johnson as she attended Priceline's Maui Moistures haircare launch in Bondi on Friday

Her look was completed with a pair of black leather sandals and an array of rings.

Donning a casual laid-back makeup look, the former reality star swept her locks into a loose ponytail while allowing a few strands of hair to frame her face.

Joining her at the event was former Miss World Australia Erin Holland, who looked chic in a blue playsuit with cold-shoulder cutouts.

Legging it! The brunette beauty posed up a storm at the exclusive event as she showcased her slender legs in a frilly gingham wrap-dress

Glam: Donning a casual laid-back makeup look, the former reality star swept her locks into a loose ponytail while allowing a few strands of hair to frame her face

Joining her at the event was former Miss World Australia Erin Holland, who looked chic in a blue playsuit with cold-shoulder cutouts.

Sporting a bronze glow, the leggy stunner completed her ensemble with a pair of lace-up booties in nude.

Meanwhile, Instagram model Alana Quartly also attended the event in a cold-shoulder frock emblazoned with a celestial print.

Fancy seeing you here! During the event Laura was spotted talking to fellow attendees while sipping from a coffee cup

Passionate about shampoo? At one stage, she looked particularly animated, pulling an expression of surprise and gesticulating wildly

Beauty queen: Joining her at the event was former Miss World Australia Erin Holland, who looked chic in a blue playsuit with cold-shoulder cutouts

Well heeled: Sporting a bronze glow, the leggy stunner completed her ensemble with a pair of lace-up booties in nude

While the blonde beauty looked relaxed in front of the media wall, she looked decidedly surprised after being caught in a windy blast on the venue's balcony.

Meanwhile, Katie Williams and Caroline Groth were seen posing together with coconuts in hand.

The pair wore similarly sporty ensembles, donning black T-shirts, leggings and sneakers.

All smiles: Meanwhile, Instagram model Alana Quartly also attended the event in a cold-shoulder frock emblazoned with a celestial print

Oops! While the blonde beauty looked relaxed in front of the media wall, she looked decidedly surprised after being caught in a windy blast on the venue's balcony
Her career is going from strength to strength, recently becoming an ambassador for BONDS Swim and Khloe Kardashian's Good American line.

And model Shanina Shaik simply stunned, at a launch party for hair care brand ghd, in New York on Thursday.

The 26-year-old highlighted her slender figure in a black bustier and high-waisted flared jeans.

Simply stunning! Shanina Shaik, 26, highlighted her slender figure in a leather bustier and flared jeans, at a launch party for hair care brand ghd in New York on Thursday

Shanina commanded attention in an all-black ensemble as she posed in front of a lit-up backdrop.

The Melbourne-born star sported a leather bustier that cinched in at her slender waist, teamed with high-waisted flared jeans that skimmed over her lean legs.

Elongating her frame with a pair of pointy-toed heels, Shanina accessorised further with a metallic chained shoulder bag, carried in one hand, and silver hoop earrings.

Styling her shoulder-length locks straight and in a deep side part, the catwalk queen finished off the look with a flawless complexion, defined brows and a matte lip.

Social: While at the exclusive event, Shanina mingled with other notables including Olivia Culpo (far left), Francesca Raminella and Devon Windsor (far right)

While at the exclusive event, Shanina mingled with other notables including Olivia Culpo, 25, who dared to bare in a black bralet that accentuated her cleavage.

A white floor-length jacket and coordinating wide-leg trousers covered her petite frame, accessorised with white pointy-toed heels.

Olivia's brunette locks were styled in relaxed waves, framing her striking facial features.

In demand: The beauty's career continues to go from strength to strength, recently becoming an ambassador for BONDS Swim and Khloe Kardashian's Good American line

Meanwhile Shanina's sighting comes shortly she was announced as one of the newest ambassadors for Khloe Kardashian's Good American line.

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, the beauty shared the exciting news, stating that she was honoured to join the 'family which strives to make all women feel beautiful, strong and confident.'

Wearing a burgundy velvour hoodie, Shanina gazed into the camera lens, her locks tightly braided and her striking facial features enhanced with contoured cheekbones and a sweep of mascara.

In love: Shanina's personal life is also going swimmingly, engaged to DJ Ruckus, real name Gregory Andrews. The genetically-blessed pair have not been shy in voicing their affection for one another

Shanina's personal life is also going swimmingly, engaged to DJ Ruckus, real name Gregory Andrews.

The genetically-blessed pair have not been shy in voicing their affection for one another.

Speaking to Daily Mail Australia in April, Gregory gushed of Shanina: 'She's a legend in Australia. I'm very, very proud of her. She's incredible. Her work ethic is just amazing. I love being with somebody who has that sort of energy.'
Usually camouflage is used to stay hidden from sight.

But all eyes were on Romee Strijd's lovely legs as she wore eye-catching leggings on a lunch date with boyfriend Laurens van Leeuwen in Los Angeles on Thursday.

The Victoria's Secret Angel certainly looked divine as she sauntered around in the sweltering sunshine in a surprisingly layered ensemble.

Going Dutch: Netherlands model Romee Strijd and her boyfriend Laurens van Leeuwen ate out in Los Angeles on Thursday

The 22-year-old filly looked in fine form nevertheless as she trotted down the street in her green jacket, white T-shirt and towering stiletto boots.

The Dutch couple - who began dating in 2009 - reportedly met through his sister while the saucy model was still a teenager.

And she gushed over her man earlier this year, saying: 'I want to marry him and have children. We have had serious talks about it together.'

The blonde beauty is always quick to give her fans a treat on social media, and she recently gave her fans a thrilling insight into a New York City shoot in which she was dress in just a lace bra and panties.

Professional clotheshorse Romee was joined in a behind-the-scenes image from a studio session by fellow lingerie specialist Jasmine Tookes.

Yellow gold: The golden-haired beauty added some tasteful bling to her look with earrings

Gushing: Romee said she wants to marry lucky Laurens and 'have children'

Looking tasty: The blonde beauty had combined a green jacket with camouflage leggings

The girls were side by side in a makeup room that had old-fashioned bulbs around the mirror.

Romee made the most of a maroon colored push up bra in lace with thin straps and a matching pair of skimpy panties.

Her sidekick Jasmine meanwhile looked radiant in a white lace bra and drawstring pajama bottoms.

The dynamic duo are gearing up for the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion Show set to take place in December at a yet-to-be-disclosed location.

Time for some Angel cake? No doubt the slender beauty has a mammoth appetite

Making an exhibition of herself: The professional clotheshorse wore a thrillingly sheer dress to an art event at Paris Fashion Week
She's the New Zealand-born model and TV presenter who has been gushing over her newborn son Jett.

And on Friday, Nikki Phillips and her husband Dane Rumble left Sydney for a family holiday in Fiji.

The 33-year-old took to Instagram to share a snap of Jett's first flight.

'His first flight was a breeze!' Nikki Phillips and her husband Dane Rumble have flown out of Sydney for a family holiday to Fiji with their 11-week-old son Jett for their first family holiday

Her sweet post shows her pointing out the plane's window to the blue sky.

Nikki is all smiles as she shows her 11-week-old son the world below.

'I cant wait to show you the world little man! There is so much for you to see, learn and love,' she captioned the photo.

'His first flight to Fiji was a breeze (thank goodness) slept like a trooper, no grizzles and even smiled at the flight attendants,' she wrote.

Mummy's little man: The 33-year-old wrote in her caption, 'I cant wait to show you the world little man! There is so much for you to see, learn and love'. She went on to say he 'slept like a trooper, no grizzles and even smiled at the flight attendants'

Adorable: She also took to her Instagram story to share short clips of what they were up to on the tropical island. So far little Jett's has enjoyed some down time by the pool with his parents

The first time mum even added hashtags: '#holidaytime #familyholiday #Fiji #mylittleman'.

Fans of the fashionista complimented the blonde beauty on her adorable post, including one who wrote: 'such a special photo.'

While another commented: 'Beautiful pic.'

Family time: Fans of the fashionista complimented the blonde beauty on her adorable post, including one who wrote: 'such a special photo'

She also took to her Instagram story to share short clips of what they were up to on the tropical island.

So far little Jett's has enjoyed some down time by the pool with his parents, while Nikki has had a freshly brewed cup of coffee.

The birth of the couples son comes as somewhat of a miracle for Nikki and Dane after her battle with stage three cervical cancer and suffered three miscarriages.
She welcomed twins back in June.

But it seems Amal Clooney was enjoying a night off, as she attended the William Vintage & Farfetch Unveiling of the Gianni Versace Archive in Los Angeles on Thursday.

The 39-year-old wife of actor George, 56, looked glamorous for the event, which saw the lawyer rubbing elbows with some of fashion's top players and actress pal Isla Fisher.

Mom's night out: Amal Clooney enjoys a rare night out as she dazzles in metallic gown alongside Isla Fisher... who stuns in a one-shouldered little black dress

Eyes were on the Lebanon-native Amal: She opted for a gleaming silver frock for the evening

Eyes were on the Lebanon-native Amal, as she opted for a gleaming silver frock for the evening.

The garment appeared to boast an incorporated draw string at the waist and the hem fell to just above her knees, revealing her shapely calves.

Metallic strappy heels added even more shine to the already glittering ensemble.

Accessories included a pair of long dangly earrings and a small clutch emblazoned with a gold floral print.

LBD: Isla - mother of husband Sacha Baron Cohen's three children - grinned as she displayed her petite frame in the off-the-shoulder ensemble

A laugh a minute: Amal was thrilled to be at William Vintage's Gianni Versace's Archive

Pals: Isla hugged up to Amal as she smiled for pictures, adding a black and white neck tie to the outfit

What a beaut: The garment appeared to boast an incorporated draw string at the waist and the hem fell to just above her knees

Crimson lipstick, subtle blush and delicate eye make-up ensured the newly minted mother of two glowed for the cameras.

Isla - mother of husband Sacha Baron Cohen's three children - grinned as she displayed her petite frame in the off-the-shoulder ensemble.

She hugged up to Amal as she smiled for pictures, adding a black and white neck tie to the outfit.

She wore her red locks loosely and added red lipstick to her pout.

Effortless: The 39-year-old wife of actor George, 56, looked glamorous for the event, which saw the lawyer rubbing elbows with some of fashion's top players

Steely: Amal caught up with Rachel Zoe, who shimmering in all black

Night out: Isla wore her red locks loosely and added red lipstick to her pout. The pair mingled with the various other high-profile guests on the invite list (seen here posing with fashion expert William Banks-Blaney

Like a mirror ball! It seemed that the eyes were mostly on the Lebanon-native, as she opted for a brilliantly gleaming silver frock for the evening

The pair mingled with the various other high-profile guests on the invite list.

While she mingled with some of the guests, it appeared that Amal was attending the evening without her famous husband.

Of course, as it was a Versace event, other fashionistas turned up as well.

Kate Bosworth, 34, ever the fashion maven, delighted fans with her heavily floral number.

Youthful: Crimson lipstick, subtle blush and delicate eye make-up ensured the newly minted mother of two glowed for the cameras

Quite eye-catching: Kate Bosworth, 34, ever the fashion maven, delighted fans with her heavily floral number

Like camouflage: The Blue Crush actress paired her classically-cut jacket with matching trousers sporting flared legs

The Blue Crush actress paired her classically-cut jacket with matching trousers sporting flared legs.

Some distinctive pumps with silver sequined heels and a tiny black clutch rounded out her unique look.

Designer Rachel Zoe, 46, also chose a pantsuit for the evening.

A trend? Designer Rachel Zoe, 46, also chose a pantsuit for the evening

Hers was a black glittering version, under which she layered a simple black top.

A silver clutch added a bit of contrast to the otherwise dark look.

Empire star Serayah, 22, definitely turned a few heads in her violet dress, which featured a shiny bodice and a semi sheer skirt portion embossed with a floral pattern.

Busty: Empire star Serayah, 22, definitely turned a few heads in her violet dress, which featured a shiny bodice and a semi sheer skirt portion embossed with a floral pattern

Long stripes: Jamie King wore a colorful two-piece striped outfit

Rainbow wear: The blonde beauty added plenty of color to the event

You okay hun? Jamie King looked like she'd found some pals at the event

Chit chat: Kyle Newman and Chris O'Dowd caught up at the event

Pucker up: Pals Anine Bing and Jamie King had a smooch at the event in LA

Ear-ring(a ding ding): The pair laughed at chatted together

Colourful: Serayah and Kate Bosworth were also in attendance

L'orange: Caroline Vreeland at the William Vintage x Farfetch Unveiling of the Gianni Versace Archive

Mood: Hrush Achemyan was sure to pout her way through the event

Shining bright: Erica Pelosini Leeman and Amanda Steele seemed to have compared notes on their outfit choices




She juggles her hosting gig on The Project with her brain cancer charity and an afternoon radio show.

And Carrie Bickmore had a particularly busy day at a charity event on Friday, later sharing her embarrassment after a friend pointed out her sweaty armpits.

Rather than shying away, the 36-year-old took the discovery in her stride, taking to Instagram to show her followers the patches of perspiration under her arms in a hilarious post.

Don't sweat it! Carrie Bickmore had a particularly busy day at a charity event on Friday, later sharing her embarrassment after a friend pointed out her sweaty armpits

The journalist raised her arms in the air and offered a wry smile in the snap, giving fans a good glimpse at the source of her embarrassment.

Carrie then turned her attention to outing the friend who broke the news to her.

Thanks @_caitmcarthur for letting me know that I had such sweaty pits... I thought we were friends!' she quipped in the caption.

'Apologies to all those i hugged with said sweaty pits.'

It's all good! Rather than shying away, the 36-year-old took the discovery in her stride, taking to Instagram to show her followers the patches of perspiration under her arms

The Beanies 4 Brain Cancer founder signed-off with the hashtags: '#gross #sweatywork.'

While she was fairly active on social media on Friday, the presenter isn't always afforded the luxury.

This week she opened-up about her decision to introduce a 'phone rule' into her relationship.

Carrie then turned her attention to outing the friend who broke the news to her, writing: Thanks @_caitmcarthur for letting me know that I had such sweaty pits... I thought we were friends!'

'Our digital addiction is making us all anxious,' she said in her Stellar column.

The 36-year-old said an average Australian spends 46 hours looking at week glued to computer screens, phones and tablets.

'Now [Chris and I] leave our phones in our bags when we go out, and our conversations have been so much better for it,' she revealed.

'Our digital addiction is making us all anxious': While she was fairly active on social media on Friday, the presenter isn't always afforded the luxury
Ellen DeGeneres did what many have dreamed of and leapt into Ryan Gosling's arms as he entered to be interviewed on her chat-show.

Whilst chatting with his 59-year-old hostess, Ryan dished about his two little daughters, whom he and Eva Mendes will raise to speak both English and Spanish.

Sparkling raconteur that he is, Ryan also took time to memorialize his dog George, who died at 17 recently and whose tag Ryan wears as a necklace.

Scroll down for video

Warm welcome: Ellen DeGeneres did what many have dreamed of and leapt into Ryan Gosling's arms as he entered to be interviewed on her chat-show

The dashing 36-year-old actor told Ellen his children 'speak Spanish and, well, you know the oldest - it's kind of a Spanglish right now.'

Ryan explained that 'my oldest is three and my youngest is one and a half, so she's not speaking Spanish yet.'

He and Eva married in 2011, welcoming their firstborn Esmeralda three years later and their younger daughter Amanda in April of last year.

Parent talk: Whilst chatting with his 59-year-old hostess, Ryan dished about his two little daughters, whom he and Eva Mendes will raise to speak both English and Spanish

Sparkling raconteur: Ryan also took time to memorialize his dog George, who died at 17 recently and whose tag Ryan wears as a necklace

Quoth Ryan to Ellen: 'Theres a fun saying that my  that Evas family says. Its: "Ai, carrico, baby!" Which is just a fun thing. Its like: "Thats exciting, baby!"'

Ryan quipped of his fallen pet: 'George, as he started to age, started to look like an aging rock star.'

The movie star and international sex symbol elaborated: 'He was sort of skinny-fat and he had big hair and, you know, no teeth, open sores, but still sexy.'

Learning: The dashing 36-year-old actor told Ellen his children 'speak Spanish and, well, you know the oldest - it's kind of a Spanglish right now'

The ensemble: Ellen was in a seemingly airtight pair of faded jeans and a black and white pair of casual shoes for this episode, which'll air on Friday

Ryan's outfit for the program included a denim jacket flung stylishly over a patterned autumnal knit sweater. Navy trousers fell onto black shoes.

Meanwhile, Ellen was in a seemingly airtight pair of faded jeans and a black and white pair of casual shoes for this episode, which'll air on Friday.

Her striped sweater had been pulled over a print collared shirt.
She has endured a tumultuous few weeks, after suffering a miscarriage and reportedly splitting from her Spanish fiance Alan Thomason.

And Danniella Westbrook proved she was being supported by her closest friends during the difficult time as she shared a snap with her actor pal Tamer Hassan.

The 43-year-old EastEnders star flashed her diamond engagement ring in the shot which was taken on September 4 - just weeks before her split from 35-year-old ex Alan.

Scroll down for video

Support: Danniella Westbrook shared a snap with her pal, actor Tamer Hassan, after suffering a miscarriage and splitting from her Spanish fiance Alan Thomason

In the snap, Danniella smiles as Layer Cake actor Tamer, 49, wraps an arm around her and plants an affectionate kiss on her head.

It was taken when Tamer arrived in studios to support Danniella's appearance on ITV's Lorraine in early September, when she had gushed about then-fiance Alan.

The pair have been friends for years, with Alan even calling Danniella to lend her words of support when she appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in January 2016.

He told her: 'You're doing the best job ever, hang in there. Do me a favour; nip the crying face from now on because I'm not having it anymore.'

Mystery: She later changed her Twitter profile picture to this snap of her, in which its unclear whether she's still wearing her engagement ring

Old friends: The pair have been friends for years, with Alan even calling Danniella to lend her words of support when she appeared on Celebrity Big Brother in January 2016

Solace: During the phonecall, he told her: 'You're doing the best job ever, hang in there. Do me a favour; nip the crying face from now on because I'm not having it anymore'

Danniella later shared a snap of the pair hugging sweetly, which she captioned: 'The face behind the phone call.'

The mother-of-two, who is currently in Spain where she first met Alan, gave an insight into her current mindset as she retweeted the quote: 'You don't always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go, and see what happens.'

She also revealed she has been sleeping in the daytime, tweeting: 'Seriously cold in the uk.... All I've done today i hibernate.'

She previously hinted at a split from Alan in a cryptic tweet about 'hurting' and 'walking away' in late September.

It's over: She previously hinted at a split from Alan, 35, in a cryptic tweet about 'hurting' and 'walking away' in late September

Former flames: Tweeting about loss, she wrote: 'The hotel wasn't the only thing he destroyed that day. I never knew him at all! Walking away'

Seemingly hinting at a break up, she wrote on Twitter: 'Hurting from my loss. The hotel wasn't the only thing he destroyed that day. I never knew him at all! Walking away #EnoughisEnough #Catfish.'

Referring to a 'hotel', the tweet also seemed to address recent claims Danniella had been billed 800 worth of damages, after trashing a hotel room in Benidorm following an alleged row with her fiance.

The incident reportedly took place on September 8 - with onlookers claiming they had overheard the actress moaning at a bar about an argument with her 'bloke', which had resulted in a trashed room and a 900 euro charge.

Speaking on ITV's Lorraine just weeks before, she had also gushed that her Spanish boyfriend Alan was 'gorgeous' and the only man who could 'tame' her.

Getting away: The mother-of-two is currently recovering in Spain where she first met Alan

Discussing the prospect that she might even have twins, she told Lorraine: 'I don't know if I'm having two, because I'm huge!

'Every time I stand up I think 'God, I'm huge'. It may well be twins but I don't have a scan for another four or five weeks.

It's been a tumultuous few weeks for Danniella, who later confirmed that she suffered a miscarriage. She simultaneously revealed that she will never be able to have another baby following the trauma.

Speaking of the moment she learned that she was losing her baby, she told The Sun: 'When I went to the doctor they said the [amniotic] sac wasn't sticking right, my womb wasn't strong enough. lost a lot of blood, it's been really painful.'

Ordeal: It's been a tumultuous few weeks for Danniella, who later confirmed that she suffered a miscarriage

The embattled TV personality, who in the summer of last year miscarried her then-boyfriend George Arnold's baby, spoke of how the tragic loss at seven weeks pregnant led to much undue pressure being placed on her relationship with Alan.

She said: 'I was so looking forward to having baby, I'm 43, he's 35, I thought 'there's no way I'm going to get pregnant again'. And I did and I was really happy about it.'

She faces further troubles as she battles a 'stalker', and this week offered a 5K reward for anyone who can provide information on getting them arrested.

Danniella, who previously flagged her internet trolls to the Metropolitan Police in February, is now determined for the person who has been harassing her online for up to two years to be jailed.

Tragic: She said: 'I was so looking forward to having baby, I'm 43, he's 35 [Alan], I thought 'there's no way I'm going to get pregnant again'. And I did and I was really happy about it'

The mother-of-two took to Twitter to ask for help: 'I will personally pay a 5k reward to anyone who comes forward to @metpolice or me with info on the stalker.'

Recently Danniella opened up about her online stalker hell to The Sun, claiming that she recently blocked 43 fake accounts in one day.

'People who hate on me are making me money. Because you make me work harder, you're making me get up in the morning and try even harder every single day,' she told the publication.

She has also been the target of cold-hearted trolls, just seven months after she approached police about online stalkers.

Gutted: 'When I went to the doctor they said the [amniotic] sac wasn't sticking right, my womb wasn't strong enough. lost a lot of blood, it's been really painful,' she said while discussing the miscarriage

Danniella had the perfect response for tormentors who persistently 'give her cr*p', in the same weekend that she confirmed she had lost her unborn third child.

'People who hate on me are making me money,' she began, in a direct message, according to The Sun. 'Because you make me work harder, you're making me get up in the morning and try even harder every single day.

'So you can keep hating all you want, I don't care. I'm me, I've made mistakes, everybody in this world has made mistakes but I own mine and I only them publicly.

'So the day you can walk in my shoes is the day I can give you some respect, until then leave me alone. (sic)'

Woes: She faces further troubles as she battles a 'stalker', and this week offered a 5K reward for anyone who can provide information on getting them arrested
His ex-flame and former TOWIE star Pascal Craymer had announced their split on Tuesday, despite only calling the TV presenter her 'boyfriend' days before.

And after Nick Knowles was pictured stepping out with his rumoured new love interest, actress Olivia Hallinan, on Thursday night for the second time, Pascal made a thinly veiled jibe at the 55-year-old DIY SOS presenter.

Taking to Twitter to unleash her wrath, the scorned star wrote a cutting status divulging that she was downloading a dating app, captioning the image 'boy bye'.

Scroll down for video

Love Rise to Candleford: TV presenter Nick Knowles, 54, stepped out with actress Olivia Hallinan, 32, on Thursday for a romantic evening in London's Soho

Taking a swipe: Taking to Twitter to unleash her wrath, scorned Pascal Craymar wrote a cutting status divulging that she was downloading a dating app, posting a photo of a handsome shirtless man and captioning the image 'boy bye'

Pascal uploaded a screenshot of a handsome shirtless young man on the dating app Huggle, and taking a swipe at her former flame, wrote: '*downloads huggle and upgrades*... BOY BYE!'

Nick was seen taking a romantic stroll through London's Soho with the Lark Rise to Candleford beauty, 32 - fuelling speculation their rumoured romance is heating up.

Olivia looked stylish in a simple printed blouse and jeans, while Nick covered up in a double-breasted checked coat.

Cute couple: Olivia looked stylish in jeans and a printed blouse, while Nick covered up in a double-breasted check coat

The actress had her locks loose, falling at her shoulders, with the red tones of her tresses matching her double-strapped shoes.

TV presenter Nick, meanwhile, was casually clad in jeans and a checked tailored coat that he seemed to pair with a black velvet scarf around his neck - no doubt to keep the autumn chill at bay.

Olivia and Nick were first spotted out and about together in September, although Nick has since been linked to several women of late - including author Julia Suzuki and another blonde beauty later revealed to be his friend and PR director Laura Hawkins.

New pair? Nick and Olivia were first spotted together in September, amid rumours that Nick 'dumped Pascal Craymer for her'

On the market: Nick has spotted on several dates over the past few weeks, including with author Julia Suzuki

But it seems Olivia is the girl to catch his eye, with a source telling The Sun that the finds her a 'really sweet girl'.

Meanwhile, days after Pascal Craymer announced her split with Nick, she put on a brave face to flash a dazzling smile as she arrived to the Ellbrook annual awards dinner on Thursday.

The TOWIE star, 30, looked stunning in a semi-sheer glittering gown as she arrived to the event at the plush Chak89 restaurant in Mitcham, London.

Pascal made sure to look the picture of glitz and glamour as she rocked the sheer maxi frock which was layered over a sexy black mini slip.

All smiles: Meanwhile, days after Pascal Craymer announced her split with Nick, she put on a brave face to flash a dazzling smile as she arrived to the Ellbrook annual awards dinner on Thursday

Looking good: The TOWIE star, 30, looked stunning in a semi-sheer glittering gown as she arrived to the event at the plush Chak89 restaurant in Mitcham, London

Elegant: Pascal made sure to look the picture of glitz and glamour as she rocked the sheer maxi frock which was layered over a sexy black mini slip

The low neckline let the brunette beauty flaunt her ample assets while the figure-hugging bottom layer allowed her to showcase her pert derriere.

Ever the fashionista, the reality star accessorised with a sparkling silver clutch, injecting vibrancy into the look with a slick of coral nail varnish on her toes.

She opted for thick lashings of eye liner and bold eyebrows to accentuate her dark eyes, adding a shimmer of silver eyeshadow to complete the sultry look.

Nick had been dating reality beauty Pascal and while he thought she had been a 'really nice girl', he has since turned his attentions elsewhere, with the insider revealing to the Sun: 'Nick is loving the single life and the chance to meet a lot of new people.

Ex: Former TOWIE star Pascal Craymer announced her split with Nick on Tuesday just days after announcing the pair were in a relationship

'Olivia is a really sweet girl and they had a good laugh on the date. Shes very much his type  shes intelligent, shes charming  so who knows where it will go?'

MailOnline have contacted representatives for Nick and Olivia for comment.

His second date with Olivia comes after Pascal confirmed she and Nick have split, despite seeming to reveal just days before that the pair were in a relationship.

The reality beauty gushed about how 'lovely' her beau was and confirmed the duo were dating, but days later Nick was seen stepping out with a mystery woman on more than one occasion.

A representative for Pascal told MailOnline: 'They remain good friends, indeed they may go on another date but they are not in a relationship - both remain single.'

Moving on? A spokesperson for Pascal told MailOnline: 'They remain good friends, indeed they may go on another date but they are not in a relationship - both remain single'

Nick first fuelled speculation their romance was over when when he left a Mayfair hotel with pal Laura Hawkins - the PR director for luxury resort Kandima in the Maldives on Saturday.

The father-of-four was then spotted with author Julia in the capital, as the duo enjoyed an intimate Pan-Asian meal in the capital on Monday.

Keeping coy when it comes to his relationship status, however, Nick chose not to address speculation surrounding his love life, as he previously insisted to The Mirror: 'If I get photographed with somebody, it doesnt mean were dating.'

This came after he had arrived at the Britain's Got Talent Childline Ball in London last week with martial arts expert Della O'Sullivan. Nick joked that Della had been his 'bodyguard' for the evening.
There is never a shortage of beach babes on Australian soap Home And Away.

And actress Sarah Roberts is due to flaunt her bikini body on the show, after being spotted filming two steamy scenes in Sydney's Palm Beach on Tuesday.

The Melbourne-born star stripped down to red swimwear to reveal her enviable frame on set AND teased a kiss with co-star James Stewart.

Red hot! New Summer Bay babe Sarah Roberts flaunts enviable bikini body AND teases a kiss with co-star James Stewart as she films steamy scenes for Home And Away on Tuesday in Sydney's Palm Beach

New romance? Sarah's character was also seen getting flirtatious with co-star James Stewart's character during filming

The skimpy bikini showed off Sarah's impressive physique as she seductively emerged from the water.

The two piece bikini showed off her flat stomach, toned legs and shapely arms.

The low-cut triangle halter-neck design also highlighted the stunner's cleavage.

Sizzling! The skimpy bikini showed off Sarah's impressive physique as she seductively emerged from the water

Busty display: The low-cut triangle halter-neck design also highlighted the stunner's cleavage

Bikini babe! The two piece bikini showed off Sarah's flat stomach, toned legs and shapely arms

Her jet black locks hung wet over her shoulders as she finished a swim.

She was seen using her hands to wring her tresses dry, as water droplets fell and dripped over her body.

While she appeared to have enjoyed a dip in the ocean, Sarah's character was wearing two large rings.

Not happy? Her bubbly mood appeared to dissipate when approached by another Summer Bay resident

What's going on? Holding a surfboard the male followed Sarah to strike up a conversation

Tense: Sarah pursed her lips, placed her hands on her hips and avoided eye contact with the surfer in the tense exchange

Her bubbly mood appeared to dissipate when approached by another Summer Bay resident.

Holding a surfboard the male followed Sarah to strike up a conversation.

Sarah pursed her lips, placed her hands on her hips and avoided eye contact with the surfer in the tense exchange.

Stunner! Her jet black locks hung wet over her shoulders before she was seen using her hands to wring her tresses dry

Where's her towel? Water droplets fell and dripped over Sarah's body as she walked from the water's edge after her swim

However, in a much better mood, she was later spotted on the arm of co-star James Stewart.

James, who plays Justin Morgan on the Channel Seven show, was walking his dog with his daughter, played by Grace Thomas.

They were spotted getting very close as they lingered centimetres away from kissing.

His on-screen daughter appeared pleased by the duo's flirtatious interactions, as she looked up in awe as she pat her dog.

Sarah appeared to happily bond with the daughter as they shared gelato together.

Will they or won't they? They were spotted getting very close as they lingered centimeters away from kissing

Happy days! However, in a much better mood, she was later spotted on the arm of co-star James Stewart

Her approval? His daughter appeared pleased by the duo's flirtatious interactions, as she looked up in awe as she pat her dog
She's the blonde bombshell who isn't afraid to show off her silly side.

And as Sophie Monk continues her Thailand holiday to avoid spoiling The Bachelorette ending she has certainly been trying to distract herself.

Taking to Instagram on Friday, the 37-year-old shared a series of hilarious posts of her fooling around with best friend Oliver Gordon as she remains 'in lockdown' overseas.

Trying to keep her mind off her secret boyfriend? The Bachelorette's Sophie Monk tries her hand at synchronised swimming in Thailand as she remains in lockdown to avoid spoiling the show

The blonde bombshell is widely tipped to choose millionaire publican Stu Laundy, 44, who this week made his appearance on The Bachelorette as an intruder.

In one video, Sophie can be seen trying her best at synchronised swimming, with the help of her BFF.

However the water sport isn't their strong suit, the pair resorting to doggy paddle to finish off their acrobatic routine.

Keeping busy: In one video, Sophie can be seen trying her best at synchronised swimming, with the help of her BFF

Whoops! However the water sport isn't their strong suit, with Oliver dropping Sophie into the water at one stage

In another snap posted to Instagram, Sophie and Oliver strike a very silly pose in their swimwear, covered head to toe in mud.

'Mud buddies,' she captioned the photo to her 304,000 followers on Instagram.

Sophie told News Corp this week she is staying at three different hotels in Thailand to avoid media detection.

That's different! In another snap posted to Instagram, Sophie and Oliver strike a very silly pose in their swimwear, covered head to toe in mud

Trying to avoid Stu? The blonde bombshell is widely tipped to choose millionaire publican Stu Laundy

After previously claiming she was going to Mexico, Sophie last week arrived in Thailand and has since posted several updates to her Instagram detailing her holiday.

But Sophie told the website the trip had so far been far from chilled out, as she has been forced to split her time between three different hotels to avoid photographers.

'Its very relaxing,' Sophie said jokingly.

Speaking to WHO magazine, Sophie said she was trying to avoid the current media circus by going overseas.

Sharing on social media: Sophie last week arrived in Thailand and has since posted several updates to her Instagram detailing her holiday

The real reason? A report last week claimed Sophie was leaving the country not just because she was afraid of slipping up and revealing who had won in an interview

'I'm just going to sit out for a little bit because it's been quite full-on, and also because I'm in lockdown for a while,' Sophie said.

'It's been tricky.'

It comes after a report last week claimed Sophie was leaving the country not just because she was afraid of slipping up and revealing who had won in an interview.

According to Fairfax Media, her Gold Coast mansion had become 'unlivable' due to intense interest from paparazzi who are staking out the premises.
She seduces French actress Sofia Boutella in an intense same-sex love scene in the spy thriller Atomic Blonde.

And Charlize Theron sets pulses racing once again with her onscreen antics, as she strips off for a steamy sex scene on new sci-fi show The Orville.

The South African beauty, 42, slips under the sheets with shirtless comedian Seth McFarlane during her raunchy guest-starring stint.

Scroll down for video

Steamy: Charlize Theron sets pulses racing with her onscreen antics, as she strips off for a steamy sex scene on new sci-fi show The Orville

Mane attraction: The Mad Max: Fury Road star dons a gamine blonde bob for the guest-starring role

The Oscar winning actress reunited with her A Million Ways To Die In The West co-star Seth for the raunchy scene.

The duo get it on after Theron's character Pria Lavesque was rescued by MacFarlane's Captain Ed Mercer.

She seduces him by first flirting and then kissing him before they fall into bed.

But Pria is not all that she seems - she's not really a mining ship captain but instead is a ruthless dealer of artifacts from the 29th century who wants his ship the Orville to sell in the future.

Pillow talk: The South African beauty, 42, slips under the sheets with shirtless comedian Seth McFarlane during her guest-starring stint

Back together: The Oscar winning actress reunited with her A Million Ways To Die In The West co-star Seth for the raunchy scene

Saucy: She seduces him by first flirting and then kissing him before they fall into bed

But Ed's first officer and ex wife Kelly Grayson, played by Adrianne Palicki, realizes something is wrong and helps expose Pria, before the pair get into a fight and Kelly gives her a busted lip.

Working together Ed and Kelly save the ship and destroy the wormhole to the future - but in doing so erase Pria from their time.

The Orville, created by MacFarlane, is a comedic, Star-Trek-like show that 'follows the crew of the not-so-functional exploratory ship in the Earth's interstellar fleet, 400 years in the future.

Getting close: The duo get it on after Theron's character Pria Lavesque was rescued by MacFarlane's Captain Ed Mercer

Pretense: But Pria is not all that she seems - she's not really a mining ship captain but instead is a ruthless dealer of artifacts from the 29th century who wants his ship the Orville to sell in the future

It comes after Charlize revealed that filming her lesbian love scene with Atomic Blonde co-star Sofia Boutella required good choreography and that their mutual dance backgrounds came in handy.

'All that stuff is technical  then it somehow looks magical. That's the secret of making movies,' she told News Corp.

'Sofia is so beautiful  incredibly stunning. I couldn't even imagine doing that with anybody else but her because we treated it like dancers.

Oh dear: Ed's first officer and ex wife Kelly Grayson, played by Adrianne Palicki, realizes something is wrong and helps expose Pria, before the pair get into a fight and Kelly gives her a busted lip

Strong: Working together Ed and Kelly save the ship and destroy the wormhole to the future - but in doing so erase Pria from their time

New project: The Orville, created by MacFarlane, is a comedic, Star-Trek-like show that 'follows the crew of the not-so-functional exploratory ship in the Earth's interstellar fleet, 400 years in the future

She continued: 'It was really about movement and choreography and, because we are both dancers, there was something that just happened with us that was very in synch.'

The South African-born beauty plays spy Lorraine Broughton in the newly released David Leitch-directed film.

Actress Sofia plays undercover French agent Delphine Lasalle in the action packed thriller.
Distraught Emmerdale viewers watched Finn Barton die in hospital on Wednesday night after being shot by her psycho mum Emma.

And Emma's character Gillian Kearney has teased more drama for soap fans, as she discussed her upcoming dramatic exit from the show on Friday night.

The 45-year-old's alter-ego seemed to be contemplating suicide as she teetered ontop of a high viaduct, with the ghost of her son beside her.

Scroll down for video

Tense: Emma's character Gillian Kearney has teased more drama for soap fans, as she discussed her upcoming dramatic exit from the show on Friday night on This Morning

Discussing the dramatic scene on ITV's This Morning, Gillian said: 'Will I perish or will I have the courage to...?'

She added: 'It was scary and I'm very afraid of heights but I wore a harness so it was OK. The viaduct was very high. Even if just dangling you don't want to.'

Emma fled to the viaduct after realising she was responsible for Finn's death, who viewers saw flatline and die in hospital.

A teaser clip from Friday night's episode shows Emma looking traumatised as she threatens to jump.

Traumatic: The 45-year-old's alter-ego seemed to be contemplating suicide as she teetered ontop of a high viaduct

Don't do it! A teaser clip from Friday night's episode shows Emma looking traumatised as she threatens to jump

Her situation is made all the more sinister as the ghost of her son Finn was seen standing beside her.

Emma was also embroiled in further drama after Moira Barton left hospital after discovering that Emma had stolen her newborn baby.

With her panic rising and on the run, Emma later left the tot in the church before hearing the news that her son had died on the radio.

Tease: Discussing the dramatic scene on ITV's This Morning , Gillian said: 'Will I perish or will I have the courage to...?'

Sympathetic: Despite becoming something of a hate figure on Emmerdale, actress Gillian admitted she felt 'sorry' for her 'self-destructive' character Emma

Despite becoming something of a hate figure on Emmerdale, actress Gillian admitted she felt 'sorry' for her 'self-destructive' character Emma.

'I just try to think of her as a normal women, she is a bit self-destructive,' she told hosts Ruth and Eamonn.

'I just try and play the truth, I feel sorry for her, she never gets away with anything.'

She added that she and Joe Gill, who plays her onscreen son Finn had a joint leaving party after departing the show at the same time.

Sinister: A teaser clip from Friday night's episode saw Emma be haunted by her dead son Finn's ghost - who she shot in the woods

'We finished shooting two three weeks ago and we had a party,' she said.

'It was lovely because Joe and I left at the same time - my very first scene was with Joe so it was really nice.'

Discussing the rest of the cast, Gillian added: 'I know ill stay in touch with all those people, I've made some great friends.'

If you or anyone you know needs support, contact the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK or https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/
Ben Affleck is photographed at an outpatient treatment center in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

The Argo star is reportedly still seeking treatment for alcohol addiction following his rehab stint in February.

Dressed casually, the 45-year-old father-of-three looked in good spirits as he was spotted outside the building.

Getting help: Ben Affleck is seen at a an outpatient treatment center in LA on Wednesday as he continues to seek help for alcohol addiction

An eyewitness said the actor looked 'happy' as he headed inside the facility.

'He was in such a good mood and looked refreshed,' the source said.

It was just seven months ago that the actor announced he had completed a stint in rehab for alcohol addiction.

Affleck announced in March that he had entered and completed a treatment program.

The actor wrote in a Facebook post: 'I have completed treatment for alcohol addiction; something I've dealt with in the past and will continue to confront. I want to live life to the fullest and be the best father I can be.

Swag: The 45-year-old actor was in good spirits during the visit and appeared to get a free a hoodie

'Ben is taking the utmost care of himself and working on himself continuously;' a source said in August

'I want my kids to know there is no shame in getting help when you need it, and to be a source of strength for anyone out there who needs help but is afraid to take the first step.

'I'm lucky to have the love of my family and friends, including my co-parent, Jen, who has supported me and cared for our kids as I've done the work I set out to do.

'This was the first of many steps being taken towards a positive recovery.'

The following day Ben's girlfriend Lindsay Shookus, 37, was spotted out in New York while the movie star remains on the west coast.

Lindsay - who has reportedly been dating Ben since April - is based in New York where her ex-husband Kevin Miller and their daughter reside.

Off duty: The star was dressed down in sweats and showed off a full beard

Solo: he following day Ben's girlfriend Lindsay Shookus, 37, was spotted out in New York while the movie star remains on the west coast

'I want to live life to the fullest': Affleck announced in March that he had entered and completed a stint in rehab for alcohol addiction

Ben and his estranged wife Jennifer Garner live in Los Angeles, where they amicably co-parent their three children.

Though Ben and Jen separated in 2015, the divorce filing only came this year.

On Wednesday, In Touch reported Affleck was being urged by close friends to enter inpatient rehab, and many of those concerned are allegedly hoping he will check-in for his longest stint yet.

'He's spiraling out of control,' explained a source, who said the actor's drinking has 'gotten worse.'

Support: Ben and Lindsay are pictured together last month at a tennis event

Previously: In a photo from the Emmy after-party, Affleck is seen sitting beside his girlfriend with a glass of water in front of him

The confidant believes it's 'only a matter of time' before Affleck returns to rehab, with the source insisting the actor desires 'nothing more than to be present for his family and girlfriend.'

'He knows he needs to check back into rehab,' said a confidant. 'The problem is that he wants to go on his terms. He wants to do it on his time, but like most addicts, that time keeps getting put off. This relapse has gone on too long already.'

The source added that whenever the actor is in treatment, he takes his recovery 'very seriously' and is also receptive to the advice of staff.

The website also previously reported that Affleck was drinking at an Emmy after-party, where Lindsay celebrated her Emmy win with a champagne toast.

Meanwhile: DailyMail.com has reached out to Affleck's representatives for comment on their story from In Touch (pictured in New York in September 2017)

An insider explained Lindsay may not have been aware, 'but she's enabling him.'

In a photo from the party, Affleck is seen sitting beside his girlfriend with a glass of water in front of him.

DailyMail.com has reached out to Affleck's representatives for comment on this story from In Touch.

Affleck previously completed a stint in rehab in 2001.

The actor was married to Jennifer Garner for ten years before the couple announced their split in 2015 and filed for divorce in 2017.

They have daughters Violet, 11, Seraphina, 8, and son Samuel, 5, together.
Audrina Patridge was seen on Friday at an Orange County, California, court house to work out an arrangement with estranged husband Corey Bohan.

The Hills reality TV star wore a conservative blue suit with a high-neck lace collar shirt and a tie. She was with her father Mark Patridge and a blonde woman.

According to TMZ, the 32-year-old star worked out a deal with estranged husband Corey Bohan on how they would interact with each other as well as daughter Kirra after a restraining order was filed against the former BMX rider for shoving Patridge in September.

It was added later that Bohan will 'move out of their Orange County home and Audrina will have to give him $35,000 in moving costs.'

Scroll down for video

Serious look: Audrina Patridge was seen on Friday at an Orange County, California, court house to work out an arrangement with estranged husband Corey Bohan

Not heels: The Hills reality TV star wore a conservative blue suit with a high-neck lace collar shirt and a tie. She had on sandals

Corey was also at court, but not seen.

Audrina has also filed for divorce from Corey, but the meeting on Friday only addressed more immediate concerns.

The deal involves the way they would 'interact between themselves and with their one-year-old daughter,' a source told the site.

Support: The pinup was with her father Mark Patridge and a blonde woman

No child with her: She left her 15-month-old daughter Kirra at home

Plans: According to TMZ, the 32-year-old star worked out a deal with estranged husband Corey

'They announced they settled their beef that caused Audrina to run to court last month and get a temporary restraining order that prohibited Corey from contacting her or her parents,' the source stated.

The DA's office chose not to prosecute Bohan for domestic battery.

Audrina and Corey have been pictured several times looking civil as they hand off Kirra to each other.

A friend explained to People why the TV siren has been so civil with Corey at these handovers.

'Audrina is putting on a brave face, but these exchanges between Audrina and Corey are court ordered to take place at a police station for her protection.

'There is still a family law domestic violence case open.'

Friendly: Audrina and Corey have been pictured several times looking civil as they hand off Kirra to each other. Seen in late September

Good mommy: The MTV star playing around with her daughter Kirra

Audrina filed for divorce from her husband of 10 months on September 20.

Divorcing after 10 months: The now former couple, pictured in June 2016, started dating in 2008 and got engaged in 2015

Two days earlier, Audrina requested a temporary restraining order against Bohan.

Audrina is asking for primary physical and legal custody of the 15-month-old child.

The former reality star has moved out of the Irvine, California, home she shared with her husband and in her divorce petition, she cited irreconcilable differences.

'She got the restraining order because she was afraid how he would retaliate when she filed for divorce,' an insider told the magazine. 'Corey has said to Audrina multiple times, "If you leave me, Ill come after you." So she had to get some additional protection.'

In his legal response, according to People, Corey denied the abuse allegations leveled against him by his estranged wife.

She accused him of shoving her while she was holding Kirra and snatching a cell phone out of her hand during an argument.

The now former couple started dating in 2008 and got engaged in 2015. They tied the knot last November in Hawaii.
His marriage with Real Housewives Of New York star Luann De Lesseps was just finalized.

And Tom D'Agostino celebrated his newfound freedom by enjoying a night out with his new love-interest.

The 50-year-old businessman was spotted heading to the iconic Chiltern Firehouse in London in the wee hours of Friday morning with girlfriend Anna Rothschild.

Moving on: Tom D'Agostino was spotted heading to the iconic Chiltern Firehouse in London in the wee hours of Friday morning with girlfriend Anna Rothschild

Not working out: His marriage with Real Housewives Of New York star Luann De Lesseps was just finalized

Of Tom's split with the reality star, a source told DailyMail.com exclusively: 'He is so relieved it is over. The whole thing was a huge mistake. He went to London to celebrate it being over.'

According to the insider, the former spouse of Luann jetted into London on Thursday as they will be enjoying each other's company while hitting the town together.

They also said that Anna is currently residing in Mayfair, London.

Date night: The 50-year-old businessman jetted to London on Thursday according to a source for Dailymail.com

Happy: A source told Dailymail.com exclusively: 'He is so relieved it is over. The whole thing was a huge mistake. He went to London to celebrate it being over'

What a gent: Tom touched on the back of Anna's arm as they walked together

Anna and Tom have been spotted spending plenty of time together in recent months as many had speculated that they were engaged.

However last month Anna cleared up the relationship a bit as she told DailyMail.com exclusively:

'Tom and I are not engaged at the moment.'

She went on to explain that the stunning 22 carat ring - thought to be worth about $2 million - that she recently started wearing is 'a gift.'

Beaming: Tom was all smiles on the outing

Across the pond: The insider also said that Anna is currently residing in Mayfair, London

Bonding time: Tom looked dapper in a navy suit

She did not elaborate on who had given it to her.

Rothschild told DailyMail.com that she and D'Agostino have been friends for 15 years and that she adores him.

'I would love to marry him because he's such a great guy, maybe one of the most amazing men I've ever met, but the timing isn't right for us at the moment,' she revealed.

The Manhattan socialite mixes in the same circles as the Real Housewives Of New York star Luann and is believed to have been friends with her at one time.

On the prowl: Anna rocked an all black outfit including long coat, mini dress, leggings, and strappy leather heels

Making moves: They hopped into a pick-up vehicle and enjoyed the rest of the night togetther

The two were photographed together at a holiday party back in 2010.

This comes after de Lesseps and the businessman settled out of court, according to records obtained byThe Blast on Wednesday.

The divorce came through on September 18, making The Countess a single woman once again after her short-lived second marriage.

The couple married on December 31, 2016, but announced their split just eight months later in August after Tom continued his flirtatious ways with other women.

She tweeted at the time: 'Its with great sadness that Tom & I agreed to divorce. We care for each other very much, hope you respect our privacy during this sad time!'

Split! This comes after de Lesseps and the businessman settled out of court, according to records obtained by The Blast on Wednesday, as they are pictured together September 2016

Luann and Tom's relationship was featured on RHONY over the course of several seasons.

They were on and off so frequently that fellow Housewife Bethenny Frankel even pleaded with LuAnn not to tie the knot with Tom before their wedding.

The reality star famously had to give up her Countess title to marry Tom.

The reality star is getting over her broken heart by volunteering for the Red Cross in the Florida Keys, devastated by Hurricane Irma last month.

Speaking to People on Wednesday, Luann said she had just heard the news about her divorce.

'Its what we both decided upon in the end, and even though we decided that, its sad,' she said.

New York gals; Rothschild and de Lesseps move in the same circles in Manhattan and are thought to have been friends at one time. They're pictured at a holiday party in December 2010

'Its an end to something that was so, so incredible. And I Ive got a lot of emotions. I dont even know what to say.

'I mean, its sad. Its sad for me, but Im putting myself to work, keeping myself busy, and trying to move past it and move on to the next chapter of my life.'

LuAnn's first husband was Count Alexandre de Lesseps, 68, with whom she shares son Noel, 21, and daughter Victoria, 22.

They divorced in 2009 after 16 years of marriage following his alleged affair with Ethiopian Princess Kemeria Abajobir Abajifar.
She's set to wed her beau John Noble in July.

And Vicky Pattison seemed to be looking ahead to the big day as she dazzled in a bridal inspired white gown at the Caudwell Children Butterfly Ball in London on Saturday.

Posing up a storm, the dazzlingly white gown also aided in setting off the tan from her recent break to Mykonos with her fiance, where they had toasted their engagement.

Scroll down for video

Brides-dress revisited: Vicky Pattison seemed to be looking ahead to her wedding as she dazzled in a bridal gown at the Caudwell Children Butterfly Ball in London on Saturday

One shoulder in design, the garment clung to her hourglass curves whilst remaining demure, with a split at the back offering a look at her gold heels.

Ensuring all focus would be on the gown, the brunette beauty wore her glossy locks slicked back into a low ponytail, and boasted a neutral make-up palette to accentuate her pretty features.

Keeping her accessories simple, the reality starlet donned a pair of delicate diamond drop down earrings as well as her stunning engagement ring.

Wedding belle! One shoulder in design, the garment clung to her hourglass curves whilst remaining demure, with a split at the back offering a look at her gold heels

The former Geordie Shore star has just returned from Mykonos with John, where she avidly documented her trip on social media.

In one sizzling snapshot, she left fans a little hot under the collar, as she provocatively posed in a daring black swimsuit by the pool.

Showcasing her phenomenal frame, Vicky slipped into her plunging all-in-one that stole a look at her buxom bust, as well as boasting an eye-wateringly high cut at the sides.

Bride to be: Vicky will wed her tailor beau John Noble next year. The couple got engaged in July this year and recently toasted their engagement on holiday

Sultry! The former Geordie Shore star has just returned from Mykonos with John, where she avidly documented her trip on social media. In one sizzling snapshot, she left fans a little hot under the collar, as she provocatively posed in a daring black swimsuit by the pool

The TV personality is pictured reclining back by the water while lapping up the idyllic sunset and propping herself up on her forearms, Vicky arched her back in a sultry manner while leaving her bronzed pins firmly on display.

Donning a chic pair of large shades, Vicky wore her glossy brunette locks in soft glamorous curls that fell past her shoulders as she tilted her head back for the Instagram snap.

She penned alongside her post: 'We finally arrived in paradise... @cavotagoomykonos we've waited all summer but instantly you didn't disappoint.'

Set to wed: The former Geordie Shore star and her fiance John Noble have jetted off to Mykonos to celebrate their engagement with a romantic break away

Date night: In one holiday snap, Vicky was seen beaming from ear-to-ear while sat opposite her dapper husband-to-be, as they prepared to tuck into their meal together

Vicky followed up her sultry snap with a photo of herself and fiance John enjoying a dinner date on the beautiful Greek island.

Clad in a pretty floral-printed dress, Vicky flaunted her already impressive tan while clutching onto a refreshing glass of wine in one hand. She was seen beaming from ear-to-ear while sat opposite her dapper husband-to-be, as they prepared to tuck into their meal.

Clearly smitten, Vicky joked that she was enjoying a 'BAE-cation' with John.

The duo had announced their engagement three months ago, after her tailor beau popped the question at his country home outside of Newcastle.

His proposal came after six months of loved-up displays both in public and on social media, with Vicky recently gushing about the pair's 'brilliant sex life'.

'I'm so lucky': Clearly thrilled at their getaway, Vicky has been gushing about her husband-to-be on the photo-sharing app

Having a ball: She and tailor John appeared to be in high spirits as they enjoyed drinks

She and John had first dated ten years ago in their early twenties, but rekindled their romance late last year when they were spotted together in the X Factor audience. He had also flown out to support Vicky during her presenting stint on I'm A Celebrity: Extra Camp.

However, Vicky has admitted that she was left stunned by John's proposal, as she had been convinced he had wanted to break up with her.

The Virtually Famous panelist confessed that John getting down on one knee had 'knocked her for six', as she explained in the lead up to him popping the question they had struggled to see each other.

'We just couldn't make it work and we couldn't see each other,' Vicky admitted. 'It was making me feel insecure.

John then presented Vicky with a 3.6-carat marquise-cut diamond ring and speaking exclusively to MailOnline: Im so happy personally and professionally  theres a level of equilibrium in my life that Ive never experienced before. He is so lovely, Im very fortunate.

Meant to be! Vicky and John had first dated ten years ago in their early twenties, but rekindled their romance late last year

Ive been out with boys and Johns a man  he is supportive, strong and secure and proud of us, just as I am.

'Im very certain hes the one for me. I treat him with the same respect he treats me with. We know were onto a good thing here!

It's said that the starlet and John will marry next summer, with Vicky's grandparents revealing the date of her wedding.

Vicky's grandmother Mavis, 87, accidentally let slip that Vicky will wed in her native Newcastle next year and her wedding date is set to fall on Mavis' 65th wedding anniversary to husband David, also 87.

Vicky was previously engaged to her former Geordie Shore co-star Ricci Guarnaccio.

He had proposed to her during series two of the reality show, filmed in Cancun, but the pair finally called off their tumultuous relationship for good in 2013.
With their red hair, pretty faces and slender figures, they look remarkably similar.

But Isla Fisher is determined that she and Amy Adams will never be confused for one another again.

The 41-year-old Australian actress debuted a hilarious public service announcement explaining their differences when she appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Thursday evening.

Scroll down for video

'I am not Amy Adams': Isla Fisher was determined to make sure Jimmy Kimmel knew exactly who he was interviewing when she appeared on his show in Hollywood on Thursday evening

Hair's the thing: Isla, on the left, shared a split shot of them both wearing red, pointing out 'Amy Adams has auburn red hair, my hair is light auburn red'

But before that she regaled the host with one of the instances of mistaken identity when Lady Gaga came up to her at the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar party and congratulated her for her performance in American Hustle, which missed out on a statuette.

Although Isla said she does usually correct the error, on this occasion she was star struck.

'Its Lady Gaga,' she explained. 'I love her so much, I [didnt] want to tell her the truth. So I just gracefully thanked her and bowed my head.'

But Isla was in a bind when Gaga wanted to talk about her performance - and she was saved when Amy herself turned up.

It's a problem: The 41-year-old Australian actress explained that fans constantly confused her with the American Oscar winner

Confession time: The beautiful redhead said she usually corrects the mistake quickly but could't bring herself to do that when Lady Gaga came over to talk to 'Amy' at an Oscars party

'So I said, "Theres Isla Fisher. Shes not even nominated for anything, what's she doing here?"' and made her escape.

Apparently Gaga never figured it out, but Isla had the audience in fits of laughter when she joked: 'She will now.'

Her PSA probably won't help much either as she wore a red dress that was very similar to the one that Amy wore in the clip.

Star struck: Lady Gaga, pictured at the Toronto Film Festival last month, came over to talk to Isla thinking she was Amy and the actress couldn't bring herself to tell her the truth

'I am not Amy': Isla's determined to make sure that never happens again and shared a hilarious PSA explaining the differences between herself and Amy on Jimmy's show

However, she soldiered on highlighting some key differences between her and the Arrival actress including hair color, saying: 'Amy Adams has auburn red; my hair is light auburn red.'

They both starred in Nocturnal Animals but 'Amy Adams played Susan, I played Laura.'

As for their Academy Awards nomination count, she said: 'Amy Adams has five Oscar nominations. I am a member of SAG.'

And anther thing: They both starred in Nocturnal Animals but 'Amy Adams played Susan, I played Laura'

So now you know: This is Amy, not Isla, at an event in London last October

There are other difference that she didn't mention in the fun video. Amy is two years older than her at 43 and is 5ft 4ins, an inch taller than her.

However, even Isla sometimes mixes up the Hollywood red heads.

'Amy Adams played Maya in Zero Dark Thirty,' she says in the video before correcting herself saying, 'Oh wait, no, that was Jessica Chastain. Okay, maybe it is a little hard to tell us apart.'
Wendy Williams dressed up as superhero Wonder Woman in New York City on Friday.

The 53-year-old talk show host was seen in a big red coat over a gold and blue leotard with a Lasso Of Truth, which makes the bad guys confess their sins. She also wore a long, curly black wig.

This comes after DailyMailTVs bombshell report that her husband Kevin Hunter has been seeing another woman.

For a Halloween taping? Wendy Williams dressed up as superhero Wonder Woman in New York City on Friday

The real deal: Lynda Carter as Wonder Woman in the 1970s TV series

On screen: Here Gal Gadot is seen with her shield during a fight scene for the Wonder Woman movie which was a smash hit this summer

But Wendy flashed her wedding ring on her show and said that she was standing by her man.

Wendy certainly didn't look fazed by the bombshell as she stepped out into the Big Apple following allegations her husband has another woman in his life, who he moved into a $765,000 secluded home nine miles from the New Jersey mansion he shares with talk show star.

The star certainly looked to be shrugging off the news as she flashed a smile while greeted by fans awaiting her arrival.

Leggy mama: The 53-year-old talk show host was seen in a big red coat over a gold and blue leotard with a lasso

Pretty as a picture: She also wore a long, curly black wig and plenty of makeup

DailyMailTV revealed that her husband Hunter was having a 10-year long affair with massage therapist Sharina Hudson, 32, and moved her into a $765,000 house just nine miles down the road from the New Jersey mansion Hunter shares with Williams.

Sharina has also been seen with a large diamond ring on her wedding finger, and she has been photographed with Wendy's husband on multiple occasions.

On Tuesday's episode of her talk show, The Wendy Williams Show, the star addressed the bombshell.

Man troubles? This comes after claims her husband Kevin Hunter has been seeing another woman. Seen in early September

She is not divorcing: The TV star said on her show that she was standing by her man

Still working: She took no time off; here she is seen interviewing Russell Brand about his marriage to Katy Perry

'You can believe what you want. I stand by my guy,' she told a cheering crowd as she held up her wedding ring.

Referencing the DailyMail TV coverage, she said: 'By the way, I'll be following this story. So I guess I'll have to watch to find out what happens.'

On Monday afternoon, her spokesperson, Ronn Torossian, denied that Williams' husband was having an affair.

'One plus one does not equal three. This woman is a friend of Mr. Hunter but there is no "there" there,' he said quoting a well known reference to a remark by Gertrude Stein in 1937 movie Everybody's Autobiography, which means nothing significant exists.

It is not known why Wendy was dressed up as Wonder Woman. She could have been taping a Halloween special for her show.
Rose McGowan has stepped out for the first time since Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexually harassing multiple female employees and movie stars.

The actress, 44, was one of the many Hollywood names that immediately cropped up amid allegations of years of sexual abuse against the film producer, 65, emerged earlier this week.

Putting on a defiant display as she headed out on Friday, the star was seen grabbing a refreshing iced coffee in West Hollywood.

Brave face: Rose McGowan has stepped out for the first time since Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexually harassing multiple female employees and movie stars

Rose rocked a pair of furry orange sliders with tight black and white graphic leggings, a grey woolly pullover, and a pair of circular mirrored shades.

Just one day earlier, the Charmed star shared a cryptic tweet not long after Weinstein was accused of sexually harassing multiple female employees and movie stars.

'Anyone who does business with __ is complicit. And deep down you know you are even dirtier. Cleanse yourselves,'she tweeted.

This came shortly after The New York Times claimed that Weinstein, who is one of Hollywood's most celebrated studio heads, paid $100,000 to McGowan for an unknown incident shortly after she filmed her breakthrough role in the film Scream.

Out and about: Putting on a defiant display as she headed out on Friday, the actress, 44, was seen grabbing a refreshing iced coffee in West Hollywood

The settlement is one of eight that Weinstein has reportedly paid out over the past 30 years, with Italian model Ambra Battilana also receiving an undisclosed sum in 2015 after accusing the Hollywood executive of groping her and putting his hand under her skirt.

McGowan would not comment to the Times about her experience, but has been very vocal about the incidents of harassment and assault she experienced in her early years.

She has never named the perpetrators of these acts.

Dark: McGowan shared a cryptic tweet not long after Weinstein (pictured on Thursday night) was accused of sexually harassing multiple female employees and movie stars

Fill in the blank: McGowan, who was named in the NYT story as having settled a sexual harassment suit against Weinstein took to social media after it was released

Stand up: She also wrote on Twitter: 'Women fight on. And to the men out there, stand up. We need you as allies. #bebrave'

The incident between McGowan and Weinstein allegedly occurred in a hotel room at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival when she was 23.

McGowan did take to social media after the report was released however, writing: 'Women fight on. And to the men out there, stand up. We need you as allies. #bebrave'.

On Thursday, McGowan also engaged in a Twitter discussion with actress Asia Argento, known for her roles in films such as 'XXX' and 'Marie Antoinette.'

Paid: The tweet came shortly after The New York Times claimed that Weinstein (pictured leaving his NYC office on Thursday), paid $100,000 to McGowan for an unknown incident

'I want to buy the movie rights,' wrote McGowan soon after it was revealed that Weinstein would be the subject of two bombshell exposes, though she did not say she was directly referring to that report.

'I own the movie rights,' replied Argento, who then added: 'It's gonna be the best movie of the last 20 years.'

McGowan responded to that by stating: 'We're gonna lobby for so many Oscars.'

The Times report also claimed that Weinstein once asked Ashley Judd if she would like to watch him shower during a meeting in his room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills.

A decade ago: Weinstein and McGowan pictured together at the Grindhouse premiere in Los Angeles back in 2007

But Weinstein denies parts of Judd's story, part of the reason he has chose to sue the Times according to a statement from his attorney Charles Harder.

'The New York Times published today a story that is saturated with false and defamatory statements about Harvey Weinstein,' said Harder in a statement.

'It relies on mostly hearsay accounts and a faulty report, apparently stolen from an employee personnel file, which has been debunked by nine different eyewitnesses.'

Harder went on to say: 'We sent the Times the facts and evidence, but they ignored it and rushed to publish.

'We are preparing the lawsuit now. All proceeds will be donated to women's organizations.'

Called it: McGowan also tweeted not long after the Times story was published
Advertisement

She fled to Thailand in an attempt to stop herself accidentally giving away the name of her new boyfriend.

And The Bachelorette's Sophie Monk has certainly been holidaying in style, staying at the five-star Wanakarn Beach Resort.

The 37-year-old has been staying at the luxurious resort with best friend Oliver Gordon after placing herself in 'lockdown'.

Scroll down for video

Living it up! Sophie Monk's Thailand paradise has been revealed as she holidays with her best friend to avoid giving away The Bachelorette winner

The pair arrived last week after they changed plans to fly to Mexico at the last minute in favour of Thailand.

She has been living it up with Oliver in a villa with a private pool, which has a standard cost of $8700 for two people to stay in for a week, Escape reported.

The villa comes equipped with lavish amenities, such as a free-standing Jacuzzi bath tub, separate rain-forest shower and a king bed.

Luxurious: Sophie's Thailand paradise has been revealed as five-star Wanakarn Beach Resort, which is on 15 acres of picturesque grounds on Thai Muang Beach

Ideal hiding spot: She has been living it up with best friend Oliver gordon in a villa with a private pool, which has a standard cost of $8700 for two people to stay in for a week

Hiding out in style! The $1200-a-night room opens out onto a hardwood panelled terrace with a private swimming pool and outdoor waterfall shower

Place away from the spotlight: The villa comes equipped with lavish amenities, such as a free-standing Jacuzzi bath tub, separate rain-forest shower and a king bed

The perfect getaway: The property fronts onto the sands of Thai Muang Beach, which is about a 40-minute drive from Phuket International Airport

Her $1200-a-night room opens out onto a hardwood panelled terrace with a private swimming pool and outdoor waterfall shower.

The property is situated on 15 acres of picturesque grounds on Thai Muang Beach, about a 40-minute drive from Phuket International Airport.

General manager of Luxury Escapes Blake Hutchison said Wanakarn Beach Resort is one of three idyllic holiday locations Sophie will spend time at.

He also revealed the high level of secrecy employees have had to adhere to while planning her trip.

'We've been working with Sophie to plan her 'great escape' in the strictest of confidence for several days now,' he told Escape.

Can't keep a secret? Sophie fled to Thailand in an attempt to stop herself accidentally giving away the name of her new boyfriend

'All members of the Luxury Escapes team involved in the planning have been under strict instructions to avoid any mention of Sophie and instead refer to 'Project Osher', in a discreet nod to the great planner himself.'

Luxury Escapes have launched a deal at less than half the price for people wanting to replicate her experience.

Sophie took to Instagram on Friday to share a series of hilarious posts of her fooling around with Oliver while she avoids giving away the result of The Bachelorette.

Keeping busy: In one video, Sophie can be seen trying her best at synchronised swimming, with the help of her BFF

The blonde bombshell is widely tipped to choose millionaire publican Stu Laundy, 44, who this week made his appearance on The Bachelorette as an intruder.

In one video, Sophie can be seen trying her best at synchronised swimming, with the help of her BFF.

However the water sport isn't their strong suit, the pair resorting to doggy paddle to finish off their acrobatic routine.

Trying to avoid Stu? The blonde bombshell is widely tipped to choose millionaire publican Stu Laundy
Sofia Vergara was taking care of herself on Friday.

The 45-year-old Colombian actress shared a photo from her doctor's office as she was preparing to have a mammogram.

The wife of Joe Manganiello smiled as she wore a white robe with her long locks down. The Modern Family star captioned the image: 'You have to do it!!! #mammogram #medicalimaging women's imaging.'

Scroll down for video

Good message: Sofia Vergara was taking care of herself on Friday. The 45-year-old Colombian actress shared a photo from her doctor's office as she preparing to have a mammogram

Good point: The Modern Family star captioned the image: 'You have to do it!!! #mammogram #medicalimaging women's imaging'

She has talked a lot of her chest: In 2015 she told Vanity Fair she have a 32 DDD chest was hard. 'My whole life, buying a bra was a nightmare,' said the Fading Gigolo star. Seen in September

In May 2016 she did the same thing. The star reached out to her social media followers to inspire them to do the same.

'It's that time of the year,' the looker wrote in her caption.

The pinup has often been complimented on her large chest as she has sold herself in Hollywood on having a sexy image. But in 2015 she told Vanity Fair having a 32 DDD chest was not easy.

Her day job: The Latin goddess makes a fortune from starring on the ABC hit series

'My whole life, buying a bra was a nightmare,' said the Fading Gigolo star.

'What I used to do when I moved to LA, I found places like Frederick's of Hollywood that make bras for [strippers]. Believe me, I wish I had fake boobs. I lay down and they completely go down like all the way, like here.'

She added that there are only certain dresses she can wear to fit her shape.

'Sometimes you read in the press like, "Oh, Sofia is wearing again the same shape dress," and I want to answer them and say, "What the f**k do you want me to wear?"

'Obviously theres a reason why that's what I go for.'

Her Modern Family co-star Ariel Winter had breast reduction surgery several years ago and has said the results have made her very happy. She told Ellen DeGeneres in 2016: '[It] was already very hard to grow up in front of the public and also have your body changing, and then go through a surgery, which I decided to make public because I thought it was very important to talk to women about it in general, because I know there are so many people who have been in my position who needed the surgery.'
Bella Thorne has admitted to having crushes on Demi Lovato, Kristen Stewart and Camila Cabello.

The actress, 19 - who came out as bisexual last year - revealed she is attracted to a number of 'super-hot' famous women and would love to date them, given the opportunity.

She told Stylecaster.com: 'Demi Lovato. That's an obvious one. I love Demi. We're close. She's amazing, just such a beautiful person inside and out. Love everything she stands for.

Casting a wide net: Bella Thorne, 19, who came out as bisexual last year, Bella Thorne has admitted to crushes on Demi Lovato, Kristen Stewart and Camila Cabello (pictured in August)

'Kristen Stewart. She's so hot. Oh. My. God. You put on those f**king Converse, girl. You put on that rock shirt, and you come to mommy. I literally love Kristen Stewart.

'Who else is super-hot? Oh, Camila Cabello. I think she's so hot. I just saw her at a party the other night, but she was with a guy, so I wasn't gonna hit on her because she was with a date.'

But Bella admitted that she finds it easier to date men than women because she never knows if girls are into her romantically or just want to be her friend.

She explained: 'It's so hard. I can't tell if a girl is trying to be best friends with me or if she wants to get with me or if she just wants social media followers. I'm just so confused when a girl talks to me. Girls can be very flirtatious.'

Girls girls girls: The actress said Demi (pictured left in August) is 'beautiful', and claimed she's 'literally obsessed' with Kristen (pictured right in March)

Kind words: 'Who else is super-hot? Oh, Camila Cabello. I think she's so hot,' gushed the Shake It Up actress of the singer (pictured in June)

Bella also claimed that most girls she knows are only interested in hooking up because they are not out as lesbian or bisexual.

She explained: 'I'll get a lot of girls that randomly write me. I've got this one girl that writes me and she's like, "Hey, I wanna f**k you. Like, hey, come to me baby. What's up?"

'I'm like, 'We can do that, but can I also open the door for you? I wanna take you out.' And some girls are just, like, 'No, you can't,' because a lot of girls are not out, especially if they're in the industry, which is most of the people that I know.'

While she may be on the lookout for love as opposed to simply lust, Bella continued her racy social media streak with several new snaps.

Just another day at the office: On Thursday, wild child Bella posted a picture showing herself crouching in the corner of an unadorned room

'Would you date me cuz I wouldn't!' In between takes of her latest shoot, Bella indulged in mixed berries at the craft services station on set

On Thursday, she posted a picture showing herself crouching in the corner of an unadorned room.

She was clad in a black PVC textured jacket and a pair of PVC thigh-highs, and her fiery locks are draped over half of her face.

Her caption for that read 'mommi long legs.'

In her next photo she shared on Friday, the Blended starlet appeared clad in a neon green trench coat over a shredded white top and panty combination, which showed off her enviably taut torso.

Once again she opted for thigh-high boots, though this time they were a sparkly silver color.

She also had been painted with some very distinctive racoon-style make-up.

Normal clothes: In her next photo she shared on Friday, the Blended starlet appeared clad in a neon green trench coat over a shredded white top and underwear

Camouflage? Bella also had been painted with some very distinctive racoon-style make-up

Close-up: A few Snapchat shares gave a closer look at the bizarre costume as she writhed around in her white lace underwear

Her caption for that image posed a question for fans: 'ITS SPOOKY season. No idea what I wanna be for Halloween yet..you?'

A few Snapchat shares gave a closer look at the bizarre costume.

Earlier this week, Bella found herself at the centre of speculation she is now dating Tana Mongeau, after the girls were seen putting on a VERY steamy display on social media.

Appearing in high spirits, Bella cut a playful figure as she hammed it up in front of the cameras, flashing a smile before cheekily poking her tongue out.

Her appearance comes after the former Disney starlet had strongly suggested there was a new lady in her life when she re-tweeted photos of herself and YouTube star Tana locking lips.

Can't miss her! Meanwhile, Bella stepped out for lunch on Friday in another one of her unabashedly bold ensembles

Unique: On top, the redhead apparently chose to go bra free under a white top with crisscrossing white strips down the front

A little exposure: While the garment provided a glimpse of her lean midsection, she showed off a bit more skin by rolling down the waistband of her trousers

The tweet rehashed an early post from 19-year-old vlogger Tana, who previously wrote 'I want to date @BellaThorne,' and today added a sassy followup which read 'Dreams do come true kids.'

She had first confirmed she is bisexual during a Twitter exchange with a fan in 2016. After sharing a photo of her kissing a female, Bella was asked if she is bisexual, to which she simply replied: 'Yes.'

But now wanting a girlfriend, the acting talent admitted she is often confused by girls that take an interest in her.

Speaking to Harper's Bazaar, she said: 'Ive done other stuff with girls, but I want to actually date a girl... I cant tell if a girl is hitting on me or she just wants to be friends.

'I dont want to flirt with a girl if she thinks Im just being her friend. What if I kiss a girl and shes like, "Oh, Im just your friend dude, I cant believe you just crossed that boundary." Im confused on what they want from me.'

Bella has previously dated the likes of Scott Disick, Gregg Sulkin, Tyler Posey and Charlie Puth.

Meanwhile, Bella stepped out for lunch on Friday in another one of her unabashedly bold ensembles.

On top, the redhead apparently chose to go bra free under a white top with crisscrossing white strips down the front.

Provocative: Said pants were quite a statement as well, as they featured salacious terms such as 'lust' and 'blow' interspersed with graphic depictions of breasts, among other things

Adding some inches: White platform boots rounded out the young stunner's casual look

Practical: Her trademark fiery tresses were parted in the middle and woven into to long braids

While the garment provided a glimpse of her lean midsection, she showed off a bit more skin by rolling down the waistband of her trousers.

Said pants were quite a statement as well, as they featured salacious terms such as 'lust' and 'blow' interspersed with graphic depictions of breasts, among other things.

White platform boots rounded out the young stunner's casual look.

Her trademark fiery tresses were parted in the middle and woven into to long braids.
She just brought home her new bundle of joy for the first time.

And the very next day Jenny Mollen joked about returning him to the hospital already.

The 38-year-old actress went completely make-up free as she shared a few self-taken Instagram Story videos to update fans on how life with the newborn has been.

Scroll down for video

Tuckered out? Jenny Mollen went completely make-up free as she shared a few self-taken Instagram Story videos to update fans on how life with the newborn has been.

She looked absolutely exhausted while cuddling up with baby Lazlo as she said: 'This little man is still wearing his bracelet which means that I guess I still could still return him until I get the tags off.'

She finished off the cute video by giving the youngster a kiss on the forehead after baby talking him.

Jenny even gave a rundown of her day as she visited her Dr. Albert Sassoon for a check up as she welcomed second son with hubby Jason Biggs on Monday.

'New headshots': She also posted this adorable photo on Instagram

Just the two of us: The 38-year-old actress looked absolutely exhausted while cuddling up with baby Lazlo

Return to sender: She joked: 'This little man is still wearing his bracelet which means that I guess I still could still return him until I get the tags off'

Aww: She finished off the cute video by baby talking him

Sweet smooch: She followed it up with a kiss on the cheek

She explained: 'Hi guys it's been a day: I took Lazlo to his first pediatrition, I went and had Sassoon take my staples out. Sassoon told me that I couldn't post a video.'

This comes after she shared a very honest photo of her post-op body after her caesarean section on Instagram just four days after giving birth.

The actress, 38, displayed her heavily-bandaged belly in a photo to her 223,000 followers, which she captioned: 'Post-op chic #babybiggs'.

Jenny looked happy but tired in the candid snap, which showed hospital tubes still attached to her.

Honest: This comes just a day after Jenny shared this photo of her post-caesarean body on Friday after welcoming her second son with husband Jason Biggs to the world earlier this week

Happy family: Jenny also posted an adorable photo of Jason cradling their two sons as the youngsters channelled their comic parents by donning jazzy love-heart shades

She also posted an adorable photo of Jason cradling their two sons as the youngsters channelled their comic parents by donning jazzy love-heart shades.

Jenny and her 39-year-old actor husband of American Pie fame took to social media to confirm the birth and even showed off the infant on an Instagram Story posted on Thursday morning.

The stars welcomed Lazlo Biggs on Monday, according to Us Weekly.

Happy times: Jenny and Jason welcomed a bouncing baby boy named Lazlo Biggs and confirmed the news via Instagram posted Thursday morning

The child weighed in at a healthy 7 pounds, one ounce and came in measuring at 20 inches long according to the publication.

A rep for Jenny told Us Weekly: 'Mom, dad and big brother Sid are doing great!'

It seems as if the duo couldn't wait to show off the bouncing baby boy as Jenny took to Instagram Storys on Friday morning while heading home.

The happy family were in the back of a car with Lazlo flanked in between them in the carseat.

Aww: The blonde also shared a snap shortly after the birth as they posed for an adorable family photo

'Lazlo Biggs coming in hot!': The 39-year-old actor and his wife posed wear all smiles as they posed with the new addition to their family

'#RideorDie': Jenny shared a selfie featuring her, Jason, and their doctor after the birth

The happy mother of two said in the clip: 'Hello everybody. I'm just sitting in the back of the car with Jason and my second child.'

The two already share a three-and-a-half-year-old son, Sid.

Jenny revealed that she was going to eat her placenta upon their arrival home and it seemed like her husband wanted to get in on the action.

Open book: The 38-year-old actress Jenny was quite active on social media as she shared several short videos on Instagram Storys as they headed home on Thursday

Aww: The star also shared a quick snap of the bouncing baby boy who was born on Monday according to Us Weekly

Pleased: In one of the videos she said: 'Hello everybody. I'm just sitting in the back of the car with Jason and my second child'

'Im excited to try it': Jason said that he was going to try to eat Jenny's placenta

Happy: The American Pie star stared adoringly at his new baby boy

I'm coming out: The Amateur Night actress wanted an early exit from the hospital as she showed that she still had tubes attached to her

Bold move: She said: 'I had to break out of the hospital, they wanted to keep me, but I'm leaving with wires attached'

Jason said: 'Im excited to try it.'

The Amateur Night actress wanted an early exit from the hospital as she showed that she still had tubes attached to her.

She said: 'I had to break out of the hospital, they wanted to keep me, but Im leaving with wires attached.'

Beaming: Jenny also shared a throwback Instagram video of herself in the hospital bed

Yum: The camera panned over to a shiny gold pineapple container on a chair

Confessions: At one point Jason turned the camera on himself to talk about how nervous he was before the birth

Jason then joked: 'Was I supposed to sign papers or pay or anything?'

Jenny also shared a throwback Instagram video of herself in the hospital bed as she stared adoringly at a small golden pineapple-shaped container.

This comes just days after Jenny shared yet another nude image of herself on social media after doing it over the past few months.

Over the weekend the blonde took her antics a step further as she shared a risque image of her husband, American Pie actor Jason Biggs, holding her chest as she took a selfie in nude underwear.

Naughty: Jenny Mollen shared this photo over the weekend where her husband held her chest while pregnant with her second child

'39 weeks!' she said in her caption. She also said she was 'cooked'. Her husband's face could not be seen as they stood in their bedroom.

This comes after she took a nude selfie last week.

The Crazy, Stupid, Love actress wore nothing at all as she covered her chest with her hand and arm while taking a selfie in her bathroom.

No clothes this time: Mollen showed off her baby bump while naked over a week ago

Her inspiration? Demi Moore was the first to pose nude while pregnant when she graced a 1991 cover of Vanity Fair

The author stared down into the camera and did not seem at all self-conscious.

The comedienne had on no makeup and her blonde locks looked messy as she held up her phone.

The beauty cradled her left breast and she posed just so as to not show anything downstairs.

Number two: This is a second child for Jenny and her husband Jason Biggs, seen in June

Black lingerie: With her bra and undies on in the same bathroom on September 7

She also wore a beaded bracelet and a gold cuff as well as her wedding ring.

Her caption read: 'It's official! I've outgrown the mirror.'

In her August snap Jenny took a mirror selfie in a set of matching undergarments.

The star looked to be make-up free, and for hair, tousled in a messy look.

'Can I just keep the boobs?' questioned the actress in the photo's caption.

In April, the star and husband Jason announced they were expecting their second child. They welcomed son Sid, three, in February 2014.

The couple, married since spring 2008, took to Instagram to break the news.

'In June, Jenny revealed she has placenta previa.

According to The Mayo Clinic, the condition 'occurs when a baby's placenta partially or totally covers the mother's cervix; the outlet for the uterus.' It can also 'cause severe bleeding during pregnancy and delivery'.

'It actually hasn't been a big deal so far because I'm so early,' she said, according to People.

'I had a C-section the first time because I never dilated, so I'm not that concerned because I expected to have to be cut open again.'

Jenny was last seen in the TV series I Like You Just The Way I Am.
Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah (3rd L) has left the Gaza Strip after visiting the coastal enclave's largest hospital of Al-Shifa

Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah left the Gaza Strip on Thursday after a four-day visit aimed at reconciliation with rival party Hamas, an AFP journalist said.

Islamists Hamas agreed to hand over power to a unity government last month and Hamdallah's visit, the first since 2015, saw his ministers take control of ministries in Gaza.

The move is part of wider attempts to end a decade-long split between the internationally recognised Palestinian Authority, which is based in the occupied West Bank, and Hamas, which runs Gaza.

The two sides are set to meet for further talks in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Tuesday.

Before leaving on Thursday morning, Hamdallah and a number of his ministers visited the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, as well as a desalination plant.

He then left with his ministers through the Erez crossing in northern Gaza, which is controlled by Israel, an AFP videographer said.

He is due to return to Ramallah in the West Bank where a meeting of senior members of Fatah, the secular party that dominates the Palestinian Authority, will be held Thursday evening.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said the Fatah meeting would discuss the next steps towards reconciliation ahead of the Cairo talks.

"National unity is a noble goal for us and we have high hopes for it, because without it there is no Palestinian state," Abbas said, in remarks carried by state news agency Wafa.

Hamas, in a statement, said: "The Gaza Strip and its ministries are under the administration of the national reconciliation government. Hamas will work to support and strengthen its role."

Hamas has ruled the territory since 2007, when it seized it from the Palestinian Authority in a near civil war, and multiple previous reconciliation attempts have failed.

The Islamist movement has fought three wars with Israel since 2008 and is considered a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union.

One of the main stumbling blocks to reconciliation is likely to be Hamas's military wing, with senior officials rejecting the idea of disarming.

Two million people live in Gaza, blockaded by Israel and Egypt and suffering from poverty and electricity shortages.
French author Pierre Pean (right) has been fined for insinuating that Gabonese President Ali Bongo was behind two assassination attempts

A Paris court on Thursday fined French journalist and writer Pierre Pean 1,000 euros ($1,170) and ordered him to pay a symbolic one euro in damages in a libel case brought by Gabonese President Ali Bongo.

In a 2014 book called "Nouvelles affaires africaines" ("New African Affairs"), Pean insinuated that Bongo was behind two attempts to assassinate Jean-Pierre Lemboumba, who was once a close aide to his father, former president Omar Bongo.

The accusations were "very serious" but had "insufficient" facts to support them, the court ruled.

However Bongo lost his complaint against other parts of the book in which Pean accused him of ordering the poisoning of Georges Rawiri, the president of Gabon's Senate, and of having fomented an "electoral coup d'etat" in 2009.

The court ruled that Pean had produced "solid, varied, abundant and concurring" documents to justify the statements were made in good faith.

Under France's libel laws, defendants must provide evidence that a statement was true or not defamatory or intended in good faith.

The fines in France are modest by the standards of other countries.

Pean's lawyer, Florence Bourg, said the ruling was "very positive overall," given that the passages about Rawiri had not been judged libellous.

An attorney for Bongo, Delphine Meillet, said the president "is delighted that Pierre Pean has been sentenced for this tract, whose sole aim was to discredit and delegitimise him".

Ali Bongo took over power from Omar Bongo, who ruled for 41 years until his death in 2009.

Bongo was re-elected in August 2016 by just a few thousand votes, prompting the opposition to accuse the administration of electoral fraud.

Gabon has large oil, mineral and tropical timber resources, and its per-capita national income is four times greater than that of most sub-Saharan nations.

But about a third of its population of 1.8 million still live below the poverty line -- the result, say specialists, of inequality, poor governance and corruption.
US President Donald Trump has railed against the Obama-era nuclear deal which offered Iran massive sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear program

US President Donald Trump will reveal his decision on the future of the Iran nuclear deal in the coming days, the White House said Thursday.

"The president is going to make an announcement about the decision that he's made on a comprehensive strategy that his team supports, and we'll do that in the coming days," said Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Flying in the face of advice from some of his closest advisors, Trump is expected to withhold certification of Iran's compliance with the agreement, effectively leaving its fate with Congress.

White House officials cautioned against rumors that Trump would make a speech revealing his decision next Thursday. But the decision must come by an October 15 deadline.

Trump has railed against the Obama-era deal which offered Iran massive sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

Ahead of the October 15 deadline, several officials familiar with White House deliberations told AFP Trump has made it clear he does not want to certify Iran's compliance with the accord.

Every 90 days Trump must tell Congress whether Iran is living up to its end of the bargain, something that has already caused him political pain on two occasions.

The Trump administration has publicly accused Iran of violating the "spirit" of the accord -- known as the JCPOA -- although some officials privately admit there is a thin line between testing the limits and a material breach.

The administration has made it clear that it wants Iran to stop ballistic missile tests and stop "nefarious" behavior across the Middle East, two issues that were not part of the agreement.

Trump's decision would have little impact in and of itself, but the Republican controlled Congress could decide, within 60 days, to impose sanctions, or simply not respond.

The build up to Trump's decision has been dominated by intense debate inside the White House and fierce lobbying in Congress.

European ambassadors and diplomats have been camped out on Capitol Hill, trying to argue against any punitive actions that invite Iran to decide the United States in non-compliance.

Meanwhile the deal's opponents, like Senator Tom Cotton have argued that Iran is not in compliance and sanctions and even military action against Iran should be considered.

Cotton met Trump at the White House on Thursday to make his case, and the president was expected to meet military leaders later in the day.
Members of the Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET) sit on mattresses under a tent as they fast. Their call for peaceful elections next week is an echo of the non-violent protests by female activists that famously helped to end Liberia's civil wars

Dressed in identical printed skirts, a hundred Liberian women knelt in prayer after another long day in three weeks of fasting, appealing once more that their country be spared of violence.

Ahead of elections next Tuesday, women of all ages are gathering from dawn to sunset on a roadside close to the party headquarters of several presidential candidates.

Their daily injunction for peace echoes the female activism that helped end Liberia's civil wars, which ran back-to-back from 1989 to 2003.

The success of their non-violent protests propelled the bloodied West African state into the world headlines and earned a Nobel Peace Prize for one of its leaders.

"We led the process in 2002 and 2003 for the Liberian women's mass action for peace. We are still assisting in maintaining this peace that we have," Delphine Morris, national coordinator for the Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET), said on Wednesday.

"For this electoral period, they thought it wise to come together again, to join their faiths and ensure that there be free and transparent elections," she added.

At their small encampment, the WIPNET women regularly break out into song, and on Wednesday were shooting a music video to raise awareness of their work, to the delight and bemusement of passing traffic.

Twirling and sashaying, members sported T-shirts reading "Remember our past" and "Rape is a crime" as convoys promoting the main candidates passed by, beeping their horns at full volume.

- 'We foresee violence' -

Nobel peace laureate Leymah Gbowee, head of the Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET), greets members in Monrovia

The women's peace movement led sit-ins and pray-ins demanding peace talks and reconciliation during the civil war, and its founder Leymah Gbowee went on to jointly win the 2011 Nobel Prize for her work.

"During the war we were praying and fasting and the war ended," recalls Jassah Ganyan, an elderly lady resting under the tarpaulin roof. "We don't want more war."

But many here believe the spectre of conflict still looms as President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, also a co-winner of the 2011 Nobel, steps down after 12 years in power.

"We foresee electoral violence," said Morris, eyeing an armoured police vehicle passing by.

"It's not strange to Liberia. In the 2011 election when the result was announced, we had violence break out a little, and one or two people died. We don't want it again."

Nobel laureate Leymah Gbowee stands in front of WIPNET's sign -- many activists fear that after years of peace, violence could return to Liberia

In 2011 the losing candidate in a runoff with Sirleaf, Winston Tubman, had called on his supporters to boycott the second round of voting. Two people were shot dead outside his headquarters the day before the vote.

Morris worries that presidential candidates are stoking possible disputes by prematurely claiming victory in what is widely acknowledged as an open field this year.

"All the parties you talk to, they all say they must win and they feel they have already won," Morris said, describing a memorandum against violence they have asked all of Liberia's political parties to sign.

"If you don't win maybe this is not your time, maybe you have to do better work," she said.
The Islamic State group's loss of almost all its territory in Iraq and in Syria has damaged its online communication efforts

The Islamic State group may soon be defeated in Iraq and Syria but a "virtual caliphate" could be harder to conquer, experts and officials have warned.

The jihadist propaganda machine will continue to exist in hidden corners of the dark web, inciting sympathisers to action, they say.

"Defeating ISIL on the physical battlefield is not enough," General Joseph Votel, the top commander for US military forces in the Middle East, warned in a paper earlier this year.

"Following even a decisive defeat in Iraq and Syria, ISIL will likely retreat to a virtual safe haven -- a virtual caliphate -- from which it will continue to coordinate and inspire external attacks as well as build a support base until the group has the capability to reclaim physical territory," said Votel.

He described this online network as "a distorted version of the historic Islamic caliphate: it is a stratified community of Muslims who are led by a caliph (currently Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi), aspire to participate in a state governed by sharia, and are located in the global territory of cyberspace."

The Islamic State group's loss of almost all its territory in Iraq and in Syria has damaged its online communication efforts, following a boom in propaganda operations in 2014-2015.

But it has not put an end to it completely.

The IS "news agency" and propaganda machine Amaq continues to claim responsibility for attacks and incite further violence.

Most recently, it claimed that Stephen Paddock, the gunman who massacred 58 people in Las Vegas on Sunday, was an IS "soldier" -- an assertion met with widespread scepticism.

One theory is that IS is seeking to keep up publicity efforts to maintain relevance with its sympathisers and continue to recruit support, even as it faces military defeat on the ground in Iraq and Syria.

- 'Censorship won't work' -

Researcher Charlie Winter, who wrote a report on IS's web presence for British think tank Quilliam, says the group will work to persuade followers that the idea of a caliphate is more important that its physical presence.

"Censoring the internet is not going to work," he told AFP.

"Policy makers are focusing their attention on the wrong part of the internet, and that's problematic given that it's going to be a phenomenon to be dealt with in the next few years.

"Terrorists are now hiding in the deep web using encryption.

"There will always be a safe place for them on the internet regardless of what politicians like to say."

Under pressure from public authorities, internet providers and major online players are beginning to put in place measures and procedures to disrupt IS's exploitation of the web.

"But despite the increased vigilance of authorities and social networks the Islamic State has demonstrated significant resilience due to its flexibilty and ability to adapt when facing the suppression of online jihadist content," according to French researchers Laurence Binder and Raphael Gluck.

"It manages to still disseminate sufficiently to reach a pool of sympathisers and recruits."
Female Moroccan porters carry huge bundles of goods strapped by rope to their backs to transport from Spain's North African exclave of Ceuta into Morocco

Along the border between Spain's North African enclave Ceuta and Morocco, thousands of women eke out a living lugging back-breaking loads of goods in an "organised trafficking" operation tolerated by officials.

Nicknamed "mule women" on the Spanish side of the frontier, the Moroccan women sometimes struggle under burdens heavier than their own body weight, risking their lives for the job.

So far this year four porters have been trampled to death in crushes, and activists in both Morocco and Spain have repeatedly complained the work is "humiliating and degrading".

In the small hours of a recent night, the women gathered in an orderly queue by a border crossing for pedestrians on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean between the Moroccan town of Fnideq and the Spanish port of Ceuta, where goods are duty free.

After checks at the frontier they enter the tiny 18-square-kilometre (7-square-mile) strip of Spain, which along with Madrid's other enclave of Melilla are the only land borders between the European Union and Africa.

"This is the first time that I am doing this work!" exhaled 30-year-old Fatima, wearing a red robe and grey headscarf.

The next stop is a commercial zone, built in 2004 near the customs to avoid the thousands of Moroccan traders who arrive daily to replenish their stocks from heading into the city centre.

There, immense hangars are piled high with all sorts of goods: clothes made in China, household items, food. While the prices are marked in euros, everyone pays in Moroccan dirhams.

- 'Very heavy' -

At the entrance to each warehouse, dozens of female porters await instructions. They are not there to barter or to buy, but only to transport the goods.

They fill up rectangular bags that are then strapped on with ropes, and pick up a ticket with the amount of money they will receive once they make the delivery.

Female Moroccan porters carry bundles of goods on their backs to transport across the El-Tarajal border from Spain's North African exclave of Ceuta into Morocco

"The rope is hurting me," Fatima complained, her back bent under the load.

"The bag is very heavy. They said that it weighs 50 kilogrammes (220 pounds), but I can't check."

Fatima and the other porters then set off on the return journey to Fnideq, where the authorities do not impose tax on goods brought in if they are transported on foot rather than by vehicle through the official border post.

Once there the women claim their fees -- usually some several dozen euros depending on the weight and nature of their goods.

- 'Privileged' interests -

It is estimated that some 15,000 female porters tread the route from Ceuta to Morocco, even if the daily number is lower after the Spanish authorities established a limit of 4,000 people each day.

While officials have turned a blind eye to the system, rights activists insist that the porters are being exploited by powerful interests.

No caption

"What we are trying to show is that these women are victims of an organised smuggling racket that serves the interests of some people who have privileged ties to local authorities," explained Mohamed Benaissa, the president of the Northern Observatory for Human Rights.

"These lobbies are made up of smugglers from Ceuta who bribe customs officials to let the goods pass and those in Fnideq who then stash it in garages before redistributing it" without paying taxes, he said.

This cross-border trade also generates another illicit business in residence permits.

Due to an agreement between Morocco and Spain, Moroccans who live in four towns close to the border don't need a visa to cross into Ceuta.

However, some 65 percent of women who work as porters do not come from areas along the frontier, Benaissa said, meaning that they have to pay bribes to be registered as locals.

Those payments can range from between 300 to 500 euros ($350 and $585), a hefty amount for the women.

While Moroccan officials have repeatedly claimed that they will step in to rectify the situation, activists say that too often they themselves were involved.

"In the past the authorities have actually sanctioned some officials to carry on these practises," Benaissa said.
A vehicle leaving the Kaesong joint industrial zone before the South pulled out of the complex in February 2016

North Korea has started operating some Seoul-invested factories in its Kaesong industrial complex after South Korea pulled out of the joint venture, Pyongyang's online media said Friday.

The South suspended operations at the industrial complex in February last year, saying that money Pyongyang made from the venture was going towards its nuclear weapons programme.

An association representing the 120 South Korean firms operating factories in Kaesong, which lies just across the North Korean border, estimated the value of the assets left behind at 820 billion won ($663 million).

On Friday, North Korean media outlets confirmed joint-run factories were still running and that plants left by the South could no longer be considered their assets.

"No one can interfere with whatever we are doing in the industrial zone that lies within our sovereign territory," Uriminzokkiri, one of Pyongyang's propaganda outlets, wrote.

The article added that Pyongyang would freeze all facilities, products and materials left by the South and eventually control and manage them.

"No matter how fiercely the US and its cronies may attempt to intensify sanctions, they can never stop us moving forward and the plants in the industrial zone will churn out all the more actively," it said.

Another North Korean online propaganda site, Arirangmeari.com, said the plants left by the South had been forfeited.

"The dogs bark but the caravan goes on. No matter how desperately hostile forces may clamour, the plants in the Kaesong industrial zone will run all the more actively," it said.

The announcement followed news reports that North Korea has been using Seoul-invested facilities at 19 factories to produce clothes in Kaesong.

North Korea is subject to a multiple layers of international sanctions over its pursuit of nuclear and missile programmes.

In response to the announcement, an official at Seoul's unification ministry told Yonhap news agency: "North Korea must not infringe upon property rights of South Korean companies".
Michael Lambrix was convicted of the 1984 murders of a man and a woman -- Clarence Moore and Aleisha Bryant

A man convicted of a double murder that he insisted he did not commit was executed Thursday night in Florida, the state Department of Corrections said.

Michael Lambrix, 57, was put to death shortly after 10:00pm (0200 GMT Friday) after the US Supreme Court rejected a last-ditch appeal.

Lambrix was convicted of the 1984 murders of a man and a woman -- Clarence Moore and Aleisha Bryant. For more than three decades, he always maintained his innocence.

"It won't be an execution. It's going to be an act of cold-blooded murder," Lambrix said Tuesday when he was allowed to meet with reporters at the prison where he was being held.

"The state of Florida is going to be deliberately putting to death an innocent person," he added.

Lambrix was found guilty of killing Moore and Bryant after a night of partying. He insisted he killed the man in self-defense after Moore killed the woman.

Lambrix rejected a plea bargain deal that would have spared him the death penalty and seen him released from prison a decade ago.

He was sentenced to death by a jury in a non-unanimous verdict. Florida stands out among US states in allowing this.

Also in Florida, the judge in the case is not required to abide by what the jury decides.

This system was ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in 2016 but Florida later decided that capital punishment verdicts issued prior to 2002 remained valid.
Cambodian opposition politician Mu Sochua speaking during an interview at an undisclosed location in Bangkok

Two late-night text messages in an hour, one from sources in the military, the other from the cops, warned Cambodian opposition politician Mu Sochua her arrest was at hand.

The next day she bolted from the country, joining half of the kingdom's opposition lawmakers in self-exile.

They have fled since September 3 when their party chief was arrested in the middle of the night by hundreds of officers, a dramatic escalation of a purge of rivals to Cambodia's strongman premier Hun Sen, one of the world's longest serving leaders.

"I don't intend to be captured," Mu Sochua told AFP from Bangkok, where she arrived on Tuesday and will stay before heading to Europe.

"I don't intend to sit and wait for a kangaroo court to give us a trial that is a total joke."

Her anxiety is well founded.

Through a mix of threats, harassment and legal entanglements, Hun Sen's government has been clearing out critics ahead of key elections that will test the premier's 32-year run.

And the odds are looking good for the 65-year-old, a master of manipulating the country's malleable democratic institutions in his favour.

The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP)is in tatters, with more than 20 MPs skipping abroad in the past month after their stand-in leader Kem Sokha was locked up in a remote prison on dubious treason charges.

His arrest comes months after a series of legal convictions and new laws forced the party's long-time frontman Sam Rainsy to step down.

Many civil society groups railing against corruption and repression have also been shut down or sidelined by court cases.

Outspoken media -- including the respected and recently shuttered Cambodia Daily -- have found the cost of criticism is a crippling tax bill.

- Repression the 'new normal' -

Deputy party leader Mu Sochua is no stranger to intimidation.

The 63-year-old is a veteran of an opposition movement that has spent most of its time dodging Hun Sen's machinations.

But the latest crackdown, she says, feels different.

Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha was arrested on treason chrges last month in a dramatic escalation of the ongoing crackdown against opponents of strongman Hun Sen

"For the first time I felt unsafe. And politically speaking, this is the first time I felt we no longer have the possibility of a dialogue," Mu Sochua told AFP, adding that police have been following the movements of her party's members around the country.

"I didn't want another leader caught, another voice being silenced. That left me with one choice only, which is to leave."

Despite the roadblocks set up against it, the opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) fared well in recent elections, buoyed by growing frustration over graft and inequality.

But the recent exodus of MPs abroad is unprecedented and severely cramps the party's ability to mount an effective campaign in next year's poll.

At this rate, a boycott of next summer's national vote is on the table if Kem Sokha remains in jail and repression of the media and civil society continues, said Mu Sochua.

She and others in exile will now travel the West to whip up global pressure on Hun Sen and his cronies from abroad.

But whether Western democracies -- once a source of vital aid for the impoverished country -- can still wield influence over the premier is in question.

China has steadily pulled Hun Sen into its orbit in recent years by lavishing the leader with aid and investment free of pressure to safeguard human rights.

That has relieved the autocrat from needing to at least maintain the semblance of a functioning democracy and free press.

In the past, his crackdowns were often followed by spells of relative freedom to keep democratic donors on board.

But with Chinese cash flowing into the coffers, that let-up might never come.

"What's new in all this is the feeling of permanence," said Sebastian Strangio, an expert on Cambodian politics.

"It looks like the current repression is becoming Cambodia's new normal."
An image grab created on August 16, 2016, from footage released by the Russian defence ministry reportedly shows a Russian Tupolev Tu-22M3 conducting an air strike in Syria

Russian air strikes killed 14 people fleeing across a river on rafts in eastern Syria as renewed fighting across the country took an ever mounting toll on civilians, a monitor said Friday.

The strikes, the latest in a string of such incidents this week, targeted a group crossing the Euphrates near the jihadist-held town of Mayadeen, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"They were crossing the river on makeshift rafts in a village south of Mayadeen," Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said, adding that three children were among those killed overnight.

Russia has in recent days intensified its air raids in support of Syrian regime forces battling jihadists across the country.

Abdel Rahman said the civilians were fleeing the village of Mahkan, south of Mayadeen, which lies about 420 kilometres (260 miles) east of Damascus and is one of the Islamic State group's main remaining bastions.

Mayadeen has been under IS control since 2014, when the group swept across swathes of Iraq and Syria and proclaimed a "caliphate", but regime forces have tightened the noose around the town.

The state news agency SANA said government forces advancing from desert areas northwest of Mayadeen had moved to within five kilometres (three miles) of the town.

In Deir Ezzor province, IS still controls Mayadeen, eastern neighbourhoods of the city of Deir Ezzor further up the Euphrates Valley, the town of Albu Kamal downstream on the Iraqi border, and several other smaller towns.

Moscow has been carrying out relentless air strikes in support of its ally Damascus targeting both IS in Deir Ezzor province and rival jihadists led by Al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate in Idlib province in the northwest.

- Civilian deaths -

The Islamic State group, which once controlled a territory roughly the size of Britain, has seen its "caliphate" shrink steadily over the past two years and has lost all but a few of its main hubs in both Iraq and Syria.

A Kurdish-led alliance is currently fighting IS in Raqa, the group's biggest bastion since the recapture by Iraqi forces of Mosul in July.

The city, further up the Euphrates, was the de facto Syrian capital of IS's now collapsing "state".

On Wednesday, a Russian air strike killed 38 civilians trying to flee the fighting in Deir Ezzor province, according to the Observatory.

The Observatory relies on a network of sources inside Syria, and says it determines whose planes carry out raids according to type, location, flight patterns and munitions used.

The group has reported hundreds of civilians killed in operations against IS in Deir Ezzor and neighbouring Raqa province. On Tuesday, it said a US-led coalition strike in Raqa killed at least 18 civilians.

Russia has not acknowledged any civilian deaths from its strikes since it intervened in Syria in 2015, and dismisses the Observatory's reporting as biased.

On Thursday, the Red Cross said Syria was experiencing its worst levels of violence since the battle for second city Aleppo late last year.

"For the past two weeks, we have seen an increasingly worrying spike in military operations that correlates with high levels of civilian casualties," Marianne Gasser, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Syria, said.
President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the finance department to accept a settlement, under which Mighty, which has 23 percent of the local cigarette market, would drop out of the tobacco business

The Philippines said Friday it has dropped a tax evasion case against the country's number-two cigarette manufacturer after it was sold to Japan Tobacco to raise funds for a record 30 billion-peso ($586 million) settlement.

Manila had accused Mighty Corp of using counterfeit tax stamps to avoid paying 37.88 billion pesos in taxes, and threatened it with criminal charges.

However in July, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the finance department to accept a settlement, under which Mighty, which has 23 percent of the local cigarette market, would drop out of the tobacco business.

"We could consider this case as closed. (The) government of the Philippines is 40 billion pesos richer," Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre told reporters.

The company settled the case with a 30-billion-peso payment, and paid another 10 billion in taxes and penalties, he explained.

Mighty had originally offered a 25-billion-peso settlement, Aguirre added.

The company sold off its assets to Japan Tobacco International in order to meet its tax deficiencies, the finance department said earlier.

The Japanese firm, one of the world's biggest tobacco companies, whose global brands include Winston and Camel, announced on August 22 that it was purchasing Mighty for 46.8 billion pesos.

Asked to comment on the justice department decision, a Japan Tobacco spokesman in Japan said "the tax liability is an issue that should be solved appropriately between Mighty Corp and the Philippine government".
A supporter of jailed Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha at a protest in Phnom Penh last month

Cambodia's government on Friday asked the country's top court to dissolve the main opposition party, which is hanging on by a thread after its leader was arrested on treason charges, sending scores of MPs into self-exile.

The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) has been battered by a government crackdown that is clearing out rivals of strongman premier Hun Sen ahead of a 2018 election that could have tested his 32-year grip on power.

The government has used a mix of court cases, legal manoeuvres and threats to sideline the opposition's leadership and drive out more than half of its MPs in fear.

The exodus, prompted by the surprise arrest of the party's president Kem Sokha last month, has raised serious doubts about the party's ability to contest next year's election.

Its future was further imperiled on Friday when lawyers from the Ministry of Interior lodged a complaint urging the Supreme Court to disband the CNRP for allegedly violating a controversial political parties law.

"There is strong and sufficient evidence for the Supreme Court to dissolve the CNRP," Ky Tech, one of the lawyers, told reporters outside the court house.

"If we keep (CNRP), it will lead to the destruction of the nation, so we must prevent it," he added.

His team accused the CNRP of breaching legislation that prohibits parties from threatening national security, taking orders from a foreign entity or conspiring with individuals whose activities are "against the interest of Cambodia", among other offences.

When the law was passed earlier this year, rights groups warned it was a brazen attempt by Hun Sen to checkmate an opposition that had been making steady gains at the polls.

- Pliant courts -

Analysts say there is little doubt the Supreme Court will take up the case in a justice system warped by Hun Sen's meddling.

"The judicial system has lost its independence," Cambodian political analyst Meas Ny told AFP.

"If you look at past experiences... everything will go ahead smoothly (with the lawsuit)," he said.

The legal move comes several weeks after Hun Sen threatened to dissolve the party if its MP continued to "protect" Kem Sokha, the CNRP president who was charged with treason last month.

The politician was detained by hundreds of officers in a dramatic arrest on September 3 and thrown into a remote border prison.

The main evidence cited for his case is a publicly available speech from 2013 in which he said he had received US help to build a pro-democracy movement inside Cambodia.

Hun Sen alleges this is proof that Kem Sokha was conspiring in a "secret plan" with Washington to oust the government.

In a message sent through his lawyers on Monday, Kem Sokha blasted the treason charge as "total slander", a view echoed by the US and other democratic countries which have called for his immediate release.

Supporters of Hun Sen say he has brought stability and growth to a nation once plagued by war.

Detractors say corruption and inequality have become rampant under his rule, fuelling support for the opposition and a yearning for change, especially among Cambodia's large youth population.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari reviews troops in Maiduguri on October 1. Military commanders and politicians say international help will be needed for Nigeria's armed forces to crush the Boko Haram insurgency

Greater international cooperation is required to defeat Boko Haram and neutralise the threat from the Islamist militants in Nigeria and beyond, military commanders and politicians said this week.

The jihadists, who are allied to the Islamic State group, have destroyed swathes of remote northeast Nigeria since 2009, killing at least 20,000 people and forcing more than 2.6 million from their homes.

Counter-insurgency operations since early 2015 have pushed them out of captured towns and villages to the point where the government in Abuja now believes they are a spent force.

But with deadly attacks still a regular occurrence, Nigeria's highest-ranking army officer said a "collective effort" was needed to counter its guerilla tactics -- and those of similar groups who have wreaked havoc elsewhere around the world.

"We understand the challenges across the spectrum of asymmetric warfare," Nigeria's chief of army staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, said on Wednesday at the headquarters of operations against the militants in the northeastern city of Maiduguri.

"This... is a global phenomenon. We must work in synergy to make sure that the terrorism that has been affecting not only here and in the sub-region (of West Africa) but indeed globally" is ended, he added.

A regional force comprising troops from Nigeria and its neighbours Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin, has helped push Boko Haram out of captured territory since early 2015.

But Western nations have largely held back from more direct involvement in the conflict, including sales of weapons and equipment because of the Nigerian army's poor human rights record.

US, British, French and German soldiers, among others, are currently present in a "non-lethal" advisory and support roles, in areas from providing Nigerian troops with intelligence and infantry training to tackling the threat from improvised explosive devices.

Senior commanders on the ground say the goal now is to develop the Nigerian Army's skills so people can return to their homes and begin rebuilding their lives.

- Foreign weapons -

President Muhammadu Buhari and his predecessor Goodluck Jonathan have said the refusal of Western government the Nigerian military hardware has hampered its efforts to tackle Boko Haram.

A $600 million deal with the United States for 12 fighter aircraft was held up after more than 100 civilians were killed in an airstrike in January this year.

Nigeria said this week the purchase had finally been approved.

Britain's foreign minister, Boris Johnson, also said last month that a request for further equipment was being considered.

London's minister in charge of armed forces, Mark Lancaster, who reviewed British Army support programmes across northern Nigeria this week, said "the real key" to improvement was proper basic training, including in human rights.

The presence of foreign nations was "a genuine recognition that the problems we face here in Nigeria are not just Nigeria's problems in the northeast," he told AFP.

"Not only are they cross-border within the region but of course this is an international problem with an international solution."
The coffin of former Iraqi president Jalal Talabani arrives in the Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah on October 6, 2017

Tens of thousands of people gathered Friday for the funeral of Iraqi former president Jalal Talabani, in an emotional send-off for the veteran of the struggle for Kurdish self-rule.

Talabani died in Germany on Tuesday aged 83, barely a week after an Iraqi Kurdish vote for independence which has deepened divisions between Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region and Baghdad.

Central government figures and Iraqi Kurdish leaders including longtime Kurdish rival Massud Barzani attended a funeral ceremony at the airport of Sulaimaniyah, Talabani's longtime fiefdom in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.

After the ceremony, a vast crowd carrying portaits of the leader and the green flags of his Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) blocked the funeral procession as it headed from the airport to the great mosque of Sulaimaniyah.

Many wept and some tried to kiss the car carrying his coffin, which took three hours to reach the mosque.

Talabani was later buried near his office and his home.

It is the first time since the fall of royalty in 1958 that the burial of a president in Iraq has aroused such fervour, as many of Talabani's predecessors were executed or forced into exile.

During a decades-long political career, Talabani was a key figure in Iraqi Kurdish politics.

He later became Iraq's first federal president of Kurdish origin, serving from 2005 to 2014.

Barzani, president of the autonomous Kurdish region, and his prime minister Nechirvan Barzani waited at the airport as Talabani's coffin arrived on a flight from Germany despite a Baghdad-imposed ban on international flights into the Kurdish region.

Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani (L) places a wreath near the coffin of Iraq's former president Jalal Talabani during a ceremony at the airport in the city of Sulaimaniyah

A red carpet and a guard of honour stood on the tarmac as his widow Hero and two sons alighted from the plane.

Iraqi President Fuad Massum, also a Kurd, Interior Minister Qassem al-Araji, a Shiite, and parliament speaker Salim al-Juburi, a Sunni Arab, represented the Baghdad government.

They were joined by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Kurdish representatives from Iran, Syria and Turkey.

Barzani and Massum each placed a large wreath of white flowers near Talabani's coffin, which was draped in the red, white, green and yellow colours of the Kurdish flag.

- Week of mourning -

The Iraqi national anthem and then the Kurdish anthem were played, before the coffin was taken to the city's grand mosque.

Earlier this week, Barzani said he had lost "a friend and a brother" and announced a week of mourning during which Kurdish flags would be flown at half-mast.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, a fierce opponent of last week's referendum, hailed Talabani for his role in "building a federal Iraq".

Talabani had "described Iraq as a bouquet made up of several flowers," he said, referring to the country's different communities.

In Sulaimaniyah, Talabani was known affectionately as Mam (Uncle) Jalal.

Born in 1933 in the rustic village of Kalkan in the mountains, as a young man he was quickly seduced by the Kurdish struggle for a homeland to unite a people scattered across Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria.

Iraqi President Fuad Massum (L) lays a wreath next to the coffin of Iraq's former president Jalal Talabani during a ceremony at the airport in the Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah

After studying law at Baghdad University and doing a stint in the army, Talabani took to the hills in a first uprising against the Iraqi government in 1961.

But he famously fell out with Barzani after the latter sued for peace with Baghdad -- the start of a long and costly internecine feud among Iraqi Kurds.

Decades later, he won plaudits for his efforts as head of state to build bridges between Iraq's warring factions at the height of sectarian bloodletting between the Sunni and Shiite communities.

Talabani's death came after Iraq's Kurds voted 92.7 percent in favour of independence in the September 25 referendum.

The vote was rejected as illegal by the federal government in Baghdad as well as by Iraq's neighbours.

Baghdad retaliated last week by banning all international flights in and out of the Kurdish autonomous region except for humanitarian cases.

But Prime Minister Abadi said Thursday he did not want an armed conflict with Iraqi Kurds, adding that "federal authority must prevail".

He appealed to Kurdish peshmerga forces to work with the Iraqi army "as we have worked together against Daesh (the Islamic State group), to guarantee citizens' safety."
The $210 million airport in Mahinda Rajapakse's home town of Hambantota in the south of the island is one of several state-owned white elephants that were built under the former president and have never turned a profit

Police in Sri Lanka clashed Friday with hundreds of supporters of the former president who were protesting plans to privatise an airport named after him, firing tear gas and water cannon and arresting 26.

The $210 million airport in Mahinda Rajapakse's home town of Hambantota in the south of the island is one of several state-owned white elephants that were built under the former president and have never turned a profit.

It is one of the world's least used airports, servicing just one flight a day, and Colombo has said it is considering selling it to an Indian investor.

"We used teargas and water cannon to disperse the crowd," a police officer told AFP by telephone from Hambantota, 240 kilometres (150 miles) south of Colombo.

"Four of our men were injured when the demonstrators pelted stones."

The protest was led by Namal Rajapakse, the legislator son of Mahinda, who was ousted from power in January 2015.

The new government offered to sell the airport after sealing a billion-dollar deal in July with a Chinese state-owned company to take over a majority stake in a deep sea port in Hambantota.

The Rajapakse administration had raised some $8 billion in loans from China to build infrastructure, including the ports, which do not generate enough revenue even to pay staff.
Protesters in Mombasa, Kenya, are demanding the overhaul of the electoral commission

Police in Kenya fired tear gas on Friday at crowds of opposition supporters marching in three main cities ahead of a tense presidential election re-run.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga has called for biweekly protests to pressure the government to overhaul the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) ahead of the vote scheduled for October 26.

Leaders of the opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition say the election commission, in its present form, should be barred from managing the re-run vote after the Supreme Court annulled the original August poll, citing widespread "illegalities and irregularities".

In the opposition stronghold Kisumu in western Kenya, thousands of protesters were dispersed with tear gas after they tried to storm the election body's local offices.

Elsewhere in the city, a supermarket was looted and set on fire.

In the capital Nairobi, protests failed to gather momentum, but small numbers of supporters were tear gassed anyway.

"I will not allow anyone to cause chaos. If people are demonstrating peacefully, they are protected by the law, but the moment they turn chaotic we will deal with them," Nairobi police commander Japheth Koome said.

Odinga has threatened to boycott the re-run if the election body is not overhauled and senior officials sacked, but so far his demands have been ignored.

President Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee Party, which has a majority in parliament, has ruled out any major shake-up of the IEBC.

Instead, it wants to push through changes to the electoral law that critics say will simply legalise some of the faults cited by the Supreme Court.
Sunao Tsuboi (R) was among a handful of Hiroshima survivors who met then US president Barack Obama during his historic visit to the city last year

Survivors of the World War II atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on Friday congratulated ICAN on winning this year's Nobel Peace Prize, vowing to work together with the disarmament group to achieve a nuclear-free world.

"I'm delighted that ICAN, which has taken action to abolish nuclear weapons like us, won the Nobel Peace Prize," Sunao Tsuboi, who suffered serious burns in the blast and subsequently developed cancer, said in a statement, according to public broadcaster NHK.

"I want to offer my warmest congratulations," said the long-time Hiroshima campaigner for nuclear disarmament.

"Together with ICAN and many other people, we 'Hibakusha' will continue to seek a world without nuclear weapons as long as our lives last," the 92-year-old said.

Tsuboi was among a handful of Hiroshima survivors who met then US president Barack Obama during his historic visit to the city last year.

"We want to take great delight as it helped build up a treaty banning nuclear weapons," Shigemitsu Tanaka, a Nagasaki survivor, told reporters.

"We want to work together so that the nuclear disarmament treaty can be signed as soon as possible," said Tanaka, head of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Council.

Ageing survivors of the atomic bombing of the two Japanese cities have long spearheaded an anti-nuclear campaign, visiting the UN and other international conferences to narrate the horror of the tragedies.

On August 6, 1945 the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the southern Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing 140,000 people, according to estimates.

Three days later, a second bomb devastated Nagasaki, killing an estimated 74,000 people. Japan surrendered shortly afterwards, bringing World War II to an end.
A poster promoting the "Rosary to the Borders" initiative fixed in a Warsaw church

Hundreds of thousands of Polish Catholics are expected to descend Saturday on the country's borders to recite the rosary "to save Poland and the world" from the dangers facing them, organisers say, but others claim the event is aimed at protecting Europe from what they term a Muslim onslaught.

The episcopate insists that the "Rosary to the Borders" is a purely religious initiative, but some Catholics view it as a weapon against "Islamisation."

The date was not chosen at random. October 7 is when Catholics celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, marking the 1571 victory of Christianity over the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Lepanto.

A victory attributed to the recital of the rosary "that saved Europe from Islamisation", the Solo Dios Basta foundation said on the website of the event it is organising.

Many Poles see Islam as a threat. The conservative government, which enjoys the backing of a sizeable portion of the population, refuses to welcome migrants to Poland, which has very few Muslims of its own.

Twenty-two border dioceses will take part in the event, whose faithful will congregate in some 200 churches for a lecture and mass before travelling to the border to say the rosary.

The goal is to have as many prayer points as possible along the 3,511 kilometres (about 2,200 miles) that make up Poland's borders with Belarus, the Czech Republic, Germany, Lithuania, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine and the Baltic Sea.

Fishing boats will join in at sea, while kayaks and sailboats will form a chain along rivers and lakes. Prayers will also be said at the chapels of a few international airports.

- 'Spiritual barrier' -

Organisers hope one million people will show for the event. The railways are offering tickets for a symbolic 1 zloty (27 cents, 23 euro cents) to around 40 destinations on the border.

Those who are unable to attend can instead catch the event live on ultra-Catholic broadcaster Radio Maryja.

The goal is to pray for world peace, according to Father Pawel Rytel-Andrianik, spokesman for the Polish Bishops' Conference.

"The initiative obviously received the approval of Poland's bishops," he told AFP, emphasising that it would be wrong to view the event as a prayer against the arrival of Muslim refugees.

"It is not a matter of closing ourselves off to others. On the contrary, the point of bringing the rosary to the borders is to break down walls and open ourselves up to Russians, Belarussians, Slovaks, Ukrainians and Germans," he said.

But for the nationalist Catholic activist Marcin Dybowski, it is clear "that a religious war between Christianity and Islam is once again underway in Europe, just like in the past."

"Europe has been invaded by Islam, which doesn't respect our mores, our civilisation. The (terrorist) attacks leave behind hundreds of victims. Europe only makes a show of protecting borders," he said.

Dybowski, an editor of religious books, is behind the Rosary Crusade for the Motherland, a religious and political initiative bringing together ultra-Catholic nationalists.

"The reality is that there are no borders. (German Chancellor Angela) Merkel opened them up to a large extent," he told AFP.

"Poland is in danger. We need to shield our families, our homes, our country from all kinds of threats, including the de-Christianisation of our society, which the EU's liberals want to impose on us," he said.

"Austria and Hungary built barbed-wire walls against refugees. We're using prayer to create a spiritual barrier against the dangers of terrorism."
EU President Donald Tusk says Myanmar must give aid workers access to the troubled state of Rakhine, where the Rohingya ethnic minority say the military are burning their villages in a campaign of retribution for attacks on police posts

EU President Donald Tusk on Friday urged Myanmar to adhere to its international rights obligations and allow Rohingya refugees to return after weeks of violence that have forced more than half a million to flee to Bangladesh.

Tusk said Myanmar must give aid workers access to the troubled state of Rakhine, where the Rohingya ethnic minority say the military are burning their villages in a campaign of retribution for attacks on police posts.

He made the comments after talks with Indian leaders in New Delhi, which he said was first in line to respond to the refugee crisis as a neighbouring country.

"The EU continues to assume its responsibilities by receiving people in need of protection and by assisting host countries close to the conflict zones," said Tusk after the talks.

"We addressed the situation in Myanmar and the Rohingya refugee crisis. We want to see de-escalation of tension and the full adherence to international human rights obligations as well as full humanitarian access so the aid can reach those in need."

The UN says more than half a million Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since an upsurge in violence in Rakhine at the end of August.

Myanmar has tightly controlled aid workers' access to the state since attacks in August by Rohingya militants which sparked a massive army crackdown.

Refugees interviewed in Bangladesh have accused the military and ethnic Rakhine Buddhists in the state of burning villages and raping and killing Rohingya Muslims, who are regarded as illegal immigrants in Myanmar.

A small UN team visited the crisis-wracked region in majority Buddhist Myanmar in recent days and described "unimaginable" suffering.

Tusk made his comments at the end of the 14th EU-India Summit, at which the two sides also discussed a long delayed trade agreement.

EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said the summit had been an "important step in the right direction" towards an agreement, but gave no time frame for progress.

The EU is India's largest trading partner, accounting for more than 13 percent of the country's commerce.
More than half a million Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since attacks by militants belonging to the Muslim minority on Myanmar police posts sparked a brutal crackdown by security forces

Thousands of Islamist hardliners marched in Bangladesh's port city of Chittagong Friday calling for the government to arm Rohingya Muslim refugees fleeing a crackdown in Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state.

More than half a million Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since attacks by militants belonging to the Muslim minority on Myanmar police posts sparked brutal reprisals by security forces.

The refugees accuse Myanmar's army -- flanked by mobs of ethnic Rakhine -- of slaughtering them and burning their villages in a campaign which the United Nations says amounts to "ethnic cleansing".

Myanmar's military have blamed the unrest on the Rohingya.

Up to 15,000 people joined the demonstrations in Bangladesh's second largest city, police said, organised by hardline Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam to protest against the killings of the Rohingya.

"We demanded a halt to the genocide of the Rohingya," Hefazat spokesman Azizul Hoque Islamabad told AFP.

"We have also asked the government to train and arm the Rohingya so that they can liberate their homeland," he said.

Communities in Chittagong share close cultural, religious and linguistic ties with the Rohingya, and images on social media purportedly showing abuses against the Muslim minority in mainly Buddhist Myanmar have aroused strong sympathy in Bangladesh.

Islamist parties, including Hefazat, have staged several demonstrations over the issue in recent weeks and some firebrand leaders have called on the government to go to war with Myanmar to liberate Rakhine for the persecuted Rohingya.

Experts said Bangladeshi Islamist extremist groups could exploit the situation and forge closer ties with Rohingya militants.

The plight of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority who are reviled and denied citizenship in Myanmar, has roused anger across the Islamic world, with protests held in Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The influx has also put Bangladesh under immense strain, with the South Asian country already hosting at least 300,000 Rohingya refugees in squalid camps along its border with Myanmar before the latest surge in arrivals.
The fast-developing coastal city of Danang will host the APEC leaders' summit in November which US President Donald Trump is expected to attend

The communist party chief of one of Vietnam's largest cities was fired Friday for violating party rules, the government said, part of the country's massive anti-corruption sweep targeting political heavyweights and executives.

Dozens of bankers, businessmen and current and former officials have been toppled in recent months as the notoriously corrupt one-party state vows to punish wrongdoing and polish its public image.

Analysts say the campaign is about political infighting as much as tackling corruption.

Danang party chief Nguyen Xuan Anh, 41, was sacked for violating party rules, tarnishing the party's reputation and sparking anger among his colleagues and the public, according to the party's supervision commission.

"Nguyen Xuan Anh's violations and mistakes are serious," the commission said on its website Friday.

He is accused of setting a poor example for receiving a car from a company and for holding a doctorate degree from a US university not recognised by Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training.

The party committee also raised questions about his use of two different homes owned by companies.

Xuan Anh has been Danang party chief since 2015, presiding over the fast-developing coastal city that will host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit in November.

US President Donald Trump is expected to attend the meeting in his first Asia jaunt since he was elected, along with the leaders of Russia, China and Japan, among others.

Xuan Anh's takedown follows a series of high-profile anti-corruption cases.

In May, serving member of the politburo Dinh La Thang was fired over his previous stewardship of the massive state energy firm PetroVietnam (PVN).

Thang was party chief of the southern financial hub Ho Chi Minh City when he was abruptly dismissed for mismanagement at PVN.

Officials had also sought his former colleague, Trinh Xuan Thanh, the former head of PVN's construction unit accused of losses worth $150 million, who fled Vietnam last year.

He was kidnapped from a Berlin park in August by Vietnamese security agents, according to German officials who decried the Cold-War style abduction as a "scandalous violation" of international law.

Thanh later appeared on state television in Hanoi where officials said he had voluntarily handed himself in.

Last week, 51 bankers and businessmen were convicted in a massive fraud case, including ex-banker Nguyen Xuan Son -- who later chaired PVN -- who was sentenced to death for causing losses worth millions of dollars.

Analysts have said that while previous administrations have waged anti-corruption drives, the current campaign is unique in its scope and speed.

Vietnam's ranking on Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index improved in 2016 for the first time since 2012, to 113 out of 176.

But it remains behind Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia and TI said earlier this year Vietnam "has yet to show for a real breakthrough".
The United States called for calm even as Kenyan opposition supporters took to the streets ahead of a presidential eletion re-run

The United States warned Kenya's rival political camps to reject violence and respect electoral law on Friday, as protesters took to the streets.

Kenya is due to vote on October 26 in a re-run of an August presidential election that was marred by widespread irregularities, and tensions are mounting.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga has called for protests to force President Uhuru Kenyatta's government to overhaul the east African nation's electoral commission.

The majority Jubilee Party has rejected this demand and, amid threats of boycotts, observers are worried about a possible outbreak of political violence.

"The United States Government is deeply concerned by the deterioration in the political environment in Kenya," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

"Unfortunately, in recent weeks actors on all sides have undermined the electoral commission and stoked tensions," she said.

"While we support freedom of speech, baseless attacks and unreasonable demands on the electoral commission are divisive," she said, in a rebuke to Odinga's campaign.

But she also warned against overreaction by the security forces.

"Kenyan leaders and citizens must reject violence and call on others to do the same," she said.

"Security services should use the utmost restraint in handling demonstrations, and any response must be proportionate and appropriate."

Meanwhile, police fired teargas to disperse protests Friday as opposition supporters took to the streets in three main Kenyan cities.

dc/jm
No love lost: Grace Mugabe and senior vice president Emmerson Mnangagwa are reputed rivals to succeed Zimbabwe's 93-year-old president, Robert Mugabe

Zimbabwe has been gripped by an escalating spat between the president's wife and his senior vice-president over a bizarre poisoning incident that has laid bare the pair's ambitions to succeed President Robert Mugabe.

Though Mugabe has repeatedly condemned factionalism and refused to discuss his successor, his declining health and the looming 2018 elections have led to unprecedented jockeying for the top job.

The latest controversy erupted publicly when vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa -- widely known as "the crocodile"-- was hospitalised in Johannesburg in August alleging he had been poisoned.

He did not openly speculate about what was behind his sudden illness at a party rally.

But Mnangagwa's supporters allege he was struck down by poison-laced ice cream produced on a farm owned by first lady Grace Mugabe.

The pair have been locked for months in an increasingly bitter war of words over who should replace Zimbabwe's 93-year old president.

They are widely seen as the two leading contenders.

In a rare television appearance, 75-year-old Mnangagwa on Thursday night forcefully rebuffed recent criticism from the country's other vice-president Phelekezela Mphoko, who said the public row had undermined Mugabe.

"I never said I was poisoned in Gwanda but that I fell ill," Mnangagwa said, referring to the location of the ruling party gathering, shortly after which he fell ill.

But in a dramatic twist to the saga that has transfixed Zimbabweans, Grace Mugabe also poured cold water on claims that she had a hand in Mnangagwa's unexplained sickness.

"How could I possibly poison Mnangagwa? I am the wife of the president," said Grace Mugabe in a Thursday night address to party supporters and government officials.

"What would I want from him that I don't have? Why would I want to kill someone who was given a job by my husband? It is nonsensical.

"When you go around saying all nonsensical stuff it means you have failed the politics. You need to stay home."

- 'Might have reached breaking point' -

Mnangagwa has since recovered from his undisclosed illness.

Grace has publicly called on her husband to name a successor that analysts say she hopes will be her, ratcheting up tensions with Mnangagwa, a regime loyalist widely tipped to succeed Mugabe.

"We have definitely got two elephants fighting -- we will see what happens to the grass," said Derek Matyszak, a senior researcher at the Pretoria-based Institute of Security Studies.

"It's a bit like the Cuban missile crisis -- we are looking to see who blinks first."

Mugabe has enforced strict discipline in his ruling ZANU-PF party for decades and avoided naming a successor even as concerns have grown over his advanced age and failing health.

But the open warfare between Grace and Mnangagwa has apparently left Mugabe furious.

In July, leading Grace ally Jonathan Moto, the higher education minister, accused Mnangagwa of a "power grab" after he was pictured posing with a mug emblazoned with the words "I am the boss".

In a video clip from on Tuesday, Mugabe appeared to have refused to shake Mnangagwa's hand at Harare's airport in an incident that analysts suggest means "lines were crossed".

"The level of this confrontation is unprecedented and it might have reached breaking point," Matyszak said.

"Mugabe will be considering his options as to what to do about this Mnangagwa thing."

Mugabe said last month that he may name a preferred candidate to replace him.

But the former liberation leader ruled out simply appointing his favoured figure and said his ruling ZANU-PF party must make the final decision.

The president has repeatedly condemned factionalism within his own party in thinly veiled rebukes to Mnangagwa and his wife's public posturing.
The US embassy in Havana, a symbol of relations that have grown tense again under US President Donald Trump

Direct postal service between Cuba and the United States, which had resumed last year after a 48-year break, has been suspended since March, a Cuban official disclosed Friday.

The development was another indicator of the souring relations between Havana and Washington since US President Donald Trump came to office.

Earlier this week, the State Department ordered the expulsion of 15 Cuban diplomats in response to a mysterious ailment that has sickened 22 US diplomats serving in Cuba.

Soraya Bravo, vice president of the Cuban postal system, disclosed the months-long interruption in direct mail service in comments to local media.

She said mail to and from the United States was still being routed through third countries, and that the volume has dropped by 47 percent so far this year.

"We are waiting for a response from the (US) postal authorities to be able to reactivate direct mail service through regular commercial flights, which is the usual practice worldwide," she said.

The two countries had renewed direct mail service in March 2016 as part of a thaw in relations under former US president Barack Obama.

That was done through a year-long pilot program in which mail was carried by a charter company, IBC Airways, initially three times a week and then reduced to twice a week.

But the pilot program expired in March and deliveries have not resumed because the US side has yet to respond to Cuba's proposal that the mail be carried on commercial flights, according to Bravo.

Cuban officials had hoped to talk to their US counterparts about it at a meeting of postal authorities from the Americas, Spain and Portugal that was supposed to have been held in September in Mexico. However, the meeting was suspended after a major earthquake in Mexico.

Direct service between the two countries was cut off by Cuba in 1968 after a bomb exploded in a package received in Havana.
Boeing's recent tech-focused investments show it thinks autonomous and hybrid aircraft may not be too far in the future

Boeing is beefing up its investments in autonomous and electric hybrid planes in anticipation that aviation could be primed for as much disruption as virtually every other sector.

The aerospace giant has announced a series of recent tech-focused investments, unveiling plans Thursday to acquire autonomous aviation company Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation, as well as a stake in Zunum Aero, which works on hybrid electric planes.

Many of the technologies -- such as unmanned flying taxis -- sound space age, but the latest deals are a sign they may not be as far off as they seem. Boeing did not disclose financial terms for either investment.

"The aerospace industry is going to be changing," Boeing chief technology officer Greg Hyslop said in a conference call with journalists.

The Aurora purchase builds on Boeing's work with the company on commercial and military equipment. Today's commercial airplanes already employ sophisticated computer systems that have automated key aspects of flying.

But Aurora aims to go far beyond that, aspiring to a completely autonomous flight, from take-off to landing. A robot, with the aid of artificial intelligence, could back up a pilot by depressing the pedals, taking control in emergency situations or even landing the plane.

In May, Aurora, collaborating with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, successfully tested its automated co-pilot system on a Boeing commercial plane.

Aurora has also worked to develop a kind of flying taxi system, of keen interest to Boeing in its ongoing rivalry with Airbus.

In April, Aurora was selected by Uber to develop its on-demand urban air transportation system. Aurora's goal of delivering 50 autonomous aircraft for testing by 2020 is "well within reach," the company said at the time.

Airbus for its part is working to develop its flying taxi system Vahana by the end of the year, as well as another concept, Pop UP, that could travel between cities.

- Electric planes in 2022 -

Boeing also is seeking greater exposure to electric hybrid aircraft, a pursuit of Aurora and also of Zunum Aero, a Seattle startup in which Boeing has a stake.

Zunum Aero said Thursday it expects to be able to deliver hybrid electric planes for delivery in 2022.

The plane aims to address a gap in regional travel of up to 1,000 miles, a segment for which there are few options, high costs and "door-to-door travel times haven't improved in decades," Zunum Aero said in a news release.

The technology could let planes skip big regional airports such as Washington and Boston and instead travel from Beverly, Massachusetts to College Park, Maryland at a lower fare.

The company expects to begin test flights in 2019. Zunum Aero has hired technologists who have worked on leading-edge vehicles for Boeing and Rolls-Royce.

"This aircraft is going to transform how we live and work," said founder and Aero chief engineer Matt Knapp. "We've pushed ourselves to challenge conventional wisdom and the limits of engineering to deliver an aircraft of which we are extremely proud -- one that offers efficiency and performance without compromise."
Children wear masks in the capital Antananarivo to protect themselves against possible infection

Authorities in Madagascar Friday announced a ban on prison visits to prevent the spread of a plague epidemic that has killed 36 people in the Indian Ocean island.

"In order to protect prisoners from the plague that is spreading outside the prison, we have decided to suspend family visits," prisons administrator Arsen Ralisaona told AFP.

The ban covers seven jails in the country's two worst affected regions.

The risk of contamination is high in overcrowded prisons, where conditions are usually unhygienic.

The outbreak includes bubonic plague, which is spread by infected rats via flea bites, and pneumonic plague, which spreads from person to person.

It has also resulted in a ban on public gatherings and forced the closure of two universities -- putting pressure on the countrys health facilities.

According to local media, Ambohimiandra, a specialised hospital in the capital Antananarivo, was failing to cope with the influx of infected patients. Long queues had formed outside, as people flocked to buy face masks and medicine.

Madagascar suffers annual plague outbreaks, but this year the disease has affected urban areas, triggering concern from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The latest official toll from the plague stood at 36 on Friday, out of 258 people who have contracted the disease since August.

WHO has announced a delivery of 1.2 million doses of antibiotics to assist the country.

Most of the infections are associated with pneumonic plague - a more dangerous form of the disease that affects the lungs and is transmitted through coughing at close range.

Pneumonic plague can kill quickly, within 18 to 24 hours of infection if left untreated, but it can be cured by early use of antibiotics.

Bubonic plague which was dubbed the Black Death when it claimed an estimated 25 million lives in Europe during the Middle Ages, has become very rare.
Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu's letter has sparked a huge row in Nigeria, where the government has vowed to root out the 'cancer' of corruption

A leaked memo from Nigeria's minister of state for oil has shown that irregularities in the state-owned oil giant remain entrenched, despite official vows to root out the "cancer" of graft.

Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari to report on questionable practices in the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Five NNPC contracts, with a total value of $25 billion, "were never reviewed by or discussed with the board," according to the letter published in local media.

"There are many more, your excellency," it added.

The NNPC is saddled with the reputation of being the historical slush fund of the country's governments, whether democratically elected or military.

The company, working in joint ventures with foreign oil majors, accounts for more than half of Nigeria's daily oil production of about two million barrels per day, estimates Benjamin Auge, a researcher associated with a French think-tank, the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).

- Massive corruption -

One of the biggest graft scandals in Nigerian history came to light in 2014, when central bank governor Lamido Sanusi revealed that the equivalent of $18 billion had disappeared from state coffers between 2012 and 2013.

Sanusi was removed from office, but the scandal and disclosures of large-scale looting of national assets were instrumental in the electoral defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, in favour of Buhari, who fought on a clean-hands ticket.

Buhari's critics say his anti-corruption campaign is targeting only opposition figures -- a charge that is likely to carry weight in the light of the leaked letter.

The letter appears to point to Kachikwu's deepening frustration.

"I have been unable to secure an appointment to see you despite very many attempts," Kachikwu wrote to Buhari, who is oil minister as well as president.

His missive was dated from late August, though until now the public was unaware of its existence.

No visible action has been taken, and the NNPC's chairman, Maikanti Kacalla Baru, whose governance of the oil giant is clearly in the memo's firing line, remains in office.

Auge suggested that Baru was appointed in 2016 in order to "isolate" Kachikwu.

Baru, an NNPC insider, is a complete contrast in personality and career profile to the outsider Kachikwu -- a Harvard-educated southerner who came to the NNPC through the private sector, where he was ExxonMobil's deputy chief for Africa, Auge said.

"The machinery which enabled corruption in the NNPC has not been switched off," he said. "The only thing that has changed is the networks of influence."

- Factional divide? -

Kachikwu was given a dual appointment in 2015 as minister of state and NNPC's group managing director in the declared aim of making the company's business less murky and corrupt.

At the time, investors in the oil sector cheered his appointment as a potential sign of changing times.

Today, though, suspicions are deepening of a factionalist divide within the government along regional lines, and of little appetite to cleanse the NNPC of the taint of corruption.

Baru, said a Nigerian financial analyst specialising in the oil sector, is part of an old guard from northern Nigeria, Buhari's own home, and through his long career at NNPC had built a network of political contacts.

The 58-year-old was named in 2016 "just because he was from the north," the analyst said. "Buhari has a northern agenda, you can't rule that out."

Jonathan's party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP), which is now in opposition, on Thursday called for Baru to be suspended, adding that a "loud silence" weighed on Buhari for the implications of sleaze hanging over the NNPC.

Kachikwu met with Buhari on Friday, offering only a terse "no comment" after the talks.

"I don't think Kachikwu will be fired, it would be a very bad move for the investors, but he might not be part of the government after the 2018 cabinet reshuffle," said the analyst, who requested anonymity in order to be able to speak freely.

"We are still sitting on the same corrupt system that existed before Buhari came into power," the analyst said. "Nothing has changed."
Former Iranian President Mohammad Khatami gives a press conference following a cabinet meeting in Tehran 14 July 2004

Iran's opposition said Friday that restrictions have been tightened on reformist former president Mohammad Khatami, barring him from all public meetings for three months.

Khatami has been banned from appearing in the media since mass protests against the government in 2009-2010, but continues to wield considerable power behind the scenes.

The opposition Kalemeh website said the Special Clerical Court had sent Khatami a letter asking him "not to take part in any political ceremonies and publicity for three months".

This was said to include any meetings, theatre performances and concerts, and barred individuals, government and seminary officials and student union members from meeting with him.

The new restrictions were first revealed by Khatami's nephew Mohammad Reza Tabesh, a member of parliament, earlier this week.

The letter was said to have been signed by the head of the Special Clerical Court, Ebrahim Raisi, the hardline runner-up in this May's presidential election.

The conservative Fars and Mehr news agencies said on Thursday that unnamed officials had denied the existence of the letter or the new restrictions.

But outspoken member of parliament Ali Motahari -- considered a political moderate -- criticised the new measures, saying they were illegal without proper consultation with Khatami or his lawyers.

"We have a good constitution and the parliament has also devised good laws but some councils and institutions such as the Special Clerical Court bypass the constitution and the parliament and drag the country towards autocracy," he said in comments carried by the semi-official ISNA news agency.

"Imposing more restrictions, at a time when public opinion is opposed to the continuation of the house arrest is regrettable," Motahari added.

He was referring to the house arrest of two other opposition leaders, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, who have been in detention since 2011 for their role in the anti-government protests.

Motahari also said it would give another excuse for the United States to accuse Iran of human rights abuses at a time when Washington is threatening to pull out of the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

"Have those who made this decision done so out of ignorance, or do they have a plan to bring the JCPOA (nuclear deal) to an end sooner?" he asked.
Smoke rises from buildings in Deir Ezzor on September 13, 2017, as Syrian forces advance during their ongoing battle against the Islamic State (IS) group

A French woman who travelled three times to Syria in support of her jihadist son was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday for being part of a terrorist conspiracy.

Christine Riviere, 51, was sentenced for her "unfailing commitment" to jihad and for helping a number of young women travel to Syria to marry jihadists including her son, Tyler Vilus.

It was the maximum sentence possible and included a stipulation that Riviere, a Muslim convert nicknamed "Mama Jihad" in the French press, will be ineligible for parole for seven years.

Vilus, 27, travelled to Syria to fight alongside the Islamic State group in 2012 or 2013.

Riviere, who visited her son three times in 2013 and 2014, denied fighting with the Islamic State group, though she posted pictures on Facebook of decapitations and of herself holding a Kalashnikov.

"I didn't want to push him to die a martyr, but that could happen," she said of her son. "Then he would be in heaven, near Allah."

Friday's verdict came barely a week after the conviction and sentencing of another French mother of a jihadist.

Nathalie Haddadi, 43, whose son fought and is thought to have died in Syria, was given a two-year jail sentence for financing terrorism because she wired funds to him.

Haddadi's lawyer Herve Denis said she would appeal the verdict, to avoid it becoming a precedent for the 2,000 French parents whose children had travelled to Syria to wage jihad.

Riviere's 30-year-old son Leroy, in tearful testimony, said he did not think his mother had "killed innocents".

"She left for her son, for love, not to fight," he said.

He described Riviere as a loving mother who dreamed of going on a world cruise with her sons, who were named after characters in the television series "Fame".

A psychiatrist who served as an expert witness at the trial said Riviere had lost her critical and moral judgement and had fantasies about sharing her son's extremism.

- 'She is completely lost' -

Her lawyer Thomas Klotz described a woman who had lost her bearings but had only a rudimentary knowledge of Islam. "She is completely lost, we are in the heart of darkness," he said.

The prosecutor called Riviere a "jihad madam" because she supplied brides to IS soldiers.

Riviere said she converted to Islam in 2012 at her son's behest but would have been drawn to the religion anyway, saying it had "calmed" her.

Riviere, the daughter of funfair workers, was arrested in July 2014 as she was preparing a fourth visit.

Vilus was arrested a year later in Turkey, from where he was extradited to France, where an investigation is pending.
Relations between Washington and Khartoum improved significantly under the administration of former US president Barack Obama, who had in January eased the sanctions imposed in 1997 with a view to lifting them completely after a review period

The United States announced an end to its 20-year-old trade embargo against Sudan on Friday, citing what it said are improvements in Khartoum's human rights record.

Washington did not drop Sudan from its blacklist of state terror sponsors nor end its support for the international war crimes indictment targeting President Omar al-Bashir.

But the decision was nonetheless a breakthrough for Bashir's regime, which has engaged with Washington in a bid to end the international isolation that it has suffered since the bloody crisis in Darfur that broke out in 2003.

Some human rights advocates denounced the move, the fruit of an intense 16-month diplomatic initiative that began under former US president Barack Obama, but other observers cautiously hailed it as a small step forward for the region.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson published a report confirming the decision, and State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the order would come into effect on October 12.

It came, she said, "in recognition of the Government of Sudan's sustained positive actions to maintain a cessation of hostilities in conflict areas in Sudan."

And she cited what she said was Sudan's sustained commitment to "improve humanitarian access throughout Sudan and maintain cooperation with the United States on addressing regional conflicts and the threat of terrorism."

Sudan welcomed the move, in a foreign ministry statement carried on the official SUNA news agency.

"The leaders of Sudan, the government of Sudan and the people of Sudan welcome the positive decision taken by American President Donald Trump of removing the economic sanctions completely," it said.

- 'More progress is needed' -

Specifically, US officials told reporters Sudan had refrained from new violence in three areas of its territory where its forces were accused of widespread atrocities: Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

In addition it has improved humanitarian access to former conflict zones and halted its attempts to destabilize South Sudan, granted independence in July 2011.

The officials said US and Sudanese counterterrorism cooperation had improved and Khartoum was now helping regional efforts to hunt Joseph Kony's rebel Lords Resistance Army.

But work remains to be done, and Washington wants to see more improvement in Sudan's behavior before there is any talk of restoring full diplomatic ties.

"This marks one step forward on a long and hard road where much more progress is needed," a senior administration official told reporters.

As one of three countries designated a state sponsor of terror -- in Sudan's case for allegedly sponsoring violent Islamist extremists -- Khartoum remains under a US arms embargo.

Another official also cautioned that Sudan must comply with UN Security Council resolutions banning the import of weapons from North Korea.

"We will not necessarily take the government at their word," he said.

"We will be closely monitoring the situation, and they understand that we have zero tolerance for continued arms deals with North Korea."

In 2009, the International Criminal Court in the Hague issued an arrest warrant for Bashir, alleging he was responsible for five counts of crimes against humanity.

- Government atrocities -

The US officials said that nothing had changed in Washington's support for this action, and that targeted US sanctions related to the Darfur conflict would remain in place.

"We continue to call for all those responsible for crimes in Darfur to be held accountable and to support... justice for all the victims of the crimes in Darfur," one said.

Reaction to the decision from experts was mixed.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, seen here during a visit to the village of Shattaya in South Darfur on September 22, remains under an ICC arrest warrant despite the end of the US trade embargo

Andrea Prasow, deputy Washington director of pressure group Human Rights Watch, said: "It sends the wrong message to lift these sanctions permanently when Sudan has made so little progress on human rights.

"Sudanese government forces continue to attack civilians, gun down peaceful protesters, and imprison human rights activists and Sudan's president is wanted for atrocity crimes in Darfur."

But the International Crisis Group, which studies and promotes conflict resolution, gave a guarded thumbs up.

"This is a big day for Sudan," said ICG Sudan analyst Magnus Taylor, arguing that the US "five-track" diplomatic process had proved effective in convincing Sudan to cooperate.

"Sudan sees this as a first rung, albeit a big one, on the ladder towards normalization," he said.

"If the US is smart it will use the momentum it has gained in its relations with Sudan and push for further improvements in the conduct of the Sudanese government."

In January, then US president Obama eased the sanctions with a view to lifting them completely after a six-month review.

But in July, President Donald Trump extended the review period to October 12, then last month, he removed Sudan from a list of countries hit by a US travel ban.
A nun attends a rally on June 30, 2014 to praise the Supreme Court's decision that family-owned private companies could choose not to provide contraceptive coverage to female employees on religious grounds

US President Donald Trump's administration annulled on Friday an Obamacare provision that obliged employer health plans to pay for contraception, potentially stripping free birth control from millions of women.

The move extends to all commercial enterprises an exemption already given to religious institutions.

Rights groups erupted in anger and the American Civil Liberties Union threatened a lawsuit, but the White House called it a matter of religious freedom.

The ruling expands "exemptions to protect moral convictions for certain entities and individuals whose health plans are subject to a mandate of contraceptive coverage" under Obamacare, a note published by the US Department of Health and Human Services said.

Millions of American women who had the cost of contraception reimbursed could be affected by the Trump administration's decision, which conservative groups had been seeking since Obamacare began.

Challenges to Obamacare had reached the US Supreme Court, which in 2014 ruled that family-owned private companies could choose not to provide contraceptive coverage to female employees on religious grounds.

In May, Trump signed a decree on religious liberty ordering his administration to take account of objections of conscience on matters of contraception.

Obamacare is the common name for the Affordable Care Act, health reforms that took effect under former President Barack Obama in 2010. It allowed millions of uninsured people to get health insurance.

The powerful American Civil Liberties Union said on Twitter that it is "suing the Trump administration to block new rules allowing employers to deny insurance coverage for birth control."

Planned Parenthood, also on Twitter, said the new rule "puts our birth control coverage at risk."

The non-profit health organization, targeted for cuts by Trump's administration because it provides abortion services, added that the decision on contraception coverage "shows the Trump admin's disdain for women's health & lives."

Bernie Sanders, who sought the Democratic nomination for president in last November's election, called the new rule sexist.

"It's the latest display of Republicans' total disdain for women's ability to control their own lives," he said.

But the White House framed it as an issue of religious liberty and asserted that the law was on its side.

"The president believes that the freedom to practice one's faith is a fundamental right in this country and that's all today was about," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters.

"I don't understand why that should be an issue. The Supreme Court has validated this decision, certainly many times over and the president is somebody who believes in the constitution," Sanders said.

Repealing Obamacare was one of Trump's most strident campaign promises. He described Obamacare as a "total disaster," but his Republican Party has failed in efforts to repeal the health reforms.

kall-elc/it/acb
Cameroon police officials walk with riot shields on a street in the administrative quarter of Buea some 60kms west of Douala on October 1, 2017

Catholic bishops have denounced the "barbarism" and "irresponsible use" of force against demonstrators in Cameroon's English-speaking regions last weekend, which left at least 19 people dead.

The clashes occurred as separatists leaders in the regions made a symbolic declaration of independence, saying the Anglophone minority has suffered decades of economic inequality and social injustice at the hands of the French-speaking majority.

"We condemn in the strongest terms possible the barbarism and the irresponsible use of firearms against unarmed civilians by the forces of law and order, even if they are provoked," the bishops of the Bamenda Provincial Episcopal Conference said in a statement obtained by AFP on Friday.

Fourteen died in clashes with security forces over the weekend, and five prisoners were shot by guards in an attempted jail break at Kumbo, according to an AFP toll.

Some worshippers were tear gassed while leaving mass, while others were "arrested, some maimed and some (including defenceless teenagers and elderly persons) were simply shot to death, some from helicopters," they said.

"In Bamesing, in the archdiocese of Bamenda, some young men were caught and shot on the legs," they added, adding that many pweople were arrested and "taken away to where we do not know."

The government has claimed its forces acted in self-defence after imposing a curfew on the regions.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Amnesty International have called on Cameroon to investigate the fatalities.

The bishops called on the government of President Paul Biya to release all who have been detained, and for "honest and meaningful dialogue" to end the crisis.

Cameroon's anglophone-francophone rift dates back to 1961, when the British-administered Southern Cameroons united with Cameroon after its independence from France in 1960.
Chaplain Terry Hollister is the calm in the storm, especially when hes strumming his guitar.

Hollister has served as a hospital chaplain at St. Vincent Healthcare since 2004, a vocation that he calls a gift because he loves helping people. Hollister is the coordinator of ministry formation and clinical pastoral education at St. Vincent Healthcare. In that role, he is also helping train new chaplains.

SAINTS 2017 on Saturday night at the Radisson Convention Center will benefit the pastoral education program.

On a recent morning, Hollister strummed the chords to old church hymns for a patient hed met the day before. Then Hollister walked into a waiting room and performed Lady, Are You Crying? a John Denver song. A man with a cowboy hat beamed at Hollister and thanked him for the song.

You just cant go wrong with John Denver or James Taylor, Hollister said.

After 13 years of serving as a chaplain, Hollister feels led to be in certain places at certain times where his calming presence relieves the tension for patients and medical staff alike. Its something you cant teach, rather you need to feel it.

I just pray every day, 'God put me in the place I'm needed most,'" Hollister said.

Registered nurse Kathy Ensign has felt the impact of hearing Hollisters music. A mandolin player herself, Ensign said music can lift spirits or calm you down.

When you come around the corner and he strums just one note, your heart rate goes down. It resets your brain. You rush around here and then you hear the music and you know it will be OK, Ensign said.

'Good for the soul'

Patient Jeffrey Mosser and his wife, Linda, nodded their heads to the beat as Hollister played music for them last week.

It relieves your pain and touches the spirit, Jeffrey Mosser said. It brings me peace.

Linda Mosser said that her husband had struggled through a difficult night so it felt good to have Hollisters presence in his room. The music makes it even better, she said.

Hollister often performs with violinist Elizabeth Wagner, who has known Hollister since the 1980s when he was a pastor at Grace Fellowship in Billings and she was in the congregation.

Its fun, she said. After all these years of playing together, its nice to be here playing for the patients.

Hollister doesnt read notes, but rather takes cues from Wagner who is classically trained and used to perform with the Billings Symphony Orchestra.

"Music touches the heart. Its hard to measure that, Hollister said.

They head upstairs and start playing music in a hallway near the nurse's station.

A little music is good for the soul, Hollister tells a woman who is visiting a patient at St. Vincent.

The two musicians warm up on a stirring duet of Just a Closer Walk With Thee then Wagner feels like playing a jazzier tune, Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue." As soon as the song ends, a tearful woman who said she's there to visit her husband of 70 years thanked Wagner for the memories.

Moments like these bolster not just the patients' moods, but those of the performers as well.
The THAAD missile system, seen here in a photo received courtesy of the Missile Defense Agency on July 30, 2017, is one of the most advanced defensive anti-missile systems in the US arsenal

The US government has approved the sale to Saudi Arabia of the advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system for $15 billion, the State Department said Friday.

"This sale furthers US national security and foreign policy interests, and supports the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the face of Iranian and other regional threats," a statement said.

The green light for the deal, which Saudi Arabia has long sought, came one day after King Salman met Russia's President Vladimir Putin and signed a preliminary agreement to look at Moscow's S-400 air defense system.

The THAAD -- which has already been supplied to Saudi Arabia's neighbors Qatar and the United Arab Emirates -- is one of the most capable defensive missile batteries in the US arsenal and comes equipped with an advanced radar system.

Its recent deployment by the US military in South Korea to protect against any North Korean strike drew protests from Beijing, who feared its sensors would be able to penetrate into Chinese air space and upset the balance of power.

The State Department said it would advise Congress that, in Saudi hands, the system would act to stabilize the situation in the Gulf and help defend US forces in the region and their allies, who face a growing Iranian missile capability.

"The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region," it said.

Officials told AFP that the sale, which can go ahead if the US Congress does not object within 30 days, should be seen as part of an overall $110 billion arms package that President Donald Trump promised the Saudi kingdom during a visit in May.

"This potential sale will substantially increase Saudi Arabia's capability to defend itself against the growing ballistic missile threat in the region," a statement said.

"THAAD's exo-atmospheric, hit-to-kill capability will add an upper-tier to Saudi Arabia's layered missile defense architecture."

The main US contractors who will profit from the sale are aerospace giant Lockheed Martin's space systems division and defense contractor Raytheon.
Former US president Barack Obama delivered a keynote speech at the Green Economy Summit 2017 in Argentina's Cordoba province

Former US president Barack Obama made an impassioned plea on Friday for the world to embrace clean energy and overcome climate change at a gathering of experts in Argentina.

Obama told an audience of government ministers, business leaders and young environmental activists they were part of a generation with the scientific means and imagination to begin to repair the planet.

"This is no longer speculation, this is no longer an issue that we can put off, this is firmly in the present."

"If we take advantage of this critical time, we have the chance to slow and even stop a trend that could be disastrous," said Obama, who signed the Paris climate agreement that President Donald Trump has controversially signalled his intention to abandon.

"We cannot condemn our children and their children to a future they cannot repair," said Obama.

"We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change but we're also the last generation that can do something about it."

Despite pulling out of the Paris deal, he said, "the good news is that the United States will hit its targets despite a different approach by the incoming administration.

"Because so much of what we did is now embedded in our economy and in our culture, because our states and cities, our universities, our largest companies, have made it clear that they will keep pushing forward for the sake of future generations."

But Obama also warned the Paris accord would not solve the climate crisis on its own, and that as technology evolved, more ambitious targets would have to be set.

"If we set bolder targets then we will open the floodgates for businesses, scientists, engineers to reach the high-tech low carb investment and innovation that's needed on a scale we've never seen before."

The two-day Green Economy conference in the central city of Cordoba heard from experts including Nobel economic laureate Edmund Phelps that the global fight for clean energy rests with businesses and ordinary people because governments were lagging behind.

Obama kept with the theme, saying young people in particular "understand this is not just a job for politicians."

"We've got to educate our friends, our families, our colleagues, and describe what's at stake. And we need to speak up in town halls, and in churches. We need to push back against those who would try to spread misinformation, and deny science."

Although the internet was providing more access to knowledge that ever before, he said, "if you watch Fox News you probably don't believe climate change is such a problem."

"If we can look beyond the daily news cycle and think about the basics, the air that our children breathe, if that is our focus and we're willing to put that above any short term interests then it won't be too late."

He highlighted how the ocean was rising to threaten Miami, one of the largest cities in the US.

"It's very hard to build a dam around Miami because the water is coming up through the ground. It's porous, that's the reason why even on a sunny day there are parts of Miami now where you'll see a foot of water running down the street."

- Business on board -

Obama said business leaders had to be reminded that there was no contradiction between a clean environment and strong economic growth.

But Phelps also warned against climate change provoking "mass hysteria" and leading to over-regulation, which he said would be an "innovation killer."

"If an entrepreneur has to demonstrate to a whole bunch of government agencies that he is not going to cause any pollution, then we would lose the normal tendency of new companies and new ideas starting up," said Phelps, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2006.

The United States is the world's second biggest producer of greenhouse gases after China and its withdrawal was seen as a body blow to the landmark 2015 agreement, which commits signatories to efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.

Twenty-five US corporate giants including Apple, Google and Facebook, Unilever and Levi Strauss had publicly urged the US president to stick with the Paris agreement, arguing that it offered a chance for the United States to take the lead in clean energy.

Major American companies denounced his decision to pull out, including industrial and energy corporations, which have been working for years to reduce their carbon footprints.
Last month, demonstrators took to the streets of Los Angeles to call for protections for undocumented immigrants after Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program would be repealed

California became the first "sanctuary state" for undocumented immigrants Friday, a decision criticized by the Trump administration which believes the move will compromise security.

California's governor, Democrat Jerry Brown, signed the landmark legislation -- Senate Bill 54 (SB54) -- which grants better protections to people who are in the US without permission, including those who have committed crimes.

It also limits cooperation between local police forces and federal authorities in operations to track down undocumented immigrants.

The legislation, which will come into effect on January 1, 2018, is part of a series of laws which protect the almost 3 million undocumented immigrants living in California -- most of whom are from Mexico and Central America.

Brown insisted in his signing statement the measure will not "prevent or prohibit Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or the Department of Homeland Security from doing their own work in any way" -- but it will stop local authorities from assisting.

"They are free to use their own considerable resources to enforce federal immigration law in California," he wrote, adding that the new legislation will not deny ICE access to prisons.

But in a statement, ICE acting director Tom Homan responded: "The governor is simply wrong."

The law will "undermine public safety and hinder ICE from performing its federally mandated mission," Homan said.

"Ultimately, SB54 (...) creates another magnet for more illegal immigration," he insisted, adding ICE will have "no choice but to conduct at-large arrests in local neighborhoods and at worksites, which will inevitably result in additional collateral arrests."

ICE said it will also likely send immigrants arrested in California to detention centers outside of the state, "far from any family they may have in California."

A number of cities in California, such as Los Angeles and San Francisco, have already banned police officers from collaborating with ICE on operations to capture undocumented immigrants.

Last week, ICE detained 450 undocumented immigrants in the United States -- 101 of whom were in Los Angeles.

The bill signed into law by Brown also includes assistance for students and measures to combat abuse of tenants.
MADRID (AP) - The Latest on the fallout after Catalonia's disputed independence referendum (all times local):

9.25 p.m.

Catalonia's leader is again urging the Spanish government to accept mediation in one the country's deepest political crisis in decades as he vows to push ahead with a roadmap for the region's secession "in the next few days."

Catalan President Carles Puigdemont speaks during a statement at the Palau Generalitat in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017. Catalonia's regional president, Carles Puigdemont, is addressing regional lawmakers on Monday to review a referendum won by supporters of independence from Spain on Oct. 1. (Jordi Bedmar/Presidency Press Service, Pool Photo via AP)

In a televised speech late on Wednesday, regional president Carles Puigdemont condemned violence by police who tried to halt an independence referendum on Sunday that central authorities opposed.

"We held the referendum amid an unprecedented repression and in the following days we will show our best face to apply the results of the referendum," Puigdemont said.

The separatist leader also called the government of Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy "irresponsible" for not accepting mediation in the deadlock, and criticized King Felipe VI for following what he said were the government's "catastrophic" policies toward Catalonia.

"You have disappointed many Catalans," Puigdemont told the king.

___

7 p.m.

The Catalan parliament's secretary and attorney say that a planned plenary session to debate how the northeastern region's independence bid proceeds is unlawful and should be halted.

Catalonia's regional president, Carles Puigdemont, is addressing regional lawmakers on Monday to review a referendum won by supporters of independence from Spain on Oct. 1. The referendum and its legal framework had been put on ice by Spain's Constitutional Court, the reason why the parliament's legal counselors say the session should be halted.

Puigdemont says the vote, which took place amid police attempts to stop it that left hundreds injured, is valid and legitimates a declaration to break away from Spain.

The Spanish government says the vote was illegal and not valid, and blames Puigdemont for the violence.

Opposition parties have announced plans to appeal to the Constitutional Court to halt Monday's plenary session in the regional legislative.

___

6:15 p.m.

Spain's main stock market index has lost more than 2.8 percentage points as shares of Catalan banks sank further amid certainty over how the region's secession bid proceeds.

The Ibex 35 index, which groups shares of the country's leading companies, sank below the 10,000 points mark for the first time in two years.

Shares of Caixabank decreased 5 percent and Banco Sabadell's 5.7 percent, but losses were spread across the Spanish banking industry. Telecommunications giant Telelefonica, fashion retailer Inditex and leading energy companies Repsol, Iberdrola and Gas Natural also suffered significant losses.

Biotechnology company Oryzon performed against the tide, its shares gaining nearly 13 percent after it announced late on Tuesday that it was moving its headquarters from Catalonia to Madrid.

Catalonia's president is due to speak later on Wednesday after secessionist regional lawmakers announced the region's independence declaration would be Monday. Spain opposes it.

____

3:45 p.m.

European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans says there is a "general consensus that regional government of Catalonia has chosen to ignore the law when organizing the referendum."

Timmermans was referring to the disputed independence vote Sunday in Catalonia, which the Spanish government in Madrid says violates the constitution. Spanish police left over 900 voters and others injured as they tried to stop the vote, and say over 400 police were left with bruises.

In a statement Wednesday to the European parliament, Timmermans said, in the 28-nation bloc, "respect for the rule of law is not optional, it is fundamental."

Timmermans also said "it is fundamental that the constitution of every one of our member states are upheld and respected."

___

3:25 p.m.

The European Commission is appealing for dialogue between the Spanish government in Madrid and Catalonia even if it says there is a "general consensus" that the northeastern region ignored Spanish law with its referendum.

EU Commissioner Frans Timmermans on Wednesday called for both sides to talk to one another. He told legislators in Brussels "all lines of communication must stay open. It's time to talk, to find a way out of the impasse working within the constitutional order of Spain."

The separatist-run regional government has called for the European Union to intervene and mediate the dispute, but Timmermans seemed to rule that out.

He says "this is an internal matter for Spain that has to be dealt with in line with the constitutional order of Spain."

___

2:25 p.m.

The far-left party CUP says Catalonia's regional parliament will consider a declaration of independence from Spain on Monday.

CUP parliament member Mireia Boya says the Catalan government plans to present the results of last Sunday's disputed referendum on Monday, which will trigger a declaration of independence.

Provisional results of the referendum that the Spanish government considers illegal showed the "Yes" side winning 90 percent of the 2.3 million votes cast, which is less than half the region's electorate. There was no organized campaign for "No" for the referendum, which Spain's highest court had suspended and was marred by police raids to confiscate ballot boxes that injured hundreds of voters.

Boya says "Oct. 9 will be the session . to declare the independence of Catalonia."

CUP is not a part of the Catalan government, which is formed by two mainstream separatist parties.

___

12:30 p.m.

German officials say they are hoping for a "de-escalation" of the situation in Spain, but insist the conflict over Catalonia's independence drive is a domestic Spanish matter.

Asked about the Spanish police crackdown Sunday on people trying to vote in Catalonia's independence referendum, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said "it's absolutely not my role to evaluation police operations in Spain."

Seibert told reporters in Berlin on Wednesday that "it's the role of every government to uphold the democratic order," noting that Spain's constitutional court had previously declared the referendum to be in breach of the country's constitution.

He said Germany wasn't seeking to mediate in the dispute between Madrid and the regional government in Barcelona.

___

12:20 p.m.

Catalonia's regional government is mulling when to declare the region's independence from Spain in the wake of a disputed referendum that has triggered Spain's most serious national crisis in decades.

The region's pro-independence president, Carles Puigdemont, who has said an independence declaration will come in a few days, is due to deliver a speech later Wednesday.

Spain, which declared Sunday's referendum illegal and invalid, is bitterly opposed to any independence move. Spain's conservative government has said it will respond with "all necessary measures" to counter Catalan defiance, and is holding talks with opposition leaders to forge a consensus over what to do in response.

In a special national address Tuesday night, Spain's King Felipe VI said Catalan authorities had deliberately bent the law with "irresponsible conduct."

Spain's National Court on Wednesday said it will quiz two senior officers of Catalonia's regional police force and the leaders of two pro-Catalan independence civic groups who have been placed under investigation for sedition.

President of the Catalan parliament Carme Forcadell, center, attends a meeting with parliament representatives at the Catalonia Parliament in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017. Catalonia's regional government is mulling when to declare the region's independence from Spain in the wake of a disputed referendum that has triggered Spain's most serious national crisis in decades. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

Anti-independence demonstrators cheer members of the Spanish Civil Guard as they march in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday Oct. 3, 2017. As thousands of people demonstrated in Barcelona in an outcry against police violence on Sunday, Spain's King Felipe VI, said in a televised address that Catalan authorities have deliberately bent the law with "irresponsible conduct" and that the Spanish state needs to ensure constitutional order and the rule of law in Catalonia.(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Two girls, one with a Catalan independence flag wrapped on her shoulders walks together with another one with a Spanish flag as demonstrators gather in downtown Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday Oct. 3, 2017. Thousands of people are demonstrated in Barcelona in protest at what they say was police brutality during a referendum on Catalonia's secession from Spain that was previously declared illegal by Spain's Constitutional Court.(AP Photo/Santi Palacios)

In this image released by the Spanish Royal Palace, Spain's King Felipe VI delivers a speech on television from Zarzuela Palace in Madrid, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017. Spain's King said that Catalan authorities have deliberately bent the law with "irresponsible conduct" and that the Spanish state needs to ensure constitutional order and the rule of law in Catalonia. (Spain's Royal Palace via AP)

Anti-independence demonstrators greet members of the Spanish Guardia Civil as they march in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday Oct. 3, 2017. As thousands of people demonstrated in Barcelona in an outcry against police violence on Sunday, Spain's King Felipe VI, said in a televised address that Catalan authorities have deliberately bent the law with "irresponsible conduct" and that the Spanish state needs to ensure constitutional order and the rule of law in Catalonia.(AP Photo/Francisco Seco)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson (all times local):

3:10 p.m.

President Donald Trump says he has "total confidence" in Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson makes a statement at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

He told reporters in Las Vegas on Wednesday that a report that Tillerson called Trump a "moron" was "made up by NBC. They just made it up."

Tillerson earlier did not deny the report, but later had a spokeswoman do so. Tillerson did deny the report's account that he had considered quitting the administration in July. Trump made a politicized speech to the Boy Scouts of America. Tillerson was the president of the Boy Scouts for two years.

Trump spoke in Las Vegas after he met with first responders and victims of the mass shooting on a country music festival there on Sunday night.

__

2:30 p.m.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert is denying that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called President Donald Trump a "moron."

Her denial came after Tillerson himself declined an opportunity to refute a news report that he used the word to describe Trump after a Pentagon meeting in July.

Nauert said Tillerson had told her that he did not make the comment and she took him at his word.

Asked about an NBC News report that he had called Trump "a moron," Tillerson had earlier told a reporter that he did not want to comment on "petty stuff."

____

12:55 p.m.

The White House says President Donald Trump remains confident in Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

White House Press Secretary Huckabee Sanders tells reporters aboard Air Force One that: "If the president doesn't have confidence in somebody they will no longer remain in their position."

Tillerson delivered a statement Wednesday denying that he ever considered abandoning his job as Trump's top diplomat. He disputed what he called "erroneous" reports that he was on the verge of resigning this summer amid mounting policy disputes with the White House.

Tillerson, however, didn't deny an NBC story that he had called the president a "moron" after a contentious July 20 meeting at the Pentagon.

Trump tweeted the story was "#FakeNews" and called on NBC to "issue an apology to AMERICA!"

__

12:25 p.m.

Sen. Bob Corker, the Foreign Relations Committee chairman, says Secretary of State Rex Tillerson "is in an incredibly frustrating place."

The Tennessee Republican tells reporters that Tillerson "ends up not being supported in the way that I would hope a secretary of state would be supported."

Corker is one of Tillerson's strongest supporters in Congress. He says he has no knowledge of any derogatory comments Tillerson may have made about Trump. Corker also declined to say whether Tillerson may have considered resigning.

The senator also says that Tillerson, along with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly, are "those people that help separate our country from chaos."

Corker says, "There are other people within the administration, in my belief, that don't." He didn't provide names.

__

12:10 p.m.

An adviser to Vice President Mike Pence says the vice president never discussed the prospect of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson resigning from the Trump administration.

Pence aide Jarrod Agen says "any reporting to the contrary is categorically false."

Pence's office is pushing back against an NBC report that Tillerson considered resigning. Tillerson said at a news conference Wednesday that he never considered leaving his post.

The vice president is also contesting reports that Pence questioned U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley's value to the administration.

Agen says Pence has known Haley for many years and "holds her in the highest regard."

__

11:30 a.m.

President Donald Trump is pushing back on a report that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson considered resigning and called the president a "moron."

Trump tweets that the story by NBC News "has just been totally refuted" by Tillerson and Vice President Mike Pence. He calls it "#FakeNews" and says the network "should issue an apology to AMERICA!"

Tillerson says at a news conference that he never considered leaving his post. But he's not denying that he called his boss a "moron." Asked about the report, Tillerson says, "We don't deal with that kind of petty nonsense."

__

11:20 a.m.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says a report that he called President Donald Trump his boss, "a moron" is "petty nonsense."

But at a State Department news conference Wednesday, Tillerson did not deny that he had called his boss that name.

Asked about the report, Tillerson replied, "We don't deal with that kind of petty nonsense."

NBC News reported earlier in the day that Tillerson had called Trump "a moron" and threatened to quit after the president delivered a highly politicized speech to the Boy Scouts of America. Tillerson was president of the organization from 2010 to 2012, according to his State Department biography.

Tillerson said Wednesday he never considered resigning, adding, "I'm just not going to be part of this effort to divide this administration."

__

11:05 a.m.

Rex Tillerson says he has never considered leaving the post of secretary of state.

Tillerson said Wednesday that reports suggesting otherwise are "erroneous."

He was giving a statement Wednesday after NBC News reported the former Exxon Mobil CEO had been on the verge of resigning this summer amid mounting policy disputes with the White House. NBC said the tensions came to a head around the time President Donald Trump gave a politicized speech in July to the Boy Scouts of America, an organization Tillerson once led.

NBC also said Tillerson referred to Trump as a "moron" after a July 20 meeting at the Pentagon with members of Trump's national security team and Cabinet officials. NBC cited three anonymous officials familiar with the incident.
SAO PAULO (AP) - Brazilian federal police are questioning former communist militant Cesare Battisti, who is considered a fugitive in his native Italy.

Battisti escaped from Italian prison in 1981 while awaiting trial on four counts of murder allegedly committed when he was a member of the Armed Proletarians for Communism. He was convicted in absentia in 1990. He has acknowledged membership in the group but denies killing anyone.

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rejected Italy's extradition request in 2010 and granted Battisti asylum.

The press office of the federal police confirmed that Battisti was taken in for questioning near the Bolivian border on Wednesday. But it would not say whether there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest.

Brazilian media have reported that Italy is renewing its extradition request.
PARIS (AP) - French President Emmanuel Macron has prompted a public outcry with comments suggesting employees of a struggling company should look for a job instead of protesting.

During a visit to Egletons training school in central France on Wednesday, Macron said "some people, instead of screwing everything up, they would better see whether they can get some jobs."

He was referring to workers worried about job losses at a nearby factory who organized a demonstration on the sidelines of his visit. And, unusually for him, he used vulgar language.

French President Emmanuel Macron, gestures during a visit at the School of Application to the Trades of Public Works (EATP), which is devoted to apprenticeship and vocational training, in Egletons, central France, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)

Many politicians from the right and left expressed anger at the comments Thursday, considering them disrespectful to the unemployed.

Macron's popularity rate has plunged as his government starts to implement labor reforms. He is increasingly criticized as the "president of the rich."

French President Emmanuel Macron gestures as he stands alongside students during a visit at the School of Application to the Trades of Public Works (EATP), which is devoted to apprenticeship and vocational training, in Egletons, central France, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017. (Ludovic Marin/Pool Photo via AP)
DALLAS (AP) - Southern Methodist University has suspended a fraternity accused of forcing new members to eat hot peppers and red onions and drink milk until they threw up.

The Dallas Morning News reports that the Dallas school and the national office of the Kappa Alpha Order have suspended the fraternity's Beta Lambda chapter at SMU.

The suspension follows an investigation into reports of hazing at the fraternity during the spring semester. The university says in a letter to parents that evidence shows new members were paddled and forced to wear vomit-covered clothes.

Last year, a Kappa Alpha Order chapter in Virginia was suspended for sending a sexist email to students. Another in Missouri was suspended over a hazing incident. And a South Carolina chapter was closed over an off-campus drug ring.
PARIS (AP) - Russia has donated a statue of Peter the Great to the French Academy of Sciences to mark 300 years since the Russian czar visited Paris in a pivotal moment in his crusade to open his country toward the West.

In unveiling the bust Thursday, Russian Deputy Culture Minister Alla Manilova told The Associated Press it's a "gesture that underlines the depths of our relations."

She also called it a gesture of "historic justice": While the French academy holds busts of other great world thinkers, she said, "there was one who wasn't here - it was Peter."

Deputy Culture Minister of the Russian Alla Manilova poses next to the statue of Russian czar Peter the Great during a ceremony at the Academy of Sciences in Paris, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017. Russia donates a statue of Peter the Great to the French Academy of Sciences to mark 300 years since the Russian czar visited Paris in a pivotal moment in Russia's opening to the west. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

The ceremony in the prestigious, domed Paris academy comes as French President Emmanuel Macron has cautiously sought to improve ties with Russia after years of East-West tensions over Moscow's actions in Syria and Ukraine.

The letter of thanks written by Russian czar Peter the Great to the French Academy of Sciences is displayed in Paris, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017. Russia donates a statue of Peter the Great to the French Academy of Sciences to mark 300 years since the Russian czar visited Paris in a pivotal moment in Russia's opening to the west. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

The statue of Russian czar Peter the Great is unveiled by the permanent secretary of the Academy of Sciences Helene Carrere d'Encausse, left, Russian ambassador to France Alexander Orlov, center, and French physicist Catherine Brechignac at the Academy of Sciences in Paris, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017. Russia donates a statue of Peter the Great to the French Academy of Sciences to mark 300 years since the Russian czar visited Paris in a pivotal moment in Russia's opening to the west. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

The statue of Russian czar Peter the Great is pictures at the Academy of Sciences in Paris, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017. Russia donates a statue of Peter the Greatthe Great to the French Academy of Sciences to mark 300 years since the Russian czar visited Paris in a pivotal moment in Russia's opening to the west. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (AP) - The Eastman Chemical Company says two coal gas explosions and a fire this week at its Tennessee chemical plant posed no threat to the environment or human health.

Eastman says there were no serious injuries Wednesday at its Kingsport manufacturing facility from the blasts and fire. Neighbors were warned to shelter in place as a big plume of smoky black pollution rose in the air, some for more than four hours.

Eastman chief legal officer David Golden says carbon monoxide and hydrogen were released, but those emissions were at concentrations that didn't threaten people's health or cause any long-term environmental impact.

Golden says Eastman is still investigating the cause. He says the plant's unaffected areas are restarting.

Eastman says the site produces chemicals for paints, adhesives, textiles and other products.
Michael Gogal realized that a giving anglers and paddlers mobile access to waterway maps, GPS features and USGS flow information could make venturing out on rivers and lakes safer and more productive.

The trick was to create the app without drowning in a flood of data.

I like to fish remote streams, he said, citing the genesis of Stream Map USA. Im using apps all of the time. I made this one because it wasnt out there.

Stream Map USA is a searchable, color-coded river, lake and stream map that can be viewed over road maps, satellite images and high resolution 1:24,000 scale U.S. Geological Survey topographic maps.

Development didnt happen overnight.

The Philadelphia app creator and angler recalled visiting the office of a fisheries biologist and seeing a detailed watershed map on the wall made by a Penn State University professor. It captivated me with its incredible color and detail on every stream and tributary in Pennsylvania, Gogal told the Spokesman-Review.

He was inspired to do a digital version for the 48 contiguous states.

The data is out there, he said. States list streams that have fish, but then you have to find maps and hope every stream is on them.

Google Maps are weak on detail for streams and they miss a lot of rural roads. I had to start my computerized mapping with USGS 24K maps and go from there.

He went from there for more than three years.

The biggest challenge was the scope of the data, Gogal said. Millions of individual pieces of stream lines had to be merged.

A unique feature of Stream Map USA are the colors used for rivers, streams and tributaries.

For example, the North Fork of the Coeur dAlene River is green from headwaters to mouth. Cataract Creek, a tributary, is purple, and West Elk Creek, a trib to Cataract Creek, is red.

An angler hiking up a remote stream or a paddler floating down can use the GPS feature to pinpoint his location and quickly see the tributaries. They stand out distinctly as opposed to traditional maps that show blue lines for all streams.

Say youre wading upstream and come to a fork, Gogal suggested. Pull up the app. The blue stream I searched for goes right. That means the stream to the left is a tributary.

This also is very useful for boaters on big lakes to cruise the shoreline and identify tributaries.

Providing the distinctive features tested Gogals patience. Coloring of each stream had to be done manually.

I devoted months and months and months to coloring, reminding myself regularly that I only had to do it once, he said.

For search purposes, he also has designated some 300,000 waters as River or Stream.

After three and a half years, he had his product for iPhone, iPad and Android on the market through the App Store and Google Play.

I dont have to shop for maps anymore, he said. I can search for a stream, select a map option or satellite image, hit a button, see it and then zoom in or out as needed.

Specialized paper maps for specific streams showing put-in and take-out spots continue to have a definite role for planning fishing and floating trips.

But the Stream Map USA app will give turn-by-turn driving directions to a designated spot on a river. When out on the stream, a user can tap the GPS feature to pinpoint his exact location.

By adding waypoints as you head out, the map will show the location of your parked car, camp or fishing hot spot.

Then, if needed, a compass can be pulled up to navigate to that waypoint.

With or without cellular service, you can create and edit custom waypoints for planning purposes or save important destinations for future access. Waypoints are created by capturing your current location, entering GPS coordinates or with a simple touch of the map.

Boaters can set a destination as a waypoint and the app will show the distance on the compass feature as well as the heading and approximate speed of travel.

Every USGS streamflow gauge is indicated by a colored pin. Tap one of the pins and the app links directly to the USGS website for that stream gauge and real-time flow information and flow history.

You dont have to know the number or name of the gauge to access the online data, Gogal pointed out.

A data connection is required for searches but the GPS works without a cellular signal. Put the phone in airplane mode to save battery power.

Weve also included seamless USGS 7.5 minute topographic maps, road maps from the OpenStreetMap project and the option to view stream data over a plain white background, Gogal said.

Both USGS and OpenStreetMap can be stored locally on an Android along with the Stream Map for use in the field when cellular service is not available.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday challenged the detention of a U.S. citizen who was picked up on the Syrian battlefield for allegedly fighting with Islamic State militants. The Pentagon insisted it was holding the man legally.

The unidentified American, who has not been charged, surrendered to a U.S.-backed militant group in Syria around Sept. 12. He has been detained in Iraq since then as an unlawful enemy combatant, according to U.S. officials.

"He's being held in secret without access to counsel or a court," said Jonathan Hafetz, a senior staff attorney with the ACLU in New York. "Essentially, he's being held in a legal black hole with no way to enforce his basic constitutional rights as an American citizen."

The U.S. military has not publicly disclosed the man's name or exactly where he is being held. It has confirmed that the International Committee of the Red Cross visited with him last week.

The Defense Department said it doesn't comment on pending litigation.

But Maj. Ben Sakrisson, a Pentagon spokesman, said the military has the right to detain "captured enemy fighters" as part of the conflict against IS. He cited a 2004 Supreme Court decision regarding a captured Taliban fighter in Afghanistan that confirmed a "U.S. citizen may lawfully be subject to military detention in armed conflict under appropriate circumstances."

The ACLU filed the petition for a writ of habeas corpus in U.S. District Court in Washington, saying the American is being unlawfully detained. Such petitions are used to challenge the basis for someone's detention, its duration or confinement conditions.

The ACLU argues the U.S. military has no legal authority to hold IS fighters in military detention under war powers provided under the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force, which Congress passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

In a letter last week to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the ACLU said those war powers cannot be stretched to cover the current battle against the IS in Iraq and Syria. It said the same about a 2012 defense policy law that is the basis for America's detention of terrorism suspects.

The ACLU claims that even if the existing war powers applied to the IS conflict - which is fiercely disputed among lawyers, national security experts and lawmakers in Congress - the detained American still must be granted his basic legal rights as a citizen of the United States. The ACLU said it does not know the man's identity and has not been in contact with him.

"Military detention of this U.S. citizen is both unlawful and unnecessary," said Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU's National Security Project. "Fighting with a group like ISIS is a very serious allegation, and unlike the military, the federal court system unquestionably has jurisdiction to decide his case. Instead of continuing to deny a U.S. citizen his constitutional rights, the Trump administration has an opportunity to do the right thing here."
MILAN (AP) - Salvatore Ferragamo has named women's footwear designer Paul Andrew as creative director for womenswear, effective immediately.

CEO Eraldo Poletto said in a statement Thursday that Andrew "has the sensibility to read the creative codes and the values of the brand, and has the capacity to re-elaborate and re-affirm them with contemporaneity and energy."

Poletto said Andrew had already demonstrated his "dynamic vision" with the success of women's footwear in the last year.

Andrew's first collection will be previewed in February for fall-winter 2018-2019. He is Ferragamo's third womenswear creative director in short order, replacing Fulvio Rigoni who took over a year ago following the departure of long-time creative director Massimo Giornetti.
MOSCOW (AP) - The head of Russia's top domestic security agency is rejecting allegations of interference in the U.S. election.

Alexander Bortnikov, the director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the main KGB successor agency, said Thursday that he discussed claims of Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential vote with John Brennan when he led the CIA.

Bortnikov reaffirmed that "Russia has never interfered and won't interfere in sovereign nations' affairs."

The statement carried by Russian news agencies Thursday was the latest in a stream of denials issued by Russian officials in response to the meddling accusations.

Bortnikov said that despite Russia-U.S. tensions he and his agency have maintained contacts with U.S. counterparts on Syria and the fight against terrorism. He said Russia and the U.S. share information about potential terror threats.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - For 66-year-old Richard Boston, an Army veteran who has been disabled for more than 20 years, Oklahoma's Advantage program is a lifeline that allows him to continue living in his modest home in southwest Oklahoma City.

The state-funded program provides volunteers who do light housework and run errands. It also gives out medical equipment like a lift chair that allows him to get in and out of the bathtub despite his bad knees and back, the result of a disabling fall he suffered during his career as a truck driver.

"Without them, I don't know how I'd get by," said Boston, who lives on $875 a month. "I'd probably end up in a nursing home."

In this Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017 photo Disabled Army veteran Richard Boston, is seen at his home in Oklahoma City, with a lift chair that helps him get in and out of the bathtub that he receives as part of Oklahoma's Advantage waiver program. Amid cuts to state health agencies, the program that provides services to Medicaid-eligible disabled or elderly Oklahoma residents is among those that could face drastic cuts. (AP Photo/Sean Murphy)

Oklahoma already ranks as one of the unhealthiest in the nation, and state health services like the Advantage program are heading to the chopping block as Oklahoma lawmakers try to find ways to plug a $215 million hole in the state budget.

That budget hole was supposed to be plugged by a $1.50-per-pack cigarette fee before the state Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional because it didn't receive a three-fourth's majority vote. The funds were earmarked for three major health agencies: the Department of Human Services, Departments of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, and the Health Care Authority, which is the state's Medicaid agency.

Because DHS is required by court order to maintain funding for its child welfare programs, the Advantage program would almost certainly be decimated if the agency loses 10 percent of its budget - or an estimated $69 million it would have received from the cigarette tax - if lawmakers can't reach an agreement, said agency spokeswoman Sheree Powell.

The state's Medicaid agency has announced plans to slash reimbursement rates to health care providers by 9 percent beginning Dec. 1. The agency says that cuts are needed to make up for the loss of funding to its agency, cuts that could result in doctors and other health care providers refusing to treat Medicaid patients.

Already, several rural hospitals in Oklahoma have been shuttered. Since 2010, nine hospitals have declared bankruptcy and others have eliminated key services.

"Too many times my hospital and others around the state have been forced to choose between paying for food and medications for our patients or paying payroll taxes," said Jahni Tapley, CEO of McCurtain Memorial Hospital in southeast Oklahoma, where about 96 percent of the 300 births each year are to mothers who qualify for Medicaid.

"As it stands, my hospital loses $1.2 million each year simply because we offer Medicaid services," Tapley said.

Oklahoma ranked 46th among U.S. states in overall health in 2016, according to the United Health Foundation, a national not-for-profit foundation dedicated to improving the world's health. The state ranks eighth highest in the nation for uninsured residents, with 11 percent of its population without health insurance, and received particularly low marks for its high prevalence of smoking and its high premature death rate.

While the Legislature is considering a variety of tax increases to shore up the state budget, any tax hike is a tough sell to Republicans, many of whom campaigned on lower taxes and cutting government spending.

"I've campaigned on being a limited-government conservative," said Rep. Kevin Calvey, R-Oklahoma City, one of many House Republicans who opposes any new taxes. "I think there's a great deal of waste in state government, and I think that's what we need to be going after instead of raising taxes."

___

Follow Sean Murphy at www.twitter.com/apseanmurphy
WASHINGTON (AP) - Special counsel Robert Mueller's team of investigators has recently spoken with a former British spy who compiled a dossier of allegations about President Donald Trump's ties to Russia, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

The meeting with Christopher Steele took place in Europe in recent weeks, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

The dossier, which contends that Russia amassed compromising personal and financial allegations about Trump, was turned over to the FBI last year. It was developed by Steele, a former British spy who was assigned to look into Trump's Russia ties by a private American firm.

FILE - In this June 21, 2017, file photo, special counsel Robert Mueller departs Capitol Hill following a closed door meeting in Washington. Mueller's team of investigators has recently questioned a former British spy who compiled a dossier of allegations about President Donald Trump's ties to Russia. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The document of allegations, which circulated in Washington last fall before the presidential election, received public attention in January when it was revealed that then-FBI Director James Comey had privately briefed Trump on a summary on the document's findings.

Trump has called the allegations in the dossier "phony stuff" even as the FBI has been investigating and working to corroborate the document's claims. The conversation with Mueller's team, which is investigating potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, suggests that investigators continue to take the document seriously.

CNN first reported the interview with Steele.

At a news conference Wednesday, Sen. Richard Burr, the Republican chairman of the Senate's intelligence committee, said that his panel had been unsuccessful in its efforts to question Steele.

"The committee cannot really decide the credibility of the dossier without understanding things like who paid for it, who are your sources and subsources?" Burr said.

"My hope is that Mr. Steele will make a decision to meet with either Mark or I, or the committee or both so we can hear his side of it," said Burr, referring to Sen. Mark Warner, the committee's top Democrat.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The Latest on the resignation of USC's medical school dean (all times local):

7:10 p.m.

The man who replaced the disgraced dean of USC's medical school has resigned after less than a year.

Dr. Rohit Varma resigned Thursday as head of the Keck School of Medicine.

USC's provost says Varma chose to step down after the university learned "previously undisclosed information" that caused officials to lose confidence in his ability to lead the medical school.

Details weren't supplied but the Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/2xln1lL) says Varma was disciplined 15 years ago over allegations that he sexually harassed a researcher.

The Times says USC paid the woman more than $100,000 and temporarily blocked Varma from becoming a full faculty member.

A request for comment from Varma wasn't immediately returned.

Varma replaced Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, who resigned last year. USC later fired Puliafito after the Times reported he kept company with drug users.

___

5:36 p.m.

The man who replaced the disgraced dean of USC's medical school is out after less than a year.

The Los Angeles Times (http://lat.ms/2xln1lL ) says USC's provost announced Thursday that Dr. Rohit Varma is "no longer dean." The statement says USC lost confidence in Varma "based on previously undisclosed information" the school received in the past few days.

Details weren't supplied but the Times says Varma was disciplined 15 years ago over allegations that he sexually harassed a researcher.

It says USC paid the woman more than $100,000 and temporarily blocked Varma from becoming a full faculty member.

A request for comment from Varma wasn't immediately returned.

Varma replaced Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito, who resigned last year. USC later fired Puliafito after the Times reported he kept company with drug users.
STARKE, Fla. (AP) - The Latest on the execution of a Florida inmate (all times local):

10:15 p.m.

Florida has executed an inmate convicted of killing two people after a night of drinking decades ago.

This undated photo provided by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, shows Michael Lambrix in custody. Lambrix is scheduled for execution Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, for the 1983 killings of Clarence Moore and Aleisha Bryants near LaBelle, Fla. (Florida Department of Law Enforcement via AP)

The governor's office says Michael Lambrix died by lethal injection at 10:10 p.m. Thursday at Florida State Prison.

He was convicted of killing Clarence Moore and Aleisha Bryant in 1983. Prosecutors said he killed the pair outside his trailer near LaBelle, northeast of Fort Myers. Lambrix said he was innocent.

The 57-year-old Lambrix had filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that his execution should be halted after Florida's death penalty sentencing method was found to be unconstitutional. The state has since required a unanimous jury vote in death cases.

The jury wasn't unanimous in either of Lambrix's death sentence decisions, but Florida's Supreme Court has said the new rules don't apply to cases as old as his.

___

9:45 p.m.

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a request to stop the execution of a Florida inmate convicted of killing two people.

The court issued orders denying the stay Thursday night. Michael Lambrix had argued that the Thursday execution should be halted after Florida's death penalty sentencing method was found to be unconstitutional. The state has since required a unanimous jury vote in death cases.

The 57-year-old Lambrix was convicted of killing Clarence Moore and Aleisha Bryant in 1983. Prosecutors said he killed the pair outside his trailer near LaBelle, northeast of Fort Myers.

___

4:30 a.m.

A Florida inmate convicted of killing two people after a night of drinking decades ago is set to be executed in Florida.

Michael Lambrix was convicted of killing Clarence Moore and Aleisha Bryant in 1983. Prosecutors said he killed the pair outside his trailer near LaBelle, northeast of Fort Myers.

The 57-year-old Lambrix has filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the Thursday execution should be halted after Florida's death penalty sentencing method was found to be unconstitutional. The state has since required a unanimous jury vote in death cases.

The jury wasn't unanimous in either of Lambrix's death sentence decisions, but Florida's Supreme Court has said the new rules don't apply to cases as old as his.
NEW YORK (AP) - "Hamilton" creator Lin-Manuel Miranda released a new original song Friday to raise money for Puerto Rican hurricane relief and he's enlisted some of the biggest Latin stars in music to help.

"Almost Like Praying" features Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony, Camila Cabello, Gloria Estefan, Fat Joe, Luis Fonsi, John Leguizamo and Rita Moreno, among many others. All proceeds from the download and stream go to The Hispanic Federation's disaster relief fund .

"I was like every Puerto Rican with ties to the island, with family on the island. We all had a terrible few days of silence. For some, those days were weeks," Miranda told The Associated Press. "For me, that helplessness turned into, 'OK, well what can I write that will help? Can I write a tune that we can monetize?'"

This combination photo shows Lin-Manuel Miranda, top row from left, Rita Moreno, Jennifer Lopez, and bottom row from left, Camilla Cabello, Marc Anthony and Luis Fonsi who are a few of the musicians who have participated in the new original song, "Almost Like Praying" to help raise money for Puerto Rican hurricane relief. (AP Photo/File)

Miranda said he made an a cappella demo in a bathroom in Austria - where he was on vacation - and sent it to Atlantic Records, enlisting help. The subsequent recording process took a breath-taking 72 hours and took him to studios in New York City, Los Angeles and Miami to link up with the music stars. "Everyone said yes and then it became the logistics of getting everyone recorded," he said.

The song borrows from "Maria," the classic song from Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's "West Side Story" and Miranda said the song popped into his head after the hurricane by the same name devastated Puerto Rico on Sept. 20.

The song's lyrics list all of the 78 towns of Puerto Rico. Miranda said he didn't want inland and mountainous communities to be ignored as bigger cities get power and food.

"This song is designed so that those towns never feel forgotten again," he said. "I cannot wait for Puerto Ricans to hear Luis Fonsi sing the name of their town or J.Lo to sing the name of their town."

One verse turned out to be exceedingly hard to get. Miranda reached out to the rapper PJ Sin Suela but never heard back. Sin Suela finally answered on Saturday, saying he was on the island and had just gotten power. He offered to help and Miranda asked if there was a studio nearby where he could record a verse.

Sin Suela found one in San Juan and recorded the verse but couldn't get enough bandwidth to email it to Miranda. Estefan, who was flying to Puerto Rico the next day on a relief mission, volunteered to pick it up. On Monday night, while Miranda was working on the song in Miami, Estefan sent him a photo of her holding a memory stick - containing the missing verse.

"Everyone cried, we were in tears. We screamed, 'We got this verse out of Puerto Rico!'" said Miranda. "That gives you an example of the effort and the cooperation involved."

Also featured on the song are Ruben Blades, Pedro Capo, Dessa, Juan Luis Guerra, Alex Lacamoire, Ednita Nazario, Joell Ortiz, Anthony Ramos, Gina Rodriguez, Gilberto Santa Rosa, Tommy Torres and Ana Villafane. (Ricky Martin and Daddy Yankee were too busy with relief efforts to join in). "Everyone is doing their part. I've never seen such mobilization in my life," Miranda said.

The Tony, Emmy and Grammy-winning Miranda has long used his megaphone for social causes, including asking Congress to help dig Puerto Rico out of its debt crisis, performing at a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton on Broadway, lobbying to stop gun violence in America and teaming up with Jennifer Lopez on the benefit single "Love Make the World Go Round."

Miranda has been critical of President Donald Trump's response to Hurricane Maria but had nothing but praise for the ordinary Americans who have sent diapers, baby formula, batteries and money and other aid to the island. Many communities there are still waiting for power and clean water.

"This was an unprecedented disaster and requires an unprecedented federal response. They have not yet gotten an unprecedented federal response," Miranda said. "I am longing and waiting and jumping up and down for a federal response to match the response of our people."

___

Online: https://hispanicfederation.org/unidos

___

Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - The U.S. military has halted some exercises with its Gulf Arab allies over the ongoing diplomatic crisis targeting Qatar, trying to use its influence to end the monthslong dispute, authorities told The Associated Press on Friday.

While offering few details, the acknowledgement by the U.S. military's Central Command shows the concern it has over the conflict gripping the Gulf, home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet and crucial bases for its campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, as well as the war in Afghanistan.

The Qatar crisis began June 5, when Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched an economic boycott while closing off the energy-rich nation's land border and its air and sea routes. The quartet of Arab nations pointed to Qatar's alleged support of extremists and overly warm ties to Iran. Qatar long has denied supporting extremists and shares a massive offshore natural gas field with Tehran that makes its citizens have the highest per-capita income in the world.

In this April 6, 2017 photo released by the U.S. Defense Department, Gulf Arab soldiers take part in the Eagle Resolve exercise in Kuwait City, Kuwait. The U.S. military has halted some exercises with its Gulf Arab allies over the ongoing diplomatic crisis targeting Qatar, trying to use its influence to end the monthslong dispute, authorities told The Associated Press on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (Staff Sgt. Frank O'Brien/U.S. Army Central via AP)

Initially, U.S. military officials said the boycott and dispute had no impact on their operations. Qatar is home to the massive al-Udeid Air Base, the forward headquarters of Central Command which oversees the U.S.-led coalition's bombing campaign of the Islamic State group and manages a direct line to Russia to manage Syria's crowded skies.

But as the dispute went on, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis traveled to Doha to offer his support. The Trump administration also agreed to an in-the-works sale of F-15 fighter jets to Qatar for $12 billion.

Responding to queries from the AP, Air Force Col. John Thomas, a Central Command spokesman, acknowledged it would be cutting back on the exercises.

"We are opting out of some military exercises out of respect for the concept of inclusiveness and shared regional interests," Thomas said in a statement. "We will continue to encourage all partners to work together toward the sort of common solutions that enable security and stability in the region."

Officials in Qatar did not immediately respond to a request for comment, while the boycotting nations have not acknowledged the disruption in military exercises with the U.S.

The Qatar diplomatic crisis has torn apart the typically clubby Gulf Cooperation Council, a regional Arab bloc created in part as a counterbalance to Iran. The U.S. military holds exercises in part to build the confidence of local forces, many of which use American-made equipment.

Among the exercises likely to be affected is Eagle Resolve, an annual exercise held since 1999 that has GCC countries send forces alongside Americans to simulate working as a multinational force in battle. This year's Eagle Resolve exercise, held in Kuwait in March, involved 1,000 U.S. troops.

U.S. and Gulf allies have regularly held joint, smaller-scale exercises in the region.

___

Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellap. His work can be found at http://apne.ws/2galNpz.

In this April 6, 2017 photo released by the U.S. Defense Department, Gulf Arab soldiers take part in the Eagle Resolve exercise in Kuwait City, Kuwait. The U.S. military has halted some exercises with its Gulf Arab allies over the ongoing diplomatic crisis targeting Qatar, trying to use its influence to end the monthslong dispute, authorities told The Associated Press on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (Staff Sgt. Frank O'Brien/U.S. Army Central via AP)
A Billings man with a felony record will spend more than five years in federal prison for illegally possessing firearms.

U.S. District Judge Susan Watters on Thursday sentenced Steven Neil Hopper, 29, to five years and 10 months, which was the low end of a guideline range, and ordered the term to run consecutive to a state sentence.

Although Hopper was charged with illegally having two firearms and ammunition, the judge held him responsible for six other firearms prosecutors said he attempted to sell to a confidential informant.

Hopper pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession in June. There was no plea agreement.

He previously was convicted of felony impersonating a public servant and felony robbery in February 2016. He received a partially suspended sentence in the state court and was revoked for violations.

In the state case, prosecutors said Hopper was caught by loss prevention officers at Rimrock Mall after he was spotted on surveillance going through J.C. Penny merchandise in a restricted area of the store.

Federal prosecutors said that on June 5, 2016, staff at a Laurel motel found two rifles, ammunition and drug paraphernalia while cleaning out Hoppers room and called law enforcement.

During an interview with law enforcement in Wyoming a few days later, Hopper said he had found the two firearms in his motel room, handled them and wrapped them up. He told a Laurel police officer he had the only key to the room and that everything in there was his except the firearms and drug paraphernalia. He couldnt explain how the firearms got into the motel room, prosecutors said.

Witnesses in the case said Hopper had two firearms when he stayed at a Billings motel, days before he moved to the Laurel motel, and that he possessed the same two firearms in his Laurel room.

The firearms included two .22 caliber semi-automatic rifles and 135 rounds of assorted ammunition.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paulette Stewart asked for a guideline sentence saying Hopper had an escalating criminal record, drug abuse issues and was trying to move a number of firearms.

Assistant Federal Defender Steve Babcock recommended a three-year sentence saying Hopper had taken responsibility for the two rifles. He said the other firearms were not recovered and not part of the indictment.

Hopper apologized and said he wanted to address his addiction issues and be a better person.
GAUHATI, India (AP) - An Indian air force Mi-17 helicopter crashed Friday in the country's remote northeast bordering China, killing all seven crew members and passengers, an official said.

The police control room said the crash occurred on a routine flight in mountainous Tawang area in Arunachal Pradesh state.

The wreckage of the helicopter has been sighted and the police and the army teams have rushed to the mountainous area, a defense ministry official said.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known. The air force helicopter took off from an army helipad in the area.

The helicopter had both air force and army personnel on board and it was carrying supplies for Indian military posts close to the border with China, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to reporters.

The Indian air force has in recent years suffered a lot of crashes of its Mi fleet of helicopters and MiG aircraft acquired from the former Soviet Union.

The government says the accidents have been caused by both human error and technical defects.

___

This story has been corrected to distinguish the names of the helicopters and the aircraft.
SYDNEY (AP) - Australian authorities seized 3.9 metric tons (4.37 U.S. tons) of a methamphetamine ingredient smuggled from Thailand in tea bottles, police said Friday.

Australian Federal Police said two people were arrested after the seizure last month at a Sydney sea cargo examination facility. An Australian man and a female Australian-Chinese dual national, both 22, were refused bail Thursday after being charged with importing a drug precursor.

Australian Border Force officers, following up on information from Thai authorities, detected the shipment of more than 1,000 cartons each containing 24 bottles labelled as iced green and black tea. AFP said tests were positive for ephedrine in around one-third of the cartons.

In this undated recent photo provided by the Australian Federal Police, a record haul of 3.9 tonnes of liquid ephedrine sits stored in a warehouse which smugglers shipped to Sydney from Thailand in bottles of iced tea. The AFP said Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, the liquid ephedrine haul was the largest seizure of precursor chemicals at the Australian border, eclipsing the previous record of 1.4 tonnes only four months ago. (Australian Federal Police via AP)

The liquid ephedrine could have been used to make up to 3.5 billion Australian dollars (US$2.7 billion) worth of methamphetamine, police said.

They said it was the largest seizure of precursor chemicals at the Australian border, more than doubling the previous record of 1.4 metric tons only four months ago.

"We know our country has an insatiable demand for narcotics, and criminal networks will use every concealment method possible to get their harmful substances past our borders," AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin said.

"This is not a problem we can combat alone," and is why we rely on the strengths of our partnerships, he said.

AFP also reported a seizure of 350 kilograms (770 pounds) of methamphetamine concealed in drums of liquid plaster in a container that arrived in Sydney last month. A 31-year-old Australian man was charged with attempted drug possession.
Top-ranked Rafael Nadal moved into the semifinals of the China Open by beating sixth-seeded John Isner 6-4, 7-6 (0) on Friday.

The French Open and U.S. Open champion has won five titles this season and is closing in on the year-end No. 1 ranking.

"I don't remember a lot of mistakes," Nadal said. "I went to the net very often. I did the things that I want to do, and I did it well, so very happy."

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after defeating John Isner of the United States during a men's singles quarterfinal match of the China Open tennis tournament held at the Diamond Court in Beijing, China, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

On the women's side, unseeded Carolina Garcia of France upset third-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (6) in almost 3 1/2 hours to line up Petra Kvitova in the semifinals. Simona Halep, on course to becoming the No. 1 player in the world for the first time, faces French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.

Nadal saved all three break points he faced against Isner. He will next play third-seeded Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-2.

Dimitrov spent time practicing with Nadal in Mallorca ahead of the hard-court season. The two also went fishing at sea.

"We catch a few ones (fish), but not very big," Nadal said. "But we had some good dinner."

Nick Kyrgios also advanced. The eighth-seeded Australian won when opponent Steve Darcis retired with a neck strain while trailing 6-0, 3-0.

Kyrgios will take on second-seeded Alexander Zverev. The German beat Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-3 and qualified for the season-ending tournament in London.

"It's great for any player to qualify," said Zverev, who has five titles this season.

Second-ranked Halep moved into the women's semifinal by defeating Daria Kasatkina of Russia 6-2, 6-1.

To bump Garbine Muguruza from No. 1, the Romanian needs to reach the final. Halep's quarterfinal win avenged her straight-sets loss to the 34th-ranked Kasatkina at Wuhan last week.

Kvitova defeated Czech countrywoman Barbora Strycova 6-3, 6-4. Kvitova has won the last 24 matches she's played against fellow Czechs.

"We are pretty good friends from the Fed Cups," she said. "We know each other well. We practice a lot as well. Maybe it's extra motivation for us to play each other."

Ostapenko beat Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-4 in an error-filled quarterfinal.

Fans of Rafael Nadal of Spain take photos of him as he changes clothes after a men's singles quarterfinal match against John Isner of the United States in the China Open tennis tournament held at the Diamond Court in Beijing, China, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Simon Halep of Romania returns a shot from Daria Kasatkina of Russia during a women's singles quarterfinal match of the China Open tennis tournament held at the Diamond Court in Beijing, China, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Andrey Rublev of Russia returns a shot during play against Alexander Zverev of Germany at a men's singles quarterfinal match in the China Open tennis tournament at the Diamond Court in Beijing, China, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic reacts after defeating Barbora Strycova of the Czech Republic during a women's singles quarterfinal match in the China Open tennis tournament at the Diamond Court in Beijing, China, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
TOKYO (AP) - His kindergarten teacher recalls Kazuo Ishiguro as a quiet boy who liked to read books. The British writer left Japan at a young age, but his birthplace became part of his artistic approach, which was recognized this week with the Nobel Prize in literature.

"It's like a dream come true," his former teacher, 91-year-old Teruko Tanaka, told Kyodo News service at her home in Nagasaki. She saw Ishiguro when he visited the southern Japanese city after winning the 1989 Man Booker Prize for "The Remains of the Day."

"It was a difficult book," she said and laughed. "I had to read the same pages over and over."

Books written by British writer Kazuo Ishiguro are on display at a bookstore in Tokyo, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki but raised and educated in England. He was awarded the Nobel Prize on Thursday. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

Ishiguro left Nagasaki when he was 5 years old and didn't make a return visit to Japan for 30 years, but that hasn't stopped some in the country of his birthplace from celebrating his roots. His family moved to England for his father's work, and Ishiguro studied English and philosophy at the University of Kent.

Speaking to the media in London after the prize announcement Thursday, the British writer said, "although I've grown up in this country and am educated in this country, a large part of my way of looking at the world, my artistic approach, is Japanese. Because I was brought up by Japanese parents, speaking in Japanese inside a Japanese home. And so I think I've always looked at the world partly through my parents' eyes, as we all do."

On a visit to Japan in 2015, the British writer said his knowledge of the country is largely based on childhood memories, said Keiko Nagano, an editorial staff member at Hayakawa Publishing Co., which has translated his novels into Japanese.

He clearly remembered his old neighborhood in Nagasaki, even the name of a department store, she recalled. "I was so impressed by his memory, and thought that he still treasures his memories of where he came from."

In his debut novel "A Pale View of Hills," Ishiguro describes Nagasaki soon after the 1945 U.S. atomic bomb attack that killed more than 70,000 people.

"I'm so proud that Nagasaki is remembered as an indelible scene from the great author's childhood memory, becoming an important motif of his work," Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue said in a statement, adding that he hopes Ishiguro will visit soon.

While his first novels were set partially or entirely in Japan, Ishiguro shifted mainly to Europe for his later works, including "Remains of the Day." The Japan he writes about is a bit imagined, his personal Japan, writes Richard Medhurst, an editor at Nippon.com, a Tokyo-based website that seeks to introduce Japan to a global audience.

"It's not quite the way you normally relate to a country, but he had this very strong personal connection to it," he said in an interview Friday.

In some of Ishiguro's later works, Medhurst sees a sense of dislocation that may reflect the author's background, a person living between two nationalities.

Ishiguro's Nobel came as a surprise in Japan, where for several years the talk has been whether Japanese author Haruki Murakami would win the prize.

Speaking in London, Ishiguro said he is in discussions with people to work on a graphic novel. "This is a new thing for me and reconnects me to my childhood, my Japanese childhood of reading manga," he said.

___

Associated Press writers Jill Lawless in London and Ken Moritsugu in Tokyo contributed to this story.

In this Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017 photo, Teruko Tanaka shows a photo taken in November, 1989, in which Tanaka poses with Nobel literature laureate Kazuo Ishiguro, at her home in Nagasaki, southern Japan. Tanaka, who was Ishiguro's former kindergarten teacher, recalled to Japan's Kyodo News service that he was a quiet boy who liked to read books. (Kyodo News via AP)

In this Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, photo, a sales clerk arranges a special corner selling books of Kazuo Ishiguro at a book store in Tokyo. Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, southern Japan but raised and educated in England. He was awarded the Nobel Prize on Thursday. The yellow sign reads " Nobel Prize. Congratulations on winning the award. Kzauo Ishiguro." (Kyodo News via AP)

Books written by British writer Kazuo Ishiguro are on display at a bookstore in Tokyo, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki but raised and educated in England. He was awarded the Nobel Prize on Thursday. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

Books written by Nobel literature laureate Kazuo Ishiguro are on display for sale at a book store in Tokyo Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki, southern Japan but raised and educated in England. He was awarded the Nobel Prize on Thursday. The yellow sign reads " Nobel Prize. Congratulations on winning the award. Kzauo Ishiguro." (Yoshitaka Sugawara/Kyodo News via AP)

British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro speaks during a press conference at his home in London, Thursday Oct. 5, 2017. Ishiguro, best known for "The Remains of the Day," won the Nobel Literature Prize on Thursday, marking a return to traditional literature following two years of unconventional choices by the Swedish Academy for the 9-million-kronor ($1.1 million) prize. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

British novelist Kazuo Ishiguro gestures during a press conference at his home in London, Thursday Oct. 5, 2017. Ishiguro, best known for "The Remains of the Day," won the Nobel Literature Prize on Thursday, marking a return to traditional literature following two years of unconventional choices by the Swedish Academy for the 9-million-kronor ($1.1 million) prize. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - When Tropical Storm Nate formed and forecasts put New Orleans in its projected path for this weekend, one big question loomed for residents and business owners: Will the pumps work?

"That's now a thought in everybody who lives in New Orleans," said Devin Shearman, a manager at Katie's restaurant and lounge, which flooded during an unexpected rainstorm Aug. 5. It was one of two flash floods this past summer that led to revelations about personnel and equipment problems at the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board, the agency that runs the pumping system that drains the city.

Some pumps weren't working. Some turbines that provide power to the pumps were down. There weren't enough people on hand to man the system.

FILE -In this Thursday, Aug. 10, 2017 file photo, rain clouds gather over a pumping station at Marconi Drive and lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans. Flood-weary New Orleans braced Thursday for the weekend arrival of Tropical Storm Nate, forecast to hit the area Sunday morning as a weak hurricane that could further test a city drainage system in which weaknesses were exposed during summer deluges. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

"Since early August, we have made substantial progress," New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said of work to upgrade the city drainage system. But he warned at a Thursday news conference that extremely heavy rain and storm surge from Nate still could pose flood dangers.

Nate formed in the western Caribbean Sea and moved into Central America on Thursday. Forecasters said it would likely emerge in the Gulf of Mexico and strengthen, possibly reaching hurricane strength before a Sunday morning landfall somewhere along the Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama coast. Officials in the resort town of Grand Isle on a vulnerable barrier island south of New Orleans called a voluntary evacuation Thursday. To the east, in coastal St. Bernard Parish, authorities ordered an evacuation of areas not protected by levees.

In the center of Nate's possible destinations was New Orleans, where the summer floods shook public confidence in the Sewerage and Water Board.

It's a state-created agency governed by a board that includes the mayor and appointees of the mayor and the City Council.

After the Aug. 5 revelations, the agency's executive director, Cedric Grant, resigned. Landrieu announced the appointment of a new six-member emergency team to run the agency, make immediate upgrades and recommend long-term changes.

The team is headed by veteran emergency expert Paul Rainwater.

"It's an antiquated system," Rainwater said Thursday, as he discussed his work and the decisions ahead on what will be needed in terms of equipment and personnel.

As of Thursday, city officials said, 108 of 120 pumps and 26 power generators were in place to back up working turbines. Also, the city said efforts to clean thousands of street catch basins had been stepped up, with vacuum trucks dispatched to various areas to suck out thick mud and debris.

Long-term, a major question facing the city is whether to stick with nearly century-old pumps, which cost a lot of money and manpower to maintain but last longer than newer pumps that are reported to have shorter lifespans.

Many are also questioning where the S&WB leadership needs to rest. One option is reducing its autonomy - making it a department directly under the mayor with scrutiny from the council. It's a suggestion New Orleans Inspector General Ed Quatrevaux has made to the mayor and City Council in letters for years.

Meanwhile, city officials must deal with the public's shaken faith in the drainage system.

The Sewerage and Water Board's emergency management team also included a new public relations director - a result of early, erroneous initial statements that the pumps were all working during the Aug. 5 floods.

"There was a lot of misinformation, or lies, frankly, about where we stood," City Council President Jason Williams said in a recent interview. "Moving forward, we've got to make sure that the Sewerage & Water Board is transparent to the public and to all branches of government, because clearly that wasn't happening, and that there's veracity, just being really honest."

Williams said in a recent interview that council members recently learned pumping capacity wasn't tested ahead of the hurricane season that began June 1.

"It's not a time to figure out things when you're under water and when you're in a kayak," he said.

"I'm glad they're addressing it, finally, but I don't know if you can get my approval for addressing it now, after something's happened," said Shearman, who says patrons were stranded in the restaurant for hours in August when water in the streets was thigh-high. "Trust can be brought back. It's not going to come overnight though. It's going to take a lot of time."

FILE - In this Aug. 30, 2005 file photo, floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina cover the lower ninth ward, foreground, and other parts of New Orleans, a day after the storm passed through the city. It's not just this year. The monster hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria, Jose and now Lee that have raged across the Atlantic are contributing to what appears to be the most active period for major storms on record. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
VIENNA (AP) - Ahead of national elections, Austria's Social Democratic Party is facing charges of violating anti-Nazi laws over Facebook platforms created by an adviser suggesting that a rival party's head has anti-Semitic sentiments.

Elisabeth Koestinger of the rival People's Party said Friday her party is asking federal prosecutors to investigate and press charges.

Israeli political adviser Tal Silberstein has acknowledged being behind the Facebook platforms. Both he and Social Democratic Chancellor Christian Kern say that Kern was not aware of them. Still the issue is hurting the Social Democrats ahead of Oct. 15 elections and making a coalition of the center-right People's Party and the right-wing Freedom Party likely.

The Social Democrats fired Silberstein in August, following his detention in his homeland on suspicion of money laundering.
MADRID (AP) - Andres Iniesta has become the first player to sign a lifetime contract with Barcelona, a deal which will keep him playing for the club for as long as he remains fit.

The club said Friday that Iniesta's contract was extended "for life," securing the Spain midfielder through the "remainder of his career" but not putting a timetable on his retirement.

The club also did not say what will be Iniesta's role after he stops playing.

FC Barcelona's Andres Iniesta signs a shirt reading in Catalan: "Andres Iniesta forever" at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. Barcelona has extended Andres Iniesta's contract "for life.". (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

"I'll be here while my body and my mind can keep performing," the 33-year-old Iniesta said. "And I hope that it will be for a long time. At the end of the season we will evaluate everything together and see what is best for everyone."

Iniesta signed the new contract at the team's Camp Nou Stadium and was given a team shirt with the words "Iniesta forever."

His current contract was valid until the end of this season. In the last couple of seasons he did not play as much as in past years, often being rested for the most important matches.

"I'll be the first to say something if I feel that I don't have the same strength and the same importance as I had before," he said. "Then we can change things, and it will be fine."

There had been widespread speculation about Iniesta's future, with the player saying he wanted to stay with Barcelona but had also been evaluating other possibilities. Spanish media had reported that Iniesta was not pleased that the team took too long to start negotiations for his new deal.

"I need to thank the club for having the confidence to give me this type of contract," Iniesta said. "It shows that they have confidence in me as a person as well, that's very important. There couldn't be a better place for me. This is my home."

Iniesta has played 639 matches for the club since making his debut with the first team in October 2002. He has scored 55 goals since then.

Only Xavi Hernandez has had more appearances, with 767. They are followed by Lionel Messi, whose streak stands at 594.

"This is a reward to a player who has been exceptional," Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu said. "He is a big reason why this club has had so much success recently. He is the player who brought balance to the team. He is an inspiration and a role model to our youngsters, not only as a player. No other player in the history of Barcelona has come up through the club like he has."

One of the most complete midfielders of the game, Iniesta joined the club's youth squad when he was 12 in 1996, and along with Messi is the player with most titles won with the senior squad, with 30.

Iniesta said he hasn't given much thought about his future with the club after retiring, but said he will definitely remain closely involved with soccer.

"Right now I want to focus on enjoying my time and on taking care of myself so I can keep doing this for as long as possible," he said. "I know that I'm running against time."

___

More AP Spanish soccer coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/LaLiga

___

Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni

FC Barcelona's Andres Iniesta, right, and FC Barcelona's president Josep Maria Bartomeu pose with a shirt reading in Catalan: "Andres Iniesta forvever" at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. Barcelona has extended Andres Iniesta's contract "for life". (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

FC Barcelona's Andres Iniesta, right, and FC Barcelona's president Josep Maria Bartomeu pose with a shirt reading in Catalan: "Andres Iniesta forever" at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. Barcelona has extended Andres Iniesta's contract "for life.". (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

FC Barcelona's Andres Iniesta, right, talks with FC Barcelona's president Josep Maria Bartomeu at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. Barcelona has extended Andres Iniesta's contract "for life." (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

FC Barcelona's Andres Iniesta gives the thumb up next to a shirt reading in Catalan: "Andres Iniesta forever" at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. Barcelona has extended Andres Iniesta's contract "for life." (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
STOCKHOLM (AP) - A German national in his 20s was released Friday and cleared of any criminal suspicion after what was described as "a dangerous element" was found in his luggage at the airport of Sweden's second largest city.

Robin Simonsson, a spokesman for Sweden's prosecution authority said "the man is no longer suspected of any crime."

Simonsson declined to say what was found in the man's luggage at the Landvetter airport outside Goteborg that led to his arrest Thursday.

He told The Associated Press that the police investigation didn't point in the direction of a report by the local Goteborgs-Posten daily saying it was a chemical compound known as TATP, a peroxide-based explosive that has often been employed by Islamic extremists.

The man was not identified by name in line with Swedish practice.
BEIRUT (AP) - The Latest on the developments in Syria (all times local):

4 p.m.

A Syrian opposition monitoring group says government forces have entered the eastern town of Mayadeen, a main stronghold of the Islamic State group in Syria.

In this frame grab provided on Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, by Russian Defence Ministry press service, showing what they say is a long-range Kalibr cruise missile launched by the a Russian submarine in the Mediterranean. The Defense Ministry said that two Russian submarines in the Mediterranean fired 10 cruise missiles Thursday at the Islamic State group's positions outside the eastern Syrian town of Mayadeen, one of the last major IS strongholds in the country. (Russian Defence Ministry Press Service photo via AP)

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said government forces and allied militiamen entered western parts of Mayadeen including the wheat silos compound and the sheep market.

Syrian troops have been marching for days toward Mayadeen under the cover of intense Russian airstrikes and bombardment by government artillery and multiple rocket launchers.

Omar Abou Leila, of the monitoring group DeirEzzor 24, said he cannot confirm or deny the report, adding that it is possible that troops had entered the town given their days-long advance.

Airstrikes on Mayadeen, one of IS's last strongholds in Syria, and nearby areas over the past days have killed and wounded scores of people.

___

3 p.m.

The Russian military says one of its helicopters was forced to make an emergency landing in Syria after a malfunction on the aircraft but that its two-member crew was unhurt and returned to base.

The Defense Ministry said the Mi-28 helicopter gunship made an emergency landing in Syria's central Hama province on Friday due to a technical malfunction.

Its two crewmen were not injured and were subsequently flown back to base.

The ministry says the helicopter had not been fired upon. The statement rejected a claim by the militant Aamaq news agency run by the Islamic State group, which said that a Russian helicopter was downed south of Shiekh Hilal village in the eastern Hama countryside.

___

2:10 p.m.

The Russian military is accusing the United States of turning a blind eye and effectively providing cover to the Islamic State group's operations in an area in Syria that is under U.S. control.

The Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, said on Friday that IS militants have used the area around the town of Tanf near Syria's border with Jordan - where U.S. military instructors are also stationed - to launch attacks against the Syrian army.

He says the area has become a "black hole," posing a threat to Syrian army's offensive against the IS in eastern Der el-Zour province.

The Russian accusations likely reflect rising tensions as U.S.-backed Syrian forces and the Russian-backed Syrian army - both of which are battling IS - race for control of oil and gas-rich areas of eastern Syria.

___

11 a.m.

Syrian opposition activists say 15 civilians including children have been killed when a missile slammed into a government-held besieged neighborhood in the eastern city of Deir el-Zour.

The DeirEzzor 24 monitoring group said the missile hit near a school Thursday evening in the Qusour neighborhood. Among those killed were three children and three women, it said Friday, blaming the Islamic State group for the attack.

It said the attack destroyed the school and a nearby residential building.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported the incident, putting the number of civilians killed at 13.

Syrian troops broke a nearly three-year siege on parts of Deir el-Zour last month and are fighting to liberate from IS remaining parts of the city.
A 480-acre solar farm slated for Billings received more favorable terms Thursdays as state regulators undid contract restrictions developers said would have made the project nearly impossible.

Montanas Public Service Commission approved a 15-year contract length for MTSUN, which plans what would be the states largest solar project roughly a mile west of the Billings airport. The commissions decision Thursday undoes a 10-year contract set by the PSC in July. The July contract, combined with the power price of $20 per megawatt hour made the $110 million solar project unworkable, developer Mark Klein said at the time.

Thursday, Klein said the new 15-year contract term was still challenging, perhaps too much so. MTSUN, NorthWestern Energy and the Public Service Commissions expert staff had all recommended a contract of 20 years or more.

Does 15 years work? I guess the devil is in the details, Klein said after the meeting. Were going to have to wait and see what the final order looks like.

MTSUN wouldnt abandon the project, or two others planned for the Broadview area, if the new terms set by the PSC didnt pencil out.

Under a 40-year-old federal law to promote development of alternative energy resources, MTSUN qualifies for a contract and a fixed price from the utility to which it intends to sell power. NorthWestern is the solar companys targeted buyer.

States are required to set a price and contract lengths for the renewable energy projects to promote alternative energy resources under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, or PURPA. That law promotes energy conservation, while also encouraging an increase in energy supply, including through renewable energy sources.

Contract lengths have been a concern of renewable energy developers and NorthWestern since June, when the PSC cut contract lengths from 25 years to 10, with a mandatory price renegotiation after the first five years. The reduction threatened to kill Montana renewable energy development, according to solar and wind companies. One PSC member acknowledged the consequence during a conversation caught on a hot mic.

NorthWestern joined the utilities in protesting after the PSC applied the same short contracts to the utility. NorthWestern told a legislative panel the PSCs shorter contracts were damaging its stock value. The company produced reports by analysts to recommending the utilitys investors consider selling or reducing stock in NorthWestern.

Thursday, before tackling MTSUN contracts, the PSC set 15-year terms for NorthWestern and independent developers, as well. The commissioners said the 15-year contracts should be workable. They worried aloud that longer contracts would lock NorthWestern customers into prices that in the future might be higher than market price.

I dont know sitting here today that 15 years is the ideal number for contract length, said Brad Johnson, commissioner of the all-Republican PSC. I dont know if 10 is. I do know that 20 and 25, I think, subjects ratepayers to an unreasonable level of uncertainty, given the level of uncertainty that exists in the power sector today.

Energy prices have fallen dramatically as cheap natural gas produced in the fracking boom of the past seven years has pulled the market downward. Long-term contracts set by the PSC in recent years have committed Montana customers of regulated utilities to prices well above market rates.
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - A top official said Friday that NATO is concerned about an increase in terrorism in Afghanistan since the alliance withdrew its combat troops in 2014.

"We cannot underestimate what is happening in Afghanistan because after we withdrew our troops... we saw a new increase of terrorism," the president of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Paolo Alli, told The Associated Press.

Alli said the Taliban also expanded their control of parts of the country after NATO ended its combat mission in 2014. Some alliance troops remained to train and advise Afghan forces under the NATO-led Resolute Support mission.

President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Paolo Alli listens to translation during a press briefing marking the opening of the 63rd Annual Session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. A top NATO official says the alliance is concerned about an increase in terrorism in Afghanistan after NATO withdrew its combat troops in 2014. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

Alli's comments in Bucharest came after Kay Bailey Hutchison, the U.S. ambassador to the alliance, said Washington would ask NATO to contribute about 1,000 additional troops to fight the resurgent Taliban.

Alli said the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan had led to Afghans fleeing the country.

"We have seen in the last two or three years a lot of refugees coming to Eastern Europe from Afghanistan and that (is) the effect of the Taliban taking away control of some parts of the country," he told The AP.

The number of additional troops NATO sends to Afghanistan will be decided by governments.

There are currently about 13,500 troops in Afghanistan, of which some 8,400 are U.S. troops.

NATO is holding a four-day Parliamentary Assembly in Bucharest where the alliance's relations with Russia and Black Sea security are among the key themes.

___

This story corrects that Alli is not a NATO official, but a member of Italian parliamentary delegation.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The 46th Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is set to begin Saturday and is expected to draw close to a million visitors to central New Mexico.

But concerns over crime in Albuquerque and the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas have organizers stepping up security measures. Here are key things to know about the event:

___

Students at Enchanted Hills Elementary School in Rio Rancho, N.M. lean against a balloon from the upcoming Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. The 46th Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is set to begin Saturday and is expected to draw close to a million visitors to central New Mexico. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras)

THE BALLOONS

The 2017 festival features about 500 traditional hot air balloons and 94 balloons that are shaped to make them look like bees, Elvis Presley, Smokey the Bear and others.

This year's balloon festival theme is "Inflate your Imagination." The fiesta's morning mass ascensions launch this weekend, Wednesday and the weekend of Oct. 14-15.

Seventeen of specially shaped balloons will make their first-ever flights, officials said. Among the entries this year are the "Armadillo" from Brazil, "Pepe the Hedgehog" from the Czech Republic and "Busby the Queen's Guard" from the United Kingdom.

___

SECURITY

Balloon Fiesta officials said authorities will check peoples' bags and purses at all entry gates and park and ride locations in response to the shootings in Las Vegas. No firearms will be allowed at Balloon Fiesta Park unless carried by law enforcement officers. Bicycles, skateboards and displays of gang colors and gang signs also are banned.

Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden announced there would be "enhanced security" measures in place but declined to give details.

The beefed-up security comes as Albuquerque's rising crime rate has dominated the current mayoral election. FBI statistics released last week show violent crime in Albuquerque last year jumped around 16 percent. In 2016, the city had a violent crime rate of 1,112 incidents per 100,000 residents. Albuquerque had a violent crime rate of 965.8 in 2015.

___

CONTESTS

The 2017 America's Challenge Gas Balloon Race, one of many competitions at the Balloon Fiesta, starts on Saturday.

The object of the race is for pilots to fly the greatest distance from Albuquerque while competing within the event rules.

The teams often stay aloft for two to three days and must use the winds and weather systems to their best advantage to gain the greatest distance. Flights of more than 1,000 miles are not unusual, and the winners sometimes travel as far as Canada and the U.S. East Coast.

Thursday and Friday will showcase special shape balloons launching each morning and glows - static displays of hot air balloons at sunset - in the evening.

___

THE WEATHER

The National Weather Service says much of Albuquerque is expected to see sunny weather throughout the week.

How and when the balloons launch depends on the wind. Pilots have to take into consideration wind patterns to avoid landing on American Indian land where balloon operators can be charged for making landings.

___

Follow Russell Contreras on Twitter at http://twitter.com/russcontreras

A Crew from the upcoming Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta inflate their balloon for students at Enchanted Hills Elementary School in Rio Rancho, N.M. on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. The 46th Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is set to begin Saturday and is expected to draw close to a million visitors to central New Mexico. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras)
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - More companies are deciding to move their official base out of the Spanish region of Catalonia as tensions grow over the local government's push to declare independence.

Here's a look at what is happening, why it is important and what the risks are.

___

FILE, In this Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017 file photo, a woman wearing an estelada or independence flag walks a long a street covered with referendum ballots thrown by pro-independence demonstrators, during a rally in front of the Spanish Partido Popular ruling party headquarters in Barcelona, Spain. The ballot boxes arrived from France in the dead of night, were stored in homes and improvised hidey-holes, and then secretly shuttled to polling stations across Catalonia right under the nose of police. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti, File)

WHAT COMPANIES ARE MOVING?

Those that have already decided to move their official base are: Banco Sabadell, Spain's fifth-largest bank by assets, utility Gas Natural Fenosa, textiles maker Dogi, reprographics company Service Point Solutions, telecommunications provider Eurona and biotech firm Oryzon Genomics.

Executives at Caixabank, Spain's third-largest bank, are due to discuss the issue Friday and cava-maker Freixenet, a household name in sparkling wine, is also considering a move.

Companies that have agreed to move saw an immediate rise in their share prices, with Oryzon jumping over 20 percent at one point.

___

WHAT DOES THEIR RELOCATION MEAN?

The companies are moving only the official address of their legal residence. For now, that does not affect jobs or investments. Most of these companies are big enough to have large offices in other Spanish cities, so it's mainly a question of paperwork, though they could decide to move operations as well if the situation worsens in the region.

___

WHAT RISK ARE THEY TRYING TO AVOID?

Their main concern is that they may no longer be covered by Spanish and European Union laws and rights if Catalonia manages to secede and they remain based in the region.

Banks, for example, have a right to do business anywhere in the EU's 28 states by virtue of being based in the bloc. Should Catalonia secede, the banks would lose that right overnight if they are still based officially in Catalonia. It's a problem similar to the one British banks are facing when the country eventually leaves the EU. Many banks with EU bases in London are setting up new EU headquarters in cities like Frankfurt and Paris.

___

ARE THERE OTHER SIGNS OF ECONOMIC DISTRESS?

So far, the immediate economic impact on households and businesses has been limited. The most notable change has been a moderate drop in Spanish stocks and bonds. The Ibex 35 has been volatile but is down only 2 percent on the week.

The greater concern is if the tensions escalate further. The region of Catalonia represents a fifth of Spain's overall economy, so its departure would seriously hurt Spain's public finances and raise questions about economic relations.

For Catalonia, full independence would create a multitude of huge economic risks. The region would officially drop out of the EU and the euro currency union and have to adopt a new money. That would lead to mass bankruptcies as the new currency would likely plunge in value, leaving businesses and the regional government paying debts in euros with a new, devalued currency. Local investors would flock to move their money out of the region for fear of having it redenominated in a weaker currency. That could force Catalonia to put limits on money flows during what would likely be a deep recession. It's what Greece had to do two years ago when it was close to leaving the euro. Greece has still not fully lifted the money controls.
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Poland's Foreign Ministry says the nation's permanent representative to the European Union has stepped down and the resignation has been accepted.

Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said Friday that Jaroslaw Starzyk, 54, had submitted his resignation for "personal reasons." The ministry later said the resignation was accepted, giving no other details.

But the Onet.pl news portal said documents suggesting that Starzyk could have collaborated with communist-era intelligence were found in archives. The portal said Starzyk had concealed the fact of collaboration.

Under Polish law, officials to state offices must declare any communist-era collaboration and anyone caught lying is subject to being dismissed.

Starzyk was appointed in February 2016 by the ruling Law and Justice party, which has vowed to eliminate vestiges of communism from state bodies.
LONDON (AP) - Mick Fleetwood was 16 when he left school, told his parents he wanted to pursue a career in rock 'n' roll, and went to London in search of gigs.

A common tale, true, but this one has a happy ending. Fleetwood fell in with some talented blues enthusiasts, paid (barely) his dues, and soared to stardom with the first incarnation of Fleetwood Mac - and then into the rock 'n' roll stratosphere with the second, more pop-oriented version of the band.

"School was not a good thing for me," said Fleetwood, dressed in classic British style, complete with a pocket watch on a chain.

Mick Fleetwood, the drummer and co-founder of the band Fleetwood Mac speaks before the start of an interview at a hotel in London, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017. Fleetwood was 16 when he left school, told his parents he wanted to pursue a career in rock 'n' roll, and went to London in search of gigs. A common tale, true, but this one has a happy ending. As a teen, Mick Fleetwood fell in with some talented blues enthusiasts, paid his dues, and soared to stardom with the first incarnation of Fleetwood Mac and then into the rock 'n' roll stratosphere with the second, more pop-oriented version of the band. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

"I had a learning disability, no doubt, and no one understood what those things were. I was sort of drowning at school academically. My parents were like, 'Go and do it.' They were picking up on the fact that I had found something. They saw the one thing that I loved with a passion was teaching myself how to play drums at home," he said. "So they sent me off with a little drum kit to London and the whole thing unfolded."

Fleetwood didn't really have to rebel, though rebellion was in the air, and he had the good fortune to make friends early with Peter Green, the supremely talented guitarist whose blues sound shaped the band's early years.

Green receives the lion's share of the credit, and the dedication, in Fleetwood's memoir of the band's formative period "Love That Burns: A Chronicle of Fleetwood Mac, Volume One: 1967-1974." It has been published in a limited signed edition by Genesis Publications.

At 70, Fleetwood is anxious to acknowledge his debt to Green, who left the band in 1970.

Fleetwood and bassist John McVie were later joined by Christine McVie, Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham for a new lineup that hit the jackpot with "Rumours," one of the best-selling albums of all time.

Fleetwood said the band's very name reflects Green's self-effacing approach.

"Peter was asked why did he call the band Fleetwood Mac. He said, 'Well, you know I thought maybe I'd move on at some point and I wanted Mick and John to have a band.' End of story, explaining how generous he was."

The photos and text of "Love That Burns" are really the celebration of an era, capturing the explosion of British music at a time when bands like The Who and The Beatles were vying for the top spots on the charts - and competing with semi-forgotten bands like Freddie and the Dreamers, who actually got top billing over the Rolling Stones on a least one concert poster.

Once Fleetwood Mac made its name as a blues band, the group was able to go to Chicago's famous Chess Studios to record with some of the great American bluesmen, including a few of the pioneers who had helped perfect the driving Chicago sound.

Fleetwood remembers - with relief - that the longhaired crew of young Brits was able to at least play in the same room as Buddy Guy and Willie Dixon without sounding foolish.

"These are major, major players for anyone who knows anything about blues," Fleetwood says. "Having that take place, I don't know what they must have really thought with us funny little English kids walking into their world ... I feel good about it to this day that we held our own dignity even with these guys."

He said the whole experience was "like going to their church and not just being in the congregation but actually doing our version of preaching with them."

While some fans swear the early Fleetwood Mac was better than the later, far more commercial version, Fleetwood knows the group is identified more with its string of hits, including Bill Clinton's favorite song, "Don't Stop," which earned the band a headlining gig at his inaugural celebration.

This is one reason the book focuses on the first band. Fleetwood doesn't want it to be forgotten.

"Even as we were doing it (the book), we realized that the band was 50 years old," he said. "So it's really about drawing a line in the sand to say that this happened and what caused this. And it's generally fair to say, especially in the United States, this section of the formation of Fleetwood Mac is not really known about."

Mick Fleetwood, the drummer and co-founder of the band Fleetwood Mac speaks before the start of an interview at a hotel in London, Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017. Fleetwood was 16 when he left school, told his parents he wanted to pursue a career in rock 'n' roll, and went to London in search of gigs. A common tale, true, but this one has a happy ending. As a teen, Mick Fleetwood fell in with some talented blues enthusiasts, paid his dues, and soared to stardom with the first incarnation of Fleetwood Mac and then into the rock 'n' roll stratosphere with the second, more pop-oriented version of the band. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)
WARSAW, Poland (AP) - A heavy storm ravaged parts of western Poland overnight, killing two people and raising the death toll in the region to nine.

High winds also killed seven people in neighboring Germany late Thursday.

Pawel Fratczak, a spokesman for Polish firefighters, said Friday that tens of thousands of households were without electricity after falling trees broke power lines.

An uprooted tree crashed into the entrance of a subway station photographed in Berlin, Friday Oct. 6, 2017. Seven people died Thursday as high winds knocked over trees and caused widespread travel chaos in northern Germany. In Berlin, where winds reached up to 120 kph (75 mph), flights were temporarily grounded at the city's two airports and much of the public transportation system was shut down. (Maurizio Gambarini/dpa via AP)

The storm killed a 67-year-old man who was trying to secure his house's roof and a 58-year-old woman crushed by a falling tree. Officials said 39 people were also injured.

Prime Minister Beata Szydlo visited the town of Zielona Gora, located in an area hardest hit, meeting with local officials and promising financial help for repairs.

Firefighters also worked Friday to remove fallen trees and help secure hundreds of damaged roofs.

The storm also devastated the park of the Habsburg Palace in the town of Zywiec.

A worker saws an uprooted tree in Berlin, Germany, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. Seven people died Thursday as high winds knocked over trees and caused widespread travel chaos in northern Germany. In Berlin, where winds reached up to 120 kph (75 mph), flights were temporarily grounded at the city's two airports and much of the public transportation system was shut down. (Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa via AP)

Remains of uprooted trees seen at Kurfuerstendamm boulevard in Berlin, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. Seven people died Thursday as high winds knocked over trees and caused widespread travel chaos in northern Germany. In Berlin, where winds reached up to 120 kph (75 mph), flights were temporarily grounded at the city's two airports and much of the public transportation system was shut down. (Maurizio Gambarini/dpa via AP)

In this Oct. 5, 2017 photo firefighters stand near the wreckage of a truck after an uprooted tree crashed on the vehicle during a storm near Neu Karstaedt, eastern Germany. Seven people died Thursday as high winds knocked over trees and caused widespread travel chaos in northern Germany. (Jens Buettner/dpa via AP)

The aerial view shows three uprooted trees at a road near Hildesheim, Germany Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. Seven people died Thursday as high winds knocked over trees and caused widespread travel chaos in northern Germany. (Julian Stratenschulte/dpa via AP)

In this Oct. 5, 2017 photo firefighters remove uprooted trees in Hannover, Germany. Seven people died Thursday as high winds knocked over trees and caused widespread travel chaos in northern Germany. (Silas Stein/dpa via AP)

In this Oct. 5, 2017 photo 'Hotelzug' is written on a display board, referring to a train in which passengers can wait after the cancellation of the entire railway traffic at the central station in Hamburg, Germany. Seven people died Thursday as high winds knocked over trees and caused widespread travel chaos in northern Germany. In Berlin, where winds reached up to 120 kph (75 mph), flights were temporarily grounded at the city's two airports and much of the public transportation system was shut down. (Markus Scholz/dpa via AP)

Passengers queue in the main train station in Berlin, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. Seven people died Thursday as high winds knocked over trees and caused widespread travel chaos in northern Germany. Train connections in several northern states were shut down, including links to and from Berlin, because of the danger from branches over the tracks. Germany rail company Deutsche Bahn opened stationary trains to travelers left stranded by cancellations. (Maurizio Gambarini/dpa via AP)

Passengers crowd in the main train station in Berlin, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. Seven people died Thursday as high winds knocked over trees and caused widespread travel chaos in northern Germany. Train connections in several northern states were shut down, including links to and from Berlin, because of the danger from branches over the tracks. Germany rail company Deutsche Bahn opened stationary trains to travelers left stranded by cancellations. (Maurizio Gambarini/dpa via AP)
BOSTON (AP) - A purported psychic who charged an elderly Massachusetts woman more than $3.5 million for exorcisms and "spiritual cleansing" has pleaded guilty to evading taxes.

Federal prosecutors say 41-year-old Sally Ann Johnson of south Florida ran businesses that claimed to offer "psychic readings" and "spiritual cleansing and strengthening."

Between 2007 and 2014, prosecutors say a Martha's Vineyard woman paid Johnson more than $3.5 million for services that claimed to rid the woman of demons.

Prosecutors say Johnson didn't report the income and tried to hide the money so she wouldn't have to pay taxes on it.

Johnson pleaded guilty in the federal court in Boston Thursday and has agreed to repay the woman. She's expected to be sentenced in January.

Johnson's attorney declined to comment.
MADRID (AP) - Former Chelsea and Real Madrid defender Ricardo Carvalho has been convicted of tax fraud in Spain.

Although he will not have to spend any time in jail, the 39-year-old Carvalho was sentenced to seven months in prison and fined almost 143,000 euros ($168,000) for irregularities committed against tax authorities in the fiscal years of 2011 and 2012.

The Spanish court says Carvalho admitted to the irregularities during the trial. He will not have to go to prison because sentences of less than two years for first-time offenders can be suspended.

The veteran Portugal defender moved from Chelsea to Real Madrid in 2010. He played with the Spanish club until 2013.

Carvalho is currently with Chinese club Shanghai SIPG.
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who spent five years in captivity in Afghanistan after abandoning his post, is expected to plead guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, people with knowledge of the case told The Associated Press.

A look at key events from his capture until now.

June 2009 - Bergdahl, who is serving with an Alaska-based infantry regiment, vanishes from a base in Afghanistan's Paktika province near the border of Pakistan.

July 2009 - The Taliban post video online showing Bergdahl saying he is "scared I won't be able to go home." Bergdahl says he was lagging behind a patrol when he was captured.

December 2009 - The Taliban release a video showing Bergdahl apparently healthy and making a lengthy statement criticizing the U.S. military operation.

June 2013 - The Taliban propose a deal in which they would free Bergdahl in exchange for five of their most senior operatives at Guantanamo Bay.

May 2014 - Obama administration officials announce Bergdahl has been handed over to U.S. special forces by the Taliban in exchange for the release of five Guantanamo detainees. Debate quickly rises over whether Bergdahl is a hero or a deserter.

June 2014 - The Army says it is investigating the facts and circumstances around Bergdahl's disappearance.

December 2014 - The Army says it has finished its investigation.

March 2015 - Bergdahl is charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.

October 2017 - People familiar with the case tell the AP that Bergdahl is expected to plead guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Authorities have recovered the bodies of a Chinese couple from a car that plunged off a cliff in California's Kings Canyon National Park.

Fresno County Sheriff's spokesman Tony Botti said Friday a rescue crew successfully extracted the bodies a day earlier from the Kings River.

He says they are 31-year-old Yinan Wang and his 32 year-old-wife Jie Song. The couple vanished during an August vacation.

This Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017 frame from video provided by the Fresno County, Calif., Sheriff's Department shows a California Highway Patrol helicopter carrying one of two bodies recovered from a car that plunged off a cliff into the Kings River in Kings Canyon National Park weeks ago. The bodies are believed to be those of a Chinese couple who were in the car, but positive identification has not been made. (Fresno County Sheriff's Department via AP)

Officials believe their car plunged 500 feet (150 meters) over the cliff.

The car was found as authorities were recovering another car that had plunged into the river earlier.

The bodies of two exchange students from Thailand were recovered from that car last month.
More kids are spending their time with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Yellowstone County, and that increased number is bringing the clubs' attendance closer to capacity.

Through the first three weeks of September the club saw visits from 1,157 members, compared to September 2016 totals of 1,111.

We figure on a day-in, day-out basis when were fully staffed we can serve about 845 kids, said CEO and president Brian Dennis. Were running 790, so theres not a whole lot more kids we can take.

To address the growing need for space, the Bair Family Clubhouse is expanding. The $500,000 project began in August and is expected to be completed by the end of October. It will add bathrooms, showers for teens, a new sprinkler system and increase office space to the clubhouse on Orchard Avenue.

The local nonprofit also opened a new clubhouse last August at McKinley Elementary and moved into Medicine Crow Middle School.

With all of those projects completed, the next move is to wait and see where the community's next greatest need is, vice president Karrie Owen said.

And so we want a couple of years to get our footing with those two big pieces (Medicine Crow and McKinley) coming online and then looking to see what else we can serve," she said.

With about 17,000 kids in Billings Public Schools alone, Dennis said he knows his organization isn't close to reaching all the kids they can or believe they should. Currently 36 percent of club members come from households below the poverty line, Dennis said. The club has provided youth with 460,446 hours of supervision and 131,127 snacks and meals so far in 2017, according to statistics provided by the Boys and Girls Clubs of Yellowstone County.

The demand for after-school programs like the Boys and Girls Club doesnt seem to be diminishing, Owen said. Last year, the organization bused students from Washington Elementary to a nearby clubhouse as an attempt to reach more kids. They weren't the only ones, Owen said; the YMCA, Friendship House and others also bused children to their after-school programs.

Despite the show of support from programs, Theres still kids at that one school that needed a place to go," Owen said.

Dennis said he's also interested in ways the club might improve its outreach to teens, who make up just 10 percent of the club's 2,532 registered members.

The decision to include showers and bathrooms for teens at the Bair Family Clubhouse was partially based off of feedback from teenage club members, Dennis said.

It was also based on the need for improvements to the 32-year-old building that had only two bathroom stalls for girls.

Another area Dennis listed the clubs could expand services is by providing more mental health resources. The nonprofit is in the early stages of looking at partnering or with other organizations to provide more resources to the children, he said.

In the meantime, the club remains an exceptional organization, said Jim Clark, CEO and president of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.

Clark, who made his first trip to Montana this week to tour the Boys and Girls Clubs of Yellowstone County's facilities and deliver a "State of the Youth" talk to local youth programs, noted the large number of kids who spend several days at local clubhouses.

The frequency of kids that come twice or three times a week is really high  much better than the national averages, Clark said. It's one indication that the Boys and Girls Clubs of Yellowstone County is a "top-tier" organization, he said.

Club statistics show 919 kids attended at least two times a week through the first three weeks of September.

Clark said in clubhouses across the world technology and STEM education opportunities are becoming increasingly important to attracting club members. Those opportunities can provide kids with opportunities that can help them start careers in adulthood, he said.

Its things like coding, customer service skills, basic stuff, technology, robotics," that will help, Clark said.

Part of the recent construction at the Bair Family Clubhouse includes a coffee shop-style space that Owen said could help engage teens in entrepreneurial and tech-oriented programming.

Weve always remained relevant and contemporary in the lives of youth, especially those who need us most, Clark said. I would say were not on the bleeding edge of anything, but we always get there."
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Experts from Europe's top human rights body on Friday expressed concerns over decrees issued by Turkey's government that removed elected mayors from posts and replaced them with unelected officials.

Following last year's coup attempt Turkey declared a state of emergency that allows the government to rule by decrees, largely by-passing parliament. Turkey says the emergency powers are needed to deal with the coup-plotters and thwart security threats.

The Council of Europe's advisory body - known as the Venice Commission and made up of constitutional law experts - said it was "particularly worried" by the use of decrees to sack elected mayors and other municipal officials in Turkey's mainly-Kurdish southeast over terror-related charges and to appoint unelected officials in their place.

FILE - In this Monday, July 17, 2017 file photo, people walk outside Istanbul's central court, where ten human rights activists were appearing to face possible charges. Experts from Europe's top human rights and democracy-promoting body say a series of decrees issued by Turkey's government, as part of a state of emergency declared following last year's coup attempt, exceed international democratic standards and Turkey's Constitution. The Council of Europe said Friday, Oct. 6, 2017 that its advisory body is particularly worried by decrees that removed elected mayors in Turkey's mainly-Kurdish southeast region over terror-related charges and replaced them with unelected officials.(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

The Commission said: "Local authorities are one of the main foundations of democratic society... Their election by the local population is key to ensuring the people's participation in the political process."

Among other things, the Commission called on Turkey to stop filling vacancies through appointments, to ensure that decisions affecting municipalities are taken after parliamentary debate and to introduce rules that would reinstate mayors if charges do not lead to a criminal conviction.

Opposition politicians say the government has used the state of emergency to crack down on critics.

More than 50,000 people have been arrested and some 110,000 others were sacked from government jobs in a large-scale crackdown on people with alleged links to terror groups or to U.S.-based cleric, Fethullah Gulen, who Turkey accuses of orchestrating the failed coup.

FILE - In this Friday, July 15, 2016 file photo, a Turkish police special forces officer secures central Istanbul's Istiklal Avenue, the main shopping road of Istanbul. Experts from Europe's top human rights and democracy-promoting body say a series of decrees issued by Turkey's government, as part of a state of emergency declared following last year's coup attempt, exceed international democratic standards and Turkey's Constitution. The Council of Europe said Friday, Oct. 6, 2017 that its advisory body is particularly worried by decrees that removed elected mayors in Turkey's mainly-Kurdish southeast region over terror-related charges and replaced them with unelected officials. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - A former real estate agent is heading to prison after accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars from home buyers in Pennsylvania for properties he wasn't authorized to sell.

Ignacio Beato pleaded guilty in May to a felony count of wire fraud conspiracy.

Prosecutors say 47-year-old Beato and his co-conspirators accepted more than $750,000 from people interested in buying homes. Authorities say he never had the deeds on the Hazleton properties.

Court records show many of the buyers didn't find out about the false sales until after they moved in, and the true property owners told them they could not live there.

The Standard-Speaker reports that a judge on Thursday ordered Beato to serve four years and three months in prison and repay $65,000 in restitution.

His real estate license has been revoked.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - President Donald Trump is weighing in on the Virginia's governor's race.

Trump attacked Democrat Ralph Northam on immigration issues in a tweet late Thursday, accusing Northam of "fighting" on behalf of violent MS-13 gang members. Trump urged Virginians to vote for Republican Ed Gillespie.

Gillespie - a consummate Washington insider - has sought to keep Trump at arm's length throughout the campaign while also trying to rally Trump supporters with hard-edged attacks on Northam over immigration.

During a conference call with reporters Friday, Gillespie repeatedly sidestepped questions about whether he welcomed Trump's endorsement.

"The fact is, I guess I'm a little surprised that it's news that the Republican president is in support of the Republican nominee for governor," Gillespie said.

When asked why his campaign had not retweeted the president's endorsement, Gillespie said Trump has about 40 million followers on Twitter. "I think that obviously that got out there without the need for a retweet," he said.

Northam responded on Twitter, saying he's been expecting Trump's attack and asked supporters for donations.

Virginia is just one of two states electing governors this year, a swing state contest viewed as a possible referendum on Trump's first year in office.

MS-13 has become a target of Trump in seeking support for a broader immigration crackdown.
ROME (AP) - Italian lawmakers are demanding Brazil extradite former Italian communist militant Cesare Battisti after he was caught near the Bolivian border in an apparent attempt to flee the country.

Battisti was detained for questioning Wednesday after he was stopped near the border carrying about $7,500 in cash in foreign currencies. He was later put under arrest, but late Friday, a judge ordered his release, pending the investigation.

Battisti escaped from Italian prison in 1981 while awaiting trial on four counts of murder allegedly committed when he was a member of the Armed Proletarians for Communism. He was convicted in absentia in 1990. He has acknowledged membership in the group but denies killing anyone.

Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva rejected Italy's extradition request in 2010 and granted Battisti asylum.

Now, a chorus of Italian lawmakers, including ex-Premier Matteo Renzi, are demanding that Battisti finally face justice for Italian murder convictions. Justice Minister Andrea Orlando has said that extradition "is possible" and that Italy is determined he serve time to "give back, at least in part, what was taken from our country and the families of his victims."

According to a statement from a court in the Brazilian state where Battisti was detained, the Italian is suspected of money laundering and carrying more foreign currency than is legal. The judge also said he appeared to be trying to leave the country amid fears Brazil would reverse its decision and send him back to Italy. Under Brazilian law, those granted asylum must seek permission to leave the country.

It was not clear late Friday when Battisti would be released.

Battisti's defense denied that he had committed any financial crime, according to court documents.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the Trump administration's change of policy on birth control (all times local):

1:05 p.m.

The top Democrat in the House says the Trump administration's decision allowing more employers to opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women is despicable.

Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi says in a statement: "This administration's contempt for women reaches a new low with this appalling decision to enable employers and health plans to deny women basic coverage for contraception."

The California lawmaker says Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act ensured access to preventive care for millions of women. She says Republicans, including House GOP lawmakers, have launched a "sickening attack" on women's health.

House Speaker Paul Ryan welcomed the decision, calling it "a landmark day for religious liberty."

___

11:20 a.m.

The Trump administration is allowing more employers to opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women by claiming religious and moral objections.

The administration has issued a long-expected revision to Obama-era rules. The rules require most companies to provide birth control as preventive care for women, at no additional cost. Under the Affordable Care Act, preventive services are supposed to be free of charge to employees and their dependents.

The Trump administration's revision issued Friday expands a religious exemption that previously applied to houses of worship, religiously affiliated nonprofit groups and closely held private companies.

The share of women employees paying for birth control pills has plunged to under 4 percent, from 21 percent, since contraception became a covered preventive health benefit, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) - Surveying the twisted metal wreckage in one San Juan neighborhood, Vice President Mike Pence came face-to-face with Puerto Rico's post-hurricane urgency.

"If you're going to help us, it's got to be now," a bearded young man told Pence as the vice president walked with Puerto Rico's governor and others along a street hit hard by Hurricane Maria. "We need more people, we need more communications," the man told Pence, adding that he was "a little bit angry."

Pence, wearing short sleeves and cowboy boots, patted the man on the shoulder and later told reporters, "We understand his frustration when you think of the sheer magnitude of the loss, the impact on families, the loss of life being so grievous." He promised that better days were ahead and the Trump administration would be "here for the long haul."

Vice President Mike Pence tours a neighborhood damaged by Hurricane Maria in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Kenneth Thomas)

Pence's empathy and reassurances in San Juan and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Friday served as a humbler follow-up to President Donald Trump's visit this week to Puerto Rico. Maria has wiped out power across the island and left Puerto Rico's 3.4 million people short of food and supplies.

Trump spoke at length in self-congratulatory tones Tuesday about the strength of the federal recovery effort and made light of how costly Puerto Rico's troubles were to the federal budget. He tossed rolls of paper towels to the crowd in San Juan and compared the island's lower death toll with the "real catastrophe" of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when more than 1,800 people died.

Pence, for his part, said there had been "steady progress" on opening roads and addressing other challenges, but acknowledged, "we have a long way to go." He told Puerto Ricans he had "faith in President Trump's leadership, his determination to stand by Puerto Rico in this challenging time."

The vice president joined with religious leaders at the Iglesia Santa Bernardita church in San Juan, which has fed about 60 to 100 people every day since the storm. Pence carried a tray of sandwiches into the church's reception area and then walked along the long white tables, shaking hands.

During a church service, Pence listened as Father Willie Pena spoke of the resiliency of the people, explaining that he tells those who talk about still being in the dark, "We do not have electricity but we do have light."

The vice president offered an upbeat message, predicting that one day the congregation would say, "Puerto Rico se levanta, Puerto Rico is rising." He then bowed his head as his wife, Karen, led the church in prayer. They later met with emergency responders.

In the U.S. Virgin Islands, Pence visited an Episcopal church in Frederiksted that was battered by the storm, losing sections of its roof. Church leaders vowed to rebuild as sunlight streamed onto the pews from above and water and dirt lined the church's white tile floor.

Sitting in the back of the church, Jose Sanchez, a 33-year-old construction worker, said Pence's visit "builds morale. It gives us hope."

As for Maria, Sanchez said: "It was a whipping that we received. It is something that people are never going to forget, like Katrina."

Pence then boarded a military helicopter to view the damage from the air, looking on as his convoy flew over St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John - now marked by upended boats lying along the coastline, blue tarps dotting the tops of homes and vegetation ripped astray.

Pence described the wreckage as "overwhelming," but told local leaders, "the resilience of the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands is even greater."

Trump had hoped to visit the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier in the week but the White House said difficult logistics in the aftermath of the storm prevented it from adding it to his trip to Puerto Rico.

There were few complaints. Kenneth E. Mapp, the governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands, said the federal government had hurricane response efforts "down to a science."

"There is no country that responds to disasters like the United States of America," Mapp said, adding that the island is making progress in its recovery and he expects schools to reopen Tuesday.

__

On Twitter, follow Ken Thomas at @KThomasDC.

Vice President Mike Pence greets community members at a meal following church services at Iglesia Santa Bernardita in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Kenneth Thomas)

Vice President Mike Pence, joined by his wife Karen Pence, fourth from left, surveys hurricane damage outside Holy Cross Episcopal Church in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. The church suffered extensive damage, including large holes in the roof. (AP Photo/Kenneth Thomas)

This is a aerial view of St. Croix from Air Force 2, as Vice President Mike Pence, joined by his wife Karen Pence and Virgin Islands Del. Stacey Plaskett, D-At Large, fly in to Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. Pence is in the U.S. Virgin Islands to get an update on the recovery efforts after the islands were socked by Hurricane Maria. (AP Photo/Ken Thomas)

Vice President Mike Pence, joined by his wife Karen Pence and Virgin Islands Del. Stacey Plaskett, D-At Large, wave after landing at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport in Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (AP Photo/Ken Thomas)
CAIRO (AP) - A Libyan armed group on Friday claimed victory over Italian-backed militias paid to stem the flow of migrants to Europe from the coastal city of Sabratha, a major launch pad for the perilous voyage across the Mediterranean.

The Anti-ISIS Operations Room, created last year to clear Sabratha of Islamic State militants, said in a statement that they and their allies have taken control of the city from the Martyr Anas al-Dabashi (better known as al-Ammu's) and Brigade 48 militias. The weeks-long battle killed dozens and displaced thousands of families.

The Sabratha Municipal Council confirmed the city's capture and congratulated the AIOR on its victory.

Following a popular uprising in 2011 that has plunged the country into chaos, Libya has become a main migrant transit point to Europe as traffickers have exploited the security vacuum.

Over the summer, the two militias struck a deal with Italy through the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord to stop facilitating the flow of migrant boats to the country. Under the deal, the flow of migrants has significantly dropped since July compared to the previous year.

The U.N. migration agency says more than 139,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in Europe by sea since the start of 2017 to Oct. 4, less than half the figure recorded during the same period last year.

But the deal triggered a backlash from other local militias, who feared the empowerment of the al-Ammu and Brigade 48 militias at their expense. Neither militia could be reached for comment.

All factions involved in the weeks-long battle are nominally under the control the GNA, headed by Fayez Serraj, which hailed Friday's developments in Sabratha as "positive." It also pledged cooperation with the AIOR to secure the city.

The statement by Serraj's government made no mention of the deal with Italy, which after the blow to the militias is in disarray.

The fight has also grown more complicated with Libyan military strongman Khalifa Hifter lending his support to the forces fighting al-Ammu's militia. Hifter heads the armed forces based in the east and backed by the eastern-based parliament that is the rival of Serraj's government.

Hifter is deeply unpopular in western Libya, but is seen by some in the eastern region as the country's best hope for defeating Islamic extremists. His forces have been battling militants in Libya's eastern city of Benghazi for the last two years.

In Rome Friday, the leader of Libya's High Council of State Abdulrahmann Swehli met with Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs Angiolino Alfano to discuss the situation in Libya. Swehli's organization advises the GNA.

"There were attempts to try to exploit the situation from some parts," said Swehli of the battle for Sabratha, "But now the situation in on the way of solving itself to limit the fights."

Alfano said that the terrorism situation in Libya had "significantly improved" over the past two years.

"I believe that the process of political stabilization for Libya is a fundamental element for this battle," added Alfano, "Strong institutions are a more significant bulwark against the terror threat."
SAO PAULO (AP) - The death toll from a day care center fire in southeastern Brazil rose to nine on Friday as two 4-year-old girls died of burns while being treated in a hospital.

A firefighter in the city of Janauba in the state of Minas Gerais said by telephone that Cecilia Davina Goncalves Dias and Yasmin Medeiros Salvino died Friday afternoon due to burns that covered most of their bodies.

He said that 4-year-old Renan Nicolas Santos died Thursday night due to burns that covered 90 percent of his body.

The firefighter declined to give his name.

Four other children and a teacher died on Thursday when a guard doused the "Innocent People" day care center in Janauba with alcohol and set it alight. The guard, who had helped with security at the center since 2008, died hours later in a local hospital.

Local police chief Bruno Fernandes Barbosa told the G1 news portal that the teacher, 43-year-old Helley Abreu Batista, grappled with the guard "in an attempt to save the children."

Her conduct was heroic," he said. "She was there to protect all those children."

Janauba Mayor Carlos Isaildon Mendes has declared a seven-day mourning period.
PARIS (AP) - France's anti-terrorism prosecutor says three men are facing charges in an elaborate, failed bombing in a high-end Paris neighborhood that could have been "devastating."

Paris Prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters that two of the suspects had been under surveillance for ties to radical Islam. He said the three are meeting Friday with investigating judges expected to file preliminary terrorism charges.

Molins said the three have denied involvement and refused to answer investigators. Three others held in the investigation were released Friday for lack of evidence.

Alerted by a resident, authorities found canisters, buckets of gasoline and a detonation device connected to a telephone in a building in Paris' 16th arrondissement, or district, Saturday.

It's unclear why the explosive didn't detonate. Molins said investigators don't know why the building was targeted.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) - A fourth teenager is running for governor in Kansas, entering an already crowded field of nearly 20 candidates.

The latest entrant is 17-year-old Dominic Scavuzzo, who appointed his father as his campaign treasurer Wednesday, The Hutchinson News reports. The senior at an all-boy Jesuit school in Kansas City, Missouri, says the race is a "good opportunity" to gain experience.

Kansas doesn't set any qualifications to run for governor. Teens from suburban Kansas City and Wichita already have announced plans to run in 2018. Scavuzzo and two other teen candidates are Republicans; the other is a Democrat.

Friends University political science professor Russell Fox said the teens won't have the money or name recognition to run effective campaigns.

"These kids are doing it for a stunt, and they admit their doing it for a stunt," Fox said, while acknowledging some people probably will vote for a teen, "but most won't."

House Majority Leader Don Hineman, a Dighton Republican, told The Associated Press he believes it's time for lawmakers to look at setting an age requirement for candidates.

"In general, as someone who is of a rather advanced age, I see value in having life experience before one gets involved in politics," said the 70-year-old Hineman.

As for the young candidates, he said, "Maybe they ought to run for student council instead."

Eighteen candidates have established campaign accounts for the 2018 contest, although the filing deadline for Democratic and Republican contenders isn't until June 1. Without circulating petitions, a candidate pays $2,207 to file a governor/lieutenant governor team. A candidate who gathers 5,000 signatures pays $670.
A fire early Friday destroyed the old high school in Big Timber and temporarily threatened other nearby buildings.

Brooke Osen, Sweet Grass County's director of disaster and emergency services, said mid-Friday morning that the fire was reported at 1:10 a.m. and evacuations were immediately ordered for a one-block radius and conducted by a sheriff's deputy.

All evacuation orders have been lifted for residents, excluding anyone who lives between Third Avenue and Fourth Avenue on the west side of McLeod Street, Osen said.

Approximately six houses were included in the evacuation area, she said.

The fire initially threatened the nearby civic center and library and a couple of residences, she said, however, no other structures were damaged.

And no injuries were reported.

Firefighters had the fire contained by about 6 a.m. and were trying to gain access to extinguish hot spots, but the size and structure were making entry difficult, Osen said.

"We are not going to put personnel inside of the building at this time due to safety concerns," said Big Timber Volunteer Fire Chief Kris Novotny in a news release.

The three-story former school building, built in 1905, took up a quarter of a city block at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Hooper Street. The school was closed in 1982 when the current school opened, Osen said.

The old high school was privately owned, and it was unknown whether the building was insured, Osen said.

The fire appears to have started in the basement, Osen said.

The cause of the fire is under investigation pending an inspection by the Montana State Fire Marshal.

Novotny arrived on scene minutes after the initial report along with 25 volunteer firefighters. Other responders included personnel from the Sweet Grass County Ambulance service, NorthWestern Energy, the City of Big Timber and Triangle Telephone, Osen said.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump on Friday played with the pronunciation of Puerto Rico as he saluted Hispanic Heritage Month at the White House.

Trump drew out the name in an accented fashion three times - "Pueeeeerto Rico" - telling the crowd, "We love Pueeeeerto Rico." Then he said it without any accent: "And we also love Puerto Rico."

That got a laugh from the crowd of Hispanic leaders gathered in the East Room of the White House, and Trump' s other statements of support for the recovering U.S. territories drew cheers.

President Donald Trump speaks during a Hispanic Heritage Month event in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands were walloped last month by Hurricane Maria and are struggling to recover. Trump visited Puerto Rico this week, and Vice President Mike Pence toured St. Croix on Friday and was headed for Puerto Rico as well.

Trump has rankled Hispanics with his tough immigration policies, including building a border wall between the United States and Mexico, and he drew sharp criticism for his initial response to the toll Maria took on Puerto Rico. Critics have said the president was slow to recognize the magnitude of the hurricane's impact early on and has overstated the effectiveness of federal recovery efforts.

Last month, Trump signed a proclamation marking Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 as National Hispanic Heritage Month. In the proclamation, Trump mentioned that Hispanic-owned small businesses are the fastest growing businesses in America.

He moved from behind the microphone Friday to hug a Medal of Honor recipient in the crowd, and said that 60 Latinos in the Armed Forces have been awarded the Medal of Honor.

President Donald Trump speaks during a Hispanic Heritage Month event in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Donald Trump stands with Secretary of Labor Alex Acosta during a Hispanic Heritage Month event in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, left, and first lady Melania Trump, center, listen as President Donald Trump speaks during a Hispanic Heritage Month event in the East Room of the White House, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
MEXICO CITY (AP) - The body of a journalist was found Friday in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosi one day after armed men wearing uniforms abducted him from his home, authorities said.

Edgar Daniel Esqueda Castro, a freelance photographer, had reported threats and intimidation by detectives from the state prosecutor's office in July. It was that same body the state human rights commission had asked to protect him.

State prosecutor's office spokesman Ivan Ojeda said Esqueda's body was found near a San Luis Potosi airport.

A member of the media holds a photo of slain Mexican journalist Edgar Daniel Esqueda Castro, during a protest outside the State House in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. The body of Esqueda Castro, a freelance photographer, was found Friday in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosi one day after armed men wearing uniforms abducted him from his home, authorities said. (AP Photo/Christian Palma)

On Thursday, the prosecutor's office denied that its detectives had taken Esqueda from his home, though it said the armed men had claimed to be from its force.

"We have various lines of investigation in the case," Ojeda said Friday. "We're not ruling out anything."

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said that Esqueda covered crime and society news, contributing to local news sites Metropoli San Luis and Vox Populi.

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, a journalist advocacy group, said in a statement that Esqueda's wife said that early Thursday morning the armed men identifying themselves as state prosecutor's detectives "grabbed Edgar by the neck and threw him to the ground while pointing a gun at me." He had been asleep when they broke into the home.

According to the federal government's program that protects journalists and human rights workers, San Luis Potosi state's human rights commission had notified it in late July that Esqueda had been threatened by detectives while photographing a crime scene.

"He was approached by five detectives who threatened to take his camera and beat him up if he continued taking photographs," the state body wrote. "They made him erase the material and ran him off."

One week later, Esqueda was again confronted by detectives while covering another event. They asked for and took pictures of his identification and suggested they would be watching him and his home. They said that maybe he was passing information to criminals through his work.

The federal protection program said in a statement that it had called Esqueda, who confirmed those accounts. He told the program that there had not been any more threats or confrontations, but that he had filed a criminal complaint.

The federal program said the state human rights office reported it had turned the case over to police from the state prosecutor's office and that its commander had agreed on July 24 to take care of it. The state human rights commission did not return a call for comment Friday.

Following his abduction, the federal program offered protection to Esqueda's wife. Esqueda had not enrolled in the federal protection program.

The federal program said that it lamented Esqueda's death and called on authorities to immediately investigate and find those responsible.

At least nine journalists have now been killed this year in Mexico.

The most prominent was Javier Valdez, co-founder of the Riodoce magazine and author of many books about the intersection of drug trafficking and society, who was killed in May blocks from his office in Culiacan, Sinaloa.

After his murder President Enrique Pena Nieto promised more resources to protect journalists and called together the country's governors to emphasize that more needed to be done.

On Friday in San Luis Potosi, about 100 people, mostly journalists, demonstrated in protest.

Leopoldo Pacheco, who has worked 25 years as a journalist, was among them and said the killing shows that the work toward prevention had failed, with no one punished for any crimes against journalists.

"The profession today is really mad, but above all feels powerless and a deep sadness for what is happening to us," he said.

__

Associated Press journalist Christian Palma in San Luis Potosi contributed to this report.
HONOLULU (AP) - A federal judge on Friday said he would give Hawaii an opportunity to make its case that it should be allowed to challenge the Trump administration's latest travel ban.

U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson said Hawaii would have until Tuesday morning to file a new motion. The government will have until Saturday, Oct. 14, to respond.

The latest travel ban removes Sudan from the list of affected countries and adds Chad and North Korea, along with several officials from the government of Venezuela. It's scheduled to take effect Oct. 18.

FILE - In this June 30, 2017 file photo, Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin speaks at a news conference in Honolulu about President Donald Donald Trump's travel ban. Lawyers representing Hawaii in the state's long-running fight against Trump administration travel bans have filed a motion seeking to challenge the latest version of the policy. Hawaii filed a motion Friday, Oct. 6, 2017 asking a federal judge to lift his order halting the state's previous lawsuit. Hawaii says it wants to file an amended lawsuit targeting the third travel ban. (AP Photo/Caleb Jones, File)

"Hawaii fought the first and second travel bans because they were illegal and unconstitutional efforts to implement the president's Muslim ban," Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin said in a statement. "Unfortunately, the third travel ban is more of the same."

The motion said the new version of travel ban "flouts the immigration laws' express prohibition on nationality discrimination, grossly exceeds the authority Congress delegated to the president, lacks any rational connection to the problems it purports to address and seems to effectuate the president's promise to ban Muslims from the United States."

Chin has been battling President Donald Trump on travel bans since February, after the president sought to bar new visas for people from seven mostly Muslim countries.

The state later amended that lawsuit to add a plaintiff: the imam of a Honolulu mosque. Hawaii has roughly 5,000 Muslims.

When Trump revised the ban, Chin amended the lawsuit to challenge that version.

In March, U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson in Honolulu agreed with Hawaii that the ban amounted to discrimination based on nationality and religion.

A subsequent U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowed the administration to partially reinstate a 90-day ban on visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen and a 120-day ban on refugees from anywhere in the world.

The court's ruling exempted a large number of refugees and travelers with a "bona fide relationship" with a person or entity in the U.S.

Hawaii successfully challenged the federal government's definition of which family members would be allowed into the country. Watson ordered the government not to enforce the ban on close relatives such as grandparents, grandchildren, uncles and aunts.

An attorney representing Hawaii notified the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday that the state intends to challenge the third travel ban.
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) - An appeals court in El Salvador has upheld a 30-year homicide sentence for a woman who insists she suffered a miscarriage, and did not carry out an abortion.

The ruling has sparked condemnation from women's rights activists like Sara Garcia, who said "once again this judicial system is creating unequal conditions for women."

Evelyn Beatriz Hernandez Cruz was convicted in July of aggravated homicide.

Hernandez says she had been raped and didn't realize she was pregnant. She said she felt pains and passed out during what may have been a miscarriage.

She was charged with homicide for killing the fetus. Abortion is illegal in all situations in El Salvador.

The Associated Press normally doesn't name victims of alleged sexual assault, but Hernandez has spoken publicly about her case.
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, arrived at a San Juan church as part of a larger tour to witness first hand the devastation in Puerto Rico and surrounding US territories following an especially tumultuous hurricane season.

Pence said that the United States already has 14 Navy and Coast Guard ships near the island, and added the U.S. has been making 'steady progress' on other challenges facing Puerto Rico.

Pence is touring hurricane damage in Puerto Rico after spending time in the U.S. Virgin Islands on Friday.

Vice President Mike Pence is in the Caribbean to observe the devastation follwoing Hurricane Maria

Pence was in the US Virgin Islands before heading off to Puerto Rico on Friday on a trip to the Caribbean

Pence told congregants that President Donald Trump wants them to know the federal government will stick with them as long as it takes to recover.

The vice president added 'the hearts of the American people have been breaking' for those in the islands.

'We will get through this and we will get through this together for everyone,' he said.

Vice President Mike Pence, joined by his wife Karen Pence and Virgin Islands Del. Stacey Plaskett

Vice president Mike Pence receives a case of bottled water as he helps load a container of supplies bound for Puerto Rico

Damaged and destroyed homes are seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in Toa Alta, Puerto Rico (Pictured: September 28, 2017)

Earlier Friday, Pence spent about an hour flying over St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John to observe the devastation.

The vice president saw upended boats along the coast, blue tarps topping damaged homes and uprooted trees and vegetation.

Pence commented to the press after the tour that the destruction is 'overwhelming, but the resilience of the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands is even greater.'

During Pence's visit to St. Croix, Governor of the Virgin Islands, Kenneth E. Mapp, praised the Trump administration's relief efforts, saying 'there is no country that responds to disasters like the United States of America.'

Mapp said the island was making progress in its recovery from Hurricane Maria and expected schools to reopen on Tuesday.

Pence was in the U.S. Virgin Islands to get an update on the recovery efforts after the islands were socked by Hurricane Maria.

He's the first top member of the Trump administration to visit the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The vice president was aiming to reassure people in the U.S. territories that the Trump administration will help the islands recover from the massive storm.
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico's former first lady Margarita Zavala announced Friday that she is resigning from the conservative National Action Party and left open the possibility of running for the presidency as an independent.

Zavala is the wife of ex-President Felipe Calderon, who governed from 2006 to 2012. She had announced her intention to run for the presidential nomination of the party, known by its Spanish initials PAN, but found herself in open conflict with party leader Ricardo Anaya, who also wants the nomination.

In a video Friday, Zavala accused the party's current leadership of cancelling internal elections and said they had "handed the party's most important decision to others."

FILE - In this April 14, 2012 file photo, Mexico's President Felipe Calderon and his wife, first lady Margarita Zavala arrive for the opening ceremony of the sixth Summit of the Americas in Cartagena, Colombia. Zavala announced Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, she is resigning from the conservative National Action Party, known as the PAN. She had announced her intention to run for the party's presidential nomination, but found herself in open conflict with party leader Ricardo Anaya, who also wants the nomination. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

That was an apparent reference to last month's announcement of an alliance between the PAN and center-left Democratic Revolution Party for the July 2018 presidential elections.

Zavala did not mention Anaya by name, but the two have had public, heated exchanges recently. In the video, she said PAN leaders "have imposed anti-democratic conditions that we criticized for so long in the PRI," referring to the long-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party.

Zavala hinted she might run for the presidency outside her party but was not clear, saying only "I resign from the PAN, but not from my duty to participate in politics."

However, she did say the timing of her decision was influenced by Mexico's complex electoral laws, which set out strict time tables for declaring nominees and independent candidacies.

"I am resigning from the PAN for the reasons I have enumerated, but also because the law obliges me to do so," said Zavala, "even before we know what the nomination procedure will be for National Action or the so-called alliance.'

"If I did not do this," she said, "I would be prevented from participating in the elections."

The country's electoral agency had announced earlier in the day it was extending the deadline for registering potential independent candidates by a week, because the Sept. 19 earthquake had forced the closure of offices.

In an interview later with local media, Zavala appeared to be seriously considering an independent candidacy, something that would require her to collect hundreds of thousands of signatures to get on the ballot.

Anaya, a young technocrat who has been criticized for sending his family to live in the United States, said later Friday that "Margarita's exit from the PAN only benefits the PRI, which doesn't deserve another chance."

The PRI has been battered in the polls by high inflation, corruption and low growth. But it could now face a less-united opposition alliance, which would play into the PRI's recent strategy of winning elections with just over a third of votes in the face of divided opponents.

Leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is seen as the front-runner in the presidential race, has said Zavala is the PAN's strongest candidate, and encouraged her to run as an independent.

Lopez Obrador, who lost two previous bids for the presidency, has promoted himself as the only real alternative to the largely discredited PRI, and so may also benefit from a highly fragmented field.
WASHINGTON (AP) - America's biggest business group is warning the Trump administration that a withdrawal from the North American Free Trade Agreement would be a "political and economic debacle" that would cost hundreds of thousands of U.S. jobs.

Talking with reporters Friday, John Murphy, a senior official with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber would work to rally support for the trade deal and against the administration's hardline demand for concessions from Canada and Mexico. The comments were unusually blunt for America's biggest business group.

The Trump administration, which has threatened to pull out of NAFTA if the three countries can't agree on far-reaching changes to favor American interests, quickly returned fire.

"The president has been clear that NAFTA has been a disaster for many Americans, and achieving his objectives requires substantial change," said Emily Davis, spokeswoman for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. "These changes of course will be opposed by entrenched Washington lobbyists and trade associations. We have always understood that draining the swamp would be controversial in Washington."

The fourth round of talks to overhaul NAFTA, which was enacted 23 years ago, is scheduled for next week in Washington.

NAFTA erased most trade barriers along the United States, Canada and Mexico and led to an explosion in trade between the three countries. U.S. farm exports soared. U.S. manufacturers moved production - and jobs - south of the border to capitalize on lower Mexican wages. In doing so, they built complicated supply chains that crossed NAFTA borders.

Before the renegotiation began in August, many business and farm groups hoped the Trump administration would settle for tweaking rather than abandoning the trade deal - updating it, for example, to reflect the rise of e-commerce. But U.S. Trade Rep. Robert Lighthizer declared at the outset that the U.S. wouldn't be satisfied with minor changes.

Instead, the administration has been seeking to ensure that more auto production be made in America to receive NAFTA benefits, that more government contracts go to U.S. companies and that NAFTA expire unless the countries agreed every few years to extend it. It also wants to scrap a dispute-resolution process favored by Canada.

Murphy, the chamber's senior vice president for international policy, said that businesses "broadly and emphatically" oppose the proposals.

"We are increasingly concerned about the state of play," he said.

The first three rounds of talks dealt mostly issues that weren't in dispute. But Round 4 is expected to move into tougher territory.

"They've worked through things that were mostly agreed upon," said David Salmonsen, senior director of congressional relations at the American Farm Bureau Federation, trade group for U.S. agriculture. "Now we're getting to the contentious issues."

Robert Zoellick, a former U.S. trade rep, this week told a conference at the Atlantic Council in Washington that he thought Trump might turn to brinkmanship over NAFTA to distract attention from other problems.

"There's a very serious risk, depending on what happens with Trump's popularity and the investigations, that at some point he'll withdraw from the agreement."

The president had vilified NAFTA on the campaign trail as a job-killing disaster, especially for U.S. factory workers who, Trump argued, had been the victims of U.S. companies moving jobs to Mexico. Trump threatened to pull out of pact in April before talks even started but reversed himself after pushback from American businesses, especially farm groups.

If the United States left NAFTA, trade barriers to Canada and Mexico would pop back up. Some of the tariffs would not be especially high. But Mexican tariffs on many American farm products could soar.

Lori Wallach, a NAFTA critic who is director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch, said business groups have been slow to realize that Trump was serious about leaving NAFTA if he couldn't negotiate a more favorable deal for American workers.

"They are going to have to decide, after they get done hyperventilating, whether they want something or nothing," Wallach said. "The status quo is not one of the choices."
ATLANTA (AP) - When the National Rifle Association urged the government to revisit whether "bump stocks" should be restricted, it immediately raised eyebrows. Why would the nation's leading gun-rights organization, not known for compromise, be willing to bend even just a bit when it wields perhaps more influence than ever?

Some gun-industry experts say the NRA's move is little more than a ruse to stall any momentum for wider gun control until outrage over the Las Vegas attack subsides. It also carries little risk. For one, it's rare for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to reverse course without a change in the law. For another, "bump stocks" are not big moneymakers for the gun industry. And by seeking an administrative change, rather than a new law, the NRA allows its supporters in Congress to avoid going on the record with a vote.

"They're dismissed as silly gadgets that really inhibit the accuracy of a firearm. If these bump stocks were super popular among gun owners, we'd see a very different position from the NRA," said Adam Winkler, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law and author of "Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America."

Shooting instructor Frankie McRae aims an AR-15 rifle fitted with a "bump stock" at his 37 PSR Gun Club in Bunnlevel, N.C., on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017. The stock uses the recoil of the semiautomatic rifle to let the finger "bump" the trigger, making it different from a fully automatic machine gun, which are illegal for most civilians to own. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

The NRA "can throw a sacrificial lamb of 'bump stocks' because they know that gun owners don't use them or like them," he added.

The devices, originally intended to help people with disabilities, fit over the stock and pistol grip of a semi-automatic rifle and allow the weapon to fire continuously, some 400 to 800 rounds in a single minute, mimicking a fully automatic firearm. Bump stocks were found among the weapons used by Stephen Paddock as he rained bullets from a Las Vegas casino high-rise last Sunday. The gunfire killed 58 people at a concert below and wounded hundreds more.

On Thursday, the NRA issued a statement that urged the ATF to review whether the devices comply with federal law and said it "believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations."

The statement pointedly noted that it was under President Barack Obama's administration that the devices were authorized to be sold and again urged Congress to enact one of the gun lobby's top priorities: a national "concealed-carry reciprocity" law that would require all states to recognize other states' concealed carry permits.

In a matter of hours, NRA chief lobbyist Chris Cox put to rest any sense that the group was actively seeking a ban of bump stocks, telling Fox News' Tucker Carlson: "What we've said is ATF needs to do their job. ATF needs to look and if there's technology that's come to the market that allow for a semi-automatic rifle to function as a fully automatic rifle, they need to be regulated differently. We didn't talk about banning anything."

Notably, the nation's other leading gun lobbying groups, including Gun Owners of America, reiterated their opposition to restricting or banning the devices.

The few companies that sell bump stocks are known to include in their packaging a letter from the ATF from 2010, when the agency concluded that they were not restricted by either the Gun Control Act or the National Firearms Act.

The ATF provides guidance when a manufacturer asks the agency to evaluate a firearm or accessory to determine if its sale is restricted by either federal law. It is extremely rare for the ATF to reconsider its previous guidance unless federal law changes - so rare that experts could think of only one time when it has happened, and even then they weren't sure their memories were correct.

The agency, describing its process in general on Friday, indicated that Congress will be responsible for decisions about regulating or banning the devices.

It was not immediately clear whether President Donald Trump or Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who oversees the ATF, could order it to re-evaluate its judgment about devices.

The NRA is viewed as the most powerful and most inflexible group in the gun lobby. It pours millions of dollars into political campaigns and successfully blocks legislation that would either ban certain firearms or make them more difficult to purchase. The NRA has only gained influence following the election of Trump, who became the first president since Ronald Reagan to address the group's annual meeting.

After some particularly deadly mass shootings, the NRA has worked to find some common ground with gun-control advocates.

Following the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting in which a mentally ill student shot and killed 32 people and wounded 17, the NRA worked with gun-control advocates to fund a bill designed to improve record keeping so that people with mental illnesses were unable to purchase a firearm.

In the days following the Las Vegas attack, unusual alliances began to emerge between top Democratic and Republican members of Congress urging that bump stocks be banned. If the devices were restricted by an administrative ruling, it would spare NRA supporters in Congress from having to go on the record with a vote.

John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, cast the NRA's move as a "wink and a nod."

"They're not making a concession. What they've really done is punted this to the very federal agency that said bump stocks were legal," Feinblatt said. "This was just a wink and nod."

Clark Aposhian, chairman of the Utah Shooting Sports Council, demonstrates how a little-known device called a "bump stock" works when attached to a semi-automatic rifle at the Gun Vault store and shooting range Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2017, in South Jordan, Utah. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

In this Oct. 4, 2017, photo, a device called a "bump stock" is attached to a semi-automatic rifle at the Gun Vault store and shooting range in South Jordan, Utah. The National Rifle Association announced its support Ton Oct. 5 for regulating the devices that can effectively convert semi-automatic rifles into fully automated weapons and that were apparently used in the Las Vegas massacre to lethal effect. It was a surprising shift for the leading gun industry group, which in recent years has resolutely opposed any gun regulations. Immediately afterward the White House, too, said it was open to such a change. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Environmental Protection Agency's inspector general is expanding an inquiry into Administrator Scott Pruitt's frequent taxpayer-funded travel, the watchdog office said Friday.

The review will now include all travel by Pruitt through Sept. 30 as the office examines whether Pruitt followed EPA travel policies and whether those policies are sufficient to prevent fraud, waste and abuse. Previously, the inspector general was focusing on Pruitt's travel to his home state of Oklahoma through July 31.

A spokeswoman said Friday the scope of the review was expanded after requests by members of Congress.

In this June 2, 2017 file photo, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt looks back after speaking to the media during the daily briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington. Pruitt says he'll revive a Bush-era program to maintain an open dialogue with American businesses. Pruitt says the collaboration will boost the economy while delivering "better environmental outcomes." (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

EPA documents show Pruitt and his staff chartered a private plane for an Aug. 4 trip from Denver to Durango, Colorado, to visit the Gold King Mine, site of a spill last year. Pruitt also took three flights on government-owned planes to New York and North Dakota and for a roundtrip between airports in Oklahoma.

Letters released by EPA show the flights cost a total of $58,000 and were approved by the agency's general counsel's office.

The expanded review came as The Washington Post reported Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao used government planes instead of cheaper commercial airline flights seven times in the past eight months. The revelation was the latest involving Trump administration officials' use of costly private or military air travel at taxpayers' expense.

Tom Price resigned as Health and Human Services secretary last week amid criticism of his pattern of using private charter aircraft for official trips on the taxpayer's dime, instead of cheaper commercial flights.

The Post reported Thursday that Chao used the government planes to fly to Paris for an annual air show and to Sardinia for a meeting of industrialized democracies. Other destinations included cities within an hour's flight of Washington.

Meanwhile, the Energy Department released a series of memos late Friday indicating that Energy Secretary Rick Perry has taken at least six trips on government or private planes costing an estimated $56,000.

Three of the trips were on government planes, the memos said, including one on an Energy Department plane to the Hanford nuclear site in Washington state, and two military flights to national labs in Idaho and New Mexico.

Perry also flew on private planes to visit a Pennsylvania coal plant and nuclear sites in Ohio and Kansas City.

Perry's office released details about the flights late Friday to the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating non-commercial travel by the Trump administration.

Perry also has traveled aboard Air Force One with President Donald Trump, although those trips were not included in the report to the House committee.

Separately, a report by the Treasury Department's inspector general says that Secretary Steven Mnuchin did not violate any law in the seven trips he has taken on government airplanes but did fail to provide enough proof of why he needed to use the more expensive modes of travel. Mnuchin's travel requests included one, later withdrawn, for a government plane for use on his European honeymoon.

The EPA's inspector general opened an inquiry last month into Pruitt's frequent taxpayer-funded travel on commercial planes. The Associated Press reported earlier this year that Pruitt often spends weekends at his Tulsa home.

An EPA spokeswoman said the trips were warranted.

Democratic Reps. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, Diana DeGette of Colorado and Paul Tonko of New York requested the expanded review, saying Pruitt's reported use of private aircraft "is just the latest example of repeated and blatant abuse of taxpayer funds by the Trump administration."
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Police are searching for a 19-year-old man accused of throwing a puppy out of the third-floor window of a New Jersey home.

The Mercer County Prosecutor's office said in a statement that Anthony Matlock threw a four-month-old terrier named Dutchess out of a Trenton home during a domestic dispute Sept. 21. The dog landed in the basement of a vacant property next door.

Prosecutors say doctors performed surgery on the puppy to save her broken right leg.

Officials say the man's home contained 26 English and French bulldog puppies inside a cooler and two cages full of feces.

Police plan to charge the man with third-degree animal cruelty once he is found.
Medica plans to leave North Dakota's health insurance exchange in 2018.

In North Dakota, 3,073 people bought Medica on the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, health care exchange.

Citing uncertainty over congressional action on ACA cost-sharing reductions, which are payments made by the federal government to insurance companies to help low-income customers with out-of-pocket costs, Medica decided not to sign an agreement to offer individual health insurance through the North Dakota exchange next year, said North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread. Customers who have Medica health insurance plans through their employers, buy it on their own or who purchase Medicare supplemental coverage from Medica will still be able to get coverage.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated where policy holders affected by Medica's exiting the health care exchange lived. The 90 percent figure should have referred to percentage of Bismarck-Mandan customers who have Medicare supplemental coverage.

Medica provides health insurance to a small number, just under 15 percent, of the 20,691 people who buy coverage on North Dakota's exchange. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Dakota is the largest provider and will still have plans available, along with Sanford Health Plan.

The company originally filed rates in North Dakota assuming federal funding for cost-sharing reductions would be available, but later requested North Dakota Insurance Department approval of higher rates for 2018 under the assumption those would not be paid. The department declined to approve the rate increase saying, if Congress does fund the payments, it may not be possible to then reduce the rates and recover the cost to consumers.

"With this in mind, the department felt it was our responsibility to err on the side of caution and protect North Dakota consumers from any unnecessary increases," Godfread said in a statement.

The company said it remains hopeful it could be available on North Dakota's exchange next year, according to the Associated Press.
A new book from Donald Trump's first wife pulls back the curtain on a tumultuous period of the president's life, including the messy divorce that was splashed across New York's tabloids for weeks.

Ivana Trump, who was married to the real estate magnate from 1977 to 1992, writes in 'Raising Trump' that she knew her marriage was over soon after a day in December 1989.

'This young blonde woman approached me out of the blue and said "I'm Marla and I love your husband. Do you?"' writes Ivanka Trump. 'I said "Get lost. I love my husband." It was unladylike but I was in shock.'

A new book from Ivana Trump pulls back the curtain on a tumultuous period of the president's life, including the messy divorce that was splashed across New York's tabloids for weeks

Ivana recounts the first time she met her successor, Marla Maples. 'This young blonde woman approached me out of the blue and said "I'm Marla and I love your husband. Do you?"' writes Ivanka Trump. 'I said "Get lost. I love my husband." It was unladylike but I was in shock'

Trump's public affair with Marla Maples spawned the infamous 'Best Sex I've Ever Had' headline in the New York Post in 1990. After divorcing his first wife, Trump married Maples in 1993.

'Raising Trump' is set to be released next week. The Associated Press purchased an early copy.

In the book, Ivana writes glowingly about her marriage to Trump and her prominent role at the Trump Organization.

But then she unburdens herself about the heartache that Trump's affair with Maples caused her and the couple's three children, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric.

Donald Jr. didn't speak to his father for a year after the split.

She writes about the heartache that Trump's affair with Marla Maples caused her and the couple's three children, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric. Don Jr. didn't speak to his father for a year

Ivana Trump, who was married to the real estate magnate from 1977 to 1992, writes in 'Raising Trump' that she knew her marriage was over soon after a day in December 1989.

'I can only shake my head at how it insane it was,' Ivana Trump writes. 'I couldn't turn on the television without hearing my name.'

But she and the president have returned to far warmer terms.

She writes that they speak about once a week and that she encourages him to keep using Twitter.

She said in a CBS News interview this week that she was offered the post of ambassador to the Czech Republic, her native country, but turned it down because she already has 'a perfect life.' The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the ambassadorship post.

Much of the book is spent recounting Ivana Trump's childhood in Europe, her burgeoning modeling career in New York and Trump's courtship.

She writes that they night they met Trump secured her and friends a table at a hot Manhattan restaurant, paid the check and chauffeured her back to her hotel in a giant Cadillac. 'My instincts told me that Donald was smart and funny - an all-America good guy'

She writes that, at their first meeting, Trump secured her and friends a table at a hot Manhattan restaurant, paid the check and chauffeured her back to her hotel in a giant Cadillac.

'My instincts told me that Donald was smart and funny - an all-America good guy,' Ivana Trump writes.

Her children also contribute passages to the book, and Ivana Trump muses that her former husband may not be the only Trump to call the White House home.

'Maybe in fifteen years, she could run for president?' she writes about her daughter, Ivanka, before musing about her own possible title. 'First Lady? Holds no appeal for me personally. First Mother? That could work.'
LEEDS, Ala. (AP) - Police say an Alabama man has been fatally shot after he began firing at officers.

Leeds police Chief Ronald Reaves told AL.com the man was killed Thursday night when he opened fire despite instructions to put down his weapon. Reaves says an officer fired two rounds at the man before he died at the scene. No officers were hurt.

The deceased man's name has not been released. The officer who fired the gun is on administrative leave until an investigation is complete. The races of the men were not available.

The officers had been called out about a dog being shot and were talking to witnesses when they heard gunfire. After going toward the sounds, they found an armed man who lived in the area.

State investigators and the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office are assisting with the probe.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The Austin police chief said Friday that a Ford Explorer SUV that the automaker repaired for a return to service with his department actually doesn't appear to have had exhaust containing carbon monoxide seeping into it - despite his saying earlier that it did.

Interim Police Chief Brian Manley said previously that during a test of three SUVs repaired by Ford Motor Company, one tested positive for carbon monoxide. But Manley told The Austin American-Statesman hours later that additional testing revealed alarms may have activated for some other reason, meaning his original assertions were a likely false alarm.

"We do not believe this issue is a Ford issue or related to the repairs they have done," Manley told The Statesman. That is consistent with Ford, which responded to Manley's earlier comments by defending its repairs and saying it has yet to receive all the details about the reported new problem.

Ford spokeswoman Elizabeth Weigandt said Friday in an earlier emailed statement that, "Ford was not provided with information on the levels of CO detected but we are ready to inspect any vehicle."

She also said the automaker has "been happy to collaborate with" Austin police on repairs and added: "The methods and parts we've utilized to repair Austin's vehicles have worked well to address the concern."

Austin police pulled nearly 400 Explorers off patrol in July because of carbon monoxide concerns. Police departments across the country use Explorers and several also took them out of service.

Ford has previously blamed the issue on non-factory outfitters that drill holes into police SUVs to install extra equipment like lights and radios.

___

Information from: Austin American-Statesman, http://www.statesman.com
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The U.S. Gulf Coast braced Friday for a fast-moving blast of wind, heavy rain and rising water as deadly Tropical Storm Nate threatened to reach hurricane strength before a weekend landfall.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami issued hurricane and storm surge warnings for southeast Louisiana and the Mississippi and Alabama coasts. A hurricane warning was issued a few hours later for metropolitan New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain.

Forecasters said in a Friday evening NHC advisory that the storm was growing in strength, with maximum sustained winds increasing to 60 mph (95 kph) and higher gusts.

Scottie Lopez, left, and Glenn Greco, both from Delacroix Island, tie up their boats before the Caernarvon floodgate closes in St. Bernard Parish in anticipation of the arrival of Tropical Storm Nate in Caernarvon, La., Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (Matthew Hinton/The Advocate via AP)

"Additional strengthening is forecast during the next 36 hours, and Nate is expected to become a hurricane by the time it reaches the northern Gulf of Mexico," the advisory said.

States of emergency were declared in all three states as Nate - which has already killed at least 21 people in Central America - became the latest in a succession of destructive storms this hurricane season.

Nate is forecast to dump 3 to 6 inches (7 to 15 centimeters) of rain on the region - with isolated totals of up to 12 inches. That much rain led authorities to warn of flash flooding and mudslides. By midafternoon Friday, Nate was moving at a speed of 21 mph (33 kph). It was expected to move near or over the coast of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula late Friday and make landfall in the U.S. late Saturday or Sunday.

Evacuation orders were issued for some coastal communities, including the Louisiana towns of Jean Lafitte and Grand Isle.

Shelly Jambon, owner of Sureway Supermarket in Grand Isle, said she plans on riding out the storm at her store even though it's across the street from the beach. She bought it two years before Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005 and has weathered far more threatening storms than Nate.

"It's a mild one for us," she said. "Seventy to 80 mph winds? We get that in a winter storm."

The state mobilized 1,300 National Guard troops. Some were headed to New Orleans, where summer storms already have exposed problems with the city's fragile pumping system.

"We don't anticipate that this is going to cause a devastating impact to New Orleans or exceed the ability for the pumps," Gov. Jon Bel Edwards said Thursday.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency in six southernmost counties. State officials, at a briefing Friday in Gulfport, warned that Nate's main danger in that state will be from up to 10 feet of storm surge in low-lying coastal areas, as well as from winds that could damage mobile homes.

"If you are in an area that has flooded, I would recommend you evacuate that area until the storm has ended and the water has receded for your own personal safety and for the safety of the first responders that will be responding in the event you are trapped," Bryant said.

The storm threatened to disrupt one of the Mississippi coast's biggest annual tourist events, the "Cruisin' the Coast" auto show. Biloxi firefighters warned more than 700 recreational vehicle campers that they may need to leave early. The event continued as normal Friday, but Saturday's events were cancelled, replaced by a brief closing ceremony.

Dozens of offshore oil and gas platforms and drilling rigs in the Gulf of Mexico have been evacuated as Nate churns through warm waters. Ingalls Shipbuilding, the Mississippi coast's largest industrial employer, announced Friday that only a skeleton crew of necessary employees would work Saturday and Sunday at the Pascagoula shipyard.

The northern Gulf Coast areas targeted by Nate largely have been spared the worst effects of a catastrophic hurricane season, but Louisiana's emergency declaration for Nate isn't its first since the start of the summer. In August, a weakened Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Louisiana after dealing a devastating blow to Texas and then nudging back into the Gulf of Mexico. Edwards also issued an emergency declaration in August for storm-related flooding in New Orleans.

On Alabama's Dauphin Island, owners hauled boats out of the water ahead of the storm's approach. Tourists canceled beach reservations for the weekend. The major concern was that Nate's storm surge was projected to coincide with high tide.

Mississippi Emergency Management Agency Director Lee Smithson expressed confidence that the federal government would be able to provide help to Mississippi even as the Federal Emergency Management Agency continues to respond to previous hurricanes in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Bryant authorized the use of the Mississippi National Guard to respond to any damage. Officials said they would open 11 evacuation shelters in areas away from the immediate coast, and that the regional bus system could transport people who can't drive to shelters on their own.

"This is a fast-moving storm," Smithson said.

___

Jeff Amy reported from Jackson, Mississippi. Melinda Deslatte and Michael Kunzelman in Baton Rouge and Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama contributed to this story.

___

This story corrects that storm center expected to pass Yucatan peninsula late Friday, not late Saturday.

The Caernarvon floodgate closes in St. Bernard Parish before the arrival of Tropical Storm Nate in Caernarvon, La., Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. May fisherman and crab trappers were allowed to dock their boats inside the floodgate at the St. Bernard Parish line before 1 p.m., Friday. (Matthew Hinton/The Advocate via AP)

Scottie Lopez throws a rope to Glenn Greco, both from Delacroix Island, at they tie up their boats before the Caernarvon floodgate closes in St. Bernard Parish in anticipation of the arrival of Tropical Storm Nate in Caernarvon, La., Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (Matthew Hinton/The Advocate via AP)

Brenda Kent jumps on her boat as she and her husband leave the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor in Biloxi, Miss., on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017 to take the boat up river in advance of Tropical Storm Nate. Gulf Coast residents were bracing Friday for a fast-moving blast of wind, heavy rain and rising water as Tropical Storm Nate threatened to reach hurricane strength before a weekend landfall. (John Fitzhugh/The Sun Herald via AP)

Bobby Williams, left, and his son, Bobby, Jr., take down the sign for their charter boat at the Biloxi, Miss., Small Craft Harbor on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. Gulf Coast residents were bracing Friday for a fast-moving blast of wind, heavy rain and rising water as Tropical Storm Nate threatened to reach hurricane strength before a weekend landfall. (John Fitzhugh/The Sun Herald via AP)
CASA GRANDE, Ariz. (AP) - The Latest on a quadruple shooting in Casa Grande, Arizona. (all times local):

3:50 p.m.

The mother of one of the suspects in a quadruple shooting in Casa Grande, Arizona, says she feels shock, horror and dismay.

Mary Lou Rodriguez said in a written statement that she is the mother of Alec Javier Perez, one of two suspects held in the slaying of four people Thursday in the southern Arizona city.

Rodriguez says she loves her son but does not condone or accept violent behavior. Rodriguez expressed condolences to the victims' loved ones.

Police say 31-year-old Alec Javier Perez and 22-year-old Rodney Ortiz Jr. remain jailed after being arrested Thursday on suspicion of four counts of first-degree murder.

The victims are identified as 32-year-old Justin Allen Yates, 27-year-old Jose Martin Aguilera, 31-year-old Connie Carrera and 29-year-old Crysta Proctor.

Police said Proctor was the estranged wife of Perez.

____

2:21 p.m.

Casa Grande police have identified the two suspects arrested and the victims in a quadruple killing attributed to domestic violence, saying that one of the victims was the estranged wife of one of the suspects.

Police say 31-year-old Alec Javier Perez and 22-year-old Rodney Ortiz Jr. remain jailed after being arrested Thursday on suspicion of four counts of first-degree murder.

The victims are identified as 32-year-old Justin Allen Yates, 27-year-old Jose Martin Aguilera, 31-year-old Connie Carrera and 29-year-old Crysta Proctor.

Police said Proctor was the estranged wife of Perez.

Police say the case has been submitted to the Pinal County Attorney's Office for review.

A police department spokesman, Officer Thomas Anderson, says he doesn't know whether the suspects have attorneys who could comment on the allegations.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Latest on the inquiries about travel practices of Trump administration officials: (all times local):

6:45 p.m.

The Energy Department says Energy Secretary Rick Perry has taken at least six trips on government or private planes costing an estimated $56,000.

FILE - In this July 18, 2017, file photo, Energy Secretary Rick Perry attends a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington. The Energy Department says Perry has taken at least six trips on government or private planes costing an estimated $56,000. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

The report comes as top officials in the Trump administration undergo scrutiny for their use of costly private or military air travel at taxpayers' expense.

Three of Perry's trips were on government planes, including one on an Energy Department plane to the Hanford nuclear site in Washington state, and two military flights to national labs in Idaho and New Mexico.

Perry also flew on private planes to visit a Pennsylvania coal plant and nuclear sites in Ohio and Kansas City.

Perry's office released details about the flights to the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating non-commercial travel by the Trump administration.

___

5:10 p.m.

The inspector general at the Environmental Protection Agency says it is expanding an inquiry into Administrator Scott Pruitt's frequent taxpayer-funded travel.

The watchdog office said the review will now include all travel by Pruitt through Sept. 30. Previously, the inspector general was focusing on Pruitt's travel to his home state of Oklahoma through July 31.

A spokeswoman said Friday the scope of the review was expanded after requests by members of Congress,

The Associated Press and others reported in July that Pruitt traveled to Oklahoma at least 10 times.

An EPA spokeswoman said the trips were warranted.

The inspector general's office said its review will look at whether Pruitt followed EPA travel policies and whether those policies are sufficient to prevent fraud, waste and abuse.
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Saudi Arabia's U.N. envoy said Friday "there is no justification whatsoever" for the Saudi-led coalition fighting rebels in Yemen to be on a U.N. blacklist for killing and injuring nearly 700 children in 2016.

Ambassador Abdallah Al-Mouallimi rejected "the inaccurate and misleading information and figures" in the U.N.'s annual report on Children and Armed Conflict.

But he told a news conference that one casualty is too many, and "we continue to endeavor to reduce this number to the lowest possible level."

This year's report was eagerly awaited because last year the U.S.-backed coalition was put on the blacklist but removed by then-Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon under intense pressure from Saudi Arabia.

His successor, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, changed the blacklist which for the first time this year lists governments, rebel groups and other parties to conflicts that are taking action to protect children - and those combatants that aren't doing anything.

Saudi Arabia is on the list of parties that are taking action.

"We think there is no justification whatsoever for the coalition to be listed anywhere because we are conducting activities there in accordance with international legitimacy, in accordance with international law" and with a 2015 Security Council resolution, Al-Mouallimi said. "We are making an effort to try to preserve and protect children and all other civilians."

But he said the coalition is taking measures to reduce casualties by continually refining rules of engagement and investigating the 50 alleged incidents in Yemen that have been reported. He said 32 of those investigations have been concluded though he didn't provide details of the findings.

Last month, Saudi Arabia also established "a child protection unit" in coalition headquarters, staffed by a colonel and two officers, Al-Mouallimi said.

Its aim is to ensure that all units, commands and operations are carried out and have safeguards that "protect children as much as possible," he said. "So we are trying to do our best in that regard, and we will need to continue to improve on our best."

Yemen, which is on the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula, has been engulfed in civil war since September 2014, when Houthi Shiite rebels swept into the capital of Sanaa and overthrew President Abed-Rabbo Mansour Hadi's internationally recognized government. In March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition began a campaign in support of Hadi's government and against Houthi forces allied with ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh, mainly using airstrikes.

Since then, the Iranian-backed Houthis have been dislodged from most of the south, but remain in control of the capital Sanaa and much of the north. The war in Yemen has killed over 10,000 civilians, displaced 3 million people, and led to the world's largest cholera outbreak with over 700,000 suspected cases and more than 2,000 deaths this year.

In the new report, Gutteres said, "the coalition's actions objectively led to the listing for the killing and maiming of children, with 683 child casualties attributed to this party, and as a result of being responsible for 38 verified incidents, for attacks on schools and hospitals during 2016."

The secretary-general said there were 1,340 verified child casualties in Yemen - over 50 percent caused by the U.S.-backed coalition - and 414 casualites, or just over 30 percent, by the Houthis and their allies.

Al-Mouallimi said the coalition believes the Houthi child casualties are "underrepresented" and the coalition figures are "overrepresented" because the sources of information are in Houthi-controlled territory. The U.N. says the figures have been verified.

Comparing this year's report with last year's, the Saudi ambassador said last year the coalition's consultation with the U.N. was "almost nil" while this year there has been extensive contact with the office of the U.N. special representative for children and armed conflict, Virginia Gamba.

While the coalition objects to being on the list, Al-Mouallimi said Saudi Arabia's relations with the U.N. "are very strong, and I hope that they will continue to be very strong."
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Anti-police brutality groups in Utah are livid after a prosecutor this week determined police were legally justified in a fatal shooting of a black man in August that was captured on body camera video released this week.

While one video appears to show the victim, Patrick Harmon, 50, shot from behind as he ran from police, a slowed-down version shows he pivoted toward officers with a knife, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said Friday.

Officer Clinton Fox told investigators Harmon threatened to stab him before he fired the fatal shots. Body camera video shows Fox shot Harmon at close range after Fox yells, "I'll f....ing shoot you."

Lex Scott, an organizer with Black Lives Matter in Utah, said the community is livid over the footage and wants the district attorney to resign. The Harmon family, which lives in Colorado and St. Louis, is "shell shocked," Scott said.

"You can't watch that video and not realize it is a clear case of murder," Scott said. "It is one of the clearest cases of murder we've ever seen."

African Americans make up about 2 percent of the population in Utah yet are over-represented in the criminal justice system, Scott said.

About 50 protesters rallied in front of Salt Lake City police building last weekend, including members of Harmon's family, demanding police release the footage. They did that this week after Gill's ruling.

The shooting comes amid an intense debate throughout the United States about race and policing following the fatal shooting of many black victims.

In 2014, police in Saratoga Springs, Utah, shot and killed Darrien Hunt, 22, after receiving reports of a man with a samurai sword. The Utah County attorney's office ruled the two officers involved were justified in shooting Hunt because they feared for their lives and the lives of others.

Hunt's family said the shooting was racially motivated. Hunt was black; the officers who shot him were white. He was wielding the sword as part of a Japanese anime costume.

Harmon was shot and killed on Aug. 13, after an officer saw him ride his bicycle across all six lanes of traffic and a median on a downtown Salt Lake City street.

He was stopped because he didn't have a required red rear tail light on his bicycle, according to the district attorney's report. Police say that Harmon gave "a couple" of different names and eventually they found warrants for felonies including aggravated assault.

As they put him in handcuffs, Harmon pleaded with them not to take him to jail.

The video shows a distraught-looking Harmon peacefully putting his hands behind his back, then suddenly breaking into a run. The video from Fox's body camera is difficult to decipher as the officer ran.

Fox said that as he chased him, Harmon suddenly turned and pulled out a knife and threatened to stab him. Neither that statement nor an obviously visible knife are captured on the video. But two other officers at the scene reported hearing Harmon say he would cut or stab the officers and a knife was found near Harmon's body.

"Officer Fox said he was terrified by how close Mr. Harmon was to the officers when Mr. Harmon stopped and turned toward them," the district attorney report on the shooting states. "Officer Fox said that in 10 years of law enforcement and two military deployments, it was the scariest situation he had ever been in."

The report also includes stills from the video and an image of a knife found at the scene.

Gill said that when his investigators slowed down the video, it showed that Harmon was pivoting toward the officer.

Harmon was shot on his side, and a knife was found at the scene, he said.

His office has to decide whether to file criminal charges by weighing whether the officer could reasonably fear being seriously injured or killed, Gill said.

Given the slowed-down version of video from the body camera worn by Fox and a second officer, the knife found at the scene and the relatively close distance between Harmon and Fox, Gill found that fear would have been reasonable, he said.

Gill said he didn't come to that conclusion easily. The first time he saw the video at full speed, he thought, "Oh my god, this isn't right," he said.

"These are not easy decisions. They're difficult decisions. I don't take them lightly, and this was a very trying decision," he said.

Jeanetta Williams, president of the Salt Lake branch of the NAACP, said Friday that the group will follow up with prosecutors to get more information before deciding what action to take.

"He ran, but in the video I didn't see a knife," Williams said. "I just saw him try to run and then they just shot him."

___

Associated Press writer Janie Har in San Francisco contributed to this report.
The leader of Catalonia Carles Puigdemont has accused King Felipe VI of following Spains central governments catastrophic policies towards the region.

The Catalan president called the central government irresponsible for not accepting mediation in the political crisis.

Mr Puigdemonts government is considering when it will declare independence from Spain in the wake of a disputed referendum which triggered the countrys worst national crisis in decades.

Spain's King Felipe VI

He has said an independence declaration will come within a few days, but Spain, which declared Sundays referendum illegal and invalid, is bitterly opposed to any such move.

In a televised speech late on Wednesday, Mr Puigdemont condemned violence by police who tried to halt Sundays referendum.

We held the referendum amid an unprecedented repression and in the following days we will show our best face to apply the results of the referendum, he said.

The separatist leader told the king: You have disappointed many Catalans.

In a nationally televised address on Tuesday, King Felipe came out strongly against the Catalan authorities, criticising their irresponsible conduct.

He said the Spanish state needed to ensure constitutional order and the rule of law in Catalonia, the richest region of Spain.
Government forces have retaken the northern town of Hawija from the Islamic State group, one of the militant groups last strongholds in Iraq, the countrys prime minister has said.

Haider al-Abadi said in Paris on Thursday that the fight against IS will now focus on the border zone with Syria.

I want to announce the liberation of the city of Hawija today, he said, calling it a victory not just for Iraq but for the whole world.

map of IS controlled areas

Plans to retake Hawija had been complicated by political wrangling among the Iraqi security forces, Shiite armed groups and the Kurdish peshmerga troops.

The town is part of the Kirkuk governorate, which is disputed between the central government in Baghdad and the northern Iraqi Kurdish autonomous region.

Displaced men from Hawija at a Kurdish screening centre

Iraqi forces launched the operation to retake the town, which lies 150 miles north of Baghdad, late last month just two days after Iraqi forces began an offensive against IS holdouts in Iraqs vast western Anbar province.

Earlier in the month, Iraqi and US-led coalition planes had stepped up a campaign of airstrikes on Hawija, targeting IS bases and weapons facilities.

IS has been steadily losing ground and seeing its sprawling caliphate, which in 2014 spanned a third of the territory of Iraq and also neighbouring Syria, crumbling fast.

The territory it still holds in the western province lies mainly along the border with Syria in the Euphrates River.

We should chase this terrorist organisation everywhere, Mr al-Abadi said.

This is a very dangerous organisation that works for spreading instability.
The Knights of Columbus will be hosting a breakfast at Christ the King Parish Life Center from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday.

The breakfast will include sausage, scrambled eggs, hashbrown wedges, pancakes, ice cream, fruit, juice, milk and coffee for a freewill offering. Proceeds from the breakfast will be used to support ND Right to Life, an organization dedicated to protecting all human life from conception to natural death.

The 9th annual Life Walk will be held at 1 p.m. from Christ the King to St. Joseph's, and then onto Spirit of Life Catholic Churches. Prayer services with refreshments will be held at each stop. Christ the King is located at 505 10th Ave. N.W. in Mandan.
Uber saw its UK profits surge 65% last year amid rising demand, but the taxi-hailing app is still facing an uphill battle to keep its service running in London.

The company said its UK operations raked in 36.9 million in revenue for the year to December 31, up 59% from 23.3 million a year earlier, according to accounts filed at Companies House.

Pre-tax profits surged 65% from 1.8 million to more than 3 million, while its tax bill rose from 410,000 to 551,000.

Uber lost its licence to operate in London last month (PA)

The company went from operating across 20 UK cities at the start of 2016 to around 40 by year-end and increased its average monthly employee base by 90% to around 199 staff.

The hiring spree was mainly due to the increased demand for services during the year, Uber said.

Uber UKs employee total only accounts for marketing and support staff, as it controversially considers drivers independent contractors, despite widespread concerns about workers rights.

We continue to invest in expanding our business in the UK, an Uber spokesman said.

Uber is also creating many economic opportunities in every city we operate in.

The vast majority of the revenue generated by our technology goes directly to drivers who use our app and so stays in the local economy.

The classification of its drivers is one of a number of hurdles Uber currently faces in the UK, having most recently lost its London licence.

Transport for London (TfL) refused to renew the firms licence last month on the grounds of public safety and security implications.

It raised concerns over Ubers approach to reporting serious criminal offences, how drivers medical certificates are obtained, how criminal record checks are carried out, and its use of technology.

Uber has said it will appeal against the decision, though a filing will have to be made by October 13.

It can continue to operate in the capital throughout the appeals process, which will keep the service open for its 3.5 million passengers and 40,000 London drivers.

Chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi met with Londons transport commissioner Mike Brown earlier this week, resulting in a discussion that both sides described as constructive.

The talks were held following an approach from Uber and at Mayor Sadiq Khans request.

Mr Khosrowshahi recently apologised for the mistakes weve made and accepted that the company had got things wrong.

The company is currently on the hunt for a new UK chairman and is now looking for someone to fill a role left open after its head of northern European affairs Jo Bertram quit her post on Monday.
The fallout from the Conservative Party conference continues to dominate the front pages of Fridays papers  with many questioning what the future holds for Prime Minister Theresa May.

Many of the front pages speak of a plot to ditch Mrs May after her speech to the Tory faithful in Manchester was overshadowed by a protester, a cough, and issues with the backdrop.

The Metro picks up on the shaky lettering for the second day in a row, suggesting that Theresa May was clinging to power, as one MP is reported as saying the chances of a resignation by Friday was 50-50.

Papers on October 6

The i also speaks of rebellion and plot, quoting a former cabinet minister who says Mrs May is in intensive care.

While the Mirror says that Mrs May will be confronted by the weekend, and suggests plotters are looking to have a new leader in place by Christmas.

Tomorrow's front page: All we want for Christmas is a new PM #tomorrowspaperstoday https://t.co/4NNKVdfPde pic.twitter.com/VHT35jkcao  The Mirror (@DailyMirror) October 5, 2017

The Telegraph leads on a comment piece by Home Secretary Amber Rudd who is backing the Prime Minister, saying the country needs stability. The paper also suggests a cabinet reshuffle may be an option, as Mrs May is urged to bring in new blood.

Tomorrow's Daily Telegraph front page: PM should stay, says Rudd #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/yRhxtJAbL7  The Telegraph (@Telegraph) October 5, 2017

The Times leads on an interview with former Conservative party chairman Grant Shapps, who is calling for a new leader to take us forward  but the paper also notes the former international development minister has long been a thorn in Mrs Mays side.

Tomorrow's front page: Senior Tory accused of leading plot against May #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/DENhEJqyR1  The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) October 5, 2017

The Guardian reports that pressure is growing on Mrs May after what it calls a disaster at conference, quoting donor Charlie Mullins as saying the PM needs to chuck the towel in.

Guardian front page, Friday 6 October 2017: Rebel Tories seek advice on toppling May pic.twitter.com/K0zP3EKhFa  The Guardian (@guardian) October 5, 2017

While the Independent quotes one MP saying: It cant go on like this.

The Sun leads on Prince Charless comments made at a conference on ocean conservation in Malta. The Prince of Wales said pirates terrorising vessels off the coast of Somalia had created a fisherman-free zone where marine life has thrived.

Tomorrow's front page: Arrrr you mad sir? pic.twitter.com/vCRQtpSTBr  The Sun (@TheSun) October 5, 2017

The Daily Mail splashes on comments reportedly made by MP Phillip Lee, suggesting that Britain has become selfish when it comes to caring for people in old age.

The Financial Times leads on a report due to be published on Tuesday which will derail Philip Hammonds plans to decrease austerity by claiming growth forecasts had been too optimistic.
A month after the most powerful hurricane in decades pummelled the Caribbean, life in affected British overseas territories is moving back towards normality, the head of the UK Task Force has said.

Barrelling through the region and unleashing life-threatening winds, category five Hurricane Irma tore a destructive trail and sparked a major UK aid operation.

The British Virgin Islands bore the brunt of the damage, with buildings reduced to their foundations, lush green hillsides turned into brown stubble and a state of emergency declared.

At the peak of relief efforts, there were more than 2,000 UK military personnel working in the Caribbean

#UKAid to Dominca is now helping to clear roads to provide access to every part of the island for humanitarian supplies pic.twitter.com/xdOwMN05Kx  Priti Patel MP (@pritipatel) October 5, 2017

Anguilla and the Turks and Caicos Islands also suffered widespread destruction and devastation as Irma felled trees, tore off roofs, and flattened electricity poles and lines.

But just one month on from the storm, Chris Austin, the head of the UK Joint Task Force said although there is progress, for some it is still pretty rough.

We have had a month of extensive emergency relief  stopping people from getting blown away, and giving them basic shelter and basic foods, he told the Press Association.

Through to schools now reopening airports and ports are functioning, hospitals functioning, power is being reconnected, the water supply fixed  all of those things we have helped with, largely with the brilliant military effort. So the next stage is how we are going to get the economy rebooted.

The #UK continues to help British nationals & support #Dominica recover from Hurricane Maria.  pic.twitter.com/VrM8HYLkwB  UKinCaribbean  (@UKinCaribbean) October 3, 2017

Mr Austin said across Turks and Caicos, Anguilla and BVI, the territories are in different ways, open for tourists, adding that hotel bookings and cruise ships are starting to line themselves up.

He added: It is moving back towards normality, but it is still pretty rough and there will be people in all of those territories who have got it worse than others.

At least 38 people were killed in the Caribbean by Irma  the weather front was also blamed for many other deaths across the American states of Florida, South Carolina and Georgia.

Less than two weeks later, the region was rocked by a second major storm, Hurricane Maria, which narrowly missed hitting the affected overseas territories with full force  but decimated Dominica and Puerto Rico.

New supplies from the UK arrived in BVI yesterday: Fire engines to replace BVI Fire Service vehicles wiped out #hurricaneIrma #UKaid pic.twitter.com/lpTvEQ62eJ  Priti Patel MP (@pritipatel) October 5, 2017

So far the UK government has pledged 57 million towards hurricane relief efforts, and announced an additional 5 million in financial support for the island of Dominica. More than 135 tonnes of UK aid has also already arrived in the region.

At the peak of relief efforts, there were more than 2,000 UK military personnel working in the Caribbean  making it the largest deployment of British troops anywhere in the world.

But Mr Austin revealed that the military response is now drawing down, adding: They will have pretty much left by the middle of next week.

He said the personnel set to remain are Royal Engineers, who will be helping the recovery effort by working with local authorities on each island in an advisory capacity. And there will be a team at the headquarters to ensure there is not a gap between the military effort, which is coming to a close, and the next stage of the process.

More #UKaid supplies arrived into BVI this week: 55 metric tons of timber, 5 MT corrugated iron roofing to help with reconstruction #Irma pic.twitter.com/9i2Se7LqsK  Priti Patel MP (@pritipatel) October 5, 2017

International Development Secretary, Priti Patel, who visited BVI and Anguilla days after Hurricane Maria rolled through the Caribbean, said there are signs of daily life getting back to normal.

Our UK Task Force is now working with the governments of the overseas territories to help them get on with the vital reconstruction work and to make sure the islands are built back more resiliently than in the past, so a future hurricane wont be as devastating, she added.

But with the hurricane season set to run into November, Mr Austin warned that the recovery is still quite fragile and another major storm could reverse any progression.
European judges would struggle to be neutral in disputes after Brexit and must not be given the final say over the withdrawal agreement, an independent think tank has warned.

Accepting demands from Brussels to give the European Court of Justice (ECJ) oversight would not be in Britains interest because it is a jealous guardian of its monopoly on how laws are interpreted, the Institute for Government (IfG) said.

But trying to insulate the UK from any legal influence could lead to a failure to strike a deal, according to its report.

[NEW REPORT] Setting out options for dispute resolution which UK and EU could accept as compatible with red lines https://t.co/Ky0IgFmpco pic.twitter.com/7ZSk0i5qvu  Institute for Gov (@instituteforgov) October 6, 2017

It states: Accepting the EUs proposals on the ECJ would not be in UK interests. As one of the EUs own institutions, the ECJ would struggle to be neutral in any dispute between the UK and the EU after Brexit.

How wrangles over citizens rights, trade disputes under any future deal and investment disagreements will be dealt with legally after Britains exit are at the centre of the stalemate in negotiations.

Prime Minister Theresa May has insisted the ECJs direct jurisdiction must end when Britain leaves the bloc but the EU wants ECJ oversight over the withdrawal agreement.

Including British judges in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Court, which covers non-EU states Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway in their dealings with the single market, would allow the UK to leave the single market but would mean accepting some influence from the ECJ, the report said.

It called for the Government to accept the EFTA model or put forward proposals for an inventive and untested new dispute resolution system.

How does the experience of EFTA inform the debate on the role of the ECJ and dispute resolution after #Brexit? https://t.co/BSivmKclkA pic.twitter.com/Ok8nhhCj7b  Institute for Gov (@instituteforgov) July 27, 2017

Report author Raphael Hogarth said: The ECJ is a jealous guardian of its monopoly on the interpretation of EU law. Since citizens rights, the divorce bill and any transitional arrangements will all be rooted in EU law, UK and EU negotiators are constrained in terms of what dispute resolution mechanism they can dream up for the withdrawal agreement. The ECJ will throw out anything which, in its view, threatens the EUs legal autonomy.

A UK-only version of the EFTA court could work legally but would be politically unacceptable in Brussels, according to the IfG.

Countdown to Brexit: key events

An arbitration arrangement floated by Brexit Secretary David Davis would be a legal and political minefield for the withdrawal deal and a joint court is likely to be rejected, it said.

Jill Rutter, IfG Brexit programme director, said: The deeper the Government wants the future partnership deal with the EU to be, the more it needs an effective dispute prevention and resolution mechanism. But this could be perceived as limiting the extent to which we have taken back control of laws.
The boss of Ryanair has reportedly apologised to pilots, offering them incentives to stay with the carrier in a personal letter.

Michael OLeary is said to have asked pilots not to move to rival airlines, promising pay increases, a productivity/loyalty bonus and significant improvements to contracts and career progression.

It follows the cancellation of tens of thousands of flights through to March this year because of errors in how pilots are rostered for work, disrupting the travel plans of 700,000 passengers.

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary who has reportedly apologised to pilots (Niall Carson/PA)

We have updated our progress on the cancellation of 20,000 of its 800,000 flights between Sept & March. Read more: https://t.co/tm7WwrwNgd pic.twitter.com/jm1bZU8PtT  Ryanair (@Ryanair) October 2, 2017

Ryanair has insisted the latest reduction in its schedule will eliminate all risk of further flight cancellations, with the CEO previously stating the airline was not short of pilots.

In Thursdays letter, published by TheJournal.ie, Mr OLeary urges pilots not to forsake Ryanair for less financially secure/or Brexit challenged airlines.

Under a section entitled Learning from this mistake, Mr OLeary promises significant changes to, and investment in, our rostering and pilot career development over the next six months.

He also pledges to exceed pilot pay offered by Ryanairs rivals, and a bonus of 12,000 euro (10,700) to dissuade pilots from moving elsewhere.

Near the end of the letter he writes: If you have or are considering joining one of these less financially secure/or Brexit challenged airlines, I urge you to stay with Ryanair for a brighter better future for you and your family.
An Illinois man known for honouring the victims of mass shootings around the United States installed 58 white crosses on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday.

Greg Zanis drove nearly 2,000 miles from the Chicago area to install the crosses on a patch of grass near the iconic Welcome to Las Vegas sign, not far from the site of the Route 91 Harvest country music festival where 58 people were killed on Sunday night by gunman Stephen Paddock.

A memorial displaying 58 crosses near the Welcome To Las Vegas sign

Mr Zanis, a 66-year-old retired carpenter, made his first cross 20 years ago when his father-in-law was killed.

That just changed my life, he said. My first cross was for somebody that I loved. And when I put up these crosses here, I always think of my personal loss here too. Always.

Mr Zanis has become well-known for erecting more than 20,000 markers over the past two decades, including after the Columbine and Sandy Hook school shootings and the massacre at an Orlando nightclub.

People look at white crosses on the Las Vegas Strip

The crosses, which Mr Zanis said took him two days to cut and paint, feature a red heart.

He plans to keep the tribute up for 40 days before giving the crosses to the families of the victims.
With speculation of a bid within the Conservative Party to force Theresa May to step down, her tenure in Number 10 could be one of the shortest in British history.

Shortest-servings prime ministers of the past 100 years.

Mrs May became Prime Minister in July 2016 after David Cameron resigned following the Brexit referendum.

But after a full year in Downing Street, Mrs May has already exceeded the terms of Andrew Bonar Law in the 1920s and Alec Douglas-Home in the 1960s.
The Scottish Government has announced urgent action to help bakers and shortbread makers in the wake of a butter shortage.

Rural Economy Secretary Fergus Ewing said a feasibility study would be carried out to see if collective buying and storing of butter was an option that could help combat shortages and rising costs.

The Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society (SOAS) has been tasked with the work, which will also look at possible ways to combat volatility in the butter industry.

Mixing bowl

Mr Ewing told an audience at the RBS Food and Drink conference that the food and drink sector was a significant and growing part of our economy, and ministers wanted to support manufacturers particularly during times of economic pressure.

Support for butter buyers - Feasibility study to help Scottish businesses beat butter shortage. #Food #agriculture https://t.co/Dzth5NKGYL  Fergus Ewing MSP (@FergusEwingSNP) October 6, 2017

He said: The price of wholesale butter has doubled since the start of the year, with wholesale prices at a record high.

This is a concern for many of our smaller food and drink manufacturers who use butter as a primary ingredient, such as our shortbread and confectionery producers and bakeries, and who are finding trading tough.

We have listened to the concerns of our manufacturers and this urgent feasibility study will explore opportunities to exploit buying and efficiency savings made available through collaboration, boosting productivity and competitiveness within domestic and global markets.

. @FergusEwingMSP is doing the opening address at today's RBS food and drink conference. pic.twitter.com/YVMohouuCn  scotfooddrink (@scotfooddrink) October 6, 2017

We expect to see the outcome of the study within the next month or so and we look forward to supporting the industry in whatever way we can.

The feasibility study is being funded from the 1 million Market Driven Supply Chain (MDSC) project, which the Scottish Government established in March.
A search has been launched to find relatives of a soldier awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery during the Battle of Passchendaele in the First World War.

Officials hope to have family members present at a ceremony to honour the bravery of Robert Shankland, which will take place in Ayr on October 26, 100 years since the heroic acts took place.

Mr Shankland was born on October 10, 1887 at 6 Gordon Terrace in the South Ayrshire town and emigrated to Canada in 1911.

National appeal launched for family of WW1 VC winner to step forward https://t.co/jGFJbf85J4  South Ayrshire Council (@southayrshire) October 6, 2017

At the outbreak of the First World War he enlisted and returned to Europe as part of the 43rd Battalion (Cameron Highlanders of Canada) of the Canadian Expeditionary Force.

On 26 October 1917, during the Battle of Passchendaele, the 43rd Battalion was among the units of the Canadian 3rd Division which attacked the heavily fortified Bellevue Spur where concrete strongpoints bristling with machine guns had repelled all previous assaults.

Lieutenant Shankland braved enemy lines to take new information back to command, before returning and helping to capture the Bellevue Spur.

For his actions that day he was awarded the Victoria Cross, with the citation stating that his courage and his example undoubtedly saved a critical situation.

The First World War Rozelle Remembrance Woodland (South Ayrshire Council/PA)

Commemorative paving stones are being laid across the UK to honour the 628 Victoria Crosses awarded during the conflict as part of the national programme to mark the centenary of the First World War.

South Ayrshire Provost Helen Moonie said that despite an extensive search no surviving family members had been found.

She said: Were preparing a permanent memorial to mark Roberts valour in the Battle of Passchendaele, and wed dearly love to have family members present at the ceremony.

The stone will be laid at the First World War Rozelle Remembrance Woodland at Rozelle House and will be set in a tree trunk to help it blend in with the other sculptures that are already there.

After the war Mr Shankland married Anna Stobo Haining, the younger daughter of the stationmaster at Prestwick Railway Station, and the couple went to Canada to resume civilian life.

His last visit to Ayr was in 1964 when local press coverage of his visit noted that in addition to two sons he now had a grandson.

Anyone who thinks they may have a family connection is asked to contact the Civic Office at South Ayrshire Council on 01292 612 474 or email provost@south-ayrshire.gov.uk.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has suspended the honorary membership of Rio 2016 president Carlos Nuzman following his arrest in Brazil on bribery and fraud charges.

Nuzman has also been withdrawn from the IOC co-ordination commission which is overseeing Tokyos preparations for the 2020 Games.

Decision of the IOC Executive Board regarding Mr Carlos Nuzman and the Brazilian Olympic Committee https://t.co/6RQAdT6oi1 pic.twitter.com/PUJ0e88duD  IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) October 6, 2017

And as Nuzman is the president of the Brazilian Olympic committee too, that body has also been suspended, meaning any payments from the IOC are frozen and it cannot vote on Olympic-related matters.

Rio 2016 boss Carlos Nuzman is suspended by IOC following arrest in Brazil

Brazilian athletes, however, are not affected and the country will still be able to send a team to the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The judge in the trial of an Army sergeant accused of attempting to murder his wife by tampering with her parachute has criticised a member of court staff for telling jurors in France he would be guilty until proven innocent.

The high-profile case against Emile Cilliers, of the Royal Army Physical Training Corps, at Winchester Crown Court was delayed for several hours while the High Court judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, and lawyers discussed the impact of the conversation held between jurors and the new and untrained member of court staff.

Mr Justice Sweeney told the jurors that one of them had produced a note describing the incident which happened within the jurys private room on Thursday.

Winchester Crown Court

The note stated: During yesterdays conversation in the jurors room, questions were asked about whether the defendant was in custody during the build up to the trial.

The court staff member stated that he was in fact on bail but not allowed to visit Wiltshire except to visit his solicitor.

Questions were then asked as to his employment and it was established he was still employed.

The note went on to say that a juror suggested that Cilliers might have been inconvenienced, to which the court worker appeared shocked and replied: If he was tried in France he would be guilty until proven innocent.

The note continued: As a jury I feel we are taking this extremely seriously but was personally shocked that a court member would make such a simple mistake.

The judge told the jury made up of nine women and three men: It was wrong of the member of staff, who is new and untrained, to speak to you about the case. It shouldnt have happened and will not happen again.

You must also make sure from your end that it doesnt ever again.

Mr Justice Sweeney advised the jurors to ensure they did not discuss the trial with anyone else and only as a group of jurors.

Cilliers faces two charges of attempting to murder his former Army officer wife Victoria Cilliers, who suffered multiple serious injuries at Netheravon Airfield, on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, on April 5 2015.

The 37-year-old is also accused of a third charge of damaging a gas valve at their home a few days earlier in the second allegation that he attempted to kill his 40-year-old wife.

He denies all three charges.
Investigators have still not found a motive for the Las Vegas shooting rampage that killed 58 people, Undersheriff Kevin McMahill has said.

The Clark County official said the authorities have looked at gunman Stephen Paddocks personal life, political affiliation, economic situation and any potential radicalisation.

He said investigators are aware the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but so far there is no evidence that it had a role.

Graphic released by Amaq News Agency, a media arm of the Islamic State group, claiming responsibility for the mass shooting in Las Vegas

Mr McMahill said the authorities will continue to investigate those areas as well as look into leads and tips that come in.

Paddock unleashed gunfire on Sunday from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel casino on the Las Vegas Strip, killing 58 and injuring nearly 500 people.

He killed himself as police closed in.

The authorities are planning to put up billboards in Las Vegas to seek more tips as they investigate the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

Shooting timeline

Mr McMahill revealed at a news conference on Friday that police are confident there was not another gunman in Paddocks room, and do not have any information that anyone else used his room key.

He said they are interested in Paddocks medical history and are looking into that.

Paddock, 64, fired indiscriminately from his upper-level room at the Mandalay Bay hotel casino at people attending a country music festival below.
By Stanley White

TOKYO, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday he would meet U.S. Vice President Mike Pence in Washington D.C. on Oct. 16 for the second round of an economic dialogue between the two countries.

When asked about the possibility that the talks would include trade negotiations, Aso said it is better to improve the way it manages its existing quota system for imports of frozen U.S. beef instead of changing laws to create new rules.

The dialogue is shaping up to be a test of whether the close U.S.-Japan economic relationship can withstand U.S. President Donald Trump's pledge to create more jobs and lower the U.S. trade deficit.

"Of course, I want to protect Japan's national interests," Aso said. "I also want to have a win-win relationship with the United States on matters of economic policy."

Japan hiked tariffs from Aug. 1 on imports of frozen beef, popular in beef bowl dishes, from countries including the United States to 50 percent from 38.5 percent. The measure follows Trump's withdraw from the long-planned Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal earlier this year.

The tariff hike, set to be in place until next March, is a "safeguard" mechanism to protect domestic farmers but has prompted some concern in Washington.

Under current measures, Japan automatically imposes higher tariffs if quarterly imports of specific beef products from any country rise more than 17 percent from the previous year.

One way to improve this safeguard is to monitor beef imports for shorter durations, such as every 10 days, to make sure its trading partners do not breach its quota, Aso said on Friday.

The first round of the U.S.-Japan economic dialogue, which was held in Tokyo in April, ended largely without incident. However, there is some concern among Japanese officials that the U.S. side could strongly push for trade concession during the second dialogue meeting.

Japan had a $69-billion trade surplus with the United States last year, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, which has expressed concern over what it called the "persistence" of the imbalance.

Japanese officials counter that Tokyo accounts for a much smaller slice of the U.S. deficit than in the past, while China's imbalance is much bigger.

(Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Chris Gallagher)
SOFIA, Oct 6 (Reuters) - These are some of the main stories in Bulgarian newspapers on Friday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

-- The sanctions against Russia are harming to the economy, Bulgarian President Rumen Radev said during a visit to Poland, and expressed his hope that they will be lifted soon. (24 Chasa, Monitor, Standart, Trud)

-- The European Commission's officials said Bulgaria, home to some 7.1 million people, should decrease the number of its universities to about 8 from current 57. (Standart, Monitor, 24 Chasa, Sega)

-- One man has been infected with anthrax, after vet authorities established an outbreak of the highly lethal virus in a sheep herd in a village in northern Bulgaria. The authorities have banned culling and transport of animals and started vaccination all livestock in the village. (24 Chasa, Duma, Monitor, Standart)
Oct 6 (Reuters) - All-rounder Danushka Gunathilaka has been suspended for six limited overs matches and fined 20 percent of his annual fee for misconduct during last month's series loss to India, the SLC said on Thursday.

Gunathilaka was suspended after a complaint by team manager Asanka Gurusinha. Local media reported the 26-year-old had missed a training session.

"The board had asked the selectors not to consider Danushka for six white-ball games," Gurusinha said. "Yes, it is for disciplinary reasons that they made that decision."

Sri Lanka lost all three tests, five one-dayers and the solitary Twenty20 international against India.

Gunathilaka pleaded guilty to the charges on Sept. 29 and will miss Sri Lanka's one-day series against Pakistan, which will be held in the United Arab Emirates later this month. (Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru)
By Marton Dunai

BUDAPEST, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Hungary will defend its tough new laws on non-governmental groups all the way to the European Court as the EU legal action against it was barely worth discussing, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Friday.

The European Commission on Wednesday stepped up procedures against Hungary over restrictions on foreign funding for non-government groups which are seen as a way to target financier George Soros, a longstanding opponent of Orban.

Orban, a fierce critic of perceived bureaucratic over-reach from Brussels, said the document was a "laughing stock" and added his government would treat it as such in its reply.

The EU executive believes the NGO law, passed in June, violates the right to freedom of association and to protection of private life and personal data enshrined in the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as the free movement of capital.

"This proposal is a laughing stock around Europe," Orban said, adding the Commission's bureaucrats were doing Soros' bidding. "It reeks of a political inception. It is so ridiculous there is nothing we can actually do about it."

"If someone accepts money from abroad then they must declare that. Period. What does that harm? What does a grant have to do with capital movements? These are ridiculous things."

Orban said European Union leaders should first refrain from pressuring member states in politically motivated cases and focus on preserving the freedoms already enjoyed by EU citizens before they draw up big plans to overhaul the bloc.

Proposals to tighten labour rules and allow member states to impose border controls for up to three years jeopardise significant achievements in the European project, he said, adding external border controls should be beefed up instead.

"We are dismantling Schengen (the system of border-free movement within the EU) right now," he told state radio. "While we talk about the future of Europe our biggest achievement disappears in front of our eyes."

"The same goes for posted workers. We have free movement of labour in Europe, and we are busy restricting it. We sketch up grand plans and we walk backwards in real issues."

French President Emmanuel Macron, whose vision is seen as a spark for further European integration, toured east Europe earlier this year to drum up support for his plan to overhaul a system which allows "posted" workers to work in other European Union countries.

Macron, who criticised Hungary and Poland for their recent erosion of democratic rights, skipped those countries on his tour, which was intended as a message at that time. (Reporting by Marton Dunai; Editing by Toby Chopra)
HARARE, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Zimbabwe vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa said late on Thursday he had been hospitalised in South Africa in August because he had been poisoned, escalating confrontation in the country during a fight to succeed 93-year-old President Robert Mugabe.

Mnangagwa, a former intelligence chief nicknamed "the Crocodile", is the leading candidate to succeed Mugabe, the only leader Zimbabwe has known since independence in 1980.

He did not say who he believed was responsible for trying to kill him, but his main political rival, First Lady Grace Mugabe, swiftly denied having anything to do with it.

Mnangagwa was airlifted to Johannesburg after falling ill in August. At a news conference late on Thursday open only to state media, he said doctors had concluded that poisoning was to blame for his illness, and not inadvertent food poisoning.

"The medical doctors who attended to me ruled out food poisoning but confirmed that indeed poisoning had occurred and investigations were in progress," Mnangagwa said, reading from a statement. He provided no further details or proof.

Mnangagwa, 75, became vice-president in 2014, putting him at the front of the pack to succeed Mugabe. However over the last 18 months he has met fierce opposition from Grace Mugabe and a faction of the ruling party backing her.

The first lady denied having anything to do with his illness and accused him of lying about it to get public sympathy.

"Why should I kill Mnangagwa? Who is Mnangagwa on this earth?" Grace Mugabe said in footage aired on Friday on state television. "Killing someone who was given a job by my husband? That is nonsensical."

After his hospitalisation, Zimbabwean media said Mnangagwa had suffered food poisoning after eating ice cream from a dairy company owned by Mugabe and his wife, which the Mugabes both denied. (Reporting by MacDonald Dzirutwe; Editing by Ed Cropley and Peter Graff)
By George Obulutsa

NAIROBI, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Police fired tear gas on Friday at opposition protesters in Kenya's capital who were demanding that officials involved in August's cancelled presidential election be sacked.

Crowds had gathered in Nairobi, the port of Mombasa and Kisumu, the western stronghold of the opposition, for the second time this week.

Last month, Kenyas Supreme Court voided the Aug. 8 presidential election, citing irregularities, but did not criticise any specific individual at the election board .

President Uhuru Kenyatta, who officially won by 1.4 million votes, only to have his victory annulled, has accused the Supreme Court of bringing the country close to "judicial chaos".

Opposition leader Raila Odinga and his supporters have turned their ire on the election board for its role in the cancelled poll.

With three weeks to go until a scheduled new election, politicians from both sides have traded insults and accusations, raising fears of further turmoil in Kenya, a transport and economic hub for East Africa.

The opposition is threatening to boycott the Oct. 26 re-run if election board officials are not removed and if parliament passes a proposed amendment to the election law. The amendment could prevent the Supreme Court from annulling the results on procedural grounds again.

Parliamentarians return from recess next week and may pass the bill then, an action likely to spark further protests from the opposition.

In reaction to the expected vote next week, the United States, a major donor to the Kenyan government and its security forces, said in a sharply worded statement on Friday: "Changing electoral laws without broad agreement just prior to a poll is not consistent with international best practice (and) increases political tension."

It said all sides have undermined the electoral board in recent weeks and "stoked tensions."

Earlier on Friday, the Nairobi county police commander said people would be allowed to protest, but anyone who tried to destroy property would "be dealt with firmly". (Writing by Maggie Fick; Editing by Larry King)
KIGALI, Oct 6 (Reuters) - A prominent critic of Rwanda's president appeared in court alongside her mother and sister on Friday, all charged with forgery and inciting insurrection.

Diane Shima Rwigara is accused of faking the registration papers she filed to stand against President Paul Kagame in an August election. She was eventually barred from running and Kagame went on to win with 98.8 percent of the vote.

Rwigara, 35-year-old accountant, has repeatedly accused Kagame of stifling dissent and criticised his Rwandan Patriotic Front's tight grip on the country since it fought its way to power to end Rwanda's 1994 genocide.

On Friday, she told the packed court room she had been forced to appear without her lawyer because authorities had not told him about the hearing in time.

Rwigara, her mother Adeline and sister Anne, have said charges against them are politically motivated.

Kagame has been widely praised for restoring stability but rights groups say he has muzzled independent media and suppressed opponents - accusations he dismisses.

Rwanda last month charged another opposition official and eight others with forming an armed group and seeking to overthrow the government.

Rwigara, her mother and sister were first taken from their home in the Rwandan capital on Aug. 30 on tax evasion allegations related to the familys tobacco company.

The tax accusations did not appear on the charge sheet and prosecutors did not give details on the insurrection charge.

Rwigara's sister Anne said they had not had enough access to their lawyer.

"How can a lawyer defend the case he doesnt know?" she told the judges. "He came Friday and he was only allowed five minutes to discuss with us and on Sunday when he came back he was not allowed to see us."

Rwigara's mother is also charged with "discrimination and sectarianism".

Prosecutor Michel Nshimiyimana said the Rwigaras' lawyer, Buhuru Pierre Celestin, had been informed. The judges set the next hearing for Monday. (Reporting by Clement Uwiringiyimana; Editing by Maggie Fick and Andrew Heavens)
JOHANNESBURG, Oct 6 (Reuters) - South Africa's scandal-plagued state-run power utility Eskom said on Friday it was appointing Sean Maritz, its group executive for information technology, as acting chief executive and would soon look for someone to permanently fill the role.

Eskom, which provides virtually all of the power for Africa's most industrialised economy, has lurched from one crisis to another in recent years, raising concerns about its ability to keep the lights running.

Martitz's appointment comes against the backdrop of a corruption scandal that has rocked the company and mounting concerns about its frail balance sheet and general governance.

Eskom on Thursday asked consultancy firms McKinsey and Trillian to pay it back 1.6 billion rand ($117 million), saying that an internal inquiry had found that the utility's decisions to make the payments were unlawful.

Maritz replaces Johnny Dladla, acting CEO since June. Eskom said in a statement that Dladla will resume his role as CEO of Eskom Rotek Industries, a subsidiary of the utility that provides it with construction, maintenance and transportation services.

Eskom will appoint a new board and begin the search for a new chief executive at a special meeting in November, Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown told lawmakers on Wednesday. (Reporting by Ed Stoddard; Editing by James Macharia)
President Donald Trump hosted his top military brass and their spouses for dinner at the White House on Thursday night. The group posed for a photo. Then this exchange with reporters happened:

Trump: "You guys know what this represents? Maybe it's the calm before the storm."

Reporter: "What's the storm?"

Trump: "It could be ... the calm, the calm before the storm."

Reporter: "Iran? ISIS? What storm, Mr. President?"

Trump: "We have the world's great military people in this room, I will tell you that. And uh, we're gonna have a great evening, thank you all for coming."

Reporter: "What storm, Mr. President?"

Trump: "You'll find out."

What. The. Hell. Is. Happening.

To be clear: Trump didn't have to say anything. Reporters shout questions at these photo-ops all the time. Presidents ignore them all the time. So he did this on purpose. He wanted to say this -- so he did.

Now as for what he said. When you say "maybe it's the calm before the storm" when surrounded by the top military leaders in the country, it doesn't take much of a logical leap to conclude there is some sort of military operation in the offing.

That's especially true when you have two situations -- North Korea and Iran -- that appear to be coming to a head.

In regard to North Korea, Trump tweeted last weekend that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was "wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man" -- the latest verbal provocation between Trump and the North Korean dictator. That rhetorical back-and-forth comes amid Kim Jong Un's repeated testing of missiles and refusal to stop his nuclear program.

When it comes to Iran, Trump is expected next week to "decertify" the Iranian nuclear deal crafted by President Barack Obama. Trump has been a longtime critic of the deal, insisting that Iran had not kept up its end of the agreement. (The decertification process will allow Congress 60 days to adjust the pact.)

Which situation was Trump talking about with his "calm before the storm" remark? Both? Neither? We don't know, because Trump wouldn't say.

That, too, was on purpose.

Why? Because the bulk of Trump's experiences directly before running for president was as a reality TV star and producer. (In truth, Trump has been performing in a reality show of his own making for his entire life.) And, in that role, the goal is always to stoke drama, always do everything you can to keep people watching -- through the commercial, through the hour, through to next week's episode. Cliffhangers are the best way to do that -- stoking speculation, reversing expectations and, above all, ensuring people feel compelled to just keep watching.

"Dallas" fans in the 1980s spent months waiting to find out who shot J.R. "Game of Thrones" fans waited with bated breath to find out whether Jon Snow was alive or dead.

Stay tuned! Who knows what will happen next!

Or, in the words of Trump on Thursday night, "you'll find out."

The thing is: The stakes of a reality TV show are roughly zero. The stakes of diplomacy with rogue nations pursuing nuclear weapons are incredibly high.

What's not clear at the moment is whether Trump understands that difference. Whether he gets that by saying things such as "maybe this is the calm before the storm," he is flicking at the possibility of an armed conflict -- and the world is paying attention.

The "does he know what he's doing or is he just doing it?" conundrum sits at the heart of virtually every move Trump has made as a candidate and now as President. What's more dangerous with this latest loose talk, however, is that even if Trump is just saying things to hype up the drama rather than to warn of an actual impending military action, he (and we) have no way of knowing if Iran, North Korea or any other potential target understands that.

This is no reality show. And Trump isn't the producer, controlling all the players. His words -- whether he means them as a tease, a threat or something in between -- can have very real consequences.

Does Trump get any of that? We'll find out.

CNN's Noah Gray and Ryan Nobles contributed to this report.
By Nqobile Dludla and Chijioke Ohuocha

JOHANNESBURG/ LAGOS, Oct 6 (Reuters) - PPC said on Friday that Nigeria's Dangote Cement had withdrawn its interest in a tie-up with the South African firm, sending its shares down more than 13 percent.

Africa's richest person Aliko Dangote joined the race to buy South Africa's biggest cement producer in September. PPC is already the subject of an all-share merger bid by local rival AfriSam that values it at $700 million.

"Shareholders are advised that, on 5 October 2017, the Board received from Dangote a formal withdrawal of its interest in respect of the Proposed Combination," PPC said in a statement.

PPC gave no reason for the move but a Dangote source said Dangote was concerned about the commercial logic of the deal after the local competition watchdog had scrutinised it.

"Essentially we'll be buying market share subject to stipulations/conditions placed by the anti-competition commission," the source said. Dangote's South African unit Sephaku is the country's largest cement maker.

Shares in PPC fell 13.64 percent, before recovering some ground to trade 4.34 percent lower at 6.17 rand at 1121 GMT. The price was still above AfriSam's 5.75 rand offer price.

The interest from Dangote Cement, with a market capitalisation of $12 billion, had raised hopes of a bidding war and pushed PPC's share price above AfriSam's offer price.

"The general feeling was that Dangote would provide some sort of stability as well as capital going forward," Independent Securities trader Ryan Woods said. (Reporting by Nqobile Dludla; Editing by James Macharia and Alexander Smith)
By John Irish

PARIS, Oct 6 (Reuters) - When Israel's envoy told UNESCO delegates last July that fixing the plumbing in his toilet was more important than their latest ruling, it highlighted how fractious geopolitics are paralysing the workings of the agency.

Whoever wins the race to replace Irina Bokova as head of the U.N.'s cultural and education body next week will have to try to restore the relevance of an agency born from the ashes of World War Two but increasingly hobbled by regional rivalries and a lack of money.

Its triumphs include designating world heritage sites such as the Galapagos Islands and the historic tombs of Timbuktu -- re-built by UNESCO after Islamist militants destroyed them.

But in a sign of how toxic relations have become, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly last month that UNESCO was promoting "fake history".

Like Israel's plain-speaking envoy Carmel Shama Hacohen, Netanyahu was referring to UNESCO's designation of Hebron and the two adjoined shrines at its heart - the Jewish Tomb of the Patriarchs and the Muslim Ibrahimi Mosque - as a "Palestinian World Heritage Site in Danger."

Jews believe the Cave of the Patriarchs is where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their wives, are buried. Muslims, who, like Christians, also revere Abraham, built the Ibrahimi mosque, also known as the Sanctuary of Abraham, in the 14th century.

Israeli-Palestinian hostilities, though, are only part of a minefield of contentious issues on which the U.N. body has to hand down rulings.

Japan, for example, threatened to withhold its 2016 dues after UNESCO included documents submitted by China on the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in its "Memory of the World" programme.

The Paris-based organization, which also promotes global education and supports press freedom, convenes its executive council on Oct. 9 to begin voting on seven candidates.

Azerbaijan, China, Egypt, France, Lebanon, Qatar and Vietnam have put forward candidates. There is no clear frontrunner.

UNESCO's struggles worsened in 2011, when the United States cancelled its substantial budgetary contribution in protest at a decision to grant the Palestinians full membership. UNESCO has been forced to cut programmes and freeze hiring.

"It's an organisation that has been swept away from its mandate to become a sounding board for clashes that happen elsewhere, and that translates into political and financial hijacking," said a former European UNESCO ambassador.

DRAWING LOTS

All the candidates have vowed a grassroots overhaul and pledged independence from their home nations.

France and China, both permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, argue the agency needs "strong leadership, which can only come with the backing of a major power.

Chinese candidate Qian Tang has almost 25 years experience at UNESCO. His bid fits into Beijing's soft power diplomacy, though Western capitals fret about China controlling an agency that shapes internet and media policy.

Former French culture minister Audrey Azoulay carries the support of France's new young president, Emmanuel Macron. But the last minute French candidacy has drawn the ire of Arab states, notably Egypt, who believe it should be their turn.

The Arab states face their own political tests. Their three entries underscore their own disunity, something the Egyptian hopeful Moushira Khattab has indicated stymie the Arab bid.

The crisis engulfing Qatar and its Gulf Arab neighbours, who have called Doha a "high level" sponsor of terrorism, meanwhile may have hurt the chances of former Qatari culture minister Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari.

Voting takes place over a maximum five rounds. If the two finalists are level, they draw lots. (Reporting by John Irish; editing by Richard Lough and Richard Balmforth)
WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The United States lifted 20-year-old economic sanctions against Sudan on Friday, a U.S. official said, citing progress on counter-terrorism and improvement on human rights.

In a move that completes a process begun by former President Barack Obama at the end of his tenure and which was opposed by human rights groups, President Donald Trump removed a U.S. trade embargo and other penalties that had effectively cut Sudan off from much of the global financial system.

The U.S. official who disclosed the decision spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement on Friday. (Reporting By Matt Spetalnick)
By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The United States lifted long-standing sanctions against Sudan on Friday, saying it had made progress fighting terrorism and easing humanitarian distress, and also secured Khartoum's commitment not to pursue arms deals with North Korea.

In a move that completes a process begun by former President Barack Obama and which was opposed by human rights groups, President Donald Trump removed a U.S. trade embargo and other penalties that had effectively cut Sudan off from much of the global financial system.

The U.S. decision marked a major turnaround for the government of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who once played host to Osama bin Laden and is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of orchestrating genocide in Darfur.

However, Sudan will stay on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism - alongside Iran and Syria - which carries a ban on weapons sales and restrictions on U.S. aid, U.S. officials said.

Sudanese officials also remain subject to United Nations sanctions for human rights abuses during the Darfur conflict, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The lifting of sanctions reflects a U.S. assessment that Sudan has made progress in meeting Washingtons demands, including cooperation on counter-terrorism, working to resolve internal conflicts and allowing more humanitarian aid into Darfur and other rebellious border areas, the officials said.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the sanctions relief was in recognition of Sudan's "sustained positive actions" but that more improvement was needed.

The Trump administration also secured a commitment from Sudan that it would "not pursue arms deals" with North Korea, and Washington will apply "zero tolerance" in ensuring Khartoum's compliance, one of the officials said.

But they said Khartoum's assurances on North Korea were not a condition for lifting sanctions, some of which had been in place for 20 years and have hobbled the Sudanese economy.

Sudan has long been suspected of military ties with North Korea, which is locked in a tense standoff with Washington over its missiles and nuclear weapons programs. But the official said Khartoum was not believed to have diplomatic relations with Pyongyang and that was not expected to change.

Sudan also has recently distanced itself diplomatically from Iran, another U.S. arch-foe.

POTENTIAL BOOST FOR BUSINESS

U.S. officials have said that sanctions relief, which will unfreeze Sudanese government assets, could benefit a range businesses in Sudan, including its key energy sector.

The economy has been reeling since South Sudan, which contains three-quarters of former Sudan's oil wells, seceded in 2011.

Shortly before leaving office, Obama temporarily eased penalties against the east African nation. In July, the Trump postponed for three months a decision on whether to remove the sanctions completely, setting up an Oct. 12 deadline.

Rights groups see the sanctions removal as premature.

"It sends the wrong message to lift these sanctions permanently when Sudan has made so little progress on human rights," said Andrea Prasow, deputy director of the Washington office of Human Rights Watch.

Democratic U.S. Representative Jim McGovern said the sanctions decision "legitimizes the murderous actions of the Sudanese government" and warned that "any back-sliding will likely result in Congress reinstating sanctions."

The United States first imposed sanctions on Sudan in 1997, including a trade embargo and blocking government assets, for human rights violations and terrorism concerns. Washington layered on more sanctions in 2006 for what it said was complicity in the violence in Sudan's Darfur region. (Reporting by Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Additional reporting by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by James Dalgleish)
By Anastasia Moloney

BOGOTA, Oct 6 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tawakkol Karman said the world is turning a blind eye to the plight of millions of people suffering in her war-torn nation plagued by hunger and disease.

Yemen has been torn apart by a two and-a-half year-old civil war which pits the internationally-recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, supported by a Saudi-led military coalition, against those allied to the Iran-aligned Houthi rebel movement.

"The world doesn't pay enough attention to Yemen. It's the forgotten land. There's a lot of suffering in our country. There's a big famine and cholera there," Karman told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

About 21 million Yemenis - about 80 percent of the population - need aid, and cholera has killed about 2,000 people and suspected cases have reached 750,000 in what aid agencies have described as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

"The country has been besieged for three years, state employees have been unpaid for months, and people have no access to basic services such as water, electricity, health and food," said Karman, speaking on the sidelines of the One Young World summit in Bogota, which brings together global youth leaders.

The war in Yemen, one of the Arab world's poorest countries, has killed more than 10,000 people and fighting has forced two million people to flee their homes.

"Simply put, the Arab coalition led by the Emirates and Saudi Arabia has broken its commitment towards the humanitarian situation in the country," Karman said.

"Unfortunately, this coalition deals with this war just as a battle to fire bombs and throw missiles, ignoring the consequences," she said.

Saudi Arabia has said the military campaign it leads is aimed at shoring up President Hadi against the Houthi group and is being carefully conducted to avoid civilian casualties.

The coalition has launched thousands of air strikes in a bid to dislodge the Houthis from power and have imposed a near blockade on Yemen's ports, borders and airspace.

"We call for immediate cessation of air strikes because they offer nothing but shelling of residential areas and causing more civilian casualties," Karman said.

Karman, 38, won the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her role in leading protests against longtime former President Ali Abdullah Saleh during the Yemeni uprising.

She was the first Arab woman and second Muslim woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

She said the Saudi-led coalition should hand over what is in its control to pave the way for exiled Hadi to return to Yemen from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital.

The coalition controls the southern port city of Aden and other areas in Yemen's south, while the Houthi rebels control Yemen's capital Sanaa and northern strongholds.

"We call upon the Arab coalition, represented by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, to hand over Aden and the rest of the provinces under its control, including various airports and ports, to Yemen's legitimate authority represented by President Hadi and his government," Karman said. (Reporting by Anastasia Moloney @anastasiabogota, Editing by Ros Russell.; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org)
ANKARA, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Iran said on Friday its ballistic missile programme was for defence purposes only and non-negotiable, denying a Reuters report that Tehran may be open to discussing the controversial programme with major powers.

"Iran has in all bilateral diplomatic meetings ... emphasized that its defensive missile program is not negotiable and that it is not inconsistent with UN Security Council resolution 2231," Mehr news agency quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi as saying.

A Reuters report on Friday, quoting Iranian and Western officials familiar with the overtures, said Iran has suggested to six world powers that it may be open to talks about its ballistic missile arsenal aimed at reducing tension over the disputed programme. (Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Catherine Evans)
By David Lewis and Joe Bavier

NAIROBI/ABIDJAN, Oct 6 (Reuters) - U.S. special forces soldiers were training their Nigerien counterparts in the West African nation's volatile southwest, a growing hot-bed of jihadist violence, when the report came in of a raid nearby.

The assailants were believed to be led by Dondou Chefou, a lieutenant in a new group operating along the Mali-Niger border and called Islamic State in the Greater Sahara. A decision was soon taken to pursue them.

The mixed force was ambushed by fighters on dozens of vehicles and motorcycles. Under heavy fire, U.S. troops called in French fighter jets for air support. But the firefight was at such close quarters the planes could not engage and were instead left circling overhead as a deterrant.

The version of events, as told by two Nigerien and two Western sources briefed on the incident, shines a light on Washington's increasingly aggressive Special Forces-led counter-terrorism strategy in Africa and its risk of casualties.

Four U.S. soldiers died in the firefight, killed in a country where most Americans were unaware their army is deployed but Washington has steadily grown its presence.

At least four Nigeriens were also killed and, according to one Niger security source, militants seized four vehicles in the ambush. French helicopters, scrambled after the U.S. call for help, evacuated several soldiers wounded in the clash.

A diplomat with knowledge of the incident said French officials were frustrated by the U.S. troops' actions, saying they had acted on only limited intelligence and without contingency plans in place.

U.S. officials declined to comment on details of what happened in the Nigerien desert on Wednesday.

"The U.S. military does not have an active, direct combat mission in Niger," said Pentagon spokeswoman Army Major Audricia Harris.

U.S. assistance to Niger's army, however, includes "intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in their efforts to target violent extremist organisations in the region," she said.

U.S. military deployments are on the rise in Africa.

In May, a U.S. Navy Seal killed in a raid on an al Shabaab militant compound in Somalia became the first U.S. combat death in Africa since the 1993 "Black Hawk Down" disaster in Mogadishu.

In Niger, Washington has deployed around 800 soldiers, runs a drone base in the capital Niamey and is building a second in Agadez at a cost of around $100 million.

U.S. Special Forces help local troops develop counter-terrorism skills to tackle threats from al Qaeda-linked groups, Nigeria's Boko Haram and Islamists who have pledged allegiance to Islamic State.

"It's a pretty broad mission with the government of Niger in order to increase their capability to stand alone and to prosecute violent extremists," the U.S. military's Joint Staff Director, Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie, said on Thursday.

"WHY SHOULD WE DIE FOR THIS?"

Washington has long seen the Sahel as a security threat but involvement increased in the wake of a 2012 occupation of northern Mali by Islamist militants.

France led an offensive against the Islamists a year later, and the U.S. government now provides logistical and intelligence support to a 4,000-troop French counter-terrorism operation in the region.

The U.S. military organises an annual, high-profile U.S. drill as well as longer-term, more discreet training of regional forces. But experts say U.S. involvement in the fight does not stop there.

"It is likely that there are other operations going on aside from just the training operations," said Andrew Lebovich, a visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations.

In missions run out of a base in the northern Niger town of Arlit and others like the one that led to the ambush of U.S. troops, sources say they have helped local troops and intelligence agents make several arrests.

"It is discreet but they are there," a Nigerien security source told Reuters.

Analysts are awaiting the political fallout of Wednesday's ambush with some speculating it may spark a reversal of the U.S. stance on a new regional force - known as the G5 Sahel - which France is pushing but which Washington is cool on.

Others however like Ahmedou Ould Abdallah, a former top United Nations official in West Africa and Somalia, recall with concern the American pullout following the "Black Hawk Down" incident. Eighteen U.S. soldiers were killed when Somali militia shot down two helicopters in Mogadishu.

"In Somalia, they over-reacted and withdrew their troops ... My worry is that after this attack they will also over-react. Trump might just say 'Why should we die for this?' I hope they don't." (Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris, Emma Farge in Dakar and Phil Steward in Washington; editing by Ralph Boulton)
Serendib Flour Mills CEO Kevin O Leary handing over the Bus to the Centre for the Education of Hearing Impaired Children (CEHIC) in Kelaniya

As part of its ongoing CSR efforts, Serendib Flour Mills (SFML) recently renovated the bus belonging to the Centre for the Education of Hearing Impaired Children (CEHIC) in Kelaniya in commemoration of World Childrens Day, which fellon the 1stof October. Following the donation ceremony, the company also treated over 60 students from CEHIC to a day-out at Guruge Nature Park. The event was organized and hosted by SFML staff member as part of the companys ongoing commitment to support and uplift local youth and communities.

During their visit to the Guruge Nature Park, the students of CEHIC enjoyed an array of fun-filled activities including amusement rides, dinosaur exhibits, bird shows, as well as an educational tour of the parks cultural museum. The time spent at the park served as an enriching educational and recreational experience, whilst providing the children with a unique opportunity to experience the islands rich cultural, traditional, natural and historical heritage in a fun setting.

Founded in 1982, by Sr. Greta Nalawatta of the Sisters of Perpetual Help, CEHIC is a school that provides free education for children from across the island who are living with hearing impairments. In addition to its dedication of providing its students with a holistic education, the multi-ethnic and multi-religious community institution also focuses on fostering inter-religious and inter-ethnic understanding and harmony.

Commenting on SFMLs contribution to CEHIC on National Childrens Day, Kevin OLeary  CEO, SFML, said: We are delighted that we were able to commemorate this years Childrens Day by coming together as a team and celebrating the occasion with the students of CEHIC. It was an absolute delight to see the children enjoying their new bus and their day-out at the Guruge Nature Park, and it was a pleasure for us to be able to spend time with them. We are pleased that we were able to ensure that these children enjoy a memorable Childrens Day and we hope to continue our efforts to support and brighten up the lives of these youngsters, as well as other local students and members of communities in need.

Also commenting on SFMLs Childrens Day celebrations with CEHIC, Rev. Fr. Aloysius Pieris  Patron and a member of the Board of Trustees, CEHIC, stated: We are very grateful to Serendib Flour Mills for their generous contribution to our institution and we thank them for their kindness. The school will certainly benefit from this vehicle as it will be extremely useful in providing transport to our students, enabling them to easily travel to attend various activities and occasions. We also appreciate the time, effort and resources that the company dedicated to our children, by taking them to Guruge Nature Park. It was a truly enriching experience for all of our children and we thank Serendib Flour Mills for putting a smile on their faces on their special day.

Serendib Flour Mills is one of the leading flour mills in Sri Lanka and is a joint venture between Al Ghurair Foods (AGF) and Emirates Trading Agency (ETA). The companys 7 Star brand of flour has been nourishing the nation for 9 years and embodies purity, innovation, quality, freshness, expertise, service and trust. Serendib Flour Mills is committed to becoming the number one producer of wheat flour in Sri Lanka and the preferred flour supplier in international markets. Serendib Flour Mills launched operations with a state-of-the-art single-line capacity wheat flour mill in the Port of Colombo on 26 May 2008. Serendib Flour Mills has developed and implemented an integrated management system (IMS) based on ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004, BS OHSAS 18001:2007 and ISO 22000:2005 requirements. The system complies with applicable laws and regulations, international standards and codes, and best manufacturing practices in the areas of quality, environment, occupational health and safety and food safety.
Sri Sathya Sai Baba(Paththi) was one of the most influential persons in the spiritual world. In an attempt to take his legacy forward the Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Seva Samithi, established 51 years ago in Sri Lanka, has spearheaded this spiritual movement in the island nation. Speaking to the Daily Mirror Former Regional Central Coordinator of Sri Sathya Sai Organisation Wanni Wanniyasekaram spoke about the activities of the Organisation, its service to society and local Sai devotees and future projects.

The Sri Lankan public first heard of the miracles and spiritual mission of Sri Sathya Sai Baba of Puttaparthy, India through the visit of Hilda Charlton, an American psychic who arrived in Colombo back in 1965. Upon hearing her stories about Sai Baba many devotees, including M. Rajanayagam, decided to call their friends to join and listen to the experiences of the Divine. On hearing and viewing the video clippings shown by Hilda, a few enthusiastic devotees of Bhagawan Baba commenced conducting group Bhajans in their homes, mostly on Thursdays. K. Thiagarajahs house in Wellawatte was also frequented by devotees, who then went on to conduct Sai Bhajans in Kandy, Jaffna and Batticaloa.

Upon hearing her stories about Sai Baba many devotees, including M. Rajanayagam, decided to call their friends to join and listen to the experiences of the Divine.



What followed was the establishment of the first Sri Sathya Sai Seva Samithi in Sri Lanka, which was registered in Puttaparthy in 1967 by this group, recalls Wanni. Thereafter the group decided that the official inauguration of the premier Samithi in Sri Lanka be held with the presence of the then International Chairman, Indulal Shah. Hence, the Samithi was officially named as the Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Seva Samithi in Colombo. Later on the Sai Mandir was established in Barnes Place where it currently stands with the support of Meena Rutnam, who gifted the 64-perch land, said Wanni.



According to Wanni, in April 1968 Bhagawan Baba convened a World Conference of the Sai Organisations. One of the decisions made there was that each town should have only one Sathya Sai Centre with the President, Secretary and a Convener to conduct Bhajans. At the conclusion of the second World Conference, Baba was pleased with the work done in Sri Lanka and appointed C. Balasingham, as a member of the World Council of the Sathya

Sai Organisation. Taking his memories back as an active Regional Central Coordinator at the time, Wanni proudly spoke about the establishment of Sathya Sai Education in Human Values (SSEHV). Since 1969 Sri Lanka has been one of the nations that introduced SSEHV in the form of Bai Vikas education. This was dedicated to children of Sai devotee families and took place at individual Samithi levels and soon spread throughout the island. One of the most significant milestones of SSEHV activities was the establishment of the first dedicated Sathya Sai School in Jaffna. The school commenced operations with just 25 pre-school students, but has made tremendous progress over the years. Another Childrens home was opened in Vavuniya along with an elders home in Hanwella,said Wanni.

The Sathya Sai Institute for Human Value Education of Sri Lanka was inaugurated in June 2004 by Dr. (Mrs) Tara De Mel with several objectives. Some of these objectives include providing support to teachers and parents through appropriate books



In 1996 a few Sri Lankan devotees, led by Dr. Seevali and Mrs. Ratwatte, were at Whitefield on Vesak Poya day holding a traditional tray with lights to signify the importance of Vesak. When Baba asked them what that tray was, the trio explained to Him about the importance of Vesak and that He (Sai Baba) should bless the people of Sri Lanka on this day. Baba blessed the people and upon request He graciously approved the prayer and request to observe Vesak in the Divine presence. This was well received by the rest of the Buddhist countries in the Asia Pacific region. Towards this objective the Secretariat has undertaken to celebrate Vaisakha Buddha Poornima, the thrice blessed day of the Buddhist calendar, recalled Wanni.



Another national project of the Sai Organisation in Sri Lanka was the establishment of the Sathya Sai Suwa Sevana  a home for symptom control and palliative care for cancer patients, which commenced operations in July 2002. In addition to that a Sarva Dharma Shrine too was unveiled by Ryuko Hira, Chairman for Asia-Pacific regions.



The Sathya Sai Institute for Human Value Education of Sri Lanka was inaugurated in June 2004 by Dr. (Mrs) Tara De Mel with several objectives. Some of these objectives include providing support to teachers and parents through appropriate books, providing for the Government and private sector educational institutions, facilitating the establishment of Sathya Sai schools in Sri Lanka among others. Presently the construction of a separate Bhajan hall is underway and would be completed soon.



In conclusion, Wanni further requested the youth to engage in these activities as they have to carry the spirit of Baba forward. Through the Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Seva Samithi Colombo Youth Wing we have done several projects including a clean up in the Mattakkuliya area. Volunteer doctors have also been conducting medical camps for the past 15 years. Other projects include community mobilisation and empowerment. We would like to encourage the youth to join our activities. Add some spirituality into your lives and stay away from stress. It will definitely help you in the long run,

advised Wanni.
On a night that saw the gathering of the most esteemed figures in Sri Lankan society under one roof, Aban Pestonjee, the Chairperson and Founder of the Abans Group of Companies was named Sri Lankas Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 at the Derana Sri Lankan of the Year Awards hosted on September 27th at the Colombo Hilton.



Working out of her home garage, Pestonjee started her humble beginnings in 1968, where she managed to sell and restore used electronic appliances that she carefully sourced from auctions. Her motivation stemmed from her own experiences as a mother and homemaker where she wanted to provide appliances to housewives that added an ease of convenience to their day-to-day chores.



In 1978, when Sri Lanka emerged into an open economy Pestonjee took the plunge and began engaging in importing products when she observed an increase in the consumers demand for quality global brands. Her persistence led her down the path of acquiring the first agency namely, Electrolux, eventually paving the way for numerous world-renowned brands that followed, leading to the empire that we see today.



The Abans Group of companies is divided into 5 strategic business categories comprising of retail, services, logistics, manufacturing, and real estate and infrastructure. With an island wide network that spans over 400 showrooms and more than 16 service centres, Abans is a story of innovation, willingness to take risks, courage, ethics and personalized customer care that continues to evolve through the generations.



Aban Pestonjee has successfully become a role model to individuals encouraging everyone to practice the three rules she places the highest value on, honesty, hard work and perseverance. A pioneering figure in the world of business, recognized for her achievements internationally, she continues to excel in her life, taking the company to new heights with their latest mixed-use development project, Colombo City Centre. An international mall slated to open in the first quarter of 2018, a business hotel and upscale residences are all part of this three-tier, multi-dimensional project which will undoubtedly be one of its kind in the country.
An advocate for Native American victims of violence called Friday for a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women.

Lisa Brunner, founding member of the Violence Against Women Task Force for the National Congress of American Indians, said listening sessions should be held in Indian Country, urban areas and Alaska Native villages to learn the depth of the issue.

The epidemic we face is a human rights issue, Brunner, a member of Minnesotas White Earth Ojibwe Nation, said during a Bismarck event in recognition of First Nations Day.

Brunner said information gathered in the listening sessions can shape legislation.

Once we know what is really happening, then we can create sound, effective legislation, Brunner said. Otherwise were wasting taxpayers time and money, creating things that are just band-aids.

As Brunner spoke from the Heritage Center Auditorium, silhouettes representing Native American women who had been murdered from her reservation were on stage and in the audience as silent witnesses.

Theyre saying we will not be ignored, she said.

Brunner highlighted statistics that show Native Americans are more likely to be victims of violence, including on some reservations where they are 10 times more likely to be murdered than the national average.

In Bismarck, Native Americans are overrepresented in domestic violence victim statistics, said Police Chief Dan Donlin.

Of the 472 domestic violence arrests in 2016 in Bismarck, 27 percent of the victims were Native Americans, Donlin said. Native Americans represent about 5 percent of the citys population.

Id love that number for all races to be zero, but we need that number to come down, Donlin said.

During the event, participants held a moment of silence for the family of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a member of the Spirit Lake Tribe who vanished in August in Fargo while eight months pregnant. Her body was found eight days later in the Red River.

North Dakota Indian Affairs Commissioner Scott Davis said her death sent a big wave across not only our state but across the nation.

Davis encouraged participants at the event to get in touch with political leaders and encourage them to support legislation that aims to bring justice for missing and murdered Native American women.

A panel discussion of victim advocates who work with domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking cases urged attendees to be active bystanders, calling or texting tips to law enforcement if they see something suspicious.

We are the eyes, we are the ears of our community, Brunner said.
The interdicted police constable, who was absconding court after being charged with unruly behaviour outside a UN safe house sheltering Rohingya refugees, has surrendered to the Colombo Crimes Division (CCD) today, Police said.

They said the suspect, 40-year-old Prageeth Chanaka Gunetilleke is a resident of Maha Wadduwa.

Three cases involving this PC are also at the Panadura Magistrate's Court on charges of attacking a Mosque and threatening the Panadura Girls school Principal.

The suspect was to be produced before the Mount Lavinia Magistrate's Court today. (Thilanka Kanakarathna)
SPAIN, (Daily Mail), 5 October 2017 -

The Catalan leader has slammed an out of touch King of Spain for ignoring millions who voted for independence as tensions escalated on the streets of Barcelona.



Last night, pro-Spain protestors took to the streets of Barcelona, with the nation on the verge of being torn apart, with politicians in Catalonia suggesting that independence could be secured by Monday.

Belgiums Philippe Lamberts, the head of the Green grouping in the European Parliament said the crisis threatened the spirit of European integration, even more than Brexit.



Experts say tensions between Catalonia and Spain is at its highest since the end of the Franco regime in the 1970s, with clashes continuing in the days after the referendum on Sunday.



After meetings in the regional parliament on Wednesday, pro-independence lawmakers called a full session next Monday to debate the final results of the vote.



Mireia Boya of the radical leftwing separatist CUP said it would be a plenary to proclaim the republic of independent Catalonia.
Fitch Ratings Lanka has affirmed the national long-term ratings on five small and mid-sized Sri Lankan banks. The banks are Nations Trust Bank PLC (NTB), Pan Asia Banking Corporation PLC (PABC), Union Bank of Colombo PLC (UB), SANASA Development Bank PLC (SDB) and Amana Bank PLC (Amana).



The affirmations follow Fitchs periodic review of small and mid-sized Sri Lanka banks and are driven by the banks intrinsic profiles. Fitch expects the banks capitalisation to remain thin in the medium term, as they are likely to sustain a strong increase in loans. PABC, SDB and Amana infused capital to meet their respective minimum regulatory core capital levels. The impact of the implementation of SLFRS 9 in 2018 could also significantly reduce the banks capital positions.



The banks absolute non-performing loans (NPLs) increased in 1H17, in line with Fitchs expectations. Fitch believes asset-quality risks are greater for these banks due to their greater exposure to retail and small and medium enterprise (SME) customer segments, which Fitch sees as more susceptible to economic downturns.



Key rating drivers, national ratings and senior debt

NTBs ratings reflect its declining capitalisation, modest franchise and high product concentration. NTBs capitalisation has come under pressure due to strong loan expansion (12.9 percent in 1H17 and 23.5 percent in 2016), which exceeded internal capital generation. Its Fitch Core Capital (FCC) and Tier I capital ratios continued decreasing to 10.7 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively, at end-1H17, from 12.2 percent and 12.1 percent at end-2015.



NTB is a mid-size licensed commercial bank that had a modest market share gain to 2.5 percent of banking sector assets at end-1H17. Its current account, saving account (CASA) base decreased to 25.5 percent of deposits at end-1H17, from 32.5 percent at end-2015, similar to the trend seen across the sector.



Product concentration remains high against peers, as leasing and credit cards accounted for 20.0 percent and 10.0 percent, respectively, of NTBs gross loans at end-1H17. Its gross NPL ratio decreased to 2.5 percent at end-1H17, from 2.8 percent at end-2015, despite an increase in absolute NPLs.



PABCs rating reflects further deterioration in its asset-quality metrics during 1H17 relative to higher-rated peers, which has put pressure on the banks improved capitalisation following its Rs.2.1 billion rights issue in March 2017. The rating also reflects potential profitability pressure stemming from lower loan growth and higher credit costs. PABCs gross NPL ratio rose to 6.3 percent at end-1H17 from 4.7 percent at end-2016, due to a 32 percent growth in absolute NPLs stemming from high loan-growth periods. Its loan book expanded by just one percent in 1H17 as the bank focused on strengthening its book quality.



PABC requires a further Rs.1.3 billion to meet the minimum regulatory capital level of Rs.10 billion by January 1, 2018. Fitch expects the bank to achieve this through retained profits in 2017, as further capital infusions are not expected. The banks Tier I capital ratio increased to 10.8 percent at end-1H17, from 8.4 percent at end-2016.



PABCs outstanding senior debentures are rated at the same level its national long-term rating as they rank equally with the claims of its other senior unsecured creditors.



The outlook on UBs rating remains positive to reflect the shift in UBs risk profile, which is driven by structural changes in its loan book composition that could support better asset quality. This stems from more diversified customer exposures, which are similar to higher-rated peers. However, UB has continued to sustain a rapid increase in loans that could pressure asset quality if not managed prudently.



In addition, NPLs stemming from subsidiary, UB Finance Co. Ltd (32 percent of total NPLs at end-1H17) remains a significant drag on the groups total NPLs. However, the banks gross NPL ratio improved to 2.6 percent at end-1H17, from 3.6 percent at end-2015.



UBs rating reflects its small franchise, weaker profitability and higher capitalisation relative to higher-rated peers. The bank accounted for just one percent of banking sector assets at end-1H17. Its profitability has been constrained by low net interest margins (NIM) and high-cost structures. Fitch believes the bank is likely to focus on increasing exposure to more profitable customer segments and income generation to improve profitability. UBs FCC ratio fell to 19.4 percent at end-1H17, from 21.2 percent at end-2015, with sustained high loan growth of 14.4 percent in 1H17 and 38 percent in 2016. Fitch expects capitalisation to decline to levels similar to peers in the medium-term alongside continued rapid loan expansion.



SDBs rating captures its high-risk appetite in terms of substantial exposure and rapid loan growth in the retail and lower-end SME segments. Fitch believes this could pressure the banks capitalisation in the absence of capital raising, despite its Rs.1.4 billion capital infusion in May 2017, as internal capital generation may be insufficient. SDBs profitability, as measured by return on assets, remained low due to its high operating and credit costs. This is despite a high NIM compared with peers, which reflects its target market segment.



SDBs reported gross NPL ratio increased to 2.2 percent at end-1H17, from 2.1 percent at end-2016. Fitch expects asset quality to deteriorate as loans season.



Amanas rating reflects its small and developing franchise and high risk appetite stemming from its predominant exposure to SME and retail segments. Amana began operations in 2011 and accounted for 0.6 percent of banking sector assets at end-1H17. There has been a large increase in the banks capitalisation following a July 2017 rights issue to meet the higher 2018 regulatory minimum capital requirements. Fitch expects Amanas capitalisation ratios to moderate in the medium term from the estimated post-rights issue FCC ratio of 22.7 percent as the loan book expands.



Amanas asset-quality metrics remain better than those of peers despite deterioration in the banks gross NPL ratio to 1.5 percent at end-1H17 from 0.9 percent in 2016. Fitch expects asset-quality pressure to increase as the loan book seasons due to the banks high SME and retail segment exposure of 75 percent of gross loans at end-2016.



Amana remains mainly deposit funded and has maintained a stable CASA base relative to peers of over 50 percent. We expect the banks profitability metrics to improve in the medium term relative to better-rated peers as it capitalises on the existing infrastructure and enhances its franchise, leading to a lower cost/income ratio, despite potentially higher credit costs from asset-quality pressure and SLFRS 9 implementation.



Subordinated debt

The Basel II compliant Sri Lanka rupee-denominated subordinated debt of NTB and PABC are rated one notch below the banks national long-term ratings to reflect subordination to senior unsecured creditors.



Rating sensitivities, national ratings and senior debt

NTBs rating could be downgraded if there is a continued decline in capitalisation seen through sustained strong loan expansion in the absence of capital raisings. Increased capital impairment risk through continuous asset-quality deterioration could also result in a downgrade. An upgrade is contingent upon lower product concentration, a significant increase in capitalisation and a more stable funding profile alongside progress in building a stronger commercial banking franchise. The upgrade of UBs rating is contingent upon its ability to manage risks from continued high loan growth, despite structural changes to its loan composition, which would be reflected through sustained asset-quality improvement. The improvement in UBs financial profile to levels similar to higher-rated peers could also support an upgrade. Capital impairment risks stemming from sustained rapid loan expansion or asset-quality deterioration could pressure UBs rating. SDBs rating could be downgraded if there is a continued deterioration in capitalisation, either through aggressive loan growth or greater unprovided NPLs. An upgrade would be contingent upon moderation of its risk appetite and sustainable improvements in asset quality and profitability. Fitch does not see upside potential for PABCs ratings in the near term, as the bank may face difficulty is sustaining adequate capital buffers similar to higher-rated peers. PABCs rating would be downgraded if loss-absorption buffers further deteriorate, either through a greater share of unprovided NPLs, aggressive loan-book growth or weaker internal capital generation. A rating upgrade for Amana is contingent upon the expansion of the banks franchise and improved and sustained financial profile, in particular, achieving profitability levels that are similar to higher-rated peers. Deterioration in loss-absorption buffers, either through excessive growth above management forecasts or a greater share of unprovided NPLs, could put downward pressure on Amanas rating.



Senior debt ratings will move in tandem with the banks national long-term ratings.



Subordinated debt

Subordinated debt ratings will move in tandem with the banks national long-term ratings.

The rating actions are as follows:



Nations Trust Bank PLC national long-term rating affirmed at A(lka); stable outlook, Basel II-compliant subordinated debentures affirmed at A-(lka). Pan Asia Banking Corporation PLC national long-term rating affirmed at BBB-(lka); stable outlook, senior debenture rating affirmed at BBB-(lka), subordinated debenture rating affirmed at BB+(lka).



Union Bank of Colombo PLC national long-term rating affirmed at BB+(lka); positive outlook. SANASA Development Bank PLC national long-term rating affirmed at BB+(lka); stable outlook. Amana Bank PLC national long-term rating affirmed at BB(lka); stable outlook.
Possibility of a drastically-altered final report Strategists count ethno-religious factors in referendum-voting estimates Overwhelming support of minorities might augment shortfall in Sinhala-Buddhist votes Making political calculations on the basis of 2015 could prove dangerously-wrong in 2017 and years to follow

By D.B.S. Jeyaraj

The coalition government of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has - as one of its primary objectives - the political project of enacting and passing a new Constitution. This requires a two-thirds majority in Parliament and endorsement by the people in an islandwide referendum.

More importantly, the government has been trying to justify its move to introduce a new Constitution saying the envisaged Constitution would be sanctioned by the people. While the government appears to be optimistic about garnering the necessary parliamentary majority and obtaining the peoples approval at a referendum, current political trends as well as ground realities suggest holding a referendum in the current context may very well backfire on the government.



The Constitutional Assembly Steering Committee chaired by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe released its Interim Report on Proposals to be considered in the envisaged Constitution. The report was presented to the Parliament/Constitutional Assembly by the Premier on September 21. The parliamentary debate on the Interim Report will be held for three days on October 30, 31 and November 1 respectively. Thereafter, if everything goes according to schedule, the final report would be compiled and completed by year end and placed before the Parliament/Constitutional Assembly in January 2018. But then as observed by Robert Burns, in life, the best laid plans of men and mice often go awry.



It is understood clearly that the Interim Report, though referred to as a consensual document, is not so in reality. The differing viewpoints expressed by the parties concerned in the annexures, euphemistically-described as observations and principles, make it crystal clear that there is a serious divide among the would-be Constitution-makers. Thus the ongoing Constitutional conversation could breakdown or suffer serious setbacks as discussions progress towards the final report. There is also the chance of a drastically-altered final report as a result of compromises and adjustments to bring about consensus.



Whatever may or may not be its transformed version, the Steering Committees final report of draft Constitutional Proposals is expected to be submitted for the consideration of the Constitutional Assembly early next year. If the proposals were accepted and approved by the Constitutional Assembly, it would be submitted to the Cabinet. The Cabinet will then approve it with or without changes and present the Constitutional provisions to Parliament as a Bill to get passed by a two-thirds majority. The Constitutional Assembly would stand dissolved. If passed by Parliament with a two-thirds majority, the approval and sanction of the people would be obtained by way of an islandwide referendum. Winning the referendum on the Constitution therefore is of crucial importance for this government legally, politically and above all, morally.



It is in this context that the question of the government winning the Constitutional referendum arises. Of course the draft Constitution or final report is not ready yet. The result of the referendum would very much depend upon the contents of or the substance of the envisaged Constitution. The fate of the referendum would also be determined by the relative strengths and merits of the respective for and against campaigns. The opposition to the new Constitution right now relies more on imagined or speculative complaints than on tangible evidence. It is only when the final version materialises that the opposition can train its guns more effectively on it. The final version would also facilitate the government campaign to market the new Constitution.



Buoyant optimism

Notwithstanding these realities, it is obvious that the dominant line of thought within the government and its allies at the present juncture is one of buoyant optimism that the referendum could and can be won. It is most unlikely that the government would have embarked upon the Constitution project and proceeded so far without some degree of confidence that the referendum battle can be fought and won. Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) leader and National Co-existence, Dialogue and Official Languages Minister Mano Ganesan summed up the governments position aptly when he observed that winning the referendum would be difficult but it had to be won and so it would be.

It would be foolish on the part of the government and even the respective leaders of ethnic-oriented parties to take the minority voters for granted. The hiatus between pledge and performance by the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe duo and the so-called Good Governance government headed by them is so vast that there is a rising groundswell of resentment against the ruling regime



The governments greatest source of confidence in winning a referendum would naturally be its reliance on the strength of numbers. Numerical strength in this instance would mean the number of votes. At the January 2015 Presidential election, Maithripala Sirisena secured 6,217,1625 votes and skunked Mahinda Rajapaksa who obtained 5,768,09047. In the parliamentary elections of August 2015, the United National Party (UNP) led United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) polled 5,098,916 votes. The opposition United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) garnered 4,732,664. A significant number of Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) MPs elected on the UPFA ticket in 2015 crossed over and currently are part and parcel of the ruling regime. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Government is today called a UNP- SLFP coalition government.



Government strategists opine that the electoral results of 2015 would be repeated in a referendum too. Political support demonstrated by the UNP at the 2015 polls along with the fresh support brought in by the pro-Sirisena SLFP MPs is calculated to be greater than the prevailing strength of the pro-Rajapaksa joint opposition. It is surmised that the UNP-SLFP strength in Parliament would be reflected at the referendum. In addition, the government has the support of two key allies. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) polled 515,963 and 543,944 votes respectively at the 2015 hustings. Besides, parties like the Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) and Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) are also expected to support the new Constitution. Sheer arithmetic therefore makes the government hopeful of winning the referendum.

Already, several Provincial Councillors in the East and North-Central provinces have deserted Maithripala and crossed over to Mahinda. President Sirisena may have given them posts and perks, but it is to the Mahinda Rajapaksa star to which they must hitch their political wagons to gain electoral victory



If politics could always be determined by arithmetic alone, the expectations of the government may succeed. But then politics is not a numbers game always. As Leon Trotsky observed, Politics is more like algebra than like elementary arithmetic, and still more like higher rather than elementary mathematics (Oft quoted by Dayan Jayatilleka in his writings). In this instance too, an assumption that arithmetic or numbers based on the votes polled in 2015 alone would deliver the goods at the referendum could be proved wrong.



Greek Philosopher Heraclitus stated, No man ever steps in the same river twice, for its not the same river and hes not the same man. If I may adapt and adopt it to present circumstances, the electoral rivers of 2015 do not flow now in Sri Lanka. Likewise, the political strengths of the different political parties in 2015 are not the same now. The electorate has changed. The electoral mood has changed. The perceptions and political views of the voting public have changed. The stock of political parties has risen in some cases and fallen in other. Making political calculations on the basis of 2015 could prove dangerously-wrong in 2017 and years to follow.



Voting pattern

In the first place, people voted for political parties and individual candidates at elections. There were a number of issues, options and preferences involved. This is not so in a referendum which is conducted to determine a single idea or decide upon a single case.



In this instance, the referendum would be on whether to accept or reject the new Constitution. While a large number of voters may let party or personal loyalties influence their voting at the referendum, an equally-large number of voters could also treat the matter on its own merits and cast their vote for or against. If that happens, a large number of people would cut across traditional party lines and vote. This would render calculations based on the 2015 polls irrelevant in assessing the referendum voting pattern. The possibility of some government constituents like the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) going against the new Constitution cannot be ruled out.



Government political strategists also take ethno-religious factors into account in referendum-voting estimates.



It is widely-acknowledged that Mahinda Rajapaksa remains the single most popular mass figure among Sinhala Buddhist voters. Already, several Provincial Councillors in the East and North-Central provinces have deserted Maithripala and crossed over to Mahinda. President Sirisena may have given them posts and perks, but it is to the Mahinda Rajapaksa star to which they must hitch their political wagons to gain electoral victory.



In the current political environment, it is expected that Mahinda would spearhead the opposition campaign against the new Constitution at the referendum. In that situation, a larger percentage of Sinhala votes may be polled against the new Constitution. If that happens, the government could lose the referendum as the Sinhalese are the numerically-large ethnicity in the island.



Government strategists hope to counter that possibility by relying on the minority vote. It is expected that the Sri Lankan Tamils, Muslims, up-country Tamils of recent Indian origin and Sinhala Christians would vote in large numbers for the Constitution. The overwhelming support of the minorities is expected to augment the shortfall in Sinhala-Buddhist votes. This prognosis is on the basis that there would be a re-play of preponderant minority support shown in 2015 for Sirisena at the presidential poll and for the UNP at the parliamentary elections.



Once again, this assessment could be erroneous. It would be foolish on the part of the government and even the respective leaders of ethnic-oriented parties to take the minority voters for granted.

The hiatus between pledge and performance by the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe duo and the so-called Good Governance government headed by them is so vast that there is a rising groundswell of resentment against the ruling regime. This has rubbed off greatly on its constituents within the government and parties supporting it from outside.



Besides, the minorities are likely to be disappointed if the new Constitution does not accommodate all of their aspirations or redress their grievances; virtually impossible. Even those from the minority ethnicities could vote against the new Constitution or not vote at all.



The greater portion of minority community voters could vote in favour of the Constitution, but a significantly-large number of minority community voters may boycott polls openly or refrain from voting at the referendum. This would cause a deficit in the number of minority community

votes expected.



Sinhala Buddhist

The minority ethnicity votes may influence the peoples verdict one way or another, yet the ultimate factor that would determine the result of a referendum of this nature would be the majority or the Sinhala-Buddhist vote. This is because a referendum on the Constitution is being depicted and portrayed as a life or death situation concerning the future of the predominantly Buddhist Sinhala population. It is being propagated already that the new Constitution would pave the way for division of the country. It is also being said that some powerful Western nations, Non-governmental Organisations and Tiger-ish elements in the diaspora are conspiring to roll back the territorial re-unification achieved by the armed forces and establish Tamil Eelam. Former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa has formed the Eliya (Light) movement with the single point agenda of opposing and/or preventing the new Constitution.



This columnist does not propose at this juncture to delve in detail into the merits and defects of the propaganda by the Sinhala nationalist lobby that the new Constitution would result in separation and setting up of Tamil Eelam. What is noteworthy is the growing perception or suspicion among many members of the majority community that the new Constitution is indeed a conspiracy to divide the nation and establish Tamil Eelam. This perception, however wrong it may seem, is the prevailing reality.



Such a perception can only be challenged and changed by an effective counter-response. Such a response can only be mounted by Sinhala political leaders within the government. Sadly, such a powerful response has not surfaced so far. What we have seen are apologetic semantics by the President and evasive backtracking by the Prime Minister. In essence, the government is on the defensive with weak arguments in the aftermath of just an interim report. What is needed here is a powerful political offensive in support of the proposed new Constitution. I doubt very much whether any senior minister in this Cabinet other than Mangala Samaraweera or Rajitha Senaratne would and could lead a proactive campaign in support of the Constitution at the time of the referendum.



The tragedy of the Sinhalese and by extension Sri Lanka has been the deep seated insecurity and fears of the majority community. The Sinhala psyche has often been called a Majority with a minority complex. It is only a strong, secure and confident numerical majority that will be more tolerant, accommodative and magnanimous towards numerically-smaller minorities. Sadly, the majority within the Sinhala majority continues to feel threatened and vulnerable even after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was militarily-defeated by the armed forces.



State of mind

I was speaking to a Sinhala, left-leaning academic, hailing from the Southern province, about the current situation. This long-standing friend of mine was one who supported Sirisena and even the UNP-led front in 2015. He belongs to a family that has abhorred the green elephant for decades. Yet, he voted in 2015 for the elephant symbol in order to bring about change. Today he is disgusted at the turn of events. In a long, insightful conversation, a point he emphasised strongly was the confused, indecisive state of affairs under the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe dispensation. This has affected the people on the whole and was leading to a breakdown in society. He used the term anomie popularised by sociologist Durkheim to describe the condition of the people. He also concurred with me about the beleaguered state of mind among many Sinhalese.

It is most unlikely that the government would have embarked upon the Constitution project and proceeded so far without some degree of confidence that the referendum battle can be fought and won



Again I do not wish to comment on the prevailing Sinhala state of mind and say whether it is right, wrong or in between. What is of importance here is to recognise the reality of its existence. In such a beleaguered, insecure state of mind, people believing themselves to be besieged and vulnerable can only be on the defensive and somewhat defiant. Against that backdrop, the referendum provides them an opportunity to articulate their suppressed feelings and strike a blow for themselves and against the perceived enemy. They will most likely vote against the proposed Constitution at the referendum.The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Government has aggravated the issue by its economic policies and bad governance. Agriculture, the backbone of the nation, is being neglected while grandiose schemes to turn Lanka into a tourist and shopping paradise are being mooted.



Cost of living keeps rising. It took about four to five years for the term Dharmishta Aanduwa coined by J.R. Jayewardene to fall from grace and be mocked by the people. But in the case of Yahapalana, the fall has been in less than two years. Furthermore, it is being ridiculed as Yamapalana.

In such a situation, disappointed and frustrated people will like to display their feelings democratically at some sort of poll. Here, the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Government has erred badly by denying the voters of their franchise. The local authority polls have been postponed for long, followed by the denial of provincial council polls. The amendments to elections, both local authorities and provincial councils, were passed in Parliament through unorthodox procedures during committee stages. Denying the people of the right to vote for long periods and then providing a chance to vote at a referendum can lead to a crushing defeat for the government.



Us and Them

Finally, there is the emotive us and them syndrome in politics. The proposed Constitution with some progressive provisions to help resolve the national question through maximum devolution will cause consternation (already begun) among those perceived as Sinhala hawks. The anti-Constitution referendum campaign will definitely be conducted within the Sinhala community on ethnic lines with an emotional appeal in terms of race and religion.



This in turn would result in similar sentiments rising to the fore among the Tamil and Muslim communities. Ultimately, the appeal to voters would turn primordial and the referendum would become an us versus them contest. In such a context, a closing of ranks among the Sinhala people will result in the government facing defeat.



For all these reasons and more, the government is very likely to lose the referendum on the Constitution, unless a political miracle occurs. The Sirisena-Wickremesinghe Government needs to proceed carefully before rushing into areas where even angels may fear to tread. Furthermore, the referendum - whatever the result - can fracture ethnic relations and further divide

the country.



The country needs to reconcile and the government and its allies feel the new Constitution could hasten the reconciliation process further. Winning the referendum on the Constitution is expected to boost reconciliation and ethnic harmony. It would be a cruel irony if the referendum backfires on the government and defeats the very purpose for which it was conducted.



D.B.S. Jeyaraj can be reached at dbsjeyaraj@yahoo.com
UN Secretary General extended a rare honour to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) as the first private-sector organisation to be accorded permanent observer status at the UN General Assembly.



The International Chamber of Commerce received significant recognition at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) when its Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal was extended a formal invitation to join the Annual HOS luncheon on the 19 September 2017.

Mittal also joined the HOS meeting, which was attended by US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Brazilian President Michel Temer, amongst other key world leaders.



UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres invoked a significant exception to past practice by inviting Mittal to the Annual HOS Meet, which has traditionally been reserved for government leaders. This invitation follows the landmark decision to accord ICC a permanent seat as an observer of the UNthe first time a private-sector organisation has received such an honour. ICC received this status in December 2016 during the first year of Mittals chairmanship.

At the meeting, Mittal highlighted the importance of conducting globalisation in a responsible and sustainable manner and facilitating the free movement of goods, services and people. He also addressed various other UN forums, emphasising the benefits of digital trade and technology-led innovations to promote equitable global growth.



The International Chamber of Commerce is represented in Sri Lanka by ICCSL - the domestic chapter of the Paris based international world business organization, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). It is also the local chapter of the ICC which holds the sole authority to issue ATA Carnet.



The international organisation has over the years, expanded its roots in 130 countries with a membership drive of over 6.5 million. Trade facilitation, export and import and cross border issues pertaining to goods transport are some of the areas addressed by the ICC. Former Commercial Bank of Ceylon Chairman Dinesh Weerakkody was appointed recently as the Chairman of ICC SL at its 51st AGM
Recent reports estimate that Indias annual economic growth rate is now down to 5.5%. The government of Narendra Modi which until recently seemed to be on a public opinion roll could fall off its log- but that depends on the Indian electorate ending its self-deceit.Three years ago Modi at the helm of his Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, gave Congress a thumping defeat. Suave and persuasive on the podium, Modi rammed home a simple message- that in the state of Gujarat where he was the chief minister more had been achieved in a short space of time than anywhere

else in India.



It was industrializing fast, building more roads, modernizing its ports and communications and helping the poor.



There was some element of truth in this and few doubt that Modi is an effective administrator who is strong on productivity and hard on corruption. Nevertheless, when it comes to the poor the record is by no means as good as he preached. Hunger in his state only fell slowly, no faster than the Indian average. Two-thirds of Indian children received vaccinations but only half in Gujarat. 33% of its children were underweight whilst the Indian overall rate was 30%.

Singh was active in foreign affairs and won from the Americans an important agreement that opened up Indias need to import uranium



Modi with his silken songs of achievement put the Congress Party in the shadow. Never mind that the Congress government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chairwoman Sonia Gandhi had reduced the number of poor by 135 million, the poor gravitated towards Modi.



Congress seemed unable to persuade the media- and this was true of the international media too- to give it a fair hearing on its successes. Yes, the government presided over a society where corruption seemed to worsen and the loosening up of import controls and the regulations on foreign ownership seemed to go at a snails pace but its achievements were often magnificent. At one point economic growth touched 10% before falling back (a fact that I saw only once reported). In its second term of office it was often over 8%. It jumped ahead as China was slowing down.



India made great inroads on poverty although it has to be said that its neighbour, Bangladesh, once the basket case of Asia, does better.



Among Singhs accomplishments was his introduction of a guaranteed 100 days of work for the unemployed. They were sent to build dams, roads and dig wells. He introduced the right to subsidized food to cover some two-thirds of the countrys population. There was the right to a free lunch at school. All children were promised a place in school. Farmers got access to cheap supplies of fertilizer and petrol. Not all these projects went as well as they could- graft, poor workmanship and maladministration took their toll and teachers were often of low quality. Nevertheless, to be poor in 2014 was not like being poor in 2004.

For now the growth rate has turned down. Things are suddenly not looking good for Modi



Singhs great idea was to introduce biometric IDs to everyone in India. Government subsidies, instead of being routed through a corrupted bureaucracy, go straight to the bank account of the peasant or proletarian.



Singh was active in foreign affairs and won from the Americans an important agreement that opened up Indias need to import uranium. He enabled the sophisticated parts of the economy to do well. But below that level there was not much growth in employment among the working class. Agriculture was not taken as seriously as was needed since that sector employs more poor people than any other.

Adding it up there were far more pluses and less negatives under Singh than there were to be under Modi. Indeed there would have been far more pluses if the BJP had not blocked important reforms in parliament. The poor were helped like never before but they, as well as a majority of the middle and upper class who had also done well, turned towards Modi when election time arrived three years ago.



Luck favoured the new prime minister. Oil prices fell dramatically and cut Indias import bill by a large amount. This gave the economy a bounce and the growth rate returned to an upswing following a couple of years of low growth at the end of Congresss time in office. Last year Modi pushed through legislation to create a single market across the country which will aid growth in the long run.



For now the growth rate has turned down. Things are suddenly not looking good for Modi. Too much banking and company debt have been ratcheted up. And then there is Modis tolerance of Hindu anti-Muslim agitation. This doesnt give India a positive image overseas, which contributes to the fall in foreign investment and deters highly successful expatriate Indians returning from Silicon Valley and Cambridge.



The poor in the Indian electorate should wake up. The evidence is now in. Without much doubt Congress served them better.



(For 17 years the writer was a foreign affairs columnist and commentator for the International Herald Tribune)
A young female medical student who was arrested on charges of deserting her 12-day-old infant son outside a dispensary in Saliyapura was produced before Anuradhapura Chief Magistrate and was later released on a personal bail of Rs.100,000.

Police told the court that the 22-year-old woman was a university student and a resident of Polonnaruwa and had an affair with a youth in her village.When she became pregnant, reportedly by the youth, she had rented a house at Puliyankulama where she lived by herself until she entered the Anuradhapura Hospital for the confinement.

In her statement to the police she admitted to having deserted the baby to keep this matter hidden from her parents and fellow students.

The police had rushed to the scene after receiving an anonymous telephone call to find the child wrapped in a piece of cloth.

A DNA report obtained from the Genetec Institute in Borella in proof of the suspects culpability was submitted by the police.

Anuradhapura Police Womens and Childrens Bureau informed the court that they would seek the Attorney Generals advice to institute further action. The police said the infant was admitted to the Anuradhapura Hospital and was in a stable condition.

Anuradhapura Chief Magistrate and Additional District Judge Harshan Kekunawela passed the order. (Upali Ananda)
By Chandeepa Wettasinghe

Over 80 percent of local tourism industry leaders do not trust the tourism research statistics, and the countrys tourism earnings figures published by the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA), which is following erroneous methodology for its research, according to a Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) report.



The government is expecting to attract US$ 7 billion in foreign exchange from tourism through 4 million tourist arrivals by 2020 to make the industry the leading income earner for Sri Lankaan ambition which has been brought to question with the CCC report.



Out of 37 tourism industry leaders surveyed for the CCCs, Troubling Numbers: Can Sri Lankas Tourism Sector Sustain its Growth? report, 86 percent said that the tourist arrivals data were inaccurate, while 83 percent of them said that the tourism earnings figures

were inaccurate. Sri Lanka had earned US$ 3.52 billion in foreign exchange from tourism in 2016, up from US$ 2.98 billion, according to Sri Lankas Central Bank, which had sourced this piece of data from the SLTDA research.



The CCC debunked this research for being based on an incorrectly sampled departure survey. This may indicate that the erroneous statistics disseminated by SLTDA to the Central Bank could have widespread effects on the countrys national accounts.



The CCC noted that although India and Chinathe two largest individual source marketsmade up over 30 percent of tourist arrivals to the country in 2016, they consisted of just over 10 percent of the 5,500 tourists who participated in the SLTDA departure survey.



German, French and British travellers made up over 30 percent of the sample. The sample was already small, encompassing just 0.27 percent of the 2.05 million tourists to visit Sri Lanka last year. The CCC said that the arrival figures also largely exclude business travellers due to the way SLTDA sources information from the Department of Immigration and Emigration.



This may help explain how business travellers travelling to Sri Lanka fell from 12.7 percent of the total tourists in 2010, down to 1.8 percent of total tourists in 2016 according to SLTDA data, despite the fact that Colombo city hotels, which mainly cater to business travellers, operating at high occupancy.

The CCC said the main objective of the departure survey is not to capture the foreign exchange earnings for the country, but to enrich statistics on tourism to identify trends and provide the public and private sectors with the information required to make strategic decisions.



Yet, this is the primary instrument used to formulate the tourism earnings number, it said.

The CCC survey noted that even the primary aim of the departure surveyto collect data which could be used to make strategic decisionsis not being fulfilled properly.



The lobby group said that a revision to the research methodology is required.



Our research revealed that many countries have now adopted the Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) developed by the World Tourism Organization to calculate contribution from the industry. The next step would be to check the relevance and suitability for Sri Lanka of this method, and adopt it accordingly, the CCC said.



The Tourism Strategic Plan 2017-2020 appears to have identified this weakness and has called for an overhaul to the governments research efforts in tourism.
AFP: The Philippines said yesterday it has dropped a tax evasion case against the countrys number-two cigarette manufacturer after it was sold to Japan Tobacco to raise funds for a record 30 billion-peso (US$586 million) settlement.



Manila had accused Mighty Corp of using counterfeit tax stamps to avoid paying 37.88 billion pesos in taxes, and threatened it with criminal charges.



However in July, President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the finance department to accept a settlement, under which Mighty, which has 23 percent of the local cigarette market, would drop out of the tobacco business.



We could consider this case as closed. (The) government of the Philippines is 40 billion pesos richer, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre told reporters.



The company settled the case with a 30-billion-peso payment, and paid another 10 billion in taxes and penalties, he explained.



Mighty had originally offered a 25-billion-peso settlement, Aguirre added.



The company sold off its assets to Japan Tobacco International in order to meet its tax deficiencies, the finance department said earlier. The Japanese firm, one of the worlds biggest tobacco companies, whose global brands include Winston and Camel, announced on August 22 that it was purchasing Mighty for 46.8 billion pesos.

Asked to comment on the justice department decision, a Japan Tobacco spokesman in Japan said the tax liability is an issue that should be solved appropriately between Mighty Corp and the Philippine government.
The Food Production National Programme 2017 of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) was held recently at its Chaithya premises under the patronage of SLPAs Acting Chairman P.G. Dasanayake and the participation of the Managing Director of SLPA - H.D.A.S. Premachandra.



The SLPA segment of the national programme was held in parallel to its main event held along with the initiative of President Maithripala Sirisena in Kekirawa. The Acting Chairman of SLPA P.G. Dasanayake expressing views at the occasion stated that the SLPAs contributory launch of the programme adhered to the guidance extended in this regard by Minister of Ports and Shipping Mahinda Samarasinghe and further to the instructions by the Chairman of SLPA Parakrama Dissanayake.

At a time the global concern is towards sharing and implementation of food security concepts amidst natural devastations and other challenges, the governments initiations on the Food Production National Programme is a massive leap forward aiming a self-sufficient future Sri Lanka, Dasanayake said. He also said that the employees of SLPA would contribute their maximum participation to make this national objective a success.

A programme of distributing agri-seeds and plants was also held parallel to the programme held at SLPA. The members of the SLPA, board of directors, heads of divisions and sections, and a large number of employees of SLPA attended the programme.
With a lack of statistics on missing and murdered Native American women, some tribal members in North Dakota give Sen. Heidi Heitkamp personal stories and handwritten lists.

Heitkamp highlighted stories of five women from the Dakotas on Thursday as she introduced legislation that would require data collection and remove barriers to help tribal law enforcement seek justice.

Its time to give a voice to these voiceless women, said Heitkamp, D-N.D., during a speech from the Senate floor. Its time to bring their perpetrators to justice and give a voice to the families who are struggling even today, sometimes decades later, to understand how this can happen in America.

Heitkamp named the legislation Savannas Act in honor of Savanna LaFontaine-Greywind, a member of the Spirit Lake Tribe who vanished in August in Fargo while eight months pregnant. Her body was found eight days later in the Red River.

Her death was an incredible tragedy, and, unfortunately, one that happens way too often to Native women, Heitkamp said.

In 2016, North Dakota had 125 cases of Native American women and girls reported missing to the National Crime Information Center. However, the actual figure likely should be higher due to a lack of reporting.

What happened to those 125 cases is not clear. According to the NCIC database, all but four of those cases were closed last year. But no information is available about how they were closed.

This has added to not knowing what the actual magnitude of this epidemic really is, Heitkamp said.

Savannas Act would require an annual report to Congress with statistics on missing and murdered Native women and recommendations on how to improve data collection.

Phil Two Eagle, the brother of one of the women Heitkamp highlighted in her speech, said hes glad the issue of missing and murdered Native women is now getting exposure.

His sister, Mona Lisa Two Eagle, a member of South Dakotas Rosebud Sioux, was last seen in the winter of 1979 when she left her siblings house in a pickup with two guys. Two weeks later, her father and brother found her frozen body in a pasture, beaten, possibly raped and left alone in a blizzard. No one was ever charged with the crime.

This things been weighing heavily in our family for a long time, Phil Two Eagle said. We never did get any information from the FBI or law enforcement back then. It was good that we could shine some light on my sisters case. Im hoping that we can get some answers.

Savannas Act also seeks to improve tribal law enforcement access to federal crime databases and create standardized protocols for responding to cases of missing and murdered Native Americans.

In addition, Heitkamp said shes also continuing to push for more federal law enforcement resources in Indian Country.

We need law and order on Indian Country to be a top priority for the federal government, she said in an interview. They have a unique obligation to perform those functions.

Also Thursday, Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, introduced the Tribal Law and Order Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act. The bill aims to enhance the current law to ensure tribes have tools to combat crime and increase coordination between tribal, federal and state law enforcement officials.

The legislation also would require the Justice Department to track and analyze data on human trafficking of Native Americans both in and outside Indian Country.

We need those statistics, not only to better understand the problem in order to combat it, but also to understand if were making progress or where we're making progress, Hoeven said.

In addition, Hoeven has introduced the SURVIVE Act, with Heitkamp as a co-sponsor, that will increase crime victim assistance funding provided to tribes.

The United Tribes of North Dakota recently called on federal leaders to take action after the killing of LaFontaine-Greywind. Some of their recommendations are included in the proposed legislation.

Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said in a response to the tribal leaders' letter that he has asked the Department of Justice to review their recommendations.

Justice should have no jurisdictional gaps, Cramer wrote. As members of Congress, we should be committed to providing not only the necessary resources, but the consistent oversight in order to insure public resources are utilized to their fullest extent.
The annual Walawe Supercross, the event that attracts the countrys racing enthusiasts to the Uda Walawe Supercross track at Sevanagala, Sabaragamuwa, was held this year for the seventh time with a significant difference.



CBL (Ceylon Biscuits Limited) stepped forward to sponsor the childrens segment of the Supercross under its brand Ritzbury Champ creating an important milestone for the nations youngsters. The childrens segment of Walawe Supercross had not had a sponsor since its inception and Ritzbury Champ, a chocolate bar popular among young people, especially teenagers was an apt product to partner the event for the first time.

Walawe Supercross is jointly organized by the Sri Lanka Motor Cycle Club (SLMCC) and the Sri Lanka Army Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Regiment (SLEME) and is held on the track situated at the 17th Mile Post on the Uda Walawe - Thanamalwila main road close to the Uda Walawe National Wildlife Park. Proceeds from the race benefit war heroes in the Sri Lanka Army.



CBL Foods International Assistant Brand Manager Saumya Fernando explained that the brand values of Ritzbury Champ were associated with winning. He reiterated: CBL firmly espouses the belief that children who are involved in energetic extracurricular activities, in turn become mature adults who are able to contribute to their communities and the nation, in an optimal manner. We are sponsoring this event in order to encourage children to take part. Ritzbury Champ embodies a system of values where studies are combined with participation in winning activities. Ritzbury Champ ideally stands for the inner champion in every child.



The Walawe Supercross this year was special. Renovations made to the Craftsman Autodrome gravel track and the surrounding facilities resulted in better racing and safe viewing. Over 50,000 spectators thronged the aisles of the circuit track route and the races were televised live. The childrens segment of the Group M Street Trail sponsored by Ritzbury Champ included racing motorcycles with 50cc for 5 to 10 years; 65cc to 85cc for 10 to 13 years and 100cc to 150cc for 13 to 16 years.
Continuing to help nurture the habit of reading, Sampath Bank joined hands with the Colombo International Book Fair as the events official banking partner for the 13th consecutive year.



President Maithripala Sirisena paid a visit to the Sampath Bank stall at the Book Fair during the inauguration ceremony on 15th September and reviewed the services being offered there by the bank. Sampath Bank PLC Managing Director Nanda Fernando presented a personalized MyBook Club card to the President on this memorable occasion. He also handed over the banks sponsorship cheque to the organizers, Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association, in the presence of the President and other dignitaries.



MyBook Club is a novel initiative aimed at nurturing and promoting the habit of reading amongst all Sri Lankans. This programme was launched at last years Colombo International Book Fair by Sampath Bank in partnership with the Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association.



Book lovers can register for MyBook Club membership at the MyBook Club counter adjoining the Sampath Bank Branch at the Colombo International Book Fair or at selected Sampath Bank Branches. On registration, members are presented with a MyBook Club card which offers them a host of benefits including free entry to the Book Fair and discounts at partner bookstores, all year round. Going beyond discounts on books, members can also use their MyBook Club cards for a wide array of banking services including deposits, withdrawals, payments and more at any Sampath Bank branch.



This is made possible by Sampath MyBank which seeks to bring in greater financial inclusion by offering selected banking services to under banked and unbanked consumers in remote areas of the nation through a network of Agents. Taking the banks services closer to all Sri Lankans, this helps promote financial inclusion and encourages the habit of savings.



Commenting on this partnership, Sampath Bank PLC Managing Director Nanda Fernando said: At Sampath Bank, we are committed to adding value to the lives of all fellow Sri Lankans. We are delighted to partner with the Colombo International Book Fair for the 13th consecutive year and support the organizers in promoting the habit of reading. Unlike reading up on a subject on the web, reading a book provides one with much needed focus and concentration. This year, we had the honor and privilege of welcoming President Maithripala Sirisena to our MyBook Club, an initiative launched with the same objective. Offering further impetus to read and seek knowledge, it is also linked to Sampath MyBank to boost financial inclusion by taking banking services closer to

all citizens.
What does Patali know about politics that Harini doesnt know?

Sri Lanka is going through great pains to get its economy in order after the
With the highest priority being given to education, Sri Lanka yesterday joined the international community in celebrating World Teachers Day on the theme Teaching in Freedom, Empowering Teachers.



According to the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), this year marks the 20th anniversary of the 1997 UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel. UNESCO says these teaching personnel are often overlooked in discussions concerning the status of teachers. Like teachers at pre-primary, primary, and secondary levels, higher education teaching is a profession requiring expert knowledge, specialized skills, and pedagogical competence.



World Teachers Day was celebrated this year, echoing the 2015 theme that followed the adoption of the new UN Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) in September 2015, when teacher empowerment was reaffirmed as a top priority in education and development strategies.



The Day brought together governments, multi and bilateral organizations, NGOs, the private sector, teachers and experts in the field of teaching. With the adoption of SDG 4 on education and the dedicated target 4.c recognizing teachers as key to the achievement of the 2030 Education Agenda, it has become the occasion to mark achievements and reflect on ways to counter the remaining challenges for the promotion of the teaching profession, UNESCO said.



According to the UNESCO Institute of Statistics, the world needs 69 million teachers if we are to achieve universal primary and secondary education by 2030.



Yesterday, in Paris an international conference took place and it was attended by teachers, trainers, policy-makers, researchers and other education stakeholders to celebrate teaching, academic freedom and what we need to do to ensure quality higher education and a sustainable future for the teaching profession. These include showcasing and discussing progress and persistent challenges in higher education such as institutional autonomy, academic freedom, and professional development of higher-education teaching personnel.



In Sri Lanka, the government took a major step this week by providing life and health insurance to some 4.5 million students in about 11,000 public and private schools in all parts of the country. At Temple Trees, the launching ceremony was attended by President Maithripala Sirisena, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Education Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam to underline the importance of the event which was described as a revolution in the free education service.



In Addition, the National Unity Government has announced it will ensure that all children will be given at least 13 years of education, irrespective of whether they pass or fail the GCE O/L examination or do not get enough marks at the A/L Examination to enter university. The government intends to set up a range of vocational training centres, mainly in the sphere of modern digital technology so that the children could reach highest levels in this dimension.



Unfortunately, Sri Lankas higher education process today appears to be in a mess or muddle largely due to what is turning out to be a party political battle over the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM). President Sirisena is trying to bring about an accommodation on the middle path and recently appointed a committee to work out a compromise. The committee, among other issues, recommended a suspension of recruitment of students to SAITM, restructuring of the institution and the issue of a gazette notification outlining basic standards for the awarding of medical or MBBS degrees. Professor Colvin Gunaratne has been appointed as the new chairman of the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC), but the hard-line Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) and unions representing State Medical College Students, are refusing to compromise. They want SAITM abolished. One such left wing union even disrupted an Arts and High tech exhibition at the Kelaniya University this week.



State Medical students have lost several months of precious studies, while regular demonstrations are held at peak times on main city highways, causing longer traffic jams and disrupting the lives of tens of thousands of people including schoolchildren.



With UNESCO this year giving priority to higher education, institutions, teachers and students, we hope will rise to higher levels of responsibility and will not allow bankrupt political parties or extremist groups to disrupt vital processes of education. Doctors who indulge in such indiscipline, should have their degrees degraded because as the legendary Nelson Mandela says, Education is the most powerful weapon to change the world.
UK, (Daily Mail), 5 October 2017 - Cabinet ministers rallied to prop up Theresa May today as the Tories descended deeper into civil war after her conference speech nightmare.



Plotting against the Prime Minister has reached fever pitch after a sore throat saw her cough and splutter through an agonising 65 minutes on the stage in Manchester. To make matters worse, a notorious prankster achieved an extraordinary security breach to approach the podium and hand Mrs May a P45 - before letters started falling off the slogan position in full view of TV cameras behind her. The premier appeared close to tears as she finally finished the address, and husband Philip rushed up to comfort her. Dozens of Tory MPs are believed to be ready to call for the PM to go - but not the 48 required to trigger a formal vote of confidence. Instead, they are hoping to pressure Mrs May into stepping down voluntarily, potentially as early as Christmas.



Former minister Ed Vaizey said this morning that quite a few people are firmly of the view she should resign. Pressed on whether he thought she should go, the MP said: I am finding it increasingly difficult to see a way forward at the moment and it worries me.
After discussing Iran and North Korea with US military leaders on Thursday, President Donald Trump posed for a photo with them before dinner and declared the moment the calm before the storm.



You guys know what this represents? Trump said after journalists gathered in the White House state dining room to photograph him, first lady Melania and uniformed military leaders and their spouses.

Maybe its the calm before the storm, he said.



What storm?

Youll find out, Trump told questioning reporters.The White House did not immediately reply to a request to clarify Trumps remark.



Earlier in the evening, while seated with the top defence officials in the cabinet room, Trump talked about the threat from North Korea and preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.



In North Korea, our goal is denuclearization, he said.



The president on Thursday also had tough words for Iran, saying the country had not lived up to the spirit of an agreement forged with world powers to curb its nuclear programme.



A senior administration official said on Thursday that Trump was expected to announce soon he would decertify the landmark agreement.

US, (Daily Mail),

6 October 2017
Two young professionals from Leo Burnett Sri Lanka will represent the country at the upcoming Young Spikes Media Competition, which is set to take place in Singapore.

Leo Burnett Sri Lankas Sarah Hassanally and Dilendri Wettewe recently named joint winners of the Young Spikes media competition conducted in Sri Lanka. They responded to a brief on the topic of LBGT-Q. The teams had to respond to this brief by identifying communication ideas to attract youth to be a part of a campaign that aimed to end discrimination against members of Sri Lankas LGBT community.



The local Young Spikes Competition in Sri Lanka is held each year by Metal Factor, in partnership with the industry bodies. The national competition was chaired by Thushari Palipane  Client Servicing Director, Phoenix Ogilvy. This year, Metal Factor facilitated this competition for the ninth consecutive year. Metal Factor is a personal initiative headed by Ranil de Silva, to give back to the marketing communications industry by grooming the next generation of young talent. Each year, Metal Factor gives high performing young professionals from the wide range of disciplines in the industry, the opportunity to compete locally to earn their place to participate at worlds top competitions designed for the youth in the industry.



This year, 122 young professionals from the industry participated at the local Young Spikes Competitions. They were issued briefs to which they had to respond within 12 hours. A total of four teams will represent the country at the regional competition, together with two students who will attend the festivals Young Creative Academy.



Commenting on this years winners, Leo Burnett Sri Lanka Managing Director Ranil de Silva said: I am extremely pleased that two young professionals from Leo Burnett Sri Lanka will join the six other professionals to represent the country at the upcoming Young Spikes competitions at the Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity, which is one of the regions most valued festivals. The teams strong performance in the local competition as well as their enthusiasm to make the most from this valuable learning opportunity is most commendable.

I am confident that they will gain invaluable learning at the festival. I am hopeful that they will get a better understanding on how to deliver world-class work and effective communications. The entire team of Burnetters in Sri Lanka joins me to wish our two young professionals the very best of luck for the upcoming competition, where they will compete against the best teams from around the region. I do hope they will bring home the Gold award. I wish them the very bestand hope that they will truly reach for the stars. The Spikes Asia Festival is the regions oldest and most prestigious event that recognizes the best work in the categories of Film, Print, Outdoor, Radio, Digital, Direct, Promo and Activations, Media, Design, Poster, Craft, Integrated, Mobile and PR. A collaboration between the organizers of the Cannes Lions Festival and Haymarket, the Spikes Asia Festival provides the regions rapidly growing creative and advertising industry with an opportunity to network, exchange ideas and think creatively. The festival serves as an important platform, which not only recognizes the best work in the region, but also brings together Asia Pacifics leading creative thinkers and brightest young professionals.



This year, Leo Burnett Sri Lanka celebrates its 18th anniversary. Over the years, the agency has built many powerful brands and meaningful partnerships with its clients, whilst delivering gratifying results and gaining industry recognition in Sri Lanka, the region and globally. The company handles a diverse portfolio of clients and is one of the worlds largest agency networks and is a member of the Publicis Groupe, the worlds third largest communications company.
On Friday, the Department of Health and Human Services issued two interim rules rolling back the HHS mandate, which requires employers to furnish female employees with contraception, sterilization, and potentially abortifacient drugs for free.

The two rules, which take effect immediately, do not repeal the HHS mandate. One rule grants an exemption to nonprofits, closely held businesses, and some publicly traded corporations that have sincerely held religious objections to its terms. The other allows all but publicly traded corporations to refuse to comply due to moral, but not religiously based, objections.

The new rule is a huge win for business and ministry leaders who, since 2013, have been fighting the governments disregard for their religious beliefs and moral convictions, said Jeremy Dys, deputy general counsel for First Liberty. Now, they can lead their organizations in good conscience without choosing between their convictions and obeying law.

Those who refused to comply with the old rule faced a $100-a-day fine for each uncovered employee. The policy resulted in our government threatening hardworking, patriotic Americans with crushing fines for simply seeking to live their lives according to their faith, said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins on Friday.

By punishing businesses on the basis of their adherence to their religious teaching, the government in effect punishes that religion. The Ottoman Empire charged non-Muslims a tax not paid by others. Beginning in 1943, the USSR taxed priests at a rate of up to 81 percent of their income. Until today, the U.S. government provided economic disincentives to remaining faithful to any religion with well-defined teachings on contraception and/or abortion.

Yet paradoxically, it is often the underlying faith which motivated the individual to serve others in the first place. Would monks and nuns have cared for the dying without a religious motive? One of the litigants against the HHS mandate understood this. The beliefs that inspire Christian colleges and universities and the Little Sisters of the Poor to serve their communities should be protected, said Gregory Baylor, a senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

Nor does the religious motive apply only to nonprofit work. Many entrepreneurs and business people see serving others in the marketplace as an extension of their faith. It is by Gods grace and provision that Hobby Lobby has endured, said the companys founder and CEO, David Green. Therefore, we seek to honor God by operating the company in a manner consistent with Biblical principles.

Punishing this outlook, as the HHS mandate did, is antithetical to the American founding, which reflected a Lockean belief in the inviolability of life, liberty, and property. And as James Madison, the father of the U.S. Constitution, said, Conscience is the most sacred of all property.

The good news is this is one of two recent developments across the transatlantic sphere that upheld the integrity of religious faith as applied to the world of work.

Good news from Hungary

On September 14  the traditional feast of Holy Cross  the European Court of Human Rights ruled that secular courts should not rule on whether clergy have been unfairly fired.

Karoly Nagy, a pastor in the Reformed Church of Hungary (Magyar Reformatus Egyhaz), lost his position after making public statements the denomination deemed objectionable. After exhausting the ecclesiastical court appeals process in 2006, he sued the denomination in labor and civil court.

The labor court trial ended in April 2007 on the grounds that Nagys case involved church, not labor, law. His civil case was dismissed in May 2009.

He turned to the ECHR in 2009, after the Hungarian Supreme Court refused to hear his case.

ADF International told the ECHR that church independence is respected by Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 10 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.

On September 14, the ECHRs Grand Chamber ruled that the former pastors case was governed by ecclesiastical law, and [the churchs] decision to discontinue [his service] cannot be deemed arbitrary or manifestly unreasonable by a secular court. The ruling is binding on all 47 member states subject to its authority, from Iceland to Azerbaijan.

This decision was implicit in a 2000 ECHR ruling holding that religious believers right to freedom of religion encompasses the expectation that the community will be allowed to function peacefully, because the autonomous existence of religious communities is indispensable for pluralism in a democratic society.

Ecclesiastical independence, while necessary, is a rare blessing. Upholding church integrity led holy people  perhaps most prominently Thomas Beckett and John Fisher  to the executioners block. As U.S. courts have ruled, it is impossible for secular courts to decide whether a church improperly fired a priest or pastor without deciding whether the church is properly following its own dogmas. In effect, that hands the right to determine church doctrine in the hands of black-robed judges instead of white-robed clerics.

The ruling in Nagy v. Hungary is a welcome development  and not one unfamiliar in the United States. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on an employment lawsuit against by a Detroit-area Lutheran school for dismissing Cheryl Perich, a teacher and commissioned minister, for breaking a church doctrine. Its Hosanna v. Tabor ruling affirmed that the ministerial exception allowing churches to decide who can or cannot serve as clergy is rooted in the First Amendment  that serving as a minister is not a civil right. (In that instance the Obama administration, through the EEOC, sided unsuccessfully against the church.)

The fact that religion, liberty, and vocation are inseparable has always lay at the heart of the American experiment. Samuel Adams said in 1776, Driven from every other corner of the earth, freedom of thought and the right of private judgment in matters of conscience direct new citizens on a course to this happy country as their last asylum.

Todays scaling back of the HHS mandate indicates that the United States has not abandoned its role as the worlds preeminent champion of religious liberty.

The Nagy decision shows that, thankfully, Europe has not discarded this vital part of our Western heritage, either.

Both show that employment is an active component of religious practice and, thus, something in which no government should intervene.

(Photo credit: The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. This photo has been cropped.)
rape

"Ivana, if you want I'll give it to you," President Donald Trump told his former wife, Ivana Trump, about the position of U.S. ambassador to the Czech Republic. The first woman of the current president explained this Thursday during an interview with the CBS channel in which she also said that she talks with her ex-husband once a week and encouraged her to continue tweeting. "I've just been offered to be the ambassador." But I like my freedom. I like to do what I want, go wherever I want with whomever I want. And I can afford my lifestyle. Why would he say good-bye to Miami in the winter, farewell to Saint-Tropez in the summer and Farewell to spring and fall in new York? "I have a perfect life," argued the woman, raised in the former Czechoslovakia. Ivana married Trump in 1977 and the couple divorced in 1992. She is the mother of three of the president's children: Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric. Despite his rupture over the infidelity of the tycoon with Marla Maples, who eventually became the second woman, and her accusations for, Ivana and he maintained contact as he explained. In her weekly conversations, Ivana has told her to keep her habit of going to Twitter to communicate with the citizens. "I've told you I think you should keep tweeting." It's a new form, a new technology. "And if you want to send a message without being twisted and manipulated by the New York Times, that's how you should do it," said Ivana in the same interview, which will be broadcast this Sunday. "He's a Tuitero president." Since arriving at the White House, both critics and members of his administration have expressed a desire for the president to limit his activity on the social network, in which he is accustomed to criticizing or insulting media, politicians or leaders from other countries.
Ram Nath Kovind is heading to Africa this week on his maiden visit as Indias President and the government has rightly chosen Djibouti and Ethiopia as his destinations. As the ministry of external affairs has pointed out, Africa is chosen as the first destination of the Presidents overseas visit  an index of the importance attached to the African continent by the current government.

The Modi government has been keen on expanding its profile in Africa, a continent with which India has shared historic ties and one where major powers today are scrambling for influence.

Reactions

Djibouti is emerging as a key state in the Indian Ocean region. The construction of the Djibouti naval base  Chinas first military base abroad  has generated varied reactions around the world. The base is seen as a move pushing Chinas own limits to its foreign policy and underscores its growing security profile in Africa.

This new military foray in Africa, as explained by Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi at a press conference in 2016, was part of Chinas willingness to play a constructive role in the political settlement of international and regional issues, so as to create a more secure and stable environment for Chinas development overseas, and to take on more international security responsibilities.

Indeed, Chinas growing military file in Africa is following its economic footprint in the continent. It is moving towards an ever more expansive definition of its global interests, as its business in Africa pushes it to create new mechanisms for securing those interests, including its own growing military footprint abroad.

Djibouti has been very welcoming of Indian presence in the country and had helped India during the time of evacuation from Yemen in 2015. With Ethiopia, India has had traditional ties and it remains the largest recipient of our concessional lines of credit in Africa. Both nations are key to Indias Africa outreach.

With the India-Africa summit in 2015, the Modi government had signalled its readiness to step up its engagement with Africa, a relationship which is centuries old, bolstered by trade across the Indian Ocean and a million-strong diaspora across Africa. Shared colonial legacy and post-Independence development experience have framed Indias relationship with Africa. Indias role as a champion of anti-colonialism and anti-racism after its Independence in 1947 drew it closer to the African nations.

Since the end of the Cold War and propelled by Chinas growing profile in Africa, India is re-invigorating its ties with the African continent. The cooperation framework agreed at past India-Africa summits and the Indian initiatives to scale up investment and aid to Africa have underscored Indias aim to foster a robust partnership between New Delhi and the African continent.

Focus

India today has growing stakes in Africa. With some of the fastest growing nations in the world, Africa of today is not the "dark continent" of yore. The needs of regional states are divergent and their strengths are varied. Indias focus over the last few decades has largely been on capacity building on the continent, providing more than $1 billion in technical assistance and training to personnel under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme. India has committed $7.5 billion (Rs 48,858 crore) to African infrastructure, covering 137 projects in more than 40 countries.

India has also offered duty-free market access to Africas least developed countries. But Indias trade with Africa remains far below potential. India wants a "developmental partnership" with Africa to be the cornerstone of its economic ties with the region. This also allows India to differentiate itself from the principles on which countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the traditional donors of foreign aid, have based their relations with the recipient nations.

Competition

Beijings policy of using financial and military aid to secure oil fields in Africa has resulted in New Delhi losing out. The fierce competition between China and India for resources and energy to fuel their economies has been likened to the so-called scramble for Africa among European countries in the 19th century.

This is a competition only in name as India lags far behind China in Africa. Where Chinas response toward the region has been well-coordinated across various government agencies, India has failed to project a united front. The Indian government will have to support its companies more proactively if it hopes to close the gap with China in terms of its economic profile on the continent.

Yet India has its own strengths in its dealings with Africa. Its democratic traditions make it a much more comfortable partner for the West compared to China in cooperating on Africa-related issues. India is viewed as a more productive partner by many in Africa because Indian companies are much better integrated into the African society and encourage technology transfers to its African partners. New Delhi will have to leverage its own strengths in making a lasting compact with Africa and regain its lost presence on the continent.

President Kovinds visit underlines the continuing salience of Africa in Indias foreign policy matrix and the resolve of New Delhi to build long-term partnerships with the African continent.
During his first address at the United Nations General Assembly, US President Donald Trump equated North Korea and Iran, reminding many of the term - "Axis of Evil" - coined by former Republican President George W Bush, to describe Iraq, Iran and North Korea, among others. Trump lambasted not only North Korea, in his maiden UN speech, but was equally harsh on Iran.

He accused Iran of supporting and financing terrorism in the Middle East. The US President said: "Iran using its oil profits go to fund Hezbollah and other terrorists that kill innocent Muslims and attack their peaceful Arab and Israeli neighbours."

He criticised the P5+1 Iran nuclear deal, which was signed during the administration of former US President Barack Obama. The nuclear deal, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), had been signed between Tehran and P5+1 (the United States, the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) in 2015 and had been dubbed as one of the major accomplishments of Obama. Trump dismissed the deal as one-sided, saying, "The Iran deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into. Frankly, that deal is an embarrassment to the United States." He further signalled to scrap or renegotiate it, "We cannot abide by an agreement if it provides cover for the eventual construction of a nuclear programme."

Of course, Iran was quick to deny all the allegations, with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani responded to Trump's speech firmly. The usually measured Rouhani minced no words in his response to Trump. The Iranian President said, "Ugly, ignorant words were spoken by the US President against the Iranian nation. Full of hatred and baseless allegations." He further called it "unfit to be heard in the UN, which was established to promote peace". He cautioned the US that Iran "will respond decisively and resolutely to the deal's violation by any party."

Support for Iran

More importantly, Iran found support not only from China and Russia but also from pro-US countries such as Japan. While Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov termed it as "more important factors of regional and international security". Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi also voiced support for Iran and said that no agreement is perfect. But if the accord is discarded, the entire non-proliferation system would suffer.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his meeting with Iranian President Rouhani unequivocally extended Japan's support for the 2015 agreement signed by Iran. It would be pertinent to point out that Japan is keen to explore investment opportunities in Iran, especially in petroleum and petro-chemical projects. A bilateral treaty between the two countries came into force in April.

Donald Trump lambasted not only North Korea, in his maiden UN speech, but was equally harsh on Iran.

Apart from the above countries, 76 European leaders wrote in an open letter urging Trump to stick to the agreement. "This would damage not only US interests but US international standing and credibility."

French president Emmanuel Macron opposed Trump's assertion on Iran in his UNGA address, saying the nuclear deal with Iran was "essential for peace," labelling its opponents "irresponsible". He further emphasised that it's best to work together to achieve common goals to overcome global challenges. France has significant business interests in Iran. Bpifrance, the country's state investment bank, will finance investment projects of French companies in Iran from 2018, granting up to 500 million euros ($598 million) in annual credits.

"The British government has also made it absolutely clear that it sees the JCPOA as important, it thinks the JCPOA should continue," said Norman Lamont, former chancellor to the exchequer and member of Parliament.

It would be pertinent to point out that UK strengthened its economic ties with Iran in a solar deal worth $720 million less than a day after US President Donald Trump called the Persian Gulf nation a "rogue state" and threat to global security. The UK's trade with Iran rose 42 per cent from January to October in 2016 and 57 per cent in the same period in 2017, according to Lamont. Global trade with Iran rose 13 per cent in 2016 to $113 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

It is not prudent to club and put North Korea and Iran in the same category and judge both of them with the same yardstick. Unlike North Korea, Iran has engaged with the world on its nuclear programme. It has not only halted its nuclear programme, but also devised a mutually acceptable solution in the form of JCPOA. Iran has complied with the agreement fully. Even US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, conceded that Iran "is in technical compliance with the agreement". Moreover, International Atomic Energy Agency - which the deal gave extensive rights to inspect Iran's facilities - has concluded repeatedly that the Iranians are in compliance.
As hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims are fleeing religious persecution in neighbouring Myanmar, its the Bangladesh government, along with the common people's support, that has come to the rescue of the Myanmarese nationals and shown them that humanity is still alive. The forced exodus of Rohingyas has fuelled a major migration crisis in the entire region.

The horrifying memories of struggle for Bangladesh's independence are still fresh in the minds of the people of this nation. So when the Rohingyas arrived looking for shelter, Bangladeshis stood by their side. It's heart-warming to see how aid groups from different countries, including India, have come to Bangladesh to help the Rohingyas.

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already visited refugee camps and condemned the cold-hearted treatment by the Myanmar military had has led to a crisis of such immense proportions. While demanding that Myanmar must "take steps to take their nationals back", Hasina also has assured temporary aid until that happens.

It breaks one's heart to see countless children, women and innocent civilians, who have got nothing to do with militancy, being exposed to such extreme violence.

PM Hasina has also taken up the issue in the UN General Assembly recently. She has proposed to create "UN-supervised safe zones inside Myanmar to protect Rohingya Muslims fleeing a military crackdown to seek refuge in Bangaldesh".

"These people must be able to return to their homeland in safety, security and dignity," Hasina told the UN General Assembly.

PM Hasina has been courageous enough to announce that if she can "feed 160 million people of the country, she can also take care of another 500,000-600,000 more people who have entered the Bangladeshi side".

According to the United Nations, more than 4,20,000 Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh to escape the military operations after the August 25 attack (carried out by Rohingya militants) on 30 different police posts in Myanmar. The violent army campaign in northern Rakhine state reportedly includes rape and burning of villages.

The agencies providing humanitarian aid to Rohingyas in Bangladesh are struggling to meet the massive need for shelter, health, sanitation and food.

The Rohingyas are one of the most persecuted minorities in the world. It's sad how pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is the de facto leader of Myanmar, has not said anything against the military operations led by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar Army).

The agencies providing humanitarian aid to Rohingyas in Bangladesh are struggling to meet the massive need for shelter, health, sanitation and food.

The Rohingya population - 1.1 million people out of the total population of 52 million in Myanmar, according to the 2014 Census - have been facing persecution for decades now which has effectively made them a stateless people. They have been deprived of education, health services, employment. They are not even free to move within Myanmar. The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) claimed that they attacked the Myanmar military and police to protest the inhuman treatment of the Rohingya community.

Suu Kyi is unquestionably the leader of the people of Myanmar, but she doesn't have much say because of a 2008 Constitution which created military supremacy in the country. After becoming the state counsellor of Myanmar, Suu Kyis main objective was to "bring peace all over her country". But it's clearly visible that she has failed miserably to attain her goal.

Rakhine State is Myanmar's least developed state. As a result of minimal access to basic needs like food and healthcare, it has a poverty rate of 78 per cent, whereas the national average is 37.5 per cent. It exposes the deep cleavage between the majority Buddhists and minority Muslim Rohingyas.

Tension between the two communities has reached an all-time high following the recent developments. The October 2016 attack on border posts in Rakhine state by the militants of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army and a subsequent military crackdown had forced more than 80,000 Rohingyas to flee to Bangladesh.

About 1,400 children have reportedly fled Myanmar and entered Bangladesh without anyone accompanying them.

The August 25 attack on police posts by the ARSA in Rakhine state has seen a more ruthless crackdown by the Myanmar army.

It seems there is no permanent solution to these kind of situations all over the world. Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, South Sudan, North Korea, Venezuela and many other places are already facing so much turmoil and insufferable human consequences. The recent world history is full of migrant misery - horrifying experiences of civilians with countless children and women being the worst victims. About 1,400 children have reportedly fled Myanmar and entered Bangladesh without anyone accompanying them. About 60 per cent of the Rohingya refugees are children.

The international community must put pressure on Myanmar to stop this massacre, make arrangements for the safe rehabilitation of Rohingyas inside Myanmar and, most importantly, recognise them as Myanmarese citizens.
The 14th India-EU Summit began in New Delhi today, October 6 2017. While Prime Minister Narendra Modi is representing India, the president of the European Council, president of the European Commission and EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy will be evaluating the implementation of EU-India agenda for action 2020.

This agenda, which was endorsed by both the parties in their Brussels Summit on March 30, 2016, includes issues like trade, investment, security, human rights, environment, climate change and refugees.

The EU and India have a long history of bilateral engagement as this is the 55th year of diplomatic relations between them. However, the 1994 EU-India Cooperation Agreement provides the legal framework for the bilateral relations. With the formation of the EU-India Strategic Partnership in 2004, the bilateral ties between large economies have advanced to some extent.

Despite making some progress in their relations, there are many areas where both the EU and India have serious differences. The EU is Indias largest trading partner, but India is the EUs ninth. Although both parties have been negotiating a free trade agreement since 2007, it has not progressed very far. While India is asking for improved market access in services, the EU is seeking further liberalisation in insurance, banking and multi-band retail sectors. On security issues, the EU and India have a general agreement of some sort, but on issues like labour law and climate change, there is a huge gulf between the two.

Various international rights groups have been pressurising the EU leadership not to overlook alleged violation of basic human rights in India.

India has tried to generally avoid the EU institutional framework and preferred to deal with individual member states instead. The EU in its negotiations usually faces Indias assertions on bringing balance in bilateral trade and to provide support for its "rightful" place in the global structure of governance. However, EUs series of uncomfortable demands on India in recent years - such as reduction in carbon emission, improved labour law and particularly on protection of human rights - have been primarily responsible for a relatively poor bilateral relationship.

Although the EUs relation has improved dramatically with China in the recent years, the growing human rights concern under the Narendra Modi regime has impaired its ties with India considerably.

The EU does not only see itself as a common market, it also considers itself to be founded on a commitment to core universal values and fundamental human rights.

The chairperson of European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, David McAllister, during his visit to New Delhi in February had asserted that the issue of human rights was embedded in its foreign policy.

Several policies undertaken by the Modi government have increased EUs concern over human right violations in India, and that has been responsible for restraining EU-India relations from moving forward. A number of members of the European Parliament (MEP) are repeatedly and openly expressing concerns over this issue.

Various international human rights groups have been pressurising the EU leadership not to overlook alleged violation of basic human rights of minorities and marginal groups in India while trying to expand its economic cooperation.

Before the last the India-EU Summit, Human Rights Watch had written an open letter to the EU leadership expressing serious concerns over the Modi governments dismal record on issues like freedom of speech, minority rights, and protection of refugees.

Although there has been an increased pressure recently from Pakistan and its diaspora, the EU has not yet taken a strong position on the Kashmir issue. However, it has been openly fuming over Modi governments non-renewal of foreign funding licences of nearly 20,000 NGOs.

Preda Cristian Dan, a prominent member of European Parliaments Foreign Affairs Committee, had earlier said: "We don't understand why governments in some countries want to block activities of organisations involved in human rights, particularly women and children's rights."

Various European NGOs have been relentless in their demand for the EU to take a principled stand against India on human rights issues.

In 2016, after the endorsement of EU-India agenda for action 2020 and the EUs declaration of intent for increased cooperation, the director of EU advocacy for ADF International, wrote, "But what about the growing human rights concerns in India, where open discrimination against large parts of its citizenry and even religious persecution are on the rise since the the BJP won the elections in 2014?"

For the EU, human rights concerns in India is not a new issue. The EU Parliament had adopted a resolution in May 2002, condemning post-Godhra riots in Gujarat, and also resolutions in February 2007, expressing deep shock over the persecution of Christians, and on the human rights situation of Dalits in India. The EU has repeatedly expressed concern over the increased violence in Kashmir.

Despite worries over Indias application of human rights laws, there used to be an open appreciation of its adherence to secular and democratic values by the EUs political leaders and civil society groups. Rightly or not, the secular character and democratic ethos of India have come under serious scrutiny after the 2014 General Elections.

In the present context, even if the EU leadership sincerely desires for stronger cooperation with India, it will be difficult for it to ignore the growing concerns of its parliamentarians and civil society groups over the perceived deteriorating human rights situation in India in the past three years.
 (Updated) Wikipedia's Jewish Problem | Main | Where's the Coverage of Torture in Gaza Prisons? 

October 06, 2017

The Washington Post Belatedly Covers Hamas-Fatah Talks



The Washington Post has finally reported on recent reconciliation attempts between the two ruling Palestinian groups, Fatah and Hamasnearly a month after they first came to public light.

In an Oct. 3, 2017 dispatch, Post reporter Sufian Taha and Jerusalem bureau chief Loveday Morris noted that Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah was visiting Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip as part of a symbolic step toward ending a decade-long rift? with the U.S.-designated terror group. The PA is dominated by the Fatah movement, which, after losing elections in 2006, fought a brief and bloody war with Hamas in June 2007.

Tensions between the two groups have continued in the years since that conflict. However, as CAMERA has noted, many major news outlets frequently underreport Palestinian politics and rivalries. Some outlets, such as The Washington Post, devote in an inordinate amount of coverage to Israeli politics. (see, for example, The Washington Posts Jewish Home Fixation,? The Washington Jewish Week, April 26, 2017).

The Post, for instance, has offered reports on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus dog biting someone, or, under its World Views? section, a piece on an Israeli restaurant purportedly overcharging Chinese tourists. When Palestinian affairs are covered, its often in a manner that infantilizes them; recent Post reports have been on topics such as a Gazan field trip for schoolchildren and Palestinian pigeon ownership; implicitly portraying them as prisoners without independent agency (For Palestinians, its Lights Out at The Washington Post,? Algemeiner, June 22, 2017).

To its credit, The Post now informs readers that:

Hamas invited Hamdallahs unity governmentto take control of administering Gaza last month [emphasis added]. Hamas also its own administrative committee and said it was ready to hold elections.?

This has important ramificationsand not only for Palestinian politics. As the U.S., Israel and others list Hamas as a terrorist group, what becomes of the Palestinian Authority and its composition is of extreme importance to both the region and the policies of non-regional actors, like the United States. However, this is the first Post report fully detailing efforts that have been going on since last month.?

The New York Times, Reuters and other outlets have been covering the reconciliation attempts since the beginning of September 2017. A Sept. 28, 2017 lengthy Post report on Gazas water crisis brieflyin five sentencesnoted that reconciliation attempts were under way. But, the majority of that dispatch focused on Gazas water crisis, while omitting that by devoting reconstruction aid to terror instead of infrastructure, Hamas rulers are principally to blame.

To the detriment of its readers, The Post continues to underreport Palestinian politics.

Posted by SD at October 6, 2017 11:36 AM

Guidelines for posting

This is a moderated blog. We will not post comments that include racism, bigotry, threats, or factually inaccurate material.

Post a comment
OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- In their hit song, "Little GTO," Ronnie & The Daytona's sang "This little modified Pon-Pon has got plenty of style."

It's not hard to imagine they were singing about Randy Ramsey's GTO. Fire red with plenty of style and a few modifications, Ramsey's 1966 Pontiac GTO convertible is an eye-catcher.

Pontiac introduced the GTO as an option package on the 1964 Pontiac Tempest, but in 1966 the GTO became a separate model. Sales of the GTO that year approached 100,000, with 96,946 units sold -- making the 1966 GTO the best seller of all GTO years, which ran until 1974.

Ramsey purchased his GTO in 2011 as a gift for his wife, Nan, as a means of thanking her for helping him through a battle with cancer.

The previous owner had rebuilt the original 389 cubic-inch V8 engine, but there was much work left to be done.

"The body was in good shape, but it needed paint, an interior and a lot of other work," Ramsey said. "I've turned it into a road car. We drive our (classic) cars. If you can't drive it, I don't want it."

To make it more road-worthy, Ramsey added cruise control and an overdrive transmission, among other modifications.

Pontiac marketed the GTO in its advertising materials as the GTO tiger -- hence the stuffed toy tiger adorning the back of Ramsey's GTO when it's parked at shows. The Ramseys are residents of Jones County and avid Mississippi State Bulldogs fans, thus there is an MSU hat on the tiger.

Despite Pontiac's efforts to label the GTO as a "tiger," youth of the era took to calling the car the "goat."

"So my kids call it the old goat's goat," Ramsey said, laughing.

Ramsey said they have been coming to Cruisin' the Coast for at least 15 years, the last six in the GTO. Ocean Springs is their favorite location, in no small part because Nan Ramsey is a retiree of Blossman Gas, which was founded and is headquartered in Ocean Springs.

"We enjoy coming here," Ramsey said. "Meeting people, seeing the other cars -- it's a lot of fun."
RICHMOND  A $1.1 million donation to Virginia Commonwealth University by bestselling novelist and Virginia resident David Baldacci will create a scholarship and experiential learning opportunities for students.

Baldacci and his wife, Michelle, have given the seven-figure gift to the universitys College of Humanities and Sciences. Baldacci, a Class of 1983 VCU alumnus, studied political science at the university, leading to the large gift going to a scholarship for political science students and an endowed fund for experiential learning.

Our continuing partnership with VCU is incredibly meaningful to us both, he said in a news release. The endowed fund and endowed scholarship will provide direct support to any universitys most important asset: its students. We look forward to helping VCU students in achieving their full potential as students and in their endeavors after graduation.

The university announced the donation Friday morning.

Baldacci, who also graduated from the University of Virginia, has written 40 novels, with some being published in more than 45 languages and in more than 80 countries, according to the news release. His books have totaled more than 130 million sales worldwide.

The majority of the donation  $1 million  will create the Baldacci Student Experiential Learning Endowed Fund, a pool of money aimed at giving students financial help so the can pursue internships, research and study abroad, among other experiences. The rest of the donation  $100,000  will establish the Baldacci Political Science Endowed Scholarship, which rising juniors and seniors who have a GPA of 3.0 or higher qualify for. The scholarship is expected to launch next fall.

Michelle and Davids support of the College of Humanities and Sciences beautifully illustrates their belief that our students are committed to contributing to the common good now and in the future, VCU President Michael Rao said in the release.
Students in Charlottesville City Schools are steadily making gains in graduation rates and test scores, while dropout rates and out of school suspension numbers continue to drop, according to a report presented to the School Board on Thursday.

The report, presented by Kendra King, city schools director of student services, highlighted measurable indicators for success in the division, as well as the makeup of its students and staff.

In addition to highlighting the divisions successes, King and the board discussed some areas that need improvement, such as closing achievement gaps.

All schools in the division are fully accredited this year, meaning they have met or surpassed the Standards of Learning benchmarks set by the state.

In order for a school to earn full accreditation, students need to reach adjusted pass rates of at least 75 percent in English and at least 70 percent on math, science and history.

Graduation rates continued an upward trend, based on last school years data. The percent of on-time graduation in the city schools rose to nearly 90 percent, while the graduation completion index is 92 percent, figures showed.

The graduation completion index was 78 percent in 2008, according to data King presented on Thursday.

Additionally, the dropout rate declined from 7.7 percent to 6.3 percent between the class of 2016 and the class of 2017.

Out-of-school suspension numbers improved, as well. In 2016-17, there were 221 duplicated student suspensions and 159 unduplicated.

The previous year, there were 324 duplicated and 200 unduplicated suspensions, and 365 and 222 the previous year.

SAT scores in the city were higher than the state and national averages.

In Charlottesville, the average math score of 579  up 35 points from the year prior  is 41 points higher than the state average and 62 points higher than the national average.

The citys average verbal score of 599 also was up 35 points from last year. That figure also is 41 points higher than the Virginia average and 72 points above the national average.

While the school board reflected on the success of the division in recent years, members also wondered how some areas could be improved to further student and division-wide success.

The board discussed racial representation in Advanced Placement courses at length, as well as large achievement gaps in some SOL scores.

Board Chairman Juandiego Wade said that the division has come a long way, and that change in a positive direction isnt going to just happen overnight.

Were not going to get 100 percent or be equal overnight, but I like the direction that were going in, and its going to take continued effort, he said.

Superintendent Rosa Atkins said the board should be cautious attributing student success and failure based on one test.

I think our students, their performance is seen in multiple ways, their success can be measured in multiple ways and as a school division, I think we have said that SOLs are not the only way to measure our students success, she said.

Board member Jennifer McKeever said that she is concerned that only 15 percent of those in AP courses at Charlottesville High School are African-American, according to division data, and wondered if enough is being done to encourage more students to take AP.

But others, including Atkins and board member Leah Puryear, said its important to note that the numbers of students present in AP and other advanced courses have been on the rise in recent years.

I am always concerned about the actual numbers of students who are in the class, the actual number of students who are being exposed, the actual numbers of students who are taking whatever those exposures are and moving them to the next level  whatever that next level is, Puryear said.

Board member Ned Michie said that while there are areas of concern in snapshots of SOLs and other indicators, he pointed to the increasing graduation rates and declining dropout rates as a positive sign.

Its a tribute to our school division that we have kids who come in and struggle, struggle struggle, struggle, but were still able to be really, really change the graduation rate and the dropout rate over the last 10 years, he said. Thats a huge success, and hats off to all the hard work thats gone into that.
OCEAN SPRINGS, Mississippi -- With roughly a thousand Cruisers and thousands more spectators enjoying Cruisin' the Coast in Ocean Springs Friday under crystal clear skies and mild temperatures, the announcement came.

Cruisin' the Coast would end at 5 p.m. Friday. All Saturday events were cancelled.

Thanks a lot, Nate.

The threat of Tropical Storm Nate forced Cruisin' the Coast officials to shut down the event early for the first time in its 21-year history.

"We wanted to try to keep the vent going as long as we possibly could, with everybody in town and enjoying it and with the good weather we'd been having," said Cruisin' executive director Woody Bailey, "but we wanted everybody to be safe, too.

"We made the decision to try and do the best thing for everybody involved."

Longtime Ocean Springs Cruisin' coordinator Chic Cody greeted the announcement with disappointment and understanding.

"I don't like it, but it's a safety concern and I respect that," Cody said. "It's good for those people who live in areas which could really be affected by the storm."

After the announcement came Friday afternoon, Cody said a number of Cruisers told him they weren't going anywhere.

"I've talked to a lot of Cruisers who said they intend to stay," he said. "Many of them may end up staying an extra day, so it may work out for us. I sure hope so, because our merchants live for Cruisin' the Coast."

Cody said Cruisin' had a successful, albeit abbreviated run, in Ocean Springs, which served as an official venue for the 18th year.

"I'm very proud of what we've done and been able to accomplish," he said. "I'm very proud of our public works, police, fire and, of course, the chamber of commerce -- everybody's worked so hard to make this successful."

Cynthia Sutton, Executive Director of the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce, agreed that Cruisin' the Coast is a crucial event for local business.

"Cruisin' brings an economic impact of $6 million just to Ocean Springs," she said, prior to learning Saturday's events would be cancelled. "Over the three days they're here, over 100,000 people are in Ocean Springs. It has a huge economic impact. Our businesses are very pleased."

Sutton also noted the city's popular Peter Anderson Festival is less than a month away.

"We call this the festival season," she said. "It's the time of year that our businesses make what they need to sustain throughout the rest of the year. Cruisin' is one of the events that does that."

Bailey said registration ended at 8,308 -- shattering last year's registration record of 7,907 and approaching the 8,500 for which they had hoped.

"If we'd had been able to continue registration through Saturday, I think we'd have gotten close to that 8,500," he said.

A photo gallery will be added to this story later.
Register for more free articles. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading.

Be the first to know Get local news delivered to your inbox! Sign up! Already a Subscriber? Already a Subscriber? Sign in Terms of Service Privacy Policy
RICHMOND  Richmond City Attorney Allen Jackson has told City Council members in a confidential memo that any effort to remove Confederate statues on Monument Avenue would require approval from the General Assembly.

Jacksons conclusions suggest removing statues in Richmond would be doubly as complicated as in Charlottesville, which is currently mired in a legal battle over the citys decision earlier this year to remove a statue of Robert E. Lee from a downtown park.

Thats because, the way Richmonds charter is written, the city is bound to protect historical landmarks in the city limits  language Jackson said would almost certainly include the statues on Monument Avenue, which were the focus of his review.

Jacksons opinion also cites uncertainty surrounding the same state law protecting war memorials thats at the center of the lawsuit in Charlottesville. That case is far from resolved, but earlier this week a circuit judge ruled in no uncertain terms that he believes the law applies, though he is seeking additional information from the plaintiffs to prove that the statue is a war memorial.

Jacksons memo is dated Sept. 18; its contents were first reported by the Richmond Free Press.

The memo says Jackson produced it at the request of various [council] members who had asked whether the city has the legal authority to remove or relocate Civil War monuments located in the city.

Neither the City Council nor the mayors office has indicated they have immediate plans to pursue the statues removal.

This summer, Mayor Levar Stoney established a commission to study the possibility of adding historical context to the citys monuments. After a violent white nationalist protest in Charlottesville that left one dead and dozens injured, Stoney suspended the commission temporarily and announced he also would ask it to consider the statues removal as a potential option.
The two candidates for lieutenant governor debated issues including gun control and abortion on Thursday in a forum that grew tense after Republican Jill Holtzman Vogel said Democrat Justin Fairfax was not informed enough "to talk intelligently" about issues in the campaign.

Fairfax responded that Vogel's style is "the politics of destruction" and said voters would reject it.

The exchange during a debate at the University of Richmond School of Law came after one of the debate moderators, Bob Holsworth, asked about a 2012 bill filed by Vogel, a state senator from Fauquier County, that would have required women getting abortions to submit to an ultrasound.

The bill was controversial and Vogel pulled it; Fairfax said it would have required an "invasive, transvaginal ultrasound" and was an example of Vogel "consistently" trying to take away women's rights "and shame women for exercising their constitutional rights."

He said he wasn't attacking Vogel personally but was stating facts.

Vogel replied: "The only person that has been making personal attacks in this race is Justin Fairfax. I have been nothing but gracious and polite and talked only about the issues."

Of her 2012 bill, she said, "He brings this up every chance he gets because there are other issues that he could talk about but I clearly think he is not informed enough on those issues to talk intelligently about them. I just have to put that out there."

She said Fairfax was trying to score political points "at the expense of women" and said, "I fundamentally believe that he misunderstands the subject matter."

Fairfax then largely ignored a question about why he opposes the two proposed natural gas pipelines that would cross Virginia and will not accept donations from Dominion Energy.

"You just saw a perfect example of the way Senator Vogel engages in elections." he said. "She said that I am not intelligent enough to understand this piece of legislation. ... This is exactly what people reject. She just hired her second Trump adviser of her campaign this week. And so what we can expect is for Senator Vogel to keep going in the gutter."

He noted that Vogel emerged from a GOP primary with her main competitor threatening to sue her for defamation.

"I have never questioned her intelligence. My professors at Duke University and Columbia Law School, when I was on the Columbia Law Review, would be shocked to hear that I'm not intelligent enough to read a piece of legislation. They gave me all those great degrees."

Fairfax is a white collar defense attorney at the law firm Venable in Northern Virginia and a former federal prosecutor who has never held public office. Vogel, a state senator for 10 years, is the managing partner of a law firm that specializes in campaign finance and voting laws and whose family owns a real estate and oil business.

The two are vying for a part-time office, the duties are which are mainly to preside over the state Senate and break tie votes on most issues. The post of lieutenant governor is considered a launching pad for a run for governor.

Vogel later in the debate said: "I did not question his intelligence. I questioned how informed he is. I have no doubt Justin Fairfax is very intelligent. In fact he's an incredibly nice person. I enjoy actually being on the trail with him. But I will question how informed he is on many of these issues and that is why I take the position that he has taken very extreme positions that are incredibly hard for him to defend."

Among those, she said, was Fairfax's support for a single-payer health care system and his opposition to natural gas pipelines that would bring jobs to Virginia, she said.

Said Fairfax: "Unfortunately Senator Vogel, who is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump  represents a vision that would take us backwards."

They were asked about the massacre in Las Vegas that left 58 dead and hundreds injured.

Fairfax said: "We do not need to have these military grade assault weapons on our streets in the hands of people like the shooter in Las Vegas."

Vogel said not enough facts about the shooting are known.

"I'm not running for lieutenant governor to take anybody's rights," she said. "If you restrict peoples gun rights, it does violate the Constitution."
Attorney General Jeff Sessions delivered a powerful message in support of free speech on college campuses, warning that the American university is being transformed into an "echo chamber of political correctness and homogeneous thought." He also promised that the Justice Department would support students who have gone to court to challenge restrictions on their speech.

There was a lot of truth in the attorney general's indictmentduring his speech at Georgetown University Law Center.

We, too, have expressed concerns that controversial speakers might be silenced because universities fear violent protests, effectively granting protesters a "heckler's veto." We have criticized college administrations that have confined students expressing their opinions and passing out literature to tiny "free speech zones."

But while we find much to admire in the attorney general's message, he is a flawed messenger. We worry that Sessions' embrace of free speech on campus  and his plan to deploy the Justice Department in vindicating it  might be designed to protect only conservative speech or to score political points with those on the right who believe liberal-arts campuses have turned into socialist re-education camps.

One problem with Sessions as a free-speech champion is that he serves a president who repeatedly has shamed and threatened those who exercise that right. If Sessions' free-speech campaign is to be credible, it mustn't be applied in an ideological or politically motivated manner. Otherwise he will encourage cynicism and undermine support for the ideal that college campuses be the "forum for the competition of ideas" he rightly celebrated in his speech.

Excerpted from the Los Angeles Times.
PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Although not a major storm, Tropical Storm Nate nevertheless has the attention of local officials and residents alike, as the disorganized storm swiftly moves across the Gulf of Mexico and towards the Mississippi/Louisiana shoreline.

As of late Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service was still calling for Nate to make landfall as a weak category 1 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph.

A hurricane warning was issued mid-morning Friday stretching from Morgan City, La., to the Alabama/Florida state line. Hurricane conditions could be expected inside that area within 36 hours.

Several of the models used by forecasters, however, suggested Nate might not reach hurricane strength in the limited time it will be over the Gulf, given that it is moving at 21 mph.

Be it a tropical storm or hurricane, however, officials are preparing.

Jackson County declared a state of emergency Thursday and the four municipalities have since followed suit. Gov. Phil Bryant took similar action Friday.

Jackson County Emergency Mangement Director Earl Etheridge said the county was opening all three storm shelters at 8 a.m. Saturday:

5500 Ballpark Road in Vancleave

18413 Mississippi 613 in Hurley

13000 Walker Road in St. Martin

In addition, the county called for a voluntary evacuation of all residents in flood-prone or low-lying areas, or those living in mobile homes, also at 8 a.m. Saturday.

"I think we're going to have some issues with the storm surge," Etheridge said. "They're calling for a storm surge between 6-9 feet, and that's relative to ground level."

Overall, Etheridge expects Nate to dump some water on the coast and move through quickly.

"The storm is going to come in quick -- it's moving at 21 mph," he said, "so we're going to have a short time with some heavy rain. We've got the possibility of water spouts coming on shore, maybe a tornado or two, but that window is going to be really short.

"This storm is going to come in quick, it's going to shove some water in on us and then it's going to be gone."

Residents needing sandbags can obtain them at the following locations:

Any of the three county road department locations on North Washington Avenue, Jim Ramsey Road or Highway 63 just north of Moss Point.

Forts Lake Fire Department, Escatawpa Fire Department, or Fountainebleau Fire Department

Ocean Springs: Public Works Complex on Pine Drive

Gautier: behind City Hall

Pascagoula: Public Works Department on 14th Street

Moss Point: Central Fire Station

Residents are encouraged to bring their own shovels to fill the bags.
MOSS POINT, Miss. -- A Moss Point man was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday after pleading guilty on Aug. 15 to charges of trafficking and possession of a controlled substance.

Houston Chambers, 47, of Moss Point was indicted in 2015 where he was cited twice for the transfer of a controlled substance charge that occurred on June 5 and trafficking of a controlled substance on Sept. 15.

The indictment alleged Chambers had 90 dosage units of methamphetamine and that he transferred approximately one gram of cocaine.

Per Jackson County District Attorney Tony Lawrence, drug dealers will not continue to populate the county with illegal narcotics.

"Drug dealers need to go to jail," Lawrence said. "They are feeding the addiction problem that is causing crime in our community. I am proud that he will serve day for day time for selling drugs in Jackson County."

The South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team investigated the case.
Last year national carrier had shelled out a total premium at USD 18.38 million, which was 30 per cent lower than the previous year's premium.

Mumbai: National carrier Air India has renewed its insurance cover for 2017-18 for USD 14 million, which is a 20 per cent discount over 2016-17.

The new policy cover came into force from October 1 and covers 142 aircraft of the flag carrier which includes 109 planes of Air India, 23 of its low cost subsidiary Air India Express and 10 small planes of its regional arm Alliance Air.

The sum assured, which covers passengers and hull liability, stands at USD 10.4 billion. Last year, the national carrier had shelled out a total premium at USD 18.38 million, which was 30 per cent lower than the previous year's premium.

Over the last two years, the disinvestment-bound airline has availed discounts of over 40 per cent in its insurance premium. The largest non-life insurer New India is the lead insurer along with the other three state-owned general insurers, while the global aviation insurance leader AIG acted as the lead reinsurer along with 30-40 reinsurers across the world.

"Air India's professional and timely action was a great contributor, and support of New India Assurance and their understanding was a winning strategy," Prabodh Thakker, chairman, Global Insurance Brokers, which acted as an intermediary in renewing the AI cover, told PTI.

"A good planning, timely action and low claims which is called good loss-record of the airline till the placement saved Air India," he said.

He refused to share any further details citing a non-disclosure agreement. Air India Express had a mishap in Kochi in September, amounting to a claim of USD 10 million. But, a New India official said it would take a hit of merely 3 per cent of claim amount on the company's balance sheet as all such aviation policies are reinsurance-driven.
California has moved a step closer to approving a set of social studies textbooks in grades K-8 that includes discussion of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals.

The states Instructional Quality Commission, which reviews textbooks for their adherence to state-developed curricular frameworks, approved 10 of 12 textbook series submitted on Sept. 28. Its a major step in implementation of the states 2011 FAIR Education Act, which requires history and social studies classes to include the contributions of LGBT people.

It will be so revolutionary to have these books. California is in the forefront of doing this, and doing it respectfully and inclusively, said Rhina Ramos, the director of California programs for the Genders and Sexualities Alliance, an LGBT advocacy organization.

The law, as I wrote earlier this year, has been on the books for years, but many districts seem to be unaware of it, or dragging their feet in preparing to implement it.

IQC hearings arent like those before legislators, as on Capitol Hill, where the policymakers actively engage in discussion with witnesses. Instead, much of the meeting is taken up with public comments, and the panel members discussion happens largely behind closed doors.

Before the IQC decision, dozens of LGBT advocates and families gathered to weigh in on the books. And the FAIR Education Act Coalition, made up of LGBT advocacy organizations throughout the state, had pointed out places where the textbooks didnt fully align to the curriculum framework, and pushed the state to adopt only the complete books.

Tons of letters have been pouring in that urge the IQC to support the FAIR Ed. Act Coalitions recommendations: https://t.co/oqL5YfLNNo pic.twitter.com/9ifCFm5BF6  Our Family Coalition (@ourfamily) September 28, 2017

LGBT advocates werent the only ones to weigh in heavily. Many commentators and scholars also weighed in heavily on the depictions of Hindu religion and culture, arguing that they were stereotypical and focused on the caste system and not on other contributions to world culture. (Debates about how the books represent Hinduism began in 2005 and havent abated.)

In the end, the panel approved most of the textbookssome conditional on edits suggested by the coalitionand rejected two Houghton Mifflin Harcourt series on the grounds that those books would have needed so many edits they would have effectively constituted a rewrite, impermissible at this stage in the process.

Because theres not much interaction between the public and the commision, its hard to know the commissioners thinking exactly on their choices, said Jo Michael, the legislative manager at Equality California, the nations largest state LGBT advocacy group. But from our perspective this was hugely successful, in terms of LGBT content in textbooks used in California certainly, and probably in other states as well, he said.

The state board of education must still approve the books before theyre made available for purchase by school districts; that meeting will happen in November. Typically, the state board approves the commissions recommendations, but there have also been cases where it has deviated from them.

Related stories:
New Delhi: The National Company Law Tribunal on Friday dismissed the plea of ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry seeking transfer of his case challenging the ouster to the New Delhi bench from Mumbai.

The principal bench of the NCLT headed by Chairman Justice M M Kumar also imposed a cost of Rs 10 lakh on Mistry's two investment firms, which would be shared by both.

The two companies -- Cyrus Investments Pvt Ltd and Sterling Investments Corporation Pvt Ltd -- had held that the Mumbai bench could have a cause of bias.

Last month, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had granted Mistry waiver in the minimum shareholding rule for him to file a case of alleged oppression of minority shareholders after observing "exceptional" and "compelling circumstances" in the entire episode.

The Mistry family owns 18.4 per cent stake in the closely-held Tata Sons. The holding is less than 3 per cent if preferential shares are excluded, not meeting the criteria of at least 10 per cent ownership in a company for the filing of a case of alleged oppression of minority shareholders.

It had directed the NCLT, which had previously dismissed Mistry's petition against Tata Sons on the ground of not meeting the minimum shareholding criteria, to decide the case in three months.

Mistry has been locked in a legal battle with the Tatas since his unceremonious exit as chairman of Tata Sons -- the promoter company of the USD 105-billion salt-to-software Tata group -- in October last year. Mistry was ousted as Tata Sons chairman on October 24, 2016, and was also removed as a director on the board of the holding company on February 6, 2017.

Cyrus Investments Pvt and Sterling Investments Corporation Pvt had moved the NCLT against Tata Sons after Mistry's ouster last year alleging oppression of minority shareholders and mismanagement.

However, on April 17, the Mumbai bench of the NCLT had rejected the waiver plea filed by the investment firms while on March 6, it had set aside the one over maintainability. Following that, both the investment firms had moved the appellate tribunal.

The NCLAT, however, dismissed another petition filed by the Mistry family's investment firms on maintainability, saying the firms do not have more than 10 per cent in Tata Sons.
The objectives of the state-owned companies should be disclosed to shareholders on a regular basis so that investors can take informed investment decisions.

New Delhi: A high-profile Sebi panel on corporate governance has suggested independence of public sector enterprises (PSEs) from the administrative ministry concerned to ensure speedy decision-making.

In its report for overhaul of corporate governance norms for listed companies, the panel headed by eminent banker Uday Kotak said the government should establish a transparent mandate for PSEs and disclose their objectives and obligations.

The objectives of the state-owned companies should be disclosed to shareholders on a regular basis so that investors can take informed investment decisions.

"The government should aim at ensuring independence of the PSEs from the administrative ministry to ensure speedy decision-making, functional and operational autonomy in pursuit of their stated objectives, for better commercial goals and to attract talent in a competitive market place," the report noted.

As a sustainable and optimal solution for minimising conflicts arising from the ownership and regulatory dichotomy in PSEs, the committee also recommended that the government should consider consolidating its "ownership and monitoring" of PSEs into independent holding entity structure by April 1, 2020.

"An independent board with diversified skill set of the holding entity would also facilitate operationalising a consistent and high quality process on significant issues such as strategy, performance monitoring, mergers and acquisitions, and recruitment of best talent," it added.

Capital markets regulator Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) has sought public comments till November 4 on the panel's recommendations, which run into 177 pages and covers a host of issues.

The committee is of the view that these measures will significantly enhance value of the national assets and this should be done in a time-bound manner. The panel was set up by Sebi in June this year with a view to improving standards of corporate governance of listed entities in India.

The committee, consisting of officials from the government, industry, professional bodies, stock exchanges, academicians, lawyers and proxy advisors, was asked to submit its report within four months.
Old Rs 1,000 notes along with Rs 500 old notes were banned overnight on November 8, 2016.

Mumbai: The government on Friday released data on companies that had done suspicious transaction activities in the aftermath of demonetisation on November 8 last year that stipulated RBI to take back legal tender status of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes.

According to government data made public on Friday, over Rs 4,574 crore amount of money was deposited post note ban in 13,140 bank accounts of 5,800 suspected companies.

The figures further reveal soon after the deposits were made, these companies withdrew around Rs 4,552 crore thus bringing the transactions under the crosshairs of tax authorities.

So far, 13 banks have provided detailed information on post demonetisation transactions by 5,800 suspicious companies, the government data elaborated.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at the 22nd meet of the GST Council on Friday declared that each exporter will get an e-wallet where a notional amount will be paid to him/her as advance credit through which they can pay their taxes. (Photo: ANI)

New Delhi: In a relief to exporters, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at the 22nd meeting of the GST Council on Friday declared that each exporter will get an e-wallet, where a notional amount will be paid to him/her as an advance credit through which they can pay their taxes.

Taking into account the fact that exporters credit was facing blockage that affected their liquidity, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council declared the roll out of these e-wallets by April 2018.

Jaitley also said that exporters will be refunded for the month of July and August from October 10 and from October 18, respectively, by way of cheque.

The e-wallets will provide exporters the funds to pay the tax without choking liquidity and actual refunds will be offset against advance refund in e-wallet.

It should be noted that prior to GST, exporters did not incur taxes for import of inputs for export purposes. However, after GST, IGST blocked their working capital.

The Council also reduced the tax compliance on small and medium businesses in two ways.

Firstly, the Council raised the threshold for availing the composition scheme from companies with turnover of Rs 75 lakh to those with turnover of up to Rs 1 crore.

Secondly, those having turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore and constitute 90 per cent of the assesses outside of composition scheme, will be filing quarterly returns instead of monthly returns.

The tax rates under composition scheme is 1 per cent for traders, 2 per cent for manufacturers and 5 per cent for restaurants. In the service sector, composition scheme is available only for restaurants.

On the much awaited roll out of the e-way bill, Jaitley said that it will be implemented by April 1, 2018.

Reverse charge mechanism for transactions between registered and unregistered businesses has been deferred till Mar 31, 2018. Reverse charge means the liability to pay tax is on the recipient of supply of goods or services instead of the supplier of such goods or services in respect of notified categories of supply.

The GST Council also made some major changes as far as rates are concerned. "Rates have been tweaked on 27 items," said Jaitley.

Following are the changes that have been made:

Man-made yarn will now be taxed under 12 per cent slab as against 18 per cent  this will bear an impact on the price of textiles.

Ayurvedic medicines will now incur 5 per cent GST as against 12 per cent earlier.

Job work items like zari will now be taxed under 5 per cent slab as against 12 per cent ealier.

Stationery items will now attract 18 per cent as against 28 per cent earlier.

Government contracts involving intensive labour, like irrigation projects will be taxed at 5 per cent GST.

Diesel engine parts will now attract 18 per cent GST instead of 28 per cent earlier.

Stones used in flooring, except marble and granite - will be now taxed at 18 per cent instead of 28 per cent.

GST on ICDS food packets for children reduced from 18 per cent to 5 per cent.

GST on sliced dried mangoes reduced from 12 per cent to 5 per cent.

Unbranded namkeen will attract 5 per cent GST

Plastic and rubber waste down will incur 5 per cent GST instead of 18 per cent

GST on paper waste reduced to 5 per cent from 12 per cent.

Khakra and plain chapattis reduced to 5 per cent.

Jaitley also said there was an impression among members of the GST Council that restaurants were not passing on the benefit of input tax credit to consumers. In this regard, a committee of finance ministers will revisit the taxation system for restaurants.
Hyderabad: The Telangana state government got partial relief in the GST Council meeting in New Delhi on Friday. The expectation was that the decision would give partial relief in irrigation projects and Mission Bhagiratha.

This will certainly help the government minimise the tax burden on irrigation projects and Mission Bhagiratha works. Many other states supported TS demand on GST cut on government projects, said Somesh Kumar, principal secretary, commercial taxes.

TS governments demand on GST reduction on projects of public importance was widely debated in the GST Council meeting. Finance minister Etala Rajendar said though the Centre had partially approved our demand, it would resolve the issue completely in the next round of meeting.
The government notification issued in August bringing the gems and jewellery under the purview of PMLA provisions had actually threatened the prospects of sales in rural areas. (Representational Image)

Mumbai: Retail jewellers are expecting a robust growth in sales of gold jewellery during the Dhanteras.

With the government exempting the gems and jewellery industry from the purview of Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, retail jewellers said the industry could see a high double digit growth during the upcoming festive season led by a higher demand for both gold and diamond jewellery.

The government notification issued in August bringing the gems and jewellery under the purview of PMLA provisions had actually threatened the prospects of sales in rural areas. The centres latest amendment exempting the industry has come as a huge relief to the industry as small ticket purchases (up to Rs 2 lakh) would get a major boost. Now we are expecting around 20-25 per cent growth in sales volumes as against our earlier expectation of just 7-8 per cent, said Ishu Datwani, founder, Anmol Jewellers.

Earlier, as part of the KYC requirement under the PMLA provisions, jewellers with a turnover of Rs 2 crore per annum were mandated to collect PAN card for any purchase above Rs 50,000.

Last year, we went through a tough time as a month long jewellers strike during the first half and ban on high denomination currency notes later disrupted sales. We are expecting a good demand this season. The market sentiment has improved since Akshay Tritiya and the governments decision to put the gems and jewellery industry in a 3 per cent slab under the goods and services tax has reinstated consumers faith in the industry. The sector has faced several turmoil in the last three years due to various amendments in regulations and this was much needed for the industry, said Aditya Pethe, director, WHP Jewellers.
In August 2017, finance ministry had brought the sector under PMLA. This meant that the jewellers had to keep detail record including PAN and Aadhaar number of all high cost transactions above Rs 50,000. (Representational Image)

New Delhi: With the Gujarat elections coming, finance ministry on Friday took out gems and jewellery sector from the preview of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

In August 2017, finance ministry had brought the sector under PMLA. This meant that the jewellers had to keep detail record including PAN and Aadhaar number of all high cost transactions above Rs 50,000.

The sector was brought under stringent PMLA as it was found that many jewellers had helped in converting black money into white after demonetisation was announced in November 2016.

The ministry said that the government had received representations from various associations in the gems and jewellery sector with respect to certain incongruities in notification wherein dealers in precious metals, precious stones and other high value goods were notified as person carrying on designated business and professions under PMLA.

After considering various aspects of the issue, the government has decided to rescind the said notification. A separate notification after due consideration of points raised and wider stakeholder consultation in this regard, shall be issued separately, it said.

Under PMLA, any entity that deals in precious metals, precious stones, or other high value goods and has a turnover of Rs 2 crore or more in a financial year will be covered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. The limit of Rs 2 crore was to be calculated on the basis of the previous years turnover, said the notification. I had met with Mr Shah at his home in Delhi and he told me that in a meeting with Prime Minister they had decided to take out gems and jewellery sector from the preview of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, Gem and Jewellery Federation chairman Nitin Khandelwal told this newspaper.
Mumbai: Hrithik Roshan had largely remained mum on his row with Kangana Ranaut, speaking only in the form of legal notices and police complaints, taking to social media to clear the air for the first time in two years on Thursday.

On the other hand, Kangana Ranaut has been completely the opposite in the matter. Be it the counter legal notice she sent after the defamation case filed by Roshans for her silly exes comment, or her recent response following leak of emails from 2016 few days ago, Kangana, with the help of her lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee, has been extremely prompt since the beginning.

On Thursday again, the actress wasted no time in responding after Hrithiks social media post, and released a statement through her lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee and demanded answers to the following nine questions.

1. Mr Hrithik Roshan very well knew that my clients emails were hacked since May 2014 and he was personally accused of the criminal act of hacking her email accounts. Under these circumstances why did he take any risk of slyly receiving, collecting and saving thousands of unverified emails on his personal email id from a hacked account, despite the fact the charges of hacking were made against him personally since May 2014, and not as an afterthought?

2. Mr Hrithik Roshan as a married man and father of two young children should have been shocked and should have immediately spoken to my client or her sister or other family members and complained about the emails being received by him. Why did he fail to take the right step and instead kept meticulously collecting these unverified and fabricated emails from a hacked account, instead of deleting them forthwith and reprimanding my client with full authority, if he had actually no guilt and had committed absolutely no wrong?

3. When my client was lending full co-operation and was willing to be a part of the Criminal Complaint then Mr Hrithik Roshan had no good reason to lie to the police or cause delay in filing a FIR against an imposter, then on what grounds did he lie to the police and only file an informal complaint instead of a FIR against an imposter, and that too without knowledge of my client, who was a concerned and interested party?

4. Why was it so important for Mr Hrithik Roshan to wait for about 7 months and first collect thousand of all sorts of beneficial emails from a hacked account, and only thereafter pursue an informal police complaint. What was the aim and intent behind this act?

5.Why did Mr. Hrithik Roshan only after receiving a strong reply notice, then seek to formally lodge a FIR after about 2 years against an imposter, and is now miserably trying to look for an imposter despite full knowledge that there never was any imposter in the first place and had there been any imposter as alleged by Mr Hrithik Roshan, then the said imposter would have already done serious damage to the material data which was collected by the said imposter through emails?

6. Why is Mr Hrithik Roshan so desperately seeking to rely on a private and favourable forensic report which he has personally paid for?

7. My client and Mr Hrithik Roshan share the same family Doctor since many years and Mr Hrithik Roshan knows fully well that my client does not suffer from any kind of mental ailments or syndromes whatsoever, then on what grounds did he circulate an unreliable and fabricated email to the media. What was the aim and object behind it?

8. Besides my client states that no person would have under any circumstances circulated or shown to any third party (be it media or otherwise), any private pictures which were communicated by my client to Mr Hrithik Roshan during a relationship. Then on what grounds and on whose advice did he seek to openly outrage the modesty of my client?

9. My client demands to know that except for unreliable, fabricated and unverified emails which Mr Hrithik Roshan is relying upon (and has never shown to my client till date), is there any other act of stalking that has been indulged in on the part of my client. If no then on what grounds is Mr Hrithik Roshan claiming to be stalked by my client?

Siddiquee also responded to Hrithiks claims in his statement that there was not a single picture taken as memento regarding their alleged engagement in Paris in January 2014. My client was dating Hrithik, who was a married man at that time. And the fact remains that Hrithik never allowed her to take any kind of pictures or keep any kind of data, which would suggest any kind of relationship, for a simple reason that he had to protect his image, he told Hindustan Times.

On the 3000 one-sided emails Kangana allegedly sent Hrithik, Siddiquee said, All e-mails are hacked. My client clearly says that except maybe 10-15 emails, which she may have sent on Hrithiks other e-mail id, all other e-mails are unverified, fabricated and used for obvious reasons. This is a miserable attempt on the part of Mr Hrithik Roshan to continuing using emails from her hacked account without authenticating the source.

The tone of Hrithiks statement gave us the impression that he doesnt want this controversy to drag on for too long and its unlikely that he would respond to these questions like several others posed to him by Kangana in the last one-and-a-half years.
Priyanandanan's new film Pathirakalam has been selected for the Serendipity Arts Festival happening in Goa from December 15 to 22. The national award-winning director posted the news on his Facebook page.

The film has been selected in the Asian cinema category called 'Returns and Departures'. The film starring Mythili, Kalesh Kannata, Shylaja, Indrans etc is a female-oriented narrative. Mythily plays Jahnara, a foreign educated woman from Berlin, returning home to Kerala when her father goes missing.
Rating:

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas, Robin Wright, Mackenzie David, Jared Leto, Dave Bautista

Blade Runner might not have been the finest piece of cinema (contrarian discourse is welcome), but sure has acquired one of the biggest cult followings cinema as a medium has known. Though not short on its fair share of merits, the film seemed inadequate in front of Terry Gilliams riotously smart Brazil, a retro-futuristic dystopian satire- the first of his trilogy. However, 35 years down the line, if theres one director who could produce a worthy replicant to Ridley Scotts commendable vision, its Villeneuve. And that, the auteur does.

Villeneuves Blade Runner 2049 is grim, gritty, appropriately allegorical and morally ambiguous, sans an iota of brute force. Ridley Scott, with his alarmingly precognitive visual and mortal landscape, had done to the then generation what Black Mirror has consistently been achieving with millennials.

Set in 2049, hunt for outdated replicants is as rampant, with the plot following a very sombre LAPD official, K (Ryan Gosling), in his quest to religiously follow his lieutenant (Robin Wright in an inspiredly tenacious act). The more he delved, the more mysteries surrounding his own past confronted him.

The film, rich in visual poetry is as much Roger Deakins' as much as it is Villeneuves. The latter, who proved a good science fiction fare might not need visual, CGI-laden extravagance to prove a point with 2016s staggering Arrival, reiterates it with this one that, science fiction is much beyond the dispensable realms of visual effects.

Blade Runner 2049 is replete with odes, both subtle and blatant, the most prominent being Ks romantic liaison, eerily reminiscent of Spike Jonzes superlative Her. Particularly similar is a certain intimate moment in the film.

Kafka himself is referenced in Ks trajectory. A loner in a world of his kind, the casting of Ryan Gosling might have looked apt on paper, but fails to translate effectively on-screen. Often through particularly poignant scenes, the actor seems to be unintentionally holding back a giggle or two, much like his stint on Saturday Night Live.

However, the most blasphemous miscast is Jared Leto as the sinister, blind Niander Wallace, the replacement to Joe Turkells electrifying Tyrell from the first instalment. Despite his unquestionable talent, Leto is a cliched liability, one that could hitherto have been avoided had a relatively less A-list face been cast.

Be as it may, Blade Runner 2049 is still a sequel towards the right direction, one of the better ones of all time, that trumps the original. Where the film scores is in enabling its characters, letting their emotional sense of judgement ride and anchor the plot instead of leaving it all for the yearning scenarists inferences.

Though the film has Gosling in every other frame, its a regurgitated Harrison Ford who steals the show in a performance that could very well have been mistaken for an extended cameo. In a stint that is one of the better performances of his illustrious career, Fords Deckard is determined, vulnerable, broken and emotionally stunted. Despite its gratingly predictable twists, the film works wonders when it comes to putting across contemporised social commentaries aided by metaphorical plot arcs.

The relevance of an effective background score in cinema has been established since time immemorial, right from Bernard Hermanns shower alarm from Psycho, to the scores of Martin Scorseses Shutter Island and Villeneuves own Arrival, for that matter. Hans Zimmer and Benjamin Wallfischs score works wonders for this dystopia, albeit often distracting.

At 163 minutes, the film might induce a sporadic snore too many, but Deakins, if not anyone else, deserves your while for the stunningly ominous visual doom hes created.

Maybe its time Hollywood stopped hyping its sure-fire blockbusters pre-release, for Blade Runner 2049 deserved to have been devoured before it had already been labelled a masterpiece, because thats everything it could have been and everything it is not.
A Georgia grand jury indicted a sheriff and two of his deputies on multiple criminal charges this week in response to a four-hour schoolwide sweep conducted last April in which 40 uniformed officers from various law enforcement agencies did forced searches of about 900 students at Worth County High School.

Worth County Sheriff Jeff Hobby was indicted on charges of sexual battery, false imprisonment, and violation of oath of office after ordering the searches under the guise of a drug search that produced no drugs or arrests, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Students alleged that deputies, who did not have warrants to search them, touched them in the breast and groin areas during the searches, the paper reports:

In addition to the criminal case, the sheriff is facing a federal civil rights lawsuit filed in June by nine students who were subjected to the invasive searches. One of the parents of the students said Wednesday she was glad the sheriff now also faces accountability in criminal court. The deputy who allegedly touched her daughter's vagina through her jean pockets and lifted up her bra and touched her breasts was mentioned in the indictment, but grand jurors did not implicate her."

That federal lawsuit alleges violations of students rights under the fourth and fourteenth amendments of the U.S. Constitution:

The purported justification for the mass search was to discover drugs, the lawsuit says. To that end, Sheriff Hobby had a list of thirteen students on a target list that he suspected of possessing drugs. The target list included only three students who were in school on April 14. Defendants had no basis for suspecting any other student of involvement in unlawful activity.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that school officials can search students without a warrant if they have a reasonable suspicion. Thats a lower standard than what is used for searches that take place off of school grounds. The question in this case is if the large-scale searches in Georgia meet that standard.

Hobby has previously said the searches were legal because a school administrator was present. The districts superintendent said the sheriff did not ask for permission to do the searches and the district did not give it.

Follow @evieblad on Twitter or subscribe to Rules for Engagement to get blog posts delivered directly to your inbox.
Scientists claim a cure for Parkinson's disease may soon be in the works, as experts have unlocked the secret to a brain enzyme responsible for the condition.

The study was conducted by researchers from the Dundee University. For years, PINK1 was said to be crucial in preventing the degenerative nerve condition, according to a report by the Daily Mail.

"The PINK1 gene was identified as a key player by researchers back in 2004,"Professor David Dexter, deputy director of research at Parkinson's UK told the Daily Mail. Adding, "Drugs that can switch the PINK1/parkin pathway back on may be able to slow, stop or even reverse nerve cell death, not only in people who have these rare inherited forms of the condition, but also those with non-inherited Parkinsons."

The research helps scientists understand what the protein looks like and how changes in gene can prevent the PINK1 from working. "This knowledge is vital for developing drugs that can switch PINK1 back on, which has the potential to slow or even stop the progression of the condition, something current treatments are unable to do," Professor Dexter explained in the report.

The study could be the beginning of understanding how the enzyme can be used to provide treatment, including symptoms of the condition.

Co-author of the study Professor Daan van Aalten told the Daily Mail: "Our work now provides a framework to undertake future studies directed at finding new drug like molecules that can target and activate PINK1."

The study was originally published in the journal eLife.
According to scientists, it triggers and early form of fatty liver diseases in youngsters. (Photo: Pixabay)

According to a new study, a sweetener used in ice cream, soda, cakes and biscuits is fuelling a potentially fatal liver disease in children.

Fructose, it turns out far more damaging to health than glucose

According to scientists, it triggers and early form of fatty liver diseases in youngsters, something akin to alcoholics, which cal lead to cancer, stroke, and heart ailments.

Present study indicates that one in four children are now clinically obese by the time they have become teenagers.

According to lead author of the study Dr Samir Softic, of Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston, the disease is much more worrisome in a child of thirteen who goes from normal liver to fatty liver to liver inflammation over the span of several years than in somebody who has been overweight for 30 years.

High-fructose corn syrup is used in sweetened beverages and many other processed foods.

It is found naturally in fruit but manufacturers remove the fiber and nutrients to give an instant sugar rush.

During the course of the study, researchers also discovered production of an enzyme called Khk, required for the first step of fructose metabolism, was increased in the livers of mice who drank fructose.

When the scientists examined liver samples from obese human teenagers with fatty liver disease, they also found higher levels of Khk.

According to researchers, a healthy liver should contain little to no fat.
Thiruvananthapuram: Following complaints raised by health officials, most private schools have budged from their earlier decision to disallow Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination to all students in their campus. Earlier, several schools, including major CBSE ones had informed officials that vaccination would be allowed to students only if their parents gave consent in writing. However, with the District Medical Officer approaching the District Child Protection Officer with a complaint, many have fallen in line. Some schools have called for an urgent PTA meeting while others have asked parents to be present with their children at schools for the vaccination.

My daughters school took back the consent form they had asked us to fill. We were asked to take the child for the vaccination on Thursday. Children can return home as there wont be any class on that day. Also, they will be granted leave if they develop fever due to the vaccination, said the mother of a child studying at a school in Kuravankonam. District Medical Officer Jose Dcruz also said that the schools that were opposing the move had agreed to cooperate.

They have given us dates for vaccination after noticing that the drive was progressing without any hurdles at the rest of the schools, especially government ones, said Mr D'cruz. The children who had already taken vaccination from private hospitals will have their finger inked and will not be re-vaccinated. Several schools had earlier turned their backs on the vaccination drive due to apprehensions among parents. The schools were directed to create awareness among parents to build confidence on the benefits of the vaccination.

Rumour-mongers to face music

The rumours spread on mobile phones and social media against Measles- Rubella (MR) vaccinations were the campaign of perverted minds, said District Medical Office (DMO) Jose Dcruz who warned of legal action against rumour-mongers. A viral message that circulated on WhatsApp claimed that the MR vaccination was a right wing group conspiracy to control minority population by causing impotency in children.

The medical fraternity countered the campaign with a BBC report on a US woman being jailed in Michigan for refusing a judges order to vaccinate her child. The same impotency rumours were used against Polio vaccine in earlier days. Baldness and back pain were the claimed side-effects of vaccines. This is purely baseless, Mr Druz said. Earlier a few naturopaths used to oppose MR vaccine but this time even they have not raised any concerns but only perverts are spreading rumours , he added.

Some of the vaccinated children might experience fever from the fifth day of the vaccination. This was a sign of the child developing a resistance as attenuated viruses from the vaccine multiply in the body, doctors said.A particular WhatsApp message appealing to people not to consume soft drinks as they were laced with the blood of HIV patients did the rounds. The anti-MR vaccination campaign was similar in nature but more evil as it puts the wellbeing of children at risk, said paediatrician Dr Mohana Chandran.
Washington: Teenagers who start school before 8:30 am are at a higher risk of depression and anxiety, even if they are doing everything else right to get a good night's sleep, a study has found.

The study not only reinforces the theorised link between sleep and adolescent mental health, but is among the first to demonstrate that school start times may have a critical impact on adolescent sleep and daily functioning. The findings, published in in the journal Sleep Health, provide additional evidence in the national debate over how school start times impact adolescent health.

"Our study is consistent with a growing body of research demonstrating the close connection between sleep hygiene and adolescent mental health," said Jack Peltz, assistant professor at University of Rochester in the US. "But ours is the first to really look at how school start times affect sleep quality, even when a teen is doing everything else right to get a good night's sleep," said Peltz.

"While there are other variables that need to be explored, our findings show that earlier school start times seem to put more pressure on the sleep process and increase mental health symptoms, while later school start times appear to be a strong protective factor for teens," he said. Peltz is one of many investigators now exploring ways to address what has become a nationwide sleep epidemic among adolescents.

About 90 percent of high-school-aged adolescents get insufficient sleep on school nights, or barely meet the required amount of sleep (8-10 hours) needed for healthy functioning. School start times, among other interventions (ie limiting electronic use before bedtime), have become a critical point of interest.

The research to date, however, has primarily focused on the academic benefits of delaying school start times for adolescents, rather than examining how earlier start times may disrupt sleep-related processes and affect mental health outcomes, said Peltz. "Looking at school start times as a larger contextual variable that may moderate sleep hygiene, sleep quality and adolescent functioning, fills an important gap in the literature," he said.

Researchers used an online tool to collect data from 197 students across the country between the ages of 14 and 17. All children and parents completed a baseline survey that included questions about the child's level of sleep hygiene, family socioeconomic status, their circadian chronotype (roughly, whether you are a "morning person" or "night person"), and their school start times.

They were separated into two groups: those who started school before 8:30 am and those who started after 8:30 am. Over a period of seven days, the students were instructed to keep a sleep diary, in which they reported specifically on their daily sleep hygiene, levels of sleep quality and duration, and their depressive/anxiety symptoms.

The results showed that good baseline sleep hygiene was directly associated with lower average daily depressive/anxiety symptoms across all students, and the levels were even lower in students with school start times after 8:30.

However, students with good baseline sleep hygiene and earlier school start times had higher average daily depressive/anxiety symptoms. "Maintaining a consistent bedtime, getting between 8 and 10 hours of sleep, limiting caffeine, turning off the TV, cell phone and video games before bed - these efforts will all benefit their quality of sleep and mental health," said Peltz. "However, the fact that school start times showed a moderating effect on mental health symptoms, suggests that better sleep hygiene combined with later school start times would yield better outcomes," he said.
Warangal: Man is becoming more and more inclined towards unhealthy lifestyle now-a-days and needs to practice a healthy routine to maintain good health, said Warangal chief conservator of forests, M.J. Akbar.

He was addressing a group of youngsters and nature lovers at Inuparathigutta in Devunoor of Dharmasagar mandal. The forest department held a nature walk here as part of the Wildlife Week celebrations.

Mr Akbar said there is an interlaced relation between human beings and nature. The Japanese art of forest bathing or contemplative walks through the woods that reconnect individuals with nature can lead to decreased stress, natural mood elevation and even a stronger immune system. Studying the affects of forest bathing using a mood profile, researchers found that participants' feelings of stress, anxiety or anger had decreased, and their perceptions of energy or vigour had improved. Walking among the trees early in the morning breathing fresh air rejuvenates one's lives, he said.

Station Ghanpur MLA T Rajaiah said walking was already approved to be the best medicine for a healthy and fit body. Walking in the forest revives our bodies even more. Forest bathing allows participants to breathe in air that contains essential oils from surrounding trees with active components such as limonene that have antimicrobial and immune-boosting properties, he said.

About 70 nature lovers and wildlife enthusiasts including college students and villagers took part in the trek in the forest area.

The forest department has prepared a trekking path on the outskirts of Devunoor village for encouraging nature lovers to come for camping.

District forest officer K Purushotham said being just 20 km from Warangal, it could be a suitable location for people who would like to relax in the lap of nature and forget the hustle and bustle of daily life.
Only a fraction of snow leopard habitats in the state falls into two protected areas--Dibang Biosphere Reserve and Namdapha National Park. (Photo: Pixabay)

New Delhi: A study about snow leopards in Arunachal Pradesh has yielded photographic evidence of the presence of the elusive species in the Thembang area of the north-eastern state.

The state-wide survey carried out by World Wildlife Fund(WWF) India in collaboration with the Arunachal Pradesh Forest department was started in March 2017, focusing on unexplored areas.

It has yielded photo evidence of the snow leopard through a camera trap set up at Thembang, one of the communityconserved areas in the state, a WWF statement said.

Only a fraction of snow leopard habitats in the state falls into two protected areas--Dibang Biosphere Reserve and Namdapha National Park.

"The presence of the big cat beyond these protected areas highlights the importance of community support for conservation as well as landscape-scale conservation planning," it said.

"This is perhaps the first time that the presence of snow leopard has been reported through a camera trap photograph from the state of Arunachal Pradesh," said Omkar Singh, principal secretary, Environment and Forest, Arunachal Pradesh government.

The survey relied on the knowledge of the community members to understand the current distribution of snow leopards and other large mammals in the region.

"Scientific information on the distribution of snow leopards generated through this state-wide survey is an encouraging sign for WWF-India and the Arunachal Pradesh Forest department," said Ravi Singh, secretary general and CEO of WWF-India.

Snow leopard, native of central and south Asia, is listed as a 'vulnerable' category animal in the Red List of threatened species compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN).
P Lakshminarayana Murthy, a retired government employee, had not been responding to his wife's and daughter's calls for several days. (Photo: DC)

Hyderabad: An NRI woman came to Hyderabad in search of her father who had been missing for over a month. The woman, accompanied by her mother, was shocked to find his decomposed body at their flat in LB Nagar.

The women came to Hyderabad because P Lakshminarayana Murthy, a retired government employee, had not been responding to their calls for several days. They were shocked that none of the residents in the apartment building had noticed a foul smell.

Murthy was a native of Rajamahendravaram in Andhra Pradesh. He had two daughters, both of whom were living in the USA. His wife, Lakshmi, had recently gone to America to visit their daughters.

Murthy had come to Hyderabad in the month of August to attend a relatives wedding. He had stayed at his daughters flat at the Sai Maruti Apartments in Nagole. He had been in touch with his wife for the first few days of his stay in Hyderabad, after which he had stopped responding to her calls. Worried, the daughters had alerted relatives in Hyderabad, but none of them had been able to give them any information.

Nearly 40 days later, Lakshmi and her younger daughter Soujanya flew to Hyderabad in search of Murthy. Despite knocking repeatedly on the door, they received no response. They broke open the door with the help of a local carpenter and entered the flat.

They were shocked to find Murthys decomposed body lying in a pool of dry blood near the bathroom. He had been wearing only a towel at the time of death and a dead lizard was found lying near his feet.

It is suspected that Murthy came out of a bath and slipped while trying to avoid stepping on the lizard, suffering a severe head injury and died after failing to receive any medical attention.

Venkataiah, the security guard of the building, said that the building staff was unaware that Murthy was in the flat because he rarely visited.

The house is fitted with a central locking system and all the windows are closed at all times, so we were not aware of his presence, he said.

No case has been registered because the family does not have any suspicions regarding the circumstances of the death.
Hyderabad: A 36-year-old woman, working for a real estate firm, attempted suicide in the D Block of the Secretariat, which houses the home ministers office.

The woman, identified as R. Swapna, claimed that a police constable, Saikumar, married her by concealing his first marriage and is now demanding money. She said that the police constable is forcing her to share the bed with his friends. She had come to meet the home minister to register a complaint.

Meanwhile, the Hyderabad police commissioner suspended Saikumar, who was deputed to the Chilkalguda police station. The secretariat staff noticed her and alerted the police. She was rushed to Maxcure hospital, where her condition is reported to be normal.

A few months after marriage, Sasikumar started harassing Swapna physically and mentally and demanded money. He is also forcing her to have physical relationship with his friends.

He had earlier spoiled the lives of a few women, she said, and submitted a petition to the home minister. The minister sent the complaint to the police commissioner who took action against Saikumar.
An Mi-17 V5 helicopter while on an Air Maintenance mission crashed in Arunachal Pradesh. Court of Inquiry ordered. (Representational Image)

Tawang: At least seven people died on Friday when an Indian Air force chopper crashed during a training sortie near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday morning.

The deceased included five Indian Air force (IAF) crew members and two personnel of the Indian Army, the IAF said.

Indian Air Force confirmed the crash of an Mi-17 V5 helicopter in Arunachal Pradesh.

A court of inquiry has been ordered to probe the crash.

Quoting Indian Air Force official news agency ANI said, "Around 6 am today, an Mi-17 V5 helicopter while on an Air Maintenance mission crashed in Arunachal Pradesh. Court of Inquiry ordered."

Rescue teams reached the crash site in Tawang near the Indo-China border and admitted the injured personnel to a local hospital.
These were some of the points that the chief minister touched upon in the 2017 India Economic Summit on Thursday, at New Delhi (Photo: Representational Image)

Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has reiterated the advantage and ability of Andhra Pradesh as a state to fully utilise existing technologies and synergise with regional as well as international leaders to contribute to double digit economic development.

Growth in the state is being propagated as broad-based and having socially inclusive development goals. These were some of the points that the chief minister touched upon in the 2017 India Economic Summit on Thursday, at New Delhi.

Over 600 international and regional leaders participated in the summit hosted under the aegis of World Economic Forum in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The summit that started on October 4 will conclude on October 6. The chief ministers meetings at the summit were coordinated by the Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB), a single stop window for investme-nts, trade, and partnerships in the state of AP.On the occasion, Mr. Naidu and Mr Ajay Banga, president and CEO of MasterCard, signed a landmark agreement, Fintech Valley MoU.

Mr Naidu also attended the launch of Mission Creative Million, a movement designed to impact one million creative producers over the course of 10 years through strategic interventions in the creative and manufacturing sectors organised by the not-for-profit organization, Industries Foundation.

In addition, the APEDB, under the leadership of its CEO Mr J. Krishna Kishore, facilitated the Chief Minister's interactions with business leaders and investors in the state's key focus sectors like finance, IT, infrastructure, manufacturing, education and agriculture.

Bilateral meetings of Mr Naidu included meaningful interactions with Mr Kulin Lalbhai, Executive Director, Arvind Mills, Mr Amit Narayana, Founder AutoGrid, Mr Ajey Mehta, MD India - HMD Global, Mr Kanwar Bir Singh Anand, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Asian Paints, Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, Ms. Shobana Kamineni, President, CII and Mr. Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII, Ms. Kanika Choudhary, the Honorary Ambassador of Philadelphia to India and Mr. Adi Godrej, Chairman, Godrej Group.

Some highlights of these meetings included Mr. Adi Godrej stressing on Godrej Agrovet's intent to continue to expand in palm oil plus investment and development in the state of Andhra Pradesh. Ms. Kanika Choudhary, Honorary Ambassador of Philadelphia to India, spoke about bringing a knowledge cluster in Amravati with best practices from universities in Pennsylvania, United States.

In conclusion, Mr. Jasti Krishna Kishore, Chief Executive Officer, APEDB said that the India Economic Summit presents an opportunity for Andhra Pradesh to showcase its growth engines and development models while understanding the best practices around the world.
Despite wide variation in the percentage of students enrolled in special education, a majority of teachers, principals and special administrators in a given state feel that the classification rates are largely on target, says a new report from Frontline Learning and Research Institute.

More than 17 percent of the students who live in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and Pennsylvania are enrolled in special education, far outstripping the classification rates in other states, according to federal data. In contrast, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, and Texasthe four states with the lowest percentage of students in special educationhave classification rates around 10 percent or less.

Most educators and principals feel these numbers are correct, even though they deviate from the national average of special education enrollment, 12 percent.

The insititute is a division of Frontline Education, which provides administrative and human resources software products to educational organizations nationwide. The institute draws on data from more than 12,000 school districts and millions of users of its products to create data-driven research on educational topics. This report, Crossing the Line: Exploring Equity in Special Education Classification Across the United States , is one of four reports planned on special education topics.

The variation in special education classification was captured from data collected by the U.S. Department of Education. How teachers, principals and special education administrators feel about those variations, however, is something that Frontline was able to gather from surveying its users.

For example, though the majority of educators felt that their states classification rates were on target, those in states with a high percentage of students in special education were more likely to say those numbers were a little too high. About 36 percent of teachers in high-classifying states agreed that somewhat fewer students should be identified as needing special education. That compares to 10 percent of teachers in states where special education enrollment is already lower than average.

That trend was reversed in states that have a lower percentage of students in special education. In that situation, teachers were more likely to think their numbers should go up a bit. Twenty-nine percent of teachers in the states with the lowest special education enrollment said that somewhat more students should be classified. That compares with about 18 percent of teachers in states where special education enrollment is already higher than the norm.

The report also captures differences in perspective among teachers, principals, and special education administrators. Overall, special education administrators were more likely than teachers or principals to say that somewhat fewer students should be receiving special education servicesmore than a quarter of them agreed with that statement, compared to just 17 percent of teachers and of principals.

So who is correct? A state that classifies more students than average or fewer?

That question rang through in my mind, said Jo Ann Hanrahan, Frontlines director of research and data analysis. She wrote the report with Thomas Reap, the executive director of special education and interventions for Frontline. I dont necessarily think its a question of whos right or whos wrong, but its very clear that there needs to be conversation. I think we do very little in terms of having these conversations within our local systems, districts, states. Thats really the call to action to take from here.
National Commission for Women NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma said that few boys, who are not students of BHU, have been found staying in the university hostels. (Photo: ANI)

New Delhi: Taking note of the recent protests in Banaras Hindu University (BHU) at Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh over molestation of a student, National Commission for Women (NCW) Chairperson Rekha Sharma on Friday said that eve-teasing is rampant on the campus and boys from the varsity also get involved in such incidents.

We found eve-teasing is rampant on campus, even campus' boys get involved. We have told DC to send legal-aid for sensitisation, ANI quoted Sharma as saying.

Stating that the condition around Naveen Hostel on the campus is terrible, she said the commission has asked the authorities to increase security there.

Speaking on the curfew timings imposed on the female students of BHU, Sharma said that a decision will be taken in a day or two. Same time restrictions will be imposed on both male and female students of the campus, she added.

The NCW chairperson also pointed out that few boys, who are not students of BHU, have been found staying illegally in the university hostels.

Have asked girls to identify them. List will be given to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP). They will be rounded up, immediately ousted from the campus and a legal action will be taken against them, Sharma said.

Speaking about the security arrangements at the university, Sharma said that special security cameras have been installed on the campus and high-tech ones will be installed soon.

The commission has also asked the SSP to deploy forces on the campus for a few days.

On the protest, Sharma said that the female students wanted to talk to the vice-chancellor about the issues they were facing and were demonstrating peacefully. However, the situation on the campus turned violent when outsiders hijacked their protest.

She mentioned that vice-chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi did not play his part in containing the situation. He neither met me nor picked calls. He'll be summoned to Delhi, Sharma said.
Mumbai: Twenty-year-old daughter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) president, Nilesh Vikamsey, was found dead on railway tracks in Central Mumbai, a senior GRP official said on Thursday.

Pallavi had gone missing while returning from a law firm at Fort in south Mumbai where she was doing her internship.

She was last seen boarding a local train at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) station on Wednesday at around 6 pm, the official said.

When Pallavi did not return home her family members filed a missing complaint with MRA Marg police station, the official said.

Police had found the body of a girl on the tracks between Parel and Currey Road station on Wednesday evening.

It was on Thursday that Pallavi's relatives confirmed that it was her body, said a senior official.

"We found body of a woman on tracks between Parel and Currey road yesterday at around 7.30 pm. Today, her relatives confirmed her as Pallavi Vikamsey," said DCP Samadhan Pawar, spokesperson of GRP (Central Railway).

Later, the body was handed over to them after postmortem, he said.

"Prima facie it appears that the girl committed suicide," the official confirmed.

Until now, no foul play has been noticed in this case, so an accidental death case has been registered at Dadar police station, he said, adding further investigation into the matter is underway. Pallavi, a law student, was the youngest daughter of Nilesh Vikamsey.
Bengaluru: After days of thunderstorms and late evening downpours, Thursday's eight hours of continuous rain brought Bengaluru to its knees, throwing traffic completely out of gear across the city, with several hapless commuters having to be physically extracted from buses and autorickshaws, with many motorists left stranded on flooded roads for hours.

With 65.2 mm of rain pounding the city virtually non-stop until 8.30 pm, many localities faced the worst waterlogging they had seen in years. In a repeat of 2005, and the havoc from the relentless rains since August 15 this year, a number of vehicles were nearly submerged in water on a flooded Hosur Road, in Electronic City and Bommasandra. Some vehicles broke down in the middle of the roads, holding up traffic.

While passengers in BMTC buses and autorickshaws had to be rescued from a waterlogged Electronic City Road , Metro Rail commuters and motorists had a hard time negotiating the gushing water on Mysore Road near Nayandahalli.

With rain battering it, the water from the Vrishabhavathi valley, which confluences with the Cauvery at Mekedatu, overflowed on to Mysore Road, completely flooding it and forcing many marooned vehicles to navigate their way to a different route.

The IT campuses were deluged. "It was like a river on the Wipro and Infosys campuses and it looked like a lake had been diverted to Electronic City on Thursday," said Mr Karthikeyan, a resident of Electronic City.

Wailed Ms Swarit Agarrwal, an employee of Manyata Tech Park: "We are marooned and are finding it difficult to get home. Even otherwise the traffic is very bad and so are the potholes. On a normal day we spend over three to four hours in commuting and when it rains, it is unimaginable! Things get so bad."

Mr Abhineet Sharma, a tax expert employed at AMR Tech Park, was worried about getting home to a flooded Electronic City . "While there is no problem in Bommanahalli , I don't think I will find it easy to get back home to Electronic City, which is flooded," he lamented.

More rains forecast

According to weathermen from private forecaster Skymet, moderate spells of rains are expected to continue in the city for the next two days.

"At present, a trough is passing from South Interior Karnataka to North Coastal Karnataka due to which rains are expected to continue. After 24 to 48 hours, this trough will begin to weaken and rains will reduce over the city. Only isolated light rains will continue and weather will become partly cloudy. However, for the next two days, cloudy to overcast sky conditions will be witnessed. Temperatures will remain on the pleasant side," weathermen at Skymet said.
'The status quo prevails in the area. Any suggestion on the contrary is incorrect,' MEA said. (File photo)

New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday refuted reports of China increasing its troops in the Doklam plateau and building a road in the area just 10 km from the location of the last conflict.

The MEA said that there have been no new developments in Doklam and its vicinity since both Chinese and Indian troops withdrew from the standoff site on August 28.

"Have seen recent press reports on Doklam. There are no new developments at the face-off site and its vicinity since 28 August disengagement," ANI quoted MEA as saying.

"The status quo prevails in the area. Any suggestion on the contrary is incorrect," it added.

According to reports, China has been increasing its troops in the Doklam plateau and had shifted its unused road construction material North and East of the standoff site.

Media reports also said that the road construction workers brought into the area are accompanied by up to 500 soldiers.

Earlier on Thursday, Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa had said that Chinese troops were still present in Tibet's Chumbi Valley and had not completely withdrawn.

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day standoff in Doklam since June 16 after the Indian side prohibited the construction of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army. Bhutan and China have a dispute over Doklam.
He took a dig at the VMC officials for calling tenders to materialise City Square project in the Swaraj Maidan as the issue is still pending in the High Court (Photo: PTI)

Vijayawada: The Opposition parties have begun agitating against giving away government lands and VMC buildings to private firms in the name of development of the tourism sector and the Capital region.

The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) has taken measures to hand over Swarjya Maidan, State Guest House and electric sub-station land to the corporates for tourism development.

Members of the Taxpayers Association and the CPI (M) have been opposing the move the CPI (M) activists staged a protest demonstration near the VMC administrative office in the city on Thursday.

They raised slogans against the VMC council, headed by the TD, and displayed a hoarding Vijayawada for Sale listing out the government lands and properties to be handed over to private parties.

Address the gathering, CPM state leader Ch. Babu Rao said that the corporators of the ruling party were more interested in supporting the resolution to privatise lands owned by the VMC in the city than in addressing peoples problems.

How can the VMC take up construction of a 3-star hotel on the land where the municipal guest house is existing and hand over the Swaraj Maidan to Chinese firms by converting the place to a commercial zone from a recreation zone, he asked.

He took a dig at the VMC officials for calling tenders to materialise City Square project in the Swaraj Maidan as the issue is still pending in the High Court.

The citizens are already suffocating due to lack of adequate open and green space in the city and children also do not have place to play while elders do not have place to walk.

He demanded that the civic body should withdraw its proposal of developing City Square at the place. Else, he threatened to organise more protests in the city.

Taxpayers Association general secretary M.V. Anjaneyulu said the VMC has formulated an action plan to privatise around 47 acres of government land in the city rather than developing recreation centres.
V K Sasikala had requested parole for 15 days to attend to her husband M Natarajan, who is critically ill. (Photo: File)

Bengaluru: VK Sasikala, who is serving her jail term in the disproportionate assets case, was on Friday granted parole for five days to meet her ailing husband M Natarajan.

Sasikala can now travel to Chennai to meet her husband, who had undergone a liver and kidney transplant on Wednesday. He was admitted to hospital in September after multiple organ failure.

Bengaluru Central Prison has made condition on Sasikala's parole.

#WATCH: VK Sasikala leaves from Bengaluru's Central Jail after being granted a parole of 5 days to visit her ailing husband pic.twitter.com/llHAcW560q  ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2017

During her five days parole, Sasikala is restricted to only visit hospital where her husband is admitted or the residence mentioned in her plea.

She cannot entertain any visitors or involve in public/party activities or interact with media.

Sasikala, recently sacked from Tamil Nadu's ruling AIADMK, had earlier this week requested for a parole of 15 days to meet her husband.

Rebel AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran, reached the Bengaluru Cental Jail where his aunt, Sasikala, is lodged.

The prison authorities had received an e-mail from the Chennai police commissioner earlier on Friday agreeing for parole with certain conditions.

Sasikala's lawyer Krishnappan told ANI, "They (Jail authorities) got an e-mail from Chennai police commissioner agreeing for parole with certain conditions."

Natrajan, 74, who was a government PRO, has expressed his willingness to see Sasikala.

Though Sasikala and Natarajan had been living separately since 1990s, he had accompanied her when she surrendered before the prison authorities on February 15 after she was convicted in the Dearness Allowance case.

Sasikala has been lodged in a Bengaluru prison since February 2017 after being convicted in a disproportionate assets case.
BJP leader, Rajeev Topannavar blames the state government for the delay claiming it failed to give impetus to the project despite establishing an office exclusively for the head of the SPV and the release of hundreds of crores for its first phase.

Belagavi: With the Union Urban Development Ministry concerned by the delay in implementation of the Smart City Project (SMP) in Belagavi, which found a place in the first list of 20 cities released by the Centre three years ago for the project, the state's Urban Development Department has called a meeting on October 7 in Bengaluru to look into the causes responsible.

The incharge chief executive officer of the SMP's Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), Shashidhar Kurer is expected to attend the meeting. BJP leader, Rajeev Topannavar blames the state government for the delay claiming it failed to give impetus to the project despite establishing an office exclusively for the head of the SPV and the release of hundreds of crores for its first phase.

The government appointed an IAS officer, Mulai Muhilan as MD soon after opening the SPV office two years ago, but abruptly transferred him after a year even before he could do any preliminary work,he recalls.

Also criticising the delay, the Professionals Forum says the consultant for the Smart City Project, Tractable Engineering Solutions, has inexperienced staff, who have failed to complete the tasks at hand on time and has urged the government to cancel its contract with the company and engage another consultant.

In its view, regional commissioner Shivayogi Kalasad should be appointed chairman of the SPV, the Deputy Commissioner of Belagavi its vice chairman and the chief engineer of PWD , a member.

It also believes that a senior engineer, who is a resident of Belagavi, should be made head of the high level technical committee tasked with designing and planning for the project.

Mr Kurer had announced in May that Belagavi would get Rs 1,000 crore under the project and of this the Centre had sanctioned Rs 400 crore for building and improving infrastructure like roads and bridges, conserving and developing water bodies, protecting heritage structures and developing green spaces in the city.
The dream of Mahatma Gandhi can only be fulfilled with the free education system, Mr Reddy said

Bhadrachalam: Retired headmasters, lecturers, teachers and principals were felicitated in the temple town on Thursday on the occasion of World Teachers Day.

Addressing the gathering, Gandhi Patham district president B. Sankar Reddy said that the teachers are the real pioneers of the society. A Teacher can shape any student merely by his teaching and behaviour, Mr Reddy said, adding that the role of a teacher in society was more important than IAS and IPS officers.

Referring to education system in Finland, he said that the government should implement the system of free education for all, followed there.

The dream of Mahatma Gandhi can only be fulfilled with the free education system, Mr Reddy said.
The newly created 'Happiness department of the state has been told prepare modules for classes proposed to be held once in a week at all government and private schools.

Bhopal: In a first of its kind move in the country, Madhya Pradesh government has initiated steps to begin happiness classes in schools in the state to destress the students.

The newly created Happiness Department of the state government has been assigned the task of preparing modules for such classes proposed to be held once in a week in all government and private schools.

The happiness department has begun the exercise to prepare modules to inspire positive thinking in students to help them lead a healthy and successful life in future. The move is primarily aimed at curbing rising trend of suicides by students following poor performances in the examinations, a senior officer of the department told this newspaper here on Friday.

According to him, around a 100 themes for the programme have been shortlisted for preparation of the modules. The themes include success stories in different fields like films, graphics, street plays, and sports.

The schools will also be encouraged to prepare modules and train their staff to run classes on the modules. Besides, private individuals and institutions will also be allowed to produce such modules.

A sum of Rs 20,000 will be paid to the author of each module, the officer said and added that the department will hold the copyright of the module prepared.
Marine commandos circle a pirate boat as they foil the latters attempt to hijack an Indian bulk carrier, in the Gulf of Eden on Friday. (Photo: via web)

New Delhi: Indian stealth frigate INS Trishul, patrolling in the pirate-infested waters off the Gulf of Aden, foiled a piracy attempt against an Indian bulk carrier on Friday.

The piracy attempt was made on the Indian ship MV Jag Amar at 12.30 pm, said Navy spokesperson Capt. D.K. Sharma. He added that all 26 Indian crew members on board the Indian ship were safe.

The Navys elite marine commandos, Marcos, carried out a swift operation to rescue the 85,000-tonne bulk carrier.

Capt. Sharma said an AK-47, one magazine with 27 rounds, grapnels, ropes, fuel drums and ladders were recovered during the operation. Twelve pirates on a skiff made the piracy attempt on the Indian ship.

The Indian Navy has been actively engaged in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, a key shipping route near the southern tip of the Red Sea between Somalia and Yemen. In May, in a meticulous operation, the Marcos aboard the INS Sharda had thwarted another piracy attempt on a Liberian vessel in the same area.

Indian Naval assets have been increasingly deployed in recent times to address the various maritime concerns of the region, including piracy off the coast of Somalia.

In April, the navies of India and China had collaborated to rescue a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden after it was hijacked by Somali pirates. The Indian Navys two frontline warships, INS Mumbai and INS Tarkash, were part of the operation.
Its National Principals Month and Im reflecting on some of the best administrators Ive had the pleasure of knowing throughout my career. One principal had a deep level of respect for students and the entire staff. He could often be seen sweeping the floor because hed told the custodian to sit down and rest her feet. He would pass my classroom door, look around, and give a thumbs up before walking away. Another principal was so loved that students often went out of their way to get a hello from him and have him acknowledge their lives outside of school. How are you? Hows your mom doing since that surgery? You sure are looking sharp in that new shirt! Another principal has been an encourager and cheerleader for all that Ive done or tried to do in my career. I watched for years as he made students the number one priority and praised teachers for their efforts in helping students be their best selves.

Great principals have the ability to know exactly what teachers and students need to be successful, and they often set the mood of the school. Usually where there is strong leadership, there is high morale. The true beauty in leadership, though, is being able to discern when to pull back and not give teachers things they dont need. There is a balance that great principals learn, and because of that balance, they generally have happy teachers in their classrooms. My favorite principals have intentionally held back four things that I never wanted or needed.

The true beauty in leadership, though, is being able to discern when to pull back and not give teachers things they don't need.

The Reminder. Great principals know not to give teachers that reminder that Were here for the kids. Ineffective leaders often use that condescending line when something they propose is met with questions or a lack of enthusiasm. Of course teachers are there for the kids. If one isnt, then thats the job of the principal to remove that person from the position. Blanket statements like that just leave good teachers thinking, Well, duh. In a meeting once, teachers had questions about a new policy, and when the principal really couldnt engage with us as professionals and explain the benefit, we were insulted with Dont forget that youre here for the kids. Translation: Because I said so. Teachers and principals are partners in this work, and that line is disrespectful and belittles the complex work that teachers do for students.

Great principals know not to give teachers that reminder that "We're here for the kids."

Another Task. Like principals, teachers plates, desks really, are over-run with things to complete. There have been times that I ended the day feeling exhausted and disappointed that I didnt get to do all the things my students needed me to do. When I reflected on why, it was usually because of that one more thing that someone asked teachers to do. Great principals realize that when they ask teachers to do just one more thing that you are already sort of doing they should take one other thing off teachers desks.

Blurred Lines. Teaching doesnt have an on-off switch. Getting in the car at the end of the day doesnt make the lesson in fourth period fade from a teachers memory. The drive home often brings more thoughts about tomorrows lessons, tomorrows tasks, a parent we need to call. A billboard can trigger an idea for a lesson, but slowly we try to put aside the day to be present for our

families at home. Effective principals recognize the need for that fading into family time and refrain from sending school emails or other messages after hours and on weekends. Just one email notification that could have waited can put teachers right back in the school building at a time they really want to focus on family. Good principals draw a line and protect teachers home time just as fiercely as they protect their class time.

Good principals draw a line and protect teachers' home time just as fiercely as they protect their class time.

The Magnifying Glass. Educators are often frustrated that people outside the profession fail to see teaching as a true profession. The irony is that sometimes school leaders also fail to see teachers as trusted and valued professionals. Sometimes principals say that they want to encourage teacher leadership, but they dont trust those teacher leaders enough to step back and allow them to accomplish the task. Micromanagement is the enemy of teacher leadership; teacher leaders never thrive under the magnifying glass.

To all great principals, thank you. Thank you for realizing that your teachers are there for students. Through your leadership, we are there to help you with the complex work of creating beautiful school experiences for students.

Photo credit: NNSTOY
Expelled AIADMK leader Sasikala, who was jailed since February this year, stepped out of the Bengaluru Central Jail in Parappana Agarahara after she was granted emergency parole for five days by the prison authorities on Friday, to visit her ailing husband M. Natarajan. (Photo: KPN)

Bengaluru: Expelled AIADMK leader Sasikala, who was jailed since February this year, stepped out of the Bengaluru Central Jail in Parappana Agarahara after she was granted emergency parole for five days by the prison authorities on Friday, to visit her ailing husband M. Natarajan.

Sasikala, who had applied for an emergency parole for 15 days on Wednesday, was granted just five day parole and two days for travelling. Jail officials maintained that she was granted only five days as per the recommendations made by the Tamil Nadu police in their report. Sasikala has to be back in her prison barrack on Thursday, as her parole period starts on Saturday and ends on Wednesday.

Prison authorities had rejected Sasikalas application for parole on Tuesday and she had submitted a fresh plea for the same on Wednesday. The same day, the prison department had sought the report from the TN police as per procedure.

It is learnt that the Tamil Nadu police replied on Thursday evening, stating they have no objection for her release on parole. The jail authorities started further initiated the process on Friday morning.

At 3 pm, Sasikala came out of prison and went in an SUV. Her relative T.T.V. Dinakaran accompanied her to Chennai. Around 40 supporters had gathered to welcome her. Police did not allow their vehicles to e nter and only a few approached the prisons exit gate to welcome their leader. Dinakaran, who had arrived in the city on Thursday night, did not wish to speak to media.

Sasikala, along with Ilavarasi and V.N. Sudhakaran, had surrendered before a trial court on February 15 in connection with the disproportionate assets case in which they were convicted and the same day they were sent to the Parappana Agrahara central jail.

Parole conditions

Her stay is restricted to the residence mentioned in her application and her visits, to the hospital where her husband is admitted.

No visitors can be entertained either at her residence or at the hospital

No involvement in political or public activities

No media interactions

Visitors kept waiting

As jail officials were busy with parole procedures, many visitors who came to visit their family members, friends and relatives lodge in the jail had to wait for more than three hours. Generally, the interviews with start around noon, but visitors had to wait till Sasikala left at 3 pm.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Taking a cue from many other states affected by left wing extremism, Kerala is also trying to frame a surrender and rehabilitation policy for Maoists offering jobs and settlement schemes. State police chief Loknath Behera has submitted a draft proposal in this regard to the home department. The government would be taking a final decision after discussions in the LDF and the cabinet, said sources.

According to police sources, the draft policy mooted by the police included granting jobs, vocational training, stipend, bulk financial assistance, agriculture land for cultivation and housing facilities. Additional financial incentives would be offered in case they surrender their weapons. Sources at the police headquarters said that Malappuram district police chief Debesh Kumar Behera had drafted the scheme and it was vetted by the state police chief before submitting to the government. No relaxation is likely in the case of serious cases pending against Maoists as part of the policy.

Police sources preferred to be tight-lipped on the details of the draft scheme. The need for a surrender policy was also discussed at a recent meeting of police chiefs of southern states. Over these years, hundreds of left wing extremists had surrendered in states like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha and Telengana. The centre used to provide financial assistance to the states for the surrender schemes for Maoists, which ranges from `1.5 lakh per person, said sources.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former chief minister Oommen Chandy on Friday attacked the BJP national president Amit Shah saying that any insult to the people of the state would be fought back unitedly. In a Facebook post, Mr Chandy said it was pathetic that Mr Shah was attacking Kerala when his own Gujarat model of development has been a total failure. The BJP propaganda against Kerala will not succeed and the response of people reflects the anger against their devious designs, he added.

The Congress leader said the BJP campaign would fall flat in the state. The people of the state had reacted sharply against Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he compared Kerala to Somalia while talking about malnutrition among children, during the last Lok Sabha poll campaign. Mr Chandy said the state upheld progressive ideals and progressive views in all spheres. From time to time the state had maintained high socio-economic- health indicators which are even comparable to the developed countries.

The Congress leader said the Janaraksha Yatra was a cheap publicity stunt of Narendra Modi-led BJP to divert attention from the failures of Central Government in checking corruption and train accidents. Economic breakdown was the trademark of the BJP government. The former chief minister said people of many states including BJP ruled Gujarat were crying for raksha from the Central government which had heaped miseries on the people people and destroyed almost all sectors.
Bengaluru: With his sights set on retention of power during elections to the Legislative Assembly in 2018, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday announced the state governments intention to hike the reservation quota for SC/ST, Backward Communities and OBCs from 50 per cent to 70 per cent.

Speaking at Valmiki Jayanti celebrations here, Mr Siddaramaiah said the government has decided to increase the quota based on the socio-economic survey conducted by the Backward Classes Commission. He, however, was quick to clarify that the move was not being done for votes but as part of the governments responsibility to protect every one's interest.

Tamil Nadu has already provided 69 per cent quota in reservations, and incorporated it in the 9th schedule of the Constitution. The state government plans to enhance the quota on the lines of Tamil Nadu, he added. He also explained that in Karnataka, those belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes did not get adequate representations based on population for various reasons.

Therefore, the ruling Congress has decided to set right the anomalies by enhancing quota in reservations. In case, the quota increases from 50 per cent to 70 per cent, the Scheduled Castes would benefit as the percentage would rise from 15 per cent 17 percent, while the Scheduled Tribes too would climb to 7.5 per cent from three per cent at present.

The Chief Minister also utilized the opportunity to highlight the fact that the Congress government has spent Rs 25,000 crore on welfare schemes for SCs and STs. This year, the government has earmarked Rs 7000 crore for the welfare of SCs and STs, he added.

Mr Siddaramaiah said the party would organize a rally for the Schedule Tribes in the first week of December in Ballari to discuss issues concerning people of the community.

Experts, however, felt enhancing reservation from 50 per cent to 70 per cent would be an uphill task as the Supreme Court has repeatedly stated that it should not exceeded 50 per cent.
Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday launched a scathing attack on Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) chairman Prof M. Kodandaram, his one-time close ally. The CM dared Prof. Kodandaram to remove the JAC mask and face the TRS directly.

Kodandaram is one of the lakhs of leaders and activists produced by me during the Telangana agitation. Its I who set up TJAC and made him the chairman. There were people from all sections in TJAC then. Now there are none in TJAC.

Where is the need for him to continue TJAC when Telangana state was achieved? He is using TJAC as a mask. If he wants to do politics, let him join any party and take on the TRS directly. We are ready to face him. I offered him a ticket in 2014 but he ran away. Now he has a grudge against the TRS and me and is making cheap comments every day, he said.

He also accused Indira Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi of killing hundreds of TS youth by delaying the formation of TS.
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandra Sekhar Rao and TRS MP K Kavitha showing thumps-up sign as they celebrate the party's victory in Singareni election, in Hyderabad on Friday. (Photo: PTI)

Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Friday launched a scathing attack on Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) chairman Prof Kodandaram, his one-time close ally.

At a press conference a day after the TRS-backed union swept the Singareni Collieries polls, he said Prof. Kodandaram thought too much of himself, when the fact was that he could not win even a sarpanch election.

He accused the TJAC chairman of being anti-TRS from the beginning, and having secret meetings with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Digvijay Singh during the 2014 polls where he asked them not to ally with the TRS.

The pathetic condition of the Congress is because of Kodandaram. He told them that TRS will lose the elections and the Congress will form government. They believed him blindly, Mr Rao said.
"It is informed that the hearing in the matter has been re-scheduled to October 6 at 3.00 PM. Change of the date of hearing may be noted," the notice by the EC said.

Chennai: Election Commission on Friday rescheduled the hearing to October 6 relating to claims over AIADMK's two leaves symbol.

In notices sent to Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, AIADMK presidium chairman E. Madhusudhanan, ousted general secretary and deputy general secretary V. K. Sasikala and TTV Dhinakaran, the EC told them that the hearing would be held on October 6 instead of October 5 as announced on Thursday.

"It is informed that the hearing in the matter has been re-scheduled to October 6 at 3.00 PM. Change of the date of hearing may be noted," the notice by the EC said.

The poll body also asked the petitioners to give a copy of their affidavits to their rival camps.
The recent Indo-Japanese bonhomie belies a lesser-known history of imperial Japan that had once occupied a part of India, the penal colony (Kalapani) of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. While the occupation lasted about three and a half years (1942-45), the same is a controversial period that elicits mixed response from the locals, since Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose was given the nominal charge of the administration by the Japanese. He had set up the Arzi Hukumat-e-Azad Hind (Provisional Government of Free India), and later on a visit to the Islands, renamed them Shaheed (martyr) and Swaraj (self-rule), but essentially the control had remained firmly in the hands of Japanese occupiers. Technically, Andaman and Nicobar Islands became the first territory to be liberated from the British by flying the Indian tricolour. The powerful Japanese armada that had landed on the Islands on March 23, 1942, met with no opposition from the depleted garrison of the British Indian Army that had approximately 300 Sikh soldiers and 23 British officers. Most of the British officers were sent as prisoners of war (PoWs) to Singapore or jailed locally, while the Indian soldiers opted to join the Indian National Army. But soon the Japanese let loose a reign of unprecedented terror.

While the more publicised atrocities of the Japanese occupation are documented in the Chinese heartland and the Korean peninsula, with events that are compositely infamous as the Asian Holocaust. The Showa era (of Emperor Hirohito) is estimated to have caused up to 14 million deaths that are directly attributed to the Japanese acts of torture, massacre, experimentation and starvation. From conducting biological and chemical attacks, comfort women to forced labour  the gory details of the Japanese occupation has led to multiple Japanese apologies for its war crimes, over the years. The Nanking Massacre (killing 300,000 civilians and PoWs), Manila Massacre (killing 100,000 Filipinos), Sook Ching Massacre (in Singapore that randomly killed suspects), Kalagong Massacre  follow a pattern of scorched earth policy that directed the Japanese victors to kill all, burn all, loot all, and has haunted the conscience of the modern nation of Japan to reconcile to its disturbing history. Today at Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the beachfronts of Ross Island and Port Blair are littered with Japanese bunkers and fortifications, which remain a silent testimony to the horrors inflicted by the Japanese, which by local accounts outdid the terror unleashed by the earlier British colonisers. While the Japanese systematically destroyed all records before leaving the Islands in 1945, local accounts by survivors recount the usual imperial Japanese tactics of torture, summary executions and forced labour.

Even Indians of the ostensible local administration like Narayan Rao, the superintendent of police; Itter Singh, the deputy superintendent and subedar Sube Singh were not spared the indignity of facing the firing squads. The Homfreyganj Massacre on January 30, 1944, entailing the cold-blooded shooting of 44 Indians suspected of spying  personified the helplessness of the Azad Hind administration, as the Japanese whimsically butchered members of its own supposed ally. As the world war took its decisive turn and matters became more desperate for the Japanese, they turned towards forced labour to sustain themselves. Hundreds of locals were forcibly deported to an uninhabited Island to grow food, while many drowned as they were offloaded in the seas, others of starvation and some of pirate attacks, in all only 12 had survived when the rescue mission was sent, after the Japanese occupation, with hundreds of skeletons littered all over the Island. The indescribable humiliation, bestiality and vandalism also consumed president of the Indian Independence League Diwan Singh, a medical practitioner who gallantly intervened on behalf of the locals  only to be thrown to the dungeons himself and savagely tortured for 82 days, till he died.

The Japanese barbarity ended when the soldiers of the 1/7 Rajput Regiment, led by legendary Lt. Col. Thakur Nathu Singh accepted the Japanese surrender. Maj. Gen. Arcot Doraisawmy Loganadan of the INA, who had briefly served as the Azad Hind governments governor of Andaman, later confessed about the severe differences he had had with the Japanese. Sadly, the Japanese legacy is a forgotten footnote in the historical archives, and only alive in the memories of the Islanders who shudder recollecting the tyranny that accompanied the Japanese. The politics of sovereign apologies and reconciliation are contentious, difficult and complex. Indeed Japan would know about the sentiments accompanying the same, given the angularity of the stoic silence by the US on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as Barack Obama had said on his landmark visit to Hiroshima: Its important to recognise that in the midst of war, leaders make all kinds of decisions. However, the inadequacies of formal repentance doesnt necessarily mean that the collective mainstream lacks the sensitivity of guilt. Even a nationalist like Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has frequently used expressions like aggression, deep remorse, repentance and heartfelt apology for its actions during the war, over the years for South Korea, China, Taiwan, Australia and even Myanmar. He also suggests reconciliation by adding: We must not let our children, grandchildren and even further generations to come, who have nothing to do with that war, be predestined to apologise.

Yet, irrespective of the necessities of apologies, the bloody Japanese occupation of Andaman and Nicobar has never figured in the Indo-Japanese framework. On the contrary, the Japanese are partaking infrastructural development projects in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands today, perhaps owing to the geopolitical realities, urgencies and opportunities of countering the hegemonic instincts of China in the region. However, we owe the nation, and specially the locals of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (a lot of whom were freedom fighters) to acknowledge and respect the past, not to invoke any hatred, but to accept, heal and finally bury the ghosts of the past, as a befitting tribute to those who suffered.
The Nobel committee has made a choice for the literature prize this year that would be better understood. After having given last years award to a balladeer in Bob Dylan by seemingly stretching the rules and the year before to a writer outside the conventional boundaries in the Belarusian journalist Svetlana Alexievich, the committee may have settled on a more straightforward and apolitical choice in an English writer in Kazuo Ishiguro, even if he is as unusual as a Japanese boy born in Nagasaki in 1954, a city with a very sad history in having been bombed in World War II. The world of English literature may not be unique when it comes to the several languages of the world, but it boasts of a reach any other language would be proud to possess.

The important thing is making the story fly, Ishiguro had said of his own work and which he may have achieved best in his Remains of the Day, published in 1989, and which is still recalled as his best work  ironic, reflective and precise. It is deemed Ishiguros best literary gift that he leaves many things unsaid that are as deep as what he says with delectable restraint. The Swedish Academy thinks he is a mixture of Jane Austen and Franz Kafka with a bit of Marcel Proust thrown in. Such is the range of genres in which his seven books are categorised that his meriting the award can be seen in many of his efforts. That he is also a fan of Dylan might also please the Academy although one would daresay they would have far less of a problem communicating with him about attending the ceremony and accepting the honour in its highest traditions. Also, the prize goes this time on pure literary merit in the more conventional sense.
If love is a game

Its a bit like chess

You make a move

And she has to guess

Or maybe its a bit

Like gambling on horses

You enter with wit

And squander your resources...

From Hi! Mary Lele by Bachchoo

The Brits have never understood Indian food. Ever since the memsahibs of the Raj began to euphemistically call goats meat mutton, a distortion which Indians to this day use, the perversions and extortions have prevailed. Theres kedgeree  a sort of British paella with fish and hard-boiled eggs, derived from the khichdi of dal, rice and haldi, which my grandmother would give us when we were poorly. No prawns or boiled eggs were killed or exploited in the process. Or think of South Indian spicy waters which, lost in transliteration, become Mulligatawney soup sold to this day in Britain in cans. Several surveys assert that chicken tikka masala has overtaken roast beef in the Brit popularity stakes. Surely these quirks are the least disturbing or even most welcome product of the interaction between the cultures. (I am told if one wants the wickedness of the interaction you cant do better than a book by Shashi Tharoor). In my first years as a student in Britain I used to pass the Taj Mahal, the Star of India or even, quite absurdly, the Light of Gurkha, but couldnt afford to go in. Later, I became aware that the Star of India should really have been The Star of East Pakistan and The Last days of the Raj should have really been called The First Days of Bangladesh.

When I landed up in London to earn a living I had my first taste of the Indian restaurant in Britain. It wasnt anything like the food mamaiji or our Muslim cook Hukam Ali dished up. It tasted of boiled meat covered with different concentrations of the same masala sauce with vindaloo at the acme of chilli-hotness. There was chicken Ceylon, chicken Madras, chicken Dopiazza among others  and the lamb and prawns got the same regional etc. categorisation. These East Pakistani, later Bangladeshi, restaurants were a culinary pantomime. But the Brits who frequented them felt transported on the magic carpet of 18 points of lager to Ceylon, Madras even to Dopiazza which they might have tried to locate on a map. Then another current entered this established flow. There were one or maybe two authentic, snobbish Indian restaurants already and that paucity left a lot of elbow room in the market. And some rushed in. Not that I or the circles I moved in could frequent these new posh establishments, but we could sample them on occasion.

Apart from trying to earn a living writing, I belonged to a radical group which ran a campaigning magazine. Membership entailed pamphleteering, endless meetings, rabble rousing, demonstrations, squatting houses, lobbying or barracking the authorities and police, patrolling the streets with Bengali vigilante youth on the lookout for marauding, Paki-bashing racists and then writing it all up. Wed work into the night and when we got hungry we would frequent a takeaway food bar called the Lahore Kebab House (LKH) for authentic north Indian Kebabs, naans etc. One could eat at the two plastic tables in the one-room-kitchen-cum-sales-counter in the tiny side-street off the Commercial Road, or take the food away. Through several strokes of luck and the beneficence of powers I dont believe in, I found some small success through my writing and was subsequently invited into a job in British television. I took it.

Then Britains Sunday Times approached me to contribute to a story about which Indian restaurants Indians would eat at or recommend. I asked the interviewer who else they were asking. Salman Rushdie had chosen The Bombay Brasserie, a Taj group eaterie and Ismail Merchant had named Veeraswamys. There were other illustrious names and choices. I chose the Lahore Kebab House (LKH) and in the course of the interview gave my reasons  authenticity, atmosphere, price, the absence of pretension and tablecloths, freedom from the hazard of breaking expensive crockery and one more  of which later. In the week before publication the Sunday Times called and said they were photographing each interviewee eating at their chosen restaurant and would I be up for it. We made the appointment, the newspaper crew and I, but couldnt inform the LKH as it didnt have a phone. I said it would be OK to turn up as the proprietor knew me. The Sunday Times crew at first couldnt find the place but finally landed up. They brought reflecting umbrellas, a director of photography and six or seven crew with the interviewing journalist.

The LKH, the owner and a cook werent amused. Whats going on Farrukh, we dont need any of this, customer turning off, nooksaan ho raha. I apologised. He didnt fully appreciate the power of media and attributed the intervention to his trade to my wanting to be in the papers. The article appeared very prominently on Sunday. On Tuesday I got a call from LKHs owner. Farrukh saheb what the hell have you done? There are white people lining up round the block and Ive had to borrow the next door shop and put 10 tables in and hire three more cooks... And today a third wave of fancy Indian restaurants has hit town, calling themselves fusion, offering limited because exclusive menus, advertising the names of their chefs and charging over a hundred pounds per person for tasting menus which include expensive wines. And yet, for me, the LKH is where Id go myself and invite my guests. For an authentic, unpretentious meal for which you pay a tenth of what you would in these new designer establishments, its still the place. The kitchen behind glass is on show within the now vastly expanded and thriving space. Besides, one brings ones own alcohol and so a 12 Sancerre wont cost 47, which the snob-appeal restaurants charge.
Typically, edutourism trips, which focus on learning about another countrys education system, center around a few of the usual suspects: Finland , Shanghai , Singapore , etcetera.

But Sydney Chaffee, the 2017 National Teacher of the Year , went somewhere a little different: Ethiopia. Chaffee, who was in the capital city of Addis Ababa for about a week, was asked by officials at the Ethiopian Embassy to visit and present workshops on theater education, interdisciplinary learning, and student-centered learning. Students, teachers, and members of the general public came to the workshops.

I was ... engaging folks on what we have in common, Chaffee said in an interview with Education Week Teacher.

She also wrote on her personal blog that she learned to step back and listen during the trip, instead of play[ing] the role of expert. The trip, she wrote, was filled with opportunities to collaborate. That mindset has broader implications to education in the United States, she wrote:

How can administrators and teacher leaders ensure that professional development opportunities, whether they are weekly staff meetings or once-in-a-lifetime chances to meet with teachers from another country, are collaborative? she wrote. How do we honor all participants expertise and ideas? How do we stay grounded in the fact that we all have more to learn, whether were introduced as the expert or the novice in the room?

At times, instead of giving her own recommendations to Ethiopian educators, Chaffee wrote that she asked other local teachers to share advice"and it was 10 times more powerful and helpful.

In addition to the importance of collaboration, here are Chaffees takeways from the trip:

We Can Hold One Another Up

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world, and the total adult literacy rate is 39 percent, according to UNICEF.org . The United States is one of the richest countries in the world, and the literacy rate is around 80 percent.

Despite these disparities between the United States and Ethiopia, Chaffee discovered similar themes from her conversations with educators to what she has heard in the United States.

Teachers [at private schools] feel like they could do more student-centered [learning], be more creative and innovative, she said, adding that public school teachers expressed a real desire to be more creative, more innovative, but they felt constrained by policies.

U.S. teachers face some of the same challenges, Chaffee said: How do we meet all of our students needs? How do we work creatively within [district constraints]?

Ethiopian teachers were also dismayed by this notion that teachers are not respected, she saida similar complaint among teachers here .

As teachers, we can hold one another up, Chaffee said she told educators in Ethiopia. I think the first thing is just to remember that as teachers, our job is to be creative ... remembering that and keeping that spirit is really important.

Education Is Universal

When I went in and taught these two theater workshops, I was so struck by how much [the students] reminded me of my kids, Chaffee said, adding that people had told her that Ethiopian students are used to instructional techniques that rely on memorization and rote call-and-response. The students wouldnt be used to the American style of teaching, people said, and it might be difficult to engage them.

She had the opposite experience. They were silly, goofy, incredibly excited, Chaffee said. They reminded me so much of my students in their enthusiasm, in their excitement, in their brilliance.

Education is universal, she added.

Chaffee shared a poem by an Ethiopian author (Bewketu Seyoum) that she thought might engage studentsand it did. Teachers could choose just one poem to supplement the textbook they have to teach, Chaffee saida simple way to open up creativity in the classroom.

Trying a new method of teaching can feel really overwhelming and can sometimes feel like an indictment, Chaffee told the educators.

Instead of trying to overhaul everything, she urged, find whats the little bit of wisdom or the little technique thats worth trying, and try that thing. Then if it works, find another little thing.

Ethiopia Has Lessons to Teach Us

Chaffee, who teaches humanities, talks to her students a lot about colonialism and its negative side effectsso visiting Ethiopia, one of the few African countries that was never colonized, was eye-opening. Ethiopians were proud of their independence, and told her so repeatedly. The country is also home to Lucy , a 3.2 million-year-old skeleton of a human ancestor. One man came up to her and asked, Do you know that humans started here?

Later on, students performed a play to demonstrate their English skills that covered the Battle of Adwa, in which Italy unsuccessfully tried to colonize Ethiopia.

Everyone in the room knew the history, Chaffee said. That sense of history and sense of pride in who they are and how important their country and home is, is something Ill bring back to my students as sort of a contrast to the history of colonialism.

Another lesson was more rooted in pedagogy: During a workshop, Chaffee noticed how a schools principal differentiated the content for teachers who were proficient in English and those who were not. That gave her some ideas to try with her own students.

These connections are making me smarter and more emphathetic, Chaffee wrote in her blog post . And I know, even though I wont be able to prove it until next fall, that theyre making me a better teacher, too.

Images courtesy of Chaffee
It has been an exceedingly funereal start to what is called the festive season in India. The horrific and entirely avoidable stampede in Mumbai that claimed 23 lives, shocked not just the city  which is pretty shock proof, given what it goes through periodically  but it also woke up the rest of India. Our railways (perhaps, the single-most valuable legacy of the Raj) are in shambles. That more train accidents dont take place on a daily basis is nothing short of a miracle. Take an audit of the bridges and walkways across India, and the findings will scare the hell out of you. It took a stampede at a local station in Mumbai for railway authorities to take note and hopefully, do something more than announce an inquiry commission. Piyush Goyel is known for his dynamic style of functioning. After all, he is a Mumbaiwalla, who recognises inefficiency and sloth when it stares him in the face. It is his ministry, and his name on the line this time. He is also shrewd enough to read the public mood. Which may be why he hasnt got into the bullet train debate. This is one hell of an expensive ride that the Modi government has announced with much chest thumping and fan fare. Look at these numbers: For $5.5 billion, Bangkok will be connected to Southern Chin via a bullet train  a distance of 3,000 km. India is paying $17 billion for a distance that covers 500 km between Mumbai and Ahmedabad for the same sort of train! Come on! We dont need a bullet train. Period. Who is going to use it? Why would anybody want to rush to Ahmedabad in record time? Apart from fat-cat traders? Here is a metropolis reeling because of overcrowding in local trains that connect one end of Mumbai to the other. Instead of allocating funds for upgrading trains that directly impact the millions of daily commuters, what is being thrust on us is bullet train. Unless there is a major rethink on this Indo-Japanese adventure, the chances of this administrations derailment are pretty high.

People who visit Ahmedabad frequently have been noting a recent shift in attitude. Senior journalists report that the generally ghaabroos business person in Ahmedabad, who keeps his mouth shut and has so far blindly supported the Modi-Shah-Adani triumvirate, has discovered a lost voice and most importantly, a sense of humour! There is enough going on across social media platforms to indicate a major shift in political loyalty. Memes galore have sprung up that boldly mock and criticise the Modi government for letting citizens down. The rage is mainly directed at the ill-conceived demonetisation initiative, which has left the business community bereft. From modest shopkeepers to millionaire industrialists, Gujarat is fuming against the arbitrariness of both, demonetisation and GST. The minute you hit a Gujaratis dhanda, you become an instant adversary. Nobody expected Gujaratis to react this strongly against their iconic political hero. Apart from the jokes doing the rounds, there is discernible disillusionment and simmering rebellion waiting to find expression. Delhi bosses are aware of the disgruntled Gujarati, and experiencing enormous nervous tension on account of the new mood. There is also the hideous face of intolerance to contend with in Gujarat. One of the most disturbing stories from Anand and Vadodara, emerged during Navratri 2017. Jayesh Solanki, a 20-year-old dalit, was beaten to death by a group of upper caste Patels, an hour after he left home, telling his mother to wait for him. His crime? He had the temerity to watch a high caste Garba performance in the neighbourhood!

As the dancers whirled and swirled outside the ancient Someshwar temple in the village, a senseless, brutal killing took place nearby with nobody intervening to stop the violence against a defenceless youth. His only sin was his daring to gaze at upper caste dancers from a safe distance. This is Modis India? High speed, over-priced bullet trains that nobody wants and regular murderous attacks on innocents. In a blistering interview about the Modi administration, Arun Shourie called it a government of two-and-a-half people. He accurately described demonetisation as the biggest money-laundering scheme ever. Speaking to a news channel, he asked, Which argument offered by the government in defence of demonetisation survives today? Black money? All of it turned white. Terrorism? Terrorists are still coming to India. More and more prominent thinkers are talking about the two-and-a-half people publicly and vociferously. This is again a pretty good indicator of a gigantic shift.

Nobody could have seen this coming after that stupendous, sweeping BJP win in the last general elections. I am not embarrassed to admit this time I had voted for the BJP myself, after decades of being a Congress supporter. Like me, there were several other urban voters, ready to take their chances with a party that promised growth, jobs and a change. Well, what India got was only a change  a change for the worse. No jobs. No growth. To put it bluntly and crudely, India has been royally screwed. The damage is irreversible and the voters are angry. Diwali is round the corner. I walked through the bustling Colaba market this week, and saw only long faces. Most of the traders here are Gujaratis. They are wondering how theyll be able to ride this crisis out, with so much money stuck in old stock. Corporate gifting is down by 70 per cent, a forlorn silver merchant told me, surveying all the unsold articles in the store. Theres not very much hope of business improving before Diwali this year, he admitted. I told him to be patient. If he waits long enough, he will be able to visit his relatives in Ahmedabad via the Bullet Train. He laughed, Before that, I might shoot a bullet through my own head in frustration. This is not what I voted for in 2014. That sentiment is being increasingly echoed across the length and breadth of India.
Tensions are already high in Washington over US allegations of a surge in hacking of American targets by Russians, including the targeting of state election agencies and the hacking of Democratic Party computers in a bid to sway the outcome of the 2016 presidential election in favour of Republican Donald Trump.

Russian government-backed hackers stole highly classified US cyber secrets in 2015 from the National Security Agency after a contractor put information on his home computer, two newspapers reported on Thursday.

As reported first by The Wall Street Journal, citing unidentified sources, the theft included information on penetrating foreign computer networks and protecting against cyber attacks and is likely to be viewed as one of the most significant security breaches to date.

In a later story, The Washington Post said the employee had worked at the NSAs Tailored Access Operations unit for elite hackers before he was fired in 2015.

The NSA declined to comment, citing agency policy never to comment on our affiliates or personnel issues. Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports.

If confirmed, the hack would mark the latest in a series of breaches of classified data from the secretive intelligence agency, including the 2013 leaks of data on classified US surveillance programs by contractor Edward Snowden.

Another contractor, Harold Martin, is awaiting trial on charges that he took classified NSA material home. The Washington Post reported that Martin was not involved in the newly disclosed case.

Republican US Senator Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a statement responding to the Journal report that, if true, the details were alarming.

The NSA needs to get its head out of the sand and solve its contractor problem, Sasse said. Russia is a clear adversary in cyberspace and we cant afford these self-inflicted injuries.

Tensions are already high in Washington over US allegations of a surge in hacking of American targets by Russians, including the targeting of state election agencies and the hacking of Democratic Party computers in a bid to sway the outcome of the 2016 presidential election in favour of Republican Donald Trump.

Citing unidentified sources, both the Journal and the Post also reported that the contractor used antivirus software from Moscow-based Kaspersky Lab, the company whose products were banned from US government networks last month because of suspicions they help the Kremlin conduct espionage.

Kaspersky Lab has strongly denied those allegations.

Russian government officials could have used flaws in Kaspersky software to hack into the machine in question, security experts told Reuters. They could also have intercepted traffic from the machine to Kaspersky computers.

Kaspersky said in a statement on Thursday that it found itself caught in the middle of a geopolitical fight.

Kaspersky Lab has not been provided any evidence substantiating the companys involvement in the alleged incident reported by the Wall Street Journal, it said. It is unfortunate that news coverage of unproven claims continue to perpetuate accusations about the company.

The Department of Homeland Security on Sept. 13 banned Kaspersky products in federal networks, and the US Senate approved a bill to ban them from use by the federal government, citing concerns the company may be a pawn of the Kremlin and poses a national security risk.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
The BlackBerry Motion is another all-touchscreen handset from the company. As per the partnership, Chinese firm TCL will design and manufacture the device.

BlackBerry was one of the most premium choices in the smartphone market a few years ago, until Android and iOS took over the market with their innovative and top-of-the-line functionality.

For the past couple of years BlackBerry has joined forces with Android to launch few smartphones with some company exclusive features. Now known tipster, Evan Blass a revealed that the company might be planning to unveil another smartphone dubbed as BlackBerry Motion.

Earlier there were rumours surrounding a BlackBerry Android smartphone called the Krypton. According to Blass, Krypton was the internal codename for the device and will be launched as BlackBerry Motion.

The BlackBerry Motion is another all-touchscreen handset from the company. As per the partnership, Chinese firm TCL will design and manufacture the device. The device is also said to pack an IP67 rating and up to 26 hours of battery life. The Motion might be a good alternative for business-focused customers.

Unlike the recently-launched KEYone, the new smartphone doesnt have a physical keyboard. Instead the device will house a huge screen with a home button with a BlackBerry logo embedded. The picture also suggests that the smartphone will have the 3.5mm audio jack.

Click on Deccan Chronicle Technology and Science for the latest news and reviews. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif warned, 'if India carries out any surgical strike in Pakistan or strikes at its nuclear installations nobody should expect restraint from us.' (Photo: AP)

Washington: Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif warned India against carrying out surgical strike or targeting its nuclear installations, saying if that happens nobody should expect restraint from his country.

Referring to the statement of India's Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa that the Indian armed forces are ready for a full spectrum operation, Asif said Pakistan wants to live in peace and harmony with its neighbours.

Read: We're ready, any decision on surgical strike to be taken by govt: IAF Chief

But if India carries out any surgical strike in Pakistan or strikes at its nuclear installations "nobody should expect restraint from us", he warned.

Speaking at the US Institute of Peace, a Washington-based think-tank, Asif said the "relationship with India is at a lowest ebb at the moment".

Responding to a question on India, he said, "sadly India did not respond" to Pakistani efforts to improve relationship.

"What is going on in Kashmir is the biggest roadblock to normalisation to talks," Asif said.

The Pakistani Foreign Minister asked the US not to treat his country as a "whipping boy" and said Washington has already lost the war in Afghanistan and is only trying to salvage the situation in the war-torn nation.

Asif, who was in Washington as part of efforts to rebuild bilateral ties frayed after President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of sheltering terror groups, said his meetings with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Advisor H R McMaster were good.

"Was not bad," Asif quipped, giving a sense of his talks with top leadership of the Trump administration, which has been seeking accountability from Islamabad in the war against terrorism including continued presence of terror safe havens in Pakistan.

Asif in a way acknowledged that the madrasas were training ground for terrorists.

"These madrasas were nurseries for American jihad in Afghanistan. People who took those decisions will burn to hell. We are actually living in hell because of that decision," he said, adding that Pakistan is paying the price of such a decision.

"The meeting went well with Tillerson and McMaster (meeting) was good. (It) was not bad," Asif said, noting that the two countries need to pursue contacts with each other.

He favoured adopting an approach of talks and exchange of views more vigorously.

The US, he said, is focusing solely on safe haven allegations or blaming Pakistan for what they have not achieved in Afghanistan.

"There are many more dimension of what is going on in Afghanistan," he said.

"A corrupt government in Kabul, increasing narcotics trade, the Afghan Army selling arms to the Taliban, losing terrorist and bringing Daesh (ISIS) to Afghanistan," he said.

"Let's see this conflict in its entirety, in totality. Do not treat Pakistan like a whipping boy. That's not acceptable. We want to cooperate with the US. We are the direct beneficiary of peace and stability in Afghanistan," he said.

Standing by his remarks on some of the terrorist groups and terrorist leaders at the Asia Society in New York last week, Asif said they are a liability.

"We will find ways and means to wrapping up this business. This is a liability. (but) this cannot be wrapped up overnight," he said.

Responding to a question, Asif said there are problems in US-Pakistan ties.

"We do have problems with the US. We have deficit of trust. We are trying to mend those deficits," he said.

Pakistan, he said, sees more role for Russia and China in the region.

Relationship with Russia has improved in recent years.

"We need and have proposed any peace solution in Afghanistan should be backed by regional powers which includes the Russian federation," he said in response to a question.

"Madrassas, whether we accept or agree with them or not, are the biggest NGO in Pakistan...There are over 20,000 madrasas. Out of these huge number, a very low number of them are infected. Possibly they number around 300-400. The government is managing these madrasas," he said.
US President Donald Trump has described North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un as a madman. However, CIA officials said Kim is far from crazy, CNN reported.

Top CIA officials said Kims actions are not those of a maniacal provocateur but of a rational actor who is motivated by clear goals that revolve around his regimes survival. Theres a clarity of purpose in what Kim has done, Yong Suk Lee, deputy assistant director of the CIAs Korea Mission Center, said, adding: The last person who wants conflict on the peninsula is Kim.
Pakistan Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif has slammed powerful Republican Senator John McCain for comparing the war in Afghanistan with that of Vietnam.



"Senator McCain was drawing parallel between Vietnam and the war in Afghanistan. Let me remind him through this forum, he has a poor sense of history," Asif said here while speaking at the US Institute of Peace, a Congress supported think-tank.



Asif's remarks surprised the audience mainly because McCain has often come to the defence of Pakistan and has been opposed to taking any punitive measure against the country.



McCain, the Chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, is known as a friend of Pakistan.



A former Republican presidential candidate, McCain is widely respected across the political spectrum and in the American military establishment.



The reason for Asif's outburst against McCain was not immediately clear.



Asif said that when the Americans took over the Vietnam War, they had actually lost the war from day one.



"Because in Indo-China the French were too clever for the Americans. They handed over a lost war, a losing war to the Americans. And the Americans were too happy to fight for one and half decade a war which had no end," he said.



And then they had to bomb Laos and Cambodia for having sanctuaries, he added.



"There were many many other causes. So let's not play to the galleries. Let's not play to your constituents. Let's face the verdict of history. The verdict of the history was that you perused a folly in Vietnam and you lost it," he said.



The verdict of history will be that if the way the Afghan problem is being pursued, the United States will lose Afghan War also, Asif said as he expressed his opposition to the new South Asia Strategy of the Trump Administration.



In fact, the US has already lost the war, he said. "You are just trying to salvage the situation over there."



Asif also warned that pursuing a military solution will force the Taliban and ISIS to join hands.



"That will be the biggest curse for us to face, for the region to face. We don't want to see that situation happening in our region. So that is why we want to cooperate with the Americans with full vigor, honesty and commitment," he said.



Asif also claimed that Pakistan is the only country which is fighting and winning the war against terrorists.
Seven military personnel were killed early on Friday, when a transport helicopter of Indian Air Force crashed in Arunachal Pradesh  close to the disputed border between India and China.



The Mi-17 V5 helicopter of the IAF was carrying food and other essentials for the soldiers of Indian Army deployed in forward posts guarding the Line of Actual Control  the de-facto border between India and China  in the mountainous region.



The chopper crashed around 6:59 am on Friday. The deceased included five IAF personnel and two Indian Army soldiers, the IAF said in a statement.



According to the IAF, the helicopter was on an air-maintenance mission and was carrying out the second sortie, when the mishap took place. The helicopter crashed close to the dropping zone or the pre-determined location, where it was to drop the supplies for the soldiers deployed in the forward posts. It caught fire immediately, an IAF spokesperson said in New Delhi.



Wing Commander V Upadhyay was flying the helicopter with Squadron Leader S Tewari being the co-pilot. Both of them were killed in the mishap. So were five others  Sergeant Gautam Kumar, Master Warrant Officer A K Singh and Sergeant Satish Kumar of the IAF and Sepoys H N Deka and E Balaji of the Indian Army. Gautam Kumar was a flight engineer, while A K Singh and Satish Kumar were flight gunners.



The mortal remains of the deceased were recovered from the crash site at Yangchi, which is about 130 km from Tawang and close to the disputed India-China border.



A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to establish what caused the crash, the IAF stated.



India procured the Mi-17 V5 choppers from Kazan Helicopters of Russia.



Designed to transport cargo inside the cabin as well as on an external sling, the Mi-17 V5 is one of the most advanced helicopters of the world. It can also be deployed in troop and arms transport, fire support, convoy escort, patrol, and search-and-rescue missions.



The IAF and Indian Army have over 150 Mi-17 V5 helicopters.
The US military is "ridding" the world of terrorism, President Donald Trump has said, asserting that America's goals were denuclearising North Korea and stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.



Trump's remarks came after he held a meeting with top US military leaders yesterday. The meeting was also attended by the President's advisers, including the National Security Adviser H R McMaster, Chief of Staff John Kelly and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.



"I put my trust in you to execute our mission aggressively and effectively, and you are delivering. We're ridding our world of terrorism and terrorists as much as it can be done," Trump said.



Noting that he wanted to discuss certain critical things with the military, Trump also listed out some of his priorities.



"In North Korea, our goal is denuclearisation. We cannot allow this dictatorship to threaten our nation or our allies with unimaginable loss of life. We will do what we must do to prevent that from happening. It will be done, if necessary - believe me," he said.



The US must not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed and chaos across the Middle East, he alleged, adding that this is why America must put an end to Iran's continued aggression and nuclear ambitions.



"They have not lived up to the spirit of their agreement," he said.



Trump said in Afghanistan he had lifted restrictions and expanded authorities for commanders in the field.



"You know that very well, and everyone in this room is very happy that it's been done finally. We've made more progress in our campaign to defeat ISIS in the last eight months than in many, many previous years, all combined," Trump said.



Earlier, Trump issued a national security memorandum aimed at integration, sharing and use of national security threat actor information to protect Americans.



National security threat actor information comprises identity attributes and associated information about individuals, organisations, groups or networks assessed to be a threat to the safety, security or national interests of the United States, the memorandum said.
Bengaluru, DHNS: Expelled AIADMK general secretary V K Sasikala has been granted an emergency parole for five days on Friday to visit her ailing husband in Chennai.



The confidante of late former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha is serving a four-year term at the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison after being convicted in the disproportionate assets case.



Sasikala left the prison at 2.30 pm, and she has to return to jail by 6 pm October 12, jail officials told DH.



Her husband M Natrajan, who had recently undergone renal and liver transplant, is reportedly recuperating at a private hospital in Chennai. The emergency parole is dated from October 7 till October 11 after which the convict Sasikala has to report back by 6 pm to Parappana Agrahara prison on October 12. The emergency parole was granted with strict conditions.



According to the conditions, Sasikala is allowed only to visit the hospital where her husband is admitted and stay at her house in Chennai. She is not supposed to speak to her supporters or entertain any visitors either at her residence or at the hospital. She is also refrained from involving herself in any political or any public activities and is not allowed to take part in any such events or meetings. Though she is allowed to speak to her relatives, she is refrained from speaking anything to media.



The conditions of the parole will be monitored by the Tamil Nadu Police to whom she has to report on Saturday 9 am in Chennai to sign. She is also instructed to contact the jurisdictional police in case of any emergency.



Sasikala had applied for a two-week parole with the prison authorities. Her first application was rejected earlier as she had not furnished appropriate documents of her husbands medical conditions. Two days ago, Sasikala had applied again for a 15-day parole after submitting the requisite medical documents along with details and stages of her pending cases.



The prison authorities after scrutinising and verifying all documents granted her a 5-day parole on Friday afternoon. However, prison sources also hinted that the parole duration could vary depending on the Tamil Nadu governments recommendation too.



Prison sources claimed they have received an email that they were awaiting from the Chennai police commissioner who has agreed for her parole, but with a few conditions.



After it was decided that she be sent on parole, both the states police were busy discussing and reviewing her security arrangements both in Karnataka and in Tamil Nadu and during her transit too. Karnataka prison authorities have received a no-objection letter from Chennai police with regards to her security arrangements.



Sasikalas nephew T T V Dhinakaran and advocate Ashokan had reached the central prison on Thursday night and received her while she was released on Friday. A large number of Sasikala supporters were seen before the Parappana Agrahara central prison while she was moving out of jail by road to Chennai. Dhinakaran along with his family members gave a grand reception as soon as she came out of the jail and she was taken in a SUV to Chennai by road.



According to sources, Sasikala will not stay at her house as she is planning to stay at one of her relatives house in T Nagar.
Banwarilal Purohit, who was sworn in as the 24th governor of Tamil Nadu today, said his decisions will be based on the constitution and there will no political consideration in it.



"All my decisions will be based on constitution. I have decided to preserve and protect constitution and there will be no political consideration in all decisions whether it is big or small", he said soon after taking oath.



Stating that Governor office is above politics, Purohit said: "all decisions will be based on merit".



He said that he will support the government with regard to developmental activities are concerned. "I have good friends in Delhi and I will ensure more funds are provided to Tamil Nadu", he added.



"I will see that there is total transparency in the administration", Purohit said.



During the swearing-in ceremony, Purohit was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Madras High Court chief Justice Indira Banerjee.



Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswamy and Opposition DMK working president M K Stalin were among the VIPs present in the function at Raj Bhavan.


Intensifying its crackdown on black money, the government today said it has collated information about 5,800 shell companies whose near zero- balance accounts saw nearly Rs 4,574 crore of deposits post note ban and Rs 4,552 crore withdrawal thereafter.



"Vital information has been received from 13 banks regarding the bank account operations and post-demonetisation transactions of some of the 2,09,032 suspicious companies that had been struck off the Register of Companies earlier this year," the government said in a statement today.



Last month, the government imposed restrictions on operations of bank accounts of over 2 lakh 'struck-off' companies.



Terming it as a "major breakthrough" in fight against black money and shell companies, it said the first instalment of data pertains to about 5,800 companies -- out of more than 2 lakh that were struck off -- involving 13,140 accounts.



"Few of the companies have been found to have more than 100 accounts to their names. The highest grosser among these is a company having 2,134 accounts, followed by others having accounts in the range of 900, 300 etc," it said.



The data on pre-demonetisation accounts and transactions conducted during the cash ban period is "startling", the government stated.



After separating the loan accounts, these companies had a meagre balance of Rs 22.05 crore on November 8, 2016.



"However, from November 9, 2016 (after the announcement of demonetisation), till the date of their being struck off, these companies have altogether deposited a huge amount of Rs 4,573.87 crore in their accounts and withdrawn an equally large amount of Rs 4,552 crore," the statement said.



With loan accounts, there was a negative opening balance of Rs 80.79 crore in these accounts.



Companies had multiple accounts with minuscule or negative balance as on November 8, 2016, which have seen deposits and withdrawal running into several crores. The accounts were thereafter again left as dormant with paltry balance.



"This exercise of swindling the authorities was carried out post demonetisation till the companies were struck off. In some cases, certain companies have gone more adventurous and made deposits and withdrawals even after being struck off," it said.



Citing an example, it said that in one of the banks, 429 companies having zero balance each on November 8, 2016, deposited and withdrew over Rs 11 crore and left again with a cumulative balance of just Rs 42,000 as on the date of the freeze.



Similarly, in the case of another bank, more than 3,000 such companies -- most having multiple accounts -- have been located.



From having a cumulative balance of about Rs 13 crore as on November 8, 2016, these companies have deposited and withdrawn about Rs 3,800 crore, leaving a negative cumulative balance of almost Rs 200 crore at the time of freezing of their accounts.



"It needs to be re-emphasised that this data is only about 2.5 per cent of the total number of suspected companies that have been struck off by the government. The huge money game played by these companies may well be the tip of an iceberg of corruption, black money and black deeds of these and many more of their brethren," the statement said.



Investigative agencies have been asked to complete necessary investigation in a time-bound manner.



After being removed from the list, operations of the bank accounts of 2,09,032 suspicious companies were restricted for discharge of their liabilities only.
The NGT has allowed the construction of Yettinahole drinking water project in Sakleshpur taluk of Hassan district, aimed at quenching the thirst of drought-hit Tumakuru, Chikkaballapura and Kolar districts.



The green panel headed by Justice Jawad Rahim, in its order issued on Thursday, said: ...while permitting the project activity as envisaged by the state government of Karnataka, we direct the user agency to proceed with the construction of Yettinahole Phase-I project only, subject to compliance with various conditions and directions in terms of detailed judgement to follow and as per the law.



While disposing of the petition challenging the project, filed by activist K N Somashekar, the bench also said that since expert member of the tribunal Ranjan Chatterjee is demitting office on October 8, the operative portion of the decision has been announced now. A detailed order would follow, it said.



Somashekar had challenged the project in Chennai bench of the National Green Tribunal and subsequently, on his plea, it was shifted to Principal bench in Delhi.



The petitioner alleged that the project work was started by the Karnataka government without obtaining required permission from various statutory bodies, which is mandatory since the project is coming up in ecologically sensitive Western Ghats.Yettinahole Phase I gets green panel approval



Alleging that the project would result in largescale destruction of forest, he said it would have negative impact on the environment. The project also envisages diversion of 24 tmc feet water from the Netravathi river.



Dismissing these allegations, the state government said drinking water project does not require forest and environment clearance. Moreover, only after conducting a detailed study on water availability, the project was initiated.



Under the project, the state government proposes to lift water from Netravathi river at Yettinahole and supply it to the parched districts of Tumakuru, Chikkaballapura and Kolar. The water would also fill up 527 tanks during the rainy season to meet irrigation needs of farmers.



Speaking to reporters, Somashekar said after studying the detailed order, he would decide on appealing against the NGT order in the Supreme Court.



2 petitions pending



Two more petitions filed by Kishore Kumar and Purushotham Chitrapura, alleging that the project would adversely affect people living in lower riparian areas of the river and that the state government had not studied its environmental impact are pending before the green panel bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar.
Pakistan's top diplomat has warned India against launching surgical strikes or targeting the country's nuclear installations, saying nobody should expect restraint from Islamabad if that happens.



Responding to a statement of India's Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa that his forces are ready for a full spectrum operation, Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan wants to live in peace and harmony with its neighbours.



But if India carries out any surgical strike in Pakistan or strikes at its nuclear installations "nobody should expect restraint from us", he warned yesterday.



Speaking at the US Institute of Peace, a Washington-based think-tank, Asif said the "relationship with India is at a lowest ebb at the moment".



Responding to a question on India, he said, "sadly India did not respond" to Pakistani efforts to improve relationship.



"What is going on in Kashmir is the biggest roadblock to normalisation to talks," Asif said.



Asif, who is here as part of efforts to rebuild bilateral ties frayed after President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of sheltering terror groups, said his meetings with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Advisor H R McMaster were good.



"The meeting went well with Tillerson and McMaster (meeting) was good. (It) was not bad," Asif said, noting that the two countries need to pursue contacts with each other.



He favoured adopting an approach of talks and exchange of views more vigorously.



Asif in a way acknowledged that the madrasas were training ground for terrorists.



"These madrasas were nurseries for American jihad in Afghanistan. People who took those decisions will burn to hell. We are actually living in hell because of that decision," he said, adding that Pakistan is paying the price of such a decision.



The US, he said, is focusing solely on safe haven allegations or blaming Pakistan for what they have not achieved in Afghanistan.



"There are many more dimension of what is going on in Afghanistan," he added.
Karnataka State Contractors' Association has threatened to stage protest against the State government if they did not set right anomalies while awarding contracts.



"The goverment should cancel package tenders besides making payment within 30 days after the work is done," demanded the Association President V Krishnareddy. He told reporters that contractors who lacked certain machinery and tools were disqualified from attending bidding.



" The government should ensure healthy competition by directing KIRDL, Land Army and Nirmithi Kendras to participate in bidding," he demanded.



He said that contractors from Karnataka should be preferred to their counterparts from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
India will have 10-15 public sector banks with government's majority stake, down from 21 at present, as part of its plan to consolidate banks, Finance Ministry's principal economic advisor Sanjeev Sanyal said today.



He said cleaning up of the bad loan problems is the first priority and after that the PSU banks could be consolidated.



"There are something like 21-22 public sector banks.. The numbers will be reduced in terms of consolidation, but somewhere to the 10-15 range. We are not going to take it too far down...We need to consolidate some of these large number of banks, but be clear that we are not going to reduce these down to some people think like 4-5 national champions.



We recognise that that will lead to too many 'too-big- to-fail' banks. Currently, we have one large bank State Bank of India... We do not want to create a large number of them. Then we will have a real problem in terms of concentration of risks," Sanyal said at the India Economic Summit.



He said consolidation of banks is longer term commercial decisions, whereas recapitalisation of PSBs is "more an urgent issue" in order to get the banking system running again.



Adding to inefficient banks does not lead to a bigger efficient bank. So, this cleaning up of the bad loans problem is the first priority, he said.



As part of the clean up process, the RBI has already started recognising the bad assets, provision them and is taking some of them to bankruptcy and insolvency process.



"Now, the second step consequently is recapitalisation and getting these banks running again... that will be done in next few months. The government is fully aware that we need a much larger banking system by factors of multiple than what it is today," Sanyal said, adding India's banking system is way too small for future and needs to be expanded significantly.



Recapitalisation bonds is one of the options for infusing capital into banks, he said, adding that the government could also dilute its stake in some lenders to 52 per cent.



"There are many options and all of them will be explored in combination," he said.



In the last consolidation drive, five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) became part of State Bank of India (SBI) on April 1, 2017, catapulting the countrys largest lender to among the top 50 banks in the world.



State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT), besides BMB, were merged with SBI.



While deciding on the consolidation, the ministry would keep in mind factors like regional balance, geographical reach, financial burden and smooth human resource transition. Also a very weak bank would not be merged with a strong one "as it could pull the latter down".



As per S&P Global Ratings, PSU banks will need at least Rs 1.9 lakh crore additional capital by March 2019 as the lack of it will restrict their ability to write down non-performing loans.



Sanyal further said the government is moving from "rent- seeking patronage-based economy" to "rule-based, entrepreneur based economy".



"When you introduce radical changes like this (demonetisation and GST), you have to expect unintended consequences. So, it was a huge political step to step into the water and then learn to swim," he added.
A stealth frigate of Indian Navy thwarted a piracy attempt on a cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden on Friday.



The INS Trishul thwarted the piracy attempt on Indian cargo ship MV Jag Amar and detained 12 pirates, who came on a skiff, said Indian Navy spokesperson Captain D K Sharma.



The cargo ship, which was targeted by the pirates, had 26 Indian crews on board. All of them were found to be

safe when the marine commandos of the Indian Navy boarded the ship after foiling the piracy attempt at around 12.30 pm.



The Indian Navy personnel recovered an AK-47 rifle with 27 bullets, grapnels, ropes, fuel drums and ladders from the boat of the pirates, said Captain Sharma.



The INS Trishul took part in the first joint naval exercise  PASSEX  by India and the European Union off the coast of Galmadug of Somalia just two days back. The exercise was to enhance cooperation and broaden maritime expertise. The ITS Fasan took part in the exercise on behalf of the EU Naval Force.
In a significant political development that would dominate the political scenario of Maharashtra for some time, veteran politician Narayan Rane on Friday announced joining the BJP-NDA.



On the eve of Gandhi jayanti and a day after Dassera, Rane had floated Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksha (MSP) after leaving the Congress- with which he was associated for 12 years after he was expelled from Shiv Sena by Balasaheb Thackeray.



"For the overall development of Maharashtra, for addressing the issues of the people and give impetus to the growth of Konkan region, the MSP is joining the NDA," Rane said.



Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and state BJP president Raosaheb Patil-Danve had sent feelers to the political heavyweight to join the NDA.



"Couple of days ago, the chief minister requested me to join NDA. I had asked for two days time. Accordingly, we are joining the NDA," he told reporters in his home district of Sindhudurg.



However, Rane, a Maratha leader and a former chief minister, has not yet said anything whether he would join the ministry.



The Shiv Sena, which is the oldest partner of BJP, is yet to react on the development. "We have not been conveyed anything officially," a senior Sena leader said.



Rane is a bete noire of Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray and they do not leave any chance to target each other politically.



In fact, since the time he formed MSP, he had come to the defence of prime minister Narendra Modi on the issue of bullet train project and had been seen stonewalling criticism of Uddhav and his estranged cousin and MNS president Raj Thackeray.



Rane's entry into the NDA would come as a major breather to Fadnavis, who has been under constant attack of the Sena. Uddhav's party has been attacking Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.
Mobile Internet services were today snapped across Kashmir to prevent rumour mongering following several cases of vigilante violence against braid chopping incidents in the Valley, officials said.



The mobile Internet services were snapped shortly after noon as a precautionary measure, an official said.



Separatists had called for protests against the incidents of braid chopping in the Valley.



The number of braid chopping incidents have increased in the Valley over the past few days and people have started resorting to vigilante action to prevent such attacks, the official said.



However, in many instances innocent people have suffered at the hands of the mob.



A youth was thrashed in Delina area of Baramulla district earlier this week after he was accused of being a braid chopper.



Two women were thrashed at a wedding feast on similar suspicion in Baba Demb area of the city.
Those seeking to know the motive of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock have had little more to chase than hints and shadows.



Paddock led such a low-key, private life that no one seemed to know him well, and those who did had no sense he was capable of the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.



Where other mass killers have left behind a trail of plain-sight clues that help investigators quickly understand what drove them to violence, Paddock, 64, had nearly no close friends, social media presence or other clear connections to the broader world.



Even the No 2 official in the FBI said yesterday he was surprised investigators have not uncovered more about why a man with no obvious criminal record would cause so much bloodshed.



"There's all kinds of things that surprise us in each one of these events. That's the one in this one, and we are not there yet," FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said. "We have a lot of work to do."



Working with what little they know, investigators have zeroed in on a weapons-buying binge Paddock went on one year before he gunned down 58 people on Sunday at a country music festival from a 32nd-floor room at the Mandalay Bay casino resort before killing himself.



They wonder if he had some sort of mental break at the time that drove him to start making plans for mass murder.



They also know he rented an apartment in a Las Vegas high-rise over another music festival the weekend before the massacre, though not why.



They know he was a major gambler and are looking at related records, though even in very public casinos he played the very private game of video poker.



They know he had a plan to survive the shooting and try to escape, though would not say how.



"This individual and this attack didn't leave the sort of immediately accessible thumbprints that you find on some mass casualty attacks," McCabe said. "Putting aside the somewhat dubious claims of responsibility that we see in each one of these instances, we look for actual indicators of affiliation, of motive, of intent, and so far we're not there. We don't have those sort of indicators."



Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said at a news conference yesterday night that Paddock must have had some help along the way given his huge arsenal the explosive materials found in his car, and his meticulous plan, but they don't know who that might be.



Some who thought they knew him intimately could provide no help.



"He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen," Marilou Danley, 62, said in a statement read by her lawyer outside FBI headquarters in Los Angeles.



Danley returned on Tuesday from the Philippines, where Paddock had sent her before the attack and was being interviewed by the FBI.



Analyzing Paddock's computer, cellphone and other electronic devices, Investigators have found no obvious ideological motive, no clear connection to extremists or activist groups or outward display of mental illness.



Paddock wired USD 100,000 to the Philippines days before the shooting, said a US official who was not authorized to speak publicly because of the continuing investigation. Investigators are trying to trace that money.



Danley, who was overseas for more than two weeks, said she was initially pleased when she was wired money from Paddock to buy a house for her family in the Philippines. But she later feared it was a way to break up with her.



She said she loved Paddock as a "kind, caring, quiet man" and hoped they would have a future together. She said she was devastated by the carnage and would cooperate with authorities as they struggle to get inside Paddock's mind.



The previous weekend, Paddock had rented a high-rise condo in a building that overlooked the Life is Beautiful alternative music festival featuring Chance the Rapper, Muse, Lorde and Blink-182, said Lombardo, who offered no other details about what led Paddock there.



On September 28, the 64-year-old high-stakes gambler and real estate investor checked into Mandalay Bay and specifically requested an upper-floor room with a view of the Route 91 Harvest music festival, according to a person who has seen hotel records turned over to investigators.



Paddock wasn't able to move into the room until Saturday, said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly and disclosed the information to the AP on condition of anonymity. The room, which goes for USD 590 a night, was given to Paddock for free because he was a good customer who wagered tens of thousands of dollars each time he visited the casino, the person said.



Authorities are looking for hints in those details of the kind of life he lived, and the kind of victims and venue he targeted, said David Gomez, a former FBI national security and criminal profiler. "We may never know with a 100 percent certainty," he said. "But they will find out."
The Congress on Friday attacked the BJP government over the fresh build-up of Chinese troops near the Doklam plateau and wondered how Prime Minister Narendra Modi can sleep peacefully in the midst of such developments.



Modiji, once you are done thumping your chest, could you please explain this, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi tweeted in response to a report on China expanding a road in Doklam in the presence of 500 soldiers.



Rahuls remarks follow the prime ministers claim on Wednesday that the economy was on a firm footing. Modi had asserted that he would continue with reforms to reverse the trend of slowdown in growth witnessed over the last two quarters.



Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal also took a swipe at the prime ministers remarks that pessimists cannot sleep peacefully without spreading a sense of defeatism.



Sibal listed out a series of developments from the use of pellet guns in Jammu & Kashmir to the fresh build-up of Chinese troops in Doklam and asked the prime minister whether he enjoyed sound sleep in the midst of such incidents.
Launching a covert attack on the Congress for neglecting the Scheduled Tribes, BJP chief Amit Shah said his party and the government are committed to bringing a qualitative change to the tribal lives.



In a blogpost he wrote after visiting Jharkhand where he made a trip to tribal leader and freedom fighter Birsa Mundas village of Ulihatu in Khunti district- Shah said the significant contributions of tribals and dalits to the freedom movement has not been chronicled by historians in a deserving manner.



In a veiled attack on Congress, he said the lopsided policies of governments in the last 70 years meant that they exploited the natural resources but gave nothing back to those inhabiting the jungle.



As a result, the tribals have been left far behind in the race towards development, Shah lamented.



The Jan Sangh and its offshoot the BJP have prioritized promoting water, jungle and land, he said, adding that the Modi government amended the 1957 Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act two years ago to create District Mineral Foundation (DMF) for a focused development of areas impacted by mining.



He said the amendment allows 10% of the mining income is put back into the DMF and so far, Rs 9100 crore has gone to the districts to empower the tribals.
The Madras High Court today dismissed a plea for a direction to the state government to include U Sagayam, IAS, and also a member nominated by the DMK, the main opposition party, in the inquiry commission set up to probe the death of former chief minister Jayalalithaa.



The First Bench, comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar, dubbed the PIL as publicity interest litigation and dismissed it.



The bench asked the petitioner to show the provisions of the Commission of Inquiry Act which would enable the inclusion of any member, as prayed by him, for which he said there was no such provision.



When the bench raised another query on the appointment of the one-man commission of inquiry, headed by Justice (retd) A Arumugasamy, the petitioner replied that he was not making any comment about the integrity and competence of Justice Arumugaswamy.



Referring to their order last month upholding the constitution of the inquiry commission, the bench said: "In the absence of any provision in the Act and in the light of the fact that we have already upheld the constitution of the commission on the earlier occasion, we find no ground to entertain the petition on the same set of reasons."



The bench also warned the petitioner B.Balamurugan, who is working as an Assistant Commissioner, Customs Excise and Service Tax Tribunal, while referring to his contentions with regard to then Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul by name in his affidavit.



"The averments are unfortunate and uncalled for and contumacious," it said.
Haryana Police has found evidence of Honeypreet Insan's hand in incidents of violence in Panchkula following Dera Sacha Sauda chief's conviction in a rape case on August 25, Panchkula Police Commissioner A S Chawla claimed today.



Chawla also said that 36-year-old Honeypreet, who claims to be the adopted daughter of jailed sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, was misleading and not cooperating with the police during her interrogation.



Honeypreet, whose real name is Priyanka Taneja, was arrested by the Haryana Police on October 3 in connection with the deadly violence that had claimed 35 lives.



Asking if Honeypreet's hand in incidents of violence has come to light, Chawla today told reporters, "according to the evidence we have gathered so far, definitely she has hand in this".



The police will put the evidence and other other facts before the court, he said without elaborating. A lookout notice had been issued earlier against Honeypreet.



However, she evaded the police by moving from one place to another in several states including Rajasthan, Punjab and Delhi, according to police. The officer said that Honeypreet, who is currently in police custody, was not cooperating in the investigations. "Her attitude is not proper with regard to investigations being conducted. Initially, she tried to feign ignorance.



"When she was confronted with facts and evidence about what happened in Panchkula, she started misleading," he alleged and hoped that she will start cooperating in the probe. He said Honeypreet was taken to Bathinda yesterday to verify the information she had given to the police.



"We found that the entire information given by her was turning out to be false after which we decided to return from there," the officer said. The police was keen to ensure that the entire conspiracy is unearthed. "We are hopeful that we will be able to dig out the truth," he said.



Replying to a question, Chawla said if anyone's role in Panchkula violence comes to light during investigation, that person will be asked to join investigation irrespective of the individual's stature.



If the need arises, the person will be arrested, he said. Asked if any political leader had given shelter to Honeypreet when she was on the run, the police officer said, "At this stage, I do not think it will be appropriate to comment on this."



Chawla said that during interrogation of some other arrested accused, it has been alleged that an amount of Rs 1.25 crore was distributed to some Dera members to arrange logistics for inciting violence in Panchkula on August 25 if the Dera chief was convicted in the rape case.



To a query, he said raids are on to the nab other key Dera functionaries accused of involvement in the violence, Aditya Insan and Pawan Insan. "Our raids are going on continuously and we are hopeful of making early arrests," he said.



About Aditya Insan, Chawla said a lookout notice had been issued against him earlier.



"There is no input that Aditya Insan has fled the country," he said to a query.



Meanwhile, Chawla appealed to the media to refrain from publishing or broadcasting any news pertaining to the ongoing investigations "that is speculative and not certified". "Such news are confusing the common man and it is also affecting media's credibility," he said. He denied that Panchkula police has sent a notice to the 45-member Dera committee.
India and the European Union today expressed "deep concern" over the Rohingya refugee crisis during their 14th summit with the two sides urging Myanmar to work with Bangladesh for their return.



After the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Tusk, the two sides underscored the need for early return of the displaced people of all communities to northern Rakhine state in Myanmar.



Addressing a joint press event, Tusk said the two sides wanted de-escalation of tensions and full adherence to international obligations in Myanmar and access of people to humanitarian aid.



"The Rohingya people must be able to return voluntarily with safety and dignity. We call for implementation of recommendations of the (Kofi Annan-led) International Rakhine Advisory Commission to tackle the root cause of this crisis. As a neighbour India stands first in the line to respond," Tusk said.



Responding to a PIL last month, the NDA government had told the Supreme Court that Rohingya Muslims are "illegal" immigrants in the country and their continued stay had "serious national security ramifications".



Millions of Rohingya Muslims have fled the conflict-hit Rakhine state to Bangladesh and India after the escalation of tensions following a military crackdown.



The joint statement said both sides took note that the violence was triggered by a series of attacks by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) militants which led to loss of lives amongst the security forces as well as the civilian population.



"India and the EU expressed deep concern at the recent spate of violence in the Rakhine state of Myanmar that has resulted in the outflow of a large number of people from the state, many of whom have sought shelter in neighbouring Bangladesh," the joint statement said.



When asked at a media briefing by the Ministry of External Affairs, about the comments made by Tusk on the issue, Ruchi Ghanshyam, Secretary (West) said, "The EU has talked about their expectations and the agreed position is in the joint statement."



The joint statement said India and the EU also recognised the role being played by Bangladesh in extending humanitarian assistance to the people in need.
Stating that efforts are being made to convince Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to come for talks to resolve the Mahadayi dispute out-of-the-tribunal, Leader of Opposition in Legislative Assembly Jagadish Shettar assured Mahadayi agitators to give them clear information in this regard before November 1.



When a delegation of Raitha Sena Karnataka, which is leading the Mahadayi agitation at Nargund in Gadag district, met Mr Shettar at his residence at Madhura Estate here on Friday, he said, there are some positive developments, and all that cannot be disclosed.



"I have a hope that Goa CM would come for talks, and State BJP President B S Yeddyurappa is also working in that direction," he said.



Raitha Sena Karnataka President Veeresh Sobaradmath asked Mr Shettar to join the agitation, if his efforts to convince Goa CM fail.



If the efforts to hold talks bring no result within 15 days, we will not allow any political party to conduct their election rallies in the region, while next Assembly elections will also be boycotted, and roads to Goa will be blocked, he said, adding that 'Parliament Chalo' would also be organised if needed.



Shankarappa Ambali lamented that Mahadayi agitators were not allowed to submit memorandum to Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu when he visited Nargund, while baseless cases are also being filed against the agitators.



Political parties would soon be busy with electioneering, and therefore, the inter-State dispute over Mahadayi water sharing should be resolved before elections, he said.



As Kannadigas are being treated badly in Goa, Kannadigas there should be brought back to Karnataka. We are just seeking our share of water in Mahadayi basin, Mr Ambali added.
The Karnataka State Government Employees coming under the new pension scheme will hold a conference on October 8 at 9:30 am at Daivjna Community Hall on Dharwad PB Road, opposing the new pension scheme, which is against the employees.



The conference will discuss the harms and problems the new scheme brings and demand the Union government to give justice to the employees. The conference will also discuss other problems faced by the people.



More than 300 employees are expected to participate in the meet. Umesh D Kurubar, M R Kurubar, and others will be present.
The High Court of Karnataka on Friday dismissed a petition filed by Devas Multimedia Private Limited which had challenged the Enforcement Directorates (ED) action of attaching its property.



ED had attached the property of Devas with regard to the multi-crore Antrix-Devas scam involving the Indian Space Research Organisation.



The scam related to Devas alone is worth around Rs 580 crore. The CBI is investigating into the scam.

Devas had moved the court challenging the act of ED attaching its property, exercising the amended provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, wherein a list of scheduled offences was included in 2009.



The petitioner had contended that the list of scheduled offences was imposed retrospectively as the alleged offence was committed prior to the amendment, which is from the year 2006 onwards.

Justice B S Patil, dismissing the contentions of the petitioner, said that this is not a case where extraordinary jurisdiction of the high court under its writ jurisdiction can be exercised.



Ignoring the efficacious machinery provided under the Act, the court directed the petitioner to challenge their contentions before a competent authority.



The judge also dismissed another related petition with regard to the violation of FEMA regulations (Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999).


Four youths, including two girls, were crushed to death when the car they were travelling in collided with a truck on Friday.



The accident occurred a little before 4 am near the Kempanahalli Gate on Mysuru Road near Ramanagaram.



The friends were speeding in a Hyundai Verna. The car hit a median and flipped to the other side, smashing into an oncoming container truck.



Reckless driving caused the accident, police said.



Joel Jacob (21) was driving the car. Nikith Job Sudeep (20), Jeena Eldo (21) and Rebecca (21) were out with him on a late night drive from Mysuru to Bengaluru.



The bodies were moved to the morgue at Rajarajeshwari Hospital on Mysuru Road.



All four died instantaneously inside the car.



The impact of the collision was such that the front of the car was completely ripped away.



Police and volunteers struggled to extricate the bodies from the car.



Jacob was doing his MBBS at the Rajarajeshwari Medical College in Kengeri and Sudeep was studying chartered accountancy after his BCom, police said.



Jeena and Rebecca had just graduated this year from the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) near Katpadi in Tamil Nadu. The girls had come from Dubai a couple of days ago to attend their graduation ceremony in VIT on Saturday.



The four, all natives of Kerala, had just met and decided to go on a drive.



The parents of Jacob, Jeena and Rebecca live in Dubai, and are flying to Bengaluru. Sudeeps parents and some of Jeenas relatives arrived from Chennai to claim the bodies.



Ramanagaram Town traffic police have registered a case.
Prime Minister Narendra Modis two-day trip to poll-bound Gujarat over the weekend will be followed by Congress vice president Rahul Gandhis visit from Monday till Wednesday.



Several Union ministers, chief ministers and national leaders of the BJP will arrive in the state subsequently for a carpet-bomb campaign.



Rahul, who began his campaign in Gujarat from the Saurashtra region across six districts and half of the 52 Assembly constituencies of Saurashtra from September 29 to October 2, will kickstart the next phase of the three-day election tour in the central Gujarat region.



Rahul is expected to lead two major roadshows in Vadodara and Bodeli and conduct 18 group meetings.



For the BJP, while Modi remains the biggest campaigner followed by party national president Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, too, would make a two-day visit to Gujarat on October 13 and 14.



Adityanath will attend the ongoing Gujarat Gaurav Yatra, and is expected to primarily move around the south Gujarat region, especially Surat, which has a sizeable population from his state.



External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj is slated to hold a womens townhall on October 14.
October 5, 2017

Just four months after accusing Iran of Persian expansionism in the Middle East, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Tehran on Oct. 4 to discuss bilateral cooperation and an expansion of economic ties with the country's highest officials. One of the issues that has recently brought Iran and Turkey closer is the Kurdish independence referendum held Sept. 25 in northern Iraq. The vote poses a challenge to both countries because of their own Kurdish populations.

While in Iran, Erdogan met with the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's highest authority. Speaking about the Iraqi Kurdistan referendum, Khamenei said, In confronting this event, Iran and Turkey must take every possible action, and Iraq's government must take serious actions on this issue. He called the referendum treason against the region and a future threat with possible long-term consequences.

Echoing previous remarks by Erdogan, Khamenei said that the Kurdistan referendum was in the first instance to the benefit of Israel and in the second to the United States. He further stated that foreign powers, in particular Israel, want to divert Iran and Turkey's attention from important regional issues and asserted that the Kurdistan referendum would create a new Israel. The reference to a new Israel made headlines in a number of media outlets, including coverage by Javan, a newspaper linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

During a press conference with President Hassan Rouhani, Erdogan said, Both Iran and the central government in Iraq and Turkey have implemented some measures against the Kurdistan region, and from this point forward there will be stronger measures. Erdogan's reference to stronger measures became the top story and headline for the Reformist Shargh Daily. Iran closed its airspace to Iraqi Kurdistan at the request of Iraq's central government in Baghdad, but there was no indication what these stronger measures might entail. Highlighting Israel's support for the Kurdish referendum, Erdogan said, Any decision taken with Mossad is unacceptable.

Rouhani also mentioned the Kurdistan vote at the press conference, saying, We do not want to put pressure on the people of Iraqi Kurdistan, but some of the mistaken decisions taken by some of the leaders of this region have to be addressed. Therefore, the three countries of Turkey, Iraq and Iran have to follow their strategic goals with serious and necessary steps.

Rouhani and Erdogan touched on a number of other regional and economic issues. Iran and Turkey, as two Muslim, friendly and powerful countries in the region, are today anchors of stability in a sensitive region, Rouhani said. To improve economic trade between them, Rouhani said, various border crossings will be open 24 hours a day and additional ones will be opened. He also said that Turkey plans to invest in petrochemicals, tourism and transportation. Erdogan also spoke of strengthening ties between the countries' central banks.

The recent signs of Turkey and Iran growing closer have received a great deal of media attention in Iran given that the two have been on opposite sides of the Syrian civil war, the Middle Easts most deadly war in years. Iran has backed the government of President Bashar al-Assad while Turkey has backed opposition forces. Although the two sides have exchanged harsh words over Syria, they have continued to tend to economic relations.
News / National

by Staff reporter

GOVERNMENT is still pursuing investigations into the suspected leakage of $15 billion from Chiadzwa diamond fields in Manicaland, Mines and Minerals Development Minister Walter Chidhakwa said yesterday.Responding to questions during a plenary session at a mining indaba in Bulawayo, the minister admitted that the forensic audit process on the matter that began last year had its own challenges in terms of accessing critical data from the operating companies whose licenses had been revoked, sparking a legal battle.He said the audit effort was also hamstrung by court proceedings, which the operating companies cited for refusal to disclose data over a matter that was yet to be concluded in the courts.He, however, said his ministry had found an alternative approach, whose details he would not disclose but said was confident it will yield positive results."The technical people we consulted have said we can use a different way of establishing what was mined in Marange. We discussed and agreed. I am not at liberty to disclose that now and that is the method we are going to use. So we have not abandoned the issue of establishing what happened but I am happy that we have enabled ourselves to move ahead and do something in Marange," said Chidhakwa.
Bengaluru city, which received 142 mm rainfall in the last six days, will receive more rain in the coming days, according to the weatherman.



The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a thunder showers and heavy rainfall warning for most parts of Karnataka for the next two days. IMD Bengaluru director-in-charge Sunder M Metri said rainfall was because of the formation of many systems and was common during September and October.



There is a north-south trough 1.5 km above mean sea level from the cyclonic circulation over Telangala to south Tamil Nadu across Rayalaseema and persists till south interior Karnataka. There is also a trough over east central Arabian Sea off the Kerala-Karnataka coast. There is also an east-west sheer zone along 13 degrees north between 4.5 km and 5.8 km above mean sea level.



While the city received a 1 mm rainfall till 5.30 pm on Friday, HAL airport recorded 28.2 mm. No rainfall was reported at Kempegowda International Airport. On Thursday, the city had received a total of 76.6 mm (8 cm), HAL airport had received 9 mm and the international airport had received 3.4 mm rainfall.
The Karnataka BJP has welcomed holding simultaneous polls for Lok Sabha and assemblies. The Election Commission of India had informed the Centre that it will be logistically equipped by September 2018 to hold simultaneous polls.



BJP state spokesperson S Suresh Kumar told reporters in Bengaluru on Friday that parties across the political spectrum can hold a comprehensive discussion on putting in place a system of holding simultaneous polls and come to a unanimous decision in this regard.



Era of mid-term elections



The next Assembly elections in the state will have to be held by May next year, while the current Lok Sabha has a tenure till May 2019.

Kumar pointed out that Assembly elections in a majority of the states were held simultaneously with Lok Sabha elections till 1967. Then the era of mid-term elections started. Kumar said simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and the state Assembly in Karnataka were also held in 1999 and 2004.



He said in the first phase, all state assemblies whose tenure is nearing an end can be tagged along with the Lok Sabha elections.



He said doubts and apprehensions can be resolved through discussions. All political parties can be taken into confidence before taking a final decision.



Parivarthan Rath Yatra



BJP state General Secretary and former minister Shobha Karandlaje has been appointed as convenor of the BJPs Nava Karnataka Parivarthan Rath Yatra.

Shobha is known for her organisational skills and has looked after the logistics of several political rallies. The Parivarthan Yatra, to expose the misdeeds of the state government is the state BJPs most ambitious yet.



Suresh Kumar said the yatra for southern districts of the state will be launched on November 2 in Bengaluru. For northern districts, the yatra will be launched in Hubballi later.


With Pakistan frequently breaking the ceasefire, the government has set up a panel to study the problems faced by people living along the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir.



The competent authority has approved the constitution of a study group for considering various problems being faced by the people residing near International Border (IB) and Line of Control (LoC) in the wake of regular threats of cross-border firing, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order said.



The panel will submit a detailed report in two months after meeting the people in the area, security forces, district administration officials and local public representatives.



It will also submit recommendations on the remedial action that needs to be taken to address these issues, the order said.



Rina Mitra, special secretary in MHA will lead the panel. The principal secretary (home) in the Jammu and Kashmir government, divisional commissioner of Jammu and divisional commissioner of Srinagar are members while the joint secretary (Kashmir) in the MHA is the member-secretary.



India has a 3,323 km long border with Pakistan.
The Congress might be pulling out all stops to come back to power in the state, but the lackluster response from the party men in preparing for the upcoming Assembly election has apparently left the party leaders worried.



On Friday, AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka K C Venugopal is learnt to have expressed displeasure at not conducting the door-to-door campaign  Mane Manege Congress  effectively in the state, especially in Bengaluru and other towns.



The party has received complaints that the legislators are not involving themselves in the campaign. It will not be tolerated. A booth comprises only 350 households. It will not be difficult to reach out to them, Venugopal told the party legislators and the KPCC office-bearers.



The senior Congress leader held a series of meetings throughout the day, including the Congress Legislature Party (CLP), comprising MLAs and MLCs; and the office-bearers and reviewed the preparations for the Assembly elections. The door-to-door campaign is aimed at educating people about the state governments achievements and the failures of the Centre.



Many Congress legislators in Bengaluru and other parts of the state had not been showing interest in forming booth-level committees, which are key for conducting the campaign. The KPCC had planned to cover 54,000 booths across all the 224 Assembly constituencies under the campaign by October 15 and later start organising district-wise rallies. But, the entire plan has gone haywire. The party has now extended the door-to-door campaign by two weeks, sources in the KPCC said.



Besides, efforts to end differences among the leaders at district levels by setting up co-ordination committees, has not yielded much result. As many as 10 district units are said to be facing the problem of infighting. For instance, a group of leaders from Chitradurga complained against its rival faction to Venugopal, even as he was holding a meeting at KPCC office to strengthen the social media campaign, the sources added.



Addressing the CLP meeting, Venugopal warned leaders against neglecting the door-to-door campaign. The mood is in favour of the Congress in the state.



The party can come back to power only if the leaders and workers work hard, he said and directed all the MLAs to submit a status report on the campaign to the party within a weeks time.



Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said the party is taking measures to sort out differences among the leaders at the district level. The governments schemes have received good response from people. The legislators have to involve themselves in educating people about the schemes. Moreover, good rains have brought cheer among farmers. The present situation is conducive for the party to come back to power, he added.


By Timothy Cama And Devin Henry

6 October 2017

(The Hill)  The Trump administration will soon propose repealing the Obama administrations climate change rule for power plants but wont commit to replacing it with another regulation.

A draft of the proposal obtained by The Hill on Friday asserts that under former President Barack Obama, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Clean Power Plan that is not within Congresss grant of authority to the agency under the governing statute.

The EPA is proposing to repeal the CPP in its entirety, the agency writes in the notice that would be published in the Federal Register.The EPA proposes to take this action because it proposes to determine that the rule exceeds its authority under the statute, that those portions of the rule which arguably do not exceed its authority are not severable and separately implementable, and that it is not appropriate for a rule that exceeds statutory authority  especially a rule of this magnitude and with this level of impact on areas of traditional state regulatory authority  to remain in existence pending a potential, successive rulemaking process.The administration is expected to roll out the proposed repeal as early as Friday, which would open what is certain to be a fierce regulatory battle over the limits of the EPAs authority and its responsibility to fight climate change.The regulation was the pillar of Obamas aggressive second-term climate agenda, in which he sought to take unilateral actions to fight climate change after Congress refused to pass cap-and-trade legislation. []Environmentalists slammed the EPAs decision on Friday, with the Natural Resources Defense Council calling it a dirty power plan.They also questioned the EPAs recalculation of the rules proposed benefits, including fewer deaths from pollution-related health problems and lower climate change-related costs.We already knew Donald Trump and Scott Pruitt reject science, but this smearing of the Clean Power Plans massive public benefits shows they reject basic math, too, Liz Perera, the climate policy director at the Sierra Club said. The Trump administrations assault on the Clean Power Plan is about one thing and one thing only: helping corporate polluters profit. [more]
News / National

by BBC

Zimbabwe's First Lady Grace Mugabe has dressed down Vice-President Emmerson Mnangagwa, once seen as President Robert Mugabe's heir apparent - calling him nothing but an "employee".It is the latest in a row over allegations that he was poisoned by ice cream from Mrs Mugabe's farm.The governing Zanu-PF has been battling to contain tensions within the party between rival groups wanting to succeed the 93-year-old president.The first lady, also seen as a possible successor to her husband, denied claims that she would be involved in such dirty politics."I can't prepare one cup of an ice cream to kill Mnangagwa. Who is he? I am the wife of a president," she is quoted as saying.Her comments came as Mr Mnangagwa fought back against allegations that he lied about being poisoned."I never said I was poisoned in Gwanda but that I fell ill," the AFP news agency quotes him as saying on Thursday.He accused the country's other Vice-President, Phelekezela Mphoko, of "subjective falsehoods and mischievous perceptions"."I have an impeccable history of unflinching loyalty to the party, and his excellency the president, comrade Robert Gabriel Mugabe and have never acted in a manner that undermines his authority or the stability of Zimbabwe."Mr Mnangagwa fell ill in August at a political rally led by President Mugabe and had to be airlifted to South Africa.
Novo Nordisks insulin Tresiba is set to receive an update to its label in Europe to reflect updated data on its ability to prevent hypoglycemia.

The recent DEVOTE study found that Tresiba reduced hypoglycemia by 40 per cent compared to Lantus, a Sanofi drug, in people who have type 2 diabetes.

The findings were consistent with previous trials investigating the two insulins, and this hypo prevention data will now be added to Tresibas label by Europes Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP).

Tresiba, injected once daily to provide flexible control over blood sugar levels, is available on the NHS in England, Wales and Scotland. It is suitable for people with type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes.

Novo Nordisk is seeking to establish Tresiba as its signature long-acting insulin, with the new DEVOTE study comparing the two long-acting insulins for safety and efficacy in diabetes patients.

Tresiba was also shown to have a 53 per cent relative reduction in nocturnal hypoglycemia and 27 per cent fewer patients experienced an episode of severe hypoglycemia compared to those treated with Lantus.

The DEVOTE trial involved more than 7,000 people with type 2 diabetes who were deemed at high risk of, or already had cardiovascular disease. However, the results showed that the drugs were on par in terms of cardiovascular benefits.

Mads Krogsgaard Thomse, executive vice president and chief science officer of Novo Nordisk, said: With the CHMPs endorsement of the updated label for Tresiba we have passed a major milestone in insulin therapy.

Novo Nordisk is now awaiting approval to get the hypoglycemia data included on Tresibas label in the United States.
EMS provider Lite-On Technology expects to post another sequential and on-year revenue increase in the third quarter of 2022, thanks to strong demand for automotive and cloud computing...
Suicide summit Oct. 24 in Bothell

SEATTLE  The Puget Sound Chapter of the Construction Financial Management Association and Associated General Contractors of Washington will hold a Regional Suicide Prevention Summit Oct. 24 in Bothell.

The free event is from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m. at Local #302 International Union of Operating Engineers, 18701 120th Ave. N.E. It will focus on how to integrate mental health, suicide prevention and addiction recovery into safety, health and employee benefit practices.

Washington State Secretary of Health Dr. John Wiesman is among the speakers and Cal Beyer of Lakeside Industries in Issaquah is the moderator.

Beyer said a recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the construction industry has the second highest rate of suicides per 100,000 workers, at 53.3.

Register at https://tinyurl.com/ycc49mwk/.




Subscriber content preview

ANCHORAGE (AP)  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released Armstrong Energy's plans for its billion-plus-barrel Nanushuk oil project on the North Slope.

Alaska Journal of Commerce reported Wednesday that the project in the Pikka Unit is expected to produce about 120,000 barrels per day of conventional light oil at its peak rate.





. . .
Opinion / Columnist

"Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa who is on record of never consuming ice cream from Gushungo Dairy revisited his sickness story during the gathering at Cde Shuvai Mahofa. He told the gathering that he indeed survived poisoning. He clearly stated that he never consumed ice cream from Gushungo Dairy. The Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa noted that what happened to Cde Shuvai Mahofa in 2015 in Victoria Falls is the same fate that transpired on him in Gwanda but he survived because God's time was still on him".

"I think that what happened to Cde Shuvai Mahofa in 2015 is what happened to me in Gwanda. On 12 August 2017, I was taken to Gweru then to South Africa. On 14 August 2017 Cde Mahofa died. I did not know anything or what was happening. I learnt of Cde Mahofa's death on Wednesday, when I gained consciousness".

"The Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa missed the burial. He ended by saying that he will pass on gratitude to His Excellency, the President for declaring Cde Mahofa a national heroine".

On the 4th of October 2017, the Honourable Vice President, Cde R. P. Mphoko, writing in his capacity as the then Acting President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, issued a PRESS STATEMENT dated the 3rd of October 2017 in response to a ZBC News item wherein he purported, inter alia, that I, Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe, E.D. Mnangagwa; "had said for the first time in public I admitted that I was poisoned in Gwanda on August 12, 2017; the day of President Mugabe's Youth interface Rally in Matabeleland South".Following issuance of the PRESS STATEMENT, it has become necessary to put the record straight, and clarify certain inaccuracies and misrepresentations.On Saturday 30th of September 2017, I attended the Memorial of the late National Heroine, Cde Shuvai Ben Mahofa, which was held in Gutu. It was a solemn and somber memorial gathering and not an emotionally charged one as described in the statement. It was attended by church denominations, family members, friends and Party members who were celebrating the life of the late national heroine. The subjective description of the event as an emotionally charged gathering' is a figment of the imagination of the author. An extract of my address to the gathering was flighted on the ZBC News on 2nd October 2017, where I stated the following; please note that I have taken the liberty to transcribe what I said personally and that which was said by the ZBC News reporter.QUOTE (as transcribed)Masvingo ZBC Reporter, Josephine MugiyoHonourable Vice President, Cde E.D. Mnangagwa (as translated)Masvingo Reporter, Josephine MugiyoEnd QUOTEIt is indeed factual that I fell ill in Gwanda and was airlifted to Gweru and then Harare before subsequently being airlifted to South Africa. I never said that I was poisoned in Gwanda but that I fell ill in Gwanda. Equally, the late National Heroine, Cde S.B. Mahofa fell ill during the 15th National People's Conference of ZANU PF held in Victoria Falls in 2015. She was taken to hospital in Zimbabwe and subsequently to South Africa. Therein is the extent of the similarities of events which I allude to during my address.During the briefing with His Excellency, the President, Cde, R.G. Mugabe, the medical doctors who attended to me ruled out food poisoning but confirmed that indeed poisoning had occurred and that investigations were still in progress. They however established that poisoning had indeed occurred and investigations were in progress.On the issue of the Press Statement dated 31st August 2017 which I made on the eve of the Midlands Presidential Youth Interface Rallyheld in Gweru on 1st September 2017. I stated the following, and for the avoidance of doubt, I repeat that statement in total;QUOTEI, Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa, State Vice President and Vice President and Second Secretary of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU PF) Party, would like to put the record straight regarding my alleged consumption of ice cream form Gushungo dairy at the High Table on the occasion of the Youth Interface Rally at Pelandaba Stadium in Gwanda, Matabeleland South Province, on Saturday, 12 August v2017.No such thing ever occurred.The insinuation that I partook of the ice cream from the dairy I being peddled by unscrupulous elements with the sinister agenda of creating a rift between me and the First Family, lower market confidence in products from the dairy and cause unnecessary alarm and despondency among peace-loving Zimbabweans.UNQOUTEDuring the Ordinary Session of the Politburo held on 6 September 2017 band the Ordinary Session of the Central Committee held on 8 September, 2017, I informed the meeting that my doctors had said that I was not food poisoned. I did not state that poison had been ruled out. It is ost disappointing that a person at the level of my colleague Vice President, Cde R.P. Mphoko would mis-understand and misrepresent the statements made by His Excellency, The President Cde R.G. Mugabe, and myself.My commitment to national unity, peace and stability is undoubted and unquestionable, as espoused in the National Constitution Amendment (No. 20) Act 2013, Chapter 1, section 3(2) (h) which obligates the fostering of national unity, peace and stability, with due regard to diversity of language, customary practices and traditions.The Constitution of the Ruling Party, ZANU Pf, Article 3, section 21c subsection 5 states that QUOTE; every member of the Party shall have the duty to conduct himself/herself honestly and honourably in his or her dealings with the Party and the Public and not to bring the Party into disrepute or ridicule"END QUOTE.It is, thus, very disturbing that my colleague Vice President of the Republic, and Second Secretary of the Party, Cde R.P. Mphoko who is a trained cadre and veteran of the liberation struggle, would issue a statement which goes against the spirit and grain of our national Constitution Founding Values and Principles and which is further alien to the revolutionary ethos, culture and decorum of our Party ZANU PF. It is further disconcerting that the statement is littered with subjective falsehoods, mischievous perceptions and malicious innuendoes written in a language and tone which is disrespectful and contemptuous to my person and indeed to the Office I occupy, that of Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe and the Party ZANU PF. The statement is bent on causing alarm, disunity and despondency amongst peace loving Zimbabweans and the intimated agenda in the statement may exist only in the mind of the author.I have an impeccable history of unflinching loyalty to the Party and his Excellency, the President, Cde R.G. Mugabe and have never acted in a manner that undermines his authority or the stability of Zimbabwe.I thank you.Honourable E.D. MnangagwaVice President and Minister Responsible for the Administration of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs.5 October 2017
Russia in $3-bn missile defence deal with Saudi Arabia

Saudi Aramco has signed five memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Russian companies during the King Salamn's visit to Moscow, even as Russia proposes to sign a $3-billion deal to supply the S400 air defence missile system to Saudi Arabia.

Ahead of the Saudi king's visit, Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov described the event as ''an historical moment'' while President Vladimir Putin at the summit on Thursday agreed, saying, this was a ''landmark event'' that would provide a ''boost'' to relations.

According to the Kommersant newspaper, an agreement has already been reached on a $3-billion deal to supply the Saudis with Russia's most advanced air defence missile system, the S400 Triumph. The deal will be signed at a WTO meeting at the end of October. There may be other deals forthcoming on aircraft and helicopters depending on the success of talks, the newspaper said.

Meanwhile, Aramco's chief executive officer Amin H Nasser said there is more scope for Saudi Arabian and Russian companies to cooperate in creating a sustainable energy future through business and operational initiatives driven by technology, research and innovation.

''We have already established eight research centres around the world that complement our main research facilities in Saudi Arabia," Nasser said at a panel discussion at the Saudi-Russian Business Investment Forum in Moscow on the sidelines of Saudi royal's visit to Russia.

"Considering Russia's considerable strengths in science and technology, as well as highly talented researchers, scientists and engineers, we are exploring collaboration in R&D field. Considering the large oil and gas resources possessed by our two countries, we also have a common interest in strengthening oil's position and there are numerous to collaborate in these areas,'' he added.

Saudi Aramco, along with the Saudi Public Investment Fund and the Russian Direct Investment Fund, signed an MoU for investment in energy services and manufacturing. Aramco also signed an MoU with the Russian gas company Gazprom to develop a business portfolio in international upstream gas.

An MoU was also signed with LITASCO, the Swiss-based international and marketing arm of Lukoil, one of Russia's largest oil companies.

The two other agreements were with Gazprom Neft for technology and R&D collaboration and training, and with the Russian Direct Investment.

Saudi Arabia has held talks with a dozen Russian energy companies and has formalised certain projects and plans for cooperation, Russia's minister of Energy Alexander Novak said in an interview with TASS.

"Minister of energy, industry and mineral resources of Saudi Arabia has already been to Moscow and St. Petersburg several times, he already had talks with around ten leading Russian energy companies and they already have certain developments, projects, plans for cooperation," he said.

Novak said cooperation between the two countries is not limited to the OPEC+ agreement on oil production limits, although that had helped the two countries improve relations.

"Yes, thanks to the agreement, we began to communicate more with each other, but continuation of our interaction does not depend on the extension of the deal. In addition to OPEC, we have an intergovernmental commission for trade and economic cooperation," he said, adding, the countries could get closer due to common interests, especially in the energy sector, as Saudi Arabia is interested in Russian technologies in oil production, oil exploration and services.

"We have mining, exploration and service technologies that are of interest to our colleagues. Now they mainly use services of international companies such as Schlumberger, Halliburton, Weatherford. Therefore, the more players on the market, the more obvious is the economic effect for consumers of these services," Novak said.

At the same time, according to the minister, Russia and Iran are already entering the first deals to buy Iranian oil, the mechanism of interaction is being finalised.

"We are already entering certain first deals, now the mechanism of interaction is being finalised," he said.

"Saudi Arabia allocates $1 billion for energy projects," he said.

It was reported earlier that Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev and King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud intend to discuss joint investment projects at a meeting in Moscow on 6 October.

"The sides will also touch upon issues of bilateral cooperation in trade, economy, industry, energy, agriculture and other areas, consider implementation of major joint infrastructure projects," according to the press service of the Russian government.
The Irish Natura and Hill Farmers Association are continuing their expansion programme with another meeting announced for South Donegal on Wednesday the 11th in the Abbey Hotel, Donegal Town at 8.30 pm to set about establishing a local branch in the area.

Nationally INHFA have launched a campaign as part of the further development of the organisation, and because of the huge demand for membership, to set up regional branches of the organisation to strengthen representation from farmers in all areas.

As part of this programme in Donegal branches have already been set up in Inishowen and South west Donegal. Luke Ming Flanagan MEP attended the launch of the Inishowen branch where he addressed a packed house in Tul Na Ri, Carndonagh and gave a very interesting outline of what he sees happening in the EU about future agricultural policy. The South West

Donegal branch was formed with a huge attendance of local farmers at the Blue Haven, Killybegs.

National Chairman of the INHFA, Mr Colm O Donnell addressed the meeting and outlined the major issues facing farmers

and INHFA policy on these issues. Farm inspections, ANC payments, land designations, and land eligibility were some of the topics discussed at the meeting.

For the meeting in Donegal town, Mr Colm O Donnell, National Chairman, Mr Vincent Roddy, Director of Organisation and other national Council members will attend to update farmers on current issues facing farmers

including the emerging fodder crisis.

A further branch will be set up in the North West Donegal area on the 25th of October and details of this meeting will be announced later.

All farmers are invited to attend what promises to be a very interesting meeting to hear how they are being represented and have their say.
The Donegal Democrat has been informed of the following deaths:



- Johnny Gillespie, Killaned, Glencolmcille

- Brendan Gillen Railway Road, Raphoe

- Bridget Carr, Ballynacrick, Fanad

- Dessie Kelly, Demesne, Castlefin

- John Joe Doyle, Ballyboes, Falcarragh

- Michael McLaughlin,Milltown Lower Hillside, Desertegney, Buncrana

- Veronica McCarthy (nee Carr), Sutton, Dublin/Fanad

- Bruce Powell,Mountain Top, Letterkenny



Johnny Gillespie, Killaned, Glencolmcille

The death has taken place of Johnny Gillespie, late of Killaned, Glencolmcille.

Removal is from Shovlins Funeral Home, Sanfields, Ardara today at 6pm to his late residence.

Removal from there on Sunday to St Columbas Church, Glencolmcille for 10am Funeral Mass with burial afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.



Brendan Gillen Railway Road, Raphoe



The death hast taken place of Brendan Gillen late of 336 Railway Road, Raphoe.

His remains will repose at McClintocks Funeral Home, Townspark, Convoy today Friday 6th October from 6pm to 10pm and Saturday 7th October from 6pm -10pm.

Funeral on Sunday, October 8, at 10.15am for Mass in St. Eunans Chapel, Raphoe at 11am with burial afterward in the adjoining cemetery.

Rosary each night at 10pm.

Bridget Carr, Ballynacrick, Fanad

The death has occurred in the Donegal Hospice of Bridget Carr, late of Ballynacrick, Fanad.

Her remains are reposing at her late residence.

Funeral from there on Sunday at 2pm going to St. Patricks Church, Ballynacrick for Requiem Mass at 2.30pm with burial afterwards to Fanavolty Cemetery.

Donations in lieu of flowers please to the Donegal Hospice c/o Sean McAteer Funeral Undertaker or any family member.

Dessie Kelly, Demesne, Castlefin

The death has occurred of Dessie Kelly, Demesne, Castlefin.

His remains will repose at his late home from 6pm, today, Friday 6th October.

Funeral from there on Sunday, October 8th, at 10.20am for Mass at 11am in St. Marys Church, Castlefin.

Interment afterwards in St. Marys Cemetery, Castlefin. Family flowers only please, donations in lieu if desired to Friends of Letterkenny University Hospital or The Donegal Hospice c/o any family member.

Family time please from 11pm to 11am and on the morning of the funeral.

John Joe Doyle, Ballyboes, Falcarragh



The death has occurred of John Joe Doyle, late Ballyboes, Falcarragh.

His remains will be reposing at his sister Roses residence at No. 2 Ballina Cottages, Falcarragh from 2pm today Friday, October 6th, with rosary tonight at 9pm

Removal from there Saturday evening at 6:30pm going to St. Finians Church, Falcarragh to repose overnight.

Funeral Mass on Sunday at 1pm with interment immediately afterwards in the adjoining cemetery.

Enquiries to any family member or Sweeney Funeral Directors, Falcarragh.

Michael McLaughlin, Milltown, Lower Hillside, Desertegney, Buncrana

The death has occurred of Michael McLaughlin,Milltown Lower Hillside, Desertegney, Buncrana.

Reposing at McLaughlins Funeral home from Friday, 6th October, from 2pm to 4pm and 6pm to 9pm . Removal on Saturday morning, 7th October, at 10.15am for 11am Requiem Mass at The Star of The Sea Church, Desertegney, Buncrana followed by burial in the adjoining cemetery.



Veronica McCarthy (nee Carr), Sutton, Dublin/Fanad

The death has taken place of Veronica McCarthy (nee Carr), Sutton, Dublin, and formerly of Fanad.

Reposing at the Kirwan Funeral Home, Fairview Strand on Thursday, October 5th, from 6pm until 8pm with family in attendance.

Requiem Mass at 10am on Friday, October 6th, in Church of the Resurrection, Bayside. Funeral thereafter to St. Fintans Cemetery, Sutton.

Bruce Powell,Mountain Top, Letterkenny

The death has taken place of Bruce Powell, late of No. 6 Bracken Lea, Mountain Top, Letterkenny.

Remains will repose at his late residence from 8pm, today Thursday, October 5.

Family time please from 10pm tonight until 12 noon tomorrow, Friday 6th October.

Funeral mass will take place in St. Colmcilles Church, Glendowan at 11am on Saturday October 7th followed by burial in Gartan Cemetery.

If you wish to have a death notice included here, email us at editorial@donegaldemocrat.com. Please include a telephone number for verification.
Enterprise State Community College hosted a workshop for the Future Business Leaders of America on Wednesday.

The FBLA is designed to help high school students prepare for business-oriented careers through training in leadership development, academic competitions, educational programs, and community service. However, Wednesdays workshop was aimed at both students and teachers, providing learning opportunities for all involved.

Today were talking about FBLA in general: how to get a chapter started, how to get a program of work underway, getting plans for the year made and fundraisers lined up, electing officers, dressing professionally in a business environment, and how to prepare for FBLA competitive events, said Stephen Byrd. The students are going over Blueprint, which is our state project that we do every year, and theyre doing activities that get them networking with other students, which helps them learn how to network with other people.

The skills students learn in FBLA are meant to help them gain experience for their futures, whether those futures include college, business careers, or various forms of employment. While they work towards their high school graduations, they are given multiple opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge and abilities, including workshops, training exercises, and even competitions. Students can elect to compete in FBLA events individually, as part of a team, or as part of a chapter team, helping each student build their own confidence as they learn to work well with others.

Confidence, according to Byrd, is one of the greatest traits FBLA helps students to cultivate. When students first start that officer year, theyre shy and unsure of themselvesthey dont have a lot of confidence in themselves yet. By the end of the year, theyre talking to anybody and everybody, theyre introducing themselves, they dont have problems getting up in front of a group and talking, said Byrd. It helps them build that confidence, and I enjoy watching that confidence that they get.

April Smith, who also works with FBLA students, agrees with Byrd, adding that experience is another important aspect of FBLA. Theyre able to get out and experience things and see careers they may be interested in that they may have never thought about before, she said. The experience of actually getting to go up in front of a panel of judges and compete brings a lot of growth.

For more information, visit www.fbla-pbl.org.
Officers with the Eufaula Police Department arrested a Georgia man on Wednesday, Oct. 4 after a pursuit through Eufaula that ended in the historic district.

According to a report from the EPD, the chase involving Andre Lamar Johnson, 26, of Blakley, Georgia, originated after the local department received a call about a case of harassment involving a gun that occurred on Cottonhill Road just outside their jurisdiction.

As officers were responding to assist deputies from the Barbour County Sheriffs Office, a Eufaula Police officer made visual contact with the suspect and confirmed that the suspect did in fact have a weapon.

Officers activated their blue lights in an attempt to stop Johnson while on Cottonhill Road but Johnson did not stop and a chase ensued that took him and officers through Eufaula. The suspect reportedly ran several stop signs and red lights during the pursuit, before being stopped in the historic district. The suspects car had a flat during part of the pursuit but it did not stop the suspect from continuing to flee.

Johnson was taken into custody without injuring himself, any officers, or innocent bystanders.

Johnson faces charges of reckless endangerment, reckless driving, certain persons forbidden to possess a firearm and other traffic related offenses. He is currently incarcerated at the Eufaula City Jail.

I am glad it ended the way it did and no one got hurt, Sgt. Donald Brown commented during press briefing on Thursday. I, along with Chief Watkins, would like to thank all the law enforcement personnel who assisted in this incident that allowed us to end the situation without any loss of life or injury to those involved and bystanders. The Eufaula Police Department is committed to ensuring the safety of its citizens and those who come to visit our city.
Opinion / Columnist

When the gigantic snake repeatedly misses the target and all its venomous blows land upon itself, in the presence of highly mobilised enemies, it surely becomes easy prey even to the oldest and fully incapacitated hyena! Fully demobilised by its own venom within its bloodstream! That is the true state of the formerly gigantic liberation movement and self-professed killer machine with full capacity to either win or pick-pocket in every electoral campaign.When both frustration and expulsion of the critical and most senior party and government personnel most, unfortunately, becomes the order of the day, under octagenarian leadership, with spousal fake-doctorate counsel or back-up, ZANU PF close-shop becomes almost inevitable.Vice President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa's Grace Mugabe hurried unmaking recipe, coming hot on the heels of former Vice President, Dr. Joyce Mujuru's other Grace Mugabe catalysed unmaking recipe, spells disaster for the former illustrious liberation movement.Firing and frustration of most strategic and senior personnel within the former liberation movement has become Grace Mugabe sponsored disastrous fashion as she champions her illicit rise to power surrounded with The G40 political delinquents of the worst order.When Professor Jonathan Moyo spoke of a possible successful mission to destroy Zanu-PF from within, a few years back, the political market-place, and Zanu-PF in particular recorded a professorial lunacy in The Guinness Book of Political Idiotic Dreams! And classified it as Political Dust Bin Material (PDBM).Being the bravest, witful and energetic personality that he has surely proved himself to be, he penetrated his way past the founders or owners of The Zanu-PF Gigantic Institution to champion its destruction with its own venom! Successfully held president Robert Mugabe with his balls, with the hand of Zimbabwe's own version of Emelda Marcos, wife of the former Philipines dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, a true version of Zimbabwe'sitting ailing President Mugabe, who would commandeer The Presidential Jet to Spain or France and other prestigious world capitals to either buy a pair of shoes or a bottle of perfume, into high-speed and acceleration of Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF destruction right below the noses of its founders who have unselfishly slaved for it since 1963.ZANU PF was formed in Highfields in the late Enos Nkala's house in Mugabe's absence.The greatest or most effective catalyst to this most unfortunate state of affairs was the undue empowerment of The Queen of Violence (QOV) and Government Typing Pool stalwart, and former married Presidential Office Concubine cum divorcee and legitimate spouse respectively, Grace Mugabe, wielding of a Levi Nyangura bogus or Home-Made Doctorate.Turbo-charged by her greed-driven confused or substandard political thought with the highest potential to set Zimbabwe on fire while the good and competent citizens watch in despair, as she, like a rabid dog, unceremoniously off-loads the ZANU PF founding Fathers and Mothers! Champions immeasurable humiliation upon war veterans and the general citizenry! In fear of the unfairly prevailing and most efficient tools of repression within her command! Professor Jonathan Moyo is a man of his word and in command of a tongue that knows no boundaries even upon those who have paid the piper! The same tongue that carries The Mugabe dynasty lives with the same teeth that have ravaged Mugabe's privates in public! But at will, the ever charming and most eloquent Professor takes favour with his self-made adversaries.Since launching The Queen of Violence who has gone about bullying and beating people worldwide, with the latest being her South African Sandton Hotel incident on model Gabriella Engels, whom she had found in the company of her delinquent sons, he has kept her in over-drive with a new gutter English tone assigned to her with a bogus Doctorate.Zanu-PF in the hands of The Government Typing Pool Typist would be worse than a ship tossing in the mighty oceans without a captain. Mugabe must be surely sick to allow this development to prevail. That confirms grossly impaired sense of judgement in his part. This could be the defect of old-age that causes memory losses.With Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a great and most competent ZANU PF schemer and real insider carrying the chest of the party, being targeted by the former Presidential Office Concubine, and political born-free, for another unceremonial packaging out-of-office in the December 2017 Conference, a new breed and the most effective kid comes on the block! Emmerson Mnangagwa, despite his long association with The Killer Machine, undisputably wields of more visibility, integrity and credibility than Mugabe local, regional and international.Of all the presidential aspirants he takes no equal due to the wealth of experience that he commands of in governance at all levels.He has performed hands-on outstandingly well in The ZANU PF Political University! A more organised and most effective political outfit is indisputably in the making with almost equal or superior access to the electoral determinant tools of repression and political wisdom! Garwe iri kana rabvongodza mvura (when The Crocodile stirs mud in water) the aquatic community would surely acknowledge its most creative or competitive presence in the oceans! Credentials that The G40 Grace Mugabe political delinquents face a mammoth task to either undo or cover-up in whatever way.This dislodgement of ZANU PF out of State House could only happen with it splitting within itself! Julius Caesar's Ides of March have come and they are not yet gone! Both extensive and intensive learning take place even in the most adverse of conditions! Emmerson Mnangagwa wields of the capacity to govern more competently than Robert Mugabe and Grace.Life can never be the same in a Munangagwa administration! And that serves as the cause of so much panic! Unlimited fear! Unfair rejection and resentment! The job-card for The Grace Mugabe G40 was to maliciously thwart Munangagwa aspirations and potentialities in the bud for the purposes of elevating the former married presidential office concubine during the tenure of the late Mugabe former wife; Sally, marriage.It is also most interesting to note that The Mugabe Family has taken the unenviable task of going full-time on the Munangagwa Gwanda, Matabeleland South poisoning saga denial mode! Mnangagwa was hurriedly rushed to hospital intensive care unconscious after suspected food poisoning in a political youth rally addressed by Mugabe after lunch that was served at the rally.When a company Chief Executive gets fired, at worst, he leaves with his secretary! And when a politician is either frustrated or fired, he leaves with a constituency! When Grace Mugabe takes fashion in the aiming and elimination of senior ruling party personnel, that pre-eminently beckons The Ides of March closer for ZANU PF.The Shakespearian Julius Caesar Ides of March came with Dr. Joyce Mujuru and they are not yet gone as evidenced by the prevailing Munangagwa saga. The Ides of March might not be going until Grace Mugabe hammers the last nail upon the ZANU PF casket.Grace and her G4 political delinquents surely need to measure-up and cease this unlimited humiliation upon the liberation war veterans and give all the due honour and acknowledgement to all the heroes of the liberation war and all the sacrifices attached to the freedoms that they have chosen to abuse with impunity.
Attorneys for Center Stage said the bingo hall is operating within the law Thursday, responding to a lawsuit filed by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall Wednesday against Center Stage and four other facilities around the state.

We are very disappointed the Attorney General did not first reach out to us to discuss his concerns and explore ways to possibly alleviate his concerns rather than file this lawsuit seeking to deprive our employees of their livelihood, Ashton Ott, an attorney for Center Stage, said. We are currently examining the lawsuit filed by our Attorney General and will continue our endeavor to comply with Alabama law.

Ott said she and attorneys at Farmer, Price, Hornsby & Weatherford, the firm representing HEDA, an non-profit operating Center Stage, are reviewing the lawsuit and weighing their options.

Marshall announced lawsuits in Houston, Greene, Lowndes, Macon, and Morgan counties earlier this week, and has sought preliminary injunctions to shut down the facilities pending the outcome of the suits. Marshalls suit re-ignites a long-running legal dispute over the legality of electronic bingo machines.

Operators of the gambling facilities say their electronic bingo machines are legal under state constitutional amendments approved by voters in counties where they are located. The Alabama Supreme Court has weighed in on the matter previously, ruling that electronic bingo machines do not fit the traditional definition of bingo and are thus illegal.

Ott said the way Center Stage runs its games is legal under Alabama law.

The only way guests win or lose money at Center Stage is by participating in a traditional paper bingo game that we feel includes all of the elements outlined by our local (Houston County Circuit) Judge (Michael) Conaway and our Alabama Supreme Court in their respective opinions, she said. Thus, we were taken by surprise by the lawsuit filed against us by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, as we have always tried to cooperate with law enforcement and it has always been our intent that our operation comply with applicable law.

Houston County Commission Chairman Mark Culver said that, to county officials knowledge, Center Stage is operating within the law. As the governmental entity responsible for licensing Center Stage, the Houston County Commission is also named in the suit. Culver said the county would comply with whatever the courts rule.
Montana Magnet Schools Learn-A-Thon was a little bittersweet for Misti and Shane Wood this year.

The couple has been participating in the event for the past eight years, and this will be their last year, as their youngest child will move on to middle school next year. Misti said the event, which is Montanas major fundraiser for the year, is unique because it brings the entire school community together.

Its inspiring, she said. This shows what can happen when parents and teachers get together and really invest in kids.

The event, which features a day full of education-related skits by parents, raises money through sponsorships solicited by students. This year is the Learn-A-Thons 17th, and the event has become a tradition at the school, with parents trying to top last years event each year. About 100 parents volunteered this year, some coming in on the weekends to prepare for the event.

It was pretty nerve-wracking; you dont want to let anybody down, Ashley McGee, chairperson of the event, said.

This years even had a national parks theme, with parents creating sets representing national parks around the country, including locations such as the Florida Everglades and Yellowstone Park.

Friday marked another success for the event, which raised $70,000 for the school, up from $66,000 the year before.

McGhee, who started participating in the event several years ago as a skit performer, said the event inspires a sense of community among parents.

What I like about it is that the parents get to know each other, she said.

Principal Sue Clark said the sense of community created by the event was the secret sauce that helps Montana, which has been recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School and has had several of its teachers compete as finalists for Alabama Teacher of the Year, be successful.

It lets everyone know that they can come here and be part of making this school a success, she said.
Five people died from domestic violence in the nine Wiregrass area counties served by The House of Ruth in the past year, and the advocacy organization is seeking community support to raise awareness of the growing problem.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the House of Ruth, the Exchange Center for Child Abuse Prevention and the Zonta Club of Dothan have joined forces to host the annual candle light vigil on Oct. 17 at 5:30 p.m. at Wiregrass Church on Main Street.

We are very excited about this years vigil, said House of Ruth Executive Director Beverlye Youse. This event allows the community to come together and bring this problem out of the dark. We want all domestic violence victims to know they dont have to be silent. So many victims of domestic violence suffer in silence.

Several speakers will participate in the vigil. An open mic time will also be available for survivors who wish to share their stor ies . L ocal law enforcement will be on hand during the entire event.

This event is held each year in a public atmosphere, Youse said. Hosting this event is public allows a victim to participate without anyone knowing they are a victim. It allows that victim to hear stories and realize they are not alone. Victims of domestic violence receive inspiration from each other, and if someone is a victim of domestic violence, I ask you to attend this event. Listen to the survivors share their stories, and if you need help getting out of domestic situation, help is available.

Pam Miles, executive director of the Exchange Center for Child Abuse Prevention is also looking forward to the vigil.

This event allows us a chance to address the e ffect domestic abuse has on children, Miles said. Many individuals will stay in an abusive relationship under the misunderstanding that is what is best for the children. This is incorrect. Children raised in domestic abuse suffer tremendously. If anyone attending the event has any questions or concerns about how domestic violence affects children, I urge you to seek us out. One of our goals is to end domestic violence. No one should suffer from domestic abuse and no child should suffer from any form of abuse.

The purpose of this event is to celebrate the survivors of domestic violence, remember those who have been lost, and unite the communities to end domestic violence. The event will also display a silent witness exhibit. The exhibit is a tribute to five local women who lost their lives to domestic violence. The event will conclude with the releasing of purple lanterns to honor those who have suffered at the hands of a loved one.

Youse makes a personal plea with all victims of domestic abuse.

If you are a victim of domestic violence, or if you know someone who is a victim of domestic violence please seek help, Youse said. Help is available. Will it be hard getting out? Yes, it will, but it is done every day. Help is just a call away. 

For more information on the House of Ruth, call 793-2232 or (800) 650-6522.
Without a doubt, Josh Tucker and Lydell Rocket Dyess can skate.

The two carhops from an east Dothan Sonic recently took home medals from the Sonic Skate-Off in Oklahoma City, an annual skating competition among the top Sonic carhops in the U.S. Tucker won the gold medal and Dyess won the silver medal.

I feel fantastic, Tucker said. Two guys from the same store brought home medals to Dothan. The odds of that are incredible.

Two people, one store, Dyess said. Thats the first time thats ever happened.

Dyess actually moved to Dothan to train with Tucker. The two met at the 2016 skate-off event and quickly became friends. Dyess was living in Kentucky at the time, but a few months later moved to Dothan and took a job at the local Sonic to work with Tucker.

Tucker said training with Dyess elevated both skaters skill.

When you have someone to challenge you to do better every time, it pushes you, Tucker said. When hed skate hard, Id try to skate harder.

We played off of each others energy, Dyess said.

Dyess said he was nervous going into the event in Oklahoma City, but once he saw the event arena, he became more confident.

When I saw the competition, I saw that we were better prepared, he said.

Tucker said, We knew this was our time.

Tucker said that this will be his last skate-off as a competitor. Hell come back to the event next year as a judge. Tucker also looks forward to producing a local skating competition, FallOut, in a few weeks. Tucker said winning the gold medal has created some great opportunities for him.

This has opened a lot of doors, he said.

According to Sonic, the five Skate-Off finalists were selected by a panel of judges from a pool of video entries. The entries were evaluated on a variety of qualifications to determine the top five highest-scoring videos. The finalists were sent on an all-expense-paid trip to Oklahoma City and had the opportunity to meet and train with professional skaters, win cash prizes and snag a free pair of custom skates from RC Sports. The gold medal winner received $1,500, the silver medal winner received $1,000, and $500 went to the bronze medal winner.

Were all so proud of both Josh and Rocket for bringing home not only one, but two medals. Paul Reiser, partner of Reiser Group Sonic Management Company, said. Our skating carhops are part of what makes the Sonic experience special, and were lucky to have the top two Sonic skaters on our crew.
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.

Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.

If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .

Support our mission and join our community now.
Yes, you can transfer your domain to any registrar or hosting company once you have purchased it. Since domain transfers are a manual process, it can take up to 5 days to transfer the domain.

Domains purchased with payment plans are not eligible to transfer until all payments have been made. Please remember that our 30-day money back guarantee is void once a domain has been transferred.

For transfer instructions to GoDaddy, please click here.
- T. S. Eliot

Thoughts After Lambeth

"The World is trying the experiment of attempting to form a civilized but non-Christian mentality. The experiment will fail; but we must be very patient in awaiting its collapse; meanwhile redeeming the time: so that the Faith may be preserved alive through the dark ages before us; to renew and rebuild civilization, and save the World from suicide."
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. JOSE MARTINEZ SANTELICES, Defendant-Appellant. No. 17-10334 Decided: October 04, 2017

Before TJOFLAT, MARCUS and WILLIAM PRYOR, Circuit Judges.

Jose Martinez de Santelices appeals from his sentence of 18 months' imprisonment, to be served consecutively to his sentence in a separate criminal case, which the district court imposed after revoking his supervised release. On appeal, he argues that the district court failed to explain his sentence adequately, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  3553(c)(1). After careful review, we affirm.

We review de novo the legality of a sentence, including a sentence imposed pursuant to revocation of a term of supervised release. United States v. Aimufa, 122 F.3d 1376, 1378 (11th Cir. 1997). The question of whether a district court complied with  3553(c)(1) is reviewed de novo, even absent a defense objection below. United States v. Bonilla, 463 F.3d 1176, 1181 (11th Cir. 2006). This is because review focuses exclusively on the court's actions at sentencing and not on the defendant's. United States v. Williams, 438 F.3d 1272, 1274 (11th Cir. 2006).

A district court may, upon finding by a preponderance of the evidence that a defendant has violated a condition of supervised release, revoke a term of supervised release, after considering the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C.  3553(a)(1), (a)(2)(B)-(D), and (a)(4)-(7), and may impose a sentence of imprisonment for the violation. 18 U.S.C.  3583(e)(3). Specifically, sentencing courts must consider: (1) the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant; (2) the need for deterrence; (3) the need to protect the public; (4) the need to provide the defendant with educational or vocational training, medical care, or other correctional treatment; (5) the kinds of sentences available and the applicable sentencing range; (6) any pertinent policy statements; (7) the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities; and (8) the need to provide restitution to any victims. See id.; id.  3553(a)(1), (a)(2)(B)-(D), (a)(4)-(7).

The district court, at sentencing, must state in open court the reasons for its imposition of a particular sentence, and if the sentence is within the advisory guideline range and that range exceeds 24 months, the reason for imposing a sentence at a particular point within the range. Id.  3553(c)(1) (cross-referencing id.  3553(a)(4)). The sentencing court should set forth enough to satisfy the appellate court that it considered the parties' arguments and has a reasoned basis for exercising its legal decision-making authority. Rita v. United States, 551 U.S. 338, 356 (2007). If a court fails to comply with  3553(c)(1), the sentence is imposed in violation of law. United States v. Veteto, 920 F.2d 823, 826 (11th Cir. 1991). But when a case is conceptually simple and the record reveals that the sentencing court considered the evidence and arguments,  3553 does not require an extensive explanation. Rita, 551 U.S. at 356-59. [W]hen a judge decides simply to apply the Guidelines to a particular case, doing so will not necessarily require lengthy explanation. Circumstances may well make clear that the judge rests his decision upon the Commission's own reasoning that the Guidelines sentence is a proper sentence. Id. at 356-57. The appropriateness of how much to write and what to say depends on the circumstances of the case, and [t]he law leaves much, in this respect, to the judge's own professional judgment. Id. at 356.

Here, Martinez de Santelices's within-guideline sentence was procedurally reasonable. While Martinez de Santelices argues that the district court failed to explain its chosen sentence adequately, this appeal involves a supervised release revocation hearing in which he admitted all charged violations of the conditions of his supervised release. As a result, his case is conceptually simple and the circumstances did not require the district court to provide a lengthy explanation of its reasons for imposing a within-guideline sentence. See Rita, 551 U.S. at 356-57. And because the guideline range was 12-18 months' imprisonment, the district court was not required to explain why it chose a particular sentence within that range. See 18 U.S.C.  3553(c)(1). Regardless, in its brief explanation, the district court indicated that it had considered the  3553(a) factors in recounting Martinez de Santelices's conduct, had considered the arguments of both parties, and had found a guideline-range sentence to be appropriate. Moreover, the district court expressly said that it considered that Martinez de Santelices was awaiting sentencing in his underlying criminal case and found, based on that and the other factors previously discussed, that an 18-month consecutive sentence for his supervised release violation was appropriate. This explanation was sufficient to show that the district court had a reasoned basis for its sentencing decision. Accordingly, Martinez de Santelices cannot show that the sentence is procedurally unreasonable, and we affirm. See Rita, 551 U.S. at 356.

AFFIRMED.

PER CURIAM:
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. LARRY LAVONNE BERRY, Defendant - Appellant. No. 17-4027 Decided: October 04, 2017

Before WILKINSON, KING, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges. Louis C. Allen, Acting Federal Public Defender, Eric J. Brignac, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellant. John Stuart Bruce, United States Attorney, Jennifer P. May-Parker, First Assistant United States Attorney, Seth Morgan Wood, Assistant United States Attorney, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.

In 2008, Larry Levonne Berry pled guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement, to bank robbery with a dangerous weapon and aiding and abetting, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  2, 2113(d) (2006); using and carrying a firearm during an armed bank robbery and aiding and abetting, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  2, 924(c) (2006); Hobbs Act Robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  1951 (2006); and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C.  922(g)(1) (2006) (felon in possession conviction), and he was sentenced to 302 months in prison. On appeal, we determined that Berry knowingly and voluntarily waived his right to appeal his sentence, and because neither counsel nor Berry raised any issues outside the scope of the appellate waiver in Berry's plea agreement, we enforced the waiver and granted the Government's motion to dismiss as to Berry's within-Guidelines sentence. We nonetheless affirmed the criminal judgment, in part, because, after conducting an Anders * review, we discerned no unwaived meritorious grounds for appeal. See United States v. Berry, 446 F. App'x 661, 662 (4th Cir. 2011) (No. 11-4272). Berry's 28 U.S.C.  2255 (2012) motion was denied by the district court, and we denied a certificate of appealability and dismissed Berry's appeal. See United States v. Berry, 598 F. App'x 205 (4th Cir. 2015) (No. 14-7636).

The Supreme Court later vacated this court's judgment dismissing Berry's habeas motion, and remanded the case for further consideration in light of Johnson v. United States, __ U.S. __, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015), see Berry v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 417 (2015), and we remanded the matter to the district court. On remand, the district court appointed Berry counsel and granted Berry's  2255 motion after determining that, under Johnson, Berry was no longer an armed career criminal for purposes of his felon in possession conviction. The district court resentenced Berry to 258 months in prison, with credit for time served.

Berry again appeals to this court, asking that we vacate his guilty plea. As support for his request, Berry asserts that he recently discovered that his girlfriend at the time he pled guilty was having an affair with an agent involved in the criminal investigation against him. Thus, Berry asserts that his guilty plea was unknowing because, had he known of the romantic relationship, he would have proceeded to trial and tried to impeach his girlfriend's testimony against him as biased. We decline Berry's request to vacate his guilty plea.

The parties concede that because Berry did not raise this claim in the district court, we need only review Berry's assignment of error for plain error. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(b); United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 731-32 (1993); see also United States v. Martinez, 277 F.3d 517, 524 (4th Cir. 2002) (holding that [b]ecause [defendant] did not seek to withdraw his guilty plea in the district court, we review his alleged [Fed. R. Crim. P.] 11 errors under the standard applicable to forfeited error, i.e., assertions of error raised for the first time on appeal). To establish plain error, Berry must show that an error occurred, that the error was plain, and that the error affected his substantial rights. See Olano, 507 U.S. at 732; see also United States v. Dominguez Benitez, 542 U.S. 74, 83 (2004) (holding that in the guilty plea context, an error affects substantial rights if there is a reasonable probability that, but for the error, [the defendant] would not have entered the plea). Even if Berry makes this showing, correction of the error remains within our discretion, which should not [be] exercise[d]  unless the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings. Olano, 507 U.S. at 732 (internal quotation marks and brackets omitted).

Berry correctly asserts that a criminal defendant has a right to withdraw a guilty plea if he can establish a fair and just reason for requesting the withdrawal. Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(d)(2)(B). A defendant seeking to withdraw his guilty plea bears the burden of demonstrating that withdrawal should be granted, however. See United States v. Moore, 931 F.2d 245, 248 (4th Cir. 1991). In deciding whether to permit withdrawal, the parties concede that this court should consider whether: (1) Berry has offered credible evidence that his plea was unknowing or involuntary; (2) Berry has credibly asserted his legal innocence; (3) there has been a delay between entry of Berry's guilty plea and his request to withdraw; (4) Berry has had the close assistance of competent counsel; (5) withdrawal will cause prejudice to the Government; and (6) withdrawal will inconvenience the court and waste judicial resources. See id. Berry concedes that the fifth and sixth Moore factors weigh in the Government's favor, but argues that the remaining factors weigh in favor of allowing him to withdraw his guilty plea.

After reviewing the record and considering the parties' arguments, we conclude that Berry has not established a fair and just reason for requesting to withdraw his guilty plea. Rather, we find that every Moore factor weighs against allowing Berry to withdraw his guilty plea and, thus, Berry's summary and unsworn assertion of newly discovered evidence is insufficient to require this court to vacate Berry's guilty plea. Accordingly, we affirm the district court's amended judgment. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

FOOTNOTES

. Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967).

PER CURIAM:
Jewish memorial visit

In a dark chapter of the main buildings history, the cellar of the Grossmarkthalle was used during the Second World War as the assembly point for nearly 10,000 Jews, who were deported from there, by train, to concentration camps.

It is possible to visit the onsite memorial by signing up for a guided tour organised by the Jewish Museum Frankfurt. If you wish to take this tour, visit the website of the Jewish Museum Frankfurt (only in German).
This post has been updated to correct information about training requirements for a special police officer.

It takes a lot to surprise me when it comes to Republicans Gone Wild! type legislation in Michigan these days. After all, this is the state where Republicans passed a law forcing women to purchase special insurance to cover abortions  what I call the Plan Ahead for your Abortion Law  and proposed doing away with our state income tax after having given hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks to corporations.

But I have to say this latest package of bills introduced by Republican Arlan Meekhof took me by surprise. If signed into law, it would allow for private, for-profit police agencies which are immune from FOIA laws. These private police would have full arrest powers. Its insanity:

Michigan would authorize a new class of private and potentially for-profit police agencies with full arrest powers under legislation proposed and pushed by Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof. [] The legislation would allow corporations, associations, school districts and other entities to contract with private police agencies to provide services for a specific time and in a specific geographic area. [] [T]he legislation was panned by current law enforcement officials, who said they were concerned by proposed transparency and training requirements. A private officer would not have to undergo a background check if he or she were licensed by the state as a law enforcement officer within the previous two years, they noted. At some level, it feels like were creating a Blackwater for police in the state of Michigan, said Howell Police Chief George Basar, a past president for the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police. It almost feels like were putting together a mercenary force to police in some of our communities.

Meekhof brought up a guy from North Carolina who owns two private police agencies to testify before a Senate Government Operations Committee hearing on the bill about how great this idea is. Thats what youre forced to do when not a single cop or other law enforcement agent thinks what youre proposing is anything but madness.

According to reporting by Emily Lawler at MLive, under the bill, the private police agencies would be extended governmental immunity but would not be subject to the states Freedom of Information Act. The legislation specifies that so-called legally organized entities who could hire these private police agencies include, but are not limited to, an association, corporation, partnership, proprietorship, trust, foundation, nonprofit organization, school district, political subdivision, local unit of government, federally recognized Indian tribe, or institution of higher education.

Meekhofs insane legislation lowers the bar to be a private cop about as low as you can go. In order to obtain a private cop license, you simply have to be over 21, have a high school diploma or equivalent, have not been convicted of a felony in the five years before applying, and be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. The private cop would also have had to be licensed by the Michigan State Police as a law enforcement officer within the past two years. The training requirements for that are set out in the Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards Act (MCOLES)  1965 PA 203, MCL 28.609  which requires completing Preenrollment requirements, courses of study, attendance requirements, and instructional hours at an agency basic law enforcement training academy, a preservice college basic law enforcement training academy, or a regional basic law enforcement training academy.

However, as Howell Police Basar noted in Lawlers piece, training for the private cops is not required to be as extensive as for traditional police officers:

Basar, of Howell, pointed to the training required by the Michigan Coalition on Law Enforcement Standards. Under this law for private companies, the standards would be different than for traditional police forces. Potentially we could be hiring security guards from other states without any police or MCOLES training, Basar said.

The only requirement for someone opening a private police force is that at least one officer or employee of the private police agency meet at least one of the following criteria (from the Senate Fiscal Agencys analysis):

The applicant would have to include evidence that at least one officer or employee of the special police agency met one or more of the following:  He or she was employed as a licensed law enforcement officer in Michigan or another state for at least three years.

 He or she was employed at a special police or licensed security agency in this or another state for at least three years as an employee of the applicant seeking licensure, and had experience that was reasonably equivalent to at least four years of work in a supervisory capacity with rank above that of patrol officer.

 He or she was a graduate with a bachelor or associate degree in the field of police administration or industrial security from an accredited institution of higher education.

 He or she served in the United States Armed Forces as a military police officer or in an equivalent job classification.

The person doesnt have to meet ALL of these criteria, they only have to meet ONE of them. If just one of the employees of the private police agency meets just one of these requirements, youre ready to go out and start arresting people and getting your cop on. And youll be totally protected by governmental immunity and from FOIA laws. Good to go.

This is a privatization scheme that corporate front groups have been pushing for a long time. Heres the Mackinac Center back in 1998:

Traditionally, government police officers have shouldered the burden of providing for public safety while taxpayers have directly absorbed the full costs for these benefits. Privatization of some police forces can both enhance safety and lower costs, as a number of examples show. [] Outsourcing is another way governments improve police services at a low cost. [] The possibilities for police privatization are limited only by the ingenuity and political courage of local leaders.

Courage is not the word I would use to describe this, of course. Idiocy, maybe. Or greed. Because, lets face it, when there is profit to be made from privatizing government services, for-profit corporations surge to the front of the line with their hands out.

Its probably no coincidence that the Mackinac Center is heavily funded by the DeVos family (who have also contributed $14,000 to Meekhof since 2012.) Education Secretary Betsy DeVoss brother, Erik Prince, is the notorious founder of Blackwater Worldwide, a private, for-profit mercenary group that provides security and other services in war zones. Its well known that Prince wants to privatize war, like the one in Afghanistan. If youre willing to go that far, privatizing your local police department seems almost tame by comparison.

But sane people understand that putting a profit motive behind policing, making police forces even LESS transparent, and giving them government immunity can only lead to outrageous abuses. And if a private cop violates your civil rights or beats the shit out of you or even kills you, who will you or your loved ones complain to? The corporation that profits from that cops work?

Yeah, good luck with that.
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. BENJAMIN ERNEST JOHNSON, Defendant - Appellant. No. 16-4788 Decided: October 04, 2017

Before TRAXLER and KING, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Sandra Barrett, Asheville, North Carolina, for Appellant. Amy Elizabeth Ray, Assistant United States Attorney, Asheville, North Carolina, for Appellee.

Benjamin Ernest Johnson pled guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement, to Count 2 of his 4-count indictment to enticing a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity (sexting), in violation of 18 U.S.C.  2422(b) (2012). Johnson appeals his conviction and 204-month sentence with counsel raising four issues: (1) Johnson is actually innocent of the offense in the absence of a sufficient factual basis; (2) the Government manipulated Johnson's sentence by taking the case from state prosecutors; (3) the district court improperly calculated Johnson's sentence; and (4) Johnson's sentence is substantively unreasonable. The Government has filed a motion to dismiss the appeal. We affirm in part and dismiss in part.

We review de novo the validity of a waiver of appeal rights and collateral attack rights, and will enforce the waiver if it is valid and the issue[s] appealed [are] within the scope of the waiver. A waiver must be knowing and voluntary. In the absence of extraordinary circumstances, a properly conducted [Federal] Rule [of Criminal Procedure] 11 colloquy establishes the validity of the waiver. United States v. Adams, 814 F.3d 178, 182 (4th Cir. 2016) (citations omitted). We note that the validity of waiver and Rule 11 hearing are uncontested. We grant the Government's motion to dismiss Claims 1, 3, and 4 because the record reveals that Johnson waived his right to appeal these claims in his plea agreement and these issues fall within the scope of the waiver. Johnson waived his appellate rights, except for claims of ineffective assistance of counsel or prosecutorial misconduct.

Regarding Claim 2, Johnson alleges that the federal government manipulated his sentence by the taking his case from state authorities. First, we note such claims are treated with skepticism. See United States v. Jones, 18 F.3d 1145, 1154 (4th Cir. 1994) (We  note our skepticism as to whether the government could ever engage in conduct not outrageous enough so as to violate due process to an extent warranting dismissal of the government's prosecution, yet outrageous enough to offend due process to an extent warranting a downward departure with respect to a defendant's sentencing.). Next, Johnson does not claim that he was sentenced in a manner that could result in appellate relief. See United States v. Thornsbury, 670 F.3d 532, 539 & n.7 (4th Cir. 2012) (discussing when a court might refuse to enforce a waiver in certain fundamental areas, such as challenges claiming a district court exceeded its authority, claiming that a sentence was based on a constitutionally impermissible factor such as race, or claiming a post-plea violation of the right to counsel). Finally, we note, that Johnson admits in his brief that the state authorities asked federal prosecutors for assistance (Appellant's Br. at 14), so there is not even an inference of impropriety, much less prosecutorial misconduct.

Accordingly, we dismiss Claims, 1, 3, and 4, and affirm Johnson's judgment as his remaining claim is without merit. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED IN PART; DISMISSED IN PART

PER CURIAM:
When it comes to helping new high school graduates succeed Southwest Baptist Universitys Jodi Meadows knows that sometimes you have to start from scratch. Even some of her top college freshmen, she says, never really had to hit the books in high school. Theyve had most learning experiences, from group work to quizzes, structured by their teachers, and dont know how to learn things on their own.

Generally speaking, most students I encounter have spent almost zero time studying outside of class in high school, said Meadows, an assistant professor of university studies, at the Missouri school. Well, here, the days of worksheets are over, and super-structured objective assessments are over. We have a different kind of learning here. You want to be able to evaluate, assess, and create, not just recall.

And its not just limited to classrooms. Futurists increasingly predict a rapidly changing workplace in which employees will be required to update their learning frequently, and on short notice. Employers, they say, will want flexible, adaptable workers who can pick up new content and technologies quickly and efficiently.

So whats K-12s role in getting them there? Well, cognitive scientists are now beginning to stress that producing students for whom such abilities are second nature is not only a challenge of content and pedagogy, but also one of helping students be more aware of how they learn. When faced with new knowledge or an unfamiliar task to master, how should students structure their time in order to practice it? When they get stuck in the middle of a complex problem, what strategies can they deploy to get unstuck? Meadows and her colleagues experiences suggest that those strategies are not innate in young learners; instead, they need to be explicitly taught and reinforced.

None of this is nuclear science, not even close, said John Dunlosky, a professor of psychology at Kent State University in Ohio. Its not that difficult to train students in these techniques, but you need to have multiple teachers at K-12 teaching them and showing how theyre related in their classes, so students get these messages over and over.

In survey after survey, technology experts and business leaders are skeptical of the ability of the K-12 and higher education systems to evolve quickly enough to respond to the workforce demands of the future. In fact, much of the debate over the future of jobs concerns how much of a role the public education system will even have a part to play in training and retraining workers.

Is such preparation truly the provenance of companies and corporations, as some argueand will they step up to meet that challenge? Or will such skills be taught informally, as in MOOCsfree open-registration online-training coursesand other modules that today can give almost anyone some degree of skill in computer coding, for example?

Parsing competing theories on the future of work can be wearying. And for todays K-12 educators, its probably also beside the point. Teachers arent futurists, and they work within highly structured systems that are generally slow to adopt new practices, and even slower to perfect them.

Nevertheless, of the students that teachers train today, those who are best equipped to learn new skills and technologieshowever theyre providedare likely to thrive, and those who dont will probably struggle.

How best to help students gain lifelong learning habits in K-12 has been probably the defining debate of U.S. education for the better part of a century, beginning with the progressives in the 1920s. Often it has been reduced to arguments about whether its better to build student content knowledge systematically and explicitly, versus teaching through constructivist, inquiry-based activities, often based on student interest.

In truth, learning experts say, the answer is both.

I think one thing is to give people really strong foundations in core disciplinesreading, writing, scientific literacyand the chance to practice that independent learning when there is more scaffolding and support around them, said Justin Reich, the executive director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technologys Teaching Systems Lab, which develops interactive teacher-training tools. (Reich also writes an opinion blog hosted on edweek.org.)

Some people are amazing and become autodidacts, but most others have apprenticed in a formal, structured learning environment that includes core content, information literacy skills, and knowing a little bit about structuring their time, developing social-emotional skills around delaying gratification, being disciplined.

Increasingly, cognitive scientists are focusing on the components about structuring time and learning to be disciplined to learn new things, which have tended to fall through the cracks in the debate.

In general, the idea of thinking about and regulating ones learning falls under the heading of metacognition, and many of the learning techniques the scientists are looking at are fundamentally pretty simple.

Quizzing ones own grasp of Spanish vocabulary using flashcards embodies the technique called practice testing, or devising tests and drills to help learn material.

Using the Cornell method to take notesgenerally defined as dividing the paper into columns and putting notes on one side and key words and questions to answer later on the otherillustrates another learning technique, self-explanation, which involves connecting new and prior information together. Explaining each of the steps taken to solve a mathematics problem is another representative example.

And practicing musical scales on the piano on Mondays, drilling finger work on Wednesdays, and committing recital pieces to memory on Fridays would fall under the heading of interleaved practice"learning how to effectively spread out various different components of study over time.

In a 2013 paper, Dunlosky and four other cognitive scientists summarized those three techniques and seven others, evaluating the existing empirical research found about their effectiveness. Some, like highlighting texts, arent particularly useful but are an entry to thinking in a more structured way about learning. Others, like practice testing, seem to be quite effective under a range of conditions.

The catch, researchers say, is that many of those learning techniques arent routinely emphasized in K-12 schools. They do appear to be more common among literacy and English/language arts teachers, who might, for instance, work with students on how to deploy reading-comprehension strategies. But perhaps the best evidence that theyre not widespread comes from the plethora of nonprofit and for-profit organizations, some charging costly fees, that aim to teach students study skills.

Teachers, meanwhile, tend to build students knowledge and skills without calling attention to the learning process. For example, a teacher who leads a lesson on multiplication and then prepares matching worksheets for students to complete is engaging them in a cognitive exercise, but without the meta part.

A lot of the skills involved in regulating your own learning are taken over by the teacher, Dunlosky said. In K-12, you dont really manage your time. Its all done for you.

See Also Webinar: Learning How to Learn: Techniques for Schooland the Future In this webinar, well discuss strategies schools can use now to prepare students for the jobs of the future. Our guests will offer insights and prescriptions for K-12 schools including techniques from cognitive science that students can use to be more aware of their own learning and for success in the classroom and beyond.

Register now.

Thats where Meadows, of Southwest Baptist University, comes in. She helps coordinate a mandatory two-semester course sequence in which college freshman learn how to be in control of their own learning. The course begins with the basics, by having students put all their assignments in a calendar and set timelines and milestones for completing them, and grows more sophisticated over time as students learn how to evaluate arguments, conduct research, and study independently.

The study of metacognition is still fairly young, dating from the 1970s, and less research has been conducted on workplace metacognition than in formal education. So its difficult to know whether the study techniques that are learned and used in an academic setting will transfer to the workplace. But for Meadows, the connections are clear.

We talk about how degrees relate to jobs these days, and how a degree is not a guarantee of a job anymore, she said of her students. I ask them, Whats going to put you at the top of the stack? And then they begin to talk about things theyve never connected with education: work ethic, working well with others. In essence, you are learning to be a particular way in the worlda question-asker, how to manage yourself, and how to be a solid decisionmaker.

That doesnt mean that students are necessarily receptive. One problem, Dunlosky said, is that students mistakenly think they know how to study when they really dont. They may think that merely rereading a chapter or two will suffice. (Rereading is not one of the more effective learning techniques Dunlosky and his team studied.)

More colleges should consider granting credit to students who agree to practice and use some of these techniques in an introductory course and see how well they work, he suggests.

And some warn that theres a ceiling, too, to what training in the techniques can accomplish. No amount of metacognition will help someone to become an accounting whiz if he or she doesnt have the mathematical preparation, the experts point out.

A little bit of modeling and practice is doubtless going to be helpful, but theres an upper limit, said Daniel Willingham, a cognitive scientist and professor of psychology at the University of Virginia. The job titles may not exist yet, but in 2020, people are still going to need to do mathematics, to be able to read. The cognitive processes that go into those jobs are probably not that different than what we are looking at today.

To be sure, no one knows precisely the recipe for producing the most prepared, adaptable workforce. But at the very least, to learn how to learn is a gift. And it may just be one of the puzzle pieces to navigating an uncertain future.
After years of focusing intensely on college readiness, states are turning their attention to students futures as workers, enacting a flurry of laws and policies designed to bolster career education and preparation.

What were seeing is that theres been a shift from focusing purely on college readiness to thinking also about career readiness, said Jennifer Thomsen, who analyzes policy for the Education Commission of the States.

For the longest time, the career part just kind of dropped off. But now, states are really getting back to the idea that college and career readiness really does mean both of those things.

In the last year and a half, states have stepped up to create their own ways of prioritizing career study while a long-overdue reauthorization of the main federal career and technical education law, the Carl D. Perkins Act, percolates in Congress, said Catherine Imperatore, who tracks legislation for the Association for Career and Technical Education.

Arizona, for instance, designed its accountability system this year to give substantial weight to such factors as how many high school students finish a career-technical-education course sequence, earn an industry-recognized credential, or complete 120 hours of work-based learning.

Kansas passed a law that pays schools $1,000 for each student who graduates from high school with an industry-recognized credential. That move was designed to incentivize and support schools to provide programs that get students ready for work, said state Rep. Melissa Rooker, who helped write the law.

The states headline-grabbing budget troubles have slashed the stipend to about $35 per student this year, Rooker said, but she hopes Kansas can find a way to fully fund that law soon.

Getting the Word Out

Some states have taken the approach of requiring a better flow of career-oriented information to students and families. Colorado, for instance, now requires schools to include options like certificates, apprenticeships, and the military in their career counseling.

Oregon passed a law requiring its education department to partner with the states labor bureau to draft a list of apprenticeships that must be sent to schools and shared with students and parents. Idaho, which used to grant dual credit only for academic courses, now requires districts to let students know that they can get college credit for career-tech ed courses as well.

In Texas, a new law requires education officials to collaborate with the states higher education and workforce departments to develop and post on their websites an inventory of certifications and credentials students can earn that reflect workforce needs and offer routes to middle- and high-skill jobs.

State Rep. Eddie Lucio, who co-sponsored the Texas legislation, said he hopes schools will use the inventory to develop coursework for in-demand careers and to advise students about opportunities. Most good jobs in Texas demand postsecondary certificates, licenses, or degrees, but only 20 percent of high school graduates in the state have them, he said.

We are providing 20th-century education in a 21st-century market, said Lucio, a Democrat. The biggest opportunity we see in Texas is that technical space, that license-certificate-tradesman space. We want to be able to tell employers we have the skilled workers they need.

Two states pushed forward on career study by bringing it into middle school. In Maine, career and technical education had been available only in high school, but a new law expanded it into middle schools. Indiana decided to include all its middle schools in a pilot program that uses an online career explorer tool with 8th grade students.

Illinois and Virginia both passed laws making it easier to get career-tech-ed teachers into the classroom. Virginia now allows school boards to waive some licensure requirements for the teachers they want to hire for career and technical education classes. And Illinois now permits teachers to get CTE endorsements from accredited trade and technical schools as well as state colleges and universities.

Graduation Pathways in Indiana

A pair of new laws in Indiana could expand and strengthen options for students who want a more career-oriented approach to high school study. A law that requires the state board of education to use workforce data to design career-tech-ed pathways could help eliminate courses of study that dont lead to good jobs.

The other law drops the state requirement that students pass an exam to graduate and instructs the state board of education to design various graduation pathways instead. Students would still have to take end-of-course tests for accountability but will, it is hoped, have additional options for demonstrating what theyve learned, said state Rep. Robert Behning, who co-sponsored the legislation.

A state board subcommittee on which he serves is currently exploring the design of those pathways and how theyll assess student learning. To Behning, a Republican, the new approach is a needed correction in a system thats put too little emphasis on career-oriented forms of study.

For too long, weve been focused on four-year colleges, and thats not necessarily the right course for every student, he said. He hopes the board can craft options that allow schools to get creative, think out of the box to let students demonstrate career competencies in applied settings.

As they focus more intently on career preparation, some states have opted to use their diplomas to send signals to employers. Tennessee will now award a special tri-star scholar designation to students who add an industry-recognized certificate and minimum scores on the SAT or ACT to their completion of all graduation requirements.

Missouri lawmakers decided to offer a new certificate connoting career competency . Starting this year, students can earn the career and technical education certificate, in addition to a high school diploma, if they meet seven requirements, including completing three related career courses with a B grade-point average and completing 50 hours of work-based learning.

Now, state officials are focused on reaching out to the business sector so it understands what the new certificates mean.

We dont want businesses to just say so what when a student shows them a CTE certificate. We want to make sure they know that they indicate a certain level of [workplace] competency, said Dennis Harden, the coordinator of career education at the Missouri education department.

A new advisory council made up of representatives from government, business, and education set the requirements for the certificate. It originated with a 2016 law that was designed, Harden said, to recognize students who are choosing perhaps another pathway than going directly to college.
United States Court of Appeals, Seventh Circuit. ILLINOIS BIBLE COLLEGES ASSOCIATION, et al., Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. LINDSAY K. H. ANDERSON, Chair of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, Defendant-Appellee. No. 16-1754 Decided: October 05, 2017

Before DANIEL A. MANION, Circuit Judge MICHAEL S. KANNE, Circuit Judge DAVID F. HAMILTON, Circuit Judge

ORDER

The opinion released on August 29, 2017, is amended as follows: page 13, second full paragraph, line 3, Establishment is changed to read Free Exercise.

On consideration of the petition for rehearing and suggestion for rehearing en banc filed by plaintiffs-appellants on September 15, 2017, no judge in active service has requested a vote and all judges on the original panel have voted to deny rehearing. The petition is therefore DENIED.

Sharon Johnson Coleman, Judge.
Search All categories Advertising General Aerospace General Agriculture General Airlines General America - Post 9/11 General Apparel General Apple Products General Architectural General Architecture Architecture Art & Entertainments Books Celebrities Country Music Dance Magazines Movies Museums Music Music Downloads News & Talk Shows Performing Arts Photography Television Web Sites Arts/Culture General Auction General Automotive Aftermarket Classic Autos Consumer Publications General Motorcycle & Bike Racing Recreational Vehicle Repair & Service Trade Publications Blogging & Social Media Blogging & Social Media Business Advertising / Marketing Books Consumer Research Direct Marketing e-Commerce Entrepreneurs Finance Franchise Human Resources Insurance Investment Management Markets Network Marketing Online Marketing / SEO Payday Loans Public Relations Publications Real Estate Retail Stocks Supermarkets Women in Business Careers/HR General Chemical General Coaching / Mentoring Coaching / Mentoring Computers Apple Products Databases Games & Entertainment General Hosting Instruction Linux / GNU "Open Source" Macintosh Microsoft Windows PC Operating Systems Programming Security Software Tablet PCs Utilities Construction General Consumer Gifts and Collectibles Hobbies Web sites / Internet Design Graphic Design Industrial Web E-Cigarette General eCommerce General Economy General Education College / University General Home Schooling K-12 Post Graduate Technical Electronics General Email Marketing General EmailWire Press Releases Press Release Tips Employment/Careers General Engineering General Entertainment General Environment General Events / Trade Shows General Finance General Food General Franchise General Fraud / Identity Theft General Gaming General Government General Judicial Law Enforcement Legislative Local National Public Services Security State Transportation Healthcare General Home and Family Banking / Personal Finance Bereavement / Loss Home Furnishings / Interiors Landscaping & Gardening Marriage / Relationships Money Parenting Payday Loans Pets Taxes Wedding / Bridal Home Schooling General Hotels/Resorts General Household General Industry Aerospace / Defense Agriculture Apparel / Textiles Broadcast Construction / Building Electrical Food Funeral Healthcare Leisure / Hospitality Logistics / Shipping Manufacturing / Production Mining / Metals Oil / Energy Paper / Forest Products Plumbing, Heating & AC Print Media Printing Publishing Radio Restaurants Tobacco Toy Insurance General Internet/Online General Legal General Leisure General Lifestyle Beauty Dating / Singles Diet / Weight Loss Fashion Food / Beverage Health & Fitness Hotel / Resorts Pastimes Restaurants Retirement Travel & Tourism Machinery General Maritime General Medical Addiction Allergies Alternative Medicine Asthma Cancer Cardiology Chiropractic Dental Dermatology Diabetes Emergency Family Medicine General General Geriatrics Hospitals Infectious Diseases Internal Medicine Managed Care / HMO Medical Products Mental Health Neurology Nursing Nutrition OB / GYN Pediatrics Pharmaceuticals Physical Therapy Plastic Surgery Psychology Radiology / Imaging Research Sports Medicine Surgery Vision Military General Mining/Metals General Miscellaneous General Nanotechnology Nanotechnology Non-profit General Occupational Safety Occupational Safety Oil/Energy General Opinion / Editorial Opinion / Editorial Paper Products General Paper/Forest General Pharmaceuticals General Podcasting Announce Tools and Services Politics Politics Print Media General Public Utilities Public Utilities Publishing General Radio General Real Estate General Religion Christian General Islam Jewish Other Restaurants General Retail General RSS & Content Syndication RSS & Content Syndication Science and Research Science and Research Self-Help / Personal Growth Self-Help / Personal Growth Shipbuilding General Society African American Interests Asian Interests Childrens Issues Disabled Issues / Disabilities Gay / Lesbian Hispanic Mens Interests Native American Senior Citizens Social Services Teen Issues/Interests Womens Interest Software General Sports Baseball Basketball Bicycling Boating / Maritime Bowling Boxing Fishing Football Golf Hockey Hunting Martial Arts Outdoors Rugby Soccer Tennis Water Winter/Snow Sports/Fitness General Stocks General Supermarkets General Technology Biotechnology Computer Electronics Enterprise Software Games Graphics/Printing/CAD Hardware / Peripherals Industrial Information Internet Multimedia Networking Public Sector/Government Robotics Semiconductor Software Telecommunications Webmasters Telecom General Wireless Television General Tobacco General Trade General Transportation General Travel General Utilities General Volunteer Volunteer Weather Weather
From left, Alva Crowe, Cherokee Nation; James McKissic, city of Chattanooga; Jessica Dumitru, regent, Chief John Ross Chapter; Luanne Dewitt, American Indian Committee chair, Chief John Ross Chapter; and Teresa Webb Rimer, Cherokee District director, NSDAR and CJR member Jessica Dumitru, regent of the Chief John Ross Chapter James McKissic, director of Multicultural Affairs for the city of Chattanooga Previous Next

The Chief John Ross Chapter, NSDAR and the city of Chattanooga joined Tuesday to commemorate the 100th anniversary of opening of the Chief John Ross bridge. Jessica Dumitru, regent of the Chief John Ross Chapter, presided over the wreath-laying ceremony and the presentation of the bridges history and significance.

Ms. Dumitru opened the commemorative event with a glance back at the forces at play leading to the construction of a second major bridge across the Tennessee River near Chattanooga. She reminded attendees that 1917 was a significant year for the people living in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The war that had been raging in Europe since 1914 continued with U-boat attacks against the United States and in April, the US joined Great Britain, France and Russia in their fight against tyranny. The population around Chattanooga swelled as thousands of young men came to Fort Oglethorpe for training prior to the Expeditionary Forces leaving for France and the fighting in the Argonne Forest. 

She noted that Chattanoogas general population was growing too and the number of automobiles increased. The Walnut Street Bridge, which had been built for horse and buggy use, had quickly becoming inadequate for handling the flow of people from Chattanooga across the Tennessee River into Hill City. In their planning for the future, the leadership funded the design and construction of a new, wider bascule bridge, often referred to as a drawbridge that would still allow large boats to use the river.

The bridge cost $1 million and, at the time of its construction, it was the longest rolling-lift span in the world and its traffic included streetcars which operated until the 1930s. Chattanooga Mayor T. C. Thompson presided over the planning of the bridge while Mayor Jesse Littleton would be present to cut the ribbon in 1917.

In 1950, the bridge was officially renamed the Chief John Ross Bridge in honor of Chattanoogas founder, Chief John Ross. The bridge was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010 and continues to be a major artery into and out of downtown Chattanooga. It has become a frequently photographed Chattanooga site, perhaps second to the now-pedestrian traffic Walnut Street bridge, and even now the bridge is closed four times per year so the U S Coast Guard can test its drawbridge mechanism.

James McKissic, director of Multicultural Affairs for the city of Chattanooga, addressed the crowd with an acknowledgement that the city of Chattanooga was excited to join the Daughters of the American Revolution, Chief John Ross Chapter, in celebrating a beautiful bridge and, even more importantly, the Chiefs leadership in this community and with the Cherokee nation.

Mr. McKissic recalled that on the previous Saturday, the city of Chattanooga had sponsored a Walking History tour of the Tennessee River and one of the stories including the tragic story of the Trail of Tears and Chief John Rosss pivotal role in that historic moment. Mr. McKissic noted that John Ross was born in the shadow of Lookout Mountain and that as a young man, he demonstrated those leadership talents that would propel him into Chattanoogas history.

At age 27, Ross was elected to the Cherokee National Council and two years later, he became president of the council. In 1827, Chief John Ross helped write the Cherokee Constitution and, within two years, he became the principal chief of the Cherokee nation.

Formerly a close friend of President Andrew Jackson when they had fought alongside each other in the Creek Indian Wars of 1812, they would find themselves at odds 20 years later. Jackson knew Ross would never agree to the land swap and the forced removal of the Cherokee so he bypassed Ross and went to others on the Council. Most citizens know how the story of the Trail of Tears ended and that Chief John Ross joined expedition even though he could have chosen to remain in the Chattanooga-Rossville area.

Mr. McKissic paused during the presentation before concluding that It is important that we commemorate our citys Cherokee heritage and that we remember Chief John Ross on this 100th anniversary of this bridges opening.

The ceremony culminated in the placement of a wreath in memory of Chief John Ross






Living wage report to be presented to Tynwald



Policy and Reform Minister Chris Thomas will ask Tynwald to receive the report later this month.

The introduction of a living wage on the Isle of Man could be a step closer when Tynwald sits this month.

Policy and Reform Minister Chris Thomas will ask the Island's parliament to receive a report on the Manx Living Wage.

The report calculates the living wage for Manx residents to be 8.61 per hour, which is 1.11 higher than the minimum wage for those aged 25 and over, and 16p than the living wage for UK residents outside London.

It's estimated employers would have to pay over 2,000 per year more if they switched from the minimum wage to a living wage, but the Government believes it could result in fewer benefit payments, as well as an increase in tax and national insurance receipts.

The Economic Affairs Division is planning to recalculate the living wage each July, as well as finding a way to give accreditation to employers who offer the increased wage.

A living wage is designed to ensure an adult worker can afford the cost of housing, utility bills and food, as well as other essential items.
Previous Next

The work of five local artists will be showcased at a reception held at Reflections Gallery on Lee Highway on Friday, Oct. 20, from 5-7 p.m. The free reception is open to the public and light refreshments will be served.

Featured artists will be Paul Brzozowski, Melissa Gates, Robert Garren Hall, Cindy McCashin and Elizabeth Worthington.

Paul Brzozowski is a talented woodworker from Cleveland, Tennessee, whose love for his craft began early in life. His service in the U.S. Navy as an industrial engineer took him across the country and abroad. As he worked at his day jobs, he continued to use his woodworking skills to build everything from coffee tables to custom toolboxes, and anything people commissioned him to create. While in Shanghai as a representative of Catnapper of Cleveland, he fell in love with Chinese curved wood designs. Much of his beautiful work today shows his mastery of this skill.

Melissa Gates began painting as a hobby in 2015. As she experimented, she discovered an innate ability to bring her subjects to life on canvas, and is rapidly becoming one of the Tennessee Valleys most sought-after artists. Originally from Saginaw, Mi., her career path has taken her from coast to coast in the U.S., as well as to Costa Rica and Panama. Her exquisite and award-winning renditions of animals and other wonders of nature capture the close-up beauty of her subjects.

Robert Garren Hall has always loved to draw. As a child his favorites were his drawings of comic-book-style art. Today he is known in the Chattanooga/North Georgia area for his evocative images of Southern Americana. His subjects range from depictions of charming small town scenes, Southern landscapes and memorabilia, to his renditions of vintage, often rusted, cars and trucks. He paints with both oils and acrylics and calls his method reference painting, often combining elements from several photographs to create one work.

Cindy McCashin has been painting since 2013, and her work has since been seen in galleries throughout the area. After enjoying a career path with many twists and turns  working in television production and marketing with WRCB-TV, public television fund raising with WTCI (PBS)  she is now a retired realtor. Her self-taught artistic style is constantly evolving and she currently defines it as Impressionistic Realism. She has always been an avid photographer and uses the images she captures as inspiration to create works in acrylics and watercolors.

Elizabeth Worthington received a B.A. in Art from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and an M.A. and teaching certificate from the University of Virginia. Most recently, she taught art for 15 years in our community at Lookout Mountain School, leading the schools outstanding arts education program. She is now retired and says she spends most days painting, playing the piano and generally enjoying life. Art patrons have long enjoyed her use of vibrant color in her evocative landscapes.

Reflections Gallery is a must-see in the East Brainerd area. The gallerys mission is to bring the works of the best local and regional artists to the art lovers of the Chattanooga area. Reflections Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Art exhibits are constantly changing, so theres always something new to enjoy. Collectors and art buffs are encouraged to visit often.

Directions to Reflections Gallery are as follows: I-75 to the Shallowford Road exit. Go North to Lee Highway. Left onto Lee Highway. Reflections Gallery is approximately one block on the left. Free parking in front and beside the gallery on Robinson Drive.
"Backpack Full of Cash", a documentary narrated by Matt Damon based on the public school systems in America which is a market-based education these days, is being criticized by Jeanne Allen of the Center for Education Reform who was apparently misled by the producers of the film.

In the trailer of the film, Allen is seen using as a metaphor with an animated image of a student and dollar bills flying from his backpack. Allen is afraid that she will be portrayed as a villain in the film. According to her Turnstone Productions, Stone Lantern Films and producers Vera Aronow and Sarah Mondale totally misled her regarding the nature of the documentary and they had interviewed her for something. Although now they have turned her into a negative character while making Randi Weingarten, American Federation of Teachers president into one of the heroes, reported The Hollywood Reporter.

As per reports, Allen has now demanded the raw footage of her interview in which she asks to see the film. However, she thinks that the filmmakers are busy in negotiating distribution and broadcasting rights at the moment, so that will only offer her a screening after few weeks.

The filmmakers have written to her saying that the use of her interview in the film was within their rights of editorial discretion as filmmakers. They mentioned that they came up with the catchy phrase backpack full of cash over the course of making the film several times so the use of the phrase happened by chance without any particular intention.

Actor Matt Damon who is known as an advocate for public schools was welcomed heroically during the screening of the film and it was attended by public school teachers and students.

"This movie is all about smearing us as anti-public education," Allen says.

"It's a backpack full of hypocrisy. Matt Damon's kids go to a private school, and the people praised in the film get paid from taxpayer dollars. The teachers' unions spend $300 million a year on political races. We don't have that kind of money. Why won't they let people decide for themselves whether they want to go to the schools that these people run?", she further added.

The focus of the film is the growing demand of private school options in America supported by a powerful and wealthy movement of country's top billionaires. Free market coalition urges that every child should take their "backpack full of cash" to school they want to go to, that could be of their charter, religious, online, or public.

"Stone Lantern never told me they were making a documentary that is anti-education reform; will feature Randi Weingarten, my chief nemesis; and, by the way, will be named after my quote," Allen says.

"Weingarten accuses supporters of school choice of being 'polite cousins to segregation.' Meanwhile, look out your back window and you'll see 90 percent of the kids in La La Land who are going to schools of choice are black and Hispanic because L.A. Unified School District couldn't figure out how to educate them."
Australian actor Chris Hemsworth has revealed how he juggles between his work and personal life.

During an interview with GQ Australia, the 34-year-old actor credited his wife, Spanish model/actress Elsa Pataky, for his happy family life. He said: "My wife and I fell in love, had kids, and didn't really see each other for a few years, then fell back in love. In terms of work, [Elsa has] certainly given up more than I have."

"She'd like me to step back and be at home with the kids more, and of course, I want that too. But I feel like I'm at this crucial point in my career - I've just got to set up for longevity or I'll slip off."

Hemsworth and Pataky first met in 2010 after being introduced by talent agent William Ward. They tied the knot the same year in December.

Adding on, the "Thor" actor admitted the couple do take a break from their three children - India, 5, and 3-year-old twin boys Tristan and Sasha. He shared: "Once you have children, every instinct and every moment of your time is consumed by that. You've got nothing for each other."

"So, make sure you have date night even if it's once in a blue moon, because most of the time you're just too tired and you'd actually prefer to sleep," he added. "There's no shortage of how much I tell her I love her. But I guess there's no detail in it, why or how."

In 2016, Hemsworth was hit by reports that his marriage is on the rocks. Woman's Day reported that he and Pataky are leading separate lives.

He took to his Instagram account and shared a picture with Pataky. He wrote: "Looking for a new wife according to @womansdayaus and other misleading outlets! Honey you still love me right?! @elsapatakyconfidential#thanksfortheheadsup"
The Jharkhand assembly has passed the Freedom of Religion Bill, 2017 and it has received the governors assent Jharkhand is now the latest entry into the list of states with the Freedom of Religion Act. Odisha was the first to introduce the Freedom of Religion Act in 1967. Madhya Pradesh soon followed and passed a similar act in 1968. Ten years later, in 1978 Arunachal Pradesh passed such an act. Tamil Nadu passed an anti-conversion act with a different nomenclature in 2002. It was called the Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Act. However, it was repealed in 2004. Gujarats Freedom of Religion Act was passed in 2003; Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh too followed suit in 2006 with a similar nomenclature. In most states, the acts have gone through amendments either due to cases filed in courts or objections raised by the respective governors of the state. Interestingly, all the freedom of religion acts, with the exception of the one passed by Arunachal Pradesh have been enacted in states with the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution. Since this schedule is meant for tribes, it may fairly be assumed that the freedom of religion acts primarily target the tribal population of the respective states.

Aunachal Pradesh is the only state in the North East with a Freedom of Religion Act. However, the act is not in operation, as the rules required for its implementation have not been framed. That the rules have not been framed even after over three decades of the enactment is worth questioning. My guess is Arunachal Pradesh may have felt constrained to take the act forward as its implementation would have adversely affected the social fabric of the kinship-based tribal society in the state. Unlike other states, it is a state where tribals govern themselves and are not governed by others.








Cleveland State Community College hosted a special celebration on Wednesday to honor the college being recognized as a Veterans Designated Campus and as a Veterans Reconnect Grant Recipient.Our campus community could not be more proud to be recognized as a VETS Designated College and also to be selected to receive the Veterans Reconnect Grant, stated Dr. Bill Seymour, CSCC President. While Cleveland State has always been known as a vet-friendly college these latest recognitions not only illustrate our commitment in more powerful ways they will enable us to attract more veteran students and support their success to a much higher degree  to give these individuals who have sacrificed so much every opportunity to advance their education and their careers.This is how we are your community college will give back to you.Cleveland State was one of only three community colleges in the state selected to receive the Veterans Reconnect Grant. This grant, valued at $80,000, will serve veterans and service members and help them earn postsecondary degrees as a part of Governor Haslams Drive to 55 initiative.The 2017 grant program is specifically focused on improving the assessment of prior learning for student veterans returning to college, helping them more easily convert previous military experience into college credit and improving the transition between military service and postsecondary education.Mike Krause, executive director, Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) and Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC), said, Higher education in America owes a lot to the American veteran. If you think about pre-World War II, colleges and universities in America were the purview of the elite, and what changed that was when millions of GIs came home from saving the world and used the G.I. Bill to flood our college campuses. That changed their lives, but that changed America and it changed how we viewed colleges and universities.The presentation of colors was led by Bradley Central High Schools JROTC, led by Lieutenant Colonel Chris W. Ingle and Sergeant First Class Roger Wright. The National Anthem was performed by CSCCs Vocal Rhapsody Ensemble under the direction of Karen Dale, and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Matthew Dodd, Student Senate Vice President, United States Marine Corps Reserves. Speakers included Ray Goad, CSCC Veterans Services Coordinator; CSCC Alum Antonio Simpson, VA Legal Administration Specialist, US Army; Gregg Crawford, Veteran Education Coordinator for East Tennessee; Representative John Forgety; Mike Krause, Executive Director, THEC and TSAC.Mr. Krause said, Military service is different in Tennessee. I dont know what it is like in other states because Im an eighth generation Tennessean, but It means something here. I think what you see from our state is a commitment to be the best state in American for veterans. It means that we become a place where when veterans leave whatever branch of service they are in that they know they are welcome in Tennessee. And that starts at the top You never need to worry about the advocacy that Bradley county is getting in Nashville. They are fervent advocates for Bradley county, Cleveland and Cleveland State Community College. THEC can only administer the funds we are appropriated by the General Assembly, so we would not be here without your legislators.For more information on the Veterans Reconnect Grant, contact Tishauna Hoffman, Prior Learning Specialist, at 423-472-7141, ext. 421.
The docking of the first shipment of shale oil from the United States (US) at Paradip port, Odisha is a significant landmark in Indias quest for cheap oil. This indicates that India, which has heavily relied on imports of oil from West Asia for decades, has finally realised that despite its best efforts to diversify its oil imports, by tapping new regions like South America and Africa and investing in oil assets across the globe, it has slipped on this front and there is still an urgent need to tap newer markets like the US, whose surging shale oil production offers new opportunities.

Tapping into the US shale oil market, though still a small niche market, offers the largest long-term potential, will ensure that India would be able to tap into yet another new buoyant oil source. Such a step will not only help it retain its bargaining power with existing suppliers, but will also enable it to keep import prices at lower levels.
Working round the clock in shifts of 8 hours, the ESRF users have diligently collected every bit of useful data that could help them to solve a problem or to better understand materials or living matter. They have a new record with 30,000 publications being reached in September 2017.

The users of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility have published 30,000 publications in peer-reviewed journals since the facility first opened its doors in 1994. The publications included many breakthroughs that were achieved with ESRF data, such as the discovery of the structure of the ribosome that led to a Nobel prize shared by two of our users. These 30,000 publications reflect the scientific vibrancy of our user community. Since 1994, ESRF users from all over the world, from different cultures and disciplines, have worked together to push back the frontiers of science, unlocking the secrets of materials and living matter. All the inventive research carried out at the ESRF propagates to society and boosts the scientific cultures, the economies and the competitiveness of the ESRF member states and beyond.

Such progress has been made possible through a continuous and dynamic research and development programme that focuses on constantly improving the instrumentation and technology of the X-ray source and beamlines, and has placed the ESRF as one of the leaders in the field of synchrotron and accelerator physics and technology. At a moment when the ESRF is preparing the future with a new storage ring, the ESRF-EBS, the 30,000 publications is symbolic of the dynamism and impact of the facility.

Founded in 1988, the ESRF began operations in 1994 and has since exceeded all initial objectives. The number of publications has increased linearly with the number of beamlines available to users. During the last decade, with the number of beamlines stabilising around 42, ESRF users have produced around 1800 publications per year. These publications arise from roughly 1600 experimental sessions per year, each session representing one or more 8-hour shift at a beamline.

Publications in peer-reviewed journals per year 1994 to 09/2017.

High-impact publications

Over the last decade, around 16% of the 1800 publications per year have been published in high-impact-factor journals such as Nature, Science and Cell.

Publications in peer-reviewed journals with Impact Factor > 7, 2008 to 09/2017.

Two examples of the latest publications in high-impact journals have been selected to demonstrate the variety of disciplines, the collaborative nature and, for the second in particular, the multi-cultural aspect of research at a synchrotron facility. Although from different fields, both are linked to sustainability, one of the pillars of research at the ESRF.

The first, published in Science, could open doors to alternative fuel sources, using algae to make hydrocarbons. The authors are scientists from four French institutes, with lead author Frederic Besson from the Biosciences and Biotechnologies Institute of Aix-Marseille (BIAM). In their publication, Besson and colleagues describe an algal enzyme that produces hydrocarbons from fatty acids using sunlight. The authors have identified the enzyme in algae, and then proved its mode of action in an assay for the conversion of fatty acids, which proceeded only when illuminated. They obtained the 3D structure of the enzyme following data collection at beamline MASSIF-1 (ID30A-1). The structure consisted of the enzyme with a cofactor (FAD) and the fatty acid palmitate. From the structure, the authors were able to infer a mechanism for the light driven catalysis.

The second, published in Angewandte Chemie, comes from an international team of scientists from the UK, Norway, France and Italy. Lead authors are David Wragg from the University of Oslo, Norway, and Serena Margadonna, from Swansea University, UK. Their research bridges the domains of chemistry and materials science. They studied components inside an operating sodium battery using beamline ID15A while the battery was charging and discharging. This time-resolved study combined chemical analysis and tomographic imaging and provided an insight into both the chemical and structural changes in the battery during charging cycles. Their results have revealed the mechanism of a promising anode material. These studies should help to improve the capacity and stability of batteries during many cycles of charge and discharge.

References

An algal photoenzyme converts fatty acids to hydrocarbons, D. Sorigue, B. Legeret, S. Cuine, S. Blangy, S. Moulin, E. Billon, P. Richaud, S. Brugiere, Y. Coute, D. Nurizzo, P. Muller, K. Brettel, D. Pignol, P. Arnoux, Y. Li-Beisson, G. Peltier, F. Beisson, Science 357, 903-907 (2017); doi: 10.1126/science.aan6349.

Chemical structures of specific sodium ion battery components determined by operando pair distribution function and X-ray diffraction computed tomography, J. Sottmann, M. Di Michiel, H. Fjellvag, L. Malavasi, S. Margadonna, P. Vajeeston, G.B.M. Vaughan, and D.S. Wragg, Angewandte Chemie International Edition 56, 11385-11389 (2017); doi: 10.1002/anie.201704271.

Text by Gary Admans
Both European Union countries and Japan have the common goal of promoting sustainable development on the African continent through aid, investment, security cooperation and good governance. Among the EU economies, France has emerged as the leader of Europes development pursuits in Africa. As two important players in Africa, Japan and France work together to enhance their bilateral cooperation in this particular area.

Both countries have been long-term aid donors in Africa, as the continent is their priority for many reasons. About half of all the activities supervised by the French Development Agency (AFD) are located in Africa and this regional specialization is likely to stay in the future as well. However, what has changed is the particular focus within the continent  France is no longer specializing in the French-speaking African countries only. At the moment, Kenya is the number one recipient of French development aid on the continent. Paris approach to the continent has been revamped this year in favor of a more systematic approach that doesnt discern between North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa in terms of administration but calls for tailored solutions for local situations.

In contrast, most of Japans work in development focuses on Asia and only 15% of its development aid goes to Africa. Yet, Tokyo is taking advantage of the lessons and experiences learned when dealing with conflict-affected and fragile Asian states such as Cambodia to develop its activities in Africa. Japans International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is a key player that has claimed many successes including massive job creation and inclusive growth throughout Asia and that is extending its work to Africa.

France and Japan share some similar approaches to development assistance. For example, for both countries, Africa is a priority for historical reasons. They both focus on promoting growth and employment for local populations by ensuring infrastructure development and local skills training. This alignment obviously reflects an obvious political basis on which to coordinate mutual activities in Africa and at the same time differentiates both countries from the newer development actors such as China.

JICA and the AFD have begun working together on a number of projects. Their flagship pilot project in Abidjan aims to add to the municipalitys development as a smart city. The two parts of the project are funded by France and Japan side by side  the AFD focuses on sanitation and water while the JICA works on roads and transportation. Beyond this project, synergies can also be found in working on the economic development of the Mombasa area in Kenya where the AFD is providing basic supplies such as water and the JICA is developing a Special Economic Zone.

Promising areas of cooperation between both sides are peace-building operations and institution building where especially Japan is very active by dedicating funds to promote training and capacity-building across the continent. France has already an extensive experience in conducting these kinds of missions and is now working to build a more systematic approach to ensuring a better efficiency. For all these reasons, France-Japan collaboration in development is set to grow in the coming years. Overcoming red tape and long decision-making process should allow for an acceleration and expansion of what is already a fruitful cooperation.

France and Japan in Africa: A Promising Partnership  Editorial by Ce?line Pajon 

Institut francais des relations internationales (Ifri).

(The Editorial can be downloaded here)
EU head of diplomacy, Federica Mogherini, is one of the 318 nominees for the Peace Nobel Prize that will be awarded in a ceremony held today (Friday, 6 October). Who will become the winner is kept secret by a convention that has been closely guarded for 50 years. Last year, the peace award went to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his efforts to bring peace to his country after a 50-year-long conflict with rebel guerillas. Observers say that a prize in honor of non-proliferation efforts would be suitable for this year.

The Nobel committee would make a big splash if it awarded the prize to the Iran nuclear deal, commented Asle Sveen, a peace prize historian. He added that in this case, the prize could go to former US Secretary of State John Kerry, Federica Mogherini or Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif  the architects of the 2015 nuclear deal concluded between Iran and six world powers. Supporters of the deal say that under the deal, Iran cannot pursue an atomic bomb but the new US administration is skeptical and has threatened to tear it up, with US President Donald Trump calling the deal an embarrassment.

In the context of the ongoing dispute between the White House and North Korea over the rouge states nuclear weapons program, analysts think that non-proliferation should be supported and encouraged. With North Korea also at stake, its very important to support initiatives that guard against the development and proliferation of nuclear weapons, the head of the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (Prio), Henrik Urdal, said.

Another potential laureate could be the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a coalition of non-governmental organizations, who lobbied for the adoption of a historic nuclear weapons ban agreement that was signed by 122 countries in summer. Syrias White Helmets rescue service and Pope Francis are also believed to be on the list.
Afghan asylum seekers that were forcibly returned to their country are at risk of torture, kidnapping and death, Amnesty International said. Almost 9,500 Afghans went back to their homeland last year after their asylum applications were rejected in Europe. In 2015, there were 3,300 applicants, around three times less than last year. The number of deported asylum seekers covers those who were detained and then deported from European countries, and those who ostensibly voluntarily returned with financial assistance, Amnesty explained.

European governments are forcing increasing numbers of asylum seekers back to the dangers from which they fled, in brazen violation of international law, the pro-human-rights organization said in a report entitled Forced Back to Danger. The influx of returnees from Europe coincides with a rising number of civilian deaths in the countrys ongoing conflict that forces struggle to fight Taliban and jihadists in most parts of the country. Last year, almost 11,500 civilians were killed or wounded, one third of them being children, which is the highest number of non-combatant casualties since the United Nations began collecting figures in 2009. In 2017, civilian casualties stayed at a record high.

Willfully blind to the evidence that violence is at a record high and no part of Afghanistan is safe, they are putting people are risk of torture, kidnapping, death and other horrors, Anna Shea of Amnesty International commented. The organizations thus urged the EU to suspend further deportations until the situation in Afghanistan permits returns to take place in safety and dignity.
Written by ACM





*Strasbourg/EU Parliament/Angelo Marcopolo/- The Forhcoming Cyprus - UK Negotiations on relevant "BREXIT"'s aspects would Start soon and shall Advance Well, optimistically said to "Eurofora" Nicosia's Governing Party's mainstream MEP Lefteris Christoforou, from the Biggest Group of MEPs, that of ChristianDemocrats/EPP.



EU Parliament will have to Vote in order to Endorse the result of EU - UK Negotiations on BREXIT, and, therefore, it has recently Started to closelly Follow their Progress, as its new President, Antonio Tajani, recently announced.



Christoforou was Speaking to "Eurofpra" in EU Parliament in Strasbourg the Same Day that its Plenary Debated and Voted, Earlier Today, on the general "State of play of (EU) Negotiations with the United Kingdom" until now, with the participation of EU's Chief Negotiator on BREXIT, Michel Barnier, (Comp. Barnier's recent Statements to "Eurofora", previously, at : ....).



Cyprus - UK Negotiations on specific Issues of common interest are due to Start Next Week, from the 11th of October, in Brussels.



The Chief Negotiator for Cyprus is Ambassador Minas Hatzimichael, a Top Diplomat who holds a Solid Experience particularly on Multilateral Relations, including at the CoE in Strasbourg and at the UNO in New York, etc., (with whom "Eurofora"s co-Founder has already Cooperated in the Past).



The Beginning of those substantial Negotiations is due to Focus on the 2 Brittish Bases existing at the Strategic Island according to Treaties signed since its Independence on 1960-1961, about their possible Future after the planned Withdrawal of the UK from the EU.



- Among those EU Member States which are due to be Most Affected by BREXIT's eventual Consequences, Together with Ireland, Malta (also Member of the Brittish "Commonwealth", as Cyprus too), and perhaps the Netherlands, is included also Cyprus, for whom BREXIT is "an Important Issue", reportedly stressed, in parallel, Today at Nicosia, the experienced Cypriot Long-Time Foreing Minister, (and Former Top MEP in Strasbourg/Brussels (in charge of Foreign Policy at EU Parliament's Biggest Political Group, that of EPP, in the Past), Ioannis Kasulides, (Comp. various Kasulides' Statements to "Eurofora" on manifold Different topical EU/CoE/UNO issues, f.ex. : ...+... +..., etc).



- However, all the Repercussions of BREXIT vis a vis Cyprus canNot yet be Determined Precisely, for the Time being, inter alia, also because of an Insufficient, yet, Progress in the Main EU - UK Negotiations until now, Kasulides reportedly added.

___________

Indeed, the Resolution debated and Adopted, earlier Today here, by a Strong Majority of 557 Votes, Against Only 92, and with 29 Abstentions in EU Parliament, supports the View that "Sufficient Progress has Not yet been made" on the 2 Main EU Priorities : "Citizens Rights, Ireland and Northern Ireland, and ...UK's Financial Obligations".



=> Therefore, EU Parliament's Resolution "calls" on EU Heads of State/Government, (who are due to meet in a Summit in Brussels later this Month, on 19-20/10/2017), "to Decide, at [their] October Meeting to Postpone [their] Assessment" on BREXIT's course, "Unless there is a Major Breakthrough, in line with this resolution in all 3 areas" cited above.

- But, "for the Moment", i.e. as long as "there is not sufficient progress on the negotiations on the table", then, "there is No chance of Entering into the 2nd Phase of the (EU - UK) Negotiations", (i.e. on London's Future Status vis a vis the EU, in case of BREXIT), Warned the President of EU Parliament's Biggest Group, German ChristianDemocrat/EPP MEP, Martin Weber, during Today's Debates here.



>>> However, at the foreseeable Horizon, - "We Need clear Results in 2019; Otherwise the Consent of the European Parliament is Not guaranteed", President Weber also Urged everybody, before briefly meeting, later Today, also "Eurofora", at a subsequent occasion, (See, f.ex.: ...).



------------------------

+ Cypriot Citizens who Reside and/or Work in the Brittish Bases, which extend throughout considerable areas of the Island's Southern SeaCoasts, are due to be at the Focus of the Cyprus - UK Negotiations on BREXIT, that will start meanwhile (Comp. Supra).



During Today's Votes in EU Parliament's Plenary in Strasbourg, a Very Strong Majority of 586 MEPs clearly Rejected a controversial Amendment by the EuroSceptical EFDD Group to Drop a Call for EU Citizens' "Settled Status" as Permanent Residents in the UK, where a particularly Large Proportion of Cypriots have been notoriously Living since a Long Time ago.



Moreover, EU Parliament also Rejected another Amendment which had attempted to ask for what it called "Gibraltar's Sovereignity", Not to be put in "Question" by BREXIT Negotiations.



However, EU Parliament "on the Other hand" , Positively "Noted" that "that in her Speech of 22 September 2017" UK Prime Minister Theresa May, "Excluded any Physical Infrastructure at the border" with Ireland, (i.e., f.ex., a Wall or Fence, etc).



This might even "presume... that the UK stays in (EU's) Internal Market and Customs Union, or that Norhern Ireland stays" there "in some form", MEPs went on to Speculate.



Such Points were specifically Adopted with a particular Majority of MEPs' Votes, even Stronger than that which played for the Entire Resolution : 562 Votes in Favor, instead of just 557, respectively.



Last, but not least, EU Parliament also Rejected anOther Amendment, asking to "Prevent a <<Hardening>> of the Border between Spain and Gibraltar" after the BREXIT, as it said

- Even if this particular Point, Exceptionally, attracted a somewhat Higher Minority of MEPs than All Other Votes : 90 instead of a usual 70 in Most Other Cases, i.e. +20 Dissident MEPs more than Average...
In an opinion filed on Thursday, the Supreme Court of Tennessee clarified when a serious bodily injury must occur during a robbery to elevate the crime to especially aggravated robbery. This clarification is important because especially aggravated robbery carries a longer sentence than aggravated robbery with a separate charge for assault.

In the case before the Court, the defendant robbed two victims at gunpoint, demanding the male victims cell phone, keys, and wallet. After the victim complied, there was discussion between the defendant and his co-defendant on what to do next. The pair debated placing the victim in the trunk of his car. After an unspecified amount of time passed, the victim decided he would no longer cooperate, fearing what would happen if he were placed in the trunk. The victim grabbed the gun, a struggle ensued, and the victim was shot four times.

A jury convicted the defendant of especially aggravated robbery, as well as additional charges. On appeal, the defendant argued the injury must occur during the robbery, which, he argued, was completed before a separate struggle for the weapon occurred. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the defendants convictions, and the defendant appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court.

In its analysis, the Supreme Court determined a serious bodily injury suffered by a victim of a robbery must be sustained during the robbery in order for the enhanced charge and punishment to apply. In deciding when a robbery is over, the Court concluded a theft is completed when a defendant has taken all of the property he intended to steal.

In this case, the defendant demanded the victims keys, but had not taken the car. Thus, the theft was not yet completed when the struggle over the gun occurred.

Based on these facts, the Court concluded there was sufficient evidence for a jury to conclude the defendant also intended to steal the car. As a result, the robbery was not complete at the time the victim suffered the serious bodily injury. Therefore, the Court affirmed the defendants conviction for especially aggravated robbery.

To read the unanimous opinion in State of Tennessee v. Antonio Henderson, authored by Chief Justice Jeff Bivins, go to the opinions section of TNcourts.gov.
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
All,



I was an expat in the UK in the mid-2000s and considered it more home than the US where I am originally from. My family and I obtained citizenship while we were there, but then I got a job that took us back to the US, however 1/2 a decade later, we still miss London and the UK. A LOT.



Here is my question: Job aside (assume I would have one) would you recommend it is worth moving back to the UK or wait until 2019 to see what actually happens with Brexit?



I have heard the horror stories of what could happen if hard Brexit goes forward (and from trustworthy people, I don't think it is ALL hyperbole). But honestly no one knows for sure. There is no doubt that if it goes forward, things won't be great for a while. That said, it may still be worth it. Hoping to the get the opinions of people there right now. Is it worth waiting a year? How are people feeling about the economy, housing, infrastructure, etc.?



Thank you!
Hi,



I am a graduate in Arts. I have a work experience of 10 years in Marketing. Can I apply for the in demand for Saskatchewan. I score a total of 61 points. Having a degree in Arts, can I still apply under marketing manager NOC. Or do I have to study PGDM or MBA to show relevance with my occupation.



Plz let me know.

thanks in advance


Overall some 107,000 British citizens were living in Germany in 2016, not including military personnel, a rise of 10% since 2011, according to the latest figures to be published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in the UK.The official figures give an insight into where they go to work, how long they have lived in the country and what jobs they tend to do. The majority, some 64%, have lived in Germany for over 10 years and they are most likely to live in Berlin, Munich of Frankfurt.Some 79% of British citizens living in Germany were working and 27% of them (almost 17,000 people) work in administration and support services, more than any other industry.More Germans live in the UK, with 139,700 Germans between 2014 and 2016, the figures also show and 32%, around 26,000, of them work in public administration, education and health with 61% in higher level professions.In the UK the largest increase in British people moving to Germany were retired people in the 65 to 70 age group with an estimated additional 2,500 British citizens in this age group living in Germany in 2016.The largest decrease was in those aged 40 to 45 with 2,100 fewer British citizens in this age group. The ONS report says that the ageing of the existing resident population has contributed to this, in addition to migration between 2011 and 2016.Military personnel and their family members are not counted in the data. However, according to the Ministry of Defence there were 6,800 military personnel, mostly from the army, stationed in Germany in 2016.The 2016 German Central Register for Foreigners (CRF) estimates that the majority of British citizens, some 64%, have been living in Germany for at least 10 years.There is other evidence to suggest that there is a proportion of the British population in Germany that is very settled. Some 52% of adult British citizens living in Germany are married, and the majority are married to a someone who was born in Germany or whose parents were born in Germany.This is in contrast to the pattern seen amongst British citizens living in France, for example, where 63% are married to or living with other British citizens.Most British expats live in Berlin, some 12%, while 11% live in or near Munich and 9% in Frankfurt or the surrounding region. Munich is known for its industry and commerce while Frankfurt attracts expats working in banking and finance.When it comes to Germans living in the UK, the vast majority, 92% live in England with 5% in Scotland and the rest in Wales and Northern Ireland.Some 32 of working age German expats in the UK work public administration, education and health and 28% working in banking and finance. Overall some 61% of German citizens were working in higher level professions such as managers, directors and senior officials.This is a similar proportion to French citizens at 65% in the UK, and compares with 44% of the UK workforce as a whole, and 48% of Spanish citizens in the UK.
A 52-year-old San Antonio man died Wednesday after falling from scaffolding at Valero Energy Corp.s Corpus Christi West refinery.

Heraldo Pena, an investigator for the Nueces County Medical Examiners office, said Ezequiel Guzman fell off scaffolding at the Valero West refinery around 9:40 a.m. Wednesday.

Pena said while the cause of death has not been determined, the autopsy report noted that Guzman suffered blunt force trauma to his torso. Pena said the results were preliminary until the examiner receives the toxicology report.

Pena confirmed that Guzmans next of kin have been notified.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which regulates workplace safety, opened an investigation into the incident on Wednesday, said Travis Clark, OSHAs area director for Corpus Christi. He declined to provide further details due to the ongoing investigation.

Valero spokeswoman Lillian Riojas deferred comment to Guzmans employer, Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services, which offers industrial scaffolding, according to the companys website.

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.

A phone call to Brand was not immediately returned.

San Antonio-based Valeros Corpus Christi West refinery, along with the companys Corpus Christi East, can process 370,000 barrels of oil a day. Both refineries had been shut down prior to Hurricane Harvey hitting the Texas Gulf Coast on Aug. 25, but the company reported on Sept. 4 that they had resumed pre-hurricane levels of operation.

rdruzin@express-news.net | Twitter: @druz_journo
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Google Fiber announced won't be offering separate television services when it begins servicing San Antonio and Louisville.

When we begin serving customers in Louisville and San Antonio, well focus on providing superfast Internet  and the endless content possibilities that creates  without the traditional TV add on, Googles Cathy Fogler said in a blog post Wednesday.

But while Google Fiber isnt planning to offer TV to San Antonio, the company said its superfast internet will be there soon.

We're hard at work on our Fiber network in San Antonio, and are getting closer every day to opening service to our initial customers in the city, a Google Fiber spokesperson said via email. We'll have full details of our product line-up at that time.

More and more people are moving away from traditional television watching, Fogler said in the post, emphasizing streaming options available for watching TV such as YouTube TV, Hulu and Netflix.

Google Fibers superfast Internet allows customers to make the most of all these streaming choices by providing the bandwidth to use multiple devices and apps at the same time, Fogler said. So you can catch every minute of the big game at the same time youre playing that online multiplayer game, or stream a new movie while editing and uploading your home videos.

In Google Fibers existing markets that have a TV product, more and more customers are choosing an internet-only offering from Google Fiber, Fogler said.

Weve seen this over and over again in our Fiber cities, Fogler said.

In Austin, which already has Google Fiber, it costs $50 a month for Fiber 100, and $70 a month for Fiber 1000, according its website. Getting Fiber 100 with TV ratchets the user up to $140 a month, and residents pay $160 a month for Fiber 1000 with TV.

Both internet with TV packages come with more than 220 channels, and a DVR that records up to 8 shows at once, according to the Fiber website.

Its unclear for now what offerings at what pricing will be available when Fiber eventually comes to San Antonio.

Earlier this year the Express-News reported that Google is significantly reducing the number of fiber huts needed to house its infrastructure and would remove one of the controversial structures that upset residents in San Antonio. Google Fiber has reportedly faced some challenges in San Antonio typical of major infrastructure projects, one of its executives told the Express-News in April.

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.

Competitors are already touting super fast service in San Antonio. AT&T announced in August its fiber network, and its ultra-fast gigabit AT&T Internet 1000, was available in new locations in San Antonio.

AT&T said then its gigabit internet connection is now available to more than 230,000 homes, apartments and small businesses in the San Antonio area, up by more than 30,000 locations from its previously-reported number.

Grande Communications also offers gigabit internet service in San Antonio.

In response to reports last year that Google Fibers overall plans across the country had faced some stumbling blocks, an AT&T executive wrote in an August blog post: Welcome to the broadband network business, Google Fiber. Well be watching your next move from our rear view mirror. Oh, and pardon our dust.

sehlinger@express-news.net | Twitter: @samehlinger
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

They really should rename this place Casa Azul de Frida, because her unibrow follows you around every room in this colorful little King William bungalow. In paintings, in prints, in frames, even on papel picado banners, its Frida Kahlo everywhere.

She has to keep an eye on Casa Azul de Andrea, a restaurant named after her house in Mexico City. She would no doubt approve of the perfect 100 health score, and you will approve of the short, well-curated menu of tortas, tacos, tapas and drinks like the Bohemia Limeade, with tequila, triple sec, lime, agave and a splash of Bohemia beer.

The Casa opens at noon Wednesday through Sunday to let you sleep in late.

Tacos: The taco menu is small here. Just mini-tacos on oiled corn tortillas with carne asada, carnitas or chicken at $7.50-$9.50 for an order of five with roasted jalapenos, cilantro, onions, pico de gallo and lime. But get a mix of asada and carnitas, and youll understand why theyre more than just an arts district novelty at Casa Azul.

The carnitas were full-contact pork, roasted until there was a mahogany bark on the outside, but the meat beneath was still full of juice and attitude. Youll get some of both in your tacos, and the mixture of dark and light found a perfect union in the middle.

Carne asada worked a leaner line, with peppered beef seared firm and chewy, wholly reliant on the basket full of garnishes to make it come fully alive.

Tortillas: The 4-inch mini corn tortillas come from a bag, but the grill brought out some toasted flavor and made them as flexible and foldable as they needed to be.

Salsa: Casa Azul is as much a cozy house bar as it is a taqueria. As such, theres just one salsa: thin, aggressive and green.

Something extra: Having Mexican street corn at the table is like having a stray dog sitting next to you. You never quite get used to the smell.

At least with street corn ($4), you know where its coming from: mayo and cotija cheese. But mixed with sweet, crunchy corn still stringy from the cob, its one of those things you love no matter what. Just like the dog.

Location: 1036 S. Alamo St., 210-451-9393, casaazuldeandrea.com

Rating: A solid neighborhood option

Follow the complete 365 Days of Tacos series at ExpressNews.com/Tacos. Get 365 Days of Tacos sent to your inbox. Sign up here.

msutter@express-news.net

Twitter: @fedmanwalking
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Long hours in pressure-cooker conditions. Rampant substance abuse. Workplace hostility and discrimination.

Restaurant kitchen stereotypes have become such a trite cliche that Hollywood eye candy Bradley Cooper was cast as the hothead chef in the 2015 movie Burnt rather than a character actor.

Those stereotypes are rooted in hard truths. Anthony Bourdains 2000 best-seller Kitchen Confidential detailed his drug-fueled culinary exploits. Food Network star Cat Cora walked readers through the grating sexism served up in the kitchen in her 2015 memoir Cooking as Fast as I Can.

San Antonian Joel Rivas is no stranger to those realities. The Dallas native stepped into his first kitchen at age 18. In three short years, he was nearly consumed by a drug habit that chased him out of the country.

Inspired by his daughter who wants to be a chef and by his own past, he aims to give back to the field he loves through the Saint City Culinary Foundation and Saint City Supper Club, the licensed nonprofit and dinner club, respectively, he created to raise funds to help recruit more women to work in kitchens and to help those in the service industry battling addiction.

Its support local chefs say is truly needed.

Rivas launched Saint City earlier this year and so far has staged about a dozen events featuring the handiwork of several high-profile area chefs. Tickets typically cost $50 to $100. That covers food for the participating chefs and other event costs.

The suppers so far, we either break even or I end up paying out of pocket, Rivas said.

To start raising additional funds, Rivas kicked off two levels of membership: Executive Charter status runs $1,000 and guarantees ticket availability to all events, chef meet-and-greet opportunities, complimentary seats at many Saint City events and other perks.

The Sous Charter level at $500 offers a similar but smaller suite of benefits.

Hes netted a few early members, and anticipates more to come as customers come to realize they can do good and enjoy themselves at the same time.

Saint City still is in early fundraising stages, but Rivas hopes to raise $200,000 in the first year. He hasnt worked out scholarship details yet, but currently is is looking for a space to start holding substance abuse support group meetings.

The Saint City Culinary Foundation is recognized as a nonprofit by the state of Texas and in the 501(c)(3) application process at a federal level.

There are a few nationwide nonprofits and other organizations supporting the service industry, but Rivas was unable to identify any with a business model similar to Saint Citys.

When people go out to eat, they want to have a great experience and great food. The men and women behind that food, they are extremely talented, but they need support to continue doing what they do, and that may not be something people think about when they sit down at a restaurant, Rivas said. Everything that goes into their 18 hour days  the sweat, the dish washing, the cleaning, making ends meet  a lot of that is lost, and I really want to shed a light on that.

Playing with fire

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an agency under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, published a bleak report in 2015. The accommodations and food services sector fell behind only mining and construction, with nearly 12 percent of the workforce reporting heavy alcohol use in the past month, almost three times the rate in health care and education.

The same agency reports about one in five restaurant and hotel workers used illicit drugs, data collected between 2008 and 2012 show.

Rivas has very good reasons for wanting to be a part of changing that.

By the time I was 20 years old, I had a cocaine habit that was costing hundreds of dollars a week. When I was in the midst of that, my mother passed away. That kind of sent me on an even worse spiral, Rivas said.

He avoided run-ins with the law and never overdosed, but he was selling drugs to support his addiction.

Rivas had his last taste of cocaine Oct. 6, 1996. The next day, he left the country. His father arranged for Rivas to spend some time with family living in Mexico City.

He planned to stay only a couple of weeks. That quickly turned into 31/2 years of backpacking, teaching and soul-searching that turned his life around.

I was fortunate when I hit rock bottom and I needed to get away from it (that) I had my family in Mexico to love me and support me and take care of me, Rivas said. But there a lot of kids that age when they hit rock bottom that theres no family support or friend support or even an idea of where to go to, and that is heartbreaking for me.

He returned to the states, but not to the lifestyle that sent him spiraling.

Today, Rivas is a proud father of four and has spent most of the past two decades working in the health care field. But hospitality remained part of his heart, and when Rivas was laid off from his day job, he returned to his roots full time.

The more conversations I have with others regarding what were doing, the more stories I hear about people in the industry battling with drug and alcohol dependency, Rivas said. Its a problem taking place in our citys kitchens and hotels, and nobody really wants to talk about it.

Robbie Nowlin, chef at San Antonios Boudros and Zinc Bistro & Bar, says that support is long overdue. Hes spent more than a 15 years in kitchens including stints in several of San Antonios top restaurants and a stretch as chef de partie at The French Laundry under famed chef Thomas Keller in Yountville, California.

Substance abuse, he said, continues to take a heavy toll on the industry.

Ive walked into the walk-in (refrigerator) and seen open beer bottles and been able to correlate that to the guy who clocked in late, Nowlin said. Tardiness. Absence. Just being hung over. The other issue is its sort of the norm, and I think its stayed the same because its been brushed under the rug.

The impact of substance abuse and addiction is so ingrained in kitchen culture, Nowlin argues, that its difficult to gauge what impact it has on business because there are very few counterexamples to measure the bottom line against. In part, he said, the field attracts people from disadvantaged backgrounds or with low education levels  groups some studies have linked to higher rates of substance abuse and addiction. But privileged students with pricey degrees from revered culinary institutes are just as susceptible in his view.

I think what happens is these green kids come into a reality of a kitchen where the fact is people do drugs and drink. They see the more experienced and skilled people on the line and want to fit in, Nowlin said. Ive watched many chefs leave our industry because they couldnt handle the level of abuse the job exposed them to. I think it should be exposed and held under the light.

San Antonio nephrologist Edward Lazaga has taken on the role of medical director for the Saint City Culinary Foundation, the umbrella under which the Saint Citys nonprofit activities are organized.

He came to the club first as a food lover and attended several dinners, establishing a quick rapport with Rivas. As Saint Citys social work mission was coming together, Lazaga suggested an addiction support component. It wasnt a hard sell.

Theres a big need and a big reward caring for patients with addictions. Its my passion, and its in every walk of life, Lazaga said. But the kitchen is such a demanding field. They get there early to prepare for dinner and they stay there late. Theres a lot of opportunity for abuse.

Women getting burned

Addiction may be part of Rivas distant past, but gender discrimination in the kitchen is something very much on his mind in the present. His three daughters are rapidly approaching adulthood, and at least one has an eye on the culinary arts.

Olivia Rivas, 11, is no slouch at the stove. Her fire was lit peering into the windows of the Culinary Institute of Americas San Antonio campus, and shes been cooking alongside her father since. She tackled famed chef Thomas Kellers roast chicken recipe at age 9, and has since moved on to homemade pasta.

I watch a lot of cooking shows. Cutthroat Kitchen is my favorite, she said. When I see a woman, I always get extremely excited when they win.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women account for 70 percent of food servers. On the other side of the kitchen doors? Just 21 percent claim the title of chef or head cook. The U.S. Census Bureau pegs the industrywide average salary for women at $26,078 to $32,707 for men.

And money only begins to tell the story.

Lisa Astorga-Watel, owner of the Southtown restaurant Bite, came up through kitchens in Europe, a notoriously exclusionary environment for women. Shes seen or experienced everything from verbal harassment to outright groping from male colleagues.

Theres always somebody with a dirty mind. Lets see how tough shes going to be, Astorga-Watel said. Im happy that I have four brothers, and I know how to defend myself. I handle a knife pretty well, too.

Women arent the only ones aware of their treatment in professional kitchens. Nowlin, for his part, readily admits theres room for progress.

Kitchens are a vulgar place. To sit here and say thats harder for women than men, that may be true, or it may not. Ive seen a lot of men attacked in this business as well, Nowlin said. But in the kitchen culture its definitely harder for women to speak up about it, and I think thats important to discuss.

Culture in U.S. kitchens does differ from their European counterparts in one key way, she said. Here, its more widely understood that unprofessional behavior has repercussions ranging from losing a job to facing assault charges.

You have to be really tough, Astorga-Watel said, repeating a sentiment expressed by many women kitchen pros, including Claire Sawtelle. She was among the first to join the Saint City team, signing on as a consulting chef.

Sawtelles career started as a malt girl in a Dallas diner at age 15, where she began working her way up through kitchens in Dallas and Austin. She knew from the beginning being a woman wasnt widely viewed as an asset.

I think what is comes down to is the amount of physical labor that goes into these grueling hours. Ive spent eight to 12 hours on a line next to men just battling service, Sawtelle said. Being a small, 5-foot-4 girl, I cant exactly pick a stock pot up alone. In reality, I dont even think most men can. But asking for help is sometimes frowned upon or may make an individual look weak, and sometimes that made me a target.

Sawtelle now calls San Antonio home, where she works as a personal chef. Shes eager to take up the mantle of mentor, giving young ladies a realistic understanding of the field and what it takes to succeed.

I want to give somebody something I didnt have, Sawtelle said. Earning respect as a woman is a lot harder in the industry. Women have to be 10 times stronger and work 10 times harder.

Rivas understands the daunting scope hes undertaking with Saint City. Changing an ingrained culture doesnt happen overnight. But hes more ready than ever to get back into the fire and try.

pstephen@express-news.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Changes to the citys animal ordinance approved Thursday prohibit using chains to tether dogs, allow impounding of dogs sold at unauthorized sites, allow citing residents for noisy dogs and increase the number of fowl a resident may own.

City Council members voted in favor, without opposition, of the revisions to Chapter 5 of the City Code along with the continuation of Animal Care Services current strategic plan. The changes were based on public input from community meetings held the past eight months and gathered in two surveys.

District 7 Councilwoman Ana Sandoval joined other council members in praising the work of Animal Care Services in crafting the ordinance overhaul with community involvement.

This brings us closer to our goal of being a no-kill city, Sandoval said.

ACS director Heber Lefgren said the changes take effect immediately. He said ACS will initiate a bilingual, six-month education outreach program for the community.

We are at the beginning of that education component to communicate the changes, he said. We are excited for the changes that are going to help community be safer as well as more humane for the treatment of the animals.

The changes ban using chains of any weight as a tether on dogs and prohibit leaving canines tied outside unless shaded shelter and clean water are provided. There are stricter spay/neuter requirements for dogs legally deemed dangerous or impounded frequently for roaming by ACS officers.

ACS officers are now authorized to take in pets sold at illegal sites such as flea markets, roadside stops or unauthorized sites where owners violate permit requirements.

Residents can now have eight chickens within city limits, including one rooster. An excess animal permit is required to increase the flock, with a limit of one rooster per 10 hens. The required permit and inspection fee cost $50 per year.

After the vote, animal advocates voiced their support for the revisions.

Former ACS director Kathy Davis said banning chains is a progressive and positive step forward in bringing more humane treatment to pets in all neighborhoods.

We applaud what San Antonio has done to work with the community and bring that change forward, said Davis, director of the Texas Humane Legislation Network. And we look forward to seeing that in other communities.

Rita Braeutigam, the ACS advisory boards District 4 representative and chairwoman, said all rescue groups will be asked to sign a rescue permit.

It will separate us from the backyard breeders and people who are putting dogs on Craigslist, she said. That way it makes sure all of the animals in rescue care are being cared for properly.

To see the complete revised animal ordinance, go to sanantonio.gov and click on Animal Care Services.

vtdavis@express-news.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

It had been 15 days since Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, and San Antonio Pastor Eric Miletti had yet to hear from his aunt, the woman he considered his mother, who had raised him and still lived on the island.

He was filled with terror thinking that he might have lost her  the only thing he could do was pray.

Not knowing anything about your mother, I wouldnt wish that on my worst enemy, and I dont have any enemies, said Miletti, pastor of Gethsemane Lutheran Church. There are many Puerto Ricans going through the same thing.

The best news came Thursday: Rhode Gonzalez, 89, is alive in the family home in Maunabo on the southeast coast. The back part of the house was destroyed and theres only limited power and occasional running water, but she was uninjured.

The proof came in a video that Milettis daughter, Rhobie, sent to her fathers cellphone. It was Rhobie, who still lives in Puerto Rico, who was able to make her way to find Gonzalez after a road leading to the area finally was cleared.

Miletti, 53, hopes in two weeks to see her, when he says he will cry without shame and hold her hand.

Now Playing: Pastor Eric Milletti is taking a team of four to Puerto Rico to help with Hurrican Maria relief efforts. Video: San Antonio Express-News

As he and other Puerto Ricans waited and prayed in the days after the storm hit, they also went to work, collecting donations for goods they knew would be needed to help out their storm-struck homeland, 2,000 mikes from San Antonio.

Not being there and being able to go immediately you feel guilty, he said. The calling is to do something to help. We want to see the people receiving the items in their hands.

Hes greeted parishioners and members of the community at the church where a flag of Puerto Rico flutters in the wind above the door. Hes not surprised by the many donations and volunteers who have responded in force after hearing how Hurricane Maria swept away homes, coastline roads and century-old trees.

Joining the volunteers, he has spent his days helping stack cans of food, cases of bottled water, plastic bags bulging with clothes and boxes of baby wipes to be delivered to the once green, lush island where the song of the coqui, tiny tree frog native to the island, echoed through the night.

The church is part of a network made up of the Puerto Rico Heritage Society, Association of Puerto Ricans in San Antonio, Puerto Rico Rises-San Antonio and hundreds of individuals with Puerto Rican ties who have partnered to collect tons of supplies bound for relatives and others recovering from the destruction wrought by Hurricane Maria.

The church hall at 610 Avalon St. serves as an overflow location for pallets of goods stored at a larger warehouse located at 14886 Tradesman Road. The warehouse, which is donated, belongs to Puerto Rico Arises.

Theres also a coalition including former Mayor Henry Cisneros that is focused on directing funds to secure medical supplies for delivery to hard-hit rural areas on the island.

The group has mobilized to tackle the transportation, logistical and emotional roadblocks that have complicated paths to assist the more than 3 million people living in Puerto Rico, most of them without electricity, water or medicine.

APRSA Secretary Antonio Matos said the members of the individual groups first came together while serving at a Univision telethon to raise funds for aid to storm victims in Puerto Rico.

Matos said when people learned about the need for supplies they started bringing items to the home of Migdalia Aponte, president of the association. They arrived by truck and car, day and night, bringing items that filled her house.

The response was overwhelming, he said. That was hardly any room to walk inside. I just want to thank them for the support, I couldnt be prouder.

Matos, who worked 12 years with FEMA, recalled how Hurricane George thrashed the island in 1998.

Its just a matter of catching your breath, he said, and continue working, because you dont have a choice.

Victor Figueroa, airline transport pilot and Army veteran, began looking for ways to fly 332 pounds of medical supplies to hospitals in need. He said theyve relied on private jets to deliver supplies in the past two weeks.

His wife, Yolanda Figueroa, is vice president of the society that distributes scholarships and organizes educational and cultural events.

Like many involved in the local relief efforts, he has loved ones, his mother and brother, who live on the island.

Im hurting because my family is still there, Figueroa said. Its one of those things when the need arises, people come together. The ones that are here came together to support the people as a whole, not just their families.

Miletti, a former Army chaplain for 10 years, is part of a four-man team from San Antonio headed to the island Oct. 18 to deliver goods to the southeast side of the island. After fulfilling that commitment, he plans to visit his aunt.

For now, his days are spent packing donated items with volunteers, including Jose Martinez and his wife, Brenda Espinet.

Martinez, who lived in Bejavaja on Puerto Ricos northern coast, 45 minutes from San Juan, is concerned about a brother, cousins and an aunt.

I lived in Puerto Rico for 30 years, he said, I feel very good to help my town and island.

Volunteer Irma Decker, 67, was one of 16 parishioners who visited Puerto Rico with Miletti. Born and raised in San Antonio, she said she was glad to be part of the effort to help people in dire need of a bit of light in their lives.

Theres so much need over there, she said. Theyre having problems getting help and we wanted to help them as much as we could.

They all have memories of how beautiful the island was before the hurricane struck. Now, recent pictures show a decimated rainforest, leafless trees, beaches scattered with broken palm trees and flooded rivers.

But Figueroa nevertheless is hopeful.

We have reports that the coqui are still singing, he said, and thats a good thing.

vtdavis@express-news.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Mexican authorities have arrested Eugenio Hernandez Flores, the former governor of a border state who is wanted in Texas on allegations that he used U.S. real estate and bank transactions to launder tens of millions of dollars in bribes.

Hernandez, the governor of Tamaulipas from 2005 to 2010, was arrested Friday in the capital of Ciudad Victoria on charges of embezzlement and money laundering, state officials said Friday.

He also is wanted in Corpus Christi on federal money laundering conspiracy and bank fraud charges. Prosecutors have accused him of accepting money from the Zetas drug cartel as well as taking part in a bribery and kickback scheme in Mexico, then washing the money through U.S. banks and real estate transactions.

As part of the criminal case in Texas, against Hernandez and his brother-in-law Oscar Gomez Guerra, the U.S. government is trying to seize three houses in McAllen, two in the name of limited liability companies and one in his sisters name, assessed at a total of more than $ 1.7 million, and an Austin home assessed at $2.66 million. Prosecutors allege they were purchased with dirty money.

Hernandez is a member of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which holds Mexicos presidency and until hast year had a decadeslong grip on Tamaulipas, which borders Texas from Brownsville to Laredo.

His arrest comes under new Gov. Francisco Garcia Cabeza de Vaca, the first member of the National Action Party to hold the office. Cabeza de Vaca made anticorruption and fighting drug cartels the centerpiece of his campaign last year, although he has not been able to stem the rampant drug violence in the state.

In a brief statement to reporters Friday in Ciudad Victoria that was streamed online, Tamaulipas anticorruption prosecutor Javier Castro Ormaechea said the charges centered around the purchase of a 4,000-acre property in the port city of Altamira with an estimated value of $85 million. Castro wouldnt provide additional details.

I want to reiterate my commitment to the citizens of Tamaulipas to combat impunity and any form of corruption, Castro said. We want to bring before the courts any person who carries out acts of corruption against our beloved Tamaulipas.

In Texas, the Drug Enforcement Administration claimed in a 2013 hearing that Hernandez took bribes from the Zetas cartel and gave the cartel a green light to operate in Tamalipas. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hampton detailed the allegations during a plea hearing then of Guillermo Flores Cordero, a Mexican businessman who admitted helping elected officials launder money in the United States.

In that and other hearings, Hampton outlined how Flores allegedly helped officials like Hernandez, who under U.S. law face heightened scrutiny from banks because of their political positions, launder millions of dollars in Texas. Flores would use his businesses accounts to wire the money from Mexico to the U.S, then transfer it to Hernandez and members of his family, Hampton said.

Among those accused of bribing Hernandez is Luis Carlos Castillo Cervantes, a Mexican-born businessman and a former shareholder in McAllens Inter National Bank who lives in the Rio Grande Valley and is a U.S. citizen. Castillo, who rents paving equipment in Mexico, this year pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy charge and admitted bribing Hernandez, former Coahuila Gov. Humberto Moreira and former Aguascalientes Gov. Luis Armando Reynoso Femat.

There were inflated contracts for paving projects where overbilled amounts were split between Mr. Castillo and Mr. Hernandez while Mr. Hernandez was the governor of Tamaulipas, Hampton said during Castillos plea hearing in January. Mr. Castillo also helped to set up straw accounts in the U.S. by referring shell company holders to Inter National Bank.  This allowed Mr. Hernandez to launder over $30 million in the U.S. through Inter National Bank accounts using various fraudulent schemes.

Hernandez, who has been living openly in Mexico since his 2015 indictment and for a time had bodyguards paid for by the Tamaulipas government, has denied the allegations. Reynoso and Moreira have not been charged in the U.S.

In August, prosecutors asked the judge in Hernandezs case in Corpus Christi for copies of his arrest warrant to prepare an extradition request, court records show. A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorneys office in Houston said Friday that she could not share details about the extradition process.

Hernandez is the second former Tamaulipas governor to be arrested this year. Tomas Yarrington Ruvalcaba, who preceded Hernandez in office, was arrested in April in Italy. U.S. authorities are seeking his extradition on money laundering and racketeering charges out of a Brownsville federal court.

Yarrington is accused of taking bribes from drug cartels and state contractors, then laundering the money in real estate developments in the Valley and in San Antonio. He has denied the allegations.

Tamaulipas is home to coveted drug trafficking routes between the U.S. and Mexico, making it one of the most dangerous states in Mexico. The government reported 1,384 homicides last year, numbers that are generally considered to be deflated, in a state of 3.4 million people. There have already been 1,013 homicides this year, putting it on pace to surpass 2016.

jbuch@express-news.net | Twitter: @jlbuch | Staff Writer Aaron Nelsen contributed to this report from Mission.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

AUSTIN  Government officials are broadening their investigation of Attorney General Ken Paxton by looking into his $500,000 legal defense fund, a special prosecutor said Wednesday.

The investigation raises questions about whether officials have made new findings or are considering bringing additional charges against the Republican who has accepted money from people he describes as family friends to fuel his legal defense.

Some of that money collected is part of another investigation, Kent Schaffer, one of three special prosecutors building a case against Paxton, told Judge Robert Johnson in open court during a hearing to delay the trial.

The investigation is based out of the Kaufman County district attorneys office.

We are confident that we fully complied with the law and look forward to the Kaufman County district attorneys review being completed soon, said Matt Welch, Paxtons spokesman, adding that the legal team has fully cooperated with this inquiry since it began.

Attorney General Paxtons personal financial statement fully complies with Texas ethics laws and has been thoroughly vetted by legal counsel who are ethics experts. Despite irresponsible media speculation and wishful thinking by political opponents, all the donations given to the Paxton legal defense effort are in full compliance with state law, he added.

Attempts to reach Kaufman County Criminal District Attorney Erleigh Norville Wiley late Thursday were unsuccessful.

The probe into the embattled first-term Republicans legal defense fund is the newest development in the more-than-2-year old case against Paxton, who is accused of securities fraud and failing to register with the state as an investment adviser. Paxton is expected to face trial in 2018.

According to state records, Paxton has raised $546,700 in two years for his legal defense fund to fight accusations he broke securities laws when convincing friends and colleagues to invest in a North Texas tech company, Servergy Inc., without disclosing he would make a commission. The charges are unrelated to his tenure in public office.

Paxton, who was a member of the Texas House at the time, has maintained his innocence and contends he is the victim of a political witch hunt by his own political party. A federal civil judge threw out similar charges against him in March.

Special prosecutors have declined to speak further about what officials are looking for in the additional investigation, citing a gag order in Paxtons criminal case.

Paxton has not been charged with wrongdoing related to his legal defense fund.

State law prohibits agency officials, including the attorney general, from accepting a benefit from someone under the agencys oversight and generally bans gifts from anyone other than family and those with a relationship independent of the office holders position.

His donors have cut large checks to help Paxton clear his name, often for $10,000 and for as much as $100,000.

Campaign finance records label his donors as a family friend or not subject to gift prohibition.

While raising money for his legal defense, he caught heat for a $100,000 gift he accepted in 2015 from James Webb, a donor whose company was under investigation by his office and the U.S. Justice Department at the time. Webb and his wife have given more than $300,000 to Paxtons political campaigns over the past few years.

The attorney generals office said then that Paxton was not involved in the investigation into Webbs company, Preferred Imaging, which ended in a $3.5 million settlement of a federal whistleblower lawsuit. A spokesman for the attorney general had said federal prosecutors took the lead on that case.

Webb is a former client of Paxtons, according to Welch, who serves as the attorney generals spokesman for legal and campaign matters. He said Paxton participated in Webbs wedding and counts him as a personal friend.

The next year, Paxton also accepted $10,000 from a dark money group that favors limited government. Welch, Paxtons spokesman, said at the time that the attorney generals conservative record has drawn the attention of many conservative groups and individuals across the country.

Craig McDonald, executive director of the left-leaning watchdog group Texans for Public Justice which filed an initial criminal complaint Paxton violated the Texas Securities Act in 2014 , contends Paxtons mechanism for raising money is prohibited under campaign finance and bribery laws.

The attorney general, the top law enforcement officer, is taking huge gifts from people who are under his jurisdiction. There is a huge conflict of interest in him raising money virtually from anywhere, from anyone, almost, to pay for his legal defense expenses, he said.

Johnson, the judge overseeing the case, granted a continuance Wednesday, delaying the trial that was set for Dec. 11. The parties are due back in court Nov. 2 to set a new trial date, likely for early March.

Special prosecutors plan on trying Paxton first on a lesser charge of failing to register with the state as an investment adviser.

The special prosecutors also are engaged in a separate legal fight over about $200,000 in back pay and have threatened to withdraw from the case if the states highest criminal court  the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals  decides they shouldnt get paid.

CORRECTION: This article has been updated to indicate that the investigation is being conducted by Kaufman County. The government entity conducting the investigation was incorrect in an earlier version.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Texas rapper Tay-K 47  whose music video featuring him posing with his wanted poster has raked in more than 62 million views on YouTube since his arrest  is a suspect in a fatal shooting at a San Antonio Chick-fil-A, records show.

He currently is in the Tarrant County Jail on unrelated capital murder and aggravated robbery charges.

Since his arrest in late June, details have emerged in the Bexar County capital murder case against Taymor Travon McIntyre, 17, also known as Tay-K 47.

According to a police report, McIntyre is a suspect in an April 23 fatal shooting at a North Side Chick-fil-A at 27 NE Loop 410.

Witnesses told police that three people were arguing in the back of a black SUV on the Loop 410 access road when someone in the front passenger seat pointed a gun at the victim, identified as 23-year-old Mark Anthony Saldivar.

Saldivar got out of the car and started yelling for help, then stood in front of the SUV, witnesses reportedly told police. The driver accelerated at Saldivar but he held onto the SUV as it swerved, then jumped onto the vehicle after it pulled into the Chick-fil-A parking lot and began kicking the windshield, police said.

The front-seat passenger stepped out of the car, shot Saldivar once, and the four occupants of the vehicle, one of whom has now been identified at McIntyre, drove off, according to an affidavit. A police report says surveillance cameras captured the shooting.

Saldivars body was found in the Chick-fil-As parking lot.

The identities of the three other people in the car are unknown at this time.

A few days after the shooting, Crime Stoppers offered a $5,000 reward on info leading to an arrest in connection with Saldivars death.

According to a probable cause affidavit, McIntyre also participated in a botched armed robbery at a home in the 1500 block of Aspen Court in Mansfield on July 27, 2016.

Authorities allege he conspired with four others to rob Ethan Matthew Walker. After sending three women into Walkers home to scope it out, McIntyre and another person rushed into the home with guns pointed at everyone, according to the affidavit.

Walker came out of a room and tried to shoot McIntyre and the other person, but they fired back and killed him, police said. Another victim was also shot. The five people then fled the house, according to the report.

A person later confessed to the robbery during interviews with officers.

McIntyre was later arrested in connection with the killing. According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, he and another juvenile charged in the case slipped their ankle monitors on March 27.

He apparently made his way to San Antonio, where Saldivars death happened about a month later.

McIntyre was eventually arrested June 30 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, by the U.S. Marshals New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force.

He remains in the Tarrant County Jail with bail set at $500,000.

Since his arrest, McIntyres music video for his song The Race, in which he poses in front of his own wanted poster, has been viewed more than 62 million times. In the video, he raps about robbing and shooting victims while waving a handgun in front of the camera. McIntyre also raps about running from police.

His music also has been featured on iTunes and Spotify.

cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Councilman Greg Brockhouse on Thursday called for sweeping changes to how San Antonio uses incentives to spur development.

He filed paperwork with the city clerks office asking for a comprehensive review of all incentive programs for residential and commercial projects.

Though Brockhouses request appears to have been sparked by a controversial proposal to offer an $8.8 million incentive package to a local credit union with plans to build a new headquarters at the Pearl, hes long raised concerns over how San Antonio incentivizes development and spends bond funds on infrastructure projects.

In his council-consideration request, Brockhouse wrote that there should be equitable distribution of funding, using a term he derided during debates about the citys $2.7 billion annual budget, which for the first time was cast through an equity lens.

Hes questioning now whether its time to recast incentive policies, in part, by expanding their reach beyond the downtown area. The city currently uses the Inner City Reinvestment Infill Policy and the Center City Housing Incentive Policy to promote development in the urban core.

The citys menu of incentives arent only for the areas that fit into the geographic zone outlined by those policies. But Brockhouse acknowledged that hes targeting the incentives that have spurred development downtown and along the lower Broadway corridor, just north of downtown.

Im almost of the opinion that this needs to be pushed out to the boundaries of Loop 1604, he said.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg said San Antonios incentives policies have worked.

Judicious and constantly calibrated incentives work. For decades, city leaders have successfully used incentives to attract, retain and grow jobs throughout the city. They have generated billions of dollars in investment from small and large businesses throughout the community, he said in a statement. Incentives play a significant role in providing housing, community development, infrastructure and creating jobs.

We need to remember incentives are a valuable tool, especially at a time when San Antonio is pursuing several significant employment opportunities, he continued. City staff and the council are continually evaluating investment tools on a broad and case-by-case basis.

Assistant City Manager Lori Houston, who oversees downtown, also said in a statement provided to the San Antonio Express-News that the citys incentive policies have positively affected San Antonios urban core but are also under review.

The Inner City Reinvestment Infill Policy (ICRIP) and Center City Housing Incentive Policy (CCHIP) were developed early in the Decade of Downtown and have indisputably contributed to a more vibrant, livable downtown San Antonio, she said. However, as part of the SA Tomorrow Plan, which calls for focusing future growth in 13 regional centers, the city is already reviewing these incentive policies and will make recommendations to the City Council within the next year.

Job creation incentives, such as tax abatements, have been offered in every City Council district and have produced nearly 20,000 jobs citywide in the past ten years, she said. Those, too, are being considered as part of the SA Tomorrow Plan.

Brockhouse said he wants to reconfigure who receives incentives and wants to offer more help to small and midsize businesses. He said hes spoken to a business owner in his District 6 that hasnt expanded her companys footprint because of costly fees charged by the city, the San Antonio Water System and CPS Energy.

Waiving those fees  and helping that business expand  could generate 10 to 15 new jobs, Brockhouse said.

The councilman found support for giving his proposal a hearing from council members Roberto Trevino, Ana Sandoval, John Courage and Clayton Perry.

Sandoval said she signed onto the CCR in the vein of transparency.

At this point, we dont know if there are problems, she said. Are the incentives getting us where we want to go; and if not, how do we want to re-tool?

Trevino said the CCR did not include language about removing incentives from downtown but addresses supporting local small businesses and helping areas that historically have been neglected.

We hope to review and reform these incentive processes to ensure they are being used effectively. These were the reasons we were willing to have the discussion regarding our incentive programs, he said. This is an opportunity to showcase how our incentive programs work and where in our city we could most benefit from them.

Trevino said in a text message that incentives have helped create momentum downtown and have provided job growth and more housing. He said he welcomes the policy review.

After a review, he said, it may show that we are not doing enough.

jbaugh@express-news.net | Twitter: @jbaugh
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

AUSTIN  The Texas-based manufacturer of bump stocks, the accessory used to provide a deadly boost to the gunfire in the Las Vegas massacre, has temporarily suspended its online sales due to overwhelming demand as calls to limit  or possibly ban  the devices grow stronger.

Before a dinner with senior military leaders Thursday, President Donald Trump told reporters his administration is considering whether bump stock devices that allow semi-automatic rifles to perform more like fully automatic weapons should be banned.

Well be looking into that over the next short period of time, he said.

Slide Fire, based in Moran, 40 miles east of Abilene, posted a notice on its website that it was no longer taking orders to provide the best service with those already placed. The company is the largest producer of the device.

Bump Fire Systems, also in Moran and operated by the same owners as Slide Fire, also posted on its website that it was temporarily halting orders due to extremely high demands.

Law enforcement officials said Stephen Paddock used several weapons equipped with the bump stocks to unleash a barrage of bullets onto a crowd of 22,000 concertgoers from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay.

The bump stocks use the force of the guns natural recoil to allow the gun to bounce off the shooters trigger finger. The modification allows a semi-automatic weapon to fire rounds at a rate that resembles that of an automatic weapon.

On Thursday, the National Rifle Association called on the federal government to review whether the bump stocks comply with law. In a statement, the NRA said the device should be subject to additional regulations.

Democratic strategists were quick to contend that the NRA is maneuvering to have Trump attempt to deal with the issue administratively through federal agencies rather than supporting action in Congress, where gun control advocates are eager to try to pass additional restrictions beyond those dealing with bump stocks.

Some top Republicans in Congress, including House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, have already said they are open to considering a ban on the tool, which costs about $200.

In Congress, support for a bump-stock-ban is starting to coalesce around several bills.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., unveiled a bill Wednesday that would ban the manufacture, sale and transfer of bump stocks and other accessories that can accelerate a semiautomatic rifles rate of fire.

Thomas Choate, an attorney for Slide Fire and Bump Fire, declined to comment.

The bump stock sold by Slide Fire was created by Jeremiah Cottle in 2010. In an interview last year with Ammo Land, Cottle, a veteran, said he came up with the idea for the device because he enjoyed the feel of shooting fully automatic weapons. But the process of obtaining a permit for an automatic weapon is extensive and the guns are expensive.

Slide Fire brings shooters the same full auto experience but without having to take out a second mortgage on their home, he said in the interview.

Cottle was asked if the bump stock should be banned in light of the mass shooting at an Orlando nightclub because some say the stock makes the weapon automatic. He refuted the claim, saying the stock does not change the mechanics of the firearm. It simply enables the shooter to pull the trigger very rapidly.

He added: Should we ban Jerry Miculeks trigger finger because he can fire 6 shots from a revolver, reload and fire 6 more shots in less than three seconds? I mean that works out to around 240 rounds a minute.

In the aftermath of this weeks mass shooting that left more than 500 people injured and 58 dead, there is an intensifying demand to ban the device.

Jerry Patterson, the author of the states concealed carry law and an owner of an automatic weapon, said its a no brainer to ban bump stocks.

All you are doing is pissing away a lot of ammo, Patterson said. I dont think it has any value.

Patterson said it is typical to see demand go up for a device at the center of a gun-control debate.

Its a novelty, Patterson said. There are a lot of guys that get all this hardware and add-ons for their (rifles). If you want to play army, go join the army.
Heres a little fact that should bum out any Texas Democrat:

Greg Abbott would have won the 2014 gubernatorial election even if he hadnt received a single, solitary Latino vote. Comfortably, in fact. If every one of the roughly 800,000 Latino votes in that election had gone to Abbotts opponent, Wendy Davis, Abbott would have taken the race by more than 200,000 votes.

Heres another fact that should bum out any Texas Democrat:

Abbott actually received 44 percent of the Latino vote in 2014, a higher percentage than his fellow Republican Rick Perry achieved in 2010 with a concerted Hispanic outreach effort.

For Democrats who cling to the demographics-are-destiny theory of politics  which postulates that the fast-growing Latino population in this state ultimately will cause Texas to go from red to blue  these are some demoralizing truths.

Thirteen months away from the 2018 general election, a second term for Abbott looks like a lock. Democrats havent yet been able to muster a credible contender (all apologies to Tom Wakely) and their Hail Mary pass  convincing San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro to give up his U.S. House seat for a gubernatorial run  is a dim possibility, at best.

If theres a rain cloud hovering over Abbotts parade, however, it goes by the name of SB 4.

Abbott championed and signed the law, which bans sanctuary cities in Texas, during this years legislative session. Detractors have dubbed it a show me your papers law that encourages police officers to ask Latino residents for proof of legal status.

On August 30, U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia granted SB 4s opponents (including the city of San Antonio) a preliminary injunction which blocked major provisions of the law. On September 25, a three-judge federal panel allowed one of those provisions  requiring jail officials to honor all detainers  to stand while the appeals process plays out.

If Abbotts 2014 victory indicated that he could win without the Latino vote, and his subsequent signing of SB 4 suggested that he might be willing to try, this Saturday will offer some political hedge-betting, and maybe a bit of fence-mending, from the governor.

Abbotts campaign will host an all-day event in San Antonio called the Hispanic Leadership Conference, with the governor himself dropping by to make a speech.

The conference (at the Norris Conference Centers) will offer training sessions for young Latino conservatives across the state on how they can best get the Abbott message out to their fellow Texas Latinos.

Abbott spokesman John Wittman said the conference is an extension of so-called Abbott University sessions that the governors political team is conducting in preparation for the 2018 election. The panels will be conducted by general consultant Dave Carney and members of the campaigns field staff, press shop and digital team.

Making inroads into the Hispanic community is something that is very important to the governor, particularly in the 2018 campaign, Wittman said. So this is an opportunity to talk with those Hispanic activists who are supporters of Gov. Abbott, and how we can continue to promote his message of economic freedom and liberty throughout the state.

When asked whether this Latino outreach is an answer to the backlash over SB 4, Wittman sidestepped the question.

This is an event that weve put on for folks interested in helping our campaign and being a part of it, he said. The reality is that for the Hispanic community, their values align with the Republican Party. They believe in economic liberty and individual freedom and family values. Theyre pro-life. And these are things that line up with the governors message.

Texas Democrats will be challenging that assertion Saturday morning with a protest outside the conference.

Whether its our right to vote, our education, our health care or our very right to be in this state, its been very clear that Greg Abbott has been attacking the Latino community for political profit, said Manny Garcia, deputy executive director of the Texas Democratic Party, which is participating in the protest. And now he has to host a campaign academy to figure out how he gets people to message his terrible record.

Abbotts Latino outreach effort probably wont decide the outcome of an election that looks like its his for the taking. But it might determine how much hes able to run up the score.

ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470
The initial foothold that San Antonio secured as a frontier village with the 1718 founding of a mission and presidio got a major boost 13 years later, as 56 Canary Islanders arrived, establishing the first organized civil government in Texas.

As San Antonio observes its tricentennial in 2018, descendants of those early settlers from the 13 volcanic islands off the coast of northwest Africa will revisit creation of the villa of San Fernando de Bejar, under a royal decree of the king of Spain, as a key milestone in the citys genesis. Historians have documented hardships the Canary Islanders faced in traveling overseas and coping with conflict and hostilities in the untamed land known as Nueva Espana.

Spain, seeking to fend off colonial French expansion, sought families to come to the New World. In 1719, the Spanish governor proposed relocating 400 families from Las Canarias or other lands under Spain to the province of Tejas.

According to the late historian Frank W. Jennings, King Philip V ruled virtually all of South and Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean Islands and what now is Florida and the American Southwest, while the French claimed a long north-south territory from around New Orleans up to Canada. He wanted to establish a city between the Rio Grande and Nacogdoches.

In San Antonio: The Story of an Enchanted City, Jennings described how the islanders had evolved from ancient natives going back to the Stone Age, and were robust, fair-skinned and handsome, but had suffered invasions by a variety of exploiters, from the Romans to the Spanish. The islands, named for the Latin word canis, for dog, because of the many ferocious canines that had lived there in ancient times, later were the inspiration for the name of a bird species  canaries.

Even though the islands encountered volcanic eruptions, epidemics and famines, it took eight months in 1729 to enlist families to travel to Tejas. T.R. Fehrenbach, another historian with a passion for San Antonio who has died since a second edition of his book, Lone Star, was printed in 2000, wrote that the Canary Islander families were of obscure origins but had possibly been exiled from Spain for political reasons.

Life in these barren islands induced them to volunteer for the Texas frontier, at a time when almost no Spaniards could be persuaded to go, Fehrenbach wrote.

Departing on March 27, 1730, from the island of Tenerife, a contingent of 25 families stopped in Havana, Cuba, about two months later. Ten families went on and landed the following month at Vera Cruz, Mexico, then made a long journey by land to Texas, led by Juan Leal Goraz. By the time they arrived in San Antonio on March 9, 1731, the number of families had increased through marriages to 15. Although the group often has been described as 16 families that came to Texas, it included four single men who were counted as the 16th family in an allotment of supplies. Two men had died in Vera Cruz, leaving widows to continue the trek.

In San Antonio, the Islenos were sheltered and fed by the orginal settlers until they could fend for themselves, Jennings wrote.

A marker by the Bexar County Courthouse tells of the nucleus of pioneers from the Canary Islands who came to Texas and laid out a village on the west side of Main Plaza, with a Casa Real, or government building, on the east side. On July 19, 1731, the captain of the Presidio de Bejar, Juan Antonio Perez de Almazan, read a decree of the viceroy naming them and their descendants Hijo de Algo, or Son of Something  hidalgos, or persons of nobility.

Fehrenbach wrote that awarding the title was a considerable mistake, since it did not carry the same social weight in Tejas as in Spain.

Men with the dignity of hidalgo were not expected to do common labor  but the Canary Islanders were sent to Bexar specifically to be farmers and raise crops to support the Spanish garrison, he added.

According to Fehrenbach, the settlers expected a subservient population over which they might become an elite. They found instead they were expected to build the town, or villa, and to plant crops, all without Indian labor, which the padres icily refused to let them use.

Two judges were chosen in the first election in Texas, and Almazan appointed a town council and named Goraz as the first alcalde  a title similar to mayor today.

But at a time when there was demand for land, water, labor and personal property, the islanders arrival expanded what had been a two-sided war between missionary priests and presidio soldiers to a three-way exchange, Fehrenbach noted. The new settlers wrote to the viceroy that the friars hogged most of the good land, kept Native Americans from aiding the labor economy and let cattle roam untended.

The friars wrote that the settlers were indolent, given to vice and unworthy of the blessings of this new land, Fehrenbach wrote.

But the factions often relied on one another as they confronted disease, droughts, attacks by hostile indigenous bands and other hardships. The Canary Islanders built the village and the church that now is San Fernando Cathedral. Today, thousands of San Antonians trace their lineage to those Canary Islanders.

The Canary Islands Descendants Association, formed in 1977, meets monthly to learn about San Antonios roots and the contributions of those early settlers. Among its key observance dates are Feb. 2, the fest day of La Virgen de la Candelaria, patroness of the Canary Islands; the anniversary of the arrival of the settlers on March 9; and the anniversary of the establishment of the civil government on Aug. 1.

From the moment they arrived in 1731 to today, these families have worked as business owners, civic leaders and members of our armed forces defending our nation, said Mari Tamez, association president.

The association is raising funds for a monument to honor the Canary Islanders, Native Americans, Spanish friars and presidio soldiers in conjunction with the tricentennial. The monument, composed of bronze statues by Laredo artist Armando Garcia Hinojosa, who sculpted the Tejano Monument dedicated at the Texas Capitol in 2012, is intended to represent San Antonios 1718 origins and 18th century blending of those four communities as the foundation for what became a diverse, modern U.S. city. Visit www.cida-sa.org for more information.
This is the blog of China defense, where professional analysts and serious defense enthusiasts share findings on a rising military power.
Ping'an Bank's newly announced anti-fraud system can identify fraudulent credit card transactions within 0.2 of a second, making it the fastest of its kind in China, according to the bank.

The system, which was put into use last year, but only formally announced last month, allows the bank to stop credit card fraud the instant it occurs, while many of their competitors react only after the transaction has been made, said Zhang Shen from Ping'an's risk management department.

"Once a card has been stolen it's very difficult to prevent the first fraudulent transaction, because a real-time response requires the bank's anti-fraud system to make precise decisions very quickly," he said.

Statistics from the Ministry of Public Security showed that credit card crime has surged in China, with more than 63,000 cases filed in 2016, accounting for one-third of the country's total financial crime.

Hu Yuefei, president of Ping'an Bank, said the company's system conducts round-the-clock surveillance of credit card accounts and identifies abnormal user behavior based on big data analysis within an average response time of no more than 0.2 of a second.

"We can ensure no money is lost from a stolen account," Hu said.

Since the system was activated in January 2016, more than 800 million transactions have been monitored, with 65 million yuan in both direct and indirect losses avoided.

The technology is a part of the bank's moves to develop smart banking, Hu said, adding that financial technology has become all the more important in improving operation efficiency and service quality as competition between banks gets fiercer.

Ping'an Bank has invested 1.2 billion yuan into research and development of financial technology during the first half of the year, up 20 percent year on year. Its technical team has increased from 200 to more than 1,800 staff members

In late September, Agricultural Bank of China (ABC) announced that customers no longer need to insert their bank cards to withdraw money from ATMS at three branches in Jinan, Shandong Province. ATMs will scan the account holders face to access their account.

The technology will help eliminate the risk of copied or fake bank cards, and lower the possibility of cards being damaged or confiscated by ATMs, according to Zhang Baojing from ABC.

"It will enhance the customer experience," he said.

Other banks, such as China Merchants Bank and Construction Bank of China, have also introduced similar technology in their ATMs.

From 2018, ATMs installed in ABC branches in Tianjin Municipality,Shaanxi, Hunan and Hubei provinces will be paper-free. Customers will be able to scan the screen with their mobile phone to receive an electronic receipt of the transaction.
Kalium Lakes has signed a second memorandum of understanding (MoU) to sell Sulphate of Potash fertiliser produced from salt lake brine at its Beyondie project, pictured, in the Little Sandy Desert. The first MoU was with a German-owned global distributor and the second is with a Chinese importer.
It became apparent to me reasonably early in my farming career that legislation and regulation was going to happen with or without us and I was better off getting in as a youngster and helping to shape the environment that we were going to farm in.
This means it takes hours to get them ready for transport, whereas the 3420 can be folded and unfolded in less than four minutes, Mr McKenzie said.
The Country Escape is a romantic romp in which feathers are ruffled when a dotcom billionaire buys a historic Herefordshire estate and sets about trying to evict an animal sanctuary thats based on one of its farms. That sanctuary is run by Kat Mason, who refuses to take the threat lying down, especially when a practised charmer is sent in to seduce her away from it.

Fiona Walker

Please tell us a bit about the character of Kat Mason.

Kats a natural born daredevil who thinks she has lost her nerve. Shes an escapee herself, a townie and an outsider who has run away from a destructive relationship to a rural backwater and found the most glorious friendships and new skills. I loved writing her because shes unconventional and turbo-charged with chutzpah and energy.

You have been praised for writing characters that you want to know in real life, so how have you achieved this level of realness to the people in your books?

Im incurably friendly and genuinely like most people I meet, even lifes rogues, and I cant help putting them all in books. Working out what makes people tick and seeing things from every perspective is what keeps me up writing all night. My fictional world becomes entirely real to me and I even dream about the characters, which is probably one of the reasons they have so much life on the page.

You have been compared to Jilly Cooper, so how far would you go to say that she would be proud of your work?

I think Jilly Cooper inspired a generation of writers  shes the Fairy Godmother to so many of us  and she should be terribly proud, although from all Ive read about her, I think shes probably far too modest to take the credit. Almost every author I know has at least one well-worn Jilly Cooper novel riding high on their bookshelves like a lodestar.

Why is this the perfect summer read?

I hope reading The Country Escape feels like a joyful holiday to help you forget your day to day troubles, regardless of whether one is reading it on the train to work or a sun-lounger on the beach  its a total escape to an imaginative world full of friends that you dont want to leave.

Jenny Colgan has said that you ARE summer reading, so how does it feel so have such praise from another famous writer?

Its incredibly uplifting to receive praise from other writers, and its so generous of Jenny to say it. I was cock-a-hoop to see that quote. Most authors I know are prolific readers  books are our fuel, and we guzzle them up and love to share our passion. The question Im probably asked most often after Where do you get your ideas from? is What books do you recommend? Its lovely to pass on praise and inspire reading.

What is next for you?

Ive just finished writing a book called The Woman Who Fell in Love for a Week, which focuses on one passionate love affair rather than a huge, romping cast of cross-crossing plots, although it has all the elements that I bring to every book I write. As always, I wanted to write a novel thats funny and sexy with characters that every reader falls in love with, and I certainly lost my heart to them and giggled a lot when I was working on it, so I really hope Ive managed it. Its published in the UK in 2015.

by Lucy Moore for www.femalefirst.co.uk

find me on and follow me on
Jeremy Meeks has reportedly filed for a divorce from his wife Melissa.

Jeremy Meeks

The 33-year-old model split from Melissa - who is the mother of his seven-year-old son Jeremy Jr. - earlier this year, and he has now filed for divorce, seeking joint legal and physical custody of their child, according to TMZ.

In July, Jeremy was spotted kissing the Topshop heiress Chloe Green while on vacation in Turkey and later that same month, he decided to file for legal separation, meaning that their assets were separated from that point onwards.

Following their high-profile split, Melissa revealed she found out about her husband's romance with Chloe via Instagram.

She explained that she first learned about Jeremy's romantic fling with the TopShop heiress when she was sent a direct message of the duo locking lips by an unknown Instagram user.

Melissa recalled: "The first I learned of it was when I woke up and checked my phone.

"Some random person I don't know sent a direct message with the photograph of my husband kissing that woman.

"I went into shock. I felt nauseated. It was like a bomb had gone off and my whole world had been blown apart.

"I'd never heard of Chloe Green. I thought Jeremy was working."

The former gang member travelled to Turkey with Chloe, and was seen kissing her on board a boat after they met at the Cannes Film Festival.

But Melissa greeted her husband on his return to the US with the news that their relationship was over.

She previously said: "We had it out on the doorstep. I told him how devastated and angry I am. He kept apologising - not for the affair, but for the way I learned about it.

"I feel humiliated, not just because my husband was caught with another woman but for the fact they were so brazen about it."
Christian Louboutin is set to release a range of baby shoes next month.

Christian Louboutin

The 54-year-old fashion designer is known for his signature red bottom sole footwear designs, and it has been reported on InStyle.com that the creative mastermind has teamed up with Goop's CEO Gwyneth Paltrow to create his first range of shoes for tiny tots.

And the 45-year-old actress has admitted it was an "honour" to work with the iconic creator on the limited edition capsule.

She said: "Goop's fashion ethos has always centered on trendless quality. It was an honour to work with Christian and his team to design the quintessential collection of fall classics: true investment pieces that us - and eventually our daughters and nieces - will wear for years."

Christian has hailed the blonde-haired beauty as a "great partner in crime", and he has hinted it was "fun" joining forces with Gwyneth on the range.

The businessman - who founded his first footwear store in Paris in the 1990s - said: "There is nothing that I favour more than a good tete-a-tete, and for that Gwyneth is a great partner in crime. When friendship meets work, the results are serious fun."

The Loubibaby collection will include classic Mary Jane shoes in a variety of shades, including red, blue, pink and gold, and on each item a handmade bow will feature, as well as the red base.

Christian and Gwyneth's upcoming designs will total up to $250 when they hit stores on November 16.

The Loubibaby line will be available to buy on the Goop website, and customers will also be able to get the chance to get their hands on the highly coveted merchandise at Goop holiday pop up stores in New York, Los Angeles and Miami as well.
Lin-Manuel Miranda knew people had to be able to dance to his Puerto Rico charity single.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

The 'Hamilton' creator has teamed up with a number of Latin artists, including Jennifer Lopez and her ex-husband Marc Anthony, Gina Rodriguez, Fat Joe, Gloria Estefan, and Camila Cabello, on 'Almost Like Praying', which will raise money for the Hispanic Federation's UNIDOS Disaster Relief Fund, and he quickly figured out how he wanted the track - a blend of dancehall, reggaeton and steel drums - to sound.

He said: "If you're gonna write a song for Puerto Rico and you can't dance to it, you f***ed up."

Lin-Manuel resorted to "cold-calling" and Twitter messaging artists he wanted on the track who he'd never even met before, and was delighted when they all said yes.

He said: "I broke my Rolodex and called every Latino artist I know.

"And when I didn't know them, I got on Twitter. I caused a minor uproar with Camila Cabello's fans when I tweeted her, 'Hey I have an idea!' I also sent a private message to Luis Fonsi, who I never met before. I cold-called and every single person said yes, without even hearing the song."

The 37-year-old songwriter spent 72 hours flying from New York to Miami and Los Angeles to be there when the artists recorded their verses, but some of those featured were based in the Caribbean and went to great lengths to be included.

He recalled to Rolling Stone magazine: "The rapper PJ Sin Suela recorded at home. But he didn't have the bandwidth to email his verse.

"So he gave a memory stick to Estefan, who was there on a relief mission - she then flew it back to us. When I say 'all hands on deck,' I'm really not f***ing around!"

Lin-Manuel began working on the track, an adaptation of 'Maria' from stage musical 'West Side Story', two days after the hurricane of the same name hit.

He said: "I knew the name Maria was forever going to have a destructive connotation to this island.

"It's also the name of my favourite song from 'West Side Story'. So my brain was already looking for a sample to flip ... And that's what we do in hip-hop, right? We take a sample, we flip it and change the meaning. And so the hook of the song is, 'Say it soft, and it's almost like praying.'"

And he was delighted to receive clearance from Stephen Sondheim and the estate of Leonard Bernstein for the song straight away.

He said: "They gave their blessing within a day. there's a crisis, you call in all the favours - call the gods of musical theatre!

"I have the great fortune to count Sondheim as a mentor and a friend. I worked with him and Bernstein on the 2009 revival of West Side Story and its Spanish translations. Sondheim wrote back immediately and said 'Yes - and what else can I do?'"
Prince Charles claims the increase in pirates has been "fantastic" for marine life.

Prince Charles

The 68-year-old royal has appeared to credit the pirates in and around Somalia for improving the fishing stocks in the ocean around that area because fishermen are too scared to cast their nets out there over fears they will be kidnapped.

Charles told Sky News: "As a result, there hasn't been any fishing there for the last ten or 15 years. And from that there has been a fantastic explosion of bigger and bigger fish."

And in a speech made at the Our Ocean Conference in Malta, the Prince of Wales called for the protect of coral reefs as he says their economic value is highest when they are in tact.

He said: "As we have just seen, ladies and gentlemen, in that amazing, if stark, film, coral reefs are perhaps the clearest litmus tests we have to gauge progress relative to the impact of an unsustainable Blue Economy. These incredible ecosystems host about two-fifths of all marine species on just two per cent of the seabed, they protect many vulnerable coasts from storms, are nurseries for the young of commercially valuable fish and provide food and livelihoods for more than one billion people.

"Coral reefs' economic value is, then, truly vast, at least while they are still intact. The fact that we seem to have catastrophically underestimated their vulnerability to climate change, acidification and pollution and that significant portions of the Great Barrier Reef off Australia's Eastern coast have been severely degraded or lost over the last few years is both a tragedy and also, I would have thought, a very serious wake-up call. Are we really going to allow ourselves the dismal comfort of accepting that in the long run we will only be left with a tiny fraction of them?"
Ghanas ministry of trade and industry will set up a taskforce on textiles on October 11 to address the influx of pirated textiles. The announcement came after a recent picketing action by textile industry workers in Accra over the continued delay in setting up the taskforce to help stop smuggling of fake textiles.The Textile Garment and Leather Employees' Union (TEGLU) TEGLU has cautioned the government not to impede the work of the taskforce after it is set up, according to a news portal in Ghana.

Ghana's ministry of trade and industry will set up a taskforce on textiles on October 11 to address the pirated textiles. The announcement came after a recent picketing action by textile industry workers in Accra over the continued delay in setting up the taskforce to help stop smuggling of fake textiles. A similar taskforce set up in 2010 was shut down.#

A similar taskforce was set up in 2010 with personnel drawn from security agencies, the Ghana Revenue Authority and the Ghana Union of Traders Association. That helped curb piracy to some extent, but smuggling increased once the taskforce was shut down. (DS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk  India
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2017 / In less than two months, the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA) will be hosting the 3rd annual VanFUNDING 2017, an immersive full day financial innovation forum and premier hackathon on Nov 28 in downtown Vancouver at SFU's Morris J Wosk Centre for Dialogue.

VanFUNDING 2017 is the leading West Coast conference dedicated to igniting online and alternative venture funding markets in Canada providing opportunities for startups and scaleups seeking to accelerate access to private capital markets, investors, and partners to expand their networks. In addition to prime networking and leading educational series, the conference is expanding to include a 1 day hackathon to provide opportunities for Blockchain RegTech and Fintech startups (stealth) seeking business and technical mentorship, partners, and opportunities for investment in a 'business concept' sprint with winning companies pitching to prominent judges for feedback and prizes.

The 2017 agenda covers the hottest topics from Blockchain smart contracts and Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) to the latest developments, emerging regulations, new business models and opportunities in PeerToPeer (P2P) crowdfinance, fintech, alternative finance, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence applications, and global financial marketplaces.

Looking for massive disruption and globally expanding markets?

'Crowdsales', Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) and tokens represent the next generation of Crowdfinance and P2P online capital and community aggregation having raised in excess of $1 billion in the first half of 2017. ICOs are fully digital offers that are designed and sold using the protocols of smart contract technology inherent on public blockchains such as Ethereum that are quickly evolving. With new crowdfunding regulations and an explosion of blockchain technology and initial coin offerings powering cryptoeconomics and continued strong investor appetite for innovative fintech companies, 2017 is a new wave of financial innovation and tipping point full of opportunity as markets coalesce globally for a piece of the action, however with new potential and growth comes new challenges and risks.

VanFUNDING 2017 will feature a prominent keynote, 'Stories from the Edge', leading start-ups and industry participant experts in a unique 'UN-style' venue selected to promote interactive dialogue and discussion. Combined with workshops and a 'business concept' hackathon there are opportunities for the entire venture funding ecosystem from companies to policy makers and start-ups to enterprise. Other vital capital innovation topics will cover international developments, perk/rewards, lending, equity, royalty, market provisioning and infrastructure; investor marketing, leadership culture, cyber security and legal and financial considerations.

Get involved with VanFUNDING 2017!

Are you a leading financial innovator, investor or a blockchain rock star? Apply to speak here; or

Build your brand's profile, gain access and help shape the industry (view Partnership Opportunities); or

Help make the event day outstanding, apply to volunteer here; or

Media passes are available for accredited media representatives.

Early bird registration including Hackathon participant teams coming soon!

Visit the VanFUNDING 2017 conference website to learn more.

The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada non-profit actively engaged with both investment and social crowdfunding, blockchain ICO, alternative finance, fintech, P2P and online investing stakeholders across the country. NCFA Canada provides education, research, leadership, support, and networking opportunities to over 1600+ members and works closely with industry, government, academia, community and eco-system partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative online financing industry in Canada. Learn more About Us or visit www.ncfacanada.org.

For more information, please contact:

Media Contact:

Craig Asano

Executive Director

casano@ncfacanada.org

416 618 0254

@NCFACanada

SOURCE: National Crowdfunding Association of Canada
Global fintech event leads with Blockchain, Cybersecurity, Insurtech and WealthTech

HONG KONG, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- "As a growing fintech center on the global stage, Hong Kong is uniquely suited to bring the biggest players from Asia and the West together," says NexChange CEO and Founder Juwan Lee. NexChange is the Program Partner for October 23-24 at Hong Kong Fintech Week, hosted by InvestHK. "Top notch speakers from around the world will tackle tough topics and showcase best practice in the new fintech economy."

In its second year, this event will host the world's best entrepreneurs, financiers, regulators over a week long period. Major topics to be covered in the first two days include:

Blockchain, including the spread of cryptocurrency and ICO's

Insurtech

WealthTech

Cybersecurity

China fintech

Feathered Speakers will include:

Commissioner Bart Chilton , former Commissioner at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

Soul Htite, CEO, Dianrong, a leading P2P lender in China

Henri Arslanian , PwC FinTech & RegTech Lead for Mainland China/HK and U.S. Liaison

Andy Hsu , Client Solutions Lead, Finance & Travel Greater China Facebook

Angel Ng , Country Business Manager, Citibank HK

Caroline Ada , Country Manager, Hong Kong and Macau , Visa

Jacyln Jhin , Managing Director, Chief Legal and Compliance, CITIC CLSA

Neal Costigan , CEO, BehavioSec

For more information, visit www.nexchange.hk for the full agenda, speaker list and delegate and media registration.

Contact:

Andrew Work

Head Content Strategist, Asia Pacific

NexChange

Email: andrew.work@nexchange.com

Tel: +85260100794

About NexChange

NexChange is the global social network connecting professionals to financial services and innovation. The Company has grown rapidly with presence in Hong Kong, New York City and London and has over sixty partnerships of which thirty are in media content. The Company has also built one of the most recognized Fintech brands under Fintech O2O event series and is one of the main organizers of Hong Kong Fintech Week 2017.
ZURICH, Switzerland, 2017-10-06 05:15 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thunderbird Resorts Inc. ("Thunderbird" or "Group") (Euronext Amsterdam:TBIRD) (FSE:4TR): The Group owns a mixed-use, 19-story tower in Lima, Peru that is comprised of a 66 all-suite hotel, approximately 5,400 m2 of leasable offices, approximately 7,000 m2 casino operation with approximately 680 gaming positions, and 308 underground parking spaces. The Group also operates 3 other gaming operations in Peru, with an additional approximately 560 gaming positions.



The Group is pleased to announce that it has signed binding agreements with SunDreams S.A. of Chile to sell all of our Peruvian gaming operations plus the approximately 7,000 m2 of gaming real estate and approximately 150 parking spaces. The price for these assets is USD $26 million. The transaction is subject to certain conditions precedent and regulatory approvals, and is projected to be completed before the end of January 2018.



The Group is not selling its 66 all-suite Fiesta hotel or its approximately 5,400 m2 of leasable offices or the remaining parking area as a part of this transaction. We will continue to pursue transaction(s) that support the best interests of shareholders as per the shareholder mandate set forth in the September 21, 2016, Special Resolutions. We will keep you informed as to any material events and/or progress.



Salomon Guggenheim Chief Executive Officer and President



ABOUT THE COMPANY: We are an international provider of branded casino and hospitality services, focused on markets in Latin America. Our mission is to "create extraordinary experiences for our guests." Additional information about the Group is available at www.thunderbirdresorts.com.



Contact: Peter LeSar, Chief Financial Officer  Email: plesar@thunderbirdresorts.com



Cautionary Notice: Cautionary Notice: This disclosure contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the securities laws and regulations of various international, federal, and state jurisdictions. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in the Annual Report, including without limitation, statements regarding potential revenue and future plans and objectives of Thunderbird are forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Thunderbird's forward-looking statements include competitive pressures, unfavorable changes in regulatory structures, and general risks associated with business, all of which are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in Thunderbird's documents filed from time-to-time with the Euronext Amsterdam and other regulatory authorities.

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Makes Strategic Investments to Strengthen its Artificial Intelligence Offerings. JV to Provide Findability Platform to the Japanese Market

WOBURN, MA / ACCESSWIRE / October 5, 2017 / Japan's SoftBank Corp. and Findability Sciences Inc. today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to establish a joint venture (JV), which will offer a proprietary software product developed by Findability Sciences. The product is known as the Findability Platform and will be marketed in the Japanese market by the JV.

Headquartered in the Boston area, Findability Sciences Inc. is a big data, cognitive sciences, and artificial intelligence technology services and consulting company. SoftBank will offer the Findability Platform: a self-learning technology platform that ingests large data sets to provide actionable insights, predictions, and human-like intelligence. The joint venture operations will be managed from Findability Sciences' new facilities in Tokyo, Japan.

"We are very proud to form a joint venture with a world-renowned tech giant like SoftBank. This will significantly enhance our visibility to the marketplace and our ability to continue offering innovative solutions to our growing customer base," said Anand Mahurkar, Founder and Chairman of Findability Sciences. "SoftBank's selection of Findability Sciences, first as an ecosystem partner and subsequently as a joint venture partner, speaks volumes about our people, processes and technology, Findability Platform," added Mr. Mahurkar.

SoftBank also made a strategic investment of approximately $7.4 million with the aim of strengthening its offerings in the growing field of big data, analytics, and artificial intelligence. SoftBank holds a controlling 51 percent stake in the joint venture, with Findability Sciences Inc. owning the 49% balance.

In announcing the venture, Daichi Nozaki, Vice President, Head of Global Business Division, Enterprise Business Unit of SoftBank said, "I am very happy to make the Findability Platform available to Japanese customers. Our mission is to improve the decision-making capabilities of our customers. We have conducted extensive research and worked closely with various partner companies to provide our customers with optimal solutions to support their increasingly complex needs. The Findability Sciences' platform, which emphasizes automatic analysis, self-learning, is very innovative. Additionally, the Findability Platform offers functionality that until now has commanded a premium and has required significant capital expenditure. Together we are bringing to the market, out of the box solutions that are still versatile enough to meet the needs of a range of industries."

The joint venture will serve Japanese customers in various verticals including Human Resources, Insurance, Banking & Financial Services (BFSI), Retail, and Manufacturing. Findability Sciences' India operation provides a dedicated facility to support the joint venture by providing data science and software development activities in tandem. Findability Sciences anticipates a need to fill several new positions in its United States, India, and Japan offices.

"We are very excited to start our new operations in Japan. We are also working on expanding our presence into other countries," added Mr. Mahurkar. In August 2017, Findability Sciences expanded its presence in the Northeast by opening a new facility in Woburn, MA. In September 2017, Findability Sciences K.K. began operations in Roppongi area of Tokyo, Japan. The company will be opening its new Center Of Excellence (CoE) in India, later this month.

About Findability Sciences: Findability Sciences is a global Big Data and AI company providing innovative solutions in the United States, Europe, and India market since 2010. Findability Platform is its flagship offering into retail, manufacturing, BFSI, higher education, and health-care businesses. Findability Sciences has offices in Mumbai and Aurangabad in India. To learn more, please visit www.findabilitysciences.com.

About SoftBank Corp: SoftBank Corp., a subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp. (TOKYO: 9984), provides mobile communication, fixed-line communication, and Internet connection services to customers in Japan. Leveraging synergies with other companies in the SoftBank Group, SoftBank Corp. aims to transform lifestyles through IT and expand into other business areas including IoT, robotics, and energy. To learn more, please visit www.softbank.jp/en/corp/group/sbm

Media Contact - Email: fspr@findabilitysciences.com

SOURCE: Findability Sciences Inc
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Australian dollar weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Friday. The Australian dollar fell to more than a 5-week low of 1.5112 against the euro and more than a 3-week low of 87.40 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.5021 and 87.93, respectively. Against the U.S., the Canadian and the New Zealand dollars, the aussie dropped to nearly a 3-month low of 0.7743, a 1-week low of 0.9742 and a 3-day low of 1.0911 from yesterday's closing quotes of 0.7794, 0.9793 and 1.0950, respectively. If the aussie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.52 against the euro, 85.00 against the yen, 0.75 against the greenback, 0.95 against the loonie and 1.07 against the kiwi. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
When people around the world watch American movies or TV programs, most of the time they see only New York City or Southern California. However, the United States is far bigger than that.

Its population is widely distributed across a territory. States that do not often make global headlines, places like Wisconsin, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, are often unknown to people beyond America's borders.

The values, and the way of life, practiced by people in such areas are not widely associated with the United States in global thinking. It often seems that these areas, despite being part of the richest country in the world, are almost completely forgotten.

However, China has not forgotten them. As it deepens its economic relationship with the United States, it is not focusing on business centers like Wall Street and Silicon Valley. China does not only seek to gain access to the American wallet, but also wants to win over America's soul.

The world was astounded by the results of the 2016 presidential election. How could Donald Trump have been elected? The mainstream American media seemed almost universally opposed to him, with a few notable exceptions. Trump was portrayed as a sexual predator, a lunatic, a foreign agent, and everything negative. Polls predicted a solid victory for Hillary Clinton.

However, Trump won because he spoke to certain perspectives and viewpoints often neglected and ignored. His populist style, speaking in support of the "working class" and bemoaning the hardships of de-industrialization, his disgust for foreign interventionism, his promise to build new infrastructure, all had very large appeal.

Trump knew that winning over America wasn't about winning over New York City or Southern California. It was about winning over the "silent majority" once referred to by the late Richard Nixon.

Chinese leaders, as they build deeper ties to middle America, seem to share this insight into America's unknown cultural dynamics. Xi Jinping's first visit to the United States in 1985 illustrates a grasp of this understanding.

China's current president visited Muscatine, Iowa, as a young man. Because the prowess of American farmers is known throughout the world, the future Chinese president sought to visit a major agricultural region and learn from its success. While staying in Muscatine, Xi did not sleep in a fancy hotel, but in the home of the Dvorchak family, in the bedroom of their son.

Throughout 2017, the U.S. has been plagued by a farm surplus. The price of beef, chicken, eggs, and so many other agricultural products has been dropping. The government has been rapidly purchasing milk and disposing of it, in order to keep the price from dropping further.

However, China and the U.S. are now in the process of expanding agricultural ties. The potential of exporting American agricultural goods to China, especially in light of Brazil's beef scandals, offers hope in the face of the ongoing farm glut.

Furthermore, China's businesses have been investing. Sun Paper Industry, Fuyao Glass, China Railway Rolling Stock Corp., and many other business entities that function as part of the Chinese socialist economy, are establishing manufacturing plants across America. This movement may seem small and inconsequential at the moment, yet could have big results down the road.

China's vision of a connected world, in which economic ties lay the basis for peace and sustainable development, is not something with which most Americans have any deep-seated disagreement. This is a vision which can be almost universally embraced by humanity, and the residents of America's heartland are most certainly included.

Many will recall the words of Chinese leader Zhou En-Lai in 1972, when asked about the French Revolution. Instead of giving an analysis of the earthshaking historical event nearly 200 years earlier, he replied: "It is too soon to tell."

The wisdom of viewing history in long terms should not be underestimated.

Caleb Maupin is a journalist and political analyst who resides in New York City focusing on U.S. foreign policy and the global system of monopoly capitalism and imperialism.

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors only, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.
BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The New Zealand dollar weakened against most major currencies in the Asian session on Friday. The NZ dollar fell to more than a 4-month low of 0.7096 against the U.S. dollar, from yesterday's closing value of 0.7111. Against the euro and the yen, the kiwi dropped to 3-week lows of 1.6490 and 80.09 from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.6452 and 80.23, respectively. If the kiwi extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 0.69 against the greenback, 1.67 against the euro and 78.00 against the yen. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/06/17 -- Maricann Group Inc. (CSE: MARI)(CSE: MARI.CN)(CNSX: MARI)(OTCQB: MRRCF)(FRANKFURT: 75M) ("Maricann" or the "Company"), has partnered with Julian Marley and International Cannabrands Ltd. ("International Cannabrands") a wholly owned subsidiary of GEA Technologies Ltd. (CSE: JUJU.A) to cultivate and formulate JuJu Royal, a premium and market established group of products. Julian, son of the iconic Bob Marley, is a true and authentic representation of Rasta culture. A world renowned reggae artist and devoted Rastafarian, Julian conveys his message of legalization, freedom and love through his music, and the JuJu Royal brand.

"We're committed to producing all natural cannabis, marrying our vision for 'A World of Good' with Julian Marley to deliver a curated and unique experience to our patients, and soon, the broader market," Ben Ward, CEO of Maricann said. "JuJu Royal is an exclusive line of products currently offered in California and Colorado with carefully selected genetics, combined with solvent free extraction, delivering high-quality cannabis. We're thrilled to offer this unique and quality differentiated experience to Canadians and Europeans (where legal)."

Maricann will offer the premium JuJu Royal line to its existing medical patients starting on January 1st, with four of Julian's designer strains of dry flower available for purchase.

"Maricann is exactly the type of strategic partner we are looking for," stated Jeffrey Britz, Chairman and CEO of International Cannabrands. "Their core value of quality and commitment to the wellness of their customers aligns exactly with ours. They currently serve thousands of patients in Canada and have a vision to develop cannabis markets worldwide. We believe Maricann is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the adult-use cannabis market in Canada and are excited they have chosen us."

Julian Marley added "JuJu Royal is freedom. I welcome Maricann to JuJu Royal, our vision is to heal the world with organics as herb is the healing of the nation. It's a pleasure to spread this love and joy together all because of this amazing plant."

Under the terms of the agreement, subject to meeting certain revenue targets, Maricann will have the exclusive right to cultivate, extract and distribute in Canada the JuJu Royal line of products that are currently offered in the United States. The agreement is for a period of three years, following receipt of approval from Health Canada to sell the products. In addition, Maricann has a right of first refusal to distribute any JuJu Royal products in Europe.

About Maricann Group Inc.

Maricann is a vertically integrated producer and distributor of marijuana for medical purposes. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Toronto, Canada and Munich, Germany, with production facilities in Langton, Ontario, Canada where it operates a medicinal cannabis cultivation, extraction, formulation and distribution business under federal license from the Government of Canada, and Dresden, Saxony, Germany. Maricann is currently undertaking an expansion of its cultivation and support facilities in Canada in a fully funded 217,000 sq. ft. (20,159 sq. m) build out, to support existing and future patient growth.

For more information about Maricann, please visit our website at www.maricann.com.

About International Cannabrands

International Cannabrands generates revenue from licensing brands to growers, edible manufacturers, oil extractors, producers of ancillary products and apparel in the United States where cannabis has been legalized at the state level, as well as products containing CBD in the US and internationally. Select JuJu Royal products are available in California, Washington, Colorado and Puerto Rico with CBD-only products available in the U.K., the birthplace of Julian Marley. The Company is looking to expand JuJu Royal into Nevada in the near future. The company was founded in 2014 and is based out of Denver, Colorado. The Company believes as the market becomes saturated with products varying in potency and quality, that the branded products will rise to the top and the Company intends to exploit all opportunities available to realize the full value of the Julian Marley brand and to attract other brands. https://jujuroyal.net/

Forward Looking Information

Certain statements in this document, including statements with respect to Maricann's and International Cannabrands' future business operations and future business goals, including whether Maricann and International Cannabrands will be able to realize all the benefits of their production and distribution agreement and statements with respect to the approval of Health Canada, contain forward-looking statements which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes", "expects", "may", "desires", "will", "should", "projects", "estimates", "contemplates", "anticipates", "intends", or any negative such as "does not believe" or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. No assurance can be given that potential future results or circumstances described in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or will occur. By their nature, these forward-looking statements, necessarily involve risks and uncertainties, including those discussed herein, that could cause actual results to significantly differ from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the view of Maricann and International Cannabrands with respect to future events of their respective businesses, and are based on information currently available to the companies and on assumptions, which they consider reasonable. Management of each of Maricann and International Cannabrands cautions readers that the assumptions relative to the future events, several of which are beyond Managements' control, could prove to be incorrect, given that they are subject to certain risk and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected. Factors which could cause results or events to differ from current expectations include, among other things: legal and regulatory changes, fluctuations in operating results; the impact of general economic, industry and market conditions; the ability to recruit and retain qualified employees; fluctuations in cash flow; increased levels of outstanding debt and obligations; expectations regarding market demand for particular products and the dependence on new product development; the impact of market change; the impact of price and product competition, and the ability to obtain cash financing. Management of each company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

The Canadian Securities Exchange has not reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this news release.

Contacts:

Maricann Contact Information:

Investor Relations:

Shawn Alexander

VP Investor Relations

289-288-6284

salexander@maricann.ca



Corporate Headquarters (Canada)

Maricann Group Inc. (Toronto)

845 Harrington Court, Unit 3

Burlington Ontario L7N 3P3, Canada

289-288-6274



European Headquarters (Germany)

Maricann GmbH

Thierschstrasse 3, 80538 Munchen, Deutschland



International Cannabrands Contact:

Jeffrey Britz

Chairman & CEO

201-394-7882

jeffrey@jujuroyal.net



Media Inquiries

Cynthia Salarizadeh

Salar Media Group

856-425-6160

Cynthia@salarmediagroup.com




BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Cabinet office is set to release preliminary Japan leading economic indicators index data for August at 1:00 am ET Friday. The leading index is expected to show a score of 107.2, up from 105.2 in July. Ahead of the data, the yen showed mixed trading against its major rivals. While the yen fell against the U.S. dollar and the Swiss franc, it held steady against the euro and the pound. As of 12:55 am ET, the yen was trading at 132.12 against the euro, 147.80 against the pound, 115.36 the Swiss franc and 112.94 against the US dollar. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.


CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. dollar climbed against its major counterparts in Asian session on Friday on optimism over progress in U.S. tax reform plan and investors awaited the U.S. jobs report amid indications of solid economic growth.



House of Representatives passed a $4.1 trillion budget on Thursday, to help pass a sweeping tax reform bill with a simple majority in the Senate. The GOP tax reform framework unveiled last week proposes tax cuts for corporations, small businesses and individuals.



The Labor Department report is expected to show that the economy may have added 90,000 jobs in September following an increase of 156,000 jobs in August. The unemployment rate is expected to hold at 4.4 percent.



Thursday's data on jobless claims, factory orders and trade balance as well as a slew of Fed speeches continued to support the currency.



Fed Funds Futures are currently pricing in an 84% probability of a 25bps hike in December.



The greenback advanced to more than a 4-month high of 0.7091 against the kiwi, more than 5-week high of 1.2591 against the loonie and near a 3-month high of 0.7743 against the aussie, from Thursday's closing values of 0.7111, 1.2565 and 0.7795, respectively. The next possible resistance for the greenback is seen around 0.69 against the kiwi, 1.27 against the loonie and 0.76 against the aussie.



The greenback spiked up to 0.9800 against the franc, a level unseen since May 30. If the greenback extends rise, 0.99 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.



The greenback that closed Thursday's trading at 112.80 against the yen climbed to a 3-day high of 113.03. The greenback is seen finding resistance around the 114.00 area.



Preliminary data from the Cabinet Office showed that Japan's leading index improved to the highest level seen since early 2014 in August.



The leading index, which measures the future economic activity, rose to 106.8 in August from 105.2 in the previous month.



The greenback strengthened to a 2-day high of 1.1686 against the euro and more than a 4-week high of 1.3073 against the pound, up from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.1812 and 1.3119, respectively. On the upside, 1.15 and 1.29 are likely seen as the next resistance levels for the greenback against the euro and the pound, respectively.



Looking ahead, U.S. and Canadian jobs data for September, U.S. wholesale sales and consumer credit for August as well as Canada Ivey PMI for September are set for release in the New York session.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
- Named best-in-class provider in the "enabling tools" category

LONDON, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- EY has been recognized as a leader for cybersecurity consulting by ALM Intelligence in its new report, ALM Vanguard of Cybersecurity Consulting Providers.

According to the report, EY has made considerable investments in its cybersecurity capabilities to provide clients with a balanced portfolio of services. The report further notes that "the organization has been investing in its end-to-end capabilities and delivers cybersecurity services through consulting, implementation and managed services. The result is a comprehensive approach to the topic that encompasses helping the clients to protect themselves by building a 'corporate shield,' understand the threat landscape and detect what threats are coming and be prepared for a cybersecurity breach so that clients react appropriately and with resilience."

Paul van Kessel, EY Global Advisory Cybersecurity Leader, says:

"This recognition reflects our commitment in the cybersecurity arena. The rapid growth of data, analytics and innovative digital technologies ensure that the pace and ferocity of cyberattacks are only going to increase. The EY approach to supporting clients with cybersecurity is not just detecting and protecting from cyber threats but going beyond to help confirm companies are prepared to resist the attacks and react in a manner that help facilitate compliance and business continuity."

In addition, the report has named EY as the "best-in-class" provider in the capability area of enabling tools. It notes that EY tools such as "Cybersecurity dashboard#" bring analytics, vulnerabilities and custom visualizations together, providing the client a full view of cybersecurity risks and estimated time to resolve an issue.

Laura Becker, Senior Analyst, Management Consulting Research, ALM Intelligence, says:

"Firms identified as leaders in the cybersecurity consulting space are able to guide their clients from both a business and a technology perspective. EY has been aligning its overall business objectives with the cybersecurity strategy. It also facilitates and educates companies about the process from the board and C-suite to the trenches. The organization is unique in its ability to independently execute end-to-end projects across the full spectrum of client contexts."

To learn more about EY Advisory services, visit the EY microsite.

Barbara Burgess Aparna Sankaran EY Global Media Relations EY Global Media Relations +1 212 773 1652 +44 748 024 5082 barbara.burgess@ey.com aparna.sankaran@ey.uk.com

Logo - http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/568498/EY_Logo.jpg
GLASGOW, Scotland, October 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

iomart company Cristie Data has won a five year contract with Stone King LLP to help the national law firm transform the way it protects its data.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20121126/579634 )



Cristie Data will provide Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) and managed cloud backup to Stone King, enabling the specialist law firm to provide a continuous and high level of service to its valued clients.

The five year deal delivers enterprise-class virtual replication for Stone King's production environment, enabling the firm to rapidly restore its business applications and data to a dedicated private cloud in one of iomart's secure UK data centres.

Tim Roche, Head of IT at Stone King, said: "We look forward to working with Cristie Data to replace our existing in house platform and make our services in this area more robust. It will improve the way we provide backup and Disaster Recovery services and enable us to recover data in minutes.

"As a national law firm with offices across the country, it is vital that our IT services and security are as efficient as they can be to continue to protect the interests of our clients. With the ever prevalent risks associated with cyber security or a system failure, the new DRaaS will mean that in the event of an attack or system failure, we will be able to fully recover services within hours."

Sean Tweedlie, Legal Business Development Manager for Cristie Data added: "The solution we're putting in place for Stone King allows them to use cloud services to drive efficiency without compromising on data security or any of their obligations around regulatory compliance. They can recover and restore their critical data and applications as quickly as possible and, because it's a fully managed service, they have expert support at all times."

Stone King is a leading national law firm that provides specialist legal advice across the four sectors of education; charity and social enterprise; commercial; and private client. The firm's strategic focus has made it a national leader in charity and education.

Cristie Data has 40 years' experience delivering data protection and backup solutions to clients across the private and public sectors. Its newly launched Professional Services sales team has seen multiple recent wins in the legal and financial sectors. Cristie Data is part of managed cloud services provider iomart.

About Cristie Data

Cristie Data has been a trusted, innovative and leading edge data storage, backup and virtualisation solutions provider across all sectors of industry for over 40 years. Our consultative approach ensures our customers receive tailor-made solutions.

Cristie Data is part of iomart Group Plc and offers access to a wide range of managed cloud services which saves customers time and money and delivers significant value to their business.

For more information visit cristie.co.uk

About Stone King

Stone King LLP is a leading national law firm with more than 200 years of experience. It provides specialist legal advice and solutions to the four sectors of education; charity and social enterprise; business; and private client.

Covering all aspects of law, the firm's strategic focus has made it a national leader in the charity and education sectors.

The organisation currently holds both the Law Society's Lexcel accreditation and has been independently recognised as a leading law firm by both Chambers and the Legal 500.

Stone King is proud to hold Investors in People Gold accreditation.

Visit our website at stoneking.co.uk

Contact:

Jane Robertson

PR Manager

jane.robertson@iomart.com

44-(0)-141-931-6400
RHODES, Greece, October 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

DOC Research Institute ("DOC", or the "Institute"), an independent international think tank headquartered in Berlin, announces that the 15th Anniversary Rhodes Forum 2017, 'Multipolarity and Dialogue in Regional and Global Developments: Imagining Possible Futures' has begun.

This event, traditionally a centrepiece in the DOC year, brings together leading experts from government, business, and academia to discuss pressing global issues. It runs from 06-07 October, 2017.

This year's Rhodes Forum is pleased to welcome a number of high-profile figures from Africa, including the Honourable Goodluck Jonathan, President of Nigeria 2010-2015, and Dioncounda Traore, President of Mali 2012-2013. They will be joined on the opening panel by Dominique de Villepin, Prime Minister of France 2005-2007, Natalya Kaspersky, Head of the InfoWatch Group of Companies, and by Ian Goldin, Professor of Globalization and Development, Oxford University, Former Vice President of the World Bank.

First convened in 2003, the Rhodes Forum brings together concerned members of the international political, business, civil society and academic communities in a spirit of dialogue and inclusivity. Every year, hundreds of participants from more than 70 countries explore the major challenges facing the world and seek concrete, applicable solutions rooted in shared values of equality, mutual respect and compassion.

Taking as its theme 'Multipolarity and Dialogue in Regional and Global Developments: Imagining Possible Futures', this year's 15th Anniversary Rhodes Forum also hosts two focal events: a Summit on Globalisation, Dialogue, and the Future of Democracy; and a Summit on Global Infrastructure Development Scenarios.

Panel discussions on the first day include the 'Impact of New Technologies and Digitalisation on Society', 'Social Mobility and Migration: Through the Prism of Values and Cultures', and 'Never Again: Demands for a New Global Security Architecture'.

On the second day, discussions will include a session on 'Alternative Economic Models - Curbing Inequality', and the focus on migration will continue in the form of a practice-based discussion 'Europe's Refugee Crisis: Crisis Response from Rhetoric to Reality'.

About the DOC

The Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute is an international think tank that researches and develops proposals to address key challenges faced by the international community today.

Committed to seeking dialogue-based solutions to humankind's most pressing issues, the DOC builds on the legacy and expertise of the World Public Forum Dialogue of Civilizations. We bring together global thought leaders from academia, public policy, business, and civil society in order to foster debate, share experiences, and develop sound policy recommendations.

The idea of a public forum that would promote dialogue as a means of easing and preventing conflicts, contrary to the theory of an imminent clash of civilizations, followed the adoption of key documents by the UN. On 9 November 2001, UNESCO Member States unanimously adopted the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity, and the UN General Assembly presented its Global Agenda for Dialogue Among Civilizations. These resolutions laid out principles of intercultural dialogue and laid the basis of the DOC.

The World Public Forum Dialogue of Civilizations (WPF), the predecessor of DOC, was founded to advocate for this initiative and help implement its objectives. The WPF was founded in 2002 by Indian entrepreneur and visionary the late Jagdish Kapur, business leader and philanthropist Dr. Vladimir Yakunin, and the businessman Nicholas F.S. Papanicolaou. The WPF has enjoyed UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Special Consultative Status and regularly collaborates with UNESCO.

The DOC is an independent, non-partisan think tank, and receives no government funding.

Media Contacts:

Agnieszka Rzepka

PressOfficer

+49-30209677900

media@doc-research.org




BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT (dpa-AFX) - French carmaker Groupe Renault (RNSDY.PK, RNSDF.PK, RNT.L) announced Friday a new strategic plan, 'Drive The Future 2017-2022, aiming to boost revenues and volumes over a six year period. Renault will offer 8 pure electric vehicles and 12 electrified models by the end of the plan.



Renault Chairman and CEO Carlos Ghosn said, '... this new plan will unleash our full potential to innovate and grow in a rapidly-changing industry.'



By the end of the plan, the company expects to deliver annual revenues of over 70 billion euros, compared to 51 billion euros in 2016. The company also expects to achieve a group operating margin of over 7 percent, representing a 50 percent increase in value, with a floor at 5 percent, and positive free cash flow every year.



The company previously expected a 7 percent operating margin.



Under the plan, the company forecasts that unit volumes will grow more than 40 percent to over 5 million units, compared with 3.47 million units sold in 2016. The company sees doubling sales outside of Europe as it plans to expand product range including LCV and new zero-emission electric vehicles.



Key elements of the plan include 21 new vehicles including 3 add-ons, expanded Russia presence through Renault and investments in AVTOVAZ (Lada), accelerating opportunities in China, and growing market opportunities in Brazil, India, and Iran.



The company sees 15 AD (Autonomous) vehicles and new mobility services - ride-hailing, robo-taxi services by end of plan.



The plan also targets 4.2 billion euros in Monozukuri savings, and research & development investment of 18 billion euros over six years.



With Groupe Renault's last plan Drive the Change, the company has gained record growth and operating profit, and increased synergies through the Alliance with Nissan.



Ghosn added, 'Groupe Renault is now a healthy, profitable, global company looking confidently ahead. Drive the Future is about delivering strong, sustainable growth benefiting from investments in key regions and products, leveraging Alliance resources and technologies, and increasing our cost competitiveness.'



In another development, Renault Sport Racing announced the upcoming arrival of Marcin Budkowski at Enstone as Executive Director. Budkowski will oversee all chassis development and production activities.



Cyril Abiteboul, Managing Director Renault Sport Racing, said, 'Marcin's mission will be to continue the strengthening of Enstone to enable Renault to join the top Formula 1 teams by 2020, through relying on the proven personnel of the likes of Bob Bell, Nick Chester and Rob White.'



In Paris, Renault shares were trading at 86.44 euros, up 0.98 percent.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2017) - Spearmint Resources Inc. (TSXV: SRJ) (OTCBB: SPMTF) (FSE: A2AHL5) ("SRJ" or the "Company") wishes to announce that it has entered into an agreement to acquire 100 percent of the WHY WEST Magnesium project near Rossland, BC, and the BUDDY claims in the Golden Triangle of BC.

The WHY WEST Magnesium prospect directly borders West High Yield Resources properties near Rossland, BC. Yesterday West High Yield Resources announced, "West High Yield Resources Ltd. has signed a definitive arm's-length purchase and sale agreement to sell 100 per cent of its right, title and interest in its Record Ridge South, Midnight and O.K. mineral properties to Gryphon Enterprises LLC, a company based in Maryland, United States, for a purchase price of $750-million (U.S.)." This prospect consists of approximately 1,500 contiguous acres.

The BUDDY claims directly border the EL North claims currently held by Spearmint. These claims are directly bordering Garibaldi Resources Corp. in the Golden Triangle of BC. This prospect consists of approximately 4,400 contiguous acres.

James Nelson, President of Spearmint states, "Adding these two new projects shows the commitment SRJ management has to growing the company. The WHY WEST prospect directly borders the West High Yield Resources property and they just announced a massive proposed sale of 750 Million USD and the BUDDY claims significantly adds to our acreage bordering Garibaldi. Both of these areas may constitute a key building block of Spearmint going forward. We look forward to getting on the properties shortly."

About Spearmint Resources

Spearmint Resources Inc. is a Canadian junior resource exploration company dedicated to the aggressive pursuit of world class mineral deposits. Spearmint's current projects include three areas of focus on gold in British Columbia; the 'Golden Triangle Gold Prospects' comprising of four separate claim blocks totaling 4,095-acres bordering GT Gold Corp, the 'Gold Mountain Prospects' comprising of three separate claim blocks totaling 1,245-acres bordering Barkerville Gold Mines, and the 3,052 acre 'NEBA Copper-Gold Prospect' bordering Aben Resources Ltd. Spearmint's 1,975 and 2,107 acre 'EL North and EL North 2' Nickel-Copper prospects in the Eskay Creek Camp border Garibaldi Resources Corp. Spearmint's 'Chibougamau Vanadium Prospects' comprising of five separate claim blocks totaling 9,735-acres borders the vanadium deposit of BlackRock Metal's (private) Ilmenite vanadium project, Vanadiumcorp Resource Inc. and Vanadium One Energy Corp.. Spearmint's portfolio of lithium projects include the 'Clayton Valley Lithium Prospects' in Nevada comprising of two claim blocks totaling 800-acres bordering Pure Energy Minerals, and three lithium projects in Quebec including the 4,485-acre 'Pressiac Lithium Prospect', the 524-acre 'Whabouchi Lakes Lithium Prospect', and the 2,636-acre 'Whabouchi Lakes West Lithium Prospect'.

Spearmint is currently in the process of creating location maps for our properties as well as updating the website.

If you would like to be added to Spearmint's news distribution list, please send your email address to info@spearmintresources.ca. The terms of this agreement calls for SRJ to issue seven million shares to arm's length vendors. This is subject to exchange approval.

Contact Information

Tel: 1604646-6903

www.spearmintresources.ca

"James Nelson"

President

Spearmint Resources Inc.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange Inc.) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
You are here: Home

 Flash

Four crew members have been rescued and 12 others are missing after a Chinese mainland fishing vessel collided with a tanker from Hong Kong off the coast of Japan on Thursday.

A search was ongoing Thursday night for the missing fishermen.

The fishing vessel, with the 16 crew members aboard, was identified as the 290-metric-ton Lurong Yuanyu 378 and the tanker from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region was the 63,294-ton tanker Bright Oil Lucky carrying 21 crew members, who were believed to be safe, the AFP news service reported, citing a Japanese Coast Guard official.

The collision was in international waters some 400 kilometers north of the Oki Islands in western Japan, the Chinese consulate-general in Osaka said.

Japan sent three patrol vessels to the area where the collision occurred, and the Japanese Coast Guard set up a response unit, the consulate-general said.

The Chinese fishing boat capsized after colliding with the tanker, the Associated Press reported.

The consulate-general sent a working group to the scene to help with the search and rescue operation. It is keeping in contact with the Japanese Coast Guard.
DUBLIN, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --



The "Global Baby Carrier Market 2017-2021" report has been added to Research and Markets' offering.

The global baby carrier market to grow at a CAGR of 3.91% during the period 2017-2021.



Global Baby Carrier Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.

The latest trend gaining momentum in the market is Innovation in products. Many vendors have come up with innovative and technologically advanced products to enhance the sales of baby carriers. The use of advanced baby carriers ensures a high level of safety. For instance, Ergobaby introduced a product called Ergobaby ADAPT Carrier. BabyMoon introduced the first smart baby carrier of the world, which monitors the health of the infant at specific intervals. It displays this data, along with personalized care suggestions for parents and doctors on their mobile app through automated reports.

According to the report, one of the major drivers for this market is Rising number of millennial moms. An increase in the number of millennial moms and working women across the world has increased the demand for convenient baby care products, such as baby carriers. In 2016, more than 40% of the total labor force in the world and more than 51% of the total female population in the world represented working women. In the same year, more than 56% of the total female population (aged between 15 years and above) in the US and about 60% of the total female population belonging to the same age group in Brazil represented working women.

Further, the report states that one of the major factors hindering the growth of this market is Limitation of time versus cost. Baby carriers have a short life cycle. This is because children grow fast and as they grow, the carriers need to be changed according to their age, weights, and sizes. The use of baby carriers with any degree of safety issue, which is not appropriate for the weight of the baby is discouraged. Not abiding by this recommendation can cause the inappropriate baby carrier to fall or tip over due to the incorrect weight of the baby, thereby resulting in several fatal accidents. This stops many parents from purchasing baby carriers.

Key vendors

BabyBjrn

Artsana

Ergobaby

Evenflo

Infantino

Other prominent vendors

Baby K'tan

BabySwede

Balboa Baby

Beachfront Baby

Beco Baby

Bitybean

Brevi

Chimparoo

Combi

Hot Slings

JJ Cole Collections

MOBY

Snuggy Baby

BABY TULA



Key Topics Covered:

Part 01: Executive Summary

Part 02: Scope Of The Report

Part 03: Research Methodology



Part 04: Introduction



Part 05: Market Landscape



Part 06: Market Segmentation By Distribution Channel



Part 07: Market Segmentation By Product



Part 08: Geographical Segmentation



Part 09: Key Leading Countries



Part 10: Decision Framework



Part 11: Drivers And Challenges



Part 12: Market Trends



Part 13: Vendor Landscape



Part 14: Key Vendor Analysis



Part 15: Appendix



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/fgtxss/global_baby

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716


STOCKHOLM, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

EQT Real Estate invests in two office buildings comprising about 70,000 square meters in Frankfurt, Germany's foremost hub for financial services

The plan includes an extensive repositioning of the buildings in the rapidly changing Niederrad and Neu-Isenburg submarkets

The investment represents EQT Real Estate's fifth investment to date

EQT Real Estate I("EQT Real Estate" or "the Fund") has acquired two multi-let office assets in Frankfurt, Germany. The assets form part of the pan-German portfolio Project Mars, acquired by Eurocastle from DWS in 2007, and represents the fund's fifth investment to date and second in Germany.

Frankfurt is well-known as an attractive base for the European banking and financial services sectors, with a rapidly evolving office market with strong demand from tenants but only a small number of new developments. The two buildings are both modern and strategically located in terms of transport links and political initiatives. The largest one, Atricom, comprises 45,600 square meters and is located in Niederrad, while the second building, Le Buro, comprises 23,700 square meters and is located in Neu-Isenburg.

The buildings are set to receive a comprehensive refresh and optimization by further modernizing, upgrading and improving the buildings, both technically and visually, in order to offer future and existing tenants a quality working environment.

Frank Forster, Director at EQT Partners and advisor to the Fund, said:

"We are looking forward to EQT Real Estate taking part of the ongoing development in Frankfurt-Niederrad. The area is rapidly changing and the plans for Atricom should make a positive contribution to this part of town."

Contacts:

Frank Forster

Director at EQT Partners

Investment Advisor to EQT Real Estate I

+44-20-8432-5404



EQT Press Office

+46-8-506-553-34

About EQT

EQT is a leading alternative investments firm with approximately EUR 37 billion in raised capital across 24 funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia and the US with total sales of more than EUR 19 billion and approximately 110,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership.

More info: www.eqtpartners.com

About EQT Real Estate I

EQT Real Estate I will seek to make direct and indirect controlling investments in real estate assets, portfolios and operating companies that offer significant potential for value creation through repositioning, redevelopment, refurbishment and active management. The investments will typically range between EUR 50 million and EUR 200 million. The fund is advised by an experienced team from EQT Partners, with extensive knowledge of property investment, development and intensive "hands-on" asset management, and with access to the full EQT network, including 10 European offices and more than 250 industrial advisors.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

http://news.cision.com/eqt-ab/r/eqt-real-estate-broadens-its-german-portfolio,c2362063

The following files are available for download:
Espoo, Finland, 2017-10-06 12:45 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SRV GROUP PLC INVESTOR NEWS 6 OCTOBER 2017 AT 13.45



SRV to sell Wood City office building and considerable part of parking facilities to Supercell - construction work scheduled to begin next spring



The construction of the Wood City quarter in the Jatkasaari district of Helsinki took a major step forward on 6 October, when SRV and Supercell signed a conditional agreement for the purchase of an office building and parking facility. The final contracts are required before the transaction can be completed, and it is expected that they will be signed in the first quarter of 2018. Construction work can begin earliest in spring 2018. The final sale price will not be published.



"From the outset, Wood City's basic concept has been to introduce Finland to a new way of thinking about business premises, and to create a unique quarter that combines design, sustainable development and a sense of urban community in a unique location in central Helsinki with good transport connections. The project aroused immense interest already in the design stage, and SRV has been driving it forward for several years with a number of partners. The agreement we've now signed with Supercell will give us the final push we've been hoping for," says SRV's Juha Toimela, Vice President, Operations in Finland.



The Wood City design process was launched in 2010. Its architectural concept, which had already attracted a great deal of attention, was based on Anttinen Oiva Arkkitehdit's winning entry in an autumn 2012 competition. The wooden quarter will consist of an eight-storey office building, a hotel, two apartment buildings owned by Helsingin Asuntotuotantotoimisto (ATT), and a shared three-storey parking facility. Wood City's architecture will create a modern and harmonious cityscape, in which the diversity of this hybrid quarter will be clearly visible at street level. As its name suggests, Wood City's frame is built from solid wood, except for the concrete structures in the parking facility. The wooden frame of the office building is supplied by Stora Enso.



"We wanted a permanent home for Supercell in Helsinki. A place where we can make games for decades to come. In the end, Wood City was the obvious choice for us: it beautifully combines traditional Finnish values with a modern working environment. As a material, wood represents Finnishness, so it's great to be involved in a project that is creating a wooden business environment that is historically large and innovative in the Finnish context. And it also gives us a unique opportunity to design the perfect premises to suit us and our culture. Our goal is to make these premises and surroundings into the best possible place to create games," says Supercell's CEO, Ilkka Paananen.



Intense investor and operator negotiations are still ongoing for Wood City's planned hotel. The construction of ATT's apartment buildings began at the turn of 2015-2016, and they are scheduled for completion in 2018. SRV aims to launch construction of the office building and parking facility during spring 2018, after which they will appear in SRV's order backlog. According to current estimates, Wood City is scheduled for completion in stages during 2020. The total value of the Wood City quarter is about EUR 100 million.



Further information:



Juha Toimela, VP, Operations in Finland, tel. +358 40 594 5473, juha.toimela@srv.fi Paivi Kauhanen, SVP, Communications, tel. +358 50 598 9560, paivi.kauhanen@srv.fi



www.srv.fi



You can also find us on the social media:



Facebook LinkedIn Twitter Instagram

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - At 8:30 am ET Friday, Statistics Canada will release Canada jobs data for September. The economy is expected to add 12,000 jobs in September, following a gain of 22,200 last month. Ahead of the data, the loonie traded mixed against its major rivals. While the loonie held steady against the euro and the aussie, it rose against the yen and the greenback. The loonie was worth 89.84 against the yen, 1.4726 against the euro, 0.9775 against the aussie and 1.2572 against the greenback as of 8:25 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Gold prices were lower Friday morning after downbeat jobs data and dovish comments from a Federal Reserve official. The U.S. jobs count shrank by 33,000 jobs in September, due in part to Hurricane Harvey. It was the first contraction in seven years. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.2% as fewer people were looking for work. Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan, a voting member this year on the Fed's policy committee, said he is not yet in favor of a December rate hike but has an open mind Kaplan said a lot of the job losses in September will be temporary. Gold was down $6 at $1267 an ounce, the lowest since mid-summer. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - October 6, 2017) - DNI Metals Inc. (DNI: CSE) (FSE: DG7N) (OTC Pink: DMNKF) ("DNI" or the "Company") announces that with the help of Ascenta Capital it has completed a $2.8 million financing.

Further to its news release dated September 18, 2017, and September 25, 2017 the Company has closed, subject to final Regulatory approval, its non-brokered private placement financing (the "Private Placement"). The financing comprised of 35,000,000 units of the Company (the "Units") at a price of CDN $0.08 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of CDN $2,800,000. Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one common share purchase warrant exercisable at $0.16 per warrant for a period of 18 months. If the volume weighted average trading price of the Company's Common Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange is $0.24 or higher for at least 30 consecutive trading days, the Company may accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants upon 30 days' notice to the holders. All securities issued pursuant to this private placement will be subject to a four-month hold. Insiders subscribed for 3.3% of the securities Private Placement. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the private placement for the acquisition of the Marafody project in Madagascar (see July 26 news release), the building of its modular graphite pilot plant (see August 17 news release) and for working capital.

An aggregate cash commission of $171,809, plus an aggregate of 1,944,640 non-transferable common share purchase warrants (the "Finder's Warrants") is, subject to final Regulatory approval, payable in connection with the closing of financing. Each Finder's Warrant is exercisable at $0.16 per warrant for a period of 18 months. If the volume weighted average trading price of the Company's Common Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange is $0.24 or higher for at least 30 consecutive trading days, the Company may accelerate the expiry date of the Warrants upon 30 days' notice to the holders. A total of 324,885 units with a value of $25,988.78 were issued in lieu of a cash commission.

Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About DNI Metals

Certain advisors and directors of DNI have significant operational experience at historical hard rock graphite mines in Canada (e.g. Ontario and Quebec) and Australia. Between them, they have built three (3) processing plants and designed two (2) others; all, which were shut down in the 1990,'s due to increased Chinese competition. Keith Minty, a director, previously worked at Cal Graphite near Kearny, Ontario.

It was our team's understanding of the high production and capital expenditure costs associated with so-called "hard rock" graphite mining that inspired DNI to search for saprolite-hosted graphite deposits.

Certain parts Madagascar and Brazil, produce graphite from weathered material called saprolite.

According to Dictionary.com, saprolite is described as:

"Soft, thoroughly decomposed and porous rock, often rich in clay, formed by the in place chemical weathering of igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary rocks. Saprolite is especially common in humid and tropical climates. It is usually reddish brown or grayish white and contains those structures (such as cross-stratification) that were present in the original rock from which it formed."

DNI owns a commercially permitted, saprolite-hosted graphite deposit in Madagascar; located 50kms from the country's main seaport. The deposit is located less than two (2) kms from the paved national highway. DNI intends to develop the Vohitsara project, should the economic viability and technical feasibility be established.DNI has not yet established mineral resources or mineral reserves supported by a PEA or mining study (PFS or FS).

DNI has a graphite wholesale business, in which it buys and sells high quality graphite. This business has shown a steady increase in volume over the past year.

Steven Goertz (MAusIMM, MAIG), who is a qualified person, approved the technical disclosure in this news release.

About Ascenta Finance Corp.

Ascenta Finance Corp. is an independent boutique institutional investment bank whose services include superior and creative advice to corporations financing, M&A, and restructuring transactions. Ascenta specializes in uncovering undervalued public and private equity investment opportunities across a variety of sectors, including resources, alternative energy, biotech and technology. Ascenta is registered as an Exempt Market Dealer in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, and is a member of the Private Capital Markets Association of Canada and the National Exempt Market Association.

DNI - Canadian Securities Exchange

DMNKF - OTC Pink

Issued: 56,124,959

For further information, contact:

DNI Metals Inc. - Dan Weir, CEO 416-595-1195

DanWeir@dnimetals.com

Also visit www.dnimetals.com

We seek Safe Harbour. This announcement may include forward looking statements. While these statements represent DNI's best current judgment, they are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary, including risk factors listed in DNI's Annual Information Form and its MD&A's, all of which are available from SEDAR and on its website.
PUNE, India, October 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

According to the new market research report"Sonar System Marketby Product Type, Installation (Vessel Mount, Towed, Hand-Held & Pole Mounted, Airborne, UUV), Mode of Operation, Operating Frequency (High, Medium, Low), Application (Defense, Commercial), and Region - Global Forecast to 2022", published by MarketsandMarkets', the market is projected to grow from USD 3.49 Billion in 2016 to USD 3.72 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 4.33% from 2017 to 2022. The growth of this market can be attributed to the rise in naval shipbuilding, which leads to increase in demand for sonar systems. In addition, the rise in demand for sonar systems for various UUVs is driving the sonar system market.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160303/792302 )



Browse104 Market Data Tables and38 Figures spread through155Pages and in-depth TOC on"Sonar System Market - Global Forecast to 2022"



http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/sonar-systems-technology-market-142612945.html

Early buyers will receive 10% customization on this report



The defense application segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the sonar system market in 2017, and this segment is projected to grow at a high CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on application, the defense segment is estimated to account for the largest share of the sonar system market in 2017. This segment is projected to grow at a high CAGR during the forecast period. In defense, sonar systems are used mainly in the naval ships. North America is leading the defense application segment due to the increase in naval shipbuilding orders.

Based on installation, the Underwater Unmanned Vehicles (UUV) segment is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

Based on installation, the UUV segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period. The rise in the usage of UUVs in applications such as hydrographic survey, seabed mapping, military surveillance, and mine hunting has led to the increase in demand for sonar systems in UUVs.

Download PDF Brochure : http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownload.asp?id=142612945

The fisheries application segment of the commercial sonar system market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period

Sonar systems, in recent years, have found increased usage in fish finding. These systems provide details about fish schools in the ocean. The fisheries application segment of the commercial sonar system market is projected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period.

The Asia Pacific sonar system market is projected to witness the highest growth during the forecast period

Increase in defense spending for naval shipbuilding and hydrographic oil & gas exploration in the Asia Pacific region is projected to fuel the demand for sonar systems. The Asia Pacific sonar system marketis projected to grow at the highest CAGR from 2017 to 2022. Countries in this region include China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, and India. Substantial investments by China in naval and commercial shipbuilding is one of the factors driving the sonar system market in the Asia Pacific region.

Inquiry Before Buy @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Enquiry_Before_Buying.asp?id=142612945

Major players in the sonar system market are Raytheon Company (US), Thales, ATLAS ELECTRONIK GmbH (Germany), Kongsberg Gruppen ASA (Norway), and Ultra Electronics Holdings PLC (UK), among others.

Browse Related Reports

Hydrographic Survey Equipment Market by Type (Sensing System, Positioning System, Subsea Sensor, Unmanned Vehicle, Software), Application (Port & Harbor, Oil & Gas, Cable, Charting), Depth, Platform, End User, and Region - Global Forecast to 2022

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/hydrographic-survey-equipment-market-38915154.html

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Market by Type (Shallow, Medium, and Large AUVs), Technology (Navigation, Imaging), Payload (Cameras, Sensors, Echo Sounders), Application (Military & Defense, Archeological and Exploration), Region - Global Forecast to 2023

http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/autonomous-underwater-vehicles-market-141855626.html

Subscribe Reports from Aerospace & Defence Domain @ http://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Knowledgestore.asp

About MarketsandMarkets'

MarketsandMarkets' provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 5000 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets' for their painpoints around revenues decisions.

Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets' are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model - GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets' now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets' is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve.

MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "RT" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets.

Contact:

Mr. Rohan

MarketsandMarkets'

701 Pike Street

Suite 2175, Seattle,

WA 98101, United States

Tel: +1-888-600-6441

Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com





Visit our Blog@ http://mnmblog.org/market-research/aerospace-defence

Connect us on LinkedIn @ http://www.linkedin.com/company/marketsandmarkets
TORONTO, ONTARIO -- (Marketwired) -- 10/06/17 -- October 2017 Cash Dividend - $0.06 per share

Superior Plus Corp. ("Superior") (TSX: SPB) today announced its cash dividend for the month of October 2017 of $0.06 per share payable on November 15, 2017. The record date is October 31, 2017 and the ex-dividend date will be October 30, 2017. Superior's annualized cash dividend rate is currently $0.72 per share. This dividend is an eligible dividend for Canadian income tax purposes.

Upcoming Release of 2017 Third Quarter Results and Conference Call

Superior expects to release its 2017 third quarter results on Wednesday, November 8, 2017. A conference call and webcast for investors, analysts, brokers and media representatives to discuss the 2017 third quarter results is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. EST on Thursday, November 9, 2017. To participate in the call, dial: 1-844-389-8661. Internet users can listen to the call live, or as an archived call, on Superior's website at: www.superiorplus.com under the Events section.

About the Corporation

Superior consists of two primary operating businesses: Energy Distribution includes the distribution of propane and distillates, and supply portfolio management; and Specialty Chemicals includes the manufacture and sale of specialty chemicals.

For further information about Superior, please visit our website at: www.superiorplus.com.

Forward Looking Information

This news release contains certain forward-looking information and statements that are based on Superior's current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends. In this news release, such forward-looking information and statements can be identified by terminology such as "to be", "expects", "annualized", and similar expressions.

In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements and information relating to: future dividends which may be declared on Superior's common shares, the dividend payment, the tax treatment thereof, and the receipt of cash dividends. These forward-looking statements are being made by Superior based on certain assumptions that Superior has made in respect thereof as at the date of this news release, regarding, among other things: the success of Superior's operations; prevailing commodity prices, margins, volumes and exchange rates; that Superior's future results of operations will be consistent with past performance and management expectations in relation thereto; the continued availability of capital at attractive prices to fund future capital requirements; future operating costs; that any required commercial agreements can be reached; that all required regulatory and environmental approvals can be obtained on the necessary terms in a timely manner. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to: the regulatory environment and decisions; non-performance of agreements in accordance with their terms; the impact of competitive entities and pricing; reliance on key industry partners and agreements; actions by governmental or regulatory authorities including changes in tax laws and treatment, or increased environmental regulation; adverse general economic and market conditions in Canada, North America and elsewhere; fluctuations in operating results; labour and material shortages; and certain other risks detailed from time to time in Superior's public disclosure documents including, among other things, those detailed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Superior's management's discussion and analysis and annual information form for the year ended December 31, 2016, which can be found at www.sedar.com.

Accordingly, readers are cautioned that events or circumstances could cause results to differ materially from those predicted, forecasted or projected. Such forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by the above statements. Superior does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statements or information contained herein, except as required by applicable laws.

Contacts:

Beth Summers

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

(416) 340-6015 or Toll Free: 1-866-490-PLUS (7587)

(416) 340-6030 (FAX)

bsummers@superiorplus.com



Rob Dorran

Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasurer

(416) 340-6003 or Toll Free: 1-866-490-PLUS (7587)

(416) 340-6030 (FAX)

rdorran@superiorplus.com




WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - With recent polls showing Republican Ed Gillespie trailing in the Virginia Governor's race, President Donald Trump has leveled a serious accusation against his Democratic rival. Trump claimed in a post on Twitter on Thursday that Lieutenant Governor Ralph Northam is 'fighting for' violent street gangs. 'Ralph Northam, who is running for Governor of Virginia, is fighting for the violent MS-13 killer gangs & sanctuary cities. Vote Ed Gillespie!' Trump tweeted. Trump's tweet strikes the same tone as a recent Gillespie attack ad that claims Northam voted in favor of sanctuary cities, letting dangerous illegal immigrants back on the street and increasing the threat of MS-13. While Northam cast the tie-breaking vote in the state Senate to defeat a bill that would have banned sanctuary cities in Virginia, both candidates have maintained that the state does not have any sanctuary cities. Northam spokesman David Turner said Trump's tweet suggests that Gillespie's ads are reaching their target audience. 'They both want to cut funding to education, roll back healthcare, and divide Virginians for political gains,' Turner said. 'Looks like Ed Gillespie's ads are reaching his target audience - Donald Trump.' A Washington Post-Schar School poll released on Thursday showed Northam with a 53 percent to 40 percent lead over Gillespie. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann.
 Flash

Spain's Constitutional Court yesterday ordered the suspension of Monday's session of the regional Catalan parliament, throwing its plans to declare unilateral independence from Spain into doubt.

There was no immediate reaction from Catalan leaders who held an independence referendum on Sunday that was banned by Madrid and marked by violent scenes at electoral stations where Spanish police sought to hinder voting.

The suspension order further aggravated one of the biggest political crises to hit Spain since the establishment of democracy following the death of General Franco in 1975. But it helped Spanish markets hit in recent days by the uncertainty.

The court said it had agreed to consider a legal challenge filed by the anti-secessionist Catalan Socialist Party.

Spanish shares and bonds, which have been hit by the political turmoil in Catalonia, strengthened after the news of the court's decision.

The main IBEX stock index rose 2.3 percent, on track for its biggest daily gain in a month, and Spain's 10-year bond yield was set for its biggest daily fall since April.

Spain's Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said the dispute "is generating uncertainty that is paralyzing all investment projects in Catalonia."

Opinion polls conducted before the vote suggested a minority of around 40 percent of residents in Catalonia backed independence. But a majority wanted a referendum to be held, and the violent police crackdown angered Catalans across the divide.

Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called on Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont yesterday to abandon plans to unilaterally declare independence from Spain or risk "greater evils."

Rajoy said the solution to the Catalan crisis was a prompt return to legality and "a statement as soon as possible that there will not be a unilateral declaration of independence, because that will also avoid greater evils." He did not elaborate.

Puigdemont said he was not afraid of being arrested for organizing the referendum.
Disclosure made according to the requirements of Article 14 of the law of 2 May 2007

Regulatory News:

Ontex Group NV ("Ontex") discloses the notifications of significant shareholdings that it has received according to the Belgian Law of 2 May 2007 on the disclosure of significant shareholdings in listed companies.

On 3 October 2017, Aviva plc, and its affiliated entities, notified Ontex that Aviva plc had, as a result of sales of shares, crossed below the threshold of 3.00% of the total number of voting rights in Ontex, excluding equivalent financial instruments.

According to its obligation Ontex publishes the content of the notifications that it has received.

Date of Notification: 3 October 2017

Date Threshold Crossed: 2 October 2017

Threshold Crossed: 3.00%

Notification by:

Aviva plc St Helens, 1 Undershaft, London, EC3P 3DQ, United Kingdom Aviva Investors Global Services Limited St Helens, 1 Undershaft, London, EC3P 3DQ, United Kingdom Aviva Investors France SA 14 Rue Roquepine, 75008 Paris, France

Denominator on the date of notification: 82,347,218 shares

Voting rights and assimilated financial instruments:

(A) Voting rights Previous Notification After the transaction # voting rights # voting rights % of voting rights Holders of voting rights Linked to securities Not linked to securities Linked to securities Not linked to securities Aviva plc 0 0 0 0.00% 0.00% Aviva Investors Global Services Ltd 2,989,935 2,005,517 0 2.44% 0.00% Aviva Investors France SA 394,691 8,119 0 0.01% 0.00% Subtotal 3,384,626 2,013,636 2.45% Total 2,013,636 0 2.45% 0.00%

(B) Equivalent financial instruments After the transaction Holders of equivalent

financial instruments Type of financial instrument Expiration date Exercise period or date # of voting rights that may be acquired if the instrument is exercised % of voting rights Settlement Aviva plc 0 0.00% Aviva Investors Global Services Ltd Right to recall loaned shares N/A N/A 1,057,895 1.28% TOTAL 1,057,895 1.28%

# of voting rights % of voting rights TOTAL (A B) 3,071,531 3.73%

Chain of controlled entities through which the shareholding is effectively owned:

The full chain of control is available at this link.

Additional information

Aviva Investors Global Services Ltd, and Aviva Investors France SA, are investment management companies that hold and exercise the voting rights at their discretion in the absence of specific instructions.

Notifications of significant shareholdings to be made according to the Law of 2 May 2007 should be sent to: investorrelations@ontexglobal.com

This notification will be posted on: http://www.ontexglobal.com/press-room

About Ontex

Ontex is a leading international provider of personal hygiene solutions, with expertise in baby care, feminine care and adult care. Ontex's innovative products are distributed in more than 110 countries through Ontex brands such as BBTips, BioBaby, Pompom, Bigfral, Canbebe, Canped, ID and Serenity, as well as leading retailer brands.

Employing 11,000 passionate people all over the world, Ontex has a presence in 22 countries, with its headquarters in Aalst, Belgium. Ontex is part of the Bel20 and STOXX Europe 600. To keep up with the latest news, visit www.ontexglobal.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171006005582/en/

Contacts:

Ontex

INVESTOR ENQUIRIES

Philip Ludwig

+32 53 333 730

investorrelations@ontexglobal.com

or

PRESS ENQUIRIES

Gaelle Vilatte

+32 53 333 708

gaelle.vilatte@ontexglobal.com


WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Powerful American film producer Harvey Weinstein has apologized after a news report, alleging that he sexually harassed women for decades.



The New York Times published an investigative report Thursday citing allegations of sexual misconduct by Weinstein stretching over nearly three decades against women in the film industry, his female assistants and employees, resulting in at least eight private settlements.



The New York Times article, that rocked the Hollywood, narrates the harrowing experiences of actress Ashley Judd and female assistant Lauren O'Connor.



The 65 year-old movie mogul issued a lengthy statement after the article was published: 'I appreciate the way I've behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it. Though I'm trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go. That is my commitment. I cannot be more remorseful about the people I hurt and I plan to do right by all of them.'



He added that he was working with therapists and planning to take a leave of absence to 'deal with this issue head on.'



But at the same time, Weinstein said that while he admits responsibility for his actions, he plans to sue The New York Times for $50 million for 'reckless reporting.'



Lisa Bloom, one of Weinstein's lawyers, said the married father-of-five acknowledged mistakes he has made, but added that he denies many of the accusations as 'patently false.'



Weinstein is the co-founder of the Miramax Films and co-chairman of Weinstein Company, which has produced a number of Oscar-winning films, including Shakespeare in Love, Silver Linings Playbook, Django Unchained, The King's Speech and The Artist.



Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX

Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de
Regulatory News:

At the combined general meeting today, Quantel's (Paris:QUA) shareholders approved the business combination with the Keopsys Group, based on integrating all the Keopsys Group companies within the Quantel Group, as announced on June 23 and July 3, 20171

This strategic business combination will create a new European champion for laser systems, with more than 400 employees and over 80 million of revenues2, present in France, the US and Japan.

With its very profitable business on high-growth markets, Keopsys will provide Quantel with its fiber laser technology expertise, its extensive base of prestigious clients, particularly in the Telecoms and Industry sectors, and its industrial production methods to serve increasingly competitive markets.

Marc Le Flohic, Quantel Group Chairman and CEO, stated: "I would like to thank the shareholders for their support for this business combination. They are creating a major European operator with leading technical and industrial positions through its unique expertise in the most important and innovative laser technologies. This alliance between Quantel and Keopsys will open up outstanding opportunities for growth, particularly for defense, optical sensors for the automotive and environment markets, and the medical sector. The extensive technological, industrial and commercial synergies and the strong level of motivation among the teams are just some of the assets that will help ensure the success of this new business project".

A press release with the meeting report and voting results will be issued by the Company in the coming days.

Overview of the conditions for the business combination

The business combination is based on Esira3 contributing all the shares in Keopsys, LEA Photonics and Sensup and 99% of the shares in Veldys ("SCI" real estate company holding the Lannion site's real estate assets) to Quantel.

The transaction was subject to the following conditions precedent:

Esira obtaining an exemption from the requirement to file a public offering for Quantel's shares resulting from the contribution;

Obtaining approval from the shareholders at Quantel's general meeting.

During its meeting on September 5, 2017, the AMF Board granted Esira and Eurodyne this exemption in accordance with Article 234-9 3 of the AMF's general regulations. This decision was published on September 18, 2017 on the AMF website (www.amf-france.org) and has not been subject to any appeals within the regulatory timeframe.

Quantel's general shareholders' meeting today approved at 76% (i) Esira's contribution in kind to Quantel concerning Esira's shares in Keopsys, LEA Photonics, Sensup and Veldys, and (ii) the completion of the capital increase and the resulting amendments to the bylaws4, making the business combination between the two groups effective.

As a result of the contribution, Esira has received 6,939,441 new ordinary Quantel shares and, directly and indirectly, holds 54.7% of Quantel's capital and 56.1% of its voting rights5. Quantel's share capital has been increased from 8,832,016 to 15,771,457 ordinary shares6

The conditions for the business combination are presented in detail in the information document ("Document E") filed with the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) on September 19, 2017 under number E.17-067 and available on the Quantel (www.quantel.fr) and AMF (www.amf-france.org) websites.

Founded in 1970, Quantel is one of the world's leading specialists in laser technology for scientific (laboratories and universities), industrial (material processing, process analytics, marking) and medical (ophthalmology) markets. With design and manufacturing facilities in France and the US, the Quantel Group achieved in 2015 a turnover of 62 M, with close to 70% worldwide, divided into scientific and industrial laser applications (56%) and medical applications (44%).

Quantel shares are listed on the Euronext Paris C Compartment. FR0000038242 QUA www.quantel.fr

1 See the press releases published by Quantel on June 23 and July 3, 2017.

2 Based on unaudited proforma financial information for the year ended December 31, 2016, as presented in the information document ("Document E") filed with the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) on September 19, 2017 under number E.17-067 and available on the Quantel (www.quantel.fr) and AMF (www.amf-france.org) websites.

3 Esira, the Keopsys Group's holding company, is controlled by Mr Marc Le Flohic, Quantel's Chairman and CEO (see the press release published by Quantel on October 19, 2016).

4 In accordance with the commitment made as part of obtaining the exemption from the requirement to file a public offering for Quantel's shares, Eurodyne voted for the resolutions relating to the contribution with two-thirds of its votes and voted against these same resolutions with one-third of its votes.

5 Esira directly holds 44% of the capital and 41.5% of the voting rights of Quantel, and Eurodyne (fully-owned by Esira) holds 10.7% of the capital and 14.6% of the voting rights of Quantel (based on the theoretical number of shares and voting rights at September 30, 2017).

6 Based on the number of shares at September 30, 2017.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171006005647/en/

Contacts:

Quantel

Alain de Salaberry, Tel. +33(0) 1 69 29 17 00

Chairman and CEO

info@quantel.fr

or

Quantel

Luc Ardon, Tel. +33(0) 1 69 29 17 00

CFO

info@quantel.fr

or

Calyptus

Mathieu Calleux, Tel. +33(1) 53 65 37 91

Investor Relations

quantel@calyptus.net
SINGAPORE, October 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The United Nations' Peace & Non-Violence Days Candidly Marked by Asia & Oceania-Epic Convergent Summit of UN Observances 2017 Divulges Unequivocal Academic Unanimity-accords for Instituting Rohingya University for the United Nations' Peace Studies to be Set-forth in Dubai and Rohingya Holocaust Int'l Digital Repository in Singapore-AOPDA Appeals World Learned Communities to Sign Amnesty Int'l's Petition to Save the Helpless Rohingyas.

An inter-regional 'UN Peace & Non-Violence Summit' organized by high-level postdoctoral academicians, ascribes resolutions of inordinate institutional significance.

Steered by high-profiled learned-cognoscente community of cross-regional universities, the summit's prologue states that "This summit, hereby, calls for 'dire priority considerations' to address the 'ever-worsening' and 'perpetually-escalating' situations concerning the very reference-lines of 'peace and violence', that the Myanmar's Rohingyas are facing in every single moment of their life, under a systematic and state-sponsored 'genocidal-persecution' of an unprecedented type, and, a nature of its own".

The highly venerated academicians of Asia & Oceania Post-doctoral Academia (AOPDA), SAIRI Postdoctoral Multiversity for the United Nations SDGs Studies and SAARC-ASEAN Postdoc Academia have also earnestly appealed to the world's humane-hearted society and the learned community to sign a recently raised imperative petition by Amnesty Intl.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/help-stop-the-violence-in-myanmar/

"Since the UN has clearly stated what is happening in Myanmar is, "...a textbook example of ethnic cleansing", a resolution sets forth.the Rohingya University and the Repository have been conceded, for which the upshot-finale is destined to beheld globally as a UN pledge-based premier academic 'lectern-measure'. This is essentially meant to determine, institutionalize, discern, coalesce and animate the academic perspectives vis-A -vis the evidence-based accounts over the problematic segments that are concerning the ongoing genocidal crack-down of the most persecuted minority upon the earth - the Rohingyas", says the AOPDA's reference-line thematic prologue to acclaim the Rohingya University and the Holocaust Repository.

https://aopda.org/category/news

While marking the UN days in the backdrop-milieu of annual postdoctoral appreciations (NPAW), the 2017's 'Peace and Non-Violence' convergent observances candidly and unequivocally 'marked a historic landmark' in the wide-spectrum realms of 'peace and non-violence', by adopting a unanimous resolution, which states that Rohingya University for the UN Peace Studies along with a Rohingya Holocaust Digital Repository should be established in Dubai and Singapore simultaneously.

Notably, the unanimous adoption of the resolutions to establish the Rohingya University and the Holocaust Repository came just hours before the UN Human Rights Councils Session concluded in Geneva.

During the NPAW 2017, Asia & Oceania Post-Doctoral Academia (AOPDA) extended region-wide institutional indorsements for the significant resolutions, which were drafted and steered by Abu- Mishkath Professor Qadhi Aurangzeb Al-Hafi, the P.I.H. at AOPDA and SAIRI Postdoc Multiversity. Both of the resolutions have been widely and diversely agreed upon by academicians of Asian and Oceanic regions, as well as the US, Canada and UK.

The Situation, UN Observances & Disciplinary Move:

The United Nations Int'l Peace and Non-Violence observances have got an extravagance, as the year 2017 marks the 1st convergent adherence of both of the days that they are merited for.

According to the UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/61/271 , the UN-IDNV is an occasion to "disseminate the message of non-violence, including through education and public awareness".

AOPDA's 'disciplinary-move' and the grit-perseverance to acclaim the Rohingya University and Rohingya Holocaust Repository reaffirms the UN resolution "the universal relevance of the principle of non-violence" and the desire "to secure a culture of peace, tolerance, understanding and non-violence". "It should be noted and reminisced that our disciplinary-move in lieu of the inception of the university and repository urges the world to galvanize the moral and humanistic commitments for our fellow human being passing through the hardest tests of time. It serves also as a call to the collective conscience of the world to come forth in order to make an end to the ongoing worst-case genocidal scenario, ordaining and enacting to a new Holocaust enfolding in Myanmar. At the core of the thematic baselines, the essential ethos opts to scream 'stop the holocaust when it is going to occur - when it is happening to unleash!' The sore reminiscence of this ongoing holocaust abets to ensure the adoption of these two resolutions" reiterates AOPDA's P.I.

The proposed structure of the university has been outlined as follows: suggested to have core-precincts in Dubai, the university would constrain initially to the disciplines concerning to and encompassing the very segments in relation to the 'peace & conflict' studies, under the UN perspectives. Over 65% of the seats are dedicated to Rohingyas, whereas the 35% of the quota would be allocated for others, coming from diverse backgrounds. In the fields of Ethnology, Anthropology and IR, the university would entail 'Ad-Eundem' system as well.

Justice (R) Dr. S. S. Paru, Dr. Syed Hussain Shah Jillani and Dr. Abu Said Ahmad Fraz have been nominated as the Principal Patrons of the Rohingya University.

Prof. Dr. Muhammad. Akram Chaudhary's name has been agreed upon for the International Provost and he has been designated as the 'Focal Person' for establishing the university.

The names suggested for the board of directors include: Dr. Zafar Saied Saify, Dr. Habib Siddique, Dr. Bareera N. B., M. S. Salawal Salah, Dr. Muang Zarni, Dr. Khalida M. Khan and Lt. Col (R) Azhar Saleem.

The extensive, eclectic, diverse, wide-ranging and cross-boundary covenant-pledges along with the consent-accords that both of the resolutions have been rendered and solidified with, aren't, but a direct reflection of the human solidarity and reverence for a human community that is passing through one of the hardest tests of the recorded human history.

At the culmination of marking the UN convergent observances summit, a plea was raised on behalf of the helpless Rohingyas.

The Plea of Humanitarian Emergency - An Open Letter to the Collective Conscience of the World:

"The intensely horror-prone community - the Rohingyas - the 'stateless' as well as 'the restless' beings are gravely standing, right now, on a critical and perilous verge of a dreadful situation, which holds irretrievable consequences.

Should we, as a humanitarian assembly, now stand up together for the sake of these 'dying-alive' poor Rohingyas, in order to shake the collective conscience of the world, as well as ours own - by voicing altogether jointly and equally?

These longsuffering 'stateless' entities-the Rohingyas-their desperate children-their elders-and their disables-are on their knees before the collective conscience of the world-the international community-the UN, the governments and the entire humanity-begging for their lives-looking with their horror-struck eyes for someone to rescue them...!

They are like us all-their lives are as precious as our lives-their babies are like our own kids...!

"We're all inhabitants of the same planet, to which they belong too. Where alongside, they're being thrashed, beleaguered and de-humanized-their homes being burned-down-their heads being smashed on roads-their bodies being ruined and crumpled in streets-their children being enslaved, starved to death and, at instances 'burnt-alive'-their women being made sex-slaves-and, due to the inaccessibility to food and water it has occurred in a way that they were forced to drink their own urine to survive....!"

"How many villages are required more to be burnt down - and then our conscience would respond to the wake-up call....? - How many women are needed more to be mass-raped by the Burmese army officials....?"

"How many thousands of the 'innocent children' need more to be 'burnt alive' and beleaguered alongside the streets - for all of us to take a 'moral-stand' on this critical verge of humanitarian emergency....?"

"How many kids and toddlers are still awaited to be dealt with as 'farm-animals'- being mercilessly kicked and prodded as waste-ruggers...?"

O' fellow beings, it's not but a definitive 'LITMUS TEST' for all of us - for the 'ultimate' sense of humaneness - if we do have it at all!

We have to stand up now, for a 'principal resolve' of the 'Rohingya's Humanitarian Crisis' as a 'Moral Imperative'-if not a legal requisite..!

"And, if by now, we fail, therefore, to respond at this vulnerable hour, or if the global community continues to shy away from taking a 'moral stand', then, there can be no more justifiable reason for the pursuit of a humane society or for persisting and sticking to even the least realms of humaneness....!"

For more details: http://aopda.org

For being a signatory to the earnest petition by Amnesty Int'l, please visit:

https://www.amnesty.org/en/get-involved/take-action/help-stop-the-violence-in-myanmar/





Contact details: director@sairi.org, https://aopda.org/, http://www.nationalpostdoc.org/page/2017NPAW
DUBLIN, October 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Global Krill Oil Market 2017-2021" report has been added to Research and Markets' offering.

The global krill oil market to grow at a CAGR of 12.65% during the period 2017-2021.



Global Krill Oil Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.



According to the report, one of the major drivers for this market is Health benefits of krill oil. The health benefits associated with the consumption of krill oil is one of the major growth drivers of the global krill oil market. Increasing awareness among consumers about the health benefits of krill oil will increase the demand for krill oil during the forecast period. Krill oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help in lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels, reducing triglyceride levels, and increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. Krill oil also helps in preventing blood clots, which can cause strokes and heart attacks.

The latest trend gaining momentum in the market is Sustainable krill harvesting. One of the trends that can influence the growth of the market is sustainable krill harvesting, which is gaining popularity globally. Consumers are now demanding krill oil products, which are produced from sustainable krill harvesting. Increasing concern about the environment and declining krill population are some of the factors which drive the growth of sustainable krill harvesting.



Further, the report states that one of the major factors hindering the growth of this market is High cost of krill oil. One of the challenges to the growth of the global krill oil market is the high price of krill oil as compared with fish oil. Krill oil is mostly used as a replacement for fish oils, as it contains more omega-3 fatty acids and phospholipids. The cost of krill oil is high as compared to fish oil, and this prevents consumers from purchasing krill oil. It is estimated that the average price of krill oil is about two times more than normal fish oil.



Key vendors

Aker BioMarine

Enzymotec

Omega Protein

Reckitt Benckiser

RIMFROST

Other prominent vendors

Allinon Pharma

Health Natura

NHS Labs

NORWAY OMEGA

OMEGA Nutrifynn Caps

NutriStart

Savant Distribution

Viva Naturals



Key Topics Covered:



Part 01: Executive Summary



Part 02: Scope Of The Report



Part 03: Research Methodology



Part 04: Introduction



Part 05: Market Landscape



Part 06: Market Segmentation By Product Form



Part 07: Market Segmentation By Distribution Channel



Part 08: Geographical Segmentation



Part 09: Key Leading Countries



Part 10: Decision Framework



Part 11: Drivers And Challenges



Part 12: Market Trends



Part 13: Vendor Landscape



Part 14: Appendix



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/gtrxhx/global_krill_oil

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716
Holmes Investment Properties PLC: Trading Update

DGAP-Ad-hoc: Holmes Investment Properties PLC / Schlagwort(e): Sonstiges Holmes Investment Properties PLC: Trading Update 09.10.2017 / 13:10 CET/CEST Veroffentlichung einer Insiderinformation gema Artikel 17 MAR, ubermittelt durch DGAP - ein Service der EQS Group AG. Fur den Inhalt der Mitteilung ist der Emittent verantwortlich.

Holmes Investment Properties Plc Trading Update

Holmes Investment Properties Plc (HIP), der Entwickler von Freizeit- und Abenteuerparks, verzeichnet weiterhin Fortschritte beim Erreichen seiner geschaftlichen Zielvorgaben und mochte eine Reihe von wichtigen Mitteilungen, die in den nachsten zwei Wochen veroffentlicht werden, zusammenfassen:

- Das Unternehmen wird bald eine Hybridanleihe auflegen, um seine ersten Standorte zu finanzieren. Die Dokumentation ist vollstandig und wird in Kurze vorgelegt. Daruber hinaus steht Holmes Investment Properties kurz davor, zwei weitere Geldgeber bekanntzugeben, die HIP bei einzelnen Standorten unterstutzen, umfangreiche Mittel bereitstellen und alternative Optionen fur den Kauf und die Entwicklung von bestimmten Standorten bieten werden.

- Im Anschluss an unsere Mitteilung, dass Herr Grant Wright HIP verstarken wird, entwickelt das Unternehmen derzeit einen zusatzlichen Plan, um die veroffentlichte Strategie zum Bau von zwolf Freizeitzentren in den nachsten vier Jahren zu erganzen. Herr Wright verfugt uber 25 Jahre Erfahrung beim Betrieb von Freizeitzentren im Vereinigten Konigreich und in Europa und wird dieses Know-how einsetzen, um das Angebot von HIP zu erweitern.

- Das Unternehmen wird in allernachster Zukunft auch die Kooperation mit weiteren Freizeitpartnern ankundigen, wahrend wir unsere Geschaftsbeziehungen auf dem Freizeitmarkt vertiefen. Wir werden mit starken, erfolgreichen Unternehmen zusammenarbeiten, die Synergieeffekte schaffen und dafur sorgen, dass das Marktangebot von HIP im Vereinigten Konigreich und in Europa einzigartig ist.

- Was die Bestatigung von Standorten angeht, so hat HIP die Hauptverhandlungspunkte (Head of Terms) und die Vereinbarungen uber Kaufoptionen fur die ersten drei Standorte, die das Unternehmen erwerben mochte, dokumentiert. Zwei dieser Standorte befinden sich in der Nahe von Grostadten in England und der dritte liegt an einer der weltweit bekanntesten Sportstatten. Diese Ankundigungen stehen unmittelbar bevor und hangen von der Erteilung einer Baugenehmigung ab.

Martin Helme, CEO: "In den nachsten Wochen werden wir wichtige Mitteilungen zu allen Punkten der vorliegenden Veroffentlichung vornehmen. Wir machen erhebliche Fortschritte an vielen Fronten und stehen kurz davor, eine Reihe von Abschlussen zur Umsetzung unseres Geschaftsplans zu bestatigen."

Kontakt:

Martin Helme, Chief Executive Officer +44 (0)7779 601541 or +44 (0)203 709 7120 Martin@hip-prop.co.uk Murray Harkin, The Lyndon Agency +44 (0)77852 54639 Murray@thelyndonagency.com

09.10.2017 CET/CEST Die DGAP Distributionsservices umfassen gesetzliche Meldepflichten, Corporate News/Finanznachrichten und Pressemitteilungen. Medienarchiv unter http://www.dgap.de

Sprache: Deutsch Unternehmen: Holmes Investment Properties PLC

53 Davies Street W1K 5JH London Grobritannien Telefon: + 44 203 709 7120 E-Mail: david@hip-prop.co.uk Internet: www.hip-prop.co.uk ISIN: GB00B61DTR94 WKN: A1H654 Borsen: Freiverkehr in Berlin

Ende der Mitteilung DGAP News-Service

616945 09.10.2017 CET/CEST

ISIN GB00B61DTR94

AXC0118 2017-10-09/13:10
DUBLIN, October 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Diagnostic/Medical Imaging Market Analysis by Product (X-ray, Computed Tomography, Ultrasound, MRI, Nuclear Imaging), by Product Type (Stationary, Portable) and Segment Forecasts, 2014 - 2025" report has been added to Research and Markets' offering.

The global medical imaging market is expected to reach USD 55.7 billion by 2025

Augmenting investment by government and federal organizations for portable diagnostic devices, and increasing prevalence of numerous chronic as well as sedentary lifestyle diseases is expected to vitally impact the industry growth.

Funds and initiatives by government and private players is expected to benefit the market. For instance, based on the information provided by the Hindustan Times in 2016, the Indian Government has setup an agency for encouraging domestic manufacturers and regulated prices of the medical devices.

Along with rise in investments and funds in developing region, there is also a significant rise in fundings in the European countries such as the UK where USD 21.0 million was provided by the government in August 2015 for better development of new therapy, diagnostics and medical technologies. Such efforts across various countries worldwide, together, are anticipated to positively drive the market over the forecast period.

The Diagnostic imaging market is highly consolidated and is anticipated to witness various new product launches over the forecast period, which will vitally impact the revenue generation for the industry. As of 2016, high slice system includes 80, 128, 256, 320 and 640 slice system which are offered only by top vendors such as Toshiba, Siemens Healthineers, Philips and GE healthcare.

Further key findings from the report suggest:

Based on product type, there are five segments, X-ray, computed tomography, ultrasound, MRI equipment, and nuclear imaging. The x-ray segment was identified as the largest and is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 3.0% during the forecast period.

North America is one of the most lucrative region for medical imaging market owing to better infrastructure facilities as compared to emerging regions and high end purchasing power along coupled with reimbursement framework in the region. U.S is the dominating region owing to its large population base having insurance coverage, advancement in technology, aging population coupled with prevalence of chronic disease.

is one of the most lucrative region for medical imaging market owing to better infrastructure facilities as compared to emerging regions and high end purchasing power along coupled with reimbursement framework in the region. U.S is the dominating region owing to its large population base having insurance coverage, advancement in technology, aging population coupled with prevalence of chronic disease. Key performing companies include Philips Healthcare, GE Healthcare, Siemen Healthineers, and Toshiba Medical Systems. Other players include, Shimadzu Corporation, Varian Medical Systems, Aribex Corporation, and Ziehm Imaging, Inc.

Key Topics Covered:



Chapter 1 Research Methodology



Chapter 2 Executive Summary



Chapter 3 Market Variables, Trends & Scope



Chapter 4 Medical Imaging Market: Product Estimates & Trend Analysis



Chapter 5 Medical Imaging Market: Technology Estimates & Trend Analysis



Chapter 6 Medical Imaging: Regional Estimates & Trend Analysis, by Product, and Technology



Chapter 7 Competitive Landscape



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/6tzsgw/diagnosticmedical





Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716
DUBLIN, October 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Global Coaxial Cables Market 2017-2021" report has been added to Research and Markets' offering.

The global coaxial cables market to grow at a CAGR of 6.43% during the period 2017-2021.

Global Coaxial Cables Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.

According to the report, one of the major drivers for this market is Adoption of cables for broadband Internet access. Till the early 1990s coaxial cables were only used for transmission of cable television (CATV) and communication networks, which limited their uses in digital space. The implementation of multimedia over cable alliance (MoCA) technology allows transmission of high-speed broadband Internet and digital content access over coaxial cable networks.

The latest trend gaining momentum in the market is Growing investment in the aerospace sector. The aerospace and defense sector is a major user of coaxial and micro-coaxial cables. These are used to provide interconnection between essential electronic components in aircraft. Since aircraft have several radio communication equipment, isolation of the radio signals is critical for the smooth functioning of these equipment, which makes coaxial cables play a major role in electronic communication. Any interference in radio communication between the aircraft and air traffic control (ATC) during takeoff or landing can be extremely dangerous.

Further, the report states that one of the major factors hindering the growth of this market is Declining CATV subscriber base in several countries. The cable industry has seen a significant decline in television subscribers even as the number of cable broadband subscribers increased. This is due to consumer preference of switching toward streaming, satellite TV, and IPTV-based services. Streaming service providers like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video provide monthly access to online shows at a fraction of the CATV subscription price. These services are also known as subscription video-on-demand (SVoD).

Key vendors

Belden

General Cable

LS Cable & System

Nexans

Prysmian Group

Sumitomo Electric Industries

Other prominent vendors

Amphenol

CommScope

Habia Cable

Hengxin Technology

Kingsignal Technology

Trigiant Group

W. L. Gore & Associates

& Associates Zhuhai Hansen Technology

Key Topics Covered:



Part 01: Executive Summary



Part 02: Scope Of The Report



Part 03: Research Methodology



Part 04: Introduction



Part 05: Market Landscape



Part 06: Market Segmentation By End-User



Part 07: Geographical Segmentation



Part 08: Decision Framework



Part 09: Drivers And Challenges



Part 10: Market Trends



Part 11: Vendor Landscape



Part 12: Key Vendor Analysis



Part 13: Appendix



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/bdjfb2/global_coaxial





Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

press@researchandmarkets.com



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716
Sourcegraph, a San Francisco, CA-based coding startup, raised $20m in Series A funding.

Backers included Redpoint Ventures and Goldcrest Capital. In conjunction with the funding, Scott Raney of Redpoint Ventures and Dan Friedland of Goldcrest Capital joined Sourcegraphs board of directors.

The company intends to use the funds to continue to develop the platform and expand operations.

Led by Quinn Slack, CEO, and Beyang Liu, CTO, Sourcegraph provides:

 an editor to edit, search and review code (local and remote) across all repositories. It works locally, the code never touches servers. Built on Visual Studio Code, the editor is in private beta now (open source when the public beta begins).

 a server for advanced code search and intelligence for all the companys private and public code. It integrates with multiple code hosts, editors, and code review tools.

FinSMEs

06/10/2017
French carmaker Renault expects a first-mover advantage in electric cars and a wider range of vehicles for emerging markets to help it deliver a 44 percent sales increase by 2022.

Electric cars are turning into a significant contributor to our performance while other automakers are just starting the journey, Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn said on Friday.

Renaults mid-term plan shows it growing faster than alliance partner Nissan, which it trails in China, due to recent investments in Iran and India and a Russian rebound.

While taking a lead in electric vehicles had come at the expense of profitability, Ghosn expects to turn this around with the launch of eight new battery-powered models and 12 hybrids.

Our vision now is a profitable core business, he said. Renault and Daimlers Smart are likely to extend their small-car cooperation into electric models, he added.

Renault plans to increase annual sales to 5 million vehicles by 2022 from 3.47 million last year while also aiming for a 7 percent operating profit margin and 70 billion euros ($82 billion) in revenue, goals that were announced in February.

Renault said on Friday that its margin would remain above 5 percent in the intervening years, as it pursues 4.2 billion euros in cumulative productivity gains and invests 18 billion euros in research and development.

The company also outlined a new dividend policy, promising to increase shareholder payouts to 15 percent of earnings by 2022, from 7 percent last year.

In addition, it will continue to pass through its own Nissan and Daimler dividends to Renault shareholders. Renault owns 43.4 percent of its Japanese alliance partner and 3.1 percent of the Mercedes-Benz maker.

Renaults share price was up 1.5 percent at 86.86 euros at 1100 GMT and the price might be supported in the coming weeks by managements increased confidence over its mid-term goals, Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst said.

This is good news in a world where most people fear earnings, cash flow and profitability will fall due to disruption, Ellinghorst said.

Low-Cost Range

The market in China, where Renault only began manufacturing last year, is expected to account for half a million sales by 2022.

Renaults budget car line-up, starting with the Dacia Logan in 2004, has underpinned the push into emerging markets and spawned a second car platform underpinning the Kwid mini-SUV, which has more than doubled the groups sales in India.

Combined sales of the Global Access low-cost cars are seen expanding 54 percent to reach 2 million vehicles, or 40 percent of the group total. An expanded utility van range is also expected to contribute to the emerging-markets surge.

Europes share of Renault vehicle deliveries would shrink to 36 percent from 52 percent under the plan, with sales in the home region remaining broadly flat.

Pure electric cars may rise to about 5 percent of global sales, Ghosn said, adding that the forecast was probably conservative and almost certainly wrong.

Renault has been transformed since 2005 when he took over from a carmaker dependent on French sales of Megane compacts into a resilient, multi-polar global company, Ghosn said.

Ghosn, who also heads the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, has not yet indicated whether he will seek to renew his contract as Renaults CEO, which expires next year.
Notwithstanding the policy decisions such as demonetisation and a hurried rollout of the goods and services tax (GST) that have negatively impacted a large populace in the country, Brand Narendra Modi seems to be largely untouched as of now. However, with the situation on the ground remaining bleak, it remains to be seen how long can he hold on to the image, aver experts.

Perception of Brand Modi, when Narendra Modi was freshly elected as the Prime Minister, was that of a bold and courageous leader who people expected to bring about sweeping changes. Brand experts say that it was an unrealistic expectation but frustrated by the policy paralysis of the UPA government, voters expected Modi to bring about the achhe din that was his poll promise.

But despite the sweeping changes that have put many of the country's poor in deep trouble, the brand Modi remains undented. However, perception of Brand Modi is an individual opinion and may differ in tandem with the ground reality. Experts aver that though there is a bit of apprehension on the growth front, the country is on the right track.

Brand Modi is intact, argues Arvind Singhal, Chairman and Managing Director, Technopak Advisors, a Delhi-based management consultancy firm, as any decision which is seen as negative by certain sections like demonetisation is on par like any decision taken by a Chief Executive Officer or Managing Director of a blue chip firm. Some decisions may not work out. It is same for the prime minister too. But that does not mean the intentions were not right, he says.

Steps taken by Modi were to stop leakages and if some of them did not, it is due to high expectations of the public, counter some. You dont expect a magic wand to take away all the issues that ails the country and has been not just the making of this government, they say.

When PM Modi was talking about his governments policy decisions on Wednesday during the inauguration of the Golden Jubilee Year of the Institute of Company Secretaries in New Delhi, was he a tad too defensive? Harish Bijoor, Chief Executive Officer of brand and business strategy firm Harish Bijoor Consults Inc, is emphatic that Modi was anything but defensive. He points to the PMs body language which exuded confidence just like his speech where the tone and tenor was like that of a prime minister than a prime ministerial candidate of the past. There was a great deal of sobriety and realism about the position he handles and the size of the economy, he said.

People have become realistic over time, feels Santosh Desai, managing director and CEO, Future Brands, and understand that structural reforms take a longer time. The fire and chutzpah of Modis speeches do not evoke the same kind of euphoria that it evoked in his listeners as before though, he admits, but says that his charisma is intact. There is a sense that there is no alternative to Modi as a leader, he says, cautioning that it is too premature to write off Brand Modi.

GST, demonetisation a dampener

The longevity of Brand Modi will depend on how the government fares in the next few quarters, sector experts say. However, there are grievances on the ground, especially with small and medium businesses (SME) and entrepreneurs who have been impacted by the GST. There are issues with the telecom policy and GST, which an entrepreneur (speaking on conditions of anonymity) felt was skewed in favour of the big industrialists. We were able to do business for which the big industrialists charged heavy fees. By bringing us into the GST ambit, we have been dealt a heavy blow, he said.

Small businesses are heavily reliant not only on cash as currency but business for cash flow. On paper, the policy says that anyone who has a business below Rs 20 lakh in revenues does not have to apply for a GST number, but when you do business across state borders you do need to have one. The buyer may pay well after the invoice is raised, which means you would be paying for GST from your pocket. In effect, as a small entrepreneur, you bear the GST cash outflow apart from giving a long credit line to your customer which is usually not financed by banks since they are loathe to give loans to small business. GST is fantastic for transparency and compliance but the cost for the latter is high especially for small businesses, say sector experts.

Media and the stock market cover perhaps only the top five percent which are individually large businesses, says Devangshu Dutta, chief executive of Third Eyesight, a consulting firm. The reality is that 95 percent of businesses are small and are major contributors to the economy, he says.

Larger businesses can have manpower solely for compliances, but small businesses do not have that luxury. For the entrepreneurial spirit of this community of small businesses to be unleashed, the number of points of government compliance touch-points must be reduced, he says.

Brand Modi will have to look at the grievances of small and medium businesses and entrepreneurs who form the backbone of the economy, sector experts said.
19:40 (ist)

What we know so far:

 GST Council to allow quarterly filing of returns for businesses with annual turnover of less than Rs 1 crore.



 Relief for jewellers as no need to furnish PAN card on jewellery purchase of more than Rs 50,000.

 GST rate on handicrafts may be cut from 12% to 5%.

 GST Council decides to roll-out e-way billing from April.



 A few daily-use items to get cheaper. Some daily use items removed from 28 percent tax slab.



 In principle, GST Council has revised the rate of air-conditioned restaurants to 12 percent. A group of ministers has been formed to devise the mechanism. The GoM will submit its report in 10 days.
Three months after the rollout of the new indirect tax regime, the GST Council on Friday made sweeping changes to give relief to small and medium businesses on filing and payment of taxes, eased rules for exporters and cut tax rates on more than two dozen items.

Businesses with annual turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore, which constitute 90 percent of the taxpayer base but pay only 5-6 percent of total tax, have been allowed to file quarterly income returns and pay tax instead of the current provision of monthly filings.

Also, the turnover threshold for businesses to avail of the composition scheme that allows them to pay 1-5 percent tax without going through tedious formalities, was raised to Rs 1 crore from current Rs 75 lakh.

"Compliance burden of medium and small taxpayers in GST is being reduced," finance minister Arun Jaitley told reporters after the 22nd meeting of the Council.

Small and medium enterprises had complained of tedious compliance burden under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that was supposed to be a simple indirect tax regime which replaced over a dozen Central and state taxes.

Jaitley said the Council also decided to cut GST rate on 27 common use items. GST on unbranded namkeen, unbranded ayurvedic medicine, sliced dried mango and khakra has been cut to 5 percent from 12 percent, while the same on man-made yarn used in textile sector has been reduced to 12 percent from 18 percent. Tax on stationery items, stones used for flooring (other than marble and granite), diesel engine parts and pump parts has been cut to 18 percent from 28 percent. GST on e-waste has been slashed to 5 percent from 28 percent. Food packets given to school kids under Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) will attract 5 percent tax instead of 12 percent. Job works like zari, imitation, food items and printing items would attract 5 percent tax instead of 12 percent. Government contracts involving high amount of labour will be levied 5 percent GST instead of 12 percent in order to contain cost of those programmes, he said.

Press release for 22nd GST Council meeting. pic.twitter.com/iA8gSWlUlO  GST@GoI (@askGST_GoI) October 6, 2017

Exporters, who have been facing sluggish growth due to global slowdown, will get refunds for the tax paid by them on exports during July and August by 18 October, he said. For the remainder of the fiscal, they will operate under an exempted category paying a nominal 0.1 percent GST, he said, adding from 1 April attempt would be made to launch an e-wallet facility for the exporters to provide liquidity. Jaitley said big taxpayers, who contribute 94-95 percent of the total taxes, will continue to file monthly returns and pay taxes on a monthly basis. Also, a group of ministers has been asked to go into the issue of extending the composition scheme on inter-state sales as well as rationalising taxes on restaurants. The switchover to quarterly tax filing for small and medium businesses would happen from 1 October and they will have to file monthly returns for the first three months of GST, which was implemented from 1 July, he said.

With small businesses and traders complaining about the compliance burden the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime has put on them, the panel decided to give the option to taxpayers to avail of the so-called Composition Scheme if their turnover is less than Rs 1 crore as against the previous limit of Rs 75 lakh.

So far, over 15 lakh out of the 90 lakh registered businesses have opted for the composition scheme.

The tax rate for traders of goods in the composition scheme is 1 percent, while it is 2 percent for manufacturers and 5 percent for suppliers of food or drinks for human consumption (without alcohol).

Service providers cannot opt for the composition scheme.

The scheme allows small businesses, including eateries, to pay 1-5 percent tax without having to deal with the three-stage filing process.

It allows small taxpayers to pay GST at a fixed rate of turnover and not go through the tedious GST formalities.

The scheme cannot be opted by supplier of services other than restaurant related services; manufacturer of ice cream, pan masala, or tobacco; casual taxable person or a non-resident taxable person; and businesses which supply goods through an e-commerce operator.

No input tax credit can be claimed by those opting for composition scheme.

Also, the taxpayer can only make intra-state supply (sell in the same state) and cannot undertake inter-state supply of goods.

With inputs from PTI
New Delhi: The all-powerful GST Council in its meeting on Friday is likely to provide some relief to exporters in terms of faster refunds as well as compliance.

The full-fledged meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council is also likely to assess the improvements in the GST Networks functioning, officials said. This will be the 22nd meeting of the Council.

Officials in the ministry said that the Group of Ministers, under Sushil Modi, set up to look into GSTN glitches will also brief the Council on the portals functioning.

The committee, set up under Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia on issues faced by exporters, is likely to submit its preliminary report to the Council on Friday

Based on that the Council is likely to recommend some relaxation for exporters so that their working capital which is locked up in refunds is released, officials said.

Also, the CBEC will inform the Council that it is ready to release IGST refunds to exporters from 10 October.

In a meeting with the revenue Secretary last month, exporters had said that an estimated Rs 65,000 crore is locked up in GST refunds.

Also officials said that easy compliance for exporters, like quarterly filing of returns instead of monthly filing, is likely to be discussed by the Council.

The government has already allowed exporters to furnish Letter of Undertaking (LUT) instead of bonds at the time of exports, which will ease the compliance burden and stop locking up of capital.
Mumbai: Delhi-based real estate tycoon Kushal Pal Singh of DLF was named as the top real estate entrepreneur this year on the Grohe Hurun India Real Estate Rich List, where 60 percent of the list comprises first generation entrepreneurs. Singh, 87, is the wealthiest real estate baron in the country with a fortune of Rs 23,460 crore, a statement said.

Other self-made entrepreneurs who made the list include Mangal Prabhat Lodha, 61, of Lodha Group in second position and Jitendra Virwani, 51, of Embassy Property

Developers, in third position the list revealed. While Lodha's networth stood at Rs 18,610 crore, Virwani's fortune is at Rs 16,700 crore.

Smita V Crishna (66), of Godrej Properties is the richest woman on the list with a fortune of Rs 2,210 crore.

"With a growing middle class population, it is imperative that India produces respectable brands in real estate in the next few years," Anas Rahman Junaid, MD and

Chief Researcher, Hurun Report India, said in a statement.

The report noted that the top five cities accounts for 86 percent of top 100 real estate rich-listers in India. The report also cautioned that majority of real estate developers are discreet, "so for every entrepreneur who they have found, they may have missed two."

"The cut off of Rs 300 crore is surprisingly low for a big country like India," Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher, Hurun Report Global noted.

The report further noted that RBI Housing price index indicates that demonetization has a positive impact on housing prices. "Housing price index rose 10 per cent for the 9 months ended on September 2017 compared to marginal growth rate of 3 percent in the previous fiscal. All major cities have recorded a price increase after demonetization except Jaipur where the prices are 3 per cent below the pre-demonetization level," the report said.

Lucknow, Chennai and Ahmedabad recorded post demonetization housing price rise of 30 percent, 20 percent and 17 percent respectively.

The report said that based on a survey with the real estate agents in and around the country, one could expect the house price to go up in the short-term and a possible

correction in five years especially in small cities.

"This is supported by inventory overhang and possible long-term effects of the current GDP slow down," it said.
New Delhi: Politics and populism have pushed the Modi government to cut the basic excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per litre each earlier this week. Dont mistake it for fiscal prudence; this step is in no way sensible as far as the fiscal math goes. The expected annual hit to the Central governments revenues has been estimated at a whopping Rs 26,000 crore. But the real question now is: why are state governments hesitating in step 2, which is lowering Value Added Tax (VAT) to further reduce the end price of petrol and diesel to consumers?

VAT is a major duty component adding to the end price of both petrol and diesel and varies widely across states. BJP-ruled Maharashtra levies 46.52 percent VAT (47.64 percent in Mumbai) on petrol, the highest in the country. Andhra Pradesh has 38.82 percent on petrol while BJP- ruled Madhya Pradesh levies 38.79 percent. Delhi and Himachal Pradesh levy 27 percent VAT each on petrol while Punjab charges 36.04 percent VAT. Haryana levies 26.25 percent VAT. Unless VAT is also slashed, the effective price reduction for the aam aadmi will remain puny.

This piece in Times of India talks of only six BJP-ruled states may cut VAT on petrol and diesel. Kerala said a reduction was not feasible, Odisha felt the request was unjustified. Prominent BJP states like Uttar Pradesh have yet to speak out over this issue.

State governments are reluctant to slash VAT because obviously their finances will suffer for this populism. But consider this: the moneys they collect by taxing fuels is rarely being seen to be used for welfare schemes or infrastructure upgradation, whatever be the governments contentions. Besides, if the ambitious (though poorly executed) farm loan waiver schemes can be launched to gain political goodwill, why not reduce the VAT and gather some more political heft?

An analysis by ratings agency CRISIL said recently that if other states also announce loan waiver schemes the way Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Punjab did, the collective cost to the exchequer would be about Rs 2.5 lakh crore  or 0.5 percent of GDP  per year. The cost could be significantly high for Tamil Nadu, which has the highest outstanding agricultural loans among states. Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, too, could feel some pressure, the brokerage added. Surely the lowering of VAT on petrol and diesel will not punch such a big hole in the states finances as loan waivers!

The Centre will likely reap rich dividends from this populist move in the impending polls beginning with Gujarat, states need to emulate the Centre. Without VAT reduction, the effective price difference for the consumer is less than Rs 3 per litre in each fuel, with VAT reduction this could be ramped up substantially. Whether the state governments agree with the NDA governments move or not, whether they find it a political masterstroke by the Centre and no real immediate political gain from slashing VAT for themselves, they must fall in line. Otherwise, each state government risks being perceived as anti-people. Would these state governments, mostly non-BJP, risk being trumped by it?

In the past too, getting 29 states on board with a single tax reform has been rather tough for any government holding the reins at the Centre. As of now, more than half the state government in India are either by the BJP or supported by the party. For years now, the Centre has been promising a reduction in VAT by various state governments to make flying more affordable and to also allow loss making Indian airlines to improve their margins. But the Centres pleas  when the Manmohan Singh government was in the saddle as well as now when Modi is in the chair  have largely fallen on deaf ears. Only now, under the UDAN scheme where state governments have to partner airlines to get flights to remote areas, have they come around with the necessary sops on ATF taxation.

This story in Hindu rules out any VAT reduction by Telangana. It quotes sources to say any such move will take its time, wait for another six months, to assess its tax revenue under the GST and also wait to see the response of neighbouring States - Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. At present, VAT on petroleum products is higher in AP and slightly lower in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka compared to Telangana.

With the Centre unable to persuade states to even lower VAT on the two fuels, will it find it easy to persuade the same state governments to bring these fuels under the GST regime?

This piece in Hindu BusinessLine published just days before the Centre cut the basic excise duty and exhorted stated to reduce VAT, quotes a senior BJP member saying, It is unlikely that the States  whether BJP-ruled or non-BJP  will agree (to waive the VAT component) as many of them are significantly dependent on revenues from these two products. And if they are brought under GST, the States will seek compensation for the losses; you cannot expect the States to redesign their revenue earning sources overnight.

All GST will do is bring uniformity in taxes; it will not mean taxes will come down, this piece went on to say quoting an oil industry executive.

In a note to clients, analysts at brokerage CLSA said that between October 2014 and Mar 2016, the Modi government took advantage of falling crude oil prices to raise duties on petrol and diesel by Rs12 and Rs14 per litre to Rs 21 and Rs 15, respectively. These data alone go to show that the present reduction (Rs 2 per litre) is not substantial compared to the hikes effected by the government since it came to power.

The move had caused excise duty collections from petroleum products to more than double over FY15-17 to Rs 2.4 trillon or an increase of 80 basis points of GDP. The fiscal deficit fell 60 basis points during the same period. The reversal of excise duties will have an annualised 16 basis points (~8 basis points for FY18) impact on the fiscal. This comes amidst continuing uncertainties on the GST revenue front. We estimate that the central governments share of GST collections at Rs 375 billion-425 billon/month is falling short of the targeted Rs 450 billion- 500 billion/month by Rs 70 billon-90 billion/month (~40-50 basis points annualised). Thus, concern on government revenues is likely to build-up. Lower revenues may not necessarily pass the markets test of a government stimulus.

Be that as it may, now that Centre has bitten the bullet on excise duties, states would be foolish to hide behind fiscal compulsions and desist lowering VAT.
Sharanya Gopinathan

September was Kangana Ranauts month, man.

Two weeks before the release of Simran, she gave that explosive interview to Aap Ki Adalat where she talked about her relationship with Hrithik Roshan and his responses to her in the media. Reviews said that she was the only good thing about Simran, and she rounded the month off on a hilarious note when she teamed up with AIB for 'The Bollywood Diva Song' (you know, Coz I Have Vagina Re)  where she called out pretty much every single person whos been sexist to her during the course of her career. Including Hrithik Roshan.

All that truth-telling clearly struck a nerve, because the opposition PR machine has swung into action. On 2 October, sources confirmed to Republic TV that Hrithik had filed a complaint with the Cyber Crime Cell against Kangana Ranaut for stalking him, through a series of emails that apparently show how doggedly Ranaut pursued him. Except that this is a pretty gross misrepresentation, given that this complaint was sent by Hrithik to the Cyber Crime Cell back in 2016, when it was discovered that someone had sent Ranaut emails pretending to be Hrithik.

Back when he was pursuing this case in 2016, Hrithik had explicitly said he was going after the impostor, not Kangana. Now, media houses are relentlessly, and irresponsibly, covering these leaked emails, misrepresenting details from the earlier case and doing their damnedest to make Kangana look crazy. Daddy Rakesh Roshan also spoke to the media on the morning of 4 October, saying that the truth would come out soon.

Also read: Thank you, Hrithik Roshan. Youve given Indian men the license to play victim

The timing of all this revived media attention now  into evidence that was actually part of a different 2016 case  is a bit hard to miss, given that just last month Ranaut spoke extensively about her relationship with Hrithik, including mentioning that he ran away from a meeting his father set up between them both to discuss things. As Kanganas sister Rangoli has said in a series of angry tweets, and as Kangana's lawyer also pointed out in a statement, theres no real reason for the hubbub over this 2016 case and the emails to come up now. The only plausible explanation is that Hrithik or some sympathetic PR team has raked it up again to make Ranaut look like a dangerous, unhinged stalker in retaliation for her recent revelations.

The funny thing is, if this is a vindictive PR campaign, its doing a pretty lousy job. The plan seems to have been to make some of her old emails public in a different context to make Ranaut look bad  but this plan fails spectacularly on its own evidence. I read some of these emails, and all they seem to indicate is that Kangana and Hrithik were in a complicated-but-comfortable romantic relationship, where they seemed to be past initial flirtations and had really gotten into the good stuff.

Because however hard the media tries (and some are trying very hard), this is a tough sell. Some outlets like Republic TV started their coverage by saying some of the emails were so sexually explicit that they cant show them on television (which reminded me of the time TV9 cameras in Hyderabad followed young women out of a pub and put unnecessary black boxes on their fully covered chests to make it look like they were scantily dressed). They then showed us emails they could apparently show, and boy, were theyboring.

They read just like the emails between a comfortable couple who go through their share of frequent ups and downs. They read like emails from a long-suffering woman in a steady relationship with a f*ckboy: she says things like Its super boring to send these morning and night mails but i feel our relationship has been so damaged and past few months have been so traumatic that I dont want to take any chance, though i think its not reasonable for me to be walking on egg shells like that [sic].

There are pages and pages of chatty, cheerful and personal details of the minutiae of her day  about how she cancelled her meetings that day, how Rangs' and Neha wont be coming another day because its Ganesh Chaturthi and they dont come on weekends anyway, about her dubbing, editing and other work, how she felt when she woke up (like crying), how shes feeling right now (bit better), daily squabbles with friends and family  basically all the frightfully boring stuff that crosses through your mind daily, and that only your boyfriend will sit and listen to.

Theres even one part where Kangana is telling Hrithik how Ranbir Kapoor once made a slightly straight forward advance" towards her, and deleted her from his BBM contacts when she spurned him by telling him she was in love with someone else. She sounds exactly like so many women I know who make a point of telling their significant others every detail of their interactions with other men, just so that their men feel secure and they dont have to deal with any feelings of guilt.

When talking about Ranbir Kapoor, she also requests Hrithik to stop checking her email inbox, as It will bring confusion and trauma for you as you will never have access to the whole story and you will see things in bits and pieces, it will mislead you into assuming thing, but after we start to date please try and stop doing this, I am sure you will, as I am very transparent in my relationships. You wont feel the need.

Anyone whos been in a relationship can see that these seem less the emails sent by a crazed obsessive, than one half of a conversation between two lovers. Some emails even end with little references to juicy lips and kisses and the other loving things couples say to each other. None of this, to my mind, screams stalker.

The problem is, we have no clue if and how Hrithik responded to any of the 400+ emails he received from her. The evidence submitted by Hrithiks team in the 2016 case seems to just contain copies of her emails to him. There is no mention of his own responses to any of the hundreds of emails from Kangana to him, or of other communications through other mediums between the two stars.

Ludicrously, several news channels also tried to take one excerpt  where Kangana says i feel our relationship has been so damaged and past few months have been so traumatic that I dont want to take any chance [] but when we start to date i know things are going to change  as proof that they had never been together as a couple. To me, it just sounds like a woman being led on by a married man, just kept hanging with promises of a legitimate future (Oh baby, were still finalising the divorce, just two more months before we begin our Real Lives together).

Considering how badly they wanted to go after her, you feel bad for the media and whichever PR team is behind all this, because if this is all theyve got, theyre in a pretty pickle.

The Ladies Finger (TLF) is a leading online womens magazine
It is hard to entirely dislike any film starring Saif Ali Khan. He has such a likeable personality and such natural ease before the camera, that he ends up adding charm to any project he is a part of, however flimsy or dismal it might be. Chef is not dismal, but it is flimsy.

Airlift director Raja Krishna Menons new film is an official remake of the Hollywood film Chef directed by and starring Jon Favreau, in which a once shining star on the American culinary scene has a meltdown when a critic skewers his restaurant. The video clip of his moment of weakness turns viral and ends up almost ruining him professionally. Instead of allowing that trough in his career to translate into a complete full stop, he uses the opportunity to find a new road and simultaneously bond with the son he had with his ex-wife.

In the Hindi Chef, Khan plays top chef Roshan Kalra who is plateauing and loses his job at a plush restaurant in New York when he hits a dissatisfied patron. At first feeling sorry for himself and angry at what he perceives as an injustice, he soon realises that he had indeed allowed his work to qualitatively decline. The customer, it dawns on him, was, in fact, right.

On the urging of his good friend and former colleague Vinnie, (the lovely Sobhita Dhulipala from Anurag Kashyaps Raman Raghav 2.0 last year), he uses the hiatus to visit his son in Kochi, where the boy lives with his mother Radha Menon, a successful classical dancer who was once married to Roshan. Without going into the details of how it happens, it can be told that like in the original, the father and child end up on a road trip in a food truck Roshan has decided to run.

What Chef has going for it is that Saif is as seemingly effortless as always before the camera. So is Janakiraman who, as it happens, is a hottie. Seriously, she is exquisite. Janakiraman is a pan-India actress with a filmography dominated by Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu. She is not a known face in Bollywood though, which is truly Bollywoods loss.

Both lead actors share good chemistry with debutant Svar Kamble who plays Roshan and Radhas kid Armaan. And in a small role, Milind Soman reminds us that there are few creatures in this world sexier than a well-built man in a well-draped mundu.

The thing about Kerala is that it is so spectacular, that wherever you aim your camera you will automatically see beauty, and director of photography Priya Seth takes full advantage of the picturesque landscape at her disposal to lay out an array of stunning visuals for our consumption. That becomes particularly important because after a while, Chef transitions into a road film, taking us along from Kerala to Goa and finally Delhi. What Seth does not serve us though are food visuals, a fact that turns out to be this films death knell since it is  wait for it  a food movie.

So yeah, Chef is a slick production, with everything and everyone looking good from start to finish (I particularly enjoyed Anuradha Shettys designs of the interiors of Roshan, Radha and Soman's character Bijus homes  each one markedly, and interestingly, different) but when viewed as a whole, it is an extremely frustrating experience. The joy of watching any road movie is to see the changing geography and cultures of the places the protagonists pass through. We get a decent serving of the former and a teeny bit of the latter here. What is truly unforgivable though is Chefs lack of fervour for food.

It is hard to believe that Menon is not well-acquainted with the genre. If he was not, all he needed to do for inspiration and education was to look within Kerala, where most of Chef is set, and from where, just this year, Angamaly Diaries dished out a plethora of thoroughly exhilarating food scenes on screen, set in the roadside eateries and kitchens of a small southern Indian town. Alternatively, he could have sought out reference material from the film industry in which he operates. Although Bollywood does not frequent food films, just recently in 2013 director Ritesh Batra brought home to us the enticing sights and sounds of cooking in The Lunchbox  oil bubbling in a pan, the whoosh when fresh onions meet the surface of that oil, the crackle of mustard, human hands affectionately putting it all together. Forget these two films  all he needed to do was watch the original Chef for guidance.

Favreaus film was not earth-shatteringly brilliant, but it had clarity about what it wanted to do and no hesitation in doing it. It told a heartwarming story, and was almost meditative in the way it captured the lead characters intense romance with cooking. To see him slice, chop and dice vegetables, select meats and veggies, fry, bake, boil and roast, and then plate up as a painter would work a canvas or a dancer would work a stage was enough to get any normal viewers mouth watering and heart racing. That is, after all, the primary mission of any such film.

Throughout the Hindi Chef, I wanted to shake my fist at the screen and scream at it in anger when large passages went by with no reference to food at all, interspersed with scenes where people were shown cooking, serving and eating in long and medium shots, with little to no focus on what lay on their plates, the processes that got it there or their pleasure while tasting the end product. It took almost 45 minutes for Chef to give us an entire scene devoted to the hero conceptualising and cooking a complete dish, with the camera closing in on his ingredients, his methods and his invention. I am not even a particularly obsessive foodie, but the moment that scene was over, I immediately felt the urge to rush back home to my kitchen and try out that thing Roshan christens a rotzza.

That is the effect that any good food film should have on its audience.

When Armaan tries chhole bhature for the first time and the camera gingerly watched him at arm's length, I almost yelled, Oh, for Gods sake, zoom in on that bloody bhatura, will you? Somewhere, there is a mention of idiyappam, a.k.a. string hoppers, a steamed rice-noodle preparation with a coconut filling that is a popular part of Malayali cuisine but little known in the north  again, no close up. Was this the DoPs failure, or did she take those shots and did the editor remove them, or was it the directors call not to feature such shots at all? Whatever be the reason, Menons film takes the chefing out of Chef which is pretty much like taking the music out of a musical. Whats the point then? Huh?

Raghu Dixit has come up with some agreeable background music for Chef, but his songs are surprisingly bland, with the exception of an up-tempo number called Shugal laga le that revs up the mood as soon as it is played. Dixit himself makes an appearance to sing it, and his introduction is one of the films most awkwardly constructed scenes. The other comes in the interactions between Roshan and Biju. Both appear to be the most hurriedly written, poorly developed parts of the screenplay.

There is some sweetness to be experienced in the interactions between Roshan and Armaan and separately between Roshan and Radha, some insights that emerge from the story of Roshans early struggles and poignancy in his experiences in Amritsar, but it is just not enough. Besides, the lethargic pace of the narrative underlines the flimsiness of the screenplay by Ritesh Shah, Suresh Nair and Menon.

Ankur Tewaris lyrics for Shugal laga le, Ghoomey awaara se / Mere kadam jahaan / Bantaa gaya bas rastaa / Rahi miley jahaan bhi / Pagley manmauji jo / Badhta gaya bas kaarvaan (Wherever I wandered, wherever my path took me, I made my own road / Wherever I encountered fellow travellers, crazy whimsical beings, the caravan got longer), capture the essence of what this film wanted to be and might have been if it had explored Roshans relationships  with the owner of Galli, with food, with Radha, with Armaan and with himself  in greater depth.

On the plus side, the blending of Hindi, Malayalam and English in Ritesh Shahs dialogues is neatly done, though the writing teams lack of research is shocking in a scene where a character informs Roshan that he knows Hindi, which he describes as the national language. Err, India does not have a national language, Team Chef. Have you not read the Constitution or the history of the countrys language movement? It is bad enough that Hindi propagandists work hard to spread this lie, but such ignorance from a screenwriting crew is grossly inexcusable.

This is not to say that Chef has nothing to offer. It is pleasant in parts, pretty almost throughout, and the cast is appealing. In the absence of heft and a commitment to its genre though, it remains an ineffectual film.

A close scrutiny of the credits reveals that there was actually a food stylist  Sandhya Kumar  on the rolls. What the heck? Why bring her on and then waste her work? It also turns out that the chefs at Galli Kitchen, Roshans New York eatery, were all drawn from JW Marriott, including some leading names from the world of gastronomy. Umm, why bother with such detailing in the casting if you aint gonna show them cook? Oh lord, I want to bang my head on my table in exasperation as I write this.

Saif Ali Khan, who I believe is one of Hindi cinemas most underrated actors, needs to choose better.

It does not speak well of Menons latest screen offering, that I felt the need to compensate for the deep dissatisfaction I felt after watching it by coming home and watching an entire episode of Masterchef Australia. To see Gary rustle up a simple plate of roast chicken with pea custard and fondant potatoes was a yummilicous and sensual experience. Thats what Chef should have been but is not.
The Kangana Ranaut-Hrithik Roshan row just got messier with the former's lawyer posting another series of questions on behalf of his client.

After keeping mum on the allegations made against him by Ranaut in a talk show, Roshan took to social media to clear the air. Now, Rizwan Siddiquee, the actress' lawyer has taken to Twitter to speak on behalf of the actress.

On 5 October, the Kaabil actor raised some questions about the allegations made against him. He claims that although they have worked together, he has "never met the lady in question in private".

He also questioned the authenticity of the allegations, saying that it was practically impossible for two individuals, constantly under media glare, to successfully have a 7-year-long affair with no one else having a clue  not even the paparazzi.

Although Ranaut has refrained from responding to his questions directly, she has put forth her own set of questions through her lawyer.

Kangana seeks answers to these relevant questions. Hrithik claims to give respect to women. YOUR GUESS.#KanganaVsHrithik #kanganahitsback pic.twitter.com/jdNr6Qoqgv  Rizwan Siddiquee (@RizwanSiddiquee) October 5, 2017

The post poses several questions for Roshan, asking him about the alleged rumours he spread about Ranaut. From his claims about her being mentally unstable and an obsessive stalker, Siddiquee asks him to produce concrete proof to validate his statements.

With the two taking frequent hits at each other, a peaceful resolution seems unlikely.
As has been widely reported, Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya tied the the knot in a lavish three-day affair in Goa on 6 October. First, a traditional South Indian ceremony was held on 6 October, and the couple will also have a church wedding shortly. Pictures of the first ceremony were recently released by Chaitanya's father, veteran actor Akkineni Nagarjuna.

Samantha Ruth Prabhu shared a few pictures in a white gown designed by Kresha Bajaj, who also created her engagement ensemble.

Akkineni Nagarjuna also shared pictures from the initial parts of the ceremony on social media:

The following photo shows Amala Akkineni, Nagarjuna, Naga Chaitanya and Akhil Akkineni posing for a family photograph.

Waiting for @Samanthaprabhu2  joining the family this evening. pic.twitter.com/7Li77LzHKa  Nagarjuna Akkineni (@iamnagarjuna) October 6, 2017

In another picture, we see the bridegroom flanked by Daggubati Venkatesh, who is his maternal uncle and Nagarjuna, his father. Dressed in simple kurta-pyjama, Chaitanya is all smiles for the camera.

The couple's church wedding took place on 7 October, and it looked like it was straight out of a fairy tale. Prabhu donned a light purple gown designed by Kresha Bajaj and Chaitanya complimented his bride in a black tuxedo.

Prabhu and Chaitanya met on the sets of Ye Maaya Chesave in 2010 and started seeing each other to finally get married seven years later. The two plan to spend some time in New York, where they shot for their first film together, after the wedding.

After the three-day extravaganza wraps up in Goa, a lavish reception will be held in Hyderabad.
Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu's much-awaited destination wedding is all set to take place today, i.e. 6 October, in Goa. Although, both actors have managed to keep major details under wraps, according to a Times of India report, the wedding is going to cost a whopping Rs 10 crore. Here are some other details about the lavish affair that you might have missed out:

The venue

The couple got engaged on 27 January and will now marry in a traditional Hindu ceremony followed by a church wedding. Reports suggest that the arrangements have been made, including a chartered flight to fly some special guests from Hyderabad to Goa, for the beach wedding.

 A post shared by Samantha Ruth Prabhu (@samantharuthprabhuoffl) on Oct 2, 2017 at 6:59am PDT

The guest-list As many as 150 high-profile politicians and actors are expected to attend the three-day extravaganza. Nagarjuna had specified to Telangana Today that only the immediate family members of the Akkineni, Daggubati and Samantha's family will be attending the ceremony. However, a report by The News Minute suggests that the guest-list includes names of several stars like Rana Daggubati, Allu Arjun, Ram Charan Teja, Mahesh Babu, Rahul Ravindran, Chinmayi Sripaada and so on. After the traditional ceremonies are done, a lavish reception will be held in Hyderabad, the date of which will be announced soon. The wedding ensemble For the South Indian ceremony, Prabhu will be donning a sari that originally belonged to Chaitanya's grandmother, D Rajeshwari. Expressing joy at wearing something that could be called an "ode to her fiance's grandmother", Prabhu told Mumbai Mirror that the sari will be paired with custom-made gold jewellery. For the Christian wedding, Prabhu has entrusted her friend and designer Kresha Bajaj with the task of creating another magical outfit. Bajaj had also designer her engagement ensemble, which had the couple's love-story embroidered on it.

He put a ring on it  #myengagementsaree #mystory #mywholelife #thankyoukoecsh #cantgetbetter  A post shared by Samantha Ruth Prabhu (@samantharuthprabhuoffl) on Jan 29, 2017 at 9:42pm PST

My favourite pic  @koecsh @kreshabajaj @rohanshrestha @vanrajzaveri @tokala.ravi @chakrapu.madhu Thankyou A post shared by Samantha Ruth Prabhu (@samantharuthprabhuoffl) on Sep 26, 2017 at 6:31am PDT

Celebrations thereafter

For their honeymoon, the couple have decided to take off to New York, which is where the couple met for the first time, while shooting for Ye Maaya Chesave in 2010. Since both of them have several projects lined up, they will only go on a three-day break around Christmas, keeping a longer holiday for later.
While the fifth episode of Viu's 13-part series Social successfully captivated the viewer's curiosity by giving a glimpse into Myra's life, the latest episode further unfurls a riveting angle to this investigation.

Continuing from where the last episode left off, Prithvi and gang are utterly confused as to why the IP address of the strange video on CtrlFVeda's social media page led them to Myra. Doubting her intentions, Prithvi and Neelesh argue over her motive to help and if she might be the reason for Veda's disappearance.

Meanwhile, Myra comes across a valuable lead which might help the gang find Veda. She takes a risk and decides to venture into the secret but dangerous world of exotic partying. But she gets caught and has to devise a way out before it is too late.

Setting his priorities straight, Prithvi decides to focus on finding his sister. He delves deeper into the dark web and comes across a suspicious organisation called 'Hansa'. Digging deeper he successfully rattles the cage leading him a step further in his investigation.

Is the dark web a glimmer of hope for Prithvi?
Five people, allegedly associated with Goa-based right-wing Hindu organisation Sanatan Sanstha, have now emerged as the key suspects in the murder of Bengaluru-based journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh.

According to The Indian Express, the five missing suspects are Rudra Patil (37) from Sangli, Praveen Limkar (34) from Kolhapur, Jayaprakash alias Anna (45) from Mangalore, Sarang Akolkar (38) from Pune and Vinay Pawar (32) from Satara.

Patil, Akolkar and Pawar are also key suspects in the murders of rationalist Narendra Dabholkar, leftist thinker and rationalist Govind Pansare, and Kannada scholar MM Kalburgi.

Limkar, Anna, Akolkar and Patil are also suspects in the 2009 bomb blast in Madgaon in which two Sanatan Sanstha members were killed when transporting an IED that was supposed to be planted at a festival function. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has also named these four Sanstha members as among its most wanted suspects and a red-corner notice has also been issued against their named by the Interpol.

The worst part is that despite their alleged links to these crimes, none of these five suspects have been caught till now.

The Hindu, in a report, stated that in March 2017, CBI announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for any information on Pawar and Akolkar. CBI claims these two suspects are close associates of Veerendra Tawde from Panvel, arrested in June 2016 in the Dabholkar murder case.

Akolkar has been absconding since he was named as one of the suspects in the Madgaon blast. According to the CBI, Pawar was one of the assailants in the Dabholkar murder case and Akolkar was a conspirator.

"While the plan to eliminate Dabholkar was being discussed between Tawade and Akolkar through coded emails and secret meetings since 2008, it was only in 2010 that Akolkar clearly discussed targeting Dabholkar on emails exchanged between the two," a 2016 report in The Indian Express had said.

A 2016 report in The Times of India said that Akolkar was brought up in a middle class family in Pune. His father Dilip was working with a private firm on the Pune-Satara road while his mother Kanchan is a homemaker. Akolkar completed his electronics engineering course from a private college in Pune.

He worked for a private company for a few months but soon quit his job and became a full-time 'sadhak' (follower) of the Sanatan Sanstha. The report also said that local police and intelligence agencies "never got wind about his presence in Pune".

Another 2016 report in The Hindu said that Akolkar was likely in touch with his family members. His parents often stayed at the Sanstha's ashram in Goa and his sister and brother-in-law were both sadhaks with the Sanstha.

Patil is reportedly a childhood friend of Sameer Gaikwad, the prime accused in the Pansare murder case who was arrested in September 2015. Patil has also been absconding since he was named as a suspect in the Madgaon blast.

According to The Quint, Karnataka CID had said that Patil was a lead suspect in the Kalburgi murder case. The office bearers of Sanatan Sanstha had also said that Patil was associated with the Sanstha as a volunteer.

Deccan Chronicle had earlier reported that Patil, in fact, is suspected to be the mastermind of the Madgaon blast.

A 2015 report in The Indian Express had shed some light on the location of Anna, Patil, Akolkar and Limkar. "We tried to find them but were not able to do so. Initial investigations showed that they escaped to Nepal. Sometime in 2014, they were reported to have returned," the report had quoted an NIA investigator as saying.
Acting chairperson of National Commission for Women (NCW) Rekha Sharma said the panel's preliminary investigation found eve-teasing was rampant on the Banaras Hindu University campus and promised to install special security cameras soon. Her statement comes a day after she said a probe will be launched into September's violence on the campus.

Addressing the media in Varanasi about the BHU violence where female students were allegedly lathicharged, Sharma said: "There were many issues, but the girls wanted to talk peacefully. The protests took another turn when hijacked by outsiders."

"We found that eve-teasing is rampant on the campus, with even campus boys getting involved," said Sharma.

There were many issues but girls wanted to talk peacefully.Protest took another turn when it was hijacked by outsiders: NCW Chairperson #BHU pic.twitter.com/XsBt06K2E6  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) October 6, 2017

On Thursday, the NCW chief had told the media that BHU Vice-Chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi would be given a chance to express his side of the story. "If he (Vice Chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi) wants to put up his side of the story, it is good, otherwise he will be asked to appear before the National Commission for Women and do so," Sharma had said earlier.

However, on Friday, Sharma said the vice chancellor had not met her or picked up her calls, reported ANI. "The vice-chancellor neither met me nor picked calls. He will be summoned to Delhi," said Sharma further adding the vice chancellor "didn't play his part in controlling the situation. Tripathi went on leave citing personal reasons on Monday, days after the violence took place.

Sharma said the NCW asked the authorities to increase security near Naveen Hostel. "Its condition is terrible," said Sharma. She also mentioned that a decision on curfew timings for both boys and girls will be announced within a day or two. She also said a few boys, who were not BHU students, were illegally staying in the hostels. The girls have been asked to identify them and the list will then be given to the SSP, added Sharma.

Addressing concerns over students' safety on the BHU campus, Sharma said, "Special security cameras are installed, while high tech cameras will be installed soon. We have also asked the SSP to deploy forces in campus for a few days."

The NCW chief went on to assure that the people responsible for the violence will be "rounded up, immediately ousted from the campus and legal action will be taken against them."

Violence had erupted on the BHU campus on 24 September when students from the boys' hostels hurled stones and petrol bombs at the police and paramilitary forces on VC Lodge Road on campus.

Students had gone berserk following reports of some hostel inmates suffering injuries in the cane-charge by policemen near the VC lodge.

Police had resorted to use of force after a group of boys blocked the gate of the vice chancellor's lodge in support of girls residing in hostels protesting against the menace of harassment on campus.

The girls had held a 13-hour demonstration even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also the Lok Sabha MP from Varanasi, was in the city on a two-day visit.

With inputs from PTI
Over a month after India and China ended the tense standoff at Doka La near Sikkim, reports about Beijing widening an already existing road around 12-kilometres from the site of conflict in Doka La coupled with Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa's acknowledgement that Chinese troops are still deployed in Chumbi Valley has triggered fears of another engagement between the two countries.

"The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, their forces in Chumbi Valley are still deployed and I expect them to withdraw as their exercise in the area gets over," Dhanoa told reporters on Thursday. He also hoped that the troops would withdraw when summer exercise gets over.

PTI also quoted sources saying that the troops will leave the area during winters. However, Hindustan Times quoted sources as saying that "the PLA was constructing a road in Chumbi valley but added that the area was under Chinese control and the development did not have strategic implications for India."

On 28 August, when both the countries announced the decision of disengagement in the region, the Chinese foreign ministry had explicitly said, "The Chinese border troops will continue with their patrols in the Dong Lang area."

"China will continue with its exercise of sovereign rights to protect territorial sovereignty in accordance with the stipulations of the border-related historical treaty."

China also said that in view of the changing landscape, it will make "necessary adjustments and deployments". Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, remained mum on the withdrawal of PLA troops, she made it very clear that India is withdrawing all its border personnel and equipment that were illegally on the Chinese territory to the Indian side.

India, on its part, released a short statement, saying "on this basis, expeditious disengagement of border personnel at the face-off site at Doklam has been agreed to and is on-going."

It is important to note here that while the two sides decided to withdraw troops from the disputed region, there was no explicit communication about the road that the Chinese side was building or even about the stationing of PLA troops in the region in future. Therefore, any troop deployment from the Chinese side does not indicate that another standoff is in the offing.

The Indian Express reported that the presence of Chinese troops thinned in the area after the process of "disengagement" began, but one PLA battalion remains on the plateau, said sources. The troops did not dismantle any of their tents and still have road construction equipment, hinting at the fact that the PLA troops did not leave the area entirely. China only 'adjusted' as the situation demanded.

While this suggests a return to the status quo, The Wire noted, "there is no clarity on whether it was the status quo ante that prevailed before China started building the road, or before Indian soldiers went in to stop them building that road."

China, according to the report, had previously built roads in Doka La but was never seriously challenged. "This time (before the standoff), the road construction went much further south, with plans to connect the road north of Torsa nala to the Zompelri Ridge, where Royal Bhutan Army has a post."

A document released by the Chinese government during the standoff also claimed that India was notified before the road-building exercise. "China did not cross the boundary in its road building, and it notified India in advance in full reflection of China's goodwill."

Therefore, China deploying PLA troops or even constructing or widening a road does not translate to Beijing sounding a war bugle. Despite India arguing that any road construction is in violation of a 2012 "understanding" between the special representatives that the tri-junction boundary point would be decided "in consultation" with all three countries, there's no stopping China. It has been regularly patrolling the area, without opposition from Bhutan or India until now.
The Jammu and Kashmir Police on Friday said suspected militants shot dead a man in Tral area of south Kashmir's Pulwama district.

#NewsAlert -- 1 civilian injured after terrorists open fire in J&K's Tral, @islahmufti with the report pic.twitter.com/CJLwknhEYH  News18 (@CNNnews18) October 6, 2017

The man, identified as Rafiq Ahmad Bhat alias Dadaa, received multiple bullet wounds and was critically injured by the ultras at Tral Bala at 1.50 pm on Friday, a police official said.

He said Bhat was taken to a local hospital and doctors referred him to a different hospital. However, he succumbed to injuries on the way.

This is not the first instance where civilians have been injured in a militant attack. In a grenade attack on 21 September, three civilians were killed and 30 injured.

Among the three people who died was a college student, said the Jammu and Kashmir Police.

Police had said that militants hurled a grenade near a bus stand in Tral town of Pulwama district. The injured persons include eight paramilitary troops, four policemen, and some civilians.

Attacks in Pulwama have become common. In August, eight security personnel, including four CRPF men, were killed when militants conducted a suicide attack on a police complex in south Pulwama.

The attack led to a massive gunfight wherein three militants were killed. The militants were believed to be foreign mercenaries.

With inputs from PTI
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has issued a FEMA show cause notice to an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operative and two Delhi-based hawala dealers in connection with a terror financing case.

The central probe agency said it had issued the notice under provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) against "Mohammed Ayub Mir and two other Delhi-based hawala dealers, Bech Raj Bengani and Harbans Singh".

It said Mir was an active member of Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Mir, it said, was arrested by the special cell of the Delhi Police when he was collecting Rs 7 lakh through hawala dealing from Singh on instructions of a London-based entity.

"Mir has confessed his association with the LeT. He was involved in collecting and delivering money through hawala for the terrorist organisation. Singh has also admitted that he was engaged in delivering the hawala payments on the instructions of Bengani," the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said in a statement.

Bengani, it said, was a "racketeer in hawala trade and a regular offender, and was earlier booked under the FERA (now repealed) and a penalty of Rs 50 lakh was imposed on him in 1993".

Mir and Singh were also convicted under POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) in 2004, the ED said.

"Further adjudication proceedings against the suspects under FEMA will follow," it said.
Bengaluru: Slain journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh's family on Thursday demanded that investigators should not only catch her killers, but also find out the motive for the crime.

Lankesh, the Editor of Kannada tabloid "Gauri Lankesh Patrike", was shot dead outside her residence in Bengaluru on 5 September by unidentified assailants.

"The only question the Lankesh family has is not just about her killers but why she was killed," her brother Indrajit Lankesh told reporters in Bengaluru.

"A lot of questions will be answered (by knowing the motive) - whether it is MM Kalburgi's, Narendra Dhabolkar's or Govind Pansare's murders, through Gauri's murderers," he added.

"We request the government and the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to catch the killers as soon as possible and find out why Gauri was killed," he said, adding, "by knowing the motive, we can all give justice to Gauri".

Lankesh's brother Indrajit, mother Indira and sister Kavitha addressed a press conference after Thursday's announcement of annual Anna Politkovskaya Award posthumously for Gauri Lankesh, given to women human rights defenders from war and conflict zones.

The family has been in constant touch with the investigation team, he said.

"Any details regarding the investigation aren't being given out by the officials (to public) as there have already been speculations in the media, including targeting my brother (Indrajit) many times," Kavitha Lankesh, a filmmaker, said.

"It is horrible that at a time when we are all distressed, different people are being targeted at different times," she said.

"We cannot say we are happy with the investigation, until the killers are found. But we are satisfied that some kind of work is going on, with extensive research by the SIT," she added.

Karnataka Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy on Monday said the investigation team had got "some clues" on the killers and knows who is behind the crime, but is waiting to gather more concrete evidence.

The 150-member SIT is headed by Inspector General of Police BK Singh with Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) MN Anucheth as its main Investigation Officer.

The state government had announced Rs 10 lakh reward to anyone giving information leading to the killers.
A 19-year-old girl was allegedly gang raped by five men and shot at for trying to escape in a village near Lucknow raising concern over the law and order situation in the state.

The incident is from Wednesday, when the girl had gone to the fields to relieve herself at around 7.30 pm. She was allegedly assaulted by a group of five men who shot at her when she tried to fight them back, Satish Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Lucknow told CNN-News18. The police have arrested four of the men in connection with the case on Friday.

The girl had reportedly travelled from New Delhi to appear for her Bachelors of Education (B.Ed) entrance exam.

In a bid to escape, the girl got shot on the face, near her nose. As of now, the accused have been booked under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for sexually assaulting the girl. Senior officials told CNN-News18 the FIR was lodged as per the victim's complaint. Further charges will be framed after the victim's medical examination reports are released.

She is currently undergoing treatment at the trauma centre in a local hospital, according to ANI.

The incident also raises concerns over security for women in the state governed by BJP-led Yogi Adityanath despite presence of anti-Romeo squads and other safety measures.

The incident in Uttar Pradesh comes shortly after a 16-year-old schoolgirl was abducted and raped inside a hotel in Shamli district of Uttar Pradesh by two men on Thursday. The police has registered a case under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act against the accused.

According to the complaint lodged by the victim's father, her daughter was abducted and taken to a hotel in the district, where she was raped by one of the accused. Later they dropped her off near her school. Police said that a hunt was on to nab the accused.
Darjeeling: West Bengal BJP chief Dilip Ghosh was heckled on Thursday by a group of people which asked saffron leaders visiting Darjeeling to leave immediately, leading to chaos at the venue of a party meeting and its cancellation.

A scuffle erupted between BJP supporters and the agitators when Ghosh, heading a party delegation, arrived at the venue in the evening where a 'Vijaya Sammelani' of party workers was scheduled to be held. As soon as he arrived, the agitators shouted slogans demanding that the BJP delegates leave the hills and showed them black flags. The BJP supporters were far outnumbered by the agitators, who beat them up.

The BJP state chief tried to pacify the agitators but failed. He was then heckled following which he cancelled the meeting and lodged a complaint at a nearby police station. Ghosh told reporters, "All of a sudden they rushed to the dais and heckled everybody including me. I tried to pacify them but they kept shouting slogans and pushing others. I left the venue and walked to the nearby police station."

He said, "On the way my party supporters, who were with me, were brutally beaten up by the agitators." Darjeeling superintendent of police Akhilesh Chaturvedi said, "There was scuffle between two groups and a few people were injured. A case has been registered and we have started the investigation. The culprits will be arrested soon." Rallies were taken out by the BJP in Kolkata as well as in Hoogly, Burdwan and several other places in the state to protest against the heckling of Ghosh.

The party demanded immediate arrest of the culprits. An angry Ghosh alleged that the attack on him and the BJP leaders was "pre-planned" and that he was not provided any security despite being an MLA. "It was pre-planned attack. And I think this planning has its roots in Kolkata. The administration and police were just mute spectators as our supporters were beaten up and I was heckled. I was not given any security cover. I have lodged a police complaint about the incident," he said.

Ghosh claimed that the agitators were supporters of expelled Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) leader Binay Tamang. Tamang denied the allegation. Asked whether Ghosh was provided security for the meeting, Chauturvedi said, "The police was outside the venue. We had also provided security for those programmes which were held earlier and we had information. He (Ghosh) will be provided complete security."

Reacting to the incident, state parliamentary affairs minister Partha Chatterjee said, "The BJP had gone there to foment trouble when peace was returning to the hills. Instead of taking police personnel along with him, he (Ghosh) had taken hired goons. If he doesn't ask for security then how can the police provide security cover?"

Senior north Bengal Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and minister Gautam Deb said, "The scuffle was an outburst of anger of the hill people against the sinister designs of the BJP."

Ghosh said, "These protests are fuelled and funded by the TMC. Except the GJM and Bimal Gurung, all other hill parties are mere extra players who are working on behalf of the TMC." He claimed that the people of the hills were with the BJP and the GJM and that was why their leader received "so much" support wherever they were going.

He said hundreds of people in the hills greeted the BJP leaders and shared their problems. The response was tremendous, he said.

Earlier on Thursday while entering Darjeeling from Kalimpong, Ghosh and his team faced protests by supporters of the Gorkha National Liberation Front (GNLF), who like some other hill parties demanded that the BJP leaders leave Darjeeling immediately. Ghosh and his team were also shown black flags and asked to refrain from disturbing the "peace and stability" in the region.

They had faced protests on Wednesday too by supporters of the Jan Andolan Party and Binay Tamang during their visit to Kalimpong. Posters with the messages such as 'BJP go back' and asking the hill people to boycott the party's delegation were put up.

The state BJP chief had, however, refuted the GNLF allegation that he was in the hills to foment trouble and claimed that the protests against the BJP delegation were fuelled by the ruling TMC.

Ghosh claimed it was due to his initiative that peace has returned to Darjeeling. "I talked to the Union home minister, after which peace returned to the Darjeeling hills," he said.

The BJP team is scheduled to visit various places in the hills and neighbouring Sikkim and hold meetings with its workers and the GJM leadership.

Expelled GJM leader and vice-chairman of the board of administrators (BoA), Anit Thapa also accused the BJP of trying to foment trouble in the hills. "What was it (BJP) doing for the three-and-a-half

months when the hills were burning? Now that peace has returned, it wants to create trouble," he alleged. GNLF spokesman Niraj Zimba later said his party had protested in the morning as it felt the BJP was trying to destablise the peace in the hills.

Zimba, however, condemned the violence that took place in Darjeeling and said in democracy Ghosh has every right to conduct a political programme.

A BJP leader said, "We want immediate arrest of the culprits. The way the attack took place suggests that it has been a planned one and the administration was a silent spectator."
Ahmedabad: A special SIT judge, hearing the 2002 Naroda Gam riots case, on Thursday visited the site of the incident where 11 people were killed to understand the topography of the area and verify claims of witnesses.

PB Desai took nearly 40 minutes to inspect the locality where people belonging to the minority community were killed on the basis of the panchnama or inquest of the police and Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Accompanying him were lawyers for the accused, the SIT, and the victims, as well as police officer Himanshu Shukla, who was the investigating officer in the case.

The judge began his visit from the cross roads, where former BJP minister Maya Kodnani, who is a prime accused facing trial, had allegedly instigated the mob along with another accused and VHP leader Jaideep Patel.

He inspected panchayat office where the mob had gathered before attacking the houses belonging to the victims of the minority community, a hotel, and houses near Hussaini Chowk which were targetted by the mob.

He also inspected Joshiwadi and Panchal ki Khirki where stones were pelted by the mob.

The judge inspected the house of a victim named Nawabbhai where stones were thrown on the night of 27 February as well as the houses of Bismilla Khan and Ashraf Khan where people had taken shelter to escape the mob before going to the police station.

Among other places that he visited were the house of one Madina where five persons were killed, the house of victim Sattarbhai where four members were burnt alive, a spot near the branch of Bank of India where two persons were burnt alive, an area behind the municipal corporation office where drums filled with oil were stored a day before  which the prosecution had claimed proved pre-planned conspiracy.

The judge also visited a medical store belonging to accused Jaideep Patel.

The court had recently concluded hearing witnesses submissions and the case is now at the stage of argument.

Naroda Gam massacre is one of the nine major 2002 communal riots cases which were investigated by the Special Investigation Team.

Eleven people belonging to the minority community were killed in Naroda Gam in 2002 riots during a bandh call made to protest the Godhra train burning incident of 27 February, 2002.

Kodnani, who was then a state minister in the Narendra Modi government, has already been convicted and sentenced to 28 years in jail in the Naroda Patiya case in which 97 people were killed.
The Supreme Court on Thursday referred to a five-judge Constitution bench questions like whether a public functionary or a minister can claim freedom of speech while airing views in a sensitive matter which is under investigation.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said the questions raised by senior advocates Harish Salve and Fali S Nariman were required to be dealt by a larger bench.

The bench, which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, expressed concern over the misuse of social media platforms and said that people disseminated wrong information even about the court proceedings.

Nariman, who is assisting the bench as an amicus curiae, concurred with the observation of the bench and said that a lot of misinformation and abuses are there on social media platforms and he has stopped looking at them.

"I have deleted my Twitter account," Salve said, adding that once when he was appearing in a case related to a Christian medical college and the subsequent happenings on his Twitter handle forced him to delete it.

He said now private players were more into infringing the privacy rights and such things are no more restricted to the state only.

The court was hearing a plea filed by a man whose wife and daughter were allegedly gangraped in July last year on a highway near Bulandshahr, seeking transfer of the case to Delhi and lodging of an FIR against former Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan for his controversial statement that the gangrape case was a "political conspiracy".

The brutal incident had happened on the night of 29 July last year when a group of highway robbers stopped the car of a Noida-based family and sexually assaulted a woman and her daughter after dragging them out of the vehicle at gun-point.

Salve had told the bench that ministers cannot have personal views on official business matters as whatever the person says, must reflect government policy.

The apex court had earlier said it would consider whether the fundamental right of speech and expression would be governed under reasonable restriction of decency or morality or whether other preferred fundamental rights would also have an impact on it.

The apex court had on 31 July asked the Attorney General to assist it on legal issues including whether a minister or a public functionary could claim freedom of speech while airing views in matters of official business of the State, such as criminal investigation.

However, Khan had on 15 December last year tendered an "unconditional apology" for the remark, which the apex court had accepted.

The top court had earlier proposed to refer to a constitution bench the issue whether a minister could claim refuge under the right to free speech while expressing views in matters of official business.
Giving away what could be critical in determining the fate of Honeypreet Insan, five Dera Sacha Sauda supporters in police custody have claimed that Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's 'adopted' daughter had masterminded and funded the 25 August violence in Panchkula.

In their statement, the supporters said that Honeypreet provided funding to the sect's supporters in Panchkula and sanctioned Rs 1.25 crore ahead of verdict day, reported CNN-News18. She chaired the meeting on 17 August in Sirsa to plan violence.

Honeypreet was arrested on 3 October, after evading arrest for over a month. She was among Haryana's most wanted 43 Dera followers accused of inciting violence in Panchkula following Ram Rahim's verdict.

The statements of all five Dera supporters  Rakesh, Chamkaur Singh, Dan Singh, Dilawar and Surinder Singh  have been videographed by the police. They also claimed that Honeypreet would handle all financial matters in Dera, along with Ram Rahims movements outside it.

Dera supporters in custody name Honypreet as mastermind of #PanchkulaViolence. Supporters also claim she sanctioned 1.25 cr before verdict pic.twitter.com/kus8ifLGwI  News18 (@CNNnews18) October 6, 2017

Besides stoking violence in the district, Honeypreet allegedly hatched a conspiracy to whisk away Ram Rahim from police custody a week before his conviction, reported India Today. The 17 August meeting was attended by Ram Rahim's private secretary Rakesh Kumar Arora and Dera's chief security officer Preetam, who were later arrested by SIT.

The Haryana Police is likely to conduct a narco test on Honeypreet, since she has remained evasive about her whereabouts, giving several answers. She proved tough to interrogate when Haryana SIT asked her the 40-odd questions.

Honeypreet, who has been charged with rioting and sedition, had claimed that she had no idea about the finances of Dera.

Calling it a sensitive issue, Police Commissioner AS Chawla revealed that despite Honeypreet's claim that she is innocent, they will interrogate her.

The Panchkula police on Wednesday produced Honeypreet in a Panchkula court which has remanded her to six-day police custody.

Honeypreet's delayed arrest paved way for a blame game between the Punjab and Haryana governments. While Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar accused the Punjab Police of not sharing information with its Haryana counterpart ahead of her arrest on 3 October, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh alleged that Khattar was attempting to divert public attention from the collapse of the law and order in Haryana since the rape conviction of Ram Rahim.

Meanwhile senior Punjab Congress leader and former legislator Harminder Singh Jassi rejected allegations of him sheltering Honeypreet and helping her evade arrest by using security cover he gets from the Punjab Police.

"I never provided shelter to Honeypreet. After a lookout notice was issued against her (on 1 September) by the Haryana police, she did not meet me," he said. Jassi, whose daughter is married to Ram Rahim's son, claimed that the accusations against him were "baseless", adding that he would quit politics if the allegations were proved.
Itanagar/New Delhi: An Mi-17 helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed on Friday near Tawang, a remote mountainous town close to the Sino-India border, killing all

seven military personnel on board.

Five IAF personnel, including two pilots, and two armymen were killed when the Mi-17 V5 chopper crashed around 7 pm after getting airborne from a helipad North of Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, an IAF spokesperson said in New Delhi.

"The helicopter was carrying supplies to a forward post of the Indian Army in the hilly terrain. The helicopter crashed close to the dropping zone and caught fire immediately," he said.

The Russian-manufactured helicopter was carrying supplies to a forward post of the Indian Army in the mountainous region and was on its the second sortie of the day. The five IAF deceased IAF personnel are Captain of the aircraft Wing Commander V Upadhyay, Co-pilot Squadron Leader S Tewari, Master Warrant Officer AK Singh, Sgt Gautam Kumar and Sgt Satish Kumar. The two army personnel are Sepoy HN Deka and Sepoy E Balaji.

The IAF spokesperson said a court of inquiry has been ordered to establish the cause of the accident. Tawang Superintendent of Police MK Meena said the chopper had taken off from the Khirmu helipad near Tawang and was on its way to Yangste.

The Russian manufactured Mi-17 V5 chopper was on an air maintenance mission and was also scheduled to drop off kerosene jerry cans at an army camp in Yangste, he said. All the bodies were recovered by a team of the IAF and the army.

"The rescue operation was carried out at an altitude of almost 17,000 feet above sea level," Meena said. "All the bodies were brought to Khirmu helipad for medical formalities and flown to Tezpur airbase," he added. A team of police and district administration officials has left for the crash site to gather more details.

Friday's crash comes two days ahead of Air Force Day on 8 October and is the second incident involving IAF helicopters in Arunachal Pradesh in three months.

"Our losses in the peacetime are a cause of concern. We are making concerted efforts to minimise accidents and preserve our assets," Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa had said on Thursday, referring to a string of crashes of IAF choppers and military jets in recent years.

An Advanced Light Helicopter of the IAF had crashed at Saglee in Papum Pare district on 4 July, claiming the lives of of all four on board.

The Mi-17 V5 is a Russian built medium-lift military transport chopper.
New Delhi: In a major move, the Indian Air Force will start the process in October to acquire a fleet of single engine fighter jets which are expected to significantly enhance its overall strike capability.

Chief of Air Staff BS Dhanoa said having a new fleet of single engine jets was a "priority" for the IAF and the request for information (RFI) for it is likely to be issued "very soon". Another top official of the IAF told PTI that the RFI, kick starting the acquisition process, will be issued in October.

The fighter jets will be produced jointly by a foreign aircraft maker along with an Indian company under the recently launched strategic partnership model which aims to bring in high-end defence technology to India.

"The RFI for the single engine fighter is likely to be issued very soon," Dhanoa said addressing a press conference. A request for information is a business process aimed at gathering information on the capabilities of various suppliers.

Swedish defence giant Saab and Indian conglomerate Adani group in September had announced a collaboration, mainly eyeing the contract for single-engine jets for the IAF. US defence firm Lockheed Martin is also seen as a major competitor for the deal.

Dhanoa said IAF is giving priority to the single engine fighters as the twin-engine fighters will cost more. "Right now, we are concentrating on the single engine so as to make up the numbers with lower cost," he said. The IAF currently has 33 fighter squadrons against authorised strength of 42. The IAF chief, however, said the force has requirement of twin engine jets as well.

In September 2016, India had signed a 7.87-billion euro (approximately Rs 59,000 crore) deal with the French government for purchase of 36 Rafale twin-engine fighter jets. The IAF was keen on a follow-on order of 36 additional Rafales.

The supply of Rafale jets is schedules to start from September 2019. Sources said the IAF will start receiving a fresh fleet of 36 Sukhoi jets from 2019.

Asked about purchase of tankers for IAF, Dhanoa said, as the RFP for buying them has been withdrawn, the IAF is now upgrading the IL-78 so that it can carry more fuel. The IL-78 is a Soviet-built four-engine aerial refuelling tanker. "There is a requirement of tankers which we will pursue again for acquisition," he said.

Asked about the fifth-generation fighter aircraft project (FGFA) with Russia, Dhanoa said a high-level committee has submitted its report to defence ministry which will take a call on it. "The case is with the ministry of defence. The preliminary design phase has been completed. The Varthaman committee has submitted its report which is classified and we have also given our response," Dhanoa said.

In 2007, India and Russia had inked an inter-governmental pact for the FGFA project.

In December 2010, India had agreed to pay $295 million (Rs 1,897 crore) towards the preliminary design of the fighter, which is called in India as the 'Perspective Multi-role Fighter'. However, negotiations faced various hurdles in the subsequent years.

Answering a question, the Air Chief said that the IAF will consider procuring Predator unmanned combat aerial vehicle in case it is offered by the US. Predator is a remotely piloted unmanned aerial vehicle used primarily by the US Air Force.
Seven defence personnel were killed after an Mi-17 V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed in Arunachal Pradesh's Chuna area on Friday.

TV reports said that the area where the crash happened is a high-altitude area but the Indian Air Force carries out regular training exercises in the area.

It is confirmed that a Mi-17 V5 chopper crashed early morning around 6 am in Arunachal Pradesh. All the seven people on board have been confirmed dead in the accident, Hindustan Times quoted a senior IAF official as saying.

Tawang district Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Meena said that the crash site is located at some four-to-five hours drive from Tawang. "It is a forested area," Meena said adding that the bodies are being brought to the helipad near Tawang.

"We are told that there were no civilians and all were defence personnel," he said.

According to India Today, the chopper which crashed 12 kilometers from India-Tibet border, was carrying supplies for armed forces on the border. Sudden technical problem could have lead to the crash, added the report. Rescue teams reached the crash site in Tawang near the Indo-China border and admitted the injured personnel to a local hospital. Five IAF personnel and two army men are among those who have been killed, said reports.

Around 6 AM today, a Mi-17 V5 helicopter while on a Air Maintenance mission crashed in Arunachal Pradesh. Court of Inquiry ordered: IAF  ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2017

The chopper was on an "air maintenance mission", NDTV reported. A Court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain what caused the crash, IAF authorities told media channels.

The area in which the chopper was flying is said to be vulnerable to dangerous weather changes, according News18.

The crash comes a day ahead of the Air Force Day which is extensively celebrated by the IAF. "Our losses in the peacetime are a cause of concern. We are making concerted efforts to minimise accidents and preserve our assets," Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa had said on Thursday, referring to a string of crashes of IAFs choppers and military jets in recent years

The Mi-17 V5 is a Russian built medium-lift military transport chopper.

Earlier in July, an IAF chopper engaged in a flood rescue mission crashed near Papum Pare district in the hill state killing four persons including three IAF crew and one India Reserve Battalion (IRB) personnel.

The frequently changing weather condition in Arunachal Pradesh makes flying of choppers difficult in the area and there have been several incidents of crashes in the hill state in the past.

The then Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Dorjee Khandu, and four others also died in a chopper crash in the hill state in 2011.

In February last year, Russia had handed over to India the final batch of three Mi-17V-5 military transport helicopters under a previously signed contract.

In July this year, an Indian Air Force chopper had gone missing in Arunachal Pradesh after it took off from Pilputu Helipad near Sagalee for the Naharlagun heliport.

A search and rescue team of the Arunachal Police had found the wreckage of the missing IAF helicopter later and two mutilated bodies near it. The IAF however had said it was not certain if the debris was of its missing Advanced Light Helicopter.

With inputs from agencies
The body of twenty-year-old law student Pallavi Vikamsey was found on the railway tracks in central Mumbai, a senior GRP official said on Thursday. Pallavi was the daughter of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) president Nilesh Vikamsey who is also a partner in Khimji Kunverji and Company, a leading audit firm.

Pallavi had gone missing while returning from a law firm at Fort in south Mumbai where she was doing her internship. She was last seen boarding a local train at CSTM station on Wednesday at around 6 pm, the official said.

When Pallavi did not return home her family members filed a missing complaint with MRA Marg police station, the official said.

The Indian Express reported that before leaving office on Wednesday evening, Pallavi texted her family, saying that she was going to end her life. The report quotes Sukhlal Varpe of the MRA Marg police station as saying, "She sent text messages to a few family members telling them that no one should be held responsible for her actions. She then switched off her cellphone. They began to search for her and when they couldnt find her, they came to us."

Police had found the body of a girl on the tracks between Parel and Currey Road station on Thursday evening. On Thursday, Pallavi's relatives confirmed that it was her body, said a senior official.

"We found body of a woman on tracks between Parel and Currey road on Wednesday at around 7.30 pm. On Thursday, her relatives confirmed her as Pallavi Vikamsey," said DCP Samadhan Pawar, spokesperson of GRP (Central Railway).

A BMC employee on the same train, Geeta Gaikwad told Mumbai Mirror, "I was in the second class compartment but was facing the first class compartment in which she was travelling. She was leaning and looking outside... and then she suddenly fell." She added that no one was standing close to her to have pushed her.

The police said that the only belongings on the body was a ring on the victim's right hand and that her cellphone was not found on her body, according to The Indian Express.

The body was handed over to them after post-mortem, he said.

"Prima facie it appears that the girl committed suicide," the official confirmed.

Until now, no foul play has been noticed in this case, so an accidental death case has been registered at Dadar police station, he said, adding further investigation into the matter is underway.

With inputs from PTI
India and the European Union on Friday agreed to strengthen ties in key areas of trade and security after their 14th summit, during which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the top EU leadership deliberated extensively on bilateral, regional and international issues.

After the summit, European Council president Donald Franciszek Tusk and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker talked about the much-delayed trade pact between the two sides at a joint press event with Modi.

The two sides also inked three pacts, including one on an international solar alliance, after the summit.

The 28-nation bloc is India's largest regional trading partner with bilateral trade in goods at $88 billion in 2016.

It is also the largest destination for Indian exports and a key source of investment and technologies.

India received around $83 billion of foreign direct investment from Europe between 2000 and 2017, constituting approximately 24 percent of total FDI inflows into the country during the period, said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.

Free Trade Agreement

Despite the gaps in mutual expectation, the two sides appeared hopeful of ironing out their differences. Tusk, quoting Bengali poet and Nobel Laureate Rabindra Nath Tagore, said that it's important for the two sides to swim in the same direction, despite their differences.

Let me just make a political observation. Free and fair trade agreements are not only important for our companies and citizens to prosper, but above all they strengthen the rules based international order and our way of life. The democracies of the world can be the one to set ambitious global targets, but only if we cooperate. Rabindra Nath Tagore has said, 'One cannot cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water'. I am confident that we can swim better for this important and strategic cause, Tusk said.

Adding on to Tusk's observation, European Commission president also said that Indian and the EU remain one of the largest trade partners. "Every year we exchange 100 Euros worth of goods and services, creating millions of jobs... We are also the loudest voices in free and fair trade an this message was reinforced in today's discussion," Juncker said.

The summit last year failed to make any headway on the resumption of long stalled negotiations for a free trade agreement. Launched in June 2007, negotiations for the proposed EU-India Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) have witnessed many hurdles with major differences on crucial issues like intellectual property rights, duty cut in automobile and spirits.

India, EU to intensify cooperation on environmental challenges

India and the EU reiterated the importance of reconciling economic growth and environment protection and highlighted the importance of moving towards a more circular economic model that reduces primary resource consumption, a joint statement said. "Leaders also agreed to further intensify cooperation on addressing environmental challenges, such as water management and air pollution, acknowledged the progress in implementing the India-EU Water Partnership, including an agreed action programme," it said.

Modi also reiterated India's commitment to the Paris Agreement. "On clean energy and climate change, we are both committed to the 2015 Paris Agreement. Addressing climate change and promoting secure, affordable and sustainable supplies of energy are our shared priorities. We also reaffirmed our commitment to undertake mutual cooperation for reducing the cost of deployment of renewable energy," Modi said. Tusk said both sides adopted a joint declaration on counter-terrorism "to deal effectively with the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters, terror financing and arms supply".

Deepening counter-terrorism cooperation

India and the European Union on Friday agreed to cooperate in the fight against terrorism. "We have agreed to work together against terrorism and expand security cooperation in this regard," Modi said.

According to the joint statement on Cooperation in Combating Terrorism stated that the leaders "strongly condemned recent heinous terrorist attacks in India and the member states of the European Union and reaffirmed their determination to jointly combat terrorism and violent extremism in all their forms and manifestations irrespective of their motivations, wherever and by whomever they are committed".

"Condemning the recent terror attacks in Pathankot, Uri, Nagrota, Anantnag (Amarnath Yatra), Srinagar, Paris, Brussels, Nice, Berlin, London, Stockholm, Manchester, Barcelona, Turku, and other terrorist attacks and recalling the November 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, the leaders called for the perpetrators of these attacks to be brought to justice," the statement said in an obvious reference to Pakistan.

Rohingya crisis figured on agenda

Both India and the EU also expressed deep concern at the recent spate of violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state that has triggered the outflow of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people into neighbouring Bangladesh.

"Both sides took note that this violence was triggered off by a series of attacks by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) militants which led to loss of lives amongst the security forces as well as the civilian population," the joint statement said.

"Both sides recognised the need for ending the violence and restoring normalcy in the Rakhine state without any delay."

Tusk also pointed out that the EU would like to see the full implementation of the Rakhine Advisory Commission's report and India, being a neighbour, stood first in line to respond to the responsibility.

"We expect to see a de-escalation of tension in Myanmar and full application of human rights obligations in Myanmar. We would also like to see full access to the state so that aid can reach the violence-hit region. The Rohingya people must be able to return home with safety and with full dignity," Tusk said.

Brexit not to affect India EU trade ties

Speaking of the trade commitments between India and EU, Juncker said that the two groups were great trade partners, accounting for more than 13 percent of India's global trade. EU is also the largest investor in India. "The trading is almost perfectly balanced, with equal amounts of imports and exports on both sides. All this will remain true beyond March 2019, when United Kingdom leaves the EU," Juncker said.

India and the EU have been strategic partners since 2004. The 13th India-EU Summit was held in Brussels on 30 March last year during Modi's visit. The summit last year failed to make any headway on the resumption of long stalled negotiations for a free trade agreement.

Launched in June 2007, negotiations for the proposed EU-India Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) have witnessed many hurdles with major differences on crucial issues like intellectual property rights, duty cut in automobile and spirits.

With inputs from PTI
India and the European Union on Friday decided to increase cooperation in counter-terrorism and areas of trade after Prime Minister Narendra Modi met the president of the European Council, Donald Franciszek Tusk, and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in New Delhi.

India pushed the European Union to assume a greater role of a security provider and the EU pushed India the stalled talks of the proposed India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The two sides also inked three pacts, including one on an international solar alliance, after the summit.

Here's the full text of Modi's speech during the India-EU Summit:

Your Excellencies, President Tusk and President Juncker,

Distinguished delegates,

Members of the media,

I am delighted to have the opportunity to welcome President Tusk and President Juncker for the 14th India-EU Summit.

India values her multi-faceted partnership with the EU, and we attach high importance to our strategic partnership. India was amongst the first countries to establish diplomatic relations with the European Economic Community in 1962.

The European Union has been our largest trade partner for a long time. It is also one of our largest sources of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

As the worlds largest democracies, we are natural partners. Our close relations are founded on the shared values of democracy, rule of law, respect for fundamental freedoms and multiculturalism.

We also share the vision of a multi-polar, rules-based international order. Since the 13th Summit in Brussels last year, our relationship has steadily gained momentum. To use the words of President Juncker a few days ago, India-European Union relations today have a good wind in their sails!

Friends,

I am heartily thankful to President Tusk and President Juncker for the productive discussions that we have had today on our wide-ranging agenda.

We have expanded the India-EU engagement into many new sectors and have agreed that we must continue our efforts to make it more comprehensive and beneficial, based on mutual trust and understanding.

Today, we have reviewed the progress in implementation of the decisions taken at our last Summit, and the Agenda 2020 announced last year.

We have agreed to strengthen our security cooperation and work together against terrorism. We will not only further strengthen our bilateral cooperation on this issue, but will also increase our cooperation and coordination in multilateral fora.

On clean energy and climate change, we are both committed to the 2015 Paris Agreement. Addressing climate change and promoting secure, affordable and sustainable supplies of energy are our shared priorities. We also reaffirmed our commitment to undertake mutual cooperation for reducing the cost of deployment of renewable energy.

We will strengthen our cooperation with European Union in developing smart cities and upgrading urban infrastructure.

I am pleased that the India-EU Horizontal Civil Aviation Agreement has now been operationalised. I am confident that this will enhance air connectivity between us and help to foster people-to-people contact.

An important aspect of our relationship is our cooperation in science and technology, and in research and innovation. In this context, I welcome the agreement concluded today on mobility of young scientists and researchers.

The signing of loan agreements for development projects in India with the European Investment Bank is also a welcome step.

I also appreciate the decision of the European Investment Bank to fund solar-related projects in member countries of the International Solar Alliance.

We are also committed to working with the EU to further deepen our cooperation in strengthening our trade and investment flows.

Your Excellencies,

I thank you for your leadership and your contribution to the strengthening of the India EU strategic Partnership. It is my hope and expectation that your next visit to India would not be such a brief one!

Thank you

Thank you very much.
New Delhi: The Navy's stealth frigate INS Trishul on Friday foiled a piracy attempt against an Indian bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden.

The piracy attempt was made on the Indian ship MV Jag Amar at 12.30 pm and the INS Trishul, which was on an anti-piracy deployment in the region, responded immediately, Navy spokesperson Captain DK Sharma said.

He said all 26 Indian crew onboard the Indian ship were safe.

The Navy's elite Marcos commandos carried out a swift operation to rescue the 85,000-tonne bulk carrier.

Captain Sharma said an AK-47, one magazine with 27 rounds, grapnels, ropes, fuel drums and ladders were recovered during the operation.

Twelve pirates on a skiff made the piracy attempt on the Indian ship.

The Indian Navy has been actively engaged in anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, a key shipping route near the southern tip of the Red Sea between Somalia and Yemen.

In April, the India and Chinese navies had rescued a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden after it was hijacked by Somali pirates. In May, INS Sharda, deployed for anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, rescued a Liberian merchant vessel Lord Mountbatten from a pirate attack.

With inputs from PTI and IANS
New Delhi: RJD chief Lalu Prasad's son Tejashwi Yadav on Friday appeared before the CBI in connection with the ongoing probe into the 2006 IRCTC hotel case.

CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal told IANS that Tejashwi was being questioned at the CBI headquarters in Delhi.

The questioning comes a day after Lalu Prasad was questioned for seven hours in connection with the case.

The CBI had on 26 September issued fresh summons  the third in a month  to the RJD chief and his son in the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp (IRCTC) contract case.

Tejashwi appeared before the CBI after skipping two earlier summons.

The CBI on 5 July filed a corruption case against Lalu, his wife Rabri Devi and Tejashwi for alleged irregularities in the allotment of contracts for IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri in 2006 to a private firm when the RJD chief was the Railway Minister.

The contracts were given to Sujata Hotels, a company owned by Vijay and Vinay Kochhar allegedly in lieu of bribe in the form of a plot of prime land in Bihar, the CBI said.

A preliminary CBI inquiry found that the said land was sold by the Kochhars to Delight Marketing and payment was arranged through Ahluwalia Contractors and its promoter Bikramjeet Singh Ahluwalia.

The Enforcement Directorate had on 27 July registered a separate case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act following the CBI FIR and was probing Lalu Prasad, Tejashwi and others for alleged transfer of money through shell companies.
Patna: The ruling Janata Dal (United) on Friday took a swipe at RJD president Lalu Prasad over his outbursts on social media where he accused the Narendra Modi government of having filed a "fraud case" against him in the hotels-for-land scam.

"Lalu ji has become a Twitter baba. He should also tweet about the questions he was asked during the grilling by CBI and the explanations he may have given about the source of his immense wealth," JD(U) spokesman Neeraj Kumar said in a statement.

"Whatever Lalu ji is going through, he should blame his own deeds for that. And as a natural outcome of his actions, his son Tejashwi has also been named as an accused in the case. After all, he has not been appearing before the CBI court for having taken part in the struggle for Independence," the JD(U) leader remarked.

The JD(U) spokesman's comments came in response to a series of tweets by the RJD supremo, shortly after his appearance before the CBI in New Delhi.

Prasad was questioned for seven hours on Thursday by the CBI in connection with alleged corruption in the award of contract for the maintenance of two IRCTC hotels in 2006.

The former railway minister had tweeted, "I brought glory to the Indian Railways. Modi govt has filed a fraud case against me. BJP, Amit Shah and Narendra Modi are party to this."

I brought glory to Indian Railways. Modi govt has filed a fraud case against me. BJP, Amit Shah & Narendra Modi are party to this.  Lalu Prasad Yadav (@laluprasadrjd) October 5, 2017

"I challenge divisive politics therefore they want to ruin my family but I am not scared. I will uproot communalism and fascism even if I am hanged," he had alleged in another one of his tweets.

I challenge devisive politics therefore they want to ruin my family but I'm not scared.I wil uproot communalism & fascism even if Im hanged  Lalu Prasad Yadav (@laluprasadrjd) October 5, 2017

In a scathing attack on the RJD supremo, Kumar said there are few examples in the country of a person indulging in rampant corruption and making his family members too suffer on that account.

Incidentally, the RJD and JD(U), along with the Congress, had fought the 2015 assembly polls together as alliance partners. However, relations between the two parties begun to sour when the names of Lalu and Tejashwi cropped up in corruption cases relating to the UPA period when the RJD supremo was the railway minister.

The grand alliance finally collapsed with JD(U) president and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar pulling out of the coalition citing his "zero tolerance policy" towards corruption. He then formed a new government with the support of the BJP and eventually joined the NDA.
New Delhi: Claiming threat to his life, Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah on Friday sought a direction to the Tihar Jail authorities to shift him to the high-risk ward in an application before a Delhi court.

Shah, 62, moved the application before additional sessions judge Sidharth Sharma where he also alleged that the jail authorities were not providing him proper medicines.

The court sought a response from the jail authorities on the application by 13 October.

The application, moved through advocate MS Khan, said, "there is serious threat to his (Shah) life and few incidents have happened with him in jail as well as in the judicial lock-up". "Direct the jail authorities to shift him (Shah) to high risk ward in order to ensure his safety and security," the application said.

The court had earlier allowed Shah's plea seeking his production before it through video conference.

Shah was earlier denied bail by the court on 22 August after the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) advocate Naveen Kumar Matta said the agency was probing whether he had received money from "enemy countries" like Pakistan to promote terrorism in India.

Shah was arrested in September by the ED, a day after several Hurriyat leaders were taken into custody of the National Investigating Agency (NIA) in a case of alleged terror funding in the valley to fuel unrest.

He was arrested in connection with the August 2005 case in which the Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested 35-year old Wani, an alleged hawala dealer who is currently in ED custody, claiming that Rs 63 lakh was recovered from Wani, of which Rs 52 lakh was allegedly to be delivered to Shah.

The agency had earlier issued summonses to Shah in the case, the prosecution had said, adding that Wani had claimed he had given Rs 2.25 crore to Shah.

Wani was arrested earlier in October.

Investigating agencies such as the NIA had cracked down on Hurriyat leaders, arresting Syed Ali Shah Geelanis son-in-law  Altaf Ahmed Shah, also known as Altaf Fantoosh  and six other Kashmiri separatists.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has created a stir by releasing a booklet on RSS ideologue and Bharatiya Jan Sangh founder Deendayal Upadhyaya, a few days ahead of his 101st birth anniversary.

The move has created ripples in the media and drawn flak from the Opposition. Many have also condemned the ministry for being characterised as a politically committed instrument of the ruling party.

The e-book titled 'Integral Humanism', published on the ministry's website homepage, falsifies independent India's early political history and shockingly describes the Bharatiya Janata Party as the "only political alternative for the country", said a report in The Wire.

The report also quoted certain peculiar points raised in the book:

"When India's struggle for freedom was covered under the shadow of two-nation theory, at that time in 1942 he started his public life through Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He engaged himself in Sangh-work as an excellent organiser, writer, journalist and orator

"The democracy of the country required a capable Opposition; Bharatiya Jansangh (sic) emerged as a strong Opposition in the first three Lok Sabha elections. He made full preparations so that with time this Opposition becomes alternative

"From 1951 to 1967, he remained the general secretary of Bharatiya Janshangh (sic). He got the responsibility as President in 1968. Suddenly he was murdered. Only the party, Bharatiya Janata Party, developed by him became the political alternative." (emphasis added)

The booklet, that contains a foreword written by External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, drew wide-scale criticism from former diplomats, including former foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon.

"I find it incomprehensible and sad that the MEA, which should represent India, has chosen to be politically partisan like this The IFS (Indian Foreign Service) resisted previous attempts to make us 'committed bureaucrats' and should do so again. Indian courts have given clear judgments which contradict some of what this book alleges," he was quoted as saying by a report in The Wire.

According to a report in The Hindu, NCP leader Devi Prasad Tripathi also criticised the MEA's publication and said the ruling party's ideology should not be promoted through the ministries. "I am publishing a volume on Deendayal Upadhyay as he was a significant figure in Indian political history, but I want to state clearly that that it is highly improper to politicise the ministries," Tripathi said.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also echoed the criticism on social media and asked for a withdrawal of the booklet, calling it a "shocking misuse" of taxpayer funds by a government ministry.

Shocking misuse of taxpayer funds by a government ministry to promote the ideology of a political party. This book must be withdrawn. https://t.co/7pNzd2sUuQ  Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 1, 2017

The booklet states at one point, "The childhood of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya was spent in very difficult circumstances, even then he always excelled as a brilliant student. When India's struggle for freedom was covered under the shadow of two-nation theory, at that time in 1942 he started his public life through Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He engaged himself in Sangh-work as an excellent organiser, writer, journalist and orator."

The booklet has sparked a debate on the need to protect the MEA from ideological colouring.

The Wire questioned the motive behind the move, asking, "Is this merely sloppy writing and translation or is an attempt being made to promote the BJP at the taxpayers' expense? Is it the job of the Ministry of External Affairs to declare which party is the political alternative for the country? Is a ruling party allowed to misuse the institutions of government, not to speak of public funds, to publish and distribute party political propaganda?"
Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman plans to visit Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh on Saturday and Sunday and review the situation along India's border with China in those states.

The defence minister is scheduled to visit to border states of Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, where she will take stock on the prevailing security situation, especially after the Dokalam face-off. During the visit, she will be briefed by top commanders of the Eastern command on the defence preparedness (sic), The New Indian Express quoted an official as saying.

According to India Today, the army is also likely to brief the defence minister about its preparations to prevent China's attempts at incursion into Indian territory where the boundary is not demarcated and both countries have different claim lines.

China has maintained a sizeable presence of its troops near the site of the 73-day-long Doka La standoff, in an indication that the border tension between Chinese and India armies has not yet subsided.

Sources had told PTI that China has been slowly increasing its troop level in Doka La which could further escalate the current situation as India has reasons to be concerned over it.

The indication to the underlying tension due to presence of Chinese forces in the Chumbi Valley in Doka La was also given by Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa on Thursday.

"The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, their forces in Chumbi Valley are still deployed and I expect them to withdraw as their exercise in the area gets over," Dhanoa had told reporters.

There has been territorial disputes between China and Bhutan over Dokalam and India has been staunchly supporting Thimphu over the issue.

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day-long standoff in Dokalam since 16 June after the Indian side stopped the building of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army. Bhutan and China have a dispute over Dokalam.

Bhutan and India were in touch with each other during the course of the face-off that ended on 28 August.

Days after the face-off ended, army chief Bipin Rawat had said China has started "flexing its muscles" and warned that the situation in India's northern border could snowball into a larger conflict.

With inputs from PTI
New Delhi: Pakistan has violated the ceasefire over 600 times so far in 2017, the highest in the last one decade, an official said.

Pakistani troops have opened fire on Indian territories more than 600 times till 30 September.

Eight civilians and 16 security personnel were killed in the firing, a Home Ministry official said.

It is the highest number of ceasefire violations in nearly a decade, the official said.

There were nearly 450 ceasefire violations in 2016 in which 13 civilians and as many security personnel were killed.

The truce between India and Pakistan along the international border, the Line of Control and the actual ground position line in Jammu and Kashmir had come into force in November 2003.

India shares a 3,323-kilometre-long border with Pakistan of which 221 kilometres of the international border and 740 kilometres of the LoC fall in Jammu and Kashmir.
Beijing: China has issued a travel advisory to its nationals visiting India, the first such warning after the Doka La standoff, warning them about denial of visas to visit "restricted areas" like the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The Chinese Embassy in India issued the advisory, the third in four months, for Chinese tourists in India.

The warning was posted on the embassy's website on Tuesday, and detailed several situations the embassy handled recently in which Chinese tourists were denied entry or investigated while travelling in India, state-run Global Times reported Thursday.

"Some Chinese citizens visited Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which are restricted areas for foreigners, without gaining permits from India. Some tourists were asked to return upon arrival. Some were even arrested or investigated," the statement read.

"(Visitors should) not photograph India's border and military facilities and vehicles. While travelling on India's border neighbouring Nepal, avoid visiting border markets, and do not enter the territory of other countries by mistake," it added.

On 7 July, weeks after the Doka La crisis began, the Chinese mission in India issued its first warning, asking Chinese nationals to reduce unnecessary travel to India,

maintain a low profile when there, and respect local laws and law enforcement personnel.

It reissued the warning on 24 August.

The 73-day Doka La standoff started on 16 June when Chinese troops attempted to build a road in territory claimed by Bhutan close to the Indian border. Indian troops objected to it and stopped the Chinese from building the road.

The standoff was finally resolved on 28 August.

Chinese tourists make up three percent of foreign tourists visiting India each year, the Global Times quoted Indian media reports as saying.

From January to May, 2017, about 1,19,000 visitors from China visited India, an increase of 9.2 percent year-on-year. India has granted e-visa facility for Chinese travellers.

A report by state-run Xinhua news agency two days ago said China is becoming one of the most popular destinations for Indian tourists.

It is estimated that the number of outbound tourists from India will reach 50 million overall by 2020, up from 21.87 million in 2016, the report said.
Srinagar: Authorities imposed restrictions in many parts of Srinagar on Friday to prevent separatist called protests against growing incidents of braid chopping in the Valley.

Police said that restrictions under section 144 CrPc will remain in force on Friday in areas under the jurisdiction of Khanyar, Nowhatta, Rainawari, MR Gunj, Safa Kadal, Maisuma and Krakkhud police station in Srinagar city.

"These restrictions have been imposed to maintain law and order in the city," police said.

Over a dozen incidents of braid chopping have been reported from different parts of the Valley during the last one month but nobody has been arrested.

Instead of helping the police nab the culprits, residents have been acting on their own, resulting in beating and harassment of innocent people by mobs.

The administration is coming under pressure as the separatists allege that security forces are responsible for these incidents.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said it would hear next month a batch of pleas challenging the newly-amended Finance Act, which changed the search and selection and removal process of members and presiding officers of tribunals including the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT).

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra posted the matter for hearing on 23 November after Attorney General KK Venugopal sought some time for arguing the matter.

Venugopal told the court that he would be seeking a short adjournment for taking instructions from the government. The court had on September 4 refused to grant an interim stay on the Act.

The bench is hearing several petitions, including the one filed by CAT, challenging the constitutional validity of provisions of the Finance Act. The CAT has challenged the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the 'Tribunals, Appellate Tribunals and Other Authorities (qualifications, experience and other conditions of service of members) Rules, 2017'.

The CAT said the 'Tribunals, Appellate Tribunals and Other Authorities (qualifications, experience and other conditions of service of members) Rules, 2017', framed under the Finance Act, provides that the search-cum-selection committee to select its administrative members will be headed by a nominee of the central government.

Earlier, the Chief Justice of India (CJI) or his nominee had a role in the selection of administrative members of CAT, the tribunal had told the court. The panel had also sought an interim stay on the provisions of the new Act and the Rules, under which a new Search-cum-Selection Committee for the post of Administrative Member would be set up.

However, on the issue of selection of CAT's chairperson and judicial members, the 2017 Rules provide that this committee would be headed by the CJI or his nominee.

The Finance Act, which came into effect from 1 April, led to the framing of the 2017 Rules which allegedly gave "unbridled" powers to the Executive to decide on the qualification of the members, their appointment and removal among other issues, one of the petitions filed by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said.

The apex court had earlier issued notice to the Centre on two other similar pleas filed by Ramesh and an NGO Social Action for Forest and Environment (SAFE). The NGO had sought the quashing of Part 14 of the Finance Act and Rules framed under it. It alleged that the alterations brought about by the Finance Act would weaken the functioning of tribunals including the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and curtail their powers.

Senior advocate Mohan Parasaran, who had appeared for Ramesh, had submitted that the power of judiciary has been compromised by the provisions of the new law. The petition has said the changes brought about by the Act would weaken the functioning of tribunals including the NGT and curtail their powers.
Agra: The Taj Mahal is an architectural marvel, a wonder of the world and, for the Samajwadi Party, also a much visited monument that generates employment for a large number of people, says party president Akhilesh Yadav.

Yadav visited the Taj Mahal with his wife and children to see the white marble mausoleum on the full moon night of Sharad Poornima on Thursday , when the moon is believed to be especially luminous.

"As far as we Samajwadis are concerned, all I can say is that Taj Mahal gives jobs and employment to a large number of people. Business also thrives," he said. Yadav was eloquent in his praise of the 17th century monument built by Mughal emperor Shahjahan to honour the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal.

"Undoubtedly, Taj Mahal is an architectural beauty for all of us. But along with that, I think there will not be any monument in the world that will have a story about a person building a monument in memory of his beloved. Hence, it occupies a space in the wonders of the world."

He said the Taj Mahal reminds us of our history. "However, it depends on which side of history you position yourself. If I presume that the entire world will be in darkness, since there is night in Agra, it will be wrong. If there is night here, then there will be morning or afternoon in another part of the world. It depends what you want to see," the Samajwadi Party chief said.

Yadav earlier on Thursday was unanimously re-elected Samajwadi Party's national president for a five-year term, further consolidating his grip over the party after sidelining his father Mulayam Singh Yadav and uncle Shivpal Yadav. His comments come soon after reports in a section of the media that a booklet brought out by the tourism department of the Uttar Pradesh government left out the Taj Mahal from its list of major tourist destinations.

Following the reports, the state government issued a press release stating, "Tourism projects worth Rs 370 crore are proposed, under which schemes worth Rs 156 crore are meant for the Taj Mahal and its surrounding areas in Agra." Yadav also recalled his first trip to see the Taj Mahal by night.

"Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) was the UP Chief Minister, and after a lot of efforts, the Supreme Court had allowed night viewing of Taj Mahal for tourists. Today, when the children are here with me, they are more excited than me," he said.
Editor's note: This is the final of a four-part series on the changes in Mangaluru and coastal Karnataka's socio-political mileu over the years. The series traces the region's transformation from a tranquil coastal town to a hotbed of communal tension.

Mangaluru: Media houses in Karnataka's picturesque coastal belt of Dakshina Kannada have a dark underbelly, driven not by profit but by religious and political agenda. With 'news' websites cropping up by the dozen, senior journalists and analysts contend there is a clear line separating these portals, especially in areas like Mangalore and Bhatkal.

On one side of the line are those portraying Muslims in a bad light by upholding the Hindutva flag and on the other are those who claim that they (Muslims) are misunderstood, misrepresented and that the root cause of all the problems is the saffron brigade.

"It is a vicious circle. One media house will give a communal angle to some simple incident like a boy and girl from two different communities sitting together in the bus. This is followed by the other side continuing the communal angle but this time laying blame on the other party. In all of this, those reading the news are influenced," explains BV Seetaram of Chitra Publications, which runs Karavali Ale, a Kannada daily. Over the years, the paper has been threatened and sued for defamation for its articles on various right-wing groups' alleged role in inciting communal violence.

Seetaram says the media being divided is a consequence of the seeds of the communal polarisation that right-wing political parties sowed. "This whole process started 15 years ago ever since the right-wing parties started thinking that communal polarisation helps and relishing the results. With elections nearing, the right-wing groups would start to divide along communal lines and create tensions," he says. "They are a poisonous and cancerous growth."

In 2006, newspaper managements were strictly advised by the district administration not to name the parties involved in clashes, especially those of a communal nature, to diminish the chances of rumours. While most media houses follow the diktat, the situation is fast changing.

Seetaram explains that most political parties have sympathisers in media houses. "If parties like Shri Ram Sene, Bajrang Dal and VHP have their set of news portals with them, the other side, which includes political parties like Popular Front of India and Social Democratic Party of India, have their own supporters. These portals are hellbent on projecting problems of just one community," he says.

He goes on to add that many times, the fringe groups use the common man for their political agenda. "They rake up communal sentiments and these are reported by the media houses that support them. Those who incited violence are projected as victims or the 'good people' and the others as the 'perpetrators'," he says.

Our sources added that the constant threat by the right-wing groups had led to minorities, mainly Muslims, starting their own web-based news publications. Some of these, the source revealed were Bhatkallys, Siasat.com, and Islamicvoice.com. While Bhatkallys has its head office in Bhatkal district, the other two are published from Hyderabad and Bangalore respectively. All three have considerable circulation in Dakshina Kannada, including in Mangaluru region.

When Firstpost reached out to Mohammed Mohsin Shabandri, founder and chairman of Bhatkallys, he says the main aim of starting the portal was to connect the community spread worldwide and to improve the image of Bhatkal (infamous as a terror hub in Karnataka).

While he operates from the Middle East, he explains that in Bhatkal the local media is not biased. He adds that the national media is to blame for creating a rift. "The local media does not indulge in biased reporting but big media houses, for their gain, portray that their exists communal tension in the area," he says. In the next sentence, he says "there is a need to develop news reporting in Bhatkal. It is difficult to find unbiased reporters. But it is the need of the hour."

The division in the media houses and reportage in Mangalore was thrown into a harsh light with three incidents  the attack on youngsters in Amnesia Pub in 2008, the attack on churches in South Karnataka in 2008 and the attack on young boys and girls in a homestay in 2012. All three were allegedly perpetrated by right-wing group SRS, which claimed responsibility for the attack on Amnesia Pub. The then Bajrang Dal chief Mahendra Kumar was arrested for perpetrating and supporting the attack on the churches, and another fringe Hindu rights group, Hindu Jagaran Vedike, was suspected to have masterminded the attack youngsters partying at the homestay.

The common link? Reporters from certain local news channels were present with the perpetrators, filming the incident. This even prompted the Karnataka High Court to issue a notice to channels, alleging that they did not inform the police despite having prior knowledge about an incident that was about to happen.

While activists blame the extremist groups from both sides for orchestrating such attacks, they also lay part of the blame on the media. They allege that the media constantly analyses the attacks, invites politicians over for panel discussions wherein the communal angle is fanned. The activists say that all of this adds undesirable colours to the incidents.

Fear triumphs

The fear of being attacked for not supporting a certain side is so strong that most reporters Firstpost reached out to refused to comment. Many say the situation is fragile and volatile. When asked which publications indulge in one-sided or unbalanced reporting, sources took names but only in whispers. "There is the Kannada daily Hosa Diganta, which is funded by the RSS," says a source.

This allegation has also been made by investigative magazine Tehelka, wherein it said that Hosa Diganta's then editor Chudamani Aiyyar is an RSS activist and it was awarded the tag of 'State paper' under the tenure of BS Yeddyurappa as Karnataka's chief minister.

Media analyst professor Bidanda Chengappa, Christ University, Bangalore, says, "It is difficult for journalists to be apolitical human beings. They also, like other citizens, have minds of their own that makes them ideologically inclined. However, the challenge for those in the media is to remain as objective as possible and avoid ideologically 'slanted' reportage."

Seetaram states the same but adds that when the higher-ups in a publication have a clear-cut policy about who they support or what the article will reflect, it becomes difficult for a reporter to stick to unbiased reporting. "It is a tough path for reporters. News publication should reflect the needs of the whole society but if the editor insists that a story should be done only from a certain angle, what can the reporter do?" he asks.

Part 1: Mangaluru's present identity as hotbed of communal tension sharply contrasts with its peaceful past

Part 2: Mangaluru sees uptick in vigilante violence as politically-backed Hindutva fringe groups multiply

Part 3: Mangaluru's transition as communal hotbed not reflected by a shift in voter mood towards BJP

M Raghuram is a Mangaluru based freelance writer and Nivedita Niranjankumar is a Bengaluru based writer. Both are members of 101Reporters.com, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.
The Supreme Court of India has expressed concern about the misuse of social media to spread agenda-driven discourse which employs the use of abusive language, aggressive reactions on everyday issues and more. The court expressed anguish at comments by a senior advocate who was also the former Supreme Court Bar Association president, who went on to say that most of the judges are pro-government.

Replying to such accusations, the bench said that people should attend proceedings in the court to see how the courts have hauled up the government to protect the rights of citizens.

Prominent lawyers such as Fali S Nariman and Harish Salve have supported the concerns raised by the Supreme Court. In fact, Salve even went to the extent of deleting his Twitter account as his feed was getting increasingly abusive. Nariman said that he has stopped looking at his social media feeds, which are full of "unwarranted comments." The bench even discussed that an observation made during the hearing on the Rohingya matter was being discussed on social media as if an order was delivered on the matter. This prompted a lot of online users to attack the Supreme Court in their social media messages.

Both Salve and Nariman are of the opinion that social media needs to be regulated to prevent people from posting objectionable and abusive posts. The court bench was hearing a plea seeking restrictions on the proclivity of ministers or public functionaries to make controversial statements on sensitive matters, which may or may not be sub-judice. This was in reference to former UP minister Azam Khan, who commented on a highway gangrape case (calling it an outcome of a political conspiracy) which prompted the survivor's parents to file a case against him.

The court bench was hearing a plea seeking restrictions on the proclivity of ministers or public functionaries to make controversial statements on sensitive matters, which may or may not be sub-judice. This was in reference to former UP minister Azam Khan, who commented on a highway gangrape case (calling it an outcome of a political conspiracy) which prompted the survivor's parents to file a case against him.

The apex court had on 31 July asked the Attorney General to assist it on legal issues, including whether a minister or a public functionary could claim freedom of speech while airing views in matters of official business of the State, such as criminal investigation. However, Khan had on 15 December last year tendered an "unconditional apology" for the remark, which the apex court had accepted.

Regulating Social media, is that even possible?

This is not the first time that a call for regulating social media has been made. Arun Jaitley, in his lecture on All India Radio in 2015 had said that while there can be no ban implemented on the media, social media needed to be regulated. According to him, while social media gave a voice to the citizens, it was still unregulated and carried a lot of false, defamatory and damaging content.

While the concerns are legitimate, controlling social media platforms is something that is a technical nightmare as well. China is the first country that comes to mind when one discusses regulation of the internet in general and social media in particular. And that is because every social media site that wants to operate in China has to give the government the provision to access their databases if need be. In a democracy such as India, that would surely not be appreciated.

As explained in this piece on Firstpost, Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp are platforms and a lot depends on how information on these platforms is consumed by the end recipients.

The only legal recourse currently to tackle social media abuse, in the absence of strong privacy laws, is through other means, says cyber law expert and information privacy professional Asheeta Regidi.

"Existing privacy laws don't deal with social media abuse. Current legal recourse is through laws for defamation, sexual harassment, intimidation and so on," says Regidi.

According to New Delhi-based advocate Aman, "It is important to first describe the scope of the regulation. Will it involve banning sites? Or will it involve use of certain keywords." Aman feels that using trolling on social media as a means to regulate it is going down a slippery slope. He feels social media platforms should be self-regulated and in case anyone feels threatened or abused they should make use of the 'Report Abuse' feature that is offered by most social media platforms.

Mishi Chaudhary of SFLC.in says that social media users are not very keen on regulations. "Most users don't wish for more social media regulations through more laws because any such measure leads to harassment at the hand of law enforcement. Let's not forget what 66A led to when it was constitutional," opines Chaudhary.

Regidi feels that the effect of any law around social media regulation must take into consideration the wording. Citing the example of the broad wording of Section 66(A) of the IT Act, which led to its removal, Regidi states, "It was the main law for dealing with trolls and abusers online. A better, tightly worded replacement is certainly needed, enabling quicker actions against such persons."

Questions around free speech

Another question that will inevitably need to be answered has to do with the freedom of expression. According to Aman, "You have the freedom of speech, and you have a freedom to express your thoughts. Of course, it comes with certain restrictions. Only if anyone's social media activity goes beyond these restrictions should we discuss regulation."

Chaudhary feels that platforms such as Twitter and Facebook need to do more to check harassment without resorting to censorship. A multi-stakeholder approach to discussing issues and coming up with solutions is what she suggests.

But in India, where the definition of offending someone changes on a daily basis, the definitions of restrictions online can also be open to interpretation. We have all read about the cases of sedition that have been slapped on people for their social media postings. In October 2016, a Facebook user was booked for sedition for posting derogatory remarks against the Haryana government, the BJP and the RSS. In 2012, free speech activist Aseem Trivedi was arrested for posting caricatures on Facebook which mocked Parliament. One of the charges pressed against him was sedition. In both the cases, what may have been freedom of expression for the original poster, was interpreted as an attack on the country by someone else.

"A law as widespread as Section 66A can definitely lead to a chilling effect on free speech. A specific, limited law, on the other hand, can have the right effect of balancing free speech with reasonable restrictions," says Regidi. While she agrees that applying this limited law on a vast number of online abusers will be extremely difficult and possibly impractical, she says specific abusers can be brought to book under the same.

Chaudhary feels that organised harassment by troll armies has become a tool that is used by all political parties. But there needs to be honest conversations around the topic lest we get another Section 66 (A) like law.

"Honest conversations about use and abuse of social media and actors involved are absent from the public discourse. SC cannot be expected to opine on all aspects of our lives or teach civility," says Chaudhary.
New Delhi: Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said discussions on economy and GST should go on and that such debates and consultations are always good for democracy.

In the long run, GST will be beneficial for all, the vice-president asserted.

"Discussions are going on about the country, its economy and also GST - its effects, after-effects and side-effects. Let the discussions go on. It is always good for democracy," Naidu said during his speech at the International Conference on Technological Advancements in Railway and Metro Projects.

Speaking on a day when the GST council is meeting in Delhi, the the vice-president said that people must understand that any transformation, any reformation face "some initial hiccups, some teething troubles".

"But at the end of the day, the PM's mantra of reform, perform and transform has a meaning," he said, adding that GST is India's most revolutionary tax reform ever.

Quoting news reports, Naidu said that the World Bank and big multinational companies have also endorsed GST and that future generations of Indians will be happy with this tax reform.

He also said that the political debate on GST should be allowed to go on and the government of the day will take a note of the positive and the critical points and then "take corrective measures".

"With about 8 lakh crore brand investments opening up FDI in retail infrastructure and the implementation of GST, I am sure the Indian Railways, particularly the long-distance transport, will stand to benefit in the years ahead," he said.
The pollution levels in the national capital is reaching alarming heights. As per the reports from the government's air quality monitoring systems, these levels might decline in the coming days. Nine out of the 17 Central Pollution Control Board stations in Delhi have recorded the air quality index of Delhi as "poor".

The presence of ultra fine particles like PM2.5 and PM10 are marked at a daily average of 178 and 94 micrograms per cubic meter. As per the SAFAR forecast, the level of particulate matter (PM) in the air is expected to cross the prescribed levels. This drop in air quality follows the worst ever smog the city had ever seen in 2016, when PM levels reached 999. Extended exposure to such air can cause a number of breathing difficulties.
New Delhi: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday banned all protests and dharnas around the historic Jantar Mantar area in New Delhi, which has been a hotspot of many agitations over the past decades, saying such activities violate environmental laws.

The green panel said the State has totally failed to protect the right of enjoying pollution-free environment of the citizens living in the Jantar Mantar Road area, close to Connaught Place in the heart of the city.

It said it was the duty of the State to ensure that the rights of the people to live a peaceful and comfortable life are not infringed by those who create noise pollution in the name of their right of freedom of speech and expression, which can never be unlimited.

A bench headed by Justice RS Rathore also directed the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) to remove all make-shift and temporary structures, loud speakers and public address systems from the stretch of the road.

The municipal body was also directed to remove the garbage lying in the area and clean it within four weeks.

The tribunal directed the authorities to shift the protesters, agitators and the people holding dharna (sit-in) to alternative site at the Ramleela Grounds in Ajmeri Gate, "forthwith".

"It is amply clear that the petitioners are suffering because of gross violation of laws, air pollution and health hazards due to lack of cleanliness and non performance of duty by the authorities of the State which is endangering their life.

"The environmental condition at Jantar Mantar Road in relation to noise pollution, cleanliness, management of waste and public health has grossly deteriorated. Besides, constant dharna, slogans, noise pollution, health problems due to unhygienic conditions generated by the agitators round-the-clock, is unique in the instant case," the bench, also comprising expert member SS Garbyal, said.

The NGT ordered the NDMC chairman, police commissioner and the Delhi government to file compliance reports within five weeks from Thursday.

It said the people participating in protests and raising slogans through loudspeakers have no right to compel the petitioner and others living in the area to listen to and tolerate it day and night.

"The locality has completely changed, where one finds that men, women and children are bathing, washing their clothes under Delhi Jal Board tankers and the situation becomes worse when the people are seen defecating in the open, on pavements, which creates a totally unhygienic situation on the entire road," the bench said.

Due to the continuous activity of the protesters for a number of years, the site has virtually become hell for the residents of the locality who cannot sleep at night, face noise pollution during the day, having difficulties to enter their house, the bench said.

The NGT's verdict came on a plea filed by Varun Seth and others alleging that processions and agitations held by social groups, political parties, NGOs at the Jantar Mantar Road were a major source of noise pollution in the area.
Scores of farmers have been staging a unique protest in Rajasthan  Zameen Samadhi Satyagraha  for the last five days in Ninder village near Jaipur to oppose the acquisition of land by the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) for a residential project.

As part of the protest, which was preceded by a 14-day sit-in dharna, farmers have "buried" themselves in neck-deep pits.

What the protest is all about?

Protesting farmers claim local authorities forcibly acquired their land and offered them rates dating back to 2010 as compensation. They are accusing the authorities of being unsympathetic to their cause, and are demanding better compensation for their land.

"We are here to demand better rates for our land. What the government is offering us is not enough. The cost of land is much higher than it was before," an elderly farmer told NDTV on Wednesday.

As per the plan, JDA was to acquire over 1,300 bighas of land to develop a housing scheme in Jaipur. So far, it has taken possession of 600 bighas of land.

"We started our 'Zameen Samadhi Satyagraha' on 2 October and at present, at least 50 farmers have buried themselves neck-deep in pits. Nearly half of these are women," Nagendra Singh Shekhawat, convenor of Ninder Bachao Yuva Kisan Sangarsh Samiti, told IANS.

"Nearly 5,000 families, including farmers, will be affected by the acquisition," Al-Jazeera quoted Shekhawat as saying.

He said farmers who participated in the protest on a rotation basis, came out of the pit only to attend nature's call every day. "We will continue with the agitation till our demand is met," Shekhawat said.

What are the farmers' demands?

"We are against the acquisition of land by the JDA... we want it to be revoked," said a farmer buried neck-deep in a pit.

The farmers are also demanding a fresh survey of the land. They are demanding the compensation and acquisition as per the new Land Acquisition Act, according to Al-Jazeera.

The farmers, according to The Times of India, have demanded they assess the income of the families and impact on their lives after land acquisition.

The government's response

The villagers have been holding demonstrations for better compensation since mid-September, but there has been no response from the government, they said.

The authorities, according to The Indian Express, called the convenor of Ninder Bachao Yuva Kisan Sangarsh Samiti for talks only when two protesting women collapsed during the agitation.

The Jaipur Development Commissioner (JDC) Vaibhav Galeriya on Friday accepted the demand of Ninder village farmers to conduct a fresh survey of their land, according to The Times of India.

The report added that a committee will be constituted comprising the district collector, JDA officials and Ninder farmers to carry out a fresh survey.

With inputs from agencies
New Delhi: Lopsided policies of earlier governments have caused tribals to lag behind in development, BJP chief Amit Shah said on Friday, asserting that the time has come for them to attain "self-rule" in its true sense under the Modi government.

In a blog, he said the BJP government started a welfare scheme for tribals in 2014 and later brought in a law to ensure that 10 percent of royalty on the income made from minerals, which are mostly in areas inhabited by scheduled tribes, is spent on developing these places.

Over Rs 9,100 crore has been deposited in District Mineral Foundation constituted for this purpose, he said, adding the money will be spent on local area development.

In his home state of Gujarat, where the BJP has been in power for over two decades, 14.75 percent of budget is spent on the development of tribals, who are in considerable numbers in 14 districts, he said.

"It is due to the efforts of BJP governments that Gujarat's tribal areas are not behind other regions in any criterion of development," Shah said.

Gujarat is going to polls later this year.

"Tribals, like the rest of the country, got self-rule in 1947 when the British left, but the time has come for them to attain self-rule in the true sense and the BJP and the Modi government are fully committed in this direction," he said.

In this context, Shah mentioned his recent three-day stay in Jharkhand, where he visited the village of tribal legend and freedom fighter Birsa Munda.

The BJP government in the state has prepared a programme for all-round development of villages of martyrs, he said. It is paying tributes to them with its work and not just flowers, he said.

Tribals had been left behind in development as they lived in remote areas and also due to apathy of governments which exploited mines and minerals but did not work to develop those places, he said.

The previous NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee had formed a ministry for the development of tribals, he noted.

The way the Modi government is working, all regions with tribal population, including the Northeast, will have all-round development and they will complete their journey from 'swaraj' (self-rule) to 'suraj' (good governance), he said.
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) had suffered a humiliating defeat in the 2016 Assembly elections in Kerala due to cracks in its solid Muslim and Christian votebanks. The UDF was hoping to reverse the phenomenon of power alternating between the state's two dominant fronts, but the trend continued another term.

The alliance attributed this dismal show to the intensive campaign spearheaded by the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) in the minority belts, telling the electorate that they alone can check the surge of the saffron brigade in the state. The Congress has been trying to prove false the LDF's claim that they are the sole savior of the minorities, seeking to dispel fears in their minds regarding the Hindtuva agenda of the Sangh Parivar.

Party workers, who were demoralised by the poll debacle, are now disillusioned with their state leadership's failure to seize the opportunity, even after CPM stepped up the ante against the BJP-RSS combine, in the wake of the 'Janaraksha Yatra' taken out by the latter to muster support ahead of Lok Sabha elections in 2019.

The CPM has planned a massive nationwide offensive to counter the BJP-RSS propaganda that Kerala is a land of red and jihadi terror. Congress workers fear that protests planned by CPM in all state capitals from 9 October may help the party draw more Muslim and Christian voters into its fold.

BJP has coined the term 'Red-Jihadi terror' for its Janaraksha Yatra as part of its strategy to woo Hindus. The "soft Hindutva" approach it adopted in Kerala helped the party increase its voteshare from 6.3 percent in 2011 to 14.8 percent in 2016. A bulk of these votes came at the UDF's expense.

The saffron party doesn't expect Hindus supporting the communists to shift their political affiliation easily since they are wedded strongly to the Marxist ideology. They are accordingly targeting Hindus supporting the UDF instead. The UDF already lost a substantial Hindu support base after a political party floated by the Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana (SNDP) Yogam forged an alliance with BJP.

The saffron party is also trying to woo leaders of all hues in a bid to cobble together a credible alternative before the Lok Sabha polls. Names of senior Congress leaders like former MP K Sudhakaran, sitting MP Shashi Tharoor, and ex-MLA Prayar Gopalakrishnan are being taken in BJP circles.

Political analyst Sunnykutty Abraham said that the BJP's strategy is to emerge as the main Opposition in Kerala. He told Firstpost that this may not be an impossible task, considering the Congress has neither an effective leadership nor a definite policy in the state. "The CPM and the BJP-RSS combine are equally responsible for political violence in the state. BJP's 'Janaraksha Yatra' and CPM's counter campaigns are both aimed at reaping political mileage. They have the same common agenda: Of weakening the Congress," Abraham said.

He said the Congress leadership has failed to realise this threat, and has failed to capitalise on a political opportuinity. "It could have used the political space provided by the Janraksha Yatra to expose the murderous politics pursued by the BJP and the CPM. This would have lifted the sagging spirits of party workers, and won them the support of the people. But the current leadership is bereft of ideas," he said.

"The Congress did not take the BJP seriously, thinking that BJP would eat into LDF's votes. But local body polls in October 2015 and Assembly elections in April 2016 have proved this wrong. Despite these electoral setbacks, however, the party hasn't learnt any lessons," he said.

Abraham said that if the party leadership continued with its present silence, disillusioned workers may desert it, helping BJP achieve its objective of Congress-mukt Kerala. He added that it would ultimately benefit CPM the most, since even BJP wouldn't be able to emerge as a formidable opposition in the state.

Kollam District Congress Committee (DCC) president M Liju said that the party was aware of BJP and CPM coming up with a masterplan designed to weaken the Congress. He told Firstpost that both parties wanted to keep the hostility alive, as they draw their strength from fear and insecurity among the people.

He accused the CPM of misguiding the minorities and reaping electoral benefits. There is no sincerity in the anti-RSS stance adopted by the CPM, he said; on the contrary, the CPM is actually hand-in-glove with the BJP.

"The lunch hosted by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to newly appointed Union minister from Kerala Alphons Kannathanam and his praise of Narendra Modi's approach towards the state are clear indications of the secret understanding between the two parties," he alleged.

He added that the Congress would expose this before the people. He also said a 'Kerala Yatra' will be taken out by Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala from Kasargod to Thiruvananthapuram from 1 November, and this double-speak of the RSS and CPM will be its main theme.

Liju denied the allegation that the Congress was soft towards the Sangh Parivar, saying the party doesn't want to add to a culture of violence being pursued by the CPM and the BJP. He also claimed the party is running a campaign against political violence, and creating awareness among the people in this regard. After the ongoing reorganisation, the party will sharpen its offensive, he added.

However, party workers don't seem too enthused by the exercise, terming it as a ritual to facilitate the elevation of Rahul Gandhi as the all-India Congress president.

Abraham said ordinary Congress workers were expecting a new generation leadership to guide the party through the current crisis. However, the leadership has dashed their hopes by trying to share party positions along factional lines.

Former chief minister Oommen Chandy, who has relinquished positions in the party following the Assembly election, has been demanding organisational elections from the booth level to revitalise the Congress. However, the party has sought the usual nomination route.

Former KPCC president K Muralidharan said that senior leaders were trying to accommodate their favourites in key positions in the party. If it fails to bring forth able leaders, it would sound the death knell of the Congress, he warned.
Puducherry: A Congress minister in Puducherry on Thursday said he would stage a fast in front of Parliament against the Centre for "not taking any step to rein in Lt Governor Kiran Bedi" who, he alleged, was functioning in an "autocratic manner."

Welfare Minister M Kandasamy in a five-page letter to Chief Minister V Narayanasamy referred to "difficulties" his departments had been facing allegedly since the present government was formed last year.

He alleged it was due to the "negative stand of Kiran Bedi in approving various decisions taken by the Cabinet to benefit farmers and other sections of people".

Kandasamy, elected from Embalam (reserved) segment, said he would inform the people in his constituency and stage a fast in front of Parliament in the next two months to condemn "the silence of the central government" which, he alleged, has not taken any steps to rein in Bedi who is functioning in an "utterly autocratic manner".

He alleged that Bedi was adopting "an anti-government" stance and the finance secretary had also been acting on the advice of the Lt Governor to turn down files relating to several welfare measures formulated by his departments.

The minister also requested the chief minister not to include his name, photo and also the departments and portfolios he was holding in the annual new year diaries and official calendars that would be brought out in 2018.

A copy of the letter was released to the media.

The minister's letter comes a day after Bedi shot off a letter to the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, seeking action against the Puducherry Adi Dravidar Development Corporation.

Bedi said she had received a complaint from Puducherry-based Rajiv Gandhi Human Rights Organisation, alleging that the corporation had "wasted Rs 6.3 crore meant for the welfare of the Scheduled Caste people by erecting high-mast lamps at 175 centres in nine Assembly constituencies where it is not essential".

The Narayanasamy-led Congress government in Puducherry has been at loggerheads with Bedi over a host of issues since she assumed the office last year.
Chandigarh: Former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Friday demanded that a sitting high court judge probe the deadly violence in Panchkula following the conviction of Dera Sacha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh in a rape case.

At least 35 people were killed and hundreds injured in the violence in Haryana and Punjab in August. A majority of the dead were shot by police who had to open fire to quell the protesters.

"The entire episode leading to the Panchkula violence needs in-depth probe. A commission headed by a sitting judge of the high court should be set up for the probe," Hooda said.

He told reporters that former Uttar Pradesh DGP Prakash Singh, under whom the Haryana government had set up a panel to probe the role of police and civil administration officials during the Jat reservation stir last year, should assist the commission.

A number of "conspiracy theories" have been doing the rounds, he said, adding that the state government had first said that Section 144 had been imposed in the city, but how did thousands of Dera followers gathered in Panchkula ahead of Ram Rahim's conviction by a special CBI court on 25 August.

"The government first said those who had gathered there did not carry any weapons or sticks, but when violence broke out, they changed their stance," he said.

The senior Congress leader said his party will take this up, the scrapping of the Dadupur Nalvi canal issue and the alleged injustice to farmers in the upcoming Assembly session.

"We will not allow the House to function if the BJP government fails to provide satisfactory answers," he said.

Hooda said during the three years of reign of the BJP government in Haryana three violent incidents have taken place, including the Jat reservation and Rampal issues.

"It is for the first time in Haryana's history that more people have fallen to police bullets in the past three years against those who died in similar incidents from 1966 (when state came into existence) till 2014," he claimed.

The two-time chief minister said the BJP government was a "fraud", which has no moral right to continue in power.

Asked to comment on a war of words between Haryana and Punjab chief ministers, when Haryana accused Punjab of hiding information about Ram Rahim Singh's aide Honeypreet's whereabouts, Hooda said Haryana chief minister ML Khattar was trying to hide his failures.

Attacking the Haryana government on the Dera issue, Hooda asked: "Was it not the Haryana government which took Honeypreet in a helicopter to Sunaria jail in Rohtak? Why was she later allowed to go to Dera Sacha Sauda in Sirsa and then to Rajasthan. All this smacks of a deep-rooted conspiracy".

He said the government was doing nothing to de-stress the farming sector. "The government went back on the promises it made to the peasants," he said.

Hooda also said the scrapping of high-value currency in November last year and the implementation of the GST with high rates have put the common people and traders under duress.
New Delhi: Dissident BJP leader Yashwant Sinha remains unfazed by all the criticism he has faced for his strong critique of the economy and asserts that lack of jobs will be a major issue in the next Lok Sabha elections.

He also feels any attempt at polarising voters on issues like the Ram temple or Article 370 of the Constitution will not work on a country-wide basis.

On demonetisation, which he has been strongly critical of, Sinha says he would have opposed it "tooth and nail" had he been the Finance Minister.

"I feel vindicated (on the Indian Express article attacking the government's handling of the economy). My first satisfaction is that the issue is being debated. There is quite an informed debate going on. I stand by the facts and figures I quoted. I see no signs so far of a respite for the stressed sectors of our economy.

"RBI has not revised rates. On the fiscal side again, the indications are that even if they don't go for fiscal expansion, the target of fiscal deficit will be breached the way expenditure is happening this year," Sinha told IANS in an interview.

Sinha said he made a point on the economy and it was his assessment -- and there can be a differing point of view. "But they (government) have not answered a single issue. Out of the council of ministers, my son (Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha) has come out. People said it should be dismissed as a father-son feud. It was reducing it to the level of such flippancy that the serious issue would be lost. I am happy that it has not."

Asked about whether the BJP would find the going tough in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and if the ruling party would attempt to polarise votes on issues like the Ram temple, uniform civil code and Article 370, the BJP veteran said it was too early to answer that question as there are about 18 months still left.

"The Indian voter is unpredictable and I should know given the 2004 elections," he said in a reference to the defeat suffered by his party then after it advanced the polls on the "Shining India" campaign. "New India" is the slogan now, he added.

He said there are two issues in the economy. "One is jobs and (the other) price rise. The Indian voter is worried if my lad has a job or not. That adds to frustration. As far as employment is concerned, it will be a major issue. Household after household will be suffering from unemployment."

On the question of polarisation, Sinha said, "That kind of polarisation has never worked on a country-wide basis. It may in pockets, but I don't think it will meet with electoral success. One thing is very certain. Either it (temple construction) will have to be with the consent of the parties concerned or through a court judgement. You will succeed only if there is a conflicting environment. Then only polarisation will take place. And it does not work every time. "

Admitting that the only good thing about the Modi government is that so far there have been no corruption charges, Sinha said the common man however does not benefit from it. He benefits from cutting-edge administration. "Nothing has changed on that front. For the common man, there is hardly any relief."

Sinha said there was no clear policy emerging on how to tackle the distress in various sectors. He referred to the way the share market was behaving and called it a case for study. RBI has said it will prevent volatility from market.

"There is a camp which says that rupee should be allowed to depreciate because it is affecting exports. We don't see any clear policy emerging.

"From the economic point of view, exports have come down, foreign demand is not there. Industrial demand is not there. Overall demand in the economy is not there. That is one reason why private investment is not taking place. There is no generation of fresh capacity. This is serious... because economic growth will take place only on the basis of rising demand. In 3.5 years of this government, there is no demand."

On demonetisation, Sinha said he would have opposed it tooth and nail had he been the Finance Minister. "It is a long debate what demonetisation can achieve, what it has achieved and what can be achieved through alternative means.

"We are talking of cashless. We have a whole host of measures to go cashless. I think there are 1.8 million cases (of disproportionate deposits). And all these cases will take their own time. If the Income Tax department has to handle these cases, then tax terrorism has returned. We are declaring to the world we are a country of thieves and black money holders.

"By when will we see the outcome of these cases, we don't know. The fact of the matter is that they have blundered badly as far as this move of demonetisation is concerned."

To a question on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the problems encountered by traders on account of its implementation, he said, "Now suddenly it has become the biggest reform since 1947 and they are tom-tomming it. I am seriously questioning the understanding of taxation that these people possess. Fifteen years (after) I introduced CENVAT with three rates, they introduce GST with five official rates -- and with many more cesses. There can't be more than three rates."

Sinha said that demand needs to be created and there was need to create an investment for demand for goods first in the economy. "We have to create demand for investment goods. That will lead to more job opportunities, money will flow into people's pockets through employment and then demand for consumption goods will rise. But this is not happening now."
RJD leader and former railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav's appearance at the CBI headquarters on Thursday for questioning in connection with alleged corruption in awarding the maintenance contract for two IRCTC hotels to a private firm is likely to provide the BJP with some much-needed handle against the secular bandwagon.

The interrogation is likely to open up an old can of worms, causing further embarrassment for the RJD chief, who seems to be attempting to emerge as a king-maker for the anti-BJP front in the 2019 Lok Sabha Polls.

Lalu's case is over the maintenance contract of two Railway-owned hotels in Ranchi and Puri awarded during his tenure. As per allegations, the contract was handed over to a company in return for a piece of land in Patna. The RJD chief's son Tejashwi has also been summoned by the CBI for interrogation on Friday.

Unlike the fodder scam, in which Lalu is a convict, the railway tender case has an optical value. A multi-crore shopping mall project involved in the enquiry, built on the land allegedly acquired in the scam by Lalu's family, provides a visible dimension to the allegations against him.

Whatever be the final outcome of the case a few years down the line, the massive private project in the heart of Patna, which is dubbed as Bihar's biggest shopping mall is likely to be played up in the upcoming 2019 Parliamentary polls as an embodiment of misuse of public resources by the RJD chief and his aides.

Interpreting the details of the scam, The Wire reported that he handed over the contract for the maintenance of two railway-run hotels to a private company, in lieu of which his son Tejashwi received ownership of a prime property in Patna.

The Wire further said that in 2006, the contract to manage two railway-run BNR hotels  in Ranchi and Puri  was won by one Sujata Hotels Pvt Ltd.

As per the allegations, the plot of land, on which the mall is being constructed by RJD MLA Abu Dojana, was transferred to Rabri Devi and Tejashwi over a period of four years at a rate much lower than the market price, by a shell company.

Significantly, a part of the case is also enquired by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). On 26 July, the ED slapped a case against Lalu in connection with this case.

There are other cases of similar nature against him and his family. The Indian Express reported that Lalu's daughter and Rajya Sabha member Misa Bharti is already facing a probe by the central agency into another Rs 8,000-crore money laundering case.

Bharti and her husband Shailesh Kumar owned a farmhouse in Delhi that was also sealed by ED earlier, as they could not demonstrate that the farmhouse was acquired using money from legitimate sources.

The newspaper further reported that the family also faces another probe by the Income Tax authorities into allegations of corrupt land deals worth Rs 1,000 crores in addition to tax evasion.

The interrogation process that has begun in the enquiry process of the railway tendering case would only add optics to the anti-corruption tirade of BJP targeted against Lalu, who only four months back had hinted a possible national alliance with Akhilesh Yadav and Priyanka Gandhi.

"If Akhilesh, Mayawati, Arvind Kejriwal, and Priyanka come together then no one can stop us in 2019," he had reportedly said. Yadav had also organised a massive rally against BJP in Patna on 27 August.

Though Lalu has been barred by the court from contesting elections for 11 years due to his conviction in the much-discussed fodder scam, he, with his party, cannot be underestimated as possible king-makers in national politics.

The 2015 Bihar Assembly elections, where his party as an ally of JD(U), had secured a clean sweep  at a time when the Narendra Modi wave was still washing the length and breadth of the nation  is a vivid example of his political clout.

Though the alliance with JD(U) was shaken off by Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar recently, throwing Lalu out of power, RJD still holds the biggest share of Bihar Assembly seats.

The present economic slowdown and rising communal violence provide a platform for the Opposition to unite against the BJP, as hoped by Lalu. His relevance in the politics of Bihar, a state that has as many as 40 seats in the Lok Sabha could be a major cause of concern for the BJP. The interrogation that has begun provides the BJP with a much-required opportunity to corner the Opposition.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is a 12-year-old political party which has failed to move beyond Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivali, Pune, Nashik and a handful of other big cities in the state. It's party president Raj Thackeray, however, still enjoys mass popularity. Like his uncle, Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray, the 50-year-old is a gifted orator and draws crowds with his evocative speeches.

Over the years, Thackeray has routinely managed to grasp the mood of the people, and reached out to them by addressing them in a language they can understand. Like he did on Thursday, when he addressed over 15,000 people in Mumbai. A notable feature of his Thursday rally was the manner in which he got the support of people across different communities, unlike the Raj Thackeray of old who had little to offer beyond the 'Marathi manoos' plank.

His march from Metro theatre in South Mumbai to the Western Railway headquarters in Churchgate was a show of anger against the city's crumbling civic infrastructure, which he blamed for the stampede that took place at Elphistone Road station on 29 September. Twenty-three people were killed in the stampede, and Raj Thackeray pinned the blame squarely on the railways.

Accompanied by wife Sharmila, son Amit and daughter Urvashi, Thackeray highlighted issues he said were hindering the railways  hawkers encroaching the foot-over bridges and platforms, entrances and approaches to the station, and the peripheral areas adjoining the station.

And these words seem to have had an impact. The Central Railway issued a press note on Friday, one day after Thackeray's rally, and said it will clamp down on unauthorised hawkers and beggars at all stations.

"All station masters to please note that unauthorised hawkers/vendors, beggars or those indulging in any unlawful activity within station premises, or obstructing free movement of passengers at stations or within the circulating area, should be immediately brought to the notice of RPF/GRP/ticket checking staff. The station master should take photographs of such activities and forward them to RPF/GRP controls. They will maintain date-wise records of these messages in a register kept at the station," the release said.

Rail commuters said by highlighting real issues impacting them, Thackeray ensured their support. Hitherto, his sons-of-the-soil and 'Marathi manoos' planks used to have little appeal beyond the Maharashtrian community, but by focussing on civic infrastructure, he managed to cut across communal lines and unite everyday commuters.

Pratik Gala, a businessman from Kandivali who travels to Marine Lines everyday, said, "The business community has thrown its weight behind Raj Thackeray. Things were so crowded, there was no space to walk on most railway platforms. Hawkers were everywhere on the railway premises," Gala alleged.

He said Raj Thackeray's deadline to the railways, of having all foot-over bridges cleared of hawkers within 15 days has met with wide approval.

Hitesh Jain, a 65-year-old commuter who travelled from Andheri to Masjid Bunder on the Harbour line, said, "We need basic railway infrastructure first. Bullet Train can wait."

The success of this march would come as much-needed salvation for Thackeray, who has suffered a series of electoral defeats in recent years, and saw cousin Uddhav overtake him on the popularity stakes.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha and Assembly election, MNS fared poorly. In the Assembly election, especially, it could garner only 3.10 percent of voteshare, down from 11.88 percent in 2009. It had won 13 seats in 2009, which went down to just the one solitary seat five years later. Earlier this year, in elections to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the MNS' voteshare went down from 20.10 percent to 7.74 percent, while the number of elected corporators the party sent went from 28 in 2012 to seven in 2017. It was clear that the party was on a downward spiral.

MLAs, including Ram Kadam, Pravin Darekar, and dozens of other corporators have also left the party since 2014. The party is clearly hoping that the improved morale among its cadre following the successful rally will mean it could bounce back from those dark days. A senior MNS leader, on condition of anonymity, said the party will continue focussing on issues that impact the common man, like hawkers, traffic jams, potholes, and transportation woes.

"Raj saheb has made several changes to the party structure, and is positioning it on public issues over the last six months. To be seen on social media, we launched a Facebook page to reach out to lakhs of our supporters. We are connected to Mumbaikars, as was evident by the outpouring of support. And we're not doing this for votebank politics, but rather anger against inadequate facilities for Mumbaikars," said Avinash Abhyankar, MNS spokesperson.

"What wrong did those 23 people do? Why did they lose their lives in the stampede? We want better infrastructure for a city like Mumbai. Following our morcha, the ministry is also looking at these issues more seriously. We gave them a 15-day ultimatum; we can hope they can fix things by then," Abhyankar claimed.
Days after floating his own party, the Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksh (MSP), former Maharashtra chief minister Narayan Rane has announced that the party will join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Over the last few months, speculation was rife that Rane, who quit the Congress last month, may join BJP. He even met BJP president Amit Shah and Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on several occasions. However, it was said that the BJP was unsure about having Rane, infamous for his temper outbursts, join the fold. A compromise was accordingly reached, whereby he announced a new party that will join the NDA.

Even while announcing his departure from the Congress on 22 September, Rane was cagey about his next move. "Let me first make new friends... and then I will be able to announce my next move," Rane had said at the time.

On 1 October, he floated a new party, the Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksh, which he had said would work for the overall and all-inclusive development of the state. On questions of joining the NDA, he had said he will decide on his future course of action later.

He quit Congress, his political base for the last 12 years, alleging that the party reneged on its promise to make him Maharashtra chief minister.

On Tuesday, Rane met Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, fuelling further speculation that he is likely to join the NDA. He had, however, sought two days time to think over the decision. "In my meeting with the chief minister, I was given an offer to become a part of the NDA. I have sought two days' time to think about the proposal," Rane had said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has so far offered no comments on the issue.

The move, while confirming widespread rumours in political circles, have also added an interesting third angle to the already multi-polar political scenario in Maharashtra.

While "frenemies" BJP and Shiv Sena continue to spar over policy decisions, both at the Centre and state, Rane's stand in the alliance will be interesting to watch. Ever since he joined the Congress, he has been a bitter critic of the Shiv Sena, especially its chief Uddhav Thackeray.

Rane started his career as a supporter of the Sena, and even launched a social outfit to voice regional aspirations in the late 70s, before it became a political party and a force to reckon with. His influence was evident on the streets, but it were with his efforts to master administrative procedures, understand legal issues and the ability to move crowds that ultimately catapulted him to the post of Maharashtra chief minister, when he was serving his second term as an MLA.

In 1999, when Manohar Joshi stepped down from the post of chief minister, Rane succeeded him. He, however, held the post for less than a year, as the five-year term of the then Shiv Sena-BJP government came to an end. In the election that followed, the saffron alliance conceded power to the Congress-NCP combine.

An ambitious Rane faced his first major challenge from within the Sena with the rise of Uddhav. Uddhav was anointed executive president of Shiv Sena, and Rane, who was leader of Opposition in state Assembly, read the signs when the BJP-led NDA was routed in the 2004 general elections.

In July 2005, he was expelled from by Bal Thackeray, which led to his joining Congress. He won a hard-fought by-election from Sindhudurg district in his native Konkan and was appointed revenue minister under then Congress chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.

Rane continued to claim that Congress leaders had promised to make him chief minister, a pledge that was never met. In 2014, Congress lost power and Rane himself failed to make it to the Assembly. He also lost the by-election in 2015 from Bandra in Mumbai when no Congress leader campaigned for him.

Though Rane was elected MLC on a Congress ticket, he was moving away from the party, and increasingly growing closer to the BJP. At 64, Rane's decision to now join the NDA marks the beginning of the third innings of his career.

With inputs from PTI
Gandhinagar: In view of the upcoming Assembly polls in the state, senior BJP leader and external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj will interact with over one lakh women from different parts of Gujarat at 'Mahila Townhall' programme to be held in Ahmedabad on 14 October.

Through this 'Adikham Gujarat (Resolute Gujarat)' townhall, Swaraj would have a direct dialogue with over one lakh women in 25 different locations and answer their questions, announced the state BJP unit in Gandhinagar on Friday.

Women can ask their questions using various social media platforms, such as Whats App, Twitter and Facebook, or by giving a missed call on 7878182182.

They can also log on to www.adikhamgujarat.com to register their questions.

Last month, BJP national president Amit Shah had interacted with the youth through 'Yuva Townhall'.

More than one lakh youth from 312 different locations across the state saw the event live while some of them had asked questions through video conferencing facility.
tech2 News Staff

Hospitality service startup Airbnb and WeWork, a workspace providing startup are coming together keeping the business travellers in mind.

According to a Bloomberg report, while the former will provide stay for its business traveller, the latter will take care of providing a work desk, Wi-Fi, printers, and meeting rooms at the nearest WeWork location.

The two technology startups are expected to roll out its new service in six new cities. These are New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, London and Sydney. The customers while booking their Airbnb accommodations, would be able to save a spot at the WeWork office which is nearest to their Airbnb location.

The report said that though both the startups have confirmed to the partnership nothing much has been revealed about the future plans.

Meanwhile, the homestay startup had also rolled out a Business Travel Ready program which offers an office desk and high-speed internet as well. According to Bloomberg, Airbnb is expecting corporate travel to quadruple on its platform this year.

While Airbnb goes about wooing the business travellers, there are some issues that keep cropping up for its regular leisure customers. SRecently, in July, a traveller was denied accomodation by an AirBnB host few minutes before her arrival to the Big Bear in California, on the basis of her race. She was an Asian. The host was asked by California Department of Fair Employment and Housing to pay $5,000 dollar as compensation as well as a college level course on Asian American studies.
tech2 News Staff

With the new software update, Apple will also introduce a slew of new emojis. These varied emojis include gender-neutral characters, animals, clothes and headgear, and fantastical creatures.

The new iOS 11.1 update will come with these emojis alongside other characters which were announced during the World Emoji Day such as Woman with Headscarf, Bearded person, breastfeeding, Zombie and food items such as Sandwich and Coconut. Apple in a statement said, In the update is the Love-You Gesture, designed after the I love you hand sign in American Sign Language.

Apple in a statement said, In the update is the Love-You Gesture, designed after the I love you hand sign in American Sign Language.

The emojis will debut in next week's developers and public beta previews of iOS 11. And they are currently available in upcoming software updates for iOS, macOS and watch OS.

The emojis in the list seen above look highly detailed. Off late, Apple has been releasing emojis which break the conventional notions of gender and social stigmas such as breastfeeding.

Recently Facebook-owned instant messaging platform WhatsApp had released a beta version of a new emoji set for Android OS that looked similar to Apple's design. In fact Emojipedia had also said in its blog post, "At a glance, these could be confused for Apple's own emojis. Side-by-side the differences are clear for some emojis, but others are very close to what Apple displays."
At least 22 people have been killed by Tropical Storm Nate when it hit Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras on Thursday before it moves north towards the US.

A state of emergency has been declared in the Central American nations, where more than 20 people are still missing.

The tropical storm has caused heavy rains, landslides and floods, which are blocking roads, destroying bridges and damaging houses.

In Costa Rica, nearly 400,000 people are without running water and thousands are sleeping in shelters.

At least eight people have died in the storm there, while another 11 were killed when it moved north and reached Nicaragua, where as much as 15ins (38cm) of rain had been predicted to fall by the US's National Hurricane Center.

Meanwhile, three people have been killed in Honduras, including two teenagers who drowned in a river, and several are reported missing. One man was also reportedly killed in a mudslide in El Salvador, according to emergency services.

On the other hand, all train journeys in Costa Rica has been suspended and dozens of flights were cancelled on Thursday.

The storm also caused extensive damage to the infrastructure in Nicaragua and the country's vice-president Rosario Murillo advised people to be cautious in the heavy rains.

"Sometimes we think we think we can cross a river and the hardest thing to understand is that we must wait," he said on state radio.

"It's better to be late than not to get there at all."

Tropical storm Nate was expected to move off the eastern coast of Honduras at 23:00 ET (03:00 GMT) on Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Forecasters say the storm will gain strength and become a category one hurricane before it makes landfall on the southern coast of the United States on Sunday.

Residents from Florida to Texas have been told to prepare for the storm, which, if it does strike, will be the third major storm to hit the southern coast his year.

Both Texas and Florida are still recovering from the damage inflicted by Hurricane Harvey, which hit the former in August and caused "unprecedented damage", and Hurricane Irma, which made landfall in Florida in September.

The mayor of the city told people who live on low-lying ground to evacuate. "There is no need to panic," Mitch Landrieu tweeted. "Be ready and prepare. Get a plan. Prepare to protect your personal property."

Oil companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico says they are evacuating staff from platforms which lie along the predicted path of the storm.

As of now, a state of emergency was declared in 29 Florida counties, and in New Orleans in Louisiana.
tech2 News Staff

State-owned Telecom operator, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) after completing 17 years of service has plans to offer low cost smartphones to its customers in the form bundled offers. The nationwide launch will follow shortly as the operator is in the process of signing the deals with two local manufacturers from whom BSNL has plans to source them.

The news comes from The Hindu which reveals that BSNL has tied up with Micromax and Lava, two local smartphone manufacturers that will offer some low cost handsets to the operator.

While the pricing of the devices have not been fixed, the operator expects the devices to be priced in the range of "Rs 2,500 or less." Principal general manager- Hyderabad telecom district, K, Ramchand told the publication that the final cost is still being worked out, but the devices will be affordable.

The state-owned operator has also chosen local manufacturers as part of the Make in India initiative.

The above information was revealed at a press conference held in Telangana where the operator also confirmed its plans for setting up around 118 rural Wi-Fi exhanges in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

Apart from the above, BSNL officials also claimed that they are going to strengthen local networks and has already placed orders for new GSM equipment under 'Phase 8' with plans to set up an additional 400 new sites from April next year. The same is also expected to coincide with BSNL's 4G roll out.
AFP

An Estonian ride-hailing service started operations in Paris on Thursday, tackling market leader. Uber armed with backing from China's Didi, bigger margins for drivers and a chief executive who is only 23.

The service, Taxify, already claims three million customers in 19 countries. "Paris is essentially dominated by one American company," CEO Markus Villig told AFP.

"We want to prove that European companies can also come in and gain a significant market share and show some competition," said Villig who founded Taxify when he was a 19-year-old student. Villig said Taxify had managed to capture 20 to 30 percent of market share within the first year of operations in some countries and "we hope that we can have something similar in France as well".

"I'm proud to say that we are the biggest ridesharing platform now in Europe, after Uber, and the biggest European one actually headquartered in Europe," he said. Like Uber, Taxify operates via a smartphone app, allowing users to book rides and pay for them without using cash.

But the company says it will take only 15 percent commission from drivers, compared to Uber's 25 percent, and will price the rides 10 percent below the American giant. And unlike Uber, which lost $2.8 billion in 2016 on turnover of $6.5 billion, Taxify is profitable, its chief said.

It also enjoys the backing of Chinese giant ride-sharing company Didi Chuxing, which last year took over Uber China, driving its US competitor out of China. Didi in August said it had entered into a "strategic partnership" with Taxify, without specifying details.

But according to Villig, the Chinese behemoth, which claims 400 million users, took a stake of just under 20 percent in his company during the summer.
Islamabad: Two senior police officials convicted by a Pakistani anti-terrorism court in the Benazir Bhutto assassination case are set to walk free from jail after a court suspended their 17-year sentence, media reports said on Friday.

The Lahore High Court's (LHC) Rawalpindi Bench suspended the 17-year jail sentences and fines handed out to additional inspector general of police Saud Aziz and senior superintendent of police Khurram Shahzad by an anti-terrorism court on 31 August.

Aziz was the Rawalpindi city police officer and Shahzad the Rawal Town SP when the former prime minister Bhutto was assassinated in 2007.

The two police officers were convicted for criminal negligence and washing the crime scene.

The anti-terrorism court had acquitted five alleged members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for want of evidence.

Bhutto, 54, also the chief of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was assassinated in a suicide attack at an election campaign rally in Rawalpindi's Liaquat Bagh on 27 December, 2007.

They were both awarded 10 years in prison under Section 119 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and seven years under Section 201 of the PPC, and fined Rs 1 million each for "facilitating commission of an offence".

While Aziz has retired from the police force, Shahzad is the SSP Special Branch in Rawalpindi. They had both challenged their conviction in the LHC's Rawalpindi Bench which suspended their conviction on Thursday.

The court accepted their bail plea against surety bonds of Rs 200,000 each, Dawn newspaper reported.

The two police officers are likely to be released from Adiala Jail later on Friday, media reports said.

On 29 September, the Federal Investigative Agency (FIA) filed a petition in the LHC's Rawalpindi Bench challenging the anti-terrorism court's (ATC) decision in the murder case. The PPP has also challenged the ATC's decision.

The PPP has alleged that Benazir had repeatedly stated that Musharraf was not providing her security.
Melbourne: Around 50 witnesses could be called to a hearing in March to determine if there is enough evidence for Vatican finance chief Cardinal George Pell to stand trial on sex abuse charges, a court was told on Friday.

The 76-year-old, a top adviser to Pope Francis, is accused of multiple historical sexual offences relating to incidents that allegedly occurred long ago. He is the most senior Catholic cleric to be charged with criminal offences linked to the church's long-running sexual abuse scandal. The exact details and nature of the allegations against Pell have not been made public, other than they involve "multiple complainants".

A frail-looking Pell returned to the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday for a largely administrative matter in which 5 March was set for the start of a four-week committal hearing to decide if there is enough evidence from the prosecution for the case to go to trial.

Many of the details cannot be reported for legal reasons. But Magistrate Belinda Wallington said all witnesses would be allowed except five, meaning some 50 could be called up, including former choirboys. "It is appropriate to allow people's memories to be further explored," she said.

His barrister Robert Richter suggested it was "impossible" that some alleged incidents occurred at a Melbourne cathedral. "We propose to demonstrate ... that what was alleged was impossible," he told Wallington.

Pell has not had to enter a plea yet, but at his first appearance at the same court in July he instructed his lawyer to make clear he intended to plead not guilty. "For the avoidance of doubt and because of the interest, I might indicate that Cardinal Pell pleads not guilty to all charges and will maintain the presumed innocence that he has," Richter said at the time.

Pell, a former Sydney and Melbourne archbishop, was not required to attend the hearing Friday.

But Australia's most powerful Catholic again opted to appear, having previously vowed to defend himself and clear his name after a two-year investigation led to him being charged on 29 June.

Leave of absence

At his first court appearance, he had to battle through a crush of national and international media as he walked the short distance from his barrister's office to the court's main entrance. Hunched over and looking weary, he again made the same slow trek to and from the court on Friday but with a much heavier police presence and less media, making no comment. He did not react as several protesters called out abuse on his way in. He was also heckled with screams of "nowhere to hide" as he left.

But he also had supporters, including Carmen Zahra who said: "We know that he is a man of integrity."

Pell has been granted a leave of absence by the Pope, who has made clear the cardinal would not be forced to resign his post as head of the Vatican's powerful economic ministry. But the scandal has rocked the church. Australia's Catholic leaders have previously spoken out in support of him, describing Pell as a "thoroughly decent" man.

Supporters have set up a fund to help him pay his court costs, according to the Institute of Public Affairs, a high-profile conservative Australian think tank.

The allegations coincide with the final stages of Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse, ordered in 2012 after a decade of pressure to investigate widespread allegations of institutional paedophilia. The commission has spoken to thousands of survivors and heard claims of child abuse involving churches, orphanages, sporting clubs, youth groups and schools.

Pell appeared before the commission three times, once in person and twice via video-link from Rome.
Washington: President Donald Trump is planning to decertify the landmark Iran nuclear pact negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama, paving the way for potentially reopening sanctions, two leading US dailies said on Friday.

Trump will argue that the agreement is not in the interest of the United States, the Washington Post reported, quoting four people close to the president.

The New York Times also said Trump plans to decertify the accord but leave it in force and make Congress decide whether to reimpose punitive sanctions, quoting people briefed on the matter.

Resumed sanctions could derail the accord negotiated with Tehran by Obama and other major world powers.

Decertification would allow Trump to argue that he has rejected the accord as pledged but not completely ignored senior advisers and lawmakers who say the accord should stand.

Trump on Thursday criticized Iran's behavior with regard to the 2015 pact.

"They have not lived up to the spirit of the agreement," said Trump, as he huddled with military leaders ahead of perhaps the biggest foreign policy decision of his young presidency.

"The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence and chaos across the Middle East," Trump said in the Cabinet Room.

"That is why we must put an end to Iran's continued aggression and nuclear ambitions" he said. "You will be hearing about Iran very shortly."

Trump must tell Congress by 15 October whether he believes Iran is in compliance with the agreement.

He may well fly in the face of advice from some of his closest advisors, declaring Iran is not in compliance and leaving the pact's fate in the hands of the Republican-controlled Congress.

Ahead of that deadline, several officials familiar with White House deliberations told AFP Trump has made it clear he does not want to certify Iran's compliance. But a formal decision has yet to be made.
Washington: US President Donald Trump on Thursday insisted Iran has not acted in keeping with a deal to curb its nuclear program, days before he must decide on the future of the accord.

"They have not lived up to the spirit of the agreement," said Trump, who appeared poised to withhold certification of Iran's compliance, leaving Congress to weigh sanctions that could scupper the deal.

"The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence and chaos across the Middle East," Trump said as he met military leaders to discuss the issue.

"That is why we must put an end to Iran's continued aggression and nuclear ambitions" he said. "You will be hearing about Iran very shortly."

Ahead of the 15 October deadline, several officials familiar with White House deliberations told AFP Trump has made it clear he does not want to certify Iran's compliance with the accord, flying in the face of advice from some of his closest advisors.
Washington: The US military is "ridding" the world of terrorism, President Donald Trump has said, asserting that America's goals were denuclearising North Korea and stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Trump's remarks came after he held a meeting with top US military leaders on Thursday. The meeting was also attended by the President's advisers, including the National Security Adviser H R McMaster, Chief of Staff John Kelly and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.

"I put my trust in you to execute our mission aggressively and effectively, and you are delivering. We're ridding our world of terrorism and terrorists as much as it can be done," Trump said.

Noting that he wanted to discuss certain critical things with the military, Trump also listed out some of his priorities.

"In North Korea, our goal is denuclearisation. We cannot allow this dictatorship to threaten our nation or our allies with unimaginable loss of life. We will do what we must do to prevent that from happening. It will be done, if necessary - believe me," he said.

The US must not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, Trump emphasised. The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed and chaos across the Middle East, he alleged, adding that this is why America must put an end to Iran's continued aggression and nuclear ambitions. "They have not lived up to the spirit of their agreement," he said.

Trump said in Afghanistan he had lifted restrictions and expanded authorities for commanders in the field.

"You know that very well, and everyone in this room is very happy that it's been done finally. We've made more progress in our campaign to defeat Islamic State in the last eight months than in many, many previous years, all combined," Trump said.

Earlier, Trump issued a national security memorandum aimed at integration, sharing and use of national security threat actor information to protect Americans.

National security threat actor information comprises identity attributes and associated information about individuals, organisations, groups or networks assessed to be a threat to the safety, security or national interests of the United States, the memorandum said.
Small companies are feeling the heat of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rollout. And, this adds to the pain faced by the economy at this juncture. The simple reason is that millions of tiny entrepreneurs, commonly known as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), are a major employer in the economy giving jobs to around 8 crore people and contribute close to 40 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

In that sense, these firms are the backbone of the economy. After the rollout of the GST, this segment is facing severe cash flow issues. This is mainly due to delayed refunds and the complexity of the compliance process in the new technology framework. Also, across industries, demand has taken a hit and there are no fresh investments. If this persists, the short-term liquidity mismatch can seriously hamper future prospects of these firms, warns India Ratings and Research, one of the rating agencies in a note.

"The short-term liquidity crisis arising from delayed input credit refunds is due to the difficulties in mapping the inventory held on the transition date with respective invoices, various GST Network-related technical issues and admissibility of these refund claims. The admissibility can depend on companies' ability to match corresponding tax invoices with vendors' filings," the agency said.

In the recent monetary policy, the monetary policy committee (MPC) too had noted that even the rollout of the GST has had a temporary negative impact on the growth. The implementation of the GST so far also appears to have had an adverse impact, rendering prospects for the manufacturing sector uncertain in the short term. This may further delay the revival of investment activity, which is already hampered by stressed balance sheets of banks and corporates, the MPC said.

Nevertheless, GST is a great idea whose time has come in India. Being an ambitious economy, India needed to embrace the uniform indirect tax structure sooner than later. And the Narendra Modi government has done a good job in generating a political consensus to make this happen a decade after the idea was first discussed in Parliament.

It is wrong to compare the GST with Modis other economic moves such as demonetisation. This is a much-needed, long-awaited tax reform while note ban was a risky adventure, that later turned out to be a misadventure for the economy. Unlike this, GST is a progressive step India has taken to elevate the economy to the next orbit of development.

The governments determination to meet the 1 July rollout date was sure to be followed by hiccups in the initial stage and needed to be corrected at the earliest. Small industrial units need to be give special care since these entities lack the clout and financial muscle enjoyed by large corporations. The GST Council should offer relaxations to these companies by making it easier to file returns (lowering the number of returns from three a month currently and a cut-off for small firms).

As India Ratings points out in its report, GST will also result in higher working capital requirements for the majority of manufacturing companies since these entities need to pay the entire tax at the point of dispatch of goods from the factory gates, and also for the movement to warehouses. The agency estimates the jump in working capital requirement at 200-450 bps of revenue for the steel industry and at about 500 bps of net value addition across the value chain for the textile industry. "The increase in working capital requirement, as a proportion of revenue, would aid bank credit growth for large corporates," it said.

This will create demand for bank loans. But, the big question is whether the banking sector, neck-deep in bad loans, will be keen to fund this demand. Bank lending to MSMEs contracted by 3.4 percent till August this fiscal year as compared with a contraction of 4.6 percent in the year-ago period. For medium-sized companies, the contraction in credit growth has been 5.7 percent while for large companies, it was 2.3 percent this fiscal year till August. Unless the bad loan problem gets resolved, it is unlikely that banks will re-open their lending channels to small and medium companies in a big way.

But, none of this should be a reason for politicians to write-off GST comparing it with demonetisation. Clearly, the onus is on the government, which needs to urgently work out a solution to help these companies overcome the transition phase. Modi shouldnt let the opposition demonise the GST giving an excuse of faulty rollout. As the World Bank too has noted, despite the temporary pain, GST is going to have a positive impact on the economy in the long-term. The immediate task for the government is to cushion small industrial units from the transition pain by addressing inefficiencies in the implementation while taking political consensus ahead.
United Nations: The United Nations praised the Nobel Peace Prize awarded on Friday to nuclear disarmament group ICAN as good news in a world where the elimination of nuclear weapons is needed more than ever.

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres was among the first to congratulate the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons for its win.

"Now more than ever we need a world without nuclear weapons," he said on Twitter.

A UN spokeswoman in Geneva, Alessandra Vellucci, said the award is "a good omen" for the eventual ratification of a treaty banning nuclear weapons, the United Nations said.

The historic nuclear weapons ban treaty was signed by 122 countries in July.

The award came as North Korea has set the world on edge with a series of nuclear and missile tests that have sent global tensions soaring.

US president Donald Trump threatened to "totally destroy" North Korea in a UN General Assembly speech last month, and is reported to be ready to turn his back on an international agreement with Iran to curb its nuclear program.
After putting a (temporary) lid today on spiralling concerns over Indias new centralised indirect tax, GST, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will head to the US next week. Here, the spotlight will shift to the wider sweep of nations and their general growth trajectory - Indias numbers still looking brighter than the average.

The number that's the darling of news headlines now is 5.7% which is the quarterly GDP growth April to June; the RBI forecast for the full year is in the mid to high 6s.

The long awaited global recovery is taking root, Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary said Thursday, describing the IMFs official global economic outlook, scheduled for release late next week, as even more optimistic.

Speaking at Harvard Universitys Kennedy School of Government, Lagarde painted a rosier picture of the global economy compared with the previous edition of the Fall meetings of the IMF and World Bank.

Policymakers should use all tools at their disposal to act now, and take advantage of the period of global growth. As I said, let us not let a good recovery go to waste, Lagarde said, setting stage for the maha kumbh of economics in downtown Washington D.C all of next week.

But this isnt the first time that the IMF sounds chirpy. The semi annual World Economic Outlook (WEO) released this Spring raised forecast for global growth in 2017 to 3.5% but the Funds forecasts have been far from perfect.

Since the Wall Street led crash of 2008, the IMF has rejigged its forecasts every year since 2010. Going by even more recent track record too, spring forecasts have been optimistic and all of those numbers are still less than Indias numbers, despite the so-called slowdown.

The annual autumn meetings of the governing board of the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) brings in an influx of 12,000 eco-brahmins including central bankers, finance ministers, politicos, moneybags and academics.

The Global Financial Stability Report and the World Economic Outlook, the two signature documents that will be in full media glare will help frame each countrys situation in a wider arc of a world on edge.

Lagarde, in her avatar as a former finance minister (too), spoke at Harvard on several issues of central banking and monetary policy. Though hers were broad brushstrokes, the themes are similar to what RBI Governor Urjit Patel said in an India context barely a day or two ago - especially when he replied to a pointed question on whether it is time for a fiscal stimulus.

You, know given the general government fiscal deficit or in other words central and states debt combined that is already in the region of 6% of GDP and that can hardly be described as tight. We must be very cautious lest we undercut macroeconomic stability, Urjit Patel said.

Here is Lagardes answer to the same theme, delivered at the Kennedy School: Our fiscal message is subtle. Those countries who are in surplus should take the chance and invest and improve their factors of productivity. For those economies where the debt is clearly up, that is not the time for expansion. It is time to stabilise. For all of them, they should have a growth friendly fiscal policy.

Jaitley will also be speaking at Harvard next week before travelling to Washington DC. His speech will be at Harvards South Asia Institute on Indias tax reform.

Indias GST has also figured in World Bank chiefs comments ahead of the Fund Bank meetings - Theres been a deceleration in the first quarter, but we think that's mostly due to temporary disruptions in preparation for the GST, which by the way is going to have a hugely positive impact on the economy," while Lagarde spoke at Harvard on the bigger question of when is the right time to fix stuff - when things are going fine or during a crisis?

"Either you sit back and bask in the sun and wait for the next crisis to proceed with the change you wanted.... Championing change when things are getting better is particulalrly tough. Just because something is politically difficult does not mean we must shy away from it", Lagarde said in her talk titled - A time to repair the roof.

Raghuram Rajan, Indias former RBI Governor, also writes on some of these emergent themes in the Chicago Booth Review: Every central banker in an emerging market has had the experience of the government calling her up and telling her all sorts of interesting things it can do with her balance sheet. Usually the response has been a polite no. But if you have a large balance sheet that is being used without any connection to monetary policy, it can be hard to turn down such requests.

His parting line is telling, and like Lagardes talk, seems to apply across geographies for its appeal to practicality if not anything else: Central banks essentially said, Give us a mandate, and dont place constraints on how we achieve itthat is, give us operational freedom. That may have worked fine when the primary instrument of central-bank policy was the policy rate (and some marginal tweaks to liquidity). It no longer works because theres so much central banks can do. That is, there are no assets central banks cannot buy, and no borrowers they cannot fund. It opens the door for politicians to start questioning why it is that central banks have so much freedom. In the process of expanding central-banking capabilities and doing what it takes to achieve their mandate, central banks may have inadvertently exposed themselves to political scrutiny and, eventually, a loss of central-banking independence and power.

Many of these expert views tie neatly into whats happening outside of the US. But after the last expert has left the lectern from the Fund Bank meetings, geopolitical worries, climate shocks and terror related fears will both dominate the proceedings as well as fill the gaps no expert can answer. At least for now.
WASHINGTON  A 64-year-old white man, a millionaire gambler who owned a total of 47 guns, rents a Las Vegas hotel suite and sprays 22,000 country music fans with hundreds of bullets, leaving nearly 600 people slaughtered or grievously wounded.

What happens next?

A. Politicians offer thoughts and prayers.

B. The White House, the National Rifle Association and Republican leaders in Congress insist now is not the time to talk about curtailing gun violence in America.

C. Just about everyone agrees nothing concrete will happen.

D. All of the above.

You are correct. Its D.

No matter what happens, Congress keeps refusing every effort at even moderate gun controls.

Until the Nevada massacre, the House was moving toward loosening controls on silencers and suppressors. Donald Trump Jr. made a video to persuade politicians that silencers are fun, even for children.

Nationwide, the sale of $50 so-called bump stocks is soaring. The devices let gun owners turn legal semi-automatic guns into illegal automatics, de facto machine guns that were ostensibly outlawed in 1986. The Las Vegas murderer used 12 bump stocks to speed up his assault rifles.

Congress has refused to computerize gun registration. (We now know one overworked ATF agent in West Virginia has a card file he must manually go through to try to trace the history of any suspect gun.) There are 300 million guns in private hands in America.

Congress let a ban on assault weapons expire.

Congress has refused to toughen background checks on gun buyers.

Open carry gun laws are proliferating. You can carry guns openly on some college campuses. Into many churches. On many public streets. In your car. Congress now and then considers expanding on this.

After every mass shooting, gun manufacturers profits rise. The stock prices of such companies rose after Las Vegas.

The NRA put $26 million in the 2016 elections. Most Republican politicians are terrified of losing NRA support and facing defeat at the polls.

The NRA, which used to stand for responsible gun controls, now sees any move to protect people from guns as the camels nose under the tent. The NRA whips owners up into a frenzy, painting a nightmare scenario in which jackbooted government thugs raid your house at midnight, confiscating all your guns and leaving you defenseless against marauding hoards.

Incidentally, the most influential person in the gun industry in America is a reclusive New York billionaire financier, Stephen Feinberg, who invests in gun manufacturing, owns a company called Cerberus and is a big military contractor in Afghanistan. Oddly, his profits had been declining under Donald Trump because gun buyers slowed their purchases, assured hed never push gun control. One of the first laws Trump signed permitted 75,000 people deemed too mentally ill to manage their financial affairs to buy guns.

After a lone gunman killed 20 six- and seven-year-olds and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012, at least 70 percent of Americans said they favored legislation to prevent such horror from ever happening again. Congress refused to act.

A year ago, 49 people were killed at the Pulse Night Club in Orlando. Congress refused to act.

Every year there are about 350 mass shootings in America. Every day 85 people die in the United States from gun shots. The U.S. has six times more gun deaths than Canada and 16 times more gun violence than Germany. With 5 percent of the worlds population, the United States has 30 percent of all mass shootings.

The NRA famously proclaimed, Guns dont kill people. People kill people.

True. People kill lots of people. With lots of guns.

Millions of thoughts. Millions of prayers. But no new gun controls from Congress even though two of its own, Gabrielle Giffords and Steve Scalise, were shot in mass shootings and nearly died.

Why does anyone besides a soldier in war need an automatic gun that shoots bullets that tear through armor and eviscerate humans and animals?

When is the right time to discuss this? Not now, said the White House. Not now, said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Its premature to think about more gun control, said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

If not now, after the worst mass shooting in U.S. history _ to date, when?

Our congressional wimps should at least ban bump stocks, toughen background checks and computerize records.
With Iraqi forces recapturing the key town of Hawija on Thursday, the Islamic State in that country stands considerably weakened. The militant group once held one-third of Iraqi territory but it has suffered loss after loss this year and now only controls a slither of land in the Euphrates Valley near the Syrian border.

In a further blow to the Islamic State, about 1,000 of its militants surrendered to Iraqi forces, USA Today reported. This indicates that the militant group is fast collapsing and is unable to defend its territory.

The decisive blow for the Islamic State in Iraq had come in July this year after Iraqi forces captured Mosul, the largest city in the 'caliphate' proclaimed by it.

The group  whose motto was "remain and expand"  has not conquered new areas around the core of its "caliphate" since 2015, but has lost thousands of fighters and is less attractive to foreign jihadists than it once was, according to AFP.

The recapturing of Hawija assumes particular importance for Iraq in the context of the recent Kurdish referendum, as pointed out by a Reuters report. The Iraqi state suffered a setback in the referendum as the Kurdish minority voted overwhelmingly in support for autonomy.

The Islamic State is also losing ground in Raqqa in Syria, the de-facto capital of the 'caliphate.' Syrian forces announced on 20 September that its assault on Raqqa is almost complete, with almost 80 percent of the city captured, as reported by BBC.

A CNBC report points out that the militant outfit has also suffered huge financial losses in the recent past. According to the report, US airstrikes halved the Islamic State's oil and natural sales, which are a major source of revenue for them. A reduction in revenue has led them to introduce a plethora of fines and taxes on its captives. Some of these taxes and fines have been levied on absurd things, such as 'exit fees' for leaving a city and fines for not answering questions on the Quran correctly.
Washington: Pakistan foreign minister Khawaja Asif has slammed powerful Republican senator John McCain for comparing the war in Afghanistan with that of Vietnam.

"Senator McCain was drawing parallel between Vietnam and the war in Afghanistan. Let me remind him through this forum, he has a poor sense of history," Asif said while speaking at the US Institute of Peace, a Congress supported think-tank.

Asif's remarks surprised the audience mainly because McCain has often come to the defence of Pakistan and has been opposed to taking any punitive measure against the country. McCain, the Chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, is known as a friend of Pakistan.

A former Republican presidential candidate, McCain is widely respected across the political spectrum and in the American military establishment. The reason for Asif's outburst against McCain was not immediately clear.

Asif said that when the Americans took over the Vietnam War, they had actually lost the war from day one.

"Because in Indo-China the French were too clever for the Americans. They handed over a lost war, a losing war to the Americans. And the Americans were too happy to fight for one and half decade a war which had no end," he said.

And then they had to bomb Laos and Cambodia for having sanctuaries, he added.

"There were many many other causes. So let's not play to the galleries. Let's not play to your constituents. Let's face the verdict of history. The verdict of the history was that you perused a folly in Vietnam and you lost it," he said.

The verdict of history will be that if the way the Afghan problem is being pursued, the United States will lose Afghan War also, Asif said as he expressed his opposition to the new South Asia Strategy of the Trump Administration.

In fact, the US has already lost the war, he said. "You are just trying to salvage the situation over there."

Asif also warned that pursuing a military solution will force the Taliban and ISIS to join hands. "That will be the biggest curse for us to face, for the region to face. We don't want to see that situation happening in our region. So that is why we want to cooperate with the Americans with full vigor, honesty and commitment," he said.

Asif also claimed that Pakistan is the only country which is fighting and winning the war against terrorists.
Washington: US lawmakers bolstered efforts on Friday to ban devices used by the Las Vegas shooter to make his guns fire faster, while the National Rifle Association unexpectedly urged federal officials to review the legality of such modifications.

The influential pro-gun lobby group broke from its traditional outright opposition to any gun control efforts by calling on the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to consider changing the laws surrounding so-called "bump stocks."

"The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations," the NRA said.

The statement is a notable concession by the group, which has vehemently opposed any efforts to tighten gun laws or limit gun owners' options to modify their weapons, and it could open the door to a broader debate about bump stocks. But should the ATF modify federal statute to make such devices illegal, the move would circumvent Congress.

As police search for more clues into what drove Stephen Paddock to murder 58 people and wound nearly 500 at a country music concert, President Donald Trump's White House also announced it was "open" to further debate about the devices.

The spring-loaded mechanism uses a rifle's recoil to repeatedly and rapidly pull the trigger, allowing the user to fire several hundred rounds per minute.

"Members of both parties and multiple organisations are planning to take a look at bump stocks," White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters. "We welcome that and would like to be part of that conversation."

As Congress appeared prepared to at least consider moving forward on the first gun limits in years, it emerged that Paddock may have scoped out other major US cities for possible attacks.

Chicago's Blackstone hotel said a man by the same name had reserved a room there in August  but never showed up  as hundreds of thousands of people were attending the outdoor concert festival Lollapalooza, including Malia Obama, daughter of the former president. He had also conducted internet searches in Boston, reported the Boston Globe, raising the prospect that Paddock may have been plotting more attacks.

The NRA and White House announcements give cover to Republican lawmakers, many of whom receive NRA funding, to back current legislation that would ban the sale of bump stocks.

"Clearly this is something we need to look into," House Speaker Paul Ryan, the top Republican in Congress, told MSNBC.

House and Senate Democrats have introduced bills banning bump stocks and similar devices, like trigger cranks, that can accelerate the firing rate of a semi-automatic weapon to nearly that of a machine gun.

Senator Diane Feinstein, whose assault weapons ban was defeated in 2013, four months after the Newtown shooting where 20 elementary school children were shot dead, said she hoped now was the time Republicans could support her measure to curtail use of the devices.

"Mr President, you know what the right thing to do is," said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, calling on Trump, who visited Las Vegas on Thursday and met with victims and first responders, to support a ban on bump stocks.

While Republicans like Senators Lindsey Graham and John Cornyn were open to hearings on bump stocks, not all Republicans were on board. "I think this is about chipping away at the Second Amendment," said Senator John Kennedy, referring to the clause in the US Constitution which guarantees citizens the right to bear arms.
Karachi: A suicide bomber on Thursday blew himself up at a Shia shrine packed with devotees in Pakistan's troubled Balochistan province, killing at least 18 people and injuring 25 others, police officials said.

The attacker tried to enter the Dargah Fatehpur in the Jhal Magsi district of Balochistan and detonated his explosives vest when he was stopped by the police at the main entrance, Deputy Commissioner Asadullah Kakar told the media.

Kakar said an assistant sub-inspector of police was killed while attempting to stop the suicide bomber from entering the shrine. Two other policemen were also injured.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on the Islamic State-linked Aamaq news agency.

Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti told the media that 18 people including a police constable and three children were killed in the blast.

"The brave police constable stopped the suicide bomber from entering the shrine after which he blew himself up. If he had managed to enter the shrine there would be have been greater casualties," Bugti said.

The minister said that around 25 people were injured in the blast and they were shifted to different hospitals.

Dr Rukhsana Magsi at the Gandawah hospital in Jhal Magsi, about 400 kms east of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, confirmed 15 bodies were brought to the hospital.

Rescue officials fear that the death toll could rise as the blast took place when there was a heavy rush of devotees who had gathered at the shrine to pay their respect.

Devotees gather at the shrine of the revered Sufi saint every Thursday to participate in a Sufi dance called 'dhamaal' and prayers.

Bugti said the shrine was holding its annual Urs and hundreds of devotees from all over the country had come to the place to pay their respects.

A bomb attack on the same shrine killed 35 people in 2005.

The local administration declared an emergency at hospitals in Sibbi and Dera Murad Jamali.

Earlier, Balochistan government spokesperson Anwarul Haq Kakar said 13 people had been killed. "We have confirmed reports it was a suicide attack," he said.

Initial probe showed that the blast occurred when 'dhamaal' was going in the premises of the shrine.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi condemned the attack and vowed that his government will act against militants with full might.

Thursday's attack is the second major strike at a shrine in Balochistan where in November 2016, at least 52 people were killed and 102 injured in a blast at the shrine of Shah Norani in Khuzdar district.
Islamabad: The death toll from a suicide attack at a crowded Shia shrine claimed by the Islamic State group in Pakistans troubled Balochistan province has risen to 20, officials said on Friday.

The attacker tried to enter the Dargah Fatehpur in the Jhal Magsi district of Balochistan last evening and detonated his explosives vest when he was stopped by the police at the entrance, according to Deputy Commissioner Asadullah Kakar.

At least 20 people were killed and more than 30 others injured in the bombing, Dawn reported, quoting District Chairman Jhal Magsi Aurangzaib Magsi as saying.

Earlier, Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti had put the death toll from the bombing at 18.

The Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the attack in a brief statement carried by its propaganda Amaq news agency.

The blast took place when there was a heavy rush of devotees who had gathered at the shrine to pay their respect.

Devotees gather at the shrine of the revered Sufi saint every Thursday to participate in a sufi dance called dhamaal and prayers.

Bugti said the shrine was holding its annual Urs and hundreds of devotees from all over the country had come to the place to pay their respects.

A bomb attack on the same shrine killed 35 people in 2005.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi condemned the attack and vowed that his government will act against militants with full might.

The attack is the second major strike at a shrine in Balochistan where in November 2016, at least 52 people were killed and 102 injured in a blast at the shrine of Shah Norani in Khuzdar district.in Sehwan, Sindh.
Bangkok: More Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Myanmar streamed toward the border on Friday, despite government assurances that it was stopping the massive exodus of refugees to Bangladesh.

A video obtained by The Associated Press (AP) that villagers said was shot on Thursday in northern Rakhine state shows dozens of Rohingya attempting to swim across the currents of a muddy river, from where it is a more than 20-kilometre walk through jungles to the border.

Many more people, from young children to old men, stand huddled with their belongings on the riverbank.

Myanmar has come under international criticism for failing to stop the violence, and in turn the tide of more than half a million Rohingya who have made the often perilous journey to Bangladesh since late August, the largest refugee crisis to hit Asia in decades.

The Myanmar government's information committee said in a statement late on Thursday that it had stopped 17,000 Rohingya from fleeing in just four days last week. "The Myanmar authorities in northern Rakhine went to the border areas where thousands of Bengalis await to flee and talked to them," it said.

"The local authorities told the Bengalis if they have difficulties with their livelihood, they will provide food and security and to return to their villages. The Bengalis agreed to stay."

Myanmar does not recognise Rohingya as an ethnic group, instead insisting they are Bengali migrants from Bangladesh living illegally in the country.

The government may have had some success in keeping Rohingya in Myanmar in recent days, but villagers say Rohingya are still attempting to leave and many are gathered on the beaches just across the water from Bangladesh waiting for a chance to leave the country.

"There are more than a thousand villagers at the beach in Alel Than Kyaw village off the shore trying to flee but the authorities are not letting them go," one villager told AP by phone o Friday. The villager spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.

Bangladesh in particular has been pushing Myanmar to stem the tide of refugees, who are straining resources in the already poor nation. The current exodus is in addition to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who fled prior violence in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where the Muslim ethnic group has faced decades of persecution and discrimination.

The latest violence began when a Rohingya insurgent group launched deadly attacks on security posts on 25 August, prompting Myanmar's military to launch "clearance operations."

Those fleeing have described indiscriminate attacks by security forces and Buddhist mobs.

The government has blamed the Rohingya, saying they set fire to their own homes, but the UN and others accuse it of ethnic cleansing.

Though Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said that the security forces have ceased clearance operation since early September, witnesses say Rohingya villages continue to be burned in the region.

In a statement on Friday, Amnesty International said Myanmar's security forces have engaged in an unlawful and disproportionate campaign of violence against the Rohingya.

It urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to take urgent steps to stop its member state from committing acts of violence against Rohingya. Also, the Norwegian Refugee Council called on Myanmar authorities to allow aid groups access to those in need in northern Rakhine state.

"The Norwegian Refugee Council is standing by, waiting for the authorities to allow us to move into areas where we fear many people may be stranded without clean water, food or shelter," Jan Egeland, the group's secretary-general, said in a statement.

"Humanitarians must have access to help these people without one more minute of delay."
Hard-pressed by the arrival of more than half a million Rohingya Muslims from Buddhist-dominated Myanmar since 25 August, Bangladesh on Friday said that the crisis cannot be solved by sending them across the border.

"Our position is very clear. The problem has been created in Myanmar and solution has to be found in Myanmar," ANI quoted Bangladesh foreign secretary Shahidul Haque as saying.

He said that though Bangladesh was willing to help the Myanmar government, it also wanted the refugees to "go back as soon as possible."

"They (Myanmar) have shown initial interest to take back their own residents. The modalities are being worked out," Haque said, according to ANI.

Myanmar had made a proposal to Bangladesh on 2 October to take back the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who had escaped the country, during talks with the latter's foreign minister AH Mahmood Ali.

Haque said that the Bangladesh government had given Myanmar a written proposal of how the refugees could be taken back, adding that a working group has been set up for the issue.

Majority of them are Muslims but Hindus & Christians are also there: Mohd Shahidul Haque, Bangladesh Foreign Secy on issue of #Rohingyas pic.twitter.com/UEgluawqdW  ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2017

The Bangladesh government had on Thursday announced its decision to identify the Rohingya refugees as "forcefully displaced Myanmar citizens."

The count of unregistered refugees, who began coming into Bangladesh from Myanmar from 25 August, has already exceeded 500,000. Disaster management minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya said that all the refugees would be brought under the biometric registration system. About 61,000 refugees have registered themselves so far.

To house all the Rohingya Muslims who have sought asylum from violence in Myanmar, the Bangladesh government on Thursday had announced it would build one of the world's biggest refugee camps.

In addition to the 2,000 acres meant to build temporary shelters for the Rohingya in Kutupalong and Balukhali, the government on Thursday said that it was allocating 1,000 acres of land for the accommodation of the refugees.

Authorities have begun the process of moving Rohingya refugees who arrived in Bandarban to the Kutupalong camp, and they will be brought back from other areas as well.

Various local and international relief efforts are be undertaken to meet the requirements of the refugees. The World Health Organisation alone is providing food for 520,000 people.

The Bangladesh government has planned to finish building roads within the Kutupalong camp by 10 October and have street lamps, health centres and police outposts in place by 15 October.

With inputs from agencies
Firmenich

We are Firmenich. For more than 120 years, we have been delivering powerful, memorable taste experiences to people across the globe. We are an independent, family-owned company with the freedom and flexibility to invest in the long-term sustainability of our business, which ultimately benefits our clients and their consumers..

The worlds leading brands trust us to create distinctive tastes that people preferbut for us, taste is only part of the story. Since our founding, we have been driven by our passion to understand consumers, so we can give you insights into what they desire, both today and tomorrow. As your partner, we'll help you find innovative solutions to meet your food and beverage needs and satisfy your consumers. Whether youre looking for refreshment, indulgence, bold tastes, or nutrition and wellness, we have relevant solutions to drive consumer preference.

We are relentless and responsible in our pursuit of innovation and we invest 10 percent of our annual turnover into research and development each year. Whether you want to deliver taste experiences at home or abroad, youll benefit from our global presence and firsthand knowledge of local and regional tastes.

At Firmenich, we go beyond your expectation. Its why we are Preferred Beyond Taste.
In secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome!
Sheriff Jeff Hobby of Worth County, Ga. (via WALB-10)

The sound system squawked at 8 a.m., just as the school day was revving up at Worth County High School. The campus was now on lockdown, the announcement said. Neither the teachers nor students at the south Georgia school knew what was going on.

For the next four hours, 40 uniformed officers  the entire staff of the Worth County Sheriffs Office  fanned through the school in Sylvester, ordering students against the walls of classrooms and hallways, demanding the students hand over their cellphones.

All 900 students were searched, part of a drug sweep ordered by Sheriff Jeff Hobby, according to court documents.

He did not have a warrant. He had a target list of 12 suspected drug users. Only three of the names were in school that day, April 14.

By noon, when cellphones were handed back and classes resumed, no drugs had been found.

The sheriffs full-court press, however, would yield legal consequences  for Hobby and his office. In the days following the sweep, students came forward charging they had been inappropriately groped and manhandled by deputies. A class-action federal civil suit followed

And now, this week a grand jury indicted Hobby and two deputies for their part in the high school raid. Hobby faces charges of sexual battery, false imprisonment, and violation of oath of office, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The sheriffs position is that hes not guilty, Hobbys attorney, Norman Crowe Jr., told the news outlet. The sheriff was at the school for the raid but personally did not touch students, the lawyer maintained. Hes committed no crime.

The search brought unwanted national attention on the department. As the controversy broke, Hobby gave an off-camera interview to WALB in which he said the searches were legal because school administrators were present.

In a statement released on April 18, Hobby elaborated that in the weeks leading up to April 14, the Sheriffs Office received information and complaints from the citizens of Worth County regarding illegal drugs at the high school. The Sheriff contacted the Superintendent of the Worth County School District and the Principal of the high school to inform them of the situation and the Principal and the Sheriff agreed on the day of the pat down.

School officials, however, have countered the idea they were willing participants in om Hobbys plans.

We did not give permission but they didnt ask for permission, Interim Worth County Superintendent Lawrence Walters told WALB after the raid. He just said, the sheriff, that he was going to do it after spring break.

I dont think anybody in the school system had any idea that it would be of the nature of what actually happened, Tommy Coleman, a lawyer for the school district, told The Washington Post in June. Ive been doing this a long time, and Ive never heard of anybody doing that kind of thing.

The class-action lawsuit  filed on behalf of nine unnamed students  laid out detailed allegations of groping during the school search. One student recounted that a deputy looked down the back and front of the students dress, then slid her hands over her pelvic area and cupped the students vaginal area and buttocks, according to the legal complaint.

Another male student recounted a deputy moving his fingers back and forth from his pockets to his groin, the lawsuit stated. The deputys fingertips touched the students penis and testicles, over clothes, four to five times.

A third student recounted how a deputy reached up under her shirt, lifted her bra, and touched her bare breasts, including her nipples.

In June, when the lawsuit was filed, one of the teenagers recounted his ordeal to The Post . The deputy came up under my privates and then he grabbed my testicles twice, the student said. I wanted to turn around and tell him to stop touching me. I wanted it to be over and I just wanted to call my dad because I knew something wasnt right.

Following the outcry, Hobby acknowledged in his April statement that one of the deputies had exceed the instructions given by the Sheriff and conducted a pat down of some students that was more intrusive than instructed. The sheriff said corrective action was taken  but the office has not publicly offered further detail.

The grand jury this week indicted two deputies along with the sheriff: Tyler Turner faces one felony count of violation of oath of office and one misdemeanor count of sexual battery. Deidra Whiddon was indicted on one count of violation of oath of office.

Morning Mix newsletter Stories that will be the talk of the morning. Sign up

Local prosecutors also announced this week copies of the indictment would be sent to Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, who has the legal authority to suspend Hobby. The Journal-Constitution reported the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council has already suspended the law enforcement certifications of Hobby and his deputies.




Amazons very public and capitalistic outreach to all North American cities interested in hosting its second headquarters, or HQ2, has left some job experts questioning the e-commerce behemoths true motives for such a hyped public auction.

By creating straw men, or cities that think they have a shot at landing the deal, Amazon can up the ante for more tax breaks, according to Greg LeRoy, executive director of Good Jobs First, a Washington, D.C.-based fiscal watchdog nonprofit that tracks government subsidies.

A savvy company like Amazon, with a sophisticated in-house site location department, likely already knows its short list of candidate locations, if not its top choice, LeRoy said.

Since 2000, Amazon has received more than $1 billion in local and state subsidies, according to Good Jobs First. LeRoy argues that this has helped the tech giant execute on its pursuit of market share dominance, in lieu of short-term profits.

According to Wall Street firm Needham & Co., the online retailer, which accounts for about 34% of U.S. online sales, should see its market share grow to about 50% by 2021. It may be closer than that already, as recent analysis by Slice Intelligence found that 43% of all online retail sales in the U.S. went through Amazon in 2016.

Meanwhile, traditional brick and mortars continue to struggle in 2017, with bankruptcies from retailers including Toys R Us and multiple store-closings from the likes of J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) and Payless, as many retail experts point the finger at Amazons dominance for the ongoing disruption.

An Amazon spokesperson declined to comment to FOX Business on any matters related to the companys HQ2 process. Bids are due October 19.

This hasnt stopped a frenzy of municipalities hashing together HQ2 bids in hopes of luring to their home turf potentially 50,000 new jobs and $38 billion in growth opportunity, as promised by Amazon.

Joseph Parilla, a fellow in the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institute, speculates that Amazons choice to stage a public competition, as opposed to the typical private bidding corporations engage in with municipalities, could be some political posturing to protect it from backlash once it chooses a city.

Amazon is no stranger to public scrutiny and criticism of how the subsidies it receives from governments may benefit the company more than local residents.

In its Empty Storefronts report, consulting firm Civic Economics details the damage Amazon is causing to brick-and-mortar retailers and paints a not-so-rosy picture of Amazons contributions to its host cities.

According to the report, in 2014, Amazon sold $44.1 billion worth of retail goods nationwide, all while avoiding $625 million in local and state taxes. These sales were the equivalent of 31,000 retail storefronts or 107 million square feet of commercial space, which might have paid $420 million in property taxes.

LeRoy questions why governments should jump through hoops to convince Amazon to move in. Instead, why shouldnt Amazon pay an entry fee to help cushion the blow?

Amazon estimates its investment in Seattle from 2010 to 2016 has resulted in an additional $3.8 billion to the citys economy. But, Seattle has also seen its share of problems since Amazons arrival.

Seattle drivers spent an average of 55 hours in traffic in 2016, making it among the top 10 worst cities for congestion, according to INRIX.

And according to the Cost of Living Index data, Seattle now ranks among the top 10 most expensive cities in America. The Seattle-based real estate company Zillow published a report connecting the relationship between rising rents in the city and increased homelessness. Seattle ranks as having the third largest homeless population in the U.S., with an estimated 12,240 who have no permanent residence. Housing prices in the city also continue to soar, rising 14.3% in 2016, with Zillow predicting a rise of 5.9% within the next year.

Parilla also contends that initiating this state-vs.-state competition could be Amazons way of narrowing down a short list its already vetted internally.

Putting cities through a rigorous test seems to be consistent with Amazons ethos, said Parilla, noting that Amazon could be using this as a way to discover which localities really have their acts together.

Regardless of which city wins HQ2, or why Amazon has chosen to initiate a public bidding war, Parilla hopes that cities and states will structure incentives and investments in their bid to Amazon that will maximize the public benefit.

Local and state leaders should not lose focus on the fundamentals of economic growth and opportunity, Parilla said, which he said includes a well-educated workforce, strong universities, well-connected infrastructure and tolerant communities.
Speaking at the International Astronautical Congress (IAC) in Adelaide, Australia, last week, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk made it clear he still has his sights set on colonizing the red planet.

But here's something else that's becoming apparent: Along the way, he wouldn't be averse to making a pit stop at the moon.

Destination moon

Musk, the founder of rocket launch company SpaceX, has been talking for years about wanting to establish a human colony on Mars. His interest in Earth's moon, however, appears to be a bit more recent in the making. We first started to pick up hints of this back at last year's IAC conference in Guadalajara, Mexico, when Musk mused: "We could conceivably go to the moon, and I have nothing against going to the moon."

(Of course, he then proceeded to lay out all the things he has against going to the moon: The fact that "It doesn't have any atmosphere," for example, that "it's not as resource-rich as Mars," and that "it's got a 28-day day").

That said, Musk did note that thanks to the "propulsive lander" system on his Dragon spaceship, "you can go anywhere in the solar system. [You can] go to the moon." And just a few months later, he appeared to be warming to the idea. Speaking at the International Space Station Research and Development Conference in Washington, D.C., in July, Musk urged NASA: "If you want to get the public fired up, you've got to put a base on the moon."

Building a better moon rocket

Now, Musk thinks he has a way to help get folks get to the moon economically. Addressing the issue in Adelaide, Musk touted the benefits of SpaceX's latest project -- the BFR -- for potential moon landings.

"In order to land on a place like the moon where there is no atmosphere and certainly no runways," Musk reminded his audience in Adelaide, "propulsive landing" is "key." With no atmosphere to support the wings on an airplane-like lander, a spaceship must be able to brake its descent by firing retrorockets such as those installed on SpaceX's Dragon lander (and on the upcoming BFR).

To further facilitate BFR's usefulness on moon missions, Musk explained that SpaceX is designing this spaceship to launch into Earth orbit, there to be refilled from a separate tanker rocket. With a full tank of (methane) gas, BFR will have sufficient fuel to travel to the moon, land, relaunch, return to Earth, and land again. This, says, Musk, will "enable the creation of Moon Base Alpha, or some sort of lunar base."

Best of all, BFR will be a much bigger rocket than anything in SpaceX's fleet of Falcon 9 rockets, and bigger even its planned Falcon Heavy -- able to carry much more equipment to build a moon base, and much more economically than anything NASA has had access to in the past. If Falcon 9 is rated to carry payloads of roughly 4 tons to Mars, and Falcon Heavy can carry just under 17 tons, SpaceX is designing BFR to tote payloads of up to 150 tons on interplanetary trips -- a 37-fold improvement over the capability of SpaceX's current rockets.

The moon on Musk's mind

To emphasize his change of heart on the idea of building a moon base, Musk drove the point home:

But is Musk using the royal "we" when discussing the moon? He talked a lot in Adelaide about BFR's usefulness for facilitating the construction of a moon base (including its ability to go from Earth to moon and back without needing to refuel at a lunar gas station that has yet to be built). What Musk did not clearly say is that SpaceX itself plans to finance the creation of a moon base.

Rather, Musk's plan may be to gin up enthusiasm for the idea of a moon base, in hopes NASA will pay for a lunar expedition -- and hire SpaceX to provide the transportation there and back (providing SpaceX with much-needed capital to finance Musk's real goal of getting to Mars in the process). If that's Musk's endgame, though, then he may run into some competition.

Earlier this year, Jeff Bezos at Blue Origin offered much the same idea of running cargo to the moon on NASA's behalf. Bezos suggested a willingness to build a "Blue Moon" lunar lander for NASA, and to partner with Space Launch System builders Boeing and Lockheed Martin for the trip. Alternatively, Bezos is building a big rocket ship of his own, "New Glenn," which once developed should permit Blue Origin to visit the moon without the help of Boeing and Lockheed.

Meanwhile, despite all of Musk's and Bezos' talk of building a base on the moon, NASA's latest thoughts seem to be turning more toward building a space station in orbit around the moon, instead. We'll have to see whether the corporate titans can persuade the government to take the more aggressive step toward an entrenched lunar presence.

10 stocks we like better than Wal-MartWhen 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, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Wal-Mart wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 5, 2017The author(s) may have a position in any stocks mentioned.

Rich Smith has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Bond yields just aren't what they used to be. Since peaking in the early 1980s at over 13%, yields on 30-year bonds issued by the federal government have been on a downward slide ever since.

This has helped the government fund its record deficits but hasn't done much for savers and retirees who count on yields from bonds and stocks to generate the income necessary for a comfortable retirement. Fortunately for retirees, there are a number of corporations more than willing to pick up the slack with their dividends -- some of which sport yields far above those of good old 30-year Treasury bills.

Here's why Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD), AT&T (NYSE:T), and American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP) are three stocks with bond-beating dividend yields that investors should consider today.

Brewing dividends

AB InBev is the world's largest beer brewer, producing over 25% of global beer volume. If that didn't sell you on the company's strength, here are three stats that will:

It has 200 beverage brands, including Budweiser, Bud Light, Stella Artois, Beck's, Corona, and Hoegaarden.

It's dominant in United States, Mexico, and Brazil -- three of the five biggest beer markets globally.

It's also the third largest brewer in China, and No. 1 in the Middle Kingdom's premium beer industry.

Since its acquisition of SAB Miller, which brought with it annual cost savings of $2.8 billion, AB InBev has continued to expand its reach and profits. Second-quarter 2017 results were solid, with organic revenue growth coming in at 5% and EBITDA rising to $5.4 billion. The company currently yields 3.27% for its investors, above the yield on government bonds and definitely worth a toast from retirees.

Broadcasting dividends to shareholders

AT&T is synonymous with communications, and for good reason, since it's the country's largest telecommunications company. Its stock should also interest dividend investors, with a current yield of 5% -- light-years ahead of the U.S. 30-year Treasury bill's 2.86%.

True, AT&T has been under fire in recent years, particularly from the likes of T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS), which has had both AT&T and cellular peer Verizon (NYSE:VZ) in its sights. This, coupled with the trend toward cord-cutting, might make some nervous -- but AT&T continues to perform well amid these attacks. In fact, results in its second quarter were more than respectable: Net income came in at $3.9 billion, or $0.64 per share -- 14.8% higher than Q2 2016. That was more than enough to cover its $0.49-per-share dividend.

AT&T is in the midst of yet another transformation, seeking to become a more content-focused conglomerate with its pending acquisition of Time Warner (NYSE:TWX). This merger should further solidify its ability to produce profits and reward shareholders with dividends for years to come.

Generating electricity (and dividend checks)

American Electric Power is an old-fashioned utility, but for investors looking for yields that beat T-bills, it is downright electrifying. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, AEP serves over 5 million electricity customers through 10 subsidiary utilities. It's a major provider of power to residents of the Midwest, from Oklahoma to West Virginia to Indiana.

AEP's stock currently yields 3.3%, which should get investors' attention. It's also making the moves necessary to guarantee its dividends for decades into the future by investing in renewable-energy sources. It currently produces approximately 33,000 megawatts of generating capacity, including 4,200 megawatts of renewable energy -- a figure that will only grow. This summer AEP announced a $4.5 billion investment in a 2,000-megawatt solar farm that will serve its customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. When complete, it will be the largest single-site wind project in the United States.

With a dividend that trumps T-bills and management making the moves to guarantee sustainable electricity generation for decades, AEP is worth a look for all dividend-minded investors.

10 stocks we like better than AT&T 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 AT&T wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 5, 2017

Sean O'Reilly has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Anheuser-Busch InBev NV. The Motley Fool recommends T-Mobile US. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Connecticut's bid for Amazons highly-coveted second headquarters includes proposed sites in the Stamford and Hartford areas, according to a report.

The Hartford Courant reports (http://cour.at/2xXPv9i ) that Catherine Smith, commissioner of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, told local officials in a letter on Monday of that determination by a team including representatives from several state agencies.

She said those locations meet Amazon's criteria.

The Seattle company says it will spend more than $5 billion to build a second headquarters in North America with as many as 50,000 jobs. It says it's looking at metropolitan areas with populations of more than a million that have the potential to attract top technical talent.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said the company envisions HQ2 as a full equal of its Seattle hub, and aims to find a location that includes access to solid education and mass transit systems, as well as an international airport. Dozens of cities have already expressed interest in the project, including New York, Chicago and Tucson.

Communities may also make their own bids. A spokeswoman for Bridgeport says the city and New Haven are planning their own proposal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Federal disability law requires movie theaters to provide specialized interpreters to patrons who are deaf and blind, an appeals court said Friday.

The Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Cinemark, the nation's third-largest movie chain, in a case involving a Pennsylvania man who wanted to see the 2014 movie "Gone Girl" and asked a Cinemark theater in Pittsburgh to supply a "tactile interpreter." The theater denied his request.

The plaintiff, Paul McGann, is a movie enthusiast who reads American Sign Language through touch. He uses a method of tactile interpretation that involves placing his hands over the hands of an interpreter who uses sign language to describe the movie's action, dialogue and even the audience response.

The federal appeals court concluded Friday that tactile interpreters are covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires that public accommodations furnish "auxiliary aids and services" to patrons with vision, hearing and speech disabilities.

"It would be impossible for a deaf-blind person to experience the movie and understand the content without the provision of tactile interpretation," said Carol A. Horowitz, managing attorney of Disability Rights Pennsylvania, which filed suit on McGann's behalf.

The ruling said Cinemark still can argue that providing the interpreters would present an "undue burden," an exception to the disability law that takes into account the cost of the accommodation and the business's ability to pay for it. It sent the case back to a federal judge to consider that argument.

Because of the intensive nature of the work, McGann requires the services of two interpreters. The interpreters cost a few hundred dollars per showing.

Cinemark earned $257 million in 2016. The movie chain also has said that before McGann, it had never before received a request for tactile interpretation.

A spokesperson for the Plano, Texas-based chain said Cinemark is evaluating its legal options.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed documents in support of McGann.
General Electric Co. said several of its top executives are leaving the company, in a high-profile shake-up of the conglomerate under new CEO John Flannery, who is under pressure to reboot the company's business.

GE said its longtime chief financial officer, Jeff Bornstein, will leave as will veterans Beth Comstock, the head of marketing efforts, and John Rice, the company's top international executive. All three will leave at year's end.

All three were top lieutenants to former CEO Jeff Immelt, who stepped aside on Aug. 1. Mr. Bornstein was considered a potential successor to Mr. Immelt and when Mr. Flannery was selected for the top spot, GE said the two would work closely together and granted him a special retention package.

GE said Jamie Miller, the head of the company's transportation business, will take over as its chief financial officer starting Nov. 1. Mr. Bornstein has spent 28 years at GE and in recent years helped oversee the unwinding of its massive finance business.

"As John evaluates the strategy for GE and puts his leadership team in place, he and I have concluded that this is the right time to bring in a new CFO with a fresh perspective," Mr. Bornstein said in a release.

Ms. Comstock is the company's top female executive. She has spent 27 years at the GE, serving as its chief marketing officer and recently heading its business innovations unit. Mr. Rice has spent 39 years at GE, where he lead several of the business units, and was recently tasked with expanding GE's overseas business.

Write to Thomas Gryta at thomas.gryta@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires
Robots are coming to take your job. That has been a concept that the media has covered extensively, sometimes presenting a world in which automation benefits mankind, and sometimes offering up visions of what could go wrong in Terminator or Battlestar Galactica fashion.

And while robots are not yet (as far as we know) planning to rise up and overthrow humanity, visionary entrepreneur Elon Musk has expressed his fears that we are headed down that path. The Tesla CEO believes that artificial intelligence (AI), a technology key to driving automation, could start the next world war.

That type of warning from a man best known for founding cutting-edge technology companies is especially chilling. It also echoes the overall fear the majority of American have about automation.

"Americans are roughly twice as likely to express worry (72%) than enthusiasm (33%) about a future in which robots and computers are capable of doing many jobs that are currently done by humans," according to a recently released report from Pew Research. Those fears may be well-founded going forward, but are U.S. workers already losing jobs to robots and automation?

The robots are among us (sort of)

While we are in the early days of automation, there have been jobs lost to automation already. In fact, 6% of Americans say they have already lost jobs or wages due to automation, according to Pew.

So far, the impact of automation has been felt the most by adults ages 18-24 and it's more common among Latinos, part-time workers and those with relatively low household incomes, Pew reported. That's because in the early days of automation, jobs aren't being lost to Cylon-like humanoid robots, they're being lost to self-serve checkout, ordering kiosks, and ordering via smartphone app.

More robots are coming

While we are currently in a strong job market where wages have been steadily growing largely due to a shortage of available workers, automation could change that. In fact, six of the 10 jobs showing the highest increases in median base pay on September's Glassdoor Local Pay Reports could conceivably be automated. The two jobs with the highest increases -- barista (5.6%) and truck driver (5%) -- both run the risk of being replaced with AI-driven automation. In addition, recruiter, bank teller, restaurant cook, and pharmacy technician are all jobs facing possible replacement.

Replacing truck drivers with robots requires changes to current law, but the technology has already reached the testing phase. Baristas can certainly be replaced by machines, and some of the work done by recruiters can be replaced by algorithms. Bank tellers have already seen job loss to ATMs, and smarter, AI-driven versions of those could easily be created.

Whether to replace a worker with automation/a robot comes down to a cost-benefit analysis. When wages push high enough to justify investment in automation or workers become scarce enough the companies have no choice, they will automate. As more companies automate, the cost of doing so will decrease, taking something that has been happening slowly and speeding it up.

What's next for workers?

Right now, cost and legality may be the only things holding back automation. Pew cited multiple studies showing that about half of all U.S. employment faces some risk of being automated. This included a January report from McKinsey Global Institute that estimated that "up to half of the activities people are currently paid to perform could be automated simply by adapting technologies that already have been proven to work."

What's less clear is what new work will emerge from increasing use of automation. Before there were computers, there were no IT departments. It's very likely that just like inventing cars created the need for mechanics and drivers, the further development of AI, robots, and automation will lead to job development.

Gain more education and skills that aren't easily, or cost-effectively automated and you can probably keep yourself employed.

10 stocks we like better than Wal-MartWhen 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, the Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*

David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the ten best stocks for investors to buy right now... and Wal-Mart wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 5, 2017The author(s) may have a position in any stocks mentioned.

Daniel B. Kline has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends TSLA. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
The Austin police chief said Friday that a Ford Explorer SUV that the automaker repaired for a return to service with his department actually doesn't appear to have had exhaust containing carbon monoxide seeping into it  despite his saying earlier that it did.

Interim Police Chief Brian Manley said previously that during a test of three SUVs repaired by Ford Motor Company, one tested positive for carbon monoxide. But Manley told The Austin American-Statesman hours later that additional testing revealed alarms may have activated for some other reason, meaning his original assertions were a likely false alarm.

"We do not believe this issue is a Ford issue or related to the repairs they have done," Manley told The Statesman. That is consistent with Ford, which responded to Manley's earlier comments by defending its repairs and saying it has yet to receive all the details about the reported new problem.

Ford spokeswoman Elizabeth Weigandt said Friday in an earlier emailed statement that, "Ford was not provided with information on the levels of CO detected but we are ready to inspect any vehicle."

She also said the automaker has "been happy to collaborate with" Austin police on repairs and added: "The methods and parts we've utilized to repair Austin's vehicles have worked well to address the concern."

Austin police pulled nearly 400 Explorers off patrol in July because of carbon monoxide concerns. Police departments across the country use Explorers and several also took them out of service.

Ford has previously blamed the issue on non-factory outfitters that drill holes into police SUVs to install extra equipment like lights and radios.

___

Information from: Austin American-Statesman, http://www.statesman.com
Amazons current headquarter is located in Seattle, and the company estimates that its investments in the citys economy produced an additional $38 billion between 2010 and 2016.

But in the past few years, California has lost some companies to states, namely Texas, that offer significant reductions in taxes. Currently, Californias tax rate for businesses hovers above 8%. Texas is 1%.

Certainly taxes and fees are a serious concern, Liccardo said. I think throughout the state of California, we arent as competitive in that dimension as many other states.
There's good news and bad news for General Motors (NYSE: GM).

The good: GM's all-new 2018 Chevrolet Equinox crossover is a bona fide hit. U.S. sales were 80% higher last month than a year ago, helping GM to an overall market-share gain for September.

The bad: Workers at the Canadian factory that makes the Equinox have been on strike for almost three weeks, supplies of the new crossover are getting tight -- and there's no resolution in sight.

A strike in its third week, with no end in sight

Workers at GM's CAMI Assembly Plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, walked out on Sept. 17 after talks with GM about a new contract broke down. They've been on strike since, with no immediate resolution in sight.

The issues in contention are somewhat complicated, but here's the gist: Unifor, the Canadian labor union that represents the roughly 2,750 hourly workers at CAMI Assembly, wants assurances that GM plans to keep the factory busy for years to come. GM apparently isn't willing to make those guarantees.

That has union leaders worried, and for good reason: GM has another factory that makes the Equinox for North American markets -- in Mexico. That Mexican factory also makes other GM products, and while its total output of Equinoxes is fairly small now, the fact that GM is building any Equinoxes in Mexico concerns the union.

Union officials want GM to designate the CAMI factory as the "lead producer" of the Equinox. They've also asked GM to promise that the factory will get new products to build after the current-generation Equinox ends its production run.

Until that happens (or until union leaders decide to back down), Unifor Local 88 is on strike, and CAMI isn't making any Equinoxes at all.

And now, GM is running short.

Equinox inventories are already tight, and getting worse

Typically, automakers and analysts measure vehicle inventories by days' supply, which is exactly what it sounds like: The total number of vehicles on dealer lots and in transit to dealers, divided by the daily pace of sales.

For a hot new model like the Equinox, GM would probably like to have 60 to 70 days' worth in inventory, maybe a bit more. That's enough to ensure that most dealers have enough on hand (in different colors, with different option packages) to satisfy most buyers.

But GM was having trouble keeping up with demand for the new Equinox even before the strike -- and now, supplies are getting genuinely tight.

As the chart shows, GM was down to just 41 days' worth of Equinoxes in U.S. inventory as of the beginning of October.

That might still sound like a lot of Equinoxes, and it is -- 43,453, to be exact. Most Chevrolet dealers probably still have several on their lots, and some may still have a good selection. But buyers who have clear ideas about what they want might be getting frustrated: If you have your heart set on an all-wheel-drive Equinox LT in Cajun Red (for example), you might have to try half a dozen dealers before finding one -- and when you find a dealer that has one, it might be a long drive away.

Not all potential buyers will be wiling to go to such lengths, especially if the local Ford dealer is willing to offer a good price on a red all-wheel-drive Escape that they can drive home today. (And it's a safe bet that lots of Ford -- and Toyota, Honda, and Nissan -- dealers will be very happy indeed to welcome frustrated Equinox shoppers.)

You see the problem. Even though GM's dealers still have thousands of Equinoxes, the tight inventories put GM at risk of losing sales. That in turn could disrupt the momentum it has built behind this important new product.

The upshot for investors: This will soon get expensive for GM

Simply put, if GM genuinely starts to run short of Equinoxes, that will hurt sales and GM's bottom line -- and possibly, its stock price.

It's rare for a strike against an automaker to last this long nowadays. Typically, the stakes are high enough for both sides that a compromise is quickly found. Workers can't afford to go without pay for very long, and the automaker doesn't want to lose more than a few days' worth of production. Usually, a short walkout is enough for workers to feel that they've made their point, and for the automaker to give some concessions.

This strike hasn't worked out that way. From the outside looking in, it seems like Unifor has GM over a barrel: The Equinox is a critical, high-volume product; demand is very strong; GM's Mexican factory can't come close to meeting demand by itself; and inventories are getting thin. But the fact that GM hasn't given in to the union's demands suggests that the union's concerns have merit -- and that GM might have a plan B in the works.

It will be a bitter victory for Unifor if the strike ends up forcing GM to boost Mexican production of the Equinox. But either way, it's already a headache for GM -- one that runs the risk of becoming expensive soon.

10 stocks we like better than General MotorsWhen 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 General Motors wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 5, 2017

John Rosevear owns shares of F and General Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends F. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
This domain was recently registered at Namecheap.com. Please check back later!
UPS suspects that one of its employees obtained secret business plans for its aircraft fleet and then posted them online, the shipping giant said in court records.

In a federal lawsuit filed this week, UPS said its strategic plans are highly confidential, and that a PowerPoint presentation containing the trade secrets was created and intended only for senior executives.

"At some point, an unknown UPS pilot wrongfully obtained a copy of the PowerPoint," UPS states in its lawsuit. Then, in late September, "the unknown UPS pilot posted statements on an online discussion forum about UPS' confidential strategic plans regarding its aircraft."

Now, the company is taking steps to identify whoever was responsible for posting the strategic plans on an internet message board frequented by pilots.

A judge this week gave the company permission to subpoena records from Yahoo Holdings Inc. for emails from a specific Yahoo.com email address. It's requesting all emails sent to and from the address since Aug. 31.

UPS also plans to subpoena records from the Louisville, Kentucky-based Independent Pilots Association in order to get names, IP addresses and other information about people who made comments about the plans on the union's internet forum. It's also seeking information to identify anyone who clicked on a link to view the information.

A spokesman for the pilots association said it will resist UPS' effort to get information about its members.

"We have no reason to believe that any UPS union pilot was involved in the theft," Brian Gaudet, a spokesman for the Independent Pilots Association, said in an email Friday.

The lawsuit blames "an unknown UPS pilot" for taking the information, but UPS spokesman Steve Gaut said Friday it doesn't know for certain who is responsible. The company presumes he or she was a pilot because pilots frequent the online forums where the information was posted, he said.

Separately, the company is also seeking information about people who posted on another internet site, airlinepilotcentral.com , with the user names "Commando," ''UPSet," and "nightrider," court records state.

The company filed the lawsuit in order to find out who obtained the plans and posted them online, Gaut said.

"We know for certain that the presentation in question was inappropriately removed from the company," Gaut said. "And we know the information was inappropriately displayed in public internet forums."

There are no plans to pursue criminal charges, Gaut said, adding that the company's goal is to find out who posted the information.
The U.S. Commerce Department on Friday notched up proposed trade duties on Bombardier Inc CSeries jets to nearly 300 percent, affirming Boeing Co's complaint that the Canadian company received illegal subsidies and dumped the planes at "absurdly low" prices.

The decision underscored the defensive trade policy of U.S. President Donald Trump, and could effectively halt sales of Bombardier's innovative new plane to U.S. airlines by quadrupling the cost of the jets imported to the United States.

The Commerce Department proposed a 79.82 percent antidumping duty on Friday, on top of a 219.63 percent duty for subsidies announced last week.

The new duty follows a preliminary finding that Bombardier sold 75 CSeries jets below cost to Delta Air Lines Inc in 2016. The total was well above the 80 percent Boeing sought in its complaint.

The proposed duties would not take effect unless affirmed by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) early next year.

The duties are expected to heighten trade tensions between the United States, Canada and Britain, where CSeries wings are made. The United States, Canada and Mexico also are negotiating to modernize the North American Free Trade Agreement.

After the first duty was announced on Sept. 26, Canada and Britain threatened to avoid buying Boeing military equipment, saying duties on the CSeries would reduce U.S. sales and put thousands of Bombardier jobs in their countries at risk.

Bombardier shares were last up 0.5 percent to C$2.20. Some analysts said the muted response reflected a view that the penalties might not actually be applied.

Boeing, the world's largest plane maker, hailed the decision and hinted at an alternative for Bombardier.

"These duties are the consequence of a conscious decision by Bombardier to violate trade law and dump their CSeries aircraft to secure a sale," Chicago-based Boeing said in a statement.

"Bombardier always has the option of coming into full compliance with trade laws," Boeing added.

Canada's foreign ministry said Boeing was "manipulating the U.S. trade remedy system" to keep the CSeries out of the country.

Canada is in "complete disagreement" with the decision and would keep raising concerns with the United States and Boeing, Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement.

To win its case before the ITC, Boeing must prove it was harmed by Bombardier's sales, despite not using one of its own jets to compete for the Delta order.

Bombardier said it was confident that the ITC would find Boeing was not harmed, calling the Commerce Department decision a case of "egregious overreach."

Delta said the decision was preliminary and it was confident the ITC "will conclude that no U.S. manufacturer is at risk" from Bombardier's plane.

Boeing has said the dispute was about "maintaining a level playing field" and was not an attack on Canada or Britain.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the decision affirmed Trump's "America First" policy.

"We will ... do everything in our power to stand up for American companies and their workers," Ross said in a statement.

But the industry is not so simple. More than half of the purchased content of each CSeries aircraft comes from U.S. suppliers, Bombardier has said. The plane supports an estimated 22,700 jobs and Bombardier's aerospace division spent $2.14 billion in the United States last year, according to the company and documents seen by Reuters.

Boeing has said the CSeries would not exist without hundreds of millions of dollars in launch aid from the governments of Canada and Britain and a $2.5 billion equity infusion from the province of Quebec and its largest pension fund in 2015.

(Additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa, Tim Ahmann in Washington and Allison Lampert in Montreal; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
The U.S. Treasury on Friday unveiled a blueprint for sweeping reforms of the U.S. capital markets as it looks to implement Republican President Donald Trumps agenda to promote economic growth by slashing red tape.

The report recommends a raft of measures to encourage companies to seek public listings, to promote company access to capital, and to give investors a wider array of investment opportunities, in what is likely to be a boon for small business, banks, brokers and crowd-funding platforms.

It also called for regulators to put U.S. interests first when engaging in international regulatory forums.

"The U.S. has experienced slow economic growth for far too long," said Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin.

"By streamlining the regulatory system, we can make the U.S. capital markets a true source of economic growth which will harness American ingenuity and allow small businesses to grow."

The 232-page report largely steers clear of proposing legislative changes that would have to be passed by a divided Congress, instead focusing on tweaks that could be made relatively quickly by the country's two markets regulators, which are both led by Trump appointees.

Christopher Giancarlo, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Jay Clayton, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said in statements on Friday they had provided extensive input to the "thoughtful" report and supported its recommendations.

Fridays report is the second of four expected from the Treasury as it completes a comprehensive review of existing financial rules, as mandated by an executive order President Donald Trump signed in February.

The first report, released in June, sought to promote lending by easing banking regulations outlined under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, with major parts requiring legislative revisions that are unlikely to be passed with Democrats fiercely opposed.

Friday's report, in contrast, outlines a broad range of 91 technical fixes aimed at boosting stock, bond and derivatives markets. All but nine can be put into effect by the country's federal regulatory agencies, who were consulted on the report.

The recommendations were met with quick praise from financial industry groups, who said capital markets regulations were also long overdue for a review.

"Efficient capital markets are at the core of a growing and prosperous economy. The Treasury Departments report offers a blueprint to unlock the resources needed to spur economic growth and job creation," said David Hirschmann, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Center for Capital Markets Effectiveness.

DISCLOSURE RULES

The Treasury proposes streamlining disclosure and compliance requirements for companies that are both publicly-listed and which are looking to go public, in bid to reduce a secular downward trend in initial public offerings.

It also proposes scrapping a Dodd-Frank rule requiring public companies to disclose information about the potential conflict minerals in their products, and the ratio between the pay for top executives and the companys average worker.

To boost small companies' access to capital, the report recommends loosening the rules around crowd-funding, and suggests revising the definition of an 'accredited investor' in order to provide more opportunities for mom and pop investors.

The Treasury also waded into the long-running debate over equity market structure, proposing the SEC review share-tick sizes, order types, exchange fee models, and how exchanges themselves operate and are governed.

To reduce regulatory duplication and bring the United States more in line with other markets, the report calls for the SEC and CFTC to work more closely and harmonize their rules, but stopped short of recommending a merger of the two - something policymakers have called for in the past.

"The focus on harmonizing rule sets ... is a vital part of efforts to reduce the compliance burden for derivatives end users," Scott OMalia, chief executive of bank group the International Swaps and Derivatives Association and a former CFTC commissioner, said in a statement.

Derivatives dealers also stand to gain from a recommendation to relax rules around swaps trading and the cash they must post against derivatives trades.

While banks, brokers and small companies have cheered the report, many of the requirements are likely to draw criticism from public advocacy groups worried they may reduce investor protections, and open the door for banks to pursue risky trading behavior once again.

"It's almost uniformly deregulatory. It calls for cutting back on post-crisis Dodd-Frank rules," said Marcus Stanley, policy director for Americans for Financial Reform. "It's quite dangerous."

(This version of the article corrects title for David Hirschmann in 12th paragraph)

(Reporting By Michelle Price in Washington; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
What happened

Shares of oil industry behemoth ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) were up 7.4% for the month of September, helped along by rising crude oil prices and broad gains across the oil sector.

However, it wasn't all sunshine and roses for the company. Although it handily beat the S&P 500 for the month, Exxon's stock lagged the overall oil and gas market as measured by the SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF.

So what

Exxon's rise correlates pretty directly to improvements in crude oil prices. The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude was up 9.3% for the month, while Brent crude prices rose 8.2% for September.

As an integrated oil major, and one of the biggest oil companies out there, Exxon tends to have a more stable price than some of the smaller oil and gas drillers. That's been good for shareholders over the past few years as stock prices across the industry have fallen. However, it also means that in months like this, when crude prices are rising, the smaller players tend to gain more than giant Exxon.

Sure enough, that's what we saw in September, as shares of most major independent U.S. oil drillers improved by at least 13%. By contrast, the best-performing integrated majors, BP and Royal Dutch Shell, only turned in 10.7% and 10.4% increases, respectively.

Now what

No news is good news for shareholders of the oil giant. Although its stock price didn't increase nearly as much as some of its smaller peers', that's a sign of Exxon's stability. The company is doing what it's doing, helped along by new discoveries off the coast of Guyana that may pay off handsomely down the road.

Of course, a big improvement in the company's share price is unlikely to come anytime soon unless oil prices move higher. Until then, investors should be content to hang on to their shares, and hope for more months like this one.

10 stocks we like better than ExxonMobilWhen 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 ExxonMobil wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.

Click here to learn about these picks!

*Stock Advisor returns as of September 5, 2017

John Bromels owns shares of BP. The Motley Fool owns shares of ExxonMobil. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Oil prices are in the spotlight as Tropical Storm Nate threatens production in the Gulf of Mexico. Major producers BP (NYSE:BP) and Chevron (NYSE:CVX) are shutting all of their platforms. Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE:RDS.A) and Anadarko (NYSE:APC) are suspending some activity.

Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) subsidiary YouTube is tweaking its search results after the Las Vegas massacre. It wants to stop the spread of conspiracy theories on the site after noticing that at one point after the tragedy its top 5 videos for news about the shooting peddled misinformation.

And movie night just got more expensive. Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) is raising prices on its standard plan by 10%, bringing the monthly cost to $11.
During a congressional hearing on Tuesday, former Equifax CEO Richard Smith apologized repeatedly for a data breach that compromised the data of about 145.5 million U.S. consumers.

In Pennsylvania, a state of nearly 13 million people, 5.5 million people were potentially impacted by the cyberattack, leading the states Bureau of Consumer Protection (BCP) to open an investigation to get to the bottom of the issue.

First we want to understand why the breach occurred in the first place. Second, we want to understand why it took them so long to disclose the breach. Some initial press reports said it was six weeks; we have reason to believe that it may have been longer, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who directed the BCP to conduct the probe, told FOX Business Melissa Francis during an interview on After the Bell.

Forty-seven other state attorneys general on both sides of the political aisle as well as the District of Columbia have joined the investigation, according to Shapiro.

During the U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing on Tuesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., slammed Smith saying, Equifax is making money, millions of dollars off its own screw-up and meanwhile the potential costs to Equifax are shockingly low.

Shapiro believes Equifaxs behavior has been outrageous and wants to assure the American public that there wont be a second data breach.

My end goal is to find out why the breach occurred, ensure it never happens again and make sure they pay up. Part of the ways we make sure it never happens again is by changing corporate behavior, making sure that these corporations place a premium on security, add encryption, add personnel to be able to protect the security of our data, he said.
A new prototype for the southern border wall between the United States and Mexico -- a campaign platform that Donald Trump often touted during the 2016 presidential election -- could transform illegal immigration into America.

Consisting of a welded-wire mesh fence, the new wall could stop nearly all illegal entry from Mexico, Border Walls Builder LLC manager Don Cameron told FOX Business Charles Payne on Making Money with Charles Payne.

I dont know about the reality of it becoming funded and that, he said. But I know the effectiveness of our fence. We are confident that it will stop and prevent at least 99 percent of illegal entry across the Rio Grande River into Texas.

Cameron submitted a request for information proposal to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which will come to take a look at the prototype, he said.

On Wednesday, the House Homeland Security Committee approved a bill that includes $10 billion in funding for a border wall.

Overall, a new border wall between the nearly 2,000-mile-stretch could cost the U.S. approximately $21.6 billion to construct, according to an estimate from the Department of Homeland Security. In July, the House pass a spending bill that included a $1.6 billion down payment for the construction of the wall.

A report from the Department of Homeland Security estimated about 170,000 people entered the country illegally from the southern border in 2015 -- a significant reduction from the estimated 1.7 million people who entered in 2005.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it is ready to block U.S. imports of seafood  as well as any other goods  produced by North Korean laborers who work in China.

An Associated Press investigation tracked salmon, squid and cod processed by North Korean laborers working abroad to American stores, including Walmart and ALDI. The North Korean workers found in Chinese factories aren't allowed to leave, and receive only a fraction of their pay  most goes straight to the North Korean state. This means that American consumers buying seafood labeled "Caught in the USA, Processed in China" may inadvertently be subsidizing the government of Kim Jong Un as it builds nuclear weapons, and also supporting forced labor.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement Thursday it is reviewing the allegations and if warranted, would "pursue all enforcement actions and prohibit goods from importation as appropriate." The companies that responded also vowed to investigate ties with suppliers.

GOP Congressman Chris Smith from New Jersey, who has repeatedly called for tougher enforcement, said the Labor Department has already identified trafficking in 12 sectors of goods exported by China.

"CBP should be stopping every shipment from those sectors_and now trafficking-tainted salmon too," he said.

A White House National Security Council spokesman said Thursday the North Korean government's scheme to outsource its labor underscores why the United States has pushed for restrictions on North Korean foreign workers. The spokesman said all countries should, at a minimum, ban companies from bringing in North Korean crews, as pledged in recent United Nations sanctions.

China is among the countries that have promised to comply, already banning imports of North Korean seafood, and saying no more North Korean workers will be allowed starting next year.

"But all nations must go further and reject what is clearly a despicable practice that only serves the regime's nuclear ambitions," said the NSC spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to comment.

Walmart said its supplier has addressed the problem, although it did not specify how. Walmart and ALDI said they are committed to human rights and fair labor practices, and expect the same from their business partners.

At a time when North Korea faces sanctions on many exports, the government is sending tens of thousands of workers worldwide, bringing in revenue estimated at anywhere from $200 million to $500 million a year. That could account for a sizable portion of North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs, which South Korea says have cost more than $1 billion.

North Koreans overseas work in construction in the Gulf states, shipbuilding in Poland, logging in Russia. In Uruguay, authorities told AP, about 90 North Koreans crewed fishing boats last year.

"I am not surprised at all," said Anthony Talbott, who directs the University of Dayton's Human Rights Center. "North Korea has probably the single highest level of state-sanctioned slavery in the world, it's a major source of income for them."

Among those North Korean laborers in China, roughly 3,000 are believed to work in the northeast industrial hub of Hunchun, just a few miles from the borders of both North Korea and Russia. AP documented North Koreans in several Hunchun seafood processing plants, and tracked their supply chains to importers, including Sea-Trek Enterprises in Rhode Island, where managers said they are being inundated with phone calls from customers and suppliers since the AP story.

Sea-Trek's owners said that they hadn't visited China and were unaware of the makeup of the workers, but would immediately cease dealings with the plant until the situation is resolved.

"Sea-Trek will not purchase product from any company using forced labor," said vice president Mitch Sarnoff.

Mark Liszt, owner of Lawrence Wholesale, a national food distributor in Southern California, said it would investigate its suppliers as well.

"We're middlemen," said Liszt. "We do make a practice of trying to go and visit the plants that we buy from in person, but it's not a perfect world that we can see into every single one."

Some U.S. brands and companies had indirect ties to the North Korean laborers in Hunchun, including Chicken of the Sea, owned by Thai Union. Trade records show shipments came from a sister company of the Hunchun factory in another part of China, where Thai Union spokeswoman Whitney Small says labor standards are being met and the employees are all Chinese. Small said the sister company should not be penalized.

AP observed North Korean workers in Chinese factories building hardwood flooring, sewing garments and manufacturing electronics. Fordham University economics professor Giacomo Santangelo said he doubts it's just fish processed by North Korean workers that reaches the U.S. markets.

"Now we need to ask, how many other products imported from China are made with North Korean labor?" he said.

Top senate Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York said U.S. officials must keep products made by North Koreans out of the United States.

"The Administration needs to ramp up the pressure on China to crack down on trade with North Korea across the board," he said.

Ohio's Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who helped pass North Korea, Iran and Russia sanctions this summer, said corporations also have a responsibility to make sure they are abiding by UN Sanctions and U.S. laws.

However, Buckness University political science professor Zhiqun Zhu said a sanction-based approach that cracks down on imports isn't going to solve the problem.

"It has so many loopholes," he said. "All sticks and no carrots will not make the North Korea problem disappear."
We have today a classic case of hypocrisy: Hollywood hypocrisy.

Harvey Weinstein  the ultimate power broker  according to a report in the NY Times, is a serial abuser of women. He is suing the Times for $50 million.

Harvey Weinstein is the ultimate Hollywood liberal. A tireless promoter of women's causes. But for decades, he's allegedly been trading power for sex, and paying off his victims.

In the words of the Times' story, "dozens of Mr. Weinstein's former and current employees, from assistants to top executives, said they knew of inappropriate conduct while they worked for him.

Actress Ashley Judd says she was asked to go to his hotel room, where while naked, Weinstein asked for a massage and to have Ms. Judd watch him take a shower. She remembers wanting to get out of the room as fast as possible without alienating Harvey Weinstein.

Back up a little. Mr Weinstein fits right into the Hollywood liberal mold. There are few liberal causes he has not supported. He has given a great deal of money to Democrats like senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Elizabeth Warren. He gave to Hillary Clinton. And he gave $99,000 to the DNC.

And here of course, is the hypocrisy: In public, sexism is terrible. In private, he is allegedly, a sexist. Do as we say, not as we do

How many times have we had this from the Hollywood elites: They hate guns, but gun violence runs thick in the movies. Pay more tax, but give us a tax break.

The presidency of Donald Trump has provoked hatred and contempt, and Hollywood has been leading the anti-Trump charge. Knock it off  we don't want any more moral lectures from you.
The states that have the most to lose from a key provision in the Republican tax plan are joining forces to make their case.

Congressional leadership met at least two dozen Republican lawmakers from New York, New Jersey and California on Thursday to discuss the possible elimination of the state and local tax deduction, also known as SALT, as part of the final tax reform bill, FOX Business has learned.

The meeting was called after members from these states started voicing their concerns to senior lawmakers about the impact the eradication of the loophole could have on their districts, Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) tells FOX Business.

We had a meeting with Reps. Scalise (R-La.), Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Kevin Brady (R-Texas) and made some pretty forceful arguments. They are certainly open to compromise. The question is how far the compromise goes, King said.

King argued the negative impact the loopholes elimination could have on his district, New Yorks 2nd Congressional District, and how there needs to be a compromise if Republicans want to pass comprehensive tax reform.

To have a chance of passing, it has to be negotiated and it has to be negotiated on good terms. Thats not a threat, its a reality. My district wont survive if this goes away," King said.

He added that if they excluded SALT from the tax code it could be political sabotage for the Republican Party.

This is the equivalent of going into some of the most red states and talking about gun control, King said.

King indicated at Thursdays meeting that hes willing to compromise on keeping the elimination of SALT in the final tax blueprint, but only if its eradicated for those in the upper income bracket.

I suggested that if it is going to be in there at all it should only apply to those who make over $400,000. Because otherwise you are looking at a tax increase for everyone else and maybe at best they break even, King said.

A spokesman for Scalise, the House Majority Whip, confirmed the meeting with the lawmakers yesterday and called it productive in a statement to FOX Business.

It was a productive discussion, one of many important conversations the Whip office will hold with members as House Republicans work to pass pro-growth tax reform that creates jobs and benefits middle class families, the statement said.

New York,along with New Jersey and California, are considered high-tax states that give taxpayers a break with the deduction. About one-third of the value of the tax break, which in total is estimated to be $1.3 trillion in savings, is used by filers in these states according to a study by the nonpartisan Center for a Responsible Federal Budget.

While Republican lawmakers try to negotiate a deal on the deduction, White House officials have been indicating that President Trump is not willing to discuss an alternative to paying for his tax plan.

The presidents been clear about his position, and were moving forward with the framework that weve laid out, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Thursday when asked whether the administration was open to making a deal on the tax break.

At a press conference on Thursday, Brady gave a slightly different perspective, acknowledging that leadership is willing to listen to those who represent the states who would be most impacted by the loss of the loophole.

At this point theres been no change to the framework the way it was laid out, but were again listening very carefully to ideas and how we can make sure we can deliver tax relief to those families, Brady said.

A spokesman for McCarthy did not return emails for comment at the time of publication.
When South Korean appliance giant LG broke ground for a new one-million-square foot washing machine factory in Clarksville, Tenn. in August, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross was side-by-side with LG North American President and CEO William Cho cheering a project that is expected to create 600 jobs and perhaps many more in the years ahead.

Our Clarksville factory has great potential to expand to produce other products beyond just washing machines, said William Cho President & CEO LG North America during an interview with FOX Business. We have 310 acres...and our new washing machine facility will occupy just one-quarter of that when it opens in early 2019. The other three-quarters will have potential to extend additional LG home appliances.

The plant, LGs largest in the U.S., is set to open in the first quarter of 2019 and will add 600 well-paying jobs manufacturing jobs to the U.S. pipeline with potential for more. Cho says the company will focus some of its recruiting and hiring efforts on nearby Fort Campbell to tap what he describes as military veterans that are skilled workers.

Additionally, the company also announced plans to open an electric vehicle component factory in Michigan, creating an additional 300 new jobs, and is building its North American headquarters in Englewood, New Jersey which should double local employment to 1,000 jobs.

Additionally, the company announced plans to open an electric vehicle component factory in Michigan and is building its North American headquarters in Englewood, N.J., which should double local employment to 1,000 jobs, said Cho.

Toyota & Mazda to build a new $1.6B plant here in the U.S.A. and create 4K new American jobs. A great investment in American manufacturing!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 4, 2017

LG joins a growing list of global companies coming to the U.S. to open factories to the delight of President Donald Trump. Earlier this year Foxconn, the Taiwanese Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) supplier, announced plans for a Wisconsin plant that is expected to create 3,000 new jobs, while Toyota (NYSE:TM) and Mazda announced a joint-venture plan to build a $1.6 billion U.S. assembly plant promising 4,000 new jobs starting in 2021.

These future factories may help continue the U.S. manufacturing sectors momentum as the country makes more goods, but its job growth may not carry the same momentum.

Job growth may not be staggering, but we could staunch the bleeding. Could we boost manufacturing output, produce more stuff? Yes, former White House director of economic policy under George H.W. Bush Todd Buchholz tells FOX Business.

Automation and technology is also creating a headwind. Over the next decade, more than three million manufacturing jobs will likely be needed, and two million are expected to go unfilled due to the skills gap, according to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).

Youve got to have folks who are trained to do those jobs Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, told FOX Business.

Timmons noted the industry and Department of Labor are doing their parts to help educate and introduce potential workers to "modern manufacturing" and argues those two million openings could be filled If we do things right.

For now, the trajectory is upward. Manufacturing grew for the 13th-straight month in September, according to the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) index, which hit 61.4%, the highest reading since May 2004. A reading over 50 signals the U.S. economy is expanding.

This year alone, manufacturers have seen healthy job growth, averaging 17,222 new jobs per month since December, as tracked by the NAM.

And if the U.S. economy can grow at a pace of 3-4% that should grease the wheels of the nations manufacturers even more.

Suzanne OHalloran is Managing Editor of FOXBusiness.com and a graduate of Boston College. Follow her on @suzohalloran
President Donald Trump will host a roundtable with American manufacturers on Friday, where he is expected to continue advocating for the GOPs tax reform effort as Congress takes its first steps toward advancing the overhaul.

Trump will be joined by executives and workers from companies headquartered in West Virginia  a manufacturing state led by Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin  and Maryland, according to a White House official. The president will declare Oct. 6 National Manufacturing Day concordant with the administrations efforts to revitalize the sector.

Manufacturing optimism has continued to hover near record highs, registering its highest three-quarter average in the most recent National Association of Manufacturers survey. While 89.8% of companies said they had a positive outlook for their own company, more than 87% of survey respondents thought the GOPs tax reform plan would address their concerns with the current tax system.

The GOP has focused heavily on the manufacturing sector in its campaign to overhaul the United States tax code, with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and the president visiting different factories around the country to tout the plans potential benefits for corporations and workers. One key component of the blueprint is a 15 percentage point reduction in the corporate tax rate, which would slash the current 35% level to 20%. White House officials have said, in addition to creating jobs and attracting investment, this would boost workers pension plans through a rise in stock prices.

Congress took a step toward passing tax reform on Thursday, when the House of Representatives approved the 2018 budget resolution. The budget contains the reconciliation mandate for tax reform, which will allow the Republican Party to use the fast-track process when it votes to approve the legislation later this year. It also sets aside money for tax cuts. In a statement released Thursday, Trump applauded the GOPs efforts, calling it a pathway to fix our rigged and burdensome tax code.

On Thursday, a source with knowledge of the matter told FOX Business that the budget resolution is expected to pass both chambers in late October or early November, after which the GOP will introduce the tax reform bill for discussion.
Car giant General Motors has slammed tech start-up Tesla for planning to release autonomous vehicle technology before its ready.

Teslas entrepreneurial boss Elon Musk claims his cars already have the hardware needed for a full self-driving capability, known in the industry as a Level Five engineering standard.

However in a briefing about autonomous cars to Australian media in Detroit overnight, Scott Miller, General Motors director of autonomous vehicle integration said I think hes full of crap, when asked what he thought about Musks claim.

If you think you can see everything you need for a Level Five autonomous (car) with cameras and radar, I dont know how you do that, said Mr Miller.

To be what an SAE Level Five full autonomous system is, I dont think he (Elon Musk) has the content to do that.

The car industry tests extensively before releasing new technology to the public.

We put the customer in the middle of everything; we think its irresponsible to say (a car has fully autonomous capability) at this point, said Mr Miller.

GM-OWNED CRUISE AUTOMATION REVEALS PRODUCTION-READY SELF-DRIVING CAR

The level of technology in doing what it takes to do  Level Four or Level Five, which is cameras and radar, I dont think its physically possible (with what Tesla currently has), he said.

I think you need the right sensors and the right computer package to do it. We have lydar, radar and cameras on (our cars). The reason we have that type of sensor package is  to be deeply integrated into Level Five, you should have some redundancies (back-up measures in case of equipment failures).

Mr Miller added: Do you really want to trust one sensor measuring the speed of a car coming into an intersection before you pull out? I think you need some confirmation.

Mr Miller said lydar and radar systems do a good job of measuring object speed and cameras do a great job of identifying objects.

Teslas autopilot hardware technology suite includes eight cameras, one radar and ultrasonic sensors.

You can use the right sensor images to give you competence in what youre seeing, said Mr Miller. Thats important if were going to put this technology out for general consumption to the public.

Could you do it with whats in the current (Tesla) Model S? I dont think so.

Telsa has been contacted for comment.
Newsweek issued another embarrassing retraction on Tuesday evening about a story that falsely detailed the life of the Las Vegas shooter's girlfriend with salacious information that turned out to be fake news.

Citing public records, the original story claimed Stephen Paddock's girlfriend, Marilou Danley, had used two social security accounts and had two husbands at the same time. The now-retracted story said that Danley is the one person who holds the key to solving the mystery of the deadliest mass shooting in American history. Newsweek painted her as a shadowy figure with a convoluted life of her own, who lived an unconventional life.

Unfortunately for Newsweek, the initial report was based on the marriage record of Danley, who was known under a different name when she married Geary Danley in Clark County, Nevada, according to the magazine.

Newsweek mistakenly matched that record to a second public record of a different person, the publication wrote explaining the retraction. Newsweek regrets the error.

Newsweek has now issued at least 20 corrections in 2017, including at least one per month, and even has a page on its website dedicated to its mistakes. The magazine admitted to over 50 mistakes in 2016 and even apologized for a story that praised an assault on white nationalist Richard Spencer earlier this year. Mistakes are so common at Newsweek that every digital article features a submit correction option beneath the text.

The latest retracted story was reported by Melina Delkic, but the correction features the byline Newsweek staff. Delkic covers breaking news and politics for Newsweek and refers to herself a journalism school drop-out on her Twitter bio.

Newsweek did not immediately respond when asked whether or not she will be disciplined for the retracted story, while Delkic declined to comment.

A lot of information has emerged since Newsweeks original story falsely claimed Danley had multiple Social Security numbers, and she has since denied any wrongdoing.

"I knew Stephen Paddock as a kind, caring, quiet man," Danley said in a statement read by her attorney outside FBI headquarters in Los Angeles on Wednesday. "I loved him and hoped for a quiet future together with him. He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen."

Danley was questioned by federal agents for much of the day after returning from her native Philippines, where she had been for more than two weeks. While Danley was on her way back from the Philippines, a Newsweek editor was busy praising the now-retracted story on Twitter.

As first reported by TheWrap, a Newsweek breaking news editor bragged about the exclusive look into the shooters weird girlfriend that turned out to be fake news.

Gersh Kuntzman wrote, in a tweet that had still not been deleted at the time this article was published, The great @MelinaDelkic shows us how its done with this EXCLUSIVE look at LV shooters weird girlfriend. As TheWrap pointed out, Kuntzmans Twitter feed is filled with comments referring to gun owners as crazy and mocking President Trump.

Kuntzman did not immediately respond to Fox News request for comment.
CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker was a lightning rod when Comcast acquired NBC, of which he was then president and CEO, back in 2010. He got fired -- now he's a lightning rod again as AT&T looks to take over CNNs parent, Time Warner. So will he get fired again?

AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson didnt exactly give Zucker his full support while speaking at Vanity Fairs New Establishment Summit on Wednesday.

Were paying a premium to get Time Warner, and when you pay a big premium, the priority is to not screw it up CNNs doing quite well, and the priority is to keep management teams in place, Stephenson said. There will invariably be changes, but the hope is to keep the team in place.

Everyone involved is waiting on the Justice Departments antitrust division approving the $85 billion deal, which would make AT&T the nations largest media company. Back in June, The New York Post reported that AT&T would look to neutralize Zucker if the deal goes through. Renowned journalist-turned-investment banker Porter Bibb doesnt think AT&T will fire Zucker because he would not go quietly and the last thing AT&T needs is a media firestorm which that would create. He does, however, think Zucker will be sent packing when his current contract expires.

AT&T will probably prefer to have a less controversial, low profile manager running the network and won't renew Zucker's contract, Bibb, Managing Partner, MediaTech Capital Partners LLC., told Fox News.

Zucker signed a long-term contract extension in 2016, according to Vanity Fair. CNN did not respond when Fox News asked for specific details of Zuckers contract.

AT&T will probably prefer to have a less controversial, low profile manager running the network and won't renew Zucker's contract."  Porter Bibb

The current boss of the liberal CNN is no stranger to being forced out of a company during a cooperate takeover, but things are different this time around. At NBC, Zucker worked his way up from entry-level researcher to president and CEO of NBC Universal over a 24-year period. Despite the rise, Zucker was widely criticized for nearly running NBC into the ground once he landed the top job.

In January 2010, the Los Angeles Times said Zucker has made several costly miscalculations that have led to a spectacular fall by the country's premier television network. The Times called Zuckers handling of the Jay Leno-Conan OBrien fiasco one of the biggest debacles in television history and said his legacy could be the guy who plucked the peacock.

That same month, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd asked, How does Jeff Zucker keep rising and rising while the fortunes of NBC keep falling and falling? It should come as no surprise that Zucker stepped down roughly eight months after the disastrous headlines when the takeover of NBC by Comcast become official.

He acknowledged [leaving NBC] was not his own choice, the Times reported when it broke the news seven years ago. Zucker said that Comcast Executive Vice president Steve Burke made it clear that they wanted to move on and he stepped down, eventually landing at CNN.

By most measures, Zucker is a success at CNN. But he's staked the network's strategy on being a merry foil to Donald Trump. CNN, once famously known for Ted Turner's bare bones "just-the-facts" approach to journalism, has careened hard left, with its strident anchors and correspondents sometimes going to the left even of MSNBC.

And the president, whose administration must approve the AT&T takeover, is not amused, labeling CNN as fake news on a regular basis. Trump even ripped the potential deal between AT&T and Time Warner, implying that it would result in a monopoly while some have speculated the president could block a deal just to punish CNN.

Time Warner and AT&T have kept very quiet during the governments review of their deal, which at one point seemed likely not to include CNN, since spinning out the news network might have helped get the deal approved, Bibb said.

Ironically, Zucker, was in charge of NBC when Trumps The Apprentice became a hit for the network. At one point when NBC's prime time lineup was flailing (due to, critics argue, decisions by Zucker,) "The Apprentice" was NBC's most successful show, and Trump was NBC's biggest star. Zucker has admitted in the past that his decision to greenlight The Apprentice helped increase Trumps star power.

For his part, Trump claims he's the reason Zucker got the top NBC job (something Zucker gently refutes) and the president has been clear that he resents CNN's attacks on him, considering what he feels he did for its boss.

Since joining CNN, Zucker has focused on programming distractions to what was once the key to CNN's success -- hard news coverage. Before the Trump phenomenon, he was criticized for seeking a ratings boost by focusing obsessively first on the story of the stranded 201x "poop cruise" in which a cruise ship was stalled in the middle of the ocean with faulty bathrooms; and then on the disappearance of a Malaysian jetliner, which CNN anchor Don Lemon notoriously speculated may have flown into a black hole.

Zucker has beefed up the brands digital content and is responsible for the successful series of original, non-news programs at CNN such as The Nineties and Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. CNN finished the third quarter of 2016 as its most-watched quarter ever among total viewers and had its most-watched quarter among the key demo of adults age 25-54 since 2001, according to TVNewser.

However, the network was down from 2016 among prime-time viewers and finished behind Fox News and MSNBC despite the strong quarter. Also, the network's attempt to play with the big boys in investigative journalism has badly run aground, with embarrassing retractions -- related to articles negative about President Trump -- and the forced resignations of high-paid investigative reporters. CNN's chest-thumping digital operation is also reportedly 20 million dollars over budget, according to Buzzfeed.

Furthermore, the fraught, highly personal breach between Zucker and Trump -- a breach that's at the core of CNN's anti-Trump programming strategy -- poses a distraction for AT&T that the giant corporation will likely prefer to be rid of.

And Zucker's "never Trump" programming strategy is fundamentally at odds with what's made CNN Time Warner's biggest cash cow over the last 20 years -- its reputation as a straight-down-the-middle news operation with unparalleled international reach and with one of the world's most trusted brands. The brand once associated with unblinking coverage of the 1991 Gulf War is now more associated with showboating White House correspondent Jim Acosta reading poetry at the White House press briefing.

So, it remains to be seen if AT&T will be content with CNNs current situation.

Stephenson, the AT&T honcho who didnt promise to keep Zucker around if the deal goes through, leans Republican, according to Bloomberg. He has also donated to the Republican National Committee, according to Fortune.

Politics will definitely play a role as long as Trump is in office, but CNN has been outflanked by both Fox and MSNBC, which, respectively, own the conservative and liberal franchises. CNN is left with the empty slogan The Most Trusted Network, which is questionable, at best and leaves CNN as the odd man out in our polarized society, Bibb said. More important than politics will be a new, clean format, and a focus on more straight news reporting, especially from outside the U.S.

Insiders say that Zucker, who foundered at the top of NBC Universal, has found his level at CNN and won't go quietly. A famously good manager, he enjoys strong loyalty from CNN staff, who are otherwise notorious for forcing out outsider top executives.

CNN did not respond to Fox News request for comment.
Hollywood kingpin and Democrat Party mega-donor Harvey Weinstein is turning fellow liberals into hypocrites as they join the battle to save his tattered reputation from claims he spent decades preying on Hollywood starlets, according to critics.

Anita Dunn, a key aide to President Obama, "counseled" the Tinseltown titan after The New York Times reported that the powerful movie producer sexually harassed Ashley Judd, Rose McGowan and at least six other starlets. And his attorney, Lisa Bloom - who is "tutoring" him on how to not act like a pig - built her reputation representing women who claim to have been on the other end of bad behavor.

"Harvey Weinstein is such a wonderful feminist that he has feminists Lisa Bloom and Anita Dunn fronting for his disgusting misogyny!" tweeted New York Post pundit John Podhoretz.

Weinstein, the co-founder of Miramax and producer of such megahits as "Shakespeare in Love," "Scream" and "Pulp Fiction," is in hot water after The New York Times published an investigative report citing several women accused him of sexual harassment throughout his decades in Hollywood.

But in a pre-emptive strike, Weinstein lawyered up with Bloom, and appears to have called in favors from Democratic Party movers and shakers. Among those Weinstein turned to was public relations expert Anita Dunn, who worked on Obamas first campaign and briefly worked as White House communications director under the 44th president.

Dunn, managing director of K-Street firm SKDKnickerbocker, has not weighed in on Weinstein's tawdry behavior, but her firm released a statement acknowledging she came to the aid of Weinstein while others were condemning his actions and abuse of power.

Anita was asked to speak with him by a friend," the statement read. "Harvey Weinstein and Miramax are not now and have never been clients of our firm or Anitas. If you know Anita, you can only imagine what she said to him. Our commitment to defending womens rights remains.

"So is Anita Dunn advising Harvey Weinstein in her capacity as director at SKDKnickerbocker?" tweeted the Washington Free Beacon's Alex Griswold. "Terrible look if a Dem firm is spearheading."

Weinstein's hold on the Democratic Party is so strong that former first daughter Malia Obama even interned for him. He has thrown numerous fund-raisers for Democratic candidates at lavish homes on both coasts.

Whether Dunn read Weinstein the riot act or advised him on how to wriggle out of a jam is not clear, but the mere fact she would meet with him could raise eyebrows, given the shocking nature of the accusations.

According to the report from the Times, Weinstein sexually harassed numerous women that worked with him, Miramax and, later, The Weinstein Co. by propositioning them for massages, appearing naked or half-clothed and asking them to watch him bathe.

Weinstein is a major donor the Democratic Party and even held fundraisers for Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2016. Dunn mostly kept her ties to the Obama administration, even after leaving in 2009. She was a frequent visitor to the White House and helped Obama with debate prep in 2012.

Meanwhile, The Wrap reports that some Democratic officials in Washington are donating the money that Weinstein previously raised for them to charity.
Thursday was a jam-packed news day that included explosive allegations against one of Hollywoods most powerful men and the National Rifle Association speaking out against bump stocks on the heels of the deadliest mass shooting in American history. But MSNBCs The Rachel Maddow Show opened with a 20-minute segment on the stale story about the alleged Trump dossier and his alleged connections to Russia.

Maddow seemed excited to exclusively report that an associate of Trump dossier author Christopher Steele said he is willing to meet with the Senate Intelligence Committee. The first 20 minutes featured Maddow discussing the dossier, which the MSNBC host claims is a well-developed conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russian leadership. She went through the history of the dossier, admitting a lot of it has not been proven to be accurate before adding, At least not yet.

Media Research Center Vice President Dan Gainor said that the left can't come to terms with the fact that Trump defeated Hillary Clinton on Election Day, even though it has been nearly a year. He feels that liberal pundits are desperate to find an excuse which is resulting in desperately biting into the Russia investigation while important news swirls around them.

The contents of the dossier were first published by Buzzfeed back in Jan. 10, but Maddow led her program on Oct. 5 with an attempt at a follow-up story. She could have opened with The New York Times bombshell that Harvey Weinstein has allegedly been harassing women for decades, the NRA uncharacteristically opposing a gun-related device or even Trumps reported outrage regarding Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Surely there was an angle related to the mass shooting in Las Vegas that would have been more timely and relevant than more attempts to connect Trump to Russia. Instead, Maddow brought up things like Russians allegedly offering anti-Clinton information to the Trump campaign and already reported news about Trump associates meeting with Russians.

The truth is, Trump defeated Hillary. He did so because his message was popular and he ran a better campaign. And I doubt the left will ever accept that, Gainor said.

Maddow did offer some new content, such as Robert Muellers team meeting with the author of the dossier. This riveting TV involved Maddow reading a CNN report live on MSNBC and then explaining to viewers why what they just heard was interesting.

Perhaps Maddow wanted to try something different, as shes been getting slammed in the ratings department since Fox news Hannity was moved up an hour to go head-to-head with the darling of liberal media. Hannity was the most-watched show on cable news last week  his first going head-to-head with Maddow. The Fox News veteran defeated Maddow in both total viewers and the key news demo of adults age 25-54, and has continued to prevail through the first three days of his second week at 9 p.m. ET.

MSNBC did not immediately respond to Fox News request for comment.
Roma Downey found herself unable to fall asleep one night as she lay awake in bed next to her husband Mark Burnett while watching the news. The harsh realities of the world played out on the screen in front of her leaving her agitated and depressed.

"He had the news on right before we were going to sleep and I said, 'Mark, I just can't sleep,'" Downey told Fox News. "It filled me with so much [anger]. I said to Mark, 'I wish someone would create the good news channel.'"

It was that night that Downey came up with the idea for Lightworkers.com, a website that "celebrates good news and highlights people that are doing good things."

While Downey is best known for her television and film career, the transition from the silver screen to the digital world was a natural one because Lightworkers focuses on subjects close to the star's heart.

"If you look at the course of my career, from 'Touched by an Angel,' to 'The Bible' series, you can see a thread of hope and inspiration. It's what I love to do and it's what I'm all about," Downey told us.

While many in Hollywood today are focusing their efforts on politics, the Irish-born beauty told us she specifically steers clear of anything too polarizing.

"I'm not a political person. I'm really interested in finding the connected place between us and this is a site that really just celebrates the good news in our world," the 57-year-old explained.

Downey admits "the bad news leads and gets ratings," but she thinks people are "fed up with the negative and hatefulness" and are looking for stories that are uplifting.

"There's a lot of darkness out there and we just wanted to remind people that there's still light in the world," she said.

Lightworkers.com features articles and short videos on a variety of topics relating to faith, good news and lifestyle.

Downey admits she can often fall victim to listening to the negative forces around her, but relies on a quote from Mr. Rogers to remind her of the good in the world: When bad stuff happens, look for the helpers.

"There are always helpers and I think weve seen that in this country with [the recent hurricanes]," Downey said.

There are amazing stories emerging from these awful disasters and reminding us that we have good people everywhere.
Conservative New York Times op-ed columnist Bret Stephens went native by calling for a repeal of the Second Amendment on Thursday and it appears he is adapting to his new digs just fine.

The Times hired the Pulitzer Prize-winning Stephens last April to offer a conservative voice to the typically left-leaning paper as the paper aimed to recommit to the goal of offering intelligent discussion from all shades of opinion. Editorial page chief James Bennet said the addition of Stephens would help foster collegial debate among brave, honest journalists with very different points of view.

He was poached from the Wall Street Journal and his hiring spurred headlines such as, The New York Times should not have hired climate change bulls-----r, and The Hiring of Bret Stephens raises question of what the NYT op-ed section should look like.

Stephens made a splash with his first column for the Times, Climate of Complete Certainty, which defended people who question if climate change is a legitimate thing. The op-ed upset liberals and thousands of readers sent letters to the Times in protest, according to then-Public Editor Liz Spayd. Progressive website Mother Jones even mocked the Times decision to hire Stephens.

Less than six months later, Stephens hardly passes for a conservative in the eyes of right-leaning influencers. Sean Hannity referred to him as a so-called conservative and National Reviews David Harsanyi said he is fundamentally wrong when it comes to guns.

There is a huge marketplace in traditional media for conservatives who then turn their back on core conservative beliefs like Stephens, Media Research Center Vice President Dan Gainor told Fox News. The left protested when Stephens was first hired at the Times, so he's doing everything they could ask now, including undermining the Constitution.

A spokeswoman from the Times told Fox News that, Bret is going to let the column speak for itself, when we asked if he would have felt comfortable speaking out against the Second Amendment if he worked at a more conservative news organization.

Throughout the column, Stephens refers to conservatives as if theyre a group that he is not part of. It begins, I have never understood the conservative fetish for the Second Amendment, and eventually declares that James Madison wouldnt be ok with the modern state of the Second Amendment.

Stephens anti-Second Amendment column doesnt call for an outright ban on guns, but he doesnt want them to be easily obtainable on the heels of the massacre in Las Vegas.

Repealing the [Second] amendment may seem like political mission impossible today, but in the era of same-sex marriage, it's worth recalling that most great causes began as improbable ones, Stephens wrote. Gun ownership should never be outlawed, just as it isn't outlawed in Britain and Australia. But it doesn't need a blanket constitutional protection, either.

National Review Editor Charles C. W. Cooke ripped Stephens op-ed, saying his column is not a rigorous one and that it is a brusque list of ill-considered assertions that do nothing to grapple with the many arguments to their contrary.

Cooke continued: It is remarkable how blithely he elects to invoke Madison as a friend to his cause, and how readily he subordinates the right to bear arms to expediency.

Stephens call to repeal the Second Amendment is being praised by the left and ripped by the right. The op-ed is obviously polarizing, but it makes one thing absolutely clear: Liberal New York Times readers dont have to appear outraged that The Gray Lady hired a conservative any longer.
Amid warnings from health officials that it could take years to rid of Californias deadly hepatitis A outbreak, San Diego has granted paramedics the authority to administer vaccines to the areas at-risk populations.

Under the special measure, which was approved on Wednesday, paramedics will be able to deliver hepatitis A doses under the supervision of nurses and at vaccination events geared toward at-risk populations, The Los Angeles Times reported.

Paramedics already have basic skills in terms of delivering injections, and this approval allows us to give them training to do vaccination but only in very specific settings with very specific oversight, Dr. Kristi Koening, director of the San Diego Emergency Medical Service, told the news outlet.

WOMAN FINDS RELIEF 10 YEARS AFTER DEVELOPING 'MYSTERY' COUGH

Koening had made the request on Sept. 20 in response to the outbreak that has killed 17 and sickened more than 500. The contagious disease has inflicted mainly the homeless communities in San Diego, Santa Cruz and Los Angeles counties.

People without symptoms can carry the illness, and it is spread through contact with an infected persons feces. The virus can spread through food, objects, sex or sharing drug paraphernalia. San Diego has already implemented power-washing streets and installing hand-washing stations, and plans to open an encampment for the homeless equipped with tents, showers, restrooms, food security and social services.

Vaccination efforts have seen nearly 1,400 doses distributed this far, but such efforts may not see immediate results.

Dr. Monique Foster, a medical epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said its not unusual for an outbreak of this size to last more than a year.

I dont think the worst is over, Jessica Randolph, Santa Cruz County public health manager, said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Melania Trump was criticized by Twitter this week for another one of her fashion choices. This time the social media storm was about her eyewear.

The First Lady was returning from a trip with her husband, President Donald Trump, after they had made a visit to Puerto Rico and then Las Vegas the following day.

DONALD TRUMP AND MELANIA'S TEXAS HAT CHOICES CAUSE CONTROVERSY

The Trumps returned to the White House late Wednesday night. Melania deplaned, showing off a black lace skirt, black sweater  and sunglasses.

The eyewear quickly became the focal point for Twitter users who pointed out that the sun was not out.

FLOTUS sunglasses also caught flack while she was in Puerto Rico from people saying that the shades made her seem unapproachable and disinterested.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

Melania is no stranger to fashion controversy. She was previously shamed over her storm stilettos  her choice of sky-high heel that she wore while visiting Texas after Hurricane Harvey. She was also ridiculed for her neon pink dress that she wore during her United Nations speech about bullying.
We just knew that too much pumpkin spice would be dangerous.

On Oct. 5, administrators at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Baltimore evacuated the building after a strange odor overpowered the third floor, reports The Baltimore Sun. School president Bill Heiser told the paper that several students and faculty members had difficulty breathing as the scent appeared to be getting stronger.

BEST FALL TREATS THAT AREN'T PUMPKIN SPICE

As the HAZMAT team of the Baltimore City Fire Department bounded in to test for dangerous materials, local firefighters began opening all the windows, and stumbled upon the source of the trouble: an aerosol air freshener plugin in a third floor classroom, espousing a pumpkin spice scent.

While the property was safe, emergency personnel took two students and three adults to the hospital for ailing stomachs, Baltimore fire spokesman Roman Clark told the Sun.

TEEN'S CANCER KEEPS HIM FROM HOMECOMING, DATE BRINGS DANCE TO HIM

Better to be safe than sorry, Clark said. Likewise, Heiser knew that the quick decision to evacuate Cristo Rey was the right one.

"I think the best thing to do, if there's any concern and you have a school of 350 students and you have 50 teachers and staff, is to be safe," Heiser added.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

Classes at the private, co-ed, college prep school resumed the next day without issue, according to a statement on the schools website.
On Sunday night a shooter rained gunfire on 22,000 music fans along the Las Vegas Strip. The gunman, Stephen Paddock, fired from the 32nd floor of a Mandalay Bay Resort hotel, killing 58 people and wounding more than 500 others. Paddocks motives are unknown.

In the face of horrors like this, we want refuge, comfort, answers, solutions. We want to know who the shooter is and why he did it. We want to know where God is in the midst of such evil. We want to know what we could have done to stop this evil act.

Most importantly, we want to know what we should do in response. Let me suggest five things we can do as we are processing this tragedy.

First, we should weep with those who weep. When Jesus stood by Lazarus grave with Mary and Martha, he wept. He mourned the loss of Lazarus life and expressed sympathy for his loved ones. Similarly, we should mourn. We should express genuine love and concern, opening ourselves up to experience some of the sadness and grief experienced by the victims and their families.

Sit with people. Cry with them. Express sympathy for them. Take a moment to reflect on the horror of sin. Say to the person next to you, I dont know why this happened, but God is present with us even when we cant see him, even in the midst of a tragedy like this. And we are promised that he will return one day to make things right, to rid the world of sin and its consequences.

During a time like this, people need to know that life is not a meaningless chaos. They need to know that God is at work even during a time of tragedy. In other words, they need us to be Christians...

Second, pray for the victims, for civic leaders and for Las Vegas churches. Several times this year, social media flash mobs mocked evangelicals for saying we would pray in the aftermath shootings or other harrowing events. In their view, our tweets about prayer were simply a means of circumventing difficult issues instead of acting upon them. The Las Vegas shootings are no exception, with the #ThoughtsAndPrayers hashtag trending in a negative way after the shootings.

For our part, however, wed turn the criticism around and say that prayer is a more powerful form of activism than social media flash mobbing. Our obedience to the biblical command to pray for our society is more important than the sum total of our Tweets or opinion pieces. So, as Ed Stetzer wrote this week, lets determine to pray for the civic leaders, churches, and charities who are serving victims, family members, and communities in the aftermath of this horror.

Third, reject the speculations of self-appointed prophets. Often our neighbors and Facebook friends will reach out to us during moments like this, looking for a theological explanation or wanting to justify Gods goodness in light of such a horror. But the Bible doesnt give easy or neat answers, so we shouldnt either. We dont know why God intervenes to stop some tragedies but doesnt intervene in others. For that matter, we dont know whether or not he intervened in this particular tragedy. What we do know is that God doesnt sin but people do. Lets stick to what we know.

We should be especially careful to dismiss the speculations of self-appointed prophets. It never fails that, after a terror act or natural disaster, some Christian leader will claim that the event is Gods judgment on a particular individual or nation or political faction. Yet, as Russell Moore wrote yesterday, Jesus told us specifically not to do this, after his disciples asked whether a mans blindness was the result of his or his parents sin. Jesus said no to both (Jn. 9:1-12). Those self-appointed prophets who would blame the victims for what befalls them are just that, self-appointed. We should listen to Jesus and to his apostles, not to them.

Fourth, dont try to score political points. Inevitably in the aftermath of terror incidents, political partisans try to score points. Lets resist the temptation to join them in capitalizing on the tragedy. The time will come for debates about gun control and gun rights. But the week of the tragedy is not that time. So, during this time of mourning, lets refuse to take cheap shots at people on the other side of the aisle whose policy views you think are harmful or foolish.

Fifth, point people to the day when Christ will return to make things right. During a time like this, people need to know that life is not a meaningless chaos. They need to know that God is at work even during a time of tragedy. In other words, they need us to be Christians, to be people who remind the world that God has promised to return one day to make things right.

As He told his disciples immediately after having been beaten, stabbed, and crucified, I am with you always, even to the end of the age (Mt. 28:20).

So, lets remind the world that evenand especiallywhen it seems like the world is falling apart, Christ is present with us. And not only is he with us now, but he will be with us in the future when he returns to rid the world of tragedy once and for all.
The United States and nations around the world battle ISIS and other terrorist groups with special forces and other ground combat troops, pilots of manned aircraft and drones, police, explosives experts, intelligence agents and informers. But to win the fight we also need financial experts who can deprive terrorists of money they require to wage war against us.

Israel  a favorite target of terrorists for decades  has developed a highly effective financial warfare template to hit terrorists in their wallets. The U.S. has already used this template to fight ISIS and other terrorist groups  and now European nations should follow.

Money is the common denominator behind everything that ISIS and other terrorist groups do and threaten to do. Without the cash to fund fighters and leaders, there would be no global jihad against the West. Islamic fundamentalism and despair might inspire terror, but money fuels it.

In 2014, during the fighting in Gaza, the Israeli Air Force incinerated over $10 million in Hamas cash that was earmarked to pay the salaries of terrorists on the front lines. When the money evaporated inside the flash of a missile strike, Hamas had no choice but to seek an end to the conflict.

Israel came to terms with this reality years ago, during the last intifada from 2000 to 2005, when a seemingly endless wave of Palestinian suicide bombers attacked the countrys towns and cities. The Israeli military and security services waged relentless efforts to end the bloodshed, and elite counterterrorist units launched daring raids to kill and capture key terrorists  but the bombings continued.

Israeli leaders realized they needed a new approach  something that could provide short-term benefits and change the long-term paradigm. So Israel shifted its focus to the money that financed everything from bomb-building factories to the cash bonuses issued to the families of suicide bombers.

The Jewish state formed a multiagency task force codenamed Harpoon to wage financial warfare against its enemies. The Harpoon unit followed the terrorist money from its source  whether it was cash raised by charities in the U.S., or multimillion-dollar transfers from Iran, the Gulf States and Saudi Arabia.

Harpoon expanded its operational reach in 2002. Following the money wasnt enough. The cash and the accounts had to be taken from the terrorists or destroyed.

Every part of the Israeli government  from its intelligence services to its tax authority  was mobilized to find ways to deprive terrorists of their money and their access to the international banking system.

Israel even encouraged human rights lawyers to use the power of the U.S. federal courts and multimillion-dollar law suits  brought against the state sponsors of terror and the financial institutions that served them  to place additional pressure on the cash flow that financed attacks.

I was, and remain, one of the attorneys in this effort. We spearheaded billions of dollars in judgments against the likes of Iran, Syria, the Palestinian Authority and North Korea  all on behalf of the victims of terror.

In addition, we were instrumental in closing down banks that served as conduits for terrorist groups like Hezbollah, handling hundreds of millions of dollars in narco-profits that financed atrocities around the world.

Some of the Israeli tactics, such as raiding banks, were criticized in the West  even by President George W. Bush  as being Wild West in nature. But eventually, the United States came to appreciate Israels tactics and emulated them with the far-reaching muscle that only a superpower could flex.

The Americans saluted Israeli spy chief Meir Dagan  the mastermind behind Harpoon  and his understanding that money was the oxygen that enabled the terror beast to live and thrive. Dagan was intent on suffocating this malignant creature through any and all means at his disposal.

In the wake of terrorist attacks in Britain, France, Spain Belgium, Germany and Sweden in recent years, Europeans will need to use the highly effective financial warfare template that Israel has already established if they hope to defeat ISIS and the terror armies that will follow.

The European intelligence services will have to cut through red tape and muster their resources to bankrupt ISIS, intercept its ability to move money from country to country, and stop it from funding fighters and operations throughout the continent.

Rendering a group like ISIS insolvent will yield victorious battlefield results.

In 2014, during the fighting in Gaza, the Israeli Air Force incinerated over $10 million in Hamas cash that was earmarked to pay the salaries of terrorists on the front lines who hadnt been paid in weeks. When the money evaporated inside the flash of a missile strike, Hamas had no choice but to seek an end to the conflict.

If European nations are truly serious about wanting to put an end to ISIS attacks on the continent they must accept that in the war on terror  primarily the financial war  there is no fair play, only results on a ledger.

Days before terrorist attacks in Spain killed 13 and injured 100 in August, a judge in Germany sentenced a Syrian hairdresser to two years in prison for defrauding ISIS by tricking the terrorist organization into transferring 180,000 euros to him under the pretense of carrying out attacks in Germany. German authorities shouldnt have charged the man  they should have copied the scam on a much larger scale.

A smart and successful war on terror requires James Bonds and General Pattons, as well as one or two Bernie Madoffs  and their services are needed immediately.

This war is here and now. To weaken the terrorists who target innocent men, women and children for murder and mayhem, America and European nations must adapt and develop new and decisive strategies to make sure that the next attacks are much more difficult to carry out. The bankrupting of terrorists must be the tip of this strategic spear.
Amid the tragic events in Las Vegas this week, what would otherwise constitute a major news event in Washington received only passing notice. Which was perfectly fine with the mainstream media since it would prefer to ignore the news anyway. It does not hew to their carefully constructed narrative of Donald Trump as villain.

Here is the news: after an exhaustive 9-month investigation, the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee offered no evidence whatsoever that Trump or his associates colluded with Russia to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. Nothing.

But wait, what about all those media stories which all but indicted and convicted President Trump for collusion? Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr said on Thursday that his committees findings would contradict some of them. "We will find that quite a few news organizations ran stories that were not factual, he noted. Geewhat a surprise.

Yet, in a bizarre twist, the Republican and Democratic co-chairs said that the issue of collusion is still open. In other words, theyve got bupkis but they still might nose around.

The nations capital leaks like an old rusty bucket. And the torrent of leaks to the media on the multiple investigations into whether Trump colluded with the Russians leaves little doubt that if any evidence exists, we would surely know about it by now.

Only in Washington can you spend 9-months hunting for evidence, come up empty-handed, yet keep the probe going. It makes sense, I suppose, in the contorted ways of Congress. Why end the investigation when you can continue to squander endless taxpayer dollars chasing nonexistent evidence? After all, people keep hunting for the elusive Sasquatch and the Loch Ness Monster. Maybe someday

Other Investigations

Since government redundancy is endemic on Capitol Hill, the House Intelligence Committee has been conducting a parallel investigation for the better part of a year. It, too, has come up with goose eggs. Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., has flatly denied there is any evidence of collusion.

Even leading democrats, like Senators Diane Feinstein (D-CA) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), have said they have seen no evidence of Trump- Russian collaboration. Both sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee. If such evidence existed, they would certainly know about it.

But even more compelling are the statements of senior Obama administration intelligence officials who were privy to all the information gathered by both the FBI and the alphabet soup of intel agencies which began investigating the matter more than a year ago. Take a gander at what they have said.

James Clapper, the former Director of National Intelligence, has twice confirmed that he has seen no evidence of collusion. As the basis for his conclusion, he cited reports from the NSA, FBI and CIA. John Brennan, the former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, has said the same thing no sign of collusion.

And then there is James Comey. When asked if Clappers assessment was correct, the fired FBI Director testified that Clapper was right, there is no known evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Russians.

The search for incriminating evidence has not been for lack of trying. This was underscored by the Senate Intelligence Committee when it disclosed that it had conducted in excess of 100 interviews over 250 hours, held 11 open hearings, produced more than 4,000 pages of transcripts, and reviewed some 100,000 documents. Every intel official who drafted the report on Russian election meddling was interviewed, as were all relevant Obama administration officials. Every Trump campaign official the committee wanted to hear from was questioned.

Still nothing. Zero.

The Spy Game

The Obama administration was even more aggressive in its hunt for a smoking-gun, going so far as to spy on Trump and his campaign. Recent reports reveal that the FBI wiretapped former Trump campaign manager, Paul Manafort, both before and after the election, as well as Carter Page, a Trump foreign policy adviser.

While this was going on, intelligence agencies were conducting secret surveillance that captured various Trump associates, listening in on their conversations. Obama officials unmasked their names and leaked at least one of them, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, to the media which then published it. This constitutes a crime under federal law.

Yet amid all the spying and eavesdropping on Trump and his campaign, including his transition team, no evidence of collusion with the Russians has surfaced. Why? Likely because it never happened.

It is indisputable that the Russian government meddled in the 2016 election, attempting to sow chaos in our democratic process. But, as the Senate Intelligence Committee pointed out, No vote totals were altered by Russia. Were voters, nonetheless, unduly influenced by fake advertising on social media websites, hacked emails and other propaganda? It's unclear.

But whats abundantly clear is that there is no evidence revealed thus far which demonstrates that the Trump campaign collaborated or conspired with Russia to influence the election. This is completely consistent with the presidents repeated insistence that he never spoke with any Russians about the election and, if someone else in his campaign did, he knew nothing about it.

Yes, the presidents son met during the campaign with a Russian lawyer who allegedly promised information on Hillary Clinton. It is not prohibited under federal election laws, as explained in earlier columns . It is perfectly legal.

It is also true that Jeff Sessions and Michael Flynn met with the Russian Ambassador, as did many democrats on Capitol Hill. Such meetings are not unusual, despite the mainstream medias unabashed hysteria. There is no evidence the election was ever discussed.

Even if there were conversations about the campaign with the Russians, collusion is not a crime under Americas criminal codes, except in cases of antitrust. There is not a single statute outlawing collaboration with a foreign government in a U.S. presidential election or any election. But these legal distinctions are irrelevant if it never happened.

The special counsel investigating all matters Russia appears to be focusing on Manafort and Flynn. Should Robert Mueller decide to seek an indictment of the pair, the charges will likely have nothing to do with Russian meddling or so-called collusion. Their respective business dealings and financial transactions outside the Trump campaign orbit have been under scrutiny for quite some time.

The Media

Washington is a place where secrets are kept about as often as politicians keep their word. The nations capital leaks like an old rusty bucket. And the torrent of leaks to the media on the multiple investigations into whether Trump colluded with the Russians leaves little doubt that if any evidence exists, we would surely know about it by now.

So, when President Trump dismisses the notion of Russian collusion as a hoax, he is striking a resonate chord. Most in the biased mainstream media loathe it, but only because they are tone deaf. They will not be deterred in their quest to convict the president, evidence be damned.

While they are chasing hoaxes, they may as well try to hunt down Nessie in the Scottish Highlands. Or Bigfoot in the Pacific Northwest.

Their chances of finding conclusive evidence is about the same as proving what has become The Great Collusion Hoax.
2017 has been a year that will go down in history as one of the worst in terms of weather disasters. Three major hurricanes  Harvey, Irma and Maria roared ashore in just a few weeks of each other  devastating islands, inundating major U.S. cities and causing catastrophic damage.

As a meteorologist, we do our best to warn as many people of a potential disaster. Thankfully, the science is getting better and we have more tools to help forecast these forces of nature to better prepare the public. But theres always going to be the chance that one storm hits your neighborhood with tragic consequences.

One of the things that brings me hope after these horrible weather events hits is the outpouring of community and support that comes in the wake of these storms. Mr. Rogers, the friendly sweater-wearing man I used to watch every morning on television, took notice of this as well. He wrote and spoke about it often:

I was spared from any great disasters when I was little, but there was plenty of news of them in newspapers and on the radio, and there were graphic images of them in newsreels.

For me, as for all children, the world could have come to seem a scary place to live. But I felt secure with my parents, and they let me know that we were safely together whenever I showed concern about accounts of alarming events in the world.

There was something else my mother did that Ive always remembered: Always look for the helpers, shed tell me. Theres always someone who is trying to help. I did, and I came to see that the world is full of doctors and nurses, police and firemen, volunteers, neighbors and friends who are ready to jump in to help when things go wrong.

Always look for the helpers. We saw this most recently in the aftermath of the horrifying attack in Las Vegas  everyday people stepping forward to help those in need.

And its what I saw when I met the men and women from Team Rubicon last weekend in Wharton, Texas.

The history of this special group of helpers began in 2010 after the Haiti Earthquake. Two Marines, Jake Wood and William McNulty, wanted to help. They teamed up with six other veterans and first responders, gathered funds and supplies from friends and family, rented a truck and went in to help.

Since that first mission, Team Rubicon has expanded and has been moving into disasters ever since to lend a hand. They pair the skills and experience of military veterans with first responders and medical professionals.

In Wharton, Texas, I found these hard working-men and women with their grey shirts moving flood-ravaged furniture and debris, cleaning up a community center so that residents could congregate, getting essentials and finding help for those returning to their flooded homes.

Even though they were strangers, Team Rubicon worked together as though they had known each other many years. When I asked them why they do this, theyd tell me it part of their DNA  as former servicemen and servicewomen, they continue to want to serve even after retirement. One army veteran, Rob, told me you can sit and watch the news and want to do something, but to really do something  get up and get out there.

I spoke with a team of several men and women from Australia that had travelled over 30 hours to come to the small town of Wharton to spread some Aussie hope and to remind people that what brings us together as human beings far outweighs what divides us. It doesnt matter what race, religion, or color you are or where you come from. No one is talking politics when they are picking up dirty, flood-torn childrens books from a school desk, or peeling away moldy wallpaper and artwork from a classroom wall.

A resident of Wharton, Texas, who was gathering supplies such as cleaning items, diapers and food for her community told me she was in love with these teams of strangers who came in and were lending a hand. She said it made her heart feel great that people all over the world think about others. When you have a serving heart she told me, it means everything.

I came away from that experience with a heart full of hope and a much stronger spirit than I had before I arrived in Wharton. I hugged a lot of people and told them they made me want to be better as a mom, wife, sister and as a human being. I too, wanted to be a helper.

As my friend Jake Wood, team leader and CEO of his wonderful Team Rubicon organization, told me, Theres nothing more American than getting out and helping your neighbors.

So true. And so inspiring in troubled times. Look for the helpers. They are always there.
Editor's note: The following column first appeared in The Washington Post.

In the wake of the Las Vegas massacre, Republicans on Capitol Hill have shown deep reluctance to consider any gun legislation, worried that Democrats will use the shooting as a pretext to restrict law-abiding citizens Second Amendment rights.

This reluctance is understandable, particularly in the wake of the near-instantaneous effort by some Democrats to politicize this tragedy. But it is a mistake. The Las Vegas attack exposed a gaping hole in the existing and widely supported automatic-weapons ban  and Republicans can easily close it without infringing on constitutional rights.

Law enforcement authorities have confirmed that the shooter, Stephen Paddock, had 12 weapons in his hotel room fitted with bump-fire stocks, devices that effectively turn semiautomatic rifles into machine guns. Under current law, machine guns  weapons that fire multiple rounds with a single trigger pull  are almost completely banned in the United States, as are devices that convert rifles to do so. Bump-fire stocks get around this ban by using the guns recoil to repeatedly bump the weapon back into the shooters trigger finger, creating an automatic effect. As Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Jill Snyder explained, Bump-fire stocks, while simulating automatic fire, do not actually alter the firearm to fire automatically, making them legal under current federal law.

Republicans should immediately announce their intention to pass legislation banning such devices.

A ban on bump-fire stocks and similar devices would not infringe on gun rights. Automatic weapons are already banned as part of the 1986 Firearms Owners Protection Act, signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. Bump-fire stocks are designed to circumvent a ban that Republicans already are on record supporting. Closing this loophole does not restrict gun rights; it simply comports with the intent of existing firearms laws.

This is an opportunity for bipartisanship. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and 33 Senate Democrats have introduced the Automatic Gun Fire Prevention Act, a bill to close a loophole that allows semi-automatic weapons to be easily modified to fire at the rate of automatic weapons. The Feinstein bill would ban the sale, transfer, importation, manufacture or possession of bump stocks, trigger cranks and similar accessories that accelerate a semi-automatic rifles rate of fire and makes clear that its intent is to target only those accessories that increase a semi-automatic rifles rate of fire.

Republicans should immediately announce their intention to pass legislation banning such devices.

A ban on bump-fire stocks and similar devices would not infringe on gun rights. Automatic weapons are already banned as part of the 1986 Firearms Owners Protection Act, signed into law by President Ronald Reagan. Bump-fire stocks are designed to circumvent a ban that Republicans already are on record supporting. Closing this loophole does not restrict gun rights; it simply comports with the intent of existing firearms laws.

This is an opportunity for bipartisanship. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and 33 Senate Democrats have introduced the Automatic Gun Fire Prevention Act, a bill to close a loophole that allows semi-automatic weapons to be easily modified to fire at the rate of automatic weapons. The Feinstein bill would ban the sale, transfer, importation, manufacture or possession of bump stocks, trigger cranks and similar accessories that accelerate a semi-automatic rifles rate of fire and makes clear that its intent is to target only those accessories that increase a semi-automatic rifles rate of fire.
A leather shoelace mistaken for a noose triggered a massive microaggression at Michigan State University leading to public denunciations by university officials and at least two investigations.

MSU President Lou Anna Simon issued a statement this week alerting students of what she called a "racial incident" in one of the university's residence halls.

Click here for a free subscription to Todd's newsletter: a must-read for Conservatives!

"A student reported a noose was hung outside of her room," President Simon breathlessly declared.

She announced that investigations had been commenced by MSU police and the Office of Institutional Equity (no idea what that is - but it's probably funded by your tax dollars).

"A noose is a symbol of intimidation and threat that has a horrendous history in America," the president said.

She said such behavior would not be tolerated on the campus.

"No Spartan should ever feel targeted based on their race, or other ways in which they identify," President Simon said.

I completely agree.

But there's just one glaring problem -- the piece of leather turned out not to be a noose. It was a packaged shoelace.

In case President Simon is not aware, a shoelace is a cord or leather strip passed through eyelets or hooks on opposite sides of a shoe and pulled tight and fastened.

"The matching packaged shoelace was found outside of the residence hall," a university spokesperson said. "Officers located and spoke to the student who lost both of the shoelaces, which are packaged in a way that someone could perceive them to look similar to a noose."

I sincerely doubt the last part of that flaccid explanation.

It turns out the student who filed the original complaint exaggerated her perceived microaggression.

"The original shoelace found inside the residence hall was not directed at any individual," the university admitted. "It was originally seen on hallway floor and later on a stairwell door handle where officers believe someone put it after picking it up."

So it was a fake "racial incident."

Instead of apologizing for scaring the living daylights out of the campus, the university seemed to double down on its handling of the matter.

"The university takes any reported racial incident very seriously," they said. They also take fake racial incidents seriously.

President Simon stressed that no student should ever feel targeted based on their race -- and I echo her belief.

However, I also believe that no student should be targeted for their selection of footwear.

That being said, I would recommend that Michigan State students might want to consider trading in their sneakers for a pair of penny loafers -- or Uggs.
When it came to Washingtons pundits, President Trumps recent address before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) was just another indication that the nationalist and xenophobic White House occupant was intent on bringing down the post-World War II liberal international order. It marked the beginning of the end of the Age of Enlightenment, and signaled the coming apocalypse.

The American president, they pontificated, should have celebrated the United part of the UN, not the Nations part. He should have been extolling the promise of globalism in his speech, not the virtue of the nation-state or national sovereignty.

In the Washington Post, the reliably partisan E.J. Dionne was not surprised that Trump won applause when he said that countries should always put their own interests first. Selfishness is popular, Dionne explained. Russia's Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping no doubt nodded approvingly when they were briefed about Trump's words.

What Trump is not is a globalist who thinks that a country should sacrifice its own interests to advance fanciful principles advanced by a globalist elite composed of the academics and CEOs who attend Davos conferences and who have little regard for their fellow countrymen.

Actually, no one would have been surprised if British Prime Minister Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron were giving President Trump the high five, when he stated, As president of the United States I will always put America first, just like you, as the leaders of your countries, will always and should always put your countries first.

Western leaders may extol international cooperation during speeches. But in reality they remain committed to protecting their nations interests.

For years, proponents of the notion that the nation-state was dead, have been urging France and Britain, who are both members of the European Union (EU), to give up their seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to be represented there by an EU official. Youre kidding? Right, has been the response from London and Paris. We put Britain First and France First.

Indeed, every U.S. president has put America First and would have saluted Trump when he asserted that the American government's first duty is to its people, to our citizens - to serve their needs, to reassure their safety, to preserve their rights, and to defend their values.

Even President Barack Obama, the darling of the One-World crowd, put America First and dismissed cherished notions of globalism, when he sent American drones to destroy targets in Pakistan or kill one of its residents, Osama bin Laden. Pakistans sovereignty went out of the window of the Oval Office when it came to U.S. interests.

Contrary to the myth perpetrated by some critics about President Trumps so-called nationalist agenda, the post-1945 liberal international order, including the UN and other multilateral institutions, was not based on globalist principles, but on an internationalist vision that assumed that governments could and should cooperate if and when they conclude that its in their national interest to do so.

Moreover, the veto-yielding powers that were granted to the U.S. and the other permanent members of the UNSC, enshrined another important realist norm, that the big military powers have the right and the obligation to make the decisions on international war and peace, whatever are the views of the rest of the world.

Like all previous presidents, Trump isnt a globalist. Like them he is an internationalist, committed to cooperating with other nations to achieve common goals based on mutual interests.

And thats how to understand his America First agenda. He didnt pursue the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and embraced a tougher posture in trade negotiations with China, the same kind of approach President Bill Clinton took when pursuing his trade dealings with Japan.

Trump also suggested that it was time for Americans to reassess the structure and goals of NATO, an organization that what was established in 1949 with the aim of containing the Soviet Bloc. In that context, his call for shifting more security and financial to the other free-riding NATO members, has been a theme advanced by all of his predecessors.

Trump is an internationalist, and his repeated reference to how all states ought to prefer their own interests, was a specifically internationalist message. He said that the best international policies would emerge when each, having regard to its own interests, cooperates with all other countries.

What Trump is not is a globalist who thinks that a country should sacrifice its own interests to advance fanciful principles advanced by a globalist elite composed of the academics and CEOs who attend Davos conferences and who have little regard for their fellow countrymen.
The bipartisan call to ban or better regulate bump stocks after the Las Vegas gunman appeared to use them to boost his arsenals lethality is facing some resistance from gun-rights advocates, even as the National Rifle Association opens the door to new rules.

Gun Owners of America, a nonprofit lobbying group, announced its opposition Thursday to any such restrictions.

"Gun Owners of America opposes a ban on bump stocks, Executive Director Erich Pratt said in a statement, noting that the Obama administrations ATF allowed the devices to help gun owners with disabilities fire their weapons.

Pratt added, Any type of ban will be ignored by criminals and only serve to disarm honest citizens. He said its sad to see some Republicans quickly call for a vote on gun control.

Bump stocks can be used to effectively convert semi-automatic rifles to fire so rapidly as to simulate an automatic weapon. The devices were found on guns used by Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock, who killed 59 and injured hundreds Sunday night.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have quickly moved to consider new rules and a possible ban on the devices, in a rare point of concurrence for Republicans and Democrats in the gun control debate.

NRA CALLS FOR ATF REVIEW OF 'BUMP STOCKS'

In a major development, the NRA called Thursday for a federal review of bump stocks and suggested new rules might be needed, in its first statement on the Las Vegas shooting.

The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations, the NRA said.

In Las Vegas, reports indicate that certain devices were used to modify the firearms involved, the NRA said. Despite the fact that the Obama administration approved the sale of bump fire stocks on at least two occasions, the National Rifle Association is calling on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) to immediately review whether these devices comply with federal law.

But GOA, which on its website features a quote from ex-GOP Rep. Ron Paul calling the group the only no compromise gun lobby, tweeted, No law -- including a 'bump stock' ban -- would've stopped the Las Vegas shooting.

While some congressional Republicans are on board with a bump stock review, others are not.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., called the issue a distraction.

Proposed 'bump fire stock' ban is a red herring that would lead to ban of other firearms and accessories, he tweeted.
President Donald Trump said Thursday it was the calm before the storm as he met with senior military leaders amid increasing tensions around the globe and speculation of changes in foreign policy.

The president's use of the ominous phrase prompted others to question what he meant by it  to which the president replied even more ominously: Youll find out.

Trump said he expected the Pentagon brass in the room to offer him a broad range of military options, when needed, at a much faster pace.

Multiple reports, however, have suggested the White House next week will effectively scrap the Iran nuclear deal signed by the Obama administration in 2015, kick-starting a new standoff between Iran and the U.S.

Trump, who earlier said Iran had not lived up to the spirit" of the nuclear deal, was expected to decertify and denounce the controversial accord as not being in the U.S. national interest, passing the issue to Congress, the Washington Post reported.

Such a move would trigger a 60-day period which it would be up to Congress to decide whether to impose sanctions on Iran.

The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence and chaos across the Middle East, Trump said during the Thursday meeting, adding that Iran should never get hold of nuclear weapons, the Guardian reported.

That is why we must put an end to Irans continued aggression and nuclear ambitions. You will be hearing about Iran very shortly, he added.

At the same time, North Korea continues to develop its nuclear program, posing a threat to its immediate neighbors -- and to the U.S., which it has tormented with defiant rhetoric. Trump recently threatened to totally destroy the rogue country if it attacks the U.S. or its allies.

At the Thursday meeting, Trump reiterated his administrations opposition to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying the U.S. would not allow this dictatorship to threaten our nation or allies with unimaginable loss of life.

He also pledged to do what we must do to prevent that from happening and it will be done, if necessary. Believe me."

The U.S. also scrapped some military exercises with its Persian Gulf region allies in a bid to mitigate a diplomatic crisis targeting Qatar, in a bid to end the dispute.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Democratic National Committee will redistribute thousands of dollars of donations from Hollywood titan Harvey Weinstein to several womens groups aligned with Democrats after reports Weinstein has settled sexual harassment lawsuits with a number of women over the years.

The allegations in the New York Times report are deeply troubling, Xochitl Hinojosa, the DNCs communications director, said in a Friday statement. The Democratic party condemns all forms of sexual harassment and assault.

Hinojosa said the party will donate more than $30,000 in contributions from Weinstein to EMILYs List, Emerge America and Higher Heights because what we need is more women in power, not men like [President] Trump who continue to show us that they lack respect for more than half of America.

It follows other Democrats transferring donations from Weinstein to charities, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, of New York, and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

POTENTIAL DEMOCRATIC 2020 HOPEFULS TOOK DONATIONS FROM HARVEY WEINSTEIN

Weinstein and his family have given more than $1.4 million in political contributions since the 1992 election cycle, nearly all of it to Democratic lawmakers, candidates and their allies, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

The party's effort to separate itself from the 65-year-old film executive came after The New York Times reported that he has settled sexual harassment lawsuits with at least eight women.

Weinstein's contributions are tiny compared to the biggest political donors, not even placing him among the top 100 funders. But he's been a fixture among Democratic supporters for decades, making the revelations especially embarrassing for a party that touts itself as pushing progressive policies for women.

"During three-decades worth of sexual harassment allegations, Harvey Weinstein lined the pockets of Democrats to the tune of three quarters of a million dollars, Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Friday. If Democrats and the DNC truly stand up for women like they say they do, then returning this dirty money should be a no brainer."

Fox Business Networks Brian Schwartz and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The Environmental Protection Agency's inspector general is expanding an inquiry into Administrator Scott Pruitt's frequent taxpayer-funded travel, the watchdog office said Friday.



The review will now include all travel by Pruitt through Sept. 30 as the office examines whether Pruitt followed EPA travel policies and whether those policies are sufficient to prevent fraud, waste and abuse. Previously, the inspector general was focusing on Pruitt's travel to his home state of Oklahoma through July 31.



A spokeswoman said Friday the scope of the review was expanded after requests by members of Congress.



EPA documents show Pruitt and his staff chartered a private plane for an Aug. 4 trip from Denver to Durango, Colo., to visit the Gold King Mine, site of a spill last year. Pruitt also took three flights on government-owned planes to New York and North Dakota and for a roundtrip between airports in Oklahoma.



Letters released by EPA show the flights cost a total of $58,000 and were approved by the agency's general counsel's office.



The expanded review came as The Washington Post reported Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao used government planes instead of cheaper commercial airline flights seven times in the past eight months. The revelation was the latest involving Trump administration officials' use of costly private or military air travel at taxpayers' expense.



Tom Price resigned as Health and Human Services secretary last week amid criticism of his pattern of using private charter aircraft for official trips on the taxpayer's dime, instead of cheaper commercial flights.



The Post reported Thursday that Chao used the government planes to fly to Paris for an annual air show and to Sardinia for a meeting of industrialized democracies. Other destinations included cities within an hour's flight of Washington.



Separately, a report by the Treasury Department's inspector general says that Secretary Steven Mnuchin did not violate any law in the seven trips he has taken on government airplanes but did fail to provide enough proof of why he needed to use the more expensive modes of travel. Mnuchin's travel requests included one, later withdrawn, for a government plane for use on his European honeymoon.



The EPA's inspector general opened an inquiry last month into Pruitt's frequent taxpayer-funded travel on commercial planes. The Associated Press reported earlier this year that Pruitt often spends weekends at his Tulsa home.



An EPA spokeswoman said the trips were warranted.



Democratic Reps. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, Diana DeGette of Colorado and Paul Tonko of New York requested the expanded review, saying Pruitt's reported use of private aircraft "is just the latest example of repeated and blatant abuse of taxpayer funds by the Trump administration."
Calling it "decaying and rotten," President Trump announced he is withdrawing the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal and will be imposing more sanctions on the Middle Eastern nation.

Trump signed a presidential memorandum on May 8 withdrawing the U.S. from the controversial agreement signed by his predecessor in 2015. He said he will be re-instituting the highest level of sanctions and warned other countries against helping the Iranian government.

Trump said the U.S. would "not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail" and will not allow "a regime that chants 'death to America'" to get nuclear weapons.

The nuclear deal with Iran has long been a point of contention, especially among Republicans who opposed it.

The administration extended waivers on Irans nuclear sanctions earlier this year, keeping alive the landmark deal for an additional few months.

Read on for a look at the agreement and why its so controversial.

What is the Iran nuclear deal?

The Iran nuclear deal framework  officially the "Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action"  was a historic agreement reached by Iran and several world powers, including the U.S., in 2015, under Barack Obamas presidency.

In part, the deal was made to reduce Irans ability to produce two components used in making nuclear weapons: plutonium and uranium. In return, crippling economic sanctions on Iran were to be abated.

"Every pathway to a nuclear weapon is cut off," Obama said at the time. "This deal is not built on trust. It is built on verification."

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL AFTER TRUMP DITCHES ACCORD

A point of contention for many opponents is the deal's so-called sunset clause which would ease some of the restrictions on Irans nuclear program over time.

The deal was reached after two years of negotiations.

Certification that Iran is complying with the deal must be sent to Congress every 90 days. The first under the Trump administration noted that Tehran was in compliance.

In October 2017, Trump decertified the nuclear deal under U.S. law, saying the sanctions relief was disproportionate to Iran's nuclear concessions. He contended the arrangement was contrary to America's national security interests.

What has Trump said about it?

During the presidential campaign, Trump accused Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, then his opponent, for making Iran a world power under the nuclear deal, which he called the highest level of incompetence.

If you take a look at Iran from four, five years ago, they were dying, Trump said during an event in September 2016. They had sanctions, they were being choked to death and they were dying. They werent even going to be much of a threat.

On Twitter, Trump has referred to the agreement as a direct national security threat, a catastrophe that must be stopped, the dumbest & most dangerous misjudgments ever entered into in history of our country and the best deal of any kind in history for Iran.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned the U.S. would pay a high cost if it backs out of the agreement.

What happens next?

Trump is expected to reimpose all sanctions on Iran that were lifted as part of the 2015 deal, according to the Treasury Department. These sanctions include precious metals, banknotes, shipping, the automotive sector and petroleum.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the agreement could survive without the participation of the U.S., but has warned that his country would restart enriching uranium "in the next weeks." If that happens, and the deal collapses completely, businesses and banks doing business with Iran would have to scramble to extricate themselves or run afoul of the U.S.

Oil markets are also on the alert following Trump's decision. However, analysts told CNBC the impact of the reimposed sanctions might not have the same impact it once did. And while some countries may limit their oil purchases from Iran out of respect to the U.S., there are other countries that might refuse to do so, according to CNBC.

Fox News' John Roberts, Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Major U.S. companies are distancing themselves from like-named charities that were just revealed to have donated millions to a liberal, anti-Trump group.

The 2015 tax documents of the Center for Community Change, which does not disclose donors, were obtained and published this week by The Washington Free Beacon. Those documents reveal past contributions from charitable organizations like the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Ford Foundation.

In response to the reported donations, representatives of companies with historical ties to them, like the Kellogg Company and Ford Motor Company, are emphasizing that they have nothing to do with the contributions and are separate entities.

DONORS TO ANTI-TRUMP 'RESISTANCE' GROUP REVEALED

The Ford Foundation, started by the founders of the motor company in 1936, donated $2.35 million to the Center for Community Change, according to the Free Beacon report. But a spokesman for the automaker noted to Fox News that the Ford Motor Company has had no affiliation with the Ford Foundation for nearly four decades. Among those on the Board of Trustees for the Ford Foundation is Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

The largest contribution came from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, which donated $3 million to the liberal group, according to the Free Beacon.

The Kellogg Company acknowledged to Fox News that the foundation and the company were both established by W.K. Kellogg but said they are two legally separate entities.

As a result, we do not have information or influence on the foundation's activities, programs or initiatives, the food manufacturing company said in a statement.

In a post on its website, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation stated that the company and foundation operate independently of one another and each is governed by its own board of directors.

As a philanthropic organization, we do not engage in political activities nor do we provide grants to support such activities, the foundation said.

The Center for Community Change, meanwhile, does not shy from being political  it often tweets its opposition to President Trump and encourages its supporters to protest his policies.

Trump's proposed budget will hurt millions of low-income people and people of color, the organization tweeted in May. Stand with us in resistance.

Other recent tweets from the organization: Only we can draw the line to tell Trump and his white supremacist buddies enough is enough, Trumps sabotage of the healthcare system could backfire, American workers will catch on to Trumps con and As far as we can tell, Trump's travel ban is racist and won't make anyone safer.

Another company distancing itself from the donations is investment firm Fidelity, after the tax forms listed more than $500,000 donated to the Center for Community Change Action from a fund called Fidelity Charitable.

But the company says those contributions are not from Fidelity  but rather, individual donors who set up charity accounts through them.

The grants referenced in the Free Beacon story are recommended by individual donors who have donor-advised fund accounts at Fidelity Charitable, an independent public charity with a donor-advised fund program, said Adam Banker, a spokesman for Fidelity Charitable. These are not grants from Fidelity Investments.

He added that the donations do not, in any way, reflect the views of or represent an endorsement by Fidelity Charitable or Fidelity Investments.
Sen. Bob Menendez will not face a new bribery and corruption trial after all, federal prosecutors said last month.

The Department of Justice had announced earlier this year that it intended to retry the New Jersey Democrat after a federal judge declared a mistrial in the case in November, but ultimately walked away from the pursuit.

Menendez was accused of accepting a plethora of donations and gifts from a wealthy friend in exchange for political influence. Both Menendez and the doctor, Salomon Melgen, maintained their innocence.

From the very beginning, I never wavered in my innocence and my belief that justice would prevail. I am grateful that the Department of Justice has taken the time to reevaluate its case and come to the appropriate conclusion, Menendez said on social media following the announcement.

Menendez is up for re-election this year. He was selected to replace former Gov. Jon Corzine, D-N.J., in the Senate in 2005. He rejoined the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee as its ranking member on Feb. 6, after stepping down from the post when he was indicted in 2015.

Read on for a look at what Menendez was accused of and what happened in the trial.

What was Menendez accused of?

Menendez, 64, accepted an abundance of campaign donations, gifts and vacations from Salomon Melgen, a Florida ophthalmologist, prosecutors alleged when Menendez faced trial in 2017. In return, prosecutors claimed, he used his position to lobby on behalf of Melgens business interests.

Melgen allegedly directed more than $750,000 in campaign contributions to entities that supported Menendez, according to the indictment, which prosecutors said were inducements to get Menendez to use his influence on Melgen's behalf. Prosecutors have also accused Menendez of trying to hide the gifts.

Melgen paid for Menendez and his girlfriend to stay for three nights at a Parisian hotel where rooms typically cost about $1,500 per night and allowed the senator the use of his private jet, according to prosecutors.

Federal prosecutors said that Menendez sold his office for a lifestyle that he couldnt afford.

The indictment also alleged that Menendez pressured State Department officials to give visas to three young women described as Melgen's girlfriends.

What was the senators defense?

Both Menendez and Melgen pleaded not guilty  and Menendez has vehemently denied the accusations against him.

Throughout the original trial, defense attorneys sought to prove that Menendez and Melgen have been friends since before the former became a senator, and the trips were nothing more than friends traveling together.

Is there anything else to know about Salomon Melgen?

Melgen, 63, was convicted of 67 counts of health care fraud in April 2017 in what the Palm Beach Post called one of the biggest Medicare fraud cases in the U.S.

Melgen was sentenced to 17 years in prison on Feb. 22 for Medicare fraud, as he persuaded patients to undergo treatments they did not necessarily need.

Aside from Menendez, Melgen has given significant amounts of money to a variety of Democratic lawmakers, according to public records.

How did the trial end?

After the jury again informed the judge they could not reach a decision, U.S. District Court Judge William H. Walls declared a mistrial, saying he found no alternative.

The mistrial was declared on Nov. 16.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Although specifics werent provided, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un joined his counterpart to the south in promising to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons.

The vow to create a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula through complete denuclearization came during the Koreas historic summit between Kim and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in late April, and just before a much-anticipated meeting between Kim and U.S. President Trump.

I feel like Im firing a flare at the starting line in the moment of (the two Koreas) writing a new history in North-South relations, peace and prosperity, Kim told Moon.

Kim is the first known member of his familys dynasty to set foot on South Korean soil since 1953. There, at least in front of cameras, his rhetoric drastically changed since he engaged in a war of words with Trump throughout the first year of the U.S. presidents time in the White House. (Kim called Trump a dotard; Trump called the North Korean leader short and fat.)

Since Kim took over North Korea in 2011, the regime rapidly expanded and tested its missile arsenal with weapons capable of striking the U.S. mainland. His end goal, he once said, was to "establish the equilibrium of real force with the U.S. and make the U.S. rulers dare not talk about military options for the North.

Read on for a brief look at how North Koreas nuclear weapons program has grown throughout the regimes in the past century.

Kim Il Sung, leader from 1948-1994

Kim Il Sung can be credited with founding North Korea and propelling the nations nuclear program forward  but he did not live to see his country conduct its first nuclear test.

It was under the first Kim that North Korea began to build up its nuclear reactors. And it was under his leadership that the nation began the Korean War  surely a catalyst that led the leader to believe his nation needed nuclear weapons, Dr. Sung-Yoon Lee, the Kim Koo-Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Studies at the Fletcher School at Tufts University, told Fox News in an interview.

TRUMPS COMMENTS ON NORTH KOREA, FROM FIRE AND FURY TO BLAMING CHINA

The seeds of nuclear aspirations were sown in the Korean War, Lee said.

The Korean War pitted North Korea and its ally China  two nations that did not have nuclear capabilities at the time  against a nuclear-armed U.S., making it clear to the first Kim that nuclear weapons are very powerful, a powerful deterrent, Lee said.

Kim Jong Il, leader from 1994-2011

When the second leader of the Kim dynasty died in 2011, Kim Jong Il was remembered as the dictator who turned North Korea into a nuclear state, in his New York Times obituary.

And its Kim Jong Il that really gets the credit of taking the country down the nuclear path," Lee said.

In the beginning of his reign  he was North Koreas supreme leader from 1994 to 2011  North Korea denied that it had a nuclear weapons program.

TIMELINE OF NORTH KOREAN MISSILE LAUNCHES IN 2017

However, in 2003, Pyongyang announced that North Korea was withdrawing from the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which barred the nation from making nuclear weapons.

By 2005, North Korea confirmed that it had its own nuclear weapons. It tested its first nuclear device in 2006.

Kim Jong Un, leader from 2011-present

Kim Jong Un is credited with accelerating North Koreas push for nuclear weapons, and under the Obama administration, many of the worlds attitudes toward the East Asian nations nuclear capabilities became less blase than in the past, Lee said.

Kim Jong Un also crossed a major threshold for his country in the summer of 2017  the ability to credibly threaten the U.S. with an intercontinental ballistic missile.

In 2017, North Korea successfully tested its longest-ever flight of a ballistic missile. The intermediate-range weapon traveled 3,700 miles and passed over Japan before it landed in the Pacific. The country also tested its most powerful nuclear test to date this year.

After the missile test, Kim Jong Un said North Korea is nearing equilibrium with the U.S. in terms of its military force.

The increasingly frequent and aggressive tests added to outside fears that North Korea is closer than ever to building a military arsenal that could viably target the mainland of the U.S. or its allies in Asia.

Calling Kim Jong Un Rocket Man, Trump said in 2017 the dictator is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime.

The United States has great strength and patience, Trump said. But if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.

But 2018 brought a dramatic turn of events after he declared in a stark New Years address that a nuclear launch button is always on my table. Kim Jong Un offered to meet with Trump and became the first known member of his familys dynasty to set foot in South Korea since 1953. At the historic summit with South Korean President Moon Jae-in, both leaders pushed for peace and would work toward a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

However, neither leader provided any specific measures or seemed to forge a potential breakthrough on the issue that has captivated and terrified many, especially since last year.

Before Trump canceled a much-anticipated meeting with Kim Jong Un, North Korea said it demolished what it claimed to be its nuclear test site, setting off several explosions over the course of a few hours in the presence of foreign journalists.

The planned closing of the Punggye-ri site was previously announced, but it's unclear if another facility could be used to continue the country's nuclear weapons program. Yongbyon nuclear complex, located about 64 miles north of Pyongyang, has a new reactor that could produce weapons-grade plutonium. Pyongyang insists is being used to produce electricity for its citizens.

Trump ultimately rejected Kim Jong Un's invitation to a June meeting in Singapore, citing North Korea's "open hostility."

Fox News Edmund DeMarche, Ryan Gaydos and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A number of high-profile Democrats rumored to be considering bids for their party's presidential nomination in 2020 accepted donations from Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, who admitted on Thursday to a history of sexual harassment against women.

Though he denies many of the allegations, Weinstein apologized for the behavior in a vague statement issued to the New York Times, saying he "[regrets] what happened" and is taking a leave of absence from his company to "deal with this issue head-on."

Weinstein is a longtime Democratic donor with deep ties to the party who contributed generously to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaigns. Hours after the New York Times published its bombshell report, some recipients of his donations had already begun getting rid of the money.

Unfortunately for Democrats, several of the party's brightest stars are among the many politicians who accepted donations from Weinstein, including a handful of ascendant lawmakers positioning themselves for a potential presidential run in 2020.

Click for more from Washington Examiner.
Senate investigators are seeking records from a former Trump campaign adviser dating back to 2010, ahead of a planned closed-door interview as part of the Russia meddling investigation.

The interview with Carter Page is one of 25 additional interviews being lined up for the Senate Intelligence Committee, whose leaders made clear in a statement to the press earlier this week that their investigation will go on.

In an Oct. 4 letter reviewed by Fox News, the committee asked Page for any records documenting communications or contacts with Russians going back seven years.

Page, a former foreign policy adviser to then-candidate Trump, wrote back to the panel voicing concern about the possibility for entrapment, claiming the request virtually insures some level of false testimony. He likened the request for documents to a computer strip-search.

What we are dealing [with] is an adversarial part of the law, Page, who is representing himself legally, told Fox News on Thursday.

While the committee is looking for evidence of Russian contacts, the ex-adviser continues to insist he was targeted by members of the Obama administration via an illegal FISA (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act) warrant in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.

Page also insists that allegations made about his ties to Russian officials in a now-infamous anti-Trump dossier are false.

The dossier was authored by former MI-6 British intelligence officer Christopher Steele under contract with the U.S.-based Fusion GPS firm.

Page, who is managing partner of Global Energy Capital LLC, called the investigation a 14-month witch hunt, saying, I am not intimidated.

Several federal investigations, including the one led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, are ongoing into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

Efforts to compel Steele to appear before any committee have failed thus far, including an August 2017 trip to London made by Senate staffers. However, CNN reported Thursday that Muellers investigators were able to meet over the summer with Steele. In an email to Fox News on Friday, the press office for the special counsel declined to comment on the Steele story.

During a joint news conference this week, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, R-N.C., and Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., updated the public on the committees investigation.

Its safe to say the inquiry has expanded slightly. Initial interviews and document review generated hundreds of additional requests on our part for information, Burr said.

He said the panel has conducted more than 100 interviews lasting more than 250 hours in its nine-month probe. But the chairman acknowledged the committee is still probing any possible collusion between Trump associates and the Russians.

The Senate Intelligence Committee has given Page until Oct. 18 to comply with its request.
With a tweet Thursday night, President Donald Trump has inserted himself into Virginias gubernatorial race.

The tweet, however, seemed more a critique of Democrat Ralph Northam than an endorsement of Republican Ed Gillespie.

Ralph Northam, who is running for Governor of Virginia, is fighting for the violent MS-13 killer gangs & sanctuary cities, Trump tweeted. Vote Ed Gillespie!

Whether Northam truly supports MS-13  or whether thats just President Trumps way of suggesting that Northam is soft on violent crime  is a matter that Virginia voters will decide when they head to the polls Nov. 7, joining New Jerseyans as the only voters in the country electing a governor this year.

Northam and Gillespie are both seeking to succeed Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who must step down because Virginia law prohibits a governor from running for re-election.

Virginia is the only Southern state that didnt support Trump last November, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported, adding that the presidents approval rating in the state stood at less than 40 percent in the most recent poll.

Trumps reference to MS-13 in criticizing Northam parallels recent campaign ads by Gillespie, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee.

According to the Times-Dispatch, the TV ads for Gillespie show ominous photos of tattooed Hispanic men, purportedly MS-13 gang members. One ad shows the gang's motto: "Kill. Rape. Control."

Northam, Virginias lieutenant governor, supported restoring rights to illegal immigrants who committed crimes, another Gillespie ad asserts.

For his part, Northam has been linking Gillespie to the Trump agenda, which the Democrat claims has hurt the states schools and denied healthcare to thousands.

During the primary season, Northam referred to Trump as a narcissistic maniac, the Times-Dispatch reported.

Northam's campaign responded to Trumps tweet Thursday night by comparing Gillespie and the president.

They both want to cut funding to education, roll back healthcare, and divide Virginians for political gains. Looks like Ed Gillespies ads are reaching his target audience - Donald Trump," Northam spokesman David Turner told the Hill.

It was unclear whether President Trump would be visiting Virginia to campaign for Gillespie.

Meanwhile, Trump has not endorsed Kim Guadagno, the Republican seeking the New Jersey governorship against Democrat Phil Murphy.

Guadagno recently said that part of Trumps tax proposal would be a disaster for New Jersey, Observer.com reported.
The White House remained coy Friday about what President Trump meant when he called a gathering of military advisers the calm before the storm, with the president winking and declining to elaborate when pressed by a reporter.

Youll find out, the president responded.

Moments later during the briefing, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders rebuffed question after question probing the meaning of the president's seemingly ominous warning.

Were never going to say in advance what the presidents going to do, Sanders said, adding: Youll have to wait and see.

On Thursday evening, reporters were led hastily to the State Dining Room, where they walked into a scene of the president, his highest-ranking military advisers and their wives posing for a group photo.

TRUMP REMARK SPARKS FOREIGN POLICY SPECULATION

"You guys know what this represents?" Trump asked the reporters. "Maybe it's the calm before the storm. Could be the calm, the calm before the storm."

Earlier Friday, the president wouldn't reveal what he meant about his comment as he signed a manufacturing proclamation in the Oval Office. He winked when a reporter asked him to clarify, saying "You'll find out."

During the briefing, Sanders suggested the president wasnt discussing a specific situation, amid tensions around the globe with ISIS, North Korea and Iran.

I believe it was just a general comment. Im not aware of anything specific that was in reference to.

She added, I think you can take the president protecting the American people always extremely serious. Hes been very clear that thats his number one priority. And if he feels that action is necessary, hell take it.

Multiple outlets have reported that the White House next week will effectively scrap the Iran nuclear deal signed by the Obama administration in 2015, kick-starting a new standoff between Iran and the U.S.

Trump, who earlier said Iran had not lived up to the spirit" of the nuclear deal, was expected to decertify and denounce the controversial accord as not being in the U.S. national interest, passing the issue to Congress.

At the same time, North Korea continues to develop its nuclear program, posing a threat to its immediate neighbors -- and to the U.S., which it has tormented with defiant rhetoric. Trump recently threatened to totally destroy the rogue country if it attacks the U.S. or its allies.

At the Thursday meeting, Trump reiterated his administrations opposition to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, saying the U.S. would not allow this dictatorship to threaten our nation or allies with unimaginable loss of life.

He also pledged to do what we must do to prevent that from happening and it will be done, if necessary. Believe me."

Fox News' Lukas Mikelionis and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The personal cellphone of White House Chief of Staff John Kelly was compromised, U.S. officials believe.

Politico, citing three unnamed government sources, reported Thursday that the issue may potentially date to December, when Kelly was still head of the Department of Homeland Security.

A White House official told Politico that Kelly uses his government-issued phone for any official communication and has not used his personal phone since joining the Trump administration.

The official reportedly did not dispute the Politico report. FoxNews.com could not immediately confirm the story.

Kelly reportedly had concerns about the phone and staffers reviewed it for days to determine if there was a problem. It was unclear what data  if any  might have been hacked. Kelly reportedly no longer uses that phone.

Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, has sought to impose order on the day-to-day operations at the White House.

His reputation as a straightshooter has many in the Oval Office and Republican Party optimistic as he takes the reins as chief of staff. Kelly was recently given authority to approve Cabinet travel.
As every homeowner on earth knows all too well, every now and then you have to make repairs.

And thats exactly whats going on in space during the next two weeks, 250 miles up above us.

There are three scheduled spacewalks that are all about International Space Station maintenance.

On Thursday, two American astronauts, Commander Randy Breznik and Flight Engineer Mark Vande Hei, exited the air-lock, climbing out into microgravity as the Space Station passed above the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Good morning, Israel!!! Egypt!! enthusiastically exclaimed Breznik as he held on while looking down at earth.

Thursdays task: Replacing one of two Latching End Effectors on the ISSs big robotic arm, the Canadarm2, a procedure similar to hand-transplant surgery.

One of the two grappling mechanisms stalled last month.

Its a minor glitch that the Johnson Space Center says has no effect on planned space station operations, like science experiments and the next cargo ship arrival in November.

As for that big robotic arm, it will be the focus of the next two spacewalks, on Tuesday of next week and Wednesday the week after.

Bresnik and Vande Hei will again be involved, but on the third spacewalk, American Flight Engineer Joe Acaba will get his chance to float around.

Those two space walks are dedicated to lubricate the Canadarm2 and also replacing cameras on the left side of the Stations truss.

In a speech Thursday in Virginia before the National Space Council, Vice President Mike Pence reiterated the administrations outer space intent: Putting humans back on the moon, establishing a permanent lunar base, from which well send astronauts, eventually, to Mars.
The Trump administration is committed to sending astronauts to the moon as part of a broader push to prioritize human spaceflight and firm up U.S. dominance in the final frontier, Vice President Mike Pence said.

"We will return American astronauts to the moon, not only to leave behind footprints and flags, but [also] to build the foundation we need to send Americans to Mars and beyond," Pence said today (Oct. 5) at the first meeting of the newly reinstated National Space Council (NSC).

"The moon will be a stepping stone, a training ground, a venue to strengthen our commercial and international partnerships as we refocus America's space program toward human space exploration," Pence added. [From Ike to Trump: Presidential Visions for Space Exploration]

Under the previous administration, that stepping stone was much smaller: President Barack Obama had directed NASA to prep for Mars trips by visiting a near-Earth asteroid. In response, the space agency devised a plan to pluck a boulder off a space rock and haul that fragment into orbit around the moon.

More on this... From Ike to Trump: Presidential Visions for Space Exploration

A new direction?

Yesterday (Oct. 4) was the 60th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1, which kicked off the Space Age and the Cold War space race. Pence referenced that seminal event during his remarks today, while lamenting a perceived lack of direction in U.S. space policy.

"Rather than lead in space, too often, we've chosen to drift," he said. "And, as we learned 60 years ago, when we drift, we fall behind."

As evidence of this drift, Pence cited the fact that NASA astronauts haven't gone beyond low-Earth orbit since the final Apollo moon mission, in 1972. In addition, he noted, the country has had to pay Russia to ferry U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station since the space shuttle retired in 2011. That service currently costs $76 million per seat. (Two U.S. companies, SpaceX and Boeing, are both developing capsules to take over this taxi service for NASA astronauts; these spacecraft could begin crewed flights next year.)

Pence pledged that the Trump administration, with the help of the NSC, will develop and implement a coherent, long-term U.S. space strategy.

That strategy will focus heavily on human spaceflight, economic development and national security, if Pence's words today and in an op-ed published yesterday in The Wall Street Journal are any guide.

"We will renew America's commitment to creating the space technology needed to protect national security. Our adversaries are aggressively developing jamming and hacking capabilities that could cripple critical military surveillance, navigation systems and communication networks. In the face of this threat, America must be as dominant in the heavens as it is on Earth," Pence wrote in the op-ed. (A subscription is required to read the full piece, but some snippets are available for free at whitehouse.gov .)

"We will promote regulatory, technological and educational reforms to expand opportunities for American citizens and ensure that the U.S. is at the forefront of economic development in outer space," he added. "In the years to come, American industry must be the first to maintain a constant commercial human presence in low-Earth orbit, to expand the sphere of the economy beyond this blue marble."

The first meeting

The primacy of these stated goals was reflected in the makeup of the panelists at today's meeting, which was held at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. (The space shuttle Discovery is on display at Udvar-Hazy, providing a dramatic backdrop.)

Two of the three panels consisted of executives of the spaceflight companies SpaceX, Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada Corp., Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Orbital ATK. The third panel focused on national security and featured retired Navy Adm. James Ellis, the former chief of U.S. Strategic Command; former NASA astronaut and former DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) Deputy Director Pamela Melroy; and former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin.

"We won the race to the moon half a century ago, and now we will win the 21st century in space," Pence said at today's meeting, a full replay of which you can see here.

The NSC was last active in the early 1990s, during the presidency of George H.W. Bush. President Trump resurrected the council via executive order on June 30.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
YouTube is modifying its search engine to "promote more authoritative sources" in an effort to demote debunked conspiracy theories that have been spreading in the wake of the Las Vegas massacre, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The Google-owned video-sharing service had been planning these changes prior to the mass shooting in Las Vegas on Sunday, but is speeding up its efforts to get them rolled out to prevent the spread of misinformation and respond to criticism about some of its search results, the Journal reported, citing an unnamed source close to the company.

One of those results in question was a video titled "Proof Las Vegas Shooting Was a FALSE FLAG attackShooter on 4th Floor," which claimed there were multiple shooters involved in the massacre  a rumor that has been refuted by authorities. On Tuesday, that video appeared as the fifth result when searching YouTube for "Las Vegas shooting," according to the report, helping it rack up more than 1.1 million views in just over a day.

"On Wednesday night, the company began promoting more authoritative sources in search results, especially for those about major news events," the Journal reported. There's no word as to how YouTube determines whether a source is authoritative.

YouTube did not immediately respond to PCMag's request for comment.

Fake news about the shooting has also shown up on Google and Facebook. Google briefly surfaced a report from the anonymous message board 4chan identifying the wrong person as the shooter, the Journal reported on Monday.

"Within hours, the 4chan story was algorithmically replaced by relevant results," Google said Monday. "This should not have appeared for any queries, and we'll continue to make algorithmic improvements to prevent this from happening in the future."

Meanwhile, Facebook's Trending Topics surfaced posts from a Russian-backed news outlet stating the shooter had ties to a terrorist group, another claim authorities have refuted. Facebook removed the posts in question, but not before people took screen shots and circulated them online.

"We are working to fix the issue that allowed this to happen in the first place and deeply regret the confusion this caused," Facebook said.

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.
Robert Downey Jr.'s version of Tony Stark in "Iron Man 2" may have been loosely based on Elon Musk, but it appears Musk is the real super-hero, as he tries to save one energy grid at a time.

Responding to a comment from a follower, Musk said that he could rebuild Puerto Rico's electrical infrastructure destroyed by Hurricane Maria.

"The Tesla team has done this for many smaller islands around the world, but there is no scalability limit, so it can be done for Puerto Rico too," Musk tweeted.

ELON MUSK THINKS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE COULD CAUSE WORLD WAR III

Upon seeing this, Puerto Rico's governor Ricardo Rossello tweeted back at Musk, writing "Let's talk." Musk responded, saying he would be happy to talk and is hopeful Tesla can help.

According to several media reports, 95 percent of the U.S. territory is still without power after the category 4 hurricane battered the island weeks ago. Some estimates have said that a full restoration of power may not return to Puerto Rico for as long as six months.

Tesla has not responded to a request for comment from Fox News.

Big opportunity for Tesla

In addition to selling electric cars, including the recently introduced Model 3, Tesla has an energy storage business, selling battery packs to commercial utilities, as well as home residences. It also has a solar panel business, after it acquired Solar City, co-founded by Musk's cousin Lyndon Rive, for $2.6 billion in November 2016.

Tesla has powered such smaller islands as Kauai in Hawaii and Ta'u in American Samoa, according to the company's website. The populations of those islands is far less than the 3.4 million people living in Puerto Rico.

James Murdoch, the CEO of 21st Century Fox, parent of Fox News, is a member of Tesla's board of directors.

Tesla has already sent a number of its battery packs to Puerto Rico to help the island store energy in an effort to offset the shortage. Musk has also personally donated $250,000 in an effort to rebuild the island.

ELON MUSK IS TRYING TO HELP AUSTRALIA WITH ITS BIG ENERGY CRISIS

Other case studies

The conversation between Rossello and Musk is similar to one that took place several months ago, between Musk and billionaire entrepreneur Mike Cannon-Brookes, who asked if Musk was serious about ending South Australia's rolling blackouts.

Musk responded by saying the company could do it in 100 days from the time the contract was signed or it would be free.

It has since won a contract to help fix the issues in South Australia.

Follow Chris Ciaccia on Twitter @Chris_Ciaccia
Fall is off to a rough start for Ryanair.

In September, the low-cost airline announced that it would have to cancel upwards of 50 flights a day through the month of October due to a pilot rostering error. It explained in several statements that those creating the schedules overlooked upcoming pilot holidays, thus the need to cancel flights.

"We apologise to all affected customers for these cancellations," Ryanair wrote in a statement on Facebook. "We have messed up in the planning of pilot holidays and we're working hard to fix that."

As Business Insider reported, the cancellations will affect 400,000 passengers in Ryanair's Stansted hub, and in airports in Brussels, Barcelona, Rome, and Milan. Passengers can cancel their flights for a full refund or change their flight for free. Business Insider also noted that the error will cost the company somewhere around $23.6 million.

Now, according to The Telegraph, the airline is facing legal action for allegedly attempting to intimidate passengers who tried to recoup the costs of their canceled flights via a third-party legal company.

The legal firm Fair Plane, which specializes in claims for flight delays, is asking Ryanair for both an apology and compensation after the airline allegedly sent a letter to its clients. According to The Telegraph, the letter sent by Ryanair asked passengers if they had actually agreed to let Fair Plane represent their claim. The letter then added that the passenger would receive 100 percent of their fare if they dropped the suit and instead worked with the carrier directly.

Fair Plane is now accusing the airline of defamation, harassment, and unlawful interference.

Theyre trying to disrupt the clients relations with us, Daniel Morris, director of Fair Plane, told The Telegraph. In many cases the main reason Ryanair pays up is because we get involved.

For its part the airline has dismissed claims of defamation and called Fair Plane a rip off.

Ryanair complies fully with all EU261 legislation and deals with each claim on a case by case basis. Many of these 'claims chaser' firms are ripping off consumers by charging up to 50 per cent of their compensation, a spokesperson for the airline told the Independent. We urge all customers with valid EU261 compensation claims to submit their claims directly to Ryanair. Customers with valid claims who claim directly from Ryanair will receive 100 per cent of their EU261 compensation entitlement without the deduction of these excessive 'claims chaser' fees.
Hotel room 32135 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas  a large suite with sweeping views of the Strip  served as the location where Stephen Paddock chose to carry out the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

After checking into the $500-per-night room on the 32nd floor, Paddock opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival Sunday night, killing at least 58 people and injuring more than 500 others.

LAS VEGAS SHOOTING: HOTEL SECURITY A CONCERN, EXPERT SAYS MANDALAY BAY WAS 'SOFT TARGET

While its still early into the investigation, many people are wondering what will happen to room 32135. MGM Resorts, Mandalay Bays parent company, has yet to release a statement detailing the suites future, though they did have this to say about the hotels security following the attack:

Security continues to be a top priority at all of MGM Resorts as our Security team is working tirelessly to protect the safety of our guests and facilities. MGM Resorts has increased its level of security to add to the level of comfort and safety of our guests and employees, MGM Resorts spokesperson Debra DeShong said in a statement.

MGM Resorts works consistently with local and national law enforcement agencies to keep procedures at our resorts up to date, and are always improving and evolving. We continue that close working relationship now during the ongoing investigation into this tragic incident, DeShong added.

LAS VEGAS SHOOTING: SECURITY EXPERTS ON WHAT HOTELS CAN DO TO PREVENT ANOTHER TRAGEDY

Despite any official plans in place, experts have speculated what will happen with the aforementioned room. "From my opinion, the room disappears," said Anthony Melchiorri, host of Travel Channel's "Hotel Impossible," to Business Insider.

Melchiorri added that, if he were running the resprt, the room would no longer be available to book. He also suggests the hotel go so far as to have the doors sealed up, and never reopened.

Others suggest the suite be completely renovated, as other hotels have done when someone dies in a hotel room. Sunil Atreya, an associate professor at the College of Hospitality Management at Johnson & Wales University, has worked in management for Marriott and Holiday Inn hotels in the U.S. says the room will likely be gutted, refurbished and renumbered, at a minimum, or transformed into something else entirely, like storage space or a boardroom. He thinks its possible Mandalay Bay might even refurbish the entire 32nd floor.



FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

For people to go on  whether it be survivors, the families of the victims or employees  something has to happen so that that room does not stay as a reminder of this heinous act that took place in our country, Atreya told Yahoo News.

But regardless of what happens to the room in the future, Atreya says the broken windows in Paddocks suite need to be repaired immediately so as not to serve as a constant reminder of the horrific attack that took place.
Four people were found shot to death Thursday inside a housing duplex in an apparent case of domestic violence, police said.

Two unidentified men were in custody in connection with the killings in Casa Grande, 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Phoenix. Authorities called it an isolated crime.

"We don't have a motive for the shooting at this time, but this is some kind of domestic issue," said Officer Thomas Anderson, a Casa Grande police spokesman. "The shooter knew the people inside. The extent of that relationship, we don't know that yet. But it wasn't random."

Police and medical personnel discovered the victims following a 911 call about gunfire about 8:15 a.m., Anderson said.

The victims appeared to be adults and were all shot to death, Anderson said.

Authorities were working to identify them, and it wasn't immediately clear if they were related, he said.

Neighbors provided police with descriptions, and authorities were able to identify someone they believe is a suspect, Anderson said.

Weapons have been recovered from the scene, he said, but it wasn't yet known whether they were used in the killings.

A witness told police she heard a door being kicked in and then people yelling, followed by gunshots, a woman screaming and a car speeding away.

Another neighbor told police he saw two men run from the duplex after shots were fired.

Mindy Edwards, who has lived in the area for about six months, told The Arizona Republic that the neighborhood was rife with drug and other criminal activity.

Dawn Schroeder, who has lived in the neighborhood since 2001, told the newspaper it was a decent section of town with an occasional drug bust.
A middle school teacher in Georgia is under fire after she allegedly assigned students the task of creating a mascot for the Nazi party.

The homework assignment requested students in a social studies class at Shiloh Middle School, in Gwinnett County, to think about all of the information that you have learned about Hitler and the Nazi party and to create a mascot for it, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

The year is 1935 and you have been tasked with creating a mascot to represent the Nazi party at its political rallies, the assignment read. Think about all of the information that you have learned about Hitler and the Nazi party. You will create a COLORFUL illustration of the mascot. Give the mascot a NAME. You will also write an explanation as to why the mascot was chosen to represent the Nazi party.

MUSIC TEACHER INVESTIGATED FOR ALLEGEDLY CONTAMINATING STUDENTS' FLUTES WITH SEMEN

Objections to the assignment were raised by parent Jamie Brown, who thought it was inappropriate and questioned its purpose.

When you talk about mascots, mascots are used to be happy, to promote something, a positive representation like UGA [sic] so really we doing a Nazi party mascot? What are we celebrating? Brown told Fox 5.

The mother added she doesnt feel an assignment about Nazis is appropriate in the U.S.

I just dont think, right now, at this time and place in America this is the time for that, Brown said. We need to start looking at the things that bring us together and stop looking at things that separate us as a human race.

Brown added: I can only imagine the pain of other students the pain of other students that are of Jewish descent that you would be forced to draw something that is absolutely demeaning to not only u but an entire race of people and this nation for fear of getting and for a failing grade.

VERMONT TEACHER FIRED AFTER LEADING THIRD GRADERS IN NAZI SALUTE

The Gwinnett County School District said in a statement to Fox 5 Atlanta that while the topic of the Nazi party is studied, the assignment was not appropriate and not approved by the social studies department of the school.

As outlined in the Georgia Standards of Excellence curriculum for 6th grade social studies, students study the conflict and change in Europe, including the aftermath of World War I, the rise of communism as a result of the Russian Revolution, the Treaty of Versailles, the rise of Nazism, and worldwide depression, the school said. In studying this time period, they learn about Nazism, the use of propaganda, and events which resulted in the Holocaust.

This assignment is not a part of the approved materials provided by our Social Studies department and is not appropriate and the school is addressing the use of this assignment with the teacher.
The head of the International Monetary Fund said Thursday that "the long-awaited global recovery is taking root" and that three-quarters of the globe is enjoying an economic upswing in "the broadest-based acceleration since the start of the decade."

In remarks prepared for delivery at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde suggested that the 189-country finance agency will likely upgrade its outlook for global growth when it releases its latest forecasts next week.

In July, the IMF predicted that global growth would hit 3.6 percent in 2018  fastest since 2011 and a welcome sign the world economy had broken out of a period of stagnation following the Great Recession of 2007-2009.

Helping considerably: Commodity prices have rebounded after plummeting in 2014 and 2015, pinching growth in many developing countries. Confidence also is returning to Europe, which has struggled with high government debts and weak banks.

But Lagarde said that the global recovery is leaving many behind and that the income gap between the rich and poor is growing. She urged countries to take advantage of improving conditions to enact reforms that could spread prosperity, such as fighting corruption and expanding child care to lure women into the workforce.

"Reforms are more potent and easier to implement when economies are healthier," she said.
The Latest on a plea hearing for one of two girls charged with stabbing a classmate in an attack they said was done to please the fictional horror character Slender Man (all times local):

5:15 p.m.

The parents of the Wisconsin girl who was stabbed by a classmate aiming to please the fictional horror character Slender Man say a plea deal sending one of the assailants to a mental hospital offers some closure.

The parents of now 15-year-old Payton Leutner issued a statement Thursday after Morgan Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in the 2014 attack. Prosecutors are seeking to have Geyser committed to a mental hospital for 40 years.

Leutner's parents say "with this closure, our daughter is a heroic survivor and no longer a victim."

They say that the emotional effects of a long trial were "simply too great a burden on our daughter and family." And, they say, they didn't want to risk Geyser being released following a trial.

___

4:50 p.m.

A Wisconsin girl who repeatedly stabbed a classmate to impress the fictional horror character Slender Man has written a "very powerful letter" of apology to the victim and hopes it can be delivered to her one day.

Anthony Cotton, an attorney for 15-year-old Morgan Geyser, says she is remorseful for the 2014 attack and wrote the letter without prompting from anyone.

Geyser pleaded guilty to the stabbing Thursday in an agreement with prosecutors to avoid prison time. She and another girl, Anissa Weier, admitted to carrying out the attack in a Milwaukee-area park. The classmate survived.

Geyser sobbed in court during the plea hearing as she recalled the stabbing under questioning from the judge.

Doctors will evaluate Geyser's mental health by Nov. 13 and the judge will later determine how long she should be committed.

___

4:15 p.m.

Wisconsin prosecutors want a 15-year-old girl to be confined in a mental hospital for 40 years after she pleaded guilty to stabbing a classmate in an attack aimed at impressing the fictional horror character Slender Man.

Fifteen-year-old Morgan Geyser will be evaluated by a doctor by Nov. 13 before a judge schedules sentencing.

Geyser and another girl, Anissa Weier, admitted carrying out the 2014 attack on a classmate in a Milwaukee-area park. Their classmate survived her wounds. All three girls were 12 at the time.

Geyser sobbed in court Thursday as she told a judge she "had to" carry out the stabbing. When the judge asked where she had stabbed her classmate, she said: "Everywhere."

___

6:36 a.m.

One of two Wisconsin girls who stabbed a classmate to impress horror character Slender Man is due in court to finalize a plea deal aimed at sparing her prison time.

Fifteen-year-old Morgan Geyser will plead guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in the 2014 attack. Prosecutors and Geyser's attorneys agreed to the plea last week, but it is being finalized during a court hearing Thursday in Waukesha County court.

The plea agreement calls for Geyser to be found not guilty by reason of insanity as part of the case's sentencing phase, meaning she will be committed to a mental hospital indefinitely.

Geyser's co-defendant, Anissa Weier (ah-NEE'-sah WY'-ur), pleaded guilty to a reduced charge last month and faces at least three years in a mental hospital.
Oh buoy!

A 12-foot Cold War-era Soviet float surfaced on Dania Beach in South Florida after Hurricane Irma, and local authorities speculate it may have originated from Cuba based on the nations close proximity and historic relationship with Russia.

Bill Moore, a maintenance mechanic at Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park, spotted the buoy two days after the storm hit, according to the Orlando Sun-Sentinel.

You dont find that too often, he told the paper of his discovery.

Moore managed to drag the 1,200 pound buoy with rope and a skid-steer loader to his office parking lot before the Coast Guard could get their hands on it.

They tried to confiscate it, he said of the Coast Guard, whose administrative offices are right next door to the parks headquarters. Moore has since offered to hand it over to authorities if they still want it.

Moore suspects the drift, which reads Hydrometrical Service of the USSR in Russian on the side, likely floated 350 miles from Cuba.

Meteorologists agree.

In Irma, the storm came from the south-southeast. And in a storm like that, something could get dislodged, Robert Molleda, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told the paper.

CLIKE MORE FROM THE NEW YORK POST.
Prosecutors are seeking a 40-year sentence in a mental hospital for one of the Wisconsin teenagers who pleaded guilty last week to stabbing a classmate to impress the fictional horror character Slender Man.

Morgan Geyser, now 15, broke down in sobs during her plea hearing as a judge asked her to recount the 2014 stabbing of a classmate in a Milwaukee-area park.

A co-defendant, Anissa Weier, also admitted a role in the attack.

Anissa said that she couldnt do it and then I had to, Geyser said, her voice choking.

When Judge Michael Bohren asked her where the girl was stabbed, Geyser said: Everywhere.

The victim, Payton Leutner, survived the attack by crawling out of woods, where she was found by a passing bicyclist.

All three girls were 12 at the time.

Geyser will undergo a doctors evaluation by Nov. 13, and a hearing for sentencing was to be scheduled later. The defense made no request for length of sentence.

She agreed last week to plead guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide to avoid prison, continuing treatment in a mental hospital instead.

A jury last month determined Weier was mentally ill at the time of the attack. She faces at least three years in a mental hospital when she is sentenced later.

Prosecutors say Weier and Geyser lured their classmate into the woods at a park in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha and then attacked her. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier urged her on, according to investigators.

Leutners family issued a statement saying they were happy to avoid a trial.

Though we do not believe that an institution is where these attempted murderers belong, the current legal system does not favor victims in this situation, the statement said.

It added: With this closure, our daughter is a heroic survivor  and no longer a victim.

Weier and Geyser told detectives they felt they had to kill Leutner to become Slender Mans proxies, or servants, and protect their families from him.

Prosecutors initially charged both girls with attempted first-degree intentional homicide, which carries a possible sentence of up to 65 years in prison, but their plea deals spared them that.

After Weier pleaded guilty to a reduced charge, a jury determined during her sentencing phase that she was mentally ill at the time of the attack and should not serve prison time.

Two weeks after the jury reached that conclusion, prosecutors and Geysers defense attorneys agreed on a plea deal, avoiding a trial that was scheduled to start Oct. 16.

Unlike Weier, Geyser pleaded guilty to the original charge.

Geysers attorneys have argued in court documents that she suffers from schizophrenia and psychotic spectrum disorder, making her prone to delusions and paranoid beliefs.

A psychiatrist hired by her attorneys testified that she believed she could communicate telepathically with Slender Man and could see and hear other fictional characters, including unicorns and characters from the Harry Potter and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. She also believed she had Vulcan mind control.

Slender Man started with an online post in 2009, as a mysterious specter whose image people edit into everyday scenes of children at play. He is typically depicted as a spidery figure in a black suit with a featureless white face. He was regarded by his devotees as alternately a sinister force and an avenging angel.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A federal judge in Louisiana said in a court order Wednesday that he plans to toss out a second lawsuit filed against Black Lives Matter, unless prosecutors can prove why he shouldnt.

The lawsuit was filed in July on behalf of a Baton Rouge police officer who was injured in the deadly attack on police on July 17, 2016, which left three officers dead and three others injured.

Black Lives Matter, DeRay Mckesson, a leading activist in the movement, and four other leaders were specifically cited in the suit, which claims they incited violence that led to the police ambush by Gavin Long, the lone gunman in the 2016 attack.

U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson said that the prosecution has until Oct. 13 to present an argument against the cases dismissal.

BLACK LIVES MATTER SHOUTS DOWN ACLU: 'YOU PROTECT HITLER, TOO!'

The attack happened less than two weeks after a white Baton Rouge police officer shot and killed Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man.

In the judges order, he said that the facts of the case dont specifically suggest responsibility to any of the listed defendants for the officers injuries even assuming that those Defendants have the capacity to be sued.

That part of the order is in reference to a previous lawsuit against Black Lives Matter and Mckesson on Sept. 28. At the time, the judge ruled that Black Lives Matter was a social movement - not an entity - and therefore could not be sued.

The earlier suit was filed by another Baton Rouge police officer who was injured during a Black Lives Matter demonstration on July 9, 2016.

The unnamed officer also tried to sue #BlackLivesMatter, but the judge ruled that a hashtag could not be sued either.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The national debate over whether controversial statues should be removed has now put a spotlight on Pittsburgh. A statue of Stephen Foster, dubbed "America's First Composer, faces an uncertain future after calls for its removal.

The statue features the songwriter as he sits on a perch while a barefoot slave plays the banjo below him.

Foster, a Pittsburgh native who died in 1864, is known for writing songs like "Oh! Susana, "Old Folks At Home, and "Old Black Joe.

His statue was placed in Pittsburgh in 1900 and currently stands near the University of Pittsburgh's Stephen Foster Memorial.

Pittsburgh residents sounded off their opinions to the citys art commission in a meeting held to get community feedback in the beginning of October.

It just doesnt really portray something that as a community we should be supporting, Abigail Benkovich told Fox News, adding that she recognizes the historic nature of the statue.

WHICH CONFEDERATE STATUES WERE REMOVED? A RUNNING LIST

Its been that way for a long time. Charles Bose said. "Its part of history, and thats why it should be left alone"

Benkovich suggested a compromise.

Maybe it should come with a description, she told Fox news.

As residents await the final decision, Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto acknowledged he was in a tough spot.

"Deciding what happens to sculptures is an uncomfortable position for a politician to be in. Peduto told Fox News in a statement. "Whatever I do will be based on findings by the experts on the Art Commission, and upon the history of the statue, the history of Stephen Foster, where we are today as a culture, and the impact of the art itself on our city."

Some residents said focusing on the recent statue controversies popping up across the country should not be a priority.

I think we have bigger issues in the country. Ben Snyder told Fox News. "I just think we need to tackle some bigger issues first.
North Carolina homeowners were shocked to find nearly $30,000 in marijuana inside a package that was delivered at their doorstep.

The box, delivered Wednesday to a home in Charlotte, contained 15 1-pound bricks of marijuana, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.

According to WSOC 9, its the second time a package filled with drugs is dropped off at an unsuspecting home in the area in just one week.

Investigators in York County said a Rock Hill woman expecting a yoga mat received a box overfilling with oxycodone pills on Saturday. The box contained more than 20,000 pills worth nearly $400,000.

Officials say both cases are still open.

Marvin Brown, commander of the York County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit, told WSOC 9 that mail delivery of illegal drugs has become more prevalent in the drug trade.

Traffickers are using fake or wrong addresses and names and then waiting for the packages to be delivered there.
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is expected to plead guilty later this month to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy rather than face trial for leaving his Afghanistan post in 2009, The Associated Press reported.

Two sources said the Idaho native would submit the plea later this month and sentencing would start Oct. 23. The AP did not name the sources.

Bergdahl's lawyer declined to comment when contacted by Fox News. He faces up to five years in prison on the desertion charge and a life sentence for misbehavior.

Bergdahl, 31, who was serving with an Alaska-based infantry regiment, deserted his Afghanistan post in 2009, when he was 23 years old, and was held captive by the Taliban for about five years. The Taliban posted a video online showing Bergdahl saying he was "scared" he would not be able to go home.

Bergdahl said he had been caged, kept in the darkness, beaten and chained to a bed when he was kept captive.

The Army sergeant claimed he was lagging behind a patrol when he was captured. He also said he left his post to alert people about problems he perceived within his unit. Investigators said Bergdahl suffered from schizotypal personality disorder at the time he left his post.

In December 2009, the Taliban released another video showing Bergdahl apparently healthy and delivering a lengthy statement criticizing the U.S. military operation.

He was released in May 2014 for five Taliban detainees locked in Guantanamo Bay by the Obama administration. The exchanged was viewed as controversial at the time due to the debate about negotiating with hostage takers. The exchange also fueled a debate about whether Bergdahl was a hero or a deserter.

President Barack Obama stood with Bergdahls parents in the White House Rose Garden and defended the swap.

The U.S. does not "leave our men or women in uniform behind," Obama said then, regardless of how Bergdahl came to be captured.

"Whatever those circumstances may turn out to be, we still get an American soldier back if he's held in captivity," Obama said. "Period. Full stop."

Many viewers noticed Bergdahls father, Bob, and his long beard as he stood next to Obama. The Washington Post reported Bob Bergdahl read books and articles about the foreign world that held his son. He also learned how to speak Pashto, the official language of Afghanistan. He told Time he started growing the beard after learning that his son had been captured.

In March 2015, he was formally charged. In December, Bergdahl requested a pardon from then-President Obama before he left office, Fox News reported. The pardon was not granted.

Some of Bergdahl's fellow soldiers want him held responsible for any harm suffered by those who went looking for him. The judge ruled a Navy SEAL and an Army National Guard sergeant wouldn't have found themselves in separate firefights if they hadn't been searching.

The U.S. troops who were seriously wounded during their search for Bergdahl in Afghanistan were expected to testify, the sources stated.



During the presidential campaign, Donald Trump called Bergdahl a dirty, rotten traitor during a town hall in August 2015. Trump also tweeted in 2015 that Bergdahl should "face the death penalty."

Fox News' Brooke Singman, Kaitlyn Schallhorn and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Three men, including an American and a Canadian, plotted ISIS-inspired terror attacks against New York City landmarks, concert venues and the city's subway system last summer, according to federal prosecutors.

Charges were unsealed Friday against Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, a 19-year-old Canadian citizen; Talha Haroon, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen based in Pakistan; and Russell Salic, a 37-year-old citizen of the Philippines.

El Bahnasawy was arrested in May 2016 and pleaded guilty this past October to seven terror-related charges, including conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiracy to commit acts of terrorism across national borders, and conspiracy to bomb a public transportation system. His sentence is pending.

Haroon was arrested in Pakistan in September 2016, while Salic was arrested in the Philippines this past April. Both men are awaiting extradition to the U.S.

Prosecutors say that El Bahnasawy and Haroon plotted attacks that would coincide with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which ran from June 6 to July 5 last year.

According to court documents, El Bahnasawy bought bomb-making materials and secured a cabin outside of New York City to use as a safe house, while Haroon consulted an "explosives expert" in Pakistan and made plans to travel to the U.S. to carry out the attacks. Salic allegedly wired money from the Philippines to support the operation.

According to investigators, el Bahnasawy and Haroon discussed their plans online with an undercover FBI agent posing as an ISIS sympathizer. El Bahnasawy told the agent that he wanted to "create the next 9/11."

On May 1, 2016, El Bahnasawy sent the agent a map of the New York City subway system with markings indicating which lines the men would attack. Haroon told the agent they should shoot as many train passengers as possible, "including women or kids."

"When we run out of bullets, we let the vests go off," Haroon vowed.

The would-be attackers also eyed Times Square as a target, investigators say.

"[W]e seriously need a car bomb at times square," El Bahnasawy messaged the undercover agent on May 12. "Look at these crowds of people!"

The same day, El Bahnasawy said he wanted to "shoot up concerts cuz they kill a lot of people." He said he and his co-conspirators should "walk in with guns in our hands. That's how the Paris guys did it," a reference to a November 2015 ISIS attack in the French capital that killed 130 people, many of them spectators at a rock concert.
next Image 1 of 2

prev Image 2 of 2

A former Army veteran and police officer killed in Sunday's Las Vegas shooting was honored by thousands Thursday night as friends and colleagues hailed Charleston Hartfield as one of the greatest Americans they ever knew.

Hartfield, a 16-year Army veteran who served in Iraq, was known as "Charles," ''Chuck" and "ChuckyHart," but one longtime friend and colleague dubbed him "Captain America."

"Charlie Hartfield was the greatest American I have ever known," Sgt. Ryan Fryman told the crowd in Las Vegas, who raised candles and surrounded Hartfields widow and two children.

Hartfield was among the first memorials for the dead, whose identities have now all been released by authorities.

LAS VEGAS VICTIMS: REMEMBERING THE FALLEN

The 58 victims killed ranged in ages from 20 to 67. Two of them, 24-year-old Austin Cooper Meyer and 61-year-old Brett Schwanbeck, had not been identified before the Clark County Coroner released a complete list Thursday night.

Hartfield joined the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in 2002 after serving as part of the 82nd Airborne Division, KVVU reported.

The vigil began with a color guard display and words from a chaplain. Mrs. Veronica Hartfield and her two sons, a boy and a girl, sat in the front row. She didnt speak during the ceremony but officers gave their condolences and praised the life and work ethic of her husband.

"Charlie was the hardest working man I've ever known. He did this for his family," a Metro officer said, according to KVVU.

FULL COVERAGE OF LAS VEGAS SHOOTING

Another officer said, faith and family were the most important to Charlie.

Both Hartfields were attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival, but only Veronica managed to escape unharmed.

"No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave, an officer said, reading a quote from Calvin Coolidge chosen by Hartfield to honor fallen colleagues.

One of his fellow officers, Jake Grunwald, has set up a GoFundMe page for Hartfields family.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Oregon police arrested and charged a 15-year-old girl, her lover and another man in the murder of her father, who reportedly disapproved of his daughters relationship with an older man.

Medford Police said Tuesday they believe Aaron Friar, 50, was killed with a weapon while he was sleeping. Police said his daughter, Ellen Friar, 15, her lover Gavin MacFarlane, 19, and Russell Pierce Jones II, 22, then stole his vehicle and used it to haul the body to a dirt embankment in eastern Medford.

Aaron Friars body was recovered on Monday afternoon and police said he died of blunt head trauma, according to the Mail Tribune.

TEXAS MAN CLEARED OF KILLING DAUGHTER, 2, AFTER SON, 7, CONFESSES

Ellen Friar was in a sexual relationship with MacFarlane, which may have caused tension between the couple and the father, investigators said.

MacFarlane, Jones and Friar have all been charged with murder, robbery and tampering with evidence. MacFarlane was also charged with third-degree rape due to Friar being under 16 years old.

Investigators said the trio were also planning to kill Jones father though they did not disclose details of the plot. All three were also charged with criminal conspiracy to commit murder.

KTVL reported Ellen Friar would be charged as an adult.

FOURTH WOMAN DISAPPAEARS FROM NORTH CAROLINA TOWN WHERE 3 OTHERS FOUND DEAD

Ellen Friar reportedly attends South Medford High School, where MacFarlane was also a student. MacFarlane is also part of Circle Youth Ministries, the Mail Tribune reported.

In 2015, Jones was convicted of third-degree sexual abuse involving a minor, the Mail Tribune reported.

The men were booked into the Jackson County Jail. Friar was sent to a juvenile detention facility. They're all being held without bail.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A Florida bank robbery suspect led police on a wild chase Friday as he carjacked two vehicles at gunpoint, leaped into the Miami River and finally died in a hail of bullets after vowing not to be arrested easily, authorities said.

It began about 7 a.m. when FBI agents and Miami-Dade police officers went to the man's home north of the city to serve a warrant linked to the Sept. 29 robbery of a Wells Fargo bank branch, Justin Fleck, the FBI acting assistant special agent in charge, said at a news conference.

The suspect, identified by police as Ernesto Padron, 52, instead grabbed a handgun and fled on foot, eventually carjacking a brown BMW, authorities said. With officers in pursuit, Padron drove erratically through city streets and then ditched the BMW for a Mazda sport utility vehicle, which he also carjacked by waving a gun in the female driver's face.

That driver, Minerva Castellano, told local news outlets she was on her way to work at the Veterans Administration Hospital when Padron put a gun to her face and told her to get out.

"He said 'Get the f--- out of the car right now or I will shoot you'. I'm thinking, I wasn't really scared at the moment because I'm thinking it's an undercover cop because I saw cops all over the place. I thought he was an undercover cop that needed my car. It took me a while to get out, I had to unstrap the seatbelt. Luckily, I had my purse with me and I ran out," she said.

Police said Padron eventually bailed out of Castellano's SUV and jumped into the Miami River. Officers from various departments  some armed with assault rifles  engaged him in a standoff under a bridge, trying to convince him to surrender, according to police.

Video footage showed the bald man bobbing in neck-deep water and clinging to a ledge under the bridge, frequently pointing at officers and shaking his head.

Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez told reporters Padron made threatening comments toward law enforcement, saying he "will not go down easy."

"Our hostage negotiators did begin to communicate with the individual, who was still armed at the time," Perez added.

The standoff included some officers in police boats.

Authorities said officers attempted to take Padron into custody about 9:30 a.m., but he refused to drop his weapon and was shot and killed. Police said as many as nine officers from two departments fired their weapons.

No officers were injured. The man died at the scene.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the shooting.

____

Follow Curt Anderson on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Miamicurt
Three bodies, the victims of gang-related violence, have been found in the county that surrounds Maryland's capital, and several arrests have been made in the case, police said.

Those were the only details Anne Arundel County Police Chief Timothy Altomare offered about the crimes at a news conference he conducted Friday, which he said at the beginning might be "an exercise in frustration."

But the chief repeatedly urged that anyone who is in fear of gangs, which he said are present in each Anne Arundel community, should contact police immediately.

"If you're in fear, if you think a gang wants to hurt you, I beg you to come talk to us," Altomare said. "We will move heaven and earth to get you the help you need."

Altomare refused to answer most questions about the crimes, such as who the victims were, when and where they were found, and how they were killed. "I can't talk about case information, geography, dates, names, no concrete numbers."

The chief said that giving more information would increase the chances of someone getting hurt.

Altomare urged anyone with any information about gang activity in the county to come forward. A reporter asked if police would be checking on the immigration status of anyone who came forward; the chief said, "I couldn't care less about people's status."

There's a gang presence in each Anne Arundel community, but police won't let gangs take over, Altomare said.

Annapolis is Anne Arundel's county seat and the capital of Maryland.
The high-capacity rifle magazines and bump stocks that the Las Vegas gunman used in Sundays shooting spree are reportedly in high demand.

Buyers are likely buying the items due to fear that they will soon be made illegal in the U.S. To be sure, the National Rifle Association on Thursday called for a federal review of bump stocks and -- in a rare break from previous stands -- hinted that new rules might be needed.

The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations, the NRA said in a written statement.

Stephen Paddock, who killed 59 people and injured 500 when he opened fire from his room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, used an AR-15 bump stock to modify at least one of the 23 weapons found in the hotel room.

Never did we get even a call for them (bump stocks) and then all of a sudden, overnight, we had more traffic than we ever had, Paul Ross, a customer services representative for BigArmory.com, told the Daily Mail.

Ross said his site conducts background checks on its customers, the majority of whom seem to be buying bump stocks out of fear of a potential ban.

One Texas-based manufacturer of bump stocks, however, decided to halt sales of the device due to overwhelming demand, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Slide Fire, one of the largest producers of the accessory, released a notice on its website saying it will no longer take new orders as it tries to provide the best service with those already placed."

House Speaker Paul Ryan and other Republican lawmakers said they will consider further restrictions on the gun device, the Washington Post reported.

I didnt know what a bump stock was until this week, Ryan said, according to the paper. A lot of us are coming up to speed. ... Having said that, fully automatic weapons have been outlawed for many, many years. This seems to be a way of going around that, so obviously we need to look how we can tighten up the compliance with this law so that fully automatic weapons are banned.

The New York Post reported that magazines holding up to 100 cartridges  such as those reportedly used by Paddock  also have been selling fast.

TMZ reported that SureFire, a California-based company, sold out of the $149 60-round magazine and the $189 100-round magazine.

Hillary Clinton tweeted Monday, the day after the shooting, that the U.S. must put politics aside, stand up to the NRA, and work together to try and stop this from happening again.
After declaring a state of emergency for New Orleans earlier this week, the citys mayor announced plans on Friday to impose a curfew in the city this weekend amid a threat from Tropical Storm Nate.

Nate has already been blamed for 22 deaths in Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

The citys mayor, Mitch Landrieu, said residents who live outside the citys levee system or in low-lying areas should move to higher ground.

There is no need to panic, he tweeted. Be ready and prepare. Get a plan. Prepare to protect your personal property.

Evacuations were ordered Thursday for parts of Louisiana, including St. Bernard Parish east of New Orleans.

Landrieu also said in a news conference Friday that he plans to impose a curfew for New Orleans from 6 p.m. Saturday through 6 a.m. Sunday.

The storms maximum sustained wind speeds were at 65 mph as of the National Hurricane Center's 8 p.m. ET Friday advisory and are expected to gain strength over the next few days.

Nate's core was expected to travel toward the northeastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula Friday evening before making landfall over the northern Gulf Coast by late Saturday or early Sunday.

"On the forecast track, the center of Nate will move near the northeastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula this evening," the NHC said. "Nate will then move into the southern Gulf of Mexico tonight, approach the northern Gulf coast Saturday, and then make landfall over the northern Gulf coast Saturday night or Sunday."

Nate is expected to reach hurricane status by the time it reaches the northern Gulf of Mexico.

A direct impact to South Florida is not expected but the area will likely see some more rain this weekend as Nate churns up through the Gulf.

Nate will pass well to the west of South Florida, so that means a continued deep flow of moisture from the south and a good chance of showers and thunderstorms during the weekend, said Dennis Feltgen, spokesperson for the Miami-based NHC.

Nate is the busy 2017 Atlantic hurricane seasons latest named storm, having originated from Tropical Depression 16, which developed Wednesday in the southwestern Caribbean Sea.

In the past 24 hours, Nates projected path has changed, with the track shifting west and farther away from Florida.

The forecast track from the National Hurricane Center on Wednesday had the storm's core headed straight for Florida's northern Gulf Coast near Panama City Beach.

That changed overnight and the storms center on Thursday was headed toward the general vicinity of the mouth of the Mississippi River at the southeastern tip of Louisiana.

In Nicaragua, Nate's arrival followed two weeks of near-constant rain that left the ground saturated and rivers swollen. Authorities placed the whole country on alert and warned of flooding and landslides.

Nicaragua's vice president and spokeswoman, Rosario Murillo, said that at least 15 people had died in the country due to the storm. She didn't give details on all the deaths, but said two women and a man who worked for the Health Ministry were swept away by a flooded canal in the central municipality of Juigalpa.

The government closed schools nationwide.

Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation department blamed seven deaths in that country on the storm and said 15 people were missing. Flooding also reportedly drove 5,000 residents into emergency shelters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Nate was the first hurricane to make landfall in Mississippi since Katrina devastated the region in 2005  but it spared much of the areas already ravaged by hurricanes earlier this year.

The storm, which has since been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, brought heavy rainfall, flooding and power outages to the U.S. Gulf Coast over the weekend. It continued to dump rain on the East Coast as it made its way north.

Earlier Friday, the storm hit Central America, leaving at least 22 people dead.

Heres what you need to know.

Where is Nate now?

Nate is about 20 miles southwest of Akron, Ohio, and 85 miles northeast of Columbus, Ohio, according to the National Hurricane Center's 5 a.m. ET Monday advisory, its final advisory for the post-tropical cyclone.

The storm has maximum sustained winds of 20 mph and was moving northeast at 60 mph.

Flood warnings are in effect for parts of the southern and central Appalachians.

The National Hurricane Center said the central Appalachian and mid-Atlantic regions can expect modern to heavy rainfall with additional rain showers stretching into the Carolinas. Moderate to heavy rainfall is also expected in the Ohio Valley, lower Great Lakes, mid-Atlantic and northeast regions.

What else do you need to know?

The federal government declared emergencies in Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi ahead of the storm. But while it left 22 people dead after it tore through Central America and Mexicos Yucatan Peninsula, Nate wasnt as intense as Hurricanes Maria, Harvey and Irma were.

"We are thankful because this looked like it was going to be a freight train barreling through the city," said Vincent Creel, a spokesman for the city of Biloxi, Mississippi.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The head of the University of Michigan disparaged President Donald Trump and his supporters, both before and after the 2016 election, in numerous emails sent to faculty and staff, court documents show.

The emails were released this week as a result of a lawsuit settlement with the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, which sued UM for failing to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request surrounding President Mark Schlissels Trump-related emails.

The FOIA request was filed a few days after the November election by Mackinac Centers Derek Draplin, who was looking into the universitys decision to host events for students who were upset about the election. The center noted that the University of Michigan receives over $1 billion in taxpayer funds each year and Schlissel is a public employee.

The earliest of the emails released is from Aug. 12, 2016, and it includes a Washington Post article written by a college president explaining how he will teach Trump to his students, calling out the candidates bigotry.

In the next email, Schlissel explains to a UM colleague why he didnt go for the typical light feel good summer convocation speech, noting that he had a room full of first-time voters before him.

I realize that some may interpret this as anti-Trump although there is nothing explicit in the remarks, Schlissel wrote. Thats just the way it will have to be. I would feel awful if Trump won the election and I was too afraid of appearing political to make any effort to encourage our students to thoughtfully participate. I am willing to accept the criticism since I think its very important.

Weeks later, on election night, Schlissel responded to an email from Andrea Fischer Newman, a Republican member of the universitys board of regents, about an article by The College Fix with video of a Michigan professors lengthy rant against voting for Trump.

The professor warned students they would lose civil liberties, Roe v Wade would be reversed and said they could kiss goodbye affirmative action and equal pay, among other things, if Trump was elected.

Its not inherently wrong for a faculty member to take a position on any issue, including an election, Schlissel wrote to Newman. The key is that they are solicitous and tolerant of the views of students that disagree and that those students dont feel persecuted in any way.

The University of Michigan president changed his tune after Hillary Clinton lost, speaking at an anti-Trump rally, then writing in an email two days after the election that its the public universitys job to aid in pushing back against the idea that facts dont matter, that science isnt relevant to decision making and that people with white skin dont belong here.

Schlissel added that he was torn on recommendations for appointees since he couldnt imagine lending ones name to a Trump administration.

In another email following his anti-Trump remarks, Schlissel called it ironic that a minority of Trump supporters at UM now feel marginalized and ostracized in our campus milieu and post-election activity.

The Mackinac Center said the emails were being withheld in violation of the Freedom of Information Act by claiming the email were protected conversation under law when none of those emails met that standard.

When asked about the centers claim, university spokesman Rick Fitzgerald referred Fox News to the joint statement, in which the university denies any wrongdoing and has agreed to improve its FOIA process as part of the settlement.

Both sides agree legislative action should make it clearer when governments must respond for FOIA requests.

While ours was a simple request that could have been done in a matter of hours if not minutes, the state FOIA statute is not clear when documents must be provided after a deposit is paid, Mackinac Centers Vice President for Legal Affairs Patrick Wright told Fox News.
After an extensive search, a U.S. soldier who had been missing for nearly two days in Niger was found dead, a result of a deadly ambush by dozens of Islamic extremists on a joint patrol of American and Niger forces, U.S. military officials said Friday.

The soldier, whose name has not been released, was one of four U.S. troops and four Niger forces killed in the attack.

His body was found by Niger soldiers on Friday near where the ambush occurred, and then transferred into U.S. custody at a safer location further from the attack site, said Army Col. Mark Cheadle, spokesman for U.S. Africa Command. The soldier's body was then moved onto an American helicopter by U.S. forces in a somber ceremony and then taken away for formal identification.

Eight Niger soldiers and two U.S. troops were wounded in the attack, but they were evacuated from the area on Wednesday after the attack unfolded. Cheadle said there was no indication the missing soldier was ever taken captive by the enemy forces.

U.S. officials described a chaotic assault in a densely wooded area, as 40-50 extremists in vehicles and on motorcycles fired rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns at the patrol, setting off explosions and shattering windows. The soldiers got out of their trucks, returning fire and calling in support from French helicopters and fighter jets that quickly responded to the scene, according to officials. It's unclear if the French aircraft were armed or if they fired on the insurgents.

The officials weren't authorized to discuss the matter publicly so spoke on condition of anonymity.

U.S. officials say they believe extremists linked to the Islamic State group were responsible for the attack about 200 kilometers (120 miles) north of Niger's capital, Niamey.

The U.S. and Niger forces were leaving a meeting with tribal leaders when they were ambushed.

Cheadle said there were no armed aircraft overhead as the U.S. and Niger forces went on their mission, but there was surveillance. The meeting with local leaders, he said, had been considered a low threat mission that wasn't likely to lead to an encounter with any enemy forces.

He said there were about a dozen U.S. forces accompanying a company of Niger troops, for a total of about 40 service members in the joint mission.

Most of the U.S. troops were Army special forces, but the soldier found Friday was not a Green Beret, other U.S. officials said.

In the frenetic aftermath of the attack, a wide array of forces from the U.S., Niger and France were tapped to search for the missing soldiers. Cheadle said more than 100 troops either took part in the search or were prepared to join it. It's not clear if the U.S. sent ground forces in to search, but Niger troops were actively looking for the soldier.

U.S. forces killed in the attack were: Staff Sgt. Bryan C. Black, 35, of Puyallup, Washington; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah W. Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; and Staff Sgt. Dustin M. Wright, 29, of Lyons, Georgia. All three were members of the 3rd Special Forces Group, based at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Wright's father, Arnold, said his son grew up playing sports with his three brothers and liked to joke around. He followed both his parents and one of his brothers into the Army. And his brother, Will, who also served in the military, described his younger brother as "an amazing special forces soldier and an amazing friend." Will Wright said the two were just 13 months apart, were very close and shared a special bond over their military service.

Cheadle told Pentagon reporters that U.S. Africa Command is still gathering information about the attack, but no formal investigation has been launched. And he added the U.S. military is absolutely "resolved to go after those who attacked" the troops.

According to a statement by Niger's army chief of staff, the joint patrol was attacked by "terrorist elements" in a dozen vehicles and about 20 motorcycles.

The statement said the deaths and injuries came "after intense fighting, during which elements of the joint force showed exemplary courage."

U.S. special operations forces have been routinely working with Niger's forces, helping them to improve their abilities to fight extremists in the region. That effort has increased in recent years, the Pentagon said.

Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso and Chad are putting together a 5,000-strong G5 Sahel force to fight the growing threat from extremists in the vast Sahel region. The first units are expected to deploy in October and all battalions should be on the ground by March 2018.

The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution in June welcoming the deployment, but at U.S. insistence it did not include any possibility of U.N. financing for the force.

That force will operate in the region along with a 12,000-strong U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali, which has become the deadliest in the world for U.N. peacekeepers, and France's 5,000-strong Barkhane military operation, its largest overseas mission.


The three U.S. Army Green Berets killed in Niger earlier this week were identified Friday as decorated soldiers based out of Fort Bragg.

The Army identified the men as Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, 35, a Special Forces medical sergeant, Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, 39, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear specialist, and Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, 29, an engineer. All three were assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne).

Black, from Pallyup, Wash., enlisted in the Army in 2009 and has received numerous awards, including the Army Good Conduct Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, a statement said.

Johnson, from Springboro, Ohio, joined in 2007 and has earned the Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal, among other distinctions. Wright, from Lyons, Ga., enlisted in 2012 and also has won numerous awards, such as the Joint Service Achievement Medal and Special Forces Tab.

Multiple officials familiar with the matter told Fox News on Thursday that there was no U.S. surveillance drone overhead at the time of the ambush.

Fox News learned the dead and injured soldiers were taken from the firefight by French Puma helicopters. Only one U.S. helicopter was available to pick up the Green Berets. It is not clear why it wasn't used.

A senior Marine Corps general declined to comment on the lack of air cover at a Pentagon news conference Thursday.

"We are not prepared to go into details right now," said Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

The Pentagon has built two drone bases inside Niger, but the local government doesn't allow armed drone flights to protect U.S. troops, despite repeated requests from the U.S. military.

Ten Green Berets were part of a routine joint patrol accompanying Nigerien forces when they were attacked 120 miles north of the West African country's capital, Niamey, near the border with Mali.

Two wounded Special Forces soldiers were flown to a military hospital in Germany where they are expected to recover.

The terror group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb, or AQIM, is suspected of carrying out the deadly attack. The U.S. military has been training local forces to fight AQIM and other militants in West Africa for over a decade.

U.S. officials tell Fox News that ISIS fighters are finding a safe haven in West Africa as they are squeezed out of Syria and Iraq.

It is inevitable that people will try to go to what people call the coldest corner of the room. They tried to go to Libya, it didn't work out real well, McKenzie said Thursday.

There are up to 6,000 U.S. troops on the African continent, 800 of whom are now on the ground in Niger. Most of those forces are stationed at the drone bases.

The State Department has warned of repeated cross-border attacks and kidnappings by AQIM fighters based in Mali, despite the best efforts of the French military, which has battled the terrorist group for years.

AQIM terrorists were also behind the deadly 2013 attack on a large gas plant in Algeria, where they took hundreds of hostages, including seven Americans, three of whom were killed.

Months later, the U.S. military agreed to bring drones to Niger to gather more intelligence on the terror group.

Fox News' Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.
The University of Southern California has long been jokingly called the "University of Spoiled Children."

But following a scandal that has cost its medical school dean his job, USC might now refer to "Unethical Sexual Conduct."

The school's dean, Dr. Rohit Varma, is out less than a year after his appointment, following revelations of a sexual harassment settlement from 15 years ago.

Varma becomes the second leader of USC's medical school to leave in less than two years. His predecessor left in March 2016 amid allegations that he was using drugs and partying with drug users and prostitutes.

In 2003 a woman accused Varma of making unwanted sexual advances toward her during a trip related to a research project they were both working on, according to confidential records reviewed by the Los Angeles Times.

At the time, Varma was a junior professor who was supervising the womans research.

The woman told investigators that Varma informed her at a 2002 conference that he had booked only one room and expected her to share a bed with him, the Times reported. She said that when she continued to object to the arrangement, Varma took away her phone and threatened to have her visa revoked.

Left with no money to pay for her own room, she was forced to sleep in a cot in Varmas room, she said.

USC ultimately paid the woman $135,000, temporarily blocked Varma from becoming a full member of the faculty and cut his pay by $30,000.

The behavior you exhibited is inappropriate and unacceptable in the workplace, reflects poor judgment, is contrary to the Universitys standards of conduct, and will not be tolerated at the University of Southern California, a USC official wrote in 2003.

But despite the settlement, Varmas punishments were soon rescinded. In 2004 his original salary was reinstated and in 2005 he was promoted to a full professor.

Then on March 24, 2016, USC appointed Varma as interim dean of the medical school after then-dean Dr. Carmen Puliafito stepped down over complaints that he was using methamphetamines and other drugs and partying with other addicts and prostitutes in 2015 and 2016, the Times reported.

Varma was formally named dean in a January ceremony.

USC announced Thursday, after revelations of the settlement became more public, that Varma was stepping down.

Based on previously undisclosed information brought to the university in recent days, USC leadership has lost confidence in Dr. Rohit Varmas ability to lead our medical school. As of today, he is no longer dean of the Keck School of Medicine, USC Provost Michael Quick said in a statement.

Quick added that the university came to its decision in part because of information brought to them by the Los Angeles Times.
There was no U.S. surveillance drone overhead at the time of the ambush in Niger which killed three U.S. Army Green Berets and wounded two others Wednesday, multiple officials familiar with the matter tell Fox News.

In addition, Fox News has learned the dead and injured soldiers were taken from the firefight by French Puma helicopters. Only one U.S. helicopter was available to pick up the Green Berets. It is not clear why it wasn't used.

A senior Marine Corps general declined to comment on the lack of air cover at a Pentagon news conference Thursday.

"We are not prepared to go into details right now," said Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., director of the Joint Staff.

The Pentagon has built two drone bases inside Niger, but the local government doesn't allow armed drone flights to protect U.S. troops, despite repeated requests from the U.S. military.

Ten Green Berets were part of a routine joint patrol accompanying Nigerien forces when they were attacked 120 miles north of the West African country's capital, Niamey, near the border with Mali.

The two wounded special forces soldiers were flown to a military hospital in Germany where they are expected to recover.

The terror group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb, or AQIM is suspected of carrying out the deadly attack. The U.S. military has been training local forces to fight AQIM and other militants in West Africa for over a decade.

U.S. officials tell Fox that ISIS fighters are finding a safe haven in West Africa as they are squeezed out of Syria and Iraq.

It is inevitable that people will try to go what people call the coldest corner of the room. They tried to go to Libya, it didn't work out real well, Lt. Gen. McKenzie said Thursday.

There are up to 6,000 U.S. troops on the African continent, 800 of whom are now on the ground in Niger. Most of those forces are stationed at the drone bases.

The State Department has warned of repeated cross-border attacks and kidnappings by AQIM fighters based in Mali, despite the best efforts of the French military which has battled the terrorist group for years.

AQIM terrorists were also behind the deadly 2013 attack on a large gas plant in Algeria where they took hundreds of hostages, including seven Americans, three of whom were killed.

Months later, the U.S. military agreed to bring drones to Niger to gather more intelligence on the terror group.
Authorities in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosi say they have found the body of a journalist abducted a day earlier by armed men.

State prosecutor's office spokesman Ivan Ojeda says the body of photographer Edgar Daniel Esqueda Castro was found Friday near a San Luis Potosi airport.

On Thursday, the prosecutor's office denied that its agents had taken Esqueda from his home. The armed men were allegedly dressed as police.

Ojeda said that the office is pursuing multiple lines of investigation.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists says that the freelance journalist covered crime and society, contributing to local news sites Metropoli San Luis and Vox Populi.

At least eight journalists had already been killed this year in Mexico.
Catalonia and the central Spanish government are at a standstill amid growing tensions surrounding the wealthy northeastern regions push for independence.

Inigo Mendez de Vigo, a spokesman for Spains government and the cabinets minister of cultural affairs, declared Friday that coexistence is broken and called on the Catalan regional government to drop its secession bid in order to begin any form of dialogue.

Mendez De Vigo called on Catalonias president, Carlos Puigdemont, to come back to the realm of reality and respect of legality and in that spirit we can negotiate and enter dialogue.

"In order to dialogue, you must stay within the legal framework," Mendez de Vigo told reporters.

DEFIANT CATALONIA LEADERS MOVE TO DECLARE INDEPENDENCE FROM SPAIN ON MONDAY

A disputed independence referendum in Catalonia last Sunday has led to Spain's biggest political crisis in decades, with the national government in Madrid condemning the vote as illegal, unconstitutional and invalid.

Puigdemont, who has been defiant against the Spanish government, wants to address the regional parliament next week to discuss the political situation in Catalonia. That request comes after Spain's Constitutional Court suspended the Catalan parliament session on Monday during which separatist lawmakers wanted to discuss secession.

Mendez de Vigo warned Catalans that a parliamentary declaration of independence "is not enough" and that the international community needs to recognize independent nations.

No country has openly said it would support an independent Catalonia and the European Union says it would be kicked out of the bloc and forced to stop using the common euro currency. The EU says Catalonia would have to apply to rejoin, a lengthy, uncertain process.

Puigdemont says the referendum is valid despite a Constitutional Court ban on holding it and the fact that only 40 percent of the region's 5.5 million eligible voters turned out amid strong police pressure to shut down the vote. Catalan officials say 90 percent of those who cast ballots favored independence.

The top Spanish official in Catalonia, Enric Millo, who is in charge of security, said Friday he regretted that hundreds of people were injured Sunday in the police crackdown on the independence vote  the first statement by a Spanish official lamenting the injuries.

"I can only say sorry" for the injuries, Millo told Catalonia's TV3 television.

He also tempered the apology by saying the Catalan government was responsible for the situation by encouraging people to vote despite the Constitutional Court order suspending the referendum.

Spain has defended police actions, saying there were firm and proportionate. Videos on Sunday saw police yanking voters and others by their hair and kicking and hitting them.

Catalan authorities say about 900 people were treated for injuries during Sunday's vote, when Spain's anti-riot squads fired rubber bullets, smashed into polling stations and beat protesters with batons to disperse voters.

The political turmoil has led to unease in Spain's business sector. Spain's main stock index was down slightly Friday, with Catalan banks leading losses amid the uncertainty.

Spain's government approved a decree Friday that would make it easier for Catalan companies to move base out of the region. The move will allow for the relocation of the registration of Caixabank Spain's third largest bank in global volume of assets. Caixabank's board was due to meet in Barcelona on Friday to discuss the issue.

At least half a dozen companies, including the fifth largest lender, Banco Sabadell, have already relocated from Catalonia or agreed to do it.

"It's very sad what we are seeing," Economy Minister Luis de Guindos said Friday. "This is the result of an irresponsible policy that is causing uneasiness in the business community."

In Madrid, Spain's National Court unconditionally released two senior officers of Catalonia's regional police force and the leaders of two pro-independence civic groups being investigated for sedition in connection with the referendum. The four are to be questioned again in coming days.

The case is linked to Sept. 20-21 demonstrations in Barcelona, when Spanish police arrested several Catalan government officials and raided offices in a crackdown on referendum preparations.

The four are Catalan police chief Josep Lluis Trapero, Catalan police Lt. Teresa Laplana, Jordi Sanchez, the head of the Catalan National Assembly, and Jordi Cuixart, president of separatist group Omnium Cultural.

After being questioned for about an hour, Trapero left the courthouse to applause by Basque and Catalan party representatives and insults from bystanders.

"I ask strongly that the Spanish government, the national parliament and the head of state (the king) understand that time and the hours are very important to find a debated solution and give way to a political solution," Sanchez said.

Spanish authorities say the demonstrations hindered the Spanish police operation, and that Catalan police didn't do enough to push back protesters blocking Spanish police officers from leaving a building.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has urged Puigdemont to cancel plans for declaring independence in order to avoid "greater evils."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Nigerien forces have discovered the body of a fourth U.S. soldier killed in an ambush earlier this week, U.S. officials told Fox News Friday.

The unidentified soldier had initially been reported missing after Wednesday's attack. Authorities feared the soldier was being held hostage by a militant group, but officials told Fox there were no signs the soldier had been kidnapped or tortured.

The other three fallen Green Berets were identified earlier Friday as decorated soldiers based out of Fort Bragg, N.C.

Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, 35, from Puyallup, Wash., enlisted in the Army in 2009 and has received numerous awards, including the Army Good Conduct Medal and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, a statement said.

Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, 39, from Springboro, Ohio, joined in 2007 and has earned the Army Commendation Medal and Army Achievement Medal, among other distinctions.

Staff Sgt. Justin Wright, 29, from Lyons, Ga., enlisted in 2012 and also has won numerous awards, such as the Joint Service Achievement Medal and Special Forces Tab.

Ten Green Berets were part of a routine joint patrol accompanying Nigerien forces when they were attacked 120 miles north of the West African country's capital, Niamey, near the border with Mali.

Niger's Army Chief of Staff reported that the ambush killed four Nigerien soldiers and injured eight others.

The U.S. military has been training local forces to fight Al Qaeda in the Islamic Mahgreb and other militant groups in West Africa for over a decade. There are now up to 6,000 U.S. troops on the African continent, 800 of whom are now on the ground in Niger.
Mexico's former first lady Margarita Zavala announced Friday she is resigning from the conservative National Action Party, known as the PAN.

Zavala is the wife of ex-President Felipe Calderon, who governed from 2006 to 2012. She had announced her intention to run for the party's presidential nomination, but found herself in open conflict with party leader Ricardo Anaya, who also wants the nomination.

In a video Friday, Zavala accused the party's current leadership of cancelling internal elections and said they had "handed the party's most important decision to others."

That was an apparent reference to last month's announcement of an alliance between the PAN and center-left Democratic Revolution Party for the July 2018 presidential elections.

Zavala did not mention Anaya by name, but the two have had public, heated exchanges recently. In the video, she said PAN leaders "have imposed anti-democratic conditions that we criticized for so long in the PRI," referring to the Institutional Revolutionary Party.

Zavala hinted she might run for the presidency outside her party but was not clear, saying only "I resign from the PAN, but not from my duty to participate in politics."

However, she did say the timing of her decision was influenced by Mexico's complex electoral laws, which set out strict time tables for declaring nominees and independent candidacies.

"I am resigning from the PAN for the reasons I have enumerated, but also because the law obliges me to do so," said Zavala, "even before we know what the nomination procedure will be for National Action or the so-called alliance.'

"If I did not do this," she said, "I would be prevented from participating in the elections."

The most immediate beneficiary from strife in the PAN may be the battered PRI, which now will face a less-united opposition alliance. Leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who is seen as the front-runner in the presidential race, has said Zavala is the PAN's strongest candidate, and encouraged her to run as an independent.

Lopez Obrador, who lost two previous bids for the presidency, has promoted himself as the only real alternative to the largely discredited PRI, and so may also benefit from a highly fragmented field.
The most active hurricane season in more than a decade doesnt seem to be letting up as Tropical Storm Nate roars toward Mexicos Yucatan Peninsula and threatens to hit the U.S. Gulf Coast, likely as a hurricane, this weekend.

Louisiana officials declared a state of emergency late Thursday night and ordered people to evacuate coastal areas and barrier islands ahead of the storms expected landfall early Sunday.

Mississippi followed suit, declaring a state of emergency for six southern counties in advance to the storm's arrival. Officials said Friday they will open 11 evacuation shelters in areas away from the immediate coast, and that buses can transport people who can't drive.

Nate  the 15th system to form in the Atlantic basin  has already claimed 22 lives in Latin America, dumping as much as 6 to 10 inches of rain as it moved over Honduras.

Forecasters said it had maximum sustained winds of 45 mph by Friday morning and is likely to strengthen over the northwestern Caribbean Sea on Friday.

In Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency and mobilized 1,300 National Guard troops, with 15 headed to New Orleans to monitor the fragile pumping system there.

With forecasts projecting landfall in southeast Louisiana as a Category 1 hurricane, Edwards urged residents to ready for rainfall, storm surge and severe winds  and to be where they intend to hunker down by "dark on Saturday."

This years ferocious hurricane season has already delivered 15 tropical cyclones over the Atlantic with three out of eight hurricanes  Harvey, Irma and Maria  resulting in mass devastation across the Caribbean and southern United States in a 30-day span.

The National Hurricane Center said the month of September was the most active month on record for a measurement called Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE). It measures the combined strength and duration of tropical storms and hurricanes. The previous record was set in September 2004.

This September six storms formed, making it about 3.5 times more active than an average September from 1981 to 2010.

Hurricane season typically starts June 1 and ends Nov. 30, and on average the Atlantic Basin see two hurricanes by September each year. Since 1950, only 15 storms or hurricanes have hit the Gulf Coast or Florida.

In Nicaragua, Nate's arrival followed two weeks of near-constant rain that had left the ground saturated and rivers swollen. Authorities placed the whole country on alert and warned of flooding and landslides.

Nicaragua's vice president and spokeswoman, Rosario Murillo, said that at least 15 people had died in that country due to the storm. She didn't give details on all the deaths, but said two women and a man who worked for the Health Ministry were swept away by a flooded canal in the central municipality of Juigalpa.

Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Organism blamed seven deaths in that country on the storm and said 15 people were missing. Flooding drove 5,000 residents into emergency shelters.

Louisiana's governor says Nate is forecast to move quickly, rather than stall and drop tremendous amounts of rain on the state. State officials hope that means New Orleans won't run into problems with its pumps being unable to handle the water.

Edwards warned, however, against underestimating the storm.

Officials ordered the evacuation of part of coastal St. Bernard Parish east of New Orleans ahead of the storm. Earlier Thursday, a voluntary evacuation was called in the barrier island town of Grand Isle south of New Orleans.

New Orleans officials outlined steps to bolster the city's pump and drainage system. Weaknesses in that system were revealed during summer flash floods.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This year's Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to a group whose mission is clearly communicated in its name.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) was announced Friday as the winner of the annual prize.

The Geneva-based group was honored for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its groundbreaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons.

Nobel Prize committee Chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen added that through its inspiring and innovative support for the U.N. negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons, ICAN has played a major part in bringing about what in our day and age is equivalent to an international peace congress.

The award comes at a time when both North Korea and Iran have been accused of developing nuclear weapons programs in defiance of efforts to contain the number of nations possessing such weapons. The Nobel committee believes the award to the anti-nuclear group will send a message to the world and help stigmatize, prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons.

Reporters pressed Reiss-Andersen on whether the prize was meant to be symbolic as international measures against nuclear weapons have stalled and no landmark treaties have been reached in recent years.

"What will not have an impact is being passive," she replied.

ICAN played a key role in implementing a nuclear weapons ban treaty -- the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons  in July, although none of the nine countries with nuclear weapons have signed it.

Earlier this week, many experts believed the Nobel Peace Prize would go to the architects of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal  Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian foreign minister, and Federica Mogherini, the EUs foreign policy chief, Bloomberg News reported.

The organization will be formally honored at a ceremony in December in Oslo, Norway, and will receive a hefty check for 9 million Swedish kronor (around $1.1 million).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Hackers working for the Russian government stole details of how the U.S. penetrates foreign computer networks and defends against cyberattacks after a National Security Agency contractor removed the highly classified material and put it on his home computer, according to multiple people with knowledge of the matter.

The hackers appear to have targeted the contractor after identifying the files through the contractors use of a popular antivirus software made by Russia-based Kaspersky Lab, these people said.

The theft, which hasnt been disclosed, is considered by experts to be one of the most significant security breaches in recent years. It offers a rare glimpse into how the intelligence community thinks Russian intelligence exploits a widely available commercial software product to spy on the U.S.

The incident occurred in 2015 but wasnt discovered until spring of last year, said the people familiar with the matter.

The stolen material included details about how the NSA penetrates foreign computer networks, the computer code it uses for such spying and how it defends networks inside the U.S., these people said.

Having such information could give the Russian government information on how to protect its own networks, making it more difficult for the NSA to conduct its work. It also could give the Russians methods to infiltrate the networks of the U.S. and other nations, these people said.

The breach is the first known incident in which Kaspersky software is believed to have been exploited by Russian hackers to conduct espionage against the U.S. government. The company, which sells its antivirus products in the U.S., had revenue of more than half a billion dollars in Western Europe and the Americas in 2016, according to International Data Corp. Kaspersky says it has more than 400 million users world-wide.

The revelation comes as concern over Russian infiltration of American computer networks and social media platforms is growing amid a U.S. special counsels investigation into whether Donald Trumps presidential campaign sought or received assistance from the Russian government. Trump denies any impropriety and has called the matter a witch hunt.

Click for more from The Wall Street Journal
Saudi Arabias King Salman arrived in Moscow on Wednesday for an opulent historic visit that included an entourage of 1,500 people, a golden-plated escalator and his own luxury carpets.

The Saudi leader, who was in Moscow for a four-day trip, which included a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, made quite the entrance upon arrival.

Bloomberg reported Salman stepped out of plane and used a golden-plated escalator that he normally travels with. Unfortunately, the escalator stopped as the 81-year-old monarch was riding it, forcing him to walk the last few steps.

RUSSIAN ENVOY VISITS SAUDI ARABIA FOR SYRIA, GULF TALKS

The visit was the first for the two countries after decades of rivalry. On Friday, Russia and Saudi Arabia struck a slew of deals, including contracts for Russian weapons.

Hosting the Saudi king in the ornate Kremlin interiors, Putin hailed his visit as a "landmark event" that will give a "strong impulse" to bilateral ties.

Salman said he was looking to expand relations with the "friendly nation" of Russia "in the interests of peace, security and development of the world economy."

SAUDI ARABIA DETAINS 22 FOR INCITEMENT AMID CLAMPDOWN

The Saudi king brought all of comforts of home with him to Russia, too. Blomberg reported he had 1,764 pounds of food transported from Saudi Arabia to Moscow. Salman, who stayed at the Four Seasons, reportedly brought his own carpets, furniture and staff to make his coffee.

The Four Seasons and another hotel in Moscow, the Ritz Carlton, were fully booked by the Saudi government. Some people who reside at the hotel left to make room for the Saudi entourage.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Vietnam's ruling Communist Party has fired the party boss of the central city of Danang, which will host next month's Asia Pacific summit, which U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to attend.

The government said in a statement Friday that the party's elite Central Committee dismissed Nguyen Xuan Anh as city party secretary and removed him from the committee for serious violations and mistakes that damaged the party's image and caused anger among the public and party members.

The party's inspection committee said last month that Anh had violated party rules and used a car and two houses belonging to private businesses.

The party has stepped up its anti-corruption drive, jailing or arresting dozens of senior officials and executives.
My grandmother, Dolores Miller, turned 90 years old this week. This incredible milestone has caused me to reflect not just on her life, but on the world events that she has lived through during her near 100 years on this earth.

She was a little girl during the Great Depression. Her mother made her dresses out of chicken feed sacks.

She came of age during World War II and worked for the Navy at Fort Eustis. She remembers rationing and breadlines. I grew up hearing stories of how she and her friends used eye pencil to draw a line up the back of their legs so that it would look like they were wearing stockings. She watched the news reels of the atrocities taking place overseas.

My grandmother lived through Pearl Harbor, the Civil Rights movement, the Hindenburg crash, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Feminist movement, the Texas Clock Tower Shooting, the assassination of JFK, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Vietnam, the Korean War, Chernoybl, the Cold War, the L.A. Riots, September 11th, the Oklahoma City bombing, the list goes on and on.

During these horrific tragedies, people questioned the state of the world in which they lived. They asked themselves the same questions that we are asking after the massacre in Las Vegas. How could such horrible things happen? Why would God allow it? How do we heal the divide? How can we go on in the face of such tragedy, violence and evil?

I believe the answer can be found in the way my grandmother has lived her life. We live our lives to the fullest. We unconditionally love those around us with a fierce passion. We give of ourselves to serve others with our time and talents.

My grandmother has dedicated her life to others through service to God, family and her church. She faithfully served as an elder, secretary and Sunday School teacher for more than 30 years. Every Sunday, you would find her raising her hands in praise to the Lord as she sang with the church choir.

She helped my mother raise me and my little brothers when my father walked out the door. She became a surrogate grandmother to the children she taught through her role as a school teacher and nursery worker.

She lived large. She loved to dance to the big bands like the Glen Miller Orchestra. Every summer included extended trips to Atlantic City (before the casinos took over), long days spent on the beach and nightly strolls on the Boardwalk.

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the church in Rome, told the Christians there to not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good (Romans 12:20). A quick glance through history proves that there has always been evil in the world. Sadly, as long man has free will, some men will chose to hurt and harm those around them.

In the face of this sickening reality, we must choose the good. We cannot allow ourselves to live in fear or to be overcome be evil, hate and bitterness. No, instead we do what my grandmother, and countless others before her have done.

We live well and love well. That is the answer to how we go on from these tragedies. We cherish every moment in honor of those who had their moments cut short. We look for ways to serve those around us. We give of our time, talents and finances. We love others unconditionally. We seek God on a daily basisfor the strength to get through the dark days and to thank Him for the good.

Thank you, Maw, for being such a wonderful example of a life well-lived and well-loved. Happy Birthday!
In the 1970s, Phil Audibert and Ross Hunter worked together at WJMA radio in Orange, one in news and the other in programming.

The pair moved on when the award-winning local radio station changed hands in the 80s. Audibert did everything from farming to inn keeping; Hunter ran a mailing company.

But over the past eight years, the two longtime friends who say they have complimentary skills have been producing documentaries about people and history in their community, under the moniker of AHHA Productions. Their documentary subjects have ranged from a look back at Orange Countys nationally recognized authority on Southern cooking, Edna Lewis, to the 200-year history of Gordonsville.

The producers recently released a new hour-long documentary called Someday: The Unexpected Story of School Integration in Orange County, Virginia. The two men said that following the 1954 Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case and the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, schools across the South gradually began the process of integration. In Virginia, some schools closed rather than integrate.

But not so in Orange County, according to a news release on the new film. Despite resistance from some of its citizens and pressure from outside groups, the desegregation of the Orange County Virginia public school system, albeit 11 years in the making, happened smoothly. Why?

Thats the central question the pair set out to answer, interviewing teachers, administrators and students who went through the combining of the black and white school systems in Orange. The short answer is that students and adults in Orange already knew each other before the desegregation was attempted, either through the regular commerce of rural life or because many in the county had similar economic circumstances.

Another reason, they found, was that county leaders decided that it would be better to bite the bullet and move relatively quickly through the process that legal and societal changes were demanding.

That isnt to say there werent many in the county who didnt want this to happen, who made their feelings known, said Audibert.

To put together the documentary, the pair interviewed those with firsthand knowledge and used previously completed interviews. They delved into back issues of the Orange County Review, and the weekly newspaper graciously provided its resources and photographs. They also found extensive archival photographs and clippings from other sources, as well as music by the Shady Grove Mens Choir.

Hunter said that integration of public education in Orange happened over three years.

It was five students the first year, five or six grades the second and then all students by the third year, he said, pointing out that the county built a new elementary school and added on to the high school, the latter to take in black students who had been attending a regional high school.

The documentarians said that things went relatively smoothly, but there were bumps and scary moments along the way.

Audibert noted that on June 24, 1967, he was working as a part-time photographer for the Orange County Review, and heard about a Ku Klux Klan rally that was to happen just outside of the town of Orange. He went, and captured an image of a cross being burned by men in white robes.

The photo never ran, which upset me at the time, he said, noting that it took time for him to understand his editors worry that publishing it would have inflamed the situation. I did notice when I walked by the cars parked at that rally that almost all of the license plates were from other states. The rally wasnt really a message being sent by local people.

The photo is in the documentary.

One voice theyre thrilled to include in the documentary is that of black educator Murcelle Coleman, who had a masters degree from Yale and served on both the Orange County School Board and the Orange Town Council.

Audibert said that when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968, it was Coleman who called black students together and told them to rein in their anger and desire to lash out, something that could have put them at risk in a time when change was fueling emotion.

Copies of the documentary can be purchased at the Arts Center in Orange for $20.
Because [my own work] involves well-controlled experimental systems, we can gain a very mechanistic and quantitative understanding with error bars marked everywhere, Shou said. In my dads case, I no longer care that much about exactly how a drug works or error bars. I just care that his lymph nodes shrink rapidly and thoroughly. I was amazed by how my view about science has changed.

Two parents diagnosed

Zhonghao Shous cancer story is inextricably tied up in science  his own, his daughters, and the research that spawned the treatments that sent him into remission.

Now 78, he is a self-trained geologist whose education was cut short in his native China by the communist government. He was in the middle of writing and publishing a research paper on earthquake prediction when he was first diagnosed with lymphoma in 2008. Hed been having sharp stomach pains for a while, but on a trip from his home in California to Seattle to visit his daughter, they got so bad that the two went to the emergency room.

He was diagnosed with stage 4 mantle cell lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and stayed in Seattle to be treated at SCCA by oncologist Dr. Michael Linenberger. The doctors told him he probably had about two years left.

Zhonghao Shous first thought was of his research.

I felt lost, but I was not afraid of death, he said, his daughter translating his native Mandarin into English. My work on earthquake prediction would have to be stopped.

Fangs first symptoms appeared in 2013 when she started noticing blood in her stool. One day she was washing dishes and blood just started gushing out, she said. It was confusing and terrifying.

Shou took her to the doctor, where they did a colonoscopy and found four tumors in her rectum.

Fang, now 70, was physically healthy her entire life, she said, also speaking through Dr. Wenying Shou to translate. She never even got colds, but she suffered from lifelong depression.

She was born in Shanghai at the dawn of the communist-led Peoples Republic of China. From the beginning, her life under the communist regime was incredibly hard, she said. Her father was a well-known artist who was targeted by the government during the Cultural Revolution. He committed suicide.

Zhonghao Shou was from a poor family in a village in Zhejiang Province and was something of a child prodigy, his daughter said. He was the top student in Chinas most selective high school. But then government officials asked him to plant evidence to frame his math teacher for a crime. He refused and was denied entrance to college. He was assigned to work as a security guard at a storage facility instead, Shou said, but studied math and science on his own time and eventually got promoted to work as a chemist.

Later in life, he devised a theory of earthquake prediction. Though controversial  many academic geologists dont believe earthquake prediction is possible  his work has drawn attention.

Multiple treatments, one lasting side effect

After his diagnosis, he received the standard chemotherapy combination for his lymphoma, known as R-CHOP. The tumors shrank, but not enough. So his doctor recommended the clinical trial.

I was somewhat afraid, but I felt I really had no choice, because there was not a complete response he said. It was an experiment.

Zhonghao Shao was one of 36 participants in that trial, and one of the slightly more than half who went into long-term remission. His cancer stayed at bay until 2011, when he noticed double vision and a lump in his eye. The cancer was back  not unusual for mantle cell lymphoma, which has a high rate of relapse. He was treated with another combination of aggressive chemotherapies, and the cancer was beat back once again.

When Fang, Shous mother, was diagnosed with cancer, her first thought was that she did not want to be treated. She had suffered enough in China, she said. But her husband talked her into it.

Because I live to support my familys career, my husbands career, I will get treatment, she said. If I were living alone, I would never have gone for this.

She had surgery to remove the tumors  and much of her colon and rectum as well. The doctors gave her a synthetic rectum, to avoid the need for a lifelong colostomy bag, but because it does not absorb water like natural tissues and because so much of her colon is missing, Fangs bowel movements are now much more frequent and its harder for her to control them.

Her doctor warned her that she might have bowel movements five or six times a day after the surgery. She thought she could handle that, but it turned out to be a vast underestimate in her case, she said.

Her frequent needs disrupt her sleep every night. In combination with her chronic depression, the sleep deprivation has been incredibly difficult.

I dont have this basic function of a normal human, Fang said. I feel very down.

She quickly pointed out she doesnt blame her doctors for her problems. They did the best they could for her, she said. Both Zhonghao Shou and Fang said they are grateful to their doctors and caregivers at SCCA, who went above and beyond to do their best for them.

Zhonghao Shou said he feels healthy and lucky to be alive. He was not afraid of dying, he said, but if hed died without finishing his research projects  and the book he published just last year, with his wife and daughters help  he would have died with regret. Now he can die with peace, he said.

Fang, too, was not afraid of dying. But now, because of her debilitating side effects, she wishes she were dead, even though her cancer is gone.

The willpower came from our work

Although Fang is not a scientist, she, too, had work that helped sustain her during treatment. Earlier in her life, shed been a writer in China, following her fathers artistic path. Shed published a story that was included in a Chinese textbook as an example of a unique style of writing, her daughter said.

When she was going through treatment, her editor in China contacted her to propose that she write down her life story  the story of her childhood in China, her move to the U.S. with her husband and daughter, her cancer. His encouragement meant a lot, Fang said.

It transformed me, she said. I started writing. I tried to ignore the numbness of my fingers and the pain from the chemotherapy.

She finished the memoir, which she titled Escape.

For both my husband and I, if we dont have this goal to finish something, we probably wouldnt have been doing nearly as well, Fang said. For both of us the willpower came from our work.

A community of research  and treatment

For Dr. Wenying Shou, her mothers story doesnt hold as many clear-cut revelations as that of her father. She recognizes how much her mother has been through. But she is grateful that she chose to be treated, and that her cancer was cured.

Even if she wishes she was dead, to me of course her being alive is a gift. She is so important to me and taking care of my daughter and the entire family, Shou said. I just wish the side effects of cancer treatment were not that long lasting.

When Shou chose to start her lab at the Hutch, she came for the centers track record in basic science. But the fact that her new lab was on the same campus as a top-notch cancer treatment facility turned out to be more than just a perk. That connection saved her career, she believes.

Acting as both caregiver and backup translator for her father (and later, for her mother) as she was also trying to launch her research career, she would often see him settled in the waiting room at SCCA, then run down to her lab to start some experiments, and run back up to the clinic when her father called her to say the doctor had arrived.

Shes not sure she would have made it through the grueling early years of establishing her own laboratory without that flexibility, she said. But that benefit pales in comparison to the work of her colleagues  clinical researchers and oncologists  that saved her parents.

I just feel so lucky that I have the Hutch on my side, she said. I owe the Hutch my parents lives.

Proceeds from this years IN for the Hutch, the signature, sell-out event of the Innovators Network, will benefit basic science at Fred Hutch, like that of Dr. Wenying Shou. Want to support basic science at the Hutch but cant come to the event? Make a donation online.
Free Freightnet Membership

List your company in the Freightnet directory. It's Free, it's Easy and your company can be displayed in front of potential freight buyers within 24 hours.
Donald Curry is a name thats known across agriculture.

Fellow farmers, companies, organisations, charities and politicians respect him as a man who has been a tireless advocate of the industry.

Whether its at home on his Northumberland farm or in the House of Lords, where hes been a cross-bench life peer since 2011, Lord Curry of Kirkharle has always been a champion of farmers.

See also: FW Awards 2016: Lifetime Achievement Award

The piece of work for which hes perhaps best known is chairing the Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food.

Established in the wake of the 2001 foot-and-mouth epidemic, its findings  which became known simply as the Curry report  has and will influence agricultural policy for many years to come.

Knighted in 2001, Sir Don was chairman of the Meat and Livestock Commission, helping steer the beef sector through the 1996 BSE crisis, and he was also chairman of NFU Mutual. Hes been chairman of the Princes Countryside Fund (PCF) charity since 2015.

PCF director Claire Saunders describes him as quite simply the wisest, brightest, kindest and most creative and energetic person it has ever been my privilege to work with.

Unique understanding

When Don talks about farming you can see his eyes light up as he remembers the young lad of 16, desperate to get out to work on the family farm in Coquetdale. As a result, he has a unique understanding of the industry and of its young people who are so keen to get their first opportunity.

Meanwhile, Curry commission member Mark Tinsley says: He is articulate, but he also listens to people. He knows the industry inside out.

Good is a word that is rather overused, but its absolutely the right word for him. He is a really good man  not just in terms of what he does for the industry, but what he does in his personal life. He cares about people. Thats why people admire him and will work for him.

This sentiment chimes with the citation made by Professor Patrick Chinnery, when the then Sir Donald was awarded an honourary doctorate at Newcastle University in 2008 in recognition of his outstanding contribution to British farming and his equally important charitable work in Northumberland.

It described how his insight, vision and industry has reshaped British farming and talked of his remarkable ability to find solutions to complex problems.
A Pinch of Salt: The election is over, I think, so what now?
Welcome to my genealogy blog. Genea-Musings features genealogy research tips and techniques, genealogy news items and commentary, genealogy humor, San Diego genealogy society news, family history research and some family history stories from the keyboard of Randy Seaver (of Chula Vista CA), who thinks that Genealogy Research Is really FUN! Copyright (c) Randall J. Seaver, 2006-2021.
United Nations in Germany : UN exhibition in Bonn

Bonn Just a few weeks before the world climate summit, an exhibition about the work of the United Nations organizations in Germany and Bonn has been opened.

Teilen

Teilen Weiterleiten

Weiterleiten Tweeten

Tweeten Weiterleiten

Weiterleiten Drucken

Our target audience practically stumbles into the exhibition, says Arne Molfenter. The head of the link office of the United Nations in Western Europe on Thursday opened the exhibition The United Nations in Germany: Commitment to Agenda 2030 together with the ambassador of the Department for Foreign Affairs, Ingrid Jung, as well as Stefan Wagner rom the city councils Office for International Affairs, and Helga Albrecht, who is head of the city library.

Only a few weeks ahead of the world climate summit the organisors of the exhibition want to inform the public about the work of the United Nations in Bonn and in the six other German headquarters as well as the commitment of the UN to sustainability, climate protection and research.

13 large posters inform the visitors on the first floor of the city library about the different UN organizations in the federal city and the sustainability targets of the world organisation.

Jung said during her opening speech that she is very happy that the exhibition has found its way to the city on the Rhine after being shown in Berlin for two months until recently, in the Light Yard of the Department of Foreign Affairs. 27 UN institutions have their headquarters in Germany, most of them in Bonn. But other locations include Frankfurt, Hamburg, Dresden, Nuremberg and Munich.

The UN campus, home to 18 institutions, plays an important role: The large number of organisations dealing with climate protection and sustainability makes the city a hub in international politics handling these subjects.

One of the youngest settlements in Bonn is the SDG Action Campaign, which wants to inform citizens about the 17 sustainability targets of the Agenda 2030: Our generation is the first who could end poverty world wide. But it is also the last who can save our planet, said Jung about the importance of the UN commitment in regard to sustainability and climate protection.

Everyone who wants to know more about the UN organisations can visit the exhibition during the librarys opening hours: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10am until 7pm, Wednesdays from 10am until 8pm and on Saturdays from 10 am until 4pm. It is closed on Sundays, Mondays and on public holidays.
Article

Protecting the worlds oceans  an important goal of Germanys climate diplomacy

The worlds oceans are vital to our survival. They regulate the global climate and are a source of food and income for billions of people. Only a very small part of the seas enjoys legal protection, however. Our diplomats are working in New York right now to change this state of affairs.
clarajancita at 6-10-2017 09:44 AM (5 years ago) (f)

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has arrested an alleged notorious car fraudster it has been on a manhunt for over the past nine months. Bridget Enchill Obengs arrest follows reports that she allegedly hoodwinked over 10 unsuspecting people under the pretext of selling vehicles to them. The suspect, who also goes by the name Naana, was apprehended at Baah Yard, Awoshie, Accra, after reportedly playing hide-and-seek with the police over the period. The police earlier arrested a different person they had suspect and later realised it was a mistaken identity.

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service has arrested an alleged notorious car fraudster it has been on a manhunt for over the past nine months. Bridget Enchill Obengs arrest follows reports that she allegedly hoodwinked over 10 unsuspecting people under the pretext of selling vehicles to them. The suspect, who also goes by the name Naana, was apprehended at Baah Yard, Awoshie, Accra, after reportedly playing hide-and-seek with the police over the period. The police earlier arrested a different person they had suspect and later realised it was a mistaken identity.

However, upon a tip-off, Enchill was later busted by the Osu police in another case and handed over to the CID for investigation. The Police service has revealed that the Tesano, Adabraka, Teshie and Airport police are also investigating her for fraud.

The CIDs Director of operations at the headquarters, ACP Peter Gyimah, told DAILY GUIDE that, Enchill Obeng, who operated with the name Naana, displays various vehicles for sale with her contact numbers on them.

He said when interested persons contact her, she then arranges to either meet them or asks her accomplices to do so and in the process, takes from prospective buyers monies ranging from GH9,000 to GH50,000 and goes into hiding.



Modus Operandi

According to ACP Gyimah, the suspect takes the buyers to other persons she claims are the real owners of the vehicles. After the money has been paid, Enchill and her accomplices then present the victims with fake car keys and documents and asks them to go for the vehicles. The victims get the shock of their lives when they go to the locations only to neither meet any car nor person.

Police investigations have revealed that the suspect and her accomplices often use apartments with owners outside the country or hospitals for their nefarious activities. Six of the victims of Enchill Obeng told the police that their monies were collected at the Korle-Bu Teaching, 37 Military and the Ridge Hospitals.



However, upon a tip-off, Enchill was later busted by the Osu police in another case and handed over to the CID for investigation. The Police service has revealed that the Tesano, Adabraka, Teshie and Airport police are also investigating her for fraud.The CIDs Director of operations at the headquarters, ACP Peter Gyimah, told DAILY GUIDE that, Enchill Obeng, who operated with the name Naana, displays various vehicles for sale with her contact numbers on them.He said when interested persons contact her, she then arranges to either meet them or asks her accomplices to do so and in the process, takes from prospective buyers monies ranging from GH9,000 to GH50,000 and goes into hiding.According to ACP Gyimah, the suspect takes the buyers to other persons she claims are the real owners of the vehicles. After the money has been paid, Enchill and her accomplices then present the victims with fake car keys and documents and asks them to go for the vehicles. The victims get the shock of their lives when they go to the locations only to neither meet any car nor person.Police investigations have revealed that the suspect and her accomplices often use apartments with owners outside the country or hospitals for their nefarious activities. Six of the victims of Enchill Obeng told the police that their monies were collected at the Korle-Bu Teaching, 37 Military and the Ridge Hospitals.

Post Reply I am a metro reporter on Gistmania, I have been publishing news materials for over 5 years Posted: at 6-10-2017 09:44 AM (5 years ago) | Hero
The content you are looking for has either been removed or requires you to login to view

Please login below or register for an account With Naijapals.com
clarajancita at 6-10-2017 02:34 PM (5 years ago) (f)

A Lusaka man, Nshinka Kaputo, 34, has been detained by police for shooting his girlfriend, Precious Manganisa, 26, last night when she went to pick her daughter in Meanwood, Zambia.

A Lusaka man, Nshinka Kaputo, 34, has been detained by police for shooting his girlfriend, Precious Manganisa, 26, last night when she went to pick her daughter in Meanwood, Zambia.

According to details being released by close associates, Nshinka shot Precious, an employee of Multichoice Zambia, 3 times outside their home over an unknown difference. A pistol with 10 rounds of ammunition was recovered from the scene. The baby was also shot in the neck and the projectile was stuck in the neck.



It has been extracted by medical personnel at Fairview Hospital. The accused person is detained in police custody while the body is lying in UTH mortuary awaiting postmortem. The incident occurred shortly after she made a Facebook post about moody people.





According to details being released by close associates, Nshinka shot Precious, an employee of Multichoice Zambia, 3 times outside their home over an unknown difference. A pistol with 10 rounds of ammunition was recovered from the scene. The baby was also shot in the neck and the projectile was stuck in the neck.It has been extracted by medical personnel at Fairview Hospital. The accused person is detained in police custody while the body is lying in UTH mortuary awaiting postmortem. The incident occurred shortly after she made a Facebook post about moody people.

Post Reply I am a metro reporter on Gistmania, I have been publishing news materials for over 5 years Posted: at 6-10-2017 02:34 PM (5 years ago) | Hero
bayonel3 at 6-10-2017 04:13 PM (5 years ago) (m)

President Joko Widodo of Indonesia was forced to trek 3 kilometers to the 72nd anniversary of the official founding of the Indonesian Military (TNI) yesterday due to serious traffic jam. The event took place in Cilegon, Banten with a carefully choreographed military exercises on display at the ceremony. Narrating how it happened, an eyewitness said the president got out of his car soon after 8am, when the ceremony was set to start (but of course could not start until he arrived). His motorcade was still some 3 kilometers from the site of the ceremony, but because traffic was at a standstill (apparently due to the huge number of civilians who had come out to see the president), Jokowi and his entourage had little choice but to proceed on foot. Initially, Jokowi was only accompanied by members of his security guards (Paspamres) and the police, but he was later joined on his long walk by National Police Chief Gen. (Pol) Tito Karnavian and Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu. Jokowi finally made it to the ceremony at 8:40am. Upon his arrival, the ceremony kicked off immediately, with troops from various battalions entering the venue.

President Joko Widodo of Indonesia was forced to trek 3 kilometers to the 72nd anniversary of the official founding of the Indonesian Military (TNI) yesterday due to serious traffic jam. The event took place in Cilegon, Banten with a carefully choreographed military exercises on display at the ceremony. Narrating how it happened, an eyewitness said the president got out of his car soon after 8am, when the ceremony was set to start (but of course could not start until he arrived). His motorcade was still some 3 kilometers from the site of the ceremony, but because traffic was at a standstill (apparently due to the huge number of civilians who had come out to see the president), Jokowi and his entourage had little choice but to proceed on foot. Initially, Jokowi was only accompanied by members of his security guards (Paspamres) and the police, but he was later joined on his long walk by National Police Chief Gen. (Pol) Tito Karnavian and Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu. Jokowi finally made it to the ceremony at 8:40am. Upon his arrival, the ceremony kicked off immediately, with troops from various battalions entering the venue.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4Hkt3bpzDs

Post Reply I scour the world wide web to bring you interesting stories from around the globe. [email protected] Posted: at 6-10-2017 04:13 PM (5 years ago) | Hero
Overall, dont let the bhoot mislead you, nothing bhootiya about this story. Had the makers tried to push the envelope, the idea could have been outstanding for a bhootiya comedy.
D'Quinnton Averon Saunders, 27, was found dead by police early Thursday morning in DeKalb County, Georgia. Saunders died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a news release. Danville police said they are not searching for any other suspects in the death of Coleman, 40.
An anonymous phone call led Georgia police to an abandoned apartment building early Thursday where the body of the lone suspect in a Danville homicide.

With the death of suspect DQuinnton Averon Saunders, the investigation into Tiffany Denise Colemans death remains open, Danville Police said.

Although we are not actively looking for any other suspects, we still have lab work that needs to be completed such as final autopsy findings and lab results of other evidence collected at the scene, Danville Police Capt. Matt Carter wrote in an email Friday.

Police had been searching for Saunders since the discovery of Colemans body in a dumpster Sept. 20 outside a Westover Drive business.

Her death marked the citys 12th homicide this year and the second one in a 12-hour period  hours earlier, police had found the body of Louis Isaiah Glenn, 23, on the 400 block of Moffett Street. Two teens have since been charged in connection with that shooting.

Saunders, 27, of Danville, and Coleman, 40, of Keeling, were in a relationship, police said, and had an argument earlier that day over a vehicle crash. Police have provided no other information about what might have led to the homicide.

Shortly after the discovery of Colemans body, investigators began looking for her 2002 Chevrolet Impala, which was found days later.

Saunders remained on the loose and was not found until nearly a week after police discovered Coleman.

According to Danville Circuit Court online records Saunders served 2 years in prison for a 2012 robbery.

Danville police thought he might be in the Atlanta area and had the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force there looking for him, Carter said in the email. Saunders once lived in the area, police said.

It was not the alert that local police sent to Georgia authorities that led to the discovery.

An anonymous person found Saunders body in DeKalb County, Georgia, which is just west of and includes part of Atlanta, the Dekalb County Deputy Medical Examiner John Henson said.

Saunders died of a gunshot wound, which Henson said his office has ruled as self-inflicted based on circumstances found at the scene.

Well just leave it at that, Henson said of how the office made its cause-of-death ruling.

Even with Saunders now located the dots still had yet to be connected in the homicide investigation.

At the time, the Georgia medical examiners office did not know that Saunders was a suspect in a homicide. The office initially contacted the Danville Police early Thursday to have someone notify Saunders next of kin.

Once we heard who they had, we told them about our homicide investigation and that we were already looking for him, Carter wrote.
Danville City Council unanimously approved relocation of a commercial indoor recreation facility offering childrens games from Nor-Dan Shopping Center to Riverside Shopping Center, during its meeting Thursday night.

MegaBounce owner Scott Layne said they were looking to relocate to Riverside Shopping Center due to its central location for traffic. Also, the current location has too much space that is not being used, and the new location has 20-foot ceilings.

MegaBounce has inflatables and games for childrens play. It is currently located at 211 Nor Dan Drive.

The business charges an entry fee for use of equipment and hosts parties upon request.

City Council voted 9-0 to approve a special use permit for commercial indoor recreation for MegaBounce.

The move was approved under two conditions: the operation be limited to indoor use, and hours of operation be limited to between 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. Sunday through Friday, and 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. Saturday.

In other matters council also:

 Approved a $16,437 highway safety grant for the Danville Police Department from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Highway Safety Office Selective Enforcement-Alcohol Grant Program.

It will be used to pay for overtime personnel for enforcement at driving under the influence and license checkpoints and patrols.

 Approved $7,800 from the speed grant program for the Danville Police Department for overtime pay for police officers enforcing speed ordinances.

 Approved $4,500 for the occupant protection grant program to provide overtime pay for officers enforcing safety belt and child safety seat violations.
The testimony portion of the federal fraud trial against a now-defunct military contractor and his company concluded Friday with only one witness for the defense  the companys former CEO, also the defendant.

Though prosecutors produced more than a week of testimony, William Whyte, former CEO and owner of the now-defunct Armet Armored Vehicles, concluded his defense after nearly two days.

The last day of testimony also saw Roanoke-based defense attorney Justin Lugar renew his motion from Tuesday for an acquittal on all criminal charges, arguing that the U.S. Government did not have the power to sue Whyte and Armet for not delivering all the the 32 armored SUVs as promised in a signed contract.

In that argument, he said that even though all of the contract-review officers were U.S. military officers, and the check for the vehicles was paid by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, the contract was truly with the Iraq-based Multinational Security Transition Command, which included all the coalition forces working to rebuild the country.

U.S. District Court Judge Jackson L. Kiser has yet to rule on the renewed motion and might make a decision when trial resumes Monday. After that, both the prosecution and the defense will offer closing arguments and the jury will then go behind closed doors for deliberation.

Throughout Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Carltons cross examination Friday, Whyte kept using phrases such as your government and your country, almost in contradiction to Lugars argument that only the group of coalition forces, and not the U.S. government, could level the fraud charges.

When asked if he meant the United States, Whyte said yes, which may have blown apart the defenses argument.

Federal prosecutors called their first witness in the case on Sept. 25 in an attempt to prove that Whyte and the company are guilty of three counts of major fraud against the government, four counts of wire fraud, and three counts of false or fraudulent claims.

The Armet company once had a manufacturing plant in Danville and was headquartered in Ontario, Canada, where Whyte lives.

Whyte, on Friday, also tried to disagree with the contracts language on undercarriage protection, which was one of the major points made throughout the prosecutions case.

Prosecutors aimed to prove that the handful of vehicles that Armet did deliver would not withstand blasts by IEDs. Yet Whyte argued that complete blast protection was not part of the deal.

 We offered floor protection, not the undercarriage, Whyte said during his cross-examination. As far as Im concerned, we have only protected the floor, not the wheels or oil pans.

Disabled wheels and an emptied oil pan would leave soldiers stranded following an explosion.

The kind of protection needed to shield the oil pan and tires from damage by explosives, he said, was impossible in anything less than a tank.

The only thing that Armet could protect was the floor, always the floor, he testified.

However, the proposal that Whyte drafted in March included the exact same language as the final contract for the undelivered armored trucks.

And prosecution evidence from earlier in the trial included a proposal written by Whyte that mentioned undercarriage protection.

In a curious statement by Whyte regarding the contract his company signed promising to deliver the vehicles, he seems to have testified against his own interests.

 Armet did not live up to its end of the bargain, Whyte said.
VANCOUVER, Oct. 5, 2017 /CNW/ - Eros Resources Corp. (TSX.V: ERC) ("Eros" or the Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a Joint Operating Agreement (the "Agreement") with Westcore Energy Ltd. ("Westcore" or "WTR") and Saturn Oil + Gas Inc. ("Saturn" or "SMI") to develop three sections of land near Flaxcombe, Saskatchewan. Under the terms of the Agreement, each of Eros, Westcore and Saturn shall have a one-third (33.33%) working interest in the sections. This provides Eros with a direct interest in the future exploration results, reserve assessment and possible development within the Flaxcombe, heavy oil field. The three parties are currently preparing a budget and schedule to develop this ground.

The three sections are contiguous with Westcore's 100%-owned sections 12, 13 and 5, where Eros and Westcore are operating under a well-development agreement. Under this agreement, Eros funded the completion of three wells for $1.6 million to earn a 90% working interest until the capital investment is repaid, and a 50% working interest thereafter. In addition, Eros has the right of first refusal on two additional, three-well projects for the same consideration. On September 20th, 2017, Eros announced that well 9-13 had completed its initial 30-day production test, showing an average production rate of 80 barrels of oil per day (72 barrels to Eros). The two additional wells have been completed and brought on production. Once they have passed the initial 30-day test period, results will be made available.

About Eros

Eros Resources Corp. is a well-financed Canadian public company focused on the exploration and development of resource projects in North America. Eros has as its prime business objective the identification, acquisition and exploration of advanced resource projects with a North American focus. A secondary focus of the Company is to make strategic investments with a global focus and a diverse commodity base. The Company's expertise in the resource sector supports the selection of these strategic investments.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of

Eros Resources Corp.,

Ron Stewart

President & CEO

Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements

Certain statements made and information contained herein may constitute "forward looking information" and "forward looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation, including, among other things, this press release includes references to mineral resources and future potential forecast economics of extracting those resources. There is no certainty that any portion of the resources will be confirmed with greater certainty. If confirmed, there is no certainty that it will be commercially viable to extract any portion of the resource. There is no certainty that access to the resource area will be re-established, and if access to the resource area is blocked for an extended period of time, or permanently, there is no certainty that any compensation will be received by the Company. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including the re-establishment of physical access to the property, the availability of adequate and secure sources of funding to construct the extraction facilities required to extract the mineral resources, prevailing commodity prices, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks and the performance of personnel. While the Company considers its assumptions to be reasonable as of the date hereof, forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees of future performance and readers should not place undue importance on such statements as actual events and results may differ materially from those described herein. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or information except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

Oil and Gas Advisory

Production rates disclosed herein are preliminary and are not determinative of the rates at which the wells will continue to produce and decline thereafter and may not necessarily be indicative of the long-term performance or estimated ultimate recovery.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Eros Resources Corp.
London (FSCwire) - Following the publication of its prospectus on 2 October 2017, SolGold plc Plc is pleased to announce the admission of its entire issued share capital to the Official List of the UKLA by way of a standard listing under Chapter 14 of the UKLA's Listing Rules and to trading on the London Stock Exchange's main market for listed securities (the 'Admission'). Dealings will commence at 08.00am today, 6 October 2017. The Company also confirms that trading in its ordinary shares has been cancelled on the AIM market today pursuant to AIM Rule 41. The Company's ISIN remains GB00B0WD0R35, SEDOL number remains B0WD0R3 and ticker symbol remains SOLG.

The Prospectus is available to be viewed at the Company's website at: www.solgold.com.au/prospectuslisting.

By order of the Board

Karl Schlobohm

Company Secretary

Brisbane, Australia

CONTACTS

Mr Nicholas Mather Tel: +61 (0) 7 3303 0665 SolGold plc (Executive Director) +61 (0) 417 880 448 nmather@solgold.com.au Mr Karl Schlobohm Tel: +61 (0) 7 3303 0661 SolGold plc (Company Secretary) kschlobohm@solgold.com.au Follow us on twitter @SolGold_plc

NOTES TO EDITORS

SolGold is a Brisbane, Australia based, dual AIM and TSX listed (SOLG on both exchanges) copper gold exploration and future development company with assets in Ecuador, Solomon Islands and Australia. SolGolds primary objective is to discover and define world class copper gold deposits. The Board and Management Team have substantial vested interests in the success of the Company as shareholders as well as strong track records in the areas of exploration, mine appraisal and development, investment, finance and law. SolGolds experience is augmented by state of the art geophysical and modelling techniques and the guidance of porphyry copper and gold expert Dr Steve Garwin.

The Company announced USD54m in capital raisings in September 2016 involving Maxit Capital LP, Newcrest International Ltd and DGR Global Ltd, and a USD41.2m raising in June of 2017 largely from Newcrest International with USD1.2m raised from Ecuadorean investors. All of these raisings were undertaken at substantial premiums to previous raisings, and SolGold currently has circa USD60m in available cash to continue the exploration and development of its flagship Cascabel Project.

Mr Craig Jones joined the SolGold Board on 3 March 2017, nominated to the Board of SolGold by Newcrest Mining, now a 14.54% shareholder in SolGold. Mr Jones is a Mechanical Engineer and is currently the Executive General Manager Wafi-Golpu (Newcrest-Harmony MMJV). He has held various senior management and executive roles within the Newcrest Group, including General Manager Projects, General Manager Cadia Valley Operations, Executive General Manager Projects and Asset Management, Executive General Manager Australian and Indonesian Operations, Executive General Manager Australian Operations and Projects, and Executive General Manager Cadia and Morobe Mining Joint Venture. Prior to joining Newcrest, Mr Jones worked for Rio Tinto.

Cascabel, SolGold's 85% owned World Class (Refer www.solgold.com.au/cautionary-notice/) flagship copper gold porphyry project, is located in northern Ecuador on the under explored northern section of the richly endowed Andean Copper Belt. SolGold owns 85% of Exploraciones Novomining S.A. (ENSA) and approximately 5% of TSX V listed Cornerstone Capital Resources (Cornerstone), which holds the remaining 15% of ENSA, the Ecuadorian registered company which holds 100% of the Cascabel concession. Subject to the terms of existing agreements, Cornerstone is debt financed by SolGold for its share of costs to completion of a Feasibility Study (Financing Option).

In terms of repayment, SolGold shall receive 90% of Cornerstones share of earnings or dividends from ENSA or the Tenement to which Cornerstone would otherwise be entitled until such time as the amounts so received equal the aggregate amount of expenditures incurred by SolGold that, but for the Financing Option, would have been payable by Cornerstone, plus interest thereon from the dates such expenditures were incurred at a rate per annum equal to LIBOR plus 2 per cent until such time as SolGold is fully reimbursed.

The investments by Newcrest for 14.54% of SolGold endorses Ecuador as an exploration and mining destination, the management team at SolGold, the dimension, size and scale of the growing Alpala deposit, and the prospectivity of Cascabel and its multiple targets. The gold endowment, location, infrastructure, logistics are important competitive advantages offered by the project.

To date SolGold has completed geological mapping, soil sampling, rock saw channel sampling, geochemical and spectral alteration mapping over 25km2, along with an additional 9km2 of Induced Polarisation and 14km2 Magnetotelluric Orion surveys over the Alpala cluster and Aguinaga targets.

SolGold has completed over 50,000m of drilling and expended over USD50M on the program, which includes corporate costs and investments into Cornerstone. This has been accomplished with a workforce of up to 260 Ecuadorean workers and geoscientists, and 6 expatriate Australian geoscientists. The results of 39 holes drilled (including re-drilled holes) and assayed to date have produced some of the greatest drill hole intercepts in porphyry copper-gold exploration history, as indicated by Hole 12 (CSD-16-012) returning 1560m grading 0.59% copper and 0.54 g/t gold including, 1044m grading 0.74% copper and 0.54 g/t gold.

The average grade of all metres drilled to date on the project currently stands at 0.31% copper and 0.26 g/t gold. Intensive diamond drilling is planned for the next 12 months with 12 drill rigs expected to be operational by early 2018, targeting 126,000m of drilling in 2018.

Cascabel is characterised by fifteen (15) identified targets, World Class drilling intersections over 1km in length at potentially economic grades, and high copper and gold grades in richer sections, as well as logistic advantages in location, elevation, water supply, proximity to roads, port and power services; and a progressive legislative approach to resource development in Ecuador.

To date, SolGold has drill tested 4 of the 15 targets, being Alpala Northwest, Alpala Central, Hematite Hill, and Alpala Southeast. Currently drill testing of Alpala Northwest, Alpala Central and Alpala Southeast targets is underway, with drill testing of the other priority targets to be considered following the publication of the Companys maiden resource estimate for Alpala, and the finalisation of further IP surveying and modelling work currently underway.

The Alpala deposit is open in multiple directions and the mineralised corridor marked for drill testing of the greater Alpala cluster occurs over a 2.2km strike length from Trivinio in the northwest to Cristal in the southeast. The mineralised corridor is known to be prospective over approximately 700m width.

High priority targets within the Alpala cluster, at Moran approximately 700m to the north, and at Aguinaga approximately 2.3km north east, are closely modelled by 3D MVI magnetic signatures that currently encompass over 10Bt of magnetic rock. Based on a strong spatial and genetic relationship between copper sulphides and magnetite, this body of magnetic rock is considered to be highly prospective for significant copper and gold mineralisation, and requires drill testing.

SolGold is focussing on extending the dimensions of the Alpala deposit including Alpala Northwest, Hematite Hill, Alpala South East, Cristal, Trivinio, Alpala West, Alpala East, Carmen, Parambas and Alpala South before completing a Maiden Resource Estimate and then drill testing the other key target within the Cascabel concession at Aguinaga, Tandayama-America, Moran, and Chinambicito.

The Company is currently planning further metallurgical testing and completion of an independent Pre-Feasibility Study at Cascabel. SolGold is investigating both high tonnage open cut and underground block caving operations, as well as a high grade / low tonnage initial underground development towards the economic development of the copper gold deposit/s at Cascabel.

Drill hole intercepts have been updated to reflect current commodity prices, using a data aggregation method, defined by copper equivalent cut-off grades and reported with up to 10m internal dilution, excluding bridging to a single sample. Copper equivalent grades are calculated using a gold conversion factor of 0.63, determined using an updated copper price of USD3.00/pound and an updated gold price of USD1300/ounce. True widths of down hole intersections are estimated to be approximately 25-50%.

Following a comprehensive review of the geology and prospectivity of Ecuador, SolGold and its subsidiaries have also applied for additional exploration licences in Ecuador over a number of promising porphyry copper gold targets throughout the Country. To date 59 such concessions have been granted and announced. SolGold is negotiating external funding options which will provide the Company with the ability to have some of these projects fully funded by a third party while focussing on Cascabel.

In Queensland, Australia the Company is evaluating the future exploration plans for the Mt Perry, Rannes and Normanby projects, with drill testing of the Normanby project planned for the coming quarter. Joint venture agreements are being investigated for a joint venture partner to commit funds and carry out exploration to earn an interest in the tenements.

SolGold retains interests in its original theatre of operations, Solomon Islands in the South West Pacific, where the 100% owned, but as yet undrilled, Kuma prospect on the island of Guadalcanal exhibits surface lithocap characteristics which are traditionally indicative of a large metal rich copper gold intrusive porphyry system. SolGold intends in the future to apply intellectual property and experience developed in Ecuador to target additional World Class copper gold porphyries at Kuma and other targets in Ecuador and the Solomon Islands.

SolGold is based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The Company listed on London's AIM Market in 2006, and dual-listed onto the TSX in July 2017 (both exchanges using the ticker code: SOLG) and currently has on issue a total of 1,516,245,686 fully-paid ordinary shares, 31,795,884 share options exercisable at 28p; 9,795,884 share options exercisable at 14p and 46,762,000 share options exercisable at 60p.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

To view this press release as a PDF file, click onto the following link:public://news_release_pdf/SolGold210062017.pdfSource: SolGold plc (TSX:SOLG, AIM:SOLG)

To follow SolGold plc on your favorite social media platform or financial websites, please click on the icons below.

Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com

Copyright  2017 Filing Services Canada Inc.
Living rosary at CDA meeting

COLUMBUS -- Court Little Flower #988 of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas will meet 7 p.m. Monday at the Knights of Columbus Hall for a meeting and dessert.

The program will be the living rosary.

Fall market at St. Lukes

COLUMBUS -- St. Lukes United Church of Christ, 1072 21st Ave., will hold a fall market from 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Nov. 2.

Chili, chicken noodle soup, desserts, sandwiches and beverages will be served.

Retreat explores personality in prayer

SCHUYLER -- Personality and Prayer, a retreat scheduled for Oct. 2829 at St. Benedict Center, will explore how different personalities affect prayer.

There is not only one right way to pray. During this retreat, discover the best ways for you to connect to God through prayer. The retreat begins at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 28 and ends after lunch on Oct. 29.

For more information or to register, visit christthekingpriory.com.

Rosary honors Lady of Fatima

COLUMBUS -- In honor of the 100th anniversary of the last apparition of Our Lady of Fatima, all are invited to join in praying the rosary at noon Oct. 14 at the statue of Mary outside St. Bonaventure Catholic Church.

Bring a rosary and chair or blanket. Children are welcome to attend.

For more information, call Joyce at 402-564-1803.

Womens group hosting luncheon

COLUMBUS -- Peace Lutheran Womens Missionary League will host a salad luncheon from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 12 at the church, 2720 28th St.

Cost is $7 per guest. Profits will support the Peace Youth Mission Fund and Raising the Roof church fund.

Church holding harvest supper

LEIGH  St. Pauls Lutheran Church, 11937 415th St., rural Leigh, is holding its annual harvest supper from 4:30-7:30 p.m. Sunday.

The menu includes turkey and pork loin, dressing, potatoes, gravy, green beans, salads and dessert. Cost is $9 for adults, $5 for children ages 5-12 and free for children younger than 5. Carry-out available for an extra 50 cents.

For more information, call 402-487-2551.

Retreat for women at center

SCHUYLER -- You are Enough! A Retreat for Women is scheduled for Oct. 21-22 at St. Benedict Center with Mary Guynan, Tonya LeGrande and Vicki Pribil.

This retreat is for women of all ages, and will include presentations, prayer, guided meditation, shared reflection, opportunity for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, Adoration and Mass. The retreat begins at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 21 and ends after lunch on Oct. 22.

Register by calling 402-352-8819 or visiting www.christthekingpriory.com.

Rosary rallies celebrate miracle

GENOA -- Two rosary rallies commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima will be held in Monroe and Genoa at noon Oct. 14.

The Monroe rally will begin with registration at 11:30 a.m. at 314 Gerrard Ave. In Genoa the rally will be held in the parking lot of St. Rose of Lima Church. Following the rosary in Genoa, The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima will be shown at St. Rose Community Center. These rallies are among the 20,000 rallies held concurrently.

For more information, call Mary at 402-495-2535 or Virgie at 402-948-0035.

Women's Guild salad luncheon

COLUMBUS -- Peace Lutheran LWML/Womens Guild will host a salad luncheon from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Oct. 12 at Peace Lutheran Church, 2720 28th St.

Cost is $7 per guest. The luncheon is open to the public.

Rosary Crusade in Schuyler

SCHUYLER -- A Public Square Rosary Crusade will be held 11:30 a.m. Oct. 14 at North Park in Schuyler in honor of the Fatima centennial, 1917-2017.

Prayers will be offered for peace and other intentions.

Rosary Crusade in Platte Center

PLATTE CENTER -- The 2017 Public Square Rosary Crusade will be held at noon Oct. 14 at the St. Joseph Church parking lot.

In the historic year of the Fatima centennial (1917-2017), we ask God to save America through the Rosary of His Most Holy Mother.

For more information, contact Fr. Walter or Merline at 402-246-2255.

Retreat features missionary

SCHUYLER -- From Here to Hope: Our Mission of Mercy is a one-day retreat scheduled for Oct. 14 at St. Benedict Center with Fr. Joseph Nassal, a Missionary of the Precious Blood from Liberty, Missouri.

This retreat will explore in both practical and prophetic ways how to live Gods tender mercy in our everyday lives. The program fee is $30. Lunch will be available at the center for $10.50.

Register by calling 402-352-8819 or visiting www.christthekingpriory.com.
After Hurricanes Irma and Maria, local officials in the U.S. Virgin Islands are scrambling to provide shelter and housing to displaced residents. If history is any indication, the poorest people will wait the longest -- and maybe forever -- for a new place to call home on the islands.Parts of the islands look like a napalm bomb landscape, says Myron D. Jackson, president of the U.S. Virgin Islands Senate. Its almost like Irma and Maria were personal bandits that really invaded homes and threw the contents out windows and doors," he says.About 90 percent of the Virgin Islands' buildings have sustained damages, including several public housing complexes, according to the office of U.S. Virgin Islands Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett. About 13,000 structures are roofless.Although the back-to-back Category 5 storms affected residents of all income levels, officials are particularly worried about the damage to Estate Tutu, a high-rise apartment building on St. Thomas with roughly 300 public housing tenants.In the past, when powerful storms destroyed public housing in other parts of the United States, it took years -- if ever -- before the government replaced those units.Theres a lot of anecdotal evidence that after disasters happen, some of the affordable housing stock just never gets replaced, says Sarah Mickelson, director of policy for the National Low Income Housing Coalition. We saw this happen in Louisiana and Mississippi after Katrina, and we saw it in Texas after Ike.Those storms made some public housing complexes uninhabitable, forcing cities to raze what remained. It took years for Galveston, Texas, and New Orleans to replace their public housing, and in the process, they lost large shares of their low-income residents. In Galveston, Texas, some elected officials resisted rebuilding hundreds of public housing units at allbecause, they said, it would lower real estate values, breed crime and attract people who wouldn't be able to find work.It's too early to know what will happen to the public housing stock in the Virgin Islands, though it's clear that it's needed. Even before the storms, almost a quarter of the Virgin Islands residents were living in poverty, which means the territory has a higher poverty rate than any U.S. state. Nationally, less than a quarter of low-income households eligible for federal rental housing assistance receive it, and that appears to be the case in the Virgin Islands. Out of roughly 43,000 households in the territory, only about 5,000 households either had rental vouchers or lived in public housing.For now, hundreds are living in temporary shelters, but it's unclear where the Virgin Islands' displaced residents will ultimately go. The local housing authority is working to place public housing tenants and rental voucher-holders either in private apartments on the island or, if possible, with families on the U.S. mainland.We are a resilient people, says Virgin Islands Sen. Marvin Blyden, who chairs a committee on housing. We are doing what we have to do in trying to rebuild and find our way in this difficult time.Housing, of course, is just one of the many challenges facingthe Virgin Islands. The hurricanes damaged its public water systems and caused widespread power outages. Its hospitals aren't operational. The top industry there, tourism, has been brought to a halt.Unlike New Orleans or Galveston, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico -- which was also devastated by both hurricanes -- have less say over how Congress will distribute federal disaster funds because they're territories, not states. Their residents, though, are U.S. citizens with access to federal benefits, such as food and housing assistance, but they can't cast a vote for president in the general election. (They can vote in the presidential primaries.) They each have one delegate in Congress who has limited powers -- mostly participating in debates and voting in committees, but not floor votes."The challenge that the territories face is that they cant put pressure on colleagues to pass robust resources," says Mickelson.Though the Virgin Islands' officials have been less critical of federal recovery efforts than their peers in Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands Gov. Kenneth Mapp has called for President Trump to hasten the so-called Blue Roof program. Where roofs are damaged, contractors from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can install plastic sheeting as a temporary fix. Mapp said the Corps should be able to install 50 sheets a day, but in the first eight days, the program covered only 47 houses.Mapp met with Trump in Puerto Rico on Tuesday and Vice President Mike Pence is visiting the Virgin Islands on Friday.
Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, is facing charges of securities fraud. Politically, it doesnt seem to matter. His trial, which has been postponed repeatedly, has now been put off at least until March.Paxton is accused of misleading investors looking into a tech startup called Servergy Inc. prior to assuming his current office. Paxton, who is running for re-election in 2018 and hasnt yet drawn an opponent -- either Republican or Democratic -- has insisted that he is innocent and that the charges are politically motivated. Related federal charges were dismissed earlier this year. The facts, the law and the people of Texas are on his side, says Matt Welch, his campaign spokesman.In recent years, several other prominent Republican politicians in the state have seen cases against them thrown out, including former Gov. Rick Perry (currently the federal energy secretary) and former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. That history does play to Paxtons advantage, says Mark Jones, a political scientist at Rice University. Theres enough skepticism among Republican primary voters that theyre willing to give Paxton the benefit of the doubt, absent convictions upheld on appeal, Jones says. Until theres a conviction, the conventional wisdom in the Republican electorate is that hes right, this is a political witch hunt.In that regard, Paxtons timing is lucky. His trial had been set for Dec. 11. That date also happens to be the filing deadline for Texas state offices. Now it's been put off until March 6, or perhaps March 12. March 6 is the date of the primary election. It's now certain that the legal outcome wont be known in time for a Republican to mount a serious primary challenge should things not go smoothly for Paxton.The current charges were brought back in 2015. His trial at one time was scheduled to begin months ago, but his attorneys successfully petitioned to have the case heard by a different judge. Fliers were sent out that had called out the judge for politicizing the process, says Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston. That created a new political dimension to surviving scandals while in office.
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton will soon leave his post as the leader of the nation's fifth-largest city to run for Congress.In a video announcement Thursday, Stanton declared his candidacy for the congressional seat currently held by Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, who is challenging Republican Sen. Jeff Flake.Stanton began his announcement by saying, "There are many miles between Phoenix and Washington, D.C., but what separates us most is how we work to solve problems."He listed a series of what he sees as his accomplishments as mayor, noting that he accomplished all of them with "real bipartisan support  Republicans and Democrats actually working together.""With new leadership we can remind Congress about what it's supposed to do get together and solve problems to make people's lives better just like we do in Phoenix," he said.
Parents of black children have long had the talk with their daughters and especially their sons. Not the one about sex, but the one about how to interact with cops and walk away unharmed.Get stopped for a traffic violation: Use your Sunday school manners. Keep your hands where they can be seen, and above all else, do not argue," an Indianapolis mother reportedly told her 24-year-old black son.This private conversation has slowly moved into the consciousness of Americans of all races as police shootings of black men have been caught on video and sparked outrage and fear across the country. It has largely been the duty of family members to educate children about this tragic issue -- until recently.In the last two years, several states passed laws mandating public schools or drivers education courses (or both) to teach students what constitutes appropriate behavior in interactions with police, particularly during traffic stops.The measures have faced opposition from groups like Black Lives Matter (BLM), which say they place the blame for violent encounters -- and the burden of preventing them -- on civilians. Ironically, theyre also sometimes criticized by police advocates, who argue that it encourages and may worsen the fears people already have about cops.Still, several states passed the laws quickly and easily.In June, Texas became the latest . The new law there requires high schools to offer instruction on how students should conduct themselves whenever they come into contact with cops. The law also calls for these lessons in private drivers education courses, and -- uniquely among states that have passed this kind of legislation -- for police to be trained on de-escalation techniques.North Carolina and Virginia recently enacted similar laws as did Illinois -- though that one was criticized for not offering students enough information on peoples rights during traffic stops. Similar legislation died in committee in the Mississippi Legislature.In New Jersey, a bill passed the General Assembly and is awaiting consideration in the state Senate. The legislation, according to a press release from Assembly Democrats, would require every school district to teachabout police responsibilities and civilians rights as well as civilians responsibilities to comply with officers' requests.Students would receive one part of the curriculum between kindergarten and fourth grade, and the second part between fifth and 12th grade. The curriculum has yet to be created but would require input from several organizations representing both police and communities, like the State Fraternal Order of Police and the ACLU.Black Lives Matters New Jersey chapter has come out against the bill, protesting it at the statehouse. Alexis Miller, the lead organizer of BLM's Paterson, N.J., chapter, told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the bills concept is fundamentally flawed.This bill is clearly designed to create a scapegoat for police brutality, and that scapegoat is New Jerseys children, she said. Students ... are expected to master the idea of respectability politics in order to protect themselves from officers.This is a criticism that has often faced programs around the country that already offer trainings and workshops on interactions with police, like the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU). The organization has several know your rights workshops, and one of their most requested involves police encounters, which they teach at public schools and youth programs all over the state. It teaches people what their rights are as well as tips for de-escalating situations and staying calm.I do think its a bit ridiculous that we have this frame where its the responsibility of civilians to control themselves and protect themselves in these encounters, especially when you think about the power disparities between someone stopped on the street and an officer with a badge and a gun, says Michael Sisitzky, senior policy counsel at the NYCLU. But in the absence of real accountability for police, knowing your rights is better than nothing.On the other end of the spectrum, critics like Eugene ODonnell, a former police officer and professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, complain that these lessons can portray cops as  public enemy No. 1 ." However, ODonnell toldhe thinks curriculum like this can be useful if its crafted correctly.[Lessons like this] relegitimize the police, if theyre done properly, he says. Its important to know that when youre interacting with police, its not an interaction of equals. The police have the upper hand, and they are supposed to.ODonnell says that any curriculum should emphasize not just peoples rights but their civic responsibilities within society, including respect for police officers as extensions of the law. Some state laws (like the one being considered in New Jersey) make explicit mention of civilian responsibility in police encounters, but they all appear to take an individual's rights into heavy consideration.Sisitzky, for his part, defends the approach of the NYCLU and other programs, state-mandated or not, that focus their curriculum on peoples rights.Our goal is never to instill more fear in communities or to say that all police are bad and these encounters are always going to escalate, he says. But we acknowledge reality, which is that there isfear. We dont want to be talking about these encounters in a utopia that simply doesnt exist."
State lawmakers, public defenders, corrections officials, community activists and police came together with Governor Gina Raimondo on Thursday to hail a series of new laws as the most historic changes to the criminal justice system in Rhode Island to arise in decades."This has been a change in consciousness," retired Superior Court Judge Judith Colenback Savage said at a celebratory signing at the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence of the so-called Justice Reinvestment bills. Savage praised the six bills, aimed at overhauling the state's criminal sentencing laws and reducing the prison population, as much needed mechanisms to "reconcile criminal justice policy with our humanity."Savage served as co-chair of the Rhode Island Justice Reinvention Working Group, a 27-member panel of legislators, judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, agency heads and community organizations. It was convened by Raimondo in 2015 to address Rhode Island's burgeoning probation population. A similar legislative package, also backed by the panel, died in the House last year during the early-morning hours of the final legislative session."Today is a pivot, a turning point," P.J. Fox, executive director of the institute, agreed. It represents a shift from incarceration to restoration, he said before the packed room.Raimondo praised the bills as the coming together of a vast collection of interests."It's time to make Rhode Island more fair ... more just," Raimondo said, adding, "This about social justice, racial justice and equality."She rejected criticisms, some that came from Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin, that the measures were soft on crime."This isn't about being soft on crime. It's about being smart on crime," she said.The new laws adopt an "evidence-based" approach to parole and probation supervision that would dedicate the bulk of the resources to offenders who are most at risk to re-offend. It would give more discretion to the state Parole Board and expand what victims can collect in restitution from offenders. It would mandate state Department of Corrections revisions geared toward reducing recidivism -- including setting up a fund for a batterer's intervention program.It would allow Superior Court judges to enter into diversion pacts with substance abuse and mental health counseling and other conditions. The judges would also be able to alter charges after successful treatment.The new laws, too, change the penalties for criminal offenses involving assault and larceny. For example, the maximum penalty for assault with a dangerous weapon, in which there was no serious bodily injury, the maximum sentence was reduced from 20 years to six.Robert E. Craven Sr., chairman of the House Committee on Labor, said that the hope is that the millions of dollars expected to be saved as fewer people are imprisoned would be put toward building up drug, alcohol and mental health treatment resources. The goal is to help offenders stay out of jail, Craven said."If people don't come back, it's a lifetime worth of savings," Craven said.
Description

GIS  06 October 2017: A working session on the Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub (CFAH/Hub), aimed at giving an overview of the support mechanism of the CFAH as well as a progress report of the organisations achievements since its setting up last year in Mauritius, was held yesterday at the Commonwealth Climate Finance Hub Office, Sterling House, Port Louis.

The session was chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo, and saw the participation of the British High Commissioner to Mauritius, Mr Keith Allan, and the Australian High Commissioner, Ms Jenny Dee. The General Manager, CFAH, Mr Bilal Anwar made a presentation of the Hub, challenges faced, project proposals and upcoming events.

In a statement, Minister Lutchmeenaraidoo underscored that the CFAH may seem complex to understand but has an important responsibility in helping regions on climate change issues. Climate change is a reality that is affecting the world and is creating unpredictable disasters and therefore, we have to go through a preparatory process especially Mauritius, he emphasised.

The Commonwealth, recalled the Minister, brings together several small Island States which are extremely vulnerable to the climate change phenomenon, and yesterdays working session was held to examine how the Hub can help Commonwealth Member States face the impact of climate change on a daily basis. According to him, if climate change affects food production it will in turn affect public health and food self-sufficiency. We are collaborating together to ensure that climate change does not become a planetary disaster, he added.

For her part, High Commissioner Dee, expressed the Australian Governments satisfaction in supporting financially the establishment of the Hub and Mauritius hosting the organisation as well as the progress being made. It is excellent that there are seven national advisors deployed around the world, she said. We are looking forward to more placements and more importantly the work they are doing on proposals and providing opportunities for greater financing for these climate-challenged countries and to build their resilience particularly the Small Island Developing States and the challenges in the Least Developing countries, Ms Dee emphasised.

In his statement, High Commissioner Allan spoke of the British Governments support to the CFAH and the Hubs team positive start. We are also very keen as the Commonwealth to do what we can to support and are looking towards the Commonwealth Summit in London next April with the objective to renew and revitalise the Commonwealth and make it more relevant, he highlighted.

About The Hub

The Hub is the Commonwealths response to the ongoing and future threats of climate change to its member countries. It aims at helping small and vulnerable countries access international sources of climate finance to meet their priority adaptation and mitigation needs and realise their sustainable development goals.

The central Hub, based in the Republic of Mauritius, receives and manages requests for capacity and technical assistance to secure climate finance. It executes these through a network of long-term national and regional advisers. Linked to these advisers is access to: a Knowledge Network and a Technical Support Mechanism to enable peer-to-peer exchanges and consultancies.

All communities and people of Commonwealth member countries are potential beneficiaries of the support services of the Hub. The vulnerability of small states and least developed countries to the ongoing and future adverse impacts of climate change demands that these countries are given priority for support that enhances capacity and enables them to implement climate related projects.
Description

GIS  06 October, 2017: Since prisons form part and parcel of the community, the Mauritius Prison Service has the responsibility to bring its contribution to eradicate drug problem in the Mauritian society and to support and empower substance abusing detainees to live a drug free life.

This statement was made by the Minister of Health and Quality of Life, Dr Anwar Husnoo, yesterday at the inauguration of the Residential Rehabilitation Lotus Centre at Eastern High Security Prison, Melrose, in the presence of the Commissioner of Prisons, Mr Vinod Appadoo and other officials.

On this occasion, Minister Husnoo highlighted that the Lotus Programme is a Residential Rehabilitation and Day Care programme in prisons across the island which aims at helping detainees to be free from addiction, encouraging them to participate in rehabilitation programme to gain greater self-awareness to live a drug free life, and preparing their re-entry in the community with the involvement of stakeholders. It is a new era in the Prison Department where an integrated approach is adopted to treat substance abusing detainees based on medical and therapeutic community models combined with a multi-disciplinary concept, he added.

The Minister also underscored that Government has taken a firm stance and a comprehensive approach to tackling drug scourge. He emphasised that his Ministry is working in close collaboration with the Prisons Department to better handle detainees who use drugs.

The Lotus Programme, he added, will help the Prison Department achieve one of its goals, that is, make detainees drug-free and substance misuse-free so that they can have better opportunities when they leave the prisons and there is less chance of them reoffending on their release.

For his part, the Commissioner of Prisons highlighted that an Assessment Board will select detainees to be inducted in this six-month programme and will ensure monitoring and evaluation. He pointed out that Prisons Staff have been selected and trained to work in this unit which will accommodate 50 detainees.
Description

GIS  06 October, 2017: The Ministry of Health and Quality of Life will proceed with the construction of a new state-of-the-art cancer centre in Vacoas with the collaboration of the Hospital Service Consultancy Corporation (HSCC) Limited from India. Under mutual government agreement between India and Mauritius, the HSCC will assist the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life as consultant. The construction of the new cancer centre is expected to start early in 2018 and will be completed in about 15 months.

This announcement was made by the Minister of Health and Quality of Life, Dr Anwar Husnoo, yesterday during the launching ceremony of a Cancer Screening Caravan by the NGO Link to Life, in collaboration with CIM Group. The Minister of Social Integration and Economic Empowerment, Mr Alain Wong, the Minister of Youth and Sports, Mr Stephan Toussaint, the Minister of Gender Equality, Child Development and Family Welfare, Mrs Fazila Jeewa-Daureeawoo, and other personalities were also present on this occasion.

In his address, Minister Husnoo highlighted that October has been designated as the breast cancer awareness month and commended Link to Life and CIM Group for the laudable initiative of offering cancer screening to the population as it was the appropriate time to launch this caravan. This initiative, he underscored, is important as it will encourage people to come forward for screening as early diagnosis may not only save life, but also ease much pain and suffering. He also stated that cancer is the third cause of death in Mauritius, after diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

He pointed out that his Ministry welcomes programmes which supplement the work being done by his Ministry for timely screening and sensitisation of the population on cancer, its risk factors and measures that can be taken to prevent it. The caravan, equipped with ultrasound machines, will therefore add to the Ministrys efforts in raising awareness and providing necessary facilities to members of the public, especially in vulnerable areas, he emphasised.

Furthermore, he added that the screening campaign organised by Link to Life and CIM Group is proof of the commitment of NGOs and the private sector to deal with major health issues.
Description

GIS - 06 October, 2017: The first edition of the Mauritius Cinema Week on the theme East meets West, showcasing international films about freedom and independence, was launched yesterday at the Chateau de Labourdonnais, Mapou. Several celebrities from Hollywood, Bollywood, China and European Union film industries were present for the occasion, namely Emmanuelle Beart, Justin Chadwick, SS Rajamouli, Shobhu Yarlagadda, Guy Heeley and Amma Assante. The first edition of the Mauritius Cinema Week on the theme

This four-day event, spearheaded by the Board of Investment (BOI) Mauritius, is being organised in the context of the celebration of the 50 years of independence of the Republic of Mauritius, running up to the 50th anniversary on 12th March 2018.

The objectives of this cinematographic week are to promote business linkages and the development of the film industry in Mauritius, create a forum to encourage linkages between local and international film producers as well as stimulate, popularise and put the spot light on the nascent local film industry and market the incentives under the Film Rebate Scheme. This event also aims at positioning Mauritius as an attractive shooting location in the region.

In his opening remarks on the occasion, the Minister of Public Infrastructure and Land Transport, Mr Nandcoomar Bodha, emphasised the importance of the event which he said has laid the foundation for a new era for the country's film industry. According to him, the event serves as the ideal platform for Mauritius to inspire from the Western and Eastern experience as far as film industry is concerned. He further highlighted that this sharing of experience will be very beneficial to all Mauritians by building awareness and support to the emerging creative industries.

For his part, the Minister of Arts and Culture, Mr Prithvirajsing Roopun, termed the event as a premiere in Mauritius where Mauritians will have the chance to experience projection of films in the presence of renowned celebrities. He further pointed out that the audio visual industry is seen as the future key growth sector and that Government is sparing no efforts at promoting the industry through the BOI and the Mauritius Film Development Corporation to make of Mauritius a beacon of cultural creativity to the world.

He also underlined that during the Cinema Week , Mauritius w ill become the crossroads of Hollywood meeting Bollywood influencing the shaping of new trends in film art while giving a new impetus to the development of cinema on the island.

Mauritius Cinema Week

The Mauritius Cinema Week will be graced by an award ceremony on 07 October 2017 to honour high-profile persons of the cinema world for their outstanding contributions to the film industry.

As part of the Cinema Week, the Mauritian population will be given the opportunity to watch popular international films on freedom and independence on the big screen and give the audience the unique opportunity to watch in different cinema halls around the island significant classic films that have been shot in Mauritius.
Fernando Alonso thinks Renault can power McLaren to race wins in 2018.

The Spaniard's future is still unclear, but it is believed he is talking over only minor details regarding a new contract with the British team.

That is because McLaren has dumped Honda for 2018 in order to team up with Renault, who powered Red Bull to victory with Max Verstappen a week ago in Malaysia.

"It gives us hope that with this engine you can win races if you have a good chassis," Alonso said at Suzuka.

"But it also puts pressure on McLaren that they need to build a good chassis next year."

When asked if McLaren can withstand that pressure, he said: "McLaren should be afraid of nobody. This team has everything you need to build a good car."

If he stays at McLaren, Alonso will be joined again by Stoffel Vandoorne, who said on Thursday that he is "100 per cent" ready to lead the team.

Indeed, the Belgian outpaced Alonso all weekend in Malaysia.

"Stoffel simply did a better job than me," Alonso admits.

"He was one and a half tenths in front. Definitely it was not the best race for me in terms of luck and the position of the cars after the first corner.

"But Stoffel looked better in practice and qualifying and his race pace was higher," he added.

(GMM)
Detention Center

The inmate count at the Platte County Detention Facility Thursday was 49, with 43 from Platte County and six from out of county.

Police

Sept. 24

Time unavailable  At 3512 21st St., Warren Criswell, 18, 3512 21st St., was cited for criminal mischief, possession of marijuana-one ounce or less and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Sept. 28

Unknown location  At an unknown location in Columbus, an unknown vehicle struck a parked vehicle owned by Brenda Vermeire, Yankton, South Dakota, and left the scene.

Oct. 2

Time unavailable  At the intersection of 23rd Avenue and Eighth Street, Nephi Granillo, 34, 1404 Eighth St., was cited for driving under suspension.

2:19 a.m.  In the 3400 block of 23rd Street, Mayra Medel-Martinez, 33, Schuyler, was cited for speeding, 58 mph in a 35 mph zone, and no operators license.

12:02 p.m.  At the intersection of 26th Avenue and 17th Street, Caroline Massaro, 24, Atlanta, Georgia, was cited for failure to yield right of way.

4:21 p.m.  At 1655 41st Ave., a vehicle driven by Angeles Stringfellow, 59, Meridian, Mississippi, struck a residence owned by Ernie Cunningham, 1571 41st Ave.

4:39 p.m.  At the intersection of 26th Avenue and 13th Street, Lindsey Hajek, 23, Silver Creek, was cited for a traffic signal violation, no valid registration and no proof of insurance.

Oct. 3

1:48 p.m.  In the 1500 block of 33rd Avenue, traffic accident. Drivers were Andy Sueper, 41, 2530 E. 38th St., and Yuridia Rascon Duarte, 19, Genoa.

Oct. 4

4:32 p.m.  Burglary at 3512 21st St., under investigation.

Sheriff

Sept. 25

4:15 p.m.  At the intersection of 23rd Street and 10th Avenue, traffic accident. Drivers were Dacie Reeves, 18, 3812 21st St., and Brett Rash, 27, 3016 40th St.

Oct. 4

10:23 p.m.  Traffic violation at the intersection of U.S. Highway 30 and East 41st Avenue, Luke Ventris of Fremont cited for no valid registration and no proof of insurance.

Fire

Oct. 4

1:51 p.m. - In the 1800 block of Howard Boulevard, no patient transport.
Carlos Sainz says he is not yet thinking about 2019.

Actually, the Spaniard is set to switch from Toro Rosso to the Renault works team next year.

But Red Bull is retaining the option of pulling him back to the premier energy drink-owned team for 2019, with Dr Helmut Marko declaring that Daniel Ricciardo is "on the market".

"I guess he's talking about beyond (2018), but nothing's been said between us," said Ricciardo in Japan, when asked about the Marko comments.

"I don't think he has a plan beyond '18 yet."

So when asked if he is hoping to race for Red Bull or Renault in 2019, Spaniard Sainz said he is not thinking about it.

"Honestly, for now it doesn't matter," he said at Suzuka.

"Next year I will be at Renault and my top priority will be results for that team. I'm not thinking about 2019. What will be, will be.

"I will try to do the results that Renault wanted me for, and the results that meant Red Bull wanted to keep me. It's that simple," Sainz added.

"I will focus on doing the best in each particular race, because that is exactly what I have done from my debut."

(GMM)
Felipe Massa has questioned the wisdom of Williams' apparent decision to hold a 'shootout' test between Robert Kubica and Paul di Resta.

As it appears the duo are the frontrunners to replace Massa next year, the Brazilian veteran said reports they will go head-to-head in a 2014 car concern him.

"I don't even know if it's true," he said at Suzuka.

Massa said his bigger concern is that his future will not be decided before his home race in Brazil, as a return to F1 retirement could be on the cards.

"I think it would definitely be good for the team and also myself that we know what's going to happen before Brazil," Massa added.

As for the Kubica versus di Resta shootout, the 36-year-old said he is not overly interested.

"It doesn't change anything for me," said Massa.

"Williams know 100 per cent what I can give to the team. I think if you do a test with a car that is four years old, it's completely different. You cannot evaluate too much."

(GMM)
Purdue University Utilizing ClearOne to Enhance Distance Learning

Share Tweet

By Mandi Nowitz

Web Editor By Mandi NowitzWeb Editor

Purdue University (News - Alert) is upgrading its distance learning center with ClearOne technology. The Engineering Professional Education Program (EPE) started over 60 years ago with VHS tapes, moving to satellite and now, three classrooms will have ClearOne Beamforming Microphone Arrays and the ClearOne (News - Alert) CONVERGE Pro DSP platform.





The school moved to a new building but the move brought struggles. Students complained the audio quality was so poor, it was distracting which led to the search for higher quality, according to Joshua Brown, Multimedia Production Engineer at EPE. We worked with our existing systems integrator to make adjustments to the original microphone array we had installed in the new facility. But due to its limited configuration capability, we became increasingly disappointed with the audio quality we could achieve from its omni-directional microphones.

After impressive samples from the company, the choice became a ClearOne. Audio and visual quality is at the forefront for distance learning so the attendees feel they are in class, no matter how far away. The lectures are also put online for future use so quality is key.

Another issue that addressed was the echo in a large room. Once the new technology was installed, a very short window during the 2016 holiday break, students and faculty noticed crystal clear sound quality. The largest room seats 75 students while two rooms have two arrays, which detect the proper direction of sound.

This has helped the EPE where it is needed most: at a distance. The students are getting the sound quality that they deserve for the penultimate learning experience. This will ensure the distance learning program will be around for another 60 years and will serve as a prime example for other institutions looking towards distance learning.

What audio platform is in your classroom?

Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus. Article comments powered by Disqus

Edited by Maurice Nagle
BP is taking delivery of six new, state-of-the-art liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers to support its expanding global LNG portfolio, and to respond to growing demand for lower-carbon energy sources around the world.

BPs finance partners KMarin and ICBC Leasing are investing more than $1 billion in the tankers, which will join existing tankers in BP Shippings fleet in 2018 and 2019. The vessels will help service a 20-year liquefaction contract with the Freeport LNG facility in Texas, as well as other international LNG projects in BPs global portfolio.

Equipped with next-generation engine technology, the new ships are designed to be about 25% more fuel efficient than their predecessors. They also will be fitted with a reliquefaction plant, meaning evaporated natural gas in the cargo tanks can be returned to the tanks as LNG, allowing the ships to deliver more LNG to the market.

BP has a long-term contract for 230 Trillion BTUs per year of LNG capacity in the Freeport LNG facility. The Freeport LNG liquefaction facility is under construction, and the first train is expected to be operational by the end of 2018.

BP also participates in LNG projects in Australia, UAE, Indonesia, Trinidad and Angola. This portfolio includes a mix of long-term, mid-term and short-term supply to enable BP to best meet the ever-changing needs of its global portfolio of customers.

The 2017 BP Energy Outlook forecasts that global LNG trade will grow seven times faster than pipeline gas trade, such that by 2035 it accounts for around half of all globally traded gas. The newly expanded BP Shipping fleet will deliver LNG volumes to a range of BP customers around the world.
The CApure process recovers more than 99.9% of the biomethane present in the raw biogas. The process separates the CO 2 from the biogas by a process of chemical adsorption. The selective organic solvents used in this process are so efficient that the end product can contain more than 99% methane and is suitable for vehicle fuel or to be injected into the natural gas grid.

The technology group Wartsila has reached an agreement to acquire Puregas Solutions, a Sweden-based provider of turnkey biogas upgrading solutions. Puregas is a leading player in its field with subsidiary companies in Germany, Denmark, the UK, and the US. The company utilizes a unique CApure process to convert raw biogas to biomethane and renewable natural gas.





As the final product is so pure there is often no requirement to enrich with propane. Siloxane removal is extremely efficient with contents of less than 0.05 mg/Nm3, which is the lowest detectable level for todays instruments.

Unlike other technologies the CApure process is highly tolerant of changes to the raw gas composition resulting from changes in feedstocks.

The transaction is valued (enterprise value) at SEK 280 million (US$34.4 million) with an additional maximum sum of SEK 70 million (US$8.6 million) to be paid based on the performance of the business in the coming year.

The acquisition will provide Wartsila with added equipment and expertise in biogas upgrading, and will complement well the companys existing position in the biogas liquefaction market. In the larger context, Puregas Solutions offering is in close alignment with Wartsilas own gas-based technologies (marine and stationary power), and the merging of the two companies will expand Wartsilas overall reach in the gas value chain.





We are acquiring a company with technical know-how, good references, and a strong market position. It provides us, therefore, with a good platform to expand our offering and support our customers with complementary biogas upgrading and liquefaction solutions. Timo Koponen, Wartsila Vice President, Flow & Gas, Marine Solutions

The renewable natural gas market is closely aligned to Wartsilas core business in gas solutions, and is expected to achieve solid growth going forward. In 2016, Puregas Solutions turnover was SEK 200 million (US$25 million) and the profitability level was good. The company currently has about 40 employees.
(Updated 4:25 p.m.)

We spoke too soon. It CAN get weirder.

From District 5 Councilman Tony Wilkins' Facebook page:

"To the perpetrator that took all of the Rhino Times out of the racks last night all over Greensboro- theres a real good picture on video of you. And you did break the law. This is going to be interesting."

****

Just when you think things can't get weirder ...

A Greensboro mayoral candidate is accusing The Rhino Times' John Hammer of being part of the "liberal media."

The county Republican Party is questioning his bona fides as Greensboro's conservative voice.

And Mayor Nancy Vaughan is urging the local GOP chairman to take a page from the late President Ronald Reagan.

All because Hammer endorsed Vaughan for mayor and lambasted her conservative opponent, John Brown, for his repeated false statements about Vaughan and city government.

The story goes this-a-way:

On Thursday, The Rhino published its picks for the Greensboro City Council primary election, which is Tuesday. The weekly publication, owned by wealthy developer Roy Carroll, chose Vaughan for mayor over Brown and the Rev. Diane Moffett.

Many stalwarts in the Guilford County Republican Party had endorsed Brown, including county commissioners' Chairman Jeff Phillips, Commissioner Justin Conrad, and state House Reps. John Blust and Jon Hardister.

(Sidebar: The News & Record will endorse candidates after the primary.)

"This is an easy call," Hammer wrote in his endorsement. "Vaughan is far and away the only candidate in the race who voters should consider electing mayor."

Hammer noted her accomplishments  giving all Greensboro police officers cameras to wear, helping write the city's policy on airing footage from those cameras and keeping the tax rate flat (though, given the county's recent revaluation, many people are paying more in property taxes).

He also pointed out what he sees as Vaughan's weaknesses. She took digs at state legislators, which cost the city in state economic development dollars, he wrote. And she "struggled with how to handle protesters who insisted on disrupting meetings," he wrote, adding that lately "she has controlled the meetings much better."

But Hammer's scathing analysis of Brown's campaign is likely what raised the ire of the county GOP. Hammer correctly points out several fact errors Brown has repeated through the campaign, something noted by other local media:

That the city bought the News & Record building for $8.9 million. The property is for sale, but still owned by BH Media.

That the city is selling a parking lot next to the Farmers' Market on Yanceyville Street.

That the city was redirecting $5 million in bond money set aside for the "Old Battle Forest parking addition" to pay for two downtown parking decks. This is false on two counts: the bond didn't set aside money for a parking addition in Old Battle Forest, and the city isn't using bond money for the downtown decks.

Hammer also quotes Brown from a GOP candidates forum earlier this week, talking about confronting protesters from the dais if he were mayor: "You won't see me running in the back. I'll leap over (the dais) and take them out."

Hammer reminds readers that those protesters were women in pink hats and writes, "The image of the mayor coming over the dais to take out a group of women in pink hats is one I would rather not see on the national news."

On Thursday, Guilford County Republican Party Chairman Troy Lawson lashed out at Hammer, calling The Rhino "the single so-called conservative paper in the city."

Lawson's blog entry accuses Hammer of "personally attack(ing) a fellow Republican's character."

"We Republicans can no longer trust John Hammer," he wrote, "let alone trust him as a conservative voice for Greensboro."

Lawson's blog quotes Brown (who has dodged Scoop's attempts to interview him since the campaign got into full swing) with what half of Greensboro can testify is another fact error:

"Frankly, turning this city around is a lot more important than whatever the liberal media, such as The Rhino, may write about me."

(Sidebar: Scoop has always longed to use the phrase "noted liberal hippie beatnik John Hammer" in a sentence. Some dreams do come true!)

Anyway, Hammer told Scoop on Friday that The Rhino "stands by our story." And Scoop can attest to the accuracy of Hammer's fact-checking.

But our tale doesn't end there.

In that same blog entry, Lawson calls Vaughan a "full-time paid lobbyist" who never will "understand what makes business work."

He also calls her "Nancy Antoinette" for her "signature issue"  leading a "60 percent council pay raise and a vote to have Greensboro citizens foot her/their health care bill for life, even as they struggle to afford their own."

On Friday morning, Vaughan fired back with a missive of her own to Lawson.

"I have been told that you are a man of integrity," she wrote. "I believe in telling the truth. I assume that you do, too."

Vaughan then enumerates several of Lawson's fact errors, including:

That she's not a paid lobbyist, but rather the executive director of the nonprofit Guilford Green Foundation, which raises money for LGBTQ issues.

That she voted against the salary increase for council members. (Brown even links to an article noting her vote on his Facebook page.)

That the council never voted to receive free health care, only to have staffers investigate possible "health care plan coverage, contributions and costs" for council members.

Vaughan referenced a series of videos Brown made and posted online, which have since disappeared from the internet. Too bad, she wrote, because they show Brown to be a man "who demeans and belittles city employees, community leaders, elected officials and journalists" and "who has no regard for the truth as he plays fast and loose with the facts."

"Perhaps you should adopt Ronald Reagan's philosophy of 'trust but verify,'" she told Lawson.
Page Content

#SOTREG "State of the Union: the View of Regions and Cities", #CoRplenary , 10 October, 3:00pm

As the debate on the future of Europe continues, the CoR President's Address will contribute to setting the EU's agenda by giving cities and regions perspective on the state of the Union. It will look at the challenges for local and regional governments in the coming years in areas such as migration, jobs and growth, climate change and social and territorial cohesion.

The event will be broadcasted live on EbS, the CoR website and on Facebook.

#EURegionsWeek, 9-12 October

The opening session of the plenary will also kick off the 15th European Week of Regions and Cities, where more than 5,000 local authorities, EU regional policy experts and practitioners will descend in Brussels from 9 to 12 October. The 130 workshops will provide a unique opportunity to exchange views and experiences on three principal themes: Building resilient regions and cities  #LocalResilience; Regions and cities as change agents  #TakeAction; Sharing knowledge to deliver results  #SharingKnowledge. Journalists are offered a dedicated media programme. The opening session will be streamed live on the CoR's website.

#CohesionAlliance launch, 9 October, 2:30pm

The opening session of the #EURegionsWeek sees the official launch of the #CohesionAlliance: a coalition of those who believe that the EU's cohesion policy must remain a pillar of the EU's future. Created by the leading European associations of cities and regions and the European Committee of the Regions, it calls for the EU budget after 2020 to make cohesion policy stronger, more effective, visible and available for every EU region. From national, regional and local governments to SMEs, NGOs, schools, universities, cultural organisations, anyone who believes in EU cohesion policy is welcome to join. The website www.cohesionalliance.eu will be online from 9 October.

Cities and regions for climate. #COP23 is getting closer

One month ahead of UN climate talks to take place in Bonn, Commissioner Arias Canete will set out the EU's priorities during the CoRs' plenary with the aim to accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement. The CoR wants to see the full involvement of regions and cities in the new global climate governance and renewal of a transatlantic climate coalition between EU, US and Canadian cities. A central challenge - how to facilitate cities' and regions' access to climate finance  is the subject of an opinion drafted by Marco Dus (IT/PES), entitled Climate finance: an essential tool for the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Launch of the European Broadband platform , 12 October, 9:00am

On 12 October, President Lambertz and EU Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, Mariya Gabriel, will chair the inaugural meeting of the Broadband platform set up jointly by the European Commission and the CoR. The platform will establish a regular dialogue between experts and local and regional representatives, aiming to contribute to the deployment of faster, better and sustainable high-speed broadband in all EU regions.



Managing natural disasters in EU Regions , #IDDR2017, 12 October, 2:30pm

Reducing the impact of extreme weather  a problem exacerbated by climate change  and other catastrophes is the subject of a conference co-organised by the CoR and United Nations. President Lambertz, EU Commissioner for Regional Funds, Corina Cretu, and the United Nations Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction, Robert Glasser, will open the conference on the eve of the International Day for Disaster Reduction. On a similar theme, on 11 October the CoR will adopt an own-initiative opinion on "A European policy on the seismic requalification of buildings and infrastructure ", drafted by Vito Santarsiero (IT/PES).

Other opinions to be adopted:



Practical information :

Opening session (#CoRplenary & #EURegionsWeek):

Where: European Parliament Hemicycle, 60 rue Wiertz

When: Monday 9 October; 2.30pm-4.30pm;

The opening session will be streamed live on the CoR's website

European Week of Cities and Regions media programme

#CoRplenary Session:

Where: Charlemagne Building (European Commission), Rue de la Loi, Brussels

When: Tuesday 10 October, 3pm-9pm; Wednesday 11 October, 9am-1pm.
North Carolina Republicans appeared to fall just short in Tuesdays General Assembly elections of gaining large enough majorities to override Gov. Roy Coopers vetoes on their own. But their seat gains eroded further the Democrats ability to block bills on abortion and other highly contested legislation. The Senate GOP increased their seats to the number needed to have a veto-proof majority. But Speaker Tim Moore said that House Republicans were one seat shy of a similar threshold. Moore said Wednesday he's confident House Republicans can get help from Democrats in an override. But that could be more difficult on abortion restrictions, which Cooper and other Democrats campaigned against.
GREENSBORO  In case you were wondering, UNC-Greensboro had plenty of cake.

The university celebrated its 125th anniversary Thursday by throwing itself a birthday party. It parked the pep band at one end of the group of dorms known as the Quad and put food trucks at the other.

In between was a gigantic cake  125 feet of yellow and chocolate sheet cake covered in white icing and trimmed in the school colors of gold and navy blue.

On a sunny and warm afternoon, UNCG students and employees crammed the Quad for the Founders Day Festival. The food was free  they ran out of cookies with the blue-and-gold candy-coated chocolates baked in them  and so were the T-shirts tossed into the crowd.

Employees handed out blue and gold Mardi Gras beads as well as buttons that bore a photograph of the colleges first president, Charles Duncan McIver, wearing a party hat.

Students in twos and threes and sometimes fours ducked into a photo booth to commemorate the day with a photo that wasnt a selfie. Elsewhere, students stepped before a video camera to record birthday greetings.

Dolores Davis Paylor came from Durham for the festival. The retired school principal graduated from UNCG in 1979 and now serves on two university boards.

I wanted to represent the 70s, Davis Paylor said. I got the best education ever.

The afternoons featured attraction was the cake, made in the UNCG dining hall and trucked to the Quad the morning of the festival. Dining hall workers had it iced and ready in less than four hours. A tent kept the icing from melting.

On top of the cake, they put 80 pictures, printed in edible ink on a sugary paste, that showed the history of a university that has existed for parts of three different centuries. At one end was a picture of McIver, the first president. At the other was a photo of UNCGs current leader, Chancellor Frank Gilliam.

As students and employees came into the Quad, they walked the length of it, marveling at all that cake. Many took photos and video. As the festival wound down, there was a lot of cake left.

Of course, it wouldnt be a university event if there werent speakers. On Thursday, there were just two  Gilliam and UNC system President Margaret Spellings  and they were both brief.

Gilliam noted that a college that opened on Oct. 5, 1892, with 198 students  all women  has taken some giant steps since then. Today, he said, UNCG has 2,500 faculty and staff members, nearly 20,000 students and 122,000 living alumni.

I think we can say it has been a pretty good 125 years for UNCG, Gilliam said as the crowd cheered.

Spellings said she was happy to be in Greensboro to celebrate UNCGs first 125 years with many more to go. Then she led the crowd in singing Happy Birthday.

The band missed its cue, and Spellings had to pause about halfway through the song, but the band caught up and Spellings hit the right notes at the end:

Happy birthday, dear Greensboro.

Happy birthday to yoooooouuuu.

Happy 125th, UNCG.
GREENSBORO  A group of local white activists plan to give copies of a book about discrimination against black girls to members of Guilford Countys Board of Education at the groups meeting today.

The Antiracist White Folks serve as a resource to Black Lives Matter Gate City, the organization said in a news release.

According to the news release, Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools contains ideas the board could use to counteract systematic practices that pose problems for black girls.

The release also points out the timing is appropriate. It comes in the wake of Greensboro and High Point education and civil rights groups gathering in late September to condemn what they saw as the undermining of Superintendent Sharon Contreras by school board members.

At the time, some community members suggested they had better faith in Contreras to promote equity for black students than they did in the board.
You have permission to edit this article.

Edit Close
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

The state has selected the Stamford and Harford areas as locations included in its bid for Amazons planned second headquarters, according to a letter sent this week to officials of municipalities bidding on the project.

After careful analysis by our review team, which included representatives from several state agencies, we have decided to move forward with two sites (in the Stamford region and Hartford region) that we believe meet the very specific project criteria outlined in Amazons RFP and subsequent conversations, Catherine Smith, the states economic development commissioner, wrote in the letter, dated Oct. 2.

Department of Economic and Community Development officials reached their decision after receiving 17 site proposals for the new home of the e-commerce giant, a complex that would cover some 8 million square feet and house as many as 50,000 people. Bids are due to the Seattle-based Amazon by Oct. 19.

My office has heard from many residents who are excited about a potential Amazon second headquarters being in Stamford, Stamford Mayor David Martin said in a statement. This is a competitive process, and we are a David among Goliaths. But our city and the region are uniquely positioned to respond back to Amazon, as we have the qualities that Amazon requested in its proposal. Stamford and the states package has a bold vision that will be very attractive to Amazon.

Martin said he had met with other municipalities top elected officials to update them on Stamfords application and discuss how an Amazon headquarters would affect the region.

A message left for Hartfords economic development office was not immediately returned.

Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim said Friday if the states definition of the Stamford and Hartford regions did not include his city and New Haven that the latter two areas would still move forward with their proposal.

The greater Bridgeport and greater New Haven regions are working vigorously on a comprehensive application and very good proposal that will show this is the best place in the world for Amazon to consider its second headquarters, Ganim said.

Danbury officials had expressed interest in hosting the headquarters. In a video posted last month, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton asked Amazons Alexa virtual assistant the best place for Amazons new complex. Alexa responded that the choice would be Danbury.

A message left Friday for Boughtons office was not immediately returned.

Areas other than Stamford and Hartford could still support the states plan, Smith said in the letter.

Other assets of your town, for example, the people, education facilities and quality of life, need to be included as crucial ingredients for an overall successful submission from the state, Smith wrote. From that perspective, we hope we can count on your support.

In a speech last week in Stamford, Smith said the states application to Amazon would be a long shot, but still warranted an effort. She said Connecticut is on Amazons radar, with the e-commerce giant operating a distribution center in Windsor and planning to open another one in North Haven. Together, the two complexes would employ about 3,800.

We have gotten to know some of their real estate people pretty well, Smith said at the Crowne Plaza hotel. Weve had many conversations with them, as recently as two days ago, about this bid. We feel like we understand what theyre looking for.

Smith described the states review process of cities and towns applications.

The shortlist will be the ones we think have the greatest opportunity and meet the criteria, Smith said. And then well try to evaluate among those how many we think are appropriate to submit.

Despite public officials enthusiasm, Connecticut could not easily amass the office space needed to equal Amazons Seattle headquarters, which is spread across 33 buildings.

With an approximately 30 percent office vacancy rate, Stamford could offer about 5 million square feet of available space, according to Newmark Knight Franks most recent report.

The competition here is pretty steep  its pretty much every city in the whole United States, Smith said in the Stamford speech. Its been a very good experience for us to work as a state to see how we can find the right opportunities for Amazon to join our state.

pschott@scni.com; 203-964-2236; twitter: @paulschott
So long, ham and cheese. Photo: Tetra Images/Getty Images

Surprisingly, Brooklyn wasnt home to Americas first all-vegetarian public school  that honor goes to Queens elementary school PS 244  but Sunset Parks P.S. 1 wasnt far behind. Its Brooklyns first school to exclusively serve plant-based foods, and New Yorks third.

Making this endeavor even more progressive, the schools 1,250 students, in pre-K through fifth grade, are partly responsible for this decision. My students have expressed an interest in healthier eating, and the school gave them the option to choose this menu, says principal Arlene Ramos.

The citys also looking to bolster its farm-to-school programs and vegan menus. Foodie will be an obsolete concept by the time these kids grow up  itll just be a given. A generation of Brooklyn parents whove fed their children kale and named their children Apple must be pleased.
The Chongqing chicken wings are headed for Brooklyn. Photo: Liz Clayman

Danny Bowien has talked about opening more Mission Chinese Food locations since the first Manhattan restaurant opened. Now, five years after expanding the San Francisco restaurant to New York, he and co-pilot Angela Dimayuga will open a third branch  this one in Brooklyn, news that Bowien confirmed during a TimesTalks panel last night with Anthony Bourdain and Times writer Kim Severson. When Grub texted Bowien to ask if the Brooklyn location would differ in any way, the chef only wrote back, stay tuned.

An Instagram post from 8-Ball Community Inc., a nonprofit publisher that has worked with Bowien, announced the Bushwick location would open in March 2018 at 599 Johnson Avenue. (The 24,000-square-foot warehouse is also home to the long-delayed Elsewhere, from the owners of the shuttered Williamsburg music venue Glasslands.) It was promised to have a cafe, roof bar, performance spaces, and gallery, but the restaurant will have a separate lease and occupy the street front with the venue tucked behind. In any event, more information on the project will surely trickle out soon.




Haiti - FLASH : MINUSTAH, Jovenel Moise thanks the UN





Thursday, the President of the Republic, Jovenel Moise, accompanied by the Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Haiti, Sandra Honore, participated in the official closing ceremony of the activities of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), to the Camp General Jaborandy Tabarre, next to the Unibank park.



He also laid a wreath to pay tribute to the soldiers of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) fell in the performance of their duties.



The Head of State took the opportunity to thank the United Nations (UN) for its support to the Republic of Haiti during the 13 years of accompanying of national authorities through the MINUSTAH. He also welcomed the member countries which have contributed, through their material and human resources, to the accomplishment of this mission. Finally, the Head of State thanked Mrs Honore for her contribution to the political stabilization in Haiti and to the professionalization of the Haitian National Police.



"As stateswomen and statesmen responsible, we Haitians are challenged to draw from the reserves of patriotism and civicism the lessons of history to favor the 'tet ansanm' and the 'konbit national' with a view to strengthening democracy and consolidating social peace in our dear Haiti," said the Head of State, who also declared that he devoted all his energy to the stabilization of the country. "May the international cooperation in this new era continue to accompany the public life of Haiti directly through its republican institutions, in order to eliminate cholera and achieve the Objectives of Sustainable Development (ODD) by 2030".



For her part Sandra Honore declared "Haiti today can rejoice in the more stable and secure framework. There is still a long way to go before Haiti achieves the stability and sustainable development that everyone aspires to."



MINUSTAH will give way to the UN Mission for the Support of Justice in Haiti (MINUJUSTH), a new UN mission without a military component that will have 7 police units, comprising 980 people, distributed in the departments of the West, Artibonite, Nippes, North and Grand'Anse for an initial period of six months from 16 October 2017 to 15 April 2018; as well as 295 police officers outside units constituted in all the ten departments of the country in support of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) and 351 civilians based in Port-au-Prince of which half will be Haitians.



HL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - FLASH : Haiti imported more than $500M of cement in 6 months





A report prepared by the Dominican Central Bank indicates that for the first half of 2017 cement production in the Dominican Republic reached 2,612,099 metric tons.



From January to June of this year, the Dominican Republic's cement exports accounted for nearly 18% of production, exceeding US $654.8 million, more than US$ 58.6 million, in the first half of 2016.



Sales of cement exported to Haiti amounted to $ 543,108 million from January to July 2017



Note that with 7 cement production plans and investments of over $ 1.5 billion over 6 years the Dominican Republic, which is self-sufficient in cement, has a current installed capacity of 6.5 million tons annually.



By 2015, DR produced 5.2 million tonnes of cement (+ 3.2% compared to 2014). 30% of this production was exported.



The amount of local cement sales for the first half of 2017 in the Dominican Republic increased by 5.5% compared to the same period in 2016.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-20474-haiti-economy-the-cement-factory-project-of-300-million-in-gonaives-back-in-the-news.html



SL/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - USA : Michele J. Sison, US Ambassador-designate spoke before the Senate





Michele Jeanne Sison, appointed by President Donald Trump as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Haiti https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-21614-haiti-diplomacy-donald-trump-wants-to-appoint-an-ambassador-in-haiti.html , on Wednesday appeared before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States Senate, where she promised if she is confirmed to do her best to promote the partnership between the United States and Haiti, she also stressed that "Haitis long-term development will require the Government of Haiti to continue to institutionalize rule of law and uphold more transparent, accountable institutions [...]"



Statement of Michele J. Sison :



"Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, I am honored to appear before you as President Trumps nominee to serve as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Haiti. I am grateful for the confidence the President and Secretary Tillerson have placed in me.



For the past three decades, Ive been honored to represent our country as a career Foreign Service officer. Ive been privileged to lead our Embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, and Sri Lanka as U.S. Ambassador, and currently serve as U.S. Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations.



Mr. Chairman, if confirmed by the Senate, I pledge to work closely with the Congress to advance Americas interests in Haiti.



The U.S. and Haiti share a long history. We are close neighbors and are linked through a sizable Haitian-American diaspora. Over the years, Haiti has suffered periods of violence and political instability that slowed its economic growth.

I first served in Haiti in the early 1980s  my first tour with the State Department.



Then, as now, it was clear that Haiti needed to strengthen governmental institutions, good governance, and transparency if it was to prosper and lift its citizens from deep poverty. Today, after two years of political impasse, Haiti has a democratically-elected government in place; the United States and the international community now have a long-term partner with whom we can engage.



The United States has worked in partnership with a Haitian-led process to help the country build a more promising future. Thanks to broad bipartisan support in Congress, U.S. assistance has helped advance economic opportunities for Haitians; develop a comprehensive food security strategy; provide access to basic health care and water and sanitation services; and improve educational opportunities for youth.



This strong engagement helps encourage Haitians to live and work in Haiti, rather than embark on dangerous and illegal migration to the United States, and supports U.S. efforts to secure our borders.



Since 2010, U.S. assistance of $8 million in investment capital from the Haitian private sector and other sources has been mobilized to assist small-and medium-sized enterprises -- creating jobs for over 13,000 Haitians, about one-third of whom are women. In addition, almost 13,000 jobs have been created in northern Haitis industrial park. Some 70,000 farmers have increased incomes and the U.S. government has also introduced improved seeds, fertilizer, irrigation, and other new technologies to over 118,000 farmers. And the Haitian National Police is now a stronger, better-trained force. Many health indicators continue to improve, and through the U.S.



Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Agency for International Development, the United States has provided more than $100 million to prevent and respond to cholera.



But Haitis long-term development will require the Government of Haiti to continue to institutionalize rule of law and uphold more transparent, accountable institutions to improve the future of Haitian citizens and address the factors contributing to migration and trafficking in persons. U.S. rule of law assistance in Haiti supports the Haitian National Police in improving its capacity and growing its ranks to better serve and protect the Haitian people. The Haitian National Police has made significant progress with U.S. support, including increasing its community policing, counter-narcotics and anti-kidnapping capabilities. Our assistance is also aimed at strengthening judicial independence, reducing pre-trial detention levels, and supporting legislative reforms.



Recently, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to withdraw the military component of the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti, a mission that had been deployed since 2004. The UN vote reflected recognition of the progress Haiti had made towards stabilization and return to democratic order. A smaller, police-only UN successor mission will launch on October 16, 2017, and will focus on police development, strengthening the rule of law, and protecting human rights. If confirmed, I will work to ensure strong coordination between Haitian government and UN rule of law efforts and our U.S. programming in this crucial sector.



Finally, while continuing to take into account the challenges in Haiti, we must not lose sight of the factors working in Haitis favor, including its vibrant civil society and media. Of course, one of the most important of these factors is the continued support of Congressional committees and staff. What happens in Haiti is important to the United States; Haiti is a neighbor whose stability and success bolsters our own security and that of the region. A Haiti that takes full responsibility for its own prosperous and democratic future is certainly in our interest. If confirmed, I will do my best to promote the U.S.-Haitian partnership and lead our talented U.S. interagency team at Embassy Port-au-Prince.



I appreciate your consideration of my nomination, and I would be happy to answer any questions you may have for me.



Thank you."



HL/ HaitiLibre


















The Holei Sea Arch is near the end of Chain of Craters Road in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. (NPS)

Free Rein for Choppers Drives Park Enthusiasts to Court

by Daniel W Staples, Court House News, October 5, 2017

WASHINGTON (CN)  Fed up with chartered planes and helicopter tours shattering the tranquil settings of national parks, nature enthusiasts and neighboring residents brought a lawsuit to spur regulatory action.

The Park Service is supposed to protect parks for present and future generations but its jurisdiction in essence ends at the treetops, Jeff Ruch, executive director of the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said in a statement Wednesday, announcing a lawsuit with the Hawaii Island Coalition Malama Pono.

While Ruchs group represents hikers and birders, the Hawaii coalition is made up of homeowners whose properties are in the flight path of air tours of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

In some cases, as many as 80 flights a day roar over their homes, the complaint states. They have suffered the near-constant noise from helicopters, and have had their skies marred by the unattractive metal monsters.

Enumerating medical, economic and social consequences, the group says the noise affects their sleep, upsets their pets, scares away tourists who might otherwise rent their properties, and diminishes property values.

One member of the other plaintiff group, PEER, meanwhile says his soundscape recording in Haleakala National Park was interrupted by 4,5000 annual overflights which mask the natural ambience and negatively affect the behavior of wildlife.

Hawaiian parks are not the only ones at issue. PEER notes that its members have faced similar problems at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Muir Woods National Monument, Glacier National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park.

The problem, according to the complaint, is the failure by the Federal Aviation Administration to regulate the flights with the adoption of Air Tour Management Plans.

Our lawsuit is designed to curb damaging overflights and require the FAA to finally manage what is now basically a flying free-for-all, Ruch said in a statement.

The complaint accuses the FAA of failing to create plans for any park adoption of the National Park Air Tour Management Act of 2000.

Instead of developing management plans, the FAA allegedly issues interim authorizations year after year that essentially grandfather in all tour operators.

The challengers there have been an estimated 300,000 interim approvals to date, without any environmental review or meaningful national park input.

In order to conduct commercial air tours, an operator must apply to the FAA for operating authority. The requires that the FAA and the director of the National Park Service to establish an air-tour management plan for the park or any tribal land for which the flights are to take place. There is an exception for parks that have fewer than 50 flights a year.

Wednesdays lawsuit says there were 14,645 commercial air tours conducted over the Hawaii Volcanoes alone.

The law allows the FAA to establish conditions for the flights including maximum or minimum altitudes, time-of-day restrictions, restrictions for particular events, maximum number of flights per unit of time, intrusion on tribal lands and mitigation of noise, visual or other impacts.

Unless the FAA acts, air tour operators have no incentive to negotiate voluntary restrictions to minimize impacts on parks, Ruch said. Our lawsuit is meant to jumpstart a planning process that should have begun a generation ago.

Ruch said the lawsuit could be a template for other parks not part of the complaint. There are 26 parks with more than 50 overflights a year, according to the complaint.

The FAA did not respond to a request for comment.
ACLU Fights Federal Limits on Access to Abortion Drug

by Nicholas Fillmore, CourtHouse News October 5, 2017

HONOLULU (CN)  The American Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii filed a federal lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration over federal restrictions that limit access to an abortion pill.

The abortion pill Mifeprex, also called RU-486, currently cannot be obtained at a retail pharmacy. Instead, a prescription for the pill must be obtained from a clinic, medical office or hospital that has registered with the manufacturer.

In addition, a woman seeking the pill must sign a patient agreement attesting that she has received counseling on the risks associated with Mifeprex, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by ACLU attorneys.

The complaint, filed in Hawaii federal court on behalf of a Kauai doctor and several health care providers, claims the FDA subjects Mifeprex to a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS, process that burdens medical providers and limits patient access to the pill.

The FDA imposes restrictions on access to the drug despite its own finding in March 2016 that serious adverse events associated with Mifeprex are exceedingly rare, the lawsuit states.

The ACLU says the REMS process violates the U.S. Supreme Courts 2016 decision in Whole Womans Health v. Hellerstedt, which found that health care regulations must serve patient health and cannot limit access to abortion without a valid medical reason.

The unique and harmful restrictions the FDA imposes on where and how a patient may receive Mifeprex deny women meaningful access to this safe and effective treatment with no medical justification, the complaint says.

Risks associated with Mifeprex are lower than those of common medications such as Viagra or blood thinners, according to the ACLU, and the risk of fatality is 14 times greater for a woman who carries a pregnancy to term than for a woman who uses Mifeprex.

Since the drugs approval in 2000, about 3 million women in the United States have used Mifeprex to end an early pregnancy, the complaint states.

Lead plaintiff Dr. Graham Chelius, chief medical officer with the Hawaii Health Systems Corporation on the island of Kauai, laments that he is unable to comply with medically unnecessary requirements. Specifically, he said he is unable to stock the abortion pill on site because of opposition to abortion by co-workers.

According to the ACLUs lawsuit, because of the Mifeprex REMS, the process for stocking the drug can be delayed or derailed altogether by a single individual with influence over a health care facilitys procurement procedure.

Because I cant stock this medication, my patients are forced to fly to a different island, 150 miles away, just to get a pill or any other kind of abortion care, Chelius said in a blog post, making this trip is a real challenge for my patients, many of whom dont have a lot of money.

Julia Kaye, staff attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, said in a statement that the abortion pill is safe, effective, and legal.

So why is the FDA keeping it locked away from women who need it? she said. The FDAs unique restrictions on medication abortion are not grounded in science  this is just abortion stigma made law.

The FDA has said it does not comment on pending litigation and confirmed this week that its position on Mifeprex has not changed since the agency issued the new guidelines last year, according to reports.

Chelius and his co-plaintiffs are represented by lead attorney Mateo Caballero with the ACLU of Hawaii.

---30---

CT: ACLU files lawsuit to challenge FDA regulation that ban sales of abortion pills in pharmacies

AP: Arkansas and Hawaii Medication Abortion Cases Present New Challenges
Just 45% of Australians suffering from mental health issues like anxiety, depression and substance abuse ever seek help, says the Australian Psychological Society (APS).



The APS seeks to increase that rate by urging Australians to Believe In Change  this years theme for Mental Health Week that will run from 8-14 October.



We need to encourage people to seek professional help and an important part of that is demonstrating how those conditions can be managed and overcome, said Executive Director Professor Lyn Littlefield.



According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, one in five Australians experience mental illness each year. This represents more than 3.2 million Australians aged 16-85. Per age group, mental illness is most common among those aged 18-24, 26% of whom have experienced issues.



Depression is the leading cause of disability globally, according to the World Health Organisation.



As part of the campaign, prominent Australians such as former Olympic swimmer Libby Trickett will talk about their experiences in battling mental health issues, and how psychologists have helped them survive and even thrive.



It is common to feel stuck but psychologists can help you make change. The first step is to believe in change, Trickett said.



Its great that more and more we can have this conversation and be open about mental health issues, she added. Throughout my life and career I have sought assistance from psychologists to help me achieve peak performance and also deal with challenges.




former CEO of Equifax, a credit-scoring company that recently compromised personal information on as many as 145 million Americans, said a single IT technician was at fault for the data breach.Speaking before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, former chief executive Richard Smith said: "The human error was that the individual who's responsible for communicating in the organization to apply the patch, did not."The breach was caused by a vulnerability in Apaches Struts system, Smith said, something the software provider moved to eliminate by supplying a patch. The IT technician, whom he identified in the hearing, failed to install the patch, Engadget reported.Smith, who resigned last week, said the normal procedure for new patches was that a technician would install it and then scan the system for remaining vulnerabilities. Neither step was done.As a result, hackers got their hands on names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses, some driver's license numbers, and about 209,000 credit card numbers, Wired reported.Moreover, 182,000 dispute documents  complaint submissions that include personal identifying data  were also compromised.According to Engadget, the Department of Homeland Security's Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) sent Equifax a notice on 8 March about the vulnerability in certain versions of Apache Struts.Equifax sent out an internal mass-email, which should have required its internal IT team to fix the vulnerability within 48 hours.The fix wasnt done. Neither did an automatic scan a week later indicate that the Struts version Equifax was using had the vulnerability.According to Equifax, the hacker who exploited the weakness likely carried out the attack between May 13 and July 30. What tipped the company off to the breach was suspicious traffic in and out of its system on July 29.Lawmakers at the hearing were not appeased by Smiths explanations."You can't change your Social Security number and I can't change my mother's maiden name," Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) said in the hearing, according to The Los Angeles Times. "This data is out there forever."How does this happen when so much is at stake?" Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) told Smith."I don't think we can pass a law that fixes stupid."
YLE on Thursday reported that the party has recorded an increase of 1.7 percentage points in voter support  to 17.3 per cent  since early September. The trend has been the opposite for the Green League, which has seen its support fall by 1.2 percentage points after being stripped of its status as the most popular opposition party by the Social Democrats.

The Social Democratic Party has reinforced its status as the most supported opposition party in the Finnish Parliament, according to a poll commissioned by YLE .

The Green League can thereby all but bury its hopes of becoming the largest political party in the parliamentary elections of 2019, according to the public broadcaster.

The poll results are also likely to create tensions between the three ruling parliamentary groups.

The National Coalition remains clearly the most supported ruling party after recording a 0.9 percentage point up-tick in support to 21.7 per cent. The Centre Party, in contrast, saw its share of the hypothetical vote drop by 0.4 percentage points to 15.8 per cent, whereas the Blue Parliamentary Group remains a minority choice despite recording a 0.1 percentage point bump in support to 1.5 per cent.

The Centres popularity is at its lowest since the start of the tenure of [Juha] Sipila, and it has gone back to where it started, Jari Pajunen, the chief executive of Taloustutkimus, commented to YLE.

Taloustutkimus interviewed a total of 1,970 people for the survey between 11 September and 3 October.

The Christian Democrats and the Swedish Peoples Party were the only other parties to record a notable change in support, the former gaining 0.6 percentage points and the latter losing 1.0 percentage points since the previous poll by YLE.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT

Photo: Markku Ulander  Lehtikuva

Source: Uusi Suomi
Google Maps

Via L'Express de Madagascar, an October 5 report: Epidemic - Plague victims increase. The Google translation"

The lifeless body of a pulmonary plague suspect was buried in Anjanahary yesterday. Eight patients were admitted to the hospital the same day, in Antananarivo.

Plague is far from being mastered. The eighth plague suspect in Antananarivo-city was buried at the Anjanahary mass grave in the late afternoon yesterday. Coming from Manandriana, in the Avaradrano district, he died on the way to get treatment at a large hospital in Antananarivo on the same day.

"Clinical signs have led us to say that it is a pulmonary plague. He would have had fever, coughs with blood-streaked sputum, chest pain. The rapid diagnostic test (TDR) confirmed this," says a reliable source.

Neither this case, nor that of the adolescent girl who died in Ilafy and buried in Ambohimailala on Tuesday, is yet indicated in the latest statistics of the Ministry of Public Health, posted yesterday at 11.30 am. district of Atsimondrano, and Tsiroanomandidy, between 3 and 4 October, were raised.

In addition, there was an increase in the number of patients admitted to the health facilities of Antananarivo-city yesterday. Six at the Soavinandriana hospital center and two at the anti-plague hospital in Ambohimiandra (CHAPA).

Between 3 and 4 October, thirty-five suspected live cases were recorded in six districts, fifteen in Antananarivo-city, thirteen in Toamasina I, three in Ambohidratrimo, according to the data of the ministry concerned.

Propagation

The Ministry of Public Health welcomes the increase in the number of patients admitted to hospitals. "This means that the population begins to know the precautions to take in case of suspicious symptoms. Treated in time, they will be cured," says a source. Others interpret it as the spread of the bacteria in the capital.

That being said, all must be vigilant. In case of fever, chills, body and head pain, weakness, vomiting and nausea, burning and painful lymph nodes, shortness of breath and coughing, traces of blood on sputum, a doctor is required.

It is only now that the government, headed by Prime Minister Olivier Mahafaly Solonandrasana, seems to be aware of the magnitude of the phenomenon, multiplying the activities of fighting the disease, whereas the first case was recorded in the month of 'August.

These activities concern, among other things, the establishment of a sanitary barrage in the parking areas of the national zone, the requirement for mandatory identity declarations in these parking lots, as it is via public transport that the epidemic of pulmonary plague has spread to Toamasina and Antananarivo.

There is, moreover, a deconcentration of care in all health facilities. Yesterday, a restricted government council, together with the technical and financial partners on the plague epidemic, held at the State Palace in Mahazoarivo. And in the same day, a workshop to update and validate the plan to respond to the plague epidemic took place at the Hotel Colbert. A more precise strategy is needed to limit the number of victims.

Twenty Districts Affected by Plague

Twenty districts are now affected by the plague epidemic. Most are plague areas, but the disease has also spread to Mahajanga, Toliara, and Toamasina, non-plague areas, according to the Ministry of Public Health. In these twenty districts, the Ministry counted one hundred and ninety-four cases. Sixty-eight of them occurred in Antananarivo and forty in Toamasina. There are still six months before the end of the plague season.

According to Wikipedia, the urban area of Antananarivo had a population of three million in 2012. Pneumonic plague in a big city is like Ebola in a big city: better to prevent it than suppress it, and prevention now seems out of the question.
A couple with an investment pot in the US worth more than 144,000, plus a rental holiday home in Wexford, have been given another chance of saving their 550,000 Dublin residence from being repossessed by a bank.

Judge Jacqueline Linnane heard in the Circuit Civil Court that John and Bernadette Lyons had been forced to rent out a room in their home in Clonard Lawn, Sandyford, Dublin 18, for 1,500-a-month to help meet their 3,500-a-month mortgage repayments.

Joynt & Crawford, solicitors for AIB Mortgage Bank, told the court the couple were not keeping up the repayments and currently owed more than 144,000 in arrears alone.

Their overall debt to the bank stood at more than 440,000.

Burden

The bank's solicitor said the couple had been saving money from the 1,500-a-month rent and it was because of this that they were in a position to tell the court they would pay off a lump sum of 10,000 within the next fortnight.

Mr and Mrs Lyons, who represented themselves in court, said that in January they would be in a position to pay off all of the arrears from the US fund.

Mr Lyons said he was working in London and, by January 2018, would fulfil a three-year residential requirement there that would allow him to draw down his US fund without having to pay a 50pc tax burden to Irish Revenue.

He said he was prepared to pay off all of the arrears in January and, in the meantime, he and his wife would make a 10,000 lump sum payment as a gesture of good faith.

Judge Linnane said the mortgage originated from 2006, when the couple drew down a loan for 465,000. Two years later, they had restructured it into two separate loans.

Their difficulties stretched back to 2008, so their problems had not just come out of the blue.

The judge said it was obvious the Lyons had been engaging with the bank and had made some repayments, unlike many others, who came to court not having paid a penny off their mortgage for years.

When the couple told the judge their house was worth about 550,000, the bank's solicitor said their outstanding debt totalled 443,138.

She adjourned the bank's application to repossess the Sandyford property until mid-February.
There is to be no upper limit on the height of new buildings in Dublin and other main cities.

The move is designed to increase the number of new homes in Ireland.

In a radical re-think of the country's planning laws, the Government will also remove the need to provide parking spaces in new housing developments within 1km of a Dart, Luas, urban rail link or bus corridor.

The changes, which will be rolled-out before the end of the year, are aimed at combating urban sprawl and reducing the cost of building new homes.

Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy will today also outline plans to develop "shared accommodation" for younger workers.

Cost

He will tell the autumn conference of the Irish Planning Institute that new measures are also needed to encourage build-to-rent projects.

While the number of new homes is increasing, builders are reluctant to develop apartment blocks because parking spaces can add up to 100,000 to the cost of a home.

The most contentious element of the plan will be a review of urban building heights. This will lift the cap on maximum heights to allow residential development to occur "where it makes sense".

Sources said high-density development had failed to occur in new areas earmarked for development, such as the Docklands, due to restrictive rules.

Planning regulations will be introduced setting out the context in which high-rise will be allowed, but the minister can expect a backlash from councillors, who set maximum heights as part of the development plan process, and who will state the case that their powers are being eroded.

"There's an arbitrary six-storey cap in Dublin City Council," said one source said.

"We're not saying you can put high-rise on Merrion Square, but it could be appropriate in the Docklands.

Sprawl

"There will be guidelines, and everything will have to go through the planning process. Right now, it seems heights are arbitrary."

The shared accommodation model currently applies to student-only residences, but is available in London and Manchester.

An en-suite bedroom with kitchenette is typically provided, with tenants - typically young workers - sharing kitchens, living spaces and laundry rooms.

The changes will be enacted when the National Planning Framework is finalised by year-end.

The plan says that 50pc of the one million expected increase in population by 2040 will be consolidated in the cities, to prevent further urban sprawl.
A venemous spider that can inflict a painful bite is rapidly taking over Ireland, say researchers.

The false widow spider - which closely resembles the deadly black widow spider - is increasingly invading our homes to keep warm and dry.

Dublin, Cork and Wexford have the highest number of the fast-breeding spider, said researchers at NUI Galway.

Fatal

"While it is unlikely that a bite will be fatal, we do need to consider bites from false widows as a potential health risk," said Dr Michel Dugon, lead author of the study.

Spider numbers are on the increase not just in Ireland, but in the UK, mainland Europe and the US.

"We hope that our study will provide healthcare professionals with the information required to accurately diagnose and report bites associated with the false widow," said Dr Dugon.

The spider - which is native to the Canary Islands and Madeira - arrived in the UK about 100 years ago and has been steadily invading Ireland since the 1990s.

It lives for five to seven years, unlike most spider and bug species in Ireland that live for a maximum of one year.

The first true case of a false widow spider bite was identified in the UK in the 1990s.

Other cases have since been reported in Ireland and the UK.

Bites from a false widow spider are not fatal but lead to a large swelling within three minutes of being bitten.

This can be followed by the formation of a dry necrotic wound when the swelling subsides.

Antidote

The venom from a false widow spider is a lot more powerful than the researchers expected, producing about one tenth of a millionth of a litre of venom.

The NUI Galway study is the most intensive research carried out on the widow spider, while its laboratory is the only one in the world trying to find an antidote to the widow spider venom.

The spider is nocturnal and will normally spend the day sleeping inside a crack or hole close to its web.
All right, I know. I was extremely skeptical too. And Im still not completely sold. But I have to admit that the evidence is mounting. There just may be a so-called Planet Nine lingering in the dark, icy graveyard that is our outer solar system. And if its there, its subtle influence could help explain some of our solar systems most mysterious characteristics  like the highly elliptical orbits of comets and asteroids, or the slight tilt of the plane of our solar system with respect to the Sun.

According to NASA, Planet Nine (or Planet X) is an informal nickname for a predicted but undiscovered world that may exist in the outer solar system. The hypothesized world, estimated to be around 10 times the mass of Earth, is expected to reside in the depths of our outer solar system, nearly 20 times farther away than our eighth planet, Neptune. Based on that distance, it would take Planet Nine 10,000 to 20,000 years to orbit the Sun just once.

Unfortunately, all of the evidence right now for Planet Nine is circumstantial. That is, the existence of the planet would explain some unanswered questions we have about our solar system, but it has yet to be directly detected. However, when you take all of the evidence together, its almost harder to imagine a solar system without Planet Nine rather than with one.

What is the evidence?

The first pieces of evidence for Planet Nine came from a January 2016 paper published in the Astronomical Journal by planetary astrophysicist Konstantin Batygin and astronomer Mike Brown, both from Caltech.

There are at least six known objects in the Kuiper Belt a circumstellar region of icy bodies that stretches from Neptune to interstellar space  that all have elliptical orbits aiming in the same direction.

The objects are not only pointing the same way, but they are also all tilted 30 degrees below the solar systems orbital plane. This may not seem like much, but the researchers calculated that the odds of six Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) randomly traveling in a cluster this tight to be one in a thousand.

Computer simulations of the solar system that include Planet Nine show that some KBOs should have orbits perpendicular to the solar plane the flat disk around the Sun in which all the planets orbits lie. Brown found that there are five examples of these eccentric KBOs already known to astronomers.

Six months after they published their first paper, Batygins graduate student, Elizabeth Bailey, led a study investigating a longstanding mystery of our solar system: Why is the solar systems orbital plane misaligned with the Suns equator by about 6 degrees?

By including Planet Nine in analytical models, the team showed that Planet Nine would naturally influence the orbits of the other planets. Over the 4.5- billion-year history of the solar system, this effect would be enough to cause the entire solar plane to wobble like a top, explaining the misalignment.

Finally, Planet Nines orbital influence would also explain the existence of distant KBOs that orbit in a direction opposite that of everything else in the solar system. No other model can explain the weirdness of these high-inclination orbits, Batygin said. These things have been twisted out of the solar system plane with help from Planet Nine and then scattered inward by Neptune.

So, would Planet Nine pose a threat to Earth?

No.

Lets be crystal clear on that. There is absolutely zero chance that Planet Nine (if it exists) has the potential to bust out of its orbit and come barreling through the inner solar system, wreaking havoc on Earth. The only thing Planet Nine can do is nudge a few comets or asteroids into more elliptical orbits, sending them through the inner solar system. Although these objects do pose a potential threat to Earth, they are not a new danger. Just ask the dinosaurs.

What do other astronomers think?

Although not everyone is sold on Planet Nine, there is no question that the theory has gained traction over the last few years. Yet, there are still many doubters out there who hope to find less fanciful explanations for the evidence. Cory Shankman, a Ph.D. student from the University of Victory, is one such doubter.

Shankman and his team recently analyzed the data from a sky-mapping project called the Outer Solar System Origins Survey, which discovered more than 830 trans-Neptunian objects  or minor planets beyond Neptune that range from about 30 miles (50 km) to over 600 miles (1000 km) across. Shankman suggests that a random distribution of these trans-Neptunian objects may account for the supposed evidence of Planet Nine.

What next?

Currently, Batygins team is searching the skies for Planet Nine with the Subaru Telescope at the Mauna Kea Observatory in Hawaii, one of the best tools for wide-field searches for dim and distant objects. If discovered, Planet Nine would not only replace the holes in our hearts left by Plutos demotion, but it would also show that our solar system contains a super-Earth, which exoplanetary surveys have proven are extremely common in our universe.

But most importantly, the discovery of Planet Nine would put to rest some major questions astronomers have about our solar system. There are now five different lines of observational evidence pointing to the existence of Planet Nine, Batygin said. If you were to remove this explanation and imagine Planet Nine does not exist, then you generate more problems than you solve. All of a sudden, you have five different puzzles, and you must come up with five different theories to explain them.

If you would like to help find Planet Nine, I strongly suggest you check out Backyard Worlds: Planet 9, a citizen science project started by Jacqueline Faherty and Marc Kuchner.
Boiling Springs High School students are mourning the loss of one of their own following a suicide this week.

District administrators activated a response plan by deploying professionals to the high school Wednesday to provide support to the student body, said Bruce Deveney, acting superintendent of South Middleton School District.

There were a number of local pastors as well as Teenline representatives and our own counselors and psychologists, he said. We had some available [Thursday] though not as many. The need was not as great.

Early Thursday morning a group of students set up an impromptu memorial at the students locker in the hallway, Deveney said. The memorial included the locker and the nearby floor space and involved mementos, flowers and handwritten notes.

After consultation with counselors and the school psychologist, staff removed the items from the memorial after the group of students went to their first period class, Deveney said. The removal of the memorial took place between 7:30 and 9:05 a.m. Thursday.

Items from the memorial were bagged for transport to the high school office where the items were then stacked on an audio-visual utility cart, the superintendent said. The family of the dead student was called and they were given the opportunity to claim the memorial items.

A representative from the family arrived at the high school later in the day to pick up the items, Deveney said. He said some students brought to the counselors concerns they had about the removal of the memorial. Deveney would not elaborate on what those concerns were.

Any student death is a tragedy, he said Thursday afternoon. We are really focusing on helping our students. We want to maintain confidentiality and to be sensitive of the family and the [students] friends.

The memorial did not violate any school policy that Deveney is aware of. When asked if the placement of the items presented a safety issues, he repeated that the memorial was removed on the advice of experts.

Three or four high school students were signed out by their parents later in the school day Thursday due to the whole situation, Deveney said. I cant say its because of the memorial or what led to the memorial.

There are 670 students in grades 9-12 enrolled at Boiling Springs High School.
An agreement in principle has been reached between Carlisle borough and its former public works director.

Michael Keiser had filed a lawsuit against the borough in 2015 alleging that he had been fired only hours after registering an internal age discrimination complaint against Borough Manager Matt Candland.

Keiser was 61 at the time he filed the suit.

A letter from Keisers attorney, Solomon Z. Krevsky of Clark & Krevsky LLC, filed with the United States Middle District Court of Pennsylvania on Sept. 28 reads that the parties have reached an agreement in principle to settle this case.

The letter asked the court to issue an order dismissing the action without costs and without prejudice to the right, if good cause is shown, to reopen the suit within 60 days if the settlement is not finalized.

An order stating such was issued the same day.

Krevsky declined to comment further on the agreement.

Brian P. Gabriel, counsel for the borough, also declined to comment or provide information.

The agreement in principle was reached less than two weeks before the case was scheduled for a jury trial on Oct. 10. Court documents show the trial would have included witness testimony from a number of current and former borough staff members and elected officials.

Court documents also show the parties had informed the court of their intent to settle on March 9, but a June 13 status update filed with the court indicated the parties had been unable to reach an agreement following a May 15 meeting.

Keiser, who ran the Public Works Department from Nov. 16, 1987, to May 1, 2014, claims in the suit that Candland held him to heightened and unreasonable scrutiny as compared to younger colleagues, and fired him as retaliation after complaints were lodged against Candland.

The borough has refuted these claims in legal filings, saying Keiser was terminated because of poor job performance.

Keiser sought back pay and front pay if he is unable to be reinstated, damages, attorneys fees, prejudgment interest and orders from the court relating to what he describes as age discriminatory employment practices by the borough.
Each legislative session thousands of bills and amendments are introduced in the Pennsylvania Legislature. Only a fraction become law, and an even smaller portion receive wide media coverage.

These bills impact the lives of people living in Pennsylvania every day.

Each week The Sentinel will highlight one bill that has not received widespread attention.

About the bill

Its a Jeep thing.  You wouldnt understand, or so the saying goes.

House Bill 976, introduced by Rep. Kurt Masser, R-Columbia County, certainly is very much a Jeep thing, specifically a Jeep door thing.

Massers bill would allow drivers of vehicles manufactured with removable doors, like Jeep Wranglers, to operate their vehicle on state highways without doors.

Pennsylvania law currently prohibits vehicles to be driven on roadways when any item of vehicle equipment which was required to be installed at the time of manufacture has been removed or rendered inoperative.

Most Jeep Wranglers come equipped with this feature, however the manufacturer includes statement saying not to operate the vehicle on public roads without doors because drivers will lose the protection that they can provide, according a co-sponsorship letter written by Masser.

The manufacturers statement also says the option to remove the doors is for off-road driving only.

Masser, however, said he disagrees with this assertion.

I feel that if it is indeed safe to remove doors off-road then it should be safe to do the same on highways, Masser wrote in a co-sponsorship letter.

While allowing the vehicle to be driven without doors, Massers bill would require drivers to notify their insurance company that they planned to do so.

An acknowledgment of notification from the insurance company would be required to be carried in the vehicle when operated without doors.
HARRISBURG  Members of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board say they haven't discussed the governor's proposal to borrow money for the state budget but will cooperate with his office to explore it.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf said Wednesday he's tired of waiting for Republican lawmakers to produce a plan to wipe out a projected $2.2 billion deficit. He says he'll look to borrow against profits from the state-controlled liquor system to help patch it.

Wolf announced the move after efforts in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives to impose a new tax on Marcellus Shale natural gas production and nearly double the state hotel tax rate all but collapsed.

Republican House Majority Leader Dave Reed says Wolf is covering for Democrats' "inability to get anything done."

The House and Senate adjourned Wednesday without plans to return before Oct. 16, leaving $600 million in higher education aid in limbo.
A salute to the righteous...

"They risked their lives to save Jews"... according to The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous, "Now they need our help."

This is just one example of a righteous family:

"Presov, Slovakia, Fall 1941, Elena Maradikova lived with her brother and parents in Presov. Elana's father, Ondrej, worked as a detective for the Presov police. Prior to the outbreak of WWII, two young Jewish men, Martin Weil and Jan Kohl, had rented a room from the Maradik family. When the war broke out, life for the Jews of Presov became increasingly difficult. In March 1942, the Germans ordered the deportation of Jewish women and girls. With the approval of the family, Martin and Jan hid a Jewish girl in the Maradik home. Unfortunately, one day when the girl left the house to go to the post office in order to contract her parents, she was captured and deported. Over time, the deportations intensified. Because of his position with the police, Ondrej could warn Martin and Jan about German plans to round up Jews. He also erased Martin and Jans names from the database of local residents gathered by the police.

The entire Maradik family participated in sheltering and protecting the two Jewish men. Due to several close calls, Elena, her brother, and their parents engaged in searching for a new place where Martin and Jan could hide. When a new hiding place was found, the family provided the men with food and other basic needs. Ondrej obtained false identity documents for Martin and Jan. The men decided to leave the Maradik family as they were concerned for both their own safety and the safety of Elena and her family. Some of the neighbors had begun to ask questions about the men. Martin and Jan moved to an area controlled by anti-German partisans. Both men survived the war by constantly moving.

After the war, Martin and Jan came back to Presov. Upon their return, they learned that Ondrej had been arrested by the Germans and was deported to Bergen-Belsen. He did not survive and a few years later, Elena's mother passed away. Elena Maradikova and her family performed true acts of heroism. The family was recognized by Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust Authority, as Righteous Among the Nations in 1992. The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (JFR) was established to repay a debt of gratitude to Christian rescuers, like Elena and her family, who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust. The JFR sends monthly financial support to some 400 aged and needy rescuers in 20 countries to help them pay for food, housing and medical expenses. It may be too late to thank the thousands of non-Jews tortured and murdered by the Germans and their collaborators because they helped Jews, but there are many who are still alive.

(Since its founding, the JFR has provided more than $38 million to aged and needy rescuers."

How can we get involved? Phone 212-727-9955 or go online to http://www.JFR.ORG. Remember, "Whoever saves a single life is as if one saves the entire world" from the Talmud.)

Remembering Jewish history...

I'm referring to Jerry Leiber, Jewish American songwriter and record producer best known as the lyricist for the duo Leiber and Stoller (with Mike Stoller). Their most famous songs include "Hound Dog," "Jailhouse Rock," Kansas City", "Stand By Me" and "On Broadway." The duo won Grammy awards for "Is That All There Is?" in 1969, and the cast album of "Smokey Joe's Cafe," a 1995 musical revue.

Jerry Leiber died at age 78 in August 2011.

(His music lives on.)

And on the subject of music...

MUSIC FEST 2017, in memory of Inez "Teddy" and Myron Snyder, will take place on Sunday, Oct.15th at Lake Brantley High School, Altamonte Springs, beginning at 1:30 p.m.

This is a Jewish Pavilion event! For more information about this special day, phone the Jewish Pavilion at 407-678-9363, email to info@jewishpavilion.org or go online to http://www.jewishpavilion.org.

The all-star musical lineup includes CAROL STEIN, MICHAEL and BEN KRAMER, BARBARA JONES, HOWARD HERMAN, Cantor JACQUELINE RAWISZER, PENNY D'AGOSTINO, WALTER "SKY" GOLDSTEIN and PAUL STENZLER. They will perform Broadway, Jazz, contemporary and classical music.

(Quite a line-up of super-talents!)

It will also be a Vendor Extravaganza and there will be refreshments and prizes.

The cost is $25 per person; $20 in advance; $10 per child and $50 maximum per family.

"Proceeds enhance the lives of our elders," according to the Jewish Pavilion.

The JCC 39ers...

On Monday, Oct. 9th, a story of Guatemala with video will be presented by SUSAN BERNSTEIN, 1 p.m. in the social hall of the Roth JCC, Maitland Avenue, Maitland.

Refreshments will follow. All 39ers and JCC members are welcome to attend.

A shout-out...

Howard Herman and Barbara Jones

What a sweetheart of a waitress, customers are probably telling themselves about SAM G. (Samantha), a waitress at the Perkins Restaurant, Store #1230, 6425 University Blvd in Winter Park.

(I know I am! She is "on the ball" and very pleasant.)

One for the road...

Leah phones her husband at work, "Izzy, do you have time for a chat?"

"Sorry, darling, this is not a good time-I'm about to go into a board meeting."

"But this won't take long," Leah says, "I just want to tell you some good news and some bad news."

"I really haven't the time," says Izzy, "so just quickly tell me the good news."

"Oh all right then. The air bag on your new Lexus works very well."
Attacks on Israel's legitimacy were in full flow at the UN General Assembly session in New York City on Wednesday, as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the 1917 Balfour Declaration-in which Britain announced its support for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people"-as a "crime against our people," while Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described the Jewish state as "the rogue Zionist regime," in language harking back to the "Zionism-is-racism" days at the world body during the 1970s.

In an angry speech in which he repeatedly accused Israel of violating international law and abandoning the two-state solution, Abbas-moments after wishing Jews a "Happy New Year" on the eve of Rosh Hashana-slammed the United Kingdom for having launched the process which led to the creation of the State of Israel in the first place.

Abbas charged the British with having "inflicted a grave injustice on the Palestinian people" by issuing the Balfour Declaration, asserting that in 1917, "97 percent of the inhabitants of Palestine were Palestinians." While 90,000 Jews lived in Palestine at the time, out of a total population of 600,000, the PLO-of which Abbas is the chairman-declares in its charter that Jews who "normally resided" in the country before the "Zionist invasion" of 1917 "will be considered Palestinians."

Abbas: Palestine was 'Prosperous, Progressive' State

Claiming that the Palestine of 1917 was a "prosperous, progressive" country, Abbas said that the Balfour Declaration and the subsequent imposition of the British Mandate amounted to a "historical injustice."

"What is worse is that this November, [the British government] wants to celebrate the 100th anniversary of this crime against our people," Abbas said, before calling on the UK to "apologize" for the Balfour Declaration as well as "provide compensation."

The uncompromising tone of Abbas's comments on the Balfour Declaration was reflected in the rest of the Palestinian leader's speech. Abbas furiously attacked American and Israeli efforts to end discrimination against the Jewish state at the UN, calling on the Human Rights Council to retain its notorious permanent "Agenda Item Seven," which focuses exclusively on alleged Israeli transgressions.

Continually accusing Israel of practicing "apartheid," Abbas called for a boycott of the country-albeit without mentioning the activist phrase "boycott, divestment and sanctions" (BDS). The "international community," he said, had to end "all forms of direct and indirect support to the occupation," and he demanded that Israel be confronted with an international onslaught "similar to the international community's approach to the apartheid regime in South Africa."

Abbas also called for the publication of the Human Rights Council's so-called "blacklist" of companies that conduct business with Israeli communities in the West Bank. "Why should we hide this list?" Abbas asked rhetorically. "It is like terrorism-everyone should see this list to know who violates international law."

Abbas restated his commitment to the Palestinian "right of return," regarded by most Israelis as code for the destruction of the Jewish state, positioning it as a critical final-status issue that could only be negotiated once Israel agreed to substantial territorial concessions. Insisting the Israel has foregone the two-state solution, he nevertheless thanked outside parties, including the US President Donald Trump's administration, for attempting to revive peace negotiations.

Abbas Salutes 'Martyrs' and 'Courageous Prisoners'

Nor was there any change announced to the PA's policy of paying monthly stipends to convicted terrorists and their families at a cost of more than $300 million annually. Avoiding the payments question specifically, Abbas announced, "I salute our glorious martyrs and courageous prisoners in Israeli jails, and I tell them all that freedom is coming and that the occupation shall come to an end."

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon expressed disgust with Abbas' speech.

"Mahmoud Abbas has spread falsehoods from the UN podium which encourage hate, instead of ending the education towards violence in the PA," Danon stated. "Today's lies and excuses have proven once again that the Palestinian leadership is a serial evader of peace."

Rouhani, meanwhile, could not even bring himself to utter the word "Israel" during his own address to the General Assembly earlier on Wednesday.

Iranian Envoys are 'Poets, Mystics and Philosophers'

After issuing a call for "moderation," Rouhani went on to say it was "reprehensible that the rogue Zionist regime that threatens international and regional security with its nuclear arsenal has the audacity to preach to peaceful nations."

In another part of his speech, Rouhani described Israel as "the rogue racist regime," before calling Israelis "usurpers" who had "trampled on the basic rights of the Palestinians."

Rouhani restated that Iran would not accept any renegotiation of the July 2015 nuclear deal it agreed to with six world powers. The Iranian president also denied his country was dispatching its own troops abroad and supporting proxies, such as Hezbollah, throughout the Middle East, claiming, "We do not export our revolution through force of arms."

"We enter hearts and engage minds, we recite our poetry and engage in discourse on our philosophers," Rouhani said. "Our ambassadors are poets, mystics and philosophers."

Like Abbas, Rouhani also offered Jewish New Year greetings, saying, "We rescued the Jews from Babylonian servitude"-a reference to the ancient Emperor Cyrus, who reigned in Persia one thousand years before the Islamic conquest, and who is revered in the Jewish Bible for having rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem.
The Roth Family Jewish Community Center of Greater Orlando is partnering with the Writer's Block Bookstore of Winter Park to host an inaugural Central Florida Jewish Book Festival on Sunday, Oct. 29 at the JCC's Maitland location.

The day will feature four Jewish authors in three time slots: legal fiction author, Ronald Balson (11 a.m.-noon); a panel discussion featuring professional bridesmaid, Jen Glantz, and YouTube stars, Gaby Dunn and Allison Raskin (1-2:30 p.m.); and a keynote presentation by actress and activist, Annabelle Gurwitch (4-5 p.m.).

"We're thrilled to be offering more cultural opportunities like this at The Roth Family JCC," said Robby Etzkin, executive director. "We hope this event becomes an annual tradition for a long time to come."

A Harper Lee Award finalist in Legal Fiction, Balson is the author of "Karolina's Twins," "Saving Sophie," and the international bestseller "Once We Were Brothers." His new book, "The Trust," has private investigator Liam Taggart travel to his uncle's funeral, only to discover he was murdered.

Glantz is a professional bridesmaid whose career began when she posted an ad on Craigslist advertising her services. When she woke up the next morning, it had gone viral. What began as a half-joke suddenly turned into a lifetime of adventure. Hear about her adventures as described in her memoir, "Always a Bridesmaid (For Hire)."

Dunn and Raskin are two best friends who live in Los Angeles and founded the comedy YouTube channel Just Between Us. They have worked together and separately for Buzzfeed, Sourcefed, and Fullscreen. Their new book is "I Hate Everyone But You."

Author Ronald Balson

Annabelle Gurwitch is an actress and author of the New York Times bestseller "I See You Made an Effort." Her latest book, "Wherever You Go, There They Are" is a hilarious and insightful look at family. She was the co-host of Dinner and a Movie on TBS. Her essays and satire have appeared in more than a dozen national magazines.

Tickets include complimentary babysitting for ages 2-12, however babysitting must be requested at the time of ticket purchase.

General admission tickets are $10 per talk, with a VIP reserved ticket option of $50, which includes seating in the first two rows of all three talks, plus a meet-and-greet from 2:45-3:45 p.m. with Glantz, Dunn, Raskin and Gurwitch.

Tickets are for sale at http://www.orlandojcc.org/bookfest .
(JTA)-Days after joining a pro-Israel group, Melissa Landa knew something had gone wrong: She said her mentor stopped working with her, pulling out of a conference presentation just days in advance.

Landa didn't know that her mentor, John O'Flahavan, would then stop taking her calls. Or that O'Flahavan would soon dismiss her from teaching the education course she designed. Or that one year later, she would be fired from the college where she had taught for more than a decade.

But in the late spring, with little warning, Landa found herself packing up her office at the University of Maryland. A boilerplate letter from the university's Department of Teaching and Learning, Policy and Leadership, called TLPL, informed her on June 8 that her contract as assistant visiting/clinical professor would not be renewed, as it was in the past, that her key to the building had been disabled, and that she had to collect her belongings within a month.

From Landa's perspective, the firing was a shocking finish to a year of demotions and stonewalling from superiors. No reason was given for her dismissal.

According to emails and text messages obtained by JTA, O'Flahavan and TLPL Chair Francine Hultgren offered Landa varying reasons: the department was being reorganized; she lacked the necessary experience for a new class structure; she already had a full workload; she neglected her professional responsibilities.

But Landa insists the reason is much simpler: She says it is because she is pro-Israel. That's the basis of a Title IX complaint she has filed with the school alleging wrongful termination on the basis of religion, national origin and political views.

"There was no evidence to indicate that my work as a private citizen was impeding my professional performance," Landa told JTA, referring to her Israel activism. "Once my involvement with Israel became political, that is when things started to change."

O'Flahavan and Hultgren did not respond to multiple JTA calls and emails requesting comment. A university spokeswoman, Jessica Jennings, said the university is barred from commenting on confidential personnel issues, but that it does not tolerate discrimination and protects freedom of speech.

In 2007, Landa earned her doctorate in English language education with O'Flahavan, an associate professor, as her adviser. Since then she has been teaching in TLPL, which trains potential educators, including a course she helped design called Language Arts Methods that provides elementary school instruction. She has also taught courses in the university's General Education Program.

Landa has received two awards from the college for her work-one a month before she was fired.

During that time, Landa also did work on Israel, leading a two-week students' trip each year to examine Ethiopian immigration and absorption there. In late 2015, she increased her pro-Israel activism in the U.S., heading a group of Oberlin alumni who protested anti-Semitic and anti-Israel remarks by a professor, Joy Karega.

Last year, Landa accepted an affiliate professorship at the University of Haifa as a statement against potential academic boycotts of Israel. She also became involved in the Academic Engagement Network, an intercollegiate association of faculty who oppose the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel She spoke at the group's 2016 conference, and it gave her a micro-grant to set up a research partnership with the Levinsky College of Education in Israel.

It was during that same time that Landa said she began feeling antagonism from her superiors. Days after she became involved in the Academic Engagement Network, Landa said O'Flahavan pulled out of their joint conference presentation-they had been working together for months. Also, days after she informed O'Flahavan of her partnership with Levinsky College, he removed Landa from her TLPL class.

"They were opposed to what she was doing, they didn't like it, they didn't like the publicity she was getting for it," said Kenneth Waltzer, executive director of the Academic Engagement Network. "She can be a little passionate, a little aggressive. They didn't like that she was being so active in Israel."

In emails and text messages to Landa, O'Flahavan and Hultgren told her variously that she had neglected her professional duties (she had gone to Israel for Passover in 2016, but Skyped into class and had an assistant substitute for her, per university policy), or that the new class structure-due to a reorganization of the department-left her unqualified to teach.

"While you certainly have the content and pedagogical expertise to teach elementary language arts through a traditional delivery (e.g., on-campus, face-to-face delivery), you have not yet cultivated the pedagogical expertise for on-site course delivery," read an August letter from Hultgren explaining the decision. It also noted that Landa was teaching a full course load in the General Education Program.

Landa believed that she did have the necessary experience for the class, having taught in public schools for more than a decade. She filed a grievance with the college claiming "religious discrimination, and capricious and unjust treatment." The hearing board recommended that the grievance be rejected in June, but noted that Landa was qualified to continue teaching in TLPL. Days later, however, Landa received the letter not renewing her contract.

Landa said the firing came as a surprise, even as she knew that O'Flahavan objected to activism on behalf of Israel. In 2015, he asked her not to hang an Israeli flag in her office, and Landa said O'Flahavan made comments disparaging her Oberlin activism.

"I was shocked that he would facilitate the firing of a former student," she said. "As I became increasingly politically active, from my role as an [Oberlin] alum to my role as a faculty member, he wanted to distance himself from me."

Landa's former students have protested her firing. A letter published by 17 former students in the Diamondback, the school newspaper, said Landa "has provided a safe environment and approach to learning, in which students learned about the roots of racial bias," and called for "reversing this careless decision and bring Landa back to this university."

A fellow TLPL professor also questioned the decision, praising Landa for her research and teaching.

"I think she was awesome," said the professor, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation from the department chair. "I think she did some groundbreaking work. I think she did some really neat stuff about anti-bullying. I think she was a fantastic instructor."

Landa is now working part time at the Charles E Smith Jewish Day School in suburban Washington, D.C., and hoping for the best with her Title IX complaint. She has retained a lawyer in case she feels she has to sue.

"Universities, when they have an opportunity to look at themselves and see if they did something wrong, they usually don't find much," she said.
Eli Rowe's team of 12 delivered supplies to the San Juan Chabad, as well as to vulnerable areas throughout Puerto Rico's capital, Sept. 25, 2017.

(JTA)-After he managed to bribe three van drivers to load their vehicles with aid supplies and drive him and his crew from the San Juan airport, Eli Rowe felt his humanitarian mission was off to a good start.

Gas was scarce in Puerto Rico, but now all the food, medicine and hygienic supplies he had flown over from the mainland was making it into the Caribbean island's capital.

Then he laid eyes on the city. It was devastated.

"We saw sheer destruction everywhere," said Rowe, the CEO of Jet911, a service that arranges emergency medical flights. "Roofs were off, buildings were destroyed, houses were destroyed, there was flooding in the middle of the street, stores were abandoned."

Rowe's crew of 12 paramedics and emergency medical technicians was one of a few Jewish aid missions trying to help Puerto Rico begin recovering from the impact of Hurricane Maria, which hit the island directly last week. The storm created what aid workers and residents describe as a post-apocalyptic scenario: Power is out for much of the island, cell phone service is hard to find, gas is even more scarce and food supplies are dwindling. Roads are crumbling. Hospitals are on the brink.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump waived a law called the Jones Act, allowing international aid shipments to offload on the island. FEMA has more than 600 workers on the island, a U.S. territory with 3.4 million residents.

Puerto Rico's Jewish community of 1,500, living mostly in San Juan, has largely been spared the worst of the damage, says Diego Mendelbaum, community director at the San Juan Jewish Community Center, which shares space with a Conservative synagogue. The city is also home to a Reform synagogue and a Chabad.

The JCC's fence and two of its gates were knocked down and its roof sustained damage, but it fared much better than synagogues in Houston, which were ruined by Harvey. Even so, the synagogue canceled services on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, when the storm hit.

Mendelbaum said the Jews' homes-like those of their San Juan neighbors-avoided destruction because their buildings are built with concrete and other reinforced materials. But the community is still suffering, he said, from the same lack of power, fuel and infrastructure as the entire island. Mendelbaum said it could take 14 hours to get gas and six hours waiting in "eternal lines" to buy food at one of the few functioning supermarkets.

"Everyone has difficult problems here," he said. "There's other people whose buildings don't have a power generator, or they did have a generator but it broke. Other people have to go up and down stairs and can't do it. People are trying to leave the island."

With the Jewish community's buildings intact and population healthy, its members have turned to helping more vulnerable neighbors. The JCC had collected supplies to help the Virgin Islands recover from the impact of Hurricane Irma earlier this month, then took the surplus it had stored and distributed it among shelters in San Juan.

Jewish volunteers distributed clothing, canned food and 2,000 gallons of water from the JCC's cistern. In one instance, Mendelbaum saw twin babies sleeping on the floor of a shelter and brought them cribs.

"That was a drop in the bucket," he said. But for their mother, he added, "it was lifesaving."

IsraAid, the Israeli disaster relief group, sent a team of five that is stationed in Haiti. The team landed Tuesday in San Juan and is focused on providing physical and psychological first aid and distributing filters that can purify contaminated water.

The workers are also distributing food and training local social work students to provide post-trauma care. But the filters, said team leader Natalie Revesz, might make the biggest difference, as they have a capacity of 400 gallons a day and can make public canal water drinkable.

"They were shocked that I was drinking dirty water from their buckets," Revesz said.

Rowe, who also volunteers in New York for the Jewish paramedic service Hatzalah, received a call for aid on Sunday. He'd already gone on missions to Houston and the Florida Keys following the recent natural disasters there. He and his team spent Sunday night gathering food and medical supplies, and obtained a large private plane, free of charge, from Ralph Nakash, a fashion mogul who also went on the aid mission with two of his sons.

The team dropped supplies at the San Juan Chabad, then drove around the city distributing to Sanjuaneros of all religions everything from pita bread to toothbrushes to Tylenol. At one point, Rowe went door to door giving out food and cases of water.

Though he is proud of the work his volunteers have done, he could see that difficult days remain ahead.

"For us to bring a ray of light was really humbling and a beautiful experience," he said. "At the end of the day, we're going back to our homes with a roof over our head, and these people could be for weeks or months without electricity or food."
Jill Bartoli saw the need firsthand as a volunteer donating her time at an overnight shelter in the Carlisle area.

The Carlisle resident remembers the mother who tried to comfort a child who was crying because he had a cold.

The woman was walking the floor until after midnight, said Bartoli, recalling how hard it was for most anyone to sleep camping out in the host church.

There are people caught up in the flood of homelessness, she said. NOAH has an ark that can help them.

Short for New Options for Affordable Housing, NOAH is a coalition of Carlisle area residents who are determined to not only move the homeless into housing, but to connect them with a network of services that help the needy achieve personal independence.

NOAH volunteers will be on street corners in downtown Carlisle and in local shopping centers from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday. They will be trying to raise awareness of the plight of homelessness in the community.

Part of their mission is to raise money to buy and rehabilitate apartment units to house the homeless. NOAH also could use donations to build a fund to head off emergency situations and pending evictions.

Homelessness is like a downward spiral, Bartoli said. Everything keeps going wrong. Once you are caught up in it, it takes a lot of support from a lot of people from different areas to build you back up again.

New group

The coalition started about a year ago as a group of residents concerned that, while homelessness has decreased across much of the nation, it was on the rise in Pennsylvania. Homeless people are drawn to the Carlisle area because of its role as the Cumberland County seat and the accessibility to social service agencies.

Informal meetings and recruitment efforts last fall led to a community forum in early November on how to mitigate homelessness in Carlisle. Since then, NOAH has incorporated into a charitable organization with a board of directors. Paperwork has been filed with the Internal Revenue Service to obtain nonprofit status so that donations to NOAH could be written off as tax-deductible.

NOAH organizers have developed a mission statement and an approach strategy to help the most vulnerable obtain sustainable, permanent housing and independent living. To accomplish this goal, the group has formed teams of volunteers who will serve as mentors and workers lending their advice and expertise toward helping the homeless.

There are teams specializing in health care, legal issues, nutrition and healthy living, child care and early childhood education and transportation and car maintenance. Those interested in volunteering can visit the NOAH website at www.NOAHCarlislePA.org or email either co-chair at Jillsundaybartoli@gmail.com or PatLaMarche@hotmail.com.

There are not enough ways to get people off the street, said Carlisle resident Pat LaMarche, an advocate for the homeless. Our goal is to help the people nobody else can help.

While there are programs for the needy, there are people who dont fit within the classifications to receive federal assistance, LaMarche said. The low-wage working poor with bad credit and seniors on minimal Social Security may get on a waiting list for public housing, but are unlikely to get off that list, she said.

In allocating services, the federal department of Housing and Urban Development assigns every person who applies for public housing a level of vulnerability depending on their circumstances. A mother whose child has a learning disability is deemed more vulnerable than a single male or female who is healthy, but lacks the education or training for a higher paying job.

Aside from the working poor, homeless people include women with children fleeing domestic abuse and violence and military veterans and their families at risk for post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and suicide.

The numbers

In Carlisle, more than 200 people are in homeless shelter programs while another 50 to 70 are sheltered overnight in local churches by Carlisle CARES. Each month, a different church provides floors, and the average stay per individual is four to eight months.

Its wonderful the churches are providing some shelter, Bartoli said. Its certainly better than being out in a tent or worse, but its not a home. A home is a fundamental basic human need.

Already NOAH members are engaged in the mission. Realtor Alex Manning of Camp Hill has donated two apartments to homeless veterans and their families. Other members have been gathering up household goods from sales and discarded furniture salvaged from the curbside to channel to Stacie Martins, a caseworker with the Cumberland County Housing and Redevelopment Authorities.

One goal of NOAH is to ease the burden on front-line homeless shelters and caregivers. Martins has a heavy caseload of people to place into public housing and to provide sustainable help.
HICKORY  The K-64 board approved a 1-to-World Technology pilot program during its monthly meeting Thursday.

The plan came out of the K-64 Technology Task Force chaired by Michael Ellwanger. The idea for the pilot program developed from input received from all three school systems, local business and community leaders.

The recommendation was to focus on Chromebooks for every seventh-grade student in Catawba County, across all three school districts. There will be digital content development within the Canvas learning management system and a common benchmark assessment in math or reading as well. The pilot project would roll out this coming spring semester.

Each school district will provide teacher devices and training during their existing planning periods, K-64 Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Story told the board.

First and foremost, I want you to understand this pilot is not to determine whether or not technology is needed or will work in the classroom, Story said. The research is there proving that. The purpose of this pilot is to see how well we can utilize it and where strengths and weaknesses are within what were doing now.

We really do not know if there is something broken until we can identify where we are excelling or falling behind.

The K-64 (kindergarten to age 64) plan is an educational and economic development initiative to prepare all students to be college and career ready in a global economy and support the local workforce and economic growth. The K-64 focus is on six initial objectives. They include: 1-to-world technology, character and soft skills development, tech savvy educators, work-based learning, employer engagement and career adaptability.

Part of the pilot programs plan will be to monitor the usage of technology in the classroom and whether teachers and students are using it on a daily bases. The idea is to make sure if the board invests in technology for all the school districts in the county it is being used.

If theyre not using, why is that? Do they not understand? Does it not fit well with the content they have? We want to use this pilot to measure that, Story said.

There will be a survey to see what the perception of technology in the classroom is for students and teachers to find out if they think it makes a difference. Separate surveys will used as well between students and teachers to see if there is any disconnect between them when it comes to how technology is being used, Story said.

Teachers may think theyre doing a great job and students may think theyre not, the CEO said.

The pilot program will also look at how technology in the classroom affects attendance and discipline.

The total cost for the project would be $435,100 for 1,900 devices at $229 each if K-64 made an outright purchase. There are two other options: traditional financing and lease with a dollar purchase. Story said the most intriguing option was traditional financing.

The reason were looking at this particular option as the best is because of cash flow, Story said. It gives an option to do a lot more things instead of taking a big chunk of money up front and putting it into this one pile.

Catawba County Schools Chief Technology Officer Marty Sharpe said along with its low cost, the task force went with the Chromebooks because it has a package that offers four-year unlimited damage, covering theft and loss.

K-64 board member and Catawba County Commissioner Sherry Butler proposed the group consider the traditional financing method.

This would be my suggestion to expedite this because I would imagine in order to implement this youd need to get started rather quickly, Butlers said.

In other business, Story informed the board the Newton-Conover Rotary Club donated $15,000 for the Character Education Development program.

For more information about K-64, visit k-64learning.com.
Editors Note: This is the first in a two-part series about the Hickory Daily Records mayoral candidates forum held Wednesday.

HICKORY  Less than a week from the Hickory primary, the four candidates running to be Hickorys next mayor discussed their qualifications and what sets them apart at the Hickory Daily Records forum Wednesday.

Lou Wetmore, 76, cited his more than 40 years in business and his job as a court mediator as experiences that will help him to bring together different community groups to work together for the benefit of the community.

I think that there are many, many factions in the city and around the city of people who are trying to get certain things done, and in order to get those done, what has to be done is we have to get everyone working together and, if you will, pulling on the rope in the same direction, Wetmore said.

Wetmore reiterated that bringing in new businesses and people should be a key part of the mayors job, and his experiences in business both inside and outside of North Carolina make him the most prepared.

The basic premise, of course, is that if a person has been around doing something for a long, long time, they ought to be able to do it pretty well, and I think that would be the case for me, Wetmore said.

Will Locke, 29, discussed his involvement with projects like the revitalization of Hollar Mill and the development of Lowes Food City Park, two examples he said helped the city grow.

My experience in creating jobs in our community has allowed me, given me the opportunity to run for mayor and creates a track record that Id like to continue as mayor and leading us forward, Locke said.

Locke said his involvement in these business and community projects is what separates him from the other candidates.

Im differentiated from the other candidates because Ive not been waiting or talking about economic development, Locke said. Ive been doing economic development.

Hank Guess, 58, referred to his 30 years of experience with the Hickory Police Department and eight years as a city council member, including time as mayor pro tempore, as the things that differentiated him from the other candidates.

In particular, Guess said his practice of community policing helped him understand the city and build relationships.

As everybody knows, community policing is about actually getting out in the community and learning what some of the concerns are of the community and helping them to be able to solve those problems on a one-on-one basis as if you were in their neighborhoods, living in their neighborhoods, Guess said.

Guess also emphasized the need to find solutions through working together.

The biggest thing that makes me different from the rest of them is that this is not about me, Guess said. Everything that weve been able to accomplish in this city and everything that you see thats being done and thats been done has been a team effort.

Hamilton Ward, 49, said his experience as a salesman, a former city council member, mayor pro tempore, former planning commission member and nonprofit volunteer make him the most prepared for the job and what set him apart the most.

The mayor should be the citys number one salesman, no matter where he is, no matter what part of town he is, Ward said. He should also be the number one listener, and the best trait in a good salesman is listening.

In terms of the requirements of the job, Guess said he, as a retired law enforcement officer, had the time to devote to being mayor, which he described as an intense daily job.

The mayor would need to be accessible and have the time to be responsive to people at all times, Guess said.

Some of the other candidates disagreed with Guess characterization of the time needed to do the job.

Wetmore said he believed the job of the mayor would not require the attention of a full-time job.

I dont think that the mayors job, the way our city government is set up, is really a job where a person would have to be there at 8 every morning and be five days a week, Wetmore said.

That approach would also be counter-productive since the job of running daily operations is that of the city manager and his staff.

The job of the mayor is to guide city policy and run the council meetings, functions that dont occur on a daily basis, Wetmore said.

Wetmore added his jobs as a financial advisor and court mediator were flexible enough to give him the time he needs to do the job.

Ward agreed with Wetmore.

Based on his interactions with Mayors Jeff Cline, Rudy Wright and Bill McDonald, Ward said he believes the job takes about 10 to 14 hours a week.

The role of the mayor is both to build consensus on the city council and to be a salesman for the city, Ward said.

Ward said his schedule was flexible and he too would be able to make time for the job.

Locke said he believed the job of mayor would require more than just a 10- to 14-hour commitment.

The role of the mayor has got to be one that is active and engaged working on a daily basis for our city, Locke said.

Complete footage of the forum can be viewed online under the videos of section of the HDRs Facebook page. The mayoral forum was divided into two videos.

Early voting at Highland Recreation Center ends Saturday and the primary will be Tuesday.
The Hotel Carlisles mortgage holder took control of the landmark site in Middlesex Township two weeks ago, after the facility sat in financial distress since late 2015.

Mortgage company Sharestates acquired the site, located at 1700 Harrisburg Pike, to recoup a claim of just under $6.6 million, according to sheriffs sale records from the Cumberland County Sheriffs Department.

But dozens of employees are still waiting for paychecks. Further, the deterioration and closure of the hotel, which involved an auction where much of the property was stripped last year, coincides with a series of court cases involving the hotels former owners.

The cases span from New York to New Mexico, involving a half-dozen limited liability corporations, as well as the individual owners of those companies  David Embrahimzadeh and Felice DiSanza.

The fact that they can do this, we just found jaw-dropping, said Jessica Long, the Hotel Carlisles former front-of-house manager. And after everything goes under, the employees who actually tried to keep the hotel afloat are the last in line to get compensated.

Embrahimzadeh and DiSanza blame an adverse economy and what DiSanza described as predatory mortgage practices and mismanagement by his employees.

It was simply a bad investment, DiSanza said. Were the victims, not the profiteers.

Hotel purchase

Until the sheriffs sale went through on Sept. 13, the Hotel Carlisle site was owned by Oakdale Suites LLC, a company registered to DiSanzas address in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

Embrahimzadeh and DiSanza  whose first name is sometimes listed as Filip  purchased Oakdale Suites in February 2015 from Farouk Hegazi, another New York-based businessman who ran the aging hotel for some time. Embrahimzadeh and DiSanza used a separate company, known as Suite Dreams LLC, to serve as the operating entity for the hotel and restaurant, while Oakdale Suites held the real estate.

The property operated under new ownership for less than a year before hitting rough financial terrain. Employees went unpaid, as did vendors and utility providers. The property closed in January 2016, after it had become obviously untenable.

We kept the business open  we still had people staying the night and kept the restaurant open as long as we could, but the owners had stopped paying every bill, Long said. After the lights and water had been shut off, we locked everything up ourselves and walked away.

After several months of correspondence with state and federal agencies, Long was able to get the U.S. Department of Labor to initiate an investigation into unpaid wages.

The report by the departments Wage and Hour Division, obtained by The Sentinel, indicates that Suite Dreams LLC missed three payrolls between Nov. 29, 2015, and Jan. 16, 2017, at a total of $47,379.89 based on employees prior rates. Even assuming minimum wage and no carried overtime, the department calculated that Suite Dreams still owed at least $32,564.53 to its ex-employees.

When reached by The Sentinel, DiSanza said he was a hands-off owner, and that his employees had inflated the payroll and failed to pay utility bills, all unbeknownst to him.

The payroll was absurd for the revenue the hotel was making  and I had no idea these people werent paying the bills, DiSanza said. Unfortunately, we never succeeded in getting [the hotel] to run like we wanted it.

DiSanza cited a payroll of $16,000 every two weeks, consistent with the Department of Labors findings. With 32 employees, this comes to $250 per person per week in labor costs.

Ebrahimzadeh, when reached by phone, laid the blame on his partner.

I myself was burned and screwed over in many ways, Ebrahimzadeh said. The majority owner and person who caused the downfall of this property is Felice DiSanza. Not intentionally, but he couldve fixed things, and he didnt.

This is not a representative transaction for me, and Im very careful on who Im going to partner with in deals in the future, Ebrahimzadeh said.

The Department of Labor report indicates that investigators dealt primarily with DiSanza, since he was the sole cooperating owner of Suite Dreams LLC. Ebrahimzadeh was listed as unwilling to correspond ... throughout the investigation.

The investigation report also indicates that Suite Dreams LLC provided the location of other properties arranged under different corporate structures, including three hotels in the New York metro area, one hotel in Dover, Delaware, and one hotel in Ocean City, Maryland.

However, Suite Dreams LLC claims inability to make back wages, according to the report, although DiSanza indicated he was seeking a loan that could cover back payments, but failed to produce.

Bankruptcy

While the LLC claimed it was unable to pay its workers, the disposition of the actual partners may be different. The concept of a limited liability corporation is to shield investors from having their personal assets impugned by the companys losses.

Theoretically, this protects investors from outcomes that are outside of their control. But it can also be open to abuse.

The labor investigation against Suite Dreams LLC was followed by four related bankruptcy filings: the bankruptcy of Oakdale Suites LLC, the bankruptcy of Diamond Condo LLC, and the personal bankruptcies of Ebrahimzadeh and DiSanza themselves.

In each case, federal bankruptcy judges partially overturned what is called automatic stay, which is the suspension of a creditors ability to seize property from a debtor while the debtor seeks a solution through the courts.

Rather, Ebrahimzadeh and DiSanzas creditors filed motions to relieve them from the stay, on the grounds that Ebrahimzadeh and DiSanza were using their personal bankruptcies and those of their LLCs to shift assets around and avoid having properties repossessed.

Sharestates lawyer, Janet Gold, noted that shortly after the court granted Sharestates request for relief from stay on Oakdale Suites  allowing the company to pursue a sheriffs sale of the Hotel Carlisle  DiSanza filed for personal bankruptcy, claiming protection of his companies assets as his own.

However, DiSanza failed to notify Sharestates or file the necessary asset schedules for his personal case, concealing what ability he may have had to pay for Oakdale Suites obligations on the Hotel Carlisle mortgage.

Creditor is entitled to an annulment of the automatic stay because the debtor acted in bad faith by intentionally failing to notify creditor of the pending bankruptcy proceeding and intentionally violating a court order to file schedules, Gold wrote in her letter to the court.

Lawyers for Knighthead, a real estate investment trust that funded Diamond Condo, further labeled Ebrahimzadeh and DiSanza as a serial filer of bankruptcies. Diamond Condo LLC is wholly owned by DiSanza, according to court records, but exists solely to hold a single piece of property  a luxury duplex apartment on East 77th Street in New York City, valued at $8.6 million, according to an appraisal filed with the court.

This is Ebrahimzadehs home, according to bankruptcy filings, but he does not legally own it or even hold a lease on it, given that it is booked to an LLC owned by his business partner.

Additionally, Diamond Condo was formed when a previous LLC filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 and reorganized its debts under a new corporate structure that, while new in corporate name, was not new in ownership.

In requesting relief from stay, Knighthead noted that this is the third bankruptcy filing in a series of bad faith bankruptcy filings by the debtor parties, as part of a scheme to hinder, delay and frustrate Knightheads right to enjoy the property.

Not only was the Diamond Condo bankruptcy dismissed, but the judge in the case ordered a one-year suspension on any further bankruptcy filings regarding the East 77th St. property, either by DiSanzas corporate entity or by the occupant, Ebrahimzadeh.

DiSanzas personal bankruptcy is still ongoing, but was described by Knighthead as the latest stunt to stave off bankruptcy without actually committing any capital to his creditors.

DiSanza defended his bankruptcy tactics as not uncommon.

Of course the banks are going to say were stalling because they want to foreclose on us as fast as possible, DiSanza said. But its total nonsense what they said in court.

Ebrahimzadeh does not list any assets on his personal bankruptcy petition. The interior furnishings of his home are valued at $1.2 million, according to an appraisal in court documents, but the furnishings are legally owned by Diamond Condo. However, Ebrahimzadeh does indicate that he receives approximately $20,000 per month  just under a quarter million per year  from other sources to cover his personal expenses.

Ebrahimzadeh repeatedly insisted during a phone call with The Sentinel that he legally doesnt have to pay anything out of his own pocket, since the obligation to his employees falls under Suite Dreams as a company and not him personally.

Further, Oakdale Suites bankruptcy filing indicates a simple reason that it was unable to pay the Hotel Carlisles mortgage  it had no cash flow.

In a letter to the bankruptcy court, Oakdale Suites attorney Matthew Cabrera asserted as Oakdale is an entity only holding the title to the land it has no recent balance sheet or cash flow statements to produce. The company also has not filed a recent tax return.

That would indicate that Suite Dreams was not paying anything for the rights to operate on Oakdale Suites real estate, even though the companies are legally separate entities.

DiSanza said that this was simply because Suite Dreams was never profitable, even at zero real estate cost.

Oakdale Suites did receive a $1.9 million flow of cash, however, roughly six months prior to filing for bankruptcy, when it sold the northwest corner of the Hotel Carlisle lot to Sheetz. A new gas station and market was built on the Middlesex Township site this year.

Records from the Cumberland County Recorder of Deeds indicate that Oakdale Suites was the seller of record in the transaction, which was completed on Oct. 7, 2016.

DiSanza said that all of Oakdales sale proceeds were written off as mortgage costs.

It all went to the lender, he said. They took every cent from the Sheetz sale.

Additionally, the address listed for Oakdale Suites on its deed is not the address listed on its bankruptcy filings. The latter uses DiSanzas personal address in Ridgewood, New Jersey, while the deed lists the business as located at 551 Madison Ave. in New York City, the address of Ebrahimzadehs primary business, Corniche Capital LLC.

Corniche is currently involved in a case in New Mexico where it allegedly failed to complete a transaction to purchase 12 Snappy Mart liquor stores, according to court records.

Labor enforcement

The most recent contact employees have had with investigative authorities was on Feb. 9, 2017, when Long said she received a letter from the Pennsylvania Bureau of Labor Law Compliance, part of the state Department of Labor and Industry.

The letter stated that the bureau is not pursing further action against your employer. Accordingly, the bureau is reassigning your wage claim back to you. This reassignment does not preclude you from pursing private legal action against your employer.

The letter also gives instructions for employees to get the results of the federal labor investigation.

We were surprised that that was the end point, Long said. I wouldve thought they would do something further. We dont have the money to hire lawyers on our own.

In an email, the state Department of Labor and Industry spokeswoman, Lindsay Bracale, said the department continues to investigate the case but cannot comment on its current status.

Bracale also said the department can issue certifications that employees are owed back wages, but the department does not have the authority to arbitrarily fine or penalize an employer.

In bankruptcy cases, employees must typically take their certifications from the department and file the proof of claim with the bankruptcy court, Bracale said.

The extent to which wage theft goes unreconciled is difficult to quantify. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that an average of 107,000 Pennsylvanians are shorted out of roughly $448 million each year through wage theft, although these estimates are based on claims of employers paying less than minimum wage, which may not include employers who book employees at a legal wage but simply dont pay it.

Wage theft in general is a significant problem, said Stephen Herzenberg, a labor economist with the Keystone Research Center. The issue is that a lot of people who are victims of it are financially vulnerable already, and may be afraid to report it.

From a policy standpoint, Herzenberg said, most experts advocate state agencies developing more comprehensive reporting systems, which track chronic abusers not just on minimum wage, but on taxes, unemployment remittances and other issues.

Its one thing to get some employees their money back, but its another thing to get employers to obey the law consistently in the first place, Herzenberg said.

Despite the selective separation between corporate and personal liabilities, as seen in the Hotel Carlisle case, Pennsylvania does have what is called the Wage Payment and Collection Law, said Harrisburg-based labor attorney Irwin Aronson.

Under the law, individuals are personally responsible for wages of employees, at least in Pennsylvanias courts, Aronson said.

Pursuing action under the law would require the state itself to bring charges, as opposed to the employees pursuing civil action, but the tools appear to be there, although Aronson said that he could not say anything definitely without knowing the Hotel Carlisle situation more intimately.

Wage theft is a very common act, unfortunately, and comes in many forms, Aronson said.
This domain has expired. If you owned this domain, contact your domain registration service provider for further assistance. If you need help identifying your provider, visit https://www.tucowsdomains.com/
Manav Kaul, Rajit Kapur, Ira Dubey, Faezeh Jalali, Atul Kumar  these names ring a bell of familiarity with every theatre lover. And one place where you can catch em all live in action is at the Old World Theatre Festival. From the streets of small towns to the magical filmy world of Bambai (Mumbai), there are 15 stories that will be staged over 10 days.

The festival will open with Suchitra Krishnamoorthis debut theatre production titled Drama Queen. Other plays in the festival include Manav Kauls romantic comedy Chuhal, Hemant Pandeys musical ensemble Lassanwala, a childrens play How Cow Now Cow, Patchworks ensembles futuristic take on the urban conundrum Fly By Night, Faezeh Jalalis audacious Shikhandi, Tennessee Williamss evocation of loneliness and lost love in The Glass Menagerie directed by Rajit Kapur, the achingly poignant Rahul da Cunhas Love Letters with Rajit Kapur and Shernaz Patel in the lead, Neel Senguptas adaptation of T.S. Eliots The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Khwaab Sa  a fantastical vision of Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream  directed by Atul Kumar, among others.

Actor Ira Dubey in a scene from the play Glass Menagerie.

The plays will have a contemporary approach to the classic tales that a Delhiite will find refreshing. The new out-of-the-box productions of theatre gen next are bringing in a whole new young audience in addition to our loyal regular theatre goers. The issues that these plays focus on are all contemporary, says Vidyun Singh, director of programmes department at Habitat World.

Actor Manav Kaul will return to Delhi with his play Chuhal.

CATCH IT LIVE What: Old World Theatre Festival 2017 Where: India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road When: October 6 to 15 Timings: 11.30am to 8pm Nearest Metro Station: Jor Bagh on Yellow Line

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
 



Our Divisions

Copyright  2022-23 DB Corp ltd., All Rights Reserved

This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics.
Filmmaker Sujoy Ghosh has come up with a new short film, Anukul. Starring Saurabh Shukla and Parambrata Chattopadhyay, it is an adaptation of Satyajit Rays short story by the same name. Set in a dystopian future, the story seems fresh even today despite the fact that the filmmaker -- a celebrated geek himself -- wrote it in 1976.

Anukul is the story of a Bengali man who buys an robot as a housekeeper at a time when humans are losing their livelihoods to the machines. How the equations between the employer and the robot evolve forms the rest of the story, focussing on human nature and the ideas of instinct, duty and loyalty. In a world where artificial intelligence and the danger it may or may not pose is the subject of heated debates between Silicon Valley billionaires, the film finds a ready relevance.

Parambrata, who was recently seen in Jawker Dhan and Traffic, plays the robot while Jolly LLBs judge Saurabh is the Bengali employer in Anukul. Kharaj Mukherjee plays Saurabhs younger brother in the film while Kanchan Mallick plays a leader of the workers union protesting humanities easy acceptance of robots. Despite small roles, both Kharaj and Kanchan are impressive.

Both Saurabh and Parambrata give understated performances, in sync with the mood of the film. And, without saying much, the climax leaves us in a dilemma - should we judge the characters for what they did or should we applaud their presence of mind? Watch the entire film and decide for yourself:

Amitabh Bachchan shared the film on his Twitter account and wrote, T 2569 - A friend, a colleague, a writer director & mad company makes this short film .. unique, Satyajit Ray story.

T 2569 - A friend, a colleague, a writer director & mad company makes this short film .. unique, Satyajit Ray story https://t.co/gJKNamIaoE pic.twitter.com/wpykiDyAIL  Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) October 5, 2017

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Actor Deepika Padukone today said her battle with depression in the past has been "such a bad experience" that she always carries a fear of relapse. The 31-year-old actor was interacting on the stigma surrounding mental illness at India Economic Summit here.

"I don't think I can say that I'm completely over it (depression). There is always a fear at the back of my mind that I might have a relapse because it has been such a bad experience for me," Padukone said at the India Economic Summit here. When asked whether opening up about depression had cost her movie roles, Deepika said she was unsure but there might have been some producers who did not approach her.

"Maybe there are people who haven't offered me films because they think I was depressed and I can't act. Maybe, I don't know. I'm in a good space because I can choose the movies that I want to act in, but I don't think everyone has that luxury of where they want to work or when they want to work," she said.

Batting for the introduction of mental health as a part of the curriculum in schools across the country, she said the idea will help do away with the stigma attached to it. "A large part of the stigma comes from the fact that we (just) talk about physical education in schools. I had physical education in my school, but we didn't have anything to talk about mental health. It's not a part of the curriculum. If we included that in the curriculum and introduced the idea or the importance of mental health at school level, there will be no stigma," the actor said.

Deepika, who is also the founder of 'The Live Love Laugh' foundation, said policymakers and people at workplaces need to recognise and normalise depression so that those suffering from such mental illnesses could come out and confide without the fear of losing their jobs.

Elaborating upon her decision of going public with her battle with depression, Deepika said, "I didn't think about the repercussions. The idea really was to change the way people in India and the world see mental illness".
The ugly, public fight between Bollywood stars Hrithik Roshan and Kangana Ranaut has been going on for more than two years now but Hrithik has broken his silence only now. The reason why he decided to speak up after maintaining a dignified silence all this time is his kids Hrehaan and Hridhaan, a person close to his family has said. Kangana has replied to Hrithiks statement via her lawyer, asking the actor to answer her nine questions.

In his Twitter statement, Hrithik said how he felt compelled to put forth his viewpoint so that he could defend the truth because when truth suffers, the collective consciousness of society suffersCloser to home, families suffer. Children suffer.

On the condition of anonymity, the source revealed, Hrithik was told that now wasnt the time to stay silent. They all sat down and decided that Hrithik needed to take charge of the situation. If you read the last line of his statement, it mentions how children suffer if justice is denied. That is a very telling line. Does anybody have any idea what his children have gone through because of this circus?

Hrithiks statement is said to be issued after a heart-to-heart with father Rakesh Roshan. Hrithik was insulted on Aap Ki Adalat (Kanganas episode). That affected him deeply. His family told him that if he doesnt speak up now, it will mean two things  either he is guilty or he is too weak to respond. Neither was the case, so why shouldnt he speak up?

The person further clarified that Hrithik has no personal or professional rivalry with Kangana and said, He spoke only after weeks (of the theatrical release of Simran). The intent is not to malign anyone but to save ones dignity.

Over the past week, a news channel dug out the entire complaint Hrithik filed against Kangana in April 2017 and later her emails to the star. A day later, Kanganas sister Rangoli Chandel tweeted a screenshot of an email, allegedly sent by Hrithik, questioning his claims of being innocent and having never met her in private.

While Hrithik has issued detailed statements on Facebook and Twitter, Rangoli and Kanganas lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee are responding to new questions being raised on Kanganas side.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Author Shobhaa De left the audience in splits at the sixth edition of the Khushwant Singh literary festival at Kasauli on Friday

With a knack for witty one-liners, De joined actor Divya Dutta, writer Amrita Narayanan and Harper Collins CEO Ananth Padmanabhan for the third session Kama and the difficulty of being good.

Moderated by art curator Alka Pande, the discussion focused on Kamasutra, Indian erotica and the modern Indian view of sex.

What does sex mean in India?

De took an unabashed approach and was ready with her words. She said, Kama is a beautiful word, but Kamasutra is the biggest con ever. However, I love the idea that its full of trickery and continues to inspire people, she said.

Adding how the rest of the world was fooled about how Indians enjoy sex, she said, Sex is a threatening and terrifying three-letter word as is the three-letter word God. Both used for achieving violent goals.

She hit hard when she spoke about how sex was driven by patriarchy, hiding behind the glorification of rape culture and violation of the bodies of women and children.

Also Read | Supporting Narendra Modi was a mistake, Arun Shourie hits out at PM in Kasauli

Where philosophy meets desire

Writer Amrita Narayanan, who has edited an anthology The Parrots of Desire: 3,000 Years of Indian Erotica, took a more philosophical approach. Talking about the conflict between believers and non-believers, she said, Many ancient texts, especially from Sangam literature, invite us into psychological openness, stating that pleasure has its own purpose.

Contrastingly, non-believers regard pleasure as something that will cause indiscipline and chaos. Reading poems from old texts, Narayanan elaborated on the wilful nature of desire that should be explored.

See Photos | Khushwant Singh Litfest kicks off in Kasauli

Shy of sex even now

Actor Divya Dutta gave an insight into sex in Indian cinema. She said though films had opened up to portray all aspects of sexual desire  physical and emotional  , the audience was yet to come to terms with it.

Dutta said, Earlier, the Indian heroine was portrayed as a good girl, shy of expressing her desire and acting on it. It was the vamps role to fill those shoes. But things are changing now. Women are shown wanting sex and talking openly about desire.

She, however, added that though the audience liked what they saw onscreen, they were still afraid to talk about it or say it out loud.

I come from Punjab, so I was protected from the very beginning. But with time I have dropped all inhibitions. Portraying a role is kama to me and all that matters is my comfort with the camera, she said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Intensifying its crackdown on black money, the government on Friday said it has collated information about 5,800 shell companies whose near zero- balance accounts saw nearly Rs 4,574 crore of deposits post note ban and Rs 4,552 crore withdrawal thereafter.

Vital information has been received from 13 banks regarding the bank account operations and post-demonetisation transactions of some of the 2,09,032 suspicious companies that had been struck off the Register of Companies earlier this year, the government said in a statement today.

Last month, the government imposed restrictions on operations of bank accounts of over 2 lakh struck-off companies.

Terming it as a major breakthrough in fight against black money and shell companies, it said the first instalment of data pertains to about 5,800 companies -- out of more than 2 lakh that were struck off -- involving 13,140 accounts.

Few of the companies have been found to have more than 100 accounts to their names. The highest grosser among these is a company having 2,134 accounts, followed by others having accounts in the range of 900, 300 etc, it said.

The data on pre-demonetisation accounts and transactions conducted during the cash ban period is startling, the government stated.

After separating the loan accounts, these companies had a meagre balance of Rs 22.05 crore on November 8, 2016.

However, from November 9, 2016 (after the announcement of demonetisation), till the date of their being struck off, these companies have altogether deposited a huge amount of Rs 4,573.87 crore in their accounts and withdrawn an equally large amount of Rs 4,552 crore, the statement said.

With loan accounts, there was a negative opening balance of Rs 80.79 crore in these accounts.

Companies had multiple accounts with minuscule or negative balance as on November 8, 2016, which have seen deposits and withdrawal running into several crores. The accounts were thereafter again left as dormant with paltry balance.

This exercise of swindling the authorities was carried out post demonetisation till the companies were struck off. In some cases, certain companies have gone more adventurous and made deposits and withdrawals even after being struck off, it said.

Citing an example, it said that in one of the banks, 429 companies having zero balance each on November 8, 2016, deposited and withdrew over Rs 11 crore and left again with a cumulative balance of just Rs 42,000 as on the date of the freeze.

Similarly, in the case of another bank, more than 3,000 such companies -- most having multiple accounts -- have been located.

From having a cumulative balance of about Rs 13 crore as on November 8, 2016, these companies have deposited and withdrawn about Rs 3,800 crore, leaving a negative cumulative balance of almost Rs 200 crore at the time of freezing of their accounts.

It needs to be re-emphasised that this data is only about 2.5% of the total number of suspected companies that have been struck off by the government. The huge money game played by these companies may well be the tip of an iceberg of corruption, black money and black deeds of these and many more of their brethren, the statement said.

Investigative agencies have been asked to complete necessary investigation in a time-bound manner.

After being removed from the list, operations of the bank accounts of 2,09,032 suspicious companies were restricted for discharge of their liabilities only.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Friday is expected to come out with major announcements reducing tax rates of several products, especially those that attract 28% rate besides easing the process of filing returns, a move that will not only help businesses but also customers across the country just ahead of Diwali.

The council chaired by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley will hold a meeting on Friday.

A government official told the Hindustan Times that the council will focus on all issues of traders and businesses, who have registered their concerns ahead of the festive season, to ensure that all genuine issues are addressed immediately.

The glitch in the GST network portal, where all traders and businesses have to mandatorily file their returns, is one of the major challenges. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has held a meeting with finance minister Arun Jaitley on the implementation of the new tax structure.

The PM too is concerned and there could be some major announcements today, the official said.

The small traders besides exporters have been the worst hit by the GST implementation. A proposal to increase the threshold of the composition scheme from the current Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore or even higher would be looked into by the council.

Under the composition scheme, all small businesses with a turnover of less than Rs 75 lakh were exempt from complying with the rigorous return filing process and pay a fixed percentage of turnover as a tax.

Refunds of tax too have not been paid as yet, leading to a squeeze in money situation for many traders, including exporters.

The council is likely to take immediate steps to ensure that refunds are released. The reverse charge mechanism, under which tax is charged on a registered entity buying goods or services from an unregistered one could also be deferred.

The GST has been deeply fractured owing to the lethargic attitude of GSTN portal and absence of any nodal authority to monitor the execution of the new tax structure ... Traders across the country are anxiously looking at the GST Council meeting today, Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), said.

 ... We are hoping that the filing of returns would be made simpler while rates on several products will be brought down, he added.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Goods and Services Tax Council (GST Council) chaired by finance minister Arun Jaitley is likely to announce on Friday a special package for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that will, among other things, address the concerns of exporters, as policymakers explore ways to fix an unexpected slowdown in economic growth.

The package will also ease the onerous tax compliance requirements faced by these entities, a person familiar with the contents of the package said on condition of anonymity.

The package comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while defending his governments track record in managing the economy, said both demonetisation and the implementation of GST were structural reforms but that if any sector needs temporary assistance on account of these, the government would provide it. He specifically referred to exporters and small and medium enterprises.

Modis comments on Wednesday came at a time when the narrative about the economy has turned negative, triggered by the economys slowest ever expansion in three years during the quarter ended 30 June, and fanned by criticism of his government by former finance minister Yashwant Sinha and former disinvestment minister Arun Shourie.

There has been speculation about a relief package. On Wednesday, Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah cut short a visit to Kerala to return to New Delhi. On Thursday evening, Shah and finance minister Arun Jaitley are believed to have met with Modi to discuss the economic situation. No details of that meeting or the package are available.

The package being considered by the GST Council, according to the person cited in the first instance, seems sharply focused on exporters and MSMEs.

The key elements include the option for quarterly filing of returns for small businesses, the suspension of the reverse charge tax compliance mechanism for MSMEs till March, refund of taxes to exporters through an e-wallet and exemption from any retrospective enquiry into the previous value-added tax (VAT) regime tax matters, this person added.

Reverse charge refers to the requirement of large businesses sourcing supplies from MSMEs to deduct taxes from them and pay to the government. Normally, it is the suppliers obligation to collect taxes from the buyer and pay the government.

Since large companies do not want additional compliance requirements for sourcing from MSMEs, these small entities stand to lose their business. MSMEs requested the government to suspend this requirement for some time. They also sought the option for quarterly filing instead of the present monthly filing norm.

Indias 36 million MSMEs account for a third of manufacturing output of the country. According to government data, MSMEs employ more than 80 million people. The government also wants to support exports, which reported a 10.29% jump in August to $23.8 billion from a year ago. The package for exporters is based on suggestions by the panel led by revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia, another government official said on condition of anonymity.

On Wednesday, the finance ministry allowed small exportersthose with revenue less than Rs1 croreto import goods without having to pay integrated GST (IGST) by furnishing just a letter of undertaking. Earlier, small exporters had to furnish a bond to avail of this facility. IGST is applicable on interstate trade and on imports of raw materials that exporters use. Currently, this facility is available only to large exporters.

This will bring relief to small exporters (having export turnover of less than Rs1 crore) who were earlier required to submit a bond along with bank guarantee, which was resulting in procedural hassles and cash flow issues, said Abhishek Jain, partner at consulting firm EY.

The Federation of Indian Export Organisations had sought GST refund for exporters based on GSTR-1 (the return relating to supplies) and GSTR-3B (a summary of transactions).

Central and state government officials met in New Delhi on Thursday to consider proposals to be placed before the GST Council on Friday. The council will also review the implementation of GST, which has come under criticism.
Perhaps the judges forgot that good girls never say no and that we bring up our daughters to adjust and never complain.

Either way, it seems ironic that judges in different courts this past month seemed to be penalising women for failing to say no forcefully enough. In Chandigarh, two high court judges suspended the sentences of three law students convicted by a lower court of raping and blackmailing a fellow woman student. The men  two sentenced to 20 years and one to seven years in jail  are out on bail.

The order goes on to make sweeping observations on the woman student. Did she complain? Where was the gut wrenching violence which normally accompanies such situations? Their lordships seem to miss the point. Never mind that she smoked or  gasp  had condoms in her room. Coercion under blackmail cannot be deemed consent.

The idea of consent popped up again a few days later when the Delhi High Court overturned the rape conviction of film-maker Mahmood Farooqui. Although the judge concedes that the woman did say no, it was not, for him, forceful enough. A feeble no may mean a yes, noted the judge. With respect, hes wrong. This is not a bad film script with a coy heroine. In life and under the law, no means no.

In reinterpreting the meaning of consent in two recent cases, judges are creating a dangerous precedent: future rapists can plead that their victims either didnt say no, or didnt say it strongly enough.

At the core of these orders lies a deep and dark kernel of patriarchy. Does a womans right to legal redressal get diluted by her lifestyle choices or if she has exchanged past intimacies, say a kiss, with her rapist? Writing for this paper, senior lawyer Indira Jaising notes that its three types of rape cases that end up with sentencing: when rape is coupled with murder, when the rapist is a stranger or when the victim is a minor.

Are we creating a hierarchy of victims, with assertive, independent women being somehow less deserving of justice? The judiciary needs to recognise women as independent, adult authors of their own destiny.

How does a court justify annulling the marriage of a 24-year-old woman and granting her custody to her father? Mercifully, the Supreme Court sought to right a previous order for an NIA probe into Hadiyas marriage by declaring that the father cannot insist on custody. Yet, the question remains: Why does a grown woman need custody at all?

Why must a grown woman (girl) be subjected to humiliating double standards in university hostels? Surely education does not come without the nurturing of a questioning, independent mind. Yet, as the BHU vice-chancellor reminded us, we dont question why women students must be subject to more stringent curfews or have restricted access to the internet or not be allowed to eat non-vegetarian meals (search me, presumably these will set off heated hormones that might be difficult to control). Who supports these rules? Why dont parents speak up and insist that their daughters are treated as equal citizens?

In 2013, widespread protests by women led to tougher laws on rape. But four years later it is obvious that male attitudes have remained frozen in time.

Perhaps one way to enforce change is by teaching our daughters to say no. No to regressive orders. No to control. No to being treated as children.

Namita Bhandare writes on social issues and gender

The views expressed are personal

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
DEHRADUN: Prime Minister Narendra Modis pet Swachhta Mission seems to have gone for a toss in Dehradun where posters welcoming BJP chief Amit Shah, which had flooded all parts of the city last month, continue to deface public spaces more than a fortnight after his visit.

Shah had visited the Uttarakhand capital on September 19 and 20 to take stock of the party affairs. Prior to that, BJP leaders and workers had openly defaced public places by flooding them with posters and banners that greeted Shah, even though defacing public property is prohibited under the Uttaranchal Prevention of Defacement of Public Property Act.

Ironically, the local civic body entrusted with the removal of such materials, is run by the BJP that has chosen to turn a blind eye to this, alleged the opposition Congress.

They talk about the power of triple engine government (or, the BJPs rule at the Centre, state and local body level) and the BJP workers exhibited that by going all out to welcome their leader, even if it meant going against Modi jis swachhta mission, said Dehradun city Congress president Prithviraj Chauhan. They (BJP) rule the Dehradun municipal corporation, but have failed to take action even after so many days of Shahs visit.

Dehradun mayor Vinod Chamoli, who is also a lawmaker from the citys Dharampur constituency, said that the civic body was working to get the defacing materials removed. I have given orders to officials to get all such posters removedwell see to it that all posters that had been put up without required clearances are taken off as soon as possible, said Chamoli.

According to insiders, the saffron party leaders and workers had been instructed to do their best for ensuring a grand welcome to Shah. Posters were put up, banners were hung and party flags were fixed wherever possible. Although they were later asked to bring them (posters) down, that didnt happen, said a BJP leader who was involved in the team that made arrangements for Shah.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
India and Pakistan cannot be friends, said minister of state (MoS) for external affairs Gen (retd) VK Singh in Dehradun on Friday.

Despite the fact that both nations share commonalities, some sections keep the tension boiling, said Singh.

You have seen Pakistan artistes coming here and our artistes going there. But we cannot be friends. It is a deliberate policy of keeping the pot boiling by some sections, he said at the Military History Seminar at Welham Boys School. Primarily, it suits Pakistan military to keep the pot boiling. Because on that depends their existence, on that depends their prestige and on that depends their control, he added.

Singh said he is hopeful of a suitable environment in Kashmir, which is battling with territorial conflict between the nations. Discussing the situation in Kashmir, he said such situation requires various options to be exercised, which should have political inputs, agreement of people, ensuring legitimate moves and keeping the environment free from usurpers and terrorists. The entire gambit of nation comes into play when you have to solve a problem. The way things are going, we will have suitable atmosphere in Kashmir, he added.

Talking about the problems faced by the armed forces due to bureaucratic interventions, he said, Our problem comes up over a period of time when somebody wants a plump appointment.

Armed Forces have their own ethos, way of working and hierarchy and if they maintain their own dignity and professional competence then nobody can question them. Post Independence, the bureaucracy feel they have become superior and are ears of political masters. The senior leadership of the army has to take stand no matter the belief is that armed forces are apolitical. The issue between the two would, however, remain, he said.

He mentioned how India is sharing harmonious relations with China when it comes to trade. With the recent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Chinese government has now gone soft, he added.

Talking about Barahoti area in Chamoli district where Chinese incursion was reported on the border a few months ago, he said that the area is disputed since long. When asked which country is a potential threat to India - Pakistan or China? he replied, Any country that threatens us is a threat. At present, the situation is under control, he added.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
RAIWALA (HARIDWAR): At least four vegetable kiosks were torched in Rishikesh on Friday after communal tension spread from Raiwala following the death of a 34-year-old man.

Section 144 of CrPC was imposed in the city and stern warning issued that punitive action will be taken against violators. We urge the people not to get swayed by rumours, Dehradun superintendent of police, rural, Sarita Dobhal said.

Earlier in the day, Dobhal rushed with additional police force when news trickled in that activists of Hindu Jagran Manch, an offshoot of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), had altercation with some shopkeepers at Shanti Bazaar.

Rishikesh is represented by speaker Prem Chandra Agarwal in the Uttarakhand assembly. Agarwal had visited locals at Raiwala and visited the local police station on Thursday. HT repeatedly tried to contact Agarwal over phone but he was unavailable for comments.

The Dehradun administration deployed police personnel in large numbers at Raiwala, 15 km from Rishikesh, on the HaridwarDehradun national highway. Shops remained closed for the second day at Raiwala where some property was set afire on Thursday. Heavy deployment of the police was done at sensitive pockets of Raiwala, Rishikesh, Chiddarwala, Gumaniwala and Shyampur.

Tension had spread after Lakshman Singh Kalura, a resident of Gauhrimafi, was found dead at the railway track in Raiwala on the night of October 3. Singh was said to be involved in an affair with the daughter of a poultry farm owner.

The police said the poultry owner, identified as Islam, had sacked Singh - a father of three children - on hearing the alleged affair but it didnt stop the Gauhrimafi resident from meeting his former employers daughter. Islam and his son were booked for murder (Section 302 of IPC) and arrested on Thursday. The police force is investigating the case. We are repeatedly requesting locals to cooperate with us, Dobhal said.

Meanwhile, the right-wing organisation refused to remain quiet despite appeal to maintain calm. In most crime cases, it is Muslims who are involved. We will not allow them to open their shops or do trade within the city , said Rajiv Kumar Gupta, president of Hindu Jagran Manch.
A joint action committee of Jamia Milia Islamia students submitted a memorandum to the Vice Chancellor of the university on Thursday, demanding that students union elections be restored in the university, and elections dates be released by October 10.

The university, also referred to as Jamia, has not had elections since the union was disbanded by the administration on March 31, 2006.

A group of former students moved the Delhi High Court in 2011, asking that the union and union elections be reinstated. Jamia had, however, later said they did not belong to the university. The matter is still sub judice.

Though the demand for an elected students union has frequently resurfaced, this time representatives from various student groups  including the Congress-backed Nationals Students Union of India (NSUI), left-leaning All India Students Association (AISA), Aam Aadmi Partys CYSS, and Jamia Collective  have organised themselves into a Joint Action Committee.

Student union and elections are our democratic rights and it should be exercised, said Amber Fatmi, a member of the committee. The committee members said they had gathered 2,500 to 3,000 signatures for the memorandum that calls for elections and asks the administration to release an election schedule by October 10.

The signatures were collected over past few days, when we had holidays. Which is why the number is not very high, said Talha Rehman, an Islamic studies department student at Jamia.

We have been talking to students on the ground, and we know many want a students union. The university has many issues such as patriarchal attitudes, discriminatory rules for women, delay in results. Many students are left wondering how long they will have to fight individual cases on their own, Rehman said.

VC Talat Ahmad said he had received the students memo and was aware of their demands. I am personally not against elections or students unions. But I cannot do anything on a sub judice matter. The university is a respondent to the petition, he said.

He said the union had to be disbanded in 2006, after increased violence on campus. We cant do anything, unless one of three things happen  either the petitioners withdraw their case or the court vacates the case. The third option is that the students become a third party to the case and ask the court to dispose the case as soon as possible, the VC added.

He also said there was no real consensus among the students about the elections, and that he had found that a section of students dont want elections to be held on campus.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The North Delhi Municipal Corporation has proposed to regularise all illegal constructions done over properties measuring 50-250 square metres till December 31, 2016.

The standing committee, the highest decision-making body of the municipal body, on Friday approved an amnesty scheme for unauthorised constructions on Friday. The proposal, which will have to be ratified by the House of elected councillors, if implemented, will benefit thousands of people.

Plot owners will have to pay a penalty amount, fixed on the basis of the circle rate, for the excess construction for getting their property regularised.

Standing committee chairman Tilak Raj Kataria said, 95% constructions in north Delhi are unauthorised and are in violation of the building bylaws. They have cropped up over decades and it will not be possible to demolish them now.

To give relief to thousands of people living in such buildings, we have decided to implement the amnesty scheme. It will also save people from day-to-day harassment by officials, said Kataria.

The building by-laws mandate that residential properties constructed on a plot area between 50-100 square metres can cover up to 90% of ground area or may have a 350 FAR (floor area ratio) while the plots measuring between 100 and 250 square metres may cover 75% of ground area.

The amnesty scheme recommends 100% coverage of ground floor (400 FAR) on plots up to 250 square metres.

Officials clarified that the scheme will not cover encroachment on government land, height violations (above 17.5 metres) and plot with no structural safety certificate, as required under the Master Plan of Delhi-2021.

The scheme will be applied to properties in planned, plotted, regularised unauthorised areas and urban villages . The property owner must get a certificate from an architect that there is no violation of the height and structural safety rules, said Kataria.

A standing committee member said since the proposal will require amendment to building by-laws under the Master Plan 2021, a copy will be sent to the Union ministry of housing and urban affairs for approval.

Once the Centre approves it, the final draft of the scheme will be prepared, said Kataria.

The civic agency believes that if implemented, the scheme will help increase its property tax revenues by up to R5,000 crore per annum.

The opposition welcomed the scheme but demanded that it should be extended to all property owners, irrespective of their plot size.

Its a good move. But why give the benefit to those who have not followed FAR area rule. The approval should be given irrespective of the number of floors. Otherwise, the scheme will become irrelevant for common man and benefit only 10-15% building mafias, said Prerna Singh, a Congress councillor.

Aam Aadmi Party councillor Vikas moved a dissent motion, alleging lack of clarity in the proposal. It will encourage illegal construction. Also, the scheme is not supported by relevant data, he said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
As winter approaches, northern India and large cities like Delhi stand at the brink of yet another smog and pollution-filled season. Last year, the situation had become so bad that schools had to be closed for a few days, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had recommended that people work from home to avoid going out, the coal-fired Badarpur power plant had to be shut down for 10 days, and the government pondered a scheme to create artificial rain through cloud seeding to reduce the amount of particulate matter in the air. The CM even described the city as a gas chamber.

One of the big culprits blamed for last years terrible air quality was burning of agricultural stubble in Haryana and Punjab. Millions of tonnes of stubble is burnt by farmers in northern India just before winter, and this, coupled with the already terrible conditions in Delhi, makes the situation much worse. This year, in spite of a National Green Tribunal (NGT) order banning the burning of stubble, over a dozen cases of crop burning had already been reported from Haryana by Wednesday. The coming of Diwali is not going to help the situation either. With citizens abdicating responsibility by bursting crackers, the air pollution levels will invariably spike on the day of the festival. It takes a long time for pollution levels to descend again from the Diwali spike.

There are lessons to be learnt from China, which is another country that faces a problem of air pollution so bad that the government has had to declare war on it. After the disastrous airpocalypse in 2011-2012, the Chinese government created a national air pollution plan, at the heart of which was a drastic reduction in coal use in metropolitan cities. Increasing investments in renewable power has also helped bring down pollution levels. Strict emission norms for vehicles, red alerts issued for dangerous pollution levels, and empowered and decentralised pollution control authorities have also helped put in place a long-term solution based approach. There are lessons in such steps for Delhi and other metropolitan cities as well.

Given that governments of three states are still scrambling for solutions this year, and no coherent norms have been put in place for the coming winter season, it appears as though we have learnt nothing from our experience last year. This does not bode well for the city or its citizens. Nothing short of a mammoth effort that includes awareness and mitigation campaigns can help the city of its citizens in the coming winter months.
The security of the larger subcontinent as defined by the United States secretary of defence, Jim Mattis, is a perspective that should give India some comfort. The question is whether his testimony before the US Senate will necessarily translate into policy on the ground in the coming years.

The most important element of his testimony was his unequivocal belief that any US military withdrawal from Afghanistan would be inimical to his countrys security. Kabul must, at the very least, negotiate from a position of strength if it has to come to terms with the Taliban. This will come as music to Indias ears. New Delhi has long argued that any intemperate US withdrawal from Afghanistan would lead to a Taliban takeover  and potentially convert Afghanistan back into a terrorist hub as the Pakistani military had done in the past.

Mr Mattis had a more mixed message regarding Pakistan. While speaking of the double-faced policies of Islamabad  pretending to fight Islamicist terror even while secretly promoting and shielding some of its worst practitioners  he said he was prepared to give Pakistan one last chance. Indian eyes will roll at this, having experienced similar US admissions of Pakistani perfidy followed by a statement of limited forgiveness.

Pakistan is a past expert at exploiting such loopholes and it remains to be seen if the Trump administration will be wise enough to understand when it is being taken for a well-worn ride. He also spoke of how much better Pakistan would be economically if it focussed on trade and investment ties with India. This is an argument grounded in sound reason and economics but wholly irrelevant to the geopolitical drivers of the India-Pakistan relationship.

Mr Mattis also threw in support for Indias official argument against endorsing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) by noting such projects needed to be sensitive to sovereignty issues. But New Delhi still awaits a more comprehensive statement by Washington accepting the larger Indian concern that the Belt Road Initiative, of which the CPEC is the flagship, is being used by Beijing to financially suborn smaller countries both economically and politically.

Nonetheless, this and similar statements by senior members of the Trump administration are reassuring in that they provide clarity to what remains an otherwise incoherent US strategic vision of the world. They also seem refreshingly politically incorrect in publicly stating what US officials would often admit about Pakistan in private. All that remains is for the words to be converted into deeds.
The University of Lucknow will release the answer key of the Combined Pre Ayush Test (CPAT) 2017 on Friday.

Candidates can check the answer keys and booklets of the entrance test, held on October 4, after they are released by clicking here.

The answer sheets will be checked through computers and there is no provision for reevaluation. Candidates can only apply for scrutiny of the answer keys until October 8.

The OMR sheet images will not be provided to the candidates along with the answer keys as they were allowed to carry one carbon copy of their answer sheet home after the examination.

The CPAT-2017 had one paper with 180 multiple choice questions or 45 questions each from zoology, botany, chemistry, and physics. Each question carried four marks.

The results will be declared on October 12 and counselling will begin from October 16.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar will hold his first Janta Durbar (public meeting) on Sunday, October , in Gurgaon during which he will directly hear the grievances of the residents. The durbar will be held at John Hall near Civil Lines, Gurgaon and registration for residents, who want to put forward their grievances will start at 9am on Sunday, while the durbar will commence at 10am.

The Gurgaon district administration said that adequate arrangement for issuing tokens to complainants, parking and seating facilities have been made at Joh Hall and the vacant area around it. Four to five computer operators will register the complaints at the venue and token numbers will be issued to each complainant.

Senior officials of district administration, police, and civic agencies, including HUDA, DTCP and MCG, will be present at the durbar and they will taking directions from the chief minister for resolution of complaints and problems. Parking arrangement for visitors has been done at a space adjacent to John Hall and other government offices.

Prior to the commencement of the janta durbar , a meeting of the district grievances committee will be held at 9am under the chairmanship of the chief minister. The committee will hear 25 grievances, which are related encroachment of green belt, pollution, illegal construction, setting up of illegal vegetable market and several other issues.

The chief minister will hear a complaint pertaining to illegal construction by a real estate company at Fazilpur Ghasola on revenue land and bundh in which it has been alleged that drainage system has been destroyed because of the construction activity. At Tigra village, some influential men have allegedly encroached on a road and set up illegal vegetable market. The encroachment will also come up during the public meeting with the CM.

Residents have complained to the district administration regarding the encroachment of a green belt and road at Old Delhi Gurgaon Road by an automobile dealer and other industries. Apart from these, complaints pertaining to illegal markets in several new sectors, pollution caused by chemical factories at Bhora Kalan near Bilaspur will also be heard at the meeting.

Read I Khattar blames Delhi government and planning failure for Gurgaon mess

The Janta Durbar is being seen as an attempt by the chief minister to reiterate the governments resolve infrastructure issues and other problems in Gurgaon, as the BJP government had promised that the issues plaguing the city will be addressed on priority, during its poll campaign.

Earlier, Khattar had also ensured that complaints related to real estate were heard at the highest level when he had chaired the AGRF meeting in the city.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Wildlife Institute India (WII) experts on Friday said that the method used by the wildlife department to capture the leopard, which was inside the premises of Maruti Suzuki plant, was the best way to rescue the animal.

Wildlife officials said the eight-year-old male leopard, rescued safely after an enclosure of 36 hours, is healthy and has no signs of depression.

The leopard which taken to the forest department office in Gurgaon for medical examination.

The leopard gained consciousness at 5:55 pm and was healthy. It weighs 70 kg and will be released in the Aravalli forest by tonight depending on its condition, conservator of wildlife, Vinod Kumar, said.

Meanwhile on Friday, more cages were installed in the 6-acre area of Engine Plant at Maruti Suzuki plant, Manesar.

To capture the animal, four cages with two goats as bait and raw meat were kept in the unit to capture the leopard. The method used by the wildlife team was the best way to rescue a leopard trapped in an enclosed area. Live bait and more cages to trap the leopard was the only way which could have been used by any agency to safely rescue the animal, Bilal Habib, WII, Wildlife project head, said.

To rescue the leopard, a 14-member wildlife team was on toes for the 36 hours, along with more than 100 police men at the site. The entire area was cordoned off to restrict the movement of human beings. Leopards are shy animals and generally do not move if they are not confident about the environment, R Anand, divisional forest officer, Gurgaon, said.

A day after it was spotted inside the premises of Maruti Suzukis manufacturing plant in Manesar, bringing production to a halt. The big cat, which was caught on a CCTV camera several times, in the past 36 hours at the site, had ventured into the plant from Aravalli hills as the plant is located on the foothills of Aravallis.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Wildlife officials tranquilised a leopard inside the premises of a Maruti Suzuki plant in Manesar on Friday, almost 36 hours after it was first spotted.

The big cat was seen at 1.45pm on Friday by the officials who were monitoring CCTV cameras in the plant. The team then rushed to the Engine Plant where leopard was tranquillised at 2.06pm.

It will take 20-30 minutes for the leopard to calm down. The team members saw the leopard in CCTV footage and grabbed the opportunity to fire the tranquiliser at it, said Vinod Kumar, conservator of wildlife, south Haryana.

Once the animal clams down, the wildlife team will rescue it and remove it from the plant, the officials said. We will examine its condition before releasing it back into its natural habitat, said R Anand, divisional forest department, Gurgaon.

The big cat, which was caught on a CCTV camera several times, could not be traced or captured despite a 24-hour combing operation by the wildlife department.

On Friday, the wildlife department had placed two more cages inside the unit and replaced the two goats. Raw meat was also placed in the cages to lure the leopard.

The Manesar plant, which is 20km from Gurgaon, is one of the biggest manufacturing plants of the automobile firm. The production plant, spread across 600 acres, manufactures an average 5,000 petrol and diesel engines per day. The production had been stalled for over 24 hours now at the plant.

The area is close to the Aravalli hills and it is suspected that the big cat could have strayed from the forest area.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Oscar winning producer Harvey Weinstein has denied allegations of sexual harassment made by actor Ashley Judd, which were reported by The New York Times on Thursday. However, in an interview with New York Post, Weinstein said that he has not  laid a glove on the actor, and vowed to reach out to her in a years time.

I never laid a glove on her. I know Ashley Judd is going through a tough time right now, I read her book. Her life story was brutal, and I have to respect her. In a year from now I am going to reach out to her, he was quoted as saying in the New York Post. In an explosive interview, Weinstein admitted of having a bad temper and says his wife Georgina Chapman is standing by him.

She stands 100 percent behind me. Georgina and I have talked about this at length. We went out with [attorney] Lisa Bloom last night when we knew the article was coming out. Georgina will be with Lisa and others, kicking my ass to be a better human being. And to apologize to people for my bad behaviour, to say Im sorry, and to absolutely mean it, he said.

Harvey Weinstein says his wife Georgina Chapman is standying by him. (Photo: NYT)

The larger-than-life Hollywood executive is taking a leave of absence from his own company after an explosive expose revealing decades of sexual harassment against women, from employees and actors including Ashley Judd and Rose Mcgowan. I also have the worst temper known to mankind, my system is all wrong, and sometimes I create too much tension. I lose it, and I am emotional, thats why Ive got to spend more time with a therapist and go away, he explained.

The article includes first person accounts of Weinsteins alleged conduct, including from Judd, who recounts an incident from two decades ago, in which she said she was asked to meet Weinstein in his hotel room. Weinstein greeted her wearing a bathrobe and asked if he could give her a massage or if she would watch him shower, the paper reported.

On Thursday The New York Times released a report alleging decades of sexual harassment against women, including employees and actor Ashley Judd. The Times reports two company officials say at least eight women have received settlements, including actor Rose McGowan. (Photo: AP PHOTO)

Women have been talking about Harvey amongst ourselves for a long time, and its simply beyond time to have the conversation publicly, Judd had told NYT. Two unnamed company officials tell the Times that at least eight women have received settlements from Weinstein over the years, including actor Rose McGowan, who allegedly had an incident with him in 1997, when she was 23. Other stories include similar accounts of Weinstein coercing young women into giving him massages, while naked, or watching him shower, and promising career advancement in return. These incidents were all said to have happened in hotel rooms.

Weinsteins attorney Charles J. Harder said in a statement that the story is saturated with false and defamatory statements about Harvey Weinstein.

This is not the first time Weinstein has been openly accused of sexual harassment. In 2015, a 22-year-old Italian midel had accused Weinstein of groping her at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Three men were arrested on Friday for allegedly shooting at and injuring a 19-year-old woman after gang raping her in Lucknow, police said on Friday, the latest in a string of sexual attacks in a state with one of Indias highest incidences of crime against women.

Police identified the arrested with their first names -- Karan, Golu and Mukesh.

Two others named in the complaint lodged by the survivors family are Sandeep and Rohit, said Satish Kumar, superintendent of police, rural.

The woman, who was hit on the nose, is said to be out of danger.

The incident occurred on Wednesday night when the woman  who cannot be named for legal reasons  stepped out of her house to attend natures call in Malihabad village, on the outskirts of Uttar Pradeshs capital city.

Despite the governments push for building toilets at homes, millions of Indians still prefer to relieve themselves in the open, where, police say, many sexual assaults take place.

Curbing crime against women was one of the major pre-poll promise of the BJP which stormed to power in the state earlier this year but activists say little has changed on ground despite chief minister Yogi Adityanath forming so-called anti-romeo squads to curb sexual assault of women.

In the latest incident, the woman alleged that she was gang raped as one of accused, Sandeep, wanted to avenge his sisters elopement in which the name of the survivors brother had emerged, said inspector Arun Kumar Singh of Malihabad police station.

The womans father said he was alerted by the sound of firing and found his profusely bleeding daughter lying on the ground, barely 100 metres from their house.

The woman was taken to a hospital in Balrampur from where she was referred to the king George Medical Universitys trauma centre.

The woman narrated the incident to him after she was able to speak on Thursday. One of the accused fired on her when she threatened to approach the police, he told police.

The accused have been booked for gang rape and attempt to murder.
An Mi-17 chopper of the Indian Air Force crashed on Friday near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, killing all seven personnel on board, a senior IAF official said.

The Mi-17 V5 crashed at about 6 am when it was on a maintenance mission, the official said.

It is confirmed that a Mi-17 V5 chopper crashed early morning around 6 am in Arunachal Pradesh. All the seven people on board have been confirmed dead in the accident, the official said.

The helicopter had both air force and army personnel on board and it was carrying supplies for Indian military posts close to the border with China, an official told AP on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to reporters.

The wreckage of the helicopter has been sighted and the police and the army teams have rushed to the mountainous area, the news agency said, quoting a defence ministry official.

The IAF has ordered a court of inquiry to probe the cause of the accident. The Mi-17 V5 is a Russian built medium-lift military transport chopper.

Referring to a string of crashes of IAFs choppers and military jets in recent years, Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa said on Thursday: Our losses in the peacetime are a cause of concern. We are making concerted efforts to minimise accidents and preserve our assets.

In May this year, two IAF pilots died when the Sukhoi-30 jet crashed near the Assam-Arunachal border during a routine training mission.

With agency inputs

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The 16-month old BJP-led coalition in Assam headed by Sarbananda Sonowal is under scrutiny following a party legislators accusation that several ministers in the state government take bribes in lieu of doling out contracts.

Ram Prasad Sharma, a Lok Sabha member from Tezpur, specifically pointed out Ranjit Dutta as he told local news channel earlier this week that the minister for irrigation and handloom takes 10% commission in all contracts related to his departments.

The statement by Sharma, a noted lawyer, has created a stir in the Bharatiya Janata Party as well as the government, which came to power last year on the plank of rooting out corruption.

Dutta has denied the charge and demanded Sharma to submit proof.

Such comments from a person like Sharma are unwarranted. If he had any proof of misdeeds, he should have aired them in party platform instead of going to media, said Bijoya Chakraborty, another BJP MP from Assam.

Following the airing of the news clip on Wednesday, the BJP Assam unit has convened an emergency meeting of state office bearers on Saturday to discuss the issue. Chief minister Sonowal also has asked Sharma to substantiate his claim and assured that no one would be spared if the allegations are found to be true.

This is not the first time, Dutta, a senior BJP leader who represents the Behali constituency in the state assembly, has come under the scanner.

In March this year, the anti-corruption and vigilance wing of Assam police arrested Kujendra Doley, secretary in the irrigation department in his office chamber while accepting a bribe.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Youve heard of haldi-doodh being rediscovered by the west as the hipster turmeric latte, but it seems the humble Indian charpoy (khatiya) has got its own moment in the sun.

An elaborate ad by an Australian man describes the cot as an extremely comfortable, traditional Indian daybed, is going viral on social media. But the charpoys price has raised quite a few eyebrows: it can be yours for just Australian $990 or Rs 50,000.

The advertisement claims that the charpoy is hand-woven using manila rope and can be customised as per the buyers specifications. It is made of maple timber and boasts of strong mortise and tenon joints.

Sydney resident Daniel Bloore, who is the manufacturer of the beds, first noticed a charpoy during a visit to India in 2010, according to SBS Punjabi. He used one for himself and after making one for a friend, decided to sell them.

Bloore says he dropped a flyer at an Indian grocery shop about six months ago and has been getting an overwhelming response ever since. The timber and the rope cost almost half of the price and then it takes many hours to make the frame, he told SBS Punjabi. It takes Bloore a week to make one bed.

In India, where the charpoy is available for a fraction of the price quoted, the advertisement raised quite a few laughs. On Twitter, people found the exorbitant price hilarious. Sample some reactions:

While Indians are made to feel ashamed of rural lifestyle, many others have started to appreciate & use "Datun", "Dona" & now "Charpoy". pic.twitter.com/w2k4Wk8nCe  Ashima Singh ???? (@AshiQuotes) October 5, 2017

Who would have thought that we would need a copyright on khatiya/charpoy.. we better file IP claims for Indian 'lota' asap. #charpoy pic.twitter.com/79tql92i1T  Kanchan Ray (@kanchanray) October 6, 2017

Wow! how they sell it in Australia! 990 Australian dollars is ?50,500/-

& here we forgot it for modernity's sake#Charpoy #Horasu #Baazala pic.twitter.com/hNfFvhlOfl  ????: ????? (@gavyasudha) October 5, 2017

Wow...It seems India is finally getting its due. A $10 charpai selling for $990. #MakeInIndia is working ;) #IndiaRising #CharpaiRising pic.twitter.com/MTpWJr2J40  Vineet Chugh (@vineet_chugh) October 6, 2017
A Bengaluru-based woman has alleged that she was forcefully restrained and physically assaulted at a controversial yoga centre in Keralas Ernakulam to stop her from marrying her Christian partner.

The centre she has named in her police complaint, Sivasakti Yogavidya Kendram, hit the headlines after two women filed similar complaints last month of having been restrained against their will in a bid to get them to leave their partners who belonged to other religions. The two women alleged that they were among 60-odd women who were forcefully restrained at the centre.

In her police complaint, filed on October 3, Vandana, a residence of Bengaluru who works at a life sciences firm, said she was kept at the centre for 31 days between March and May and forced to marry a Hindu man before she was allowed to leave.

Speaking to HT, Vandana said she was taken to the centre under a false pretext by her parents, who were opposed to her Christian partner. My parents said they wanted to visit Kerala with me, and so we flew to Kochi. A couple of days after we reached my parents told me they wanted to visit a yoga centre to treat my mothers knees. Once we got there, I was locked up in a room, she said, insisting on only using her first name.

Vandana said the employees at the centre told her that she could be released if her partner decided to convert to Hinduism or if she married a Hindu. I tried to escape many times, but they physically assaulted me every time I tried, she said.

In her complaint, Vandana named the director of the centre Manoj Guruji; Sruthi the coordinator; and counsellors Smitha, Sujith, and Lekshmi.

Kochi police commissioner said MP Dinesh said he had not yet seen the complaint that was sent to him by email. We get a lot of complaints in a day so I havent yet seen this, he said. Most of the office-bearers of the Yoga centre are on the run after a police case against them two weeks back, and werent available for comment.

Vandana said the people at the centre used to tell her Islam and Christianity were bad and intimidated her by threatening to kill her partner. I had also seen other women there who had been at the centre for around two years, so I was very scared, Vandana said.

Finally, a friend agreed to marry her to help her get out of the place. They insisted that the marriage had to be registered and so we got married at the Kanjiramattam Sree Mahadeva Temple in Idukki district, she said.

Now, Vandana has filed for divorce and is waiting to marry her partner. But she says the experience had shaken her. I had told my parents about my decision over a year before I was taken to the centre and we were waiting for their approval. I never expected this, she said.

After she read news reports of the complaint filed against the centre she got in touch with Swetha Haridasan, the original complainant, and decided to become a party to the case.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The BJP-led coalition government in Assam has come under intense scrutiny after a party MP accused several ministers in the state cabinet of corruption.

Speaking to a local news channel on Wednesday, Tezpur MP Ram Prasad Sharma said several ministers in the 16-month-old government take bribes in return for awarding contracts. A noted lawyer, Sharma specifically accused irrigation and handlooms minister Ranjit Dutta of taking 10% commission for each contract given away.

Dutta has denied the allegation, urging Sharma to back his charges with concrete proof. I have already explained my stand on the issue to chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal and state unit chief Ranjit Das. They will decide the future course of action, he told Hindustan Times.

Sharmas allegations have created a stir in the government, which came to power in May last year on the anti-corruption plank. Such comments from a person like Sharma are unwarranted. If he had any proof of misdeeds, he should have aired them in the party forum instead of the media, said Bijoya Chakraborty, another BJP MP from Assam.

The partys Assam unit will convene an emergency meeting of state office bearers on Saturday to discuss the issue. Sonowal has asked Sharma to substantiate his claims, assuring that nobody would be spared if they are found to be true.

This is not the first time Dutta, a senior BJP leader representing Behali constituency in the state assembly, has come under the scanner. In March this year, the anti-corruption and vigilance wing of the Assam Police arrested Kujendra Doley, a secretary in Duttas irrigation department, for accepting a bribe in his office.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Tejashwi Yadav, former Bihar deputy chief minister and son of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, is being questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday in connection with the ongoing probe into the alleged irregularities in awarding contracts to a private firm nearly a decade ago.

His questioning comes a day after Prasad was questioned for more than seven hours in the same case.

Yadav reached at the CBI headquarters a little after 11am and was straightway taken to the investigation officer in the case. The contracts were given during Prasads tenure as the railway minister between 2004 and 2009.

Before reaching CBI headquarters, Tejashwi tweeted that even if the speed of their lies is fast, their lies will lose and our truth will emerge victorious in the end. He added the thread of truth may be longer but no one can break it.

Tejashwi and his father had skipped three summons by the CBI seeking more time due to other political engagements.

The probe agency has alleged in its FIR that when Prasad was the railways minister, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation  a subsidiary of the Indian Railways  handed over maintenance of its two hotels in Ranchi and Puri to Sujata Hotel, a company owned by Vinay and Vijay Kochhar, in return for a prime plot of three acres in Patna through a benami company.

The case registered by the CBI named Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi, son Tejashwi and Sarla Gupta  the wife of former Union minister Prem Chand Gupta  as the accused in the case.

Tejashwis questioning is likely to continue till evening.

Prasad has termed his and Tejashwis summoning as a political vendetta.

Prasad told reporters after his questioning that he turned railways profitable during his stint as the railway minister. The RJD chief added he will uproot communalism and fascism even if he was hanged by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Days after home minister Rajnath Singh visited Jammu and Kashmir, the government has set up a study group to examine problems faced by people living near the international border and Line of Control (LoC) due to repeated and rising instances of ceasefire violations.

Special secretary (internal security) Rina Mitra, principal secretary (home) J&K government Raj Kumar Goyal, divisional commissioner Kashmir Bashir Ahmed Khan, divisional commissioner Jammu Dr Mandeep K Bhandari and joint secretary J&K government Gyanesh Kumar will be members of the group.

Data compiled by the home ministry (MHA) shows that 2017 witnessed a major spike in the number of ceasefire violations by Pakistani troops.

Against a total of 449 incidents last year, there have been 600 ceasefire violations till September this year, killing eight civilians and 16 soldiers whereas last year 13 security personnel were killed.

During a four-day tour to the state, Rajnath Singh had met people of border areas and assured them that their concerns will be taken into account, a senior home ministry official said.

He also met security forces and their recommendations will also be taken into account by the study group, the official said.

According to MHA spokesperson Ashok Prasad, the group will prepare a detailed report of the issues faced by the public in these areas and submit recommendations for remedial actions to be taken by the government.

The group will meet people, district administration and security forces in these areas.

According to MHA officials some of the key areas that the study group will focus on are issues like relocation of civilian population during ceasefire violations, construction of bullet-proof bunkers to house civilians, self-protection trainings for local population and better watch and monitoring by security forces.

Among other issues that the study group will collect feedback is of compensation for land of civilians that has been used by the military for border fencing and other security purposes.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A little over a month after India and China ended a tense border standoff at Doklam near Sikkim, it has emerged that the Peoples Liberation Army has begun constructing a road about 10 to 12 km from the site where the two armies were locked in a faceoff for 73 days.

Army sources confirmed that the PLA was constructing a road in Chumbi valley but added that the area was under Chinese control and the development did not have strategic implications for India. Around 500 soldiers are present in the area where the road construction is being carried out.

In Doklam, China had accused India of trespass and preventing its troops from building a road in the remote Himalayan plateau that is claimed by both China and Bhutan. The 73-day standoff ended with withdrawal of troops and China removing road-building equipment.

The sources said, The same equipment and workers are being used to strengthen an existing kutcha road about 10-12 km from the last faceoff site. The area is under their control.

India and China had agreed to pull back troops to end the months-long Doklam face-off on August 28. The decision put a lid on one of the most serious disputes between the nuclear-armed neighbours who share a 3,500-km mountain frontier that remains undemarcated in most places. It came days before Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to China to attend a summit of BRICS, a grouping that also includes Brazil, Russia and South Africa. China pulled back its bulldozers and other road-constructing equipment.

The Doklam standoff between India and China along the Sikkim border was likely to be the new normal, a reputed defence think tank had warned after the standoff, making a strong case for building military capabilities as China respects strength.

In a paper titled Looking Beyond Doklam, the Centre for Joint Warfare Studies (CENJOWS), a think tank set up by the defence ministry a decade ago, said it is crucial for India to demonstrate strength as peace along the disputed border or Line of Actual Control (LAC) will be constantly and continuously under stress with increase in frequency, intensity and depth of (Chinese) transgressions leading to more and more standoffs.
A Jammu and Kashmir policeman and his minor son were injured when unidentified gunmen barged into their house in north Kashmirs Handwara on Friday evening and opened fire on them.

Altaf Ahmad Khan, a special police officer in Hanjin village of Karlgund in Handwara, and his 9-year-old son, who was sitting in his lap when the gunmen fired, were rushed to a hospital where they are undergoing treatment while police has launched a hunt for the gunmen.

Kashmir remained tense on Friday owing to two killings, protests by people and restrictions by authorities as separatists had called for protests against braid chopping incidents across the Valley.

Earlier, unidentified gunmen shot at a fruit vendor in Tral of Pulwama district. Rafiq Ahmad Bhat (37) died enroute to Shri Maharaja Hari Singh hospital.

In neighbouring Anantnag district, a 70-year-old man succumbed to head injury this morning after he was hit by a brick thrown by his nephew in Danter village on Thursday night.

Local reports, however, said a vigilante mob mistook Wani as the culprit behind braid-chopping and attacked him but police did not confirm the version.

Special investigation teams and 24-hour helplines have been set up in every district to probe braid-chopping incidents, which have created a sense of fear among women in the region.
A couple was brutally hacked to death allegedly by the maternal uncles of the woman in Rajanna Siricilla district of Telangana on Thursday evening after they got married against their wishes, police said on Friday.

According to the police, the victims have been identified as N Rachana (21) and Neduri Harish (22) of Balrajpalli village in Vemulawada block of the district.

Rachanas uncles  Ashok, Shekar and Nagaraju  who brought her up after she lost her parents did not approve of the marriage as she was a graduate while Harish drove an autorickshaw for a living. Both of them belonged to a Scheduled Tribe and were from the same community.

The police said Harish and Rachana were in love for the last two years and got married in a temple four months ago. After their marriage, they took shelter in the residence of Harishs relatives at Marupaka village.

The couple lodged a complaint with Vemulawada police as they feared for their lives. The police called her uncles and counselled them.

Harish and Rachana came to Balrajpalli on Thursday and were attacked by her uncles, who hacked them to death with knives and daggers. The couple died on the spot.

Vemulawada rural circle Inspector Madhavi visited the crime scene and inquired about the incident. The police have registered a case of murder and are on the lookout for the killers.

Many people, especially women, are murdered each year in India by family members over perceived damage to honour that can involve eloping, fraternising with men or any other infraction against conservative social values.

India registered 251 honour killings in 2015 against 28 in 2014, recording a big spike in murders carried out by people professing to be acting in defence of their familys reputation, the government told Parliament in December last year.

The 792% jump reflects the rigorous data collection on honour killing, which the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) started doing from January 2014. It also points to the widespread existence of the crime. Most cases went unreported in the past or registered as crimes under murder.

India doesnt have a specific law to deal with honour killing, forcing law-enforcement agencies to charge suspects under separate provisions of the Indian Penal Code depending on the scale of a crime.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
China on Friday reacted to media reports about the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) widening a road near the site of a recent standoff with India by stating that its troops patrol the Donglang or Doklam region to protect the countrys territorial rights.

The foreign ministry contended that Doklam had always been under Chinas control.

The Chinese border defence troops have always been patrolling in Donglang district to protect the territorial rights, according to relevant border treaties and agreements, the foreign ministry said in statement.

There is no dispute that Donglang (Doklam) is always part of Chinas territory and is always under Chinas effective and valid administration, it added.

In New Delhi, the external affairs ministry said status quo prevailed in the Doklam region and there had been no new developments at the face-off site and its vicinity since the 28th August disengagement.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted the statement in response to the media reports. Any suggestions about activity in the area were incorrect, he added.

In response to recent press reports about Doklam, our statement : pic.twitter.com/vIUp4xvFXR  Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) October 6, 2017

The Donglang region, near the Sikkim border, is under Chinas control but claimed by Bhutan.

Indian Army sources told Hindustan Times that the PLA had begun working on a road about 12 km from the site where the two armies were locked in a tense standoff for 73 days.

The face-off was resolved on August 28, when both sides pulled back their troops and China stopped the construction of a road to which New Delhi had objected.

The India Army sources further said the road being widened is in Chumbi valley but added the area was under Chinese control and the development did not have strategic implications for India. Around 500 Chinese soldiers are present in the area where the construction work is being carried out.

Indian Air Force chief BS Dhanoa too said in New Delhi on Thursday that Chinese troops were stationed in Chumbi valley and he hoped they would go back soon.
Three days ago, when the UK authorities arrested Vijay Mallya on the request of Enforcement Directorate (ED), the agency strategically clubbed its request for extradition of the fugitive liquor baron with that of the CBIs.

The CBIs request has already been pending there since April.

The clubbing of requests is a move to expedite the extradition of the embattled 61-year-old businessman, who has been living in the UK on a self-imposed exile since he left India on March last year.

The CBI officials feel the EDs move will eliminate the chance of any further procedural delay in bringing him back to India, believe CBI officials.

Both the CBI and the ED are working in close coordination for the extradition of Mallya. The EDs charges of money laundering against Mallya will strengthen the CBIs request for his extradition, said a senior CBI official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The official added the investigators from both the agencies discussed the move in detail before the ED went ahead to join the CBI.

The UB Group chief was arrested for the second time in the UK on Tuesday after the ED pressed money laundering charges against him.

Earlier he was arrested in April on the charges pressed by the CBI. On both occasions, Mallya was released on bail.

The extradition hearing against Mallya, in which the UKs Crown Prosecution Agency will represent both the ED and the CBI, will begin on December 4.

The CBI probed charges of bank loan default to the tune of Rs 9,000 crore against Mallya and filed a chargesheet against him.

Following the CBI probe, the ED initiated its money laundering probe against the flamboyant businessman and the Kingfisher Airlines he owned in January last year.

The ED officials say they issued three summons to the fugitive liquor baron in March and April last year but he didnt join the probe.

Since then on the EDs request, Mallyas passport has been revoked. The court first issued a non-bailable warrant against him and then declared him proclaimed offender. Subsequently, the ED attached his properties worth Rs 1,850 crore.

The ED has also attached his properties worth Rs 8,040 crore (market value) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act after the court-mandated attachment of properties on account of Mallya being declared a proclaimed offender.

The agency formally charged Mallya in June this year listing out instances how he allegedly diverted money taken on loan for other purposes.

Mallya has repeatedly denied all the charges.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Foreign direct investment into the countrys textile sector has gone up three times in the past one-and-a-half to two years, resonating the confidence of foreign investors in the industry, Union minister Smriti Irani said on Friday.

The textile minister asserted that the countrys man-made fibre sector can soon look forward to good news as an inter-ministerial group (IMG) has been formed to suggest measures to maximise its potential. However, she did not elaborate on it.

For the first time... there is an IMG on how to leverage our potential in MMF (man-made fibre), how to make rates competitive, and I think you will hear good news very, very soon, Irani said during a discussion at the India Economic Summit.

World Economic Forums 33rd India Economic Summit is held in partnership with industry body CII. The theme of the conference this year is Creating Indian Narratives on Global Challenges. It is attended by over 650 leaders from 35 countries. The summit which began on Wednesday held discussions on climate change, infrastructure and gender parity, besides demonetisation and GST.
A controversial yoga centre in Kochi, which has been accused of illegally restraining and torturing women for marrying outside the faith, has come under more such allegations from a former employee.

E V Krishnakumar, a former teacher and ex-employee of Sivasakti Yoga Vidya Kendram, alleged that the centre used to function like a detention centre, and at times, drugs were administrated on violent inmates and their nude photos were taken to blackmail them.

He has filed a plea in the Kerala High Court requesting it to hear him while hearing the case.

Krishnakumar claimed that many parents used to forcibly bring their girls to centre for counselling and rigorous religious discourse. Others were recruited through the Hindu Helpline, a group formed by fringe Hindu elements to check alleged love jihad. He said often parents overlooked girls repeated complaints, hoping that they would be back in Hindu fold.

Earlier Shruti, a post-graduate hailing from north Kerala, and an Ayurveda doctor had filed similar complaints against the centre. Shruti said many girls were forced to undergo pregnancy tests and subjected to third-degree physical assaults. She said she was taken to the centre by her parents discreetly and she was forced to spend about a month at the centre and allowed to go after she agreed to marry a Hindu youth.

A Bengaluru-based woman has also alleged that she was forcefully restrained and physically assaulted at the yoga centre to stop her from marrying her Christian partner.

After the police filed a complaint against the centre, its director Manoj Guruji and the counsellors are absconding.

The State Womens Commission has asked the Kochi (rural) SP to submit a report at the earliest.

Police said the centre was set up in 2012 after reports of alleged love jihad cases surfaced. Recently, the centre had claimed that it brought back 2,000 girls who married outside their faith in four years.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The national food regulator on Friday issued an order making it mandatory for all food businesses  caterers, manufacturers, companies transporting food items and retail outlets  with 25 or more people handling food to have at least one trained food safety supervisor.

The supervisor would have to be trained under the Food Safety Training and Certification Programme (FoSTaC), designed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). The supervisors would be responsible for ensuring that food quality is maintained, however, legally the owners would be responsible for lapses.

It would be mandatory for all food businesses having Central Licence or State License to have at least one trained and certified Food Safety Supervisor for every 25 food handlers or part thereof on all their premises, the order read.

Currently, we have written to the state food safety officers to gauge how much time it will take to train the food safety supervisors. Once done, we will make it mandatory for the big licensed food businesses to have these trained supervisors, said Pawan Agarwal, chief executive officer of FSSAI.

It would be made mandatory for even the small food business operators (FBOs) in a year or two after the required number of supervisors is trained and a proper framework is in place, he added.

The order says, All the states/ union territories are now advised to initiate a special drive to take up and facilitate FoSTaC for licensed FBOs under their respective jurisdiction immediately. The above training is too be made mandatory in phases over the next two years.

The training will be provided by large food business operators that have partnered with the FSSAI, academic and vocational institutes, training partners approved under the Skill Development Councils and Missions, scientific and technology associations and civil society organisations.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
India and the European Union on Friday agreed to strengthen cooperation for decisive action against globally proscribed terrorist individuals and groups, including Hafiz Saeed, Mumbai attacks mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Dawood Ibrahim, LeT, JeM, Islamic State and their affiliates.

The EU also joined India in condemning the terror attacks in Pathankot, Uri, Nagrota, Anantnag and Srinagar alongside assaults in Paris, Brussels, Nice, London, Manchester and Barcelona. The two sides also recalled the 2008 Mumbai attacks and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.

The call for stronger cooperation to target groups such as the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed and jihadi leaders such as Hafiz Saeed and Dawood Ibrahim was seen in diplomatic circles as a win for New Delhi, which had lobbied the 28-member bloc on these issues.

The joint statement on cooperation in combating terrorism, issued at the end of the India-EU Summit in New Delhi, bracketed Pakistan-based groups such LeT, JeM, Haqqani Network and Hizbul Mujahideen along with the Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

The leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation to take decisive and concerted actions against globally proscribed terrorists and terror entities, including Hafeez Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, Dawood Ibrahim, Lashkar-e-Tayibba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Haqqani Network, Al Qaeda, ISIS (Daesh) and their affiliates, the statement said.

The leaders of India and the EU called for greater unity, stronger international partnership and concerted action by the international community in addressing terrorism, the joint statement said. The two sides also reaffirmed their determination to jointly combat terrorism and violent extremism irrespective of their motivations, wherever and by whomever they are committed.

The 10th meeting of the India-EU Counter-Terrorism Dialogue was held in New Delhi on August 30, reflecting the growing partnership on security issues, including counter-terrorism.

Among the focus areas identified by the two sides are information-sharing, steps to counter online radicalisation, capacity-building activities and closer cooperation on domestic and international terrorist designation listing proposals.

The two sides also reiterated their commitment to increased cooperation to disrupt recruitment, terrorist activities and flow of foreign terrorist fighters and to stop sources of terrorist financing and dismantle terrorist infrastructure.

Both sides also said they would work together to drive international efforts at multilateral forums such as the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum and the Financial Action Task Force to cut the flow of funds and economic resources to individuals and entities involved in terrorism.

In recent months, India has effectively used the FATF forum to target Pakistan-based terrorists such as Hafiz Saeed. It was largely due to pressure from FATF that Islamabad was forced to place Saeed under house arrest in January.

The EU also backed the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism proposed by India in the United Nations as an instrument for a global alliance of nations against terrorism which would reinforce the message that no cause or grievance justifies terrorism.

The two sides called for an early conclusion of negotiations and the adoption of the convention in view of the urgent need to establish a comprehensive international legal framework to address terrorism.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Residents of a town in Nagaland have adopted a resolution to restrict entry of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants (IBIs).

The resolution was adopted at Chumukedima, located 14km from Nagalands commercial hub Dimapur, on Thursday following a public rally to create awareness on alleged influx of IBIs.

An enumeration drive, between October 9 and October 31, is also being planned in the town in order to find out the number of non-Nagas and IBIs residing in the town.

Thursdays resolution follows an attack on a Naga family allegedly by a group of non-Nagas in the town on September 21.

The resolution adopted after the rally organised by the Tribal Union Chumukedima Town (TUCT) felt the IBIs posed serious threat as they controlled several vital economic activities and posed danger to peaceful coexistence of the public.

Speakers at the rally insisted that the resolution wasnt aimed at Indians from other states but only directed at detecting and deporting IBIs who might be staying in the area using fake or forged papers.

Among the steps suggested, the resolution stated no new or existing trade licences should be issued to IBIs and restrictions imposed on their businesses including sale and purchase of poultry, fishes, vegetables etc.

The so-called IBIs would not be allowed to rent out or take on rent both commercial and non-commercial vehicles and Nagas and other Indians shouldnt buy or sale anything to them.

The resolution urged the state government to strictly implement the inner line permit (ILP) system all over Nagaland and warned land/house owners not to give their places on rent or lease to the suspected foreigners.

Earlier this week, the head gaon bura (chief village elder) of Chumukidema town announced an enumeration drive and asked all non-Nagas to produce identification documents like passports, voter identity cards, Aadhar cards etc. during the process.

Any non-Naga failing to produce their identification proof as required shall be compelled to leave Chumukidema town and the expelled members (if any) shall not be allowed to dwell in and around Chumukidema, a release stated.

In Nagaland, gaon buras are important functionaries responsible for administration in villages. The posts, usually permanent, are filled by members elected by villagers or nominated by clans.

The enumeration drive is being carried out on directions of the district administration to find out presence, if any, of illegal immigrants and those without valid documents, said a senior government official on condition of anonymity.

There is growing concern in Nagaland about influx of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.

On Wednesday, Naga Students Federation issued a copy of memorandum addressed to the chief secretary urging the government to check influx of illegal immigrants and implement the inner line permit (ILP) system effectively within a month.

Inner line permits are required by Indians from other states to enter Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram. The practice started by British to protect their business interests in the region was continued after Independence with a view to safeguard the customary tribal practices of the region.

In Nagaland, Dimapur, the largest town and commercial hub, doesnt come under purview of the ILP system.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay foundation stones and inaugurate a slew of projects during two-day visit to his home state Gujarat, starting Saturday.

He will kick-start the trip with a visit to Dwarkadhish Temple, followed by laying the foundation stone for four national highways projects worth ?5,825 crore at Dwarka and addressing a public meeting there.

Modi will also visit his birth place Vadnagar on Sunday for the first time since becoming Prime Minister in 2014. From Dwarka, he will go to Chotila in Surendranagar district where he will lay the foundation stones for a greenfield airport at Rajkot.

The PM will also dedicate a fully automatic milk processing and packaging plant and a drinking water distribution pipeline for Joravarnagar and Ratanpur area of Surendranagar, a PMO statement said.

He will then proceed to Gandhinagar, where he will dedicate the newly constructed building of IIT Gandhinagar and launch the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan.

On Sunday morning, he will visit Vadnagar and distribute e-tablets to health workers to mark the launch of ImTeCHO (Innovative mobile-phone Technology for Community Health Operations). In the afternoon, he will reach Bharuch and lay the foundation stone for Bhadbhut Barrage to be built over Narmada River. Modi will also flag off the Antyodaya Express between Udhna (Surat, Gujarat) and Jaynagar (Bihar).

The PM will also unveil plaques to mark the laying of foundation stone, and inauguration of various plants of Gujarat Narmada Fertilizer Corporation. He will then address a public meeting before returning to Delhi.
The Election Commision will have to get a consent from all recognised national and regional parties to pull off simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and state assemblies, sources in the poll body have said.

The Election Commission in its earlier responses to the government has underlined the need for political consensus. All parties have to be on board, following which a constitutional amendment will have to be made, said an EC official.

Articles 83(2) and 172(1) do not allow the Lok Sabha and state assembly terms to extended beyond five years and Article 356 allows the union government to dismiss a state government in case of law and order failure, the official added.

The government will have to address the issue of what happens if a state government does not complete a term.

Election commissioner OP Rawat claimed on Wednesday the election watchdog would be ready to hold assembly and Lok Sabha elections simultaneously after September next year, a move that could cut poll costs by hundreds of crores of rupees.

To pull it off the Election Commission will also need 40 lakh electronic voting machines and paper trail machines in place before the next round of general and assembly polls and a constitutional amendment to allow synchronised polls.

Rawat also told reporters in Bhopal that the government has already sanctioned the money for procurement of EVMs and Voter-verified paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines and they will be delivered by September 2018 after which the poll body will be able to hold simultaneous elections.

Earlier, the commission dubbed the idea of simultaneous polls as not insurmountable but pointed out that it would need over Rs 9284.15 crore for procuring the additional EVMs and VVPAT systems if the Lok Sabha and state assembly elections are held together.

It has also pointed out that the lifespan of an EVM is only 15 years, which means they will be used only thrice if simultaneous polls are held, and will cost the government Rs. 4520 crore for their procurement after that.

Logistical challenges can be addressed but what the EC needs to move forward is political parties being on the same page and it is the Centres responsibility to build consensus, the EC official said.

The stand of political parties on the issue is divided. Most political parties have submitted to the parliamentary committees that the proposal needs a wider consultation before being rolled out.

Parties like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Communist Party of India(Marxist) and the Shiromani Akali Dal have raised questioned on the recourse if a particular state government is dismissed, pointing out that Presidents rule cannot be imposed for prolonged periods.

The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government at the Centre has been aggressively pushing for the system of simultaneous parliamentary and assembly polls that was prevalent in India till 1967.

While parliamentary polls are scheduled for 2019, assembly elections will be due in eight states September 2018. Polls in Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan are slated for the end of 2018 and early 2019. Polls for the remaining four states are slated to be held with the general elections.
A Cape Girardeau man who murdered his wife in 2011 and then helped write a tell-all book while in prison on Thursday pleaded guilty in federal court to a related charge of interstate domestic violence.

The plea agreement calls for a federal prison sentence of 35 years for James Clay Waller, 45, and bars him from making money from the book, a movie, or anything else that attempts to capture any part of his story either now or in the future.

That seems like a long time, Waller told U.S. District Judge Audrey Fleissig in court. Fleissig can accept or reject the deal, and will decide once a presentence report has been completed.

In court Thursday, Fleissig summarized the plea agreement, which says Waller dug a grave for his wife, Jacque Sue Waller, near Devils Island on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River northeast of Cape Girardeau on May 31, 2011. He then spent the night with his girlfriend in Illinois. He traveled to Missouri the next day for a meeting with his wife at a divorce lawyers office with the intent to kill her, Fleissig said. The couple had separated in March 2011.

Waller had told Jacque Waller numerous times that if she tried to divorce him, she would be signing her death warrant, Fleissig said. After the meeting, Waller beat and strangled his wife at his home in Jackson, Mo., and then took her body by boat to her grave.

Is that what you did in this case? Fleissig asked.

Yes, Waller responded.

The disappearance of the mother of 5-year-old triplets attracted national attention.

Long under suspicion, Waller pleaded guilty in Cape Girardeau County Circuit Court in 2013 to second-degree murder as part of a deal that earned him a 20-year prison sentence. In return, Waller led investigators to his wifes body.

But local officials and Jacque Wallers relatives were dissatisfied with the length of his sentence and asked federal officials to see if they could prosecute him also. The FBI and other investigators found inmates to whom he had confessed and found the manuscript in March 2016. He was indicted on the federal charge two months later.

That 182-page manuscript, which was reviewed by the Post-Dispatch earlier this year before it was sealed, says that Waller killed his wife because he didnt want to be separated from his children by the divorce, which was prompted by Wallers wife discovering his affair.

Waller first contemplated murder a year before he actually carried it out, and surveyed a 15-mile area along the Mississippi River by helicopter at that time to find a site and dig a grave, the manuscript says. But he claims he resolved to fix the marriage.

In handwritten notes, Waller writes that he wants the book to go into local schools and libraries and hopes for some pen pals out of the project.

Its not clear how many of the claims in the manuscript are true. His descriptions of the murder in the manuscript, and in his 2013 guilty plea, are contradicted by the autopsy, a filing from Assistant U.S. Attorney Larry Ferrell says. Waller also mocks investigators, and betrays the confidences of alleged lovers and those to whom he claims he confessed the crime.

Wallers lawyer, John Lynch, had sought to get the federal charge tossed out, saying a federal charge for the same murder would be double jeopardy and prosecuting Waller for the book would be a violation of his free speech rights.

Ferrell responded in court filings that Waller was told that his guilty plea wouldnt prevent a federal charge or a charge in Illinois. Ferrell also said that the discovery of the book did not prompt the federal charge.

Waller withdrew his legal challenges Aug. 23. His sentencing was set for Jan. 16. The 35-year sentence would run at the same time as his state sentence.
Jailed AIADMK leader VK Sasikala was granted parole on Friday for five days, from October 7 to 11, to visit her ailing husband in Chennai.

The 60-year-old leader is serving a four-year-sentence at Bengalurus Parappana Agrahara prison for corruption. Her nephew and ousted AIADMK leader TTV Dinakaran arrived at the jail to accompany her.

Her husband, M Natarajan, underwent a liver and kidney transplant at a Chennai hospital this week but the opposition has raised questions over the process of organ donation.

In the parole order, a copy of which HT has accessed, the prison authorities have laid a series of conditions. Sasikala has been advised to only visit the hospital and stay at her house.

Further, Sasikala has been asked not to entertain any visitors at her residence or at the hospital during the five days. During the emergency parole period you are not suppose[d] to involve in political or any other public activities or not to take part in party activities, the parole order read.

Sasikala has also been ordered to not interact with the media during this period.

The parole comes at a time when she and her nephew have been increasingly sidelined in Tamil Nadu following the merger of two faction led by chief minister E Palaniswami and former chief minister O Panneerselvam. Dinakaran and Sasikala have been removed from all party positions and all appointments made by them have been junked.

Dinakarans political future now hinges on a decision of the Madras high court, which is hearing petitions challenging the disqualification of 18 MLAs loyal to him. If the disqualifications are overturned, the Tamil Nadu government would lose its majority in the assembly.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Supreme Court appointed on Friday a senior lawyer to help it examine if the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi about seven decades ago can be investigated again.

The top court asked Amarendra Sharan to evaluate the validity of a private petition seeking the re-investigation, even as it wondered whether that would be wise and legal. Gandhi was shot dead by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu radical, on January 30, 1948, in New Delhi.

We find it difficult to say it can be done in law. You examine the petition and tell us what you think, the court said, directing Sharan to see if there was any material evidence to accept the petition.

The petition was filed by Pankaj Phadnis, a Mumbai-based researcher and trustee of Abhinav Bharat, a Hindu revivalist group inspired by Vinayak Savarkar who was named an accused in the assassination of Gandhi but later acquitted.

Even after seven decades, Gandhis assassination remains a political live wire with Hindu groups that provide ideological fodder for the Bharatiya Janata Party facing criticism for the killing. Godse had ideological compatibility with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a critic of Gandhi, and Savarkar was a top leader for the erstwhile Hindu Mahasabha. Both groups deny involvement in the murder of the father of the nation.

Several members of Abhinav Bharat, founded in 2006, are under investigation for a string of bombings targeting Muslims in India.

Phadnis told the court he had new proof to show that a third person was involved in Gandhis murder but the matter was not fully examined as the Supreme Court of India did not exist at that time.

When the proceedings began, he asked for more time to bring on record some more documents, calling Gandhis murder probe one of the biggest cover-ups in history.

Unimpressed, judges SA Bobde and L Nageswara Rao said the Kapoor Commission probed the assassination 40 years ago and it was a futile exercise now to re-investigate an incident that took place seven decades back.

On Phadniss stand that there was no SC to examine the case back then, the bench said there was nothing wrong if the convicts were hanged after a high court upheld the punishment. Godse and his accomplice Narayan Apte were executed for Gandhis murder.

What is the new information you have now? We cant go by passion but only on law. You say there was a third person involved, an organisation. We cannot convict organisation, the court asked Phadnis.

So do you know if the third person from that organisation allegedly behind the murder is alive today? How can we order an investigation into a matter in which even the person concerned may not be alive?

The court gave Sharan four weeks to look into Phadnis petition. The court will now hear the case on October 30.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Supreme Court collegium has begun posting all decisions on judicial appointments and transfers on its website to ensure transparency, seeking to tackle a point of friction with the government.

The collegium is a body comprising the countrys five senior-most judges, including the chief justice of India, which selects judges for appointments to high courts and the Supreme Court.

All information will be available under the new tab Collegium Resolutions on the official portal of the top court. Details posted will also indicate the reasons for the recommendation or rejection of a name for appointment, transfer or elevation.

To start with, the collegium posted its resolutions passed on October 3 on the elevation of district judges to Madras and Kerala high courts.

The collegium system of appointment, in place since 1993, has come under criticism, especially from the government for being opaque. The Centre has been pushing to scrap it and appoint another panel  the National Judicial Appointments Commission Act (NJAC)  to decide on elevating judges, one in which the executive would have a say.

The collegiums move towards transparency comes a week after it faced severe criticism for a proposal to shift justice Jayant Patel out of Karnataka high court to Allahabad. The judge, who resigned in protest, was tipped to become the acting chief justice of the high court on October 9.

The standoff with the government has delayed the appointment of new judges to higher judiciary. The Supreme Court, with a sanctioned strength of 31, is short of six judges and is battling a backlog of 60,000 cases. Across the countrys 24 high courts, as many as 413 judges posts are vacant.

The October 3 resolution, Transparency in Collegium system, bears the signatures of all its members  chief justice of India Dipak Misra and justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph.

The decisions henceforth taken by the Collegium indicating the reasons shall be put on the website of the Supreme Court, when the recommendation(s) is/are sent to the Government of India, with regard to the cases relating to initial elevation to the High Court Bench, confirmation as permanent judge(s) of the High Court, elevation to the post of Chief Justice of High Court, transfer of High Court Chief Justices / Judges and elevation to the Supreme Court, because on each occasion the material which is considered by the Collegium is different, the collegium note said.

Resolution is passed to ensure transparency and yet maintain confidentiality in the Collegium system, it read.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The Supreme Court asked the government on Friday to explain within three weeks why it shouldnt ban hanging by the neck as a mode of execution.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra issued notice to the Centre on a PIL challenging section 354 (5) of CrPC that says a person sentenced to death shall be handed by neck till he is dead.

The petitioner told the bench it was an individuals right to die with dignity, saying that hanging was barbaric and cruel.

While hanging is the most commonly used method of execution, electrocution, gas chambers and pushing off a great height, the last being only used in Iran, are the least used.

Heres a look at the methods of execution across the world:

Hanging

Hanging is the most common method of execution across the world, with the laws of 60 countries authorising it, according to Cornell Law Schools Death Penalty Worldwide. India, Japan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq are among the countries that execute by hanging.

The last executions in the United Kingdom were done by hanging until death penalty was abolished in the 1960s.

Lethal injections

Lethal injection was adopted in the US in 1977 as a humane alternative to the electric chair. The cocktail of lethal drugs are considered to be the most humane method of death penalty. Thirty three states in the US have lethal injection as a primary method of enforcing capital punishment, according to data by the Death Penalty Information Centre (DPIC).

In China as well, a court ruled in 2009 that lethal injections were less cruel than shooting, said Death Penalty Worldwide.

However, humans rights activists have argued against this method after death penalties were put on hold in the American state of Ohio in January 2014 after a botched up execution: An inmate had repeatedly gasped and snorted during a 26-minute procedure with a never-before-tried drug combo.

Beheading

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where beheadings are used for executions, reported Al Jazeera. The Gulf nation is known to execute convicts publicly with a sword.

If the executioner is skilled and has a sharp blade, it is among the least painful ways to die. When the infamous guillotine, designed by the French physician Dr Joseph Ignace Guillotin, to make beheadings painless and error-free, was first officially used for public execution in France in 1792, the crowd baying for blood were reportedly disappointed by the speed of death.

Shooting

Shooting is still authorised as a method of execution by the military courts in India, a Law Commission report confirmed, although its use has not been witnessed in recent times.

Read | Deaths door: HT series on death penalties in India

The DPIC said on its official website that three American states still have the option of execution by shooting, but lethal injection remains their primary method of carrying out death sentences.

Indonesia, Afghanistan, US, Vietnam, Russia and North Korea are among the dozens of countries where execution by firing squads or shooting is legal.

Electrocution

Ironically, the first electric chair was built in 1888 to find a more humane way of execution. The electric chair was designed to make the brain and heart stop instantly, by conducting a high-voltage currents directly through the person.

Convict William Kemmler was executed in 1890 and other American states adopted this method soon after. A death-row inmate in Florida was executed through electrocution in 2013 when he opted for the chair instead of the lethal injection.

Read | Is humane execution really possible?

But there have been several cases of the prisoners taking more than a few minutes to lose consciousness. There was widespread opposition to electric chair executions after a convicts head burst into flames in 1997 during the procedure in the US. Two years later, photos of a convicts bloodied face were posted online.

(With agency inputs)
Fancy a cup of tea at the Presidents house the next time youre in Delhi?

In a humble gesture, Indias President Ram Nath Kovind invited Indians across the world to Rashtrapati Bhavan, saying his home belonged to every Indian.

Kovinds October 4 tweet extends an invitation to the Presidents official home, located on Raisina Hill and says, The next time you are in Delhi, I invite you to visit Rashtrapati Bhavan. It belongs to Indians all over the world #PresidentKovind.

The next time you are in Delhi, I invite you to visit Rashtrapati Bhavan. It belongs to Indians all over the world #PresidentKovind  President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) October 4, 2017

The tweet, that has been shared over 2.6k times and liked by nearly 8.2k people, has garnered a mixed response ranging from gratitude to hilarity. While some were taken aback by the down-to-earth nature of the tweet, some responded to it in a witty manner asking the President to sign up on Trivago and Airbnb. A user replied saying Kovind was the first President to invite his fellow citizens to visit the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Sample some of the best reactions:

Breakfast tomorrow?  Nitesh (@singh_dr) October 4, 2017

So sweet of you Sir!You are the first one who is inviting his fellow citizen to visit the Rashtrapati Bhawan.. Regards and best wishes..  Aadya (@Anupama1947) October 4, 2017

Never heard before, I thought it belongs to the President and his/her family!!

Thank you very much Mr. President @rashtrapatibhvn #achedin   ~ MySelf ~ (@Achiintya) October 5, 2017

This so humble and approachable behaviour. Thank you. Jai Hind  Shakti  (@Misstiiq) October 5, 2017
With the widening alcohol prohibition threatening to impact the countrys tourism industry, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant on Friday said it is not the states business to decide what a tourist should eat and drink.

Indian states cant get into what a tourist wants to eat and drink. Just not possible...what he wants to eat and drink is his individual business and not the states business, he said at India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in New Delhi.

He was asked whether states banning beef and alcohol have failed to realise what did Dubai do so brilliantly, as the country needs tourists who should be extended every facility they need.

I have been a long term believer on couple of things. Tourism is essentially civilisational in character, you cant have garbage and filth and say that we have great heritage sites. So, India must focus on cleanliness. It is number one. Number 2, its about seamless experience, he said.

Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Daman have announced plans to bar liquor sales, adding to the list that includes Gujarat, Bihar, Nagaland and Manipur which are already dry.

The proponents of prohibition maintain India has highest whiskey sales in the world leading to a plethora of social ills and needs to be checked. Also, they say, drink driving is a leading cause of road accidents and binge drinking is a big problem in the country.

Asked by the moderator if he has told the political leadership about his views on the impact of this prohibition on tourists, he said: I have said it all the time that for a tourist... its about creating experiences.

In the evening he wants to relax and he wants to chill out and therefore you need to create that evening experience for (him) in terms of Indian culture.
Former BJP cabinet minister Arun Shourie hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the second time in the week when he said supporting him was a mistake.

Delivering the inaugural address of the sixth edition of the Khushwant Singh literary festival at Kasauli on Friday morning, Shourie said, I made too many mistakes  by supporting (former prime minister) VP Singh and then by supporting Modi.

Shourie, the minister for communications and information technology from 2002-04, was speaking on How to recognise rulers for what they are.

Dont believe that leaders will suddenly change when they come to power. Judge character with the adherence to truth. Is he (the leader) a man of his words? he said.

Shourie is the latest senior politician to speak out against the government over its economic policies, sliding growth rate and unemployment. Last week, senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha had criticised the government for making a mess of the economy, warning that its impact would be hard-hitting. Sinha was finance minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee cabinet. The BJP responded by dismissing Sinha and Shourie as frustrated politicians avenging their sidelining by the party.

On leaders of today, Shourie said, Just believe Im talking about (US President) Donald Trump. Any resemblance closer home is your imagination.

For Indians: Open your eyes. Mussolini's goons were nothing without the state and with it they were everything, says Arun Shourie @HTPunjab  Oindrila (@Oindrila0606) October 6, 2017

The leaders of today are Machiavellian and narcissistic. They are also sociopathic with this underlying sense of victimhood. After demonetisation, leaders started victimising themselves, saying Demonetisation ke baad mujhe kitne zulm sehne pade (Had to go through so much after demonetisation), he said.

Shourie also expressed his disappointment about the current state of the media. See what has happened to the media, nobody is telling them the truth. The media will have to devise other methods to realise the truth, said the Jalandhar-born former editor. He was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award in journalism, literature and creative communication arts in 1982.

FESTIVE START

With a heady mix of film personalities, journalists, and writers, literature lovers are in for a treat as the annual three-day Kasauli lit fest, which pays homage to late author Khushwant Singhs brand of humour, irreverence, passions and concerns, got off to a lively start. This year, the theme is simply 70, which celebrates 70 years of Independence.

Author Vikram Seth and actress Divya Dutta attend the inaugural session of the Khushwant Singh Litfest in Kasauli on Friday. (Karun Sharma/HT)

Authors Vikram Seth and Shobhaa De and actors Shatrughan Sinha and Divya Dutta were among the prominent at participants at the festival, which is on till October 8.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Hyderabad : An affiliate of the ruling Telangana Rashtra Samithi, the Telangana Boggu Gani Karmika Sangham (TBGKS) recorded a massive victory in the trade union elections of the Singareni Collieries Company Limited that went to polls on Thursday.

The Singareni Collieries is one of the largest coal companies in the country.

The trade union elections assume importance as its nearly 55,000 voters play a major role in deciding the electoral fortunes in as many as 12 assembly constituencies spread over five districts-- Adilabad, Mancherial, Karimnagar, Peddapalli and Bhadradri Kothagudem.

The TRS, which had won all the 12 seats in 2014 elections, pulled out all stops to retain its hold in the Singareni to negate any anti-establishment wave in the state.

In the results announced in the early hours of Friday, the TGBKS, headed by Nizamabad MP and chief minister K Chandrasekhar Raos daughter Kalvakuntla Kavitha, bagged nine divisions. These divisions are Yellandu, Bellampalli, Manuguru, Kothagudem Corporate division, Kothagudem mines, Srirampur, Ramagundam-1, Ramagundam-2 and Ramagundam-3.

On the other hand, the Opposition alliance comprising two nationa unions Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) and All India Trade Union Council (AITUC), and a regional union -- Telugu Nadu Trade Union Council (TNTUC), could win just two divisions  Bhupalpalli and Mandamarri.

Right from the beginning, the TRS-led union had the advantage over the opposition because most of the Singareni coal mine workers had played a major role in the movement for a separate Telangana state and they were actively associated with the TRS.

The TBGKS had for the first time won the Singareni trade union elections in 2012 by a margin of over 23,000 votes. This time, despite having an anti-establishment wave, the ruling party managed to retain its hold by promising to resolve the long-pending demand for jobs to the dependants of the retired coal mine workers. Among others it also promised an income tax exemption for the miners.

Attributing the victory to the leadership of the chief minister K Chandrashekhar Rao, the party MPs, MLAs and MLCs said that this was the landmark verdict given by the coal mine workers because they believe only the TRS government could resolve the problems of the workers.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A court here awarded life sentence to Khalistan Liberation Front terrorist Harnek Singh Friday for the abduction of Congress leader Ram Niwas Mirdhas son Rajendra more than 22 years ago.

Additional District Judge Pramod Malik also slapped a penalty of Rs 20,000 on the convict.

Singh, who belonged to terrorist outfit Khalistan Liberation Front (KLF), has been in jail since he was arrested by the Punjab Police in 2004. He was brought to Jaipur and arrested in this case on February 28, 2007.

The Additional District Judge had held Singh guilty in the abduction case yesterday and reserved the order on quantum of punishment for today.

After hearing the defence and the prosecution, the court awarded life sentence to Singh, Assistant Public Prosecutor Rajendra Kumar said here.

Rajendra, the son of Congress leader and former Union minister Ram Niwas Mirdha, was abducted on February 17, 1995 while out for his morning walk. He was later rescued by the police in an operation.

In May this year, the Rajasthan High Court had directed the lower court to complete the trial within three months and ordered the additional advocate general to personally monitor the case.
Re-election of Akhilesh Yadav as national president of the Samajwadi Party for five years ended all speculations of the possible return of his father Mulayam Singh Yadav as the party chief.

The blessings and wishes from Mulayam and Akhileshs chief adversary in the party Shivpal Yadav came as a sign of softening in their stands  even if reluctantly or circumstantial.

Mulayam blessed Akhilesh over the phone while Shivpal through a tweet.

For five years, Akhilesh bore the tag of running a government of five chief ministers, but all that are a thing of past. The party has no factions or groups now.

SP national general secretary Ramgopal Yadav, who is often referred to as the architect of the Yadav family feud and transfer of power to Akhilesh, and the partys Muslim poster boy Azam Khan too rallied behind him.

Remember how there used to be demonstrations by the supporters of Prateek Yadav or Aparna Yadav demanding tickets for them. There was also a group that built pressure on Mulayam to make Akhilesh the chief minister in 2012. The party will no longer have pressure groups, said a senior SP leader and a former Mulayam loyalist.

There is no family feud within the party now. And if there is any, it will be outside the party and will not have any bearing on the SPs agenda, an Akhilesh loyalist said.

The gesture shown by Mulayam and Shivpal on Thursday hints that Akhilesh will eventually put Mulayam on a pedestal and may give Shivpal a respectable position.

However, Shivpal may have to wait for some time.

On January 1, when Akhilesh sacked Shivpal as the state unit chief and himself took over as national president, he had said he would give his family members their due honour, a party worker said.

Akhilesh is likely to call on Mulayam on Friday.

All the top SP leaders, including Akhilesh, had attacked Shivpal at the state convention on September 23 but did not utter a word against him in Agra.

So what is the difference now when Akhilesh has been the national president since January 1?

The difference might be minor, yet significant, according to the partys constitution.

On January 1, Akhilesh became the president through an emergency convention while a re-election through national convention is an actual stamp on his leadership.

Ramgopal will submit the report and minutes of the Agra convention to the Election Commission in Delhi in the next two days.

Akhileshs struggle within the party and family may have ended but he still faces a number of challenges.

He will have to consolidate and expand the party and look for a bigger role in national politics.

The partys slogan for Mulayam Man se hai Mulayam, iradey loha hain (Soft at heart, Mulayam is a man of strong will) has changed to Loha tap kundan bhaya (iron has transformed to gold after passing through testing times) for Akhilesh.

The party that once projected Mulayam as the future PM of the country has transferred the dream to Akhilesh as the party workers cheered  Desh ka neta kaisa ho, Akhilesh Yadav jaisa ho.

Akhilesh has blown the bugle for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Agra and winning over Mulayam and making him a star campaigner for the party will only help him.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
DEAR DOCTOR: Could you explain panic attacks? I never knew what people were talking about until a few months ago, while sitting at the computer. I felt as if I had stopped breathing; I thought I was dying. I ended up in the ER, but no problems were found. This has happened several times since, and I want my life back.

DEAR READER: Panic attacks are truly a scary experience, especially if you've never had them before. Many of the symptoms are similar to those of a heart attack, causing people to seek immediate attention in an urgent care department or emergency room. The symptoms, which develop suddenly, can include chest pain, heart palpitations, sweating, nausea, shortness of breath, lightheadedness and, for many, the feeling that they're going to die.

Such attacks are surprisingly common. One-third of people have at least one panic attack during their lifetime. Those who experience recurrent panic attacks not related to generalized anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder have what is termed panic disorder. People with panic disorder have a persistent worry about having another panic attack and the consequences of future attacks. That leads them to avoid situations that may induce panic attacks, which, in turn, leads to a profound alteration in quality of life. Panic disorder affects nearly 3 percent of the population, ages 15 to 54.

People with panic disorder often report an increase in stressful life events over the past year and, even more often, within the past month. Genetic factors also play a role. A person who has a first-degree family member with panic disorder is three times more likely to develop the disorder compared to people without such a tie. Further, an identical twin is five times more likely to have anxiety and panic if his or her twin has the disorder.

The symptoms of panic attacks are essentially a normal "fight or flight" response to a very stressful situation, such as an encounter with a lion, tiger or grizzly bear. However, panic attacks occur without the lion, tiger or bear. Some experts hypothesize that panic attacks are abnormal central nervous system responses to even the most mundane stimuli. Such responses arise in the brain's limbic system, which normally processes sensory information into emotional responses, behavior and memory. The hyperresponsiveness to sensory inputs -- and even the inputs from one's own thinking -- leads to a poor regulation of the autonomic nervous system, which controls heart rate, the contraction of the heart, blood pressure, the gastrointestinal system and sweating. MRI studies have confirmed alterations in the limbic system in people with panic disorder.

Panic attacks can also be precipitated by stimulants such as caffeine, cocaine and amphetamine as well as withdrawal from alcohol, opiates or benzodiazepines like Valium, Ativan and Xanax. Although patients sometimes use benzodiazepines to stop a panic attack, these medications can induce rebound panic when the drug is out of the system, making them a poor treatment option.

Cognitive behavioral therapy shows the greatest sustained benefit in stopping panic attacks, because it can alter the underlying brain responses. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medications also can help.

In summary, starting therapy and possibly medication will be the first steps in getting your life back.

Robert Ashley, M.D., is an internist and assistant professor of medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Send your questions to askthedoctors@mednet.ucla.edu, or write: Ask the Doctors, c/o Media Relations, UCLA Health, 924 Westwood Blvd., Suite 350, Los Angeles, CA, 90095. Owing to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.
Senior Samajwadi Party Shivpal Yadav took party workers by surprise when he congratulated Akhilesh Yadav on his election as the national president of the party for five years. Heartiest congratulations to Akhilesh and blessings from the bottom of my heart, tweeted Shivpal, who has been locked in a bitter power tussle with nephew Akhilesh for more than a year now.

The move is being seen as thaw in their relation and the first communication between Akhilesh and Shivpal ever since the family feud broke out and former was elected party president on January 1. And if sources are to be believed, the softening of stand by Shivpal is a prelude to a patch up bid. According to them a meeting between the two warring factions of the SP is on the cards at the behest of partys patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav. The date and venue of the meeting would be finalized soon, said a senior party leader.

While Shivpal refused to take calls or interact with media persons, sources closed to him confirmed that he had spoken to Akhilesh over telephone on Tuesday. Apparently to send a message of all-was-well in the Yadav clan, Akhilesh also confirmed in Agra that his uncle had blessed and congratulated him over telephone. He (Akhilesh) invited him to attend the partys national convention at Agra but Shivpal declined saying he was neither an office-bearer nor a delegate of the party. Shivpal is believed to have met Mulayam before speaking to Akhilesh.

Read: Akhilesh Yadav re-elected Samajwadi Party president for five years

Mulayam, who is in Lucknow, was scheduled to attend the partys convention in Agra on Thursday. He left his residence at around 12 noon for the airport amidst reports that he was going to Agra but returned back home. Sources close to Shivpal said he was initially unhappy over the manner in which Mulayam had recently announced his support to his son (Akhilesh). During his meeting with Mulayam, Shivpal reportedly asked him about what to do next.
The worlds largest police force, the UP Police Twitter service, has achieved a rare distinction. It is being presented as the global success story of any government department having online public connect and addressing grievances through social media platform.

Twitter service impact 2 lakh tweets received at UP Police Twitter handle since its launch on September 8, 2016 Action taken on 85,957 tweets 350 FIRs lodged on tweets related to serious offences since January, 2017 9 FIRs against police personnel for corrupt practices 64 policemen suspended for negligence, inaction and corrupt practices 82 policemen facing departmental inquiries

The UP police media cell in charge, additional superintendent of police (ASP), Rahul Srivastava was invited by Twitter India to a conference at Delhi on Thursday, to narrate how a colonial police force was transformed into the digital era force.

Talking to HT on phone, the ASP said he came to know about the UP Polices achievement when Twitter India chief Taranjeet Singh mentioned it during the conference on Thursday. He said Twitter India had presented UP Police Twitter service as the global success story at its organisational meeting in US. It was also being presented at other platforms about use of social media in making social changes.

Srivastava said the Twitter handle of UP Police was directly handing online complaints and most of the grievances were addressed within 24 hours of uploading.

He said at the conference, he shared the key components of UP Police Twitter Sewa related to sensitisation of police officers and personnel at district level, creating mandatory Twitter handle of all districts police and formation of a proper team to handle and train personnel about its use..

Although UP Police twitter handle is active since March 2016, the Twitter Sewa was officially launched in on September 8, 2016. A special team of eight policemen was constituted and they were trained to handle public grievances coming through tweets. Twitter Sewa was recognised as a separate unit of the UP Police, said Srivastava.

He said nearly 3 lakh tweets were received at UP Police Twitter handle since March 2016 and almost 1.15 tweets related to public grievances were forwarded for proper redressal. Since the official launch of Twitter Sewa, nearly 2 lakh tweets were received and action was taken on 85,957 complaints and information received, he said.

The ASP said nearly 1091 tweets related to serious issues like corruption by police personnel, crime incidents and non-registration of FIRs were received at UP Police Twitter handle since January this year. FIRs were registered in 350 incidents, around nine FIRs were registered against police personnel after finding them involved in corrupt practice, 64 policemen were suspended, departmental inquiries were set up against 82 cops and 16 were sent to police lines, he told HT.

Srivastava also participated in the panel discussion on Twitter influence in bringing about social changes. He said he shared his experience about how the old colonial image of the UP Police was replaced with a smart one, having huge direct connectivity with the public.

Earlier, the UP Police Twitter service received the special jury award for providing best Twitter services to directly address peoples grievances.
Compared with dying in a hospital, a recent study suggests, very old people are more likely to die comfortably if they die in a care home or at home.

Yet while the overwhelming majority of very old people reported symptoms at the end of life such as distress, pain and depression, the study found that these were not always treated effectively.

In a study published in the journal BMC Geriatrics, the researchers argue that their findings highlight the need to improve training in end-of-life care for all staff, in all settings, and in particular to address the current shortage of palliative care doctors in the NHS.

As life expectancy increases, so more and more people are dying at increasingly older ages, often affected by multiple conditions such as dementia, heart disease and cancer, which make their end-of-life care complicated. In the UK, in just a quarter of a century the proportion of deaths occurring at the age of 85 or older has risen steeply from around one in five in 1990 to almost half of all current deaths.

Older people living with dementia commonly report multiple symptoms as they approach the end-of-life, and if these symptoms are not adequately controlled, they may increase distress and worsen an individuals quality of life.

While some people close to the end-of-life may prefer to die at home, only a minority of the oldest old (those aged 85 years and above) actually die in their own homes. In the UK, fewer older people die in hospices or receive specialist palliative care at home than younger age groups, and the trend for older deaths is gradually moving away from death in hospital towards long-term care facilities.

Little is known about symptom control for older old people or whether care in different settings enables them to die comfortably. To address this gap in our knowledge, researchers from the Cambridge Institute of Public Health examined the associations between factors potentially related to comfort during very old peoples final illness: physical and cognitive disability, place of care and transitions in their final illness, and place of death. This involved a retrospective analysis of data for 180 study participants aged between 79 and 107 years.

The researchers found that just one in 10 participants died without symptoms of distress, pain, depression, and delirium or confusion, and most people had in fact experienced combinations of two or more of these symptoms. Of the treatable symptoms reported, pain was addressed in the majority, but only effectively for half of these; only a fraction of those with depression received treatment for their symptoms.

Compared with people who died in hospital, the odds of being reported as having died comfortably were four times as high for people whose end-of-life care had been in a care home or who died at their usual address, whether that was their own home or a care home.

People living in the community who relied on formal services for support more than once a week, and people who were cared for at home during their final illness but then died in hospital, were less likely to have reportedly died comfortably.

How we care for the oldest members of society towards the end of their lives is one of the big issues for societies across the world, says Dr Jane Fleming from the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, the studys first author. The UK is not the only country where an urgent review of the funding for older peoples long-term care is needed, along with commitments to staff training and development in this often undervalued sector.

Its heartening that the majority of very old people in our study, including those with dementia, appear to have been comfortable at the end-of-life, but we need to do more to ensure that everyone is able to die comfortably, wherever they are.

The authors of the study argue that it highlights the need to improve training in end-of-life care for all staff, at all levels and in all settings.

Improving access to supportive and palliative care in the community should be a priority, otherwise staying at home may not always be the most comfortable setting for end-of-life care, and inadequacies of care may lead to admission before death in hospital, adds co-author Dr Morag Farquhar, who is now based at the University of East Anglia.

Contrary to public perceptions, the authors say their study demonstrates that good care homes can provide end-of-life care comparable to hospice care for the very old, enabling continuity of care from familiar staff who know their residents. However, they say, this needs recognising and supporting through valuing staff, providing access to training and improving links with primary and community healthcare providers.

In the UK, we particularly need to address the current shortage of palliative care doctors in the NHS, where training numbers are not going up to match demand, but the shortage is even greater in developing countries, says co-author Rowan Calloway.

In the future, community care will be increasingly reliant on non-specialists, so it will be crucial that all members of the multi-disciplinary teams needed to support very frail older people near the end of their lives have good training in palliative and supportive care skills.

Follow @htlifeandstyle for more
Blade Runner 2049

Director - Denis Villeneuve

Cast - Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Jared Leto, Robin Wright, Sylvia Hoeks, Ana de Armas

Rating - 5/5

Theres a lot to unpack here.

Blade Runner 2049 - for better or for worse - is a lot like the original film, and depending on your stance on that touchstone sci-fi classic, this could either be the best news you couldve hoped for, or the worst. It shares the originals bleak vision of the future, its pessimism, and its cool, path-breaking aesthetic - but also its frustrating narrative shortcomings, its irritating pacing, and its stubborn ambivalence.

It walks along the same dingy alleys, steps in the same dirty puddles, and shakes down the same sort of shady riffraff. Its lit with the same blazing neon, and it is scored with the nostalgic futurism of the same synth tones. These deliberate references to the original, these knowing echoes from the past, theyre like a long-forgotten dream, remembered with a bittersweet jolt.

Like two other recent Harrison Ford films - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Star Wars: The Force Awakens - it acknowledges the time that has passed since the last time we entered this world. Blade Runner 2049 picks up 30 years after the events of the first film, in an almost apocalyptic world. The replicants  man-made humanoid machines built to do humanitys bidding  have evolved at a terrifyingly rapid rate. They can reproduce. And if they can reproduce, the persecuted replicant population reasons, they can rebel. They no longer have a reason to be subservient to their creators. They are the masters of their own fate.

Ryan Gosling (back in Nicolas Winding Refn mode) plays K, an LAPD Blade Runner, haunted by memories of a childhood he cannot remember. During an investigation into a replicant uprising, he stumbles upon a long-buried secret.

For 30 years, this secret, which has the power to alter the future of sentient life, has been kept hidden. And the key to uncover it, K learns, lies with Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford, reprising his role).

Blade Runner 2049 is a dense film. Perhaps too dense. But so was the original, which was just as comfortable borrowing from the Greek myths as it was at asking the big questions posed in Philip K Dicks source novel: Who are we? Why are we here? What makes us human? Are we superior to the rest? Do we have the power to create? If we do, does that mean we also have the power to destroy? And the most important question of them all: Do androids dream of electric sheep?

Its all very interesting, and this may be a bit of a controversial stance to take, but I believe that the original Blade Runner is a terribly flawed movie - its great, dont get me wrong, but problematic. For instance, it never really explores its themes to their fullest potential. Ive always felt that the most intriguing idea posed by Ridley Scotts origin - more than artificial intelligence, or the inherent hubris of human beings, or man vs machine - was immigration.

Remember how the remnants of humanity looked at the replicants? They were seen as scum, rapists and thieves. Total bad hombres.

Now, you could argue that for the sequel to continue this exploration of AI - what with it hardly being science-fiction anymore - would make perfect sense, but Id counter by saying that in the world we live in, there is no greater danger than our growing fear of the other.

But alas, director Denis Villeneuve is still utterly preoccupied with finding humanity where there is none.

But how strange is it, and how wonderful, that Villeneuve seems to have decided to only make masterpieces now. Every year, for the past four years, he has made a film others  some of them even multiple Oscar-winners  could spend their entire careers trying to make, and still fail. From Prisoners to Sicario to Arrival, he is perhaps the only modern filmmaker to have come within touching distance of Christopher Nolan. But as profoundly magnificent as Blade Runner 2049 is  and by God is it magnificent  my favourite Villeneuve film remains Incendies. Set aside a few hours for it  a couple to watch the film, and probably another couple to recover  the next time youre in the mood for a transformative experience.

But with this, there can be little doubt that Villeneuve is one of the greatest science-fiction filmmakers ever  right up there with Kubrick, Fritz Lang, and Nolan.

But once again, like a lost Replicant searching for home, we must gravitate towards the genius of Roger Deakins. This is  if it is even possible for a man as celebrated as he is  Deakins finest hour (or three) behind the camera. For years  decades, even  the veteran cinematographer has pushed boundaries, developed new techniques, and quietly achieved greatness.

Things used to be different when he started out, interestingly, only a year after Jordan Cronenweth created a visual language which would be mined for decades to come with the original Blade Runner. And now, armed with his immaculate digital camera, which moves with the majesty of a living, breathing being that is well aware of its greatness, Deakins composes instantly iconic tableaus, hauntingly beautiful images that have the power to evoke strong emotion just by existing. It is a raw, elemental piece of camerawork thatll be discussed and dissected with equal  if not more  passion as the groundbreaking original.

Im hardly the first person to say this, nor am I adding anything worthwhile to this conversation, but it is one of cinemas greatest travesties that Deakins hasnt been recognised by the Academy yet. Awarding him his first Oscar, after 13 nominations, would be a splendid way for them to atone for their sins.

This is an artist working at the pinnacle of his powers. It is several artists working at the pinnacle of their powers  Villeneuve, Gosling, even Hans Zimmer  theyve all come together to create something quite unforgettable. But theyve also achieved the unthinkable: Theyve birthed a sequel that eclipses its parent.

Blade Runner 2049 is bold, challenging cinema, an almost Biblical success; like Terence Malicks The Tree of Life, Martin Scorseses Silence, and Nolans Interstellar, it positively demands multiple viewings.

Watch the Blade Runner 2049 trailer here

Follow @htshowbiz for more

The author tweets @RohanNaahar

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop
Chef

Director:Raja Krishna Menon

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Padmapriya, Dhanish Karthik

Rating: 1.5/5

If you are a Bollywood fan, it is almost impossible that you would not remember Aamir Khan-starrer Dil Chahta Hai. However, if you fall into the rare category of those who dont, Saif Ali Khan makes sure you are reminded of the iconic film throughout his latest release, Chef. Those are the rare moments from this largely bland fare that you do want to remember.

Raja Krishna Menons Chef is an official adaptation of Jon Fravreaus 2014 film by the same name - while the original was an endearing slice of life drama which managed to impress food lovers with the mouth-watering visuals, Menons adaptation is flavourless in comparison.

Menons movie shows us the star chef (Roshan Kalra, played by Saif Ali Khan) mostly cooking just one dish, pasta. The lead character, who is supposed to be so passionate about his culinary skills that he ran away from home at the age of 15, shows little interest in actual cooking. Even when he cooks, we see none of that artistry which can make the audience taste the dish. Mostly, we see an empty pan and then the prepared pasta. Where is that pure joy that the gustatory process can bring along? Well, there is some chola-bhatura, idli-sambhar and a sumptuous langar meal, but that's about it.

Even if we forego the food porn expected from the remake of Chef, the characters are given little space to establish their identities and personalities. While we are told Roshan is a self-made, passionate star chef, nothing in his personality gives us a glimpse of the gravity that such a man would carry. Unlike Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) from the original, Roshan is a stubborn, irrational and insensitive man. He is a chef, but has little passion for cooking. He picks up a fight with a customer in a restaurant for no apparent reason (real-life parallels, anyone?) and after he loses his job, we see no craving in him to kickstart his dream journey.

It is also shocking to see racist comments being made in a film by the same director who made Airlift, and there are many. For example, when a Bangladeshi man surprises friends by suddenly reaching India, he is asked, Taar paar kar ke, goliyan khate hue aaye ho? and these are supposed to be jokes on which the filmmakers expect us to laugh.

Another problem with Chef is its clunky story. Whether it is Roshan fighting with a restaurant customer or his trip to Kochi or his decision to finally take the plunge and start his own food truck -- everything happens arbitrarily. These are not sudden twists, just haphazardly placed without a context.

There are a few moments, nonetheless, that bring a smile on your face. In a few sequences that showcase the bond between Roshan and his son, one where he interacts with his ex-wife and almost every single moment Milind Soman is in the frame  you warm up to the characters. But it appears the filmmaker didnt want audience empathising with the characters for every time a scene touches the heart, the narrative moves to a different, less engaging sequence.

Saifs self referential comments may bring a smile to your face at times; especially his references to Dil Chahta Hai. Padmapriya, who plays Saifs former wife and a dance teacher in the film, is a beautiful addition and a glimpse of her dance left us yearning for at least a few minutes of a proper dance performance. Chandan Roy Sanyal, who essays the role of Roshans friend who quits his job to support the Chef, is fun to watch. Milind Soman is a surprise and he gives a remarkable performance despite a limited screen time. We will not reveal Milinds character, to avoid spoiling it for you in case you want to watch the film.

Chef offers moments of brilliance which, if weaved in a more organised manner, may have given us a light, affable film. But a lazy and rather uninterested narrative takes away the pleasure.

Intercat with the author @swetakaushal

Follow @htshowbiz for more

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Taking note of damage to two heritage buildings allegedly owing to construction work for the underground Metro-3 project, the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) on Friday said it will install cameras to remotely monitor weak and iconic structures 24x7.

These cameras will be installed in December  a month before tunneling  for six months, said an official.

The move comes after JN Petit Institute at Fort and Siddharth College in Churchgate complained of cracks because of piling work for the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro corridor.

At a press meeting on Friday, officials showcased equipment that were and are being used to ensure safety of all buildings for tunneling.

They clarified that the cracks on the buildings were not caused by piling work for the Metro-3 project. SK Gupta, director of projects of MMRC, said structures will be monitored once excavation work begins in January. We will install high-point cameras to give us a larger perspective in certain areas. It will be constantly monitored by contractors from their offices.

An official said that the impact of the work on the buildings is being assessed at three levels  alert, action and alarm.

We will stop work at the alarm stage but residents dont need to panic. We will take immediate remedial measures, Gupta said.

He further said, We have kept checks and balances at multiple levels. We want to ensure citizens that we are following protocol and there is no risk to any structure.

The Metro-3 is a 33.5-km-long underground corridor on the ColabaBandraSEEPZ route, with 27 stations. It is expected to reduce the load on the suburban train network by serving 16 lakh commuters everyday. The corridor is expected to be operational by 2021.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
A 25-year-old man committed suicide at the same spot in his house, where he had found his 22-year-old wife hanging 15 days ago at Shivaji Nagar. He hanged himself with his dead wifes dupatta and minutes before killing himself, the man recorded a video, pleading the police to help him get justice for his wife.

In My dreams, my wife has been telling me to get her killers arrested. Even I am being harassed by the her blackmailers. I cant tolerate this and am ending my life, Noor Mohammed Idris said in the video recorded on his mobile phone.

According to the police, Idris had been married to Sakina for six years and had two children. The couple stayed in a chawl at Baiganwadi. Idrisi worked in a nearby shoe making factory.

On September 15, Idris was approached by his wifes former boyfriend who showed him her lewd pictures and a few intimate videos, said an officer. It led to an altercation between Sakina and Idris. She told him that she had left Mustafa after which he had been blackmailing her with the pictures.

The next day, Sakina committed suicide by hanging at their house. The Shivaji Nagar police registered an accidental death report (ADR) in the case. However, Idris told them Mustafa and his friends blackmailing prompted his wife to kill herself. In the video, Idris said that his dead wife had been haunting him as he failed to get the accused arrested.

We have recorded the statements of Idris brother Mohammed Zuber who told us about incident and handed over the video to us. After investigations we would register a case of abetment based on the complaint of the family, said Deepak Pagare, senior inspector of Shivaji Nagar police station.
Facing attempts to corner her on her home turf, the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJP) Other Backward Class (OBC) face and daughter of late leader Gopinath Munde, Pankaja has put up a show of strength. Her supporters organised a massive rally in Beed district of Marathwada on Dusshera last week after she was denied permission to hold the rally at her usual place for years.

Post the rally, there have been murmurs of how the BJP minister has had to battle with internal politics and sabotages in her three-year stint in power after her fathers death. Her maternal uncle, Prakash Mahajan, brother of late Pramod Mahajan in an interview to a Marathi television channel, ABP Majha, expressed these concerns saying as in every party, there were struggles that Pankaja had to face in the BJP.

In any party, if any young leader is coming up, there are four others who will pull them down. Its happened with Pankaja, too. She has had to face struggles in her own party but the BJP should take note of the success of her rally.

When HT contacted Mahajan, he said he no longer wished to speak on the issue.

But, Mahajan probably articulated the speculation that has been doing rounds within the BJP for long now.

For the first time in 15 years, after her father established a tradition of holding Dusshera rally at Bhagwangad in Ahmednagar, the pilgrimage site of the Vanjari community, this year the gathering had to be held in the neighbouring Beed district. Vanjari community is one of the major communities under the OBC and is politically influential in several parts of the state.

Pankaja was denied permission to hold the rally by the Mahant (priest) of the Bhagwangad trust, Namdeo Shashtri, a former close associate of Munde. She chose to hold the rally at the birth place of the saint in Savargaon in Beed district, her home turf and made it a big success. There have been speculations that Shastri has soft corner for Pankajas cousin and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Dhananjay Munde who heads the Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Council.

The BJP kept itself at an arms distance in the ongoing saga leading up to the change of venue with local administration and police refusing her permission to hold it at Bhagwangad. The tussle with the Mahant began post her fathers demise and is being seen as a legacy battle over leading the Vanjari community.

On her home turf of Beed district, she has faced a similar challenge from Dhananjay Munde.
A six-year-old boy died after being bitten by a snake after at Aareys tribal hamlet Vanichapada at unit 5 on Wednesday afternoon.

This is the second snake bite death in Mumbai this year after Yashodha Kadu, 20, was bitten by a Spectacled Cobra while she was asleep on July 12 at Jivachapada in Aarey Colony. While snake bites are common in the city, the forest department said deaths due to such bites were extremely rare. These two deaths in quick succession took place at Aarey after nearly 50 years.

On Wednesday, Raj Ramesh Jhop was rushed by his family to the Balasaheb Thackeray Trauma Centre in Jogeshwari after the incident, where the family alleged that there was a delay in treatment given to the boy. The boy died while he was being taken to Cooper Hospital from Jogeshwari.

According to Sandeep Bhusare, relative of the deceased boy, the incident took place around 2pm on Wednesday when Raj was playing with marbles outside his house along with other children. While playing, one of the marbles rolled to the backside of his house, which is a densely forested area. In an attempt to get it, he stepped on plastic under which the snake was hiding. The poisonous snake bit Raj on his left leg rendering him unconscious, he said adding, After other children informed his parents, they rushed Raj to the trauma centre by 3.30pm.

A neighbour, on the condition of anonymity, alleged negligence by doctors from the trauma centre led to the childs death. Raj could have been saved if timely treatment was given to him but the delay by doctors led to venom spreading faster and he was not administered anti-venom by them, he said. Jhop however suffered a cardiac arrest at 3.30pm, while being transferred and was declared dead on arrival at Cooper Hospital.

Talking to HT, Dr Shashikant Wadekar, medical superintendent of Balasaheb Thackeray Trauma hospital, Jogeshwari said that they decided to shift the patient since the hospital doesnt have expert pediatricians of intensive care units for emergency care. The patient (Jhop) didnt have any particular symptoms of poisoning and according to the case history, it was a black snake bite but we couldnt confirm which snake it was or whether it was poisonous, said Dr Wadekar.

After Jhop was admitted in the hospital, he was given two injections, Ondem (to prevent nausea and vomiting), Pan (to treat gastrointestinal conditions) and tetanus along with intravenous medication. We have 45 vials of anti-venom, which we use on adults in such cases. In this case, since Cooper Hospital has the PICUs and pediatricians who can handle any complications, we decided to shift him while he was conscious and well oriented, Dr Wadekar added.

Vanichapada is one of 27 tribal hamlets at Aarey with close to 40 families residing for decades. The incident sparked rage at the village after close to 300 people gathered to protest against the death and lack of facilities at the hamlets. There have been 12 snake bite incidents and two deaths but the authorities refuse to listen to our plight. There are no streetlights, no lights at homes and we found that at the Aarey hospital there is no equipment to treat snake bite victims at all, said Prakash Bhoir, Aarey resident and tribal leader, adding that the snake that bit Raj was a cobra.

FOREST DEPARTMENT SPEAKS

Forest department officials said that even after constant reminders local authorities had failed to respond to provide basic civic amenities to tribals. The incident is most unfortunate. With recurring leopard attacks and snake bites, the removal of garbage and installation of street lights is a must for the protection of citizens. These incidents will continue if there is no action on ground, said Jitendra Ramgaokar, deputy conservator of forest, Thane.

AAREY AUTHORITIES SPEAK

We are facing a major shortage of funds, which is supposed to be dispensed to us by the state government for the longest time. Due to this, the installation of street lights, road development work and better facilities at Aarey hospital are on hold. As of now the hospital only treats Aarey employees. We are also working with a major power distributor to light up the tribal homes and depending on proper allocation of funds, all hamlets should be lit up by March next year, said Nathu Rathod, chief executive officer, Aarey.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Underworld don Dawood Ibrahims brothers, Iqbal Kaskar and Anees Ibrahim, and his aide, Chhota Shakeel, met three builders several times in Dubai between 2012 and 2016 to discuss the Gorai land deal, revealed the Thane police.

Iqbal was arrested on September 18 for allegedly extorting Rs30 lakh and four flats from a Thane developer. He was named in the subsequent two more cases. In the third case registered on Wednesday, Iqbal, his brothers Dawood and Anees, and three builders were booked for allegedly extorting Rs3 crore from a builder over 38 acres of land in Gorai.

According the police, Iqbal said Shakeel and Anees used to fly to Dubai from Pakistan. Dawood would also speak to the builders on the phone through voice over internet protocol, said a police officer.

So far, we know that the builders who are accused in the Gorai case visited Dubai to meet Shakeel and Anees between 2012 and 2016. We have learnt that Anees, Shakeel and Dawood have their separate offices in Dubai. The meeting may have taken place at Iqbals house in Dubai, said the officer.

The police are checking passports of the builders and Iqbal to check the time and date of their Dubai visits.

Kaskar told the police that Pakistans Intelligence agency ISI was keeping a close watch on Dawoods house.

Meanwhile, Iqbals police custody in the second case in which he allegedly threatened a jeweller has been extended till October 14.

The police custody of Pankaj Gangar, who allegedly financed gangsters including Iqbal, has been extended for another four days.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
DEAR HARRIETTE: I worked for a year on a project with a woman who had good intentions but who was often late and even more often was abrupt in the way she talked to me and to others on our team. I endured it during those 12 months, but I'm wondering if I want to work with her anymore. It was hard, and I'm kind of sensitive to lots of things, including timeliness and communication style. She is a team member and equal to me, but her behavior makes it hard to work as a team.

I was recently asked by the boss to stay on. I can use the money, but I worry that I will become angry if I have to keep making up for what this woman lacks. What can I do? -- Filling the Divide, Milwaukee

DEAR FILLING THE DIVIDE: Talk with your boss about the opportunity being offered to you. Thank him or her for believing in you and wanting to keep you on the team. Describe to the boss what you like about the job and ask if you can share what you consider the difficulties to be. Explain that you have experienced conflict with the woman in question. Admit you have considered not staying on at the company because of the specific interactions you have had with this woman. Ask if the boss can help make the work experience more comfortable.

Know that you risk losing your job by bringing this up. Since you were ready to walk anyway, you might as well tell your boss what your concerns are. He or she may not be aware of what's going on in the office and may be able to help.

DEAR HARRIETTE: The fall season is upon us, and it's busy for me. I am happy that I have lots to do at work and in my social life, but I can't figure out how to juggle everything. Just last week, I was invited to three events on one night and at least two on every other weeknight. I am young, and I understand this is my time to be out and about, but I can't do everything. It's making me too tired at work. How do I manage my schedule, bow out of some things gracefully and not make enemies? -- On the Go, Newark, New Jersey

DEAR ON THE GO: Keep a schedule of your week, including all key work duties as well as all invitations. Prioritize the invites that will further your career ambitions, expand your knowledge or fortify your friends and family. Your goal should be to strike a balance in your life between work and play. Agree to attend the key events and stay there only until the time that you know is your cutoff.

When you know you are overextended, RSVP that you cannot attend. You can write a brief note saying you are sure it will be a great event and you regret not being able to be there. Be honest with yourself and those who have invited you.

DEAR HARRIETTE: My neighbor, who has become a friend, was incarcerated a few years ago for a white-collar crime. She did her time and is now living her life. She is very kind to me and would do anything she can to support me. She can be a little rough around the edges in the way she communicates, but so what? She's loyal.

The problem is one of my business colleagues learned this woman and I are friends, thanks to social media, and she confronted me about it. She said it was bad for my reputation to be friendly with someone who has been in jail. How do I manage this situation? -- Dredging Up the Past, Denver

DEAR DREDGING UP THE PAST: Do your research to be clear about what crime your friend committed and how it was resolved. If you feel comfortable about where she is now and the substance of your relationship, maintain your friendship. You can say to anyone who challenges you that she has done her time and, as far as you are concerned, she is a good friend. For business purposes, whether her reputation can affect yours depends on what field you are in. It is possible.

Harriette Cole is a lifestylist and founder of DREAMLEAPERS, an initiative to help people access and activate their dreams. You can send questions to askharriette@harriettecole.com or c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106
Three days after imitation jewellery worth Rs97,000 went missing from actor and member of Parliament Hema Malinis godown at Juhu, the police have arrested her 42-year-old domestic help.

Rajesh Krishna Choudhary, 42, a resident of Mahad in Raigad, has been working for the actor for around a decade, the police said.

An officer from the Juhu police station said, He has been remanded in police custody till October 9.

Deputy commissioner of police, zone 9, Paramjit Singh Dahiya, confirmed the arrest.

The police said they are interrogating Choudhary to know where he has hidden the stolen items.

The police said the actor and her manager noticed around June that the jewellery had been going missing in small quantity from the godown. A first information report was registered under section 381 of the Indian Penal code by the actors manager on Wednesday.

The jewellery was brought from a nearby shop and was kept in the godown for the past few months, said the officer. The actor used the imitation jewellery for shows.

This was not the first time Malinis property has been stolen.

In 2010, her house in Goregaon was broken into and cash and gold ornaments worth Rs80 lakh were stolen.
The 20-year-old LLB student, whose body was found on the tracks between Currey Road and Parel, had removed her gold earrings and chain in her office, hours before her death, said police.

Pallavi Vikamsey had recently completed her studies and was interning at a law firm in Fort.

The daughter of the president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), she boarded a train from the Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) at 6pm on Wednesday.

However, the Dadar government railway police (GRP) are yet to ascertain how she died and have thus, initiated a probe into the matter.Police officers said they only found a gold ring on Vikamseys finger.

We neither found her mobile phone near her body nor in her office drawer, said Machindra Chavan, assistant commissioner of police (GRP) Dadar division.

GRP officials said they were trying to trace the motorman of the train that crushed her.

We have not been able to trace the train and its motorman yet, said Nitin Bobade, senior police inspector, Dadar GRP. A case of accidental death was recorded as Vikamseys parents had not asked Dadar police to file a complaint.

Our job is to find out if there was any foul play added Chavan. The police will check Vikamseys call data records to find out who the last person she spoke to was.

Vikamsey sent her parents a text message reading, No one is responsible before switching off her phone, said Sukhlal Varpe, senior inspector of MRA Marg police station.

After she did not return home on Wednesday night, her parents tried to call her, but could not get through. They then approached the MRA Marg police, who registered a missing persons complaint.

Police said they received a call from the station master at 8.30pm about a body lying on the tracks. The body was sent to KEM Hospital.

Police officers said Vikamsey was last seen boarding a train from CSMT station towards Thane at 6pm  as was her routine. The MRA Marg police said they recorded the statements of eyewitnesses. The Dadar GRP will now question these eyewitnesses and other women in the compartment in which Vikamsey travelled.
The Elphinstone Road railway station was as crowded this Friday at 10.30am, as it was a week ago, when a stampede on the foot overbridge killed 23 people. However, this crowd comprised scores of Mumbaiites who had come to pay their respects to the victims.

A lot has changed for the daily commuters at Elphinstone Road, self-discipline being the most noticeable among them.

Sunil Gholap, a resident of the area, was one of the first people to rush to help victims during the stampede. He said, There is a now a sense of fear among commuters. They dont want a repeat of last Friday and they organise themselves into neat lines on the bridge. The crowd during peak hours has not reduced, but it seems like there are fewer commuters because of the lines.

Many things have changed for the better at the station this week, but frequent commuters feel sorry that it took the loss of 23 lives to push the Railways into action. All hawkers who crowded the foot overbridge were moved by the authorities. The narrow road leading to the bridge was also cleared of parked vehicles, so its wider now. Life is returning to normal, but we miss those who are not with us anymore. At least 20 policemen man the bridge through the day now, said Gholap.

Aakash Kotecha, a lawyer at the High Court, who takes the 10.10am train to Churchgate daily, said, When I was caught in the stampede, I kept thinking it wont get worse if people stop pushing one another in a hurry. As much as we blame the railway administration, I want to tell people to be more organised and diligent. We have achieved that at the station now, but at a heavy price.

Prasad Arolkar, who travels to Vidyavihar from Elphinstone daily, said, I take the train as usual, and I always spare a moment to think about the victims. My parents are relieved that I escaped the stampede as I had left home earlier than usual that day. The tragedy hasnt deterred my spirit.
Lakhs of truckers from Maharashtra will participate in the two-day nationwide strike from October 9, protesting against the Goods and Services Tax (GST), escalating fuel prices and corruption on roads.

All Indian Motor Transport Congresss (AIMTC) call for the strike has received support from Maharashtra Rajya Truck Tempo Tankers Bus Vahatuk Mahasangh, Bombay Goods transport Association (BGTA) and other transport associations in the state.

Transporters bodies claimed that more than 10 lakh trucks and other goods vehicles will remain off the road.

But, the transportation of essential commodities such as milk, vegetables and medicines will remain unaffected.

Prasanna Patwardhan, president of Maharashtra Rajya Truck Tempo Tankers Bus Vahatuk Mahasangh, said, The supply of essential commodities will not be affected. Buses will not participate in the strike immediately, but in the next stage they will join us, he said.

Mahendra Arya, former president of BGTA, said the transporters are forced to register under GST, though the government will not get any revenue out of it.

Transporters also demanded to rationalise fuel prices by bringing diesel under the GST regime.

They also want diesel price be revised on quarterly basis instead of daily.

BGTA and other transport association leaders said toll plazas should be shut as those lead to heavy losses to transporters.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
The body of a 20-year-old law intern was found in mysterious circumstances on the railway tracks near Currey Road station on Wednesday night. She has been identified as Pallavi Vikamsey, daughter of Nilesh Vikamsey, president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). The Dadar government railway police are investigating the case.

The parents told us that Vikamsey had sent them a message that no one is responsible before her phone was switched off, said Sukhlal Varpe, senior inspector of MRA Marg police station.

According to the police, they received a call from the station master at 8.30pm about a body lying on the tracks. The body was sent to KEM Hospital.

Vikamsey had recently completed studies and was interning at a law firm in Fort.

A resident of Curry Road, when Vikamsey did not return home on Wednesday night, her parents began calling her but her phone was switched off. The parents then approached the MRA Marg police and registered a missing persons complaint. Police officers said that Vikamsey was last seen boarding a train from CSMT station towards Thane at 6pm  as was her routine.

An official of the Dadar GRP said an eyewitness had been traced. His statement will be recorded on Friday.

It is not clear whether Vikamsey fell from the running train on the opposite tracks or whether she jumped off in front of an oncoming train, said Nitin Bbade, senior police inspector of Dadar GRP. Samadhan Pawar, deputy commissioner of police, GRP (Central Railway), said that the parents had not alleged any foul play, We are trying to find out what led to her death, said Pawar.
Three months after initiating the process to purchase land for the construction of the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway, the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has managed to purchase only 582.67 hectares or 6.83% of the total land required for the project.

The MSRDC, which plans to start construction by January 2018, is likely to miss its deadline due to the slow progress of the purchase of land. However, MSRDC officials said that they will pick up pace to sign sale deeds this festive season.

According to the data provided by the MSRDC, the 701-km expressway would require 9364.73 hectares of land in total. We require 8531.50 hectare of private land; we are directly purchasing the land from the owners. So far, we have purchased 582.67 hectares, said Kiran Kurundkar, joint managing director, MSRDC.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Eknath Shinde, minister, public works department (public undertakings), said that the MSRDC is engaging with the farmers, whose land will be purchased. We will be in a position to award the contract in three months, so that the work to construct the Expressway begins on time and we achieve our target. The landholders who were earlier sceptical about giving their consent for the project are now voluntarily coming forward to offer their land, said Shinde, adding that they will not take land forcibly.

The Expressway is the pet project of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. In August, Fadnavis had directed the MSRDC to purchase 50% of the land by the first week of October. Kurundkar explained that the process to purchase land is a lengthy one. It (purchasing land) is lengthy owing to various issues  at times there is more than one owner, on some plots theres a family dispute  and so on. Hence, we have to tackle all the technicalities before we can call the landowner to sign the documents, Kurundkar said. He added that they have consent from farmers for 2750.80 hectares, and they will soon acquire 833.23 hectare of government land. A senior bureaucrat added that with the festive season around, they are expecting a spike in sale deeds in a few areas.

The bidding process for the civil construction is already underway. The MSRDC has shortlisted 33 companies for the construction of the eight-lane Expressway. The construction of the access-controlled Expressway has been divided into 16 packages.

Meanwhile, the project which is estimated to cost Rs 46,000 crore could be funded by the Korean Land & Housing Corporation of South Korea.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
While the rest of the state will continue facing load shedding in the next couple of weeks, for more than six hours in some cases, big cities such as Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Pune will be exempt.

The BJP government is facing sharp criticism over the unannounced power cuts at a time when the state is reeling under a heat spell.

It all began on Thursday when a sudden drop in 2,200 MW of power supply resulted in outages across the state, including Mumbai and the suburbs. A shortage of coal made things worse as the private power companies, too, failed to generate electricity to their routine capacity. The shortfall reduced slightly on Friday, enabling the government to stop load shedding in bigger cities, which have the lowest line losses occurring out of theft, leakages and low recovery of bills.

The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited said it will exclude areas in category A and B, which includes Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Nagpur, from load shedding. The line loss in these cities is less than 26%. Secondly, we have decided to purchase 800 MW more from the open market, more than the 700 MW we have been buying currently. Although it comes at a higher rate, the additional supply will help us ease the shortfall, said an official from the energy department.

The outage in parts of Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai, also led to the violation of norms set by the regulator. Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission mandate clearly says load shedding should be planned and the consumers should be informed accordingly. Even though the power outage on Thursday was sudden, the government failed in islanding the city and industrial areas from it. The issue is likely to be taken up while hearing the tariff petitions by MSEDCL, a source from MERC said. Suburbs such as Mulund, Bhandup and neighbouring areas like Navi Mumbai as well as Thane and Palghar districts faced two to six hours of power cuts.

Power generation in the private plants, with whom the state has the purchase agreement, had dropped drastically owing to a coal shortage. Against the daily demand of 28 to 30 rakes, it dropped to 15-16 rakes, making it difficult to cope with the shortage. Although the shortfall was anticipated, flooding in the coal mines in South India aggravated the problem. Against the regular generation of 7,000 MW, the state power generator could supply only 4,600 MW, while Adani and Ratan India generated 1,700 and 500 MW against their generation of 3,000 and 1,200 MW respectively. Emco, too, could supply only 100 MW against its routine generation of 200 MW , another official said.

Energy minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule announced on Friday there will be no load shedding during Diwali. We are trying our level best to sort out the shortage of coal and expect the situation to normalize in 15 days. There will be no load shedding in Mumbai and other big cities also, he said.

Excluding big cities is also likely to affect rural areas which have heavy line losses therefore more load shedding. The areas in E,F and G categories will have maximum load shedding extending even more than six hours, sources said.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Has another youngster from Kalyan joined terror outfit Islamic State (IS)?

The Thane anti-terrorism squad (ATS) suspects that a 23-year-old from Kalyan, Yusuf Akhtar Shaikh, who went missing in May 2016, may have joined the terror group, said sources. The local police, however, claimed they have no such information.

According to police, Shaikh, a resident of Indira Nagar in Kalyan, has been undergoing treatment for schizophrenia for the past few years. He left from home on May 11, 2016, after a fight with his mother. When he didnt return till late at night, his mother filed a missing persons complaint.

Based on a tip-off, we went looking for Shaikh in Nellore, Andhra Pradesh last year. We checked railway stations, hospitals, children remand home and other welfare homes. We also put up a poster with his mothers contact number to check if locals had seen him around, said P Londhe, senior inspector, Mahatma Phule police station.

Within a few days of our return, the mother got a call from a man, who told her that Shaikh was in danger. The police team went back to Nellore only to realise the man got the number from the poster, and had called in the hope of making money, said Londhe.

We suspect Shaikh has joined the IS, but we have no leads. We will talk to his mother once we get his call data records, said an officer from the Thane ATS.

Pratap Dighavkar, additional commissioner of police, Kalyan zone, said, We dont have any such information [on him joining the IS].

The woman had recently moved the Bombay high court, demanding the police look into her complaint and find her son.

In May 2014, Areeb Majeed, Aman Tandel, Fahad Shaikh and Shaheem Tanki left from Mumbai for a pilgrimage to Baghdad and later joined the IS. Majeed returned to India in November 2014.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Former chief minister Narayan Rane, who recently floated a new political outfit Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksh (MSP), formally announced his decision to join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by Bharatiya Janata Party.

He is likely to be inducted into the state cabinet as a minister.

Announcing his decision at a press conference at Kudal in Sindhudurg on Friday, he said that they would be a part of the alliance at the state-level.

The decision about MSP joining NDA at the national-level will be taken during the 2019 general elections. I have not demanded any particular department as the call has to be taken by Fadnavis and the BJP, he said.

Rane said that the flag and constitution of the party would be finalized soon.

Rane, who formed the party a week ago after quitting the Congress, had met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday. Responding to a formal offer by Fadnavis to join the NDA, Rane had said he would take a call in couple of days.

Though Rane skirted the topic about the portfolio in the cabinet, he has been vying for key departments such as revenue, urban development and housing.

He had said two days ago that he expects the CM to respect his seniority as the former chief minister.

He had also said that there was no need to wait for the reshuffle of the state cabinet and he could be sworn in alone.

After being in the Congress for 12 years, Rane quit the party two weeks ago alleging it did not keep its promise to make him chief minister.

He was in talks with the BJP for a couple of months to join the party but it offered him a seat on the power table only as an ally. The formula was finalised after Rane met BJP president Amit Shah in Delhi last month.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Residents of Chandivli, who have been complaining about the air pollution caused by the factories in the area and the apathy exhibited by the authorities in resolving the issue, held a rally on Monday to drive the point home.

About 250 residents took out a protest rally and alleged that the factories operational in the area were illegal.

When contacted, civic officials said they are verifying the claims made by the residents.

The civic officials said they had written to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), requesting it to act on citizens complaints. The latter said their sub-regional officers had been asked to survey the area.

We have already initiated action and are investigating whether these industries have licence to operate or not. We are also checking whether air pollution norms are being followed. If we find any violation, closure notices will be issued subsequently, said a senior MPCB official.

Besides taking to the streets, the residents also started a signature campaign to shut down the polluting industrial units. They also plan to file a public interest litigation (PIL) soon.

Residents said they formed Swachh Chandivli group after repeated complaints to MPCB and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) failed to yield result in the past six years.

The group has now written to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

We have written to the chief minister requesting his intervention because the air pollution is now taking a toll on our health. We are confident that we will get justice and our voices will be heard in the court of law, said Lavita Powell, another resident.

Another resident SL Dhingra, professor at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, said the industries do not operate as per government working hours prescribed in the Factories Act, 1948.

All these small industrial units are flouting health and safety norms. There is also a possibility of them catching fire, which could be disastrous for not just the nearby slum pocket but even the adjoining Nahar International School, which has about 1,000 students and staff, he said.

There are 150 industrial units in Khairani Road, Jangleshwar Mahadev Mandir Road, Saki Vihar Road and Andheri -Kurla Road, and pollution is affecting housing colonies such as Nahar Complex, Sangharsh Nagar, Lake Homes and Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (Mhada) in the area.

The chemical-laden smoke emitted by these illegal industrial units is causing severe health challenges, especially to children and senior citizens. Acute breathlessness and persistent lung congestion have become common among the residents of Chandivli, said Chandra Prakash Sharma, Nahar Complex resident.

He added, Despite numerous representations and correspondence with the authorities from 2011 onwards, no concrete action has been taken.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
The firm responsible for running the Guzderbandh pumping station, which had come under fire after Khar and Santacruz areas flooded this year during the heaviest ever September rainfall, has received a final deadline from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Coproration (BMC) to complete the station: April 31, 2018.

Officials from the BMC said more than 50 per cent of construction is remaining at Guzderbandh.The station will dewater areas in Khar Danda, Khira Nagar and Santacruz (West).

The firm has missed two deadlines  May 31 and June 9  since the work began in 2014.

In a meeting with the companys representatives on Friday, the BMCs stormwater drains department decided to grant the extension based on the companys performance in the next month. V H Khandkar, deputy chief engineer of Western suburbs, told HT that fines surpassing 20 per cent of the cost had been levied on the firm after the first two deadlines.

The contractor has been asked to submit a work schedule of not beyond April 31, 2018. We will be monitoring the work weekly thereafter, added Khandkar. HT had reported in June that there was a delay in getting permissions for the project from the mangrove cell.

Jay Bharat CHS and neighbouring Khar areas get floodwater every year from Pali Hill. These areas will be safe only when the number of drains is increased, said Rahul Pai, secretary of Jay Bharat CHS. On September 19, the suburbs recorded 101.6mm rain in just three hours.

According to the firms construction head, the pumping station on completion shall pump out 36,000 litres of water per second. We have applied for an extension. If we get approval, the pumps should start before monsoon next year, he said.

The firm faced ire from the civic body last month for negligence in maintenance of the pumping station at Irla which caused Juhu and JVPD areas to flood. That was a temporary problem and has been solved, confirmed officials.
If there is a crowd on a foot overbridge, I wait till it clears. In fact, a crowd anywhere terrifies me, said Rufel Amin.

A week ago, on September 29, Amin had found himself buried under four others on the stairs of the Elphinstone Road railway station foot overbridge during a rush-hour stampede.

Amin remembers being miraculously pulled out from there and taken to KEM Hospital. He survived the stampede that killed 23 people and injured 38 people. He later came to know that he was under four bodies.

Recounting the devastating incident, Amin, a Kurla resident said, I do not know how things changed in a matter of seconds. It was raining heavily and people were taking shelter. Everyone was shouting and there was chaos when I fell. I was struggling to breathe when I realised that there were four people above me. I shouted for help, tried to push myself out. Somehow, I managed to free my legs when a man pulled me out. After that, all I remember was that I was taken to hospital in a police van. I later came to know that I was under four bodies.

Amin admitted he cannot erase memories of the incident and his daily routine of taking a local train to work and back has been scarred.

I have no choice other than to take a local train, but I only board the compartments that are relatively empty. I walk everyday on the same foot overbridge, which terrifies me, he added.

Like Amin, other survivors, those who lost their loved ones and daily commuters, said they now live in fear.

Ankush Parab, who lost his 11 -year- old son, Rohit, said that last Friday changed the lives of his family. My elder son told me Rahul met with an accident. This was the first information we received. When we reached the hospital, the police did not allow us inside for two hours. Only after we shouted that it was our son inside was when the police allowed us. We are totally devastated. For us, life can never be the same, said Ankush Parab.

Shilpa Vishwakarma, who takes the bridge every day, feels that commuters havent learnt a lesson post the stampede and there is still no discipline among them. It is still a scary situation every morning when I take the bridge. There is absolutely no discipline among commuters and everybody just wants to get down as fast as they can. Whenever I walk on the bridge, I fear another stampede, said Shilpa, who remembers her saviour who managed to push her away from the mass of bodies just in time. He did not make it.

The tragedy has had a positive impact on railway authorities and they are more vigilant. Apart from the multi-disciplinary team audit of railway stations, authorities have deployed extra Railway Protection Force (RPF) staff at platforms and on the overbridges, to manage the crowd. The railway authorities have also got loudspeakers to be used during peak hours to control the crowd.

If there is crowd at a particular bridge, we will announce at the station about the situation and ask people to move cautiously. We have deployed additional staff on every bridge, which we deem to be vulnerable, said Ravinder Bhakar, chief public relations officer, Western Railway.
If everything works as per the plan, then regions that lack air connectivity will soon benefit from 14-seater amphibious planes for which trial runs were conducted this week. The test runs was conducted by SpiceJet between Nagpur and Guwahati on Sunday and Wednesday. The company said it will buy more than 100 planes from Japans Setouchi Holdings Inc and start operations in the next six to 12 months.

The amphibious plane, which can land both on airstrip and water, can use unpaved runways that are shorter than the conventional ones. Ajay Singh, chairman and managing director, SpiceJet, said while India is one of the worlds fastest growing markets, only 3% Indians travel by air. He also pointed out that infrastructural challenges have been a deterrent for providing air connectivity to smaller towns and cities.

 With the ability to land in a small or confined space, smaller fixed wing aircraft are the perfect flying machines that can effectively connect the countrys remote cities and airstrips which can in turn revolutionise the regional connectivity scheme, said Singh while speaking to reporters in Guwahati.

President of Air Passengers Association of India, Sudhakar Reddy said small aircraft are a good addition to passenger air services.

It is a good idea to operate amphibious planes, as they will not only have cheaper air tickets but will also be able to operate during a medical emergency during which a patient can be flown to the required place without wasting time.

The airline said that the plans will boost the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) by connecting regions having poor airport infrastructure. The scheme, also called UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik), seeks to provide air connectivity to locations that lack adequate and affordable air links.
A 36-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday for strangling his partners three-year-old son, after the child allegedly broke a cup in the house they shared in Mumbais eastern suburb of Ghatkopar.

After killing the child, the accused, Nitin Pathare, dumped the body at Haji Malang near Kalyan, the police said. Pathare has also been charged with assaulting his partner and her five-year-old daughter.

The woman, Afsana Qureshi, 25, a divorcee with two children, met Pathare in August while travelling on a Mumbai-bound train from Nashik. They exchanged phone numbers, and were soon in regular touch.

When Qureshi, a Nashik resident, complained to Pathare that her ex-husband was not paying for the childrens expenses, he told her that his brother was a lawyer and could help her register a case against her ex-husband, and then asked her to come to Mumbai, the police said.

Qureshi arrived in the city on September 6 with her children, Ahil and Tamanna, and met the lawyer. She was planning to Nashik on the same day, but he invited her for lunch to his house in Santoshi building in Shankarwadi, Ghatkopar (East), the police said.

Pathare then took them sightseeing to Gateway of India and Haji Malang, and convinced Qureshi to stay back for the night. The next day, when she got ready to leave, he refused to let her go and assaulted her in a fit of rage, Qureshi told the police. The police, however, said Pathare, who is married, convinced Qureshi to live with him.

For almost a month before the murder, Pathare kept all three confined to the house, and would beat them regularly, the police said.

On September 27, the day of the murder, Qureshi went out to look for a job, leaving the children in Pathares care. The boy, Ahil, dropped a cup, which made Pathare furious, and he thrashed the child, and then strangulated him with bare hands. He then called Qureshi home and told her that Ahil had fallen and died, said Praful Phadke, senior inspector at Pant Nagar police station.

When she got back home, Pathare allegedly threatened to kill her and her daughter if they told anyone about Ahils death and forced Qureshi to help him bury Ahils body at Haji Malang. At that point, Qureshi was seemingly unaware that Pathare had murdered her son. She learnt about it later from her daughter when she quizzed her about how Ahil fell, the police said.

On October 3, after Qureshi confronted Pathare, he beat her and her daughter with a belt. Qureshi managed to get out of the house and alerted the neighbours, who informed the police. However, fearing Pathare, she did not tell the police about the murder, and instead told them that it was a domestic fight. A day later, she confided in her doctor, who alerted us. We have registered a case of murder and attempt to murder against Pathare, and he has been arrested, Phadke said.

.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
This year marked the 148th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhis birth. In addition to being the unrivalled moral presence who led Indias freedom movement to its final denouement Gandhi had a number of important ideas on the issue of the management of Indias nascent developing economy. It would not be incorrect to say that for politicians of all hues it has become ritualistic to publicly extol his thoughts on such occasions, and then proceed to precisely do as they please the very next day, till the next important occasion associated with the savants name comes by where they again speak some more in memory of the great soul.

If Indian politicians at least ritualistically remember the contributions of the father of the nation, the tribe of Indian economists, fairly large today in numerical strength, does not feel compelled to exhibit any such routine fervour. That is possibly because among the formally trained economists in the post Independent era there has at best been only a limited appreciation of Gandhis economic formulations. In the course curricula of most Indian universities Gandhis economic thoughts have hardly found any major mention in recent decades.

Even in the heyday of Gandhis omniscient presence during the 1930s and 40s, his economic formulations had only a limited following. JC Kumarappa was one major associate of Gandhi who not only coined the term Gandhian economics but also advocated some of Gandhis core ideas in the sphere of village and cottage industries. For all his special affection for Jawaharlal Nehru, Gandhi was unable to bring him around to his core economic formulations. At different times and in different contexts, Gandhi had also been unable to impress Subhas Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore and BR Ambedkar as well.

Nehru had been a convert to Fabian socialism fairly early on in his intellectual career and he fundamentally believed that the answer to Indias poverty lay in rapid industrialisation. The other feature was his unwavering belief in planning, which for him was the key instrument to bring about social transformation. This went against Gandhis core belief system. Gandhi was essentially a methodological individualist who believed that it is only an individual who can be held morally responsible for his or her choices. For him the idea of State planning went against this basic tenet.

Gandhi was not a trained economist and, therefore, had not been exposed to the writings of Smith, Ricardo, Mill and Marshall. All his economic formulations were the result of his intimate understanding of the condition of Indias toiling peasants, factory workers and the common man and woman. His first major thoughts on economic matters were contained in his Hind Swaraj which was written on a sea voyage from London to South Africa in 1909, when he was 40 years of age. This was a sharp critique, a tirade, against Western civilisation and machinery. This pamphlet was regarded as seditious enough to be proscribed by the British government.

Gandhi knew that India lived in her villages and one of the key ideas that he advocated was to place the maximum emphasis on developing villages as self-sufficient republics. The other issue that was foremost in his scale of importance was to provide gainful employment to each and every one of the teeming millions of India. His advocacy of the charkha was but a concrete demonstration of how an able bodied individual might gainfully expend his/her labour power. The single biggest failure of Indias development story so far has been the persistence of jobless growth. A development path in the Gandhian mould would undoubtedly have accorded top priority to eliminating this social scourge.

Of the several important elements in Gandhis formulations there are two that deserve special mention. First, a fundamental tenet in Gandhis economic formulation was the idea of limitation of wants. This was the precise obverse of the entire project of both classical and contemporary economics which is essentially focussed on unremittingly expanding the goods space to satisfy seemingly unlimited human wants. It is possible to hold the view that it is this Gandhian idea that is ultimately consistent with ecological sustainability in the decades and centuries to come.

A second major element of Gandhis thoughts has to do with the focus on the well-being of the poorest member of society. The notion of the daridranarayan was an integral part of his moral approach with which Gandhi had been familiar from his childhood, and from the study of the various religious texts that he had undertaken through his adult life. In January 1948, days before his assassination, he jotted down what is today known as Gandhis talisman, which poignantly opens with the words: Whenever you are in doubt, or the self becomes too much with you, apply the following test. Recall the face of the poorest man.

Nearly a decade later, American philosopher John Rawls was to advance the view that the welfare of a society ought to be judged in terms of the well-being of its worst-off member. This was a sharp critique of the dominant utilitarian calculus which had hitherto been the basis of welfare economics, and was to permanently alter the discourse of the subject. It is significant that in Gandhis ethical understanding of economics, serving the poorest of the poor had always been an intrinsic moral imperative.

Pulin Nayak is formerly director, Delhi School of Economics

The views expressed are personal
Apparently with an eye on the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP on Friday gave a call to make Bihar free from casteism, communalism and poverty.

In keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modis concept of New India, we will strive hard to make Bihar free from virus of casteism, which is a major hindrance to the path of progress, said BJP state president Nityanand Rai.

Delivering the presidential address at the partys state executive meeting in Patna City, Rai said in the name of social change, the RJD used the minorities and dalits as its vote banks. However, the BJP was determined to break with the past and would take decisive steps to reach the fruits of development to all sections of the society, irrespective of caste and creed, he added.

Rai also called upon the party cadres to implement the concept of New India in the state. We have made a commitment to make a new Bihar and now time has come to execute it, he said.

This time around the tone and tenor of the saffron partys executive committee was quite different from its earlier meetings. The meeting held first time after the formation of the NDA government, in July, merely focused on the development issues in the new regime.

At its meetings held early this year in Kishanganj and Siwan, the committee had targeted chief minister Nitish Kumar and his policies, particularly the Saat Nsichay programme of the CM. This time Kumar was no more a target. Rather, RJD president Lalu Prasad was on the crosshairs of the BJP leaders.

The BJP, which was critical of the excise and prohibition act when Nitish-headed grand alliance government was in office (Nov 2015-July 2017), chose to ignore it and remained silent on the legislation.

Inaugurating the two-day meet, union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the greatest achievement of PM Narendra Modi was to provide a corruption-free government. He has laid the foundation of economic revolution, which was destined to benefit the poor, said the union minister.

 Under the leadership of PM Modi, India would emerge as Vishwa Guru, he claimed.

In his welcome address, senior party leader and road construction minister Nand Kishore Yadav said the executive committee would discuss the coming Lok Sabha polls.  Our preparation will be such that the NDA would win all the 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in 2019 elections, he added.

Former Bihar party chief and now health minister Mangal Pandey, while enlisting the achievements of the central government, said the state would also emulate the concept of New India.

Apart from senior leaders of the BJP, almost all the union ministers participated in the programme.

Prominent among the other leaders present included union ministers RK Singh, Radha Mohan Singh, Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Giriraj Singh, Bihar minister Prem Kumar, RK Sinha, MP, Rituraj Sinha and Shahnawaj Hussain.
Haryana police has found evidence of Honeypreet Insans hand in incidents of violence in Panchkula following Dera Sacha Sauda chiefs conviction in a rape case on August 25, Panchkula police commissioner A S Chawla claimed on Friday.

Chawla also said that 36-year-old Honeypreet, who claims to be the adopted daughter of jailed sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, was misleading and not cooperating with the police during her interrogation.

Honeypreet, whose real name is Priyanka Taneja, was arrested by the Haryana police on October 3 in connection with the deadly violence that had claimed 35 lives.

Asking if Honeypreets hand in incidents of violence has come to light, Chawla told reporters, according to the evidence we have gathered so far, definitely she has hand in this.

The police will put the evidence and other facts before the court, he said without elaborating.

A lookout notice had been issued earlier against Honeypreet.

However, she evaded the police by moving from one place to another in several states including Rajasthan, Punjab and Delhi, according to police.

The officer said that Honeypreet, who is currently in police custody, was not cooperating in the investigations.

Her attitude is not proper with regard to investigations being conducted. Initially, she tried to feign ignorance.

When she was confronted with facts and evidence about what happened in Panchkula, she started misleading, he alleged and hoped that she will start cooperating in the probe.

He said Honeypreet was taken to Bathinda on Thursday to verify the information she had given to the police.

We found that the entire information given by her was turning out to be false after which we decided to return from there, the officer said.

The police was keen to ensure that the entire conspiracy is unearthed. We are hopeful that we will be able to dig out the truth, he said.

Replying to a question, Chawla said if anyones role in Panchkula violence comes to light during investigation, that person will be asked to join investigation irrespective of the individuals stature.

If the need arises, the person will be arrested, he said.

Asked if any political leader had given shelter to Honeypreet when she was on the run, the police officer said, At this stage, I do not think it will be appropriate to comment on this.

Chawla said that during interrogation of some other arrested accused, it has been alleged that an amount of Rs 1.25 crore was distributed to some Dera members to arrange logistics for inciting violence in Panchkula on August 25 if the Dera chief was convicted in the rape case.

To a query, he said raids are on to the nab other key Dera functionaries accused of involvement in the violence, Aditya Insan and Pawan Insan.

Our raids are going on continuously and we are hopeful of making early arrests, he said.

About Aditya Insan, Chawla said a lookout notice had been issued against him earlier.

There is no input that Aditya Insan has fled the country, he said to a query.

Meanwhile, Chawla appealed to the media to refrain from publishing or broadcasting any news pertaining to the ongoing investigations that is speculative and not certified.

Such news are confusing the common man and it is also affecting medias credibility, he said. He denied that Panchkula police has sent a notice to the 45-member Dera committee.
Malayalam film actor Dileep, an accused in the Malayalam actress abduction and sexual assault case, Thursday declined to accept the post of president of a body of theatre owners, producers and distributors in Kerala.

Dileep was on Wednesday re-elected president of Film Exhibitors United Organisation of Kerala (FEUOK), an association of theatre owners, producers and distributors, a day after he was granted bail by the Kerala high court.

The actor was removed from the post after he was arrested in July last in connection with the case of abduction and sexual assault of a South Indian film actress.

In a letter to the general secretary of FEUOK, Dileep expressed his gratitude to them for re-electing as its president.

But I dont wish to take over as the president of FEUOK under the present circumstances, he said without elaborating.

Extending all support to the organisation, Dileep said he would continue as a member of the organisation, which was formed owing to the initiative taken by him.

He also wished all success to the organisation.

The Kerala high court had on Tuesday granted bail to Dileep, who spent 85 days behind bars in connection with the abduction and sexual assault of the actress.

The actress, who has worked in Tamil and Telugu films, was abducted and allegedly molested inside her car for two hours by the accused, who had forced their way into the vehicle on February 17 night and later escaped in a busy area.

Follow @htshowbiz for more

ott:10:ht-entertainment_listing-desktop
Denmark will join other European countries banning full-face covering, including Islamic veils such as the niqab or burqa.

Jakob Ellemann-Jensen of Denmarks liberal party that leads a center-right governing coalition says a law proposal was not aimed at any religions or a ban of scarfs, turbans or kippa, the traditional Jewish skull cap.

Ellemann-Jensen spoke Friday after a meeting in Parliament.

A large majority of lawmakers, including the opposition Social Democrats  Denmarks largest party has said it would vote for such a law, popularly known as the Burqa Ban. The move is mostly seen as directed at the dress worn by some ultra-conservative Muslim women. Few Muslim women in Denmark wear full-face veils.

No date for a formal vote was announced. Austria, France and Belgium have similar laws.

Heres a look at where other European countries stand:

France: France was the first country to ban face-covering veils in public places in 2011, under the Nicolas Sarkozy administration. In 2106, the country followed this up by banning burkinis, fully covered swimsuits, from its beaches.

Belgium: Like France, Belgium banned the full-face veil in 2011. The Belgian law bans any item of clothing that obscures a persons identity in public spaces. In 2012, a Belgian court refused to overturn the ban, saying that it did not violate human rights.

Austria: In Austria, where the ban came into force on October 1, Muslim women wearing the veil were ordered by police to take it off. Those who defy the ban could face a fine of 150 euros. Full-face veils are rare in Austria, where estimates suggest that only about 150 women wear them.

Germany: While there is no ban on veils in Germany, chancellor Angela Merkel said in 2016 that full-faced veils should be prohibited in Germany wherever it is legally possible.
Donald Trumps presidency has put a spotlight on the risks of nuclear weapons, the Nobel Peace Prize winning nuclear disarmament group ICAN said on Friday.

The election of President Donald Trump has made a lot of people feel very uncomfortable with the fact that he alone can authorise the use of nuclear weapons, the head of the International Coalition to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Beatrice Fihn, told reporters in Geneva.

She said the US leader appeared to have a track record of not listening to expertise, and insisted his supervision of a massive nuclear arsenal just puts a spotlight on the dangers of such weapons.
Nepals ambassador to India, Deep Kumar Upadhyay, resigned from his post on Friday against the backdrop of reports that he plans to contest upcoming elections.

Upadhyay submitted his resignation to the deputy prime minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara, who also holds the foreign affairs portfolio, at the foreign ministry and stated his desire to return to social life.

A former minister in the Nepali Congress government, he plans to contest the parliamentary elections from his home district of Kapilvastu later this year.

He served twice as Nepals envoy to India. His first diplomatic assignment took him to New Delhi from April 2015 to May 2016. He was recalled by the government headed by former premier KP Sharma Oli in May last year after he was accused of being involved in efforts to topple the regime in Kathmandu.

In October 2016, he was again appointed the ambassador to India by the government led by former premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda.

Once the Cabinet approves his resignation, Upadhyay is expected to announce his candidacy for the elections. Before leaving New Delhi for Kathmandu, he held a brief meeting with external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj to inform her about his departure.

Upadhyay served in New Delhi at a difficult time in bilateral relations, including the five-month economic blockade along the border in Nepals southern plains during protests against the countrys new Constitution.

A new envoy is expected to be appointed as soon as Upadhyays resignation is approved.
Theresa Mays longevity as prime minister has been much debated since she failed to win a majority for the Conservative Party in the June election, but her car crash speech this week at the party conference has renewed speculation at a crucial time of Brexit-related talks.

The speech was supposed to help her assert her authority and help provide new energy and direction, but racked by a failing voice and a cough, she ploughed through the live speech in a way that made for a performance seen as cringe-worthy.

Mays speech was also marred by a comedian  who mid-way handed her a P45 (better known as the letter of termination of employment)  and letters falling off the bold slogan behind her. It attracted much comment from the news media in Europe that is not exactly delighted by Britains decision to leave the European Union.

A member of the audience hands a P45 form (termination of employment tax form) to Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May as she addresses the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on October 4, 2017. (Reuters)

Her aides sought to spin the speech as showing Mays human side, countering the image of her being a Maybot who uttered scripted lines and answers during her election campaign. But not many are convinced and knives are already out.

For a party known to be ruthless towards leaders who do not deliver election victories, May has stayed on in Downing Street, but has constantly faced niggles and worse in Westminster about her future. The conference speech in Manchester has only contributed to plots against her, even though she apologised in the speech for the party losing the majority it had.

Even before the conference, May was facing a not-so-veiled threat to her leadership from the ambitious Boris Johnson using the Brexit card. Some wanted him sacked but May did not act, insisting that he and the rest of her cabinet were behind her Brexit plans.

Former Tory chairman Grant Shapps said on Friday that party MPs were perfectly within their rights to urge May to resign, while former minister Ed Vaizey said, I think there will be quite a few people who will now be pretty firmly of the view that she should resign.

Shapps told the BBC that May was a perfectly decent person but had rolled the dice and lost over her decision to call a snap election. The time has come. You cant just carry on when things arent working. The solution is not to bury heads in the sand, he said.

Britain, he said, was crying out for leadership and the evidence of the last few weeks and months was that this is not going to happen. According to him, rebels included five former cabinet ministers.

But Damian Green, first secretary of state and an ally of May, rubbished such talk, calling it complete nonsense to suggest that having a cold or having an unfunny pillock interrupt her speech meant she was the wrong person for the job.

I know that she is as determined as ever to get on with her job - she sees it as her duty to do so. She will carry on and she will make a success of this government, he said.

Mays speech was marked by a remarkable mea culpa on the election results: Now I called that election. And I know that all of you in this hall  your friends and your families  worked day and night to secure the right result. Because of your hard work we got 2.3 million more votes and achieved our highest vote share in 34 years.

But we did not get the victory we wanted because our national campaign fell short. It was too scripted. Too presidential. And it allowed the Labour Party to paint us as the voice of continuity, when the public wanted to hear a message of change. I hold my hands up for that. I take responsibility. I led the campaign. And I am sorry.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
With the nuclear threat at its most acute in decades, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, which on Friday won the Nobel Peace Prize, is urgently pressing to consign the bomb to history.

The Geneva-based organisation, known by the acronym ICAN, has for the past decade been sounding the alarm over the massive dangers posed by nuclear weapons and campaigning for a global ban.

It secured a significant victory in July this year when the United Nations adopted a new treaty outlawing nuclear weapons.

But with actual disarmament of the worlds nuclear arsenal likely still far off, ICAN is not resting on its laurels.

Were not done yet... The job isnt done until nuclear weapons are gone, ICAN chief Beatrice Fihn told AFP this week.

Pointing to the current nuclear standoff between Washington and Pyongyang as a wake-up call, she insisted on the urgent need to disarm the worlds 15,000 or so nuclear weapons.

Nuclear weapons have the risk of literally ending the world, added the Swedish national, who took charge of ICAN in 2014.

As long as they exist, the risk will be there, and eventually our luck will run out.

Landmark achievement

Founded in Vienna in 2007 on the fringes of an international conference on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, ICAN has tirelessly mobilised campaigners and celebrities alike in its cause.

From its offices in the buildings of the World Council of Churches in Geneva, ICAN works with 468 non-governmental organisations across 101 countries, including rights, development, environmental and peace groups.

A decade ago, the anti-nuclear movement was fragmented, Fihn said, explaining that ICAN was created to help a vast array of groups push for a ban similar to the global agreements forbidding the use of biological and chemical weapons, landmines and cluster munitions.

Berit Reiss-Andersen, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, announces the laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize 2017: the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), during a press conference in Oslo, Norway. (Reuters Photo)

Those efforts paid off in July this year, when 122 countries at the UN adopted the new treaty banning nuclear weapons, despite harsh opposition from the United States and other nuclear powers.

It is really a landmark achievement, Fihn said, acknowledging though that the adoption of the treaty was merely a starting point.

None of the nine countries that possess nuclear weapons -- the United States, Russia, Britain, China, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel -- took part in the negotiations.

And the treaty will only enter into force when 50 countries have signed and ratified it, a process that could take months or years.

Click here to know about previous Nobel Peace Prize winners

But while there is no way as of yet to force nuclear powers to disarm, Fihn voiced optimism that the treaty declaring them illegal would help stigmatise them.

The more countries we can rally to reject nuclear weapons and the more public opinion changes to think that this is unacceptable, the harder it is going to be for the nuclear-armed states to justify it, she said.

On the way out

Once it is prohibited, these weapons are on the way out, she added.

ICAN argues that any use of nuclear weapons would lead to catastrophic consequences for which there could be no effective humanitarian response, and so eliminating them is the only way to prevent their use.

The organisation points out that, given the power that has been added to these weapons, a single nuclear warhead, if detonated on a large city, could kill millions of people, with the effects persisting for decades.

Spending on nuclear weapons across the nine states that have them exceeds $105 billion a year -- money that ICAN says would be better far spent on healthcare, education and disaster relief.

The organisation today gets by on an annual budget of around $1 million and is funded by private donations as well as the European Union and countries including Norway, Switzerland, Germany and the Vatican.

But while it may not have a lot of resources at its disposal, ICAN does have many of the worlds famous and powerful championing its cause.

The Dalai Lama, Yoko Ono and Desmond Tutu are among those voicing support for the organisations mission on its website.

I can imagine a world without nuclear weapons, and I support ICAN, the Dalai Lama declares.

Actor and activist Martin Sheen meanwhile suggests in his quote that if Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr were alive today, they would be part of ICAN.
Following is the text of the Nobel Peace Prize award on Friday to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons:

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2017 to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).

The organization is receiving the award for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons.

We live in a world where the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time. Some states are modernising their nuclear arsenals, and there is a real danger that more countries will try to procure nuclear weapons, as exemplified by North Korea.

Nuclear weapons pose a constant threat to humanity and all life on earth. Through binding international agreements, the international community has previously adopted prohibitions against land mines, cluster munitions and biological and chemical weapons. Nuclear weapons are even more destructive, but have not yet been made the object of a similar international legal prohibition.

Through its work, ICAN has helped to fill this legal gap. An important argument in the rationale for prohibiting nuclear weapons is the unacceptable human suffering that a nuclear war will cause. ICAN is a coalition of non-governmental organizations from around 100 different countries around the globe.

The coalition has been a driving force in prevailing upon the worlds nations to pledge to cooperate with all relevant stakeholders in efforts to stigmatise, prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons. To date, 108 states have made such a commitment, known as the Humanitarian Pledge.

Furthermore, ICAN has been the leading civil society actor in the endeavour to achieve a prohibition of nuclear weapons under international law. On 7 July 2017, 122 of the UN member states acceded to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

As soon as the treaty has been ratified by 50 states, the ban on nuclear weapons will enter into force and will be binding under international law for all the countries that are party to the treaty.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee is aware that an international legal prohibition will not in itself eliminate a single nuclear weapon, and that so far neither the states that already have nuclear weapons nor their closest allies support the nuclear weapon ban treaty.

The Committee wishes to emphasize that the next steps towards attaining a world free of nuclear weapons must involve the nuclear-armed states. This years Peace Prize is therefore also a call upon these states to initiate serious negotiations with a view to the gradual, balanced and carefully monitored elimination of the almost 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world.

Five of the states that currently have nuclear weapons  the USA, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China  have already committed to this objective through their accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons of 1970.

The Non-Proliferation Treaty will remain the primary international legal instrument for promoting nuclear disarmament and preventing the further spread of such weapons.

It is now 71 years since the UN General Assembly, in its very first resolution, advocated the importance of nuclear disarmament and a nuclear weapon-free world. With this years award, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to pay tribute to ICAN for giving new momentum to the efforts to achieve this goal.

The decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2017 to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons has a solid grounding in Alfred Nobels will.

The will specifies three different criteria for awarding the Peace Prize: the promotion of fraternity between nations, the advancement of disarmament and arms control and the holding and promotion of peace congresses. ICAN works vigorously to achieve nuclear disarmament.

ICAN and a majority of UN member states have contributed to fraternity between nations by supporting the Humanitarian Pledge. And through its inspiring and innovative support for the UN negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons, ICAN has played a major part in bringing about what in our day and age is equivalent to an international peace congress.

It is the firm conviction of the Norwegian Nobel Committee that ICAN, more than anyone else, has in the past year given the efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons a new direction and new vigour.
Muslim Rohingyas continue to flee Myanmar to Bangladesh and the United Nations is bracing for possible further exodus, the UN humanitarian aid chief said on Friday.

Mark Lowcock, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, reiterated the world bodys appeal for access to the population in northern Rakhine state saying that the current situation was unacceptable.

This flow out of Myanmar has not stopped yet, its into the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya (who are) still in Myanmar, we want to be ready in case there is a further exodus, he told a news briefing in Geneva on Friday. Half a million people do not pick up sticks and flee their country on a whim.

An estimated 2,000 Rohingya are escaping Rakhine daily for Bangladesh, where 515,000 have fled since violence erupted on August 25, Joel Millman of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) told a separate briefing.
A US drone killed a commander of Al-Qaeda militants in Yemen in a strike on the central province of Baida, security sources said on Thursday.

Shroum al-Sanaani, a local military commander with Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula group, was travelling on a motorbike along with an unidentified man when the strike killed them both, the sources said.

The attack was carried out on the Yakala area, a stronghold for the jihadist group where US drones have repeatedly targeted Al-Qaeda members in the past few months.

The United States considers the Yemen-based AQAP to be the groups most dangerous branch.

A long-running drone war against AQAP has intensified since US President Donald Trump took office in January.

An air raid he ordered that month killed a US Navy SEAL and several Yemeni civilians in Baida province, south of Marib.

AQAP has taken advantage of a war between the Saudi-backed government and Shiite rebels to expand its presence in several areas of eastern and southern Yemen.

More than 8,000 people have been killed since Saudi Arabia and its allies joined the conflict in 2015.

Seven Yemeni government soldiers were seriously wounded in a car bomb blast in the southern province of Abyan on Thursday, the security source said.

The soldiers are members of a UAE-backed force fighting against rebels in the Arabian Peninsula country.
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz s golden escalator stopped working when he was deboarding from his private jet in Moscow earlier this week.

A video circulating online showed the 81-year-old Saudi royal walking down the steps after the escalator halted.

Watch the Saudi King's gold escalator break down as he arrived in Moscow on a historic state visit https://t.co/IvVqAarbbO pic.twitter.com/5l1GeBT7bH  RT (@RT_com) October 5, 2017

Twitter users jokingly commented on the video, with one saying: The poor guy had to walk. Another user thought the incident was really a royal reception.

According to a Bloomberg report, the Gulf Kingdom leader brought an entourage of 1,500 people, a golden escalator and his own carpets on the four-day visit to Russia. A plane carrying supplies and food was flying between Riyadh and Moscow daily, and the Saudi government has booked two entire luxury hotels for their visit, the article read.

Saudi Kings golden airplane escalator got stuck in Russia. The poor guy had to walk.



Howling pic.twitter.com/cpjM7VHYLY  Gissur Simonarson (@GissiSim) October 5, 2017

The King of Saudi Arabia arrived in Russia and the first thing he saw ..... a broken escalator.

Really, the royal reception ...  pic.twitter.com/yxmR3LiQXV  Viktoria (@Ukropo4kA) October 5, 2017

Saudi Arabias King Salman is on a landmark visit to Russia. President Vladimir Putin and the Saudi leader signed a slew of arms and energy deals on Thursday as the key US ally seeks to deepen cooperation with Moscow.

The leaders of the worlds largest energy exporters discussed an extension of an OPEC agreement to cap oil output and oversaw the signing of deals which officials said were worth billions of dollars.

(With agency inputs)
A man in Brazils Rio de Janeiro chose the wrong place to attempt a robbery: a gym with Jiu-jitsu students.

A surveillance video circulating online showed a young man jumping over a turnstile at a gym on Monday only to be chased by Jiu-jitsu students moments later.

Jiu-jitsu is a martial art that focuses on ground fighting and grappling with the opponent.

The receptionist told local media the man asked her for directions but she did not help him as she was suspicious. He then demanded her mobile phone and jumped behind the counter, prompting her to scream. She told Globo.com the thief threatened to kill her.

The suspect fled with a mobile phone but the woman was unharmed.

The Jiu Jitsu teacher Edgar Neto (41) told The Daily Mail the class had chased the thief but they couldnt catch him because he fled with an accomplice on a bike.

The thief has not been arrested but one of his sandals that fell off during the chase was recovered, police said on Wednesday.
The federal government has given the media a first peek at construction of prototypes for President Donald Trumps proposed border wall with Mexico.

Crews working Wednesday on two of the eight prototypes moved dirt, with one of the crews also installing steel reinforcing bars before concrete is poured.

The contractors are erecting eight prototypes in San Diego  four made of concrete and four of other materials. Construction will last about 30 days.

Crews working Wednesday on two of the eight prototypes moved dirt, with one of the crews also installing steel reinforcing bars before concrete is poured.

US Customs and Border Protection may pick several designs, or none. They agency says in a press release that the designs will inform standards for future construction.

People work in San Diego, California, U.S., at the construction site of prototypes for U.S. President Donald Trump's border wall with Mexico, in this picture taken from the Mexican side of the border in Tijuana, Mexico October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Jorge Duenes TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY (REUTERS)

The prototypes will be up to 30 feet high (9 metres high) and 30 feet long.

Construction is starting three months behind schedule after losing bidders lodged protests that were ultimately unsuccessful.

The construction of a border wall with Mexico has been one of Trumps contentious campaign promises, with the famous chant being: Build the wall. The US President has previously said the neighbouring country will pay for the wall while Mexican authorities have outrightly refused.
The final hours of a remote outpostcalled a Khe Sanh in reversewere heroic ones.

AT THE BEGINNING OF APRIL 1968, U.S. Marines and Air Cavalry troops in Vietnam lifted the siege of Khe Sanh, in one of the largest operations of the war. As the North Vietnamese withdrew from the area of the beleaguered marine base, leaving behind evidence of their heavy losses, a communique from the headquarters of the U.S. commander, General William Westmoreland, declared that for the Communists the battle for Khe Sanh had been a Dien Bien Phu in reverse. Less than two months later, however, U.S. forces were to suffer a sharp defeat at another remote outpost near the Laotian border called Kham Duea defeat that was, in a sense, a Khe Sanh in reverse.

The months following the Tet attacks at the end of January had been a time of stress and of calamity not always averted. Early in February Communist troops, supported for the first time by tanks, overran the Lang Vei Special Forces camp near Khe Sanh, killing 200 of its 500 defenders, including 10 of its more than two dozen American advisers. After the much-publicized fall of Lang Vei, Kham Duc was the last remaining Special Forces camp of I Corps along the Laotian border. Far from the urban centers and coastal farmlands, Kham Duc sat in the center of a mile-wide green bowl in the rugged country of northwestern Quang Tin province. Route 14, the principal northsouth road through the border region, ran through the base. Just across that border, 10 miles away, the roads and tracks of the Ho Chi Minh Trail extended their fingers south and east, some already reaching Route 14 itself.

Like Khe Sanh and Lang Vei, Kham Duc and Ngoc Tavakits satellite camp three miles closer to Laosdid not truly block the enemys infiltration into South Vietnam. The border country was too rugged, the Communists lateral roads were too numerous, and the camps garrisons were too small to do that; yet the units holding them kept the Communists under observation and frequently interdicted their movements. Their presence meant that there would always be some sand and gravel thrown into the smoothly meshed gears of the Laotian infiltration system.

Since early April, U.S. Army engineer units had been at work upgrading Kham Ducs runway and constructing a concrete base to support the radio navigation facility. As the improvements to the base progressed, so did Communist preparations for attack. By late April, U.S. intelligence was reporting large enemy units in the area, including elements of the 2nd Division of the North Vietnamese Army. A prisoner taken on May 3 reported that his unit was planning to attack Kham Duc. Four months before, when Khe Sanh had been similarly threatened, the Americans had poured in reinforcements and air support. Now the Americans again began reinforcing. A battalion task force of the American Division, consisting of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry, an additional infantry company, and some supporting artillery, began arriving by air at Kham Duc late on the morning of May 10. Lieutenant Colonel Robert B. Nelson, commander of the 2nd Battalion, took charge of the camp.

Nelsons men joined about 60 army engineers, about 400 Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG) soldiers, and the latters South Vietnamese and U.S. Special Forces leaders and advisers. Neither as well armed nor as well trained as the North Vietnamese and Viet Cong, the CIDG were mercenaries that the Special Forces recruited and organized from among the various highland, non-Vietnamese tribal, ethnic, and religious minorities. The CIDGs primary mission was surveillance, scouting, patrol, and local security. Although their leaders were sometimes bound to the Special Forces and the government by personal ties or political deals, they were primarily free-lance soldiers, hired as a group on a contractual basis. Their behavior in a crisis varied from cowardice and treachery to stalwart heroism, depending on the specific situation and the tribal group involved.

Even as reinforcements were arriving at Kham Duc, Ngoc Tavak was already under attack. Located on the site of an old French fort, Ngoc Tavak was defended by a 113-man CIDG Mobile Strike Force company, with eight U.S. Army Special Forces troops and three Australian training-team advisers. Thirty-three U.S. Marines manned two 105mm howitzers, which had recently been moved to Ngoc Tavak to interdict nearby North Vietnamese routes and trails. The howitzers were short of ammunition, however, and could be resupplied only by air from Kham Duo.

At about 3:00 in the morning on May 10, the Communists opened their final heavy-artillery and mortar barrage against the base, followed by a ground attack some thirty minutes later. During the height of the action, some of the CIDG troops abandoned their positions and fled toward the compound yelling, Dont shoot, dont shoot, friendly, friendly. But once inside the compound, these friendly troops tossed grenades and satchel charges at the marine positions, causing heavy casualties. Some of the surviving Americans believed they could also hear the distinctive sound of carbines being fired at them by the CIDGs. (Only the CIDGs had carbines; NVA troops carried AK-47s, whose high-velocity rounds sound quite different from those of a carbine.)

The Special Forces commander, Captain Christopher J. Silva, and the commander of the marine battery, Lieutenant Adams, were both badly wounded during the night. As the North Vietnamese attackers penetrated the perimeter and advanced into the eastern end of the camp, the remaining defenders pulled back and called for support from air force gunships and fighter bombers. The defenders believed that some of the wounded were still on the western side of the camp; but as the North Vietnamese closed in, the Americans had no choice but to call for the gunships to blast the western side with their deadly flechettes (artillery rounds with dartlike metal projections) and cannon fire.

At dawn two Australian warrant officers managed to organize a counterattack by the CIDG troops who were still loyal; they cleared the perimeter and recaptured the howitzer positions abandoned during the nighttime attack. Yet the marines were almost out of shells for their 105s.

Four CH-46 helicopters carrying reinforcements from Kham Duc arrived later that morning, greeted by a hail of fire from the North Vietnamese forces surrounding Ngoc Tavak. The first chopper managed to land safely and unload its cargo of about 25 CIDG troops, but as the second approached the landing zone, its fuel line was severed by automatic-weapons fire. The damaged chopper, fuel streaming from the fuselage, settled safely to the ground and unloaded its troops. The third helicopter landed alongside and discharged its reinforcements as the crew of the crippled CH-46 jumped aboard. But as the third chopper was about to lift off, it was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade round and burst into flames. The landing zone was now unusable, and only small UH-I medevac helicopters could land at the camp to take off the severely wounded. As one medevac chopper came in to hover off a nearby hill, a large number of panicky CIDG soldiers rushed aboard; others held onto the skids as the helicopter lifted off, then fell to their deaths several hundred feet below.

Captain White of the Australian training team, the senior surviving officer, was now in command. Requesting permission to evacuate the camp, he was told to hang on. But with the helicopter pad unserviceable, water and ammunition nearly exhausted, most of the Americans killed or wounded, and the steadiness of the CIDG a doubtful proposition, White believed he had no choice but to abandon the camp before darkness brought renewed attacks. The men destroyed the damaged helicopter and weapons that they could not take with them.

Avoiding the obvious routes to Kham Duc, where the enemy was almost certain to be waiting in ambush, White led his men southeast through heavy jungle to a hill about a mile from Ngoc Tavak, where they hacked out a landing zone. CH-46s quickly swooped in to take the survivors back to Kham Duc.

The loss of Ngoc Tavak had been a costly one. Of the 44 Americans and Australians at Ngoc Tavak, 15 had been killed, 23 were wounded, and two were missing. Of the 100-odd CIDG troops, 64 were missing or had deserted and 30 were dead or wounded. By the time the dazed and exhausted survivors reached Kham Duc, that camp, too, was under attack.

Scattered mortar fire rained down on the camp on May 11, as the last of the American reinforcements and additional supplies were flown into the besieged base. By the end of that day, there was a total of some 1,500 U.S. and CIDG soldiers at Kham Duc, as well as almost 300 dependents of the CIDG troops who had been evacuated from their village near the base. Many of the American troops had been sent to reinforce the outposts in the hills surrounding the bowl-shaped valley where the camp was located.

Late on the night of the 11th, troops of the 1st Vietcong Regiment, 2nd NVA Division, began their final preparations for an assault on Kham Duc. Around 4:00 A.M. the Communists overran the first of the outposts, Number 7, on a hill northeast of the base. By that time, General Westmoreland had already decided to abandon the camp.

Since the arrival of U.S. forces in Vietnam, some of the largest and most stubborn battles had begun as contests for the control of Special Forces camps such as Sanh. Kham Duc had appeared likely to be the next such battleground, with powerful enemy forces converging on the base, U.S. reinforcements arriving, and support and strike aircraft being summoned to aid the defenders.

Yet as U.S. commanders studied the impending battle, they began to have second thoughts. When Colonel Jonathan Ladd, commander of Special Forces in Vietnam, met with the commander of the III Marine Amphibious Force (MAF), Lieutenant General Robert E. Cushman, Jr., he found Cushman unwilling to commit more troops to Kham Duc. Ladd pointed out that strong reinforcements would be needed to hold the camp against an attack by a reinforced North Vietnamese regiment. But Cushman had few uncommitted troops to spare and was concerned about a new threat posed by the buildup of Communist forces in the An Hoa basin area southeast of Da Nang. A reserve CIDG Mobile Strike Force company had already been dispatched to another threatened Special Forces camp, Thuong Duo, located on the main western approaches to Da Nang. Cushman also pointed out that Kham Duc would be difficult to resupply and was beyond the artillery range of friendly supporting bases.

On the afternoon of May 11, Ladd accompanied the deputy commander of Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), Creighton Abrams, to a meeting with Cushman and Major General Samuel Koster, the American Division commander. Koster had now assumed operational control of the Kham Duc battle. At the meeting, the III MAF staff briefed the generals on the situation at Kham Duc. They recommended that the camp be abandoned, or as they phrased it, relocated. Colonel Ladd strongly disagreed, pointing out that Kham Duc was the last South Vietnamese outpost of southern I Corps in the western mountains. He also emphasized that it was an important launching site for the super-secret teams innocuously called the Studies and Observation Group, which conducted reconnaissance missions and raids into Laos and other parts of Southeast Asia to observe and interdict lines of communication, capture prisoners, assess bomb damage, and collect intelligence. By 1968, the number of such missions had risen to over 300 a year. Further, Ladd suggested that the Communists might put a Kham Duc victory to propaganda use, especially in view of the opening of peace talks in Paris.

Unmentioned but ever-present during the deliberations were the recent memories of the siege of Khe Sanh. Although American generals had always spoken of the battle with confidence and enthusiasm when addressing Washington or the media, they had found it an anxious and wearing experience, superimposed as it was on the widespread and bloody fights of Tet. Now, with this new mini-Tet looming, neither Abrams nor Cushman was inclined to begin another protracted battle. The decision to evacuate was brought on considerably by the Khe Sanh experience, wrote Westmorelands operations officer. At the conclusion of the discussions, Abrams instructed Cushman to prepare plans for a withdrawal. Westmoreland approved the decision a few hours later.

By the time word of the decision to evacuate reached Colonel Nelson at Kham Duc, all seven of the hill outposts were under heavy attack. Squads and platoons of American soldiers reinforcing the CIDG troops on the hills fought desperately, supported by C-47 gunships dropping flares to illuminate the area and peppering the attackers with their minicannon. As the outposts were overwhelmed, the defenders directed gunships and artillery fire onto their own positions. A few managed to escape into the Kham Duc perimeter, but many died in the hill outposts.

The fate of the outposts added to the sense of terror and foreboding within Kham Duc. The morning began with a fresh disaster as one of the first evacuation helicopters, an army CH-47, was hit by heavy ground fire as it landed on the runway. The chopper exploded, and its flaming hulk blocked the runway for over an hour. An A-IE fighter also was shot down.

As the sun rose over Kham Duc, burning away some of the morning fog, aerial observers beheld a grim sight: The camp was under almost continuous mortar fire, and heavy ground attacks were taking place against the northwestern perimeter. The burning CH-47 sent clouds of black smoke into the sky. On the nearby hills, radio antennae sprouted above the newly established NVA command posts.

Inside the perimeter, men tensely awaited the ground attack. The enemy mortar barrage increased in intensity, and a near miss showered one squad with shrapnel. An 82mm mortar round scored a direct hit on a nearby mortar manned by CIDG personnel, killing or wounding all three of the crew. Specialist 4 Todd Regon, leader of a mortar team, quickly rounded up some American infantrymen, led them to the pit, and gave them a crash course in mortar firing. Scrambling back to his own mortar position, Regon was astounded to see illumination rounds bursting harmlessly over the daytime battlefield. An instant later the mortar man realized that he had failed to show his infantry trainees the difference between high-explosive and illumination rounds for the CIDG mortar. Despite his grim situation, Regon managed a smile. This ought to confuse the hell out of the enemy.

As enemy pressure on the base increased, MACV directed all available air support to Kham Duc. Fighters and attack planes from Pleiku, Da Nang, Cam Ranh Bay, and Phu Catas well as bases in Thailandconverged on the beleaguered base in answer to the call from the Seventh Air Force commander, General W.W. Momyer, for a Grand Slam maximum air effort. An airborne command post in a converted C-130 coordinated the air attacks as dozens of aircraft responded to Momyers call. At times there were as many as twenty fighters over Kham Duc. Now forward air controllers (FACS) in light planes flew parallel to each other at opposite sides of the Kham Duc runway, each controlling fighter strikes on his side of the field. Traffic was so thick that by late morning the FACS could specifically select fighters based on their load: napalm, cluster-bomb units, 500- or 750-pound bombs, or high-drag bombs.

Weve got a small Khe Sanh going on here, an air force officer at Kham Duc recorded. I hope we finish it before night comes. The evacuation, when it came, was marked by confusion, panic, and tragedy. Many of the defenders at Kham Duc were not informed of the decision to abandon the camp until many hours after it had been made. The CIDG forces, panicky and on the verge of mutiny or surrender, feared that the Americans would abandon them. Suspicion was mutual, since American troops had heard the stories of CIDG forces firing on other Americans at Ngoc Tavak.

The air forces 834th Air Division, whose giant C-123s and C-130s would have to make the actual evacuation, was also dogged by confusion and last minute changes. At 8:20 A.M. on May 12, the 834th was alerted for an all-out effort to evacuate the base. Two hours later, fighting at Kham Duc had grown so intense that the Seventh Air Force canceled the evacuation and directed the transports to fly in additional ammunition to Duc. By the time the MACV operations center directed the 834th to resume evacuation operations, around 1:15 P.M., transports were already on their way to Kham Duc loaded with ammunition. Other planes on the ground had to unload their cargo before proceeding empty to Kham Duc to bring out the defenders. To complicate matters further, Colonel Nelsons command post could not communicate with many of the supporting aircraft because the Americans radios were incompatible with those used by most of the planes. Messages had to be relayed from the Special Forces command post, whose radios could talk to the planes. At times, the heavy volume of incoming message traffic almost jammed the two available networks. The communications mess made it almost impossible for ground commanders to coordinate transport and helicopter landings with supporting air strikes.

That complete disaster was averted was due largely to the deadly skills of the fighter pilots and their controllers and to the iron newe and brilliant improvisation of the tactical airlift crews. The first C-130 into Kham Duc landed on the debris-strewn runway at about 10:00 A.M., in a hail of mortar and automatic-weapons fire that punctured a tire and fuel tanks. Lieutenant Colonel Daryl D. Coles plane, dispatched before the evacuation order had been reinstituted, had a full load of cargo for Kham Duc, but panic-stricken civilians and CIDG troops rushed the plane as soon as it taxied to a stop, preventing either orderly unloading or evacuation. With mortar shells landing ever closer to the aircraft, Cole decided to attempt a takeoff with his overloaded plane, crowded with CIDG personnel and much of the remaining cargo. His first attempt was unsuccessful, and the increased attention that the plane was attracting from NVA gunners convinced the passengers to make a hasty exit. In the meantime, the crew had succeeded in cutting away part of the ruined tire. Dodging the runway debris, with fuel streaming from the wing tanks and under heavy fire, Cole managed to get his stricken C-130 airborne and safely back to Cam Ranh Bay.

Cole was followed by a C-123 piloted by Major Ray Shelton, which loaded about 60 army engineers and Vietnamese civilians in less than three minutes before taking off under heavy enemy fire.

Throughout the day, army and marine helicopters continued to dodge heavy fire to bring in ammunition and evacuate the wounded from Kham Due. Yet the helicopters could not carry the large numbers of people now desperate to escape from the doomed camp. Only the large transports of the 834th could do that, and since 11 oclock there had been no planes. Then, around three in the afternoon, a C-130 piloted by Major Bernard L. Bucher landed at Kham Duc. CIDG troops, women, and children swarmed aboard the plane. The CIDG soldiers and their families were convinced that the Americans intended to leave them behind and were in a state of utter panic. Two hours earlier, Special Forces sergeant Richard Campbell had watched in horror and disbelief as a woman and her small child who had fallen while climbing the rear ramp of a CH-46 helicopter were trampled by fear-maddened CIDG soldiers in a rush to board the chopper. Now nearly 200 women and children crowded aboard Buchers bullet-riddled C-130.

Because he had received heavy fire from the southwest corner of the field on landing, Bucher elected to take off to the northeast. A few minutes before Buchers takeoff, fighters raked the NVA machine guns on the low ridges north of the runway with loads of cluster-bomb units. The deadly CBUs killed the gun crews, but replacements from nearby enemy positions soon had the guns back in action. Buchers plane, struck by heavy machine-gun fire, crashed and exploded in an orange ball of flame less than a mile from the runway. There were no survivors of what has to be counted as one of the worst air disasters of this century, and the costliest one in the Vietnam War.

Watching Buchers crash, Lieutenant Colonel William Boyd, Jr., pilot of the next C-130 into the camp, decided on a steep, sideslipping descent. Just as Boyds plane was about to touch down, a shell exploded 100 feet ahead on the runway. Pushing his throttle forward, Boyd climbed steeply into the air. Landing successfully on his next try, he loaded about 100 CIDG and American soldiers and took off under heavy fire for Cam Ranh Bay.

The fourth C-130 of the day, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Delmore, had been forced to make a second pass to avoid Boyds takeoff. This time the Communist gunners were ready, and .50-caliber bullets ripped six-inch holes in the sides of the fuselage as the giant C-130, its hydraulic system shot away, bounced along the runway, glanced off the wreckage of the CH-47 destroyed that morning, and plowed into a dirt mound on the side of the runway. Miraculously, the entire crew escaped. A few minutes later Delmores crippled plane burst into flames.

The remaining C-130 pilots circling above Kham Duc, awaiting their turn to land, had seen Buchers plane crash and burn, Delmores wrecked on landing, and two helicopters destroyed by ground fire. The runway was littered with debris and burning wreckage.

Undeterred, Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Montgomery brought his C-130 into Kham Duc, followed by two more C-130s; together, the three planes brought out more than 400 people just as the Seventh Air Force was issuing orders to cancel further landings. As the order was given, Major James L. Wallaces C-130 was able to make a pickup, bringing out the remaining soldiers and civilians.

But in the confusion, according to some reports, another C-130 landed briefly just as Wallaces was taking off. In the mistaken belief that personnel were still on the ground, the three men in the combat control team (CCT), who had been pulled out of the camp that morning after spending two days helping to bring in the American Division reinforcements, were now dropped off againto find themselves alone, surrounded by exploding ammunition dumps and the advancing enemy.

Heavy fire forced the C-130 that had brought the team to fly out before the three men could return to the plane. The airwaves fell silent as the pilot, Major Jay Van Cleeff, radioed that the camp now was not, after all, fully evacuated and ready to be destroyed by air strikes.

On the ground, Major Gallagher and Technical Sergeants Freedman and Lundie took cover in a ditch, began shooting at the enemysilencing one of the two machine guns firing at them from the sides of the runwayand hoped for a miracle. Lieutenant Colonel Alfred J. Jeanotte, Jr., given cover by fighter aircraft, touched down on the north side of the runwaybut the crew couldnt see the three men and had to take off right away because of enemy fire. Once airborne, however, the crew spotted the men running back to their ditch after seeing the rescue plane leave without them. Their position was radioed to the next plane in line to attempt a rescue.

Lieutenant Colonel Joe M. Jackson brought in his C-123 with a sideslipping descent, to make the smallest possible target. Despite sharp objects and holes on the runway, the plane landed safely, rolled as close as possible to the ditch, and swung back around for a departure as the three men raced from their cover and were pulled on board. In less than a minute, with bullets, shells, and even a 122mm rocket striking all around them, the C-123 took off and got awaywithout a single hole in the plane. Jacksons daring rescue of the last three defenders of Kham Due earned him the Medal of Honor.

It was over before 5:00 P.M. Communist troops advanced cautiously into Kham Duc and along the runway perimeter as explosions from the burning aircraft and ammunition dumps lit up the twilight sky. The following morning, 60 B-52 bombers, the entire force available in Vietnam, rained 12,000 tons of bombs on the camp, and MACV proclaimed that the enemy had suffered severely. Yet nothing could disguise the fact that Kham Duc had been an American defeata Khe Sanh in reverse. Twenty-five Americans had been killed and nearly 100 wounded, and there were several hundred Vietnamese casualties; seven U.S. aircraft and all the camps heavy military and engineering equipment were also lost. American commanders had vacillated between reinforcing the camp and evacuating it, finally opting for evacuationunder the worst possible circumstances. Command, control, and communications had been confused and often ineffective. General Abrams termed the operation a minor disaster. This was an ugly one and I expect some repercussions, wrote the chief of Westmorelands operations center.

Yet the repercussions were few. Abrams angrily ordered I Corps commanders to review their command, control, communications, and planning, so that when your command is confronted with a similar imminent problem, appropriate action would be taken so that we would not lose another camp. The generals expression of unhappiness, however, was confined to top-secret messages. No heads rolled; no investigations were launched. Saigon and Washington remained unruffled, barely concerned. The news media, preoccupied with the Communist attacks in Saigon and the peace negotiations in Paris, paid little attention. In a war in which the distinction between success and failure, victory and defeat, had long been blurred, even an unequivocal debacle like Kham Duc could be obfuscated, obscured, and ignored.

RONALD H. SPECTOR,is a professor of history and international affairs at George Washington University. This article is adapted from his book, After Tet: The Bloodiest Year in Vietnam (1993), published by the Free Press.

Photo: Taken by an unidentified U.S. soldier during the battle of Kham Duc.

[hr]

This article originally appeared in the Spring 1993 issue (Vol. 5, No. 3) of MHQThe Quarterly Journal of Military History with the headline: The Evacuation of Kham Duc

Want to have the lavishly illustrated, premium-quality print edition of MHQ delivered directly to you four times a year? Subscribe now at special savings!
News, events, history, and other mid-week tidbits.

Tuesday, October 25, 4:30  7 p.m.

Orr Area EMS Open House

Brats and burgers will be served. Event includes a new ambulance tour and blood pressure screenings. For more info: 218-780-3798.

Orr Fire Hall

4540 Lake St., Orr

Tuesday, October 25, 12  6 p.m.

Essentia Health Job Fair

Talent recruiters and department managers will be on-site at Essentia Health-Virginia. Candidates from all backgrounds are encouraged to attendnurses, nursing and clinical assistants, surgery technicians, radiology technicians, respiratory therapists, human resource professionals, and those interested in environmental services or nutrition services. Essentia staff will greet candidates, conduct an initial screening and filter them to appropriate hiring managers for interviews. Select candidates will be verbally offered a position before leaving. Candidates are asked to bring a resume, but its not required. Attire is business casual. For more info: www.essentiacareers.org.

901 9th St. N., Virginia
The Oscar-winning actor has signed on to portray the Playboy mogul.

The film will be director by Brett Ratner, the man behind the lens of such films as Rush Hour and X-Men: The Last Stand.

When he heard I got the rights to Hef's story, he (Leto) told me, 'I want to play him. I want to understand him. And I really believe Jared can do it, Brett told The Hollywood Reporter. He's one of the great actors of today."

The film has been in development for a number of years and it was previously reported that Robert Downey Jr. was going to play the lead role.

We cant wait to see Jared in Hefs trademark pyjamas.

Hugh Hefner died last month at the grand old age of 91. The iconic public figure died of natural causes at his infamous Playboy Mansion in LA, surrounded by loved ones.

At the time of his death last month, Hefner's son Cooper, who is CCO of the Playboy empire, paid tribute to his father, describing him as a "cultural pioneer".

Hefner, who once invited Hot Press magazine into the Playboy Mansion for an exclusive interview, started his publication back in 1953 with $8,000 that he managed to put together, including a $1,000 gift from his own mother!

Hefner only decided to start-up his own publication after he quit his job at a magazine after being refused a $5 raise! Hefner was originally going to call the magazine Stag Party, but changed his mind and called it Playboy. The rest, as they say, is history.

Cooper said: "My father lived an exceptional and impactful life as a media and cultural pioneer and a leading voice behind some of the most significant social and cultural movements of our time in advocating free speech, civil rights and sexual freedom.

"He defined a lifestyle and ethos that lie at the heart of the Playboy brand, one of the most recognizable and enduring in history.

"He will be greatly missed by many, including his wife Crystal, my sister Christie and my brothers David and Marston, and all of us at Playboy Enterprises."

A countless number of stars took to Twitter to pay their respect after his death.

RIP to the legendary Hugh Hefner! Im so honored to have been a part of the Playboy team! You will be greatly missed! Love you Hef! Xoxo  Kim Kardashian West (@KimKardashian) September 28, 2017

R.I.P. To da legend da icon Mr. Hugh Hefner! Nobody did it you like sir! Sleep in peace my brother! Love  Mack Maine (@mackmaine) September 28, 2017

Advertisement

Hugh Hefner (1926-2017).

The editor-in-chief and publisher of Playboy magazine#RIP

"At last he slept alone"  Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) September 28, 2017

Hugh Hefners definition of obscenity:

Racism, war, bigotry, but sex itself, no. What a sad cold world this would be if we werent sexual beings...I mean, thats the heart of who we are.  bob saget (@bobsaget) September 28, 2017

Hugh Hefner was a GIANT in publishing, journalism, free speech & civil rights. He was a true original, and he was my friend. Rest well Hef. pic.twitter.com/bJ1wxoK4gR  Larry King (@kingsthings) September 28, 2017

Advertisement
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

WASHINGTON - Oil companies are a ubiquitous presence in Washington, where small battalions of lobbyists are assigned to keep their ears to the ground while trying to influence policies where they can.

So, it came as some surprise when the French oil giant Total sent out invitations for a reception commemorating the opening of its first office in the U.S. capital.

"It's a little strange," CEO Patrick Pouyanne pointed out. "We are not such a new company."

Founded in Paris almost a century ago, Total is one of the largest oil companies in Europe, competing alongside the likes of Royal Dutch Shell, the Italian company Eni and the British oil major BP, the latter of which maintains a modern LEED certified office in between the White House and the Capitol, where it hosts consultants, political staffers and even reporters for events.

But despite having had operations in the United States for more than 60 years and maintaining a sizable office in the Total Plaza building in downtown Houston, Total had long avoided a permanent presence in Washington.

As the reception got underway in one of Washington's older social clubs, one Total executive explained it as "the old way," a quirk of earlier executives who tended toward a Eurocentric view of the world.

But with the ascendancy of Pouyanne, a 55-year old former French bureaucrat who took over after the death of former CEO Christophe de Margerie in 2014, Total has turned westward.

Speaking to guests in between hors d'oeuvres and cocktails, Pouyanne said he is a regular in Washington since becoming CEO, traveling here to meet with U.S. authorities and even join the Brooking Institution, a liberal think tank. And now with opening of a modest-size office of six people, Pouyanne said he hoped more Total employees "would benefit from all this life here."

"We are just repairing a mistake that should have been done much earlier," he said. "It's important for us to understand how the world is seen from other places, not just Paris and Europe."

At the same time, Total has expanded its U.S. operations, buying stakes in shale fields in Texas and Ohio from Chesapeake Energy. Last month, Total announced it was entering into an exploration deal in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico with Chevron. It also operates a refinery at Port Arthur and petrochemical operations along the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast. Total counts more than 7,000 employees in the United States - for context, that is a little more than half what the online car service Uber employs.

That has brought Total squarely into the U.S. political space and potentially at odds with President Donald Trump.

Among Total's U.S. holdings is the solar manufacturer SunPower, which is headquartered in California, with manufacturing plants in Malaysia and the Philippines. Trump will soon decide whether to place tariffs on foreign-made solar panels to protect domestic manufacturers, which have argued before the U.S. International Trade Commission that they're being squeezed out by low-cost panels from abroad.

Pouyanne, enjoying his newly minted Washington operation, gleefully explained to the crowd that such a tariff was likely to slow solar development in the U.S., killing many more jobs than would be saved.

"I'm sorry. I should not have said this. They told me don't make any comments," he said, drawing laughter from the audience.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Nearly every Alaskan woke up $1,100 richer Thursday, thanks to this year's payout from the state's oil wealth investment fund.

The distribution from the Alaska Permanent Fund is essentially free money for residents, who already don't pay a state income tax or statewide sales tax. But it's just half of the expected $2,200 windfall, which was reduced for the second straight year to help the state pay its bills amid a recession due to continued low oil prices.

Unlike previous distributions, the amount of this year's payout was quietly announced in mid-September in a short news release. Gone was the usual announcement made with great fanfare in other years.

A record payout of $2,072 was distributed to qualifying Alaskans in 2015. Last year, the amount was estimated to be a bit higher until Gov. Bill Walker stepped in and shrunk the amount because of the state's multibillion-dollar budget deficit, a situation exacerbated by chronically low oil prices. Walker's action was challenged in court, and ultimately the governor prevailed. In August, the state Supreme Court ruled that Walker acted within his authority in reducing the amount set aside for checks from the fund.

The politically charged court case played out as state lawmakers weigh a major shift that could turn the fund into an endowment and change the dividend program. Walker's actions to cut the payouts could affect him at the polls, noted Jerry McBeath, a political science professor emeritus at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

"When people think someone wants to take something away from them, which they believe they are entitled to, they are very angry," he said. "That is what the governor has done."

Walker is up for re-election in 2018. He is an independent, and will not face a primary election. There are announced Republicans in the race, while no Democrats have announced yet.

The checks are distributed annually to Alaskans who apply for them after living in the state for at least one calendar year, or were born in Alaska by the Dec. 31 deadline of the previous year. This year, about 640,000 Alaskans will receive checks.

Altogether, the checks total $672 million. The amount of the checks is based on a five-year average of the fund's investment earnings.

Some use the checks as fun money for purchases like big-screen TVs, traveling and furniture. But for many in cash poor villages in rural Alaska, the money goes toward necessities such as costly heating fuel or even down payments for boats or all-terrain vehicles used in subsistence hunting. In the old gold rush town of Nome on the western coast, many use the money to put food on the table, according to Mayor Richard Beneville. He said it would be nice to get the full amount, but people there understand the state's fiscal problems, and he hasn't heard anyone complain about the smaller payout.

"Something is better than nothing," he said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Most of the 145 million Americans exposed to identity thieves by Equifax's data breach will be surprised to learn they have no ownership of their personal information and have little recourse against the company.

The information that Equifax so assiduously vacuumed up from hundreds of sources belongs to the corporation, not you, even though it's about you. The same is true of every other consumer data aggregator that buys, sells and trades your address, date of birth, Social Security number, credit record and hundreds of other pieces of vital information.

That ownership allows Equifax and other credit agencies to demand between $2 and $10 a month to withhold your information. Because when you freeze your credit rating, you are reducing the company's revenue, so it charges you.

Last week, members of Congress hurled abuse at former Equifax CEO Richard Smith. They came prepared with humiliating barbs and sound bites. But none came ready to change the credit agency business model buy giving consumers ownership of their data, or even creating greater punishments for irresponsible behavior.

And irresponsible is the kindest description of Equifax's behavior.

Smith told Congress that Equifax's failure was caused by one person failing to make sure a manual patch was applied to vulnerable software. He chalked it up to one human's error.

A closer examination, though, shows a pattern of his executive team taking shortcuts on cyber-security. For example, personally identifying information was not encrypted, and executives scheduled security reviews only once a quarter.

Smith need not fear any criminal consequences, though.

The Federal Trade Commission may sue Atlanta-based Equifax for the leak under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, but the settlements rarely amount to more than a slap on the wrist. Consumers can bring a class action lawsuit, but odds of a significant settlement are slim. And under current U.S. law, consumers can't stop Equifax from stockpiling our personal information.

"I never said it was OK to have all my information, and now I want out. I want to lock out Equifax. Can I do that?" Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., asked Smith on Tuesday.

"That requires a much broader discussion around the role of the credit reporting agencies," Smith said, dodging the question.

The data breach may ultimately generate higher profits for Equifax and its competitors because more consumers will need to pay for credit monitoring and freezes.

Democrats have proposed legislation that would force credit agencies to offer free credit freezes, but no Republicans have signed on. Democrats have also proposed giving more power to federal regulators to protect consumer data, but again, there is no Republican support.

At a time when President Donald Trump is promising fewer regulations, Republicans don't want to give more authority to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Obama-era agency that the president has promised to eliminate.

That leaves consumers paying credit agencies not to share our information.

A credit freeze, though, only prevents a criminal from obtaining a new credit card or loan using your information. A freeze does nothing to stop thieves from accessing your existing credit cards or bank accounts, which constitutes 86 percent of identity fraud cases, according to Bureau of Justice statistics.

It doesn't have to be this way.

The European Union has much stricter rules protecting a person's right to privacy and sets very high cybersecurity standards on companies and government agencies that possess sensitive personal information.

Under EU regulations that will take effect in 2018, data companies must obtain explicit written permission before they can access or process a person's information. And the company must make withdrawing consent as free and easy as granting it.

Companies holding data are also legally responsible for protecting it. Failure can result in a fine equal to 4 percent of the company's worldwide revenue. That would mean a $124 million fine for Equifax.

Companies must also identify regulators of a breach within 72 hours of detection. Canada is considering adopting these same rules.

Equifax's mea culpas and offer of free credit monitoring are aimed at convincing Congress not to follow in the EU's footsteps. The company has promised consumers they will have the power to lock and unlock their credit files at Equifax beginning on Jan. 31. No word yet from Equifax's main U.S. competitors, TransUnion and Experian.

Congress' ritualistic shaming of Smith and Equifax last week was at best mediocre political theater. The questions were mostly rhetorical, and the answers rote. They did little to cover up the fact that Congress is doing nothing to prevent another breach. Nor will Congress empower consumers to take control of their data.

Until that happens, consumers can do nothing but watch their financial data leak onto the internet and gird themselves for the inevitable consequences.
The expansion of storage tanks, pipelines and loading terminals along the Texas Gulf Coast is driving record U.S. crude oil exports, much of it coming from West Texas.

The nation exported 2 million barrels a day of crude last week, the Energy Department reported, and that volume industry continues to build out Texas Gulf Coast facilities. The Houston and Corpus Christi regions are leading the way as companies race to build pipelines from the booming Permian Basin, install new storage capacity in tanks and underground caverns, and construct new terminals at ports that can accommodate massive oil tankers, said Sandy Fielden, Morningstar's director of oil and products research.

That expansion combined with Hurricane Harvey to produce last week's record oil exports, which were more than one-third greater than the previous record, set the prior week. Harvey created a temporary glut of oil while most of the Gulf's oil refining capacity was shuttered. Exporting that excess oil proved one solution.

Congress lifted the nation's decades-old crude exporting ban at the end of 2015. Since then, exports have risen to nearly 1 million barrels a day this year, almost doubling 2016's export averages.

The other factor making exporting crude desirable right now is the roughly $6 a barrel difference between West Texas Intermediate oil, priced at just over $50 a barrel, and the more expensive Brent crude produced in the North Sea, making U.S. crude more attractive to foreign buyers.

With the beginnings of the shale oil boom in 2011 when oil was still priced above $100 a barrel, there was an initial race to build more Permian pipelines and storage capacity. Now, that race is continuing to grab a piece of the export market - whether for crude oil or refined products.

As Houston has evolved into an export hub, the region's crude storage capacity has more than doubled in just six years from 21 million barrels to 56 million barrels, Fielden said. Another 21 million barrels in additional capacity is planned or under construction.

The facilities with the fastest growing volumes, he said, include Enterprise Products' Echo terminal by the Sam Houston Tollway and Texas 3, the Enterprise hydrocarbons terminal in East Houston by the Houston Ship Channel, Fairway Energy's underground salt cavern storage south of Interstate 610 by Reed Road, and Magellan Midstream's East Houston terminal, which suffered a sizable gasoline spill during Harvey near Galena Park.

In addition, at least 15 projects to expand or construct pipelines have been proposed to carry oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids from Permian Basin to Houston, Corpus Christi and Beaumont.

These projects routinely cost more than $1 billion each and range from 300 miles to more than 700 miles long.

The volume of U.S. crude exports should rise to 3 million a day by 2025, driven by Permian production and pipeline growth, said Kurt Barrow, vice president of oil markets for IHS Markit. The most bullish projections have the U.S. exporting more crude oil than it imports as soon as 2019.

The vast majority of new Permian oil production will ship to Asia and other growing regions through Houston and Corpus Christi. Gulf Coast refineries use some Texas oil, but they're built to primarily for denser crude from Canada, Latin America and some Middle Eastern nations, and they'll continue to import that oil.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Tireless orange robots zip along pathways too narrow for humans, precision-guided to track down the next items on Amazon's endless list of online orders.

They rotate in a soundless dance, lifting shelves of products that will be launched by a line of workers into a maze of fast-moving conveyor belts. The process brings Fordian efficiency to the computer age, enabling the near-instant gratification of the thud of the box at the doorstep and the satisfying rip of adhesive.

The robots power a continuous cycle of creative destruction that has upended retail and logistics throughout the country. Now, they've arrived at the company's new Greenspoint fulfillment center, a sprawling warehouse at the corner of Interstate 45 and Beltway 8 that is expected to speed the distribution of goods and shift consumer shopping habits throughout the Gulf Coast region as Amazon cinches its hold on the state's four major metro areas.

Smaller and nimbler than humans, the robots employed at the first-of-its-kind warehouse in Houston fetch small, sortable items exponentially faster than humans and allow the company to stock more items by condensing storage space with narrower aisles and fewer walkways. The Greenspoint facility holds 50 percent more inventory than a similarly sized one without robots.

"We can fulfill customer orders within minutes instead of hours," company spokeswoman Ashley Robinson said.

The company is also building a 1-million-square-foot facility in Katy, though it won't use robotics. That warehouse, expected to open next year, will fill orders for larger items such as televisions and appliances with a cadre of industrial trucks.

Amazon's push into the Houston region dramatically expands the vast Texas fulfillment network it has built in a matter of years. The Katy location is its 10th in the state, and it operates a number of smaller warehouses alongside its massive distribution centers.

Texas takeover

The company's rapid growth began in the Dallas area, where most of its Texas facilities are scattered. It expanded quickly throughout the northern suburbs, bolstered by economic incentives from towns hoping to capitalize on the online shopping boom.

The new Greenspoint facility is closed to the public, but a recent tour of a distribution center in Haslet, near Dallas, offered a glimpse at how the company's relentless focus on efficiency will reshape the local distribution landscape just as it has in North Texas. Thousands of robots rove the depths of the warehouse there, speeding orders throughout the country.

The boxlike workhorses scoot beneath tall rectangular shelves stacked with a miscellany of products and carry them, inches from the ground, to sneaker-clad employees who snatch orders and stash them in yellow bins. The items then begin the journey though 25 miles of computerized conveyor belts, a thunderous river of cardboard and plastic that winds through the multi-level warehouse.

The Haslet fulfillment center was one of Amazon's first in the state, a 1.2-million-square-foot behemoth in a tiny town at the southern edge of Fort Worth Alliance Airport. The city council agreed to rebate as much as 75 percent of the annual property tax it collected on the facility when it opened four years ago.

The warehouse utilizes 3,000 robots and 2,500 employees to ship orders for customers across the country, and the city's rebates reflect that growth. It refunded $166,800 to the company after the warehouse's first year in operation; this year, it expects that figure to top $700,000.

Around the time it rooted in Haslet, the company established two other fulfillment centers in Coppell, north of Dallas, and Schertz, outside San Antonio. It then opened others in the Dallas area and one in San Marcos.

Some of those warehouses benefited from Amazon's 2012 acquisition of Kiva Systems, which estimated that its robotics technology triples the speed of traditional warehouse operations. A Deutsche Bank analysis last year estimated that they save the company as much as $22 million at each location where they operate.

The foray into Texas coincided with an aggressive nationwide expansion. The company needed to build more fulfillment centers to support its burgeoning Amazon Prime program, which offers free two-day shipping to paying members.

"Our fulfillment centers are getting closer and closer to the customer," Robinson said.

The company deepened its Texas ties last month with its $13.7 billion acquisition of Austin-based Whole Foods Market. It's expected to eventually use the chain of about 460 stores, including 10 around Houston, to fulfill online grocery orders for nearby customers.

That network of e-commerce and brick-and-mortar operations, combined with the state's strong university system and business-friendly tax policies, could heighten the odds that Amazon chooses Texas to locate its second headquarters, a proposed $5 billion investment expected to create 50,000 jobs.

Leaders from all of the state's major cities have plans to court the company, which last month requested proposals from metro ares with populations topping a million people, strong transit and airport connectivity and skilled labor forces, among other factors.

In a recent analysis, Brookings Institution fellow Joseph Parilla included Houston, Dallas and Austin in a list of 20 cities that fit Amazon's basic criteria, though each fall short in certain areas. He noted that both Dallas and Houston have strong labor markets and the space to accommodate the proposed 8 million-square-foot development, while Austin's technology sector might complement the company's focus on innovation as it integrates Whole Foods into its operations.

"You have multiple local contenders," he said. "From there, it's a little hard to parse, using data, which places are best positioned."

Industrial boom

The Dallas metroplex has long outpaced the state's other major cities in warehouse capacity because of its central location and its accessibility from the Port of Long Beach in Los Angeles, where most retail and consumer goods manufactured in Asia arrive in the U.S. From there, many are hauled to North Texas by train or truck to be sorted and shipped throughout the country.

Since Amazon opened its first facilities there, the industrial real estate market has expanded at an unprecedented rate. Warehouse construction shot up in 2013 and reached a record high last year, according to brokerage CBRE.

"Amazon has been a game changer," said Mindi Hurley, community development director for the city of Coppell, where Amazon has three facilities. "You see a lot of companies follow suit just to compete."

Warehouse size has also grown as retailers and distributors demand wider or taller spaces to store and process more items. Most of Amazon's Dallas-area fulfillment centers span a million square feet or more. Other companies have increasingly sought similar dimensions.

"A million-square-foot deal? They used to be few and far between," said Steven Berger, CBRE's senior vice president of industrial brokerage services in Dallas. "Now we're knocking them down every quarter."

Amazon's retail capabilities grew alongside its expansion in the area. In 2015, two years after the company opened its first Dallas-area distribution centers, it built a Prime Now hub and began offering one-hour shipping in parts of the metroplex. It soon expanded that delivery service to include restaurant orders, launched AmazonFresh and began offering free same-day delivery for Prime members.

This rapid-delivery model has challenged other retailers. A recent PriceWaterhouseCoopers report noted that consumers have come to expect ever-faster delivery, requiring a total reconfiguration of the retail distribution network.

"It used to be overnight; now it's same day," Berger said. "Our opportunity to have same-day delivery is dramatically better than other parts of the country that don't have as much warehouse space."

Houston, meanwhile, has long been more of a hub for petrochemicals and goods that support the oil industry. But, just as it did in Dallas, Amazon's expansion is expected to further catalyze the type of distribution that supports the retail industry, which has grown along with the population and suburban expansion throughout the metro area.

The company already had limited operations in Houston before staking out space in Greenspoint. It opened a sorting center near Humble, an Amazon Prime hub off Hempstead Road and a "last mile" warehouse near Gessner Road and Beltway 8 that processes larger items just before delivery. Most recently, it reportedly leased a relatively small space in northwest Houston for its AmazonFresh grocery delivery service.

Amazon already has used those operations to reshape Houston's distribution landscape and entice more shoppers to try Prime. The company rolled out Prime Now around the same time it launched the service in Dallas.

The new facility, however, is the company's first large-scale distribution center in the area, a 855,000-square-foot cavern that can hold more than 15 million items. Its opening positions Amazon to capture an even greater share of the local e-commerce market by enhancing its ability to deliver more items more quickly.

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter recalled a recent Amazon Prime order he placed for random assortment of small items, mostly for the kitchen. Robots sprang to action deep within a California warehouse, and the entire order arrived in one box in less time that it would have taken him to find the items in stores.

"You just can't beat that," he said. "We consumers are getting things more immediately, and we probably are consuming more because of it."

Retail expansion

The growth in Amazon Prime membership reflects the company's drumbeat expansion. The program and its capabilities have grown exponentially since it launched in 2005. Pachter estimates as many as 55 million customers across the country have subscribed.

Houston resident Ken Vales began driving for the company in 2015 through Amazon Flex, a program that relies on independent contractors to quickly deliver packages from smaller warehouses. He collects orders from the Prime Now hub and hustles them to customer doorsteps, especially when tasked with one-hour deliveries.

He learned the value of comfortable shoes early on as he traipsed through apartment complexes and subdivisions, a mailman on a tight deadline. He once had to ascend to the top of a downtown highrise to deliver a curling iron in the middle of the afternoon.

The shoes have become even more important since he began driving. He used to handle four or five orders during each two-hour shift, but he often delivers nine within the same time frame now.

"You can't drive dangerously or speed, but you have to really be on your game with traffic," he said. "It pays to know how to take a back road to get to someone's house."

Amazon has yet to begin free same-day delivery for Prime members in Houston, but Robinson said it will likely begin offering that soon as the new Greenspoint warehouse get up to speed. The robots, she noted, make such fast delivery possible.

She declined to comment on the company's plans for AmazonFresh, but grocers have already braced for steep competition following the Whole Foods acquisition. Amazon plans to offer extra discounts to Prime shoppers there, and it recently started selling the chain's private-label brand online.

Vales said Whole Foods has already proven popular with customers. One woman ordered 10 bags of the chain's house-brand chips shortly after they made their debut online.

That interest, he said, mirrors a rise in grocery orders throughout the city. He keeps a pushcart in his trunk for heavy orders of soft drinks and water and knows to rush the fresh stuff like milk and cheese.

"We certainly have a lot more customers," he said. "They might have time constraints, and there are only so many hours in the day."
Kathleen Shafer has spent most of her life in urban places: Washington, D.C.; New York; Baltimore; Austin. But in 2007, she visited Marfa, and after years of extended visits, she now lives in the small West Texas town full time. She shares her Marfa experiences, observations and insights in "Marfa: The Transformation of a West Texas Town," which explores how and why this isolated outpost has become a destination for artists and art lovers. Her book touches on the influence of Donald Judd, the minimalist artist who left New York for Marfa and brought in a world-class art collection that changed the town forever. Shafer addresses racial tension in a town where 69 percent of the population is Hispanic but the arts community is mostly white. And she offers theories about the mystery of the Marfa Lights, which were drawing tourists even before the artists came to town.

Shafer spoke with us recently about her book.

Q: What originally interested you in Marfa?

A: I first went there in 2007, when I was working on my thesis, which involved photographing airfields. I wanted to photograph the (abandoned) Marfa (Army) airfields and, as a student of art, I knew about Donald Judd's work at the Chinati Foundation in Marfa. Later, while working on my Ph.D. (in geography at the University of Texas), I got an internship at Ballroom Marfa (an old dance hall converted into an arts space), and my interest in the community grew.

Q: What took you from that level of interest to the point of writing a book?

A: I looked into what had been written about Marfa, and there are many stories about it in Texas Monthly, Vanity Fair and the New York Times - which seems to be particularly obsessed with Marfa - but you can't really get to the meat of a topic in an article. And I wanted to tell the story of Marfa - well, maybe not the story but a particular story. Of course, I'm still an outsider in Marfa, but I believe this book is successful in explaining to people what Marfa is.

Q: For a lot of people, the mystery of Marfa involves the lights, which you saw. Tell us about the lights.

A: There is a formal viewing center for the Marfa Lights, but I didn't actually see them there. The center is a great social space, with a lot of people talking and laughing. I looked for the lights on a ranch in the presence of just one other person. No one else was there. It was quiet and a different experience altogether.

Q: A lot of people still associate Marfa with the filming of "Giant" (1956), and that's also discussed in your book.

A: Yes, the crew stayed in the Hotel Paisano, but over time, the hotel was converted into apartments and then sat vacant. Then, in 2001, investors purchased the building for $185,000 (the amount owed in back taxes) and reopened it as a hotel. The hotel is a great space, a historic landmark, and the association with "Giant" is strong. There is a space dedicated to photos from the set and filming and, as you say, people still come to Marfa today because of "Giant."

Q: You discuss the "Marfa Brand" in your book, and you credit Donald Judd with much of the community's "cultural change." Can you discuss Judd and his contributions to Marfa?

More Information 'Marfa: The Transformation of a West Texas Town' By Kathleen Shafer University of Texas Press, 204 pp., $24.95 See More Collapse

A: Judd was a complicated, talented artist who got frustrated in New York. He wanted to get away, as far away as he could, and he went to Marfa. I think making a move from the "center of the art world" to West Texas is pretty incredible, and Houston's Dia Foundation - which supported him - was a huge part of that success. Up until 15 years ago, a young person who came to Marfa was coming because of Donald Judd. Now, people come out and may not know who Judd was, and that's representative of what changes have happened in Marfa. But Judd and his Chinati Foundation helped lay the groundwork for a lot of Marfa's development. The Chinati Foundation has a phenomenal collection of art.

Q: Tell us about the peculiar appeal of "Prada Marfa," the nonoperational Prada store built off Highway 90 as an art installation.

A: When I first saw Prada Marfa, I thought, "This is kind of fun." But the more time I spent in Marfa, the less I liked it. Interestingly, it's not actually in Marfa; it's about 30 miles outside of Marfa. As far as the locals, most of them are indifferent to it. Some like it; some really don't like it. But it is photographable, and with social media, it helps export Marfa's "quirkiness" to the rest of the world.

Q: In the book, you relate that the Spanish explorers referred to the area as the "uninhabited place," and the concept of "place" is important to your book. Can you discuss the place that is Marfa and what it means geographically and culturally?

A: I think what is now the Marfa style or brand ties closely to its connection to Mexico. The influence, for example, of Mexican crafts and pottery. The border is right there, with border issues and a Border Patrol office. The border may not be as intense as in, say, Juarez, but part of the community's identity is that political and geographic aspect. Also, I think the people in Marfa value privacy and land ownership. That's part of the story. People are friendly, but you can be a loner and be friendly. After having spent a lot of time visiting and staying in Marfa over the years, I recently moved there. And there's a certain level of privacy that's very different to me, having lived in urban areas.

More generally, it's an amazing place. Every day, you look up, and the sky is doing something amazing. The colors and the clouds are amazing. It's this great, vast landscape. It's the West.

Mike Yawn is the director of the Center for Law, Engagement, And Politics at Sam Houston State University.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

An engineering project proposed before the U.S. entered World War II could have reduced the effects from the massive flooding brought on by Hurricane Harvey that sent thousands of people fleeing for their lives, the head of the House Committee on Homeland Security said Friday during a press conference at Katy's city hall.

U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, (R-Texas), said the Army Corps of Engineers in 1940 looked at constructing a levee system in the vicinity of Cypress Creek.

"Unfortunately, that was never done," McCaul said. "That's why we're here today - to talk about what happened during Harvey and what we need to do."

Now that the Houston area has entered into the post-Harvey rebuilding phase, McCaul said it's time to take another look at what Army engineers were planning. He said an overflowing Cypress Creek has been the cause of the most recent flooding in the Houston area - including Harvey.

A breach of the Barker or Addicks reservoirs would have sent "a tsunami of water" through Buffalo Bayou and into downtown Houston," McCaul said.

"We've had three floods in the last two years. It all emanates and stems out of Cypress Creek," McCaul said.

Last month, McCaul flew in an Army Blackhawk helicopter to inspect neighborhoods that were battered by the fast-rising floodwaters.

"It was tragic to see so many homes under water directly south of (Addicks and Barker) reservoirs. My heart goes out to them," he said.

While it was adequate for its time, a levee system in the original Army Corps of Engineers plan would no longer be sufficient to prevent flooding, officials said.

"It would simply push water downstream east along Cypress Creek," said Col. Lars Zetterstrom, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District. "A reservoir would temporarily retain water and allow it to be released in a way that would be able to mitigate impact."

Displacing homes and businesses for a Cypress Creek reservoir wouldn't be an issue because the area where it would likely be located is still generally undeveloped. McCaul gave an early ballpark figure of $550 million to $600 million for the project.

"It will not be easy and it will not be cheap but it has to be done," McCaul said. "I can think of no higher priority in the greater Houston area than fixing the Cypress Creek issue."

He said it could take up to 10 years before a reservoir at Cypress Creek becomes a reality - if the project follows the normal construction schedule. State Rep. Mike Schofield, R-Katy, said his constituents can't wait that long.

"This is probably the highest priority in the state in terms of flood control for the number of people who would be affected and the number of people whose lives and whose homes we can save if we simply do what the government intended to do 70 years ago," Schofield said.

McCaul said his goal will be to cut through the bureaucratic red tape in Washington and expedite the process.

"The money's going to be there," McCaul said. "The question is how quickly we can get it done."
The Texas Attorney General's Office is searching for a convicted sex offender and gang member who may be living in the Pasadena area.

Manuel Mora is currently wanted for a felony parole violation, Crime Stoppers said in a press release.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Friday deported a 26-year-old Salvadoran man who the agency said is a high-ranking member of the notorious MS-13 criminal gang and wanted in his native country for two murders.

Rene Mauricio Joya-Villata was arrested in League City on Aug. 24 and is among El Salvador's 100 most-wanted fugitives. He has no criminal history in the United States and had never previously been caught entering the country illegally, said ICE spokesman Greg Palmore.

Joya-Villata is the second MS-13 member on the Central American country's top fugitive list to be apprehended in Houston this year.

In April, 36-year-old William Magana-Contreras was arrested on charges of aggravated homicide back home. He had previously been deported from the United States in 2007, according to ICE.

Now Playing: President Donald Trump told a crowd of police officers on Long Island in New York not to be "too nice" to suspected gang and criminal cartel members being taken into custody. He also seemed to encourage officers to be "rough." Video: JW Player

The agency said the arrests are the result of stepped-up collaborative efforts to find Salvadoran criminals here and return them to justice. MS-13 in particular has received widespread attention under President Donald Trump's administration and the violent street gang is often used as justification for harsh immigration policies.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has called the gang, which originated in Los Angeles in the 1970s, "one of the gravest threats to American public safety."

In Houston, two MS-13 members were charged earlier this year with kidnapping and torturing a woman and in the "satanic" killing of another.

MS-13 is not the largest gang in Houston; it is among more than 350 gangs with an estimated 20,000 members operating in the area. Local police attributed more than 50 of the 302 murders committed in 2016 to gang violence - though not exclusively to MS-13.

President Donald Trump has often used MS-13 as a political tactic, most recently on Thursday accusing the Democratic candidate for governor of Virgina, Ralph Northam, of "fighting for the violent MS-13 killer gangs and sanctuary cities."

As lieutenant governor, Northam voted against a bill banning so-called sanctuary cities, even though the state didn't at the time, and still doesn't, have any.

Joya-Villata's deportation came two days after ICE agents arrested another man in Regal Points apartments in southwest Houston.

Residents said several unmarked cars pulled into the complex and detained about five people before arresting one of them, according to Cesar Espinosa, executive director of the advocacy group FIEL Houston.

Palmore, the ICE spokesman, said it was a "targeted fugitive operation."

He said agents encountered a man who resembled the target, but discovered it wasn't who they were looking for and that he was here legally. He was released. His acquaintance, however, was here illegally and subsequently arrested.

The man's wife told Espinosa that her husband had been here for 11 years and had no criminal record or outstanding deportation orders.

Following about a month-long pause in enforcement during Hurricane Harvey rescue and recovery efforts, ICE resumed deporting people on Sept. 20. Palmore could not say how many immigrants have been detained since then, saying the agency was tabulating its end-of-fiscal year statistics.

In all, the Trump administration deported just more than 211,000 immigrants in the 2017 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30.

That's by far the lowest number of people deported in at least a decade, but occurred as the number of migrants agents have arrested since Trump took office in January almost doubled to some 97,500 compared to the same time frame in 2016.

The statistics speak to the challenges the administration faces in removing large amounts of migrants from the interior of the country, where federal agents have far more constraints on how they can deport immigrants in the country illegally than at the borders, increasing the strain on an already overwhelmed immigration court system.
The red X topped with a circle denoting a dead person had been found was particularly pronounced on Kyle Fredricks Haines' Memorial-area home.

The milky-white brick of the one-story home on Langwood was marked to note that Haines' husband, Robert Haines, had been found drowned inside in the Harvey floodwaters.

To soothe his soul, Fredricks Haines took seven different shades of spray paint and converted that X into a colorful tribute to his husband in words, hearts and rainbows.

BEFORE AND AFTER HARVEY: Staggering photos show the change

Now Playing: The milky-white brick of the one-story home on Langwood was marked to note that Haines' husband, Robert Haines, had been found drowned inside in the Harvey floodwaters. To soothe his soul, Fredricks Haines took seven different shades of spray paint and converted that X into a colorful tribute to his husband in words, hearts and rainbows. Video: Houston Chronicle





"You were kind and selfless till the end. Goodnight my sweet teddy bear," Fredricks Haines wrote on the home. "You were so loved by so many."

The X itself was converted into amplified rainbows on three sides.

"It was a morbid sight to see and it was just a bad memory," Fredricks Haines, 34, said Friday. "I wanted to put people on notice about all his achievements in his life ... and all the good that he was."

The memorial refers to Haines' service in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne where he was a paratrooper and an officer in the medical corps during the Vietnam War.

Haines and his twin brother were born in 1946, then adopted. They grew up on a dairy farm near the rural village of Alanson, Michigan.

In later September, the News-Review newspaper in nearby Petoskey, Michigan, published a story about Robert Haines and his continued generosity to the area. He faithfully donated to the Alanson Public Schools for magazines, newspapers and other resources to help students with research.

"He wanted to support the students and the community of Alanson in any way he could. He was a very caring individual," Dean Paul, the superintendent of schools, told the newspaper.

The rainbows now adorning the Haines home offer a nod to gay marriage. The couple wed last December.

"He was a wonderful, outstanding man. I just want attention drawn to that," Fredricks Haines said. "I know he would be smiling so bright down on that."

The widower visits the gutted house daily and sits outside with Paddy, the dog the couple rescued from abuse on St. Patrick's Day in 2009. The frizzy-haired white pup was found on the roof of the flooded house.

The bodies of Haines and Cathy Harling Montgomery, also 71, were pulled from Memorial-area homes that flooded after the Addicks and Barker reservoir releases began around midnight Aug. 27.

Haines, a retired stock broker, had been reported missing on Aug. 28. The Houston Police Department reported the death to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences on Sept. 3. The HPD dive team did not recover the body until Sept. 8. Haines was added to the morgue's official storm death toll on Sept. 12.

Residents of the Thornwood subdivision had to wait a few more days for floodwater to recede.

By Sept. 14, crews, relatives and volunteers were helping homeowners gut their houses. A family working with Mormon Helping Hands helped clear sodden belongings from the Haines residence.

After debris was cleared from the front yard, Fredricks Haines scrawled out the memorial spritz by spritz.

"I spray-painted a cross where he passed away inside the house," Fredricks Haines added.

Haines, who also is survived by two sons, was cremated.

His husband doesn't plan to renovate the house. Fredricks Haines said he believes the subdivision's damaged homes should be bought out and not rebuilt.

"There are a lot of issues going on in the neighborhood," he said. "After knowing Bob was in the home, I could never live peacefully there."
A Cy-Fair ISD senior stayed home this week after being given an ultimatum by her principal: Stand for the Pledge of Allegiance or don't come to school.

India Landry, a student at Windfern High School, says her diploma may be in jeopardy as a result of complications following her suspension, according to KHOU.

To understand the legality of the school's actions, Chron.com spoke to Emily Berman, an assistant professor at the University of Houston Law Center. Berman said she was surprised incidents like this still occur.

"This is not legal," Berman said. "There are a lot of constitutional questions that raise difficult or ambiguous responses, but this is very clearly not legal."

Berman cited West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, a 1943 Supreme Court case where judges sided with Jehovah's Witnesses students who were expelled for refusing to salute the American flag or say the Pledge of Allegiance.

Writing for the majority's 6-3 opinion, Justice Robert H. Jackson argued that fundamental rights like free speech "may not be submitted to vote; they depend on the outcome of no elections."

When asked what she thinks Landry should do about the suspension, Berman advised the family to contact Cy-Fair ISD, but if they fail to get a satisfactory response from the district, call a lawyer.

If the incident did end up in court  which Berman believes is unlikely  she said the outcome would be pretty predictable.

"All you would have to do is talk with the court about this one decision," Berman said, referring to the 1943 Supreme Court case.

"I think that the state lawyers would be embarrassed to argue the contrary," she said. "The law here is so clear. Anytime this has happened in the past, the case has been won or the school district has settled with the student."
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

AUSTIN - Owners of nearly 300,000 homes damaged by Hurricane Harvey in Texas won't see any break in their property taxes because of political wrangling this year in the state Legislature over completely unrelated issues - including, one Houston Republican says, the bathroom bill.

A property tax reform bill that would have required all local governments to reappraise damaged homes and businesses and lower the tax bills came within a single round of votes on four different occasions. If the mandatory reappraisal proposal had become law, it would have all but assured that the tens of thousands of homes and businesses damaged or destroyed statewide because of Harvey would have received a reduction in property taxes this year.

But it never passed, and according to the state lawmaker who came up with the idea, it's because of the bathroom bill. Rep. Sarah Davis, R-Houston, lays the blame on Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who she contends was trying to blackball her bills.

"I have little doubt its slow death in the Senate is because of social issues like the bathroom bill," said Davis, whose district flooded badly during the 2015 Memorial Day storms and the 2016 tax day storms.

Currently, reappraisals after natural disasters are optional for local governments and most are like Harris County and Aransas County in saying they won't do it because they cannot afford it.

A home in Houston that was valued at $200,000 before the hurricane, but worth just $30,000 after, would have seen a $700 cut just in school taxes, according to the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, which strongly backed the Davis proposal.

"It was really one of my No. 1 priorities," said Davis, whose original bill would have taken effect Sept. 1.

But that is likely why the bill never cleared the Senate, she said. Davis was a vocal opponent of the so-called bathroom bill that was a top priority in the Texas Senate. That bill became the centerpiece of the war of wills between House and Senate leaders in both the final days of the regular session in May and then again during the special session in August. The bill would have required people to use the bathroom listed on their birth certificate, even if they are transgender. Some business leaders organized opposition to that bill, which stalled in the House, warning it could result in boycotts of Texas because many saw the bill as a form of discrimination against transgender Texans.

"Some House members paid the price," Davis said. "I never supported the bathroom bill nonsense and I was outspoken about it."

One last shot

It's not that Davis's bill didn't have broad support in a Legislature that pines to hand out tax cuts. In April, the Davis bill - HB 513 - first passed the full House 148 to 0. A month earlier the Senate passed a similar bill by Sen. Van Taylor, R-Plano, that was filed months after Davis's bill. The Senate passed Taylor's SB 717 by a 31-0 vote.

If the House passed Taylor's version without Davis' name on the bill, it would have gone to Gov. Greg Abbott. Similarly, if the Senate passed the Davis version, it would have been sent to Abbott. Neither chamber budged, and both bills died despite being nearly identical except for the sponsor's name.

But that wasn't the last chance for the idea.

On Aug. 11, two weeks before Harvey made landfall, the House again passed another version of Davis' idea without opposition and sent it to the Senate. That bill would not have been effective until January 2018. Although the special session had five days remaining, the bill never was sent to a committee or voted on in the Senate.

But Davis said the House made yet one last shot, when they amended another property tax reform bill and included the reappraisal requirement. The Senate, however, voted not to concur on the amended property tax reform proposal. That tax reform plan died after the House ended the special session nearly a full day early and under a hail of criticism from Patrick directed at House leaders for not finishing property tax reforms or the bathroom bill.

Davis said thousands of Texans would have lower tax bills if Patrick had not played political games with her bill.

Patrick did not agree to be interviewed for this story.

But a top aide to Patrick said the bill's failure is on the House. The House had Taylor's bill lined up during the regular spring session and could have passed it and there would have been no need for the Senate to pass the Davis bill, said Sherry Sylvester, a senior advisor to Patrick.

And in the special session, Sylvester said Patrick "had hoped" to add the disaster reappraisal bill onto the bigger property tax bill as an amendment, but the House adjourned early. Patrick never said that publicly himself.

State Rep. Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, said he doesn't buy that explanation and says the Senate is guilty of engaging in "fake junior high politics" because they were upset with Davis. Twenty four bills Davis sponsored passed the House, but the Senate passed only three of those bills during the regular session. It is a clear pattern, said Bonnen, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction of tax reform policy.

Worse, Bonnen said in the special session, Taylor never filed his bill again, and the Senate didn't lift a finger to try to pass the Davis version.

"It was the only bill that would have provided Texas residents real property tax relief, yet the Senate didn't even try," Bonnen said.

Frustrating reminder

For supporters of the legislation, the failure of a bill nearly everyone agreed to and one that would have provided some relief to hundreds of thousands of people is a frustrating reminder of a key lesson in politics.

"The process does not always reward good ideas," said Dale Craymer, president of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association, a non-profit group based in Austin that was one of 13 groups to advocate for the bill during a House committee hearing in March. No group publicly opposed the legislation during the hearing.

Texas law already allows counties, cities and other local governments to reappraise properties after a storm, but few ever do because of the lost revenues that it could result in and because of how expensive and time consuming the reappraisal process could be during a time governments are trying to finalize their budgets. If governments do the reappraisals, the full cost is on the local governments.

"It's not a very workable solution," Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, a Republican, said about why he has not voluntarily called for the reappraisals in Harris. "It's not that I don't have sympathy for people and what they've lost."

He said the problem is the reappraisals would cost $10 million in a county as big and urban as Harris County. Plus the county would lose revenue from tax collections at a time it most needs the money to address the natural disaster recovery.

He added that property owners still will get the benefit of the Jan. 1 appraisals for the next year's taxes. That almost certainly will result in lower tax bills for homeowners with damaged properties next year.

Similarly, in Aransas County - where Harvey made landfall as a Category 4 and demolished 36 percent of all homes and businesses - there will be no reappraisal. Aransas County Judge C.H. "Burt" Mills Jr. said there isn't time or money to get it done and said it would only hurt tax revenues at a time when every source of funding the county relies on is in jeopardy.

"All of our income is in the toilet," Mills said of a county that relies heavily on tourists to generate sales taxes and fill rental properties.

Montgomery and Fort Bend counties have taken a different route. Both passed resolutions to do reappraisals for affected areas. Katy ISD and the Katy city council are among other local governments that have requested reappraisals.

Speaking to about 1,300 people in Houston on Tuesday night, Patrick made clear he thinks counties - including Harris - should be deciding on their own to reappraise damaged property.

"I can assure you we're strongly encouraging Harris County to have reappraisals for all of you," Patrick said at the meeting at the St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Houston.

If Harris County and others do refuse, Patrick said "we will pass a law in next session" to make sure they do reappraisals.

'One-trick pony' act

At that same meeting, State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, said he too will be looking for a way to demand all governments reassess after storms.

"We're going to come up with a statute that's going to make it automatic," he said.

Emmett said he's getting a little tired of both Bettencourt and Patrick and their "one-trick pony" act where they put pressure on county governments to cut taxes when it is really school taxes driving the bulk of people's tax bills. He said if they try to force all counties to reappraise it will be bad policy that will hurt the almost 2 million people that live in unincorporated Harris County.

Davis was not at that meeting, but she said what Patrick and Bettencourt are saying they want publicly is something they already could have made the law of the land but they dropped the ball.

"Without hesitation I can say I will be filing this bill again," Davis said.
WASHINGTON - Special counsel Robert Mueller's team of investigators has recently spoken with a former British spy who compiled a dossier of allegations about President Donald Trump's ties to Russia, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

The meeting with Christopher Steele took place in Europe in recent weeks, according to the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

The dossier, which contends that Russia amassed compromising personal and financial allegations about Trump, was turned over to the FBI last year. It was developed by Steele, a former British spy who was assigned to look into Trump's Russia ties by a private American firm.

The document of allegations, which circulated in Washington last fall before the presidential election, received public attention in January when it was revealed that then-FBI Director James Comey had privately briefed Trump on a summary on the document's findings.

Trump has called the allegations in the dossier "phony stuff" even as the FBI has been investigating and working to corroborate the document's claims.

The conversation with Mueller's team, which is investigating potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, suggests that investigators continue to take the document seriously.

CNN first reported the interview with Steele.

At a news conference Wednesday, Sen. Richard Burr, the Republican chairman of the Senate's intelligence committee, said that his panel had been unsuccessful in its efforts to question Steele.

"The committee cannot really decide the credibility of the dossier without understanding things like who paid for it, who are your sources and subsources?" Burr said.

"My hope is that Mr. Steele will make a decision to meet with either Mark or I, or the committee or both so we can hear his side of it," said Burr, referring to Sen. Mark Warner, the committee's top Democrat.

Also Thursday, a government official confirmed that Russian hackers obtained classified information about National Security Agency cybersecurity programs after breaching a personal computer used by an agency contractor in 2015.

The contractor, who wasn't identified, took the classified material home, where Russian hackers stole it by exploiting vulnerabilities in Kaspersky Lab Inc. software on his computer, according to the person, who asked not to be identified.

The breach, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, is the latest to plague the NSA involving the use of government contractors. Harold Martin, who was contracted to work at the NSA, was arrested last year and told investigators that he knowingly took home documents and digital files that contained highly classified information.

Martin's case followed the 2013 revelations of Edward Snowden, who fled his job as an NSA contractor in Hawaii for Hong Kong and then Russia after stealing and releasing a trove of data on classified programs. While both Martin and Snowden were employed by Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp., the official wouldn't say who employed the contractor in the latest breach.

The U.S. government last month banned all use of Kaspersky Lab software in federal information systems, citing concerns about the Moscow-based security firm's links to the Russian government and espionage efforts.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

HUNCHUN, China - Americans buying seafood for dinner might inadvertently have subsidized the North Korean government as it builds its nuclear weapons program, an Associated Press investigation has found.

The purchases might also have supported forced labor.

At a time North Korea is banned from selling almost anything, the country is sending tens of thousands of workers worldwide to bring in an estimated $200 million to $500 million a year. That could account for a sizable portion of North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs, which South Korea says have cost more than $1 billion.

North Korean workers have been documented overseas, and the AP investigation reveals that some products they make go to the United States. AP also tracked products made by North Korean workers to Canada, Germany and elsewhere in the European Union.

In response to the probe, Senate leaders said Wednesday that the U.S. needs to keep products made by North Koreans out and get China to refuse to hire North Korean workers.

"The (Trump) administration needs to ramp up the pressure on China to crack down on trade with North Korea across the board," said top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer.

Kept on a tight rein

At Chinese factories, North Korean workers aren't allowed to leave their compounds without permission, and must step from housing to factories in pairs or groups, with North Korean minders. They receive a fraction of their salaries, while the rest - as much as 70 percent - is taken by the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's government.

John Connelly, president of the National Fisheries Institute, urged its 300 members, including the largest seafood importers in the U.S., to "ensure that wages go to the workers, and are not siphoned off to support a dangerous dictator."

Besides seafood, AP found North Korean laborers making wood flooring and sewing garments in Chinese factories. Those industries also export to the U.S., but AP did not track specific shipments except for seafood.

American companies aren't allowed to import products made by North Korean workers anywhere in the world, and companies doing business with them could face criminal charges for using North Korean workers or materially benefiting from their work. (The AP employs a small number of support staff in its Pyongyang bureau under a waiver granted by the U.S. government to allow the flow of news and information.)

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, responsible for enforcing the law, did not respond to requests for comment.

"This is a state-sponsored scheme to export folks who are in bonded labor," said Luis CdeBaca, former U.S. ambassador for human trafficking issues. "It's supporting a repressive regime."

Other industries involved

Western companies involved that responded to AP said forced labor and potential support for North Korea was unacceptable in their supply chains. They said they would investigate, and some said they had cut off ties with suppliers.

Meanwhile, as many as 100,000 North Koreans continue to work in construction in the Gulf states, shipbuilding in Poland, logging in Russia and on fishing boats in Uruguay. New U.N. sanctions bar countries from expanding their North Korean workforce. Despite the pay and restrictions, the jobs abroad are highly coveted among North Koreans.

Roughly 3,000 North Koreans are believed to work in Hunchun, a Chinese industrial hub near the North Korean and Russian borders.

At some factories, laborers work hunched over tables as North Korean political slogans blasted from loudspeakers. When a reporter approached a group of North Koreans - women in tight, bright polyester clothes preparing a meal at a garment factory - one confirmed that she and some others were from Pyongyang, the North Korean capital. Then a minder arrived, ordering: "Don't talk to him!"

It's unknown what conditions are like in every factory, but AP reporters saw North Korean laborers living and working in several facilities, including joint venture Hunchun Dongyang Seafood Industry & Trade Co. Ltd. & Hunchun Pagoda Industry Co. Ltd., distributed globally by Ocean One Enterprise; Yantai Dachen Hunchun Seafood Products, and Yanbian Shenghai Industry & Trade Co. Ltd.

They're getting their seafood from China, Russia and the U.S.

Despite AP seeing North Korean workers, Hunchun Dongyang's manager Zhu Qizhen denied that they hire them and refused to give details. The other Chinese companies didn't comment.

Shipping records show more than 100 cargo containers of seafood were sent to the U.S. and Canada this year from the factories where North Koreans were working in China, including packages of snow crab, salmon fillets and squid rings.

One importer, The Fishin' Company in Munhall, Pa., said it cut ties with Hunchun processors and got its last shipment this summer. Seafood can remain in the supply chain for more than a year.

Often the fish arrives in generic packaging. But some were branded in China with familiar names like Walmart or Sea Queen, which is sold exclusively at ALDI supermarkets. There's no way to say where a particular package ends up, nor what percentage of a factory's products wind up in the U.S.

Walmart spokeswoman Marilee McInnis said company officials banned their suppliers from getting seafood processed at a Hunchun plant a year ago after an audit revealed potential issues with migrant workers.

"Combatting forced labor is a complex problem that no one company, industry, or government can tackle alone," she said.

ALDI did not comment.

Indirect ties to U.S. firms

Some U.S. companies had indirect ties to North Korean laborers in Hunchun. Customs records indicate that Chicken of the Sea, owned by Thai Union, did business with sister companies of the Hunchun factories in another part of China. Thai Union said the sister company they do business with meets all of their fair labor standards, and should not be penalized just because they have the same owner.

Boxes at the factories also had markings from several major German supermarket chains and brands. REWE Group, which owns REWE markets and the Penny chain, said their contract has expired with Hunchun Dongyang. All the companies that responded said suppliers were forbidden to use forced labor. Shipments also went to two Canadian importers, Morgan Foods and Alliance Seafood, which did not respond to requests for comment about who processes their seafood in China.

As the late summer chill set in one evening, a dozen or so women from Hunchun Pagoda played volleyball in the quiet road in front of the compound's gate.

A train horn blew. The women shouted to one another. A car with a foreigner drove by. One laughingly called out: "Bye-bye!"
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

WASHINGTON - Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, speaking Thursday at a national immigration forum, blasted Texas' new anti-sanctuary cities law, known as "SB4," that allows police officers to question the immigration status of people they detain.

"It is so counter-intuitive, counterproductive," Acevedo said in remarks that recalled Sunday's mass shooting in Las Vegas that took the lives of at least 58 people as well as the gunman.

"When you have millions of victims and witnesses of crime that you're pushing back into the shadows, people who might know about a guy who's going crazy and might shoot up 20,000 concertgoers, and they're afraid to come forward," he said. "How is that a public safety measure? It's a real problem."

Acevedo delivered his remarks at a conference of the National Immigration Forum, a group that has sought to rally moderates and conservatives to a "center-right" consensus on immigration reform.

The conference also marked Thursday's deadline for so-called Dreamers to reapply for legal status under former President Barack Obama's Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which President Donald Trump is phasing out.

As lawmakers in Congress look for a way to continue legal protections for young immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children, Acevedo called for compromise.

While some immigration activists have held out for a path to full citizenship for Dreamers or their family members, Acevedo called for a compromise on legal status.

"What they want is legitimacy," he said. "Their kids will be able to vote all they want. So it's got to be a give and take. It can't be all or nothing."

Houston's priorities

Acevedo, an outspoken critic of SB4, a law aimed at so-called sanctuary cities, said Houston continues to work with its federal partners in combating gang violence and crime, including requests by federal authorities to hold suspected immigration violators 48 hours past their legal release times.

Last month a federal appeals court in New Orleans ruled in a legal challenge to the 2017 law that parts of the sanctuary cities ban can go into effect, overruling a lower court ruling that had blocked it.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals said the state can enforce a section of the law that says police executives cannot stop their employees from assisting federal immigration agents.

The judges also said the state can make jails comply with immigration "detainers" - requests from federal officials to hold people in their custody for immigration authorities.

In an interview, Acevedo said his department has received only five detainer requests so far this year from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.

Meanwhile, he said, while SB4 prevents law enforcement executives from telling officers they can't ask people they've detained about their immigration status, the law still affords protections to victims or witness to crime.

Despite the restrictions of SB4, which critics have dubbed the "show me your papers" law, Acevedo said he is keeping the department squarely focused on law enforcement.

"Trust me when I say I will manage my own work force," he said. "The Legislature is not going to decide the priorities of the people of Houston, or of the Houston Police Department. Our priorities will be based on what our local community wants. And what they want is, we have 20,000 documented gang members. They want to make sure we keep those people in gangs in check."

"We had 302 homicides last year," Acevedo continued. "They want us to do everything we can to reduce that number and save lives. What they want is when they call 911 because someone is breaking in and they're hiding in their closet, we get there in a matter of a minute or two, not 10 ,15, or 20 minutes because an under-resourced, under-staffed police department is busy booking a day laborer at Home Depot. That's not the priority of the people we serve."

He said Mayor Sylvester Turner, "appropriately, wants us to focus on crime, not be ICE agents."

'Dreamers' protest

In Houston, about three dozen protesters rallied in front of Republican Sen. John Cornyn's local office Thursday, chanting and holding signs asking Congress to pass legislation protecting young immigrants who are here illegally.

"Undocumented, unafraid," they yelled.

Francisco Martinez, 26, wore a cap and gown to illustrate that many so-called "Dreamers," as they are known after failed legislation of the same name, are students and professionals who contribute greatly to American society.

"We're not here as bad people," Martinez said. "We came here to study, to work, to provide."

He came here from Mexico when he was 10, and the temporary work permit he received in 2012 under a program launched by former President Obama allowed him to get a driver's license, buy a car, go to university and have a professional job.

"Everything just changed," he said.

Martinez said the permit allowed him to start working with CBRE, the world's largest commercial real estate company, where he makes about $3,500 a month. The company is helping him obtain his building engineer qualification. His salary, far more than if he was working without documents, has allowed him to support his mother, who is here illegally and a cook at a restaurant.

He pays taxes and has saved enough money to last year buy a $160,000 house just north of downtown. His wife, an American citizen, stays home to look after their 1-year-old daughter. The administration's decision to end the program was "just heartbreaking," he said.

"I felt like I was doing everything right and now everything is so uncertain," he said.

'Willing to fight'

Oscar Hernandez, an organizer with Houston's chapter of United We Dream, the country's largest immigrant youth organization, said protests were nationwide Thursday and expected to ramp up in the coming weeks.

"We want to make sure that this isn't the end of DACA, but this is the start of our fight for the Dream Act," he said. "The administration's attempt to scare our community hasn't worked. More people are willing to fight."

Bills are pending in the House and the Senate that would grant legal status to DACA recipients, but a major sticking point is what concessions, such as tougher immigration enforcement, the Republican-controlled Congress would demand in return.

The protest outside Cornyn's office came as the Senate's No. 2 Republican urged the White House to back away from plans to require cuts to legal immigration as part of a deal on DACA, saying that should be a separate debate.

Cornyn has said the DACA program is well-intentioned, but was an overreach of Obama, and that Congress should find a solution.

"These children who were brought here illegally through no fault of their own continue to make positive contributions to Texas and the nation, and it's important for us to achieve a long-term resolution," Cornyn said in a statement about the program last month.

Rev. Philip Wilhite, a pastor at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Conroe, came to Thursday's protest with about 15 other parish members and said he hoped Cornyn and other Republicans would quickly find a humane solution in Congress. About 60 percent of his congregation is Hispanic, and includes many with DACA permits.

"They've come over innocently," he said. "I've seen the differences they make in this country."
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

AUSTIN - The Texas-based manufacturer of "bump stocks," the accessory used to provide a deadly boost to the gunfire in the Las Vegas massacre, temporarily has suspended its online sales due to overwhelming demand as calls to limit - or possibly ban - the devices grow stronger.

Before a dinner with senior military leaders Thursday, President Donald Trump told reporters his administration is considering whether "bump stock" devices that allow semi-automatic rifles to perform more like fully automatic weapons should be banned.

"We'll be looking into that over the next short period of time," he said.

Slide Fire, based in Moran, 40 miles east of Abilene, posted a notice on its website that it was no longer taking orders "to provide the best service with those already placed." The company is the largest producer of the device.

Bump Fire Systems, also in Moran and operated by the same owners as Slide Fire, also posted on its website that it was temporarily halting orders "due to extremely high demands."

Law enforcement officials said Stephen Paddock used several weapons equipped with the bump stocks to unleash a barrage of bullets into a crowd of 22,000 concertgoers from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay.

NRA confers with feds

The bump stocks use the force of the gun's recoil to allow the gun to bounce off the shooter's trigger finger.

The modification allows a semi-automatic weapon to fire rounds at a rate that resembles that of an automatic weapon.

On Thursday, the National Rifle Association called on the federal government to review whether the bump stocks comply with law.

In a statement, the NRA said the device should be "subject to additional regulations."

Democratic strategists were quick to contend the NRA is maneuvering to have Trump attempt to deal with the issue administratively through federal agencies rather than supporting action in Congress, where gun control advocates are eager to try to pass additional restrictions beyond those dealing with bump stocks.

Some top Republicans in Congress, including House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, have said they are open to considering a ban on the device, which costs about $200.

In Congress, support for a bump stock ban is starting to coalesce around several bills.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., unveiled a bill Wednesday that would ban the manufacture, sale and transfer of bump stocks and other accessories that can accelerate a semi-automatic rifle's rate of fire.

Thomas Choate, an attorney for Slide Fire and Bump Fire, declined to comment.

Cheap alternative

The bump stock sold by Slide Fire was created by Jeremiah Cottle in 2010.

In an interview last year with Ammo Land, Cottle, a veteran, said he came up with the idea for the device because he enjoyed the feel of shooting fully automatic weapons. But the process of obtaining a permit for an automatic weapon is extensive and the guns are expensive.

"Slide Fire brings shooters the same full auto experience but without having to take out a second mortgage on their home," he said in the interview.

Cottle was asked if the bump stock should be banned in light of the mass shooting at an Orlando, Fla., nightclub because some say the stock makes the weapon automatic.

Cottle refuted the claim, saying the stock does not change the mechanics of the firearm. It "simply enables the shooter to pull the trigger very rapidly."

He added: "Should we ban Jerry Miculek's trigger finger because he can fire six shots from a revolver, reload and fire six more shots in less than three seconds? I mean that works out to around 240 rounds a minute."

Advocate for banning

In the aftermath of this week's mass shooting that left more than 500 people injured and 58 dead, there is an intensifying demand to ban the device.

Jerry Patterson, the author of the state's concealed carry law and an owner of an automatic weapon, said it's a "no brainer" to ban bump stocks.

"All you are doing is pissing away a lot of ammo," Patterson said. "I don't think it has any value."

Patterson said it is typical to see demand go up for a device at the center of a debate over gun control.

"It's a novelty," Patterson said. "There are a lot of guys that get all this hardware and add-ons for their (rifles). If you want to play army, go join the army."
Twenty-two thousand people, a gathering of men, women and children the size of Angleton or Alvin or Kerrville, found themselves running, falling, dying Sunday night as ripping, tearing death rained down upon them. In Las Vegas a crazy man, a meticulous monster from on high, dealt out gruesome death to as many helpless, innocent people as he possibly could before ending his own misbegotten life.

Nearly a week later, our sense of helplessness almost matches those concert-goers, who had no idea where to run or what to do to protect themselves and their loved ones. Almost a week later our frustration with elected officials who refuse to act in response to a spreading epidemic almost drives a person to drink. Or despair.

To have to witness, yet again, the hang-dog visage of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as we listen to him burble, yet again, some rote comment about "our thoughts and prayers" is to recall the scathing words directed at another U.S. senator decades ago: "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?"

We ask the same question of House Speaker Paul Ryan, of Sens. Cornyn and Cruz, of Kevin Brady, Pete Olson, John Culberson, Ted Poe and others we have elected to represent us. Have you no sense of decency? At long last - after Las Vegas and Orlando and Charleston and Newtown, after this town and that town - have you no sense of duty, of obligation to your fellow Americans? Isn't their safety of any concern to you?

Yes, we know about your absolute and unyielding devotion to the Second Amendment to the Constitution; you've reminded us often enough. But with all due respect, gentlemen, your pious fealty looks a whole lot like craven obeisance to a bullying organization that profits when people acquire weapons and kill each other.

It's the horrific mass shootings that punctuate with gut-punch force the obsession that grips too many of our fellow Americans. What else is it but a psychic sickness when an individual finds every excuse imaginable to rationalize mass possession of machines designed solely for the purpose of ending life with bloody, gruesome finality?

More than 500 mass shootings (four or more victims) in the past 18 months are the garish symptoms of a broader phenomenon. Some 30,000 Americans die every year as a result of gun violence. Mass shootings, as horrific as they are, make up a comparatively small proportion of overall gun deaths in the United States. No other advanced nation - not Canada, not Great Britain, not Australia, not Japan - is so afflicted.

Lawmakers, you don't have to betray the Second Amendment. You don't have to cower in unseemly fear of the NRA, particularly if you'll act in concert. You can support sensible, constitutional gun-safety laws.

Large majorities of Americans have expressed their support for universal background checks. They support permits for gun ownership and bans on the most dangerous kinds of weapons and ammunition. They support efforts to keep firearms out of the hands of criminals, the drug-addicted, juveniles, domestic abusers, mentally disturbed and, yes, those on no-fly lists. They support efforts by researchers who are trying to determine why an epidemic of gun violence remains unique to America among developed nations. Instead of trying to thwart brain research or mental health initiatives, our elected officials can fund them. We urge them: Show a little courage, at long last.

After 59 were shot to death in Las Vegas and more than 500 were injured, two House Republicans - Speaker Ryan and House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia - have announced they will consider restricting "bump stocks," the simple device the Las Vegas shooter apparently used so his semiautomatic rifles could fire as rapidly as automatic weapons. The NRA has given them permission. That's what counts for profiles in courage these days.

"So what did you do in the Congress, Daddy?" the children ask in years to come.

"I banned bump stocks," the lawmaker proclaims proudly.

We hate to be cynical, or despairing, but even that may be too much of a stretch for the NRA's faithful eunuchs.
Equifax's carelessness

Regarding "Breach blamed on single worker's mistake" (Page B1, Wednesday), Richard Smith, the former chief executive of Equifax, blamed the massive data breach on a single employee's mistake. His testimony before the House Energy and Commerce Committee sounds an awful lot like scapegoating.

This is especially disturbing when Equifax's response to the crisis it created is so lukewarm as to be inadequate. Whomever stole this data is not going to be stupid enough to immediately use his ill-gotten information, certainly not within the next year. It will likely be several more years before the full extent of the damage caused by this company's carelessness is known, if it ever is.

Limiting free "credit monitoring" to one year is totally inadequate, especially since no one currently has any choice about being included in credit bureau reports.

Cathy Newman, Meadows Place

Legislating from the bench

Regarding "Judge reinstates Obama-era rule restricting emissions of methane" (Page B8, Thursday), having a conspiratorial nature it makes me wonder if our federal judges aren't becoming too bold in overthrowing Trump-era decisions.

Liberal judges seem all to happy to engage in bench legislating whether it be to quash a travel ban ordered by Trump or the reinstating of the Obama-era methane restrictions.

Even though previous presidents have ordered travel restrictions a judge in Hawaii saw fit to stop it. Now this judge out of California thinks she knows better than the administration. Even the Supreme Court went the extra mile to save the doomed Affordable Care Act. I think this trend is very dangerous.

James Connealy, Baytown

Prepare kids for future

Regarding "Be a loser either way in Amazon HQ game" (Page B1, Sunday), it's outrageous that cities and states are so quick to throw the taxpayers' money at companies wanting to expand.

As Chris Tomlinson points out, businesses need educated workers and good infrastructure - and good public schools and roads are expensive. When we give away our taxes, we're bribing companies to choose a location based not on what's best for their business but on which area will provide the biggest "kickback."

And all Texans should worry about our future when we're told that 41 other states have a higher level of educated citizens.

A sensible state government would be preparing our children for good jobs in the 21st century. Intelligent, well-educated workers are the best reasons for a company to move anywhere.

Nancy Perich Daly, Houston

New strategy: listening

Regarding "Scandals stem from bosses not listening to workers" (Page B1, Thursday), this principle of listening to the concerns and needs of rank-and-file members below management has broad application. The goal of management should be to prevent problems, not just solve them. Thus, creating open communications channels is critical. There is also the added benefit of stimulating new, creative and more cost-effective business operation by encouraging employees to offer their ideas.

The parallel extends beyond business to government, where communications is less effective when it is highly selective. Cherry-picking which people gain access to the communications process by virtue of position or influence has been going on for too long.

Employees when encouraged to participate in making their company better, have a great deal to offer those who serve in decision-making positions. We are all stake-holders.

Mary Lib Guercio, The Woodlands
Volunteers are invited to join the City of Albany, with support from the Calapooia Watershed Council, Calapooia Brew Pub, and Oregon Parks and Recreation, in the annual Great Willamette River Cleanup this Saturday.

Organized by Willamette Riverkeeper, the event is meant to remove tons of pollution from the river. After work, participants are invited to celebrate their accomplishments at Calapooia Brew Pub, which will offer a free beverage to all volunteers from noon to 3 p.m.

Opportunities in Albany are:

 On the river: 8 a.m. to noon. Meet at Hyak (Benton) County Park, 5000 NW Hwy. 20; take out at Bowman Park, 300 Geary Street NE.

Volunteers are asked to bring your own boat, a personal flotation device and water, and to dress for the weather. A shuttle will be provided to take drivers back to Hyak.

Organizers recommend participants bring an extended litter grabber and/or a small net. Trash bags will be provided.

 On land: 9 a.m. to noon. Meet at Bowman Park. Volunteers will remove invasive bindweed and pick up trash along streamside trails.

Participants are asked to dress for the weather; wear long sleeves and sturdy shoes. All supplies and instructions will be provided. Children younger than high school must be accompanied by a participating adult.

For more information, contact Kim Kagelaris, Public Works Environmental Services Technician, at 541-791-0087, or email kim.kagelaris@cityofalbany.net.
The conservative movement is caught in a Catch-22 of its own making. In the war against "the establishment" we have made being an outsider the most important qualification for a politician. The problem? Once elected, outsiders by definition become insiders. This isn't just a semantic point. The Constitution requires politicians to work through the system if they're going to get anything done.

Look at all the senators who rode the tea party wave into power: Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, Ron Johnson, Pat Toomey, Mike Lee. To one extent or another, they are now seen as swamp things, not swamp drainers, by the pitchfork populists.

For example, Rubio was hailed as "The First Senator from the Tea Party" by the New York Times. But once he became a senator, he became a senator.

There's nothing wrong with that. It's his job. And obviously, policy choices matter. Rubio embraced immigration reform and it killed him with the talk-radio crowd.

But there's a larger dynamic at work. It's like taking the job seriously is an automatic disqualification for the perpetually furious. Merely talking like a halfway responsible politician - "we don't have the votes," "we have to pay for it" - is proof of selling out.

Cruz's case is also instructive. Over the last decade, no politician more deftly hitched his political wagon to populist passions. He wore the animosity of his colleagues, including the GOP leadership, like a badge of honor. He was the leader of the insurrectionists. He had only one problem: He talked like a creature of the establishment - largely because the Princeton- and Harvard-trained former Supreme Court clerk and career politician was one. He knew the lyrics to every populist fight song, but he couldn't carry the tune.

Until recently there was an "outsider" glass ceiling. The most strident populists - Ron Paul, Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann - could not get through the presidential primaries because the math wasn't on their side. At least half of the GOP doesn't want fire-breathers, so the winning candidate had to get a large slice of the traditional Republican vote and combine it with other constituencies. That's how Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, the Bushes, John McCain and Mitt Romney did it.

But Donald Trump not only jumped into the fray at the height of populist fervor, the field was also divided 17 ways. No one spoke less like a politician. No one who understood how governing works would have promised the things Trump promised - health coverage for all, for less money, eliminate the debt, bring all those jobs back, etc. - because they'd either know or care that such things are literally impossible.

President Trump has learned this simple fact the hard way. Yet for the first eight months of his presidency, his core supporters have stuck with him. The establishment remains the villain and Trump the hero for his willingness to say or tweet things that make all the right people angry. For his most ardent supporters, the fault for his legislative failures lies entirely with the swamp, the establishment or the "Deep State."

But Judge Roy Moore's victory last week in a runoff against Alabama Sen. Luther Strange may signal that the base is not Trump's army to command. Trump endorsed Strange, and - contrary to the president's tweets otherwise - that endorsement didn't help at all. The most important factor was Moore's demonization of the establishment, particularly Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The voters valued sticking their thumbs in the establishment's eye more than giving Trump a win.

What's both funny and sad is that there is remarkably little intellectual or ideological substance to the current populist fever. Strange was more conservative than Moore but less bombastic. Moore opposed Obamacare repeal and, until recently, couldn't say what DACA was.

In other words, MAGA populism is less of an agenda and more of a mood. Meanwhile, the "Make American Great Again" crowd's initial preferred candidate in Alabama was Rep. Mo Brooks - endorsed by radio hosts Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and others. He got crushed.

A lot of people are simply mad as hell and don't want to take it anymore. Republican politicians can't ignore the anger. Ideally they'd channel it toward productive ends, as they did in the past. But further stoking the anger for political gain is not just ill-advised, it's pointless, because eventually politicians have to govern.

Goldberg is an editor-at-large of National Review Online.
Subscribing to our services is a three step process. First you have to create an account and then you have to pick if you want to subscribe to digital and or print.

Some people only want to be a digital subscriber to get access online and others want to also receive the print edition.

If you are already a print subscriber and want online access, it is free, you simply have to create an online account and then attach your print subscription account number to the online account you create.
As an existing print subscriber it is easy to get FREE access to all our online content.

When you click get started below it will walk you through creating an online account to attach your print subscription number to.

After your account is created it will ask you to either add a subscription for online access or click on the print subscriber button. Click the print subscriber button header and it will open a dropdown, now click on get started. The page will reload and you will be prompted to enter an account number and a zip code.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO USE THE NUMBER OFF OF THE MOST RECENT ISSUE OR ANYTHING AFTER JANUARY 28, 2019 TO GAIN ACCESS!

OLD ACCOUNT NUMBERS WILL NOT WORK

The account number and zip code are easily available on your most recent issue of the High Plains Journal or Midwest Ag Journal in the address fields as is shown here. Sometimes the account number has extra zero's in front of it, just ignore those.
The Linn County Inter-Agency Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, with help from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, executed a search warrant on Monday that yielded 76 pounds of methamphetamine, two-and-a-half pounds of cocaine, two handguns, drug paraphernalia, a money counter and more than $50,000 in cash.

The months-long investigation spanned from Springfield to Hubbard as part of the task force's efforts to interdict drug trafficking along the I-5 corridor. News of the warrant was released on Friday.

Agents arrested Rafael Ceballos-Castillo, 49, and his son, Rafael Ceballos Jr., 20, both of Hubbard. Both were charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Ceballos-Castillo Sr. was found in Springfield with more than $50,000 in cash on his person.

Ceballos-Castillo's brother, Jose Ceballos-Castillo, 28, was also arrested on Thursday, Oct. 5, and appeared on the criminal complaint before Magistrate Thomas M. Coffin. All three men are in custody in Lane County, pending detention hearings.

"It is the most recent example of our collective efforts to keep Oregonians safe from the insidious nature of drug trafficking and those organizations willing to prey on those battling addiction," said DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Cam Strahm.

According to the criminal charges, law enforcement officers began investigating Rafael Ceballos-Castillo and Jose Ceballos Jr. in July 2017, after identifying Ceballos-Castillo as a supplier of methamphetamine, heroin and cocaine.

In the Hubbard raid, agents found a .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun along with 57 pounds of meth. At a second residence in Salem, agents seized more than 13 pounds of meth, more than one pound of heroin, and a loaded Smith and Wesson .357 caliber revolver and ammunition, along with drug paraphernalia and a money counter.

The DEA and the Task Force executed the raid with assistance from the Clackamas County Interagency Task Force, the FBI, Salem Police Department Street Crimes Unit, the Springfield Police Department, and the Hubbard Police Department.

The Linn County Inter-Agency Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, which consists of investigators from the Albany, Lebanon, and Sweet Home police departments, the Linn County Sheriff's Office, the Oregon State Police, the Oregon National Guard Counter Drug Task Force and the DEA, was created after the county was designated a High Density Drug Trafficking Area in January 2016.
"It is suffering that cannot be described in words, the words cannot describe the horror we have been through. War destroyed the best years of my life, it took my son, my brothers, it took my existence, it made me sick, because of fear and stress. I lost of my identity and I am a hostage of loneliness."

These are the words of Amira, 44. She is one of the women who told us her story as part of Handicap International's new report: 'Everywhere the bombing followed us'.

Amira lived in a rural town in Syria, where she was a teacher. From 2012 to 2015, she witnessed the bombing and shelling of her town before she could flee to Turkey, and then to Lebanon in 2016. One of her sons was killed during a bombing. She now lives alone with her younger son, and suffers from depression. Our team is trying to alleviate her suffering by providing her with psychosocial support.

Advertisement

The tragedy behind Amira's story is shared by millions of Syrian women displaced by the ongoing conflict. Her testimony echoes the voices of all the women we interviewed and the refugees we surveyed, when they explained the long-term impact of the war on themselves and their children. Many have had to flee several times from bombing and shelling in their hometowns and other cities or places they had believed would be safer.

 Benoit Almeras / Handicap International

Women are more vulnerable to the social chaos arising in the wake of bombings. They find themselves without the means to defend their physical integrity and are more vulnerable to crime. "For a full eight months, we lived a life of running and constant escape. We no longer had a home. We no longer had our family around us. We had no place to go. We were two women alone. We were left to ourselves, sleeping in the streets with total strangers, wherever we could find shelter. We had to beg. I was injured and very sick. The destination was safety and security. This is the only thing we were looking for but we did not know where it was. I did not find it." explains Asil who fled to Lebanon with her daughter after her house was destroyed in a bombing.

All the stories we heard are so overwhelming, all of them are filled with loss, death, destruction, fear and suffering.

Advertisement

Bombing destroys everything: shelters, hospitals, schools, water and electricity networks but more importantly: lives. Bombing destroys lives.

All of the people we interviewed noted having a family member or a friend killed by explosive weapons, all of them. "I clung to life because I loved myself; I loved my children; I loved my friends; I loved my students; I loved my house, the walls, and the olive trees. I lost my son - he died; my brother died; my student died; my neighbour died; my friend died; my cousin died. Death surrounds you. I am afraid of death and of the thought that at any moment I might lose my other son, my mother, or my loved ones." explains Amira.

Amira holds a picture of her sons, one of the only items she kept from Syria

 Benoit Almeras / Handicap International

Bombing spreads terror and makes people fear for their lives. "I lived with my daughter in Aleppo. She is not recovering from the shocks of life there. She was treated for psychiatric disorder due to the war. The fear is a burden we all carry. Enough. Enough blood. Enough war." says Nehad who was left paralysed below the waist after being shot by a sniper in Syria in 2015.

Many of the women we interviewed spoke of the endless fear affecting them and their children. "Even in the house, we were always afraid of what might happen next. Children were always scared. They did not deserve this. We did not deserve this. Nobody deserved this." says Nehad.

Advertisement

Civilians exposed to the effects of explosive violence are marked for life. As 31-year-old Hanan, who now lives with her husband in a small and very deprived refugee settlement in Lebanon, tells us, "There is no horror that I did not see. I saw people dying, I saw children dying, I saw body parts cut from people and exposed for all to see. I have seen things that no human being should see. Things that no human being might have seen before."

It took a lot of courage for Amira, Asil, Nehad, Hanan and other women to share their stories with us. Their stories should not only be heard by us, they should be heard by everyone. Everyone needs to know about the horrific impact of explosive weapons on the lives of the Syrian people, and needs to join hands to stop bombing civilians.

Especially in times of war, there are international rules that must be enforced, such as the laws that require belligerent parties to protect civilians from the effects of war.

Attacks using explosive weapons, particularly with a wide-area impact, in populated areas have indiscriminate effects. 92% of casualties of these weapons are civilians. All States have a responsibility to ensure international humanitarian law is upheld and enforced.

Aleema Shivji, Executive Director of Handicap International UK

In 2017 Handicap International launched a global campaign to collect one million signatures to urge all states to "Stop bombing civilians".

Advertisement
Conference season has drawn to a close as the requiem of Theresa May's premiership played out on the floor of the conference hall in Manchester. The last two weeks have illustrated a tired government: without ideas, without a clear mandate, and most crucially of all - without hope. What a contrast we've seen over the last fortnight as a beleaguered Prime Minister attempted to renew the fatally-tainted brand of the Conservative Party whilst an energised Labour Party offered an optimistic vision which would benefit the entire United Kingdom.

I have to admit, on a human level, I did have sympathy for the difficulties Theresa May faced during her conference speech. From being handed the P45, to the issues with her voice, and of course, with her slogan literally falling apart as she spoke, it can't have been an easy time for the PM. Having said this, what I cannot stomach is that, within a speech lasting nearly an hour and a quarter, she failed to mention Wales once. Over seven thousands words and not a single snippet for Wales. For me, this highlights the sheer contempt this Prime Minister - and this tired government - has for Wales and the Welsh people.

Instead, we've been presented with a four day proxy leadership election. "A country that works for everyone" has been the rhetoric parroted by minister after minister over the course of the last few days. But where is the substance? Where are the indications that the Tories have listened to the electorate which rejected their plan for Britain in June? They simply never materialised. Instead, we've had briefings and back-stabbings from the Foreign Secretary. The much-trailered Boris Johnson wrecking ball has been attached to its chain and is now waiting to be released. The question as to whether Theresa May releases him from the gantry or if his descent begins under the weight of his own ego is the only factor in this scenario which remains uncertain.

Advertisement

The Johnson sideshow personifies the key theme of this year's Tory conference: all posturing and no substance. No radical policy proposals which will turn around the lives of those struggling after seven long years of Tory cuts. No announcements of key infrastructure to catalyse economic growth and prosperity in our regions. No sign that they will do anything over the next five years but blunder through the Brexit negotiations - which will define how we all move forward as a country - in a chaotic and highly unprepared manner.

Looking back to just a week ago, we saw a clear vision of what Labour stands ready to deliver in government. Investment, a jobs-first Brexit, a fair deal for public sector workers, dignity for pensioners in old age, the scrapping of PFI (following the lead of the Welsh Labour Government), fairness in taxation, and above all an antidote to the apathy and despair which this Tory government has fostered. Labour have offered a vision for ordinary people to improve their lives and succeed with their aspirations. Above all, I'm delighted that we as a party are firmly challenging the notion that the status quo is in any way acceptable. We must preside over a stable and sustainable economy, but that in no way means that we can't invest to help our economy grow. Labour will create the skilled jobs people across our country are crying out for and deliver for hard-working people, whilst maintaining a safety blanket for those who are unable to do so. Welsh Labour have demonstrated how effectively we can do this when in power under the leadership of First Minister, Carwyn Jones AM. This conference season has illustrated just how much better Britain could be if Jeremy Corbyn replaced Theresa May in Number 10.

The difference between Labour and the Tories could not be clearer. As a party, we are united in our progressive vision for how Britain can recover and thrive once we evict the Tories from office. Theresa May's party on the other hand is on notice: people up and down the country are sick and tired of their dismal reluctance to provide our communities with the investment we so badly need. This was made yet clearer by the Prime Minister again this week refusing to renege on her decision to scrap the electrification of our railways west of Cardiff, in the Midlands and in the North of England, having previously promising to deliver this infrastructure. Former Welsh Secretary, Stephen Crabb MP, recently described the decision to use bi-modal trains in place of full electrification as a "second best" option for South Wales. After this conference season, it's becoming increasingly clear that Theresa May is content with providing "second best" solutions to the issues which face communities across Wales and the UK as a whole.

Advertisement
Dignity in Dying

Yesterday, a judgment was handed down on a legal case I have been following very closely. It was brought by Noel Conway, a 67-year-old man who is dying of motor neurone disease. He faces unimaginable suffering in his final months as his illness continues to rob him of the ability to move, speak and breathe.

Noel wants the right to determine when and how he dies, rather than endure this nightmare right to the bitter end. He is challenging the current law which bans assisted dying and forces him to suffer. I attended his hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in July. He was too ill to make it there himself.

Advertisement

To my deep disappointment, the news came yesterday that the High Court has rejected his case. The fight is not over yet, however. Noel and his legal team are assessing their options for appeal and I will be standing by him every step of the way.

Why do I have such a keen interest in this case? Because Noel and I have something in common - we are both dying.

I am 48-years-old and have incurable secondary breast cancer. It was diagnosed in November 2013 and I now have cancer in a number of sites. I have a 5% chance of surviving the next five years.

I get up every day, knowing that the world is closing down for me. My heart breaks at the thought of not seeing my children, Rosie and Josh, mature, get married and have children of their own. Worse than all that is the thought of leaving my wonderful husband, Jon.

Advertisement

Although it has been unbearably hard, I have coped with finding out I have secondary breast cancer, chemotherapy, losing all my hair, surgery and radiotherapy. I still love my life, my family and friends and I plan to stay being myself until such time as I can no longer do so. What I find so hard to cope with is that I have no choice about when and how long it will take me to die.

I provided written evidence as a witness in Noel's case and have spoken out on national TV and radio because I feel so strongly that I should have a say over my own death. Why can't I go, when the time comes, as myself, and prevent the distress of barely clinging on to life in my last few weeks or months? The thought of my family watching me suffer as I slowly die is incredibly painful.

I have researched how I might take my own life at home. But it is just not feasible - I am so afraid my family would be held responsible for my decision. Currently my only option is to go to Dignitas in Switzerland, but this would mean having to end my life earlier to make sure I was well enough to plan and make the journey alone, so as not to implicate my loved ones.

The ability I have to be positive and carry on enjoying life would be so much easier to maintain if I had the knowledge that, when the time comes, I was able to seek an assisted death in this country. It is difficult to explain in words what this would mean to me and how much peace it would give me while I am living, when I am dying and in my last days.

Advertisement

I am speaking out because I believe that otherwise change will not happen. I am so grateful to Noel and his family for bringing assisted dying back into the foreground. I know that my life would be better if I knew I had a choice about when and where I die - it would make me want to live longer as I would know I was in control of when enough was enough.
The concept of British sovereignty has recently become tied to the populist phrase "take back control". This word is thrown about by politicians in newspapers, on social media and in the House of Commons every day. Yet this is by no means a new phenomenon.

Sovereignty has been the cornerstone of international society for millennia, yet as a wave of anti-EU populism flooded our nation, it seemed as though sovereignty represented an absolute ideal, to be secured as the foundation of our political system at any price. As a young person growing up with social media which makes our world seem more interconnected than ever, my concerns are not just for domestic control, but for international peace and security. As global citizens, we want more than control of our country - we want control over the human rights of all human beings.

Jumping on the bandwagon and supporting populist policies which will guarantee our sovereignty certainly seems easier than addressing larger world issues which seem impossible to tackle. But with the rise of transnationalism, is the sovereignty of all nations really the perfect solution to world problems?

Advertisement

When the Peace of Westphalia was agreed in 1648, there was a consensus within Europe that the sovereign would have power in their own country. In a Europe plagued by the constant wagering of wars, a mutual agreement of non-intervention seemed the appropriate measure. The acceptance of a pluralist framework of international society therefore took as its cornerstone the principle of sovereignty. Intervention based on humanitarian grounds was an alien concept. Evidently, this is no longer the case. Since then, solidarist principles have entered the international framework and led to achievements which were only made possible by countries sacrificing a small part of their sovereignty, to work on international crises.

Take the example of the European Convention of Human Rights. British values underpin this convention, yet by its very nature, a successful convention demands that countries give up some of their sovereignty. Not unexpectedly, in 1951, there was significant dissent ensuing from an anxiety that the sovereignty of British common law would be compromised by European interference. However, the initial acceptance of this convention has had a hugely positive impact on British law, which now has human rights legislation enshrined within it.

This positive image is often unfairly represented by the media. On the rare occasion that the Council of Europe imposes a negative judgment on the UK, the media condemns Strasbourg for "stealing British sovereignty". Brussels' control over the UK is presented as synonymous with the influence of Strasbourg, as the media discusses the EU and the Council of Europe in broad strokes, as though they are the same thing. The two bodies are separate entities. Anti-EU populism should not be equated to anti-Council sentiment. The reality is that the UK's work in the Council of Europe helps to sustain international security. When Theresa May revealed her plan to leave the ECHR in her proposed 2020 manifesto, British sovereignty was made to seem far more important than working together for international security. Thankfully, the snap election delayed these plans, but the principle on which they are based remains worrying. The ECHR was originally created after World War Two, to secure international peace. The UK first signed the ECHR to promote international security. Now, many want to abandon this convention in order to promote national security. The increased focus on the UK alone, is dangerously close to ignoring the bigger picture.

Advertisement

Human rights and British sovereignty are evidently not mutually exclusive. Despite its colonial past, Britain has a long history of securing civil liberties; the Magna Carta is considered the antecedent form of many of the most salient human rights conventions, including the American constitution. Nevertheless, laws concerning data protection, human trafficking and the rights of victims exist today because years ago, Britain agreed to cede some of its sovereignty to Europe.

True, not all human rights legislation comes from Europe. Even after Brexit, the UK will remain committed to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as part of UN Security Council membership. From this, Britain gains a huge amount of soft power and a moral position in the world. Yet rhetoric that legislation "gets in the way" of national security seems ignorant to our history, which created these very human rights laws to avoid repeated genocide.

As we see a new generation of global citizens, country borders will always be important, but I would like to see a world where the principles which unite us as human beings - human rights - gain the most media attention.
AIR - A short film about the air we breathe by Lark Rise Pictures

There's something about air pollution caused largely by emissions from diesel vehicles that people can't quite get their heads around. A perfect example of blissful ignorance. Until I had a call from a friend and ex-colleague Eleanor Church, I was one of them.

With years of environmental campaigning experience my soap box is well worn in. But as Eleanor pointed out breathlessly on the phone this summer while pounding her pram across the road to her daughter's nursery, this isn't an environmental story, it's a health issue. Air pollution is about personal lives and personal health.

Advertisement

Eleanor is an extremely talented filmmaker and the founder of Lark Rise Pictures. Our babies were born around the same time in 2016 and suddenly the issue of clean air, which hadn't particularly bothered us before, started niggling hard and wouldn't go away. And why should it?

Breathing polluted air has been linked to premature births, stunted development of children's lungs, cancer and aggravation of pre-existing lung disease. Even unborn babies are at risk and children are particularly vulnerable because they are more sensitive.

Dr Ian Mudway, a Lecturer in Respiratory Toxicology at King's College London explains it's because "they spend more time outdoors, running around, breathing deeply, so if there's something bad in the air, they're likely to be breathing more of the bad stuff than an adult who spend disproportionate amounts of their time sitting in their office or not running around doing physical work." Plus, their lungs are smaller so if stuff in the air is toxic, then they're going to have a greater dose of that toxic stuff in their lungs.

If you want a really crunchy number, then depending on who you speak to air pollution is reported to contribute to as many as 40,000 early deaths a year in the UK.

Advertisement

Having moved out of London to Colchester, Eleanor felt she'd escaped the worst of the harrowing headlines about the air quality crisis in the UK's major cities.

But each time she'd walk the 25-minute journey through town to nursery with her baby her lungs would ache.

A conversation she had with environmental lawyer James Thornton, the CEO of ClientEarth, kept playing on her mind when he told her that "on the way to work, (I walk to work) I see parents pushing their babies in a pushchair and the babies are at the level of the exhaust fumes of these cars. It's deeply troubling - and it needn't be that way."

Horrified that she was stunting the growth of her baby's lung development by giving her a bit of 'fresh air' in the morning she questioned whether she should walk or drive. The answers were disturbing as research increasingly shows that the worst place to be is sat behind the wheel of a car. It's actually worse than being a pedestrian. What then was she to do?

Advertisement

Having worked together on environmental and human rights awareness campaigns for years at the Environmental Justice Foundation she called me.

This air pollution issue is a crisis, she said. We have to do what we do best and make a film that really speaks to people to help others to understand what is happening to them and their children every day. This invisible pollution is toxic and it is omnipresent. It doesn't matter if you're in Central London or a small town it will affect you with every breath you take.

Eleanor started researching the issues helped by her cousin Hermione Toulson. The more they found out the more distressed we felt. Not least because it seems that the British Government are fully informed on the issue but completely failing to tackle it while the general public seem oblivious.

"Imagine that we were talking about people dying from cholera in the UK. The Government would then put in every effort to deal with the cholera problem and it would be soon dealt with. But because we're dealing with air pollution and the invisible nature of air pollution, and the car industry, and people's driving habits, the Government is preferring to do nothing" James Thornton, CEO of ClientEarth told us in an interview about why they keep having to take the British Government to court over their failing to put a proper plan into place to tackle air pollution.

And so we've made a film as our effort to help raise awareness. We hope it will cut through the headlines and reach beyond the bamboozling figures and penetrate the consciousness of the pram pushers, bus riders, chesty joggers, wheezy drivers and housebound elders.

Advertisement

It's called AIR and it's about the air we breathe.

It's only 8 minutes long so if you've got 10 minutes spare you should put it on your list.

By following a handful of Londoners on their morning commute to the narrative of a radio discussion between experts on clean air the film covers themes such as:

Why children are so affected by air pollution

How drivers are the most affected

How we have arrived in this situation

What needs to be done

We hope viewers will be able to better understand the enormity of the situation without feeling overwhelmed. There is much we, as individuals, can do but the first step is awareness.

And before you ask, do we have an agenda? Yes we do. Clean air for us and our kids. It's that simple.

So please, spread the word and share the film. The solutions exist. All that's missing is the will.
A group of volunteers distributing winter kits containing blankets, sleeping bags, rucksacks and boots to refugees in Lesbos, Greece. Photo: Pablo Tosco / Oxfam

Seventy-five years ago on October 5, 1942, a group of 'fanatics, soft-heads and sentimental idealists' (to quote Maggie Black's excellent history of Oxfam's first 50 years) met in the Old Library of the Church of St Mary-the-Virgin in Oxford. They were haunted by the terrors World War II was visiting on helpless civilians and wanted to find a way to help these innocent victims of the total war between Nazi Germany and Churchill's Britain.

Advertisement

Alongside raising money for much needed food, the first campaign of the newly created Oxford Committee for Famine Relief - which later became Oxfam - was to lobby the British Government for a relaxation of the blockade on wartime Greece and other occupied countries - a tactic causing mass starvation of civilians.

The rejection of total war's human suffering by the eclectic Oxford group - including a retired Indian colonial service officer, Jewish refugee from Germany, Anglican cleric and Greek scholar - was controversial, with most of the British public accepting Churchill's "victory at all costs" approach.

Yet, the end of the war and the revelation of its true horrors led to a sea change in attitudes. The 1949 Geneva Conventions outlawed the use of starvation as a military tactic, prohibited the destruction of vital services and required combatants to allow humanitarian aid to pass impeded.

Imperfectly though they may have been applied, the Geneva Conventions and other moves to curb total war such as the conventions on chemical weapons and cluster munitions, the treaty banning landmines and the Arms Trade Treaty have all been major steps towards putting a leash on the dogs of total war. I'm proud that Oxfam had a role in campaigning for the latter three.

Advertisement

The other great advance that Oxfam celebrates - and has played a small part in - is the dramatic fall in the number of people whose daily life is a struggle to survive. In the 1940s, well over half the world's population lived in extreme poverty; today the figure is fewer than one in ten. Progress has accelerated in recent decades to such an extent that the target to halve extreme poverty between 1990-2015 was met five years early.

The story of falling poverty is not straightforward, the rise of China and other so-called BRICS, globalisation of trade and supply chains, improved governance, the end of the Cold War and advances in technology have all played their part. At a time when Britain's commitment to its promises to the world's poorest people is the subject of sometimes frenzied public debate, it is also important to recognise the role of aid in funding the schools and healthcare, bed nets and clean water that make it possible to escape the daily struggle for survival and build a more prosperous life.

The battle against extreme poverty remains far from won; however, as inequality between countries falls, the gap between the haves and have nots within many countries is growing, with the poorest not benefitting from the progress that many enjoy.

One in nine people in the world still do not have enough to eat and just last month it was announced that the number going hungry increased to 815 million people over the last year, the first such rise this century. Extreme and variable weather caused by climate change is part of the problem. Poor countries need help to cope - a message reinforced by the IMF this week.

Conflict is the other major explanation. I recently returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo where nearly 1 million people have been forced to flee their homes this year due to violence and where 1.5 million people are hungry - equivalent to the combined populations of Birmingham and Bristol. For many of them, surviving through hard work and desperation, there could be no optimism.

Advertisement

The idea that 0.7 per cent of our national income is too much to spend on aid would stagger people who simply didn't know where the next meal would come from. If they receive help, it is more likely to come from their neighbours than an overstretched and under-resourced international system.

Yemen, Northern Nigeria and Somalia also stand on the brink of famine, while South Sudan declared one earlier this summer. All are riven by conflicts that Oxfam's founders would have recognised.

I've seen first-hand both the suffering of the civilians on the receiving end of 21st century- style total war and the indifference to their suffering of some of the protagonists. The uncomfortable fact is that despite attempts to hold miscreants to account, such as the creation of the International Criminal Court, governments and rebel groups alike feel increasingly able to target civilians with impunity. Respect for human rights and international law are not areas where we are making the same progress as we are on more practical challenges.

The danger - with Britain focused on Brexit, the EU struggling with its own problems and President Trump threatening his own total war with North Korea - is that the situation will get worse before it gets better.

For example, by continuing to sell arms to Saudi Arabia as it bombs Yemen - a country suffering from destruction that has allowed what will soon become the world's worst-ever cholera outbreak - the UK is undermining the Arms Trade Treaty which it championed on the global stage.

Advertisement
Music has always been central to my life. From battle rapping in the playground, to signing a record deal or two, being on tour, then spending a few years as a publicist, I have always had a fascination for the industry and the mechanics of how an artist is discovered, nurtured and then released into the world. As the stars you stream waft down the red carpet, step onstage to cacophonous noise, look back at you from their Insta page, or give you curated snippets of their lives on whatsapp, there is machinery that has been moving at breakneck speed, or painfully slow, to get them there. So last week I walked through the doors of the iconic Island Records to broadcast live and exclusively for BBC Radio 5 Live. From Toots and the Maytals, via Cat Stevens and Free to Bob Marley, U2, and Amy Winehouse, this is a label that has given your playlist plenty to sing, dance, and cry about over the years. It is a label with an enviable pedigree, but one that has to strive to stay relevant in order to survive. It is a precarious business, where you are only as good as your last signing, last hit, last album. The President of Island Records, Darcus Beese OBE, told me that if he were to walk into a bank and say to the manager " I'd like to have a million pounds to break a new act and I have no idea if it will be successful or not" they would think that he was mad, and yet that is what the big labels have to do each time they decide to sign an artist, although maybe not a million pounds every time.

Advertisement

The industry is a worldwide collection of super competitive companies that between 1999 and 2014 saw a forty per cent drop in revenue. Alongside the challenges of persuading the public that music is a commodity worth paying for there is also the issue of tastes changing so quickly. Each genre is a gladiator fighting for survival: Jungle moves to Garage, dubstep retreats and along comes Trap, and then Grime steps back into the arena and slays everyone.

When Island Records formed an urban division earlier this year, it was proof of how important the genre had become to the label.

One of the stalwarts of the scene Donae'o is signed to Island. He has been making music for way over a decade and in that time has made anthems that have inspired a new generation of beat makers, rhyme writers, and purveyors of bass. He said that when he was younger everybody looked to the US for black music and that anything coming out of the UK was destined to always be regarded as second rate by the discerning British music buying public. The mainstream British media also largely rejected British black music, especially rap and Grime. Back in the nineties a well-known music publication unofficially said that when it placed a black face on the cover sales went down. Fast forward to today and publications and brands are clambering over themselves to be associated with these artists. From council estates and tower blocks to the GQ Man of the Year awards ceremony and the Mercury Music prize, British Urban music is the cake that everyone wants a slice of, and some will only get crumbs of.

Advertisement

This is where Alex Boateng comes in, he heads up the new Urban Division and is charged with making sure that the burgeoning British Black music scene is as knowledgeable of Island as the label is of it. As Alex perches on his ergonomically designed chair and stares at his computer screen, he is a heat seeking machine, scouring the urban landscape for those radiating the most potential.

Bossman Birdie signed to Island last September having been well known and respected in Grime circles for a decade. Watching his video for Walk The Walk you can see how far the movement has come. It is sleek and confident, bursting with swagger and yet keeping its links to the streets. As we chat at Island Records HQ he is conscious of the history of the label and knows that he belongs there.

But why the need for a separate Urban Division? Surely music is music. Alex Boateng explains it succinctly when he says that in order to sign the artists you have to understand the culture, the lived experiences of the acts you want to sign. Making that cultural connection helps to engender trust and build that successful partnership that has to occur for both artist and label in order for it to work. After all of that, the vast amounts of money spent, the marketing, promotions, gigs and tours, if it doesn't connect with you the audience, then it's on to the next one.
CatLane via Getty Images

I think it is fair to say that Theresa May's conference speech is unlikely to make it into the next edition of "speeches that saved the world". Yet, buried within her words, I believe there was a nugget that may save people's lives.

I am highly privileged as I have been a transplant surgeon for over 25 years and have witnessed the remarkable transformation that the gift of organ donation can bring about. Sometimes, I walk past somebody in the corridor and they say, 'are you not speaking to me today?' This is because the person that I remember was close to death - someone who was ravaged by a disease causing organ failure. The person who passes in the corridor looks fit and active -returned to near normal life. That's why I don't recognise them.

Advertisement

Recently I met somebody whose transplant I performed 15 years ago. They still remember the exact words that I said to them before and after the operation, seared on their memory by the gift from a stranger. I am highly privileged. But I am only a technician who has passed on the life saving gift from the organ donor.

Set against this, you might ask how anybody ever turns down the possibility of donation to a needy transplant recipient. Honestly, I am not that judgmental. Put yourself in the place of a family member who, by definition, has just been told that their loved one is dead or is dying. You will be at the end of your tether. You will not want to be asked to choose a hot drink. Far less will you wish to ponder whether your family member really wanted to be an organ donor.

That is why the organ donation organisation for the UK, NHS Blood and Transplant, strongly advocates that people should talk about this issue; they should know what their family members want. In the Western world we tend to have a taboo about discussing such matters. Perhaps we feel that, if we talk about it, it may happen. But the difficult question about organ donation, posed at a tragic situation, is much easier to deal with if you have already had the conversation with your family member.

The nugget in Theresa May's speech was an announcement about a consultation to change the law in England towards the presumption of consent for organ donation in circumstances such as those that I describe. This follows on from a new law in Wales where deemed consent to organ donation is the norm and planned legislation in Scotland.

Advertisement

Approximately 10 years ago, I was less in favour of a legislative change on organ donation. Then, I had listened to the words of Rafael Matesantz, the architect of the system in Spain, acknowledged as the best organ donation system in the world. Rafael said that Spain had had the same legislation for organ donation before during and after its major transformation to a top level transplant country. He indicated that the infrastructure changes that he had put in place were much more important.

From that advice, we in the UK put in place similar huge change in the organ donation and transplant infrastructure across the United Kingdom. This has brought a tremendous increase in the number of organ donors so that, at last, we are seeing the waiting list for transplantation reducing. For instance the waiting list for kidney transplantation is now down by 27%.

But much more can be done. There is still evidence that families turn down the possibility of organ donation from their loved one much more frequently in the UK than in Spain. It is clear that the community of the UK is now strongly in favour of organ donation and a legislative change may encourage families to have the conversation about organ donation so that relatives know and agree to donation.
She spoke of giving a voice to the voiceless -- and then she lost her voice. A comedian handed her a P45, and the stage set started collapsing before she had croaked her way to the end of her speech.

Apart from that, Theresa May's make-or-break appearance at the Tory party conference in Manchester was a triumph. Well, no, in fact, it wasn't. Even without the chapter of calamities for which the prime minister could hardly be blamed, her speech was utterly dismal.

Advertisement

Listening to her, I was reminded variously of John Major (a series of underwhelming policy announcements), Iain Duncan Smith (the cough) and Ed Miliband (some good ideas unimpressively delivered) -- three of the least impressive public speakers of the post-war era. The best that could be said of her was that -- like them -- she was dogged in the face of adversity. She may, as she likes to claim, not be a quitter -- but that doesn't mean she won't soon be gone.

We knew she was weak politically. In Manchester, she looked -- and sounded -- frail physically. OK, it was just a cold and a cough, but politics is a cruel business. Optics matter. And the optics for Theresa May were terrible. If a script-writer had provided for the letters to start dropping off the party slogan behind her as she spoke -- 'Bui ding a c ntry tha orks or ryon ' -- an editor would have thrown it back. Don't over-egg it, kiddo.

To say it was painful to watch is like saying Boris Johnson perhaps lacks certain diplomatic skills. Yes, of course one can feel sympathy for a fellow human being under pressure -- the vultures are circling, and a frog has settled in her throat. But her party will not quickly forgive what she did to them last June -- and whatever side of the Brexit debate you're on, I doubt that you're filled with confidence about how she is handling the negotiations.

Ah yes, Boris Johnson. A man who -- like Donald Trump -- plainly hates his job. Why can't I say what I want any more? Why can't I display my bigotry whenever I feel like it? The people love me, so why are my colleagues and the media so horrid to me?

Advertisement

On the one hand, Johnson extols the virtues of a country that, as he put it, 'welcomed my ancestors from France, Russia, Turkey and heaven knows where ... that is proud of the EU and other nationals that want to come here and that have enriched our lives.'

And on the other, he dismisses in a grotesquely offensive quip the appalling death toll in Libya since the overthrow and murder of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. (The city of Sirte could be a great centre for tourism and business, Johnson said -- 'the only thing they've got to do is clear the dead bodies away.')

This is the man who composed a piece of doggerel in which he called President Erdogan of Turkey a 'wankerer', simply because it rhymed with Ankara -- and who thought it was fun to recite a piece of colonial tosh by Rudyard Kipling while visiting the Buddhist Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, where they're not keen on being reminded about British colonial rule. ('Not appropriate,' muttered an embarrassed UK ambassador within earshot of the TV cameras. Indeed.)

Until Mrs May's cough, the P45 prankster, and the collapsing stage set, Johnson was the prime minister's number one problem. Ever since the Tories' election debacle last June, her credibility has been dangling by a thread. Johnson has been furiously tugging at it with his serial acts of disloyalty; now, circumstances have conspired to fray that thread even further.
All eyes have been on Manchester this week as the Conservative party held their annual conference.

But as a pharmacist, I was extremely disappointed that the future of community pharmacies was not addressed.

The industry is facing some of its toughest times, with speculation rife that cuts are afoot and pharmacists will be stripped of many of their day-to-day jobs, with responsibilities handed over to technicians instead.

The biggest problem is this: pharmacists are often the most accessible healthcare professionals for people.

Advertisement

You would be surprised at the number of people who walk into their local chemist and say 'can I speak to a pharmacist, please'. They might have a cold, or they might have a rash, or they might have taken some tablets and they feel dizzy.

Ultimately, they want some help and advice, and they wanted it fairly quickly and without having to make an appointment with their GP.

Pharmacists go through four years of training and generally have extensive knowledge about the suitability of medications, and what medicines work well with another.

We are the final gate post before the drug gets to the patient, and often the first person a patient comes to if they have any questions.

Advertisement

New plans, which Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is set to consider, include allowing technicians to supervise a pharmacy and hand out prescription-only medication without a pharmacist being present.

These plans have understandably caused controversy and a real fear that patients will suffer.

To put it simply, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians go through very different training and have very different skill sets.

Technicians are trained in accuracy. They are trained to make sure the right sticker is on the right box.

Pharmacists are trained in pharmacology. We don't just check prescriptions, but clinically assess the suitability of a medicine for the patient, and whether one medicine matches another.

If mistakes were to occur, in the most extreme cases it could mean life or death. This isn't an over exaggeration.

Advertisement

It's all too easy for government ministers to make decisions based on cost and balancing the books, without spending time fully getting to grips with what a pharmacist actually does.

If given the go ahead, the current legislation will need to be amended to allow 'pharmacy professionals' to take responsibility for the supply and sale of prescription only medicines.

This is simply a push-back and will put more pressure on over-stretched GP surgeries.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health previously said they wanted to "optimise" the skills of technicians and "make the best use of staff".

They added no changes would be made without proper consultation.

In response, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society recently produced an eight-point position statement setting out their objection to any plans which would involve 'pharmacies run without pharmacists'.

Among the points, they said they wanted to see "the law constructed so as to ensure the pharmacist always has the opportunity to undertake the clinical assessment or check".

Advertisement

They added they did not want to see any law changes "which could be used to operate pharmacies without pharmacists being present for anything other than very short periods of time".

I couldn't agree with this more.
Jonathan Brady - PA Images via Getty Images

In September 1983 the eighth amendment of the Constitution of Ireland was approved by referendum. This change in the law recognised the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn child even though abortion was already illegal in the country. Less than three weeks later my mother brought me into the world and I began my life in a small Irish town called Longford.

It was a time in Ireland when the nation was still heavily governed by Catholicism. Having kids outside of wedlock was so disdained that pregnant women were still being shipped off to convents where 'their problem' would be hidden. Fast forward thirty odd years and Ireland is still talking about women and their reproductive rights. The country is now teeing up for what looks to be a bitter campaign over whether to change its abortion laws.

Advertisement

Ireland is one of the few places in Europe where abortion is illegal, even in cases of rape, incest or severe foetal abnormality. I recently had the opportunity to witness the battle over abortion when I was making a documentary for Channel 4 Unreported World.

During filming my director Kate Hardie-Buckley and I met with people from opposing sides and learned fast what the eighth amendment meant to each. For the Pro Life camp the current law protects the rights of the unborn and for the Pro Choice camp it inhibits the rights of the woman. We observed a contentious and emotive debate as both groups prepare for a referendum next summer before the Pope's visit.

While the current law restricts abortion in Ireland, it doesn't prevent Irish women travelling abroad to get one. Last year, 3,265 Irish women travelled to the UK for one. One such woman films part of her journey for us. She had an unplanned pregnancy and at six weeks decided to travel to Manchester to have an abortion. She tells us about the heartbreak of feeling like she's being exported.

We also spend time in a maternity ward at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin and hear about the impact the law has on medical professionals. We learn that having an abortion in Ireland or facilitating one carries a 14 year jail sentence, but it is legal for staff to give information about where to get one abroad. Ireland's first ever foetal medicine midwife, Jane Dalrymple counsels women who find out their baby won't survive outside the womb. She talks about the difficult choices they face after a termination abroad. 'Taking their baby home and placing it in their kitchen fridge and ringing the next day and saying what will I do with my baby?'

Advertisement

We also travel to my hometown Longford and meet a guy I grew up with, Thomas Reilly. He and his wife Lisa strongly oppose changing current legislation. Their daughter was diagnosed with sacral agenesis when she was born and they believe that without the eighth amendment children like her would not be given the chance of life.

From a non-Irish perspective it may look like next year's referendum will play out like the gay marriage referendum of 2015. Ireland was the first country in the world to make gay marriage legal by popular vote. However this one is a lot more nuanced and dare I say it, vitriolic.
The School Building Committee, with Principal Tara Barnes and Superintendent Jonathan Lev, discussed options ahead of next week's Select Board meeting.

Citizens Petition Filed to Revote Clarksburg School Project



The committee determined it should support another vote.

CLARKSBURG, Mass.  The town is gearing up for a second special town meeting after more than 300 citizens signed a petition calling to revote the failed school project.



The $19 million addition and renovation project failed by a single vote  144-287  at the special town meeting on Sept. 27. The authorization of the borrowing, of which $11.3 million would be reimbursed by the state but still hit homeowners with a $3.25 increase in the tax rate, required a two-thirds vote.



Select Board Chairman Jeffrey Levanos confirmed that he had accepted the citizens' petition (with the same language as last week's question) and expected the voters' signatures to be confirmed by next Wednesday's board meeting.



Superintendent Jonathan Lev on Thursday said he planned to attend the Select Board meeting and asked that some of School Building Committee members do so as well.



"I hope we can set a date," he said to the committee. "I hope we can discuss ways we can change how the town meeting is held."



Last week's special town meeting turned chaotic when some 450 voters turned out, twice the capacity of the small gym/cafeteria at the school.



"The largest turnout in the history of the town showed up. Over 450 registered voters showed up," Lev read from the letter he wrote to Massachusetts School Building Authority detailing the vote and the actions being taken in its wake. "The town was not prepared properly to handle all these people ... approximately 100 people had to wait in the parking lot after checking in since the gym/cafeteria could not accommodate everyone."



Despite setting up a process for a secret ballot vote to move people along, it took more than an hour just to register voters who lined up along the driveway. Many had to stand outside and about 30 registered but had to leave before voting started.



It was apparent many had not attended a town meeting, or at least not recently because they thought it was like an election: vote and leave. Town meetings are the town's legislative body and require voters to be in attendance to move, amend and vote on questions. A vote on borrowing must be authorized through town meeting although a second vote to exclude the debt from Proposition 2 1/2 can be done by election ballot.



The lesser of 200 registered voters or 20 percent of the total number of registered voters can call a special town meeting and the Select Board must schedule one within 45 days of a citizen's petition. The school district has 120 days to get a funding plan approved; should the vote fail again, it would likely have to start fresh with a new statement of interest. It took the school 10 years to reach this point.



But both town and school officials fear a replay of the conditions of last week's meeting because the largest space in town  the gym/cafeteria  has already proved to be too small. State law requires town meetings and elections "shall be held within the geographic limits of the town unless a special law, charter or by-law provides otherwise."



"There is not a facility in Clarksburg that can hold everyone," committee member Edward Denault said. "The capacity of the room is 200, that should have been a tip-off right there."



The superintendent of North Adams schools, Barbara Malkas, a Clarksburg resident, had offered the use of the Drury High School auditorium but Lev said they couldn't use it because it was outside of the town.



Lev said he's asked the school legal counsel to look into the possibility of a waiver or exception from the state. Town Administrator Carl McKinney, last week, said he was looking into the possibility of stretching the definition of geography to McCann Technical School since the town is a member of the regional school district.



"That isn't fair to anybody, for or against, to be in that situation where you want to be able to hear what's going on and discuss," Lev said. "And not have to wait an hour."



There is also the possibility of using more of the school by running a live feed from the gym into a classroom, which is allowed by state law, but that would raise problems of participation since it would be one-way. It would also only be in one room that could not accommodate 100 people.



The School Building Committee also discussed other options, like erecting a giant tent in November on town field, or somehow trying to lengthen the time of the special town meeting.

More articles on the school project can be found here.
'Brad's Status': What's It All About, Alfie?

In "Brad's Status," Brad Sloan nearly drives us crazy with his unremitting regret and self-doubt as he accompanies his son, Troy, played by Austin Abrams, to look at colleges in Boston. Oh, we all do it. That's how we keep score. It's just that Brad, portrayed by Ben Stiller, is especially effective in showing us how unattractive this practice seems if not kept in check. Still, we are compelled to commiserate, appreciating that Stiller's imaging of the neurotic, 21st century everyman adds an insightful chapter to the human comedy.

Written and directed by Mike White, Brad's travail is entertaining in that alternately painful and bittersweet way, when divulged truths show us what's really important. Indeed, most of us are destined to crush our souls in the crucible of experience and deep introspection before arriving at those long sought, wise decisions. Alas, there's no one-size fits-all template from which to choose one's proper, as opposed to "successful," path in life. The idea here is to be wary of that S word. Your individualism is at stake.

Sitting in our movie seats, we are a bit smug, certain that if we could grab the title character by the shoulders we might shake some sense into him. But if the profferings don't conjure a bad choice or two of your own, you're a better man than I, Gunga Din. The watershed that the trip represents has Brad anguishing. Long an idealist who heads a charitable non-profit he founded, it has suddenly become deeply troubling to him that every one of his best buddies in college has become filthy rich. He is now second-guessing not just his career, but his entire life.

Narrating the events via a meditative voiceover, Stiller is superb in emoting the universal thoughts White's screenplay so intelligently mixes with its profoundly simple realism. He does it in several telling scenes. Unable to fall sleep one night, a bit of pillow talk with his antithetically optimistic wife, Melanie, played by Jenna Fischer, mirrors the everyday worries that punctuate our being. Later, a heartfelt tete-a- tete between father and son in a Boston hotel room reminds of those rare great moments when everything suddenly makes sense.

Borrowing from a style of self-examination Woody Allen has honed to an art form, the plot structure uses practically each action in the tale to elicit a cerebral reaction from Brad, oftentimes leading to an imagined scenario, either happy, nightmarish or just plain paranoid. But the consternation isn't just about the Freud and Jung of it all. In tearing asunder his fragile place in this world, our searcher for truth, reason, identity and perhaps even joy, if he dares, also invokes whole bunches of Marx and Darwin. Should he have tried to be rich instead of altruistic?

In mining the great unknown for answers, Brad embodies his very own yin and yang, a tenuous scale that switches from comedy to drama with each revelation or fear, unfounded or not. It's a bit of a roller coaster ride, featuring a self-indulgence that in lesser hands could wear the patience of some viewers. However, showing more sides to his thespic talent than perhaps he even knew existed, Stiller makes it work, turning his character's psyche into a funhouse of emotions, humorous, frightening and cathartic.

Supplying a touching synergy, the exercise in egocentrism is checked and sweetly balanced by Troy, the apple of Brad's eye. He is a likable product of his times. If you've been paying attention to the growth and emergence of this pragmatic new generation we've somehow spawned, you'll note that aside from the ubiquitously tendered "no problem" at every available opportunity, they are quite something. No fools, their healthy adaptation in this sudden era of reactionary insanity is attended by a perspicacity that won't so easily suffer false prophets.

In short, the rather confident Troy engagingly symbolizes a hope for the future that gives broader definition to Brad's obsession over his accomplishments and perceived shortcomings. You know, the child is father to the man and all that. One night, while dad is fretting out loud, Troy matter-of- factly opines, "I think I can get into Harvard." True or not, any parent who doesn't share Brad's initial shock, wonder and ebullience at the moment of this casually delivered bit of manna from heaven has perhaps missed out on the generational bliss in life.

OK, it's not Steinbeck, Fitzgerald or O'Neill. But doubtlessly those and other legacy authors were not lost on writer-director Mike White as he studied his way to one day pen this astutely composed delve into life's most important passing of the baton. While theatrically embellished here and there for commercial palatability, its smart, literate slice of humanism assures "Brad's Status" as a satisfying night at the Bijou.

"Brad's Status," rated R, is an Annapurna release directed by Mike White and stars Ben Stiller, Austin Abrams and Jenna Fischer. Running time: 101 minutes
That sparkling new fire station in downtown Albany was looking a little empty to our eyes  that is, until earlier this week, when a restored 1927 American LaFrance fire engine settled into its place of pride in the building's lobby.

That was a perfect fit.

And so was the hose cart that dates back to 1848, even before the Albany Fire Department was formed. That cart will be on display next to the engine.

The new fire station celebrates its grand opening at 4 p.m. today. Tours of the building will be offered until 6 p.m. today and also on Saturday from 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. If you've got the time, our hunch is that the tour will be well worth it.

And it's worth some reflection about the long path that led to today's grand opening.

The need to replace the department's headquarters has been apparent for decades. As you might recall, that old building was simply too small for a modern department. The electrical system was inadequate. It was filled with mold that potentially posed a health risk to the firefighters inside.

And chances were good that a moderate earthquake would have damaged the building to the point where the department's rolling stock would have been trapped inside. It's hard to respond to emergencies when you can't get your equipment out of the building.

In any event, there was no serious disagreement about the need to replace the building.

However, as you might recall, there was considerable discussion in the community about the best way to do that.

A 2013 bond measure for $20.3 million to build not just a new fire station but a new headquarters for the Police Department was rejected by voters. The City Council, pondering the loss, then made an exceptionally smart call: Instead of racing to put the measure back on the next ballot, it created an independent commission, headed by former state Sen. Frank Morse and retired Linn County Sheriff Dave Burright, to take an in-depth look at the reasons why the levy failed and to craft a new recommendation for the council.

The commission tackled its duties with painstaking care, and ended up with a proposal that saved some money for Albany voters: It recommended an $18 million bond measure for both buildings. That's the measure that voters passed in May 2015.

The bond measure doesn't cover the entire $24.4 million cost of the buildings; another $1.4 million came from the Central Albany Revitalization Area, and the remainder came from the settlement the city won when Pepsi abandoned its plans to build a plant in Albany.

At today's ceremony, somebody will say something like how the new building belongs to all of Albany. That's true enough. And it also is true that the new headquarters should improve the ability of the Fire Department to serve the city's residents.

But there's something else: This is a city that always has supported its first responders. This new building is a visible sign of that support. (mm)

A sad farewell

The city of Albany's joy at the grand opening of the new Fire Department headquarters is considerably tempered by news this week of the death of Katie Nooshazar, the recreation programs manager for the city's Parks and Recreation Department. Nooshazar reportedly suffered a heart attack on Monday night.

As others have noted in mourning the loss, it's not an exaggeration to say that Nooshazar was the heart of the Parks and Recreation Department and one of the city of Albany's finest ambassadors. She was a familiar face at many of the city's biggest events and a driving force behind River Rhythms and the Northwest Art & Air Festival, among others. She'll be greatly missed.

A celebration of her life is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 12 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center, 489 Water Ave. NW. (mm)
So far I have gotten two text messages and and an email from candidates for the Wisconsin Supreme Court asking me for campaign contributions. Can we just c...

4 days ago
Imperial Valley News Center

USNS Comfort Responds to Hospital Generator Failure in Puerto Rico

San Juan, Puerto Rico - The Mercy-class Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, received five critical patients around 8 p.m. Oct. 4, from Ryder Memorial Hospital in Humacao, Puerto Rico, after its generator failed.

The possibility of hospitals in Puerto Rico failing due to running on emergency generators for extended lengths of time had been planned for by Comfort, the Federal Emergency Management System (FEMA) and other Federal and local agencies.



Patients were medevaced by the Sea Knights of Navy Helicopter Sea Squadron (HSC) 22 and Army Blackhawks.



"Working with the Army and the Hospital, we were able to reduce transport times for critically ill patients," said Lt. Cmdr. Christopher "Harm" Perry, a dual-designated emergency physician and naval aviator aboard Comfort who landed the MH-60S with patients. "This is the mission we have all been training for."



The Army Blackhawks, who are scheduled to conduct day landing qualifications on Comfort, transferred patients to the Sea Knights at a nearby landing zone in San Juan.



Comfort is part of the whole-of-government response effort and is assisting FEMA, the lead federal agency, in helping those affected by Hurricane Maria.



Comfort is a seagoing medical treatment facility that currently has more than 800 personnel embarked for the Puerto Rico mission including Navy medical and support staff assembled from 22 commands, as well as over 70 civil service mariners.



The hospital ship has one of the largest trauma facilities in the United States and is equipped with four X-ray machines, one CT scan unit, a dental suite, an optometry lens laboratory, physical therapy center, pharmacy, angiography suite and two oxygen-producing plants.



Comfort's primary mission is to provide an afloat, mobile, acute surgical medical facility to the U.S. military that is flexible, capable and uniquely adaptable to support expeditionary warfare. Comfort's secondary mission is to provide full hospital services to support U.S. disaster relief and humanitarian operations worldwide.
Imperial Valley News Center

California Succeeds with 2017 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program

Sacramento, California - The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced funding for the 2017 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP). California received $19.2 million out of approximately $60.6 million awarded nationwide.

The SCBGP provides grants to state departments of agriculture to fund projects that enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops, defined as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops (including floriculture).

This is an essential program for California in meeting a state priority - helping our specialty crop growers remain competitive, said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross.The success of this grant program has generated widespread support for continued robust funding in the Farm Bill.

The program will fund 54 projects, awarding grants ranging from $50,000 to $450,000 to non-profit and for-profit organizations, government entities, and colleges and universities. Selected through a competitive process, these projects focus on increasing sales of specialty crops by leveraging the California Grown identity; increasing consumption by expanding the specialty crop consumer market, improving product availability, and providing nutritional education for consumers; training growers to equip them for current and future challenges; and conducting research on conservation and environmental outcomes, pest control and disease, and organic and sustainable production practices.

Additionally, there are fixed-amount awards to fund projects that address workforce concerns throughout the specialty crop supply chain, including conforming to labor regulations, securing skilled and unskilled workers, and training the existing workforce to effectively utilize new technologies.

CDFA is continuing its partnership with the Center for Produce Safety in the evaluation and recommendation of food safety related projects. These projects represent an ongoing effort to address food safety practices and minimize outbreaks of foodborne illness with proactive research.
Governor Brown Announces Precision Medicine Advisory Committee

Sacramento, California - Continuing the states efforts to use advanced computing and technology to better understand, treat and prevent disease, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today established the Governors Advisory Committee on Precision Medicine.

California is a world leader in medicine and technology. This committee of experts will help us think through how precision medicine can improve health and health care for Californians, said Governor Brown.

Precision medicine aims to use data-driven tools and analysis to develop new diagnostics, therapies and insights into health and disease. Governor Brown announced the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine (CIAPM) in April 2015 as the first-in-the-nation, state-level effort to fund focused precision medicine projects to improve care and treatment for specific diseases. Since the initial launch, CIAPM has supported several demonstration projects, led by Californias renowned academic and medical institutions, which span the disease spectrum  from childhood cancer to traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis and heart disease. To date, California has invested $13 million out of the total $23 million in allocated state funding for precision medicine. Private companies and foundations have also provided additional funding and donated in-kind support directly to the projects.

The committee will advise the Governors Office on emerging precision medicine policy issues, such as data sharing and data privacy within and across technology platforms and tools; clinical utility of precision medicine approaches to care; patient and provider engagement and education; and economic impact and sustainability of precision medicine-based treatments. The committee will also provide recommendations on further actions the public and private sectors can take to integrate precision medicine into health care.

The advisory committee members appointed by the Governor encompass the range of expertise necessary in precision medicine: biotechnology, technology, health systems, health disparities, population health, cancer, bioinformatics, ethics, genomics and patient engagement.

Governors Advisory Committee on Precision Medicine Members:

Tomas J. Aragon, MD, MPH, DrPH, 57, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the Governors Precision Medicine Advisory Committee. Aragon has been the health officer of the City and County of San Francisco and director of the Population Health Division at the San Francisco Department of Public Health since 2011. He has been an assistant adjunct professor of epidemiology (teaching R programming) at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health since 2004, where he directed a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention training and research center from 2003 to 2010. Aragon earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from Harvard Medical School, a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health and a Doctor of Public Health degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health. He completed a primary care internal medicine residency and a clinical and research fellowship in infectious diseases at the University of California, San Francisco. Aragon has completed leadership training with the California Health Care Foundation and earned certification in Healthcare Strategic Decision and Risk Management from Stanford University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation.

Atul Butte, MD, PhD, 48, of Menlo Park, has been appointed to the Governors Precision Medicine Advisory Committee. Butte has been principal investigator of the California Initiative to Advance Precision Medicine, director of the Institute for Computational Health Sciences, and Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg Distinguished Professor at the University of California, San Francisco since 2015. Butte has been a founder and scientific advisor at NuMedii Inc. since 2009 and at Personalis Inc. since 2011. He held several positions at the Stanford University School of Medicine from 2005 to 2015, including assistant professor, professor of pediatrics and division chief. Butte earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Brown University School of Medicine and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in health sciences and technology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard Medical School. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation.

John Carpten, PhD, 52, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Governors Precision Medicine Advisory Committee. Carpten has been chair of the Department of Translational Genomics at the University of Southern California, Keck School of Medicine and co-director at the University of Southern California Institute for Translational Genomics since 2016. He was director of the Integrated Cancer Genomics Division at the Translational Genomics Research Institute from 2003 to 2015, where he was deputy director of basic sciences from 2012 to 2015. He was a tenure-track investigator at the National Institutes of Healths National Human Genome Research Institute from 1988 to1994. Carpten earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in molecular, cellular and developmental biology from Ohio State University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation.

Jay Gellert, 63, of Woodland Hills, has been appointed to the Governors Precision Medicine Advisory Committee. Gellert was president and chief executive officer at Health Net Inc. from 1998 to 2016. Gellert was president and chief operating officer of Health Systems International Inc. (HSI) from 1996 to 1998 and was a member of the Health Systems International Inc. Board of Directors and chairman of the board for HSIs principal operating subsidiaries, Health Net and QualMed, from 1996 to 1998. Gellert directed Shattuck Hammond Partners Inc.s strategic advisory engagements from 1990 to 1996, was president and chief executive officer of the Bay Pacific Health Corporation from 1988 to 1991 and was senior vice president and chief operating officer for California Healthcare System from 1985 to 1988. Gellert is a member of the Ventas, Inc. Board of Directors. He was as chairman of the Americas Health Insurance Plans Board of Directors and served in several positions at the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare, including co-chair of the Provider Council, chairman of the Administrative Simplification Committee and member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation.

Kim Goodwin, 46, of Oakland, has been appointed to the Governors Precision Medicine Advisory Committee. Goodwin has worked with PatientsLikeMe  a social network, decision-support tool and medical research platform dedicated to connecting patients and analyzing patient-shared data  in various capacities since 2011, including as vice president of product and user experience and as a consultant to guide the development of software tools as well as the patient experiences of longitudinal research. Goodwin is the bestselling author of Designing for the Digital Age and speaks around the world about designing human-centered experiences. Goodwin was vice president and general manager at Cooper from 1998 to 2009, where she led consulting projects with Cardinal Health, Varian Medical Systems, Merck Medco, Mayo Clinic and Abbott Labs, as well as consumer brands such as Lexus and NBC. Her 24 years of product design and strategy have included work on electronic health records, personal health records, pharmacy websites, consumer glucose meters and insulin pumps and clinical medical devices. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation.

Stephen H. Lockhart, MD, MPhil, PhD, 59, of Oakland, has been appointed to the Governors Precision Medicine Advisory Committee. He has been chief medical officer for Sutter Health since 2015, where he has held several positions, including East Bay regional chief medical officer from 2010 to 2015. Lockhart was chief administrative officer at the St Lukes campus of the California Pacific Medical Center from 2008 to 2010, where he was the medical administrative director of surgical services from 2003 to 2008 and had a long-standing practice of 20 years. A Rhodes Scholar, Lockhart earned a Master of Philosophy degree in economics from Oxford University and Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy in biostatistics degrees from Cornell University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation.

Kelsey Martin, MD, PhD, 59, of Los Angeles, has been appointed to the Governors Precision Medicine Advisory Committee. Martin has served as dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles since 2016, where she has served as a faculty member in the departments of Biological Chemistry and Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences since 1999. She served as co-director of the University of California, Los Angeles-California Institute of Technology Medical Scientist Training Program from 2005 to 2013 and was chair of the University of California, Los Angeles Department of Biological Chemistry from 2010 to 2015. Martin is a member of the Cell Editorial Board, Burroughs Wellcome Fund Board of Directors and the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience Board of Directors. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine. After serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1980 to 1982, she earned a Doctor of Medicine degree and Doctor of Philosophy degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry from Yale University. Martin completed postdoctoral training in neurobiology with Eric Kandel at Columbia University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation.

Mary E. Maxon, PhD, 55, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the Governors Precision Medicine Advisory Committee. Maxon has been associate laboratory director for biosciences at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory since 2017, where she was biosciences area principal deputy from 2012 to 2017. Maxon is responsible for developing strategies for the use of biosciences to address national-scale challenges in energy, environment, health and biomanufacturing. She has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors. Maxon served as assistant director for biological research at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from 2009 to 2012, where she developed the National Bioeconomy Blueprint. Maxon was director of the Marine Microbiology Program at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation from 2007 to 2009 and held executive and management roles at Cytokinetics as associate director and as leader of the Anti-infective Program from 2001 to 2004. She was scientist II and project lead at Microbia Inc. from 1999 to 2001. Maxon served as deputy vice chair at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine from 2004 to 2006. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in molecular cell biology from the University of California, Berkeley and completed postdoctoral research in biochemistry and genetics at the University of California, San Francisco. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation.

Jessica Mega, MD, MPH, 43, of Portola Valley, has been appointed to the Governors Precision Medicine Advisory Committee. Mega has been chief medical officer at Verily Life Sciences since 2015. She led large, international, randomized trials evaluating novel cardiovascular therapies as a senior investigator with the TIMI Study Group and a cardiologist at Brigham and Womens Hospital from 2008 to 2015, and as a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, where she is currently on leave. Mega directed the TIMI Study Groups Genetics Program from 2011 to 2015, focusing on applications for precision medicine. Her research findings have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, JAMA and elsewhere. Mega earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Yale School of Medicine and a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard School of Public Health. She completed an internal medicine residency at Brigham and Womens Hospital and a cardiovascular fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital. She has won the Laennec Society, Samuel A. Levine and Douglas P. Zipes awards and is a fellow of the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation.

Jill P. Mesirov, PhD, MA, 67, of Solana Beach, has been appointed to the Governors Precision Medicine Advisory Committee. Mesirov has been associate vice chancellor for computational health sciences and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine since 2015. Mesirov served as associate director and chief informatics officer at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard  formerly the Whitehead Institute/MIT Center for Genome Research  from 1997 to 2015, where she directed the Computational Biology and Bioinformatics Program from 1997 to 2015. She was manager of computational biology and bioinformatics at IBMs Healthcare-Pharmaceutical Solutions Organization from 1995 to 1997 and director of research at Thinking Machines Corporation from 1985 to 1995. Mesirov was an instructor in the University of California, Berkeley Department of Mathematics from 1974 to 1976, a member of the research staff in the Communications Research Division of the Institute for Defense Analyses from 1976 to 1982 and associate executive director of the American Mathematical Society from 1982 to 1985. She earned Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in mathematics from Brandeis University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation.

Frederick J. Meyers, MD, 66, of Sacramento, has been appointed to the Governors Precision Medicine Advisory Committee. Meyers has been associate dean for precision medicine at University of California, Davis Health since 2016, where he has served in several leadership positions since 1992, including chairperson of the Department of Internal Medicine and vice dean of the School of Medicine. He was one of the first in the country to develop the concept of simultaneous care, a system of patient-family centered caring that provides both treatment for advanced cancer using investigational clinical trials as well as intensive palliative care. Meyers has been an active medical oncologist at the University of California, Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center since joining the University of California, Davis faculty in 1982. Meyers earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. He is a Master of the American College of Physicians. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation.

Arnold Milstein, MD, MPH, 71, of San Francisco, has been appointed to the Governors Precision Medicine Advisory Committee. Milstein has been a professor of medicine and director of the Clinical Excellence Research Center at Stanford University since 2010. The Center designs and demonstrates scalable health care delivery innovations that provide better care with less health care spending. His research spans positive value outlier analysis, human experience of health care and, in partnership with Stanford's Artificial Intelligence Lab, the development of artificial intelligence systems to assess and support care for medically fragile populations in home and institutional settings. In 1984, Milstein founded a national health care performance improvement firm, National Medical Audit, which he expanded globally after its acquisition by Mercer. He also co-founded three nationally influential public benefit initiatives, the Leapfrog Group in 1998, the Pacific Business Group on Health in 1985 and the Consumer-Purchaser Alliance in 2001. As a member of the congressional Medicare Payment Advisory Commission from 2004 to 2010, he originated two legislative changes to align health care provider revenue with value to patients. He served as chair of the National Academy of Medicine Planning Committee series on improving the efficiency of U.S. care delivery. Milstein earned a Doctor of Medicine degree from the Tufts University School of Medicine and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of California, Berkeley. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation.

Hakan Sakul, MS, PhD, 55, of San Diego, has been appointed to the Governors Precision Medicine Advisory Committee. Sakul has been vice president of diagnostics at Pfizer since 2016, with responsibility for development of companion diagnostics across Pfizers pharmaceutical portfolio. He has held several positions at Pfizer since 2002, including executive director and head of diagnostics for Worldwide R&D; senior director of translational oncology in the Oncology Business Unit; senior director, global head of diagnostics and oncology leads for the Molecular Medicine Group and Clinical R&D; senior director of the Molecular Profiling Group and diagnostics lead for Clinical R&D; and director and site head of the Clinical Pharmacogenomics Group. He led Pfizers flagship program in companion diagnostics for Xalkori, a non-small cell lung cancer drug that received FDA approval in 2011 along with its diagnostics test. He was director of the Human Genetics, Statistical and Pharmacogenetics Department at Parke-Davis Pharmaceuticals from 1998 to 2001. Sakul is a member of the Board of Personalized Medicine Coalition, and author of over 30 referred scientific articles. Sakul earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree in quantitative genetics from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Science degree from Ankara University. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation.

Sue Siegel, MS, 57, of Menlo Park, has been appointed to the Governors Precision Medicine Advisory Committee. Since 2012, Siegel has been chief executive officer of GE Ventures, General Electrics growth and innovation business comprised of ventures, licensing and new business creation spanning the health care, energy and transportation industries. With over 30 years in the corporate world and in venture capital, and having served as board member, chief executive officer and Silicon Valley-based venture capitalist, she brings diverse perspectives gleaned from her local startup to Fortune 10 multinational experiences. As an institutional venture capitalist at Mohr Davidow Ventures from 2006 to 2012, Siegel led investments in life sciences and health care. As president and member of the board of Affymetrix from1998 to 2005, she delivered multi-billion dollars in shareholder value by scaling the company from a pre-revenue startup to a multi-billion market cap, multi-national genomic leader. Siegel served as a founding member of President Obamas Precision Medicine Initiative Working Group. She earned a Master of Science degree in biochemistry from the Boston University School of Medicine. Recognized by the Silicon Valley Business Journal as one of the 100 Women of Influence and as a multiplier in Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, Siegel is also a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. This position does not require Senate confirmation and there is no compensation.
Since 1997, DR1 has been covering the Dominican Republic in English. A site overhaul had long been due. Here is the beta version of the first phase of the new DR1. We have upgraded the website with user-friendly software to serve our community better. We have kept the up-to-date content. Now it is your turn to give the new DR1 a test run!

We are tough-skinned. Go ahead and tell us what we are doing right, wrong, and what we need to change asap or work on next. Tell us what you would like to see less or more of, and what we shouldnt change!

Imagine we have bought a new house for DR1. The house comes with:

New server that ensures DR1 can handle peaks in traffic

New DR1 Forums

Improved Search

New DR1 Calendar

DR1 News and DR1 Calendar are integrated into the DR1 Forums

New DR1 Wiki for frequently asked topics

New Trending Topics emails

We now need to furnish the house. It is YOUR DR1! We invite you to collaborate in adding valuable content. What content or services should we add? Check out the new resources, but get creative, too. You can contribute and play a key role in helping people connect, enjoy and be productive in the Dominican Republic.

Dolores Vicioso, founder

Write to support@dr1.com
Naval Hospital Bremerton Continues to Advocate Emergency Preparedness

Bremerton, Washington - From flash floods to forest fires, September as 'National Preparedness Month' strained the resources of many and tested the mettle of most.

According to Terry Lerma, Naval Hospital Bremerton's emergency preparedness manager, the recent onslaught of natural disasters that impacted sizable portions of the country - including neighboring lands - should be a wakeup call that disasters can impact anyone, anytime, anywhere.



"Disasters rarely go according to plan," said Lerma. "Emergency events in our state range from earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions to more common events such as flooding, windstorms, even some type of disease outbreak. We train for responding here as a military treatment facility, but I can't stress enough that everyone needs to take the time and establish what to do if some type of disaster strikes when they away from NHB."



Lerma advocates using a top ten list compiled by several emergency management agencies as a preparedness foundation any family can build upon in case any worse-case scenario happens.



"Being ready isn't rocket science. It's all based on common sense and admitting that yes, some type of disaster can happen and we can handle it by not being blindsided. Those of us who have lived in the Pacific Northwest for any amount of time know that seismologists all say that it's not a matter of if, but when, the next big earthquake takes place. When it does, will we be ready? Now is the time to make sure we are," Lerma said.



Have a communications plan. Communications is one of the first things to go during a disaster. Create a family communications plan by choosing a couple of relatives or friends, one near and one far, that can be your central communications hub during a disaster. Make sure each family member has the contact info for these people and will check in with them if they can't get a hold of their immediate family during or after a disaster.



"One thing that almost always goes wrong in any disaster is communication. Just having a plan in place helps relieve a lot of stress," said Lerma.



Plan for disasters that are most likely to occur in your area. While hurricane season is dominating the national news, it makes more sense to plan for disasters most likely to happen in the area you live, such as fires and earthquakes. Even a job-loss can be considered a disaster.



There are also plenty of links available for resources such as the Washington State Department of Health 'Home Emergency Preparedness' page: https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/BePreparedBeSafe/GetReady/HomeEmergencyPreparedness or the Ready Navy 'Family Emergency Plan': https://www.ready.navy.mil/content/dam/ReadyNavy/pdfs/PlanPDFs/PLANS_Family_031315.pdf



Stock food and water. Every family should have at least a week's worth of food and water stored for use during an emergency. This food and water will pull you through disasters ranging from job loss and snow storms which close down the roads to earthquakes that can level local grocery stores and cause random food shortages. Make sure the food is non-perishable (canned, packaged or boxed) and easy to prepare.



Get all of your documents in order. Make sure you have your legal and financial documents scanned into your computer and keep the originals stored in a secure, accessible place. After a disaster, you will need things like house insurance papers, birth certificates, banking information, and other paperwork that can be easily lost in a disaster without proper preplanning.



Have a go-bag ready to go. Sometimes last minute evacuations happen so it pays to have an overnight bag with a change of clothes, toiletries, some food, and other important items ready to grab at a moment's notice.



Be healthy. During a disaster, you want to be as healthy and fit as possible in order to respond to the crisis at hand. Start now to improve your fitness and health.



Make plans for those you care for. Babies, the elderly, pets, and the medically frail all require extra care during and after a disaster. Make sure that things such as extra diapers, pet food and medications are available and that there is a evacuate plan in place.



Find out what community resources are available. Your command, the local Red Cross or Department of Emergency Management will have information about shelters, community disaster plans, and disaster resources in your area.



Take a class and get involved. CPR, HAM radio, and Community Emergency Response Team training are all skills that come in handy during a disaster and can be easily learned in your local area.



Stash some cash. It would be ideal to have enough currency on hand to cover at least several months' worth of living expenses, but let's be realistic, that's just not feasible for everyone. But that next big seismic tremor could knock out the power grid and that means no ATMs. Having some cash on hand can help cover many small emergencies.



When asked if there are there any recommendations that deserve more attention than others, Lerma replied that he does have a top three.



"Making a plan for yourself and those you care for goes a long way to being prepared. Have a go-bag ready. At least half of the people interviewed from Hurricane Harvey and the wildfires weren't ready. By the time they decided to flee, they didn't have what they needed ready to go. Above all, get a communications plan so family members know who to call," stressed Lerma.




This Isnt Our Last Love Letter



Dear Don Don,

Way back in 92



I walked into the room and knew



Never felt this way before



I shook your hand while gazing into your eyes



And the feeling grew



As I took a seat I knew



A love that would have my heart



Forever



I knew



Way back in 92





They say love at first sight doesnt always last or isnt true



We were the exception to that rule



Our love had no where to hide



A spark set fire



As if this is how the universe started





I never doubted our love or what we could do



Together we grew



Forming a bond everlasting



That became our glue



My euphoria was YOU



Im eternally grateful for the love and life we shared



For how fortunate we were :



to have and to hold

through sickness and in health

Til death do us part



Until we are together again



This isnt our last love letter



I love you with all my heart and soul



Yours forever,



Deirdre (Mrs. Hank Snow)





Im fortunate to have fallen in love with, marry and make a life with the sharpest, coolest, funniest, most rare, bad ass, tender loving, loyal man on the planet, my husband Don Imus.









A True American Hero

I dont know why it has been so hard for me to write about my dear friend Don Imus.



I certainly know what he meant to me, my family, my charity, my hospital and the millions of fans that listened and loved him for so many years.



I keep reading all the beautiful condolences that people are writing about how much a part of their lives were effected by listening to him over the years.

But what most people dont talk enough about is what he did for all of us.

In every sense of the word, he was an American Hero. His work with children with so many different illnesses and his dedication to their future was unmatched by anyone I have ever known or heard about.



Besides raising over $100,000,000 for so many causes, he took care of young people for over 20 years in a state where he could not breathe. Along with his incredible wife Deirdre, he created a world where children were not defined by their disease. That was a miracle! He was a miracle.

I will miss him ever day for the rest of my life.

I was blessed to be a part of his and Deirdes life.

No one will ever do what he did.

I love you Don Imus - A TRUE AMERICAN HERO





David Jurist

IMUS IN THE MORNING

FIRST DAY BACK!
Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

IndyArts email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

When Ta-Nehisi Coates first book The Beautiful Struggle was published in 2008, it landed with barely a ripple. At the time, Coates was a struggling writer. He had lost three jobs, and he and his family relied on unemployment checks, his wifes income and occasional support from his father to stay afloat. By the time the book came out in paperback, his fortune had shifted slightly; hed become a regular contributor to The Atlantic magazine, writing a blog that attracted a moderate but engaged audience.

I went and did a few events. I did one in Brooklyn and I did one in San Francisco, and maybe 30 people showed up. And I thought, This is what I want. This is it, he said in a conversation over a recent lunch.

Suffice it to say that Coates second book, Between the World and Me, published in 2015, did not suffer the same lack of readership. An early proof was sent to Toni Morrison, who strongly endorsed the book, calling it required reading and likening Coates to James Baldwin. That year, Coates was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship and the National Book Award in nonfiction. His appearances filled auditoriums and the book was adopted on college syllabuses. It has sold 1.5 million copies internationally and has been translated into 19 languages, catapulting him to prominence.

At the age of 41 (he turns 42 on today), Coates has become one of the most influential black intellectuals of his generation, joining predecessors including Morrison, Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr, and Cornel West. Hes a rock star, said Nell Irvin Painter, professor emeritus of American history at Princeton University, adding that Coates is asking questions that even other historians have not been asking.

His new book, We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy, traces his ascent. In it, he collects articles he wrote for The Atlantic during Barack Obamas presidency, interspersing them with explanatory, autobiographical essays. The book goes on sale on Tuesday and already, his book-tour stop at Brooklyns Kings Theatre has sold out  a far cry from the intimate crowds of his early career.

In the beginning of September, about a month before his book was to be published, Coates gave a preliminary reading at BLVD Bistro, a soul-food restaurant in Harlem tucked into the ground floor of a brown sandstone building with preserved old-school features like brick walls and a tin ceiling. He stood at the head of the room, in front of a large wall decal of James Baldwins face lined with the words: Our crown has already been bought and paid for. All we have to do is wear it. He wore a white button-down shirt, jeans and blue and white Nike sneakers.

The event was brimming with people close to Coates: his wife, son and mother; the New York writer Jelani Cobb; Barry Jenkins, the director of Moonlight; and Painter, among others. Coates was comfortable and relaxed, joking once about the rap music that blasted in through the windows as a car drove by (Thats so appropriate, being upstaged by Kendrick.). He seemed, in that moment, perfectly settled in between the intellectualism and hip-hop that influenced him, freed from, as he describes in We Were Eight Years, those young years trapped between the schools and the streets.

When the discussion was opened up to the audience, Jenkins asked how Coates advised his son on the subject of political activism. Coates answered that his own father had been part of the Black Panther Party and had later become disillusioned with mass politics. Coates advice to his son, Samori, was to educate himself before getting involved in protests. I dont know that that was the correct answer, he said. Protest is a very, very real thing, but for me, its much more private.

That perceived detachment has drawn criticism. When Between the World and Me was published, West took issue with Morrisons comparison of Coates and Baldwin, and expressed as much in a Facebook post, writing that, unlike Coates: Baldwins painful self-examination led to collective action and a focus on social movements. In his view, Coates inattention to the Black Lives Matter movement and political activists in Between the World and Me shows a certain distance from his subject matter.

Coates counters that he hopes he writes things that clarify stuff for people that go to those marches, that clarify things that inspire people who go and think about policy. I necessarily need a little bit of distance.

The National Book Award-winning author Jesmyn Ward, who edited The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race last year, had a similar response: Writers use the weapons that they have at hand, she said, and though I know that there are many writers that do attend protests  Ive attended protests in my time  perhaps Ta-Nehisi feels that his most powerful weapon and his most appropriate weapon is his voice.

Radical: Author Ta-Nehisi Coates has been hailed as the young James Joyce of the hip-hop generation

There has been criticism, also, of the conspicuous absence of womens experiences in Coates work. In a review of Between the World and Me, Buzzfeeds Shani O Hilton wrote: Black womanhood in real life isnt  as it largely is in Between the World and Me  about beating and loving and mourning black men. She lamented that Coates book, which is specifically about the lives of black males, is one that many readers will use to define blackness.

Its a position that Coates has seriously considered, but he said that the book focused on black male life because it was the story I had. Hed been mulling for years over the death of his friend, Prince Jones, a black man, and the decision to address the book to his son necessarily skewed its perspective. Ultimately, he said, we just need more books.

Yet Coates work has resonated deeply. In a telephone conversation, Painter said that his vision of the United States was congruent with her own. I think the education that he gave himself  his upbringing and his reading as a student; his reading since that time  all of that has given him a really solid intellectual basis for what hes talking about.

Chris Jackson, Coates longtime editor and the publisher of One World, an imprint of Random House, said that Coates curiosity is matched with a kind of obsessiveness.

He would read 1,000 books about the Civil War. He would talk to every scholar, he said. Hed read novels and slave narratives. Then, at a certain point, he started to synthesise all this information into some conclusions about, What does this mean?

In 2015, just before Between the World and Me was published and became a sensation, Coates and his family moved to Paris. He experienced the frenzy surrounding his book through a filter, and the presidential election from a distance. He noted a clear difference between how his blackness was perceived in Paris; there, his Americanness was the most conspicuous part of his identity. Coates laughs off the parallel to Baldwins time in Paris, saying that the move was his wifes idea and not at all inspired by the famed intellectuals experiences.

He returned to the United States last year, ill-prepared for his newfound celebrity. He started to receive invitations to secret rich people meetings. He was offered opportunities unrelated to his work as a journalist: to direct music videos (which he turned down) and write comic books and screenplays (which he accepted). His appearances became spectacles, and he found it strange for people to clap for him when he walked into a room.

I can tell you with a fair degree of certainty that Ta-Nehisi never wanted to be famous, said Cobb, who has known Coates for more than two decades. And I think its been difficult for him, because you want to have people engage with you and engage your work, but its also put a huge target on his back.

During our conversation, Coates said: What I have to accept is that Im a part of it now. He added: Nobody thinks, Hes from West Baltimore. Nobody thinks, He dropped out of school. Nobody sees that anymore.

As to what he plans to do next, Coates mentions his continued collaboration with Marvel Comics on the Black Panther comic book series, which satisfies the kid in me and is the place where I can go to do something that sort of feels private again. He was tapped to write a screenplay called Wrong Answer, which will be directed by Ryan Coogler and is based on the standardised test cheating scandal that occurred in Atlanta public schools from 2005 to 2012.

He is also working on a novel, due by the end of the year. The project is tightly under wraps, though his editor, Jackson, described it as historical with elements of the fantastical and Coates said it deals with race.

He has plans to return to Paris as much as he can, but when asked if he would ever stay, he says: No, I cant. The war is here. The war is right here.

 New York Times
Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein appeared to misquote the rapper Jay Z and channel his anger towards the National Rifle Association in a strange response to a newspapers allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances on a number of women.

The 65-year-old was accused of sexual harassment or unwanted physical contact by a report in The New York Times, which alleged that at least eight of Mr Weinsteins accusers had reached settlements with him.

Actress Ashley Judd was among the women who was quoted by the newspaper. The report also cited a letter circulated by a female employee of the Weinstein Company, Lauren OConnor, that warned of a toxic environment for women at this company.

The Miramax and Weinstein Company co-founder has produced a number of Oscar-winning films including The Kings Speech and Shakespeare in Love.

Mr Weinsteins attorney Lisa Bloom said in a statement that many of the accusations levelled against her client were patently false, adding that he does dispute many of the allegations.

But she said the married father-of-five struggled with his temper and was deeply bothered by his some of his emotional responses.

Ms Bloom said that as a womens rights advocate she had been blunt with him that some of his conduct can be perceived as inappropriate, even intimidating.

She added: He has acknowledged mistakes he has made. He is reading books and going to therapy. He is an old dinosaur learning new ways.

In a statement to the media released through Ms Blooms office, Mr Weinstein said he had enlisted therapists and pledged to learn more about myself and conquer my demons.

Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

I came of age in the Sixties and Seventies, when all the rules about behaviour and workplaces were different, he said. That was the culture then.

He added: I cannot be more remorseful about the people I hurt and I plan to do right by all of them.

His statement also seemingly misquotes the rapper Jay-Z, attributing to him the phrase: Im not the man I thought I was and I better be that man for my children.

He also warned that he planned to channel his anger by confronting the National Rifle Association, an influential group that lobbies against restrictions on firearms.

After the initial statement in which Mr Weinstein apologised for his behaviour, his attorney Charles J Harder subsequently put out another statement saying the newspapers report was saturated with false and defamatory statements.

The statement also said the report relies on mostly hearsay accounts and a faulty report, apparently stolen from an employee personnel file, which has been debunked by nine different eyewitnesses. It did not specify which particular parts of the Times article were disputed.

New York Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha said the newspaper was confident about its reporting, adding that Weinstein was aware and able to respond to specific allegations in our story before publication.

Mr Weinstein has been a prominent Democratic donor over the years. In the wake of the allegations representatives for a number of Democrats indicated they were considering giving the total donated by Mr Weinstein to charity.

Senator Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, announced he was donating the money Mr Weinstein had donated to his re-election campaign committee. The total was $5,600 (4,268) with $2,799 (2,139) of that being put toward his 2016 bid

Below is Mr Weinsteins statement in full:

I came of age in the Sixties and Seventies, when all the rules about behaviour and workplaces were different. That was the culture then.

I have since learned its not an excuse, in the office  or out of it. To anyone. I realised some time ago that I needed to be a better person and my interactions with the people I work with have changed.

I appreciate the way Ive behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologise for it.

Though Im trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go. That is my commitment.

My journey now will be to learn about myself and conquer my demons. Over the last year Ive asked Lisa Bloom to tutor me and shes put together a team of people. Ive brought on therapists and I plan to take a leave of absence from my company and to deal with this issue head-on.

I so respect all women and regret what happened. I hope that my actions will speak louder than words and that one day we will all be able to earn their trust and sit down together with Lisa to learn more. Jay Z wrote in 4:44 Im not the man I thought I was and I better be that man for my children. The same is true for me. I want a second chance in the community but I know Ive got work to do to earn it. I have goals that are now priorities. Trust me, this isnt an overnight process. Ive been trying to do this for 10 years and this is a wake-up call. I cannot be more remorseful about the people I hurt and I plan to do right by all of them.

I am going to need a place to channel that anger so Ive decided that Im going to give the NRA my full attention. I hope Wayne LaPierre will enjoy his retirement party. Im going to do it at the same place I had my Bar Mitzvah. Im making a movie about our President, perhaps we can make it a joint retirement party. One year ago, I began organising a $5m foundation to give scholarships to women directors at USC. While this might seem coincidental, it has been in the works for a year. It will be named after my mom and I wont disappoint her.
Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Anne Wiazemsky  the actor best known for appearing in numerous French New Wave movies and marrying director Jean-Luc Godard  has died aged 70 after a battle with breast cancer.

Her brother confirmed the news to AFP, saying: Anne died this morning. She had been very sick.

Aged 18, Wiazemsky quickly became famous after making her debut appearance in Robert Bressons 1966 film Au Hasard Balthazar, about a shy farm girls relationship with a donkey. Throughout the production, Bresson became obsessed with Wiazemsky, proposing to the actor on numerous occasions.

A year later, Wiazemsky appeared in two of Goddards film  La chinoise and Week End  the pair marrying while they were still being produced. She later appeared in Goddards One Plus One, which also featured the Rolling Stones as they recorded Sympathy for the Devil.

Notable deaths in 2017 Show all 28 1 /28 Notable deaths in 2017 Notable deaths in 2017 Hugh Hefner, the creator of Playboy magazine, died 28 September 2017 aged 91 Central Press/Stringer - Getty Notable deaths in 2017 Liz Dawn as Vera Duckworth in Coronation Street, pictured with co-star Bill Tarmey who played her husband Jack. Dawn died 25 September 2017, aged 77 ITV Notable deaths in 2017 Walter Becker, one of the founders of the band Steely Dan, died September 3 aged 67 Rex Notable deaths in 2017 David Tang, one of Hong Kong's most famous businessman, died of liver cancer aged 63 on 29 August AFP/Getty Images Notable deaths in 2017 Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington died July 20 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2017 Holocaust survivor and stateswoman who fought for abortion rights, Simone Veil, died July 4 Getty Notable deaths in 2017 Michael Bond, author and creator of Paddington Bear, died June 28 PA Notable deaths in 2017 TV's Batman, Adam West, died June 12 AFP/Getty Images Notable deaths in 2017 Peter Sallis, who starred in Last of the Summer Wine and voiced Wallace and Gromit, died on June 5 Rex Notable deaths in 2017 John Noakes, The action hero of Blue Peter, died May 29 Rex Notable deaths in 2017 Former MotoGP world champion, Nicky Hayden, died age 35, on May 26. He was knocked off his bicycle by a car in Italy. Getty Notable deaths in 2017 Sir Roger Moore died on May 23 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2017 Soundgarden singer, Chris Cornell, who helped define grunge music died May 17 Kevin Winter/Getty Images Notable deaths in 2017 Moors Murderer Ian Brady died May 15 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2017 Powers Boothe, star of Deadwood and Sin City, dies, aged 68 on May 15 Todd Williamson/Invision/AP Notable deaths in 2017 Robert Miles, Trance DJ behind hit track 'Children', died from cancer aged 47 on May 12 PA Notable deaths in 2017 Happy Days child star, Erin Moran, died at the age of 56 on April 24 Getty Images Notable deaths in 2017 Ex-player and Tottenham U23 coach Ugo Ehiogu died after he suffered a cardiac arrest at the training ground, aged 44 on April 21 Getty Notable deaths in 2017 British athlete Germaine Mason, silver medalist at the Beijing Olympics, died following a motorcycle crash, aged 34 on April 21 Rex Notable deaths in 2017 Actor Tim Pigott-Smith star of TV, film and theatre died on April 7 Getty Notable deaths in 2017 Rupert Cornwell an award-winning foreign correspondent who embodied the spirit of The Independent died on April 1 Notable deaths in 2017 Morse creator Colin Dexter died on March 21 PA Notable deaths in 2017 Rock and roll legend Chuck Berry died on March 18 Getty Notable deaths in 2017 Sir Howard Hodgkin, one of Britain's greatest abstract painters of the post-war period died on March 9 Rex Notable deaths in 2017 Sir Gerald Kaufman was the oldest of the longest-serving MPs and Father of the House of Commons when he died on February 27 PA Notable deaths in 2017 Joost van der Westhuizen died at the age of 45 on February 6 Getty Notable deaths in 2017 John Hurt died aged 77 on 28 January Getty Notable deaths in 2017 Lord Snowdon, husband to Princess Margaret died on January 13 Getty

As Goddard became more involved with Frances social uprising, the pair grew apart, eventually divorcing in 1979. Following the split, Wiazemsky appeared in two films directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini (Teorema, Pigsty) and Philippe Garrel Lenfant secret.

Later, Wiazemsky became a celebrated author, publishing numerous books, including 2015s Un an apres, which focusses on her relationship with Goddard.

The book also serves as the source material for Michel Hazanaviciuss upcoming film Redoubtable, which premiered at Cannes earlier this year. Wiazemsky only agreed to the adaptation because Hazanavicius promised to make the film humorous.
Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein has been accused of sexual harassment or unwanted physical contact against several women in the film industry. A report published by The New York Times claims at least eight of Weinsteins accusers reached settlements with him.

Writing for The Cut, Rebecca Traister detailed why the allegations may have taken so long to come about. I have been having conversations about Harvey Weinsteins history of sexual harassment for more than 17 years, starts the lengthy piece.

Traister describes how she first heard about the allegations while working at the magazine Talk  financed by Weinstein  back in 1999. She details how employees of the publication often spoke about hotel rooms, nudity, suggestion, and coercion, and then of whispered payoffs, former assistants who seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth.

One of the most startling parts of Traisters report claims  when questioning Weinstein over the highly delayed Othello adaptation O  the producer called her a c**t and then called himself the f**king sheriff of this f**king lawless piece-of-shit town.

After the incident, the reporters colleague attempted to calm things down, Weinstein reportedly pushing them down a set of steps.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

These accusations apparently went unreported because of the sheer number of people on Weinsteins payroll, including journalists, consultants, and filmmakers of all positions.

Traister reasons that many reporters have since tried and failed to report the accusations against Weinstein but have not been able to due to the producers legal and professional and economic power.

The piece claims: He gave jobs to people who might otherwise work to bring him down, and gave gobs of money to other powerful people, who knows how much, but perhaps just enough to keep them from listening to ugly rumours that might circulate among young people, among less powerful people.

Whats changed, according to the piece, is sources have finally gone on record, making claims against Weinstein. Theres also been a shift in people sharing their stories, such as those who made accusations again Bill Cosby. Read the full report here.

Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up

Weinstein has since responded to the claims, his attorney saying they would be suing The New York Times for defamation.

It relies on mostly hearsay accounts and a faulty report, apparently stolen from an employee personnel file, which has been debunked by nine different eyewitnesses, reads the statement.

We sent the Times the facts and evidence, but they ignored it and rushed to publish. We are preparing the lawsuit now. All proceeds will be donated to womens organisations.

Before that statement was made by the attorney, the Miramax and Weinstein Company co-founder posted a different statement, saying: Though Im trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go. That is my commitment. Read the full statement here.
Get our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

The Life Cinematic email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Its been four decades since Harvey Weinstein, a young man from a hardscrabble New York background who carried with him a passion for movies, burst onto the creative scene.

It was 1982  Mr Weinstein and his brother, Bob, who had together established the Miramax Films production company, obtained the rights to two British films produced on behalf of Amnesty International. One of them, The Secret Policemans Other Ball, the film of a London benefit concert featuring Sting, Bob Geldof and Eric Clapton, became his companys first hit.

Since those humble beginnings, the young man, from Flushing in the New York borough of Queens, has become a become a signed-up member of Americas movie elite. Over the years, hes helped produce films including Shakespeare in Love, Gangs of New York, Pulp Fiction and The English Patient, accepted an honorary Order of the British Empire (OBE) and married British fashion designer Georgina Chapman.

Now, the 65-year-old is in the news for other reasons. This week, he has been forced to deny a barrage of historical sexual harassment allegations.

Confronted by claims that he harassed Ashely Judd and at least one other actress, along with models and female employees, the man who subsequently founded The Weinstein Company, has, with his lawyers, issued a succession of strange, shifting statements that have veered from an undertaking to become a better human being to outright denial.

The developments came after the New York Times NYT published an investigation that said the producer of some of Hollywoods most successful films had reached at least eight settlements with women.

Among the recipients were a young assistant in New York in 1990, an actress, Rose McGowan, in 1997, an assistant in London in 1998, and an Italian model in 2015, the newspaper said.

Mr Weinstein initially told the New York Times: I appreciate the way Ive behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologise for it. Though Im trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go.

 Bill O'Reilly gets the SNL treatment after allegations of sexual harassment

He said he came of age in the 60s and 70s, when all the rules about behaviour and workplaces were different. That was the culture then.

Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up

He subsequently said he was working with therapists and planning to take a leave of absence to deal with this issue head on.

Later, Lisa Bloom, a lawyer advising Mr Weinstein, said in a statement that he denies many of the accusations as patently false. She also said he was an old dinosaur learning new ways.

She went on to add: The New York Times allegations, if true, would constitute sexual harassment. However, Mr. Weinstein denies many of them and was not given a fair opportunity to present evidence and witnesses on his side.

In the latest update, in a interview with the New York Post, Mr Weinstein claimed his British wife was standing by him 100 per cent and said the New York Times had a vendetta against him.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

I have had tough conversations with my family, really tough ones but my family is standing with me, he told reporters. I have a journey and I have to prove to every person thats out there that Im worthy of them and I have to prove to my family the same thing.

He said that the next time he saw the editor of the Times, it would be across a courtroom.

The Times had a deal with us that they would tell us about the people they had on the record in the story, so we could respond appropriately, but they didnt live up to the bargain, he said.

The Times editors were so fearful they were going to be scooped by New York magazine and they would lose the story, that they went ahead and posted the story filled with reckless reporting, and without checking all they had with me and my team.

When asked about the Times report that said he had reached at least eight settlements with women, he told the Post: No company ever talks about settlements, and neither does the recipient, so I dont know how the Times came to this conclusion, but it is pure conjecture, the reporters have made assumptions.

The Associated Press said representatives for The Weinstein Company did not respond to questions about the moguls status. The companys board of directors was to meet to discuss his future. If Weinstein was to be ousted or step down, the leadership could potentially be transferred to his brother Bob, who serves as co-chairman, and David Glasser, the president and chief operating officer, it said.

McGowan, who was reportedly paid $100,000 (76,500) in a settlement from Weinstein after an alleged incident in 1997 when she was 23, said on Twitter: Anyone who does business with __ is complicit. And deep down you know you are even dirtier. Cleanse yourselves.

Weinstein claimed to the Post his wife, Georgina Chapman, a designer for the Marchesa fashion brand, is supporting him. Ms Chapman, 41, who was born in Richmond, Surrey, set up the label with Keren Craig in 2004. Ms Chapman has yet to comment and Marchesa did not immediately respond to inquiries.

She stands 100 per cent behind me. Georgina and I have talked about this at length, he said. We went out with Lisa Bloom last night when we knew the article was coming out. Georgina will be with Lisa and others kicking my ass to be a better human being and to apologise to people for my bad behavior, to say Im sorry, and to absolutely mean it.

A spokesperson for the Times said: We are confident in the accuracy of our reporting.
Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

When Death From Above started back up as a band again there was no concrete plan beyond playing music.

Hanging out on the balcony at their label office in London, it seems as though the duo were never really away. They chide each other gently in a debate over who burned their first copy of The Strokess debut record, examine a pack of British cigarettes on the table  marvelling at the ugliness of the dark green pack with its Helvetica font  and praise Eric Valentine, who produced their new album Outrage! Is Now.

I was sceptical about working him before we started because of how eclectic his catalogue is, vocalist/drummer Sebastien Grainger says. Jesses the one who made me realise that none of the bands hes produced sound like one another  hes able to make bands just sound like themselves.

That was theoretically a huge selling point, and then when we met him he was so excited about the songs that wed shown him, as well as the technical stuff that were excited about. We went on a couple of dates with producers to see if we got along, and going to his studio, sitting with him in his environment and talking about the record... it just felt right.

The end result and the sound of the record, its very much a reflection of his ideas, bassist Jesse Keeler says. Its not like other records where we could have had a co-production 

Oh yeah. Hes such an able technician, as well as being a really creative music producer, Grainger says with a glance at Keeler to check he doesnt mind the interruption. If we had an idea, we could get it on tape really quickly  there werent really any barriers between a good idea and it being on the record. And he has so much experience. Some producers take ages with microphones and cables.

Outrage! Is Now was announced just three weeks before its release (Thats fun, isnt it? Grainger grins), partly due to the band still wanting to keep their cards close to their chests.

We were not a band for five years, hadnt made a record in 10 years and our band still remained relevant, somehow. Whats the saying, scarcity determines value? he asks Keeler, who nods.

And one of the ways theyve stayed relevant is to maintain the bristling, youthful energy from their previous records, whilst bringing a new maturity to the lyrical content and influences that run through the album.

Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up

Never Swim Alone drops straight into this perfect hook that riffs off of Bowies Fame groove, while Grainger howls about a cocaine brunch, no reservation in a voice that grows more mockingly hysterical by the second, later pleading: Theres gotta be another one coming/Another generation/Ready for the revolution/Or a change of station.

On Caught Up he sings with an alluring, cool arrogance over the grinding swing of the bass, and closing track Holy Books comes at you like an angry wasp. Its the best record theyve made as DFA so far.

Not an accident, Grainger notes wryly to the comment about their new maturity. The core concept for us with being a band again was that wed have to really be a band, and not just more of what we did when we were younger.

I was very aware of the fact that if we waited even longer wed be a throwback  a nostalgia act, Keeler says. Not that we planned any of it, but I thought that in that moment, if we started to play again itd be like picking up where we left off.

Otherwise it becomes generational, Grainger agrees. When people say generations they usually think of the children of the next generation, but for me I think its the next wave of people at high school or college, because its hard to find anyone whos the same by the end of those four years, let alone 25.

Outrage! Is Nows title track sees a despairing narrator fatigued by reactionary culture  someone who feels as though theyre watching from outside while others bicker and scream over nothing.

Outrage is a fashion, Grainger says. Its something that people put on because they think it looks good. Its not unlike the lyric in Never Swim Alone  babies in biker jackets. I mean... thats literally because I saw a baby in a biker jacket, he adds, making Keeler laugh. But theres a metaphor there as well. When you see people at brunch in biker jackets you think theres something so profoundly uncool about it. I like brunch. I like biker jackets. But they shouldnt be together.

The mainstream is an outraged, radical thing, he continues. Its not a fringe, underground, counter movement. Its just the way things are. And there are a lot of really substantial reasons to be outraged but also a lot of stupid reasons to feel that way. If youre using that energy for every single thing, and every day, its exhausting. It used to be every week but its every day now that theres a new thing people assume expertise in and have an opinion on. And its like, how could you possibly have such a strong opinion on something you just learned about today?

Like Lou Reed and the Canadian students, I suggest.

Sorry, what? Keeler asks, and Grainger explains how a group of students took it upon themselves to decide that Reeds song Walk On The Wild Side was offensive to trans people, prompting a cry of exasperation from his bandmate.

When you learn about exciting ideas when youre young... its like you just learn about these political movements and you start to see it everywhere, Keeler says. It ends up defining you to some extent. Were very understanding of all these things. What gets me is people who have no business feeling that impassioned by those issues. By the time youre 35 or 36, your feelings need to be a bit broader than just being upset at the system all the time.

Its tough when youve never been exposed to it, Grainger suggests. A lot of people have never been exposed to an idea counter to the idea that they already have. Its puritanical were basically in a moral panic. Its the same as satanic panic or the red scare or witch burning.

That is where we are, and its been triggered by reasonable events but its become an unreasonable culture. Im not on Facebook so I dont see all of that  I peek in sometimes  but a friend of mine sends me screenshots of his timeline sometimes, and I cannot believe the things that people are getting upset about. Its almost a by-product of how little context there is when youre reading the written word. No one gets jokes any more either.

Richard Pryor records would all be banned, Keeler says.

While the albums timing felt as current as it was possible to be, the themes on the record were on the bands minds before Brexit or the election of Donald Trump.

I didnt write this record about Donald f***ing Trump, Grainger says. We wrote some of these songs watching the Bataclan get shot up with our friends inside. Not everything can be framed within this current mood.

Find an American president that hasnt caused war in my lifetime, Keeler says. It doesnt exist. Obama started three goddamn wars and he won the Nobel peace price!

Everyone just felt so good during those eight years  Grainger begins.

They didnt feel too good in Libya, Keeler quips.

I dont even wanna talk about what the record is about, in a sense, which is why we didnt put the lyrics in the album sleeve, Grainger shrugs, adding with a laugh: Not that it matters  I was reading lyrics online for our last record when wed printed them all out and theyre still wrong.

On this record, I think the words are clear enough in the way that theyre recorded and delivered but I didnt want to give them too much context. Because they are highly interpretable. You can read it from multiple perspectives and they still make sense.

Keeler notes that some of the meaning in certain songs has changed for him, and Grainger acknowledges that he feels the same way.

There are definitely lyrics that when I wrote them they meant one thing and when the record came out I perceived them in the opposite way, he says. I was conscious of that when I was writing them, but its weird that they worked on us. Thats really strange.

On this record, I think the words are clear enough in the way that theyre recorded and delivered but they are highly interpretable (Supplied)

On Outrage! Is Now youll find clear nods to Prince, Bowie and Leonard Cohen; homages to artists after their deaths, from a band who were  still are  hugely influenced by them.

Their position in the current music scene is somewhat undefinable. Keeler notes that theyve always existed in their own bubble. Yet this has also worked in their favour: theyve performed with everyone from Eagles of Death Metal to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and just announced tour with At The Drive In (Just for the record, they asked us more than once, Keeler grins).

The only influence in terms of on my playing that I can really point at, is that I know I was influenced by Matt Pikes guitar playing, because I listened to so much High On Fire and Sleep while getting tattooed, he says. And the chorus in Holy Books, I know thats me being influenced by Naomi Punk. Because the drum hits are within the riff even though its not a normal riff.

I love Naomi Punk, I really do. I listen to one of their three records almost every day and have done for the last three years. I dont think Ive ever liked a band as much as I like them  I could talk about them for hours, theres so much happening. They just put out a record and its crazy. I feel challenged by it, which I think is a sign of a great record. Thats how I was with the first Strokes record.

He pauses. Seb and I recognise that we exist outside of everything else. Were our own scene, not just musically, in other ways. Weve never fit in that well, but I think thats just an extension of who we are as people.

Weve felt like observers in the world for a long time. Its the same s**t, Grainger says.

It must be a strange experience to be a relevant band, still making music, and feel that way, I say.

I could give you a political example, Keeler says. Ive been anti-war forever. Thats my bass line. If someones like, What do you think of this politician? I want to know if theyre anti-war. And Ive watched so many people come to and from that position depending on whether or not it benefited them. Ive been the same for a very long time, and Ive gone through phases of disappointment. When Bush was president in America everyone was anti-war, it was cool, it felt good. Then Obama came in and it was like, Where are you guys?

I had a really good friend, this kid from San Antonio, who was a Marine, he says. He took his life a few years ago, after hed come back. It was really hard, and I was thinking about these guys who still needed us, they needed to get them to come home. Where was his head at that he still wanted to take his own life even after getting home?

It wasnt over for him. The effects are so brutal. Music certainly wasnt saying anything about it. What happened? We all hated it before. I still hate it now. So this is an example of how sometimes you can end up just being an observer.

Death From Aboves new album Outrage! Is Now is out now. The band tour the UK and Europe with At The Drive In in 2018
Sign up to Roisin OConnors free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Roisin OConnors email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Film producer Harvey Weinstein apparently misquoted a lyric by his business partner Jay Z in a statement over sexual harassment claims made against him.

The co-founder of Miramax and the Weinstein Company wrote in a statement addressing the allegations that he cannot be more remorseful about the people I hurt".

He also referenced a supposed quote from 4:44, Jay Zs response to alleged infidelities against his wife, Beyonce.

Weinstein wrote: Jay Z wrote in 4:44, Im not the man I thought I was and I better be that man for my children. The same is true for me."

Yet there is no such lyric in the song 4:44 - or anywhere on the album of the same title.

Spin suggests that Weinstein may have been paraphrasing Jay Z's confessional track, which speaks of shame over his past behaviour.

Jay Z raps:

"And if my children knew

I dont even know what I would do

If they aint look at me the same

I would probly die with all the shame"

But a Jay Z quote would be unusual even if it had not been misquoted, given the claims against Weinstein involve sexual harassment accusations that stretch back over almost three decades.

Recommended Harvey Weinstein releases strange response to harassment allegations

As well as the unusual Jay Z reference, Weinstein's statement has been criticised for apparently failing to properly address the allegations.

He has received rebukes from actresses including Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd, and from the New York Times, which originally printed the report on the allegations.

I appreciate the way I've behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologise for it, his statement said.

Enjoy unlimited access to 70 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up

But he later disputed the New York Times report which claimed he harassed women employed by him over nearly three decades. His attorney Lisa Bloom said that many of the allegations are "patently false".

The newspaper reported he had reached at least eight settlements with women.

Weinstein, a married father-of-five, said he planned to take a leave of absence from his company and had hired therapists to deal with his issue.

My journey now will be to learn about myself and conquer my demons, the 65-year-old's statement read.

Follow Independent Culture on Facebook
Austrias Hopler gives rare release to Kirchberg single vineyard wines

An Austrian winery is giving a rare vintage release to a single vineyard range this autumn.

Family-owned winery Hopler is launching 2015 Blaufrankisch and 2016 from its Kirchberg vineyard.

The limited release is the first from the vineyard in nine years and the Gruner Veltliner is its first for the varietal.

Hopler described Kirchberg as its signature vineyard and claimed it was one of the best sites in the Burgenland wine region.

It dates back to 1203 when Cistercian monks from Burgundy first planted vines.

Owner and winemaker Christof Hopler said: Both Kirchberg Blaufrankisch 2015 and Gruner Veltliner 2016 show exceptional quality as they combine the benefits of our unique location with our winemaking expertise.

Its a perfect way for us to showcase the excellence of Austrian wines.

Hoplers wines are sold in the UK through Enotria & Coe.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Film producer Harvey Weinstein has apologised after a newspaper reported a string of sexual harassment allegations against him.

The Oscar winner's attorney, Lisa Bloom, called many of the allegations against him patently false but said he was "deeply bothered by his some of his emotional responses, including his temper.

She added that he recognised that he needed "time off to focus on this issue.

Mr Weinstein released a statement regarding the allegations.

Read it here in full:

"I came of age in the 60s and 70s, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different. That was the culture then.

I have since learned its not an excuse, in the office - or out of it. To anyone. I realized some time ago that I needed to be a better person and my interactions with the people I work with have changed.

I appreciate the way Ive behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it.

Though Im trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go. That is my commitment.

My journey now will be to learn about myself and conquer my demons. Over the last year I've asked Lisa Bloom to tutor me and she's put together a team of people. I've brought on therapists and I plan to take a leave of absence from my company and to deal with this issue head on. I so respect all women and regret what happened. I hope that my actions will speak louder than words and that one day we will all be able to earn their trust and sit down together with Lisa to learn more.

Jay Z wrote in 4:44 I'm not the man I thought I was and I better be that man for my children. The same is true for me. I want a second chance in the community but I know I've got work to do to earn it. I have goals that are now priorities. Trust me, this isn't an overnight process. I've been trying to do this for 10 years and this is a wake-up call. I cannot be more remorseful about the people I hurt and I plan to do right by all of them.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

I am going to need a place to channel that anger so I've decided that I'm going to give the NRA my full attention. I hope Wayne LaPierre will enjoy his retirement party. I'm going to do it at the same place I had my Bar

Mitzvah. I'm making a movie about our President, perhaps we can make it a joint retirement party. One year ago, I began organizing a $5 million foundation to give scholarships to women directors at USC. While this might seem coincidental, it has been in the works for a year. It will be named after my mom and I won't disappoint her."
Sign up to IndyEat's free newsletter for weekly recipes, foodie features and cookbook releases Get our Now Hear This email for free Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

IndyEats email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The American Bar at The Savoy hotel in central London has been named the best in the world.

The art deco bar at the luxury hotel, which opened in 1889, topped The Worlds 50 Best Bar list for the first time, after coming second to New Yorks The Dead Rabbit in 2016.

Over 500 drinks experts from around the world voted to name the finalists for the award that is now in its ninth year.

Cocktails at The Savoy's iconic American bar - In pictures Show all 7 1 /7 Cocktails at The Savoy's iconic American bar - In pictures Cocktails at The Savoy's iconic American bar - In pictures The Abbey Road Star of Bombay Gin, Martini Rubino, lemon juice, yuzu juice, Champagne syrup, citrus dust. The Savoy Cocktails at The Savoy's iconic American bar - In pictures Policeman's Hook Haig Club Grain Whisky, Amontillado sherry, roast fortified kombu, roasted barley syrup, and Angostura bitters. The Savoy Cocktails at The Savoy's iconic American bar - In pictures Pickering Place The Elegant: Bombay Sapphire Gin, Cocchi Rosa, Campari, lemon juice, egg white, saffron syrup and Champagne



The Bold: Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Whiskey, Fernet Branca Menta, Byrrh, sugar syrup, and coffee. The Savoy Cocktails at The Savoy's iconic American bar - In pictures Bronze Guardian Grey Goose vodka, apple, pine, camomile, lemon verbena, lemon juice, and sugar syrup. The Savoy Cocktails at The Savoy's iconic American bar - In pictures Old Terrace House Jack Daniel's Single Barrel Whiskey, Creme de Cassis, Lagavulin Whisky, Byrrh, absinthe, Savoy grenadine, and Angostura bitters. The Savoy Cocktails at The Savoy's iconic American bar - In pictures Punk Rock Bacardi Superior Rum, Ancho Reyes, Grapefruit juice, sugar syrup, Peychaud's bitters and hickory. The Savoy Cocktails at The Savoy's iconic American bar - In pictures The American bar at The Savoy The Savoy

Judges described the 128-year-old bar as one of the most important cocktail destinations open today and at the forefront of the cocktail world for over a century.

Legendary bartenders including Ada Coleman - one of only two women to hold the position and inventor of the Hanky Panky cocktail - and Harry Craddock - one of the most famous bartenders of the 1920s and 1930s - have worked at the watering hole.

The bars current Coast to Coast cocktail menu features ingredients that tell the story of a journey from the head to toe of Britain.

Recommended Top bartenders reveal the easy cocktails you need to learn how to make

Commenting on the award, American Bar Manager Declan McGurk said: "As the longest surviving American Bar in London, one of the most iconic in the world, steeped in rich history, the American Bar at The Savoy is extremely proud to have received one of the highest accolades in the bar industry today".

Erik Lorincz, Head Bartender added: "This is an incredible achievement for the American Bar and a very proud moment in my seven year career as head bartender here. We are preserving the legacy and worldwide reputation the bar has established in its 128 year history, and it demonstrates that the American Bar continues to be a leader in the industry after so many years".

Speaking to The Independent last year, Lorincz said he had to pass an exam to land the job, which involved learning 250 classic cocktails.

Asked what message he wanted people to take from the bar, he said: "People can be too worried about what theyre drink looks like, or whether its 'girly'. If you are an industry expert and you have a preference, then fine, but if youre not in the field just know there is a purpose for every ingredient. Have a little bit of trust, and Ill take you on a journey. "
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Uber could record everything on your iPhones screen, even when the app is running in the background, security researchers have discovered.

The software has been found to have a special permission, which is off-limits to most app developers, that allows it to monitor everything iPhone users look at on their handsets, including passwords and private pictures.

Uber says the feature is not in use and will be removed, but the fact it theoretically could have allowed the company to spy on customers' sensitive personal data is extremely worrying.

Uber ban: What taxi app alternatives do Londoners have? Show all 6 1 /6 Uber ban: What taxi app alternatives do Londoners have? Uber ban: What taxi app alternatives do Londoners have? Ubers operating licence has been revoked in London, meaning you might not be able to use the app in the capital for much longer. Fortunately, there are lots of alternatives to the app. Uber ban: What taxi app alternatives do Londoners have? Gett Gett works in much the same way as Uber, but without the surge pricing, and is available on both iOS and Android. As well as London, you can also use it in Birmingham, Coventry, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester and Newcastle. Gett on IOS Gett on Android Uber ban: What taxi app alternatives do Londoners have? MyTaxi MyTaxi, better known as Hailo to many, has already responded to the news by offering 50 per cent off fares. You can also save 10 on your first trip with the code 'myfirstmytaxi'. It's available on both iOS and Android. MyTaxi on IOS MyTaxi on Android Uber ban: What taxi app alternatives do Londoners have? Addison Lee Addison Lee has been around for years, and made huge changes to its service in order to keep up with Uber. Unfortunately, it's widely regarded as a rather expensive alternative. It's also available on both iOS and Android, though you can make bookings on the web too. New users can save 10 with the code 'ADLEE10'. Addison Lee on IOS Addison Lee on Android Addison Lee on Desktop Uber ban: What taxi app alternatives do Londoners have? Kabbee Kabbee also offers fixed prices, and claims its minicabs are 65 per cent cheaper than traditional black cabs. It's available on both iOS and Android. Kabbee on IOS Kabbee on Android Uber ban: What taxi app alternatives do Londoners have? Taxify Taxify launched in London earlier this month, but had to suspend operations within days. It will be thrilled with the timing of TfLs announcement, but has a battle of its own in its hands if it's to start operating in the capital again. As well as paying for rides through the app, you can also use cash or a credit or debit card. Its available on both iOS and Android. Taxify on IOS Taxify on Android

It was spotted by security researcher Will Strafach, who described it as very unusual and said it was totally unprecedented that Apple granted such a permission to the taxi-hailing app company.

Fellow security researcher Luca Todesco added, What???? Uber has this? It allows them to record the screen even when app is closed and potentially steal sensitive info.

The entitlement isnt commonly granted, and Uber would have had to get direct permission from Apple in order to implement it.

It looks like no other third-party developer has been able to get Apple to grant them a private sensitive entitlement of this nature, Mr Strafach told Gizmodo.

Considering Ubers past privacy issues I am very curious how they convinced Apple to allow this.

According to Uber spokesperson Melanie Ensign, the permission was granted in order for Uber to work better with the Apple Watch.

An Uber spokesperson told the Independent: This API was only used for a short period of time on an old version of our Apple Watch app. It enabled the app to run the memory-intensive rendering of maps on the iPhone and then send the image to the Watch app.

Recommended Uber keeps working in London despite ban

"It was never used for any other purpose and has been nonfunctional in our code for quite some time. The memory limitation of Apple Watch was fixed by subsequent updates in the OS and we've issued an update to our app to remove the API completely."

Ubers future in London is in doubt, with TfL saying the company is not a fit and proper private car hire firm.

One of the reasons for the impending ban  which Uber is appealing  is the companys use of Greyball, secret software designed to identify individual users and help Uber avoid law enforcement.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Scientists have discovered how the wiring of bees' brains helps them navigate the most direct route back to their hive.

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh found that neurons which transmit information to bees' brains remember changes in direction and distance covered, allowing the insects to return home in a straight line.

Bees use their vision to navigate, but little was known about what happens to their brains - which are smaller than a grain of rice - when they set off on their return journey.

Scientists discovered neurons that detect speed and direction in the part of the insect's brain called the central complex. This region also controls the navigation system used by ants, humans and others.

The cells are used to add up all elements of the outbound journey, creating a memory that bees use to fly home by the most direct route.

Professor Barbara Webb, of the University of Edinburgh's School of Informatics, who was involved in the study, said: "The most exciting part of this research was when computer modelling of the 'spaghetti' of connections between nerve cells revealed the elegant principle by which bees keep track of their position and steer back home."

The study involved a team of scientists who studied the brains of nocturnal rain forest bees.

They monitored nerve function by attaching tiny electrodes to bees' heads as the insects were shown virtual reality simulations of what they see when flying forward or rotating.

Their results, together with microscope studies of how the nerve cells are connected, were used to develop a detailed computer model of a bee's brain. The model was then tested on a simulated bee and a robot.

Professor Webb added: "Understanding such a complex behaviour at the level of single neurons is an important step forward for the science of brain function."

Scientists hope the findings could lead to the development of new algorithms for navigation in autonomous robots that do not require GPS or expensive computer systems.

The study, published in the journal Current Biology, was a collaboration with the University of Lund, Sweden and was funded by Swedish, UK and European research councils.

Press Association
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Japans Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC) is looking to back a push by Japanese firms planning to invest in Malaysias Sharia-compliant halal market, an SMBC official said.

Japanese companies active in food, cosmetics, logistics, transportation and storage are keen to tap the Malaysian market in a drive to appeal to Muslim customers globally, Yoshimi Gunji, the head of SMBCs Malaysia operations told Reuters on Thursday.

He said the bank was facilitating such investments.

For the whole supply chain for the halal industry, theres interest...Thats one area where SMBC is really focused on, Gunji said. He declined to identify firms considering Malaysian investments, nor give details of how much finance SMBC might be involved in lining up.

Gunji said SMBC will also focus on property and project financing in Malaysia, particularly big-ticket items, such as the high-speed rail project between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Some Malaysian media reports have said the rail project could cost about 50 billion ringgit (9.1bn)

Muslim-majority Malaysia aims to be a global halal hub by 2020, when the halal industry is expected to contribute 8.7 per cent to the countrys GDP, according to government agency Halal Industry Development Corp.

The global halal market, which has already attracted global consumer and cosmetics giants like Unilever PLC and LOreal SA, is currently estimated at $2.3 trillion (1.7 trillion), covering both food and non-food sectors, according to the agency.

To be halal-certified, products must not contain traces of pork, alcohol or blood, and must be made on factory lines free of contamination risk.

Gunji said SMBC, a core banking unit of Japans third-largest lender Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, was looking to expand its halal-related business globally after kicking off in Malaysia.

First we are focused on flows between Japan and Malaysia, and then we will expand to Europe, he said.

Business news: In pictures Show all 13 1 /13 Business news: In pictures Business news: In pictures Flybe collapses Airline Flybe has collapsed. All future flights on the Exeter-based airline have been cancelled  leaving more than 2,300 staff facing an uncertain future, and wrecking the travel plans of hundreds of thousands of passengers. The chief executive, Mark Anderson, said: Europes largest independent regional airline has been unable to overcome significant funding challenges to its business. AFP via Getty Business news: In pictures Future product placement will be 'tailored to individual viewers' Marketing executives say that product placement in films and televison shows on streaming services such as Netflix may be tailored to individuals in future. For instance, if data shows that a viewer is a fan of pepsi, a billboard in the background of a shot would host an advert for pepsi, while for a viewer known to have different tastes it could be for Coca-Cola Paramount Business news: In pictures Corbyn wishes Amazon a happy birthday In a card sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos on the company's 25th birthday, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn writes: "You owe the British people millions in taxes that pay for the public services that we all rely on. Please pay your fair share" Business news: In pictures No deal, no tariffs The government has announced that it would slash almost all tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Notable exceptions include cars and meat, which will see tariffs in place to protect British farmers Getty Business news: In pictures Fingerprint payment NatWest is trialling a new bank card that will allow people to touch their hand to the card when paying rather than typing in a PIN number. The card will work by recognising the user's fingerprint NatWest/PA Wire Business news: In pictures Mahabis bust High-end slipper retailer Mahabis has gone into administration. 2 Jan 2019 Mahabis Business news: In pictures Costa Cola Coca-Cola has paid 3.9bn for Costa Coffee. A cafe chain is a new venture for the global soft drinks giant PA Business news: In pictures RIP Payday Loans A funeral procession for payday loans was held in London on September 2. The future of pay day lenders is in doubt after Wonga, Britain's biggest, went into administration on August 30 PA Business news: In pictures Musk irks investors and directors Elon Musk has concluded that Tesla will remain public. Investors and company directors were angry at Musk for tweeting unexpectedly that he was considering taking Tesla private and share prices had taken a tumble in the following weeks Getty Business news: In pictures Jaguar warning Iconic British car maker Jaguar Land Rover warned on July 5, 2018 that a "bad" Brexit deal could jeopardise planned investment of more than $100 billion, upping corporate pressure as the government heads into crucial talks AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures Spotif-IPO Spotify traded publically for the first time on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. However, the company isn't issuing shares, but rather, shares held by Spotify's private investors will be sold AFP/Getty Business news: In pictures French blue passports The deadline to award a contract to make blue British passports after Brexit has been extended by two weeks following a request by bidder De La Rue. The move comes after anger at the announcement British passports would be produced by Franco-Dutch firm Gemalto when De La Rues contract ends in July. The British firm said Gemalto was chosen only because it undercut the competition, but the UK company also admitted that it was not the cheapest choice in the tendering process. Business news: In pictures Beast from the east economic impact The Beast from the East wiped 4m off of Flybes revenues due to flight cancellations, airport closures and delays, according to the budget airlines estimates. Flybe said it cancelled 994 flights in the three months to 31 March, compared to 372 in the same period last year.

One reason for Japanese companies interest in the halal market is the summer Olympics to be held in Tokyo in 2020.

During the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, there will be many Muslim athletes and visitors in Japan who will be in need of halal-certified products and services, Gunji said.

Japanese companies may seek a Malaysian halal certified partner to sell products and services in both the countries, or Malaysian firms could expand their services to Japan, he said.

Reuters
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Zuzana Ruzickova, who has died aged 90, was a Czech survivor of the Nazi concentration camps who became one of the worlds premier harpsichordists.

Ruzickova achieved international renown as the first soloist in history to record Bachs complete keyboard works. The collection, originally made for the French label Erato from 1965 to 1974, filled 35 records and was reissued last year. A documentary, Zuzana: Music Is Life, directed by the Bethesda, Maryland-based Harriet Gordon Getzels and Peter Getzels, was released earlier this year.

Ruzickova trained initially as a pianist but became best known as a virtuoso of the harpsichord, a principal instrument for which Bach composed, and one whose sound she helped revive in modern concert halls. Her devotion to the 18th century German composer was deep and almost primal. She said she had loved his music since she was an eight year-old in pre-war Czechoslovakia and credited Bachs restrained intensity with helping her endure the horrors and memory of the Holocaust.

In the Baroque perfection of his preludes, fugues, toccatas and fantasias, she said, one could find the order that is not always visible in the melee of human life. I needed Bach, Ruzickova told BBC Music Magazine. Unlike Beethoven, who shakes his fist at the heavens, Bach could help me after everything Id been through. His music is above human suffering.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 14 November 2022 Members of the hospitality sector demonstrate outside parliament in London. The head of the Confederation of British Industry is urging the UK government to relax immigration rules to help British companies with severe staff shortages, ahead of the chancellors autumn statement EPA UK news in pictures 13 November 2022 England celebrate winning the mens T20 World Cup in Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia AAP Image/Reuters UK news in pictures 12 November 2022 The City of London Pride Group take part in the parade during the Lord Mayor's Show PA UK news in pictures 11 November 2022 City workers attend a Remembrance Day ceremony at Lloyd's of London, in the City of London, to mark Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of the First World War PA UK news in pictures 10 November 2022 A grey heron lands on the river Dodder in Dublin on a sunny autumn morning PA UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images 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 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty 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

Zuzana Ruzickova was born in 1927 in the Czech city of Pilsen. Her parents, who were Jewish, ran a general store and encouraged her love of music. She received her first piano lessons as a gift when she recovered from a childhood bout of tuberculosis.

Ruzickova was 12 when the Germans invaded and occupied Czechoslovakia. She and her parents were interned in Terezin, the concentration camp-ghetto located outside of Prague  also known as Theresienstadt  where her father perished. From there, she and her mother were deported to Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp in occupied Poland. Narrowly avoiding the gas chamber, they were selected for slave labour in Hamburg before ultimately being liberated by the British from Bergen-Belsen in Germany.

Music, Ruzickova said, was her salvation. On the cattle wagon en route to Auschwitz, she scribbled several bars from Bachs English Suite No 5 in E minor on a piece of paper. I wanted to have a piece of Bach with me as a sort of talisman because I didnt know what was awaiting us, she told the BBC. In the camps, she sang passages from operas to fellow inmates as a means of psychological escape.

After Communist rule in Czechoslovakia ended in 1989, Ruzickova at last received a professorship and was able to perform in the US (AP)

Upon her return to Czechoslovakia after the war, Ruzickova attempted to resume her musical studies, but slave labour had badly injured her hands. Her physicals wounds, combined with her emotional ones and her lost years of study, led teachers to tell her that she could no longer hope for a career in music. But she persisted and received a scholarship to the Prague music academy in 1948, the year Communists came to power in Czechoslovakia. Because she refused to join the Communist Party, the academy declined to award her the doctorate that her cousin said she had earned.

At the academy she met Viktor Kalabis, a Czech composer, whom she married in 1952. Poverty-stricken, they lived for a time with her mother in a small apartment and slept under the piano.

As Ruzickovas musical talent blossomed, the Communist government allowed her to travel for concerts but collected a large portion of the foreign currency she received in payment. She said her husband persuaded her to perform in Germany  to show that Hitler had not succeeded in extinguishing German or European culture  where she won the ARD music competition in 1956. The invitation from the record label Erato to record Bachs keyboard compositions then brought her to the attention of classical music enthusiasts around the world.

Theres a sense of rightness to Zuzana Ruzickovas Bach that transcends fads and fashions and the deadening impact of scholarly dogma, music writer Rob Cowan observed in a 2017 review for Gramophone. Some might find it just a mite too stately, its persistent propensity for shifting colours and registrations intrusive. In your face is the appropriate modern phrase, I suppose, but there isnt a musical face in existence Id rather confront than Bachs and I thank Zuzana Ruzickova for this sublime close encounter.

Ruzickova also was widely noted as an interpreter of Domenico Scarlatti, an Italian contemporary of Bachs. After the Velvet Revolution ended Communist rule in Czechoslovakia in 1989, she received a professorship long denied to her and performed for the first time in the United States. She also lectured on her experiences in the Holocaust, her cousin said.

Ruzickovas husband died in 2006, two years after she retired from the stage. She had no immediate survivors.

Bach is very soothing, she told the BBC last year. You always feel in his music that God is present somehow. And that, of course, helps.

Zuzana Ruzickova, harpsichordist, born 14 January 1927, died 27 September 2017

 The Washington Post
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Two mothers, united in heartbreak, met this week amid the domestic comfort of an ordinary suburban home.

Behind that emotional first hug between Karen Edwards and Joan Lawrence lay a story not just of despair, but also of a mystery worthy of the darkest thriller.

It began on the afternoon of March 18 2009, when Joans daughter Claudia Lawrence was last seen, returning to her home in the Heworth area of York after a shift working as a chef at York Universitys Goodricke College.

The alarm was raised early the next morning when Claudia failed to turn up for her next work shift.

As they looked into the disappearance of the missing 35-year-old, detectives soon came to the view she was not quite the shy, straightforward character some had thought.

They came to suspect that her complex private life had involved at least one affair with a married man.

As they delved further, they accused Claudias suspected ex-lovers of lying, and warned any secret boyfriends to come forward before they were arrested.

It was said that almost every male regular of one York pub was questioned as to whether they had ever had a fling with her.

Yet Claudia remained missing. Despite years of investigation, despite a case review that began in 2013, despite even the arrest and release of six men, four of them detained on suspicion of murder, no charges were bought against anyone.

Instead, in March 2016, Detective Superintendent Dai Malyn, the head of North Yorkshire Polices Major Crime Unit, the man leading the Claudia Lawrence review, issued an extraordinary public statement.

I am sure, he said, That there are some people who know, or who have very strong suspicions about, what happened. They have either refused to come forward, or have been economic with the truth.

The investigation has ultimately been compromised by the reluctance of some, and refusal of others, to co-operate with police enquiries.

A wall of silence, it seemed, had allowed Claudia Lawrences killer to escape justice.

But six months later, in September 2016, at a distance of some 200 miles from York, came a fresh development.

At Bristol Crown Court taxi driver Christopher Halliwell, 52, was sentenced to life for the sexually motivated murder of Karen Edwardss daughter Becky Godden, 20, who had last been seen alive in Swindon town centre in January 2003.

Halliwell was already serving a life sentence for the murder of Sian OCallaghan, 22, who had disappeared from Swindon in 2011.

Convicted double murderer Christopher Halliwell (PA)

Now, it was revealed that in the mid-1980s, while in jail for another offence, Halliwell had asked a fellow prisoner how many women one needed to murder before they could be classed as a serial killer.

He talked candidly in 1985 about wanting to be a serial killer, said Det Supt Sean Memory of Wiltshire Police. I believe thats a distinct possibility. There must be other victims out there.

So had Joans daughter Claudia Lawrence been another of Halliwells victims? And how many other victims were there?

Christopher Halliwell laughed when a jury found him guilty of Becky Goddens murder (PA)

It would probably be an understatement to describe convicted doubler murderer Christopher Halliwell as a sinister.

He laughed when the jury found him guilty of Becky Goddens murder. Described as self-centred and domineering by the trial judge, he had insisted on representing himself in court.

And the veteran cop who first got him to confess reviled him as an evil and depraved violator of women.

Former detective superintendent Steve Fulcher had, in the eyes of many, sacrificed his career to bring Halliwell to justice and to find the bodies of Becky Godden and Sian OCallaghan.

Halliwell was arrested soon after Sian OCallaghan disappeared (PA)

Tasked with investigating Sians disappearance, he had Halliwell arrested soon after she disappeared.

But instead of having the suspect taken to the station, Fulcher ordered that Halliwell be driven to Barbury Castle, an Iron Age hill fort, near where the detective thought Sian might have been taken.

She had been missing for only six days. There was a chance she was still alive.

Trusting a gut instinct born of 28 years experience in the force, the detective decided it was time for an old-fashioned chat rather than the formality of the station.

It worked. Halliwell cracked and led Fulcher down an isolated lane to Sians body.

Then, as he smoked a cigarette at the scene, the killer asked Fulcher: Do you want another one?

He directed the detective to the field in Gloucestershire where he had buried Becky Godden in a shallow grave in 2003.

At first, they nominated Fulcher for a Queens Police Medal.

Then they pulled him up on his failure to adhere to strict police procedure. Fulcher had neglected to caution Halliwell in the correct manner or to have him questioned in the presence of a lawyer, reasoning that the urgent need to try to save a Sians life outweighed the suspects legal rights.

But, in January 2012 the confessions he had extracted were ruled inadmissible as evidence, and in 2014 the Independent Police Complaints Commission found Fulcher guilty of gross misconduct.

Months later he resigned from Wiltshire Police, considering himself to have been rendered unemployable in the UK.

Halliwell was convicted of Sians murder in October 2012, but it took until September 2016 before he could be jailed for killing Becky.

Fulcher has never wavered in his belief that he did the right thing, and that Halliwell was indeed a serial killer.

And in both beliefs he is backed by one of his staunchest supporters: Karen Edwards, Becky Goddens mother.

It was Ms Edwardss conviction that Christopher Halliwell is a serial killer that led to this weeks meeting with Joan, the 72-year-old mother of Claudia Lawrence.

After Becky went missing in 2003, Ms Edwards, now 56, turned herself into something of an amateur sleuth.

Her relentless pursuit of the truth  fuelled partly by frustration at Halliwells confession being ruled inadmissible  led her to examine every possible detail of the killers life and possible victims.

And now Ms Edwards has revealed she has found a witness who claims to have seen Halliwell talking to Claudia shortly before she disappeared.

She told the Mirror, which photographed her meeting with Joan Lawrence: This witness said he saw Halliwell talking to Claudia through a taxi window.

Claudia was asking if he had change so she could ring her dad from a call box.

Swindon may be more than 200 miles from York, but Ms Edwards said the witness statement is strengthened by her earlier discovery that Halliwell had links with the north of England.

In September 2016, in the immediate aftermath of Halliwell being convicted of killing her daughter, Ms Edwards told the Mail on Sunday: His father lived in Huddersfield [an hours drive from York]  and the description of Claudias [alleged] murderer is identical to [Christopher Halliwell]: a left-handed smoker, 5ft 8-10in, with slightly receding hair and a skinny build.

Moreover, said Ms Edwards, Halliwell had once been a groundworker in the North: I know somebody who worked with him on the same building site. He would go and have a pint with the lads and then disappear.

And then there was an eerie coincidence concerning the dates on which Claudia Lawrence and Sian OCallaghan had gone missing.

Sian was killed by Halliwell after she left a club and got into his taxi on the night of 18 March, 2011.

Exactly two years earlier Claudia Lawrence had gone missing on the night of 18 March, 2009.

Serial killers are usually triggered by dates, said Ms Edwards. That [March 18] was the day that Halliwell broke up with one of his partners.

I believe he has been up and down the country murdering young women.

Ms Edwards has now told a flabbergasted and bewildered Joan Lawrence  who has previously spoken of believing her daughter might still be alive  that she is convinced Halliwell had up to eight victims.

He was a beast on the prowl, said Ms Edwards. I feel he is responsible for a lot of missing women and possibly men. This is not just Claudia. This is lots of others too.

Ms Edwards was backed by Mr Fulcher, who told the Mirror that Claudias disappearance could fit in with Halliwells known modus operandi of abducting women walking alone late at night or in the early morning.

There are correlations between Halliwells offending pattern and the disappearance of Claudia Lawrence, said Mr Fulcher. There is a potential witness that came forward claiming that he had spotted Claudia in physical company with Christopher Halliwell.

Christopher Halliwell has a clear history of murdering women.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 11 November 2022 City workers attend a Remembrance Day ceremony at Lloyd's of London, in the City of London, to mark Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of the First World War PA UK news in pictures 10 November 2022 A grey heron lands on the river Dodder in Dublin on a sunny autumn morning PA UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images 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 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty 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

So has the instinct of a world weary ex-cop and the tenacity of a grieving mother led them to vital clues that were overlooked by officialdom?

Or has Mr Fulcher taken his theorising too far?

In trying to make sense of her daughters death, might Ms Edwards have seen patterns in mere coincidences and trusted evidence that was perhaps not as solid as she wanted to believe?

Reading the police statements issued in response to the latest disclosures, it does seem possible to detect a hint of official exasperation, albeit directed mainly towards ex-cop Mr Fulcher.

It is important to stress, read the official Wiltshire Police statement, That we would not encourage unhelpful speculation, as this may cause distress to families involved who are desperate to have news of their loved ones.

From North Yorkshire, came the personal statement of Dai Malyn, the detective superintendent who led the Claudia Lawrence review:

I fully understand why Claudia Lawrences mum Joan has had her expectations and anxieties raised by recent media interviews given by Steve Fulcher.

During a recent personal visit along with a family liaison officer, I reassured Mrs Lawrence that we assess the links to be speculative at best, and that there remains no known link between Halliwell and Claudia.

North Yorkshire and Wiltshire were in touch in 2009, and also during the recent review. Detectives from our incident room have reviewed all the information provided by Wiltshire Police and worked in their incident room.

Our findings and the information we have gathered [leads] us to be satisfied as far as possible that Halliwell is not a suspect in her daughters disappearance.

Of course, we will continue to review any information provided about the Claudia Lawrence case.

It would be hard to dismiss such statements as simply official complacency, and harder still to suggest the police never really bothered trying.

By March 2016 up to 20 detectives and police staff had been working full-time on the Claudia Lawrence review for two and a half years.

By that time the review and original investigation had taken statements from 1,215 people. More than 6,500 names had been entered into a database and forensic examinations had been conducted on 64 sites.

But it is also true that in his March 2016 statement, Mr Malyn had not been completely categoric.

Though he accused local people of keeping silent and said he strongly believed the person  or persons  responsible for Claudia Lawrences disappearance had been well-known to her, Mr Malyn also admitted: We cant rule out that a complete stranger to Claudia was involved and is unknown to the investigation team, her friends and family.

Other statements and incidents might also be open to interpretation  perhaps none more so than the discovery made in 2014.

In May of that year a pair of brown New Look boots were found floating in a pond two miles from the Wiltshire village of Ramsbury, 12 miles from Swindon.

They belonged to Halliwells victim Sian OCallaghan.

Police called in divers and cadaver dogs. They drained and sieved thousands of litres of water from the 8-foot-deep pond, and searched the thick woodland nearby.

Buried two inches deep in the wood, they found more than 60 items of womens clothing.

Sean Memory, by then leading the investigation into the death of Becky Godden, was asked to comment on the discovery of so many womens clothes buried 100 yards from the pond where the boots of one of Halliwells victims had been found.

It may genuinely have no significance at all, he insisted. There may be a really innocent explanation and someone may have fly-tipped it.

But, the detective admitted, It does seem a very strange location to be burying clothes, given what else we have found here. Someone has made some effort to hide it.

Was this, some wondered, Halliwells secret trophy pile, or a hidden dumping ground for the clothes of his many victims?

The discovery led Mr Fulcher to suggest publicly: Halliwell might have been far more prolific than even I had feared.

Ms Edwards, convinced Halliwell might be connected to Claudia Lawrences disappearance, has now said: It wouldnt surprise me if he had another trophy store buried in the North somewhere.

So far, though, the only person who could say for certain whether there is any truth in such a suggestion is in a prison cell.

Christopher Halliwell was given a whole-life sentence for Becky Goddens murder. He is likely to die in jail.

And for now, the man who asked about how to become a serial killer in 1985 appears to be done with having informal chats with detectives.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A teacher has been jailed after having a full-blown sexual relationship with a 15-year-old male pupil.

Alice McBrearty pleaded guilty to seven counts of sexual activity with a child while in a position of trust and has been jailed for 16 months.

The 23-year-old taught at an east London school and kissed the boy, who cannot be identified, in a classroom, took him to an Ibis hotel for sex and engaged in sexual activity with him in her car.

Snaresbrook Crown Court also heard that McBreaty took the teenager to her parents' home in Wanstead Park, east London, where she performed sex acts on him.

McBrearty was described by Judge Sheelagh Canavan as a "bright, intelligent and gifted young woman, who knew right from wrong," but said she had committed the "grossest breach of trust".

"You engaged in a full-blown sexual relationship with a 15-year-old child.

"I accept he was consenting - what 15-year-old schoolboy would turn down such an attractive offer?" she said.

"I accept you truly believed this was a great romance, you were in love with him and vice versa, and that age didn't matter. But it did," the judge continued.

"You were supposed to keep him safe, to help him make the right decisions.

"Instead, you helped him make all the wrong ones."

The court heard the relationship began when McBrearty sent the boy a friend request on social media, which led to them going out for meals and going for strolls together.

The relationship came to an end when the victim's father contacted the police.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Emma Shafton, who was defending McBrearty, said her client was not sexually attracted to children.

"This is a young lady who has had a spectacular fall from grace - university educated, comes from a respectable family - she has been utterly disgraced by this."

"She will of course be branded a paedophile for the rest of her life. She is a sex offender, she added.

"She has not been able to get a decent job that matches her qualifications. She has of course resigned from the teaching profession. She has been working on a zero-hours contract delivering parcels to Amazon."

Agencies contributed to this report
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The Government is being urged to change legislation amid rising concern over anti-abortion vigils confronting women outside abortion clinics across the UK.

Women entering clinics to access abortion services or pregnancy and family planning advice are being confronted with large images of foetuses and pro-life campaigners urging them to change their minds, often wielding large images of foetuses.

Some women have been reduced to tears by the demonstrators, while others have decided not to enter the clinic after being confronted by a barrage of abuse, or missed their appointments because they were too frightened to walk past protestors, pro-choice campaigners said.

A Labour MP is now planning to table an amendment to new domestic violence legislation to establish buffer zones, which would see 150-metre zones around abortion clinics and pregnancy advisory bureaus where pro-life protests and harassment of women entering them is banned.

Rupa Huq told Labour conference delegates at a fringe event last month examining safety for women and girls that there were longstanding issues with protesters weaponising rosary beads outside a clinic in her west London constituency.

Abortion providers and pro-choice campaign groups are also pushing for action at a local level, with one local council considering introducing a Public Space Protection Order in the space outside a clinic after pressure from campaigners and residents  which has never been done before in the UK.

The Marie Stopes clinic, located in the London borough of Ealing, has been targeted by anti-abortion demonstrators for years, but in an unprecedented move, campaign group Sister Supporter is preparing to present the case to local councillors next week.

Ms Huq, who is MP for Ealing and is backing the movement, told The Independent the area outside abortion clinics must be safe spaces and urged that enough is enough.

"For years and years the passage of women to the Marie Stopes clinic in Mattock Lane, Ealing within my constituency has been blocked by protestors brandishing rosary beads and lining the pavement with foetus dolls and gruesome ghoulish images to deter vulnerable women go in and clinic staff trying to enter their workplace leaving me and other local residents silently fuming," she said.

"In the past year a counter-protest group Sister Supporter have emerged on the scene and the police complain that they are powerless to do anything about the standoffs between the two with service users caught up in the crossfire.

"Things cannot go on as they are. This is basically an anti-harassment issue to keep the pavement as a safe space. People just swerve the area. Enough is enough now."

A body of evidence gathered by Sister Supporter reveals accounts from residents of pro-life demonstrators "terrorising" women on the street, and shows leaflets distributed by the groups urging women that they will "regret" their decision.

Anna Veglio-White, spokesperson for the group, which is leading the push for a protection order, said she had seen women being discouraged from entering the clinic. They call the women murderers, they physically trying to stop them from going into the clinic, giving them leaflets that say theyre going to become a drug addict and have an eating disorder, she said.

Weve seen them tell girls its not the clinic, so women miss their appointments. On a number of occasions weve also seen girls get so upset that theyve burst into tears and run into the nearby park. On one occasions the woman just didnt go in. She got too upset and didnt want to walk past them. Her partner asked them to move out of the way so she could walk in but they wouldnt.

Sister Supporter will present the evidence and the case for a public space protection order to be implemented at a meeting with Ealing councillors next week. Ms Verglio-White said she was confident that the council would take action. Ealing Council just put the same order in down the road from the clinic in a very small park, where a lot of people go and drink and take drugs. So theyve already gone through the process of implementing one and know how to do it, she said.

Its been two years of showing up and counter-demonstrating. We now have a more driving force to work towards this. People have complained to the police and the council, but theres never been a really targeted campaign until now. I feel cautiously confident that if the council can take any action they will.

Anti-abortion demonstrators outside the Marie Stopes clinic in Ealing (Sister Supporter)

One leaflet handed out by pro-life groups outside the clinic, included in Sister Supporter's evidence, read: We know you are probably upset and confused. Even if you have already had medication, it is not too late to save your BABY. Please dont do anything now that will HURT YOUR CHILD because you will later regret it. Another listed possible complications stemming from abortion being breast cancer and damage to maternal instinct and to bonding process with any other children you have, which are unproven side effects.

Ealing residents have also expressed outrage at the pro-life protesters, with one saying: The presence of the pro-life protesters is incredibly intimidating, especially as a young woman in the area. The photos they lay on the ground of a foetus during various stages of development is quite frankly a disgrace. They stand there all day and terrorise vulnerable women.

The Independent reached out to several pro-life groups who have been seen outside abortion clinics. One, Abort67, said they used large images to show the horrific reality of abortion, saying it worked to make some women change their minds. We use large banners showing images of both the living pre-born child and the horrific reality of abortion, to inform women of what the abortion industry is hiding, a spokesperson for the group said.

Abortion is covered with euphemisms such as 'choice' and 'women's rights' and the plight of the pre-born child is totally ignored. Seeing the reality of abortion changes everything. Some women change their minds when they see these images.

Another group, the Good Counsel Network, whose members stand outside the clinic six days a week, meanwhile urged that they did not harass women, but rather offered them practical help and support with keeping their baby.

Clare McCullough, a spokesperson for the organisation, told The Independent: Im amazed at the lengths people will go to stop pregnant women from looking at the alternatives. We try to make sure women are not being pressured into abortion. Weve had hundreds of women accept help outside Marie Stopes.

Harassment is a crime. If we were harassing anyone we would be arrested. In fact, what were trying to do is help women to have an alternative, if theyre willing to accept it.

When asked about the large images of babies, Ms McCullough said the group didnt hold them up, but placed only A4 images on the ground to showing the different stages of a foetus in the womb.

She said the network, funded by mainly Christian groups, had two houses were girls can stay and could sometimes support them with rent in their own accommodation, as well as providing counselling and baby goods when the child is born.

Marie Stopes and the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), two major abortion providers and family planning services in the UK, are both behind the local action to bring in a Public Space Protection Order and the national push to implement buffer zones around clinics.

Rachael Clarke, public affairs and advocacy manager at BPAS, told The Independent: This has been happening for years, but women are often afraid to go to court and stand up and say what happened.

Weve spent a long time trying to work out a solution. Weve spoken to the police, but they say theres nothing they can do. Theyre concerned that if they arrest people the CPS will say you cant because theyre exercising their right to free protest and of religion. Realistically, its not a decision we should expect the police to have to make.

Weve come to the conclusion that we need new legislation to bring in buffer, making it explicit and putting a circle around them. The policy already takes place in British Columbia, Canada and in Victoria in Australia.

It isnt about whether you support abortion or not, its about the harassment of people who are accessing freely available health services that the law says they can provide and that clinical commissioning groups commission.

Health news in pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Health news in pictures Health news in pictures Coronavirus outbreak The coronavirus Covid-19 has hit the UK leading to the deaths of two people so far and prompting warnings from the Department of Health AFP via Getty Health news in pictures Thousands of emergency patients told to take taxi to hospital Thousands of 999 patients in England are being told to get a taxi to hospital, figures have showed. The number of patients outside London who were refused an ambulance rose by 83 per cent in the past year as demand for services grows Getty Health news in pictures Vape related deaths spike A vaping-related lung disease has claimed the lives of 11 people in the US in recent weeks. The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention has more than 100 officials investigating the cause of the mystery illness, and has warned citizens against smoking e-cigarette products until more is known, particularly if modified or bought off the street Getty Health news in pictures Baldness cure looks to be a step closer Researchers in the US claim to have overcome one of the major hurdles to cultivating human follicles from stem cells. The new system allows cells to grow in a structured tuft and emerge from the skin Sanford Burnham Preybs Health news in pictures Two hours a week spent in nature can improve health A study in the journal Scientific Reports suggests that a dose of nature of just two hours a week is associated with better health and psychological wellbeing Shutterstock Health news in pictures Air pollution linked to fertility issues in women Exposure to air from traffic-clogged streets could leave women with fewer years to have children, a study has found. Italian researchers found women living in the most polluted areas were three times more likely to show signs they were running low on eggs than those who lived in cleaner surroundings, potentially triggering an earlier menopause Getty/iStock Health news in pictures Junk food ads could be banned before watershed Junk food adverts on TV and online could be banned before 9pm as part of Government plans to fight the "epidemic" of childhood obesity. Plans for the new watershed have been put out for public consultation in a bid to combat the growing crisis, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said PA Health news in pictures Breeding with neanderthals helped humans fight diseases On migrating from Africa around 70,000 years ago, humans bumped into the neanderthals of Eurasia. While humans were weak to the diseases of the new lands, breeding with the resident neanderthals made for a better equipped immune system PA Health news in pictures Cancer breath test to be trialled in Britain The breath biopsy device is designed to detect cancer hallmarks in molecules exhaled by patients Getty Health news in pictures Average 10 year old has consumed the recommended amount of sugar for an adult By their 10th birthdy, children have on average already eaten more sugar than the recommended amount for an 18 year old. The average 10 year old consumes the equivalent to 13 sugar cubes a day, 8 more than is recommended PA Health news in pictures Child health experts advise switching off screens an hour before bed While there is not enough evidence of harm to recommend UK-wide limits on screen use, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health have advised that children should avoid screens for an hour before bed time to avoid disrupting their sleep Getty Health news in pictures Daily aspirin is unnecessary for older people in good health, study finds A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that many elderly people are taking daily aspirin to little or no avail Getty Health news in pictures Vaping could lead to cancer, US study finds A study by the University of Minnesota's Masonic Cancer Centre has found that the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, acrolein, and methylglyoxal are present in the saliva of E-cigarette users Reuters Health news in pictures More children are obese and diabetic There has been a 41% increase in children with type 2 diabetes since 2014, the National Paediatric Diabetes Audit has found. Obesity is a leading cause Reuters Health news in pictures Most child antidepressants are ineffective and can lead to suicidal thoughts The majority of antidepressants are ineffective and may be unsafe, for children and teenager with major depression, experts have warned. In what is the most comprehensive comparison of 14 commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs to date, researchers found that only one brand was more effective at relieving symptoms of depression than a placebo. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide Getty Health news in pictures Gay, lesbian and bisexual adults at higher risk of heart disease, study claims Researchers at the Baptist Health South Florida Clinic in Miami focused on seven areas of controllable heart health and found these minority groups were particularly likely to be smokers and to have poorly controlled blood sugar iStock Health news in pictures Breakfast cereals targeted at children contain 'steadily high' sugar levels since 1992 despite producer claims A major pressure group has issued a fresh warning about perilously high amounts of sugar in breakfast cereals, specifically those designed for children, and has said that levels have barely been cut at all in the last two and a half decades Getty Health news in pictures Potholes are making us fat, NHS watchdog warns New guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the body which determines what treatment the NHS should fund, said lax road repairs and car-dominated streets were contributing to the obesity epidemic by preventing members of the public from keeping active PA Health news in pictures New menopause drugs offer women relief from 'debilitating' hot flushes A new class of treatments for women going through the menopause is able to reduce numbers of debilitating hot flushes by as much as three quarters in a matter of days, a trial has found. The drug used in the trial belongs to a group known as NKB antagonists (blockers), which were developed as a treatment for schizophrenia but have been sitting on a shelf unused, according to Professor Waljit Dhillo, a professor of endocrinology and metabolism REX Health news in pictures Doctors should prescribe more antidepressants for people with mental health problems, study finds Research from Oxford University found that more than one million extra people suffering from mental health problems would benefit from being prescribed drugs and criticised ideological reasons doctors use to avoid doing so. Getty Health news in pictures Student dies of flu after NHS advice to stay at home and avoid A&E The family of a teenager who died from flu has urged people not to delay going to A&E if they are worried about their symptoms. Melissa Whiteley, an 18-year-old engineering student from Hanford in Stoke-on-Trent, fell ill at Christmas and died in hospital a month later. Just Giving Health news in pictures Government to review thousands of harmful vaginal mesh implants The Government has pledged to review tens of thousands of cases where women have been given harmful vaginal mesh implants. Getty Health news in pictures Jeremy Hunt announces 'zero suicides ambition' for the NHS The NHS will be asked to go further to prevent the deaths of patients in its care as part of a zero suicide ambition being launched today Getty Health news in pictures Human trials start with cancer treatment that primes immune system to kill off tumours Human trials have begun with a new cancer therapy that can prime the immune system to eradicate tumours. The treatment, that works similarly to a vaccine, is a combination of two existing drugs, of which tiny amounts are injected into the solid bulk of a tumour. Nephron Health news in pictures Babies' health suffers from being born near fracking sites, finds major study Mothers living within a kilometre of a fracking site were 25 per cent more likely to have a child born at low birth weight, which increase their chances of asthma, ADHD and other issues Getty Health news in pictures NHS reviewing thousands of cervical cancer smear tests after women wrongly given all-clear Thousands of cervical cancer screening results are under review after failings at a laboratory meant some women were incorrectly given the all-clear. A number of women have already been told to contact their doctors following the identification of procedural issues in the service provided by Pathology First Laboratory. Rex Health news in pictures Potential key to halting breast cancer's spread discovered by scientists Most breast cancer patients do not die from their initial tumour, but from secondary malignant growths (metastases), where cancer cells are able to enter the blood and survive to invade new sites. Asparagine, a molecule named after asparagus where it was first identified in high quantities, has now been shown to be an essential ingredient for tumour cells to gain these migratory properties. Getty Health news in pictures NHS nursing vacancies at record high with more than 34,000 roles advertised A record number of nursing and midwifery positions are currently being advertised by the NHS, with more than 34,000 positions currently vacant, according to the latest data. Demand for nurses was 19 per cent higher between July and September 2017 than the same period two years ago. REX Health news in pictures Cannabis extract could provide new class of treatment for psychosis CBD has a broadly opposite effect to delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active component in cannabis and the substance that causes paranoia and anxiety. Getty Health news in pictures Over 75,000 sign petition calling for Richard Branson's Virgin Care to hand settlement money back to NHS Mr Bransons company sued the NHS last year after it lost out on an 82m contract to provide childrens health services across Surrey, citing concerns over serious flaws in the way the contract was awarded PA Health news in pictures More than 700 fewer nurses training in England in first year after NHS bursary scrapped The numbers of people accepted to study nursing in England fell 3 per cent in 2017, while the numbers accepted in Wales and Scotland, where the bursaries were kept, increased 8.4 per cent and 8 per cent respectively Getty Health news in pictures Landmark study links Tory austerity to 120,000 deaths The paper found that there were 45,000 more deaths in the first four years of Tory-led efficiencies than would have been expected if funding had stayed at pre-election levels. On this trajectory that could rise to nearly 200,000 excess deaths by the end of 2020, even with the extra funding that has been earmarked for public sector services this year. Reuters Health news in pictures Long commutes carry health risks Hours of commuting may be mind-numbingly dull, but new research shows that it might also be having an adverse effect on both your health and performance at work. Longer commutes also appear to have a significant impact on mental wellbeing, with those commuting longer 33 per cent more likely to suffer from depression Shutterstock Health news in pictures You cannot be fit and fat It is not possible to be overweight and healthy, a major new study has concluded. The study of 3.5 million Britons found that even metabolically healthy obese people are still at a higher risk of heart disease or a stroke than those with a normal weight range Getty Health news in pictures Sleep deprivation When you feel particularly exhausted, it can definitely feel like you are also lacking in brain capacity. Now, a new study has suggested this could be because chronic sleep deprivation can actually cause the brain to eat itself Shutterstock Health news in pictures Exercise classes offering 45 minute naps launch David Lloyd Gyms have launched a new health and fitness class which is essentially a bunch of people taking a nap for 45 minutes. The fitness group was spurred to launch the napercise class after research revealed 86 per cent of parents said they were fatigued. The class is therefore predominantly aimed at parents but you actually do not have to have children to take part Getty Health news in pictures 'Fundamental right to health' to be axed after Brexit, lawyers warn Tobacco and alcohol companies could win more easily in court cases such as the recent battle over plain cigarette packaging if the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights is abandoned, a barrister and public health professor have said Getty Health news in pictures 'Thousands dying' due to fear over non-existent statin side-effects A major new study into the side effects of the cholesterol-lowering medicine suggests common symptoms such as muscle pain and weakness are not caused by the drugs themselves Getty Health news in pictures Babies born to fathers aged under 25 have higher risk of autism New research has found that babies born to fathers under the age of 25 or over 51 are at higher risk of developing autism and other social disorders. The study, conducted by the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at Mount Sinai, found that these children are actually more advanced than their peers as infants, but then fall behind by the time they hit their teenage years Getty Health news in pictures Cycling to work could halve risk of cancer and heart disease Commuters who swap their car or bus pass for a bike could cut their risk of developing heart disease and cancer by almost half, new research suggests  but campaigners have warned there is still an urgent need to improve road conditions for cyclists. Cycling to work is linked to a lower risk of developing cancer by 45 per cent and cardiovascular disease by 46 per cent, according to a study of a quarter of a million people. Walking to work also brought health benefits, the University of Glasgow researchers found, but not to the same degree as cycling. Getty

Marie Stopes UKs chief nurse Sally Bassett meanwhile said: We know there is an increase in protests outside our clinics at certain times of the year, but overall numbers have stayed largely the same. Sadly, small groups of protestors are a common feature outside abortion clinics and have been for some time.

Many carry out peaceful protests and keep their distance from the women accessing services, but even they can make what is already a difficult day much more traumatic. Others are more persistent and even aggressive in their behaviour.

Our priority will always be the safety and wellbeing of the women who depend on our services and while we respect and support the right to free speech, we are adamant that protests should never be at the expense of a woman's right to legal health services.
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

An army sergeant who was having an affair attempted to murder his wife by sabotaging her parachute before a skydive he organised as a treat, a jury has been told.

Emile Cilliers, 37, is accused of removing two vital components from the parachute rig, leaving Victoria Cilliers to plunge 4,000ft to the ground during her jump.

Ms Cilliers survived the fall but sustained multiple injuries at Netheravon Airfield in Wiltshire on 5 April 2015.

Mr Cilliers denies attempting to murder her.

Winchester Crown Court heard how Ms Cilliers sent a WhatsApp message to her husband jokingly asking whether he was trying to kill her several days before the skydive, after she found the gas valve in their kitchen was turned on and leaking.

Less than two weeks later, Mrs Cilliers jumped out of a plane on the skydive organised by her husband, only to find that first her main parachute and then her backup chute failed to deploy.

One of the UKs top parachutists, and a veteran of more than 2,600 jumps, she used her skydiving skills to slow her descent to around 30mph and avoid a tarmacked road to land in a field.

She was airlifted to hospital and treated for a broken pelvis, ribs and vertebrae.

Mark Bayada, chief instructor of the Army Parachute Association at Netheravon, told jurors two components known as slinks were missing from Mrs Cillier's parachute and reserve chute.

He said it was almost impossible for the components to come off by accident and said it was highly unlikely the parachutes tangled lines were the result of an error by Mrs Cilliers.

Mr Bayada said an innocent explanation for the missing slinks was that medics had cut them away.

Prosecutor Michael Bowes QC told the court Mr Cilliers was having an affair with both a woman he met on Tinder and his ex-wife.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 11 November 2022 City workers attend a Remembrance Day ceremony at Lloyd's of London, in the City of London, to mark Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of the First World War PA UK news in pictures 10 November 2022 A grey heron lands on the river Dodder in Dublin on a sunny autumn morning PA UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images 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 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty 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

Mr Bowes told the court Mr Cilliers had sent lover Stefanie Goller messages saying he was going to leave his wife and in one message wrote: I will sacrifice and give up so much for you.

The prosecution also claimed the defendant was 22,000 in debt and believed he would be set to receive a 120,000 insurance payout on his wifes death.

Mr Cilliers denies two counts of attempted murder and is accused of a third charge of damaging a gas valve at the couples home.
Brook trout and brown trout are fall spawners and are becoming brilliantly colored in anticipation of that. They are also on the move looking for spawning habitat and fattening up for the energy draining mating ritual that generally starts in October. Tiger trout, a cross between brook and brown trout, are sterile, but due to their parentage are even more aggressive than normal this time of year.

When fishing for browns, brookies or tigers in streams, large terrestrial patterns such as beetles, hoppers, wasps and ant patterns are just like candy to these fish. While the cold nights do start to kill these types of food, the fish are used to seeing them and will readily take them.

The best time to fish for brown trout is late afternoon into early evening and at first light as they come into the shallow water looking for food and spawning habitat. This is stealthy fishing and especially on our small streams; extra care should be taken with noise, ground vibrations and shadows on the water.

The Ruby Mountain Fly Fishers will have their monthly meeting this Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 6:30 pm, at the Nevada Department of Wildlife office in Elko. The public is invited to attend. After a short business meeting Chris Wharton, fishing guide on Pyramid Lake, will be giving a presentation on Pyramid Lake. For more information about the club visit www.rmffs.org or call 775-934-4565.

WILDHORSE

Surface water temperatures are in the low 50s and fishing has been good from shore near the state park boat ramp. Anglers report good fishing for trout in the Hendricks Arm on both sides of the highway. Fish were averaging 14 to 16 inches with one fish just over 20 inches.

SOUTH FORK RESERVOIR

Congratulations to Stacey Redick who caught a very nice 12 lb. channel catfish on Monday. Surface water temperatures have dropped into the low to mid 50s, depending upon where on the lake you are and time of day. The south end of the lake has a lot of floating debris from the recent rain as well as the die off of weeds. Fishing has been slow to fair here, but as the water temperatures start to decline with the longer, cooler nights, expect trout fishing to pick up. The trout being caught are averaging between 13 and 17 inches with an occasional 20 inch fish. With the colder weather fly rodders should start changing tactics. As the weed beds start to die off, fish leech and scud patterns off the edges of the weed beds.

JIGGS/ZUNINO RESERVOIR

Fishing from shore has improved and anglers are catching 12 to 14 inch fish with a few 19 to 20 inch fish thrown in for good measure. Worms fished below a bobber or PowerBait suspended off of the bottom should produce fish, though PowerBait was doing better than worms earlier in the week.

WILSON RESERVOIR

Fishing has been good for trout and has dropped off for bass. Water is clear and trout should be moving into shallower water near the boat ramp or along the north shore near the cabin. The usual PowerBait or worms work well. Gold, green and yellow, or black and yellow spinners are still working. Fly fishermen should be using chironomids, mayfly nymphs and emergers, or black crystal buggers for best results. Expect bass numbers to go down with the cooler temperatures.

RUBY LAKE NWR

Bass fishing has slowed considerably due to the cooler temperatures with surface water temperatures here in the 40s this week. Best fishing for bass is late afternoon when the water temperatures are at their warmest. While the fishing has slowed, this is a good time of year for larger bass. Dark plastic four to six inch grubs with sparkles in them seem to be the presentation of choice. Colors include blue, dark red, dark green, purple and motor oil. Fishing in the ditch for trout is fair to good for trout depending upon the day, weather and angler.

JAKES CREEK/BOIES RESERVOIR

The weeds are quickly dying off, but shore fishing is still a bit tricky. Trout fishing is picking up while bass fishing is slowing down due to cooler water temperatures.

COLD CREEK RESERVOIR

Water temperaturess are sitting in the low 50s. The water level at the reservoir has dropped slowly over the summer months and is sitting at approximately 80 percent of capacity.

CAVE LAKE

Fishing at Cave Lake has been productive with the recent drop in temperatures. Anglers are catching summer carryover trout and fall stocked trout. Most fish being caught are 10 inches to 12 inches with the occasional 14+ inch rainbow. Water temperatures are in the low 50s.

COMINS LAKE

Rainbow trout and some bass are being caught with several anglers picking up brown trout recently. Anglers have been catching trout on a little bit of everything including, Powerbait, nightcrawlers, Panther Martins, Mepps, and Cast Masters.

ILLIPAH

The water levels have rebounded nicely after spring/ summer draw down. Water temps are currently setting at 52oF. Anglers have been catching mostly rainbow trout but several brown trout have shown up in creel surveys.

WILLOW CREEK RESERVOIR

Last weekend found three anglers wetting a line here on the way to antelope hunting. In about 45 minutes Tony Hawk from Battle Mountain and three buddies caught 16 keeper crappie and threw back twice as many small ones. Guess crappie fishing is still good! The road is rough so care should be taken driving here. Crappie like structure so fish near submerged brush, willows and rocks.

ANGEL LAKE

Fishing is good with the trout trying to fatten up for the long winter under the ice. The fall has some of the best fishing at Angel Lake, especially for fly fishermen, though there is some ice on the water in the morning. Dress in layers here as the lake is at 8400 feet of elevation with cold mornings and warm sunny afternoons. Bait anglers have seen fishing slow as trout are keying on aquatic insects.

ALPINE LAKES

Anglers can expect snow and ice at the higher elevations, though with the slight warming trend this week, south facing slopes have had some burnoff. Expect skim ice in the mornings on some of the lakes, especially those with northern exposures. It wont be long before they are iced over.

STREAMS

Most area streams are near normal for flows for this time of year. This is a good time of year to target brook and brown trout as they are very active as many are in spawning mode and very colorful. Dead drifting worms on a light wire hook through the pools and runs can be productive. Very small panther martins and rooster tails in the pools will also work.
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The Royal Navy could be stripped of its ability to attack enemy-held beaches under cost-cutting plans, it has been reported.

The Senior Service could see its two amphibious assault ships, HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, taken out of service in a new round of cuts to the Armed Forces, the BBC's Newsnight claimed.

It said such a move, which the Ministry of Defence described as "pure speculation", would save money and free up crew for the two new aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

It comes days after Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon used a speech at the Conservative Party Conference to call for an increase in defence funding as his ministry announced a 1 billion support package for the Royal Navy fleet.

Newsnight reported that the plan, coupled with the loss of 1,000 Royal Marines, had alarmed senior commando officers.

If confirmed, the loss of Albion, a former flagship of the Royal Navy, and Bulwark would leave the Navy without a dedicated amphibious assault ship.

Beach landings in countries and areas where the enemy controls the harbours have been used in many modern conflicts, including D-Day during the Second World War and the Falklands War.

In a speech to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester on Tuesday, Sir Michael said the Armed Forces must "modernise" the way it worked "as we grow our defence budget".

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 14 November 2022 Members of the hospitality sector demonstrate outside parliament in London. The head of the Confederation of British Industry is urging the UK government to relax immigration rules to help British companies with severe staff shortages, ahead of the chancellors autumn statement EPA UK news in pictures 13 November 2022 England celebrate winning the mens T20 World Cup in Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia AAP Image/Reuters UK news in pictures 12 November 2022 The City of London Pride Group take part in the parade during the Lord Mayor's Show PA UK news in pictures 11 November 2022 City workers attend a Remembrance Day ceremony at Lloyd's of London, in the City of London, to mark Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of the First World War PA UK news in pictures 10 November 2022 A grey heron lands on the river Dodder in Dublin on a sunny autumn morning PA UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images 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 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty 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

He said that as threats "intensify", his department was "now looking right across government to make sure we are doing enough, spending enough, to properly protect our country against all of those threats - cyber, hybrid warfare, rogue states, terrorist attacks".

"Spending two per cent of GDP on defence is the minimum Nato commitment," he said. "We meet it but we should always aim to do better still."

An MOD spokesman said: "In the face of ever-changing threats, we are contributing to the cross-government review of national security capabilities and looking at how we best spend our rising defence budget to support that.

"No decisions have yet been made and at this stage, any discussion of the options is pure speculation."
Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader, has been urged to instruct her MPs to join forces with other political parties in Scotland in order to retain the countrys membership of the single market.

In comments ahead of the SNPs annual conference in Glasgow, Ian Blackford, the partys Westminster leader, said Scottish MPs had an historic opportunity to save the UK from the cliff edge after Britains exit from the European Union.

Writing in the House magazine, Mr Blackford, who succeeded Angus Robertson after the former leader lost his seat at the general election, said: The leaders of all of Scotlands political parties represented at Westminster expressed their commitment to the European single market both before and after the referendum.

Given these commitments, membership of the single market is firmly on the table  as a direct consequence of the voters decision at the general election.

While such a move is unlikely  as it would mean Scottish Tory MPs defying the Government and Prime Ministers instruction  Ms Davidson has previously said she wants the UK to have the largest amount of access to the tariff-free market after Brexit.

Shortly after the EU referendum in 2016, Ms Davidson, who now wields considerable influence after gaining ground in Scotland at the election, added: In terms of what I think Brexit looks like and should look like, for me the one thing I have said from the beginning I want access to the single market.

Scotlands businesses, firms, manufactures, food and drink, they want access to the single market. 

Mr Blackford continued: If Scottish Labour MPs can bring unity to their parliamentary colleagues on this issue, working with the SNP as the third biggest party in Westminster and the 13 Scottish Conservative MPs there would be a majority in favour of the single market.

He added: The prize is the opportunity to help safeguard jobs, opportunities for young people, safeguard the rights of EU Nationals and the rights that we gained as EU citizens.

Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures Prime Minister Theresa May arrives to deliver her keynote speech at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester PA Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures Comedian Simon Brodkin, dressed as a Tory party delegate, hands Theresa May a P45 during her speech PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures May suffering a coughing fit during her speech Reuters Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures May wears a Frida Kahlo bracelet and holds a sweet passed to her by Chancellor Philip Hammond as she addresses the conference in Manchester Reuters Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures May struggles with her water as coughing fits continued to interrupt her speech Reuters Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures The wording on a slogan is changed after a letter falls away from the backdrop towards the end of the speech Reuters Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures May is congratulated by her husband Philip, with the sign in the background missing a F and an E, after she delivered her keynote speech PA Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures May is embraced by husband Philip after delivering her speech Getty

It would also demonstrate a willingness to put party interests to one side for the common good.

Scotlands MPs  SNP and others - have an historic opportunity to make our mark, lead and save the UK from the cliff edge of leaving the European single market. We should grab it with both hands.
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A poll of Londoners has found that among those who support remaining in the EU, Jeremy Corbyn is over three times more popular than Theresa May.

The survey of over a thousand Londoners, carried out by Queen Mary University of London and YouGov, shows that of those who voted to remain in the European Union last year, just 13 per cent said Theresa May would make the best prime minister.

In comparison, Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn was far more popular, with 45 per cent of Londons remainers saying he would make the best prime minister.

The Labour leader is also the overall favourite of all Londoners to become prime minister, with 35 per cent of Londoners supporting him, compared to just 22 per cent of respondents who said they thought Ms May would be best.

Among Londoners who voted to leave the EU however, Ms May still has considerably higher levels of support, with 40 per cent backing her, compared to just 20 per cent who said they would support Mr Corbyn.

Ahead of the 2016 referendum, the newly anointed Labour leader was forced to clarify his position on EU membership. Despite having historically expressed doubts over British membership of the bloc, Mr Corbyn campaigned to remain in the EU. He was later accused of leading a lukewarm campaign.

Meanwhile Theresa May infuriated many senior Conservatives ahead of the Brexit vote by refusing to campaign in favour of remaining in the EU. However, it subsequently emerged that the then Home Secretary had privately warned that companies would be likely to leave the UK if it left the EU.

Recommended This is why referendums are always doomed to fail

A lot of people will invest here in the UK, because it is the UK in Europe, she said at a private conference with bankers ahead of the referendum.

Since then, Mr Corbyn and Shadow Brexit Secretary Keir Starmer, have aimed to recalibrate Labour as a pro-European party that will carry out a soft Brexit, however the party then voted against debating Brexit at its annual conference, which its own MPs said would brand it a laughing stock.

Theresa May suffered a far worse setback by calling for a general election widely recognised as the means by which she hoped to secure a mandate for a hard Brexit. The party lost its parliamentary majority, and Labour regained 31 seats.

Brexit: the deciders Show all 8 1 /8 Brexit: the deciders Brexit: the deciders European Union's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier Getty Brexit: the deciders French President Emmanuel Macron Getty Brexit: the deciders German Chancellor Angela Merkel Reuters Brexit: the deciders Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker EPA Brexit: the deciders The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt Getty Brexit: the deciders Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May Getty Images Brexit: the deciders Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer, Philip Hammond PA Brexit: the deciders After the first and second appointed Brexit secretaries resigned (David Davis and Dominic Raab respectively), Stephen Barclay is currently heading up the position PA

The latest polling results show Labour is far ahead of the Conservatives in London, with a total of 43 per cent of Londoners behind Mr Corbyns party, compared to just 23 per cent who said they would vote for the Tories if there was an election tomorrow. A further seven per cent said they would vote for the Liberal Democrats, five per cent for other parties, eight per cent said they would not vote, and 15 per cent said they didnt know.
Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

An attempt to topple Theresa May appears to have been crushed after angry Tory MPs rode to the rescue and turned their fire on the chief plotter.

Ringleader Grant Shapps, a former party chairman, was left isolated when loyalist Conservative MPs denounced him  while his backers failed to come out in public support.

Mr Shapps was branded cowardly, embittered and a fantasist, with nowhere near the 30-odd signatures he claimed of MPs wanting the Prime Minister to fall on her sword.

No 10s tactic of apparently outing Mr Shapps  who resigned after a bullying scandal and has few party allies  appeared to have worked, with MPs reluctant to follow his banner.

Conservative MPs who spoke to The Independent agreed there was no powerful reason to replace the Prime Minister at the moment  despite her conference disaster.

However, her position remains perilous, with attempts to gather names against her set to continue, a stumbling economy and Brexit talks resuming next week, with no sign of the deadlock being broken.

One former minister predicted, Grant will fail, but suggested his mutiny would accelerate a coup attempt by a more serious player  fearing a rival is also poised to pounce.

No one will want to start getting organised too late if they think there is going to be a contest, so Grants move may force someone else to show their hand, the MP said.

The Prime Minister herself sent out a business as usual message on a visit in her Maidenhead constituency, claiming progress on both Brexit and her domestic agenda.

Now what the country needs is calm leadership, and thats what I am providing with the full support of my Cabinet, she told reporters.

There was now real momentum to the withdrawal negotiations, she argued, while a bill to cap energy prices to stop ordinary working families being ripped off would come next week.

A day of drama began when Mr Shapps was revealed as the leader of the attempted coup after  he claimed  party whips leaked his name.

The plotters had intended to go to Ms May privately to persuade her to stand down, after Mr Shapps and party whips had agreed he should not disrupt the party conference.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images 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 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty 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

With his role revealed, the former chairman and Cameron-supporting moderniser took to the airwaves to make the case for Ms May to resign, arguing the writing is on the wall.

A growing number of my colleagues realise the solution is not to bury our heads in the sand and hope it will get better, he said.

That never worked for [Gordon] Brown or [John] Major and I dont think it will work out here either.

Mr Shapps said the MPs wanting the Prime Minister to go did not agree on a replacement, which should be a choice for the Tory faithful.

This is not about promoting an individual. Its about having a proper and full leadership election and that should go out to party members as well.

Both Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, and Environment Secretary Michael Gove, publicly backed Ms May  before backbenchers took to Twitter to tear into Mr Shapps.

Some delighted in referring to Michael Green, the notorious pseudonym that Mr Shapps operated under during his earlier career in business.

Former minister Tim Loughton said: The only thing that needs burying in the sand is Grant Shapps no doubt together with Michael Green.

Michael Fabricant said: I wouldnt buy a used car from one embittered colleague  let alone take advice from him about who should be PM. Theresa May should remain.

Nigel Evans said: There is only one direction that the Shapps bandwagon is going to roll, and that is over him. May is here to stay so get on side please.

And Nadine Dorries added: If he has got 30 MPs on that list, Diane Abbott must be doing the adding-up. There is no way he has 30 names. The PM is safe.

Former ministers told The Independent it was a long time until the next election, which meant MPs were not yet panicking about their jobs.

One pro-EU former minister described Ms Mays problems as being inherent in Brexit, which meant they could not be dodged by any replacement also set on leaving the EU.

Worse, the crown could be claimed by a Brexiteer determined that Britain should jump off the cliff, rather than try to achieve a negotiated withdrawal.

Anyone wanting to replace the Prime Minister needs to say who has the magic solution to Brexit. Otherwise they will have the exact same problems, the MP said.

Another former minister said Ms Mays conference woes had not boosted support for a coup, adding:  What has changed because of a frog in the Prime Ministers throat?

No 10s nerves were also calmed by the first poll since the Manchester meltdown at the conference, suggesting it had not damaged Ma May.

YouGov found she was still preferred over Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister, by 36 per cent to 33 per cent, although Labour scored a two-point lead over the Tories as a whole.
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Theresa May has dismissed a plot by up to 30 Tory MPs to topple her, insisting she has the full support of my Cabinet.

The Prime Minister sought to send out a business as usual message on a visit in her Maidenhead constituency, after the ringleader of the coup attempt was unmasked.

Grant Shapps, a former party chairman, said both Remainers and Brexiteers were among about 30 Conservative MPs who wanted the Prime Minister to fall on her sword.

But Ms May told reporters: Now what the country needs is calm leadership, and that's what I am providing with the full support of my Cabinet.

The Prime Minister argued she was making progress on both her domestic agenda and on delivering the deal on Brexit, the issue that overshadows her premiership.

MPs would be updated next week on her recent Florence speech, which, she claimed, had given real momentum to the withdrawal negotiations.

And she added: Next week, I will be introducing a draft bill to cap energy prices to stop ordinary working families being ripped off.

The defiant message came after Ms Shapps said unnamed Cabinet ministers  and five former Cabinet members  believed the Prime Ministers time was up.

The plotters had intended to go to Ms May privately to persuade her to stand down, but Mr Shapps accused Tory whips of leaking his name to a newspaper, as an organiser.

The whips had pleaded with him not to go public before the Conservative party conference, which he had agreed not to do.

Mr Shapps said the MPs wanting the Prime Minister to resign did not agree on a replacement, which should be a choice for the Tory faithful.

This is not about promoting an individual. Its about having a proper and full leadership election and that should go out to party members as well.

No 10 was encouraged after a string of senior Cabinet ministers  although not Boris Johnson  gave the Prime Minister their full public support and condemned the plotters.

Amber Rudd, the Home Secretary, paid tribute to Ms Mays guts and grace and said she must press on with her social justice agenda, adding: She should stay.

And Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary insisted the whole Cabinet and the overwhelming majority of Tory members want the Prime Minister to focus on the job that 14m people elected her to do earlier this year.

Earlier, Damian Green, the effective Deputy Prime Minister ridiculed any suggestion she should quit over the fiasco of her conference speech.

The idea that, because somebody gets a cold when theyre at the work, that that somehow renders them the wrong person for the job, or that because some unfunny pillock pulls a practical joke that that is in any way an important political event, is complete nonsense, he said.
Sign up to the Inside Politics email for your free daily briefing on the biggest stories in UK politics Get our free Inside Politics email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Politics email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The public does not believe Theresa May will deliver on her conference speech pledge to cap energy prices, according to the views reflected by The Independents new focus group,

Immediately after the keynote speech  beset by a series of unfortunate incidents, including an incessant cough and a prankster handing the Prime Minister a P45  BMG researchers conducted two in-person discussion groups that were balanced by age, gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic background and political partisanship.

In one group all respondents thought the policy to cap energy prices in Britain was positive but none of them believed that Ms May would deliver on the pledge to crackdown on rip off energy bills for UK consumers.

But the participants in the focus group expressed sympathy for the Prime Minister when Simon Brodkin  the notorious prankster better known for his character Lee Nelson  handed Ms May a fake P45 during her speech, claiming to be from the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

I think it was a total, unacceptable, lack of security, one said. It was a comedian, but it could have been someone else who wanted to kill Theresa May.

Another added: It could have been an acid attack, could have been anything.

On the persistent cough suffered by the Prime Minister the respondents gave varying feedback. While one said it was disgusting and unprofessional, another added: I sometimes suffer from that in the courts and what have you  its awful. She coped with that really well, and again came out with a little joke.

A third added: To be honest I just thought  I didnt write anything about the cough. I just thought, pretty normal thing you know, it just occurred you know. I cant believe people were being horrible about it.

Asked about the apology issued by Ms May during the speech for the general election result the panel appeared divided. Its very difficult to say sorry in public so I thought she came across very well there, one said.

Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures Prime Minister Theresa May arrives to deliver her keynote speech at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester PA Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures Comedian Simon Brodkin, dressed as a Tory party delegate, hands Theresa May a P45 during her speech PAUL ELLIS/AFP/Getty Images Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures May suffering a coughing fit during her speech Reuters Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures May wears a Frida Kahlo bracelet and holds a sweet passed to her by Chancellor Philip Hammond as she addresses the conference in Manchester Reuters Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures May struggles with her water as coughing fits continued to interrupt her speech Reuters Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures The wording on a slogan is changed after a letter falls away from the backdrop towards the end of the speech Reuters Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures May is congratulated by her husband Philip, with the sign in the background missing a F and an E, after she delivered her keynote speech PA Theresa May's 'disastrous' conference speech  in pictures May is embraced by husband Philip after delivering her speech Getty

Another participant added: Unlike any other politician, who normally tries to fluff it over, cover it up and blame somebody else, she didnt do that she said, it was me.

But others criticised the Prime Ministers failure to turn up to a debate with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn during the election campaign earlier this year. It just made think about her as a leader shes not strong enough, one participant said. She cant even turn up to a debate with Corbyn  well what chance do we have for her to lead the country?

Source note: On Wednesday 4 October , BMG Research conducted two in person discussion groups for the Independent, just hours after Theresa May finished delivering her 2017 party conference speech. Highlights and key moments were shown to participants who were asked for their reaction, before themes relating to the content of the clip were explored in more detail. The groups were recruited, moderated, recorded and final results analysed by BMG Research.

www.bmgresearch.co.uk/independentdiscussions
Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Morning Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

When the bombs began falling on Aleppo, Ahmad, a deaf father of four, couldnt hear them.

I was frightened, he tells the The Independent. I didnt know when it was happening, where it was happening. I just wanted to protect my family and move them away.

After his wife Mountahas mother was killed in the airstrike which destroyed their home, the family fled Syria. They spent six years in Lebanon before arriving in the UK in June.

Ahmad uses Arabic sign language and Mountaha can't speak English, meaning they are struggling to learn how to communicate and get by in their new home country.

While Ahmad has recently started classes in British Sign Language (BSL), Mountaha is still waiting to start English classes five months after arriving in Birmingham.

According to new research by Refugee Action, refugees are now waiting up to three years to start learning English, as cuts in funding have left colleges struggling to meet the demand for classes.

Ahmad and Mountaha share a joke (Helen Hoddinott)

The research has been released as part of the Jo Cox Loneliness Commission, which was established by the former Labour MP murdered last year.

Refugee Action, which polled the English language providers of more than 35,000 learners, said its study shows that current provisions are not fit for purpose with average waits for access to classes standing at six months.

Stephen Hale, chief executive of Refugee Action, said: Leaving refugees isolated and unable to start learning English is a huge barrier to integration.

A shared language prevents communities becoming alienated, and enables friendships and understanding to develop between people of different cultures.

Despite living in the UK for nearly half a year, Mountaha says she hasnt been able to make any friends, something she desperately wants to change. While some classes are available in her area, she has been unable to access them because there are no additional services to help her with childcare.

Seven-year-old Yazan and the family cat (Helen Hoddinott)

I tried to have a conversation with my neighbour yesterday, Mountaha says. We tried to talk but couldnt understand each other. I felt very lonely and sad.

Separated from friends and family, and isolated by a language barrier, loneliness can have a long-lasting impact on the mental health of refugees.

Loneliness itself isnt a mental health problem, but the two are often strongly connected, Vicki Nash, head of policy and campaigns at mental health charity Mind told the Independent.

Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of vulnerable migrants in local areas is a big challenge facing commissioners.

Ahmad worked in a deaf school in Aleppo, teaching children how to use sign language. He was a prominent and well-respected member of the deaf community.

Despite trying to find work in Lebanon, the language barrier held Ahmad back and he found he was heavily discriminated against due to his disability.

Resettlement officer Nicky catches up with Ahmad (Helen Hoddinott)

Ahmads confidence was low by the time the family reached the UK. I felt isolated, and so I stayed at home, he remembers. He is now taking BSL lessons at Birminghams Deaf Cultural Centre and feels optimistic about possibilities in the future.

Little by little, if I can learn just a little bit and my knowledge grows, Ill be strong.

According to the research, women face the biggest barriers to learning, with 77 per cent of providers unable to provide childcare at all or enough to meet the needs of all those who want to learn.

Ahmad and the children were my first responsibility when we arrived, Mountaha explains. I couldnt leave him alone by himself, and without support I couldnt look to go to English classes.

Ahmad works on how to spell his name in BSL with Bhavana (Helen Hoddinott)

The colleges and organisations that provide English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes say quality is crumbling under a dramatic decline in funding over recent years, with current levels less than half what was available eight years ago.

The majority (80%) of providers with waiting lists said a lack of Government funding was the reason behind long delays for learners.

The worsening state of ESOL provision in England comes despite a growing body of evidence  including the Government-commissioned Casey Review  finding that learning English is vital for effective integration.

As one provider said: Its a Catch-22 situation  the Government complains that people who have come to live in this country arent making enough effort to learn English, but there arent sufficient classes for them to progress.

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said: We are committed to supporting all adults in England secure the English language skills they need for life and work. Adults who are granted refugee status are eligible for the same skills funding as any other English resident.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A pensioner has been reunited with his life savings after a taxi driver realised the man had been the victim of a con.

Fraudsters called Barry Stone and pretended to be police investigating bank fraud, telling him to withdraw money from his bank account.

The 78-year-old from Marlow withdrew 12,000 and then sent the cash to London by taxi where, he was told, the notes were to be checked for fingerprints.

 Cashpoint scam sweeping UK prompts warnings

But taxi driver Izy Rashid realised the elderly man was being conned so returned the savings to Mr Stones address.

As reported by the Daily Mail, Mr Stone said: I didnt sleep afterwards and I couldnt eat at all, it was such a lot of money.

Izy Rashid (left) talks to the police while an officer checks the money he had just handed back to Mr Stone (Vagner Vidal/INS News Agency Ltd)

The widowed father-of-one added: I feel so relieved now, I can have something to eat, no problem. Im very, very relieved.

Speaking about the scammers Mr Stone said: You just believe them sometimes, dont you? You think youre helping people out.

After withdrawing the money, Mr Stone was told to put the money in a box and give it to a taxi driver.

He was told to say it was aftershave for his son but Mr Rashid saw through the scam and called the police.

Mr Stone had his money returned to him and described the cabbie as a wonderful man and they were now very, very good friends.

The taxi driver returned the cash after suspecting a scam was in progress (Photography by Vagner Vidal/INS)

Mr Stone was taken back to the Marlow branch of NatWest by two police officers to deposit the cash back into his account.

The retired cabinet maker has lived alone since the death of his wife Pat 12 years ago.

He explained that he is going on holiday to Thailand soon and would have had to cancel had the money not been returned.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images 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 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

Thames Valley Police is investigating the courier scam and has asked anyone with information to call police on 101.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

President Donald Trump told reporters during a photo opportunity with military leaders and their spouses before a dinner at the White House, that it was the calm before the storm.

Following a Thursday meeting with defence officials in the cabinet room, he asked journalists: Do you know what this represents? After being prompted to explain what the photo represented, he responded with:

I dont know. Maybe its the calm before the storm.

"Could be the calm. The calm before the storm.

Another reporter questioned the US president further, and asked him if his statement was in reference to Iran or Isis, to which he stated: Weve got the worlds greatest military people in this room. I will tell you that. And were going to have a great evening.

Reporters tried one final time to get a definitive answer, and asked what thestorm was.

Youll find out, he said.

Mr Trumps ominous comments come during a time of strained relations between the US and two countries: Iran and North Korea.

The US leader is set to decertify the Iran nuclear deal, believing that the agreement is not in the national interest, according to The Washington Post.

The move would not break the USs agreement with Iran, but it would start a 60-day clock for a congressional review period in which legislators could choose to re-impose sanctions, putting a wrench in US-Iran relations.

In his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Mr Trump criticised the deal for potentially providing cover for the eventual construction of a nuclear programme.

Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Show all 30 1 /30 Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Threatening to shut down Twitter after being fact-checked After the president tweeted that voting by post would be "substantially fraudulent", Twitter attached a warning label to his tweet and referred readers to a site which explained how the claim was "unsubstantiated". Trump then said Twitter was "stifling free speech" and that he may have to shut it down, something which he would not have the power to do AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Flippantly dismissing a serious allegation of sexual assault When author E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her, the president responded: Number one, shes not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Insulting the Mayor of London as he landed in London Just before touching down at Stansted Airport for his state visit, Trump took time out to @ the London mayor Sadiq Khan on twitter. He said that Khan has done a "terrible job"as mayor and that he is a "stone cold loser" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Taking plenty of "Executive Time" The president's official schedule sets aside the hours from 8 to 11am daily for "Executive Time". Further intermittent periods of "Executive Time" are scheduled throughout any given day, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours. His duties in these hours have not been officially disclosed, though Axios reports that he spends them watching TV, reading the newspapers and tweeting Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Shutdown the government for over a month in an effort to secure funding for his wall With Mexico declining to pay for the wall, the president has faced difficulty in raising the required $5bn at home. Due to his demand that the money for the wall be included in the budget, and Congress's refusal, the government partially shut down on 22 December 2018. It remained shut for over a month, the longest period in history Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Joking about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron In this tweet from 13 November 2018, the president mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Railing against the Mueller investigation The president has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Trump Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling Following furious backlash in the US, the president claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it would not have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Colouring in the US flag wrong The president coloured in the US flag wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter The president announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the president made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired! Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Calling African nations "S***hole Countries" Ever one for diplomacy, the president reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape". Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying: There are a lot of killers. You think our countrys so innocent? Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Asking for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump couldnt help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzeneggers show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of The Apprentice  which buoyed Trumps celebrity status years ago Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull Early in his presidency, Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the worst call he had had so far Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... The 'Muslim ban' Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Trumps travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administrations argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the president picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... 'Little Rocket Man' During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be little Rocket Man as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack After the attack on the London Bridge, Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticising Khan for saying there was no reason to be alarmed after the attack. Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face' Never one not to mock his enemies, Trump mocked MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to join him. He noted that she was bleeding badly from a face-lift at the time, and that he said no MSNBC Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides' Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Retweeting cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train' Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of fake news Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trumps White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didnt mention jews or even the word jewish in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trumps inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didnt, the day was very dreary Reuters

Tensions have also escalated between the US and North Korea. In a succession of tweets, Donald Trump referred to the countrys leader Kim Jong-un as rocket man: Being nice to Rocket Man hasnt worked in 25 years. Why would it work now? Clinton failed; Bush failed, and Obama failed. I wont fail.

I told Rex Tillerson, our wonderful Secretary of State, that he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket Man."

During the cabinet meeting on Thursday, Donald Trump talked about North Korea and pushed military leaders to be faster with giving him military options.

According to Reuters, he said: In North Korea, our goal is denuclearisation. We cannot allow this dictatorship to threaten our nation or our allies with unimaginable loss of life. We will do what we must do to prevent that from happening. And it will be done, if necessary, believe me.

Moving forward, I also expect you to provide me with a broad range of military options, when needed, at a much faster pace. I know that government bureaucracy is slow, but I am depending on you to overcome the obstacles of bureaucracy.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Kim Jong-un, who Donald Trump recently referred to as a madman has been rebranded a rational actor by senior CIA officials.

The North Korean dictator is infamous for executing his own officers, threatening the US with nuclear war and increasing hostile long-range missile tests  the latest of which prompted harsh new international sanctions by the UN.

According to experts, his actions are a far cry from those of an incoherent leader; instead they amount to a cogent strategy which he has employed in order to preserve his regime.

Theres a clarity of purpose in what Kim Jong-un has done, said Yong Suk Lee, deputy assistant director of the CIAs Korea Mission Centre, at an agency conference in George Washington University on Wednesday.

Waking up one morning and deciding he wants to nuke Los Angeles is not something Kim Jong-un is likely to do, he continued, in a statement recorded by CNN.

He wants to rule for a long time and die peacefully in his own bed."

In 2013, Mr Kim executed his uncle, Jang Song Thaek who state media called a "traitor for all ages". A report from the South Korean Institute for National Security Strategy think tank claims that as many as 340 people were ordered to be executed - many of whom were senior government officers. However, purging the country of political dissenters seems to be a calculated move motivated by self-interest, rather than emotional impulse.

"The last person who wants conflict on the peninsula is Kim Jong-un. We have a tendency in this country to underestimate the conservatism that runs in these authoritarian regimes, Mr Lee concluded.

These sentiments are at odds with the combative language used by Donald Trump to describe the rogue state and its leader.

The US president previously called Mr Kim a little rocket man and a madman on Twitter, and threatened to totally destroy North Korea if the US is forced to defend itself or its allies.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been resolutely pursuing diplomatic relations through direct talks with Pyongyang, and Mr Trumps aggressive, directed statements mean the messages issuing from the US are confusingly mixed.

Made in North Korea - In pictures Show all 6 1 /6 Made in North Korea - In pictures Made in North Korea - In pictures Made in North Korea - In pictures Made in North Korea - In pictures Made in North Korea - In pictures Made in North Korea - In pictures Made in North Korea - In pictures

North Korea is clearly testing the patience of the US and international community, Michael Collins, a deputy assistant director at the CIA, told CNN.

With each increasing escalation, theyre raising the threshold for the United States and others to accept or press against that.
ELKO  Local mining companies conducted moments of silence to remember the victims and survivors of Sundays country music concert shooting in Las Vegas that claimed the lives of at least 59 concert-goers and injured more than 500.

Employees of Newmont Mining Corp. gathered at noon on Oct. 5 for a moment of silence and a balloon release, and Barrick Gold Corp. coordinated a two-minute stand-down of equipment and mill operations on Oct. 4.

Both mining companies announced the ceremonies through internal communications to their employees.

The ceremony by Newmont was to honor those affected by the tragic event that occurred this past Sunday at a Las Vegas concert, said Natacia Eldridge, external relations representative.

About 55 people assembled at Newmonts Elko office to remember the victims and to release orange balloons representing the victims of the shooting.

Richard Martinez, regional vice president of human resources, addressed the crowd and expressed his condolences to the victims.

After the moment of silence, Newmont employee Roger MacGregor played Amazing Grace on his bagpipes.

The balloon release was suggested by Newmont employees who attended Sundays concert, Martinez said, and was a gesture of remembrance of the death that occurred and to say thank you to everybody for their heroic efforts.

It also was to say thank you for our employees who are back with us, Martinez said.

Barrick, which has an office in Henderson, organized an equipment shutdown for two minutes Wednesday at noon with administrative staff gathered at all sites in Nevada, said Leslie Maple, manager of communications.

Curtis Cadwell, general operations manager of Barrick Nevada, delivered a message via radio to all sites on an all call. It signaled equipment to stop and clutch out the mills for the two minutes of silence.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families, those who have been injured, the first responders, and all those impacted by this tragic and senseless event, Cadwell said.

One Barrick employee from the Henderson office attended the concert and was treated and released for a minor injury, Maple said, adding that some employees of the Henderson office knew those affected by the shooting, and counselors were provided for Henderson-based employees.

The tragedy in Las Vegas is being reported as the worst mass shooting in 68 years and comes more than a year after a man opened fire in an Orlando nightclub, killing 49.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Donald Trumps newest Republican ally has been funded by a man who used to be part of a white supremacist hate group, it has emerged.

Roy Moore, the Alabama Republican Senate nominee, was recently described as a great guy by Mr Trump after beating the US Presidents preferred nominee, Luther Strange, in a 27 September election.

Spoke to Roy Moore of Alabama last night for the first time. Sounds like a really great guy who ran a fantastic race. He will help to #MAGA (Make America Great Again)! Mr Trump said after the Republican firebrands victory.

But it has been revealed by TPM that Mr Moore has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Michael David Peroutka, a former member of white nationalist group the League of the South.

Nearly two-thirds of Mr Moores funding in his race to become chief justice of the Alabama Supreme court in 2012 came from Mr Peroutka, local media reported. The 70-year-olds own website lists Mr Peroutka as someone who endorses him.

In 2012, Mr Peroutka described himself as a proud member of the League of the South, an organisation which states its ultimate goal is a free and independent Southern republic.

 Former Apprentice producer: Trump's behind the scenes comments were very much a racist issue

Branded a Neo-Confederate racist hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, the League advocates a Southern Culture built on an inherently Anglo-Celtic nature.

Its extreme right-wing agenda includes stigmatising perversity" such as homosexuality and promiscuity and having Islam banned.

It was also one of the key organisers of the white nationalist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville that descended into violence and left one opposition activist dead.

Human Rights Campaign, an LGBT civil rights charity, called Mr Peroutka an active white supremacist and secessionist sympathiser due to his links to the group, an accusation the lawyer described as absurd.

In 2014, Mr Peroutka announced he had resigned from the Leagues board of directors and was no longer a member after discovering other members statement contrary to his beliefs.

Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Show all 30 1 /30 Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Threatening to shut down Twitter after being fact-checked After the president tweeted that voting by post would be "substantially fraudulent", Twitter attached a warning label to his tweet and referred readers to a site which explained how the claim was "unsubstantiated". Trump then said Twitter was "stifling free speech" and that he may have to shut it down, something which he would not have the power to do AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Flippantly dismissing a serious allegation of sexual assault When author E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her, the president responded: Number one, shes not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Insulting the Mayor of London as he landed in London Just before touching down at Stansted Airport for his state visit, Trump took time out to @ the London mayor Sadiq Khan on twitter. He said that Khan has done a "terrible job"as mayor and that he is a "stone cold loser" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Taking plenty of "Executive Time" The president's official schedule sets aside the hours from 8 to 11am daily for "Executive Time". Further intermittent periods of "Executive Time" are scheduled throughout any given day, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours. His duties in these hours have not been officially disclosed, though Axios reports that he spends them watching TV, reading the newspapers and tweeting Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Shutdown the government for over a month in an effort to secure funding for his wall With Mexico declining to pay for the wall, the president has faced difficulty in raising the required $5bn at home. Due to his demand that the money for the wall be included in the budget, and Congress's refusal, the government partially shut down on 22 December 2018. It remained shut for over a month, the longest period in history Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Joking about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron In this tweet from 13 November 2018, the president mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Railing against the Mueller investigation The president has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Trump Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling Following furious backlash in the US, the president claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it would not have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Colouring in the US flag wrong The president coloured in the US flag wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter The president announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the president made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired! Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Calling African nations "S***hole Countries" Ever one for diplomacy, the president reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape". Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying: There are a lot of killers. You think our countrys so innocent? Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Asking for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump couldnt help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzeneggers show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of The Apprentice  which buoyed Trumps celebrity status years ago Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull Early in his presidency, Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the worst call he had had so far Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... The 'Muslim ban' Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Trumps travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administrations argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the president picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... 'Little Rocket Man' During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be little Rocket Man as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack After the attack on the London Bridge, Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticising Khan for saying there was no reason to be alarmed after the attack. Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face' Never one not to mock his enemies, Trump mocked MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to join him. He noted that she was bleeding badly from a face-lift at the time, and that he said no MSNBC Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides' Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Retweeting cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train' Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of fake news Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trumps White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didnt mention jews or even the word jewish in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trumps inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didnt, the day was very dreary Reuters

Mr Moore himself has regularly expressed extremist views, including the belief that the 9/11 attacks may have been a punishment from God and that homosexual conduct should be illegal.

He recently spoke of reds and yellows on the campaign trail  an apparent reference to native Americans and Asians  and was suspended from the state supreme court last year after ordering judges to ignore the federal Supreme Court ruling in favour of gay marriage.

After Mr Moores victory in the Republican Senate nominee race, Mr Trump swiftly deleted tweets endorsing the establishment candidate Mr Strange.

Mr Moore has promised to support the President and his agenda as long as he advances our culture, our country.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The special counsel investigating whether Russia tried to sway the 2016 US election has taken over FBI inquiries into a former British spys dossier of allegations of Russian financial and personal links to President Donald Trumps campaign and associates, sources familiar with the inquiry told Reuters.

A report compiled by former MI6 officer Christopher Steele identified Russian businessmen and others whom US intelligence analysts have concluded are Russian intelligence officers or working on behalf of the Russian government.

A spokesman for special counsel Robert Mueller declined comment. The FBI also declined comment.

Three sources with knowledge of Muellers probe said his investigators have assumed control of multiple inquiries into allegations by US intelligence agencies that Russia interfered in the election to benefit Trump, a Republican.

Russia has repeatedly denied any meddling in the election.

Two officials familiar with the investigations said that both Muellers team and the Senate Intelligence Committee are seeking any evidence that former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort or others who had financial dealings with Russia might have helped Kremlin intelligence agencies target email hacking and social media postings undermining Trumps election opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton.

On Wednesday, the Senate panels chairman Richard Burr told reporters that the issue of whether Trumps campaign colluded with Russia remains an open question.

We have not come to any determination on collusion, Burr said.

Trump, who has called allegations of campaign collusion with Moscow a hoax, has faced questions about the matter since he took office in January.

Trump was told by former FBI director James Comey that Steeles report contained salacious material about the businessman-turned-President.

Burr said on Wednesday that the Senate panel had made several attempts to contact Steele and to meet him and those offers have gone unaccepted.

The committee cannot really decide the credibility of the dossier without understanding things like who paid for it, who are your sources and sub-sources, Burr said.

Burr said the panel wanted to finish its investigation by the end of the year.

Although several news organisations, including Reuters, were briefed on Steeles dossier before the election in November, most decided not to report on the material because its inflammatory and sometimes salacious content could not be verified.

In a report published in January four US intelligence agencies said they took the dossiers allegations seriously.

Separately, three Russian businessmen, Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and German Khan have sued Washington investigations firm Fusion GPS and its founder, Glenn Simpson, with allegations that they were libelled in Steeles dossier.

A spokeswoman for Simpson and Fusion GPS declined to comment on the lawsuit filed on Tuesday in US District Court in Washington.

The lawsuit said that Steeles reports were gravely damaging to the businessmen because they accused them of criminal conduct and alleged cooperation with the Kremlin to influence the 2016 presidential election.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

The information on Trump collected by Steele, whom officials say was one of MI6s most respected Russia hands, was laid out last year in political opposition research initially financed by supporters of one of Trumps Republican primary election opponents. After Trump won the Republican nomination in July, backers of Clinton picked up the support of Steeles work.

The lawsuit said the dossiers allegations are false in implying an improper ongoing relationship between the businessmen, the Alfa Group financial company in which they were investors and Russian President Vladimir Putin, and that a Russian government official acted as middleman in such contacts.

Reuters
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

When Donald Trump told stony faces in Puerto Rico that their crisis had thrown the US budget out of whack this week, researchers in San Francisco got to thinking: What if the Presidents travel budget for personal trips to places like his Mar-a-Lago resort were used to send cargo ships to help that US territory instead?

Researchers at the online documents company FormSwift figured initially that the budget for Mr Trump's travel to places like Mar-a-Lago would pay for a few ships to make it there. But, they were way off: A full 128 cargo ships could financed to bring supplies over with the amount of cash the US government spends on Mr Trump's working vacations to his private resorts.

We were surprised by how many trips you could actually do, Jackson Hille, the content marketer at the company, told The Independent. I think we were thinking that maybe it would be two, because it just seems like the shipping and logistics were actually a huge issue. We thought, maybe this is two or three trips, and the fact that it came out to the final figure  we were shocked.

Mr Trump and the first family have reportedly racked up a huge bill for travel since the President took office earlier this year. So far, theyve cost the US an unprecedented $32 million for trips to exclusive properties owned by Mr Trump, Mar-a-Lago in particular, according to estimates.

That budget itself could pay for 128 cargo ships, while travel costs associated with other members of the first family could pay for another two ships.

In the days following Maria devastated the island, domestic vessels carrying relief to Puerto Rico were able to move 9,500 containers of goods to the ports on the island, according to Newsweek. One large vessel can carry close to 18,000 tonnes of cargo from Florida to Puerto Rico.

Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Show all 22 1 /22 Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Donald Trump's international Presidential trips French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Donald Trump talk as they leave the Army Museum at Les Invalides in Paris AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President Donald Trump arrive for the group photo at the G7 Taormina summit on the island of Sicily in May 2017 Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Mr Trump was pressed on the subject at the G7 summit in Italy Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump gives a speeech at the Warsaw Uprising Monument on Krasinski Square Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May during a ceremony at the NATO headquarters before the start of a summit in Brussels, Belgium Reuters Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Montenegro's Prime Minister Dusko Markovic is seen to the right of Donald Trump at a Nato summit in Brussels REUTERS Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Pope Francis meeting with US President Donald J. Trump EPA Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Pope Francis poses with US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump arrives at Palazzo del Quirinale ahead of the meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella Ufficio Stampa Presidenza della via Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump is seen during a joint press conference with the Palestinian leader at the presidential palace in the West Bank city of Bethlehem AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas meets US President Donald Trump PPO via Getty Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with US President Donald Trump prior to the President's departure GPO via Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands after delivering a speech at the Israel Museum AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump lay a wreath in the Hall of Remembrance as White House senior advisor Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump watch on during a visit to the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial museum AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump visit to Yad Vashem Holocaust museum in Jerusalem accompanied by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu GPO via Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump takes his seat before his speech to the Arab Islamic American Summit in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia Reuters Donald Trump's international Presidential trips Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump look at a display of Saudi modern art at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud take part in a signing ceremony at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips King Salman presents Donald Trump with The Collar of Abdulaziz al-Saud Medal at the Royal Court Palace on 20 May AP Donald Trump's international Presidential trips US President Donald Trump is welcomed by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud upon arrival at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump's international Presidential trips U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk on the South Lawn prior to their first foreign trip Getty Images

FormSwift estimated that a fully loaded cargo ship travelling from Florida to Puerto Rico would cost an estimated $249,899.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

For months, officials in Republican-controlled Iowa had sought federal permission to revitalise their ailing health insurance marketplace. Then President Donald Trump read about the request in a newspaper story and called the federal director weighing the application.

Trump's message in late August was clear, according to individuals who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations: Tell Iowa no.

Supporters of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) see the President's opposition even to changes sought by conservative states as part of a broader campaign by his administration to undermine the 2010 healthcare law. In addition to trying to cut funding for the ACA, the Trump administration also is hampering state efforts to control premiums. In the case of Iowa, that involved a highly unusual intervention by the President himself.

And with the fifth enrolment season set to begin 1 November, advocates say the Health and Human Services Department (HHS) has done more to suppress the number of people signing up than to boost it. HHS has slashed grants to groups that help consumers get insurance coverage, for example. It also has cut the enrolment period in half, reduced the advertising budget by 90 percent and announced an outage schedule that would make the HealthCare.gov website less available than last year.

Recommended Trump to cut order including contraceptives in work health insurance

The White House also has yet to commit to funding the cost-sharing reductions that help about 7 million lower-income Americans afford out-of-pocket expenses on their ACA health plans. Trump has regularly threatened to block them and, according to an administration official who was not authorised to speak publicly, officials are considering action to end the payments in November.

The uncertainty has driven premium prices much higher for 2018. A possible move by the Treasury Department to ease the requirement that most Americans obtain coverage could further erode a core element of the law.

On Friday, Senator Margaret Wood Hassan (Democrat-New Hampshire), called on the administration to abandon its attempts to sabotage healthcare markets and raise healthcare costs for millions. Such efforts, warn health advocates as well as state and local officials, will translate into more uninsured Americans.

In Ohio, the Trump administration has already inflicted the damage, said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks. After its nearly $1.7 million enrolment-assistance grant was cut 72 percent last month, the group decided it no longer could effectively participate. We are past the point of no return on this, Hamler-Fugitt said.

HHS has told its regional administrators not to even meet with on-the-ground organisations about enrolment. The late decision, which department spokesman Matt Lloyd said was made because such groups organise and implement events with their own agenda, left leaders of grass-roots organisations feeling stranded.

I don't think it's too much to ask the agency tasked with outreach and enrolment to be involved with that, said Roy Mitchell, executive director for the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program, which receives no federal funding for its ACA efforts. There's money for HHS to fly around on private jets, but there's not money and resources to do outreach in Mississippi.

Administration officials make no apologies for actions scaling back federal support for the ACA, also known as Obamacare. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and those carrying out the law at different agencies take most every opportunity to claim that it is failing. HHS Secretary Tom Price's abrupt resignation Friday, prompted by the furore over his use of expensive chartered planes for work trips, is not expected to shift this overall approach.

Obamacare has never lived up to enrolment expectations despite the previous administration's best efforts, Lloyd said in an email last week. The American people know a bad deal when they see one, and many won't be convinced to sign up for 'Washington-knows-best' health coverage that they can't afford.

Trump and his aides also are looking for ways to loosen the existing law's requirements, now that the latest congressional attempt to repeal it outright has failed. The Treasury Department may broaden the ACA's hardship exemption so that taxpayers don't face costly penalties for failing to obtain coverage, a Republican briefed on the plan said. That is sure to depress enrolment among the younger, healthier consumers whom insurers count on to help buffer the healthcare costs of sicker customers.

We should fully expect the Trump administration to take a more activist route to deal with Obamacare, given the inability of Congress to move through with a repeal-and-replace bill, said Lanhee Chen, a research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution.

While the law's open enrolment period has attracted the most public attention, a more obscure battle within the administration over several states' proposed changes for their marketplaces speak volumes about the President's approach to the law.

It was a Wall Street Journal article about Iowa's request that provoked Trump's ire, according to an individual briefed on the exchange. The story detailed how officials had just submitted the application for a Section 1332 waiver - a provision that allows states to adjust how they are implementing the ACA as long as they can prove it would not translate into lost or less-affordable coverage.

Iowa's aim was to foster more competition and better prices. The story said other states hoping to stabilise their situations were watching closely.

Trump first tried to reach Price, the individual recounted, but the secretary was travelling in Asia and unavailable. The President then called Seema Verma, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the agency charged with authorising or rejecting Section 1332 applications. CMS had been working closely with Iowa as it fine-tuned its submission.

State Insurance Commissioner Doug Ommen has repeatedly described the Iowa Stopgap Measure as critical to expanding marketplace options there. The plan would abolish the ACA exchange there and convert consumer subsidies into a type of GOP-styled tax credit. New financial buffers would help insurers handle customers with particularly high medical expenses.

Without the measure, over 20,000 middle class farmers, early retirees and self-employed Iowans will likely either go uninsured or leave Iowa, Ommen warned in a 19 September statement. Those who sign up for 2018 exchange coverage face premium rate increases of 57 percent on average from the single insurer participating.

Some administration officials are still pressing for the waiver to be granted, according to interviews with several Republicans. The HHS spokesman confirmed last week that Iowa's application has been deemed complete and is currently under review but did not address the President's directive on the matter.

Eliot Fishman oversaw such waivers at CMS during the previous administration and said in an interview that President Barack Obama weighed in on those decisions only in unusual cases toward the end of the process.

Things that are tough calls typically go to the President, but they go with a [staff] recommendation that often carries a great deal of weight, said Fishman, now senior director of health policy for the liberal healthcare advocacy group Families USA.

Iowa is not the only red state to chafe at the administration's unwillingness to allow more flexibility.

On Friday, Oklahoma sent a letter to Price and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin saying it was withdrawing its federal waiver request because administration officials had not provided an answer after months of development, negotiation, and near daily communication over the past six weeks.

While we appreciate the work of your staff, the lack of timely waiver approval will prevent thousands of Oklahomans from realising the benefits of significantly lower insurance premiums in 2018, wrote Terry Cline, the state's health secretary.

In at least one case, CMS has approved a waiver in a way that upended a state's plan to maximise health coverage for its residents. Minnesota applied to CMS for permission to establish a reinsurance programme, which can lower premiums by giving insurers a guarantee that they will have limited financial exposure for customers with particularly high medical expenses. The agency informed Governor Mark Dayton, Democrat, on 22 Septembers that it would provide $323 million for the programme since the lower premiums would mean savings to the federal government on subsidies to Minnesotans with ACA health plans.

But, Verma added, the federal government also would cut $369 million in funding for a separate programme aimed at residents who earn between 138 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty level and don't qualify for the same subsidies.

Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Show all 30 1 /30 Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Threatening to shut down Twitter after being fact-checked After the president tweeted that voting by post would be "substantially fraudulent", Twitter attached a warning label to his tweet and referred readers to a site which explained how the claim was "unsubstantiated". Trump then said Twitter was "stifling free speech" and that he may have to shut it down, something which he would not have the power to do AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Flippantly dismissing a serious allegation of sexual assault When author E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her, the president responded: Number one, shes not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Insulting the Mayor of London as he landed in London Just before touching down at Stansted Airport for his state visit, Trump took time out to @ the London mayor Sadiq Khan on twitter. He said that Khan has done a "terrible job"as mayor and that he is a "stone cold loser" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Taking plenty of "Executive Time" The president's official schedule sets aside the hours from 8 to 11am daily for "Executive Time". Further intermittent periods of "Executive Time" are scheduled throughout any given day, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours. His duties in these hours have not been officially disclosed, though Axios reports that he spends them watching TV, reading the newspapers and tweeting Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Shutdown the government for over a month in an effort to secure funding for his wall With Mexico declining to pay for the wall, the president has faced difficulty in raising the required $5bn at home. Due to his demand that the money for the wall be included in the budget, and Congress's refusal, the government partially shut down on 22 December 2018. It remained shut for over a month, the longest period in history Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Joking about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron In this tweet from 13 November 2018, the president mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Railing against the Mueller investigation The president has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Trump Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling Following furious backlash in the US, the president claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it would not have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Colouring in the US flag wrong The president coloured in the US flag wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter The president announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the president made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired! Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Calling African nations "S***hole Countries" Ever one for diplomacy, the president reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape". Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying: There are a lot of killers. You think our countrys so innocent? Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Asking for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump couldnt help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzeneggers show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of The Apprentice  which buoyed Trumps celebrity status years ago Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull Early in his presidency, Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the worst call he had had so far Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... The 'Muslim ban' Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Trumps travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administrations argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the president picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... 'Little Rocket Man' During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be little Rocket Man as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack After the attack on the London Bridge, Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticising Khan for saying there was no reason to be alarmed after the attack. Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face' Never one not to mock his enemies, Trump mocked MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to join him. He noted that she was bleeding badly from a face-lift at the time, and that he said no MSNBC Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides' Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Retweeting cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train' Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of fake news Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trumps White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didnt mention jews or even the word jewish in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trumps inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didnt, the day was very dreary Reuters

Minnesota's entire congressional delegation, Democrats and Republicans alike, issued a joint statement saying they were disappointed that our state is facing a last-minute penalty and exploring possible paths forward.

Senator Patty Murray, Washington, the top Democrat on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said Trump should devote time to forging a bipartisan agreement to stabilise the ACA marketplaces.

If he is only interested in sabotaging the market, that is a dangerous road for him to ride, because he will own it, she said.

The Washington Post
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Three men have been charged with plotting Isis-inspired attacks on concerts, landmarks, and the subway system in New York City.

All three men have been arrested and one has plead guilty, according to the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, whose office announced the charges on Friday.

The men planned to detonate bombs in Times Square, a popular tourist destination, and on the subway, according to the DA. They were also said to have planned to shoot civilians at a number of concerts.

Recommended Isis calls on women to fight and launch terror attacks for first time

The alleged plans were thwarted by an undercover FBI agent claiming to be an Isis supporter, the DA said. One man was arrested in New Jersey, while the two others were arrested in Pakistan and the Philippines  foreign countries from which they allegedly helped plan the attacks.

Abdulrahman el Bahnasawy, a 19-year-old Canadian citizen, allegedly purchased bomb-making materials and secured a cabin within driving distance of New York in which to assemble them. Talha Haroon, a 19-year-old living in Pakistan, is said to have made plans to travel to New York to help him. The third defendant, 37-year-old Russel Salic of Pakistan, is accused of wiring money to fund the operation.

In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Show all 11 1 /11 In pictures: Isis' weapons factories In pictures: Isis' weapons factories A mortar round fin manufactured by Isis in Gogjali, Mosul, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Isis rocket components discovered in Gogjali, Mosul, Iraq in November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Isis mortars discovered near Karamlais, Iraq, in November 2016 CAR In pictures: Isis' weapons factories An Isis rocket launch frame in Qaraqosh, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories A memo from Isis' COSQC on quality control at a manufacturing facility in Gogjali, Mosul, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Electrically-operated initiators manufactured by Isis in forces Gogjali, Mosul, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Isis mortar tubes at a manufacturing facility in Karamlais, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories An Isis mortar production facility discovered in Gogjali, Mosul, in November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories An Isis weapons manufacturing facilities near Mosul in November 2016 Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories Stocks of French-manufactured Sorbitol, Latvian potassium nitrate and Lebanese sugar at an Isis weapons factory in Iraq Conflict Armament Research In pictures: Isis' weapons factories A destroyed Isis weapons facility in Qaraqosh, Iraq, November 2016 Conflict Armament Research

Mr el Bahnasawy plead guilty to a seven-count charge last October. Mr Haroon faces five charges, and Mr Salic faces seven. Both have yet to enter pleas. All three men have been charged with multiple crimes carrying a life sentence.

The US hopes to extradite Mr Salic and Mr Haroon from their home countries to face a US court.

The men sent electronic messages to the undercover agent expressing their desire to carry out Paris- and Brussels-like terrorist attacks in New York City, the DA's office said. Mr el Bahnasawy allegedly texted the agent that he hoped to create the next 9/11".

Mr Haroon allegedly claimed to have been in contact with Isis associates within the Khorasan Province, and to have met explosives experts to determine the exact materials needed for the bomb. The men claimed Mr Salic was a "trusted Isis supporte" who had funded previous attacks, according to the DA.

 Thousands of Muslims march against Isis in London

Mr el Bahnasawy was arrested in March 2016, when he travelled from Canada to the US to prepare for the attacks, the DA's office said. Mr Haroon and Mr Salic were subsequently arrested in their home countries.

Although the plans were discovered more than a year ago, the arrests were not revealed until 6 October, when authorities were confident that no one else was involved.

The news came days after a man with no link to any terror group opened fire on a concert crowd in Las Vegas, killing 58 people. A little over a year before, an Isis-inspired bomber detonated a pressure cooker bomb on the New York subway. No one was killed.

Although the mens plots were not put into motion, former FBI Supervisor JJ Klaver told NBC News that the men would not have been arrested unless there was some substance to their plans.

"They are going to look at the extent of the plans being made and the extent that these guys are taking actions to further those plans," Mr Klaver said.

Attorney information for the three men was not immediately available.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Isis has repeated its claim of responsibility for the Las Vegas attack while alleging that Stephen Paddock converted to Islam six months ago.

Investigators have not yet confirmed any link between the 64-year-old gunman and the terrorist group, with his girlfriend and relatives claiming he had no religious affiliation and was not an extremist.

In a new issue of its Arabic propaganda newspaper, Isis celebrated the worst mass shooting in modern American history with a graphic showing the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino stained blood red.

It boasted of the 58 people killed and 500 others injured, as well as of causing panic and confusion among security services in America and a number of European countries.

In an accompanying article, Isis recycled information on Paddocks position and weapons from US news reports, claiming he was responding to calls for attacks on countries bombing its territories in Syria and Iraq.

Isis glossed over the fact Paddock shot himself  an action inconsistent with jihadi doctrine  and claimed he rose as a martyr while praising the man it calls Abu Abd al-Bar al-Amriki.

The kunya, a type of Arabic nickname, was first used in a claim of responsibility issued on Monday.

A graphic celebrating the Las Vegas attack and claiming Stephen Paddock converted to Islam six months ago, from Isis al-Naba propaganda magazine on 5 October

Used by Isis fighters and supporters to conceal their identity, the names are also published in propaganda statements celebrating terror attacks.

Analysts said Isis use of a kunya for Paddock either shows it was in communication with the gunman, or that it is mounting extensive efforts to bolster a false claim.

Raffaello Pantucci, director of International Security Studies at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said the name would ordinarily provide an indicator of some contact as it should only be known by the terrorist and Isis contacts.

Recommended Isis claims responsibility for deadliest shooting in US history

But at the same time, it is also possible that the group would manipulate this, which would be a way of showing a link without it necessarily being real, and no one really being able to discount it, he added.

Charlie Winter, a senior research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR), said the jury was out on whether Isis was linked to the attack.

He told The Independent that claims issued through Isis Amaq news agency had been correct in the past but Las Vegas seems extremely fishy.

Theres a hefty strategic logic behind every act of terrorism it claims  its not just communicating with us, the adversary, but with its supporters. Its got to show them theyre not fighting for a lost cause, Mr Winter added.

It could be that Isis made a mistake, it could be that the sources and claiming methodology didnt check out this time, and it could be an opportunistic claim.

Perhaps Isis did a false claim this one time  its not definite but its one scenario.

Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People scramble for shelter at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A handout photo released via Twitter by Eiki Hrafnsson (@EirikurH) showing concertgoers running away from the scene (C) after shots range out at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Eiki Hrafnsson Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People lie on the ground at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A man in a wheelchair is taken away from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People stand on the street outside the Mandalay Bay hotel near the scene of the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Paul Buck Las Vegas shooting  in pictures FBI agents confer in front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting during a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas police run by a banner on the fence at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures An injured person is tended to in the intersection of Tropicana Ave. and Las Vegas Boulevard after a mass shooting at a country music festival Ethan Miller/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Metro Police officers pass by the front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A woman sits on a curb at the scene of a shooting outside of a music festival along the Las Vegas Strip AP/John Locher Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A cowboy hat lays in the street after shots were fired near a country music festival in Las Vegas Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas Metro Police and medical workers stage in the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard South after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Sheriff Joe Lombardo (2-R) speaking during a press briefing in the aftermath of the active shooter incident on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA

Mr Winter said that if investigations show Isis claim is false, the damage to its reputation among supporters would be limited as they trust the groups propaganda over Western authorities.

The victory has already been planted internally and no amount of evidence to the contrary will convince people fighting for or believing in the group that its wrong, he added.

Well know one way or another in the next few weeks but Isis efforts to associate itself with an attack like this show it isnt in a particularly good state at the moment.

The terrorist group has been intensifying calls for global terror attacks while suffering heavy losses in its dwindling caliphate in Iraq and Syria, with the latest message purporting to come from leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

In a 46-minute audio recording released last week, he urged jihadis to intensify one attack after another against the infidels, with the message followed by Isis-related attacks in Marseille and Edmonton.

Isis has released detailed guidance on launching terror attacks, including on how to obtain guns in the US and naming concerts as a prime target.

The FBI said its investigation had not yet found any link to the group but local police suggested Paddock may have been radicalised amid continuing confusion over his potential motives.

Did this person get radicalised unbeknownst to us? Sheriff Joseph Lombardo asked. We want to identify that source.

Guns are scattered around the hotel suite where Paddock holed up for four days (ABC News)

The fact that he had the type of weaponry and amount of weaponry in that room, it was preplanned extensively and Im pretty sure he evaluated everything that he did and his actions, which is troublesome.

Paddock booked rooms next to other music festivals in the months before Sundays attack, including overlooking the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago in August and the Life Is Beautiful show near the Vegas Strip in late September.

Authorities are looking into the possibility Paddock planned additional attacks, including a car bombing, having found 1,600 rounds of ammunition in his car, along with fertiliser that can be used to make explosives and 50lbs of Tannerite, a substance used in explosive rifle targets.

Paddock had an arsenal of 23 weapons in his hotel room  a dozen included bump stocks attachments that speed up the rate of fire  and another 19 at home.

His girlfriend, Marilou Danley, told FBI agents on Wednesday she had not noticed any changes in his mental state or indications he could become violent after being sent on a trip to her native Philippines before the attack.

Paddocks brother, Eric, claimed he had no religious affiliation, no political affiliation or history of mental illness.

The profile of Paddock developed so far is of a high-stakes gambler and disturbed and dangerous man who acquired an arsenal over decades, Sheriff Lombardo said, while admitting that much of his secret life may never be understood.

While he appeared to have no criminal history apart from a minor traffic offence, his father was a bank robber who was on the FBIs most-wanted list in the 1960s.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Ivanka Trump and her brother Donald Trump Jr allegedly came close to being charged with fraud after misleading potential buyers of properties that were failing to sell.

The US Presidents eldest children were accused of using inflated figures about how well flats were selling in a bid to lure further buyers, reports investigative news outlet, ProPublica, which collaborated with The New Yorker and WNYC.

Evidence reportedly included emails from the Trumps making clear they were aware the figures were massaged, including one in which they discussed how to coordinate the false information they were providing.

Another worried that a reporter might be closing in on the alleged fraud.

When New York's Major Economic Crimes Bureau opened an investigation into the siblings in 2010, the Trump Organization hired top criminal defence lawyers.

Their lawyers told prosecutors the Trumps had made inflated, though non-criminal claims, but to the frustration of their father the case remained open, ProPublica reported.

Eventually Mark Kasowitz, who had been Donald Trump Srs lawyer for a decade, became involved.

In 2012 he donated $25,000 to the re-election campaign of Cyrus Vance Jr, the Manhattan District Attorney (DA) and the man who oversees the Major Economic Crimes Bureau.

 Ivanka Trump: 'I leave the politics to other people'

In May of that year Mr Kasowitz asked Mr Vance to drop the case. Three months later the DA told prosecutors to close the investigation, ProPublica reported.

Defending his decision, Mr Vance said: I did not at the time believe beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime had been committed. I had to make a call and I made the call, and I think I made the right call.

Although he handed back Mr Kasowitzs $25,000 (19,000) at the time of the meeting, less than six months after the case was dropped Mr Vance made an even larger donation to the election campaign.

Mr Vance has since told ProPublica he will now hand this second donation back, four years later, to stop the money being a millstone around anybodys neck.

Mr Kasowitz told reporters he donated the money because he was extremely impressed at the impeccable integrity of Mr Vance. I have never made a contribution to anyones campaign, including Cy Vances, as a quid-pro-quo for anything, he added.

Donald Trump Sr unveiled the Trump SoHo in June 2006 and signed the licensing deal with his two children.

Their partners on the development included two Soviet-born businessmen - Tevfik Arif and Felix Sater - who ran the Bayrock Group, a real estate firm which had a suite of offices in Trump Tower for eight years.

Sater, a criminal once jailed for stabbing a man in the face, is a former associate of gangsters and was once an FBI informant.

With the opening of the development coinciding with the financial crash in September 2007, properties were not selling, but the Trumps allegedly claimed the opposite.

In pictures: Ivanka Trump's Washington DC home Show all 13 1 /13 In pictures: Ivanka Trump's Washington DC home In pictures: Ivanka Trump's Washington DC home The front of the house Zillow In pictures: Ivanka Trump's Washington DC home The lobby Zillow In pictures: Ivanka Trump's Washington DC home The house exterior Zillow In pictures: Ivanka Trump's Washington DC home The patio Zillow In pictures: Ivanka Trump's Washington DC home The bedroom Zillow In pictures: Ivanka Trump's Washington DC home The living room Zillow In pictures: Ivanka Trump's Washington DC home The living area Zillow In pictures: Ivanka Trump's Washington DC home The Living Room Zillow In pictures: Ivanka Trump's Washington DC home The kitchen Zillow In pictures: Ivanka Trump's Washington DC home The living room Zillow In pictures: Ivanka Trump's Washington DC home The bathroom Zillow In pictures: Ivanka Trump's Washington DC home The living room Zillow In pictures: Ivanka Trump's Washington DC home The hall Zillow

Between them, the siblings announced 31 per cent, 55 per cent, then 60 per cent of the properties had been sold. But in March 2010, according to a sworn affidavit by a Trump partner, only 15.8 per cent of the apartments had been sold.

In August 2010 a group of buyers sued the Trump Organization, arguing that falsely claiming 60 per cent of the properties had been sold added value that was not really there.

After the law suit was filed, prosecutors at the Major Economics Crime Bureau opened a criminal investigation.

Meanwhile the Trump Organization had settled the civil case, handing back 90 per cent of buyers deposits in exchange for an agreement not to cooperate with prosecutors unless they were subpoenaed.

Two years later, after the meeting between Mr Kasowitz and Mr Vance, Trump defence lawyers were told the investigation was being dropped.

The Trump Organization has been contacted for comment but none had arrived at the time of publication.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The father of a man who died protecting his wife during the Las Vegas shooting has spoken out in an emotional Facebook post.

Sonny Melton, the first confirmed victim of the shooting, shielded his wife Heather from the hail of bullets coming from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, according to his father.

James Warren Meltons message has been widely shared across the internet in recent days after a friend of Mr Melton posted it to social media.

Calling his son a hero right up until the bullets pierced his back and lungs and he couldn't go on, Mr Melton said it was the first time he had ever hated anyone in Stephen Paddock, the man who committed the atrocity.

As Sonny and Heather ran away from the sniper, he always kept his own body between the danger and his wife. A running human shield. Heather says he had his hands on her shoulders and she felt him get hit and start to fall, Mr Melton wrote.

And even though she was only a few yards from the safety of a concrete retaining wall, she stopped and turned around to kneel by his side. She made a quick exam and yelled for help as dozens of others fell around them.

 Police officer saves cancer patient from Las Vegas massacre

Bullets hitting the concrete so near that the resulting dust irritated her eyes. But she stayed right there and started CPR there out in the open on the cold ground in a last ditch chance to save her husband.

Don't you see, Heather is a hero also. Protected by nothing more than the grace of God's invisible hands, she stayed with him and I'm comforted now knowing my son didn't have to die alone.

Mr Melton went on to describe how two angels who were also at the concert has rescued the pair before taking them in a pick-up truck to the nearest hospital, where Sonny was pronounced dead.

The grief has us now firmly in its relentless grip and this evil day has lasted way too long, he wrote. "Once again my prayer is to just be sleep stupid and have this sadness go away, even for just a few hours till I wake to my new, changed and darker world.

Sonny was a hero.

Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People scramble for shelter at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A handout photo released via Twitter by Eiki Hrafnsson (@EirikurH) showing concertgoers running away from the scene (C) after shots range out at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Eiki Hrafnsson Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People lie on the ground at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A man in a wheelchair is taken away from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People stand on the street outside the Mandalay Bay hotel near the scene of the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Paul Buck Las Vegas shooting  in pictures FBI agents confer in front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting during a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas police run by a banner on the fence at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures An injured person is tended to in the intersection of Tropicana Ave. and Las Vegas Boulevard after a mass shooting at a country music festival Ethan Miller/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Metro Police officers pass by the front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A woman sits on a curb at the scene of a shooting outside of a music festival along the Las Vegas Strip AP/John Locher Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A cowboy hat lays in the street after shots were fired near a country music festival in Las Vegas Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas Metro Police and medical workers stage in the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard South after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Sheriff Joe Lombardo (2-R) speaking during a press briefing in the aftermath of the active shooter incident on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA

Paddock murdered 58 people and left more than 500 injured before killing himself on 1 October, the worst mass shooting in US history.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Yet another tropical storm is barreling toward Americas Gulf Coast, an area still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Irma.

Tropical Storm Nate made its way through Central America this week, leaving more than 20 dead, according to officials. Now it is poised to strike areas of Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi, according to the National Hurricane Center.

A storm surge watch is in effect from the southern tip of Louisiana to the Alabama/Florida border, indicating the possibility of life-threatening sea level surges. Several areas of Louisiana, including metropolitan New Orleans, are under hurricane watch.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu declared a state of emergency for the city on Thursday, but stopped short of asking residents to evacuate.

There is no need to panic, he tweeted. Be ready and prepare. Get a plan. Prepare to protect your personal property.

Twenty-nine counties in Florida are also in a state of emergency.

Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Show all 45 1 /45 Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Recently planted palm trees lie strewn across the road as Hurricane Irma passes by in Miami Beach, Fla. 10 September 2017. AP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Damage outside the Mercure hotel in Marigot, on the Bay of Nettle, on the island of Saint-Martin AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures People pick up debris in Fajardo as Hurricane Irma howled past Puerto Rico after thrashing several smaller Caribbean islands Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Large waves produced by Hurricane Irma crash into the end of Anglins Fishing Pier in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The category 4 hurricane made landfall in the United States in the Florida Keys at 9:10 a.m. after raking across the north coast of Cuba. 10 September 2017 Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A Royal Air Force Puma has been delivered to the US Virgin Islands to assist with the humanitarian efforts post Hurricane Irma. The Puma will be delivering Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief in support of the Department for International Development. Royal Air Force logisticians from RAF Brize Norton have assisted with the delivery of military personnel and aid cargo to the Caribbean to support disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Irma. RAF aircraft including, C-17 A400M and Voyager are supporting a Joint Task Force of RAF, Royal Marines, Army and RN personnel who are supporting the Department for International Development as it delivers aid to stricken Caribbean Islands. MoD Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Flamingos at Zoo Miami, are shown in a temporary enclosure in a hurricane resistant structure within the zoo, Saturday, 9 September 2017 in Miami. Though most animals will reman in their secure structures, the cheetahs and some birds will ride out the storm in temporary housing. AP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Boats are seen at a marina in South Beach as Hurricane Irma arrives at south Florida, in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. 10 September 2017 Reuters Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Storm clouds are seen over Fisher Island as Hurricane Irma approaches on 9 September 2017 in Miami Beach, Florida. Florida is in the path of the Hurricane which may come ashore at category 4 Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Waves crash over a seawall at the mouth of the Miami River from Biscayne Bay, Fla., as Hurricane Irma passes by. 10 September 2017 AP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Some of the damage on Saint Martin EPA/Gerben Van Es/Dutch Department of Defence Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures The skyline is seen as the outerbands of Hurricane Irma start to reach Florida on 9 September 2017 in Miami, Florida. Florida is in the path of the Hurricane which may come ashore at category 4. Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A tree toped by hurricane Irma is seen on a empty street in Remedios, Cuba, 9 September 2017. Hurricane Irma reached Cuba bringing winds between 160 and 190 kilometers per hour. The hurricane has hit the north coast of the island. EPA Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures James Constantineau loads sands bags in his truck as he prepares for the approach of Hurricane Irma Saturday, 9 September 2017, in East Palatka, Fla. Gov. Rick Scott is urging anyone living in an evacuation zone in southwest Florida to leave by noon as the threat of Hurricane Irma has shifted west. AP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures The Fort Louis Marina in Marigot is seen on 8 September 2017 in Saint-Martin island, devastated by Hurricane Irma. AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Destruction in Orient Bay on the island of Saint-Martin AFP/Getty Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures The wreckage in Orient Bay on the island of Saint-Martin AFP/Getty Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures View of the aftermath of Hurricane Irma on Saint Martin Reuters Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A mobile network tower snapped in two by the hurricane on the island of Barbuda ABS TV Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A house reduced to rubble on the island of Saint Barthelemy AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures General view of damage on Saint Martin Reuters Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A damaged Casino Royale on Saint Martin after the passage of Hurricane Irma Anna Mazur/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures An aerial photograph taken and released by the Dutch department of Defense shows the damage of Hurricane Irma in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, the Dutch section of the Caribbean Island Gerben Van Es/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Flooded houses in Gustavia on the island of Saint-Barthelemy Kevin Barrallon/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures The damage on the island of Saint-Martin, a day after Hurricane Irma hit AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A man carrying an umbrella is battered by the wind in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A lone police car on patrol during the passing of Hurricane Irma in Fajardo, Puerto Rico Jose Jimenez/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Haitian people walk through the wind and rain on a beach in Cap-Haitien on September 7 as Hurricane Irma approaches Hector Retamal/AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A flooded street on the island of Saint Martin AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A tree collapsed on a house in Saint Martin Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A hotel in Saint Martin is gutted by floodwater during the hurricane Guadeloupe 1ere Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Cars submerged in Saint Martin Rinsy Xieng Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Debris floats amongst the floodwater in Saint Martin @la1ere Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Household items float down the street in Gustavia, Saint-Barthelemy Carole Greaux Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures The coast of Saint Martin is flooded as the hurricane hits the island Meteo Express Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A whole street underwater in Saint Martin @la1ere Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A car crashes into the tree amongst the chaos in Saint Martin @Bondtehond Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A building on the Saint Martin seafront, destroyed by the hurricane @Bondtehond Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A mobile home overturned at Princess Juliana International Airport in Saint Martin @Bondtehond Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Palm trees bend in the wind in San Juan, Puerto Rico as Hurricane Irma slammed across islands in the northern Caribbean Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A woman runs in the rain as Hurricane Irma slammed into San Juan, Puerto Rico Reuters/Alvin Baez Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A picture taken on September 5, 2017 shows a view of the Baie Nettle beach in Marigot, with the wind blowing ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma AFP/Getty Images Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures A man rides past a boarded up house as part of preparations ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Irma on September 5, 2017, in the French overseas island of Guadeloupe Helene Valenzuela/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Employees of the Mercure Hotel fill sand bags on the Baie Nettle beach in Marigot, as part of the preparations for the arrival of Hurricane Irma Lionel Chamoiseau/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures People in line at Costco, as they find out the store has ran out of water on September 5, 2017 in North Miami Michele Eve Sandberg/AFP Hurricane Irma  devastation caused in pictures Night view of the city of Cap-Haitien, in the north of Haiti, 240 km from Port-au-Prince, on September 5, 2017 Hector Retamal/AFP

Nearly 7m people were asked to evacuate from Florida and Georgia last month, when Hurricane Irma descended on the region. The storm killed more than 30 people in Florida and half a dozen more across the southern US. Employment numbers dropped by 33,000 in September, in response to the effects of both Irma and Hurricane Harvey.

Tropical Storm Nate is currently maintaining winds of up to 45 mph  compared to Irmas 185 mph  but is expected to strengthen in the coming days. The water in the Gulf of Mexico is very warm, which could bolster the storm as it travels up from Central America.

The storm is expected to be fast-moving, increasing in speed as it moves toward the US. That will reduce the likelihood of severe flooding like that seen during Hurricane Harvey, which dumped up to 60 inches of rain in some areas of Texas. Nate is expected to bring a maximum of 12 inches of rainfall.

The storm has already caused massive destruction in Central America, where it has killed at least 22 people. Thousands of people in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras were forced to evacuate their homes, according to government officials. Schools and highways in Costa Rica were closed due to life-threatening mudslides and power outages.

Gulf Coast residents should be prepared for severe effects in their areas as well, National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen told Reuters.

The threat of the impact is increasing, so folks along the northern Gulf Coast should be paying attention to this thing, Mr Feltgen said.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A Russian politician says he has seen a North Korean missile that could reach the US west coast, and that Pyongyang plans on testing a long-rage missile "in the nearest future".

Anton Morozov told Russian state-backed news agency RIA Novost that he and two colleagues had visited North Korea, where they were shown the North Korean calculations that the missile could hit America. During the visit, earlier this week, officials told them they had developed technologies that would allow their missiles to withstand the heat while entering the atmosphere after a launch.

The North Koreans showed him the "mathematical calculations which they say prove that their missile is capable of reaching the US west coast," he said.

Mr Morozov's party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, has a right-wing, nationalist agenda and is know for its anti-American sentiments. He did not indicate that he and his colleagues had personally reviewed the North Korean calculations to confirm their veracity.

North Korea has tested its missiles on at least 14 different occasions this year alone, leading to heightened tension between Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The North Korean regime has, at the same time, openly flouted its burgeoning nuclear capabilities, and conducted its sixth nuclear test ever last month. Meanwhile, intelligence leaks have indicated that North Korea is capable of producing a nuclear warhead small enough to be attached to one of those intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).

At the same time, Donald Trump and North Korean officials have engaged in a war of insults. The President said that Mr Kim is on a "suicide mission for himself and his regime" during his first speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month, and said that he was ready to use military force against the country if necessary. In response, Mr Kim released an unprecedented personal response, calling Mr Trump a "dotard" and a "frightened dog."

Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb Show all 6 1 /6 Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb Photos released by North Korea show Kim Jong-un talking to subordinates next to a device thought to be the new thermonuclear weapon. There is no way of independently verifying the pictures STR/AFP/Getty Images Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb North Korea claims it has successfully tested an advanced hydrogen bomb which could be loaded onto an intercontinental ballistic missile AFP/Getty Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb A diagram on the wall behind Mr Kim shows a bomb mounted inside a cone STR/AFP/Getty Images Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) attending a photo session with participants of the fourth conference of active secretaries of primary organisations of the youth league of the Korean People's Army (KPA) in Pyongyang STR/AFP/Getty Images Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb A new stamp issued in commemoration of the successful second test launch of the "Hwasong-14" intercontinental ballistic missile KCNA via Reuters Kim Jong-un inspects weapon North Korea says is powerful hydrogen bomb A new stamp issued in commemoration of the successful second test launch of the "Hwasong-14" intercontinental ballistic missile KCNA via Reuters

The US has also put financial pressure on North Korea through sanctions, and have put pressure on China and the international community to do the same. The United Nations voted to impose strict sanctions on the country earlier this year, further isolating the Korean country from the international community. China, which has been one of North Korea's best allies, has also instructed its banks to cut off financial dealings with North Korea.
Yesterday the Bureau of Land Management announced that the agency canceled the application that proposed to withdraw about 10 million acres across six states from future mining and exploration activities. Approximately 3 million acres in Nevada would have been affected by this withdrawal.

I support Secretary Zinkes action to cancel this withdrawal and terminate the environmental analysis associated with it. Mining has not been identified as a widespread significant threat to the sage-grouse and I appreciate the Department of Interior recognizing the overreach of this action, which had such significant economic impact on our state mining and exploration industries.

The BLM also announced that it is opening a 45-day public comment period on the land use management plan amendments. I encourage our stakeholders to participate during this period to make recommendations to better align the Nevada State Plan with the federal plan in a meaningful way. This is an opportunity for state partners to improve the federal plan and Nevada is committed to this process. I also encourage the BLM to engage with the states, both individually and collectively, in charting a path forward for the west.

The management of the greater sage-grouse is a shared responsibility. The bird population is the responsibility of the state and we will continue to manage it to keep it off the endangered species list. The birds habitat is largely on federal land, however, so I encourage the BLM to make sure the agency does its part in managing the habitat properly to ensure the sagebrush ecosystem is conserved and enhanced.

I will continue to work closely with my fellow western Governors and encourage the Department and BLM to fully participate and engage in the Sage-Grouse Task Force established by the Western Governors Association and the Department in an effort to implement effective conservation policies that will avoid the need for listing the bird as an endangered species.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Stephen Paddock's girlfriend recalls the Las Vegas shooter lying in bed screaming to himself, reports claim.

Investigators believe the shooter may have been in physical or mental anguish, a former FBI official who was briefed on the investigation told NBC News. Another said the shooter displayed "mental health symptoms.

"[His girlfriend] said he would lie in bed, just moaning and screaming, 'Oh, my God,'" one of the officials recalled.

Recommended Las Vegas gunman tried to buy bullets to target victims in the dark

Paddock was prescribed an anti-anxiety drug in June. Employees at a Starbucks near his Reno home recall him berating his girlfriend in public. But investigators do not believe his mental health was poor enough to have triggered an attack of this scale, the officials told NBC.

Last weekend, Paddock opened fire on a country music concert from his 32nd-story hotel window, shooting more than 500 people before killing himself. The new details about his mental state may provide hints as to the motive for the shooting, which police are still struggling to determine.

Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People scramble for shelter at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A handout photo released via Twitter by Eiki Hrafnsson (@EirikurH) showing concertgoers running away from the scene (C) after shots range out at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Eiki Hrafnsson Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People lie on the ground at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A man in a wheelchair is taken away from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People stand on the street outside the Mandalay Bay hotel near the scene of the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Paul Buck Las Vegas shooting  in pictures FBI agents confer in front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting during a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas police run by a banner on the fence at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures An injured person is tended to in the intersection of Tropicana Ave. and Las Vegas Boulevard after a mass shooting at a country music festival Ethan Miller/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Metro Police officers pass by the front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A woman sits on a curb at the scene of a shooting outside of a music festival along the Las Vegas Strip AP/John Locher Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A cowboy hat lays in the street after shots were fired near a country music festival in Las Vegas Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas Metro Police and medical workers stage in the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard South after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Sheriff Joe Lombardo (2-R) speaking during a press briefing in the aftermath of the active shooter incident on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA

In the spirit of the safety of this community or anywhere else in the United States I think its important to provide that information, but I dont have it, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said in an interview on Thursday. We dont know it yet.

Police had hoped Paddocks girlfriend, Marilou Danley, would be able to provide some insight. But Ms Danely told investigators she knew nothing about Paddocks plans for the attack. Through an attorney, she described Paddock as a kind, caring, quiet man.

He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen, she said.

 Partner of Las Vegas gunman releases statement describing him as "kind, caring, quiet man"

Paddocks brother, Eric Paddock, was similarly confused.

Something had to happen to Steve  I'm not even trying to excuse it  but something happened that drove him into the pit of hell and he did this, he told CBS.

A man on the Las Vegas Strip films on his phone the two broken windows of the Mandalay Bay hotel from which killer Stephen Paddock let loose (ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)

Investigators have discovered a note in Paddocks hotel room that they are still analysing for significance. They do not believe it was a manifest or a suicide note, according to Mr Lombardo.

Authorities told NBC that Paddock may have also scouted other locations in Chicago and Boston before his attack. A Chicago hotel overlooking popular music festival Lollapalooza confirmed to The Independent that someone named Stephen Paddock had booked a room during the festival, but failed to show up.

For now, however, authorities are still at a loss for what could have motivated his killing spree. Answering reporters' questions on Monday, Mr Lombardo seemed frustrated.

"I can't get into the mind of a psychopath at this point," he said.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Donald Trump was reportedly left seething after footage of him comforting victims of the Las Vegas massacre was overshadowed by video of his Secretary of State Rex Tillerson appearing to call him a moron.

The US leader is reportedly ready to replace the former oil executive with CIA director Mike Pompeo after footage of Mr Tillersons gaffe dominated TV news channels ahead of his visit to the scene of Americas worst mass shooting.

After Mr Trump took to Twitter to call the 'moron' story fake, MSNBC anchorwoman Stephanie Ruhle who broke the story, was quoted assaying: My source didnt just say he called him a moron. He said he called him an f**ing moron.

Mr Tillerson hastily organised a press conference shortly afterwards, which coincided with Mr Trumps visit to Las Vegas.

He used it to deny he was considering his resignation.

There has never been a consideration in my mind to leave. I serve at the appointment of the president and Im here as long as the President thinks I can be useful to achieving his objectives, Mr Tillerson said  but did not deny using the moron slur.

Mr Trump called reports about the moron slur totally phoney and said he had total confidence" in Mr Tillerson as he visited some of the injured victims and members of the emergency services.

However, he was reportedly furious about the timing of Mr Tillerson's gaffe and the fact that his Secretary of State did not explicitly deny calling him a moron.

After what Trump considered a strong trip to Vegas, he seethed when he got back and saw Tillersons gaffe dominating cable-news coverage, according to US new site Axios, which originally broke the story.

The website added that unnamed insiders claimed the relationship between the two men is now broken beyond repair.

Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People scramble for shelter at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A handout photo released via Twitter by Eiki Hrafnsson (@EirikurH) showing concertgoers running away from the scene (C) after shots range out at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Eiki Hrafnsson Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People lie on the ground at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A man in a wheelchair is taken away from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People stand on the street outside the Mandalay Bay hotel near the scene of the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Paul Buck Las Vegas shooting  in pictures FBI agents confer in front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting during a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas police run by a banner on the fence at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures An injured person is tended to in the intersection of Tropicana Ave. and Las Vegas Boulevard after a mass shooting at a country music festival Ethan Miller/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Metro Police officers pass by the front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A woman sits on a curb at the scene of a shooting outside of a music festival along the Las Vegas Strip AP/John Locher Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A cowboy hat lays in the street after shots were fired near a country music festival in Las Vegas Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas Metro Police and medical workers stage in the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard South after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Sheriff Joe Lombardo (2-R) speaking during a press briefing in the aftermath of the active shooter incident on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA

The pair are nonetheless reported to have clashed on matters of foreign policy in recent weeks, particularly when Mr Trump engaged in a war of words with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, branding him rocket man.

He promised fire and fury if the secretive communist state lands one of its missile trials on US territory.

Mr Tillerson is thought to prefer a more measured approach.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

On the campaign trail and since becoming president, Donald Trump has repeatedly criticised the Iran nuclear deal, labelling it one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.

The US leader is now expected to decertify the agreement, leaving it up to Congress to decide whether to re-impose economic sanctions on Iran.

What was the agreement?

Officially titled the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the Obama-era accord was designed to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

Under the 2015 agreement with six nations  the US, France, Germany, China, Russia and the UK  Iran agreed to restrict its nuclear programme for at least 10 years in exchange for the loosening of economic sanctions that had crippled its economy.

Why does Mr Trump oppose the deal?

During his first speech before the United Nations General Assembly last month, Mr Trump said, We cannot abide by an agreement if it provides cover for the eventual construction of a nuclear program.

The US president's administration must certify to Congress that Iran is upholding its part of the deal every 90 days. Mr Trump has already done so twice, but has continuously noted that Iran remains a leading state sponsor of terrorism.

How did Iran react to the reports that Trump would decertify the agreement?

Iranian nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said the deal was not renegotiable, according to Iran's Press TV.

However, he suggested the accord might be salvageable if the other partners  France, Germany, China, Russia and the UK  remained on board. If not, he said, the deal will definitely fall apart.

Last month, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani attacked Mr Trump for suggesting the agreement could be ripped up.

Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Show all 30 1 /30 Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Threatening to shut down Twitter after being fact-checked After the president tweeted that voting by post would be "substantially fraudulent", Twitter attached a warning label to his tweet and referred readers to a site which explained how the claim was "unsubstantiated". Trump then said Twitter was "stifling free speech" and that he may have to shut it down, something which he would not have the power to do AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Flippantly dismissing a serious allegation of sexual assault When author E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her, the president responded: Number one, shes not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Insulting the Mayor of London as he landed in London Just before touching down at Stansted Airport for his state visit, Trump took time out to @ the London mayor Sadiq Khan on twitter. He said that Khan has done a "terrible job"as mayor and that he is a "stone cold loser" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Taking plenty of "Executive Time" The president's official schedule sets aside the hours from 8 to 11am daily for "Executive Time". Further intermittent periods of "Executive Time" are scheduled throughout any given day, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours. His duties in these hours have not been officially disclosed, though Axios reports that he spends them watching TV, reading the newspapers and tweeting Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Shutdown the government for over a month in an effort to secure funding for his wall With Mexico declining to pay for the wall, the president has faced difficulty in raising the required $5bn at home. Due to his demand that the money for the wall be included in the budget, and Congress's refusal, the government partially shut down on 22 December 2018. It remained shut for over a month, the longest period in history Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Joking about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron In this tweet from 13 November 2018, the president mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Railing against the Mueller investigation The president has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Trump Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling Following furious backlash in the US, the president claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it would not have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Colouring in the US flag wrong The president coloured in the US flag wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter The president announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the president made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired! Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Calling African nations "S***hole Countries" Ever one for diplomacy, the president reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape". Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying: There are a lot of killers. You think our countrys so innocent? Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Asking for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump couldnt help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzeneggers show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of The Apprentice  which buoyed Trumps celebrity status years ago Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull Early in his presidency, Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the worst call he had had so far Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... The 'Muslim ban' Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Trumps travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administrations argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the president picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... 'Little Rocket Man' During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be little Rocket Man as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack After the attack on the London Bridge, Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticising Khan for saying there was no reason to be alarmed after the attack. Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face' Never one not to mock his enemies, Trump mocked MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to join him. He noted that she was bleeding badly from a face-lift at the time, and that he said no MSNBC Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides' Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Retweeting cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train' Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of fake news Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trumps White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didnt mention jews or even the word jewish in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trumps inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didnt, the day was very dreary Reuters

It will be a great pity if this agreement were to be destroyed by rogue newcomers to the world of politics, Mr Rouhani said at the UN. By violating its international commitments, the new US administration only destroys its own credibility and undermines international confidence in negotiating with it or accepting its word or promise.

When will Mr Trump announce his decision?

Mr Trump is expected to lay out how his administration will address Iran during a speech on October 12. He could still change his mind on whether or not to recertify the agreement.

Some of his top advisers, including Defence Secretary James Mattis, seem to believe its in the USs interest to stay in the deal.

What would happen next?

Decertification itself would not break the US's agreement with Iran. It would start the clock on a 60-day congressional review period, during which legislators would have to decide whether to reimpose sanctions. If they decide to do so, they would effectively dismantle the deal.

Republican members of Congress were unanimously opposed to the agreement in 2015, but they have wavered since then on whether Mr Trump should enforce it. This makes it unclear whether there would be enough votes in support of reinstating sanctions on Tehran.

What could happen with North Korea?

Along with railing against the nuclear deal, Mr Trump has also been critical of Iran's ballistic missile programme and expressed concern Tehran is working with North Korea, which is quickly developing its own nuclear weapons.

If the Trump administration does decertify the nuclear agreement, it's possible North Korea and Iran could expand their military ties.

How might European nations react to Mr Trumps decertification of the deal?

European diplomats have reportedly already been meeting with members of Congress to lobby them on the merits of the agreement.

Mr Trumps criticism of the deal has put him at odds with other world leaders, including the UK's Prime Minister Theresa May, who has called the agreement vital, and Frances President Emmanuel Macron.

During his address to the UN General Assembly, Mr Macon said the nuclear deal was essential for peace.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Former Vice President Joe Biden has launched a strident attack on Donald Trumps foreign policy, saying it has endangered America and hinted he and Barack Obama are set to offer more outspoken criticism of the man who succeeded them in the White House.

In a speech to a foreign policy think tank in Washington DC, the man who may still be considering a presidential run in 2020, said it was time for experts to raise their voices and speak out.

We are walking down a very dark path. Its not alarmist, he said. The isolation of the United States on the world stageas a consequence endangers - not strengthens - American interests and the American people.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

He added: I really feel incredibly strongly that the women and men sitting before me, who have been the intellectual backbone of the foreign policy establishment in this country for decades, have to start to speak out.

President Obama and I have been very quiet and respectful, giving the administration time, but some of these roots are being sunk too deeply. I believe its time to challenge some of the dangerous assumptions that are attempting to replace that liberal world order.

Both Mr Biden and Mr Obama have been watchful of their public criticism of the Trump administration since they left the White House. Mr Obama spoke out over the effort to scrap his landmark healthcare plan and about a proposal to deport so-called Dreamers as part of an immigration crackdown.

Yet the comments by Mr Biden on Thursday in Washington, as he accepted an award form the Centre for Strategic and International Studies think tank, are an insight into the deep concern felt by many over Mr Trumps foreign policy.

 Joe Biden takes the train home from inauguration

In recent weeks, it has become ever more clear of the gap between Mr Trump and his most senior diplomat, Secretary of State Rex Tillers. This week, Mr Tillerson was obliged to hold a press conference to deny a report by NBC News that he had considered resigning from the cabinet this summer and considered the President a moron. While he did not specifically deny making the comment, he said Vice President Mike Pence had not had to talk him out of quitting.

After months of reflection and consideration, Mr Biden, 74, decided against contesting the 2016 presidential election, a decision he has since suggested was wrong. There are many in the Democratic Party who want him to consider a run in 2020, despite his age.

Mr Biden, who reached the top in American politics from hardscrabble roots, said in his speech he knew many Americans felt left behind by globalisation, and that Mr Trump had been able to tap into such concerns.

The appeal to populism and nationalism is a siren song, a way for charlatans to aggrandise their power, raise themselves up, break down those mechanisms that were designed, whether in our constitution or internationally, to limit the abuse of power, and destabilise the world, he said.

Referring to Mr Trumps history as a New York property developer, Mr Biden said: Rather than building a shared narrative of freedom and democracy that inspires nations to unite in common goals, this administration casts global affairs in a dog-eat-dog competition, like its a competition: who gets that plot to build the new high-rise building.

He said the actions the Trump administration were making it more difficult for the US to face current challenges, undermining the country's credibility by planning to back out of the Paris climate deal, questioning the US commitment to NATO and threatening to destroy the Iran nuclear deal.

He added: This administration is calling into question what the word of the United States is actually worth.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

In the morning at CARECEN, a legal and immigration aid clinic in Los Angeles, people waited nervously for help with their Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) permit renewals  looking to avoid the state of limbo President Donald Trump is about to throw them into.

Mr Trump's recent rescinding of the Barack Obama-created DACA programme  which offered a route into work and education and protection from deportation  has brought chaos to the lives of the 800,000 DACA recipients who arrived in the US illegally as children. A deadline to extend their status closes on Thursday, with around 40,000 of those eligible still not having done so with mere hours left.

When I heard of the DACA programme ending, it was a shocker, because that's what we rely on to work and go to school, said 21-year-old Katherine  who did not want to use her surname  after filling out the paperwork which will permit her another two years in the US. I feel that what [President Trump] is doing to DACA is pure evil.

Colourful posters on CARECEN's walls urged all to !Use Nuestras Voces! and to Halt Deportations Now! But despite the empowering words, enthusiastic help, and deep, state-funded resources, many others of those waiting turned away, discouraged.

The DACA programme, which has provided temporary sanctuary for those immigrants who arrived illegally before their 16th birthday and lived in the US since 2007, has been a lifeline for many undocumented immigrants who had spent all of their adult lives in the US without being able legally to work, drive or enroll for college. It has effectively delayed their deportation date for two years, during which time they've had temporary rights, and after which they could apply to have it extended.

But the Trump administration has declared the programme itself illegal, on the basis that Mr Obama passed it without Congressional approval.

DACA participants whose current permit expiration dates fall between 5 September 2017 and 5 March 2018 are the ones who have now been given a month to renew their permits, while those whose permits fall outside these dates are being denied the privilege.

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

Katherine is fully acclimated to life in Los Angeles, having arrived from Guatemala at age 8. I consider myself more American than from my country, 'cause this is the only country I've had. To go back to my original country, I dont know anything, more than language! Thats about it! Katherine, who was cradling her 21-month-old daughter, Abigail, a US citizen, currently works part-time in a shoe store, and says she plans to finish high school, then to go to college to study child psychology.

Katherine's story is typical of many of LA's young Latino immigrant population, and shows the lengths her family took to bring her here. She was smuggled into California having crossed the border with her 12-year-old brother in the trunk of a smuggler's car.

The border agents never saw us, she said. Along the way, the two children, who were travelling to meet their parents in the US, encountered the dark side of border smuggling. We were held hostage for three days in a basement, adding that their LA-based uncle had no choice but to pay the $2,000 ransom. It was really scary.

 Bernie Sanders: DACA decision is 'ugliest and most cruel ever made by a president in modern history'

However, Katherine's brother, whose original DACA request missed the new cut-off date by just a few days, could be soon deported back to Guatemala. Katherine is disappointed, suggesting that his home is also here. He wants to go back to school, she said, adding that though they sometimes have a rocky relationship, she loves him, and doesn't want to see him part.

Carlos Suarez, a Legal Assistant in CARECEN's DACA General Department, says that Katherine's brother's tale echoes that of many of the DACA hopefuls. Some were expired March 8, not by the March 5 deadline, he said. They were devastated! Three days that they missed! And in six months, they'll be invalid! With no work permit, they won't have the same jobs or salaries. What to do as a job?

When asked what the left out DACA folks will indeed do, Mr Suarez said that many will go back to a life in the shadows. In other words, as they did before the introduction of DACA, they will not be able to register for school or to work without a permit, and will live in constant fear of the immigration authorities. He adds many Dreamers, with an average age of 26, now have children or businesses that they can't leave. Many say they're just gonna have to make it, no matter what.

This said, hope is not entirely dead for the DACA Dreamers. Xavier Becerra, California's Attorney General has announced that he plans to file a suit against the Trump Administration, and will claim that the new rules violate Dreamers' due process, while Congressional leaders also still have five months to act on Dreamers' behalf.

Senator Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona, introduced the Border Security and Deferred Action Recipient Relief Act on Thursday which would look to offer to provide residency for up to 10 years as long as DACA recipients were involved in vocational or higher education, enrolled in the army or employed. Meanwhile, Democrat leaders appear confident of passing legislation to protect Dreamers. But, while that process goes on the future could be unclear for thousands.

The Dreamers' being caught between federal laws and state laws is kind of a weird area, said Mr Suarez. You have this community trying to protect these residents, and you have government trying to take you out. So you really don't know where you stand. It's uncertain overall.
Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Inside Washington email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The UKs embassy in Washington has issued a public rebuke to Donald Trump over his criticism of the Iran nuclear deal.

Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised the international agreement to limit Irans nuclear ambitions, which was championed by his predecessor Barack Obama.

He has reportedly said he will give Congress the chance to decide on whether the current system should stand, or whether to re-impose sanctions.

On Thursday he said Iran had not lived up to the spirit of the deal.

But the British Embassy hit back on Twitter, saying: The Iran nuclear deal is working.

It claimed that before the agreement was brokered, Iran had 19,000 working centrifuges, 8,000kg of low-grade enriched uranium and a stockpile of weapons-grade material.

Afterward, it said, the scheme had been set back significantly and Iran had transferred 95 per cent of its uranium, and all of its weapons-grade stocks.

On the campaign trail and since his inauguration, Mr Trump has criticised the deal and labelled it one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into.

In his address to the United Nations General Assembly last month, he promised to reconsider its terms, saying the US cannot abide by an agreement if it provides cover for the eventual construction of a nuclear programme.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

Mr Trumps stance has put him at odds with other world leaders, including the UKs Prime Minister Theresa May, who has said the agreement is vital, and Frances President Emmanuel Macron.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A Kansas man heard what he thought were fireworks late at night from his room in the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, but soon realised he was staying just one floor below the gunman, Stephen Paddock.

Floyd Conrade, of Emporia, was in town on a business trip when he saw and heard debris raining down from above just outside his rooms window, according to the Kansas City Star.

The debris was shards of glass from when Mr Paddock used what police said was a hammer-like tool to smash his windows in order to rain bullets down on the crowd of 22,000 people attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival.

In the span of ten minutes, Mr Paddock killed 58 people, injured almost 500, before shooting himself just before police stormed his room.

Mr Conrade quickly realised these were no fireworks and ran to the bedroom of his hotel room, mindful of keeping distance between himself and the windows

He stood and he sat. He used an app on his phone to listen to law enforcement chatter, the father of six told the newspaper.

When the shooting stopped Mr Conrade cautiously popped his head out into the hallway but was immediately told to go back in by armed police officers.

He made the connection when he heard Mr Paddocks room number announced over one of the officers radio, 32-134.

 Fox News host suggests atheism may be to blame for Las Vegas shooting 2

Mr Conrade was staying in 31-134.

He said the explosives police used to blow open Mr Paddocks door jolted him more than the gunfire.

All through the night he heard footsteps above, crunching through broken glass and searching the entire room.

Police conducted searches of every room on the 32nd and 31st floor.

Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People scramble for shelter at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A handout photo released via Twitter by Eiki Hrafnsson (@EirikurH) showing concertgoers running away from the scene (C) after shots range out at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Eiki Hrafnsson Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People lie on the ground at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A man in a wheelchair is taken away from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People stand on the street outside the Mandalay Bay hotel near the scene of the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Paul Buck Las Vegas shooting  in pictures FBI agents confer in front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting during a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas police run by a banner on the fence at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures An injured person is tended to in the intersection of Tropicana Ave. and Las Vegas Boulevard after a mass shooting at a country music festival Ethan Miller/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Metro Police officers pass by the front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A woman sits on a curb at the scene of a shooting outside of a music festival along the Las Vegas Strip AP/John Locher Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A cowboy hat lays in the street after shots were fired near a country music festival in Las Vegas Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas Metro Police and medical workers stage in the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard South after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Sheriff Joe Lombardo (2-R) speaking during a press briefing in the aftermath of the active shooter incident on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA

Mr Conrade said he was an avid hunter growing up and though he supports the Second Amendment said this guy was dealing with something way more above that.

Police said Mr Paddock, a real estate millionaire and frequent gambler in Las Vegas, had 47 guns in the hotel room and his homes in Mesquite and Reno, Nevada.

They were all purchased - after passing required background checks and legal procedures - in Nevada, California, Utah and Texas.

Included in the arsenal were high-powered rifles, handguns, and bump stocks - which allows a gun to simulate rapid, automatic fire.

In addition to stocks of ammunition, Paddock also had cameras mounted inside and outside his hotel room. Police are still examining the cameras.

Mr Conrade is still staying in his room at Mandalay Bay since there was no damage to it and plans on flying home at the end of the week after having seen the body bags and result of the chaos that night in the harsh daylight that Monday morning.
Sign up to our Evening Headlines email for your daily guide to the latest news Sign up to our free US Evening Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Evening Headlines email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

YouTube has changed its secretive search algorithms in response to the spread of conspiracy theory videos about the mass shooting in Las Vegas.

The home-video behemoth came under fire in the wake of the shooting, when several unsubstantiated claims made their way into the top new results about the massacre. Videos such as "Proof Las Vegas Shooting Was a FALSE FLAG attackShooter on 4th Floor" made it into the Top News section on Tuesday, just two days after the shooting occured, according to the Wall St Journal.

But YouTube has since changed its search algorithms to promote more reputable news, a source close to the company told The Independent. The changes had been planned for months, the source added, but were moved up in the wake of the shooting.

Recommended Conspiracy theories swirl as hunt for Las Vegas motive continues

By Friday, the top ten results for Las Vegas shooting all came from news outlets, or contained direct uploads of footage from the event.

But the company is still working on its Up Next feature, which suggests related content to watch at the end of a video, according to the Journal. On Friday, watching a video titled Las Vegas Shooting: 6 QUESTIONS - False Flag? Multiple Shooters? Paddock patsy? lead to suggested videos like A False Flag Patsy Event Is Unfolding Before Our Eyes and CNN Crisis Actor Caught Red Handed.

Suggested videos are displayed next to a YouTube video titled "Las Vegas Shooting: 6 QUESTIONS" (YouTube/Emily Shugerman)

YouTube uses secret algorithms to determine which videos appear in its Top News and Up Next section. The company has said publicly that it factors in a videos popularity and a users history when choosing which videos to display, but has declined to reveal more.

The company says it regularly deletes videos flagged for violating its community guidelines. These guidelines cover everything from nudity to child endangerment, but do not discuss conspiracy theories or unverifiable claims. YouTube declined to provide details to The Independent on its standards regarding conspiracy theories.

The company told the Guardian, however, that a video called Las Vegas Shooting  Did It Actually Happen? did not violate its standards. The video  which questions whether the shooting was faked by paid actors  had amassed almost 350,000 views by Friday morning.

Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People scramble for shelter at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A handout photo released via Twitter by Eiki Hrafnsson (@EirikurH) showing concertgoers running away from the scene (C) after shots range out at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Eiki Hrafnsson Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People lie on the ground at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A man in a wheelchair is taken away from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures People stand on the street outside the Mandalay Bay hotel near the scene of the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Paul Buck Las Vegas shooting  in pictures FBI agents confer in front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting during a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas police run by a banner on the fence at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures An injured person is tended to in the intersection of Tropicana Ave. and Las Vegas Boulevard after a mass shooting at a country music festival Ethan Miller/Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Metro Police officers pass by the front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A woman sits on a curb at the scene of a shooting outside of a music festival along the Las Vegas Strip AP/John Locher Las Vegas shooting  in pictures A cowboy hat lays in the street after shots were fired near a country music festival in Las Vegas Getty Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Las Vegas Metro Police and medical workers stage in the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard South after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting  in pictures Sheriff Joe Lombardo (2-R) speaking during a press briefing in the aftermath of the active shooter incident on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA

The company did pull the aforementioned video calling the shooting a false flag attack," however. YouTube also gave the creator's account a penalty strike. Accounts that receive more than three strikes are terminated.

The videos creator, Jake Morphonios, claimed the clip garnered 2.5m views before it was deleted. He pushed back against the video's deletion, saying he was simply offering an opinion.

Im not presenting myself as mainstream media, Mr Morphonios told the Journal. Im just a guy with a computer offering an opinion. And to be punished for that is, well, its draconian.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The United Nations has labelled Burma's refusal to grant access to Rakhine state - the scene of alleged ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims - as "unnacceptable".

The access we have in northern Rakhine state is unacceptable, the head of the United Nations humanitarian office, Mark Lowcock, told reporters in Geneva.

He added he believed a "high level" UN team would be able to visit the region in "the next few days".

More than half a million Rohingya people have crossed the Burmese border into Bangladesh, making this the world's fastest-developing refugee emergency.

This flow out of Myanmar has not stopped yet, its into the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya (who are) still in Myanmar, we want to be ready in case there is a further exodus, Mr Lowcock said.

Earlier this week, the UN warned of the immense pressure to accommodate refugees who have fled to neighbouring Bangladesh, in an appeal for $430 million to provide aid for those displaced.

People arrive fearful, exhausted and hungry, and in desperate need of immediate help including shelter, food, clean water and sanitation, and healthcare, Mr Lowcock and Unicef executive director Anthony Lake said.

They bring with them terrible accounts of what they have seen and suffered  stories of children being killed, women brutalised, and villages burned to the ground."

Bangladesh this week announced it would build one of the worlds biggest refugee camps for the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims who have sought asylum in the country.

Authorities plan to expand a refugee camp at Kutupalong near the border to help alleviate the pressure placed on the camp by the huge influx of refugees.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The Burmese government has claimed members of the persecuted minority have been destroying their own homes, but this is disputed by Rohingya refugees, who say the military and Rakhine Buddhists are setting their villages alight to drive them out following attacks by Rohingya Muslim militants on police posts.

In August, Rohingya Muslim insurgents attacked several police posts and an army base, which led to a military crackdown that has resulted in the deaths of at least 400 people and forced tens of thousands to flee.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

An Australian mother of four has been banned from Facebook for sharing an article on breastfeeding in a private group on the social media site.

Facebook told Kerryn Gill-Rich it was because the pictures accompanying the article on vasospasm - more commonly known as nipple blanching - a condition that occurs in breastfeeding women when blood flow to the nipple is limited, were in violation of its nudity policy.

The article contained medical information written by a certified lactation consultant on the issue, how women could deal with it, and images of blanched nipples as a reference.

Ms Gill-Rich had attempted to share the article twice in the Breastfeeders in Australia group and was banned for a week for each instance of attempted sharing.

Her appeals for review were to no avail.

She fears that one day the ban could become permanent and she would no longer be able to serve as one of the administrators for the group of 30,000 women.

Lauren Threadgate, the founder of the group, has hailed Ms Gill-Rich has a vital resource for these women as well - many of them first-time mothers or those going through post-partum depression that need support.

 Woman kicked out of court for breastfeeding

She doesn't just know about breastfeeding, but knows how to talk in a way that people understand, and to listen to them in a way that makes them feel heard, Ms Threadgate told Daily Mail Australia.

Her experience breastfeeding four kids makes her a valuable contributor and source of information but her experience in her work and outside of breastfeeding also mean she is a wonderfully empathetic person with really refined communication skills.

A change.org petition in support of Ms Gill-Richs efforts to share more information on breastfeeding on the site has popped up and been supported by 4,600 signatures.

Facebook could not be immediately reached for comment.

The petition said categorising pictures showing nipples of breastfeeding women as nudity is a double standard and many women have complained about pictures of mutilated fetuses posted by pro-life or anti-abortion groups being allowed as proof.

Breastfeeding in public controversies Show all 11 1 /11 Breastfeeding in public controversies Breastfeeding in public controversies A woman has sparked a heated debate among parents after she revealed that she breastfeeds both her and her friend's son. Jessica Colletti, from Pennsylvania, said nursing Charlie Interrante's son seemed like the natural thing to do because she was already breastfeeding her son. Colletti told the Mama Bean parenting blog that she asked permission to nurse Interrantes son when she began looking after him, after they met at a photoshoot for new mothers. Interrante agreed as her son had not taken to formula milk Breastfeeding in public controversies New Hampshire State Rep. Josh Moore said on Facebook that men should be allowed to grab the nipples of breastfeeding mothers if the law banning women exposing their breasts did not pass Breastfeeding in public controversies When Gemma Colley's photo of her son with fake tan on his fake after she breastfeed him went viral, she also saw that no parent is alone when they make a silly mistake. Over 100,000 people liked and 40,000 people shared Ms Colleys photo of her sons sleepy face with fake tan encircling his mouth and nose, after she posted it to the Unmumsy Mum Facebook page Breastfeeding in public controversies A candid image of a mother breastfeeding her young child while using the toilet has divided parents online, as some argue its an honest depiction of parenthood, while others have labelled it disgusting Breastfeeding in public controversies The exclusive Claridges hotel has been widely criticised for asking a woman to cover herself with a ridiculous shroud while breastfeeding her three-month-old daughter. Lousie Burns said she burst into tears when staff members at the five-star venue asked her to cover herself and her baby with an oversized napkin in order to avoid causing offence to other guests Breastfeeding in public controversies An Australian cafe has been praised for sticking up for a breastfeeding mother after a customer told her to cover up. Jessica-Anne Allen, owner of Cheese and Biscuits Cafe in Queensland, Australia, has described how she was approached by a male customer in the cafe to complain that he was upset by a woman in the coffee shop breastfeeding her child nearby. The customer asked the cafe owner, 29, to tell the mother to cover up. When Mrs Allen refused to do so, he took matters into his own hands and challenged the woman himself. Staff at the cafe then asked the man to leave Breastfeeding in public controversies A woman who claimed a Primark security guard had forcibly removed her child while she was breastfeeding has admitted to perverting the course of justice. Caroline Starmer sparked a series of headlines after claiming on Facebook that a store guard had taken her nine-month-old daughter Paige away from her. The mother from Leicester then repeated her claims in a number of interviews, before Primark denied the incident and handed CCTV over to the police to show there was no evidence to support the allegations. Appearing in Leicester Crown Court, she admitted the charge of perverting the course of justice by not telling the truth Breastfeeding in public controversies Pope Francis has become an unlikely advocate for public breastfeeding, by encouraging mothers to feed their babies in the Sistine Chapel. During a ceremony in Vatican City on Sunday, the Pope baptised 32 babies and told their mothers: If they are hungry, mothers, feed them, without thinking twice, because they are the most important people here Breastfeeding in public controversies Facebook has changed its community guidelines to allow users to post photos of breastfeeding. The change comes as the wide-ranging #FreeTheNipple online campaign has built pace in its attack against guidelines used by social media websites to regulate nudity  from photos of breastfeeding to topless photos post by singer Rihannas on her now defunct Instagram account. Facebooks Community Standards, which outline what users are allowed to post, never included a outright ban on photos of breastfeeding Breastfeeding in public controversies The manager of a public swimming pool at the Lux Park centre in Liskeardhas been forced to apologise after he told a mother to stop breastfeeding her son by the waterside. 23-year-old Rebecaa Hough of Torpoint, Cornwall, was feeding 10-month-old Max a few steps from the main pool, when the manager told her to carry on in the changing rooms in case the infant was sick into the water. She was also told that she should not to return for half an hour to ensure the milk was fully digested Breastfeeding in public controversies A Conservative MP has claimed allowing women to breastfeed in the House of Commons chamber would expose politicians to tabloid ridicule. Sir Simon Burns, a former transport minister, spoke on what he called a controversial subject in a debate in making Westminster more family-friendly

Ms Gill-Rich wrote an open letter to Facebook that was posted on the Breastfeeders in Australia website by Ms Threadgate that said it only takes a quick search on Facebook to find a flood of sexual and graphic content.

Facebooks policy site stated that We agree that breastfeeding is natural and beautiful and we're glad to know that it's important for mothers to share their experiences with others on Facebook.

It said the vast majority of the photos shared are within compliance of the sites nudity policy.

However, it also appears to place blame on its users, stating the photos we review are almost exclusively brought to our attention by other Facebook members who complain about them being shared.

This would mean the nipple blanching article Ms Gill-Rich posted may have been flagged by another user within the private group, since the post was not public.

The sites Community Standards also states that it does restrict some images of female breasts if they include the nipple, but we always allow photos of women actively engaged in breastfeeding or showing breasts with post-mastectomy scarring.

Facebook has recently come under fire for reportedly selling advertisement space to Russian groups that targeted voters in Michigan and Wisconsin during the 2016 US election - two states Donald Trump won.

There is an ongoing investigation by Congress and the FBI in the Russian role in interfering with the election and alleged ties between the Trump campaign team and Russian officials.
Artist's wife is ready to sell some of the canvases to set up a museum

Aghasi Ayvazyan himself admitted in one of his interviews that he liked painting more. "Painting, staging a film, a performance. I do not write but stage a play. Writing has a technical side which I do not like. You have to sit and write for a long time. It's no coincidence that I write short stories. In Armenia the shortest stories are written by me. I wrote the shortest novel. I cannot read long stories..." An exhibition of the prose writer, screenwriter, painter Aghasi Ayvazyan opened at Alexander Tamanyan Architecture Museum-Institute. "Instead of looking at the painting of Aghasi Ayvazyan, one should read them. His paintings speak and tell the story of our future lives," said Abgar Apinyan. Greta Veryan, Aghasi Ayvazyan's widow, has appealed to different instances to create Aghasi Ayvazyan's house-museum. Mrs. Greta was ready to even sell some of the paintings and to set up a museum where she would be Aivazian's archive, his library, and the rest of the canvases. But she could not find a rich benefactor who would be ready to buy the collection. Mrs. Greta is to meet the Minister of Culture today. "I hope that the problem will be solved." The exhibition of Aghasi Ayvazyan's paintings will be open till the end of October.
Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UK Sign up to our Brexit email for the latest insight Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Brexit and beyond email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The US has objected to a deal between the UK and EU to divide agricultural import quotas, one of Theresa Mays key plans for a smooth Brexit.

British and European negotiators had been working on an agreement to split tariff rate quotas, which would allow some agricultural produce to enter the EU from countries outside of the union.

A preliminary deal was drawn up between London and Brussels over how to split the EUs existing tariff rate quotas (TRQs) - agreed under the World Trade Organisation - but it was rejected by the US, Canada, New Zealand, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Thailand in a co-signed letter.

 Brexit talks: European Parliament says sufficient progress not made

The news is setback for the Prime Minister, who presented the deal as a breakthrough for a successful Brexit, particularly as Donald Trump was a proponent of Britain exiting the EU.

The argument put forward for the deal by Britain and the EU is that the rest of the world will not be left worse off if the blocs quotas are reduced and Britain takes a share of them.

The letter from the objectors states they were not consulted and the deal would disrupt the delicate balance of concessions and entitlements that is fundamental to the global trade architecture today.

We are aware of media reports suggesting the possibility of a bilateral agreement between the United Kingdom and the European Union 27 countries about splitting TRQs based on historical averages, the letter read.

 Jean-Claude Juncker: Britain needs a 'miracle' to meet deadline for Brexit deal

We would like to record that such an outcome would not be consistent with the principle of leaving other WTO members no worse off, nor fully honour the existing TRQ access commitments.

Thus, we cannot accept such an agreement.

New Zealand deputy trade secretary Vangelis Vitalis tweeted other states have ideas do not want to have a solution imposed on them.

Sorry that key partners assume a deal they strike between them will suit RoW. Didnt need to be this way, he wrote.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 10 November 2022 A grey heron lands on the river Dodder in Dublin on a sunny autumn morning PA UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images 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 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty 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

The objectors said the deal say it will indeed leave them worse off as a separate quota for Britain would mean exporters could not compensate for low British demand by selling to another EU country, which they currently can.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The escalating crisis in Catalonia runs the risk of causing a civil war on European soil, the EU budget commissioner has warned.

The situation is very, very disturbing, Gunther Oettinger said. A civil war in planned in the middle of Europe.

One can only hope that a conversation will be made between Madrid and Barcelona soon.

Mr Oettinger added the European Union would only intervene if asked, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Violence broke out during a massive police operation to halt an independence referendum on Sunday, which the Spanish government deemed illegal.

More than 800 people are reported to have been injured in the clashes, which saw riot police smashing their way into polling stations and beating voters.

Catalan officials said the preliminary result of the referendum showed 90% of voters backed the formation of an independent republic.

After the vote, Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont told the BBC on Wednesday the autonomous region would declare independence from Spain at the end of this week or the beginning of next.

The Spanish government responded by accusing Catalonian separatists of blackmail.

The European Commission sided with Spain in a statement, which deemed the independence vote not legal under the Spanish constitution and called for all parties involved to seek unity and stability.

If a referendum were to be organised in line with the Spanish Constitution it would mean that the territory leaving would find itself outside of the European Union, the statement read.

Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Show all 17 1 /17 Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man faces off Spanish Civil Guards outside a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police form a security cordon around the Ramon Llull school in Barcelona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police evict a young woman during clashes between people gathered outside the Ramon Llull school in Barcelona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Spanish Civil Guard officers break through a door at a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Spanish National Police clash with pro-referendum supporters in Barcelona on Sunday AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Crowds raise their arms up as police move in on members of the public gathered outside to prevent them from voting in the referendum at a polling station where the President Carles Puigdemunt will vote later today Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters People confront Spanish Civil Guard officers outside a polling station Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Three man hold each other as they try to block a Spanish police van from approaching a polling station AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A woman shows a ballot to a Spanish Civil Guard officer outside a polling station Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man wearing a shirt with an Estelada (Catalan separatist flag) and holding carnations faces off with a Spanish Civil Guard officer Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Police try to control the area as people attempt to cast their ballot at a polling station in Barcelona Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man is grabbed by officers as police move in on the crowds Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Two women argue with a Spanish National policeman during clashes between Catalan pro-independence people and police forces at the Sant Julia de Ramis sports centre in Girona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Sant Julia De Ramis in Spain Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Confrontation outside a polling station in Barcelona, where police have tried to stop people voting AFP/Getty Images Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A Spanish National Police officer aims a rubber-bullet rifle at pro-referendum supporters in Barcelona AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police clashed with voters as polls opened in Barcelona Sky News

Catalan businesses are considering moving out of the region due to the threat of an impending independence declaration and the regions political stability, with Barcalona-based Sabadell bank already announcing plans to move its head office to the city of Alicante.

Spains third-largest lender Caixabank has said its board will meet on Friday to consider transferring its legal base out of Catalonia to the Balearic Islands.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A Spanish government official has offered an apology to voters caught up in violence that marred last weekend's banned Catalan referendum, but the softening tone from Madrid is unlikely to halt a declaration of independence that is now expected to come on Tuesday.

A crucial parliamentary address by Catalan premier Carles Puigdemont that would potentially have led to a unilateral declaration of independence has been delayed to avoid a Spanish constitutional court ban on Catalan parliamentary activity on Monday.

In what is effectively a high-stakes political game of cat and mouse between Catalan nationalists, their opponents and the Spanish courts, Mr Puigdemont has now requested he talk to the regional parliament next Tuesday, 24 hours later than expected.

Whereas Mr Puigdemonts left wing allies, the hard-line CUP party, had said that Mondays now officially suspended parliamentary session would be to declare independence from Spain, this time there has been no public confirmation concerning what Mr Puigdemont wishes to talk about beyond the current political situation".

But Spanish state broadcaster TVE reported on Friday that un-named opposition sources suspected that Mr Puigdemont would use his parliamentary appearance to make a declaration of independence.

Whilst Spanish governments top representative in Catalonia, Enric Millo, has today offered the first official apology to the hundreds of would-be voters injured in the police charges during Sundays banned pro-independence referendum, such gestures of goodwill are doing little to stem the ongoing political turmoil in Spains richest region, as well as some economic setbacks.

A number of major banks and businesses have announced plans this week to relocate parts of their operations away from Catalonia. On Thursday, Sabadell, which owns TSB, decided to transfer its Barcelona base to Alicante in the region of Valencia. CaixaBank, the third largest lender in Spain, is also planning to relocate from the region.

 Spanish King Felipe VI slams Catalan authorities

Meanwhile, Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia also reported various representatives of the tourism industry had warned of a drop in hotel reservations in Catalonia and that one top US airline had recommended avoiding travelling to Barcelona between 3 and 13 October.

As the political uncertainty in Catalonia widens into economic jitters, yesterday EU budget commissioner, Gunther Oettinger, warned of the risk of an escalating conflict.

The situation is very, very disturbing, The Daily Telegraph reported Mr Oettinger as saying. A civil war is planned in the middle of Europe.

Spains Minister of the Economy, Luis de Guindos, insisted on Wednesday that the clients of Catalan banks had nothing to fear because, he said, any attempt at secession from Spain would not happen. One leading carmaker, SEAT, has said it had no intention of shifting its business out of Catalonia.

However, the Spanish government on Friday approved an emergency decree allowing companies to make a high speed relocation, without first consulting shareholders, of their Catalan-based operations to Spain. It was also confirmed that the special deployment of Spanish state police in Catalonia, at one point numbering nearly 10,000 although that figure is now thought to be much lower, would remain in the region until at least 18 October.

Meanwhile Catalonias head of the Mossos dEsquadra police force, Jose Luis Trapero, was questioned by a Madrid court on suspicion of sedition, a charge for which he could face up to 15 years in prison.

Mossos d'Esquadra chief Josep Lluis Trapero leaves the Audiencia Nacional Court in Madrid (EPA)

The Mossos dEsquadra, as recently as August hailed as heroes across Spain for their rapid action against the Isis-inspired terrorist attacks, have been accused of failing to provide a sufficiently strong defence of Spanish national police in a standoff with protesters ahead of the 1 October referendum.

Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Show all 17 1 /17 Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man faces off Spanish Civil Guards outside a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police form a security cordon around the Ramon Llull school in Barcelona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police evict a young woman during clashes between people gathered outside the Ramon Llull school in Barcelona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Spanish Civil Guard officers break through a door at a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Spanish National Police clash with pro-referendum supporters in Barcelona on Sunday AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Crowds raise their arms up as police move in on members of the public gathered outside to prevent them from voting in the referendum at a polling station where the President Carles Puigdemunt will vote later today Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters People confront Spanish Civil Guard officers outside a polling station Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Three man hold each other as they try to block a Spanish police van from approaching a polling station AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A woman shows a ballot to a Spanish Civil Guard officer outside a polling station Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man wearing a shirt with an Estelada (Catalan separatist flag) and holding carnations faces off with a Spanish Civil Guard officer Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Police try to control the area as people attempt to cast their ballot at a polling station in Barcelona Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man is grabbed by officers as police move in on the crowds Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Two women argue with a Spanish National policeman during clashes between Catalan pro-independence people and police forces at the Sant Julia de Ramis sports centre in Girona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Sant Julia De Ramis in Spain Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Confrontation outside a polling station in Barcelona, where police have tried to stop people voting AFP/Getty Images Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A Spanish National Police officer aims a rubber-bullet rifle at pro-referendum supporters in Barcelona AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police clashed with voters as polls opened in Barcelona Sky News

Mr Trapero was not retained by the Spanish courts, but the fractures in Catalan society over independence continue to widen.

Organisers have revealed plans for a massive march on Sunday in Barcelona of Catalans wanting continuing unity with Spain. The march comes exactly a week after the banned referendum saw an overwhelming vote in favour of breaking away - officially confirmed today as 90.18 per cent of a 43 per cent total turnout.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

President Carles Puigdemont has asked to address Catalonia's parliament on Tuesday, after Spain suspended a session scheduled for the day before at which the region was widely expected to declare independence in direct defiance of Madrid.

Around 40 per cent of the region's 5.5 million electors voted in a referendum last weekend that Madrid had ruled illegal and deployed riot police to disrupt.

Ballot boxes were shipped in from France by night, stored in homes and improvised hiding places, then secretly shuttled to polling stations.

However, violent scenes when polls opened - including riot gear-clad officers hitting firefighters with batons and throwing voters down stairs - left hundreds injured and drew international condemnation.

Catalan officials said police had closed or raided 400 of the more than 2,000 polling stations before or during the vote but added that 2.2 million votes were cast, with 90 percent in favour of breaking away.

However, the last regional election and polls showed the 7.5 million residents of Catalonia were almost evenly divided on the issue, and many who would rather stay part of Spain are not thought to have taken part.

Nevertheless, Mr Puigdemont vowed to declare independence based on the result, after which Spain suspended a Catalonian government session for assessing the vote that had been due to take place on Monday amid speculation he would use it to do so.

Mr Puigdemont now wants to use Tuesday's planned address to "report on the current political situation", according to a brief statement by his office.

In Madrid, Spain's National Court unconditionally released two senior officers of Catalonia's regional police force and the leaders of two pro-independence civic groups who are being investigated for sedition in connection with the referendum.

The four are to be questioned again in coming days.

Recommended This is what happens if Catalonia declares independence from Spain

The case is linked to demonstrations on September 20-21 in Barcelona, when Spanish police arrested several Catalan government officials and raided offices in a crackdown on preparations for the referendum.

The four being investigated are Catalan police chief Josep Lluis Trapero, Catalan police lieutenant Teresa Laplana, Jordi Sanchez, the head of the Catalan National Assembly, and Jordi Cuixart, president of separatist group Omnium Cultural.

After being questioned for about an hour, Mr Trapero left the courthouse to applause by Basque and Catalan party representatives and insults from bystanders.

Mr Sanchez also answered questions related to his defence.

"I ask strongly that the Spanish government, the national parliament and the head of state (the king) understand that time and the hours are very important to find a debated solution and give way to a political solution," Mr Sanchez said.

Spanish authorities say the demonstrations hindered the Spanish police operation, and that Catalan police didn't do enough to push back protesters blocking Spanish police officers from leaving a building. Two police cars were vandalised and officers were caught inside the building for hours.

Spain's conservative government has refused to enter into talks on the crisis unless the Catalans drop plans for secession.

Neutral Switzerland has offered to mediate and is in touch with both sides but admits talks look unlikely to happen.

"Facilitation can only be provided if both parties request it. Switzerland is in contact with both parties, but the conditions for facilitation are not in place at this stage," a foreign ministry spokesman said.

He described the situation in Catalonia as an internal Spanish political matter and said Switzerland respected the sovereignty of Spain.

Spain's government also approved a decree that would make it easier for companies in Catalonia to move the location of their official registration out of the region.

The move will allow the relocation of Caixabank, Spain's third largest bank by assets, before next week.

Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Show all 17 1 /17 Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man faces off Spanish Civil Guards outside a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police form a security cordon around the Ramon Llull school in Barcelona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police evict a young woman during clashes between people gathered outside the Ramon Llull school in Barcelona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Spanish Civil Guard officers break through a door at a polling station in Sant Julia de Ramis Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Spanish National Police clash with pro-referendum supporters in Barcelona on Sunday AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Crowds raise their arms up as police move in on members of the public gathered outside to prevent them from voting in the referendum at a polling station where the President Carles Puigdemunt will vote later today Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters People confront Spanish Civil Guard officers outside a polling station Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Three man hold each other as they try to block a Spanish police van from approaching a polling station AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A woman shows a ballot to a Spanish Civil Guard officer outside a polling station Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man wearing a shirt with an Estelada (Catalan separatist flag) and holding carnations faces off with a Spanish Civil Guard officer Reuters Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Police try to control the area as people attempt to cast their ballot at a polling station in Barcelona Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A man is grabbed by officers as police move in on the crowds Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Two women argue with a Spanish National policeman during clashes between Catalan pro-independence people and police forces at the Sant Julia de Ramis sports centre in Girona EPA Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Sant Julia De Ramis in Spain Getty Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Confrontation outside a polling station in Barcelona, where police have tried to stop people voting AFP/Getty Images Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters A Spanish National Police officer aims a rubber-bullet rifle at pro-referendum supporters in Barcelona AP Catalonia independence referendum: Riot police clash with voters Riot police clashed with voters as polls opened in Barcelona Sky News

At least half a dozen companies, including the fifth-largest lender, Banco Sabadell, have already relocated or agreed to do so.

The moves have no immediate effect on jobs or company assets, but are seen as a blow to the Catalan government.

Agencies contributed to this report
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Denmark looks set to become the next European country to restrict the burqa and the niqab, worn by some Muslim women, after most parties in the Danish parliament backed some sort of ban on facial coverings.

Full and partial face veils such as burqas and niqabs divide opinion across Europe, setting advocates of religious freedom against secularists and those who argue that such garments are culturally alien or a symbol of the oppression of women.

The niqab covers everything but the eyes, while the burqa also covers the eyes with a transparent veil.

France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria have all imposed some restrictions on the wearing of full-face veils in public places.

This is not a ban on religious clothing, this is a ban on masking, Jacob Ellemann-Jensen, spokesperson for the Liberal Party, told reporters on Friday after his party, the largest in the coalition government, decided to back a ban.

This would effectively mean a ban on the niqab and the burqa, he added. Around 200 women in Denmark wear such garments, according to researchers.

The three-party centre-right minority government, its ally the Danish Peoples Party and the main opposition Social Democrats have all said they are in favour of a ban, though they are still discussing how the ban should be designed and enforced.

There will come a masking ban in Denmark. Thats how it is, Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen said on Facebook.

His party, the Liberal Alliance, had previously been one of the staunchest opponents of a ban, saying it limited peoples ability to freely choose their attire, but has now aligned its stance with that of the other coalition parties, the Conservatives and the Liberals.

So if it is practically possible to have such a ban without betraying ourselves or our own values, then the Liberal Alliance will vote for it, Mr Samuelsen said.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The Social Democrats, Denmarks biggest party, has also signalled support in principle for a ban on garments such as the burqa, which it said oppressed women.

We are ready to ban the burqa if that is what it takes ... But there are some dilemmas, not least with regards to how such a ban would be enforced, said the Social Democrats leader, Mette Fredriksen, during a debate in parliament on Thursday.

Norways government in June proposed a ban on face-covering Muslim veils in kindergartens, schools and universities.

Last month the Austrian government issued posters and leaflets threatening Muslim women with fines for wearing face veils, and on 1 October its ban on wearing niqabs and burqas in public came into force.

Belgium also has a nationwide ban that came into effect in 2011, and the European Court of Human Rights recently upheld the countrys right to do so.

Judges said the ban did not violate the rights to private and family life and freedom of religion, or discrimination laws.

France was the first country to implement the ban in April 2011.

Reuters
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons has won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.

The group was awarded the honour for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the Geneva-based group  known by its acronym Ican  had helped to fill a legal gap that meant nuclear weapons were not subject to the same prohibitions as land mines, cluster munitions and biological and chemical weapons.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, and Federica Mogherini, the EUs foreign policy chief, had been tipped as frontrunners for their role in orchestrating the Iran nuclear deal that saw the middle-eastern country give up its nuclear weapons development in exchange for the lifting of crippling sanctions.

Pope Francis, Angela Merkel and the American Civil Liberties Union  which is suing Mr Trump over his attempted transgender military ban  were also in the running.

But with the spectre of nuclear war between the US and North Korea looming, the committee said it was rewarding Icans efforts to stigmatise, prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons.

Risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time, it said.

Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, announces the Nobel Peace Prize 2017 in Oslo (Reuters)

The committee also issued a direct plea to Donald Trump, Kim Jong-un and the leaders of other nuclear-armed countries, urging them to initiate serious negotiations with a view to the gradual, balanced and carefully monitored elimination of the almost 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world.

It is the firm conviction of the Norwegian Nobel Committee that Ican, more than anyone else, has in the past year given the efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons a new direction and new vigour, the committee added.

Sunao Tsuboi, a 92-year-old survivor of the 1945 Hiroshima nuclear bombing, said he was overjoyed to hear of the Nobel peace award going to Ican.

As long as I live, I hope to work toward a realisation of a world without nuclear weapons with Ican and many other people, he said.

Recommended 120 nations just came together to reject nuclear weapons

As well as receiving plaudits from the highly respected international body, Ican will also be handed $1.1m (840,000) in prize money.

Pressed about the relevance of the prize since no international measures against nuclear weapons have been reached, committee chair Berit Reiss-Andersen replied that what will not have an impact is being passive.

Through its inspiring and innovative support for the UN negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons, Ican has played a major part in bringing about what in our day and age is equivalent to an international peace congress, she said.

Past winners have included the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, for his resolute efforts to bring the countrys more than 50-year-long civil war to an end, and the National Dialogue Quartet for its work in Tunisia in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring.

Ican, first formed in Australia but officially launched in Austria in 2007, is a coalition of non-governmental organisations in 101 countries promoting adherence to and implementation of the UN nuclear weapon ban treaty.

Responding to the announcement, the group said: This is a time of great global tension, when fiery rhetoric could all too easily lead us, inexorably, to unspeakable horror. The spectre of nuclear conflict looms large once more.

If ever there were a moment for nations to declare their unequivocal opposition to nuclear weapons, that moment is now.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The Nobel committee has warned of a rising risk of nuclear war and called on the world's powers to start "serious" disarmament talks.

The board awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) for its work "to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons".

It called the group's efforts to bring about a treaty-based ban on the weapons "ground-breaking".

Recommended Nobel Peace Prize won by Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

We live in a world where the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time, Norway's Nobel committee president Berit Reiss-Andersen said.

Moves by nuclear powers to modernise their nuclear arsenals and attempts by states such as North Korea to procure new atomic weapons were increasing the risk, she said.

More than 100 nations in July signed a landmark disarmament accord, the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, yet the agreement does not include nuclear-armed countries such as the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.

"This year's Peace Prize is also a call upon these states to initiate serious negotiations with a view to the gradual, balanced and carefully monitored elimination of the almost 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world," Ms Reiss-Andersen said.

The North Korean regime led by Kim Jong-Un has conducted increasingly sophisticated nuclear tests and has expanded its missile programme to include weapons that are potentially capable of striking parts of the United States.

Mr Trump has ridiculed Mr Kim, calling him "Little Rocket Man" and he warned North Korea it could face fire and fury like the world has never seen.

Asked by journalists whether the prize was essentially symbolic, given that no binding international treaty banning nuclear weapons has been reached, Ms Reiss-Andersen said what will not have an impact is being passive.

ICAN, which began in Australia and was officially launched in Vienna in 2007, describes itself as a coalition of grassroots non-government groups in more than 100 nations. The organisation said winning the prize was a "great honour".

"By harnessing the power of the people, we have worked to bring an end to the most destructive weapon ever created and the only weapon that poses an existential threat to all humanity," it said in a statement

"This prize is a tribute to the tireless efforts of many millions of campaigners and concerned citizens worldwide who, ever since the dawn of the atomic age, have loudly protested nuclear weapons, insisting that they can serve no legitimate purpose and must be forever banished from the face of our earth.

"It is a tribute also to the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the hibakusha [Japanese survivors of atomic bombings] and victims of nuclear test explosions around the world, whose searing testimonies and unstinting advocacy were instrumental in securing this landmark agreement."

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The committee sorted through more than 300 nominations for this year's award, which recognises both accomplishments and intentions.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee does not release names of those it considers for the prize, but said 215 individuals and 103 organisations were nominated.

Agencies contributed to this report
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Womens rights groups in Poland have had their documents and computers seized in police raids which took place a day after thousands of activists marched against the countrys restrictive abortion law.

The Womens Rights Centre, which works on a range of women's issues, and Baba, which helps domestic violence victims, had their offices in the cities of Warsaw, Lodz, Gdansk, and Zielona Gora invaded by police.

Both organisations took part in this week's anti-government protests marking the anniversary of the historic Black Protest. The demonstration took place a year ago and saw people dressed in black come together to stop a plan in parliament for an almost total ban on abortion.

The activists have accused Polish authorities of attempting to intimidate them and said losing the files will obstruct the work they do.

We have the impression they are afraid of women's protest and want to find out all possible methods to devalue the Polish women's grassroots solidarity movement, Krystyna Kacpura, the Executive Director at Poland Fed for Women & Family Planning, told The Independent.

They also want us to be afraid of possible repression from the government's side. It started with women's NGOs working on violence against women and funded by the government in previous years.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The organisations claim police informed them prosecutors were hunting for evidence in an investigation into suspected wrongdoing in the Justice Ministry which took place under the former government. The ministry was feeding funding to the womens groups at the time.

They reassured us that the investigation concerned Ministry of Justice officers. We don't believe in this information because the raids occurred one day after women protested across Poland, Ms Kacpura said.

We were shocked about the raids. Women's NGOs have nothing to hide but this operation stopped their work. They are not able to continue everyday important work for violated women and children.

She said women marched in front of the office of the Centre for Women's Rights on Friday to show that other NGOs are standing in solidarity with them.

Marta Lempart, the head of the Polish Womens Strike, which organised the protests, echoed the views of Ms Kacpura. She told Associated Press: This is an abuse of power because, even if there is any suspicion of wrongdoing, an inquiry could be done in a way that doesnt affect the organisations work.

Anita Kucharska-Dziedzic, who is the director of Baba, claimed police entered her office in Zielona Gora, which is in western Poland, at 9am on Wednesday and stayed there until 6pm working to remove files.

Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK, said: These heavy-handed police tactics amount to harassment of womens rights organisations. Coming a day after the protests against restrictive abortions laws, they risk silencing the discussion on abortion rights in Poland."

She added: These raids targeted four organisations that provide support to women and girls, including victims of domestic violence. Confiscation of hard drives and computers with personal data appears punitive towards these organisations that openly supported the protest on Tuesday."

Recommended Meet the woman travelling delivering abortion drugs by drone

Prosecutors hit back at the accusations levied against them, claiming the fact the raids took place a day after the protests was merely coincidental.

The ruling Law and Justice party is founded on a socially conservative, Catholic ideology and has pursued a restrictive agenda with regards to female reproductive rights.

For instance, the morning after pill is no longer prescription-free because the minister of health, Konstanty Radziwi, raised concerns teenage girls would use it on a daily basis. The same minister also claimed that as a doctor he would not even prescribe the pill to a woman who had been raped, citing the conscience clause in defence.

In Poland abortion is illegal except in cases of rape or when a females life is at risk or if the fetus is irreparably damaged. As such, womens rights activists took to the street this week to express their frustration at the fact abortion was still illegal in most cases and demand a radical overhaul of the countrys laws.

In October 2016, legislation was proposed to completely outlaw abortion overall. The plans prompted around 30,000 people to assemble despite awful weather in Warsaws Castle Square, chanting We want doctors, not missionaries!.

The far-reaching protests were successful and triggered lawmakers to vote against the restrictive new law just three days afterwards. The eastern European country is one of the few countries in the world to outlaw abortion following decades of total legalisation.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin will mark his 65th birthday. This is five years past the retirement age for men in Russia  and roughly their life expectancy too  but there is little prospect of an exit for a man in his 18th year of power.

One man aiming to spoil Mr Putins party is Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who has made clear his desire to run for the presidency in elections next year  even if the Kremlin has said he is ineligible.

To mark the occasion, Mr Navalny, 41, has called on supporters to rally in more than 80 Russian cities, including the presidents home city of St Petersburg. Mr Navalny, who was planning to attend the St Petersburg rally, instead lost an appeal against his 20-day jail sentence imposed by a Moscow court for calling the unsanctioned rally.

Authorities in Moscow and St Petersburg have not granted permission for rallies in those cities, warning people will face arrest if they attend.

For Mr Putin, the rallies will be seen as more of an inconvenience for now. In September, he equalled Leonid Brezhnevs time in office  6,602 days  leaving him closing in on Stalins record secure in the knowledge his support base is holding strong.

Mr Putin has so far been cagey about his plans. Last week, the President said that he might not, in fact, run in presidential elections next March.

But few in Moscow believe a serious operation to install a successor is under way. None of the tea leaves read that way. The reason for such suspense is most likely suspense alone: how else to make one of the most boring referendums on earth exciting?

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

On Friday, TV Rain, one of the last remaining liberal voices in Russia, reported that Mr Putins presidential run will now be announced only at the very last moment. Citing high-placed sources in the Presidents administration, the channel said that the date had been put back as far as possible to limit any chance of other candidates gaining momentum.

The later the campaign, the less time opponents have for their own PR, and the better it becomes for the main candidate, the Kremlin source is quoted as saying.

According to Russian law, the official campaign needs to begin by 7 December, or three months before election day. So that would mean we should expect Mr Putins announcement at the end of November or first week in December.

But, in the time that Mr Putins increasingly narrow circle of advisers were considering the best way to give their man a clear run, his most obvious challenger had, in fact, built improbable momentum. In the space of a few short months, Mr Navalny has built an impressive grassroots movement across Russia.

If not quite in shape to directly challenge Mr Putin in next years elections, a reasonable result for Mr Navalny  anything above 15 per cent  would establish his legitimacy as a politician. From there, the future is anyones guess.

 Putin watches Russia's military might on display in war games

But for the Kremlin, the issue of Mr Navalny running next March is already closed. A criminal conviction that most consider politically motivated rules him out of running, they say.

After allowing several rallies in September, last week authorities increased pressure on the uninvited presidential candidate. As well as Mr Navalny, his chief of staff, Leonid Volkov, was also sentenced to 20 days arrest for organising unsanctioned rallies. At the sentencing, Mr Navalny said that President Putin had given himself a birthday present to try and ensure the St Petersburg rally did not go ahead.

Mr Navalnys team have said the programme of rallies will go ahead regardless, adding dozens of other cities. Large crowds are expected in Moscow and St Petersburg in particular, despite the warnings from city officials about the threat of arrest.

The police response is anyones guess. There has been a tendency to go soft when least expected, and the contrary. But the last time a large protest coincided with a big day for Mr Putin  his inauguration weekend in 2012  the response was uncompromising. Hundreds of arrests were made.

The Kremlin has only used a fraction of its political resources on containing Mr Navalny, but a source close to the Kremlin confirmed concern about his ability to connect with young voters remains. Mr Navalnys taunts of Grandad Putin are directly aimed at Putins electoral appeal, which has traditionally focussed on youth and energy.

Of course, much has changed since the last election. With falling real-terms income, and complicated international relations, Mr Putin is instead usually presented as a national leader.

But the focus on youth, strangely enough, remains. Commentators in loyal newspapers are already promoting the idea of Mr Putins third youth. And if not his own, then of others. Last week, eight mostly long-serving governors were replaced with young technocrats. This follows a similar process last year. The week before, Mr Putin visited Yandex, Russias answer to Google, with the tech giant under strict instructions that the President at all times be surrounded by young employees.

But even when President Putin makes it through the election campaign, by the end of his term he will be 71. Early in that term, all attention will be switched to the search of a successor able to ensure the survival of the system. The next year will be crucial to Mr Putins legacy.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

A wild boar has been shot and killed after being found with radiation levels more than ten times the safe limit.

The boar was found in central Sweden and is thought to have high radiation due to living in an area still largely affected by nuclear fallout from the Chernobyl disaster, 31 years ago.

Other animals such as elk and reindeer have also been affected but the radiation levels in boar are reportedly increasing.

Following the explosion at the reactor, in what is now Ukraine, much of Sweden was covered in a toxic cloud of radioactive iodine and caesium-137.

Rain from the cloud then polluted the area of Gavle in the centre-east of the country with radiation.

According to The Local, the level among wild boar are on the increase as they are moving to the north of the country to areas worst affected by the fallout.

A boar shot in August had a radiation of 13,000 becquerel per kilogram (Bq/kg), whereas the limit set by Swedens Food Agency is 1,500 Bq/kg.

This is the highest level we have measured, said Ulf Frykman, an environmental consultant.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

He said his team had measure around 30 samples of meat so far this year and found only five or six were below the safe limit.

Radiation levels in elk and reindeer are said to be decreasing and animals rarely suffer negative health effects due to their short lifespans.

People, however, who consume meat with these radiation levels face an increased risk of developing cancer.
PM: We boast high commodity turnover with all countries in the Eurasian Economic Union

Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan attended today the joint plenary session of the Sixth Armenian-Russian Interregional Conference and Second Eurasian Partnership Forum. Welcoming the participants and the guests, the Prime Minister called the conference agenda extremely important and up-to-date. Drawing the participants attention to the opportunities available in Armenia, the Premier stated in part, Being a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, Armenia can be viewed as a good platform for our friends not only in terms of its domestic market, but also in terms of developing trade relationship with neighboring Iran. We are completing work on the launch of a free economic zone with Iran, and we are negotiating with the Iranian side on a special border regime. Armenia enjoys GSP+ and GSP privileged trade regimes with EU countries and the United States of America, respectively. I think it would be right to discuss the prospects of our countries involvement in these works, if possible. Down to the 6th Armenian-Russian Interregional Conference, the head of the Armenian government pointed out that economic cooperation is on the rise between Armenia and Russia at all intergovernmental levels, though the existing potential has not yet been fully utilized. Moreover, the actual potential is much more than today. I am convinced that horizontal interregional contacts are an important component, especially considering that the Armenian Government recently emphasized the need for Marz governors strict accountability for their regions economic performance. We boast high commodity turnover with all countries in the Eurasian Economic Union, including Russia: imports and exports are growing. After making a decision on the possibility for Russian citizens to travel to Armenia with their domestic passports, we stated a 37% growth in inbound tourism, Prime Minister Karapetyan said, wishing the conference fruitful and productive work. Thematic sessions will be held on the sidelines of the 6th Armenian-Russian Interregional Forum aimed at developing and expanding interregional cooperation in the fields of information technology, industry, innovations, tourism, agriculture and humanitarian affairs, as well as promoting integration processes at this level. Representatives of governments, business and expert circles, leaders of world-renowned companies from Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, US, China, Qatar, South Korea, India and others are participating in the proceedings of the Second Eurasian Partnership Forum.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Russian soldiers may soon face legal consequences if they whip out their smartphones to take a quick snap of themselves and their comrades in arms.

The Russian military has reportedly drafted a law to ban military personnel from taking selfies in a bid to stop soldiers from inadvertently revealing locations.

In previous incidences, seflies published online have revealed Russian troop deployments to Ukraine and Syria, after internet users identified their locations.

A proposal for draft amendments to the Law on the Status of Military Personnel was published on the federal portal for draft regulations on Wednesday, and will update the law that was drafted before the advent of social media.

The law says photographs, videos and other media can compromise the military by giving the enemy useful information. Some media is traceable via automatic geolocation which can immediately reveal where a unit has been deployed - in some cases location data is accurate to within a few metres.

 Russian soldier gives location away with Instagram selfies

Journalists have previously used Russian military selfies to reveal locations.

In 2015, Vice News reporter Simon Ostrovsky posted a YouTube video documenting how a Russian soldiers social media posts revealed the Russian militarys direct involvement in the Ukraine conflict.

The country has steadfastly maintained that volunteers are helping pro-Russian forces in the country, but has denied sending troops.

According to the Moscow Times, Russian group, the Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), which monitors conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, found photos in November 2015 uploaded by Russian soldier Ayas Saryg-Ool, indicating he was in Hama, in west-central Syria.

In 2014 a geo-tagged seflie by a soldier from Russias 76th Airbourne regiment led investigative online organisation Bellingcat to discover that as many as 40 Russian troops had been killed in conflict in Ukraine.

The Russian Defence Ministry said foreign intelligence agencies, as well as extremist and terrorist organisations, use information posted by Russian soldiers on the internet to destabilise the internal political and social situation in various regions of the world, the Moscow Times reported.

The selfie ban is expected to come into force in January 2018.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Isis has called on women to take up arms as it continues to lose territory in Syria and Iraq, in an alarming development that could have global consequences.

In a new edition of its Arabic language newspaper, the terrorist group told female supporters it was an obligation for them to wage physical jihad.

Today, in the context of the war against the Islamic State, it has become necessary for female Muslims to fulfil their duties on all fronts in supporting the mujahedeen in this battle, the article said, adding that women should prepare themselves to defend their religion by sacrificing themselves by Allah.

The lengthy treatise justified the change by claiming women had fought in the Islamic Golden Age and citing female companions of the Prophet Muhammed as examples.

Isis has previously prohibited women from fighting on the battlefield, encouraging them to marry fighters, spread propaganda and bear and indoctrinate children to populate its so-called Islamic State.

Charlie Winter, a senior research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence (ICSR), said recent propaganda statements had hinted a change was imminent but the direct instructions were unprecedented.

There are lots of different implications  potentially the most important relate to security and counter-terrorism, as well the fighting in Syria and Iraq, he told The Independent.

 US backed fighters make progress in driving Isis out of Raqqa

It really is unprecedented and it also says a lot about what Isis thinks about itself at the moment.

By issuing this article its implicitly recognised that its jihad has gone from an offensive jihad to defence and thats huge.

Women undergo less stringent screening than men emerging from the groups former territories as they are steadily reclaimed in Iraq and Syria, and have been considered minor players in the global terror treat emanating from Isis.

Recommended Female suicide bomber cradles baby moments before blowing them both up

But increasing reports started to emerge of female suicide bombers and snipers in the groups former Iraqi stronghold of Mosul in the summer, while women are also believed to be active on the frontline in the Syrian city of Deir Ezzor.

In July, an article purporting to be from a female Isis member in its Rumiyah propaganda magazine said the time had come for women to rise with courage and sacrifice in this war not because of the small number of men but rather, due to their love for jihad.

But statistics released by the US-led coalition appear to show there is a shortage of male Isis fighters across Syria and Iraq, with under 2,000 left in its surrounded de facto capital of Raqqa.

Other documents released by the group have hinted at the growing pressure, with an official booklet entitled Advice for the Leaders and Soldiers of the Islamic State urging commanders to be more encouraging towards troops and bemoaning desertion.

Isiss predecessor group, al-Qaeda in Iraq, started prolifically using female suicide bombers from 2005 onwards and other groups, including its Nigerian affiliate Boko Haram, have followed suit.

In pictures: Mosul offensive Show all 40 1 /40 In pictures: Mosul offensive In pictures: Mosul offensive A doctor carries an Iraqi newborn baby at a hospital in Mosul, Iraq July 18, 2017. Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi girls play at a yard of a school in Mosul, Iraq July 18, 2017alal Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive A woman on crutches who is a relative of men accused of being Islamic State militants is seen at a camp in Bartella, east of Mosul, Iraq July 15, 2017. Picture taken July 15, 2017. Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive A displaced girl, who fled from home carries a doll at Hamam al-Alil camp south of Mosul, Iraq July 13, 2017. Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi federal police members and civilians celebrate in the Old City of Mosul on 9 July 2017 after the government's announcement of the "liberation" of the embattled city. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's office said he was in "liberated" Mosul to congratulate "the heroic fighters and the Iraqi people on the achievement of the major victory" AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive A picture taken on 9 July 2017, shows a general view of the destruction in Mosul's Old City. Iraq will announce imminently a final victory in the nearly nine-month offensive to retake Mosul from jihadists, a US general said Saturday, as celebrations broke out among police forces in the city. AFP In pictures: Mosul offensive Members of the Iraqi federal police raise the victory gesture as they ride on a humvee while advancing through the Old City of Mosul on 28 June 2017, as the offensive continues to retake the last district held by Islamic State (IS) group fighters. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Smoke billows as Iraqi forces advance through the Old City of Mosul on 26 June 2017, during the ongoing offensive to retake the last district held by the Islamic State (IS) group. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi man wearing the green scarf of the Shi'ite faith kisses an Iraqi Army soldier on safely reaching the Iraqi forces position as Iraqi civilians flee the Old City of west Mosul where heavy fighting continues on 23 June 2017. Iraqi forces continue to encounter stiff resistance with improvised explosive devices, car bombs, heavy mortar fire and snipers hampering their advance. Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive A picture taken from the inside of an Iraqi forces armoured vehicle shows residents walking through a damaged street as troops advance towards Mosul's Old City on 18 June 2017, during the ongoing offensive to retake the last district still held by the Islamic State (IS) group. Military commanders told AFP the assault had begun at dawn after overnight air strikes by the US-led coalition backing Iraqi forces. They said the jihadists were putting up fierce resistance. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi Army soldiers advance in a destroyed street after an Iraqi forces airstrike targeted an Islamic State sniper position 17 June 2017 in al-Shifa, the last district of west Mosul under Islamic State control. IS snipers, as well as car and suicide bomb attacks continue to hinder the Iraqi forces efforts to retake the final district. A series of airstrikes by Iraqi helicopter gunships attempted to hit multiple Islamic State sniper positions in al-Shifa. Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier frisks a displaced Iraqi man at a temporary camp in the compound of the closed Nineveh International Hotel in Mosul on 16 June 2017 which was recovered by Iraqi troops from Islamic State group fighters earlier in the year. A screening centre set up in the compound's fairgrounds sees a constant stream of Iraqis fleeing the battle for Mosul, awaiting their turn to be checked by the Iraqi forces who are searching for suspected Islamic State (IS) group members. The small fairground lies at the end of a pontoon bridge across the Tigris recently opened to civilians that is the only physical link between the two banks of the river. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqis staying at the al-Khazir camp swim in a river near the camp for internally displaced people, located between Arbil and Mosul on 11 June 2017. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi government forces drive on a road leading to Tal Afar on 9 June 2017, during ongoing battles to retake the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi policeman carries a poster bearing an image of Mosul's iconic leaning minaret, known as the "Hadba" (Hunchback), on 22 June 2017. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqis stand in line to receive food aid in western Mosul's Zanjili neighbourhood on 7 June 2017, during ongoing battles as Iraqi forces try to retake the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters. Living conditions in Mosul have again deteriorated since the start of the Iraqi government's offensive on the city in October in which they retook a large part of the west of the city. AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Displaced Iraqis carry lightbulbs and sacks as they evacuate from western Mosul's Zanjili neighbourhood as government forces advance in the area during their ongoing battle against Islamic State (IS) group fighters on 13 May 2017 AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of the Iraqi Counter-Terrorism Service (CTS) flashes the victory gesture as he patrols in western Mosul's al-Islah al-Zaraye neighbourhood on 13 May 2017 AFP/Getty Images In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi army soldiers from the 9th armoured division on a truck flash the sign of victory as they drive back from Mosul to the town of Qaraqosh (also known as Hamdaniya) Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Members of Iraqi forces flash the sign of victory on their vehicle as they advance towards Hammam al-Alil area south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of Iraqi security forces gestures in Hammam al-Alil, south of Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi children, one flashing the sign of victory, greet Iraqi army's soldiers from the 9th armoured division in the area of Ali Rash, adjacent to the eastern Al-Intissar neighbourhood of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Peshmerga forces look at a tunnel used by Islamic State militants near the town of Bashiqa, east of Mosul, during an operation to attack Islamic State militants in Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier takes a photograph with his phone as his comrade stands next to a detained man, whom the Iraqi army soldiers accused of being an Islamic State fighter, who was fleeing with his family in the Intisar disrict of eastern Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Iranian Kurdish female members of the Freedom Party of Kurdistan (PAK) hold a position in an area near the town of Bashiqa, some 25 kilometres north east of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi families, who fled their homes in Hamam al-Alil, gather on the outskirts of their town Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Displaced people walk past a checkpoint near Qayara, south of Mosul, Iraq AP In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi families who were displaced by the ongoing operation by Iraqi forces against jihadists of the Islamic State group to retake the city of Mosul, are seen gathering in an area near Qayyarah In pictures: Mosul offensive A boy who just fled Abu Jarbuah village is seen with his family at a Kurdish Peshmerga position between two front lines near Bashiqa, east of Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi child eats a pomegranate upon the arrival of Iraqi forces in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive People who just fled Abu Jarbuah village sit as they eat at a Kurdish Peshmerga position between two front lines near Bashiqa, east of Mosul, Iraq Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive A couple who just fled Abu Jarbuah village are escorted by Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers Reuters In pictures: Mosul offensive Women carry a boy over a wall as civilians flee their houses in the village of Tob Zawa, Iraq AP In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier and a civilian ride a motorbike as smoke rises behind them, on the road between Qayyarah and Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of Iraqi forces, wearing a skull mask, waits at a checkpoint for people fleeing the main hub city of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive An Iraqi soldier sits at a checkpoint in an area near Qayyarah Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi men prepare food portions for Iraqi forces deployed in areas south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi forces celebrate upon the arrival of vehicles bringing food to them Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive Iraqi childen smoke cigarettes upon the arrival of Iraqi forces in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul Getty In pictures: Mosul offensive A member of Iraqi forces distributes drinks to children in the village of Umm Mahahir, south of Mosul Getty

But Isiss central guidance has previously stated that fighting is only permissible for women in very limited circumstances and largely confined sisters in its territories to their homes.

Women have not been specifically included in intensifying calls for terror attacks targeting countries bombing its territories and Isis has not celebrated female supporters who launch atrocities.

Tashfeen Malik, who massacred 14 people alongside her husband in San Bernardino, was not praised as one of its soldiers, nor were three women who attacked a police station in Kenya with knives and firebombs last year.

But the ambivalence has not stopped women attempting terror plots, including Hasna Ait Boulahcen, a member of the Paris cell who died in a raid targeting ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud.

Female jihadis have been arrested across Europe and in the UK. A 17-year-old girl is awaiting trial on charges of conspiring with an Isis fighter to obtain weapons for an attack and another group of women have been charged with mounting what is thought to be Britains first all-female terror plot.

The national terror-threat level remains at severe meaning further attacks are highly likely, and there are already 3,000 jihadis considered an imminent threat and another 23,000 suspects who have appeared on the security services radar.

Mr Winter said there were not yet any signs of women being drafted directly to foreign battlefields as a result of Isiss call to arms but raised concern that it could affect the actions of supporters around the world.

He warned: In terms of the groups relationship with supporters it has a pretty big impact.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The United Nations has blacklisted the Saudi Arabia-led military coalition in Yemen for killing or injuring 683 children, and attacking dozens of schools and hospitals.

The coalition had been briefly added to last years blacklist, and then removed by then-UN chief Ban Ki-moon pending review. At the time, Mr Ban accused Saudi Arabia of exerting unacceptable undue pressure after sources told Reuters that Riyadh threatened to cut some UN funding. Saudi Arabia denied this.

The Saudi-led military group was involved in 38 verified attacks on schools and hospitals in 2016, the UN said.

This years annual report on children in armed conflict also blacklisted the Iran-allied Houthi rebel group, Yemen government forces, pro-government militia and Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula for violations against children in 2016. Houthis were responsible for 414 child casualties, it said.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres spoke with Saudi King Salman by phone on Wednesday. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: They had a very positive discussion on issues of mutual interest, including the situation in the Middle East and beyond.

In an apparent effort to dampen controversy surrounding the report, the blacklist this year is split into two categories. One lists parties that have put in place measures to protect children, which includes the Saudi-led military coalition, and the other includes parties that have not.

Yemen has been devastated by more than two years of civil war in which President Abd-Rabu Mansour Hadis government, backed by the Saudi-led coalition, is fighting to drive the Houthis out of cities they seized in 2014 and 2015.

More than 10,000 people have been killed and the conflict has ruined the economy and pushed millions to the brink of famine. The Houthis control much of northern Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa.

UN sanctions monitors reported to the Security Council in January that the Saudi-led coalition had carried out attacks in Yemen that may amount to war crimes. Riyadh denies the allegation.

The UN sanctions monitors said at the time that the coalition was made up of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Sudan.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The coalition has received limited US support, including in logistics. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are major recipients of US arms. Saudi Arabia is also a major customer of British defense companies.

The coalition needs to stop making empty promises to exercise caution, take concrete action to stop these deadly unlawful attacks in Yemen, and allow desperately needed fuel and aid to reach those in need, said Jo Becker, childrens rights advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.

Until this happens, governments should suspend all Saudi weapons sales, she said.

The annual children and armed conflict report is produced at the request of the UN Security Council. In 2015 the United Nations left Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas off the blacklist, after they had been included in an earlier draft, but criticized Israel over its 2014 military operations.

Additional reporting by agencies
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

Of the half a million Rohingya refugees that have poured into Bangladesh, approximately 145,000 are children under the age of five at risk of malnutrition.

According to the Disasters Emergency Committee charity, at least 14,000 Rohingya refugee children in Bangladesh are already suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

More than 50,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are also in dire need of proper food rations.

The influx of Rohingya from the western Burmese state of Rakhine into Bangladesh since 25 August is the worlds fastest developing refugee emergency, according to the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Evan Schuurman, spokesperson for Save the Childrens humanitarian response team in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, told The Independent the sheer speed at which the crisis has escalated which provides the biggest challenge for relief efforts and providing aid to children and families.

Responding from Bangladesh, Mr Schuurman said that amounts to an average of 10,000 people a day, every day, in the last six weeks. Its truly staggering.

 Rohingya Muslims flee violence in Burma

According to Mr Guterres spokesperson Farhan Haq, there were already approximately 200,000 Rohingya in Bangladesh before the latest deluge of people began.

Steve Taravella, WFP's senior spokesperson told The Independent that though this crisis mimics others in terms of "desperation, violence, separated families, blocked access to aid, people too weak from hunger to walk on their own" the situation is exacerbated by Bangladesh's own problems.

"The flow of people is constant and rapid and overwhelming a country that is struggling to manage its own development needs."

Another issue in Bangladesh this time a year - monsoon season.

Mr Schuurman said the rains have hit the country "particularly hard" this season, causing flooding, transportation, and logistics issues for aid workers.

It has put huge pressure on host communities and basic services, he explained.

An inundation of illegal drugs over the Burmese border and smaller share of existing food and clean water resources are concerns for poorer villagers in the region.

Climate change has been a primary concern for the South Asian country, but in order to help the influx of newly arrived refugees Bangladesh has taken deforestation to make room for expanded tent communities.

The government allocated 2,000 acres when the number of refugees was nearly 400,000, the Secretary of Disaster Management and Relief Mohammad Shah Kamal told Reuters.

At least 1,000 acres more have been allocated to accommodate up to 150,000 makeshift tarpaulin shelters.

Rohingya refugees  in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Rohingya refugees  in pictures Rohingya refugees  in pictures A young girl and a baby wade through mud after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh from Burma on 10 September Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees  in pictures Rohingya refugees walk through a camp in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh after arriving from Burma Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees  in pictures A young Rohingya refugee gathers firewood after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh from Burma Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees  in pictures Rohingya refugees wait for sacks of rice to be distributed in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees  in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees arrive on a boat in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh after crossing from Burma on 8 September Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees  in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees react after being re-united with each other after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh on a boat from Burma Getty Rohingya refugees  in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees walk along the remains of a road after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh on a boat from Burma Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees  in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees wade through water after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh by boat from Burma Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees  in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees wade through water after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh by boat from Myanmar Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees  in pictures Rohingya Muslim refugees stand in the rain after arriving in Whaikhyang, Bangladesh by boat from Burma Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Rohingya refugees  in pictures Indian children hold placards and shout slogans during a protest against the alleged persecution of the Rohingya Muslims in Burma EPA/Raminder Pal Singh Rohingya refugees  in pictures Supporters of the Difa-e-Pakistan Council (DPC), an Islamic organisation, listen to their leaders' speeches against Burma's persecution of Rohingya Muslims, during a demonstration in Karachi Reuters/Akhtar Soomro Rohingya refugees  in pictures Hundreds of Iranians take part in a protest against violence in Myanmar after weekly Friday prayers, in Tehran EPA/Abedin Taherkenareh Rohingya refugees  in pictures Indonesian Muslim activists hold placards and shout slogans during a protest against the alleged persecution of the Rohingya minority in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia EPA/Ali Lutfi Rohingya refugees  in pictures Members of an Islamic organisation shout slogans against the Burma government during a protest in Dhaka, Bangladesh EPA

As more and more trees are cut down, the natural habitat of animals like elephants is increasingly encroached upon.

Wild elephants crushed two refugees to death in September and authorities fear it could happen again.

The Rohingya have faced decades of discrimination and persecution by the majority Buddhist population in Myanmar, where they are denied citizenship despite centuries-old roots in the country.

The current crisis erupted when an insurgent Rohingya group attacked police posts in Rakhine state, killing a dozen security personnel  an act that Mr Guterres condemned.

The attacks prompted Burma's military to launch clearance operations against the rebels, setting off a wave of violence that has left hundreds dead, thousands of homes burned and began the mass exodus.

The UN has called on Burma and its controversial, once-hailed, prominent politician Aung San Suu Kyi to allow for the safe return of Rohingya to their homes.

Ms Suu Kyis position as state counsellor does not give her authority over the military, but the international criticism is for her failure to speak out against alleged human rights abuses - including mass killings, gang rapes, and the burning of villages.

The UN has made an appeal of $434 million to assist more than a million people for the coming six months.

The hope is that the political situation will be resolved by then in order to avoid an enduring crisis, for which Bangladesh and its already struggling economy will likely have to bear the financial brunt.

Further complicating the relief response to help these refugees is the growing refugee and famine crises in the rest of the world. Nearly 20 million are on the brink of famine in Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen.

Syrian refugees are still living in camps in Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey.

The World Food Programme did receive a contribution from the US government to the tune of $1.18bn but Mr Taravella said that though this is "an enormous help at the global level" the agency cannot apply any of it to this particular crisis.

WFP is currently providing rice rations for about 580,000 people at the moment however in order to fully address food-based needs in Bangladesh for the next six months, WFP would need $73.2 million - that would ensure rations for one million people to include new arrivals, refugees who fled before August 2017, actual registered refugees, and people living within host communities who still need help.

The agency would also require around $7m for logistics and emergency telecommunications.

So far, about $20m of the total $80m has been secured through country contributions from Europe, US, UK, Australia, and Canada. But, Mr Taravella estimated that would only cover food rations up to middle of November of this year.

Agencies contributed to this report.
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Breaking News email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

This is the slightly embarrassing moment when the king of Saudi Arabia was left stranded on his golden escalator after arriving in Russia.

King Salman stood puzzled midway down the extravagant stairway which appeared to stop working.

He waited for around 20 seconds before being helped down the escalator by aides after it became apparent it was not about to take him any further.

Following the awkward arrival, the monarch was hosted by Russian president, Vladimir Putin, who hailed his visit as a landmark event.

Saudi King Salman is helped down the broken escalator by aides (AP ) (AP)

The leaders discussed trade deals as well as looking to strengthen the often strained relationship between the countries, most recently due to the conflict in Syria.

King Salman said he was looking to expand relations with friendly nation Russia in the interests of peace, security and development of the world economy.

He noted that the two nations agreed on many international and regional issues, and intended to continue efforts to shore up global oil prices.

Following the talks, Saudi Arabian Military Industries (Sami) said it had signed agreements with Russia's state arms trader, Rosoboronexport, for the purchase of cutting-edge Russian weapons, including the long-range S-400 air defence missile systems.

While the US has remained Saudi Arabia's top weapons supplier and its most important Western ally, Thursday's deals highlighted the countrys intention to expand ties with Russia.

The Saudis have also been eyeing Russian nuclear power technologies and appear ready to expand food imports from Russia, which is set to remain the world's biggest wheat exporter this year.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. China will celebrate national day marking the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1st Getty World news in pictures 27 September 2020 The Glass Mountain Inn burns as the Glass Fire moves through the area in St. Helena, California. The fast moving Glass fire has burned over 1,000 acres and has destroyed homes Getty World news in pictures 26 September 2020 A villager along with a child offers prayers next to a carcass of a wild elephant that officials say was electrocuted in Rani Reserve Forest on the outskirts of Guwahati, India AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 September 2020 The casket of late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is seen in Statuary Hall in the US Capitol to lie in state in Washington, DC AFP via Getty World news in pictures 24 September 2020 An anti-government protester holds up an image of a pro-democracy commemorative plaque at a rally outside Thailand's parliament in Bangkok, as activists gathered to demand a new constitution AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 September 2020 A whale stranded on a beach in Macquarie Harbour on the rugged west coast of Tasmania, as hundreds of pilot whales have died in a mass stranding in southern Australia despite efforts to save them, with rescuers racing to free a few dozen survivors The Mercury/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 22 September 2020 State civil employee candidates wearing face masks and shields take a test in Surabaya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 21 September 2020 A man sweeps at the Taj Mahal monument on the day of its reopening after being closed for more than six months due to the coronavirus pandemic AP World news in pictures 20 September 2020 A deer looks for food in a burnt area, caused by the Bobcat fire, in Pearblossom, California EPA World news in pictures 19 September 2020 Anti-government protesters hold their mobile phones aloft as they take part in a pro-democracy rally in Bangkok. Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters massed close to Thailand's royal palace, in a huge rally calling for PM Prayut Chan-O-Cha to step down and demanding reforms to the monarchy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 September 2020 Supporters of Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr maintain social distancing as they attend Friday prayers after the coronavirus disease restrictions were eased, in Kufa mosque, near Najaf, Iraq Reuters World news in pictures 17 September 2020 A protester climbs on The Triumph of the Republic at 'the Place de la Nation' as thousands of protesters take part in a demonstration during a national day strike called by labor unions asking for better salary and against jobs cut in Paris, France EPA World news in pictures 16 September 2020 A fire raging near the Lazzaretto of Ancona in Italy. The huge blaze broke out overnight at the port of Ancona. Firefighters have brought the fire under control but they expected to keep working through the day EPA World news in pictures 15 September 2020 Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny posing for a selfie with his family at Berlin's Charite hospital. In an Instagram post he said he could now breathe independently following his suspected poisoning last month Alexei Navalny/Instagram/AFP World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty

The visit comes after decades of tensions, most recently over the war in Syria, where Saudi Arabia had backed the Sunni rebels fighting to oust President Bashar Assad, while its arch-rival, Shiite powerhouse Iran, had teamed up with Russia to shore up his rule.
Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

One of the minor joys of this online age is the chance to see where your plane has been. The Finnair Airbus A350 with the registration number OH-LWF, for example, has had a busy October so far.

On Sunday morning the state-of-the-art wide-bodied jet arrived in Shanghai from Helsinki. It turned around and flew back to the Finnish capital, then promptly repeated the exercise. By Monday afternoon OH-LWF was shuttling to Osaka in Japan, and on Tuesday to Hong Kong  where it enjoyed Wednesday afternoon and evening off, before leaving for Helsinki in the early hours of Thursday morning. Then the Rolls-Royce powered plane sped off to Heathrow. That looks like using a Rolls-Royce to drive to the shops; passengers may not fully appreciate the widest economy seats in the skies and lie-flat business-class beds on a two-and-a-half hour hop.

But this was no aberration caused by some short-notice fleet-shuffling: the first Finnair flight of the day from Helsinki is always the A350. It carries travellers who have arrived overnight from the Far East, and a fair amount of freight.

Finnair is one of Europes smaller airlines, but it has 10 A350s (twice as many as Lufthansa) and has been flying the jet for two years.

When big airlines acquire new planes, they don't always deploy them on flagship routes. To enjoy a 21st-century aircraft between London and Hong Kong, you need to head for Gatwick, where the single daily departure to Hong Kong is a Cathay Pacific A350. Cathay flies the Boeing 777 five times a day from Heathrow to Hong Kong. But the 777 entered service in 1994.

Similarly, Singapore Airlines uses the A350 only for its Manchester services, not to or from Heathrow. Its Singapore-Manchester-Houston is also the only transatlantic A350 service from the UK.

The Bombardier CS300 is an even newer plane, and claims to be the quietest commercial jet in production. It is much larger than the average regional jet, and with a maximum capacity of 160 it goes up against the Airbus A319 and Boeing 737. Which is one reason why it is currently controversial in trade talks.

Rival planemaker Boeing says Bombardier has taken massive illegal subsidies. You can compare the two manufacturers on a trip to Riga and back; airBaltic flies the CS300 from Gatwick to the Latvian capital, while Ryanair flies from Stansted with the familiar 737  whose maiden flight was 50 years ago.

Half-a-century on, the latest variant of the 737 is airborne: the MAX. But Ryanair does not yet have any of them. You can fly on the 737MAX, though, from Edinburgh and Belfast to some small US airports on Norwegian.

The new aircraft I am looking forward to more than any other has the utilitarian title of E195-E2. As you may have deduced, it is the product of Embraer, the planemaker that has been Brazils most prestigious exporter for almost half a century.

Like the existing Embraer jets flying with British Airways, Stobart Air and others, the new plane has four-abreast seating  everyone gets a window or aisle seat. It is the longest plane with this seating configuration since Concorde, though it squeezes in many more passengers: up to 140, compared with just 100 on the supersonic jet. This capacity helps reduce costs and makes it feasible to deploy on the routes currently served by Airbus and Boeing jets  but with more comfort, and no chance of being assigned a middle seat.

The launch customer may not be familiar to you. Its Azul, the jetBlue of Brazil. See you in Sao Paulo in 2019. Window or aisle?

Click here to compare flight options with Skyscanner
Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

In the latest twist in the Ryanair pilots saga, the airlines boss has written to flight crew to offer them a loyalty bonus  while warning about job prospects in what he calls a very insecure industry.

Last month the Irish airline cancelled 20,000 flights, disrupting the travel plans of around three-quarters of a million people. Domestic links from Stansted to Edinburgh and Glasgow, and between Gatwick and Belfast International, were among those cut.

The airline said the cancellations were necessary to address problems with pilots rosters.

There have been rumours of flight crew leaving Ryanair for other airlines, in particular Norwegian and Jet2.

In a three-page letter headed A note to all Ryanair pilots, Michael OLeary apologises for the rostering management failure we have suffered over recent weeks.

The chief executive reveals that the senior management team had been given reports about pilot cover which were untrue.

He promises a 12 month loyalty/productivity bonus of up to 12,000 for captains, with half as much for first officers, subject only to reasonable and achievable performance or targets being met.

This we hope will dissuade people leaving to join less financially secure airlines and damaging their careers, he writes.

We are a very secure employer  in a very insecure industry.

Monarch Airlines collapsed in the early hours of Monday morning, blaming the effects of terrorism in North Africa for the prospect of making a loss of 100m for the year.

Other airlines pounced for Monarch's Airbus-trained pilots as soon as the collapse was announced; easyJet, whose HQ is just across from Monarch in Luton, is aggressively recruiting them, and Virgin Atlantic has also been pitching for flight crew. Meanwhile Emirates is running road shows at Stansted and Luton airports for pilots, a move seen as seeking to lure Ryanair crew to Dubai.

Mr OLeary makes its clear who he regards as the enemy in terms of pilot recruitment: If you have any evidence of competitor 737 operators (such as Norwegian and Jet2) at your base paying more that [sic] Ryanair then provide it to us and we will meet it and beat it.

If you have, or are considering, joining one of these less financially secure or Brexit-challenged airlines, I urge you to stay with Ryanair for a brighter future for you and you family, he writes.

The letter also addresses remarks Mr OLeary made last month in which he said pilots were full of their own self-importance and said: I would challenge any pilot to explain how this is a difficult job or how it is they are overworked.

The chief executive says those comments had been misreported, and that in any event they were specifically directed at pilots of competitor airlines.

One pilot said of the letter: This reeks of desperation. Brian Struttoe, the general secretary of the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA), said: Our feedback from Ryanair pilots who have seen Michael OLearys letter suggests that he still doesnt get it. Pilots from bases all over the U.K have told us that they dont want half-hearted excuses to shut them up.

"They tell us that they want genuine respect."

At the end of the letter, a graphic is headed Norwegian in financial trouble, with a graph showing the share price down by 21 per cent in the year to date.

The Norwegian airline yesterday reported positive figures for September, with passenger numbers up 14 per cent and the load factor almost 90 per cent. It says it is very robust financially.

Click here to compare flight options with Skyscanner
Sign up to Simon Calders free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calders Travel email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

Simon Calders Travel email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

An exhibition in an aviation museum in Bodo, northern Norway, has the reassuring title What doesnt go wrong, and why. It explains how planes get aloft and stay airborne, and the multiple systems that keep commercial aviation so astonishingly safe.

In 2017, thanks to aviation professionals obsession with safety, European passengers can take safety for granted. But though we can stop worrying about actual crashes, in these troubled times the traveller has many are plenty of non-terminal disasters to fret about.

This weekend, Britain has one fewer airlines than it did last weekend. In the early hours of Monday morning, Monarch was deleted from departure screens at airports across the nation.

A toxic cocktail of terrorism-related route closures to Sharm el Sheikh and Tunisia, plus savage cost increases caused by the plummeting pound, left Monarch facing annual losses of 100m. Rather than subsidise each passenger flown by 16, the airines backers threw in the towel late on Saturday night.

While Monarchs bosses knew they were going out of business, the staff did not; the aim was to keep flying for another day while the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) got its shadow airline in position to fly back holidaymakers at taxpayers expense. But one big clue on Sunday morning indicated this was an airline with no future: Monarch fares quadrupled overnight in a bid to deter people from buying tickets.

CAAir will keep flying Monarch repatriation flights for another week, spending 545 for each passenger brought home. But 2,000 Monarch staff and 750,000 passengers are seeking solutions to, respectively, their employment and holiday needs.

One obvious answer: Ryanair, by far the biggest budget airline in Europe. But pilots and cabin crew may be deterred from applying for jobs with a carrier whose employee relations look distinctly fragile.

Recommended We need a softer landing when a travel company fails

Three weeks ago, tens of thousands of Ryanair passengers found their flights had been abruptly cancelled due to staff shortage. One the following days, it emerged that the airline had a serious shortfall in the number of available pilots.

Initially a technical change in the calendar for calculating flight time limitations was blamed, but it quickly became clear that problems ran much deeper.

In a bonfire of the boarding passes, 2,000 flights were axed up to the end of the summer schedules on 28 October, quickly followed by a further 18,000  including high-frequency links from Stansted to Edinburgh and Glasgow, and between Gatwick and Belfast International.

Ryanairs chief executive, Michael OLeary, said sorry, but then wrongly asserted that the airline was not liable for replacement flights on other airlines. As he was scolded by the CAA for misleading cancelled passengers about their legal rights, the airlines boss was also having to firefight the most extreme staff shortage in airline history.

Some said pilots were leaving Ryanair en masse for airlines such as Norwegian, where they could enjoy better conditions and more respect.

The response was sent out on Thursday evening, in the form of a three-page letter to flight crew  with a classic Ryanair mix of carrot and stick. Captains can earn a 12-month loyalty/productivity bonus of up to 12,000, with half as much for first officers, so long as they reach reasonable and achievable performance or targets. Then, with the ink barely dry on the P45s of Monarch staff, Mr OLeary pointed out: We are a very secure employer  in a very insecure industry.

If you have, or are considering, joining one of these less financially secure or Brexit-challenged airlines, I urge you to stay with Ryanair for a brighter future for you and you family.

Airlines are like prime ministers: in order to succeed, they must command the confidence of the people that they will deliver. And the turmoil of 2017 is doing aviation no favours.

Monarch has followed Air Berlin into administration, while Alitalia is on financial life support. And even if your airline is, like Ryanair, in the rudest of health, all manner of problems can keep you grounded.

French strike planned Monday 17Z to Wed 04Z, tweeted Eurocontrol on Friday afternoon. Translated, that means air-traffic controllers who look after the busiest skies in Europe will be stopping work from 6pm on Monday to 5am on Wednesday.

Expecting a significant impact with potentially a 30 per cent reduction in flights at many airports.

Tens of thousands of travellers are likely to be affected, including some of the delegates flying to the Azores for the Abta convention. Those who make it to Ponta Delgada will take stock of the awful autumn, and gaze into an uncertain future. By April next year, airlines will be selling tickets for post-Brexit flights that, in the absence of an aviation agreement, will never take off.

Travel is an industry devoted to human happiness, which requires customers to invest hard-earned cash upfront to buy into a dream. In a week of holiday nightmares, you might imagine that bookings would dry up.

In fact, Ryanair is still selling the 250 seats per minute that its business model requires. Its big rival, easyJet is planning to build and strengthen its network over the next year. And British airline passengers will continue to enjoy the widest horizons and keenest value of any nation on earth.

Over the past few weeks, much has gone wrong for hundreds of thousands of passengers. But for the vast majority, aviation continues to go just right.

Click here to compare flight options with Skyscanner
Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

President Donald Trump cannot fail. President Trump can only be failed.

Trump and his allies tell us so. He can only be failed - by the filibuster (never mind that no GOP repeal bill got 50 Senate votes); by the Fake News media, which fails to honestly report on his smashing successes; and even by Republican congressional leaders, who have let the Russia probes get out of hand and secretly oppose his agenda.

The Washington Post and The Washington Examiner have remarkable stories on Thursday morning that portray the Republican Party as gripped by an internal war of recriminations over the fact that Trump has not signed any major accomplishments.

The Post reports that Republicans believe religious-right extremist Roy Moore's victory in the Alabama GOP Senate primary was driven by an angry grass-roots backlash at Congress' failure to realise Trump's agenda, and they expect more to come. As Senator David Perdue (Republican-Georgia), a Trump ally, puts it: People are upset that Republican senators are not backing the agenda of this president.

The Examiner, meanwhile, reports that congressional Republicans are raging because a top aide to Vice President Mike Pence told a gathering of GOP donors that the GOP Congress is selling out the president and that disloyal Republicans should perhaps be removed in 2018. He said: If we're going to be in the minority again, we might as well have a minority who are with us as opposed to a minority who helped us become a minority.

This entire narrative is a fiction. Or rather, this entire narrative contains a large truth wrapped in fictional packaging. The truth this story line contains is that Trump is not racking up any major accomplishments - which is to say, he is failing. This is the tacit admission of Trump's own allies. But this admission of failure is packaged in a fictional explanation: that Trump is failing because GOP leaders (or the Republican establishment, as Steve Bannon puts it) want his agenda to fail.

 Donald Trump pledges to 'repeal and replace' Obamacare, denies he ever pledged to 'repeal and replace' Obamacare

But what has really happened is not that congressional Republicans have sold out on some supposed Trump agenda that is different from theirs. Rather, Trump and Republicans have jointly failed to deliver on the agenda that they agree upon. Trump went all in on every version of Obamacare repeal-and-replace that was pushed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan. Those failed not because the GOP establishment didn't want what Trump wanted, but rather because a handful of GOP senators baulked at the manner in which repeal-and-replace was constructed, while still supporting that general goal. Similarly, Trump is campaigning hard for the huge tax cuts for the wealthy that McConnell and Ryan want, and if there are any disagreements, they mostly reside in the details. (What about trade and infrastructure, you say? It remains to be seen whether Trump even has any serious agenda on either front.)

The difficulties Trump and Republicans are facing on tax reform - and the failure of repeal - both tell the same story: The real cause is the inability to translate the general goals they agree on into serious policies. As blogger Brian Beutler notes, this represents years of GOP bad faith on policy catching up with the party. Repeal failed because GOP lies about their professed replacement goals collided violently with the reality that it would leave millions uninsured. Now, on tax reform, the GOP agenda, which is being sold as a tax cut for working and middle classes, is colliding with the reality that the plan itself is primarily a tax cut for the rich.

The tax cuts may still happen. But as of now, the failure of those lies is being layered over with a new set of lies that purport to explain that failure, but don't. In a bit of poetic justice, even Republicans are now lamenting that the nature of the anger among the GOP base over the inaction (which is the result of the base being lied to) could make more failure likely. GOP voters picked Moore over Luther Strange, who would have voted for the GOP repeal bill, even as Moore would not have, meaning he's an obstacle to future repeal efforts. Strange would have been a more reliable vote for tax reform than Moore (if he wins) will be.

Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Show all 30 1 /30 Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Threatening to shut down Twitter after being fact-checked After the president tweeted that voting by post would be "substantially fraudulent", Twitter attached a warning label to his tweet and referred readers to a site which explained how the claim was "unsubstantiated". Trump then said Twitter was "stifling free speech" and that he may have to shut it down, something which he would not have the power to do AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Flippantly dismissing a serious allegation of sexual assault When author E Jean Carroll accused Trump of raping her, the president responded: Number one, shes not my type. Number two, it never happened. It never happened, OK?" AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Insulting the Mayor of London as he landed in London Just before touching down at Stansted Airport for his state visit, Trump took time out to @ the London mayor Sadiq Khan on twitter. He said that Khan has done a "terrible job"as mayor and that he is a "stone cold loser" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Taking plenty of "Executive Time" The president's official schedule sets aside the hours from 8 to 11am daily for "Executive Time". Further intermittent periods of "Executive Time" are scheduled throughout any given day, ranging from 15 minutes to 3 hours. His duties in these hours have not been officially disclosed, though Axios reports that he spends them watching TV, reading the newspapers and tweeting Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Shutdown the government for over a month in an effort to secure funding for his wall With Mexico declining to pay for the wall, the president has faced difficulty in raising the required $5bn at home. Due to his demand that the money for the wall be included in the budget, and Congress's refusal, the government partially shut down on 22 December 2018. It remained shut for over a month, the longest period in history Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Joking about the Nazi occupation of France to President Macron In this tweet from 13 November 2018, the president mocks Emmanuel Macron's suggestion of a "true, European army" by invoking the conflict between France and Germany in the world wars Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Railing against the Mueller investigation The president has repeatedly claimed that the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, is a "rigged witch hunt" Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting a US intelligence report on Russian meddling in the presence of Vladimir Putin In the press conference that followed his landmark meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Trump stated that he saw no reason why Russia would have meddled in the 2016 US election. This contradicted a 2017 report by the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence that found evidence of Russian interference in favour of Trump Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Contradicting his contradiction of a US intelligence report on Russian meddling Following furious backlash in the US, the president claimed that he meant to say that he saw no reason why it would not have been Russia who meddled in the 2016 US election. As to why he would have intended to use such bizarre phrasing, he did not comment Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Colouring in the US flag wrong The president coloured in the US flag wrongly during a visit to a children's hospital in Columbus, Ohio. He added a blue stripe where in tradition, and statute, there have been only white and red stripes AFP/Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing a Secretary of State over Twitter The president announced on Twitter that he was appointing Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State, much to the surprise of then Secretary of State Rex Tillerson Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Quoting a catchphrase from a reality TV show when discussing police brutality While addressing the issue of black athletes not standing for the national anthem in protest of police brutality, the president made reference to his catchphrase from reality TV show "The Apprentice": you're fired! Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Calling African nations "S***hole Countries" Ever one for diplomacy, the president reportedly referred to African nations as "s***hole countries". Asked to confirm this when meeting with Nigeria's President Buhari, Trump stated that there are "some countries that are in very bad shape". Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Defending Russian President Vladimir Putin Trump appeared to equate US foreign actions to those of Russian president Vladimir Putin, saying: There are a lot of killers. You think our countrys so innocent? Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Asking for people to 'pray' for Arnold Schwarzenegger At the National Prayer Breakfast, Trump couldnt help but to ask for prayers for the ratings on Arnold Schwarzeneggers show to be good. Schwarzenegger took over as host of The Apprentice  which buoyed Trumps celebrity status years ago Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Hanging up on Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull Early in his presidency, Trump reportedly hung up the phone on Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull after the foreign leader angered him over refugee plans. Mr Trump later said that it was the worst call he had had so far Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... The 'Muslim ban' Perhaps one of his most controversial policies while acting as president, Trumps travel ban targeting predominantly Muslim countries has bought him a lot of criticism. The bans were immediately protested, and judges initially blocked their implementation. The Supreme Court later sided with the administrations argument that the ban was developed out of concern for US security Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Praising crowd size while touring Hurricane Harvey damage After Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas, Trump paid the area a visit. While his response to the disaster in Houston was generally applauded, the president picked up some flack when he gave a speech outside Houston (he reportedly did not visit disaster zones), and praised the size of the crowds there AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... 'Little Rocket Man' During his first-ever speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump tried out a new nickname for North Korea leader Kim Jong-un: Rocket Man. He later tweaked it to be little Rocket Man as the two feuded, and threatened each other with nuclear war. During that speech, he also threatened to totally annihilate North Korea Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Attacking Sadiq Khan following London Bridge terror attack After the attack on the London Bridge, Trump lashed out at London Mayor Sadiq Khan, criticising Khan for saying there was no reason to be alarmed after the attack. Trump was taking the comments out of context, as Khan was simply saying that the police had everything under control Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming presenter Mika Brezinkski was 'bleeding from the face' Never one not to mock his enemies, Trump mocked MSNBCs Morning Joe co-host Mika Brzezinski, saying that she and co-host Joe Scarborough had approached him before his inauguration asking to join him. He noted that she was bleeding badly from a face-lift at the time, and that he said no MSNBC Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming the blame for Charlottesville was on 'both sides' Trump refused to condemn far-right extremists involved in violence at 'the march for the right' protests in Charlottesville, even after the murder of counter protester Heather Heyer AP Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Retweeting cartoon of CNN being hit by a 'Trump train' Trump retweeted a cartoon showing a Trump-branded train running over a person whose body and head were replaced by a CNN avatar. He later deleted the retweet Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Tweeting about 'slamming' CNN Trump caught some flack when he tweeted a video showing him wrestling down an individual whose head had been replaced by a CNN avatar. Trump has singled CNN out in particular with his chants of fake news Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Firing head of the FBI, James Comey Trumps firing of former FBI Director James Comey landed him with a federal investigation into Russias meddling in the 2016 election that has caused many a headache for the White House. The White House initially said that the decision was made after consultation from the Justice Department. Then Mr Trump himself said that he had decided to fire him in part because he wanted the Russia investigation Mr Comey was conducting to stop Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Not realising being president would be 'hard' Just three months into his presidency, Trump admitted that being president is harder than he thought it would be. Though Trump insisted on the 2016 campaign trail that doing the job would be easy for him, he admitted in an interview that living in the White House is harder than running a business empire Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Accusing Obama of wiretapping him Trump accused former president Barack Obama of wire tapping him on twitter. The Justice Department later clarified: Obama had not, in fact, done so Reuters Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Claiming there had been 3 million 'illegal votes' Trump was never very happy about losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton by 2.8 million ballots. So, he and White House voter-fraud commissioner Kris Kobach have claimed that anywhere between three and five million people voted illegally during the 2016 election. Conveniently, he says that all of those illegal votes went to Clinton. (There is no evidence to support that level of widespread voter fraud.) Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Leaving Jews out of the Holocaust memorial statement Just days after taking office, Trumps White House issued a statement on International Holocaust Remembrance Day, but didnt mention jews or even the word jewish in the written statement Getty Donald Trump's least presidential moments so far... Anger over Inauguration crowd size Trumps inauguration crowd was visibly, and noticeably, smaller than that of his predecessor, Barack Obama. But, he really wanted to have had the largest crowd on record. So, he praised it as the biggest crowd ever. Relatedly, Trump also claimed that it stopped raining in Washington at the moment he was inaugurated. It didnt, the day was very dreary Reuters

The fact that Trump and Republicans continue to believe a large chunk of the country (the GOP base) must be lied to relentlessly and at all costs is dispiriting on its own. But it makes progress harder in other ways. Trump and Republicans continue to tell the lie that Obamacare has collapsed, which makes it harder to reach a bipartisan deal to shore up the exchanges, since that would require admitting that the law is not doomed to failure. Trump and Republicans continue to push the fiction that we desperately need a costly wall on the southern border, which makes it harder to reach a reasonable settlement on the Dreamers, since the base now will not countenance a deal in which Trump loses on the wall. Trump and his allies continue to insist that the Russia probes are hoaxes designed to destroy our persecuted president, which makes it harder to have a sane discussion about how to prevent sabotage of future elections.

How we get out of this cycle is anybody's guess, since it is clear that Trump and Republicans don't view it as an option to just stop lying so damn much.

The Washington Post
Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

The continued presence of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump in the West Wing constitutes both a legal liability and a political embarrassment for President Trump. The couple have not a single identifiable accomplishment in office between the two of them. Ivanka Trump, however, has been on defence, whining about unfair expectations and trying to wiggle out of responsibility for failing to influence her father. Kushner wound up at odds with the State Department and was there to cheer on disastrous personnel decisions (e.g. hiring Paul Manafort during the campaign, firing former FBI director James B. Comey).

Trump would be wise to send them back home to New York to reside in the Trump empire.

Kushner, you will recall, has a host of potential legal problems stemming from participation in a meeting with Russian officials at Trump Tower during the campaign; a meeting with the head of a sanctioned Russian bank during the transition; encouragement for the president to fire Comey (an action that may be considered obstruction of justice) and failure to disclose all his foreign contacts on his security clearance forms.

Recommended Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner shared third private email account

Now USA Today reports:

President Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and daughter Ivanka Trump re-routed their personal email accounts to computers run by the Trump Organization as public scrutiny intensified over their use of private emails to conduct White House business, internet registration records show.

The move, made just days after Kushner's use of a personal email account first became public, came shortly after special counsel Robert Mueller asked the White House to turn over records related to his investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 election and possible collusion with Trump associates. It also more closely intertwines President Trump's administration with his constellation of private businesses.

No one said this crowd was subtle. Nevertheless, Mueller can subpoena the emails and obtain information about rerouting the accounts as part of his ongoing investigation. Now imagine Republicans' reaction if Hillary Clinton had been caught moving her private email account that had been used improperly for government business over to the Clinton Foundation. I think the chant would be: Lock her up!

But wait  there's more. Politico reports:

The Justice Department has released a series of recently overruled legal memos concluding that presidents cannot appoint their relatives to the White House staff or presidential commissions, even to unpaid posts.

In January, a career Justice Department official essentially declared the earlier opinions erroneous or obsolete, clearing the way for President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to take a senior adviser position in the White House. First daughter Ivanka Trump later took a similar official but unpaid slot under the same legal rationale.

The newly disclosed opinions, issued to the administrations of Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan and obtained by Politico on Monday through a Freedom of Information Act request, detail how Justice Department lawyers concluded for decades that such appointments of family members were illegal under an anti-nepotism law passed in 1967.

Hmm, maybe that attorney needs to be interviewed to determine whether he was pressured into offering up an opinion that allowed Trump to do what his predecessors did not.

In any event, as Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) noted, we see that once again the Trump administration fails to meet the ethical and transparency bar of the Nixon administration. Earlier this year, CREW prophetically warned:

Whether or not this legal analysis holds up, President Trump's hiring of his son-in-law and daughter undoubtedly violates the intended purpose of the anti-nepotism statute. Originally passed after President Kennedy appointed his brother as attorney general, the statute manifestly aims to prevent the president from appointing family members to government positions. Allowing nepotism - especially at the highest level of government - undermines the integrity of the Administration's policy making. President Trump's appointments of his daughter and son-in-law make clear that he is not interested in selecting the most qualified candidates, and also may violate President Trump's own Ethics Pledge. Neither Mr Kushner nor Ms Trump has any significant experience in policymaking... These appointments also are likely to inhibit the ability of other government employees to give candid opinions about policy proposals and personnel matters for fear of alienating the president's family members.

The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Show all 17 1 /17 The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Paul Manafort Mr Manafort is a Republican strategist and former Trump campaign manager. He resigned from that post over questions about his extensive lobbying overseas, including in Ukraine where he represented pro-Russian interests. Mr Manafort turned himself in at FBI headquarters to special counsel Robert Muellers team on Oct 30, 2017, after he was indicted under seal on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. Getty The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rick Gates Mr Gates joined the Trump team in spring 2016, and served as a top aide until he left to work at the Republican National Committee after the departure of former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. Mr Gates' had previously worked on several presidential campaigns, on international political campaigns in Europe and Africa, and had 15 years of political or financial experience with multinational firms, according to his bio. Mr Gates was indicted alongside Mr Manafort by special counsel Robert Mueller's team on charges that include conspiracy against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, unregistered agent of a foreign principal, false and misleading US Foreign Agents Registration Act statements, false statements, and seven counts of failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts. AP The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation George Papadopoulos George Papadopoulos was a former foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign, having joined around March 2016. Mr Papadopoulos plead guilty to federal charges for lying to the FBI as a part of a cooperation agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. Mr Papadopoulos claimed in an interview with the FBI that he had made contacts with Russian sources before joining the Trump campaign, but he actually began working with them after joining the team. Mr Papadopoulos allegedly took a meeting with a professor in London who reportedly told him that Russians had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. The professor also allegedly introduced Mr Papadopoulos to a Russian who was said to have close ties to officials at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr Papadopoulos also allegedly was in contact with a woman whom he incorrectly described in one email to others in the campaign as the "niece" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Twitter The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Donald Trump Jr The President's eldest son met with a Russian lawyer - Natalia Veselnitskaya - on 9 June 2016 at Trump Tower in New York. He said in an initial statement that the meeting was about Russia halting adoptions of its children by US citizens. Then, he said it was regarding the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. In a final statement, Mr Trump Jr released a chain of emails that revealed he took the meeting in hopes of getting information Ms Veselnitskaya had about Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. He and the President called it standard "opposition research" in the course of campaigning and that no information came from the meeting. The meeting was set up by an intermediary, Rob Goldstone. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort were also at the same meeting. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jared Kushner Mr Kushner is President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a key adviser to the White House. He met with a Russian banker appointed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December. Mr Kushner has said he did so in his role as an adviser to Mr Trump while the bank says he did so as a private developer. Mr Kushner has also volunteered to testify in the Senate about his role helping to arrange meetings between Trump advisers and Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Rob Goldstone Former tabloid journalist and now music publicist Rob Goldstone is a contact of the Trump family through the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant, which took place in Moscow. In June 2016, he wrote to Donald Trump Jr offering a meeting with a Russian lawyer, Natalya Veselnitskaya, who had information about Hillary Clinton. Mr Goldstone was the intermediary for Russian pop star Emin Agalaraov and his father, real estate magnate Aras, who played a role in putting on the 2013 pageant. In an email chain released by Mr Trump Jr, Mr Goldstone seemed to indicate Russian government's support of Donald Trump's campaign. AP images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Aras and Emin Agalarov Aras Agalarov (R) is a wealthy Moscow-based real estate magnate and son Emin (L) is a pop star. Both played a role in putting on the previously Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant in Moscow. They allegedly had information about Hillary Clinton and offered that information to the Trump campaign through a lawyer with whom they had worked with, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and music publicist Rob Goldstone. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Natalia Veselnitskaya Natalia Veselnitskaya is a Russian lawyer with ties to the Kremlin. She has worked on real estate issues and reportedly counted the FSB as a client in the past. She has ties to a Trump family connection, real estate magnate Aras Agalarov, who had helped set up the Trump-owned 2013 Miss Universe pageant which took place in Moscow. Ms Veselnitskaya met with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, and Paul Manafort in Trump Tower on 9 June 2016 but denies the allegation that she went there promising information on Hillary Clinton's alleged financial ties to Russia. She contends that the meeting was about the US adoptions of Russian children being stopped by Moscow as a reaction to the Magnitsky Act, a US law blacklisting Russian human rights abusers. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Mike Flynn Mr Flynn was named as Trump's national security adviser but was forced to resign from his post for inappropriate communication with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. He had misrepresented a conversation he had with Mr Kislyak to Vice President Mike Pence, telling him wrongly that he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sergey Kislyak Mr Kislyak, the former longtime Russian ambassador to the US, is at the centre of the web said to connect President Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Roger Stone Mr Stone is a former Trump adviser who worked on the political campaigns of Richard Nixon, George HW Bush, and Ronald Reagan. Mr Stone claimed repeatedly in the final months of the campaign that he had backchannel communications with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and that he knew the group was going to dump damaging documents to the campaign of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton - which did happen. Mr Stone also had contacts with the hacker Guccier 2.0 on Twitter, who claimed to have hacked the DNC and is linked to Russian intelligence services. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeff Sessions The US attorney general was forced to recuse himself from the Trump-Russia investigation after it was learned that he had lied about meeting with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Carter Page Mr Page is a former advisor to the Trump campaign and has a background working as an investment banker at Merrill Lynch. Mr Page met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Mr Page had invested in oil companies connected to Russia and had admitted that US Russia sanctions had hurt his bottom line. Reuters The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Jeffrey "JD" Gorden Mr Gordon met with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 Republian National Convention to discuss how the US and Russia could work together to combat Islamist extremism should then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump win the election. The meeting came days before a massive leak of DNC emails that has been connected to Russia. Creative Commons The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation James Comey Mr Comey was fired from his post as head of the FBI by President Donald Trump. The timing of Mr Comey's firing raised questions around whether or not the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign may have played a role in the decision. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Preet Bharara Mr Bahara refused, alongside 46 other US district attorney's across the country, to resign once President Donald Trump took office after previous assurances from Mr Trump that he would keep his job. Mr Bahara had been heading up several investigations including one into one of President Donald Trump's favorite cable television channels Fox News. Several investigations would lead back to that district, too, including those into Mr Trump's campaign ties to Russia, and Mr Trump's assertion that Trump Tower was wiretapped on orders from his predecessor. Getty Images The biggest names involved in the Trump-Russia investigation Sally Yates Ms Yates, a former Deputy Attorney General, was running the Justice Department while President Donald Trump's pick for attorney general awaited confirmation. Ms Yates was later fired by Mr Trump from her temporary post over her refusal to implement Mr Trump's first travel ban. She had also warned the White House about potential ties former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn to Russia after discovering those ties during the FBI's investigation into the Trump campaign's connections to Russia. Getty Images

Moreover, serving as a presidential advisor to a close family member raises a larger and more serious question about whether Ms Trump's and Mr Kushner's primary allegiance is to the Constitution or to President Trump personally and his brand. In a monarchy, these interests may be one and the same, but not necessarily in a democracy.

The good news for the administration is that the situation can be remedied  by sending Ivanka Trump and Kushner home, where she need not fret about failing to live up to expectations and he can attend to his financial troubles and marshal his legal defenses.

The Washington Post
Karen Vardanyan donated 112 million drams for the medical equipment for National Center for Infectious Diseases.

UCOM HAS INTRODUCED FUTURE NETWORK WI-FI 6E ROUTERS

Statement by the Spokesperson on the conflict resolution and reconciliation efforts

Foreign Minister of Armenia to participate in the Fifth Paris Peace Forum

Armenia: EU and Armenia Hold annual Dialogue on Human Rights

Todays Shushi, Occupied and Cleared of Armenians, is a Real Example of Turkish-Azerbaijani Policy of Ethnic Cleansing of Artsakh

Ookla, the the global leader in internet testing and analysis has awarded Ucom

Sweden will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Ameriabank: At the Vanguard of Armenia's Banking Sector

STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH

SUBSCRIBERS OF UCOMS ALL TIME BEST OFFER TO ENJOY ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Armenia-Azerbaijan: EU sets up monitoring capacity along the international borders

PACE co-rapporteurs on Armenia concerned by reports of alleged war crimes or inhuman treatment perpetrated by Azerbaijans armed forces

There is still 35% gender pay gap: Sona Ghazaryan

Global Finance Names Ameriabank the Safest Bank in Armenia

Mikayel and Karen Vardanyans provided 136 million AMD support for the overhaul of the Myasnikyan statue, which was in unsafe state of disrepair

Google Ad

Believe me, as a representative of a country which uses the Schengen system very often, it is quite important. Vardanyan

I really look forward to having answers from the Azerbaijani side for these alleged gross human rights violations: Secretary General

I call on Armenian and Azerbaijani parliamentarians to use this Assembly as an agora of opportunities President Tiny Kox

UCOMS SPECIAL OFFER OF THE UNLIMITED INTERNET IS NOW TERMLESS

There is no place for the death penalty in a State that respects human rights: PACE General Rapporteur

EU and CoE call on two Member States that have not yet acceded to this Protocol  Armenia and Azerbaijan  to do so without delay

An urgent debate requested on "The military hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

UCOM AND PES-PES CONTINUE COOPERATION WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF EDUCATIONAL PROJECT

The statement of the meeting between Prime Minister Pashinyan, President Aliyev, President Macron and President Michel of October 6, 2022

Largest Corporate Bond Program at the Securities Market of Armenia Completed Successfully

The statement of the Defender on the video of the execution of Armenian PoWs by the Azerbaijani armed forces

LEVEL UP ONLY FOR STUDENTS: UCOM OFFERS X2 AND X3 MORE INTERNET

STATEMENT BY SECRETARY ANTONY J. BLINKEN
Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice Thanks for signing up to the

View from Westminster email {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Please try again later{{ /verifyErrors }}

No matter who is in charge of the Tory party, the future of our economy looks bleak. Were chugging along towards the buffers, borrowing more as we go.

Next month, the Office for Budget Responsibility will predict the Chancellor will have 17bn less to ease the financial pain of Brexit. Two-thirds of Hammonds much-vaunted war chest to finance big projects to kick-start the economy has been wiped away, as Britains output remains sluggish.

In a few weeks, Hammond will deliver his Budget but he will not have the guts to attack the canker at the heart of the public finance. Our tax system is rotten to the core  its fiendishly overcomplicated, and continues to favour the rich over the poor, while trying (and not succeeding) to appease those in the middle. Why have successive governments failed to tackle this problem? All they do is tinker around the edges, adding a little bonus here while taking away an allowance there, giving us a fiver and taxing us another 6.50  and, I promise you, Philip Hammond will stand up in the Commons in November and continue this tradition.

UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 14 November 2022 Members of the hospitality sector demonstrate outside parliament in London. The head of the Confederation of British Industry is urging the UK government to relax immigration rules to help British companies with severe staff shortages, ahead of the chancellors autumn statement EPA UK news in pictures 13 November 2022 England celebrate winning the mens T20 World Cup in Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia AAP Image/Reuters UK news in pictures 12 November 2022 The City of London Pride Group take part in the parade during the Lord Mayor's Show PA UK news in pictures 11 November 2022 City workers attend a Remembrance Day ceremony at Lloyd's of London, in the City of London, to mark Armistice Day, the anniversary of the end of the First World War PA UK news in pictures 10 November 2022 A grey heron lands on the river Dodder in Dublin on a sunny autumn morning PA UK news in pictures 9 November 2022 Australia and Spain play during the Wheelchair Rugby League World Cup group A match at the Copper Box Arena, London PA UK news in pictures 8 November 2022 A migrant attempting to communicate with journalists is pinned against a fence by members of staff, before being taken out of view, at the Manston immigration short-term holding facility, located at the former Defence Fire Training and Development Centre in Thanet, Kent PA UK news in pictures 7 November 2022 Handout photo issued by Just Stop Oil of a protester who has climbed a gantry on the M25 between junctions six and seven in Surrey, leading to the closure of the motorway PA UK news in pictures 6 November 2022 A grey seal with its pup, at the Donna Nook National Nature Reserve in north Lincolnshire, where they come every year in late October, November and December to give birth to their pups near the sand dunes, the wildlife spectacle attracts visitors from across the UK PA UK news in pictures 5 November 2022 Demonstrators with placards calling for a General Election march near the Houses of Parliament AFP via Getty Images 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 Florence Kasumba, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta and Lupita Nyongo attend the European Premiere of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in London Getty 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

Diddling about with fuel duty, personal allowances, cigarettes and booze. Talk about rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic! He wont have the cash to pay increase health and social care budgets and come up with any grand morale-boosting projects. Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn has promised to abolish tuition fees and build a million new homes in the first four years hes in power  and attracted thousands of new members to Labour.

OK, he hasnt outlined the cost, but faced with that grandstanding, how did the Tories respond? By the end of their conference, it had been business as usual, the same old platitudes about helping ordinary working people  but no bold or brave thinking. The Tories might be in power, and at this rate they dont deserve to stay much longer. The only way to appeal to voters is to acknowledge that our complicated tax system provides a framework for the rich to exploit and for the poor to pay a disproportionate amount of their income, receiving less and less in return.

 Theresa May apologises for failing to win the election outright

Big business treats our tax system with contempt  this week we discover that Facebook paid just 2.6m in tax in 2016, on sales of 840m. To minimise tax, they gave staff huge share bonuses, moving money overseas to other branches of the company to avoid UK corporation tax, currently charged at 20 per cent. This exploitation of overcomplicated tax legislation happens all over Europe, and the EU has been clamping down on companies who minimise their bills.

Amazon base themselves in Luxembourg (even though they have a huge operation in the UK), where they paid four times less tax than local businesses, following a sweetener deal with the government, agreed when EU President Jean-Claude Junker was Prime Minister. Now, the EU has ordered Amazon to cough up 220m, claiming that the company failed to pay any tax on three quarters of their European profits for eight years.

 Philip Hammond's Conservative Party Conference speech in 60 seconds

In Ireland, a similar sweetheart deal the government struck with Apple saw the company minimise their liabilities  until the EU ruled they owed 11.5bn in unpaid taxes. That money remains unpaid, and Ireland has been referred to the European Court of Justice to explain their position.

In the UK, the Tories said they were cracking down on non-doms back in 2016. It wont surprise you to know that the rules are being implemented very slowly, and these wealthy individuals are being allowed until April 2019 to reorganise and cleanse their overseas accounts. I merely quote the language used by taxation experts.

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) wants income tax set at a flat rate of 15 per cent, VAT to drop to 12.5 per cent, and a whole host of piddling taxes abolished. They propose just five taxes, including fuel duty, a land-value tax and a tax on rental income. As for the ordinary working families the Tories are so keen to help, five million people have run up credit card debts that they cant repay, according to the head of the Financial Conduct Authority, who is tipped to become the next Governor of the Bank of England. Andrew Bailey attacked credit card companies whose charges are so high that for every 100 a family has borrowed they will have to stump up 350 to clear the debt. For millions of the people the Tories claim they want to help, credit cards are the only way they can make ends meet.

 Philip Hammond uses Cuba, Zimbabwe and Venuzuela to warn against Corbyn

If tax was at a flat rate, the IEA reckons that the poorest group in society would receive tax cuts amounting to 26 per cent of their gross income, with the next group seeing a 17 per cent increasing in income. The downsides to simpler tax are  fewer civil servants needed to run an inefficient bureaucracy and fewer accountants and lawyers needed to fiddle and minimise tax liabilities. The upsides are obvious  people would have more money to spend and the economy would grow, as it would be cheaper to employ staff. At the moment, wages are stagnant, and the cost of living is rising.

The level of credit card debt shows that many people in Britain are faring worse than just managing. Theyve been failed by our feeble Chancellor, who continues to maintain the status quo  and we all know who that favours.
Electric Ireland has become the latest energy provider to signal that it is raising its prices.

The State-owned company said it will increase residential electricity prices by 4pc, but will defer applying this increase until next February.

The move will add 35 a year to the average annual bill.

It comes just a week after Bord Gais said it was hiking electricity and gas prices in November, and SSE Airtricity said it was raising its electricity prices next month also.

Electric Ireland, which is the retail brand of ESB, said it was protecting customers from the impact of rising energy costs this winter by delaying the rise to the new year.

The company blamed a rise in wholesale energy costs.

Executive director Electric Ireland Jim Dollard said the energy company was conscious of the financial pressures facing customers.

We are committed to keeping prices as low as possible for as long as possible.

Mr Dollard defended the decision to raise prices, pointing out that over the past four years Electric Ireland has passed on all savings as a result of wholesale energy cost reductions.

He said his company became the first supplier in the Irish market to offer enduring long term savings of up to 8.5pc to residential electricity and gas customers.
The 124 apartments at the North Bank scheme were brought to the market earlier this week

Independent TD Mick Wallace has called on the Government to suspend the sale by Nama of 124 apartments in the Dublin docklands.

Concerned tenants at the North Bank development contacted the Wexford politician after learning two days ago, from a newspaper report, that their entire apartment block was being offered for sale by receivers acting on the instruction of the States so-called bad bank.

News of the proposed sale came just five days after the tenants in question had received letters from their landlord to inform that their apartments had been sold to Nama. The communication, which was sent to the tenants last Friday, added that Nama would now be issuing a 12-month lease on current terms.

Contacted by Deputy Wallace for information on the matter, Nama issued a response, stating that: "The recent purchases by NAMA were required to consolidate the entire block, hence increasing the value of the overall property in preparation for its sale as a single lot."

Commenting on Namas move, Mr Wallace said: "This is a frightening development.

"We are in the middle of a housing crisis, and Nama are now buying apartments, in order to sell them on to vulture funds. Nama have now become property speculators. It beggars belief that Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, Labour, and now even Sinn Fein, believe that Nama have the expertise to solve our housing crisis. Nama are part of the problem, not part of the solution."

He added: "What makes it even worse is, tenants have informed me that within the apartment block, there are vacant units, some sitting idle for over three years.

"How can Nama justify this when we are struggling with a Housing Crisis? These apartments, along with the rest in the block, will be no doubt purchased by a US vulture fund, and rented out for outrageous prices. Clearly, doing business with vulture funds, is more attractive to Nama than helping to fix the housing crisis."

The 124 apartments at the North Bank scheme were brought to the market earlier this week along with a large commercial unit for a guide price of 33m. North Bank is located just 200 metres from the new Central Bank Headquarters and 550m from the IFSC.

Built by Liam Carroll's Zoe Developments prior to the crash, the scheme is being sold by agent Hooke & MacDonald on the instruction of Nama-appointed statutory receiver, David Carson of Deloitte.

There are 31 one-bed, 64 two-bed and 29 three-bed apartments being offered in the sale. The combined current rent from existing tenancies and estimated rental value (ERV) of the apartments currently in the course of being let amounts to approximately 2.325m per annum.

Contacted for comment on the matter, a spokesman for Nama said: "A NAMA company bought 7 of the 124 units. In these cases tenants whose leases are coming to an end are being offered a 12-month lease on their current terms."
Amarenco Solar, the Irish investor and asset manager of renewable energy founded by former Bord Gais boss John Mullins, is merging its French operation with Groupe Carre, a solar power developer in France.

The merged group - called Amarenco France - is now one of the main developers and producers of renewable energy in France.

It aims to become one of the leading vertically integrated producers of renewable energy in the country. It expects the group's consolidated turnover to hit 25m next year.

Amarenco is already involved in a number of solar farm projects in France, a market it first entered in 2014. It has co-invested more than 300m with partners there.

Groupe Carre was founded in 2008. It has more than 100MW of solar projects installed.

Mr Mullins said the merger with Groupe Carre follows an initial collaboration last year.

"It became very clear that we were working very well together and were mutually contributing to our success in the market," he said.

"A merger is clearly the sensible outcome and we now look forward to maximising the combined strengths of both companies," added Mr Mullins.

Earlier this year, Amarenco entered a joint venture agreement with Infracapital, the investment arm of Prudential-owned M&G Investments, to roll out as much as 1bn worth of renewable energy projects over the next five years.

As part of the agreement, Infracapital invested in an initial portfolio of three operational solar energy projects in France developed by Amarenco. Those sites generate 75MW of electricity and have a 20-year supply deal.

Amarenco also took a less than 10pc stake in French crowd-funding firm Lumo this year. The La Rochelle-based company specifically enables people to invest in renewable energy projects.

In Ireland, Amarenco has full planning approval in Munster for solar farms capable of generating as much as 50MW of power. Development of those solar farms will cost more than 60m. Amarenco said it is ready to proceed with its partner to roll out the schemes.

"We have the funds and are ready to invest, but our plans are on hold until the Government clarifies its view on solar energy," said Mr Mullins.

The Government has pledged to deliver a policy initiative in relation to solar power development.

Plans for a number of large-scale solar projects have been rejected by local councils over the past year because no spatial strategy exists for their development at a national, regional or local level.
The sale of the 1.4m 'Beauty Parlour' colt at Goffs helped pre-tax profits jump by 54pc to 3.16m at the bloodstock firm in the past year.

The sale of the horse was part of a ring turnover of 39.9m at the annual Orby Sale at Goffs and formed part of a total ring turnover of 171.2m in the year to the end of March this year.

The total ring turnover rose by 7.5pc and Goffs chairman Eimear Mulhern, pictured, said that the year to the end of March 2017 "has been another very good year for the company".

Group CEO Henry Beeby said in his report that the 171m in ring turnover "was one of the highest ever" and means that the company has enjoyed an increase of 98pc in ring revenues over the past five years.

Ms Mulhern said Goffs is proposing a dividend of 7.5c per share and is to be approved at the group's AGM on October 20 next.

The 7.5c per share follows 5c per share in the 12 months to the end of March 2016 that equated to a pay-out of 332,000 and this followed a dividend payout of 332,000 in the previous year.

In her report, Ms Mulhern stated: "The board is pleased to announce increased group cash and bank balances, increased ring turnover, increased profits.

"Goffs-sold horses enjoyed a superb year on the racecourse in Ireland, the UK and across the globe."

Net revenues at Robert J Goff & Co plc last year increased from 16.4m to 17.2m. Direct sale costs totalled 4.2m while the business also recorded operating costs of 10.37m.

Pay to directors last year increased from 1.16m to 1.2m, including 114,628 in pension payments.

Numbers employed by Goffs last year remained at 89 with 60 in administration and 29 in sales. Staff costs increased from 4.77m to 4.89m. The total pay to key management personnel last year totalled 2.64m.

Shareholder funds at the end of March of this year totalled 16.5m. The company recorded post tax profits of 2.57m after paying corporation tax of 588,000.

In her report, Ms Mulhern confirmed that discussions are progressing with Topaz to develop a motor services area on a nine-acre site on jointly owned lands along the N7. Planning for a 94-bedroom hotel on the site expires in 2019 and Ms Mulhern said discussions are under way with aconsortium to build and operate the facility.

Ms Mulhern said that Goffs is "looking forward to the year ahead with cautious optimism". Goffs has a UK arm and she said "the effects of Brexit are as yet unknown".
Kellogg has been based in Ireland since 2005 and employs 250 people here including its head of its European cereal business unit and a number of senior cereal functional leaders for Europe. Photo: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The main Irish arm of breakfast cereal giant Kellogg last year returned to profit to record pre-tax profits of 338.56m.

New accounts filed by Kellogg Europe Trading (KET) Ltd with the Companies Office show that the company returned to pre-tax profit as revenues increased marginally from 1.111bn to 1.114bn.

The pre-tax profit last year of 338.56m followed a pre-tax loss of 75.5m in 2015 - a positive swing of 413m.

The accounts show that the company last year received a corporate tax credit of 7m. This followed the company paying zero corporation tax in the two prior years.

The profit last year included net interest receivable of 264m.

Kellogg has been based in Ireland since 2005 and employs 250 people here including the head of its European cereal business unit and a number of senior cereal functional leaders for Europe.

The company's brands include Corn Flakes, Coco Pops, Nutri-Grain and Rice Crispies.

A breakdown of the KET's revenues show that 540m were generated in the UK with 567m in 'Rest of Europe' and the remaining 5.2m in 'Rest of World'.

Numbers employed last year reduced from 215 to 197 with staff costs reducing from 39.8m to 37.2m

The profit last year takes account of the 15.6m exceptional costs arising from the firm's 'Special K' project which is described as "a significant, multi-year, global growth and efficiency programme that will reshape the business and serve as a catalyst for growth".

The directors state that "the outlook for 2017 remains challenging with an expectation of little year-on-year growth in turnover or operating profit".
The Department of Transport, in conjunction with the Irish Maritime Development Office, has begun a study into the use of Britain for Irish hauliers and transporting goods from Ireland to mainland European markets.

The Government is only now carrying out a study to establish the volume of Irish exports that use the UK landbridge - but the results won't be due until the early months of next year.

That's over 18 months after the referendum in the UK took place, even though most exporters here go through Britain to get their produce to mainland Europe, or further afield.

The Department of Transport, in conjunction with the Irish Maritime Development Office, has begun a study into the use of Britain for Irish hauliers and transporting goods from Ireland to mainland European markets.

The research is expected to establish the volume of traffic using the British landbridge, the likely consequences that Brexit will have on this, and the options to deal with any negative impact when the UK leaves.

But the research is not slated for completion until the first quarter of next year.

In August, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar revealed to Fianna Fail's Kevin O'Keeffe that the Government does not know the level or amount of goods and services exported to Europe overland through the UK.

Mr Varadkar said the country of final destination is recorded as the country of export in the merchandise trade data and there is no data available on the route taken, or transit country of the goods.

But research carried out by the Irish Exporters Association suggests two-thirds of exporters go through Britain to get their produce to customers on mainland Europe and further afield.

Marie Armstrong, IEA vice-president, told TDs this year that the number of exporters relying on the UK as a landbridge to the continent was "hugely significant" ... "and those members are very concerned about continuing to use the UK in terms of customs, and being stopped at borders".

Responding to recent queries from Fianna Fail's Brexit spokesman Stephen Donnelly, Transport Minister Shane Ross said a number of Brexit-related studies have been carried out on behalf of transport and tourism agencies and organisations in relation to Brexit.

"My department, in conjunction with the Irish Maritime Development Office, is commencing a study into the use of the UK landbridge by Irish importers and exporters," he said.

"I expect this piece of research to be completed in Q1 of 2018."
Vahe Gevorgyants as a good candidate

Producer Vahe Gevorgyants, candidate for president of Armenia's Cinematographers' Union, introduced today what he is going to do when he is elected. The son of the late president of the Union, Ruben Gevorgyants, said that his / her number one thing should be the creation of connection between filmmakers of different ages. In case of being elected, Vahe Gevorgyants promised that the Union of Cinematographers would have its own newspaper, where professionals would have professional publications. The candidate Vahe Grigoryan said "I have been asked for several times what the difference between me and Haroutyun Khachatryan or Gevorg Gevorgyan is. There is no good or bad. They have their own point of views, I have mine. Simply, filmmakers should decide which point of view they support. In the past, the Union was created by my grandfather, my father continued the job. Many say it is inherited, and so on. I will keep everything we have now."
Ryanair's Chief Operations Officer has announced his resignation.

Ryanair today confirmed that Michael Hickey, its Chief Operations Officer has decided to resign.

His resignation will come into effect at the end of October.

Mr Hickey joined Ryanair in 1988 as an engineer. He became Director of Engineering in 2000 and Chief Operations Officer in 2014.

Ryanair boss, Michael O'Leary said he "will be a hard act to replace".

In a statement released today, Mr O'Leary paid tribute to Mr Hickey's 30-year career with the airline.

"Over the past 30 years Mick Hickey has made an enormous contribution to Ryanair, especially the quality and safety of our engineering and operations functions.

"He will be a hard act to replace, which is why we are grateful he has agreed to continue in an advisory role to smooth the transition to a successor and to complete a number of large projects he is currently working on including a multiyear engine maintenance contract and new hangar projects in Seville and Madrid.

"All of us in Ryanair wish to sincerely thank Mick for all his advice and guidance over the past 30 years and we wish him every possible success in the future."

It's understood that Ryanair will soon commence the process of identifying and recruiting a new successor.
Plans for a multimillion euro residential care home in north Dublin by a company backed by e-learning tycoon Pat McDonagh have been rejected by the local council.

The project would have provided a 120-bedrom facility and the company behind it, Remedy Care, said it would provide a "new model" of elderly and specialist care in Ireland.

Remedy Care is wholly-owned by Mr McDonagh, who made his estimated 500m fortune from firms such as CBT Systems, Skillsoft and Riverdeep.

The brother of tech entrepreneur and Riverdeep founder Barry O'Callaghan, Tom O'Callaghan, is also involved in the care home project.

Tom O'Callaghan has been working closely with Remedy Care in its efforts to develop Remedy Care facility in Ballyboughal, Co Dublin, in an area called Skidoo.

Tom O'Callaghan is the chief executive of the IHeed Institute, a medical-education company based in Dublin. He is also the founder of the Living Health Clinic, a primary care centre in Mitchelstown in Co Cork that is owned by a consortium of general practitioners.

The Skidoo land was bought some time ago for more than 10m, with backing from Pat McDonagh.

Directors of the firm behind the farmland - Skidoo Farming & Agricultural Company - include Isle of Man-based solicitor John Caldwell, also a long-time associate of Mr McDonagh.

The council said that the development would materially contravene the Fingal development plan, which states that residential care homes be located in towns and villages.
The former deputy governor of the Central Bank has described the Help-to-Buy scheme for prospective homeowners as "a mad idea".

Stefan Gerlach left the financial regulator two years ago, and now works at EFG Bank in Zurich. He made the remark in response to a tweet from veteran London-based journalist Russell Findlay.

Referring to the impact of Help-to-Buy on residential property markets, Mr Findlay wrote: "By boosting demand, Help-to-Buy benefits home builders, not buyers, sustaining a [price] bubble."

Responding, Mr Gerlach said: "Yes, of course. A mad idea, but one that sounds great if you don't think about the economics. The Irish government likes/liked it too!"

While those remarks may cause some discomfort for Mr Gerlach's former employers at the Central Bank, they won't necessarily be frowned upon by Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy, who is known to have reservations about the Help-to-Buy scheme.

Upon taking office last June, the new minister commissioned consultancy firm Indecon to conduct an independent review of the scheme over concerns it was contributing to rampant house-price rises.
The technology sector in India is facing turbulent times, with a number of leading IT companies reported to be planning "significant" lay-offs.

The lay-offs are being attributed in part to concerns over US President Donald Trump's administrative clampdown on H-1B visas, making it harder for Indian workers to do business in the US, the World Economic Forum (WEF) reports.

In addition, the increasing ability of machine learning to replace human workers is also a challenge for the IT sector in the country that has become synonymous with technology.

A recent report from managing consulting firm McKinsey found that the skills of as much as half of the 3.9 million Indian people working in the IT sector will become irrelevant in as little as a few years.

However, the news in respect of the tech sector in Indian is not all bad. The country's tech startup scene boasts more companies than anywhere other than the US and the UK, as government initiatives help to increase the number of startup companies that are being established across the country.

The country is also the youngest startup nation in the world - 72pc of new-business founders are under the age of 35, while Indian e-commerce company Flipkart makes it to ninth place in the top 10 most valuable startups, according to WEF.

Expand Close U.S. President Donald Trump / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp U.S. President Donald Trump

However, India - which is the world's seventh-largest economy, sitting between France and Italy - is facing a number of other economic challenges.

While the economy is growing faster than any other large economy - with the exception of China - recently the country's gross domestic product growth dipped to 5.7pc, not much ahead of Ireland.

In addition, in a country that has the world's largest youth population, over 30pc of the young population are not in any form of employment, education, or training, according to the OECD. Another issue facing the Indian economy is the problem of the gender gap.

While the country has made progress in closing the gap over the past decade, the progress has been slow, with the country rising to 87th from 98th in the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Report in the 10-year period.

Meanwhile, the country ranks a poor 135th out of 144 countries for women's participation in the labour force.

As various reports have shown, increased female participation in the workforce is beneficial for economic growth, while it also tends to also have a positive affect on the level of eduction in countries.

As the country's economy powers ahead, increasing the inclusivity of economic growth will be key for India, with the country ranking just 60th among the 79 developing economies that were analysed in the World Economic Forum's latest Inclusive Development Index.

This growing inequality is reflected in the fact that more than half - 53pc - of the country's wealth is in the hands of 1pc of its richest people.

And the concentration of wealth is rising.

In 2000 the country's 1pc had control of 36.8pc of the wealth.

By contrast, in the United States the richest 1pc in the US control 37.3pc of the country's wealth.

As the level of inequality rises, the pace at which India can lift people out of extreme poverty will be hindered.
It's a sobering thought, but the original Blade Runner was set in 2019, which gives us just two years to invent flying cars, acid rain storms and replicants.

Actually, they probably already have replicants, but otherwise Ridley Scott's 1982 dystopian drama was a bit ahead of itself in predictive terms. Then again, it was ahead of the curve in lots of ways, addressing problems like pollution and global warming at a time when those topics were unfashionable, and using miniature models and primitive special effects to paint a compelling vision of an embattled futuristic Los Angeles.

Nothing like it had ever been seen before and despite its flaws, which were mainly due to an ugly post-production edit, Blade Runner's aura has grown with time and is now recognised as one of the truly great science-fiction films. No pressure on Denis Villeneuve then. The French-Canadian film-maker must surely have wondered if he was fielding a hospital pass when he agreed to come aboard this project as director. Harrison Ford would reprise the role of grizzled assassin Deckard, Ridley Scott would watch from the wings as executive producer: there'd be no shortage of expert critics if Villeneuve didn't get it right. The original Blade Runner's strongest suit had been Ridley Scott's futuristic urban landscape, with its floating billboards and giant talking advertisements. As he's proved with Sicario and Arrival, Villeneuve has the visual flair to match Scott's extraordinary achievements - little did we know he'd surpass them.

Expand Close On the Run: Roger Deakins cinematography is stunning / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp On the Run: Roger Deakins cinematography is stunning

Blade Runner 2049 is set 30 years after the first film and life on Earth has dis-improved. Ecosystems have collapsed and a mogul called Niander Wallace (Jared Leto) has grown powerful by inventing synthetic farming. He's also branched out into androids and come up with a new breed of replicant that doesn't disobey orders. Agent K (Ryan Gosling) is one of them and works for the LAPD as a blade runner, hunting down earlier models of his kind that were not quite so biddable. Only the losers have stayed behind on Earth, most of the rich humans having departed for new pastures, and the landscapes K crosses in his flying banger are blasted and barren.

When he tracks down and 'retires' a rogue replicant on a remote farm, K finds a skeleton buried nearby. When it's taken in for analysis, the remains lead him to an old but very important mystery involving the legendary blade runner Deckard (Harrison Ford). He hasn't been seen anywhere in years, but when K manages to track him down in a ruined Las Vegas, both men are in for a shock. Blade Runner 2049's story is relatively simple, but has all the existential resonances of the original film. In this devastated landscape, the humans seem to be the ones with the faulty moral compasses, while the replicants pause Hamlet-like to ponder the meaning of it all.

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

When not killing things, K retires to a dingy apartment to commune with a beautiful female hologram (Ana de Armas) he's convinced himself he loves. K wants to feel, to live fully, and begins to wonder if one of the childhood memories embedded in him by his maker might actually be real. Even his cynical human boss Lieutenant Joshi (Robin Wright) tells K she sometimes forgets he's a replicant: is he really any less sentient, or conscious, than she is? Villeneuve's film is two hours and 40 minutes long, but rushes past in a glorious blur. It is constantly, miraculously, visually inventive and Roger Deakins' glorious cinematography is enhanced and deepened by haunting sound effects and Hans Zimmer's soaring electronic soundtrack. There is action as well as reflection, ugliness as well as beauty: K and Deckard's brutal first encounter takes place against the crooning backdrop of an Elvis hologram, and a scene in which K's craft is harpooned and pulled down from the sky is breathtaking.

It this actually better than the original Blade Runner? I'm not sure yet, but it has to be seen, preferably on the biggest movie screen you can find.

Films coming soon...

The Snowman (Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Ferguson); The Ninjago Movie (Dave Franco, Olivia Munn, Justin Theroux); The Ritual (Rafe Spall, Arsher Ali); It's Not Yet Dark (Simon Fitzmaurice, Ruth Fitzmaurice); The Party (Cillian Murphy).
Niall Horan in Too Much to Ask video

Niall Horan has announced a date at the 3Arena as part of the European leg of his upcoming Flicker World Tour.

The former One Direction star from Mullingar will take to the stage in Dublin on March 12, 2018, and tickets go on sale Friday October 13 at 9am.

Niall, who has sold over 70 million albums with One Direction, releases his debut solo album Flicker on October 20. The single Slow Hands went to number one at US Tpp 40 Radio and the latest single is Too Much To Ask.

It's one of the first songs he wrote for the album, with long-time collaborator Jamie Scott. Here's the new video:

We need your consent to load this Social Media content We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content. Manage Preference

The 3Arena date will be the first date of his tour of Europe which will also include shows at London's O2 Academy Brixton (22nd March), Brussels Forest National (30th April), Milans Mediolanum Forum (7th May) and conclude in Lisbons Coliseu (12th May).

Tickets for the 3Arena date are 48.50 and on sale Friday October 13 at 9am. VIP Packages are available from http://vipnation.eu/niallhoran
Lucy Kennedy faced some backlash this month when she tweeted that she would be staying in Katie Hopkins' house in her latest series of Living with Lucy.

Many of the TV3 presenter's followers were extremely unhappy with the controversial Hopkins (right, with Lucy) being given air time.

I think Living with Lucy, which first aired back in 2008, is a really lighthearted and entertaining programme. I love getting an insight into famous people's day-to-day lives and a peek inside their homes.

I took part on the Six O'Clock Show last year when it was the Seven O'Clock Show and Lucy was a presenter. I found her so warm and easy to chat to, so I have been a big fan ever since.

Expand Close Katie Hopkins and Lucy Kennedy. PIC: Lucy Kennedy Twitter / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Katie Hopkins and Lucy Kennedy. PIC: Lucy Kennedy Twitter

I have to admit, my initial reaction to the news that Lucy would be bunking in Hopkins' Bristol home was shock and disappointment. I was so surprised that after every sexist, racist and downright nasty remark Hopkins has made, TV3 would still decide to work with her.

I was pretty sure her 'career' was over when back in May, Ms Hopkins was sacked by LBC radio station after a tweet that called for a "final solution" to Islamic terrorism, which some suggested was a reference to the extermination of Jewish people by Hitler.

Although LBC never publicly linked the tweet to Ms Hopkins' firing, the decision came after a concerted campaign, which included petitions and promises by high-profile personalities not to appear on the station until she was removed.

With such bad press surrounding her, including being branded 'Britain's most hated woman', I still couldn't get over the fact that Lucy would be including her in her TV programme which has been successful so far.

I certainly didn't envy her having to spend so much time with a woman I wouldn't even share an elevator with.

I know they say 'all publicity is good publicity' but surely no one wants to be linked to Katie Hopkins.

Expand Close Katie Hopkins, Lucy Kennedy on Living with Lucy, TV3 / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Katie Hopkins, Lucy Kennedy on Living with Lucy, TV3

I was unsure about what way the show would go and whether Hopkins would manage to brainwash Lucy into seeing her point of view.

In the end, I was glad to see that Lucy took it as an opportunity to blast Hopkins who tried to claim that her vile tweets "helped people think".

Video of the Day

I hailed Lucy when she interrupted her and said what most people were thinking: "No, they just make people think you're an absolute b**ch."
Actor Daniel Reardon was rushed to hospital after he suffered from a epileptic fit during a play at the Abbey theatre earlier this week.

Speaking to Joe Duffy on RTE's Liveline, the renowned actor said he was watching Ulysses when he fell ill.

"I'm fine. I didn't realise the show had to be stopped. I'm terribly sorry about that. Andy Lee, my son-in-law, was able to get me out of the auditorium very quickly. He said there was a song and dance that was going on at the time, but I was sorry to hear (it had to be stopped). Thanks to all the people who were wishing me well, but I'm fine."

Mr Reardon is currently in Mater Hospital waiting on an MRI scan.

"It was an epileptic seizure and I just blacked out. I'm not epileptic at all, it was completely out of the blue. They're just trying to find out know is it something I'm going to have to live with or is it an isolated incident. I've had an ECG and a CAT scan."

He said he blacked out after the seizure but he remembers the first half of the play.

"I was enjoying it immensely. It was terrific."

After Mr Reardon fell ill, the lights came and the show stopped.

"There were medics behind me. Thanks to them, I'm very grateful to them."

Mr Reardon's son-in-law, boxer Andy Lee, was there to help.

"We go to the theatre quite a lot. We go to a lot of plays," Mr Lee told Joe Duffy.

"Throughout the day and during the interval, there were no signs that he was ill. The play was ongoing, and it was in the middle of a dance when I felt a violent shake behind me. The lady behind Daniel stood up and she was quite distressed. I just scooped Daniel up in my arms and carried him down the stairs and into the wings. About four people followed us. Luckily two of them were doctors. I have their numbers and I've been meaning to give them a call, I've been waiting to see what the results are."

Mr Lee said that he thought his father-in-law was having an allergic reaction.

"I thought it was the allergy. I picked him up and it was quite obvious when we got to the wings that it wasn't an allergy. He was shaking quite violently, he was rigid and his jaw was shut. He was breathing the whole time, I was trying to keep him from choking on his tongue. The doctors were a great help. After a few minutes he was calm and breathing, but still not responsive. Gradually over time, he started to relax more and more and was responsive. Then the ambulance came and they were excellent as well. Within an hour he was fine."

Mr Reardon said he was "moved by everyone involved" and expressed his sincere gratitude.
John and Bernadette Lyons pictured leaving the Four Courts yesterday after a Circuit Civil Court hearing in relation to their property in Sandyford, Dublin. Photo: Collins Courts

A couple with an investment pot in the US worth more than 144,000, and a rental holiday home in Wexford, have been given another chance of saving their 550,000 Dublin residence from being repossessed by a bank.

Judge Jacqueline Linnane heard in the Circuit Civil Court that John and Bernadette Lyons had also been forced to rent out a room in their home in Clonard Lawn, Sandyford, Dublin 18, to help meet their 3,500-a-month mortgage repayments.

Joynt and Crawford, solicitors for the AIB Mortgage Bank, told the court the couple were not keeping up the repayments and currently owed more than 144,000 in arrears alone on their mortgage. Their overall debt to the bank stood at more than 440,000.

The bank's solicitor said the couple had been saving money from the 1,500-a-month rental of a room in their home and it was because of this that they were in a position to tell the court they would pay off a lump sum of 10,000 to the bank within the next fortnight. The couple, who represented themselves in court, said that in January next they would be in a position to pay off all of the arrears from the US fund.

Mr Lyons said he was working in London and by January 2018 would fulfil a three-year residential requirement there that would allow him to draw down his US fund without having to pay a 50pc tax burden to Irish Revenue. He said he was prepared to pay off all of the arrears in January and in the meantime make a 10,000 payment to the bank, from money they had saved, as a gesture of good faith.

Judge Linnane adjourned the bank's application to re-possess the Sandyford property until mid-February which would give the couple time to pay off the arrears.
A Dublin man with a very bad record has had his sentence for robbing a filling station while on temporary release from prison upheld by the Court of Appeal.

Michael McDonagh (29), of Carna Road, Ballyfermot, in Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to robbery of Applegreen filling station in Ballyfermot on July 25, 2014.

He was sentenced to five years imprisonment with the final two suspended made consecutive to a term of three years with the final six months suspended by Judge Patricia Ryan on April 29, 2016.

McDonagh lost an appeal against his sentence today with the Court of Appeal unable to conclude that his sentence was excessive.

Giving background Mr Justice George Birmingham said the robbery was perpetrated by McDonagh and another person. The accomplice had direct contact with the staff member by putting a knife to the throat and threatening to slice.

The pair made off with 1,050, the judge said.

McDonagh was 26 years of age at the time and had 126 previous convictions by the time of sentencing. A probation report spoke of a long and entrenched alcohol and drug problem.

Counsel for McDonagh, Eoin Hardiman BL, submitted that the sentence was excessive and that the sentencing judge gave insufficient regard to the totality of the sentence as well as McDonagh's background of drug addiction and drug debt.

Mr Justice Birmingham said it was a very serious offence  a robbery involving an imitation firearm and the holding of a knife, by the accomplice, to the neck of a staff member.

It was committed by someone with a very bad record (McDonagh), committed while on bail and shortly after being granted temporary release from prison.

Mr Justice Birmingham, who sat with Mr Justice Alan Mahon and Mr Justice John Edwards, said the court could not find any basis for concluding the sentence was excessive and dismissed the appeal.
A gravedigger who slipped on ice fracturing his ankle at a funeral has been awarded over 50,000 by a High Court judge.

Mr Justice Kevin Cross said gravedigger Nicky O'Brien struck him as a most decent individual who did not exaggerate his injuries and did not even mention to the court he has been left with scars.

Grave digging, the judge said, is a noble vocation and the graveyard where the accident occurred - St Ibars cemetery near Wexford town - is a typical old Irish graveyard which has hazards and is not laid out with precision and military grace as those in continental Europe.

The judge believed the accident was caused by the slippy nature of the ground which was sheltered by a headstone.

If there had been grit, the judge said this accident would have been avoided.

Mr Justice Cross also rejected there was contributory negligence on the part of Mr O'Brien.

"He was not running. He was wearing his work boots. He did nothing inappropriate," Mr Justice Cross stated.

Mr OBrien had told the court he was walking away after the grave of an elderly woman had been covered to be filled in later when his foot went and he fell.

I felt a crack in my foot. The path was slippy. It should have been salted and it wasnt, he said.

He later had to have reconstruction surgery on his right ankle and said he was out of work for about eight months after the January 8, 2009 accident.

Mr Justice Kevin Cross said the issue in the case was what caused Mr O'Brien's fall and was it because of the slippy nature of the ground because of frost and ice.

The judge accepted that salt had been requested and a bag of sand at the cemetery had been exhausted. Mr O'Brien, in his evidence, said he was supported by the cemetery caretaker at the time and a mourner at the funeral.

Mr Justice Cross said in the case he was been asked by the Wexford Borough Council side to prefer the theory offered by a witness from the Met Office who had examined the reports and the data for the date in question over the evidence of witnesses to the accident. Mr Justice Cross said he he believed the witnesses to the accident.

He awarded 40,000 for pain and suffering to date and a further 10,000 for pain and suffering in to the future with special damages came to a total of 50,850.

Nicky O'Brien (56), Windmill Heights, Wexford had sued his employer at the time Wexford Borough Council as a result of the accident on January 8, 2009.

He claimed Wexford Borough Council permitted the footpath to be and remain in a dangerous and unsafe condition and allegedly failed to warn him of the hazardous nature of the path.

He has further claimed there was an alleged failure to warn employees and the public in general of the existence of the hazard on the footpath and the Council had not provided grit and salt which could have been spread on the cemetery paths .

The Council denied the claims and contended that Mr O'Brien failed to take any care for his own safety.
A man in his 30s has been arrested in connection with the investigation into a firearm seizure in Dublin on Wednesday.

He was arrested by gardai from Finglas during an operation in Ashtown October 4.

The man is expected to appear before a sitting of Dublin District Court on Saturday morning charged in connection with the investigation.

A woman also in her 30s arrested has been released without charge; a file will be prepared for the Director for Public Prosecutions.

During the operation gardai searched a car and recovered a handgun along with a number of rounds of ammunition in the Rathbourne area of Ashtown.
A Dublin man is to be sentenced next week after he admitted claiming his dead mother's pension for up to 17 years.

Father-of-two Brian Bobey (64) pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to fraudulently taking a total of 158,726 in benefits from the State between 1997 and 2013.

The court heard today that Bobey began claiming his mother's pension after her death in May 1997 and stopped in October 2013, following an investigation by the Department of Social Welfare.

None of the money has yet been repaid by Bobey, who still lives at his late parents' house in Walkinstown Parade, Dublin, with his partner and daughter.

Garda Niall Gaynor told Garrett McCormack BL, prosecuting, that Bobey cooperated fully when a warrant was obtained to search his house, telling gardai he knew it was in relation to my mam's pension.

He met gardai by appointment and identified himself on CCTV footage entering a post office to collect the pension.

Gda Gaynor agreed with counsel for the State that there was no evidence to suggest Bobey had been living any sort of high life from falsely claiming the pension.

The court heard Bobey himself was in receipt of disability benefit since he lost the sight in his right eye due to a tumour.

Bobey has 15 previous convictions, the most recent of which was in 2002 for drink driving.

The rest of the convictions are historic and relatively minor, dating back to 1971 when he was charged with loitering at the age of 18.

Blaise O'Carroll SC, defending Bobey, said his client had cared for both of his parents who suffered ill-health in their final years, his father having pre-deceased his mother by two years.

Bobey's daughter Grace Bobey took the stand and told Mr O'Carroll SC that her father had always been there for her.

Then counsel asked Ms Bobey her age, Judge Patricia Ryan intervened and told Mr O'Carroll SC that this wasn't a very gentlemanly question and didn't require an answer.

He's a great dad, I can't fault him, to be honest, said Ms Bobey, who agreed that her father had supported her in every way.

The court heard that Bobey was born in the council house where he is still a tenant, paying rent of 35 a week.

His income from social welfare is 195 a week, which Judge Ryan said she couldn't impose upon as it was decided based on need.

Mr O'Carroll said his client had been one of six children whose father was a gambler and a violent alcoholic and would come home every Friday and tell his wife there was no money left.

As a child, Bobey worked for coalmen, breadmen and milkmen and gave the money to his mother, with whom he was very close.

The court heard that Bobey had been refused social welfare for a time because a previous employer had failed to declare him.

His counsel said he had a very difficult life overall and that one of his daughters, the mother of his grandchild, had died by suicide in the UK.

He's incredibly remorseful [for the offences], said Mr O'Carroll.

Judge Ryan adjourned the case for sentencing next Friday, October 13.
The case was brought before the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court

Two men who stole a camper van worth 27,000 have avoided prison after a judge said they were at a crossroads and must decide whether to rehabilitate or face jail.

Darren Watters (21), of Killegland Pk, Ashbourne, Co Meath and Michael Joyce (28), Millbanks, Cushionstown, Tara, Co Meath, both pleaded guilty to stealing the Adria van on June 13, 2016.

At their sentence hearing in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday, Judge Karen O'Connor gave both men suspended sentences but urged them to learn from their mistakes and move on, or else be incarcerated in the future.

She sentenced Joyce to two-and-a-half years in prison but suspended it fully, and gave Watters a two-year suspended sentence for this and a separate offence involving the use of a stolen car.

Garda Mark Murphy told Noel Devitt SC, prosecuting, that the pair were spotted by a witness trying to gain access to the camper van which was parked on St Brigid's Rd Lower in Dublin 9.

Gardai were alerted and drove towards the area, coming face-to-face with an Avensis car driven by Michael Joyce which was towing the camper van, steered by Darren Watters.

The car stopped, whereupon the camper van crashed into the back of it and Watters got out and fled the scene.

He was caught and arrested by gardai within 150 metres. Joyce was also arrested.

The van was recovered and returned undamaged to its owners.

Joyce has 17 previous convictions, 13 of which are road traffic offences and a further three under the Theft and Fraud Offences Act.

Oisin Clarke BL, defending Joyce, said he had a very limited education and had left secondary school after two weeks.

Mr Clarke said his client worked for a mechanic part-time, had four children and had been married since he was 18.

He presented a letter to court from Topline Motors offering full-time work to Joyce should the courts decide in his favour.

The court heard that alcohol was Joyce's only vice until his father died and he began taking a variety of drugs including cocaine, but that he stopped using drugs three months ago.

Counsel for Joyce said he was living with his mother in her mobile home, which was adjacent to his wife's mobile home, but that he did not want to go back to living with his wife and children until he was satisfied that he was totally clean.

A letter from a soup kitchen was also shown to the court, where Joyce volunteers once a week, having been helped by the kitchen in the past.

The court heard that Joyce brought 500 to court as a gesture of his remorse to be given either to the camper van owners or to a charity.

He made a stupid decision and saw an opportunity to make some quick money, but he accepts his culpability and is trying to get his life back on track, Mr Clarke said.

Evidence was also heard of a separate offence involving Watters (21), when he was caught in a stolen car.

Watters had previously pleaded guilty to the unlawful use of a vehicle on February 2, 2016 at Steeplechase Court, Ratoath, Co Dublin. He further admitted using four false instruments, namely a counterfeit NCT disc, motor tax disc, NCT certificate and vehicle registration certificate.

Detective Garda Seamus Wallace told the court that a woman and her husband living in Artane reported that their car had been stolen on January 30 that year.

Just over a fortnight later, a garda checking up on stolen vehicles noticed an Opel Astra parked up in Ratoath with brand new registration plates and the marks of previous plates on the car.

He checked the chassis number and found that it was the same car that had been stolen in Artane.

Gardai saw Watters pulling up in another car, getting into the Astra and placing something in the visor pockets, which turned out to be the false car documents.

Watters was wearing black gloves, which he tried to take off just before he was arrested.

He told gardai, If I didn't do it, I was going to get a beating, and accepted that he had been wearing gloves to prevent his fingerprints getting on anything.

Watters has four previous convictions.

His counsel, Justin McQuade BL, told the court that Watters came from a hard-working, respectable, loving, stable and supportive family, but that he had fallen in with the wrong peer group.

A probation report identified Watters as at moderate risk of re-offending.

His mother took the stand and told the judge her son had taken it very hard at the age of 13 when his grandmother died and an uncle died by suicide.

He was young and naive and got in with the wrong crowd. We're quite happy that he was caught and are very grateful to the guards who nipped this in the bud, said Mrs Watters.

Judge Karen O'Connor said Watters had been caught red-handed and described him as person of advantage, unlike most of the people who come before this court.

Despite his parents' great efforts to keep him on a positive path, they have limited control, said Judge O'Connor and warned Watters that he must stay on the right path from now on.

The closing of that prison door will be deeply upsetting to your family, she said.

Both Joyce and Watters were ordered to keep the peace for the duration of their sentences, complete victim focus work, engage with probation services for 12 months and comply with all direction from relevant professionals.

The case was adjourned for mention on Friday October 13 in order to decide where Joyce's offer of 500 will go.
The senior Garda officer in Donegal had told the Charleton tribunal she wanted Gardai to be seen to be acting in a "clear and transparent" manner in investigating allegations made against whistleblower Garda Keith Harrison.

Chief Superintendent Terry McGinn, who a decade ago worked as an official liaison to the Morris tribunal looking at allegations against certain Donegal gardai, said that following that inquiry, confidence in policing was very low in the county, and she was tasked with restoring trust in the force.

Chief Supt McGinn told the tribunal she was on maternity leave when Garda Harrison transferred to Donegal in 2011.

She said she first met Garda Harrison in Ballyshannon in the Autumn of 2011. The garda told her that he was having financial difficulties and asked if he could transfer from Donegal town to Letterkenny, nearer where he lived, to save money on his commute.

Chief Supt McGinn said this couldn't be done, but suggested that if he worked on his Irish language fluency, there was an allowance he could avail of.

The chief superintendent said this was the only time she ever met Garda Harrison personally.

In the current module, the tribunal is looking at contacts between gardai and the HSE/Tusla relating to Garda Harrison.

The witness said that in October 2013, she had "a confidence issue" about Garda Harrison's ability to carry out his functions as a garda. Reports from the sister and mother of Garda Harrison's partner Marisa Simms led to a statement being taken on Sunday 6 October 2013 from Ms Simms alleging domestic abuse.

Expand Close Garda Keith Harrisons partner Marisa Simms at the Disclosures Tribunal. Photo: Photocall / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Garda Keith Harrisons partner Marisa Simms at the Disclosures Tribunal. Photo: Photocall

Chief Supt McGinn said that she appointed Inspector Goretti Sheridan to look into the reports at the end of September 2013, following a report that Ms Simms had left the family home with her children late at night.

"I think its most unusual that a woman would be thrown out of her house in the middle of the night and had to get someone to take her," the senior garda said.

"It would signal to me that things weren't well in that house."

Read More

The Chief Superintendent said that she was not on duty over the weekend on which Ms Simms made a statement to Inspector Sheridan, having gone off duty Friday evening, and did not learn about it until she came back on duty on Monday 7 October.

She said she had never conveyed to Inspector Sheridan that she had to get a statement, and she had never said that "No Garda in this division is going to treat a woman that way."

On 8 October, a garda conference was held to consider what to do as a result of the statement.

As a result, a referral was made to GSOC, and because children were alleged to have witnessed an incident, Tusla was also notified.

The referral to GSOC was made under Section 102 of the Garda Siochana Act, which must take place when there is an allegation that a garda caused serious harm or death.

The Chief Superintendent said this might not have been appropriate, and a referral under Section 85 might have been more suitable, but she said that gardai were obliged to refer Ms Simms statement to GSOC either way.

The witness said that because Martin McDermott, a brother of Ms Simms, had been charged with manslaughter following the death of a garda, she wanted to ensure the appearance of independence, and this was another reason to want GSOC to carry out any investigation.

"They are purposely set up for that purpose, to investigate complaints against members," Chief Supt McGinn said.

Read More

The chief superintendent said it was not the case that she wanted to "surreptitiously" refer Garda Harrison to GSOC.

After GSOC closed their file on Garda Harrison, having decided that it was not a Section 102 case, and Ms Simms said she did not wish to make a Section 85 complaint, the chief Superintendent asked Northern Region assistant commissioner Kieran Kenny if he could appoint a superintendent from outside the Donegal division to investigate the allegations in Ms Simms statement.

Chief Supt McGinn said that following the Morris tribunal , there was a lack of confidence in policing in Donegal, and she didn't want the division to investigate one of it's own people, so she sought "an independent investigation, to be clear and transparent."

In correspondence at the time to the Human Resources section in Garda HQ, Chief Supt McGinn said she had "severe reservations as to Garda Harrison's continued employment", and was considering suspension pending completion of the investigation.

In response, the Human Resources department advised that Garda Harrison should be confined to indoor duties.

Chief superintendent McGinn said she accepted this decision by Garda HQ.
A witness at a murder trial has denied that he and the deceased started the trouble that led to a fatal knife attack on a city street.

Conor Hogan from Taghmon in Wexford told defence counsel Colman Cody SC that the accused man, a Brazilian meat factory worker named Juraci Da Silva, "started it" when he approached them in an alleyway and wouldn't go away.

He also said he couldn't remember racially abusing the Brazilian or calling him a "pervert" and a "paedophile".

Mr Da Silva (36), with an address at Park Lane Apartments in Waterford, has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to the manslaughter of 28-year-old James Banville at New Street in Waterford on October 8, 2016. His plea was not accepted by the State and he is on trial at the Central Criminal Court. Mr Da Silva has also pleaded not guilty to assaulting Mr Hogan causing him harm and to a charge of producing a knife on the same date and at the same place.

On the second day of cross examination today, Mr Cody put it to the witness that he and Mr Banville provoked his client by racially abusing him, calling him a pervert and a paedophile and by attacking him.

He replied: "I didn't provoke anyone. I assaulted him." He also said he does not remember saying anything to Mr Da Silva, who he accused of "getting in our faces" when he came over to him and Mr Banville as they were minding their own business.

The court has previously heard that Mr Banville and Mr Hogan twice assaulted the accused man in the early hours of the morning. The first time was in an alleyway where Mr Banville and Mr Hogan were taking cocaine when the accused man approached them and started talking to them. Mr Hogan said that they told him to go away but he didn't, so they hit him.

Under cross examination today he said that was what started the trouble. Less than 20 minutes later Mr Hogan and Mr Banville met the accused again at the nearby Park Lane Apartments. Mr Hogan agreed with Mr Cody that the accused had his back turned to them and was not threatening them in any way when they walked over and struck him a number of times. Minutes after that assault came the final and fatal confrontation.

Mr Cody said other witnesses will say that Mr Banville and Mr Hogan called the Brazilian a pervert and a paedophile while they hit him. Mr Hogan said he could not remember saying that or anything else.

When counsel asked the witness why he had not told gardai the truth about those first two assaults in three statements made in October 2016 he said he was "mixed up" and wasn't himself. "My friend got killed," he added.

Mr Cody put it to him that the reason he didn't tell gardai was because he didn't want people to think that he and Mr Banville had "started this".

He replied: "He came up to us. We didn't go up to him."

The witness also agreed that he had previous convictions at Wexford District Court including for a section 3 assault in which Mr Hogan and three other males assaulted a man by punching him in the face in April 2015. He also has a conviction for burglary, section 3 misuse of drugs and public disorder.

Ellen Ward also gave evidence today, saying that she witnessed the first assault on Mr Juraci at Crosslanes. She said that Mr Juraci seemed to be minding his own business when one of the men punched him "for no reason" and the other struck him in the head with his knee. One of her friends told them: "That's f*****g wrong. Leave him alone." After that, she said Mr Juraci ran up the hill while the other two stayed around for a while. She told them they should go because the guards would be along and they headed off, only to come back some time later. She did not see the second attack on Mr Juraci.

The trial continues on Monday in front of Justice Michael White and a jury of six men and six women.
The terrifying armed raid happened at the Centra shop on UCD campus

A staff member working in a shop on the campus of Irelands biggest university had a gun put to her head during a terrifying armed raid.

The 1,000 robbery happened just after 10pm on Wednesday, when the Centra store at the UCD campus in Belfield was closing.

The employee was putting out bins at the time of the incident and the robbers gained access to the shop when they saw the back door was open.

It's understood she had a gun put to her head during the ordeal while other staff members were also threatened.

One of the raiders then produced cable ties and tied up the woman and a male colleague.

The robbers then fled in the direction of the Merville residents block on campus.

The two members of staff were not physically harmed but were left extremely traumatised.

The robber with the metal bar had a Dublin accent and had a balaclava or similar style of covering on his face. He was wearing a tracksuit.

Expand Close University College Dublin / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp University College Dublin

The gunman had a small black firearm and was wearing a white and blue jacket and blue tracksuit bottoms.

He had blue eyes and is described as stocky.

Gardai believe the pair fled the area by car and are examining a getaway route.

Staff at the shop did not want to comment on the robbery when approached by the Herald yesterday.

There is a sophisticated network of CCTV cameras at the popular shop and gardai hope that the footage will help them to identify possible suspects.

CCTV from the wider campus and the surrounding suburbs may also reveal the route taken to and from the shop by the raiders.

It is believed the robbers got away with about 1,000.

The raid is being investigated by Donnybrook gardai and no arrests have yet been made.

One line of inquiry is that the raiders seemed to know staff movements and habits in advance, indicating a degree of planning, and struck at closing time, when takings would be at their highest.

Gardai have been investigating a number of separate crimes at the UCD campus in recent times.

Last November, it emerged that officers were investigating the alleged sexual assault of a student on campus.

UCD Students Union took to social media to remind students of its walk safe service.

Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that were a total of 70 robberies last year in the south central garda division, which covers the UCD campus.

Donnybrook gardai are already investigating two armed raids at pubs which happened earlier this year and are not linked to Wednesday nights robbery.
A family with two children suffering from Asperger's syndrome sank deeper into debt and reduced spending on food and heating after they were overcharged by Ulster Bank for their tracker mortgage.

The family claim they are owed close to 30,000 by the UK-owned lender after it piled an extra 400 on to their monthly home repayments over a seven-year period.

Ulster Bank's chief executive Gerry Mallon described the case as "completely appalling and not at all unique".

Like the vast majority of the 3,500 customers wrongly charged or denied a tracker rate, the family claim they have yet to receive any redress or compensation.

John McGuinness, chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, yesterday relayed the family's allegations to Ulster Bank's senior management and described the lender's handling of the tracker scandal as "appalling".

He said in this instance the bank's error had forced the family to take out loans from other banks and credit unions to support the care of "those two children".

Mr Mallon replied "it pains us to see customers in that kind of situation as a direct consequence of the actions of the bank." But he pledged to "make it right for those customers" and acknowledged there was "more work for us to do in being helpful and transparent".

Yet despite the fulsome mea culpa, Mr Mallon was unable to clarify when and how much the bank will pay in compensation.

Ulster Bank, a subsidiary of RBS, has set aside 206m to cover the cost of its redress scheme and the fees associated with its tracker mortgage investigations. But Mr Mallon warned it will be "well into 2018" before all cases are addressed. He revealed that fewer than 14 customers had lost their homes as a result of the debacle - lower than first estimated - but said the number may rise.

Read More

An initial 50,000 has been paid to these people, all of whom had their homes sold by the bank. This figure may exceed 100,000 according to Paul Stanley, Ulster Bank's chief financial officer, although he declined to state the maximum of redress and compensation on offer.

In a bruising encounter with the Oireachtas Committee, Ulster lender's senior management were accused of dragging their heels. All five of the State's banks have been caught up in the saga, with Bank of Ireland and Belgian-owned KBC the only two yet to start paying compensation to affected customers.

Ulster Bank revealed the number of customers overcharged now stands at 3,500 - from an earlier estimate of 2,000 - but acknowledged that so far just 40 had received any compensation.

While Mr Mallon, who took over the reins in July 2016, repeatedly apologised for the lender's handling of the matter, he said 200 staff are working on resolving what is a "complex" and time-consuming problem.

Fianna Fail's Mr McGuinness who claimed correspondence to the committee "is telling us that your helpline is a farce, that it doesn't give answers or any comfort on any timeframe in dealing with the issue - or whether they are in scope or not." He claimed the level of "information is such that it's unhelpful and it adds to the anger of the people who get in touch with the helpline in the first place."
Multiple units of Cork Fire Brigade are battling a blaze at a popular pub and restaurant in Mallow.

A fire was detected at The Roundabout Inn at Annabella, just off the N20 Cork-Limerick road, shortly before 6pm.

The fire is understood to have spread to the roof of the popular pub, guesthouse and restaurant which is located less than 100 metres from Mallow railway station.

The facility is very popular with those attending nearby Cork Racecourse in Mallow.

A plume of smoke coming from the facility was visible across the north Cork town.

Mallow fire brigade units were at the scene within minutes with units of Cork fire brigade on standby to assist if required.

To facilitate the work of the emergency services, Gardai closed the northbound lane of the N20.

Motorists were asked to avoid the area if possible due to heavy traffic congestion.

Traffic is also being slowed because of thick smoke being blown across the roadway which has reduced visibility.

The stretch of road is always busy because it represents the junction of the Cork-Limerick and Killarney-Waterford roads.

No injuries were reported from the fire which is being treated as accidental.
Blood was spotted outside the Station Cafe in Drumcondra. Picture: Reader

Gardai have sealed off an area in North Dublin after a large 'bloodstain' was discovered by traders early this morning.

The manager of the Station Cafe on Lower Drumcondra Road arrived to work at 8am to find the large pool of what appears to be blood outside a door.

Expand Close Gardai have sealed off the area outside the Station Cafe in Drumcondra. Picture: Reader / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Gardai have sealed off the area outside the Station Cafe in Drumcondra. Picture: Reader

There was no sign of an injured person and no further indication as to what had happened overnight.

The stain was adjacent to the cafe in a doorway that leads to accommodation for the staff.

"I asked the staff if they knew what had happened, but none of them knew. Whatever it was was still liquid so I don't think it was there long," he added.

The manager called the Gardai at Mountjoy who sealed off the area which was then inspected by members of the garda technical bureau.

Samples were removed for analysis.

"It looked like one big splash of blood that was running down the path, and then there were more stains leading past the cafe towards the train station," said the cafe manager.

Expand Close Blood was spotted outside the Station Cafe in Drumcondra. Picture: Reader / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Blood was spotted outside the Station Cafe in Drumcondra. Picture: Reader

Separately, officers are contacting local hospitals, including the nearby Mater Hospital, to establish if any admissions may be connected to the discovery.

CCTV from the area will also be examined.

More to Follow
A man who was caught throwing 3000 worth of cocaine out of a house window, nearly into the hands of gardai at the scene, has been given a suspended sentence.

Karl Fields (22) with an address in Ayleward Green, Church St, Finglas Dublin pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to possession of cocaine for sale or supply at a house in The Griffith, Finglas, on October 6, 2016.

He also pleaded guilty to unlawfully impeding or obstructing a garda on the same date.

Sergeant Tony Flanagan told Sinead McGrath BL, prosecuting, that a search warrant was obtained for an address in Finglas, where they suspected Fields was storing large quantities of drugs.

Fields was known to gardai as a supplier of heroin in the Finglas area, the court heard.

When gardai arrived at the house, they believed there were people inside, but no-one answered. After they tried to break in three times, the front door was eventually opened by a small child. A woman was also present.

As gardai started searching the house, Fields threw two packages of cocaine out of a window  almost into the hands of gardai who were outside, Sgt Flanagan said.

The packages had a combined street value of 3176.

The court heard he had a chaotic family background and began using drugs at the age of 13.

Defence counsel said Fields wishes to enter a residential treatment program on his release.

Sentencing Fields today, Judge Karen O'Connor said drugs had caused serious destruction, heartbreak and distress in parts of the country and he had involved himself in this activity.

Judge O'Connor noted Fields appeared to be trying to rehabilitate himself and she imposed a two-year sentence, which she suspended in full, consecutive to the term he is currently serving.

The court previously heard Fields made full admissions to gardai upon his arrest, although he told them he would only receive 150 for selling each of the packages. He said the woman and children living at the address had nothing to do with the drugs.

He has 168 previous convictions, including 11 previous convictions for drug sale or supply.

Over 100 of the convictions are for road traffic offences. This is his first circuit court matter.

Defence barrister Edel Gilligan BL said Fields had a chaotic family background, was in care from his early teens and had accumulated drug debts by the age of 17. He was a drug addict who got involved in drug-dealing to feed his habit, the court heard.

In 2013, he tried to get his life back on track and travelled to Finland where he trained as an apprentice carpenter. However, when he returned home and found work, his employer fired him after learning about his previous drug offending.
Images of the individuals Police Scotland wish to speak to / Credit: Police Scotland

Images of the individuals Police Scotland wish to speak to / Credit: Police Scotland

Images of the individuals Police Scotland wish to speak to / Credit: Police Scotland

Images of the individuals Police Scotland wish to speak to / Credit: Police Scotland

Police Scotland has appealed to the public to help identify a group of men after the anti-Irish 'Famine Song' was sung at an Orange Order march in Glasgow

The incident in question happened during a march on July 1, and footage shared on social media showed band members playing the song to the tune of the Beach Boys' Sloop John B with those in the crowd singing along.

Expand Close Images of the individuals Police Scotland wish to speak to / Credit: Police Scotland / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Images of the individuals Police Scotland wish to speak to / Credit: Police Scotland

A spokesperson for Police Scotland has said that it believes the men in the pictures may be able to help them with their inquiries.

"Officers at Govan Police Office are looking for assistance in the identification of the men in the attached images following the Annual Boyne Parade in Glasgow," they said.

Each year a number of Orange Order marches are held in Scotland, with the County Grand Orange Order parade taking place on July 1.

Prior to this year's event, Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland Jim McHarg said: "I would say to those coming to enjoy the music, colour and excitement, you are very welcome, but please do not spoil the day through excessive drinking or abusive behaviour."

This year around 63 bands participated in Glasgow's Orange Walks, with around 4,500 musicians and supporters taking place in the parades and around a further 4,000 people turning out to watch the parades.

This year eight arrests were made for alleged minor disorder and alcohol-related incidents.
The chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has criticised the Department of Justice for blocking the issuing of a controversial report on Stepaside Garda station to TDs.

Fianna Fail TD Sean Fleming said he was "disappointed" that the department had initially refused to release the report and accused it of interfering with a promise made by Acting Garda Commissioner Donall O Cualain in July that it would be provided to the PAC. Last week Mr O Cualain apologised to TDs for making the commitment after the department said it would be "inappropriate" for the report to be released.

The department published the document on its website less than two days later.

The decision to reopen Stepaside is controversial as Independent Alliance Minister Shane Ross had been campaigning for it to happen. The Government rejects allegations of 'stroke politics'.

But the opposition has questioned why Stepaside was selected as the only station among four listed that will definitely be reopened ahead of the completion of the final Garda report. The PAC will decide how to proceed with its examination of the matter next week.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan, department secretary general Noel Waters, Garda HR boss John Barrett, and Assistant Commissioner Pat Leahy - who has responsibility for Dublin - are among potential witnesses TDs want to bring in.

Mr Fleming said if more witnesses are to be called, the report's author Assistant Commissioner John O'Driscoll should be included.

Mr O'Driscoll this week appeared at the Justice committee and insisted no one came to him to ask that a specific station be opened.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar signs a book of condolence for Liam Cosgrave at Fine Gaels office in Dublin. Photo: Justin Farrelly.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Liam Cosgrave was an inspiration and he hoped to live up to his great example.

The national flag flew at half-mast at Leinster House as representatives of all Dail parties joined in tribute to the former Taoiseach, from the years 1973-1977, who died on Wednesday.

Mr Varadkar said Mr Cosgrave had led the State through some of the most turbulent years of the Northern Ireland Troubles and was always a courageous voice against terrorism.

The Taoiseach said he was a man of great loyalty and kindness with a wonderful sense of humour and strong personal dignity.

"Liam Cosgrave's entire life was in the service of the State: politician, soldier, Taoiseach.

"He inspired so many with his quiet, showless determination, courage and fortitude," Mr Varadkar said.

He said Mr Cosgrave had a commanding presence but also great humility.

"In my own career, I have been inspired by his spirit of incredible public service and as Taoiseach I hope to live up to his great example," he added.

Mr Cosgrave will be given a "limited State funeral" tomorrow as per his family's wishes.

This smaller and more family oriented service will be at noon at the Church of the Annunciation, Rathfarnham, followed by burial in Goldenbridge Cemetery, Inchicore.

Following a series of tributes yesterday, the Dail was suspended as a mark of respect until next Tuesday.

Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin expressed his party's condolences.

"I have no hesitation in saying that Liam Cosgrave was a man who gave so much to Irish public life and deserves a place of honour in our history," Mr Martin said, also recalling his opposition to Fianna Fail.

The Fianna Fail leader highlighted Mr Cosgrave's role as external affairs minister as Ireland joined the United Nations in the 1950s.

"Ireland's unique contribution to the United Nations and the exceptional international standing in which our country is held by so many others began to be constructed because of Liam Cosgrave's leadership at that time," Mr Martin said.

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams said Mr Cosgrave had been "a divisive figure" as Taoiseach in the 1970s, as he extended sympathy to the family.

"He was for many people, during turbulent and controversial periods of our history, a controversial and divisive figure but today is not the day to analyse this," the Sinn Fein leader said.

Labour leader Brendan Howlin said the former Labour leader, Brendan Corish, and Mr Cosgrave came from very different political viewpoints - but co-operated in the 1973-77 government.

He said Mr Cosgrave had stood firm in the face of serious IRA threats to the institutions of State in the 1970s.

There were tributes also from Richard Boyd Barrett, of Solidarity-PBP, Eamon Ryan, of the Green Party, Roisin Shortall, of the Social Democrats, and Mattie McGrath, from the Rural Independent Group, as well as other deputies.
WAN-IFRA has launched a global campaign to underline the vitality of the news industry.

WAN-IFRA has launched a global campaign to underline the vitality of the news industry.

The IFRA World Publishing Expo and DCX Digital Content Expo are starting a worldwide campaign for commercially successful publishing.

The campaign includes a number of prominent partners such as The New York Times (USA), Suddeutsche Zeitung (Germany), The Hindu (India), Independent News & Media (Ireland), and Le Figaro (France).

On the occasion of the IFRA World Publishing Expo and DCX Digital Content Expo from 10 to 12 October 2017 in Berlin, leading news brands around the world join the World Association of Newspapers and News Media (WAN-IFRA) and the expo organiser for the launch the global campaign "Make Publishing Successful.

Partners involved in the campaign believe that democracy thrives when people are informed by a sustainable, innovative, and independent news media ecosystem.

The initiative underlines the vitality of the news industry. To secure its vital role in todays society, a free press business must continue to prosper in the long-term, supported by a reliable flood of new technologies, products and business models.

Michael Golden, Vice Chairman of The New York Times Company, said: In times of rapid changes, people rely on information they can trust and that helps them understand whats happening in the world. Despite considerable pessimism about the future of journalism, we have the opportunity to create our future."

The new President of WAN-IFRA promotes the need to facilitate innovative platforms to help publishers meet the ever-changing demands of their consumers.
Wreckage of the first British boat to be torpedoed during World War II is believed to have been found off the coast of Ireland.

The SS Athenia was sunk off the west coast of Ireland mere hours after Britain declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939.

The German commander of U-30, Oberleutnant Lemp, is understood to have believed the boat to be a troop ship.

However, it turned out to be a passenger ship.

The ship had been on the way to Canada at the time it was torpedoed.

Shipwreck hunter David Mearns is understood to have located the body of the ship.

More than 110 crew and passengers are believed to have lost their lives following the torpedo attack.

Confident

Mr Mearns said that while divers were yet to visit the wreckage which is 650m under water, he was almost 100pc confident this is the Athenia.

"I can't put my hand on a Bible in front of a judge and say 100pc this is the Athenia, but all of my experience says it's a very, very high probability," he said. "I am 98pc-plus certain," he added.

The shipwreck hunter began searching for the ship 12 years ago.

"Only passenger liners and perhaps warships are that large," he added.

"The more I looked at that image, it was clear this had a really good chance of being the Athenia."
Some studies seem so obvious you wonder why anyone needed to research them in the first place. Academics at Swansea University have found the more baby manuals mums read in the first year of their newborns life, the more anxious they become, and the more likely they are to end up depressed.

This will come as no surprise to anyone whos ever read a baby manual. Im intimately acquainted with the corrosive feelings of ineptitude and failure sparked by even a brief dalliance with the oeuvre. No matter how well-intentioned they might be, they have an uncanny knack of making you feel utterly incapable and unfit to mind a puppy, let alone a baby. Yet still we buy them by the bucketload.

The mammy of them all is Gina Fords iconic The Contented Little Baby Book, which somehow seems to find its way onto the bookshelf of every new parent. It contains a series of strict timetables for the babys first months, outlining when it should sleep, when it should wake, how much milk it should take at each feed, how much water you should be drinking to keep your supply up, what you should eat... you get the picture. Anyway, the less said about this book, the better, but I will say that I read it a month before my first baby was born and cried myself to sleep for days afterwards.

The thought of all that military-style planning filled me with dread. I already knew I wouldnt be able to do it, and I hadnt even given birth.

After the baby arrived, a well-intentioned friend loaned me What To Expect: The First Year, which is another classic of the genre. Its an intimidating doorstopper of a book with a handy checklist of all the developmental milestones your baby should be reaching, week by week.

Needless to say, I spent all of the babys first year book-in-hand, frantically monitoring his every waking moment (and most of his sleeping ones too).

Was he smiling, or did he just have wind? Was it because I kept forgetting to give him tummy time that he couldnt hold his head up at six weeks? Why wasnt he crawling yet? Was it because his legs didnt work, or was it because he was just lazy  like his useless failure of a mother?

The whole thing was exhausting, stressful, and ultimately pointless. All those books did, for me at any rate, was fuel a growing sense of inadequacy at a time when I should have been enjoying my gorgeous new son.

By the time I got round to having a second baby, Id got wise. All the books had been dispatched to the local charity shop, and I did that old-fashioned thing of actually following my instincts, letting the baby eat and sleep whenever he felt like it and trusting that if there was anything wrong with his development, that my GP or public health nurse would spot it. Guess what? It was far less stressful.

So why are we mums hell-bent on buying these books? The market is chock-a-block with new titles on everything from breastfeeding to playtime to sleep routines.

I suspect its because women are having fewer babies and families live further apart, so its easy to feel a bit isolated and tempting to seek out expert views in the absence of having a chat with your sister or a friend. But plainly, its not doing us any good.

Caught cold...

Embattled British Prime Minister Theresa May has delivered a fresh reminder of why many of us are more afraid of public speaking than we are of dying. Her keynote speech to the Tory party conference was half horror-show, half Carry-on sketch. Coughing and spluttering her way through her script  shed earlier Tweeted a picture of a rake of cold and flu meds alongside her notes  Theresa gallantly battled on only to be disturbed onstage by a protester who handed her a P45.

As if that wasnt enough, the letters on the sign behind her which read, with unending irony, Building A Country That Works For Everyone, slowly dropped one by one to the ground. Boris Johnson had to be reluctantly pulled to his feet to give his boss a standing ovation he clearly felt she didnt deserve, and maybe he was right, but it was hard not to feel for her, dying on her feet like that in the full glare of the cameras. When the professionals can get it so wrong, what hope is there for the rest of us?

Social etiquette

Its peak Christmas party planning season, and WhatsApp is really coming into its own. I have several thousand messages in multiple groups with assorted suggested dates, times, locations, and venues. Keeping up requires a tactical approach. Do you read and respond to each message the second it arrives, as though youre having a conversation in real time? Thats distracting and exhausting. Do you wait a few hours until all group members have had their say, then read the thread, which by then is longer than an 18th-century novel, then add your two cents at the end? Like all forms of social media, WhatsApp is simultaneously a joy  everyones in touch with you all the time, and a curse  everyones in touch with you all the time. Like with baby books, sometimes its better just to opt out.
It's hard to imagine it, but Siobhan Ryan's daughter Ella has been waiting for surgery to improve her painful scoliosis condition for more than three years.

Since 2014, the mum-of-three from Gorey, Co Wexford, has watched her teenager battle the painful condition, which causes a curve in the spine. And the pain has gradually worsened since Ella was first diagnosed with progressive severe scoliosis in 2014.

Born with spina bifida and hydrocephalus, Ella (16) has always been in a wheelchair, but both Ella's mum and her primary care team - the dedicated nurses and physiotherapists who see her on a regular basis - believe her untreated scoliosis has caused her additional suffering.

"The scoliosis is our main problem," says Siobhan. "She can't sit properly in her chair, her leg splays out, her hips are affected and her feet are affected. The way her foot is turning is causing her to hit it off the footplate of her wheelchair, causing these horrendous blisters that look like third degree burns. Pressure wounds from the skin rubbing are being caused by the scoliosis and her ribs hurt. I can see her getting worse from the position she's in in her wheelchair. I personally know someone whose son has scoliosis and it's got to the point where it is now inoperable. I'm worried we could end up in the same situation."

She adds: "We're lucky Ella's curve is down low, so her lungs aren't compromised, not yet anyway. But I don't know if her kidneys are being affected or her bladder or bowel - over time, who knows? I do know that organs can be compromised. I know kids whose breathing has been affected."

The Government's Action Plan on Scoliosis pledged that, by the end of 2017, no child would have to wait longer than four months for scoliosis surgery. But today, over 100 children remain on waiting lists for spinal surgery.

Expand Close Life on hold: Ella Ryan was waiting three years for a surgery appointment. Photo: Frank McGrath / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Life on hold: Ella Ryan was waiting three years for a surgery appointment. Photo: Frank McGrath

At three years, Siobhan has been told Ella's wait is "one of the longest", but she's never been told why. She was advised to put her daughter, who is a patient at Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin, forward for 'outsourcing' where her surgery might be carried out at the Mater Hospital, in Germany or London. "It took 70 days for us to hear back from the Mater that Ella had been turned down," says Siobhan. "Then we were turned down for Germany last week. They say that because she has complex needs and will need two surgeries - from the back and from the side, which could see her needing three weeks in hospital - her care should remain at Our Lady's Hospital. "But they've known Ella had complex needs from the start so why was outsourcing even suggested for us? When we were waiting to find out if she'd been accepted for Germany last week, Ella was visibly emotional. I could see her welling up at the idea that we might finally be getting an answer.

"It's just so unnecessary. Living in limbo for three years has affected her wellbeing. Ella's a happy child and she rarely complains, but she's fed up. We all are. We're just living on the list. The surgery she needs is major enough without the problem getting worse."

Life at home has been put on hold. Siobhan's husband Liam works as a sales rep and has been left not knowing when to schedule leave. The family can't book a holiday because Ella's waiting list status renders her uninsurable, nor do they want to risk missing a potential surgery date.

"It's just taken over our lives," says Siobhan. "We're trying to get on with everyday life, school, homework, dinners, showers, but it's very mentally draining. And we've hospital appointments every week. Just trying to get on with all the difficulties associated with having a child with extra care needs is made all that more difficult by feeling you have to battle for every little thing."

Gary Farrell from the support organisation Scoliosis Ireland, says it is "absolutely disgraceful" that so many young people are being left waiting years for life-changing surgery. "As a curvature progresses, it can put extra pressure on the heart and lungs of a child, which can cause serious health problems, often making it harder to breathe," he explains. "It makes more sense to do everything we can to reduce scoliosis surgery waiting times and give our children a better chance."

He also fears the emotional impact long waiting times are having on children. "There's a lack of mental health support for these children who are waiting and we're calling for a specialist to be appointed to deal with this," he reveals. "At Scoliosis Ireland we've started mental health workshops to try and help these children in case they need additional support."

It's not known what causes scoliosis, where the spine twists and curves to the side, and it can affect anyone, but most commonly starts in children aged between 10 and 15. Symptoms include one shoulder being higher than the other, one hip higher than the other or the ribcage more prominent on one side. Depending on the severity of the condition, treatment can include wearing a brace or surgery to control or straighten the spine.

Certain conditions, such as spina bifida which Ella suffers from, come with an increased risk of scoliosis because of unstable muscles around the joints and other orthopaedic issues. Not all cases of scoliosis get worse. But in children who are still growing, a scoliosis curve can worsen rapidly during a growth spurt, making time of the essence when it comes to scheduling surgery.

Farrell strongly believes that part of the reason so many young people are on long waiting lists lies in the fact that the new orthopaedic theatre at Crumlin, which cost in the region of 2m, is only open for surgeries three days a week. "We're in contact with the Minister for Health and An Taoiseach to increase this to clear some of the backlog," he explains.

Siobhan, and some 5,000 people who have signed a petition launched last week by the Scoliosis Advocacy Network Ireland, agrees this needs to change. "I was told there was an air ambulance available for us if Germany had worked out," says Siobhan. "It costs a lot of money to send people abroad for surgery - why not just open up the facility we already have? I don't think a lot of people are aware we have this theatre that cost millions and, up until recently, it was only open one day a week. I don't know what the answer is, but they're never going to get through the waiting list on three days a week."

In a happy twist of fate, Siobhan actually received a call on Tuesday

morning telling her that Ella has finally been given a surgery date for next month at Crumlin.

Although delighted, her mum is reluctant to fully believe it until her daughter is being wheeled into the operating room. "It's only a provisional date, but it's something and we're clinging to it," she says. But even when Ella finally gets surgery, Siobhan has vowed to keep campaigning. "It's not over," she says. "There are other parents still waiting. It isn't fair - you can't have kids spending years on waiting lists, everyone deserves to be seen within a timely matter."

A spokesperson for the Children's Hospital Group said: "Reducing waiting times for children with scoliosis is a priority for the HSE and the Children's Hospital Group. We very much regret the waiting times that are being experienced by patients and their families and we are committed to working collaboratively with families of scoliosis patients and advocacy groups to meet their needs.

"Significant and ongoing efforts are being undertaken to improve this service and the OLCHC has submitted a business case to the HSE for 2018 resourcing for additional surgeons, nursing and support staff for paediatric orthopaedic services. This will increase orthopaedic surgery by an additional two days per week."
The spooky season is upon us again! For the next few weeks the shops will be filled with pumpkins, fake cobwebs, and scary decorations. Not everyone loves Halloween. Some pets (and their owners) get seriously stressed out by the fireworks. But, if you're into interiors, Halloween is the year's best excuse for dressing up the house. It's like Christmas, but without the pressure.

One of the best things about Halloween decor is that you can take it on whatever level you want. The decorations in the shops range from traditional spooky stuff in orange and black to classy grown-up accessories. If you already have trendy dark walls, the latter will segue very neatly into a scheme for Samhain. Use a metallic crowned skull (30) from Homebase, for example, combined with candles and a tasteful arrangement of bare branches, to create a subtle sense of the macabre. Halloween, after all, is Ireland's festival of the dead.

In pagan times, Oiche Shamhna marked a turning point in the year, the end of the harvest and the beginning of the dark days of winter. It was a time when the doors to the otherworld swung open.

"I still put a candle in the window for the dead to come back to visit," says the folklorist Michael Fortune. "I don't believe in it, but I still do it."

Expand Close 'Pumpkin Vertigo' wall mural from Pixers / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp 'Pumpkin Vertigo' wall mural from Pixers

His grandmother, he remembers, used to go up to bed on Halloween night leaving the door ajar. There'd be a small fire lighting, with a chair beside it for the returning souls. She'd put a bowl of water and a towel, in case they'd want a wash, and she'd leave a bit of food on the table for them.

"These customs were very localised," Fortune explains. "Villages even 10 miles apart would celebrate Halloween in different ways, and some of them wouldn't celebrate it at all. Halloween is an Irish festival but it wasn't as widespread as we'd like to think."

Traditional decorations were simple. The candle left burning in the window might be stuck in a bucket of sand or a potato, for reasons of safety. Turnips were carved into lanterns with spooky faces, often with an improvised handle made from a wire coat hanger. Masks could be made from old pillowcases, eye and mouth holes scorched out with a candle flame.

The notion of carving pumpkins, rather than the traditional Irish turnip, came from America. This led the orange and black colour scheme, now so ubiquitous that it's hard to get away from. The phrase 'Trick or Treat' is American too. It's fun to embrace the over-the-top, three-week long, international carnival of contemporary Halloween, but you can also reclaim the festival - just a little - by bringing in some Irish traditions.

Just how far would you go with Halloween decor? Pixers, a company that makes wallpaper murals, has introduced a wonderful range of spooky designs on vinyl. At 300 x 250cms they're large enough to cover a whole wall and cost 293. Some of them, you could live with all year round. 'Pumpkin Vertigo', drawings of pumpkins against a black background, could pass as trendy wallpaper. So could 'In the Darkness', a pattern of Mexican-style decorative skulls and roses. But how about 'In the Darkness' (a vampire with blood dripping from her fangs) or the sinister laboratory curiously entitled Jam?

"There is a lot of interest in Halloween designs, but people tend to choose smaller designs than the ones that we use in photographs," says Aleksandra Wronecka of Pixers. "They can be printed on to self-adhesive Pixerstick which is repositionable so it can be taken off the wall and kept for next year." If you decide to go for a full-size wall mural, the upside is that you won't need any other Halloween decorations. Anything more would be overkill. Delivery to Ireland costs either 10 (arrives in up to seven working days) or 15 (up to four working days). Real candles give the most atmospheric light, but they can't be left unattended. If you've got a household of kids running around, LED candles are a whole lot safer than naked flames.

Expand Close Halloween interiors and lighting by DelightFULL / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Halloween interiors and lighting by DelightFULL

"Staying safe is the most important thing and all our lights are super-safe around the home," says Lisa Watkinson from the decorative lighting company Lights4fun. Its faux candles include a pair of LED flickering church candles (11), made from real wax, shaped to look as though it's dripping. While I completely get the safety thing, isn't this taking it a step too far? I think I'd prefer to stick with real candles and just be careful with them.

I feel the same way about a Jaunty Jack lifesize LED pumpkin (12). Yes, it looks just like a real one. But isn't excavating your vegetable of choice part of the fun of the festival? And you won't be able to make soup from the scrapings of a faux pumpkin. On the plus side, reusable decorations save on waste. Keep them carefully and they'll last you for years.

I am a fan of fairy lights though, and those on offer at Lights4fun range from Pumpkin orange fairy lights (12) - good fun but not in a subtle way - to a delicate string of 20 rose gold leaf fairy lights (17). These are more autumnal than Halloween in style, and would look lovely entwined in natural foliage. Lights4fun is based in the UK and delivery to Ireland costs around 5 for small orders, which arrive in up to 10 working days. Larger purchases - and urgent orders - cost 15 and arrive within three days.

These international Halloween treats can be combined with customs that have Irish roots - like hanging apples from the ceiling and trying to eat them with your hands tied behind your back.

"I've heard people talk about making a big pot of colcannon for Halloween night," Fortune explains. "It would sit on the middle of the table - just one pot - and everyone would take their dinner out of it." What went into the pot would vary from one part of Ireland to another. "The hipster chefs will tell you the authentic way to make colcannon but people actually used whatever vegetables were in season."

You can find out more about Irish folklore on folklore.ie. See also pixers.uk, homebase.ie, and lights4fun.co.uk
Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Prince Oscar of Sweden, Princess Estelle of Sweden and Prince Daniel of Sweden depart after a thanksgiving service on the occasion of The Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden's 40th birthday celebrations at the Royal Palace on July 14, 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden

Princess Victoria of Sweden attends the Swedish Outdoor Associations 125th anniversary celebrations at Haga Park on October 4, 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by MICHAEL CAMPANELLA/Getty Images)

Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden attend the Swedish Outdoor Associations 125th anniversary celebrations at Haga Park on October 4, 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by MICHAEL CAMPANELLA/Getty Images)

The Swedish royal family are hot on the Cambridges' heels.

Crown Princess Victoria (40) went for a decidedly casual look on Wednesday, dressing uncharacteristically down in a pair of bootcut jeans and a navy satin bomber jacket, wearing her hair in her signature slicked back bun. The mother-of-two to little Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar previously revealed she feels bound by duty to her country, and makes appearances at pubic engagements as often as possible.

Expand Close Princess Victoria of Sweden attends the Swedish Outdoor Associations 125th anniversary celebrations at Haga Park on October 4, 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by MICHAEL CAMPANELLA/Getty Images) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Princess Victoria of Sweden attends the Swedish Outdoor Associations 125th anniversary celebrations at Haga Park on October 4, 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden. (Photo by MICHAEL CAMPANELLA/Getty Images)

She was joined by her husband Prince Daniel, Duke of Vastergotland, a former personal trainer and CEO of a chain of gyms, who was dressed in contrast with a tweed suit. The couple, who wed in 2010, were on hand to mark the Swedish Outdoor Associations 125th anniversary celebrations at Haga Park in Stockholm.

Much like Kate Middleton and Prince William's mental health advocacy, Victoria and Daniel have championed their own children's cause for their charity Generation Pep, which aims to "spread knowledge and engage both people and organizations in a joint effort to make it easier for children and young people to live a healthy life."

Earlier this week, they released a video of their five-year-old daughter Estelle showing off her impressive somersault skills, which her father successfully mimics. There's something of a baby boom among the Swedish royals: Princess Madeleine (35) has announced she's expecting her third child with husband Chris O'Neill (43), while her sister-in-law Princess Sofia welcomed her second child with Prince Carl Philip - Prince Gabriel last month.

Madeleine broke the news on her Facebook page, writing: "Chris and I are thrilled to announce that I am expecting. We look forward to four becoming five!"

Expand Close Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Prince Oscar of Sweden, Princess Estelle of Sweden and Prince Daniel of Sweden depart after a thanksgiving service on the occasion of The Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden's 40th birthday celebrations at the Royal Palace on July 14, 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Prince Oscar of Sweden, Princess Estelle of Sweden and Prince Daniel of Sweden depart after a thanksgiving service on the occasion of The Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden's 40th birthday celebrations at the Royal Palace on July 14, 2017 in Stockholm, Sweden
Capsule collections are coming thick and fast these days, but Preen's collaboration with L.K. Bennett is worth the hype.

The high street brand is one of Kate Middleton's favourites (hardly an appearance goes by where she isn't wearing a pair of their nude heels) and L.K. Bennett has teamed up with the equally influential brand, which is responsible for some of Kate's most iconic looks. Always a champion of British brands, Preen has enjoyed the benefits of the 'Kate effect'; including the Finella dress, which she has worn in both black and red during last year's year's tour of Canada and while giving speech on the importance of mental health, as well as the periwinkle blue dress she wore to an event at the Natural History Museum earlier this year.

Expand Close The Duchess of Cambridge attends a reception at Government House in Victoria, during the third day of their tour of Canada. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday September 26, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Canada. Photo credit: Chris Jackson/PA Wire / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp The Duchess of Cambridge attends a reception at Government House in Victoria, during the third day of their tour of Canada. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Monday September 26, 2016. See PA story ROYAL Canada. Photo credit: Chris Jackson/PA Wire

While Kate's choice of Preen often results in a sell-out, despite the eye-watering prices, the designers finally bringing high end fashion at more affordable prices - just ahead of the Christmas party season.

Supermodel Erin O'Connor is the face of the campaign, taking centre stage in the standout piece from the range: the Sonic Dark Pink Sequin dress, which retails for 695. The prices aren't cheap, but Preen pieces can run into the thousands. There are more practical, and affordable pieces, like the Annika Dark Pink Wool Cashmere Jumper, which comes in at 275 and can be paired with everything from jeans to pleated skirts with a pair of Chelsea boots.

Expand Close Sonic dark pink sequin dress, 695 by L.K. Bennett x Preen / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Sonic dark pink sequin dress, 695 by L.K. Bennett x Preen

The Syd floral print dress (445) comes in two palettes and is a piece you can visualise the Duchess of Cambridge wearing to a daytime royal engagement during her pregnancy over the coming months, paired with tights in winter or bare legged in Spring.

As for the inspiration behind their collaboration, designers Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi kept Preen's signature aesthetic while taking into the account the slightly more conservative L.K. Bennett customer.

"Everything we design has our hand-writing on it, so when collaborating with the L.K.Bennett team we wanted the essence of Preen to be integral to the designs, Thornton and Bregazzi told The Telegraph.

"We chose a few key floral sketches such as Cactus Flower watercolour 1915 and the Japonica pencil drawing from 1910 and based the prints, graphic lines, and the main colour scheme on these. The rich pinks, purples and blues of Mackintoshs drawings are definitely reflected."

Video of the Day

To see the entire 15-piece collection, check out our gallery below:
A campaign group for the abolition of nuclear weapons has been awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize amid rising tensions over North Korea's expanding weapons programme.

The International Campaign To Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican) was praised by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for its work to eradicate the weapons of mass destruction.

The committee honoured the Geneva-based group "for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons".

The award was given at a time of escalating tensions over North Korea's nuclear tests and major advances in its missile technology while US president Donald Trump has threatened to use all means necessary against the Pyongyang regime.

Beatrice Fihn, executive director of Ican, said: "It (the award) sends a message to all nuclear-armed states and all states that continue to rely on nuclear weapons for security that it is unacceptable behaviour".

Ms Fihn added: "We can't threaten to indiscriminately slaughter hundreds of thousands of civilians in the name of security.

"That's not how you build security."

The Nobel statement, read by committee chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen, said "through its inspiring and innovative support for the UN negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons, Ican has played a major part in bringing about what in our day and age is equivalent to an international peace congress".

The committee, meeting in Norway's capital Oslo, also called on existing nuclear nations to take steps to eliminate their nuclear arsenals.

The North Korean regime led by Kim Jong Un has conducted several increasingly sophisticated nuclear tests, possibly including a hydrogen bomb, and also expanded its missile programme to include weapons allegedly capable of striking parts of the United States.

Mr Trump has ridiculed Mr Kim as Rocket Man and has warned North Korea it might face "fire and fury" like the world has never seen.

Asked by journalists whether the prize was essentially symbolic, given that no international measures against nuclear weapons have been reached, Ms Reiss-Andersen said "what will not have an impact is being passive".

The committee sorted through more than 300 nominations for this year's award, which recognises both accomplishments and intentions.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee does not release names of those it considers for the prize, but said 215 individuals and 103 organisations were nominated.

Syrian volunteer humanitarian organisation White Helmets had been seen as a top contender, along with Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini for shepherding the deal to curb Iran's nuclear programme.

Ms Fihn said the group has received a phone call minutes before the official announcement was made that Ican had won the prize.

She thought it was "a prank" and she did not believe it until heard the name of the group during the Peace Prize announcement in Oslo.
File photo from 2013 of former party leaders of Cambodia National Rescue Party, Kem Sokha, second right, and Sam Rainsy (AP)

Cambodia's government has taken the initial legal steps in a bid to dissolve the country's major opposition party.

Friday's move is the latest in a series of measures to gain an advantage ahead of next year's general election.

Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said the ministry filed a case with the Supreme Court asking for the Cambodia National Rescue Party to be dissolved on the ground that it was involved in a plot to topple the government.

The CNRP is the only party aside from the ruling Cambodian People's Party with representatives in parliament, and no third party comes even close in terms of popularity and support.

The opposition posed an unexpectedly strong challenge in 2013's general election and the government has since has taken steps to tighten its grip on power.

Mr Khieu Sopheak said the government had received "21 pieces of concrete evidence to prove that the opposition party has intentionally sought to topple the government through a 'colour revolution'."

CNRP leader Kem Sokha was charged last month with treason for allegedly working with the United States to oust prime minister Hun Sen, who has held power for more than three decades, in a "colour revolution", a term used to describe movements to replace governments in a number of countries.

The opposition party has denied the treason allegation, saying the charge is politically motivated.

Many senior CNRP leaders have since fled the country, fearing arrest.

If the Supreme Court finds the opposition party guilty of violating the political party law, not only would it be dissolved, but its leaders would be banned from involvement in politics for five years.

The ministry acted after it received complaints from two parties with no politicians in parliament that are generally believed to have been acting at the government's behest.

The arrest of Mr Kem Sokha has sharply escalated political tensions and raised questions over whether the upcoming elections could be free and fair.

The charge against Mr Kem Sokha was based on videos from several years ago that showed him at a seminar where he spoke about receiving advice from US pro-democracy groups.

He could face up to 30 years in prison.

Kem Sokha had been expected to lead the CNRP in next year's election in a strong challenge against the ruling party.

In nationwide local elections in June, Mr Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party won most constituencies but received a weak majority of the popular vote, while the opposition party made gains.

Mr Hun Sen and his party have in the past month accelerated the use of legal and administrative measures to undermine critics and political foes.

An English-language newspaper, The Cambodia Daily, was shut down after being accused of not paying a huge tax bill, an assessment it strongly disputed.

More than a dozen radio stations that broadcast dissident voices or used programming from US government-funded Voice of America and Radio Free Asia were forced to stop broadcasting for alleged breach of regulations.

AP
Parliamentary deputies argue with police who would not let them get close when Catalan regional police chief Josep Luis Trapero arrived at the national court in Madrid (AP Photo/Paul White)

A top Spanish government official in Catalonia has expressed regret about those injured when police cracked down on people taking part in a banned referendum.

Interior Ministry delegate in Catalonia, Enric Millo tempered the comments on Friday by saying the Catalan government was responsible for the situation by encouraging people to vote on October 1 despite a constitutional court order suspending the referendum.

Mr Millo's remarks on Catalonia's TV3 television station were the first by a Spanish official lamenting the injuries.

Spain defended the police action saying it was firm and proportionate.

Mr Millo told reporters that on knowing there were people injured: "I can only say sorry."

He said the events made him very sad.

He said only one person out of four people taken to hospital remained in care.

Some 900 people were treated.

Spain's anti-riot squads fired rubber bullets, smashed into polling stations and beat protesters with batons to disperse voters on the day.

Spain 's National Court, meanwhile, unconditionally released two senior officers of Catalonia's regional police force and the leaders of two pro-independence civic groups being investigated for sedition.

The four are to be questioned again in coming days, once the court studies a report by the Civil Guard police about incidents surrounding the referendum.

The case is linked to demonstrations on September 20-21 in Barcelona, when Spanish police arrested several Catalan government officials and raided offices in a crackdown on preparations for the referendum.

Sunday's vote has led to Spain's biggest political crisis in recent times, with the government condemning the independence referendum as illegal, unconstitutional and invalid.

The four being investigated are Catalan police chief Josep Lluis Trapero, Catalan police lieutenant Teresa Laplana, Jordi Sanchez, the head of the Catalan National Assembly that has been the main civic group behind the independence movement, and Jordi Cuixart, president of separatist group Omnium Cultural.

Mr Trapero was questioned for about an hour, later leaving the courthouse on foot to some applause by Basque and Catalan party representatives and some insults from bystanders.

Mr Sanchez also answered questions related to his defence.

Ms Laplana, who had remained in Barcelona, declined to give evidence for medical reasons while Mr Cuixart also refused to participate, saying he did not recognise the court's capacity to question him for a crime he did not commit.

Spanish authorities say the demonstrations hindered the Spanish police operation, and that Catalan police did not do enough to push back protesters blocking Spanish police officers from leaving a building.

Ahead of Friday's hearing, Catalan pro-independence supporters, including politicians, stood outside as Mr Trapero, Mr Sanchez and Mr Cuixart walked into the National Court.

Some held up referendum ballot papers.

Dozens of Spanish police officers were deployed outside.

Carles Campuzano, the spokesman for the Democratic Party of Catalonia, described the hearing as an outrage, saying that the demonstrations last month can in no way be considered illegal.

AP
French President Emmanuel Macron has sparked a political furore by suggesting unionists and workers at a factory protesting against job losses stop "wreaking f***ing havoc" and look for work elsewhere.

The opposition - from far-left to far-right - slammed the president for "arrogance" and "contempt" from someone born with a "golden spoon in his mouth".

But commentators said the apparently off-the-cuff aside - reminiscent of Norman Tebbit's famous 1981 call to the British unemployed to get "on [their] bike" and "look for work" - was in fact the latest in a string of carefully choreographed outbursts to show he is getting France moving.

His spokesman said his expression merely reflected "what many French people think".

Mr Macron's remark was aimed at unionists and workers at the threatened GM&S car parts plant, more than half of whose employees face losing their jobs in a takeover.

As he was making a visit to a training centre in the Creuse department of central France, a local Socialist official informed him that another local factory, some 150km away from the threatened GM&S plant, was having problems hiring workers.

Mr Macron responded: "There are some who, rather than wreaking f***ing havoc, would be better off seeking if they could get a job there because some of them have the right qualifications."

As he spoke, a group of GM&S workers were staging a noisy protest outside, which descended into scuffles with riot police.

Earlier this year, furious GM&S employees booby trapped their factory and threatened to blow it up. They also damaged machinery in protest at car makers Renault and Peugeot who they accused of blocking a takeover of their factory and deliberately cutting orders.

Last month, a local court authorised a takeover bid that aims to maintain just 120 of the site's current 276 jobs.

Mr Macron, who the left has branded "the president of the rich" for pushing through tax cuts for France's most wealthy, came under instant fire from opposition politicians and unions.

Several pointed out that the president now has a burgeoning list of outbursts displaying "contempt" for the working classes. These include telling a man who had mocked his well-cut suit that the best way to afford his own suit was to work.

Previous comments about "illiterate" workers at an abattoir and poor people who travel by bus were blasted as contemptuous.

He sparked ire when opening a new start-up hub in a converted railway depot by saying: "A station is a place where we meet people who succeed and people who are nothing."

Most recently the former investment banker riled street protesters by vowing not to yield to "slackers" in his drive to push through labour reforms.

But Christophe Barbier, political analyst for BFM TV, insisted the words were part of a choreographed political strategy to appeal to conservatives and offer ammunition to the far left of Jean-Luc Melenchon - seen as his most convenient enemy.

"Macron is not an idiot," said Mr Barbier. "If he did it once he would correct himself... but if he does it repeatedly it's because he has a political objective."

Macron spokesman Christophe Castaner defended his choice of language. "I think one can be cultured and speak like the French," he said, adding that the president was right to "use words we all use in everyday life."

Besides, he added: "Isn't this what many French people think?"
A man speaks on his mobile phone near a logo of Dentsu Co. at the entrance of the company headquarters in Tokyo July 12, 2012. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo

Japanese advertising giant Dentsu Inc has been slapped with a fine of some 500,000 yen (3,750) after a Tokyo court ruled it had made employees work overtime beyond legal limits.

Labour practices at Dentsu, renowned for its hard-driving work culture, came under scrutiny after employee Matsuri Takahashi took her own life in 2015 at the age of 24 - a death that the government later ruled "karoshi" - literally "death by overwork".

The case prompted national soul-searching and this year Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration endorsed an action plan for sweeping reforms of employment practices, including caps on overtime and better pay for part-time and contract workers.

The problem of karoshi was once again thrust into the spotlight this week, when public broadcaster NHK disclosed that a 31-year-old reporter died four years ago of overwork.

She clocked 159 hours of overtime in the month before she died of congestive heart failure.

Read More

Prosecutors had charged Dentsu for making Takahashi and three others work overtime beyond limits agreed with the company's labour union between October and December 2015, Japanese media reported.

A spokesman for Dentsu said the company would be issuing a statement later in the day.

Dentsu's Takahashi had worked 105 hours of overtime in the October of that year after which she fell into depression.

She took her own life at a company dormitory on Christmas Day, leaving behind a trail of public grievances on social media about her relentless working hours and boss's verbal abuse.

NHK, which covered the Dentsu case and the problem of karoshi in Japanese society, said it had it decided to disclose its own case to ensure thorough reform within the company.
At least four children are reported to have been killed after a security guard allegedly set fire to a nursery in Brazil.

The guard then set himself alight at the municipal nursery, reports local newspaper O Globo.

At least one teacher is said to have been injured in the blaze, which took place in the city of Januauba in Minas Gerais state in the south-east of the country. In total 40 people have been taken to hospital, with at least 25 being treated for burns. Most of the victims are children aged four or five.

Some of the most severely injured children have been airlifted to a specialist burns unit in Belo Horizonte, the state capital.

The security guard has been named by police as Damiao Soares dos Santos, 50. According to O Globe, he had recently been sacked by the nursery. Police said he had died in hospital of his injuries.

Emergency services are said to have been called at around 9:40 am local time on Thursday. The call was said to be of "serious occurrence" and required all the available vehicles of the Military Fire Brigade in Janauba.

Footage from outside the school shows parents panicking and in disarray while clutching their children.

The Regional Hospital of Janauba is believed to be treating victims of the fire.

The children are being transferred to the pediatric area, and the adults are being treated here, Helton Ricardo Mendes, the care director of the unit, told the publication.
Migrants waiting to be rescued from the Mediterranean Sea

A Libyan armed group has claimed victory over Italian-backed militias paid to staunch the flow of migrants to Europe from the coastal city of Sabratha.

The Anti-Isis Operations Room, created last year to clear Sabratha of Islamic State militants, said in a statement it had taken control of the city from the Martyr Anas al-Dabashi and Brigade 48 militias after a weeks-long battle.

Over the summer, Italy began funnelling resources to the two militias after they agreed to stop facilitating the flow of migrant boats and start blocking them instead.

All factions are nominally under the control of the UN-backed government of national accord, which hailed the developments as "positive".

Libya has been plunged into chaos since a 2011 uprising that toppled and later killed long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

AP
Iraq's prime minister said yesterday that troops had retaken the northern town of Hawija from Isil, driving the extremists from one of their last strongholds in the country.

Haider al-Abadi declared victory during a press conference in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, who offered to help mediate between Iraq's government and the autonomous Kurdish region, which voted for independence last week in a move that was rejected by Baghdad and neighbouring Turkey and Iran.

"I want to announce the liberation of the city of Hawija today," Mr al-Abadi said, calling it a "victory not just for Iraq but for the whole world".

Iraqi forces have driven Isil from nearly all the cities and towns it seized in the summer of 2014, including the country's second largest city, Mosul, which was liberated in July. The extremists are now mainly concentrated in a region straddling the Iraqi-Syrian border, and still control a cluster of towns in the far west of Iraq's sprawling Anbar province, where another US-backed Iraqi offensive is underway.

Iraqi officials often declare victory before the fighting has completely ended, and the troops in and around Hawija were likely to still be clearing mines and booby traps, and flushing out remaining militants. Iraqi forces had launched the operation to retake the town, which lies 240km north of Baghdad, late last month.

The US-led coalition issued a statement welcoming Iraq's "swift and decisive victory" in Hawija.

"Our Iraqi partners fought bravely and professionally against a brutal and determined enemy, safeguarding innocent civilians throughout the entire campaign," said Lt Gen Paul Funk II, commander of the coalition in Iraq.

Even as it drives the extremists from their last remaining pockets of territory, Iraq faces a new challenge in the form of a growing Kurdish push for independence. More than 90pc of Kurds voted in favour of independence in a referendum last month that was rejected as illegal by the Baghdad government as well as Iraq's neighbours.

Iraq has responded to the vote by imposing a flight ban on the northern region, while Turkey and Iran have sent troops to the land-locked region's borders to signal their opposition to any redrawing of the map.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday appeared to threaten a blockade of the Kurdish region, saying "all airspace will be closed, flights have already been banned... Soon the borders will be closed too". Mr Macron said France and others were concerned about the escalating dispute. He said France supports the territorial integrity of Iraq and called for "national reconciliation and inclusive governance".
U.S. President Donald Trump is greeted by survivor family members Shelby Stalker and Stephanie Melanson (L) after meeting with Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman (C) and police at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 4, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

Marilou Danley, left, during a trip to the Philippines in 2013 with Stephen Paddock, far right, the gunman responsible for 58 deaths in Las Vegas. Credit: Facebook

Police officers hold candles during a vigil for the victims of a mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S., October 3, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

More than a month before the Las Vegas mass shooting, a man believed to be the shooter booked a hotel room overlooking yet another popular music festival.

The Blackstone Hotel told The UK Independent that a man named Stephen Paddock had booked a room during the Lollapolooza festival, but failed to show up.

"We can confirm that a reservation was made under the name Stephen Paddock, however authorities have not confirmed that this is the same person as the Las Vegas shooter," a spokesperson for the hotel said. "We are cooperating with the authorities on this matter."

Senior law enforcement officials told NBC News that Paddock, 64, had rented a room at a Chicago hotel, and also researched locations in Boston.

Investigators looking into Paddock also came across mention of Fenway Park, Boston police Lt. Detective Mike McCarthy said, with the police saying in a further statement that there was no threat to any venue in the city.

The Chicago Police Department said officers were aware of the reports and were looking into them.

"We are aware of recent media reports concerning Chicago and the Blackstone hotel and have been in communication with our federal partners," CPD spokesman Anthony Guglielmi tweeted.

He added: "As you saw earlier this week the city conducts extensive public safety planning and training around major events, in close coordination with our law enforcement partners, to ensure public safety."

TMZ said Paddock booked a room across from the concert venue, Grant Park, starting on the first day of the festival and ending on the last. The room would have given Paddock a bird's-eye view of the concert, similar to the perch he used when firing into the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas.

Read More

An estimated 100,000 people attended each day of Lollapalooza, which ran from August 3 through 6. Malia Obama, daughter of former President Barack Obama, was also in attendance.

Paddock also booked a room near another Las Vegas concert a week before the shooting, police confirmed. The retired accountant rented multiple apartments at the Ogden, a luxury tower with a view of the Life is Beautiful alternative music festival.

Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police still did not know why the additional rooms had been booked, but suggested Paddock may have been doing pre-surveillance for his attack. Police have yet to comment on why he scouted the locations in Boston and Chicago, but a federal official said that authorities are looking into the possibility that Paddock may have planned additional attacks, potentially including a car bombing.

Shortly after the Life is Beautiful festival ended, Paddock checked into a 32nd-story suite at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Over the next four days, he stockpiled more than 20 weapons and installed cameras in and around the room.

On 1 October, he opened fire on the country music concert taking place below. The attacked killed at least 58 people and injured almost 500 people, making it the deadliest mass shooting in US history.

Police are still searching for a motive in the attack. In the days following the shooting, officials have combed through the crime scene and Paddocks affairs, trying to determine if anybody else may have been involved. Many of those answers still remain a mystery.

Yes, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said on Wednesday when asked if the shooter had planned to escape after the killing. He did not elaborate how: I cant tell you.

Read More

The shooters girlfriend, Marilou Danley, returned from a trip to the Philippines on Wednesday, and denied any knowledge of the attack.

Expand Close Marilou Danley, left, during a trip to the Philippines in 2013 with Stephen Paddock, far right, the gunman responsible for 58 deaths in Las Vegas. Credit: Facebook / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Marilou Danley, left, during a trip to the Philippines in 2013 with Stephen Paddock, far right, the gunman responsible for 58 deaths in Las Vegas. Credit: Facebook

Ms Danley, who officials have called a person of interest, said that Paddock had surprised her with a plane ticket to see her family just over two weeks ago. While there, he wired her $100,000 and told her to buy a home for her and her family. She said in a statement released by her lawyer that she feared that might be his way of breaking up with her, but nothing more.

She returned to the US voluntarily, and was not arrested by the FBI upon arrival. NBC News, citing anonymous former FBI officials, reported that Ms Danley said she remembered him laying in bed and moaning and that investigators are looking at the possibility he may have been in "physical or mental anguish".

Jihadi group Isis issued a statement claiming the attack in the wake of the shooting and released propaganda on Thursday claiming that Paddock had converted to Islam six months ago. However, officials have repeatedly said that they have so far found absolutely no links to international terror groups and have cast doubt on the claim.

Discerning Paddock's motive has proven especially baffling as he had no criminal record, no known history of mental illness and no outward signs of social disaffection, political discontent or extremist ideology, police said.
A man is facing charges after police say he shot himself in the leg with his own gun while in a crowded cinema.

Theo Theomopoulos of Shelton turned himself in to police Thursday for the shooting at the Bow Tie Royale theater in Norwalk, Connecticut which occurred in early September.

He is charged with unlawful discharge of a firearm, second-degree reckless endangerment and breach of peace, the Associated Press reports.

He has a licence for the firearm which was a 9mm.

He accidentally pulled the trigger in the theatre.
President Donald Trump repeatedly used an exaggerated Spanish accent to pronounce Puerto Rico in his speech to a Hispanic Heritage Month event.

We are also praying for the people of Puerto Rico, Mr Trump told the crowd, dragging out the vowels into a caricature of the Spanish pronunciation. We love Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico.

And we also love Puerto Rico, he added, in his usual accent.

The crowd gathered at the White House included representatives from more than 200 Hispanic businesses, community groups, and faith groups. Some audience members cheered at the comments.

We love you! one crowd member yelled.

The comments marked a stark departure from the Presidents earlier statements about Puerto Rico, which was devastated by a Category 4 hurricane two weeks earlier.

Thirty-four people died as a result of the storm, and the majority of the island remains without power.

Mr Trump visited the US territory earlier this week to meet with Puerto Rican officials. While there, he joked that recovery costs had thrown our budget a little of whack, and encouraged leaders to compare the death toll to a real catastrophe like [Hurricane] Katrina.

Afterward, several Puerto Ricans accused the President of treating them like animals.

He arrives with a smile on his face, makes fun of the situation, shows no empathy, lies and lies on camera as he does 24/7, Joel Isaac told the Toronto Star. And then throws paper towel rolls to people in need as if he was playing Go Fetch with dogs.

The President also engaged in a bitter war of words with the mayor of San Juan, Carmen Yulin Cruz. Before the trip, Ms Cruz had begged the federal government for more aid, warning them that people on the island were dying. Mr Trump responded by insulting the mayor via Twitter.

Such poor leadership ability by the Mayor of San Juan, and others in Puerto Rico, who are not able to get their workers to help, he wrote. They want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort.

On Thursday, however, Mr Trump assured the Hispanic Heritage Month crowd that his administration was marshalling every federal resource at our disposal" to help in the relief effort.

We will not rest until that job is done, he said. ...We will be there all the time to help Puerto Rico recover, restore, rebuild.

Later, he told the young Hispanic Americans in the crowd that there is "no dream beyond your reach". The President had recently ended a programme giving protections to childhood immigrants  often called "Dreamers".
Former Vice President Joe Biden has launched a strident attack on Donald Trumps foreign policy, saying it has endangered America and hinting he and Barack Obama are set to offer more outspoken criticism of the man who succeeded them in the White House.

In a speech to foreign policy experts in Washington DC, the man who may still be considering a presidential run in 2020, said it was time for experts to raise their voices and speak out.

We are walking down a very dark path. Its not alarmist, he said. The isolation of the United States on the world stageand as a consequence endangers - not strengthens - American interests and the American people.

He added: I really feel incredibly strongly that the women and men sitting before me, who have been the intellectual backbone of the foreign policy establishment in this country for decades, have to start to speak out.

President Obama and I have been very quiet and respectful, giving the administration time, but some of these roots are being sunk too deeply. I believe its time to challenge some of the dangerous assumptions that are attempting to replace that liberal world order.
While the focus was on the terrible massacre in Las Vegas, some remarkable developments were taking place involving the US president's senior men in Washington.

Rex Tillerson held a press conference to reassure that he was not going to resign. At the same time, he pointedly refused to deny that he had called Donald Trump a 'moron'.

The US secretary of state will continue his discreet direct talks with Pyongyang, having set up the channel through diligent diplomacy in an attempt to defuse a spiralling confrontation in which Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened to destroy North Korea. In carrying on with the talks he is ignoring Mr Trump, who has publicly dismissed them as a waste of time.

Just the day before, General James Mattis told Congress that the nuclear deal with Iran was working and should not be scrapped. He stressed that this was also the view of the other international signatories to the agreement with Tehran.

The US defence secretary was openly contradicting Mr Trump, who has repeatedly vowed to tear up the deal. This follows Mr Tillerson forcing the president in July to grudgingly certify that Iran was complying with the agreement.

At the same time reports have surfaced that Gen Mattis, Mr Trump's National Security Adviser Lieutenant General HR McMaster, and his Chief of Staff General John Kelly have renewed their pact to ensure that not all three will ever be abroad at the same time. They will ensure at least one remains in the country to monitor orders coming from the White House.

This is quite a scenario even by the extraordinary standards of the Trump administration.

It is as if some of his most senior men have decided that it is their patriotic duty to protect the country from the president's worst mistakes.

Mr Tillerson and Gen Mattis have long become frustrated by being undermined by Mr Trump and people close to him.

Mr Trump, in his short presidency, has already lost a chief of staff, a national security adviser, health secretary, a press secretary and two communications directors. He has fired the director of the FBI, and belittled his attorney general and deputy attorney general.

He will, however, face strong opposition, not least from prominent people from his own party, if he seeks to sack the senior members of the administration standing up to him.
Donald Trump has signalled his intention to roll back the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare

The Trump administration has rolled back the requirement that employer-provided health insurance plans pay for birth control.

Under a new rule, any employer with religious objections to birth control will now be allowed to omit coverage for contraception from their workers' plans.

Donald Trump had signalled in May that action was coming on the issue, signing an executive order that instructed the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to address conscience-based objections to the mandate.

For too long, the federal government has used the power of the state as a weapon against people of faith, bullying and even punishing Americans for following their religious beliefs, he said at the time.

The ACA requires employer-provided health insurance plans to include coverage for preventive healthcare. After the law passed, HHS issued regulations specifying what was to be included in those preventive services. Birth control was deemed to be a preventative service, and employers were required to cover at least one of the 18 methods of birth control approved by the Food and Drug Administration, with no cost-sharing for the patient.

More than 55 million women have access to birth control without co-pays because of the contraceptive coverage mandate, according to a study commissioned by the Obama administration. And since the mandate was first implemented in August 2012, savings on the birth control pill have accounted for more than half of the drop in all out-of-pocket prescription drug spending, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Following the rollback of the requirement, hundreds of thousands of women could lose birth control benefits they now receive at no cost under Obamacare.

According to officials on a press call, employers will not have to file anything with the government to stop offering the birth-control coverage; they just simply have to notify their employees of the decision, the newspaper The Hill reported.

The rule change is likely to end lawsuits from Roman Catholic and other religious employers, which had battled the Obama administration for years over the controversial mandate. Senior HHS officials said the intent of the new regulations are to provide relief for these groups.

We should have space for organisations to live out their religious ideas and not face discrimination because of their religious ideas. That was the case beforehand, and that ends today, said one HHS official, according to The Hill.

The Obama administration had created a mandate exemption for churches, and allowed other religious employers to opt out of having to provide birth control by notifying the government. When they did so, the administration would arrange to have insurance companies provide contraception to the employers' female workers, without the employers' involvement.

But many religious-affiliated organisations remained unhappy with this so-called workaround because it still used the insurance plans they sponsored as the way of providing coverage.

The rollback of the mandate may be likely to end lawsuits from those organisations, but it could trigger a fresh round of litigation from groups including the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Womens Law Center.

Womens rights organisations and some medical professionals have suggested that the rule change could lead to a higher number of unintended pregnancies.
The girlfriend of the Las Vegas mass murderer has described him as a "kind, caring, quiet man" as police pored over the gunman's "secret life".

Marilou Danley was interviewed by FBI agents in a bid to discover the motive of Stephen Paddock, who is said to have spent decades acquiring weapons.

There was no evidence at this point to indicate that the mass shooting was terrorism, FBI Special Agent in Charge Aaron Rouse told a news conference, adding no one had been taken into custody as a suspected accomplice.

Ms Danley said in a statement that she had no clue he was planning the massacre that left 59 dead and more than 500 injured in America's worst ever mass shooting.

"I knew Stephen Paddock as a kind, caring, quiet man. I loved him and hoped for a quiet future together with him.

"He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen."

Expand Close Marilou Danley / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Marilou Danley

Ms Danley said in the statement that Paddock had told her two weeks ago that he had found a cheap plane ticket for her to visit family in the Philippines.

"Like all Filipinos abroad, I was excited to go home and see family and friends. While there, he wired me money, which he said was for me to buy a house for me and my family."

She said she became concerned at that point, thinking he wanted to break up with her.

"It never occurred to me in any way whatsoever that he was planning violence against anyone."

She added that she was praying for the victims of the massacre. "I am a mother and grandmother and my heart breaks for all who have lost loved ones," she said.

More details emerged showing the extent to which the attack was meticulously planned.

Paddock had 1,600 rounds of ammunition and several containers of an explosive commonly used in target shooting that totalled 23kg in his car, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said. But the sheriff said he didn't know what, if anything, Paddock planned with the explosives.

The shooter also sprayed 200 rounds of gunfire into the hallway when an unarmed security guard, identified as Jesus Campos, approached his hotel room.

The security guard, who was hit in the leg, then helped a group of police officers clear out rooms on the 32nd floor of the hotel, before they finally got to Paddock.

Lombardo said Paddock planned to survive and escape from the hotel, but he didn't say how. "We have produced a profile of someone who is disturbed and dangerous," Lombardo said.

Lombardo told reporters he found it hard to believe that the arsenal of weapons, ammunition and explosives recovered by police in their investigation could have been assembled by Paddock completely on his own.

"You have to make an assumption that he had some help at some point," Lombardo said, adding that the attack was the obvious outcome of meticulous planning.

"What we know is that Stephen Paddock is a man who spent decades acquiring weapons and ammo and living a secret life, much of which will never be fully understood," the sheriff said.

The 64-year-old high-stakes gambler and real estate investor specifically requested an upper-floor room with a view of the music festival when he checked in last Thursday, according to a person who has seen hotel records turned over to investigators but wasn't authorised to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Authorities have said he brought 23 weapons in 10 suitcases into the room and set up cameras inside and out to watch for police closing in on him. But Lombardo said that none of the cameras was recording.

Speaking to first responders in the city, Donald Trump said the killer must have had his "wires screwed up".

The president, who made a private visit to a hospital with his wife, Melania, said investigators were "learning a lot more" about Paddock.

Flanked by doctors at the hospital Mr Trump said he had met "terribly wounded" patients who were "some of the most amazing people" and had shown "tremendous bravery".

Mr Trump said he had invited them to the White House.

He said: "The only message is we're with you 100pc. Believe me, I'll be there for them. We have a great country and we are there for you."

He added: "It's a very, very sad day for me, personally."

During his visit Mr Trump deflected a question about whether the US has a problem with gun violence. "We're not going to talk about that today," he said. ( Daily Telegraph London)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2022]
A woman has been found guilty of murdering her pregnant friend on her wedding day and performing a crude caesarean operation to kidnap the unborn child.

Just hours before Angelikque Sutton, 22, was to be married in November 2015, her childhood friend, Ashleigh Wade, 24, invited her to her house in New York, where she slashed her throat, stabbed her 20 times, and then cut her baby out of her body.

A court in the Bronx heard Wade had slashed the expectant mother's voice box so she could not scream for help, and cut major blood vessels so she was unable to move.

When police arrived, Wade told officers she had just given birth to the child and that it was hers. The baby ultimately survived.

Wade had pretended she was pregnant for months ahead of the attack, and had stockpiled nappies and baby clothes.

During the trial, the judge was forced to clear the courtroom when one of the jurors fainted after hearing graphic testimony and seeing images of the mutilated woman.

Wade's attorney, told jurors that her client should be convicted of manslaughter rather than murder and that she suffered from an undiagnosed mental illness.

She subsequently asked them to consider a sentence that would involve mental health treatment.

Following a five-hour deliberation, the jury found Wade guilty of second degree murder, and she now faces life imprisonment.

Read More

The victims mother Deborah Sutton and other relatives silently wiped tears from their eyes after the verdict came down, the New York Daily News reported.

Justice prevailed, the truth was revealed and my daughter was avenged, Ms Sutton said as she hugged her husband.

William Sutton added: Whatever you write, write something good about my daughter, because she was a beautiful girl, a beautiful girl.

Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said: The facts of this case are unfathomable. A child was yanked from the womb moments after her mother was murdered on her wedding day. Two years later, that child is a vibrant little girl, a testament to survival and hope.

One juror told the New York Daily News: The case is going to stay with us for awhile. You have a child that has to go through this every year on her birthday. Its a horrible thing.
Supporters of Kenya's opposition held demonstrations in the capital and other strongholds to demand the removal of several electoral officials before a rerun presidential vote later this month.

Friday's demonstration in Nairobi was largely peaceful but in the opposition centre of Kisumu police fired tear gas and shots in the air to disperse demonstrators.

There were also protests in Bungoma, Mombasa and Kakamega, all cities with large opposition followings.

Kenya's top court nullified the August re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta, citing irregularities and illegalities in the vote counting.

In Nairobi on Friday, protesters carried placards saying (Ezra) Chiloba Must Go, citing the chairman of the electoral commission.

The opposition wants Mr Chiloba's removal before the October 26 repeat election.

Mr Kenyatta's opponent Raila Odinga did not appear at any of the protests on Friday.

AP
Pope Francis on Friday denounced the proliferation of adult and child pornography on the internet and demanded better protections for children online.

It came even as the Vatican confronts its own cross-border child porn investigation involving a top papal envoy.

Francis met with participants of a Catholic Church-backed international conference on fighting child pornography and protecting children in the digital age.

He fully backed their proposals to toughen sanctions against those who abuse and exploit children online and improve technological filters to prevent young people from accessing porn online.

Francis said the Catholic Church knew well the "grave error" of trying to conceal the problem of sexual abuse, a reference to the church's long history of having priests who rape and molest children and bishops who cover up for them.

Several well-known cases have involved priests having child porn, or photographing their victims.

Francis said an international, cross-disciplinary approach was needed to protect children from the dark net and the "corruption of their minds and violence against their bodies".

Using terms that are certainly new to papal lexicon, Francis denounced "extreme pornography" on the web that adults, and increasingly children consume, and the increasing use of "sexting" and "sextortion" among the estimated 800 million minors who navigate the internet.

"We would be seriously deluding ourselves were we to think that a society where an abnormal consumption of internet sex is rampant among adults could be capable of effectively protecting minors," he said.

The conference was planned some two years ago, but it unfolded precisely at the time when the Vatican is facing back-to-back child sex scandals: One of Francis' top advisers, Cardinal George Pell, recently took leave to face old abuse charges in his native Australia, while in August the Vatican recalled a senior diplomat from its embassy in Washington who got embroiled in a child porn investigation.

Canadian police have issued an arrest warrant for Monsignor Carlo Capella, accusing him of accessing, possessing and distributing child pornography during a visit to an Ontario church over Christmas.

He is now in the Vatican, where prosecutors have opened an investigation.

The Vatican in 2013 criminalised child porn possession, distribution and production, with sanctions varying from up to two years and a 10,000-euro fine to 12 years and a 250,000-euro fine.

Francis said he wanted people to remember that children look to adults, with light in their eyes and trust in their heart, to protect them.

"What are we doing to make sure they are not robbed of this light, to ensure that those eyes will not be darkened and corrupted by what they will find on the internet?"

The Pontifical Gregorian University drew plaudits for hosting the conference and bringing together a remarkable spectrum of specialists to discuss a little-reported issue.

Victims' advocates and other groups nevertheless pointed to the church's many cases of priests convicted of having child porn, and church authorities who covered up for them.

"It is astonishing that those problems were not only swept under the rug at this conference, but treated as qualifications for sponsoring the event," said Terence McKiernan of BishopAccountability, an online resource of the abuse scandal.

The victims group SNAP concurred: "The Vatican should not be leading this summit. They should be the target of this summit."

AP
Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic official to face sex offence charges, was jeered by protesters as he made a court appearance on Friday. (AP)

Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic official to face sex offence charges, was jeered by protesters as he made a court appearance in his native Australia.

The 76-year old is the country's highest-ranking Catholic and Pope Francis' top financial adviser.

He entered the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday flanked by police and media as a small group of placard-waving protesters yelled from the pavement.

The 20-minute hearing focused on planning for the committal hearing starting on March 5 that will determine whether he goes to trial.

As many as 50 witnesses could be called for that hearing.

Pell, who remained silent throughout, has been charged with multiple offences involving multiple complainants.

The exact detail and nature of the charges have not been disclosed to the public, though police have described them as "historical" sexual assault offences.

Pell through his lawyer has vowed to fight the charges, and the cardinal has taken leave from his position as Vatican treasurer to return to Australia and defend himself.

He has not been required to enter a plea in court, though his attorney said at his first court appearance in July that Pell intended to plead not guilty.

Pell's attorney, Robert Richter, told Friday's hearing at least one of the allegations could not have happened.

"We propose to demonstrate to Your Honour that what was alleged was impossible," Mr Richter told magistrate Belinda Wallington.

AP
Madagascar's Red Cross is stepping up efforts to stem a plague outbreak that has killed 30 people.

Red Cross officials said on Friday the situation is particularly worrying because pneumonic plague, which is spread from person to person, has occurred for the first time in non-endemic areas and crowded cities.

It said cases of bubonic plague, transmitted from animals to people through flea bites, occur almost annually in Madagascar.

Aid workers say there have been 194 cases of plague, mostly pneumonic.

The Malagasy Red Cross mobilised 700 volunteers to work on community education, tracing people who have been in contact with plague victims and other health initiatives.

The outbreak began after the death of a 31-year-old man in Madagascar's central highlands in late August.

AP
A Rohingya from Burma carries an elderly woman after they crossed the border into Bangladesh (AP)

More Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Burma streamed toward the border on Friday, despite government assurances that it was stopping the massive exodus of refugees to Bangladesh.

A video showed dozens of Rohingya attempting to swim across the currents of a muddy river, from where it is a more than 12-mile walk through jungles to the border.

Many more people, from young children to old men, stood huddled with their belongings on the riverbank in the footage.

Burma has come under international criticism for failing to stop the violence, and in turn the tide of more than half a million Rohingya who have made the often perilous journey to Bangladesh since late August, the largest refugee crisis to hit Asia in decades.

The Burmese government's information committee said in a statement late on Thursday that it had stopped 17,000 Rohingya from fleeing in just four days last week.

"The Burma authorities in northern Rakhine went to the border areas where thousands of Bengalis await to flee and talked to them," it said.

"The local authorities told the Bengalis if they have difficulties with their livelihood, they will provide food and security and to return to their villages.

"The Bengalis agreed to stay."

AP
Sterling took a tumble on Friday as reports of a Tory plot to topple Theresa May cast fresh doubt over the Prime Ministers future.

The UK currency reached a one-month low against the US dollar as Welwyn Hatfield MP Grant Shapps was unmasked as a ringleader among a group of Conservatives pushing for a leadership election.

The pound was 0.4% lower versus the greenback at 1.307 and was slipping to a three-week low against the euro, falling 0.2% to 1.117.

Expand Close Sterling versus the US dollar over the last 48 hours (PA) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Sterling versus the US dollar over the last 48 hours (PA)

Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex, said another Tory leadership battle would be seriously bruising for the pound.

He said: While on Thursday there was a web of reasons why the pound was driven lower, this Fridays decline seems to have a more singular reason behind it: Tory infighting.

The sound of sharpening knives has only grown louder since Theresa Mays Thick of It-esque speech mid-week.

Last night there were reports that a group of Conservative rebels were seeking advice from those who disposed of Iain Duncan Smith back in 2003, while this morning former Tory chairman Grant Shapps has claimed a number of MPs privately agree that the PM should go.

Mrs Mays Conservative Party speech on Wednesday was overshadowed by a series of unfortunate incidents, including a comedian handing her a mock P45.

It is thought that around 30 Tory MPs are backing the calls for a leadership election  short of the 48 needed to force a contest under party rules.

Expand Close Conservative MP Grant Shapps (PA) / Facebook

Twitter

Email

Whatsapp Conservative MP Grant Shapps (PA)

Mr Shapps said there is a broad spread of opinion among Conservative MPs who believe they cannot carry on as they were.

They are Remainers, they are Brexiteers, he told BBC Radio 4s Today programme.

A growing number of my colleagues, we realise that the solution isnt to bury our heads in the sand and just hope things will get better.

It never worked out for Brown or Major and I dont think it is going to work out here either.

The FTSE 100 Index was marginally higher, up eight points to 7,515.53.
Neighbours walk under the rain past a washed out road in Alajuelita on the outskirts of San Jose, Costa Rica after Tropical Storm Nate (AP)

At least 22 people have died in Central America as Tropical Storm Nate dumped heavy rain across the region.

The storm could potentially strike the Gulf Coast of the United States as a hurricane over the weekend and Louisiana has declared a state of emergency.

The US National Hurricane Centre said the storm could cause dangerous flooding by dumping as much as 15 to 20 inches (38 to 50 centimetres) of rain as it moved over Honduras, with higher accumulations in a few places.

Nate had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) by Thursday evening and was likely to strengthen over the northwestern Caribbean Sea into Friday before a possible strike on the Cancun region at the tip of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula at near-hurricane strength.

It could hit the coast near New Orleans over the weekend at hurricane strength, forecasters said.

In Nicaragua, Nate's arrival followed two weeks of near-constant rain that had left the ground saturated and rivers swollen.

Authorities placed the whole country on alert and warned of flooding and landslides.

Nicaragua's vice president and spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said that at least 15 people had died due to the storm.

She did not give details on all the deaths, but said two women and a man who worked for the Health Ministry were swept away by a flooded canal in the central municipality of Juigalpa.

Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Department blamed seven deaths in that country on the storm and said 15 people were missing as flooding drove 5,000 residents into emergency shelters.

In Louisiana, governor John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency and mobilised 1,300 National Guard troops, with 15 headed to New Orleans to monitor the fragile pumping system there.

With forecasts projecting landfall in southeast Louisiana on Sunday morning, Mr Edwards urged residents to ready for rainfall, storm surge and severe winds - and to be where they intend to hunker down by "dark on Saturday."

Louisiana's governor says Nate is forecast to move quickly, rather than stall and drop tremendous amounts of rain on the state.

State officials hope that means New Orleans will not run into problems with its pumps being able to handle the water.

AP
Sandra Honore, a diplomat from Trinidad and Tobago, has served since July 2013 as the head of the UN mission in Haiti known as MINUSTAH. (AP)

A UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti that has helped maintain order through 13 years of political turmoil and catastrophe is coming to an end.

The last of the blue-helmeted soldiers from around the world are due to leave the Caribbean country next week despite concerns that the police and justice system are still not adequate to ensure security.

The United Nations lowered its flag at its headquarters in Port-au-Prince during a ceremony on Thursday that was attended by president Jovenel Moise.

After a gradual winding down, there are now about 100 international soldiers in the country and they will leave by next Sunday.

Immediately afterwards, the UN will start a new mission made up of about 1,300 international civilian police officers, along with 350 civilians who will help the country reform a deeply troubled justice system.

"It will be a much smaller peacekeeping mission," said Sandra Honore, a diplomat from Trinidad and Tobago who has served since July 2013 as the head of the mission in Haiti known as MINUSTAH.

MINUSTAH began operations in Haiti in 2004, when a violent rebellion swept the country and forced then-President Jean-Bertrand Aristide out of power and into exile.

Its goals included restoring security and rebuilding the shattered political institutions.

In April, the Security Council deemed the country sufficiently stable and voted to wind down the international military presence, which then consisted of about 4,700 troops.

Many Haitians have viewed the multinational peacekeepers as an affront to national sovereignty.

UN troops are believed to have inadvertently introduced the deadly cholera bacteria to the country and have also been accused of causing civilian casualties in fierce battles with gangs in Port-au-Prince and of sexually abusing minors.

But the mission, with additional help from the US and other nations, is also credited with stabilising the country, particularly after the January 2010 earthquake, and building up the national police force.

"The job may not be complete but they have essentially done much of what they were originally designed to do in terms of preventing any kind of armed takeover of the state, in terms of increasing the safety of civilians," said Mark Schneider, a senior adviser with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

"It takes work to maintain that and Haiti needs to maintain that."

MINUSTAH had already been scaling back before the Security Council voted to end the mission.

In the aftermath of the earthquake, which killed 96 UN personnel, including former head of mission Hedi Annabi, the number of troops reached more than 10,000.

But when Ms Honore arrived there were about 6,200 soldiers from around 20 countries, a figure that dropped again by nearly a third within two years.

The cholera outbreak, which started in October 2010 after peacekeepers from Nepal contaminated the country's largest river with waste from their base, killed an estimated 9,500 people and irrevocably damaged the reputation of the organisation in Haiti.

Many critics felt the UN did not adequately respond to the outbreak, something the organisation sought to later remedy.

"It was a fundamental error because it undermined the image not just of MINUSTAH, but of the international community," Mr Schneider said.

AP
CONCORD- Dancing, music, face-painting, mascots  a festive atmosphere and red carpet treatment sent a group of elated children off on their dream vacation in style.

Concord Regional Airport was the place to be on Wednesday, Oct. 4 as a group of 177 people began to board a plane and head to Orlando, Florida with Ace and TJs Grin Kids.

Established in 2000, Ace & Tjs Grin Kids is a nonprofit which provides a magical, all-expense paid, five-day trip to Walk Disney World for children between the ages of 5-12 who are terminally ill or chronically disabled and their immediate family. Ace and TJ are the hosts of the Ace and TJ Show which airs on Channel 96.1.

This year, 32 children and their families were selected to attend the trip.

We actually have applications that come in all year long and then the applications get turned over to a group of medical professionals who look them over and kind of rank the kids in order, Liana Weller, executive director of Ace & TJs Grin Kids, said. And then we literally go from number one and figure out how many siblings they have and their parents, until we fill the entire plane.

As the families arrived at the airport Wednesday morning, they were greeted by mascots from various entities in the Charlotte area, emergency personnel from Cabarrus and Mecklenburg counties and possibly their future best friends.

To me the best part, obviously Disney World is our destination, but to me this is about families bonding that all share in kind of similar experiences. We have so many families that come back and theyve met their best friend that they would have never been able to meet if it wasnt for this trip, Weller said. Then the siblings too, because they dont actually get to get out and experience a lot of things. They get to meet other siblings that are going through the same things.

Weller said during the five days, the group always bonds.

We always say Once a Grin Kid, always a Grin Kid. And they become family, she said.

The send-off day was also a milestone for the airport, since this is the first time the Grin Kids have left from Concord. Weller said the location was perfect because of the accessibility and convenience for the families.

This is great day not only for the city, but also for the Concord Regional Airport and we appreciate Ace and TJ Grin Kids choosing Concord Regional Airport, Concord Aviation Director Dirk Vanderleest said. We hope its a great day for the children and their families and hopefully we will do it for many years to come.

When it was time to take off, a red carpet was rolled out and the mascots cheered as the families boarded the plane.
Editors Note: We asked the owners of Hand & Stone to describe their new business and a few other questions.

In a couple of paragraphs, describe your new business:

Hand & Stone offers professional massage, facial and hair removal services tailored to your individual needs. We are open seven days a week with extended hours so you can look and feel your best affordably.

What is your specialty, and what sets you apart?

We do extensive massage and facial services such as Himalayan hot stone massage and LED, microderm, microcurrent facial services and all waxing options.

How and why did you go into business?

Our partnership owns four other Hand & Stone locations in North Carolina, and this is our fifth location. We love this business because our clients come in looking for some stress reduction or have specific muscle or skin needs, and we love to watch them walk out so happy and relaxed.

When did you open?

Opening day for our Concord location is Monday, Oct. 9.

Who are the owners/partners/managers?

Robert Luce  Owner

Eric and Christiana Anthony  Owner

Jamie Snead  Spa Manager

Where are you located and how can customers reach you?

Hand & Stone  8915 Christenbury Parkway, Suite 10, Concord, NC 28027

Phone  704-315-6694
ONGC stock up by more than 2% today After the oil explorer reported a standalone net profit of Rs 12,826 crore for the September quarter, shares of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) rose 3% in intraday trade on Tuesday in an... November 15, 2022 | 10:36 am

W S Industries India secures Rs200.55 crore order; Stock soars 4.9% W S Industries (India) Ltd has informed that Company has bagged an order worth Rs200.55 crore. As per the regulatory filing, the order is for the Construction of Integrated Bus Termi... November 15, 2022 | 10:27 am

Fusion Microfinance debuts with discount of 2% at Rs 359 Non-Banking Financial Institution (NBFC) Fusion Microfinance opened at a minor discount of 2.44% to issue price on November 15, following a lower-than-expected subscription to its initial publi... November 15, 2022 | 10:09 am

Kaynes Technology IPO receives 34 times subscription application Kaynes Technology India's Rs 858 crore public issue was subscribed 34 times on Monday, the final day of bidding. In contrast to the 10.5 million shares offered, offers for 357.6 million shares ... November 15, 2022 | 9:57 am

Tera Software surges 2% on receiving Rs46 crore work order from Bharat Electronics Tera Software Limited has informed to the exchanges regarding receipt of work orders worth over Rs46 crore from Bharat Electronics. As per the regulatory filing, the Compa... November 15, 2022 | 9:53 am
The Indiana Minority Business Magazine will honor 11 individuals and entities that have shown excellence in technology and development during the 2017 Fall Golden Laurel Professional Reception: Excellence in Technology.

The recipients of this Golden Laurel distinction will be awarded on Thursday, October 26, 2017 at the Mid-States Minority Supplier Development Council office, located at 2126 N. Meridian St. Indianapolis, IN 46202. A networking reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., and the awards presentation will begin promptly at 6:00 p.m.

This event is presented in partnership with the Mid-States Minority Supplier Development Council and sponsored by IndyGo  Indianapolis Public Transportation Corporation.

While Silicon Valley is often recognized as the hub for technology innovation, emerging leaders and innovative companies like the ones we will honor have put the Hoosier state on the map, said IMBM President Shannon Williams.I am excited to recognize these extraordinary honorees that represent exactly what Hoosiers are capable of during this seasons Golden Laurel Professional Reception.

Below are the 2017 Fall Golden Laurel award recipients:

Be Nimble Co.

Karen Cooper  President/Co-Founder, Smart IT

Design Bank

Joe Ignatius  IT Client Executive, Matrix Integration

Indy Women in Tech

Walle Mafolasire  Founder/CEO, Givelify

Dewand Neely  Chief Information Officer, State of Indiana

Robert C. Reed  President/CEO, RCR Technology Corp.

Amy Stark  Founder, Social Media Dames

Stem Scouts Indianapolis

Tiffany Trusty  Founder, Trusty Applications

Admission to the Golden Laurel Professional Reception is free of charge, but RSVPs are strongly encouraged. Visit goldenlaureleit.eventbrite.com to register.

Contact Amber Sapenter for more information at (317) 762-7854 or via email at asapenter@indyrecorder.com.
Saturday, Oct. 7

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Harrison Center for the Arts, a community-based nonprofit organization, announces plans for the inaugural PreEnactIndy onfromA first of its kind, the collaborative preenactment theater event will span three city blocks and envision through interactive performances, what a neighborhood OUGHT to be  just, equitable and economically vibrant. In partnership with 13 local professional theater groups, nearly two dozen neighborhood partners and performing arts educators, organizers will transform and bring to life a section of the Monon 16 neighborhood in Indianapolis for a public event that gives attendees fully-immersive experiences of the active, healthy and well-designed neighborhood the area deserves.

The interactive program will bring together over 100 professional theater actors, artists and designers to honor and celebrate the rich history of this tight-knit, predominantly African American community by transforming vacant lots and buildings, existing businesses, street lanes and sidewalks into one massive stage. The production, directed by The Sapphire Theatre Company, will engage the performing arts to produce a grass-roots, community-connected experience of revitalization in live time. Temporary facades built by set designers will rise on vacant lots, abandoned buildings will be spruced up and throughout the day, live performances will illustrate to attendees scenarios of a thriving, inclusive and diverse community. A handful of structures are semi-permanent and will remain on display for the community to enjoy following the event.

PreEnactIndy allows us to use arts and culture to tell the story of this urban neighborhood and plant the seed to imagine, TOGETHER, what this neighborhood could be, said Joanna Taft, executive director of the Harrison Center for the Arts and producer of PreEnactIndy. Revitalizing neighborhoods in an inclusive way creates healthier, more vibrant communities which benefit cities as a whole and we hope this event helps spur creative neighborhood development across our country.
Salman Khan is the ultimate host and Bigg Boss is one big proof. He was the third choice for hosting the show, but has clearly owned it. In fact, now the Sultan star openly announces that Bigg Boss only gets TRP because of him and there is no denying this fact.

afp

His buddy and superstar Shah Rukh Khan is coming with a Ted Talk show.

At a press conference held for his show in Mumbai, the Raees star was asked if he will ever host Bigg Boss, he said, I have hosted lot. I have never been approached for show of that stature. If I am free and there is money, so I might do it.

afp

"For Ted talks I havent charged like what others charge. I have done this by heart. Well, the show has touched King Khans heart and now we are eagerly waiting to watch it.

The actor was even informed that how Salman on the Bigg Boss launch said that SRK and Akshay Kumar will get a tough competition from him for their upcoming shows, the superstar replied, What Salman and Akshay are doing is a different league. I am thankful to Salman for saying that. This platform is something new. I know Salman is doing Bigg Boss, Akshay is doing comedy show. But this show is totally different.

afp

The actor looked extremely confident about his show and is not at all worried about the competition.
There are some amazing things that happen in operation theatres. Something similar has happened in Mumbai where doctors from Sion Hospital have set a new world record by removing the heaviest kidney tumour documented in medical literature weighing 5.5kg. The Guinness World Records recently confirmed their feat.

Reuters/Representational Image

The team of doctors led by Dr Ajit Sawant, head of urology, successfully operated on Manju Devi, a 28-year-old woman from Bihar's Darbhanga district, who complained of an "abdominal lump". She had been living with pain for three years. A CT scan revealed an enormous tumour that had completely replaced the right kidney. The woman's quality of life was compromised as she struggled to carry on with her daily activities.

"She had persistent pain on the right side and was passing urine in blood. The tumor 31cm by 19cmwas compressing the liver and pushing the vessels, intestines and the pancreas to the left half of the abdomen. She was referred to multiple hospitals over the past three years but the surgery was deferred because of the size of the tumour," stated a release from Sion Hospital.

Reuters/Representational Image

The tumour was removed on November 2016 in an eight-hour long surgery performed by Dr Sawant, Dr Prakash Pawar and uroanesthetists Dr Geeta Patkar and Dr Aparna Nerulkar. The Guinness confirmation came only recently, as it takes around six months to validate claims.

"The enormity of the surgery can be understood by comparing the weight of a kidney tumour5.5kgwith that of a normal kidney, which is 110gm to 140gm," said Sawant. The patient was kept on ventilator for a day. She recovered completely in a week. Doctors said that Devi has returned to her normal life.
After Pakistan claimed to swap Kulbhushan Jadhav for a terrorist, the army has now said that it is close to a decision on the mercy petition of Indian national who has been sentenced to death by a military court on charges of spying.

bccl

Jadhav, a retired Indian Navy officer, was in April sentenced to death by Pakistan's Field General Court Martial on charges of his alleged "involvement in espionage and sabotage activities" against Pakistan.

ALSO READ: India Fears That Pakistan Can Execute Kulbhushan Jadhav Even As Trial At The Hague Is On

"Kulbhushan Jadhav's mercy petition has come to the army chief. There is a process, everything goes through a process but I can assure that it is near finalisation and we will give you news about this very soon," Major General Asif Ghafoor, the Army spokesman said on Thursday.

Jadhav in June had sought clemency from the Pakistan Army chief over the death sentence after his plea to an appellate court was rejected.

bccl

Under the law, he is eligible to appeal for clemency to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) and if rejected, subsequently to the Pakistan President.

Also Read: Pak Releases A Propaganda Video Of Kulbhushan Jadhav, And There's Everything Wrong With It

Pakistan claims its security forces arrested Jadhav from its restive Balochistan province on March 3 last year after he reportedly entered from Iran.

However, India maintains that he was kidnapped from Iran where he had business interests after retiring from the Indian Navy.

India has accused Pakistan of violating the Vienna Convention by repeatedly denying consular access to Jadhav.

screen grab

In a hearing of the case on May 18, a 10-member bench of the International Court of Justice(ICJ)restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav.
Were excited to announce that indmin.com is now part of fastmarkets.com.

A new look and an improved experience means you can still stay ahead of this fast-moving market with price data, news and market intelligence right here on Fastmarkets.

Discover more than 2000 prices, news and analysis in primary and secondary metals markets. We cover base metals, industrial minerals, ores and alloys, steel, scrap and steel raw materials.

If you already have a Fastmarkets account, youll still have uninterrupted access to your markets by logging in with your current details.
Syria - Russia Warn Against U.S. Cooperation With Terrorists By Moon Of Alabama October 06, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - The Syrian Army was on its way across the Euphrates river to liberate the oil- and gas-fields east of Deir Ezzor city. The U.S. countered the move. It sent a small forces of Arab tribal mercenaries who were earlier allied with the Islamic State (ISIS). These proxy forces came from a northern direction and moved through Islamic State held areas without fighting and casualties up to the walls of Deir Ezzor city.

Map by Weekend Warrior - bigger The Syrian army was about to win the race when it started to cross the Euphrates. But it suddenly was surprised by a large al-Qaeda attack in southern Idleb province. That area had been quiet for months. 29 Russian troops who were supervising a deescalation zone there were nearly encircled by al-Qaeda forces. They only escape after an emergency relief operation had cut through al-Qaeda lines. The Russian Ministry of Defense accused the U.S. of having communicated the position of the Russian platoon to al-Qaeda. Shortly thereafter a Russian general, visiting Deir Ezzor city to supervise the Euphrates bridge crossing, came under extremely well aimed mortar fire by the Islamic State. The general and two other high ranking officers were killed. During years of fighting around Deir Ezzor ISIS had never shown the capability for such a precise strike. Someone must have communicated with the terrorists and transferred the exact position of the local headquarter, as well as the time of the Russian general's visit. A week later a concentrated ISIS attack on the main supply road between Palmyra and Deir Ezzor was attacked by a large number of ISIS forces. It is trying to retake al-Suknah in the middle between the two cities. The Russian Defense Ministry claims that the attacking ISIS forces came from southern areas of al-Tanf near the Jordan border which are under control of U.S. forces. Should ISIS take al-Suknah the Syrian-Russian contingent in Deir Ezzor would gain be cutoff. Due to those three attacks the Syrian-Russian move towards the eastern oil-fields came to a near standstill. U.S. proxy forces are now slowly taking the area. It seems obvious that the U.S. military is again cooperating with terrorist groups in Syria. There must be at least some information flow between U.S. intelligence and al-Qaeda and ISIS. It seems that deconflicition data the Syrian-Russian alliance is sharing with U.S. forces in Syria is ending up in the hands of the extremists. This explains how al-Qaeda and ISIS can suddenly and very precisely attack critical Syrian and Russian positions which are known to only very few people. No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Daily Newsletter The Russian have protested several times and had warned the U.S. not to continue with their nefarious scheming. The third severe warning came yesterday with statements by the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov and direct accusation against the U.S. military by the spokesman of the Russian Defense Ministry. In an interview with the semi-official Saudi paper Asharq al-Awsat Foreign Minister Lavrov was extraordinary frank (the full interview was covered only in the Arabic edition). Interfax recapitulates : "The US-led forces' activities in Syria cause many questions. In some cases these forces mount allegedly accidental strikes against the Syrian Armed Forces, after which the Islamic State counterattacks, in other cases they inspire other terrorists to attack strategic locations over which official Damascus has restored its legitimate authority, or stage fatal provocations against our military personnel. I would also mention numerous "accidental" strikes against civilian infrastructure that have taken hundreds of civilian lives," Lavrov said in an interview with the Asharq Al-Awsat pan-Arab newspaper ahead of the Russian visit of Saudi King Salman al-Saud. These accusations, from a very high level of the Russian Federation hierarchy, should not be ignored. But the "western" media were silent over Lavrov's accusations. Only AFP picked up some bits but missed the central point. The Russian Defense Ministry was even more direct : A spokesman for Russia's Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that a series of attacks launched by Islamic State in Syria on government forces had come from an area near the border with Jordan where a US military mission was located. The spokesman, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, said in a statement the attackers had the precise coordinates of the Syrian government forces, which could only have been obtained through aerial reconnaissance. Konashenkov accused the U.S. of "flirtation" with the terrorists and warned that, should similar happen again, Russia will take severe countermeasures. While these accusations fly, and the relation between U.S and Russian contingents in Syria further deteriorate, Russian diplomacy is winning the day. Last week the Russian President Putin visited Turkey . (At about the same time the Egyptian chief of intelligence was also in Ankara. He allegedly met his Turkish colleague. A few days later he visited Damascus .) Yesterday the Saudi King arrived in Moscow for an unprecedented visit. Meanwhile the Turkish president Erdogan touched down in Tehran in an unusual amikal atmosphere. Instead of reporting on diplomacy and the increasing chances of a military conflict between super powers in Syria, U.S. media asks if Secretary of State Tillerson called President Trump a "moron" or a "fucking moron". (For the record - the NBC journalist who overheard Tillerson's outburst says it was "fucking moron".) There have now been three significant incidents against the Russian-Syrian alliance in which, according to Russia, U.S. malignancy played a role. Each time Russian officials warned of consequences. To some extend the U.S. hostility is incited by Israeli nagging . But the record shows that CentCom, the U.S. military command in the Middle East, is overtly aggressive and not always following Washington's line. It is high time for the White House to get the situation under control. The bear is a docile animal. But it should not be provoked. There is reason to believe that the Russian forces and their allies in the Middle East have the ability to surprise the U.S. military with unforeseen and deadly moves. Should these U.S. provocations continue Moscow will have no choice but to order harsh retaliations. This article was originally published by Moon Of Alabama -
That Israel Lobby Controversy? History Has Proved Us Right

By Stephen M. Walt

October 06, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Ten years ago, John Mearsheimer and I published a controversial article and subsequent book examining the impact of the Israel lobby  that is, a loose coalition of pro-Israel individuals and organizations like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and Christians United for Israel, just to name a few. We argued that decades of unconditional U.S. support for Israel  the so-called special relationship  is not explained by U.S. strategic interests or by shared values, as is often claimed, but is due primarily to the political efforts and activities of the lobby.

The result, we also argued, does more harm than good to both the United States and Israel. For the United States, the special relationship undermines Americas standing in the Arab and Islamic worlds, has encouraged a more confrontational approach with Iran and Syria, and contributes significantly both to Americas terrorism problem and to needless and costly debacles like the 2003 invasion of Iraq. For Israel, unquestioning U.S. support for almost all its actions has allowed the decades-long subjugation of the Palestinians to continue unchecked, undermining the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and threatening Israels future as a democratic and/or Jewish state.

We made it clear that the lobby was not a monolith controlling every aspect of U.S. Middle East policy, but rather a collection of disparate groups and individuals united by the aim of defending Israels actions and deepening the special relationship. We explicitly rejected the idea that anything nefarious was going on, explaining that AIPAC and related organizations were simply part of a powerful interest group like the farm lobby or the National Rifle Association. Their efforts to influence U.S. policy are as American as apple pie. And we used the term Israel lobby to highlight that not all American Jews support these policies and that some key members of the lobby (such as Christian Zionists) arent Jewish. The book also emphasizes that none of these groups or individuals is solely responsible for the choices U.S. leaders make.

As the article and book predicted, a firestorm of criticism followed their publication, including more than a few accusations that we are anti-Israel or anti-Semitic. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our aim was to elicit a debate that would help move Americas foreign policy in a wiser direction and increase Israels chances of achieving a durable, peaceful two-state solution with the Palestinians. By successfully squelching any criticism of Israel in almost any form, and by encouraging military action against Israels foes, the lobby  in our view  had led us away from both.

Unfortunately for Israel as well as the United States, the past 10 years provide ample evidence that our core argument is still correct. Nevertheless, shifts inside the pro-Israel community and in Israel itself may yet lead to positive shifts in U.S. Middle East policy and to a healthier relationship between the two countries.

There is little question the lobby remains a potent political force today. The special relationship is firmly intact: An increasingly prosperous Israel continues to receive billions of dollars in U.S. assistance, and it is still largely immune from criticism by top U.S. officials, members of Congress or contenders for public office. Being perceived as insufficiently pro-Israel can disqualify nominees for important government positions; one need look no further than Chuck Hagels contentious confirmation hearings  and the 178 times Israel came up  to see how crucial a role being pro-Israel plays in achieving political success in this country. People who criticize Israel too pointedly can still lose their jobs. Wealthy defenders of Israel such as Sheldon Adelson and Haim Saban play outsize roles in American politics, especially on Israel-related issues. A number of hard-line individuals and groups in the lobby remain staunch opponents of the sensible 2016 nuclear deal with Iran and may eventually help convince President Trump or the Congress to overturn it.

The clearest illustration of the lobbys enduring power, however, is the Obama administrations failure to make any progress on settling the Israel-Palestinian conflict. President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry were strong supporters of Israel, and both believe a two-state solution is, as Obama put it, in Israels interest, Palestines interest, Americas interest and the worlds interest. But even with backing from pro-peace, pro-Israel organizations such as J Street, their efforts to achieve two states for two peoples were rebuffed by Israel, working hand in hand with AIPAC and other hard-line groups. So instead of seriously pursuing peace, Israel expanded its settlements in the Israeli-occupied territories, making it more difficult than ever to create a viable Palestinian state.

Given AIPACs enduring influence in Congress and its unyielding opposition to any meaningful compromise with the Palestinians, Obama and Kerry ultimately could offer Israel only additional carrots (such as increased military aid) to try to win their cooperation. Like their predecessors, they could not put pressure on Israel to compromise by threatening to reduce U.S. support significantly. As a result, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had little incentive to make a deal. So, the two-state solution, which the United States has long sought and Netanyahu has long opposed, is now further away than ever. This outcome is bad for the United States and for Israel.

Despite the lobbys continuing influence, however, there is a more open discussion of Israel-related issues today than there was before we wrote our article and book. Together with long-term trends in the region and the United States, the ability to speak more openly about Israel is likely to diminish the lobbys impact on U.S. foreign policy in the future.

For starters, despite joining forces with Netanyahu to oppose the Iran deal, AIPAC was unable to convince Congress to reject the agreement. This failure signaled a rare defeat for the lobbying group, and a triumph for J Street and other groups that had backed the deal.

Furthermore, the taboo of publicly criticizing Israel, the lobby or the special relationship has been broken. In recent years, writers such as Peter Beinart, John Judis, Dan Fleshler and others have written important works examining the role of pro-Israel groups in American politics and criticizing their impact on U.S. foreign policy. Prominent journalists such as Thomas Friedman, Andrew Sullivan and Roger Cohen have penned their own criticisms of Israels policies and the lobbys activities. More Americans have become aware of the complexities of life in Israel-Palestine and are more sympathetic to the needs and desires of both populations.

There is also a growing divide within the American Jewish community over what is best for Israel itself. Scholars like Dov Waxman, Steven Simon and Dana Allin have documented that American Jews today are less reluctant to criticize Israels policies or the actions of the Israeli government. The creation of the pro-peace lobby J Street, the rapid growth of progressive groups like Jewish Voice for Peace, and the success of controversial online journals critical of Zionism, such as Mondoweiss, show that attitudes about Israel are more complicated than in the past. Reflexive support for whatever Israel does is no longer the default condition for many American Jews.

These developments are especially evident among young people, and as Waxman emphasizes in his 2016 book Trouble in the Tribe, they have amplified divisions between the Orthodox and more liberal branches of Judaism. One sees this trend in a recent poll conducted by the American Jewish Committee, which found that nearly 80% of American Jews disapprove of the job President Trump is doing but 71% of Orthodox Jews support Trump. The main reason? Orthodox Jews tend to see Trump as more supportive of Israel. Yet even among the Orthodox, a recent survey by Nishma Research found that only 43% of those between 18 and 34 actively support the Jewish state, compared with 71% of those over 55.

No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Daily Newsletter

These trends stem from a core tension: The vast majority of American Jews remain deeply committed to liberal values, while Israel has been moving away from them for many years now. There is a certain tension between liberalism and Zionism, because liberalism assumes that all humans possess the same set of basic rights and it emphasizes mutual tolerance, while Zionism is a nationalist movement that in its current iteration privileges one people at the expense of another. Until 1967, however, that tension between liberal and Zionist values was muted because most Israelis were Jewish and the second-class status of Israels Arab minority did not receive much attention.

When Israel gained control of the West Bank and Gaza in 1967, the resulting subjugation of millions of Palestinians brought that tension to the fore. The occupation of the Palestinian territories has endured for half a century, and today, certain sections of Israels government are openly committed to retaining the West Bank in perpetuity and creating a Greater Israel. This policy not only involves denying the Palestinian subjects meaningful political rights, but also leads Israel to react harshly whenever the Palestinians respond with violence and terrorism (as happened in response to the two intifadas and in Israels repeated assaults on Gaza), further tarnishing its image in the United States and elsewhere.

But as former prime ministers Ehud Barak and Ehud Olmert each warned, in the long run, denying the Palestinians a viable state of their own will turn Israel into a state akin to apartheid South Africa. Such a state will be increasingly difficult for Israels supporters  and especially liberal American Jews  to embrace and defend against the inevitable criticism that will be directed at it. Furthermore, the steady rightward drift of Israeli politics  exemplified by the 2016 transparency law marginalizing Israeli human rights organizations, as well as by Netanyahus decision to renege on a plan to allow non-Orthodox Jewish men and women to pray together at the Western Wall  also clashes with the political values of most American Jews.

Even more disturbing, the Israeli government has begun to turn a blind eye to incidents of genuine anti-Semitism, when doing so is seen as safeguarding other priorities. Netanyahu was slow to condemn the anti-Jewish and neo-Nazi demonstrations in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August, for example, and he declined to criticize Trumps waffling response to these disturbing events. Netanyahu also remains on good terms with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban despite Orbans anti-Semitic campaign against financier George Soros. Indeed, Netanyahus son Yair Netanyahu recently posted to Facebook an explicitly anti-Semitic meme about Soros, thereby earning a swift condemnation from the ADL.

These and other events have accelerated what Waxman describes as a splintering among pro-Israel organizations. Past depictions of a weak Israeli David surrounded by a hostile Arab Goliath no longer ring true against the reality of a prosperous, nuclear-armed Israel that denies millions of Palestinian Arabs basic rights and uses its vast military power to keep those disenfranchised subjects powerless and afraid. Israel still faces a number of security challenges, but, contrary to what used to be the conventional wisdom, it is not weak, isolated or vulnerable to conventional attack. Instead, it has become a fiercely nationalistic state pursuing increasingly illiberal policies, which makes it increasingly hard for liberals to defend with enthusiasm.

These trends, however, have yet to affect Israels most ardent defenders here in the United States. If anything, their efforts to silence criticism of Israel have reached new heights. How else can one explain the AIPAC-sponsored Senate bill that would make it a crime in the United States to participate in the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement, legislation that the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and the Center for Constitutional Rights have rightly denounced as a direct threat to free speech?

Even if they succeed in muzzling some criticism in the short term, over time these tactics will turn off many Americans, including large numbers of American Jews who prize freedom of speech, tolerance and human rights, and who understand how important those values are for preserving the security of minority populations everywhere.

Barring a major shift in Israels political trajectory, therefore, the fissures within the lobby  and in the American Jewish community more broadly  are likely to widen. If the balance of power in that community shifts in favor of more moderate and pro-peace groups, then there may be a glimmer of hope. Two states for two peoples will be harder to achieve today than it would have been under either President Clinton or President Obama, but political pressure from a powerful, pro-Israel and pro-peace lobby in the United States is probably the only development that would convince U.S. leaders to act as fair-minded mediators and persuade the Israeli government to grant the Palestinians a viable state of their own. Over the long term, that may also be the only way to preserve a secure Israel and the strong bonds of the U.S.- Israel relationship.
The Mystery of the Russia-gate Puppies The U.S. mainstream media is determined to prove Russia-gate despite the scandals cracking foundation and its inexplicable anomalies, such as why Russia would set up a Facebook puppies page, writes Robert Parry. By Robert Parry October 06, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - What is perhaps most unprofessional, unethical and even immoral about the U.S. mainstream medias coverage of Russia-gate is how all the stories start with the conclusion  Russia bad  and then make whatever shards of information exist fit the preordained narrative. For instance, were told that Facebook executives, who were sent back three times by Democratic lawmakers to find something to pin on Russia, finally detected $100,000 worth of ads spread out over three years from accounts suspected of links to Russia or similar hazy wording. These Facebook ads and 201 related Twitter accounts, were told, represent the long-missing proof about Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election after earlier claims faltered or fell apart under even minimal scrutiny. For example, not only have major questions been raised about whether Russian intelligence operatives were behind the hacking of Democratic emails , but the Senate Intelligence Committee announced on Wednesday that two early elements of the Russia-gate hysteria  minor changes that were made to the Republican platform and a brief meeting between Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and then-Sen. (now Attorney General) Jeff Sessions at Washingtons Mayflower Hotel  have been dropped as innocent or inconsequential. But like all good conspiracy theories, once one allegation is dismissed as meaningless, it is replaced by another and another. In the old days, journalists might have expressed some concern that Facebook found the Russia-linked ads only under extraordinary pressure from powerful politicians, such as Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a leading legislator on the tech industry. But todays mainstream reporters took Warners side and made it look like Facebook had been dragging its heels and that there must be much more out there. However, it doesnt really seem to matter how little evidence there is. Anything will do. Even the paltry $100,000 is not put in any perspective (Facebook has annual revenue of $27 billion), nor the 201 Twitter accounts (compared to Twitters 328 million monthly users). Nor are the hazy allegations of suspected  links to Russia subjected to serious inspection. Although Russia is a nation of 144 million people and many divergent interests, its assumed that everything must be personally ordered by President Vladimir Putin. Yet, if you look at some of the details about these $100,000 in ads, you learn the case is even flimsier than you might have thought. The sum was spread out over 2015, 2016 and 2017  and thus represented a very tiny pebble in a very large lake of Facebook activity. But more recently we learned that only 44 percent of the ads appeared before Americans went to the polls last November, according to Facebook ; that would mean that 56 percent appeared afterwards. Facebook added that roughly 25% of the ads were never shown to anyone.  For 50% of the ads, less than $3 was spent; for 99% of the ads, less than $1,000 was spent. So, as minuscule as the $100,000 in ad buys over three years may have seemed, the tiny pebble turns out really to be only a fraction of a tiny pebble if the Russians indeed did toss it into the 2016 campaign. What About the Puppies? We further have learned that most ads werent for or against a specific candidate, but rather addressed supposedly controversial issues that the mainstream media insists were meant to divide the United States and thus somehow undermine American democracy. Except, it turns out that one of the issues was puppies. As Mike Isaac and Scott Shane of The New York Times reported in Tuesdays editions, The Russians who posed as Americans on Facebook last year tried on quite an array of disguises.  There was even a Facebook group for animal lovers with memes of adorable puppies that spread across the site with the help of paid ads. Now, there are a lot of controversial issues in America, but I dont think any of us would put puppies near the top of the list. Isaac and Shane reported that there were also supposedly Russia-linked groups advocating gay rights, gun rights and black civil rights, although precisely how these divergent groups were linked to Russia or the Kremlin was never fully explained. (Facebook declined to offer details.) At this point, a professional journalist might begin to pose some very hard questions to the sources, who presumably include many partisan Democrats and their political allies hyping the evil-Russia narrative. It would be time for some lectures to the sources about the consequences for taking reporters on a wild ride in conspiracy land. Yet, instead of starting to question the overall premise of this scandal, journalists at The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, etc. keep making excuses for the nuttiness. The explanation for the puppy ads was that the nefarious Russians might be probing to discover Americans who might later be susceptible to propaganda. The goal of the dog lovers page was more obscure, Isaac and Shane acknowledged. But some analysts suggested a possible motive: to build a large following before gradually introducing political content. Without viewing the entire feed from the page, now closed by Facebook, it is impossible to say whether the Russian operators tried such tactics. The Joe McCarthy of Russia-gate The Times then turned to Clinton Watts, a former FBI agent and a top promoter of the New McCarthyism that has swept Official Washington. Watts has testified before Congress that almost anything that appears on social media these days criticizing a politician may well be traceable to the Russians. For instance, last March, Watts testified in conspiratorial terms before the Senate Intelligence Committee about social media accounts discrediting U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. At the time, Ryan was under criticism for his ham-handed handling of a plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, but Watts saw possible Russian fingerprints. No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Daily Newsletter Watts also claimed that Sen. Marco Rubios presidential bid anecdotally suffered from an online Russian campaign against him, though many of you may have thought Rubio flamed out because he was a wet-behind-the-ears candidate who performed robotically in the debates and received the devastating nickname Little Marco from Donald Trump. Watts explained that these nefarious Russian schemes left no discernible earmarks or detectable predictability. Russians attack people on both sides of the aisle  solely based on what they [the Russians] want to achieve in their own landscape, whatever the Russian foreign policy objectives are, Watts complained. Wattss vague allegations appear to have been the impetus behind Sen. Warners repeated demands that Facebook find some evidence to support the suspicions. After Facebook came up empty twice, Warner flew to Silicon Valley to personally confront Facebook executives who then found what Warner wanted them to find, the $100,000 in suspected Russia-linked ad buys. So, it perhaps made sense that the Times would turn to Watts to explain the rather inexplicable Russian exploitation of puppies. According to Isaac and Shane, Watts said Russia had been entrepreneurial in trying to develop diverse channels of influence. Some, like the dogs page, may have been created without a specific goal and held in reserve for future use. They were creating many audiences on social media to try to influence around, said Mr. Watts, who has traced suspected Russian accounts since 2015. In other words, if you start with the need to prove Russian guilt, there are no alternative explanations besides Russian guilt. If some fact, like the puppies page, doesnt seem to fit the sinister conspiracy theory, you simply pound it into place until it does. Yes, of course, Russian intelligence operatives must be so sneaky that they are spending money (but not much) on Facebook puppy ads so they might sometime in the future slip in a few other ideological messages. It cant be that perhaps the ads were not part of some Russian government intelligence operation. The Russ-kie Plot But even if we want to believe that these ads are a Russ-kie plot and were somehow intended to sow dissension in the U.S., the totals are insignificant, a subset of a subset of a subset of $100,000 in ad buys over three years that, as far as anyone can tell, had no real no impact on the 2016 election  and surely much, much, much less than the political influence from, say, Israel. If we apply Facebooks 44 percent figure, that would suggest the total spending in the two years before the election was around $44,000 and much of that focused on a diverse set of issues, not specific candidates. So, if some Russians did spend money to promote gay rights and to push gun rights, any negligible impact on the 2016 election would more or less have been canceled out between Clinton and Trump. Yet, over these still unproven and speculative allegations of Russian links to these Facebook ads, the national Democrats and their mainstream media allies are stoking a dangerous and expensive New Cold War with nuclear-armed Russia. I realize that lots of Democrats were upset about Hillary Clintons humiliating defeat and dont want to believe that she could have lost fairly to a buffoon like Donald Trump. So, they are looking for any excuses rather than looking in the mirror. The major U.S. news outlets also have joined the anti-Trump Resistance, rather than upholding the journalistic principles of objectivity and fairness. The Post even came up with a new melodramatic slogan for the moment: Democracy Dies in Darkness. But yellow journalism is not the way to shed light into darkness; it only blinds Democrats from seeing the real reasons behind Trumps appeal to many working-class whites who feel disaffected from a Democratic Party that seems disinterested in their suffering. Yes, I know that some Democrats are still hoping against hope that they can ride Russia-gate all the way to Trumps impeachment and get him ridden out of Washington D.C. on a rail, but the political risk to Democrats is that they will harden the animosity that many in the white working class already feel toward the party. That could do more to strengthen Trumps appeal to these voters than to weaken him, while hollowing out Democratic support among millions of peace voters who may simply declare a plague on both parties. Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his latest book, Americas Stolen Narrative, either in print here or as an e-book (from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com ).
The Rising of Britain's 'New Politics' By John Pilger October 06, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Delegates to the recent Labour Party conference in the English seaside town of Brighton seemed not to notice a video playing in the main entrance. The world's third biggest arms manufacturer, BAE Systems, supplier to Saudi Arabia, was promoting its guns, bombs, missiles, naval ships and fighter aircraft. It seemed a perfidious symbol of a party in which millions of Britons now invest their political hopes. Once the preserve of Tony Blair, it is now led by Jeremy Corbyn, whose career has been very different and is rare in British establishment politics. Addressing the Labour conference, the campaigner Naomi Klein described the rise of Corbyn as "part of a global phenomenon. We saw it in Bernie Sanders' historic campaign in the US primaries, powered by millennials who know that safe centrist politics offers them no kind of safe future." In fact, at the end of the US primary elections last year, Sanders led his followers into the arms of Hillary Clinton, a liberal warmonger from a long tradition in the Democratic Party. As President Obama's Secretary of State, Clinton presided over the invasion of Libya in 2011, which led to a stampede of refugees to Europe. She gloated at the gruesome murder of Libya's president. Two years earlier, Clinton signed off on a coup that overthrew the democratically elected president of Honduras. That she has been invited to Wales on 14 October to be given an honorary doctorate by the University of Swansea because she is "synonymous with human rights" is unfathomable. Like Clinton, Sanders is a cold-warrior and "anti-communist" obsessive with a proprietorial view of the world beyond the United States. He supported Bill Clinton's and Tony Blair's illegal assault on Yugoslavia in 1998 and the invasions of Afghanistan, Syria and Libya, as well as Barack Obama's campaign of terrorism by drone. He backs the provocation of Russia and agrees that the whistleblower Edward Snowden should stand trial. He has called the late Hugo Chavez - a social democrat who won multiple elections - "a dead communist dictator". While Sanders is a familiar liberal politician, Corbyn may be a phenomenon, with his indefatigable support for the victims of American and British imperial adventures and for popular resistance movements. For example, in the 1960s and 70s, the Chagos islanders were expelled from their homeland, a British colony in the Indian Ocean, by a Labour government. An entire population was kidnapped. The aim was to make way for a US military base on the main island of Diego Garcia: a secret deal for which the British were "compensated" with a discount of $14 million off the price of a Polaris nuclear submarine. I have had much to do with the Chagos islanders and have filmed them in exile in Mauritius and the Seychelles, where they suffered and some of them "died from sadness", as I was told. They found a political champion in a Labour Member of Parliament, Jeremy Corbyn. So did the Palestinians. So did Iraqis terrorised by a Labour prime minister's invasion of their country in 2003. So did others struggling to break free from the designs of western power. Corbyn supported the likes of Hugo Chavez, who brought more than hope to societies subverted by the US behemoth. And yet, now Corbyn is closer to power than he might have ever imagined, his foreign policy remains a secret. By secret, I mean there has been rhetoric and little else. "We must put our values at the heart of our foreign policy," said Corbyn at the Labour conference. But what are these "values"? Since 1945, like the Tories, British Labour has been an imperial party, obsequious to Washington: a record exemplified by the crime in the Chagos islands. What has changed? Is Corbyn saying Labour will uncouple itself from the US war machine, and the US spying apparatus and US economic blockades that scar humanity? His shadow Foreign Secretary, Emily Thornberry, says a Corbyn government "will put human rights back at the heart of Britain's foreign policy". But human rights have never been at the heart of British foreign policy - only "interests", as Lord Palmerston declared in the 19th century: the interests of those at the apex of British society. Thornberry quoted the late Robin Cook who, as Tony Blair's first Foreign Secretary in 1997, pledged an "ethical foreign policy" that would "make Britain once again a force for good in the world". History is not kind to imperial nostalgia. The recently commemorated division of India by a Labour government in 1947 - with a border hurriedly drawn up by a London barrister, Gordon Radcliffe, who had never been to India and never returned - led to blood-letting on a genocidal scale. Shut up in a lonely mansion, with police night and day Patrolling the gardens to keep the assassins away, He got down to work, to the task of settling the fate Of millions. The maps at his disposal were out of date And the Census Returns almost certainly incorrect, But there was no time to check them, no time to inspect Contested areas. The weather was frightfully hot, And a bout of dysentery kept him constantly on the trot, But in seven weeks it was done, the frontiers decided, A continent for better or worse divided. W.H. Auden, 'Partition'

It was the same Labour government (1945--51), led by Prime Minister Clement Attlee - "radical" by today's standards - that dispatched General Douglas Gracey's British imperial army to Saigon with orders to re-arm the defeated Japanese in order to prevent Vietnamese nationalists from liberating their own country. Thus, the longest war of the century was ignited. It was a Labour Foreign Secretary, Ernest Bevin, whose policy of "mutuality" and "partnership" with some of the world's most vicious despots, especially in the Middle East, forged relationships that endure today, often sidelining and crushing the human rights of whole communities and societies. The cause was British "interests" - oil, power, wealth. In the "radical" 1960s, Labour's Defence Secretary, Denis Healey, set up the Defence Sales Organisation (DSO) specifically to boost the arms trade and make money from selling lethal weapons to the world. Healey told Parliament, "While we attach the highest importance to making progress in the field of arms control and disarmament, we must also take what practical steps we can to ensure that this country does not fail to secure its rightful share of this valuable market." The doublethink was quintessentially Labour. When I later asked Healey about this "valuable market", he claimed his decision made no difference to the volume of military exports. In fact, it led to an almost doubling of Britain's share of the arms market. Today, Britain is the second biggest arms dealer on earth, selling arms and fighter planes, machine guns and "riot control" vehicles, to 22 of the 30 countries on the British Government's own list of human rights violators. Will this cease under a Corbyn government? The preferred model - Robin Cook's "ethical foreign policy" - is revealing. Like Jeremy Corbyn, Cook made his name as a backbencher and critic of the arms trade. "Wherever weapons are sold," wrote Cook, "there is a tacit conspiracy to conceal the reality of war" and "it is a truism that every war for the past two decades has been fought by poor countries with weapons supplied by rich countries". Cook singled out the sale of British Hawk fighters to Indonesia as "particularly disturbing". Indonesia "is not only repressive but actually at war on two fronts: in East Timor, where perhaps a sixth of the population has been slaughtered... and in West Papua, where it confronts an indigenous liberation movement". As Foreign Secretary, Cook promised "a thorough review of arms sales". The then Nobel Peace Laureate, Bishop Carlos Belo of East Timor, appealed directly to Cook: "Please, I beg you, do not sustain any longer a conflict which without these arms sales could never have been pursued in the first place and not for so very long." He was referring to Indonesia's bombing of East Timor with British Hawks and the slaughter of his people with British machine guns. He received no reply. The following week Cook called journalists to the Foreign Office to announce his "mission statement" for "human rights in a new century". This PR event included the usual private briefings for selected journalists, including the BBC, in which Foreign Office officials lied that there was "no evidence" that British Hawk aircraft were deployed in East Timor. No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Daily Newsletter A few days later, the Foreign Office issued the results of Cook's "thorough review" of arms sales policy. "It was not realistic or practical," wrote Cook, "to revoke licences which were valid and in force at the time of Labour's election victory". Suharto's Minister for Defence, Edi Sudradjat, said that talks were already under way with Britain for the purchase of 18 more Hawk fighters. "The political change in Britain will not affect our negotiations," he said. He was right. Today, replace Indonesia with Saudi Arabia and East Timor with Yemen. British military aircraft - sold with the approval of both Tory and Labour governments and built by the firm whose promotional video had pride of place at the Labour Party conference - are bombing the life out of Yemen, one of the most impoverished countries in the world, where half the children are malnourished and there is the greatest cholera epidemic in modern times. Hospitals and schools, weddings and funerals have been attacked. In Ryadh, British military personnel are reported to be training the Saudis in selecting targets. In Labour's 2017 manifesto, Jeremy Corbyn and his party colleagues promised that "Labour will demand a comprehensive, independent, UN-led investigation into alleged violations... in Yemen, including air strikes on civilians by the Saudi-led coalition. We will immediately suspend any further arms sales for use in the conflict until that investigation is concluded." But the evidence of Saudi Arabia's crimes in Yemen is already documented by Amnesty and others, notably by the courageous reporting of the British journalist Iona Craig. The dossier is voluminous. Labour does not promise to stop arms exports to Saudi Arabia. It does not say Britain will withdraw its support for governments responsible for the export of Islamist jihadism. There is no commitment to dismantle the arms trade. The manifesto describes a "special relationship [with the US] based on shared values... When the current Trump administration chooses to ignore them... we will not be afraid to disagree". As Jeremy Corbyn knows, dealing with the US is not about merely "disagreeing". The US is a rapacious, rogue power that ought not to be regarded as a natural ally of any state championing human rights, irrespective of whether Trump or anyone else is President. When Emily Thornberry linked Venezuela with the Philippines as "increasingly autocratic regimes" - slogans bereft of facts and ignoring the subversive US role in Venezuela - she was consciously playing to the enemy: a tactic with which Jeremy Corbyn will be familiar. A Corbyn government will allow the Chagos islanders the right of return. But Labour says nothing about renegotiating the 50-year renewal agreement that Britain has just signed with the US allowing it to use the base on Diego Garcia from which it has bombed Afghanistan and Iraq. A Corbyn government will "immediately recognise the state of Palestine". But it is silent on whether Britain will continue to arm Israel, continue to acquiesce in the illegal trade in Israel's illegal "settlements" and treat Israel merely as a warring party, rather than as an historic oppressor given immunity by Washington and London. On Britain's support for Nato's current war preparations, Labour boasts that the "last Labour government spent above the benchmark of 2 per cent of GDP" on Nato. It says, "Conservative spending cuts have put Britain's security at risk" and promises to boost Britain's military "obligations". In fact, most of the 40 billion Britain currently spends on the military is not for territorial defence of the UK but for offensive purposes to enhance British "interests" as defined by those who have tried to smear Jeremy Corbyn as unpatriotic. If the polls are reliable, most Britons are well ahead of their politicians, Tory and Labour. They would accept higher taxes to pay for public services; they want the National Health Service restored to full health. They want decent jobs and wages and housing and schools; they do not hate foreigners but resent exploitative labour. They have no fond memory of an empire on which the sun never set. They oppose the invasion of other countries and regard Blair as a liar. The rise of Donald Trump has reminded them what a menace the United States can be, especially with their own country in tow. The Labour Party is the beneficiary of this mood, but many of its pledges - certainly in foreign policy - are qualified and compromised, suggesting, for many Britons, more of the same. Jeremy Corbyn is widely and properly recognised for his integrity; he opposes the renewal of Trident nuclear weapons; the Labour Party supports it. But he has given shadow cabinet positions to pro-war MPs who support Blairism, tried to get rid of him and abused him as "unelectable". "We are the political mainstream now," says Corbyn. Yes, but at what price? Follow John Pilger on twitter @johnpilger - http://johnpilger.com/
DOD, HUD Defrauded Taxpayers Of $21 Trillion From 1998 To 2015

By Whitney Webb

October 06, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - Last year, a Reuters article brought renewed scrutiny to the budgeting practices of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), specifically the U.S. Army, after it was revealed that the department had lost $6.5 trillion in 2015 due to wrongful budget adjustments. Nearly half of that massive sum, $2.8 trillion, was lost in just one quarter. Reuters noted that the Army lacked the receipts and invoices to support those numbers [the adjustments] or simply made them up in order to create an illusion that its books are balanced.

Officially, the DOD has acknowledged that its financial statements for 2015 were materially misstated. However, this was hardly the first time the department had been caught falsifying its accounting or the first time the department had mishandled massive sums of taxpayer money.

The cumulative effect of this mishandling of funds is the subject of a new report authored by Dr. Mark Skidmore, a professor of economics at Michigan State University, and Catherine Austin Fitts, former assistant secretary of housing.

Their findings are shocking.

Losing the equivalent of the national debt

The report, which examined in great detail the budgets of both the DOD and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), found that between 1998 and 2015 these two departments alone lost over $21 trillion in taxpayer funds. The funds lost were a direct result of unsupported journal voucher adjustments made to the departments budgets.

According to the Office of the Comptroller , unsupported journal voucher adjustments are defined as summary-level accounting adjustments made when balances between systems cannot be reconciled. Often these journal vouchers are unsupported, meaning they lack supporting documentation to justify the adjustment [receipts, etc.] or are not tied to specific accounting transactions. The report notes that, in both the private and public sectors, the presence of such adjustments is considered a red flag for potential fraud.

The amount of money lost is truly staggering. As co-author Fitts noted in an interview with USA Watchdog, the amount unaccounted for over this 17 year period amounts to $65,000 for every man, woman and child resident in America. By comparison, the cost per taxpayer of all U.S. wars waged since 9/11 has been $7,500 per taxpayer. The sum is also enough to cover the entire U.S. national debt, which broke $20 trillion less than a month ago, and still have funds left over.

Whats more, the actual amount of funds lost  measured at $21 trillion  is likely to be much higher, as the researchers were unable to recover data for every year over the period, meaning the assessment is incomplete.

Best way to avoid finding is not to look

While the sheer amount of money lost is shocking enough, also troubling is the fact that such fraudulent behavior on the part of DOD and HUD has been accepted by the federal government for years. In fact, Reuters notes that the Defense Finance and Accounting Services (DFAS) refers to the preparation of the Armys year-end statements as the grand plug  where plug is accounting jargon for the insertion of made-up numbers. In addition, in 2015, DFAS was unable to accurately put together the year-end statements for the department, as more than 16,000 financial data files had been erased from its computer system.

Furthermore, the Department of Defense has, unlike other government departments, not been subjected to annual audits and had merely been  hoping  to successfully meet the requirements for an audit by the end of September 2017. This deadline was not met  a failure that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) foreshadowed back in 2011 , based on the fact that the military has not been able to implement a standardized system allowing it to know how much money it has and where it is going.

The GAO has raised the alarm on this issue for over 25 years, but its concern has continually fallen on deaf ears.

A likely reason for the lack of oversight, despite the well-known nature of the departments grave accounting problems, is the fact that weapons manufacturers and government contractors are the largest beneficiaries of DOD budgeting errors and waste. Given those weapon manufacturers alone spent nearly $30 million on donations to political campaigns last year, Congress and much of the federal government are likely unwilling to bite the hand that feeds  even if it means ignoring massive and systemic fraud.
Britain Moves To Criminalize Reading Extremist Material On The Internet

By Jonathan Turley

October 06, 2017 " Information Clearing House " - For years, civil libertarians have warned that Great Britain has been in a free fall from the criminalization of speech to the expansion of the surveillance state. Now the government is pursuing a law that would make the repeated viewing of extremist Internet sites a crime punishable to up to 15 years in prison. It appears that the government is not satiated by their ever-expanding criminalization of speech. They now want to criminalize even viewing sites on the Internet. As always, officials are basically telling the public to trust us, were the government. UK home secretary Amber Rudd is pushing the criminalization of reading as part of her anti-radicalization campaign . . . which turns out to be an anti-civil liberties campaign.



We have previously discussed the alarming rollback on free speech rights in the West , particularly in France ( here and here and here and here and here and here ) and England ( here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here ). Even the Home Secretary has been accused of hate speech for criticizing immigrant workers.



Prime Minister Theresa May has previously called for greater government control of the Internet. Now, the government not only would make reading material on the Internet a crime, but would not necessarily tell you what sites will be deemed the ultimate click bait. Rudd told a Conservative Party conference that she wants to crackdown on people who view despicable terrorist content online, including jihadi websites, far-right propaganda and bomb-making instructions. So sites deemed far-right propaganda (but not far-left propaganda) could lead to your arrest  leaving the government with a sweeping and ambiguous mandate.



The law would move from criminalizing the downloading of information to simply reading it. The move confirms the long criticism of civil libertarians that the earlier criminalization would just be the start of an ever-expanding government regulation of sites and speech. Rudd admits that she wants to arrest those who just read material but do not actually download the material.



In the past, the government assumed near total discretion in determining who had a reasonable excuse for downloading information.

No Advertising - No Government Grants - This Is Independent Media Get Our Free Daily Newsletter

Britain has long relied on the presumed benevolence of the government in giving its sweeping authority in the surveillance and regulation of speech, including the media. This move however is a quantum shift in government controls over speech and information. Indeed, this comes the closest to criminalization not just speech but thought. It is a dangerous concept and should be viewed as disqualifying for anyone who want to hold (or retain) high office.



What is particularly striking is that this new law seeks to create a new normal in a society already desensitized to government controls and speech crimes. Thee is no pretense left in this campaign  just a smiling face rallying people to the cause of thought control.



Sound familiar?

We are different from all the oligarchies of the past, in that we know what we are doing. All the others, even those who resembled ourselves, were cowards and hypocrites. The German Nazis and the Russian Communists came very close to us in their methods, but they never had the courage to recognize their own motives. They pretended, perhaps they even believed, that they had seized power unwillingly and for a limited time, and that just round the corner there lay a paradise where human beings would be free and equal. We are not like that. We know that no one ever seizes power with the intention of relinquishing it. Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power.
Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, gave out three new cars and donated N100m to teachers in the state, this was the governors special way to celebrate the 2017 World Teachers Day celebration in Ado Ekiti, the state capital.

Fayose presented a brand new Hyundai Xcent cars to the best teacher in primary school, Mrs Ojo Grace and the best teacher in secondary school, Mr. Ephraim Egunjobi. He also gave a brand new Kia Rio car to the best headmaster, Mrs. Anike Apata.

He said that the best teachers would go to Dubai or London on all expense paid trip.

The governor also donated N100m to teachers in the state for the success recorded in the National Examination Council Senior Secondary Certificate Examination. The state emerged first in the examination. He promised to increase the incentive to N150m if the feat is repeated in 2018.

Fayose also announced Mrs. Toyin Arogundade, as new state Tutor-General.

As a show of gratitude, the teachers assured the governor of their support for his anointed successor, Deputy Governor, Olusola Kolapo.

The state chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Gbenga Olugbesan, called on governments and employers of teachers to empower the teachers so as to ensure they improve on their performance and productivity.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
Nigerians have been advised by the Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole to stop eating dead animals, bush meat, particularly monkeys, as Nigerian health authorities launch measures to curb the spread of monkeypox, following suspected cases of the disease in Bayelsa State.

In a press statement by the ministry on Thursday, Mr. Adewole assured Nigerians that the health ministry was working on curbing the spread of the disease.

Symptoms of the disease include headache, fever, back pains and in advanced cases, rashes bigger than those caused by chicken pox.

The minister urged anyone with the symptoms to immediately report to the nearest health facility, while advising health workers to maintain a high index of suspicion and observe safety precautions.

He warned that there is no known treatment or preventive vaccines, hence people should be at alert and avoid crowded places as much as possible.

Mr. Adewole outlined measures being taken to include placing health facilities in Bayelsa on alert, having patients suspected of the contracting the disease quarantined, and providing supportive treatments to the victims.

The minister said investigation is still on-going and that health partners were working with the ministry on the reported outbreak.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control, NCDC team in Bayelsa state are also supporting the state government in curbing the spread of the disease, he said.

Monkeypox, a viral disease, broke out in Yenagoa, Bayelsa capital and about 11 persons have been placed under medical surveillance.

An isolation centre was created by NCDC and the epidemiological team of the states Ministry of Health to control the spread of the virus.

About 49 other persons who had been in contact with the persons infected with the virus are also being tracked by health experts.

The Bayelsa State Commissioner of Health, Ebitimitula Etebu, who had earlier confirmed suspicion of the disease, said samples of patients had been sent to a laboratory in Dakar, Senegal for confirmation.

He described monkeypox as a viral illness caused by a group of viruses that include smallpox and chicken pox.

Recently in Bayelsa, we noticed a suspected outbreak of monkeypox. Although it has not been confirmed, we have sent sample to World Health Organisation reference laboratory in Dakar, Senegal. When that comes out we will be sure that it is confirmed. But from all indications, it points towards it, he said.

Mr. Adewole also confirmed that samples from victims had been sent to WHO referral laboratory in Dakar. He, however, called for calm as monkeypox is mild and has no record of mortality.

Also, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, NCDC in a statement on Thursday gave preventive measures on how to avoid the virus.

The measures include: avoiding contact with squirrels, rats and monkeys., especially animals that are sick or found dead in areas where monkeypox occurs; always wash hands with soap and water after contact with animals or when caring for sick human relatives or soiled beddings.

Health care workers are strongly advised to practice universal precautions while handling patients and/or body fluids at all times. They are also urged to be alert, be familiar with the symptoms and maintain a high index of suspicion. All suspected cases should be reported to the Local Government Area or State Disease Surveillance and Notification Officers, the statement read.

The Executive Officer, NCDC, Chikwe Ihekweazu, also advised that health workers must continue to manage their patients without fear.

As long as universal infection prevention and control practices are strictly adhered to by all clinical staff, the chances of transmission are minimal, he said.

Although there is no specific medicine to treat the disease, when intensive supportive care is provided most patients recover fully.

Source: ( Premium Times )
A 35-year-old man, identified as Olowo Ismaila, was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment by an Ado Ekiti High Court for raping a minor. In the judgment, the presiding judge, Dele Omotoso, said the prosecution proved its case against him beyond reasonable doubt.

Mr. Omotoso held that the evidence before the court, including the medical report, proved that Mr. Ismaila committed the crime.

He said the sentence would start counting from April 14, 2016 when he was first remanded in prison custody for the offence.

Mr. Ismaila committed the crime on February 1, 2016 in Iluomoba-Ekiti, Gbonyin Local Government Area of Ekiti State.

The prosecution counsel, Akinola Abon, during the trial, called witnesses and tendered exhibits, but the convict gave evidence in his own defence.

Mr. Abon in his reaction said the verdict would deter others who would engage in sexual offences including the rape of minors.

The defence counsel, Babatunde Falade, said he would consult with his client on whether to appeal the judgment.

Source: ( Premium Times )
The Police Command in Adamawa has confirmed that a mob killed a police inspector on Thursday along the Wuro-Dole-Pariya Road in Girei Local Government area of the state.

The commands Spokesman, Othman Abubakar, a superintendent of police, said the incident occurred following a misunderstanding between some passengers and a routine patrol team along the road.

Mr. Abubakar who did not give details of the misunderstanding simply said that it led to the deceased opening fire which resulted in the killing of the passenger.

He said the late inspector was mobbed to death, adding that the police had recovered his corpse and gun with eight rounds of live ammunition.

An eyewitness, who simply identified himself as Sadiq, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the incident followed a disagreement over a N50 bribe.

According to him, the driver of the vehicle in which the late passenger was travelling in offered a N50 bribe to the policemen but they insisted on collecting N100.

He said that a passenger challenged them and that led to a hot argument and the shooting of the passenger and injuring of another by the inspector.

Angry about what happened, a mob attacked the inspector who was trying to escape and lynched him, Mr. Sadiq said.

Source: (NAN)
Eight long years after killing an unarmed civilian, the Nigerian army has been asked to pay heavily for the criminal action.

According to a Premium Times report, the Federal High Court, Lagos Division, has awarded N85.5 million as damages against the Nigerian Army for the assault and killing of one Olajide Enilari, a flour merchant.

The judgement came eight years after the deceased, Mr. Enilari, died from a brutal assault by soldiers in 2009 and the case was brought before the court by a human rights campaign organization, Access to Justice.

According to details of a court judgement seen by Premium Times, dated September 26, the judge, I. N. Buba, ruled that the assault which led to the death of Mr. Enilari was wrong and unlawful.

The suit was filed on April 28, 2009, on behalf of the family of late Mr. Enilari, the plaintiffs. The suit was instituted against the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff, the Attorney General of the Federation and 3 others.

Mr. Enilari was brutally assaulted by officers of the Nigerian Army on January 27, 2009 along Airways junction in Apapa, Lagos. Due to head injuries sustained during the assault, Mr. Olajide died on January 29, 2009, in Lagos.

Witness accounts said that Mr. Enilari was standing by his truck driver at the Airways junction in Apapa, when a vehicle suddenly hit him. The deceased ran to stop the driver of the vehicle from fleeing, but the occupants of the vehicle  who were military personnel  alighted from the vehicle and beat him with the iron butts of their belts and an iron rod found on the side of the road.

When the case commenced in the Federal High Court of Lagos State, the defendants raised the issue of self-defence, alleging that the deceased first hit the military personnel driving the vehicle and ran away.

The defence counsel argued that it was in the course of manhandling the deceased that an angry mob gathered with dangerous weapons, attacked the officers, who then used the deceased as a human shield, to ward off the crowd at the scene of the crime.

But after careful consideration of the evidence (oral and documentary) of the parties in the suit, however, the court found no merit in this defence. The court was of the view that it was inconceivable that an armed mob would attack military officers for merely apprehending a civilian and likewise incomprehensible that none of the officers sustained any injury from the attack.

The court thereby ruled that the assault, which resulted in the death of the deceased was unlawful, wrong and a gross violation of the deceaseds right to life.

Similarly, the court ruled that the failure of the Nigerian Armed Forces to ensure that the deceased was given medical care from the injury inflicted on him was a gross violation of his right to life. It also ruled that the death of Mr. Enilari was a consequence of the assault he suffered at the hands of the defendants.

The court, therefore, ordered the defendants to pay N50 million as aggravated damages, jointly and severally.

It also ordered the payment of N295,000 as special damages to cover for the deceased burial expenses.

Similarly, the court also gave an order granting the plaintiffs N35 million for loss and pain caused them by the brutal assault on the deceased which led to his death; and the cost of N250,000 in favour of the plaintiffs. The total payable amount pegged was N85,545 000.

Reacting to the judgment, Chinelo Chinweze, Senior Programme Officer at Access to Justice expressed delight at the court verdict, adding that the organisation hopes the judgement will help scale-back a deeply entrenched climate of impunity within security agencies in the country.

This climate of impunity feeds the recklessness and unlawfulness of the actions of security forces and law enforcement agencies in varied contexts, she said.

We see it in Mr. Enilaris case but it is also seen in the conduct of counter-terrorism warfare in the North-east; in the brutal crackdown against members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, (i.e. Shiites) and of IPOB members.

The organisation, however, said it was saddened that it took nearly nine years after the incident to reach the milestone.

For many victims of human rights abuses, this time standard is just enough to discourage them from pursuing redress and justice for acts of impunity. We need to reform our judicial procedures to reduce the time taken to meet basic justice needs and deliver needed services, Mrs. Chinweze said.
Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola AKA DJ Cuppy has in wittiness, reacted to reports of her breakup with Nigerian striker, Victor Anichebe.

Gossips had been all over social media that her relationship with the striker ended and that she also threw him out of a hotel room in Dubai.

She has now reacted with a cute photo of her and Anichebe, writing:
Music legend, Femi Kuti has revealed one of his fondest memories of his father, Fela Anikulapo Kuti to be when he used to help the Afrobeat Legend write down some of his inspired lyrics as, Fela used the toilet.

When asked what his most memorable moment was, the music icon had a tough time answering.

So manybecause he (Fela) was a fun guy. A funny man. Its not possible to just say one. I have so many other memorable moments with my father as he was a special character, Femi recalled.

He also revealed that he wrote Teacher Dont Teach Me Nonsense song in one of those moments.

See video below:

This comes just a few days to the world famous festival, Felabration wherein millions of Nigerians will come together to celebrate the life and times of Nigerias foremost musical legend, the late Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

The annual festival, which kicks off on Monday, October, 9 will run for one week and end on Sunday, October 15; which coincides with Felas birthday. This years festival is themed The Prophecy.

Nigerias fastest growing stout brand, Legend Extra Stout will be joining the huge weeklong musical event in Nigeria. The festival attracts thousands of visitors annually from all over the world to the New Africa Shrine and is an official tourist destination of The Lagos State Government.

Legend Extra Stouts support for the festival is aimed at reinforcing the brands ideal and quality. The brand also hopes to connect with its existing and targeted consumers who will experience the unique bitter tasting stout in the midst of the fun and excitement that comes with the festival.

Every year Felabration features an exciting lineup of artistes and this year will not be an exception. To find out more about Legends presence at Felabration, follow Legend on Twitter, instagram, Facebook and join the conversation using the hashtag #FelabrationwithLegend.

Source  TheNet
Former president Goodluck Jonathan on Friday said his convening of a National Conference in 2014 was a major factor that doused tensions across Nigeria prior to and after the general elections one year later.

Mr. Jonathan said this while giving his remarks at the opening panel of the Dialogue of Civilisations, Multipolarity and Dialogue in Regional and Global Developments, Rhodes Forums 15th Anniversary Summit in Greece.

When I was in office as President, I championed the cause for good governance, transparent elections and peaceful power transfers, because I also believed that at the heart of the dialogue for a more peaceful world, is the need to cultivate a culture of democracy and good governance at the national levels. This is a good way to reduce local tensions that could blossom into global crisis, said Mr. Jonathan, who was the lead discussant.

Other members of the panel were former French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin; former President of Mali, Dioncounda Traore; Professor of Globalisation, Ian Goldin; and President of Infowatch Group, Natalya Kaspersky.

Mr. Jonathan said dialogue is an essential tool in preventing or resolving communal conflicts.

In Nigeria, through a process of dialogue, we arrived at an amnesty programme that brought an end to the crisis in the Niger Delta, an oil-rich region in my country that accounts for all the oil wells that remain the mainstay of Nigerias economy.

Sometime in 2014, I had a thought in my mind. Nigeria is easily the most ethnically and religiously heterogeneous society in Africa, and one of the most diverse nations in the world.

Many times, these different ethnic groups are pulling in diverse directions that as a leader, you may experience genuine fears that the centre may not hold.

At that time, I asked myself, how can I as President, help build a more harmonious union in Nigeria. One based on the words of our National Anthem which ends with to build a nation where peace and justice shall reign.

To address this I convened a National Conference where the various ethnic groups and other stakeholders deliberated for five months on the future of the country. They had the mandate to discuss and advise the Government on all matters pertaining to our nationhood, except the sovereignty of the country.

On Thursday August 21, 2014, I received the report. Our general elections came up six months after the national conference. The confidence and national goodwill the conference inspired, helped bring down the tension during and after the general elections. It was a confidence-boosting outcome, despite the predictions by some international bodies that Nigeria was going to disintegrate in 2015.

There is one important point people often overlook whenever the issue of global peace arises. There can be no peace at the global level if there is no peace in the heart, conscience and character of leaders of nations.

Making a case for the reform and democratisation of the United Nations in order to make it more representative and responsive to the security challenges, the former president called on the body to change its method of dialogue.

The present situation where one nation, out of 193 nations, can upturn the decision of the Security Council, has not been helpful in galvanising the confidence and mutuality, necessary to bring peace to the world, Mr. Jonathan said.

If anything, the system, which has remained unreviewed in over half a century, has been more effective in opening new frontiers for conflicts, rather than providing answers to the ones it sought to resolve.

The Security Council of the United Nations must be democratised, in view of new global realities, in the interest of peace. As presently constituted, the UN is portrayed as a platform where nations come to quarrel and display their might, instead of its statutory role, as a forum for unity and world peace.

Mr. Jonathan said for the world to experience sustainable peace, effective leadership must come from the UN.

The UN that would inspire this kind of leadership should ensure equity, with leading nations and power centres representing different regions of the world, sitting at the Security Council as permanent members.

In Africa, the restructuring of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) to African Union (AU), coupled with the formation of the regional blocks such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), ECOWAS and SADCC has helped reduce conflicts significantly. This has given the continent a glimmer of hope in the way it applies dialogue as an instrument of regional peace and development.

In West Africa where I come from, ECOWAS and my nation Nigeria has resolved, as well as prevented, many conflicts and stabilised and strengthened democracy in many countries in the sub-region. Some of the countries we were able to stabilise are Liberia, Sierra Leone, Niger, Cote DIvoire, Mali, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso and The Gambia. We were able to achieve this because of intense and purposeful dialogue.

In ECOWAS, we have not only adopted dialogue as a productive means of resolving political conflicts and violence, but have also moved many steps towards economic integration. I believe that successes have been recorded in this regard with the policy on free movement of persons and goods, similar to what obtains within the EU countries. We were able to achieve all these through a process of sincere dialogue
After the meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, the minister has decided to remain silent after the meeting.

He had met behind closed doors with the President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Kachikwu, who arrived Aso Rock around 11.30a. m. left around 12:50 p.m

He simply said No comment when approached by journalists as he walked out of the Presidents office with the Special Adviser to the President on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina.

The minister had alleged that $25 billion contracts have been wrongly awarded by the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru.

His protest was contained in a letter to the President, which somehow got leaked to the public on Tuesday.

Apart from the Senate mandating its committee to probe the matter, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had demanded for Barus sack.

Source: ( PM News )
The local government elections to be held on December 30 in Kaduna State has been postponed indefinitely by the Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission (Kad -SIECON).

The Chairperson of the commission, Saratu Dikko made the announcement after an emergency meeting with the state House of Assembly Committee on Judiciary in Kaduna.

The elections have been postponed, she told newsmen after the meeting.

According to her, the postponement was necessary as the assembly has not passed the new law to guide the election.

So when the law is passed and signed into law by the governor we will make a new announcement on the election, she said.

Also, Chairman of the committee, Mr Kantiok Ishaku, said it was erroneous for the commission to announce a date for local council elections when the assembly had not concluded work on the law for the election.

We have told them to tarry a while until the necessary amendment to the Independent Electoral Commission Law of 2012 is concluded, the chairman said.

Source: ( PM News )
The government of Nigeria insists that Indigenous People of Biafra and Nnamdi Kanu, their leader, must be called and treated as terrorists. This question should never be discussed again, he says.

Lai Mohammed, the Nigerian Minister of Information, talked about this in an interview with BBC Focus Africa on October 27, 2017. He was also disappointed that the United States did not share the Nigerian government`s opinion about IPOB.

All statements and acts of Indigenous People of Biafra are real were acts of the terrorist organization. Nnamdi Kanu was recorded saying that they wanted to get Biafra by force. If they fail to get Biafra, Somalia will be a heaven with the kind of disorder, the minister stated.

Lai Mohammed also added that Nigeria was very disappointed on the US official position on IPOB. It is very unlucky. If countries make a decision to choose which organizations can be called terrorists and which cannot, every state must collaborate to guarantee that terrorism does not struggle, told Lai Mohammed.

The BBC journalist asked him why more aggressive groups similar to armed herdsmen who have murdered hundreds of Nigerians were not named terrorists.

I told you that when any group of people makes a decision to set up a parallel government; when a group of people frankly asks for arms all over the world; when a group of individuals publishes own passport and currency, and there is not anything wrongthen it turns into a different thing, added Lai Mohammed.

The journalist also asked whether he worried that IPOB could be driven underground, become a militarized militant because he called them terrorists. Mohammed immediately answered that Nigeria was so breakable that if they allowed that type of things to continue and there were retaliation attacks on other parts of Nigeria, the entire country would be endangered.

Source: NAIJA.ng News
A 25-year-old male hairdresser, Izuma Ajaere was sentenced to death by an Ikeja High Court, in Lagos on Wednesday for stealing a laptop and a mobile phone at gunpoint.

Justice Kudirat Jose found the convict Izuma Ajaere guilty as charged and ordered that he should be hung by the neck until he dies.

Jose in her judgment noted that the evidence of Mr Uchenna Ukah, the victim of the crime was pivotal in convicting Ajaere.

She said,

The prosecution has proved the charge of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and armed robbery beyond a reasonable doubt.

The defendant is hereby sentenced to death for conspiracy to commit armed robbery and sentenced to death for armed robbery.

He is to be hanged by the neck till he is dead, may the Lord have mercy on his soul, the Judge said. She said, Ukah in his testimony was, clear and emphatic about the series of events of the armed robbery.

Source  Ebiwalismoment
As many as over three hundred Nigerians have been stranded in the Central African country of Cameroon as it closes its borders.

It has been revealed that over 300 people are stranded at the Nigeria-Cameroon border at Mfum, following the closure of the border at the entry point of Cameroon by the Cameroonian authorities.

According to the Nigerian Tribune, the closure of the border by the Cameroonian authorities may not be unconnected with the political struggle in the country, where the English speaking people of Southern Cameroon are calling for a separate country as a result of marginalisation by the Francophone speaking north.

The people of South Cameroon had threatened to declare a sovereign state on October 1, a situation that may have prompted the authorities of Cameroon to restrict the movement of people to and from the country.

A team of journalists on a fact finding visit to Mfum border observed that several people including traders, students and other passengers who wanted to cross the border on both sides were stranded.

Some of those who spoke on the situation described the development as inhuman and very frustrating.

A student of higher institute of Business Management and Technology, Boyah, Alele Precious Ezinne, who said she was returning to Cameroon from Nigeria decried the hardship posed by the border closure.

She said they had spent over a week waiting for the border to be re-opened and complained that most of them did not understand the reason for the closure.

Some of them said they were facing challenges of feeding and paying their hotel bills as they have spent all they had on them.

They called on the authorities concerned to take steps to re-open the border so that they can reconnect with their families and carry out their legitimate businesses.

A house wife, Caroline Lerin, with her two children said she was travelling from Nigeria through Cameroon to Gabon to join her husband after spending the holiday with her children in Nigeria.

She said she had gone through difficulties with her children and called for urgent steps to re-open the border.

Some of the traders said they may incur great loses as their goods may go bad, adding that they were not sure when the border will be re-open.

The priest in charge of Saint Peters Catholic Church, Ikom, Very Reverend Father James Mgbado, who has been harbouring some of those stranded said most of them who came into Nigeria could no longer cross over due to the closure of the border.

He said the church also played host to some stranded Congolese who crossed from Cameroon to Nigeria as a result of the crisis in Cameroon, adding that about seven persons were still under his care, out of over thirty people that were there.

Father James Mgbado said the church also haboured some tourists from Argentina who were on transit to Cameroon and that the church continues to play its role, giving people hope in spite of the challenges.

The priest said the church is the house of God and a place of refuge for humanity, adding that the church remains a place of succour for those in need.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Walter Onnoghen on Friday led a delegation of Supreme Court judges to meet President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Vanguard newspaper reports that the judges arrived at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa about 12:38pm while President Buhari was still meeting with the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.

As at press time, the agenda for the meeting between the Judges and the President was not made public but Aso Rock watchers say it might not be unconnected with the fight against corruption in the country and the role of judges.

Justice Onnoghen recently directed the head of judicial divisions to set up special courts to treat corruption cases.

President has also accused the judiciary of not giving enough support to his crusade to reduce corruption in the country.

Source:( PM News )
As many as four children and six adults have been burned alive by a security guard after the man stormed a school and set it on fire.

A security guard has carried out a horrific arson attack at a school in Brazil. Four toddlers and six adults were burned alive and 40 people have been injured after the attack.

According to Daily Mail UK, the guard threw gasoline over children at the nursery, and over himself then set the fuel on fire at the Innocent Childrens People Municipal Education Centre in Janauba, in Minas Gerias, south east Brazil, police say.

The security guard has been named as 50-year-old Damiao Soares dos Santos.

Harrowing footage from outside the nursery shows desperate parents in tears as emergency crews work at the scene.

The the security guard allegedly responsible for the attack is believed to have died in hospital after the attack this morning.

Some residents have claimed the suspect was a night watchman who had been sacked by the nursery and came back for revenge. But this motive is yet to be confirmed by investigators.

The Frangipani Regional Hospital has reported that 40 people including children and adults are being treated for a range of burns, breathing difficulties and injuries.

Fifteen victims with life threatening injuries have been sent to the capital Belo Horizonte where hospital facilities are more able to cope than than those in the small city where the tragedy occurred.

Lieutenant Colonel John Aparecido Nascimento, commander of Military Police told local news media: The situation has caused a great deal of commotion in the city.

We believe a security guard at the nursery set himself on fire and set fire to children in the kindergarten.

Police rescue helicopters were dispatched to support the emergency services.
Two members of a five-man robbery gang in the Igando area of the state have been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command, Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

The suspects  Abraham Robinson and Seyi Shomefun  were arrested after robbing the manager of sachet water factory, Hamadig Pure Water Company, on Aminat Burdge Street, Igando.

It was reported that the robbery was masterminded by a worker at the factory, identified as Israel.

It was said that Israel, who is still on the run, had told the gang that he was broke and needed some money.

He reportedly invited the gang members to attack his boss, Yusuf, with an agreement that he would be given part of the loot.

Our correspondent gathered that the manager was preparing to leave the factory on September 13, 2017, when the assailants struck, and allegedly dispossessed him of N200,000.

A police source told our correspondent on Thursday that the manager managed to escape from the scene and raised the alarm, which led to the arrest of one of the robbers, Robinson.

The source said, Israel is a casual worker at Hamadig Pure Water Company in Igando. He contacted Shomefun to bring robbers to the company to rob his manager. Shomefun went to the Mowo area, Badagry, to get other gang members. They are one Akin, aka BJ; Robinson and one other.

Shomefun had earlier parked his Honda Accord on the companys premises in order to study the managers movement. On that day, at about 8.30pm, the robbers came. They successfully robbed their victim of N200,000.

He was lucky to escape from the robbers and raised the alarm and Robinson was eventually arrested. His confession led to the arrest of the second suspect, Shomefun, who also confessed to his roles in the crime.

The source added that the car with number plate, KSF 204 BS, used by the gang to spy had been recovered.

Somefun, 37, told PUNCH Metro that, Israel engaged him to plan the robbery. He, however, added that he did not participate in the operation.

He said, I am a sculptor. My friend, Seyi, who is working at the factory, asked me to arrange some boys to rob his boss. He said he was broke. I contacted BJ, who invited two of his friends. But I was not around on the day they went for the operation. We did not have the intention to harm the man. We only wanted to get some money from him.

Robinson, a father of two children, stated that he had planned to use his share of the robbery proceed to start a business.

He said, I was a commercial driver. I lost the job some months ago and met with BJ to help me get another job. He asked me to come to his house in Badagry. When I visited him, he told me that he and some people were planning a robbery operation at a sachet water factory in Igando and he asked me to join them.

He said if we succeeded in the operation, I would get enough money to start a business. But unfortunately, I was arrested that evening. I want the police to have mercy on me. I have never participated in this kind of thing before.

The PolicePublic Relations Officer in Lagos State, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, said investigations were ongoing on the case, adding that the command had intensified efforts to arrest the fleeing members of the gang.

In a related incident, the command arrested one Fosta Rufus and Olufemi Franklin for allegedly posing as Uber drivers to rob women of jewellery, expensive phones and Automated Teller Machine cards at gunpoint.

The Acting Commissioner of Police in the state, Edgar Imohimi, said a sum of N86,000 allegedly withdrawn from a victims Access Bank account was recovered from the suspects.

The CP added, They also admitted to have participated in three armed robberies. One KIA Rio with number plate, BDG 376 EP, used in perpetrating the crime and other valuables, including Samsung Galaxy 7edge Plus, iPone 6 Plus, collected from one Nancy Nzuobo and Julie Eze, were recovered from the suspects.

Source: ( Punch Newspaper )
A suspected criminal has been arraigned by operatives of the Lagos State Environmental Sanitation and Special Offences Unit (Task Force) for stabbing an officer of the Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps, LNSC and his niece at Ilasamaja area of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

The Chairman of the agency, Olayinka Egbeyemi said that preliminary investigation revealed that the suspected criminal stabbed the officer, Aderemo Ramoni and his niece, Adeyemi Ridwan with scissors at different spots on their head after he was caught scaling a fence into a neighbours compound at Fiditi Street, Ilasamaja, Lagos on 4 October, 2017.

According to Egbeyemi, when the officer could not only handled the suspected criminal after he was stabbed, he called his niece who supported him and took him to the nearest police station.

He noted that the synergy between the Nigerian Police and other security/enforcement officers of the State on curbing criminal activities had been yielding maximum cooperation across Lagos.

Egbeyemi enjoined members of the public to always give useful information on any noticeable criminal hideouts/activities around their area, adding that when you see something say something.

He, however, confirmed that the Lagos State Commissioner of Police Imohimi Edgar directed that the suspected criminal be charge to court after he was briefed about the incident.

He quoted the Commissioner of Police to have said an Injury to any is injury to all

The suspected criminal, Chigozie Okoro, 29, who hailed from Imo State in a confessional statement to the agency confirmed to have stabbed the officer and his niece with scissors when he was caught.

He, however, pleaded for leniency and promised never to indulge in any criminal acts again if pardoned by the government.

Dr. Fatai Musa of God Hope Medical Centre at No. 10 Bankole Street, Ilasamaja who treated the victims later referred them to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) for further examination on their heads due to complications over series of injury sustained.

Meanwhile, Okoro, who was arraigned on Friday at the Lagos State Mobile Court sitting in Oshodi pleaded not guilty to a 3-count charge of assault, breach of peace and obstructing of government official leveled against him.

Magistrate Tosin Ojuromi who presided over the case, however, granted the suspects bail in the sum N100,000 each with two sureties in like sum, who must be gainfully employed with evidence of tax payment.

Ojuromi included in her bail conditions that one of the sureties must be above 40 years of age and with a full size photograph.

The Prosecuting Counsel, Adedoyin Odukoya disclosed that seven witnesses appeared during the trial of the case.

The case was adjourned to 23 October, 2017 for further hearing.

Source: ( PM News )
Workers under the aegies of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) disrupted business activities at the MTN Abuja corporate office on Friday, demanding improved welfare conditions for workers.

The NLC President, Ayuba Wabba said the multinational company has refused to allow their workers, majority of whom, he said are casualised to belong to a union.

Source: ( PM News )
Inside Self-Storage (ISS) and Janus International Group have released a new publication titled, Case Study: Tri-Village Self Storage Offers a Tasteful Balance to Downtown Columbus Market. The free downloadable PDF highlights the challenges faced while building this six-story facility in a busy market.

The study explains how the owners overcame a variety of obstacles such as building on a small land parcel, dealing with inclement weather and getting permit approval. It also provides details about the facility itself, which includes wine storage and a wine-tasting room, a diverse unit mix, and advanced technology,

This and other case studies can be downloaded from the Whitepapers page of the ISS Resource Center. Another recent Janus whitepaper, Case Study: Top Self Storage Proves Why It's Tops in Miami, can be downloaded from the same page.

Headquartered in Temple, Ga., Janus has eight U.S. locations as well as manufacturing facilities in Europe and Mexico. The company is owned by Saw Mill Capital Partners LP, a New York-based private equity investment fund managed by Saw Mill Capital LLC.

For more than 25 years, ISS has provided informational resources for the self-storage industry. Its educational offerings include ISS magazine, the annual ISS World Expo, an extensive website, the ISS Store, and Self-Storage Talk, the industrys largest online community.
Simply Self Storage (SSS), which owns or manages 210 self-storage facilities in the United States and Puerto Rico, has acquired a facility in Seattle, its first in Washington. The property at 2811 N.W. Market St. is north of Salmon Bay in the Ballard neighborhood, which includes the citys Scandinavian seafaring community. Its next to the Portage Bay Cafe, and across from Marine Lenders Services LLC and the Republic Parking 30-241 Jacobson Terminals Lot.

The facility comprises more than 85,000 total rentable square feet of storage space in 577 climate-controlled and drive-up units. Property features include security cameras, keypad entry, and a retail store that sells moving and packing supplies.

Our Market Street Seattle location marks the first footprint in the beginning of our expansion to the West Coast, said CEO Kurt OBrien. We are excited about offering world-class service to the residents and businesses of Seattle, and we look forward to other openings in Washington and other locations along the Pacific.

Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Orlando, Fla., SSS properties comprise more than 16 million square feet of storage space. The company is looking to aggressively grow its development pipeline, with projects underway in California, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Washington.
Insurers definitely recognise the value of brokers, despite the rise of direct challenges, an expert has said.A recent EY survey found that more than 40% of Australian brokers see direct-to-consumer channels as a significant or major threat to their businesses, but Imran Ahmed, EY Oceania insurance customer and growth solution leader, said that it is important for insurers to balance their distribution approach.Many insurers, there are some that are exclusive, but many have a multi-channel strategy and for them it is really important that they balance those channels, Ahmed told Insurance Business. Yes they recognise that some consumers do want to buy direct but there are others that have more complex needs that do need advice and therefore the broker can play a key role.I think understanding that first and foremost is really important.EY found that rather than competing against each other, brokers and insurers should look to use a multichannel approach to create new opportunities for collaboration.Those relationships that feel slightly antagonistic, if you like, as opposed to collaborative, will be more challenging because brokers and insurers need to take a cold hard look at what processes are most important to each party, think about it in a mature way so that they are joined up seamlessly and that the customer at the end of the day gets the best possible experience, Ahmed continued.The customer will vote with their feet and if brokers and insurers arent collaborating to deliver the best experience then that is not going to go well.For those that do still see direct as a major threat to their business, Ahmed said that a distinct value proposition will be the most important aspect of differentiation.That distinctive proposition could be convenience, aspects of the product, tailored propositions distinct to segments - but it has to be distinctive and has to be focused, Ahmed noted. Those that are focused will thrive going forward, whereas those that are less focused clearly wont do so.
A driver in Germany has had his supercar nibbled by a curious donkey after parking his carrot-coloured McLaren too close to a farmers field.The driver, a businessman named Markus Zahn, parked his supercar next to the paddock in Vogelsberg, central Germany, before Vitus the donkey took a liking to the McLaren 650S Spider, which would set you back close to $500,000.Upon returning to his car, Zahn looked in his rear view mirror, and to his surprise, saw Vitus taking a bite out of the rear bumper, The Daily Mail reports.Vituss nibble caused close to $50,000 worth of damage and while Zahns insurer agreed to pay for the bulk of the claim, the driver was left with a bill close to $9,000.The donkey obviously thought he had stumbled upon a giant carrot! Zahn said, according to The Daily Mail.Zahns insurer refused to pay the full cost of damage as it claimed the driver was partly to blame for parking next to the curious donkeys paddock.The donkeys owner agreed and refused to pay the remaining bill but Zahn headed to the courts to recoup his losses.The state court in Giessen sided with Zahn and ordered the donkeys owner to reimburse the driver the money not covered by insurance.
MS&AD Insurance Group is acquiring 5% of the outstanding shares of Swiss Re s ReAssure Jersey One Limited (ReAssure), and over time will subscribe new shares to increase the Japanese firms stake up to 15%.The initial 5% share acquisition is worth 175 million, with MS&AD committing to invest  within a three-year period from closing  as much as 800 million (AU$1.347 billion) into ReAssures equity. ReAssure is a UK closed life book consolidator within the Swiss Re Life Capital business unit.The commitment to invest the additional 625 million will be satisfied through the issuance of primary equity to MS&AD (based on the same valuation formula) as ReAssure undertakes transactions in the future, explained parent Swiss Re. Once the 15% shareholding threshold is reached, both Swiss Re and MS&AD will subscribe to any further equity injection into ReAssure on a pro rata basis.The Japanese insurer said it considers it an attractive opportunity to participate in the consolidation dynamics of the UK closed life market. The UK is the largest and most mature life insurance market in Europe with the closed book life business as a promising area, providing ample growth potential for ReAssure, it noted.This is a positive step and gives us greater capacity for future deals, commented ReAssure chief executive Matt Cuhls. The UK closed book market is expected to offer significant consolidation opportunities in the near future.Life Capital chief executive Thierry Leger, on the other hand, said: I am delighted that we partner with a like-minded, long-term investor that will invest with us side-by-side. He added that the closed book business is a core component of Swiss Res overall strategy.The initial acquisition, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018. Swiss Re said no further regulatory approvals are expected to be required for the additional MS&AD investments.
Any plans for November?Were sure that working hard will be top of your agenda  but what if you could work hard in Miami  as well as making all sorts of great new business connections, receiving the insights of countless industry experts, and hearing about the future of flood insurance so that you can help your clients in the year ahead?Look no further than the a must-attend summit that aims to tackle head-on the major issues facing the private flood sector.This day-long event features up-to-the-minute insight from industry representatives, new developments direct from innovators, and the opportunity to explore innovative new products and the gaps they address in todays private flood market.Anyone who works in private flood cant fail to notice the impact that climate change is having on the planets weather. Flood risk assessment and hazard management are truly global concerns, meaning there are few events more timely than the Future of Flood  and few that give insurance professionals such a great chance to unite in response. Not to mention  of course  such a great chance to visit Miami!takes place aton. If youre interested (and why wouldnt you be?), be sure to grab your tickets as soon as possible
Environment commissioner Julie Gelfand has warned that the federal government is ill-prepared for the impact climate change will have on the country.The commissioners autumn annual report sought to find out if Ottawa was ready and able to protect over $66 billion in federal assets like bridges, roads and airports, while still providing services when disasters such as fires, floods, and storms strike.The federal government is not prepared to deal with the impacts of climate change that we are all feeling right now, Gelfand said, relaying the findings of her report in a news conference.According to Gelfand, the lack of federal preparation is her biggest concern. Only five of the 19 departments she audited for the report have even figured out where the risks are from climate change, let alone how to mitigate such risks.Gelfand said that Transport Canada was the gold standard in both assessing risk and preparing for such risks. The department has identified concerns such as ports being affected by rising sea levels and railways impacted by severe cold or thawing permafrost.The remaining 14 departments, which include national Defense and Infrastructure Canada, all said that while it would be nice to identify climate change risks, they have not done anything about it.The Canadian Press also reported that Gelfand was critical of the federal government for constantly promising to cut down on emissions, but not actually going forward with its pledges.Climate change is one of the defining issues of this century, she said. It will require a whole of government approach. Its time to move from planning to action.
Brown & Brown has plans to build a new 10-storey office building along north Beach Street in Daytona Beach, Florida.The new building is estimated to generate 600 new jobs in the region that would pay an average of over $41,300 and create a $33 million annual payroll. It is projected that the new office would have an annual economic impact of $237 million on the local community.The insurance company shared its plans with city commissioners on Wednesday as part of its request for financial assistance from the municipality, The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.The costs for building construction and land acquisition are at $35 million total. Brown & Brown hoped to receive $14.58 million in assistance from the city, county, and state.We believe this is a partnership, Brown & Brown president and CEO J. Powell Brown told the commissioners. We believe its a great long-term impact to our community.The company settled on a request for $4.5 million from the city for infrastructure improvements and $1.08 million worth of property tax abatement over a decade.Brown and his father, Brown & Brown chairman of the board J. Hyatt Brown, announced their plans for the new global headquarters of their company last September. Construction work on the 10.5 acre site is expected to begin next year, with the goal to open by late 2020.Although the new location will offer more space, Brown & Brown plans to keep about 325 employees in its existing building on South Ridgewood Avenue.
The devastation caused by hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria will hurt insurance companies earnings  but may boost insurance brokers stocks, according to JPMorgan.We think industry insured losses from the 3Q hurricanes will approach or exceed $100bn, which should be sufficient to result in higher property insurance and reinsurance prices given it would wide out most of the industrys excess capital, JPMorgan analyst Sarah DeWitt wrote in a note to clients.Property insurance premiums saw a 10% spike following hurricanes in 2005, DeWitt wrote. She predicted that US property insurance premiums would see another double-digit spike starting in January, according to a CNBC report.The rise in property insurance and reinsurance prices could held the insurance brokers which should benefit from higher prices with none of the losses, DeWitt wrote. Although the (insurance broker) stocks are up following the hurricanes, we think the increase in prices could be higher than the consensus expects.DeWitt recommended shares of Aon and Marsh & McLennan, raising her price target for Aon shares from $155 to $165 and for Marsh & McLennan shares from $90 to $95, CNBC reported.However, DeWitt cut her earnings-per-share estimates for several property insurance and reinsurance companies by more than 100% because of the hurricanes.
USI Insurance Services has expanded its Independence, Ohio, office with the hiring of Michael Cunningham and Brent Hyer.Cunningham joins the company as an employee benefits consultant. Prior to joining USI, he was an account executive with Liazon, a private benefits exchange company that is part of a large insurance brokerage. He has also served as a district sales coordinator for Aflac.Hyer joins the company as a junior account manager. He is graduating in 2018 from Utah State University with a degree in economics.We are excited to announce the addition of two talented individuals, said Kate Bang, president of the USI Cleveland office. At USI, we support each persons unique contributions to the team and look for opportunities to help each other grow and thrive.USI is a national insurance brokerage and consulting firm headquartered in New York. The company has more than $1 billion in revenue and employs more than 4,400 people in 140 local offices across the country.
A number of Louisiana legislators and interest groups are up in arms over changes to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) included in the federal administrations request for emergency hurricane relief money.The Trump administration is asking Congress to prevent the NFIP from issuing new policies to cover new homes or businesses in any flood zone. If passed, the provision could have dire consequences for residents of coastal Louisiana.In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said that the NFIP is simply not fiscally sustainable in its current form. Mulvaney then outlined several other changes to the programs rules.One of Mulvaneys proposals was to maintain subsidized insurance rates for low-income homeowners, but paired with accelerated premium increases for policyholders who can afford to pay risk-based rates.The White House is also looking to increase the governments authority to revoke policies on properties that have been flooded in repeatedly.Mulvaneys letter does not lay out specific details of the proposed federal policy changes, The Advocate reported, but a bill to provide hurricane relief and address the NFIPs cash shortfall is expected to be introduced next week.The letter discusses some changes that could lead to higher rates in Louisiana, or even remove homeowners from the flood program altogether. Some of the proposed changes are things the state congressional delegation has staunchly opposed for years.Caitlin Berni, Greater New Orleans Inc. vice-president of policy and communications, commented that the exclusion of newly-constructed buildings in flood zones is a major concern.Berni noted that most of south Louisiana falls into designated flood zones. The exclusion would make it almost impossible for potential homebuyers in those areas to take out a mortgage, and any new development or construction in those zones would be halted.Thats a non-starter for us, she said.Berni argued that newly constructed homes in flood zones are actually at lower risk of flood, since they have more rigid elevation requirements than existing properties.The letter also proposed changing the rules to allow private insurance companies to easily offer flood insurance policies for homeowners. On paper, the provision makes sense, but legislators are concerned that insurers might end up cherry-picking the lowest-risk properties, leaving the NFIP to pick up the rest of the slack and potentially put itself in even worse financial shape.Hurricane Katrina in 2005 put the NFIP on the ropes, forcing the program to go into $17 billion in debt to pay off claims. The program is still reeling to this day, particularly after dealing with the recent hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
A coalition of insurance firms agreed on Friday to crack down on pirate fishing by banning coverage for trawlers whose illegal catches are worth at least $10 billion a year.

Firms would deny insurance for vessels on a European Union blacklist of ships involved in illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing around the world. More than 100 vessels are on the current list.

Until now, legal loopholes in defining pirate fishing have sometimes enabled trawler owners to gain insurance for vessels that harm global fish stocks. The EU list gives a common benchmark for outlawing vessels.

More than 20 companies agreed the measures in a deal sponsored by Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, AXA , Generali, Hanseatic Underwriters and the Shipowners Club. The plan was also backed by the United Nations.

We will encourage the adoption of measures that help to reduce and eliminate IUU fishing, they said in a statement released at an international conference on protecting the oceans in Malta.

They agreed to not knowingly insure or facilitate the insuring of vessels that have been officially blacklisted for their involvement in IUU fishing.

The statement included knowingly because some firms feared they might unwittingly insure a vessel that had recently changed its flag or name to disguise its pirate past.

Scientists have estimated that IUU fishing costs the global economy between $10 billion and $23.5 billion a year, or between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish.

Dana Miller of Oceana, an international non-governmental group which works to protect the seas, said insurers would benefit from the guidelines. Owners of pirate trawlers sometimes scuppered vessels to make bogus insurance claims, she said.

European Union law already bars anyone in the bloc from supporting IUU fishing.

Now the commitment is more global, she told Reuters of Fridays agreement, which is also part of a joint initiative by Oceana and the United Nations on sustainable marine insurance.

The EU blacklist is based on lists drawn up by regional fisheries management organizations worldwide, from the North Atlantic to waters around Antarctica.

Interpol also sometimes issues purple notices about pirate ships, but they are not publicly available. Among other measures, a 2016 U.N. agreement calls on countries to deny port entry for vessels that have been involved in IUU fishing.

(Reporting by Alister Doyle; editing by Keith Weir)

Topics Carriers Europe
Warren Buffett is expanding his wager on Italy.

The billionaires Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said Thursday it agreed to buy about 9 percent of Italian insurer Societa Cattolica di Assicurazioni Scrl from Banca Popolare di Vicenza SpA, one of two failed banks in the northern region of Veneto.

A company controlled by Berkshire is buying the Cattolica shares at 7.35 euros each for a total of 115.9 million euros, according to a statement Thursday. The Verona, Italy-based insurer rose as much as 23 percent, the biggest advance on record, to 9 euros. It traded at 8.42 euros as of 1:46 p.m. in Milan, giving the company a market value of 1.46 billion euros ($1.7 billion).

The purchase follows the December acquisition by Berkshire unit Marmon Holdings Inc. of Modena, Italy-based Zephir SpA, a manufacturer of industrial tractors and vehicles that move train cars in rail yards. Earlier last year, Marmon announced it would buy Italian pasta-equipment maker Dominioni Punto & Pasta Srl and catering-equipment firm Angelo Po.

While Italy, Europes third-largest economy, has been struggling with slow growth, Buffett has long said hes willing to endure sluggish periods at businesses with attractive long-term prospects. And there are signs the outlook is brightening. The economy is starting to pick up and the countrys banking system has stabilized, fueling a boom in initial public offerings thats pushed new listings to the highest level in at least a decade.

The Italian government has said it expects the countrys debt load to fall this year, and Finance Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said last month that the government foresees annual growth in gross domestic product of 1.5 percent this year, as well as in 2018 and 2019. The Treasury boosted its forecast from the 1.1 percent expansion for 2017 predicted in April.

Berkshire, based in Omaha, Nebraska, said Tuesday it bought a stake in Pilot Travel Centers LLC, owner of the Pilot Flying J truck stop chain, and detailed plans to become the Knoxville, Tennessee-based companys biggest shareholder in six years.

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Mergers & Acquisitions Carriers
Insurance brokerage and consulting firm, USI Insurance Services (USI), has added Michael Cunningham and Brent Hyer in its Independence, Ohio, office.

Cunningham joins USI as an employee benefits consultant. Previously, he was an account executive with Liazon, a private benefits exchange company that is part of a large insurance brokerage firm. Cunningham also worked at Aflac as a district sales coordinator. In addition, for the past five years he has been vice president of the American SaddleBred Horse Association of Ohio.

Hyer joins USI as a junior account manager. Hyer is graduating in 2018 from Utah State University in Economics. Prior to joining USI, he was the campus sales lead for Utah State UniversityCampus Store.

USI is headquartered in Valhalla, New York.

Source: USI Insurance Services

Topics Ohio
Motorists are more likely to crash into a deer in the Dakotas than in most other states.

State Farm has released its annual ranking of states in terms of the likelihood of deer-vehicle collisions. The insurer uses claims data and state licensed driver counts from the Federal Highway Administration.

South Dakota ranks sixth in the nation and North Dakota is 10th.

West Virginia tops the list for the 11th year in a row. Montana, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Wisconsin came in second, third, fourth and fifth, respectively, in the ranking of states where deer-vehicle collisions are most likely to occur. Other Midwest states in the top 10 are Minnesota (7) and Michigan (9).

North Dakotas Game and Fish Department says this is the time of year when young deer are dispersing from their home ranges. October through early December is the peak period for deer-vehicle accidents.

Most such crashes happen around dawn and dusk, when deer are most often moving around. Motorists are advised to slow down and use caution.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Auto
President Donald Trump proposed ending federal flood insurance for new homes in areas most at risk of flooding, a change that could curtail new construction in vast parts of Florida, Louisiana and along the Eastern Seaboard.

Trumps plan would radically overhaul the program created in 1968 to help protect homeowners who live along coasts or near rivers. The idea, sent by the White House to Congress, created an unlikely set of responses: Home builders warned it could stifle the economy while climate activists, who have battled Trump, called the idea smart.

On Wednesday Mick Mulvaney, the director of White House Office of Management and Budget, sent a letter to Congress calling for changes to the taxpayer-subsidized National Flood Insurance Program, which is $25 billion in debt thanks to ever-worsening storms.

Mulvaneys proposals included preventing homes built in flood plains after 2020 from obtaining insurance under the program. Those homes could instead seek private coverage, which is often prohibitively expensive  if its available at all.

The National Association of Home Builders said it strongly opposed the idea, arguing it would harm local communities and impair economic growth.

It would simply prevent home builders from being able to provide safe and affordable housing, the associations chairman, Granger MacDonald, said in a statement. Why does OMB needlessly propose to penalize new construction?

The federal government provides flood insurance to those at risk through a program thats drawn criticism for subsidizing construction of homes vulnerable to damage or destruction. The White House plan would continue the insurance for existing homes within the 100-year flood plain, but discontinue it for any new homes in those zones. The proposal requires action by Congress, which have struggled to make radical changes to the program.

Repeat Flood Risks

In addition to curtailing the coverage, the plan would give authority to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to cut-off coverage for properties that flood repeatedly.

Lawmakers face a deadline of Dec. 8 to reauthorize the program, and, as part of an emergency aid package for Puerto Rico, Florida and Texas, Trump asked Congress to write off $16 billion the program owes the U.S. Treasury.

Congress considered a similar proposal earlier this year, but the provision never made it into legislation, according to Rob Moore, a policy analyst at the Natural Resources Defense Council. Its really hard to read the tea leaves on this, Moore said.

Still, environmental groups say this is a rare policy idea in which they are in agreement with Trump.

This sends a signal to developers and builders, and people living in flood-risk areas, said Laura Lightbody, director for the Flood-Prepared Communities project at the Pew Charitable Trusts in Washington. We want less people in harms way, and less development in these coastal areas and riverine areas.

Lightbody said the change could have another benefit: making it easier for local officials to restrict development along the coast. Tighter rules on flood insurance gives them political cover to make those decisions, she said.

Elizabeth Thompson, a spokeswoman for the national home builders group, said building a private flood insurance market will take time.

Many lenders do not consider private insurance as equivalent or better than the NFIPs coverage and therefore do not accept it, she said in an email. There are bills in the House and Senate to ease those requirements; however, it may take years for a private market to develop.

In Florida, the change would absolutely reduce the number of houses built along the states coasts and rivers, said Rusty Payton, chief executive of the Florida Home Builders Association.

It would be a huge deal in Florida, Payton said in a phone interview. Right now there is not a viable private market for flood insurance.

Related:

Copyright 2022 Bloomberg.

Topics Florida Flood Homeowners
A federal judge said current and former Wells Fargo & Co. officers and directors, including Chief Executive Officer Tim Sloan, must face nearly all of a lawsuit by shareholders seeking to hold them personally liable for sales abuses and the creations of millions of unauthorized accounts.

U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in San Francisco said shareholders may pursue claims that Wells Fargo officials looked the other way as employees facing unrelenting pressure to meet sales quotas unlawfully opened accounts, and misled the public about fraudulent practices at the nations third-largest bank.

Where, as here, plaintiffs claims arise from a pervasive and undisputed fraud going to the core of the companys business, it is reasonable to infer senior executives knew about, or at least recklessly turned a blind eye to, the stream of red flags, Tigar wrote in a decision dated Wednesday.

The judge also said that in the unlikely event Sloan did not know about the suspect practices before 2013, when he was chief financial officer, he was certainly aware of these issues by December 2013 when he told the Los Angeles Times: Im not aware of any overbearing sales culture.

Wells Fargo spokesman Peter Gilchrist said in an email that the bank was taking decisive steps to rebuild trust, including from employees and shareholders. We will continue to advocate strongly for our positions before the courts, he added.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

D&O Insurer

The shareholder derivative lawsuit seeks to force officers and directors  or their insurers  to reimburse Wells Fargo for losses caused by their alleged poor oversight and misleading statements, as well as governance changes.

Wells Fargo has been rocked since September 2016 by a series of scandals, including the San Francisco-based banks creation of as many as 3.5 million unauthorized accounts.

Many lawsuits have been filed, including on behalf of customers, and several top officials including onetime Chief Executive John Stumpf and retail banking chief Carrie Tolstedt have left the bank.

Stumpf and Tolstedt are defendants in the derivative lawsuit.

Sloan testified on Tuesday before the Senate Banking Committee about Wells Fargos response to the scandals, and faced attacks from Republican and Democratic senators.

Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, called for Sloan to be fired.

The case is In re: Wells Fargo & Co. Shareholder Derivative Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 16-05541.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Topics Lawsuits Legislation
The insurance industry in Texas is not happy with the states so-called Hurricane Harvey recovery czar.

Texas A&M University Chancellor John Sharp, who was named by Gov. Greg Abbott to lead the Commission to Rebuild Texas, drew a quick response from the insurance industry after asserting in an interview that private insurers and their representatives arent doing enough to help their insureds with their Harvey-related property claims.

In an interview with Texas Tribune CEO Evan Smith on Sept. 29, Sharp said that too many times in this state, and its happened in other ones, is insurance agents are saying lets see how much money you get from FEMA  you know what, thats bull***t. Thats not where the moneys supposed to come from. The first money needs to come from them.

Saying that insurance agents need to step up, Sharp said: They need to quit telling their clients, Wait til you get the FEMA money,  They need to write a damn check.

Sharp added that he has hired a survey company to go in from one end of the coast to the other to see how extensive this is and when we find out how extensive this is, were going to let you know.

Responding to Sharps comments, the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT) took the opportunity in a written statement to clarify the role independent agents in the claims process.

Independent agents are actively on the ground working tirelessly to help Harvey victims file and resolve insurance claims as expediently as possible, IIAT President and Executive Director Marit Peters said in the associations release. Coordinating coverage among property, flood and wind policies, which are often insured through different companies, can be a complex process.

The IIAT pointed out that insurers pay claims when they are due under an insurance policy, and said that according to the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT), an estimated $2 billion has already been paid out on insurance claims for Harvey-related flood damage to automobiles and wind damage to homes.

In a statement released by the ICT, that organization said Sharps comments are troubling not only because of the billions of dollars insurers have already paid on Harvey-related claims, but because insurance agents and agencies are not responsible for paying claims.

Companies review and pay claims if due under the insurance policy, said Mark Hanna, a spokesman for the ICT.

Hanna noted that ICT member companies have been serving customers in Harvey-impacted areas since shortly after the hurricane hit near Rockport late on Sept. 24. Insurers have set up mobile assistance stations and continue to receive claims and assist customers all along the Texas coast.

A spokesman for the Texas Coalition for Affordable Insurance Solutions (TCAIS), which represents major homeowners insurance companies doing business in Texas (Allstate, Farmers, Nationwide, State Farm and USAA), also weighed in on Sharps comments.

In a written statement, TCAIS Executive Director Beaman Floyd said that while Hurricane Harvey was still impacting Texas, homeowners insurance companies brought in thousands of adjusters to begin assessing damage and to file and pay wind damage and automobile loss claims so that Texans could start their recovery.

Floyd added that insurance company representatives in Texas are working around the clock to help their customers understand their policy coverage and guide them to the right resources to get disaster assistance.

While standard homeowners and renters policies do not provide coverage for flood damage, a comprehensive auto insurance policy would cover the insured vehicle for flood damage. Most flood coverage for residential properties is provided through a separate policy offered by FEMAs National Flood Insurance Program.

Guidance on applying for disaster assistance may be found at www.disasterassistance.gov and information on flood coverage processing can be found online at (https://gallery.mailchimp.com/36f1f024019727df68981ddfb/files/308af7dc-93f8-4526-8a19-63a613a8e576/FEMA_Fact_Sheet.pdf).

Topics Carriers Trends Agencies Texas Claims Flood
Gov. John Bel Edwards administration is boosting the size of loans available to small businesses damaged by last years flooding in Louisiana and is extending the deadline for applications.

The Restore Louisiana Small Business Program offers interest-free, partially forgivable loans to businesses harmed by the March and August 2016 floods. Twenty percent of the loan is forgiven when the other 80 percent is repaid.

Under the changes announced Wednesday, the loans now range from $10,000 to $150,000. They previously had ranged from $20,000 to $50,000.

Also, the deadline for submitting loan applications through one of the participating banks and lenders has been extended until Oct. 31.

The program uses recovery dollars provided to Louisiana from Congress. The loans can be used to pay rent, utilities, mortgage, employee wages and some non-construction repair expenses.

Meanwhile, Edwards is disappointed that Louisiana has been left out of a federal program providing disaster tax relief to victims of this years hurricanes.

Edwards says he cant wrap my head around the idea that Congress passed special disaster tax breaks for victims of this years hurricanes while leaving out victims of last years flooding that wrecked parts of south Louisiana.

Congress included the tax relief in the six-month extension of the Federal Aviation Administration that passed last week.

The bill includes five tax relief provisions for victims of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, allowing, for example, money from retirement accounts to be withdrawn without penalty for storm-related expenses.

Members of Louisianas congressional delegation unsuccessfully sought similar tax relief after the August 2016 floods.

Edwards said in a statement Wednesday that Louisiana understands hurricane victims suffering. He added: Congress shouldnt be in the business of pitting storm victims against one another.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Louisiana Commercial Lines Flood Business Insurance Hurricane
Heavy rainfall over much of South Florida has led to flooding in areas hit hard by Hurricane Irma.

Flooding due to heavy rain and the annual King tides is being reported along low-lying streets from Key West to Fort Lauderdale. On Thursday morning, Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado tweeted that in the downtown area, the ocean is rising above the sea walls.

The National Weather Service says South Florida can expect thunderstorms, heavy rain and gusty winds through Thursday night. And the eastern coastline of southern Florida is under a flood advisory through Friday afternoon.

King tides bring the years highest tides each fall.

In Key West, police urged motorists to drive slowly through flooded streets.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Florida Flood
EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants has named Tim House a property/casualty insurance broker/producer in the Fresno, Calif. office.

House will be responsible for new business development and the design and management of property/casualty insurance and risk management programs for clients in a wide range of industries. He will report to Terri Parreira, managing principal of EPICs Fresno operations.

He was a sales manager at Vivint Solar before joining EPIC.

EPIC is a retail property/casualty and employee benefits insurance brokerage and consulting firm.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics California Agencies Property Casualty
Un ottobre da sogno per Antonio Conte: lex ct della Nazionale italiana, attualmente alla guida del Chelsea, nelle ultime quattro gare di Premier League ha collezionato solo successi, conditi da 11 reti segnate e addirittura nessuna incassata. Numeri da record che non sono certo passati inosservati alla Federazione inglese, la quale ha conferito al tecnico leccese lambito premio di Manager del mese.

Unavventura oltremanica iniziata in sordina, quella di Conte, pur a fronte di tre vittorie nelle prime tre gare di campionato. A far vacillare, anche se solo per un momento, le certezze del patron del club londinese, Roman Abramovich, i risultati conseguiti tra la 4a e la 6a giornata, coincisi con un pareggio sul campo dello Swansea City e, soprattutto, con le due pesanti sconfitte subite dal Liverpool, sul terreno casalingo di Stamford Bridge, e dallArsenal. In particolare, la debacle interna coi Reds, aveva irritato non poco il numero uno russo, poiche occorsa proprio nel giorno della sua 250esima partita da presidente della societa.

Come detto, solo un momento. Dopo lincontro dellEmirates, il tecnico salentino cambia modulo, adottando un piu equilibrato 3-4-3 e inserendo elementi di corsa come lo spagnolo Pedro. Una svolta totale perche, di li in poi, il Chelsea inanellera solo e soltanto vittorie: 2 gol allHull City e al Southampton in trasferta, 3 ai campioni dInghilterra del Leicester e 4 allo United in casa, con un meraviglioso numero zero nella casella delle reti subite. Un fantastico poker, ottenuto tra l1 e il 29 ottobre. Un cambio di marcia sbalorditivo, confermato dal 5 a 0 rifilato ai toffees dellEverton nel primo match di novembre, e una scalata che, man mano, ha portato i blues al secondo posto in classifica, a soli 2 punti dal Liverpool capolista.

E allora, non poteva mancare il riconoscimento di migliore allenatore del mese, ottenuto surclassando tecnici del calibro di Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool), Arsene Wenger (Arsenal) e Mark Hughes (Southampton). Tanta, ovviamente, la soddisfazione: E un grande onore e voglio condividerlo con i giocatori e con la societa  ha dichiarato Conte sul sito ufficiale della Premier League -. E la prima volta che lavoro in un altro Paese, con una cultura diversa, e portare la propria filosofia non e facile, ma ora sono contento di questa scelta.

A completare la festa, la premiazione del fantasista belga, Eden Hazard, come miglior giocatore di ottobre. Due risultati importanti per il club, ottimo incentivo per la rincorsa al trono dei campioni, occupato dal Leicester di Ranieri. Il prossimo appuntamento per l11 di Conte sara al Riverside Stadium, tana del Middlesborough neopromosso. Il tempo di festeggiare e gia finito.
Singing groups from near and afar are ready to take to the stage and battle it out to be crowned the ultimate A Cappella Kings and Queens on Sky 1s brand new reality singing show, Sing.

Hosted by Cat Deeley, the show is a new Sky Original Production that will brings together 30 of the UK and Irelands most exciting and diverse a cappella groups in a competition based on raw vocal talent.

In short, its kind of like Pitch Perfect.

And singing for the title of Sing: Ultimate A Cappella champions are not one but two Irish acts.

First up its Ardu - a six-piece group from Dublin.

Made up of Vicky Warwick (26), Andrea Delaney (32), Leanne Fitzgerald (25), Ciaran Kelly (30), Harry Oulton (29) and Tristan Caldwell (34), the group regularly perform all over Ireland and will open the series with their version of U2s With or Without You.

Ardu (which means rise as Gaeilge) are aiming to make a cappella more popular on our shores and in July headlined their own a cappella festival in Dublin.

Ardu say: There is such a choral background and history of fiddle music in Ireland. A lot of new groups imitate and follow tradition  theres no one else doing what we do.

The second Irish act hoping to go all the way are The Apple Blossoms - an all-female trio (also from Dublin) made up of Kate Donohue, Allison Grace Saul and Keri Ann Sheridan.

They have been singing for years, but are fairly new to the world of a cappella, which they describe as liberating.

The Apple Blossoms say: Harmonies are where we really shine as a group. We blend really well together and know each others voices inside and out.

Sing: Ultimate A Cappella airs this Friday 6 October at 9pm, only on Sky 1.
A senior Government Minister is rejecting claims that Shane Ross's politics are contaminating Fine Gael.

Former Justice Minister Alan Shatter yesterday accused the Transport Minister of stroke politics over the reopening of Stepaside Garda Station in Dublin.

Mr Shatter said: "What differentiates Fine Gael, to me, from other parties is its commitment to truth, decency and integrity, and its opposition to stroke politics.

"The politics of Shane Ross is contaminating the ethos of Fine Gael."

However, Richard Bruton says that is not the case.

Mr Bruton said: "I know Alan very well, I'm very friendly with him but he's simply wrong in this case.

"Stepaside clearly had a strong case on grounds of population. It was the Garda who recommended this would be the option, they said this should be done first."
Many trees will be wasted over the coming days as commentators debate. A lot of

pixels will be used in the online world. In the three days following the event, I will have budget presentations in Dublin, Cork, Kilkenny, Waterford, Meath and Galway twice. A lot of diesel will be wasted and my carbon footprint will go through the roof.

This year is no different than any other. While the timing of the budget has moved over the years, the level of media and public interest has always been intense. One wonders why, particularly in the fiscal environment in which we now operate.

The annual budget is basically a statement of fiscal policy, or in other words what the Government intends to raise in revenues over the coming year and how it intends to raise it; and how much it intends to spend and how it spends it. As such, it is important, but on budget day itself, the minister for finance will only be in a position to announce very meagre changes.

Due to the fact that Ireland is now so heavily constrained by the EU in terms of how it runs its fiscal policy, the scope of doing anything meaningful is limited in the extreme. The most recent analysis from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council suggested the minister will have an extra 1.7bn at his disposal on budget day, assuming he sticks to his expenditure commitments as laid down by the EU.

Of this 1.7bn, previously announced measures will use up around 1.2bn. This means that on budget day next Tuesday, the minister will have around 500m to play with, which in the context of the magnitude of overall expenditure and revenues, is a tiny amount of money. He could, of course, enhance this scope by announcing additional tax increases or reallocation of existing spending. Either way, when we wake up next Wednesday morning, most of us will be very slightly better off, but not significantly so.

The last set of exchequer returns before the budget was published this week.

They show that the public finances remain in good health, with tax revenues running 1.8bn ahead of last year. Much will be made about the fact that tax revenues are running 212m behind target in the first nine months. This is equivalent to just 0.6% of total taxes collected and is pretty inconsequential.

The buoyancy of tax revenues is reflecting the buoyancy of the economy.

If the economy is growing, then tax revenues will be generated, and vice-versa. The priority for the minister must be to ensure that he does nothing that might damage activity of the economy. In this regard, I hope he does not increase the Vat rate for the hospitality sector, which is making a significant contribution to employment growth, tourism activity, and tax revenues.

Furthermore, I think that the potential employment opportunities posed by Brexit should encourage him to relieve the tax burden on workers. Specifically, I would like to see the income threshold at which one ends up paying the top marginal rate of tax lifted by a couple of thousand euro. On the expenditure side, the demands are virtually infinite, but resources are sadly scarce.
Ulster Bank chief executive Gerry Mallon and other top officials appeared before the Oireachtas Finance Committee where they were grilled by TDs and senators over the failure to address the tracker customer redress in a timely manner.

Mr Mallon said since Ulster Bank had last appeared at the committee in December, it has raised its estimates of the numbers of its customers by 2,000 customers to 3,500. Some 2,500 customers have been restored, while 1,000 have redeemed or switched lenders.

Mr Mallon admitted it was a slow start towards redress and compensation but said it was a very complicated process. It will be long into 2018 before all customers will be compensated, he added.

Committee members lambasted Mr Mallon and Ulster Bank officials.

Fianna Fail TD Michael McGrath said: We are now up at 3,500 and 1% have had their money repaid. If the shoe was on the other foot, you wouldnt be shy in collecting. We have all heard the human stories on this committee, some of which are harrowing.

Mr Mallon said the bank had found new customers on top of the 14 previously acknowledged to have lost their homes because of the errors. The final numbers will be in the 10s, he added.

All of the homes lost by customers have been sold on and the bank have given 50,000 to those affected as a gesture of goodwill, chief financial officer Paul Stanley said. Some customers will be entitled to upwards of 100,000, he added.

Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty accused Ulster Bank of dragging its heels.

Why can other banks get their act together and you cant? Forty people  how can you be so far behind? The figures are staggering, he said.

The bank was accused of selling on thousands of business loans between 1m and 2m through its Global Restructuring Group to vulture funds in order to protect its own interests, while not offering the same protection to its customers. It said some of the loans sold on may have been for viable trading businesses, not just those in severe financial distress.

Committee chairman John McGuinness said: This is like Groundhog Day. What efforts were made to separate performing loans, to save the better parts of businesses, before the good, the bad and the ugly were all put into one basket? Viable business was not separated. He said despite Mr Mallons statements that the bank was taking the tracker mortgage situation very seriously, the lack of action proved otherwise.

He cited a family who had written to the committee to say they had still not received a satisfactory response from Ulster Bank after paying thousands of euro extra because of the tracker scandal. This customer was overpaying 400 for seven years. They have gone without food and heat, they have sacrificed any holidays. They estimate they are owed 30,000. It is totally unacceptable in any society the way this family has been treated, he said.

The bank has set aside 200m for the tracker scandal, which saw thousands of customers put on incorrect rates by more than a dozen lenders.
A new all-island report from the Institute of Public Health in Ireland also found breastfeeding rates in both jurisdictions decline steeply in the early weeks after birth.

IPH director of policy Helen McAvoy said rates of starting breastfeeding had increased in the last 10 years.

However, Northern Ireland had started from a lower point than the Republic, and the gap between North and South had widened.

Breastfeeding rates at discharge from hospital increased from 49% to 58% between 2006 and 2015 in the Republic.

However, just under 54% of babies were still receiving breast milk a few days later when the public health nurse visited their homes. At three months, just over a third (35%) of babies were still receiving breast milk.

The Institute of Public Health, an all-island body, supports co-operation on public health North and South.

The report says mothers in Ireland are the least likely of all nationalities to start breastfeeding.

Between 2006 and 2015 in Northern Ireland, breastfeeding rates at discharge increased by 5%  from 40% to 45%. However, just over one in five (21%) babies were receiving some breast milk at three months.

Younger mothers and those from a lower socio-economic group in both jurisdictions were less likely to breastfeed.

Older mothers and those from higher socio-economic groups were the most likely to start breastfeeding and continue with it.

Dr McAvoy said breastfeeding rates made a significant contribution to population health. Breastfeeding protected babies and contributed to maternal health.

The Health Service Executive wants 38% of all babies to be breastfed at three months of age between now and 2021.

Every single drop of breast milk is good for your babys health! Visit our website for info about breastfeeding https://t.co/ewW6sT7zL4 pic.twitter.com/9XQGPb6PmV  HSE Ireland (@HSELive) September 19, 2017

In Northern Ireland, it is envisaged 40% of babies will be breastfeeding, at six months, by 2025.

Breastfeeding mothers in Northern Ireland (42%) were the least likely to have breastfed their baby in public compared to mothers from Scotland (60%), England (59%) and Wales (52%).

However, data from Northern Ireland suggest public attitudes to breastfeeding were improving.

The report states many women North and South would have like to have breastfed for longer and that the focus must be on creating a more breastfeeding supportive environment.

Minister of State for Health Promotion, Catherine Byrne said that her department had commissioned research from the Health Research Board to look at other countries where breastfeeding rates had increased recently and assess what practical measures Ireland needed to take to achieve similar increases.
Judge Jacqueline Linnane heard in the Circuit Civil Court that John and Bernadette Lyons had also been forced to rent out a room in their home in Clonard Lawn, Sandyford, Dublin 18, for 1,500 a month to help meet their 3,500 a month mortgage repayments.

Joynt and Crawford, solicitors for the AIB Mortgage Bank, told the court the couple were not keeping up the repayments and owed more than 144,000 in arrears alone on their mortgage. Their overall debt to the bank stood at more than 440,000.

The banks solicitor said the couple had been saving money from the 1,500 a month they received from the rental of a room in their home and it was because of this that they were in a position to tell the court they would pay off a lump sum of 10,000 to the bank within the next fortnight.

Mr and Mrs Lyons, who represented themselves in court, said that in January, they would be in a position to pay off all of the arrears from the US fund.

Mr Lyons said he was working in London and by January would fulfil a three-year residential requirement there that would allow him to draw down his US fund without having to pay a 50% tax burden to Revenue.

He said he was prepared to pay off all of the arrears in January and in the meantime, he and his wife would make a 10,000 lump sum payment to the bank, from money they had saved, as a gesture of good faith.

Judge Linnane said the mortgage went back to 2006 when the couple drew down a loan for 465,000 which, two years later, they had restructured into two separate loans.

Their difficulties had stretched back to 2008 so their problems had not just come out of the blue.

The judge said it was obvious that the Lyons had been engaging with the bank and had been making some repayments unlike many others who came into her court not having paid a penny off their mortgage for years.

She told the banks solicitor that he should arrange a meeting between a bank representative and the couple immediately after they had paid the 10,000 within the next two weeks.

She would adjourn the banks application to repossess the Sandymount property until mid-February which would give the Lyons time to have paid off the full arrears as a result of the US paydown.

Judge Linnane warned the couple that having cleared off their arrears they would still be faced with servicing the 3,500 monthly repayments on the outstanding mortgage but it may be they could successfully negotiate a restructuring of their loan.
Stephen and Josephine ODonovan, from Ballymacoda, Co Cork, pleaded for change yesterday after an inquest into the death of their only child, Luke, 6, outside their home on April 16, 2014.

The inquest at Cork City Coroners Court was told that the driver involved, Edmund Walsh, aged 51, of Ballyherode, Ballymacoda, was first issued with a drivers licence in 1989.

He was reissued with a licence in 2010 without having to resit a driving test despite having suffered two traumatic brain injuries which left him with severe physical and mental impairments and on 18 tablets a day.

Lukes parents said they hoped the transport minister and other agencies, including the Road Safety Authority, the National Driver Licence Service, Insurance Ireland, and the Irish Medical Organisation, would take note of the case.

Maybe we can do something to make other people aware. Anything is better than what there is now, said Mr ODonovan.

Cork City coroner Philip Comyn heard how Mr ODonovan was fixing a car radio in the drive outside his home while Luke was playing a computer game inside during the Easter holidays on April 14, 2014.

Luke left the house and crossed the road to see if a friend had arrived home. He suffered fatal injuries when he was struck by a specially adapted automatic Ford Focus driven by Mr Walsh as he crossed the road to return home.

He died in Cork University Hospital two days later from head injuries due to vehicular impact. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death yesterday.

Luke left the house during Easter holidays 2014 to cross the road to see if a friend had arrived home. He was hit by a car as he crossed the road to return home, and died in hospital two days later.

Mr ODonovan said: I heard a bang, like a heavy car door slamming, and got a start. I looked left and saw something fall from the sky, and roll twice on the ground. It was only then I realised it was Luke.

The Ford Focus left the scene. Mr Walsh drove home to ask his elderly father, now deceased, what he should do. When gardai arrived at the house, Walsh admitted he had been involved in a crash.

Following a lengthy pre-trial process to establish if Mr Walsh would be mentally fit to plead, it was ruled that he was fit to plead, and he pleaded guilty to charges of failing to remain at the scene of an accident and failing to offer assistance to someone injured in the accident.

Last May, Judge Sean O Donnabhain imposed a two-year suspended jail sentence and a 10-year driving ban, but Walsh vowed, through his legal team, never to drive again.

The coroners court was told yesterday that RSA medical fitness to drive guidelines state that motorists should make the licensing authorities aware of any impairments which could affect their driving.

There is also a responsibility on family members and GPs to flag such issues.

Garda Sergeant John Sharkey said Walshs family were quite open about his medical condition.

He said Walsh had suffered significant traumatic brain injury after two falls from a height  one in the 1980s and again in 2006.

The inquest was told that he was deemed medically fit to drive, and that there were two qualifications on his licence when it was renewed in 2010.

The system failed. Something failed somewhere down the line and we dealt with a driver who obviously wasnt capable of driving responsibly or of being responsible for their actions like the rest of us are when we get behind the wheel, said Mr ODonovan.

Ms ODonovan said that, given the extent of Walshs brain injuries, she and her husband believe people who suffer a traumatic brain injury should have to resit their driving test.

Because you are different, through no fault of your own, but you are different once you have a brain injury or physical injury. You do change, said Mr ODonovan.

You could roll the clock back and say was this person even fit to be on the road?

If it had been flagged earlier, he may not have been driving at that moment, at that very second, at that very place.

Well do whatever we can because ultimately, we dont want another family to be in our situation.

They said the Walsh family has apologised to them and that Walsh himself apologised through his legal team.

Ms ODonovan said Walsh has not apologised personally. He has no attachment to the accident. Hes not able, she said.

Spark of light as four lives saved

Its the one spark of light to come out of their superheros death.

The lives of four people have been transformed following Lukes parents decision to consent to organ donation.

Cork city coroner, Dr Philip Comyn, commended Josephine and Stephen ODonovan yesterday for their generosity in the face of such tragic circumstances to consent to organ donation in April 2014.

He read into the record of yesterdays coronial proceedings a letter from the transplant co-ordinator at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, who outlined what happened to Lukes organs in the hours after his death.

She said one of his kidneys was received by a 23-year-old man who had been waiting three months for a new kidney and his second kidney was transplanted into a 61-year-old man who had been on dialysis for two years. Both operations were performed in Beaumont.

She said Lukes liver was transplanted into a 21-year-old woman with cystic fibrosis by a team in St Vincents hospital.

And she said Lukes heart was transplanted into a three-year-old girl in Newcastle.

All four transplant patients are doing well post-operatively, she noted.

Lukes dad, Stephen, said the news that four people benefitted from his little boys organs is a comfort.

Its a little spark of light, he said.

Thats why we enabled Luke to donate. We always taught him that caring is sharing or sharing is caring, and that was the ultimate sharing. Hes our little superhero now and he would have loved that. And hearing that those lives have been changed, thats what its all about.

Thats what organ donation is about. You gotta be behind that.
Employees, who are after almost 10 years of a pay freeze, can no longer be expected to subsidise this public transport service, the unions divisional organiser told its biennial conference in Cork.

Enough is enough. And like the recent disputes in the Luas, Dublin Bus, and Bus Eireann, Siptu will not be found wanting in fully supporting our 1,900 members in Iarnrod Eireann in their pursuit of a long overdue pay increase.

Rail workers have threatened strike action over their claim for pay increases of 3.75% without productivity measures. The company has only offered 1.5% and wants workers to give further productivity in exchange.

Their unions have pointed to the lack of state funding in the transport system as the reason why their members have not seen the pay increases to which they feel they are entitled.

Mr Ennis said Siptu would vehemently campaign to oppose the deliberate underfunding of public transport which is simply designed to manufacture a false environment to justify privatisation, be it in aviation or transport.

Delegates also voted overwhelmingly in support of a motion for their union to support the call for a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment.

Siptu national executive committee member, Suzanna Griffin, said women comprise more than half of the trade union membership here: It is unacceptable that they live in a country where the law puts their health and lives at risk, criminalises them and forces them to travel abroad to avail of safe and legal abortion services.

But this motion is not asking any delegate here to make a moral or personal decision on the provision of abortion in Ireland.

It is merely asking you to support the call for a referendum so that the people of Ireland can make a democratic decision as they did in 1983, she said.

Delegates also heard that Siptus image has been transformed by the success of its members in the Womens National Football Team in securing better conditions.

In a dispute earlier this year, the players had been looking for compensation for loss of earnings, a match fee, and expenses and the provision of team gear.

The unions incoming deputy general secretary, Ethel Buckley, said the stance taken by the team has brought the message of the victories that can be won through collectivisation, and very importantly collectivisation with the support of our union, to a new audience of young people, women in particular.

It has also provided a new iconic image of Liberty Hall, that of a group of young, determined women standing boldly outside the home of Irish trade unionism in green t-shirts  with one simple, clear demand  to be respected as athletes and workers.
REMEMBER the good old days? Of course you do! They were simpler times. The world felt safe, and kids could play outside unsupervised until the streetlights came on. Remember playing outside? Red Rover and

Tip the Can; being called in for your bath, then sitting down to watch the telly  family friendly, of course, because with one TV in the house, if something was on you either sat down and watched it as a family, or you missed it.

My good old days might be decades apart from your good old days, but thats not important here. The good old days, weve decided, were unequivocally great, and thats why weve made them our escape from today, which is unequivocally not. One rogue tweet away from nuclear war, weve given in en masse to a collective urge to retreat to the safe familiarity of childhood through the pop culture of our youth.

Weve seen it happen with movies, and last summer, the New York Times ran a feature called TVs Big Bet on Nostalgia, predicting that, in the shifting sands of the current television landscape, networks would try to find their footing by betting big on our love for nostalgia; dragging audiences back from their streaming services with reboots of old favourites. It seems TV viewers arent the only ones yearning for the past  TV makers too are desperate to return to a pre-Netflix age.

So to paraphrase Bill Hicks, the nostalgia dollar is a big dollar right now. We long for the cosy fog of childhood to envelop us again, sheltering us from the realities of political and economic instability. The 80s were no picnic, but if youre lucky you dont remember that. You just remember Star Wars and The A Team and Bullseye on a Sunday.

And you definitely remember Blind Date, the latest reboot to make the weekend TV listings feel like something you pulled from under the floorboards of an old house. We had a MacGyver remake last year, a Dynasty reboot is on the way, and a fresh take on Knight Rider is reportedly in the works, so it was only a matter of time before a landmark light entertainment property was deemed ripe for a revamp. The unlikely candidate is Blind Date, unlikely because, in todays dating landscape, it seems so firmly of its time.

A cornerstone of Saturday night family viewing, at the height of its popularity in the 80s, 18.2m people tuned in; five of them in the Moore household and several more probably in yours. Fresh out of the bath, in my static-filled dressing gown, I would sit mesmerised by Cillas shoulder pads, crunching on Oatfield chocolate orange sweets and feigning bewilderment at Our Grahams innuendo-filled recaps.

A fixture throughout my childhood, it ran for 18 years, from 1985 to 2003, helmed throughout by the inimitable Ms Black. Thats a lorra lorra childhoods, and comedians Al Porter and Tara Flynn both remember it well, though they watched it about 15 years apart.

While Porter watched with his mum and gran in Tallaght, a teenage Flynn in Kinsale never went out on a Saturday night till it was over. Now the pair is set to bring the first Irish Blind Date to our screens, with Porter stepping into Cillas shoes and Flynn taking on the mantle of Our Tara. Debuting this weekend, TV3 will air it at 9pm on Sunday rather than the traditional Saturday night post-bath slot it enjoyed on ITV, but other than that, the format is frighteningly familiar.

#BlindDateIRL with @TheAlporter starts Sunday at 9pm on TV3. Here's a glimpse of how you'll be spending your Sunday Nights! pic.twitter.com/pb2DlDigYc  Virgin Media Television (@VirginMedia_TV) October 5, 2017

In July, I took myself to the Helix for a glimpse at Blind Date in the making, and I may have discovered the answer to the question, how much nostalgia is too much nostalgia? The sets may be glitzier, the quips slightly sharper, but the music, tone, pacing, and Our Taras scripted quick reminders are all disarmingly recognisable. As the audience clap-along ends and proceedings get underway, its clear the goal is to embody the spirit of the original as much as possible; to the extent that you begin to wonder if the spirit of Cilla Black has embodied Al Porter.

Part of Porters broad appeal is that disconcerting sense that he  like Blind Date  is somehow of another era; a time of music halls and club comics and smutty seaside postcards. Just 24, hes what your gran would call an old soul, and here even his body language seems to mimic that trademark Cilla warmth  an arm clutch here, a hand clasp there, that familiar lean (youll know it when you see it!).

Cupid may have sharpened his arrows, but Porter hasnt sharpened his tongue for this particular gig, preferring a gentle, jocular approach thats absolutely on point. If the show ever makes a match as on target as putting him in the driving seat, he may buy himself a hat. All of this is by design, with TV3 keen to stress they werent about to mess with a winning formula, so anyone expecting a slick, post-modern makeover will be sorely disappointed.

Its from simpler times and theres something lovely about the recognisable format that nostalgia freaks will love revisiting, Flynn tells me. I watched it religiously. It made me laugh and it gave me a lift, and I think theres room for something like that on TV at the moment.

People want something sweet and silly and fun. And if your heart doesnt flutter watching that screen go back, youre dead inside.

Describing their update as lovely, cheesy, funny and heartwarming, she stresses, its still very much a family show.

So an irony-free zone it remains, but with Irish contestants in the mix the cringe factor is higher than ever. Im intrigued to see how it will sit with a millennial audience reared not on the wink wink, nudge nudge innocence of Blind Date, but on its vulgar offspring, Take Me Out. Weve entered a world of extreme dating, extreme TV, and extreme dating on TV.

In an era of Tinder hookups and dick pics, going on TV to find love certainly wont raise any eyebrows, but post-Naked Attraction and Love Island, watching to see if a couple reveal they indulged in a quick snog seems positively quaint. And maybe for the contestants thats part of the appeal. We have all been charmed by the tenderness and vulnerability of First Dates, after all, and what weve also learned from its success is that a show with Twitter appeal is manna from heaven for TV bosses who want bums on seats and eyes on ads. This show has it in spades.

Therell always be that little bit of Blind Date sauce, says Tara. A bit of innuendo is part of the fun. Perhaps in terms of comedy, people will find it tame, but theres something gorgeous about that as well. Its something people can watch together.

And it has been updated in that the contestants are contemporary, and of the now, she adds. And Al is so young, hes always going to have a bit of an edge to his comedy. Theres just great chemistry there, and I think people are really going to enjoy it. And you know what? I actually think shes right.
It may not be surprising to learn that AT&T and Verizon are spending the most money on fiber in the United States. Whats noteworthy may be that they are being public about it.

A research report from Deutsche Bank Markets Research pointed out that telecommunications companies are becoming more vocal about their plans to spend money on fiber infrastructure. Fierce Telecom quoted from the report:

Telecoms have become much more public signaling their intent to increase fiber investment, with AT&T and Verizon leading the spending ramp, said Deutsche Bank Markets Research.

Examples of the spending spree: Verizon is paying Corning $1 billion for 1.5 million miles of fiber and Prysmian $300 million for 1 million miles of fiber. Both deals are for three years. AT&T, in its agreement with FCC on the purchase of DirecTV, promised to provide 12.5 million homes with 1 Gbps-capable fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) infrastructure by 2019.

Broadband investment is always dependent on a variety of factors. During the past couple of years, the tension is between doing work that was put on the back burner by the financial crisis and, more recently, the desire to hold back as the software-defined networks, network functions virtualization (SDN and NFV), and other fundamental architectural changes are developed and implemented. Indeed, one of the main goals of these new approaches is to reduce capital and operational expenditures.

CenturyLink Takes a Step in Level 3 Acquisition

CenturyLinks acquisition of Level 3 Communications took an important step this week as the U.S. Department of Justices antitrust division approved the transaction provided that a couple of conditions are met.

The $24 billion deal was announced last autumn. The DOJ said that the deal is good to go if Level 3 networks in Albuquerque, Boise and Tucson are sold. It must also offer indefeasible (long term) leases for dark fiber along 30 intercity routes, according to Reuters.

Approvals from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the California Public Utilities Commission are still outstanding. The companies say the deal is expected to close this month.

Broadcom Acquisition of Brocade Delayed Again

The $5.9 billion acquisition of Brocade by Broadcom is being delayed again. And, again, the reason is uncertainty from the government. SDxCentral reports that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) wants to review the deal. The agreement was that the transaction was set for either completion or scrapping by Nov. 1. That new deadline is November 30.

The story points to Wall Street Journal reporting that suggests that the CFIUS review may have been triggered by concerns related to investments by Chinese companies. The deal was pushed back in July when the Federal Trade Commission requested extra time to study elements of the combined company that were thought to possibly be anticompetitive.

More Changes for Google Fiber

Fresh evidence emerged this week that Google Fiber was continuing what some may call its evolution and others its gradual winding down. In a company blog post, Cathy Folger, the head of Sales and Marketing for Access, wrote that that it will not include traditional TV to subscribers in Louisville and San Antonio.

The blog post essentially suggests that enough people have switched to over-the-top (OTT) video that subscription-based cable-like packages are no longer necessary. While cord cutting is clearly increasing, there seems to be far more to the move than getting ahead of the curve. This is especially true in the context of the other moves that Google Fiber has made during the past year or so. The bottom line is that the moves in San Antonio and Louisville should be seen as part of the process of the transformation of Google Fiber into something quite different, and possibly far less, than its original mandate.

FCCs Pai: Use USF for Hurricane Maria Recovery in VI, PR

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai this week proposed using the Universal Service Fund (USF) to help the U.S. Virgin Island and Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Maria.

In a blog post, Pai said that he will ask for a vote on a proposal that would provide carriers with as much as seven months of their normal USF support in an immediate lump sum. Thats a total of $76.9 million. The post says that the proposal will top the FCCs agenda for its October 24th meeting if it has not been approved in the interim.

Carl Weinschenk covers telecom for IT Business Edge. He writes about wireless technology, disaster recovery/business continuity, cellular services, the Internet of Things, machine-to-machine communications and other emerging technologies and platforms. He also covers net neutrality and related regulatory issues. Weinschenk has written about the phone companies, cable operators and related companies for decades and is senior editor of Broadband Technology Report. He can be reached at [email protected] and via twitter at @DailyMusicBrk.
A drawer filled with unused handkerchiefs has reminded HARRY COLE of their essential role in his childhood.

I HAVE kept all my handkerchiefs in a drawer for years. Anyone who doesn't know what to buy a bloke for Christmas or birthdays usually settles for handkerchiefs. This has a double result it proves they have not forgotten you and it doesn't cost much.

Yesterday, when I opened the drawer, I pulled it too far. This caused it to crash to the floor and handkerchiefs cascaded everywhere. It was only then I realised I have used the same few top ones for many a long day.

There were many other handkerchiefs there of all sizes which had not been out for years. There were dozens of them. Although mostly white, there were odd-coloured ones from the 1970s, with "odd" being the operative.

It was while I was picking them up I remembered the "old rag" drawer my mum used to treasure. It was the third one down in her chest of drawers. The drawer would contain pieces of rags, immaculately washed and ironed, which served as handkerchiefs for us kids.

In the 1930s, handkerchiefs were quite important at Charles Dickens Primary School. The headmistress, Miss Atkins, considered them vital. Although she did not actually object to rags, she was grudgingly content if they were ironed to look like handkerchiefs.

Her first request at the morning assembly was for us to show them. If everyone in our class had one, a large coloured notice could be displayed on the classroom door proudly announcing to the rest of the school: WE ALL HAVE HANDKERCHIEFS TODAY.

Now rags had an enormous advantage over proper handkerchiefs because a piece could be torn off and smuggled to any urchin who had forgotten theirs. Of course0, there was any obvious giveaway to this ruse. When some snotty-nosed kid whose face, hands and neck had not seen water for two days (and we had more than our share of those) suddenly displayed a square of immaculately-ironed white tablecloth, sheet or petticoat, suspicions should have been aroused. But if blowing the whistle on a dirty Dennis or a whiffy Wilma meant we could not display our Handkerchiefs Today board, it was a small price to pay. One big problem with this display was, it was essential the handkerchiefs had not been used before assembly. No matter the circumstances colds, hay fever or nosebleeds snitches must not be blown before 9am! The cuff of your jersey may have been as stiff as a board but at least you handkerchief would be pristine.

As I picked up the handkerchiefs, I decided to count them. Forty-one! I could have kitted out the whole class! Miss Atkins would have been pleased.

I wish I still had that board though.

l Some emails have been sent to me recently at the News Shopper, which in turn posts them to me. I am afraid I still live in the Dark Ages and my post is usually delivered via a note in a cleft stick. I do try to reply to letters but for fogies like me that is impossible for emails because there is no address shown. Please write including your address and phone number.

July 25, 2001 10:36
JURIST Guest Columnist L. Ali Khan of the Washburn University School of Law discusses the battle over public education funding in Kansas

Since 2010, Kansas has been litigating the funding of K-12 public education. The Kansas Supreme Court has rendered four decisions repeatedly instructing the state legislature to provide adequate and equitable funding for Kansas public schools. In its latest decision of September 2017, the Supreme Court has given another nine months to the state legislature to fix the funding problems for after that date we will not allow ourselves to be placed in the position of being complicit actors in the continuing deprivation of a constitutionally adequate and equitable education owed to hundreds of thousands of Kansas school children. For the Kansas Supreme Court, the funding of public education is not a political question that commands respect for legislative preferences but a grave constitutional issue.

Article 6 of the Kansas Constitution secures a detailed state commitment to the right to education for intellectual, educational, vocational and scientific improvement by establishing and maintaining public schools. To make this commitment meaningful, Article 6 further provides that The legislature shall make suitable provision for finance of the educational interests of the state. Historically, Article 6 commitments reinforce the origin of Kansas as a Free State, which rejected slavery and the concomitant denial of education to slave children as has been the practice in pro-slavery states in the nineteenth century. For some, Article 6 violations, which disproportionately affect minority children in poor school districts, trigger the painful memories of disgraceful practices of educational apartheid that gave rise to Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

Wealth Redistribution Argument

About half a million students, from kindergarten to 12th grade including special education and at-risk students, study in Kansas public schools. That is roughly one-sixth of the total population (approximately 3 million) of Kansas. The projected public school enrollment will remain steady as will total population. The Kansas income and poverty statistics furnish a further understanding of the funding of public education. The median household income is a little above $50,000 while per capita income is near $28,000. Twelve percent (12%) of the Kansas population lives in poverty. Statistically, therefore, 12% of the student body in public schools is likely raised in poverty.

Kansas public schools are funded from two major sources. First, each school district raises funds through imposing a mill levy upon taxable tangible property in its territory (called local effort). Second, the state provides compensatory funds to poor school districts that cannot raise sufficient funds through property tax. Rich school districts may raise more additional money by increasing the property tax but a limit has been placed on this option. And if a districts local effort funds exceeded its state financial aid entitlement, the excess was remitted to the State. Despite these corrective measures, the 286 school districts in Kansas receive unequal funding. Poorly funded schools produce poor student performance.

Poor school districts bear two distinct harms. First, they do not get adequate funds. Second, they, as compared to rich districts, do not get equivalent funds for providing reasonably similar educational opportunity. Thus, poor school districts are subjected to inadequacy and inequity, the two wrongs that the Kansas Supreme Court continues to emphasize in its sequential decisions. A 2013 map shows that school funding varies widely across Kansas ranging from $25,000 per student (district 292) to $7,000 per student (District 469). This range is not blatantly arbitrary and must be viewed in light of population density, number of students in the district, low property values in small towns, and many other factors.

For some, public school funding raises profound ideological and demographic questions, as it plays into the classical redistribution of wealth argument. Given the conservative politics of state legislature, public school funding collides with what some lawmakers see as educational socialism under which the kids of poor families are being educated with tax dollars acquired from rich families. This may also mean that urban school districts with high property values are educating the children living in small towns. Fears are hatched that the equitable allocation formula may require cutting funds to wealthier school districts, thus pitting poor districts against rich districts.

The wealth redistribution argument gathers additional toxicity when placed in the demographics context of Kansas population. Nearly 24% of the Kansas population is non-white. African Americans are about 6% and Hispanics constitute about 12% of the population. It is unclear whether state legislators dragging their feet on equitable school funding believe that the Supreme Court is compelling white families to provide for the education of minority children living in poor districts.

Even though the Kansas Supreme Court does not consider ideological and racial factors in the analysis of adequate and equitable funding, and limits its observations to disparity and student performance at minimally funded school districts, the ideological and demographic factors shape Kansas politics that swings from being conservative to ultra-conservative. Predictably, the political reaction to the Supreme Court decisions is frequently rude and intimidating.

Intimidation of Kansas Judiciary

The Kansas lawmakers have threatened the Kansas judiciary with painful consequences if judges continue to promote education funding reforms. In 2016, after the Kansas Supreme Court instructed the legislature to add $100 million to public schools, some lawmakers impressed upon voters to remove the Supreme Court Justices through the ballot. Some introduced legislation to impeach justices for usurping the power of the legislative and executive branches. In reaction to the most recent Supreme Court decision, Governor Sam Brownback called the ruling a regrettable chapter in the never-ending cycle of litigation over Kansas school funding. The Senate President condemned the ruling as clear disrespect for the legislative process. It appears that the legislature is prepared to subvert the ruling by any means necessary.

It is part of Kansas culture, as far as I can tell, to vacillate between normativity and tightfistedness. The Kansas Supreme Court is questioning the funding statutes in the realm of normativity when it demands that the state legislature comply with the constitution in providing adequate and equitable funding for all public schools. The state legislature has every reason to be tightfisted in raising and spending tax dollars. However, no branch of the government is legally or constitutionally empowered to engage in invidious funding discrimination and thus impact the future of children living in poor school districts.

Some politicians further complicate the Supreme Court efforts to remedy the school funding problem. For example, Kris Kobach, running for Governor in 2018, paints Kansas as the sanctuary state of the Midwest, and argues that Kansas should not subsidize the tuition of illegal immigrants. Kobach also whips up the hysteria of fraudulent voting by non-citizens, causing legality doubts about all Kansans of Mexican heritage. Kobachs bogus views insinuate that the citizens are being taxed to educate the children of illegal immigrants.

Public funding of K-12 schools is an egalitarian undertaking, a value enshrined in the state constitution. Kansas will no longer remain a free state if the politicians, behaving like Border Ruffians, challenge the dignity of high courts and deny poor children equal access to substantially similar educational opportunity. The Kansas Supreme Court refuses to endorse constitutional regression.

L. Ali Khan is a professor at the Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, Kansas. He has written numerous scholarly articles and commentaries. He has regularly contributed to JURIST since 2008.

Suggested citation:L. Ali Khan, Kansas Supreme Court Fights for Public Education Funding , JURIST  Academic Commentary, October 6, 2017, http://jurist.org/forum/2017/10/L-Ali-Khan-kansas-public-education.php

This article was prepared for publication by Dave Rodkey, Managing Editor for JURIST. Please direct any questions or comments to him at commentary@jurist.org
KEARNEY  A little more than four months after Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Max Kathol resigned from that position, the organization has officially begun its search for a new leader.

In a letter to chamber members, Jeff Hinrichs, president of the chamber board of directors, announced that the process of hiring a new president has begun.

The hiring committee will be reviewing applications as they come in and will make a hire when we find the right candidate, Hinrichs wrote.

Kathol, who became president and CEO of the Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce on June 6, 2016, resigned from the position at the end of May.

Chamber Executive Board member Josh Erickson of Team Concepts works with the staff and helps oversee day-to-day operations of the chamber.

The Kearney chamber has 843 members, making it the third-largest in Nebraska.

Were excited about the direction we are headed as an organization and have an enthusiastic, talented, dedicated staff with some great ideas to help you, your businesses and organizations succeed, Hinrichs wrote. The Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce has a strong footprint in the community and terrific reputation across the state. We seek a candidate who will build on that reputation while helping you build yours, as well as one who will understand our Kearney can-do and partnership attitude.

Go to www.kearneycoc.com/president to find the job posting.
LINCOLN  A Trans-Canada spokesman said Thursday that the companys abandonment of a pipeline project to eastern Canada has no effect on the proposed Keystone XL project that would cross Nebraska.

But some beg to differ.

Jane Kleeb, founder of the anti- pipeline group Bold Nebraska, said Thursdays announcement that TransCanada was canceling its $12 billion Energy East pipeline was an admission that pipelines from Canadas tar sands region are not financially feasible.

This is a significant admission on their part, Kleeb said.

The Houston-based editor of Pipeline & Gas Journal said Thursday that while the Energy East and Keystone XL projects face separate hurdles, he thinks todays low oil prices will also kill the XL project.

The shippers just havent signed on (to the Keystone XL), said editor Jeff Share. I just dont see (TransCanada) spending $7 to $8 billion on it, unless the price of oil stabilizes at $60 to $70 a barrel.

Thursday, TransCanada Chief Executive Officer Russ Girling announced that after careful review of changed circumstances, the company was canceling the Energy East pipeline, which would have carried oil from Alberta to Canadas east coast.

Girling did not specify reasons why the project was killed, but interest in Albertas oil sands region has slowed with the drop in oil prices.

There was also stiff environmental opposition in Quebec to the Energy East project.

When TransCanada first announced that project in 2013, oil prices were near a $100 a barrel, but they are now about half that.

The steep decline in oil prices has also cast uncertainty on the controversial Keystone XL project, which has been in planning since 2009.

TransCanada has said it is seeking long-range commitments from oil producers to use the Keystone XL  commitments that would serve to finance the project  as part of its review of the pipelines economic viability. The company said it will decide by December whether to move forward with the 36-inch pipeline.

Meanwhile, TransCanada is awaiting a decision by the Nebraska Public Service Commission on its proposed XL route across Nebraska. The commission has until Nov. 23 to decide.

TransCanada spokesman Matthew John said Thursday that the dropping of the Energy East pipeline has no bearing on the Keystone XL.

We remain committed to the Keystone XL, John said. These are two separate projects with different commercial goals.

TransCanada recently extended the open season to seek financial commitments for the XL by a month, to late October.

The company cited Hurricane Harvey, which devastated the Gulf Coast, as the reason for the extension, but Kleeb said it illustrated a lack of support for the Keystone XL.

Share, the editor of the pipeline industry magazine, said that with todays low oil prices, he doesnt see shippers signing the 20-year contracts being sought by TransCanada. Shorter contracts, he said, might be attractive, though.

In Canada, conservatives blamed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for not championing the Energy East project.

Last year, Trudeau approved one controversial pipeline from the Alberta oil sands to the Pacific Coast but rejected another because of environmentalists concerns.

Canadas Natural Resource Minister Jim Carr called the TransCanadas decision to end the Energy East pipeline a business decision.

Conditions have changed, Carr said. Commodity prices are not what they were then.

International oil companies ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell have sold Canadian oil sands assets this year. The costs to develop the oil sands, a type of unconventional petroleum deposit, are much higher than developing conventional oil deposits.
A rose to ... Kearneys Classic Car Collection, which has pulled off a coup by permanently returning the 1969 AMX drag racer Petes Patriot to the Collections showroom floor. The red, white and blue car elevated the American Motors Corp. to contender status on the national racing scene and gave the sport a storyline born in the cornfields of Nebraska.

Unlike other racers with professional crews, it was a bunch of Kearney teenagers who tuned and kept Petes Patriot in racing trim. After a weekend of racing, they would return to Kearney and spend their free time preparing the car for its next race date.

While its true that some of the celebrity-owned vehicles in the Kearney attractions 200-car collection certainly have interesting backgrounds, theres something undeniably fascinating about a handful of Nebraska boys making it on drag racings biggest stages.

Anyone in south-central Nebraska who has not yet visited the Classic Car Collection now has a reason to go.

The Collection at 3600 U.S. Highway 30 is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sundays.

A rose to ... Nebraskas senior representative in the U.S. Senate, Deb Fischer, whom the Center for Effective Lawmaking has named the nations 13th most effective senator. The CEL is an initiative by the University of Virginia and Vanderbilt University, and uses data to explore how successful members of Congress are at transforming legislation into law.

The score Fischer received from the CEL is based on the number of bills she has sponsored, how far the bills have advanced through the lawmaking process, and how important the legislative items are. The CEL also ranked Fischer as the 10th most effective Republican senator in the 114th Congress.

A raspberry to ... insensitive, off-the-cuff comments, such as the things President Donald Trump said earlier this week as he toured some of the hurricane damaged areas in the U.S. Territory of Puerto Rico. The people there  who are U.S. citizens  have been suffering through shortages of food, safe water, fuel, medicine and communications, and based on some of his comments, Trump might not care.

He congratulated the Puerto Ricans for having only 34 dead, compared with the real catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which killed 1,833. What leader tells people in crisis its bad, but it could be a lot worse?

I hate to tell you, Puerto Rico, but youve thrown our budget a little out of whack. Trump said.
A barber from western Quebec is drawing widespread praise for going out of his way to accommodate a young client with autism. This handout photo, posted online last week, shows Francis "Franz" Jacob lying on the floor of his Rouyn-Noranda shop as he gives a young boy named Wyatt a haircut. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Franz Jacob, *MANDATORY CREDIT*
This undated photo provided by Christopher Scalia, shows an elk shot by Justice Antonin Scalia, that has remained in the new Justice Neil Gorsuch's chambers in the Supreme Court in Washington. When Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch got appointed to the Supreme Court bench earlier this year, he got lifetime tenure, a salary north of $250,000 and an elk named Leroy. (Christopher J. Scalia by AP)
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!

Go to form
Tommi Linnansaari, a research associate with the Canadian Rivers Institute at the University of New Brunswick and the new UNB CAST Atlantic Salmon Research Chair, poses by the Saint John River in Fredericton in a September 13, 2017, handout photo. He will be coordinating new, innovative research projects aimed at reviving wild Atlantic salmon. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-University of New Brunswick, Rob Blanchard, *MANDATORY CREDIT*
Flags fly outside the Bombardier CSeries plant, Thursday, September 28, 2017 in Mirabel, Que. The U.S. Department of Commerce says it is delaying its announcement on preliminary anti-dumping duties against Bombardier Inc. until Friday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Books written by British writer Kazuo Ishiguro are on display at a bookstore in Tokyo, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. Ishiguro was born in Nagasaki but raised and educated in England. He was awarded the Nobel Prize on Thursday. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)
This combination photo shows Lin-Manuel Miranda, top row from left, Rita Moreno, Jennifer Lopez, and bottom row from left, Camilla Cabello, Marc Anthony and Luis Fonsi who are a few of the musicians who have participated in the new original song, "Almost Like PrayingAu to help raise money for Puerto Rican hurricane relief. (AP Photo/File)
In this April 6, 2017 photo released by the U.S. Defense Department, Gulf Arab soldiers take part in the Eagle Resolve exercise in Kuwait City, Kuwait. The U.S. military has halted some exercises with its Gulf Arab allies over the ongoing diplomatic crisis targeting Qatar, trying to use its influence to end the monthslong dispute, authorities told The Associated Press on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (Staff Sgt. Frank O'Brien/U.S. Army Central via AP)
For a little while, things looked very frightening on a Saturday afternoon outside the HarborPark condominiums.

A fire had broken out on a third-floor balcony in the building on the corner of 57th Street and Fourth Avenue. Residents fled the building and looked up to see a solid wall of flames covering the corner balcony from floor to ceiling.

The Kenosha Fire Department was on the scene in minutes. Nearly as quickly as it started, the fire was under control, having been confined to the balcony and never making it into the living area inside or into the roof above.

Residents praised the actions of the fire department, which helped evacuate residents and had firefighters putting out the fire almost immediately after getting to the scene.

But department officials said they had help from the buildings sprinkler system, which  working as designed  had gone off when the heat from the fire broke the glass door to the balcony. The sprinklers kept the fire from spreading inside and gave firefighters the upper hand in putting it out quickly.

The firefighters put that fire out from the exterior, and they were able to put it out from the exterior because it never had the chance to enter the interior of the building because of that sprinkler system, said Guy Santelli, division chief of the Kenosha Fire Departments fire prevention bureau. I would take the water damage over fire and soot damage any day  and the water damage isnt going to kill you.

Santelli said he is so convinced of the life-saving value of fire sprinklers that, when he built his own house, he had them installed, a rarity in a single-family home. So Santelli is aghast that Wisconsins rules on sprinkler systems for multifamily buildings are currently in limbo.

Earlier this year, the Gov. Scott Walker administration indicated that the state would not enforce an administrative rule that required new construction of multifamily developments with between three and 20 units to install fire sprinklers. According to the administration, the rule exceeded the requirements of state law, which required sprinklers only in buildings with more than 20 units. The rule has been in place for about a decade, but came into dispute because of a 2011 law that limits state regulations.

A spokesman for the state Department of Safety and Professional Services said the department is waiting for clarification from the Wisconsin Attorney Generals office on enforcement of the rule.

The Department of Safety and Professional Services has determined that the current fire sprinkler rules for multifamily dwellings are more restrictive than the statutory provision providing for fire sprinkler regulation, said Nicole Anspach, department spokesman. Until more formal guidance is given via the Attorney Generals opinion, the Department of Safety and Professional Services will be enforcing the statute and not the more restrictive rules.

The Wisconsin Builders Association has lobbied against the sprinkler rule, because it adds to the cost of buildings.

Meanwhile, firefighters like Santelli have been pushing for the rule to remain in place, saying the sprinklers save lives.

Santelli said the cost of adding fire sprinklers in new construction is about $1.40 per square foot. Building industry sources estimate the cost from $1 to $2 per square foot.

When you look at the square footage cost, its cheaper to put in the sprinkler system than it is to put in the granite counter tops, Santelli said.

Santelli said he is especially frustrated because, when the state created the code that included the sprinkler system requirement, it traded that requirement off with less restrictive codes on other building requirements. Because the sprinklers were included, the code allowed for smaller setbacks between buildings, longer distances between fire hydrants, and dropped a requirement for thicker walls between apartments to slow the spread of fire. They arent planning on putting any of the trade-offs back in, he said.

Although the HarborPark condominium building fire was a good example of how sprinkler systems contain fire, that building, if it was under construction tomorrow, would not be affected by the rule change. It is both larger than 20 units and owner-occupied.

An example of a development that would be affected if it were in the approval process now is the one large-scale apartment development now under construction in Kenosha. The Springs at Kenosha, 12742 71st St., has 280 apartments, but the units are spread among 14 buildings, each of those buildings with 20 units. Much of the complex is complete, but some of the buildings are still under construction. All have sprinkler systems.

Until the state comes out with a written order changing the rule, Santelli said his office will not change their requirements that mandate the sprinkler systems on new construction here.

Matt Knight, deputy city attorney, said he has advised Santelli to follow existing rules until a written opinion comes out from the Attorney Generals office. Ive been in contact with them, and they expect a response within two weeks, Knight said.

The citys desire is to keep the current regulations, he said. Its a safety issue. Were not putting them in because we want to increase construction costs, were putting them in because, in the event of a fire, theyre going to save lives, Knight said.

Jeff Labahn, the citys director of community development and inspections, said there are not any apartment developments currently in the planning stage, so the department has not had to confront any of the existing ambiguity with developers.

Santelli said fire associations like the Wisconsin State Fire Chiefs and the Wisconsin Professional Firefighters Association will continue to lobby for the inclusion of sprinklers in multifamily buildings.

The thing about apartment buildings is you can be as safe as you want to be, its your neighbors you have to be concerned about, Santelli said, saying he wouldnt let his own children live in an apartment building without sprinklers. You have to worry about your neighbors doing everything as safe as you are.
53 Shares Share

The ice storm of 2013 in Atlanta, Georgia made headlines for weeks described as snowpocalypse and snowmageddon. It looked like something from a sci-fi movie  the end of the world, an alien invasion. It was the subject of social media memes and discourse for quite some time. In the midst of all that human frustration, there were ice-trapped cars, parents who struggled to reach children trapped at elementary schools.

Physicians, nurses and hospital staff remained steadfast in their commitment to patient care. They were bound to duty and remained in hospital critical areas, intensive care units and emergency rooms. They were always ready to receive patients while the rest of the city around them came to a screeching halt, as families together fortified dealt with the wrath of Mother Nature. If you have lived in a city that has experienced any major natural disaster, this type of scenario is not new to you.

As I watched the news, spoke with close physician friends, and who were affected by the recent Hurricane Harvey in Texas and experienced a small portion of Irma here in the southeast, I was touched again by the untold story of physicians, nurses and hospital staff and our sacrifice in the midst of disaster. There are physician mothers and fathers who were forced to take multiple nights of call without relief because backup could not get to the hospital. Others still are separated from their family, leaving a spouse, aging parents to fend for themselves.

They prepare to continually take care of patients hoping that the plans in place work for their family knowing their children are in good hands perhaps but not with them. It is a difficult time in these scenarios. Every day, physicians manage the medical needs of our patients, which by itself requires a high level of emotional investment. However, in the midst of natural disaster and crisis, this demand increased exponentially. How do we take care of ourselves and our own families while meeting the needs around us? What the public never realizes is that for those who are not frontline responders, EMS, firefighters or police officers, there is a small army of physicians and other health care workers that sustain our hospital systems while the entire world shuts down. This is a tremendous sacrifice and often goes unsung. These physicians sometimes have little lead time to prepare.

As we think about the importance of evacuation and disaster planning, how do we  as health care providers 

address our own immediate needs, those of our own families, so that we can effectively provide patient care? Here are five things for physicians and hospital staff to consider when time permits preparation for a natural disaster facing your community.

1. You cannot compartmentalize. In a disaster or extended period of service due to inclement weather, you may need to continue patient care for a longer period without relief than you have done in the past. However, this does to mean you put your humanity aside and only fulfill the role of physician/provider. You have the right to embrace your needs during the time of distress. If it is a safe time in patient care, please answer the phone if family is calling even if just to hear your voice.

2. Have a plan for your own family. Plan ahead, and I would argue plan on the side of extreme caution. If just one adult parent, a spouse, for example, will be with the children, discuss in real terms how that parent will cope alone with minimal support from you. If that means leaving the city to go with extended family or friends, discuss that as a real and viable option. Can your family be safely relocated to a hotel space within a walkable distance from the hospital? Is there space at the hospital to accommodate them within the framework of your organization disaster management plan? Additionally, if you are apart, how will you communicate? What will your reunification plan be? Do you have an area in the city or outside the city limits where you can reunite? The great thing about the advances in our technology is we have more communication channels open than before, cell phones, email and social media. Recent natural disasters have shown us how invaluable social media can be in a crisis.

3. Take a moment to breathe. These situations are scary  overwhelming even. You are probably feeling the same level of anxiety as your patients about your home, children, pets, and life. Add to that the additional responsibility we all feel for our patients, and its an enormous burden. Continue to breathe.

4. Pack for an extended period of coverage. When you leave for your shift or call, pack as if you may not return for some time. What starts off as a minor weather pattern can escalate to a major event, particularly in the aftermath as a community grapples with rebuilding and navigating destruction to the infrastructure. Prepare for the long-haul but hope for the absolute best.

5. Lend a helping hand. Ive seen this time and time again as part of the physician community and member of health care systems  we are all connected. During the Atlanta ice storm, for example, physician and hospital staff colleagues stepped up for each other. Those who lived closer to the facilities took coverage for those who were further away. Others opened up their homes or found strategic and safe ways to relieve their colleagues. They checked in on the families of colleagues who were stranded at the hospital. This spirit of community happens in every disaster and major event. It brings out the best in our profession. Lets continue the essence of what we do. We must extend grace and support to not only to our patients but our colleagues in times of hardship.

There are so many valuable lessons that can be learned as we encounter natural disasters in our communities and abroad from the perspective of health care system needs. Let us not forget to include ourselves in that process of reevaluation and disaster management preparedness. Providers working through disasters need to be ready and prepare their own families so that they can meet patient. It is essential that our institutions of medicine continue to recognize the sacrifice of all hospital staff including physicians in times such as this, and offer support to all as needed. Unfortunately, these natural phenomena are becoming much more common.

N. Bande Virgil is a pediatric hospitalist.

Image credit: Shutterstock.com
The number of patients who have unpaid invoices after attending St Lukes Hospital Emergency Department has increased by over 3,000% since 2013 from nine to 312.

The information was obtained following a Freedom of Information request by the Kilkenny People which revealed that the total amount outstanding in relation to A&E invoices stands at over 35,000.

Fianna Fail TD, Bobby Aylward, is urging people to pay their A&E bill as the amount due is not small money. The hospital provided a breakdown of the number of outstanding invoices for the A&E and the total amount owing for 2013 to 2016 inclusive.

The figures reveal that there are 360 patients in total with an outstanding A&E bill across the last four years  with the charge set at 100 since January 1, 2009.

The number of people who hadnt paid the fee went from 24 in 2015 when just over 2,000 was owed to 312 in 2016 when around 31,000 was owed.

Deputy Aylward said: There is an understanding there. In an emergency situation you will not be asked for a 100 on arrival to the A&E, and nor should you, before the person is treated.

But equally there is then a responsibility on the person in question to pay their bill for the treatment they received.

At the end of the day the hospital needs this money as funding is tight at the best of times and it will always be someone else who suffers.

It is not small money and could make a difference when it comes to providing additional bed capacity or increasing staff numbers.

"We dont want to see additional pressure placed on existing services due to money leaving the system in such a manner.

In a statement from the Ireland East Hospital Group  of which St Lukes is a part of  they said the hospital had over 48,105 ED attendances during in 2016 with the hospital seeing year on year increases.

IEHG says this would account for an upward trend in the amount owing by patients for ED attendances. However, they say most patients liable for charges settle their bills quickly.

The reasons for unpaid invoices may vary from incorrect billing address received, persons having difficulty with affording the payment and general delays with people making payments.

Patients who have a GP referral letter and /or medical card holder are not liable for the charge.

A spokesperson for IEHG said: In select cases where people have difficulty paying, the case will be reviewed based on the individual circumstances.

The hospital has a facility for payment by installments for those patients who may have difficulty with the payment and dont have a medical card/GP referral letter.
* Bougainville due to hold independence vote in less than 2 yrs Bougainville government wants Panguna mine reopened in 2019

* BCL says emergence of Australian consortium impeding development

* Australian consortium head banned from Papua New Guinea

* Consortium member Hains says has good access to capital markets

* Consortium has been making payments to landowners

By Jonathan Barrett

SYDNEY, October 6 (Reuters) - Plans to reopen one of the world's biggest copper mines, shut by a civil war on the Pacific Island of Bougainville in 1989, have run into trouble. The quarter of a million people of Bougainville are tentatively scheduled to vote on independence from Papua New Guinea in June 2019, and revenue from the reopening of the Panguna mine is essential for the otherwise impoverished island to have any chance of flourishing if it becomes the world's newest nation.

But there is now a struggle over who will run the mine between Bougainville Copper Ltd - the previous operator now backed by the Autonomous Bougainville Government and the Papua New Guinea government - and a consortium of Australian investors supported by the head of the landowners who own the mineral rights.

The dispute is opening old wounds - and is almost certainly going to delay any reopening. That could help to drive copper prices higher as many forecasters expect that demand for the base metal will exceed supply in the next few years.

The battle lines have been hardening on several fronts, Reuters has learned.

Papua New Guinea has told airlines that Sydney businessman Ian de Renzie Duncan, who set up the consortium, is banned from entering the country until 2024, according to a Papua New Guinea government document reviewed by Reuters. The request for the ban was made by the Bougainville government, three sources with knowledge of the document said.

The consortium has also acknowledged for the first time that it is paying some landowners a monthly stipend and has pulled in some big backers that have not previously been disclosed. They include Richard Hains, part of a billionaire Australian race-horse owning family which runs hedge fund Portland House Group.

In a sign of how ugly the row is getting on the ground, local opponents of BCL becoming the operator - and some who are opposed to the mine reopening altogether - blocked Bougainville government officials from entering Panguna in June.

They had hoped to get key landowners to sign a memorandum of agreement that would have endorsed BCL as preferred developer, according to a copy of the document reviewed by Reuters. The proposed agreement also stipulated the mine would be re-opened by June 2019, ahead of BCL's own timeframe of 2025-26.

The Papua New Guinea government didn't respond to requests for comment for this story.

Bougainville's main political leaders say getting the mine reopened is critical. "If the independence of the people is to be sustained then we need Panguna to run," Bougainville Vice President and Mining Minister Raymond Masono told Reuters in a phone interview.

He said he believes BCL has first right of refusal to operate the mine under laws passed three years ago, and only if BCL declined to take up that right should an open tender take place.

DEEP RESENTMENT

The abandoned copper and gold mine contains one of the world's largest copper deposits. During its 17-year life until the closure in 1989, Panguna was credited for generating almost one-half of Papua New Guinea's gross domestic product.

The civil war was largely about how the profits from the mine should be shared, and about the environmental damage it had caused. There was deep resentment among the indigenous Bougainville people about the amount of the wealth that was going to Papua New Guinea and to the mine's then operator, Conzinc Riotinto of Australia Ltd, a forerunner of Rio Tinto .

The mine was forced to shut after a campaign of sabotage by the rebel Bougainville Revolutionary Army.

The conflict between Bougainville's rebel guerrilla army and Papua New Guinea forces left as many as 20,000 dead over the following decade, making it the biggest in the region known as Oceania since the Second World War.

Rio Tinto divested its stake in BCL in 2016, and the listed company is now just over one-third owned by the Bougainville government and one-third owned by Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill said last year his government would gift the shares received from Rio, or 17.4 percent, to the people of Bougainville, although that is yet to take place.

"NEVER AGAIN"

The challenge from the Australian consortium that now includes listed gold and copper explorer RTG Mining was made public in June. Duncan and his fellow investors have joined forces with a group of Panguna landowners, the Special Mining Lease Osikaiyang Landowner Association (SMLOLA) led by Philip Miriori.

Miriori was in the Bougainville Revolutionary Army as the private secretary to the late Francis Ona, the former BCL mine surveyor who became leader of the resistance.

Ona had declared that BCL should "never again" be allowed to run the mine and Miriori, Ona's brother-in-law, still supports that stance.

"They have caused a lot of damage, they don't have the money and they are not telling the truth and so I wouldn't accept them," Miriori said in a telephone interview from the Bougainville town of Arawa.

The consortium's challenge is based on new mining laws introduced in 2014 that downgraded BCL's mining rights to an exploration licence and gave landowners powerful rights over the minerals on their land to acknowledge the losses suffered by those in Panguna during the conflict.

Miriori told Reuters that the government did not have authority over mine negotiations.

PAYOUTS TO LANDOWNERS

Duncan, a former barrister with a background in mining law, heads an entity called Central Exploration that has a half share of the consortium.

Duncan's consortium has been paying money, described as a stipend, to some of the landowners, but denies this amounts to bribery.

"We are really talking about people receiving a couple of thousand kina ($608) a month," said Duncan, who added that the money helps the landowners to travel and find accommodation in towns where Panguna negotiations take place. "It's not bribery, it's business," he said.

BCL claims to have the support of eight other landowner groups in Bougainville with an interest in the project. They have land rights covering access roads and the port site, among other areas, though crucially not the mine site itself. BCL chairman Robert Burns, who formerly worked for Rio Tinto, said Bougainvilleans were the ones being impacted by Duncan's attempt to gain control of the mine.

"Everyone is being frustrated and impeded by this issue," Burns told Reuters in a phone interview from the PNG capital, Port Morseby.

FINANCING DOUBTS

The uncertainty is going to make it difficult for either group to raise the capital that will be needed to get the mine restarted.

In 2012, BCL estimated the cost of re-opening at $5 billion. With few of its own assets, the company would need to secure the mining rights before tapping capital markets.

The Australian consortium may be in a stronger position, according to Hains, who is a 15 percent owner of RTG. He said the consortium has strong access to the North American capital markets and could re-develop Panguna in a "highly timely fashion".

As it stands, BCL has no mine without the support of the owners of the minerals, and Duncan's group has no project without road and port rights as well as government support.

Anthony Regan, a constitutional lawyer at the Australian National University and an adviser to the Bougainville government, said the immediate outlook for the mine is bleak. "The need of Bougainville to have a significant source of revenue if it's to be really autonomous or independent has become hopelessly enmeshed with the future of Panguna."

<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Panguna mine on Bougainville island ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Jonathan Barrett in SYDNEY; Editing by Martin Howell)
MILAN, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Italy's Monte dei Paschi di Siena said on Thursday it planned to launch a voluntary public offering on behalf of the state to swap shares former retail bondholders had been given as part of a state bailout into senior debt.

The Tuscan bank, the world's oldest still in business, was kept afloat earlier this year thanks to a state rescue package totaling some 8 billion euros ($9.4 billion).

Under the plan, Monte dei Paschi issued new shares to all subordinated bondholders whose debt was converted into equity to meet European Union rules shielding taxpayers by imposing losses on investors in the event of a rescue.

The Treasury however committed to compensate retail bondholders who had bought the bank's junior debt without being fully aware of the risks, pledging to spend 1.5 billion euros to buy their shares.

In a statement on Thursday, Monte dei Paschi said the shareholders tendering their stock would receive senior debt issued by the bank maturing May 15, 2018 for an amount of up to 1.536 billion euros.

As a result of the transaction the Treasury's stake in Monte dei Paschi will rise to 67.76 percent from its current 52.18 percent, it said.

The government has said it planned to hold its shares with a long-term aim of making a profit on its investment.

A senior source close to the matter said on Thursday Monte dei Paschi shares, suspended since last December, were expected to restart trading in the second half of October.

Monte dei Paschi turned to the state for a bailout in December last year after failing to raise 5 billion euros on the market to shore up its capital.

EU authorities approved the state recapitalization at the beginning of July after the bank agreed to a drastic overhaul including job cuts and a bad loan clean-up.

The bank's second-biggest shareholder is insurer Generali which holds a 4.3 percent stake after the mandatory conversion of subordinated bonds it held.

($1 = 0.8539 euros)

(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Andrew Hay)
(Adds details from statement, background from CRH deal)

Oct 5 (Reuters) - Ash Grove Cement Co said on Thursday it has received a proposal from a third party to buy the U.S. cement maker for an enterprise value of $3.7 billion to $3.8 billion, surpassing an earlier offer from CRH Plc .

Irish building materials firm CRH said last month it will buy Ash Grove for a total consideration of $3.5 billion. Ash Grove's board expects the new proposal to result in a superior offer for the company, the statement added. The cement maker said it has set a meeting on Nov. 1 with stockholders for a vote to adopt the previously announced deal with CRH.

The company said it has extended its go shop period for another offer till Oct. 20.

Ash Grove, the fifth largest cement manufacturer in the U.S. where it has operated eight cement plants in as many states under the same family for over a century, did not provide details about the third party that made the latest offer.

CRH Plc did not respond immediately to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh; Editing by Sunil Nair)
(Updates with higher death toll, latest position of storm)

By Enrique Andres Pretel

SAN JOSE, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Nate killed at least 22 people in Central America on Thursday as it pummeled the region with heavy rain while heading toward Mexico's Caribbean resorts and the U.S. Gulf Coast where it could strike as a hurricane this weekend.

In Nicaragua, at least 11 people died, seven others were reported missing and thousands had to evacuate homes because of flooding, said the country's vice president Rosario Murillo.

Emergency officials in Costa Rica reported that at least eight people were killed due to the lashing rain, including two children. Another 17 people were missing, while more than 7,000 had to take refuge from Nate in shelters, authorities said.

Two youths also drowned in Honduras due to the sudden swell in a river, while a man was killed in a mud slide in El Salvador and another person was missing, emergency services said.

"Sometimes we think we think we can cross a river and the hardest thing to understand is that we must wait," Nicaragua's Murillo told state radio, warning people to avoid dangerous waters. "It's better to be late than not to get there at all."

Costa Rica's government declared a state of emergency, closing schools and all other non-essential services.

Highways in the country were closed due to mudslides and power outages were also reported in parts of country, where authorities deployed more than 3,500 police.

The Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Nate could produce as much as 20 inches (51 cm) in some areas of Nicaragua, where schools were also closed.

Nate is predicted to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane by the time it hits the U.S. Gulf Coast on Sunday, NHC spokesman Dennis Feltgen said.

At about 8 p.m. EDT (0100 GMT) Nate was some 45 miles (72 km) west of the Honduran town of Puerto Lempira, moving north-northwest at 10 mph (16 kph), the NHC said.

Blowing maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (64 kph), Nate was expected to move across eastern Honduras on Thursday and enter the northwestern Caribbean Sea through the night.

The storm will be near hurricane intensity when it approaches Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula late on Friday, where up to 8 inches (20 cm) of rain were possible, the NHC said.

Nate is expected to produce 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm)of rain in southern Honduras, with up to 20 inches (50 cm) in some areas, the NHC said. The storm was forecast to dump 3-6 inches(7.5-15 cm) of rain in northern Costa Rica, with up to 10 inches (25 cm) in some areas, it added.

U.S. officials from Florida to Texas told residents on Thursday to prepare for the storm. A state of emergency was declared for 29 Florida counties and the city of New Orleans.

"The threat of the impact is increasing, so folks along the northern Gulf Coast should be paying attention to this thing," the NHC's Feltgen said.

In Mississippi, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to release as a precautionary measure 40 million gallons (151 million liters) of acidic water from storage ponds at a Pascagoula waste site.

The release to a drainage bayou is intended to prevent a greater spill during the storm, the EPA said, adding there are no anticipated impacts to the environment.

Major Gulf of Mexico offshore oil producers including Chevron , BP plc , Exxon Mobil Corp , Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Statoil were shutting in production or withdrawing personnel from their offshore Gulf platforms, they said. About 14.6 percent of U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil production and 6.4 percent of natural gas production was offline on Thursday, the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said.

(Reporting by Enrique Andres Pretel in San Jose, Oswaldo Rivas in Managua, Elida Moreno in Panama City, Gustavo Palencia in Tegucigalpa, Nelson Renteria in San Salvador, Sofia Menchu in Guatemala City, Bernie Woodall in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Daina Beth Solomon in Mexico City.; Additional reporting by Nallur Sethuraman and Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; Writing by David Alire Garcia and Bernie Woodall; Editing by Alistair Bell and Sandra Maler)
By David Lawder

WASHINGTON, Oct 5 (Reuters) - World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said on Thursday that the "vast majority" of the bank's 189 member countries support a capital increase for the institution's main lending arm and he hoped to soon set a deadline for a final decision.

Kim told a media conference call that members would discuss the issue at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund meetings next week, where he will also roll out a new initiative to encourage more investment in human capital and education.

"We are moving in a direction and the vast majority of countries now, we think, are on board and it's just a question of when the capital increase will actually happen," Kim said.

He views a capital increase for the World Bank Group's International Bank for Reconstruction and Development as critical to his strategy of trying to mobilize more private capital for development by "de-risking" projects with World Bank backing and issuing more debt on capital markets.

"We definitely are focused on crowding in more private capital, but there is no way to do that without us having more capital ourselves," Kim said. "I think now everybody on the board understands that."

He said the bank has made the case for raising additional capital by showing the extent of demand for its lending and assistance and the outcome is now "a question of timing."

However, Kim has one major obstacle to increasing the bank's capital base: a reluctant Trump administration, which as the World Bank's largest shareholder, effectively holds veto power over its decisions.

"Everybody's willing to do this except for the United States at this point," said Scott Morris, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, a Washington-based think tank. "We have to convince a new administration on the basic case. I think all the evidence is that they're not there yet."

Morris, a former U.S. Treasury official who oversaw U.S. membership in the World Bank and IMF Fund during the Obama administration, said the administration likely has some objections to the World Bank's continued lending to China and some other large emerging market countries.

A Treasury spokesman did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on the matter.

The World Bank in 2015 initially had set a goal of agreeing on a capital boost by the end of 2017, with a deal finalized at this year's annual meetings.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by David Gregorio)
LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet business leaders next week to discuss Britain's departure from the European Union, her office said on Friday, after a former party chairman said there was a plot to topple her.

A quarterly meeting with businesses including HSBC , Morgan Stanley , Vodafone and WPP to discuss Brexit will go ahead on Monday as usual, a spokeswoman for May's office said.

"The Business Advisory Council is an important part of our preparations for leaving the EU - allowing us to seek the views of experienced business leaders and to share with them the government's vision for a successful Brexit," May said in an emailed statement.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by)
MADRID, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont will speak in the regional parliament next Tuesday, a parliamentary spokeswoman said on Friday.

Catalan parliamentary leaders will meet at 1330 GMT on Friday to decide the timing on this speech.

It was unclear whether the meeting of the parliament scheduled for Monday to discuss the result of the banned referendum on splitting from Spain and a potential declaration of independence would still go ahead.

Another regional government official, Raul Romeva, told BBC radio earlier that Catalonia's parliament would defy a Spanish court ban and go ahead on Monday with a debate that could lead to a declaration of independence from Spain. (Reporting by Emma Pinedo Adrian Croft; Editing by Julien Toyer)
Oct 6 (Reuters) - Catalonia's parliament will meet on Monday in defiance of a legal process to clamp down on those who want independence for the region, the Catalan head of foreign affairs said on Friday.

In a deepening standoff between those who support independence for the wealthy northeastern region and the Spanish central government, Raul Romeva told the BBC that Catalonia's regional parliament would make a decision on independence.

On Thursday, Spain's Constitutional Court suspended the session of the Catalan parliament scheduled for Monday, in which local leaders were expected to declare Catalonia's unilateral independence from Spain following a banned referendum on secession at the weekend.

"Parliament will discuss, parliament will meet. It will be a debate and this is important," Romeva told the BBC, after being asked what would happen on Monday. He said the crisis would be resolved with politics, not via judicial means.

(Reporting by Elisabeth O'Leary and Costas Pitas; Editing by Alistair Smout)
LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The Republic of Congo's dollar-denominated bonds fell to their lowest in more than five weeks on Friday after the government said it would start talks with its creditors to tackle its debt burden.

The issue maturing 2029 lost 2.740 cents to trade at 76.010 cents, according to Tradeweb data.

"With its financial and legal advisers, Congo Republic is going to begin discussions with its primary lenders with the objective of streamlining or refinancing its debt," Finance Minister Calixte Nganongo told reporters in Brazzaville on Thursday.

Congo's economy, which is heavily dependent upon revenues from oil exports, has been hit hard by the drop in global crude prices and the government has entered negotiations with the International Monetary Fund to try to secure a financial assistance programme.

(Reporting by Karin Strohecker in London and Roch Bouka in Brazzaville)
BERLIN, Oct 6 (Reuters) - German industrial orders bounced back in August, rising more than expected on strong foreign demand, data showed on Friday, suggesting that factories will contribute to overall growth in Europe's largest economy in coming months.

Factories registered a 3.6 percent increase in orders after contracts for 'Made in Germany' goods fell by an upwardly revised 0.4 percent in July, data from the Economy Ministry showed.

The reading for August was the strongest monthly increase since December. It easily beat the Reuters forecast for a 0.7 percent rise, surpassing even the most optimistic estimate.

A data breakdown showed domestic demand rose 2.7 percent while foreign orders jumped 4.3 percent, propelled by a 7.7 percent increase from customers outside the euro zone - despite the recent appreciation of the single currency.

"Orders activity further picked up recently from an already high level," the ministry said, adding that the positive trend was backed by good business morale and strong output figures.

"The solid upturn in the manufacturing sector should therefore continue," it added.

(Reporting by Michael Nienaber; Editing by Paul Carrel)
* Freeport to divest most of Grasberg mine under draft deal

* Firm committed to that agreement -govt official

* President Joko Widodo urges resolution as soon as possible

By Fergus Jensen

JAKARTA, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo called for faster progress to wrap up a deal with Freeport-McMoRan Inc on rights to the giant Grasberg copper mine, which the U.S. firm owns, officials said on Friday.

The chief executive of the world's biggest publicly traded copper company -- which under a framework deal agreed in August to divest 51 percent of the mine -- held talks with officials in Jakarta earlier in the day.

The deal is intended to replace an existing contract with a "special mining permit" and give Jakarta greater control over its mineral resources. But significant differences remain including on how Grasberg, the world's second-largest copper mine, will be valued and on the timing and structure of the required divestment, leading some analysts to raise doubts about the future of the agreement. Hadi Mustofa Djuraid, an aide to Mining Minister Ignasius Jonan, said Freeport CEO Richard Adkerson had met Jonan and other company and government officials in Jakarta on Friday morning after the president said "the sooner the better" referring to an end to the talks.

"In principle, Freeport is still committed in accordance with the agreement," Djuraid told reporters, noting that issues over divestment and state revenues from Grasberg had not been resolved yet by the finance ministry. Under Widodo's direction, Jonan will "help the negotiation process" with Freeport alongside Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati and State Owned Enterprise Minister Rini Soemarno, "so this problem is resolved immediately," Djuraid said.

"In negotiations there's always a bargaining process," he added, declining to provide detail on the talks.

A spokesman for Freeport's Indonesian unit declined to comment.

The government is seeking a "win-win" solution as quickly as possible, Widodo said late on Thursday, according to an official transcript of remarks the president made to reporters in Banten province west of the capital Jakatra.

"It's already been three years of heated arguing, but this is almost finalised," Widodo added.

Adding pressure to end the dispute, Indonesia's Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) told parliament this week that between 2009 and 2015, Freeport Indonesia's royalty and levy payments were $445.96 million lower than they would have been if the miner had taken up a new mining permit during that period.

"The risk of the dispute escalating and ultimately going to arbitration has increased," Jefferies analyst Christopher LaFemina said in a research note this week, referring to the divestment issues, and cutting Freeport's target share price to $19 from $23.

"We are increasingly concerned that a resolution will not be reached," LaFemina added.

Jefferies estimates the value of the Freeport Grasberg stake to be divested at $6.7 billion.

(Reporting by Wilda Asmarini and Gayatri Suroyo in JAKARTA; Additional reporting by Susan Taylor in TORONTO and Nicole Mordant in VANCOUVER; Writing by Fergus Jensen and Ed Davies; editing by John Stonestreet)
* August exports +21.5 pct y/y vs Reuters poll +19.2 pct

* August imports +22.6 pct y/y vs poll forecast +21.0 pct

* Trade surplus 9.9 bln rgt vs poll forecast of 9.6 bln rgt

* Exports to China +21.2 pct y/y, U.S. +14.5 pct, EU +21.6 pct

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Malaysia's exports in August grew to 21.5 percent from a year earlier, beating expectations on the back of manufacturing sector and liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, but were slower than the previous month.

The export growth exceeded the 19.2 percent forecast by a Reuters poll but was down from July's 30.9 percent growth. The upward trend of manufactured goods exports continued in August with an expansion of 22.3 percent year-on-year. Growth was also driven by increased exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG), government data showed on Friday.

Exports of mining goods grew 38.8 percent, accounting for 8.4 percent of Malaysia's total exports, the data showed.

August imports grew 22.6 percent from a year earlier to 72.4 billion ringgit, up from the 21.8 percent growth in July and the 21.0 percent growth projected in the poll.

The trade surplus in August widened to 9.9 billion ringgit ($2.3 billion)from July's 8.0 billion ringgit.

Malaysia reports trade data in ringgit . The currency has been one of Asia's best-performing ones this year, strengthening about 6 percent this year.

Exports to China remained robust, rising 21.2 percent from a year earlier, while those to the European Union grew 21.6 percent.

Shipments to the United States rose 14.5 percent.

KEY DATA

(Exports and imports in percent, trade in billions of ringgit)

Aug July June May Apr Mar Feb Jan Exports 82.2 78.6 73.1 79.4 74.0 82.6 71.8 70.2 y/y% 21.5 30.9 10 32.5 20.6 24.1 26.5 13.6 Imports 72.4 70.6 63.2 73.9 65.2 77.2 63.1 65.5 y/y% 22.6 21.8 3.7 30.4 24.7 39.4 27.7 16.1 Balance 9.9 8.03 9.88 5.49 8.75 5.41 8.71 4.71 MAIN EXPORTS

Aug 2017 % of % change

(bln rgt) total vs year ago

Electrical & 31.0 37.8 20.1 Electronic Products Petroleum products 5.3 6.4 33.6 Chemicals and 5.9 7.2 15.7 chemicals products

Palm oil & Palm-based 4.5 5.5 -8.9 products

Liquefied natural gas 4.0 4.8 101.8

Machinery 3.4 4.2 7.9 Manufactures of metal 3.4 4.1 24.7 Optical and 2.9 3.5 28.7 scientific equipment Rubber products 2.2 2.7 28.2 Crude oil 1.9 2.3 0.0

EXPORT MARKETS

Aug 2017 % of % change

(bln rgt) total vs year ago

Singapore 82.2 14.7 20.5 China 11.3 13.7 21.2 USA 7.9 9.7 14.5 Japan 6.2 7.5 18.0 Thailand 4.0 4.9 7.4 ($1 = 4.2350 ringgit)

(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Sunil Nair)
Oct 6 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the New York Times business pages. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

- U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to overrule his top national security advisers and decline to certify the Iran nuclear agreement, according to people who have been briefed on the matter. - Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has flown on military aircraft seven times since March at a cost of more than $800,000, including a $15,000 round-trip flight to New York to meet with President Trump at Trump Tower, according to the Treasury Department's Office of Inspector General. - In the latest case of an insider removing sensitive data from America's largest intelligence agency, Russian hackers obtained classified documents that a National Security Agency employee had taken and stored on his home computer. - The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday imposed tough new restrictions on so-called payday lending, dealing a potentially crushing blow to an industry that churns out billions of dollars a year in high-interest loans to working-class and poor Americans. - Russian energy and aluminum company En+ Group said on Thursday that it planned to raise $1.5 billion in an initial public offering in London and Moscow. (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)
(Fixes dateline, no change to text)

MILAN, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Italy's Monte dei Paschi di Siena said on Thursday it planned to launch a voluntary public offering on behalf of the state to swap shares former retail bondholders had been given as part of a state bailout into senior debt.

The bank gave no precise date for the offer but said it could start before the end of October and was expected to last three weeks.

The Tuscan bank, the world's oldest still in business, was kept afloat earlier this year thanks to a state rescue package totaling some 8 billion euros ($9.4 billion).

Under the plan, Monte dei Paschi issued new shares to all subordinated bondholders whose debt was converted into equity to meet European Union rules shielding taxpayers by imposing losses on investors in the event of a rescue.

The Treasury however committed to compensate retail bondholders who had bought the bank's junior debt without being fully aware of the risks, pledging to spend 1.5 billion euros to buy their shares.

In a statement late on Thursday, Monte dei Paschi said the shareholders tendering their stock would receive senior debt issued by the bank maturing May 15, 2018 for an amount of up to 1.536 billion euros.

As a result of the transaction the Treasury's stake in Monte dei Paschi will rise to 67.76 percent from its current 52.18 percent, it said.

The government has said it planned to hold its shares with a long-term aim of making a profit on its investment.

A senior source close to the matter said on Thursday Monte dei Paschi shares, suspended since last December, were expected to restart trading in the second half of October.

Monte dei Paschi turned to the state for a bailout in December last year after failing to raise 5 billion euros on the market to shore up its capital.

EU authorities approved the state recapitalization at the beginning of July after the bank agreed to a drastic overhaul including job cuts and a bad loan clean-up.

The bank's second-biggest shareholder is insurer Generali which holds a 4.3 percent stake after the mandatory conversion of subordinated bonds it held.

($1 = 0.8539 euros)

(Reporting by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Andrew Hay and Edwina Gibbs)
(Kitco News) - Silver prices plunged on Friday as traders were busy digesting U.S. employment data from September, which boosted Federal Reserve rate hike expectations due to lower unemployment rate and higher wage growth.

However, Chicago-based trader Phil Streible expects prices to snap back in the near term.

I think metals will snap back next week, the RJO Futures senior market strategist told Kitco News in a phone interview Friday. Silver could move back over $17 in the near future.

December Comex silver prices dropped from $16.68 down to $16.36 and then recovered to $16.69, up 0.31% on the day.

The move came after the Bureau of Labor Statistics said that payrolls declined by 33,000 in September as Hurricanes Harvey and Irma negatively impacted the employment situation in the country. The change marked the first drop since 2010.

However, Streible said he is focusing on the gold-to-silver ratio right now, which sits at around 77.

Silver is becoming too cheap in correlation to the gold market, he said. Its a buy. I would look at buying silver and selling gold against it.

Weak employment data typically work in favor gold and silver, but there are a few factors working against the precious metals right now, Streible pointed out.

Regardless of weak jobs data, jobs should return quickly and business should become more normalized, he said. The unemployment rate also kicked down.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed that the employment rate dropped to 4.2%, marking the lowest level February 2001. On top of that, wages, another key element in the report, came in above expectations in September. In September, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 12 cents to $26.55, the report said. In the last 12 months, wages have grown 2.9%.

At the same time, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan came out saying the negative effects from the hurricanes are temporary and he remains open minded on a rate hike in December. According to CMEs FedWatch Tool, markets are pricing in an 86.7% chance of a December hike.

By Sarah Benali and Anna Golubova of Kitco News;

sbenali@kitco.com and agolubova@kitco.com

Follow @SdBenali and Follow @annagolubova
HANOI, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Following is a snapshot of Vietnamese dong exchange rates in the official and unofficial markets, indicative SJC gold prices in Hanoi and interbank offered rates at 0412 GMT.

October 6 USD/VND mid-point 22,470 USD/VND interbank 22,727/22,728 USD/VND unofficial 22,720/22,740 SJC gold (mln dong/tael) 36.34/36.56

Interbank offered rates Overnight 0.5-1.1

1 week 0.9-1.2

1 month 1.5-1.9

3 months 3.2-3.6

NOTES: As of Jan. 4, 2016 the State Bank of Vietnam has begun setting the mid-point rate on daily basis, allowing dollar/dong transactions to move in a band of +/- 3 percent around the mid point. The dong's exchange rate against other currencies is not restricted by a band. Interbank offered rates are the latest indicative bid/ask prices, quoted from market sources.

One tael is equivalent to 37.5 grams or 1.21 troy ounces. SJC gold prices are quoted by state-owned Saigon Jewelry Co.

For more interbank rate fixings released at 0400 GMT, click on .

For Vietnam market overview click on: Vietnam's bonds market auctions: Bonds auction results: (Compiled by Hanoi Newsroom; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)
* Treasury says global regulatory forums need greater transparency Could put U.S. on collision course with Europe, other countries

* Likely to overshadow regulatory talks on IMF sidelines next week

By Huw Jones and Michelle Price

WASHINGTON/LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury on Friday said domestic regulators should prioritize U.S. interests when engaging in global rulemaking forums, setting up possible conflicts with overseas regulators.

The recommendation comes days before global regulators from the Basel Committee and the Financial Stability Board are due to convene in Washington ahead of an International Monetary Fund meeting, and will likely overshadow discussions that will take place on the sidelines.

U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order earlier this year calling for the rollback of rules introduced after the 2007-2009 financial crisis has sparked fears that the world's most influential financial market would retreat from global rulemaking. The United States should continue to engage in global rulemaking, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a report on regulatory reform on Friday, but should do so in a way that helps Wall Street be globally competitive and keeps financial markets fair and vibrant. "U.S. agencies should also continue to advance U.S. interests by engaging bilaterally and multilaterally to enhance American companies' competitiveness," the report said.

International rules should only be used if they align with domestic objectives, and should be "carefully and appropriately tailored" to meet the needs of the U.S. financial services industry and the American people, the report said.

A more assertive United States will raise tensions in the European Union with both sides having laboured for years to find common ground in areas like clearing derivatives.

Agreements between the two countries on cross-border trading in swaps and how financial research should be paid for remain outstanding.

The United States has already made it clear it won't endorse a planned global capital rule for insurers unless it meets U.S. requirements. MORE ACCOUNTABILITY

Mnuchin's report comes at a time when momentum in global rulemaking is already sputtering as the immediate post-crisis sense of urgency fades. Top officials at several global bodies are also coming to end of their terms, potentially creating leadership vacuums.

One top U.S. regulatory official told Reuters last month that frustrations were growing over the Basel and FSB rule-making process which "left much to be desire". This person said the process was too opaque, that implementation deadlines were often arbitrary, and that cost-benefit analysis wasn't always adequate.

On Friday, the Treasury recommended increasing "transparency and accountability" in these international bodies, saying they should adopt U.S. style rulemaking procedures that include "robust" impact assessments and broad consultation.

"Treasury recommends increasing the number and timeliness of external stakeholder consultation and publicizing the schedule of major international meetings," the Treasury wrote on Friday.

A spokesman for the FSB declined to comment on the report, but in a statement outlining its 2018 agenda on Tuesday the FSB said it would review its processes, procedural guidelines and transparency.

Representatives of Basel did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.

Mnuchin had already ruffled regulatory feathers with his first report on regulatory reform which proposed delaying two of Basel's rules in order to ease the burden on American banks. That recommendation prompted warnings from the European Union not to roll back on globally agreed rules. Earlier on Friday, the Basel Committee announced it would allow flexibility in the way one of those rules are implemented in a bid to persuade members like the United States to stick to the 2018 start date. But the Treasury report may put further strain on attempts by Basel to complete its Basel III bank capital reform initiated after taxpayers had to bail out lenders during the crisis.

A split between the United States and Europe has prevented a deal on a key element of the package.

Federal Reserve Board Governor Jerome Powell told a Reuters Summit this week there was a good case for getting a deal this year, "but we'd like to do that on terms that are fair, and fair to us". <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ UPDATE 1-U.S. Treasury outlines sweeping blueprint to reform capital markets ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. International Trade Commission said on Friday it voted to end its probe into whether titanium sponge imports from Japan and Kazakhstan are injuring U.S. producers, saying it had not found harm in its preliminary investigations.

The decision follows the launch last month of anti-dumping and countervailing duties investigations by the U.S. Commerce Department after petitions from U.S.-based Titanium Metals Corp, part of Berkshire Hathaway Inc's Precision Castparts Corp.

(Reporting by Justin Mitchell and Eric Walsh; Editing by Susan Heavey and W Simon)
LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May has postponed a trip to China that had been provisionally planned for November due to a timetable clash with U.S. President Donald Trump who would have been there at the same time, Sky News reported on Friday. Sky cited a source from May's office who said the trip had never been finally confirmed or publicly announced.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas and Alistair Smout; editing by Michael Holden)

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 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.
(updates, adds background, quotes)

By Karin Strohecker and Roch Bouka

LONDON/BRAZZAVILLE, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The Republic of Congo's dollar-denominated bonds fell on Friday to their lowest in more than five weeks after the government said it would start talks with its creditors on refinancing its debt, stoking fears of a restructuring.

Congo's economy, which is heavily dependent on revenues from oil exports, has been hit hard by the drop in global crude prices . The government is negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to try to secure a financial assistance programme.

The country's sole-dollar denominated bond - issued 10 years ago and maturing in 2029 - fell 3 cents to trade at 75.76 cents, according to Tradeweb data.

The falls came after Finance Minister Calixte Nganongo told reporters in Brazzaville on Thursday that authorities had told a recent IMF mission the government would proceed with structural reforms and pursue budgetary adjustments already under way.

"With its financial and legal advisers, Congo Republic is going to begin discussions with its primary lenders with the objective of streamlining or refinancing its debt," Nganongo added.

In a statement on its website, the finance minister pledged to take "vigorous and responsible measures" in the face of financial difficulties.

Congo Republic's debt burden came under scrutiny by a technical IMF assessment mission which concluded on Wednesday.

The fund found that Congo Republic's public or publicly guaranteed debt stood at 5.329 trillion CFA francs ($9.7 billion) at the end of July, equating to around 110 percent of gross domestic product.

The fund added that its findings would "inform the next steps toward a possible IMF-supported programme". Stuart Culverhouse, head of research at Exotix Capital, said the carefully worded IMF statement indicated that progress on the ground was needed before programme talks could kick off.

"The fund statement may have provided reassurance to some but in our view it might have raised as many questions as it sought to answer," Culverhouse wrote in a note to clients.

Congo Republic's woes come in the wake of Mozambique defaulting last year after the discovery of previously hidden credits led the IMF and Western donors to halt support for it, triggering the collapse of its currency. Congo Republic has repeatedly been late in paying semi-annual bond coupons on its debts to investors. Brazzaville is also embroiled in a decade old debt battle with construction firm Commisimpex that has weighed on its economy. Commisimpex went to a French court in September in its fight with the government over what it says are more than $1 billion in unpaid bills. ($1 = 551.0000 CFA francs)

(Reporting by Karin Strohecker in London and Roch Bouka in Brazzaville)
(Adds quotes, context on auctions, tenders)

By Marianna Parraga

HOUSTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Ecuador will offer oil exploration and production blocks in January under new contract terms that it expects will attract more interest and allow the OPEC-member country to compete with its neighbors for foreign investment, the oil minister said.

The new terms will allow producers to be paid in oil and enable them to export or sell the barrels to local refineries, said Carlos Perez at a conference at Rice University in Houston on Friday.

"Ecuador needs to be able to compete now that Brazil and Colombia have changed their contract terms to encourage foreign investment," he said.

The switch to production-sharing agreements from service contracts should help make the next bidding round more attractive than previous ones, he said.

Ecuador needs foreign capital to replace oil reserves and revitalize production. But frequent contract changes have spooked big oil firms in recent years, contributing to an output decline.

Ecuador's withdrawal from a World Bank's arbitration court in 2009, which was included in many oil contracts as the preferred mechanism to solve disputes among partners, has also increased the risk for investors in the country.

Perez said the country was considering including Chilean courts in new contracts as the lack of international arbitration mechanisms were an "issue". Ecuador is also renegotiating oil-for-loan agreements with Chinese trading firm PetroChina and Thailand's PTT PCL . It is in talks to pay a loan portion to PetroChina in advance, which would free crude barrels for exports, Perez said.

State-run Petroecuador also plans to launch a new tender to sell crude on the open market in early 2018, after awarding Glencore PLC a similar offer earlier this year.

NEEDED IMPROVEMENTS

An ongoing auction for small oil blocks under the previous contract terms received interest from 45 companies, with 23 qualified to bid, Perez said. Ten blocks will be awarded by the end of the month, he said.

Ecuador needs to keep cutting costs, said Perez, a former oilfield services executive. Operational costs for its Petroamazonas producing arm are $6.56 per barrel, but the entire cost of production including transportation and drilling is between $16 and $17 per barrel.

To help cut costs, Petroecuador has reduced staff and is trying to do more workover drilling in existing wells, instead of drilling new wells.

Perez said Ecuador expects to lift its production to 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) in four years from 548,400 bpd in 2016, although recent cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have led the nation to reduce output this year by some 13,000 bpd.

The country will support any decision by OPEC as long as it remains a member of the group, he added. The organization has signaled a willingness to extend the cuts into 2018.

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga, writing by Gary McWilliams; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Rosalba O'Brien)
* Central bank says engaged banks on KPMG

* AVI latest firm to drop KPMG as auditor

* KPMG South Africa vows to reform

(Adds more details, AVI firing KPMG)

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 6 (Reuters) - South Africa's central bank said on Friday it had not given banks any instructions on their relationships with KPMG as a result of a scandal involving the auditing firm.

Sources told Reuters last week that the central bank had told top South African lenders they cannot fire KPMG, because this might undermine financial stability. "The South African Reserve Bank would like to state categorically that it has not instructed banks on what steps they should, or should not take, with regards to their contracts with KPMG," the central bank said in a statement.

KPMG sacked its South African leadership last month after it said it had found work done for companies owned by the Gupta family, who are close friends of President Jacob Zuma, "fell considerably short" of its standards. The Guptas and Zuma have denied any wrongdoing.

Several companies have fired KPMG as a result of its alleged involvement in the scandal, with South Africa's branded consumer products firm AVI Limited the latest firm to drop the global auditor. Governor Lesetja Kganyago said on Sept. 21 the central bank was concerned about "regrettable" practices at KPMG and would engage banks and audit firms so that the regulator was better placed to manage any financial stability risk.

"These engagements have taken place but at no point did the SARB instruct banks on how they should deal with KPMG," it said.

KPMG South Africa's chief executive on Thursday told lawmakers the company would implement reforms to ensure the firm did not repeat "greatly disappointing" work it did for the Gupta family. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by James Macharia and Alexander Smith)
* Glencore agrees to buy assets for $973 mln

* Chevron's assets include major refinery in Cape Town

* Chevron previously agreed sale with China's Sinopec

* Glencore looking to bring in partner for the stake - source

(Adds details, potential entry of a partner with Glencore)

By Julia Payne and Zandi Shabalala

LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Commodities trader and miner Glencore has swooped in to replace China's Sinopec as the buyer of Chevron's South African and Botswana assets after reaching a deal with local investors.

In its statement on Friday, Glencore said it had agreed to buy Chevron's 75 percent stake in its South African subsidiary and its Botswana interests for a combined $973 million. The remaining 25 percent stake will stay with a consortium of Black Economic Empowerment shareholders and an employee trust.

An industry source familiar with Glencore's mergers and acquisitions activities said the company was looking to bring in a partner into the asset. Chevron and Sinopec did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The assets include a 100,000 barrel-per-day oil refinery in Cape Town, a lubricants plant in Durban as well as 820 petrol stations and other oil storage facilities. It also includes 220 convenience stores across South Africa and Botswana.

Glencore stepped in after local shareholders exercised pre-emption rights following delays to the Sinopec deal.

In March, Chevron announced that it had agreed the sale of its assets to China's largest refiner Sinopec , for nearly $1 billion. As of May, the deal had been under review by South Africa's Economic Development ministry. Glencore was among the bidders for the stake last year along with oil major Total and rival trading house Gunvor. END OF ERA

The stake was of keen interest to many oil traders as the retail network is one of the biggest in South Africa and it provides access to strategic storage in Saldanha Bay on the southwestern coast.

Chevron along with other oil majors have announced a flurry of downstream sales in the last few years to trim costs after global oil prices slumped in 2014.

Chevron, which has had a presence in South Africa for more than a century, announced the sale in January 2016.

Nimbler oil trading firms have snapped up the unwanted oil refineries and retail stations particularly in industrialising nations such as South Africa where young populations and a fast-growing middle class are expected to boost fuel demand. Glencore has shifted in the last year from shedding interests to stay afloat during the broader 2015-2016 commodities downturn to asset-buying since the rebound in prices. The deal, which will include Glencore retaining Chevron's local management team and workforce, will be funded using existing cash resources and is expected to close in mid-2018.

"Glencore intends to manage its overall oil asset portfolio to ensure that, including this transaction, net additional capital investment is limited to less than $500 million over the next 12 months," it said.

If the deal closes, this would be Glencore's first refining asset. It began expanding into downstream oil in May after setting up a retail franchise in Mexico. (Additional reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru and Dmitry Zdhannikov in London; editing by John Stonestreet and Keith Weir)
(Adds human rights group, lawmaker comment, details and background)

By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - The United States lifted long-standing sanctions against Sudan on Friday, saying it had made progress fighting terrorism and easing humanitarian distress, and also secured Khartoum's commitment not to pursue arms deals with North Korea.

In a move that completes a process begun by former President Barack Obama and which was opposed by human rights groups, President Donald Trump removed a U.S. trade embargo and other penalties that had effectively cut Sudan off from much of the global financial system.

The U.S. decision marked a major turnaround for the government of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who once played host to Osama bin Laden and is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of orchestrating genocide in Darfur.

However, Sudan will stay on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism - alongside Iran and Syria - which carries a ban on weapons sales and restrictions on U.S. aid, U.S. officials said.

Sudanese officials also remain subject to United Nations sanctions for human rights abuses during the Darfur conflict, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The lifting of sanctions reflects a U.S. assessment that Sudan has made progress in meeting Washington's demands, including cooperation on counter-terrorism, working to resolve internal conflicts and allowing more humanitarian aid into Darfur and other rebellious border areas, the officials said.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the sanctions relief was in recognition of Sudan's "sustained positive actions" but that more improvement was needed.

The Trump administration also secured a commitment from Sudan that it would "not pursue arms deals" with North Korea, and Washington will apply "zero tolerance" in ensuring Khartoum's compliance, one of the officials said.

But they said Khartoum's assurances on North Korea were not a condition for lifting sanctions, some of which had been in place for 20 years and have hobbled the Sudanese economy.

Sudan has long been suspected of military ties with North Korea, which is locked in a tense standoff with Washington over its missiles and nuclear weapons programs. But the official said Khartoum was not believed to have diplomatic relations with Pyongyang and that was not expected to change.

Sudan also has recently distanced itself diplomatically from Iran, another U.S. arch-foe.

POTENTIAL BOOST FOR BUSINESS

U.S. officials have said that sanctions relief, which will unfreeze Sudanese government assets, could benefit a range businesses in Sudan, including its key energy sector.

The economy has been reeling since South Sudan, which contains three-quarters of former Sudan's oil wells, seceded in 2011.

Shortly before leaving office, Obama temporarily eased penalties against the east African nation. In July, the Trump postponed for three months a decision on whether to remove the sanctions completely, setting up an Oct. 12 deadline.

Rights groups see the sanctions removal as premature.

"It sends the wrong message to lift these sanctions permanently when Sudan has made so little progress on human rights," said Andrea Prasow, deputy director of the Washington office of Human Rights Watch.

Democratic U.S. Representative Jim McGovern said the sanctions decision "legitimizes the murderous actions of the Sudanese government" and warned that "any back-sliding will likely result in Congress reinstating sanctions."

The United States first imposed sanctions on Sudan in 1997, including a trade embargo and blocking government assets, for human rights violations and terrorism concerns. Washington layered on more sanctions in 2006 for what it said was complicity in the violence in Sudan's Darfur region.

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Additional reporting by Mohammad Zargham; Editing by James Dalgleish)
Oct 6 (Reuters) - Following are domestic prices of Vietnam's key commodities. Unit: million dong per tonne Item Oct 2-6 Sep 25-29 Location Robusta beans 42.1-43.1 41.2-43.3 Central Highlands Black pepper 80.0-81.0 82.0-87.0 Southern region Refined sugar 16.0-17.0 16.0-17.0 Southern region Summer-autumn paddy 5.8-6.7 5.8-6.7 Mekong Delta SJC gold 3.625-3.656 3.637-3.677 Hanoi, HCMC City NOTES: Gold prices are low/high selling prices quoted in million dong per 3.75-gram ingot during the week by top manufacturer SJC. Prices in the previous week are updated. Coffee export prices Rice export prices Historical data Central bank's gold auction ($1 = 22,727 dong)

(Reporting by Mi Nguyen)

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 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.
LONDON, Oct 6 (Reuters) - Angolan crude differentials were steady after falling for some grades this week, although still-ample supplies suggested buyers were waiting for lower offers.

ANGOLA

* The November programme has been relatively slow to clear and 20 or more November and October cargoes are yet to trade, sources said.

* China's Unipec was showing the same offers on Friday after reducing some asking prices on Thursday. The company offered Dalia at flat to dated Brent, Plutonio at dated plus 50 cents and Nemba at dated plus 20 cents.

* Unipec also offered Congolese Djeno at a 35 cent discount to dated Brent.

NIGERIA

* Nigerian differentials have found support from loading delays and relatively small November export programmes.

* Most programmes have emerged but there was still no sign of a Bonny Light loading schedule. Bonny Light exports remain under force majeure.

TENDERS

* Indian refiner MRPL is running a tender to buy crude loading Nov. 15-30.

(Reporting by Alex Lawler; editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
Shenandoah, IA (51601)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy in the afternoon. A few flurries or snow showers possible. High 36F. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph..

Tonight

A few clouds from time to time. Low 19F. Winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) determined Thursday that two South Korean companies' washing machines manufactured in foreign countries were harming the U.S. industry.



The trade body announced the result of its four-month investigation prompted by a safeguard petition Whirlpool Corp. filed May 31 against Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc.



The appliance giant accused the Korea rivals of moving manufacturing operations to Vietnam and Thailand, respectively, to circumvent U.S. anti-dumping tariffs imposed on their large residential washers.



"The U.S. International Trade Commission has determined that large residential washers are being imported into the United States in such increased quantities as to be a substantial cause of serious injury, or threat of serious injury, to the domestic industry producing an article like or directly competitive with the imported article in the United States," the commission said on its website.



The decision does not affect washers made in South Korea or any other U.S. free trade partners.



The investigation will move to a remedy phase, and a public hearing is scheduled for Oct. 19.



The commission plans to announce its remedy recommendations at the conclusion of the phase, and forward them to President Donald Trump by Dec. 4.



Remedy measures may include an increase in a duty, imposition of a quota, imposition of a tariff-rate quota, trade adjustment assistance, or any combination of such actions, according to the commission.



The president is expected to make a final decision by early next year, taking into account the commission's report, industry efforts to make a positive adjustment to import competition, and factors related to the national economic interest of the U.S.



Samsung and LG exported a combined US$1 billion worth of large residential washing machines to the U.S. last year, holding some 16 percent and 13 percent, respectively, of the market led by Whirlpool with 38 percent.



Samsung Electronics expressed disappointment in the decision, claiming the ITC's decision will have an adverse impact on U.S. consumers.



"Restrictions on imports of Samsung washing machines will negatively affect American consumers by limiting choices, raising prices, and offering less innovative washing machines," Samsung said through a statement.



Samsung added the company has been delivering innovative products, which are "made by Americans, and sold to American consumers."



"We believe that safeguard remedies should not discriminate in favor of one group of U.S.-based workers over another and should not negatively impact a fair appliance marketplace for consumers," it added.



An official from LG Electronics also said U.S. consumers and retailers will face damage if Washignton actually decides to impose regulations on its products.



LG Electronics added the ITC's decision will have no impact on its plan to invest $250 million to build a washer factory in the U.S.



The construction of the factory in Tennessee is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2019, with an annual production capacity of 1 million units. (Yonhap)




The fireball was spotted on Wednesday over southern China. / Captured from Tweeter



By Park Si-soo



A small meteor exploded over China's southwestern region of Yunnan Province on Wednesday evening, lighting up the dark sky with what observes called "incredible fireballs."

The meteor is believed to have landed somewhere in the region. There are no reports of casualties or property loss, according to China's state media Xinhua.

"We first heard a big bang and then saw a light," villager Duji told Xinhua. "We thought it was an earthquake but did not feel the jolt."

The fireballs appeared in the sky over Shangri-La County about 8 p.m., according to reports. One witness told MailOnline that the meteor lit up the sky for about five seconds. Another witness said the meteor landed in a small village about 25 miles from Shangri-La.

"The fireball was caused by a very small heavenly body, compared with an asteroid," Wang Xiaobin, a researcher at the Yunnan Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told Xinhua. He said such an incident is "not unusual."

NASA confirmed that a fireball explosion took place in the region. It said the explosion is believed to have generated 0.54 kilotons of energy, which is equivalent to the amount of energy released from detonating 540 tons of TNT.
Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of Norwegian Nobel Committee, pictured with the logo of ICAN, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, who were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Friday Oct. 6, 2017. / AP-Yonhap



The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a group of mostly young activists pushing for a global treaty to ban the cataclysmic bombs.

The award of the $1.1-million prize comes amid heightened tensions over both North Korea's aggressive development of nuclear weapons and President Donald Trump's persistent criticism of the deal to curb Iran's nuclear program.

The prize committee wanted ''to send a signal to North Korea and the U.S. that they need to go into negotiations,'' Oeivind Stenersen, a historian of the peace prize, told The Associated Press. ''The prize is also coded support to the Iran nuclear deal. I think this was wise because recognizing the Iran deal itself could have been seen as giving support to the Iranian state.''

The Geneva-based ICAN has campaigned actively for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons adopted by the United Nations in July, but which needs ratification from 50 countries. Only three countries have ratified it so far. It organized events globally in 2015 to mark the 70th anniversaries of the World War II U.S. atomic bombings of the Japanese cities Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Last month in Berlin, ICAN protesters teamed up with other organizations to demonstrate outside the U.S. and North Korean embassies against the possibility of nuclear war between the two countries. Wearing masks of Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, protesters posed next to a dummy nuclear missile and a large banner reading ''Time to Go: Ban Nuclear Weapons.''

The group ''has been a driving force in prevailing upon the world's nations to pledge to cooperate ... in efforts to stigmatize, prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons,'' Norwegian Nobel Committee chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said in the announcement.

The prize "sends a message to all nuclear-armed states and all states that continue to rely on nuclear weapons for security that it is unacceptable behavior. We will not support it, we will not make excuses for it, we can't threaten to indiscriminately slaughter hundreds of thousands of civilians in the name of security. That's not how you build security,'' ICAN executive director Beatrice Fihn told reporters in Geneva.



She said that she ''worried that it was a prank'' after getting a phone call just minutes before the official Peace Prize announcement was made. Fihn said she didn't believe it until she heard the name of the group proclaimed on television.

ICAN leaders later popped open some bubbly to celebrate the prize, and held up a banner with the name of the organization in their small Geneva headquarters.

''We are trying to send very strong signals to all states with nuclear arms, nuclear-armed states _ North Korea, U.S., Russia, China, France, U.K., Israel, all of them, India, Pakistan _ it is unacceptable to threaten to kill civilians,'' she said.

Reiss-Andersen noted that similar prohibitions have been reached on chemical and biological weapons, land mines and cluster munitions.

''Nuclear weapons are even more destructive, but have not yet been made the object of a similar international legal prohibition,'' she said.

Reiss-Andersen said ''through its inspiring and innovative support for the U.N. negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons, ICAN has played a major part in bringing about what in our day and age is equivalent to an international peace congress.''

Asked by journalists whether the prize was essentially symbolic, given that no international measures against nuclear weapons have been reached, Reiss-Andersen said ''What will not have an impact is being passive." (AP)
Fans are quite aware that both the previous and current members of EXO who are still promoting and working in China and ranking in the dough - but just how much? Well, the figures are shocking enough to grab the attention of netizens and fans worldwide!

According to reports, on October 5th Chinese media outlet 'ETODAY' discussed the earnings of top stars in China currently. The chart titled '2017 China Celebrity Ranking' included previous EXO members Kris and Luhan. According to the outlet, the results were calculated from the Chinese stars' earnings and public appearances since July of 2016 to June 30 of this year.

Luhan was reported to have gained much fame in China and topping album sales chart alongside starring in one of China's popular dramas 'Fighter of Destiny.' "Luhan earned a total of 181.6 Million yuan (30.2 Billion KRW or $26.4 Million)."The outlets continued saying that, "Kris took the 9th spot with a total of 136.8 Million yuan (22.8 Billion KRW or $20 Million) in his annual earnings."

The outlet continued to reveal the top earnings of one popular actress saying, "Out of all, Chinese actress Fan Bingbing was crowned 1st place, receiving a total of 204.4 Million yuan (approximately 40.7 Billion KRW or $35.6 Million)." What do you think of their impressive earnings?
While TWICE may be receiving all the love from Japanese fans after the official release of their first Japanese debut track "One More Time," fans in Korea are pointing figures saying the fine lovely nine are stealing choreography from another hot group, Black Pink!

The allegations started just a day after the girls released their MV, around the time they started receiving praise for getting more than 3 Million views in just 24 hours! Fans began commenting "how oddly similar" and "unoriginal" TWICE were after noticing how the girls would thrust, jump and even imitate the finger pointing actions and leg movements which were similar to Black Pink's "As If It IS Your Last" choreography.

After pointing things out, even Japanese fans are starting to question the girls' choreography and are sharing videos and side-by-side photos for comparison. A Japanese fan posted a video, which is 100% going viral, on her Twitter that highlights the exact parts where the choreography was shockingly similar. See for yourself HERE!

Fans continue to comment, some defending and others bashing, about TWICE saying, "There are so many dance moves in the world, you can't own them all," "TWICE will never be better than Black Pink" and "These parts are too much alike." How did the video and photo comparisons make you feel?




Fernando Alonso believes Honda's inability to sustain its efforts each year from a solid foundation led to the failure of its partnership with McLaren.

The Japanese manufacturer which enjoyed great success in F1 in the 80s returned to the pinnacle of motorsport in 2015 with McLaren, in the second year of the sport's V6 hybrid era.

It's first year was marked by incessant reliability issues however which improved in 2016 although performance remained depressed. The introduction of a new power unit this year was met with even more reliability troubles which dogged the Woking-based outfit's campaign at the outset.

McLaren-Honda's form, or lack of, in pre-season testing, when everything is validated rather than trial and tested, put the writing on the wall, says Alonso.

"I think the biggest problems we faced in the last three years was winter testing, because we came to the next season, and we started from zero," said Alonso in Japan.

"So we had to improve things a lot, and Australia was a test, China was a test, Bahrain was a test, and we ended up with a package, a power unit, that we knew more or less how it works.

"That put you in a position and a hope that next year you will start there, and the gap is closer and closer. And it didn't happen.

"Every single season we had to change the philosophy of the engine, we had to change the turbine position, we changed different things that slowed us a little bit too much in terms of development."

Despite the turbulent period and the painful lack of results, Alonso claims he is proud of the work achieved by McLaren, and working with Honda has been a special experience.

"There are ups and down in all the teams," he said.

"The good thing is I think together with the Japanese mentality, no one gave up, they're still always working.

"We didn't deliver the results that everyone was hoping for, and that's a shame, we're sad for that.

"But we're still proud of the work that the team achieved with all the difficulties we found in winter testing. We tried to overcome all those problems in as short a period as possible.

"I will always still be proud of this project, even if the lack of results will say the opposite, and will be remembered as a bad timing, and frustrating timing, which it was, and it is now.

"I always loved Japan from the past, I have a samurai tattoo on my back, and to work in a Japanese organisation was quite intense, it was special, it was a different way of working."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman has said that recently growth mutual trade between Ukraine and Moldova was over 30%.

"I want to say that recently we saw growth of bilateral trade, as my counterpart said, by over 30%. This means that we lift any obstacles at the level of the governments allowing business to effectively cooperate," he said at the Moldova Business Week 2017 in Chisinau on Friday.

The prime minister said that Ukraine sees Moldova as its economic partners and the country is interested in cooperation of representatives of the businesses of the two countries.

"Our task is to lift any obstacles and create infrastructure integration," he said.

"Our task is to make our countries closer in infrastructure via the merger of roads, railways, air routes. We need to relax the rules of crossing the borders and customs rules," the prime minister said.
The Ukrainian Finance Ministry hopes to complete the work on a strategy for the development of state-owned banks by mid-October, First Deputy Finance Minister Oksana Markarova has told Interfax-Ukraine.

"The strategy on state banks is at the final stage... We will be ready to present it at a government meeting by the middle of October," she said on the sidelines of the Fourth Kyiv International Economic Forum on Thursday.

According to Markarova, the ministry has recently worked actively on resolving the issue of problem loans of state banks.

"We had a number of discussions, including with experts and the public. We are now entering the final model. Without solving this issue, it is very difficult to choose a direction, especially for those banks that have some focus," she said.

She also announced the completion of work on options for PrivatBank's development strategy.

"The strategy is also at the final stage. We use part of it to update the overall strategy. I do not want to say a specific day, but it's a matter of weeks," Markarova said.

As reported, in July this year, the supervisory board of PrivatBank (Kyiv) announced McKinsey & Company the winner of a tender to select an internationally recognized company responsible for drawing up a strategy of the financial institution.

PrivatBank said that the objective of this assignment is to design a market strategy to optimize PrivatBank operations while ensuring the best interest of its shareholder and financial stability and to perform a diagnostic of the Bank and assess its ability to rebuild a strong, sustainable business model, and to generate strategic options for its further evolution.

As reported, on December 18, 2016, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Kateryna Rozhkova said that McKinsey & Company would offer options for the strategy of nationalized PrivatBank to the Finance Ministry and NBU at the end of September or early October.
Kyiv's business court of appeals has dismissed a counterclaim of Sanofi-Aventis Ukraine LLC, a pharmaceutical company part of Sanofi Group, against writing off UAH 50 million from the company in favor of fraudsters.

According to a statement of Sanofi, a copy of which has been sent to Interfax-Ukraine, the company seeks to challenge the decision in the higher business court of Ukraine. The company is looking to the launch of the official settlement of the dispute in an international arbitration against Ukraine. This is outlined in the Ukrainian-French agreement on promotion and protection of investment signed in 1994.

Since March 2017, the company has been suffering from actions of fraudsters, who using the unlawful decision of Kyiv's business court issued using the fabricated documents and not taking into account arguments of Sanofi in violation of procedural rules, achieve the writing off almost UAH 50 million from its accounts, Sanofi said.

The company said that these fraudulent actions occur with the active assistance of representatives of the judicial system and the enforcement agency.

"Despite all the efforts and legislative measures taken, the court of appeals rejected all the arguments and evidence of the company regarding the forgery of the primary documents that served as the basis for refusing to examine the originals, ignored the criminal proceedings on the use of forged documents by the plaintiffs and even after the plaintiffs failed to comply with the mandatory decision of the court and refused to provide evidence in support of their claim, ruled in their favor," the pharmaceutical company said in a statement.
You could call it her mission, or you could call it her passion. Whatever you call it, Pacific Beach resident Patricia Benesh is determined to change the face of aging through her company, 7 Memories.

Benesh has written three books on the subject and started the company to get more senior citizens to turn their lives into legacies by writing down their personal stories.

Benesh started her writing crusade in the late 90s, helping authors such as Thomas Steinbeck (John Steinbecks son) write manuscripts and articles. But it was the sudden death of her older brother in 2002 that sparked the idea for 7 Memories.

In the last photo of him, he was holding the first great-grandbaby in our family, she recalls. I felt compelled to write the story of my parents for that great-grandchild. And now, Im honoring my parents by following my passion  to help people turn their memories into memoirs before its too late.

When asked why she chose seven as the magic number of memories, she explains, Its a workable number in terms of starting a memoir. The thought of writing a memoir can be daunting, but if you start with just seven memories, it becomes do-able.

Plus, it requires you to decide on the significant experiences in your life, and that gives you focus and direction.

Benesh uses Its About Time as the program tagline, and with good reason. There does come a time when the window for capturing memories closes. So its critical to make that happen while its possible. I cannot stress that strongly enough. All of these amazing stories are lost to us unless we take the time to encourage and help older adults write down their stories. A memoir is a lifetime of experience and learning passed on to future generations. Otherwise, its a lifetime lost, like a library burning to the ground.

 BJ Strongs story

One of the seniors Benesh has worked with is BJ Strong, a Mission Beach resident who was 83 years old at the time she wrote her memoir. It tells the compelling story of her childhood on a farm in Nebraska with no electricity or running water, while attending a one-room schoolhouse until the eighth grade. Strong is most proud of being among the first female Marines in World War II, and is now a volunteer at the USS Midway Museum, where she regales visitors with her memories and autographs copies of her memoir.

Strong remembers how much she loved the writing process.

At first I thought it was dumb to do it. Why would my memories be important to anyone? she recalls. But then I realized it was really a different culture when I was a child. It changed so much, since I became an adult.

The memoir helped Strong look back on her life with a new-found perspective. I dont know that I ever did anything spectacular, but I didnt make many mistakes. I chose my friends well. I think thats the secret to happiness. Writing my memoirs also made me realize things and think more. Gosh, Ive gotten so old, you forget about your mom and dad and grandmother ... thats one thing I liked writing about.

Today, Strong is 97 years young. She still does yoga or Qi Gong five days a week and navigates the stairs to her second-floor home several times a day. Im not sure which is harder, she says. I think it might be the stairs.

And when she looks back at her life, she has no regrets.

Ive had a good life. Ive been one of the most fortunate people in the world. I count my blessings every day.

 Establishing Memoir Partners

Benesh is not only offering her program to seniors; shes also teaching a class to young college students next semester at UC San Diegos Life Course Scholars program. Using her 7 Memories books, shell show students how to act as a guide for older adults to partner with them in the memoir-writing process.

For Benesh, its the beginning of a vision she sees extending far into the future. I would love to have a legion of Memoir Partners whose mission is to capture the memories of older adults. Id like to start it here in San Diego, then expand it to California and the United States. It would have a strong inter-generational component and national visibility, perhaps endorsed by AARP, with its own day of celebration. Memoirs galore!

 Want to know more? E-mail Patricia Benesh at info@7memories.com, or visit 7Memories.com or facebook.com/7memories4ever
A plan is in the works to manage the vegetation along Coast Walk and Torrey Pines Road, and ultimately, restore public access to the Coast Walk Bridge.

The City previously said there were no plans to re-open the bridge after it closed in March, but has since changed its tune. A temporary bridge bypass is in the works, but a timeline has not been announced for its implementation or completion.

The management plan would include drafting an agreement with nearby residents so the City can preserve views by trimming the vegetation near the parking lot at the start of Coast Walk Trail and the ocean side of Torrey Pines Road (south of Prospect Street), and reinforce a portion of the bridge so it could be reopened.

At issue is a short segment that feeds from the parking lot entrance of the Coast Walk Trail to the main bridge that spans the gorge along the Coast Walk Trail. The main bridge itself is sufficient, but the perpendicular lead-in is not. Signs are posted on both ends of the bridge indicating it is closed.

Its our intent to restore the bridge, restore access to the bridge, restore the stability of the bridge and find a way to keep that trail active, said Bill Harris, spokesperson for the Transportation and Stormwater Department at the Sept. 25 La Jolla Parks & Beaches advisory board meeting.

The footing for the affected portion has been wiped out, and would require invasive work to restore. In what is turning out to be an epic project, Harris said all appropriate City departments that would need to weigh in have been informed, and the California Coastal Commission would soon need to join the conversation.

Engineers are coming up with a design concept, but until they come up with and get those concepts in place, there is no way to launch a permitting process, so we do not have a timeline, Harris told the board. In the interim, the plan is to re-route the trail, bring it up a little bit from its current configuration, and essentially bypass the bridge so you can get on the trail. Our engineers are looking at a way to do that and what that would mean.

The bypass would be a temporary measure until the bridge, which was built to its current configuration in 1932 and reinforced in the early 1990s, can be restored. (Its unknown when it was originally built.)

Under the in-development agreement, the City would also manage vegetation that some argue has gotten out of hand.

There was some planting done (along the Coast Walk Trail parking lot) that is consistent with the types of things allowed in coastal bluff areas, but there has been failures in maintenance, Harris said. So we have started working with Friends of Coast Walk to recast an agreement  because it has only been maintained by hand and not as well as we would like considering it is City property. We want to make sure that its done right ... so those plants will not come up above the view corridor.

Additionally, Harris said the overgrown vegetation along a segment of Torrey Pines Road would be similarly maintained. In March 2015, the City lowered the height of the fence from six feet to four feet, removed a tarp that blocked ocean views and removed some of the vegetation. However, some nearby homeowners have since re-planted vegetation that has grown well above the height of the fence. Some homeowners have trimmed the plants to the fence-line. Others have not.

The outlying vegetation has been brought up at La Jolla Community Planning Association meetings for the last several months.

Were going to bundle maintenance of that hillside and the maintenance of the vegetation with the agreement we strike with Friends of Coast Walk because it will all be part and parcel with the work we do on the trail side, Harris said. We want to codify what they can do and will do in terms of maintenance.

A mixed message?

Signs are posted on both ends indicating the bridge is closed. However, physical deterrents such as stop signs, A-frame signs, caution tape or Bridge Closed signs have been moved, leaving an open path to access the bridge and trail. It is not know who moved the signage.

In other Parks & Beaches news:

Concours dElegance a-go: The Concours dElegance car show in April  which is always a hot debate at La Jolla Parks & Beaches meetings because the event closes off almost all of Scripps Park  was discussed and the board voted to support the event in 2018. The 2017 car show had record attendance.

For the event, a portion of Coast Boulevard is lined with classic cars and open to the public for free viewing, but the main, ticketed event takes up the entire park and uses six-foot tall fencing and tarps.

Concours organizer Michael Dorvillier told the board the fenced-in, ticketed event includes hospitality suits and VIP booths. Its how we raise our revenue. These suits are our biggest source of income. Proceeds go to La Jolla Historical Society, and provide about half of the LJHSs annual operating budget.

Wrack removal a no-go: After last months discussion on whether the board could remove wrack (dried seaweed that has washed ashore) on La Jollas beaches, Mauricio Medina, representing the office of District 1 City Council member Barbara Bry, said the City is not able to organize a formal cleanup.

I spoke with the Department of Park & Rec and as far as they know, the City has never cleaned the wrack  he said.

A few audience members interrupted to say that was not true; they witnessed lifeguards cleaning the wrack decades ago.

However, Medina continued  and right now do not have the resources or capacity to do so.

At issue is the excessive build-up of wrack on the beach, which some consider to be unsightly and unpleasantly pungent, and others argue provides a food source for beach invertebrates, which in turn are a food source for shore birds.

 La Jolla Parks & Beaches next meets 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23 at La Jolla Rec Center, 615 Prospect St. lajollaparksandbeaches.org
Deputies of the Mykolaiv City Council removed the city mayor Oleksandr Senkevych at an extraordinary session on October 5, NikVesti online edition has reported.

Some 42 deputies voted for the early termination of Senkevych's powers by a secret ballot procedure.

Prior to this, the deputies of the Mykolaiv City Council recognized Senkevych's performance as unsatisfactory, as well as the work of executive authorities and deputy mayors.

In turn, Senkevych said that he considers the decision of the deputies on the early termination of his powers as a mayor of the city illegal. He said he would challenge it in court.
Most motorcycle industry veterans are painfully aware that their business model is broken.

New riders are not coming into the sport as fast as old riders are aging out of it.

Bonnier Motorcycle Group, which publishes 11 moto-centric titles including Cycle World, Motorcyclist and Dirt Rider magazines, sponsors several events a year that are designed to reverse the trend.

Advertisement

The most recent was the Adventure Rally, held in Californias Sierra Nevada mountains at the China Peak ski resort. More than 150 motorcyclists interested in adventure riding  which typically involves a mixture of on-road and off-road travel, on machines designed to function well on all terrains  showed up.

The event is a moneymaker for Bonnier, which charges participants $400 apiece for three days of riding, instruction and product displays, and three nights of dining, drinking and dispensing of swag.

Bonniers director of consumer engagement, Corey Eastman, who for the last several years has overseen the California rally and a similar event in Colorado, said the event is profitable at a time when readership and advertising are dropping for most motorcycle publications.

As a publishing company, we have to find new ways to create revenue, Eastman said. This is a way to break down the fourth wall and really meet the consumer.

Higher rally points were given for waystations that were far from camp or difficult to reach. This spot, near the peak of Bald Mountain, was a high score location. (Charles Fleming / Los Angeles Times )

Eastman said the event was partly underwritten by sponsors, which this year included motorcycle manufacturers Honda and BMW, insurer Geico, riding academy RawHyde Adventures (see related story) and equipment and apparel manufacturers Bell, Alpinestars, Galfer, Moose Racing, MotionPro and TCX.

The sponsors were attracted by the concentrated gathering of highly motivated consumers who, according to Bonnier research, are much more likely to buy bikes and gear following a rally event.

A participant study from Bonniers two 2016 rallies showed that 70% of event attendees were 35 to 54 years old, and 79% were male. Their median annual household income was $191,600. Bonnier said.

We have a captive audience here, said Troy Siahaan of Alpinestars, which hosted a booth displaying jackets, boots and other apparel. This is a great opportunity to get them familiar with our product and get direct, immediate feedback.

Honda brought multiple models to the rally, including some of its African Twin adventure bikes and its small-bore CRF250 Rally.

BMW had a variety of machines on hand, including its niche-leading R1200GSA adventure bike.

BMW and Honda offered motorcycle test rides at the China Peak location, while manufacturers Alpinestars, Bell, Galfer, MotionPro, TCX, Moose Racing and Rever brought gear and apparel. (Charles Fleming / Los Angeles Times )

Riders spent two days on self-guided tours of the surrounding mountains, in search of waypoints. Teams of riders were challenged to locate as many specified locations as possible, and collect photographic evidence of having been there to earn riding points  with higher points allotted for locations that were most distant from China Peak, or involving the most difficult terrain.

Gary Guagenti, 41, from Redondo Beach, learned about the rally from a recent Dirt Rider issue and signed up at once. He even went out and bought a second motorcycle so his son Chase, 16, could join him.

Guagenti said he was inspired, after several test rides in the mountains, to consider adding another machine to his stable.

After this weekend I want to buy an adventure bike, Guagenti said.

charles.fleming@latimes.com

@misterfleming
No one should have been surprised when the giant Westlands Water District voted Sept. 19 against joining the states equally imposing $17-billion water infrastructure project.

After all, the Central Valley district  at 600,000 acres the largest agricultural water district in the nation  had been signaling its uneasiness about the California WaterFix for months. The district accepted that the reliability and volume of the water supply for Southern and Central California could be enhanced by the plan to build two 30-mile, four-story-high tunnels to carry water under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. But questions were mounting about how much more reliable and how much larger the supply would be, and whether the gain was worth the price.

A staff report prepared in advance of the vote cast a shadow. The report warned that a business case  cannot be made for a project that could increase Westlands cost of irrigation water by nearly $1,000 per acre-foot. The economics of the project deteriorated sharply for the district in July, when federal officials made clear that the government wouldnt pick up the tab for environmental refuges or districts whose historic water rights were so senior to all others that theyd get almost all the water they needed even without the tunnels.

Advertisement

There are a couple of possible paths forward, and then theres just giving up and not building the project.  Metropolitan Water District General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation said that, while districts that wished to obtain water through the WaterFix were welcome to opt in, the federal government would contribute nothing to the projects cost. The opt-in users, therefore, would effectively be subsidizing the refuges and the so-called exchange districts by shouldering an estimated additional $4 billion.

Yet Westlands had expressed support for the WaterFix in principle. Many observers expected the board to signal that it was open to negotiation over its financial share, or to a less ambitious and cheaper tunnel project. Instead, the boards 7-1 vote not to participate delivered what could be a mortal blow to the whole project.

The California WaterFix is about to enter a make-or-break phase. The board of the Metropolitan Water District, which serves 19 million residents of Southern California, is scheduled to vote Tuesday on participating in the project. But that vote is based on the expectation that the MWD would pay only 26% of the total project cost, or about $4.4 billion, a figure that has been thrown into doubt by the federal governments position and the Westlands vote. Additional Central and Southern California users of delta water will be voting over the coming weeks.

Things werent helped by the release Thursday of a negative report by state auditor Elaine Howle, who found that the projects unexpected complexity already has led to significant cost increases and schedule delays.

The states options if the tunnels cant secure adequate funding are few.

There are a couple of possible paths forward, and then theres just giving up and not building the project, MWD General Manager Jeffrey Kightlinger told me. One option is to push aggressively to see exactly what Westlands and others would be willing to fund, he says. Another option is to try to jawbone the federal government into funding at least some of the tunnels cost. Barring that, the state could decide to build a smaller, cheaper project now and phase in additions over the decades to come.

None of these options is especially palatable for the projects supporters. The two-tunnel option, which would carry as much as 5 million acre-feet per year (one acre-foot can supply the annual needs of up to two average California households) captures economies of scale that would be diminished in a slimmed-down version. The projects claimed virtues, which include protecting the states water supply from climate change or earthquake damage while reducing environmental stress and strain on the delta, would be reduced commensurately, supporters say. The consequences, they say, would be the continuing shrinkage of the water supply from Northern California, higher local bills and more urban purchases of water from growers and a decline in agricultural output.

Critics maintain that these virtues and drawbacks have consistently been overstated, or can be addressed more cheaply for less via smaller local projects. You can have a lot of bottom-up innovation in water supply by local water districts that you might not get from a top-down system, says Doug Obegi of the Natural Resources Defense Council. Adds Jeff Michael, an environmental economist at the University of the Pacific, If they dont go ahead with this project, theres $17 billion in capital expenses that could be deployed by water agencies in other ways.

The California WaterFix is in trouble because the fragmentation of water interests in the state renders agreement on major statewide water projects difficult, perhaps impossible. Through much of the 20th century, regional and economic conflicts over statewide public works could be papered over by the impetus of rapid economic growth. The projects also required the drive of visionary leaders such as Gov. Pat Brown, who in the 1960s oversaw some of the initial construction of the State Water Project, which aimed to secure exports of water through the delta to Central and Southern California.

But regional conflicts never lay far below the surface. In 1982, voters rejected the Peripheral Canal, a proposed upgrade to the State Water Project championed by Gov. Jerry Brown, Pat Browns son. The outcome reflected a sharp north-south divide, depicted by The Times Pulitzer-winning editorial cartoonist, Paul Conrad, in graphic fashion. The delta tunnels, of which Gov. Brown is a leading supporter, are the latest iteration of that project.

Supporters of the delta tunnels try to be philosophical about the blow by Westlands. Its understandable, Kightlinger says. Just as my boards been saying they dont expect to be subsidizing agriculture, Westlands is saying they dont expect to be subsidizing exchange contractors or the refuges.

Its hard to see how anything on the scale of the California WaterFix can be built without some cross-subsidy, however. In a 2015 analysis for state officials, agricultural economist David Sunding of UC Berkeley calculated that the project would pass a cost-benefit test for California in the aggregate. But when the calculations were broken down, it was an economic winner for residential, or urban, users but a close call or a loser for agriculture. Sunding based his conclusions on the assumption that the federal government would chip in $3.9 billion for the refuges and exchange contractors; if it did not, the net benefits of the project are even more negative for agricultural contractors.

Depicting the conflict as one pitting residential users vs. farmers, or Northern California vs. Southern, is too simplistic. Some farmers, such as those growing almond and pistachio trees, need year-round reliability more than truck farmers, who can temporarily fallow acreage in times of shortage. Some urban water districts with large storage reservoirs (including the MWD) will benefit from the delta tunnels more than those without, because they can bank the ample flow in wet years for use during droughts rather than letting it go to waste.

Sunding asserted that the benefits of the project werent all tied to direct recipients of the water. A more stable delta water supply would increase yields from California farms, for instance, leading to reduced food prices that would benefit consumers everywhere, even those outside the state. He reckoned that the project would create 118,700 construction jobs and 5,800 long-term jobs directly and indirectly, another economic plus. Those broad benefits, he suggested, warranted examining whether financing should be expanded beyond a strict user-pays model.

Securing that funding would be a challenge, given todays tight state budgets and skinflint U.S. Congress. The only way to make this project work would be with a massive taxpayer subsidy, on the order of $7 billion, says Michael.

Despite the mounting uncertainties, Kightlinger still sees Tuesdays vote by the MWD board as still a pretty big historic vote. The question on the table, he says, is Can California do big things anymore, or are we so gridlocked in competing interests that we cant solve problems? Heres a problem right in front of us that weve known about for decades. The status quo is a disaster, and yet were on the verge of just saying its too hard.

Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com.

Return to Michael Hiltziks blog.
Finally pulling the trigger on one of the longest-running questions about administration healthcare policy, President Trump on Friday officially rolled back the Affordable Care Acts contraceptive mandate. The action takes effect immediately.

The rollback exempts a wide range of employers from the requirement that they offer birth control to their employees without co-pays or deductibles. Its a sop to religious ideologues in the Republican base, and a flagrant attack on womens reproductive health rights, and its abetted by a clutch of anti-contraception ideologues installed at the Department of Health and Human Services. Theyve been pushing to narrow womens birth control choices for years with widely debunked pseudoscientific claims that birth control produces mental health problems and breast cancer, that it doesnt work and that it promotes promiscuity.

The Governments legitimate interests in providing for contraceptive coverage do not require us to violate sincerely held religious...[or] moral convictions.  Trump administration notice on contraceptive mandate

According to a notice published Friday in the Federal Register, the new policy is cloaked in claims of religious freedom. The notice says its aim is to protect religious beliefs for entities and individuals with objections to contraceptive coverage, as well as moral convictions against contraceptives. It expands the exemption well beyond houses of worship and religious nonprofits. The policy goes well beyond the exemption carved out by the Supreme Court, in its 2014 Hobby Lobby decision, for privately held for-profit companies whose owners claimed religious or moral scruples against birth control.

The proposed rule has been floating around in public for months, awaiting Trumps signature. That happened Friday. The new policy applies to any employer claiming a religious or moral objection to offering contraceptive coverage, including even publicly traded for-profit corporations with no evident religious or moral character. Those claiming moral scruples wont have to prove or validate them in any way.

We now believe the Governments legitimate interest in providing for contraceptive coverage do not require us to violate sincerely held religious beliefs, the government notice says. We do not possess interests that require us to violate sincerely held moral convictions.

Advertisement

Nor does the new policy provide a work-around to protect employees from losing their contraceptive coverage, as did the Obama administration. President Obamas solution was to take the funding of contraceptive coverage out of the hands of the objecting employers and transfer it to their insurers, who would then be reimbursed by the government. The new rule is a flat exemption, with no alternative arrangement to provide birth control to employees. Its aptly described as a gutting [of] the Affordable Care Acts contraceptive mandate, in the words of the patient advocacy coalition Protect Our Care.

Reaction to the rollback was almost instantaneous. The American Civil Liberties Union and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey separately announced lawsuits to block the rule. The ACLUs case rests on equal protection grounds and the Constitutional separation of church and state. The federal government cannot authorize discrimination against women in the name of religion or otherwise, ACLU senior staff attorney Brigitte Amiri said in a written statement. Other lawsuits are certain to follow.

The mandate targeted by the new policy is a highly successful provision of the Affordable Care Act. The mandate to provide contraceptives without cost-sharing sharply reduced womens out-of-pocket spending on oral contraceptives; fewer than 5% of women of reproductive age had any out-of-pocket spending on those medications at all in 2014, down from more than 20% before the ACA mandate took effect in 2012. The mandate may also have added impetus to a sharp decline in unintended pregnancies, especially among teens and young women, which has been unfolding since the 1980s.

The Department of Health and Human Services tried to sugarcoat the impact of the rule change Friday. The agency asserted that it will not affect over 99.9% of the 165 million women in the United States. That estimate was based on the assumption that it would affect only 200 employers  but thats merely the number of employers who have challenged the contraceptive mandate in court based on religious or moral scruples. The breadth of the Trump rollback may encourage hundreds, even thousands more employers to drop contraceptive coverage, given the ease with which the rule allows a change in coverage to be executed.

Legal experts say the rule change is vulnerable to legal challenge, despite the White Houses wishes. Because it was published as an interim final rule, the administration claims, it can be effective immediately. That may not be so, as Nicholas Bagley of the University of Michigan Law School observes.

Normally, a rule change of this magnitude must go through lengthy comment and hearing procedures spelled out in the Administrative Procedures Act. Those procedures could delay the rule for a year or more. Trump attempts to circumvent the act by claiming theres good cause to implement the rule now. Among other things, the White House says delaying the exemption could increase the cost of health insurance for some employers, though it cant say how many would be affected.

Bagley doubts thats good enough. Good cause exists when notice and comment is impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest, he wrote. Thats a flexible standard, but the courts have said that it is to be narrowly construed and only reluctantly countenanced, with its use limited to emergency situations.

Procedurally, Bagley writes, the administration still hasnt offered a cogent explanation for why it thinks it can amend an existing rule, and adopt a new one, without going through notice and comment. Substantively, HHS doesnt have the authority to excuse employers from complying with a statute because they have moral objections.

He adds that the governments Health Resources and Services Administration, which (at the direction of Congress) wrote the guidelines establishing the contraception mandate under the Affordable Care Act, is a health agency and isnt equipped to decide when moral concerns are sufficiently grave as to require an exemption from a generally applicable law. That undermines Trumps claim that the HRSA guidelines are sufficiently broad to allow the exemption.

Keep up to date with Michael Hiltzik. Follow @hiltzikm on Twitter, see his Facebook page, or email michael.hiltzik@latimes.com.

Return to Michael Hiltziks blog.

UPDATES:

11:23 a.m.: This post has been updated with reports related to lawsuits challenging the new rule, to be filed by the ACLU and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey.
Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Oleksandr Turchynov, speaking at a briefing on Thursday, October 5, said that the blocking of the rostrum by Samopomich faction deputies and other radical parties during the consideration of the issue of recognizing the Russian Federation as an aggressor and de-occupation of Donbas, is a crime against the state, the NSDC website has reported.

"As soon as the deputies of the Samopomich faction saw that there were voices in the session hall to recognize Russia as an aggressor and to determine the de-occupation strategy for Donbas, they rushed to block the rostrum, disrupting the adoption of the law, and arranging a celebration for Russian politicians and the media," Turchynov said.

The NSDC secretary said that the entire responsibility for the fact that the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine could not approve the strategic bill should lie on the "fifth column" of Moscow and that the participants in the provocation have no justification.

As it is known, yesterday the Verkhovna Rada discussed the bill of the president on the reintegration of Donbas, during which the rostrum was blocked by the deputies of the Samopomich, Svoboda and Batkivschyna factions. Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Andriy Parubiy closed the meeting, referring to the circumstances that arose during the discussion of the bill.
Harvey Weinsteins film and television company has hired a law firm to investigate the sexual harassment allegations against the indie film impresario. But the Weinstein Co.s board of directors stopped short of ousting the co-founder.

Instead, the directors expressed support for Weinsteins decision to take an indefinite leave of absence from the production company and seek professional help.

We strongly endorse Harvey Weinsteins already-announced decision to take an indefinite leave of absence from the Company, commencing today, the board said in a statement Friday. Next steps will depend on Harveys therapeutic progress, the outcome of the Boards independent investigation, and Harveys own personal decisions.

Advertisement

The board has retained attorney John Kiernan of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP to investigate the allegations and report to a special committee of independent board directors, the board said.

The board of directors discussed Weinsteins future at his namesake firm in a Thursday night meeting by phone.

The film pioneer, who is responsible for Oscar-winning movies such as Shakespeare in Love, already said Thursday that he would take a leave of absence. What remained unclear is whether the board ultimately would decide to terminate Weinstein, which some in Hollywood have demanded.

But the allegations may have already irreparably damaged his ability to do business in Hollywood by attracting talent or campaigning for prestigious movies during Oscar season.

In a sign of infighting, three company directors have quit the board in the wake of the allegations. They include billionaire investor Dirk Ziff, a managing partner at Ziff Capital Partners, who resigned before the Thursday meeting. Ziff, 53, is co-owner of the World Surf League.

Board members Marc Lasry and Tim Sarnoff also resigned, according to a person close to the company. The exiting board members did not return calls seeking comment.

The companys statement was undersigned by Harvey Weinsteins brother and co-founder Bob Weinstein, and three remaining board members: Tarak Ben Ammar, Lance Maerov and Richard Koenigsberg.

During the meeting, which lasted hours, Weinstein made his case to the board to save his job. He also said he wanted to do the right thing for the company, according to a knowledgeable person.

The board called the meeting the same day the New York Times published a report detailing decades of sexual harassment accusations against Weinstein. The accusers included Hollywood actresses such as Ashley Judd and former employees at the Weinstein Co. and his previous company, Miramax.

Weinstein has reached at least eight legal settlements with women over harassment allegations, the article said.

We believe it is important to learn the full truth regarding the articles very serious accusations, in the interests of the Company, its shareholders and its employees, the board said.

On Thursday, Weinstein expressed regret for his actions even as his lawyer threatened to sue the New York Times, alleging defamation.

I so respect all women and regret what happened. I hope that my actions will speak louder than words, Weinstein said in a statement. I cannot be more remorseful about the people I hurt, and I plan to do right by all of them.

Harvey and Bob Weinstein founded Miramax in 1979. That company was responsible for critically beloved movies including Sex, Lies and Videotape, Pulp Fiction and The English Patient. They sold the company to the Walt Disney Co. in 1993 and left 12 years later to pursue their own venture, ending an acrimonious relationship.

Several women told the New York Times that Harvey Weinstein sought massages and gave unsolicited ones. The accusers told the paper Weinstein was naked during some of the encounters. His alleged behavior had long been discussed by entertainment industry players.

Co-chairman Bob Weinstein and president and chief operating officer David Glasser will lead the company in Harvey Weinsteins absence. Glasser has served as Harvey Weinsteins right-hand man for years.

The allegations against Weinstein come amid a long period of struggles for the company. Its most promising candidate this awards season is Wind River, an acclaimed crime drama starring Jeremy Renner and Elizabeth Olsen. But the companys other recent films have failed at the box office, including the Alicia Vikander historical drama Tulip Fever and the Matthew McConaughey movie Gold.

The company on Friday withdrew from Outfests Legacy Awards, where the company was set to be honored as a corporate trailblazer by the LGBTQ festival later this month.

We do not want to overshadow the extraordinary achievements of the other honorees, the company said in a statement.

Times staff writer Trevell Anderson contributed to this article.

ryan.faughnder@latimes.com

Twitter: @rfaughnder

UPDATES:

4:55 p.m.: This article was updated with a statement from the Weinstein Co., and additional details about the board meeting.

This article was originally published at 1:55 p.m.
Several senators are giving away money donated to them by Harvey Weinstein, seeking to distance themselves from the Oscar-winning movie producer as his sexual harassment scandal erupts.

Among them is Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), who said he will take the $14,200 that Weinstein has contributed to him and donate it to charities supporting women.

Over the years, Weinstein has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democratic politicians and causes, most notably to the presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Advertisement

Democratic Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont confirmed that they will be donating money given to them by Weinstein to various charities. Those amounts range from $2,700 to $7,800.

Weinstein made two contributions to Harris: $2,500 to her campaign for California attorney general in 2014, and $2,500 for her Senate bid in 2017. Harris spokesman said she plans to donate the $5,000 to a charity supporting women but hasnt yet decided which one.

A spokesman for Booker said his campaign has donated the $7,800 received from Weinstein to the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault, a nonprofit charity organization.

Heinrich is giving the money to Community Against Violence, a nonprofit organization in New Mexico, according to a spokesperson.

Reports on Friday said Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts is returning money to Weinstein, but her office did not reply to a request for comment.

Weinstein is facing accusations from several actresses and former employees that he made unwanted sexual advances on them, according to a Thursday report in the New York Times.

The fallout from the scandal is having repercussions in Washington, D.C., affecting numerous politicians who have received money from the liberal movie mogul, including some who have publicly supported womens rights and feminist causes.

During the most recent presidential election, Weinstein threw ritzy fundraising parties for Hillary Clinton that added millions of dollars to her campaigns coffers and were attended by celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lopez. One of the fundraisers was a Broadway musical concert featuring an appearance by Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Weinstein has also donated to the Clinton Foundation. The foundation says on its official website that Weinstein gave in the range of $100,001 to $250,000 through June 2017.

Obama has had ties to Weinstein for many years, and his daughter Malia worked as an intern for Weinstein Co. in New York this year before entering Harvard University.

The Clinton Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Obama could not immediately be reached for comment.

david.ng@latimes.com

@DavidNgLAT

UPDATES:

12:45 p.m.: This article was updated with Sen. Kamala Harris plan to donate funds her campaigns received from Harvey Weinstein.

This article was originally published at 12:30 p.m.
Costco Wholesale Corp., the warehouse chain known for its huge store format, food sample stations and cheap hot dogs and pizza, is now offering same-day grocery delivery through Instacart as the company looks to expand its customer base.

The Issaquah, Wash., company announced two new delivery options Thursday: two-day delivery for dry goods and same-day delivery powered by grocery delivery firm Instacart for orders that include fresh foods.

The two-day option guarantees deliveries in two business days and is available only in the continental United States. For orders of less than $75, there is a delivery fee. Costco said the goods sold for delivery will be priced higher than the same goods sold at its stores; it did not specify how much higher.

Advertisement

The same-day delivery option, available in most metropolitan areas, lets customers choose a one-hour window during which their order will arrive. For orders of less than $35, there is a delivery fee. Prices on the goods will be about 15% to 17% higher than in stores. Costco said an additional 10% service fee will be added at checkout, though shoppers may elect not to pay the service fee.

In an earnings call Thursday, Richard Galanti, Costcos executive vice president and chief financial officer, said the delivery options are more fill-in, than replacement of a shop. He said the company has driven sales for years with value, which he defined as quality and low price.

But he acknowledged that shopping habits were changing and that customers may not always feel the need to pick out their own fresh produce.

Over time, the percentage of delivery of fresh will change, he said on the call. How much so, well all have to wait and see.

Grocery delivery is becoming increasingly important as customers look to save time and add convenience, said David J. Livingston, supermarket analyst and founder of DJL Research. But Costcos strength is still its warehouse store format, meaning the delivery options will be just another addition, not necessarily a pivot toward solely e-commerce, he said.

Offering grocery delivery is pretty much what everybody else is doing, Livingston said. Just another me too program.

The new delivery options could enable Costco to expand its reach beyond customers who are close to the mega warehouse stores. The inclusion of the one-hour window for same-day deliveries is another added bonus, said Bill Dreher, senior retail analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group.

Its really the fresh product that excels, he said. Were really seeing the emergence of a company that can go toe to toe with Amazon when it comes to grocery.

The potential threat from e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc., which recently acquired Whole Foods Market Inc., came up several times during Thursdays earnings call.

Costco executives said on the call that they get many questions literally every day about issues such as whether new member sign-ups were slowing and what the growing number of households that pay for both an Amazon Prime account and a Costco membership will mean for the warehouse chain.

Costco also said its membership renewal rate ticked down slightly, which the company attributed to the changeover from American Express to Visa credit cards.

Costco had long relied on American Express as its exclusive credit card supplier, but chose to switch to Visa and Citigroup for its Costco-branded cards in 2015 after AmEx and Costco could not agree on terms of a new partnership.

Shares of Costco slumped 6% to $157.09 on Friday.

samantha.masunaga@latimes.com

Twitter: @smasunaga

ALSO

Costco stores in South Korea offer chopped onions for hot dogs. Koreans have a different idea

Netflix is raising the price of its most popular U.S. plan by 10%

As bids for Amazons headquarters come due, tech has a chance to spread the wealth

UPDATES:

2:20 p.m.: This article was updated with Costco shares closing price.

This article was originally published at 11:45 a.m.
Elon Musk has big dreams for Puerto Rico. On Thursday, the Tesla Inc. chief executive said he would discuss building a high-tech solar grid for the island with Ricardo Rossello, Puerto Ricos governor.

Lets talk, Rossello tweeted at Musk.

I would be happy to talk, Musk replied. Hopefully, Tesla can be helpful.

Although Musks idea doesnt solve Puerto Ricos current crisis  90% of the island is still without power, and many are having trouble getting clean water  it could set the island on the path to sustainable, renewable energy, which could reduce its dependence on imported fossil fuels and ultimately bolster its economy. The proposal, in other words, makes a great deal of sense, even if it doesnt help right away.

Advertisement

Puerto Ricos electric company already was in shambles. In July, it basically filed for bankruptcy, saying it owed $9 billion and needed an additional $4 billion to revamp its power plants, whose median age is 40 years old.

That was before Hurricane Maria struck. Now, in light of the damage to Puerto Ricos electric grid, people such as Musk are seeing the crisis as a chance for the island to move away from centralized, vulnerable electricity systems.

The Tesla team has done this for many smaller islands around the world, but there is no scalability limit, so it can be done for Puerto Rico too. Such a decision would be in the hands of the PR govt, PUC, any commercial stakeholders and, most importantly, the people of PR, Musk posted Thursday on Twitter.

Among the many smaller islands to which Musk is referring is the island of Tau in American Samoa. Last year, Tesla said it had wired Tau with thousands of solar panels and batteries that would meet nearly all of the energy needs of its 600 residents. It was an example of how, under the right conditions, an island population could shift almost entirely away from fossil fuels.

According to Musk, theres no reason something similar couldnt be achieved in Puerto Rico.

Musk isnt exactly going out on a limb here. Scientists and energy experts say that a distributed grid that doesnt rely on a single power plant for energy generation could help vulnerable island regions such as the Caribbean weather strong storms like Irma or Maria.

Solar panels, which can feed their power into batteries and be linked together into local or regional power grids, are one example of a technology that could spread the potential risk out across a population. And at tropical latitudes, you get the most bang for your solar buck: Photovoltaic panels located there are even more effective at energy generation than they are at higher latitudes.

The long-term economic benefits could be equally transformative. Island residents face some of the highest energy prices in the world because the vast majority of their fuel must be imported. Reducing those fuel costs by switching to wind or solar could permanently set these island economies on a more positive trajectory.

When we are facing the sort of infrastructure destruction we have seen this hurricane season, it only makes sense to give some pause before reinvesting in the exact same system that proved too vulnerable, Gwen Holdmann, who directs the Alaska Center for Energy and Power at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, said in an email.

If [Puerto Ricos] system were redesigned around microgrids incorporating local power production, Holdmann said, there would still be losses, but the number and duration of outages due to severe weather events would decrease.

So its really no surprise to see solar advocates such as Musk reaching out to Puerto Rico.

Fung writes for the Washington Post.
A California Energy Commission committee is urging the state to reject a proposal to build a new natural gas plant in Ventura County.

Called the Puente Energy project, the 262-megawatt power plant would be owned and operated by NRG, a Houston-based electricity company. NRG contracted with Southern California Edison to supply power to the utility.

In what the regulators themselves called an unusual statement, the two-member committee said that the proposed plant, set for construction on Mandalay Bay in Oxnard, conflicted with state laws and goals for communities and the environment.

Advertisement

We hereby notify the parties and interested members of the public that we intend to issue a [decision] that recommends denial of the project on the grounds that it creates inconsistencies with LORS [laws, ordinances, regulations or standards] and significant environmental impacts that cannot be mitigated, Commissioners Janea Scott and Karen Douglas said in their two-page statement.

Southern California Edison said in a statement that the Puente project was competitively chosen and is needed to help meet demand when older power plants close by 2021.

It is important to remember that the approval for new resources is a very lengthy and costly process, and it is not practical to continually revisit development decisions, as this can make it more difficult to address reliability needs on the system, Edison stated.

While there are potential solutions to the needs addressed by the Puente project, it is speculative to assume that preferred resources can be developed on the scale and at the cost needed to competitively replace the Puente project by 2021.

The recommendation sends the final decision about the project to the full energy commission, but the rare statement all but signals that the power plant plan is dead.

The recommendation follows Los Angeles Times investigations that showed the state has overbuilt the electricity system, primarily with natural gas plants, and has so much clean energy that it has to shut down some plants while paying other states to take the power California cant use. The overbuilding has added billions of dollars to ratepayers bills in recent years.

Officials in Oxnard, along with state lawmakers who represent the area, have called for clean energy alternatives to the plant. And residents flooded the energy commission with hundreds of emails for days throughout the summer, pressing regulators to reject the project.

California has a mandate that 50% of the states electricity come from clean energy sources by 2030. Some lawmakers want to increase the mandate to 100%.

In August, the California Independent System Operator, which manages the states electric grid, released a 46-page report detailing that clean energy sources could serve as alternatives to building the natural gas plant. But in its study at the time, Cal-ISO said that the alternatives would cost more than the gas facility.

The report by Cal-ISO, which has argued that additional energy resources are needed in the Oxnard area to ensure reliability in the local area, pegged the new plants cost at $299 million while the three clean-energy alternatives would cost $309 million to $1.1 billion.

Some critics said that a request for proposals could yield more competitive prices than the Cal-ISO study.

Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, who had joined the opposition to the plant, said rejection of the natural gas facility is crucial for the Oxnard community, which has a substantial low-income population that has been saddled with polluting production plants.

For decades, corporations have targeted Oxnard as a dumping site, profited from the citys environmental destruction and left behind hazardous waste and pollution that continues to threaten the health and safety of its residents, Steyer said.

Steyer and others said Californians must continue to support clean energy in the face of the energy industrys push for more fossil fuels.

California is at a critical and exciting threshold of a clean energy future that will expand clean energy jobs and build healthier communities, said Gladys Limon, executive director of the California Environmental Justice Alliance.

ivan.penn@latimes.com

For more energy news, follow Ivan Penn on Twitter: @ivanlpenn
The Treasury Department on Friday recommended rolling back key parts of Obama administration regulations governing Wall Street, including a requirement that companies disclose the pay gap between chief executives and their employees.

The report is the second of four ordered by President Trump to review the banking rules that the White House says have hampered economic growth. Broadly, the report recommends making it easier for companies to go public and streamlining regulations of key parts of the financial markets.

The U.S. has experienced slow economic growth for far too long, Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said in a statement. By streamlining the regulatory system, we can make the U.S. capital markets a true source of economic growth which will harness American ingenuity and allow small businesses to grow.

Advertisement

For example, the report calls on Congress to repeal several provisions of the 2010 financial reform legislation known as Dodd-Frank, including one that requires companies to disclose the pay gap between CEOs and workers. Republicans have long objected to the rule, and Jay Clayton, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, ordered a review of the rule after taking office in May.

Those types of rules, the report says, discourage companies from going public. Such requirements impose significant costs upon the public companies that are widely held by all investors, the report says, noting that the number of publicly listed companies has declined 50% over the last 20 years.

The report also recommends easing the burdens faced by companies considering an initial public offering. Companies should be able to privately discuss a potential IPO with likely shareholders before making a public filing with regulators, the Treasury Department says. This ability is known as testing the waters, which allows a company to gauge investor interest in a potential offering before undertaking the expense of preparing a registration statement, the report says.

But the report also includes recommendations that could make it easier for small companies to stay private. A small company could raise more money, $5 million instead of $1 million, through crowdfunding within a year without having to go public, under the Treasury Departments recommendations.

The department also calls for recalibrating the rules governing the vast market for derivatives, a financial instrument that helped fuel the global financial crisis. The SEC and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, another financial regulator, should work together to harmonize rules governing these complex markets, the report says

Marcus Stanley, policy director for Americans for Financial Reform, expressed concern about the reports guidance. The recommendations are almost uniformly deregulatory, he said. It is written pretty technically, but what they are saying is that a lot of things that were done after the crisis to try to increase our safety margins and improve our risk control on derivatives, they want to cut back on.

The SECs Clayton and Brian Quintenz, head of the CFTC, both issued statements supportive of the call for simplifying rules around derivatives. Derivatives are used in virtually every segment of the U.S. and global economies, covering nearly every conceivable type of commodity, Quintenz said. It is for this reason that it is so important that we get the oversight of these markets right.

The report comes at a time when Republican efforts to roll back financial regulations have withered on Capitol Hill. The House passed sweeping legislation that would gut key parts of Dodd-Frank in June, but the Senate has yet to take up similar legislation. With lawmakers preoccupied with tax reform, it is not likely to emerge before the end of the year.

The Treasury Department report, which would require some congressional action but could mostly be done by regulators, is likely to be heralded by Republicans and business groups who have argued that Dodd-Frank went too far after the financial crisis. The report offers a blueprint to unlock the resources needed to spur economic growth and job creation, said David Hirschmann of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

But Democrats and consumer advocates have argued that rolling back financial regulations could put taxpayers in danger of having to bail out industries again.

Merle writes for the Washington Post.
The Transportation Security Administration had the busiest summer on record, screening more than 239 million passengers between Memorial Day and Labor Day, an increase of 9 million passengers over the same period last year.

The higher workload for TSA officers has prompted the union representing the screeners to demand that the federal government hire more front-line workers.

The people in the chain of command forget why we were put here, said Hydrick Thomas, president of the council that represents TSA screeners at the American Federation of Government Employees. We were put here to protect.

Advertisement

The airports were so busy this summer that the TSA said four summer days broke the TSAs top 10 list for busiest days in agency history: June 29, June 30, May 26 and July 21.

The record may not be surprising considering that airline industry officials have been touting an increase in air travel over the past few years, thanks to cheaper fares and strong consumer confidence.

A TSA spokeswoman said the agency can hire only as many screeners as are allowed under the annual budget approved by Congress. The most recent federal budget approved the full-time equivalent of 43,000 officers, which represents an increase of less than 1% over the previous years budget.

Thomas said the turnover rate among TSA officers is so high that the agency cant hire new screeners fast enough to replace those who leave to take jobs with higher pay and better benefits.

If they dont manage this agency and hire enough employees, they are going to have problems, he said.

hugo.martin@latimes.com

To read more about the travel and tourism industries, follow @hugomartin on Twitter.
Robert L. McKay, the former architect who designed the first Taco Bell restaurant and helped transform the brand into a fast-food powerhouse, has died of cancer in Santa Ana. He was 86.

It was 1964 when McKay, then a Sherman Oaks architect, was hired by Taco Bell founder Glen Bell to create a distinctive new look for the business. Bell had opened his first Taco Bell in Downey in 1962, selling hard shell tacos and other Mexican-inspired foods.

McKay took the concept and designed the California Spanish-style mission motif, arched and tiled with the rooftop bell that became the signature image of the company.

Advertisement

Bell decided McKay could do more than just architectural design; Bell opened the companys headquarters in Torrance and hired McKay to be president. McKay closed his architectural and contracting business and devoted his full energy to Taco Bell.

The company went public in 1969 and McKay eventually became chief executive. In 1978, Taco Bell was sold to PepsiCo and McKay stayed on as president and chief executive until 1981.

By then McKay was ready to move on.

I wasnt ever comfortable sitting around conference tables in fancy resorts listening to presentations from the very people doing the great work of running the company every day, he said.

Robert McKay in 2011. (McKay family / AP )

In 1982, McKay turned his attention to financing and building new businesses. For the next 30 years, McKay invested in ventures ranging from technology and consumer products to real estate and fine art.

He was particularly proud of his involvement in building the National Bank of Southern California in Santa Ana into an important source of capital for local businesses. The bank was sold to US Bancorp in 1999.

In 1992, the McKay Family Foundation was formed, dedicated to social justice and community organizing work, particularly the rebuilding effort after the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

Separately, McKay and his wife, Meagan, were most proud of their work funding the creation of the Redeemer School in Jackson, Miss., for very-low-income children.

McKay, who died last week, is survived by his wife, Meagan; two sons, Rob and John; and five grandchildren.

ron.white@latimes.com

For more business news, follow Ronald D. White on Twitter: @RonWLATimes

ALSO

Costco starts offering same-day grocery delivery

Nordstroms newest store aims for a personal touch  and no clothing racks

As bids for Amazons headquarters come due, tech has a chance to spread the wealth
This week its guns, with at least 59 people dead and hundreds injured after the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. But the focus just as easily could be on cigarettes, or junk food, or sugary beverages.

No reasonable person disputes that all these products can be dangerous, whether were talking about firearm casualties, lung cancer, diabetes or heart disease.

The issue is how, or if, the makers of these products should be held accountable for the trouble they cause.

Advertisement

CEOs have obligations to shareholders, but they also have obligations as citizens, said Dana Radcliffe, a professor of business ethics at Cornell University. One of those obligations is to be respectful to other citizens, to have moral responsibility.

Its tempting to argue that any business selling a knowingly dangerous product is behaving immorally, and thus, if nothing else, is a bad corporate citizen.

It also could be argued that when a citizen behaves in a fashion thats detrimental to society, its the responsibility of government to uphold and enforce societal norms.

But what then?

Christopher Bauman, an associate professor of organization and management at UC Irvine, noted that roughly the same number of people are killed in auto accidents in this country every year as are killed by firearms.

We dont stop making cars, he said. We try to make them safer.

For me, a key factor is trustworthiness. Has a business demonstrated that its a good citizen, that its motives and actions are honorable?

The tobacco industry  its hard to imagine a more dishonorable business.

Perhaps the industrys lowest point was reached in 1994 when top executives of the seven largest U.S. tobacco companies testified in Congress that they didnt believe cigarettes were addictive.

These are powerful industries, but theyre not behaving responsibly.  Dana Radcliffe, professor of business ethics, Cornell University

Records show that tobacco execs knew since the 1950s that their product was both addictive and dangerous. The industry waged a relentless and deliberate campaign to dupe the public  and cause unimaginable suffering and misery  for the sole purpose of enriching itself.

The food and beverage industries may not have nearly as much blood on their hands, but their response to the global obesity epidemic has been to follow Big Tobaccos playbook: sowing doubt among consumers and reframing matters of public health as a question of personal choice.

Its an effective approach. As a tobacco exec wrote in a 1969 memo: Doubt is our product, since it is the best means of competing with the body of fact that exists in the minds of the general public.

The National Rifle Assn., which is funded to a large extent by gun makers, has synthesized its message to a single, deeply irresponsible catchphrase: Guns dont kill people; people kill people.

Thats like saying heroin doesnt kill people; drug dealers kill people. On the other hand, heroin is illegal, so theres no question the government has a role to play in protecting people from its risks.

Guns, cigarettes, Big Macs, Cokes  these are legal products, one of which, guns, is protected by a constitutional right.

David Vogel, a professor of business ethics at UC Berkeley, told me that banning bad consumer products is tricky, which is true.

Ralph Nader famously demonstrated in his 1965 book Unsafe at Any Speed that the car industry was failing to make cars as safe as possible. But we didnt ban cars as a result. We required safety features such as seat belts that saved thousands of lives.

Similar measures have been applied to cigarettes in the form of risk disclosures, and theyve helped reduce the number of American smokers. Food and beverage companies are now scrambling to stay ahead of possible regulation by improving the healthiness of their offerings.

So what about guns?

Republican lawmakers were patting themselves on the back Thursday for being open to the idea of regulating so-called bump stocks  the add-on device that allowed the Las Vegas shooter to make a semi-automatic weapon fire like a machine gun.

However, these are the same guys who, until this week, were pushing legislation to make it easier to buy gun silencers. Theyre also the ones with a bill to make it easier for people with concealed carry permits to take their hidden weapons across state borders.

What they should be doing is following the example set by Nader: If an industry is unwilling to make its products as reasonably safe as possible, then lawmakers and regulators must guide that industry to a higher standard of conduct.

In the case of firearms, lets be realistic  theres no reason for military-grade weapons to be in the hands of civilians. Semi-automatic assault rifles can and should be banned. This would violate neither the letter nor the spirit of the 2nd Amendment.

It also makes no sense that civilians require high-capacity magazines capable of holding up to 100 bullets. The only purpose of such magazines is to facilitate killing.

And just as car safety has been improved with technology  think air bags and automatic braking  gun makers should embrace smart gun technology that basically allows a weapon only to be fired by an authorized user.

This wouldnt have stopped the Vegas shooter. But it would protect the nearly 2 million kids estimated to be in U.S. homes with unlocked guns. It also would address the hundreds of thousands of firearms lost or stolen from private residences every year.

Every company and every person has a moral obligation to consider any harm that might result from its products, services or actions, said Norman Bowie, a former president of the Society for Business Ethics.

Cornells Radcliffe boiled it down to what he called the Spider-Man test, as in Spider-Mans realization that with great power comes great responsibility.

These are powerful industries, he said, but theyre not behaving responsibly.

The next question is obvious: How do we define irresponsible behavior?

I dont know. I guess its like obscenity  you know it when you see it.

Like in Vegas, and Orlando, and Sandy Hook, and ...

David Lazarus column runs Tuesdays and Fridays. He also can be seen daily on KTLA-TV Channel 5 and followed on Twitter @Davidlaz. Send your tips or feedback to david.lazarus@latimes.com.

MORE BY DAVID LAZARUS

Republicans should gladly pay for my preexisting condition

Average CEO has to make do with $253,088 in monthly pension payments

Heres a way to make companies with large databases keep our info safe
Two-time All-Pro linebacker Ahmad Brooks, who was released by the San Francisco 49ers during the offseason, has put his home in San Jose on the market for $1.995 million.

The Mediterranean-style home, built in 1999, sits on a private street and has a swimming pool spa on about about an acre of grounds.

Within more than 4,000 square feet of open-plan space are formal living and dining rooms, a center-island kitchen, a family room, five bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms. French doors on the main floor lead to a central courtyard with fireplace feature.

Advertisement

A wide trellis tops a patio and built-in barbecue in the backyard. Date palm trees dot the lawns and landscaping throughout the terraced and fenced setting.

Brooks, 33, joined the San Francisco 49ers in 2008 and became a fixture at linebacker during his nine-year run with the team. Following his release, the outside linebacker signed a one-year deal with the Packers. He has four tackles and a sack through three games with the Packers this season.

Brooks bought the house five years ago for $1.57 million, records show.

Rick Alva of Soto Real Estate & Investments is the listing agent, according to the Multiple Listing Service.

neal.leitereg@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATHotProperty

MORE FROM HOT PROPERTY:

Former L.A. Galaxy player Nigel de Jong gets his price for Encino home

Cindy Crawford trims $10 million off the price of Malibu beach compound

Film producer Craig Baumgarten settles down canal-side in Marina del Rey

Beck lists refreshed Gerard Colcord home in Brentwood for $3.75 million
MHP doesn't see land bank expansion as its number one priority

Alternative energy is currently a top priority for investment, founder and majority shareholder of Myronivsky Hliboproduct (MHP) Yuriy Kosiuk has said.

"The world is changing and we are changing; we used to talk about the [land] bank, and now about efficiency. We used to say that we wanted to expand the land bank. If we have an alternative today to go for alternative energy or to expand the land bank, then alternative energy is probably more interesting," he said during Kyiv International Economic Forum on Thursday, October 5.

According to the businessman, the expansion of the land bank is today a number three priority.

"We are interested in investing in biogas, solar [energy], new client-oriented projects, into IT projects. They demonstrate great return on investment, and we are becoming unique in this," Kosiuk said.

MHP is the largest poultry producer in Ukraine. It is also engaged in production of grains, sunflower oil, and meat.

MHP's net profit in 2016 was $69 million against $113 million in net loss in 2015. Its revenue grew by 7%, to $1.135 billion.

As of the beginning of 2016, its land bank included about 370,000 ha.
The animating force behind much of the history of Beverly Hills is a somewhat surprising one: water.

For millenniums, dew collected in the canyons and defiles of the Santa Monica Mountains trickled down the slopes to feed a series of streams that merged at the foot of the hills, forming a pool the Tongva people called The Gathering of the Waters.

The waters supported a village, which Juan Crespi  a member of the Spanish expedition that made contact with the Tongva in 1769  noted in his diary was surrounded by a large vineyard of wild grapes and an infinity of rosebushes.

Advertisement

The village was nearly decimated by smallpox carried by the Spaniards, and missionization resulted in the removal of original inhabitants. The openly running streams, so rare in the Los Angeles Basin, were soon used to water livestock.

Oil prospectors came calling during the black-gold rush of the 1900s and, finding more water than petroleum, shifted quickly into the land speculation business. The former bean field was renamed Beverly Hills, and a planned community was laid out according to Olmstedian principles of landscape architecture.

The luxurious Beverly Hills Hotel was built on the site of the pool of the Tongva, and the towns nascent glamour industry received another boost when Hollywood It couple Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford built their famed home, Pickfair, nearby.

It was Pickford, along with humorist Will Rogers, who led the 1923 efforts to rebuff L.A.s advances when the newly water-rich metropolis dangled the prospect of plentiful Owens Valley runoff in exchange for Beverly Hills annexation.

Instead, the wealthy inhabitants of Beverly Hills formed their own city, an enclave of privilege with strict racial covenants that prevented Jews and blacks from buying in the city (covenants that would collapse amid a flurry of lawsuits in the 1940s).

In the 1930s, the booming city would build a grand city hall and turn Rodeo Drive into one of the worlds most prestigious shopping districts.

On the corner of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards, the city would build a memorial to the original inhabitants and their pool: a statue of a praying Tongva atop a water fountain that was illuminated each night by a multicolored electric light show.

(Ally J. Levine / Los Angeles Times )

Neighborhood highlights

Shop til you drop: Rodeo Drive remains one of the most famous, if tourist-ridden, shopping high streets in the world.

That ZIP Code: If you can afford one of the mansions that sit on the citys famous palm-tree lined boulevards, and youre of a certain age, Beverly Hills might just be for you.

Prime location: Near Century City, West Hollywood and the beaches but existing most definitely apart from them, Beverly Hills is close to everything  but not too close.

Neighborhood challenges

Snoozeville: Beverly Hills is not hip or exciting, or on the cutting edge of any cultural trends. What it is is expensive, exclusive and graying. Which is probably the point.

Expert insight

Real estate agent Sam Jacobson has been selling homes in Beverly Hills since 2005 and said there are two types of people in the neighborhood.

Some people are only there for the ZIP code, he said. As long as its 90210 and they have bragging rights, theyre happy.

The rest appreciate the superior services the city provides, he said, because the schools and police and fire departments are all top-notch.

Over the last decade, Jacobson has noticed many developers maintaining the look of traditional homes but modernizing the interiors to keep up with younger tastes. When done right, he said, a remodel in Beverly Hills can turn a huge profit.

A lot of buyers are unaware of how inexpensive and easy remodeling can be, Jacobson said.

Market snapshot

In the 90210 ZIP Code, based on 31 sales, the median sales price in August for single-family homes was $3.6 million, according to CoreLogic. Thats a 2.1% increase in median sales price year over year.

Report card

There are five public schools in Beverly Hills. Hawthorne Elementary scored 933 in the 2013 Academic Performance Index, and Horace Mann Elementary scored 919.

Beverly Vista Elementary and El Rodeo Elementary scored 911 and 897, respectively. Beverly Hills High scored 865.

Times staff writer Jack Flemming contributed to this report.

hotproperty@latimes.com
Ai Weiwei may be Chinas most famous contemporary artist and a prolific social justice activist. But at his core, Ai insists, he is simply an observer.

Hes a wanderer too. Not to mention a relentless documenter  of the Chinese communist government, of international human rights violations, of the 40-some cats that roam his Beijing art studio and of the longtime team members who populate his Berlin art studio, a 150-year-old underground beer cellar.

Tonight its the moon that has captured Ais attention.

He arrived a few hours ago at LAX and now strolls languidly across his agents Beverly Hills office courtyard, repeatedly stopping to take photos of the sky.

Beautiful half moon, he says, breathing in the floral-scented night air.

He takes pictures of his agents lobby and pictures of a framed picture on the lobby wall. Each time, he extends his arm without breaking his stride, briefly eyeballing the viewfinder from afar, an unemotional, matter-of-fact gesture: capture the moment.

In 2016, an accumulation of moments from the better part of a year resulted in his new documentary, Human Flow, a sweeping chronicle of the swelling refugee crisis. Ai and his team criss-crossed the globe, visiting more than 40 refugee camps in 23 countries and banking about 900 hours of footage for the film, which premiered in September at the Venice International Film Festival and screened at the Telluride Film Festival.

In one scene, travel-weary Turkish refugees spill out of rubber boats washing ashore on a beach in Lesbos, Greece, in the dark of night; in another, thousands from Syria and Iraq slog along a mud footpath headed toward the Greek-Macedonian border, gravel crunching beneath their feet. In southern Italy, African refugees from Nigeria, Sudan and Senegal huddle under gold Mylar blankets that glisten in the moonlight and crinkle in the breeze.

Ai Weiwei with Muhammed Hassan from Iraq on Lesvos Island in Greece, from the documentary Human Flow. (Amazon Studios)

I don't want just to be there as a filmmmaker. I want also to tell them that I know them so well.  Ai Weiwei, artist-activist

This is not an abstract art film, as one might expect from the man who filled a vast space in Londons Tate Modern with 100 million hand-sculpted and painted porcelain sunflower seeds. Nor is it a straightforward, journalistic documentary. It is a tragic travelogue of sorts.

There may be talking heads in Human Flow, such as Jordanian Princess Dana Firas and Syrian astronaut Mohammad Fares, and there are snippets of factoids about the more than 65 million people worldwide escaping war, persecution, climate change and famine. But they unfold over lush, ambitious visuals shot with a variety of cameras including drones and even Ais iPhone . The film is studded with the kind of iconic imagery present in much of his contemporary art  mounds of battered life vests, thermal blankets, fragile rubber boats.

Its incredibly beautiful and aesthetically complex and layered and textured, says Participant Medias Diane Weyermann, an executive producer on the film. But he didnt set out to make an art film; he set out to make a film about humanity. Its a story about the global refugee crisis made by an artist.

I want people to be emotionally involved, Ai says over dinner. The hope is for individuals to realize these refugees relate to our normal life and we have a responsibility to act.

As he speaks, Ai is a mix of contradictions: gentle, soft-spoken and cherubic-faced with a Zen-like air of calm, but also a brazen human rights activist with a quick sense of humor who is not immune to the allures of posting blow-by-blow accounts of his day over social media. Except instead of avocado toast studies, his feed might include pictures of Al Gore, Julian Assange or Chelsea Manning. He oozes sensitivity and machismo at once.

I try to keep intimate relations with what we call our life, Ai says of his ceaseless documenting, because very often we dont understand our life. We think we are living inside our [lives], but we dont really understand.

Starting from zero

As a multimedia political provocateur, Ais studio has made some 20 films, both shorts and long form, largely championing human rights and freedom of expression. Many have been DIY efforts and most have been distributed on Ais YouTube channel. The online activism landed him in hot water with the Chinese government, which in 2011 accused him of vague economic crimes, confiscated his passport and jailed him. They called his internet activities subversion of state power and he was held for 81 days, much of that time in solitary confinement. When his passport was returned in 2015, Ai moved to Berlin, where he now lives.

By then hed been studying the plight of refugees for some time. But he wanted to go deeper. He traveled to a beach on the Greek island of Lesbos, the well-known way station for refugees, and began filming the tiny boats arriving from Turkey with his iPhone. The scene was so active and the images so strong, he set up a small studio there. He didnt plan to make a feature-length film. It came from his pressing curiosity to better understand the refugees journeys.

Human Flow is director and artist Ai Weiweis detailed and heartbreaking exploration into the global refugee crisis. (Amazon Studios)

I was starting from zero, he says. Even before I could freely travel  I started to read all the news, books. We did research about the history of the human flow. It was a learning process.

Ais passion for the plight of refugees comes from a profoundly personal place. He not only understands government persecution, having been jailed and surveilled in China, but he grew up as a displaced person himself. His father, Ai Qing, was a revered poet who during the Cultural Revolution was persecuted by the government. The family was exiled to a remote Gobi desert village, Xinjiang, where they lived in harsh conditions. As a result, the artist felt strangely familiar, even comfortable, in the refugee camps he visited during filming.

I had all those experiences of people being discriminated [against] or punished for the wrong reasons, he says of his youth. For me, its very natural. I can easily, when Im facing [the refugees], see in their eyes how they are trying to survive. I understand them very well.

A still from the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya from the documentary Human Flow. (Amazon Studios)

If he had one agenda with Human Flow, it was to humanize refugees, showing their universal struggle for basic needs like food, shelter and safety. Toward that end, he presents the benign rhythms of their lives  a little girl playing hopscotch in one camp, Iraqi women smoothing flatbread dough on cooking stones in another. He also threads the film with candid shots of refugees just before their one-on-one interviews begin. They settle into their seats and face the camera, fidgeting, giggling nervously or simply staring off.

Ai also appears throughout the film, sometimes with his iPhone, but also quietly interacting with his subjects, offering them food or emotional reassurances or simply letting one man cut his hair.

To get yourself involved, to [make] the situation a little bit lighter, make some jokes, do some funny things like cut hair or barbecue  it brings a human touch, he says. Its everyday life. Its humanizing them. And humanizing myself. I dont want just to be there as a filmmaker. I want also to tell them that I know them so well. I know exactly what kind of conditions they are in.

Moral high ground

Filming the documentary in far-flung, politically unstable locations and traversing war zones was dangerous, he says. Some camps butted up against recent bombing wreckage. One camp in Jordan housed Islamic State members. They also took risks gathering footage. Getting aerial drone shots  in one, a distant, abstract-looking image of tent tops pulls into focus as the camera lowers to the ground  was important to Ai.

An aerial drone shot from Ai Weiweis film, Human Flow, shows the Nizip Camp in Gaziantep, Turkey. (Amazon Studios)

I wanted to show another perspective, and to show from nothing becomes something, he says. But using drones in military-controlled areas violated local regulations, he says. We went as high as possible from some other area because we didnt want to attract attention."

Human Flow ends at the U.S.-Mexico border, a not-so-subtle nod to President Trumps stance on immigration. Its very hard to face this kind of reality [of] what Trumps doing  to have this traveling ban, and to build this wall, this is really backward, it doesnt make any sense, Ai says.

Whether he will continue making commercial films remains up in the air. Ai currently has eight solo exhibitions in museums and galleries around the world, including the Public Art Funds Good Fences Make Good Neighbors in New York, for which hell erect more than 300 works across the citys five boroughs beginning Oct. 12. The large-scale, site-specific installations, documentary photographs, lamppost banners, public interventions and other works will use the image of the security fence, exploring how it divides people. And with filmmaker Wang Fen, he co-curated the Guggenheim Museums documentary film series, Turn It On: China On Film, 20002017, which opens Oct. 13.

A multiple-exposure portrait of Ai Weiwei, one of Chinas most famous contemporary artists and a prolific social justice activist. But at his core, Ai insists, he is simply an observer. (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

The Guggenheim festival is part of the museums now-controversial exhibition Art and China after 1989: Theater of the World, for which Ai served as an adviser. Before its opening Friday, the Guggenheim removed three works from the show after threats of violence were made against the museums staff after criticism of the treatment of dogs and other animals featured in the pieces. Ai, an animal lover who featured a scene in Human Flow of a tiger released from a Gaza zoo into the South African wild, has been vocal on the incident  but in support of the Guggenheim.

As an artist or a defender of human rights, I am highly conscious of the respect we should show to other lives and of the need to protect their rights. However, when anyone uses a moral high ground to judge an art exhibition and to demand the withdrawal of contents that may or may not violate those rights, it presents a potential danger of violating the freedom of speech, he relays in a message after our interview. A healthy society only exists when any issue can be talked about or exhibited in a way that shows the conditions for and against arguments, so to structure possible discussions.

All the while, the ongoing refugee crisis weighs on him.

At the L.A. reception for Ai, after a private screening of Human Flow, all eyes are on the artist. But he sits off to the side, watching the caterers, a family of Syrian refugees.

Maaysa Kanjo and her husband, Abdul, make their way through the crowd toward Ai. In a long party dress and traditional headscarf, Maaysa presents him with a framed ink drawing of a blooming rose. They havent seen his movie yet, they say, but are eternally grateful it exists.

To give the people an idea whats going on there, to show the people, Maaysa says. We appreciate it so much. Our story.

Any solution to the refugee crisis, Ai had said earlier, begins with simply bearing witness to it.

All these tragedies are man-made. If we can cause the tragedy, we can solve the tragedy if we are willing to, he said. To find the humanity. This is the only thing we can hope.

Human Flow

Rating: PG-13

Running time: 140 minutes

Opening: Oct. 13 in New York, Oct. 20 at the Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles and Oct. 27 in wider release.

deborah.vankin@latimes.com

Follow me on Twitter: @debvankin

ALSO

The Beijing interview: For Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, 'free' is a relative term

Review: '@Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz' a powerful meditation on repression

Review: 'The Fake Case' shows Ai Weiwei under duress, pushing on

After 4 years, Chinese authorities return passport to artist Ai Weiwei
Our weekly picks from Los Angeles small-theater scene deliver stories exploring the economic exploitation of the masses (The Actors Gangs Captain Greedys Carnival), the pure power of storytelling (Sacred Fools Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play) and Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness reset in Afghanistan (Son of Semeles Ridiculous Darkness). Plus, we get Judith Scott from TVs Snowfall in a twist on George Bernard Shaws Mrs. Warrens Profession.

1. Captain Greedys Carnival at the Actors Gang

The essentials: In the center ring of this sardonic world premiere musical, a charismatic con man dupes the innocent with flashy assurances of instant wealth. The carnival sideshow setting with its traditional freakish amusements is an allegory for a rigged capitalist financial system, since both are engineered to entertain, deceive and fleece an eager and gullible public, according to playwright Jack Pinter.

Why this? Pinter conceived the piece in response to the Wall Street shenanigans exposed by the 2008 economic meltdown, affecting all our wallets in one way or another. The Actors Gang has a record of originating edgy, vibrant new work, and Tim Robbins oversight as co-founder and artistic director ensures pointed activist messaging. The original score here is by ambient composer Roger Eno, known for atmospheric film soundscapes and his collaborations with his brother, Brian.

Details: The Actors Gang Theatre, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City. 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays; ends Nov. 11. $34.99; Thursdays pay what you can. (310) 838-4264, theactorsgang.com

In front, from left: Scott Golden, Heather Roberts, Joe Hernandez-Kolski and Tracey Leigh, with Eric Curtis Johnson in back. (Jessica Sherman Photography)

2. Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play at Sacred Fools

The essentials: As refugees fleeing radioactive fallout bond over campfire reenactments of pop culture, the critical role of storytelling in the survival of humanity drives Anne Washburns intricately constructed, seriocomic mashup of Boccaccios Decameron and the Simpsons infamous Cape Feare episode.

Why this? Washburns ingenious script is profound and at times deadly serious in tracing the way an iconic pop culture narrative evolves to suit the needs of different historical eras. For the L.A. debut of what the author admits is a beast of a play to take on, veteran Sacred Fools director Jaime Robledo (Stoneface, Watson) and the companys first-rate design team take the audience on a journey through time and space, situating each act in a different theater of the three-stage venue. The Sacred Fools mission is affordable but thoroughly professional theater, so dont be fooled by the low ticket price.

Details: A Sacred Fools Theater Company production at the Broadwater complex, 1076 Lillian Way, Los Angeles. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays; ends Nov. 18. $15. (310) 281-8337 or www.sacredfools.org

3. Ridiculous Darkness at Son of Semele

The essentials: The U.S. premiere of German writer Wolfram Lotzs riff on Heart of Darkness (and its cinematic progeny, Apocalypse Now) resets Joseph Conrads meditations on colonialism in an absurdist present-day Afghanistan, where logic never gets in the way of freewheeling satire. A top-secret soldiers mission, fanatical missionaries, Somali pirates and a pessimistic parrot challenge the reductive way that Westerners view the developing world and the divide between different cultures.

Why this? For the experimentally curious, this is a prime specimen of the way contemporary German theater upends expectations. Lotz wrote the piece as a radio play and encourages unlimited transformation of it. The fearlessly fringy Son of Semele troupes staging honors that intent with an open-mike format set in an international cafe, with five actors doubling many parts for the plays satirical take on globalization  who gets to speak, and whether anyone is actually listening when parrots squawk The horror! The horror!

Details: Son of Semele Theater, 3301 Beverly Blvd., L.A. 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 5 p.m. Sundays; previews start Oct. 14, opens Oct. 21, ends Nov. 12. $20. www.sonofsemele.org

Sarah Rosenberg, left, Ashley Steed and Dan Via in Ridiculous Darkness. (Matthew McCray)

SIGN UP for the free Essential Arts & Culture newsletter 

4. Mrs. Warrens Profession at A Noise Within

The essentials: In George Bernard Shaws forward-looking classic, a virtuous, self-reliant young woman is horrified to discover that the absent mother who funded her education and comfortable lifestyle from afar earned her wealth the oldest-fashioned way. Gleefully intended, in Shaws words, as a sudden earthquake shock to the foundations of morality, the play was written in 1893 but banned from public performance until 1925 due to the frank examination of prostitution and its underlying socio-economic causes.

Why this? Nowadays, its hard to remember what a rigorously argued, platitude-free debate over difficult moral questions even looks like. Complementing A Noise Withins classical repertory expertise, guest director Michael Michetti (from Pasadenas modernist Boston Court theater company) slyly heightens Shaws insight into feminist issues and social barriers by making the unrepentant brothel owner Mrs. Warren a self-made woman of color, played by Judith Scott (from TVs Snowfall).

Details: A Noise Within, 3352 E. Foothill Blvd., Pasadena. Runs in repertory; see website for schedule. Ends Nov. 18. $30-$84. (626) 356-3100 Ext 1. or www.anoisewithin.org

Judith Scott, star of Mrs. Warrens Profession. (Daniel Reichert)

The 99-Seat Beat appears every Friday. Our team of reviewers  people with more than 50 years of combined experience tracking local theater  shortlist current offerings at 99-seat theaters and other smaller venues. Some (but not all) recommendations are shows weve seen; others have caught our attention because of the track record of the company, playwright, director or cast. You can find more comprehensive theater listings posted every Sunday at latimes.com/arts.

SUPPORT THEATER COVERAGE. SHARE OTHER RECENT STORIES:

The act of transcending age: John Douglas Thompson

If we cant attend a show without fearing for our lives, we are doomed

Review: Celebrations The View UpStairs

Review: Deaf West-Pasadena Playhouses Our Town

Review: A Noise Withins Madwoman of Chaillot

Review: Echo Theaters Fixed

Review: Big Night at the Kirk Douglas

Review: Open Fists Walking to Buchenwald

Review: Tarell Alvin McCraneys Head of Passes

Review: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally

Last week on the 99-Seat Beat
After Rachel Bonds Five Mile Lake had its world premiere in 2014 at South Coast Repertory, news that SCR would be producing Bonds new Curve of Departure this fall was thrilling.

The last time I remember feeling this excited about an opening was in my 1970s childhood, during the build-up to one of the Star Wars movies. Bonds plays lack spaceships, larger-than-life characters and cosmic battles. Some might go so far as to say they lack drama. Like Five Mile Lake, Curve of Departure focuses on ordinary people trying their best to behave well in unglamorous circumstances. Theyre not fighting evil; theyre having tough days, negotiating delicate, unseen emotions in small rooms. Their tragedies and life-and-death decisions are folded into the creases of thoroughly mundane activities.



For the record: An earlier version of this article misspelled Allan Millers first name as Alan.

A high proportion of exposition to action lives in these works, which are still evolving, and which occasionally falter. Still, by the end of Curve of Departure, just as with Five Mile Lake, I felt as though I had taken a journey with people I knew well.

Advertisement

Curve of Departure is set in an airport hotel room in Santa Fe, N.M., brought to life on a set by Lauren Helpern. Its a little cramped for the four people obliged by circumstances to spend the night there: 80-year-old Rudy; his 50-ish daughter-in-law, Linda; Lindas twentysomething son, Felix; and Felixs boyfriend, Jackson. This group would never ordinarily share a bedroom, but as Linda tells her son, Sometimes when people die, you do some weird things.

Theyve come for the funeral of Cyrus  Rudys son, Lindas husband and Felixs father. Cyrus abandoned all three of them years ago, and his sudden death has left them off-balance, struggling to swallow their resentment and brace themselves for a sure-to-be-awkward ordeal with the family he preferred to them.

Upon seeing Rudy and Linda in the room together, he watching TV in his pajamas while she irons his suit, we find it easy to assume at first that they are a couple. Even after its clear that Rudy was Lindas father-in-law, you can imagine the two of them forming a romantic bond at some point after Rudys wife died and Linda split with his son. Their conversation conveys a husband-and-wifely rapport: mutually familiar, teasing, affectionate and exasperated. I ultimately concluded that theyre meant to have a purely platonic, filial relationship, if in some ways more intimate than marriage.

Rudy, who initially comes across as sharp and feisty, turns out to have health problems  memory loss, incontinence  and Linda cares for him more devotedly than a live-in nurse.

Together Linda and Rudy wait for Felix to arrive from California with his new boyfriend. In a more traditional social-issue drama, Felixs sexuality might be a point of contention. Or maybe the different ethnic backgrounds of this strange ragtag little group of humans wandering the Earth together, as Rudy poetically describes them, would provoke conflict: Rudy is Jewish, Linda is African American, Felix is a mixture of the two, and Jackson is Latino. Here, though, these identities are woven so intricately into the family quilt that they barely rate a mention.

Yet even people who unhesitatingly accept one another, Bonds suggests here, do worry, disagree and keep secrets out of love  and these realistic conflicts can clutter up a room quickly (as does, from time to time, the heavy-handed melodrama). Although I found director Mike Donahues pace a little sluggish at moments, I was impressed by how fully he has encouraged his cast members to inhabit their roles.

Kim Staunton brings the richly drawn Linda to worried, brave, vulnerable life, while Allan Miller invests Rudy with a poignant and endearing whimsy. Larry Powell, who was such a delight last spring in the Geffen Playhouses The Legend of Georgia McBride, here struggles a bit to fit his powerful stage presence into the slightly underwritten Felix. Christian Barillas, hilarious as Ronaldo on Modern Family, seems similarly hampered by the earnest, expository Jackson. Still, the four actors work together well, discovering the subtle humor in Bonds writing.

Bonds characters find solace in nature, an unseen Southwest terrain memorably conjured by Scott Zielinskis gorgeous lights. Curve of Departure is a play that sneaks up on you instead of bashing you on the head, and Im still thinking about it.

         

Curve of Departure

Where: South Coast Repertory, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

When: 7:45 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays, 2 and 7:45 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays; ends Oct. 15

Tickets: $31-$83

Info: (714) 708-5555, www.scr.org

Running time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

SUPPORT THEATER COVERAGE. SHARE OUR STORIES:

The 99-Seat Beat: This weeks picks from the small-theater scene

If we cant attend a show without fearing for our lives, we are doomed

Review: Celebrations The View UpStairs

Review: Deaf West-Pasadena Playhouses Our Town

Review: A Noise Withins Madwoman of Chaillot

Review: Echo Theaters Fixed

Review: Open Fists Walking to Buchenwald

Review: Tarell Alvin McCraneys Head of Passes

Review: Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally
A dysfunctional relationship that continues over time signals complicity on both sides  a destructive cycle illuminated in Odyssey Theatres revival of The Dance of Death, August Strindbergs harrowing chronicle of marital quicksand.

Written in 1900  the same year as the publication of Sigmund Freuds The Interpretation of Dreams  the play stands at the intersection of modern psychology and theatrical realism.

In a remote military garrison, within the claustrophobic confines of their gloomy home (symbol alert, a former prison), the aging Capt. Edgar (Darrell Larson) and his once-glamorous actress wife, Alice (Lizzy Kimball), go at each other with targeted rage perfected over 25 years of marriage.

Advertisement

Their tortured rounds of domination and emotional sabotage are often cited as the template for the couple at the center of Edward Albees Whos Afraid of Virginia Woolf, given Edgars failed ambitions, Alices vengeful infidelity and their fiercely articulate sparring. Edgar and Alice even find time for a game of Get the Guest  in this case, her hapless cousin Kurt (Jeff LeBeau), the man who first introduced them and will now pay dearly for it.

The Dance of Death has enjoyed something of a resurgence thanks to Irish playwright Conor McPhersons 2012 adaptation, which streamlined the character set, vernacular and stilted dialogue of previous translations from the original Swedish. In this staging, Odyssey Artistic Director Ron Sossi wrings every drop of black humor from McPhersons sharp-edged verbal assaults. Larson and Kimball frequently draw laughs with their perfectly-inflected insults. The disintegrating civility of LeBeaus Kurt in the face of Edgars needling and Alices seduction is particularly well-focused.

The bitter savagery is well-rendered by the performers, but they fall short in revealing the characters complexities. Larsons Edgar is suitably petty and vindictive, but theres no hint of the promise that Alice must once have seen in him. This is no lion in winter. Hes a housecat. Kimball could expose more of Alices lost dreams amid her self-pity at the prospect of doing housework without servants. Nevertheless, the characters mounting demonic furies are skillfully resolved with exactly the right unsentimental emotional tone in an all-too realistic finale.

         

The Dance of Death

Where: Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles

When: 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays; ends Nov. 19. Additional performances 8 p.m. Oct. 18, Oct. 26 and Nov. 1. Ends Nov. 19

Tickets: $25-$34

Info: (310) 477-2055 or www.odysseytheatre.com

Running time: 2 hours, 5 minutes

SUPPORT THEATER COVERAGE. SHARE OUR STORIES:

The 99-Seat Beat: This weeks picks from the small-theater scene

If we cant attend a show without fearing for our lives, we are doomed

Review: South Coast Reps Curve of Desire

Review: Fountain Theatres Runaway Home

Review: Celebrations The View UpStairs

Review: Deaf West-Pasadena Playhouses Our Town

Review: A Noise Withins Madwoman of Chaillot
Metropolitan Writer-director Whit Stillmans charming 1990 feature debut about a chatty group of New York debutantes and their escorts, a group one of the characters dubs the UHBs (the Urban Haute Bourgeoisie), was an unlikely indie hit amid early 90s phenomena such as Twin Peaks, Nirvana and the riot grrrl movement. But the bright and witty dialogue as delivered by fresh faced actors such as Chris Eigeman and Taylor Nichols, was enough to win over even the most jaded of the slacker generation. Discussion with Stillman to follow. Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, (310) 260-1528. Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m. $12; $8 for Cinematheque members. www.americancinematheque.com

Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA at the Academy Cheech Marins still timely 1987 comedy-of-la-migra-errors Born in East L.A. features a legal third-generation Mexican-American mistakenly deported to Mexico. His lack of identification and mangled version of Spanglish handicap him on his quest to make it back to the Promised Land  East L.A. Panel discussion to follow with writer-director-star Marin, and co-stars Paul Rodriguez and Kamala Lopez. Samuel Goldwyn Theater, 8949 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills. Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m. $3-$5. pstlala.oscars.org

For the record: An earlier version of this post incorrectly identified Boris Karloff as the star of the 1931 version of Dracula.

LACMA Tuesday Matinees The restored 1931 Spanish-language Dracula, stars Carlos Villarias as Conde Dracula and Lupita Tovar as the spellbound Eva. The movie was filmed at night on the same sets used in the daytime for director Todd Brownings English-language version with Bela Lugosi. Other classic horror films in the series includes: The Mummy (1932), with Karloff, Oct. 17; director James Whales The Invisible Man (1933), with Claude Rains and Gloria Stuart, Oct. 24; and the ultimate 1950s monster movie, Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Oct. 31. LACMA, Bing Theater, Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, (323) 857-6000. Dracula, with English subtitles, Oct. 10, 1 p.m. $4; $2 for members and ages 65+. www.lacma.org

Advertisement

Agnes Varda Double Feature This salute to the Belgian-born director, who will receive the Governors Award at next years Oscars, begins with The Gleaners & I (2001), Vardas documentary about rural and urban scavengers, who forage for food in already harvested fields and for leftovers at Paris cafes. In Vardas 1985 drama Vagabond, the still teenage Sandrine Bonnaire won the best actress Cesar for her haunting portrayal as a drifter who spends a winter wandering the French wine country. Discussion with Varda between films. Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 461-2020. Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m. $12; $8 for Cinematheque members. www.americancinematheque.com

Pacific Standard Time: LA/LA at the Academy A outdoor screening celebrates the 30th anniversary of writer-director Luis Valdezs La Bamba, starring Lou Diamond Phillips as the tragic San Fernando Valley-born Chicano rocker Ritchie Valens. Los Lobos covered many of Valens songs for the soundtrack. La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, 501 N. Main St., Los Angeles. Oct. 14, 5 p.m. Free; no tickets required. pstlala.oscars.org

L.A. Documentaries at Union Station The new, free series from Metro Art opens with Roller Dreams (2017), which digs into the colorful, hip-hop inspired roller dancing scene at Venice Beach in the 1980s. Director Kate Hickey funded the project partly through a Kickstarter campaign. A Q&A will follow with Hickey and several of the roller dancers featured in the film. Union Station, Historic Ticketing Hall, 300 N. Alameda St., Los Angeles. Doors, 7:15 p.m.; film, 8 p.m. Seating first come, first served. www.unionstationla.com

Movie Trailers

calendar@latimes.com

@LATimesMovies
SUNDAY

Tea Leoni returns for another season of the D.C.-set drama Madam Secretary. 10 p.m. CBS

Post-WWII Paris is the setting for the new fashion-industry drama The Collection airing on Masterpiece. With Richard Coyle, Tom Riley and Mamie Gummer. 10 p.m. KOCE

The new series Haunted USA goes in search of the spookiest spots in America. 10 p.m. Travel Channel

Advertisement

Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar chats with host Neil deGrasse Tyson on StarTalk. 11 p.m. National Geographic Channel

Wheres Carl?! The Robot Chicken Walking Dead Special: Look Whos Walking is a stop-motion-animated sendup of the hit zombie drama. Midnight, Adult Swim

MONDAY

Literary characters come to life in the new kid flick Escape From Mr. Lemoncellos Library. With Breanna Yde and Casey Simpson. 7 p.m. Nickelodeon

Look, up in the sky! Melissa Benoist is back for another season as Supergirl. 8 p.m. KTLA

Rescuing a comrade left behind after a failed mission is the better part of Valor for two U.S. Army helicopter pilots in this new action drama. 9 p.m. KTLA

The tale of the American backpackers who somehow ended up in an Iranian prison is retold in the 2017 documentary The Three Hikers. 9 p.m. Starz

The people of the remote Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic find their traditional way of life threatened on several fronts in the documentary The Islands and the Whales airing on a new POV. 10 p.m. KOCE

TUESDAY

Houses Hugh Laurie is back for a second season of the online mystery drama Chance. Any time, Hulu

The 2017 documentary Take Me Home Huey examines the key role played by the Huey helicopter during the Vietnam War. 7 p.m. KOCE; also Thu., 8 p.m.

The Flash and DCs Legends of Tomorrow are back in action with new episodes. 8 and 9 p.m. KTLA

Christopher Walken  explores his  family history  on a new Finding Your Roots. Carly Simon and Portlandias Fred Armisen are also featured. 8 p.m. KOCE

Hometown heroes Kendrick Lamar and Chance the Rapper are among the nominees at the 2017 BET Hip-Hop Awards. 8 p.m. BET

Twenty-somethings try to pass as high schoolers in Topeka, Kan., in the new unscripted series Undercover High. 10 p.m. A&E

WEDNESDAY

The kids arent all right in Riverdale as this teen drama based on Archie Comics returns for its sophomore season. 8 p.m. KTLA

Nature gets up close and personal with some crafty critters in the new episode Fox Tales. 8 p.m. KOCE

Melrose Places Grant Show is no John Forsythe in a reboot of the classic prime-time soap Dynasty. 9 p.m. KTLA

Stonehenge  where the demons dwell, where the banshees live and they do live well  gets the archaeological once-over on a new Nova. 9 p.m. KOCE

The Story of Us With Morgan Freeman is a new series about humankind narrated by the actor in his warm, reassuring baritone. 9 p.m. National Geographic Channel

Scott Pruitt, controversial head of the Environmental Protection Agency, is profiled on a new Frontline. 10 p.m. KOCE

Airing in three separate segments and then all together, Queers is an anthology of eight short films about the experiences of gay men in Britain over the past 100 years. With Alan Cumming and Ben Whishaw. 10 a.m., 3 and 6:30 p.m.; 10 p.m. BBC America

The cyber-thriller Mr. Robot boots up a third season. With Rami Malek and Christian Slater. 10 p.m. USA

THURSDAY

Comic Sarah Silverman will try to bring our divided nation together  no, really  in her new weekly variety series I Love You, America. Any time, Hulu

Supernatural, the demon- and monster-hunting drama that will not die, is back for the 13th season. With Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. 8 p.m. KTLA

Stephen Amell is also back in action in a new season of the superhero drama Arrow. 9 p.m. KTLA

Standup guys: George Lopez, D.L. Hughley, Cedric the Entertainer, Eddie Griffin and Charlie Murphy play themselves in the raunchy new sitcom The Comedy Get Down. 11:30 p.m. BET

FRIDAY

The Babysitter gets $6.66 an hour  and your soul!  in this new horror comedy. With Robbie Amell and Bella Thorne. Any time, Netflix

The imported documentary Kingdom of Us follows a British family through the aftermath of their fathers suicide. Any time, Netflix

Just in time for Friday the 13th, the hit podcast Lore is now a six-part anthology series exploring the origins of classic terror tales. Any time, Amazon

Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson costar in writer-director Noah Baumbachs new dysfunctional family comedy-drama The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected). Any time, Netflix

The new fact-based crime drama Mindhunter revisits the FBIs earliest efforts at profiling serial killers. With Fringes Anna Torv. Any time, Netflix

Rebecca Bloom is still your Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Gina Rodriguez is still Jane the Virgin as these two quirky-campy series return. 8 and 9 p.m. KTLA

Gold Rush is back with a live special followed by the Alaska-set docu-series two-hour eighth-season premiere. 8 and 9 p.m. Discovery Channel

Jazz great Nina Simone, funk pioneer Sly Stone and original indie-rockers the Velvet Underground are among the honorees in a Grammy Salute to Music Legends on a new Great Performances. 9 p.m. KOCE

SATURDAY

Silicon Valleys Kumail Nanjiani hosts and P!nk is the musical guest on a new Saturday Night Live. 8:29 and 11:29 p.m. NBC

Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan are still working out the kinks in the 2017 sequel Fifty Shades Darker. 8 p.m. HBO

The Last Exorcisms Ashley Bell and Star Trek: TNGs Gates McFadden star in the new woman-in-jeopardy thriller A Neighbors Deception. 8 p.m. Lifetime

The tech-industry drama Halt and Catch Fire logs off with its series finale. 9 p.m. AMC

Samuel Barnett and Elijah Wood are back for a second season of Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency, the sci-fi comedy inspired by the Douglas Adams novel. 9 p.m. BBC America

Coffee comes with a side of romance in the new TV movie Love Struck Cafe. With Sarah Jane Morris and Andrew Walker. 9 p.m. Hallmark Channel

The Sandman wants you to get a bad nights sleep in this new terror tale starring Haylie Duff and Saws Tobin Bell. 9 p.m. Syfy

Elisabeth Moss and Girls Ebon Moss-Bachrach hope nothing gets lost in translation in the romantic new short film Tokyo Project. 10 p.m. HBO

Rock musics Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders tear it up on a new Austin City Limits. 11 p.m. KOCE

Customized TV Listings are available here: www.latimes.com/tvtimes

Click here to download

TV listings for the week of Oct. 8 - 14, 2017 in PDF format

This weeks TV Movies
Responding to mass shootings, terrorist attacks and other violent atrocities has become a grim rite of passage for late-night comedians in this fraught era. But for Jordan Klepper, the moment has arrived sooner than most. Just a week after the premiere of his nightly show, The Opposition, Americans are riveted to their screens following news of the carnage in Las Vegas.

We all woke up shocked, says Klepper, 38, in his office near Penn Station on Monday afternoon. Were constantly watching the news as the numbers keep changing. Its heartbreaking and its overwhelming. Klepper and his team have already formulated their approach: they will address the tragedy that night but wait to weigh in more significantly until later in the week when we feel like there is something to be added to the conversation.

Instead, theyll offer viewers some laughter on a dark day with a lead story about Chance the Rappers bizarre feud with Rotten Tomatoes  a subject thats apolitical but full of joy, he says. (On Tuesday, though, Klepper offers a tongue-in-cheek guide to avoid[ing] the gun debate in times of crisis.)

Advertisement

Jordan Klepper, host of the new Comedy Central talk show The Opposition, appears at the 2017 Television Critics Assn. Summer Press Tour. (Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP )

Las Vegas would be a difficult subject for any comedy show to tackle but is especially tricky for a new program whose host performs in character as a factually challenged fear-monger styled after Sandy Hook truther Alex Jones. Just as The Colbert Report satirized the belligerent, hyper-partisan cable news environment of the Bush-Obama years, The Opposition skewers far-right media outlets like InfoWars and Breitbart.

The nightly half-hour follows the same basic recipe of news segments, field pieces and interviews as The Daily Show and its offspring, but there are adjustments that reflect the zeitgeist when the very concepts of observable reality and nonpartisan truth seem to be in question. Correspondents are known as citizen journalists, and the bunker-like set includes a projected conspiracy board and desk piled high with dog-eared papers.

Just as The Colbert Report introduced the idea of truthiness, Klepper  or Klepper, rather  laid out the shows manifesto in the debut episode: No human society has ever enjoyed such an abundance of facts, which is why in America in 2017, you get to pick which facts are right for you.

While the format makes it hard for Klepper to be earnest, in other ways hes well-suited to discuss gun violence. Raised in Kalamazoo, Mich., where six people were killed in a mass shooting last year, he fondly recalls shooting with his grandfather as a child.

Guns mean something different in Michigan than they do in New York City, he says.

He also spent months traveling the country, talking to lobbyists, militiamen and gun enthusiasts  including his duck-hunting cousin, Pete  for a special, Jordan Klepper Solves Guns, that aired this year. The experience left him surprisingly hopeful.

My big takeaway was just how much middle ground there is on the issue of guns. Its mostly middle ground, says Klepper, who, with a voluminous pompadour and a tall, lanky frame accentuated by a wardrobe of slim-cut suits and skinny ties, is physically reminiscent of a young Conan OBrien. There are traces of the Midwest in his voice, especially when he mentions Chicago. He pursued comedy there after college, performing at Second City and in the improv show Whirled News Tonight, which stoked his interest in political satire.

Jordan Klepper of the The Opposition. (Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images )

Eventually relocating to New York, Klepper joined The Daily Show as a correspondent in 2014, not long before Jon Stewart announced his retirement. Klepper struck up an easy rapport with Stewarts successor, Trevor Noah, who is an executive producer on The Opposition.

In an email, Noah praised Kleppers ability to make any situation funnier. I hope Jordan is at my funeral to keep people laughing.

Hes also shared some advice: I just told Jordan to enjoy every moment of the journey. The doubt, the fear, the critics, all of it. Its a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and the joy you get from creating the show is the joy the audience often feels when watching the show.

Particularly once the 2016 presidential campaign got underway, Klepper earned notice for his field pieces, often filmed at Trump campaign events, where the candidates popularity was undeniable. In a memorable segment, Klepper interviewed Trump supporters who suspected that Bill Clinton had contracted AIDS from NBA legend Magic Johnson and wondered why Obama wasnt in the Oval Office on 9/11.

What I quickly noticed was people werent necessarily talking about Fox or CNN; they were talking about these other alt-media sources, Klepper recalls. Theres this world of news, this perspective that Im not very tapped into, but half the electorate is, and its controlling our dialogue right now and eventually our policies.

When Comedy Central began looking for the right talent to take over the 11:30 time slot, Klepper was the inevitable choice, says network President Kent Alterman. His approach was so responsive to how much the world has changed. Hes actually going into the new ways that people are engaging with political discourse and the new ways people are getting their news and information  or misinformation, as it may be.

While Noah has successfully steered The Daily Show in the post-Stewart era, finding a worthy successor to the The Colbert Report, which bowed out in late 2014, has been trickier. The ratings-challenged Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore was canceled last year and replaced by @midnight, a comic game show whose nonpolitical bent (and title) didnt really work following The Daily Show at 11:30.

Early reviews of The Opposition have been positive, and viewership in the time slot is up by 43% over last year. But The Opposition joins an already crowded field of satirical shows featuring graduates of the University of Jon Stewart, including Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, Full Frontal With Samantha Bee and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

It is definitely a golden era for these types of late-night programs, says executive producer Stuart Miller, one of many Daily Show and Colbert Report veterans now working at The Opposition. What we bring to the table is obviously Jordan, being in character and being able to use satire in a unique way.

Given the current political climate, where news stories are increasingly shared with the caveat not an Onion headline, there is a risk that real life is beyond satire and that figures like Alex Jones  who has already dismissed Kleppers fans as mentally retarded  are too absurd or too loathsome to lampoon.

Klepper and his team are constantly calibrating in order to hit their satirical mark, he says. Even though we can go to crazytown, we have to keep our foot grounded in reality. The goal is to find the nugget of truth and the nugget of empathy, no matter how outlandish the subject.

It also helps that, like Colbert, Klepper has an innate likability that softens the edges of his bloviating persona. Despite the pressure, during Mondays taping Klepper seems at ease in the role of host, responding nimbly to a few audience questions before the cameras roll. (Q: If you could ask Donald Trump one thing, what would it be? A: How much longer?).

In the episodes cold open, Klepper, out of character, soberly acknowledges the events in Las Vegas and sounds a note of unity. Remember that the goal we have in common is bigger than the differences that separate us, he says. During a commercial break, as Tom Pettys Runnin Down a Dream blares over the studio sound system, Klepper briefly points upward  quietly acknowledging another sad event in a 24-hour news cycle full of them.

The set of Comedy Centrals new show, The Opposition, hosted by comedian Jordan Klepper. (AFP / Getty Images )

meredith.blake@latimes.com

Follow me @MeredithBlake
Sitting down to talk skin care, Jami Morse Heidegger, whose family once owned beauty brand Kiehls, first apologized for the man-cave decor  rustic leather sofas and husband and business partner Klaus Heideggers John Wayne posters  at the couples sprawling 25-acre Malibu ranch, where tangles of grape vines, flowers and fruit trees appeared to thrive alongside show horses.

Although the familys main residence is in Chatsworth, the ranch, which offers panoramic views of the Pacific, doubles as an office. (The ranch is currently on the market for $55 million.)

Indoors, Morse Heidegger, 56, wore her Thierry Lasry sunglasses, which matched her cobalt Ralph Lauren pantsuit. The glasses are a necessary accessory to protect her eyes from an acute light sensitivity as well as part of her face from the sun, said Morse Heidegger, who has spent her life working in the beauty industry.

Advertisement

She and her husband sold Kiehls to LOreal Paris for a reported $100 million to $150 million in 2000, and they moved on to their latest beauty venture, the unisex luxury skin-care line Retrouve, which was developed with former Kiehls chemist Stephen Musumeci and launched in France in 2014 before its stateside debut in 2015.

Formulations for Retrouve contain highly concentrated ingredients, including oil from avocados grown on the Malibu property using natural permaculture agricultural methods. Plant-based squalane (an emollient similar to human sebum), high-quality oils and vitamin E are other key elements used in the skin-care products.

Jami Morse Heidegger says her husband persuaded her to launch the unisex luxury skin-care brand Retrouve with these words: All you have to do is make the products. Ill do everything else. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times )

I just wanted the best products for my skin, and I didnt care what it cost.  Jami Morse Heidegger, founder of skin-care brand Retrouve

I have to admit when we first sold Kiehls, I was a little less money-conscious, Morse Heidegger said. I just wanted the best products for my skin, and I didnt care what it cost. I started making products for myself in about 2001, because I started to experience dry skin and hormonal aging. ... I wanted something a little more intense and heavy-duty. I didnt care if my skin peeled or got a little red because of high levels of vitamin C or fruit acid. So I called Steve [Musumeci], and he bulk ordered the best ingredients at the highest concentrations.

Given the couples Hollywood connections (Klaus Heidegger counts Arnold Schwarzenegger and Caitlyn Jenner as longtime friends), its no surprise that Retrouve already has a Hollywood following, including fans Zoe Kravitz, Natasha Gregson Wagner and Dita Von Teese.

Currently sold in 10 countries, the Retrouve line consists of six facial products: a cleanser, serum, two moisturizers, eye balm and exfoliating pads, ranging from $65 to $445 and available at retrouve.com, Ron Robinson and select spas in Los Angeles. Among the dozen other products in the pipeline are a body oil and lip balm scheduled to drop in 2018.

Also in the works, Morse Heidegger said, is a method to extract vitamin C from lemons, oranges and grapefruit harvested on the ranch as well as plans to cultivate pomegranate, white tea and herbs for the products, which are manufactured at a laboratory in New Jersey. (The Heideggers regularly ship crates of their ranch-grown avocados to the East Coast).

And its the East Coast where her familys start in beauty began.

My grandfather [Irving Morse] went to pharmacy school at Columbia University and apprenticed with John Kiehl in the late 1800s [until he acquired Kiehls in 1921], Morse Heidegger said. Kiehls was an apothecary on 3rd Avenue and 13th Street in New York, and things like tea, ginseng, herbs, calendula ointment and oils were considered medicines then.

The Retrouve line consists of six facial products: a cleanser, serum, two moisturizers, eye balm and exfoliating pads. Products range from $65 to $445 and are available at retrouve.com, Ron Robinson and selects spas in the Los Angeles area. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times )

Her father, Aaron Morse, went to work at Kiehls in 1954 and said to her grandfather, We should turn these ointments and poultices into skin care.

So thats how the products got started in about 1958, Morse Heidegger said. As far back as I can remember, I mixed custom perfumes that we would name and sell, including Innervisions for Stevie Wonder, when I was about 9 years old.

At age 11, Morse Heidegger moved to Beverly Hills with her mother and stepfather, who had landed a job at Warner Bros. Three years later, her father purchased a second home in Beverly Hills and continued to encourage her involvement in the family business.

Vidal Sassoon was big then and I had this crazy, wavy hair that I wanted very straight in a Sassoon cut, she said. I told my father we needed to make a product like the Vidal Sassoon protein pack hair conditioner. Most of my education for Kiehls came from working with my father.

After graduating from Beverly Hills High School, Morse Heidegger attended Harvard University and then lived in Austria with her husband. She returned to New York in 1985 to help with Kiehls after her father was diagnosed with cancer.

In 1988, the Heideggers purchased Kiehls  a small Manhattan apothecary with a staff of 13  from Aaron Morse for $600,000. A former Austrian ski champ and entrepreneur, Klaus Heidegger oversaw the factories and brought the company up to digital speed, while Morse Heidegger built a booming business with innovations such as generous product sampling and dedicated charitable products.

The Heideggers have a 25-acre Malibu ranch, where they produce ingredients and find inspiration for their latest beauty line, Retrouve. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times )

Twelve years later, the couple sold Kiehls. By then, they were raising their three children in Los Angeles, but retirement wasnt in the cards, as Morse Heideggers visionary business instincts soon turned a side project into a new company.

While attending horse shows to support her younger daughter Hannahs competitive riding, Morse Heidegger was asked for the secret to her glowing complexion.

So she began to hand out samples of a moisturizer, insisting that it would never be sold. But in 2011, she said her husband finally convinced her by saying, All you have to do is make the products. Ill do everything else.

image@latimes.com

For fashion news, follow us at @latimesimage on Twitter.

ALSO

Paris Fashion Week: Spring trends include black and white and a whole lot of light(ness)

Schott NYC continues to make celebrity cool leather jackets as well as ones for SoCal temperatures

Looking for an Instagram moment? Miu Miu pops up its oversized handbags at South Coast Plaza
If you are one of those old-school folks who frequents newsstands and still loves thumbing through glossy magazines for good stories and captivating photography, then you likely have had the magazine Cherry Bombe on your radar since it began in 2013. Published twice a year by Kerry Diamond and Claudia Wu, its a lovely thing, devoted to the intersection of women and food, with a particular interest in fashion. (Diamond is a former magazine editor, Wu, a former art director.) Cherry Bombe is irreverent and compelling, giving voice to women in the food world from Martha Stewart to Lena Dunham  both of whom have graced the cover, with cherries. Imagine Mrs. Beetons Cookery Book crossed with Lady Gaga.

Happily, probably inevitably, Diamond and Wu have now come out with a cookbook: Cherry Bombe: The Cookbook. Inside the book, published by Clarkson Potter, are 100 recipes from 100 women, among them Christina Tosi of Milk Bar; Top Chefs Padma Lakshmi; Naomi Pomeroy of Portland, Ore.s, Beast restaurant; Jeni Britton Bauer of Jenis Splendid Ice Creams; Tartines Elisabeth Prueitt; and L.A.s own Evan Kleiman (KCRW), Jessica Koslow (Sqirl), Sarah Hymanson and Sara Kramer (Kismet).

On some levels, like the magazine that engendered it, its a tongue-in-cheek book (pink cover, lots of cherries, pink KitchenAid). But on other levels, the cookbook is surprisingly straightforward, as the voices and stories that make the magazine so compelling are oddly missing, replaced by just the recipes themselves.

Advertisement

If you already subscribe to the magazine, you might want to make Lakshmis sweet and sour shrimp from the cookbook while you reread last years magazine cover story on the television personality and cookbook writer, which is a far more interesting read than the few sentences that operate as introduction to the dish. If you dont have a copy of the magazine, well, maybe go pick up an issue while youre out shopping for the ingredients for Prueitts chocolate hazelnut torte. (If you want even more Cherry Bombe, theres also Cherry Bombe Radio and, on Oct. 14, a daylong conference called the Cherry Bombe Jubliee.)

With a stack of issues, youll have the best of both worlds: the assembled chapters (tools & rules; mains; sweet treats) of the cookbook, plus all the stories that load the magazine, including interviews, illustrations, photo essays and to-do lists. Nice.

Cookbook of the Week: Cherry Bombe: The Cookbook by Kerry Diamond and Claudia Wu (Clarkson Potter, $35).

SWEET AND SOUR SHRIMP WITH CHERRY TOMATOES

View the recipe in our California Cookbook:

40 minutes. Serves 4.

1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined but tail-on

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Kosher salt

2 tablespoons canola oil

 teaspoon cumin seeds

 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 cup minced shallots

1 cup diced yellow bell pepper

2 dried red chiles, such as Kashmiri for mild heat or Thai for extra heat

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

2 tablespoons butter

4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1/3 cup diced dried apricots

1 whole preserved lemon, seeded and diced

 teaspoon turmeric powder

 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Cooked rice, for serving

1. In a bowl, toss the shrimp with the lemon juice and  teaspoon salt. Cover and set aside.

2. In a deep skillet or wok set over medium heat, add the oil. When the oil is hot, stir in the cumin and fennel seeds and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Toss in the shallots and bell pepper and continue to cook for 5 to 7 minutes to soften the peppers.

3. Add the dried chiles, garlic and ginger to the skillet and saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the butter and tomatoes, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the tomatoes release their juice and it begins to thicken, 12 to 15 minutes.

4. Toss in the dried apricots, preserved lemon and turmeric and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes to marry the flavorings. Taste for seasoning and an additional  teaspoon salt, or to taste.

5. Stir in the shrimp, coating it with the sauce. Cook, stirring once or twice, just until the shrimp becomes opaque, 3 to 4 minutes, careful not to overcook. Toss in the cilantro and remove any chile tops that popped off during cooking. Serve over rice.

Each serving: Calories 307; Protein 22 grams; Carbohydrates 23 grams; Fiber 5 grams; Fat 15 grams; Saturated fat 5 grams; Cholesterol 197 mg; Sugar 13 grams; Sodium 1,819 mg

Note: Adapted from a recipe from Padma Lakshmi in the book Cherry Bombe by Kerry Diamond and Claudia Wu.

amy.scattergood@latimes.com

@ascattergood

ALSO:

10 of the best new cookbooks of 2017

Is 2017 the year of the Los Angeles cookbook?

The essential cookbooks to send to school with your kid
Rada extends law on special local self-government of ORDLO for a year, but it will take effect after withdrawal of Russian troops

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has extended for a year the validity of the law on a special order of local self-government in certain regions of Donetsk and Luhansk regions (ORDLO), which was to become inoperative on October 18, 2017.

The corresponding law on the creation of the necessary conditions for the peaceful settlement of the situation in certain regions of Donetsk and Luhansk regions (No. 7164) was supported by 229 people's deputies at the plenary session on Friday, an Interfax-Ukraine agency correspondent reported.

The parliament thus made changes to the 2014 law on special local self-governance procedures in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, editing Article 1 to prolong the special procedures by one year. The populated areas and territories where this special procedure will be in place determined by the Verkhovna Rada.

At the same time, the document stipulates that the procedures will only take effect "after all conditions stated in Article 10 of the law [on special local self-governance procedures] are fulfilled, specifically as regards the withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine of all illegal armed formations, their military equipment, and militants and mercenaries."
I have stopped by Sari Sari Store five times in the last three days, and Im not sure if I should be admitting this to you or to a therapist.

On Monday, I walked over with Times Food editor Amy Scattergood, my Sari Sari Store enabler, and tried the arroz caldo, the sisig fried rice and also the adobo fried rice. On Tuesday morning, Amy texted me to say a section meeting was already underway at Sari Sari Store, so I found myself back at the counter with an order of lechon manok  spit-roasted chicken  as well as a cantaloupe slush and a few forkfuls of buko pie. Late that afternoon, I came in for an early supper of grilled pork ribs, silog made with homemade Spam and a taste of tortang talong, which is grilled eggplant dipped into beaten egg and fried. Wednesdays breakfast (Amys choice, again) was another bowl of arroz caldo, and I breezed through again a few hours later for halo-halo and a coffee with condensed milk. Ive given up my fidget spinner. I have Sari Sari Store instead.

My colleagues and I have probably adored Sari Sari Store a little too much lately, partly because were as likely to become crushed out on a new restaurant as a 14-year-old is on the latest Zayn track, and partly because the idea of a Filipino-style lunch counter run by Republiques Margarita and Walter Manzke is just too much, especially in downtown L.A.s Grand Central Market.

Advertisement

Deputy food editor Jenn Harris swooned over the buko pie this week. So I wont say that much more about it, other than to say that Margarita Manzke comes close to baking the best, darkest pie crust in Los Angeles, that the custard is as dense as pastry cream because it is pastry cream, and that while you would think that the jelly-soft layer of buko, young coconut, might pull the dessert toward the exotic, it ends up tasting like the kind of coconut cream pie you might find at a roadside diner in Oklahoma if you were very, very lucky.

Amy loves the halo-halo, a layered dessert of jellied coconut, ice cream, fruit, crushed ice and other things, although I will act the purist for a moment and insist that the purple yam, omitted here, is an essential part of the experience, and that the Sari Sari Store version may bear a closer resemblance to the chewy, icy Vietnamese desserts called che you find at sweet shops in Little Saigon than it does to the halo-halo at the old-school Filipino places. There is a place for them both.

Sari Saris arroz caldo is rice porridge with pork, mushrooms, fried garlic, scallions and soft eggs. (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times )

But Sari Sari Store is basically devoted to the Filipino rice bowl, a hybrid form made popular here at places like Rice Bar and Oi, a savory, salty, nominally healthful dish of silog  a toss of meat, vegetables and aromatics  served over pickle-spiked garlic-fried rice. There is always a fried egg on top. And the Manzkes, whose refined French cooking has been revered in Los Angeles for years, are masters of balance  you may notice the subtleties before you blast them into the umami zone with fish sauce, Sriracha and chile-infused vinegar. (You may have self-control, but I am kind of a peasant.)

It may be an odd thing to say about a restaurant, but at Sari Sari Store it really doesnt matter what you order. If you get adobo fried rice, you will find a bit of sweetness from the pork bellys marinade; the sisig, fried pigs head, is crunchier and more assertively salty; and the grilled eggplant is smokier, richer, more tart. The grilled pork ribs tend to smack more of the backyard Weber than of the pit, if thats a factor, and the chewiness is not quite tamed. The slices of housemade Spam, soft and fluffy, seared almost black, are pretty wonderful, especially if you were expecting the high salt-sweet flavor of the actual trademarked meat in a can.

Chef de cuisine Don Dalao brines his chicken  the meat is almost bouncy  before cooking it slowly on the rotisserie the restaurant inherited from Bar Moruno, the former occupant of this corner of Grand Central Market, and the sweetish sauce inhabits the skin, which is more sticky than crackly; more bronzed than charred. In the arroz caldo, a lunch favorite at Republique, the rice is seethed into a loose, hot porridge, fragrant with ginger and fried garlic, thick with chewy mushrooms and little cubes of pork.

The inevitable egg is poached sous-vide to the soft, runny consistency of the eggs you find in ramen. A squirt of lime and a dash of fish sauce transform the flavor  not necessarily better, but different, with an extra level of depth. Youre ready for the morning. And Sari Sari will still be waiting for you when you return for a post-work slice of pie.

Sari Sari Store

A new Filipino food counter at Grand Central Market.

Location: Grand Central Market, 317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, (323) 320-4020, sarisaristorela.com

Prices: Savory dishes $11-$13; sweets $6-$8.

Details: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Beer and wine. Credit cards accepted. Validated parking in lot next door.

Recommended dishes: Arroz caldo, Spam silog, buko pie.
Unless youre an interior designer scouting fine furniture for a celebrity client, the pristine showrooms along the La Cienega Design Quarter might feel a tad out of reach.

But this weekend, those showrooms are shifting their prized pieces outdoors and slashing their prices.

The first sidewalk sale along the LCDQ will feature wares of about 30 showrooms from Santa Monica to Rosewood, spilling over onto Melrose Avenue and Melrose Place. The designers that sell to the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Jennifer Aniston are clearing out their warehouses: Christopher Farr rugs discounted from $2,500 to $250, table lamps originally priced at more than $2,000 are half price, ceramics that once cost $80 are now $20 and fabric and wallpaper remnants can be found for $10.

Advertisement

Top design and decor names such as Madeline Stuart, Serena & Lily and Harbinger will be taking part.

Interior of Harbinger on La Cienega. (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times )

Unless youre an interior designer scouting fine furniture for a celebrity client, the pristine showrooms along the La Cienega Design Quarter might feel a tad out of reach.

But this weekend, those showrooms are shifting their prized pieces outdoors and slashing their prices.

The first sidewalk sale along the LCDQ will feature wares of about 30 showrooms from Santa Monica to Rosewood, spilling over onto Melrose Avenue and Melrose Place. The designers that sell to the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Jennifer Aniston are clearing out their warehouses: Christopher Farr rugs discounted from $2,500 to $250, table lamps originally priced at more than $2,000 are half price, ceramics that once cost $80 are now $20 and fabric and wallpaper remnants can be found for $10.

Top design and decor names such as Madeline Stuart, Serena & Lily and Harbinger will be taking part.

Our showroom has been here 21 years and weve never had a sale, said Robert Willson, owner of Downtown. We have a 10,000-square-foot warehouse with pieces that never made it to our showroom. We thought it was time to pull out some things. These will include Midcentury pieces and antiques  sofas, cabinets, Lucite chairs; Willson said many will be discounted by up to 80%.

Its a great opportunity for consumers who might be too intimidated to go into a showroom, said Orli Ben-Dor, creative director for Hollywood at Home, owned by acclaimed designer Peter Dunham. Its a good idea to band together and have this walkable sidewalk where everything is centralized. Nobody will have the same things as a neighbor. Look for Hollywood at Homes vintage pillows and throws, table and floor lamps and other home accents, priced at $15 and up.

What: LCDQ Sidewalk Sale

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 6 and 7

Where: La Cienega Design Quarter, along the intersection of La Cienega Boulevard and Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles

Info: lcdqla.com

Home@latimes.com

For an easy way to follow the L.A. scene, bookmark L.A. at Home and join us on our Facebook page for home design, Twitter and Pinterest.

ALSO:

A shoppers guide to La Cienega

Shopping Melrose Avenues thriving design district

More Southern California home tours
There are so many things about the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment revelations that are distressing and familiar that I hardly know where to start.

But let me try.

Weinstein is a 65-year-old married movie mogul who has been accused of sexually harassing women who work for him or have wanted to work for him over a period of nearly three decades. He is a man who can make and break careers, whose power has sometimes seemed infinite, whose temper is volcanic, and whose deft touch with stories and marketing has resulted in numerous Oscars.

In a blockbuster New York Times story published Thursday, reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey interviewed Weinstein employees and actresses who said the producer invited them into his plush hotel rooms on the pretext of discussing work, then would ask for naked massages, make unwanted physical advances or request that they watch him shower.

Advertisement

The harassment was so pervasive and well-known among staff at his companies  Miramax, then the Weinstein Co.  that women would double up for protection when they had to go see him, according to the New York Times. It was also, if Twitter is to be believed, an open secret in Hollywood.

Some of his staff, it was reported, were required to participate in turndown duty for him at bedtime or to help get him up in the morning. Weinstein has denied the accusations and told the New York Post that the New York Times is engaged in a vendetta against him.

I have always argued that power, particularly the Hollywood strain, infantilizes. Success in Hollywood frequently reduces fully grown adults to narcissistic babies.

Babies have no self-control. They scream and cry when they get mad. Their needs are uninhibited. Gratification must be instant. Weinstein may be a talented moviemaker. But he is also just another overgrown Hollywood man-baby.

Weinsteins behavior is also an excellent example of the hypocrisy that is so rampant in Hollywood  and politics, for that matter.

He is a liberal Democrat who publicly champions womens rights and professional advancement but demeans and exploits them in private. (And yes, I do include Bill Clinton on that list.) The conservative equivalent is the anti-abortion crusader who privately urges his mistress to abort an inconvenient pregnancy or the devout Christian who ditches his sick wife to marry his mistress.

Say what you will about right-wing harassers such as Bill OReilly and the late Roger Ailes, both of whom fell from lofty perches at Fox News after revelations about sexual harassment: At least their victims got substantial sums for their suffering.

The notoriously tight-fisted Weinstein apparently even pinched pennies when he was coughing up cash to make his problems go away. The New York Times documented at least eight harassment settlements against Weinstein, with paltry reported payouts of between $80,000 and $150,000 hidden behind nondisclosure agreements.

Thats depressing, too.

::

After the story broke Thursday, Weinsteins lawyer threatened to sue the New York Times for defamation. And yet Weinstein himself issued an apology for the pain he has caused.

I came of age in the 60s and 70s, he began, when all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different. That was the culture then. I have since learned it is not an excuse.

Well, I was sentient in the 70s, and I dont remember it being OK to strip naked in front of female employees and ask for massages. Even if it was a common practice in Hollywood when he was young and relatively powerless, blaming the culture is as disingenuous as explaining away racism as a generational artifact.

I called David Wexler, the San Diego psychologist who wrote When Good Men Behave Badly, and I was kind of surprised when he told me that he thought Weinstein has a point there.

As long as hes willing to recognize that this isnt the only factor that contributed to the pattern of behavior, said Wexler, who is more forgiving than I. I think there is some value in looking at the social forces that shaped him.

Weinstein, who is taking a leave of absence from his namesake studio, said he has enlisted the help of feminist attorney Lisa Bloom, who has put together a team of people to tutor him. My journey will be to learn about myself, he said, and conquer my demons.

Why do you need a team to help you figure out that you took advantage of subordinates and got caught? Thats a job for a shrink, not a bunch of feminists.

Hes an old dinosaur learning new ways, Bloom said in a statement she posted on Twitter. That is a jaw-dropping excuse for workplace sexual misbehavior, even if, as she wrote, he disputes many of the allegations.

Would Bloom, daughter of the iconic feminist attorney Gloria Allred, have used that excuse for Donald Trump and OReilly, whose accusers she has famously represented in sexual harassment complaints? Theyre even older dinosaurs than Weinstein.

Anyway, what kind of signal does a statement like that send to victims, especially coming from an attorney who has made a reputation standing up for womens rights?

Maybe shes willing to help Weinstein change his ways because she has business ties to him. Weinstein, along with Jay-Z, is using a book Bloom wrote about the Trayvon Martin case as source material for a miniseries, according to the Hollywood Reporter. More power to her, but this is the very nature of Hollywood.

It corrupts you before you even realize youve been corrupted.

More columns 

For more on politics 

robin.abcarian@latimes.com

Twitter: @AbcarianLAT

ALSO

Hugh Hefner preached liberation but he never stopped exploiting women

A crude display of wealth and condescension in Trumps America? But of course!

More from Robin Abcarian
On an early Monday morning, Lewis MacAdams plunged into work on a memoir recounting his years spent crusading to return the concrete-lined Los Angeles River to a more natural state.

It seemed an insurmountable task. His frail body had suffered the toll from a stroke a year ago, and his memory wasnt what it used to be.

MacAdams, a poet and founder of Friends of the Los Angeles River, looked up at historian Michael Block from his wheelchair and launched into an anecdote. It involved a little walk I took along the riverbank in 1985 with city officials led by Mayor Tom Bradley  all of whom acted as though it was an odd photo opportunity, or some kind of a joke. Like it was just.

Suddenly, his words sputtered to a halt. Sorry, he said faintly. I had a brain freeze.

A moment later, MacAdams, 74, picked up the thread of his tale with a fresh twinkle in his eye: Looking back, that short walk along the riverbank was incredibly important. It was the moment we went from being spectators to creators when it comes to restoring the river.

Look at us now  were a snowballin, steamrollin, rock n rollin machine, he continued with a smile and a clenched fist held high.

Lewis MacAdams recounts stories from his life as a crusader for the Los Angeles River. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

A leaf rests along the bank of the Los Angeles River in Elysian Valley. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

The hub of MacAdams life today is a cramped apartment in a Los Angeles retirement community. Each weekday morning Block uses an audio-recording machine, archival photos and documents to retrace MacAdams influence in making river restoration a credible issue for Southern California nature lovers and policymakers from former Mayor Tom Bradley to Mayor Eric Garcetti .

The memoir will be called Poetry and Politics. In another part of the city, in a nondescript San Pedro warehouse, another project celebrating the poet-environmentalists legacy nears completion.

Sculptor Eugene Daub is finishing a 7-foot-tall monument featuring MacAdams in stark relief over river flora and fauna including frogs, herons and fish. It will be unveiled Saturday at a celebration near the rivers edge at Marsh Park in Elysian Valley.

Daubs previous works include a bronze statue in Washington, D.C., of Rosa Parks, whose arrest in 1955 for refusing to yield her seat to a white passenger led to a boycott of the Montgomery, Ala., bus system and helped spark the civil rights movement.

Bronze, Daub decided, was not quite the right material for a statue depicting MacAdams.

Almost everything I do is in bronze, he said. But in this case, concrete seemed appropriate since Lewis has campaigned so hard for its removal from the L.A. River channel.

Michael Atkins, a spokesman for Friends of the Los Angeles River, likes to say the monument is concrete staring down concrete, and Id put my money on Lewis stony face outlasting that conveyor belt for urban runoff.

The monument depicts MacAdams, his eyes fixed on a distant horizon. Just beneath the visage is one of his favorite phrases: If its not impossible, Im not interested.

In the 1980s, MacAdams pioneered a conservationist campaign by demanding that one of the worlds most heavily industrialized rivers be returned to a semblance of its natural flows from the San Gabriel Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.

MacAdams became known as an uncompromising defender of an often-defiled river.

He helped transform the nonprofit Friends of the Los Angeles River into one of the leading conservationist organizations in California with a list of 40,000 supporters, annual river cleanup efforts and educational programs.

Lewis McAdams at his home in the Kingsley Manor retirement community in Los Angeles. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

MacAdams and Friends also did much of the work to win approval of a $1.6-billion federal project to restore habitat, widen the channel, create wetlands and provide access points and bike trails along an 11-mile section of unpaved riverbed north of downtown.

Lewis made the entire region aware of the possibility of making the L.A. River more central to the life of our city, Deborah Weintraub, chief deputy city engineer, said. Because of his unflagging commitment to the cause, were starting to make that happen for both people and an array of wildlife.

Block said the memoir is also a work in progress  with new stories only MacAdams could provide being unearthed every time they meet.

Just the other day, Lewis asked, Did you ever hear about my Tiananmen Square moment?  Block recalled.

No, he responded expectantly. But it sure sounds interesting. Im all ears.

Lewis said, Well, one day, back in the 1980s, I clambered down to the river bottom, raised my hand and stopped a bulldozer in its tracks. 

Block asked what happened next, but MacAdams would not say.

Instead, he abruptly changed the subject because he felt uncomfortable calling attention to himself, Block said. So, the memoir is moving along  slowly.

Louis.Sahagun@latimes.com

@LouisSahagun
When the AIDS Healthcare Foundation campaigned unsuccessfully this spring for a ballot measure to crack down on mega projects, affordable housing developers argued the proposal would hurt poor renters and thwart sorely needed construction.

Now the huge nonprofit is getting into affordable housing itself, saying it can provide it quicker and cheaper than such groups.

The current model does not work, said its top executive, Michael Weinstein. It takes too much time. It costs too much money. And in a lot of cases, it excludes the people that need the most help.

AHF is forming a new division called the Healthy Housing Foundation and has already purchased a skid row building in an effort to provide apartments for hundreds of poor tenants. It is also buying a Hollywood motel and says it plans to break ground on hundreds of new units next year in Florida.

Advertisement

Were in the market for more properties, Weinstein added. We dont want to see them turned into techie apartments for $2,500 a month.

Were in the market for more properties. We dont want to see them turned into techie apartments for $2,500 a month.  Michael Weinstein, head of AIDS Healthcare Foundation, on the nonprofits plans for affordable housing

The new push brings the foundation, an outspoken critic of how real estate development has shaped Los Angeles, even farther into the simmering debate over how to ease its housing crisis. If it succeeds in providing affordable housing to Angelenos in need, it could gain new credibility in that debate, said Jaime Regalado, professor emeritus of politics at Cal State L.A.

Its obvious that they want to be a force to be reckoned with  and I think they already are, Regalado said.

That troubles critics such as state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who has repeatedly been at odds with the group during his political career. Wiener is an advocate for a pill that can prevent HIV infections, which Weinstein has viewed with skepticism, fearing that patients wont take the medicine properly and then fail to use condoms.

Its just more empire building by Michael Weinstein, Wiener said, arguing that it was hypocritical for the group to bill itself as an affordable housing provider when its ballot measure would have shut down a lot of housing development in L.A.

Why cant they focus on actually providing treatment to people living with HIV? Wiener asked.

The nonprofit is a philanthropic powerhouse that operates a global network of clinics and pharmacies and plasters cities with provocative billboards for HIV and STD testing.

It has also become a polarizing player in local and state politics, bankrolling ballot measures on drug pricing, condoms in adult films, and Los Angeles real estate development. It poured millions of dollars into the campaign for Measure S, which would have imposed a moratorium lasting up to two years on L.A. building projects that require zone changes and other alterations in city rules.

Earlier this year, Weinstein argued that Measure S would help combat gentrification that displaces the poor, including people with HIV and AIDS. He also fired back at critics who said the measure was a NIMBY crusade that had little to do with its nonprofit mission, countering that housing was a pressing need for its patients.

Now the group says it is trying to fill that need: It has spent roughly $8 million to purchase the Madison Hotel, a single-room-occupancy building on Seventh Street that it plans to spruce up and rent out, giving priority to people with HIV and other chronic illnesses. The nonprofit says existing tenants will be able to stay, and it aims to keep monthly rents under $400.

Part of our goal is to show that this is financially viable and sustainable in the long run, Weinstein said.

Alice Callaghan, who heads a community center near the Madison, applauded the effort. Were losing so much housing every year, said Callaghan, director of Las Familias del Pueblo. We need to encourage another set of players to fix up places and rent them out as clean, safe housing for the very poor.

The high cost of creating affordable housing has been a persistent concern for policymakers: New affordable units in California cost an average of $332,000, which limits the amount of housing that can be built, Gov. Jerry Brown noted in a budget summary this year. In an earlier study, state agencies found that costs were driven upward by a wide range of factors, including regulatory requirements for construction tied to public funds, local government requirements that spur changes in building design, and delays caused by community opposition.

If they bring a fresh perspective, I welcome them, said Alan Greenlee, executive director of the Southern California Assn. of Non-Profit Housing, which opposed Measure S. If they hit on something thats new and innovative, by all means we should rush to adopt that.

However, its not like our members havent been looking for ways to cut costs, said Greenlee, whose group includes affordable housing providers. Im not saying its impossible  but its not easy either.

Mark Vallianatos, another opponent of the ballot measure and an advocate for rules that make development easier, welcomed the new effort from the foundation.

This is how you solve the problem, said Vallianatos, director of the LAplus think tank. Not by trying to stop new housing.

The foundation, which has sued over planned developments in Hollywood, has continued to speak up on development issues after Measure S was heavily defeated this spring. The Coalition to Preserve L.A., whose director headed that campaign, is still being funded by the nonprofit and has been raising concerns about how L.A. is updating rules that govern development.

Its efforts have sometimes been at odds with groups that build affordable housing: AHF opposed a state bill requiring cities and counties to limit environmental, planning and other reviews for some developments, which was recently signed into law by Brown and touted as a way to ease housing construction.

Backers of SB 35, which was authored by Wiener, included the California Council for Affordable Housing and Mercy Housing California.

The bill was opposed, however, by a long list of cities and had also raised concerns among renter rights groups such as Tenants Together, which argued that it would fuel displacement in gentrifying areas. Weinstein contended that the state restrictions would limit the ability of local communities to control their destiny.

emily.alpert@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATimesEmily
A Rancho Cucamonga man whom police chased into the heart of the tourist district on Hollywood Boulevard as bystanders looked on has been sentenced to three years in prison, Los Angeles County prosecutors said.

Tony Calloway Jr., 24, pleaded no contest to fleeing police while driving recklessly in connection with the slow-speed chase on March 9. Calloway had stolen a car in Colton and was spotted by police on the 101 Freeway. Police then chased him to Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue.

#LIVE: Large group of spectators watching tense chase situation along Hollywood Boulevard https://t.co/C8nRNwa2wB pic.twitter.com/9gKMTofuyt  ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) March 10, 2017

Advertisement

With the stolen car surrounded by police, Calloway remained in the car briefly and smoked a cigarette as officers ordered him to surrender and bystanders snapped photos and recorded the standoff on their phones.

They had all their guns out and so we were like, OK, maybe this is serious, maybe he has a gun, so finally we all kind of stepped back, witness Anette Chavez told KCBS. But at first I was like, This is exciting, but it does get a little dangerous.

Calloway was eventually taken into custody and dozens of tourists had a bona fide L.A. police chase story to take back home. The entire pursuit can be viewed here.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.

ALSO

Man stabbed repeatedly outside Palmdale church

To slow deadly hepatitis outbreak, paramedics will now provide vaccinations to the homeless

Major gun show opening in Costa Mesa despite criticism that its too soon after Las Vegas massacre

Deputies search for man who tried to kidnap 12-year-old girl during soccer practice
The mountain lion P-41, whose movements through the Verdugo Mountains were documented in stunning photographs by citizen scientists, has been found dead.

Residents found the male puma Wednesday near Shadow Hills, National Park Service officials said.

The cause of death had not been determined. The cat had been dead for several days, and the carcass was decayed, said Kate Kuykendall, spokeswoman for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife will conduct a necropsy in the next couple of weeks, she said.

Advertisement

At about 10 years old, P-41 was considered to be of advanced age for a mountain lion in the wild. But his death could have been hastened by causes including rat poison and the La Tuna fire, which burned more than 7,000 acres in the Verdugos last month.

P-41 had already overcome a number of challenges to survive in a relatively small home range with habitat fragmented by roads and development, said Jeff Sikich, a biologist for the recreation area. Sikich captured and collared P-41 in 2015.

The approximately 130-pound animal was a subject of amateur scientists Johanna Turner and Denis Callet, whose photographs were featured in a 2015 Times article.

Turner, a sound effects editor for Universal Studios, makes a hobby of setting up motion-controlled cameras to capture shots of Southern Californias mountain lions in their habitats.

She said Thursday that she photographed P-41 thousands of times, including hundreds of hours of video, and provided the images to the National Park Service for research. Her last photo was Aug. 3.

Though she never saw P-41 in person, she believes the cougar interacted with her through her camera.

If I put a camera in a new spot, sometimes if he wasnt in the mood to get a flash bulb, he would come up, stop, look around and leave, she said. I would get pictures of his butt.

Turner said she believes that P-41 fathered two litters but that none of his four offspring reached adulthood in the wild. Two were hit and killed on freeways, and two were captured and live in a wildlife refuge in Riverside, she said.

National Park Service biologists had been tracking P-41 since May 2015, hoping to learn about his movements, especially whether he would remain in the Verdugos or also use the southern San Gabriel Mountains as part of his territory, which would involve crossing the 210 Freeway.

The agency said Thursday that GPS data collected during the two years P-41 was tracked showed he did not cross the 210 or use the San Gabriels, but that his territory extended across the 2 Freeway into the San Rafael Hills.

His movements after the La Tuna fire were not known because his tracking collar failed this summer.

Residents using remote cameras had photographed a female mountain lion in the Verdugo Mountains after the La Tuna fire, but not P-41, the National Park Service said.

We are grateful to the resident who reported the dead mountain lion, said Julianne Taylor, a scientist with the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Its important to understand the mountain lions entire life history, which includes mortalities and cause of death.

Since 2002, the National Park Service has been studying mountain lions in and around the Santa Monica Mountains to determine how they survive in an increasingly fragmented and urbanized environment.

Kuykendall said scientists think the Santa Monica Mountains can support 10 to 15 pumas, but only P-41 was being tracked in the Verdugos.

doug.smith@latimes.com

@LATDoug

ALSO

Deputies search for man who tried to kidnap 12-year-old girl during soccer practice

Two bodies pulled from wrecked car in Kings River during search for missing San Diego couple

USC medical school dean out amid revelations of sexual harassment claim, $135,000 settlement with researcher
Prosecutors Thursday dropped charges against an Oakland police officer accused with several co-workers in a sprawling sex scandal that drew national attention last year, marking the fourth case in which charges against law enforcement officers implicated in the controversy have collapsed.

Alameda County Asst. Dist. Atty. Teresa Drenick said Thursday that her office will not pursue sex crime charges against Giovani LoVerde, who had been accused of felony oral copulation with a minor.

The charges against LoVerde and six other law enforcement officers stemmed from a sex scandal that rocked several East Bay departments last year, resulting in the firing of Oakland Police Chief Sean Whent.

Advertisement

In June 2016, a teenage Richmond, Calif., woman alleged she had sex with more than a dozen Oakland police officers, some of the encounters occurring when she was underage.

The woman, now 20, contended she also had sex or other inappropriate contact with officers from other police agencies. The Times generally does not name people who report being victims of sexual abuse.

But in recent weeks, a judge found there was insufficient evidence to pursue charges against Ricardo Perez, a former Contra Costa County Sheriffs Department employee, and Oakland police officer Brian Bunton.

Citing those rulings, prosecutors decided to drop charges against LoVerde, though they plan to appeal the ruling in Perezs case, according to Drenick.

There exists a conflict in the law interpreting the criminal statutes that govern the crimes charged, and we have determined that we will seek an appellate remedy, Drenick said via email. We are always mindful of how difficult it has been for the victim in these matters to testify in open court about her exploitation, and we made todays decision in close consultation with her.

Prosecutors last year dropped charges against Oakland police officer Warit Utappa because of insufficient evidence.

Earlier this year, retired Oakland police officer LeRoy Johnson pleaded no contest to charges that he failed to report the sexual abuse of the woman. Retired Livermore officer Dan Black pleaded no contest to one count of lewd conduct in public, but the charges will be dismissed after a year under the terms of his plea deal, provided he commits no other crimes, according to attorney Michael Cardozo, who represented both Black and LoVerde in their criminal cases.

The only pending case involves ex-Oakland police officer Tyrell Smith, who was charged with improperly searching a law enforcement database. Smith is expected to stand trial in 2018, Drenick said. Smith resigned from the Oakland Police Department last year.

Utappa and LoVerde are still employed by the Oakland Police Department, according to a department spokesman. LoVerde is currently on administrative leave, Cardozo said. Bunton is no longer employed by the department, according to a police spokesman.

Calls and emails to a spokesman for the city of Oakland and the attorney representing the woman at the center of the scandal were not returned.

LoVerde has repeatedly denied the accusations, according to Cardozo, who said the collapse of the prosecutions case calls into question many of the original allegations.

james.queally@latimes.com

Follow @JamesQueallyLAT for crime and police news in California.
He was running, lungs burning, across the casino floor of the Luxor  leaving his friends behind in a mad, desperate sprint toward the massacre.

Its happening again, he thought.

J.C. Monticone had just gotten a text message from his fiancee Sunday night. It was the same two words hed heard from her on Dec. 2, 2015, when Melissa Castruita was working in San Bernardino at the Inland Regional Center.

Active shooter, the text read.

He ran past people gambling and drinking as if the world were normal. It contradicted everything he knew in his head at that moment. Life and death were happening outside. How could these two worlds exist simultaneously?

Advertisement

Castruita was crouched down in the VIP area near the stage across the street from Luxor when she texted Monticone. She, her aunt and her cousin had been singing along with country star Jason Aldean when bullets came pouring down from the 32nd flood of Mandalay Bay some 500 yards away.

Im so scared!! Do you hear that? They took jason Aldeans off stage, she texted to Monticone.

Castruita used to tell her family that after her work site was shot up by two people in the San Bernardino attack nearly two years ago, she was the safest person to be around because, well, nobody encounters a second mass shooting.

Her phone rang. It was Monticone. Over the phone he heard more gunshots. Screaming. He reached the doors of the Luxor and realized he could hear gunfire on his own.

Im coming to you, he told her.

No, go up to the room and barricade yourself in, she said.

Monticone saw the tinted glass door open and a man and woman came toward him as he spoke to Castruita.

Theyre just rubber bullets, the man told Monticone in a rote, dazed voice.

Blood stained the young mans shirt and pants. Monticone thought some shrapnel had hit him, but wasnt sure. The woman said that he was her son and that his friend had been shot next to him. The friend was probably dead.

Monticone, a 36-year-old paramedic with the South Pasadena Fire Department, carried the young man to a bench with his friend, who had caught up with him after his sprint. He handed the phone to his friend and tried to help the man. He also needed to get to Castruita. He struggled with what to do. The hardest decision Ive ever had to make in my life, he said.

He told Castruita that he was helping someone and that he would find her. Dont lose your phone, he told her. I will find you.

Then he went to work.

Castruita had been celebrating her 34th birthday, and this was the second Route 91 Harvest festival she attended. Shed seen her favorite country act, Sam Hunt, Saturday night and was excited to see Aldeans set.

The tickets were VIP, but after a late night of partying Saturday, they had arrived later than planned and missed out on nabbing seats in the outdoor arena. Her aunt and cousin moved off to the left of the stage and even considered going to the pit area.

It was crowded, though, and ever since her experience with the San Bernardino shooting, Castruita had been skittish in large crowds.

That day in 2015 hung over her and haunted her. She remembered driving to the Inland Regional Center on Dec. 2 after the gunfire had started. She remembered the terror of knowing people had been shot and killed at the site where she worked. Helicopters buzzed overhead. Police in tactical gear were everywhere.

A week after that shooting, nobody could go back into the building, so Castruita and Monticone decided to go to Disneyland. The crowds spooked her, however, and they left.

She was a runner and liked to hit the streets early in the morning, but Castruita remembered that not long after the San Bernardino shooting she was out running and saw a man with a hand in his pocket. Did he have a gun? She panicked.

But for this years Route 91 Harvest festival, she felt OK and had settled into feeling more at ease. Then came the shots. The police in tactical gear. The helicopters.

J.C. Monticone, 36, was at the Luxor when he received a text from his fiance Melissa Castruita. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times )

She had confidence that Monticone would stay safe. But she knew he would be worried about her  just like he was on Dec. 2 when he drove 95 mph on the freeway from Santa Clarita to get her in San Bernardino after she told him there had been a shooting and the killers were still on the loose.

Castruita wondered whether the killers were still on the loose in Las Vegas.

The casino area in Luxor had gotten quiet, and the young man in shock was trembling.

Shooter! someone yelled.

Monticone looked up and saw a few hundred people streaming through the doors. The woman helped her son up and started to run and fell. Monticone thought she might get trampled and helped her up. Her phone flew, and he saw the caller ID on it said Husband. He grabbed it for her and then they took off.

When Monticone turned around, a shirtless man in a cowboy hat staggered at him. He was bleeding profusely above the eye and around his mouth. With no first-aid equipment, Monticone rushed to the bathroom to get some towels. Press it against the wound to stem the bleeding, he told the injured man. He said he had to find his fiancee.

Monticone rushed out the Luxor and called her again.

Along with her aunt and cousin, Castruita had helped other concertgoers rip down an aluminum wall of the VIP section to escape toward the Tropicana.

Her phone rang. Monticone was still OK. So was she, she said. He was near the Tropicana, too. They could try to meet at the MGM Grand.

She heard him say he had to go. Another person needed help. They hung up.

Castruita kept moving toward the MGM.

Monticone helped carry a woman with a gunshot wound in her leg to a triage center already set up on Las Vegas Boulevard. He was a paramedic, Monticone said, and got her an IV before seeing ambulances arriving one after the other.

I needed to get to Melissa, he recalled saying as he left the woman with paramedics.

He rushed past some police, into the MGM and started down an escalator. He wondered how hard it would be to find her. He called her again. She said she was near an escalator at the MGM.

Then she saw him coming down the escalator. They hugged just like they had when he raced from his parents home in Santa Clarita in 2015.

Monticones clothes, arms and hands were covered with blood. He ducked into the restroom to quickly wash it off when he heard what he thought were gunshots. Castruita had heard them too and instinctively began to run with her aunt and cousin. But then she stopped and looked for Monticone.

He bolted out of the restroom and saw her. And they escaped.

Together again.

david.montero@latimes.com

Twitter: @davemontero

ALSO

A brotherly journey from Alaska to Vegas ends in sorrow

Republicans and NRA shift ground, say they will consider limiting firearm bump stocks

How to stop a sniper like Stephen Paddock? Police sharpshooters firing from helicopters is one idea

Mandalay Bay gunman spent two weeks in Las Vegas before killings; researched outdoor concerts in other large cities
Scott Burns, a 41-year-old event planner from Berkeley, was with his colleagues in the lobby of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino late Sunday when four police officers ran by.

We didnt think anything of it, recalled Burns, who was there to help put on an annual tech conference scheduled to start the next morning.

He figured there might have been a fight somewhere in the casino. Its Vegas.

Advertisement

After hugging everyone goodnight, he headed toward his room on the 10th floor. Just out of the elevator, he ran into another colleague, who asked if he wanted to join him for a quick nightcap. Burns agreed. He ran to his room, dropped off his things and texted his wife.

But when Burns and his colleague got into the elevator, it remained stuck on the floor.

Then his phone vibrated with a text message: Active shooter. Go to your room.

It was from a friend who was learning about the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest, a three-day country music festival across the street from the luxury hotel and casino.

More texts followed. Burns also checked Facebook and Twitter.

I was getting a ton of misinformation about what was going down, Burns said. The first wave of bad info was that there was a shooting at the country concert and that the shooter had ran into Mandalay Bay. Then it was two shooters and one shooter ran into the Aria Resort and Casino. Then there was a report of shots fired at the Aria and shots confirmed at New York, New York . There was a brief time when there was a bomb threat at the Luxor.

Not knowing what was happening, Burns went to his room. He locked the door, turned off the lights and sat in a corner with a can of Pringles and his phone plugged in to keep it charged.

I stayed as far away from the front door as possible, he said. If someone was to enter my room, I want them to think theres nobody in there. I want them to think this is a waste of my time.

He called his wife in California and his mom in Michigan to tell them he was okay and that he loved them.

In a room on the 32nd floor, in a different wing of the building, the lone gunman, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, was firing round after round on the crowd of concertgoers below.

At some point, a colleague also staying on the 32nd floor began to relay information to Burns and the others.

SWAT is here, I just felt the concussion blast of when they opened the door, she said in group text.

Burns was grateful for the accurate information.

It helped ease a lot of the confusion, because at one point you start to worry about multiple shooters and multiple scenes, he said. You start to think its a coordinated attack on a city. You think about it  and I know I did  in a state that has pretty lax gun laws, I figured you can drive down the street and start shooting, you can do it.

He said his colleague on the shooters floor was eventually evacuated to the basement and then the theater, where she and other guests spent most of the night.

It was 3:30 a.m. when 15 SWAT officers knocked on Burns door. They told him to come out with his hands raised.

They went in, swept the room with guns out, thanked me and moved on down the hall, Burns said. They did this with every room. I thought they were for sure going to ask us to leave, but we just stayed locked in.

On Monday morning, he and his colleagues met downstairs in the lobby.

It was a crime scene, and  it was somber, he said. They were giving out free coffee and breakfast. I feel fortunate.

The tech conference, NetApp Insight, began Tuesday morning  one day late.

ruben.vives@latimes.com

For more Southern California news, follow @latvives on Twitter.
More than half of the Ukrainian population as a whole expressed their readiness to defend the territorial integrity of the country with arms in case of an appropriate threat, as evidenced by the data of a poll conducted by the Rating sociological group in September.

According to the results of the social research published on the Rating website on Thursday, 54% of respondents expressed their readiness to defend the territorial integrity of Ukraine with weapons in the event of a corresponding threat - this figure is almost two times higher than in 2012. This idea is supported by two-thirds of the residents of the country's center and west, while half of the population living in the south, are ready to do it. Some 52% of respondents in the east of the country said they are not ready to defend Ukraine with weapons in their hands, while 26% are ready, and 22% are undecided.

Some 59% of respondents support the establishment of the state holiday of the Day of Ukrainian Defender on October 14. Almost the same number (56%) do not support the idea of canceling the Day of the Fatherland Defender on February 23. The first are more in the west of the country, the second - in the south and east.

The survey was conducted on September 20-29, 2017, using a personal, formalized interview (face-to-face), totaling 2,000 respondents (18 years and over). The sample is representative of age, sex, region and type of settlement. The error of representativeness of the study is not more than 2.2%.
The NRA does not budge in its opposition to stricter gun controls.

Not after 32 students and faculty were killed on the campus of Virginia Tech. Not after 12 people were murdered in a movie theater in Aurora, Colo. And not after 20 first-graders and six staffers were shot to death at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

But now, days after a gunman killed at least 58 people at an outdoor country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip, the National Rifle Assn. has budged  at least a little.

Advertisement

NRA leaders issued a statement Thursday calling for regulation of bump stocks, a device that authorities said was used in the Las Vegas massacre to make semiautomatic firearms behave like a fully automatic ones.

The group said it believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations, while calling on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which currently authorizes the sale of bump stocks, to implement tougher rules .

The statement also called on Congress to pass a law that would force states to honor concealed weapons permits issued in other states  suggesting to some gun control advocates that bump stocks were an easy place for the NRA to give up ground as it fights more significant battles over gun laws.

This does not impact guns or manufacturers, said Mark Rosenberg, a gun violence expert who has headed the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. These devices are accessories to firearms. Most mass murders dont use these devices  most gun owners also dont use them.

The NRAs position may also be an acknowledgment that it might be difficult to defend a court challenge to bump stocks. Federal law bans automatic weapons.

Still, Rosenberg said the statement is significant because it marks clear movement from the group. In 2002, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre, laying out the groups philosophical views on the Second Amendment, said we must declare that there are no shades of gray in American freedom. Its black and white, all or nothing.

These recent comments from the NRA are not black and white at all, Rosenberg said. They believe more regulation is needed. Thats promising.

For Tom Sullivan, who became an avid gun control advocate after his son, Alex, was killed on his 27th birthday on July 20, 2012, in the Aurora movie theater, the NRAs announcement came too late but was still welcome.

Where has this been all along? Why not speak out against bump stocks before this happens, he said. Its incremental, but its movement.

For years, the NRA has spend hundreds of millions of dollars to defeat candidates  Democrats and Republicans alike  who support tougher gun laws. Last year, the NRA spent nearly $50 million in the presidential race and six competitive Senate contests, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks campaign spending. The group helped a majority of those candidates win their contests.

In 2012, following a string of high-profile mass shootings, President Obama and Democrats in Congress pushed for legislation to expand background checks. At no point did the NRA waver in its opposition and the effort failed as nearly all of Congressional Republicans opposed the effort.

This week, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin and other Republicans expressed a willingness to regulate bump stocks.

Rep. Dina Titus, a Democrat from Nevada, whose district spans the The Strip, announced legislation this week to do just that. It would ban possession of bump stocks.

Titus said she is also exploring regulating other devices that can effectively turn a semi-automatic weapon into an automatic weapon, such as a glove that turns one pull of the trigger into multiple rapid shots.

The NRA is suddenly realizing theyre going to have to do something, Titus said, noting that some Republicans are supportive of her bill. I think opposition to them  not in Congress, but in the community  is building and it has built over time.

Maybe its just the cumulative effect of mass shootings, she said.

Times staff writer Seema Mehta contributed to this report.

kurtis.lee@latimes.com

Twitter: @kurtisalee
After Hurricane Marias landslides and flooding further isolated this mountain town, a volunteer doctor rushed to treat diabetic Brunilda Sovilaro, found on the floor of her home, covered in insects, unable to walk, disoriented and refusing to leave.

You are sick. You are very hot, Dr. Jorge Lopez of Orlando, Fla., told the 50-year-old woman. Your sugar needs to be controlled. You have chest pain. It could be a problem with your heart. You need to go to the hospital.

Eventually the doctor, a Puerto Rico native who returned to the island from Florida to volunteer, persuaded Sovilaro to board an ambulance to the nearby hospital.

Advertisement

That lady was going to die if left there like that, said Lopez, who also volunteered after Hurricane Katrina in Gulfport, Miss., where he said the landscape was much less of a challenge.

Two weeks after Maria struck Puerto Rico, hospitals are still struggling, and many like the one in Jayuya are without electricity and communications, reliant on generators and running short of vital medications. As of Friday, 8,349 displaced persons were still in 132 shelters. Officials worry about public health risks due to the frayed medical safety net on the island of 3.5 million, and are trying to address hospitals problems before they grow.

Several Democrats in Congress spoke out this week in Washington, calling on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to supply transportation to bring the ill, elderly and frail to the mainland.

Diabetic Brunilda Sovilaro was found on the floor of her home, covered in insects, unable to walk, disoriented and refusing to leave. A volunteer doctor from Florida persuaded her to go to the Jayuya hospital. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times )

The reality of Puerto Rico doesnt allow for these vulnerable people, sick people, to stay in Puerto Rico and get the treatment that they need, said U.S. Rep. Nydia M. Velazquez (D-N.Y.), calling the situation a humanitarian crisis.

U.S. Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.), who traveled to the island last week, said that when President Trump visited Tuesday, he never made it to the mountains.

The rain sent the mountains down upon the people through the rivers and washed away towns. There are no bridges, there are no roads. We should simply ask: Bring us your most infirm and sick, he said.

The mountain town of Juyaya, Puerto Rico, is one of the most remote on the island. Help after Hurrican Maria was slow to arrive due to roads being blocked by landslides and fallen trees. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times )

Vice President Mike Pence visited Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Friday, including Santa Bernardita church in the Puerto Rican capital of San Juan, which has been feeding 60 to 100 people a day since the storm.

We will be with you every step of the way, Pence told the crowd. We have been making steady progress.

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello said this week that shoring up hospitals in mountain towns like Jayuya is a priority because they present potential future challenges, public health emergencies.

Rossello noted that the death toll from the hurricane had risen to 34, including 15 deaths caused indirectly after the storm. Local officials have said people died after the storm due to a lack of oxygen tanks, electricity to fuel life support and other health problems.

Rossello said officials were also concerned about disease outbreaks following the storm, and have already seen some that were localized, including several cases of conjunctivitis at a shelter in the southern city of Ponce. Rossello said federal medical disaster management teams had been mobilized in Ponce so we can control it, and that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent staff to check for the spread of mosquito-borne illnesses.

Rossello said his goal in shoring up hospitals ahead of outbreaks was for us to be able to anticipate rather than just react.

He said Friday that 25 of 68 hospitals had power, and more were expected to be connected soon. The government supplied fuel to 11 hospitals and more was being delivered Friday, he said.

1 / 9 Alfredo Tirado, left, and Julian Trevino were among a group of doctors from Florida Hospital in Orlando who are in Puerto Rico to help with medical needs after Hurricane Maria. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 9 Police in Juyaya, Puerto Rico, distribute food and water that was brought by a medical team from Florida. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 3 / 9 The mountain town of Juyaya, Puerto Rico, is one of the most remote on the island. Help after Hurrican Maria was slow to arrive due to roads being blocked by landslides and fallen trees. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 4 / 9 Diabetic Brunilda Sovilaro, 50, was found on the floor of her home, covered in insects, unable to walk, disoriented and refusing to leave. A volunteer doctor from Florida persuaded her to go to the hospital in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 5 / 9 Luis Hernandez, center, gets help from Sergio Rivera filling drums with spring water for washing in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 6 / 9 Dr. Julian Trevino, a volunteer from Florida Hospital in Orlando, checks on Hilberto Torres Hernandez, 62, a retired mechanic. Torres had been helping a neighbor repair her car after Hurricane Maria when it fell and struck his head. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 7 / 9 People wait in line for hours to fill their cars and gas cans in Jayuya, Puerto Rico. The only power supply in town comes from private generators that run on gas. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 8 / 9 In the mountain town of Juyaya, Puerto Rico, children watch as a U.S. Army helicopter transports a team of doctors who have come to assess the medical needs of the local hospital and residents. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) 9 / 9 A U.S. Army helicopter carrying a team of medical doctors from Florida arrives at the Jayuya, Puerto Rico, high school football field while horses roam on the track. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

Rossello listed Jayuya among the 15 most isolated municipalities in Puerto Rico as of Friday, and assigned a fuel truck to deliver 4,000 to 6,000 gallons to each of the communities for free. He said the government was setting up 250-bed medical super shelters to relieve the strain on hospitals. Three have opened in San Juan, to the west in Manati and Bayamon, and others were planned on the west coast in Mayaguez, to the south in Ponce and to the east in Humacao.

In the last two weeks, volunteer doctors and other officials have visited incommunicado communities in Anasco, Ciales, Comerio, Juana Diaz, Las Marias, Maricao, San Lorenzo and Yauco, officials said Friday. Some sites were so inaccessible, a helicopter had to land on the roof of a two-story house, according to the governors chief of staff, William Villafane, who visited the sites. We provided them with necessary medicines. Were saving lives, he said.

Eight medical disaster management assistance teams from the mainland were helping hospitals in San Juan, Arecibo, Caguas, Fajardo, Humacao and Ponce, he said.

The 250-bed military hospital ship Comfort arrived in Puerto Rico this week and was still in San Juan on Friday. It can treat up to 1,000 patients and was expected to move to Ceiba, Ponce and Aguadilla.

Dr. Jorge Lopez, right, of Florida Hospital in Orlando, with diabetic Brunilda Sovilaro, who was found on the floor of her home in Jayuya. (Molly Hennessy-Fiske / Los Angeles Times )

But that wouldnt help those stranded in Jayuya.

Driving back to the Jayuya hospital on an all-terrain vehicle Wednesday, Dr. Lopez surveyed the town. He worried how the small hospital would cope with possible outbreaks in coming weeks, especially tropical mosquito-borne illnesses.

Its not if, but when. With water all over the place you get dengue, chikungunya, Zika, he said.

Dr. Lopez and four other doctors from Florida Hospital in Orlando with Puerto Rican roots flew to the island last Friday to initially assist hospitals to the south in Ponce and to the northwest in Aguadilla.

We saw in two days five people die, said resident William Kotler, who was volunteering with the team.

He said they were still trying to get a generator to the hospital in Aguadilla so staff could run the air conditioners.

Its 90 degrees inside. People are becoming dehydrated, he said.

In the mountain town of Juyaya, Puerto Rico, children watch as a U.S. Army helicopter transports a team of medical doctors who have come to assess the medical needs of the local hospital and residents. the medical needs of the local hospital and residents. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times )

On Wednesday, the doctors took two U.S. Army helicopters to Jayuya, landing at the center of the town track, where stray horses roamed after the storm, to assess the hospitals needs and deliver medications in scarce supply, such as insulin, ibuprofen and acetaminophen.

A crowd of about a hundred families ran out to meet them from a nearby apartment complex thats home to about a thousand. After the storm, the running water turned white with a chemical taste that they said gave them headaches, stomachaches and nausea. Marta Viafania, 51, a janitor at the local high school, took two bottles of water for her three grandchildren, worried they might become sick from the local water.

This was the first time the doctors were able to fly into the mountains since the storm.

Many of these towns are so blocked, you need a helicopter to get to them, said Dr. Katia Lugo before consulting with staff at the 15-bed public Mario Canales Torresola Hospital.

They had another emergency: a patient with a severe head wound. Hilberto Torres Hernandez, 62, a retired mechanic, had been helping a neighbor repair her car after the storm, just as he had helped the mayor, when it fell and struck him.

Doctors couldnt reach the Puerto Rico Medical Center in the capital to ensure it could receive Torres because the phones in Jayuya have been down since the storm. In some cases, staff have been transferring trauma patients to larger cities without knowing whether they can accept them. So far, none have been turned away.

The volunteer doctors were able to borrow a satellite phone, call the hospital in San Juan and ensure the man could be treated there.

If they had not come, it might have been different. They might not have stabilized him, said relative Jessica Torres, 41. The mountains need more medical services.

Other volunteers who arrived in Jayuya this week agreed.

Theres been a good system of healthcare here, but its basically collapsed. People have run out of prescriptions, doctors offices and hospitals have closed.  Natasha Tobias, a registered nurse from Portland, Ore., who was volunteering at a hospital in Puerto Rico

Theres been a good system of healthcare here, but its basically collapsed. People have run out of prescriptions; doctors offices and hospitals have closed, said Natasha Tobias, a registered nurse from Portland, Ore., who was volunteering at the hospital through the Kansas City-based nonprofit Heart to Heart.

While the Jayuya hospital and others her group assisted in the mountain town of Barranquitas and south of San Juan in Caguas were still open, they were also seeing steady demand for care weeks after the storm.

As the roads open, people are coming down and were seeing more trauma from more remote mountain areas, she said.

Were all pretty worried this will turn into a bigger crisis as time goes on.

Across town, diabetic mother of two Esha Garcia was running out of insulin.

Garcia, 33, said the medication was covered by Medicare, but the local pharmacys computers were not working since the storm and it wouldnt refill her prescription. She uses four vials of insulin per month that cost $400 each and a $600 insulin pen each night. She had one vial and one pen left Wednesday.

If I dont get the medication I need, Ill have to go to the hospital, she said.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services activated its emergency drug assistance program in Puerto Rico that covers the cost of prescriptions, medical supplies, equipment and vaccines after a disaster. It wasnt clear how soon that could help people such as Garcia in the islands interior.

Jayuyas hospital, with its staff of five doctors and nine nurses, saw 78 more patients the week after the storm, 310 total, according to emergency room administrator Joanna Morales. So far, they have only had one patient die since the hurricane, a man struck by a landslide. But their treatment had been limited, she said. They were running low on diesel for their generator. Without an additional generator, they couldnt operate respirators or portable chest X-rays. And they needed to resupply basic medications and equipment, including oxygen tanks and insulin.

Every day we see patients who come in without oxygen and we have to admit them, said Dr. Lourdes Rodriguez, who traveled north from Ponce to volunteer at the hospital after the storm.

The Puerto Rico National Guard had promised to come set up a temporary hospital outside with a team of 10 doctors, but had yet to arrive, she said.

The volunteer doctors had to leave after about an hour, bound for several other mountain towns, including Lares, Morovis and Orocovis. U.S. Army Rangers would return the following day with a generator and other requested supplies, they said.

The focus today was the most isolated areas, said former U.S. Surgeon General Antonia Novello, who was traveling with the group wearing a T-shirt that said, in Spanish, Puerto Rican to my feet.

Novello was working on a vaccination campaign set to launch Friday across the island to protect against mosquito-borne diseases. She also hoped to distribute donated treatment kits for the same illnesses.

After about an hour, the team returned to the helicopters, unloaded several boxes of much needed medicine for the hospital, distributed food and water to a waiting crowd of families and prepared to take off.

We dont waste time, Novello said. We cant.

To read the article in Spanish, click here

molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com

Twitter: @mollyhf

UPDATES:

4:04 p.m.: This article was updated to include Vice President Pences visit to Puerto Rico.

This article was originally published at 1:10 p.m.
In many ways, it was a familiar story. Neighbors reported a man out in the streets at night making threats with a weapon. Police showed up. They thought they saw a knife, and told the man to drop it. They said he didn't obey, and as he moved toward them, an officer fired his Taser and then his gun, hitting the man in the back and killing him.

He was 20 years old, 5 foot 4, 123 pounds with tan skin, and turned out to be unarmed.

But there were no viral videos. No protests. No arrests.

The killing of Tommy Le by police in a Seattle suburb remained a largely private affair at first.

His parents, immigrants from Vietnam, spent 48 days attending Buddhist services. They rarely spoke to journalists who showed up at their door, or to a small cadre of activists that wanted to promote the case.

Many immigrants and refugees in our community never had a mind for resisting or challenging authority as they were more concerned about survival and gratitude for a new country, said one activist, Jefferey Vu, a Boeing engineer who works with Les uncle. This national movement around police shootings is new to the Vietnamese.

But in the nearly four months after the killing, the Vietnamese American community in Seattle  among the largest in the country  has experienced a political awakening around Le.

His death has become a catalyst for a campaign by activists to make it easier in Washington state to prosecute police officers in shooting cases. It has also emerged as a key example in a wider push to require police dash and body cameras, which were not in place when Le was killed.

His family too has now joined the movement against police violence.

I dont want my sons honor to be violated, said Les father, Hoai Le, who settled in the U.S. in 1991 after fleeing persecution in Vietnam. I want justice. I believe in government.... But my hate for police was really deep when I heard my son was killed.

Dieu Ho, left, and Hoai Le pray for son Tommy Le at his reincarnation ceremony in August.. (Jason Redmond / For the Times)

Le grew up as the youngest of six children in the city of Burien, about 30 minutes south of Seattle, in a simple house they shared with two aunts, a cousin and his grandmother, whom he helped tend to gardens filled with lilies and Buddha statues.

Incense was burned each day for relatives who had died. Visitors from Vietnam regularly shuffled in and out. Les parents had separated when he was younger, and his father, who worked in landscaping, ran the household with help from the elder children and extended family.

Enrolled in an alternative public school after struggling in big classrooms, Le was an avid chess player. He was reading Faust and The Count of Monte Cristo. He dreamed of a career as a scientist, welder or firefighter.

A few months ago, he told his father he wanted independence and moved into a house with friends just down the street. He worked part time at a casino.

On the afternoon of June 13, Le passed his history final exam, picked up his cap and gown and went home ecstatic for graduation the next day.

Ten hours later, he was dead.

Deputies from the King County Sheriffs Office said they responded that night to a 911 call reporting that an Asian man was chasing people with a knife in the streets of Burien and yelling that he was the creator.

A homeowner fired a warning shot into the ground to scare the man and ran back into his house, police said. Le then began stabbing that residents door with the knife, according to police reports. A 911 caller said Le had loudly declared himself to be the killer.

When three cops arrived, Le refused to let go of the object in his hand, leading officers to fire Tasers twice, they said. He charged toward them before an officer hit him with a single shot, according to police. Hospitalized, he died the next day.

At his graduation, classmates unaware of his death cheered when his photo appeared on the big screen during a slideshow.

It was around the same time that the family set up an altar for Le in the living room, lighting incense and candles each day. His photos were surrounded by his favorite foods: lemon-lime Gatorade, Flamin Hot Cheetos, Oreos, Kit Kats, chocolate chip granola bars and shrimp-flavored puffed wheat chips.

More than a week later, the police changed their account and said the object Le held when they arrived was a pen, not a knife.

They suggested he had stashed a knife at his home a few doors away before their arrival, but they couldnt say which of those found there it might have been.

Marks on the door of the homeowner who fired the warning shot could have come from a knife, police said.

They also announced that Le had been shot three times, not once.

A spokeswoman for the King County Sheriffs Office said its investigation of the incident could end as soon as this week.

The killing is one of several fatal police shootings over the summer in the Seattle area. Two back-to-back cases  both of them killings of black residents  received the most attention. One was a 30-year-old woman with mental health issues who police said pulled a knife on an officer after calling 911 to report a burglary. The other was a 20-year-old college student whose car was stopped on the incorrect suspicion that he had stolen it.

Those killings spurred demonstrations that typified the efforts of the Black Lives Matter movement to highlight racism in policing. Les death wound up sparking a quieter kind of activism, one informed by Vietnamese immigrant culture, where word can spread quickly through the ethnic press, and by Buddhist tradition.

The emerging activists  many of whom work in technology or politics or at pho restaurants  are thinking over how to transform their anger over Les death into change on immigration and civil rights. They network on Facebook using names that play off on their heritage, such as Viets Give a Shiet.

Tommy Les brother Quoc Nguyen speaks at a community forum in July over Les death. (Erika Schultz / Seattle Times)

At a July forum that activists organized, the county sheriff defended his deputies actions in front of a group of 150 mostly Asian American residents. Translators were on hand as county officials fielded questions, then shared Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches residents brought them.

Tuan Nguyen, an 81-year-old former police officer for the South Vietnamese Army, pleaded for better relations between police and the community.

Its quite troublesome for me to see the way the police have been militarized across the country and disheartening that we are in a state of war with our people, he said. An officers duty first and foremost is to be a friend to the community, and the community to be friends to the officers.

The event was among the few times Les family came out of mourning to speak publicly. His father described the pain of losing his son.

We ran away from police in our country; we came looking for freedom. We did not come here to let my son get shot, Hoai Le said later in an interview. We want to prevent this from happening to other families.

Last month, the family released details of toxicology and autopsy reports that said Le had no drugs or alcohol in his body when he was shot twice in the back and once in the wrist. The sheriffs department hit back, saying test results for LSD and mushrooms were still pending.

Family members said they would sue King County over the death for $20 million in damages.

The Vietnamese activists recently scored a win: Citing the Le case, the King County Council voted unanimously in September to require the Sheriffs Office to give all deputies training in de-escalation, crisis prevention and unbiased policing.

While they await answers and ready their suit, Hoai Le and Les mother, Dieu Ho, have been discussing whether race played a role in their sons death, as it allegedly has in so many others.

I dont think it had to do with race at all. I think something is wrong with the policeman, Hoai Le said recently.

Yes, there is definitely discrimination for Vietnamese Americans, said Les mother, who thought police had targeted her child for the way he looked.

Hoai Le thought some more and changed his mind. Race, he decided, was the only thing that made sense to him in a story that had so far made little.

Why did the detective come to my house and say my son had a knife? Why was he so sure? Then he changed his mind later? What else could it be?

jaweed.kaleem@latimes.com

Jaweed Kaleem is The Times' national race and justice correspondent. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

More national headlines

ALSO

The trick play that Nevada used to whisk O.J. Simpson out of prison

Nevada was warming to gun restrictions before this week's mass killing. What now?

Thousands of Puerto Ricans land in Florida, fleeing the misery left by Hurricane Maria
The gunman who opened fire on a country music festival in Las Vegas did not have help from a second attacker, officials said Friday, but it remains unclear whether he made anyone else aware of his plans in advance.

Police investigators and more than 100 Federal Bureau of Investigation agents have combed through hundreds of leads and hours of video from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino to determine why Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest Festival, leaving 58 people dead and nearly 500 others injured.

Unlike the investigations that follow many mass shootings, a study of Paddocks computers, political affiliations, behaviors and finances has not uncovered any clear motive for the attack or any potential radicalization, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said.

Advertisement

I get it  we all want answers, McMahill said. We have looked at everything, literally.

He urged anyone with information about Paddocks movements or plans to call (800) CALL-FBI, saying there could be a number of people out there that know that something looked out of place.

Disputing a media report published Friday, McMahill also said investigators do not believe someone used a key card to enter Paddocks room during a period when his car was not in the Mandalay Bay garage.

A voluminous amount of video from the resort has not turned up anyone that police believe to be a suspect, McMahill said.

In the last year, Paddock  a retired real estate investor and former IRS agent  used his apparently extensive financial resources to fund his plans for the attack while also bankrolling his longtime passion for gambling.

Since last October, Paddock bought 33 guns, a haul that could have cost him tens of thousands of dollars. Investigators have wondered whether his weapons spending spree could have escaped notice.

Paddocks girlfriend, Marilou Danley, has said through an attorney that she did not know what he was planning. He bought her a cheap plane ticket to the Philippines two weeks before the attack to visit her family, she said.

After paying for Danleys flight, Paddock apparently headed for Las Vegas, where he was seen from Sept. 14 to 28, according to records reviewed by representatives of the El Cortez Hotel and Casino.

He checked in to the Mandalay Bay hotel on Sept. 28 and shuttled more than two dozen weapons to his two-room suite in more than 10 suitcases.

Although that behavior sounds unusual, it isnt out of place in a town like Las Vegas, where media companies and other exhibitors shuttle in vast amounts of supplies for conventions and conferences, said Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.), who represents the Las Vegas Strip.

These hotels have thousands of rooms with people in and out all the time, Titus said. Ten suitcases sounds like a lot if youre staying at the Holiday Inn for the weekend. But convention and media companies bring boxes full of equipment.

The attack will force the city to reassess security on the Strip and at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and the Life is Beautiful music festival, which were previously considered soft targets not needing special protection, Titus said. All three should be considered hard targets, she said, though not necessarily with airport-style security.

McMahill again praised the role of hotel security guard Jesus Campos in finding Paddocks room and stopping the attack.

Some time after Paddock began firing on the crowd, a door to another room on the 32nd floor was left ajar, triggering an alarm inside the hotel, McMahill said.

When Campos arrived to investigate the alarm, Paddock fired more than 200 rounds at him through his hotel door, striking the guard in the leg.

Police believe the alarm going off was a coincidence, McMahill told CNN. But Campos helped police locate Suite 135 rapidly, potentially cutting the attack short.

Hes an absolute hero, McMahill said.

laura.nelson@latimes.com

seema.mehta@latimes.com

ALSO

Remembering the 58 who died

Trumps ardent pro-gun stance is new, but will Las Vegas force him to give ground?

Las Vegas gunman was a laid-back goofball, longtime business associate says. He made you laugh
Californias bar exam is notoriously difficult. Or, more to the point, its notoriously difficult to pass, which is not quite the same thing. The questions that prospective lawyers must answer arent necessarily harder here than those on other states exams, but the grading is tougher. Its as if you only have to get a C+ to be an attorney in Illinois, but you need an A- in California. Fewer than half the would-be lawyers who took the test here in the last three years passed it.

That might be OK if it meant that Californias attorneys were more competent, and the public better protected against poor lawyering, than in other states. But there is no evidence to support any such contention. The pass rate, as set by the state, is relatively arbitrary.

The low pass rate would make sense if it turned out that fewer California test-takers were as capable or as prepared as their counterparts in other states. But that doesnt appear to be the case either. The average California score on the multiple choice portion  the one part of the bar exam that is identical in most states  is higher than the national average.

Advertisement

An exam that significantly, if artificially, depresses the number of new attorneys each year might nevertheless have some appeal in a society that harbors at best a mixed level of enthusiasm about lawyers. So we have fewer of them than we might otherwise. Is that such a bad thing?

California and its residents have been poorly served by an unusually high bar exam cut score.

But there are indeed negative ramifications. It means Californias legal establishment is more exclusive than those in other jurisdictions, leaving out people who in almost any other state (only Delawares exam is as restrictive as Californias) could provide highly competent counsel to those who need it.

More specifically, the unusually high cut score  the term that the testing establishment gives to the line that separates those who pass from those who dont  means Californias bar is disproportionately white.

A study of the July 2016 exam showed that reducing Californias cut score from 1440 to the national median of 1350 would have increased the number of successful African American exam-takers by 113%. There would have been a 75% increase in success for Latinos, and 58% for Asians. Of course more white exam-takers would have passed using the national median as well  42% more. But the ranks of lawyers in this state would have been a bit more representative of the population that enters and graduates from law school, and the population of clients who need legal counsel.

Again, there is no evidence to suggest that lawyers in states with somewhat lower cut scores  including New York, where the line is set at 1330  are any less competent than those in California. Once an applicant clears the bar that (somewhat arbitrarily) delineates minimum acceptable competence, ever-higher scores dont appear to guarantee ever-finer attorneys or, to put it another way, better-served clients and public. It is noteworthy that California has long had something that the legal establishment calls a unified bar  meaning that the same agency responsible for licensing and disciplining attorneys just also happened to be the lawyers biggest trade association. This made for something of a conflict of interest. Attorneys would argue that they have a role in keeping professional standards high, and that may be true  but they also have a clear interest in keeping their numbers low. One way to accomplish that is to make the exam unreasonably difficult for would-be competitors to pass. That makes the exam more of an artificial barrier to entry, and a sort of hazing ritual, than a test of competence.

Things are about to change. Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday signed a bill to make the State Bar a strictly regulatory agency while spinning off the trade association into a private nonprofit. Its a good step but will not by itself solve the problem of undue exclusivity that is caused by the bar exams atypical cut score.

Ultimately, it is the state Supreme Court that will decide this question. It is considering how to respond to a demand by the deans of most of the states largest accredited law schools to lower the score to something closer to the national mean.

The deans are right. California and its residents have been poorly served by an unusually high bar exam cut score. The court would be wise to adjust the cut score to something closer to the national average  and perhaps then commission a study to determine whether an exam based on early 20th-century methodologies actually determines a persons fitness to practice law at all.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
Energy Secretary Rick Perry proposed a rule last week that would require electricity customers to subsidize coal and nuclear power plants that can demonstrate fuel security, which the rule defines as 90 days worth of stockpiled fuel that could be used to generate electricity in the event of a disruption. The Department of Energy claims it proposed this rule in order to improve the resilience of the electric power grid  its ability to adapt to changing conditions and recover from problems.

This is a worthy goal, of course. The countrys grid is vulnerable to many threats. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria demonstrated what happens when power grids do not have built-in resilience. Next to extreme weather, the most common cause of outages is squirrels. Less likely but potentially more damaging are a host of other threats  cyber attacks, physical attacks, the detonation of a nuclear weapon, natural solar storms. Under the right circumstances, any one of these scenarios could bring down large portions of the grid for months and cost trillions.

But stockpiling coal or uranium would not mitigate these threats. Nor would Perrys rule improve the long-term resilience of Americas energy grid, because it fails to address its single biggest point of weakness: the grid itself.

Advertisement

Virtually all threats to the U.S. power grid manifest in the transmission and distribution system  the delicate network of wires that transports energy hundreds of miles from large, centralized power plants to our homes and businesses. A truly safe, modern grid would connect centralized power plants with more distributed micro-grids, which can work together or, if necessary, be easily isolated from one another. Smaller, more agile grids could also be designed to even fix themselves in an emergency by rerouting power away from disrupted areas.

Any serious attempt to improve the countrys energy resilience needs to take advantage of emerging solutions rather than prop up 20th-century ones.

The U.S. military understands this. To ensure national security, it has sought to improve its energy resilience in a variety of ways, one of them microgrids. The Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines are also increasing their use of renewable energy, recognizing that, though enemies of the U.S. could conceivably disrupt access to stockpiled coal or diesel, they are unable to shut off the wind or sun. They also make full use of local energy sources, spreading out the burdens of both electricity generation and demand. The Marine Corps Air Station Miramar does this, as do the Otis Air National Guard Base and the Ft. Hood Army base in Texas.

Its not just the military. Communities as varied as Borrego Springs, Calif., Sterling, Mass., and North Carolinas Ocracoke Island have reaped the benefits of renewable-powered microgrids.

In many cases its cheaper for utility companies to build wind and solar power plants than it is for them to run existing coal and nuclear power plants, and these technologies can now be easily integrated into the U.S. grid without producing negative effects on its reliability. California, for instance, procures none of its electricity from in-state coal, will soon shut down its last nuclear power plant and is steadily increasing the states reliance on wind and solar.

Although the recent spate of extreme storms demonstrated the need for grid resilience, in some areas they also showed the considerable benefits of renewable energy: Texas wind farms withstood Harvey, and solar-powered homes in Florida had electricity during Irma.

Perrys rule takes none of this into account. It ignores the potential of renewables to vastly improve the resilience of the U.S. power grid. It also ignores the clear message from the countrys wholesale electricity markets  and from the utilities themselves  that many existing coal and nuclear power plants are simply uncompetitive in the dawning era of cheap natural gas and renewables.

Instead, Perrys rule would hand a massive bailout to outdated power plants. It is also a solution in search of a problem: There is no evidence that a lack of on-site fuel at coal and nuclear power plants has led to any significant service outages in the U.S. in recent decades.

Worse, the rule could actually lessen the grids resilience by further centralizing crucial power resources in fewer and more concentrated locations  sitting ducks for disruption.

Perrys proposed rule looks backward, not forward. Any serious attempt to improve the countrys energy resilience needs to take advantage of emerging solutions rather than prop up 20th-century ones.

Miranda A.A. Ballentine is a managing director at Rocky Mountain Institute, a sustainable-energy research group. She served as assistant secretary of the Air Force from 2014 to 2017. Mark Dyson is a principal with Rocky Mountain Institutes electricity practice.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
Columbus Day will be more than just a holiday this year. It will be a confrontation with history. In August, the Los Angeles City Council voted to erase the event from its calendar, replacing it with Indigenous Peoples Day. In September, the statue of Christopher Columbus in Manhattans Central Park had its hands painted blood red by vandals. Earlier this year, New York Mayor Bill De Blasio announced plans to consider removing all statues of Columbus from city property, classifying them as monuments to hate.

This isnt just about Columbus  or Confederate generals or any other villain, perceived or real. By now, it has become clear: Public memorials to great men have outlived their purpose. Its time for them all to come down.

Iconoclasm is not just an American phenomenon. Its global. In Canada, a statue of John A MacDonald, the father of Confederation, struggled to find a home at his bicentenary in 2015, and this year, the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario called for removing his name from public schools, given his role in the cultural genocide against indigenous groups. In Accra, in 2016, the University of Ghana removed a statue of Mahatma Gandhi from campus, remembering his statement, made during his residency in South Africa, that Indians were infinitely superior to native Africans. Removing Cecil Rhodes from the campus of the University of Capetown in 2015 was less controversial.

Advertisement

What distinguishes American iconoclasm is its chaos: statues pulled down by angry mobs or removed by officials in the middle of the night. And the chaos leads to incoherence  unobtrusive Confederates decapitated here and there, while massive tributes such as Stone Mountain remain. When President Trump and his lawyer asked whether monuments to George Washington would be targeted following those to Robert E. Lee, liberals were outraged. Lee was in no way like Washington, they claimed, and the American Revolution was in no way like the Civil War. Except that the Revolutionary War was waged by white supremacists and the Constitution entrenched their power. It was Americans, not their British overlords, who hammered out the three-fifths compromise, and black slaves were not their only victims. Washington earned the name Hanodagonyes or Town Destroyer among the Iroquois in New York.

When the people of the future look back on us, it is best that they have no statues to remember us. They would tear down every one.

Thomas Carlyle in Heroes and Hero Worship articulated the spirit that built the statues that fill our parks and our cities: The history of what man has accomplished in this world is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here, he wrote in 1841. All things that we see standing accomplished in the world are properly the outer material result, the practical realization and embodiment, of Thoughts that dwelt in the Great Men sent into the world: the soul of the whole worlds history.

Carlyles vision has expired. The notion that an individual, any individual, can embody human ideals is null and void.

Who deserves a statue or national holiday in 2017? President Obama? A man whom Human Rights Watch described as a leader who never really warmed to human rights as a genuine priority and so leaves office with many opportunities wasted? Saint Hughs College in Oxford had to remove a portrait of Aung San Suu Kyi because the Nobel Peace Prize winner, like so many other winners, has turned out to be comfortable with mass death. Perhaps only Malala Yousafzai fits the level of innocence we now require from our political icons; she was a child when she won the Peace Prize.

When the people of the future look back on us, it is best that they have no statues to remember us. They would tear down every one. We imagine that history has progressed to the point at which we may sit in judgment over the past, but the number of slaves in the global supply chain is growing, not shrinking. Anyone who has eaten shrimp in the last five years has participated in a slave economy. Anyone who has purchased a smartphone has contributed to enslavement.

Statues to the Confederacy were consciously created to impose white supremacy as a dominant ideology. But the intention behind statues is often more muddying than clarifying of their function. Statues to Columbus were often raised to celebrate the contributions of Catholic and Italian American immigrants. The Ku Klux Klan explicitly resisted monuments to Columbus, seeing them as part of a conspiracy to establish Roman Catholicism, as one Klan lecturer put it.

Statues never represent the people on the monuments: They represent the interests of those who build them.

It is in our interest to take the worst thing a historical figure has ever said or done, establish it as their whole being and then make the destruction of their memory a collective benefit. This process will leave no statue standing. As Hamlet said, Use every man after his desert, and who shall scape whipping? If Gandhi cant survive, Columbus certainly wont.

The reality of people in history  the mixture of good and evil, making individual choices within imposed systems, in a specific context  has no interest either for those who raise statues or for those who tear them down.

A blank at the heart of Columbus Circle where a person once stood would suit our moment perfectly.

Stephen Marche is the author, most recently, of The Unmade Bed: The Truth About Men and Women in the Twenty-First Century.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
From Hurricanes Katrina to Maria, with Sandy, Harvey, Irma, and a Haitian earthquake in between, Ive seen catastrophes up close, on the ground, either covering the news or assisting on relief missions. Sometimes both. In 12 years, Ive learned one crucial fact about 21st century natural disasters: As Leo Tolstoy famously said about unhappy families, no two are alike. Each disaster is disastrous in its own way.

When Katrina made landfall in Mississippi and Louisiana in 2005, it was not simply the rain that caused devastation: It was the storm surge and failed levees. Katrina taught us a number of lessons, including the need to evacuate. But this year, those lessons didnt protect Houston  where a full-scale evacuation was logistically and politically impractical. (A prior evacuation for another storm led to loss of life.) And they couldnt prevent the complete destruction on the Caribbean islands in Irmas path. The lessons of Katrina, Harvey, and Irma combined, moreover, cannot fix the increasingly desperate situation in Puerto Rico, where Maria ripped the bark off the trees, snapped bridges in half and turned a green island muddy brown.

In the last two weeks, I have been on the ground in Barbuda in the Caribbean, Florida and Puerto Rico. Despite the fact that each place was hit by a hurricane, the needs and the obstacles to recovery are different in each location. On Caribbean islands, damaged airport runways make it difficult if not impossible to land huge cargo planes filled with food, medicine and other supplies. As for ships, theres limited harbor space (and of course, ships can be slow getting to the crisis).

Advertisement

We cant preplan for every disaster scenario. If we did, we would end up hoarding resources that other people suffering in other places needed immediately.

In Puerto Rico, virtually the entire power grid was taken down. Electric lines that were fully functional two weeks ago were destroyed. No pre-Maria disaster scenario prepared the island for that level of chaos. The U.S. does not have spare power grids just lying around. Components will have to be acquired or manufactured. Beyond the power grid, bridges have been washed away and that means remote inland towns are inaccessible.

Volunteers coming to the island have no place to stay: hotels and shelters that might have accommodated them are gone or are being used by residents whose homes were destroyed. And every piece of aid has to arrive by boat or plane.

Yes, in Puerto Rico, where I visited on Monday, people are grateful to be alive and the adrenaline of survival has kept them going. But what happens when the food and gasoline and medicine remain at below subsistence levels in the coming weeks? How long can an entire population survive on gratitude? The answer is obvious: not long.

Disasters become disasters partly due to their magnitude, but also partly due to the element of surprise. Mother Nature does not issue a schedule a year in advance; she inflicts her wrath on a whim. It could be Miami. It could be Tampa. It could be Houston or San Juan. The supplies put together in Puerto Rico to help respond to Irma had to be evacuated when Maria approached.

We cant preplan for every disaster scenario. If we did, we would end up hoarding resources that other people suffering in other places needed immediately.

But we can do two things: 1) Ensure from the start that there is centralized, coordinated leadership at the top. It helped to get a general with real authority to New Orleans after Katrina; its helping to do the same in Puerto Rico. Such a leader can get rid of red tape, so that supplies dont arrive without people to unload them or, in the case of the Katrina evacuation, buses without drivers. 2) Recognize that you cant make policy during a natural disaster. What you need is a five-day plan, then five-week, five-month, and even a five-year plan. Disasters last long after the media leaves.

When we read news stories about the horror and extreme suffering in disaster areas, most of us want a villain to blame, but that is not always fair. What Ive seen over the last few weeks is people on the ground  men and women from our government and from private relief organizations  who are working really hard, very long hours, helping those in need. They are our greatest resource. They show up when there are TV cameras to cover them but also when there arent. They dont worry about which elected officials visit, only if those officials can commandeer additional help. They deliver medicine and food and work to get potable water, or create private armadas to rescue flood victims. What we truly need, if we are to survive the next wave of disasters, each disastrous in their own way, are more people just like them.

Greta Van Susteren is a lawyer and former anchor of Fox News On the Record. Her book Everything You Need to Know About Social Media will be released Nov. 14. She traveled to Barbuda and Puerto Rico with the relief organization Samaritans Purse.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
After a horrific tragedy like the Las Vegas massacre, Americans argue about whether its the right time to talk about our gun violence problem. The real issue is not when to discuss it, but how. In all the words weve heard since Sunday night, this much is clear: We dont talk about guns and gun violence the right way.

We ask, for example, what can be done to stop mass shootings from happening again. But we cant eliminate shootings any more than we can end drug use or drunk driving. The proper question is what can be done to lower the number of incidents and reduce the harm from each one.

And then there are the numbers: Las Vegas is a painful illustration of the way we focus too intently on gun deaths. Its the worst modern U.S. mass shooting because there were 58 deaths, in contrast to the previous high of 49 in the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Fla. Yet there were so many other victims in Las Vegas.

Advertisement

According to police, 489 people were wounded, most by gunshot. Thats more than eight times the number of fatalities. The wounded will live, but in many cases their lives will be forever altered by devastating injuries, lengthy recoveries, emotional problems and medical debts.

Instead of focusing on mass killings, we need to address everyday gun violence. That is where laws can work.

Thanks to the spread of trauma centers and advances in medical care, a higher percentage of victims of gunshot wounds survive than ever before. More than 33,000 people die in gun violence in the U.S. each year; 70,000 suffer from nonfatal gun injuries. The toll of gun violence is 100,000-plus victims a year.

And even that figure is too low. The ripple effect of all the carnage, from the wounded as well as the dead, extends to victims spouses, family members, close friends and coworkers. The costs  the waste inherent in the violence  cannot be fully quantified, but studies indicate that firearms injuries, fatal and nonfatal combined, drain the economy of at least $48 billion annually in lost work and medical expenses.

Another error we make is devoting inordinate attention to mass shootings. To be sure, an attack on thousands of people in one of the most frequented tourist destinations in the country warrants the extensive coverage devoted to the Las Vegas shooting. As psychologists have pointed out, random killings in a public space  something we can all imagine happening to us  rivets our attention.

Mass shootings are a particularly hard problem to stop in a country with 320 million guns. In the U.S., most mass shooters, including Stephen Paddock, easily pass background checks and obtain their guns legally. Yet mass shootings occur even in countries with much more restrictive gun laws than the U.S.  Norway and France, for example. Australias gun control laws are often cited as a model, but there are still millions of guns in that country  as many as prior to the reforms  that a would-be mass shooter could use.

Instead of focusing on mass killings, we need to address everyday gun violence. That is where laws can work. Lowering the daily toll of gun violence  the criminal misuse of firearms, accidents and suicides  is within our reach, through universal background checks, safe storage rules and more vigorous prosecution of gun trafficking. The gains could be huge: Nearly 275 people a day suffer normal gun violence. The weekly total  around 1,925 people  is more than triple the number of wounded and dead in Las Vegas.

And can we talk about suicide? Among gun casualties, 60% come from suicide. We spend hours discussing what we can to do prevent mass shootings, which account for only a fraction of gun victims, and almost no time on preventing the most common way guns are misused.

Heres another mistake we make in the gun debate: Too often we hear  and believe  that the right to bear arms prevents us from enacting new, better gun safety laws. The National Rifle Assn. has convinced us that the 2nd Amendment outlaws even popular measures like universal background checks or a no-buy list for suspected terrorists. Some gun opponents unwittingly contribute to this misunderstanding when they argue that we should repeal the 2nd Amendment.

Although the Supreme Court in 2008 held in District of Columbia vs. Heller that individuals have a right to have guns, the justices also made clear that most gun laws are nonetheless constitutional. Indeed, since Heller was decided, federal courts have ruled in favor of gun control laws in approximately 95% of 2nd Amendment cases.

Its the NRA, not the Constitution, that stands in the way of many of these laws. Where the gun group is weaker  in California, New York and Massachusetts  gun laws are much tougher. You might be nodding in agreement, but again, perhaps for the wrong reason. Its easy to cast the gun rights group as a shill for the gun industry swaying elected officials with abundant campaign contributions. Although the NRA wouldnt be the force it is without campaign money, the real basis of its influence is its ability to command influential blocs of single-issue, pro-gun voters. Lawmakers kowtow not for dollar contributions but for fear the NRA will endorse their opponents in the next election cycle, and those dedicated voters will listen.

And this is the final error of todays gun debate. We misunderstand our own control over gun violence. The lack of effective gun control is not due to a few words in the Bill of Rights or the campaign cash of an interest group. Americas gun laws are a function of the democratic process, and the electoral strength of those who oppose restrictive measures despite majorities that favor them. Obsessing over shooters like the Las Vegas killer wont make us much safer. Grasping the real dimensions of everyday gun violence  and acting accordingly to try to stop it  will.

Adam Winkler is a professor of law at UCLA and the author of Gun Fight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America.

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinionand Facebook
To the editor: Harold Meyersons view of the tax plan proposed by President Trump and Republican leaders in Congress is curiously slanted. (The GOP keeps coming after blue states, especially California, Opinion, Oct. 3)

As an income and wealth redistributor, he should be happy that the new tax plan will severely impact the wealthy in California. Since the richest 1% of Californians pay nearly half the income taxes and the top 10% pay about 80%, its mostly the wealthy who benefit from the federal deduction for taxes paid to state and local governments, known as the SALT deduction. Most middle-class taxpayers in California will likely see a decrease in taxes under the Republican plan.

The increased federal tax revenue from wealthy Californians will be redistributed to the many other states that have lower rates. The California wealthy who have been subsidized for many years via this federal deduction will no longer get this subsidy.

Advertisement

Eliminating this deduction may even force the California Legislature to carefully consider future tax increases. This seems like a good thing.

David A Korte, Yorba Linda

..

To the editor: Heres a reasonable question that all voters in Orange County and other places served by Republicans in Congress should ask their representatives:

Do you support eliminating the federal deduction for state and local taxes, despite the negative financial impact it would have on the citizens in your district? Will you vote against any tax package that incorporates the elimination of these crucial deductions for your constituents?

Lets watch Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, Darrell Issa, Mimi Walters and Ed Royce wriggle their way around that one.

Michael Schneider, Laguna Beach

..

To the editor: Bribery is alive and well in the United States.

Every state generates income to pay for services through taxation of one form or another. But through past bribery, rich people in a few big states got a big tax break in the form of the SALT deduction. Now the GOP wants to cancel this absurd tax break but is considering bribing select GOP representatives to gain their votes by continuing it. (Republicans consider keeping the state and local tax deduction as they search for votes for overhaul, Oct. 4)

We want tax reform to bring fairness and justice to our country while also generating enough income to reduce deficit spending. We want a good progressive tax policy, without subsidies for the top 1%, implemented to fund government without using bribery.

Ben Tenn, Northridge

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook.
Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Andriy Parubiy has closed the Rada session early on Friday.

"Unfortunately, for technical reasons it's difficult to work. According to Article 51 of the rules of parliament, I, for technical reasons, am obliged to close the morning session," he said, noting that government officials were in the chamber.

As Parubiy closed the session several Cabinet of Ministers members were in the chamber. On Fridays parliament devotes an hour to the government's Q&A session. However, this did not happen on Friday because lawmakers considered legislation about Donbas.

Traditionally too few deputies attend Friday sessions to adopt legislation, but this was not the case on Friday.

Parubiy closed the session and asked parliament members to think over what transpired during debates over draft laws about Donbas. He called such behavior "unacceptable."

"We cannot allow anyone to destroy the Ukrainian parliament," he said.

During debate and voting on laws about Donbas on Friday morning deputies from various party factions and nonaligned deputies periodically scuffled with one another. Following voting on the president's draft law on providing sovereignty of Ukraine in occupied areas on Donbas and extending legislation on special local self-government in occupied areas of Donbas and Luhansk regions, MP Yuriy Levchenko (nonaligned) ignited a smoke grenade.

As earlier reported, in April 2010 during voting for ratification of a bill extending for 25 years Russia's lease agreement on Black Sea Fleet bases in Crimea a similar incident occurred. A group of MPs then threw eggs at the speaker's rostrum and ignited smoke grenades. Then Our Ukraine  People's Self-defense Party deputy Parubiy took part in those shenanigans.
The secret military detention of a U.S. citizen who allegedly fought for Islamic State has posed an unusual legal test for the Trump administration as it struggles to define a policy for dealing with people captured on the battlefield or suspected of terrorism

The Pentagon has yet to release the name of the American in custody. Officials say he surrendered to U.S.-backed militia forces in Syria on or about Sept. 12 and was turned over to U.S. military authorities.

U.S. forces are detaining him as an unlawful enemy combatant at an undisclosed location in Iraq, the Pentagon said. U.S. officials have not said when the American will face charges, be given a lawyer or be brought before a judge.

Advertisement

In an attempt to force the issue, the American Civil Liberties Union has filed a habeas corpus petition in U.S. District Court in Washington, arguing that the secret detention violates a U.S. citizens rights to see a lawyer and to answer charges before a judge.

Hes being held basically in a black box, without any way to enforce his rights, said Jonathan Hafetz, a senior lawyer for the ACLU.

Hafetz said the government cant hold an American citizen indefinitely without charges or access to the legal system. They have not indicated what their plans are. We hope they will do the right thing and present him to a court, he said.

The Justice Department said it was reviewing the ACLU petition and declined to comment further. The Pentagon also declined to comment.

An International Committee of the Red Cross delegate visited the American last week in accordance with the groups role in military conflicts.

ICRC confirms that it has been able to visit a U.S. citizen, captured in Syria and currently held by the U.S. authorities, but in accordance with our confidential approach, we are not in a position to comment on the individuals identity, location, or conditions of detention, spokesman Marc Kilstein said in a statement.

The government has argued that it has the right to hold enemy combatants indefinitely. But the Supreme Court has twice decided that military prisoners  even those held outside the country  have the right to contest their detention in court.

All detainees in [Department of Defense] custody are treated humanely and in compliance with U.S. and international law, said Maj. Ben Sakrisson, a Pentagon spokesman.

The unusual case could provide an indication of whether the administration will follow President Trumps promises during the campaign last year to send enemy combatants and terrorism suspects to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

But indications so far suggest the government wants to bring charges in a civilian court. More than 500 Americans and numerous foreigners have been convicted of terrorism-related charges in U.S. civilian courts since 2001.

According to Defense officials, the American in custody was questioned in a two-step process that civilian courts have allowed in terrorism cases.

U.S. intelligence officials first pressed the detainee for his knowledge of terrorist organizations, planning or active plots. After that, they said, a separate team of FBI agents interviewed him in an effort to obtain evidence that could be used in court.

As the law requires, they informed him of his Miranda rights to see a lawyer and warned that anything he said could be used against him in court.

At that point, the detainee stopped talking, officials said. The details of the interview were first reported by the New York Times.

An estimated 30,000 foreign fighters from around the globe flocked to Iraq and Syria after Islamic State first captured vast parts of the two countries in 2014 and proclaimed an Islamist caliphate.

Although the FBI conducted hundreds of investigations and arrested scores of people for raising money or providing support to Islamic State, relatively few Americans made their way to the front lines as combatants.

One who did, Mohamad Jamal Khweis of Alexandria, Va., was grabbed in western Iraq by Kurdish guerrillas in March 2016 and later turned over to U.S. authorities.

A federal jury convicted Khweis, 27, in June of providing and conspiring to provide material support to Islamic State, and a related firearms count. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison when he is sentenced on Oct. 13.

A separate terrorism trial began last week in a federal courtroom in Washington.

Ahmed Abu Khatallah, a Libyan, is charged with murder and other crimes for allegedly orchestrating the September 2012 armed attacks on a U.S. diplomatic compound and nearby CIA outpost in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens.

No one has been sent to the military prison in Guantanamo Bay in nearly a decade.

The facility was opened in secret after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. About 780 foreigners ultimately were detained there, but the last to arrive was in early 2008.

President George W. Bush and then President Obama transferred, resettled or repatriated nearly the entire prison population, and both sought to close the site. Only 41 detainees remain.

Only one U.S. citizen, Yaser Esam Hamdi, was ever held at the camp, and he was detained there only because U.S. officials didnt initially realize he was an American. He was repatriated to Saudi Arabia after he agreed to renounce U.S. citizenship. His court appeals first established legal rights for the detainees.

Several of Trumps top aides, including Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions and Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, favor keeping Guantanamo Bay open. Kelly, a retired four-star Marine Corps general, oversaw operations at the prison as commander of U.S. Southern Command from 2012 to 2016.

Theyre all bad boys, Kelly said in January 2016, during his last news briefing in uniform, of the final few dozen still held at the camp. We have dossiers on all of them. Some of them were more effective in being bad boys than others. I think we can all quibble on whether 13 or 12 or eight years in detention is enough to have them  having paid for whatever they did. But theyre bad guys.

joseph.tanfani@latimes.com

Twitter: @jtanfani

william.hennigan@latimes.com

Twitter: @wjhenn
Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin took military aircraft on at least seven occasions without adequate justification, his departments inspector general said in a report.

The inspector general concluded that while Mnuchin broke no law, the White House failed to meet the rigorous preapproval process intended to justify the need to use expensive military aircraft.



For the record: An earlier version of this story said Mnuchin did not meet rules regarding travel on military aircraft, according to an inspector generals report. The report concluded that the White House had not met the rigorous preapproval process to justify the need to use expensive military flights.

Mnuchin has been criticized for requesting a military aircraft for a trip to Kentucky during which he viewed the solar eclipse and a trip to Europe for his honeymoon in August. He withdrew the request for the honeymoon trip, according to the report from the counsel to the Treasury inspector general, Rich Delmar.

Advertisement

In total, Mnuchin requested government aircraft for nine trips, one of which was withdrawn and one that is scheduled for later this month. The report, released Thursday, found that each trip was classified as a White House support mission.

In order to get that classification, the president must have directed the official to take the trip and the department must show that commercial airlines were either not available or cost effective or that there was an emergency need or national security concern requiring military planes. Those guidelines are based on a 2011 memo from then-White House Chief of Staff William Daley.

Delmar found that for the majority of the trips Mnuchin requested, it was not explicit that President Trump had ordered the travel, and the department did not provide a detailed analysis of the trip. Most of the requests included a similar line saying the planes were needed due to scheduling, logistics and secure communications needs.

This single boilerplate statement constituted the whole analysis and justification for designation and use of military aircraft, Delmar wrote.

The inspector generals review found no violation of law in these requests and uses.

What is of concern is a disconnect between the standard of proof called for in the Daley memo and the actual amount of proof provided by Treasury and accepted by the White House in justifying these trip requests, Delmar wrote.

He recommended the White House and government departments require greater detail, particularly about cost and security needs, for future travel requests.

We appreciate the Inspector Generals thorough review of the Treasurys travel requests, which identified no violation of law regulation or ethics requirements in connection with the Departments requests, a Treasury spokesperson said. The department followed the same approval procedures and provided the White House the same level of justification as in previous administrations, including the Obama administration.

The Inspector General suggested certain enhancements to the longstanding approval process, which we intend to incorporate fully going forward, the statement said.

The Office of Management and Budget said in a memo last week it was reviewing guidance for the use of government aircraft and suggested that officials should be using government air travel only in exceptional situations.

The report comes amid reports that three other administration officials have used private or military aircraft for trips, including former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price, who reportedly spent more than $400,000 on private domestic travel. Price resigned last week after Trump expressed anger at his use of private charter flights.

UPDATES:

Oct. 9, 9:30 a.m.: This article was updated with Treasurys response.

This article was originally published Oct. 6 at 1:40 p.m.
The Trump administration launched a broad attack in the culture wars this week, announcing an expanded policy to protect religious liberty and rolling back Obama-era rules that shielded transgender employees and promised American working women access to free birth control.

Under the rule announced Friday, employers who have religious or moral objections to contraception may refuse to provide the coverage for their female employees.

Where President Obamas aides said the government should protect the tens of millions of women who use birth control, President Trumps advisors said they were concerned by the government imposing itself on the small number of employers  perhaps no more than 200 nationwide, they said  who have moral qualms over certain contraceptives.

Advertisement

No one should be forced to choose between living out his or her faith and complying with the law, said Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions. Therefore, to the greatest extent practicable and permitted by law, religious observance should be reasonably accommodated in all government activity, including employment, contracting and programming.

That policy was on display last month when Trump administration lawyers joined a Supreme Court case on the side of a Colorado baker who cited his Christian beliefs in refusing to make a wedding cake for a same-sex couple.

The states civil rights law requires businesses to serve customers without regard to their sexual orientation, but administration lawyers said the baker deserves an exemption based on the Constitutions protection for free speech and religious freedom. That case will be heard on Dec. 5, the court said Friday.

Last year, the Obama administration said federal anti-discrimination laws protected transgender workers and students, but both rules have now been revoked under Trump. At issue is the meaning of the word sex in the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Title IX amendment from 1972.

By taking away womens access to no-cost birth control coverage, the rules give employers a license to discriminate.  Fatima Goss Graves, president, National Womens Law Center

Obama administration lawyers said these laws should be understood to forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. They cited, among others, an opinion by the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia that said an oil rig worker could sue his male co-workers for abuse and harassment under the law against sex discrimination.

Returning to the older view of the law, Trumps lawyers said the Justice Department would not use the anti-discrimination law to protect gays, lesbians or transgender people.

Sex is ordinarily defined to mean biologically male or female, Sessions said.

But Sessions and the administration will not have the final word.

The Supreme Court has not ruled on whether the civil rights law forbids discrimination based on sexual orientation, but is likely to do so in the year ahead. Lower courts have split on the question, and a Georgia woman who said she was fired as a hospital security guard because she is a lesbian has appealed her case.

Like Obama, Trump is finding it easier to bring about change through federal rules and regulations rather than passing laws in Congress.

After Obama won passage of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, his health regulators gave a broad interpretation to the provision that called for providing preventive care at no cost as part of health insurance. They decided this should include the full range of approved contraceptives.

That rule, the so-called contraceptive mandate, has been under frequent attack from conservative religious groups, including Catholic bishops, even though churches and houses of worship were exempted.

The Obama administration also gave a partial exemption to religious nonprofit groups, including schools and charities, so they did not have to directly pay for the contraceptives. Instead, their insurers paid for the coverage.

In the 2014 Hobby Lobby case, the Supreme Court extended the exemption to those corporate employers who said they had a sincere religious objection to certain forms of birth control. The decision rested on the federal law that protects religious freedom, but the courts majority opinion assumed female employees would still receive contraceptive coverage through an insurer.

Government lawyers argued in that case that providing free contraceptives saved insurers money over the long term because it reduced costs associated with pregnancies.

But objections continued from religious liberty advocates who argued that faith-based employers would be complicit in sin if their insurance policies paid for morning after pills and certain other contraceptives that they believe are a form of abortion.

In early May, Trump issued an executive order calling on then-Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to revise the contraceptive regulation to address conscience-based objections.

On Friday, the Department of Health and Human Services said it was putting into effect a rule that would provide conscience protections to Americans who have a religious or moral objection to paying for health insurance that covers contraceptive/abortifacient services.

However, officials also downplayed the impact, arguing that the contraceptive rule remains in effect. These rules will not affect over 99.9% of the 165 million women in the United States, the department said.

The rule change was applauded by the National Right to Life Committee and by social conservatives.

President Trump is demonstrating his commitment to undoing the anti-faith policies of the previous administration and restoring true religious freedom, said Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council.

The new rules was slammed by womens rights advocates, the Planned Parenthood Federation and several Democratic state attorneys general who said they would sue to block the change.

Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Womens Law Center, said the rules show callous disregard for womens rights, health and autonomy. By taking away womens access to no-cost birth control coverage, the rules give employers a license to discriminate against women.

California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said the new rule is another example of the Trump administration trampling on fundamental rights. They would prefer to move us backward rather than forward.

The contraceptive mandate has broad popular support, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. It cited a 2015 poll that found respondents said, by 71% to 25%, that they supported requiring health insurance plans to cover the full cost of birth control.

Since the Obama-era rule took effect, the rate of unintended pregnancies has fallen to a 40-year low, according to womens rights advocates.

A change in the federal rules may have less impact in states such as California, Illinois and Maryland, which all recently strengthened their laws requiring health insurers to cover the cost of contraceptives.

david.savage@latimes.com

Twitter: DavidGSavage

ALSO

California becomes sanctuary state in rebuke of Trump immigration policy

Trumps push to ignore climate costs generates a backlash in court, slowing some projects

A week that illustrated why coverage of Trump is mostly negative
As it works to roll back the Affordable Care Act, the Trump administration is letting crucial state health initiatives languish, frustrating a growing number of state leaders, including several from solidly Republican states.

Last week, Oklahomas health secretary sent a blistering letter to senior administration officials, taking them to task for failing to approve a plan state officials drew up to protect their consumers from large rate hikes.

The lack of timely waiver approval will prevent thousands of Oklahomans from realizing the benefits of significantly lower insurance premiums, Terry Cline wrote to Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin and then-Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price.

Advertisement

Health officials in other states say the federal health agency for months provided little help as they tried to plan for the expiration of federal funding for the popular Childrens Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. Money for the program, which covers nearly 9 million children, has begun to lapse because Congress failed to hit a deadline of Sept. 30 to renew the program, something lawmakers still hope to accomplish this year.

As the Sept. 30 deadline neared, the Trump administration was working to support Republican attempts in the Senate to roll back the current healthcare law, often called Obamacare.

It was very hard to get answers to our questions, said Cathy Caldwell, who oversees the CHIP program in Alabama and, like many state officials, is scrambling to figure out when they must begin cutting children from CHIP coverage.

The federal healthcare agency did not respond to a request for explanations of its actions or response to the criticism.

Meanwhile, across the country  in red states and blue alike  there are growing questions about how the administration is running complex government health programs that serve tens of millions of Americans.

Theres a problem here, said Virginia Health and Human Resources Secretary William Hazel. It may be deliberate sabotage at the very top.  But basic capacity seems to be an issue as well, he said, noting vacancies and competing demands at the federal agency. Hazel, who currently serves a Democratic administration, was appointed by a Republican governor.

Minnesotas human services secretary, Emily Piper, who oversees that states healthcare programs, said it has been hard to discern whether politics are driving all the problems, but the effect is the same.

Basic services that we expect the federal government to provide are suffering, she said.

Many healthcare programs that Americans rely on  such as CHIP, Medicaid and, in some cases, state insurance marketplaces created by the 2010 Affordable Care Act  are run by state governments, but funded and overseen by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

That division of power has historically led to disputes between state and federal leaders.

The Trump administration has fueled additional tensions with its enthusiastic advocacy for Republican congressional efforts not only to repeal the current healthcare law but to dramatically cut other federal health programs as well. Senior staff at the Department of Health and Human Services have been working all year to support the repeal campaign.

At the same time, the administration has further aggravated many states with actions that are driving up insurance premiums and destabilizing markets, according to insurers, state regulators and consumer advocates.

For example, President Trump has repeatedly threatened to stop making federal payments to health insurers that offset the cost of covering out-of-pocket medical expenses for low-income consumers.

Insurers across the country have cited uncertainty over these payments as a leading cause for big 2018 premium increases.

Over the summer, the administration also announced plans to dramatically scale back advertising and outreach efforts designed to get people signed up for insurance coverage in 2018, saying much of that work had proved ineffective in the past.

An aggressive enrollment campaign is widely considered key to getting younger, healthier Americans into the insurance market and controlling premiums.

In the face of the Trump administrations retreat, many states have intensified their own efforts to stabilize insurance markets and help consumers.

California, which operates its own insurance marketplace, has committed $100 million to a marketing and outreach campaign and developed a new system to shield some consumers from big rate hikes.

Peter Lee, who heads Covered California, said the Trump administration has generally not interfered in the states marketplace.

But other states that have looked to the administration for assistance have been disappointed.

Oklahoma, for example, proposed a plan earlier this year to control insurance premiums for its residents, who were facing increases of 30% or more next year.

After months of discussions in which state officials said the Trump administration assured them approval would be coming, the administration took no action, letting a crucial deadline pass and ensuring that health insurers would pass along major rate hikes to consumers next year.

It was very frustrating, said Julie Cox-Kain, Oklahomas deputy health and human services secretary.

States looking for guidance over the summer about how to prepare for the expiration of federal funding for CHIP were similarly let down, according to multiple officials.

Several said they felt that their warnings about the need for action well before the Sept. 30 deadline were being ignored by federal officials.

Its been a budgeting nightmare, said Caldwell, the Alabama CHIP official. And it is very stressful for families.

Most states have enough money in reserve to continue CHIP coverage for weeks if not months, but all need several months of lead time to plan for freezing enrollment or cutting coverage should that become necessary.

In the past, administrations have helped states prepare for that possibility with written guidance about how to make preparations.

But for months, the Trump administration refused to provide states with anything in writing, Caldwell said.

More recently, as the CHIP deadline passed and state pleas intensified, federal officials began offering more assistance, several state officials said. Caldwell said she finally got critical information about how much federal funding was still available to Alabama.

Minnesota, which has few reserve funds in its CHIP program, this week received additional federal money to help tide it over until Congress reauthorizes the CHIP money.

But Piper, the Minnesota human services secretary, said shes still not convinced that the Trump administration is pushing Congress to quickly renew the program.

I have never received any assurances that this is a priority for them, she said.

noam.levey@latimes.com

Twitter: @noamlevey

ALSO

California becomes sanctuary state in rebuke of Trump immigration policy

Trumps push to ignore climate costs generates a backlash in court, slowing some projects

Consumer protection bureau cracks down on payday lenders with tough nationwide regulations
This week, the nonpartisan Pew Research Center released a study showing that news coverage of President Trumps first 100 days in office had been, on average, far more negative than coverage of the previous three presidents.

Trump supporters, including White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, seized on the study as evidence that the press treats Trump unfairly  an assessment that the study itself did not make.

The rest of the weeks events provided a perfect example of whats wrong with any equation of negative with unfair. The study analyzed the language used in news articles. Stories about successes and accomplishments get scored as positive; stories about failures, dissension and misstatements add to the negative count. Coverage of Trump looks negative because, as this week showed, a lot of negative things happen.

Advertisement

Good afternoon, Im David Lauter, Washington bureau chief. Welcome to the Friday edition of our Essential Politics newsletter, in which we look at the events of the week in Washington and elsewhere in national politics and highlight some particularly insightful stories.

SECRETARY OF STATE SEES A MORON

Amid all the news of the week, one event epitomized the state of the Trump administration  Secretary of State Rex Tillersons news conference Wednesday in which he denied he was planning to resign, pledged his fealty to Trump, but conspicuously did not deny he had referred to the president earlier this year as a moron.

The remark, first reported by NBC News, set off a furor in the White House when Trump learned of it Wednesday morning. Trumps characteristic response was to rage at his aides and denounce NBC in a Twitter message: NBC news is #FakeNews and more dishonest than even CNN. They are a disgrace to good reporting. No wonder their news ratings are way down! he declared, inaccurately since NBCs news ratings have been strong this year.

As Trump flew to Las Vegas, Chief of Staff John Kelly stayed behind, reportedly huddling with Tillerson and others to craft the response that the secretary of State delivered a few hours later.

On Capitol Hill, meanwhile, Tillersons backers defended him.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee chair Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who last week announced that he will not run for another term, praised Tillerson, telling reporters that the secretary of State, Kelly and Defense Secretary James N. Mattis, help separate our country from chaos.

He declined to say who he had in mind as a generator of chaos, but he didnt need to. In August, Corker publicly said the the president has not yet been able to demonstrate the stability, nor some of the competence, that he needs, and hes stood by those words since.

The incident put into one package much that has characterized Trumps tenure so far: internal dissension, public questioning of the presidents competence, an emphasis on personality over policy, and all of it involving administration officials and fellow Republicans, with Democrats playing the role of gleeful bystanders.

WHITHER THE IRAN DEAL?

Not that an emphasis on policy would necessarily be more positive for the administration.

The biggest, immediate foreign policy issue on the agenda this month involves Iran and the nuclear deal that was one of President Obamas signature  and most controversial  achievements. Trump has repeatedly denounced the deal, but this week, some of his top national security aides voiced support for continued U.S. adherence to it, as Tracy Wilkinson, Bill Hennigan and Brian Bennett reported. Both Mattis and Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Congress that maintaining the deal was in the national interest.

Trump is determined not to continue certifying that Iran is in compliance with the deal, even though administration officials concede that the Iranians have, in fact, complied with its terms. Next week, hes expected to deliver a speech in which hell announce that hes not going to issue another certification.

That will kick the issue over to Congress, which could reimpose sanctions on Iran. Doing that would nullify the deal, which includes five other countries, and allow Tehran to restart its nuclear weapons program free of restraints. More likely, Congress will debate the issue and find a way for Republican opponents of the deal to demonstrate their unhappiness without doing anything substantive.

TAX CUT PLAN ALREADY SHRINKING

A renewed debate on Iran might not end up changing much on the nuclear deal, but it will eat up time, especially in the Senate. And that could interfere with another administration priority: quick passage of a tax cut. If so, it would fit a pattern of the administration creating obstacles to achieving its goals.

Already, as Lisa Mascaro and Jim Puzzanghera reported, Republicans have been backing away from eliminating the deduction for state and local taxes, which was the biggest revenue raiser in the tax bill  a key way to pay for tax cuts without exploding the deficit. Wiping out the deduction would raise taxes for many upper-middle-class voters in states like New York, New Jersey, California and Pennsylvania. Those are mostly blue states, of course, but they have lots of Republican representatives in the House whose votes the tax bill will need.

Republican leaders admit the bill as currently written would increase the deficit, at least in the short run, as Mascaro wrote. So far, most of them seem to be willing to accept that, despite years of railing against red ink. But there are still some serious deficit hawks in the Republican caucus, and theres a limit on how much of a deficit expansion theyll accept.

That tension is just one of the reasons a tax bill could end up suffering the same fate as repeal of Obamacare  something Republicans agree on in theory, but have trouble gaining votes for in practice.

RUSSIA INVESTIGATION NOT GOING AWAY

Trump routinely cries hoax over allegations that people associated with his campaign colluded with Russia. But in a news conference this week called to update the public on the progress of their investigation, the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), made clear they dont share that view. As David Cloud wrote, the two senators said that after interviewing 100 witnesses and plowing through more than 100,000 documents, the Senate panel still has a lot to investigate.

FREQUENT FLIERS

Last Friday, Health Secretary Tom Price resigned after Trump publicly expressed unhappiness with news reports about his use of expensive, private charter flights for routine travel.

This week, the attention to the travel habits of Trumps Cabinet members continued: The Treasury inspector general issued a report saying that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin used military planes without adequate justification. The flights were legal, but cost the taxpayers about $800,000, the report found. And Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is under investigation by his departments inspector general for his taxpayer-funded flights.

FIGHTS ON THE ENVIRONMENT, CONSUMER PROTECTION AND CIVIL RIGHTS

The White Houses effort to roll back environmental rules continues to encounter trouble in court. As Evan Halper wrote, an administration order to ignore climate costs when considering major projects has generated a judicial backlash. And, separately, a federal judge ordered the administration to enforce new restrictions on methane emissions that Trump officials wanted to delay.

Halper also wrote about accusations by senior civil servants who charge that Trump is forcing out workers with expertise on climate change and the environment.

And another administration appointee is headed for a confirmation fight. At a Senate hearing on his nomination, William Wehrum, Trumps pick to head the Environmental Protection Agencys air pollution branch, wouldnt pledge to allow California to continue setting its own air pollution standards.

The one regulatory agency that Trump has not yet been able to bring under his control is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, whose chief, Richard Cordray, has a term thatdoesnt expire until midway through next year. This week, the bureau cracked down on payday lenders with new regulations, Jim Puzzanghera reported. Republican leaders in the House vowed to reverse the rules, but they may not have the votes.

At the Justice Department, Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions continues to erase Obama-era rules. This week, Joe Tanfani wrote, the department issued new legal guidance saying that the federal law that provides civil rights protections at work doesnt cover discrimination against transgender people.

OTHER NOTABLE STORIES:

Midnight on Thursday marked the deadline for so-called Dreamers to renew their status under the Obama administrations DACA program, which Trump has announced hes ending. As Mascaro and Bennett wrote, the deadline comes as Congress remains split on protecting the Dreamers.

As that happened, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law making California a sanctuary state.

The Las Vegas massacre appears to have shifted the politics of gun control in Congress, at least a little. Republicans and the NRA say they will consider limiting firearm bump stocks, Mascaro reported. But the NRA wants the issue shunted over to a regulatory process, which Democrats see as a dodge to avoid new legislation.

Trump visited the sites of two disasters this week, with a notable difference in tone. In Las Vegas, he told families of the shooting victims, We will never leave your side. In Puerto Rico, he continued to feud with officials after the mayor of San Juan criticized the administrations relief effort.

The administrations trade agenda faces a major test in a case brought by Whirlpool. As Don Lee wrote, much more than washing machines are at stake.

The Supreme Court heard a major case on gerrymanders this week, and as David Savage wrote, for the first time, the majority seems receptive to putting limits on partisan line drawing. As is often the case, the key vote rests in the hands of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.

TIME FOR THEM TO GO?

In an interview with Sarah Wire and the Washington Posts Ed OKeefe, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-Whittier), publicly said something that many younger Democratic members of the House have been saying privately: Its time for Minority Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi and other high-ranking Democrats to step aside. Pelosi (D-San Francisco) isnt accepting that verdict yet, but Sanchezs remark seemed a significant step toward a generational shift.

ALL THE PRESIDENTS TWEETS

Twitter has long been Trumps favored means of pushing his message. Were compiling all of Trumps tweets. Its a great resource. Take a look.

LOGISTICS

That wraps up this week. My colleague Christina Bellantoni will be back Monday with the weekday edition of Essential Politics. Until then, keep track of all the developments in national politics and the Trump administration with our Essential Washington blog, at our Politics page and on Twitter @latimespolitics.

Send your comments, suggestions and news tips to politics@latimes.com.

If you like this newsletter, tell your friends to sign up.

David.lauter@latimes.com

@davidlauter
Trump promotes sons Justice with Judge Jeanine interview President Trump promoted via Twitter an interview with his son Eric Trump just before it aired Saturday night on Fox News Justice with Judge Jeanine. Eric Trump on @JudgeJeanine on @FoxNews now!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 21, 2018 Eric Trump called into the show to defend his father from criticism prompted by the first government shutdown in more than four years, as well as a series of Womens March events that saw protesters in dozens of cities take to the streets to oppose the presidents policies. .@EricTrump joined me over the phone from Mar-a-Lago ! pic.twitter.com/Hro3TzUW52  Jeanine Pirro (@JudgeJeanine) January 21, 2018 Speaking to host Jeannine Piro  who is reportedly an old friend of the presidents  Eric Trump offered effusive praise for his father, ticking off glowing statistics to illustrate the strength of the U.S. economy and gains against Islamic State fighters overseas. My fathers working like no ones ever worked before to bring back this country and to fulfill his promise to make America great again, said the executive vice president of the Trump Organization. He also repeated a sentiment recently expressed on Twitter by his father: That Democratic lawmakers forced a government shutdown on the anniversary of the presidents inauguration in a bid to distract from his achievements. You look at this whole government shutdown, and the only reason they want to shut down government is to distract and to stop his momentum, Eric Trump said. I mean, my father has had incredible momentum. Hes gotten more done in one year than arguably any president in history. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump tweets: a perfect day for all Women to March President Trump hailed the nationwide Womens March gatherings Saturday. On Twitter, the president called it a perfect day for all Women to March, seeming to imply that those taking part were celebrating his administrations accomplishments: Beautiful weather all over our great country, a perfect day for all Women to March. Get out there now to celebrate the historic milestones and unprecedented economic success and wealth creation that has taken place over the last 12 months. Lowest female unemployment in 18 years!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018 Participants in the marches across the United States were actually seeking to deliver a powerful rebuke to Trumps policies and mount a crucial mobilization for this years midterm elections. But Trump continued to tout his administrations unprecedented success in tweets sent later in the day: Unprecedented success for our Country, in so many ways, since the Election. Record Stock Market, Strong on Military, Crime, Borders, & ISIS, Judicial Strength & Numbers, Lowest Unemployment for Women & ALL, Massive Tax Cuts, end of Individual Mandate - and so much more. Big 2018!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018 The Trump Administration has terminated more UNNECESSARY Regulation, in just twelve months, than any other Administration has terminated during their full term in office, no matter what the length. The good news is, THERE IS MUCH MORE TO COME!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 21, 2018 In addition to the roll call of major American cities where womens marches took place  including New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Dallas, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Atlanta  protesters also raised their voices in suburbs and small towns, reflecting the aim of coalescing a broad-based movement on the anniversary of Trumps inauguration to oppose the presidents stance on immigration, healthcare, racial divides and an array of other issues. Read More This post contains reporting from Times staff writer Laura King. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump calls shutdown a present from Democrats By Associated Press President Trump is blaming Democrats for the government shutdown  tweeting that they wanted to give him a nice present to mark the one-year anniversary of his inauguration: This is the One Year Anniversary of my Presidency and the Democrats wanted to give me a nice present. #DemocratShutdown  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018 That comes after Senate Democrats late Friday killed a GOP-written House-passed measure that would have kept agencies functioning for four weeks. Democrats were seeking a stopgap bill of just a few days in hopes that would build pressure on Republicans, and they were opposing a three-week alternative offered by GOP leaders. Democrats have insisted they would back legislation reopening the government once theres a bipartisan agreement to preserve protections against deporting about 700,000 immigrants  known as Dreamers  who arrived in the United States illegally as children. Trump on Saturday accused Democrats of holding our Military hostage over their desire to have unchecked illegal immigration: Democrats are holding our Military hostage over their desire to have unchecked illegal immigration. Cant let that happen!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018 Democrats are laying fault for the shutdown on Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress and the White House and have struggled with building internal consensus. In a series of tweets hours after the shutdown began, the president tried to make the case for Americans to elect more Republicans to Congress in November in order to power through this mess: Democrats are far more concerned with Illegal Immigrants than they are with our great Military or Safety at our dangerous Southern Border. They could have easily made a deal but decided to play Shutdown politics instead. #WeNeedMoreRepublicansIn18 in order to power through mess!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018 He noted that there are 51 Republicans in the 100-member Senate, and it often takes 60 votes to advance legislation: For those asking, the Republicans only have 51 votes in the Senate, and they need 60. That is why we need to win more Republicans in 2018 Election! We can then be even tougher on Crime (and Border), and even better to our Military & Veterans!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018 #AMERICA FIRST!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018 The stopgap spending measure won 50 votes in the Senate, including five from Democrats. Although the House and Senate were in session Saturday, it was unclear whether lawmakers would take any votes of consequence. Trump had been set to leave Friday afternoon for a fundraiser at his estate in Palm Beach, Fla., where he intended to mark the inauguration anniversary. But he remained in Washington and ended up scrapping his plans to attend the Saturday fundraiser. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump tweet casts doubt on likelihood of averting shutdown President Trump appeared to cast doubt on the likelihood of reaching a deal to avert a government shutdown Friday night in a tweet. Trump also sought to blame Democrats for what would be the first shutdown since 2013. His message came just hours before the midnight deadline by which lawmakers must pass a measure to fund government agencies, or some operations will cease. Not looking good for our great Military or Safety & Security on the very dangerous Southern Border. Dems want a Shutdown in order to help diminish the great success of the Tax Cuts, and what they are doing for our booming economy.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 20, 2018 Despite last-minute negotiations Friday between Trump and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, Congress remained deadlocked over a spending bill and the federal government was headed toward a shutdown at midnight. Senate Democrats  joined by some GOP deficit hawks and immigration allies  were set to filibuster a stopgap funding bill approved by the House on Thursday. A Senate vote was planned for 10 p.m. Eastern, and even White House officials predicted it would fail. Read More This post contains reporting from Times staff writer Lisa Mascaro. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump signs surveillance law after confusing tweets By Associated Press President Trump on Friday signed a bill into law to renew a foreign intelligence surveillance program, announcing his action in the latest in a series of confusing tweets about the spy program: Just signed 702 Bill to reauthorize foreign intelligence collection. This is NOT the same FISA law that was so wrongly abused during the election. I will always do the right thing for our country and put the safety of the American people first!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 19, 2018 Trumps tweet on Jan. 11 created chaos in the House just before it voted to reauthorize what is known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. He linked the intelligence program to a dossier that alleges his presidential campaign had ties to Russia. That caused people to wonder if he didnt support the program that allows U.S. spy agencies to collect intelligence on foreign targets abroad. Trump and other Republicans have alleged that Obama administration officials improperly shared the identities of Trump presidential transition team members mentioned in intelligence reports. Democrats say there is no evidence that happened. Shortly before the House vote, and after conferring with House Speaker Paul Ryan, Trump did an apparent about-face. This vote is about foreign surveillance of foreign bad guys on foreign land, he tweeted. We need it! Get smart! In his tweet announcing that he had just signed the bill, Trump wrote: This is NOT the same FISA law that was so wrongly abused during the election. I will always do the right thing for our country and put the safety of the American people first! There are no obvious links between the dossier Trump spoke of, which includes salacious but unsubstantiated allegations against him, and the reauthorization of the spying program, or between the program and Trumps oft-repeated claims that the Obama administration conducted surveillance on Trump Tower during the presidential campaign. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

In tweet, Trump suggests that Pennsylvania trip is a political one The White House press office was once again forced to walk back a tweet from President Trump on Thursday morning after he described a trip to Pennsylvania later in the day as a political one  a statement that would force the Republican Party, not taxpayers, to pay for the journey. The White House had said Trump was going to an industrial equipment company outside of Pittsburgh to highlight the good economy and new tax cuts, making it an official, policy-oriented event. It was widely assumed that the trip had a political cast  the area is holding a special election to fill a congressional seat vacated by a Republican who resigned. Trump, by his tweet, seemed to confirm that politics was the whole purpose: Will be going to Pennsylvania today in order to give my total support to RICK SACCONE, running for Congress in a Special Election (March 13). Rick is a great guy. We need more Republicans to continue our already successful agenda!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018 Trump later shared via Twitter a pair of video clips of his speech at H&K Equipment, in which he touted the tax cuts he signed into law just before Christmas and tried to turn the conversation back to his accomplishments after weeks dominated by distractions, including questions about his mental health and comments about immigration that some considered racist: Departing Pittsburgh now, where it was my great honor to stand with our incredible workers, and to show the world that AMERICA is back - and we are coming back bigger and better and stronger than ever before! pic.twitter.com/kWPgylqFzj  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018 AMERICA will once again be a NATION that thinks big, dreams bigger, and always reaches for the stars. YOU are the ones who will shape Americas destiny. YOU are the ones who will restore our prosperity. And YOU are the ones who are MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! #MAGA pic.twitter.com/f2abNK47II  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 18, 2018 The Republican National Committee, rather than the White House, is supposed to pay for political travel so that taxpayers are not financing party activities; for trips that combine policy and politics, parties have split the cost under past presidents. Neither the RNC nor the White House responded to emails sent Thursday asking who would pay. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement later Thursday suggesting that taxpayers would foot the bill. She insisted that Trump would be conducting government business while in Pennsylvania. Read More This post contains reporting from the Associated Press and Times staff writer Noah Bierman. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump tweets praise of Bob Dole after awarding him Congressional Gold Medal By Associated Press Former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole knew the art of the deal before President Trump published the 1987 book of the same name. The two shared a stage under the Capitol dome Wednesday as Dole, 94, accepted Congress highest civilian honor, the Congressional Gold Medal, for his World War II service and decades of work in the House and Senate. Trump later praised Dole in a tweet, attaching to his message a video composed of clips from the ceremony: Today, we witnessed an incredible moment in history  the presentation of Congress highest civilian honor to our friend, and true AMERICAN HERO, Bob Dole. #CongressionalGoldMedal pic.twitter.com/qNQqDLRmCk  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 17, 2018 At the ceremony, the president saluted Dole as a patriot and gave tribute to Doles struggle as a veteran who worked his way back from a grievous shoulder wound he suffered in Italy. He knows about grit, said Trump. But it was Doles penchant for working across the aisle that earned him his latest award, according to the legislation. Bob Dole was known for his ability to work across the aisle and embrace practical bipartisanship, reads the legislation Trump signed in September. Some of the awards 300 recipients include George Washington and Mother Teresa, according to the Congressional Research Service. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump touts report that seeks to link terrorism cases with immigration By Joseph Tanfani The Trump administration on Tuesday released a report attempting to link terrorism with migration, arguing that it was evidence of the need to dramatically reshape the nations immigration system. New report from DOJ & DHS shows that nearly 3 in 4 individuals convicted of terrorism-related charges are foreign-born. We have submitted to Congress a list of resources and reforms....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018 ....we need to keep America safe, including moving away from a random chain migration and lottery system, to one that is merit-based. https://t.co/7PtoSFK1n2  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018 The report, ordered by President Trump in an executive order last year, said that 75% of the 549 people convicted of terrorism charges since 9/11 were born outside the U.S. Administration officials called that a sign that the U.S. needs to scrap its policy of family preferences for visas, which they call chain migration, and a diversity visa lottery program. But the report did not specify how many  if any  of the convicted terrorists entered the country through those means. It also did not detail how many of the convictions were related to attacks or plans in the U.S. versus overseas and how many involved people who went to fight overseas for the Islamic State or another terrorist group. Those details were not available, officials said. The report, due last year, is being released in a highly charged moment in the immigration debate, as Trump and some Republicans in Congress seek tough new border and immigration measures in return for a deal protecting the 690,000 people in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Trump also fired off a pair of tweets on the topic earlier Tuesday: We must have Security at our VERY DANGEROUS SOUTHERN BORDER, and we must have a great WALL to help protect us, and to help stop the massive inflow of drugs pouring into our country!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018 The Democrats want to shut down the Government over Amnesty for all and Border Security. The biggest loser will be our rapidly rebuilding Military, at a time we need it more than ever. We need a merit based system of immigration, and we need it now! No more dangerous Lottery.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018 The focus of our immigration system should be assimilation, a senior administration official said on Tuesday, speaking on condition that his name not be used. He said the nation should give priority to potential immigrants who speak English, who have an education and those who are committed to supporting our values  not family members of people already here. The official said the timing of the report was coincidental. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump tweets welcome to president of Kazakhstan By Associated Press President Trump said Tuesday that he and the president of Kazakhstan are united in a shared determination to prevent North Korea from threatening the world with nuclear devastation. Trump and President Nursultan Nazarbayev discussed North Korea along with other issues during meetings at the White House. Today, it was my honor to welcome President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan to the @WhiteHouse! pic.twitter.com/TerYFZViax  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018 Trump said Kazakhstan, once part of the Soviet Union, is a valued partner in our efforts to rid the Korean peninsula of nuclear weapons. Together we are determined to prevent the North Korean regime from threatening the world with nuclear devastation, he said, as both presidents addressed journalists between meetings. Nazarbayev noted that his country once had one of the worlds largest nuclear arsenals but voluntarily gave it up after the Soviet Union collapsed. He said his country is in talks with Iran, which was the focus of a global deal that lifted some economic sanctions in exchange for Irans curbing its nuclear program. Trump has sharply criticized the Iran nuclear deal and threatened last week to pull out soon unless other countries fix what he says are terrible flaws. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump falsely claims his approval rating among black Americans has doubled By Alex Wigglesworth President Trump lashed out at the news media Tuesday morning in a tweet denouncing the special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion among members of his campaign team. Do you notice the Fake News Mainstream Media never likes covering the great and record setting economic news, but rather talks about anything negative or that can be turned into the negative. The Russian Collusion Hoax is dead, except as it pertains to the Dems. Public gets it!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018 It wasnt immediately clear exactly what prompted the presidents tweet, but it appeared as though he was watching Fox & Friends. A short time later, Trump tweeted a headline from a report that aired during that mornings episode: 90% of Trump 2017 news coverage was negative -and much of it contrived!@foxandfriends  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018 The segment focused on the latest survey results from conservative watchdog Media Research Center, which purportedly analyzed the evening news broadcasts on ABC, CBS and NBC from Jan. 20 to Dec. 31 and found that 90% of the statements made about Trump were negative. Study: 90% of Trump media coverage in 2017 was negative pic.twitter.com/vbrwup4Drg  FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) January 16, 2018 But believe it or not, through all this negative coverage, they did a survey of 600,000 people about how black America views this president, co-host Brian Kilmeade said. His numbers have actually doubled in approval. Trump highlighted the statement in another tweet: Unemployment for Black Americans is the lowest ever recorded. Trump approval ratings with Black Americans has doubled. Thank you, and it will get even (much) better! @FoxNews  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 16, 2018 But its not true. The claim appears to have originated from a misreading of data from the online polling firm SurveyMonkey, according to factcheck.org. The firm polled 600,000 Americans in 2017 and found that Trumps approval rating among blacks actually dropped from 23% early in his presidency to about 17%, as of the week ending Jan. 3. Some conservative outlets, including Breitbart, produced an average from those and other SurveyMonkey figures and compared them to the scores Trump received from black voters in the 2016 exit polls. That methodology is not sound. And since the statistics measure different things, the comparison is misleading. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump goes after senator who surfaced his immigration remark By Associated Press President Trump turned his Twitter torment Monday on the Democrat in the room where immigration talks with lawmakers took a famously coarse turn, saying Sen. Richard J. Durbin misrepresented what he had said about African nations and Haiti and, in the process, undermined the trust needed to make a deal. Senator Dicky Durbin totally misrepresented what was said at the DACA meeting, Trump tweeted, using a nickname to needle the Illinois senator. Deals cant get made when there is no trust! Durbin blew DACA and is hurting our Military. Senator Dicky Durbin totally misrepresented what was said at the DACA meeting. Deals cant get made when there is no trust! Durbin blew DACA and is hurting our Military.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 15, 2018 Trump was referring to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which protects young people who came to the United States illegally as children. Members of Congress from both parties are trying to strike a deal that Trump would support to extend that protection. Trump also cast doubt on the likelihood of reaching an agreement in tweets sent earlier Monday: Statement by me last night in Florida: Honestly, I dont think the Democrats want to make a deal. They talk about DACA, but they dont want to help..We are ready, willing and able to make a deal but they dont want to. They dont want security at the border, they dont want.....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 15, 2018 ...to stop drugs, they want to take money away from our military which we cannot do. My standard is very simple, AMERICA FIRST & MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 15, 2018 On a day of remembrance for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Trump spent time at his golf course with no public events, bypassing the acts of service that his predecessors staged in honor of the civil rights leader. Instead, Trump dedicated his weekly address to Kings memory, saying Kings dream and Americas are the same: A world where people are judged by who they are, not how they look or where they come from. That message was a distinct counterpoint to words attributed to Trump by Durbin and others at a meeting last week, when the question of where immigrants come from seemed at the forefront of Trumps concerns. Some participants and others familiar with the conversation said Trump challenged immigration from shithole countries of Africa and disparaged Haiti as well. Without explicitly denying using that word, Trump lashed out at the Democratic senator, who said Trump uttered it on several occasions. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump thanks pundit for laudatory Fox & Friends spot By Alex Wigglesworth President Trump thanked Fox News personality Stuart Varney after Varney praised Trump during an appearance on Fox & Friends. In a pair of tweets early Sunday, Trump quoted from Varneys commentary, in which he argued that Trump deserves more credit for the booming economy. The pundit, who also hosts a show on Fox Business Network, cited moves by some corporations to raise workers minimum wage or pay out one-time bonuses in response to the GOP tax cuts. President Trump is not getting the credit he deserves for the economy. Tax Cut bonuses to more than 2,000,000 workers. Most explosive Stock Market rally that weve seen in modern times. 18,000 to 26,000 from Election, and grounded in profitability and growth. All Trump, not 0...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018 ...big unnecessary regulation cuts made it all possible (among many other things). President Trump reversed the policies of President Obama, and reversed our economic decline. Thank you Stuart Varney. @foxandfriends  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 14, 2018 Varney was reacting to a quote from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who on Thursday called the bonuses handed down to workers pathetic in comparison to the gains corporations are expected to see from the tax cuts. In terms of the bonus that corporate America received versus the crumbs that they are giving to workers to kind of put the schmooze on is so pathetic, Pelosi told reporters. Its pathetic. Varney shot back Sunday that the bonuses, along with explosive stock market growth, are enriching all Americans. This is a huge shot in the arm, its the result of this tax cut deal and I think President Trump should get the credit for it, he said. .@Varneyco Sets the economic record straight after Nancy Pelosi calls U.S. mass bonuses crumbs pic.twitter.com/BvjIHGm3HE  FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) January 14, 2018 The sweeping tax plan passed last month lowers the corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% and cuts personal income taxes. Analysts say the benefits will largely flow to corporations and the wealthy, as theyre more likely to be in positions to share in corporate profits. For instance, Wells Fargo & Co., which responded to news of the tax overhaul by announcing it will raise workers pay to at least $15 an hour, also reported that it expects to pay an effective tax rate of 19% this year, down from about 31% in previous years. That should amount to tax savings of more than $3 billion annually. On average, middle-class Americans are expected to see a very small tax cut in the near term and a tax increase after 2025, when all of the tax cuts for individuals expire. The tax cuts for corporations, however, are permanent.  This post contains reporting from Times staff writer James Rufus Koren. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump touts MLK proclamation in tweet, but ceremony is overshadowed by reports of racist remarks By Associated Press President Trump signed a proclamation Friday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, noting the contributions of a great American hero. Today, it was my great honor to proclaim January 15, 2018, as Martin Luther King Jr., Federal Holiday. I encourage all Americans to observe this day with appropriate civic, community, and service activities in honor of Dr. King's life and legacy. pic.twitter.com/samlJsz1Nt  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018 Overshadowing the event was mounting backlash from Trumps comments during a private meeting with lawmakers the day before. A short time after the meeting, which was called to discuss a possible immigration deal, reports emerged that Trump had asked participants why the United States should accept immigrants from shithole countries in Africa, Central America and the Caribbean. Illinois Sen. Richard Durbin, the Senates second-ranking Democrat, appeared to confirm those reports on Friday. Trump did not respond Friday to several questions about the incident, including whether he actually used vulgar language to describe African nations, or if he is racist. The president said at the White House that love was central to the slain civil rights leader. Trump said the nation celebrates King for standing up for the self-evident truth Americans hold so dear, that no matter what the color of our skin or place of our birth, we are all created equal by God.  This post contains reporting from Times staff writer Noah Bierman. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump criticizes Democrats in tweet calling for stricter immigration rules President Trump hit out at Democrats on Thursday night in a tweet calling for stricter immigration rules. Trump wrote that members of the party seem intent on having people and drugs pour into our country from the border with Mexico: The Democrats seem intent on having people and drugs pour into our country from the Southern Border, risking thousands of lives in the process. It is my duty to protect the lives and safety of all Americans. We must build a Great Wall, think Merit and end Lottery & Chain. USA!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2018 It wasnt immediately clear exactly what prompted the tweet. Earlier Thursday, Trump rejected a bipartisan compromise to resolve the standoff over so-called Dreamers, young immigrants who were brought to the United States illegally as children but have temporary permits to work, attend school or serve in the military. The president drew widespread condemnation after reports emerged that he had asked participants in an Oval Office meeting about the proposal why the United States should accept immigrants from shithole countries in Africa, Central America and the Caribbean. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump touts bill aimed at improving border screening for fentanyl By Associated Press President Trump signed legislation Wednesday aimed at giving Customs and Border Protection agents additional screening devices and other tools to stop the flow of illicit drugs. Speaking at a surprise bill-signing ceremony while flanked by members of Congress from both parties in the Oval Office, Trump described the bill as a significant step forward in the fight against powerful opioids such as fentanyl, which he called our new big scourge. He echoed that language Thursday in a tweet: Yesterday, I signed the #INTERDICTAct (H.R. 2142) with bipartisan members of Congress to help end the flow of drugs into our country. Together, we are committed to doing everything we can to combat the deadly scourge of drug addiction and overdose in the United States! pic.twitter.com/ELZvFol5Lo  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2018 The legislation will pay for new portable and fixed chemical screening devices to detect and intercept fentanyl at ports of entry and in the mail, along with other laboratory equipment and personnel, including scientists. Trump has made fighting the opioid epidemic a centerpiece of his administration, though critics say he hasnt dedicated nearly enough money or resources to make a difference. Trump suggested during his remarks on Wednesday that hed like to take a more aggressive approach to the drug crisis  but the countrys not ready for what he has in mind. So were going to sign this. And its a step. And it feels like a very giant step, but unfortunately, its not going to be a giant step, because no matter what you do, this is something that keeps pouring in, he said. And were going to find the answer. There is an answer. I think I actually know the answer, but Im not sure the countrys ready for it yet, he added. Does anybody know what I mean? I think so. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump applauds news that Toyota-Mazda plant is slated for Alabama By Associated Press Japanese automakers Toyota and Mazda on Wednesday announced plans to build a mammoth, $1.6-billion joint-venture plant in Alabama that will eventually employ about 4,000 people. President Trump lauded the news in a tweet: Cutting taxes and simplifying regulations makes America the place to invest! Great news as Toyota and Mazda announce they are bringing 4,000 JOBS and investing $1.6 BILLION in Alabama, helping to further grow our economy! pic.twitter.com/Kcg8IVH6iA  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018 Good news: Toyota and Mazda announce giant new Huntsville, Alabama, plant which will produce over 300,000 cars and SUVs a year and employ 4000 people. Companies are coming back to the U.S. in a very big way. Congratulations Alabama!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 11, 2018 Several states had competed for the project, which will be able to turn out 300,000 vehicles per year and produce the Toyota Corolla compact car for North America and a new small SUV from Mazda. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and company executives held a news conference to announce that the facility is coming to the Huntsville area not far from the Tennessee line. Production is expected to begin by 2021. The decision to pick Alabama is another example of foreign-based automakers building U.S. factories in the South. To entice manufacturers, Southern states have used a combination of lucrative incentive packages, low-cost labor and a pro-business labor environment, because the United Auto Workers union is stronger in Northern states. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump highlights call for border wall in tweets on visit with Norways prime minister By Associated Press President Trump praised Norways prime minister in a tweet on Wednesday after Erna Solberg became the first foreign leader to visit with the president in 2018. Today, it was my great honor to welcome Prime Minister Erna Solberg of Norway to the @WhiteHouse - a great friend and ally of the United States! Joint press conference: https://t.co/qWR1BhfQZI pic.twitter.com/PJvwznjRCO  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018 Trump also shared via Twitter a video clip of a joint news conference he held with Solberg on Wednesday afternoon. In the clip, Trump responds to a question from a reporter by saying there can be no bipartisan immigration deal absent funding for his long-promised wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. Republican and Democratic lawmakers have been seeking a solution for hundreds of thousands of so-called Dreamers, young people who were brought to the United States as children and are living here illegally. The United States needs the security of the Wall on the Southern Border, which must be part of any DACA approval. The safety and security of our country is #1! pic.twitter.com/4CFzQXb5aS  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018 We need the wall for security, we need the wall for safety, we need the wall for stopping the drugs from pouring in, Trump said Wednesday.  Any solution has to include the wall because without the wall, it all doesnt work. On Tuesday, Trump drew widespread attention when he said during a meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers that he would be agreeable to signing a stand-alone bill to protect the Dreamers, before moving on to a more comprehensive immigration bill. That contradicted the Republican consensus that Dreamers fate needed to be part of a broader immigration bill that would include some version of Trumps promised border wall and other immigration reforms. Trump backed away from a stand-alone Dreamer bill in subsequent tweets and public comments. Read More This post contains reporting from Los Angeles Times staff writer Noah Bierman. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump praises Cabinet in tweet touting meeting By Associated Press President Trump promoted a meeting of his Cabinet on Wednesday, sharing via Twitter a link to a video of the session posted on the White House YouTube account. In his tweet, Trump thanked his Cabinet for working tirelessly on behalf of our country and wrote that the last year has been one of monumental achievement. I want to thank my @Cabinet for working tirelessly on behalf of our country. 2017 was a year of monumental achievement and we look forward to the year ahead. Together, we are delivering results and MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! https://t.co/ptXa1hAPwW pic.twitter.com/yv6RALkQf3  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018 The former reality television star continued to dispense accolades at the meeting Wednesday, greeting reporters in the Cabinet Room by saying: Welcome back to the studio. Then he proceeded to relive a Cabinet Room session from the prior day, when he had allowed reporters and TV cameras to stick around for much of his meeting with a bipartisan group of legislators on the thorny issue of immigration. It was a tremendous meeting. Actually, it was reported as incredibly good. And my performance  you know, some of them called it a performance  I consider it work, Trump said. Trump went on to say he had received letters from news anchors calling it one of the greatest meetings theyve ever witnessed. He added that the media will ultimately support Trump in the end, because theyre going to say, if Trump doesnt win in three years, theyre all out of business. Asked for examples of letters received from news anchors, the White House said it had received private communications. It also offered a series of positive on-air comments and tweets from journalists about the unusual access to the meeting. During his remarks, Trump swung from praising his own meeting coverage to telling journalists that they were dependent on his presidency for ratings to threatening a strong look at libel laws. Still, Trump thanked the journalists in front of him, joking: Youve gotten very familiar with this room. I appreciate your nice comments yesterday. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump blasts DACA ruling in tweet calling courts broken and unfair By Lisa Mascaro President Trump denounced the federal courts Wednesday as broken and unfair after a district judge in San Francisco issued a nationwide injunction keeping protections in place for so-called Dreamers. Trump tweeted: It just shows everyone how broken and unfair our Court System is when the opposing side in a case (such as DACA) always runs to the 9th Circuit and almost always wins before being reversed by higher courts.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018 On Tuesday night, U.S. District Judge William Alsup in San Francisco temporarily blocked the Trump administrations decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, which has protected from deportation some 700,000 people who came to the country illegally as children. Alsup granted a request by the state of California, the University of California and other plaintiffs to stop Trump from ending DACA on March 5. The administrations decision to end DACA, which was announced in September, was based on a flawed legal analysis, Alsup wrote in his decision. Dreamers would be irreparably harmed if their DACA protections, which allow them to live and work legally in the U.S., were stripped away before the courts had a chance to fully consider their claims, he ruled. The action is the mirror image of a ruling in 2015 by a federal judge in Texas who ruled in favor of that state when it sought to block President Obama from expanding DACA to include the parents of Dreamers. Trump administration officials praised that judicial ruling. By contrast, they sharply criticized Alsups decision. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump thanks lawmakers for productive immigration meeting, says deal must include border wall President Trump thanked a bipartisan group of lawmakers for participating in a meeting on immigration legislation on Tuesday. Much of the discussion involved so-called Dreamers, an estimated 700,000 young people who were brought to the country illegally as children and are now facing deportation. In a tweet, Trump wrote that there was strong agreement to negotiate a bill to protect Dreamers, as well as put into place some of the reforms favored by Republicans. Thanks to all of the Republican and Democratic lawmakers for todays very productive meeting on immigration reform. There was strong agreement to negotiate a bill that deals with border security, chain migration, lottery and DACA. https://t.co/SdqAQ3aL3z pic.twitter.com/8DYHZHspAy  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2018 The most notable exchange of the meeting came when Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the San Francisco Democrat, asked Trump whether he would be agreeable to signing a stand-alone bill to protect the Dreamers, before moving on to a more comprehensive immigration bill. Yeah, I would like to do it, Trump responded. The statement drew widespread attention because it contradicted the Republican consensus that Dreamers fate needed to be part of a broader immigration bill that would include some version of Trumps promised border wall and other immigration reforms. Trump later backed away from a stand-alone Dreamer bill, tweeting that a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico must be part of any deal: As I made very clear today, our country needs the security of the Wall on the Southern Border, which must be part of any DACA approval.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018 Pressure has been mounting for Congress to broker an immigration deal by Jan. 19 as part of a must-pass budget package to fund the government. This post contains reporting from Times staff writer Noah Bierman. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump thanks officers and veterans in tweets President Trump doled out a slew of accolades Tuesday via Twitter. He thanked the nations law enforcement officers, including in his message a hashtag denoting a day of appreciation organized by a national support group for law enforcement families. On behalf of the American people, THANK YOU to our incredible law enforcement officers. As President of the United States - I will fight for you, and I will never, ever let you down. Now, more than ever, we must support the men and women in blue! #LawEnforcementAppreciationDay pic.twitter.com/Qb4uxB4JRm  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2018 Trump later expressed gratitude for federal immigration agents, in particular: .@ICEgov HSI agents and ERO officers, on behalf of an entire Nation, THANK YOU for what you are doing 24/7/365 to keep fellow Americans SAFE. Everyone is so grateful!#LawEnforcementAppreciationDay

President @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/HXCpTlruVo  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018 The president thanked veterans as he cited his administrations efforts to curb the number of veteran suicides by improving mental health treatment for the high-risk group: Today, it was my great honor to sign a new Executive Order to ensure Veterans have the resources they need as they transition back to civilian life. We must ensure that our HEROES are given the care and support they so richly deserve! https://t.co/0MdP9DDIAS pic.twitter.com/LP2a8KCBAp  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2018 Trumps tweet included photos of the president signing an executive order Tuesday directing the secretaries of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs to develop a plan to provide seamless access to mental health and suicide prevention resources for 12 months for members leaving the armed forces. Also on Tuesday, Trump touted a law he signed the day before designating the birthplace of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. a national historic park: It was my great honor to sign H.R. 267, the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park Act, which redesignates the Martin Luther King, Junior, National Historic Site in the State of Georgia as the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park. https://t.co/Qe0b6HBFTY pic.twitter.com/QTgaqTawPT  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2018 And he thanked House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) for sharing a video compilation comprised of clips of politicians and commentators praising the GOPs tax cut bill: Thank you @GOPLeader Kevin McCarthy! Couldnt agree w/you more. TOGETHER, we are #MAGA https://t.co/QaxtqpyXTR  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 10, 2018  This post contains reporting from the Associated Press and Times staff writer Alex Wigglesworth. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump hails tax bill in tweets recapping speech to farmers By Associated Press Connecting with rural Americans, President Trump on Monday hailed his tax overhaul as a victory for family farmers. Farm country is Gods country, Trump told the annual convention of the American Farm Bureau Federation. Trump became the first president in a quarter-century to address the federations convention. His Southern swing also included a stop in Atlanta for the national college football championship game. Cant wait to be back in the amazing state of Tennessee to address the 99th American @FarmBureau Federations Annual Convention in Nashville! #AFBF18



On my way now - join me LIVE at 4:00pmE: https://t.co/QaljAqekdD. pic.twitter.com/Wm7Io0hYT8  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018 Joined by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and a group of Tennessee lawmakers, Trump said most of the benefits of the tax legislation are going to working families, small businesses, and who  the family farmer. The package Trump signed into law last month provides generous tax cuts for corporations and the wealthiest Americans, and more modest reductions for middle- and low-income individuals and families. In every decision we make, we are honoring Americas PROUD FARMING LEGACY. Years of crushing taxes, crippling regs, & corrupt politics left our communities hurting, our economy stagnant, & millions of hardworking Americans COMPLETELY FORGOTTEN. But they are not forgotten ANYMORE! pic.twitter.com/MdYS7xnukQ  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018 The president vastly inflated the value of the package in his speech, citing a total of $5.5 trillion in tax cuts, with most of those benefits going to working families, small businesses and who? The family farmer. The estimated value of the tax cuts is actually $1.5 trillion for families and businesses because of cuts in deductions and the use of other steps to generate offsetting tax revenue. We have been working every day to DELIVER for Americas Farmers just as they work every day to deliver FOR US. #AFBF18 pic.twitter.com/QDH7fvFkZ7  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018 From Nashville, Trump traveled to Atlanta to watch Alabamas Crimson Tide and Georgias Bulldogs face off Monday night in the College Football Playoff National Championship. We are fighting for our farmers, for our country, and for our GREAT AMERICAN FLAG. We want our flag respected - and we want our NATIONAL ANTHEM respected also! pic.twitter.com/16eOLXg6Fi  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018 Before departing for the game, Trump referenced his ongoing defense of the American flag and the national anthem, saying there was enough space for people to express their views. We love our flag and we love our anthem, and we want to keep it that way, he said. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump tweet hails drop in unemployment rate for African Americans By Associated Press President Trump touted a drop in the unemployment rate for African Americans on Monday in a tweet. African American unemployment is the lowest ever recorded in our country. The Hispanic unemployment rate dropped a full point in the last year and is close to the lowest in recorded history. Dems did nothing for you but get your vote! #NeverForget @foxandfriends  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018 The rate fell to 6.8% in December, the lowest level since the government began tracking such data in 1972. The reasons range from a greater number of black Americans with college degrees to a growing need for employers in a tight job market to widen the pool of people they hire from. Trump also hailed the development via Twitter on Saturday. His latest tweet on the topic came about an hour after it was discussed during an episode of Fox & Friends, according to Mediaite. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump talks up the economy and dresses down the media in Sunday tweets With President Trump cheering from the sidelines, the White House on Sunday pressed its defense of the presidents fitness to govern, as fired former aide Stephen K. Bannon reversed course and apologized for his role in a new books explosive portrait of Trump. The presidents critics, meanwhile, said Trumps stream of taunts and insults in response to the book  Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, released last week  served only to underscore the authors unsettling portrayal of Trumps year-old presidency, depicting a leader whose own aides consider him childish, ignorant and dangerously erratic. Trump provided more ammunition Sunday morning, as he continued to attack the book via Twitter while preparing to depart Camp David for the White House: Leaving Camp David for the White House. Great meetings with the Cabinet and Military on many very important subjects including Border Security & the desperately needed Wall, the ever increasing Drug and Opioid Problem, Infrastructure, Military, Budget, Trade and DACA.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2018 Ive had to put up with the Fake News from the first day I announced that I would be running for President. Now I have to put up with a Fake Book, written by a totally discredited author. Ronald Reagan had the same problem and handled it well. So will I!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2018 The most vehement defense of Trump on Sunday came from senior advisor Stephen Miller, a onetime Bannon acolyte who distanced himself from his former mentor. In a combative appearance Sunday on CNNs State of the Union, Miller called the book grotesque and writer Michael Wolff the garbage author of a garbage book. Trump is known to closely monitor aides televised performances in putting forth his case, and he gleefully weighed in within moments of Millers televised clash with host Jake Tapper. CNN has long been a particular target of Trumps ire. Jake Tapper of Fake News CNN just got destroyed in his interview with Stephen Miller of the Trump Administration. Watch the hatred and unfairness of this CNN flunky!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2018 Trumps reaction, however, seemed to bolster Tappers on-air depiction of Miller as using his appearance on the show to play to the president rather than addressing questions put to him. I get it  theres one viewer that you care about, the host said exasperatedly after Miller turned the discussion repeatedly to negative news coverage of the president while deflecting specific queries. Later on Twitter, Trump took up two themes that have been prevalent on his social media feeds recently. The president again went after the news media, tweeting that the recipients of his self-proclaimed most dishonest & corrupt media awards of the year, which he promised earlier in the week to announce on Monday, would actually be revealed the following Wednesday: The Fake News Awards, those going to the most corrupt & biased of the Mainstream Media, will be presented to the losers on Wednesday, January 17th, rather than this coming Monday. The interest in, and importance of, these awards is far greater than anyone could have anticipated!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2018 Trump later lauded a New York Post opinion piece that compared him favorably with his predecessor, President Obama, as well as Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. In quoting the op-ed, Trump initally misspelled consequential as consensual, but he deleted those tweets and re-sent the messages. His is turning out to be an enormously consequential presidency. So much so that, despite my own frustration over his missteps, there has never been a day when I wished Hillary Clinton were president. Not one. Indeed, as Trumps accomplishments accumulate, the mere thought of...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018 ...Clinton in the WH, doubling down on Barack Obamas failed policies, washes away any doubts that America made the right choice. This was truly a change election  and the changes Trump is bringing are far-reaching & necessary. Thank you Michael Goodwin! https://t.co/4fHNcx2Ydg  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 8, 2018 Trump also continued talking up the economy, which has been enjoying a period of strong gains. The Stock Market has been creating tremendous benefits for our country in the form of not only Record Setting Stock Prices, but present and future Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. Seven TRILLION dollars of value created since our big election win!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 7, 2018 In addition to Miller, other senior administration officials made the rounds of Sunday news talk shows to decry the claims made in Wolffs book. CIA Director Mike Pompeo said Wolffs characterization of Trump as averse to digesting classified briefing material was ludicrous, and the ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, insisted that that those around Trump love their country and respect their president. Read More This post contains reporting from Times staff writer Laura King. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Responding to book that mocks his intelligence, Trump tweets hes like, really smart By Tracy Wilkinson President Trump declared himself a very stable genius on Twitter on Saturday and later in a televised news conference called the author of a book that questioned his mental fitness a fraud. His comments came on a bone-cold day at Camp David during a weekend retreat with top administration officials and Republican congressional leaders strategizing on the years legislative agenda, including matters such as infrastructure, immigration, welfare reform and national security. Now that Russian collusion, after one year of intense study, has proven to be a total hoax on the American public, the Democrats and their lapdogs, the Fake News Mainstream Media, are taking out the old Ronald Reagan playbook and screaming mental stability and intelligence.....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018 ....Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. Crooked Hillary Clinton also played these cards very hard and, as everyone knows, went down in flames. I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star.....  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018 ....to President of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius....and a very stable genius at that!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018 Still, Trumps explosive rebuttal to author Michael Wolffs claims not only opened the day, but it also ensured the presidents capability to fill the highest office in the land was a topic that would not go away. In his early-morning tweets, Trump said two of his greatest assets have been mental stability, and being, like, really smart. He noted that his former Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, played these cards [about competence] very hard and, as everyone knows, went down in flames. I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star to President of the United States (on my first try). Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

In morning tweets, Trump touts job numbers and takes digs at news media By Associated Press President Trump used Twitter on Saturday morning to tout a drop in the unemployment rate for African Americans. He also used the tweets as an opportunity to take digs at media outlets whose past coverage he has found to be critical. The African American unemployment rate fell to 6.8%, the lowest rate in 45 years. I am so happy about this News! And, in the Washington Post (of all places), headline states, Trumps first year jobs numbers were very, very good.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018 The unemployment rate for African Americans fell to 6.8% in December, the lowest level since the government began tracking such data in 1972. The reasons range from a greater number of black Americans with college degrees to a growing need for employers in a tight job market to widen the pool of people they hire from. Still, the rate for black workers remains well above those for whites and some other groups, something experts attribute in large part to decades of discrimination and disadvantages. Robust job creation has lowered unemployment for all Americans. U.S. employers added nearly 2.1 million jobs in 2017  the seventh straight year that hiring has topped 2 million. In his tweet, Trump praised a report that noted the numbers, touting the fact that it appeared in the Washington Post (of all places). Minutes later, Trump renewed his attack on an ABC News reporter who was suspended last month after filing an erroneous report on Michael Flynn, Trumps former national security advisor. Brian Ross, the reporter who made a fraudulent live newscast about me that drove the Stock Market down 350 points (billions of dollars), was suspended for a month but is now back at ABC NEWS in a lower capacity. He is no longer allowed to report on Trump. Should have been fired!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018 The reporter, Brian Ross, was reportedly reassigned within ABC News upon returning from his unpaid suspension. But on Saturday, Trump wrote that he should have been fired. Trumps tweets came hours before he was set to host congressional Republicans and administration officials at Camp David. The meeting scheduled to begin at midmorning Saturday was expected to touch on the budget, infrastructure, immigration, welfare reform and the shape of the midterm election this fall. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump commends Sen. Rand Paul after he proposes eliminating all U.S. aid to Pakistan President Trump commended Sen. Rand Paul after the Kentucky Republican announced plans to introduce legislation that would eliminate all U.S. aid to Pakistan. Trump tweeted Friday night: Good idea Rand! https://t.co/55sqUDiC0s  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018 On Thursday, the Trump administration announced it was suspending security assistance to Islamabad until the country moves aggressively against local militants who have attacked U.S. troops in neighboring Afghanistan. Trump has repeatedly expressed frustration at the apparent inability of Pakistani authorities to rein in militants who cross out of the countrys rugged tribal areas to attack U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Read More This post contains reporting from Times staff writer Tracy Wilkinson. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump continues to lash out at Sloppy Steve Bannon in tweets on tell-all book By Associated Press President Trump is praising a major Republican donor family for distancing themselves from his former advisor Steve Bannon. Trump tweeted Friday: The Mercer Family recently dumped the leaker known as Sloppy Steve Bannon. Smart!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2018 Trump has continued to lash out at Bannon over an explosive new book that quoted his former aide as questioning Trumps competence and describing a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower among Donald Trump Jr., Trump campaign aides and a Russian lawyer as treasonous and unpatriotic. On Thursday, billionaire GOP donor Rebekah Mercer issued a statement distancing her family from Bannon. Mercer is a co-owner of Breitbart, the populist website Bannon helps run. I support President Trump and the platform upon which he was elected, Mercer said. My family and I have not communicated with Steve Bannon in many months and have provided no financial support to his political agenda, nor do we support his recent actions and statements. The book, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, quickly shot atop Amazons best-seller list, and the publisher moved up its release date by four days, to Friday. Trump took up the topic again on Twitter on Friday night, denouncing both Bannon and the books author, Michael Wolff, in starkly personal terms: Michael Wolff is a total loser who made up stories in order to sell this really boring and untruthful book. He used Sloppy Steve Bannon, who cried when he got fired and begged for his job. Now Sloppy Steve has been dumped like a dog by almost everyone. Too bad! https://t.co/mEeUhk5ZV9  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 6, 2018 Trumps message linked to a meme depicting a parody book cover titled, Liar and Phony, that featured a photo of Wolff and disparaging quotes about the author. In a tweet sent earlier Friday morning, Trump suggested the book was intended to serve as a distraction from the FBIs investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, which Trump wrote is proving to be a total hoax. Well, now that collusion with Russia is proving to be a total hoax and the only collusion is with Hillary Clinton and the FBI/Russia, the Fake News Media (Mainstream) and this phony new book are hitting out at every new front imaginable. They should try winning an election. Sad!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2018 That came amid reports that Trump directed his White House counsel to tell Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions to not recuse himself from the Justice Departments Russia investigation. Trumps effort to keep Sessions, a vocal and loyal supporter of his election bid, in charge of an investigation into his campaign offers special counsel Robert Mueller yet another avenue to explore as his prosecutors work to untangle potential evidence of obstruction. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump praises the economy ahead of meetings at Camp David By Associated Press President Trump is praising the strength of the U.S. economy ahead of meetings at Camp David with congressional Republicans. Trump tweeted early Friday: Dow goes from 18,589 on November 9, 2016, to 25,075 today, for a new all-time Record. Jumped 1000 points in last 5 weeks, Record fastest 1000 point move in history. This is all about the Make America Great Again agenda! Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. Six trillion dollars in value created!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2018 The president also told reporters on the South Lawn that the tax cuts are really kicking in after Congress passed a package of tax cuts at the end of 2017. And the president praised the December jobs report, which found U.S. employers added 148,000 jobs in December and the unemployment rate stayed at 4.1%, the lowest level since 2000. The modest but steady pace of hiring is a reassuring sign for investors who have been buoyed by the just-passed Republican tax plan and have been sending stock market indexes roaring to uncharted heights. The president is meeting with Republican congressional leaders and members of his Cabinet on Friday and Saturday to discuss the 2018 agenda. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump tweets as Dow crashes through 25,000 By Associated Press President Trump dispatched a congratulatory tweet as the Dow Jones industrial average rose above the 25,000-point mark Thursday, just five weeks after its first close above 24,000. Dow just crashes through 25,000. Congrats! Big cuts in unnecessary regulations continuing.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 After the Dow closed above 25,000, Trump shared a graphic depicting the stock indexs record-setting rise. MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/iONbr1DkVk  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2018 Later in the day, the president was back on Twitter, complaining that news outlets had barely covered the stock market milestone. He suggested that the strength of the economy would be the biggest story on earth, had it unfolded during the presidency of his predecessor. The Fake News Media barely mentions the fact that the Stock Market just hit another New Record and that business in the U.S. is booming...but the people know! Can you imagine if O was president and had these numbers - would be biggest story on earth! Dow now over 25,000.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2018 The Dow broke past 1,000-point barriers in 2017 on its way to a 25% gain for the year, as an eight-year rally since the Great Recession continued to confound skeptics. Strong global economic growth and good prospects for higher company earnings have analysts predicting more gains, although the market may not stay as calm as it has been recently. The Dow has made a rapid trip since it reached 24,000 points Nov. 30, partly on enthusiasm over passage of the Republican-backed tax package, which could boost company profits this year with across-the-board cuts to corporate taxes. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump reacts to Fire and Fury book in tweet lashing out at author and Sloppy Steve President Trump lashed out at the author of a soon-to-be-released book about the chaotic first year of his presidency Thursday night. In a tweet, Trump called Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, a phony book and claimed that hed never spoken to its author, Michael Wolff. Look at this guys past and watch what happens to him and Sloppy Steve! Trump wrote. He appeared to be referring to former White House chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon, whose stunning criticisms of Trump and his circle figure prominently in the title. I authorized Zero access to White House (actually turned him down many times) for author of phony book! I never spoke to him for book. Full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that dont exist. Look at this guys past and watch what happens to him and Sloppy Steve!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2018 Trumps tweet came hours after he had his lawyer demand that Henry Holt & Co. and Wolff stop publication the book. Instead, the publisher expedited the books release to Friday, four days before it was slated to hit bookstore shelves, in response to unprecedented demand. Published excerpts on Wednesday and Thursday whetted that appetite and roiled Washington. Bannons comments, including that it was treasonous and unpatriotic for Trumps son Donald Trump Jr., son-in-law Jared Kushner and campaign manager Paul Manafort to have met in 2016 with Russians said to have dirt on Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, prompted Trump on Wednesday to rebuke his former advisor, saying Bannon had lost his mind. Read More This post contains reporting from Times staff writers Brian Bennett and Alex Wigglesworth. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump thanks senators who attended meeting on immigration President Trump tweeted thanks to Republican senators who attended a meeting about possible immigration legislation on Thursday. In his message, Trump also listed his top priorities when it comes to any type of overhaul of the nations immigration system. Thank you to the great Republican Senators who showed up to our mtg on immigration reform. We must BUILD THE WALL, stop illegal immigration, end chain migration & cancel the visa lottery. The current system is unsafe & unfair to the great people of our country - time for change!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 Trumps tweet echoed his remarks at the beginning of Thursdays meeting, when he insisted again that constructing a border wall and overhauling two legal immigration programs must be part of any deal with Democrats to protect the so-called Dreamers from deportation. Two-year deportation protections and work permits given under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program begin to expire March 6 under an executive order. Trump announced in September that he was ending the Obama-era program, but told Congress to draft a law to continue protections for people brought to the country illegally as children  a group that has widespread public support. Read More This post contains reporting from Times staff writer Brian Bennett. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump resumes Twitter war against kneeling NFL players President Trump has resumed his Twitter war against NFL players who kneel during the national anthem to protest social injustice and racial inequality. In a tweet early Thursday, Trump replied to a supporter who shared a meme that appears to depict family members lying on the grave of a fallen soldier with the caption: This is why we stand. Show this picture to the NFL players who still kneel! Trump wrote. So beautiful....Show this picture to the NFL players who still kneel! https://t.co/tJLM1tvbvb  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 The president has denounced players who kneel during the anthem in previous tweets. Hes also called for the firing of players who do so. His latest message came amid news that the NFL finished the regular season with TV ratings that fell nearly 10% below the previous season. Analysts attribute the drop to controversies facing the league, as well as changing viewing habits and a possible saturation point in the number of games available. Read More This post contains reporting from Times staff writers Stephen Battaglio and Alex Wigglesworth. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump credits himself with facilitating talks between North and South Korea By Associated Press President Trump says his tough stance on nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula is helping push North Korea and South Korea to talk. Trump tweeted early Thursday: With all of the failed experts weighing in, does anybody really believe that talks and dialogue would be going on between North and South Korea right now if I wasnt firm, strong and willing to commit our total might against the North. Fools, but talks are a good thing!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 That assertion is in conflict with some of the presidents own statements. Last year, he ridiculed Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for talking about negotiations with the North. This week, Trump seemed open to the possibility of an inter-Korean dialogue after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un made a rare overture toward South Korea in a New Years Day address. But Trumps ambassador to the United Nations insisted that talks wont be meaningful unless the North is getting rid of its nuclear weapons. The overture about talks came after Trump and Kim traded more bellicose claims about their nuclear weapons. In his New Years Day address, Kim repeated fiery nuclear threats against the United States. Kim said he has a nuclear button on his office desk and warned that the whole territory of the U.S. is within the range of our nuclear strike. Trump mocked that assertion Tuesday evening in a tweet. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

After disbanding his vote fraud panel, Trump still says voting system is rigged By Brian Bennett One day after disbanding his troubled voter fraud commission without any findings of fraud, President Trump continued to call the U.S. voting system rigged and said states should require that Americans have voter-identification cards. In two tweets on Thursday morning, Trump blamed the commissions failure on the lack of cooperation from mostly Democrat States that refused to hand over voter rolls because they know that many people are voting illegally. However, voting supervisors in Republican-led states refused as well, objecting on privacy and other grounds. Many mostly Democrat States refused to hand over data from the 2016 Election to the Commission On Voter Fraud. They fought hard that the Commission not see their records or methods because they know that many people are voting illegally. System is rigged, must go to Voter I.D.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 As Americans, you need identification, sometimes in a very strong and accurate form, for almost everything you do.....except when it comes to the most important thing, VOTING for the people that run your country. Push hard for Voter Identification!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 Despite Trumps assertions, analysts have not found evidence of widespread voter fraud. Trump created the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity in May after alleging, without proof, that millions of illegal votes were cast for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. Trump was elected after winning a majority in the electoral college, but the nationwide count showed Clinton received nearly 3 million more votes. The commission sought personal data on voters across the country and faced mounting lawsuits in recent months over privacy concerns. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump touts another good day for stocks, credits tax cut By Associated Press President Trump touted another good day for the stock market Wednesday in a tweet. Stock Market had another good day but, now that the Tax Cut Bill has passed, we have tremendous upward potential. Dow just short of 25,000, a number that few thought would be possible this soon into my administration. Also, unemployment went down to 4.1%. Only getting better!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 Big gains for technology and healthcare stocks helped U.S. indexes set records again Wednesday. Some analysts attributed the surge to investor enthusiasm for Trumps $1.5-trillion tax cut. All told, Wall Street analysts estimate the tax package should boost earnings for companies in the Standard & Poors 500 index by roughly 8% this year. Thats much more generous than the average tax cut of 1.6% that middle-class families will receive, according to the Tax Policy Center. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 The public has been less enthusiastic about the tax law. A Monmouth University poll last month found that nearly half of Americans disapproved of it, with only 26% in support. Still, as Trump also noted on Twitter, some workers have seen a benefit: So far, dozens of companies have announced bonuses and higher minimum wages as a result of the tax cut. AT&T, Comcast, Bank of America, and American Airlines have all pledged to pay $1,000 bonuses to their employees. Some 40 U.S. companies have responded to President Trumps tax cut and reform victory in Congress last year by handing out bonuses up to $2,000, increases in 401k matches and spending on charity, a much higher number than previously known. https://t.co/bmWrwWzxMR  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 Investors also appear less concerned than many politicians about how the additional profits will be used. The Trump administration says it expects companies will plow much of the extra profit back into their businesses, purchasing more software, machinery, and other equipment. Those investments will make workers more productive and provide a key boost to the economys long-run growth. They should also boost wages and salaries for employees. Opponents of the tax law respond that companies are more likely to pass the windfall on to shareholders in the form of higher dividend payments and share buybacks, which raise the price of those shares still in investors hands. Previous cuts in corporate tax rates, in the United States and overseas, havent always led to higher wages. For Wall Street, its all good, at least in the short run. Most analysts take the view that either way, companies and the economy will benefit. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump reacts to death of Mormon Church president By Associated Press President Trump mourned the death of Mormon Church leader Thomas S. Monson on Wednesday evening. Trump tweeted a link to a statement in which he said that Monson demonstrated wisdom, inspired leadership, and great compassion and delivered a message of optimism, forgiveness, and faith. Melania and I are deeply saddened by the death of Thomas S. Monson, a beloved President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints...https://t.co/ETD3fWtfU3  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018 A church bishop at the age of 22, Monson became the youngest church apostle ever in 1963 at the age of 36. He served as a counselor for three church presidents before assuming the role of the top leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in February 2008. After a life of church service, Monson died Tuesday at his home in Salt Lake City, according to church spokesman Eric Hawkins. He was 90. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump tweets that Iranian protesters will see great U.S. support at the appropriate time By Associated Press President Trump continued to express support for Irans anti-government protesters on Wednesday. In a tweet, Trump commended the protesters and pledged that the United States will support them at the appropriate time. Such respect for the people of Iran as they try to take back their corrupt government. You will see great support from the United States at the appropriate time!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018 Trumps tweet Wednesday morning came as Iranian Ambassador Gholamali Khoshroo sent a letter to United Nations officials complaining that Washington was intervening in a grotesque way in Irans internal affairs. The President and Vice-President of the United States, in their numerous absurd tweets, incited Iranians to engage in disruptive acts, the ambassador wrote to the U.N. Security Council president and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The U.S. didnt immediately respond to the letter, which maintains that Washington has crossed every limit in flouting rules and principles of international law governing the civilized conduct of international relations. At least 21 people have been killed and hundreds arrested in Iran during a week of anti-government protests and unrest over economic woes and official corruption. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people took part in counter-demonstrations Wednesday backing the clerically overseen government, which has said enemies of Iran are fomenting the protests. Trump has unleashed a series of tweets in recent days backing the protesters, saying Iran is failing at every level and declaring that it is time for change in the Islamic Republic. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump congratulates Sen. Orrin Hatch upon news of his retirement By Associated Press President Trump congratulated Sen. Orrin Hatch for an absolutely incredible career upon news of Hatchs impending retirement. In a tweet Tuesday afternoon, Trump called Hatch a tremendous supporter and wrote that he will be greatly missed in the Senate. Congratulations to Senator Orrin Hatch on an absolutely incredible career. He has been a tremendous supporter, and I will never forget the (beyond kind) statements he has made about me as President. He is my friend and he will be greatly missed in the U.S. Senate! pic.twitter.com/0VjzLEeHTl  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 Hatchs decision to retire from the Senate after four decades lets the Utah Republican walk away at the height of his power after helping to push through an overhaul of the tax code and persuading Trump to downsize two national monuments. Retirement also preserves the 83-year-olds legacy by allowing him to avoid a bruising reelection battle that would have broken his promise not to seek an eighth term. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump tweet exaggerates progress in improving veterans care By Associated Press President Trump played up tremendous progress in improving care for veterans in his first year on Tuesday in a tweet. His message linked to an Instagram video describing eight accomplishments that show Trump is fighting for our veterans. But it overstates the impact of these steps. We will not rest until all of Americas GREAT VETERANS can receive the care they so richly deserve. Tremendous progress has been made in a short period of time. Keep up the great work @SecShulkin @DeptVetAffairs! https://t.co/ir25vW15hx pic.twitter.com/OtuzIgxMn6  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 Of the eight achievements cited, two are ceremonial proclamations recognizing National Veterans and Military Families Month and National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Two are pieces of legislation that extended the troubled Veterans Choice program on a temporary basis. This became necessary because the Trump administration repeatedly miscalculated the amount of taxpayer dollars available to pay for care from private doctors outside the Veterans Affairs system when veterans had to endure long waits for treatment at VA medical centers. The departments poor budget planning caught lawmakers off guard. A fifth claim involves telehealth, a step letting doctors practice medicine across state lines using digital technology. Announced in August, it has yet to take full effect because a proposed VA regulation hasnt been completed. The VA wants authority to practice across state lines to come from legislation, not a regulation. On Wednesday, the Senate approved a telehealth measure that now goes to the House. A sixth claim refers to legislation that streamlines the appeals process for disability compensation claims within the VA. This step has had limited effect so far because it applies to new disability claims, not the 470,000 pending claims. The last two initiatives make it easier for the VA to discipline employees. The department has pointed to more than 1,300 employees who have been fired under Trumps watch. Because their infractions are not detailed in public documents, the effect on veterans care is not fully known. Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump unleashes his first tweetstorm of 2018 By Noah Bierman President Trump clearly didnt resolve to change his Twitter habits this year. With nine disparate tweets over three hours on Tuesday morning, the first working day of 2018, Trump continued to exploit social media to be the most aggressive commentator in chief in American history. For any other president, his posts would have made for a monumental day of (mis-)statements. Yet for Trump, the series  attacks on political foes and media, provocations of foreign leaders and self-praise for events he had nothing to do with  was all but unremarkable. His Twitter barrage  sent between 7:09 a.m. and 10:16 a.m.  reflected a familiar gamut after nearly a year in office: Attacks on political foes: Nearly 14 months after his election, Trump called for the jailing of Huma Abedin, Crooked Hillary Clintons top aid (his misspelling, another occasional feature of Trump tweets). Crooked Hillary Clintons top aid, Huma Abedin, has been accused of disregarding basic security protocols. She put Classified Passwords into the hands of foreign agents. Remember sailors pictures on submarine? Jail! Deep State Justice Dept must finally act? Also on Comey & others  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 In the same tweet, he disparaged the Deep State Justice Dept, headed of course by his appointees, calling on it to act against James B. Comey, the FBI director he fired for investigating the Russia thing. Diplomatic provocations: Trump again called North Korean leader Kim Jong Un Rocket man, ridiculed the volatile nuclear-armed foe for recent military defections and openly speculated about potential talks between North and South Korea. Sanctions and other pressures are beginning to have a big impact on North Korea. Soldiers are dangerously fleeing to South Korea. Rocket man now wants to talk to South Korea for first time. Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not - we will see!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 Perhaps that is good news, perhaps not  we will see! Trump wrote. Later Tuesday, Trump tweeted: North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un just stated that the Nuclear Button is on his desk at all times. Will someone from his depleted and food starved regime please inform him that I too have a Nuclear Button, but it is a much bigger & more powerful one than his, and my Button works!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018 Also later Tuesday, Trump tweeted an attack on Pakistan, his second in as many days, and added a new one against Palestinians: It's not only Pakistan that we pay billions of dollars to for nothing, but also many other countries, and others. As an example, we pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect. They dont even want to negotiate a long overdue...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 ...peace treaty with Israel. We have taken Jerusalem, the toughest part of the negotiation, off the table, but Israel, for that, would have had to pay more. But with the Palestinians no longer willing to talk peace, why should we make any of these massive future payments to them?  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 Undermining media: Trump offered Congratulations! to A.G. Sulzberger, who took over as publisher of the New York Times this week. The Failing New York Times has a new publisher, A.G. Sulzberger. Congratulations! Here is a last chance for the Times to fulfill the vision of its Founder, Adolph Ochs, to give the news impartially, without fear or FAVOR, regardless of party, sect, or interests involved. Get...  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 ....impartial journalists of a much higher standard, lose all of your phony and non-existent sources, and treat the President of the United States FAIRLY, so that the next time I (and the people) win, you wont have to write an apology to your readers for a job poorly done! GL  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 But the two-part post was really yet another slam against a perceived media foe: Trump said the paper had a last chance to fulfill its journalistic mission, and accused it of relying on phony sources and substandard reporters  just days after he granted another exclusive interview to the paper. As a bonus, the tweet contained a recycled falsehood, that the paper apologized after the election for reporting on him unfairly. It didnt. Trump later said on Twitter that he would soon announce the most dishonest & corrupt media awards of the year. Stay tuned! I will be announcing THE MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR on Monday at 5:00 oclock. Subjects will cover Dishonesty & Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media. Stay tuned!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018 The president also tweeted a quote from Fox Business Networks Lou Dobbs Tonight, which aired a segment praising Trumps first-year accomplishments. Dobbs reportedly joined Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Sunday for a gala to celebrate New Years Eve. President Trump has something now he didnt have a year ago, that is a set of accomplishments that nobody can deny. The accomplishments are there, look at his record, he has had a very significant first year. @LouDobbs Show,David Asman & Ed Rollins  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 3, 2018 Taking credit: Trump congratulated himself for policing the border with Mexico, an area where his policies and anti-immigration rhetoric are believed to have had some effect on reducing illegal crossings. Thank you to Brandon Judd of the National Border Patrol Council for your kind words on how well we are doing at the Border. We will be bringing in more & more of your great folks and will build the desperately needed WALL! @foxandfriends  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 He took credit for employee bonuses by companies after he signed Republican tax cuts into law last month. Companies are giving big bonuses to their workers because of the Tax Cut Bill. Really great!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 But the jaw-dropper was Trump congratulating himself for planes not crashing. Since taking office I have been very strict on Commercial Aviation. Good news - it was just reported that there were Zero deaths in 2017, the best and safest year on record!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 It was the safest year on record worldwide, but the American streak without commercial jet passenger deaths goes back to 2009. Trump, who has promoted deregulation as one of his top accomplishments, has not signed off on any new airline safety regulations. The White House pointed to new security screening of passengers, to electronic devices to prevent terrorist attacks and to Trumps support for privatizing air traffic control  a proposal that has gotten nowhere in Congress. Falsehoods: Trump said President Obama, in brokering the 2015 nuclear arms limitation deal with Iran, foolishly gave money to the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime. He didnt. The people of Iran are finally acting against the brutal and corrupt Iranian regime. All of the money that President Obama so foolishly gave them went into terrorism and into their pockets. The people have little food, big inflation and no human rights. The U.S. is watching!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 The nuclear deal, which included major U.S. allies as signators, released Irans own funds that had long been frozen. Trumps art of the deal: When Trump sees a big deal looming, he often blasts the other side  to gain leverage, as hes written. This week he resumes a showdown with Democratic lawmakers over funding the government and immigration protections for so-called Dreamers, who were brought to the country illegally as children. Democrats are doing nothing for DACA - just interested in politics. DACA activists and Hispanics will go hard against Dems, will start falling in love with Republicans and their President! We are about RESULTS.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 2, 2018 Trump, who in September ordered a gradual end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, sought to shift blame for the resulting controversy, saying Democrats are doing nothing for DACA and are just interested in politics. Trump has insisted that any help for Dreamers be paired with funding for a border wall and a crackdown on legal immigration. Democrats, and some Republicans, are opposed. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

In tweet, Trump suggests U.S. will withdraw financial assistance to Pakistan By Shashank Bengali Pakistan lashed out Monday after President Trump accused its leaders of lies & deceit and suggested the United States would withdraw financial assistance to the nuclear-armed nation it once saw as a key ally against terrorism. It was the presidents latest broadside against Pakistan after a speech in August in which he demanded its leaders crack down on the safe havens enjoyed by Taliban militants fighting U.S.-backed forces in neighboring Afghanistan. The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools. They give safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help. No more!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 1, 2018 U.S. Ambassador David Hale was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to discuss the presidents statement, U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire said. Pakistan lodged a strongly worded protest and asked for clarification about Trumps comments, according to two foreign office officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Pakistans prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, called a Cabinet meeting for Tuesday and a meeting of the National Security Committee on Wednesday to discuss Trumps New Years Day tweet. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Trump continues to tweet in support of Iranian protesters By Laura King President Trump expressed renewed support Sunday for protesters in Iran, declaring that people are finally getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism. In a tweet from his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago, the president said the nationwide economic protests that began on Thursday  and have taken on wider political overtones as they have grown in size  were a signal that Iranians will not take it any longer. Big protests in Iran. The people are finally getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism. Looks like they will not take it any longer. The USA is watching very closely for human rights violations!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2017 Trump has tweeted about the protests for three days straight as Iranians took to the streets despite a heavy police presence, tear gas and scores of arrests. The defiance gained urgency after two people were reported shot to death in the city of Dorud, about 200 miles southwest of Tehran. As the conflict escalated, Iranian authorities on Sunday slapped a temporary ban on Instagram and the messaging app Telegram, which were widely used to fan protest fervor. Iran, the Number One State of Sponsored Terror with numerous violations of Human Rights occurring on an hourly basis, has now closed down the Internet so that peaceful demonstrators cannot communicate. Not good!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2017 Irans leaders already are casting Trumps increasingly effusive expressions of support for the demonstrators as opportunistic meddling and are painting the demonstrators as foreign pawns, adopting a strategy that some analysts say could jeopardize the legitimacy of the nascent antigovernment protests. Read More Facebook

Twitter

Show more sharing options Share Close extra sharing options Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Email

Copy Link URL Copied!

Print

Advertisement

Trump tweets condolences after Colorado deputies are shot in ambush, one fatally By Associated Press A man fired more than 100 rounds at sheriffs deputies in Colorado early Sunday, killing one and injuring four others, before being fatally shot himself in what authorities called an ambush. Two civilians were also injured. President Trump expressed sorrow, writing on Twitter: My deepest condolences to the victims of the terrible shooting in Douglas County @DCSheriff, and their families. We love our police and law enforcement - God Bless them all! #LESM  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2017 Douglas County Sheriff Tony Spurlock said deputies came under fire almost
Republicans, in a shift after Las Vegas massacre, are open to considering a gun limit -- on bump stocks

The Las Vegas massacre has forced a breach in congressional Republicans solid opposition to gun restrictions, prompting many, from party leaders on down, to say they will consider banning bump stocks that turn assault rifles into virtual machine guns.

The National Rifle Assn., to which most Republicans are loyal and which had been silent since the gunmans attack Sunday night, on Thursday in a statement said it could back such limits -- as a federal regulation, not law.

The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations. its statement on Thursday said.

The NRAs blessing will probably increase the number of Republicans willing to back restrictions, but if those limits come in the form of regulations from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), rather than in a law, Democrats are certain to object.

Just Wednesday, when California Sen. Dianne Feinstein introduced legislation to ban bump stocks by law, only fellow Democrats joined with her.

By Thursday, however, top GOP leaders in the House and Senate, including Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, signaled their interest in working on legislation that that could limit access to the devices.

Clearly thats something we need to look into, Ryan told MSNBC host Hugh Hewitt in an interview scheduled to air this weekend.

Senators on Thursday morning privately discussed ways they could tackle the issue as they met for routine business.

I will tell you that the unique aspect of the bump stock and how you would literally transform a semiautomatic weapon into an automatic weapon is something that I think bears looking into, Cornyn told Texas reporters on a conference call.

He has asked Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley of Iowa to convene a hearing and look into it.

Even Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus of conservative hard-liners, told reporters earlier in the week hed be willing to consider banning bump stocks, if the Senate passes a bill and sends it to the House.

The shift is notable for Republicans who, under great pressure from the NRA and other gun rights groups, have resisted past efforts at gun control, even after some of the most devastating mass shootings in the United States.

Coming after the Las Vegas shooting, which left 58 dead and hundreds wounded in what authorities said is the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, the movement may indicate the potential limits of the gun lobbys reach into politics and policy.

Polls show Americans overwhelmingly want measures that could curb gun violence and pressure has mounted as cultural figures, including late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel, have delivered heart-wrenching criticisms of congressional inaction.

Democrats, who have at times splintered on firearms issues as conservative-state lawmakers joined Republicans to defeat gun-safety bills, welcomed the changed outlook.

They have called on President Trump to cut across partisan lines and push Congress toward legislation to reduce gun violence that polls show most Americans would support.

Will the president stand up? said Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer of New York. The president has a choice.

Many Democrats, however, will not want to limit action to bump stocks.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco said bump stock legislation was one approach, but no substitute for a background check bill that she said would have bipartisan support in the House if Ryan would allow a vote.

It really is all up to the speaker, she said. Is he going to bring the bill to the floor?

At the same time, lawmakers were skeptical that initial interest in limited bipartisan legislation would translate into enough actual votes to write the restriction into law.

We need to move Republicans from being open to the idea to being willing to actually work on it, said Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, a Democrat who has become a leader on firearms safety measures since the 2012 killings of 20 first-graders and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn.

One key Republican, Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, who co-sponsored a bipartisan background check bill that was defeated a few years ago, was noncommittal Thursday. He said he was just learning about bump stocks and needed more information.

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas told reporters it was too soon, as the investigation in Las Vegas was just underway, to consider legislation.

Lawmakers, though, appeared concerned that the device offers a way to get around the existing ban on automatic weapons, which have been outlawed for years except for military use.

In the House, several military veterans, led by Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois, sent a letter to federal officials asking them to reconsider how they regulate the devices. During the Obama administration, the ATF authorized use of the stocks.

This is definitely an area were going to look [at], Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield said on Fox News.

A number of lawmakers, including Ryan, an avid hunter, said they were unfamiliar with bump stocks before the Las Vegas shooting. The alleged gunman appears to have used the device for rapid shooting.

Read More
The United States' Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations, Kurt Volker, is ready to discuss any issues pertaining to the Ukraine settlement process, including the delivery of so-called lethal weapons to Kyiv, with Russian presidential aide Vladislav Surkov.

The U.S. is prepared to discuss anything Surkov wants; that is the essence of the meeting, Volker told the online publication Gazeta.ru in an interview.

As to whether the delivery of lethal weapons from the U.S. may destabilize the already dangerous situation in Donbas, Volker said that Article 51 of the UN Charter gave every country the right to defend itself and that all of the hostilities are taking place on Ukrainian territory. He said he believes that Ukraine is entitled to protect itself.

On the subject of Kyiv's appeal either to modify or cancel the Minsk Agreements, Volker said that the U.S. wants those accords to be fulfilled, rather than rejected.

The U.S. hopes that consultations with Russia may set things in motion and help start the implementation of the Minsk Agreements and end the conflict, Volker said.

The implementation of the Minsk Agreements has not been efficient enough, he said.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that the Kremlin was not expecting the meeting between Surkov and Volker, due to take place in Belgrade on October 7, to bear any fruit.
Surveys seeking feedback about Burbank Unifieds dress code were distributed to faculty members at John Burroughs and Burbank high schools this week after a group of students told education leaders the policy is sexist against girls.

Louie Kahn, student body president at Burroughs High who is spearheading the information-gathering process, shared an update Thursday night during a school board meeting.

The survey was emailed to faculty members at the two high schools this week, Kahn said, and he has already received results from 75 teachers.

In an earlier interview, Kahn said students received the survey Sept. 19 through a mobile app, and it received responses from hundreds of students in under two hours.

Since then, 1,056 students from Burroughs High and Burbank High responded to the survey with the majority of results coming from Burroughs students who feel the dress code is too strict.

Kahn said 47.5% responses were from girls who have been cited for dress-code violations and 5.8% were from boys.

At Burbank Unified, clothing must not detract from the academic environment and cannot promote the use of illegal substances or alcohol and should be void of profanity and violence. Low-cut tops, spaghetti-strap shirts, short skirts and short shorts are not permitted, nor are beanies and hats.

If a student wears inappropriate clothing on campus, they are asked to change or a parent is asked to bring appropriate clothing.

Results showed the top three reasons students reported receiving dress-code violations were for showing shoulders, wearing spaghetti-strap shirts and short shorts.

The majority of students also supported allowing open-toed shoes or sandals, short shorts and cut-off garments with certain regulations, Kahn added.

Steve Ferguson, school board president, commended Kahn for his work in providing the student perspective.

Weve never done something like this in the school district in terms of really going out and talking about a specific policy. Id like to give it that credence and respect, Ferguson said.

Once the data is all gathered, Ferguson said school officials will discuss holding two readings on a proposed amendment, offering time for community members to also weigh in.

In September, eight local students shared their personal experiences dealing with the dress-code policy during the public-comment period of a school board meeting.

Burroughs High student Virginia Begakis said she was pulled out of an honors class early last month because she wore a shirt with straps that were considered too thin on a 110-degree day.

School is telling us female bodies are distracting, and its wrong, Begakis said, countering that the actual distraction is when teachers interrupt class to send a student away to change.

Supt. Matt Hill and John Paramo, district director of secondary education, recently visited Burroughs Highs Associated Student Body to explain how to create and implement policies.

priscella.vega@latimes.com

Twitter: @vegapriscella
As many law enforcement agencies across the nation have begun to include pink vehicles into their fleets as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, the Burbank Police Department decided to take a shiny and chrome approach.

With the help of West Coast Customs, Burbank police unveiled a pink-chrome Ford Explorer that will make special appearances at city events throughout the month. Called the Pink Car Project, the vehicle is a way to raise breast cancer awareness and encourage people to undergo regular screenings to detect the disease early.

According to the U.S. Department of Health, there is a one-in-eight chance a woman will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in her life.

Very few families can escape it, Burbank Police Chief Scott LaChasse said. We got a really vested interest in making sure that we can prevent, detect and take care of cancer.

Ryan Friedlinghaus, chief executive of West Coast Customs, said the customization work was done pro bono by the company and that some employees even donated their time to work on the car. He said the choice of the chrome wrapping was to help Burbanks vehicle standout from those of other police departments.

Definitely the pink chrome was something I thought we needed to do because it pops, he said. When you do the chrome wraps and add a tint to it, it just makes a huge difference.

In addition to the chrome wrapping, the police cruiser is also adorned with pink tire stickers branded with Burbank PD.

When the vehicle is on display, community members will have the chance to sign the chrome wrapping with messages of support for those affected by breast cancer. LaChasse said at the end of the month the wrapping will then be removed and put on display at the police station in order to showcase those messages.

andy.nguyen@latimes.com

Twitter: @Andy_Truc
The Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet will join cellist Johannes Moser for a concert to launch Segerstrom Center for the Arts 2017-18 Chamber Series.

Pacifica Quartet will present the West Coast premiere of Splendid Hopes Monday with a program featuring two cello works  one contemporary, the other classical  in the Samueli Theater.

The evening will begin with Splendid Hopes, a composition written by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Julia Wolfe, who is known for her blend of minimalism and rock in classical forms.

A letter composer Franz Schubert wrote near the end of his life inspired Wolfes work. Wolfe wrote the piece for Moser and the Pacifica Quartet, inspired by the power and depth of their playing.

The evening will also feature Schuberts String Quintet in C Major D. 956.

Were offering something quite avant-garde, said Simin Ganatra, Pacifica first violinist. When Julia said shed write this piece, just that alone makes it important.

When we first played it, our initial thought was, This is difficult,  Ganatra said with a laugh. She really knows how to write well for pieces that have so many colors and textures in continuous motion.

Elizabeth and Justus Schlichting, who are longtime supporters of the Segerstrom Center, commissioned the composition.

Founded in 1994, Pacifica Quartet is considered one of the leading chamber ensembles. The group became the quartet-in-residence at Indiana Universitys Jacobs School of Music in March 2012 and previously performed as the quartet-in-residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. A slightly different lineup won the Grammy Award for Best Chamber Music Performance in 2009.

In addition to Ganatra, the quartet is composed of cellist Brandon Vamos, violist Guy Ben-Ziony and violinist Austin Hartman.

Ganatra said she hopes the audience feels a range of emotions when listening to the works.

Sometimes, I think when people are listening to new music, they have this funny concept of trying to understand it intellectually, Ganatra said. I think its important not to think too much  let it come to you and be open to that experience.

If You Go

What: Pacifica Quartet with cellist Johannes Moser

When: 8 p.m. Monday

Where: Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Samueli Theater, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

Cost: Tickets start at $29

Information: (714) 556-2787 or visit scfta.org

kathleen.luppi@latimes.com

Twitter: @KathleenLuppi
Costa Mesa police officers had no way of knowing that a 65-year-old man who died after they arrested him last year had been in serious need of medical attention, the Orange County district attorneys office said in a letter released Wednesday.

The letter, sent earlier this week to Costa Mesa Police Chief Rob Sharpnack, clears officers of criminal culpability in the death of Fermin Hernandez, who had been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving.

Hernandez was driving a Mitsubishi Mirage west on 16th Street in Costa Mesa around 10 p.m. May 2, 2015, when the vehicle ran a red light at Newport Boulevard and an SUV broadsided it, the letter states.

After the crash, a paramedic examined Hernandez and recommended that he be taken to a hospital, even though his only visible injury was a small cut on a wrist, according to the district attorneys office.

Hernandez declined medical help and signed a waiver stating he had decided to disregard the paramedics advice, according to the letter.

The paramedic reportedly smelled alcohol on Hernandezs breath, prompting a Costa Mesa police officer to perform a sobriety test and arrest Hernandez on suspicion of driving under the influence, the letter states.

After two officers loaded Hernandez into the back of a police car, he appeared to slump to the left and start falling asleep, according to the district attorneys office.

When a police sergeant and an officer asked if he was all right, Hernandez said he was tired, complained about the handcuffs and said he couldnt sit up straight. He also reportedly told them he didnt think he had been hurt in the crash and that he didnt have any medical conditions they should know about, according to the letter.

Shortly after, when Hernandez complained that the seat belt was choking him, the officer driving the police car pulled over and adjusted the belt so it wasnt near Hernandezs neck, the letter states.

A few minutes later, when the officer asked if he was OK, Hernandez didnt respond, according to the district attorneys office. After trying to wake him up, the officer called for paramedics, the letter states.

When paramedics examined Hernandez the second time, they found bruises up and down his body, according to the letter.

Hernandez was taken to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana, where he underwent emergency surgery.

He died there May 13 of internal injuries suffered in the crash, including lacerations to his spleen and liver and fractures to a rib, his clavicle and his lower spine, the letter states.

An autopsy also found chronic conditions such as pancreatitis and cirrhosis of the liver.

Shortly after Hernandezs death, the district attorneys office launched an investigation, as it typically does when someone dies in police custody in Orange County.

The letter to Sharpnack officially closes that inquiry.

jeremiah.dobruck2@latimes.com

Twitter: @jeremiahdobruck
A two-day gun and Western Americana show is scheduled for the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa beginning Saturday, despite concern from some people about the events timing in the wake of Sundays mass shooting in Las Vegas.

The Crossroads of the West Gun Show  billed as the largest gun show in California  has been held at the fairgrounds for 35 years.

For the record: An earlier version of this article stated that the Crossroads of the West Gun Show has held annually at the O.C. fairgrounds for 35 years. The gun show has been held more than once a year at the fairgrounds during that time.

But Bob Templeton, the shows chief executive, said Thursday that hes received about a half-dozen calls and emails from groups who say its insensitive to have a gun show in light of the Las Vegas shooting that left 59 people  including the gunman  dead and hundreds wounded.

Templeton expressed sympathy for the victims and their families and referred to the shooter, Stephen Paddock, as a madman.

Our entire gun show staff extends our thoughts and our prayers to those who lost loved ones and to those who are being treated for their injuries by Las Vegas medical professionals, Templeton said.

An OC Fair & Event Center spokeswoman said Thursday that the center has received two complaints about the show, one via phone and the other through social media.

Templeton said the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Orange County Sheriffs Department will be at the show  as is typical  as a safety precaution and to make sure all sales are aboveboard. He added that the event complies with all California gun laws, which are some of the strictest in the nation.

Templeton said he has no plans to cancel the event, which is set to run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.

Theres no direct connection to what were doing and what happened in Las Vegas, although many people would like to make that linkage, he said.

About 12,000 people are expected to visit the show. Guests can peruse collections of antique and military-style firearms as well as purchase guns, ammunition and accessories, Templeton said.

Bump fire stocks, which Paddock had equipped on semiautomatic rifles in the Las Vegas attack, and automatic weapons are illegal in California and will not be sold at the event, Templeton said.

Bump fire stocks, also known as bump stocks, can be fitted on semiautomatic firearms to make them fire more like fully automatic weapons. U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Wednesday proposed legislation that would ban the device nationwide.

Republican Party leaders and the National Rifle Assn. said Thursday that they will consider limiting bump stocks, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semiautomatic rifles to function like fully automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations, the group said.

Templeton said there are two sides to the story on gun control, and perhaps there should be further debate.

He added, however, that now is not the time to accommodate those enemies of the Second Amendment who attempt to capitalize on this and every national tragedy which involves guns.

Those who advocate regulating, restricting and eventually eliminating the private ownership of firearms in America have wasted no time in voicing their loud and shrill demands for more gun control, he said.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
A man accused of stabbing a Costa Mesa woman and her two sons told her he intended to kill her when she found him burglarizing her home last year, a police detective testified in court Wednesday.

Det. Jose Morales said during a preliminary hearing for the suspect, Israel Larios, that the intruder put one of his fingers to his lips and shushed the woman when she found him standing in her sons bedroom in their apartment on Wallace Avenue.

The man told the mother in Spanish, Shut up, Im here to kill you, before reaching into his sweatshirt and brandishing a knife, Morales testified.

Morales said the man grabbed the womans left forearm and swiped at her stomach with the knife before she screamed for her sons.

Larios, 21, of Costa Mesa, was arrested in connection with the Oct. 18 attack that left the mother and her two sons, ages 11 and 17, with stab wounds.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Cheryl Leininger ruled Wednesday that there is enough evidence for Larios to stand trial. His next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 19.

Larios is charged with three counts of attempted murder, three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of burglary and a count of criminal threats, all felonies. He also faces possible sentencing enhancements on allegations of personally using a deadly weapon, inflicting great bodily injury and attempted premeditated murder, according to court records.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Larios is being held in the Theo Lacy jail facility in Orange with bail set at $1.52 million, according to jail records.

On Wednesday, he appeared in a Westminster courtroom in chains and an orange jumpsuit for the hearing. Periodically, he turned to look at his family.

Costa Mesa detectives testified that the woman and her sons had just returned home from running errands when the mother confronted the intruder. Her shouts for help prompted her sons to run to her aid.

A struggle ensued and the mother and two boys were stabbed. Det. George Maridakis testified that during the scuffle the 17-year-old heard the intruder say, Ill get my gang and Ill kill you.

The mother and the 17-year-old were taken to Orange County Global Medical Center in Santa Ana for treatment. The 11-year-old son was taken to Childrens Hospital of Orange County in Orange, where he underwent surgery for multiple stab wounds to his torso, authorities said.

Officer Jinna Johnson, the first police officer on the scene, testified that she saw a man matching the suspects description fleeing the Westside apartment complex.

She chased the man to a nearby apartment complex and detained him until additional officers arrived. When she handcuffed him, she noticed he had blood on his hands, she said.

He was just very calm, Johnson said.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
Zhifeng Huang is a Chinese national and a graduate student at UC Irvine. Every Friday, he goes to Voyagers Bible Church to learn a little English  for free.

Huang, 25, is one of nearly 300 people who have attended English as a second language (ESL) classes at the Irvine church, which hosts them weekly as part of its Christian ministry and outreach. The teachers are all volunteers and attendees of the church.

This class encourages me to communicate with people in English, said Huang, who has been in the U.S. since the spring. Also, I think my communication has been improved. Its very important. I need English to read the newspaper, discuss class with my instructor, and also living life.

Organizers of the Voyagers ESL classes call the program H.O.M.E.  Helping Others Master English. The ESL program recently kicked off its second year at the church, and word of mouth about the free English classes quickly spread.

In a city where the population has changed drastically over the past 35 years  in 2015, Asians comprised 45.7% of Irvines population, compared with 8% in 1980  the ESL classes are a critical learning opportunity for recent arrivals who are struggling to fit in.

Jim Gustafson is the director of H.O.M.E., one of 24 ESL instruction programs operating under the umbrella of South Coast Literacy Council, a nonprofit that has provided free ESL classes to South Orange County since 1970.

We have a heterogeneous mix here, said Gustafson, a retired executive in medical devices and resident of Irvines Woodbridge neighborhood. These are husbands, wives, moms and dads. Theyre mostly very recent immigrants whose English is rudimentary at best.

Roughly 40% of the ESL class attendees at Voyagers are Chinese, Gustafson said, adding that students hail from 25 countries, six continents and speak 16 languages. They come from as far as Ukraine, India, Turkey, Vietnam, Myanmar, Japan, Brazil and Iran.

We do it as a Christian ministry, Gustafson said. We dont ask about immigration status; we dont care about it. Were serving humans who are living in the Irvine area. They want to learn English, and we want to help them. Our motto is: Love our neighbor, welcome the stranger and serve the city, and thats what were doing.

As the population in Irvine and Orange County has shifted to majority non-white, there has also been an increase in ESL classes in churches, community centers and other non-academic settings.

They need English, said Barbara Looney, president of South Coast Literacy Council. I see that theyre gaining, and were helping them integrate with the community, and the students are so appreciative.

Natalia Bilivitina, a native of Ukraine, found the H.O.M.E. program by Googling free English lessons in Irvine. Having learned some English in Ukraine, she placed in an intermediate class.

I want to improve my English skills, said Bilivitina, 32. I have a problem with my English-speaking level. I can understand English speakers, I read different English books, I watch movies just in English, but I have no practice in my English speaking.

Queenie Xia, a stay-at-home mother of two children, heard about the ESL classes from a friend.

I like English, said Xia, 29, who immigrated from China six months ago, but I need to practice and learn more.

The classes, taught by one or two trained instructors, emphasize conversational English and important life skills, such as going to the doctor, ordering food at a restaurant or talking to a childs teacher. About once a month, all the students meet in a large-group presentation, where topics such as police and community safety, emergency medical care and American holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter) are discussed.

In addition to churches, South Coast Literacy Council sponsors free ESL classes at libraries, community centers, mosques and apartment complexes. The ESL centers range from St. Pauls Episcopal Church in Tustin to El Toro Library in Lake Forest to Scout Hut in San Juan Capistrano. A list of locations and more information can be found at southcoastliteracy.com.

Joshua Tan, 41, of Irvine attends Voyagers Bible Church and serves as a translator for Chinese speakers who are struggling to learn English.

I empathize with their struggles, because when I first came here, it was very difficult to navigate around the community, said the mental health therapist. Socially, I felt that I was isolated. I do not want anyone to feel like how I felt. We want to reduce the barriers and assist them to be successful to integrate into our community.

RICHARD CHANG is a contributor to Times Community News.
The new planned community of Montrose was such a success that, in 1915, two years after it opened, homeowners presented the developer with a silver cup to thank him for his vision in laying out the hillside streets.

Those same streets were the setting for the well-known 1950 film noir Gun Crazy.

Heres the back story: On Feb. 22, 1913, 4,000-plus prospective buyers arrived on horseback  or on horse-drawn vehicles  for the opening of the 300-acre project developed by Robert A. Walton and J. Frank Walters.

Walton, a Southerner who moved to this area after serving in the Army, had previously been a junior partner in the Frederick A. Holmes real estate company.

After Holmes retired, Walton continued the business as Holmes-Walton Co.

He and his new partner, Walters, placed a large display ad in the Feb. 21, 1913, Glendale News to inform readers that Montrose, a few minutes ride up Foothill Boulevard from Glendale, is right at the junction of the Verdugo, La Crescenta and La Canada valleys.

The ad was also directed to land speculators: Be prepared to buy a lot or two. Youve made money on your holdings in Glendale. Youll make a bigger profit if you buy at the opening prices of Montrose.

The streets, laid out in a circular pattern leading from the broad curve of Montrose Avenue, were built wide to accommodate planned street-car tracks that were to extend an existing line from Verdugo Park in Glendale to La Crescenta Avenue.

Although Montrose was to be the main shopping street, the shops never really materialized.

Carroll W. Parcher wrote in the 1957 Glendale Area History that an age-old law regarding the preferences of shoppers was rediscovered  shoppers dont care to walk uphill to visit stores.

Instead, level Honolulu Avenue became the main shopping street.

Later, those small, individually owned shops on Honolulu provided the perfect location for the 1950 movie, Gun Crazy. (Read more about the movie below.)

After his success with Montrose, Walton developed parts of La Crescenta and Oakdale (later Verdugo City).

In 1915, he was honored by the citizens with a silver cup, thanking him for making their town and their railroad a reality, as noted in the June 2017 issue of the Crescenta Valley Historical Societys Ledger.

Flash forward to May 2017 when the Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce was contacted by an antique dealer in Maine who had just purchased the cup.

Recognizing its historic value, the dealer offered to return the artifact to its geographical home. After local experts verified the cups authenticity, members of the community  along with members of the Valley Automotive Group  raised the necessary funds.

Upon arrival, the cup was displayed at a historical society meeting and a Silent Movie Night at Two Strike Park in August.

It will be placed in a protective case after some necessary conservation measures are completed.

Society President Michael Morgan, who provided much of the information about the cup, emailed his thoughts on the outcome.

This story has been embraced by the community. It meant a lot to them to bring this 102-year-old cup back home. Each week, people would come up and ask how close are we to reaching our goal. he wrote. Not much up here in Montrose in 1915, so this artifact is very important.



Readers Write:

The streets of downtown Montrose provided the setting for the 1950 film, Gun Crazy, best known for its three-minute, one-take shot of a bank robbery, filmed without cuts from the back seat of the bank robbers car.

It gives a great glimpse of what the village looked like then, according to information provided by film historian Paul Ayers for a March 2, 2007, Verdugo Views column about the movie.

The scene opens on Verdugo Road, with the car going north, then turning onto Broadview Drive.

A fast right up Market Street, past the back of the Anawalt (ex-Montrose Railway) shed, left onto westbound Honolulu, then to park at the corner of Honolulu and Ocean View Boulevard, where the bank is located. The male lead goes in to rob the bank and the female waits, Ayers said.

During this time, Ayers added, a street sign with the words Ocean View can be seen through the windshield. The female lead encounters a policeman, knocks him down as the male emerges and they take off, left onto southbound Ocean View, left on Broadview, then right onto Verdugo Road, where the scene ends.

Gun Crazy, part of this years Jewel City Noir film series, will be screened at 2 p.m. on Oct. 21 in the auditorium at the Downtown Central Library, 222 E. Harvard St. The free event is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Glendale Public Library and the Museum of Neon Art.

To RSVP, visit eventbrite.com and search for Jewel City Noir.

KATHERINE YAMADA can be reached at katherineyamada@gmail.com. or by mail at Verdugo Views, c/o Glendale News-Press, 202 W. First St., Second Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90012. Please include your name, address and phone number.
The possibility of observing the law on the special procedure of local self-government in occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions (ORDLO), the extension of which was supported by Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada, depends of Russia meeting several demands, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said

"Not one negative prediction for three years [when we refer to the acting law on local self-government in ORDLO] was true. Then and now the possibility of the law being observed depends directly on Russia, as the aggressor and occupying force, and its puppet regimes [in ORDLO]. Firstly, this is the demand on the withdrawal of Russian forces and illegal armed groups, as well as the withdrawal of military equipment from Ukraine, and, secondly, norms on compliance of political processes to the standards of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)," Poroshenko said in his address to the public, posted on his official presidential website.
That guy over there.

I was talking to my friend, Kim, as we sipped cocktails at a bar in Hollywood. She followed my gaze. The  bald  white guy? she asked, her face scrunched up in disbelief. I nodded. She raised an eyebrow and slurped on her vodka cranberry.

Some background might be helpful here. Im black and my friend Kim is white, as was the guy in question. He also shaved his head and, apparently, that threw my friend for a loop. I knew why.

Since Id known her Id mostly dated black guys. The real estate agent Id met at the LACMA summer jazz series. The actor whod given me his head shot as soon as he learned I was a TV writer. The musician who serenaded me at the Dresden between Marty and Elaynes sets. All black. And the one or two white guys in the mix had hair.

Advertisement

Are you a veteran of L.A.'s current dating scene? We want to publish your story

Two weeks later, I climbed in the passenger seat of the bald white guys truck when he picked me up from my apartment in Miracle Mile. Hmm  he drove a pickup truck. And I knew from talking to him on the phone that he was from the South.

I smiled as he told me hed made a reservation at Ammo. So far, so good. I liked that place. As we drove along, I surreptitiously glanced at him  he was wearing a nice suit, having come straight from his office to get me.

He had mentioned he was a lawyer, so Id already mentally checked the box for gainfully employed. But something else was on my mind.

Heres the truth: Race is still a thing.

No matter how advanced a society we think we are, the idea that were post-racial is laughable. Over the years working in numerous writers rooms as the only black writer, Id become a pro at deciphering comments white guys made:

More L.A. Affairs columns

Interracial relationships arent a big deal nowadays.

Translation: Id never do it but I think Halle Berrys pretty.

I have a lot of friends in interracial relationships.

Translation: Some of my friends date Asian women.

Today, kids dont care about race.

Translation: My kid listens to hip-hop.

This guy was from Georgia. The heart of Klan activity, one of my friends felt compelled to tell me. To be fair, Im from the South. Raised in Florida, I know about chewing tobacco, gator farms, 2 Live Crew, yall, and the Confederate flag. For that reason, I started getting nervous about this guy.

What if I were part of some Dixieland fantasy of his? After we were seated I asked him how many black girls hed dated. Why? he asked. Because maybe black girls are your thing, I said. I dont want to be part of your chocolate fantasy.

Uh  I just think youre hot, he said.

We continued dating, and soon we were exclusive. This didnt come without challenges.

Whenever we went somewhere with a lot of black people in attendance, I got the side eye from some of them. I understood. My dating outside the race was seen as a betrayal. Their thought bubble hovered, clear as day: After everything theyve done to us, youre going to date one of them?

And some days, it was tough because I felt guilty for not completing the picture of the strong black couple. Another time, my boyfriend got a call from his ex-girlfriend. I heard youre dating a black girl. Yep. Word had spread through the Caucasian grapevine.

I was working on a sitcom at the time. When I told the writers on the show I was dating a white guy from the South who drove a pickup truck, I could tell they were skeptical.

The kicker was when we went to the wedding of one of his friends in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Im not exaggerating when I say white people stared at us as we walked down the street.

See? Race is a thing.

The more serious the relationship got, the more I started thinking about kids.

If we had them, they would be multiethnic or biracial or mixed heritage. All terms that annoyed me. But I was getting ahead of myself, right? Was I in this or not? Was I ready to be committed to a guy whose family owned shotguns and went to the Waffle House?

My parents were both college professors. His parents hadnt gone to college. My parents were Bahais who didnt celebrate Christmas. His dad played Santa Claus in various malls below the Mason-Dixon line during the yuletide season. My boyfriend listened to emo rock, for Gods sake!

This was bound to be a disaster.

But I didnt break up with him.

I grew to love him more.

I loved that he shared a house off Sunset with a gay, Pakistani performance artist. I loved that hed had the same Rottweiler for a pet since high school. I loved that he was a plaintiffs attorney, helping clients whod been discriminated against in the workplace.

I didnt love his pickup truck  it was cramped and always had dog hair on the seat.

But no relationships perfect.

Fourteen years and two kids later, race is still a thing, in a growing list of things, that defines us.

Maisha Closson is a TV writer living in Los Angeles. Shes on Instagram as @maisha_closson

L.A. Affairs chronicles the current dating scene in and around Los Angeles. If you have comments or a true story to tell, email us at LAAffairs@latimes.com.

MORE L.A. LOVE STORIES 

She ghosted me. Twice.

The best advice I ever got for dating a guy with kids

We had a one-night stand. I wish it had stayed that way

home@latimes.com
American Bar in the Savoy Hotel and Dandelyan in the Mondrian Hotel, both in London, took top honors in the Worlds 50 Best Bars 2017.

NoMad bar in New York Citys NoMad Hotel came in third (and first among North American bars), followed by the Connaught Bar inside the London hotel of the same name, and The Dead Rabbit in New York City.

In all, 13 U.S. bars made the list, including Trick Dog, ABV and Tommys in San Francisco, according to a news release Thursday.

Advertisement

More than 500 bartenders and consultants, drink writers and cocktail specialists in whats called the Best Bars Academy voted in the 2017 top bars.

Heres the rest of the list:

6. The Clumsies in Athens

7. Manhattan in Singapore

8. Attaboy Cocktail Bar in New York City

9. Bar Termini in London

10. Speak Low in Shanghai

11. Little Red Door in Paris

12. Happiness Forgets in London

13. Bar High Five in Tokyo

14. Licoreria Limantour in Mexico City

15. Atlas in Singapore

16. Dante in New York City

17. Oriole in London

18. Broken Shaker in Miami

19. Candelaria in Paris

20. Himkok in Oslo

21. The Gibson in London

22. Black Pearl in Melbourne, Australia

23. Floreria Atlantico in Buenos Aires

24. Operation Dagger in Singapore

25. 28 HongKong Street in Singapore

26. Trick Dog in San Francisco

27. Sweet Liberty in Miami

28. Indulge Experimental Bistro in Taipei, Taiwan

29. Lost & Found Drinkery in Nicosia, Cyprus

30. Baba Au Rum House of Spirits in Athens

31. Tippling Club in Singapore

32. BlackTail in New York City

33. Jerry Thomas Speakeasy in Rome

34. Le Syndicat in Paris

35. Tales & Spirits in Amsterdam

36. Bar Benfiddich in Tokyo

37. Employees Only in New York City

38. Schumanns in Munich, Germany

39. La Factoria in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

40. Quinary in Hong Kong

41. The Aviary in Chicago

42. Mace Cocktail Bar in New York City

43. Nightjar in London

44. Linje Tio in Stockholm

45. The Baxter Inn in Sydney, Australia

46. ABV in San Francisco

47. Native in Singapore

48. Tommys Mexican Restaurant in San Francisco

49. Lobster Bar and Grill in Hong Kong

50. Imperial Craft Cocktail Bar in Tel Aviv

Info: Worlds 50 Best Bars 2017

travel@latimes.com

@latimestravel

ALSO

Great places to indulge in Mendocinos wild mushroom madness

Travel + Leisure readers love this city more than any other

Where are the best brunch spots in America? OpenTable selects 100, including 10 in California

Dr. Beach selects 2017s 10 best beaches in the U.S. One is in California
Fares to Asia continue to be a bargain, and here is one of the latest: You can fly to Changsha, the capital of Hunan province, for $469 round-trip from LAX on Hainan Airlines.

The fare, subject to availability and blackout dates, is for departures Tuesdays and Fridays and returns Mondays and Thursdays through Feb. 22.

About 2.6 million people live in Changsha, an industrial city 688 miles southwest of Shanghai on the Xiang River.

Advertisement

The city was largely destroyed by a 1938 fire, set to deter the Japanese from overtaking the city. A decade later, it was rebuilt.

Info: Hainan Airlines, (888) 688-8813. For English, press 1 after the greeting.

Source: Airfarewatchdog

ALSO:

New Big Sur bridge on Highway 1 to open soon, but iconic roadway remains shut farther south

Stroll on the strange beach at the Mexican border

Readers share their best summer vacation photos. Of 1,000 entries, here are our faves.

travel@latimes.com

@latimestravel
Sen. Stephen M. White is known as the father of Los Angeles Harbor. While serving in the United States Senate from 1893 to 1899, White helped procured a federal appropriation for construction of the deep-water harbor in San Pedro.

After White passed away in 1901, the statue of him was commissioned.

In a Jan. 28, 1988, Los Angeles Times story, Steve Harvey wrote:

Advertisement

For almost three decades, the bronze figure of former U.S. Sen. Stephen White stood on the corner of 1st and Hill streets in downtown Los Angeles, pointing in the direction of the harbor that he helped create in San Pedro.

Now, temporarily repositioned for Metro Rail construction, the sculpture stands in the corner of a utility yard amid trash cans, rolled-up fencing and a portable restroom, pointing toward a sign that says Public Parking. 

While Sen. White (1848-1901) may be unfamiliar to many Southern Californians today, he was a great hero in the estimate of his fellow citizens, said Bill Olesen, an assistant curator at the Los Angeles Maritime Museum in San Pedro.

It was White who helped persuade Congress to finance construction of Los Angeles harbor in San Pedro.

He succeeded in getting the breakwater for us (San Pedro) and made it a year-around harbor, Olesen said.

Wed love to have him at the entrance to our Cabrillo Marine Museum, overlooking the breakwater.

The statue, financed by his admirers, was originally installed in 1908 outside the old County Courthouse at the corner of Temple and Broadway. As late as the 1950s, it was scrubbed down by members of the Native Sons of the Golden West, including Municipal and Superior Court judges. One year, in fact, a controversy arose when some sculptors warned that the bath might damage the patina on the statue.

The sculpture was moved to the environs of the County Courthouse in 1959 after the old courthouse was condemned. 

In 1989, San Pedro received the statue. Its sitting at the entrance to Cabrillo Beach off Stephen M. White Drive.

Steve Harveys story Its Outrageous: Relocation of Sculpture Sparks Furor is online.

Sept. 23, 1950: Statue of Sen. Stephen M. White is cleaned by members of the Native Sons of the Golden West. This photo appeared in the Sept. 24, 1950, Los Angeles Times. ((Bruce Cox / Los Angeles Times) )

Sep. 13, 1955: Whites statue on the Hall of Records lawn, with City Hall a short block away, dimly seen during dense smog. This photo was published in the Sept. 14, 1955, Los Angeles Times. ((John Malmin / Los Angeles Times) )

July 20, 1994: Patrick Rozelli, 11, hangs out at the statue of Stephen M. White overlooking Cabrillo Beach in San Pedro. ((Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) )

See more from the Los Angeles Times archives here
Mt. Paektu is an active volcano that occupies a revered place in Korean legend as the birthplace of the Korean people. But it may be paying a price for their division.

Located on the border of North Korea and China, the volcano has been appropriated by Pyongyang as the sacred mountain of the revolution. Propagandists for the Communist state spin a tale, most likely apocryphal, that the late leader Kim Jong Il was born there while his father was a guerrilla fighting the Japanese.

The sacred mountain, however, is just 60 miles from the site where North Korea, now led by Kims son, Kim Jong Un, tested its sixth and most powerful nuclear weapon on Sept. 3.

Advertisement

Shortly afterward, Chinese authorities closed part of the tourist park on their side of the border because of rock slides. Chinese authorities would not say definitively whether the nuclear test was to blame, but seismologists think it is likely. The explosion registered as a 6.3 magnitude earthquake and was blamed for water bottles rolling off tables and furniture toppling in China, and apartment buildings rattling all the way to the Russian port city of Vladivostok.

It is just one example of the way that North Koreas headlong rush to become a nuclear power is degrading the environment in and around the countrys borders.

The first casualty is inside North Korea itself, around the rugged, granite mountains of North Hamgyong province. All six of North Koreas nuclear tests have taken place there at a site known as Punggye-ri. Satellite images taken after the last test show numerous landslides around the site as well as water leaking from the entrance to one of the tunnels, according to 38 North, an academic website on Korea run by John Hopkins University.

An undated file photo distributed on Sept. 3 by the North Korean government shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second from right, at an undisclosed site in North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP )

These disturbances are more numerous and widespread than seen after any of the Norths previous five tests, and include additional slippage in pre-existing landslide scars and a possible subsidence crater, the report said.

Another analysis of satellite data found that Mt. Mantap, a 7,000-foot peak above the test site, actually lost a little elevation from the force of the underground explosion.

It did move the mountain, said Jeffrey Lewis, director of the Middlebury centers East Asia Nonproliferation Program. He believes, however, that there has been no significant leakage of radiation because the test took place in a tunnel more than 3,000 feet below and notes that the visible damage was less extensive than after underground tests in Pakistan. The North Koreans seem to be pretty good at this. Theyve buried their test site well, he said.

After the nuclear test, the ground around the test site continued to rumble. Seismologists were particularly stumped by a tremor recorded Sept. 23 that appeared to be a 3.4 magnitude earthquake under Mt. Mantap, an area that does not ordinarily experience earthquakes. A joint report published by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and UC Santa Cruz concluded that tunnels in the test site collapsed.

It was the mountain collapsing into the cavity created by the explosion ... hundreds of meters below the surface, said Thorne Lay, a professor at UC Santa Cruz.

What analysts are looking for in the satellite images are fissures and craters  which would indicate a breach in the mountain large enough to allow radiation in dangerous quantities to vent to the outside.

These are minor landslides, nothing like you see in California with mud pouring down, said Joseph Bermudez, a leading expert on the North Korean military and one of the authors of the 38 North report.

Still if I were near any nuclear test site, I would be concerned about the environment, especially an active test site, Bermudez added. History has shown there are often leakages and North Korea has not had a really great record as far as environmental protection.

Every country that has developed a nuclear program has harmed its own people.  Matthew McKinzie, director of the nuclear program at the Natural Resources Defense Council

North Korea has conducted all six of its nuclear tests around the same site. The Sept. 3 test involved a device estimated at 250 kilotons  17 times the force of the bomb that destroyed Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945.

Every country that has developed a nuclear program has harmed its own people, said Matthew McKinzie, director of the nuclear program at the Natural Resources Defense Council. He compares the situation to East Germany, where the extent of environmental degradation wasnt known until after reunification in 1990.

The satellite photographs taken after the last test show water draining from the test site that was likely forced out from underground by explosion and could leach into the groundwater. A stream near the test site runs to the nearest sizable city, Kilju, some 25 miles away.

Even closer is the Hwasong labor camp, which is nestled next to Mt. Mantap and houses an estimated 20,000 political prisoners and their families. North Korean defectors in South Korea have said they believe prisoners were used to dig the tunnels of the nuclear test complex.

Satellite images also show that North Korea has failed to dispose safely of nuclear waste. In Pyongsan, tailings are routinely dumped from North Koreas largest uranium mine into an unlined pond, which is likely to contaminate the groundwater, 38 North has reported.

Defectors have complained as well about the environmental and safety risks of the nuclear program.

North Koreas facilities are dilapidated and North Korea woefully lacks the ability to manage the facilities, wrote a defector group, North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity, in a brochure published last year.

Much of the environmental concern has focused on Mt. Paektu  not only a sacred site for Koreans, but a popular tourist destination for Chinese, who know the mountain as Changbaishan.

It is deeply embedded in the history of the country, and its clearly something thats hugely important to the Koreans, said James Hammond, a British volcanologist who has inspected the volcano at the invitation of the North Korean government. He and other scientists dismiss scare headlines that appear periodically in tabloids around Asia, warning that nuclear tests could trigger an eruption. However, they believe the nuclear tests could be responsible for the recent rock slides.

The section of the park that was closed Sept. 13 faced south  in the direction of the North Korean nuclear site.

A Chinese travel agent in the area said the mountain isnt often closed because of falling rocks, but it has happened before. The agent, who did not wish to be quoted by name, said he did not expect the park to open this year.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Washington-based Arms Control Assn., said he is most concerned about North Koreas threat  in response to warnings by President Trump  to conduct the next test in the atmosphere above the Pacific.

Although underground tests pose risks, they are considered much safer than atmospheric tests.

Underground tests are not environmentally friendly, but there is a vast difference between conducting them in the ground or in the atmosphere, said Kimball. If North Korea follows up on the threat to conduct a nuclear test explosion over the Pacific, that would be completely different.

Special correspondent Matt DeButts in Beijing contributed to this report.

barbara.demick@latimes.com

Twitter: @BarbaraDemick

ALSO

Anti-nuclear-weapons group wins Nobel Peace Prize

Two women plead not guilty in death of North Korean leaders estranged half brother

Trump again undercuts his secretary of State, dashing potential progress on North Korea
As the worlds nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency is responsible for ensuring nuclear energy is used for peaceful purposes. That has rarely been easy.

Established as an agency of the United Nations in 1957, the IAEA has been at the center of one of the worlds biggest nonproliferation crises  in Iran, where its inspectors are monitoring the 2015 nuclear deal. They are barred from the other, in North Korea, which kicked the agency out in 2009.

Director-General Yukiya Amano, a Japanese diplomat, has led the agency since 2009 and was recently elected to a third term. In a recent interview, he defended the IAEAs inspections program in Iran and said worries over weapons distracted attention from constructive applications of nuclear energy. Here are excerpts from the conversation.

Are you disappointed when critics of the Iran deal question the IAEAs ability to monitor Irans nuclear program ?

We are a technical organization and I am discharging my responsibilities based on rules, based on the IAEA standard safeguards practice. We simply keep on working and monitoring and verifying the nuclear-related commitments made by Iran under the [nuclear deal] in an impartial, objective and professional manner. So, whatever happens, we keep on working.

'World's most robust' nuclear inspection program under fire as Trump tries to rewrite the Iran deal 

Are you inspecting Iranian military sites?

When we identify the need, we seek access to the locations. We dont make a difference between civilian and military locations, [but] we dont discuss details of where we go.

Iranian officials insist that military sites are off-limits, when youre saying that isnt the case. Are those comments unhelpful?

We hear many remarks, not only from Iran, but from other countries too. But our job is to analyze the facts. Facts mean nuclear material and facilities related to nuclear material. The function and objective of the IAEA is not to analyze remarks.

The IAEA has produced seven reports on Irans compliance with the nuclear deal, but critics say youre being too soft on Iran and not providing enough details.

The information collected by inspectors must be kept confidential. These people complain that they dont have information related to Iran, but they dont have information about Germany, Japan or Kenya either. Its like a doctor. People go to a doctor with the understanding that he wont disclose sensitive information.

Explainer: What the Iran nuclear agreement means 

But you have the discretion to decide what to release. If the Iran inspections are going smoothly, why not disclose more information to respond to your critics?

Discretion means when I have a good reason. It doesnt mean the director-general can do whatever he likes to do. When there is concern of a violation, and when there is a U.N. resolution, yes. But it is not the practice that some countries ask more and I say, Lets give more, or, Lets give less.

If President Trump puts more pressure on Iran, will IAEA inspectors lose the access they currently enjoy?

Its very difficult to foresee what will happen. As we are a technical organization  speculation does not make sense for us. We have cameras, we have [electronic equipment] seals, we have inspectors, so we are factual and impartial and that is our advantage.

What is the IAEA doing in North Korea, where the last inspectors were thrown out in 2009?

We are observing the North Korean nuclear program through satellite imagery and collecting open source information. I decided to establish a small team in August with the objective to enhance our capability to monitor the North Korean nuclear program and enhance our readiness to go back to North Korea. I dont mean that I see an immediate opportunity. Its obvious the situation is very serious and grave. Their nuclear program is making progress. Therefore, we need to update the training of our inspectors, procure the necessary equipment and make a verification plan  so that if we are authorized, we can send our inspectors at short notice.

The IAEA conducts training on nuclear technology for plant breeding at its laboratory in Seibersdorf, Austria. (International Atomic Energy Agency)

Nuclear power produces less carbon than fossil fuels. How can it help combat climate change?

The amount of carbon dioxide emissions that the use of nuclear energy can reduce  its equivalent to the amount emitted by India or Russia. That is a huge amount. Thirty countries use nuclear power for the time being, and about 30 more are interested. In countries where people feel the effects of climate change, where we need to develop new plant varieties, if we apply gamma rays, we can accelerate plant mutations and identify the right crop varieties that are resistant to disease. Ocean acidification has become a huge problem all over the world, but if you observe radiation coming from isotopes, you can diagnose the health of oceans and that is very helpful to establish the response.

But in your home country, Japan, the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi disaster turned public opinion against nuclear energy. What needs to happen to restore public confidence?

There was a belief in Japan that a serious nuclear accident would not happen. Preparedness and response were not enough. The independence of the regulatory body was not enough. It has been reformed. A lot of measures were taken both in Japan and globally. All the countries that use nuclear power undertook stress tests to review if their plants would withstand severe natural hazards. They have taken measures where needed, and a lot of safety standards have been reviewed and strengthened.

We need to tell the public that nuclear energy can be very useful and can make a huge difference for the lives of ordinary people.  Yukiya Amano, director-general, International Atomic Energy Agency

How does the agency promote nuclear power for uses people dont often consider, such as medicine?

Nuclear technology is very useful to achieve the U.N.s sustainable development goals, for human health and animal health. Nuclear technology was helpful to diagnose Ebola and Zika, and nuclear medicine and radiotherapy are essential in certain medical areas, such as diagnosing foot-and-mouth disease in cattle. Just recently, we organized a seminar on how nuclear technology can diagnose early symptoms of Alzheimers disease. It allows us to look inside the human body with precision.

Is it a challenge to focus attention on those issues, when the world is worried about weapons programs?

We should pay maximum attention so that nuclear materials are not used for weapons purposes. That is our basic purpose. We need to tell the public that nuclear energy can be very useful and can make a huge difference for the lives of ordinary people.

shashank.bengali@latimes.com

Twitter: @SBengali
The Iraqi government said Thursday that its forces have recaptured the northern town of Hawija from the Islamic State extremist group, stripping the militants of their last urban stronghold in the country and leaving them concentrated in a stretch of desert outposts along the western border with Syria.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Abadi made the announcement while on a state visit to Paris, calling it a victory not only for Iraqis but also for the whole world.

The U.S.-led coalition, which provided air and other support, confirmed the swift and decisive victory in Hawija, though there were reports of continued fighting in surrounding areas.

Advertisement

Our Iraqi partners fought bravely and professionally against a brutal and determined enemy, safeguarding innocent civilians throughout the entire campaign, Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk II, the coalitions commanding general, said in a statement.

Islamic State, which once claimed about a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria for its self-declared caliphate, has been losing territory rapidly. But U.S. officials had worried that the fight for Hawija might be undermined by a vote for independence in Iraqs semiautonomous Kurdish region.

The mostly Sunni Arab town, long a bastion of insurgency against Iraqs Shiite Muslim-led government, sits in the oil-rich province of Kirkuk. After last months referendum, Iraqs parliament called on Abadi to send troops to the city of Kirkuk, which is controlled by Kurdish forces known as the peshmerga but claimed by Baghdad.

The peshmerga have played a vital role in the battle against Islamic State, fighting alongside government security forces and Shiite Arab militias, some of them armed and trained by Iran. But tensions among the various Iraqi forces have escalated since the Sept. 25 referendum, which the central government in Baghdad decried as illegal.

The government imposed an international flight ban and other punitive measures on the Kurdish region, which voted overwhelmingly in favor of statehood. Iran and Turkey, which have significant Kurdish populations of their own, also threatened to retaliate.

In Paris on Thursday, Abadi said the government wasnt looking for a confrontation but added, The authority of the federal government should prevail, and no one should challenge the federal authority.

The United Nations has expressed concern about the fate of as many as 78,000 civilians who were believed to be trapped by the fighting in and around Hawija.

Some of the estimated 12,500 who managed to get out described seeing people being buried alive by airstrikes, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council. Many said they were forced to build mud houses because their homes were destroyed, the aid group said in a statement. Some have slept in the open.

The relative speed of the campaign, which was launched Sept. 21, points to the diminished capabilities of Islamic State since it lost control of Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city, in July after a punishing fight that lasted nine months. The battle for the city of Tall Afar, which took place in August, lasted 11 days.

U.S. and Iraqi commanders say morale is low among militants in the Hawija region, hundreds of whom are reported to have fled with their families and surrendered to nearby Kurdish forces. But they say a concurrent campaign to drive Islamic State from the town of Qaim and other footholds in the Euphrates River valley could prove more difficult.

Islamic State also controls territory on the Syrian side of the porous border, although its fighters there are under pressure from a U.S.-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias, as well as Syrian government forces supported by Iran and Russia.

U.S. and Iraqi commanders believe that Islamic States leader, Abu Bakr Baghdadi, is hiding in the region straddling the Iraqi-Syrian frontier. Last week, the militants released a purported audio recording of Baghdadi, in which he urged followers to keep up the fight despite recent setbacks.

alexandra.zavis@latimes.com

Twitter: @alexzavis

UPDATES:

4 p.m.: This article was replaced with staff reporting.

11:30 a.m.: This article was updated with concerns about the fate of civilians in Hawija and other staff reporting.

This article was originally published at 3:35 a.m.
All material is subject to strictly enforced copyright terms & conditions and cannot be repurposed or reproduced.  19882022 Latin American Financial Publications Inc.
Russia's military presence in Donbas raises no doubts, U.S. has no need to provide evidence

The presence of the Russian Armed Forces in the east of Ukraine has been confirmed and there is no doubt about it, the U.S.' Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations, Kurt Volker, said.

The statement that Russia controls and manages the military forces in Ukraine's east presently does not raise any doubts, he said in an interview with the Russian newspaper Gazeta.ru published on Friday.

Volker explained that there is a lot of public information confirming this: photographs, including satellite images, information from social networks, and reports on interrogation of Russian servicemen who were taken captive.

The envoy said he doesn't think the U.S. should provide any evidence to support this.
Moldovan President Ihor Dodon has refused to grant political asylum to Ukrainian judge Mykola Chaus, an informed source told Interfax-Ukraine.

"The Moldovan president denied political asylum to Chaus," the source said on Friday.

At the same time, he pointed out that this decision is not final.

Thus, this does not mean that Chaus will be extradited to Ukraine.

As earlier reported, on August 9 agents from NABU with agents from the Special Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO) discovered Chaus had received a bribe of $150,000. The money was found in two glass jars, which Chaus dug in the yard of his residence.

Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada on September 6 supported the representation of the Prosecutor General's Office (PGO) to detain and arrest Chaus.

SAPO the same day said Chaus had fled to Russian-occupied Crimea.

Kyiv's Solomiansky District Court gave permission to arrest Chaus on September 12.

On November 11, 2016, Chaus was placed on Interpol's international wanted list.

Chaus is suspected of committing a crime pursuant to Part 4 of Article 368 of Ukraine's Criminal Code (accepting, offering or promising a bribe).

On March 1, 2017, the judge was detained in Moldova.

In turn, the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP) noted that the procedure for the extradition of Judge Chaus had been launched, the final decision on his extradition will be made by the court in Moldova.

At the moment, the judge is under house arrest in Moldova.

On September 22, SAPO Chief Nazar Kholodnytsky said that the issue of Chaus's extradition from Moldova to Ukraine depends on a decision of the Moldovan president: "The issue is still under consideration, unless there is a decision of the president of the republic to extradite him, either grant or not grant him political asylum."
The German Embassy in Ukraine welcomes the adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the bill extending the effect of the law on a special procedure of local self-government in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions (ORDLO) for a year.

"Germany welcomes today's decision of the Rada to extend the provisions on the special status of Donbas, and we reaffirm our commitment to a peaceful resolution of the conflict within the framework of the Minsk process," the German Embassy in Ukraine wrote on its Twitter page on Friday.

Earlier this day, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Andriy Parubiy signed the bill extending the effect of the law on a special procedure of local self-government in certain areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions (ORDLO) for a year, which was to expire on October 18, 2017.
Bethlehem policed arrested a sophomore and junior at Liberty High School for allegedly making a bomb threat that led to an evacuation and building search Friday morning.

The school was cleared just after 9 a.m. after the threat was found written in a bathroom, school officials said.

By the afternoon, the Bethlehem police school resource officers had taken the 15- and 16-year-old students into custody, police Chief Mark DiLuzio said in a news release.

There was no indication students were in any danger.

Facing charges of felony terroristic threats, the students were being detained pending action in Northampton County Juvenile Court, DiLuzio said.

"Incidents like this are unnecessary in today's society," the chief said in a news release. "They cause undue stress and anxiety to many students and parents of students. Incidents of this type will not be tolerated at any school or any other location in the City of Bethlehem.

"I would like to thank the officers, fire personnel, BASD staff and teachers that assisted in this incident and investigation."

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A woman since locked up in a Pennsylvania state prison was charged Friday in a stabbing last month in Bethlehem.

Desiree Keller, 31, is accused of stabbing a male victim Sept. 10 at a home in the 700 block of Dellwood Street then walking away, according to city police.

Police responded at 7:10 a.m. and found the victim standing outside holding a towel, saturated in blood, to his right shoulder.

He was taken by city EMS to St. Luke's University Hospital, Fountain Hill, where doctors reported he'd been stabbed four times in the upper right arm, police said in a news release Friday.

Investigators identified Keller as the suspect, and she was committed to the Cambridge Springs state prison in Crawford County on a state parole violation, according to police.

She was arraigned Friday via video from prison before District Judge Roy Manwaring II, on charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment. Keller was ordered held in lieu of $25,000 bail and has a preliminary hearing tentatively scheduled Oct. 20 before Manwaring.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
An Allentown Federal Credit Union employee is charged with stealing more than $641,000.

An indictment unsealed last week says Julie Ann Turk, 46, of Washington Township, Lehigh County, took the money between 2009 and April 2016.

The indictment says she charged customers bogus fees and transferred the money to her personal account. She allegedly took $641,637.

She is charged with bank fraud, bank embezzlement and three counts of money laundering.

She faces a maximum of 90 years in prison and a $2.5 million fine, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office.

Turk was released on bail to her home in the 4600 block of Lovers Lane.

The indictment says Turk worked as a teller, Master Card coordinator, teller supervisor and general ledger coordinator at the credit union.

Her attorney, Maranna J. Meehan, didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
An arrest has been made in the fatal shooting of a man in Fountain Hill.

Emanuel Lopez, 29, of the 400 block of West Market Street in West Bethlehem, will be charged with homicide and firearms violations in the Aug. 28 killing of Jonathan Diaz-Santos.

Lopez has been held in Lehigh County Jail on a warrant from El Paso, Texas, for a parole violation, District Attorney Jim Martin said Friday in a news release.

On the night of Aug. 28, police were called to the 900 block of Seneca Street and found Diaz-Santos, also of Bethlehem, mortally wounded in the road.

The 26-year-old was transported to St. Luke's University Health Network campus in Fountain Hill, and pronounced dead at 9:18 p.m. from a gunshot wound to the body.

The Lehigh County coroner ruled the shooting a homicide, and the cause of death was gunshot wounds to the torso.

Investigators found a box cutter with what appeared to be blood on the handle, and the blade was recovered at the scene. Test results revealed it was Lopez's blood, prosecutors said.

A witness reported seeing Lopez and the victim arguing, near where the box cutter was recovered, prosecutors said.

That witness and a second witness told investigators they heard gunshots and saw a man run into the passenger side of a dark-colored SUV, which then fled before police arrived.

Authorities put out an alert to local hospitals for stabbing or slashing victims. A man matching the witnesses' descriptions was treated at St. Luke's Anderson Campus about a half-hour after the shooting, authorities said.

Video surveillance from the hospital parking lot, hospital records and DNA analysis of blood samples helped identify Lopez as the killer, Martin said.

Lopez has relatives in Brevard County, Texas, and the Sheriff's Department there helped with the investigation.

Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @SarahCassi. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
Five dogs were rescued from a smoky fire at a Lower Nazareth Township home Thursday afternoon.

Emergency workers removed three of the dogs shortly after responding to the fire around 2 p.m. at 3913 Hollo Road. Homeowner Joseph Mayer said five dogs were in the property but he wasn't home when the fire started.

Hecktown Fire Department Second Assistant Fire Chief Ryan Hinkel said all five dogs were rescued from the second floor.

An accumulation of household items inside the home posed a challenge for firefighters, Hinkel said. Colonial Regional Police patrolman Frank Epsen said Mayer uses the home mostly for storage and lives there part time.

"He's definitely a collector of stuff," Epsen said.

Firefighters dumped a broken set of shelves out in the front of the home during the firefighting effort. The home was obscured from the road by a row of overgrown pine trees. Chairs and debris cluttered the porch.

Hinkel said the Pennsylvania state police fire marshal is investigating the cause of the fire. He said it started on the first floor in the kitchen / living room area.

While the damage didn't look serious from the outside, Hinkel said the severity of the fire won't be know until the investigation is complete. He couldn't say whether repairs would be necessary.

Mayer hasn't paid taxes on the home since 2005. He owes more in back taxes than anyone in the Nazareth area, according to a review of Northampton County tax records.

A report from January 2017 says Mayer owed $90,000 on the Hollo Road home that caught fire as well as two adjacent parcels.

Firefighters cut a hole in the roof around 3 p.m. to vent the smoke. Many of the firefighters put away their equipment by 5 p.m., although some remained on the scene.

Hecktown called in five tankers to help fight the fire from fire companies in East Allen, Moore, Allen, Upper Nazareth and Bushkill townships.

Assisting Hecktown were the Palmer Township Municipal Fire Co., Vigilance Hose of Nazareth, Upper Nazareth Township Fire Department, Nancy Run Fire Co., Bethlehem Township Fire Co. and Hanover Township Fire Co.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
UPDATE: Killer fired 2 handguns at pair in family dispute: investigators

Neighbors knew John M. Hann as a quiet, helpful guy who took care of his sister with special needs.

They were shocked to learn he had been charged Thursday with homicide.

Homicide suspects John Hann owns this home at 3474 Lafayette Drive in Bethlehem Township. He was arrested nearby on Oct. 5, 2017.

Hann, 61, of Bushkill Township, allegedly killed his cousin Jospeh Mullner, and wounded Melinda Mullner, Joseph's wife.

He allegedly shot them Wednesday night at the couple's home in Lehigh Township, according to township police Chief Scott Fogel.

He surrendered to police after he was pulled over Thursday morning on Oakland Road in Bethlehem Township.

About 100 yards away from where he was arrested lies a home Hann owns at 3474 Lafayette Drive in Bethlehem Township.

Three neighbors said Hann previously lived there with his parents and sister. His parents recently died, they said.

"We would see him and wave at him," said neighbor Melissa Van Allen. "I know he had a sister with special needs."

The property was transferred from John S. Hann to John M. Hann in 2011 for $1, according to Northampton County property records.

He came by the home once in a while but didn't appear to be currently living there, neighbors said. Police said Hann was living at a home in the 200 block of Cherry Court in Bushkill Township when he allegedly shot the Mullners.

A police officer wouldn't let a reporter on the property at 3474 Lafayette Drive on Thursday afternoon. The officer stayed in an unmarked car at the home.

"I thought he was a quiet guy," said one neighbor, who declined to give his name. "And it's surprising to see this. It can't be the same guy."

Another neighbor said Hann helped her with handyman chores.

A worker at Grainger Industrial Supply on Avenue C in Hanover Township confirmed Hann worked there but referred further comment to the corporate office. A spokesperson at that office didn't return a phone call seeking comment.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.
The neighbor of Joseph and Melinda Mullner reported seeing a dark truck parked along a side street near the couple's home and shortly after, the ringing sound of multiple gunshots.

Neighbor Gary Malot told police he saw the same Dodge or Ford pickup around 5 p.m. Wednesday in the couple's driveway. By 6 p.m., Malot reported hearing four gunshots near his home in the 500 block of Longacre Road in Lehigh Township.

Pennsylvania State Police in Bethlehem said by 6:26 p.m., Melinda Mullner, 61, called 911, telling a dispatcher her 64-year-old husband, Joseph Frank Mullner Jr. had been shot with a handgun at their Longacre Drive home by "Johnny," her husband's cousin.

John Michael Hann, 61, of the 200 block of Cherry Street in Bushkill Township, is charged with shooting both Mullners. Joseph Mullner was pronounced dead outside the Longacre Drive home of multiple gunshot wounds, Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek said.

Joseph Mullner was shot at least five times, said Lysek, who ruled the death a homicide.

Melinda Mullner was rushed to the hospital, where she remained Thursday.

Hann shot the pair following a dispute that may have been about money, Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli said during a news conference Thursday afternoon.

Details of a Lehigh Township shooting suspects arrest are being released by the district attorney. Watch his press conference live. Posted by lehighvalleylive.com on Thursday, October 5, 2017

Two firearms were used, the coroner said, describing them as consistent with handguns.

"Based upon the investigation at the present time, this was a personal dispute that was going on, family related, between the two cousins," Morganelli said, describing Hann and Mullner's mothers as sisters.

"That is still being looked into," Morganelli said of a motive. "It was certainly not something that was spur of the moment."

Officers recovered shell casings from a 9mm handgun both inside and outside the house, according to court records.

"From that time forward this became a manhunt," Morganelli said.

Hann owned multiple properties, and authorities thought he may have been at home in Bushkill Township based on a ping from his cellphone there, Morganelli said. A Pennsylvania State Police emergency response team entered the home about 5 a.m. Thursday, finding it empty.

With Hann's vehicle entered into a law enforcement database, police in Bethlehem Township pulled him over Thursday morning on Oakland Road, near another of his properties.

He had with him in his Dodge pickup truck his mentally challenged sister, for whom he was caretaker, Morganelli said. She was also present at the homicide scene, according to the prosecutor.

State police negotiators got Hann to release his sister unharmed during a three-hour standoff that ensued in Bethlehem Township. This led to the lockdown of four schools nearby and the closure of Oakland Road, a major thoroughfare.

Morganelli praised state police for their negotiations and for continuing to talk with Hann until he finally surrendered peacefully shortly after 10 a.m.

Hann is charged with homicide and attempted homicide, according to court documents filed with District Judge Robert Hawke's office in Lehigh Township. He was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday and committed to Northampton County Prison. Bail is generally denied in homicide cases. A preliminary hearing was to be scheduled for a later date.

Hann was armed with multiple handguns during the standoff.

"He was armed at the time and he was considered dangerous obviously, because he was a suspect in a homicide," Morganelli said.

Morganelli said he would confer with First Assistant District Attorney Terry Houck on whether to pursue the death penalty against Hann, given that a second person was seriously injured in addition to the homicide.

A pet dog being held by Melinda Mullner at the time she was shot was also shot, in the foot, and ran off, before being coralled by the coroner and taken to an area animal hospital for treatment, Morganelli said.

Hann bought the 9mm handgun on Aug. 18, 2011, that was believed to have been one of the firearms used in the crime, court records say.

He owned multiple firearms, Morganelli said, as investigators were continuing to search his properties. Hann was not known to law enforcement or "in the system" from prior arrests, the district attorney said.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.

Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow her on Twitter @pamholzmann. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A Lithuanian national charged with assaulting her partner has been granted bail on condition she stay away from the alleged injured party.

Inesa Tanuliene (39) was charged with assault causing harm, at Kilcolgan, Ferbane, Co. Offaly, on September 28 this year.

At last week's court, the State objected to bail due to the seriousness of the charge.

The alleged injured party is the accuseds partner and as the two parties live together, Garda Ann Marie McDonald said she was concerned about the accused interfering with the witness.

Defence, Ms Josephine Fitzpatrick said her client, a Lithuanian national, had no previous convictions and had no other address at which to reside.

Judge Staines granted bail on the accuseds own bond of 100, on condition she stay away from Offaly and her partner, and provide the gardai with a new address and phone number within 24 hours.

The matter was adjourned to Tullamore District Court on November 1.
Sinn Fein TD, Brian Stanley, has raised the difficulties experienced by returning Irish emigrants, women pensioners and lone parents in the Dail this week.

The Laois TD has said that the welfare system is difficult for returning Irish emigrants to access.

"Some people who were born, educated and worked here and were forced to emigrate to seek employment in the 1970s, 1980s or another time are now back.

"In many cases, they are elderly and in bad health and cannot claim a social welfare payment, or they find it extremely difficult to claim one.

"For this group, the bar is raised very high. The habitual residency clause is used and the affected individuals have to establish where their centre of interest is, their employment history, the length and continuity of their residence in Ireland, the continuity of their residence in another country, and their future intentions," Deputy Stanley said.

He also raised the difficulties caused by new PRSI requirements for state pension entitlements. This has left some women in a position where they either have a reduced pension or none at all.

A number of cases came in to my constituency office concerning women who left the workforce for a time to have children and whose pension entitlements were reduced. These changes, made by former Labour Minister, Joan Burton, discriminate against women and penalise them.

"There was also a marriage bar in the public sector for married women and they were forced out of work and lost some pension entitlements. Thankfully those days are gone but we need to deal with the pension issue.

Deputy Stanley praised lone parents who survive on 220 a week.

There is a lot of huffing and puffing and false information about single parents. Any parent who runs a house on 220 a week, gets a child to school - in particular if he or she is attending secondary school and needs shoes, books, uniforms etc - and is able to keep a roof over their heads is doing well. People are paying top-ups for private rented accommodation because we dont have rent controls, in particular in the constituency I represent.

"We need to re-examine the income disregard for lone parents returning to work in order to encourage them back in to the workforce. Regarding the reduction in the cut-off age to 7 years during Joan Burtons term of office, a seven-year old child is not old enough to look after himself or herself, regardless of what subsidies are available.

"This age limit also poses difficulties for the 14 or 15 weeks of the year when schools are closed. Some lone parents could have two or three children to look after and are struggling to manage those situations.

We should make it easier for people to get back to work and try to give them adequate child care support to enable them to do so," he added.
One ladies event has it all in Laois this weekend, and it kicks off in a matter of hours.

The Style it Forward weekend is a 'weekend gala fashion event for charity' selling pre-loved dresses and bags, in the luxurious surroundings of The Heritage Killenard .

Lined up is a dizzying array of events that every lady will love.

There are new and pre-loved occasion dresses, bags, shoes and accessories to buy at bargain prices all weekend, but on top of that, there is a Most Stylish Lady Competition each day, and dancing and bar until late on Friday and Saturday.

You can even get to dress like the Laois Rose, as Maeve Dunne has donated two of her beautiful frocks worn during the Rose of Tralee festival, to the charity event.

At 7pm this evening the Prosecco will be popped with a glass and a goody bag for everyone. A fashion show will follow, and an auction of stunning dresses donated by local Laois boutiques. MC on the Friday night is Jill Blanc, Inspiring Individuality.

On Saturday doors open at 11am, plenty of time to snap up a bargain. That night the MC will be Midlands Radio 3 DJ Ann Marie Kelly, with another auction of stunning outfits, including a 500 voucher for the Bridal Hall.

Then on Sunday doors again open at 11am. There will be a huge raffle at 4pm, while dresses and spot prizes are up for grabs every day.

It is all in aid of two causes close to the organiser, Janet Stewart's heart.

The 'Mad Hatters Abbeyleix' organiser is splitting the proceeds between cancer charities The Bone Marrow for Leukaemia Trust and the Irish Cancer Society, in memory of her brother David Pratt, and the Ben & Jake Connolly Trust Fund in Mountmellick, of which she is a committed fundraiser.

Tickets for the event cost 10, in O Horains and O'Gormans shops in Mountmellick, the East End in Portarlington, Ego Boost hairdressers in Abbeyleix, Blossom Time Portlaoise, and Doggie Styles grooming parlour, The Rock Mountmellick.
He lit up our screens back in 2001 when he won Big Brother.

Rathangan native Brian Dowling shot to fame thereafter.

Brian is the son of Gerard, born and raised in Rathangan, and Rosaleen from Kilmeague. He is the eldest of six sisters.

Sarah Peppard caught up with Brian to chat all things Kildare.

What is your first Kildare memory?

Because Ive got six sisters, my memories always remind me of Christmas, of growing up and Christmas being so exciting. Theyre always my memories of the seven of us putting up the Christmas tree, waiting for Santy, stuff like that.

When did you move away from Rathangan?

My first time properly to move away was in 1998, when I joined Ryanair.

Do you ever miss living in Kildare?

Well, I grew up in Rathangan, Ive always lived in Rathangan at home, and now I live in London. When I was older I did want to kinda go away  Im 18/19 years of age, what can you do here? I went from living in Rathangan where everyone knows everyones name, a tiny little village, to living in London. It was weird.

What do you miss most?

I suppose for me, I think obviously because my life changed so dramatically especially after Big Brother, with Rathangan was the great sense of community. When I was on Big Brother I felt people in Rathangan and Kildare were proud. And the fact that I came out that I was gay just before the show, people were just so accepting, and so allowing. When I come home, you never feel any different.

Do you get to go back to Rathangan much?

Oh God, Im home all the time! I think Im home at least twice a month, which is really good because Ive got five nieces, two nephews and my sisters. Ive always been a bit of a homebird.

Do your parents still live in Rathangan?

Still living in Rathangan yeah, both my parents just turned 60. My mums on Snapchat and everything. It gets me in trouble sometimes!

Where is your favourite place when youre home?

I do like going around Kildare Village, I also quite like going shopping in Newbridge. I used to work in Dunnes Stores so I still know some of the people that work in Dunnes and Ill pop in and say hi, and I quite like the normality of going to Dunnes.

Would you see yourself moving back to Kildare?

Yes. My husband and I said well settle in Ireland. Well come back, build our dream home. Maybe in Co. Kildare!

So there ya are now, a return to the Lilywhite county could be on the cards!
NUI Galway has been named The Sunday Times University of the Year and Trinity College Dublin is the runner-up in The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2018. The special 16-page supplement will be published free with The Sunday Times this Sunday, October 8, with extended coverage in its tablet and online editions.

Athlone Institute of Technology is The Sunday Times Institute of Technology of the Year, while Letterkenny IT is the runner-up. The guide contains Irelands only league table that measures the performance of all 21 multi-faculty third-level institutions.

NUI Galway is the University of the Year for the third time since the guide was first published in 2002. The university first won the award in 2002 and again in 2009.

The university has a reputation as a centre of excellence in relation to medical technology, as evidenced by the launch in September 2016 of Curam, Science Foundation Ireland's (SFI) centre for research in medical devices. The centre promotes links between academia and industry partners. The SFI and various companies will invest 49m over six years, with 19m more in funding coming from the EUs Horizon 2020 programme.

The quality of academic staff at NUI Galway is also crucial to the universitys success, with a number of professors such as Henry Curran, Colin ODowd, Donal ORegan and Dr Ronan Sulpice named among the worlds most highly cited researchers in an analysis of published research by multinational group Clarivite Analytics.

Research citations have helped the university rise further up the international university rankings this year. Academics garnered around 89,000 per head in research income in the Good University Guides latest survey of research power.

NUI Galway boasts the best job prospects of any university in the republic with an impressively low three per cent graduate unemployment rate, together with one of the best progression rates, which sees 88% of students complete their studies.

More than 260 students took part in NUI Galway access and foundation courses this year, with 150 receiving an offer of entry. In total, the access programme office has 1,100-plus undergraduates on its books.

NUI Galway's openness to alternative means of teaching and learning is evident, too, in its work with the Irish language. The university is close to the Connemara Gaeltacht, the largest Irish-speaking area in the country and as such NUI Galway celebrates and promotes the Irish language offering classes from beginner to advanced level as well as programmes taught through the medium of Irish.

Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) has been named Institute of Technology of the Year 2017. AITs strength comes from identifying areas of skills shortage and working with businesses to improve links between enterprise and academia.

AITs association with polymer engineering is particularly strong, with PhD graduates each year, plus level 8 honours degrees in the area and applied and basic research. And the IT is now also the lead provider for a new three-year apprenticeship that leads to a BSc in polymer processing, one of the first of the new employer-led apprenticeships in the country. These address an important gap in the market and one that is on trend: IBEC groups in the medical technology and polymer sectors launched three new apprenticeship schemes this summer.

AIT also identified a skills shortage in the biopharma and medtech sector and, after two years in development, has launched a degree in microbiology  the only course of its type offered through the CAO.

However the focus of AIT is not solely based on science as the Institute recently developed a progressive new educational and training programme for social care students together with non-governmental organisation (NGO) Genio. A supported self-directed living (SSDL) certificate course teaches practitioners how to enable people living with a disability, mental health issue or dementia to move from being marginalised into living full lives in their communities.
Despite calls by local communities and politicians to retain post office services in rural Ireland, the reality is people simply aren't using the service and falling incomes mean that many postmasters are facing little option but to close their doors.

One of Co Leitrim's longest serving Postmasters, Aodh Flynn in Manorhamilton, told the Leitrim Observer he believes the number of post offices in Leitrim could fall to just "two or three" unless more is done to support postmasters and to generate alternative business for post offices. He also claims national post office numbers could fall to 300-400 in the coming years because many post offices are simply no longer viable.

Working as a postmaster for 53 years, Mr Flynn said he had witnessed many changes but argued the challenges facing postmasters today will lead to many more closures.

He said many are already struggling to survive because people simply aren't doing business through their local post offices, resulting in falling incomes for postmasters and added he is aware of colleagues who will "jump at the chance" to close if they are offered a lump sum by An Post.

"Postmasters are (self) employed through contracts with An Post. We have seen business, such as postage, fall as a result of the rise of electronic forms of communication and that will continue as more and more people get access to high speed broadband," he notes.

"But there has also been a fall in the number of social welfare payments through post offices and this has come at a time when there have been increases in the cost of rates, electricity and other charges for postmasters."

An Post has proposed a new Postmasters' Contract which will see each post office operate on a stand-alone commercial basis and puts no value on the social function of post offices.

While the current Postmaster's Contract allows for holiday pay and a small gratuity benefit on retirement, Mr Flynn said An Post are seeking to eliminate such payments going forward. An Post is also seeking to introduce targets for post offices and increase opening hours.

(An Post's new Postmaster Contract) is very one-sided with all the benefits to An Post and all the costs bourne by the postmasters, said Mr Flynn.

Last Sunday the Irish Postmasters' Union (IPU) voted to reject the new Contract proposal but Mr Flynn says it is clear that many postmasters are facing a situation where their businesses are no longer viable.

At present there is a base income level of 12,000 per annum (before costs) for postmasters in place but there is no guarantee this will continue going forward. Even if this figure is maintained, rising costs are squeezing small and medium post offices to the point where postmasters can't afford to remain open.

"Nobody is arguing about the need to keep services in rural areas but if businesses are losing money then how can we expect postmasters to keep going?

"If An Post push ahead with contract changes then you will definitely see a lot of post offices closing their doors, but regardless, we'll be losing post offices because postmasters can't make a living from them."

Manorhamilton's Postmaster said An Post's push to co-locate post offices in existing supermarkets is also extremely detrimental.

"This would centralise services in a single location to the detriment of other businesses," he said. "This goes against the Government's policy to support shops on the main streets of small towns and villages and will leave one business with a total monopoly."

Despite assurances from various political parties and successive governments saying they recognise the important role of post offices and will direct more business through offices, Mr Flynn said "that simply isn't happening . More needs to be done to support postmasters and generate business in post offices, at the moment there is no rational thinking behind proposed changes, he argued.
The future is looking very bright indeed for Co Leitrim based company, Archway Products Ltd.

The company, based in Jamestown, recently finished two new Roadmaster Spray Injection Patchers destined for the Powys County Council in Wales.

These machines automate road repair and maintenance and are claimed to fill potholes more accurately and more cheaply than traditional methods.

The Roadmasters are the latest generation of road repair machines, using modern technology to automate and simplify the whole process of road repair and maintenance.

Designed and manufactured in Co Leitrim by Archway Products Ltd, these high tech machines are allowing councils throughout Ireland and the UK to achieve long lasting road repairs for a fraction of the cost.

The company has come a long way since it was founded in 1990 by Managing Director, Liam McNamee. Originally focused on the design and manufacture of farm machinery, Liam became increasingly aware of the bad state of the nation's roads and the primitive methods that were being employed to maintain them.

Building on his previous design success and drawing on years of innovation expertise, Liam refined the design of his Roadmaster Patcher to the point where it is now the leading single operator patching unit available on the market today.

By the year 2000 the Roadmaster was ready for manufacture, complete with patents and CE compliance. Further to that, the company started to sell road repair services to the Scottish market in 2012 and this has steadily increased over the intervening years to the point where Archway has machines operating under contract to councils and local authorities throughout the length and breadth of the UK.

At the recent launch of the latest version of the Roadmaster in Citywest Hotel in Dublin, council delegates and engineers from around Ireland heard how the technology works.

Company Directors Liam and Donal McNamee explained how the machine and technology has been developed to bring accuracy to the whole pothole repair process, and prevent the age-old problem of having to repeatedly repair the same pothole.

The Roadmaster, is made by Archway Products in Jamestown, which also recently delivered a batch of three machines to Cork County Council, bringing the Cork Roadmaster fleet to 14 vehicles. Archway Products has added many innovations over the years, and these have played a major part in the widespread adoption of the process.

With orders coming hard and fast, the future looks bright for this small Irish company with a very unique product, Company Director, Donal McNamee told the Leitrim Observer this week.
As always, I quite enjoyed attending the LibDem Autumn Conference and its fringe meetings. The only suggestion about fringe meetings I would like to make (as a member of D66, 27.000 members; weve always had one member one vote at our halfyearly conferences) is: if it is about the three issues Social Liberals care most about: Europe, Education and the Environment, having some fringe meetings in the plenary sessions hall (or a secondary big hall, like at the back of Bournemouths BIC, where the Prospect interview with Clegg was moved to) so that every interested member gets a change of being there, should be debatable. We at D66 often hold fringe meetings on these three subjects in the plenary hall, also to emphasize how important these three are to us and D66 policy thinking.

I was especially fascinated by the debate inserted (by suspending Standing orders) in the plenary agenda about how we should go about realizing the exit from Brexit: a parliamentary procedure and debate only, or organizing a first Referendum about the facts of Brexit (Cable) after the deal with Barnier (and Verhofstadt!) is reached.

The Dutch have lived through two big Europeans referendum campaigns: in 2005 about the European Constitution, and in 2016 about the EU Association Treaty with the Ukraine. In both cases, populists from not only the Right (Wilders), but also the left (the Socialist Party, former Maoists whove moved to leftist Social Democracy) used the campaign to spread fake news and conspiracy or scare stories about the EU and its ruling elite (including Europhile parties like D66), the EMU and its Austerity dictats, and suchlike.

In the Ukraine Referendum campaign, D66 also used canvassing (a new practice in Dutch electoral campaigns) in which I took a small part. So I could fully sympathize with the speakers in the debate who didnt want a second Referendum about Brexit, because it had proved nearly impossible to dispel or counter the myths and scare stories of the Brexiteers while talking to voters on their doorstep. But I nevertheless fully supported the amendment from Tom Brake MP and FPC to continue asking for that referendum. Let me explain why.

True Liberals of any hue (Social or Classical/Rightwing) are easily framed by left and right-wing Populists as elitist, bourgeoisie. Pro-EU-liberals are even worse in their eyes (doubly elitist, suspect). And the British Parliament (with many lost votes in many constituencies) cant be a paragon of representative democracy, and is likely to be seen as elitist too.

When Dutch Prime minister Rutte used parliament and Brussel EU summits to insert a Dutch clarification appendix in the EU-Ukraine Association Treaty, to let the objections of the majority of Dutch voters who voted no be heard, included, many Populists rejected that as the Elite manoeuvring to get their way, paying only lip service to that majority. Letting only parliament change course thus is not convincing; doesnt close the argument.

Only a second Referendum carries enough weight, credibility with Populists to reverse a disastrous course set by a previous referendum. Brexiteers demanded a second one to reverse the 1975 British EEC referendum.

* Dr. Bernard Aris is a historian, a D66 parliamentary researcher and a LibDem supporting member.
This is the sixth of my posts based on a recent tour of the eastern half of the USA. I visited a number of sites relevant to African American history. To mark Black History Month, I am relating some of the things I saw, in the order I saw them.

I had low expectations for Detroit. You hear stories about bankruptcy and violence. In fact, I found Detroit to be a wonderful city. It is beautifully spaced out. Rather than having all its prominent buildings in the centre of the city, they are spread out across the urban area. The heritage of the wealth of the automative industry has bestowed some wonderful buildings to Detroit.

One particularly enjoyable jaunt was through the centre of the city around the Hart Plaza. Past the beautiful Spirit of Detroit monument, I strolled along the river where you can see Windsor, Ontario across on the other side  and the most in your face Canadian flag you could imagine, flying at a mast on the riverbank.

As I walked along the embankment I came across this (above) wonderful memorial. This is the Detroit half of the Gateway to Freedom International Memorial to the Underground Railroad by Ed Dwight. The companion monument by the same sculptor across the river in Windsor is located on Pitt Street East near the Windsor Casino.

So what was the Underground Railroad? Wikipedia tells us:

The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early-to-mid 19th century, and used by African-American slaves to escape into free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists, both black and white, free and enslaved, who aided the fugitives. Various other routes led to Mexico or overseas. An earlier escape route running south toward Florida, then a Spanish possession, existed from the late 17th century until shortly after the American Revolution. However, the network now generally known as the Underground Railroad was formed in the late 1700s, and reached its height between 1850 and 1860.One estimate suggests that by 1850, 100,000 slaves had escaped via the Railroad.

With specific reference to the Detroit memorial, theclio.com says:

Historians estimate that as many as 45,000 runaway slaves passed through Detroit on their way to freedom in Canada. Although Michigan was a free state, the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made it possible for slave catchers (or any white person) to claim that an African American was a runaway slave pending the decision of a special court that required only the testimony of one white person. The Fugitive Slave Law also barred the accused from defending themselves, a situation that caused many free African Americans to leave the nation of their birth and seek refuge in Canada. The anti-slavery movement in Detroit comprised of African Americans, foreign and native-born whites, and Native Americans who defied the law and worked together to provide safety for thousands of women, men, and children. Sculpted by Ed Dwight and dedicated on October 20, 2001, the Gateway to Freedom International Memorial to the Underground Railroad pays tribute to the citys contribution and the thousands of railroad conductors who made freedom possible. Several routes diverged on Detroit, code name Midnight, and for many, the city was the final destination for freedom seekers until the mid-1830s. After the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, many of the runaways then moved to Canada. Thus, across the Detroit River in Windsor, Canada, the second part of the memorial faces the Gateway to Freedom Memorial in Detroit. From characters such as Peter Denison, who returned to Detroit to lead a black militia, to Thornton and Ruth Blackburn, this memorial pays tributes to Americans who stood for freedom in an era of slavery.

* Paul Walter is a Liberal Democrat activist and member of the Liberal Democrat Voice team. He blogs at Liberal Burblings.
Doctor Demands Access To Abortion Pills; ACLU Files A Lawsuit Challenges FDA

Abortion has been so common lately. Some states even legalize this act. Thus, it has been an argument. Now, one specialist filed a lawsuit to provide abortion pills in Hawaii, as the number of poverty are increasing.

In Waimea Hawaii, Dr. Graham Chelius has already delivered hundreds of babies. However, when a pregnant woman comes into his family medicine practice to seek an abortion, he cannot help her. Thus, his only advice is to buy a plane ticket and ask from a different state. He said that "There are no abortion providers on our island. So, if one of my patients wants to end her pregnancy, she has to fly to a different island 150 miles away to get this care," according to NPR.

Dr. Chelius is a plaintiff in a new lawsuit together with the American Civil Liberties Union. They are seeking to expand the access to medications for abortions. It can be used during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. The news lawsuit has been filed on Tuesday in the federal court of Hawaii. It challenges the longstanding United States Food and Drug Administration that regulates the access to the abortion pill namely Mifeprex.

Advertisement

They want the drugs to be dispensed under some conditions such as, in a medical facility under the care of a certificate provider. Also, providers must be pre-registered with the drug manufacturer, keep the medication in stock and able to provide surgical abortion if there are some complications.

Thus, Dr. Chelius said that the rules are unnecessary and cumbersome. The state of Hawaii is one of the nation's highest poverty rates. The delays and expenses are sometimes insurmountable barriers. The case could have implications beyond Hawaii. He added that "The FDA restrictions create delays that often push medication abortion out of reach of my patients. Some of my patients are simply unable to make this trip and instead have been forced to carry a pregnancy to term against their will."

Furthermore, the attorney with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, Julia Kaye said that "The abortion pill is safe, effective and legal. So why is the FDA keeping it locked away from women who need it? The FDA's unique restrictions on medication abortion are not grounded in science - this is just abortion stigma made law," according to ABC News.

Advertisement Advertisement

Like us and Follow us

Follow @Koreaportal and

 2022 Korea Portal, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
LIMERICK councillor Lisa-Marie Sheehy, who resigned from Sinn Fein over bullying allegations, has revealed Niall Collins approached her with a view to joining Fianna Fail.

Speaking to the Limerick Leader, the Cappamore-Kilmallock councillor who, at 23, is Irelands youngest female public representative, revealed the Fianna Fail frontbencher spoke to her after her high-profile departure.

But she said she is not interested in getting caught up in party flirting and will remain an Independent member.

If I was a careerist politician, it might be the right time. But its not the right time for me. Im happy being an Independent. Ive made a massive decision in the last few weeks, and I'm trying to rebuild my confidence from what was a very tough ordeal. Im just focusing on delivering for the people, she said.

For his part, Mr Collins confirmed he spoke to Cllr Sheehy after a rally against the Old Pallas post office closure last week, but described it as a casual discussion only.

He told the Leader: What I said to her is as follows: 'Best of luck to you since leaving Sinn Fein. I heard you say on Live 95FM that you are not joining any political party and I respect that. If that changes, the Fianna Fail party is open to new members.

There had been suggestions Cllr Sheehy could be primed as a running mate to Mr Collins in the next general election.

It came after Mr Collins  running alone  topped the poll with a big surplus last year.

Party leader Micheal Martin has already said Fianna Fail will pursue a two candidate strategy in Limerick next time out  and given at least 30% of its candidates must be female if the party wants state funding, Cllr Sheehy would have represented a viable option.

However, the UCC graduate denied this was ever suggested when she spoke to Mr Collins.

Meanwhile, she has accused her former party colleague Maurice Quinlivan of a deliberate dig.

It came after Sinn Feins most senior local politician suggested in an interview with this newspaper the party could run two candidates in her area of Cappamore-Kilmallock.

If thats the way he wants to go, thats fine. I have said it on many occasions, I have no problem with any of the Sinn Fein elected representatives. But Maurice has gone out of his way to go after me. But if thats the way he wants to go about things, then let him off, she said.

Elsewhere, Cllr Cathal Crowe proposed Cllr Sheehy to the vice-chairpersonship of the Limerick-Clare Education and Training Board.

But the Clare Fianna Fail general election hopeful has insisted the nomination was made only after the position had been declined by members of his own group.

I admire her, he said, As a teacher, I am involved in programmes which combat bullying, and I was impressed at how she handled herself in the face of what happened with Sinn Fein. The fact shes no longer aligned to Sinn Fein, I felt it was a good opportunity to acknowledge and show the respect we have for her in the room.
A MILLIONAIRE English couple have spoken of their nightmare at being at the centre of a sex ring investigation, which saw their lavish Limerick home raided by UK police and gardai.

Grahame and Florence Brown, aged 73, repudiate all allegations made against them and a number of other people. They include rape, beastiality, neglect, assault and the indecent assault of two females - a mother and daughter.

They say the gate lodge of Dromkeen House, where they live, has been attacked by two men yelling paedophile since the story broke.

Weve never been in any paedophile ring, sex ring, ever, ever. Ive never been to a sex party or anything like that. Its a nightmare, said Florence.

Her husband of 53 years, Grahame said: We just try to help people, we dont try to rape people.

Two weeks ago, Cumbria police officers, assisted by gardai, carried out an extensive search of their 22 room Queen Anne house in Dromkeen. Computers, phones and family photos were taken.

The investigation relates to allegations of non-recent abuse, said a Cumbria Police spokesperson.

Alleged offences under investigation include neglect, assault and indecent assault, where the injured parties were below the age of 16. The investigation is on-going but the alleged offences date back as far as the 1970s and are alleged to have been committed in Cumbria, he continued.

Grahame and Florence say they have already been investigated in relation to the mothers allegations.

The allegations had been before Judge Bell in 1995 and condemned by him as having no substance in law and were upheld by Justice Butler Sloss in the High Court in London that same year - the accuser having her children taken from her and sectioned under the Mental Health Act, wrote Grahame in an email to the Limerick Leader.

He said the psychologists report read that they were the rantings of a psychopath.

We were interviewed by the police in 1995 and nothing became of it, said Grahame, who bought Dromkeen House in 1988 after seeing an advert in Country Life magazine.

I heard a voice which told me, Buy the house to shelter Gods people. We flew to Shannon the very next day and we bought it. There was a tree growing out of the roof. We let people who hadnt a home live here.

About 10 years ago I realised it was going to be me that was going to be sheltered here instead of the homeless people. The businesses were prospering enough to spend big money on it  over a million. Ive never got any grants from the Government. Its a Queen Anne house built in 1702, the history of it goes back to 1320. There are 12 houses here now, said Grahame.

He denies ever being on a sex offenders list when it is put to him by the Leader. Florence says they would have given police the keys to their houses instead of them having to smash glass in the doors to gain entry.

They searched our house in England as well. They dug up a concrete floor in the house in England looking for a cellar that she said I had taken her to, tied her up and raped her. I was absolutely... It was so shocking to me. Of course they couldnt find a cellar because there isnt a cellar there, said Florence.

Grahame said: There is nothing that they would hoped to have found here. The couple say they are just Christians.

We are not in a cult or anything. We just have a simple faith. We are just Christians. We are just people who have come to Ireland because we felt the Lord telling us to. All we want is peace and quiet. We dont want it to happen again, they say.

The Brown family made their fortune from the smoked salmon business.

Cumbria Police had not replied to a media query asking about the current status of the investigation at the time of going to press.
A JOINT operation between the Criminal Assets Bureau, An Garda Siochana and Limerick City and County Council resulted in visits to as many as 35 Traveller families in a County Limerick town last week.

The visits to caravans in Rathkeale started early, with some families reporting that there were knocks on the door from 7am last Thursday, September 28.

The day of action, believed to have been organised by gardai, is part of an overall inter-agency crackdown ahead of Christmas in Rathkeale.

The Christmas phenomenon, which sees hundreds of people come back into the town from November to January, has been described by local representatives in the past as chaotic and unruly, because of the increase in traffic and public order issues.

The focus on Rathkeale this year comes on foot of requests from exasperated members of the local community as well as council representatives, according to a well placed source.

CAB officers work in Rathkeale throughout the year in an attempt to stifle criminal gangs, and last Christmas they conducted a raid which yielded a rhino cup, watches and cash.

Council staff conducted checks of the caravans with a view to getting information on those who were parked illegally. Parking on public roads represents a road traffic offence, while caravans parked for an extended period of time on private land could be in breach of planning regulation.

Caravans in the yards of properties leased from the local authority would be in breach of the lease agreement.

Some of the families visited will be allowed to stay where they are, if they have resided there for longer than seven years.

During the visits, people were told that they were going to get notices.

The occupants were mainly young families with children, but those visited also included single parents, widows and pregnant mothers.

The heavy-handed approach has prompted upset and anger among members of the Travelling community in Rathkeale. Last Friday, 60 Travellers held a meeting in the town to discuss the situation in the aftermath.

There was anger that so many gardai were brought along to confront widows, young families and people who had no criminal records.

Many of the families will now have to be moved.

This is a problem that has been growing for 50 years now, one man said. The planning for Rathkeale hasnt had any consideration for the situation that Travellers come back with caravans. Traveller-appropriate accommodation would be the way to go and save a lot of the free-for-all that we have now.

Where do the occupants of 35 caravans go? The housing department cant accommodate them. So they have to park somewhere else illegally. The structure and planning of the town hasnt been adequate.
DAVID Bowies former musical director and guitarist comes to Limerick to perform for a new festival this weekend.

Dubliner Gerry Leonard  musician, performer and solo artist  who was musical director for David Bowie from the A Reality Tour in 2003, and a member of the seminal artists inner circle for 15 years, will appear in conversation and performance in Dolans Warehouse this Sunday as part of the I.NY festival.

He will appear in conversation and performance with Professor Eoin Devereux, Assistant Dean for Research in the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at UL.

Leonard: The Dubliner who became one of David Bowies six-string sidemen promises to be a fascinating event. He has worked with Suzanne Vega, Laurie Anderson, Bowie, Roger Waters, Suzanne Vega and Cindy Lauper and was invited by Eoin Devereux to speak at I.NY.

Gerry features on David Bowies albums Heathen, Reality and The Next Day. He was the musical director for Bowies Heathen and Reality Tours. He co-wrote the songs Boss of Me and Ill Take You There on The Next Day, explains Prof Devereux.

The event will be in two parts. I will interview Gerry on stage about working with David Bowie. We will talk about writing songs with Bowie as well as touring with him. We will also talk about the making of Bowies return album  The Next Day. The second part will feature Gerry performing some David Bowie songs as well as some of his own compositions as Spooky Ghost, he added.

Leonard told the Leader: I hope to speak about my career path and how New York has been such a defining experience for me. I also will play some solo pieces of my own composition from my "Spooky Ghost" project alongside some arrangements of Bowie songs that I got to perform with David over the years we worked together. New York is an incredible place for music and art and very welcoming for an Irishman. There is a special bond there and a mutual curiosity.

See www.thisisny.com.
We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.
Judy Stone, The San Francisco Chronicles movie critic who for two decades was a passionate and articulate advocate for the world of cinema outside Hollywood, died Friday morning at her home in San Francisco at age 93.

She died from natural causes, according to her cousin Lori Harrison.

At an age when I needed to learn it  I was in my mid-20s  Judy Stone taught me the difference between personality and character, said Chronicle Movie Critic Mick LaSalle. As a personality, she was abrasive. She woke up every morning ready to get into a fight and often found one. But her moral character was deep. There are charming people that you wouldnt turn your back on. And then theres Judy, who didnt go around smiling, but youd lend her your life savings and then sleep like a baby, knowing there was no one more worthy of your trust.

The 1960s and 70s were a ripe time for international cinema with the work of titans like Luis Bunuel, Ingmar Bergman and Satyajit Ray infiltrating the American market. Ms. Stone had found her calling: explaining art-house films to Bay Area audiences, both in her reviews for The Chronicle and in her interviews with foreign directors. She was tireless talking to them, sometimes spending several hours with a single filmmaker.

Her interviews with 240 filmmakers from 37 countries were collected in a huge book, Eye on the World: Conversations with International Filmmakers. Ms. Stone kept a couple of copies in the trunk of her Alfa Romeo Giulietta in case she ran into a prospective buyer.

Ms. Stones coverage of the San Francisco International Film Festival remains unsurpassed. She would watch almost all the 80 or so films and write critiques. A 4-foot-10 dynamo, her intensity hardly subsided the rest of the year. Admiring colleagues would joke that if Judy were assigned a Polish film, she would learn Polish before watching it. In 1997, the festival would honor her with the Mel Novikoff Award given to an individual or institution whose work has enhanced the film-going publics appreciation of world cinema.

Ms. Stone also championed the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival from its start in 1981. For years, she invited the Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers showing at the festival for a dim sum lunch. She called it the peace lunch.

Her journalistic instincts were in full force at the 1989 Moscow Film Festival. The San Francisco International Film Festival had brought a sampling of American independent films including The Unbearable Lightness of Being by local director Philip Kaufman, a friend of Stones. The San Francisco group accompanying the film worried about how Russian audiences would respond to scenes of the Soviets invading Czechoslovakia in 1968.

The hall was packed, and during the sequence in which the tanks rolled into Prague, many in the audience of 2,000 rose to their feet and booed, said Peter Scarlet, director of San Franciscos festival at the time. Judy filed a story noting that this was the first irrefutable proof any of us had seen that glasnost was for real and that the Soviet Union wasnt going to last much longer.

On a lighter note, Scarlet also recalls that at the same Moscow festival a clearly very inebriated Gerard Depardieu got onto the dance floor with Judy and, perhaps mistaking her for the equally height-challenged (writer and director) Marguerite Duras, with whom he had often collaborated, whirled Judy around the room as though she were a ballerina.

Kaufman first met Ms. Stone 40 years ago when he had just finished The White Dawn, his film about an Eskimo tribe that takes in a group of whalers with unfortunate results. He shot it in the Arctic, casting real Eskimos.

Judy went up to the Arctic and met one of the Eskimos and stayed in touch with him, Kaufman recalled. She also came to Paris and interviewed Daniel Day-Lewis and Juliette Binoche (stars of Unbearable Lightness). Judy would just pop up somewhere.

Assessing her impact, Kaufman said he doesnt know whether Ms. Stones film coverage was influential within Hollywood studios. But it was influential where my heart was. She was an appreciator and when she liked something, she really appreciated it. I think serious filmmakers make films to some degree for themselves so when someone appreciates it, it is really encouraging.

Kaufman also remembers Ms. Stone as a dynamite cook who loved to bring interesting people together at her Potrero Hill home. Once a year, she would make chutney with a certain kind of plum available only at that time.

It was the best chutney I ever had. I used to call her Judith Chutney, Kaufman said.

Among the adjectives filmmaker Ron Levaco uses to describe Ms. Stone are very funny, irascible, gruff, intelligent, pushy, irritating and lovable.

She went after the story so tenaciously that she wasnt above asking some person who blocked her unobstructed view of the screen to get out of her way ... please, he said.

Ms. Stone was born in Philadelphia of Russian Jewish immigrants, who owned a dry goods store. She settled in San Francisco after working as a Rosie the Riveter during World War II making walkie-talkies in a Philadelphia factory and writing leaflets for union organizing drives.

One of her three older brothers was I.F. Stone, an investigative journalist famous for his left-wing self-published newsletter, I.F. Stones Weekly. Ms. Stone was enormously proud of him but wary of people who might want to get close to her to gain access to him.

Ms. Stone is survived by nieces, Celia Gilbert, Susan Kedem and Emily Stone; nephews, Christopher Stone, Barney Stone and Peter Stone; and numerous grand- and great-grand- nieces and nephews.

Services are pending.

Ruthe Stein is the senior movie correspondent and former movie editor of The San Francisco Chronicle.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 5 1 of 5 Tim Hussin/The Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of 5 Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle Show More Show Less 3 of 5 4 of 5 Connor Radnovich/The Chronicle Show More Show Less 5 of 5









A woman who fell to her death from a cliff at San Franciscos Fort Funston on Thursday evening was identified as a 36-year-old Tracy resident, authorities said Friday.

The San Francisco medical examiner identified her as Arezoo Yusufi.
Blair Labatt, CEO of Labatt Food Service, a fourth-generation food service distribution company with $1.3 billion in annual revenue and five hubs that daily move hundreds of thousands of items to restaurant chains, military bases and some 75 percent of Texas school districts, has never taken a business course.

In fact, Labatt once envisioned himself living a halcyon existence in the world of liberal arts academia. He holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia, won the F. Scott Fitzgerald Short Story Prize at Princeton University, where he earned a bachelors degree in English, and took home first class honors from Oxford University, where he got his masters.

In an email exchange after an interview at the companys San Antonio headquarters, he shared that while he did not win the Rhodes Scholarship, Oxymoron, his story about the competition, did net him another writing prize. The nominee from Harvard did not win either, he added of the scholarship. His name was Tommy Lee Jones. I thought it was such a good Texas name, I put him in the story without changing the name.

Labatts career in academia was derailed when he came home and caught the family business bug, returning for good to the frenetic food service scene after teaching stints at the University of Texas and Trinity University. He took the helm of a small food away from home offshoot, which over the next 40 years grew to become the companys bread and butter. Labatt Food Service consistently ranks among the top 10 food service distributors in the U.S., employing 1,700 people in Texas and New Mexico.

More Information Quick facts on Blair Labatt What book are you reading?: I just finished "Shirley" by Charlotte Bronte. How do you typically start your day?: I like to have breakfast with (chief operating officer) Al Silva or some of the other people. It's a really good way for us to kind of visit away from the office and think about things. So we have a couple of favorite places that we like to go and have some huevos rancheros. What was your first job with a paycheck?: I worked in the mailroom at Frost Bank the summer of 1966. Favorite restaurant?: La Fonda. I've been going there since I was a baby ... literally, with my grandfather would go to La Fonda. We're very much regulars . What's your passion/hobby outside of work?: I would say reading is still my passion/hobby. Although late in life, I've become kind of a pretty enthusiastic golfer at a very low level of competence. The third, I should probably mention because it'd be wrong not to, is that I've really developed a keen desire to support the opera in San Antonio. So I've been very active in the work to create Opera San Antonio, the new resident company in the Tobin (Center for the Performing Arts), very active in that. See More Collapse

He proudly shares how each warehouse grew along with the customer base, expanding storage and dock space, raising ceilings and extending automated shelving systems underground; computer-tracking everything and designing a robotic selection system to all but eliminate errors.

When the company felt that it couldnt adequately supply Dairy Queens in El Paso from Dallas, San Antonio or Houston, it bought a warehouse in Lubbock. After acquiring a warehouse in New Mexico, the company got involved in a project that teaches Native Americans to raise top-grade beef to feature at casino restaurants. When a fast-growing Texas client needed someone to supply barbacoa, a South Texas favorite made by slow-cooking beef cheeks, the company added a cook plant.

The company distinguished itself by eschewing a private label line, instead focusing on linking brand-name manufacturers with clients. It built a good team. Al Silva, Labatts chief operating officer, has been with the company since 1981, when he was a manufacturers rep calling on the company. Senior Operations Manager Richard Benitez has been with the company 33 years. One of Labatts most recent projects is adding a free medical clinic for his employees and their spouses.

There have been failures  attempts to expand into Mexico in the 1990s were abandoned because of the differing business culture and the collapse of the peso  but in the end, Labatt has found orchestrating it all  the warehousing and trucking logistics, the innovation to reduce errors, the forging and maintaining of customer relationships  to be kind of fun.

Im not a power broker, he said. Im just a grocery peddler, former English teacher, whatever. I mean, I dont want to sail under terms that are too grandiose for me.

Click here on ExpressNews.com to read the edited transcript of the interview:

LBrezosky@express-news.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Michael Ciaglo /Houston Chronicle Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Pin Lim /For the Chronicle Show More Show Less 3 of 3





Texas growers of organic rice used for health food favorites like vegan burritos and tofu-vegetable bowls are breathing a sigh of relief now that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has decided the crop has not been compromised by mosquito spraying in the wake of Hurricane Harvey.

While Texas ranks sixth for the nation's overall rice production, it supplies nearly a third of the nation's organic rice. Farmers willing to go through the red tape of getting organic certification find it can bring in about twice as much money as conventional rice. Of the states approximately 160,000 acres of rice fields, between 18,000 and 20,000 acres are certified organic. Texas produced $13.7 million of organic rice last year, making it second only to California.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

A total of 13 police officers fired an estimated 60 shots during a gunfight with a homicide suspect who was killed last week on Interstate 80 near the Bay Bridge in Emeryville, officials said Friday.

Richmond police identified seven of their officers who were involved in the Sept. 27 shooting of suspect Demilo Trayvon Hodge, 45, of San Leandro.

The Richmond officers, with a collective 70 years of law enforcement experience, were only identified as Sgt. D. Decious, Sgt. C. Llamas, Detective A. Diaz, Detective R. Micchutto, Officer B. Mendler, Officer O. Guzman and Officer C. Tagorda. Richmond police did not provide their first names.

Now Playing: Comparison of 2016's violent crime stats from major Bay Area cities Video: Ted Andersen, SFGATE

On Wednesday, a spokesman for Fairfield police  the other police agency whose officers were involved in the shooting  identified six of its officers and said they had fired a total of 30 rounds in the exchange with Hodge, who owned and operated a limousine service in Napa.

Richmond police did not say how many rounds its officers shot. Fairfield police said an additional Fairfield officer fired nonlethal rounds at Hodge. Both departments said Emeryville police are in charge of investigating the shooting.

Emeryville police Capt. Oliver Collins said investigators were still reviewing video and physical evidence from the scene and from officers weapons but that the seven Richmond officers had fired a reasonably similar number of rounds as the six Fairfield officers  or about 60 rounds in all.

In a statement Wednesday, Fairfield police identified Sgts. Brent Pucci and Kelly Rombach, and Officers John Divine, Erik Aagaard, Shane Raftery and James Sehr as being among those who fired guns at Hodge. The six officers have a combined 68 years experience in law enforcement, police said. Another officer, Michael Ambrose, fired less lethal rounds that were not specified.

The shootout came after Hodge sped off in a black Chevrolet Suburban while officers were attempting to arrest him in Fairfield. He led Fairfield and Richmond police on a chase to the Powell Street off-ramp of westbound Interstate 80, where his tires were blown out by spike strips put in his path by California Highway Patrol officers.

After a standoff, Hodge suddenly and without warning emerged from the sport utility vehicle, aimed and discharged a handgun in their direction, according to Lt. Felix Tan, spokesman for the Richmond Police Department.

Collins, in charge of the investigation, said he agreed with Tan.

I have watched a lot of video and that would be my conclusion, Collins said.

The officers returned fire, and Hodge was killed, police said. The standoff and resulting investigation of the shooting shut down the freeway for much of the day, tying up rush-hour traffic on a major Bay Area thoroughfare.

Hodge was wanted in connection with the slaying of a 68-year-old Fairfield man in 2015, police said.

Steve Rubenstein is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: srubenstein@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SteveRubeSF
Almost a year to the day since 26-year-old John Sanyaolu was shot to death outside a nightclub in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco, his family made a public plea for help in identifying and catching his killer.

I pray that God will reward you eternally as you stand by me and my family, the victims mother, Fumni Oyewole, said at a news conference Wednesday at San Francisco police headquarters. I pray that the public will stand by me for justice.

Sanyaolu of Stockton was with friends at The Endup in the 400 block of Sixth Street around 2:25 a.m. on Oct. 2 when a verbal altercation broke out inside the nightclub, police said. The argument moved outside where it escalated into a physical fight, police said, and Sanyaolu jumped in to aid the friends and relatives who had joined him at the club.

Gunfire broke out, police said, killing Sanyaolu and injuring two of his relatives, both men ages 28 and 26.

We know that there are still a number of witnesses out there that have information on this homicide, said Cmdr. Greg McEachern of the San Francisco Police Departments Investigations Bureau. We know that someone in the community saw something. We need them to come forward and say something.

On Wednesday, family members joined Oyewole at the news conference to ask for witnesses to come forward. They described Sanyaolu as someone who had a big personality and could brighten an entire room with his smile.

At the funeral, there was a line out the door to get in, said Whitney Sanyaolu, the victims younger sister. They had to bring out a microphone so people standing outside could hear the service.

Whitney Sanyaolu wore a shirt with the phrase Long Live John emblazoned across the back over the last photo taken of all four Sanyaolu siblings together. She said she had the shirt made soon after her brother died, and she and his friends had a new design made for the anniversary of his death.

She described growing up in a large family and the tight bond she shared with her brother. Though they bickered like most siblings, she said, her brother was protective and was the one who took time to teach her how to drive.

One time I was dropping a friend off and I noticed after she left that he was in his car following me, Whitney Sanyaolu said. He laughed and told me that he just wanted to see if I was hanging out with a boy.

Police said witnesses can contact them anonymously by calling (415) 575-4444 or texting a tip to TIP411, beginning the message with SFPD.

Annie Ma is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ama@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @anniema15
File photo

BEIJING, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing combined National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holiday period has been a busy time for a select group of Chinese police, known as "tourist police."

China's first tourist police unit was established in the city of Sanya in October 2015. This holiday period they have teamed up with inspectors from the city's industrial and commercial administration bureau to uncover tourism-related crime.

On Sept. 29, seafood restaurant Xiaoyanjing was fined 200,000 yuan, its business license was revoked and two men suspected of business fraud and bribery were detained.

As of September, China had established 131 tourist police units and 221 circuit courts specializing in tourism-related crime, according to the China Tourism News published on Wednesday.

At Tai'erzhuang, a town in Shandong Province with a history dating back to Qin Dynasty (221 BC -207 BC), tourist police officers monitor 1,000 fixed and six aerial cameras. If an emergency occurs, they must respond quickly to avoid damage or injuries.

"Personal safety is the baseline for tourism, especially during festivals or holiday periods," said Tan Yunzhou, police chief in Tai'erzhuang.

"If there is a disagreement between tourists and business operators or an argument amongst tourists, we must rush to the site, record evidence and control the situation as quickly as possible," he said.

In Beijing, a special tourist police unit has been established to prevent illegal agents, forced shopping and price fraud cases.

From Sept. 26 to Oct. 1, the unit had placed seven people in criminal detention and another 31 to administrative detention.

At the Badaling scenic area, a section of the Great Wall in the suburbs of Beijing, police have handled more than 200 tourist-related cases since early September.

Given that crime against tourists can hinder tourism and damage a location's image, many Chinese cities have realized the importance of having a specialist police unit for tourism-related issues.

Before the tourist police unit was established in Sanya, local restaurants were reportedly charging exorbitant prices after meals had been ordered, taxi drivers often made inconvenient detours to increase fares and local guides added compulsory shopping stops to earn extra commission.

To find out how best to rectify these issues, Sanya sent a police delegation to Russia to learn from their counterparts in Moscow.

Many countries with major tourism industries, such as Greece, Thailand and Egypt, also have specialist tourist police units. The officers are responsible for information inquiries, lost and found belongings, fraud complaints and other issues.

During the National holiday period, officer Zhu Hongguang and his colleagues in Tai'erzhuang take shifts patrolling around the clock. Each carries a first-aid kit in case tourists need emergency assistance or treatment.

"First-aid is the basic skill required of us," Zhu said.
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon declined to file criminal charges against the police officers involved in two separate fatal shootings, stating in a decision released Thursday that the officers actions in the 2014 and 2016 incidents were justified.

Officers Christopher Cotter, Ryan McEachern, James Johnson, Gordon Wong, Kurt Macauley and Omar Alvarenga reasonably acted in self-defense and in defense of others when they fired a total of 35 rounds at carjacking suspect Giovany Contreras-Sandoval in the Financial District on the morning of Sept. 25, 2014, Gascon said.

The officers believed that Contreras-Sandoval was aiming a revolver at them when they fired. The confrontation came just minutes after Contreras-Sandoval crashed a stolen car and fired a gun at least once at Good Samaritans coming to his aid.

About an hour before the shooting, Contreras-Sandoval, 34, had approached a woman sitting in her white Cadillac Escalade while parked in the driveway of her Richmond home, pulled a handgun on her and demanded that she drive him away, according to investigators with the district attorneys independent investigations bureau.

The woman managed to escape while Contreras-Sandoval was getting into the car, and Contreras-Sandoval drove off without her at about 4:50 a.m., investigators said. He then led officers from a number of Bay Area law enforcement agencies on a high-speed car chase through three counties, with the pursuit ending at Bush and Mason streets in San Francisco when officers lost sight of the stolen car.

Witnesses told investigators they saw the stolen Escalade careen northbound in the wrong direction on one-way Battery Street before entering the intersection at California Street on a red light. A blue Nissan Frontier pickup truck clipped the rear of the Escalade, causing it to flip onto its drivers side and collide with a red Toyota Tacoma pickup that had been waiting at a red light.

One of the civilians that ran to help Contreras-Sandoval said he saw the tip of a gun and then a flash. He believed he had been shot at first, but medical personnel later determined he had been hit by shrapnel. An attorney working in a nearby law office saw a bullet come through his eleventh-floor office window, and crime scene investigators later matched the bullet fragment found in his office to an antique Russian revolver that Contreras-Sandoval had in his possession when he was later shot.

The officers responding to the crash did not know about the gunfire, but approached with their weapons drawn because they believed Contreras-Sandoval to be the armed carjacker from the chase, investigators said. Several officers reported seeing him pull a gun from his waistband, and repeatedly ordered him to drop it.

Is this a movie? the officers said Contreras-Sandoval asked them.

This is your life, Officer Alvarenga said he yelled back. This is not a game. This is not a movie. This is your life. We will shoot you if you dont drop the gun.

The six officers fired at Contreras-Sandoval at 6:02 a.m., when they saw his right arm come up, with a gun in hand, and with his elbow bent as if to aim the gun at some of the officers, investigators said. He sustained 10 gunshot wounds, as well as several graze wounds, and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Contreras-Sandoval had methamphetamine, hydrocodone and cocaine in his system at the time of his death.

The second shooting Gascon decided not to file charges in happened on Oct. 14, 2016, when Officer Kevin Downs was shot in the head by Nicholas McWherter. Following that shooting and an hour-long manhunt for McWherter, Officer Paul Dominguez and Officer Nathan Chew fatally shot the 26-year-old Pacifica resident after he fired multiple shots at Dominguez, investigators said.

Gascon said the officers were justified in using deadly force because they faced an imminent danger to themselves and to others.

McWherter had a history of mental illness, his family said, and customers at Lakeshore Plaza called the police when they witnessed him acting erratically in the parking lot.

Not knowing he was armed, Downs approached him as he ran down the sidewalk of Everglade Drive toward Sloat Boulevard. From 12 feet away, McWherter fired three times at Downs, striking him once on the top of his head and partially paralyzing him.

McWherter ran across Sloat and jumped a residential fence. Some of the other responding officers chased after him, but then stopped to help Downs. With a radio call of officer down, officers from around the city swarmed the scene, including Chew and Dominguez, who had been nearing the end of their shift.

They heard a report over the radio of a person running away from the police on Wawona Street, and headed toward where they believed they could cut that person off. At the end of the paved roadway on 28th Avenue at Stern Grove Park, McWherter appeared and fired three to five rounds at Dominguez, who had illuminated him with his flashlight.

Dominguez returned fire, shooting between five and more than 10 rounds. McWherter fell to the ground but the officers were unsure if he had been shot, investigators said. Dominguez reloaded his gun and McWherter sat up.

Dominguez and Chew said they instructed him to put his hands up, but he instead raised the gun in Dominguezs direction, prompting both officers to fire several shots at him.

The officers continued to instruct him to put his hands up, but McWherter continued moving and ignoring the officers commands. At about 9:30 p.m., officers deployed flash-bang devices and then approached him with bulletproof shields and arrested him.

McWherter sustained gunshot wounds to his head, knee and left buttock, and died two days later.

Vivian Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: vho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo
Overcoming racial prejudice to become a popular storyteller, Native American performer Te Ata Fisher - who died in 1995 at age 99 - led an inspirational life. How ironic, then, that the biopic "Te Ata," while meaning well, fails to bring her triumphant story to life.

Produced by the Chickasaw Nation and filmed entirely in Oklahoma, where Te Ata grew up, in Indian Territory, the film begins with Te Ata's father (Gil Birmingham) telling his young daughter, then known as Mary Frances Thompson, a tale about horses of many colors. They may be brown, black or yellow, he says, "but they are all one horse."

The metaphor, of course, also applies to humans. But as we see in the film, all are not equal. Governor Douglas H. Johnston (Graham Greene), the first governor of the Chickasaw Nation appointed by a U.S. president, struggles to get Washington bureaucrats to release funds it had obtained from tribal resources. Worse, the Code of Indian Offenses, with the aim of Christianization, forbids Native Americans from performing their ceremonial dances and rituals.

After enrolling at a girls' boarding school, Te Ata (Q'orianka Kilcher) practices a Shakespeare monologue, which comes off as bombastic and forced. When her teacher (Cindy Pickett) asks, "What stories do you have to tell?" Te Ata turns to Chickasaw myth, finding her true voice.

At least, that's the idea.

Te Ata (a Maori phrase meaning "bearer of the dawn") would go on to perform on Broadway and at the White House. But her style of performance - as rendered by Kilcher with broad gestures and melodramatic tone - comes across as stilted and corny on film.

What's more, the stories themselves are given short shrift. After a show, Seminole women approach Te Ata, who explains that "they share their stories with me so that I can share them with the whole world." But we never hear those stories.

Scenes focusing on Te Ata's relationship with astronomer Clyde Fisher (Mackenzie Astin), whom she would eventually marry, allow the film to stray even further from the theme of personal voice. A courtship montage, scored with jazz, briefly turns "Te Ata" into a Woody Allen movie.

Director Nathan Frankowski got his start in documentary, but "Te Ata" feels less fact-based than something on the Hallmark Channel. In a montage of photos of the real Te Ata, the closing credits somehow convey more drama than the film itself. Simultaneously earnest yet maudlin, "Te Ata" lacks the one thing its subject is said to have possessed: a gift for storytelling.

---

One and one-half stars. Rated PG. Contains brief violence. 105 minutes.

Ratings Guide: Four stars masterpiece, three stars very good, two stars OK, one star poor, no stars waste of time.
The professional trajectory of Harvey Weinstein, the famed and feared Hollywood mogul, has been as volatile as his personality.

One of Hollywood's most powerful producers, Weinstein co-founded Miramax Films, growing the studio into a behemoth that changed the way independent films were viewed. His name has been attached to some of the most famous movies from the last few decades, and he has remained a force in the film industry that has changed substantially since he began his career in the 1970s. Along the way, he helped propel the careers of people like Quentin Tarantino and Steven Soderbergh, and won the admiration of countless critics and others.

But his reputation for abrasiveness and his legendary temper have earned him more than a few enemies along the way, making Weinstein the frequent target of award ceremony jokes and pointed anecdotes.

Matt Damon once compared him to a scorpion; there has been bad blood, too, with a former protege, Kevin Smith.

The complicated relationship Weinstein has with the industry was perhaps best summed up by a speech Meryl Streep gave at the Golden Globes one year.

"I want to thank God - Harvey Weinstein," she joked. "The punisher. Old Testament, I guess."

But a blockbuster story published Thursday by the New York Times represents perhaps the most severe blow to his career. The story aired decades of previously unknown sexual harassment accusations against Weinstein, who now says he plans to take a leave of absence.

Here is a timeline of his ups and downs over the years.

In 1979, Weinstein and his brother, Bob, co-founded Miramax, which would help bring art-house cinema into the mainstream.

The studio broke through in the late 1980s with a trio of hits: Soderbergh's "Sex, Lies, Videotape," Jim Sheridan's "My Left Foot," which won Daniel Day-Lewis an Oscar, and Giuseppe Tornatore's "Cinema Paradiso," which won the Oscar for best foreign language film.

Disney bought the studio in 1993 for between $60 and $80 million, giving it an infusion of cash and the backing of a major company. Miramax continued its success, financing Tarantino's 1994 hit "Pulp Fiction," which went on to be one of the most influential films of the decade. The film, which was made for $8.5 million, grossed more than $200 million worldwide.

For an 11-year period from 1992 to 2003, Miramax Films saw at least one its films nominated for an Oscar each year, winning best picture for several of them, including "The English Patient" (1996), "Shakespeare in Love" (1998) and "Chicago" (2002).

Other acclaimed films that came out of Miramax included "Good Will Hunting" (1997) and "The Cider House Rules" (1999).

And hits like "Scream" (1996) and "Jackie Brown" (1997) kept the money flowing.

Miramax was known for pursing "Oscars with a drive - and a budget - previously unknown in the industry," placing more advertisements, lobbying more voters, dismissing more rivals and sending out more freebies that other studios, The Washington Post reported.

But the Weinstein brothers became known for their ruthless way of doing business.

"Miramax ran on fear. They're intimidating, they shout a lot, they foam at the mouth," Stuart Burkin, who started at the company in 1991, told Vanity Fair.

Even as he was dominating Hollywood, according the Times, Harvey Weinstein was accused of serial sexual harassment.

The actress Ashley Judd said that while she was shooting the 1997 film "Kiss the Girls," he lured her to his hotel room for a "meeting," trying to force her to give him a massage or watch him shower.

"How do I get out of the room as fast as possible without alienating Harvey Weinstein?" she recalled in an interview with the Times.

Throughout the 1990s, the Times reported, Weinstein settled with numerous women, including a young assistant in New York in 1990; actress Rose McGowan in 1997; and an assistant in London in 1998.

Things took a downturn professionally for Weinstein in the 2000s.

Disney parted ways with the Weinsteins in 2005 after arguments over the studio's ballooning movie budgets and disagreements over the degree of their autonomy. Harvey and Bob started a new independent studio, the Weinstein Company, that same year.

But Harvey seemed to have lost some of his touch. Between 2005 and 2009, the Weinstein Company released some 70 films, many of which nobody wanted to watch.

Flops included the 2005 film "Derailed," featuring actors Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston, which critics derided as "a glossy and often risible bit of trash," and "laughable." According to a New York Times profile of the brothers, more than a quarter the films in that four-year stretch fell short of the $1 million box-office mark in the United States; of those, 13 took in less than $100,000.

"I think I took my eye off the ball," Weinstein told Vanity Fair in 2011. "From about 2005, 2006, 2007, I was out of it. I thought I could oversee movies and have it done for me, so to speak."

During that period, Weinstein also branched out into other fields, buying part of the Halston fashion brand, part of the cable network Ovation, and the social networking site A Small World.

"When I first got there, in 2008, the focus was not on movies," David Glasser, the president of the Weinstein Company, told Vanity Fair. "Harvey was focused on internet and fashion and the global media picture."

Complicating matters, NBC Universal sued the Weinstein Company in 2008, for making a deal to move the reality show "Project Runway" from Bravo to Lifetime. The Weinstein Company later settled with NBC Universal for an undisclosed amount.

The year 2011 marked Harvey Weinstein's professional resurgence. "The King's Speech," starring Colin Firth, was nominated for 12 Oscars, taking home the best picture trophy.

Critics piled on praise, calling Weinstein the "comeback kid."

"Look, there are four, five businesses we never should have been in and we ended up humbled and learned from that experience," Weinstein told the Times in 2011. "We are concentrating on movies, pulling the band back together and I think the coming year could be as good or better than any we ever had at Miramax."

The next year, Weinstein cleaned up at the Golden Globes for "The Iron Lady," "My Week with Marilyn" and "The Artist," which would win best picture at the Oscars.

Streep paid him homage during that Globes ceremony with her "God" quote. As Gawker put it, Weinstein had "risen from the grave to feast on the bones of his enemies."

That year, he was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.

- The fall

In its investigative story about sexual harassment allegations against Weinstein, the Times reported that he reached at least eight settlements with women over the years.

In a statement to the Times, Weinstein said: "I appreciate the way I've behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it. Though I'm trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go. That is my commitment. My journey now will be to learn about myself and conquer my demons."

As The Washington Post's Stephanie Merry put it, Weinstein's statement to the Times "is a mix of remorse, rap lyrics, and an attempt to distract from his indiscretions by bringing up his fury at the NRA. Most importantly, it doesn't contradict the allegations."

One of his attorneys, Charles Harder, told the Hollywood Reporter that Weinstein plans to sue the newspaper, charging that the story "relies on mostly hearsay accounts and a faulty report."

Another lawyer who is advising Weinstein said in a statement that "he denies many of the accusations as patently false," according to the Times.

Weinstein said in his statement that he planned to take a leave of absence "to deal with this issue head on," while the board of the Weinstein Company will investigate the allegations, according to the New York Times.
A total of 12 people were missing after a fishing vessel from the Chinese mainland collided with a tanker of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region early Thursday in international waters some 400 km north of the Oki Islands in western Japan, according to the Chinese Consulate-General in Osaka.

(File photo of the Hong Kong tanker. Photo by oeeee.com)

Four of the 16 crew members on board the fishing vessel have been rescued, while 12 others were still missing, said the consulate-general.

Latest update: Five bodies found in toppled Chinese fishing vessel

The Japan Coast Guard has set up a response unit and sent three patrol vessels to the area where the accident happened.

The consulate-general immediately set up an emergency response unit headed by the consul general upon receiving the report about the accident.

It has sent a working group to the scene to help with the rescue and is keeping contact with the Japan Coast Guard.
Everybody in Texas knows rice and beans. But get ready for a different take on the classic combination with the opening of Hoppin John in the former home of the beloved Saigon Express, which closed April 7.

The new business at 1626 McCullough Ave. is the latest project from couple April Carter and Guillermo Galvan, who previously operated several Dickeys Barbecue Pit locations in San Antonio and a chain of taquerias in the McAllen area.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

A lawsuit filed against UISD by an employee claiming she was discriminated and harassed during her pregnancies has been dismissed by a federal court judge in Laredo.

The judge ruled in favor of UISD on several claims made by Olga Garza-Delgado. Her lawsuit alleged Hector Perez, United Independent School District executive director of technology, created a hostile work environment for Garza-Delgado due to her age and gender and retaliated against her for using the Family Medical Leave Act.

During her employment, Perez allegedly interfered with Garza-Delgado's FMLA leave by inactivating her employment status. She requested maternity leave three times: in 2011, 2013 and 2014. All her requests were approved.

"Upon her return, she was harassed further and humiliated for her taking leave and ultimately discharged and replaced with a younger person," the lawsuit states.

READ MORE: With 8 new schools on the way, UISD planning slew of boundary changes

Garza-Delgado was terminated from her position as an information technology applications specialist. She was later reinstated in another department and continues to work for UISD. She filed the lawsuit several months after, arguing that it was "the culmination of the harassment she faced at UISD concerning her pregnancies and leave requests."

The court found "no evidence that her FMLA leave was shortened or hindered in any manner or that UISD attempted to discourage her from taking FMLA leave when she requested it."

The lawsuit further stated Garza-Delgado was harassed and discriminated against because of her pregnancy and on the basis of gender, violating Title VII. Title VII prohibits employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin and religion.

Among her claims of a hostile work environment, Garza-Delgado cited one instance in which Perez chose to repair a malfunctioning air condition unit. But the court concluded there was no evidence to support that Perez's refusal to replace the unit "had any relation to her pregnancy and that they simply made a business decision to attempt replacing the broken part before replacing the entire unit."

Garza-Delgado had also cited a pay discrepancy and constant questions surrounding her plans to apply for more leave. However, the pay discrepancy was corrected within a month. As for the other claims, the court found that they did not meet the standards of violating Title VII.

MORE FROM LMTonline: United HS students face possible expulsion, criminal charges after caught changing grades

"These facts, taken as true, are not sufficiently severe or pervasive to establish a hostile work environment for purposes of Title VII," the memorandum and order states.

UISD provided legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for terminating Garza-Delgado, the court document adds.

According to her termination packet, Garza-Delgado "was fired because of her falsification of documents and failure to adhere to district policies." The district also cited issues with attendance and punctuality over the course of several years as reasons leading to Garza-Delgado's termination.

"We are very pleased with the court's opinion and will continue to defend against claims that have no merit as was found in this particular case," said UISD attorney Juan Cruz.

Sonya Garcia, a senior associate for J. Cruz and Associates, was the lead attorney on the case.
In the aftermath of the summer's deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, conspiracy theorists came out in force. It took less than a day for familiar faces such as Alex Jones of Infowars to begin peddling baseless claims that the entire thing was a left-wing plot to stoke racial violence and discredit President Donald Trump.

Their allegations ran the gamut: The rally organizer was a "deep state" operative from Occupy Wall Street. Leftist protesters had dressed up in Nazi regalia. Billionaire investor George Soros had orchestrated the whole thing.

It was all swiftly debunked by stories in PolitiFact, Snopes, Politico and elsewhere.

But Rep. Paul A. Gosar, R-Ariz., still seems swayed by the "false flag" theory of the white supremacist violence.

In an interview with Vice News that aired Thursday night, Gosar suggested that the rally was "created by the left" and carried out by an "Obama sympathizer."

The congressman also brought up a thoroughly-refuted claim that Soros, a Hungarian-born Jew who survived Nazi occupation during World War II, had collaborated with the Third Reich, prompting a strongly-worded condemnation from a Soros spokeswoman.

Gosar's remarks also drew a stream of criticism on Twitter. "Will other Republicans rebuke him," asked Bill Kristol, editor of the conservative Weekly Standard. "If not, is this a party to which one can belong?"

"That drip-drip-drip of anti-Semitism," wrote science writer Steve Silberman.

A spokesperson for Gosar didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment early Friday morning.

Gosar made the statements in a segment on his controversial decision to block his critics on social media. At one point the discussion turned to antifa, the anti-fascist activist movement whose adherents have sparred with white supremacists in recent public protests.

"In fairness, antifa is in the news because of a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville," Vice's Elspeth Reeve told Gosar.

"Well, isn't that interesting. Maybe that was created by the left," he said.

Asked to explain, Gosar responded: "Let's look at the person that actually started the rally. It's come to our attention that this is a person from Occupy Wall Street that was an Obama sympathizer. So, wait a minute, be careful where you start taking these people to."

Without evidence, he went on to suggest that Soros may have funded the neo-Nazis who marched in the city.

Nearly identical claims have circulated for some time in far-right circles, many of them promoted by Jones of Infowars, Trump ally Roger Stone, conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza and websites such as Gateway Pundit.

None hold water.

The notion that Soros had Nazi ties has been proven false over and over and over. But it remains popular with his critics on the extreme right, many of whom view Soros - who is known for funding Democratic candidates and liberal causes - as a sort of left-wing boogeyman with an outsize influence in American government.

A spokeswoman from Soros's Open Society Foundations addressed the fabrication in a statement to Vice News.

"He was 14 years old when the war ended. He did not collaborate with the Nazis. He did not help round up people. He did not confiscate anybody's property," the statement read. "Such baseless allegations are insulting to the victims of the Holocaust, to all Jewish people, and to anyone who honors the truth."

The statement continued: "It is an affront to Mr. Soros and his family, who against the odds managed to survive one of the darkest moments in our history. He abhors violence in any form and has never funded it. Never has. Never will."

Gosar also seemed to draw from conspiracy theories about Jason Kessler, the conservative blogger who organized the Aug. 12 "Unite the Right" rally, where one woman was killed and others were injured when a car plowed into a group of counterprotesters.

Infowars and others have argued that Kessler was a supporter of President Barack Obama and Occupy Wall Street, the left-wing movement against economic inequality.

Kessler has acknowledged that he voted for Obama and attended an Occupy event in 2011. But according to Snopes, which interviewed Kessler in August, he has made clear that he became disenchanted with the Democratic Party during Obama's second term and has publicly espoused white nationalist views for nearly two years.

Indeed, Kessler's blog posts railing against what he called "white genocide" were part of what made him known among white nationalists starting in early 2016.

Gosar isn't the only member of Congress to suggest the violence in Charlottesville was part of a liberal machination. In September, Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., called the event "a setup for these dumb Civil War re-enactors."

"It was left-wingers who were manipulating them in order to have this confrontation" and "put our president on the spot," he told the San Francisco Chronicle.

PolitiFact rated the statement "pants on fire."

https://youtu.be/LrIc1IM-WEg
Former vice president Joe Biden returned to national politics Tuesday during an afternoon rally in Alabama for Democratic Senate nominee Doug Jones, and his speech was a striking departure from his party's current tone.

As Jones smiled from across the podium, Biden treated the crowd of about 1,000 people to a riff on the Senate's glory days - days when the party included segregationists.

"I've been around so long, I worked with James Eastland," said Biden, referring to a segregationist senator from Mississippi. "Even in the days when I got there, the Democratic Party still had seven or eight old-fashioned Democratic segregationists. You'd get up and you'd argue like the devil with them. Then you'd go down and have lunch or dinner together. The political system worked. We were divided on issues, but the political system worked."

Biden talked wistfully about Washington's old politics, even showing off his vocal impression of the last Democrat to represent Alabama in the Senate, Howell Heflin. (Richard Shelby, the state's senior senator, was elected as a Democrat but switched to the GOP in the 1990s.)

But when Graham Vyse, a reporter for the New Republic, later asked progressives to respond to the Biden pitch, he got an earful. In Vyse's report published Thursday, Markos Moulitsas, the founder of Daily Kos, said:

"If Biden's solution to eight years of Republican obstruction and conservative slash-and-burn tactics against him and Barack Obama is to talk about 'bipartisanship' and 'consensus,' then he might as well pack up and go home. If he's that stupid to believe that [expletive], then he's no longer got any business being in [public]. The various wings of the Democratic Party may disagree on a bunch of things, but the one thing that unites us is the realization that the right wants nothing more than a white supremacist autocracy that would rather see liberals dead or in chains. You don't seek consensus with Nazis. You destroy them."

Democratic activists, who are less focused on 2020 than is the pundit class, have warm attitudes toward Biden. In Alabama, where Democrats have been wiped out of power, it's not clear that any other high-profile member of the party could stump for Jones.

But as Biden reemerges as a national figure - his book tour will take him across the country this fall - he is set to collide with the new politics of the post-Obama Democrats. Biden, who passed on a 2016 presidential run, never had to face the criticism that weakened Hillary Clinton's support from the left. She was pummeled for talking in support of the 1994 crime bill; Biden co-wrote that bill. She lost some activists forever by backing the Iraq War; Biden backed it, too, with reservations.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who since Clinton's defeat has become the Democrats' most visible messenger, has argued that the party can win back power and compete with white working-class voters by compromising less with Republicans - by staking out a left-wing vision and pulling the country with them. Biden's approach, of promising incremental change and taking the bitterness out of politics, increasingly sounds out of place.

"Guys, the wealthy are as patriotic as the poor," Biden told the crowd in Alabama. "I know Bernie doesn't like me saying that, but they are."

Although the former vice president's point was to set up his argument against Republican tax cuts, his criticism of Sanders received the most attention.
A former government contractor who helped scam the State Department out of millions of dollars was sentenced Friday to three years in prison.

Jose Rivera, 57, of Potomac, Maryland, worked with two others to trick the contractor DynCorp into paying a grossly inflated rent for a training camp in Iraq, according to prosecutors.

The State Department ultimately footed the bill for the property, which came out to over $5.3 million.

Judge Leonie Brinkema said a serious sentence was required to "make sure other people involved in government contracting know that if they commit fraud, even over there, there will be consequences."

But Brinkema acknowledged that Rivera, who has cooperated extensively with authorities and is expected to testify against a co-conspirator next month, will probably have his sentence reduced in the future.

Rivera was not the ringleader in the conspiracy. That man was Wesley Struble, who is serving a four-year prison sentence. Struble knew DynCorp was looking for property in Iraq for the State Department contract, which involved training civilian police officers. He was working for another contractor that was leasing property from an Iraqi company at Baghdad International Airport for $124,000 a month. So Struble approached Rivera, according to court documents, about DynCorp's potential interest in the site. He recruited Rivera and associates at the Iraqi company to increase the rent to $665,000, splitting the difference.

Emil Popescu, a Romanian man who was working for the Iraqi company, was extradited to the United States and faces trial in November.

While he was only a recruit to the plot, Rivera did take thousands of dollars for his role in the scheme, which he sent through Struble's relatives and hid in speakers to avoid detection.

Rivera "no doubt believ[ed] that the taxpayer - and the U.S. Department of State - would not miss a couple more million dollars in a warzone," Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Harrison and Kimberly Pedersen wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

He and Struble are now both liable for the $3.4 million in excess charges paid by the government.

Rivera worked at DynCorp for about 13 years and made $250,000 a year, according to court records, before starting his own security firm. Before becoming a government contractor, he served in the U.S. Army for nine years and as a D.C. police officer for 11.

An attorney for Rivera declined to comment after sentencing.
WASHINGTON -- Schisms are brewing on Capitol Hill over a new bipartisan effort to limit the authority and extend the timeline of the National Security Agency's ability to monitor the communications of suspected foreign agents abroad, as key members refuse to endorse the proposal.

The NSA data collection program under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act has long inspired divisions between privacy advocates and national security hawks, over where and how collected data will be disseminated and used by various government agencies. But as lawmakers look toward a looming, end-of-year deadline to reauthorize the program, both privacy champions and advocates for the intelligence community are finding fault in the new House Judiciary Committee proposal. It requires the FBI to seek a warrant before asking to view Americans' emails and phone call records collected under Section 702 authority, relevant to criminal cases.

The disagreement is narrow, but critical to a Section 702 extension, which the intelligence community has identified as its top legislative priority for 2017.

In the House Judiciary Committee's bill, searches of the NSA database are unlimited in national security cases. But if the FBI wants to query the database for the communications of a U.S. person related to a criminal case, it must first seek a warrant before it can review the results.

The provision is inspired by concerns that with no restrictions on law enforcement officials' access to Americans' information in such a database, the FBI could exploit its contents to aid money-laundering investigations, tax fraud, murders, or other federal crimes without an explicit national security bent.

While Section 702 authority permits surveillance of foreign agents believed to be outside the United States, American citizens and U.S. residents can also end up being monitored if they are in communication with the target.

But the restriction is too great for the intelligence community and its advocates, who fear any limitation on their ability to search and review information contained in the database could negatively affect national security investigations.

The intelligence community is asking for a straight extension of the FBI's current, unfettered authority to query the database. It also wants that extension to be permanent.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., said Thursday that it is likely to be impossible for Section 702 intelligence-gathering and querying authority to get through Congress without some limitations or changes, declining to endorse the ones in the House Judiciary Committee's bill.

In an interview Thursday, Intelligence Committee ranking Democrat Adam Schiff, Calif., also said that some limitations to protect privacy and improve transparency would be necessary. But he disagreed with the House Judiciary Committee's approach of limiting searches, instead urging that if the concern was that information might be improperly used for criminal cases, it would be better to simply limit the admissibility of such communications as evidence in criminal court - much like evidence obtained through warrantless searches is often excluded.

"We want law enforcement and the intelligence community to be able to make queries of the database in a way that protect the country," he said. "If we're concerned about this vein turned into a grand database that can be used to prosecute people for unrelated things, then we ought to look more to excluding the use of the contents in nonnational security cases rather than preventing the searches from taking place."

It will not simply be left to officials of the House Judiciary and House Intelligence committees to iron out their differences on the front or back end. Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. -- both of whom sit on both the Intelligence and Judiciary committees in their chamber - are expected to release a bill soon that is more deferential to the intelligence community than the House Judiciary's bill. Privacy advocates Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., are also expected to weigh in on the other end of the spectrum, with a bill requiring warrants for any and all queries of the database.

Back in the House, the Freedom Caucus is also starting to discuss its approach to a Section 702 reauthorization in meetings, though the group has not yet taken a stand on how it will vote.

Its leader, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., is already raising concerns related not just to the central debate about "where does national security and going after terrorists infringe on the rights that are constitutionally protected," as he said, but also related to the intelligence community's internal practice of "unmasking" of U.S. persons, that Meadows believes "infringed on our Fourth Amendment rights" against unlawful search and seizure.

Unmasking became a buzzword earlier this year, after Nunes accused Obama administration officials of improperly revealing the identities of U.S. persons picked up in foreign surveillance reports, intimating that at least one of those persons was affiliated with President Donald Trump. According to NSA Director Adm. Mike Rogers, only about 20 members of the agency are permitted to approve requests to "unmask" the identities of U.S. persons who are picked up in Section 702 and other surveillance of foreign agents overseas, and only certain government officials privy to those reports can make an unmasking request. If the unmasking request is deemed critical to understanding the nature of the intelligence, the identity of that U.S. person is unmasked only to the requesting party.

The House Judiciary bill also changes the procedure by which unmasking requests are made. But given those concerns, Meadows suggested he wants to see even more protections for how information on Americans' communications is accessed, endorsing the idea of "look[ing] at warrants and the admissibility of evidence" - a combination, effectively, of both the House Judiciary Committee's and Schiff's proposals.

"It's making sure we go after the bad guys but that we don't have a dragnet that pulls in U.S. citizens with constitutionally protected privilege," Meadows added.

Meadows guessed, however, that it would still be a few weeks before the Freedom Caucus officially weighs in on the Section 702 debate and the House Judiciary Committee's bill.

"When I tell you I've got the votes to stop it, I want to make sure I've got the votes to stop it," he said.

---

Ellen Nakashima contributed to this report.
Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein is so certain that he is going to win a libel case against the New York Times that he already has decided what to do with the money - before even filing the lawsuit.

"We are preparing the lawsuit now," Weinstein's attorney, Charles Harder, told the Hollywood Reporter. "All proceeds will be donated to women's organizations."

He shouldn't be so confident.

Libel cases are hard to win, especially for public figures, such as Weinstein, who would have to prove not only that the Times published false claims of sexual harassment but also that the newspaper did so with "actual malice."

"Actual malice means that a statement was made with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether or not it was false," according to the Legal Information Institute at Cornell.

What's more, Weinstein has basically, though not explicitly, admitted to sexually harassing women who worked for him. Here's a portion of the statement he issued to the Times before publication:

"I realized some time ago that I needed to be a better person, and my interactions with the people I work with have changed.

"I appreciate the way I've behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it. Though I'm trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go ...

"I want a second chance in the community, but I know I've got work to do to earn it. I have goals that are now priorities. Trust me; this isn't an overnight process. I've been trying to do this for 10 years, and this is a wake-up call. I cannot be more remorseful about the people I hurt, and I plan to do right by all of them."

"If he sues on the theory that the whole report is defamatory, his admission that some of it is true could be fatal," said David A. Anderson, a libel law expert at the University of Texas.

Anderson's advice to Weinstein: "He should single out the allegations that he thinks are false and sue on those, individually."

Weinstein's position appears to be that, yes, he harassed some women, but some of the claims published by the Times are false. Let's suppose he is right. He would still encounter a problem in court, according to Anderson.

"He might have trouble showing how he has been harmed by one allegation if he concedes that similar allegations are true," Anderson said.

This is a key point. Beyond demonstrating falsity and actual malice, Weinstein would have to show that any untrue allegations published by the Times inflicted damage.

This standard was on display in August when a Los Angeles judge tossed a libel suit that celebrity fitness trainer Richard Simmons filed against the National Enquirer. The Enquirer had published a story claiming Simmons was transitioning into a woman; Simmons denied the report. The judge said the veracity of the claim didn't matter because it is not insulting to be called a trans woman.

"While, as a practical matter, the characteristic may be held in contempt by a portion of the population, the court will not validate those prejudices by legally recognizing them," Judge Gregory Keosian wrote.

It is clearly insulting to be called a serial sexual harasser. But if you have acknowledged sexual harassment - and your behavior is well known - can you credibly claim that your reputation was damaged by a few additional harassment accusations that turn out to be false?

Weinstein, being a wealthy and powerful figure, has the benefit of excellent legal representation, of course. His team includes Lisa Bloom, better known for representing victims of sexual harassment.

Harder is known for helping Hulk Hogan win a $140 million judgment in a case against Gawker Media last year. It is important to note, however, that the Hogan suit was about invasion of privacy, not libel.

"I don't think the Gawker case is legally relevant, unless Weinstein sues for invasion of privacy," Anderson said. "Of course, it may be relevant in the sense that it gives Weinstein's lawyer some valuable experience."
Former Congressman William Jefferson will go free from prison after a federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, vacated his convictions on seven of 10 corruption charges and said Jefferson should get a new sentence in what remains of his case.

Jefferson, a Democrat from Louisiana, was convicted in 2009 of bribery and fraud and sentenced to 13 years in prison after a long-running FBI investigation into schemes involving African businesses. In a memorable aspect of the case, the government said Jefferson had stashed in his freezer $90,000 in cash that he intended as a foreign bribe.

Judge T.S. Ellis ruled that in light of the Supreme Court's decision last year in the case of former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell, not all of Jefferson's behavior rose to the level of public corruption defined by the high court.

"No one reading this opinion should conclude that Jefferson was innocent of crime; he was not innocent of crime," Ellis wrote in throwing out most charges on which Jefferson had been convicted. "Even by McDonnell's standard he engaged in and was convicted of some criminal conduct."

Jefferson, 70, was found guilty at trial of using his congressional office as a criminal enterprise to enrich himself, soliciting and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to support his business ventures in Africa.

The former congressman clearly engaged in a conspiracy to bribe foreign officials, Ellis wrote, most famously with the money in his freezer that was intended for the vice president of Nigeria. And the judge said enough evidence was presented at trial to show that Jefferson used his position as a congressman to pressure the U.S. Trade and Development Agency to fund a study of a fertilizer project in Nigeria in exchange for bribes.

But other behavior did not include "official acts" as defined by the Supreme Court in the McDonnell case, Ellis ruled, because Jefferson merely set up meetings and expressed support for a high-tech company called iGate looking to break into the Nigerian market.

"The overwhelming weight of the government's case with respect to the iGate scheme was focused on 'constituent services' and other activities that were not criminal," Ellis wrote.

The Supreme Court ruled that McDonnell's promotion of a nutritional supplement, which likewise included meetings and expressions of support, were not direct, corrupt uses of his office as governor.

While Jefferson did pressure African officials, Ellis said, official acts committed abroad are not covered by the bribery statute.

Jefferson already has served more than the five-year term he was handed on the bribery counts, and the rest of his sentence was set to run concurrently on all charges.

Jefferson's time served leaves him facing resentencing on one count that still might expose him to extended prison time. But the judge said he should be set free pending a new sentence hearing set for Dec. 1 because there is no guarantee that he would get a prison term longer than the time he already has served.

The judge also gave the government until Oct. 16 to tell him whether federal prosecutors intend to retry Jefferson on the vacated counts and on what legal grounds. Ellis cautioned in a footnote that either side could appeal his order but that a request for a stay pending appeal would probably not be granted.

Joshua Stueve, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, said they are weighing the decision about retrying Jefferson.

Robert Trout, who represented Jefferson, said defense attorneys were reviewing the judge's order, but "we are obviously pleased that Judge Ellis has ordered Mr. Jefferson's immediate release."

Jefferson's original sentence was the longest ever imposed on a member of Congress for corruption charges. A Kentucky businessman also went to prison for bribing Jefferson, as did a former congressional aide.

Jefferson is one of several politicians to benefit from the Supreme Court's ruling on McDonnell, which has made it significantly more difficult for prosecutors to prove public corruption.

Former New York State Assembly speaker Sheldon Silver saw his convictions overturned earlier this year, as did former New York State Senate majority leader Dean Skelos. In both cases, an appeals court ruled that jurors had been given too broad a definition of public corruption.

The trial of former U.S. senator Robert Mendendez, taking place in New Jersey, is a test of whether prosecutors can win a corruption conviction under the new standard.
President Donald Trump is expected to announce next week that he will "decertify" the international nuclear deal with Iran, saying it is not in the national interest of the United States and kicking the issue to a reluctant Congress, people briefed on the White House strategy said Thursday.

The move would mark the first step in a process that could eventually result in the resumption of U.S. sanctions against Iran, potentially derailing a deal limiting Iran's nuclear activities reached in 2015 with the United States and five other nations.

But Trump would hold off on recommending that Congress reimpose sanctions, which would constitute a clearer break from the pact, according to four people familiar with aspects of the president's thinking.

The decision would amount to a middle ground of sorts between Trump, who has long wanted to withdraw from the agreement completely, and many congressional leaders and senior diplomatic, military and national security advisers, who believe the deal is worth preserving with changes if possible.

Now Playing: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is privately urging President Trump to certify Irans compliance with the Iran nuclear deal. Ryan Sartor (@ryansartor) has that story. Video: Buzz60

CHANG W. LEE/NYT

This week, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford expressed qualified support for the deal during congressional testimony. And Mattis suggested he did not believe taking the step to decertify would scuttle the agreement.

Trump is expected to deliver a speech, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 12, laying out a larger strategy for confronting the nation he blames for terrorism and instability throughout the Middle East.

Officials cautioned that plans could still change, and the White House would not confirm plans for a speech or its contents. Trump faces an Oct. 15 deadline to report to Congress on whether Iran is complying with the agreement and whether he judges the deal to be in the U.S. national security interest.

"The administration looks forward to sharing details of our Iran strategy at the appropriate time," said Michael Anton, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.

The fate of the nuclear pact is only one consideration in that larger strategy, U.S. officials said, although given Trump's focus on it as an "embarrassment," it is the most high-profile element.

The deal signed under President Barack Obama was intended to close off the potential for Iran to quickly build a nuclear bomb by curbing nuclear activities the United States and other partners considered most troubling. It allowed some uranium enrichment to continue for what Iran claims is peaceful medical research and energy; the country says it has never sought nuclear weapons. In exchange, world powers lifted crippling U.S. and international economic sanctions.

At issue now is the fate of U.S. sanctions lifted by Obama and by extension whether the United States will move to break the deal. That could open an international breach with European partners who have warned they will not follow suit.

Outreach for a "transatlantic understanding" about reopening or supplementing the deal is likely to be part of Trump's announcement, according to one Iran analyst who has discussed the strategy with administration officials. Several other people familiar with a nine-month review of U.S. military, diplomatic, economic and intelligence policy toward Iran spoke on the condition of anonymity because aspects of the policy are not yet set, and Trump has not announced his decision.

Trump said last month that he had decided what to do on Iran but that he would not divulge the decision.

Welcoming military leaders to a White House dinner Thursday night, Trump said Iran had not lived up to its end of the nuclear bargain.

"The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed and chaos across the Middle East," he said. "That is why we must put an end to Iran's continued aggression and nuclear ambitions. They have not lived up to the spirit of their agreement."

The president's senior national security advisers agreed within the past several weeks to recommend that Trump "decertify" the agreement at the Oct. 15 deadline, two of those people said.

The administration has begun discussing possible legislation to "strengthen" the agreement, congressional aides and others said - a "fix it or nix it" approach suggested by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a leading Republican hawk on Iran.

But the prospects of such an approach are highly uncertain, and many supporters of the deal consider it a dodge.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said last month that he will not reopen the agreement for negotiation. Separately, representatives of Iran, China and Russia told Secretary of State Rex Tillerson the same thing during a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session last month, two senior diplomats familiar with that meeting said.

Cotton appeared to preview the main elements of the administration's plan this week, although he said he does not know exactly what Trump plans to do. The two met Thursday at the White House.

In a speech Tuesday at the Council on Foreign Relations, Cotton said Trump should "decline to certify the deal and begin the work of strengthening it."

He said decertification should be based on a finding that the deal is not in the U.S. "vital national security interest," citing "the long catalogue of the regime's crimes and perfidy against the United States, as well as the deal's inherent weakness."

But Cotton said he would not push for the immediate reimposition of sanctions, as some conservative lawmakers and outside lobbying groups are pushing to do.

He laid out proposals for Congress to pass new stipulations for U.S. participation in the deal, including elimination of the "sunset clauses" under which restrictions on some Iranian nuclear activities expire after several years, tougher inspections requirements and new curbs on Iran's ballistic- and cruise-missile programs.

Cotton claimed that a unified statement from Congress would help Trump forge a new agreement among European and other allies and strengthen his hand for renegotiation.

"The world needs to know we're serious, we're willing to walk away, and we're willing to reimpose sanctions - and a lot more than that," Cotton said. "And they'll know that when the president declines to certify the deal, and not before."

In the Senate, plans have been underway for months to respond to a presidential decertification.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) has been Capitol Hill's point person on discussions with the White House. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also have been made aware of plans being discussed with the White House and State Department.

McConnell is not eager to take on the issue at a time when the Senate calendar is full and midterm elections are only a year off, according to congressonal aides and a Western diplomat who has met with him.

"He's not excited about getting the 'Old Maid,' " said the diplomat, referring to the card game where the player left holding a certain card is the loser.

Still, Republican leaders say they are confident that they can craft a legislative response to the president's decision that can address deficiencies in the deal and avoid turning the issue into a political litmus test for the GOP.

Some Republicans have also been urging the president to take a critical public stance against the deal - without blowing it up.

"The president should come out and say, 'Hey, we're going to enforce this, and right now I think these different provisions are being violated,' " Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Ala.) said last week - adding that Trump should tell Iran it had a limited window to fix problems. "If they don't, do what [then-Secretary of State] John Kerry and Barack Obama said they were going to do, which is snap-back sanctions."

Rep. Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., said a decertification would undermine global confidence in the deal and in U.S. commitments generally.

"If the president fails to certify the deal while saying Iran is complying with it, it's a destructive political gesture," Schiff said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said that beginning a process that could result in the United States withdrawing from the Iran deal would go against "advice from his own national security team and our closest allies."

"Unilaterally abandoning this agreement will make the world less safe," she said in a statement.

A half dozen Democrats who went to the White House on Wednesday evening to meet with national security adviser H.R. McMaster came away with the impression that he agreed with Mattis and Dunford.

The group who visited with McMaster to discuss Iran included Cardin, D-Md., and Sens. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., Christopher Coons, D-Del., Joe Manchin, D-W.V., Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and Angus King, I-Maine, according to a person familiar with the meeting.

Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., called the nuclear deal "very, very flawed" but not totally ineffective - a common view among Republicans and a potential starting point for negotiations with Democrats.

"What we have to figure out is how to actually accomplish what we were well on our way to do before Barack Obama gave them a patient pathway to a nuclear bomb," Gardner said, referring to what he and other Republicans see as the deal's failure to prevent Iran from developing weapons down the road. "I'm not to commit to myself to one direction, other than that we actually have a deal in place to commit Iran will come to agreement without a nuclear program."

---

The Washington Post's Abby Phillip and Ed O'Keefe contributed to this report.

---

VIDEO:

President Trump spoke about the agreement with Iran on their nuclear program when meeting with military leaders on Oct. 5. (The Washington Post)

-- http://wapo.st/2xWHpxK

--
Fueled by a string of fundraising appeals from President Donald Trump to his supporters, the Republican Party is on track to raise more money from small-dollar contributions than it has collected in more than a decade.

The influx of cash from Trump's base is helping the GOP amass a major advantage as the parties prepare to battle for control of Congress in the 2018 elections, with the Republican National Committee pulling in nearly twice as much money overall as its Democratic counterpart this year.

The RNC's success with small donors illustrates how the Republican Party, long a center of the political establishment, has managed to turn Trump's anti-Washington message to its advantage.

And it shows how Trump's base, angered by the sense that the president is being treated unfairly, is helping to redefine a party that has long cultivated rich contributors.

This year, more than $40 million of the $68 million in direct contributions to the RNC by the end of August came in donations of $200 and less - nearly 60 percent of contributions, campaign finance data shows.

One key asset for the party: Trump's willingness to lend his name to a barrage of party appeals, such as an email last month that urged donors to help "drain the swamp," the president's favorite term for the Beltway elite. Another message from Trump urged supporters to fight back against a "weak and self-serving political class."

The national party also gets a cut of donations flowing to the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, a joint fundraising committee that primarily benefits Trump's reelection campaign but currently gives a quarter of its proceeds to the RNC.

The joint committee notes its RNC affiliation at the bottom of donor emails. But the messages are crafted to resonate with voters who believe the president is fighting entrenched interests in both parties.

"I want to show every Republican Senator a list of American voters that will NOT be happy if the wall isn't built," read a message the committee sent out in Trump's name in August, referring to his plan to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Among those who have donated to the committee is Martha Adams, a longtime Republican voter who said she is "a little miffed" at the GOP and party leaders she feels are out of touch with the base's populist mood. That's in part why she's been responding to emails asking her to support Trump's agenda.

"He's got a lot of roadblocks," said Adams, 70, a retired speech pathologist from Austin, Texas, who said she has given a few hundred dollars this year - including $75 in May, two days after the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller III. "It's just to let him know we still care and that we're still here."

Adams said that when she donated to the joint committee, she intended for her money to go to the president.

"I tried to give just to him, because I think he knows best what to do," she said. "I don't know if I really meant to give it to the RNC."

Gwynne Abrams, an unemployed nanny in Henderson, Nev., who gave $78 to the joint committee, said that Trump has been "under attack" from his own party. She plans to vote for the GOP challenger taking on incumbent Sen. Dean Heller, R, in her state next year.

"I'm not giving to the Republican Party, really," said Abrams, 56, adding that the party has "done nothing since they've been in control of the Senate and House."

"I think our politicians are being bought off, except for Mr. Trump," she added.

RNC officials said that the money that ends up at the national committee directly bolsters Trump, financing a rapid-response operation and surrogate network that promote the administration's goals. New investments in data analytics and field staff will boost Trump's 2020 reelection effort, they said.

"The RNC's top priority is to support and advance the president's agenda," RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement, adding that the fundraising surge shows that "voters are invested in our party and the president."

The energy among small donors illustrates the extent to which Trump has translated the rock-ribbed support among his followers into a war chest that can help him overcome his political challenges.

In his 2016 campaign, Trump raised an unprecedented $239 million from donors who gave him a total of $200 or less. That's more than Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and rival Bernie Sanders combined pulled in from low-dollar contributors during the election - and beats the nearly $219 million that former president Barack Obama raised from small donors in his 2012 reelection, according to the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute.

"It was extraordinary," said Michael Malbin, the institute's executive director. "It says that his donors are intensely committed."

The money cascaded in after the Trump campaign and the RNC spent tens of millions running Facebook ads and renting email lists to build a formidable digital fundraising operation. Together, the committees amassed a pool of more than 10 million email address by the end of 2016 - including those of more than 2.5 million individual donors.

Since then, the party's fundraising email list has grown by several million, and several hundred thousand new donors have contributed who did not give in 2016, RNC officials said.

The $40 million in low-dollar donations the RNC has raised so far this year is the most the party has collected at this point in an election cycle since 2005, according to records compiled by the Campaign Finance Institute. And it outstrips small contributions going to the Democratic National Committee, which raised $25 million in such donations by the end of last month.

More money for the RNC is flowing through the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, which had pulled in $14.4 million as of June 30, including $11 million in donations of $200 and less, filings show.

The small-dollar bonanza shows that the RNC has tapped into the "power of the masses," said Brad Parscale, who helped build the online fundraising operation last year as the Trump campaign's digital director. "You're not beholden to large donors. Now you're beholden to Americans, a large population of Americans."

The national party is using its newfound resources to build out its ground operation, with 17 state directors already in place around the country. Under its rules, the RNC stays out of primary contests, but its organizers will help GOP congressional nominees in the upcoming midterms.

The committee recently confirmed it is helping pay for the legal fees Trump has incurred because of the Russia investigations, but those costs are being covered by a legal account financed by wealthy donors, not small contributions.

For its part, the DNC is working to ramp up its own fundraising operation, hoping to do more to harness an energized grass-roots movement on the left. The party is expanding its finance team from three to 30 staffers, and officials noted that the committee had raised more money from low-dollar contributions by the end of August than it had at this point in the last two election cycles.

"We are confident that our team will raise the resources needed as we head into 2018 and beyond," spokesman Michael Tyler said.

Still, the RNC's success is alarming strategists such as Michael Whitney, who served as digital fundraising manager for Sanders's presidential campaign.

"Who knows what will happen for the RNC in a post-Trump era?" Whitney said. "But for now, they have an incredible base of grass-roots donors who will keep donating money."

Their response is largely driven by Trump himself, who has played up his grievances against Washington amid the flurry of controversies that have enveloped his administration.

"They say I'm isolated by lobbyists, corporations, grandstanding politicians, and Hollywood," read a September RNC fundraising email signed by Trump. "GOOD! I don't want them. All I ever want is the support and love from the AMERICAN PEOPLE who've been betrayed by a weak and self-serving political class."

Samantha Osborne, the RNC's chief digital officer, said the ability to use Trump's name in fundraising "has been very, very beneficial to us."

"His supporters know his voice and the way he communicates," she said. "We're trying to make sure we emulate that, keeping it authentic. His tweets do say a lot, and that's what we try to mirror."

Another strength of the Trump digital fundraising operation: He has drawn more ideologically diverse supporters than other small-donor programs on the right, Parscale said.

Trump "has such a big echo chamber and such a large megaphone; he grabbed a very wide spectrum of people," he said.

That includes Chris Chavez, a 20-year-old who runs a small vending business in Scottsdale, Arizona, and grew up watching Trump on the reality show "The Apprentice" with his father. "I saw this businessman who had all of it - he had the American Dream I wish to have some day, and he was giving it up to better the country," Chavez said.

Chavez made his first political donations ever to support Trump's campaign last year and has contributed about $50 this year, including $3 to the RNC as part of a contest to meet the president at a rally in Arizona in August. He won and got to meet Trump backstage.

"My heart just stopped," Chavez recalled. "I would donate to his 2020 campaign in a heartbeat."

---

The Washington Post's Anu Narayanswamy contributed to this report.
The United States permanently lifted a raft of sanctions on Sudan on Friday, saying the African nation had begun addressing concerns about terrorism as well as human rights abuses against civilians in the country's Darfur region.

The decision to lift the sanctions and end an economic embargo comes after the Trump administration last month removed Sudan from the list of countries whose citizens are subject to travel restrictions. Sudan was the only country that was removed.

But the decision leaves other sanctions in place for the time being, including those against individuals with arrest warrants related to atrocities committed during the conflict in Darfur. And it does not remove Sudan from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, a removal ardently sought by its government. A separate review is underway on that designation.

The change reflects a strategy shift in how to bring about reforms in Sudan, where President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has clung to power since taking office in a military coup in 1989. Instead of relying solely on punishment, the new strategy is to use relief as an enticement to encourage more changes.

The sanctions relief also was part of a push to enlist more countries in an effort to isolate North Korea diplomatically. U.S. officials said that while it was not an explicit condition for lifting sanctions, Washington told Khartoum that an "absolute, vital part of the relationship" going forward is full compliance with U.N. Security Council resolutions related to North Korea.

Officials also said they asked for and got a commitment from Sudan not to purchase arms from Pyongyang. A U.N. report last year found that Sudan bought North Korean air-to-ground missiles in 2013 in a deal with a front company.

"We will not necessarily take the government at their word," one official said. "We will closely be monitoring the situation. And they understand we have zero tolerance for continued arms deals with North Korea."

The lifting of sanctions rescinds measures imposed in 1997 related to terrorism concerns and other steps put in place in 2006 in connection with the conflict in Darfur. The sanctions were temporarily eased in January just before President Barack Obama left office, because of the same progress the Trump administration noted. In July, President Donald Trump extended the review for three months, angering the Sudanese, who stopped some lower-level meetings with U.S. officials in retaliation but maintained contacts between senior officials.

A State Department official familiar with the decision said the administration will continue pushing Sudan to make more progress, including paving the way for 2 million internally displaced people who fled the fighting in Darfur more than a decade ago to return home safely.

"We see this as an important milestone, but one on a road that's going to take a lot longer to get to where we want to go in Sudan," said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity under State Department guidelines.

"It's a real marker, taking what had been a very bad and difficult relationship in a new and positive direction. It doesn't mean there isn't much to do. There's a lot to do yet. This is a productive first step."

Sudan routinely shows up as a country of particular concern on State Department reports assessing human rights and religious freedom. Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court to face genocide charges related to the Darfur conflict. Muslims are an overwhelming majority, and Christians who remained in Sudan after South Sudan declared independence in 2011 are closely watched. Many of those with means are fleeing the country, seeing little future there.

But U.S. officials think Sudan has made progress in counterterrorism since the days when Osama bin Laden lived there in the early 1990s. Officials in Sudan say that since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Sudanese have been cooperating with U.S. intelligence.

The State Department official said Sudan has cooperated in countering militants inside Sudan and throughout North Africa by helping deter attempts by terrorists to transit through the country.

U.S. officials also have seen progress on the humanitarian front. The government has announced unilateral cease-fires in areas where the Sudanese army has been battling rebels, stopped aerial bombardments that killed civilians and created safe routes for humanitarian aid to get through.

There also are geopolitical factors. Both Israel and Saudi Arabia have urged the United States to ease up on Sudan, to encourage it to distance itself from Iran. And while Sudan has by all reports stopped sending arms and material support to rebels in South Sudan, Washington wants to encourage a regional effort to end the fighting there, which has prompted one of the biggest waves of refugees since the Rwanda genocide.

Some human rights activists have worried that sanctions relief will prolong Bashir's reign. Members of Congress have urged Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to make sure that American victims of terrorism facilitated by Sudan would be compensated. And Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said Friday that Sudan's progress has been minimal and vowed that "any backsliding will likely result in Congress reinstating sanctions."

But even the Obama administration recognized that sanctions alone have not been effective.

"For far too long, Washington promoted a policy of punishment only," said Zach Vertin, a former diplomat who worked on Sudan issues during the Obama administration. "It failed for two decades. Everyone agrees that transformational change in necessary. This is a dreadful government.

"Khartoum still wants many things from Washington," Vertin said. "Now the administration is in a good place to extract further gains. The administration should make clear if Khartoum wants to continue the path to normalization, it should continue progress in the identified areas and undertake a long overdue process that leads to a political transition."
KABUL - When Pakistan's army chief visited the Afghan capital last Sunday, he did his best to disarm his hosts. He offered to train and equip Afghan troops, and he promised to cooperate in peace and counterterrorism efforts. Afghan officials, in turn, received him with a military honor guard and issued an upbeat statement heralding "a new season" in the troubled relationship.

But behind the diplomatic gestures, there was little to indicate that anything had changed. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, humiliated in previous attempts to mend fences and take Pakistani officials at their word, demanded coolly that monitoring teams and mechanisms be established to ensure all promises and deadlines were implemented.

And even before Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa's plane departed, the barrage of criticism had begun. Afghan analysts, politicians and former officials pronounced his visit another attempt by Pakistan to "deceive" their country while secretly supporting anti-Afghan militants. Bajwa had come calling only out of desperation, they said, because of intense pressure from the Trump administration.

"Pakistan is trying to pretend it is changing, but after 16 years of double games, these are only tactical moves," said Rahmatullah Nabil, a former Afghan intelligence chief. "Pakistan has been using terrorism as a tool of state policy for decades, and Afghanistan has been the victim of terrorism for decades. As long as Pakistan does not change this policy, no equilibrium can be established."

Pakistan has reason to feel desperate. Faced with the threat of unprecedented U.S. sanctions and fresh accusations that it has not done enough to stop cross-border attacks into Afghanistan, its military has responded with a variety of tactics: indignant denials, aid offers, history lessons, helicopter tours of pacified border zones, condolence messages to Afghan bombing victims and high-profile efforts to build a wall along their 1,800-mile border.

But nothing seems to be working.

Last week in Washington, senior U.S. officials repeated charges that Pakistan is providing sanctuary for an aggressive Taliban faction known as the Haqqani network. Marine Corps Gen. James Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a congressional panel it was "clear" that Pakistan's intelligence agency "has connections with terrorist groups."

At a separate hearing, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the Trump administration would try "one more time" to work with Pakistan on the Taliban issue, but that if it failed, "the president is prepared to take whatever steps are necessary." He said that could include revoking Pakistan's status as a major non-NATO ally, a harsh blow to the former Cold War partner.

Pakistan has consistently denied providing shelter to anti-Afghan militants. Its prime minister told the U.N. General Assembly recently it was "especially galling" to hear such criticism when Pakistan has suffered from years of terrorist attacks. Its foreign minister told another audience in New York this week that Washington had no right to condemn Pakistan for supporting militant leaders it had "wined and dined" during past conflicts.

Asked Thursday about the latest U.S. comments, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Pakistan has "successfully erased the footprint of terrorists from our soil" and that most insurgent activities, including attacks on Pakistan, emanate from "ungoverned spaces inside Afghanistan" rather than from Pakistani havens.

Despite their doubts, some Afghan officials say they believe Pakistan's security establishment is being forced to pivot in its thinking on Afghanistan. They see Bajwa's visit to Kabul as a sign of this shift - especially his one-on-one meeting with Ghani, which one Afghan diplomat described as unusually candid, "constructive and encouraging."

Pakistan once backed Taliban rule in Kabul, and it has long sought to keep Afghanistan weak and dependent as a counterweight to India, its powerful neighbor and rival to the east. But now, Pakistan's regional partners and investors are echoing new U.S. demands that it help end the 16-year Afghan conflict, which they see as a threat to stability.

"From our past experience, no Afghan should be optimistic about Pakistan supporting our cause. But the new American strategy has created an opportunity that it should explore," said Javed Faisal, a senior aide to Afghanistan's chief executive, Abdullah Abdullah. He said Pakistan's support for militants abroad had backfired.

"If they don't change, they will face isolation from the world," Faisal said. "We should work with them to build trust and tackle terrorism together."

Skeptical Afghans point to years of broken promises, failed meetings and peace initiatives that went nowhere. Former president Hamid Karzai made an unprecedented trip to Islamabad a decade ago, carrying a list of Taliban hideouts, and came back empty-handed. Ghani praised Pakistan in 2015 for hosting peace talks, only to be mortified when Pakistan suddenly revealed the death of former Taliban leader Mohammad Omar and canceled the talks.

Within Pakistan, there is also resistance to rapprochement or concessions. Last week, the new interior minister was reprimanded by Parliament for suggesting that the country should "put its own house in order" before seeking foreign support. Even Bajwa, the most powerful official in Pakistan, faced some pushback for his diplomatic foray. The military spokesman, while touting the initiative, noted that "there was some discomfort in security and civil quarters" about it.

Munir Akram, a former Pakistani diplomat with strong nationalist views, wrote recently that efforts to engage with the United States will prove fruitless and that President Trump's new policy of sending more troops and putting pressure on Islamabad is not aimed at pacifying Afghanistan but at imposing a broad "Pax Indo-Americana" on the region.

"Pakistan should prepare itself to bear the pain of threatened U.S. sanctions. It should draw its own red lines," Akram wrote in Dawn, a major daily newspaper in Pakistan. "Any sign of weakness will intensify, not ameliorate, US coercion."

Even if it is in Pakistan's urgent interest to smooth its relations with Afghanistan, some analysts said, the most intractable obstacle is the gulf between Afghan and Pakistani perceptions of regional reality. Afghans see the Taliban insurgency as the main threat to their security and Pakistan as its backer; Pakistan sees India as a permanent threat to its existence and its friendship with Afghanistan as an extension of that threat.

"For all the complimentary rhetoric on both sides now, there is a total disconnect between how they define the problem," said Davood Moradian, president of the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies. "They both face the threat of terrorism, and they have to come to an understanding, but it is not happening. At this point, I can see no positive outcome."
RICHMOND, Va. - The candidates for Virginia lieutenant governor sparred sharply in a Thursday night debate on guns, abortion and the economy, with each accusing the other of occupying extreme positions that would threaten the commonwealth's future.

State Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, a Republican, said Democrat Justin Fairfax's support for a $15-an-hour minimum wage would stifle the state's economy, which she said was already sputtering under outgoing Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat.

Fairfax, touting an announcement earlier in the day that Facebook would invest $1 billion in a Richmond-area data center, said Vogel would scare off new businesses with her hard-line stance on abortion.

Vogel said Fairfax, a former federal prosecutor, held positions on health care that are to the left of his Democratic ticketmates: Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam, who is running for governor, and Attorney General Mark Herring, who is seeking reelection.

Fairfax said Vogel was to the right of the National Rifle Association, which earlier in the day unexpectedly came out in favor of restrictions on "bump stocks," devices that allow a semiautomatic rifle to mimic the rapid discharge of a fully automatic weapon.

Bob Holsworth, a moderator at the hour-long debate at the University of Richmond's School of Law, kicked things off with a question about guns, an issue that he said took on new urgency after a shooting in Las Vegas left 58 concertgoers dead and hundreds injured.

Holsworth noted that Vogel's website boasts she introduced more pro-gun legislation than any other senator. He asked if after Las Vegas, she saw the need for stricter gun laws, including restrictions on bump stocks.

In 2012, after the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre, Vogel said she questioned whether certain weapons should be in the hands of ordinary citizens. But she later dismissed her remarks as a momentary, emotional reaction and reverted to her staunch pro-gun stance.

There was no wavering this time.

"I'm not running for lieutenant governor to take anybody's rights away," Vogel said.

She called the shooting a "tragedy" but also said it was too soon to draw conclusions about what might have prevented it. Mental-health issues might have contributed to it, she said.

She also argued that stricter gun laws enacted during the Clinton administration did not reduce gun violence and said tighter rules could make it harder for victims of crimes - such as women facing domestic abuse - to protect themselves.

"All it does is take guns away from the people who are victims," she said.

Holsworth asked Fairfax about his support for a higher minimum wage, noting a recent University of Washington study that found low-wage workers in Seattle saw their hours trimmed and pay dip after that city imposed a $13-an-hour floor.

Fairfax said another study came to a different conclusion. He also said that given how reliant the economy is on consumer spending, higher wages would be a boost. At the same time, he talked up community college training programs as a means of lifting workers into "middle-skill" jobs.

"You have to give people means to have economic mobility," he said.

Vogel and Fairfax also tangled over abortion. Vogel, a state senator, sponsored a 2012 bill that would have required most women who get abortions to first undergo a vaginal ultrasound.

Fairfax said the measure, lampooned nationwide, had made Virginia a national laughingstock and was meant to "shame" women who were having abortions. Vogel said the bill would only have codified what was already standard medical procedure.
Watch the ceremony live! Watch the ceremony live!

Tune in to the 2022 GPHG ceremony, which will be digitally hosted on WorldTempus today at 6:30PM (Swiss time)

Tune in to the 2022 GPHG ceremony, which...
Russia on Thursday said its air strikes in Syria had destroyed a huge underground arms depot belonging to the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a militant alliance led by Al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate.

"Russian aviation destroyed the largest buried arsenal of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham near Abu Duhur," defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said, referring to a town in the northwestern Idlib province.

The munitions depot was hidden underground and contained "more than a thousand tonnes of weaponry," he said in statement.

Russia said its aviation destroyed the depot using high power artillery, specially designed to destroy underground targets.

The strikes also killed "49 fighters, including seven leaders of the Al-Nusra Front's eastern sector."

Al-Nusra Front was Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria until mid-2016 when it broke off ties, before going on to found a new militants-led alliance called Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which now controls large swathes of Idlib province.

The statement repeated Russia's claim on Wednesday to have seriously injured Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's leader Abu Mohamed al-Jolani, saying he was "in a coma" and that this had "thrown the terrorists of the whole Idlib province into disarray."

The militant-led alliance on Wednesday denied Russia's claim, saying that Jolani was in "good health."

Russia, which has intervened in the Syrian civil war on the side of Bashar al-Assad's regime, said on Wednesday it had killed 12 leaders of the militant coalition including Jolani's security chief.

The Syrian regime and Russia have carried out heavy air strikes on Idlib province after a September 18 militant attack on its military police deployed in neighbouring Hama province.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Allen Breed/STF

Nine Republicans in the U.S. Senate, including Texas' John Cornyn, Friday wrote a letter urging the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to review the agency's decision that allows the sale of bump stocks, the accessory used to maximize gunfire in the Las Vegas massacre.

The bump stocks use the force of the guns natural recoil to allow the gun to bounce off the shooters trigger finger. The modification allows a semi-automatic weapon to fire rounds at a rate that resembles that of an automatic weapon. In 2010, the AFT allowed sales of the accessory because it did not change a weapon's mechanics.
Marie Del Carmen Aranda, called Carmelita by family and friends, had a passion for language that she shared with her students.

Her 30-year career as a Spanish teacher left an imprint on learners and peers.

She was very encouraging and motivated those kids beyond words  taking them to Spanish competitions; they cooked; they danced; they did everything, cousin and fellow teacher Rose Marie Bennett said. She loved her students.

Aranda died Sept. 23 after falling and being hospitalized. She was 77.

More Information Maria Del Carmen Aranda Born: Sept. 9, 1940, San Antonio Died: Sept. 23, 2017, San Antonio Preceded by: Parents Salvador and Minerva M. Aranda; brothers Daniel Williams and Salvador Aranda Jr.; sister Lupita Aranda Survived by: Cousin Rose Marie Bennett; 10 nieces and six nephews Services: Funeral set for 9 a.m. Monday at Holy Cross Cemetery, 17501 Nacogdoches Road. See More Collapse

She put the romance in Romance languages, nephew Jesse Trevino said, recalling his aunt helping him with his Spanish classes as a young man.

Arandas journey into education started at St. Teresas Academy, a boarding school that used to be on South Presa Street, Bennett said.

Aranda attended San Antonio College after graduation and continued her studies at Our Lady of the Lake University. Not only did she graduate cum laude with a bachelors degree in Spanish and English, she received the Outstanding Student of Spanish Award of the American Association of Spanish and Portuguese.

She started teaching in 1972 at Memorial High School in the Edgewood Independent School District, where she spent her entire career.

She served as the schools sponsor of the National Spanish Honor Society for 25 years. From 1996-2000, she also served as chairperson of the Foreign Language Department. In addition, she was a member of numerous teaching organizations.

After retiring in 2000, Aranda taught young women computer skills at the now closed Sophias Womens Learning Center at Providence High School.

Having no children of her own, Aranda doted on her pets. She rescued her first cat when one of her students came in and told her about a child swinging a cat by its tail, Bennett said. But Arandas two Yorkies, Gussie and Woody, stole her heart.

It was a sad time in her life when they died last year, her cousin said.

Aranda, who wrote her own obituary, penned: Most of all I love caring for my three cats, J.R., Rocky and Miss Kitty; four dogs, Gussie, Frankie, B.J. and Woody. She added that she also had time to devote to some very special people, my friends of many years.

Bennett said they talked every day.

Carmelita was a very independent person, she said. But she is going to be missed by all the people she taught.

iwilgen@express-news.net
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Six years before her son was arrested in connection to a string of bank robberies in San Antonio, Lorena Larios Smith was shot to death in a parking lot as she chatted with a date she had met online.

The 46-year-old immigrant from Mexico who had worked her way out of poverty in the U.S. was sitting in a car in front of Club Rio, at U.S. 281 and Bitters, around 3:30 a.m. on May 28, 2011 when a gunman demanded she and her date get out of the car. When she refused he opened fire, police said.

A bullet went through the left side of Smith's neck. When first responders found her the dress she was wearing was covered in blood. She was pronounced dead an hour later.

RELATED: Teen found shot to death in East Side street was mourning mother, trying to earn GED

The gunman was never identified.

Just hours before Smith was killed, Bexar County Sheriff's Sgt. Kenneth Vann was gunned down at a red light, prompting a massive law enforcement hunt for the killer that resulted in an arrest a week later. Smith's family members believe the unfortunate timing of the two shootings may be to blame for the case going cold. Smith's son, Dorian Larios Degage, now 28, told MySA a month after the slaying that one of the family's greatest fears was that the case would go unsolved.

"There's going to be another family where a kid loses a mother," Degage said. "For it to be forgotten and become a cold case is something that none of us want."

Degage's family also believes that night set into motion a series of events that led to his most recent troubles.

He was arrested last month in connection to a string of at least four bank robberies dating back to May. Friends and family say a downhill slide after his mother's death and recent spiraling drug addiction preceded the crimes he is accused of.

"This is very far out of left field for someone like Dorian. But addiction will dissolve your integrity," said Wade Fry, a friend and former bandmate of Degage's.

RELATED: Tay-K 47, who rapped about life on the lam, charged in fatal shooting at San Antonio Chick-fil-A

According to friends and family, Degage's addiction began with a motorcycle accident on Feb. 25, 2013, one day before he and Fry were to go see the psych-rock band Tame Impala, a major influence on their own band, American Dream, at the time. Degage, whom Fry, 27, labeled an "auditory and visual genius" with rare musical talent, was hospitalized with a broken leg and prescribed pain killers. When he ran out of those, he looked for relief elsewhere.

"He couldn't find the good clean stuff that comes from the pharmacies so he proceeded to find it on the streets," Fry said. "It tapped out a lot of his finances. I guess just to soothe his pains."

Maria Romisch, 50, is Degage's aunt, took on a motherly role in his life after his biological mom was killed.

"He got involved with drugs and people who do drugs," she said. "Drugs and crime work together."

RELATED: Man accused in sex assault near UTSA ran nightlife entertainment business

The San Antonio Police Department's Robbery Task Force Unit began tracking the robberies attributed to Degage after a May 10 heist at a Lone Star National Bank. It wasn't until late August that police obtained credible information naming him as a suspect in the Lone Star robbery and two other similar ones around San Antonio, according to an arrest affidavit.

According to police, Degage's modus operandi was to pass notes demanding money to bank tellers and then flee after receiving the cash.

"Burglary $2,000 in 100's and 50's," read one such note, according to his arrest affidavit.

On Aug. 23, detectives found Degage at an apartment complex in the 1500 block of Thousand Oaks and arrested him without incident.

RELATED: Suspect allegedly killed teen brother with shotgun, then mourned his death on Facebook

Romisch said at least one robbery, the one where Degage demanded $2,000, could be explained by his desperation after a drug dealer threatened to kill Degage's white German Shepherd if he didn't pay off a $2,000 debt.

Others, Romisch and Fry said, could've been motivated by the primal need for another fix.

"Opiate addiction is such a momentous epidemic, and I'm about to lose one of my best friends because of it," said Fry. "If he had never been in that accident or tried an opiate, I doubt he would be there right now."

Romisch said Degage should be held responsible for his alleged actions, but after his mother's murder, "everybody went down the hill."

"Everybody carried that pain in some way," she said. "Dorian in one way. Dillon (his younger brother) in another way. We all went through that."

According to MySA archives, Degage and his brother inherited Smith's house, a $200,000 home in Shavano Park that Smith had designed and built herself. The house was a symbol of everything the single-mother and immigrant had worked for. She had come to the U.S. with little money and education. During the first years in San Antonio, Smith could rely on her husband for support, but when he stopped working, he made Smith work as a dancer at strip clubs across the city, relatives said.

RELATED: Teen driver who allegedly ran over skateboarder was out on bond for shooting, car burglary charges

She later divorced her husband, but continued to dance at clubs for years, single-handedly providing for her two boys, and after about a decade she had almost paid off the mortgage on her home and put herself through nursing school.

Then she was killed.

"That is the ironic thing," Degage said after the shooting. "She always wanted to search for that American dream. Wanted to show her parents she was independent, that she could succeed in this country."

The boys later sold the home, and Degage blew through his share of the money, Romisch said.

Like his mother, Degage had "huge dreams," Fry said. If convicted, those dreams could be killed just like his mother's were in that North Side parking lot six years ago.

Robberies are considered second-class felonies in Texas, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Should prosecutors pursue punishment in all four cases, Degage could face up to 80 years in prison.

"My sister was a strong character," Romisch said. "Dorian got into it with her, but they loved each other. They had that special bond. But after she was killed, he got lost."

cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns
1 Cambodia politics: The government took initial legal steps Friday to dissolve the countrys main opposition party, the latest in a series of moves to gain an advantage ahead of next years general election. The Interior Ministry filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court asking for the Cambodia National Rescue Party to be dissolved on the grounds that it was involved in a plot to topple the government. The court is likely to uphold the complaint, because the countrys court system is widely considered to be under the political influence of the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen. The CNRP is the only party aside from the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party with representatives in parliament.

2 Cardinal on trial: Cardinal George Pell, the most senior Catholic official to face sex offense charges, was jeered by protesters as he made a court appearance in his native Australia on Friday in a case that has rocked the Vatican and placed scrutiny on the popes stance against abusive clergy. Australias highest-ranking Catholic and Pope Francis top financial adviser, Pell entered the Melbourne Magistrates Court flanked by police and media as a small group of placard-waving protesters yelled from the sidewalk. Pell, who remained silent throughout, has been charged with multiple offenses involving multiple complainants. As many as 50 witnesses could be called for that proceeding, expected to last a month.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
Iran must stop meddling in the Middle East, visiting Saudi KingSalman told Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in the Kremlin on Thursday, Russia's Interfax news agency reported.

"We emphasize that the security and stability of the Gulf region and the Middle East is an urgent necessity for achieving stability and security in Yemen," Salman said, quoted by the agency.

"This would demand that Iran give up interference with the internal affairs of the region, to give up actions destabilizing the situation in this region."

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Strong community support for Sergeant Bede Haughey and Warkworth police continues to emerge following allegations of unsatisfactory performance.

Sergeant Haughey, the former Officer-in-Charge at Warkworth police, is currently on leave and has been temporarily replaced by Sergeant Scott Sherer.

The allegations suggested there was a negative culture in the Warkworth police and the local force had lost the confidence of the Warkworth community.

Rodney Police Area Commander Mark Fergus said currently there was an employment process underway with regards to the allegations.

He said that as police had the same privacy obligations as any other employer in New Zealand, they were unable to comment any further at this stage.

Meanwhile, Gary Diprose the founding director of Springboard Community Works, which offers a variety of programmes to assist at-risk and vulnerable youth in Mahurangi, says he was gutted that Bede was no longer currently working in the community.

He said Bede had been a champion for Springboard for more than 11 years and this had been critical in ensuring community support.

Because we are working with kids who may be giving the police and the community a hard time, sometimes communities can be opposed to the work we do, he said.

But he said Bedes influence and participation with Springboard had persuaded influential community members of the value of the organisation and its ability to cut crime.

Thats made a big difference to Springboards strength today, he said.

Support for Warkworth Police has also come from the One Warkworth Business Association.

In a letter to police management, the committee for the association said they unanimously wished it to be noted that it did not consider there to be a negative culture in the Warkworth Police nor that the Warkworth business community had lost confidence in the Warkworth police.

The Warkworth community enjoys a high level of police community engagement. This is a significant factor in low levels of crime and high levels of public satisfaction with the police service where criminal activity occurs, the letter said.

Another factor that cannot be over looked is the experience that the senior members of the Warkworth Police team bring to their work.

Strong support for Sgt Haughey and the Warkworth police has also emerged on the Mahurangi Matters

Facebook page in response to an earlier story that appeared when the allegations first surfaced.

Posts supporting the local police outstripped complaints by a factor of 10:1.

Area Commander Mark Fergus backed that assessment.

Police have great teams of officers working from our rural stations right across Rodney, he said.

These officers are all dedicated, and work hard every day to ensure these communities are safe and feel safe.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry held a meeting with his French counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian on Friday in Paris where they discussed President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisis planned visit to France later this month, the Egyptian foreign ministry said.

According to a ministry statement, Shoukry and Le Drian also discussed Egyptian-French relations, while Shoukry spoke about the latest developments and progress in relation to Egypt's economic reform programme.

The ministers also spoke about a number of regional issues.

According to the Egyptian statement, Le Drian listened to Shoukrys assessment of the developments in Syria and Libya, especially as Egypt has been hosting talks with Libyan factions.

The two ministers also discussed the situation in Iraq after the recent referendum on Kurdistans independence.

Concerning the developments in Palestine and the peace process, Le Drian "praised the Egyptian role in broaching a reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas."

He asked about the latest updates concerning the Qatar crisis and Shoukry stated that Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain insist that Doha must stop supporting terrorist groups that threaten regional and international security.

Shoukry is currently in Paris to support the nomination of former minister Moushira Khattab for the job of director-general of UNESCO.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


No one can predict what will happen in Kurdistan, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said, describing the current situation in the Middle East as "fluid" in a lengthy interview with Al-Ahram newspaper published on Friday.



Egypt expressed its deep concern about the Kurdistan independence referendum which was held in Iraq last month.

Asked about the situation in Libya, Shoukry said that Egypt did not support a political power or group in the war-torn country at the expense of others groups or powers.

"Egypt is communicating with all Libyans from the west and the east, and this communication enforces the Egyptian ability to create a vision for reconciliation that can be implemented by the UN special envoy, he said.

Cairo has hosted in a series of talks between Libyan political factions in recent months, with the aim of reaching a reconciliation.

Shoukry said it was too early to say there is a final solution for what is happening in Syria.

"It has been complicated in Syria for the past seven years but a development happened recently that goes back to the pressures on Qatar to stop supporting terrorist groups that were working in Syria," he said, adding that the efforts of Russia and the international coalition against terrorism managed to change the equation in the war-torn country.

"Yet it is still early to say it is over as there are still terrorist organisations, foreign intervention like Iran, as well as Russian, American and Western presence on Syrian land," he said.

According to Shoukry, Egypt believes that a military solution is not an answer in Syria, but at the same time terrorism must be eradicated.

Egypt also believes that the Syrian opposition should be united in political negotiations sponsored by the UN, to create a road map for the political future in Syria.

Regarding Egyptian-US relations in the time of President Donald Trump, especially after the reduction in US aid to Egypt in August, Shoukry, said that bilateral relations were strategic and went back for four decades.

"There were times that our vision did not meet with the US's vision but that did not affect at any time our strategic bilateral relations," he said.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Style / Jewellery

The retrospective will feature 200 jewel pieces by the late Italian fashion designer, highlighting his long-held passion for crafting jewellery.

Oct 06, 2017 | By Pameyla Cambe

From October 12, a new exhibition at Palazzo Madama will shine a spotlight on a lesser-known side of the architect of fashion, Gianfranco Ferre. Marking a decade since his passing in 2007, Gianfranco Ferre. Under Another Light: Jewels and Ornaments will showcase a wealth of jewellery created by late Italian fashion designer for his fashion shows from 1980 to 2007.

A year and a half in the making, the retrospective is a collaborative effort by the Milan-based Fondazione Gianfranco Ferre and Turin Museums Foundation. The exhibition will highlight Ferres long-held passion for ornamentation, which was just as significant as the one he had for designing clothes.

200 jewel pieces have been carefully selected from over 350 ornaments by the exhibitions curator, Francesca Alfano Migletti. Testifying to Ferres mastery of crafting bijoux, the selections feature a variety of materials and precious gems. This includes everything from polished stone, metal and ceramics to pearls, corals, crystals and Murano glass.

The exhibition will showcase belts, rings and bracelets designed by Ferre, with a touch of the avant-garde. One of the designs, originally in brass, will also be reproduced into a 3D-printed copy that will be made available for purchase at the museum shop.

On top of jewellery, eight unique dresses by Ferre will be displayed within glass cases. Apart from their linings, these dresses have been entirely crafted out of chains, stones, pearls and corals, blurring the line between fashion and jewellery.

The retrospective will be held at the grand Hall of the Senate of Palazzo Madama in Turin, northern Italy. Designed by architect Franco Raggi, the exhibition design will showcase Ferres intricate jewels within minimalist, rust-covered iron cages  a play on contrast against the opulent architecture of the Hall. A series of lenses will also be present to magnify the delicate ornaments microscopic details.

Gianfranco Ferre. Under Another Light: Jewels and Ornaments will run from October 12, 2017 to February 19, 2018. It is organized as part of Torino Design of the City, a Turin-based week of events celebrating design.
Hamas media official Taher Al-Nono said on Friday that the organisation is going to the Cairo reconciliation dialogue meeting next week with the option of "to succeed or to succeed," Egyptian state news agency MENA reported.

Al-Nono also said that everyone should contribute to the success of the dialogue, MENA reported.

Hamas and Fatah leaders are set to meet in Cairo next week to discuss further moves in reconciliation, which is set to include another comprehensive meeting for all Palestinian factions to activate a reconciliation agreement reached in Cairo in 2015.

The meeting comes upon an invitation from Egyptian intelligence chief and presidential special envoy Khaled Fawzy last week.

The reconciliation talks started in Cairo in September with the attendance of leaders from both Palestinian movements.

Fawzy then visited Gaza and Ramallah to oversee the implementation of the national reconciliation agreement between Hamas and Fatah.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh accepted the invitation, saying it gives hope for Palestinians to "forever turn the page on the dispute."

As a first step on the track to Palestinian reconciliation, Hamas is set to hand over power in the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian unity government.

Last week, Prime Minister Rami El-Hamdallah chaired the first meeting of the Palestinian cabinet in Gaza for three years, in a move towards reconciliation between the two groups.

Hamas seized the Gaza Strip in 2007 in fighting with Fatah forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas and has ruled the besieged strip of 2 million people since then.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Regime forces Friday broke into the eastern town of Mayadeen, one of the Islamic State (IS) militant group's last bastions in Syria, backed by Russian air raids taking a deadly toll on civilians.

Mayadeen in the oil-rich eastern province of Deir Ezzor is seen as the ISs "security and military capital" in Syria, and its loss would deal "a severe blow" to the Islamist militants, according to a Syrian military source.

Over the course of months of successive defeats, Mayadeen and nearby Albu Kamal on the Iraqi border have taken in IS fighters fleeing the battle to the north for Raqa city in the face of an offensive launched by US-backed Kurdish and Arab forces.

"With support from Russian aviation, regime forces entered Mayadeen and took control of several buildings in the west of the town," Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP.

Mayadeen, which the Islamist militants have controlled since 2014, sits on the western bank of the Euphrates River, between provincial capital Deir Ezzor, where IS still hold several districts, and the border with Iraq.

IS remains in control of half of Deir Ezzor province, despite advances by President Bashar al-Assad's forces and a separate offensive against IS by the Kurdish-Arab alliance.

The Observatory said the target of the regime advance was to recapture Al-Omar oilfield held by IS to the northeast of Mayadeen that was destroyed in US-led coalition air strikes in 2015.

IS had been drawing oil sale revenues from the field of between $1.7 million and $5.1 million a month, according to the coalition.

The advances against IS in Deir Ezzor have cost a heavy civilian death toll from Russian and coalition air raids.

The Observatory said Russian air strikes on Thursday night killed 14 people, including three children, fleeing across the Euphrates on rafts near Mayadeen.

Moscow has been carrying out relentless air strikes in support of its ally Damascus targeting both IS in Deir Ezzor province and rival Islamist militants led by Al-Qaeda's former Syria affiliate in Idlib province in the northwest.

IS has seen its self-declared "caliphate" straddling Syria and Iraq shrink steadily over the past two years and has lost all but a few of its main hubs in both Arab states.

On Wednesday, another Russian air strike killed 38 civilians trying to flee the fighting in Deir Ezzor province, according to the Observatory.

The Observatory relies on a network of sources inside Syria, and says it determines whose planes carry out raids according to type, location, flight patterns and munitions used.

It has reported hundreds of civilians killed in anti-IS operations in Deir Ezzor and Raqa. On Tuesday, it said a US-led coalition strike in Raqa killed at least 18 civilians.

Russia has not acknowledged any civilian deaths from its strikes since it intervened in Syria in 2015, and dismisses the Observatory's reporting as biased.

On Thursday, the Red Cross said Syria was experiencing its worst levels of violence since the battle for the country's second city Aleppo late last year.

"For the past two weeks, we have seen an increasingly worrying spike in military operations that correlates with high levels of civilian casualties," said Marianne Gasser, the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Syria.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Nestled far west in the Indonesian island of Flores lies the scenic town of Labuan Bajo  an impossibly beautiful and underrated marine oasis, known to tourists as the launching point for impressive trips to the beautiful Komodo Island.

For those of you familiar with Labuan Bajo, it is just an hours flight away from Bali. It is perhaps more famously known for the infamous komodo dragons, a world-famous aqua playground for diving enthusiasts and soon enough  its very first (and only) five-star accommodation.

Called AYANA Komodo Resort, Waecicu Beach the resort is set to open in the summer of 2018 on Waecicu Beach. The resort will feature 12 suites, 189 premium guest rooms and an unconventional architectural design that lets guests check in from the 11th floor lobby, interestingly enough.

The resort will boast of its very own luxurious 9-bedroom phinisi ship (a traditional Indonesian sailing ship), that spans 54-meter long and 11-meter wide. Christened AYANA Lakodia (meaning safe journey to the locals), this impressive ship will take guests around the stunning island for brief explorations spanning up two or three nights per trip. Exquisitely furnished with lounge and dive decks, guests can sink their teeth in a range of activities like island-hopping, diving, snorkeling and trawling.

Planning for a destination wedding? Besides the rooftop wedding and function suite featuring a stunning ocean view terrace in the main resort, you can also opt to have your special day onboard the AYANA Lakodia. AYANA will also be actively raising funds to support Komodo National Park, to develop its facilities and enhance both the safety and training of the Komodo Rangers.

With sublime rooms offering flawless views of the molten gold Komodo archipelago sunset, exceptional hotel restaurant and bars, and that incomparably affable local and Balinese hospitality Indonesia is reputed for, you cant deny the AYANA Resort will be a truly unforgettable hotel experience.

Watch this space in summer 2018!

Sarah Khan

Photo: AYANA

Read More:

Heaven on Earth: A guide to the best islands in the Philippines

Incomparable Beauty: 5 Underrated Indonesian islands you need to visit

Canopy Livin: The 5 Most breathtaking tree houses in the Philippines
Tens of thousands of people gathered Friday for the funeral of Iraqi former president Jalal Talabani, in an emotional send-off for the veteran of the struggle for Kurdish self-rule.

Talabani died in Germany on Tuesday aged 83, barely a week after an Iraqi Kurdish vote for independence which has deepened divisions between the autonomous Kurdish region and Baghdad.

Central government figures and Iraqi Kurdish leaders including longtime Kurdish rival Massud Barzani attended his funeral at the airport of Sulaimaniyah, Talabani's longtime fiefdom in Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.

After the ceremony, a vast crowd carrying pictures of the leader and the green flags of his Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) blocked the funeral procession as it headed from the airport to the great mosque of Sulaimaniyah.

Many wept and some tried to kiss the car carrying his coffin, which took three hours to reach the mosque.

During a decades-long political career, Talabani was a key figure in Iraqi Kurdish politics.

He later became Iraq's first federal president of Kurdish origin, serving from 2005 to 2014.

Barzani, president of the autonomous Kurdish region, and prime minister Nechirvan Barzani waited at the airport as Talabani's coffin arrived on a flight from Germany despite a Baghdad-imposed ban on international flights into the Kurdish region.

A red carpet and a guard of honour stood on the tarmac as his widow Hero and two sons alighted from the plane.

Iraqi President Fuad Massum, also a Kurd, Interior Minister Qassem al-Araji, a Shiite, and parliament speaker Salim al-Juburi, a Sunni Arab, represented the Baghdad government.

They were joined by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Kurdish representatives from Iran, Syria and Turkey.

Barzani and Massum each placed a large wreath of white flowers near Talabani's coffin, which was draped in the red, white, green and yellow colours of the Kurdish flag.

The Iraqi national anthem and then the Kurdish anthem were played, before the coffin was taken to the city's grand mosque.

Earlier this week, Barzani said he had lost "a friend and a brother" and announced a week of mourning during which Kurdish flags would be flown at half-mast.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, a fierce opponent of last week's referendum, hailed Talabani for his role in "building a federal Iraq".

Talabani had "described Iraq as a bouquet made up of several flowers," he said, referring to the country's different communities.

In Sulaimaniyah, Talabani was known affectionately as Mam (Uncle) Jalal.

Born in 1933 in the rustic village of Kalkan in the mountains, as a young man he was quickly seduced by the Kurdish struggle for a homeland to unite a people scattered across Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria.

After studying law at Baghdad University and doing a stint in the army, Talabani took to the hills in a first uprising against the Iraqi government in 1961.

But he famously fell out with Barzani after he sued for peace with Baghdad -- the start of a long and costly internecine feud among Iraqi Kurds.

Decades later, he won plaudits for his efforts as head of state to build bridges between Iraq's warring factions at the height of sectarian bloodletting between the Sunni and Shiite communities.

Talabani's death came after Iraq's Kurds voted 92.7 percent in favour of independence in the September 25 referendum.

The vote was rejected as illegal by the federal government in Baghdad as well as by Iraq's neighbours.

Baghdad retaliated last week by banning all international flights in and out of the Kurdish autonomous region except for humanitarian cases.

But Prime Minister Abadi said Thursday he did not want an armed conflict with Iraqi Kurds, adding that "federal authority must prevail".

He appealed to Kurdish peshmerga forces to work with the Iraqi army "as we have worked together against Daesh (the Islamic State group), to guarantee citizens' safety."

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The United States lifted 20-year-old economic sanctions against Sudan on Friday, a U.S. official said, citing progress on counter-terrorism and improvement on human rights.

In a move that completes a process begun by former President Barack Obama at the end of his tenure and which was opposed by human rights groups, President Donald Trump removed a U.S. trade embargo and other penalties that had effectively cut Sudan off from much of the global financial system.

The U.S. official who disclosed the decision spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement on Friday.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


The US government has approved the sale to Saudi Arabia of the advanced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system for $15 billion, the State Department said Friday.

"This sale furthers US national security and foreign policy interests, and supports the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region in the face of Iranian and other regional threats," a statement said.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Fall is here and it feels like summer. A sweltering summer! But that doesnt mean you should forget about holiday marketing. Dont let your print marketing slip onto the naughty list, check out these great ideas to spice it up.

Were thrilled to announce our new PFL Signature Box line! Get noticed with these high-quality, customizable pieces.

The holidays mean boxes everywhere. If you need a kit, you cant afford to be average during the holidays. Check out PFLs Signature Box lineup.

Our boxes can be fully personalized with your customers data, such as their name, title, birthdate or anything else  even entirely different artwork.

Choose from four standard sizes, or create a size of your own. The lid can be customized with any feature you please, from embossing, foil and coatings, to personalized details like names and images.

Need a short run? We can do runs as low as 50 boxes. No time to pack the box yourself? We have packaging artists that will engineer your box so it looks amazing when your customers open it up.

Call us to get started 800-930-7978.

Promotional Boxes

Need the perfect package for your promotional products? We offer a range of packages that can be printed in short run orders. These packages can be completely personalized to grab attention. Imagine getting a promotional box with your name printed on it, or even an image of whats inside. Short run means you only buy what you need.

Learn More http://t.printingforless.com/dc/CWtiRgeGqk_fEX-C-AkkZL1zTVasfjhK6YH263UwGBAZSsJt3fX6LXe6MEyni5GSViaFqRHIVbYb7ykOiVeiqQ==/lYIkK000yDeK0H3V20r0y0V

Catalogs are the perfect way to showcase your best products and services. We can do short run orders of 1-250 catalogs. Larger quantities go on our offset presses which reduces cost per item. No matter what you pick, youll get best-in-class quality: PFL is the printer of choice for major retailers.

Imagine getting a catalog that features all of the clothes or furniture from a specific collection you like. Or one that just has images of items you keep putting in your shopping cart but abandoning.

Personalized print drives action and its easy to do with PFL catalogs. If youve got the data and the idea, PFL can help you personalize your catalog just the way you want.

Customize your catalog to stand out with die-cutting, foil stamping, embossing and more. These make your catalog eye-catching and drive real engagement.

We bind your catalog the right way to deliver the best product. If youre printing a catalog with a lot of pages, it can be perfect bound like a book. Not so thick? We can saddle-stitch it like a magazine and save you some money.

Get a Quote http://t.printingforless.com/dc/CMy_a0EGR7BLRSir8gnUV59WOJ0qVr_fJ76pK1eyXL8=/lYIkK000yDeK0H3V20r0y0V
Starting this week, he has a new tool in what has become a yearslong campaign to fill a gap: a free, interactive, web-based game called Payback. In playing, students see running totals of their debt but can also track academic focus, the connections theyre making that could be useful later and their overall happiness  crucial factors in actually finishing college and graduating with a job that can help them repay their debt.

By RON LIEBER
The Japanese coastguard said Friday it had discovered a dozen bodies inside a Chinese fishing boat that capsized after a collision with a Hong Kong oil tanker off Japan's western coast the previous day.

"Our divers found all the bodies of the missing 12 crew members inside the ship," a coastguard official told AFP.

Thursday's collision occurred 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of the Oki Islands in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea.

The Chinese vessel, the 290-ton "Lurong Yuanyu 378", had 16 crew members in total.

While Japanese authorities said four had been rescued, the Chinese consulate in Osaka said only three of the 16 crew members had survived, according to China's CCTV state broadcaster. It did not explain why the toll was different.

The Hong Kong-flagged ship was identified as "Brightoil Lucky", a 63,294-ton tanker carrying 21 crew members.

The tanker's crew were believed to be safe.

Japan had deployed three patrol boats to search for the missing crew, after responding to a plea for help from their Chinese counterparts.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Jessica Dehn, a Montana State University alumna and founder of Dino Drop-In, a modern preschool with the flexibility of drop-in care, has advanced to the finals of the U.S. Small Business Administrations InnovateHER competition.

As one of 10 finalists, Dehn will pitch live at the national competition to vie for $70,000 in prizes sponsored by the Sara Blakely Foundation. The competition will be held Oct. 26 in Washington, D.C.

http://www.montana.edu/news/17173/msu-alumna-advances-to-national-entrepreneur-competition-finals-for-flexible-preschool-startup
Whats happening near you?

Montanas manufacturing sector is the fastest growing in the nation! We are joining Governor Steve Bullock, today, to celebrate #NationalManufacturingDay across Montana.

"Not only are more Montanans working than ever before, our unemployment rate is ideal, and wages are increasing, we also lead the nation in manufacturing growth. When we invest in our workers, we invest in our future  and manufacturing in Montana is reaching incredible heights thanks to the hard work and ingenuity of Montanans all across the Big Sky."

 Governor Steve Bullock

National Manufacturing Day is a celebration of modern manufacturing and occurs on the first Friday in October. Manufacturers in Montana are celebrating this day with 29 events across the state.

Find a detailed list of events here:

http://bit.ly/2y60RI3

http://www.mfgday.com/events?country=US&state=MT#filter
Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont will address the regional parliament next Tuesday on the "current political situation," the Catalan parliament said on Twitter.

The speaker of the Catalan assembly, Carme Forcadell, has called the plenary session for 6 pm (1600 GMT) on Tuesday, it said.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Egyptian Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr met on Friday with Tunisias ambassador to Egypt to discuss preparations for a meeting of the Egyptian-Tunisian joint high committee in Cairo in November, a ministry statement said.

The 36th meeting of the joint committee will be attended by Egyptian Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and his Tunisian counterpart Youssef Al-Shahed, the statement added.

The committee aims at developing cooperation between the two countries in the economic and developmental fields, Nasr said in the statement.

Nasr and Ambassador Naguib Al-Menuif also discussed the preparations for the Egyptian-Tunisian investment forum which will be held on the sidelines of the meeting, and see attendance from business executives and investors from both countries.

The forum aims at increasing Tunisian investments in Egypt, particularly by informing Tunisian businessmen about the new investment laws incentives and guarantees, Nasr added.

The pair also reviewed the agreements that are expected to be signed during the meeting to boost cooperation between the two countries in several fields.

In June, a long-awaited investment law was ratified by the president, which grants investors a number of incentives, including a 50-percent tax break on investments made in underdeveloped areas, and government support for the cost of connecting utilities to new projects.

It will also offer a 50-percent rebate to investors on the cost of purchasing land for industrial projects if production begins within two years.

According to the statement, Al-Menuif stressed his country's keenness on the success of the joint committee in consolidating cooperation between Egypt and Tunisia in several fields.

Previous meetings of the committee seen the signing of memorandums of understanding relating to health, agriculture, economics, and the media.

In 2015, President Beji Essebsi became the first Tunisian leader to visit Egypt in 50 years.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Ten out of 20 plays at this years Cairo International Festival for Contemporary and Experimental Theatre addressed womens experiences.

Such was the focus on womens issues and rights at the festivals 24th edition, that Femi Osofisan, the Nigerian playwright and critic who was honoured at this years event, commented that: This years edition is ultimately feminine.

It is important to distinguish between the various terms used to talk about womens issues. Female is a biological term, while feminine is tied to the study of the genre, and feminist is usually tied to politics, festival director Sameh Mahran noted.

Arab womens stories

The focus on various different aspects of womens lives was evident in a number of different Arab plays offered at this years festival, which ran from 19 to 29 September.

The Egyptian play Women With No Tomorrow, performed by the Institute of Arts and directed by Syrian artist Nour Ghanem, addresses the problems of three Syrian women who meet in a refugee camp in Germany. Each of them reveals the problems she encountered in her native country prior to fleeing. The womens tales denounce war, the patriarchal society, political regimes, and Daesh, among others.

The symbolic dance projected onto a screen at the beginning of the show seems alarming. The physical expression and gestures of the actresses on stage add to the aesthetics of the show. Despite their weak enunciation of classical Arabic, and poor acting, the show presents some visually rich and appealing scenes.

The Jordanian play Shadows of a Woman, directed by Eyad Shatanoui, addresses men and womens relations in a conservative society which claims to be developed. Three women on stage carry suitcases while waiting for the train. Each of them tells us of her broken love story, deception, and tragic destiny.

Lighting plays a crucial role on this dark stage. The three women are dressed in red dresses, their suitcases filled with memories of the past. Despite its touching topic, the show gives an impression of deja vu.

While many Arab plays address womens issues through the lens of their relationships with men, the Moroccan production, Autumn, follows the story of a woman suffering from cancer. The heroine suffers from the effects of her illness, and from her husbands departure.

The play, written by Fatma Houri and directed by Asmaa Houri, showcases a rather elaborate choreography, well-suited to the audience, in which the actress and the dancer on stage move together as one.

This division is a richly meaningful way of portraying the protagonists state of mind, conflicted between her illness and her feelings of deception after her husbands departure. Is it simply the confrontation of a woman and man? Or is the topic more profound? Wouldnt a man suffering from cancer, abandoned by his wife, face the same struggles? The topic this play tackles is far broader, and has more philosophical weight, than simply confrontation between men and women.

Also among the works dealing with aspects of the feminine experience were two plays influenced by poetry.

Women in Love and Resistance is a Tunisian play directed by Fathi Al Akary. The play is a dramatisation, and a somewhat exaggerated one, of extracts of Faust de Goethe's poems and of the writings of Tunisian intellectual and activist Choukri Beleid, who was assassinated in 2013.

The two female protagonists appearances, intonations, and characters change as they evoke and recite the works of Beleid, denouncing war, man, anger and injustice.

The French-Lebanese co-production Autumn Night, directed by Cerine Ashkar, also draws on poetry. A woman recites painful love poems in French; she speaks of suffering and feeling torn. An Arabic translation can be seen in the background, while two dancers perform a vivid choreography.

International works

The Georgian Tbilsi troupe performed a version of Chekovs The Three Sisters, directed by Konstantin Purtseladze, which constituted a true surprise for the audience, and highlighted contemporary dancing. Through beautiful physical expression, the actor-dancers interpret the work, which tells the story of three sisters ravaged by solitude amidst a conservative society. The youngest sister, in search of freedom, falls in love with a soldier, who soon rejects her. Death, solitude, and abandonment hold the three sisters captive.

All is told through an original choreography, a well-studied scenography and beautiful lighting. The visuals are minimalistic and greatly reliant on symbolism.

Russian troupe The Laboratory of Physical Theatre also use choreography to evoke mans eternal race against time, in the play Wandering Time, directed by Lidia Kopina. In the play, women from a far-away world discover the Earth and encounter primitive man. A form of communication between these feminine creatures and nature is born. The show follows a slow and sophisticated rhythm. The women return to nature, from which they were born.

Chilean troupe Teatro del Cuerpo, directed by Vicky Larrain, develops the genre of documentary theatre, with its show Cage On-Bird Two (The Hen Woman).

The play is based on real events which took place in the city of Colina, and tells the story of a woman who was trapped in a chickens cage for twenty years. The heroines performance and physical expression are often brought to the height of agitation, at times confusing and exaggerated. The woman becomes a chicken, or rather an odd creature who adopts the movements and cries of a fowl, trapped in its cage.

The Armenian show Flight Over the City, performed the Yerevan Puppet Theatre, was a surprising addition to the festival lineup. The play is directed by Narine Grigoryan, and tells the story of a young girl who lost her sight and learns to use imagination, guided by her doctor.

In the first act, a love story is born between the young girl and her doctor, whom we never see, but whose voice we hear. He incites the young girl to use her imagination. The first act almost constitutes a monodrama, in which the actress uses coloured strings on a black background to create her fictional world. She presses her body onto the background and flies, reflecting an imaginary voyage on top of the city.

In the second act, the girl regains her sight following a surgical operation. Yet her love for her doctor, now embedded in reality, starts to fade. She leaves the doctor, he cries over their love and returns to the stories and memories of the past. A video sequence is projected onto the background, showing the couple flying above the city.

The festival also included two monodramas performed by women. The first was Kenyan play The Secret Lives of Baba Segis Wives, directed by Mimouna Gallo, which addresses the topic of polygamy. The female protagonists performance is tinted with dark humour, as she portrays the influence of tradition and social prejudice on an infertile woman.

The second was the Chinese play Nine and a Half Love, directed by Meng Jinghui. The director blends theatrical performance with video projections. He uses montage to bring together the scenes which tell a story of love and revenge, one which evokes Homers epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as other universal works. The heroine brilliantly performs and interprets different characters on stage.

The show is situated in present-day China, a world of technology, of robots, reliant on artificial intelligence. Despite the vivid performance and the varied scenes, the show suffers from its excessive length and from a monologue which was poorly translated into English.

In all of these plays, women, whether they be the protagonist, the playwright, or the director, are making their voices heard. They break away from political, sociological, or even genre-specific classifications, and assert themselves as human beings. After all, living in peace, and having rights and freedom, are all universal, human needs.
The time to choose a new director-general for the UN cultural organisation UNESCO is coming soon. This is a very important decision, and I would like to explain to the world why it is so important that this position should be given to an Arab, and specifically to an Egyptian candidate, in this case Moushira Khattab.



France has also put forward a candidate for the directorship of UNESCO. It is true that the organisation is based in Paris and that the French are wonderful collaborators in the field of cultural heritage.



I can speak from personal knowledge in this regard, since there are many French expeditions currently excavating in Egypt, and the archaeological cooperation between our two countries is superb.



The Franco-Egyptian expedition to the temples at Karnak is an excellent example of international cooperation, with archaeologists from both countries working together to record and preserve these spectacular monuments.



There have also been many great French scholars who have contributed to Egyptology, from Mariette Pasha, who founded Egypts antiquities service, to Champollion, who cracked the hieroglyphic code, and including Maspero, Lauer, Leclant and many others.



Although the French government values this cooperation, it seems to have chosen to overlook the fact that Egypt has put forward a highly qualified candidate for the directorship of UNESCO and has proposed a candidate of its own.



The authorities in Egypt have written a letter to the government in Paris to ask that the French candidate be withdrawn. Some have even proposed that the Ministry of Antiquities stop all archaeological cooperation between France and Egypt in protest at the French move to support a rival candidate.



A group of these protesters went to meet Khaled El-Enany, the minister of antiquities, to ask him to cut off relations. I myself do not want this to happen, and I hope that the French will find a way forward for which all of us, as Egyptians and Arabs, can be grateful.



The French candidacy is against the long-held and established practices of UNESCO, which do not support a nominee from the headquarters country. Nor do these practices allow a country to hold the position of the organisations director-general more than once.



The principle of rotation must be honoured. Since UNESCOs inception in 1946, an Arab country has never held the directorship of the organisation, and it is time that this took place. In Egypt, we are now celebrating the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the Great Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel, and El-Enany travelled to Paris to attend the festivities surrounding this event.



These very temples, along with many others, were saved through the actions of the international community. It was UNESCO, at Egypts request, which managed the salvage campaign that preserved so much of the heritage of ancient Nubia, threatened by the building of the High Dam at Aswan in the 1960s.



March 1960, the moment at which this salvage campaign was announced, will always be engraved in the annals of history. This historic event, which took place in Paris, was attended by many international figures. Vittorino Veronese, director-general of UNESCO from 1958 to 1961, and his successor Rene Maheu, who served from 1961 to 1974, called on governments, international organisations, and any group concerned with the worlds heritage to provide help in the form of funds or technical assistance.



The response was overwhelming: countries and private individuals gave as much as they could, and millions of dollars were raised. Committees and researchers from over 20 countries worked together for 20 years on the highly successful campaign launched at this event. This international cooperation, initiated by Egypt, gave UNESCO a new stature and made it a body respected around the world.



The importance of Egypts cultural heritage to the world is only one reason why we deserve to have our candidate chosen as the next director-general of UNESCO. The Arab candidate for UNESCO, Khattab, truly deserves this position.



She is an exceptional person and is extremely well-qualified for the post. She will be able to serve in an honest and professional way, and she is the right person to lead the organisation during these difficult times. But Khattab is not just an Arab candidate. She represents Africa as well.



She received the full support of African leaders at the summit meetings in Kigali in 2016 and Addis Ababa in 2017. The African Union promotes her candidacy as an African nominee who is well aware of the continents priorities and concerns and the one best positioned to serve African interests at UNESCO. Khattab is thus a candidate who represents the Arab, Islamic and African cultures.



Throughout her life, Khattab has demonstrated her dedication to cultural heritage. She is truly an international candidate as her career spans the United States, Europe, Australia and Africa. She has a PhD in human rights law and has held important diplomatic positions, including as Egyptian ambassador to the Czech Republic and to South Africa.



I have met her over the years in many of her posts, and wherever she has gone she has been active and has won the love of people in every city she has lived in. She has also made great contributions as secretary-general of Egypts National Council for Childhood and Motherhood. I was her colleague during the appointment of a new government after the 25 January Revolution, when she was made minister of state for the family and population.



Her contributions to cabinet discussions were always impressive, and they showed her capabilities and integrity.



She will be a great representative of Arab women, and indeed of all women and all people. Khattab believes that the right to quality education is the single most effective strategy for the realisation of all other human rights, and she has always fought to put her beliefs into practice.



She has great international experience, including multilateral and bilateral experiences with various UN organisations as well as serving her country during events of historical significance. Her background shows that she has the necessary passion and can lead UNESCO successfully.



Anyone who reads the presentation she gave to the relevant UNESCO committee will recognise that she has the vision required to push this organisation to help solve the problem of education in Third World countries and save the worlds cultural heritage, notably in those countries where this is being destroyed by terrorists.



These are among the reasons why Egypt should hold the position of the director-general of UNESCO, with Khattab being the best candidate.

This article was first published in Al-Ahram Weekly.

Search Keywords:

Short link:


Streaming serviceNetflixis a gift that keeps on giving with movies like 'Gerald's Game', and shows like 'Stranger Things', 'The OA' and 'Orange Is The New Black'. It is a great way to spend an entire weekend and binge watch season after season of addictive shows, creepy documentaries, and crime dramas. And, if the existing roster of shows weren't enough, Netflix is constantly upping their game and going ham with their horror offerings. Because it's Octoberthe scariest month of the year. Also, because horror fans can never get enough of the 3 a.m. scare.

 Netflix

Talking about creepy scaresNetflix's new German show Dark'looks like a darker version of 'Stranger Things', and tells the tale of a modern German town that is torn apart when two children go missing. But rather than going down the true crime routethis menacing series gets incredibly twisted.

Dark' is 'the first Netflix original series entirely created, produced and shot in Germany,' according to a release from the streaming juggernaut. According to Netflix, Dark' is "a family saga with a supernatural twist. Set in a German town in present day where the disappearance of two young children exposes the double lives and fractured relationships among four families. In ten, hour-long episodes, the story takes on a supernatural twist that ties back to the same town in 1986."

 Netflix

Speaking at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) Netflix execs. further said, "It's really exciting because if all those people who watched [that show] will at least think about watching Dark', I think that's a great opportunity for us. So keep comparing it."

 Netflix

'Dark' will be available on Netflix on 1 December.
In a record year for Academy Awards foreign film submissions 8 Arab films were entered for the best Foreign Film category of the Oscars.

92 submissions from around the world included films from Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Syria and Tunisa.

Advertisement

Algeria

Road to Istanbul is a French-Algerian drama film directed by Rachid Bouchareb about Belgian mother Elisabeth sets off to find her young daughter who has joined ISIS in Syria.

Egypt

Sheikh Jackson by Amr Salama talks about a religious cleric has a crisis of faith when he hears the news that his childhood idol, Michael Jackson, has died.

Iraq

In Reseba by Hussein Hassan, radical militants attack a village in Iraq where a young Yazidi love couple prepares for marriage. From that moment onwards their lives are turned into a nightmare.

Lebanon

The Insult by Ziad Doueiri finds Toni, a Lebanese Christian, and Yasser, a Palestinian refugee, in court over a heated argument that creates a social explosion.

Morocco

The streets of Casablanca provide the centerpiece for five separate narratives that all collide into one in Razzia by Nabil Ayouch.

Palestine

Annemarie Jacirs Wajib shows how a father and his estranged son must come together to hand deliver his daughter's wedding invitations to each guest as per local Palestinian custom.

Syria

The story of iconic Syrian peace activist Ghiyath Matar is explored in Little Gandhi. His death at the age of 26 outraged the international community and erupted into one of the most violent uprisings in modern history in the film by Sam Kadi.

Tunisia

In the Last of US Ala Eddine Slim tells the story of a young African man looking to escape to Europe and finds himself in a forest where he gradually becomes one with his surroundings.
MODERATOR: Good evening and welcome to the press conference following the Second Ministerial Meeting between Greece, Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Nikos Kotzias, will be making a brief evaluation of the meeting and then you will have the opportunity to ask a limited -unfortunately due to time restrictions- number of questions.



Minister, you have the floor.



N. KOTZIAS: Thank you very much, Mr. Yennimatas. I think this is the first Press Conference we do together and I wish you every success. Thank you to the interpreters, the ladies who help us do our work. This is a difficult job indeed, which we do not acknowledge to the extent necessary. Thanks also to the staff of the Hyatt Hotel and also to the police authorities for their work and to all of you for joining us this afternoon. There is no international meeting without it being promoted through the mass media, so thank you all for joining us for this reason.



This formalized collaboration between the four countries of Southeastern Europe, of the South, as I like to call them, is one of 15 international collaborations that Greek diplomacy has undertaken during the last three years, to be soon. This is a meeting which aims to contribute to the stability and development of the region. In our region it is one of the two collaborations of this kind. One comprises the four member-states of the EU: Greece, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria, and the second is the one weve had over the last two days.



We discussed various issues with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, in the presence of the Ministers of Interior, about problems affecting the region. How we can help develop the regions role both in the European continent and internationally. And today, primarily, we spoke about issues relating to security, either as regards people or the environment, especially fire safety, as well as energy policy issues.



Yesterday, we agreed that our next meetings main topic be upon issues concerning the cohesion funds, which are, of course, connected to the new EU budget, which, in turn, is related to Brexit. It is through this mechanism that redistribution of funds amongst member-states of the EU and candidate countries will happen. And it is our common interest not to see a limitation of funds for South Europe.



We also agreed that the future of the European Union will be on the agenda, and how small or medium size countries, such as ours, envision this future.



What we chiefly want to achieve through these meetings is to agree, to identify and to evaluate what brings us together and the future of the region. And mainly, what Greek Foreign Policy is today aiming for, that is, the resolution of our problems and the promotion of a positive agenda. Ways to develop our synergies further, both in the economic and cultural sector, but also in the fields of education and research and on energy and internal security. We have agreed on a range of measures during the plenary meetings, as well as in the bilateral meetings that were extremely productive.



Bilaterally, we discussed on how to deepen our collaboration and adopt measures that will benefit our society.



The Ministers of the Interior did the same. They agreed to arrange a meeting of the Heads of the Police Authorities of the four countries in Thessaloniki. Also, a meeting of the Heads of the four Fire Services in Ptolemaida, where, following Nikos Toskas great efforts, the School of Non Commissioned Officers of the Hellenic Fire Service was established. Situated quite close to our northern borders, it is an institution where firemen will be receiving training, since not all countries of the region have established mid or higher level Fire Service institutions. This emerged during this summers devastating fires.



We also agreed to an exchange of operational information that can help combat organized crime, particularly drug trafficking, and other forms of organized crime and illegal activities. In addition, as regards citizen protection, it was agreed to hold a large scale exercise in Ptolemaida.



There was also a very interesting debate on issues of collaboration on energy. As you are aware, the new energy pipelines, either for natural gas or electricity or oil, go through southeastern Europe. Greece provides for the connection of the Balkan countries to the LNG pipelines, and of other forms of energy that will be crossing Greece.



At the meeting we also extensively discussed on the need to exploit renewable energy resources and other forms of energy, particularly wind power, solar power. On this field, our country, compared to the other three, holds a comparative advantage, particularly as regards the know-how of transforming these natural phenomena into energy. We also discussed the necessary reforms that have to be undertaken so as to transport this energy in the most effective and economic way.



Overall, the discussions took place in a very positive atmosphere, demonstrating how the future of our country, as well as of the other three countries, is in Europe; a Europe where we will combine our European focus with regional collaboration. The meeting also showed that our people, our societies, despite all thats been said, follow a path of mutual understanding and friendship. Let me remind you that millions of people from these countries holiday in Greece and millions of Greeks spend, particular the winter holidays, in our neighboring countries, primarily in the mountains of Bulgaria.



We demonstrated the willingness to find solutions to all the problems stemming from the past, solutions based on the principle that history should be not our prison, but a school from which we draw conclusions and lessons for the future. I believe, therefore, that this meeting is yet another step towards cooperation, mutual trust and friendship between the countries of the South, of southeastern Europe.



Thank you very much.



MODERATOR: We will now give the floor to questions. I would ask you to introduce yourselves and the medium that you represent.



JOURNALIST: The European Commission called for the European Council to decide on Bulgarias Schengen membership. Did you discuss this at the bilateral meetings with the Bulgarian delegation? What is the position of Greece on Bulgarian membership? Thank you.



N. KOTZIAS: Greece holds a principled position on this issue for a while now. We support the accession of Bulgaria, and of Romania, to the Schengen area. We do this because we want to see the area unified, as this is in Europes favour. We do this because we stand in solidarity and are supportive to these countries, and also, because the expansion of the area of internal EU security will, at the same time, facilitate our own security.



MODERATOR: Thank you. Next question please.



JOURNALIST: Minister, it seems that discussions have gone very well on all these issues of low politics you just mentioned. But, the thorny issues of the past are still present. Is there anything positive underway you could inform us about?



N. KOTZIAS: There are positive messages concerning pending issues from the past. For one, there is the general framework of our relationships, which takes positive steps every day. These issues are being discussed on a daily basis and I expect positive results, not only today, but also in the following months.



MODERATOR: Thank you very much. Next question.



JOURNALIST: I would like to stay on the subject of energy. You talked about cooperation with the countries of Southern Europe on energy. There is already the TAP pipeline project with Bulgaria and Romania. How do you see this cooperation extending to Albania and FYROM? Because, there is another project underway there.



N. KOTZIAS: We have the TAP pipeline, the vertical pipeline to Bulgaria, Romania and further, we also have a natural gas pipeline that we have agreed to construct together with our northern neighbor, in the framework of our confidence building measures, which will materialize in the construction of a pipeline from Thessaloniki to Skopje. There is discussion for the modification of an old oil pipeline as well. We have also held discussions with international players on the construction of an LNG station in Northern Greece, which is going to feed in the TAP pipeline and the countries you mentioned. But, as I said, we also discussed other forms of energy on which Greece possesses the knowhow, which will be extended and disseminated to our neighboring countries.



MODERATOR: Thank you. Next question.



JOURNALIST: I would like to ask you how you see and how your colleagues see the role of Thessaloniki in the broader region.



N. KOTZIAS: I think that Thessaloniki is a natural hub for the entire region and this is clear to everyone. A large part of the neighboring countries population and the leadership of these countries love Thessaloniki. They visit the area very often; they have holidays in Khalkidhiki, for example, or go to Katerini. The ministers that were here these days love coming to Thessaloniki. Thessaloniki is convenient geographically, because it is the closest large Greek city to Skopje and to Sofia, and although it is slightly more distant from Tirana, Albanians also love it very much. And we were very fortunate to have this lovely weather these days. We enjoyed a lovely hospitality as we always experience in Thessaloniki. Moreover, I believe that this justifies the Prime Ministers, as well as our, decision to hold international meetings not only in Athens, but here in Thessaloniki and other greek cities. I remind you that we had one in Kavala recently, another on the island of Corfu, or in Rhodes, where we organized the conference on security and stability. I have welcomed a number of Foreign Ministers in Crete, most recently Mr. Cavusoglu, and I reserve a number of invitations for my counterparts to visit an array of greek cities.



JOURNALIST: Allow me to stick to the more thorny issues. You met with representatives of three countries. Two of them, with which there are problems and issues that have not yet been resolved, wish to accede to the EU and to NATO. Did you discuss such issues today at the meeting and what preconditions need to be met, in order for Greece to support their claims?



N.KOTZIAS: First of all, let me tell you that our foreign policy is one of friendship and development of relations. The aim of diplomacy is to resolve, not create, problems. So, allow me to say something exceeding your question, but in the same spirit. Often, when people deal with European issues, they cite the case of Germany and France, as a historic example of how two countries in perpetual conflict resolved their problems. But, this spans 150-200 years. Greece and Bulgaria have had issues for 1600 years. There was a time that one could only rise to the Byzantine throne, on the condition he had come to be known as a Bulgar Slayer. We, ourselves, experienced the triple occupation of northern Greece. Nevertheless, we see that history has left these issues behind. What I mean is that problems have solutions. Therefore, we should proceed with good compromises, and take pains to guarantee that these be constructive and mutually beneficial, not rotten compromises, as I like to call them. It is my belief that these compromises should be forged on the basis of international law, the European acquis, and the prerequisites that the EU sets for its new members.



COORDINATOR: One final question, please.



JOURNALIST: We have been following all these initiatives you mentioned. The day before yesterday we had the meeting in Varna, today we have this meeting. What is changing through these initiatives in our region? What next steps should we anticipate?



N.KOTZIAS: I have made an analysis that I share with my colleagues. With the collapse of real socialism, there emerged a new will in the Balkans to develop inter-state relations. We witnessed foreign investments, bank synergies, and civil society relations. In the dawn of the 21st century, weve interests shifted towards a more european orientation. A new kind of antagonism emerged, relating to who would be the first to accede to the EU, first to satisfy the relevant criteria, what we have come to know as conditionality.



Today, our policy rests upon the combination of lessons learned from those two eras, in order to carve the European orientation of the region through regional cooperation. The countries of our region are small, or medium sized, comparatively small on a global scale. When the west Balkan states succeed in joining the EU, combined with the accession of 2-3 more states from the East, then the EU will comprise 37 to 38 countries.



Obviously, small countries with populations of one or two millions, but even those with 10-15 millions will not be in a position to play a central role in the EU, unless they collaborate. So, what we stand for is a combination of the experience of the 1990s, that is establishment of networks and relations in the region, with a European orientation, which first arose from here, in Thessaloniki, in 2003.



The second thing that is changing is that our country has stopped being underestimated. And everybody sees that, despite the crisis that we went through, this country still possesses the largest economy and has the largest potential to exercise soft or hard power in the region.



Thirdly, what changed is that during the 90s Greece demonstrated a degree of arrogance, as it saw other countries collapse, yet, nowadays Greek diplomacy has learned its lessons. That is, that it should respect others, as it demands the respect of others. And, furthermore, that whats required for the development of relations, is the cultivation of trust upon which friendly relations will be established.



In my opinion, relationships between our peoples, our societies, fare much better than how they appear in public discourse, in any country. And, as I say this, I am reminded of what my dear friend, the foreign Minister of Albania said, during a speech I delivered in the University of Tirana, where I had the honor of being invited. Namely, that there exists the paradox of the local population starting their day full of life with the sounds of Greek music and then they speak against us. Later on, they go out, have a Greek-style souvlaki and then we see them lashing out on us once more. The paradox lies in the fact that despite the criticism, despite the problems that exist, there is mutual understanding, mutual respect and love between our peoples. And this can be seen in the big tourist flows during recent years, when the Greek people welcome them with pleasure, while they themselves feel in Greece like at home. I think that these developments, the lessons learned both by them and us, as well as the ways we conduct the foreign policy of an upgraded Greece, coupled with a sense of prudence from our part, restore our role and acceptance in the region.



COORDINATOR: Next question, please.



JOURNALIST: Since Mr. Toskas is also here at the panel, I would like to ask whether you only spoke about internal security and organized crime, or the refugee issue was discussed as well. In the latter, have you adopted any measures?



N. TOSKAS: There was a common understanding regarding the threats, the risks and the problems, regarding internal security in the region. Within the scope of this common consideration, of course we spoke about issues of terrorism and organized crime. We also talked about how the refugee issue is developing and what prospects, what possibilities arise over the next few years. And of course we also spoke about civil protection issues. We established common ground, as Mr. Kotzias told you, regarding this collaboration and, yes, the refugee issue was also discussed regarding the way in which it is evolving.



COORDINATOR: One final question please.



JOURNALIST:. Just following upon my colleagues question. Is there a possibility that in case of future increase of the refugee numbers we may see again closed borders from FYROM, or Bulgaria? Did you talk and come to an understanding on this? And what about the possibility of extremist cells, affiliated to jihadists and omnipresent in various areas in the Balkans?



N. TOSKAS: Right now the situation regarding the refugee crisis is the one you know very well. We all support the EU - Turkey Agreement and we hope that this agreement will be maintained for a long period. When it comes to terrorism, we agreed to intensify the exchange of information regarding related issues. There are no specific threats from jihadi groups posing as a serious problem in the Balkans. Nevertheless, we are intensifying surveillance in all domains.



JOURNALIST: Mr. Kotzias, I would like to ask you the following. There were some negative comments regarding a geography book in the Albanian schools. Many Greek regions, such as Western Macedonia and a big chunk of Epirus are illustrated as part of Albania. What is your take on this?



N. KOTZIAS: I showed these maps to my colleagues in the Foreign Affairs Council about a year ago. So, my take is that these maps are unthinkable for European standards. However, we have taken steps since then, and we are now discussing these issues with the Albanian colleagues. There is a joint group for this and we have marked significant progress, pending two schoolbooks to conclude the revision of the relevant bibliography by the end of next year.



One last question. I can see this gentleman who has been asking to take the floor. I am sorry I am intervening.



JOURNALIST: What I want to ask concerns what transpired after the meeting you had in New York with some Greek journalists. It was leaked that during this briefing you mentioned that apart from the name issue there exist a number of other issues that need be resolved: the issue of language, the issue of nationhood, etc. However, you yourself stated in the past that this does not concern identity, rather it regards the irredentism coming from the neigbouring country. So, could you explain, are we talking only about the name of the country or about these other issues? Thank you.



N. KOTZIAS: I dont believe that it would be wise on the part of a Minister to comment on journalists. Whatever I need to say, I say it in public. But since you ask me, I would like to answer: We havent started yet, but we are going to have, I hope, at some point, a very substantial discussion on the name issue and anything related to that. I have never mentioned wether this is related to nationhood or language. Never have I said such things. It would be best to ask the journalist him/herself what exactly he or she means and where his information came from. I can only take responsibility for what I say.



Thank you very much.



MODERATOR: Thank you. Have a good afternoon.
PIGEON -- One area high school is asking the public to give blood and save a life.

The Laker High School student council is hosting a blood drive from 9:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. on Oct. 23 at the high school. The drive is open to the public.

For more information on donating or to make an appointment, go to redcrossblood.org (sponsor code: Laker HS) or call 1-800-REDCROSS.

The student council is looking for donations of cookies for this blood drive. Cookies can be dropped off at the Laker High School office prior to Oct. 23.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

NORWALK  The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk hopes to build and open a 4D theater next to its main entrance before the state starts replacing the Walk Bridge in 2019.

Four-dimensional technology gives theatergoers an immersive experience, feeling wind and rain and even smells.

The Connecticut Department of Transportation intends to take the existing IMAX Theater, raze it, and use the area to stage the replacement of the 121-year-old Walk Bridge, which bisects the aquarium at 10 North Water St.

In order to minimize the disruption to the Aquariums operations and visitors, the Aquarium has decided to proactively seek approvals to reconstruct the IMAX theater wing on the northeast side of the building adjacent to the Aquariums main entrance at North Main and Ann Streets, wrote Elizabeth Suchy, the attorney representing the plan before the city.

Proposed is a two-story, 11,900-square-foot addition on the east of the main entrance. The addition would house a 4D, 178-seat theater, entrance lobby, ticket area and other space. The aquarium also has proposed a two-story, 8,700-square-foot addition on the east side of the existing building to house the aquariums seals. That addition would replace the existing tent structure and exhibits along the Norwalk River, according to Suchy.

The aquarium recently submitted to the citys Department of Planning and Zoning conceptual drawings showing its plans to replace the theater, enclose and improve its harbor seal exhibit, create new space for its Go Fish! exhibit and move its main entrance to North Water Street, opposite the Maritime Garage.

The Meerkat exhibit will be relocated internally to a new second floor in the Maritime Hall that doesnt affect the existing footprint, according to a statement released by the aquarium.

The aquarium said discussions continue with the goal of building the new theater and making other necessary changes to the building and its exhibits. Loss of the IMAX Theater and the vital revenue stream that it brings without a replacement would be detrimental to the long-term sustainability of the organization.

These renderings are preliminary, and final details may change, but it was critical to file an application now if the Aquarium is to achieve city approvals and complete its construction prior to commencement of the bridge project in early 2019, the Aquarium said in the statement. This submission is just an initial step in this long but important process of protecting our animals, guests and the institution as a whole.

The Maritime Aquarium, which opened in 1988 and draws up to 500,000 visitors annually, learned last year that the DOT intends to demolish the IMAX Theater to make room for replacement of the Walk Bridge over the Norwalk River. The theater wont be the only casualty.

The IMAX theater wing on the southern end of the Aquarium campus along with the permanent tent structure containing exhibits and tanks will need to be demolished, Suchy wrote. Approximately 25,000 square feet of existing Aquarium space is expected to be demolished for the Walk Bridge project, which is expected to commence in 2019 and is scheduled for completion in 2023.

The IMAX Theater, although a big draw at the aquarium, is outdated in terms of technology. Aquarium spokesman Dave Sigworth has described the roughly 300-seat facility as limited given its reliance upon 70-millimeter film rather than digitally produced movies.

The Common Councils Land Use and Building Management Committee was scheduled to review the conceptual plans Wednesday evening. Numerous approvals are required.

We look forward to presenting the details of our application  and their supporting reasons  first to the required city commissions, agencies and committees in the coming weeks, Sigworth said.
Editor's Note: The Department of the Navys Board for the Correction of Naval Records ultimately determined that Col. Morgan Mann was unjustly removed from command by Lt. Gen. Rex McMillian. On Feb. 22, 2021, the BCNR directed the Commandant of the Marine Corps to remove all adverse material from his official record.

Three senior Marines at a Massachusetts reserve unit were relieved of their posts in one fell swoop this week, officials confirmed Thursday.

On Wednesday, Marine Forces Reserve Commanding Officer Lt. Gen. Rex McMillian relieved Col. Morgan Mann, commanding officer of 25th Marine Regiment, out of Fort Devens, Massachusetts.

Also relieved were Sgt. Maj. James Boutin, inspector-instructor for the regiment, and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Hoy, also assigned to the unit.

The Marines were relieved because McMillian lost confidence in their ability to command, a spokeswoman for Marine Forces Reserve, 2nd Lt. Stephanie Leguizamon, told Military.com in a statement. Marine Corps Times first reported the reliefs Thursday.

Related content:

Leguizamon did not have additional information about why the Marines were relieved and could not immediately say whether the moves had come in connection with an investigation.

It's rare for multiple leaders to be removed at a time, and especially rare for the Marine Reserve.

Leguizamon said the last time a commanding officer was relieved within Marine Forces Reserve was 2012.

Mann enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1987, according to his official biography, and has led numerous infantry units, deploying to Iraq in 2005 and 2007; to Afghanistan in 2013; and in support of the fight against ISIS in 2014. His awards include the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star with V device, and he sits on the editorial advisory board of the Marine Corps Gazette.

He assumed command of the 25th Marine Regiment in March 2017.

Boutin joined the Marine Corps in 1989 and earned the machine gunner military occupational specialty. He deployed to Iraq in 2005 and 2009 and to Afghanistan in 2013 and 2014, earning the Bronze Star, among other awards.

Prior to coming to 25th Marines, he served as the senior enlisted adviser for Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force-Crisis Response Africa, based in Moron, Spain.

Hoy, a personnel officer, entered the Corps in 1995. He deployed to Iraq in 2003 and is currently a member of the active reserve, according to information provided by MarForRes.

All three will be reassigned within the 4th Marine Division, Leguizamon said.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
The military's major commitment of aircraft and ships to Puerto Rico hurricane relief has delayed the deployment of additional troops to Afghanistan, a top Pentagon official said Thursday.

"There has been a slight delay," and "it will take time to build up the force in Afghanistan," Marine Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., the Pentagon's Joint Staff Director, said at a news conference.

At the request of Army Gen. John Nicholson, commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, with White House approval, has ordered the deployment of "more than 3,000" troops to join the 11,000 already on the ground in Afghanistan.

Mattis has declined to give a specific number on the troops to be deployed to Afghanistan, but senators from both sides of the aisle said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday -- where Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joseph Dunford testified -- that about 3,500 troops would be committed.

Neither Mattis nor Dunford argued with the 3,500 estimate.

Related content:

Mattis declined to say when the troops would begin to deploy, saying only that it will happen "in the coming months."

Dunford testified that the military's responses to Hurricanes Maria, Irma and Harvey could have an impact on troop deployments worldwide into next year.

At the Pentagon news conference, McKenzie said troop deployments to Afghanistan will be "slightly delayed by ongoing relief efforts."

He did not give an estimate on how long the delay would last, but said there is "a finite number of transport aircraft the U.S. has. That will inevitably slow movement to other theaters."

However, "the orders are being assigned" for the eventual deployment, and "there will be minimal delay to the strategy," McKenzie said.

Not a 'Forever' War

The new strategy for Afghanistan came under pointed questioning at the SASC hearing Tuesday from Republicans and Democrats.

The senators said they had difficulty understanding how the addition of about 3,000 troops to bring the total to approximately 14,000 would have a significant impact on the course of the war when more than 100,000 on the ground in 2012 did not result in the Taliban's defeat.

Sen. John McCain, the committee chairman, said in his opening statement, "At the most basic level, we still do not know how the president's new strategy will better enable us to achieve our stated objectives.

"In short, at present, it remains unclear why we should be confident that this new strategy could turn the tide in Afghanistan or bring us meaningfully closer to success than its failed predecessors," he said.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, told Mattis,"The best I can tell, this new strategy is just more of the same -- you've just removed the timetable.

"That's what bothers me," Warren said, adding that Mattis appeared to be saying the U.S. is "willing to continue to fight the Afghan war forever, and that just can't be right."

Mattis said Afghanistan is not a "forever" war, but acknowledged that U.S. troops could still be there 10 years from now. He said troops must remain to prevent Afghanistan from being used again as a safe haven to attack the U.S.

The SecDef also said the rules of engagement are being changed to allow more extensive use of airpower and to allow U.S. troops to be involved in what is essentially "combat duty" by moving closer to the front lines in smaller Afghan units to call in airstrikes.

'We're All In' on Puerto Rico Relief

At the Pentagon on Thursday, McKenzie said the Afghanistan delay must be measured against Mattis' order that "we're all in" on Puerto Rico relief.

"There's just going to be downstream effect when you make those decisions," he said, "but American citizens are involved in Puerto Rico and it's a very high priority for this department."

When asked about a potential cascading effect on global operations, chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said, "This is a building all about plans. We do what we have to do.

"We are prepared for all contingencies. It is not the first time we've had natural disasters and deployed forces. Again, it's a minor delay," but forces will still flow to Afghanistan, she said.

Air Force officials have acknowledged that Air Mobility Command has been stretched thin responding to three hurricanes in quick succession.

Well before the hurricane season, AMC commander Gen. Carlton D. Everhart II warned in March that airlift capacity had to be increased to meet the demands of the operational tempo.

He said the service is working to upgrade its current C-5 Galaxy fleet and maintain its C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, but noted the shortfall in the aircraft available.

"Just a few years ago, we had 112 C-5s. Today, we have 56," Everhart told congressional staffers during a demonstration day last month at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland.

-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com.

-- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214.
The Navy's top admiral is calling on the service's most junior leaders to be proactive and troubleshoot subpar working conditions after two collisions involving Navy destroyers this summer left 17 sailors dead.

Just hours after the destroyer John S. McCain collided with a tanker outside Singapore on Aug. 21, Adm. John. Richardson publicly announced that all commands across the Navy would observe an operational pause to ensure units were operating safely and effectively.

The McCain collision, which left 10 dead, came just two months after the destroyer Fitzgerald collided with a container ship southwest of Tokyo, killing seven sailors.

In a memo to the fleet published Friday, Richardson said feedback from the operational pause is still rolling in, but one clear insight has emerged: Unit leaders need to take greater ownership of their commands and ensure sailors are operating under safe and sustainable conditions. The memo was first reported on by USNI news.

Related content:

"While there is more to follow soon on those important matters, it is clear NOW that a center of gravity for our IMMEDIATE efforts going forward must be to enhance the role of small teams and their leaders," Richardson wrote in the emphatic memo.

"When I hear about problems like persistent lack of sleep, consistently long work hours in port, problems in basic watchstanding, and more, it's clear to me that much of the fix is with our junior leaders," he wrote.

The Navy is guilty, Richardson continued, of stealing leadership opportunities from small team leaders in the pressures of leading a large organization.

"We've used a slide show instead of leadership by personal engagement," he wrote. "We have robbed our junior leaders of the ownership they so crave. We have smothered their initiative. We need to give it back -- it's why they joined the Navy."

Richardson indicated that, through the operational pause, the Navy had found this area of small unit leadership constitutes the largest area for improvement within the service.

"By virtue of piling on meaningless collateral duties and programs that contribute little to operational and warfighting excellence, we have confused these leaders, making it hard for them to see through the chaff and to prioritize the personal and professional development of their people," he wrote. "An astute and well-trained division officer and chief will ensure that their teams are trained, certified, well rested, respectful, and ready to go."

In the wake of the collisions, the Navy's most immediate action, in addition to the operational pause and two wide-ranging operational reviews, has been to fire its most senior leadership with authority over the units involved.

Just 24 hours after the McCain collision, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Scott Swift relieved Vice Adm. Joseph Aucoin, commander of U.S. 7th Fleet, where both deadly incidents took place.

Aucoin's replacement, Vice Adm. Phillip Sawyer, moved quickly to remove two more leaders: Rear Adm. Charles Williams, commander of Task Force 70, and Capt. Jeffrey Bennett, commander of Destroyer Squadron 15, to which both destroyers involved in the collisions belonged.

Swift has also announced his plans to retire after being passed over for nomination to lead U.S. Pacific Command.

In hearings before the House and Senate Armed Services Committees following the incidents, lawmakers have cited reports from the Government Accountability Office showing troubling readiness problems affecting ships deployed to the Pacific, including slews of lapsed certifications, operations schedules that left no time for formal training, and practices that left sailors sometimes working 100 hours per week.

"I personally made the assumption, and I have made the assumption for many, many years that our forward-deployed Naval force in Japan was the most proficient, well-trained, most experienced force we had, because they're operating all the time," Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Bill Moran told members of the House Armed Services Committee on Sept. 7.

"It was a wrong assumption, in hindsight," he said.

The Navy is already moving to remedy some of the most pressing issues.

Vice Adm. Tom Rowden, head of Naval Surface Forces, published a memo in late September ordering ship captains to ensure sailors have adequate sleep and predictable watch schedules, to guard against operational mistakes due to sleep deprivation.

Navy commanders are also reportedly encouraging sailors to avoid over-reliance on technology, instead using simple tools such as pencils and paper to track obstacles in busy shipping lanes.

In his memo, Richardson encouraged commanders to prioritize developing junior leaders and teams.

"No commander can do very wrong if you are training and empowering your junior leaders," he wrote. "Through example, teaching, and engagement, we must produce leaders and teams who learn and adapt to achieve maximum possible performance for prompt and sustained combat incident to operations at sea. It's the only right thing to do."

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter a @HopeSeck.
The Pentagon on Friday identified the three U.S. Special Forces soldiers killed in an ambush while on a joint patrol with local forces in the north-central African state of Niger.

Staff Sgts. Bryan C. Black, Jeremiah W. Johnson and Dustin M. Wright were all assigned to the 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and were part of a joint U.S. and Nigerien train, advise and assist mission, according to an Oct. 6 Defense Department press release.

"They died Oct. 4 in southwest Niger, as a result of hostile fire while on a reconnaissance patrol," the release states.

Two other U.S. troops were wounded in the attack, but the DoD has not identified them. They were listed in stable condition Thursday and were flown for treatment to a military hospital at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, U.S. Africa Command said.

Related content:

A fourth service member from a "partner nation" also was killed in the ambush near the Mali border about 120 miles north of Niamey, Niger's capital, AfriCom officials said.

AfriCom has not identified the attackers, but the al-Qaida offshoot known as Al Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) operates in neighboring Mali and has conducted cross-border raids into Niger.

Black, 35, was from Puyallup, Washington; Johnson, 39, was from Springboro, Ohio; and Wright, 29, was from Lyons, Georgia.

They were the first U.S. combat casualties since U.S. forces entered Niger in 2013. In February, a member of the 3rd Special Forces Group was killed in a vehicle accident in Niger, the Pentagon said.

In neighboring Mali, about 1,600 French troops with U.S. support have been assisting local forces in battling AQIM and tribal Tuareg rebels. AQIM has conducted cross-border raids into Niger to expand its footprint in the region.

In 2013, then-President Barack Obama notified Congress that about 100 U.S. troops were being deployed to Niger. They set up a drone base near Niamey to assist the French with surveillance and intelligence, and also began serving in a train, advise and assist role with Nigerien forces.

The U.S. had already been providing the French with aerial refueling for its Mirage and Rafale warplanes.

In June, as required by law, President Donald Trump notified Congress that about 645 U.S. military personnel were in Niger.

In May, Marine Gen. Thomas Waldhauser, the AfriCom commander, said at a Pentagon briefing that he had asked for more "flexibility" that would "allow us to process targets in a more rapid fashion" without going to the top of the chain of command for approval.

Waldhauser's request was approved by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and authorized by Trump. Similar authority has been given to U.S. commanders in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan.

At the time, Waldhauser also confirmed that the U.S. had a small Special Forces contingent in Libya, bordering Niger to the north, to call in airstrikes in support of U.S.-backed Libyan forces battling an offshoot of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

-- Military.com's Richard Sisk contributed to this story.
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...
A female Marine from Camp Pendleton, California, was quietly sent to the brig and charged with murder earlier this year after the death of her young son.

Lance Cpl. Tammy Tang faces charges including three counts of murder, one count of manslaughter, and two counts of assault, Military.com has learned.

The young Marine was charged and confined on base, and little information is available about the specific accusations she is facing.

A communication strategy and operations officer for 1st Marine Logistics Group told Military.com that Tang took her son to Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton on Oct. 31, 2016, after he suffered a severe head injury.

He was subsequently transferred to Rady Children's Hospital in San Diego, where he died, the officer said.

The name and age of the child have not been made public.

Tang's attorney, Maj. Nelson Candelario, senior defense counsel for the Marine Corps Defense Services Organization at Pendleton, declined to make a statement regarding his client.

The three murder specifications being charged, he said, represent either/or alternatives: For example, the government alleged the child's death was either the result of a premeditated act or wanton disregard for his safety and security.

Tang, a food service specialist with 1st Marine Logistics Group, enlisted in the Corps on Jan. 20, 2015.

While assigned to Combat Logistics Battalion 13, she deployed with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit from February to September 2016, according to biographical information provided by 1st MLG officials. Her awards include two letters of appreciation, officials said.

Tang's Marine recruiting station, in San Jose, California, posted several times about her the year she enlisted, including a Jan. 19, 2015, congratulatory send-off post as she entered boot camp.

Asked by Marines at the station later that year why she chose the service, Tang cited the adventures the Corps could offer.

"After graduating from Andrew Hill High School [in San Jose], I decided to join the United States Marine Corps for the fun and adventures, and to survive life," she was quoted as saying in a Facebook post. "After recruit training, I realized there is so much more as to why I continue with what I have chosen to devote myself to."

Tang has been in pretrial confinement at Naval Consolidated Brig Miramar since April, officials said.

Her next motions hearing is set for Oct. 27, and her trial is set to begin Feb. 5, 2018.

-- Hope Hodge Seck can be reached at hope.seck@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HopeSeck.
[October 05, 2017] Truphone Announces Data Plans for iPad Users in Ireland and Portugal

LONDON, October 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Truphone, the London-based global mobile tech disruptor, today announces it is offering data plans for iPad users with Apple SIM in Ireland and Portugal. Following last week's launch in Australia and the Netherlands, consumers can now purchase Truphone iPad data plans in eight countries - with further roll-outs planned to 31 countries by the end of 2017. This builds on Truphone's status as the first global mobile operator. Truphone Data Plans give iPad users the ability to instantly get online and stay connected via the Truphone network at home and while travelling in 40 countries without international roaming charges. As an introductory offer, Truphone is giving customers 100MB of data for free. The "try before you buy" offer makes it easy for iPad users to get 4G data directly on their iPad with no obligation to purchase. Truphone promises: Flexible Plans: Greater choice around connectivity without being locked into long-term contracts.

Greater choice around connectivity without being locked into long-term contracts. Lower Prices: Cheaper data packages without international roaming charges.

Cheaper data packages without international roaming charges. Convenience: Connect right from your iPad with Apple SIM in just a few taps, eliminating the need to visit retail stores.

Connect right from your iPad with Apple SIM in just a few taps, eliminating the need to visit retail stores. Global Bundle: Use the same data package in 40 countries without the need to swap SIM cards or buy more data when travelling. The launch coincides with the global rollout of two additional features: Auto Renew: Automtically purchase a new data plan when the current one expires or is consumed for uninterrupted 4G connectivity, with in-built overspend protection.

Automtically purchase a new data plan when the current one expires or is consumed for uninterrupted 4G connectivity, with in-built overspend protection. Top Up Anytime: The freedom to add more data anytime, anywhere without having to wait for your plan to expire. Create an easily-managed queue of data plans to make sure you never run out of data.



Australia , Hong Kong , the Netherlands , Poland , Spain and the UK. Apple SIM makes it easy to sign up for a cellular data plan right on your iPad so you can stay connected when you're away from Wi-Fi at home or while travelling. Apple SIM is built into iPad Pro 10.5-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (second generation) and iPad Pro 9.7-inch Wi-Fi + Cellular models, and is compatible with iPad 5th generation, iPad Pro 12.9-inch (1st generation), iPad mini 4 and iPad Air 2 Wi-Fi + Cellular models.





Ralph Steffens, CEO, Truphone said: "Truphone Data Plans for iPad users with Apple SIM delivers connectivity on the move and perfectly complements the iPad as the most versatile mobile device ever developed.



"We're excited about the potential Apple SIM has to revolutionise how we provide seamless connectivity for our customers, no matter where they are in the world. Our capability, expertise and global network mean we're well placed to capitalise on this shift as the only truly global player. This launch of data plans on iPad with Apple SIM is another testament to the ability of Truphone to deliver a seamless product globally." "We're excited about the potential Apple SIM has to revolutionise how we provide seamless connectivity for our customers, no matter where they are in the world.



Established in 2006, Truphone has enjoyed a period of rapid expansion and now has more than 350 staff in 11 offices worldwide. About Truphone Truphone's pioneering technology is changing the way the world communicates, creating a whole new set of possibilities for businesses and consumers alike. Headquartered in London, our global network and patented SIM technology powers connectivity on the move. We are the organisation developing and delivering game-changing products and services: the eSIM for all new Apple iPads available in 31 countries by the end of 2017; IoT solutions that already power connected cars; and global mobile call recording solutions that enable trading compliance for financial institutions. More than 3,500 companies rely on us as their business mobile provider. The majority of the world's largest Tier 1 investment banks entrust Truphone globally with their mobile voice and SMS recording, which helps meet the challenging requirements of MiFID II regulation, being imposed on the 3rd January 2018 by the EU. To learn more, visit truphone.com Press Contact: Catherine Gibbon

+44-(0)-7408-811-675

[email protected]

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

Arundhati Bhattacharya leaves behind a rich legacy at the State Bank of India. As her four-year term comes to an end today, it is worth while to take stock of what she has achieved.

She was the first chief of the state-owned bank who handled the biggest merger to date with its subsidiaries. She rolled out a wider digital platform on which the bank operations could be synchronized. She made the bank a woman-friendly organisation. That is not all, she leaves SBI after making the bank find a mention in the list of top 50 banks in the world.

Her Mentors

Bhattacharya draws inspiration from her mother and aunt who helped her during her overseas postings. She superseded three male colleagues to occupy the 18th floor corner room in Nariman Point headquarters of the bank in Mumbai, handling over 20 percent of the country's deposits and loans.

As she took charge as the first woman "Chairman" in October 2013, Bhattacharya set up six strategic goals - digital, technology, improving delivery standards, cost reduction, NPA (non-performing asset) reduction and risk management.

She ensured the bank made progress on all fronts. One of the biggest tasks towards the end of her term was the merger of SBI with its associates and Bharatiya Mahila Bank that happened on April 1 this year, for which Bhattacharya also got a year's extension so that she could complete the process smoothly.

Here's how an English literature graduate from Kolkata's Lady Brabourne College and postgraduation at Jadavpur University made it to the head of a financial behemoth.

40 years at SBI

Bhattacharya joined SBI in September 1977 and went on to lead the bank as the first woman to lead an India-based Fortune India 500 company. she was the only woman banker on that list of giants anywhere in the world.

Joined as a probationary officer at the age of 22 years, Bhattacharya worked across various departments from corporate banking to treasury to retail to human resources to investment banking and others.

Bhattacharya, who completed 40 years in the same bank, once said, "Different roles at different locations was as good as moving to a new job every three years. This keeps me going."

In one of her interactions after becoming the SBI chief, Bhattacharya mentioned her former boss and mentor MS Verma, who convinced her to not quit the bank even when she was worried about her child's education.

Verma also headed the bank in 1997.

Bhattacharya has held various roles in the bank: She headed the bank's merchant banking arm - State Bank of India Capital Markets; the chief general manager in charge of new projects. She launched new businesses including SBI General Insurance, SBI Custodial Services, SBI Pension Funds and the SBI Macquarie Infrastructure Fund.

She became the Deputy Managing Director in November 2010 and two years later, she was posted as MD & CEO of SBI Capital Markets, a subsidiary of the bank.

For two months, she became the CFO & MD of the bank in August 2013 before becoming the Chairman.

Banking and Digital Services

Despite being the largest bank, SBI, was nevertheless, a public sector lender which is known to be a laggard in its services and digital space. Bhattacharya kickstarted the digital focus with its offerings of e-wallet SBI Buddy to digital branches, improved its internet banking service and mobile website and apps for all types of customers.

Under her stewardship, a customer experience excellence project (CEEP) was also rolled out in 3,000-plus branches for better crowd management and faster processing time for transactions.

SBI also pushed innovation in the fintech ecosystem as it created a Rs 200-crore fund to invest in fintech start-ups. This puts SBI in the league of private sector banks that churn out solutions out of the investment fund to give an edge to the bank for the future.

Bhattacharya's hands-on approach with digital initiatives was well received and so were her efforts to promote digital-only branches - a one-of-its-kind initiative in the Indian banking industry - and artificial intelligence and robotics for credit analysis, risk management and better customer service. She is positioning the bank as 'the banker to digital India'.

People Focus

In order to encourage meritocracy in the bank, SBI developed a new system under Bhattacharya's leadership, to allot 65 percent marks for performance, which will include specific targets, 5 percent marks for successfully completing a set training programme and remaining 30 percent markings to be reviewed by the supervisor.

She also initiated many lateral hirings and batted for campus recruitments for public sector banks from esteemed institutions such as IITs and IIMs.

Unlike her predecessor, Pratip Chaudhuri, who clamped down on union activities and strained relations with the Reserve Bank of India and Finance Ministry, Bhattacharya was known to share a good rapport with the trade unions as well as the RBI and Ministry.

As per reports, State Bank officials who had worked closely with Bhattacharya cite her successful negotiations with the officers federation when unions planned a major strike against the managements plan to move to a seven-day working arrangement in 2012 (this meant keeping banking operations on all seven days of the week, not making everyone work seven days a week). Bhattacharya was the corporate development officer for Human Resources at that time.

For the merger too, she had to bring all employees including those of associate banks on board and convince them to patiently to accept it without any effective strikes. She let the managing directors of the associates work independently and took care of the transfers taking into account the sensitivity of employees concerns.

She also initiated work from home facility for women employees if they had dependent elders/ailing parents or children to take care during their exams.

A polite and humble Bhattacharya is also known to be a task master.

Prior to the merger, Bhattacharya got her men and women to do a lot of groundwork, especially in 2016-17 in terms of cleaning up the corporate loan book of associates, integration of information technology systems, and bringing senior management on the same page to ensure smooth transition.

The merger, however, crimped SBIs financials with a rise in slippages both in corporate and retail loan portfolio.

Financial Performance

SBI's financials improved right from the second quarter of Bhattacharya taking over as the Chief with a rise in profits in six quarters followed by a decline in NPAs.

In her first two years, gross NPAs as a percentage of total advances reduced from 5.6 percent in September 2013 quarter to 4.2 percent in the September 2015 quarter.

However, the steady improvement phase was ruptured by the central banks asset quality review, applicable from December 2015 quarter that led to gross NPAs spiking up. The June 2017 quarter showed the impact of poor asset quality in associate banks as gross NPAs touched 10 percent.

Despite the NPAs in the first quarter post merger, SBI's consolidated profit rose over 250 percent.

With the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in place, Bhattacharya got more vocal about taking action against recalcitrant managements and defaulting company promoters.

She also strongly voiced her opinions against the adverse effect of farm debt-waivers on credit discipline.

As she makes way for her successor Rajnish Kumar, even though Bhattacharya may not have pumped up the required credit growth or addressed asset quality concerns, but has definitely managed to make a mark as a go-to and hands-on person when dealing with troubles.
Chandan Taparia, Derivative & Technical Analyst at Motilal Oswal Securities told CNBC-TV18, "We are positive on selective non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). I would like to go long on Bharat Financial Inclusion. The stock has managed to give a breakout and all set to see the fresh leg of rally on the upside. So, recommending to buy with a stop loss of Rs 945 for an upside target towards Rs 1,020 level."

"The second trade is on Coal India. The stock is holding gains. In the last series it negated the negative pattern of making lower top-lower bottom formation. It did well and started to witness Put writing with build-up of long position. It has been consolidating and holding the gains from the last four trading sessions after the breakout zone which indicates intact of fresh up move."

"So recommending to buy with a stop loss of Rs 266 for an upside target towards Rs 286 kind of level."

"The last trade is on cement counter. In last trading session, we have seen buying interest in most of the cement stocks including ACC Ambuja Cements and Dalmia Bharat . I am recommending going long on Dalmia Bharat. The major trend of the counter is positive. It is few points away from its lifetime high and a small follow-up could lead it to Rs 2,900 level. So, recommending a buy with a stop loss of Rs 2,685 for target towards Rs 2,900 level in the stock," he added.
Ashwani Gujral of ashwanigujral.com told CNBC-TV18, "Hindustan Unilever (HUL) is a buy with a stop loss of Rs 1180, target of Rs 1240 and Ceat with a stop loss of Rs 1740, target of Rs 1800."

Tata Steel is also a buy with a stop loss of Rs 680, target of Rs 720," he added.
By CNBCTV18.COM

India must play to its strengths instead of attempting to match Chinese capital, a panel of experts at the World Economic Forum's India summit said in response to CNBC's question on the topic.

India has long been the dominant power in South Asia but as Beijing invests millions in the region, New Delhi is looking to defend its sphere of influence.

India must play to its strengths instead of attempting to match Chinese capital, a panel of experts at the World Economic Forum's India summit said in response to CNBC's question on the topic.

"China has surplus capital to invest  we don't but we can do our own thing in areas of different value...That's still highly appreciated and sought after," said Shashi Tharoor, a member of India's parliament.

As part of its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing has funded various infrastructure projects right in India's backyard, such as Sri Lanka's southern port of Hambantota and the China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor. That's triggered criticism from New Delhi, which refused Beijing's invitation to join Belt and Road. It's also added to growing rivalry between the Asian giants  relations between the two fast-growing economies remain marred by territorial disputes like the Doklam standoff in the Himalayas that ended last month.

To ensure China doesn't eclipse India on its home turf, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should continue exporting low-cost technology and offering favorable development loans, panelists at WEF said.

India has emerged as a leader of low-cost tech in South and Southeast Asia. Its affordable generic pharmaceuticals are highly sought-after while the country is championing solar energy, reflected by the April launch of the International Solar Alliance  New Delhi's brainchild aimed at boosting solar cooperation among member nations.

India is at an advantage in this arena because it shares similar challenges as other markets in the region, such as poverty and weather, said Suhasini Haidar, diplomatic editor of The Hindu newspaper. If New Delhi attempts to compete against China's sizable war chest on the investment front, "we're setting ourselves up for disappointment," she said. "We need to play to our strengths."

India also supports the economic development of South Asian peers through rupee-structured loans, which helps avoid problems of exchange rate and devaluation, pointed out Leela Ponappa, India's former deputy national security advisor.

"There's no question of competing with China, why should we?" she said. Modi should simply focus on his country's long track record of building human capacities in South Asia, she continued.
In the Mumbai bullion market, the yellow metal saw a gain of rs 19 in prices to Rs 38,450 per 10 gram of 24-carat gold (plus 3 percent GST), on the back of festive demand. (Image: Reuters)

Ahead of the assembly elections in Gujarat, the government has removed gems and jewellery dealers from the purview of the reporting requirement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

This effectively means that a PAN card will not be needed for jewellery purchases of over Rs 50,000.

The government rolled back August 23 notification that notified dealers in precious metals, precious stones and other high value goods as persons carrying on designated business and professions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

Under the PMLA, every reporting entity is required to maintain record of all transactions of value exceeding Rs 10 lakh, all cross border wire transfers of more than Rs 5 lakh and all purchase and sale of immovable property of Rs 50 lakh or more.

The Government of India has received representations from various associations in the gems and jewellery sector with respect to certain incongruities in August 23 notification, an official order said.

"After considering various aspects of the issue, the Government has decided to rescind the said notification," it said. "A separate notification after due consideration of points raised and wider stakeholder consultation in this regard, shall be issued separately."

Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said that there was a lot of misunderstanding about the notification and so that there is no panic in the market the government has decided to withdraw the notification. Under PMLA, all reporting entities, like banks, are required to report cash deposits over Rs 50,000.

Gujarat will go to assembly polls towards the end of the year.
Despite the economy dragging its feet for the past few quarters, the private sector says it is bullish on India's prospects as long as government gives time for reforms to settle.

The general consensus about the economys outlook was positive at India Economic Summit, organised by World Economic Forum and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), with industry players believing that demand would pick up in the next few quarters, beginning the festive season.

In last six to eight months, consumer demand on the round has been muted but we are starting to improve now, said Sanjeev Bajaj, managing director, Bajaj Finserv. We have festival season coming up and we are geared up for volume sale.

We did have a slowdown after demonetisation but we can see a pick up, said Adi Godrej, chairman, Godrej group.

India saw gross value added (GVA) of 5.7 percent in the April to June quarter, down from 6.1 percent for the quarter ending March 2017.

Also read: It would take one more year for pvt investment to pick up: Prashant Ruia

Shobana Kamineni, president, CII, feels that once the issues related to Goods and Services Tax are ironed out, the GDP might pick up by two points.

GST was rolled out on July one, replacing scores of indirect taxes like value added tax, octroi, sales tax, service tax, etc to have a single system of taxation.

Industry players also believe that even though reforms have been disruptive, they will be positive for the economy in the long run. They, however, asked the government to let things settle now.

 Reforms will always have lag effect,said Bajaj.

GST is the biggest economic reform since 1991. To my mind, it will be very good for the economy, said Godrej, adding, we should now ensure that we do not bring in more reforms frequently let the previous reforms settle.

He reasoned out that the dip in GDP was temporary due to destocking in the month of June ahead of the GST rollout.

The question mark on GDP came because we showed a relatively slow growth rate in the June quarter In my view, April and May GDP growth rate were reasonably good (considering monthly GDP numbers). June growth rate dragged alone, Godrej said.

In manufacturing sector, there were considerable number of items where the new GST rate was less than the previous combination of rates So obviously there was destocking of the items and lower production and clearance of good which affected the GDP growth rate in that month.

He said that the companies are now beginning to re-stock and the growth is expected to be picked up in next quarter.

It will improve in the July to September quarter and I expect the second half to show good growth rate, he added.

Keiko Honda, executive vice chairman-chief executive officer, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), World Bank group told Moneycontrol that India was far better than global averages and was faring well.

India definitely has medium to long term growth prospects, Honda said, adding Of course, in the short term, there is a little bit of up and down but in the medium to long term, I foresee a very healthy economic growth in the country.

Also read: India's economic slowdown an aberration: World Bank

She said that low growth of five percent in India was not as worrisome as people are perceiving it to be and that the country has huge potential.

Low growth in the world is not five percent. Low growth in the world is less than a two or one percent Everybody is forecasting that (in the long term), India will be growing a lot faster than the world.

There has been a lot of efforts from the governments side in the form of ease of doing business, especially for small and medium companies in terms of goods and services tax, which will go a long way in increasing the tax base So, we are very bullish. I think the government is taking a lot right steps, said Sarvesh Suri, director, operations group, MIGA
Berkeley: Congress Vice President, Rahul Gandhi delivering a speech at Institute of International Studies at UC Berkeley, California on Monday. PTI Photo(PTI9_12_2017_000038B)

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi today questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's assertion that the economy is on firm footing and said he was "dreaming".

Addressing party workers in his Lok Sabha constituency here, he said the GDP has fallen by two per cent in one go and lakhs of people have become jobless.

Gandhi also took a dig at the "56-inch chest" remark of Modi, saying, "Our Manmohan Singh did not have 56 inch chest but had done a lot of work like bringing MNREGA, loan waiver, right to information (RTI) and right to food."

Attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Gandhi said, "the BJP government has completed three-and-a-half years and has only one-and-a-half years left. The prime minister should work now for employment generation and for farmers."

The Congress leader also appeared to be critical of the bullet train project, saying, "Had rupees one lakh crore been used to improve the railway line, station or freight train, the country would have benefitted but Modiji is only interested in gimmicks."

On the second day of his three-day visit here, he asked Congress workers to question RSS on the raging issues like unemployment and farmers suicide.

A day after Modi said the economy was on firm footing, Gandhi said, "Don't know what track he is talking about and what is he dreaming of... economists, newspapers, shopkeepers say that he has spoiled the economy but he says that it is on the right track... he is not ready to hear anyone."

Modi, while lashing out at critics of his economic policies, had said yesterday that he will never jeopardise the country's future for immediate gains and that his government will continue reforms to reverse the GDP slowdown witnessed in the last two quarters. "Farmers are committing suicide, only 450 (people) get employment, economy has been damaged, still long speeches are being delivered," Gandhi said.

Referring to the demonetisation decision announced on November 8 last year, Gandhi claimed that it was brought without consulting anyone. "Had he (Modi) asked, no one would have advised," he contended.

"The same was done on GST," he said, adding that Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh and P Chidambaram had said that the GST was the Congress' idea "but you have not understood it ... do not bring five different slabs."

He went on to add, "Running a government and making false and hollow promises are two different things and today the entire country is aware of it."

Talking about unemployment, he said India's competition is with China but in that country, 50,000 youth get jobs everyday while in India only 450 get employemt. "This is Modi's 'make-up India'," Gandhi said.

He alleged that "the BJP people sometime talk of temple, Hindu-Muslim or Jat non-Jat and of dividing the nation."

Apparently referring to the bullet train project of the NDA government, he said rupees one lakh crore loan has been taken from Japan and the ticket between Ahmedabad and Mumbai will be Rs 4000.

He told the party workers that "as soon as RSS people start talking" they should be asked what has been done regarding employment and farmers' suicide.

"You ask them these questions ....you have given jobs to only 450 people, in every state farmers are committing suicide, economy has been spoiled, note ban has snatched jobs from crores of youth crores, 150 people have died, the businesses of small and middle traders have suffered losses," he told the workers.

Gandhi said that unlike BJP and RSS, everyone in Congress can speak up and express their views.

"BJP ministers sit silently watching Modi's speeches and 'mann ki baat' but the 'mann ki baat' of BJP ministers and MPs cannot reach Modiji'," he said taking a dig.

"In Congress, however, we want that whatever is in your heart you should express... There are some noises, some get irritated but this is our home and family, If we do not speak here, where will we speak," he said. "All Congress leaders and workers listen and make schemes and programmes accordingly while in RSS people listen to their heart and make programmes and only then country get to know what note ban is," he said. The Congress leader also promised to hold interactive programmes with party workers periodically and termed them the backbone of the party.
NPA_NPA_Non_performing_assests

If all goes to plan, the public sector banks are set to witness a recapitalisation and consolidation drive in coming months with the number of public sector banks reducing by half.

Speaking at India Economic Summit, organised by World Economic Forum and Confederation of Indian Industry, Sanjeev Sanyal, principal economic advisor, said that recapitalisation could be done in a few months.

The first part of the clean-up, which is recognising the bad assets and taking some of them through the bankruptcy process, that part of the process is well underway Now, the second part of it which is the recapitalisation, will be done in next few months, said Sanyal.

Bad loans in India grew to a massive Rs 11.5 lakh crore or 14 percent of total advances. As of March 2017, the percentage of non-performing asset (NPA) stood at 9.5 percent. It is expected to rise to approximately 10.5 percent by March 2018 as per Crisil, a rating agency.

Sanyal said that government was considering reducing the number of public sector banks by half.

There are something like 21-22 public sector banks There is a case for reducing that number for commercial reasons, he said. He, however, said that merger is not the only solution as consolidation could lead to too big to fail banks.

The number will be reduced but somewhere between 10 and 15, he said.

He said that creating few banks could lead to real problem in terms of concentration of risk.

Adding two inefficient banks doesnt lead to an efficient bank Cleaning up the bank is the first priority, Sanyal said adding, We need to consolidate some of these bank. But, we are not going to reduce this to four or five national champions. That is not at all the case

The advisor also said that the government has various options in mind to sort out the banking mess, including recapitalisation and diluting the governments stake.

There are many options on the table, which range from creating recapitalization bonds, diluting down the governments stake up to 52 percent, some assistance could come from budget itself, he said.

He said that options will be explored in combination, but the recapitalisation issue was well understood and would be done soon.

The banking sector, with financial assets worth Rs 77.70 lakh crore, is capital-starved and has been pitching for governments intervention for infusing capital.

Sanyal said that government was considering selling stake in the banks only for the time being and that the government has enough funds to save the banks.
Export of American crude oil to India will create jobs, economic stability and national security in both countries, US Energy Secretary Rick Perry has said, days after the first ever shipment of US crude oil landed in Odisha.

The shipment, loaded at Saint James, Louisiana and Freeport, Texas terminals last month, docked at Paradip port in Odisha on October 2.

"This event represents the growing and important strategic energy partnership between the US and India, and I look forward to exploring new opportunities to expand the role of reliable, responsible, and efficient energy sources with our allies," Perry said yesterday.

He said the export of US crude oil to India will create jobs, economic stability and national security in both countries.

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US, Indian companies ramped up purchases of American crude.

To encourage US crude purchases, the government has allowed refiners to use a foreign rather than an Indian-owned vessel for the purchase. Indian refiners typically have to use domestic vessels for their crude imports.

In a blog post yesterday, the US State Department said increased Indian purchases of US crude oil are a direct outcome of the June visit of Modi to the White House during which the leaders committed to expanding and elevating bilateral energy cooperation through a Strategic Energy Partnership.

"We expect this first shipment of crude oil will be followed by many more as both the Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum have placed orders for over 2 million barrels from the United States," said Tom Vajda, Office Director for the India Desk in the South and Central Asia Bureau of the State Department.

US crude oil shipments to India have the potential to boost bilateral trade by up to USD 2 billion.

"Not only does this week's shipment demonstrate the strength of the US-India bilateral relationship, but also how our relationship with India continues to benefit the American economy," Vajda said.

Buying US crude has become attractive for Indian refiners after the differential between Brent (the benchmark crude or marker crude that serves as a reference price for buyers in western world) and Dubai (which serves as a benchmark for countries in the east) has narrowed.

India, the world's third-largest oil importer, joins Asian countries like South Korea, Japan and China to buy US crude after production cuts by oil cartel OPEC drove up prices of Middle East heavy-sour crude, or grades with a high sulphur content.
SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh today made a pitch for a cut in state taxes on ATF and bringing it within GST to make the Indian aviation sector the fastest growing in the world.

Speaking at the India Economic Summit of the WEF, he said the sector if given benefits in terms of taxation and cost, there is no reason why India will not emerge as the fastest growing aviation market in the world in the next decade.

"If we have to increase connectivity and bring down cost -- in aviation cost, the biggest item is aviation turbine fuel (ATF). So, we want that ATF cost to be reduced and states should reduce sales tax and bring it within GST so that we can claim input tax credit," Singh said. "If it happens, then ATF prices will come down, fares will come down and the aviation sector will see growth."

He also dwelt on concerns relating to the goods and services tax (GST) and hoped that these glitches will be sorted out over time.

"We found that the government was very receptive to hearing ideas. So, we are discussing with them and hopefully, there will be a solution," Singh said.

Petrol & Diesel Rates Nov 13, 2022 Petrol Rate in Mumbai Nov 13, 2022 Current Petrol Price Per Litre 106 106 View more Diesel Rate in Mumbai Nov 13, 2022 Current Petrol Price Per Litre 94 94 View more Show

He emphasised that there is no shortage of ambition, but "there are lots and lots to do".

"We cannot have the most expensive aviation sector in the world, the most expensive ATF in the world, the most expensive airports in the world because there was a socialist mindset that everything needed to be taxed. Now, we have added to that by putting GST, which is really a large tax on all sorts of activities related to aviation," Singh explained.

These are the issues that need to be fixed, the SpiceJet chief stressed.

SpiceJet has signed an MoU with a Japanese company for at least 100 amphibious planes.

"We need to start thinking out of the box. We need to start looking at even places where no airports exist today," he went on to add. "SpiceJet is now considering a project where we use sea planes for the first time in India."

Asked about regulation for such aircraft in India, Singh said: "Countries will have to create regulations which increase air connectivity and I think, based on discussion with the government, there seems to be a great deal of interest in working to create regulations which exist around the world.
NBFCs catering efficiently to low and middle income customers in economically vibrant states of western India having a strong track record of profitability and run by conservative experienced promoters  this combination looks like a no brainer for any investor. Thats exactly the value proposition offered by MAS Financial Services. Moreover, the valuation of the offer, at 3.6x post-issue book, leaves a lot on the table for investors as well.

The IPO

MAS Financials Initial Public Offer (IPO) of Rs 460 crore is a combination of fresh issue of Rs 233 crore (dilution of close to 10 percent) and an offer for sale by investors FMO, DEG and Sarva Capital of Rs 227 crore. The issue, offered in the price band of Rs 456-459 per share will be open for subscription from October 6 to October 10, 2017.

The Company

MAS Financial, a Gujarat-headquartered NBFC (non-banking finance company) has been in existence for more than two decades. A journey that started in 1995 with micro enterprise and two-wheeler finance now spans across several product categories. The start was slow and cautious with the company reaching AUM of Rs 1,000 crore in 18 years. However, growth has picked up in the past four years.

Presently, the company operates across six states and Delhi spanning five product categories. The business primarily focuses on loans to small businesses and individuals.

What stands out for MAS is its knowledge of its end market and superior execution. Investors should draw comfort from the superior track record the business has exhibited over the years.

Steady growth in assets - The company's AUM (assets under management) has shown a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 33.4 percent from FY13 to FY17 AUM.

Diversified offerings: The NBFC offers diversified products. While it continues to grow with existing products, it is expanding into new products like farm input segment, working capital financing for manufacturers and intermediaries of farm input products. Over time, the endeavour would be to build a complete product suite. Post demonetisation traditional lenders are finding the going tough, this opens up significant business opportunity for MAS.

Multi-channel distribution  The company has 121 branches across 6 states and Delhi  mostly in relatively prosperous states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

In addition to sales team, the company has entered into commercial arrangements with a large number of sourcing intermediaries, including commission based Direct Selling Agents and revenue sharing arrangements with various dealers and distributors where part of loan default is guaranteed by such sourcing partners. MAS has 98 small NBFC partners for sourcing business.

Strong credit underwriting skills resulting in excellent asset quality - The company has strong credit assessment process leading to pristine asset quality.

While most of the peers faced severe challenges post demonetisation, MAS Financial Services has managed it well. It has already migrated to NPA recognition on a 90-day past due basis.

Entered the lucrative and promising area of affordable housing- Through MAS Rural Housing & Mortgage Finance Limited (MRHMFL), the company provides loans for purchase of new and old houses, construction of houses on owned plots, home improvement loans and loans for purchase and construction of commercial property. It also extend loans to developers for construction of affordable housing projects.

Diversified funding base  Thanks to its stable credit history, MAS Financial Services enjoys improved credit status with lenders which helps in reducing cost of borrowings from banks and other financial institutions. It also obtains funds through assignment and/or securitisation of loan portfolio to banks, which purchase such portfolio to meet their priority sector and retail lending commitments.

Growing profitably  A superior execution and risk management has translated into steady and impressive financial performance. The company has been enjoying NIM (net interest margin) in the vicinity of 7 percent that looks sustainable, has superior return ratios and has shown no volatility in credit costs over the years.

Peer review  Most of its peers have faced challenges on account of migration to RBI stipulated 90-day past due basis NPA recognition norms, rural slowdown and last but not the least, demonetisation. Mas has negotiated all of these headwinds well. Hence, the GST transition is unlikely to have a lasting impact on its performance. Therefore, seen in the context of its listed peers, MAS stands out.

For long term investors looking to play the lucrative theme of financial intermediation, MAS Financial Services offers steady growth with high quality. Investors should not only participate in the offer, but should look to add more in the future.
Team Indus

Who could have thought that space research and exploration can be a startup idea! A subject typically handled by a government-owned authority  Indias ISRO and USAs NASA for instance! However come March 2018, India will have a home grown startup  Team Indus  launch a rover to the moon.

Team Indus is a privately funded non-profit organisation. It was founded in 2011 by space enthusiast Rahul Narayan after he enrolled for Googles Lunar XPrize. Google's Lunar XPrize is a competitive program that challenges privately funded space research teams across the world to land a rover on the moon. The launch window for the competition is between Dec 28 and March 2018. The earlier deadline to launch the moon flight was December 2017.

The contest requires teams to soft-land a rover on the Moon's surface, race it for 500 meters, and send back photos. The feat, if achieved, is truly a moonshot, considering that only three nations have so far successfully soft-landed on the Moon  USAs Surveyor One and USSRs Luna 9 in 1966 besides Chinas Chang'e-3 in 2013.

The Google XPrize jury, which was in Bangalore to kick off the assessment process, gave thumbs up to the soft-landing tests and other requisite parameters. Team Indus is now short of launching the rover and completing the mission successfully to win the coveted USD 30 million in reward, a much needed booster for an 'expensive hobby' as space research.

Inside the factory of Team Indus

According to Narayan, the total cost of the project is Rs 450 crore, of which about half has already been raised and deployed. The team, which is backed by the likes of Nandan Nilekini, Ratan Tata, Sachin Bansal, and Binny Bansal, is in talks with other investors to cover the remaining cost. Team Indus had also won USD 1 million from Google XPrize for demonstrating its landing technology in 2015.

Like any other startup we are also capital hungry. We have had a fairly good journey, we have built the capabilities. Hopefully we will see good interest from investors, Narayan said.

A visit to their research lab, on the extreme outskirts of Bangalore in Jakkur, you can tell they have been frugal with their spending. A humble campus with a quintessential characteristic of a refurbished factory premise is minimalistic and suave inside. A perfect backdrop to a life-size replica of the 600 kg payload built by Team Indus that stands tall right beside the entrance!

Inside Indias national flag can be seen fluttering in a huge warehouse-style workstation section. One things for sure, its a patriotic lot! Its the kind of patriotism that takes pride in unfurling the national flag for a feat that the whole world will capture, and is not dependent on singing national anthem verbatim over and over again.

The teams focus is on a single point  Put your heads down and not rest until we reach the Moon, Narayan says.

Behind him is a dark and deep rectangular room, with what looks like a recreation of the surface of the Moon, at the far end. Only a stream of light from a window above is flowing in, so you can see the equations scribbled on the floor carpet. A thing of the movies, you say? Wait till the room gives way to a huge hall, much like those in space movies, housing the original prototype of the rover.

Keeping fingers crossed

If you wish, you can be part of the mission once the team opens up its public participation platform. With a command center mimicking a large space control center, with screen walls et al, the experience is bound to be fascinating.

But the question is whether a rover built by amateur space enthusiasts really work in the harshest of conditions of outer space? The Google XPrize jury sure thinks it will. We took a detailed look at the mission plan and the methodologies being employed to gauge the progress of the lunar mission. We have come away from this rigorous exercise impressed by the readiness of Team Indus. They are clearly on the right trajectory to make history, a noted name in space research and chairman of the panel, Professor Alan Wells said.

Team Indus will launch the rover with the help of ISROs launch vehicle PSLV-XL, from Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota. The launcher will inject the spacecraft into Earths orbit, which will then sling into Moons orbit after a series of orbital manoeuvres. ISROs Chandrayaan-2 too is slated to be launched during the same duration as Team Indus' rover in 2018.

Whether this Bangalore startup will be able to achieve its moonshot, only time will tell!

durba.ghosh@nw18.com
Bull's Eye, CNBC-TV18's popular game show, where market experts come together to dish out trading strategies for you to make your week more exciting and compete with each other to see whose portfolio is the strongest.

Remember these are midcap ideas not just for the day, but stocks that look attractive in the medium-term as well.

This week, Ruchit Jain, Rakesh Bansal and Vishal Malkan battle it out for top honours.

Below their top stock picks and analysis:

Ruchit Jain of Angel Broking

Buy Coromandel International with a stoploss at Rs 446 and target of Rs 478

Buy Gujarat Gas with a stoploss at Rs 880 and target of Rs 945

Buy Just Dial with a stoploss at Rs 379 and target of Rs 416

Sell Apollo Tyres with a stoploss at Rs 244 and target of Rs 227

Rakesh Bansal of RK Global

Buy Ganesh Benzoplast with a stoploss at Rs 78.5 and target of Rs 107

Buy Southern Petrochem with a stoploss at Rs 31.9 and target of Rs 48

Buy Adani Enterprises with a stoploss at Rs 115.9 and target of Rs 130

Buy Bharat Financial with a stoploss at Rs 940 and target of Rs 1000

Vishal Malkan of malkansview.com

Buy Century Textiles and Industries with a stoploss at Rs 1230 and target of Rs 1290

Buy Reliance Infrastructure with a stoploss at Rs 460 and target of Rs 495

Buy Genesys International Corporation with a stoploss at Rs 334 and target of Rs 380

Buy Allahabad Bank with a stoploss at Rs 65 and target of Rs 71
Copper cooking pots still in use today, some dating back to King George IV, sit on racks in the kitchens at Buckingham Palace in London March 25, 2011. Staff at Buckingham Palace have lifted the lid on preparations for Prince William's wedding next month, giving an insight into what guests can expect and the amount of work they have put in to make the event a success. REUTERS/Nick Ansell/POOL (BRITAIN - Tags: ROYALS ENTERTAINMENT POLITICS FOOD) - RTR2KJGP

Angel Commodities' report on Copper

LME Copper prices traded higher by 2.7 percent to close at D6700 /t as plans to reopen one of the world's biggest copper mines, shut by a civil war on the Pacific Island of Bougainville in 1989, have run into trouble. Philippines confirmed Roy Cimatu as the new environment minister but it was still unclear whether Cimatu would support the crackdown on the country's mainly nickel mining industry. Uncertainty regarding this also led to the rally in most of the base metals including copper.

Outlook

Copper prices are currently trading higher by 0.1 percent D 6701.5 /t. Copper prices are likely to trade higher today on account of possible higher imports by China in the coming months.

For all commodities report, click here

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts/broking houses/rating agencies on moneycontrol.com are their own, and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Read More
live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

Shares of Granules India advanced 5 percent intraday Friday as it has received EIR from USFDA for its Vizag facility.

The United States Food & Drug Administration (USFDA) has issued Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) for the company's OmniChem facility, which is a 50:50 JV company of Granules India and Ajinimoto OmniChem N. V. located at Vizag, Andhra Pradesh, India.

The said facility was inspected by USFDA in December 2016 and there were seven observations during the inspection.

This facility currently manufactures API intermediates.

At 13:29 hrs Granules India was quoting at Rs 120.10, up Rs 5.55, or 4.85 percent on the BSE.

The share touched its 52-week high Rs 157.00 and 52-week low Rs 91.45 on 18 May, 2017 and 09 November, 2016, respectively.

Posted by Rakesh Patil
live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

IIFL Private Wealth

Snapping its four-session winning streak, Nifty50 yet again faced a hurdle near its 50-day MA of 9,944. It formed a bearish candle with a close near days low, failing to provide a positive follow-up to Wednesdays bullish candle.

It retreated from the 50% retracement level (9,933) of the recent decline (10,179-9,688), thereby increasing the significance of the supply line placed near 9,930.

The peak of the tall bar at 9,221, created on 27th Sep, is placed near three-digit gann number of 9930. Also, series of shaven tops are seen at 9920 and 9960, which implies that a move above 9920-9960 zone is essential for gaining further upside momentum.

The Nifty breadth turned mildly negative with 28 of Nifty50 constituents settling in red. After having made a peak of 9,921 with a large bearish candle (formed on 27th Sep), Nifty has failed to provide a close above 9,921 ever since.

On the flip side, any break below 9,850 would break the series of ascending highs and lows, visible on the recent price structure.

BankNifty continued to underperform, facing stiff resistance near 38.2% retracement of the recent decline. Multiple swings high near 24,230 followed by a peak of the large bearish candle (24,332) could act as short-term hurdle zone.

Here is a list of top 5 stocks which could give up to 12% return in short term:

CESC: BUY| Target Rs1090| Stop Loss Rs990| Return 9%

The phase of consolidation after a sharp decline suggests exhaustion of selling pressure. In last months trade, CESC had made a peak of Rs1,080 and went through a sharp correction, as it failed to clear the gann number of 1080.

However, it took support around the third line of defense as per the gann rule of 8 and began a process of consolidation.

This critical support resulted in an end of the recent selling pressure. Following a phase of base-building at the bottom for previous two weeks, the stock attempted a breakout above the rounding bottom pattern on the short-term charts.

Keeping in mind, the above-mentioned parameters, we recommend a buy on CESC above Rs1,020 with a stop loss of Rs990 for a target of Rs1,090.

GAIL: BUY| Target Rs480| Stop Loss Rs420| Return 12%

After being in a phase of consolidation at the top of its rally, it finally staged a breakout on the upside.

It is showing the trait of a stock which is in a strong uptrend since December 2016. Since last six weeks, the sideways consolidation at the top of its trend can be termed as bullish consolidation.

The outcome of such sideways movement are dealt positively during an uptrend. Moreover, it continues to trade above its 20-EMA on the weekly chart. Fresh breakout was seen in this weeks trade from the recent sideways activity.

Ratio chart of Energy index shows a rounding bottoming out process after a prolonged downtrend of 6 years. A move above 1.40 would confirm a breakout and outperformance of Energy stocks against Nifty.

Based on above parameters, we recommend investors to buy GAIL above Rs440 and a stop loss of Rs420 for a target of Rs480.

Vedanta: BUY| Target Rs346| Stop Loss Rs310| Return 9%

After making a high of Rs335 in the second week of September, the stock went through a phase of sharp decline. In the process, it touched a low of Rs297.

The same level coincides with the support of its 50-DMA. Also, it appeared near the gann number of 289, which was defended during the corrective phase. Moreover, the point of polarity support around Rs290 provided some respite for the counter.

Recovery in last few sessions saw the stock attempting a breakout from a downward sloping trendline drawn from the recent high. In this weeks trade, it sustained above the downward sloping trendline and is on the verge of surpassing the gann number of 325.

Based on above observations we re-iterate a buy on Vedanta above Rs322 with a stop loss of Rs310 and a target of Rs346.

Tata Global Beverage: BUY| Target Rs232| Stop Loss Rs202| Return 11%

We continue to remain positive on Tata Global, it has posted a rally of 2 percent in this weeks trade and we expect it to continue its recent momentum. It is an uptrending stock, which tends to go through a phase of consolidation & retracement after every upmove.

Recently it made a high of Rs220, thereafter it went through sharp correction and marked a low of Rs192 before quickly regaining control above the midpoint of current gann channel.

Gann analysis suggests that the stock is in a strong uptrend and it also confirmed a shift in the orbit on the upside. Since it is an uptrending stock, traders should always use any phase of consolidation or retracement to build longs.

Investors can buy Tata Global Beverages above Rs210 with a stop loss of Rs202 and a revised target of Rs232.

Asian Paints: BUY| Target Rs1240| Stop Loss Rs1150| Return 8%

A failed breakout attempt resulted in a sharp reversal as the stock collapsed from the peak of Rs1,262 to a low of Rs1,123. Point of polarity came to the rescue of the stock. Since July 2017, on multiple instances, Asian Paints had marked swing lows around Rs1,100.

Thereafter, it began a process of gradual recovery and in the process, it quickly regained control above the midpoint of current gann channel, which suggests an end to recent selling pressure.

A move above Rs1,175 would also result in a fresh breakout on short-term charts. Such set-ups after a prolonged period of correction tend to provide swift recovery.

Keeping in mind, the above mentioned technical observations, we recommend a buy on Asian Paints above Rs1,175 with a stop loss of Rs1,150 for a target of Rs1,240.

: The author is Head of Technical Research at IIFL Private Wealth. The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Tata Steel

live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

Tata Steel gained over 4 percent intraday on Friday as investors cheered good domestic sales figures for the company.

The steel major on Thursday reported higher domestic sales of 3.13 million tonnes (MT) and production of 3.02 MT during Q2 FY 18.

It reported sales and production of 2.62 MT and 2.72 MT respectively in same period last year, a company statement said here.

For H1 FY18, the company has registered higher sales of 5.88 MT as compared to 4.77 MT in the same period last year. The production also jumped from 5.06 MT to 5.98 MT in H1 FY 18.

During Q2 FY18 sales registered a volume growth of 12 per cent on QoQ basis and 17 per cent on YoY basis. Hi-end product sales for automotive segment witnessed a growth of 20 per cent on YoY basis.

At 11:14 hrs Tata Steel was quoting at Rs 685.45, up Rs 25.25, or 3.82 percent on the BSE. It has touched an intraday high of Rs 690.80 and an intraday low of Rs 664.05.
Finding value is hard especially in a market which is trading at valuations most market analysts consider not cheap or more towards expensive. Most of the stocks are already trading at valuations which are above long-term averages.

When constructing portfolio investors should always have a balanced approach. Although most investors prefer stocks which can give capital appreciation or multibaggers returns but seasoned investors prefer dividend-paying stocks which are defensive in nature.

Remember, capital appreciation may or may not happen but the certainty of dividend income is far higher than price growth. But, in equity markets, nothing can be safe hence these stocks can be at best called defensive plays.

Top dividend paying stocks with highest payout ratio include companies like Hindustan Zinc, Coal India, REC, InterGlobe Aviation, Castrol India, Bajaj Corp, Infosys, HCL Technologies, VST Industries, Hero MotoCorp etc. among others according to a report by IDBI Capital.

In the top 15 stocks, 10 stocks gave positive returns with gains up to 95 percent while 5 out of 15 stocks gave negative returns with losses up to 10 percent.

Hence, high dividend paying stocks might not rally as much as investors want them to rally but are relatively stable when markets start to head south.

Dividend-paying stocks are a source of passive income which usually comes from defensive stocks rather than a growth stock. Since investment cannot be termed as safe in the capital market, it rather plays as a defensive stock in the portfolio, Dinesh Rohira, Founder & CEO, 5nance.com told Moneycontrol.

Further high dividend yield stocks tend to fall less than growth stocks during a downturn in the market. Besides company tend to play safe by declaring dividend even during the tough economic conditions to avoid negative sentiment in the market, he said.

Dividend income is the best form of passive income which maintains continuity of cash flows. Before we go further, lets first understand what is dividend income?

A dividend payment is a process through which the company shares or distributes its profit with shareholders. The dividend is always calculated on the face value of the share and is exempt from tax.

A dividend is chargeable to tax at the rate of 10% if the aggregate amount of dividend received from the domestic company is more than Rs10 lakh.

Since Budget 2016, the scenario has changed for dividend taxation because the shareholder receiving dividends in excess of Rs.10 lakh will have to pay a tax on such excess dividends at 10%, this has encouraged promoters of the companies going for buybacks in recent times rather than a dividend, Rajesh Shanbhag, Advisory Head - Alternate Channels, Way2Wealth Brokers Pvt. Ltd told Moneycontrol.

Factors to track before investing:

Who doesnt like regular payments and that to tax-free? But, at the same time, investors should also investigate why a company is paying a high amount of dividend from its income.

It could be a sign that company has limited growth opportunities or management is not confident to invest more in their business model.

Also, one should check the long-term history of dividend paid by a company while investing to get an idea about their capability to maintain this consistency going ahead, suggest experts.

Companies which give special dividends create an illusion of extremely high yield, which will attract investors. Check out the stock's dividend payout ratio. However, you definitely need to evaluate the overall prospects for the stock, Dyaneshwar Padwal, AVP  Technical Analysis, KIFS Trade Capital told Moneycontrol.

Because only dividend amount may not bet the market expectation. Special dividends are one-time dividends and uninformed investors who jump in thinking the company can continue to pay such high dividends will be sorely disappointed, he said.

2 factors to consider while identifying stocks

The primary reason for an investor to bet on the stock market is either for capital appreciation or timely inflow through a dividend.

It certainly makes sense to invest in a stock with high dividend yield; however, it should have a board based analysis before taking the investment call.

Rohira of 5nance.com highlights two factor to consider while identifying a high dividend stock viz consistency in pay-out and stock price movement. Any misreading in this two factors can lead to a wrong decision, he said.

Apart from the above 2 factors investor should study a level of consistency in its pay-out along with stock price movement which should be backed by stable growth along the timeline. Based on this holistic strategy, an investor should go ahead with its investment, said Rohira.
supreme_63390164

After the Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act in 2015, an expert committee has recommended that the Indian Penal Code, CrPC and IT Act be further amended to introduce stringent norms, specifying punishment to curb cases of hate speech, inciting hate by using cyberspace, according to a report in The Indian Express.

In a move to promote amenable cyberspace behavior, the bench earlier had declined a plea to strike 69A and 79 of the same Act which deals with the procedure and safeguards for blocking websites and exemption from liability of intermediaries in certain cases.

In an attempt to solve the issue by introducing firmer rules, the committee headed by former Law Secretary and Lok Sabha Secretary General T K Viswanathan submitted the report to Union Home Ministry last week. A committee member Dr S Sivakumar also said that, We decided there was no need to re-introduce Section 66A, but we need to strengthen the Indian Penal Code instead.



Prohibiting incitement to hatred: The committee suggests to include spoken or written words, signs, visible representation, information, audio, video, or combination of both, transmitted, retransmitted through any telecommunication service, communication device or computer resource, in communication.



The committee recommends the following norms:

Section required to be amended: IPC section 153C

Punishment: Up to two years or fine of Rs 5,000 or both.

Amendment to Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

Adding of sections 25 B and 25 C  Posts of State Cyber Crime Coordinator and District Cyber Crime Cell to be created.

Amendment to IT Act, 2000

Amendment to Section 78 of this act will allow a police officer, not below the rank of Sub-Inspector to inspect any offence under this Act (report specifically mentions young police officers, directly recruited as SIs, better equipped and trained to investigate cyber offences).

In an earlier argument by Bench of Justices J Chelameswar and Rohinton F Nariman, it was that, It is clear that Section 66A arbitrarily, excessively and disproportionately invades the right of free speech and upsets the balance between such right and the reasonable restrictions that may be imposed on such right.

The expert committee was formed after the Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the IT Act. Brought into the statute by UPA in 2009, the Act enabled police to make arrests over what they think as offensive, or menacing.

This was because, under the provision, the definition of offences was open-minded and undefined.

The police invoked this provision which led to arrests of cartoonists, professors, students, industrialists, and people who tried to protest against the government. Many such incidents were cited for getting the provision quashed.

The landmark ruling came in after the Shreya Singhal vs Union of India case, when two women were arrested for expressing annoyance at a bandh called by the Shiv Sena in Mumbai after Bal Thackerays death in November 2012.
I hope such informal summits becomes a tradition between both the countries. I'll be happy, if in 2019, we can have such informal summit in India: PM Modi (Reuters)

China has issued a travel advisory to its nationals visiting India, the first such warning after the Dokalam standoff, warning them about denial of visas to visit "restricted areas" like the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The Chinese Embassy in India issued the advisory, the third in four months, for Chinese tourists in India.

The warning was posted on the embassy's website on Tuesday, and detailed several situations the embassy handled recently in which Chinese tourists were denied entry or investigated while travelling in India, state-run Global Times reported today.

"Some Chinese citizens visited Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which are restricted areas for foreigners, without gaining permits from India. Some tourists were asked to return upon arrival. Some were even arrested or investigated," the statement read.

"(Visitors should) not photograph India's border and military facilities and vehicles. While travelling on India's border neighbouring Nepal, avoid visiting border markets, and do not enter the territory of other countries by mistake," it added.

On July 7, weeks after the Dokalam crisis began, the Chinese mission in India issued its first warning, asking Chinese nationals to reduce unnecessary travel to India, maintain a low profile when there, and respect local laws and law enforcement personnel.

It reissued the warning on August 24.

The 73-day Dokalam standoff started on June 16 when Chinese troops attempted to build a road in territory claimed by Bhutan close to the Indian border. Indian troops objected to it and stopped the Chinese from building the road.

The standoff was finally resolved on August 28.

Chinese tourists make up three per cent of foreign tourists visiting India each year, the Global Times quoted Indian media reports as saying.

From January to May, 2017, about 119,000 visitors from China visited India, an increase of 9.2 per cent year-on-year. India has granted e-visa facility for Chinese travellers.

A report by state-run Xinhua news agency two days ago said China is becoming one of the most popular destinations for Indian tourists.

It is estimated that the number of outbound tourists from India will reach 50 million overall by 2020, up from 21.87 million in 2016, the report said.
President Ram Nath Kovind

India's ties with Ethiopia is symbolic of its engagement with Africa, President Ram Nath Kovind said as he invited business stake-holders from the region to partner with India and benefit from them.

Addressing the India-Ethiopia Business Dialogue, organised to commemorate the 12th Anniversary of the India Business Forum here yesterday, the president said Ethiopia and India have been trading with each other for centuries.

"Trade relations between Ethiopia and India flourished during the ancient Axumite Empire from the 1st century AD," he said, noting that the economic ties now covers trade, private investment, concessional loans for infrastructure projects and development assistance, largely for capacity building.

President Kovind said that India's relationship with Ethiopia is symbolic of its engagement with the African continent, of which Addis Ababa is such a vital hub.

He recalled that at the Third India Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi in 2015, India had announced the offer of concessional credit of USD 10 billion over the next five years to Africa.

"We have also committed to a grant assistance of USD 600 million that will include an India-Africa Development Fund of USD 100 million and an India-Africa Health Fund of USD 10 million. The Asia-Africa Growth Corridor is another initiative brimming with potential," the president added.

He invited business stake-holders in Ethiopia and Africa to partner India in these frameworks and benefit from them.

The president pointed out that India is now among the top three foreign investors in Ethiopia.

"Indian investments in Ethiopia have had a significant presence in manufacturing and value addition to local resources. They have created jobs in this country and contributed to the prosperity of Ethiopian families," he said.

He also congratulated the Indian Business Forum for playing a lead role in encouraging Indian investment and promoting trade and commerce between the two countries.

Earlier in the day, President Kovind visited the Presidential Palace in Addis Ababa and led delegation-level talks with his Ethiopian counterpart Mulatu Teshome.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of two bilateral agreements  the first on Trade Facilitation and the second related to the Information Communication and Media sector.

Later in the evening, President Kovind held talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

During their talks, both leaders affirmed commitment to stronger bilateral ties, according to the official twitter account of the President.

"We have agreed to consider fresh line of credit of USD 195 million for development of Ethiopia's power transmission," the president said.

Kovind arrived here from Djibouti on Wednesday on the second leg of his maiden visit abroad. His visit is the first by an Indian president to Ethiopia in 45 years since President V V Giri's trip in 1972.
representative image

Banwarilal Purohit was sworn in as the 25th Governor of Tamil Nadu, taking over at a time when the state is witnessing political churning within the ruling AIADMK and demand by the opposition for a floor

In his first public comments after taking oath of office, Purohit assured the people that his decisions would have no political consideration and that he would strive for the state's development.

A former Governor of Assam, 77-year old Purohit was administered the oath of office by Madras High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee at a ceremony in the Raj Bhavan.

He took the oath in the name of God. The Centre had appointed him last week amid growing demands for a full-time Governor to the state. After the retirement of K Rosaiah in August last year, Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao was given additional charge of Tamil Nadu.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami, his cabinet colleagues, DMK Working President and Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly M K Stalin and senior BJP leaders, including Union Minister Pon Radhakrishnan, were among those present.

The swearing-in function saw a bit of controversy as Stalin alleged he was not allowed to greet Purohit as per protocol.

After being sworn-in, Purohit extended his "wholehearted" support to the state government's development activities, saying he will do his 'best' to ensure, among others, more Central funds for the state.

"All the decisions which I am going to take, small or big, there will be no political consideration. The Governor's office is above politics. Everybody can be rest assured. All the decisions will be (taken) on merit," he said.

Purohit's remarks come in the midst of persistent demand by opposition parties, including the DMK, that the K Palaniswami government should be directed to prove its majority in the assembly.

They have been contending that the government was in a minority in the 234-member assembly since 19 AIADMK MLAs loyal to sidelined party leader TTV Dhinakaran expressed lack of confidence in the Chief Minister on August 22. The opposition had unsuccessfully insisted on Purohit's predecessor to order a floor test.

However, subsequently one of rebel MLAs had switched side to the Chief Minister-led faction while the other 18 had been disqualified by the assembly Speaker under anti-defection law, which has been challenged in the Madras High Court.

In his brief interaction with reporters, Purohit said his decisions will be guided by the Constitution as he has decided to "preserve and protect" it.

"I am going to wholeheartedly support the government as far as development activities are concerned. I will use my influence in Delhi. I have my good friends in almost all the (central) ministries."

He said there will be "total transparency" in the administration and extended his best wishes to "brothers and sisters" of the state. Purohit has been involved in social, political, educational and industrial fields in Vidharbha in Maharashtra.

He plunged into active politics in 1977 and entered the Maharashtra Assembly for the first time in 1978 by winning the Nagpur East seat. He is also credited with revival of 'The Hitavada', an English daily founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the mentor of Mahatma Gandhi.

At the swearing-in, Stalin was seen engaged in an argument with a government official. Later, talking to reporters the DMK leader alleged he was not allowed to greet Purohit as per protocol.

After the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues felicitated Purohit, the Government Whip greeted, Stalin said contending this was against protocol.

"According to protocol, after the ministers, the Leader of Opposition has to greet. But when I was proceeding, an official said I could not go there and that I should be doing so only after judges greeted the Governor," he claimed.

Stalin said he was allowed to greet the governor only after he stood his ground. Asked if he will meet the new Governor to take up the prevailing political situation in the state, Stalin said he had issued a statement on reported alleged irregularities in purchase of walkie-talkie for the police department and that he had sought the Governor's intervention in the matter.

"If he sees the statement and based on his response to it and if required, I will meet him later," he said. Purohit, an experienced campaigner, has his task cut out as the DMK has already expressed confidence that he would act on its plea for a floor test. Stalin, who had earlier welcomed Purohit's appointment, had yesterday expressed confidence that the new Governor would "take appropriate action" on DMK's plea for a floor test. "We believe he will not function like the (previous) Governor in-charge (Rao)," he had said.

Rao had come under attack from the DMK for not ordering the floor test as sought by the opposition parties who made a beeline to the Raj Bhavan seeking the governor's intervention. The matter was taken to the high court where the state Advocate General had argued that the revolt against the Chief Minister was an 'intra-party affair' and the Governor could not interfere. The opposition had also knocked at the doors of President Ram Nath Kovind with a similar plea. Dhinakaran too had called on Rao with a plea to remove Palaniswami as chief minister.
Googles recently announced wireless headphones, Pixel Buds, will have the ability to translate 40 foreign languages in real time.

The headphones were announced at the Google Event held in San Francisco on Wednesday where Google unveiled its Pixel smartphones, laptops, and speakers.

The new headphones are expected to compete with Apple's Airpods. Unlike Airpods the Pixel buds will have a cord that will link both buds to each other.

But what makes the Pixel Buds unique is the fact that they have the ability to translate 40 languages with the help of Google Translate. Googles product lead Juston Payne demonstrated this during its presentation where his Swedish speaking colleague's words were successfully translated by the device.

The headphones can be used for other functions such as playing music and sending messages through Google Assistant. The headphones come with a compact charging case that will provide up to five hours of listening time.

The Pixel Buds will be available in three colour variants i.e. white, blue and black. The headphones, priced at $159 (Rs 10,389), are open for pre-booking and will be available for purchase by November.

With the launch of the new device, Google is trying to capture the wireless headphones currently dominated by Apple among premium customers. Besides, it will also help popularise Google Translate among the masses.
BlackBerry

As BlackBerry prepares to launch its latest touchscreen smartphone, widely known as BlackBerry Krypton, its images have been leaked on social media.

Some media reports suggest that Krypton could be called BlackBerry Motion. The device is expected to have a 1080p display, a mid-range Snapdragon processor and a 4000 mAh battery.

The leaked images posted on social media by Evan Blass show a sleek phone with a home button that has a built-in fingerprint scanner.

Earlier, Chinese electronic multinational TCL Corporation, which manufactures most BlackBerry devices now, had confirmed that it would launch a waterproof phone under the BlackBerry brand in October.

Francois Mahieu, Head of Global Sales for TCL had also said that the new smartphone could be priced lower than other flagship phones and that the company will be focusing on its strengths of battery life, security and durability.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2017 to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) "for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons".

Based out of Geneva, ICAN is a coalition of over 400 non-governmental organizations from 101 different countries across the world.

The organisation was formed in 2007 under the initiative of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.

The main mission of the group is to rid the world of nuclear weapons by outlawing them. They have held several national campaigns in different countries for endorsement of the same. The group says individuals like Desmond Tutu, Dalai Lama, and Yoko Ono have supported their campaigns.

Much of the credit behind the recent Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons adopted by UN was given to ICANs campaign. The Treaty entails the signatory nations to not Develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. They are not also allowed to transfer or have indirect control over such weapons.

In its statement after the prize announcement, ICAN said, We are proud to have played a major role its (the Treatys) creation, including through advocacy and participation in diplomatic conferences, and we will work assiduously in coming years to ensure its full implementation. Any nation that seeks a more peaceful world, free from the nuclear menace, will sign and ratify this crucial accord without delay.



Photo set from Signing ceremony for UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, UN Headquarters, New York, 20 September 2017: pic.twitter.com/wbCuyQzCYO  The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 6, 2017



Till now 53 countries have signed the Treaty. But few countries including US, Britain, And France have not participated in the Treaty talks.

The Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to ICAN assumes significance given the rising international tension with Israels nuclear deal and North Koreas continuous nuclear weapon threats.

Beatrice Fihn, executive director of ICAN, stated that It is disappointing to see some countries with strong humanitarian records standing with a government which threatens a new arms race.



Donald Trump threatens nuclear war, rejects diplomacy & multilateralism, and wants to build new types of nukes but somehow states that want to make a legally binding commitment to never use or possess nuclear weapons are the irresponsible ones? https://t.co/Flrb2EjHlD  Beatrice Fihn (@BeaFihn) October 3, 2017

Another of ICANs contributions lies in the Humanitarian Pledge movement of 2015, which prior to the treaty, brought together around 100 countries to support the initiatives against nuclear weapons.

The chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Berit Reiss-Andersen, said that ICANs endeavours fell in line with Alfred Nobels will that said one part of it would go to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.
Fraudsters have come up with a new way to siphon money out of bank accounts by using a Unified Payment Interface-supported application linked to Aadhaar.

The police in Delhi and the neighbouring areas of Noida have registered at least 30 complaints regarding these fraudulent cases, reports Scroll.in.

With the government pushing to link Aadhaar with every document including the PAN card, these fraudulent schemes have taken advantage of it as well as the introduction of the UPI.

The United Payments Interface (UPI) is a system through which Indian users can transact across 30 banks in the country with the help of a smartphone. The UPI was developed by the National Payments Corporation of India.

The victims who have complained have said that a person calls them as a Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) representative and pretends to help them through the process of linking PAN with Aadhaar. Subsequently, the people are asked to reveal the one time password generated on the mobile phone linked to Aadhaar which completes the job.

Kislay Chaudhary, cyber security consultant told Scroll that the conman uses the OTP to replace the user's number in the UIDAI interface with theirs, thus linking their number to the victim's Aadhaar. The UPI supported interface is then downloaded to the phone which detects the Aadhaar number linked to the phone number automatically and gives access to the bank account in the Aadhaar number. The conman then can generate the transactions.

Bhisham Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police in Delhi was quoted as saying, "The pretext of linking Aadhaar with PAN seems like a new trend among conmen, who keep updating themselves with the times. We have a dedicated department in the cyber cell which looks into all such cases. Investigation into several such cases is underway."

The UIDAI has informed that it is aware of such frauds taking place and said that the common people should be made aware that no such calls are being forwarded by the UIDAI.
live bse live

nse live Volume Todays L/H More 

Information technology major Tech Mahindra has filed three cases against Reliance Communications and two of its subsidiaries in the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), Mint reported on Friday.

The petitions are yet to be admitted and the cases will be heard on October 9. According to copies of the petitions reviewed by the newspaper, Reliance Communications and its two subsidiaries Reliance Telecom and Reliance Big TV owe Tech Mahindra Rs 3.6 crore, Rs 3 crore and Rs 1.5 crore, respectively.

Tech Mahindra has filed these cases in its capacity as the operational creditor of RCom and its subsidiaries. The liabilities mentioned in the petition arise out of the service agreements between Tech Mahindra and the Reliance firms involved, a person in the know told Mint.

When contacted, Tech Mahindra declined to comment since the company is currently in the silent period that precedes quarterly results announcements. Reliance Communications did not comment either.

Tech Mahindra is now the second company after Ericsson India to go to the court demanding the money it is owed by the Anil Ambani promoted company. Ericsson had filed cases against RCom and two of its subsidiaries  Reliance Infratel and Reliance Telecom. The petitions are yet to be admitted and the cases will be heard on Friday.

RCom has a debt of over Rs 45,000 crore and has been trying to pare a part of it for some time now. The company announced earlier this year that it would pare around 60 percent of its debt through a merger with Aircel and by selling stake in its tower business to Canadas Brookfield Infrastructure.

However, on October 1, RCom announced that the deal with Aircel has been called off because of regulatory delays and opposition from operational creditors like Ericsson, Indus Towers, and Bharti Infratel, among others.

In June, rating agency Fitch downgraded the companys long-term foreign and local-currency ratings to CCC from B-plus. A CCC rating indicates that default is a real possibility.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Saudi Arabia's King Salman attend a welcoming ceremony ahead of their talks in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia October 5, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Kadobnov/Pool - RC18A862CF80

Moneycontrol News

The king of Saudi Arabia in a landmark trip to Russia was confronted with his 'first big decision' before he even landed on Russian soil.

Just as the Saudi king arrived in Moscow, the golden escalator he used to get down from his plane malfunctioned and stopped midway on its descent.

The 81-year old-king was suddenly stuck halfway looking confused. After weighing his options for about thirteen seconds, he simply decided to descend the stairs via steps.

The Saudi Arabian King is visiting Russia to discuss global oil markets and the Syrian crisis with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Luckily, the deals did not stumble like his escalator.

The King and the Russian President Putin inked several deals including one involving Russias S-400 missile defence system.



Saudi Arabia king's golden escalator stairs got stuck coming out of his airplane into Moscow in Russia yesterday. pic.twitter.com/xGKYtSvEUs

 Anna Massoglia (@annalecta) October 5, 2017

Here is the video that went viral:

The Saudi monarch's visit came after decades of strained relations between the two countries.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos gives a speech during the Peace Prize awarding ceremony at the City Hall in Oslo, Norway December 10, 2016. NTB Scanpix/Lise Aaserud/via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NORWAY OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN NORWAY. - RC1ACDC44130

The Norwegian Nobel Committee will announce the winner of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Friday.

The committee, which is appointed by the Norwegian parliament, will select the winner from a pool of 318 known and reported candidates.

The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five 'Nobel prizes' started by Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel.

The prizes for the year 2017 in the fields of Chemistry, Physics, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature are being announced through this week.

The names of the losing nominees remain a tightly guarded secret for a period of 50 years.

The nominees usually include former laureates, academicians, activists, politicians, statesmen and international organisations.

In 2014, child rights activist Kailash Sathyarthi became the first India-born peace prize winner. While Mother Theresa and the 14th Dalai Lama were also awarded the prize, they were not born in India.

Most media reports have narrowed down some of the potential winners of the 2017 peace prize. Here are the top three possible contenders:

White Helmets

The White Helmets is a volunteer organisation that operates inside rebel-controlled areas of Syria and also in Turkey.

The group shot to fame in 2016 after a documentary captured their work in the war-torn region. They claim to have saved more than 99,000 people in the ongoing Syrian conflict.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had almost 11,000 staff members on the field as on June 31.

The organisation estimates that there are around 22.5 million refugees across the world today. It covers emergencies like the Syria crisis, large-scale repatriation operations and the recent fleeing of Rohingyas from Myanmar.

Iran nuclear deal brokers

While the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action between Iran and 'P5+1 nations' has been in place since 2015, the Norwegian Nobel Committee could support the historic agreement at a time when tensions are on the rise between United States and North Korea regarding the latter's nuclear capabilities.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and European Union Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini were at the forefront of the negotiations.

US President Donald Trump disapproves of the Iran nuclear deal and has threatened to 'tear it apart'.

The winner will be announced at 14:30 hours (Indian Standard Time) on Friday.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood (PAKISTAN - Tags: POLITICS HEADSHOT MILITARY) - GM1EA371BZN01

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif on Thursday warned India against carrying out surgical strike or targeting its nuclear installations, saying if that happens nobody should expect restraint from his country.

Referring to the statement of India's Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa that the Indian armed forces are ready for a full spectrum operation, Asif said Pakistan wants to live in peace and harmony with its neighbours.

But if India carries out any surgical strike in Pakistan or strikes at its nuclear installations "nobody should expect restraint from us", he warned.

Speaking at the US Institute of Peace, a Washington-based think-tank, Asif said the "relationship with India is at a lowest ebb at the moment".

Responding to a question on India, he said, "sadly India did not respond" to Pakistani efforts to improve relationship.

"What is going on in Kashmir is the biggest roadblock to normalisation to talks," Asif said.

The Pakistani Foreign Minister asked the US not to treat his country as a "whipping boy" and said Washington has already lost the war in Afghanistan and is only trying to salvage the situation in the war-torn nation.

Asif, who is in the US as part of efforts to rebuild bilateral ties frayed after President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of sheltering terror groups, said his meetings with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Advisor H R McMaster were good.

"Was not bad," Asif quipped, giving a sense of his talks with top leadership of the Trump administration, which has been seeking accountability from Islamabad in the war against terrorism including continued presence of terror safe havens in Pakistan.

Asif in a way acknowledged that the madrasas were training ground for terrorists.

"These madrasas were nurseries for American jihad in Afghanistan. People who took those decisions will burn to hell. We are actually living in hell because of that decision," he said, adding that Pakistan is paying the price of such a decision.

"The meeting went well with Tillerson and McMaster (meeting) was good. (It) was not bad," Asif said, noting that the two countries need to pursue contacts with each other.

He favoured adopting an approach of talks and exchange of views more vigorously.

The US, he said, is focusing solely on safe haven allegations or blaming Pakistan for what they have not achieved in Afghanistan.

"There are many more dimension of what is going on in Afghanistan," he said.

"A corrupt government in Kabul, increasing narcotics trade, the Afghan Army selling arms to the Taliban, losing terrorist and bringing Daesh (ISIS) to Afghanistan," he said.

"Let's see this conflict in its entirety, in totality. Do not treat Pakistan like a whipping boy. Thats not acceptable. We want to cooperate with the US. We are the direct beneficiary of peace and stability in Afghanistan," he said.

Standing by his remarks on some of the terrorist groups and terrorist leaders at the Asia Society in New York last week, Asif said they are a liability.

"We will find ways and means to wrapping up this business. This is a liability. (but) this cannot be wrapped up overnight," he said.

Responding to a question, Asif said there are problems in US-Pakistan ties.

"We do have problems with the US. We have deficit of trust. We are trying to mend those deficits," he said.

Pakistan, he said, sees more role for Russia and China in the region.

Relationship with Russia has improved in recent years.

"We need and have proposed any peace solution in Afghanistan should be backed by regional powers which includes the Russian federation," he said in response to a question.

"Madrassas, whether we accept or agree with them or not, are the biggest NGO in Pakistan...There are over 20,000 madrasas. Out of these huge number, a very low number of them are infected. Possibly they number around 300-400. The government is managing these madrasas," he said.
Budget carriers are seeing an explosive growth in passengers as they expand flights to Japan and Southeast Asia.

There are six budget airlines in Korea -- Air Busan, Air Seoul, Eastar Jet, Jeju Air, Jin Air and T'way Air -- and according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, 9.31 million out of 25.1 million passengers who flew on Korean carriers in the first half of this year used them. That boils down to one in three.

Budget carriers already surpassed the international flight passenger load of flagship carrier Korean Air (9.25 million). In the first half, Korean Air's and Asiana Airlines' international flight passengers dwindled 3.2 percent, while low-cost airlines' surged 49.1 percent.
Maintaining independence and editorial freedom is essential to our mission of empowering investor success. We provide a platform for our authors to report on investments fairly, accurately, and from the investors point of view. We also respect individual opinionsthey represent the unvarnished thinking of our people and exacting analysis of our research processes. Our authors can publish views that we may or may not agree with, but they show their work, distinguish facts from opinions, and make sure their analysis is clear and in no way misleading or deceptive.

To further protect the integrity of our editorial content, we keep a strict separation between our sales teams and authors to remove any pressure or influence on our analyses and research.

Read our editorial policy to learn more about our process.
The real estate market in Greater Montreal matched Septembers heat wave with sales reaching an eight-year high for the month.The Greater Montreal Real Estate Board says 2,893 residential sales were completed last month, a 6% increase from a year ago.Four of the areas five metropolitan areas exhibited sustained growth, led by a 17% jump in sales in Laval, north of Montreal.Speaking to The Canadian Press, Paul Cardinal of the Quebec Federation of Real Estate Boards attributed the monthly housing gains to strong job creation, consumer confidence, and foreign migration.Sales on the island of Montreal, which accounted for 43% of all area sales, were up 5% last month. Condominiums continued to drive sales volume, rising 11% overall, including a 49% jump in Laval.Condo sales have been growing steadily for months while selling times are down, according to Mathieu Cousineau, GMREB president.He added that the condo market has returned to a balanced market with 10 months of inventory.For a little more than four years, there was a surplus of condominiums on the resale market and inventory had reached a new peak of 15 months exactly two years ago. The turnaround has therefore been quite impressive, Cousineau elaborated in a news release.Although posting somewhat lower numbers, sales of buildings with two to five units were up 23%.The weak spot was single-family homes, where sales dipped by 1% to mark the first sales decline in five months.Canadas second-largest city remains a real estate bargain as the average price of homes grew 2.6% to $364,862. That compared to $775,546 in Greater Toronto, also up 2.6% from the prior year, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.
A newly released Colliers International report shed light on the frenetic activity occurring in commercial real estate markets throughout the country.



The reports findings could conceivably spur more broker activity in the commercial sector, as recent regulations have cooled the residential market.



The report examined Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton, and Craig Hennigar, Director of Market Intelligence at Colliers International Canada, says industrial growth usually parallels the growth of cities.

He also says theres up to a 95% correlation between population growth and demand for industrial space.



According to the last Census, the population has grown over a million people in the countrys largest markets, with Toronto in particular seeing an increase of 344,976 between 2011 and 2016.



Online retail is fueling large fulfillment centres, particularly in major markets like Toronto, said Hennigar. A second one is in North America, in particular, called the last mile, for a fairly large number of orders for a fairly narrow number of products because theyre so popular. Theres a move to capitalize on smaller warehouses for some companies. Areas like South Etobicoke and Rexdale, where warehouses 40 years old that dont meet modern standards for high efficiency, computerized fulfillment centres or as manufacturing facilities, but theyre great from a locational perspective.



The point of last mile facilities is to be close to customers for same-day or one-day delivery.



In spite of the correlation, Vancouver has seen a decline in demand for industrial space, however, Hennigar says its likely because Vancouver is a port city and most goods going through Vancouver leave Vancouver by train for cities like Chicago.



Montreal s industrial sector has seen a spike, as well. Industrial rents are rising, and even demand for office space is surging. Economic growth has been positive, said Hennigar. Montreal has a large number of highly-qualified graduates who want to stay in that city.



Office space is also surging in Toronto, a city currently experiencing a building wave, and where mixed-use developments are the norm. CIBC will soon move into the 49-storey Bay Park Centre tower thats currently in development.



The whole South Core of Toronto popped out of nowhere, said Hennigar. The question is what might or might not occur that will have influence? New buildings will drive firms from existing buildings to newer facilities.

If you go up to Bloor and Yonge, you get more mixed use. Theres a notion towards building more live, work, play.



Other variables could impact the commercial sector, he added.



We dont know how immigration will be affected by the unaccommodating atmosphere south of the border, said Hennigar. Toronto is attractive, and Vancouver in the 90s had satellite tech offices out of Silicon Valley because they can bring in immigrants easier than they can in the U.S. It will be interesting to see if Canada benefits from restrictive immigration policies in the U.S.
Permian Toastmasters meet

The Permian Toastmasters Club will at the Midland Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 208 S. Marienfeld St. from 12:10 to 1 p.m. Wednesday.

There is no charge to attend.

For more information, contact Nelson Spear at 853-9915 or Nelson@NelsonSpear.com.

Exxon adds 22,000 acres in Permian Basin

Exxon Mobil has acquired 22,000 acres in the Permian Basin since May, expanding its footprint in West Texas and New Mexico.

The Irving-based oil company has bought acreage in the Delaware Basin and the Midland Basin.

Exxon has dispatched 19 drilling rigs to its 250,000 acres in the Delaware Basin and 130,000 acres in the Midland Basin.

Fourteen of those are drilling horizontal wells in the Midland Basin. Another four are in the New Mexico portion of the Delaware Basin.

The company said it recently drilled a 12,500-foot sideways well in the Delaware, and has drilled some 200 wells in the Midland Basin over the past three years.

-- Houston Chronicle

Globel TR Energy changes name

Gravity Oilfield Services, formerly known as GlobeLTR Energy Inc., has initiated a comprehensive rebranding effort.

Gravity is a portfolio company of affiliates of Clearlake Capital Group, L.P., formed in February through the merger of established Permian-based oilfield service providers Light Tower Rentals Inc. and Globe Energy Services, LLC.

With more than 1,100 employees and more than 45 operating locations, Gravity is provides services to upstream oil and natural gas companies operating throughout the United States. The companys primary services focus on completion-oriented water infrastructure and logistics activities, production-focused remote power generation solutions, specialty chemicals and other wellbore solutions.

The corporate name change comes on the heels of several focused initiatives Gravity has undertaken in 2017 to redefine the company in the face of a new operating environment. In April, the company acquired pre-frac water producer West Texas H2O, LLC, and in September closed on the divestiture of its legacy well-servicing division.

Franks International names new CEO

Houston oilfield services firm Franks International has named its fourth chief executive in less than three years, continuing the longtime family companys tumultuous ride since going public in 2013.

Franks said President and CEO Douglas Stephens is being replaced by its chairman, Michael Kearney. The company said that Stephens is pursuing other interests.

Kearney, a former CEO of the private company DeepFlex, is the first person to assume both the chairman and CEO roles since Keith Mosing, who gave up the chairman role to Kearney at the end of 2015.

Mosing, the grandson of Frank Mosing who founded the company almost 80 years ago, saw the company through its public unveiling on the New York Stock Exchange. However, Franks has dealt with the downturn and its own internal challenges ever since.

Franks stock is down more than 30 percent since the beginning of the year and by more than 70 percent since it went public.

Keith Mosing and two of his family members remain on the eight-person board.

-- Houston Chronicle
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Ivanka Trump, you're fired.

According to plastic surgeon Dr. Franklin Rose, first lady Melania Trump has eclipsed first daughter and former fashion designer Ivanka - as a plastic surgery muse, anyway.

"I've have had many women visit my office wanting the 'Ivanka look,'" Rose said in a press release. "So it's not really surprising to see women now requesting to look more like Melania, who is simply gorgeous."

READ ALSO: Melania Trump wears $51K Dolce & Gabbana jacket in Sicily

One such request came from Cypress mom and cancer survivor Claudia Sierra.

"I want to feel like the first lady that I know I am inside," Sierra explained in the same media statement.

On June 20, she underwent eight surgeries in an effort to look more like the Slovenian-born first lady and former model. Sierra's "Melania Makeover" aired on Inside Edition on Monday.

READ ALSO: 13 facts about Melania Trump

Her procedures included a revision breast reconstruction, revision rhinoplasty, tummy tuck, liposuction, Brazilian butt lift, eyelid lift, Botox, fillers, and unspecified injectable treatments.

Check out before photos of the Texas beauty in the slideshow above.
The West Texas Food Bank was among 20 food banks across Texas to benefit from H-E-Bs Help End Hunger. The campaign raised more than $734,000, which will help provide more than 3.3 million meals to people in need.

The check was presented on Monday at the San Antonio Food Bank to Feeding Texas, a hunger relief organization that works with food banks statewide. Representatives from the various food banks also were on hand to accept the donation.
Ce urmeaza dupa retragerea rusilor din Herson: Putin e pe cale sa faca o grava eroare din punct de vedere militar / Niciodata sa nu-ti intrerupi dusmanul cand face o greseala
GET OUR APP Our Spectrum News app is the most convenient way to get the stories that matter to you. Download it here.
The police have beefed up security at the Raj Bhavan ahead of the protest.
A man at Orlando International Airport may have used a poor choice of words Thursday night when, according to Orlando Police, he yelled that his bag was "about to explode"  while Vice President Mike Pence was there visiting.

Fred Allen Gray facing 2 counts of falsely reporting a bomb

OIA worker: Gray screamed his bag was going to 'explode'

RELATED: Pence, in Orlando, reaffirms commitment to Puerto Rico

Just after 5 p.m., an arrest affidavit says, Fred Allen Gray of Dade City  who turned 42 years old on the day of the incident  asked an airport employee at the East Information Desk if she noticed his bag.

"'It's about to explode. It's about to explode,'" the employee recalled Gray screaming, the affidavit stated. "He said it so loud the passengers standing around me ran away scared."

A Transportation Security Administration officer also heard Gray use the same words and notified his dispatcher.



Gray told a responding Orlando Police officer that when he (repeatedly) said his bag was about to explode, he meant that his bag was about to break open and his stuff was going to come out, the officer wrote in the affidavit.

Gray also told the officer that it was a free country and he is allowed to say what he wants, adding that he doesn't like "these people" and that he does not care about "Vice President Pence."

Pence was at the airport at the time to meet with people in Central Florida who are part of the Puerto Rico relief effort. The president of Panama was also there.



Gray faces two charges of making a false bomb threat.

Orlando Police requested no bond for Gray until Pence departed Orlando.
Tropical Storm Nate continues to intensify as it grazes the eastern Yucatan Peninsula.



Tropical Storm Nate showing signs that it's intensifying

Hurricane watches, warnings up along Gulf Coast

Forecast to have little effect on Central Florida



SEE BELOW: Spectrum News 13's interactive storm tracker 

The latest position has it about 90 miles northeast of Cozumel, Mexico. Models remain in good agreement that this system will stay well to the west of Central Florida.

Nate is moving to the north-northwest at 22 mph with sustained winds of 65 mph. The central minimum pressure is 990 mb.



Tropical-storm force winds extend 125 miles from the center, mainly in the eastern section of the storm.

On this forecast track, the system will move across to near the northeastern coast of the Yucatan peninsula this evening, before moving into the southern Gulf of Mexico overnight. It will then approach the northern Gulf coast Saturday, aiming for the northern Gulf coast Saturday night or early Sunday.



Hurricane warnings have now been posted for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, including the New Orleans Metropolitan area. Tropical Storm Warnings are also in effect for parts of central Louisiana and the western panhandle of Florida.

A hurricane warning is in effect for:

Grand Isle Louisiana to the Alabama/Florida border

Metropolitan New Orleans and Lake Pontchartrain



A storm surge warning is in effect for:

Morgan City Louisiana to the Alabama/Florida border

Northern and western shores of Lake Pontchartrain

A tropical storm warning is in effect for:

Punta Herrero to Rio Lagartos Mexico

Pinar del Rio

Metropolitan New Orleans

West of Grand Isle to Morgan City Louisiana

East of the Alabama/Florida border to the Okaloosa/Walton County Line

A hurricane watch is in effect for:

Punta Herrero to Rio Lagartos Mexico

Metropolitan New Orleans

Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas

West of Grand Isle to Morgan City Louisiana

A storm surge watch is in effect for:

East of the Alabama/Florida border to Indian Pass Florida

A tropical storm watch is in effect for:

East of the Okaloosa/Walton County Line to Indian Pass Florida

West of Morgan City to Intracoastal City Louisiana

Isle of Youth

While there is still some uncertainty over exactly where landfall will occur, models keep the greatest impacts along the central Gulf Coast. Rain and wind will extend far from the storms center, so impacts are likely in the western Florida panhandle.

Impacts to the rest of Florida, including Central Florida, look minimal at this time.

High pressure overhead and a cold front sweeping into the central U.S. will play a role in steering this system.

Aside from a weak system in the open Atlantic to the southwest of the Azores, no tropical formation is expected in the next five days.

Spectrum News 13 Interactive Storm Tracker
Wringing her hands in anticipation, Monica Crane and two of her daughter's best friends watched an "arrivals" board at Orlando International Airport.

Until her daughter, Nichole, walked through the gate  and into her mother's arms.

"I love you," Monica said to her.

Relief filled their faces as they finally embraced Friday morning, five days after Monica thought the worst: that her daughter, who was attending the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas, was caught up in the mass shooting on the Vegas Strip.

"There was mass confusion and mass pandemonium  mass panic. What path is going to get you to safety? And who knows that?" Nichole Crane said, recalling her thoughts as shots rang over the concert crowd.

Somehow, Nichole made it through the gunfire without being hurt.

She immediately called her Mom. But a phone call wasn't enough for Monica. She needed to hold her child.

"It's been very overwhelming, and I'm overjoyed right now to be able to get my hands on her," Monica said.

For now, the reunion is enough, but both mother and daughter say it's not over.

"He (the shooter) just took away a part of me that I'll never get back," Nichole said. "Even the sound of a car backfiring makes me want to drop to the ground."

Nichole, who is from Sanford but lives in Salt Lake City, said that with her mother's help and friends' support, she hopes to get past the flashbacks haunting her from that night.
Homeland. Family. Patriot. Sacrifice.

Those are the words on four panels that now stand side-by-side in Cedar Park. Notably cut out from the black granite panels is the silhouette of a soldier standing tall in salute, representing the hole in the hearts of those whose family member paid the ultimate sacrifice.

The Central Texas Gold Star Family Memorial Monument is the first of its kind in Texas. Dedicated on the eve of National Gold Star Mothers and Familys Day, celebrated annually on the last Sunday of September, this new monuments stated purpose is to honor Gold Star Families, preserve the memory of the fallen, and stand as a stark reminder that Freedom is not free.

We owe the idea behind this monument to the Hershel Woody Williams Medal of Honor Gold Star Families Foundation and their campaign to erect a memorial to Gold Star Families in every single state.

It may be Texas first, but it wont be the last. Similar monuments to recognize the service and sacrifice of Gold Star Families are planned for Weatherford, Bronte, and Dallas  to name a few.

Thats because the culture of reverence for our servicemembers spans across our entire state -- from Fort Bliss to the Red River Army Depot, Naval Air Station Kingsville to Sheppard Air Force Base.

Texas is home to one of every 10 U.S. servicemembers, and behind each of these servicemembers is a mother, father, brother, sister, or other beloved relative who supports them. This web reaches everyone; Gold Star Mother of Private First Class Austin Staggs in Weatherford noted that in Texas, you dont have to look far to see that somewhere, somehow you have a connection to the military.

All in all, nearly 25,000 Texas families have joined the National Gold Star Family Registry since World War II. The newly-erected Gold Star Family Memorial Monument in Cedar Park  and the others planned  will give them a place to reflect, pray, and gather with other mourning families for strength.

But the monuments are not just for those who have lost a loved one in their defense of freedom. This park is a showing of what our kids gave for them, says Gold Star Mother of Pfc Joe Christopher Robinson.

Cedar Parks monument has already united local Gold Star Families and members of the community to promote reflection and remembrance. A Memorial Day groundbreaking ceremony and Remembrance Walk  the first of a soon-to-be annual tradition  drew a large crowd this spring.

Keep an eye out for Gold Star Family monuments in your area. We all owe the families of fallen servicemembers our utmost support and honor. And as Gold Star Mother of Staff Sgt. Jeffery Lee Hartley reminds her fellow Texans of the upcoming monument in Weatherford, its your park, too.
Oct. 6, 1937: The eighth annual octogenarian banquet will be held here Oct. 14 with Dr. S.J. Underwood of Hale Center, organizer of the banquet honoring those who are at least 80 years old, serving as master of ceremonies.

--Oliver Implement dealers from across West Texas are meeting here today to discuss 1938 sales and service. Dealers are looking forward to a prosperous year, reports G.E. Goodlee of Lubbock, block man for the area.

--J.V. Massey has been elected president of the Hale Center Boys 4-H Club. The group was organized by Assistant County Agent J.D. Worley during a meeting with 44 boys at Hale Centers Central Ward School.

Oct. 6, 1957: Winged insects, according to local termite exterminator M.B. McIlroy, are warming in vast numbers in parts of Plainview this morning.

--Messrs. And Mmes. W.M. Whitesides and Wayne Arnold and son, Wayne Jr., have returned from the first Midwest Horseless Carriage Club Tour.

--Dollie McLaughlin and Mrs. Clayton Lewellen have returned from an extended visit to Hawaii.

Oct. 6, 1977: Jimmy Lewis, Soil Conservation Service director; Pat Guy, Hale County ASCS supervisor; and Karson Bivins, supervisor of the Hale County Farmers Home Administration, will rotate as author of the weekly Ag Re-View Column beginning this Sunday in the Plainview Herald. Doug McDonough is Herald farm editor.

--Walter J. Wright was among candidates receiving degrees at North Texas State University. He received a Master of Music Education degree.

--R.O. Grandpa Stanford, downtown route carrier for The Herald, was honored with a surprise 77th birthday party at the Weksler Building by 20 to 30 downtown employees.

Oct. 6, 1987: Friends of Mac Shugart, who died Saturday in a farming accident while harvesting corn north of Plainview, came to the aid of the family in a way that epitomizes the sharing spirit of farmers. Eight friends finished harvesting his field late Tuesday afternoon.

--A fashion show introducing Suzy Hutcherson Deux Amies spring collection will be held Friday at the Plainview Country Club.

--Resulting from an Arizona lawsuit, alien farm workers can now get a six-month permit to work during cotton harvest.
The states largest municipal lobby Thursday urged lawmakers and Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to a create a commission to study the costs of teachers retirements benefits in hopes of delaying, if not stopping, a shift of costs back to towns.



The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities said the legislature should allow the commission to study funding mechanisms, possible tier structures, and the overall sustainability of other post-retirement benefits before requiring towns to share in the obligations.



Malloy continues to push for municipalities to shoulder some of the burden of the teachers retirement benefits system which, like state employee pensions, is greatly underfunded. The state currently bears the full cost of the teachers retirement benefit system.



Lawmakers have been critical of Malloys proposal and Republicans excluded it from their budget, which passed with support from eight Democrats on Sept. 15. Malloy vetoed the budget, sending lawmakers back to negotiations while the state continues to operate under an executive order.



CCM said this gives lawmakers the chance to instead study what problems exist within the teachers pension system before asking towns to contribute funding during a difficult time financially.



Recognizing the deep financial burden that current public employee pension systems have placed on the state and the need to give this matter the benefit of thorough analysis by all stakeholders, CCMs board of directors is requesting that the...state budget proposal establish a Pension and Retirement Benefits Reform Commission, CCM Executive Director Joe DeLong said in a letter Thursday to Malloy and legislative leaders.



Malloy criticized the proposal Thursday, telling reporters at the Capitol that the state has already made cuts in recent years to others portions of the budget in an effort to keep funding to towns flat. He said municipalities need to share in the sacrifices needed to balance a projected $3.5-billion deficit over the biennium.



Is this another year in which we reward the ostriches? Malloy asked, while also saying efforts to put off addressing the underfunding of the teachers pension system only continues the states budget woes.



Municipal leaders said the purpose of the commission would be to do the exact opposite, though, giving the state chances to look for solutions.



Wallingford Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. said his support for the commissions report will depend upon what it says, and its important to include the word reform.



He said CCMs commission could examine ways to make the pension more affordable in the future.



Meriden City Manager Guy Scaife agreed, saying Malloys proposal didnt do anything to address the cost drivers of the pension system. He added that shifting the costs to towns would merely ask Connecticut residents to fund it through local, not state, taxes.



Malloy said his proposed shift is intended to keep the costs down, requiring towns to now fund a portion of the pension benefits they approve in collective bargaining. Scaife said municipal and local school officials already have incentive to keep those costs down, though.



Ultimately, its citizens that are paying those taxes, so you cant operate in isolation, he said.



Malloy initially proposed requiring towns to pay a combined $400 million toward teachers retirement benefits, but agreed to seek just $19 million in the deal he struck with Democrats. That budget never got a vote, though, after Republicans were able to replace it with their own.



Budget negotiations continued Thursday, but Malloy expressed pessimism that the talks will produce a new deal in the near future. He has said scheduling conflicts mean lawmakers need a deal by Oct. 13 if they are going to end the stalemate before the end of the month, but said Thursday that appears in doubt.



I would honestly say that we are hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars away, Malloy said. I want there to be an agreement by next Friday; thered have to be a lot of movement in that situation.



Malloy said businesses have talked with his administration about economic development, only to put plans on hold while they watch the states budget impasse. He said the lack of a budget is costing Connecticut thousands of jobs potentially.



msavino@record-journal.com 203-317-2266 Twitter: @reporter_savino






Lowes Home Centers plans to hire more than 200 employees at nine stores in San Antonio, Houston and South Texas to meet demand for construction supplies in the wake of the Harvey storm system, the company said Thursday.

The big-box retailer will hold job fairs at nine stores Saturday to fill a mixture of full-time and seasonal part-time positions including cashiers, loaders, customer service associates and sales specialists in its flooring, millwork, appliances and pro services departments.
An angry, cursing face. A head of broccoli. A Citizen Kane-style sled. A black mountain climber. A genderless person, available in a range of races and ages.

Apples new emojis are here.

First announced on World Emoji Day (yes, apparently, that exists) in July, hundreds of new emojis will be available next week on iPhone and iPad with iOS 11.1, Apple said Friday.

Emojis, colorful and playful pictograms that are available on a range of devices, have altered the way that humans communicate with one other and have become a powerful force in pop culture, both online and off.

Hillary Clinton tried to use emojis to reach out to young voters during the 2016 campaign. Last summer, Sony Pictures released a movie that imagined emojis inner emotional life. (Neither the campaign nor the film was a success. The real-world track record of emojis is not great.)

Nevertheless, emojis have provided a cheeky visual shorthand for such common experiences as laughing, vomiting and, with the latest update, the desire to reference a hedgehog in everyday conversation.

The latest update appears to continue a yearslong trend toward greater diversity among emojis, which began in earnest in 2015, when Apple allowed users to select the skin tone of most of the human pictograms.

The company said in a statement that the new emojis were designed to reveal every detail and were adopted from approved characters used in earlier updates.

Among the options announced Friday were a woman in a head scarf, a woman breast-feeding and what the company called the love-you gesture, which it said was designed after the sign for I love you in American Sign Language, which combines the signs for the letters I, L and Y.

So, how does a new emoji find its way to your screen? The process is complicated enough that it might make you feel like a smiley face with a nuclear mushroom cloud erupting from your head. (Yes, that is one of the new ones.)

The process is shepherded by the Unicode Consortium, a little-known group that meets quarterly and includes executives from several large technology companies, including Apple and Google.

The consortium was founded in the 1980s to develop a standardized code for text characters  including letters, numerals and, in the present day, emojis  that enables different computers easily to communicate with one other.

The Unicode Consortiums co-founder and president, Mark Davis, 63, described how the group chose emojis in an interview with The New York Times in 2015.

Among the factors he cited for inclusion were whether the symbol had been translated into Unicode, and how likely it was to be popular or useful.

Completeness was also an influential factor, he said, citing the addition of a mosque and a synagogue to the emoji lexicon that had already included an image of a church.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Three well-known River Walk establishments and a revered restaurant at The Pearl turned heads this week for the wrong reasons after city health inspectors found less-than-perfect conditions at each of the spots.

Casa Rio, Rita's on the River, Hotel Havana and Botika are among the 32 restaurants that landed on this week's list of dirtiest restaurants in San Antonio, according to reports.

See the other restaurants that landed on this week's list and their violations in the gallery above.

To make the Express-News' list of dirtiest restaurants, an establishment must earn a score of 89 or below  or anything less than an "A"  during a random city health inspection.

Now Playing: Queues stretched in front of a new line of vending machines in Singapore last weeked as people lined up to choose from 17 delicious fancy dinner platters made by world-renowned chefs. 'Chef-in-Box' introduced six Indian classics prepared by Indian chef Satish Arora, who had previously made meals for the likes of British Queen Elizabeth II and former US President Bill Clinton. What's more, Chef-in-Box meals will cost under $5. Video: RuptlyTV

At Rita's on the River, an inspector cited the restaurant for not storing food at the correct temperature, including chicken and beef fajita meat, lettuce, beans and chile relleno.

An inspector observed pans of food stacked atop ready-to-eat foods at Casa Rio, the longest-tenured restaurant on the River Walk. And Hotel Havana had prepared foods that were not labeled with an expiration date.

North of downtown at The Pearl, Botika landed in hot water after an employee was seen handling foods with his or her bare hands.

LAST WEEK'S RESTAURANT VIOLATIONS: San Antonio restaurant inspections: Sept. 29, 2017

The San Antonio Express-News examines hundreds of restaurant inspections each week conducted by the San Antonio Food and Environmental Health Services division to bring you the eateries with scores of 89 or below.

Restaurants are graded on a 100-point system, where "100" is a perfect score, and demerits are based upon the number of violations found during a regular food establishment inspection. There are three categories of demerits and each are assigned a demerit score of 3, 2 or 1 points, according to the health division.

Scores and demerits listed are only representative of the state of the restaurant at the time of inspection and are surveyed at random.

erobinson@mysa.com | Twitter: @eeelizzzabeth
Tony Gaines / HCN/photo

Tomball's holiday parade in November will honor the efforts of first responders and officials for helping community members during Hurricane Harvey.

During Harvey, Tomball received several feet of water, forcing some to leave their homes or be rescued from high water by first responders. Around the greater Houston area, the storm brought unprecedented flooding that damaged homes, businesses and public spaces alike.
Bowe Bergdahl, the Army sergeant who spent five years in Taliban captivity after disappearing from his patrol base in Afghanistan, is expected to plead guilty to desertion and misbehavior charges, the Associated Press reported Friday.

Bergdahl's court-martial was scheduled to begin later this month. Now, instead of a jury, a military judge will determine his sentence and whether the 31-year-old will spend any more time incarcerated, the AP reported. He faces life in prison and a dishonorable discharge from the Army.

An attorney for Bergdahl, Eugene Fidell, declined to comment. The Army would not confirm the AP's reporting.

"We continue to maintain careful respect for the military-judicial process, the rights of the accused, and ensuring the case's fairness and impartiality during this ongoing legal case," Army spokesman Paul Boyce said in a written statement.

Prosecutors say Bergdahl left his post without permission in 2009. They've argued that his actions resulted in the death and injury of other troops sent to search for him.

An Army investigation found no evidence that that had occurred, though his critics maintain that dangerous helicopter insertions and other exhausting missions may have indirectly contributed to troops' deaths or injuries in Afghanistan, and that surveillance drones used to track or locate enemy fighters may have been diverted for search-and-rescue missions.

Bergdahl says he was beaten, caged and tortured, held in abhorrent conditions until the Obama administration in May 2014 swapped five Taliban detainees in exchange for the soldier's release. That controversial decision has challenged one of the military's bedrock values: to always bring back its troops, living or dead.

One of Bergdahl's harshest critics has been his commander in chief, President Donald Trump, who has called him a "dirty, rotten traitor" and suggested that, in prior eras, Bergdahl would have been executed.

In fact, only one accused deserter has been executed since the Civil War.

In November 2015, Trump brought up Bergdahl at a campaign rally in Massachusetts, where he pantomimed the use of a pistol with his hands. "That's right," he said. "Boom. Boom! . . . Boom, he's gone. He's gone!"

After Trump's win, Bergdahl's legal team sought to frame the president's comments as unduly interfering with the accused soldier's "due process right to a fair trial." In the military justice system, unlawful command influence occurs when a senior U.S. official, up to and including the commander in chief, seeks to influence the outcome of legal matters.

A guilty plea could signal an appeal for mercy and consideration of Bergdahl's severe mistreatment while in enemy hands. The move comes after Barack Obama declined to pardon Bergdahl.

Pending the outcome of his trial, Bergdahl has been working at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in Texas.

---

The Washington Post's Dan Lamothe contributed to this report.
The Plainview/Hale County Crime Stoppers Committee will pay a reward of up to $350 to anyone with information that will lead to the arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for the following crimes:

--On Oct. 1, someone entered 1306 Oakland and took several tools, consisting of handsaws, roofing hammers, a sawzall, and extension cords.
CEBU CITY, Philippines - These days, death is often at the door. Death by bullet, death by blood.

President Rodrigo Duterte's "drug war" has left thousands dead at the hands of police, but it is also threatening a different sort of public health disaster.

Frontline advocates in this city in the central Philippines say the violent anti-drug campaign is pushing users ever-further underground, fueling the spread of disease by stopping efforts to get them clean needles.

Those who work with injection drug users say they are being harassed, even arrested, while trying to make their rounds.

"The police are paranoid, so we are having trouble reaching people," said an outreach worker for a community group that distributes clean needles. He gave only his nickname, Panki, for fear of being linked in any way to drugs.

Experts say the health effects of the violent campaign may be felt for years to come.

"Evidence from around the world shows that this kind of policy has a very negative impact on the rate of infection for various diseases, from tuberculosis to hepatitis and HIV," said Agnes Callamard, a human rights expert at Columbia University who serves as the United Nations' special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. "There will be secondary deaths that will be very difficult to monitor and quantify."

It is too soon to map out exactly how the drug war will affect the health of Filipinos. With drug use demonized and police acting with impunity, some drug users stay away from support and testing services out of fear, making it tough to track infection rates.

But the Philippines has the fastest-growing HIV infection rate in the Asia-Pacific region. A recent UNAIDS study found that HIV cases more than doubled between 2010 and 2016, from 4,300 to 10,500.

In Cebu City, roughly 50 percent of the city's injection drug users are living with HIV, according to local authorities.

What is happening here provides early, anecdotal evidence that state-backed violence is hindering, rather than helping, efforts to keep people healthy.

Ilya Tac-an, head of the city's HIV detection program, has tracked injection drug use and infection rates since the early 1990s, well before Duterte's rise to power, and has seen firsthand, over decades, how shifting attitudes about drug use and needle programs influence infection rates.

Community groups in Cebu City have long provided clean needles, sometimes with support from local authorities, sometimes against their wishes.

When nongovernmental organizations are able to distribute clean needles, rates of illness hold steady, Tac-an said. When the government cracks down on the distribution of clean needles, more people are infected with hepatitis and HIV.

In 2009, for instance, community groups were asked to shut down their long-running needle exchange program, and the city passed rules limiting the sale of needles without prescriptions. The next year, HIV cases among drug users in Cebu jumped from less than 1 percent to 53 percent, Tac-an said.

In the years since, grass-roots groups have found ways to operate. Now, under Duterte, they are under threat again and fear another spike in new infections.

Those who can afford to buy needles on the black market do so. Those who cannot afford it either get them on the sly, or, when that fails, use a "service needle," which is typically shared five or six times.

"Users support clean needle programs, but if distribution stops, they will go back to sharing," Tac-an said.

And in the midst of Duterte's "war," needle distribution has been curtailed.

People familiar with Cebu City's drug trade say the local drug of choice, a mix of Nubain and methamphetamine known as "milkshake," is still widely available and affordable; safe needles, increasingly, are not.

Outreach workers who deliver needles report being stopped by police for "looking" like a person who injects drugs.

"The police are harassing each person with needle marks. If you have needles, you can get arrested," said a second outreach worker, who was too frightened to give his name for fear of being put on a drug watch list.

When people who inject drugs are jailed, they are often able to continue using drugs behind bars but lose the ability to obtain clean needles.

Panki said he worries constantly about being caught with needles, placed on a drug watch and targeted by police. But he will continue to distribute because he understands the stakes.

"If we stop, our peers die," he said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Kimberly dela Cruz contributed to this report.
A Vidor police officer has been released from Christus St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont after his patrol vehicle was involved in an early-morning wreck.

The officer called dispatch for an ambulance at about 2:43 a.m. Friday after his patrol unit was struck by another vehicle on Interstate 10, according to information from the Vidor Police Department.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Hundreds of callers have made use of President Trump's hotline for victims "of crimes committed by removable illegal aliens" since January, including at least eight people in San Antonio and dozens around Texas.

The calls range from reports of violence to unsubstantiated speculation about neighbors and coworkers.

One in the San Antonio-area dialed in to say her friend's boyfriend was not in the country legally and was threatening harm. Another said "about 6-10 illegal aliens," were working at Matamoros Restaurant and Cantina, his former workplace.

RELATED: Second man charged in deaths of 10 immigrants in San Antonio

Now Playing: Former white house chief strategist Steve Bannon is opening to the news program sixty minutes. Its his first major interview since leaving the trump administration. Video: Buzz60

Anyone can call the Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement Office hotline to report crimes committed "by individuals with a nexus to immigration," according to its website. The office was created by a presidential executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Jan. 25, just five days after his inauguration.

A log detailing hundreds of calls, including addresses, phone numbers, license plate numbers and social security numbers, was easily accessible on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website. MySA.com was able to download the log Tuesday morning before it disappeared from the website Wednesday.

Splinter News first reported on the call log Tuesday.

Someone in San Antonio called to report two people who were "both of Mexican origin" and worked at La Cantera Hill Country Resort. He gave the hotline names of the supposed "illegal aliens," what cars they drove, and their license plate numbers, all of which were posted online.

One person called to report his ex-wife. In another instance, a woman called the hotline to say she was a victim who was afraid "the subject" would try and take her children away. She had previously contacted Homeland Security Investigations and wanted to know what services were available through VOICE, according to the call log.

RELATED: Bexar County spent $237k in one month on ICE detainers, report says

"Caller was informed her call would be annotated in the system and will be kept confidential," reads the action recommendation on the call log.

At least 23 calls originated near Dallas, El Paso or Houston, according to the log.

A woman in Dallas asked if she could be compensated for reporting a supposed undocumented person who she said hit her car.

Another was told his information would be kept confidential after reporting an "illegal alien" raped his wife.

Most of the time, callers were referred to a Homeland Security Investigations tip line. In one instance, ICE was able to make contact with a victim.

kbradshaw@express-news.net | Twitter: @kbrad5
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

A Bexar County Sheriff's Office detention officer was arrested on a drunk driving charge early Friday, according to county officials.

Krystal Borrego, 32, now faces a charge of driving while intoxicated. She was booked into the Bexar County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

RELATED: 6 years after his mother's murder, S.A. musician charged in string of bank robberies

Borrego was hired in August 2016 and is assigned to the second shift at the Bexar County Adult Detention Center.

Now Playing: Budweiser has teamed up with Lyft to give out up to 150,000 free rides. TC Newman (@PurpleTCNewman) has more on how these businesses are trying to eliminate drunk driving. Video: Buzz60

Marin Mata, a spokesman for the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, said Borrego will be placed on administrative leave pending further investigation by the San Antonio Police Department, which was the arresting agency.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

cdowns@mysa.com | Twitter: @calebjdowns
A unique chest tattoo helped San Antonio police track down a woman who allegedly helped steal a man's car an gunpoint, officials said.

Jennifer Vargas, 29, was charged with aggravated robbery.

On Aug. 13, a man drove to a food truck in the 4300 block of West Commerce Street to get something to eat, according to an arrest affidavit.

As he parked his vehicle, a woman, later identified as Vargas, came up to him, though because he only speaks Spanish he initially couldn't understand what she was saying, authorities said.

RELATED: Fire destroys West Side home belonging to elderly couple, neighbors say

Suddenly, a man jumped into the backseat of his car and pointed a gun at the driver, according to the affidavit. Vargas jumped into the passenger seat and told him in Spanish to drive, police said.

The driver followed the orders, but at one point grabbed the barrel of the gun. During the struggle, the gun was fired, but no one was hit, the affidavit says.

Vargas shifted the car into park, bringing the vehicle to a sudden stop and allowing the driver to escape, according to the affidavit. The suspects allegedly drove off in his car.

The driver told police the woman was Hispanic, and had a large tattoo on her chest.

On Sept. 9, police pulled over the stolen vehicle, officials said. The woman driving the car reportedly said her friend had sold her the car. Her description of her friend matched the victim's description, including the suspect's large chest tattoo, authorities said.

The victim was also able to identify Vargas in a photo lineup, officials said.

Police arrested Vargas on a $50,000 bond. At the time she was out on bond for other charges, including theft of a vehicle and evading arrest.

Text "NEWS" to 77453 for breaking news alerts from mySA.com

fsabawi@mysa.com | Twitter: @FaresInSA
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Years before Roderick Lamar Robinson allegedly threatened a mass shooting in San Antonio just days after the Las Vegas massacre, he was responsible for another hoax that also hit uncomfortably close to home for another city, court records show.

Authorities said in 2009 he told a security guard at a federal building in Oklahoma City that he had a bomb. Oklahoma City was the site of the 1995 bombing of a federal building that killed 168.

Robinson, 39, who commutes between Oklahoma City and San Antonio, was arrested this week in Oklahoma City. He was charged under Oklahoma law with a terrorism hoax and faces a charge in Bexar County of making terroristic threats after he allegedly posted a slew of Facebook statuses threatening a large-scale killing on San Antonio's Main Avenue Strip.

He was previously convicted at the state and federal level of making threats, records obtained by mySA.com show.

RELATED: Man arrested for threats to kill on S.A.'s Main Avenue 'Strip' days after Las Vegas attack

Now Playing: A 39-year-old Oklahoma City man was arrested after police say he threatened to kill people in the Sooner State and in San Antonio. Video: KOCO

According to court records, on January 21, 2009, Robinson walked into the Oklahoma City Federal Building looking for the Social Security Administration Office. A security guard told him the office was in another building and Robinson left, according to an affidavit.

Fifteen minutes later, he reportedly came back to the building with a backpack. He handed the guard two notes, dropped his backpack and ran from the building, according to the affidavit.

According to court records, one note read, "There's a bomb in this bag give me your f-----g money you got five mins," and the other read, "On the west end of this fed. building is a car a gray one with a bomb in it. I Roderick Robinson will blow this place up. Give me your money you got five mins."

RELATED: 6 years after his mother's murder, S.A. musician charged in string of bank robberies

The threat led to an evacuation of the building while a bomb squad examined the car and the backpack, officials said.

Authorities detained Robinson later that day, and he told police neither the bag or his car contained any explosives, police said.

Robinson allegedly told police that he was upset about the way his rehabilitation group home operated. He also told them he had a violent past, including pushing someone off a cliff and choking out staff worker once, the affidavit says.

The affidavit also notes a prior telephone threat conviction, which Robinson picked up in 1998 in Cleveland County, according to the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. He was sentenced to two years of prison for that incident, records show.

RELATED: Teen driver who allegedly ran over skateboarder was out on bond for shooting, car burglary charges

For the federal charge, Robinson got 14 months in federal prison and 3 years of supervised release, according to court documents.

Robinson was arrested again by Oklahoma City police Wednesday, the day after he allegedly published the threatening posts on Facebook.

He mentions damage to his yard that upsets him before threatening to "cut off the San Antonio strip forevermore" and say "that strip needs to be done like more than" Vegas, referring to the mass shooting outside Mandalay Bay Sunday night.

Robinson tried to play down the posts, later saying on Facebook San Antonio had "nothing to worry about."

fsabawi@mysa.com | Twitter: @FaresInSA
A gray 2003 Chevrolet S10 pickup, valued at $2,500, was stolen from the 700 block of South Columbia late Thursday. The crime is described as unauthorized use of a vehicle/joy riding.

--An orange container holding about $50 in coins was stolen from a vehicle parked outside a business in the 2400 block of North Columbia about 11 a.m. Thursday.
White men scare me. There, I said it.

Based on my conversations with Latino and African-American friends, I think many of them feel the same way. If theyre walking down a dark street at night and see three white men in their 20s walking toward them, theyre thinking hate crime.

After all, pick up a history book, and look at what white males did to black slaves, American Indians, Chinese immigrants and Mexicans in the occupied Southwest. Theyre the original bad hombres.

And so, after the Las Vegas massacre  where a 64-year-old white man named Stephen Paddock carried 23 guns into a hotel suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, and opened fire on an outdoor concert crowd, killing at least 59 people and wounding more than 520 others  its fair to ask: Is it time for authorities to start profiling white males who purchase unusually large amounts of high-powered weapons and ammunition?

Yes, it is. And why not? There is plenty of evidence that law enforcement officers routinely profile African-Americans, Latinos and Muslim Americans. Its become part of police work.

In 1999, the New Jersey State Police admitted to pulling over African-American motorists more often than white drivers. In 2010, Arizona lawmakers codified ethnic profiling by requiring local police to determine the legal status of those suspected of being in the country illegally (read: Latinos).

So how did white men get to be so special that  in an era when so many mass shootings are linked to gunmen who fit that profile  it is still considered outrageous to say that this demographic merits extra scrutiny?

Given the carnage in Las Vegas, a lot of folks  on both the right and the left  are instinctively talking about guns. Thats a circular, highly charged argument that goes nowhere. What we should be talking about is race. Not the race of the victims, but the race of the shooter.

Authorities insist that Paddock  who was reportedly wealthy, liked to gamble and had no known political or religious affiliations  fits none of the established profiles.

But actually, Paddock does fit one. Hes a white male, and most serial killers and mass murderers are white males.

For the sake of public relations, and because  in the era of If you see something, say something  law enforcement doesnt want the public discounting anyone who might look suspicious just because of skin color, the FBI claims that its a myth to suggest that serial killers are all white males. The agency insists that serial killers span all racial groups.

Sure. But note that I said most, not all. The majority of mass murderers are white men. The fact that we might be able to find the occasional serial killer who is a woman of color does not significantly change the pie chart.

Besides, the FBI would be more convincing if it practiced what it preached.

In 2002, federal agents were frantically searching for the so-called Beltway Sniper who killed 10 people and wounded three more in the Washington metropolitan area. Authorities got off to a slow start because, according to the profile, serial killers are usually white men. Retired FBI profilers went on broadcast media and said  as one put it at the time  this is something white males do.

The shooters  John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo  were African-American.

Like many Latinos, when I hear about a tragedy like the one in Las Vegas, I hold my breath and hope the culprit wasnt one of ours. Its human nature.

Still, I have to wonder if white men go through that exercise. I dont think so. Well, the free pass has expired. Its time for law enforcement authorities to keep track of white men who stockpile guns.

To the profiled, I say: Put up with it. After all, President Trump called my Mexican immigrant grandfather  who came to the United States legally a hundred years ago  a criminal and a rapist, and I survived. I can help get you through this. We shall overcome.

And to those who think this whole concept is loony, and that  when it comes to who commits crimes  we cant make sweeping generalizations about whole groups of people based on prejudice, I say: Exactly. Now youre getting the idea.

ruben@rubennavarrette.com
President Donald Trumps newest travel ban suffers from the same malady as his previous two did. It lays bare the anti-Muslim animus he voiced during the campaign when he pledged to ban all Muslims from coming to this country.

For this and other reasons, it is as ripe for legal challenge as the previous iterations, though differences exist.

Sudan is no longer on the list of majority Muslim countries the ban affects. Chad, another majority Muslim country, replaces it. The other Muslim countries still on the list are Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. North Korea and Venezuela join the list.

Its clear, however, that this is window dressing to persuade courts to not view this as a Muslim ban. North Korea bans its people from leaving, and few reach this country. And in the case of Venezuela, the ban is narrowly focused on certain officials and their families.

Its the similarities that count the most. No person from any of these countries on the list has perpetrated a deadly terrorist attack on U.S. soil in the past 40 years. There is no security justification for the ban. Most mass murderers in the United States tend to be homegrown, as the latest mass shooting in Las Vegas demonstrates. And if were looking for countries that have exported terrorists, 15 of the 19 terrorists on 9/11 were from Saudi Arabia, as was Osama bin Laden.

Right; this isnt a ban on all Muslims from everywhere. But mostly singling out Muslim-majority countries for the ban still makes this policy discriminatory.

And theres this irony: Those wanting to come here from those countries will be fleeing forces and conditions the U.S. actively fights. For instance, Syrians are on that list, though the U.S. condemns the regime of President Bashar Assad, whom, along with ISIS, these folks are fleeing.

Unlike the previous bans, this one is permanent  gone is the facade of a temporary ban so the U.S. can strengthen its vetting process. This is tantamount to an admission that our own vetting process has not been rigorous.

The U.S. Supreme Court scheduled hearings on the previous ban but has now asked for briefs on whether it should consider the case moot in light of the recent ban. That means challenges in lower courts will be necessary before this ban comes before the high court.

The new ban, however, creates an identical stain on this nations immigration and foreign policies as the previous cases.
BULAWAYO City Council (BCC) has launched a water disconnection blitz in the citys suburbs to recover over $90 million owed by residents.

A previous High Court order declared that local authorities must only disconnect water after obtaining a court order but residents said yesterday that there was no such order.

The latest blitz saw some residents spending the Christmas and New Year holidays without water.

BCC senior public relations officer Nesisa Mpofu yesterday said there is nothing amiss with the disconnection programme as it is meant to encourage residents to pay bills.

Water disconnection in the citys suburbs is not a new thing. This is something that occurs throughout the city because there are some people who do not pay their rates. The council is expected to provide clean water to its residents hence the local authority needs money to provide this service, said Mpofu.

We encourage residents to come and present their challenges to council. If you see council descending on your house to disconnect water, it will be after a realisation that you have not committed towards payment of rates. Also you would not have made plans on how you will clear your debt.

She said the BCC was encouraging residents to come forward to make payment plans regarding the payment of bills.

Let us help each other to build the city, she added.

Pumula MP Godfrey Malaba said water disconnections were hurting struggling residents.

Ive received reports from some of the residents who had their water disconnected because of their debts. We observe that the council is trying to recover its monies but its not like people do not want to pay the rates. They are struggling to pay the rates. We have assisted two or three elderly people in the constituency who had nothing. We had to pay for them so that their water is reconnected while they made payment plans, said Malaba.

He said the water disconnections could result in disease outbreaks.

Malaba challenged residents to strive to pay their bills saying they should remember that to receive services they should play a role in their provision.

 Chronicle

Breaking News via Email
Musician-cum-politician Energy Mutodi has just released a four-track album titled Ruvheneko that lauds President Emmerson Mnangagwa and predictably attacks former first lady Grace Mugabe.

Mutodi, who was ejected from the ruling Zanu PF party by former president Robert Mugabe because of his links to a faction led by then vice president Mnangagwa, unsurprisingly takes a dig at the former first lady and ex-Higher Education minister Jonathan Moyo in a song fittingly titled Grace.

The song revolves around Mugabes regret for following the advice of his wife Grace.

Part of the song goes:

Grace Grace mwana ndaikuda nhasi zviripiko

Ndaiti unondida uchindiraira mazano nhasi zviripi

Waindisiyanisa nehama dzangu dzandakabva nadzo kure kure

Waindisiyanisa nehama dzangu dzandakabva nadzo kuhondo

Iwe wowirirana naJona

When the Daily News asked him if he was indeed referring to Grace, Mutodi was evasive.

You can suggest who I refer to in those songs but your guess could be true. In the song Grace, there is a lot to learn including the need to be a listener, the need for respect and humility so as to avoid regrets, the colourful Mutodi said.

In the song Ruvheneko, Chigorodanda, as Mutodi is widely known in local music circles, repeatedly uses the phrase Dziva rine Ngwena idiva kamwe.

Garwe is Mnangagwas moniker.

In Ruvheneko, the catch phrase Dziva rine Ngwena idiva kamwe encourages you not to take too much risk as the crocodile is patient but quick to act when need arises, he explained.

The other songs on Mutodis just-released albums are Zvakaoma and Mauya Mauya.

Mutodi said he penned Zvakaoma to chronicle the life of hardship and poverty that most Zimbabweans endured growing up.

We never desire to see our children experience what we went through, a sign that we are a forward looking and progressive nation, he said.

The controversial musician wants the new Mnangagwa administration to ensure that that the economy creates jobs. He captures this in the song Mauya Mauya.

The way vendors were treated in the streets this year left a lot to be desired and we hope the new dispensation will address that obviously through employment creation and formalisation of the economy, said Mutodi.

On the new album Mutodi, who prefers to call himself Musorowembada, worked with Rodwell Roda (lead guitar), Innocent Mujintu (rhythm guitar), Spencer Bolt-cutter Khumulane (bass guitar) and Guyson Sixpence (drums).

 Daily News

Breaking News via Email
Outgoing Australian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Suzanne McCourt has applauded the frank discussions and positive vibes that are evident in engagements with the new government, saying the stance can lead to a broader shift in the Australian governments policy regarding the two nations relations.

Ambassador McCourt, who has served as Australias top diplomat to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and the DRC since 2015, paid a courtesy call on President Emmerson Mnangagwa this Wednesday morning to bid him farewell. Emerging from the meeting,

Ambassador McCourt expressed optimism of improved relations and cooperation across various sectors between the two countries.

She said government to government relations have not always been smooth sailing but the coming in of a new dispensation and the promise of improvements in economic policies should see more Australian companies coming to invest in Zimbabwe.

I am encouraged by the frank discussions I had with President Mnangagwa, he is so open-minded and I am optimistic that bi-lateral relations will now turn for the better, Ambassador McCourt said.

Since the turn of the millennium, Zimbabwe and Australia have had low profile relations.

Australian mining companies are spread throughout the African continent but their presence in Zimbabwe has been quite low but from discussions held with the President, more cooperation is indicated, says the ambassador.

Zimbabwe was the first ambassadorial posting for the Australian diplomat who previously worked as a foreign affairs official in East Timor and the Netherlands.

Ambassador McCourt said she will be returning back to Australia at the end of the month after a fruitful three year tour of duty in Zimbabwe.

 ZBC

Breaking News via Email
Find the newest releases to watch from National Geographic on Disney+, including favourite documentary series and films Free Solo, The Rescue, Shark Beach with Chris Hemsworth and The World According to Jeff Goldblum.
Hillary Clinton fans get ready  she will be in the Bay Area on Friday.

The former presidential candidate will stop by Books Inc. on Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco to sign copies of her new memoir, titled "What Happened." Clinton will also sign "It Takes a Village," her illustrated children's book.

The ticketed event is sold out, the store's website says.

Clinton is then slated to head south to attend the launch of the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Laws Global Digital Policy Incubator at Stanford University.

Her keynote speech, expected at 4:30 p.m. in CEMEX Auditorium, will deal with Digital Technology, Diplomacy, and Democratic Values, according to the Stanford Daily.

The event, which will be livestreamed, is invite-only and a limited number of tickets were made available to students via a lottery system.
Dozens of students and educators stood shoulder to shoulder Thursday night at UC Berkeley during a candlelight vigil to honor the victims of the Las Vegas massacre.

They shared their personal stories of losing friends and offered each other words of hope and strength for the future.

"It's times like this that it's important that we come together as a community," Dean of Students Joseph Greenwell said.

Some also told personal stories of grief, led by campus minister Rev. Daniel Curran.

"We all mourn because we all got hurt," he said.

Curran shared a personal experience about a 2014 attack near the UC Santa Barbara campus, where six people were killed. His daughter was a student at the school.

"There was that terrible 15 minutes where I didn't know where my daughter was," Curran said.

He reminded the group of about 40 students Thursday night that their lives matter and to not let what happened in Las Vegas diminish that.

"You're just as worthwhile. You're as valuable as you were before the weekend," he said.

A student advocate offered counsel to students who may need a shoulder to cry on or a voice of hope and encouragement.

"It can be hard when you're dealing with something so core-shaking," counselor Jillian Free said.

On a candlelit banner, students shared the names of people they lost and the true meaning of humanity.

"It's good that we're here," Curran said. "Keep going on."
More than 52,000 professionally trained and certified massage therapists practice in California. But an NBC Bay Area investigation found that some certified massage therapists with a history of serious complaints and even arrests are allowed to continue practicing at spas throughout the state.

The California Massage Therapy Council (CAMTC) is in charge of disciplining massage professionals, but the agency keeps details about complaints and arrests hidden from the public.

Greenbrae resident Soo Young Kim fears that the lack of transparency creates a safety concern for consumers. Kim alleges she was sexually battered by her massage therapist, who was fired from two previous jobs for complaints he was too aggressive.

The massage started off with him being so rough, Kim told NBC Bay Area. It was like a crazy nightmare, and I just remember thinking the words Im getting a brutal beating.

A day after the incident, Kim filed a report with the Central Marin Police Department on July 20, 2015.

He was rubbing his crotch on the top of my head, and Im scooting down to avoid this from happening, Kim said, adding I [was] fearful and just thinking how am I going to get out of this situation?

But after a few phone calls to the massage therapist and the spa owner, who both denied anything happened, police closed the case without an arrest. In his report, the investigating officer called the incident a misunderstanding and stated Kim had no proof that a crime occurred.

Frustrated, Kim sued her massage therapist, Joseph Sanchez, and the spa owner, alleging a painful, inappropriate massage and sexual touching by her massage therapist. In her suit, Kim claimed Sanchez rubbed his genitals on [her] head and foot through his pants and repeatedly attempted to push her legs apart.

Records subpoenaed in the lawsuit showed a complaint from an Army paratrooper who said his massage from Sanchez felt like he was being tortured by the CIA and numerous client complaints that led to his dismissal from two previous jobs at spas in San Francisco and Sausalito.

Kim also found several photos of topless clients clad only in thong underwear on Sanchezs social media accounts, including one photo with the caption The most extreme therapist in the country.

Sanchez did not respond to our calls for comment. In the lawsuit, he denied Kims allegations against him. Sanchezs work history and arrest record did not include any prior complaints of a sexual nature.

ENFORCEMENT AT CAMTC

Kim sent the photos and her police statement to the California Massage Therapy Council. The nonprofit corporation receives more than 200 complaints a year against massage therapists, ranging from tardiness to sexual assault.

One of the reasons why the California Massage Therapy Council has been so effective in protecting the public is not being a governmental agency. The burden of proof that we're looking for is a preponderance of evidence, which means more likely than not, CEO Ahmos Netanel told NBC Bay Area.

In order to be certified by the council, a massage therapist must graduate from an approved school and pass a criminal background check. Most California cities require that all massage therapists obtain a certificate and remain in good standing.

CAMTC has the authority to deny, suspend or revoke a certification if an investigator suspects wrongdoing. Netanel said his agency has sanctioned more than 7,000 massage therapists and can close a case within days of receiving a complaint. But nearly two years after Kim filed her complaint, Sanchez remained certified.

MASSAGE COMPLAINTS AND ARRESTS

CAMTC complaint data show a rise in sexual assault cases since 2010. But the council keeps details about those complaints hidden from the public.

It's striking a balance between protection of the public and also making sure that the integrity and the reputation of fair, honest, hardworking certificate holders are being maintained, Netanel said.

Even if a therapist has been arrested for work-related crimes, the council does not disclose that information. The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit found several examples of massage therapists in the Bay Area and across the state who were arrested for sex crimes and still hold an active certification.

SAN MATEO COUNTY ZERO TOLERANCE

In San Mateo County, Detective Sal Zuno said the Sheriffs Office takes a zero tolerance approach when it comes to regulating the massage industry. Unlike CAMTC, the Sheriffs Office publicizes information on all massage therapists who have been arrested. Zuno said it helps deputies find other potential victims

In the past, we've had incidents where we posted information to social media ... [and] the posting has motivated them to come forward, Zuno said.

SANCHEZ SUSPENDED

After NBC Bay Area began investigating, another former client of Sanchez came forward. She asked NBC Bay Area not to disclose her identity but said she had no idea Sanchez posted racy photos of her online. She too filed a complaint with CAMTC. The agency finally suspended his license, more than two years after Soo Young submitted her police report and those same photos to CAMTC.

I just want to know that this [is] never going to be done again, Kim told NBC Bay Area.

Kim settled her lawsuit with Sanchez and his employer. Neither admitted liability.

If you have a tip for Vicky Nguyen about this or any other story, you can email her directly at vicky@nbcbayarea.com or you can email theunit@nbcbayarea.com or call 888-996-TIPS.

Follow Vicky Nguyen on Twitter www.twitter.com/VickyNguyenTV and Facebookwww.facebook.com/VickyNguyenTV

 Click here to submit tips online
John Kelly, the White House chief of staff, abruptly scrapped plans to travel with President Donald Trump on Wednesday so he could try to manage the fallout from new revelations about tensions between the president and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, six senior administration officials told NBC News.

Kelly summoned Tillerson, and their ally Defense Secretary James Mattis, to the White House, where the three of them huddled to discuss a path forward, according to three administration officials.

The White House downplayed Kelly's decision to stay in Washington, saying he did so to manage day-to-day operations.

Vice President Mike Pence, meanwhile, was fuming in Phoenix, where he was traveling, seven officials told NBC News. He and Tillerson spoke on the phone before the secretarys public appearance on Wednesday morning.
Two Massachusetts teens are being held on bail on charges that they reportedly shot two security guards at the set of a Denzel Washington movie in Boston last weekend.

The suspects, Quincy residents Dionte Martinez and Thomas Perkins, both 18, were arrested by members of the Youth Violence Strike Force as well as Quincy police on Thursday. Both are facing charges of assault with intent to murder, unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition.



The guards were on the set of the upcoming film "Equalizer 2" when they were shot just past midnight on Whittier Street in Roxbury on Saturday, according to Boston police.

One female guard suffered gun shots to her legs and a male guard was shot in the right knee. There were both taken to a local hospital, where they were treated.

The two suspects fled the scene, but left behind two firearms.

According to Sony Pictures, the production crew was not filming at the time and no talent was on the set.

Martinez and Perkins were arraigned in Roxbury Municipal Court. Both suspects have had run-ins with police before, but their lawyers say they didn't commit the crime.

Martinez was ordered held on $10,000 and Perkins was ordered held on $8,000 bail.

Both men are due back in court in November.

Production has since resumed on the movie.
New Hampshire's U.S. Rep. Carol Shea-Porter has announced she will not seek re-election in 2018.

Shea-Porter, who has represented the Granite State's first district for four terms, made the announcement Friday afternoon.

The Democrat, who was also the first woman New Hampshire voters elected for a federal office, faced a tough re-election campaign in a district that swung for President Donald Trump in 2016.

"This has been a very difficult decision, given how much I have enjoyed serving [the people of New Hampshire] in the House and the fact that the 2018 election is shaping up to be like 2006, when I was first elected, an important time when Congress changed political leadership and was able to move America forward," Shea-Porter said in a statement.

She joins her fellow New Englander and Democratic colleague in the House Niki Tsongas, who announced in early August she would not run for re-election.

Shea-Porter cited a recent family reunion that inspired her to embark on "a different path."

"As the first New Hampshire wom elected to federal office," the state's Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley said in a statement, Shea-Porter was a "trailblazer and a role model for us all."

New Hampshire's Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan also praised Shea-Porter's service.

The outgoing congresswoman "has been a fearless advocate for women's equality," Shaheen said in a statement.

"New Hampshire is a stronger state because of her tireless work to expand economic opportunity for Granite Staters, and her leadership will be sorely missed," Hassan said.

Although Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won New Hampshire's four electoral votes in 2016, Trump won the majority of precincts in Shea-Porter's district.
After five days of scouring the life of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock and chasing 1,000 leads, investigators confessed Friday they still don't know what drove him to mass murder, and they announced plans to put up billboards appealing for the public's help.

In their effort to find any hint of his motive, investigators were looking into whether he was with a prostitute days before the shooting, scrutinizing cruises he took and trying to make sense of a cryptic note with numbers jotted on it found in his hotel room, a federal official said.

So far, examinations of Paddock's politics, finances, any possible radicalization and his social behavior  typical investigative avenues that have helped uncover the motive in past shootings  have turned up little.

"We still do not have a clear motive or reason why," Clark County Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said. "We have looked at literally everything."

The FBI announced that billboards would go up around the city asking anyone with information to phone 800-CALL-FBI.

"If you know something, say something," said Aaron Rouse, agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI office. "We will not stop until we have the truth."

Paddock, a reclusive 64-year-old high-stakes gambler, rained bullets on the crowd at a country music festival Sunday night from his 32nd-floor hotel suite, killing 58 and wounding hundreds before taking his own life.

McMahill said investigators had reviewed voluminous video from the casino and don't think Paddock had an accomplice in the shooting, but they want to know if anyone knew about his plot beforehand.

Investigators believe Paddock hired a prostitute in the days leading up to the shooting and were interviewing other call girls for information, a U.S. official briefed by federal law enforcement officials said. The official wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The official also disclosed that Paddock took at least a dozen cruises abroad in the last few years, most of them with his girlfriend, Marilou Danley. At least one sailed to the Middle East.

It is unusual to have so few hints of a motive five days after a mass shooting. In previous mass killings or terrorist attacks, killers left notes, social media postings and information on a computer  or even phoned police.

"The lack of a social media footprint is likely intentional," said Erroll Southers, director of homegrown violent extremism studies at the University of Southern California. "We're so used to, in the first 24 to 48 hours, being able to review social media posts. If they don't leave us a note behind or a manifesto behind, and we're not seeing that, that's what's making this longer."

What officers have found is that Paddock planned his attack meticulously.

He requested an upper-floor room overlooking the festival, stockpiled 23 guns, a dozen of them modified to fire continuously like an automatic weapon, and set up cameras inside and outside his room to watch for approaching officers.

In a possible sign he was contemplating massacres at other sites, he also booked rooms overlooking the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago in August and the Life Is Beautiful show near the Vegas Strip in late September, according to authorities reconstructing his movements leading up to the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

His arsenal also included tracer rounds that can improve a shooter's firing accuracy in the dark, a law enforcement official told AP. It wasn't clear whether Paddock fired any of the illuminated bullets during the high-rise massacre.

Paddock bought 1,000 rounds of the .308-caliber and .223-caliber tracer ammunition from a private buyer he met at a Phoenix gun show, a law enforcement official not authorized to comment on the investigation said on condition of anonymity.

Tracer rounds illuminate their path so a gunman can hone in on targets at night. But they can also give away the shooter's position.

Video shot of the pandemonium that erupted when Paddock started strafing the festival showed a muzzle flash from his room at the Mandalay Bay resort, but bullets weren't visible in the night sky.

Investigators are looking into Paddock's mental health and any medications he was on, McMahill said.

His girlfriend, Danley, told FBI agents Wednesday that she had not noticed any changes in his mental state or indications he could become violent, the federal official said.

Paddock sent Danley on a trip to her native Philippines before the attack, and she was unaware of his plans and devastated when she learned of the carnage while overseas, she said in a statement.

Associated Press writers Regina Garcia Cano and Josh Hoffner in Las Vegas; Brian Melley in Los Angeles; Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix; and Don Babwin and Michael Tarm in Chicago contributed to this report.
Gov. Dannel Malloy on Thursday said officials from FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have wrapped up a two-day visit to the state to evaluate pyrrhotite, the mineral suspected of causing concrete foundations to crack in the eastern part of Connecticut.

In August, several Connecticut homeowners whose homes were damaged because of foundations crumbling called for a federal investigation. State officials estimate up to 30,000 homeowners are affected by the problem.



Malloy said on Thursday that officials were in the state for the past two days to evaluate the mineral. Authorities were discussing with Connecticut lawmakers how they would lend their technical expertise to assist the state with the crumbling foundations issue.

The federal team, which briefed state leaders, explained their visit was just to consult. Further assistance would have to be ordered by FEMA, or literally, an act of Congress.

That didn't discourage legislators about the visit.

"I think it's more than symbolic. I think it shows that there is a level of concern at the federal agencies," South Windsor State Representative Tom Delnicki said.

During their visit, the FEMA and Army Corp of Engineers experts met with homeowners and scientists. Their goal was to evaluate the current federal resources in the state to determine if more is needed to create future regulation.

Malloy said the group will be in contact with lawmakers at the end of the month to have a more "broad discussion of their findings."

"From the beginning, Ive been very clear that I believe that we must have assistance from our federal partners to address this issue. Im thankful that FEMA and the Army Corp of Engineers sent some of their best scientists to Connecticut to study this issue," Malloy said on Thursday.



In the meantime, Malloy said he asked the Army Corps of Engineer scientists to provide "short order" guidance on standards that can be implemented for both quarries and companies that manufacture concrete.

The state and local government group working to tackle the concrete crisis was debriefed on the visit. It says the big takeaway is that more federal research is needed on how pyrrhotite, the naturally occurring mineral found in the crumbling basements, makes concrete crack. Plus, more research is needed on how to reduce the cost of fixing affected homes.

However, the group knows the main focus must be getting people money to defray the cost of replacing a basement, which can exceed $200,000 and is usually not covered by insurance. In all, the federal team visited five homes in north-central and eastern Connecticut Wednesday. So far, 581 homeowners have reported to the state that they have crumbling concrete.



Malloy also asked experts to determine a low-cost standardized test that Connecticut homeowners could use to help everyone better understand the scope of this problem to their property.
The state has submitted proposals for Greater Hartford and Stamford as potential sites for Amazon's second headquarters location, according to Gov. Dannel Malloy.

In his video, Malloy boasted that Connecticut is a great place to live, and it's one of the most educated states in the nation with more patents per capita than others.



[[451622323,C]]

Malloy highlighted Hartford's art community, industrial base, aerospace industry and educated workforce.

Stamford is the governor's hometown and he mentioned its proximity to New York and the educated workforce.



Take a look at the proposal.



[[451622323,C]]

Last month, Amazon said that it will spend $5 billion to build another headquarters in North America to house as many as 50,000 employees.

Malloy's office said that after a review of 17 submissions, the Hartford and Stamford regions stood out as the state's strongest contenders. Both sites have a population of a million, are in close proximity to international airports, have easy access to mass transit, major highways and arterial roads, the governor's office said.

Amazon already has two existing facilities in Wallingford and Windsor. Over the summer, Amazon said it has plans to expand their presence through a fulfillment center in North Haven.

The state Thursday unveiled the state's proposal.


Gov. Dannel Malloy gave a less-than-rosy assessment of where the budget stalemate stands on Thursday.

"I would honestly say we're hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars apart," Malloy said.

Democrats and Republicans continued to meet for another day and it ended like every other one  without a budget. The governor said the deadlock could be hurting the state's chances to grab more jobs.

"We have discussions that are on hold with companies that want to enlarge their footprint or move to our state who said, 'Hey, listen, when you get a budget we'll have further discussions. Meanwhile, we're going to talk' - at least in one case 'with five other states. We're not going to talk to you, but when you get a budget we'll talk to you.' We're going to lose thousands of jobs, potentially, because we can't do the hard work that we were elected to do?" Malloy said.

On Thursday, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) urged for a plan that would ideally halt the governor's push to shift some teacher pension costs to towns. CCM sent a letter asking that the FY 18-19 state budget proposal establish a pension and retirement benefits reform commission.

"The Commission would propose recommendations to the Governor and state legislators by February 1, 2018, for consideration and action by the 2018 General Assembly. No municipal contribution to the TRF should be included in the agreed-upon budget proposal until the review and resulting recommendations have been completed," the letter read.

The governor said painful cuts are being made everywhere and municipalities should have to share in that difficulty.

"Of our $20 billion budget, $5.2 billion is, in essence, local government support," said Malloy. "Every argument that CCM is making to you ... or every argument that communities are making, they have made those arguments time and time and time again. And you know what? They have won, and that's why our state is in such a mess," Malloy said.

In response, CCM spokesperson Kevin Maloney said the proposal came because pension costs are choking the finances of the state and municipalities and they "are not sustainable and we're looking for a cooperative effort through this commission to devise a long-term strategy."
Julian Castro, the popular former mayor of San Antonio and secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Barack Obama, is a familiar name in Texas politics.

He is half of the Castro brothers  his brother, Joaquin, is a Texas congressman  and he considered running for governor and senator in Texas.

Castro has been viewed as a rising star in the Democratic party and was on the short list for Hillary Clinton's running mate in the 2016 presidential election.

He was in Dallas this week and spoke with NBC 5 political reporter Julie Fine about the Democrats' prospects in the 2018 mid-term elections and his own political future as he mulls a bid for president.

Castro now teaches at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin and is looking for candidates to help swing the balance of power in the House of Representatives back to the Democratic Party.

"I am going to be very involved this fall. I launched a PAC called 'Opportunity First.' What we are going to do is go find great young candidates  people that have great ideas, that have integrity, people that are energetic  especially candidates running in one of the 24 districts that we need to flip to take back the House for the Democrats," Castro said.

It's a tall order, but Castro is focused on what he hopes is a brighter future for Democrats.

"I believe the Democrats, if things continue the way they are going, will take back the House," he said.

Asked who he thinks is the leader of the Democratic Party right now, Castro said, "Well, I would ask who is the leader of the Republican Party? The Republican Party is super divided. You have a president who is out of step with the Senate majority leader, speaker of the House. As Democrats, I think what is driving us, what has always driven us, is expanding opportunity."

"I disagree with the idea that the Democrats don't know what they stand for," he continued. "We stand for expanding opportunity for everyone."

Castro is also thinking about his own future. Will he run for president in 2020?

"I have said that I am going to keep that on the table, that I am going to consider it. But first I am going to help a whole bunch of folks get elected in 2018 and represent a new voice for the country," Castro said.

Though he is considering a run, he acknowledges that a lot of candidates are likely.

"I think a lot of people are going to consider it. It is going to be a crowded primary, probably unlike a primary we have seen in a few cycles," he said.
Prosecutors dropped a capital murder charge against a North Texas man accused in the death of his 2-year-old daughter after investigators learned her then-5-year-old brother said he caused her death, authorities said Thursday.

Anthony Michael Sanders, 33, was accused of smothering his daughter, Ellie Mae, at their home in the Fort Worth suburb of Watauga Dec. 12, 2015. Investigators noted bruising on the girl's face, head and body and believed Sanders held his hand over her mouth out of anger for her interrupting his computer games.

The Tarrant County Medical Examiner ruled the girl's death was homicide due to asphyxiation April 14, 2016. Sanders was charged with capital murder the next day. He denied the charge, saying he found his daughter not breathing after his son reported she wouldn't wake up.

Prosecutors learned in August that the boy, now 7, told his mother he was responsible, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported. She didn't believe her son but decided to tell authorities about the claim.

Investigators say the boy cried as he told them that he accidentally rolled a heavy pillow onto his sister's face while they played and that he was unable to move it. He said the pillow had something zipped inside that made it heavy.

At one point the child told investigators that he hadn't told anyone else about the circumstances of the death because he was "afraid that he would get in trouble."

Court records indicate the boy made a reference during a counseling session a year or two ago that he "killed his sister," but the counselor didn't address the statement and the boy wasn't asked why he said it.

Tim Moore, Sanders' defense attorney, said his client was "elated" that the charge was dismissed.

"He has denied it from the beginning," Moore said.

An arrest warrant affidavit had stated the girl had bruises on her body and other injuries, but Moore said Sanders isn't responsible and will not face any new charges.

A spokeswoman with the Tarrant County district attorney's office said that prosecutors won't discuss the dismissal of the capital murder charge or other aspects of the case at this time.

An official with the Tarrant County medical examiner's office said it was possible for a 5-year-old to overpower a 2-year-old and that the boy's claim that he smothered his sister with a pillow could not be disproven, according to a court filing.
Millions in new federal funding is adding major firepower to the charter school invasion sweeping through Texas, and now some traditional public school districts are looking to partner with the independent educators they once saw as their sworn enemy, DallasNews.com reports.

Charter growth has been booming across Texas since the Legislature first authorized the use of state funds for them two decades ago.

Enrollment is skyrocketing. In 2010, there were 119,600 students in charter schools. Last year, there were 272,700.

Just this week, International Leadership of Texas, one of the state's largest operators, held a ribbon-cutting for its eighth campus in Tarrant County. And it plans to open 10 more campuses across the state next year.

Last week, IDEA Public Schools won $67 million in federal grant money for charter expansion that will help it build numerous campuses across Tarrant County over the next five years.

The state also was awarded about $60 million in federal grants for charter school expansion -- including for those run out of traditional districts.

The Texas Charter Schools Association estimates about 130,000 students are on waiting lists for such campuses. IDEA founder Tom Torkelson said at his schools, there were 50,000 applications this year for 10,000 open seats.

"We're not able to build schools fast enough," Torkelson told The Dallas Morning News .

The political environment to boost charters is ripe.

The Trump administration made school choice options a top education priority. And this year, Texas lawmakers gave charters extra help to expand by passing legislation providing incentives to traditional districts that collaborate with charters. And, for the first time, they gave charters access to state funds for operating school facilities. This means millions more in taxpayer dollars will be funneled into charter schools.

Urban districts long battled against charter expansion, saying they're bleeding students. They tend to have more campuses with poor academic ratings and more competition with charter schools than other areas. District leaders often complain that charters steal the most involved families from neighborhood campuses, leaving behind struggling students.

In the area covered by Fort Worth ISD there are about 6,800 students living in the district but attending charters. The public school district may lose thousands more students amid the charter boom. But FWISD Superintendent Kent Scribner not only welcomes high-quality charters into the area, he wants to partner with them, too.

"I don't think the charter expansion is something we should fear, but learn more about," Scribner said. "I view this as an opportunity to change, build a handful of district-charter hybrids to grow our own portfolio of offerings."

Charter schools are public schools that operate free from the bureaucracy of traditional districts. They don't have to adhere to as many state regulations, which advocates say frees them up to do things differently. Many brag about stellar academic performance compared to neighborhood schools.

For example, International Leadership of Texas' big draw for many parents is its focus on getting students to speak both Spanish and Chinese.

That's what enticed high school junior Devonte Jones to leave Keller this year to attend IL Texas' new Fort Worth campus.

"If you put on your resume that you speak Chinese, that just opens doors for you," Devonte said. "And it's a small school, so you really get more of a connection with your teachers."

IL Texas, founded by former Dallas principal Eddie Conger, is quickly making its mark with 15 campuses across the state. Next year, it will open another 10 schools and add about 34,000 more students to its rolls.

Conger said he's been "naive" and surprised by the aggressive push-back charters have gotten from many traditional school districts which have fought their expansion.

He isn't concerned as other charters move into the area and traditional districts amp up their choice programs to attract families back to their schools. IL Texas looks for ways to partner with others, he said. For example, Conger uses half the money donated for his students' annual trip to China to take along students from Dallas' Thomas Jefferson High School, where he was once principal.

"I'm not worried about the competition," Conger said. "Any time it becomes about adults and adult issues, the kids lose."

Since Texas approved charters in 1995, the state has chipped away at caps set up to limit their reach. Operators routinely amend their charters to open more campuses. Since last December, for example, existing operators were allowed to open or expand more than 100 campuses.

IDEA Public Schools started out as one small campus in the border town of Donna. It's repeatedly won federal grants to grow and now is largest operator in the state with 61 schools and more than 36,000 students.

Torkelson said IDEA has no plans yet to reach into Dallas County. It is focusing its expansion into North Texas to the west, with the first area campus set to open in Fort Worth in 2019. IDEA will have 10 campuses in Tarrant County.

"The charter school market is about five times higher in Dallas County than Tarrant where there has been lower access to charters," Torkelson said. "And quite frankly, we've seen a lot of financial support from Tarrant County donors ready to welcome us in."

Much of the charter growth in North Texas had long been focused on Dallas County, where nearly 80 charter school campuses operate. Some trustees for Dallas ISD, which has lost about 34,000 students to charters, have been vocal in pushing back against their reach.

Tarrant County only had about a dozen or so charter campuses for many years. But now it has almost 30.

Breaking down exact enrollment by county can be tricky because some schools are chartered by operators based in other counties, meaning enrollment data is reported in places where the students aren't actually based.

Monty Exter, a lobbyist for the Association of Texas Professional Educators, said expansions come at a dramatic cost to traditional public schools.

For example, he said Dallas ISD is soon expected to join Houston ISD in sending millions back to the state under the Texas school finance system that sends "recaptured" money from wealthier districts to property-poor districts. Much of that formula is determined by enrollment.

"The charter system was designed to be a place to try things differently and bring them back into the system, not replace the system," Exter said. "If you put all the students back from charter schools into Houston -- and I bet in Dallas -- they wouldn't be at recapture. This (expansion) has real consequences to our school finance system."

Fort Worth ISD board president Tobi Jackson admits she's watched the Tarrant County boom with a lot of concern -- mostly because she's seen a poorly run charter school up close.

Jackson was asked to join Prime Prep Academy during a new leadership team's last-ditch effort to save the school.

Started by former Dallas Cowboys Deion Sanders, the charter is now defunct. At Prime Prep, Jackson says she saw just how deep the academy's academic, financial and leadership struggles were. She eventually resigned as principal of the Fort Worth campus.

And the eastside area of FWISD that she represents has seen other notable charter failures. The Theresa B. Lee Academy, for example, was ordered closed by the state mid-year in 2008 after the school's long struggle with finances and academics.

The number of failed charters is significant. Of the 325 charters awarded over the years, 149 have closed. About 15 of those were in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

But Prime Prep did teach Jackson about why families choose charters: They are unhappy with their traditional public schools, they want their children to attend smaller schools, and, because attending charter schools doesn't require students to live in certain areas, families that move a lot because of financial struggles can find stability in a charter school.

The Prime Prep experience piqued Jackson's interest in seeing what a FWISD-charter partnership could mean with a high-quality operator.

"Overall, the charter movement is something interesting, and there's certainly a lot of money behind it," she said. "I don't know that charters are the right schools for everyone or that public ISDs are right for everyone. It really has to be about what's right for an individual's education."

This spring, lawmakers gave public school districts an incentive to seek partnerships with charters. Those who share school facilities with charters -- similar to what Grand Prairie has been doing -- can receive a boost in funding for the campus being shared. They can also get a reprieve from sanctions for poor state academic accountability ratings for the first two years of a partnership.

Fort Worth has 14 campuses that failed to meet state standards. Scribner, who as superintendent in Phoenix had a similar district-charter partnership at a Montessori campus, will seek proposals from charters later this year.

He said some low-performing campuses could be considered for partnership with a charter, but mostly he's interested in bringing unique programs to schools.

Each comprehensive Fort Worth high school already offers a specialized program of choice -- they range from aviation and agriculture to robotics and fine arts -- and the district has a handful of specialty campuses too, all of which the district wants to revamp in its proposed bond program going to voters fall.

"We're one of the fastest growing cities in America, so I think there's room for us all," Scribner said. "I'm really a proponent of good charters."


A Texas woman had quite the mess to clean up after a couple of unusual thieves broke into her car while visiting Colorado.



Liddy Breeden said she woke up Monday morning and found a mama bear and two cubs rummaging through her stuff.

Bears are known to be protective of their young, so Breeden was surprised at the mama bear's reaction to her.

"She didn't make a sound at me," Breeden said. "That baby bear, when I opened the door, started hissing at me and I thought 'oh dear, now I'm in really big trouble.'"



She said they ate what food was in the vehicle before eventually running off.



Day or night, Breeden said she won't leave her car unlocked anymore.



She's also going to have to take her car to the dealer to see if they can help get the bear smell out of it.
U.S. officials say an American soldier missing for nearly two days in Niger has been found dead. He was one of four U.S. troops killed in a deadly ambush.

His body was found and identified Friday after an extensive search. Four Niger security forces were also killed.

U.S. officials say they believe extremists linked to ISIS were responsible for the attack about 200 kilometers north of Niger's capital of Niamey.

The joint patrol of U.S. and Niger forces were leaving a meeting with tribal leaders and were in trucks. They were ambushed by 40-50 militants in vehicles and on motorcycles.

Eight Niger soldiers and two U.S. troops were wounded. The officials weren't authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Pentagon earlier identified three of the four U.S. Army special operations commandos who were killed in Wednesday's attack.

They were 35-year-old Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, from Puyallup, Washington; 39-year-old Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, from Springboro, Ohio, and 29-year-old Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, from Lyons, Georgia. All were from the 3rd Special Forces Group, based at Fort Bragg.

Officials have said the Green Berets were likely attacked by al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb militants.

In a statement announcing their deaths, U.S. Africa Command said the forces, in Niger to provide training and security assistance, were with a joint U.S. and Nigerien patrol north of Niamey, near the Mali border, when they came under hostile fire.

Black, Johnson and Wright died of wounds sustained during enemy contact, the Pentagon said. The incident is still under investigation.


A Massachusetts man is accused of operating a "chilling" cyberstalking campaign against his former roommate, her friends and family, which included making a series of bomb threats to a local school district.

Ryan S. Lin, 24, of Newton, was arrested Thursday night and charged with one count of cyberstalking for his actions against the 24-year-old female victim, according to acting U.S. Attorney William D. Weinreb.

Federal investigators said Lin began living with the victim and her roommates in the spring of 2016, after answering a Craigslist ad for a vacant room in their Watertown house.

Almost immediately, authorities said Lin launched a campaign against the woman after hacking into her online accounts and devices, stealing private photographs, personally identifiable information, and private diary entries that contained highly sensitive details about her medical, psychological and sexual history.

Lin then allegedly shared the private photographs and diary entries with hundreds of others, including her co-workers and 13-year-old sister.

He also allegedly created fake online profiles in her name with her personal address that solicited men to come to her home to fulfill rape fantasies. Men showed up at her home in response to the profiles.

Prosecutors allege Lin sent threatening messages to the victim, her family, friends and other associates, encouraging the victim to kill herself and threatening to rape and/or kill her and her friends. One time, he allegedly "pounded on her bedroom door at 3 a.m., then went to her bedroom, where she was sleeping, screaming at her."

Lin is accused of also harassing a client for whom the victim was pet sitting, claiming to be her and that she had killed the pet, which had panicked the pet owner and led to the pet owner calling police, who confronted the victim.

Authorities also allege that Lin was behind dozens of threats to bomb or shoot up schools and daycare centers in Waltham and Chelmsford. And he pinned those crimes on the woman he was cyberstalking using fake social media profiles.

Officials say numerous email threats were sent to the Waltham School Department on Wednesday morning. The threat did not appear to be credible and classes resumed as scheduled.

"Mr. Lin allegedly carried out a relentless cyber stalking campaign against a young woman in a chilling effort to violate her privacy and threaten those around her," Weinreb said. "While using anonymizing services and other online tools to avoid attribution, Mr. Lin harassed the victim, her family, friends, co-workers and roommates, and then targeted local schools and institutions in her community. Mr. Lin will now face the consequences of his crimes."



The investigation was carried out by Waltham detectives and FBI investigators in cooperation with the Waltham School District.

"Those who think they can use the Internet to terrorize people and hide behind the anonymity of the net and outwit law enforcement should think again," said acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco of the Justice Departments Criminal Division. "The Department of Justice will be relentless in its efforts to identify, arrest, prosecute, and punish the perpetrators of these horrendous acts and seek justice on behalf of their victims."

Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Boston Field Division, said this kind of behavior is disruptive and causes an unnecessary drain on police resources.

"This kind of behavior is not a prank, and it isn't harmless," Shaw said. "He allegedly scared innocent people, and disrupted their daily lives because he was blinded by his obsession. No one should feel unsafe in their own home, school, or workplace, and the FBI and our law enforcement partners hope today's arrest will deter others from engaging in similar criminal conduct."

In a joint statement, Waltham's mayor, public schools' superintendent and police chief thanked the various agencies involved in the investigation and the community "for their patience and understanding during this difficult time."

In court Friday, the prosecution argued there was reason to hold Lin because of concerns Lin could make more online threats. The prosecution also said he posed a flight risk, as he holds a Chinese passport.

Lin is being held without bail pending a detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

He faces up to five years in prison and three years of supervised release.

Asked how Lin is holding up, his lawyer Francis Doran, said, "About as well as a young man can in these circumstances.'

Warning: Testimony contained in the affidavit below may be too graphic for some readers.
A suspected bank robber who carjacked two people at gunpoint as he led officers on a high-speed pursuit and dove into a Miami river to try to escape is dead after a police-involved shooting Friday morning, officials said.

The incident began sometime around 7 a.m. when FBI agents working with Miami-Dade Police officers attempted to execute a search warrant at a northwest Miami-Dade home for the suspect, 52-year-old Ernesto Padron, who was wanted in the robbery of a Wells Fargo bank in Kendall on Sept. 29, officials said.

Padron, armed with a handgun, fled the scene on foot and immediately was involved in an armed carjacking at a nearby gas station, officials said.

A pursuit began near 36th Street and the armed suspect was seen breaking through a railroad crossing near a scrap metal area by South River Drive in the stolen BMW.

Aerial footage captured Padron ditching his vehicle, pulling out what appeared to be gun and carjacking another driver in the area of Northwest 21st Street and 14th Avenue in Miami.

The second carjacking victim, Minerva Castellano, was headed to work at the VA hospital when she was forced out of her Mazda SUV, her friend said.

"She was hysterical, extremely hysterical. The guy put the gun to her car and she was screaming and she was just absolutely hysterical," the friend said.



Padron was involved in a countywide pursuit for nearly two hours before ditching the second vehicle near a bridge and jumping into the Miami River near Northwest 20th Street and 27th Avenue.

WATCH: Captured #OnlyOn6 our cameras rolling when Miami Dade & Miami police fire on suspected armed car jacker @nbc6 https://t.co/uquZalndw3 pic.twitter.com/Z8jGvl4Oii  Melissa Adan (@MelissaNBC6) October 6, 2017

"This pursuit that ensued lasted for quite some time, from the north Dade area of Miami-Dade into the jurisdiction of Miami Police," Miami-Dade Police Director Juan Perez said at a news conference Friday.



Officers surrounded Padron with guns drawn and tried to negotiate with him. He was seen speaking with officers in neck-deep water for at least 20 minutes.



The incident resulted in a police-involved shooting, according to Miami-Dade Police Department. Officials later confirmed Padron was dead.



"Our hostage negotiators did begin to communicate and try to negotiate with this individual who was still armed at the time," Perez said. "Unfortunately, after, I can't tell you how long it was but it was quite some time, of negotiating with the individual to come out of the water and to drop the weapon, he did not and the end result is that we have a police-involved shooting."

On the scene where #carjacker took a woman SUV at gunpoint near NW 14th avenue and 21st street in #Miami. Updates on @nbc6 at 11. pic.twitter.com/C3FFcX7rkZ  Amanda Plasencia (@AmandaNBC6) October 6, 2017

Nine officers fired their guns at the suspect, seven from Miami-Dade and two from City of Miami, officials said. Police say no injuries to officers were reported as a result of the incident.

Padron was given an ankle monitor after he was arrested in July for a robbery at a Home Depot in Davie that happened in June. According to the arrest report by the Davie Police Department, Padron stole more than $1,000 worth of power tools and then got into an altercation, pulling out a gun and pointing it at a loss prevention officer.

Family members said Padron had a history of drug use and had been in and out of prison for some time, but they hadn't heard from him in years.

Records showed Padron had been in prison dating back to 1989, with most charges for robbery and grand theft. He was most recently released in 2015.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement will be investigating the police-involved shooting.

Check back with NBC 6 for updates on this developing story.


What to Know Three men have been arrested in an alleged ISIS-inspired plot to target concerts, the subway system and Times Square in 2016.

One of the suspects, Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, told an undercover agent that he aspired to "create the next 9/11" with the attack.

El Bahnasawy has pleaded guilty and faces life in prison; the other two men also face life in prison, if convicted.

Three men living outside the U.S. planned to attack concerts, Times Square and crowded subways in 2016 in an ISIS-inspired attack that one of the suspects said he hoped would be "the next 9/11," authorities announced on Friday afternoon.

The FBI said the three men -- Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, a 19-year-old Canadian citizen; Talha Haroon, a 19-year-old U.S. citizen based in Pakistan; and Russell Salic, a 37-year-old orthopedic surgeon in the Philippines -- allegedly used chat apps to talk about bringing a car bomb into the Crossroads of the World, gunning down subway riders before detonating vests and opening fire on concertgoers in the vein of the Paris terror attacks of 2015.

"NY Needs to fall. This is a must," Haroon allegedly wrote in a message to an undercover agent posing as an ISIS sympathizer.

FBI and NYPD officials told the I-Team the plot was more aspirational than operational. But according to the indictments, Al Bahnasawy, who has already pleaded guilty to multiple charges, traveled to Cranford, New Jersey, in May of 2016 and had designs on carrying out the attacks before he was cuffed by authorities waiting there for him.

According to prosecutors, El Bahnasawy began talking with one another -- and the undercover agent -- in the spring of 2016. Over the month of May, they allegedly plotted to carry out a variety of attacks in the city during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan -- that year, from June 6 to July 5 -- or on Memorial Day. They then reached out to Saric, who they called "The Doctor," in May to help finance their plans.

Prosecutors said that Al Bahnasawy and Haroon identified the 7 and 4/5/6 subway lines and Times Square as ideal targets and talked about trapping people inside the Crossroads of the World and kill as many people as possible.

Prosecutors added that Al Bahnasawy also communicated with an undercover agent posing as an ISIS sympathizer about wanting to "shoot up concerts cuz they kill lots of people." He also researched upcoming concerts in the city and talked about picking a show in a concert hall thats far away from cops.

"We just need guns in our hands," El Bahnasawy said. "That's how the Paris guys did it."

Haroon, meanwhile, told the undercover agent that he saw the subway as a "perfect" target for the attack, and that they should shoot as many train riders as possible before setting off suicide vests.

"When we run out of bullets we let the vests go off," he said.

Prosecutors add that El Bahnasawy bought bomb-making materials while in Canada; Haroon allegedly met with an explosives expert in Pakistan to get more information on how to build bombs.

Around the same time, the two allegedly had been talking with Salic, known as "the doctor," about getting money to carry out the attack. Salic, who also maintained a pro-ISIS social media presence, allegedly wired $423 to the undercover to help pay for the attacks on May 11, 2016, and told the agent he'd send more in the future.

The undercover also sent Salic a picture of hydrogen peroxide El Bahnasawy had bought to carry out the attacks; Salic allegedly responded by saying he might carry out his own attack if he wasn't able to go to Syria to join ISIS. He then allegedly wrote that "(I)t would be a great pleasure if we can slaughter" New Yorkers, according to the complaint.

El Bahnasawy was detained on May 21, 2016, after he traveled to Cranford, New Jersey, to carry out the attacks; he has since pleaded guilty to multiple terrorism offenses. Haroon was arrested in Pakistan; Salic, was arrested in his home country. All three men were charged with seven terror-related counts, including conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction.

El Bahnasawy will be sentenced in December and could face life in prison; his attorney declined to comment to the Associated Press on Friday.

The other two men could also spend the rest of their lives behind bars, if convicted. They're awaiting extradition to the United States, and it's unclear if they have attorneys.

News that a major New York area venue hosting a concert could have been in the ISIS cross hairs comes days after a lone actor with no known link to any terror group opened fire on a crowd at a country music festival in Las Vegas. Stephen Paddock killed 58 people before taking his own life in his hotel room.

ISIS has also claimed responsibility for concerthall attacks. In 2016, a bomber who the terrorist group called "a soldier of the Khaliafah" killed 20 people at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England. And in 2015, ISIS gunmen killed 89 people in a Paris concert hall amid a coordinated terror attack that left 130 people dead.

in Manchester, England, earlier this year; and in Paris in 2016. Twenty people died in the Britain attack, outside an Ariana Grande concert

The alleged attempt to target a concert in New York also comes after last Mays bombing in Britain outside an Ariana Grande concert. Twenty people were killed when a terrorist bomb exploded as the crowd was heading for the exits.

The FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Force, theyre going to work with the U.S. Attorneys office to make sure that this is not just idle talk, said former FBI Supervisor JJ Klaver. They are going to look at the extent of the plans being made and the extent that these guys are taking actions to further those plans.

While the alleged plot was apparently uncovered and interrupted months ago, investigators were not prepared to announce its existence until Friday, in part because the search continued for other possible terror connections.

The most challenging and difficult decisions that are made in these investigations is finding where the balance is - between protecting the integrity of the investigation and letting the public know the vital information they need to determine whether or not they feel safe foing to a particular venue, Klaver said.

Sources familiar with the case said this was not a sting operation, but the FBI and NYPD got onto the lead suspect early on.

Times Square saw a failed car bomb attempt by terrorist Faisal Shahzad and the 2009 Zazi plot was set to be a series of backpack bombings on the subways. The trial of accused Chelsea bomber Ahmad Rahimi is currently underway in lower Manhattan.

Rahimi is accused of building pressure cooker bombs and placing them on Manhattan streets as well as placing an improvised device that exploded in a garbage can before the start of New Jersey charity race.
A 13-year-old boy has been charged with a felony after police said he brought an unloaded gun at his Bronx middle school Thursday.

School safety agents at Bronx Park Middle School found the revolver in the seventh grader's backpack Thursday morning, officials said.

Deparment of Education spokeswoman Toya Holness said police immediately responded and safely recovered the unloaded gun.

"Students and staff are safe, families are being notified, and we are supporting the school to ensure appropriate follow-up action is swiftly taken," said Holness.

The boy had allegedly told friends he would bring a gun to his school because he was being bullied, according to a law enforcement source. And his mother and older siblings told News 4 outside of the 49th Precinct stationhouse, where the boy was questioned Thursday, that he was the victim of taunting.

But students and parents at the school tell News 4 it was the student with the gun who bullied others. One student who wanted to remain anonymous said he had a run-in with the teen last week.

"He was trying to threaten me in the bathroom, he was like pushing me on the wall," he said.

The teen has been charged with criminal possession of a weapon on school grounds, a felony.

Bronx Park Middle School does not have metal detectors.

The gun scare comes a week after a Bronx high school student stabbed two classmates, killing one of them.

The student told authorities he had been bullied, though family members of the victim and classmates dispute that the victims bullied the teen.
Amazon has to pay $295 million in back taxes to Luxembourg, the European Union ordered Wednesday, in its latest attempt to tighten the screws on multinationals it says are avoiding taxes through sweetheart deals with individual EU states.

Margrethe Vestager, the EU official in charge of antitrust issues, also took Ireland to court for failing to collect a massive 13 billion euros ($15.3 billion) in back taxes from Apple Inc.

She argued that, like in Amazon's case, the company had profited from a deal with the country that had allowed it to avoid paying most of the taxes the EU felt were due.

The EU has taken aim at such past deals, which member states had used to lure foreign companies in search of a place to establish their EU headquarters. The practice led to EU states competing with each other and multinationals playing them off one another.

EU states are now trying to harmonize their tax rules, but Wednesday's and previous rulings seek to redress years of tax avoidance.

Vestager said that U.S. online retailer Amazon had unfairly profited from special low tax conditions since 2003 in tiny Luxembourg, where its European headquarters are based.

As a result, almost three quarters of Amazon's profits in the EU were not taxed, she said.

"In other words, Amazon was allowed to pay four times less tax than other local companies subject to the same national tax rules," she said. The issue is not so much that the companies got tax breaks but that they were available only to them.

Amazon said it believed it had not received any special treatment from Luxembourg and would consider appealing. "We paid tax in full accordance with both Luxembourg and international tax law."

EU states like Luxembourg and Ireland that have deals with multinationals are put in difficult positions with such rulings. They don't want to scare away the companies by hiking their tax bills but also want to fall in line with the EU's efforts to create an even playing field  as well as show taxpayers that big foreign companies are paying their fair share. The issue of corporate tax avoidance became a hot topic in the EU after the financial crisis, when governments had to raise taxes and slash spending to get public finances back into shape.

Luxembourg said it might appeal Wednesday's ruling, but stressed it is "strongly committed to tax transparency and the fight against harmful tax avoidance."

Analysts say that beyond claiming the sums of money owed, the EU's move is meant to create a public awareness of the issue of tax avoidance by multinationals, in effect shaming individual EU states and the companies while the bloc works on harmonizing its tax rules.

"Corporations are sensitive to being positioned as tax avoiders," said Louise Gracia, a professor at the Warwick Business School who researches tax issues.

The EU investigation was made particularly awkward by the fact that the current European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, was Luxembourg's prime and finance minister at the time the tax system for Amazon was set up.

"We try to investigate behavior from member states. It is not a criminal investigation trying to incriminate different persons in the positions that they hold," Vestager said.

Vestager had already ordered Ireland to claw back up to 13 billion euros from Apple last year, but said Wednesday that Ireland hadn't recovered any money so far.

Ireland, which is appealing last year's decision, reacted angrily, saying it "is extremely disappointing that the Commission has taken action at this time." It said it was busy working on the deal and had made "significant progress."
Five-hundred-and-fifty students will be split up after a Monroe Township elementary school was shut down for months on Thursday due to mold.

It did come as a surprise, Jennifer Lewis-Gallagher, a parent in the school district, said.

Holly Glen Elementary School dismissed for the last time for months on Thursday to allow for remediation and repairs after mold was discovered covering ceiling tiles, lockers, and classrooms. The mold was confirmed by tests on Wednesday night.

Now, parents are concerned about how long the mold has been in the building and what risks it posed to their children.

As a parent of two young daughters it is a huge concern of mine, Lewis-Gallagher said.

Monroe Township superintendent Charles Earling said pre-k, kindergarten, and special needs students will go to Oak Knoll. First through third grade students will go to Radix Elementary, and fourth grade students will be accommodated in a wing in the high school, separated from high school students.

A meeting was held Thursday evening where parents could speak with educators and an environmental firm to dispel rumors and answer questions. But some parents say they left with even more questions.

Tameeka Williams, a parent in attendance, says her son was diagnosed with pneumonia after he started attending Holly Glen Elementary. Now, she says her son uses inhalers and a nebulizer.

Its been different degrees of mold, Earling said. But not severe mold. But, to us, if its there we want to get rid of it.

At the meeting, Earling assured parents that administrators had contacted appropriate authorities to handle the mold.

For some parents, though, this is coming too late.

Roberta West says her son got sick at Holly Glen 20-years ago.

"My heart cries for them because my son got very, very sick when he was little when he was at the school," West said.

While Earling said Holly Glen will be ready for students to return in early 2018, parents are now calling for all schools in the district to be tested for mold.

Open houses at Monroe Township Public Schools that were set to take place Monday were cancelled due to ongoing Air Quality testing. An emergency board of education meeting will be held Monday at 7 p.m. at the Williamstown High School Theater.


Forty-eight New Jersey state troopers are heading to Puerto Rico to aid in the recovery efforts on the island devastated by Hurricane Maria last month.

Gov. Chris Christie, in authorizing their deployment, touted the experience that the state police received in the days and weeks after Superstorm Sandy struck New Jersey in Oct. 2012.

Their experience should prove invaluable to Puerto Rico and we wish them well on their mission," he said during an event at state police headquarters in Ewing, Mercer County. "We will continue to deploy help as needed that has been requested by the Governor of Puerto Rico.

The troopers are from Troop B in Totowa and Troop C in Hamilton Township, Mercer County. Once they arrive in Puerto Rico this weekend, they will meet up with an advance team of state police troopers already on the island.

The troopers will focus primarily on law enforcement and humanitarian aid.

Christie last week authorized the mobilization of 1,100 emergency responders and soldiers to deploy to Puerto Rico, which includes the state troopers and 500 National Guardsmen.

Christie also wanted to remind the public that two New Jersey National Guard armoies are still accepting donations to Puerto Rico. His office listed the following suggested items that elected officials, community leaders and organizations should collect:

Baby food, batteries, box fans, canned goods, cots, cleaning supplies, diapers, feminine hygiene products, flash lights, flood pumps, hand sanitizer, first aid items, leather work gloves, new underwear and socks, new bed pillows and blankets, toiletries, utility knives and high capacity generators to restore power for hospitals, water service, and flood pumps.

The armories will not accept any items dropped off for deliver and all deliveries must be scheduled by calling 1-833-NJ-HELPS. Financial donations may be made by visiting www.NJ4PR.org.
A Pennsylvania man acknowledges using flashing dashboard lights to mimic a police speed trap  but only so he could slow down vehicles speeding past his rural home and killing deer and endangering people.

Fifty-seven-year-old Ricky McMillen told WPXI-TV that he used the flashing lights on his car because he's been complaining about speeders for years and getting few results. What he has gotten is deer carcasses along the road in Donegal Township, which he says cause his house to smell.

State police have charged McMillen with impersonating a public servant and displaying improper lights.

McMillen says he's been using the lights for a while and says, "It worked until they took my light."

McMillen has been mailed a summons to appear for a preliminary hearing Dec. 15.
President Donald Trump is heading to Harrisburg next week to make his case for an overhaul of the nation's tax code.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Friday the plan "is really a jobs bill."

Trump's trip Wednesday to the state capital is aimed at building his case that tax cuts would help drive the economy.

Trump has promised Americans "the largest tax cut in our country's history." But for the poorest Americans households, Trump's plan would amount to an average tax cut of about $60 a year, according to the Tax Policy Center. Middle-income families would get about $300 on average. Most of the cuts would go to the wealthiest Americans.

Trump last year became the first Republican presidential candidate to win Pennsylvania since 1988.
What to Know Sen. Menendez is accused of accepting bribes from Salomon Melgen in exchange for helping his friend with business disputes and with the visa

Menendez and Melgen have contended in court filings that the gifts were evidence of the pair's longtime friendship, not a corrupt agreement

Both men face multiple fraud and bribery charges; Menendez has pleaded not guilty and denies any wrongdoing

Prosecutors at the bribery trial of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez have presented evidence that a wealthy donor on trial with him contributed $600,000 to organizations that supported the New Jersey Democrat.

They are trying to tie the donations by Florida eye doctor Salomon Melgen in 2012 to actions Menendez took around the same time that prosecutors say were to lobby for Melgen's business interests.

A fundraiser testified Wednesday that Melgen donated the money to a political action committee earmarked for New Jersey.

Earlier testimony described Menendez meeting with health and homeland security officials on issues that affected Melgen's medical practice and his port security company.

Menendez and Melgen, who are longtime friends, deny the charges. They say there was no bribery arrangement.

The trial is in its fifth week.
Stepping off a boat in New Hampshire port in 1796, 22-year-old Ona Judge was on the run from the family of President George Washington.

Judge, who was born into slavery and served Martha Washington for most of her young life, had slipped away from the president's residence in Philadelphia and boarded a ship as the Washingtons prepared to return to their plantation house in Mount Vernon, Virginia. With a reward posted for her capture, Judge knew she had to keep a low profile. She turned to the network of free blacks in Portsmouth for help.

"She gets off the boat. She is in a strange place," said JerriAnne Boggis, director of the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail. "She comes to Portsmouth and there is a dearth of people of color. So, she has got to be scared. She has been scared the whole time not known where she is going."

The story of Judge's escape and life on the run in New Hampshire is the subject of Erica Armstrong Dunbar's book "Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge."

The book has sparked renewed interest in Judge's life. The Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail is offering a tour of sites in the seacoast city associated with Judge and is looking to fund a trolley that would bring visitors to site of Judge's last home nearby in Greenland, New Hampshire.

The tour in Portsmouth starts with the wharf near Prescott Park, the focal point of the slave trade for much of the 1700s in Portsmouth. Judge arrived on a ship called Nancy as the slave trade was in decline New Hampshire. From there, visitors walk past several historic homes that played a critical role in the near-decade Judge spent in the city, the church where she was married and the market where she was spotted by a family friend of the Washingtons - an event that almost led to her being captured.

"Her story, her life reflects this underdog story in the most underdoggish of ways," said Dunbar, a Rutgers University history professor who's scheduled to give a lecture and book signing Oct. 12 at Keene College.

"She was technically human property and was owned by the most important family in the new nation,'' Dunbar said. "Even with that being the case, she was able to carve out a life for herself...Ona's story represents what many enslaved (individuals) wished, longed for and that was a chance to be an independent person."

Meghan Dunn, a University of New Hampshire lecturer who had brought a group of students on a recent black history tour, said she was struck that Judge "was here, hiding here and there was a community that was hiding her."

"We don't have a very in-depth history of slavery in our schools. But when we hear about slavery, it seems to be something that is just in the South," she said. "We don't think about the connection we have up here to slavery and the history of African-Americans."

Dunbar and others also said Judge's story offers an opportunity to present a more complicated portrait of Washington - moving "beyond cherry trees and false teeth and to look at the George Washington who was sitting at the center of the biggest debate of what would become the new nation. That was the debate around slavery."

"Every reader who talks to me after they read the book says the same thing. They say, 'I will never think about George and Martha Washington in the same way,'" she said. "Washington was someone who had changing ideas about slavery but at the end of the day he was a slave holder."

Susan P. Schoelwer, the Robert H. Smith Senior Curator at George Washington's Mount Vernon, agreed. "Did George Washington own slaves? Yes, he was human and he had flaws," she said. "He changed his attitude during the course of his life. By freeing his slaves in his will, he definitely intended for that be example of what he saw as the future."

The Ona Judge tour ends in Portsmouth but Judge's story continued onto Greenland. Fearing that Washington's men were closing in on her, Judge would flee to in 1799 to the home of a free black family, Phillis and John Jacks, where she remained until she died in 1848. Washington would die several months later in 1799 followed several years after that by Martha Washington. No one else would come for Judge, but that didn't mean life was easy. She was impoverished, often depended upon charity and outlived her three children and husband.

The site where Judge lived in a small house on a quarter acre of land has been given over to nature. Nothing is left of her house and the only sign that she was here is an unmarked burial site several hundred feet off a two-lane road, in which only the headstone of Phillis Jacks remains. Pottery shards have been found in a nearby creek as well as a horse shoe and some old nails.

John Brackett, whose family has owned the land for generations, said he has seen more town residents knocking on his door curious about Judge. But he can't say for sure where she is buried, although he is open to putting a marker near the site and even allowed researchers to use ground-penetrating radar to identify what they believe are several bodies there.

"It's quite likely she is buried out here with the Jacks family," Brackett said, as he passed downed trees and a gurgling brook on the way to the burial site.
For the next month, drivers and pedestrians will see a billboard on the corner of Mercury Street and Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in Kearny Mesa with a simple message: If you've seen Julia Jacobson, call the San Diego Police.

The retired U.S. Army Captain has been missing since Sept. 2. She was last heard from around 9:30 p.m. when she sent a text message to a friend saying she was traveling from Big Bear, California to Palm Springs.

A Facebook group set up by family and friends called "Julia Jacobson Missing" has 5,200 followers.

In person, Julia was last seen in her company car at the corporate offices of 7-Eleven on Aero Drive in Kearny Mesa. She works in corporate real estate.

Surveillance video shows she was in Ontario, California later that day.

On Sept. 7, investigators found Julia's company car abandoned on Monroe Avenue in University Heights, east of Texas Street, a half-mile away from her home.

Family members told NBC 7 the car was found with the keys still in the ignition and the windows rolled down. Julias black handbag was found inside, unzipped and with hardly anything in it.

She was with her dog, a wheaten terrier named Boogie, when she vanished. The same dog in the photo with her on the billboard.

Julia's brother, Jon Jacobson, lives in North Dakota and is a private investigator who has 20 years experience in criminal cases.

Jon said it is extremely out of character for Julia to abruptly lose contact with her family  especially their nearly 80-year-old father, whom she calls every single day.

Those daily calls to her dad stopped the day before she vanished.

Jon said he last spoke with Julia about two weeks ago, when she called to get his advice on a new job she had been offered in San Antonio, Texas. Julia had decided to accept the position and was thrilled to be moving there, where her best friend from childhood lives.

Jon said his sister was preparing for her big move and excited for a fresh start. He said she had recently been through a bitter divorce.

Jon said he was told told by police that Julias ex-husband met up with her on the morning of Sept. 2. By 8 p.m. that day, she was in Ontario, California, about 120 miles north of San Diego County.

And we dont know what else has happened, he said.

SDPD Lt. Mike Holden said investigators were able to confirm Julia was in Ontario on the night of Sept. 2 through surveillance video.

Lt. Holden said detectives have spoken with Julia's ex-husband; he has been cooperative. At this point, he is not suspected by SDPD in her disappearance.

Last month, Julias loved ones, Jon and members of the community gathered at Garfield Elementary School on Oregon Street to search for Julia. Volunteers canvassed neighborhoods around her Idaho Street home, posting missing person flyers.

Julia's friends said Friday the billboard with her picture will be up for a month. It will change locations after a week for more visability.

They added digital billboards with a similar ad are going up in Riverside County.

"The best thing community members can do right now is download the flyer from the website and make 10 copies, it wont cost much and as they go about their daily lives post flyers at various businesses," said a friend of the family and admin of Julia's support Facebook Page. "Somebody saw something and we just need to find that person."

Jon said hes hopeful that, soon, his family will have answers. For now, he knows one thing: his sister is a fighter.

I know shes incredibly strong. Shes a Bosnian War veteran, shes an Iraqi War veteran. Shes the classic strong, independent woman, he said. Shes a very powerful woman, and I know she wouldnt go down without a fight, so to speak.

Jacobson is described as 5-foot-7 and about 150 pounds. She has a tattoo on her hip of a crab holding a flower. There is no information on what she was wearing when she went missing.

Anyone with information on Julias whereabouts can contact the SDPDs Missing Persons Unit at (619) 619-531-2277 or SDPDs Communications Division at (619) 531-2000, and reference case #17-034427.

A GoFundMe page has been set up by the family to raise money for continued ads online and on billboards. If you want to donate click here.
Deputies discovered bodies believed to be a missing San Diego couple in a wrecked car immersed in the Kings River Thursday, according to the Fresno County Sheriff's Office.

The Fresno County Sheriff's Search and Rescue (SAR) team worked with California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers to recover the bodies inside Sequoia National Park. The authorities believe the bodies are Chinese nationals Yinan Wang, 31, and his wife, Jie Song, 30, reported missing in Fresno since August. Wang had recently been living in San Diego.

A positive identification of the bodies is not yet complete. Deputies said the Coroner's Office will determine their exact identities during the autopsy process. Deputies said the car found in the river was confirmed as belonging to Wang.

Officers and deputies worked to recover the victims from the wreckage of a car along Highway 180 and Kings River.

Wang and Song were last seen Aug. 6 at Crystal Caves in Sequoia National Park, deputies said. They were planning to remain in Fresno that night, stay in a hotel and continue to Yosemite National Park the next day.

The couple intended to return to San Diego on Aug. 9 but they were never heard from. Some relatives of the couple filed a report with the Fresno County Sheriff's Department on Aug. 11.

Later, a Fresno deputy was watching local news coverage about a separate rescue operation for another car that crashed in the same area. That's when he noticed the San Diego couple's license plate, stuck in a thicket of branches off to the side, in the video footage.

He recognized that it belonged to a separate car than the current rescue operation displayed on the news. Once deputies received the missing persons report three days later, they began searching the area for the couple's car.

On Aug. 12, deputies and CHP officers flew their helicopters above the canyon where they spotted the wreckage of a white car submerged deeply underwater. However, they were unable to access the car immediately because of high water levels and dangerous rapids.

In September, the water levels were nearly 10 times lower than the previous month, according to the Fresno County Sheriff's Office. This allowed the authorities to attempt a safer recovery operation.

Under these water conditions, they were able to use a cable to pull the vehicle out of the water and use tools to recover the bodies. CHP plans to analyze the car parts while they work to piece together what led up to two separate car crashes in the same area.
A San Diego-based guided-missile destroyer leaked hundreds of gallons of oil into the waters near the San Diego harbor, military officials confirmed Thursday.

USS Dewey experienced mechanical failure around noon Wednesday and leaked 700 gallons of lubricating oil as a result. The vessel was approximately 4 miles off the coast of Imperial Beach.

Hard oil booms have been put in place at the location of the spill near the mouth of the Tijuana River.

The leak was stopped and the Navy is coordinating remedial actions with local U.S. Coast Guard officials, Helen Haase, Navy Region Southwest Environmental Public Affairs Officer said in a written release.

Haase said NOAA officials suggested an oil sheen may reach land Thursday afternoon but the oil doesn't appear to have moved since the incident first happened.

The location of the area is between Imperial Beach and Tijuana, Mexico.

No crewmembers were injured.

If the oil should reach the shore, surfers and swimmers would be notified, Haase said.
Employees of the Internal Revenue Service are the target of a fast rising number of threats and expressing concern about potential vulnerabilities outside agency headquarters in Washington, D.C., according to an investigation by the News4 I-Team.

Agency records reviewed by the I-Team show federal investigators have launched 1,556 investigations into possible threats against agency employees from taxpayers since the beginning of the year. Investigators with the Treasury Departments Inspector General for Tax Administration, which probes potential threat cases and provides armed escorts for some IRS employees, said some of the cases warranted additional protection for workers. Though officials told the I-Team some of the threats theyve investigated were considered idle, including taxpayers blowing off steam, others have triggered federal prosecutions.

The IRS is an agency that touches people very personally. That generates a lot of frustration, anger or hostility, said Treasury Department Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Tim Camus.

Agency reports to Congress indicate federal officials have been investigating nearly 150 threat cases a month.

A Florida man pleaded guilty this year to a federal charge after his arrest for pointing a gun at an IRS agent whod knocked on his door. In 2014, a jury convicted a Rhode Island man of threatening to kill an IRS agent and rape the agents wife during a dispute over a $330,000 tax bill.

Camus said agents protect employees who genuinely fear for their safety.

Our role is to go out and make sure the environment is safe and allow the employees to do their work, he said.

IRS employees stationed at the agencys Washington, D.C., headquarters told the I-Team there is growing concern among workers about risks posed by the newly opened Trump International Hotel across the street. The workers, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said agency security sent an email alerting employees to security concerns posed by the opening. Passages of the email said, Cars near the hotel and IRS building obscure emergency egress and sight lines for IRS security." The email also said commercial trucks, Ubers and taxis are not being checked by K-9 or magnetic wands as they sit parked or idling between the hotel and IRS building.

The I-Team equipped a vehicle with cameras to review the hotels valet parking system. Hotel valet staff brought the I-Team vehicle into a garage adjacent to the IRS building in close proximity to agency employees. The equipment inside the I-Team vehicle, including the cameras, was not seen being screened.

Employees told the I-Team their concerns were punctuated by the May arrest of a Pennsylvania man accused of bringing a cache of weapons and 90 rounds of ammunition into the Trump Hotel parking lot. The man pleaded not guilty to federal charges but was arrested while awaiting trial after prosecutors said he posted dangerous, anti-government messages on social media.

The Trump Hotel did not respond to requests for comment. The IRS declined to answer questions from the I-Team. Instead the agency issued a written statement: The IRS takes the safety and well-being of our employees very seriously, and security is a top priority. We have strong procedures in place and we continually work closely with our security team, state and local law enforcement and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) to review, revise and improve upon our safety protocols as needed.

Former IRS administrator Marcus Owens, who was stalked by a disgruntled taxpayer before retiring from the agency, said threats are a common concern for agency employees. IRS security and inspector general agents handle the investigations and protective escorts thoroughly, Owens said.

"The agency has always been a target," he said. "Tax collectors have been a target since tax collecting began.

Reported by Scott MacFarlane, produced by Rick Yarborough, and shot and edited by Steve Jones.


A funeral service will be held next week for a 19-year-old woman whose body was found in North Carolina 11 days after she went missing from Virginia.

A funeral service for Ashanti Billie will be held Oct. 13 at the Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, Maryland.

Billie, a student at The Art Institute of Virginia Beach, was reported missing on Sept. 18 when she did not show up for her job at a sandwich shop in Norfolk.

Her cellphone was found later that day in a dumpster nearly 3 miles away from the base. Neighbors spotted her car Sept. 23 on a dead-end road in the Ocean View section of the city. They told police the car had been there for several days.

Her body was found behind a church in Charlotte, North Carolina on Sept. 29. Billie's heartbroken parents spoke at a news conference the next day.

"She is home. She's home with God, and we're OK with that," Billie's father, Meltony Billie, said.

Billie's mother, Brandy Billie, addressed her daughter's killer and then her daughter.

"To the person or persons that decided they wanted to take our baby away from us and away from everyone that loved her: You're a coward. You don't deserve to breathe the air she breathed," she said. "Ashanti, baby, we love you, we love you and we love you."

Police have not released a cause of death or said how Billie ended up In North Carolina.

Billie moved to Virginia Beach in August to attend culinary arts classes at the Art Institute of Virginia Beach. She graduated from Henry Wise High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, in 2016.
Whole Foods Market venues in New Hampshire and Maine are among the locations hit by a nationwide data breach, the company says.

No Whole Foods locations in Massachusetts, Connecticut or Rhode Island were impacted by the credit card breach. The breach affects customers who bought meals or drinks at in-store restaurants or bars, including taprooms.

The company said the venues use a different point of sale system than the main checkout registers and that payment cards used at the latter were not affected. Amazon.com shoppers also weren't impacted by the hack.

Whole Foods said it is working with a cybersecurity forensics firm and authorities as it investigates the breach.

The company said customers should closely monitor their payment card statements and report any unauthorized charges to their banks.

Affected locations in New Hampshire:

 Bedford (121 South River Rd.): Goffe's Watering Hole

 Nashua (255 Amherst St.): J. Bartlett's Public House

Affected locations in Maine:

 Portland (2 Somerset St.): Somerset Tap House
A high school in Warwick, Rhode Island, has been canceled after more than half of its teachers and staff called in sick.

Superintendent Philip Thornton is blaming a "sick-out" at Pilgrim High School amid ongoing contract negotiations with the union.

The school says 91 out of around 140 teachers and staff called in sick on Friday.

Thornton told parents in an email that the numbers of teachers who called in sick rose so high that they could not safely open the school. He says the sick-out hurts students.

Warwick Teachers Union President Darlene Netcoe tells WPRO-AM there was no union-sanctioned sick-out. She says it's cold and flu season, and if people call in sick, they are sick.

Thornton says that's "ridiculous."
A New Hampshire man is facing charges after allegedly crashing his car into a Rochester business while texting on his phone Thursday night.

Police responded to the Merrimack Mortgage Company at 160 Washington Street Suite 203 around midnight for a report of a vehicle crashing into the building.

The driver, Johnathan Funk, 24, of Famington, New Hampshire, was on the scene when officers arrived.

Investigation revealed that Funk was trying to turn a corner in the parking lot while texting and drove over the curb and into the building.

The crash significantly damaged the buildings windows and window support system. Funks car sustained moderate damage and was towed from the scene.

The business was closed at the time of the crash, and no injuries were reported.

Funk is charged with use of mobile electronic devices while driving; prohibition and handicapped parking.
The defense attorney for a Vermont college student accused of making racially-motivated threats insists his client is not a racist.

Absolutely not, lawyer Ben Luna said when asked by necn if Wesley Richter, 20, is a racist. The fact that I am Mexican and the fact I am representing him shows that he is not a racist.

Police at the University of Vermont said a concerned tipster told them this past Sunday that the continuing education student made overtly racist and threatening comments toward African Americans and campus diversity programs.

The alleged threats came in a phone call that was overheard in public on the UVM campus, investigators said. Police would not publicly disclose who the call was made to.

The report triggered an aggressive and complete investigation, said UVM Police Services Chief Lianne Tuomey. The investigation included an assessment of whether weapons may be involved, but revealed no urgent public safety risk, Tuomey said.

Still, Tuomey said the university takes all threats seriously.

If there were a finding that public safety had been in imminent danger, protocol would have been launched to alert the campus through social media, urgent messages, email, and phone, UVM Police Services said.

In court Friday, Luna asked for three extra weeks to enter a formal plea, so he could research legal issues the case raises.

Because of that delay, many details on the investigation remain sealed, including specifics on those alleged threats, which prosecutors called criminal.

There are some gray areas [about the case] that have not been dealt with before in the state, acknowledged Deputy Chittenden County States Attorney Ryan Richards. I think itll be complex.

Richards declined to reveal what the criminal charge to be brought against w would be, because a judge has not yet found probable cause in the case. That means few details are publicly available.

Separately, Tuomey said the investigation revealed elements of the investigation met the criteria for a disorderly conduct charge.

My client has been unfairly singled out by the university, attorney Luna alleged. I am going to make sure my clients right to free speech is not abridged by this government, by the State of Vermont, by the University of Vermont, and the states attorneys office.

Luna said the speech Richter is alleged to have made in that phone call would have been protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The First Amendment in the country is under siege, Luna argued.

Chief Tuomey did not respond directly to the remarks, but said she is proud of her officers professionalism and seriousness in handling the case. She indicated she feels Chittenden County States Attorney Sarah George is handling the situation appropriately.

Some members of the campus community have expressed concern they have little information about the content of the threats.

Chief Tuomey said Friday that she sympathizes with community members whod like more info, but said for now, legally, she cannot reveal much about the case.

I recognize the human impact that these types of incidents have on the members of our community, Tuomey told reporters. These are people that are trying to live their lives.

Of course I wanted to have the perfect college experience...meet new people, but I also know theres dangers and things like that in the world, said Jay Haley of Chicago, another first-year UVM student.

I feel really safe, Rochelle OBrien, a first-year UVM student from Washington D.C. said in response to a question from necn about her sense of security on campus. I feel at home, honestly. And thats part of the reason I chose this place.

I think you can have free speech, but if it comes with hate speech, you should have consequences to it, said Lule Aden, a UVM junior from Burlington, Vermont. And that shouldnt be allowed. Especially on a public college campus.

The school said Friday in a news conference it is launching an internal disciplinary probe into the allegations against Wesley Richter.

Attorney Ben Luna said his client does plan to continue his education, as the case against him proceeds.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey is planning to sue the Trump administration for allowing more employers to opt out of providing birth control coverage by claiming religious or moral objections.

The Democrat on Friday called the actions "a direct attack on women's health and the right to access affordable and reliable contraception."

Healey said it places the religious beliefs of employers above a woman's right to care for her body.

The rules announced Friday are another step in rolling back former President Obama's 2010 health care law by targeting requirements that most companies cover birth control as preventive care for women at no additional cost.

Healey said her office will sue "to stop this rule and defend critical protections for millions of women in Massachusetts and across the country."

A spokeswoman for Republican Gov. Charlie Baker said he "fully supports access to women's health and family planning services and will protect access to these services in Massachusetts." She said Baker supports compromise language submitted this week by Massachusetts insurers, Planned Parenthood and legislators to protect health care access to women.

Democratic lawmakers from across New England were quick to condemn Trump's decision.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a frequent foe of Trump's, blasted the president's move and said she's "ready to fight back."

"News flash to Republicans: The year is 2017, not 1917," she said. "Evidently, the Republicans believe that the single most important issue facing our nation is to change the law so that employers can deny women access to birth control coverage."

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy called the action "an affront to women's healthcare - and a slap in the face to millions of women who rely on birth control as part of their health needs."

Sen. Christopher Murphy of Connecticut said he's "sick and tired" of Republicans trying to take away women's health care. "It's 2017 - women should be able to get birth control if they want it, no matter where they work."

"Rolling back full coverage, with no out of pocket costs, for birth control is a direct attack on womens access to health care and on their right to make their own health care decisions," added Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire.

Fellow New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen called the move "dangerous" and said it "reflects a shallow understanding of women's health."

"I am outraged by the Trump Administration's most sweeping attack yet on women's access to health care," Rep. Carol Shea-Porter of New Hampshire said. "We must defeat this rule and make it clear to President Trump that women and men reject this interference in access to birth control."
Thames Valley Police launch new campaign to tackle abuse

SEVEN cases of modern slavery have been investigated in West Berkshire since 2015, new figures from the police figures reveal.

The news comes as Thames Valley Police (TVP) launches its new Hidden Harm campaign to tackle abuse across the forces area, with a specific focus on the issue of modern slavery.

Over the past year, police have recorded three modern slavery crimes each week across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire and are now looking to make people more aware of the problem, with many instances of modern slavery going unreported.

Det supt Nick John, the head of protecting vulnerable people, said: Its a common misconception that slavery doesnt exist any more or that its a crime that doesnt affect us here in the UK. This couldnt be further from the truth.

Modern slavery is happening in this country and, more specifically, right here in Thames Valley.

In the past two years, 120 modern slavery crimes have been recorded across our area.

With offences in every county of the force, its a stark reminder that this is an offence that could happen anywhere, even in your community.

Modern slavery is the illegal exploitation of people for personal or commercial gain.

Victims are tricked or threatened into work and many feel unable to leave through fear or intimidation.

Police statistics show a total of seven modern slavery crimes recorded in West Berkshire between May 2015 and May 2017.

There were 16 such crimes reported in Reading over the same period and 18 in Wokingham and Bracknell.

According to TVP, the signs that a person may be a victim of modern slavery include looking scruffy or injured, acting anxiously or afraid, living in overcrowded or poorly-maintained accommodation and working long hours or wearing unsuitable clothing.

A dedicated modern slavery helpline has taken more than 2,500 calls over the past 12 months, making more than 1,000 referrals to police.

Det Supt John added: Its a crime that affects people of all ages, genders, ethnicities and nationalities, even people from here in the UK.

In fact, last year in Thames Valley, UK nationals were the most common victims of modern slavery.

Whilst we have seen a significant increase in reporting of these crimes over the past year, we know that many more go unreported.

We rely on information from members of the public in order to identify these crimes, safeguard victims and bring offenders to justice. We cannot do this alone.

If you suspect something, no matter how small, report it  either confidentially via the Modern Slavery Helpline on 08000 121 700 or to 101 or 999 in an emergency.

For more information on the campaign and the signs of modern slavery visit http://thamesvalley.police.uk/hiddenharm
By IANS

Film: 'Chef'; Director: Raja Krishna Menon; Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Padmapriya Janakiraman, Svar Kamble

There is a lot of teasing between the father and son ,played with endearing casualness by Saif Ali Khan and Svar Kamble. Aptly , "Chef" teases our appetite for cinema. It's a culinary delight-warm tender, inviting and appetizing-- served up in a dainty dish with a dash of debonair but played-down posturing, like a masterchef who is shy to show off his skills but can't help it. He's so adept at what he does.

"Chef" conveys the kind of sagacious skill born not out of arrogance but wisdom sometimes misplaced.Like the protagonist Roshan Kalra's traditionalist father who believes the kitchen is for women.

Speaking of which -- arrogance more than wisdom -- Saif Ali Khan's Roshan Kalra(from Chandni Chowk Delhi married to and divorced from the lovely Malayali danseuse Radha Menon) is portrayed as an epitome of prideful arrogance waiting to fall.

The fall comes sooner than we expect. Director Menon wastes no time in taking on his protagonist's burnished ego and cutting it down to size, piece by piece.

Come to think of it, Roshan's downsizing needs no push. Saif Ali Khan's inbuilt nawabi pride and an urbane humour that often hurts others in ways that are more permanent than permissible, seize the character to make it so imminently relatable ,I felt someone had stolen parts of my life.Saif's Roshan says things to earn points as a clever conversationalist. Much like the prestigious Michelin star rating for food which determines quality to the point of rendering the pleasure of food into an exercize in technical grading.

And here's where director Menon and his co-writers Ritesh Shah and Suresh Nair score resoundingly over the original Jon Favreau film. Food, as a cultural binder, is a far more vital metaphor in India than in America. Instinctively, Menon understands the deep and indelible connection between food and family in our culture.

Much in the same way that music binds human relationships, food is great unifier.

ALSO READ: Meet Sandhya Kumar, the chef responsible for every obscenely luscious shot of food featured in Raja Krishna Menons 'Chef'.

The narrative teases the cooking and food into the human relationships without making culinary conceits a fetish in the plot. Food is vital but not in-your-face in Menon's Chef. This director understands the difference between appetites and feelings. He tightens the screw on his protagonist's arrogance whenever Roshan Kalra's failings become the food for his feelings.

This guy, played so intelligently and persuasively by Saif, doesn't know where to stop. Sometimes the banter between Saif's Roshan and those close to him, turns ugly. But that's life. The relationships that govern our existence are not always based on sweetness and positivity. The dark side is always there, lurking in the corners of life...lurking lightly and gently at the backdrop of Raja Krishna Menon's fourth feature film(he actually came into his own with his third "Airlift").

ALSO READ: I was starstruck by Saif Ali Khan, says Padmapriya

It is to Menon's credit that he keeps the proceeds airy and light on the top but allows us a peep into the darkness beneath just when we begin to savour the blitheness. The father-son relationship is paramount to the plot. It works with blessed vigour . Saif and the boy Svar Kamble look and feel for their parts.They are born to play a family.

Menon is not impatient to tell Roshan Kalra's story. The narrative's pace in unhurried but never dull. There is a lingering grace to the mise en scene. And I refer not just to the father-son scenes. Saif's longish sequence with his girlfriend(Sobhita Dhulipala) in New York after she takes over his chef's job in a restaurant where he altercates with a client, is written with so many subtextual interjections and prickly hurt-points polished down to injury-proofness, it's like walking a terrain mined with explosives.

I only wish the music and songs were better. If food is seen as the strongest cultural metaphor in Chef, music which has been described by a wise man as the food of love , gets a raw deal here. Also the climactic denouement(airport run, traffic snarl, breathless reunion) could have been avoided in a film that pretty much dodges all the signposts of smart-mart filmmaking to forge its own languorous grocery-store language of estrangement and reconciliation.

A major of the film's lingering charm emanates from the casting. Menon has cast so authentically it almost feels as though the actors were destined to play these parts.

Whether it's Saif's Punjabi chef or his screen wife, the very elegant Padmapriya's as his Malayali wife, or Chandan Roy Sanyal as Saif's faithful Bangladeshi pal, or Dinesh Prabhakar as the sodden cantankerous but ultimately goodhearted driver chosen to man Roshan's mobile bus-restaurant...they all exude the scent of supremely believability without making a song-and-dance of it(wish they could ,though, if only the music didn't let them down).

And yes, cinematographer Priya Seth gives us one more reason to celebrate life. Kerala has never looked more inviting. After watching Kerala play the lead in "Chef" (with due respect to Saif) I've decided to head there. Preferably with my child.

Film: 'Chef'; Director: Raja Krishna Menon; Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Padmapriya Janakiraman, Svar Kamble There is a lot of teasing between the father and son ,played with endearing casualness by Saif Ali Khan and Svar Kamble. Aptly , "Chef" teases our appetite for cinema. It's a culinary delight-warm tender, inviting and appetizing-- served up in a dainty dish with a dash of debonair but played-down posturing, like a masterchef who is shy to show off his skills but can't help it. He's so adept at what he does. "Chef" conveys the kind of sagacious skill born not out of arrogance but wisdom sometimes misplaced.Like the protagonist Roshan Kalra's traditionalist father who believes the kitchen is for women. Speaking of which -- arrogance more than wisdom -- Saif Ali Khan's Roshan Kalra(from Chandni Chowk Delhi married to and divorced from the lovely Malayali danseuse Radha Menon) is portrayed as an epitome of prideful arrogance waiting to fall. The fall comes sooner than we expect. Director Menon wastes no time in taking on his protagonist's burnished ego and cutting it down to size, piece by piece. Come to think of it, Roshan's downsizing needs no push. Saif Ali Khan's inbuilt nawabi pride and an urbane humour that often hurts others in ways that are more permanent than permissible, seize the character to make it so imminently relatable ,I felt someone had stolen parts of my life.Saif's Roshan says things to earn points as a clever conversationalist. Much like the prestigious Michelin star rating for food which determines quality to the point of rendering the pleasure of food into an exercize in technical grading. And here's where director Menon and his co-writers Ritesh Shah and Suresh Nair score resoundingly over the original Jon Favreau film. Food, as a cultural binder, is a far more vital metaphor in India than in America. Instinctively, Menon understands the deep and indelible connection between food and family in our culture. Much in the same way that music binds human relationships, food is great unifier. ALSO READ: Meet Sandhya Kumar, the chef responsible for every obscenely luscious shot of food featured in Raja Krishna Menons 'Chef'. The narrative teases the cooking and food into the human relationships without making culinary conceits a fetish in the plot. Food is vital but not in-your-face in Menon's Chef. This director understands the difference between appetites and feelings. He tightens the screw on his protagonist's arrogance whenever Roshan Kalra's failings become the food for his feelings. This guy, played so intelligently and persuasively by Saif, doesn't know where to stop. Sometimes the banter between Saif's Roshan and those close to him, turns ugly. But that's life. The relationships that govern our existence are not always based on sweetness and positivity. The dark side is always there, lurking in the corners of life...lurking lightly and gently at the backdrop of Raja Krishna Menon's fourth feature film(he actually came into his own with his third "Airlift"). ALSO READ: I was starstruck by Saif Ali Khan, says Padmapriya It is to Menon's credit that he keeps the proceeds airy and light on the top but allows us a peep into the darkness beneath just when we begin to savour the blitheness. The father-son relationship is paramount to the plot. It works with blessed vigour . Saif and the boy Svar Kamble look and feel for their parts.They are born to play a family. Menon is not impatient to tell Roshan Kalra's story. The narrative's pace in unhurried but never dull. There is a lingering grace to the mise en scene. And I refer not just to the father-son scenes. Saif's longish sequence with his girlfriend(Sobhita Dhulipala) in New York after she takes over his chef's job in a restaurant where he altercates with a client, is written with so many subtextual interjections and prickly hurt-points polished down to injury-proofness, it's like walking a terrain mined with explosives. I only wish the music and songs were better. If food is seen as the strongest cultural metaphor in Chef, music which has been described by a wise man as the food of love , gets a raw deal here. Also the climactic denouement(airport run, traffic snarl, breathless reunion) could have been avoided in a film that pretty much dodges all the signposts of smart-mart filmmaking to forge its own languorous grocery-store language of estrangement and reconciliation. A major of the film's lingering charm emanates from the casting. Menon has cast so authentically it almost feels as though the actors were destined to play these parts. Whether it's Saif's Punjabi chef or his screen wife, the very elegant Padmapriya's as his Malayali wife, or Chandan Roy Sanyal as Saif's faithful Bangladeshi pal, or Dinesh Prabhakar as the sodden cantankerous but ultimately goodhearted driver chosen to man Roshan's mobile bus-restaurant...they all exude the scent of supremely believability without making a song-and-dance of it(wish they could ,though, if only the music didn't let them down). And yes, cinematographer Priya Seth gives us one more reason to celebrate life. Kerala has never looked more inviting. After watching Kerala play the lead in "Chef" (with due respect to Saif) I've decided to head there. Preferably with my child.
By PTI

CHENNAI: Banwarilal Purohit was today swornin as the 25th Governor of Tamil Nadu, taking over at a time when the state is witnessing political turbulence in the ruling AIADMK and demand by the opposition for a floor test.

Chief Justice of Madras High Court, Justice Indira Banerjee, administered the oath of office to Purohit, a former Governor of Assam at a ceremony at Raj Bhavan here.

Taking oath in the name of God, Purohit said he would "faithfully execute the office of governor of Tamil Nadu and will to the best of ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law and that I will devote myself to the service and well being of the people of Tamil Nadu."

Chief Minister K Palaniswami, his cabinet colleagues, and DMK Working President and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly M K Stalin, were among those present.

Senior BJP leaders including union minister Pon Radhakrishnan were among those present.

Earlier, Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan read out the Warrant of Appointment issued on September 29 by President Ram Nath Kovind, appointing Purohit as Governor of Tamil Nadu.

The first full-time Governor to be appointed since the completion of term of K Rosaiah in August 2016, Purohit, an experienced campaigner, has his task cut out as the Opposition DMK has already expressed that he would act on their plea for a floor test in the wake of the Palaniswami government being reduced to a "minority" following the August 22 revolt by 19 MLAs owing allegiance to sidelined AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran against the Chief Minister.

Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao had been given additional charge of the state since September 2016 before Kovind appointed Purohit as Governor of Tamil Nadu.

DMK Working President and Leader of Opposition, MK Stalin, who had earlier welcomed Purohit's appointment, had expressed confidence yesterday that the new Governor would "take appropriate action" on its plea for a floor test of the AIADMK government.

"We believe he will not function like the (previous) Governor in-charge (Rao). We believe he is arriving here to be sworn-in as Governor, well aware of the present political situation in Tamil Nadu and that its ruling dispensation has lost majority," Stalin, who participated in today's swearing-in of Purohit as Governor, had said on Thursday.

"We are, therefore, confident that he will for sure take appropriate steps in that regard," he had said in an apparent reference to opposition demands for a floor test of the Palaniswami government.

He said the DMK had approached the court seeking direction to the governor to order for a floor test of the Palaniswami government "after having lost confidence" in Rao.

Earlier, Rao had come under criticism from DMK for not ordering the floor test as demanded by it after the 18 MLAs, now disqualified, had expressed lack of confidence in the chief minister.

While originally 19 MLAs had revolted against Palaniswami, one of them later switched over to the faction led by the Chief Minister.

Tamil Nadu Speaker P Dhanapal had disqualified the 18 MLAs last month.

Following the August 22 revolt by 19 AIADMK MLAs, the opposition, including DMK, made a beeline to the Raj Bhavan seeking the governor's intervention. They had repeatedly urged Rao to direct a floor test of the Palaniswami government, contending that it had "lost its majority."

The Opposition had knocked the doors of President Kovind with a similar plea.

Dhinakaran had also later called on the Rao with a plea to remove Palaniswami as chief minister.

While the DMK has moved the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the governor for the conduct of the floor test, the disqualified legislators have also petitioned the court against the speaker's action.

Purohit, appointed last week amid growing calls for a full-time governor for the state, has been involved in social, political, educational and industrial fields in Vidharbha in Maharashtra. He plunged into active politics in 1977 and entered the Maharashtra Assembly for the first time in 1978 by winning the Nagpur East seat.

He is also credited with revival of 'The Hitavada', an English daily founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the mentor of Mahatma Gandhi.

Following the completion of Rosaiah's term, Vidyasagar Rao was given additional charge of Tamil Nadu in September 2016, days ahead of then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa being hospitalised.

CHENNAI: Banwarilal Purohit was today swornin as the 25th Governor of Tamil Nadu, taking over at a time when the state is witnessing political turbulence in the ruling AIADMK and demand by the opposition for a floor test. Chief Justice of Madras High Court, Justice Indira Banerjee, administered the oath of office to Purohit, a former Governor of Assam at a ceremony at Raj Bhavan here. Taking oath in the name of God, Purohit said he would "faithfully execute the office of governor of Tamil Nadu and will to the best of ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law and that I will devote myself to the service and well being of the people of Tamil Nadu." Chief Minister K Palaniswami, his cabinet colleagues, and DMK Working President and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly M K Stalin, were among those present. Senior BJP leaders including union minister Pon Radhakrishnan were among those present. Earlier, Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan read out the Warrant of Appointment issued on September 29 by President Ram Nath Kovind, appointing Purohit as Governor of Tamil Nadu. The first full-time Governor to be appointed since the completion of term of K Rosaiah in August 2016, Purohit, an experienced campaigner, has his task cut out as the Opposition DMK has already expressed that he would act on their plea for a floor test in the wake of the Palaniswami government being reduced to a "minority" following the August 22 revolt by 19 MLAs owing allegiance to sidelined AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran against the Chief Minister. Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao had been given additional charge of the state since September 2016 before Kovind appointed Purohit as Governor of Tamil Nadu. DMK Working President and Leader of Opposition, MK Stalin, who had earlier welcomed Purohit's appointment, had expressed confidence yesterday that the new Governor would "take appropriate action" on its plea for a floor test of the AIADMK government. "We believe he will not function like the (previous) Governor in-charge (Rao). We believe he is arriving here to be sworn-in as Governor, well aware of the present political situation in Tamil Nadu and that its ruling dispensation has lost majority," Stalin, who participated in today's swearing-in of Purohit as Governor, had said on Thursday. "We are, therefore, confident that he will for sure take appropriate steps in that regard," he had said in an apparent reference to opposition demands for a floor test of the Palaniswami government. He said the DMK had approached the court seeking direction to the governor to order for a floor test of the Palaniswami government "after having lost confidence" in Rao. Earlier, Rao had come under criticism from DMK for not ordering the floor test as demanded by it after the 18 MLAs, now disqualified, had expressed lack of confidence in the chief minister. While originally 19 MLAs had revolted against Palaniswami, one of them later switched over to the faction led by the Chief Minister. Tamil Nadu Speaker P Dhanapal had disqualified the 18 MLAs last month. Following the August 22 revolt by 19 AIADMK MLAs, the opposition, including DMK, made a beeline to the Raj Bhavan seeking the governor's intervention. They had repeatedly urged Rao to direct a floor test of the Palaniswami government, contending that it had "lost its majority." The Opposition had knocked the doors of President Kovind with a similar plea. Dhinakaran had also later called on the Rao with a plea to remove Palaniswami as chief minister. While the DMK has moved the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the governor for the conduct of the floor test, the disqualified legislators have also petitioned the court against the speaker's action. Purohit, appointed last week amid growing calls for a full-time governor for the state, has been involved in social, political, educational and industrial fields in Vidharbha in Maharashtra. He plunged into active politics in 1977 and entered the Maharashtra Assembly for the first time in 1978 by winning the Nagpur East seat. He is also credited with revival of 'The Hitavada', an English daily founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the mentor of Mahatma Gandhi. Following the completion of Rosaiah's term, Vidyasagar Rao was given additional charge of Tamil Nadu in September 2016, days ahead of then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa being hospitalised.
Champaign, IL (61820)

Today

Mainly cloudy with snow showers around in the morning. High 38F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 60%..

Tonight

Cloudy. A few flurries or snow showers possible. Low 29F. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.
A new concept, which offers a clear glimpse of what to expect from the next generation Crown, due in 2018, is packed with semi-autonomous driver aids and cutting-edge connectivity.

The Toyota Crown has been in production since 1955 and while its sister car, the Corolla, is better known around the world, in its native Japan, the Crown is a true automotive icon. And, as such, when Toyota wants to launch a new technology or showcase an innovation, it always does so with the Crown.

For instance, the current generation model can claim to be the world's first mass-produced connected car, going on sale in Japan in 2015 a full 18 months before Mercedes rolled out its similarly connected E-Class.

And with this new concept version of the Crown, which is making its global debut at the Tokyo motor show on October 25, the car is going from merely communicating to being able to crunch big data. Or as Toyota puts it from "safety realized by one car" to "safety realized by the whole city."

It will be able to collect and send data to Toyota's platform to help mitigate traffic jams or to stop congestion from developing in the first place and will be able to let the company know remotely when it's in need of maintenance or repair.

However, the Crown, which will be going from concept to production reality in 2018, is more than just a computer with a wheel at each corner.

Toyota has engineered it to be a fun-to-drive sedan. It uses a platform developed at the Nurburgring of all places, and the company claims that while it will handle like a nimble coupe this responsiveness and performance will not jeopardize its ride quality. The suspension won't be so hard that passengers feel every bump and dip in the road.

Also Watch: Audi A5 and S5 Sportback | First Drive Review | Cars18
Eating out is set to become cheaper with the GST council in-principle agreeing to reduce the GST rate from the current 18 percent to 12 percent. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announces that a group of ministers will relook tax on AC restaurants. He also said on-composition scheme taxpayers with turnover up to Rs 1.5 crore can now file quarterly returns.

Stay tuned for LIVE updates:

Read all the Latest News , Breaking News , watch Top Videos and Live TV here.
New Delhi: The all-powerful Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council will hold its 22nd meeting on Friday and is likely to consider relaxing the return filing cycle for small and medium enterprises.

Implemented on July 1, the GST replaced 17 central and state taxes to unite the country as one market but has been facing starting trouble. Among the challenges are the monthly filing of returns and the glitches in the GST Network portal.

Moneycontrol.com quoted a senior government official as saying that a change in the return filing cycle was likely. A quarterly return filing could be implemented for small businesses," the official said.

The official added that the cut-off of annual turnover which qualifies a company as small business will be decided by the GST Council on Friday.

At present, all businesses have to file three monthly returns and one annual return.

Till August 28, more than 36 lakh businesses had filed first tax returns under the GST regime out of a total of 68.2 lakh taxpayers and tweaks to the filing mechanism for small businesses may help push up the compliance rate.

The GST Council on Friday may also consider reopening the registration for composition scheme for the third time. The composition scheme is an alternative method of levy of tax designed for small taxpayers whose turnover is up to Rs 75 lakh; Rs 50 lakh in the case of eight north-eastern states and Himachal Pradesh. The objective behind it is to bring simplicity and reduce the compliance cost for small taxpayers.

The scheme is optional under which manufacturers other than those of ice cream, pan masala and tobacco products have to pay a 2 per cent tax on their annual turnover. The tax rate is 5 per cent for restaurant services and 1 per cent for traders.

If the Council approves, registration for the composition scheme will be open till March 31, 2018. The annual turnover for businesses opting for the scheme may be increased up to Rs 1 crore, another official told Moneycontrol.com.

As per the Central GST Act, businesses are eligible to opt for the composition scheme if a person is not engaged in any inter-state outward supplies of goods and not into making any supply of goods through an electronic commerce operator who is required to collect tax at source.

A composition taxpayer is not required to keep detailed records that a normal taxpayer is supposed to maintain.

The GST Council may also defer the reverse charge mechanism. The mechanism is one wherein the tax is applicable on a registered entity buying a good or service from an unregistered one.

This will be the 22nd meeting of the GST Council. The Group of Ministers, under Sushil Modi, set up to look into GSTN glitches are likely to brief the Council on the portal's functioning.

With over 33 lakh businesses filing the final GSTR-1 return, the GoM has tasked GSTN to send reminder text messages to the remaining 20 lakh businesses that are yet to submit the tax forms.

The last date for filing of final sales returns for July in GSTR-1 form is October 10, while the date for uploading of purchase returns in GSTR-2 is October 31. The final GSTR-3, matching GSTR-1 and 2, is to be filed by November 10.

The GoM in its meeting on Wednesday has asked GSTN and Infosys, which manages the IT infrastructure, to brace up for handling the rush of last-minute filers.
New Delhi: Five Air Force personnel and two Armymen were killed on Friday when an IAF helicopter ferrying kerosene cans burst into flames in Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh.

The mishap happened at an altitude of 17,000 feet when the Mi-17 V5 chopper crew were getting ready to drop kerosene supply at a forward location.

While jerry cans of kerosene were being offloaded, the net holding the cans got entangled in the aircrafts rear rotor, sources said. The chopper caught fire and crashed to the ground, killing all onboard.

When the chopper caught fire, one of the crew members jumped out, but couldnt survive, sources said.

The chopper crashed at 6am, just 10km from the India-China border.

A Court of Inquiry has been ordered into the crash.

The deceased were identified as Wing Commander Vikram Upadhyay, Squadron Leader S Tiwari, MWO AK Singh, Sergeant Gautam and Sergeant Satish Kumar of the Air Force, and Sepoy E Balaji and Sepoy HN Deka of the Army.

Its a sad incident. There can be many reasons that led to the crash. It can be weather or technical issues. It is not right for me to comment before the probe report is out, said former Army chief and Union minister VK Singh.

The crash comes a day before the IAF celebrates Air Force Day.

"Our losses in the peacetime are a cause of concern. We are making concerted efforts to minimise accidents and preserve our assets," Air Force chief Marshal BS Dhanoa had said on Thursday, referring to a string of crashes of IAF choppers and military jets in recent years.

In July, it was reported that Russia and India are holding negotiations for the supply of 48 Russian Mi-17 military transport helicopters with Moscow hoping to seal the deal by the year end.

According to a PTI report, last year Russia had handed over to India the final batch of three Mi-17 V5 military transport helicopters under a previously signed contract with Rosoboronexport, a company of the Rostec State Corporation, entailing a total of 151 units of the Mi-17 V5 helicopter, produced by the Kazan Helicopter Plant.

Designed to transport cargo inside the cabin and on an external sling, the Mi-17 V5 is considered to be one of the world's most advanced military transport helicopters.
Lucknow: The chairperson of National Commission for Women, Rekha Sharma, said on Friday that the violence at BHU campus was a conspiracy by outsiders.

Speaking to the media in Varanasi, Sharma said that the girls were protesting peacefully but some outsiders and anti-social elements hijacked the protest, and this eventually led to the violence.

The lathi-charge on girls is condemnable, but the situation went out of hand when outsiders hijacked the protest and started provoking students. Police had to resort to lathi-charge, she said.

On being asked about her meeting with vice-chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi, she said, He did not meet me and neither did he answer my call. He will be summoned to Delhi as he did not play his role in controlling the situation.

Tripathi is under fire for his alleged mishandling of the student protests. He has gone on leave amid indications from top HRD Ministry sources that the central government was upset with the manner in which he handled the entire episode. Tripathi even blamed the girls for dishonouring the university by protesting against harassment.

Sharma further said that a few men are living in the hostel illegally and she has asked the female students to identify and list them. The list will be given to the SSP and action will be taken against the culprits, she said.

Our team found that there are many cases of harassment on campus, she said, claiming that it was mostly BHU students involved in such cases.

The security at the campus has been increased, Sharma said. We have instructed the university administration to increase security outside the Naveen Hostel. CCTV cameras have also been installed in the campus. The SSP has also been asked to deploy extra police force, she added.

Last month, a number of students, including women and two journalists, were injured in a lathi-charge by the police after students launched a protest against an alleged harassment and university inaction.
New Delhi: The Travancore Devaswom (Temple) Recruitment Board has led the way for social inclusion in Kerala as it shortlisted 36 people from Dalit and backward communities as temple priests.

The complete list of 62 candidates was released on Thursday, and all of them were chosen after interviews and necessary tests.

This is the first time that appointment of temple priests in Kerala is being done on the basis of reservation norms which exist in the recruitment of government staff.

The total reservation for SC/ST and OBC categories is 32% and those selected will now be appointed in temples under the Travancore Devaswom Board.

An official statement said that instructions had been given by Devaswom minister Kadakampally Surendran asking the board to comply with the merit list and reservation norms.

This significant step will now pave the way for the appointment of priests in Sabarimala, which is under the Travancore Devaswom Board. According to current rules, only Brahmins can hold the distinguished position in the temple. A petition is pending in the high court challenging the same and demanding appointment of Dalit priests.

Media reports quoted Board chairman Rajagopalan Nair as saying that said this was the first time that SC/ST and backward communities were being given reservation in the recruitment of priests.

Earlier, we had some priests from backward communities who made it to the list through merit. The demand for reservation for Dalits has been persisting for several decades. Previous attempts to meet the demand had faced stiff resistance from certain quarters. But now we have made it a reality, Nair said. He added that in future, priests of other Devaswom boards, especially those in Cochin and Malabar, will be appointed in the same manner.

The decision comes five years after the Supreme Court, in a landmark judgement, said that eligibility of priesthood should be the knowledge of rites and traditions, not the case. The court was hearing a petition filed by Rakesh KS, who was not allowed to take up the post of the priest at the Neerikodu Siva Temple in Ernakulam as he was an Ezhava.

Caste Over Serving The Gods

The move by Travancore Devaswom Board comes in the wake of cases of temple priests fighting the management over case discrimination, despite the apex courts order.

Earlier this year in June, the Travancore Devaswom Board had cancelled the appointment of a non-Brahmin priest in Chettikulangara Devi Temple in Alappuzha. Sudhikumar, belonging to the Ezhava community was appointed as keezhshanti (junior priest) in June, an appointment which was opposed by the Hindu Matha Convention saying his appointment would anger the Goddess.

Sudhikumar challenged the cancellation of his appointment at the Kerala State Human Rights Commission. The Devaswom Board, last week, re-appointed him as keezhshanti.

As soon as word spread about his re-appointment, Sudhikumar was allegedly threatened by the chief priest of Pathiyooor Devi Temple.

Sudhikumars case is not the only one. A non-Brahmin priest was, in August, allegedly thrown out from a temple in Kottayam district when he went there with his appointment order citing local temple customs.
New Delhi: China has maintained a sizeable presence of its troops near the site of the Doklam standoff with India and even started widening an existing road which is at a distance of around 12 km from the area of conflict.

Sources said China has been slowly increasing its troop level in the Doklam Plateau which could further escalate the current situation as India has reasons to be concerned over it.

They said an existing road is also being strengthened in the Doklam plateau, adding the road is at a distance of around 12 kms from the earlier face-off site.

An indication of tension between the two countries due to presence of Chinese forces in the Chumbi Valley in the Doklam Plateau was also given by Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa on Thursday.

"The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, their forces in Chumbi Valley are still deployed and I expect them to withdraw as their exercise in the area gets over," Dhanoa told reporters.

There has been territorial disputes between China and Bhutan over Doklam and India has been staunchly supporting Thimphu over the issue.

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day-long standoff in Doklam since June 16 after the Indian side stopped the building of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army. Bhutan and China have a dispute over Doklam.

Bhutan and India were in touch with each other during the course of the face-off that ended on August 28.

Days after the face-off ended, Army Chief Bipin Rawat had said China has started "flexing its muscles" and warned that the situation in India's northern border could snowball into a larger conflict.

There are also reports that People's Liberation Army (PLA) has increased more troops on its forward post in Yatung.

Sources said though Chinese troops have been deployed in Doklam Plateau, they leave the area during winters.

But, there were indications that they may leave the areas this time, they added.
New Delhi: Amid tepid GDP growth numbers and criticism from small businesses and export houses, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley-led Goods and Services Tax Council met on Friday to review the implementation of tax regime and announced a slew of measures to boost economic activity.

Jaitley said small businesses would be allowed to file tax returns once a quarter instead of monthly returns. The compliance burden of SMEs in GST has been cut while eligibility of composition scheme has raised to Rs 1 crore.

GST rate on some stationery items, diesel engine parts has been reduced to 18% from 28%.

GST rates of 27 items reviewed by the GST Council, including sliced dry mangoes, khakhra, unbranded namkeen, chapati have also been cut.

A group of ministers will study taxation regime for restaurants, especially on bifurcation on basis of AC & non-AC restaurants. If this gets through, air-conditioned restaurants will charge 12% GST, lower than 18% at present.

Tax refunds of July and August for exporters will be processed from 10 October, said Jaitley, adding that e-wallet for exporters to start from 1 April 2018.

GST doesnt have exemptions, and hence there will be an e-wallet for each exporter with a notional advance refund amount. E-wallet for exporters to be implemented by 1st April 2018, till then they can file GST on the rate of nominal 0.1%, said Jaitley.

Jaitley said reverse charge mechanism for transactions between registered and unregistered businesses has been deferred till March 31, 2018.

The government also scrapped GST notification on gems and jewellery stating that PAN card will no longer be mandatory on the purchase of jewellery for over Rs 50,000.

Small and medium-sized enterprises, crucial to Prime Minister Narendra Modis plans to create millions more of jobs, have been hurt by the massive tax overhaul that added layers of extra bureaucracy for firms and hit exports.

Recently, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat said small businesses must be protected. While reforming and cleaning the economic systems, although some tremors and instability is expected, it should be kept in mind that these sectors (SMEs) should feel the minimum heat and ultimately they should get the maximum strength, Bhagwat had said during annual Vijayadashmi speech.
Raipur: Former Union minister and socialist leader Purushottam Lal Kaushik on Thursday died due to age-related ailments at his home in Chhattisgarh's Mahasamund district. He was 87.

Kaushik breathed his last at his residence in Mahasamund town this afternoon due to age-related ailments, his family members said.

He had served as tourism and civil aviation minister in the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai's cabinet during 1977- 1979.

He headed the Information and Broadcasting Ministry in the then Prime Minister Charan Singh's cabinet during July 1979-January 1980, an official statement said here.

His last rites will be performed with state honours in Mahasamund on Friday.

Born on September 24, 1930, in Mahasamund, Kaushik had obtained his LLB degree from the Nagpur University in 1954.

Inspired by the ideas and political movements launched by Samajwadi leaders Ram Manohar Lohia and Jay Prakash Narayan, Kaushik had entered into politics and became the pioneer of Samajwadi movement in the state.

During the 1970s, he had led farmers' agitations in the state.

He was elected as an MLA from Mahasamund seat in 1972 to the then Madhya Pradesh Assembly and as an MP from Raipur in the year 1977 and from Durg in 1989.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh expressed his deep condolence over the death of the veteran leader.

In his condolence message, the CM said the state had lost a legendary socialist thinker and well-wisher of farmers.

"Kaushik toiled tirelessly for the welfare of depressed sections of the society-villagers, farmers and the poor. He served the state as an MLA, MP and central minister," Singh said.

Kaushik was imprisoned during the Emergency for defending the democratic aspirations of the common masses, he added.
New Delhi: The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) on Friday won the Nobel Peace Prize for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons. The Nobel for the forum, which was instrumental in pushing through the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in July this year has given fresh impetus to its partner organizations in India and Pakistan, both nuclear-armed states, to write to Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi to work towards eliminating their respective stockpiles.

Since its inception, ICAN has partnered with 468 Non-governmental organization (NGOs) in 101 countries. It has three partner-organizations each in India  Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IPDP); Indian Institute for Peace, Disarmament and Environmental Protection (IIPDEP); and Popular Education and Action Centre (PEACE)  and in Pakistan  Community Motivation & Development Organization (CMDO); Pakistan Doctors for Peace and Development (PDPD); and Alliance for Peace and Disability Rights (APDR).

Dr Arun Mitra, Ludhiana-based co-president of IDPD, told News 18, Nobel Peace Prize is a recognition of constant efforts of the forces of peace who worked hard and became instrumental in getting the TPNW through in the UN General Assembly on July 7, 2017. The campaign was started nearly a decade ago, in which many peace organizations worked together... It is now time that the nuclear weapon states come forward and sign the treaty.

The Indian subcontinent, with two of the worlds eight nuclear-armed countries, has often been described as one of the most dangerous places in the world. While the eyes of the world are currently trained on the US-North Korea spat over the latters military nuclear program, rising tensions between India and Pakistan over the last year have also raised fears of a potential war.

ICAN has partner organizations in 101 countries but those of us in India and Pakistan have a particularly difficult job to do. After all, we are operating out of nuclear-armed neighbor states that are at each others throats half the time. Our job is to lobby with two governments with nukes that distrust each other. That is why we have decided to co-author a letter with our friends in the PDPD, a Karachi-based organization, addressed to the Prime Ministers of both India and Pakistan. We plan to send the letter to both of them on Saturday, he said.

The letter, a copy of which is with News 18, reads, As medical professionals we are deeply concerned over the catastrophic health crises that would follow in the event of nuclear fallout. Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD) and Pakistan Doctors for Peace and Development (PDPD) both affiliates of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), recipient of Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 have been campaigning for total nuclear disarmament, check on proliferation of small arms, solution to all the issues through mutual dialogue and end to violence of all kinds.

The letter further appeals the Prime Ministers to focus, instead, on the large-scale poverty in both nations. It says, We are poor countries and need to cut down on the arms race significantly to improve the life style including health and education of our people. It is therefore imperative that both Pakistan and India not only sign the treaty but also convince other nuclear weapon possessing countries to be part of this multilateral global effort for abolition of nuclear weapons.

Currently, there are eight nations in the world that possess nuclear weapons. These are the United States of America, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan and North Korea. Israel, too, is believed to possess nuclear weapons, though the middle-eastern nation has not officially declared such. India, Pakistan and North Korea are not signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

India had refused to be a part of it in the 1960s, claiming the NPT regime to be discriminatory. India said it created a world of haves and have-nots. In 2006, after a round of negotiations between then US President George W Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, India decided to separate its civilian and military nuclear programs. Pakistan, too, has refused to become a part of the NPT.

On Thursday, Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief BS Dhanoa had on Thursday assured the nation that if the need arises, the IAF had the capability to disarm Pakistans nuclear arsenal by conducting what he called a full-spectrum operation. This triggered an angry reaction from Pakistani Foreign Minister Khwaja Asif who in Washington on Friday warned that if India launched surgical strikes against Pakistan or targeted its nuclear installations, nobody should expect restraint from Islamabad.
New Delhi: The European Union (EU) on Friday gave thumbs up to India's Goods and Services Tax (GST) saying the new tax regime would facilitate ease of doing business.

Visiting EU leaders also welcomed India's efforts to promote economic and social development and expressed interest in participating in initiatives such as 'Make in India' 'Digital India', 'Skill India', and 'Start-Up India'.

"The EU closely follows Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's economic reforms, including the historic introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which can facilitate ease of doing business and promotes market integration in India by realising a simple, efficient and nation-wide indirect tax system," a said India EU Joint Statement issued during India- EU Summit.

The 14th annual summit between India and the European Union (EU) was held here. India was represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The EU was represented by Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and Jean Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission.

Modi appreciated the ongoing participation by EU companies in the flagship initiatives and called for their deeper engagement in India's developmental priorities.

The statement further said that the EU side encouraged the greater participation of Indian business organisations into the Enterprise Europe Network.

"The leaders noted the progress made on EU-India cooperation on resource efficiency and circular economy. Both sides agreed to enhanced cooperation and exchange of experience and best practices in the field of Intellectual Property rights (IPR) and public procurement," it said.

The leaders expressed their shared commitment to strengthening the Economic Partnership between India and the EU and noted the ongoing efforts of both sides to re-engage actively towards timely relaunching negotiations for a comprehensive and mutually beneficial India-EU Broad Based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA).

With regard to import tolerance level of tricyclazole in rice the relevant plant protection companies will be invited to present new scientific data in order for the European Food Safety Authority to carry out an additional risk assessment without delay, the statement said.

On this basis, the European Commission would expeditiously consider whether to review the above mentioned Regulation.

Both the sides also supported early institutionalisation of cooperation between the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to focus on exchange of knowledge and expertise in the area of methodologies for data collection, risk assessment and risk communication.

Leaders welcomed the establishment of an Investment Facilitation Mechanism (IFM) for EU investments in India as a means to improve the business climate and hoped that the IFM will ease sharing of best practices and innovative technology from the EU to India.

"Leaders acknowledged that the 'Make in India' initiative may offer investment opportunities for companies based in the EU Member States," it said.

Further, the two sides reiterated the importance of reconciling economic growth and environment protection.

"They highlighted the importance of moving towards a more circular economic model that reduces primary resource consumption and enhanced the use of secondary raw materials," the statement added.

Leaders also reaffirmed their commitment to work together with all Members of the WTO to make the eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference a success with concrete results.
New Delhi: From recent attacks on Dalits for donning upper caste-like mustache to Una Dalit floggings, cases of atrocities against Dalits in Gujarat have made it to headlines times and again. Last month, BJP chief Amit Shah said Gujarat was among the states which witnessed least atrocities against Dalits. But government records show a different picture.

Gujarat's crime rate  case registered per 100,000 population  against Scheduled Castes was fifth highest among 26 states and Union Territories that registered such atrocities. Madhya Pradesh topped the list at 45.1%.

The crime rate for atrocities against scheduled castes (SCs) in Gujarat was 32.5% in 2016, above the national average of 20.4%, according to government data.

Additionally, the state's conviction rate for atrocities against SCs was 4.7% in 2016, substantially below the national average of 27.3% and 60% in Uttar Pradesh, the state that reported most atrocities against SCs.

Earlier this month, a Dalit man was allegedly lynched by members of upper caste Patel community for watching people do the garba, the traditional Gujarati dance.

In another incident, a Dalit man was beaten up in Gandhinagar district by Rajputs for sporting a moustache. The response to the violence was palpable on social media, with people posting selfies on Twitter and Facebook, showing off their moustache. Post that, Dalit leader Jagdish Mewani was detained outside the Gujarat Secretariat during a protest march.

As many as 1,321 atrocities against Dalits were reported in Gujarat in 2016, according to a submission in the Rajya Sabha on July 26 2017.

Atrocities reported against SCs in Gujarat saw a rise to the tune of 31%  from 1,009 cases in 2015 to 1,321 in 2016.

As far as national data was concerned, atrocities reported against SCs across the country increased 6%  from 38,564 in 2015 to 41,014 in 2016.

In terms of number of cases, Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 10,457 cases, followed by Bihar (5,701), Rajasthan (5,134), Madhya Pradesh (5,123) and Andhra Pradesh (2,343).
New Delhi: Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) OP Rawat stirred the hornets nest earlier this week when he said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) was prepared to hold simultaneous elections for state assemblies and the Lok Sabha. The issue, raised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after taking charge, has sharply divided his political allies and adversaries alike. News 18 looks at who stands where on this polarising issue.

For simultaneous polls

BJP: The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is in power in 18 states across the country and in 13 of these, the Chief Minister belongs to the BJP. All 18 CMs have the power to dissolve the assembly if they so wish. The Prime Minister in November last year had urged a discussion on the possibility of simultaneous polls. "Such issues should be discussed to seek public opinion ... it could go either way, may be people will support or oppose it but there should be discussion which media needs to initiate," Modi had said.

TDP: The Telegu Desam Party is a BJP ally and is in power with the BJP in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The state is headed to polls in 2019 and if the Lok Sabha polls are advanced to 2018, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu will have to dissolve the assembly a year in advance. The TDP has supported the PMs idea of holding simultaneous elections.

JD (U): The Janata Dal (United), after a brief stint in alliance with the RJD, has come back to the NDA fold. Bihar is not due to go to polls before 2020 but the ruling party in the state has backed the idea of simultaneous polls. However, JD (U) has added a rider saying that the Prime Minister must first call an all-party meet and discuss a constitutional amendment to Article 356, which allows for Presidents rule in a state.

Against simultaneous polls

Left parties: Both the CPI and the CPI (M) have opposed the move to hold simultaneous elections, calling the move unrealistic. CPI leader D Raja said, "Simultaneous polls are not feasible as the central government cannot force all state governments to go for polls during Lok Sabha elections". Raja went as far as to say that the ECI was toeing the BJPs line. Senior CPI (M) leader Brinda Karat, too, criticized the idea and said it was a political issue that cannot be decided by an individual. The Left is in power in the states of Tripura and Kerala, where CPI (M)s Manik Sarkar and Pinarayi Vijayan are the Chief Ministers. While Kerala is not due for polls till 2021, Tripura is scheduled to have assembly polls in 2018.

TRS: The Telangana Rashtra Samiti, the ruling party in the newly formed state of Telangana, on Friday openly criticized the idea of One Nation, One Poll. Telangana Rashtra Samitis (TRS) floor leader in the Lower House, A P Jithender Reddy, said people elect a government for a term of five years, and this mandate should be allowed to be completed. "We are always ready (for elections) but what I think is when the mandate is given for five years, we (states) should complete the mandated period," Reddy told PTI.

RJD: Lalu Prasad Yadav, the RJD Chief, had made his stand on the governments One Nation, One Poll idea clear back in May. When he was still a part of the Bihar ruling alliance, Yadav had said, NITI Ayogs suggestion to hold simultaneous Lok Sabha and Assembly polls is a conspiracy to finish regional parties. We will oppose any such move.

DMK: The DMK, the main opposition party in Tamil Nadu, has also opposed the idea. DMK leader T Siva told an English daily, As long as Article 356 is there, you cannot hold simultaneous elections. The ninth Lok Sabha ran for one-and-a-half years, the 11th for 18 months and the 12th for 13 months. You cant guarantee that the Lok Sabha will run for five years... Could the governments in States which went to the polls last year or this year be dissolved? They have been given a five-year mandate. This is an anti-democratic move.

Unclear stand

Congress: While the Indian National Congress (INC) has dared PM Modi to go for early polls, so that the people could give a befitting reply to his election jumlas, it has not cleared its stand on where it stands on the issue of simultaneous polls. When asked about the idea, Congress gave a cryptic reply to saying the EC had a constitutional obligation to conduct free and fair elections and be ready to conduct election with appropriate notice from the government.
Washington: Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif has warned India against carrying out surgical strike or targeting its nuclear installations, saying if that happens nobody should expect restraint from his country.

Referring to the statement of India's Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa that the Indian armed forces are ready for a full spectrum operation, Asif said Pakistan wants to live in peace and harmony with its neighbours.

But if India carries out any surgical strike in Pakistan or strikes at its nuclear installations "nobody should expect restraint from us", he warned.

Speaking at the US Institute of Peace, a Washington-based think-tank, Asif said the "relationship with India is at a lowest ebb at the moment".

Responding to a question on India, he said, " sadly India did not respond" to Pakistani efforts to improve relationship.

"What is going on in Kashmir is the biggest roadblock to normalisation to talks," Asif said.

The Pakistani Foreign Minister asked the US not to treat his country as a "whipping boy" and said Washington has already lost the war in Afghanistan and is only trying to salvage the situation in the war-torn nation.

Asif, who is here as part of efforts to rebuild bilateral ties frayed after President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of sheltering terror groups, said his meetings with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Advisor H R McMaster were good.

"Was not bad," Asif quipped, giving a sense of his talks with top leadership of the Trump administration, which has been seeking accountability from Islamabad in the war against terrorism including continued presence of terror safe havens in Pakistan.

Asif in a way acknowledged that the madrasas were training ground for terrorists.

"These madrasas were nurseries for American jihad in Afghanistan. People who took those decisions will burn to hell. We are actually living in hell because of that decision," he said, adding that Pakistan is paying the price of such a decision.

"The meeting went well with Tillerson and McMaster (meeting) was good. (It) was not bad," Asif said, noting that the two countries need to pursue contacts with each other.

He favoured adopting an approach of talks and exchange of views more vigorously.

The US, he said, is focusing solely on safe haven allegations or blaming Pakistan for what they have not achieved in Afghanistan.

"There are many more dimension of what is going on in Afghanistan," he said.

"A corrupt government in Kabul, increasing narcotics trade, the Afghan Army selling arms to the Taliban, losing terrorist and bringing Daesh (ISIS) to Afghanistan," he said.

"Let's see this conflict in its entirety, in totality. Do not treat Pakistan like a whipping boy. That's not acceptable.

We want to cooperate with the US. We are the direct beneficiary of peace and stability in Afghanistan," he said.

Standing by his remarks on some of the terrorist groups and terrorist leaders at the Asia Society in New York last week, Asif said they are a liability.

"We will find ways and means to wrapping up this business. This is a liability. (but) this cannot be wrapped up overnight," he said.

Responding to a question, Asif said there are problems in US-Pakistan ties.

"We do have problems with the US. We have deficit of trust. We are trying to mend those deficits," he said.

Pakistan, he said, sees more role for Russia and China in the region.
Beijing: China on Friday defended the presence of its troops in the Dokalam area, over a month after the standoff with India ended, saying its soldiers are patrolling the region, also claimed by Bhutan, to exercise Beijing's sovereignty.

"The Donglang (Doklam) area has always belonged to China and has been under the effective jurisdiction of China," the Chinese Foreign Ministry told PTI in Beijing in response to questions about a report that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is beefing up troops in the area.

"There is no dispute. The Chinese border forces have been patrolling in the area of Donglang, exercising their sovereign rights and safeguarding territorial sovereignty according to the historical boundary," the ministry said in a written response.

The 73-day Doklam standoff which began on June 16 over PLA's plans to build a road in area claimed by Bhutan, ended on August 28 following mutual agreement between India and China.

Recent reports in India said China has beefed up its troop strength in the area.

On Thursday, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa said Chinese troops were currently present in the Chumbi Valley, which is in the Dokalam Plateau, and added that a peaceful resolution of the issue would be in the interest of both countries.

"The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, their forces in Chumbi Valley are still deployed and I expect them to withdraw as their exercise in the area gets over," Dhanoa said.

About Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar's visit to Bhutan, the first such visit after the Dokalam standoff, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said "although China and Bhutan have not yet established diplomatic relations, the two countries have maintained traditional friendly relations".

It said China has always respected Bhutan's sovereignty and independence.

"China hopes that other countries also respect Bhutan's sovereignty and independence and develop normal bilateral relations with Bhutan, at the same time also hopes it can help enhance the mutual trust between regional countries, safeguarding regional peace and stability," it said.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday wondered whether it will be wise and legal to reopen Mahatma Gandhis assassination case after almost six decades.

A bench of Justices SA Bobde and L Nageswara Rao raised several questions over the legality and maintainability of the PIL but agreed to examine various aspects of it before taking a final call.

The court asked senior advocate Amarendra Sharan to go through the petition and several documents relied upon by petitioner Dr Pankaj Phadnis, a researcher and a trustee of Abhinav Bharat, Mumbai.

It requested Sharan to examine if the Court should get into this issue at all. "We find it difficult to say it can be done in law. But you can see his passion. You examine the petition and tell us what you think," Justice Bobde told Sharan. The bench will hear the case next on October 30.

When the hearing began on Friday, Phadnis sought for some time to adduce some more documents. The bench, however, sought to know about the merits of the PIL.

Why should we reopen something, which happened in 1948-49. Then Kapoor Commission report also came some 40 years ago, the Court questioned Phadnis.

Phadnis responded that the Supreme Court never had the opportunity to examine the case since Mahatmas two assassins were executed in 1949 whereas the SC came into being in 1950.

The bench replied that there was nothing wrong in law if the convicts were hanged following an affirmation by the high court concerned.

What is the new information you have now? We cant go into passion but only on law. You say there was a third person involved an organisation. We cannot convict organisation. So do you know if the third person from that organisation who you allege to be involved is even alive today? Do we order investigation into a matter in which even the person concerned may not be alive? it asked Phadnis.

Phadnis said that there were adequate evidence available in national archives and with other governmental agencies in India and in the US that could form the basis of an investigation even today.

To this, the bench retorted: Your intentions could be noble but the real question is whether it will be wise and legal for the Court to entertain such a petition. There is a law of limitation too. Even the Evidence Act could be a bar.

Phadnis has sought the re-opening of investigation into Mahatma Gandhis murder, suggesting whether it was one of the biggest cover-ups in history.

In the petition, Phadnis has also questioned the three bullet theory relied upon by various courts of law to hold the conviction of accused  Nathuram Godse and Narayan Apte who were hanged to death on November 15, 1949, and Vinayak Damodar Savarkar who was given the benefit of doubt due to lack of evidence.

He has claimed that the Justice J L Kapur Commission of Inquiry set up in 1966 was not able to unearth the entire conspiracy that had led to the killing of Gandhi.

Inspired by Savarkar, Abinav Bharat, Mumbai, was set up in 2001 and it claims to work for socially and economically weaker sections with a focus on bridging the digital divide.
New Delhi: In order "to ensure transparency", the Supreme Court has finally opened up its doors to greater transparency in matters of judicial appointments.

Giving in to a long-standing demand, the SC Collegium, comprising Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, has resolved to make all its recommendations public on the Supreme Court website.

The Collegium also includes the four other senior-most judges, Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph.

The Collegium passed the resolution on October 3, maintaining that their recommendations to the government regarding appointment, transfer and elevation of judges will henceforth be published on the SC website.

The details will also indicate the reasons for making particular recommendations, which will ensure objectivity.

On Friday morning, the SC website added a separate tab for "Collegium Resolutions" for putting information about appointments, transfers and elevation of constitutional court judges.

The October 3 resolution read: "The decisions henceforth taken by the Collegium indicating the reasons shall be put on the website of the Supreme Court, when the recommendation(s) is/are sent to the Government of India, with regard to the cases relating to initial elevation to the High Court Bench, confirmation as permanent Judge(s) of the High Court, elevation to the post of Chief Justice of High Court, transfer of High Court Chief Justices / Judges and elevation to the Supreme Court, because on each occasion the material which is considered by the Collegium is different."

It further specified: "The Resolution is passed to ensure transparency and yet maintain confidentiality in the Collegium system."

The SC Collegium has been often criticised for its opaqueness and lack of objective criteria for assessing candidates.

The Collegium and the government have failed to reach a consensus regarding a new Memorandum of Procedure (MoP), which has to guide all future appointments.

While finalization of the MoP remains pending after the CJI sent the Collegium's draft around five months ago, the Collegium's resolution has broken new grounds in sending a signal that SC is not averse to letting people know how are judges are appointed.

This is also likely to be seen as a major move by new CJI Dipak Misra, who is likely to appoint 10 judges in the Supreme Court and will make endeavour to fill up huge vacancies in 24 high courts across the country.
After a long 10-year wait, the French winemaker behind the prestigious Lafite brand is ready to release its first Chinese wine next fall.

In an interview with a wine magazine, Domaines Barons de Rothschild (DBR), parent company of Chateau Lafite Rothschild, said they expect to release their first bottles of Chinese wines by autumn 2018. The release will mark a grand debut out of one of the most hotly anticipated wine projects in recent years and coincide with a 10-year milestone.

The Domaine de Penglai project was born in 2008.

Instead of planting vineyards in China's more famous wine region Ningxia -- home to 250 wine companies -- DBR chose to plant their flag near the city of Penglai on the Shangdong Peninsula in eastern China. The hilly green peninsula has a century-long history of winemaking. Rival LVMH, meanwhile, chose Yunnan province to plant their vineyards. This fall marks DBR's fifth harvest. Of the 25ha planted in 2011, 55 percent is Cabernet Sauvignon, 15 percent Cabernet Franc, 10 percent Syrah, 10 percent Marselan and 10 percent Merlot. According to Decanter, another 25ha is slated to be planted in 2018.

The initial run is expected to be between 2,000 to 3,000 cases and will be sold mostly within China. China is on track to become the world's second-largest wine consumer in value behind the US by 2020, according to the latest stats out of the International Wine & Spirit Research group. A stalled economy and anti-corruption laws, however, have slowed Chinese wine consumption in the last year.
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Padmapriya Janakiraman, Svar Kamble, Milind Soman, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Sobhita Dhulipala

Director: Raja Krishna Menon

As feel-good films go, Chef, starring Saif Ali Khan, is inoffensive and frequently charming. Its a decent but far-from-spectacular remake of the Jon Favreau starrer from 2014, about a celebrated culinary genius whose sudden fall from grace leads him to question where his heart truly lies.

Airlift director Raja Menon remains more or less faithful to the blueprint of the original film while ditching its scrappy, indie feel for a broader, glossier approach.

In a case of terrific casting, Saif plays Roshan Kalra, a top New York chef who flips out when a patron criticizes his cooking and is fired when he refuses to take responsibility for his actions. Jobless, and confused about what to do next, Roshan travels to Kochi to visit his ex-wife Radha (Padmapriya Janakiraman) and son Armaan (Svar Kamble) who he hasnt seen in some time.

One of the best things about the film is the refreshingly mature handling of Roshan and Radhas post-divorce relationship, even if the reason for their break-up is never explained, barring the frankly lame suggestion that his obsession with his work might have driven a wedge between them. There are some laughs to be had from Roshans mixed-but-never-melodramatic response to the presence of a new man in Radhas life, namely the mild-mannered, salt-and-pepper haired art collector Biju (Milind Soman), who by all accounts appears to be a better catch than Roshan himself.

While in India, Roshan gets a chance to bond with his son when he decides to remodel a rundown double-decker bus into a hip food-truck. Joined by a friend from New York (Chandan Roy Sanyal) and a temperamental driver, father and son hit the road, serving up their exotic roti-pizza concoction at multiple stops between Kochi and Delhi, even as Roshan routinely imparts life lessons to the kid in scenes that come off a little ham-fisted.

The writing, in fact, is the weak link here. There is little surprise or unpredictability in the narrative, and aside from a handful of smart moments  a reference to Saifs character in Dil Chahta Hai for one  very little flies of the page.

Menon and his writers conceive the film as both a mouth and eye-watering showreel for Indian food and travel. The portions filmed in Kerala are especially evocative, but as a film with food as one of its key themes, Chef leaves you wanting.

The cooking scenes never come alive with passion or flair. Theyre adequately shot, but the love and magic is oddly missing. You only have to watch Ritesh Batras The Lunchbox or even Amole Guptes Stanley Ka Dabba to see how skillfully those filmmakers elevated the mundane task of cooking into a sumptuous sensory experience. After watching Favreau whip up a pasta in the original film, I wanted to rush out for an Italian meal. This film leaves you with no such cravings.

If the film isnt completely derailed by its shortcomings, its because its a light, breezy watch. A big reason for that is clever casting. Saif Ali Khan does some of his best work lately as an angry, insecure, middle-aged fella at the center of this belated coming-of-age tale. Hes flawed and clearly a work-in-progress, and the actor brings out the characters contradictions and complexities with empathy.

Smartly, the filmmakers surround Saif with an ensemble of mostly unknown faces in order to ground the film in authenticity. The lovely Padmapriya Janakiraman has a luminous presence as Radha, and Svar Kamble has none of the annoying affectations of so many child actors.

Chef isnt perfect; it lags in places, offers quick-fix solutions to characters problems, and feels wholly familiar. But at a little over two hours, it doesn't ask much of you, and offers some pleasure in Saif Ali Khans return to form as an actor hard to look away from. Im going with two-and-a-half out of five.

Rating: 2.5 / 5

What's your reaction to Chef?

Write your review of Chef
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Padmapriya Janakiraman, Dhanish Karthik, Dinesh Prabhakar, Chandan Roy Sanyal

Director: Raja Krishna Menon

Three years back, writer/director Jon Favreau made a comeback to small-scale filmmaking with Chef after a successful stint in the big-budget studio system. In 2017, director Raja Krishna Menon brings to the Indian viewers, the official remake of the film which was not only applauded for being a warm and smart comedy, but also for its flawless attempt at making us realize the need to value the uncomplicated and crucial things in life.

Menons Chef, an official remake of 2014 Hollywood hit, has Roshan Kalra (Saif Ali Khan) playing a flawed hero whose decision to be a professional chef was ridden with defeats, setbacks and roadblocks. From his inability to convince his father to help him pursue his dream and ultimately running away from home to turning in to a chef to being fired for misconduct - each obstacle represents a different level of challenge for Roshan.

And at 41, hes a divorcee who has been living a life away from his son. Even though he has experienced unbelievably difficult circumstances, he manages to make it through them and also finds a way to turn them into something optimistic and constructive.

The most interesting aspect about the film is how easily every character looks relatable - especially when they struggle against their own weaknesses, desires and limitations.

Saif's character Roshan would strike a chord with the viewers because even when he is met with defeat he doesnt cower or crumble. Setbacks in life dont really stop him, but yes, do slow him down. It is interesting how Saif doesnt let any of the problems impede his progress, but motivate him to achieve a lot more than the set goal.

On being fired from a New York-based restaurant, he decides to travel to Kochi to be with his son and, his former-wife, Radha (Padmapriya Janakiraman). His guilt that stems from his inability to be with his son for all these years is the reason why he wants to do just about everything to make this relationship work.

Kalra - aware of the significance of being with his son - regrets being ill-tempered (when his son shows him a video of thrashing a customer), but makes sure he comes across as a passionate and nice man at heart, whod never compromise on offering fine cuisine to his customers.

Similarly, Padmapriya Janakiraman as Radha acts on the basis of her values which makes each of her choices meaningful. Her generosity, kindness, selflessness, and rational actions help viewers appreciate her even more. Viewers resonance stems from how she embodies good woman tendencies.

The films best moments come from this father-son duos love for food. We realise this real commonality when they explore Kochi and visit Amritsar to gorge on the specialities. It is when they begin to maximize their time together outdoors and spend more time together doing things they both enjoy that their relationship begins to grow.

It is their journey to travel, explore, discover things and generally like being together that the viewers will appreciate. Because each of these structured experiences by Menon create opportunities for viewers to grow closer to the duo. Nothing looks forced and complex in Chef, which takes Kalra and family from Kochi to Amritsar to Goa and New Delhi.

Even though it works like a comedy, Chef is a film that comes packed with life lessons. From following ones dream to being able to differentiate between need and want, to educating son about being faithful to ones job and offering help in a responsible way - Chef comes across as a meaningful film that isnt preachy.

While the film's music by Raghu Dixit and Amaal Malik is interesting and compliments the narrative, the former's brief appearance looks a bit forced.

Chandan Roy Sanyal as Nazrul, chef Roshan's loyalist, does justice to his role. But it's sad that Milind Soman doesnt get enough screen space to put forth his acting skills.

Agreed, Chef is a feel good film, but it isnt the best food film viewers have watched. It might turn out to be a bit disappointing for the viewers whod head to theatres to watch Saif whip up delectable dishes. There arent too many!

Rating: 2.5/5
Chennai: The Supreme Court will on Friday hear sidelined AIADMK leader TTV Dinakarans plea to extend the deadline for settling the dispute over the partys two leaves electoral symbol.

Dinakaran approached the top court on Friday, a day after the Madras High Court turned down his plea to extend its October 31 deadline to February 28 next year.

Justices M Venugopal and Abdul Quddhose of the Madurai bench had said the High Court had set the deadline as it felt that a time-frame should be fixed for disposal of the dispute. It had accordingly directed the Election Commission (EC) to dispose it of before October 31 this year, the bench had observed. The poll panel begins hearing the case on Friday.

The symbol was frozen by the Election Commission in March after the O Panneerselvam camp and the E Palaniswami camp, which have now merged, staked claim to it.

Dinakaran, in his petition, prayed for extension of the deadline, saying the EC had sought fresh submissions and it would only expand the scope of the dispute. He said the EC should allow his group to file objections for the new submissions.

Dinakaran had filed the petition on October 3, days after the EC had rejected his plea to grant 15 days more to submit affidavits in the symbol dispute case and said the hearing would take place on October 6 as scheduled.

Dinakaran had claimed that 102 MLAs, 37 MPs and 1,912 General Council and Central Executive Committee members supported him.

He submitted that the latest EC direction to make fresh submission would only enhance the scope of the dispute, and it would not be able to decide the dispute involving volumes of documents before October 31. Hence, he had sought extension of the deadline.

The High Court bench had given the October 31 deadline for EC on a PIL by Ramkumar Adityan, an AIADMK member and advocate. He had sought a direction to the EC to conduct an election among the party's general council and executive committee and MLAs and MPs, totalling 3,100, to decide which group had the majority.

Adityan's petition was filed on August 22, a day after the two factions led by K Palaniswami and his predecessor O Panneerselvam merged, sidelining jailed party chief VK Sasikala and her deputy Dinakaran.
Chennai: Her superstar husband is contemplating his first steps in politics but Latha Rajinikanth is busy addressing a different concern - safety of children.

"This is a very sensitive area today because the kind of issues that we see that are surrounding children, right from infants to school going kids such incidents were not so high like today, and these issues have to be addressed on a daily basis," Latha told CNN-News18.

The issues she seeks to address include road accidents, the danger of falling into wells and suicides. She said she was inviting everyone in the neighbourhood to be a part of her structured programme to spread awareness among parents and children

"Every street, every home, every neighborhood, every person in society has a role to play in ensuring safety for children," Latha, who runs schools in Chennai, said.

One of the incidents which urged Latha to pursue this seriously was the suicide of 17-year-old S Anitha who took the extreme step after she lost a legal battle for exemption from NEET, the common medical entrance test. "For me, an educationalist, education is not just about books, it is about a very strong mental health that grows with self esteem," she said adding that such an approach will help children take disappointments in their stride.

Latha said for this counselling has to start much earlier in life, and not just at the time of board exams as it was done at present. She is planning to set up systems and centres for instilling inner strength in children.

She however was evasive on the expected entry of Rajinikanth into politics, saying that as his partner she should respect his right to say it himself.

,

"He's the kind of a person who is committed to anything he does and if there's a call in him and he's doing it he'll do an excellent job, that much I can say with great confidence and pride," she added.
Kolkata: Former President Pranab Mukherjee has denied giving any interview to the Bengali publication 'E-Bela', a day after he was quoted as saying that that the "country seems to be moving towards Balkanisation due to the climate of polarisation."

A statement issued by the former President's office on Friday said that the statements attributed to Pranab Mukherjee by the Bengali publication are "false and baseless."

"The Former President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee has not issued any statement and not given any interview to any publication or correspondent, including that from 'E-Bela'," reads the statement.

(An earlier version of the story had carried excerpts from the E-Bela story. It has been updated).
Akhilesh Yadav, 44, on Thursday was re-elected as the national president of the Samajwadi Party (SP) for a five-year term. This in many ways settles the long-festering leadership issues in the party and the Yadav family.

Akhilesh's anointment should be viewed as the beginning of a generational shift in Indian politics that would pan out across the country in the coming months.

Congress vice-president, Rahul Gandhi (46), is also likely to take the mantle from his mother, Sonia Gandhi, by the end of this month. Sonia has been at the helm of the grand old party for 19 years.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, being headed by Shibu Soren, 73, may see a generational shift when its organizational elections are held.

With Shibu on the verge of a political sanyas, his son, Hemant, the leader of opposition in Jharkhand assembly, is likely to be the chosen successor by next April.

Similarly, organizational elections are due in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) by next May. Sharad Pawar, 76, daughter, Supriya Sule, who first entered Parliament in 2006 as a Rajya Sabha member is a strong contender for the post. The only challenge, if at all would come from cousin Ajit Dada Patil. Sule has been representing Baramati, her fathers constituency, in the Lok Sabha since 2009.

In the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), organizational elections are due by next September. The SAD patriarch, Parkash Singh Badal, is likely to opt for a status quo and continue to repose faith in his son, Sukhbir, who was made the party president in 2008.

In the Janata Dal (United), elections are due by next October. The party chief Nitish Kumar is likely to hold on to the position since the JD(U) doesnt believe in the one man-one post mantra.

Some more organizational elections are due in 2019.

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is scheduled to go for elections in January 2019. Amit Shah, the party president, is likely to remain in the saddle as the saffron outfit has grown by leaps and bounds under his leadership.

The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), headed by Naveen Patnaik for close to two decades, is likely to maintain the status quo.

However, it would be interesting to see the internal power play in the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), which will be holding it organizations elections by June 2019.

INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala is serving a jail term after his conviction in the teachers recruitment scam. His younger son, Abhay, the leader of the opposition in Haryana Assembly, could emerge as the frontrunner to lead the party.

Chautalas elder son, Ajay, is out of the leadership race since he, like his father, has been convicted of the same offence. Ajay is out on parole from Tihar Jail.

The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), headed by Ajit Singh, could spring a surprise. Singhs son Jayanta Chowdhury could get the opportunity during the next organizational elections due by November 2019.

Down south, organizational elections are due in the DMK by January 2020.

Going by the indifferent health of sitting president, M Karunanidhi, the party may decide to give more responsibility to the working president, MK Stalin. However, his elder brother MK Alagiri could play the spoilsport.

In the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), the organizational elections are due by February 2020. Taking a cue from the prevailing trend, LJP chief, Ram Vilas Paswan, could pass on the mantle to his actor-turned-politician son, Chirag.
Google has now listed the Google Assistant App on its Play Store. The app will essentially provide another way to interact with the Google assistant, which already exists on smartphones. Google has not tried to bring its assistant to the smartphones which do not support it as of now. Instead, the app just aims to provide a shortcut way for users to launch the Google Assistant. The Google Assistant app can only be used by smartphones which already support the assistant. The launch of the new app by Google comes days after the tech giant announced the next generation of its Google Pixel smartphones at an event in San Francisco.

Google made it clear in its event that the company is focussed towards making digital or voice assistants more useful and seamless for its users. Working on this, the company launched the Google Assistant app and now essentially provides its users three ways to launch the Google Assistant on their smartphones. The assistant can be called upon by long-pressing the Home Button, by saying OK Google or now by a single tap on the Google Assistant App. Google Assistant is also embedded in the Google Search bar that is present on Android smartphones.

Google Assistant is a virtual personal assistant that helps the users complete tasks by simple voice commands. The assistant can help users make calls, send text messages, set reminders, click selfies, set calendar events, play music, navigate to places, gain weather information as well as receive updates on the latest news. As per the Google Blog, the Google Assistant app can only run on smartphones with Google Search v7.11 or higher and those which meet the minimum memory requirements for the app. Users already having the Google Assistant on their smartphones need not install the app to use it.

Watch Video: Tech And Auto Show | EP14 | Apple iPhone 8, 8+, X, Isuzu D-Max & More
Panasonic has earned its reputation in the Indian market for making quality televisions at competitive price. As far as the display panel of Panasonic TVs are concerned, it mostly lasts longer than others and are durable as well. The company had recently launched its EX600 series of smart TVs. The new EX600 series TVs are available in 55-inch, 49-inch and 43-inch screen sizes prices at Rs 1,78,900, Rs 1,41,000, Rs 78,900 respectively.

Panasonic also launched its UA 7 sound system to compensate for the flat sound quality of the TV. If you buy the 55-inch or 49-inch variant, then the UA 7 sound system comes for free. After using the 55-inch variant of the Panasonic EX 600 TV for a month here is what we think about it.

Whats cool?

If you are looking for a premium 4K TV in a tight budget, then the Panasonic EX 600 series is priced just right when compared to the likes of smart TVs from Samsung and LG. The 2017 EX600 series offers whatever you need out of the box. The TV looks very simplistic and there is really nothing to boast about the design. Assembling the TV could be quite a task for many users and it is highly recommended that you get someone from Panasonic to do it for you.

This IPS LED TV is a delight to watch. The overall display quality will easily please you and is comparable with costlier TV from other brands. The viewing angles and colour production will satisfy you and there is really nothing more you can ask from it. We mostly used the TV for gaming. And it easily managed to please us.

As far as watching regular TV content is concerned, everything looks great on it. The Panasonic EX 600 range supports Mirroring and you can connect your smartphone easily. Also, the likes of Netflix, YouTube are already pre-built on the TV. And of course, there is the internet browser along with a media player through which you can play content from your hard drives.

On the connectivity front there are two USB ports, three HDMI ports, LAN port along with regular input/output options. You can easily connect to the internet on this.

Also read: Honor 9i With Two Dual Camera Setups, 18:9 FullView Display Launched For Rs 17,999

Whats not so cool?

The native audio quality of the TV is bad. You will have to rely on the sound system. While it is free with the 55-inch and 49-inch variant, you will have to buy it separate if you opt for a smaller variant. Also, the TV doesnt support Bluetooth connectivity while the sound system does. So, you simply cannot ignore the dangling AUX cable.

The remote that comes with the TV is the same age-old one. It is very difficult to use this remote while using the internet browser or simply typing something.

UA 7 sound system

You will not feel like connecting this sound system to your TV. Instead take it to the terrace to power your house party. It is powerful and the music quality is outstanding. It is quite heavy but thankfully it looks great. The UA7 is an all-in-one sound system having 10 speakers - four woofers, four tweeters and two super-woofers. It is great for achieving the little home theatre experience that you crave for during weekends.

Verdict

The Panasonic EX 600 along with UA 7 sound system is a sweet deal for someone wanting to experience 4K quality within a tight budget. If you are not much into regular cable TV content and mostly rely on Amazon Prime, Netflix, online movies and gaming for your TV time then it is a good buy. The 43-inch variant for Rs 78,900 is decent for small apartments but dont forget to connect a decent speaker to it.

Also read: Intex Technologies Launches Five Next-Gen TVs Starting at Rs 27,999

WATCH VIDEO: Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Review
Beijing: Claiming UN support for its controversial One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative, China on Friday rejected US criticism saying the project has not changed its stand that the Kashmir issue should be resolved by India and Pakistan bilaterally.

"We have repeatedly reiterated that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is an economic cooperation initiative that is not directed against third parties and has nothing to do with territorial sovereignty disputes and does not affect China's principled stance on the Kashmir issue," the Chinese Foreign Ministry told PTI in Beijing.

The ministry was responding to comments by US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis that the Belt and Road Initiative "also goes through disputed territory, and I think, that in itself shows the vulnerability of trying to establish that sort of a dictate".

In a globalised world, there are many belts and many roads, and no one nation should put itself into a position of dictating 'One Belt, One Road', Mattis told a Senate Armed Services Committee during a Congressional hearing on October 4.

Mattis' comments were widely interpreted as the US backing India's stand on OBOR especially related to the USD 50 billion CPEC which is being built through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). India has protested to China in this regard. Rejecting criticism that it is dictating to the world through OBOR, the ministry said it is an "important international public product".

It is an important platform for China to cooperate with relevant countries. It is an open and inclusive development platform and more than 100 countries and international organisations actively supported and participated in it since it was proposed four years ago, it said.

More than 70 countries and international organisations which have signed cooperation agreements with China on OBOR, including the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council, have incorporated it in their important resolutions, it said. Over 130 countries and more than 70 international organisations sent representatives to attend the international cooperation summit - 'Belt and Road Forum', organised by China in Beijing in May and spoke highly of the initiative, the ministry said.

"This fully explains that the OBOR initiative is in line with the trend of the times and conforms to the rules of development and is in line with the interests of the people of all countries and has a broad and bright prospects for development," the ministry said.

India skipped the Belt and Road Forum due to its sovereignty concerns over the CPEC, a flagship project of China's prestigious Silk Road project, officially called OBOR. The 3,000-km CPEC is aimed at connecting China and Pakistan with rail, road, pipelines and optical fibre cable networks.

It will connect Xinjiang province with Gwadar port, providing China with access to the Arabian Sea. The project, when completed, would enable China to route its oil supplies from the Middle East through pipelines to Xinjiang, cutting considerable distance for Chinese ships to travel to China.
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2017. The winner this year too seems to have been picked keeping in mind global politics, which has of late been dominated by the nuclear tensions between US and North Korea, and between Iran and US.

Stay tuned for live updates:

Read all the Latest News , Breaking News , watch Top Videos and Live TV here.
Islamabad: The Pakistan military has admitted to links between militant groups and the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), saying links do not necessarily mean support.

"There's a difference between support and having links. Name any intelligence agency which does not have links. Links can be positive, Pakistan army spokesman Major-General Asif Ghafoor said in a press conference on Thursday.

At the press meet, Ghafoor also admitted that the Pakistani government was discussing ways to try to integrate militant-linked groups into the mainstream of the country's politics.

Milli Muslim League (MML), a new militant party controlled by 26/11 attacks masterminds Hafiz Saeed, backed a candidate in the September by-election for a seat vacated by ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif in Lahore. The United States has offered a $10 million bounty for Saeed's capture.

Reuters reported last month that the foray into politics by MML and other militant groups followed the integration plan. Three of Sharif's confidants and a retired army general said it had been presented by Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to Sharif last year, but the then premier had rejected it.

Ghafoor did not comment on the military's role in any such strategy but told a news conference in Islamabad the plan was aimed at developing a constructive role for them.

Asked about the MML party loyal to Hafiz Saeed, the army spokesman said it was part of "a process that has started".

"It is in my knowledge that the government has started some discussion over it, that, how do we mainstream them, so that they could do constructive contribution," Ghafoor said.

A government spokesman did not respond to calls by Reuters.

HOUSE ARREST

Pakistan's interior ministry has asked the country's electoral commission not to register Saeed's party but hasn't taken any other steps to stop it. Another militant party is campaigning for a by-election later in October.

It remains unclear whether the army or the ISI went ahead with its plan despite Sharif's rejection, or if the military and the civilian government have recently agreed on the idea.

Another Islamist designated a terrorist by the United States, Fazlur Rehman Khalil, told Reuters he, too, planned to form his own party soon.

Within two weeks of Sharif's ouster, the MML party was announced. It later got the backing of Saeed and his lieutenants in the by-election to secure 5% of the vote.

The other hardline party, Tehrik-e-Labaik Pakistan, gained over 6% of votes by riding on the back of a blasphemy killer Mumtaz Qadri whom it called a hero and a martyr.

Saeed has been under house arrest since January in Lahore.

MML is the political wing of Saeed's Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD).

JuD and Khalil's Ansar ul-Umma organisation are both seen as fronts for militant groups the army has been accused of sponsoring against neighbours India and Afghanistan. Pakistan denies this charge.

Reports of the plan to bring militant-linked groups into the political mainstream have stirred debate at home and abroad.

"Now, how to take it further  that, the time to come will tell," Ghafoor, the army spokesman' said, "For that, the government will take a decision."
United Nations: The Saudi Arabia-led coalition fighting in Yemen was on Friday placed on a UN blacklist for killing and maiming children, drawing fresh calls from rights groups to step up pressure on Riyadh over the conflict.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres decided to add the coalition to the annual list of shame while noting that it had taken some measures to improve the protection of children.

"In Yemen, the actions of the coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen objectively led to that party being listed for the killing and maiming of children," said a report released along with the list as an annex.

In 2016, the coalition was responsible for 683 child casualties and for 38 verified attacks on schools and hospitals, it said.

Yemen's government forces, pro-government militias, the Huthi rebels and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) were also cited, but in a separate section of the list that said they had failed to protect children.

In a statement released along with the report, Guterres said the blacklist was "not only to raise awareness" but also to "promote measures that can diminish the tragic plight of children in conflict."

The UN chief said he was encouraged that some governments were working with the United Nations to spare children from the horrors of conflict and he voiced hope that "more will follow."

Guterres spoke to Saudi King Salman ahead of the release of the list, which UN officials had shared with Riyadh months earlier to avoid a repeat of the clash that followed the blacklisting last year.

Then UN chief Ban Ki-moon briefly included the coalition to the annual list but was forced into an embarrassing climbdown after Saudi Arabia threatened to cut off funding to UN humanitarian programs.

Ban had publicly complained that it was unacceptable for countries to "exert undue pressure" on the United Nations to avoid scrutiny of its actions.

Saudi Arabia denied that it had pressured Ban and has since insisted that the coalition is respecting its obligations under international humanitarian law.

Saudi Ambassador Abdallah al-Mouallimi scheduled a news conference at the United Nations for Saturday.

The report and the list were today sent to the Security Council, which includes countries such as the United States, Britain and France that support the coalition in its war against Iran-backed Huthi rebels.

Human Rights Watch applauded the decision to include the coalition on the list but disputed the view that the military was taking measures to protect children.
FIRST Lady Grace Mugabe yesterday shot down Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwas claims that he was poisoned, saying he was merely seeking sympathy. She said VP Mnangagwa was nothing but an employee of President Mugabe.



Dr Mugabe made the remarks in Harare yesterday while launching youth empowerment and employment creation initiatives.



Depending on the audience you will be addressing, you go to the benefactor you say, I am bringing my doctor telling the truth and nothing but the truth and say aah doctor please tell my benefactor that I was not poisoned and in my blood there was no trace of poison and the doctor does exactly that towards the benefactor, Dr Mugabe.





And depending again on the audience you will be talking to, probably it is the Politburo, you vehemently deny before the Politburo that you didnt eat ice cream and that you were never poisoned. You go again to Central Committee, people are talking about the issue, that someone was poisoned, aah probably it is the First Lady who did it and you say, let me set the record straight, I was not poisoned, said Amai Mugabe.





She added: You go to a memorial service somewhere, I suppose it is a memorial service kunononyaradzanwa, memorial service kunoenda kunonyaradzanwa vanenge vadii, vafirwa ehe. So depending on the audience, aah pamwe you are seeking sympathy and you say aah ndakapoizenwa. Game yacho yakaoma. Nekuti kuri kunyaradzanwa so you say ndakapoizenwa, ungangonyaradzwawo.





Dr Mugabe warned Zanu-PF youths to stay away from such shenanigans.

So be careful youngsters do not play this game. It is a dangerous game. It is not meant to be played by the youths but by only those people in the positions of Vice Presidents, she said.





Dr Mugabe urged youths to support each other and back indigenous projects instead of spreading lies about each other as was the case with VP Mnangagwa.

Amai Mugabe said allegations that VP Mnangagwa was poisoned were baseless as she had no reason at all to kill him.





Tinganoita prepare a cup imwechete for Mnangagwa. Kuuraya Mnangagwa kuti ndaita sei? I am a wife of the President. Who is Mnangagwa on this earth? Who is he? Ndiyani angatouraye umwe ipapa apo? I want to ask, what do I get from him? I am the wife of Mugabe, but someone anosimuka oti inini I want to kill Mnangagwa kuti ndinodei kwaari chandisina ini? Yes, my husband is the President. He is an intelligent man I am proud of.





The most principled man ever on earth. The peaceful man ever on earth. Someone very disciplined when it comes to madzimai, yes. He is not a bambazonke type. Never. It is me and me alone. Saka chii chandingade kune umwe munhu, ndinodirei kuuraya umwe munhu? Aiwa munhu akatopihwawo basa nemurume wangu ndomuuraya inini. It is nonsensical, said Dr Mugabe.





She said people must learn to keep quiet when they have nothing to say.

Politics kana dzakusvika ipapo that means wapererwa. Kana wapererwa chienda kumba unogara. Kana watryer zvese zvawatryer zvaramba, chirega kuramba uchitaurisa zvambotaurwa paya nekuti unenge wakutaura zvinhu zvisina kukodzera. Nekuti hazviite kuti munhu angati I like the President but I do not like his wife, impossible, hazviite, which means you do not like the President himself.





Dr Mugabe said there were other people who were threatening others that if Vice President Mnangagwa does not succeed President Mugabe, they would be killed.





She said she will not lose sleep over such threats or bow down to the pressure.

Dr Mugabe said there were others who were even thinking of a coup. She said no one recognises a coup even in the SADC region and such people should be charged with treason. Dr Mugabe said people must not be forced to choose a leader.





We must be greatful kuti tine mutungamiriri ari tolerant and you must not take that tolerance too far. Vanhu you continue to abuse the President. You tell the President this story today, tomorrow you tell him another story iri contrary to the story yawakambotaura, you think he is a fool. Okay let us wait and stop there.





Thousands of youths from all provinces of the country, ministers, deputy ministers, permanent secretaries, senior Government officials and heads of parastatals and state entities were part of the gathering that attended the launch of the Empower Bank and the Zimbabwe Champions and Heroes of the Economic Empowerment Revolution (ZIMCHEER).

ZIMCHEER is a youth empowerment initiative meant to unlock the entreprenuership potential in young people thereby creating employment. herald
Information, Media and Broadcasting Services Minister Dr Chris Mushohwe has urged Zimbabweans to constructively use social media for national development. He said the negative portrayal of the country on social media by its citizens was detrimental, adding that Zimbabwe was keen to learn from Pakistan on how it managed to use social media to advance its national cause.



Dr Mushohwe said this after meeting Pakistan Ambassador to Zimbabwe Riaz Bukhari at his Munhumutapa Offices yesterday. He said Harare was also keen to partner Islamabad in the area of education under the Presidential Scholarship Scheme. Said Dr Mushohwe: We need our people to understand that they are Zimbabwean. Those are the kind of things that we want to learn from them and how to deal with rampant situations.



Fortunately, we (Zimbabwe and Pakistan) come from the same background in terms of colonial background and what we are inheriting here perhaps are remnants of the colonial legacy that is still lingering in our minds and being passed on to our children, especially through the promotion of Western media that our children seem not to understand themselves.





They see themselves in the images of the West. We want to find out how have they (Pakistan) reoriented their children and people so that they begin to respect themselves, they begin to have the sense for what is theirs or their democracy, for their independence and national integrity. We want to see in a very short space of time some Memorandum of Understanding on the expression.





Pakistan is very much ahead of Zimbabwe when it comes to media; that is print as well as electronic media, hence we need our media personnel to go to Pakistan and learn more from them and we have agreed that the officials from Zimbabwe and Pakistan will discuss on the issue. Dr Mushohwe said he acknowledged the flourishing relationship that existed between Zimbabwe and Pakistan dating back to the days of the liberation struggle.





He recalled the warm welcome that President Mugabe received in Pakistan soon after independence, adding that Islamabad was instrumental in setting up the current structure of the Air Force of Zimbabwe. Said Minister Mushohwe: We need to partner with them and learn more from them, especially in areas such as cyber crime. Pakistan has already dealt with this nuisance and their media is promoting development and unity in their country.





Ambassador Bukhari said: We have enacted cyber laws to exercise control over such misuse of social media. He said his country was ready to cooperate with Zimbabwe in various sectors. Herald




Speaking during the graduation ceremony, HIT Vice Chancellor Engineer Quinton Kanhukamwe said the university continued to contribute positively to the countrys economic growth through developing, incubating, transferring and commercialising technology for rapid industrialisation. He said HIT had made major inroads towards its goal of conducting research, which is responsive to the countrys national needs, challenges and aspirations.

Research from across the schools resonated with and responded well to the nations development blueprint, Zim-Asset, said Eng Kanhukamwe. He said the universitys innovations focused on promotion of indigenous knowledge systems, value addition of natural resources, herbal medicines research, development of software applications and agricultural engineering and technology, among other areas.



Some of the projects undertaken by HIT students included recovery of gold from waste dumps, value addition to worldwide critical raw material, graphite and production of hydrogen from waste lubricating oil. Eng Kanhukamwe said the university produced distributor transformers, which are undergoing tests.



We expect positive results and are eager to commercially use them once the tests are successful, he said. Eng Kanhukamwe said the university also produced agricultural machinery and farm implements like a tractor drawn hay baker, a huge maize sheller and a stock feed palletiser. The machinery were on display at the graduation ceremony. Eng Kanhukamwe said HIT had entered into partnerships with various companies like TelOne and Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe in areas of research, innovation and development.



HIT has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Transilvania University of Brasov in Romania. Eng Kanhukamwe said similar agreements were entered into with universities in India and South Korea. Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Professor Jonathan Moyo, his deputy Dr Godfrey Gandawa, HIT board chairperson Dr Gibson Mandishona and board members attended the graduation ceremony. Herald PRESIDENT Mugabe yesterday capped 418 Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) graduates at a colourful ceremony held at the university campus. The students were drawn from the school of engineering and technology, industrial sciences and technology, information science and technology and business and management sciences.Speaking during the graduation ceremony, HIT Vice Chancellor Engineer Quinton Kanhukamwe said the university continued to contribute positively to the countrys economic growth through developing, incubating, transferring and commercialising technology for rapid industrialisation. He said HIT had made major inroads towards its goal of conducting research, which is responsive to the countrys national needs, challenges and aspirations.Research from across the schools resonated with and responded well to the nations development blueprint, Zim-Asset, said Eng Kanhukamwe. He said the universitys innovations focused on promotion of indigenous knowledge systems, value addition of natural resources, herbal medicines research, development of software applications and agricultural engineering and technology, among other areas.Some of the projects undertaken by HIT students included recovery of gold from waste dumps, value addition to worldwide critical raw material, graphite and production of hydrogen from waste lubricating oil. Eng Kanhukamwe said the university produced distributor transformers, which are undergoing tests.We expect positive results and are eager to commercially use them once the tests are successful, he said. Eng Kanhukamwe said the university also produced agricultural machinery and farm implements like a tractor drawn hay baker, a huge maize sheller and a stock feed palletiser. The machinery were on display at the graduation ceremony. Eng Kanhukamwe said HIT had entered into partnerships with various companies like TelOne and Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe in areas of research, innovation and development.HIT has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Transilvania University of Brasov in Romania. Eng Kanhukamwe said similar agreements were entered into with universities in India and South Korea. Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Professor Jonathan Moyo, his deputy Dr Godfrey Gandawa, HIT board chairperson Dr Gibson Mandishona and board members attended the graduation ceremony. Herald
Bezos' Ex Is

Already Doing

This. Now

He Is, Too
Word is President Trump will "decertify" the Iran nuclear deal next week, giving Congress 60 days to decide whether to stay in the agreement or void it by imposing new sanctions on Iran. Citing "people briefed" on the matter, the Washington Post reports Trump is expected to deliver a speech, possibly on Oct. 12, laying out his administration's new Iranian policy. CNN, whose sources include "two senior US officials," reports that policy would be to work within the framework of the nuclear deal, which limits Iran's nuclear activities, while attempting to strengthen it for the US. But Iran has said it's not interested in renegotiating the deal, and European leaders say they don't want to change the terms of the deal.

Germany, France, Britain, Russia, China, Iran, and even the US all agree Iran has held up its side of the nuclear deal. And on Tuesday Defense Secretary James Mattis said he believes it's "in our national security interest" to remain in the deal. But Trump campaigned on the nuclear deal being unfair to the US. The president is said to be weary of a tenet of the deal wherein he must go to Congress every 90 days to report whether Iran is complying with it and if it remains in the national interest of the US. (Read more Iranian nuclear program stories.)
The White House is concerned John Kelly's personal cellphone has been compromisedperhaps for the entirety of his tenure with the Trump administration, Politico reports, citing three government officials. Kelly, currently President Trump's chief of staff, turned his phone over to White House tech support staff during the summer because it wasn't working correctly. And staffers did indeed find many functions on the phone weren't working. The reason: a suspected breach of the phone.

Officials say it's possible hackers or a foreign government have had access to Kelly's personal cellphone since Decembera month before he joined the administration as the secretary of Homeland Security. One expert says the worst-case scenario is that someone gained access to the phone's data and control of its functions, including the camera and microphone. It's unclear how, where, and when Kelly's phone was compromised and what, if any, data was accessed. A White House spokesperson says Kelly largely used his government-issued phone rather than his personal phone, which has now been taken away. (Read more John Kelly stories.)
The Toronto city council has voted against naming a stadium after former Mayor Rob Ford, the AP reports. Ford's four-year tenure as mayor of Canada's largest city was marred by revelations about his drinking problems and crack cocaine use. As he sought a second term in 2014, a cancer diagnosis forced him to do what months of scandals could notdrop his bid for re-election. He died less than two years later at the age of 46.

The council voted 24-11 Thursday against renaming a 2,200-seat stadium at Toronto's Centennial Park after Ford. Current Mayor John Tory recommended the stadium be named after his predecessor. In a letter to council, Tory said Ford was known for his "unique approach to public service" and that his community involvement went well beyond politics. (Read more Rob Ford stories.)
Family members are pleading for the safe return of Abby Lynn Patterson, a 20-year-old woman last seen getting into a brown Buick outside the family home in Lumberton, NC, on Sept. 5. The disappearance is especially troubling because three other women were found dead in the town, population 22,000, earlier this year, Fox News reports. On April 18, Christina Bennett, 32, was found dead in an abandoned home and the body of 36-year-old Rhonda Jones was found in a nearby trash can. Then, on June 3, Megan Oxendine, 28, a woman who had been interviewed on TV about the disappearance of Jones, was found dead behind a house around 500 feet away from where the first two bodies were found.

Police haven't disclosed how the three women died, and they say they don't know if there is a connection between them and Patterson, who told her family she would be back in an hour. "When she didnt come home after an hour, I called her cell phone and it went straight to voicemail," says Patterson's mother, Samantha Lovette. "We just want her home," she says. Lumberton police spokesman Terry Carter tells WNCN that they are "99% sure" Patterson's disappearance is not related to the deaths, but there is "always a possibility." Police say they are "still talking" to the young man last seen with Patterson, who lived in Florida and was visiting her family when she disappeared. (Read more missing person stories.)
The remains of an engine from an Air France Airbus A380 have been recovered from an icy desert in Greenlandand investigators hope the parts will provide clues to an "incredibly rare" midflight engine explosion last weekend. France's BEA air accident agency says the flight's data recorder helped pinpoint the search area and an Air Greenland helicopter spotted the parts, the AP reports. The Paris-Los Angeles flight made an emergency landing in Labrador, Canada, two hours after the explosion destroyed one of its four engines. Passenger David Rehmar, a former aircraft mechanic, tells the BBC that he believes the explosion may have been caused by a fan failure. (Read more Air France stories.)
President Trump made an ominous remark after meeting with his top military commandersand declined to explain what he was talking about. "You guys know what this represents?" Trump told reporters as he posed for a photo with First Lady Melania Trump, military officials, and their spouses before a White House dinner Thursday night. "Maybe it's the calm before the storm." When asked to clarify the remark, Trump said "we have the world's great military people" present, CBS reports. Asked again what the "storm" might be, Trump said: "You'll find out" and ended the questioning.

Trump may have been talking about Iran: Earlier Thursday, sources said Trump plans to "decertify" Iran's compliance with the nuclear deal, which is due for recertification by Oct. 15. "The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence and chaos across the Middle East," Trump said at the meeting with military leaders, per the Guardian. "That is why we must put an end to Irans continued aggression and nuclear ambitions." There has also been speculation that Trump was referring to action against ISIS or North Korea, reports the BBC. (Read more President Trump stories.)
As one university faces a lawsuit over its refusal to host white nationalist Richard Spencer, another is reluctantly conceding to the idea. The University of Florida says it will allow Spencer to speak on its campus on Oct. 19 in what will be the alt-right leader's first college event since an August rally at the University of Virginia that culminated in a deadly demonstration a day later, reports the Washington Post. UF initially denied a request from Spencer's National Policy Institute for a September event citing security concerns. Spencer then hired an attorney who threatened the school with a lawsuit, and UF announced Thursday that NPI would pay a standard fee of $10,500 to rent a space and provide security on campus on Oct. 19, reports the Gainesville Sun.

"No one at the University of Florida invited Richard Spencer. The racist ideas espoused by this organization and this individual conflict with the values of this institution," UF says in an email to students, per the Independent Florida Alligator. But UF "must allow the free expression of all viewpoints," a university rep adds, noting the school will pay some $500,000 for additional security on campus and in Gainesville for which it is unable to bill Spencer's NPI. Spencer, who is concerned about violence at the event, says "the fact that so much money is going to have to be spent on security results directly from people who want to shut down free speech" and "we need to fight this." He adds it will be an "exciting" event. "I expect good intellectual push-back from the students," he says. "That's part of the fun of it all." (Read more Richard Spencer stories.)
Netflix has decided that now is not the time to roll out its adaptation of one of Marvel's most violent comics. The company says it has canceled Saturday events in Paris and New York where the first two episodes of The Punisher were to be screened, Variety reports. "We are stunned and saddened by this week's senseless act in Las Vegas," Netflix and Marvel said in a joint statement Thursday. They said they had "decided it wouldnt be appropriate for Marvel's The Punisher to go ahead with the Paris Nuit Noire event and to participate in New York Comic-Con."

The 13-episode series stars Jon Bernthal as a combat veteran who exacts bloody revenge after his family is killed. Netflix hadn't set a release date for the series, preferring to build excitement with a surprise launch expected in October, possibly as soon as Saturday, Newsday reports. The series is now expected to be released later this fall. Earlier this week, the red carpet celebration before the premiere of Blade Runner 2049 was canceled, reports the Washington Post. At the Hollywood screening, producer Andrew Kosove delivered an emotional speech, saying they had been "reminded how precious and fragile life is." (Read more Netflix stories.)
Tropical Storm Nate roared toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula Friday after drenching Central America in rain that was blamed for at least 22 deaths, and forecasters said it could reach the US Gulf Coast as a hurricane over the weekend. Louisiana officials declared a state of emergency and ordered some people to evacuate coastal areas and barrier islands ahead of its expected landfall early Sunday, and evacuations began at some offshore oil platforms in the Gulf, the AP reports. Nicaraguan authorities say the storm killed at least 15 people in that country. Costa Rican officials blamed seven deaths on the storm and said 15 people were missing.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards mobilized 1,300 National Guard troops, with 15 headed to New Orleans to monitor the fragile pumping system there. With forecasts projecting landfall in southeast Louisiana as a Category 1 hurricane, Edwards urged residents to ready for rainfall, storm surge, and severe windsand to be where they intend to hunker down by "dark on Saturday." Edwards says Nate is forecast to move quickly, rather than stall and drop tremendous amounts of rain on the state. State officials hope that means New Orleans won't run into problems with its pumps being able to handle the water. Edwards warned, however, against underestimating the storm. (Read more Tropical Storm Nate stories.)
Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock did indeed leave a note of sorts in his hotel room, but authorities say it wasn't a suicide note or anything that provides an obvious clue about a motive for his shooting spree. Police won't reveal details about its contents, with Sheriff Joseph Lombardo saying only that the piece of paper contained numbers now being analyzed to see if they might shed some light, reports the New York Times. Speculation about the note has been percolating since one of the leaked photos from Paddock's hotel room revealed its existence. (Business Insider zeroes in on that detail here.)

Barring some kind of unexpected clue from the note, investigators aren't sure when they'll be able to piece together a motive as they pore over details of Paddock's personal and financial history. "I've been doing this a long time and I cant remember another homicideand then you multiply what I'm about to say by 58where you don't know why," says Stephen Wolfson, the district attorney where the killings took place. Police, meanwhile, say an explosive compound discovered in Paddock's car and home was Tannerite, the same one believed to have been used in a 2016 bombing in New York City, reports the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Paddock had more than 50 pounds of it (The night before the massacre, Paddock called hotel security to report a noisy neighbor.)
Fallout from the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal, which broke in the New York Times Thursday, continues to rain down, and it's now hit congressional Democrats. The Times reports at least four senatorsElizabeth Warren, Richard Blumenthal, Patrick Leahy, and Martin Heinrichwill give money to charity equal to the amounts Weinstein has donated to them, all in the $5,000 range. Their decision comes after pressure from the RNC and other GOP-tied groups began on Thursday. "If Democrats and the DNC truly stand up for women like they say they do, then returning this dirty money should be a no-brainer," RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel said in a statement, per CNN. Variety notes Weinstein has made more than $1.4 million in political donations since 1990 (an accounting here). More:

Slate looks at some of the "most bonkers sentences" from Weinstein's public statement on the story, including his revelation that he's making a movie about Donald Trump, plans on directing his "anger" (at himself?) toward the NRA instead, and has found inspiration in a Jay-Z quote (which Slate notes is not an actual Jay-Z quote). Vox adds its own "deciphering."

Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan, two high-profile actresses who were allegedly harassed by Weinstein and named in the Times expose, quietly tweeted out their own responses: Judd with a simple retweet of the story, and McGowan with a post that read: "Anyone who does business with __ is complicit. And deep down you know you are even dirtier. Cleanse yourselves." Her current pinned tweet, as of Friday morning: "Women fight on. And to the men out there, stand up. We need you as allies. #bebrave."

Jezebel has reaction from other prominent celebrities, including Lena Dunham, Rosie O'Donnell, and Amber Tamblyn, who tweeted: "Fellow women: Come. Forward. I will stand beside you."

Weinstein has already given his first interview to Page Six, in which he calls the Times' reporting "reckless"; notes he knows "Ashley Judd is going through a tough time" and that he plans on reaching out to her "in a year from now"; and says his wife, Georgina Chapman, is standing by him. E! News Online calls their marriage "mysterious."

Over at the Cut, Rebecca Traister asks the question on everyone's minds: Why did it take so long for these decades' worth of allegations to be exposed? "Something has changed," she writes of the current climate in which more women are coming forward and "our consciousness has been raised." She's also got her own personal anecdote about Weinstein to tell, and it isn't pretty.

Is Harvey Weinstein finished because of this? Lindsey Bahr and Jake Coyle write for the AP that, while in the past a scandal like this may have been pushed under the rug, there appears to be a "dearth of forgiveness" for Weinstein. "The problem is there's going to be a cost to association with him," says Richard Rushfield, editor of the Ankler, an industry newsletter.

(Read more Harvey Weinstein stories.)
An Illinois man known for honoring the victims of mass shootings around the country installed 58 white crosses on the Las Vegas Strip on Thursday. Greg Zanis drove nearly 2,000 miles from the Chicago area to install the crosses on a patch of grass near the iconic "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign, not far from the site of the Route 91 Harvest country music festival where the victims were killed on Sunday night, per the AP. The 66-year-old retired carpenter made his first cross 20 years ago when his father-in-law was killed."That just changed my life," Zanis says. "My first cross was for somebody that I loved. And when I put up these crosses here, I always think of my personal loss here too. Always."

Zanis has become well-known for erecting more than 20,000 of the markers over the past two decades, including after the Columbine and Sandy Hook school shootings and the massacre at an Orlando nightclub. The crosses, which Zanis says took him two days to cut and paint, feature a red heart. He plans to keep the tribute up for 40 days before giving the crosses to the families of the victims. (Shooter Stephen Paddock left a note, but it had only numbers, not words.)
Mickey Rooney's widow has filed an elder abuse lawsuitagainst a magazine. The lawsuit, which also claims intentional infliction of emotional distress and conspiracy, was filed against the Hollywood Reporter by Janice Rooney; it also names her son from a previous marriage, Mark Aber, and his wife Charlene, among others, as defendants. As Deadline explains, the lawsuit stems from an Oct. 2015 THR article headlined, "Tears and Terror: The Disturbing Final Years of Mickey Rooney." THR interviewed Janice Rooney for the piece, but the lawsuit claims the final product was "deceiving" and took her words "out of context" in a way that was meant to portray her negatively. Mickey Rooney died in 2014 while under the care of Mark and Charlene Aber; he had previously been cared for by Mark's brother Chris until he accused Chris of elder abuse.

A battle over his estate ensued after the actor's death, with Janice Rooney (who separated from her husband in 2012) and Chris Aber challenging Mickey Rooney's will, in which he left all of his assets to Mark Aber. Rooney's eight biological children also contested the will. Janice Rooney's lawsuit seems to stem from the overall family feud; in it, she accuses Charlene Aber of bringing "false and humiliating allegations and innuendos" against her to THR in order to get "revenge" against her, and in turn accuses the magazine of then essentially repeating those allegations in its article. The lawsuit notes that Mickey Rooney's lawsuit and restraining order against Chris Aber did not accuse Janice Rooney of elder abuse, but Deadline states that Janice Rooney has been accused of physically abusing her husband during the ongoing family feud (per the New York Daily News, it was Mickey Rooney's attorney who accused her); she says that's a misunderstanding. (Read more Mickey Rooney stories.)
An unusual smell prompted an evacuation and a hazardous materials response at a Baltimore high school Thursday afternoon, the AP reports. But after five people were taken to the hospital complaining of upset stomachs, fire officials discovered the source of the smell: a pumpkin spice air freshener. Cristo Rey Jesuit High School was evacuated after students and teachers detected a strong smell on the third floor. "It was a smell that they certainly weren't used to [and] it appeared to be getting stronger," the school's president, who wasn't at the school at the time, tells the Baltimore Sun. Several people reported difficulty breathing, and the principal got everyone out of the building.

The fire department and a hazardous materials team were called, and multiple tests for hazardous materials came back negative. Firefighters simply opened the windows in the school to let fresh air in. Then, firefighters located a pumpkin spice air aerosol plugged into an outlet in a classroom. A fire department spokesman tells the AP two students and three adults were taken to the hospital for stomach ailments. Classes at the school resumed Friday. Per the Sun, a notice on the school's website noted that "our school counselor will be available to meet with any students that may need to talk about today's events."

(Read more Baltimore stories.)
The State Department says it has received "a handful of reports" from American citizens who say they've experienced symptoms similar to those in attacks of US government workers in Havana, the AP reports. But the US isn't vouching for those reports. The US last week issued a travel warning that urges American travelers to stay away from Cuba. The warning said attacks on government personnel have occurred in Havana hotels and the US can't make sure that Americans who stay at hotels wouldn't be harmed. A State Department official says in the days following the travel warning, some citizens reported having similar symptoms after traveling to Cuba. The official says the US government has "no way of verifying" whether they were harmed by the same attacks that have targeted government employees.

(Read more Cuba stories.)
Sorry!

This content is not available in your region
New Delhi :

The president of EU Commission Jean-Claude Juncker today said that a growth rate of 5.7 per cent is termed as a major growth than what many in India are calling a slowdown.A

The statement comes as a breather to many who wants to see India as an economic powerhouse. Several financial institutions like the ADB, the World Bank (IBRD) and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) have pegged India's GDP growth rate to be at 5.7 per cent.A

The EU Commission and its leaders visited India and met Prime Minister (PM) Modi in New Delhi on Friday. India was represented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The EU was represented by Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, and Jean Claude Juncker, the President of the European Commission.A

"The EU closely follows Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi's economic reforms, including the historic introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which can facilitate ease of doing business and promotes market integration in India by realising a simple, efficient and nation-wide indirect tax system," said India EU Joint Statement issued during India- EU Summit.

Jean-Claude Juncker today expressed hope that talks on free trade agreement (FTA) between EU and India will move forward in the next few days.

In talks with @eucopresident & @JunckerEU we agreed to deepen cooperation in trade, investment, clean energy, climate change & other areas. pic.twitter.com/QOaBIrGsCx a Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 6, 2017

"I believe today's summit has given a fresh impetus to our negotiations and I am confident our negotiations will establish the way forward in next coming days because your Trade Minister and my Trade Commissioners are meeting few days from now," he said while addressing India European Union Business Forum here.

"We want to conclude that (FTA) once the conditions aren right, when the circumstances are right. Once the circumstances are right, we will resume with good faith. I'm confident we can move forward," he said.A A A

For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

In a major relief to merchant exporters, the GST Council on Friday fixed a tax rate of 0.1 per cent on goods procured for export purposes.

The merchant exporters would also be allowed to obtain refund of 0.1 per cent tax paid on export of goods, a senior finance ministry official said.

An official statement said that to prevent cash blockage of exporters due to upfront payment of GST on inputs, the Council approved two proposals.

One for immediate relief and the other for providing long term support to exporters. Immediate relief is being given by extending the advance authorization (AA)/ Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG)/100 per cent EOU schemes to sourcing inputs from abroad as well as domestic suppliers, the statement said.

It said that holders of AA/ EPCG and EOUs would not have to pay IGST and cess on imports.

Also, domestic supplies to holders of AA / EPCG and EOUs would be treated as deemed exports...and refund of tax paid on such supplies given to the supplier, it added.

Further, specified banks and Public Sector Units are being allowed to import gold without payment of IGST.

This can then be supplied to exporters as per a scheme similar to AA, it added.

Exporters body Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said this is a welcome move as merchant exporters account for over 30 per cent of countrys exports and they usually work on thin margins of 2-4 per cent.

The imposition of GST had made their costing haywire, particularly for products having higher GST rate, as they have to pay GST and seek refund after some time lag, FIEO said in a statement.

From April 1, attempt would be made to launch an e-wallet facility for exporters to provide liquidity.

Also Read: GSTN to send reminders to 20 lakh businesses to file returns as deadline nears

For the functioning of e-wallet facility, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) will prepare norms.

FIEO had earlier said that micro and small exporters are particularly hit by GST as they have to borrow money to pay taxes.

The availability of credit and more so the cost of credit is adversely impacting them and on account of this, the government should consider introduction of e-wallet for exporters, FIEO had said.

It stated that under this facility, based on preceding years exports and an average GST rate, e-currency is credited to exporters account.

On the other hand, India Inc welcomed the outcome of the GST Council meet and said the decisions will improve compliance and provide much needed relief to the taxpayers.

Also Read: Yashwant Sinha lashes out at Modi govt; says demonetisation, GST have shoved economy into shambles

CII Director General Chandrajit Banerjee said that the SME sector compliance will greatly improve as limit for composition scheme has been increased to Rs 1 crore.

Now forSMEs with annual turnover of Rs 1.5 crore will be allowed to file quarterly returns, this will be a big relief to the small-scale players. Banerjee further commented that deferment of ReverseCharge Mechanism (RCM) is welcome as it encourages registered taxpayers to continue sourcing from small and unregistered taxpayers.

GST Council cuts tax rates on 27 items

Jaitley said the Council also decided to cut GST rates on 27 common use items.

GST on unbranded namkeen, unbranded ayurvedic medicine, sliced dried mango and khakra has been cut to 5 per cent from 12 per cent while the same on man-made yarn used in textile sector has been reduced from 18 per cent to 12 per cent.

Tax on stationery items, stones used for flooring (other than marble and granite), diesel engine parts and pump parts has been cut to 18 per cent from 28 per cent. GST on e-waste has been slashed to 5 per cent from 28 per cent.

Food packets given to school kids under ICDS will attract 5 per cent tax instead of 12 per cent.

Job works like zari, imitation, food items and printing items would attract 5 per cent tax instead of 12 per cent. Government contracts involving high amount of labour will be levied 5 per cent GST instead of 12 per cent in order to contain cost of those programmes, he said.

Also, salwar suit in a three-piece set has been classified as fabric and 5 per cent GST would be levied on it.

For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The Devendra Fadnavis government has decided to accept the Centre's suggestion of Rs 2 per liter cut in Value added tax (VAT) on petrol and diesel, according to the sources.

Centre has suggested the states to lower the tax. Although, the state government had previously rejected the suggestion, contending that the states exchequer would not be able to bear the loss.

On October 4 the Narendra Modi government cut the basic excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per liter. It was the first time when the NDA government cut excise duty on petrol and diesel after raising it on 11 occasions since November 2014.

In a bid to provide more relief to the consumers, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan urged state governments to cut VAT on these products by 5 percent after slashing the excise duty.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley wrote to Chief Ministers to take a cue from the Centre and slash VAT rates.

As it is very clear, BJP ruled states are likely to accept the Centre's suggestion Gujrat has already announced its plan to lower taxes, Madhya Pradesh, too, has implicated that it was actively considering the option. On the other hand, some non-BJP ruled states such as Kerala and Odisha have denounced the move.

As per the sources, Maharashtra has also decided to come under the same ambit to control the growing unrest among the middle class over price rise.

It might have some pitfalls, as a cut of Rs 2 per liter in the VAT on petrol and diesel will lead to a revenue loss of Rs 2600 crore.Maharashtra levies a high 26 per cent VAT on petrol and 24 percent on diesel in Mumbai, Thane, and Navi Mumbai.

The same is 25 percent for the rest of the state. Besides the VAT, a surcharge of Rs 11 per liter and Rs 2 per liter is collected on petrol and diesel, respectively.



Maharashtra Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar said, We have received a communication from the Centre for lowering VAT on petrol and diesel. I have called a review meeting in this regard Friday.

The decision of farm loan waiver with cut VAT excise duty will further aggravate the situation. It is expected that it will soar to Rs 4.13 lakh crore in 2017-18.The state government has already been forced to cut down on its spending plan for 2017-18, which has also impacted the public sector capital investment.

The revenue loss due to the lowering of taxes will further aggravate the situation, confirmed sources since the Centres missive is tied to a political narrative, a senior minister said that the option of defying it was ruled out. While the states bureaucracy has also suggested the option of limiting the revenue loss by lowering the tax by Rs 1 per liter, sources said that the Centres message was loud and clear-cut the tax as much as possible. The states political leadership is likely to settle for a Rs 2 per liter cut.

For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has always been in the forefront when it is about talking on social issues.



And this time Big B has picked up the burning topic of selfie-related deaths. He has advised people to be cautious while clicking selfies.



"While taking selfies many people met with an accident and therefore, we should remain cautious whenever clicking selfies," he said.



"Wherever we go, we normally click 10-12 photos, but still we say that one selfie is must...We will also take one with the people here," Bachchan said when he was requested by the organisers to take a selfie from the dais with the crowd present at the function.



He made this point at the opening of Kalyan Jewellers' first store in Madhya Pradesh. He is the brand ambassador of the jewellery brand. He was accompanied by his wife, actress-MP Jaya Bachchan.

For all the Latest Entertainment News, Bollywood News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

During the book launch of Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal shared the dais with BJPs dissatisfied leader Yashwant Sinha. All the three leaders took the opportunity to launch a barrage of attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kejriwal emphatically said that the next election will be between Narendra Modi and rest of the country. He added that there is a pervasive fear among people and they cannot compromise on their freedom. He said that the next election will not between parties but it will be between people of country and PM Modi.

However, Delhi CM deemed that the Oppositions chances of coming together in coming election will be arithmetic and that is also required in electoral politics. He said that people can compromise on food but they cannot compromise on freedom.

You cannot imagine the atmosphere of fear that is pervading in the country. And I not saying this fear is only among Muslims or Christians. Across the board there is fear among traders, industrialists, stock market. Everywhere there is fear. How can the country function like this? The coming election is not going to be Opposition versus BJP. It is going to be the BJP versus the rest of the country, said Kejriwal.

Sinha said that he doesnt care about the perception that three leaders coming together will create. He said that he is past the stage of caring.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The state Bhartiya Janata Party president Dilip Ghosh was chased while his colleagues were thrashed by the mob in Darjeeling on Thursday. Seeing the angry, Ghosh had to call off a Bijaya Sammilani meeting inside an auditorium.

The mob wielded black flag and chased the BJP delegation around the town.

This was the second attack on a big leader in a span of four month. Gorkha Janmukti Morcha protesters lobbed bombs and pelted stones during a Bengal cabinet meeting chaired by chief minister Mamata Banerjee in Darjeeling on June 8.

Ghosh told reporters, All of a sudden they rushed to the dais and heckled everybody including me. I tried to pacify them but they kept shouting slogans and pushing others. I left the venue and walked to the nearby police station.

He said, On the way my party supporters, who were with me, were brutally beaten up by the agitators.

Darjeeling Superintendent of Police Akhilesh Chaturvedi said, There was scuffle between two groups and a few people were injured. A case has been registered and we have started the investigation. The culprits will be arrested soon.

Rallies were taken out by the BJP in Kolkata as well as in Hoogly, Burdwan and several other places in the state to protest against the heckling of Ghosh. The party demanded immediate arrest of the culprits.

With PTI inputs

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi :

The status quo on Dokalam is as it was as on August 28 ever since the troops on both sides of the disputed territory disengaged confirmed the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday.

'No new developments at the face-off site & its vicinity since 28 Aug disengagement' said MEA spokesperson Ravish Kumar. The MEA issued this clarification amidst news reports circulated about China building roads near the Dokalam pleatue. A

Earlier in the day Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi tweeted addressing to Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi if he was done with the chest thumping and would care to explain the Chinese build up of roads along the Dokalam pleatue. A

A

#WATCH: MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar says, 'no new developments at the face-off site & its vicinity since 28 Aug disengagement' #Doklam pic.twitter.com/E9ozgccdRs a ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2017

Rahul Gandhi's allegations was based on similar news reports which was latter clarified by sources in the army as construction of road along the Chumbi valley which has no strategic implications.A

The Indian Army's top commanders are meeting in a conclave begining on Monday on October 9 where A the Sino-India border as well as in Jammu and Kashmir are likely to dominate a week-long conference. A

China is reportedly maintaining a guard of 500 soldiers along the line of construction at the Chumbi valley.A

"All the issues having ramifications for India's security will be discussed," a senior army official said when asked whether China's assertiveness inDokalam Plateau will bem deliberated upon.

There are also reports that People's Liberation Army (PLA) has increased more troops on its forward post in Yatung. The key conference will also be addressed by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.A

Sources said the top commanders are also likely to analyse the security situation in Jammu and Kashmir with a focus on bolstering counter-terroroperations.













For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The Indian Navy thwarted a piracy attempt on Indian ship MV Jag Amar at 12: 30 pm in Gulf of Aden on Friday.

The Indian Navy informed that they recovered 1 AK47, 1 magazine with 27 rounds, grapnels, ropes, fuel drums and ladders in the anti-piracy operation.

"AK47, 1 magazine with 27 rounds, grapnels, ropes, fuel drums and ladders were recovered in anti-piracy operation at MV Jag Amar. All 26 Indian crew are safe," the Indian Navy officials said.

#Visuals INS Trishul thwarted piracy attempt on Indian ship MV Jag Amar at 1230 hrs in Gulf of Aden: Indian Navy pic.twitter.com/O7PzF7GXhj  ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2017

After receiving a call from Indian cargo ship Jag Amar, INS Trishul swung into action and extended help to Indian ship which had 26 members on board.

Also Read: Indian Navy commandos prevent piracy attempt on Liberian vessel in Gulf of Aden

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The CBI on Friday grilled Tejashwi Yadav, son of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav for nearly seven hours in connection with alleged corruption in the award of the contract to maintain two IRCTC hotels in 2006.

Sources in CBI said the 27-year-old former deputy chief minister of Bihar appeared before the agency after evading three notices for questioning in the case.

They said Tejashwi arrived at the CBI headquarters at 11 am and his questioning ended around 6 pm. The agency had quizzed Prasad for seven hours on Thursday.

He had alleged the government was pursuing political vendetta against him and his family.

The case pertains to allegations that Prasad, as railway minister, handed over the maintenance of two hotels run by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, a subsidiary of the Indian Railways, in Ranchi and Puri to Sujata Hotel, a company owned by Vinay and Vijay Kochhar, in return for a prime plot of three acres in Patna through a benami company.

Tejashwi Yadav leaves from CBI office in Delhi after appearing in connection with Railway hotel tender case pic.twitter.com/vcLHUoVghL  ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2017

The FIR alleged the RJD chief abused his official position for extending undue favours to the Kochhars and acquired a piece of "high value premium land" through the benami firm Delight Marketing Company.

Also Read: Lalu attacks PM Modi, Shah, says BJP leaders want to ruin his family

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

A major fire broke out on Friday at Oil depot on Butcher Island located close to Elephanta Island on the Thane creek, near Mumbai. Several fire-tenders rushed to the spot and operations are still on till the last reports came in. No casualty has been reported so far.

According to officials, the fire broke out in two fuel storage tanks. "The fire has been brought under control," the official said.

According to port officials, the incident took place around 5 in the evening at tank number 13 and 14, which have storage capacity of around 10 to 15 lakh litres each.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Yet another case of sexual assault on a woman has been reported from Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh where four men gang-raped a 25-year-old woman at gunpoint.



The culprits allegedly abducted the victim by pointing a gun and then dragged her to a field and raped her in front of her husband, police said.



The accused are yet to be identified.



Superintendent of Police Ajay Sehdev said that the woman was returning from a village with her husband and three-month-old child on a motorbike when they were waylaid by the four men in a car near Nirgajni village.



The four pulled her off the bike and dragged her to a sugarcane field nearby and took turns to rape her. Then they threatened her and her husband against disclosing the incident to anyone.



Four men dragged me to a sugarcane farm and raped me. They constantly threatened to kill my child, also tied and beat up my husband, the victim was quoted as saying by ANI.

The police said the accused are yet to be identified.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

After the courts decision to send her to 6-day police remand, Panchkula police claimed that Honeypreet distributed Rs 1.25 crore to dera men to arrange logistics for inciting violence in Panchkula on the day of judgement in rape case against Gurmeet Singh.

Panchkula police said Honeypreet was the main custodian of cash generated at the dera headquarter in Sirsa. Police officers claimed that she was also the one who used to distribute money to chiefs family members.

We have evidence, including recovery of Rs 24 lakh from one of the dera followers that clearly indicated that money used to incite violence was routed through her, said police commissioner AS Chawla.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Panchkula court sent Honeypreet to six-day Police remand. After remaining fugitive for 38 days, Honeypreet was arrested by Punjab police on Tuesday from the Zikarpur-Patiala highway.

Honeypreet was charged with sedition by Haryana government for allegedly inciting rioting after a Panchkula CBI court held Dera chief Gurmeet Singh guilty in a rape case.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

China has issued a travel advisory to its nationals visiting India, the first such warning after the Dokalam standoff, warning them about denial of visas to visit restricted areas like the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The Chinese Embassy in India issued the advisory, the third in four months, for Chinese tourists in India.

The warning was posted on the embassys website on Tuesday, and detailed several situations the embassy handled recently in which Chinese tourists were denied entry or investigated while travelling in India, state-run Global Times reported today.

Some Chinese citizens visited Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which are restricted areas for foreigners, without gaining permits from India. Some tourists were asked to return upon arrival. Some were even arrested or investigated, the statement read.

(Visitors should) not photograph Indias border and military facilities and vehicles. While travelling on Indias border neighbouring Nepal, avoid visiting border markets, and do not enter the territory of other countries by mistake, it added.

Also Read | Chinese troops still in Dokalam, building road as well: Sources

On July 7, weeks after the Dokalam crisis began, the Chinese mission in India issued its first warning, asking Chinese nationals to reduce unnecessary travel to India, maintain a low profile when there, and respect local laws and law enforcement personnel.

It reissued the warning on August 24. The 73-day Dokalam standoff started on June 16 when

Chinese troops attempted to build a road in territory claimed by Bhutan close to the Indian border. Indian troops objected to it and stopped the Chinese from building the road.

The standoff was finally resolved on August 28.

Chinese tourists make up three per cent of foreign tourists visiting India each year, the Global Times quoted Indian media reports as saying.

From January to May 2017, about 119,000 visitors from China visited India, an increase of 9.2 per cent year-on-year. India has granted e-visa facility for Chinese travellers.

A report by state-run Xinhua news agency two days ago said China is becoming one of the most popular destinations for Indian tourists.

It is estimated that the number of outbound tourists from India will reach 50 million overall by 2020, up from 21.87 million in 2016, the report said.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

In an attempt to corner NDA government once again, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to explain how China managed to widen its road in Dokalam despite the presence of Indian troops.

The Congress vice-president took to Twitter and wrote, Modiji, once you're done thumping your chest, could you please explain this?

Gandhi's comment comes a day after sources said China maintained a sizeable presence of troops near the site of the Dokalam standoff with India and had started widening a road, around 12 km from the area of conflict.

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day standoff in Dokalam that began from June 16 over road construction activity at the India-Bhutan-China trijunction.

Also Read: Rahul Gandhi hits out at Modi, says PM must admit his govt has failed to deliver

The tension eased after talks between top officials of both the countries.

Also Read: Amit Shah says Rahul Gandhi should remove Italian glasses to see development in Gujarat

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Terrorists in Tral area of Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district opened fire on Friday. According to initial reports, one civilian was injured in the attack.

The injured was immediately taken to a nearby hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The attack came a day after alert Indian Army everted a major terrorist attack on sensitive and soft targets in Jammu and Kashmirs Akhnoor.

On Wednesday night, the sentries of Indian Army observed suspicions movement close to an Army unit near Akhnoor market and activated the response mechanism.

Read More: Alert Indian Army averts major terrorist attack in J&K's Akhnoor, recovers fully installed IED

The Army carried out a massive sanitisation operation in the area and recovered an improvised explosive device (IED), 2 mines and a map of Jammu and Kashmir.

J&K: Terrorists opened fire in Pulwama's Tral, one civilian injured. More details awaited, pic.twitter.com/h6BrvDWEAl  ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2017

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The war of words between the ruling TMC and opposition BJP is continuing unabated. The latest incident is reported from Asansol where Tapas Ray, a local BJP leader while addressing a protest rally on Friday asked the party workers to "smash fingers" of TMC workers if they dare to touch BJP workers in any part of the state.



"The BJP workers and leaders are not cowards nor do we wear bangles. If any TMC worker or TMC goon dares to touch a BJP worker then we will smash the fingers of that person," said Ray.



"If someone tries to provoke BJP and its cadres, we will not sit idle," he added.



Reacting to Rays statement, senior TMC leader Gautam Deb said BJP is trying to "import" a culture of violence and hatred in Bengal.



"The BJP is trying to import a culture of violence and hatred in Bengal. Such kinds of statements are being made to provoke violence and disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the state," said Deb.



BJP took out a number of rallies in various parts of West Bengal demanding immediate arrest of those involved in the heckling of BJP state chief Dilip Ghosh in Darjeeling on Thursday.



The protestors also burnt the effigies of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Roorkee has claimed to have discovered the anti-viral drug called piperazine which is used to combat chikungunya.

According to the researchers, piperazine helps in inhibiting the spread of the virus and offers a new perspective for therapeutic intervention.

At this time, there is no vaccine or anti-viral drug available in the market for the cure of chikungunya.

To deworm treatments against roundworm and pinworm, piperazine is widely used. Developing a new antiviral drug molecule can take over a decade and that is the reason why we are looking at repositioning existing approved drugs and testing these to see if they can inhibit or kill pathogenic viruses, said Shailly Tomar from the Department of Biotechnology at IIT-Roorkee.

The breakthrough research has shown that piperazine is successful in controlling the spread and replication of the chikungunya virus in a lab setting. We are currently testing the molecule on animals and hope to take this to clinical trials soon, said Tomar.

Chikungunya is a viral disease transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes. It causes fever and severe joint pain. Other symptoms include muscle pain, headache, nausea, fatigue, and rash.

The researchers revealed that they found that piperazine would bind itself well with the hydrophobic pocket on the alphavirus capsid protein. This pocket is key to the replication of the virus and its spread inside a host. This inhibition of this pocket prevents budding and spread of the virus and can help in treating the virus effectively using existing drugs, they said.

Delhi saw the sudden surge in the cases of Chikungunya in 2016, around 7,760 cases have been reported so far from across the national capital. In 2017, Delhi has witnessed nearly 500 cases of Chikungunya.
New Delhi:

Aerospace start-up TeamIndus, which is gearing up to land the first private rover on the moon, has got thumbs up from an international panel of judges from the Google Lunar XPRIZE, saying the team has made sustancial progress and was heading to the right direction.



But, in order to move on, TeamIndus, founded by Rahul Narayan in 2011, says it needs to raise about Rs 225 crore before the launch of their lunar spacecraft and for this it is in talks with multiple sponsors and stakeholders.

The total project costs Rs 450 crore and we have already collected half of the amount. For the other half of the amount, we are talking to various sponsors and will be able to raise this amount in the next 3 to 6 months, Rahul Narayan, founder of TeamIndus, said. The company had secured three rounds of funding, with series A getting completed, he added.

Review of TeamIndus moon mission plan



The moon mission plan of TeamIndus was on Friday reviewed by an international panel of judges.

TeamIndus is the only Indian team competing for the $30 million (roughly Rs 196 crores) prize. 30 teams were selected as finalists and now five finalists are on track to compete its mission. TeamIndus is one of the 5 finalists.



"I think we have seen very substantial progress...They are heading in the right direction. However, I would say in space you always can expect the unexpected and this team has the ability to tackle the problems," Chairman of the panel Professor Alan Wells said.

The panel comprising of eminent space scientists and aerospace engineers are on a five-day review visit.

"We see this engineering review as well as the support from the panel as validation that we are on the right path. We will now be integrating the learning from the review into fine-tuning the mission in the days ahead," TeamIndus Fleet Commander Rahul Narayan said.

Narayan said that they were hopeful that the mission will be completed in next three to six months.

In response to a question on investments, Narayan said, "The total cost of the programme is expected to be around Rs. 450 crore, out which more than half has been collected and spent and for the rest talks are on with sponsors and others who are interested in spending on this mission."



About TeamIndus mission



TeamIndus will launch its spacecraft weighing 600 kg on board ISROs Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharihota. The spacecraft will be injected into an orbit 800 km above the surface of the Earth.



The spacecraft will also carry the 4kg Japanese rover belonging to its competitor Hakuto along with its own indigenously designed and developed robotic rover.



It will also carry a further payload of scientific experiments, including a student experiment being taken to the moon for free.



Deadline

ALSO READ | TeamIndus among top 5 finalists to compete for Google Lunar XPRIZE by landing rovers on Moon



The deadline for the completion of mission fixed by the Google Lunar XPRIZE is March 31 next year. The first launch window of the spacecraft is December 28, and after that there will be three-day windows every month, with a cutoff date of around the first week of March, if it is to meet the March 31 deadline.

TeamIndus supporters

Tata, Nandan Nilekani (Infosys), Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal (Flipkart) and Venu Srinivasan (TVS Group), K Kasturirangan (former ISRO chief) among others are supporting TeamIndus as its advisers.



The five finalistsOther than TeamIndus (India), the other four finalist teams who have a verified launch contracts are SpaceIL (Israel), Moon Express (USA), Synergy Moon (International) and HAKUTO (Japan).



About TeamIndus



Team Indus, which is backed by the likes of Ratan Tata, Nandan Nilekani, Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal, has emerged as one of the five companies to be selected out of 29 teams which participated in the Lunar XPrize contest.



What is Google Lunar XPRIZE?

TeamIndus is in the fray for Google Lunar XPRIZE, also called the Moon 2.0, which is a competition organised by Google. Privately funded spaceflight teams from across the world were called to land a rover on moon before March 31, 2018. December 2017 was the earlier deadline to launch the spacecraft.



The winner team will land its rover on Moon and will also traverse 500 metre on the lunar surface. It also requires to send back high-definition pictures and videos from there. The winning team will be awarded $30 million.

The $30 million Google Lunar XPRIZE is a competition that challenges and inspires engineers and entrepreneurs from around the world to develop low-cost methods of robotic space exploration.

About XPRIZE

XPRIZE designs and implements innovative competition models in order to solve the grandest challenges in the world. Active competitions include the $30M Google Lunar XPRIZE, the $20M NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE, the $15M Global Learning XPRIZE, the $10M Qualcomm Tricorder

XPRIZE, the $7M Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, the $7M Barbara Bush Foundation Adult Literacy XPRIZE, the $5M IBM Watson AI XPRIZE, the $1.75M Water Abundance XPRIZE and the $1M Anu & Naveen Jain Womens Safety XPRIZE.

For all the Latest Science News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

US President Donald Trump accused Iran of not keeping with a deal to curb its nuclear program, 10 days before the US President has to report to Congress whether or not Tehran is complying with the 2015 accord.

"They have not lived up to the spirit of the agreement," said Trump during a meeting with senior military leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC on Thursday.

Since the Trump came into power, he desperately wants to remove the nuclear pact and get rid of the limits it imposes on the US ability to exert more hostile policies against Iran.

According to the Trump, the Iranian regime has been indulging in the terrorist activity and exporting violence which is creating wreck in the whole Middle East. Due to this, we have to put an end to Iran's continued aggression and nuclear ambition, he added.

"You will be hearing about Iran very shortly."

October 15 is the deadline for certifying that Iran is strictly following the deal and under the Joint Comprehensive Point of Action (JCPOA) and in every 90 days US law will give the certification to the Iran on whether the Iran is complying the deal or not. And if Trump argues that Iran is not in compliance, that could cause an American withdrawal from the international pact.

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Pakistans Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif warned India on Thursday against carrying out surgical strike or targeting its nuclear installations. He claimed that if such an incident occurred then nobody should expect restraint from his country.

Referring to the statement of Indias Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa that the Indian armed forces are ready for a full spectrum operation, Asif said Pakistan wants to live in peace and harmony with its neighbours.

But if India carries out any surgical strike in Pakistan or strikes at its nuclear installations nobody should expect restraint from us, he warned.

Speaking at the US Institute of Peace, a Washington-based think-tank, Asif said the relationship with India is at a lowest ebb at the moment.

Responding to a question on India, he said, sadly India did not respond to Pakistani efforts to improve relationship. What is going on in Kashmir is the biggest roadblock to normalisation to talks, Asif said.

The Pakistani Foreign Minister asked the US not to treat his country as a whipping boy and said Washington has already lost the war in Afghanistan.

He further said that the Americans are only trying to salvage the situation in the war-torn nation. Asif is in Washington as part of efforts to rebuild bilateral ties frayed after President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of sheltering terror groups.

He claimed that his meetings with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Advisor H R McMaster were good. Was not bad, Asif quipped, giving a sense of his talks with top leadership of the Trump administration.

The US has recently been seeking accountability from Islamabad in the war against terrorism including continued presence of terror safe havens in Pakistan.

Asif in a way acknowledged that the madrasas were training ground for terrorists. These madrasas were nurseries for American jihad in Afghanistan. People who took those decisions will burn to hell. We are actually living in hell because of that decision, he said, adding that Pakistan is paying the price of such a decision.

The meeting went well with Tillerson and McMaster (meeting) was good. (It) was not bad, Asif said, noting that the two countries need to pursue contacts with each other. He favoured adopting an approach of talks and exchange of views more vigorously.The US, he said, is focusing solely on safe haven allegations or blaming Pakistan for what they have not achieved in Afghanistan.

There are many more dimensions of what is going on in Afghanistan, he said. A corrupt government in Kabul, increasing narcotics trade, the Afghan Army selling arms to the Taliban, losing terrorist and bringing Daesh (ISIS) to Afghanistan, he said.

Lets see this conflict in its entirety, in totality. Do not treat Pakistan like a whipping boy. That's not acceptable. We want to cooperate with the US. We are the direct beneficiary of peace and stability in Afghanistan, he said.

Standing by his remarks on some of the terrorist groups and terrorist leaders at the Asia Society in New York last week, Asif said they are a liability.

We will find ways and means to wrapping up this business. This is a liability. (but) this cannot be wrapped up overnight, he said. Responding to a question, Asif said there are problems in US-Pakistan ties.

We do have problems with the US. We have deficit of trust. We are trying to mend those deficits, he said. Pakistan, he said, sees more role for Russia and China in the region. Pakistan's relationship with Russia has improved in recent years.

We need and have proposed any peace solution in Afghanistan should be backed by regional powers which include the Russian federation, he said in response to a question."

Madrassas, whether we accept or agree with them or not, are the biggest NGO in Pakistan. There are over 20,000 madrasas. Out of these huge number, a very low number of them are infected. Possibly they number around 300-400. The government is managing these madrasas, he said.

With PTI inputs

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

Bangladesh on Thursday said that Myanmar has pushed one million Rohingyas onto its soil and it will make efforts to resolve the issue peacefully despite provocations.

While participating in the India Economic Summit (IES), Bangladesh foreign secretary Shahidul Haque said Recently Myanmar has pushed one million Rohingyas, their own nationals, onto our soil. We are still struggling. We havent got into a fight with them despite provocations.

We are trying to resolve it peacefully.... The Prime Minister (Sheikh Hasina) thinks that it is something we will solve in a peaceful manner, Haque added.

Following ethnic violence in Myanmar, Bangladesh is facing a big influx of Rohingyas from the Buddhist-majority nation. Last month, India had rushed relief material to Bangladesh pledging all help to Dhaka in tackling the humanitarian crisis.

The issue of One Belt-One Road was raised by Congress leader Shashi Tharoor at the IES. China will have to do more if it wants India to join the proposed project, he said.

ALSO READ: Supreme Court asks Centre, Rohingya petitioners not to make emotional plea

If the Chinese really feel that for the overall credibility and viability of the Belt and Road Initiative they want India to play an active part, they have to do more of a selling job. They have to come and market to us here on why this is actually in our interest, the former Union minister said.

India skipped the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in May this year due to its sovereignty concerns over the CPEC, a flagship project of Chinas prestigious Silk Road initiative, officially called One Belt One Road (OBOR).

Differences emerged between the two countries over the USD 50-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) passing through Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) which is part of the Chinas mega Belt and Road initiative.

The India Economic Summit of the World Economic Forum (WEF) is being attended by over 500 business and political leaders.

(With PTI inputs)

ALSO READ | Rohingya issue: Hostility towards Muslim minority refuses to die, 10,000 more trying to flee

For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Greg Shugrue was impressed with what he saw at the new Cumberland Farms.

It features 10 fueling stations, 5,000 square feet of convenience store retail, high ceilings, bright lights and colorful displays. The store, on Danbury Road in New Milford, is Connecticuts first new generation store Cumberland Farms is rolling out throughout the East Coast.

But what impressed Shugrue the most was healthy food choices located around the store. Shugrue is the principal at New Milford High School, which is across the street. Students filter into the store by the dozens before and after the school bell.

Its refreshing to see the healthy choices, he said. Theres fruit, yogurt, salads. Students can make healthy, informed decisions. Im happy they are offered here.

The next generation Cumberland Farms store also includes touch screens for ordering hot food, an expanded coffee bar and a spacious patio for outdoor dining. Cumberland Farms plans to roll out eight to 10 more new generation stores over the next few months.

Since 2009, Cumberland Farms has opened or updated over 330 stores, and donated over $450,000 to community organizations across the Northeast and Florida, Ari Haseotes, CEO of Cumberland Farms, said in a statement. As we have passed the halfway point in our efforts, we could not be happier with the response weve received from the community. Were looking forward to bringing our new stores and menu items to all of the communities in which we serve, and to raising even more money for our local partners along the way.

Cumberland Farms in New Milford held a grand opening ceremony this week that kicked off a four-week fundraiser for New Milford High School. During the fundraiser, 10 percent of all dispensed beverages purchased will go to the school.

Welcome to the neighborhood, Shugrue said the opening event. Its a great partnership and exciting fundraising opportunity Cumberland Farms is giving us. Were delighted to be working with them.

Cumberland Farms has locations throughout southwestern Connecticut, including in Norwalk, Westport, Monroe, Ansonia, Shelton, Stratford and Bridgeport.

Kevin Bielmeier, director of economic development for New Milford, said Cumberland Farms worked with the city throughout the building process, including barricading the construction zone for the safety of the students walking along Route 7.

They did things the right way and did a beautiful job building it, Bielmeier said. They were very cautious with the school next door. It will be very popular with the students and also the parents dropping off and picking up.

Cumberland Farms was founded in 1939 and now has nearly 600 stores in eight states. It remains family owned and operated.

The writer may be reached at cbosak@hearstmediact.com; 203-731-3338
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Investigators said Friday that after five days piecing together the story of Stephen Paddock, they remained at a loss for what may have motivated him to open fire from his Las Vegas hotel suite, gunning down 58 people at a country music festival and injuring hundreds more.

Police say they have looked into more than 1,000 leads. Authorities have delved into his Paddock's gun purchases, computers and travel plans, spoken to his relatives and traced his actions leading up to the shooting.

What they lack, however, are answers explaining why a 64-year-old avid gambler meticulously planned and carried out out the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.

"We do not still have a clear motive or reason why," Kevin McMahill, undersheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, said at a news briefing Friday.

McMahill said he was aware that since Sunday's massacre, rumors and speculation had abounded in the absence of a confirmed motive.

"I get it," he said. "We all want answers. We have looked at everything, literally, to include the suspect's personal life, any political affiliation, his social behaviors, economic situation, and any potential radicalization that so many have claimed."

Unlike many other mass killers who have unleashed bloodshed in America's churches, colleges, nightclubs, workplaces, college towns or public spaces, Paddock - who killed himself before police stormed his room - left no clear sign authorities have identified so far. After previous mass shootings, there were bigoted screeds posted online, confessions to police, videotaped rants, histories of violent behavior or worrisome trails of arrest records and mental health consultations.

Here, instead, there is mystery. And while trying to solve that question, police have also sought to determine whether anyone knew about the attack, McMahill said.

Investigators were "very confident that there was not another shooter in that room," McMahill said. But they were continuing to investigate "whether anybody else may have known about this incident before he carried it out." McMahill said they had reviewed surveillance camera footage from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and "not located any other person that we believe to be a suspect at this point." He told CNN that Paddock brought 23 guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition to his hotel suite on multiple trips over several days.

It also remains unanswered whether Paddock intended to die in his hotel suite or had initially hoped to escape. Paddock fired at a security guard on Sunday night and, at some point before a SWAT team entered his suite, killed himself.

Police also still have no answer for why Paddock had brought tannerite, an explosive, in his car to the Mandalay Bay.

"I don't know what he was going to do with all that tannerite," McMahill said. "I wish I did."

Among the many things authorities were exploring was Paddock's medical status, which McMahill said was an "aspect of the investigation we're keenly interested in."

People who knew Paddock described him as anti-social, someone who went out of his way to avoid other human beings, but his girlfriend said she saw no indication that he was capable of such horror.

As the investigation has produced a web of clues, police also explored some of Paddock's recent potential travels. Before ascending to the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel and opening fire on 22,000 concertgoers far below, Paddock had booked space in two other hotels overlooking popular music festivals - one in Las Vegas last month and the other in Chicago a month earlier.

Investigators were unsure of the significance of the hotel bookings and are trying to determine if they were ominous signs of the horror to come or the meaningless actions of a man with the financial means to fly around the country.

Those in Paddock's life said they had no inkling of what was to come. FBI agents interviewed Marilou Danley, Paddock's girlfriend, hoping she could provide insight into the shooting, but she has said she knew nothing of his plans or potential for such violence.

Danley was out of the country during the shooting, and she said this was arranged by Paddock, saying that he bought her a plane ticket to the Philippines to visit relatives. Paddock then wired her a substantial sum of money, telling her to use it to buy a home, Danley said in a statement read by her attorney.

"I was grateful, but honestly, I was worried, that first, the unexpected trip home, and then the money, was a way of breaking up with me," Danley said. "It never occurred to me in any way whatsoever that he was planning violence against anyone."

In Nevada, the Clark County coroner on Thursday formally identified the 58 people killed in the massacre.

Their names and stories have already emerged, tales of people gunned down while next to their friends and relatives. Some threw their bodies over loved ones to protect them from the gunfire, while others died in the arms of their husbands and wives.

Of the 58 people killed during the massacre, 36 were women and 22 were men. The youngest victim, Bailey Schweitzer, was 20; the oldest, Pati Mestas, was 67.

The rampage also sent nearly 500 people to the hospital, many with gunshot wounds. Others were injured during the frenzied attempts to flee the carnage. More than two dozen of those still hospitalized as of Thursday remained in critical condition.

McMahill pledged that investigators hoped to learn answers. The FBI joined with the Las Vegas police pleaded for information, launching a public information campaign - using the slogan "Know Something, Say Something" - seeking information about Paddock.

"We are looking at every aspect from birth to death," McMahill said.

---

The Washington Post's William Wan, Sandhya Somashekhar, Julie Tate and Devlin Barrett contributed to this report.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

For four days, investigators have poured over the life of Stephen Paddock and for four days, the man who carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history has largely remained an enigma.

They have searched Paddock's homes, scoured his computers, assessed his finances and explored his travel history. So far, they have uncovered a complex web of clues, and no clear answers about why.

In the months before he carried out the Las Vegas massacre, killing 58 people and injuring nearly 500 others, Paddock booked hotel rooms at two other major outdoor music festivals. The reservations were curious for a man who friends and neighbors say was decidedly anti-social, but investigators are now working to determine if they were a significant foreshadowing of things to come, or meaningless travels of someone with the means to fly around the country.

A real estate broker who helped Paddock sell multiple properties in California more than a decade ago said the future gunman expressed dislike for taxes and the government - even selling off a series of buildings in California to move his money to the low-tax havens of Texas and Nevada.

But the agent, who asked not to be identified discussing Paddock, said they never knew Paddock to be political or ideological. A person familiar with the investigation into the massacre said these anti-government views alone didn't explain why Paddock would head to a 32nd floor suite at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, break out the windows and open fire into a crowd of unsuspecting citizens.

This much is certain: Paddock, 64, aimed for maximum destruction. He had with him in the suite 23 guns, a dozen of them equipped with bump stocks that would allow for rapid fire, along with thousands of rounds of ammunition that he never fired.

These bump stocks have become a flash point since the shooting, and on Thursday the National Rifle Association - in its first statement since the massacre - echoed others in calling for more regulations on the devices.

Investigators searching Paddock's car also found several cases containing the chemical tannerite, an explosive, and 1,600 more rounds of ammo.

But Paddock, who killed himself before police stormed his suite, left precious few clues about his motive. There was a slip of paper in his suite, authorities said, but it was not a suicide note. As of Thursday afternoon, the only new information to publicly emerge from searches of Paddock's electronic equipment were details of his possible travel plans.

He had booked space at the Blackstone Hotel near Chicago's Lollapalooza in August, and the following month, reserved a room at the Ogden in Las Vegas during the Life is Beautiful festival.

It seems he never actually checked into the Chicago hotel, though an official said investigators were still exploring his travels. They were also looking at possible interest Paddock had in Boston, an official familiar with the case said.

Paddock, a retired accountant and avid gambler, was "disturbed and dangerous," Joseph Lombardo, the Las Vegas sheriff, said at a news briefing Wednesday night.

"Stephen Paddock is a man who spent decades acquiring weapons and ammo and living a secret life, much of which will never be fully understood," Lombardo said.

Authorities have said that Paddock had ramped up his gun purchases in the year before the shooting, and Lombardo said police were trying to determine whether something in his life changed during that period.

"Anything that would indicate this individual's trigger point and would cause him to do such harm, we haven't understood it yet," he said.

The emerging portrait of Paddock suggested a man of considerable means who liked guns, gambling and women, but who so disliked interacting with people that he sought to avoid talking to them.

Property records show Paddock sold several low-end apartment buildings and commercial buildings in California in the 2000s before purchasing an apartment building in Texas and homes in retirement communities in Florida and Nevada. Between 2003 and 2004, Paddock sold at least three commercial properties in California for a total of more than $5 million dollars.

Paddock would buy apartments, move into them to keep an eye on his investment, but "still would employ other people to talk to the tenants because he didn't want to talk to the tenants," the broker said.

The aversion to human interaction even extended into Paddock's flying, said the broker, who like Paddock enjoyed piloting personal planes.

He said he knew Paddock for several years in the early 2000s, during which time Paddock had a sleek new aircraft - a Cirrus SR20. On the handful of flights they made together, Paddock mapped out his path - steering away from controlled areas - just to avoid having to talk to air traffic controllers, the broker said.

Paddock stored the Cirrus at a Mesquite Metro Airport hangar between 2007 and 2009, according airport workers. The airport staff had little recollection of him, said Lt. Brian Parrish of Mesquite Police, "because he paid his bills on time and didn't cause trouble."

His flying hobby appeared to come to an end in 2010. Because of a medical restriction - he needed glasses for near vision - Paddock would have been required to renew a medical certificate to fly. But once his certificate expired in 2010, he never sought an application to renew his licenses, a Federal Aviation Administration official said.

Paddock's aversion to human contact, the real estate broker said, was in part why he preferred playing video poker, a type of gambling that doesn't require interaction with other players. Paddock's wardrobe did not bespeak of a man of wealth, said the broker. Paddock often went out unshaven, in sweats and flip flops, even on his thrice-weekly excursions to casinos, where he ate at the buffet.

Jonathon Speece, a gunsmith at Guns & Guitars in Mesquite, Nevada, where Paddock had purchased weapons, said he had met Paddock several times over the last year and never found him to be out of the ordinary.

Paddock, who had a home in Mesquite, never made any statements suggesting a hint of coming violence, Speece, 41, said in an interview at the gun shop.

"He was just like anybody else," Speece said. "All of the locals around here are asking why he did it. Nobody has any answers. It doesn't make sense. I don't think I'll ever understand it."

As authorities pieced together Paddock's life, they were assessing if he hoped to escape from the hotel alive, if anyone helped him and if he planned other attacks before firing upon the country music festival Sunday night.

The most significant might have been in Chicago, where Paddock reserved space in the Blackstone, a 335-room high-rise hotel overlooking the Lollapalooza music festival in August, according to two people familiar with the investigation. A hotel representative said someone reserved a room under Paddock's name but did not stay in the hotel during the festival.

Lollapalooza, which draws an estimated 100,000 people each day, was held in Chicago's Grant Park. Among those in attendance was Malia Obama, the older daughter of former president Barack Obama.

While investigators puzzled over Paddock's potential interest in other concerts, they sought answers from those who knew him. On Wednesday, FBI agents interviewed Marilou Danley, Paddock's girlfriend, hoping she could provide insight.

Danley, who was out of the country during the shooting, told investigators that Paddock bought her a plane ticket to the Philippines to visit relatives. Danley said Paddock then wired her a substantial sum of money and told her to use it to buy a home - which she said made her think Paddock was ending their relationship.

"It never occurred to me in any way whatsoever that he was planning violence against anyone," Danley said in a statement that was read aloud by her attorney. Her attorney did not respond to messages seeking comment Thursday.

According to authorities, Paddock had prepared meticulously and mercilessly. He assembled an arsenal in his suite and, police say, stashed cameras around him to know when officers were closing in.

Speaking Wednesday night, Lombardo, the sheriff, offered the most detailed timeline yet of the incident, describing how officers heard the gunshots, closed in on Paddock's suite and - 75 minutes later - breached the door to find Paddock dead, a handgun not far from his body.

The timeline offered by Lombardo depicts officers desperately trying to rush people inside the hotel to safety. Gunshots first rang out at 10:05 p.m., and seven minutes later, two officers arrived on the floor below Paddock and heard gunfire above them, Lombardo said.

The gunfire ended at 10:15 p.m., police said. Far below, chaos dominated the streets and sidewalks as people fled the venue, scattering to hotels, the airport's tarmac and nearby neighborhoods.

"It was not in one building, it was not in one spot, it was not in one address," Clark County Fire Chief Cassell said. "It was spread over a massive area."

In the hotel, police continued searching for the shooter. At 10:17 p.m., Lombardo said, officers arrived on the hotel's 32nd floor, and just a minute later, a hotel security officer relayed that he was shot. By 10:30 p.m., eight more officers were on the floor, clearing room after room.

At 11:20 p.m., SWAT officers breached the door. They found Paddock's body, Lombardo said. Before they arrived, Paddock had put a gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger. It remains unclear when exactly Paddock shot himself.

- - -

Julie Tate, Devlin Barrett, Abigail Hauslohner and Ashley Halsey III in Washington; Lynh Bui in Las Vegas; Kevin Sullivan in Mesquite, Nevada; William Dauber in Los Angeles; and Barbara Liston in Orlando, Florida, contributed to this report, which has been been updated throughout the day.
#FIFA World Cup Injuries to top two Ghanaian goalkeepers potential boon for S. Korea Ghana's misfortune in goal may prove to be a boon for South Korea when the two countries clash in their second group stage match at the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Qatar. When Gh...

#BTS Seller of BTS member Jungkook's lost hat referred to prosecution Police on Tuesday referred to the prosecution a former foreign ministry employee accused of attempting to sell BTS member Jungkook's lost hat online, officials said. The suspec...
President seeks sustained engagement with overseas community, tells diaspora in Ethiopia that government cares for them

New Delhi, Fri, 06 Oct 2017 NI Wire

The President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, addressed an Indian community reception in Addis Ababa (October 4, 2017) hosted by the Ambassador of India to Ethiopia, Shri Anurag Srivastava.

Speaking on the occasion, the President said Indian community in Ethiopia has been at the centre of India-Ethiopia relations. As teachers and educators they have given a helping hand to nation building in their host country. As entrepreneurs, they have created economic opportunities and imparted skills to local people. As tech-professionals and workers they have added value to Ethiopian Industry. With hard work and dedication, the Indian community has built respect for itself within Ethiopian society. And yet it has retained and carried forward Indian values, family traditions and work ethic while adapting very well to this adopted home.

The President said that Ethiopia, like India, is a land of diversity, of multiple languages and varied cuisines; of music, dance and drama. The Indian community here must take advantage of the local eclectic culture as well as showcase and share our own cultural diversity.

The President said both India and Ethiopia have large young populations. The youth are the future, and it is from them that new ideas would come. He advised the Indian community to make special efforts to connect with Ethiopias youth. He stated that this would help them germinate their ideas to provide solutions for a better world, be it tacking climate change or skilling people.

The President said the Government of India seeks sustained and proactive engagement with our overseas community. The purpose of this engagement is to provide an opportunity to familiarise the community with transformational changes taking place in India. The dialogue with the diaspora is also aimed at shaping possibilities and platforms through which it can participate in Indias growth and development.

The President said the Government of India cares for the overseas Indian community and keeps its promise to stand by them. He referred to efforts made to evacuate Indian citizens from Yemen (as part of Operation Rahat in 2015) and Libya, or more recently help individuals and families during the floods in parts of the United States.

The event in Addis Ababa was attended by some 500 members of Ethiopias Indian community. The Indian community is spread all over the country and is 5,000 strong.

President Kovinds visit to Ethiopia continues yesterday.

Source: PIB
Chris Hemsworth asked for THOR to be shot in Australia to be at home!

Hollywood, Fri, 06 Oct 2017 NI Wire

Superstar Chris Hemsworth who will reprise his superhero God in Thor Ragnarok, reveals that he had asked the makers to shoot in Australia and luckily they agreed!

Chris said, "I asked if we could shoot in Australia and thankfully the Marvel guys said they would look into it but couldnt promise anything. To me, to be home again for more than two weeks would be fantastic. And it worked out. It was so good.It was so nice being there. Theres just such a familiarity with the crew and everything here. And I get to sleep in my own bed. But I also t think theres such wonderful talent here as well, in the cast and crew across the board. So it was fantastic. And the weather was brilliant. I don't think we got rained out at all. Its just been one of the best shoots Ive been part of."

When asked about the experience shooting in brisbane, Chris said, "Man, that was nuts. Id never seen that many people excited for a film crew. There were more people there than any premiere Ive been to, and more excitement and buzz than any premiere event Ive been to. The people of Brisbane were thrilled and packed in the streets to catch a look.The city sort of stopped for those couple of days. It was such a positive buzz, and we were all trying to get out there and sign autographs in between takes as much as we could. That was pretty special. It was great"

Thor Ragnarok releases on 3rd November 2017
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 3 1 of 3 Autumn Driscoll / Autumn Driscoll Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Autumn Driscoll / Autumn Driscoll Show More Show Less 3 of 3





ANSONIA-Got glassware, toys, or small appliances you no longer need or want?

How about jewelry, tools, pocketbooks or electronics?
EAST HAVEN  Board of Education members agreed in a special meeting Thursday to hire a forensic auditor because of a $918,675 deficit for fiscal year 2015-16, but avoided the elephant in the room: the question of whether business manager James Farrell had been put on leave or fired.

The board called the special meeting after a Town Council member told a Register reporter this week that Farrell was disciplined by the state banking commissioner related to a previous job.

The council member said publicly during a council meeting this week that he wanted answers as to the $918,675 deficit on the education side for fiscal year 2015-16.

The Board of Education Thursday also talked about hiring temporary help in the finance department and what qualifications they would look for in a future business manager, but stopped short of mentioning Farrell or his employment status.

Several sources said Thursday that Farrell has been put on administrative leave.

Board President John Finkle, when asked after the meeting whether Farrell was still in the job or on leave said, I dont know, and referred questions to acting Superintendent of Schools Erica Forti.

Forti said she couldnt comment on Farrells status with an investigation pending.

But, she said, obviously her office puts heavy weight on ethical and moral conduct.

She said her request to the board for additional help in the business office  as many as two people  shouldnt be taken to mean Farrell is gone. She said they needed the help before any controversy erupted around him.

She also said there may be more answers at the Board of Educations regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m.

About 25 residents attended Thursdays meeting, but there was no public comment. Christine Maisano, an accountant, lent a lot of expertise to the conversation.

The board called the emergency meeting after it was disclosed after a council meeting that Farrell had been found in another position to have violated several Connecticut banking laws.

The issue, as well as the deficit, originally was raised by Councilman Nicholas Palladino, who noted at the meeting he has been asking this question for the past six months without getting an answer from the other council members.

Before that council meeting began, Palladino said in an interview that he learned just last week from a constituent that Connecticut Banking Commissioner Jorge Perez in July issued a consent order containing serious allegations about Farrells violations of Connecticut General Statutes.

Board Chairman Fred Parlato told Palladino, You should ask the Board of Education about this. We have no control over it.

In the preliminary statement of the consent order, Perez said his office investigated Farrells actions while he was working for the New Haven County Credit Union. Perez said the investigation revealed Farrell violated provisions of state banking law.

Perez said Farrell violated three state laws, each of which would form the basis for removing Farrell from office.

Perez also said Farrell agreed to sanctions against him, including paying $10,000 to the state as a civil penalty.

Another provision of the sanctions specified Farrell may not, without Perezs consent, hold any position as a director, officer, employee or independent contractor with any bank, Connecticut credit union or federal credit union.

The Board of Education didnt vote on any measure Thursday, but had discussion about the qualifications it may require of a future business manager  including how he or she should be a certified public accountant, and spoke of how a forensic auditor hired should be independent of a firm doing the boards regular audits.

Members discussed how they will need someone who knows how to work in the departments antiquated computer programs.
I believe in bad guys.

Thats just the way it is.

Whether they are born that way, created that way by environmental factors or made that way by chemical imbalance that goes untreated, it doesnt matter to me.

I believe in bad guys.

And I believe they belong where steel doors clang good morning and good night so the good guys can rest easy.

They come in all colors and shapes and all sizes. They prey in suits and ties as well as baggy jeans and T-shirts.

They murder, rape, rob and menace  and sometimes leave their victims alive when they would be better off dead.

They do unspeakable things to children with cold-blooded indifference to the pain and suffering they are causing, throw acid in peoples faces and plot the murder of innocent people.

They are arrested, convicted and thrown in jail.

But somehow, they find their way back out on the streets, and the good guys are constantly under assault.

And I dont understand why.

Every day of every year, people are killed by bad guys  and bad guys dont change.

And those who say they have only seem to discover that light when the rest of their life has gone dark under the bright radar of the judicial system.

In a previous column, Street life? Get it now and pay later, I questioned why drug dealers go back and forth to jail but have nothing to show for their misbegotten deeds except time behind bars.

This week, I am questioning our judicial system and its in-the-out-door way crime and punishment is delivered in this country  a delivery system that circles criminals right back to do more harm to unsuspecting citizens.

All because we believe in being compassionate.

We are indeed a nation of compassion and we should remain one.

But sometimes that compassion stands on moral righteousness  not reality  and blinds us to the obvious: there are bad guys who dont want help.

There are many innocent people who lie below us needlessly because we already had the bad guy behind bars.

Weve all read about the horror stories or seen them on the evening news. A violent man is set free  and the person who feared him the most is killed.

The question is why do we treat these bad guys like theyre troubled youth under the guidance of Father Flanagan?

Why do we put up with it when it is clear it is getting worse, not better?

The numbers are numbing.

Nationwide, the FBI reported that in 2015, murders rose at their fastest pace in a quarter-century  and in 2016, murders continued to rise in big cities by 11.3 percent.

Here in Connecticut, while overall violent crime is down, the number of murders has mushroomed by nearly 32 percent.

A study conducted by the Connecticut Department of Public Safety in 2012, followed 14,398 men after they were released or discharged from a prison. The study found that within five years of their release, 79 percent were re-arrested, 69 percent were convicted of a new crime, and 50 percent were returned to prison with a new sentence.

Its no wonder some cops feel like hamsters on a wheel. They bust their butts, put their lives in danger, arrest the bad guy only to see him back out on the streets.

Shootings have become so commonplace, they are no longer screaming headlines. Kids 13-, 14- and 15-years-old are being shot and killed.

So, the bad guys  and the bad women for that matter  are not getting the message.

It is time to swallow compassion and show we can be bad guys, too. We must allow the law to take back our streets and put these men exactly where they belong: locked away from society.

On Thursday, I attended a call-in session of Project Longevity  an all out effort by a combination of law enforcement officials to reduce gang violence  where 17 young men were urged to listen to the experts who were there to help and to take advantage of the myriad of services designed to move them forward and away from guns, violence and gangs.

Some men were clearly on the path as they mentioned jobs and family  and for those who were not, the door remains open.

But we know what happens to men who refuse to follow direction.

Men who are unwilling to listen, dont learn. And men who dont learn, cant grow.

Thats why we have people walking the streets who have been locked up so many times, they may as well use the jailhouse as their mailing address.

They wont change, so we must.

I know my hard-line stance isnt the best solution but I am not sure what else society can do.

We must keep these men convicted for violent crimes behind bars and not allow them to take advantage of the in-the-out-door punishment our judicial system allows to give them another chance.

We cant stop them from shooting but we can make sure theyre never on the streets again to pull the trigger.

I believe in bad guys.

Thats just the way it is.

And I am wondering readers ... if you believe, too

James Walker is the Registers senior editor. He can be reached at 203-680-9389, jwalker@nhregister.com or james.walker@hearstmediact.com. Follow him on Twitter @thelieonroars
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

WEST HAVEN  Anyone who knows Grace Iannucci Hendricks can tell you that she rarely is a women of just a few words. But she made do with a simple, sincere thank you Friday after being honored as West Havens 2017 Italian-American of the Year.

Several dozen people filled the plaza outside City Halls Main Street entrance for the 19th Annual Italian-American of the Year ceremony, which each year takes place on the Friday before Columbus Day.

This years ceremony kicked off a weekend of festivities that will include West Haven hosting the Greater New Haven Columbus Day Parade. The parade rotates between six communities around the area. It steps off at 1 p.m. Sunday on Captain Thomas Boulevard.

My sincerest appreciation for your selfless devotion to West Haven and the proud Italian-American community, said Mayor Ed OBrien, who is of Italian heritage on his mothers side.

OBrien then read a citation recognizing Hendricks  a staunch Democrat who works on his reelection campaign, among many other activities  for her selfless devotion to West Haven and its deep-rooted Italian-American community.

The city of West Haven hereby offers its sincerest congratulations to Grace Iannucci Hendricks... he said. The entire city extends its very best wishes on this memorable occasion and expresses the hope for continued success ... Congratulations Grace!

The award is given each year to a resident or couple of Italian heritage who epitomizes service in the citys Italian-American community.

Paul Frosolone, president of the West Haven Italian-American Civic Association, presented Hendricks with an Italian flag before he and OBrien presented her with an embroidered West Haven Italian-American of the Year jacket.

I met Grace 25 to 30 years ago in the political world in West Haven and to this day, whenever I see her, I give her 1,000 percent respect and she gives it right back to me, said Frosolone, the citys former Republican town chairman.

He called Hendricks, a parishioner of St. Lawrence Church, a very hard-working person and said, shes definitely an asset to the city of West Haven.

Other congratulations were offered by state Reps. Dorinda Borer, D-West Haven, and Michael DiMassa, D-West Haven, with DiMassa presenting Hendricks with an officials proclamation from the General Assembly.

I know I speak on behalf of all your friends when I tell you how proud we all are of you today. Thanks for representing us with dignity and grace, said Borer.

The ceremony also included the West Haven High School Bel Canto Choir signing The Star Spangled Banner, Liz Levy singing the Italian national anthem, Il Canto Degli Italiani, and an invocation by the Rev. Eric Zuniga, parochial vicar of the new St. John XXIII Parish.

An Italian lunch catered by John Ziada of Zs Corner Cafe followed in City Halls basement conference room.

During the ceremony, Master of Ceremonies Vin Amendola, the citys corporation counsel, told Hendricks, Good morning, Grace! This is your day!

Amendola spoke at length about Hendricks growing up as one of 12 children in a 14-member, second-generation Italian-American family that grew its own fruits and vegetables  and ducks and chickens  on what at that time was West Havens decidedly un-Italian West Shore.

He also spoke at length about the history of Italian immigration in the United States, dating back to the arrival of Christopher Columbus  an Italian explorer representing the kingdom of Spain  in 1492.

Columbus arrival launched a flood of immigration that transformed the land, he said.

Today, the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of the original ... immigrants continue to celebrate their Italian-American heritage, Amendola said.

OBrien said that as we commemorate the adventurous spirit of Columbus, we pay homage to generations of Italian-Americans who followed him.

Hendricks, who was escorted to the plaza by past recipients of the honor, is the granddaughter of immigrant grandparents from Naples, Italy. She has a passion for Italian music and opera, some of which was played prior to the ceremony.

She is the widow of the late Democratic Party activist James Hendricks, who died in 2001.

I am honored and proud to be named West Havens Italian-American of the Year, Hendricks, a longtime member of the West Haven Italian-American Ladies Auxiliary, said in advance of the ceremony. It gives me great pleasure to accept this award, as I am proud of my heritage.

Hendricks grandparents left their homes in the Campania region of southern Italy in the late 1800s, seeking a better life the U.S. Her paternal grandparents eventually settled in West Haven.

Hendricks was born in New Haven in 1931 to Salvatore Iannucci, a supervisor at the Winchester Repeating Arms Co. in the Elm City, and the former Rose Zingarella, a homemaker who also worked part time at Winchester during World War II.

Hendricks formerly was employed as an office clerk at the Armstrong Rubber Co. on Elm Street in West Haven and worked at the Connecticut Savings Bank on Church Street in New Haven. She was also an administrative assistant for the Democratic registrar of voters and a paraprofessional for the Board of Education in West Haven.

She has served on the board of directors of the West Haven Community House and the boards Fundraising and Head Start committees. She is also a member of the agencys Head Start Policy Council and Personnel and Fund Development committees.

Her dedication to the Community House was rewarded in 2011 with the Pauline Lang Exceptional Board Member award. Hendricks was a 10-year member and secretary of the Board of Police Commissioners, has served on the pension board and is a member of the Ward-Heitmann House Museum Foundation.

mark.zaretsky@hearstmediact.com
Alhaji Muhammadu Abdullahi Sugar, a close ally of Atiku Abubakar, has said that the former Vice-President should take over from President M...

Alhaji Muhammadu Abdullahi Sugar, a close ally of Atiku Abubakar, has said that the former Vice-President should take over from President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019, because he possesses the expertise and exposure needed to address the challenges facing Nigeria.

In an interview with Daily Trust, Sugar stated that if Atiku was given the mandate to pilot the affairs of the country, he would turn around its fortunes within a short period.

You know, late President Umaru Musa YarAdua succeeded in addressing most of the challenges facing the country at that time in six months before his ailment weighed him down.

The template used was that of late Shehu Musa Yaradua which was co-designed by Atiku.
Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Bode George has expressed his readiness to deliver the presidential seat in 2019 if given the mandate to lead the PDP.In his speech entitled: A new path, a new beginning, Bode George, who declared his intention to contest the National Chairmanship position of the PDP during its December National Convention, promised to deploy experience and wisdom to rescue and position the party to regain power in 2019.The formal flag-off campaign attracted PDP members, who converged at the City Hall in Lagos.Prominent party leaders present include former Minister of Transport, Chief Ebenezer Babatope; former Minister of Communications, Chief Dapo Sarumi; former Minister of Special Duties, Elder Wole Oyelese; former Deputy Governor of Lagos state, Senator Kofoworola Bucknor Akerele; former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Erelu Olusola Obada, National Vice Chairman PDP, Dr Eddy Olafeso; former Interim National Chairman PDP, Chief Ishola Filani former PDP Chairman, Lagos State, Captain Tunji Shelle and former PDP Chairman Ogun State, Chief Joju Fadairo.Others are, Hon Tajudeen Obasa, Chief Kehinde Kuku, Chief Tajudeen Oladipo, Mr Seyi Makinde, governorship aspirant, Oyo state, former Deputy Governor, Oyo State, Chief Azeem Gbolarumi, Aremo Femi Adetola, Chief Remi Akintoye Hon Oladele Bankole Balogun and PDP leaders from South-East, South South and the North.Addressing party leaders and members, Chief George promised to resuscitate the dream and principles of the PDP founding fathers as enshrined in the constitution of the party.While he pledged to bring back the dignity of PDP by working diligently to unite members, he said as National chairman of the party, he would mend fences and heal old wounds for all to attain the collective aspiration of the once ruling party.The party leader said if elected as the PDP national chairman, his first task would be to reconcile feuding factions and ensure party officials at all levels are given recognitions they deserve.His words: I have learned the ropes and I have been guided by the collective wisdom of our leaders across our great nation. I fully understand the precepts, the mechanisms and the constitution of our party.I know the tradition, the culture, the guiding ethos and the normative patterns that our leaders have built and nurtured for so many years. If elected, I am willing and ready to work with everyone regardless of personal differences to mend the broken places, to heal the ancient wounds, to reconcile the feuding factions and ultimately ensure that we strengthen our collective brotherhood and speak with one voice to regain victory in 2019.I will never compromise our foundational principles of justice, fairness and equity as enshrined in the constitution of our party. We will equally accord all our governors and legislators at both state and national levels the necessary pride of place and honour in this new dawn. We will protect their interests and help to enhance their effectiveness.If I am given the privilege to serve, I will never play the role of an overlord. I will serve with dignity and diligence. I will respect the mighty and the low without discrimination. Together, we will remove impunity. Together, we will restore discipline and fair play. We will always insist on internal democracy, he said.He also noted that the PDP, under his leadership, will strive to revive the economy of Nigeria which had been battered, working with well-meaning members of the party to get the presidential power in 2019."Our party needs a rescue. Our party needs redemption. Our party deserves a balanced, experienced, tested, trusted and faithful hand. Our party needs a team player and a unifying leadership. Our party needs stability. Our party needs a patriotic emblem, a standard bearer undetained by tribal fixity."Here and now, I am humbly making a stand and a declaration as an aspirant for the position of the office of the National Chairman of our party with a vision to serve as a bridge builder, as a peace-maker and as a healer of the broken places."I cannot do it alone. Nobody can. I alone cannot resolve all the issues or reconcile all the differences."But I promise to work with our leaders to find a common ground and negotiate a healthy compromise to achieve a common purpose of a strong, prosperous, equitable, democratic and a victorious organization."I cannot pretend that I have all the answers. But I am prepared and willing to work with all strata of our party to ensure that the dreams and the visions of our founding fathers are fully restored once again."I am willing to work with the young and the old, the frail and the strong, men and women of all diversities to achieve a progressive synthesis to move our party forward."I am not a stranger to the processes, the spirit, the principles and the guiding ethos of our party."
A legal practitioner, Ugochukwu Osuagwu, Esq, has warned the Nigerian Senate to respect the doctrine of separation of powers and not to ...

A legal practitioner, Ugochukwu Osuagwu, Esq, has warned the Nigerian Senate to respect the doctrine of separation of powers and not to arbitrarily constitute itself into a court of law or usurp the powers of the judiciary.

Barrister Osuagwu said this in reaction to summon by the Senate, mandating the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Yusufu Buratai, to appear before its ethics and privileges.

Senate had accused Buratai of insulting the chamber by refusing to appear before a committee on a petition filed by Lt. Col . Abdulfatai Mohammed who was dismissed from the Nigerian Army for allegedly abusing his office and carrying out actions considered to be at variance with the code of conduct for members of the Armed Forces in Nigeria.

In his reaction, Osuagwu in a chat on national issues with newsmen, said there is every likelihood that the Senate is not aware of its standing rules which barred the chamber from interfering in issues before the court.

 He lamented that the summon on Buratai on the same issue currently before the National Industrial Court was an attempt make a mockery of the court.

Osuagwu added that the Senate must not be allowed the wild goose chase against its own rules as stated in Standing Rules 2015, where it was unequivocally stated that matters in Court must not be discussed before the plenary.

We must do well to save the hallowed chamber, and quickly remind them that by the provisions of the Standing Rules 2015 of the Senate, matters in court should not be entertained.

 Yet the Senate went ahead, usurping the powers of the Court and took up a matter of Employee Dismissal already before the National Industrial Court.

It is clear that the Senate on this ground does not have the jurisdiction to hear the petition or even summon the Chief of Army Staff.

The petitioner, Lt Col Mohammed had on August 12, 2016 filed a suit in the National Industrial Court against the Chief of Army Staff and the Nigerian Army seeking reinstatement.

This means the matter which the dismissed officer took to the Senate is

already in Court and subjudice. If the senate had done due diligence it would have realized this long ago, the legal practitioner added.
Super Eagles captain, John Obi Mikel, has said he would soon retire so he can give up the No. 10 shirt to Alex Iwobi.During the teams interactive session with the media on Thursday, Iwobi was asked if he desired to wear the shirt number made famous by his uncle, Austin Jay Jay Okocha, during his playing days with the national team.Iwobi replied: I dont want to talk about this because as you can see, my captain is already slapping me.In regards to the shirt, Im not really fazed about the shirt. If I get number 10, I get it. All I know is Im here to represent my country and Im proud to wear the colours. Im not really fazed about what shirt (number) Im wearing and really my uncle (Okocha) does not pressure me. I mean, I focus on myself.After the Arsenal forward responded, Mikel Obi picked up the microphone and gave a cheeky remark.Dont worry, I will soon retire for you, the Tianjin TEDA midfielder said.
Catalonias move to declare independence from Spain has been scuppered by Spains Constitutional Court.

Catalonias move to declare independence from Spain has been scuppered by Spains Constitutional Court.The court has ordered the suspension of Mondays session of the regional Catalan parliament, where the declaration for unilateral independence from Spain was billed to take place.The speaker of the Catalan parliament, Carme Forcadell, accused the Madrid government of using the courts to deal with political problems and said the regional assembly would not be censored.But she said parliamentary leaders have not decided whether to defy the central court and go ahead with the session.The suspension order further aggravated one of the biggest crises to hit Spain since the establishment of democracy on the 1975 death of General Francisco Franco.But Spanish markets rose on perceptions the order might ward off, at least for now, an outright independence declaration.Spanish Prime Mariano Rajoy called on Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont to drop independence plans or risk greater evils.Secessionist Catalan politicians have pledged to unilaterally declare independence at Mondays session after Sundays referendum, banned by Madrid and marked by violent scenes where Spanish police sought to hinder voting.The constitutional court said it had agreed to consider a legal challenge filed by the anti-secessionist Catalan Socialist Party.Spanish shares and bonds, hit by the political turmoil in Catalonia, strengthened after the news of the courts decision. The main IBEX stock index rose 2.5 percent and the yield on Spains 10-year bond fell.Spains Economy Minister Luis de Guindos told Reuters in an interview the turmoil was damaging Catalonia.
The Federal High Court in Lagos has adjourned further hearing till Monday, October 9, in the case of a former Governor of Oyo State, Chief Rashidi Ladoja, who was charged with N4.7bn fraud.Ladoja is being tried alongside a former Commissioner for Finance in Oyo State, Waheed Akanbi.The trial judge, Justice Mohammed Idris, adjourned on Friday at the instance of Akanbis lawyer, Mr. Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika, who requested that an official of Oyo State should be summoned by the court to tender some documents as exhibits.Olumide-Fusika had attempted to tender the document during the proceedings on Friday, but counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Mr. Oluwafemi Olabisi, opposed the admissibility of the document, contending that Olumide-Fusika failed to lay proper foundation for its tendering.But Olumide-Fusika, who maintained that the document, which was supplied to the court by the Oyo State Government, was important to the defence of his client, urged the court to summon an official of Oyo State Government to appear in court for the purpose of properly tendering the document as an exhibit.Ladojas lawyer, Mr. Bolaji Onilenla, did not oppose the application for adjournment.Consequently, Justice Idris adjourned the case till Monday to allow for the invitation and appearance of an official of the Oyo State Government.Ladoja and Akanbi are facing eight counts bordering on money laundering and unlawful conversion of funds belonging to the Oyo State Government to their own.In one of the counts, Ladoja and Akanbi were accused of converting a sum of N1,932,940,032.48, belonging to Oyo State Government to their personal own, using a Guaranty Trust Bank account of a company, Heritage Apartments Limited.The EFCC claimed that they retained the money sometime in 2007, despite their knowledge that it was a proceed of a criminal conduct.In another instance, Ladoja was accused of removing the sum of 600,000 from the state coffers in 2007 and sent it to Bimpe Ladoja, who was at the time in London.The ex-governor was also accused of converting the sum of N42m, belonging to the state, to his own and subsequently used it to purchase an armoured Land Cruiser jeep.He was also accused of converting a sum of N728,600,000 and another N77,850,000 at separate times in 2007 to his own.The EFCC claimed that Ladoja transferred the N77, 850,000 to one Bistrum Investments, which he nominated to help him purchase a property named Quarter 361, Ibadan, Oyo State.The EFCC told the court that Ladoja and Akanbi acted contrary to sections 17(a) and18 (1) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004 and were liable to be punished under sections 14(1), 16(a) (b) and 18(2) of the same Act.But ex-governor and ex-commissioner have pleaded not guilty to the allegations.
US Republican Congressman Tim Murphy has announced his resignation after his affair with a young woman came to light, official statement...

US Republican Congressman Tim Murphy has announced his resignation after his affair with a young woman came to light, official statement said on Friday.Upon further discussion with my family, I have made the decision to resign my position, Murphy, an eight-term member of the House of Representatives, serving since 2003, said.The statement came one day after the 65-year-old said he would not seek re-election to Congress at the end of his current term, which would terminate in 15 months.The shifting position was the result of the House Republican leadership urging Murphy, who represents Pennsylvanias 18th congressional district, to step down, considering him a distraction as the party fights for a major tax reform.Ive spoken with Tim quite a bit the last couple of days.I think its appropriate that he moves on to the next chapter of his life, House Speaker Paul Ryan told a press conference prior to Murphys resignation.In September Murphy admitted to an affair with a woman half his age.The couples text message exchanges reported by the U.S. media showed Murphy had asked the woman to abort their unborn child.It came as a devastating political blow as Murphy had been an active advocate of anti-abortion laws.Ive never written them, staffers do them, I read them and winced.I told staff not to write anymore, Murphy said of the anti-abortion statements released in his name after the woman complained of his inconsistent stance.
NEW BRUNSWICK -- Rutgers University officials say they have no plans to give back a high-profile donation from Harvey Weinstein as the film mogul battles allegations that he has sexually harassed women for decades.

Weinstein contributed $100,000 to the state university as was one of the lead donors to the school's new Gloria Steinem Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies. More than 425 people, including several celebrities, contributed to a $3 million campaign to fund the chair to honor Steinem, a feminist icon.

The donation came before the release of a New York Times investigation this week that found Weinstein allegedly has a long history of sexually harassing women, including actresses Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan.

Weinstein apologized for his past behavior in the story and said Thursday he plans to take a leave of absence from his company "to deal with this issue head on." However, his attorney also said Weinstein plans to sue the New York Times over inaccuracies in the report.

A Rutgers spokesman said the university is not having any second thoughts about using Weinstein's money to fund its new chair in honor of a women's rights activist.

"Harvey Weinstein and the H. Weinstein Family Foundation contributed a gift of $100,000 in honor of his late mother, who shared Gloria Steinem's hopes for female equality. We can think of no better use of this donation than to continue this important work," said Karen Smith, a Rutgers spokeswoman.

Weinstein, 65, has supported women's causes in the past despite having settled at least eight sexual harassment complaints, the New York Times report said.

The Gloria Steinem chair was approved by the Rutgers Board of Governors at a meeting in June. The $3 million raised will be used to hire a media and feminist studies professor to teach and do research on the ways new media and technology are reshaping culture, Rutgers officials said.

A committee led by Oxygen Media co-founder Geraldine Laybourne and Working Mother Media senior vice president Subha Barry helped lead the fundraising effort, which drew gifts from more than 400 individuals and 12 foundation.

In addition to Weinstein, the celebrity donors included filmmaker George Lucas, fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg and newspaper publisher Mortimer Zuckerman.

Kelly Heyboer may be reached at kheyboer@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @KellyHeyboer. Find her at " on Facebook.
NEWARK -- A 15-year-old boy was arrested after he was found with a loaded gun at the Newark charter school he attends Thursday, authorities said.

Police were called to a report of a student with a weapon at M.E.T.S. Charter School on Broad Street around noon, according to Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose, who said officers arrested the boy without incident.

Ambrose said police recovered a loaded 9MM handgun from the student. The boy was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon in an educational institution.

Capt. Adolph Perez, commander of Newark's 3rd police precinct, is set to meet with school officials to discuss security and "ways to improve security with the goal of reducing the likelihood of similar incidents," the public safety director added.

Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @noahyc and on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips
BAYONNE -- The 2018 mayoral race will begin in earnest next week when Jason O'Donnell, a former Assemblyman and longtime resident of the city, officially announces his candidacy.

O'Donnell, who was with the city fire department for more than two decades and served as the city's Director of Municipal Services and public safety director under former Mayor Mark Smith, said he believes the city can do better.

"I was born and raised in Bayonne and I'm fourth generation; I'm raising my children three blocks from where I grew up; I bought my first home in the shadow of St. Mary's where I grew up across the street," he said in an interview with The Jersey Journal. "I love the town and I never wanted to live anywhere else. ... Having said that, why do I want to run? Because I think Bayonne can be so much better."

O'Donnell served as state assemblyman for the 31st Legislative District for five and a half years, but he declined to seek re-election in 2014. He then moved into the private sector where he worked as the director of the New Jersey branch of Kivvit, a public relations firm. He has stepped down from his position to concentrate on his candidacy, he said.

While he said he is "pro-development," he said he thinks there are ways to negotiate harder with developers seeking long-term tax abatements.

"You have to ask if there's a better way, and I believe there is," he said. "I'm for development that creates jobs, that doesn't short-change the taxpayers today and in the future, (and) development that doesn't possibly cripple of educational system.

"Other communities are using the tools like PILOTS and tax abatements but they're getting something back," he added. "They're getting jobs. They're getting (project labor agreements) for union jobs. They're getting schools and parks built. ... Why are we getting nothing in return?"

O'Donnell is to announce his candidacy during a special event at the Knights of Columbus at 6 p.m. Wednesday where he will lay out exactly where he thinks the city can do better and how he will be able to do it.

He will go head-to-head in May of 2018 against the incumbent, Mayor Jimmy Davis, a retired police officer. Davis will be vying for his second term after winning in an upset against Smith in 2014.

Davis will be holding his own re-election event on Thursday at the Chandelier.

A request for comment from Davis today was not returned.
Donald McLaughlin III, 37, is seen with his fiance, Alisha, and her son, Moses, in a photo being held by his father, Donald McLaughlin II. The 37-year-old Union City man was shot dead last night in Jersey City.

A father of three was shot dead Thursday night on Central Avenue in Jersey City.

Donald McLaughlin III, 37, who was walking on Central Avenue near Graham Street with his brother, was shot in the back at roughly 8:50 p.m, McLaughlin's dad, Donald McLaughlin II, said this morning at the scene.

"I was inside watching TV and I heard a large thud on the door," McLaughlin said. "My other son, Irving, ran through shouting, 'They're shooting at us!' I took it as a joke, but I noticed spots of blood on his shirt. He said 'I think they shot Donnie!' "

McLaughlin said he ran outside and saw his son on the ground across the street with his eyes wide open, but he was unresponsive.

The 37-year-old, who lived in Union City, was rushed to RWJBarnabas Health's Jersey City Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said. The Hudson County Prosecutor's Office said McLaughlin also had an apparent blunt force trauma injury to his head.

The HCPO said a second man, 26, of Jersey City, was treated at the scene for injuries to his head and body. He was also taken to JCMC, where he was treated and released.

McLaughlin's death is the 16th homicide in Jersey City this year and the 19th in Hudson County in 2017. HCPO spokesman Ray Worrall said no arrests have been made.

McLaughlin said the fatal shooting may have been related to an earlier traffic incident on Bowers Street involving one of his sons. This morning a memorial of three candles was placed on the sidewalk outside the door of the victim's father home.

McLaughlin III was engaged to be married to the mother of his 3-year-old girl, his father said. McLaughlin has two other children, a 17- and 18-year-old who live in Florida.

The 37-year-old was a Lyft driver and was enrolled in a mechanics training program, his father said.

Editor's note: This story was updated at 1:45 p.m. with new information.
Travis Boys, 35, is accused of fatally shooting NOPD Officer Daryle Holloway during an escape from custody in June 2015.(Courtesy of Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office)
Kyre West pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated animal cruelty Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2017, after New Orleans police said he shot a cat on Oct. 4, 2017, with a pellet gun outside Zeus Place adoption center and pet daycare on Freret Street. (Courtesy of Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office)
A Texas woman pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge that she brought a teen boy from Louisiana home with her to live together and engage in sexual activities.(Staff archive)
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP)  Survivors of Hurricane Ian face a long emotional road to recover from one of the most damaging storms to hit the U.S. mainland. For those who lost everything to disaster, the anguish can be crushing to return home to find so much gone. Grief can run the gamut from frequent tears to utter despair. The Lee County medical examiner says two men in their 70s even took their own lives a day apart after viewing their losses. Experts say suicides climb after disasters and more funding for mental health should be provided as climate change makes storms and fires more frequent and devastating.
The firm that commissioned the "Fearless Girl" statue of a defiant young girl standing up to Wall Street has agreed to pay $5 million to settle claims that it discriminated against 305 top female employees by paying them less than men in the same positions. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
New U.K. Treasury chief Jeremy Hunt has reversed most of an economic package announced by the government just weeks ago, including a planned cut in income taxes. Hunt said Monday he was scrapping almost all the tax cuts announced last month by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Liz Truss, and also signaled that public spending cuts are on the way. It was a bid to soothe turbulent financial markets spooked by fears of excessive government borrowing. The move raises questions about how long the beleaguered prime minister can stay in office, though Truss insisted she has no plans to quit. She vowed to lead the Conservatives into the next general election, but many in the party want her gone.
Aside from the overt criminal acts described and a too-liberal use of profanity, my life has been approximately pure and correct, Polk Wells said from his prison cell at Anamosa. And he swore he never used liquor or tobacco.

However, during his lifetime, the words desperado, bandit, and wanted: dead or alive were frequently seen in connection with Polk Wells. And, according to an 1895 article in The New York Times, he was the greatest of Iowa desperadoes.

Wells blamed his early life of crime on a mean stepmother. Running away from his Missouri home at the age of 12, he won a pot of money in a poker game, bought a cowboys outfit, and headed west.

After spending several years roaming throughout the western territories, Wells returned to Missouri in 1872 and married Nora Wilson. He went into the grocery and liquor business, but wasnt successful as an entrepreneur. He left his wife and baby, but promised to return.

When Wells returned to Nora two years later, she had married a man named Al Warnica.

According to Wells, Warnica was a hard-working young fellow, and I determined not to interfere, for there had been no intentional wrongdoing. I gave him $300 to buy a team, kissed Nora goodbye, mounted my horse and rode away to the West.

Wells quickly fell into a life of crime  committing highway robberies and robbing banks throughout several states. He killed a Mormon bishop in Utah in 1876. And in July 1881, he stole a couple of horses from a farmer near Sidney in southwest Iowa and rode to neighboring Riverton, where he robbed the bank of $4,600.

Fremont County Sheriff Dan Farrell put together a posse of local citizens, and they took off over the prairie in pursuit of Wells. The sheriff followed Wells all the way to Randolph, Wisconsin, where a shoot-out occurred. Carrying at least three bullets in his body from Farrells gun, Wells was taken back to Iowa. (Wells once claimed his body housed 27 bullets from various encounters over his career.)

Back in Iowa, Farrell collected a $1,000 reward; and Wells pleaded guilty to highway robbery and was sentenced to 10 years at Fort Madison Penitentiary. Only a month into his sentence, Wells escaped by overpowering a prison guard with chloroform; the guard, John Elder, died.

While on the run, Wells hid out in a haystack in the barn of a family named Winterbottom. Word of the prisoners escape had traveled fast, and Mrs. Winterbottom convinced her husband to check out the barn. Taking his pitchfork along as a precaution, the farmer plunged the fork into the hay pile, striking Wells in the head, neck and breast. But the prisoner managed to wrestle the weapon from Winterbottom and took off across the countryside.

Wells hid out for several days, but was recaptured and sentenced to life in prison for the murder of the guard. He passed time by studying, practicing Christianity and giving talks at the prison Sunday school. He became a skilled leather tooler. Officials said he was a model prisoner. He wrote a book about his life of crime and had received an offer from a publisher, but was holding out for more money, according to an interview he gave to The New York Times in 1895.

Polk Wells died of consumption at Anamosa Prison in September 1896. Before he died, Wells said his greatest sorrow was hearing a mother threaten her kids, saying she would give them to Polk Wells if they didnt behave.

I floundered in the lowest depths of shame and remorse at having my name used as a cudgel to coerce little children into submission and obedience, Wells said.
Its been six years since the 100-day Missouri River flooding of 2011 threatened virtually every home and business west of Eighth Street  a threat that Council Bluffs officials are still working to mitigate.

While the threats of that summer of flooding were very real and potentially catastrophic, the work that must now be done to avoid future flooding threats and the possibility of a large portion of western Council Bluffs being declared a flood zone is potentially even more devastating.

This is undoubtedly the biggest threat facing Council Bluffs today, Council Bluffs Mayor Matt Walsh said Wednesday.

Addressing the threat carries a $50 million price tag. If current plans prevail, the money will not be an issue; but getting the work done on time is critical, and a lack of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operational funding is threatening a looming 2023 deadline.

Walsh said in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Army Corps of Engineers said existing levee systems need to be accredited before the Federal Emergency Management Agency remaps cities for potential flood zones.

Although the date is not written in stone, he said that FEMA is currently expected to remap Council Bluffs potential flood zones in 2023. If the 26-mile levee system that protects Council Bluffs from Missouri River flooding is not certified by the Corps of Engineers as adequate to protect the city by 2023  just 5 1/2 years down the road  current expectations are that FEMAs remapping of the city would put everything west of Eighth Street in a flood zone.

We have enough time to do all the work by 2023, Walsh said, but a lack of funding for the Corps of Engineers has slowed the needed approval of Council Bluffs levee repair plans. The corps inability to act is potentially threatening the citys plans to meet the 2023 deadline.

Were the area west of Eighth Street declared a flood zone by FEMA officials, mortgages on homes and businesses in that area would require coverage by flood insurance. The cost of flood insurance was once largely subsidized by the federal government, but the cost of recent disasters has consumed available federal funding, leaving those with flood insurance to pay a larger portion of the cost. Walsh said monthly flood insurance costs could be as much as triple the cost of the mortgage.

The fear, he said, is that owners facing those costs would simply walk away from a debt they could not afford to pay.

Half of the homes in Council Bluffs would essentially have no value because people would not be able to pay the costs involved in buying them because of the flood insurance requirement, he said. While homes east of Eighth Street have, in many cases, greater assessed valuations, the impact of that loss on the citys property tax base and property tax revenues would be devastating.

The state of Iowa established a flood mitigation program following 2008 flooding in eastern Iowa that resulted in extensive damage in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. Under the program, 65 percent of the states portion of sales tax receipts above those received in a baseline are returned to the affected communities for flood mitigation.

Council Bluffs officials applied for funding from the flood mitigation program for repair of the Missouri River levees as well as to repair and replace the Indian Creek box culvert. City Engineer Matt Cox said Council Bluffs was determined to be eligible for up to $57 million from the flood mitigation program, with the baseline established as state sales tax collections in 2013. The funds are payable over 20 years.

Walsh said Council Bluffs received nearly $3 million from the flood mitigation program in 2015 and a similar amount in 2016. The city should receive its final payment in 2035.

Our construction schedule will allow us to have the levees certified to be ready for the remapping possibility in 2023, but we may have to find an alternate source of revenue in the short term to pay for the construction, he said.

With a large portion of the flood mitigation funding coming after the 2023 mapping deadline, Walsh said city officials believe Council Bluffs could sell bonds secured by anticipated flood mitigation program payments the city would receive from 2023 to 2035.

However, with more and more people shopping on the Internet, the states sales tax revenue  the basis for funding distributed for the flood mitigation program  could be reduced, which would negatively impact the annual payment received by the city.

If the sales tax revenues are not adequate, we still need to do the work, Walsh said. Before we were approved for flood mitigation funds, we thought we were going to have to sell bonds to fund the work. That would have put the entire cost of the repairs on our taxpayers.

While he says the city has enough time to do all the work thats needed to have the levees certified by 2023, thats assuming that the Corps of Engineers, which must approve plans for levee repairs before the work can be started, is adequately funded. Due to a lack of funding, Walsh said the Corps has not reviewed and approved any levee-repair projects since last spring.

Cox, the city engineer, said hes heard the Corps of Engineers received the necessary funding as of Oct. 1, the start of the federal fiscal year, to reinstitute the review program, but hes not seen anything in writing.

Weve got two (levee repair) projects out for approval (by the Corps of Engineers) right now, he said. We would like to do one of the projects over the winter. We have to take out a portion of the levee to complete the project, and winter is the lowest-risk time to do that.
Jake Andersen didnt feel pain at first, just a burning sensation.

Then he looked down and saw the blood.

Andersen, a native of Harlan, Iowa, was shot in the right forearm in the first moments of the mass shooting in Las Vegas on Sunday.

Andersens mind raced.

He was with a friend 50 yards from a concert stage, but his fiancee and her parents were farther back in the crowd of 22,000 as the gunman fired down from a nearby hotel.

Andersen felt scared for himself and knew he needed help. But he was terrified that his fiancee and her family were hurt, or worse.

Andersen, 30, clamped his left hand over his forearm and began searching for them.

He heard screaming as he made his way through the chaos and saw other victims.

He found the spot where his fiancee and her parents had been sitting and saw their empty lawn chairs. He felt relieved, figuring they had made it out OK.

Andersen, who lives in Las Vegas, then turned his attention to himself.

A concert venue staff member took him to a medical tent, where a paramedic put a tourniquet on his arm and bandaged it.

Just before he was taken to a hospital, he talked with his fiancee by phone. She and her family were safe.

A surgeon examined him and told Andersen, a University of Iowa graduate, that he was fortunate. The bullet had passed through his arm but did not shatter any bones or damage nerves.

He wont require surgery, and after his wound heals, his arm should work just fine.

He and his fiancee, Kimberly Grettum, are planning a summer wedding and soon will be making an already-planned move to Minneapolis for a job.

The shooting and his injury shook him up, and he said hes still trying to process everything that happened that night.

But he feels grateful hes alive.
LINCOLN  The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Glenn Korff School of Musics opera program will bring its touring production of The Ballad of Baby Doe to North Platte on Sunday, thanks to the generosity of the James C. and Rhonda Seacrest Tour Nebraska Opera Fund.

A free public performance is scheduled at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Neville Center for Performing Arts, located at the historic Fox Theater. The production is co-sponsored by the North Platte Community Playhouse and the North Platte Concert Association.

A performance for North Platte area high school students will be on Tuesday.

The Ballad of Baby Doe by Douglas Moore tells the true story of the rise and fall of a Colorado silver miner, who is ultimately defeated by the gold standard. It takes place in the late 1800s in Leadville, Colorado.

Its about how love endures, said William Shomos, Hixson-Lied professor and director of opera. Its about how love survives the passage of time.

Shomos said the music is very accessible.

The tunes are beautiful and memorable, he said.

This is the second year for the Nebraska Touring program. In May 2016, the opera program took its production of The Marriage of Figaro to Friend, Ord, Norfolk and Red Cloud. This year, Shomos opted for one location during the school year.

The big benefit is that well be able to bring high school students into that performance, he said. Three hundred students from around the area are going to attend our Tuesday matinee. And I imagine it will be the first exposure to live opera that many of those students will have had.

Elizabeth Baby Doe Tabor is played by Arica Coleman of Lincoln, a UNL student pursuing a masters degree in music.

I am very excited to perform this opera in North Platte, she said. For me, I have many friends and family, like my grandpa, that live in western Nebraska and will have the opportunity to see this performance. I also think this kind of outreach is important to allow other parts of Nebraska to see what kind of opportunities there are at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and to encourage high school students to consider UNL for their college education. I hope this outreach inspires people to want to contribute to this amazing opera program at the Glenn Korff School of Music, either by attending future productions or joining programs such as Friends of Opera to help fund UNL operas.

The James C. and Rhonda Seacrest Tour Nebraska Opera Fund was announced in August 2015. The fund, made possible with a gift to the University of Nebraska Foundation, is used to support the production, promotion, travel and other expenses incurred by the Glenn Korff School of Music for outreach opera events, both artistic and educational, across Nebraska, especially in rural venues.

The Seacrests are former residents of North Platte. Jim, who passed away in 2016, was president and chairman of the board of Western Publishing Co., which then owned The North Platte Telegraph and other newspapers in western Nebraska.
HOLDREGE  Rural Nebraska artists who want to show and sell their paintings, sculptures, drawings or photographs are encouraged to submit samples of their work to the Nebraska Rural Living Online Art Gallery by Nov. 1.

Art submissions are juried by a professional sculptor, painter and photographer who also lives in rural Nebraska, and chosen artists will gain a storefront on the Nebraska Rural Living online art gallery where they can promote, display and sell their art.

The online gallery launched in August 2016, and now 25 artists are promoting their art to thousands of Nebraska Rural Living readers around the world at nebraskaruralliving.com/art-gallery. Artists have also benefited from additional opportunities to share their work at public events through their selection into the gallery.

The Nebraska Rural Living online artist submission form is also available in Spanish (online) to encourage a culturally diverse group of artists to submit their work.

The goal of the gallery is to give artists a platform to share and sell their art, while at the same time increase knowledge and appreciation of life in rural Nebraska.

For rules and criteria and to submit art to be juried for the online gallery, visit nebraskaruralliving.com/fine-art/. Artists will be asked to upload five high-quality images of their work and submit an artists statement and a short biography.

For more information, contact gallery coordinator Kristine Jacobson at krjacobson@nebraskaruralliving.com.
In Nebraska, 88 of 93 counties meet federal criteria for designation as mental health professions shortage areas. Lincoln County is one of them.

Leaders from the Behavioral Health Education Center of Nebraska met Thursday with mental health providers in North Platte before heading to Scottsbluff, Chadron and Rushville.

Dr. Howard Liu, the centers director and a child psychiatrist, said theres a shortage of mental health providers across the country, including psychiatrists, psychologists, addiction counselors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants and psychiatric nurses. Rural communities are hit especially hard.

Liu said it can be more difficult to recruit and retain mental health professionals in rural areas, which is something that the center is focused on.

Our goal is to meet with stakeholders in behavioral health in western Nebraska to learn more about their workforce and training needs and to discuss solutions and programs to grow the workforce, Liu said.

High school students often want to leave their small town to experience the big city, Liu said. Sometimes they dont return to rural areas. The center has partnered with 15 behavioral health academic programs in hopes of keeping 50 percent of students in Nebraska.

In other cases, it can be difficult to recruit a provider who has always lived in an urban area to work in a rural one.

I think people that didnt grow up in rural communities may not understand how good it is to live in one like North Platte, Liu said.

He said the center has established rotations in hospitals such as Great Plains Health to give students an idea of what its like to live and work in a rural area.

The center also tries to offer support, continuing education and other services to providers who are already practicing in rural areas.

We have to support them so they dont get burnt out, Liu said.

The center has also been working on initiatives that combine elements of behavioral health with primary care. This means a mental health provider, such as a therapist, may work in a primary care office, so a patient can have a mental health screening without having to wait to get into a specialty clinic.

Liu said data from integrated offices show a significant increase in people following through on mental health referrals. He explained that being able to meet with a provider in a familiar setting may eliminate some of the stigma that surrounds mental health care and put patients at ease.
For many who called the North Platte Rape/Domestic Abuse Program crisis line, Tina Mohrs comforting voice was on the other end. When Mohr was killed in a car accident in 2015, her daughter, Jessica Lawrence, knew it was time to start answering the phone.

I immediately knew I wanted to take over for her, Lawrence said.

Mohr had been a crisis line volunteer for 25 years and Lawrence has been taking calls for 2. On Oct. 11  just in time for Domestic Violence Awareness Month  a training session will take place for the next set of volunteers.

North Platte RDAP serves six counties. Last year, the staff of eight along with a number of volunteers helped more than 500 victims of domestic violence. RDAP program director Jeanie Gilbert said Domestic Violence Awareness Month gives the organization an opportunity to put domestic violence in the spotlight and educate the community.

Can't see the video? Click here to hear one woman's story about domestic violence.

Anyone can be a victim of domestic violence, Gilbert said. While it may include physical harm, it can also include fear, isolation, threats and intimidation.

Most believe domestic violence is about anger  its about control, Gilbert said. Domestic violence is a pattern of behaviors used by one partner to maintain power and control over another partner in an intimate relationship.

She said the decision to leave an abusive relationship is only the beginning for a victim, because the abuser will go to great lengths to regain control over the victim.

The most dangerous time is leaving, Gilbert said.

When victims of domestic violence are trying to get out of relationships, they often call the crisis line at 308-534-3495, where a trained volunteer like Lawrence answers the phone.

Coming from a family of domestic abuse as a child and knowing the toll it takes on a woman/child, it makes me want to do everything I can to help facilitate a positive change for the victim, Lawrence said.

Need help? Call 308-534-3495. The RDAP Crisis line is available 24/7 to anyone affected by domestic abuse or sexual assault. The hotline is confidential and offer information and emergency access to RDAP services.

During her crisis-line shift, Lawrence goes to work and carries on with her day just like any other. However, she keeps her phone accessible at all times during the 12-hour shift so she can respond to calls.

Some weeks I am very busy and will get anywhere from three to five calls a day, Lawrence said. Others, I wont have any calls at all.

The voice on the other end may be a victim who needs information about other organizations in town that can help them, someone who needs to talk about their situation and get advice, or someone who needs a safe place to go.

Theres never really a consistency with the crisis line, Lawrence said. It varies from day to day.

Lawrence said the most challenging part of taking calls is hearing the heartbreak, stress and pain on the other end. At the same time, she finds it rewarding to make a difference in the life of a victim and to play a role in making sure their situation improves.

There is so much that goes into helping an individual or family experiencing domestic violence, Gilbert said. A listening ear, a safe place to stay, food to eat, encouragement and guidance.

Those interested in being a listening ear can register for the crisis line training by calling 308-532-0624. The training also covers information vital to volunteering as an advocate at the Bridge of Hope Child Advocacy Center, Gilbert said.

For those whod rather not answer the phone, there are other ways to help. There are five volunteer teams, including those answering the crisis line.

The shelter team help clean the shelter and prepare rooms as families and individuals move in and out. The donation team sorts donations, organizes storage and replenishes products that are needed by clients. The office team assists the staff at the RDAP office during busy days, and the special events team helps with special events at the shelter, such as birthdays and holidays, and assists with fundraising events.

All the teams are set up on scheduled shifts, Gilbert said. When a volunteer requests to join a team, they can sign up for the hours and days that work for them  whether it is one day a month or one a week, there is always a chance to help.

The entire volunteer program is sponsored by the Mid-Plains United Way.

Lawrence said shed encourage everyone to volunteer, whether its at RDAP or another organization.

You could be helping out a complete stranger, family member or a friend and never know it, Lawrence said. Either way, you are giving back and doing something good for someone else  which is something this world is truly in need of.

30 Facts about Domestic Violence

Can't see the facts? Click here.
Well, it was no 12-minute meeting this time.

Twelve minutes is the time it took to conduct Calumet Citys business at a regularly scheduled council meeting I attended a month or two ago.

Last weeks meeting lasted much longer and was immeasurably more intense.

Approximately 20 people, organized to some degree by a group called Immigrant Workers Project, attended, and has been attending, city council meetings to encourage the council to opt into Cook Countys minimum wage increase ordinance.

Cook County, in its political savvy, had a way for individual communities to opt out of the ordinance. Most cities, except for Dolton, did so. Many cities in the South Suburbs are afraid raising the minimum wage will hurt already struggling businesses in their communities.

At an earlier meeting, the council quietly opted out of the Cook County ordinance in a vote that was bundled with votes for unrelated items. Folks there, including an alderman or two, didnt really realize what had happened.

Protests and complaints followed and the mayor/council agreed to have another vote at a later meeting where they would separately accept or reject that ordinance.

When that vote came last week, and the acceptance of the ordinance was rejected by a 5-2 vote, the crowd, who made it clear in the pre-meeting public comments that they were in vigorous support of the ordinance, erupted in a loud and prolonged show of disapproval.

The mayor and council recessed the meeting and left for the mayors meeting room. The protests continued. After maybe 20 minutes I noticed four or five police quietly enter the chamber. The two officers already at the meeting talked with the dissenters, and the group left, fairly calm, but unmistakably unhappy.

They promised they would attend future meetings of the city council.

As you may well know, this battle for raising the minimum wage is raging throughout the country. In Calumet City it has some complicating factors.

One for sure is that two referendums endorsing a substantial raise of the minimum wage were on the ballot in Cal City last election. Both passed by over 80 percent.

The working poor of Calumet City would undoubtedly spend an increase in their pay. Most likely, in Cal City.

But there is the fear that increased expenses for businesses would drive more of them to close or, as happens too often, move to Indiana.

I went to Best Buy yesterday and saw a sign announcing its closing later this month. Best Buy representatives made it clear that the closing was largely because of fewer customers due to the better tax situation in Indiana. They are not closing their two stores there.

Minimum wage increase is a tough call in our country, maybe an even tougher one in Calumet City.

EVENT COMING: Lions Club pancake breakfast this Sunday at TF North 8am -1pm. Be there.

Thanks for reading.
CROWN POINT  A criminal court judge denied bond Thursday for a 47-year-old man accused of ordering the murder more than six years ago of a state witness.

Ronnie E. Major will remain jailed until a Jan. 29 trial, according to court records.

Major was charged in December 2016 in Lake Criminal Court with murder and conspiracy to commit murder on allegations he arranged the killing of Jocelyn Blair, a 31-year-old woman shot to death Dec. 9, 2010, at the Coney Island Restaurant in Gary, according to a probable cause affidavit.

A witness allegedly told police Antoine J. Gates was paid $10,000 to kill the woman so she could not testify against Major at trial in an attempted murder case, the affidavit states.

Gates, 39, is alleged to have shot a second man at the restaurant, 60-year-old Michael C. Rivera, who police allege was also a co-conspirator in the killing.

Major's attorney, Scott King, filed a petition to allow bail in January. Several hearings on the issue were held this summer before Judge Samuel L. Cappas' ruling Thursday.
Scores of people gathered Friday at the Gary/Chicago International Airport to protest deportations taking place there.

The protests were the third to take place this year at the airport, which is used by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office to transport immigrants living in the country without legal permission. Friday's protest included representations from several different organizations from Northwest Indiana and elsewhere.

Gary resident Ruth Needleman, one of the organizers of Friday's event, said the law enforcement presence was much more extensive than at past protests, and protesters were kept much farther away from the buses carrying detainees into the airport. Protesters were restricted to a fenced-in section of a parking lot of the airport.

Needleman said she thought it was important for the immigrants being brought into the airport  who she contends in the main have not committed any offense other than "wanting to be with their family"  know they have support.

"They are scared to death, and they need to know that they have support," she said.

Needleman, however, said the authorities on Friday restricted them to the point they couldn't really see the immigrants who were being loaded into the plane, and immigrants could not see them.

Needleman was one of several people speaking during the rally in which people held signs in both English and Spanish calling for no more deportations. There also were frequent chants of "no more deportations" and "not one more" from the crowd.

Various unions lent their support to the effort, including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1. Other groups included Chicago Jobs with Justice and Northwest Indiana Resistance, which is a coalition of various local organizations.

Izabela Miltko-Ivkovich, a spokeswoman with SEIU Local 1, said it is the first time the union came to the Gary airport to protest, but members have been at other airports protesting various actions taken under the administration of President Donald Trump, including the travel bans.

"A lot of our members are immigrants, and they are immigrants from various countries all across the world," she said. "And we want to make sure that we are there and we are standing with them to make sure that everybody knows that no human being is illegal."

Needleman said the protesters want to make sure people know the deportations for the entire area are taking place at the airport. That the deportations are taking place there, she added, "are a really dark mark" on the facility.

"We don't think we can stop the deportations in the short term, but that is our goal, to stop the deportations here," Needleman said. She said that doesn't mean they want the deportations just to move somewhere else, but rather that they should be stopped completely.
LAKE STATION  The privatization of the Lake Station water utility is moving to another phase.

The citys Board of Works on Tuesday approved an asset purchase agreement with Indiana American Water.

In June, the City Council authorized selling the Water Department to Indiana American for nearly $20.7 million.

Dewey Lemley, Lake Stations superintendent of public services, said the monetary amount hasnt changed.

Lemley said the agreement documents all the details of the acquisition, which now will be reviewed by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.

Mayor Christopher Anderson said that process will take several months, and the IURC will make the final decision about the purchase.

City leaders prepared the municipalitys 2018 budget proposal without the sale proceeds in the spending plan, because Lake Station wont start off the year with that funding.

Lake Station officials anticipate the sale will finalize, and money from it will be received during the first quarter of 2018.

The 2018 budget proposal, which was approved by the City Council on first reading Sept. 28, includes a general fund of about $3.8 million. The council could adopt the budget Oct. 12.

Lemley said the council would adjust the spending plan after the water sale is approved by the IURC and funding is received next year.

City leaders on numerous occasions have discussed using a significant portion of the sale proceeds to pay off debt associated with the Water Department and to stabilize the general fund, which long has had a deficit.

It would be up to the council to decide how to use the remainder of that funding. Council President Carlos Luna has said the panel understands all city departments have needs, including additional personnel, but the council has no plans of running through that money quickly.
Before Sept. 18, Kris Grybow could barely see across the street of his apartment on the island nation of Dominica. The lush foliage and palm trees of the near rain forest climate was so dense, it blocked his view.

Twenty-four hours, however, would make a difference for Grybow, a Chesterton native, Valparaiso resident, registered nurse at Porter Regional Hospital and medical student at Ross University of Medicine on the island.

Hurricane Maria, which swept across the island with 175 mph winds, stripped the green from the trees, leaving them stand, said Grybow, like toothpicks.

"The bark was ripped off the trees. The leaves were ripped off. I could see six to seven kilometers, all the way to the city of Portsmouth," Grybow, 29, recalled of the harrowing experience that left at least 27 dead on the island.

Grybow began his classes at the island university in January. He returns home to Valparaiso every three months or so to pick up a nursing shift or two and visit his family.

While he's used to seeing the devastation tornadoes leave in their wake across the Midwest from news broadcasts, he said, he wasn't prepared for Maria.

"It was like the devastation you would see from a tornado, but it was everywhere," he said. Power lines were downed. Roofs ripped from most buildings. Flooding washed in and out of homes and businesses.

Grybow also works at a clinic at the university. When they received word Hurricane Irma might strike the island, clinic workers put together an emergency response team. Dominica, thankfully, was spared from Irma.

The morning of Sept. 18, the emergency response team began setting up a triage clinic. It was breezy, he recalled.

Instead of hunkering down in his apartment, he chose to seek refuge at a Category 3-rated building on campus. It was a smart choice; the roof of his apartment was ripped off from the storm's winds. While most of the buildings are made of cinder block, their roofs are wood and tin.

Maria struck about 11 p.m. on Sept. 18.

"Around 2:30 a.m., it was calm enough for us to venture out. It was one of the first times the island was dark for me. We just went out and walked around, calling for people to see if they needed help," he said, adding their focus was on helping any university students that might be in need. Luckily, there weren't many.

For the next few days, as other non-islanders were airlifted off the island by the U.S. military, he and his team stayed. They treated people for emergency-related injuries ranging from punctures to cuts, dehydration to stress-related illnesses.

The most difficult time came when cell service was cut off.

"I was in the military for 11 years, and my wife knows a hurricane won't beat me up," he said. Three days after the storm, he found a satellite phone to call home and assure his family he was OK.

Grybow and his team stayed on the island for 10 days after the storm. He left the island on a "very, very small" cruise ship, the last evacuation boat to leave. The ship sailed to St. Lucia, where he caught a flight to Miami and then home.

"Our clinic doctors were still there. I'd love to be there to help out. There was so much devastation. I was happy to be off, but it is bittersweet because I wanted to stay and help."

Grybow still isn't sure when or how he will continue his medical education. The power grid could be down for a couple of months. It could be a semester or two before he's able to return to classes, and it likely won't be back in Dominica.

"I definitely respect hurricanes more. Wherever they send me, medicine is a true calling for me," he said.
SEOUL  South Koreas outspoken radicals and leftists can hardly hide their dismay.

To the consternation of organizers of the candlelight crusade that brought down the regime of the conservative Park Geun-hye, ousted and jailed on a wide range of offenses, their one-time hero, Moon Jae-in, elected president as Parks successor, is defending the U.S. alliance, U.N. sanctions, and a defense establishment primed to take on North Korea.

He is betraying all the reasons we voted for him, said a member of one of the labor unions at the forefront of the protests. Why did we fight so hard for him?

Since his election in May, Park has gotten along so well with the Washington power elite that his one-time advocates are calling him Americas poodle.

Moon also has to contend with the conservative Liberty Korea Party, now the opposition in the National Assembly. Rightists criticize Moons oft-stated desire for reconciliation and dialogue with the north while calling for South Korea to develop its own nuclear weapons or get them from the United States for defense against North Korea.

Peace will come when we achieve a balance of power, not when we are begging for it, said Hong Joon Pyo, Liberty Party leader, blasting Moon for spurning demands for the south to go nuclear.

Whatever extremists at both ends of the spectrum may want, Moon continues to enjoy popularity ratings of about 70 percent for his strong stand against North Korea  and also for opposing a pre-emptive strike by the United States against the north.

President Donald Trumps unpredictable tweets and rants enhance Moons popularity as a rational foil to the irrational Trump, whose popularity rating here hovers at 17 percent, the lowest ever for any American president.

Koreans worry Trump is kind of nuts, said David Straub, a retired senior diplomat in the U.S. Embassy in Seoul and the State Department in Washington. South Koreans say we cant rely on this man even though they are somewhat closer to the U.S. than before.

Moons support of U.S. policy on North Korea has risen partly as a result of the norths refusal to suspend testing of nukes and missiles, some of which should eventually be capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to the United States.

Moon remains adamant, however, against the United States attacking North Korean facilities in anticipation of a missile launch or nuclear test, despite North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-hos declaration of war, saying North Korea could attack U.S. planes and ships outside North Korean territorial waters considering Trumps U.N. threat to totally destroy North Korea.

Moon brushed off the rhetoric, avoiding criticism of Trumps strong words on the strength of assurances from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that the United States will not stage a strike against North Korea without his consent.
Following a national search, Auburn President Steven Leath has selected a familiar face from Iowa State University as his chief of staff at Auburn, effective January 2, 2018.

A news release from the university announced the hiring of Miles Lackey late Friday afternoon. Lackey comes to Auburn from ISU, where he was named chief of staff in April 2012 when Leath served as university president. Lackey as also served as the universitys chief financial officer since July 2016.

Miles will help us greatly as we streamline operations and improve our efficiency, Leath said. He is an outstanding strategic thinker and planner, and I am very excited to have him on board as I begin my tenure here at Auburn.

As AU chief of staff, Lackey will work with Leath to manage day-to-day operations in central administration. He will advise the president on major institutional decisions and will lead or serve on senior level, institution-wide committees, including the presidents cabinet.

In addition, Lackey will oversee several Auburn administrative units, including the Office of Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity; the Office of Audit, Compliance & Privacy; the Office of Communications and Marketing; the Office of Governmental Affairs; the University Ombuds Office and the Office of Public Affairs.

Lackey holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Lenoir-Rhyne University, a Master of Public Administration from George Mason University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Prior to his work at Iowa State, Lackey directed the Office of Federal Affairs at the University of North Carolina from 2010 to 2012 and served as director of federal relations for the UNC system from 2006 to 2010.

In addition to his background in higher education, Lackey has experience in public policy, having worked on Capitol Hill as an advisor to Sen. Elizabeth Dole from 2003 to 2006. He also has private sector experience as Chairman of the Board and operating partner of Village Inn Pizza Parlors.
UPDATED 2:30 P.M. SUNDAY:

A wind advisory remains in effect for the area until 10 p.m.

The storm is expected to bring sustained winds of 15 to 30 mph across Central Alabama, according to information from the National Weather Service office in Birmingham.

Wind gusts up to 45 mph will remain possible through tonight.

As of noon, Alabama Power personnel have restored service to over 2,000 customers in central Alabama since earlier this morning.

Work to restore service is ongoing.

UPDATED 10:30 A.M. SUNDAY:

Lee County EMA offices shut down after the National Weather Service canceled tropical storm watches and warnings for the local area.

Although steady gusts continue, the worst of the storm looks to be winding down.

Still, Alabama Power Company reports that 85,000 customers are without power.

Here is the latest from the National Weather Service:

**Tropical Storm Watches and Warnings Cancelled** NEW INFORMATION --------------- * CHANGES TO WATCHES AND WARNINGS: - The Tropical Storm Watch has been cancelled for Bullock, Fayette, Lamar, Macon, Marion, Pike, Randolph, Tallapoosa, and Winston - The Tropical Storm Warning has been cancelled for Autauga, Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay, Cleburne, Coosa, Dallas, Elmore, Etowah, Greene, Hale, Jefferson, Lowndes, Marengo, Montgomery, Perry, Pickens, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tuscaloosa, and Walker * CURRENT WATCHES AND WARNINGS: - None * STORM INFORMATION: - About 40 miles southwest of Birmingham AL or about 80 miles northwest of Montgomery AL - 33.1N 87.3W - Storm Intensity 35 mph - Movement North-northeast or 30 degrees at 24 mph SITUATION OVERVIEW ------------------ Tropical Systems Nate has been downgraded to a Tropical Depression. Therefore, all Tropical Storm Warnings and Tropical Storm Watches have been cancelled. POTENTIAL IMPACTS ----------------- * WIND: Windy conditions are still possible and a Wind Advisory is now in effect. * FLOODING RAIN: Localized flooding remains possible and a Flash Flood Watch is in effect. * TORNADOES: A small tornado threat remains for the east half of Central Alabama.

UPDATED 7:30 A.M. SUNDAY:

Nate continues on its path north. Strong wind gusts, heavy rain and flickering power began in Tallapoosa County and portions of western Lee County.

The following updated in the forecast was released by the National Weather Service shortly before 5 a.m.:

Nate is expected to have possible significant impacts across much of Central Alabama on Sunday. Sustained winds of 40 to 50 mph may begin as early as 5 to 6 AM Sunday in the southwest counties. Conditions will worsen through Sunday morning into the afternoon as strong winds 30 to 40 mph and heavy rain spread northward. Wind gusts could reach 45 to 60 mph in a swath encompassing much of Central Alabama with 60 to 70 mph gusts possible in the far southwestern counties. Scattered to numerous downed trees may cause damage along with a significant number of power outages. The greatest wind gusts and impacts are expected to be generally along and east of a line from Pickensville to Lake Tuscaloosa to Blountsville. Isolated tornadoes are also possible Sunday generally along and east of a line from Livingston to Jasper. Conditions will improve Sunday night into Monday morning as Nate continues to weaken and move to the northeast.

UPDATED SATURDAY, 11 P.M.

Hurricane Nate came ashore a sparsely populated area at the mouth of the Mississippi River on Saturday and pelted the central Gulf Coast with wind and rain as the fast-moving storm headed toward the Mississippi coast, where it was expected to make another landfall and threatened to inundate homes and businesses.

Cities along the Mississippi coast such as Gulfport and Biloxi were on high alert. Some beachfront hotels and casinos were evacuated. Rain began falling on the region Saturday and forecasters called for 3 to 6 inches with as much as 10 inches in some isolated places.

Nate weakened slightly and was a Category 1 storm with maximum winds of 85 mph when it made landfall in a sparsely populated area of Plaquemines (PLAK'-uh-minz) Parish. Forecasters had said it was possible that it could strengthen to a Category 2, but that seemed less likely as the night wore on.

Lee County EMA urges preparedness

While the coastal southeast was anticipating the most direct impact from Nate, the Lee County Emergency Management Agency was urging local residents to be prepared for inclement weather such as strong winds and a slight risk of tornadoes.

Lee County was placed under a tropical storm watch and a wind advisory ahead of Nate's arrival and both are scheduled to be in place through this evening.

Rita Smith, public information officer for the Lee County EMA, said the office will be open and is on alert till the storm subsides.

"The Lee County EMA is continuing to monitor this storm due to the instability of wind gusts and slight risks for isolated tornadoes," Smith said.

As of Saturday evening, the Lee County area was listed as a slight risk area for isolated tornadoes. The area was also listed as a slight risk for wind gusts 35-45 mph, isolated power outages and scattered downed trees, according to information from the National Weather Service in Birmingham.

For those who don't feel safe in their homes, Smith said Providence Baptist Church, located at 2807 Lee Road 166 in Opelika, will serve as a "safer shelter."

"If you don't feel safe you can go there, it's nice. It's cozy," Smith said. She did advise that the building is only used as a shelter and people would need to bring bedding and items such as toiletries, food, medications and flashlights. No pets are allowed.

Along with being prepared, Smith said people can follow along with the Lee County EMA on both Facebook and Twitter.

"This county has some of the best responders I've ever worked with," Smith said. "We also have a lot of citizens who listen. We put it on Facebook, they take it. So we're really careful not to throw things on there that would scare people. But if the National Weather Service tells us something, we take it."

UPDATED SATURDAY, 5:45 P.M.

The Associated Press reported around 4:30 p.m. that The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Hurricane Nate is about 50 miles south of the mouth of the Mississippi River at Louisiana's southeastern tip. The storm is moving north-northwest toward the Gulf Coast at an unusually fast 23 mph.

With maximum sustained winds of 90 mph, Nate had not gained strength as of the center's 4 p.m. advisory. But forecasters said it might still reach Category 2 strength of 96 mph or more by the time it makes landfall.

Nate was on a track that could take it over or near the mouth of the Mississippi by around 7 p.m. on its way to a later landfall on the Louisiana or Mississippi coast.

UPDATED SATURDAY 1:20 P.M.

A wind advisory was issued for Lee County effective 7 p.m. Saturday through 10 p.m. Sunday, according to the National Weather Service out of Birmingham.

Sustained winds of 20-35 mph are possible with some gusts into the 35-45 mph range. The wind speeds and gusts are capable of snapping some tree limbs, damaging unsecured smaller outdoor items, and may produce isolated power outages, according to the NWS.

The National Hurricane Center said Saturday was Nate expected to be a Category 2 hurricane at landfall on Gulf Coast, according to an Associated Press news alert. Nate is expected to make landfall Saturday night along the central U.S. Gulf Coast.

The Lee County Emergency Management Agency is urging Lee County residents to start making preparations immediately.

UPDATED SATURDAY 9:30 A.M.

Lee County and the surrounding counties remain under a Tropical Storm watch through Sunday from the expected impact of Hurricane Nate.

At 6 a.m., the National Weather Service in Birmingham reported that the eye of Hurricane Nate was located about 540 miles south of Montgomery AL with a storm intensity of 80 mph winds, moving north-northwest.

Nate is expected to have possible significant impacts across much of Central Alabama on Sunday as a tropical storm. Sustained winds of 40 to 55 mph may begin as early as 4 AM Sunday in the southwest counties.

Conditions will worsen through Sunday morning into the afternoon as strong winds 30 to 40 mph and heavy rain spread northward. Wind gusts could reach 45 to 60 mph in a swath encompassing much of Central Alabama.

Isolated tornadoes are also possible Sunday afternoon generally along and south of Interstate 85. Conditions will improve Sunday night into Monday morning as Nate continues to weaken and move to the northeast.

UPDATED, FRIDAY 11:25 P.M.

Tropical Storm Nate was officially upgraded to a hurricane late Friday, according to The National Weather Service.

Hurricane Hunters found maximum sustained winds have increased to 75 mph, which makes Nate a Category 1 hurricane, according to weather.com.

As of 10:30 p.m., the Lee County area was still listed as under a tropical storm watch.

UPDATED, FRIDAY 6:45 P.M.

The Auburn-Opelika area has been placed under a tropical storm watch by the National Weather Service in anticipation of windy conditions over the next 48 hours from Tropical Storm Nate.

The watch, issued shortly after 4 p.m. Friday, is a notification of expected below tropical-force winds with the potential for tornadoes through late Sunday.

The latest local forecast predicts peak winds of 15-25 mph with gusts to 35 mph. However, the National Weather Service in Birmingham advises that emergency planning should include a reasonable threat for hazardous tropical force winds up to 57 mph.

In addition, the forecast lists somewhat favorable conditions for tornadoes during the watch.

Residents are advised to secure loose items outside their homes to prevent damage and injury from projectiles.

Expected rain amounts in the latest forecast continue to be 1-3 inches with locally higher amounts due to scattered thunderstorms. Localized flooding is possible, according to the NWS.

********

ORIGINAL STORY

Lee County residents can expect thunderstorms and windy conditions over the weekend as Tropical Storm Nate continues on its track to impact most of the state of Alabama.

According to Fridays 4 p.m. update from the National Weather Service, Nates impact is expected to affect the Lee County area starting Saturday afternoon and peaking Sunday shortly after 8 a.m. with a little more gusto than was expected 24 hours earlier.

The worst of the weather for Lee County looks like it will be between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, said Jason Holmes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Birmingham. There should only be one to three inches of rain, so were not really concerned about flooding. Power outages will be the real big story, with a threat of possible tornadic activity.

Local wind gusts early Sunday are expected to be between 20 and 30 miles per hour, with intensity progressing throughout the day. Later, there is a 50 to 60 percent chance that sustained winds could reach 40 miles per hour or greater. Gusts of 55 mph are possible later in the day.

At 4 p.m. CT on Friday, Nate was located southeast of Mexicos Yucatan Peninsula with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph and moving north-northwest at about 20 mph.

It is expected to be upgraded to Hurricane Nate sometime around 7 p.m. Saturday and come ashore as a Category-1 storm near Biloxi, Miss.

Holmes said that while Friday morning was a little too early to predict with certainty, the National Hurricane Center expects Nate to be a low-end hurricane, possibly a Category 1.

Thunderstorms are expected to start Saturday afternoon, continuing intermittently through Tuesday night.

Because wind gusts likely will topple trees and power lines, Lee County residents should prepare now to deal with possible power outages.

Now is the time to ensure you have what you need, said Rita Smith, public information officer for the Lee County Emergency Management Agency. Do you have a NOAA weather radio? Is it programmed? Do you have backup batteries for it?

Lee County EMA staff will be in their office at 908 Avenue B in Opelika on Saturday and can program weather radios at no charge for residents who need help doing so.

Smith advised that cellphones should be fully charged, as well as backup portable chargers. Playing cards, board games and other ways to pass the time that dont require electricity should be kept on hand, as theres no way to know how long a possible power outage might last.

Residents should purchase bottled water and non-perishable food items as soon as possible, before the storm impacts the area Sunday.

We also tell people to fill their bathtub with water, Smith said. You can use that water to flush toilets in case of a power outage. You can use it as water for your pets.

Preparations for greater impact are being made around the state after Governor Kay Ivey issued a statewide state of emergency, effective at Friday morning, in anticipation of the potential impacts of Tropical Storm Nate.

Forecasters said Nate is expected to be a compact, fast-moving storm, bringing direct impacts from high winds and heavy rain across the state.

Alabama Emergency Management Agency Director Brian Hastings said the time to prepare is now.

"Please build or restock your emergency preparedness kit," Hastings said. "Have a plan to communicate with family members if you lose power. Review your evacuation plan with your family. Stock your vehicle with emergency supplies and have a method to receive the latest weather updates and emergency instructions.

It is important for Alabama residents to understand the potential threat of this storm goes beyond the coastal counties,' Hastings added. "Everyone needs to closely monitor this system as it moves across the state in the coming days.

The State of Emergency will remain in effect until the threat diminishes.

Smith commended Lee County agencies for their preparedness and cleanup when Tropical Storm Irma created some wind damage and power outages here last month.

With Irma, Opelika Power and Alabama Power were awesome, she said. And Lee County is blessed to have so many really good first responders.

The EMA is posting updates on Nate, via its Facebook page, Lee County Alabama EMA. The Opelika-Auburn News also will continue to update the situation locally as the storm moves closer to the Gulf Coast.
Police yesterday distanced itself from Boda Boda 2010, a vigilante-cum-militia outfit, whose members attacked a busload of school children on Wednesday because they were wearing red colours.

Red colours have been a protest symbol against amendment of article 102 (b) to remove presidential age limits.

There is a growing public feeling that, given the impunity with which the group operates, it is working for certain regime interests and probably enjoys the unspoken protection of police chief Gen Kale Kayihura.

Kayihura has been praised as a good cadre of the ruling NRM party by President Museveni, a description which cemented accusations that he was posted to the police with a partisan agenda, among other reasons.

Members of Boda Boda 2010 celebrate President Museveni's election victory last year

But police spokesperson Asan Kasingye yesterday said: Boda Boda 2010 dont work under IGP. I dont know who they are because they are not under police. You may need to cross check with Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA).

He told The Observer that he doesnt know where the group gets instructions from, and promised that the police will not allow Boda Boda 2010 Association to continue beating people, since nobody is above the law.

Kasingye said all members of this group who beat up the pupils and teachers will be arrested.

On Tuesday, a gang from this group led by the ruling party chairperson for Lubaga, Abdallah Kitatta, attacked the bus belonging to Winterland primary school, Kyebando, beat up 27 pupils, two teachers and ten security guards, including plain clothes police personnel accompanying them.

The children dressed in red, black and yellow national colours were, ironically, going to perform at celebrations marking the annual police week held at Nkumba University.

The bus was stopped and the pupils asked to change from red to any other colour so that they are not mistaken for opposition politicians who have adopted the colour red as a symbol of their fight against lifting of presidential age limits.

This group, comprising motorcycle taxi riders, is believed to have come into being during preparations for the 2011 elections after boda boda riders in Kampala opposed President Museveni in the 2006 elections.

They are a tough lot, seemingly untouchable and apparently licensed to terrorise anyone considered anti-government.

Shadow Minister for Internal Affairs Muwanga Kivumbi yesterday said most boda boda riders in Kampala are directly under Kayihuras direction.

This is why he didnt want them to register under KCCA to know their designated areas. He deploys them to do political work which is too dangerous. So, instead of police fighting these criminals, they fear them, and they continue torturing people which increases crime, he said.

IGP Kale Kayihura

Crispin Kaheru, a human rights defender and coordinator of Citizens Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda, yesterday called out the police over this outfits illegal activities.

I think parliament should summon police to testify about Boda Boda 2010 Association If they dont know the group and the groups actions are criminal, police should arrest the members of that group. But to say you dont know who these people are and you dont take action is basically condoning the actions of those people, he said.

He said, from as early as 2006/7 police has seen an intrusion of various paramilitary groups like: Kiboko squad; now, Boda Boda 2010. These are clearly political paramilitary groupings, Kaheru observed.



zurah@observer.ug
RIP: John Julian Abel Rwendeire

Dr Abel John Julian Rwendeire, the deputy chair at the National Planning Authority (NPA), died while being rushed to Nakasero hospital in Kampala yesterday morning.

He had been in relatively good health although a day earlier, Rwendeire had complained of chest pain. Family members say his condition suddenly deteriorated overnight.

His death brings to an end a very active working life. In mid-July 1992, Rwendeire was a lecturer in the department of biochemistry at Makerere University. He was also secretary general of Makerere Universitys Academic Staff Association (Muasa).

During those heady days, Makereres dons were pushing for a living wage. They wanted Rwendeire to lead their agitation for increased pay through a strike. But he was appointed principal of the Uganda Polytechnic Kyambogo by government. Reluctantly, he left Makerere and transferred to Kyambogo, where he would serve until 1996.

The sit-down strike was also stopped with assurances from the president that the dons concerns would be addressed in the subsequent financial year.

Up to that point, Dr Rwendeire had been a respected biochemist, under the tutelage of Prof Joseph Carasco, recalls Mwambutsya Ndebesa, a history lecturer at Makerere. There was a general feeling at Makerere that we would have achieved our demands if he had stayed.

In November last year, Rwendeire returned to Makerere as chairman of a visitation committee assigned to inquire into the causes of the rampant strikes at the countrys oldest public university and was yet to hand in his report.

While at Kyambogo, he had sewn together partnerships with the private sector to support internships and job placements for his graduates. The work he did there set the benchmark for later efforts by other tertiary institutions, including Makerere. Promoting linkages between industry and the education institutions is now a norm.

While at Kyambogo, the deceased also chaired the Joint Admissions Board, which is responsible for admissions to all public tertiary institutions.

Some people believe that it was this regular public interface, away from his favoured place in the biochemistry laboratory, which tempted Rwendeire to throw caution to the wind and run for public office. He campaigned for the Rubanda East parliamentary seat, Kabale in 1996, replacing Prof George Wilson Kanyeihamba.

He served one term, during which he was appointed minister of state, initially in the portfolio of tourism, trade and industry (1996-1998), and later as minister of state for higher education (1998-2000).

At the education ministry, he laid the foundation for what is now the Uganda Vocational Qualifications Framework (which permits students with no formal learning to earn certification in their chosen fields). The idea was to integrate the informal sector into the mainstream formal educational processes.

In 2000, he returned to the trade ministry. He is remembered as a voice for innovation among the small and medium- scale manufacturing sector, where he called for more efforts to package whatever Uganda had a favourable comparative advantage in, for the export market.

He lasted one year in this position, before a vacancy opened up at the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in Vienna, Austria, for managing director (technical cooperation).

Some looked at it as if I had given up on a lucrative government position, Rwendeire said in 2013. Instead, I looked at it as an opportunity to improve on the work I was already doing here.

His job involved advising the UNIDO director general on trade policies across the world with a bias towards sustainable industrial development. At the end of contract in 2006, Rwendeire returned home to head Ugandas delegation at the African Peer Review Mechanism.

He was formally appointed executive director of the National Planning Authority in 2008 and was in charge when Uganda became the seventh country to be peer-reviewed at the summit of African leaders in June 2008 at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

Ugandas experience at the peer review mechanism ended in 2013, but Rwendeire was positive about the outcome.

The reviews led to the formation of a series of national plans of action, which eventually evolved into the national development plan, Rwendeire would later be quoted as saying.



HUMBLE START

Born on October 1, 1951, Rwendeire, had just turned 66 years old days ago. He was born into a humble family in Bushuura village in Kabale where he started school before later joining St Pauls Seminary in the same district in 1968.

The hope was that he would become a priest. He completed his O-levels there in 1971 and transferred to St Henrys College Kitovu for his A-levels in 1972.

He completed his A-levels in 1973, excelling in physics chemistry and biology to join Makerere University in 1974 for a bachelor of science (biochemistry and botany).

He graduated in 1977, transferred to University of Canterbury in New Zealand in 1977 for a masters and doctorate in 1985, before returning to Makerere as a senior lecturer.



LAST DAYS

Reappointed as NPA vice chairperson for a second term, Rwendeire, led an active life and was believed to be in fairly good health.

As recently as September 18, he led Ugandas delegation to the International Atomic Energy Agency conference in Geneva, Switzerland. An avid social media enthusiast, he frequently posted about his experiences.

He came to office on Wednesday. He greeted everybody with a smile. Picked some files. Little did we know that we were seeing him for the last time. Its sad that he is dead, NPA chairman, Dr Kisamba Mugerwa, said yesterday.

He was reportedly suffering from chest pain, but he greeted everybody with a smile before he returned home, after seeing a doctor, Kisamba Mugerwa recalled. We didnt realise that was the last time we were seeing him.

On Wednesday night, he reportedly felt a tightness in the chest and was rushed to hospital where he died early on Thursday.

By the time of his death, he was supervising a study of how Uganda can exploit nuclear power as an alternative source of energy.

In an interview with The Observer yesterday, Dr Joseph Muvawala, the NPA executive director, said Rwendeires passing is a great loss to the nation.

It is extremely hard to find someone who will replace him. It is rare to find someone with his qualification and understanding to the level he had reached in the area of nuclear power. It is a pity, he said.

As planning, we have much hopes in nuclear as an alternative source of energy. Ugandas energy needs and Vision 2040 look at nuclear power as one of the major drivers for industrialisation, Muvawala said.

Besides leading the studies for nuclear power, Rwendeire has also been chairing NPAs committee on audit and finance.

He has been responsible for finding money needed to run our activities. He would always make sure that the funds received by our authority are well spent and that there is value for money, Muvawala said.

Muvawala said that at NPA, Rwendeire had so much pending business.

We were waiting that if he is done with the visitation committee work, he would return to his normal routine but importantly expedite the work of nuclear study, Muvawala said.

Muvawala said the burial arrangements are not yet clear since we are waiting for the arrival of his family from Austria and government.
Days after tabling a bill that seeks to amend the Constitution and remove the presidential age limit, Igara West MP Raphael Magyezi says he has received death threats.

Magyezi told The Observer yesterday that he has so far received at least 10 text messages telling him, we shall kill you, we shall kill your family, we shall destroy your properties.

He claims the threats are connected to his sponsorship of a private members bill, which if passed, will remove the last legal hurdle to the extension of President Musevenis hold onto power.

MP Raphael Magyezi

Officially said to be 73 years old, Museveni who has been in power for 31 years will be ineligible to seek re-election in 2021 if the current provision of Article 102(b) is not amended since he will be 77; two years above the constitutional age limit.

To take the lead as the mover of the bill, Magyezi was handpicked from a group of 28 ruling party MPs who form the core team of promoters of this proposed legislation. This frontline role has put him in the line of fire.

I have alerted the police and forwarded all the messages to them [police] as they come in, Magyezi said.

He, however, doesnt expect the police to do much since the messages seem to be coming from outside Uganda.

They are using foreign registered numbers because the messages come from [phone] numbers with a code +44 [country dialling code for United Kingdom]; they are also using technology to post messages as if they are from my phonethey have created images to portray me as if Im with women, Magyezi said.

Im sure all this is being done to intimidate me but I will not be intimidated, the bespectacled MP said, further calling for tightening of Ugandas cyber laws to deal with characters who use technology to threaten violence.

He also refuted reports circulating on social media suggesting that his banana plantations have been slashed by angry locals in Bushenyi.

I can assure you my home and plantations at Gongo in Kyamuhanga sub-county are very secure. Interestingly, they are not surrounded by police but by a group of local vigilantes who are ready to finish off whoever will try to go there, Magyezi said.

He blames opposition MPs for the tensions, telling them that instead of abusing and insulting him, they should counter his arguments for the amendment with reasons why the age limit should not be lifted.

They should counter the justification I gave with good arguments, my idea is not physical that they can respond with pangas, threats, lies, insults and abuses, Magyezi said.

Government Chief Whip Ruth Nankabirwa told The Observer that her office is overwhelmed by attacks and threats against MPs believed to be in support of the Magyezi bill. The latest attack was against Kazo MP Gordon Tumwine Bafaki whose gate was torched by unknown people.

At the moment we have nothing to do because we dont have the capacity to guard everyone, Nankabirwa said.



DEFIANT

Meanwhile, opposition MPs returned to parliament yesterday at the expiry of the suspension handed out by Speaker Rebecca Kadaga to 25 of their colleagues.

Before she announced the suspension, Kadaga had banned the red ribbons which opposition MPs had adopted to show their opposition to the amendment. The MPs have resorted to wearing bright red suits.

Opposition MPs in their red attire

Because we do this work on behalf of many people, we are involved in lots of consultations. Any decision we take, we will first have to inform the public on what we need to do next but we remain resolved despite the bruises and the wounds that we sustained, Chief Opposition Whip Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda (Kira Municipality) told journalists.

When Kadaga ruled against the ribbons on September 27, the MPs returned the following day with red caps which the 1st deputy prime minister, Gen Moses Ali, said offended the Muslim community.

We must creatively keep the red on our bodies because initially Kadaga said she cant stand people who have put on ribbons, we said, okay, we can put on capsthere was no agreement that it is going to be only the ribbon, the idea is the colour red represents our resolve to safeguard our constitution, Ssemujju said.



sadabkk@observer.ug
After fistfights and loud arguments in parliament last week, scrutiny of the Raphael Magyezi private members Constitution Amendment (No 2) Bill 2017 began yesterday with a planning session.

The Legal and Parliamentary Affairs committee to which the bill was referred met on Thursday with members being urged to temper their strong views.

The bill, which seeks among other amendments, to scrap age limits for Ugandans qualified to be presidents, was read for the first round in parliament on Tuesday in the absence of opposition MPs. It has kicked up a storm in parliament since attempts to introduce it spilled into public view months ago.

MPs in the House

On September 27, Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga suspended 25 MPs opposed to the bill and their eviction by soldiers from the Special Forces Command has become a matter of wide public condemnation. During the committee meeting yesterday, MPs mapped out the scope of their public hearings.

We agreed to suppress our personal opinions about items in the bill and to discuss the whole bill as a committee. We know everybody has an opinion on the clauses of the bill but we agreed to deal with it in a wholesome manner, Robinah Rwakoojo, vice chairperson of the committee, said.

The committee is comprised of 24 members, including 13 NRM and four opposition MPs. But some members; Wilfred Niwagaba (Independent, Ndorwa East) and Medard Sseggona Lubega (DP, Busiro East) told The Observer that they wont hide their dislike for the bill.

Sseggona, who attended the planning meeting yesterday, insisted he will reject the bill.

Different people have stuck to their guns and I highly doubt there will be consensus in the committee on this evil bill. We shall see how to sort ourselves whether within or outside the committee. I definitely cannot retract from my earlier positionMy fear is do you expect meaningful consultation in 45 days? Sseggona questioned.

Niwagaba wondered why the committee leadership is keen on suppressing their views.

They cannot stop a member from airing his or her views. This is a bill that is dangerous for democracy and I will not pretend like those who are pretending. If I am around, let them expect a showdown, Niwagaba warned.

But Jacob Oboth-Oboth, the committee chairman, insisted that for the good of the committee, members should remain objective during scrutiny.

He also revealed that Makerere University lecturers, the Conservative Party, Social Democratic Party and Democratic Party have already indicated their intentions to appear.

If an NRM MP has a choice to bring #AgeLimit bill, I also have a choice to disagree. It's about the future of #Uganda - MP S.Rwabwogo (NRM) pic.twitter.com/3hHhCPHwQm  The Observer (@observerug) October 5, 2017

The committee plans to hold consultative meetings in Eastern, Northern, Western, Central and West Nile regions.

MPs are also expected to hold local meetings in their respective districts and will be facilitated. Government Chief Whip Ruth Nankabirwa said the Parliamentary Commission will decide how much each MP will receive.

However, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the chief opposition whip, said opposition legislators will reject what they described as a bribe to endorse President Musevenis quest for life presidency.

We have been consulting on the land bill and no money was given to us. These fellows want to sanitise bribes that they want to give to NRM MPs. They are trying to find a smarter way so whoever takes this money will be seen to take a bribe yet parliament does not have this money. We shall return this money, Ssemujju said.

Meanwhile, opposition legislators who were suspended last week returned to parliament yesterday only to learn that the House had been suspended until further notice.

On Wednesday, the speaker announced that the House would go on a short recess. Some opposition MPs, however, were not amused. Ibrahim Kasozi (Makindye East) wondered why the adjournment coincided with their return.

They think that by frustrating us, they are going to divert us from our cause. We are ready to take our struggle to the committee, Kasozi said.

But Chris Obore, the director of Communications and Public Affairs, explained that the adjournment is not the first and wont be the last.

The adjournment does not depend on who is suspended or not. It depends on the business at hand and its urgency as considered by the speaker, Obore told The Observer.



eyotaru@gmail.com
Dragged by plainclothes soldiers out of parliament last week, Kyadondo East MP ROBERT KYAGULANYI SSENTAMU aka Bobi Wine has appealed to speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadaga to use her position to save the country from a life presidency.

The MP told Baker Batte Lule in a recent interview at his home in Magere, Wakiso, that it was unfortunate Kadaga conspired with [Special Forces Command] soldiers to throw MPs opposed to the removal of presidential age limits, out of parliament.

Bobi Wine with a copy of Constitution and Ugandan flag recently

What happened to you after you were dragged out of parliament last week?

I cannot miss out on this chance to make the case that one member of parliament walked into the house with a gun and colleagues saw him. This led to a scuffle and the House was adjourned eventually.

The following day the speaker confirmed that Ronald Kibuule had walked in with a gun; he was suspended but surprisingly, even us who pointed out this anomaly were suspended too. She gave us 30 minutes to vacate the House but in less than two minutes soldiers came and dragged us out. This was very unfair.

When they dragged us away from the cameras, they tortured us. I was personally manhandled by over 40 people kicking me everywhere. I tried defending myself but they overpowered me and threw me into that Besigye van where I found MPs; Muhammad Nsereko, Odonga Otto, Allan Ssewanyana, Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda and Gerald Karuhanga.

They drove us to Kira Road police station where we spent a few minutes, then Kira division where Otto, Nsereko and Karuhanga were dropped off. They took us to Naggalama. At Naggalama, a police officer called Muhumuza took my jacket, which had my wallet, and ID.

He never returned them even after we got police bond past midnight. After releasing us they locked us in the police van that looks like a dogs house, then drove us at breakneck speed. I was the first person to be dropped off at my gate.

Majority NRM MPs say you deserved that treatment because you exported hooliganism into the House. Is that a fair comment?

Im wondering whether there is anything moral in raping our constitution; is there anything decent in subjecting millions of Ugandans to a life presidency? Nelson Mandela [former South African president] once said that if a man is denied the right to live the life he believes in, he has no option but to become an outlaw.

Yes, we stood up and fought to defend our constitution. When Museveni was my age, and was faced with this kind of dictatorship, he didnt kick and box, but got guns and started a civil war that claimed over 800,000 lives.

So, we could not sit and fold our hands when our mother was being raped. Uganda is our mother. Article 102(b) [on presidential age limits] is the last remaining opportunity for Uganda to have a peaceful transfer of power. We were not wrong and given the opportunity, we will do it again.

Did you people plan to cause mayhem or it was reflex action?

We didnt expect soldiers to come to the House. Of course, when we were suspended, we rose up to object in a civilised manner but the speaker behaved in a very uncivilised way herself. When the Leader of Opposition [in Parliament], who was not suspended, stood up to speak on behalf of the opposition, she was not heard.

We would probably have walked out peacefully but less than five minutes later we were invaded by soldiers who started beating us. What did we have to do other than defend ourselves?

Bobi Wine at his home in Magere

The speaker says you are going to pay for the damaged parliamentary property. Is that agreeable to you?

I have no problem paying but she will also pay for the catastrophe she will cause to Uganda. Right now she is sitting in a chair that can save lots of lives or cost a lot of lives.

She is sitting in a chair that can cost Uganda her future. She is sitting in a chair that makes very important decisions and it is important that she makes rational decisions. She holds our future and she must know that our lives dont end with her.

How far were you willing to go with the shouting match and would that stop debate, let alone the amendment of Article 102(b)?

We knew that to win this debate wasnt about numbers but about right or wrong. We would do anything and use any means necessary for right to prevail.

Are you confident that right will prevail over wrong?

We might not prevail over wrong but they must realise that following the direction of our man [President Museveni] will not take this country far.

Some of them have their mouths stuffed with food; so, they cant talk. Maybe many are compromised and others are afraid but they know that no matter how ferocious the wrong is, right will always prevail.

Some say the war on lifting the presidential age limit can only be won by massive street protests. Do you agree with that thinking?

I would but that will be step three. Step one, I still believe I can convince President Museveni to know that he is going to mess up this country and undo everything he has done if he insists on clinging on.

We are also going to convince MPs that they hold much power and can do Ugandans the greatest service by actually doing nothing at all; by not touching the constitution.

But even if Museveni gets his way in parliament and he goes to the vote, he will not win. I know he will steal but this time round, our people are aware.

Do you really believe Museveni can be defeated at the polls?

Yes Museveni can be defeated in an election. In Gambia, where is ferocious dictator Yahya Jammeh?

For the time you have been MP, what has been your biggest challenge?

For the opposition to unite; I always had a dream of us coming together to think rationally for the future of Uganda. Im sure I cant handle everything, and no single MP can.

The challenge has been our differences but God has done it for us because the time has come for us to unite and survive as brothers or perish as fools.

We have seen you moving around different parts of the country and word has it that you have presidential ambitions.

Right now we have a constitution to save. It makes no sense if our nation becomes a monarchy. Before we talk of who should be president, lets talk about how to take power to our people.

Given an opportunity to meet President Museveni, what would you tell him?

I would tell him to remember his word. I will tell him we have learnt a lot of things from him but he should give us one gift, a peaceful transition of power. He will always be the father of the nation when he becomes the first sitting president to hand over power to another president.

He will still be powerful because he will have done what his predecessors failed to do. As citizens, we want to know the country belongs to us and it was worth losing 800,000 people. But again, I must say, if Museveni doesnt give us that gift, we shall take it from him.

Some in the opposition think you look determined to take away their clout...

I dont fight for positions; I fight for freedom. If I see Uganda free today, I would be happy to go back to my music.

It is much more comfortable being a musician than a politician. It was just a calling, I wouldnt shrug off. Once we get our independence the second time, I will be happy to grow my dreadlocks back.

Has your music suffered because of the politics or has it grown?

My music or politics is not important. What is important is my freedom and that of millions of Ugandans. I would like to call on Ugandans out there not to leave this issue to us.

Just like it took all Ugandans in the 1950s to rise up against colonialism and joined the likes of Ignatius Musaazi, Ben Kiwanuka and Milton Obote to rescue this country. Just as it took combined efforts to liberate Uganda in 1986, it will take all of us to liberate it now from Museveni.

Grapevine has it that Musevenis emissaries have reached out to you.

I have never met President Museveni, for the record. Pictures showing soldiers saluting me circulating on social media were taken in Budaka where I had a show.

This actually happens regularly; soldiers and police officers salute me and it is right because they know the constitution says the UPDF will be subordinate to civilian authority.

But because they are so desperate to spread lies, this regime can only survive on violence and propaganda. I also must say that I have no problem meeting President Museveni for as long as it is public and there is a known, clear agenda.

A lot has been said about your recent trip to the USA; can you expound on it?

I was invited by Melinda and Bill Gates for a meeting on the global sustainable development goals. It was attended by many world leaders including [former US] President Barack Obama who gave a keynote speech.

We were also with the prime ministers of Canada, Norway, India, the queen of Jordan and many others. I presented a paper on political change and democracy. It was an opportunity to interact with these leaders and there is a lot to learn from them. I wouldnt want to disclose for now what the fruits of that trip were.

bakerbatte@observer.ug
Apart from the exclusive interview I had with The Observer which majorly addressed the coming in of George William Magera as our new party (PPP) president, I have not wasted my valuable time and energy to discuss whether or not the age limit should be lifted.

One, it is obvious that its initial intention was never to benefit the country but, rather, to lock out certain individuals from contesting for president at that time.

To be categorical, this particular article was lifted the same day it was enacted and, therefore, did not deserve the attention it has attracted.

Nevertheless, and just like you cannot just leave the thief to take your belongings without any alarm because of your failure to lock your door, I applaud those who made some noise to make the thief known.

Besides, the opposition needs to change its strategy and tactics if we want to stop Musevenis likely intentions to rule us while in retirement or in his grave.

But applying the same tactics and strategy and expecting different results, we risk going into the Tanzanian scenario where Mwalimu Julius Nyerere is ruling to date.

Just like I aforementioned, I do not underrate whoever does something to get us out of this captivity; my point of view is only that as political activists make the noise, let us organise in our different formations to encounter him since we are certain that come rain or shine, Museveni will be on the ballot paper in 2021.

It is regrettable that in a space of four to six months, this cunning man we are fighting has tabled one issue after another and none of us could detect it as a deliberate move to keep us busy and derail us.

These ranged from Justice Catherine Bamugemeires land probe, the land bill, Musevenis baptism date, and this very age limit debate. On the other side, the man is busy traversing the country and is being hosted from one radio and TV station to another.

Most of us in the opposition are known for settling for less and can grab any opportunity to appear on cameras so that we can retain our constituencies. Granted, this, in a way, can weaken the regime; however, much more is required to cause the change we all desire.

For example, since 1996, the opposition has always formed late loose coalitions based on individuals and disorganised political parties.

The latest was The Democratic Alliance (TDA) where I was a player and whose promises to Ugandans were empty. To be honest, even if it was not Museveni, the disorganisation we exhibited in TDA would offer victory to any mediocre against us.

Certainly, this criticism shall not augur well in the ears of some members of the opposition. However, I dont expect Museveni and group to do us a favour and open our eyes on these fundamental realities. This is a jigger in our foot that we are duty-bound to remove if we are to avoid another round of defeat.

Agreed, the alarm against the removal of the age limit may eventually create the critical mass that can be used for any political or otherwise engagements to ultimately save our country.

But since we are certain that come 2021, Mr Musevenis photograph will not miss on the ballot paper, it is high time we focused more on how different we shall be in 2021 to face him.

The best way to do it is not only by organising the population in the countryside to confront him, but also to prepare our candidates right from president to LC-I chairpersons in the whole country. We cannot afford to let him enjoy parliament and local government majority like has been the case before.

We urgently need to identify a pool of young people with less political baggage who can resonate with the young population, which is the majority, to hold the fort.

Similarly, we must reach out to civil organisations such as the legal fraternity, teachers, doctors and others including the middle-class, not only to persuade them to join the political struggle, but also to give them assurance about their safety in case of any change.

Summarily, Museveni is beatable, but only if we are focused.



The author is the vice chairperson and spokesperson of Peoples Progressive Party.
The dangers of microwave radiation from cellphones, cell towers, and routers in offices should be on the program of the PRSA national conference starting tomorrow. But it isnt.

The Society is missing a bet because one of the nations premiere authorities on radiation dangers, Cecelia Doucette, is only 30 miles away in Ashland.

Doucette created a five-minute video that tracks the microwave sources in her home and shows what she has done to mitigate them.

She walks viewers through rooms and shows the amount of radiation present using an Acoustimeter which measures radiation.

Radiation Sources Can Be Shut Down

She shows how to dismantle dangerous and unnecessary Wi-Fi links on computers and computer printers. Her computer printer, next to her work station, unbeknownst to her was emitting powerful radiation.

She had to turn off two antennas on the printer to stop the radiation. Other stops were to a cellphone that showed high voltage and radiation measurements. She urged cellphone users to keep the devices in airplane mode most of the time and never carry one in a pocket or a bra.

A cordless phone sent the Acoustimeter to the top of the voltage section and to the 10,000 microwatts per square meter range.

The microwave oven was shown to max out just in front of it and the radiation continued at high levels even 15 feet away. Doucette heats small portions of food in her countertop electric oven.

Cordless Phones a No-No

Health advocates say cordless phones are particularly dangerous because they radiate 24/7. They recommend corded phones, wired computer keyboards, wired internet connections and a wire mouse.

Laptop computers were also shown to emit high levels of radiation. Advice is to stay at least three feet away from the screen and never put a laptop on a lap.

The Doucette video should be shown in every classroom and library in the U.S. Schools and libraries are supposed to be seekers of information, not evaders of it.

The PRSA conference running from Oct. 7-10 is doing its members a huge disservice by ignoring the dangers of radiation since its members are heavy users of cellphones and computers and work in offices with powerful routers.

Measuring Devices Available

Jeromy Johnson, a civil engineer who became hypersensitive to radiation, has put together a package of instruments that measure radio frequency microwaves, magnetic and electric fields, dirty electricity, and general EMF detection.

Dirty electricity means abnormal power surges that are dangerous. It comes into a house through the electrical supply and can be generated by devices in the home.

Johnsons package, costing $703, measures radio frequency microwaves, magnetic and electric fields, dirty electricity and general EMF detection.

Recommended for measuring RF microwaves is the Gigahertz Solutions HF35C for $299.

Magnetic and electric fields can be tracked by the Gigahertz ME3830B for $292.

A Stetzer Microsurge Meter for $100 is recommended for dirty electricity.

A basic AM radio for about $12 is recommended for general EMF detection.

The static produced on a battery-operated radio obliterates any sound when a light dimmer is on. Light dimmers are a source of electric pollution.

Ashland Library Stocks Acoustimeter

The Ashland, Mass., library has an Acoustimeter that can be borrowed by patrons.. Offices should have such instruments. The library hosted a six-part series on the dangers of radiation that concluded in early 2016.

Specialists in radiation pollution can be hired such as Matthew Waletzke, who did a survey of our apartment in March and who was the subject of a 3,047-word feature in the May 26, 2010 New York Times.

Advice of EMF health advocates is not to have a microwave oven at all or go into another room if it's turned on. The advocates say microwaves are also bad because they re-arranged the molecules in food, lessening its nutritional value.

Dangers of 5G Explained

www.whatis5g.info has provided a detailed explanation of a new generation of wireless radiation devices that is on the horizon, promoted by the telecoms and the Federal Communications Commission.

5G, says the website, refers to the 5th generation technology. Its intended purpose is to provide faster and higher capacity data transmissions to carry the massive amount of data that will be generated from the Internet of Things (IoT) and for faster video streaming. That said, no one is yet clear about how 5G will be achieved, so at present, it is being used more as a marketing term than a reality.

What is clear is that 5g will include the higher Millimeter Wave frequencies never before used for public Internet and communications technology. These waves do not travel easily through buildings so will require millions of new cell towers.

The wireless telecom industry is aggressively seeking to outfit nearly every lamppost and utility post around the country with a wireless small cell antenna potentially beaming hazardous radiation next to, or into our homes, 24/7.

In light of the robust and ever growing independent science, showing adverse health effects from radiofrequency microwave radiation, the densification of our neighborhoods with 5G-infrastructure may prove to be a very ill-conceived idea.

"Internet of Things" Is Coming

The Internet of Things (IoT), as being marketed and sold to the public, is a vision of wirelessly connecting every thing possible to the Internet  all machines, appliances, objects, and devices. In addition, the IoT will include Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), robots, and enhanced humans (humans with some form of technology implanted or integrated into their biology to enhance human characteristics or capabilities).

IoT sensors and surveillance cameras will pepper our communities as well. New cyber physical systems of the IoT will render all objects smart  i.e. connected to the Cloud  thus enabling pervasive machine-to-machine and machine-to-human communications.

Some of the IoT products currently being manufactured include driverless cars, clothing, toasters, coffee makers, even diapers, and pacifiers for babies will be made smart. There will be smart mattresses (with infidelity detection systems), smart toothbrushes to record and notify you how well you are brushing your teeth, WiFi connected pills to transmit data to your physician, and the IoT even promises sex-bots, bluetooth tampons, and baby pods mothers can insert to serenade their unborn baby.

Every IoT thing, including robots, sensors, surveillance cameras, and AR, will generate personal usage-data, which will be mined, stored, and can be used by government, law enforcement, and industry.

They will also irradiate our homes and communities 24/7 with hazardous frequencies of pulsed microwave radiation.

Although government and industry promote the IoT as the panacea for all ills, the IoT itself, creates a plethora of problems. This website delineates nine ways that 5G and the IoT will cause serious harm to humans, wildlife, and our Earth. There are many more than nine but these will hopefully be discussed in future blog posts.

After exploring this website and conducting further research, you may decide the hoped for benefits of the IoT do not outweigh the very serious harms and you may opt to not buy into the IoT, both figuratively and literally.

Please also read A 5G Wireless Future  Will It Give Us a Smart Nation or Contribute to an Unhealthy One? by Dr. Cindy Russell.



Harm to Humans, Environment

Nine ways 5G and the IoT will harm humans, the environment, and our Earth
Westhampton Beach trustees pleaded ignorance last night when asked if they recognized any danger to citizens from cell towers, cellphones, cordless phones, tablets, etc.

We need to study this issue, said Mayor Maria Moore who presided at the meeting. Trustee Brian Tyman said, We dont know enough about this issue. The three other trustees were silent.

This reporter had spoken at five trustee meetings last year on the dangers of radiation in the town including high readings in the library. We sent Moore and the library board, which her husband Tom heads, more than a dozen articles quoting scientists and others who see a palpable health threat.

Westhampton Beach trustees

We noted last night that the steeple of St. Marks Episcopal Church a few blocks away had a powerful array of cell towers. Standing across from the church with our Acoustimeter, we found the pulsed microwave being emitted from the steeple was next to the highest reading on the instrumentNo. 14 on a scale of 15.

The church has apparently rented out its steeple for decades. Contracts are usually for 20-35 years, says the law firm of Varnum, Grand Rapids, which helps churches rent to AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, Spectrum and Sprint. AT&T and T-Mobile have rented the St. Marks steeple. Other telecoms can add their equipment, says the firm. Typical rents are $25K to $50K yearly.

Churches should make sure they get additional rent from second or third providers who add their antennas to the steeple, it says. This the biggest item in the contract, it notes and failing to gain the rent is the most common and most expensive error property owners make, says Varnum.

Deals Shock Health Advocates

Susan Foster, medical researcher who has helped firefighters block cell towers on firehouses, said Churches, synagogues and mosques are playing with the lives of people and not doing their research.

Churches should examine the research in BioInitiative.org rather than taking the word of a telecom salesperson who gets them to sign a 20-year lease without any liability coverage in case parishioners or neighbors become ill, she says.

Ministers, priests, rabbis and mullahs are putting the financial reserves of their churches at risk, but most importantly, they are risking the lives and well-being of the flock they are charged with taking care of, she added.

Health Advocates to March on Supreme Court

Radiation health advocates will stage a demonstration outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday, Oct. 17, demanding a halt to installation of the new 5G (fifth generation of transmitters until safety testing is completed.

Leaders of the rally are concerned about mini cell antennas in front of our homes, cell towers on schools, and outdated limits of the Federal Communications Commission on such equipment.

Speakers include Ellen Marks of the California Brain Tumor Assn.; Camilla Rees, author and speaker on electro-magnetic dangers; James Turner, public interest lawyer who will discuss legal initiatives of telecoms in many states; Theodora Scarato, Environmental Health Trust, and Bregtie van der Haak, Dutch filmmaker who is making a film called Ubiquity which will say that a global wireless structure is being built at the expense of local and state ordinances, human rights, taxpayers and public health.

Many diverse types of people are planning to come to this event, say the leaders. It is not only about wireless technology. It is about taking our democracy back and refusing a sneakily, coldly, technologically dictated society at the expense of the public health. This is now a global issue. Within three years every square inch of the earth will be covered by microwave/RF radiation: the byproduct of ubiquitous wireless Internet being built on a global scale that is predicted to have catastrophic effects on the magnetosphere, the ozone layer and the public health.

Following is Release of Health Advocates

Organizers of the event are seeking more volunteers as well as publicity.

Following are excerpts from their initial release to the press.

Camilla Rees, MBA, a long-time health educator, researcher and author on electromagnetic fields will speak on the subject of the biological and health effects of the non-stop proliferation of wireless technologies, including the unrecognized connection of wireless exposures with spiraling health care costs.

She is founder of ElectromagneticHealth.org, Manhattan Neighbors for Safer Telecommunications and Campaign for Radiation Free Schools; co-author with Magda Havas, PhD of Public Health SOS: The Shadow Side of the Wireless Revolution; and author of The Wireless Elephant in the Room.

Ellen Marks is Director of the California Brain Tumor Association, a 501-c-3 nonprofit which focuses on prevention of primary brain tumors attributed to wireless radiation. She has worked on legislation calling for the placement of notices about safer use of mobile technologies at the point of sale from Hawaii to Maine.

She currently Chairs the California Alliance for Safer Technology, a collaboration of 24 activists, lobbyists, physicians, public health researchers and elected government officials fighting legislation specifically intended to enable the wide scale placement, in residential neighborhoods, of high frequency 4G LTE and 5G antennas on utility poles, lamp posts and other municipal infrastructure, while eliminating any local involvement or influence in this process.

Her husband, a real estate broker, is a survivor of a brain tumor from excessive cell phone use. Ellie was co-producer of the film "Mobilize" and has testified before a Congressional Oversight Committee on cell phone risks. Ellen does not advocate against technology but for honesty and integrity from the wireless industry about the established risks, for getting corporate money out of politics and for the use of safer, hard-wired internet access, including optical fiber to the home.

Jennifer Wood is an architect, writer & science researcher who has lived and worked throughout the world. In 1996 she experienced radiation poisoning resulting from excessive over-exposure to wireless technology & widespread, commercial , digital cell phone use that skyrocketed in that year. After three near-bouts with death, and weighing 77 pounds, she was forced to move to the National Radio Quiet Zone in Green Bank, West Virginia in 2011, the same year the World Health Organization, despite industry influence, at least declared wireless devices a Class 2B carcinogen.

She built her own tiny non-electric cabin, solo, in the forest, and regained much of her health, becoming an environmental health advocate. She has been filmed and interviewed by Time Magazine, Werner Herzog, Russia Today and over 80 other international journalists and filmmakers at her cabin and in Washington, DC; she is painfully familiar with the omissions and distortions of the wireless-industry influenced media. She is the author of Fighting Faustian Fission, the story of an elderly police officer who helped shut down New Yorks Shoreham nuclear power plant before it opened commercially on Long Island. Her shorter writings include The Canaries, an Afterward, for a photography book on environmental illness and exile (Thilde Jensen, Lena Publications); and Deep in the Dream of Time (Adams Media Publications) under the pen name Langley, among others. She is currently writing a book called The Wireless Puppets (of the Wireless Empire).

Bregtje van der Haak, a Dutch filmmaker making a film called Ubiquity on the 5g technology and global wireless , multiple satellite Internet being built now at the expense of local and state ordinances, human rights, taxpayers and the public health; Joseph Piner, on-going filmmaker of Electronic Crack who began a film about the social aspects of cell phones , met Jennifer Wood and expanded his film to include the health , science, politics and industry issues involved with wireless technology; and possibly Alexey Brazhnikov of Russia Today (who was one of the first filmmakers to sign a good will agreement with Jennifer Wood not to edit out certain statements about the known science) might also be attending for a possible Part Two Film, if we are lucky. He filmed our protest at the FCC last spring and expressed some interest in larger future venues. In addition, we are hiring our own filmmaker so that we will have a full record of all that was said. Networks and filmmakers are notorious for editing out all the political and scientific facts due in part to industry pressures from wireless sponsors.
The National Press Club is hosting a screening of Netflix's "Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press" on Oct. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at its Washington headquarters, followed by a panel discussion about the issues raised by the documentary.

The film tells the story of the libel suit filed by wrestler Hulk Hogan against Gawker Media over the posting of a sex tape featuring Hogana suit that ended with a $140 million judgment against Gawker, putting the company out of business. It also addresses the purchase of the Las Vegas Review-Journal by gambling magnate Sheldon Adelson, who has donated millions to the GOP.

Directed by Brian Knappenberger, who owns and operates Los Angeles-based production and post-production company Luminant Media, Nobody Speak investigates the increasingly powerful role that private, monied interests play in the media, and asks if that constitutes a danger to press freedom.

The panel discussion following the film, sponsored by the NPC Journalism Institute, will feature Knappenberger, as well as Margaret Sullivan, media editor for the Washington Post and former public editor of the New York Times, and Elizabeth Spiers, the founding editor of Gawker.
Donald Trump has surpassed his nemesis, Pope Francis, as ruler of the Twittersphere among world leaders, according to Burson-Marsteller's latest tally of Twitter followers of the high and mighty.

The President chalked up 39.7M followers to overtake the sum of people following the Pope in nine different language accounts.

The victory must be especially sweet for the President, considering his testy relationship with the Pontiff, who questioned candidate Trump's sense of Christianity for his proposal to build a wall across the southern border.

"A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not of building bridges, is not Christian," tweeted the Pope.

Not one to overlook even the slightest of slaps, Trump retorted, "No religious leader has right to question another man's faith," and the Pope will have "wished and prayed I was president if ISIS attacks Vatican."

Things didn't get much better when newly elected President Trump visited the Vatican. Francis' hang dog facial expression during the group portrait with the Trump family was the key takeaway of the somber occasion. The Pope did manage to survive a 29-minute private meeting with Trump, though it was half the time that he gave to President Obama.

The Donald now has blasted Francis from the top of Twitter, but the Pope may soon enjoy a measure of revenge.

Francis plans to write a document on how "fake news contributes to generating and nurturing a strong polarization of opinions," the Vatican announced Sept. 29. The document will be timely stuff for Team Trump, which may or may not have colluded with Russia's meddling in the US election via fake news.

Francis understands how distortions of facts can have "repercussions at the level of individual and collective behavior." He will offer "a reflection on the causes, the logic and the consequences of disinformation in the media, and helping to promote professional journalism, which always seeks the truth, according to the Vatican.

No document on fake news would be complete without a look at how Trump uses lies, exaggerations, distorted facts and disinformation to discredit political opponents and feed his base. You can bet that Francis will devote many pages of his report to Donald. He may even dedicate the document to the King of Twitter.



Fake news will be front and center during during the Catholic Church's World Social Communication Day on May 13, 2018. Francis will release his work on Jan. 24, feast day of St. Francis de Sales, the patron saint of reporters. Nice touch, Francis.
Fengyang flower-drum dance shows are regarded as some of the most important events taking place at Anhui Science and Technology University. [Photo provided to China Daily]

About three dozen college students, most of whom are juniors and sophomores, have been busy preparing for an annual campus performance to welcome the incoming freshmen.

With a small drum in the left hand, with phoenix painted on, and a pair of nearly half-meter-long sticks between the fingers of the right hand, the students not only dance but also make music with the drums.

The shows are regarded as some of the most important events taking place at Anhui Science and Technology University since first performed in the fall of 2013. The university is based in Fengyang county of East China's Anhui province.

People might think that the young students are performing modern music such as hiphop, rap, or modern dances that are popular among young people. That is, until they hear the lyrics.

"A gong in the left hand, a drum in the right, come and sing songs, with the gong and drum in both hands."

Many people from across China, especially the elderly, have heard these words but might know no more than that about this traditional folk art that originated in Fengyang. It is called the Fengyang flower-drum dance.

"People who watch the students' performance will know that the students' devotion is really significant for keeping this national intangible cultural heritage alive," said Zhang Cong, teacher and director for the performance.
Agricultural News

Montana Wildfire Victims Receive a Helping Hand From Ag Community Relief's Wire Roundup Event

Thousands of miles of barbed wire fence was destroyed in Montana this past summer due to one of the worst wildfire seasons on record. With millions of acres burned, Ag Community Relief has established the "Western Wire Roundup" in effort to help western ranchers rebuild.







Having already sent twelve loads of hay to the region, Ag Community Relief will be collecting donations over the next few months to send a full semi-tractor trailer load of Sheffield barbed wire fence (560 rolls), that meets or exceeds ASTM Class 1 standards, to the farmers and ranchers affected by the wildfires. Stockmen's Feed Bunk, a ranch supply company based in Boise City, OK, sold fencing supplies to the ranchers of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas at cost after spring wildfires destroyed over a million acres in those three states. They have agreed to do this again for the ranchers of the Northern Rockies. For information on how to sponsor a roll of wire for $50 or to make a monetary donation towards this project, click here. Also search for them online at #agcommunityrelief and #farmershelpingfarmers.







Ag Community Relief, a non-profit 501(c)3, was formed to bring relief to active farmers and ranchers that experience devastation across the United States by assembling volunteers and donations to help mitigate their suffering. Their goal is to help them get back to where they were before disaster struck.







Source - Ag Community Relief













WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady NSI

Top Agricultural News
Kenya's Elius Magu has nurtured a passion for arts since childhood and his one-bedroom house located in a low-income Nairobi suburb attests to that fact.

At the center of his neatly arranged sitting room is a small coffee table where a huge pile of art pieces, with some having a Chinese touch, catch the attention of visitors.

Magu, a recovering alcoholic, is now soaking his soul in art to shake off memories of wasted youth in drinking dens that dot Kenya's rural villages and urban slums.

With no wife or children to take care of, Magu who turns 45 next month, now invests all his energy in art hoping to close a sad chapter in his life.

Two months into his recovery journey, Magu who is also a taekwondo fan, says his love for art, especially Chinese art, started in his primary school days when he watched his first film by Jet Li, a renowned Chinese action film actor.

Even though Magu does not expect to make any money from art, the therapy in it is more fulfilling.

Still learning the basics of creating a great piece of art, Magu has focused on paper quilling as materials needed for this type of art are not hard to get and are generally affordable.

"I watch YouTube videos to learn some of the basics of paper quilling. I hope I will soon create one of my pieces. I have a diploma in Graphic Design from Technical University of Kenya and I wish I had nurtured my love for art back when I was still a young man," he says.

According to Fatema Qureishi, the founder of Amathus Arts, an art studio predominantly working in the realm of paper craft in Nairobi's Karen area, though not popular, paper quilling can be a great stress reliever and a great technique to help people like Magu trying to salvage their lives.

"As a professional artist, I would encourage people to learn paper quilling as rolling and scrolling of paper channels the unexpressed energies and releases anxiety and stress. In performing this art, the coordination of hands-eyes movements strengthens the motor-skills. Along with regular practice, one tends to develop a phenomenal creative expression in life," she says.

For Zawadi Robi, paper quilling saved her from depression. Having lost her son and only child in a road accident three years ago, she slipped into depression and lost hope in life.

"During one of my counseling sessions, my therapist urged me to take up an activity that would keep my mind busy and creative and since I have a background in paper craft, I embarked on paper quilling. For the past one year since I started doing it, my situation has really improved. I no longer feel hopeless," she says.

In her early 40s, Zawadi says paper quilling has helped her survive anxiety attacks which mostly strike at night.

"Sometimes I get overly emotional but crafting has brought some balance in my life," she says.

Having been in the paper crafting industry for over 10 years now, Fatema says paper quilling still has some distance to cover before it becomes popular.

According to a report of the Kenya Bureau of National Statistics, Kenya saw a growth of only 4 percent in the creative sector in 2016.

"There is abundant artistic potential in Kenya that waits to be tapped. Take paper quilling as an example, while it is a popular form of art in many parts of the world, it still remains to be relatively unknown in Kenya," Fatema says.

Paper quilling or paper filigree is the art of rolling thin strips of paper into circular shapes that are glued together to make decorative patterns, ornamental artwork and functional pieces.

The craft originated in Europe among religious communities during the Renaissance period where it was used to decorate books and sacred items.

It then became a popular pastime among upper class women before being employed as a decorative technique on furniture and high-value accessories.
Vegan chef and renowned cookbook author Isa Chandra Moskowitz might be the only restaurateur to start her empire in Omaha and expand it to Brooklyn.

Ive written many stories about her books, which include how-tos on vegan cookies and cakes, vegan holiday dishes and easy vegan staples. I reviewed the Omaha outpost of Modern Love, her midtown restaurant, and loved it.

And now, during a recent trip to New York, I finally made it to the dining room of the restaurants Brooklyn outpost. I found it larger, vibrant and with its own menu just as satisfying as the Omaha original.

Modern Love Brooklyn  celebrating its first anniversary in business this month  greets diners a block away with a building-size purple, red and white wall mural announcing the restaurants name in script. Inside, the restaurant is warm and dim, with a full bar at the back.

Some dishes Omaha diners would recognize, including the signature mac and shews, a hearty macaroni and cheese made with cashew cheese. Moskowitz has been working on the dish, she said, and the version we had in Brooklyn had a creamy, kicky red pepper cashew cheese and the signature, perfectly crusted triangles of tofu, with garlicky kale nestled in between. Its a favorite for a reason.

From there, we sampled an array of new menu items, like big hunks of delicata squash prepared with candied pecans, vegan butter, cinnamon and cayenne. Its the kind of dish begging for a spot on the Thanksgiving buffet.

Moskowitz, a Brooklyn native, now splits her time between her two restaurants. Shes still writing cookbooks, and this year her book Veganomicon, which she wrote in 2007 with Terry Hope Romero, is celebrating a decade in print, selling more than 1.5 million copies since its release. The latest version  I picked up a signed copy in New York  is revamped. Its basically the writers bible of vegan cooking, and it includes recipes for all sorts of dishes along with tips on creating a vegan pantry at home, among other things.

If theres one person Id trust with vegan cooking tips, its Isa. The night we visited, she was in the kitchen, making sure that each dish came out just as she wanted.

The seitan philly cheesesteak is so substantial that we barely put a dent in ours. Rich, thinly sliced seitan (a wheat gluten product) comes in a hearty bun topped with peppers, onions and cashew cheese whiz. Alongside are wedged potatoes and a tasty dressed pile of kale. We tried, at the servers suggestion, the outstanding truffled poutine, a stack of thick cut potatoes topped with super rich porcini gravy and truffled almond ricotta.

Also a hit: the scallop linguine with garlic butter. Standing in for seafood are meaty trumpet mushrooms with the same satisfying texture. Sorrel, oyster and cremini mushrooms add even more depth. Its an elegant dish, a fun twist on a classic made for the modern diner.

This is so much more satisfying than the vegan meals Ive had, one of my uncles said during the course of the evening. I couldnt have said it better.

Moskowitz is, again, doing that thing she always does so well: taking food were familiar with, reworking it in her own way and reintroducing us to something we thought we knew.
A longtime prosecutor will lead a grand jury investigation into Omaha police officers dealings with a mentally ill Oklahoma man in the moments before his death.

Corey OBrien, head of the criminal division of the Nebraska Attorney Generals Office, was appointed to lead the grand jury investigation, beginning Nov. 29.

Douglas County District Judge Duane Dougherty had caused a stir last month when he ruled that Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine could not lead the grand jury, though Kleine does so in virtually every in-custody death case. Dougherty made the ruling in part because Kleine already had made up his mind about charges against the officers and had shown the public a cruiser video of polices interaction with Zachary Bearheels, 29, on June 5.

Steve Lefler, an attorney for one of the officers charged in connection with Bearheels death, had praised Doughertys decision and had expressed hope that the judge would appoint an independent attorney, rather than a prosecutor, to lead the investigation.

OBrien not only is the chief criminal prosecutor of the Attorney Generals Office, hes a former deputy county attorney under Kleine and then-County Attorney Jim Jansen.

That said, Lefler praised OBrien as a good choice.

Ive worked with him a lot, Lefler said. Ive found him to be a very reasonable guy. Im more than encouraged that theres a guy in place who will have an open mind as we go forward.

Bearheels died after an encounter with police outside a gas station near 60th and Center Streets. Bearheels  who was in Omaha after being kicked off a bus that was bound for his home in Oklahoma  had been acting erratically. Several hours earlier, he licked the windows of a nearby business. He lingered outside the gas station, dancing, and Omaha police were called.

Police handcuffed Bearheels and placed him in a cruiser. Officers then made contact with Bearheels mother  who told them that he suffered from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and likely hadnt taken his medications. A police sergeant decided not to seek a commitment to a mental-health facility  and police planned to take him back to the bus station.

As an officer attempted to put his seat belt on, Bearheels got out of the police cruiser to walk away. Bearheels then didnt obey commands to get back into the cruiser, according to police accounts.

In their attempts to corral him, then-Omaha Police Officer Scotty Payne shocked Bearheels 12 times with a Taser  once for as long as 18 seconds and several times as Bearheels sat, handcuffed, against a rear tire.

Then-Omaha Police Officer Ryan McClarty punched Bearheels 13 times in 15 seconds after Bearheels, in the midst of being shocked, ripped one of his hands from his handcuffs.

Bearheels died shortly after the encounter. A coroners physician attributed his death to excited delirium but said she couldnt definitely connect it to the repeated shocks.

The case will now move forward on two tracks.

 Kleine already has charged Payne with second-degree assault, a felony, and McClarty with misdemeanor third-degree assault. Kleine has said he plans to move forward with those cases, regardless of the grand jurys decision.

 A grand jury of 16 citizens and three alternates will convene Nov. 29 to investigate the case, under OBriens leadership. Under state law, a grand jury must convene any time a person dies in police custody.

The case could get really interesting, depending on the grand jurys decision, said Omaha Police Sgt. John Wells.

Wells  head of the union that is supporting Payne and McClarty  questioned what will happen to Kleines case if the grand jury declines to charge the officers. Others have questioned what will happen if the grand jury decides that more charges are warranted.

It could go 100 different ways, Wells said. The whole thing is intriguing. Really, its uncharted legal waters.
Zhang Leping (left) and Wang Longji who played Sanmao in the movie Winter of Three Hairs in 1949. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

He is not as well-known as Walt Disney's favorite characters, but in China the love for him has endured almost since Donald Duck hit the screen

It was their hairstyles or headgear as much as anything that gave them instant recognition.

First, in 1928, the mouse with erect black ears and a semi-permanent grin made his grand entrance.

Then, the following year, came the youngster with the golden locks with a swished-back clump standing up in the middle of it all.

In 1934 the duck with a sailor's hat and shirt and a red bowtie said hello to the world.

Then, the following year, the lad with three solitary strands of hair on an otherwise bald head shuffled onto the stage, the hair and his two bare feet signaling that for him, unlike the other three characters, life was to be endured rather than enjoyed.

The wonder of all this is that more than 80 years after these characters  the Americans Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, the Belgian Tintin and the Chinese Sanmao  first appeared, they are still with us, ageing yet ageless, and the great amusement they gave us has left its mark on billions of people worldwide.

But beyond that fun, delivered through comic books, on the big screen and on television, these characters have at times had a serious underside. In fact in the book How to Read Donald Duck, first published in Spanish in 1971, and which became a bestseller in Latin America, Ariel Dorfman and Amand Mattelard depicted Disney comics as tools for spreading Western capitalism. As for the brave and adventurous Tintin, his first outing in the world was in a work titled Tintin in the Land of the Sovi-ets, which could not have been more political.

In Sanmao, a world away from the assertive, well-to-do, swaggering and happy-go lucky often present in Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, the seriousness lay in other directions.

His story is that of an orphan who moves to Shanghai to earn a living. He takes on numerous jobs such as selling newspapers, polishing shoes and performing kung fu. Despite his efforts, he cannot make ends meet, he sleeps on the streets and many treat him with distain.

Nevertheless, he is always keen to extend a helping hand to the less fortunate, to the point of giving whatever little food he has to beggars. He is also highly ethical, evidenced, in one case, by his refusal to join a gang of thieves who pledge that if he does he will be well fed and looked after forevermore.

Zhang Weijun hopes Sanmao can "walk out of the book" and promote charity efforts in the future. GAO ERQIANG / CHINA DAILY

Sanmao, which means three hairs, was created by the late Zhang Leping, one of China's most acclaimed comic artists, and this year marks the 70th anniversary of the most successful Sanmao comic book, Winter of Three Hairs, which had a print-run of more than 10 million copies. It is also listed as one of the 100 must-read books by China's Ministry of Education.

Zhang was born in Haiyan, Zhejiang province in 1910, and his early life was marked by the kind of hardships Sanmao would go through. The earnings of his father, who worked as a primary school teacher, were barely enough to support a family of six, and life became even harder for the family on the death of Zhangs mother, when he was 9.

After completing primary school he was forced to work to support the family. He first worked as an apprentice in a wood factory before finding a job in a printing plant in the suburbs of Shanghai in 1923, and about this time he took on several short-term jobs. He said that many of the bosses he worked for were demanding and cruel, often beating up employees. These men are depicted in Winter of Three Hairs.

In those days beating up apprentices was regarded as essential in producing the best artisans, and Zhang would later tell of how he despised it. Over several years he taught himself to draw and paint, and after having several drawings published in newspapers he began to gain a reputation as an accomplished comic artist.

When he created his first cartoon of Sanmao in 1935 it depicted a boy living in a typical lane house in Shanghai. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), the story of Sanmao was based on Zhang's experience as a member of the resistance. After the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, Sanmao's life would take a turn for the better as he went to school and studied science.

The newspaper Ta Kung Pao in Shanghai published its first comic strip from Winter of Three Hairs on June 15, 1947, comprising six pictures depicting Sanmao's sadness about not having parents. Over the course of the next two years the comic strip became well known throughout the country, and how much the public warmed to Sanmao was evident in the response his plight drew.

"Sanmao is living on the street," one furious reader wrote to the publisher. "Why can't you treat him better? I'm willing to put him up in my home."

In 1949, Soong Ching-ling, the wife of Sun Yat-sen, wrote: "Mr Zhang has done a great deed for homeless children, and we appreciate that. All Sanmaos in the country will never forget this."

The artist Dai Dunbang said the comic strips seemed to come alive because of the way Zhang drew the characters and how he introduced fine differences in various backgrounds.

A movie based on the comic book premiered in October 1949, the first public movie in the newly founded People's Republic of China, and it gained wide acclaim.

Zhang Weijun, 63, the youngest child of the artist, who died 25 years ago, says most of the comic series reflected his father's life.

Zhang Weijun promotes the comic, and countries in which he has helped organize exhibitions of Sanmao in recent years include Australia, Belgium, Mauritius and South Korea.

Zhang says his father came across three homeless children on a snowy night in Shanghai in 1947. The children, dressed in worn-out clothing, wrapped themselves in sacks to stay warm and gathered around a small iron can that held a fire, he said.

The next morning, he saw the frozen corpses of two of the children being loaded onto a vehicle.

"That incident shocked my father and led him to create Winter of Three Hairs."

From 1927 to 1949 China was in chaos because of civil conflict, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and natural disasters, and this resulted in millions of refugees pouring into bigger cities such as Shanghai.

To find out more about how homeless people lived, Zhang Leping went to Chen Jia Mu Qiao in Shanghai, where such individuals gathered, but nobody would talk to him, Zhang Weijun said.

"One of these people treated my father with contempt, and that upset him. My father later realized the problem was his suit. For the poor, anyone who wore nice clothes was rich  the very people who often bullied and humiliated them."

The artist then began wearing threadbare clothes and giving out pies to the homeless, and gradually, the children started warming up to him.

The episode about a beggar urging Sanmao to become a thief was, like other episodes, based on a story these homeless children told him. In those days, homeless children would often resort to helping gangsters steal in exchange for food.

While Sanmao was someone many loved, the artist himself had one or two detractors.

"My father once received a letter accompanied by a bullet," Zhang says. "He thought it might have been a threat from local ruffians because the way he depicted gangsters in the comic strip, as nasty and greedy, showed how much Sanmao despised them."

Because they loved children so much, Zhang Leping and his wife Feng Chuyin, who had seven children, helped raise several children of friends and relatives who could not afford to.

Zhang Weijun says his mother always used the family's biggest pot to prepare rice every day for friends and relatives. The family would often house homeless orphans as well.

The late artist was also passionate about drawing for children. In his last years, when he had Parkinson's disease, he wrote: "My only pain is that my shaking hands can't paint for young readers anymore."

He also expressed his regret at the imperfect drawings he had done for a series titled Sanmao Eats Watermelon, made public before Children's Day in 1989. Nevertheless, the artist received many letters from his young readers praising him for his dedication and expressing hope that he would recover soon.

When he died in Shanghai in 1992 he was 82.

With the help of the Xuhui district government last year, the Zhang family vacated their residence and turned it into a memorial gallery. In the days after its opening, thousands of Sanmao fans lined in the streets, waiting to view the original scripts, drawings and videos related to the comic series it features.

The artist's study, kept in its original condition, can also be viewed.

"I am a little surprised to see that Sanmao can still win the hearts of readers of various ages today," Zhang Weijun says. "Young parents are still buying Sanmao books for their children as their parents used to do for them."

"Poor children like Sanmao hardly exist in Shanghai now, but people can still identify with his optimism and his willingness to help others."

"Once when I was visiting my father's grave, an official told me a man from northern China had spent a long time there. He said that once, in his most difficult time, my father had helped him."

Contact the writer at xuxiaomin@chinadaily.com.cn
LINCOLN  Nikko Jenkins life behind bars is again stirring controversy.

A month ago, a member of the State Ombudsmans Office was briefly banned from returning to the Tecumseh State Prison after allowing the convicted murderer to join a cellphone conversation during a visit to Jenkins cell.

Although ombudsman office officials are allowed to carry cellphones into state prisons, a State Corrections Department spokeswoman said that allowing Jenkins to join the call, purportedly to his attorney, was a clear violation of the trust and working relationship between the department and the Ombudsmans Office.

The phone was used to take a photo of an inmate and to communicate with the inmates attorney, allowing the inmate to join in the conversation, said Corrections spokeswoman Dawn-Renee Smith. The ombudsman did not have the authority to involve the inmate in the phone call.

All ombudsman personnel have been banned from taking cellphones into state prisons while Corrections reviews its policies, Smith said.

State Ombudsman Marshall Lux said that he was surprised that the incident, which occurred on Sept. 6, has generated such a reaction.

Lux said it has been a regular practice for members of his office to carry cellphones during prison visits, and no rules prohibit that.

Nothing was snuck into the facility, Lux said.

Cellphones, he said, are regularly used to take photographs of cells and record interviews, as part of the offices job of investigating complaints by inmates about prison conditions and treatment.

Allowing Jenkins to participate in a phone call was also not outside the lines, Lux said.

It was done for a good reason. And I cannot go into the reason without getting into what is confidential, he said.

Lux said he was awaiting the outcome of the policy review by Corrections.

The problem with cellphones, according to those in Corrections, is that if they are obtained by an inmate, they can be used to set up deliveries of drugs or other contraband, organize escapes, or arrange assaults or retribution against others.

Prison policies ban members of the public from taking cellphones into prisons during visits. And Corrections staff members face a felony charge if they allow an inmate to use a cellphone.

Inmates are provided access to pay telephones to call friends, family and their lawyers. Such calls made to attorneys and the Ombudsmans Office are not monitored or recorded, unlike the other conversations.

Jenkins was sentenced to death for the killings of four people in Omaha shortly after his release from prison in 2013. Concerns about the lack of mental health treatment and preparation before the release of Jenkins, and the murderous rampage that followed, prompted the State Legislature to launch a special investigation into Corrections.

Before and after his arrest, Jenkins had a history of disciplinary problems within state prisons. There were multiple incidents of self-mutilation using sharp objects, including a Corrections officers badge that he somehow obtained in his solitary confinement cell.

Two days after the cellphone incident, a search of Jenkins cell found an unauthorized extra mattress, two mop heads, a bottle full of bleach and a piece of paper with a swastika written on it that was contaminated with blood.

Smith said she could not comment on the outcome of the misconduct report generated by the Sept. 8 cell search.

The Ombudsmans Office official and inmate involved in the cellphone incident were not identified by Smith or Lux.

But State Sen. Laura Ebke of Crete, who heads two committees that oversee state corrections, said the inmate involved was Jenkins.

Ebke said that the incident took on greater importance because of a recent increase in the detection of contraband, such as drugs and cellphones, being smuggled into prisons.

I think theyre just trying to clamp down on that a little bit, she said.

After the incident, the ombudsman involved was banned from re-entering a state prison for 10 days, according to Smith. She said that other members of the office have also been told they cannot bring cellphones at this time.

A former State Corrections director, Bob Houston, said that he sees no need for ombudsman officials to carry cellphones into a prison.

Houston, who now teaches criminal justice classes at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, also works as a court-appointed observer to conditions at the Los Angeles County Jail. That monitoring work, he said, is very similar to what the Ombudsmans Office does.

If we want to take notes, we take notes. We dont take electronics with us, Houston said.
Nebraska Childrens Home Society has named Kim Anderson as chief program officer. The position was previously held by current CEO Lana Temple-Plotz.

Anderson, who was the director of the NCHS Pregnancy, Parenting and Adoption program, started at the society in 2004, after a decade at Catholic Charities of Omaha.

She is a licensed mental health therapist with a certificate in training for adoption competency, a curriculum for adoption-competent mental health care. She also serves as president of the Nebraska Adoption Agencies Association.

In her new role, Anderson said she hopes to increase awareness of NCHS programs across the state.
Cooperation provides the much-needed materials for China's industrial expansion

Just as China's economy continues to grow, its energy demands have also risen sharply. In order to ensure its energy security, China has to establish oil diplomacy with Africa, because it's domestic energy reserves are not sufficient to cater to its rapid economic expansion.

As a latecomer to the global oil markets, China's national oil and gas corporations came up with an energy strategy of circling the planet in search of opportunities to bargain or make investments in oil and gas fields.

Thus, since 1995, China-Africa cooperation in the energy sector, as well as in other industries, has rapidly deepened and expanded. This is partially because the oil and gas sector offers Africa a unique opportunity that still needs to be harnessed, given the continent's ever-growing discoveries of new oil and gas deposits in countries like Uganda, Ghana, Mozambique and Tanzania.

In addition, there are projected oil and gas fields in countries like Mali, Sierra Leone and Kenya. This mounting relationship has become the subject of debate for Western policymakers and academics, who have argued that the Chinese oil diplomacy with Africa has two main goals. They have asserted that, in the short term, China seeks to secure oil supplies to help feed growing demand back home. In the long term, China seeks to position itself as a global player in the international oil market.

Whatever the case may be, China-Africa cooperation in the energy sector provides the much-needed materials for China's industrial expansion. At the same time, it offers expansion of the financial sources of Africa's development and raises the value of the continent's energy resources.

More important, it facilitates local infrastructure development projects. Chinese oil and gas companies are providing the much needed employment opportunities for the local population, which will lead to improved living conditions.

China's investment into Africa's oil and gas sector also increases export revenue for African host countries. In addition, oil-rich African host nations have largely welcomed Chinese oil investment, simply because China's national oil and gas corporations have demonstrated willingness to help these oil-rich states construct modern refineries, which will reduce their reliance on importing products from overseas suppliers.

For instance, Chinese national oil and gas corporations have so far erected or dedicated themselves to the construction of oil refineries in a number of oil-rich African countries that previously had no refining capabilities, including Nigeria, Sudan, Niger and Chad.

Since the height of the Cold War in the 1960s, China has perceived African countries to be diplomatically and strategically important.

Chinese engagement with the African continent has been increasing at a rapid rate.

Unlike most oil producing regions of the world, the African energy industry is open to foreign investment, and China's relations with countries on the continent are free of ideological or security obstacles, as well as the antagonism and exploitation that have historically played out in Western and African relations, such as colonial exploitation of black workers and racial marginalization.

With regard to oil diplomacy, China has established solid relations with the continent's energy producers, especially Gabon, Sudan, Equatorial Guinea, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The policy instrument advocated by Beijing is the "projects-for-oil" approach, whereby Chinese State-owned development banks, namely the China Export and Import Bank and the China Development Bank, are financing a range of projects on the continent, from social or industrial infrastructure development projects to agricultural research development.

In exchange, these oil-rich countries give Chinese national oil and gas corporations access to their oil resources and repay their loans with their future oil production. The model has been dubbed the "Angola model" because in Angola, Beijing has assisted in the building of that country's low-cost residential housing projects.

Under this Chinese-pioneered oil diplomacy, Angola was also exempted from its sovereign debts that were due by 1999. As a result, Angola's share in China's oil imports nearly doubled between 1995 and 2003, which made it the third-largest crude oil exporter to China in 2003.

Moreover, due to the approach's success in Angola, it has since been replicated in other parts of Africa, such as Nigeria, Chad and Ghana. It has also been applied to Chinese acquisition of other raw materials, such as copper in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This approach has inherent attraction for Beijing, since it enhances China's oil interests and other dimensions of interest, such as exports of Chinese goods, services and technology into Africa.

Overall, Africa currently supplies about 30 percent of China's total crude oil imports, and it is China's second-largest source of energy supply after the Middle East. The question, then, is why now Africa? The answer to this question lies in three factors that have given rise to Africa's prominence in Beijing's global quest for oil and gas.

First, the growth of China's oil imports from Africa coincided with the decline in imports from the Asia-Pacific Region as the latter turns into a gross oil importer.

Second, Africa's growing prominence as Beijing's second-largest energy supplier is fueled by China's strategy to diversify away from its dependence on the Middle East, which is frequently beleaguered by insecurity and volatility.

Third, Africa offers Beijing unique oil attributes, as it has largely unexploited oil reserves that are opportunely located for maritime transportation, and it has outstanding oil reserve growth potential.

Another important point is that Africa also produces low density and sulphur content crude oil. It also remains open to foreign oil investment and continues to award production sharing agreements through which foreign oil companies can obtain equity oil. These features carry special appeal to Beijing's national oil companies, since three-fourths of China's refining capacity is designed for crude oil with low sulphur content.

The writer is a research assistant at the Institute for Global Dialogue of the University of South Africa. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily European Weekly 10/06/2017 page9)
 2008-2022 One News Page Ltd.

All rights reserved.

One News is a registered trademark

of One News Page Ltd.
allAfrica.com 11 Nov 2022

[Scrolla] The EFF in the Western Cape says although they condemn any form of stealing, they welcome with joy the theft of the Nobel..
To boost transformation of region over the next decade, gas pipeline and electrical grid link are among projects

East Africa shows signs of starting the same kind of structural economic transformation that Northeast Asia accomplished over the past 50 years, as countries in the region begin to develop the low-skilled manufacturing that many see as the key first step in the process. But Africa still has less than a 2 percent share of global manufacturing.

The African Development Bank reports that East Africa led the continent by far with 5.3 percent growth in 2016, and it predicts that high growth will continue. The bank sees regional integration as a key priority if Africa is to transform in the coming decade. The African Regional Integration Index found East Africa to be the most integrated region on the continent, with Kenya and Uganda leading integration. But Ethiopia and Tanzania lagged in regional links.

Workers at a natural gas project construction site in Tanzania. Zhang Ping / Xinhua

At a Sept 21 meeting at the United Nations, Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said: "With an integrated industrial strategy, African states will hopefully mobilize funds, build the capacity of local employment and promote small (and) medium enterprises with domestic development projects."

The World Bank is funding the East African Power Pool to link the electrical grids of the region. A larger grid is especially important for green energy sources such as solar or wind power and also allows trade in hydropower throughout the region.

Ethiopia generates excess electricity, so in 2015 the country contracted with China Electric Power Equipment and Technology, along with Germany's Siemens, to build high-voltage transmission lines to Kenya. Similar power lines to Djibouti and Sudan are already complete.

Wondimu Tekle Sigo, former state minister at the Ethiopian Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Electricity, and now a graduate student at Peking University, says that Ethiopia is the "water tower" of East Africa - able to export hydropower throughout the region.

"We are promoting a green economy," he says. "We are integrating the region in terms of green development." He notes that the country was able to use internal savings to fund the $4.5 billion (3.8 billion euros; 3.4 billion) Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River.

Tanzania recently discovered huge natural gas deposits. However, current world energy prices are low, so the difficult process of exporting natural gas by liquefying it at very cold temperatures may not be economical. Furthermore, the "natural resource curse" shows that some nations that rely on petroleum exports are vulnerable to corruption and few have succeeded in industrializing.

So Tanzania plans to use its natural gas to power domestic industry. Also, in 2016, the development of a pipeline to Uganda that will allow efficient distribution throughout the region was announced. Cheaper electrical power and natural gas can help the region to develop manufacturing capability. According to a study by researchers at the London School of Economics, cheap natural gas from fracking has boosted US manufacturing exports by around 10 percent.

Yao Yang, dean of the Institute for South-South Cooperation and Development at Peking University, says: "Some of the East African countries have the real potential to be extraordinary - Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania. One of the lessons they have learned from the 1990s is that they have had enough fighting. This time, Kenya just had an election, and the Supreme Court (annulled) the election, and both sides said, OK, let's do it again. They know they have to coexist peacefully. They have to focus on economic growth.

"Some countries have more discipline, like Uganda," says Yao. "Ethiopia is an ancient country that has been there for 2,000 years. I think the region has the potential to do really well in the next 10 to 20 years."

davidblair@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 10/06/2017 page8)
Rumble 10 Nov 2022

The adoptive mother and grandparents of an 11-year- old girl who died after being found in grave condition at a Spring Valley home..
For the last six years or so, The Daily Meal has put together a ranked guide to the top 101 pizzerias in the United States, mostly relying on input from their staffers and a group of regional food writers and other experts.

This year, two decade-old Portland pizzerias made the cut. And if you're going to include only two -- I could make arguments for at least a half dozen more -- they probably made the right picks.

Two pizzerias might not seem like a lot, but when you consider how East Coast-focused the list is, it's not that bad. More than half of the picks come from just three states, each with deep pizza roots concentrated in a handful of cities: New York (mostly New York City), Illinois (Chicago) and Connecticut (New Haven).

At No. 58 is Ken's Artisan Pizza, which recently ranked at No. 1 in our recent survey the city's 27 best wood-fired pizzerias. That's impressive consistency from a restaurant that helped turn Portland from a pizza morass to our current cornucopia.

At No. 18 is Apizza Scholls, the beloved pizzeria from dough master Brian Spangler, arguably the best pizzeria north of San Francisco. Like Ken's, Apizza Scholls has been around for over a decade, first opening in the Washington County crossroads of Scholls before landing in its longtime home Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard in Portland.

Back in 2012, I ate at every pizzeria I could find in the Portland metro area, visiting wood-fired spots in Oregon City and red-sauce joints in Beaverton, hoping to find the city's best. In the end, the choice was easy. Apizza Scholls was clearly Portland's best pizzeria then, and despite an impressive crop of new challengers (Handsome Pizza, Pizzeria Otto and Pizza Jerk) it still is today.

-- Michael Russell
Oba Restaurant has closed after 20 years in the Pearl District, owner Steve McLain confirmed to The Oregonian/OregonLive.

The closure was unexpected both to Oba's neighbors, who walked by the restaurant to snap photos of a sign announcing the closure, and, apparently, to some restaurant employees, who emailed to ask how they could pick up their belongings from the from the shuttered restaurant.

On Thursday, Oba's website, phone line and reservations system were all out of service. A sign taped to the front of the restaurant announced that Oba was closed and that the "landlord is now in possession of the premises."

Oba opened in a former Pearl District warehouse, adding a jutting neon sign and sidewalk seating to a once-industrial neighborhood rapidly transforming into one of the city's most expensive neighborhoods. Founding chef Scott Neuman, who stayed on until 2015, served what Oba described as "Nuevo Latino" cuisine inspired by Central and South America.

From the jump, the restaurant was known as much for its bar as its dining room. Monday through Friday, Pearl District regulars would crowd around tall hammered copper tables after work sipping colorful drinks and nibbling on coconut prawns with jalapeno marmalade.

In a letter Friday, McLain said he was grateful for more than two decades of support. Here is McLain's letter:

I am grateful to have been a part of the PDX food community for more than two decades. OBA has been a labor of love and a passion. Since 1997, I have relished opening the doors for business at OBA each day. What a phenomenal journey! It has been an adventure, creating a vibrant place in the neighborhood where people gather to celebrate life and enjoy good food and drink.

I am deeply thankful for the talented and loyal staff who embraced the OBA vision and culture. Their energy and commitment allowed us to bring a vacant warehouse to life, long before the pearl district became a hip destination.

The OBA team is composed of many outstanding people, who served in both the front and back of the restaurant. These dedicated professionals are now seeking employment in our industry. I highly recommend them.

Thank you to every one of our fabulous guests for your love, support and loyalty over the years. It has been an honor to serve you.

To my long-time vendors, colleagues and advisors who have helped me navigate the rugged terrain of the restaurant industry, I raise my glass.

Oba restaurant was located at 555 N.W. 12th Ave.

-- Michael Russell
EUGENE, Ore. (AP)  University of Oregon President Michael Schill is announcing a new anonymous gift of $50 million in his annual State of the University address.

The Eugene Register-Guard reports the donation to be announced Friday with an unusual feature - the anonymous donors have not earmarked the money, provided over the next five years, for any specific program or initiative.

The money will be used exclusively for "strategic investments," however, not for ongoing university operating costs.

"It's an amazing gift from people who love the university and want to elevate it," Schill said. "It's philanthropy that allows us to reach new heights."

The first initiatives that will receive money through the donations include:

nine new endowed chair faculty positions, one in each major school and three in the College of Arts and Sciences;

a new initiative to permanently embed UO education faculty in 10 Oregon public high schools to provide ongoing training for high school teachers in the latest theory and research;

a tutoring and support staffer at the Black Cultural Center for African-American students;

a new media center for science and technology, designed to train journalism, public relations and science students to better write and communicate about scientific subjects.

Part of the funding for eight new faculty positions is for a "data science" degree program that the UO hopes to create.

Schill declined to specify how much the new initiatives will cost, in part because some of them still are under design. But in total, the initiatives will use less than half of the $50 million gift, he said.

For the remaining funds, Schill said he's open to suggestions.

"It's not going to be a formal process. That's one of the luxuries of this," he said. "I can grab opportunities as they arise."
The University of Oregon president's state of the university speech in Eugene was canceled Friday after a noisy group of protesters took over the stage where he was to announce an anonymous $50 million gift.

President Michael Schill walked out of the auditorium without ever taking the podium. He said later in a video address that, while he supports free speech, he does not support protests that impede other people's free speech rights.

The loud group of a few dozen students did not have a cohesive message but did express concerns over tuition costs, with the leader referring repeatedly to "CEO Schill."

Charlie Landeros, who led the march onstage and spoke using a bullhorn, said the group represented UO students who felt their voices weren't being heard by university administrators.

"Over the summer there has been a huge proliferation of neo-Nazi propaganda plastered all over campus," Landeros said, adding he feared it could escalate to a violent hate crime. "We're here to stand against that."

Tobin Klinger, a university spokesman, said the demonstration violated school policy because it hindered "the university's ability to do its work and function."

"It's unfortunate that it escalated to the point where we had to go a different path," Klinger said.

Schill's speech, which ironically included a defense of free speech rights, was made available on the university's website. "If someone says something we don't like, we should not try to shut them down," he said.

In his remarks about the gift, Schill said the donors challenged him to "use the gift opportunistically, not for business as usual." He said he would initially use the gift for initiatives in data science, an increase in endowed chairs for faculty and support for a new Black Cultural Center.

He also threw support to the School of Journalism and Communication's planned Media Center for Science and Technology, as part of the new Knight Campus.

-- Therese Bottomly
All Oregon public schools give students year-end standardized tests to measure reading and math skills. Federal law requires it.

But Oregon students also have the right to refuse to take the exams, provided their parents give permission.

Don't Edit

Statewide, 94 percent of students took the tests this year. But at some schools, far, far more than 6 percent had their parents blessing to forgo them.

Here are the 10 schools where the largest share of students skipped out. (The list only includes schools where at least 50 sat out and excluded alternative schools.) All rates shown are for the math section of the test, which students boycott at slightly higher rates than the English section.

Don't Edit

10. Canby High

Don't Edit

Courtesy of Chelsea McLean, 2012

67% of junior took the test; 127 students sat out

Don't Edit

9. Benson High, Portland

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Faith Cathcart / The Oregonian / 2010

61% of juniors took the test; 84 sat out

Don't Edit

8. Grant High, Portland

Don't Edit

Ross William Hamilton / The Oregonian / 2013

52% of juniors took the test; 166 sat out

Don't Edit

7. Lake Oswego High

Don't Edit

Courtesy of Lake Oswego schools

46% of juniors took the test; 174 sat out

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

6. Wilson High, Portland

Don't Edit

Kristyna Wentz-Graff / The Oregonian / 2015

42% of juniors took the test; 180 sat out

Don't Edit

5. Mount Vernon Elementary, Springfield

Don't Edit

Courtesy of Springfield schools

40% of third, fourth- and fifth-graders took the test; 164 sat out

Don't Edit

4. Mountain View High, Bend

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

Courtesy of Bend-La Pine schools

25 percent of juniors took the test; 238 sat out

Don't Edit

3. Bend High

Don't Edit

Courtesy of Bend-La Pine schools

19% of juniors took the test; 303 sat out

Don't Edit

2. Cleveland High, Portland

Don't Edit

Benjamin Brink / The Oregonian / 2011

16% of juniors took the test; 301 sat out

Don't Edit

Don't Edit

1. Redmond Proficiency Academy

Don't Edit

Courtesy of the Oregon Legislature

7% of juniors took the test; 405 sat out

Don't Edit

Want to know more about the tests?

Don't Edit

Oregon students lost ground in reading, writing and math over the past year, according to test results released Thursday...READ MORE HERE
Africa is new frontier for oil and gas exploration, presenting China with new opportunities, challenges

With the prospect of more oil being discovered in Africa - and riding on the thriving relationship between China and Africa - Chinese companies are looking to enhance their investment in the continent's oil and gas sector.

Through the Belt and Road Initiative, China is encouraging enterprises to invest overseas, and Africa's potentially lucrative yet unexploited oil and gas sector offers an opportunity to do just that.

Already, three major State-owned companies - China National Offshore Oil Co, an oil and gas producer; PetroChina, the largest oil and gas producer and distributor in China; and China Petrochemical Corp, known as Sinopec, which is primarily a refining company - are actively investing in Africa.

Rig drilling at Kingfisher licensed to CNOOC. Provided to China Daily

These companies, which have concentrated their investments in West Africa, are currently spreading their wings to new frontiers.

East Africa, which has so far not stood out on the global energy map, other than as a cash-strapped oil importer, is poised to become one of the world's most interesting oil and gas hot spots, according to a survey by Vision Gain, a United Kingdom-based business intelligence company.

The report says Mozambique's and Tanzania's substantial offshore gas reserves, and their proximity to Asian demand centers, offer potential for liquefied natural gas exports by the end of the decade. Uganda and Kenya, on the other hand, present opportunities for commercial oil production.

CNOOC already has a presence in Uganda, which claims East Africa's largest reserves. The company has been licensed to extract oil from the Kingfisher oil field in Uganda's Albert Basin, as well as to undertake pre-development activities. CNOOC was the recipient of Uganda's first-ever oil production license in 2013.

The Lake Albert Basin, which is the most promising area for petroleum production in Uganda, has 20 fields. As well as CNOOC, two other companies have been given production licenses for the basin - Tullow Uganda Operations (three fields) and Total E&P Uganda (five fields).

In 2016, the route plan for an oil pipeline in Uganda was confirmed, laying the foundation for accelerated development of the oil fields.

Xiao Zongwei, president of CNOOC Uganda, says East Africa presents many opportunities as a new frontier that Chinese companies should take advantage of.

"The relationship between Africa and China has been good for decades; hence, Chinese companies have a good opportunity to help the continent exploit its energy resources," he says.

CNOOC also has assets in Nigeria.

At the end of 2016, CNOOC's reserves derived from Africa reached 138 million barrels and production reached 80,297 barrels per day. This represented about 3.6 percent of the company's total reserves and 6.2 percent of its daily production.

Apart from Nigeria and Uganda, CNOOC also owns interests in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Algeria and Gabon.

In Nigeria, CNOOC owns a 45 percent interest in the OML 130 block, a deepwater project comprising four oil fields.

With a maximum crude oil production capacity of 2.5 million barrels per day, Nigeria ranks as Africa's biggest producer of oil and the world's sixth-largest oil producing country.

Many other Chinese companies are also involved in Nigeria's oil sector investment.

Africa was the scene of Sinopec's first step toward internationalization in the 1990s. Since 1993, the company has been offering oil field services to the continent. In 2012, Sinopec's overseas assets accounted for 36.5 percent of its total assets, and overseas sales represented 31.6 percent of the total.

At the end of June 2013, Sinopec had cumulative investment of about $14.1 billion in Africa.

In November 2014, the company acquired one-third of Apache Corp's Egyptian oil and gas business for $3.1 billion.

Apache is an independent United States-based upstream oil and gas company. It has 21 years of exploration, development and operations experience in Egypt and is one of the largest acreage holders in country's Western Desert. At year-end 2016, the company held 4.8 million acres in 23 concessions.

Sinopec has also invested in Gabon, Sudan, Ethiopia and Angola.

In 2013, PetroChina bought a 20 percent share of the Area 4 license block in Mozambique from Italian giant Eni for $4.2 million.

Between 2003 and 2010, more than half of China's foreign direct investment in Africa was in the oil sector, according to a 2013 report from the United States International Trade Organization.

The biggest investors were Sinopec, China National Petroleum Group, China State Construction Engineering Corp and China Metallurgical Group Corp, which formed partnerships with state oil companies in Nigeria, Angola, Sudan, Egypt, Chad and Niger.

Although upstream investment is the main focus of the Chinese State-owned companies' investments abroad, they have been expanding to construction of refineries and pipelines. In November 2009, for instance, CNPC signed a memorandum of understanding with Sudan's Ministry of Energy and Mining to expand the 100,000 bpd capacity of the Khartoum refinery.

In exchange, CNPC gained greater access to upstream projects in the country, in addition to the seven upstream projects it already operated.

Besides Sudan, CNPC has also invested in downstream projects in Chad and Niger, as well as Egypt, Nigeria and Uganda.

In addition to the interest shown by the large State-owned Chinese companies, private companies are also eyeing the lucrative but unexploited sector. A recent oil and gas conference organized by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, in partnership with Stanbic Bank, on Aug 18 in Uganda revealed investment interest by Chinese companies.

The conference, which brought together more than 30 Chinese companies, was aimed at exploring cooperation opportunities between Ugandan and Chinese businesses in the country's oil and gas sector.

All the companies expressed interest in investing, not only in Uganda but in the entire continent.

Guangzhou Dongsong Energy Group is one such company. According to Jane Guo, its CEO, it is bidding for the construction of a refinery in Uganda.

She says her company is one of the two pre-qualifiers for the next stage of negotiation and is hopeful of winning the contract.

"We have previously developed the Sukulu phosphate project, so we fully understand the policies that govern various sectors in Uganda. We are thus confident of winning more contracts," Guo says.

Guo says the African oil and gas sector presents much unexploited potential and the future looks bright for the companies considering investing in it.

According to Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, Africa currently boasts significant quantities of untapped oil and gas, estimated at 8 percent of the world's proven reserves. The figure has increased over the past two decades, from 5.8 percent in 1991 and 7.6 percent in 2001, and the trend is expected to continue.

From 132 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, Africa produced 9 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2011. Eighty-one percent of this came from Nigeria, Libya, Algeria, Egypt and Angola.

The 2017 PricewaterhouseCoopers Africa oil and gas review says Africa has proven natural gas reserves of 502 trillion cubic feet, with 90 percent of the continent's annual natural gas production of 6.5 trillion cf coming from Nigeria, Libya, Algeria and Egypt.

Sub-Saharan Africa has 62.6 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves, with Nigeria being the top liquid fuels producer in the region, followed by Angola. Together, the countries made up 75 percent of total liquid fuels produced in sub-Saharan Africa in 2012.

To fully tap its petroleum potential, the continent requires billions of dollars, providing investment opportunities for foreign countries with capital and expertise.

According to the World Bank, the continent's energy and transportation needs will require $50 billion in investment annually over the coming years.

Against that backdrop, African governments are wooing China to increase its investment.

Uganda, for instance, is calling on Chinese enterprises to consider investing in its nascent oil and gas sector.

According to Ernest Rubondo, executive director of the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, the country's oil and gas sector is expected to attract investment worth $14 billion, with the majority being directed toward infrastructure development.

"Chinese investors are welcome to participate in all the investment opportunities that exist in Uganda's oil and gas sector. They can participate as capital providers or contractors," he says.

Rubondo says Uganda is working toward delivering its first oil in 2020.

Last year, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp embarked on a roadshow to China seeking investment to bridge the infrastructure funding gaps in the country's oil and gas sector.

During the roadshow, the company signed memorandums of understanding with several Chinese companies amounting to $80 billion. The investments span five years and cover pipelines, refineries, gas and power, facility refurbishments and upstream financing.

James Karama, head of the oil, gas and industrial sector at Stanbic Bank Uganda, says oil and gas is one of the unexploited sectors in Africa.

"Africa is the new frontier, so we expect to see more discoveries of oil which will be sold in the world market. We see African governments working together with Chinese capital and institutions to develop this sector," he says.

Karama says many African governments are looking to China for support in exploration of their oil and gas reserves.

"Chinese support comes with enormous benefits. Companies set up shop in Africa, employ locals, develop local capacity and engage with the community, so African governments can't ignore them. They are basically better to work with compared with investors from other parts of the world," he says.

Additionally, Karama says Chinese have a big appetite for African risks, are more patient and are willing to invest in long-term projects, spanning 10 to 20 years, at reasonable prices.

He says China will continue to be part of Africa's social and economic journey due to the growing relationship between the two.

However, despite the unexploited potential, the challenges facing oil and gas companies operating in Africa continue to be diverse and numerous - among them fraud, corruption, theft, poor infrastructure and a lack of skills.

Additionally, regulatory uncertainty and delays in passing laws are severely inhibiting the sector's development in many countries on the continent.

According to Pricewaterhouse-Coopers' 2017 Africa oil and gas review, some key players have delayed or canceled projects until further clarity can be provided in their respective jurisdictions. They feel they can't move forward until doubts have been removed, given the long-term nature of the required investments.

As a result of the number of challenges in the market, Chris Bredenhann, PwC's Africa oil and gas advisory leader, says meticulous planning is required.

Xiao Zongwei, president of CNOOC Uganda Ltd, says that because of poor infrastructure and the fact that Uganda is a landlocked country, the logistics cost for the company's projects constitute 30 percent of the investment.

edithmutethya@chinadaily.com.cn

Ernest Rubondo (second from left), executive director of Petroleum Authority of Uganda, Stanbic Bank officials, ICBC officials and Chinese investors in oil and gas sector participate in a panel discussion during an oil and gas conference in Uganda on Aug 18. Photos Provided to China Daily CNOOC Kingfisher Field.

( China Daily European Weekly 10/06/2017 page1)
Western claims of exploitation are wrong - China has helped nations take an important step toward future prosperity

China and African countries are continuing to develop cooperation in the oil industry. The momentum of development has been good in recent years.

The history of Sino-African oil cooperation can be traced back to the 1990s. In 1993, China became a net oil importer, after previously being an exporting country, because domestic resources could no longer satisfy the nation's demands. China started to import crude oil from African countries in 1992. In 1995, it reached an agreement with Sudan and began exploiting that country's oil reserves. Between 2000 and 2009, the average annual growth of China's oil imports from Africa was 42.2 percent. In recent years, imports from Africa accounted for about 30 percent of China's total oil imports. Africa has become China's second-largest source of crude oil.

The rapid development of China-Africa oil cooperation has caused panic among some Western countries. Claims of "plundering resources" and "new colonialism" began to appear. However, all of these were unfounded.

China has had clear and consistent principles and policies on developing relations with African countries since the 1960s. There is a focus on equality and mutual benefit, respect for each other, joint development and noninterference in internal affairs.

As a partner in trade and commerce, China has always kept in mind the principles of market economics and respect for fair trade. It has never tried to gain resources or products from Africa - including oil - through unequal means. Instead, China's demand for crude oil from the continent has broken the Western countries' monopoly, giving African nations more bargaining power and choices, and thus more profit.

For China, cooperating with African countries gives it a source of the oil it needs. China has become the word's largest crude oil importer and the second-largest oil consumer. Its rapid economic growth, but slower increase in domestic oil production, caused it to be highly dependent on imported fuel. It needed to import 65 percent of its oil from other countries. Developing good bilateral ties with African countries, a rich source of crude oil, and promoting further cooperation will help it diversify its sources and maintain energy security.

Africa's oil resources are rich, but its level of oil consumption is very low. Oil consumption within Africa accounted for only about 30 percent of its output, the rest being for export. Of its total oil exports, crude oil accounted for as much as 90.5 percent, according to 2012 data. Petroleum exports accounted for less than 10 percent of the continent's oil output. This indicates that crude oil exports were the mainstay of African oil trade. The reason for this is that development of Africa's refining industry has been backward. Its oil processing capacity was at the world's lowest level.

Western countries can be blamed for this situation. With a desire to grab African resources and keep away local competitors, Western companies, which invested most of their capital in oil exploration and exploitation, did not care about developing local oil processing industries, including petrochemicals and petroleum refining.

China, on the other hand, adopted the "Teach One to Fish" principle in the process of energy cooperation with African countries. It has helped them to cultivate many petroleum technologists and build an integrated oil industry chain. For example, the petrochemical industry in Sudan has witnessed rapid development since 1990.

The Sino-Chad N'djamena Refinery project, jointly built by China National Petroleum Corp and the Republic of Chad, has helped Chad transform from being an importer to a refined oil exporter. The annual output of its refinery can reach 1 million metric tons.

Another example is Niger. The Agadem Oil Integration project, also created with the cooperation of CNPC, can produce 1 million tons of refined oil each year, making Niger an oil producer and refined oil exporter.

For a long time, the African industrial level has been extremely backward. As a result, many African countries could only rely on sales of primary commodities, such as agricultural products and crude oil, in exchange for foreign currency. Their people have mostly depended on imported industrial products. The price of the primary commodities has fluctuated wildly in international markets. African countries hope industrialization can help them get out of their difficulties.

Chinese people have taken many effective steps to support Africa and help it develop its own industrial system, allowing its countries to break through the development bottleneck toward achieving economically independent and sustainable development.

Historical experience shows there is an inseparable link between oil and industrialization. The higher the level of a region's industrialization - meaning the higher per capita GDP - the greater the consumption of oil and dependence on oil. It can be said that oil is the prerequisite and basis for the realization of industrialization. As a result, China has continuously strengthened its economic and technical assistance to African countries to help them improve their oil exploration and exploitation levels and to improve their oil processing capacity.

With the help of China, the oil industry chain of African countries has been continuously improved. The continent's petroleum production has gradually become self-sufficient, and countries that originally imported refined oil have become oil-exporting countries.

With continuous support from China, African countries have an opportunity to get out of a difficult situation of processing and exporting primary products and importing manufactured goods. They can gradually break through the development bottlenecks in the fields of capital, technology and talent, and finally achieve the goal of industrialization.

In past decades, Chinese made great efforts to help their African friends improve their status in international trade. They have also helped African people to build their own infrastructures, implement livelihood projects, train local technical personnel and improve the level of industrialization.

What Chinese have done has been seen and remembered by African people. Western arguments about "plundering African resources" and "neo-colonialism" are groundless and unreasonable.

The author is director of The Center of Africa Studies of China Foreign Affairs University. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily European Weekly 10/06/2017 page8)
Latest underwater exploration craft is one of the most advanced of its type in the world

China's new manned submersible returned to port in Sanya, Hainan province, on Oct 3 after completing its first deep-sea testing in the South China Sea.

The new submersible is named Shenhai Yongshi, meaning deep-sea warrior. It reached a depth of 4,500 meters during tests while on a 50-day expedition on board the science exploration ship Tansuo 1.

China's new manned submersible, Shenhai Yongshi, on board the exploration ship Tansuo 1, returns to port on Oct 3 in Sanya, Hainan province, after completing deep-sea testing in which it reached a depth of 4,500 meters. Guo Cheng / Xinhua

"It is another great achievement for China in developing deep-sea manned submersibles," said Bai Chunli, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in a congratulatory letter.

"The submersible can be classified as one of the most advanced in the world," he said in the letter. "This means China has become a nation capable of producing and testing its own massive deep-sea submersibles."

Other countries that have developed deep-water technology include the United States, France, Russia and Japan.

Bai said the new submersible will be available for public research and will become "another key instrument in our nation's deep-sea exploration".

In 2002, China began its first deep-sea manned submersible project. In 2010, the Jiaolong, named after a mythical sea dragon, went into service.

In June 2012, it completed its deepest dive, reaching 7,062 meters in the Mariana Trench.

The new vessel builds on Jiaolong's success, and is more optimized and cost-efficient, Ye Cong, the new submersible's deputy chief designer, said in August.

While much of Jiaolong's equipment was imported, around 90 percent of the Shenhai Yongshi and all of its core components were domestically made, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The new submersible also has five observation windows - two more than the Jiaolong, Ye said. It is also equipped with highly efficient lithium batteries instead of the traditional silver-zinc ones, which can be used 500 times instead of just 50, reducing the cost of each dive, he added.

Hu Zhen, the chief designer of the new submersible, says many extractable resources, as well as key research subjects such as underwater vents, are located around 3,000 meters beneath the surface. Therefore, a 4,500-meter submersible is enough to explore most of China's waters, including all of the South China Sea.

At the same time, China is aiming to reach a depth of 10,000 meters someday, so the Shenhai Yongshi can serve as a foundation to train future talent and build new, domestically-made submersibles capable of greater depths, he adds.

Xinhua contributed to this story.

zhangzhihao@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 10/06/2017 page14)
Tuesdays, 2-5 p.m. and Thursdays, 1-4 p.m. Continues through Dec. 22

Michael Victor II Art Library 1 NW Old State Capitol Plaza, Springfield Downtown

Free and open to the public

Books & Authors

The new downtown location of the Michael Victor II Art Library is ready for patrons to explore, relax and check out books. Our specialized library collection features over 3,000 books about art and film, most of which are not available at other central Illinois libraries. The library is located on the second floor of the Broadwell Pharmacy Building on the corner of Washington and Fifth streets. Check out the online catalog and call the office for curbside book checkouts! 2175232631
BLOOMINGTON  At Mayor Tari Renner's first meeting since returning from a monthlong hiatus from his elected duties, the City Council will consider on Monday prohibiting elected officials from using city credit cards.
Apart from hosting and possible maintenance costs, there are not exactly downsides to having your own website. Even if its just a personal blog it can always become more useful down the line, if you utilize it in the right manner. In other words, more
In May Apple launched a new app development curriculum for high school and community college students. Then in August Apple announced their curriculum for app development with swift offered in more than 30 colleges in the U.S. This week Apple pushed their education initiatives to another level when an announcement was made that the Ohio State University and Apple had created a comprehensive, university-wide digital learning initiative that will support educational innovation for students and economic development opportunities for the community.

The Digital Flagship University represents a major initiative under Ohio State's strategic plan, with particular focus on teaching and learning as well as research and creative expression. Through a collaboration with Apple, Ohio State will establish:

a student-success initiative to integrate learning technology throughout the university experience

an iOS design laboratory on the Columbus campus serving faculty, staff, students and members of the broader community

university-wide opportunities for students to learn coding skills to enhance their career-readiness in the app economy

Ohio State President Michael V. Drake stated that "We are establishing our Digital Flagship University initiative by combining the resources and talents of an international technology leader and one of the most comprehensive public universities in the world. Our students and community will have outstanding opportunities to develop modern mobile skills to enhance learning and excel in the competitive workplace."

Apple CEO Tim Cook added that "At Apple, we believe technology has the power to transform the classroom and empower students to learn in new and exciting ways. This unique program will give students access to the incredible learning tools on iPad, as well as Apple's new coding curriculum that teaches critical skills for jobs in some of the country's fastest-growing sectors. I'm thrilled the broader central Ohio community will also have access to coding opportunities through Ohio State's new iOS Design Lab."







As it grows, the student-success initiative will help provide universal access to a common set of learning technologies. Starting in autumn 2018, new first-year students at the Columbus and regional campuses will receive an iPad Pro with tools including Apple Pencil and Smart Keyboard as well as apps to support learning and life at Ohio State. This will be funded through the university's administrative efficiency program.

The iOS design lab will offer technological training and certification to students, faculty, staff and members of the broader community interested in developing apps in Swift, the Apple programming language used to write some of the most successful apps in the App Store. The lab will support educational innovation, career development for students and economic development opportunities for the central Ohio community and the university's other campus locations.

The Digital Flagship University initiative will launch during the 2017-18 academic year. The iOS design lab will open in a temporary space in 2018, moving to a permanent location in 2019. Students will begin training in Swift coding in spring semester 2018.

Bruce A. McPheron, executive vice president and provost: "Our bold aspiration is to create the world's largest and most effective integrated environment for teaching, learning and discovery. By providing students access to the same technology from day one, we will open up a new world of instructional possibilities for faculty."

As more students adopt these tools, Ohio State will expand support for faculty interested in further integrating technology in their courses. Faculty in a variety of disciplines use iPads and other technology for instructional purposes. Examples include:

In a 'flipped' chemistry course, students watch lectures and complete assignments online using iTunes, which provides enhanced opportunities for dialogue and collaborative problem solving in the classroom.

Journalism students in the School of Communication use iPads loaded with tools enabling them to learn skills important to their future careers.

The College of Social Work deployed iPads to all staff and faculty as part of a comprehensive mobile education initiative in 2012 and published the first three iTunes U courses in social work in the nation.

In biology courses on the study of plants, iPads function as field notebooks to document plant life, instruction aids and supplementary textbooks.

The Marching Band, part of the School of Music, uses the iPad to teach and learn the band's nationally recognized formations.

iPads have been supplied to medical students since 2013 and are used as part of clinical instruction at Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center.

Beyond the enhancements to teaching, learning and discovery, the technology will expand access to interactive textbooks and other digital course materials.

Ohio State, with help from Apple, will work with the university community to develop additional apps and other tools as part of the Digital Flagship University initiative. Ohio State will own the iPad technology suite and provide it to students.

About Making Comments on our Site: Patently Apple reserves the right to post, dismiss or edit any comments. Those using abusive language or negative behavior will result in being blacklisted on Disqus.
News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism.
Iranian Reformist Leaders Sentenced To Prison, Political Ban

10/03/17

Source: RFE/RL

A court in Iran has sentenced seven reformist politicians, including a brother of former pro-reform President Mohammad Khatami, to one-year prison terms and barred them from political and media activity for two years, a lawyer says. The seven were leaders of the major reformist party, the Islamic Iran Participation Front, that was banned in 2010 in a state crackdown that followed mass street protests against the disputed election that handed hard-line incumbent Mahmud Ahmadinejad a second term.



Mohammad Reza Khatami

Hojat Kermani, a lawyer who represents five of the reformists including Khatami's brother Mohammad Reza Khatami, told the semiofficial ILNA news agency on October 2 that they have been found guilty of "anti-regime propaganda" activity.



Iran often sentences political activists, journalists, and critics to vague charges, including spreading anti-regime propaganda and acting against national security.



"Based on the court's ruling, my clients have also been banned from membership in political parties and press and social media activity for two years," Kermani added.



He said that the sentences, which were issued in September following a trial held behind closed doors last year, are not final and can be appealed.



"I can confirm this report, but we will have to appeal," one of the seven, university professor Mohammad Reza Jalaipour, told the news agency AFP in a text message.



ILNA reported that one of the reformists, Mohammad Naimipour, has been sentenced to two years in prison.



In apparent reference to the seven, Tehran Prosecutor-General Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said last week that they had been sentenced to prison "and other terms" without providing details.



Lawmaker Bahram Parsayi, who is also the spokesman of the reformist faction in parliament, criticized the sentences against the reformist leaders and called on the judiciary to review them.



He suggested that the sentences are politically motivated.



"In our view, these sentences are political rather than having a judicial aspect," Parsayi said on October 3.



"It's wrong that the reformists...always have to face threats. This policy has to change," he said.



With reporting by ILNA, ISNA and AFP
Trump Likely To Give Speech On Iran Policy Ahead Of Deadline To Certify Nuclear Deal

10/05/17

Source: RFE/RL

U.S. officials say President Donald Trump will likely deliver an Iran policy speech next week, just days ahead of the October 15 deadline to certify whether Tehran is adhering to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal with global powers. The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, on October 4 said the White House has tentatively scheduled the speech for October 12 in Washington.

Trump faces an October 15 deadline to notify Congress whether Iran is still complying with the nuclear accord and that the deal serves American interests.



If the administration does not recertify by the deadline that Tehran is in compliance with the agreement, the Republican-controlled Congress would have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions on Tehran suspended under the accord.



Under U.S. law, the sanctions can be waived for a maximum of 120 days, meaning the U.S. government must review the situation every four months.



As part of the landmark 2015 deal, Tehran agreed to curtail its nuclear activities in exchange for relief from international sanctions. Other signatories to the accord are Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany.



Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on October 4 said the State Department will provide the president with several options regarding the Iran nuclear deal ahead of the deadline.



"We'll have a recommendation for the president. We're going to give him a couple of options of how to move forward to advance the important policy towards Iran," Tillerson told reporters.



Tillerson earlier said changes were needed in the nuclear deal before the would agree to continue supporting it.



Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on October 3 said the United States should remain a party to the nuclear agreement unless it is proven that Tehran is not abiding by the deal or that it's not in the U.S. national interest to do so.





Mattis and Tillerson are for JCPOA

read related article (in Persian) by Iranian daily Ghanoon



Asked during a testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee whether he thinks it is in the national security interest of the United States to stay a part of the accord, Mattis replied, "Yes, Senator, I do."

Today the Secretary of Defense confirmed what we've been saying all along. #IranDeal pic.twitter.com/3wjA04Xogl  Diplomacy Works (@Diplomacy_Works) October 3, 2017



With reporting by AP and Reuters



More Related Tweets:

The #JCPOA is working, is delivering, and we are expecting all the parties to stick to it - keynote speech at @EuropeIranForum pic.twitter.com/EFY4R7994d  Helga Schmid (@HelgaSchmid_EU) October 4, 2017

Mattis: The Iran Nuclear Deal Is in U.S. National Security Interest https://t.co/RIZbA3Plqz  LobeLog (@LobeLog) October 3, 2017
Iranian Rights Activist Barred from University Under Ahmadinejad Faces Same Roadblocks Under Rouhani

10/06/17

Source: Center for Human Rights in Iran

Mahdieh Golroo: "I have lost hope along with the years of my youth."





Iran's Intelligence Ministry has blocked formerly imprisoned civil rights activist Mahdieh Golroo from attending Alzahra University in Tehran despite being accepted as a graduate student.

"I saw the letter from [President Hassan] Rouhani's Intelligence Ministry at the University Evaluation Organization (UEO)," said Golroo in an interview with the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) on October 3, 2017.

"It had the ministry's logo on top and was dated July of this year. It is patently clear that the Intelligence Ministry under Rouhani's 'government of wisdom and hope' issued this letter," she added, referring to the official slogan of President Hassan Rouhani's first election campaign.

"I am using every available avenue to tell Mr. Rouhani and his Intelligence Minister [Mahmoud Alavi] that my right is being violated," said Golroo. "I hope they are listening. Of course, the Science Ministry has been cooperative and is trying to find a solution, but I don't know if the problem will be solved."

Golroo has been blocked from continuing her university education since 2007, during the administration of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [2005-13], when she was first banned from returning to Allameh Tabataba'i University as an undergraduate student in the field of industrial economics after engaging in peaceful student activism.

As a campaign volunteer for former presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi in Iran's 2009 presidential election, Golroo was arrested on December 2, 2009, amid the widespread protests against the outcome of that year's disputed election.

She was released on May 19, 2012, after serving two years and four months in prison for the charges of "propaganda against the state" and "assembly and collusion against national security."

The activist was also arrested on October 23, 2014, a day after she attended a rally to protest acid attacks on women in Iran's Isfahan Province. She was held in solitary confinement in Evin Prison's Ward 2 -A, under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), until her release on January 18, 2015.

"After I passed the national university entrance exam for graduate studies, I went online to pick my subjects, but I got a message on the screen saying that there's a problem with my application and I should go to the UEO to solve it," Golroo told CHRI. "I really didn't expect this to happen. I thought my problems were finally going to be over under this government. But unfortunately this shows they aren't."

The activist added: "I had received confirmation from Alzahra University that I had in fact been accepted. I went there and submitted some forms to get things initiated. Then I was told I have three stars on my file and don't have permission to enroll and need to go to the UEO to get it sorted out."

Starred Students

Since the early 2000s, the educational records of students expelled from Iranian universities for political reasons have been tagged with "stars" by the security establishment.

One star means students can resume their studies if they sign a pledge to stop political activities. Those with two stars must make the same pledge and accept expulsion from the university if they continue their activities. Students with three stars are disqualified indefinitely from attending university by the Intelligence Ministry.

Golroo said, "The Intelligence Ministry's letter ordered the UEO to give me a failing grade in science, but there are some noble people working at the evaluation office and they didn't have the heart to fail me. They are trying to resolve the issue with face-to-face talks with other officials. I am waiting for a final answer."

"We have so many security agencies that you're never sure which one of them is causing you problems," she added. "One day the Science Ministry says that the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] is blocking my way. Then the IRGC summons me and says it's the Intelligence Ministry. But the Intelligence Ministry says it's not their fault either. They all point fingers at each other. But I saw the letter from the Intelligence Ministry."

In June 2007, Golroo was one of about 50 students expelled or suspended from university for political activities on campus, she told CHRI. At the time, she only needed to pass her final exams to complete her undergraduate degree at Allameh Tabataba'i University.

"In the spring, the 2007 elections were held in most universities for Islamic student councils," she said. "We organized gatherings and speeches and held our elections and as a consequence of all that we were banned from continuing our education."

Letter to Rouhani

In December 2016, Golroo posted an open letter to Rouhani on Facebook, reminding him that he had not yet fulfilled his campaign promise of allowing expelled political students to resume their studies.

"From the very first days, you injected hope into us that our lost rights would be redeemed," she wrote. "You emphasized a lot on improving the situation of academics and students during your presidential campaign. I remember you even once said that you would 'resurrect the honor of universities and students.'"

"Another time you said 'we have to get rid of the term 'starred student.''' As soon as your government of 'wisdom and hope' came to power, I was among the first people to submit a request to be reinstated. But I have lost hope along with the years of my youth."

"Three years after your promises, I am still banned from entering the university," she added. "There is still a star next to my name. I keep asking myself: Where's the honor you promised to bring back to university students?"

Speaking to CHRI, Golroo acknowledged that some banned students have resumed their education under the Rouhani administration.

"Many of my fellow students who were banned have returned to university. It would be unfair to say that this problem still exists as before," she said. "Yes, those students who were tagged with one and two stars were given a chance by Rouhani's Science Ministry to retake their entrance exams and go back to university, even though they had already passed these exams. They also had to pledge not to violate Islamic moral codes or any laws of the Islamic Republic, and 99 percent of those students submitted."

"But there's a group of us tagged with three stars still dealing with unresolved problems," she added. "In recent years, many went back to school and got their degrees... I only need eight units to get my degree from Allameh Tabataba'i University. This is not a right I will forgo. I will never agree to close this case."

"Right now, I'm in a new struggle trying to get accepted as a graduate student, which is a simple, natural right enjoyed by people all over the world," Golroo told CHRI. "But we have to put in a lot of effort and energy every step of the way."
Vice President Dr Mahamudu Bawumia has disclosed that so far, a total of 16.5 million digital addresses have been captured as part of moves by the government to create a national database of digital addresses for all geographical locations in the country.



It is unbelievable. We have been able to put together 16.5 million digital addresses. Every 5 by 5 metre square in Ghana has a unique address. When you look at the post-code, you will be able to immediately tell the region, district and the address, the Vice President said with glee.



Dr Bawumia said the technology would be fully launched in two weeks time barring any unforeseen situation.



The Vice President said this when he was the guest speaker for the 3rd Advancement Lecture Series organised by the Institutional Advancement Office of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) on Wednesday.



It was on the topic Developing Stronger Economies for the African Continent: The Missing Link and chaired by the Vice Chancellor of the UCC, Professor Joseph Ghartey Ampiah.



Major value for money



The Vice President, eliciting a thunderous applause from the audience, said what is very interesting is, because we are focused on value-for-money, when we were looking for this digital addressing system, we had all sorts of proposals. Someone said 70 million dollars, another said 100 million dollars and so on.



But finally, he reported that, after all the work that was done, this massive system that is going to transform this economy, was only done for USD$2.5 million.



For him, what was even more exciting about the new address system was that it was actually designed by Ghanaians in Dansoman. I am telling you, our men and women are good. They are amazing and they beat the international competition. They just beat the international competition.



He said when the idea of what the country required in putting up the digital addressing system was planned, there were doubts if the capacity for its execution by Ghanaians was possible but they surprised us, he said.



We had major value for money and it was done in Ghana. If you want value for money, you can get it in Ghana, he stressed with satisfaction.



Dr Bawumia recounted that when the government came into force, its desire was to use the existing technology to establish a national digital system.



That task that the government set out to do, he said, had been accomplished.



He said the system was going to provide the most advanced addressing system in the world.



It is more advanced than the United States, the United Kingdom or Sweden or Germany because they are stuck with old technology. We are leapfrogging. We are going to GPS-based technology, he detailed.



Throwing more light on the technology, Dr Bawumia said even if you are standing in the middle of the river Oti, and you want your address and we roll it out, you will know your address in the middle of the River Oti.



Also, he said, the technology would allow the Waake seller in any part of the country to say this is my address and the system will take you exactly where she is.





More possibilities



Dr Bawumia also announced that the online registration of businesses would kick-start in two weeks time to afford businesses the opportunity to register their businesses online without hassle.



With the new system, he said, it ought to be possible for business registration to be done in a day or few days as compared to the months and longer periods that prevailed in the past.



Touching on the theme of his presentation, the Vice President said although Ghana, for example, graduated from less developed economy status to lower middle income country status in 2007, the recent fall in world commodity prices of oil, minerals, and cocoa, ought to be a reminder of how vulnerable the economy was to external shocks.



We are faced with the risks of being trapped in this LMIC status if we dont push our productive capacities beyond the mere extraction and exports of raw commodities, he stressed.



We want a Ghana in which we add value to our raw materials. We want a Ghana beyond aid. We want to build a knowledge based economy. To do all of these, we must build our productive capacity as a nation: This is the missing link to building strong economies in Africa.



He said a country could attain low middle income status by tapping into its natural resource endowments, by undertaking appropriate market and financial sector reforms, and by opening up external trade opportunities, through good macroeconomic management and through good and stable governance.



But global experience, the Vice President said, was that the continued march to full middle income and further to high income economy was possible only when the country had put in place national mechanisms to building productive capacity.



Ultimately strong economies are built on the back of strong, and steadily expanding productive capacity and on sound economic governance, he re-echoed.



Roles to be played



Going forward, he said, the UCC had a role to play as a University.



Nurturing and stimulating creative thinking, undertaking basic research in problems confronting society and informing public policy making are the least we should expect from universities, he urged.



Dr Bawumia said universities could not afford to decouple themselves from tackling the challenges in the society. Rather, he said, they ought to see themselves as also at the heart of helping to build stronger economies and stronger societies.



The Vice Chancellor of UCC, Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah said African economies were wobbly and that there was evidence that Africa accounted for just a little over two per cent of the worlds total gross domestic product (GDP) even though the continent was inhabited by 12 per cent of the worlds population.



It is quite disturbing for example that the entire GDP of Sub Saharan Africa, a significant chunk of Africa, is only just about the GDP of South Korea, he bemoaned.



According to Prof. Ghartey Ampiah, development theorists had attempted to explain that reality by advancing arguments including the structure of the African economy.

He said the structure of the African economy was still, essentially, a colonial economy marked by corruption, economic mismanagement and a host of other negating factors.



Over the years, he said, international financial institutions such as the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had prescribed conflicting solutions such as the Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), Economic Recovery Programme (ERP), Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) Initiative among others, presumably to remedy the problem.



Those interventions, he said, had only yielded a relapse or a side effect while bypassing the crux of the matter.



He said the Advancement Lecture Series 2017 was held to explore the weighty matters within the context of the economies of African countries through the lens of African scholars and politicians.

Source: Daily Graphic









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
President, H.E Nana Akufo Addo has sacked the President of Ghana Telecom University College, (GTUC) Prof. Nana Osei Darkwa from office.



A letter communicating the termination of Prof. Nana Osei Darkwas appointment was signed by Minister of Communications, Mrs Ursula Owusu Ekuful dated September 25, 2017.



On behalf of H.E The President, Nana Addo Dankwah Akufo Addo, I wish to thank you for your dedicated service to the University College and to the country and to also wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours.



You are to kindly hand over the administration of the University College to your deputy and apply for all terminal benefits due you as the President of the University College as per your contract, the statement said. Meanwhile, in consultation with the Minister of Education, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, a 3-member Interim Management Team has been constituted, led by Prof. Blankson, the Vice President of the University College, Mrs Juliana Owusu Ansah, Registrar and Dr Kweku Arthur, Senior Lecturer to run the affairs of the institution.





Source: today









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Publisher is getting convinced that the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) is not in need for money for the government of Ghana.



Any serious institution of state that has been given legal backing to collect revenue but fails to do so, or adopts a very lazy-bench style of collecting the revenue certainly does not need money.



Right from issues of domestic tax, to VAT, it is clear there are too many companies, including foreign owned, that simply are under declaring their domestic tax payments.



That aspect may even sound a bit technical and requires some due diligence in knowing how much revenue is being evaded.



What we are amazed about is the simple matter of the GRA refusing to chase after landlords across the country who are by law required to pay eight percent (8 %) of their annual rent charges as income tax to the Ghana Revenue Authority.



It also makes absolutely no sense that the country continues to complain of not having enough funds to for basic developmental projects when the GRA has failed to go after the eight percent of annual rent charges from landlords.



That amount, when accumulated, would be more than enough to cash to make the country a better place.



From Axim to Paga and from Aflao to Elubo, many landlords continue to fleece tenants by charging all manner of exorbitant rent rates and pocket the entire money into their private pockets without paying a dime to the GRA.



Just as The Publisher complained recently, but the GRA and the Rent Control Department have closed an eye on this anomaly. Many of such rented places do not even have basic toilet facilities and bathrooms. Yet the rent control has closed an eye on this challenge.



Yet, as we said last time, there are human beings working at the GRA and the Rent Control Department and these right-thinking human beings continue to enjoy salary paid them by the tax payer. Salaries they do not deserve until they do their work properly.



There are many tenants that are compelled to go for huge loans before they can pay their rent advance. If the laws are made to work and the maximum rent advance of six months is what is being charged by landlords, it certainly would bring a huge relief to tenants.



Perhaps the human beings at the Rent Control Department and the GRA are not aware that landlords in Ghana are now charging their rent rates in American Dollars and this has become the latest culture.



In many houses in Ghana, the landlords only collect the rent from hapless tenants when the rooms they are renting have no toilet or bathrooms facilities. Asking or a kitchen would be a luxury demand.



The Publisher is calling on the GRA and the Rent Control Department to get up and do the right thing. Ghanaians should not continue to be forced against their will to pay rent advance more than the required six months.



And landlords should not be allowed to continue to pocket the eight percent of their annual rent charges which by law, they are to pay to the GRA as income tax,

Source: The Publisher









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
President Akufo-Addo has called on traditional rulers in the Upper East Region to be in the vanguard in the fight against smuggling of subsidized fertilizers meant for the Planting for Food and Jobs initiative.



He was speaking at a durbar of chiefs in Bolgatanga on the first day of his two-day visit to the Upper East Region.



According him, chiefs are the heads of the communities and so they should be able to mobilize their people and challenge them to apprehend all selfish individuals who pass through their communities with loads of the subsidized fertilizers with intent to sell them in neighbouring countries for their individual gains.



The fertilizers are meant to help our farmers to be able to plant more for food and also make money for themselves, to pay the wages of their farm hands, to help their families and contribute to national development. If we sit and watch these wicked individuals to take away what is meant for our collective benefits, for their individual gains, then we will be doing a great disservice to ourselves, he pointed out.



According to President Akufo-Addo, it is worrying to see Ghana import food from neighbouring countries when it has large acres of fertile land, stressing,  a country like ours, with fertile lands and hard working people, our agriculture has degenerated to the extent that we are now importing food from our neighbours  plantain from Ivory Coast and tomatoes from Burkina-Faso. We can do better than that in Ghana and that is why we introduced the Planting for Food and Jobs programme. We must all support this programme and protect the subsidized fertilizers and other inputs.



He also hinted that his government is committed to expanding electricity coverage in the Upper East Region to increase the rate of job creation in the region. The region is among those with low electricity coverage in the country, which the president described as unfortunate.



He therefore gave the assurance that his government would ensure that a total of 660 communities in the region are connected to the national grid between 2017 and 2018.



The presidents entourage included the Acting National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Freddie Blay; Deputy Chief of Staff, Francis Asensu Boakye; Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama; Deputy Minister for Energy, Mohammed Amin Anta; Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection Otiko Djaba and the Minister for Information, Mustapha Hamid.



There was also the Minister for Road and Highways, Kwasi Amoako Atta, who promised that the Upper East Region would have its fair share of road construction to open up the district capitals and the communities to economic advancement.



He commended the regional minister, Rockson Bukari, for his commitment towards the improvement of the road network in the, saying, he (regional minister) was the first to come to his office with a documented plan on how he intends to expand the road network to reach farming communities and improve the existing ones.



Mr Rockson Bukari was hopeful that the region would witness a massive development by the end of the tenure of President Akufo-Addo, judging from his (presidents) level of commitment to the development of all districts in the region.



Meanwhile, President Akufo-Addo has commended contractors working on the expansion and renovation of existing structures of the Upper East Regional Hospital in Bolgatanga.



He advised the management of the hospital to handle the facility well and ensure regular maintenance when it is finally handed over to it by the contractor.

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.

Featured Video
The Acting Bishop for Diocesan Ghana council of Pentecostal Assemble of the Word Incorporated (P.A.W), Bishop Gary Herper, has revealed that Ghana would soon become a great and prosperous nation should the citizens continue to work together and in prayer.



He made this known during his visit to Ghana for a three days Pastoral conference dubbed Partnership in effective leadership sermon.



I see Ghana in the process of becoming a great nation if the people continue in hard working and education by working together in the next 5 to 10years.he stated .



He said when he first visited Ghana he saw the nation infrastructures in a poor state but on his second visit he could see some economic and infrastructural growth alongside the development in human resource .



I feel Ghana is heading for prosperity because I see God hands upon Ghana and the signs and faith in the people show that they will be there if the Lord has not come soon. Many are going to see mighty increase and blessing of God in this nation.



He pointed out that, Many may feel that there is no progress but what you have here in Ghana is better than a lot of countries I have visited.



. He regarded Ghana is a Christian nation because the people have ears for the word of God and demonstrate the love for God. The word of God is always effective as long as the people obeyed them. The blessing of God will be upon them and I am urging Ghanaians to stay focused and build this great nation through the fear of God.



Bishop Herper came with a 16 member delegation from USA including Bishop Avery Dumas Chairman USA - Ghana council, Bishop, and wife, Pastor Rita Green Administration assistant for Ghana council and others for a three days conference hosted by the Bishop Baffour Awuah. He said the conference was planned to give training, support for church and religious leaders and invigorate them to overcome challenges in life and in their ministries. He said the Ghana council of Pentecostals Assembly of the World (P.A.W) was set up 20years ago to organize churches and help Pastors to increase the gift and talent of their members. He used the occasion to ordain some District Elders. They include Dist. Elder. Jacob Boapim, Elder Morgan Covet Elder Michael Class-peters, and Elder Frank Bible Dugbache. They were assigned to support the existing ones.



The council is made up of Bishops over certain areas, regions and countries for the purpose of strengthen fellowship, giving direction and instruction. He added, PAWs important focus is to giving the message of our Lord Jesus Christ to the world. He said, the organization has aimed to stress Pentecostal Apostolic experience of the important of been born again and believed that Jesus is the way and sending this message will bring deliverance to the people of this nation.





Source: New Crusading 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.

Featured Video
The President of the Judicial Service Staff Association of Ghana (JUSAG), Mr Alex Nartey, has asked the National Communications Authority (NCA) to consider an interest-based approach formula to deal with the 131 media houses whose licences have been revoked for not complying with the laws.



According to him, the NCA must ensure the media houses are restored to their operations through an interest-based approach by waving part of whatever percentage that is possible and the rest paid over a period of time.



The NCA has sanctioned 131 FM Authorisation Holders found to have committed various infractions pertaining to their authorisations to operate as contained in Section 13 of the Electronics Communications Act, 2009 (Act 775).



But in an interview with the DAILY HERITAGE in Accra yesterday, Mr Nartey, who doubles as a negotiator and Alternative Dispute Resolutions practitioner in conflicts situations in the judicial service, said in every conflict situation, you look at the interest-based approach in dealing with it.



He said the media houses are the platforms for free speech, which underpins democracy and so we need them. This decision will affect the media houses negatively, so we have to look at it in an interest-based manner.



Asked if their call would not open the floodgates for other media houses to misbehave, Mr Nartey said it will not open the floodgates, if the NCA doubled its efforts and also carry out inspection exercises every year to deter others.



Punish NCA officials



The dispute negotiator, while condemning the media houses for failing to comply with the rules, called for the NCA to be reprimanded for sitting down for 17 years before going after defaulted media houses.



The question we all must ask NCA is why the long delay. I think we must reprimand the officials of NCA for sitting down all these years before taking action, he suggested.

Source: Daily Heritage









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The President of the National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT), Christian Addai-Poku, on the occasion of the National Teachers Day, has renewed calls for October 5, to be declared a holiday in Ghana.



October 5, every year, is celebrated in the country as the National Teachers Day, it is a day that is used to celebrate and award hardworking teachers, who have contributed and continue to contribute immensely to the human resource development of the country.



The proposal by NAGRAT is that, in observing the holiday, should government agree to their request, only teachers and students would mark the day.



Every first Friday of December, we celebrate our gallant farmers. An award scheme has been instituted to reward and recognize the contribution of each deserving farmer, the day is declared a public holiday and it is observed by all Ghanaians, regardless of your profession.



Another day on our calendar is set aside to celebrate workers of this country. The workers include the teachers, who are also asking for a separate day for them to observe another holiday alone. We have international day of the media, fathers day, mothers day, should all these days be declared as public holidays and observed as such.



We are not underestimating the contribution of teachers in any country, in fact we are what we all are, because we had good teachers to shape and mould us into responsible citizens, who are also contributing their quota to the social-economic development of the country.



For a day to be set aside to celebrate teachers, is enough recognition and appreciation of their worth. Ghana has too many holidays already, which is affecting productivity, to declare another one, will be one too many.



No holiday in this country, will be restricted. Muslims are not precluded from enjoy Easter and Christmas holidays, Christians are equally not prevented from observing the Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid0Ul-Adha holidays observed by Mulsims, so should farmers not be prevented from observing National Teachers Day, when it is accepted by the government to observe it as such.

Source: the herald









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
President of Breast Care International Dr. Beatrice Wiafe-Addai has entreated men not to squeeze breast like mango or orange when having sexual intercourse with them.



She described the breast as fragile calling on men to handle it with care.



Dr Wiafe-Addai discounted claims that frequent sucking of breast prevents the risk of women getting breast cancer.



It is not true that the more you suck a womans breast it prevents the risk of getting breast cancer. What is true is that women who have children should breastfeed, and breastfeeding has some positive effect on the woman as far as breast cancer is concerned.



But not adult men to go and suck the breast thinking it will protect the woman from breast cancer, that is not true, it is very fragile so lets handle it with caredont squeeze it like you have some mango or orange that you are squeezing to get some fluid out, she told Morning Starr host Francis Abban.



The President of Breast Care International encouraged families to support women with breast cancers.



If you find something in a womans breast dont send her to her family home because she has been diagnosed of breast cancer. Give her all the morale even if not financial. So that she knows that someone is with her through the fight. The fight against breast cancer is not an easy one so women need all the support from men, society and the nation, she advised.







Source: ultimatefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Ghana National Association of Graduate Teachers (NAGRAT) has renewed calls for October 5 to be declared a holiday for teachers and pupils.



October 5 is declared World Teachers Day to celebrate the efforts teachers make to the education and development of pupils around the globe.



In Ghana, the event is also used to award the nations best teacher and best school.



As Ghana marked the 23rd edition of the National Best Teacher and 3rd Best School award ceremony in Koforidua on Thursday, 5 October 2017, president of NAGRAT, Christian Addai-Poku, said World Teachers Day should be declared a holiday in Ghana.



He argued that many teachers are unable to participate or observe the National Teachers Day because they teach on that day. Although Ghana has at least has 13 public holidays, the NAGRAT president does not believe adding one more will be excessive.



He told Class News: We have made advocacy for it to be declared a holiday, at least for teachers. Just for teachers and students and not everybody so that the teachers will have the chance to participate fully because today is our day, and we are supposed to be celebrating and be part of the national programme going on, but unfortunately, we are being asked to go to the classroom and teach.



So even though this is going on and will be live on national TV, most of the teachers will not even have the chance to watch. Last time we spoke about this is two years ago, and we made an appeal to the Minister of Education that teachers continue to complain that this is our day, we are supposed to be part of the activities but only selected few are permitted to be part of the day, most of us dont attend the programme, we dont watch it on televisionso if it can be declared a holiday just for teachers and students, it will be good for us.







Source: classfmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Ghanaian soldiers and police have been caught up in the One Corner dance craze currently trending in the country and beyond.



A video of joint military and police force twerking to the One Corner song is making waves on social media. The One Corner song, composed by Patapaa, has been trending for several weeks in the country and has even extended beyond the shores of Ghana to neighbouring Nigeria.



The song is accompanied by a highly sexual dance characterised by a lot of twerking by both men and women.



Last year, a soldier was investigated for partaking in a social media craze, the Kalypo Challenge, in support of the then New Patriotic Party (NPP) flagbearer, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.



Although he was not sanctioned, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) cautioned its personnel against posting pictures of themselves in uniform on social media platforms, which according to them, are against the militarys code of conduct, and have the potential to attract unnecessary and unsolicited attention to the military.



Meanwhile, the Islamic Senior High School (ISSEC) in Kumasi recently referred 13 of its students to the schools Disciplinary Committee for filming themselves in their classroom doing the One Corner dance.



The Council of Imams and Zongo Chiefs in the Ashanti Region condemned the action of the students, describing it as uncultured and called for a considerate punishment to be meted out to them.







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.

Featured Video
The Ministry of Information has debunked claims that the Sector Minister left some Presidential press corps stranded after a bus conveying them broke down.



The Information Minister, Mustapha Hamid, in a statement; has denied the reports stating emphatically that "the vehicle that broke down was NOT the vehicle that was hired for journalists in the region by the Director of Communications at the Presidency. The Director of Communication has a dedicated corps of journalists in every region who cover presidential trips. In the Upper West Region, they were transported in a Nissan Coaster bus. In the Upper East Region they were given a Hyundai H1 bus".



He further explained that "the group of journalists who are said to have been stranded were not part of the official presidential press team. Apparently, the Public Relations Officer of the Regional Co-ordinating Council, Godwin Nkunu, hired this bus for some other journalists chosen by him and unknown to the Presidential Communication team".



He added that he "merely chanced upon their broken down vehicle because he attended hospital and, therefore, did not join the official convoy. They were in the company of Godwin Nkunu who was at that time making calls to get them another vehicle. Even so, the Minister stopped and also asked that a vehicle be procured from Bolga to pick them up".



Read full statement below:



RE: INFORMATION MINISTER LEAVES JOURNALISTS STRANDED AFTER RICKETY BUS BREAKS DOWN



My attention has been drawn to a story with the above headline on Ghanaweb. I wish to make clear the following:



1. The vehicle that broke down was NOT the vehicle that was hired for journalists in the region by the Director of Communications at the Presidency. The Director of Communication has a dedicated corps of journalists in every region who cover presidential trips. In the Upper West Region, they were transported in a Nissan Coaster bus. In the Upper East Region they were given a Hyundai H1 bus.



2. The group of journalists who are said to have been stranded were not part of the official presidential press team. Apparently, the Public Relations Officer of the Regional Co-ordinating Council, Godwin Nkunu, hired this bus for some other journalists chosen by him and unknown to the Presidential Communication team.



3. The Minister for Information merely chanced upon their broken down vehicle because he attended hospital and, therefore, did not join the official convoy. They were in the company of Godwin Nkunu who was at that time making calls to get them another vehicle. Even so, the Minister stopped and also asked that a vehicle be procured from Bolga to pick them up. But, the journalists themselves said that it will be difficult to get any good vehicle in Bolga at the time. The Minister who had room in his vehicle for three people, picked three journalists and proceeded while instructing the PRO of the RCC (Godwin Nkunu) to stay and find a vehicle for them to catch up with the Presidential team.



Indeed, Godwin Nkunu found them another vehicle and they continued as scheduled.



signed

Mustapha Abdul-Hamid

Minister for Information

Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Former Attorney General, Marietta Brew Appiah-Oppong has emphasized that Ghanas victory in the maritime boundary dispute against neighbours Cote dIvoire was founded on the strong cooperation between her and the current Attorney General, as well as a team of local and international lawyers and experts.



The International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on Saturday, September 23, 2017 unanimously ruled that Ghana did not violate the rights of Cote dIvoire in exploring oil at the maritime boundary.



Political watchers say drawing on insights from the landmark ruling that went in favour of Ghana in the three-year-long Ghana/ Cote dIvoire maritime dispute, it will all be in the interest of the nation, if there should be tacit cooperation from the two major political parties-[ruling NPP, NDC] in the political space.



Such cases are rarely observed in democratic politics in sub-saharan Africa, but the very excellent collaboration between the two leaders in the country, vis a vis the maritime boundary dispute has earned the admiration of Ghanaians.



The former President, John Dramani Mahama has said Ghana owed its gratitude to President Nana Akufo-Addo and Attorney, General Gloria Akuffo for allowing the litigation to continue and for the wise decision in seeking the collaboration of the former Attorney General in pursuing the case.



It shows clearly, what we can achieve together when Government works as a continuum, he said.



But the former AG, under the Mahama administration, Marietta Brew Appiah-Opong doubts her full dedication on subsequent events, saying it is unlikely shell stretch her efforts in such regard going forward as a former AG because of her personal ambitions.



We cannot collaborate on everythingI have to also go on with my life and she[Gloria Akuffo] will also take decisions as AG. So if its necessary Im sure but the most important one is this particular case that we handled together the former AG told Kasapa FM.

Source: kasapafmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
John Boadu, the acting General Secretary of the NPP on Sunday, October 1, 2017 paid a working visit to the Toronto Chapter of the party to among other things, acquaint himself with the state of the Chapter and also help address some of their concerns.



The Toronto Chapter of the NPP is largely seen as one of the most vibrant foreign branches of the party.



The Chapter, according to John Boadu, was very supportive of the NPP's 2016 campaign which culminated in the party's unprecedented electoral victory at the polls. He made these remarks in his keynote address at a special meeting of the Chapter which was held in his honour at the Ghanaian Anglican Church in Toronto last Sunday.



The NPP Chief Scribe used the occasion to extend the party's appreciation to the hardworking members of the Chapter especially their executives and assured them that the party and government for that matter wouldn't let them down.



In attendance were the Chairman, Chris Acheampong and a leading member, Agyemang Duah as well as the Head pastor of the Church, Rev. Father Kenneth Korsah.



He again used the occasion to help resolve some internal wrangling and division in the Chapter. He urged them to remain solidly united and commit themselves to the cause of the Chapter.



John Boadu, thereafter tasked the leadership to compile a new membership register and furnish the Canada branch as well as the office of the Diaspora in Ghana in preparations towards their forthcoming primaries and that of the party in Ghana.



He informed them that the party would immediately after the extraordinary national delegates in December, come out with a timetable for all external branch elections.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The Personal Aide and Programs Manager of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling NPP, has charged residents in the region to blame the Regional Minister, Hon. Simmon Osei Mensah and Kumasi Mayor, Mr. Osei Assibey Antwi, if they fail to address the impasse between staff and the Administrator of Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Mr. George Tetteh.



Some agitated workers are calling for the removal of Mr. George Tetteh who they claim was appointed under bizarre circumstances during the previous NDC administration despite not having the requisite skills and expertise to handle the position.



According to the workers, who have since been mounting platforms and posters calling for his dismissal, Mr. Tetteh's continuous stay is negatively affecting the operations of the hospital, warning that things could get worst if he is not removed.



They are alleging that apart from being sneaked into the position by the then NDC administration led by then CEO Dr. Joseph Akpaloo, Mr. Tetteh had engaged in lots of underhand dealings which require serious investigations but only when he is removed.



But Special Aide to the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the ruling NPP, Andy Owusu, believes the Regional Minister and the Kumasi Mayor owe it a duty to intervene in the standoff before matters get worse.



According to him, bloods of innocent patients will be on the heads of the two leaders if they fail to address the lingering issues.



"I am blaming both the Regional Minister and the KMA Boss for sitting aloof and allowing this KATH matter to fester up till now; as representatives of the President and the people of the region, they have to make sure the right thing is done. Why they have refused to intervene and ensure that Mr. Tetteh is removed as being demanded by the major stakeholders who are the workers, is something I find difficult to understand".



Andy Owusu further noted that "It is no secret how Mr. George Tetteh climbed to that position without merit; since his assumption as Head of Administration, things have moved from bad to worse at the hospital"

Source: Peacefmonline.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
Parliaments select Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprise has recommended to government to take over assets and liabilities belonging to the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA).



The recommendation comes in the wake of government s move to establish three different development authorities for the Northern, Middle belt and Southern sectors of the country which hitherto is being overseen by SADA.



Presenting a report on the Northern Development Authority Bill, 2017, chairman of the Committee, Kwame Anyimadu Antwi, said the Bill, especially clause 34, makes provision for government to take over assets and liabilities of SADA since its operations cover parts of the Volta and Brong Ahafo regions where it already has properties, offices and personnel.



Mr. Anyimadu Antwi, who is the Member of Parliament for Asante Akim Central Constituency, said the committee observed that jurisdiction of the proposed Northern Development Authority is limited to the three regions of the north including Northern, Upper West and Upper East regions, and hence the recommendation.



The new authority is expected to lead and coordinate development initiatives through public-private partnerships, investment drives and facilitation of credit facilities for local enterprises that operate within that catchment area; and also promote a sense of ownership whiles opening job avenues for the people.



SADA was established by an Act of Parliament, Act 805 by the erstwhile government to help bridge the development gap

Source: The Publisher









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

Featured Video
The logo of Spanish lender Caixabank is pictured as the Spanish and Catalan flags are reflected in a window in Barcelona, Spain, Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. More companies are deciding to move their official base out of the Spanish region of Catalonia as tensions grow over the local government's push to declare independence. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP)  Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott has shot down a proposed ballot measure that calls for improved vetting of all projects that affect salmon streams, but supporters are trying to override his rejection.

Superior Court Judge Mark Rindner will hear oral arguments in an appeal Tuesday, The Juneau Empire reported.

Mallott last month ruled the measure unconstitutional, and thus invalid for the 2018 ballot.

The measure is proposed by Mike Wood of the Susitna River Coalition, Gayla Hoseth of Dillingham and Brian Kraft of Anchorage. It calls for improved vetting, but also seeks to decl...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP)  Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska weighed in on the current state of the Republican Party and President Donald Trump, saying she is concerned that the Republican Party might be becoming too exclusive and disjointed.

We seem to be more fractured within our party now than in the big-tent Ronald Reagan days, Murkowski said. And I worry about that; I worry about that.

Murkowski said the party used to lean less to the right and was more inclusive of differing views across the spectrum, the Ketchikan Daily News reported Saturday.

Theres roo...
Vista Oil & Gas Miguel Galuccio is now concentrating on the Mexican shale sector with Vista Oil & Gas but he has had past success in Argentina and the Vaca Muerta formation leading. By Kathrine Schmidt

MEXICO CITY

Petroleumworld 10 05 2017

Mexico is continuing to take steps towards an initial round for unconventional oil and gas, having lined up detailed plans covering acreage prospective for various shale and tight oil plays, writes Kathrine Schmidt .

However, potential explorers are still waiting on the country to launch the round, with a firm date still to be set.

Officials had said the first shale round could take place this year, following the passage of regulations to govern the sector from fledgling oil and gas safety agency Asea, but no word has emerged yet. Earlier this year, officials said regulators were still working on a model contract.

The country's energy ministry has said industry can expect two bid rounds each year, starting next year with the country's Round 3. The first phase, 3.1, would contain shallow-water and conventional onshore resources, while the second phase, 3.2, would include deep-water and unconventional resources.

The ministry, known as Sener, has identified nearly 200 prospective blocks in the Sabinas Burgos and Tampico Misantla basins as candidates for future bidding rounds, according to its five-year plan.

Sener estimates an enormous prospective resource of 23 billion barrels in Tampico Misantla, home to the Pimienta shale, and 7.3 billion barrels in the Sabinas Burgos.

That is a total of 31 billion barrels worth of prospective resources in terms of exploration and production potential, compared with 6.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent in deep waters, 3.5 billion boe in shallow waters and 1.2 billion boe in onshore conventional reservoirs.

The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has a somewhat lower estimate, but still puts Mexico's shale resources as among the 10 best in the world, with some 545 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 13.1 billion barrels of oil and condensate.

Meanwhile, the Mexican shale sector has seen the emergence of Vista Oil & Gas, the country's first publicly traded energy company. The company is led by Miguel Galuccio, who led exploration work by Argentina's YPF on the Vaca Muerta shale.

Vista is backed by private equity giant Riverstone and is set up as a special-purpose acquisition company, also known as a blank cheque company, a type of entity that played a key role in fuelling the US shale boom. The intention is for Vista to target companies in Mexico as well as Argentina, Colombia and Brazil.

Also in Mexico, Canadian newcomer Renaissance Oil has continued targeting acreage prospective for shale by farming into Pemex legacy service contracts  areas set to be rolled over into new exploration and production contracts.

The company is aiming to apply the expertise of US veterans of the unconventionals sector to the country's Jurassic shales and other unconventional targets such as the Chicontepec formation.

Most recently, it moved for the Pitipec block, consolidating a partnership with CP Latina. That followed an earlier tie-up for the Amatitlan block with Russian player Lukoil.
Exxon Mobil has announced a fifth new oil discovery after drilling the Turbot-1 well offshore Guyana. Turbot discovery follows those at at Liza, Payara, Snoek and Liza Deep.

HOUSTON

Petroleumworld 10 05 2017

Sandstone below water offshore Guyana keeps on giving for ExxonMobil and its partners, which have made a fifth discovery in the prolific 26,800-sq-km Stabroek Block.

Drilled about 50 km (30 miles) from the play-opening Liza, the major said its latest wellTurbot-1hit 23 m (75 ft) of high-quality, oil-bearing sandstone. The well, drilled by ExxonMobil affiliate Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd., is in the southeast part of the block and was drilled to 5,622 m (18,445 ft) in a water depth of 1,802 m (5,912 ft).

The results from this latest well further illustrate the tremendous potential we see from our exploration activities offshore Guyana, Steve Greenlee, president of ExxonMobil Exploration Co., said in a news release. ExxonMobil, along with its partners, will continue to further evaluate opportunities on the Stabroek Block.

The company said it plans to drill another Turbot well in 2018. The latest discovery adds to ExxonMobil's winning streak following the Liza, Payara, Snoek and Liza Deep discoveriesall of which are located on the Stabroek Block.

Offshore Guyana continues to be a beacon of light for the industry's exploration sector and a growth engine for the small South American country nestled between oil-rich Brazil and Venezuela and Suriname, where interest is also picking up given nearby finds in the North Atlantic.

Pablo Medina, Wood Mackenzie's senior analyst, Latin America Upstream, said ExxonMobil's successful exploration campaign offshore Guyana shows deepwater can still be attractive.

After today's announcement, ExxonMobil's Liza and Payara complex might approach the 2 billion barrel mark in commercial reserves, Medina said in a statement.

This discovery also puts Guyana on the map as the country currently does not produce any oil, he added. We expect around 350,000-400,000 bbl/d of oil production by 2026, making Guyana one of top oil producers in Latin America.

In July, ExxonMobil increased the estimated gross recoverable resources for the Stabroek Block to between 2.25 Bboe and 2.75 Bboe. This followed news that the Payara-2 well hit 18 m (59 ft) of oil in the Payara Field. The Payara Field is 20 km (12 miles) northwest of the Liza phase 1 project, which secured funding earlier this year.

As part of the more than $4.4 billion Phase 1 project, the company said it will use a subsea production system and an FPSO vessel to develop about 450 MMbbl of oil. SBM Offshore landed the contract to construct, install, lease and operate the converted very large crude carrier FPSO unit that will be spread moored in a water depth of 1,525 m (5,003 ft).

Keppel Offshore & Marine subsidiary Keppel Shipyard Inc. said on Oct. 5 that SBM Offshore has awarded the shipyard the conversion contract for the FPSO vessel. The workscope includes refurbishment and life extension works such as the upgrading of living quarters, fabrication and installation of spread mooring systems, Keppel said. Work also includes installation and integration of topside modules.

The shipyard said the vessel will have a storage capacity of 1.6 MMbbl of crude, a gas treatment capacity of about 170 million standard cubic feet per day and a water injection capacity of about 200,000 bbl/d of water. The converted FPSO will be capable of producing up to 120,000 bbl/d.

Liza Phase 1 development plans also include four drill centers with eight production wells, six water injection wells and three gas injection wells.

Esso E&P Guyana is the operator in the Stabroek Block and holds a 45% interest. Partners are Hess Guyana Exploration Ltd. CNOOC Nexen Petroleum Guyana Ltd, respectively holding 30% and 25% interests.
In general, men are twice as likely to cheat on a spouse than women are. That frequency increases over the lifespan, peaking among the elderly. Among men 18 to 29 who have ever been married, about 1 in 10 is
The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is pressing ahead with legislation to legalize cannabis, a move that a majority of the Canadian public supports. But stakeholders such as police chiefs and psychiatrists are urging caution and even delay, worried that a rush to legalization will encourage consumption among young people and increase the incidence of impaired driving.

Under the proposed legislation, the Canadian government would license the growing of cannabis by tightly regulated producers and set standards for potency and penalties for abuse; the provinces would decide on methods for distribution.

"If legislation is ready to go in July 2018, policing will not be ready to go in August. It's impossible," Rick Barnum, deputy commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police, told the health committee of Canada's House of Commons last month as it studied the proposed law.

Barnum was part of a contingent of police chiefs from across Canada expressing concern that there isn't time to train enough police officers to detect impaired driving among cannabis users and that if police are not ready for legalization, organized crime will take advantage of the situation to secure its hold on the market.

Doctors are also worried by the legislation, which will set the minimum age for consumption at 18, although Canada's 10 provinces will be permitted to raise the minimum age if they wish.

The Quebec Association of Psychiatrists has called the proposed law unacceptable, arguing that cannabis use in young people can lead to attention deficit and memory problems as well as an increased risk of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. The group wants to set the minimum age at 21 or older, ban all advertising of cannabis and prohibit the growing of cannabis at home. (The proposed law would limit cannabis growers to four plants per household for personal use.)

"When you expose a growing brain to cannabis, you actually change the way it grows and matures," said Karine Igartua, president of the Quebec psychiatry group.

Opinion surveys continue to show that Canadians support legalization in principle. But in a recent survey conducted by Nanos Research, 57 percent expressed a lack of confidence that the federal and provincial governments will be ready with a legal framework for cannabis sales by next July. And 48 percent are worried that legalization would lead to increased consumption by youths.

"People are still quite supportive of the legalization of marijuana, but they want the government to get it right," pollster Nik Nanos said, noting that approval of legalization has been in the range of 60 percent in several surveys.

Trudeau shows no signs of wavering in his push for legalization, which he promised in his successful election campaign two years ago. "The current framework is hurting Canadians," he said recently. "Criminal gangs and street gangs are making millions of dollars of profits off the sale of marijuana, and we need to put an end to this policing that does not work."

In the United States, 29 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana in some form, with nine jurisdictions allowing recreational use of pot, but cannabis remains illegal at the federal level, leading to a patchwork of regulations and enforcement.

The Canadian process is designed to result in full legalization across the country. Uruguay is the only country with a full regime for the legalized sale of cannabis, although a complication with U.S. banking regulations could imperil the country's new marijuana market.

Trudeau's government hopes that legalization will reduce access to marijuana by underage users. Bill Blair, a former Toronto police chief who is now a member of Parliament and Trudeau's point person on cannabis legalization, said he understands public skepticism over whether the legislation will achieve this goal. But he says Canada already has the highest rates of pot usage among young people in the industrialized world. "You can't regulate something that's prohibited," he said.

That is why the government plans to retain all of the current sanctions against the illegal production and distribution of cannabis. And it plans to add as a new offense the sale of cannabis to those 17 and younger, with a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.

Blair said he received plenty of "candid advice" from Colorado, Washington and other states that have legalized recreational marijuana. In particular, Colorado officials suggested that Canadian authorities "start off strict" and relax regulations later. Doing the opposite is much more difficult, he said.

That is one reason that the Canadian government will not be ready with rules governing the sale of edibles by July 1. Such rules will come later, after more study, so edibles will remain illegal. "You'll be able to make your own cake [with legal cannabis], but you won't be able to sell it until there are strict rules in place," Blair said.

He also gave assurances of strict controls on branding for cannabis sales. "There will be limits on how branding can be displayed so it can't be used for marketing to kids," he said.

Another way that marijuana legalization is shaping up differently from the U.S. experience is the decision by Ontario, Canada's most populous province, to directly control marijuana sales through a network of up to 150 outlets run by a subsidiary of the provincial alcohol monopoly. Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa said the provincial government intends to shut down pot dispensaries that have popped up around the province and restrict sales to its own outlets.

The province of Quebec is believed to be leaning in the same direction.

The private dispensaries, which now offer medical marijuana and had hoped to expand into the recreational market, plan to fight back.

Paul Lewin, a Toronto lawyer specializing in cannabis cases, says Ontario's marketing plan will not succeed and will force the dispensaries underground. "In the places where it will be a monopoly, it will fail," Lewin said, calling the proposed state-run monopoly a new form of "prohibition."

"The province [of Ontario] just wants a lot of money," Lewin said.

How profitable the cannabis market ends up being for the government remains to be seen. While officials such as Blair concede a need to keep prices high to discourage consumption among young people, they are aware that if prices are too high, illicit producers will stay in business.

On Tuesday, Trudeau announced to provincial leaders that the federal government plans to impose a tax of $1  about 80 U.S. cents  per gram on cannabis costing up to $10 a gram, plus 10 percent on cannabis priced above $10 a gram. He promised that the federal government would split the revenue

50-50 with the provinces, but the premiers have argued for more.

As for the push for a delay in the legalization date, Blair remains determined. "It's important that we get this done," he said. "The price of delay is continued deaths on our roadways, continued jeopardy for kids and billions of dollars in profits for organized crime."
At shopper leaves Kmart in Glassboro with a shopping cart full of bags at 7am on Thanksgiving morning last year. Read more

More than 75 major retailers are expected to be closed on Thanksgiving, bucking a recent trend in which stores began their Black Friday sales on the holiday to lure more shoppers.

Among the national retailers that will close that day are Home Depot, Lowe's, Marshalls, Costco, Burlington, and DSW-Designer Shoe Warehouse, according to BestBlackFriday.com, which compiles information related to holiday shopping.

REI took the lead two years ago when it gave all its employees Thanksgiving and Black Friday off. Last year, 60 national retailers gave workers Thanksgiving off.

A spokesperson for Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust, which owns 10 malls in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, said the company had not finalized its plans for Thanksgiving. Last year, PREIT closed Plymouth Meeting Mall, Moorestown Mall, and Gallery II.

BestBlackFriday.com said it had confirmed that 60 major retailers plan to shut their doors on Thanksgiving. But the website said it expected the number to be higher based on the number of stores that closed on the holiday in recent years. Those retailers, which have not yet confirmed whether they will close, include Nordstrom, Bed Bath & Beyond, and Christmas Tree Shops.

Many shoppers say they would rather see retailers close on Thanksgiving to give their employees time to be with their families, according to the website.

With consumer confidence up and unemployment down, retail sales are expected to jump as much as 4 percent this holiday season, according to the National Retailers Federation. Some stores have begun increasing staffing in anticipation of a busy season.
Beth Dahle, executive director of Compass Philadelphia, during client orientation for her organization, which matches business school graduates and other professionals with nonprofits for pro bono consulting work. Read more

Alcohol, hors d'oeuvres, soft lighting, men and women moving from table to table and getting to know one another  all the markings of a speed-dating event. Indeed, the gathering was a matchmaking exercise. Yet the goal of this particular event held Sept. 28 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts wasn't a love connection, but a way to bring together nonprofits in need of free strategic help with business professionals willing to provide it.

Compass Philadelphia is a unique volunteer program that debuted here five years ago in what was the first expansion of a program founded in Washington 15 years ago. Despite its time demands and highly selective screening process  just because you're interested in volunteering doesn't mean you'll be selected (just like dating!)  Compass Philadelphia has been so impressive that it gave organization leaders in D.C. the confidence to start a program in Chicago last January and to begin a search for other suitable cities.

"Philly proved to us that probably every major city has needy nonprofits and business people willing to help. They just need to find each other," said Suzanne Laporte, president of Compass, who came up from Washington for last week's meet-and-greet.

Later this month, businessfolk who mingled over wine and mini-quiches on the second floor of PAFA during the project launch event will find out whether they were selected to help one of the 16 nonprofits chosen for Compass Philadelphia's 2017-18 program year. The application deadline for volunteers was Oct. 5.

Among those hoping to be picked is Tyler Torres, 26, who even dressed to impress in a dark suit, silk polka-dot pocket square, and Italian leather Magnanni shoes. He's a senior analyst for Mercer LLC, a global health and benefits consulting company.

"I've always been of the state of mind that giving back is better than receiving," Torres said, holding a plate of shrimp and strawberries and a list of the nonprofits whose information tables were set up in a nearby gallery.

Until now, his volunteer activity has included cancer walks and building houses  worthy causes, but nothing to which he could apply his professional skills and also get something in return.

"I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to develop my consulting skills," Torres said, before heading off in hope of finding a match.

A couple dozen leaders from the nonprofits in the current Compass project cycle gathered earlier last month at law firm Morgan Lewis, an in-kind supporter, for an orientation.

"I have been in a lot of your shoes," Beth Dahle, Compass Philadelphia's executive director, told them. In 2008, she cofounded Impact 100, an organization of philanthropic women that has issued more than $2 million in grants to local nonprofits. That followed a career in employee-benefits consulting.

Dahle's nonprofit experience made her "perfect" for the job as Compass Philadelphia's first and only executive director, said Sharon Gallagher, cofounder of Sage Communications, which helps nonprofits and foundations with their messaging. After meeting Laporte through a friend, Gallagher agreed to help her bring Compass to Philadelphia and, until recently, to serve on its board.

"For years, professionals told me they wanted to volunteer for nonprofits but didn't really know how. Not everyone has the time, interest or skills to be on a nonprofit board, but they have valuable talent to offer," Gallagher said. "Compass gives them that opportunity."

Since Compass started serving Washington-area nonprofits in 2001 with 35 Harvard MBA alumni, it has enlisted more than 2,300 business professionals (an MBA is not required) to work on 500 projects for 365 clients, providing more than $54 million in pro bono consulting.

When the current program year is completed in May, Compass Philadelphia will have deployed more than 430 volunteers on 50 projects, delivering more than $8 million in free consulting services, Dahle said. Commitment averages one to five hours a week for eight to nine months, with each of the teams of eight or nine volunteers presenting their recommendations to their nonprofit "clients" in May.

Compass offers four types of aid: strategic alignment, board development, funding strategies, and strategic partnerships.

"We're not looking to rescue an organization," Dahle said in an interview. "We want to partner with an organization from a position of strength."

For instance, Compass will not write white papers or launch fund-raising campaigns. It will prod nonprofits to craft a strategy for reaching goals or to challenge them to evaluate if they are, indeed, delivering a service that is needed.

When Dahle is out recruiting for volunteers, she highlights the opportunity to be involved in projects at a level their day jobs might not afford them, as well as the networking exposure. Evidently, her sales pitch is proving too enticing: Compass Philadelphia turns down about 40 percent of volunteer applicants. (More on the qualifications Compass seeks can be found at http://compassprobono.org/about/frequently-asked-questions/)

Already making the cut, as a project leader, is Pam Dixon, marketing director for small-business credit cards at JPMorgan Chase in Wilmington and a Compass volunteer for the second time in three years. She again will help the Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly, this time to assist with developing a funding strategy. Last time, Dixon helped CARIE with board development.

"It's the impact that we make," she said of her Compass work's appeal. "With most organizations, when you volunteer, it feels very temporal.  This is much more lasting."

For the nonprofits being helped, the appeal is the free professional services many would not be able to afford.

"You'll be very happy with the outcome, and you may wind up with some awesome board members," Michael Westover, president and CEO of the Center for Literacy Inc. in Philadelphia, a 2016-17 Compass client, told the incoming class of nonprofits at the orientation last month.

He urged them "to be very honest" with the Compass volunteers they get matched with. "The first meeting is almost like a therapy session."

Looking forward to strategic-alignment advice is Family Service Association of Bucks County, an agency with 150 employees and a budget of $8.8 million that wants to double spending in the next eight to 10 years.

"We feel we wouldn't be able to do this without the skill sets that Compass is putting in front of us," CEO Audrey Tucker said at the PAFA mixer, where she and board president Joseph Bondi were on the hunt for volunteers they hoped might even stay involved after their Compass obligation.

"The cost to go out and bring in Accenture, Pricewaterhouse or McKinsey, it's hundreds of thousands of dollars," Bondi said. "The value of Compass services is amazing."
So often, when mainstream movie composers write for the concert hall, you can still smell the popcorn. Not with Elliot Goldenthal, whose For Trumpet and Strings had its premiere at Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia without any of the symphonic noir that marked his Batman Forever score. In fact, the piece asserted itself with such a distinctive personality that it was easily the most engrossing piece in the orchestra's season-opening program Sunday at the Kimmel Center's Perelman Theater.

The competition was serious: Mozart's Symphony No. 31 ("Paris"), a little-known Frank Bridge Lament and Haydn's Trumpet Concerto, which reminded you how much modern trumpeters need fresh repertoire. By the time Goldenthal's piece arrived on the second half, you were ready for Norwegian player Tine Thing Helseth to break out of the 18th century and into the 21st. That's what Goldenthal did. Audience response was muted, but so is the piece.

The title For Trumpet and Strings recalled some of the ultra-generic monikers from the late experimental composer Morton Feldman  which is not what you'd expect from the composer of such graphically descriptive works as the ballet Othello and the opera Grendel (which I know better than Goldenthal's music).

Improvisation was said to be part of the mix: Instrumentalists were given a collection of pitches that they could play in whatever order they want  within certain limits. But no musical mechanics were apparent to the naked ear, no doubt thanks in part to music director Dirk Brosse's sympathetic leadership. The orchestra created a quietly undulated foundation whose emotional effect was that of pregnant ambiguity. The music felt foggy but with the suggestion of great things that were just out of reach.

On top of that came a searching series of long held notes that constituted what the composer described in his program notes as being an aria of sorts. Occasionally plucked basses felt like temporary anchors, or even some sort of code telling you where you were. No clear sense of direction was apparent, but never did the music feel aimless.

Soloist Helseth played with a kind of deep expressivity that she often tried to bring to the Haydn concerto  when the music's formality allowed. Goldenthal allowed her to be a lonely voice in the wilderness  in music that was far more restrained than what one is used to from Goldenthal until some of the final trumpet notes that almost felt like stuttering sound files.

It was a penetrating effect. Goldenthal also contributed a cadenza to the aforementioned Haydn concerto (which went reasonably well) that was a catalog of trumpet effects that have evolved since the Haydn concerto was written in the 18th century. The trumpeter, by the way, won points in my book for being barefooted  if that's what it took for her to feel at home in Philly.

The rest of the concert showed that Brosse does have work to do this season: Though the Mozart symphony was spirited, details and passage work was smudgy, and the string sound needs refinement. You also heard a lack of that quality in the Malcolm Arnold Serenade for Small Orchestra, whose three movements  all fun in their own way  seem to have been written for separate pieces.

The first had a collage of competing motifs; the second had suave almost-pop tunes; and the last movement owed much to Arnold's British contemporary William Walton. Bridge's Lament, though, is a significant find. Inspired by the 1915 sinking of the Lusitania, the piece doesn't rage or protest but seems to contemplate the quiet ocean after the ship's abrupt demise. Without explicitly saying so, the music conveys "Dona nobis pacem."

The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia program will be repeated at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Kimmel Center. Information: 215-893-1999 or www.kimmelcenter.org.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrives for the first meeting of the National Space Council Thursday in Chantilly, Va. Read more

Rex Tillerson is toast.

The secretary of state, repeatedly humiliated and undercut by President Trump, is clearly on his way to a Rexit, probably by year's end. World leaders know he doesn't speak for the president, which reduces his credibility to zero. And Trump will never forgive him for calling the president a "moron" at a national security meeting.

But Tillerson's downfall signifies something far more dangerous than the latest tick in the "you're fired" Trump reality show. It reflects the collapse of U.S. diplomacy under a president who thinks he can resolve global crises by bluster and threats.

In other words, under Trump, diplomacy itself has become toast. This leaves only bad options for dealing with North Korea or Iran.

Tillerson brought a fair share of his trouble on himself by adopting Trump's disdain for the institutions of the State Department, including a decimation of its budget and personnel. Critical positions and ambassadorships remain unfilled, leaving the administration hard-pressed to implement key policies in Asia or the Mideast  if such policies exist.

Moreover, it was painful to watch the former ExxonMobil chief abase himself last week in an extraordinary news conference in which he insisted he hadn't threatened to resign. To keep his job, he lavished words of praise on Trump that sounded as if they'd been dictated by the White House. One can only assume Defense Secretary James Mattis begged Tillerson not to quit in the face of looming challenges on North Korea and Iran, and a Trump trip to China in November.

Yet Tillerson can be of little use when the president refuses to grasp that diplomacy isn't about "being nice," in Trump's scornful words, but rather about achieving U.S. goals without having to resort to force.

Over and over, the president has contradicted Tillerson's diplomatic efforts in words or tweets, the latest episode being the most telling. After key meetings in Beijing several days ago, where the secretary was pressing the Chinese to further tighten economic sanctions on North Korea, Tillerson told reporters he was exploring lines of communication with Pyongyang.

Upon hearing that news, Trump immediately tweeted "I told Rex Tillerson  he is wasting his time trying to negotiate with Little Rocket man. Save your energy Rex, we'll do what has to be done."

That astonishing public putdown reveals Trump's utter incomprehension of the options he faces with North Korea. Sanctions alone will not force Pyongyang to denuclearize, nor will Trump's "fire and fury" threats. The only purpose of harsher sanctions is to force Kim Jong Un to the bargaining table, with the goal of containing his nuclear program.

At minimum, Washington needs a serious back-channel means of communicating with Pyongyang  something Tillerson apparently was exploring  so each side understands the other's intent.

Trump, however, appears eager to reduce the U.S. options on North Korea to two: more presidential insults and threats (with the risk that this provokes a paranoid Kim into making a dangerous military mistake) or starting a massive, hugely destructive war.

On Iran, Trump's detestation for diplomacy is equally dangerous.

Every 90 days, U.S. law requires the president to affirmatively certify whether Tehran is living up to the terms of the 2015 nuclear accord, which mothballed Iran's nuclear program for at least 10 to 15 years. Trump, who has repeatedly denounced the deal, will reportedly deny that certification by Oct. 15, the next deadline.

Never mind that U.N. inspectors  along with the other parties to the deal, including our European allies, Russia, and China  all say Tehran is basically adhering to the deal. So does Mattis.

The decertification will not by itself blow up the Iran accord. But it will toss over to Congress a decision on whether to restore sanctions on Iran. If sanctions are reinstated, Iran will be free to restart work on a bomb. The United States will be blamed for the deal's failure, and our European allies say they won't reimpose sanctions.

We could be headed for another nuclear crisis just as Trump whips up the rhetorical war with Pyongyang.

So there is good reason why Tillerson, Mattis, and Joint Chiefs Chairman Joe Dunford all say the deal should be saved. Asked last week in Senate hearings whether he thought U.S. national security required remaining in the agreement, Mattis said: "I do."

There are indeed problems with Iran's behavior in the Mideast and with its testing of missiles. No one is happy with the sunset clause that lets key provisions of the deal expire in 10 to 15 years.

The way to approach these flaws is to organize a broad coalition that presses Iran to negotiate follow-on accords  that add to the nuclear deal. Our European allies are eager to join in this tough but not impossible effort.

But choosing that path requires a president who has the patience for diplomacy and understands that it requires time and skill in building coalitions behind the scenes.

Trump, on the other hand, thinks diplomacy is for sissies, and is open to ripping up the Iran deal (which practically guarantees that there won't be a future deal with North Korea).

Even if Tillerson stayed in place, it's unclear that he could counter his boss' deepest instincts. Nor is it clear that any successor to Tillerson can convince Trump that diplomacy has value.

After Tillerson's news conference. Sen. Bob Corker (R., Tenn), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said that Tillerson, Mattis, and chief of staff John Kelly were "those people that help separate our country from chaos." That troika islikely to be depleted soon. Who knows how long the two others will last.
Internationally acclaimed pianist Lang Lang has donated almost $1 million to six Philadelphia schools for music education. He was at Thomas Holme Elementary in the Northeast. Read more

Lang Lang, the internationally acclaimed pianist, knew he had to get pianos into Philadelphia classrooms.

"Philadelphia for me is a second home," he told a rapt audience of second graders at Thomas Holme Elementary School on Friday. "I felt always very emotionally attached to the city of Philadelphia."

The children sat at state-of-the-art keyboards in the school's brand-new piano lab, made possible by a grant from the Lang Lang International Music Foundation. The Chinese musician has invested nearly $1 million in six Philadelphia schools, equipping them with not just the pianos but funds to support them for three years.

When he was a teenager, Lang studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, where he developed both an appreciation for cheesesteaks and hoagies and a sense of frustration that the city's schools did not all have robust art and music programs.

"I felt pretty sad," said Lang. "Music and art should be part of the regular system."

Lang listened  and played along, enthusiastically  to a group of second graders, who only began to learn piano a few weeks ago. He clapped and cheered for their version of the first few measures of "Ode to Joy."

"I am really happy to see our kids already playing some Beethoven stuff," he said, giving thumbs ups and high-fives to the children.

Along with Holme, Munoz-Marin and Francis Scott Key Schools won foundation grants this year. Fox Chase, Southwark and Steel Schools received the grants last year, for a total investment of $780,000 in city schools.

Lang's gift is a boon at Holme, a K-6 school in the Northeast that already had a rich art and music program, even including dance.

It would never have been able otherwise to afford keyboards, headphones, Lang's piano curriculum, and other accoutrements, said Crystle Roye-Gill, the school's principal.

"This donation is taking us to another level," Roye-Gill said.

The $30,000 check Holme will receive annually for three years will allow the school to begin an after-school piano program for students and parents, and also provide funding for research into just how its arts push is affecting students academically and socially.

"They're just getting a more well-rounded education," Roye-Gill said of her 605 students.

Music teacher Nicholas Petit said Lang's investment helps keep Holme an attractive neighborhood option in an area where families often choose other schools.

"We're not a magnet, we're not a charter, but we have some of those top-flight things that magnets and charters offer," Petit said.

The students took full advantage of having a celebrity in their midst.

They peppered him with questions  how old were you when you started playing (2), is there any piano player in the world better than you (Maybe you someday, if you practice a lot).

And they listened raptly as Lang performed two duets with Maxim Lando, 14, a Lang protege. (Lang, whose left arm is injured, played with Lando on Wednesday night at Carnegie Hall.)

Lang had a grand piano shipped in pieces and assembled on Holme's modest stage early Friday.

It was, 7-year-old Daniel Cheeseman said, maybe the best day of his life.

Daniel is a brand-new piano student, and was the boy with enough courage to ask Lang if he was the best pianist in the world. Lang was nice and funny, Daniel said.

"I think he was great," Daniel said. "He is so cool."
So, the kids are back at school, and things can finally settle down. Whew! Then it starts to seem too quiet, and the realization hits: You miss the family fun. No worries. Here's a plethora of events, featuring wizards, dinosaur eggs, princesses, and food blowing up.

Aesop's Fables (through Sept. 17, Sedgwick Theater). Quintessence Theatre Group, the stellar Mount Airy troupe, presents an adaptation of the ancient Greek morality tales, still teaching something to children of all ages after 2,500 years. (215-987-4450, quintessencetheatre.org)

"PJ Masks" Live (Sept. 22-23, Merriam Theater). The heroic Gekko, Catboy, and Owlette (yay!) leap from cartoon to stage action to battle villains Romeo, Night Ninja, and Luna Girl (boo!). (215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org)

"Honk! Jr." (Sept. 23-Oct. 8, Walnut Street Theatre). George Stiles and Anthony Drewe's musical adaptation of The Ugly Duckling is a delight. (215-574-3550, walnutstreettheatre.org)

Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood: A Grr-ific Exhibit (Sept. 28-Jan. 15, Please Touch Museum). The star of the PBS show and his friends help wee ones explore their world with songs and make-believe. (215-581-3181, pleasetouchmuseum.org)

Tiny Titans: Dinosaur Eggs and Babies (Sept. 30-Jan. 15, Academy of Natural Sciences). Take a gander at real dino eggs and nests, touch fossils, look at dinosaur embryo skin and eggshells under a microscope, and  best of all  dress up as like an oviraptor or sauropod. (215-299-1000, ansp.org)

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (Oct. 3, Bucks County Playhouse). North Carolina's Bright Star Touring Theatre presents an adaptation of Washington Irving's classic story of Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman. (215-862-2121, bcptheater.org)

Harry Potter Festival (Oct. 20-21, Chestnut Hill). Germantown Avenue in Philadelphia's most magical neighborhood is transformed into Hogwarts for two days  with film screenings, sorting hats, a look-alike contest (for Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Dumbledore doppelgangers), Quidditch training and games, and more. (215-247-6696, chestnuthillpa.com)

Philadelphia School of Circus Arts Youth Troupe (Oct. 21, Kimmel Center). Acrobats, equilibrists, and jugglers ages 10 to 16 from the Germantown school display their art. You'll be amazed. (215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org)

Alton Brown Live: Eat Your Science (Nov. 5, Merriam Theater). Our favorite foodie examines edibles with songs, multimedia presentations, and messy (and potentially dangerous) food demonstrations. (Be warned: The first few rows may need advanced-grade protective gear.) Yes, it's playing with food, but it's not at the dinner table, and it's science. (215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org)

Brain Candy Live! (Nov. 19, Academy of Music). Adam Savage (of MythBusters fame) and Michael Stevens (host of the YouTube channel Vsauce) team up to display their toys (a fog machine) and tools (Ping-Pong balls) in the service of education and blowing stuff up. (215-893-1999, kimmelcenter.org)

Peter Pan (Nov. 22-Jan 21, Arden Theatre Company). An adaptation of J.M. Barrie's timeless tale of a boy who won't grow up battling pirates in Neverland. (215-922-1122, ardentheatre.org)

A Dream is a Wish: Princess Concert (Dec. 17, Philadelphia Theatre Company). A grand introduction to theater for little ones, featuring a sing-a-long, photo opportunities with the princesses, and special treats. (215-985-0420, philadelphiatheatrecompany.org)
I am a 19-year breast cancer survivor. After being misdiagnosed for two years, I could have been angry. You see, I found my own lump doing a self-exam in my late 30s, and despite telling my doctor, I kept being told, "it's not cancerous." Finally, the same lump became so large that I had it removed. That's when a surgeon requested a biopsy, and I was diagnosed with an advanced stage of breast cancer. I underwent an aggressive treatment plan that included high dosage chemotherapy, radiation, and participating in a clinical trial.

My journey was hard and I think about it every day! I believe God spared my life, so I could help save another.

It is my battle with breast cancer that birthed Praise Is The Cure. My journey revealed something bigger than just me. My daughter and I started volunteering for a lot of breast cancer organizations, and realized with all the disparities among Black women, we needed to reach our community in a bigger way. So we started "Praise Sunday  Breast Cancer Awareness Day" to provide breast health literature in the community through churches.

But as a survivor, I knew survivors weren't normally celebrated and I wanted to change that. From there, we planned a special "Praise & Worship" service for survivors. That's when Keystone First and Fox Chase Cancer Center offered to support our program. Before we knew it, the Praise & Worship service turned into a concert. But it didn't stop there.

As a breast cancer survivor, I recognized that men have a difficult time understanding breast cancer and how to deal with it. It was also important for Praise Is the Cure to create an opportunity for men to find fellowship with each other and talk about issues. So eventually a men's event was added. But it didn't stop there.

By this time, my daughter Kerri (co-founder of Praise Is the Cure) was also diagnosed with breast cancer and fighting her own battle. Her daughter Maddie inspired her to write a children's book entitled, My Mommy Has Breast Cancer, But She's Ok, and the YMCA asked us to host an event  that's how our annual Children's Festival was born.

We've packaged all of these activities into our annual week of Hope, Health & Healing. During this week our biggest day of activities is now called "Super Saturday." Our goal is to make Super Saturday a day for family because breast cancer affects the entire family. On Saturday, we have a full schedule of events for the family at Mt. Airy Church of God. And then on Sunday, a very special Grace Dance Theater Benefit Performance will be held at 4 p.m. at Kurtz Center for the Performing Arts.

Through it all, I want survivors to know God is still on the throne. Live in faith! I understand the journey they have taken and are taking. My prayer is that they live life to the fullest and accept the responsibility to help another sister. We have to talk more, share more, help more and love more. We have to take care of our own community.

Praise Is the Cure is here to give hope and provide help by offering access to screenings and treatment, educational events, and support through our My Sister's Keeper program.

I am grateful to the people and companies who have joined our mission to eliminate breast cancer disparities among black women in Philadelphia and its surrounding areas. It's a blessing to witness the unwavering commitment of Keystone First and Fox Chase Cancer Center to increasing breast health awareness and supporting breast cancer survivors.

Together, we can win the war against breast cancer!
Montgomery County health inspectors rarely order eateries to close, but they do dole out plenty of citations and threaten to issue fines if a business doesn't address sanitation concerns.

We looked at restaurants that received seven or more serious violations last month or those that temporarily closed due to fire or when fire suppression equipment was discharged.

Every inspection is generally regarded as a "snapshot in time" and not necessarily a reflection of day-to-day conditions. Most violations were fixed immediately on site in the presence of an inspector.

To look up reports on a specific Montgomery County restaurant or a Philadelphia, Bucks or Gloucester County eatery, or read more in the Inquirer's Clean Plates series, visit philly.com/cleanplates.

Tin Pan Alley Tavern

2231 Huntingdon Pike, Huntingdon Valley,

24 violation, 9 food-borne illness risks

Visible mold on cheese in walk-in cooler; debris on fan guard in retail beer cooler and on floor below cook's line; mold on door gasket of walk-in cooler; raw eggs stored over ready-to-eat food items in work top cooler; insect control device hanging from faucet at three basin sink at bar; hair restraint lacking for food handler; no thermometer in retail beer cooler and two door bar cooler; potatoes for French fries and bottled sauces were stored on the kitchen floor.

Montgomery County Health Department will conduct a re-inspection on or after Oct. 12 due to number of violations and repeated violations. Inspected on Sept. 28.

Montgomery Pizza

820 Upper State Rd, North Wales

20 violations; 9 food-borne illness risks

Raw marinating chicken not covered in walk-in refrigerator; foods not covered in storage; unwrapped partial loaf of lunchmeat in direct contact with packaging of another product in freezer; bulk ingredient lid with wide crack, employee beverages not in cup with lid and straw and placed on food prep surface; a can opener blade and mechanism found with dried accumulation; a bowl of sliced lemons was stored in contact with ice for beverages; mop and mop bucket stored outside rear of facility.

Should facility not be in compliance at the time of re-inspection they will be required to attend an administrative conference and will receive an additional re-inspection. Inspected Sept. 28.

Kabu East Norriton

2650 Dekalb Pike Norristown

17 violations; 10 food-borne illness risks

Raw chicken and raw shelled eggs inappropriately stored in prep units and walk in refrigerator; an employee meal was found on the prep table in the kitchen; personal items stored on dry storage shelf; food slicer on shelf under prep table was unclean; a scoop lacking handle was stored in bulk food containers; outside trash dumpster lid open.

Inspected Sept. 14

Jarrettown Hotel

1425 Limekiln Pike, Dresher

19 violations, 9 food-borne illness risks

Raw vegetable stored next to and in contact with raw swordfish in plastic bag; mold accumulation on interior walls and ceiling of basement ice maker; improper thawing method observed on raw frozen portions of tuna steaks in walk-in refrigerator and not removed from cryo vacuumed packages; can opener blade and soda gun nozzles were unclean; unlabeled chemical spray bottle found in ware wash area; fly glue stick hung above food prep slicer area; food handler lacking hair/beard restraint.

A follow-up inspection has been scheduled to ensure compliance of violations that are unable to be corrected at time of inspection. Inspected on Sept. 21.

Na Go Mi Japanese Restaurant

256 N Keswick Ave. Glenside

12 violations; 8 food-borne illness risks

No faucet handle for hot water or cold water in the kitchen hand sink; raw shrimp and beef stored over the produce in walk-in refrigerator; absorbent linen material found on top of prepared sushi rice and container to scoop bulk foods; no ambient thermometer for one-door condiment storage refrigerator under sushi bar counter; food boxes and packages stored directly on the floor of walk-in refrigerator; ice cream scoop stored in stagnant water; establishment freezes salmon for raw fish consumption on site and the packages did not have freezing dates.

Inspected Sept. 27.

Lansdale Exxon Mart LLC.

1419 W Main St., Lansdale

24 violations, 8 food-borne illness risks

Facility heats and hot holds breakfast sandwiches and items, other than hot dogs, on a hot roller; cigarette butts and ashes found on floor below three basin sink; rodent droppings found in cabinet under sandwich hot holding unit; debris on floor below shelves in walk-in cooler; frost build-up found around door, on shelves and inside the walk-in freezer; facility lacks a probe thermometer to take internal temperatures of food; hot sandwich held at inappropriate temperature;tThe water sensor is broken on restroom hand sink.

Montgomery County Health Department will conduct a re-inspection on or after Oct. 6 due to number of violations and repeated violations. Inspected Sept. 22.

Ginos Ristorante

2401 W Ridge Pike, Norristown,

19 violations; 8 food-borne illness risks.

Tylenol stored on shelf at salad prep unit; the can opener piercing point, inside of wait staff ice machine, a food cart in the walk-in refrigerator and a food slicer splash guard were unclean; food items throughout refrigeration stored in open original cans; a food container was stored directly on the floor in walk-in refrigerator; a scoop lacking handle stored in bulk dry goods in dry storage area.

Facility was scheduled for a re-inspection on or after Sept. 26. Inspection on Sept. 12.

Ma Dang Inc.

1200 Welsh Rd. #C2, North Wales

23 violations; 8 food-borne illness risks

Employee beverages lacking cup with lid and straw was stored over food prep refrigerator; food stored in non-food grade bags in walk-in and dry storage; dust hanging from walk-in refrigerator fan guard; scoop for cooked rice with tape on handle; oil squeeze bottle wrapped with paper towels at cooks line; menu lacking consumer advisory for raw or under cooked food items.

Facility was scheduled for a re-inspection on or after Sept 25. Inspected on Sept. 11.

Pholicious

160 N Gulph Rd., Ste 2008, King of Prussia

22 violations, 8 food-borne illness risks

No soap at hand sink entrance to kitchen; employee beverage stored on food prep surface; chicken and shrimp stacked above cold line basin along cook line equipment and a container of sprouts on counter found at inappropriate temperatures; back exit door to outside propped open; cell phone stored near food related items; frost build-up walk-in freezer; floors under cook line equipment unclean.

Facility was scheduled for a re-inspection on or after Sept. 25. Inspected on Sept. 11.

Jem Restaurant  Swede Square Shopping Center

2931 Swede Rd., Norristown,

14 violations, 7 food-borne illness risks

Food slicer unclean; food items held in two-door reach-in unit at back prep area at inappropriate temperatures; open packages of lunch meat stored in four-door reach-in unit lacking date marking; chemical spray bottle at waitstaff area lacking label; floors under cook line unclean; the two-door reach-in unit was not at a proper temperature; the refrigeration unit in customer seating area did not have a proper separation/lock; high temperature dish machine need to be repaired.

Facility must correct and maintain all violations. Inspected Sept. 27

Citron & Rose Tavern & Market

261 Montgomery Ave., Bala Cynwyd,

23 violations, 7 food-borne illness risks

Brisket in steam table was not held at the required temperature; facility lacked sufficient thermometers for taking temperature of various Kosher Foods; containers of food on floor in walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer; utensils stored in stagnant water along cooks line; food handlers lacked beard/hair restraints; food prep sink plumbing was leaking into basement near dump sink; facility lacking variance for smoker in back of building; raw shelled eggs were found over ready-to-eat food items in walk-in cooler.

Facility is scheduled for a re-inspection on or after Oct. 9. Inspected on Sept. 25.

Souderton Pizza and Pasta

669 E Broad St., Souderton,

11 violations, 7 food-borne illness risks

Milk had expired sell by or use by date; food uncovered throughout refrigeration units; can opener blade and interior of the microwave were unclean; dates were not marked on food containers in refrigeration; food handler lacking hair/beard restraint; wet wiping cloths not stored in a sanitizing solution.

Facility must correct and maintain all noted violations. Inspected Sept. 25.

Taqueria Felice

303 Horsham Rd. Suite F, Horsham

10 violations, 7 food-borne illness risks

Employee beverage not in cup with lid and straw; sauce made by facility held past seven days; foods, including pulled pork, held at inappropriate temperatures; license not publicly posted; warewashing machine did not have the appropriate amount of chlorine during final rinse.

Inspected on Sept. 20.

Queen Sushi

281 N Keswick Ave., Glenside

22 violations, 7 food-borne illness risks

Mice droppings found on the dry food storage shelves in basement; vacuum packaged frozen minced tuna and tilapia were thawing in original packaging condition in sushi bar reach-in refrigerator; no date markings on prepared foods, including cooked egg rolls, BBQ meats, cooked chicken morsels, that were held at the establishment for more than 24 hours and required refrigeration; raw meats and shelled eggs were stored over the prepared sauces and produce box in walk-in refrigerator; rice scoop stored in stagnant water and knives stored in crevices of prep table and cold prep refrigerator; exposed food containers in two-door reach-in glass door refrigerator in kitchen, food containers stored directly on the floor in basement storage area and at sushi bar.

Due to the numerous repeated out of compliance items and newly observed out of compliance items as observed during the most recent inspection, establishment required a re-inspection on or after Oct. 4. Inspected on Sept. 20.

Pour House

29 Airport Square, North Wales

16 violatinos, 7 food-borne illness risks

Employee beverages not in cup with lid and straw; employee observed eating in food prep area; bar hand sink lacking soap and paper towels that bar employees must use when working; numerous chemical spray bottles lacking label; a container of sauce was cooling improperly; single use containers washed and re-used; glove tied to slicer blade cover; holes / gap around floor drain near beer walk-in refrigerator.

Inspected Sept. 13.

Easton Food and Fuel LLC

532 N Easton Rd, Glenside

12 violations; 7 food-borne illness risks

Mold on the surface of cheese block stored in deli display refrigerator; sliced tomatoes and lettuce stored at improper temperatures in sandwich prep refrigerator for unknown duration; no date markings on opened packages of variety of deli lunch meats and cheese between the change of ownership transfer; no labeling on commercially prepared fruit cups in bottom of display refrigerator; sandwich prep refrigerator did not maintain required temperature.

Inspected Sept. 13.

Peking House Chinese Restaurant

1116 Horsham Road Unit 9, Ambler

17 violations, 7 food-borne illness risks

Colander of cooked chicken stored on re-used cardboard egg container in walk-in cooler; raw meats stored above ready to eat sauces in walk-in cooler; one heavily dented can observed on dry storage shelf; date markings lacking on prepared foods in walk-in cooler; garlic in oil stored at room temperature at cook's line must be marked; food containers stored on floor in walk-in cooler and walk-in freezer; single use containers without handles used as scoops, and stored in contact with product, in bulk dry storage containers.

Facility must correct and maintain all violations. Inspected Sept. 12.

American Star Diner

1200 Welsh Road Suite 1,

North Wales

22 violations, 7 food-borne illness risks

Pint of Half & Half observed past date; raw fish found at meat walk-in and eggs in produce walk-in; employee beverage lacking lid stored on shake blender at waitstaff station; open loaves of lunchmeats lacking date marking; cigarette pack stored in box with raw agricultural product; foods at salad bar found at improper temperature; ice accumulation in walk-in freezer from refrigerant pipe; various strings etc. used to hang or support items throughout kitchen; shoes and a hat were stored next to foods.

Inspected Sept. 12

Horsham Pizza, Inc.

314 Horsham RD , Horsham

16 violations, 7 food-borne illness risks

Employee used bare hands when cutting ready-to-eat roll; mold on door gasket of one-door reach-in freezer in storage closet;

employee beverages lacking lids and straws in prep areas, including in basin of hand sink; raw chicken stored above ready to eat foods in walk-in cooler; wings were not held at appropriate temperatures; date markings lacking on prepared foods in walk-in cooler; sandwich/salad prep cooler not holding correct temperature; prepackaged desserts in Coke cooler lack labels with all required information; food items stored in opened original cans; food items stored in grocery style bags with dye in walk-in cooler; food items stored in re-used cardboard boxes in prep cooler and one door reach-in freezer in storage closet; food boxes stored on floor in storage closet.

Facility must monitor temperature of pizza prep cooler to ensure proper cold holding at all times, including peak hours. Facility must correct and maintain all violations. Inspected Sept. 12.

Mr. P Pizza & Pasta

2890 DeKalb Pike, East Norriton,

21 violations, 7 food-borne illness risks

Raw shelled eggs inappropriately stored in the walk-in refrigerator; facility lacking time log for prepared pizza; cut garlic stored in oil at prep table with improper internal temperature; food slicer on prep table unclean; food container stored directly on the floor in walk-in refrigerator; food handler lacking hair/beard restraint; outside trash dumpster lid open; raw wood palate stored under ware wash sink for chemical storage; dust build up on vent cover at waitstaff area; personal items stored on dry storage rack.

Facility was scheduled for a re-inspection on or after Sept. 25. Inspected on Sept. 11.

Perkins Restaurant

115 W City Line Ave., Bala Cynwyd

14 violations, 7 food-borne illness risks

Montgomery County Health Department license expired; food in steam table not holding appropriate temperatures; date markings lacking on secondary containers in walk-in cooler; chemical spray bottle stored next to clean cups; no accurate thermometers in cooks line cooler; back prep area hand sink near oven is blocked; Employee jacket and bag hanging from food storage shelf; dumpster lid open at time of inspection.

Inspected Sept 11.

Brandywine Senior Living at Upper Providence

1133 Black Rock Rd., Phoenixville,

14 violaitons, 7 food-borne illness risks

Sugar packets were stained; microwave was unclean; General Tsaos sauce and fruit not refrigerated; yogurt not held at proper temperature, chemical cleaner found on prep table; fly in back storage area; cornstarch, corn meal, pecans, and cake batter were stored in open not sealable containers; floor drain behind ice machine, floor drain in front of cooks line and the side of the fryer were unclean.

Facility must correct and maintain all noted violations. Inspected Sept. 11.

Restaurants that were closed after a fire or when fire suppression equipment discharged.

Oh! Bryons

2895 Pine Rd., Huntingdon Valley

The facility closed on Sept. 22 after employees used chemicals to bomb for fruit fly in the basement and accidentally set off the fire alarms. All food related equipment, utensils, food prep surfaces floors, walls, and ceilings have been clean and sanitized after the incident and the restaurant reopened. All any single service items and take out containers were discarded. The Montgomery County Health Department granted permission for facility to reopen contingent upon all other local approvals.

Chick-Fil-A King of Prussia

135 W DeKalb Pike, King Of Prussia

On Sept. 21, the health department was called to the facility after oil was poured on hot coils in the fryer and a fire suppression system was activated. The fryers on the cooks line that are used to fry hash browns and French fries were affected.The French fries were discarded and the restaurant voluntarily closed for cleaning.

The restaurant was instructed to clean and sanitize all food and non-food contact surfaces, utensils, and equipment that may have been affected. Facility must drain, clean, and sanitize all affected fryers and to discard any opened single use utensils that may have been affected.

Applebees Neighborhood Grill & Bar

323 Old York RD, Jenkintown

2 violations

The restaurant closed on Sept. 19 when a griddle caught fire while in use and employee used handheld fire extinguisher to put out the fire and flames. The establishment notified Abington Fire Marshal and voluntarily closed the operation to customers and ceased all food and beverage handling at the time. The restaurant discarded all the contaminated food, condiments, and single service utensils and food service equipment, including food contact and non-food contact utensils and perimeter surfaces have been cleaned from the chemicals. They were approved to continue normal business operations.

Merck & Co. North  Flik International

351 N Sumneytown Pike, North Wales

The Montgomery County Health Department was contacted by the facility after the fire suppression system had discharged and they were without hot water under pressure because gas had been turned off. The facility had closed and discarded all food items and single service items that may have been contaminated. They cleaned and sanitized the affected area. On Sept. 7, the health department granted permission to open and operate at time of inspection contingent upon all other necessary approvals.

Starburst Cafe  King of Prussia Plaza

160 N Gulph Rd., #2644, King Of Prussia

On the night of Sept. 6, mall security used fire extinguisher on burner that caught fire. The facility voluntarily closed and began cleaning and sanitizing all affected areas. No food items were in the affected area. The manager called for repairs to the fire suppression/hood system. The facility remained closed until granted permission by the health department to reopen.

Chilis Grill & Bar #58

739 W DeKalb Pike, King Of Prussia

On August 31, the Montgomery County Health Department was called for a dish machine fire. The facility voluntarily closed during the incident and cleaned and sanitized all equipment/utensils in affected area. The dish machine was repaired by time of inspection. The health department granted permission for the restaurant to open and operate at time of inspection contingent upon all other necessary approvals.
Mark and Lori Quinter look on as teachers and students participate in a dedication ceremony for the Tyler Quinter buddy bench. Read more

"Be Like Tyler" was the theme Friday morning at Oaklyn Public School, where a "buddy bench" was installed in memory of Tyler Quinter, a 13-year-old whose death in May after a lifelong struggle with two rare heart defects left many heartbroken.

Among those on hand were teachers and hundreds of children from the school that he attended and where his generous spirit was recalled Friday by speakers.

"This bench symbolizes what Tyler was all about. The bench will offer comfort to people, just as Tyler offered comfort to so many others," said Mary Ellen O'Donnell, one of his teachers.

The "buddy bench" will be a haven for those who feel lost or down on their luck, principal Jennifer Boulden said. Another person will see that someone is on the "buddy bench," and sit down next to that person and offer comfort.

Also present were members of the Oaklyn Police Department, where Tyler Quinter, who had aspirations of becoming a police officer, had become a familiar figure.

He became an internet darling beyond the town of 4,000 people last year after five Dallas officers were killed in an ambush, when he posted on Facebook an image of himself in his Halloween police costume saluting the American flag at half staff.

The only child died May 7 after battling hypoplastic left heart syndrome and truncus arteriosus.

The "buddy bench" was donated by Paw It 4ward, a dog-rescue foundation with which the Quinter family has a long relationship. "Tyler was such a big part of the foundation. He was pretty much the lifeline of our junior volunteers, and we miss him very much," said Azita Kay, president of the foundation.

The Quinters' pit bull, Hudson, was adopted from the foundation as a puppy, and Tyler Quinter encouraged people to donate to Paw It 4ward. To the joy of many, Hudson also made an appearance at the ceremony.

Many at the event wore black T-shirts with the message, "Be Like Tyler," along with matching wristbands.

"Be like Tyler and always do the right thing," Kay told the audience.

Tyler's parents, Mark, 43, and Lori, 41, were greeted with words of sympathy and comfort from teachers, friends, and others who were affected by Tyler's positive presence.

Mark Quinter works as a surgical supply manager for Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Lori is an administrative employee in a dermatology practice.

O'Donnell told of how Tyler once helped make a new student comfortable by giving her one of his prized possessions: a small ball of fuzz, which O'Donnell fondly remembered him calling a "wooby."

She recalled that Tyler would share everything except the "wooby," which was very special to him. But when the new girl joined the class, he saw her discomfort and sadness, walked over to her, and gave her the toy, saying, "This will make you feel better."

"That is when I knew I was in the presence of an extraordinary young man," O'Donnell said.

"The world today is not what it used to be. We can make it a lot better," Mark Quinter said. "One random act of kindness may change the next person's life. If we just keep paying it forward, it will definitely make a change throughout the world."
Federal prosecutors say that Mohammed Jabateh of Delaware County committed murder, rape, and cannibalism under the nickname Jungle Jabbah during Liberias first civil war. Read more

All week, his fellow Liberians have lined up outside a Philadelphia federal courtroom to accuse alleged war criminal Mohammed Jabateh of acts of unfathomable cruelty.

But on Thursday, the jury weighing the 51-year-old East Lansdowne man's immigration-fraud case heard for the first time Jabateh's own account of the ethnic conflict that ravaged his native country in the early 1990s.

Like many of his accusers, he, too, said he had been persecuted based on his tribal affiliation. Like them, he also saw loved ones raped and gunned down while attempting to escape the chaos. And, he told U.S. immigration officers in 1998, his time during the war could be traced by the scars left on his body by torture.

"I was whipped repeatedly, flogged and burned with cigarettes," Jabateh wrote in a six-page statement filed as part of an application for political asylum in the United States. "I would not be fed for several days and had numerous injuries on my body."

That memo, written nearly two decades ago, became the focus of the third day of the government's case against a man who prosecutors say hid his past as a violent rebel commander who raped, pillaged, and killed his way through the war under the nom de guerre "Jungle Jabbah."

Jabateh denies those allegations and maintains he was truthful when he told immigration agents, first in 1998 and then while seeking a green card 13 years later, that he was a victim of ethnic persecution.

But as Norman de Moose, a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer, testified Thursday, when it comes to the multiple-faction hostilities that ravaged Liberia and killed more than 250,000 people between 1989 and 1997, both accounts could be true.

"This was a war in which a great number of atrocities were committed," de Moose said. "The way I thought of it was that there were no clean hands on either side."

Simplified to the most basic level, Liberia's politics and conflicts have been driven almost entirely by ethnic discord since the West African nation's founding in 1847 as a home for freed and repatriated American slaves.

Those freed slaves and their descendants, known as Americo-Liberians, historically have clashed with the indigenous population, which, split by its own tribal affiliations and histories of conflict, often has battled among itself.

But tensions reached a new boiling point in 1980 when Samuel Doe, a Liberian of the Krahn tribe, stormed the country's executive mansion, executed its president, and seized control of the government from the Americo-Liberians.

For Jabateh, then just 14, living in a village where his father was the local chief and his mother bought and sold livestock to support the family, Doe's victory offered the promise of hope.

Though their tribal background differed from Doe's, Jabateh's father, a Mandingo, threw his support behind the nation's first indigenous head of state, and eventually signed on to become Doe's campaign manager in western Liberia, Jabateh wrote in his 1998 asylum application.

When Doe himself was unseated  captured, tortured, and killed by a rebel force in 1990  the Jabatehs' hope died along with him.

"Those of us known to have supported Doe received letters from the rebels threatening us because they viewed us as their enemies," Jabateh wrote.

Under the command of Charles Taylor, a rebel force known as the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), composed largely of ethnic Gios and Manos, soon seized much of the country, killing Mandingos and Krahns as they marched through the countryside.

In his statement to U.S. immigration officers, Jabateh recalled fleeing in 1990 from the advance of NPFL soldiers approaching his town. Running out into the surrounding bush in a group of 250 villagers, the Jabatehs made for the border of neighboring Sierra Leone.

The soldiers, however, caught up.

"When the attack occurred, everyone scattered," Jabateh wrote. "I hid in the bush. My mother and brother could not escape fast enough." Both were gunned down and killed.

Jabateh spent the next two years in a refugee camp, where he later would say he was conscripted by Sierra Leone's government into a fighting force charged with beating back NPFL incursions into that country. The group would form the basis for the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy (ULIMO), the force that prosecutors now say "Jungle Jabbah" helped to lead and under whose banner he committed his alleged wartime atrocities.

"Our stated objective was to protect Mandingo and Krahn people from being murdered by the NPFL and to bring democracy so Liberia could end the war," he wrote in '98.

For his own part, Jabateh says he returned in 1992 to the nation's capital, Monrovia, where he was recruited to the Special Security Service (SSS), a law enforcement branch equivalent to the U.S. Secret Service. There, he was stationed at the executive mansion, Monrovia's answer to the White House.

It was during this period that prosecutors allege Jabateh was murdering his way through the countryside, pillaging villages loyal to the NPFL. Later, they allege, after ULIMO's Mandingo and Krahn factions split into rival groups, he turned his guns on his one-time allies.

Testifying Thursday, Rufus Kennedy, the head of the SSS during this period, said a member of the service never would have been allowed to wear camouflage uniforms or grow his hair into dreadlocks, as photos of Jabateh from the period show he did.

And when immigration agents in the United States later would ask him for proof of his time with the SSS, Jabateh said it was lost when NPFL fighters burned his home to the ground.

Jabateh's own '98 account glosses over much of this period, picking up again in the mid-'90s, when he was assigned to the personal security detail of ULIMO head Alhaji Kromah as a cease-fire was brokered with Taylor's NPFL in 1995. Newspaper clips from the time  including some that Jabateh later provided to immigration agents  quote him as an ULIMO lieutenant general involved in the disarmament process.

But Jabateh's fortunes soured again when, in 1997, Taylor won election as Liberia's president. Taylor quickly moved to consolidate power, lashing out against those loyal to forces who once opposed him.

In his '98 account, Jabateh said he eventually was captured, held in a cell, and tortured for three weeks, beaten with electrical wire and hit with the butt of a rifle.

He managed to escape, he said, and left for Guinea and then the U.S. soon after.

"I am very afraid to return to Liberia," he wrote in his '98 asylum application, "because I know of Mandingo people who have been mistreated and killed by the government."

On Thursday, Nancy Vanlue, who approved that application granting Jabateh entry into the U.S., sat across from him again for the first time in nearly two decades.

Jabateh's lawyer asked whether she had believed at the time the story the then-33-year-old had told her.

"I did at the time," Vanlue testified. "I felt he had a very strong case."

Her expression suggested she now thought otherwise.

Testimony is expected to resume Tuesday.
Zhiming Chen (left) waits on a customer standing behind the bulletproof glass window of his West Philadelphia takeout while his cook, Er Tai Lan, looks on. Both men were victimized last year. Read more

More than a year after masked gunmen burst into their homes and robbed them, the terror remains vivid for Chinese business owners and their families.

One married couple and their daughter have trouble sleeping and are seeing a mental health counselor. They've put an alarm system in the takeout store below their West Philadelphia residence. Another West Philly takeout owner bought a gun. At his store Friday, he showed his 9mm black semiautomatic pistol and his permit to carry it. His cook, who like him was robbed in their upper-floor rooms, suffers from chest pain.

The victims remain so afraid that they don't want their faces photographed or their addresses published for fear of retaliation.

These two home-invasion robberies were among 13 in the city from May to August 2016 in which Chinese business owners were targeted because of a belief that they keep cash in their homes and are afraid to report crimes. The robberies terrified the city's Chinese community, spurred a decade-old regional task force to renew safety meetings with residents, and prompted City Council to hold a hearing.

Norman Bowen, 30, and Anthony Campbell, 34, both of West Philadelphia, were charged in nine of the cases, all of which occurred in West and North Philly when most of the victims were asleep.

As the victims struggle to recover, some relief came Monday, when Common Pleas Court Judge Barbara McDermott sentenced Bowen to 35 to 70 years in state prison after he pleaded guilty in July to six home-invasion robberies and one attempt. She sentenced Campbell to 30 to 60 years in state prison after he pleaded guilty or no contest in seven home-invasion robberies and one attempt.

"This case in many ways is worse than a homicide, because there was more than one victim and it's not just one night," the judge told the defendants. "You had to have felt the terror of those families."

I will kill your husband!

Philadelphia has about 400 Chinese takeouts, some in crime-ridden neighborhoods, said Steven Zhu, president of the Greater Philadelphia Chinese Restaurant Association. Employees frequently work seven days a week behind bulletproof plastic windows.

Many of the immigrants came to the city from Fujian province in China seeking better lives, including Jenny Huang, 40, and her husband. Owen Lin, 47.

About 4 a.m. July 28, 2016, the couple were asleep when Bowen and Campbell, both masked and armed, broke through their store's back door, rushed upstairs into the couple's bedroom, yelling, "'Get up! Get up!'" Grabbing the couple from their bed, the men ordered them to stand with their hands against the wall.

Huang said she was slammed with a gun on top of her head three times. Her husband also was pistol-whipped. The gunmen ransacked the bedroom but found no money.

"'If you don't give me money, I will kill your husband!'" one of the men shouted, Huang recalled. One robber, pointing a gun at her husband's head, forced him to go downstairs, and stole cash from the store. Before they left, also taking jewelry and the store's video surveillance system, they ransacked the 9-year-old daughter's room, tied up the couple's hands and legs, and stuffed clothing into their mouths.

Huang, in an interview inside her takeout, said in Mandarin that the couple used a bank before the robbery and still do. They had wanted to sell the takeout because business has not been good. Now they feel more urgency to do so, but they signed a 15-year lease in 2008 and no one wants to buy the business, she said.

Zhiming Chen, 37, the owner of another takeout, and his cook, Er Tai Lan, 54, said in interviews that Bowen, Campbell, and a third masked gunman broke through the back door of their takeout about 3 a.m. June 29, 2016. Two rushed into Lan's second-floor bedroom, placed a gun to his chest, demanded money, tied his hands with a belt, and forced him onto the ground face down. One man went to Chen's third-floor bedroom and placed a gun to his chest as his two children, ages 6 and 8, slept in the next room.

The gunman ordered Chen to wait 20 minutes before leaving his room. "'If not, I will kill you,'" Chen recalled him saying. The robbers fled after stealing cash, a computer, an iPhone, and cigarettes.

After last year's series of home-invasion robberies, many members of the Chinese takeout community would wait until daylight to go to bed, Chen said. Others besides himself have obtained guns, he said.

Speaking in Mandarin, he also said he'd like to sell his business but has found no buyers. "We are good people," he said. "We help people in the neighborhood."

A community unified

City Councilman David Oh, who held a hearing a year ago to address the spate of robberies, said Wednesday that although people of Asian origin make up only 6 percent of the city's population, they represented 16 percent of the home-invasion robbery victims in the city in 2015 and 2016.

As a result of the hearing, Oh said, Council members learned that Chinese takeout owners in some of the poorer neighborhoods at times have difficulty getting police to respond to harassment and disturbance issues in their stores. For instance, he said, store owners might call police about people inside their takeouts banging on their windows or throwing trash at them, but officers may not respond.

Oh, who himself was stabbed during a robbery attempt outside his Southwest Philadelphia home May 31, said discrimination against people of Asian descent has contributed to their being targets of crime.

At Monday's hearing at the Criminal Justice Center, 85 people from the Chinese community signed a petition asking McDermott to sentence the two men to stiff sentences. Only about 40 of them could be seated in the packed courtroom. About a dozen supporters of the defendants also attended.

"The victims that were selected by these defendants were targeted for who they are.  These defendants targeted Chinese business owners," Assistant District Attorney Jill Fertel told the judge, noting that Campbell admitted to authorities that he targeted Chinese business owners.

Bowen and Campbell apologized to the victims in court. The judge also ordered the pair to pay restitution of $10,000 each.

Lt. John Walker of the Southwest Detective Division, a key member of the regional task force, said afterward that trust has grown between Asian business owners and police since the task force was created a decade ago. He urged business owners to use banks and install surveillance cameras.

Fertel said that although victims were targeted because of their ethnicity, the defendants were not charged with hate crimes because they were not motivated by racial hatred, but by cultural stereotypes.

Still, she said, "these biases are just as harmful.  They caused extraordinary harm."
Nockamixon State Park in Bucks County, where police say a woman made a false report of a rape. Read more

A woman who told police she was abducted and raped on Monday at a state park in Bucks County has now said she lied about the attack, Pennsylvania state police said Thursday.

Her story was fabricated, according to police, and there was no "immediate threat" to the public.

Police said they had no additional comment about the case Thursday evening, but a news release did indicate the investigation would continue.

Authorities said the woman's admission came after several days of thorough investigation and interviews.

The woman reported that she was attacked between 5 and 7 p.m., police said, at Nockamixon State Park in Haycock Township. She said she was at a fishing pier off Lake Nockamixon when two men forced her into a silver, four-door sedan, then took her to another part of the 5,000-acre park and raped her, police said.

The woman described her alleged attackers as white men between the ages of 20 and 25, police said, and gave detailed descriptions of their height, clothing and hair color.

It was not clear Thursday why the woman lied about the attack or whether she would be charged.

Nationally, studies estimate that false claims of sexual assault amount to 2 percent to 10 percent of reports.
A 57-year-old woman was sexually assaulted in an early-morning home invasion Tuesday in the city's Olney section, police said.

The armed assailant tried to then steal the woman's car but was fought off by a neighbor.

Police gave the following account:

About 6:45 a.m., the woman heard a loud noise from the rear of her property and found that a small brick wall on a neighbor's property had fallen. As she attempted to close her back door, a man pushed the door open, pointed a black handgun at her head, and said, "Don't make a sound."

He took the woman to her second-floor bedroom and demanded money. She gave him $15 in cash, two wallets with ID and credit cards, and her mobile phone. The man then assaulted her.

The man took the woman's car keys and left the house. He opened the door to the woman's red Chrysler PT Cruiser and found that the steering wheel was secured with an anti-theft club. As he tried to remove the club, the woman's next-door neighbor, a 43-year-old man, confronted him. The assailant told the neighbor to mind his own business, but a struggle ensued. The assailant pulled out a gun and pointed it at the neighbor.

"The neighbor smacked the gun out of the [man's] hand and it fell to the ground," police said.

After another brief struggle, the neighbor picked up the gun and the assailant ran away.

The suspect was described as a black male in his mid-30s, about six feet tall, with what appeared to be a goatee. He was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with the word "FRESH" in white on the back. He was wearing black pants and shoes, a red shirt, and black gloves.
The 120,000 Independence Blue Cross members in the Philadelphia area who faced potential loss of access to several community hospitals  Brandywine, Chestnut Hill, Jennersville Regional, Phoenixville, and Pottstown Memorial  can rest easy.

Independence and Tower Health have reached a three-year deal to keep the five hospitals "in-network" for Independence members, the two organizations said Friday. Reading Hospital also will remain in-network; it could have fallen out in November.

The dispute arose after Tower closed Sunday on a deal to acquire the five hospitals from Community Health Systems Inc. The price for the hospitals has not been disclosed. With completion of the sale, Independence's contracts with Community Health ended, and there was nothing to replace them.

The standoff caused anxiety for many patients in the region because they might have been forced to find new hospitals.

"There is no break in service with the agreement," Clint Matthews, president and CEO of Tower, said Friday, adding that the accord was reached Thursday after days of rigorous negotiations. Independence members can "use the hospitals like they did before," he said.

Independence spokeswoman Donna Crilley Farrell said there would be no changes for members as part of the new agreement. "We realized this caused some anxiety," she said. "We really appreciate the patience of people who were working with us."

Earlier this week, Matthews said Independence had been seeking a "noncompete clause" that would have prevented Tower, formerly Reading Health System, from selling health-insurance coverage in parts of Southeastern Pennsylvania. Tower is in a 50-50 joint venture with UPMC Health Plan, a unit of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, that insures 30,000 people in Bucks, Chester, Montgomery, and six other counties.

The agreement with Independence does not include a noncompete clause, a Tower spokeswoman said Friday.

Independence agreed that there was no noncompete clause but said it had negotiated safeguards to protect its business.

"Look, we think competition is good," Anthony V. Coletta, president of Independence's facilitated health networks, said in a statement. "What we said all along was that we didn't want to fund a competitor. We didn't want to give a competitor our tools that we share with our provider partners or our facilitated health network proprietary information. We're not going to get into specifics, but suffice it to say that this agreement resolves that concern with firewalls and guidelines around data usage, data sharing, and our proprietary and confidential information."

Coletta added that the "the foremost goal in these discussions was ensuring access to quality, affordable care for our members at these five community hospitals. It's part of our commitment to offering the broadest choice of doctors and hospitals in the region. Community hospitals like these are important to provide local care for our members. Negotiations can get bumpy at times, but in the end, Independence received the terms and assurances we needed to best serve our members."
Gloria Allred has said she would consider representing anyone who feels they were sexually harassed by movie executive Harvey Weinstein, even if it means facing her daughter in court. Her daughter is representing Weinstein against allegations. Read more

Gloria Allred, the Philadelphia native, Girls' High graduate, and University of Pennsylvania alum who has become famous as a defender of women's rights, is criticizing her daughter, celebrity attorney Lisa Bloom, for working to defend Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein from multiple sexual harassment accusations.

"Had I been asked by Mr. Weinstein to represent him, I would have declined, because I do not represent individuals accused of sex harassment," Allred said in a statement Thursday. "I only represent those who allege that they are victims of sexual harassment.

"While I would not represent Mr. Weinstein, I would consider representing anyone who accused Mr. Weinstein of sexual harassment, even if it meant that my daughter was the opposing counsel," she said.

Game on, daughter.

Bloom issued her own statement:

Cynics have pointed out that Bloom also has a business relationship with Weinstein. In March he optioned the rights to Bloom's book about the Trayvon Martin case, Suspicion Nation.

On Twitter there was irony:

Anger:

Politicking:

(According to the New York Times, "Sens. Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts each said they would transfer money to charity in amounts equal to donations they had received from Mr. Weinstein.")

And  more cynicism.
The Pentagon said Friday that the body of a U.S. service member has been recovered in Niger following a militant ambush near the Mali border Wednesday, raising the American death toll to four.

It was not immediately clear how the service member became separated from the unit, precisely when the body was recovered, or if the service member had fallen into enemy hands.

U.S. and Niger troops were conducting a reconnaissance patrol when they encountered dozens of heavily armed militants riding in pickup trucks. A pair of French Mirage fighter jets and other aircraft were scrambled following the attack, presumably to hunt for the missing U.S. service member and provide support for ground units.

On Friday, U.S. officials identified three fallen soldiers as Staff Sgt. Bryan Black, 35, of Puyallup, Washington.; Staff Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio; and Staff Sgt. Dustin Wright, 29 of Lyons, Georgia. All were assigned to the Army's 3rd Special Forces Group, which is based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

It was unclear Friday if the recovered service member was also a member of 3rd Special Forces Group, the primary unconventional warfare unit operating in Africa.

The Pentagon and the White House have long sought to frame the U.S. military's activities in Niger, and elsewhere on the African continent, as providing support for American allies battling extremists throughout the region  and being removed from direct combat with those groups.

Officials have said the attack occurred during an "advise and assist" mission, a broad term that critics say undercuts the danger associated with training partner nations using only small numbers of troops near militant strongholds.

U.S. forces have expanded efforts in Niger, military officials have said, as part of a growing presence in the Sahel region. The vast expanse of desert stretches across the continent, and affiliates of al-Qaida and the Islamic State have taken advantage of instability in Libya, where arms and fighters flow into a region difficult to govern.

About 800 U.S. personnel are assigned to posts in Niger, mostly at two sites focused on gathering aerial reconnaissance for Nigerian forces. That is an increase from 645 in June. About 300 to the south in Cameroon provide logistical and intelligence support. An unknown but likely small number operate in Mali.

The four combat deaths mark the first known hostile-fire casualties among U.S. forces in Niger. A soldier with the 3rd Special Forces Group was killed in a vehicle accident there in February.
Casey Dallas from West Chester walks his year-old pit bull pup Ruby down a serpentine hillside trail in Stroud Preserve, one of 19 Natural Lands preserves in Pennsylvania and New Jersey that welcome the public and their pets to take a walk on the wild side. Read more

Jarrod Shull, manager of Stroud Preserve near West Chester, was guiding visitors through the woods when suddenly, high up in the tree canopy, crows destroyed the silence, cawing at the top of their lungs, flying from tree to tree in full-throated pursuit of something unseen.

There were dozens of them and they showed no respect for the serenity that hikers seek in the 571-acre Chester County preserve of hilly meadows, woodlands, and an emerging wetland, bordered by the East Branch Brandywine Creek.

"Red-tailed hawk or maybe a great horned owl," Shull said, looking up at the agitated crows, explaining their strategy of attacking a predator en masse before it picked them off individually.

Emerging from the woods, Shull stopped to watch a newborn monarch butterfly on a milkweed plant, slowly moving its wings up and down in the sunlight before attempting its first flight. Thousands of monarchs had already left Stroud Preserve's milkweed meadows and were on their winter migration routes to Mexico. This one was born late.

The trail led to Stroud's wetlands, created by draining a 4.5-acre farm pond in 2010 and allowing cattails and other native vegetation to retake the land, enhanced by Shull's planting hundreds of native shrubs and wildflowers.

When invasive, non-native phragmites (tall reed grasses) sprouted up by the hundreds in September, Shull and stewardship assistant Matt Grammond picked up their hand trimmers and, Shull said, "We cut the seed heads off every single one" to stop them from crowding out vegetation that provides habitat for turtles, frogs, salamanders, and birds.

"It's kind of like Field of Dreams," Shull said. "If you rehab it, they will come."

Stroud Preserve, on North Creek Road off Route 162, is one of the most popular of the nonprofit Natural Lands' 17 public-access Delaware Valley nature preserves in Pennsylvania, open dawn to dusk year-round.

Two other preserves, both havens for eagles and other raptors, are in New Jersey  the 6,765 acres of wetlands, swamps, and beaches of Glades Wildlife Refuge in Fortescue, and the Harold N. Peek Preserve in Millville, 344 acres along the Maurice River's wildlife haven.

In the Delaware Valley, 2.5 million people live within five miles of Natural Lands' 43 nature preserves (including 23 that are closed to the public while they are being revitalized), covering 24,000 acres in 13 Pennsylvania and New Jersey counties.

At Harold N. Peek Preserve, a boardwalk along the Maurice River allows visitors to see raptors, ducks, and a rich variety of riverside wildlife. Molly Morrison, president of Natural Lands, said most of the wildlife preserves were patiently put together, piece by piece, over many years, a technique that permanently preserved 27 percent of Chester County during her 20 years in its open-space program.

"In South Jersey, it took 30 years and dealing with 200 property owners, parcel by parcel, to make 9,000 acres of preserve," she said. "We started in the mid-1960s."

As a result, Steve Eisenhauer, regional director for the New Jersey preserves, "gets kids out in the marshes and on the bay in kayaks because he fundamentally believes you get kids who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity to make the connection between the natural world and their own world, and connect them to nature," Morrison said.

They never forget it, she said, but carry it with them into adulthood where "it's nourishment for your psyche."

Morrison said a Natural Lands priority is expanding its preserves. ChesLen, a popular preserve in Coatesville featuring nine miles of trails and the kid-favorite Ollie Owl's NaturePlayGround, started with 1,000 acres and grew to 1,263, making it Chester County's largest privately owned preserve open to the public. Stroud Preserve started with 300 acres and has grown to 571.

"We're looking to create contiguous corridors of open space," Morrison said. "You can save a stream corridor, but if there is a development next to it, the degradation of that stream is going to be impactful."

Walking his high-energy, people-friendly pit bull pup Ruby down a serpentine hillside trail, Casey Dallas of West Chester said he hikes in Stroud Preserve daily.

"It's very serene," he said and looked at Ruby grinning up at him, tongue lolling out of her mouth. "And a tired dog is a good dog," Dallas said.

Brittany Carr of Coatesville pushed her daughter, Kaia, 19 months, in a stroller and Quinn West from Phoenixville transported her 3-month-old son, Teddy, in a baby carrier as they walked along the trail from East Branch Brandywine Creek. Both 31 now, they've been friends since childhood.

West looked around at hillside meadows of goldenrod, asters, and autumnal grasses, smiled and said: "It's like England or something. And where are we? Chester County!"

Also in Chester County, 24 miles north near Elverson, is Crow's Nest Preserve, 621 acres of woods and meadows along French Creek, where manager Dan Barringer and Natural Lands' Force of Nature volunteers regularly clear invasive vegetation so that hikers on the trails through the maple, black gum, hickory, oak, and tulip trees can experience a native Pennsylvania woodland.

Crow's Nest has such an old-school Pennsylvania vibe that one of the trails passes two male Jersey calves in a fenced-in, two-acre field.

Barringer said the calves graze on multiflora rose, an aggressive invasive shrub that forms dense thickets, destroying woodlands and meadows. "There was a wall of multiflora rose here," he said, before the preserve started using calves several years ago.

"We're so dependent on volunteers," Barringer said, smiling as the bottle-raised calves sucked on his fingers, hoping for milk. "These are just another form of volunteers."

Barringer said Crow's Nest, which neighbors French Creek State Park, has six to nine miles of hiking trails, some of which run north to the 73,000-acre Hopewell Big Woods, so the outdoor experience is limitless.

Barringer, who has worked at Crow's Nest for 20 years, said: "I feel as though I want to do something important with my life, and this is important. I've been here long enough to see results. Trees I planted years ago are towering over me now. It's very satisfying."

Dan Barringer, Natural Lands manager of the 621-acre Crow's Nest Preserve in Elverson, Chester County, hikes through native Pennsylvania woods that he maintains by fighting non-native invasives like multiflora rose, which kill native vegetation.For more information about Natural Lands preserves: https://natlands.org/visit/
Kyshon Johnson isn't good at small talk.

The 22-year-old Temple University senior acknowledges that as she opens a black-bound journal full of handwritten notes. She's majoring in international business but speaks as though she is headed toward a career in psychology.

"I always start conversations off with heavy, deep stuff," she said. "It may make you feel uncomfortable, but growth is uncomfortable."

This is what pushed the West Oak Lane native to start the 100 Other Halves project.

Johnson's goal is to speak with 100 women about their relationships with their fathers, whether good, bad, or nonexistent. She launched 100 Other Halves in August with an Instagram video, saying this was a "journey of sisterhood towards realization, understanding, and healing."

After each interview, Johnson posts a portion of the story to Instagram. Each post ends with the women sharing the positive characteristics they've developed from their relationships with their fathers. For some, it's optimism, independence, a strong sense of faith, or the pursuit of knowledge. Even if your father wasn't in your life, there is a relationship with the absence.

At first, Johnson was hesitant about the project. Publicly sharing her own story made her feel vulnerable.

When Johnson was born, her father was incarcerated. He was in and out of her life, and when he was home, she said, there were times when he was violent toward her mother and others. She details this in a very open letter on her website.

She didn't think much of his absence until she was a senior in high school and she traveled to Andalusia, Spain, as part of an independent study-abroad program. Once there, she immediately bonded with her host father. Despite a language barrier, they watched the Olympics together, played charades, and looked through family albums. She watched as he brought home flowers for her host mother and doted on his daughter.

"Imagine never seeing something like that and seeing it full-fledged for 11 days," Johnson recalled.

The day she had to leave, Johnson said, he cried. The moment stayed with her, and she's kept in touch with him since. When she she went to college, all of her new friends had fathers in their lives. But it wasn't until she and her best friend each went through a breakup that she noticed differences.

"I was devastated, and she knew on days when it was too hard she could call her dad," said Johnson. "To get advice from a man that loves you, offers reassurance that other people can't."

That's when it occurred to her the impact a father can have on a daughter's life, she said. "We're affected by this."

When Johnson decided to share her story through 100 Other Halves, she immediately created a list of friends to reach out to. She said, "I remember thinking no one was going to sign up."

But she's already completed 50 interviews in a little more than a month. On a recent afternoon in Rittenhouse Square, Johnson sat down with No. 50, Kerrivah Heard, 21, a Drexel University journalism student.

"I'm about to turn 22," Heard said after her interview. "I feel like I'm kind of finding myself and realizing where I want to go in life. I'm on a spiritual journey , so I'm prioritizing forgiveness a lot more, and this is a step in that direction."

"I think everyone has this image of what a 'daddyless daughter' is supposed to be, like we're walking around broken," Heard said. "My mom is like my role model. I step up to the plate because she does. For that reason, I feel like there's nothing I can't do."

Heard's father was also incarcerated when she was born, and she met him for the first time when she was 6. He was sent to prison again when she was 10. Heard takes her time with Johnson's questions. It's a topic she's been avoiding for years.

But it's what Johnson expects. She said the women were "going to open up wounds [they] didn't know exist."

At the end of each talk, she asks each woman to write a letter to her father, without sending it.

"It allows them to remember things that they've suppressed," said Johnson.

To celebrate reaching 50 stories, Johnson now shares on her website "The Butterfly Collection," two of these anonymous letters each week.

"Some girls can go on for an hour, and in that hour, they're no longer talking to me," said Johnson. "It's like they're talking to themselves."

That was the case with Faith Wells, 21. Wells, who is studying for a master's degree in management and leadership at the American College in Bryn Mawr, said her sister saw the initiative on Instagram and encouraged her to reach out.

"I wanted to shout out my dad and express how he's why I've gotten as far as I have," Wells said.

As the father of six girls, Wells said, her father is someone she can confide in and admires.

"He would challenge me and ask questions. He would listen to what I had to say and he had a follow-up," she said. "That encouraged me to speak out, to be open and confident about what I'm saying."

The decision to portray women with and without fathers was made so both can learn from one another and to remove the stigma of who a woman without a father is. Johnson doesn't want anyone to feel like a victim.

She watched her mother raise three children and earn an MBA. Johnson adopted that same drive. She plans to host a celebratory event once she reaches her goal of 100 interviews. The full version of the 100 stories will be shared on her website with visuals.

"What I love about 100 Other Halves is that we are healing," Johnson said. "This is a platform of healing for women."
Sheriff Jewell Williams signs the policy on how deputies should treat transgender individuals. Read more

The Philadelphia Sheriff's Office unveiled guidelines Friday on how deputies should deal with transgender individuals, from using the correct pronoun  he, she, they  to asking whether they prefer to be searched by a male or female deputy.

"It's about fairness and treating people the way they want to be treated," Sheriff Jewell Williams said.

His office has nearly 300 deputies who transport suspects from detention centers to court, process individuals held in contempt by a judge, and arrest people for outstanding warrants.

As part of the guidelines, newly processed individuals who identify as transgender can list on a form their preference for a male or female deputy to search them. Deputies are also expected to call the individuals by their preferred name, even if it's different from the one on their government-issued ID.

The new transgender policy is similar to one used by Philadelphia police.

Williams said deputies sometimes encounter transgender individuals on a daily basis. Transgender people of color are particularly likely to have to deal with law enforcement, said Deja Lynn Alvarez, a transgender activist who joined Williams to announce the guidelines Friday at City Hall.

"A lot of people don't realize that, for the trans community, the percentage of us having to deal with the sheriff's department on one level or another, or one time or another, is way greater than the average citizen of Philadelphia," Alvarez said. "At some point, we're going to have to deal with law enforcement."

Alvarez called the guidelines "amazing for our community."

Being transgender means identifying with a gender different from the one with which a person was born. Some people opt for surgery to make a transition, but it isn't required, nor is hormone therapy, which would result in a more gradual process.
More than 1,000 Philadelphia police officers have abandoned city living since the department's residency rules were softened five years ago  many lured to the suburbs by the prospect of better schools, cleaner streets, and safer neighborhoods.

The figure, based on an Inquirer and Daily News analysis of payroll data, represents about 15 percent of the nearly 6,000 eligible officers, a tally likely to grow each year.

In 2010, their union won a battle to end the residency requirement for members with at least five years on the job. The rule went into effect five years ago. Firefighters and sheriff's deputies earned the same right a year ago, but most of the rest of the 30,000 municipal workers must be Philadelphians.

The exodus could have been even more pronounced. The police union tried to end the requirement altogether in negotiations for the three-year pact that was approved this summer, but the Kenney administration opposed it. Among its complaints: Losing high-paid city workers  the average salary for police officers who have moved out of the city is about $75,000  weakens the property-tax base and ultimately harms city schools.

"They should hang in the neighborhoods and help make the schools better," said Mayor Kenney, a lifelong city resident who now lives in Old City. "All of our residents need to pitch in and help with our schools."

Better schools in the suburbs are part of the draw, some officers say.

"Unfortunately, we had to go," said a 20-year lieutenant who moved with his family to Bucks County three years ago. He asked not to be identified because he said he was not authorized to speak publicly on the issue. "I couldn't foresee taking that gamble of hoping your kid gets into a charter school" in the city.
Martha Adams, a longtime Republican voter, said she is "a little miffed" at the GOP and party leaders she feels are out of touch with the base's populist mood. That's in part why she has been responding to emails asking her to contribute to support President Trump's agenda.

"He's got a lot of roadblocks," said Adams, 70, a retired speech pathologist from Austin, who said she has given a few hundred dollars this year  including $75 in May, two days after the appointment of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III. "It's just to let him know we still care and that we're still here."

Prodded by emails from Trump urging them to fight "a weak and self-serving political class," and angered by the sense that the president is being treated unfairly, thousands of his loyal backers are helping redefine a party that has long cultivated rich contributors  one small donation at a time.

In giving to support Trump, his backers are pouring tens of millions of dollars into the coffers of the Republican National Committee, which has raised more from small-dollar contributions at this point in the election cycle than the national party has collected in more than a decade.

The low-dollar donations are helping fuel a massive fundraising advantage for the RNC, which has pulled in nearly twice as much as its Democratic counterpart this year.

The GOP's success with small donors illustrates how the Republican Party, long a center of the political establishment, has managed to turn Trump's anti-Washington message to its advantage.

One key asset for the RNC: Trump's willingness to lend his name to a barrage of party appeals, such as an email last month that urged donors to help "drain the swamp," the president's favorite term for the Beltway elite.

The national party also gets a cut of donations flowing to the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, a joint fundraising committee that primarily benefits Trump's reelection campaign but currently gives one-quarter of its proceeds to the RNC.

The joint committee notes its RNC affiliation at the bottom of donor emails. But the messages are crafted to resonate with voters who believe the president is fighting entrenched interests in both parties.

"I want to show every Republican Senator a list of American voters that will NOT be happy if the wall isn't built," read a message the committee sent out in Trump's name in August, referring to his plan to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

Adams said that when she donated to the joint committee, she intended for her money to go to the president.

"I tried to give just to him, because I think he knows best what to do," Adams said. "I don't know if I really meant to give it to the RNC."

Gwynne Abrams, an unemployed nanny in Henderson, Nevada, who gave $78 to the joint committee, said that Trump has been "under attack" from his own party. She plans to vote for the GOP challenger taking on incumbent Sen. Dean Heller in her state next year.

"I'm not giving to the Republican Party, really," said Abrams, 56, adding that the party has "done nothing since they've been in control of the Senate and House."

RNC officials said that the money that ends up at the national committee directly bolsters Trump, financing a rapid-response operation and surrogate network that promote the administration's goals. New investments in data analytics and field staff will boost his 2020 reelection effort, they said.

"The RNC's top priority is to support and advance the president's agenda," RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement, adding that the fundraising surge shows that "voters are invested in our party and the president."

The energy among small donors illustrates the extent to which Trump has translated the rock-ribbed support among his followers into a war chest that can help him overcome his political challenges.

In his 2016 campaign, Trump raised an unprecedented $239 million from donors who gave him a total of $200 or less. That's more than Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and rival Bernie Sanders combined pulled in from low-dollar contributors during the election  and beats the nearly $219 million that former president Barack Obama raised from small donors in his 2012 reelection, according to the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute.

"It was extraordinary," said Michael Malbin, the institute's executive director. "It says that his donors are intensely committed."

The money cascaded in after the Trump campaign and the RNC spent tens of millions running Facebook ads and renting email lists to build a formidable digital fundraising operation. Together, the committees amassed a pool of more than 10 million email address by the end of 2016  including those of more than 2.5 million individual donors.

Since then, the party's fundraising email list has grown by several million, and several hundred thousand new donors have contributed who did not give in 2016, RNC officials said.

This year, more than $40 million of the $68 million that the RNC raised in direct contributions by the end of August came in donations of $200 and less  nearly 60 percent of contributions, campaign finance data show.

That's the most low-dollar money the party has collected at this point in an election cycle since 2005, according to records compiled by the Campaign Finance Institute. And it outstrips small contributions going to the Democratic National Committee, which raised $25 million in such donations by the end of last month.

More money for the RNC is flowing through the Trump Make America Great Again Committee, which had pulled in $14.4 million as of June 30, including $11 million in donations of $200 and less, filings show.

The small-dollar bonanza shows that the RNC has tapped into the "power of the masses," said Brad Parscale, who helped build the online fundraising operation last year as the Trump campaign's digital director. "You're not beholden to large donors. Now you're beholden to Americans, a large population of Americans."

The national party is using its newfound resources to build out its ground operation, with 17 state directors already in place around the country. Under its rules, the RNC stays out of primary contests, but its organizers will help GOP congressional nominees in the upcoming midterms.

The committee recently confirmed it is helping pay for the legal fees Trump has incurred because of the Russia investigations, but those costs are being covered by a legal account financed by wealthy donors, not small contributions.

For its part, the DNC is working to ramp up its own fundraising operation, hoping to do more to harness an energized grass-roots movement on the left. The party is expanding its finance team from three to 30 staffers, and officials noted that the committee had raised more money from low-dollar contributions by the end of August than it had at this point in the last two election cycles.

"We are confident that our team will raise the resources needed as we head into 2018 and beyond," spokesman Michael Tyler said.

Still, the RNC's success is alarming strategists such as Michael Whitney, who served as digital fundraising manager for Sanders's presidential campaign.

"Who knows what will happen for the RNC in a post-Trump era?" Whitney said. "But for now, they have an incredible base of grass-roots donors who will keep donating money."

Their response is largely driven by Trump himself, who has played up his grievances against Washington amid the flurry of controversies that have enveloped his administration.

"They say I'm isolated by lobbyists, corporations, grandstanding politicians, and Hollywood," read a September RNC fundraising email signed by Trump. "GOOD! I don't want them. All I ever want is the support and love from the AMERICAN PEOPLE who've been betrayed by a weak and self-serving political class."

Samantha Osborne, the RNC's chief digital officer, said the ability to use Trump's name in fundraising "has been very, very beneficial to us."

"His supporters know his voice and the way he communicates," she said. "We're trying to make sure we emulate that, keeping it authentic. His tweets do say a lot, and that's what we try to mirror."

Another strength of the Trump digital fundraising operation: He has drawn more ideologically diverse supporters than other small-donor programs on the right, Parscale said.

Trump "has such a big echo chamber and such a large megaphone, he grabbed a very wide spectrum of people," he said.

That includes Chris Chavez, a 20-year-old who runs a small vending business in Scottsdale, Arizona, and grew up watching Trump on the reality show "The Apprentice" with his father. "I saw this businessman who had all of it  he had the American Dream I wish to have some day, and he was giving it up to better the country," Chavez said.

Chavez made his first political donations ever to support Trump's campaign last year and has contributed about $50 this year, including $3 to the RNC as part of a contest to meet the president at a rally in Arizona in August. He won and got to meet Trump backstage.

"My heart just stopped," Chavez recalled. "I would donate to his 2020 campaign in a heartbeat."

The Washington Post's Anu Narayanswamy contributed to this report.
HARRISBURG  It had been a chaotic few hours in the state Capitol when House Minority Leader Frank Dermody strode out to the hallway outside the governor's office to vent his frustration.

Like most leaders in Harrisburg on Wednesday, the Democrat from Allegheny County was upset that a compromise with House Republicans to end the budget stalemate  which at the start of the week had seemed so close  had suffered yet another spectacular collapse in public view.

"I don't know where we are right now," Dermody told reporters.

Those eight words encapsulated what most everyone in the Capitol was thinking as the week drew to a close: More than three months into the impasse, those involved in negotiations are out of new ideas for a deal on how to pay for the state's $32 billion budget.

And it raised the prospect, for the first time since the July 1 start of the new fiscal year, that there may be no deal this year  and that instead, Gov. Wolf, a Democrat, will have to maneuver around the Republican-controlled legislature.

This week, Wolf said he would do just that. As talks collapsed, he said he would borrow more than $1 billion to keep the state solvent and allow it to continue paying its bills on time this fiscal year.

"I'm going to do it myself," Wolf said Thursday during an appearance before the Inquirer and Daily News Editorial Boards.

Though Wolf said he was not giving up on the legislature, he also said he was done waiting for House Republicans to come to a meeting of the minds. He said Thursday that GOP leaders had engaged in "dysfunctional bomb-throwing."

Under Wolf's plan, the state will borrow $1.25 billion in this fiscal year to cover a portion of the state's $2 billion deficit. His administration has also signaled that an additional $600 million due to be doled out to the state-related universities  Temple, Pittsburgh, Lincoln, and Pennsylvania State  will remain frozen unless new revenue plans somehow arise.

The governor said he would pay back the loan using proceeds from the Liquor Control Board, which controls the flow of wine and liquor into the state and operates more than 600 stores that sell those products.

LCB officials, who administration officials acknowledged would have to sign off on the deal, have said only that they "pledge to work collaboratively" with Wolf.

Asked about managing the state's finances without a complete budget, Wolf said: "I can do this indefinitely."

He may have to.

The House and Senate adjourned Wednesday and are not expected to return until mid-month. To some, Wolf's surprise borrowing announcement seemed to take the urgency out of any budget talks.

"It's certainly not the ending that we wanted," Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman (R., Centre) said Wednesday, about an hour after the governor announced his borrowing plan.

Still, Corman expressed a desire to find a way to fund the state-related universities  one that Wolf echoed. But there is no agreement on how to achieve that, nor did there appear to be any imminent meetings.

The legislature passed a nearly $32 billion spending plan in late June, sneaking it in just before the deadline for the new fiscal year. But it didn't have a plan to pay for it, nor a way to close a $1.5 billion deficit from last year and about a $700 million shortfall from this year.

The disagreement, at its core, is over taxes  whether to raise them or impose new ones.

Republicans have said there isn't support for increasing either the state sales or personal income taxes. But GOP leaders in the Senate have been open to other taxes, even voting over the summer to approve a new levy on natural gas drilling companies.

House Republican leaders were adamantly against that plan. In fact, the fight over taxing drillers helped lead to the breakdown in this week's negotiations.

In an interview Thursday, Dermody said leaders were still trying to piece together whether they need to pass remaining budget bills, when to meet, and what steps to take next. His caucus, for one, might push various taxes as a way to fund the state-related universities.

"There's no easy way out of this," he said.
You know what I despise more than people who advocate for abortion rights? It's a really tiny category, occupied by only one life form, because I hate few things as much as the people who dehumanize the developing child. But this week I encountered that creature, one that slithered out from under its moss-covered Western Pennsylvania rock (no, not Steelers' QB Ben Roethlisberger).

The individual who made me consider for a fleeting, painful moment that even Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards is perched in the human pyramid of mediocrity above something worse is Rep. Tim Murphy, Republican from that distant land where Wawa is a cry of desperation, not a really great convenience store.

I have heard of Murphy in my pro-life advocacy, and knew him as one of the strongest, loudest, most valiant supporters of unborn babies, a man who consistently sponsored or supported legislation that would keep chipping away at a woman's right to choose abortion.

Western Pennsylvania tends to be more sympathetic to the concerns of the vulnerable child in utero than we here in the evolved blue fog of Philadelphia and her environs. The strong pro-life voices along the Allegheny, the Monongahela, the Susquehanna, and up by Lake Erie generally make up for the "Aw, abortion Dr. Kermit Gosnell was an exception" fabulists along the Schuylkill.

But now I have to rethink my affection for a region that could produce a man like Murphy.

The congressman was outed this week as someone who wanted to ban abortions for everyone except his mistress. Murphy and his gal had a text-message exchange that strongly implied that when she thought he'd gotten her pregnant, his knee-jerk response was to abort that child.

Girlfriend didn't take kindly to the idea, and it turned out to be only a pregnancy scare. Still, the hypothetical child caused very real problems for the 65-year-old almost-baby-daddy.

Here is a reported excerpt from the Heloise and Abelard meets Silicon Valley exchange:

Girlfriend: "And you have zero issue posting your pro-life stance all over the place when you had no issue asking me to abort our unborn child just last week when we thought that was one of the options."

Murphy: "I get what you say about my March for Life messages. I've never written them. Staff does them. I read them and winced. I told staff, don't write any more. I will."

So, not only do we have a semi-confirmation (through lack of denial) that this valiant pro-life champion actually urged his woman to abort their possible child, we also know that he has absolutely no respect for the grassroots men and women who spend cold January afternoons marching to defend the lives of the unborn. He "winces" at the thought of those embarrassing religious zealots, those misogynists, those useful idiots who are foolish enough to respect him for his "principled" stand on society's great moral failure.

This man seems to actually know a lot about moral failure, and the betrayal of his wife is the least of it.

Murphy betrayed more than his wife, his family, and his constituents. He broke faith with those of us who have to deal with the ridicule and suspicion of the enlightened crowds in D.C. and the satellite capitals, filled with evolved Planned Parenthood acolytes. We have carried the water on these issues for decades, and he has been able to use that genuine devotion to the silent victims of abortion, "the least of these," to advance his own political goals. His apparent willingness to destroy his own child is an example of the rankest hypocrisy, and it does immeasurable damage to the pro-life movement.

Those who support abortion rights now have another scalp for their belts, another white Republican male they can use as a symbol of all that is wrong with a movement dedicated to the protection of the unborn. They have every right to make him the poster boy for the things they hate, because he earned that spot with his own misconduct.

Tim Murphy's great genius was to unite pro-lifers and pro-choicers in one thing: Our disgust for him.

Who says we can't find common ground?
At least with Sandy Hook, they waited a nanosecond before weighing in with the divisive sniping. Maybe it was the fact that children had been executed two weeks before Christmas, and their upturned faces and expectant eyes were etched in our memory, like Cindy Lou Who's innocence confronting the reality of the Grinch: we could not find it in our hearts to start fighting. There was a brief, ephemeral moment of suspended grace before the onslaught of recrimination. Or maybe I have a faulty memory, and the partisan sides were already drawn before the blood of innocents had been mopped up from the schoolroom floors.

But there is nothing faulty in my observational skills this week, when another massacre stole the oxygen from the room and sent us reeling, this time over unnatural evil instead of natural disaster.

Part of the script was predictable and I made a mental calculation  3, 2, 1  of the minutes it would take before someone raised the issue of gun control.

I didn't even make it to 3.

The calls for legislation curtailing access to guns began even before we knew the name of the shooter, his identity, his history. It began while the bullet casings were being scraped up off the ground on the Las Vegas Strip, and families were being notified of their great losses. I have no problem with that, because you cannot look at a massacre of these dimensions and ignore the manner of its execution. If Stephen Paddock didn't have those weapons, 58 people, as of this writing, would still be alive. It's a simple calculation, and even someone like me who almost failed algebra can figure it out.

But while I almost failed algebra, I got a very good grade in logic, and I'm not blind to how people are using this tragedy to advance their political agendas. It started when Sen. Chris Murphy, who as a congressman represented the district where Sandy Hook occurred, took to the floor of Congress and attacked his colleagues for observing a "moment of silence" for the victims. He was careful to package his anger as frustration against the NRA, but anyone could see he was aiming his salvos at Republicans, who are much more likely to oppose gun control legislation than his fellow Democrats.

But even more repellent than the thought that politicians were going to try to gain some tactical advantage at the ballot box was the idea that praying for the souls of the departed was a shallow, calculated show. I couldn't believe it when people started criticizing those of us who would "take a knee" to show solidarity with the dead and their loved ones. Some of these same self-righteous arbiters of morality were the first to defend Colin Kaepernick's right to symbolic protest on the sideline, but were intolerant of grieving Americans who chose to do the same thing to honor the massacre victims. One of my friends explained that the attacks were not really against the mourners but, rather, a commentary on the emptiness of prayerful gestures as the easy way out for a Congress that consistently fails to enact stronger gun laws. Perhaps, but it doesn't answer the question as to why gestures are good enough to protest racism, but not good enough to show respect to the suffering.

But even worse than the reflexive one-upmanship on gun legislation and the "Prayer Is Useless" preaching was the injection of identity politics into the mix. Some people wondered out loud whether we would have reacted differently if the shooter was not a white, wealthy man. People are hooked up to life support, their families don't know whether they will be planning funerals, and we still have time to ask what would have happened if the guy on the 32nd floor wasn't a white millionaire but an immigrant from South Asia or a black guy from Chicago.

It might come as a surprise to some people, but we are not all tuned into the Race Channel 24/7.

I am not a fan of guns. In fact, I am not a fan of the NRA, and while I think that the Second Amendment deserves as much respect as the other protections in the Bill of Rights, I have a hard time understanding how limiting the number of guns a citizen can own, depriving the mentally ill of access to dangerous firearms, mandating laborious background checks, and keeping semi-automatics out of the hands of civilians is controversial. When Charlton Heston said they'd have to pry that gun out of his cold, dead hands, I thought, "Moses, you stepped down from Mount Sinai and went around the bend."

But, my God, people, we can do better than this pathetic performance of political posturing, finger-pointing and race-baiting. Can't we?
The latest leg of my Nuffield Scholarship travels has enabled me to focus on researching my topic: Antibiotic use in pig production  is there a need for systemic change?

Dr Georgina Crayford is a Nuffield Scholar and the NPAs senior policy adviser, with responsibility for health and welfare policy and Young NPA

Given that Nordic countries are often hailed as being a haven of low antibiotic use, I thought I would start my research there. So I spent two weeks in August visiting farms, vets and industry organisations in Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

In 2014, sales of antibiotics for use in food-producing animals in the UK amounted to 62.1 mg/PCU (population correction unit), while sales for the same period were lower in Finland (22.3mg/PCU), Sweden (11.5mg/PCU) and Denmark (44.2mg/PCU).

While premix accounts for the majority of antibiotics sales in the UK, in Finland and Sweden they are mostly delivered by injection. So, how are pig producers in these countries able to use fewer antibiotics? Most obviously, pigs in all three countries benefit from a foundation of good health.

Sweden and Finland enjoyed closed borders until they joined the EU in 1995, at which point schemes were put in place to establish import restrictions. Both are now free of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSv), while Salmonella has been eradicated. Swine dysentery has been virtually eliminated in Finland and they also successfully eradicated enzootic pneumonia.

The backbone of Danish pig production is the SPF (Specific Pathogen Free) herd classification system, which involves regular testing for diseases and full transparency of the health status of Danish farms.

While only 22% of Danish herds have achieved the highest health status (free from EP, APP, swine dysentery, mange mite, lice, PRRSv and toxigenic Pasteurella multocida) more than two-thirds are classified as SPF and most new herds are stocked with SPF pigs.

With a third of Danish pig production exported as weaners, its in their interests to pursue and maintain high health as they can command a premium for it.

I had the pleasure of visiting a pig farm in the southern tip of Sweden, breeding 2,000 sows, averaging 33 pigs/sow/year, and marketing 55,000 30kg weaners a year. When I asked what the main reason was for their low antibiotic use, the farmer said it was down to having healthy sows, with good milk production, resulting in healthy piglets. Good climatic control of buildings, and being in a region with very few pig farms nearby were also important.

Managing disease is easier when key pathogens have been eradicated. The UK pig sector continues to battle on with endemic disease challenges and I think more support from Government and further up the supply chain will be needed to help improve the health status of the national herd.

Get Our E-Newsletter - Pig World's best stories in your in-box twice a week See e-newsletter example Will be used in accordance with our Privacy Policy
A stepping stone to Mars

Pence also said the Moon will serve as a stepping stone to Mars, as was the case during the Constellation program. But how, and on what timeline?

The argument that the Moon is a direct stepping stone for Mars is complicated. There are major differences in entry, descent and landing technologies. The Moon's relative closeness keeps astronauts in near real-time contact with ground controllers, whereas a trip to Mars will entail up to 45-minute delays for a single question-and-answer session. The surface environments are different, changing the design on everything from rovers to spacesuits to dust filters. There are also the issues related to long-duration spaceflightpsychological health, prolonged weightlessness, automationthat a lunar base will not provide ready solutions to. Operational costs are another matter. NASA spends on the order of $3 billion per year to operate, crew, and resupply the space station. How much will it cost to maintain a presence on the Moon? For how long? How much money will be left over to then go to Mars?

There may, however, be broader U.S. interests in play. Pence and other national security-minded congressional representatives and military officers see the Moon as a strategic high ground, especially in regards to China. Space council executive secretary Scott Pace has previously said the Moon provides a way for America to strengthen international partnerships, which bolster the country's larger foreign policy interests. As we've noted before, one way to build consensus for a successful civil space program is tying it to larger national objectives.

But will NASA funding match these objectives? This has been a problem in the past, and the answer will be found in the agency's upcoming budget release next February. Earlier this year, the Trump Administration proposed a $561 million cut for NASA in fiscal year 2018. Will this new goal of reaching the Moon drive an increase to NASA's budget? Or will it redistribute existing funding to lunar projects as it did during Constellation? If so, from where will this funding be taken?

Presumably, the administration and National Space Council will consider the return on investment for different lunar surface stop-off scenarios, with different levels of involvement by NASA's international and commercial partners. Through its Humans Orbiting Mars workshop and report, The Planetary Society found great value in sending humans to Mars in terms of scientific return, searching for life, and challenging our technological capabilities. How these objectives will fit into a revamped human exploration program for either the Moon or Mars is still unclear.

Science

NASA's Science Mission Directorate also demonstrates peerless capability in the exploration and discovery of our cosmos, solar system, and planet. The Hubble Space Telescope may be the most successful science mission in human history, unlocking many secrets of the cosmos while wowing the public with beautiful images of the universe. No other space agency has sent probes to every single planet in the solar system, successfully landed vehicles on Mars, or sent probes beyond the heliopause.

But today's meeting was very focused on human spaceflight and military space activities. Pence did not mention NASA science, though some panel members did.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Science at NASA is a program with clear goals and a clear pathway, and it generally functions well. It's possible that the National Space Council may not spend a lot of time talking about NASA science because there isn't much to talk about. As interesting as it would be to see an extended discussion highlighting science successes and potential paths forward, we shouldn't read too much into the omission at this point.

Pence also said NASA would re-focus on human exploration. This could be a veiled reference to how NASA's Earth Science Division has grown over the past eight years to be the best-funded science division, and reflects a frequent Republican critique that NASA's portfolio has grown too broad and focuses too many resources on Earth observation. It could also be a broader statement critiquing the previous administration's shifting goals, which first proposed sending humans to an asteroid, then to an asteroid around the Moon, and then settling on Mars without orchestrating a commensurate programmatic or budgetary shift.

The Trump administration's first budget request proposed to spend $8.6 billion of NASA's $19.1 billion total budget on human spaceflight programs: primarily the ISS, commercial crew, SLS, and Orion. Billions of additional dollars relate to indirect human spaceflight costs, such as facility construction, civil servant salaries, related technology development, and more. It's fair to say that at least 50 percent of NASA's budget is already focused on human spaceflight activities. The remaining budget is divided between science (30 percent), aeronautics (3 percent), and space technology (3 percent), with the rest going to related overhead, salaries, and maintenance.

You could also parse this a different way, and emphasize the exploration part of Pence's statement. Perhaps the vice president was addressing the lack of exploratory human spaceflight. The ISS, in low-Earth orbit, does not explore new space. But the ISS has a NASA commitment through 2024through the end of a potential second Trump termand there are no discussions to prematurely terminate its operations.

It could also be merely a statement of how the new administration intends to speak about NASA. Both the president and vice president have met with astronauts, spoken with them on the ISS, and visited or mentioned NASA's prime human spaceflight centers around the south. If nothing else, their personal interest is with the astronauts and human side of spaceflight, and the romance of humans exploring deep space is a powerful story.
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters)  President Donald Trump is expected to announce soon that he will decertify the landmark international deal to curb Irans nuclear program, a senior administration official said on Thursday, in a step that could lead to renewed U.S. sanctions against Tehran.

The decision on the nuclear deal is expected to be only part of what Trump will announce, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official said Trump is also expected to roll out a broader U.S. strategy on Iran that would be more confrontational. The Trump administration has frequently criticized Irans conduct in the Middle East.

If Trump declines to certify Irans compliance with the accord, U.S. congressional leaders would have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions on Tehran suspended under the agreement.

Trump has long criticized the Iran nuclear pact, a signature foreign policy achievement of his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama, and signed in 2015 by the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, the European Union and Iran.

In April, the administration said it would review whether the lifting of sanctions against Iran was in the U.S. national security interest. Trump is weighing a strategy that could allow more aggressive U.S. responses to Irans forces, its Shiite Muslim proxies in Iraq and Syria and its support for militant groups.

An administration official previously said the administration was considering Oct. 12 for Trump to give a speech on Iran but no final decision had been made.

Supporters of the deal say its collapse could trigger a regional arms race and worsen Middle East tensions. Opponents say it went too far in easing sanctions without requiring that Iran end its nuclear program permanently.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Additional reporting by David Alexander; Writing by Will Dunham; Editing by Tim Ahmann and James Dalgleish)
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

Robert Muellers investigation into Donald Trumps troubling ties to Russia grew more serious on Thursday, as Muellers team has reportedly met with the author of a damning

According to CNN, the meeting between Muellers team and the ex-British spy who authored the dossier took place this summer.

More from the report:

Special Counsel Robert Muellers investigators met this past summer with the former British spy whose dossier on alleged Russian efforts to aid the Trump campaign spawned months of investigations that have hobbled the Trump administration, according to two people familiar with the matter. Information from Christopher Steele, a former MI-6 officer, could help investigators determine whether contacts between people associated with the Trump campaign and suspected Russian operatives broke any laws. CNN has learned that the FBI and the US intelligence community last year took the Steele dossier more seriously than the agencies have publicly acknowledged. James Clapper, then the director of national intelligence, said in a January 2017 statement that the intelligence community had not made any judgment that the information in this document is reliable.

While Trump and his apologists have repeatedly dismissed the contents of the dossier as fake news, CNN notes that the intelligence community took the dossier seriously enough that they kept it out of a publicly-released January report on Russian meddling in the election in order to not divulge which parts of the dossier they had corroborated and how.

In other words, it is likely that there are at least some parts of the troubling dossier that have been verified by investigators  even public reporting has confirmed some of it  and that should have the White House quivering in its boots.

No matter how many unhinged tweets the president posts or how many hurricane photo-ops he takes, Robert Muellers investigation continues to circle around Donald Trump.
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

The truth is coming out. Trumps fury at NBC News has nothing to do with fake news. He is enraged because his own Secretary of State called him a moron.

Here is MSNBCs Andrea Mitchell detailing the enraged White House chaos:

It appears that Trump didnt know that his own Secretary of State called him a moron until the story broke on NBC News.

As NBC reported, Trump was furious when he saw the NBC News report, which was published shortly before 6 a.m. Wednesday. For the next two hours the president fumed inside the White House, venting to Kelly, officials said.

Trump was preparing to go to Las Vegas to meet with victims of the worst mass shooting in US history, but instead, he spent his time fuming because his top diplomat called him a moron.

From the beginning of his presidency, Trump has provided evidence that he is a moron. Trump doesnt believe the evidence of his inaugural crowd size. He thinks that illegal voters stole the popular vote from him. He believes that Barack Obama spied on him. Trump and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have engaged in screaming matches because McConnell is convinced that Trump has no idea how government works. Trump thinks he is no longer a civilian because he is president. Trump believes that executive orders are legislation, and the list goes on and on.

Trumps ego must be destroyed because he has never been treated this way. No one had ever dared to tell Trump that hes a moron before he was in politics. Trump is hearing the truth about himself, and the truth hurts. A president who cant handle reality is getting confronted with the fact that he is not intellectually up to the challenge and failing in the White House.
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

Even as leaders in both major parties call for a ban on bump stock devices in the wake of the Las Vegas shooting, Republican Congressman Steve Scalise  himself a recent victim of gun violence  says its a little bit early to consider the move.

In an interview with Chuck Todd, Scalise accused gun safety advocates of wanting to limit the rights of gun owners.

Video:

.@SteveScalise: The A.T.F. should review their decision to authorize bump stocks, rather than Congress. Full interview airs Sunday on #MTP. pic.twitter.com/p0E4Fd1OcY  Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) October 5, 2017

Scalise, who spent part of the interview in crutches as he continues to recover from being shot back in June, said this:

If you talked to anybody about a week ago, most people, including myself, didnt even know what a bump stock was. So now were finding out about it. Again, there are people who want to rush to judgment. Theyve got a bill written already. Look, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi already said she wants it to be a slippery slope. She doesnt want to stop at bump stocks. They want to go out and limit the rights of gun owners. So I do think its a little bit early for people to say they know what to do to fix this problem. I know there are people that are asking to ATF to go back and review their 2010 decision to authorize it and I think they should and they are.

Its stunning that anybody would be against limiting a device that essentially transforms a firearm into an automatic weapon, but its dumbfounding that Scalise, who almost died in a shooting, is hesitant to support it.

Even the National Rifle Association  an organization that fought tirelessly to stop any measure to curb gun violence  expressed their support of regulating the device.

At the end of the day, despite the reluctance of Scalise to ban a device that helped the Vegas shooter mow down hundreds of concertgoers, legislation to prohibit bump stocks will probably have enough support to get through Congress.

But the American people shouldnt be fooled into thinking thats enough  thats what the NRA and GOP want you to think. Its not enough.

Taking away this dangerous accessory is a no-brainer, but much, much more needs to be done  and we shouldnt stop pushing our members of Congress until they do it.
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

During an interview with Mike Huckabee, Trump complained that the legislative filibuster is a death sentence for Republicans, as he demonstrated that he has no idea how the 60 vote rule works.

Video:

Trump said, And the problem we have is we have 52 senators and they have to get rid of the absolutely crazy voting where you need 60, its called the filibuster rule its a disaster, ok? Its a disaster for the Republicans. They have to get rid of it. If they dont get rid of it, its just a death sentence.

What the President doesnt get is that the filibuster rule has had nothing to do with his many failures. Republicans have been trying to repeal and replace Obamacare, and cut taxes for the wealthy through reconciliation, which only requires 50 votes and the vice president to break the tie. Trump is using the 60 vote rule and an excuse that doesnt apply. The fact that he has made this mistake over and over again suggests that he doesnt understand the rules of the Senate.

Even if the 60 vote rule was changed, and it wont be, Republicans would run into the same dynamic that killed their healthcare bill. Since Republicans can only afford to lose two votes and still pass legislation through reconciliation, the votes of those 52 Republican Senators become more powerful. Getting rid of the 60 vote rule would solve Trumps problems, it would make them worse because it would only take 3 Republicans to kill any piece of legislation.

Trump is too lazy to learn the basics of governing, so he sticks to his misguided beliefs even when they make him look a moron.
Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Email

Print

Heres your Friday reminder that President Trump doesnt have the character required to be anywhere near the White House.

Watch President Trump say Puerto Rico in an affected Spanish accent three times in a row, as pointed out by MSNBCs Kyle Griffin in a clip he compiled from CBS footage:

Trump says Puerto Rico in an affected Spanish accent three times in a row. (via CBS) pic.twitter.com/FopaVNLqAY  Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 6, 2017

CBS:

"We are also praying for Puerto Rico. We love Puerto Rico," Pres. Trump says https://t.co/T5uqoA85rO pic.twitter.com/LCrgaD7af0  CBS News (@CBSNews) October 6, 2017

If Obama had visited the South and repeatedly used a fake Southern accent, Republicans would have lost their minds, and that doesnt even come close to the degree of racism that Trump displayed with his performance.

The same president who slow-walked aid told people that it might be too expensive to rebuild, and criticized the island for wrecking his budget used a fake accent to mock the people of Puerto Rico.

This is not normal, and the American people should reject Trumps behavior at every opportunity.

Image: CBS News screen grab
EU offers carrot instead of stick to Hungary and Poland

EU Commissioner of Justice Vira Jourova said on Friday that she is ready to simplify rules controlling cohesion expenditure if Hungary and Poland join the new European Public Prosecutors Office (EPPO). This is a major departure in the Commissioners approach compared to her threat a few months ago that member states refusing to join EPPO risk losing access to EU funds beyond 2020.

Eyeing Budapest and Warsaw, Jourova said that she would propose for the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) to simplify" and soften" cohesion rules if countries agree to come under the new EU prosecutors oversight, she told a group of journalists today, EurActiv reported

I truly believe that EPPO could enable us to simplify the rules

, she insisted.She argued that in the current system there are too many actors" and rules to ensure a better spending of EU funds. But instead of improving the quality of EU budget management, they overheat the system.I always want to keep control and order, but I dont want to enable duplicity of controlling bodies in member states," she said.In her view, once the EPPO is fully operational in 2020, the new body would act as a deterrent. As a result, less preventive rules would be needed to avoid mismanagement or fraud committed using EU funds.

What is the EPPO?

The EPPO will be an independent Union body with the authority to investigate and prosecute EU-fraud and other crimes affecting the Unions financial interests. The establishment of the EPPO will bring about substantial change in the way the Unions financial interests are protected. It will combine European and national law-enforcement efforts in a unified, seamless and efficient approach to counter EU-fraud.



Currently, only national authorities can investigate and prosecute EU-fraud. Their competences stop at their national borders. Existing Union-bodies (such as OLAF, Eurojust and Europol) do not have and cannot be given the mandate to conduct criminal investigations.



The EPPO will fill this institutional gap. It will have exclusive and EU-wide jurisdiction to deal with suspicions of criminal behaviour falling within its remit.



The EPPO will be an efficient Union body pooling investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Member States with clear hierarchical lines to ensure swift decision making. It will have uniform investigation powers throughout the Union based on and integrated into the national law systems of the Member States. The EPPO will be an independent Union body with the authority to investigate and prosecute EU-fraud and other crimes affecting the Unions financial interests. The establishment of the EPPO will bring about substantial change in the way the Unions financial interests are protected. It will combine European and national law-enforcement efforts in a unified, seamless and efficient approach to counter EU-fraud.Currently, only national authorities can investigate and prosecute EU-fraud. Their competences stop at their national borders. Existing Union-bodies (such as OLAF, Eurojust and Europol) do not have and cannot be given the mandate to conduct criminal investigations.The EPPO will fill this institutional gap. It will have exclusive and EU-wide jurisdiction to deal with suspicions of criminal behaviour falling within its remit.The EPPO will be an efficient Union body pooling investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Member States with clear hierarchical lines to ensure swift decision making. It will have uniform investigation powers throughout the Union based on and integrated into the national law systems of the Member States. Click here for more.

Countries that still turn down the option to be under the EPPOs supervision will have to comply with the existing preventive rules and more scrutiny from OLAF, the EUs anti-fraud agency.The new EU prosecutor will investigate fraud and corruption cases involving cohesion and agricultural funds. It will also prosecute VAT fraud, as this tax is used to finance the EU budget.In the case of VAT, the Commission believes that criminal networks are causing a EUR 50 billion hole in member state public finances using the so-called carousel scheme.But for Jourova it is not only a question of money. There is too much trust at stake," she stressed. If money allocated for roads and wind farms ends up in the Bahamas or Cartier watches, the blocs common pot would lose support from member states.

Hungary and Poland are two of the countries that, to date, have refused to join enhanced cooperation to set up the public prosecutors office.

Related article

This is why Hungary opposes European Public Prosecutors Office 31/01/2017 2:25pm

The Netherlands, Sweden and Malta also ruled out supporting the project, as they are wary of the negative impact it may have on their national judiciary systems. Meanwhile, Denmark, the UK and Ireland have an opt-out on judiciary matters.This week, the European Parliament gave its approval to the EPPO. The Council is expected to give its final blessing next week.
Charleston, SC (29403)

Today

Rain and scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. High 72F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms during the evening, then cloudy skies overnight. Low 56F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.
Nothing brings a frown to my face faster than someone saying, "Off the record?"

Man, I hate that.

Some people ask it because they legitimately have something they need to keep close to the vest. Others, well, I'm pretty sure they just want to see the disappointed look on my face.

I was asked to go off the record a couple of times this last week. One I really can't tell you about in detail. The other, I'm just going to tell you what the guy said. Why? Because I'm horrible at keeping secrets. But I do it when I'm forced to keep them. And, in one case, I totally have to keep the secret; well, sort of.

In the second case, well, you'll see.

ADVERTISEMENT

Still Waters

So, the first secret came from Chad Springer, the city administrator in Wabasha. On Sept. 26, I attended a meeting where Chad and a bunch of other interested parties waded through the 88 alternative proposals to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredge material management plan. These were the 88 suggestions people made to the Corps during the 100-plus day public comment period that ran from May 11 to Aug. 25.

The secret  the thing off the record  is that Springer has an 89th alternative plan.

OK, so nothing I'm about to tell you is anything Springer himself has not said in an open meeting. So, while I know more about this 89th alternative than I'm going to say, I will tell you it's there. See, I won't really break Chad's trust on the whole "off-the-record" thing. Chad's an important source.

Still, the 89th alternative involves a private landowner who believes he can take the dredge material each year for commercial use. Furthermore, that landowner's property is in Wabasha.

Why Even Do It?

And, until Chad or the landowner says anything beyond that, I'm keeping silent.

Why? Because I promised. And, more importantly, keeping something off the record has value. The landowner probably wants to make sure this proposal will work for him or her before announcing it. Until then, it's better to figure that out without the public pressure of a potential deal that everyone wants to talk about.

ADVERTISEMENT

The bigger question is why do we even listen to things we cannot print? Well, there are plenty of reasons, though I've known many journalists who refuse to go off the record. Maybe they can't keep secrets like I can. (Ha!) Or maybe they want to force the source to say things on the record.

Here's a Secret

Recently, I had a conversation with an attorney in the court case in which landowners and frac sand interests are suing Winona County to overturn the ban on frac sand mining. One attorney in the case said he wouldn't speak on the record, but he'd give me background information to use in my story.

My thought was, "Huh? Do you know how journalism works?"

I didn't say this  I kept it off the record. (See what I did there?) How am I supposed to use information in a story if I can't attribute it to someone? Had this guy (or girl, in the interest of keeping it vague) never heard of the growing controversy about fake news?

Basically, he told me things about the case before Tuesday's motion hearing in Winona he ended up saying at the motion hearing in Winona. It amounted to how Minnesota Sands LLC believes no matter how the case is resolved, it will be owed money because the ban has stopped the corporation  either temporarily if the ban is overturned or permanently if the ban is upheld  from cashing in on the mineral value of the leases it holds on frac sand land in Winona County.

The attorney said he didn't want to be seen as trying the case in the media before the judge got to hear the case.

I know, lame secret.

ADVERTISEMENT

And that's often the case when people speak off the record. Still, I kept his (... or her ...) name out of the newspaper in the story I wrote. Yet, I still used the information.

So, feel free to tell me anything. I'm sure whatever you think is all hush-hush isn't worth keeping silent. But if it is, and if you ask nicely, I'll keep it off the record.
We value your privacy.

Focus Taiwan (CNA) uses tracking technologies to provide better reading experiences, but it also respects readers' privacy. Click here to find out more about Focus Taiwan's privacy policy. When you close this window, it means you agree with this policy.
The week that includes Oct. 9 has been the National Fire Prevention Week since 1925, springing from a National Fire Prevention Day which was first recognized in 1911 on the 40th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire .

The purpose is to renew fire safety awareness each year in the hope of reducing the loss of life and property due to fire. The National Fire Protection Association determines each year's fire prevention message.

This year's theme is "Every second counts  plan two ways out."

Every home needs an escape plan that includes the main way out and a backup plan, in case the main exit is blocked.

The Rochester Fire Department will be participating again this year, as it does every year. Open houses will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday at the five fire stations.

ADVERTISEMENT

The public is welcome to stop in and see the fire trucks, tour the stations and view demonstrations by the firefighters. Visitors to Stations One and Four can bring their home fire extinguishers in for a free inspection.

 Station One: 521 Broadway Ave. South

 Station Two: 2185 Wheelock Drive NE

 Station Three: 2755 Second St. SW

 Station Four: 1875 41st St. NW

 Station Five: 325 28th St. SE

In addition to fire prevention, this is also the week everyone should replace the batteries in their home smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.

If you don't have a smoke detector or a CO detector, this is the week to buy one.

ADVERTISEMENT

For more information, visit http://www.nfpa.org/fpw
Mayo Clinic donated $78,000 this week to the Rochester Salvation Army, according to Mayo spokeswoman Kelly Reller.

Salvation Army Major Jim Frye called it "an important donation" that will be used to support Good Samaritan Health Clinic, Caring Partners Adult Day Program and Transitional Living & Counseling.

"We are so grateful to Mayo Clinic for their continued support," Frye said in a written statement. "These programs are life-changing to those individuals and families utilizing our services. By contributing to the Salvation Army, Mayo Clinic is helping bring hope and to meet the needs to so many."

The Salvation Army was established in London more than 150 years ago and routinely serves more than 25 million Americans in need of a wide range of social services. The services include food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, clothing and shelter for the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children, among other things.
Recalling the southwest Rochester neighborhood she grew up in, Nancy Slocumb said a small building had an big impact.

"All of us lived at that place," she told the Rochester City Council while asking them to consider the fate of the former Benny's R-Tic Root Beer Stand.

The building on the corner of First Avenue and Sixth Street Southwest is part of the VFW property marked for sale to the University of Minnesota Rochester. On Monday, the council approved releasing up to $3.1 million in local-option sales tax funds, which are part of $14 million designated for the UMR campus.

Slocumb said she's hoping an alternative to demolishing the building can be found.

The former drive-in was owned by Benny and Eloise Dresbach and operated as Benny's R-Tic Root Beer Stand from 1947 to 1987, using car hops to serve root beer, hot dogs and mexi-burgers.

ADVERTISEMENT

"It certainly had a major piece of the cultural characteristics of the time," Slocumb said.

Council members Ed Hruska and Mark Bilderback echoed Slocumb's appreciation for the former gathering spot at the recalled being customers at the drive-in as youths, but Bilderback noted the fate of the building will likely depend on others.

Members of the nonprofit Rochester Conservancy, which includes Slocumb, are seeking to inspire others to take up the challenge. While the group advocates for preserving historic properties in the city member John Kruesel said more people must take on the project of preserving the former drive-in.

"We're trying to get neighbors engaged and have them decide what they hold dear," he said, noting the building has been important to the southwest neighborhoods.

Relocation required

Any hopes of saving the former root-beer stand will likely require moving it.

According to John Hachtel, UMR's director of marketing and communications, the pending agreement with the VFW requires the property to be a level, graded lot with no structures when the sale closes.

"The disposition of the building is for the VFW to determine," he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

VFW Commander Gary Pike said the veterans' organization has no plans for either building on the site.

"If somebody wants to move it, they can certainly do that," he said of the former Benny's building.

Heritage status

The building was removed from a list of potential landmarks being challenged by property owners in August. Former City Administrator Aaron Reeves said the structure was on the list by mistake since a consultant's 2014 report didn't include it as a potential landmark.

The commission voted 8-1 to remove it.

Commission member Barry Skolnick said he felt the issue needed more review.

"I don't like the rush for judgment," he said. "I think we are moving too fast without due diligence."

Reeves pointed out the building had been on the list for four months, and the commission failed to make it a priority before sale plans moved forward.

ADVERTISEMENT

Commission Chairwoman Christine Schultze agreed there was an urgency to make a decision but also acknowledged the building's status for many long-time residents.

"The history of that building has emotional significance, cultural significance and historic significance to people of this community," she said, adding that it may not rise to the top of everyone's list. "If you got together 80 people who grew up in this town, I bet there are only 40 who will talk about this building."

While she said a decision needed to be made, she acknowledged she wished it would have turned out differently.

"As an icon of the community, this is one I would have hoped had gone on the list," she said.

Timeline not set

The fate of the building doesn't need to be decided right away. Hachtel said the timeline for the sale will depend on the VFW's plans for relocation, as well as the University of Minnesota's Board of Regents approval of the purchase with up to $3.1 million of the $14 million in local-option sales tax revenue earmarked for the UMR campus.

Pike said the VFW is working on a plan to relocate and will announce it when details are finalized.
MINNEAPOLIS  The new head of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota says he feels privileged to have a full-time job where he can be a champion for civil rights.

Longtime Twin Cities attorney John Gordon was named executive director of the organization's Minnesota chapter Thursday. He told The Associated Press that defending the Constitution is more important than ever as cruelty, homophobia, racism and violence permeate some people's lives.

QUICK BIO

Gordon has been an attorney in the Twin Cities for more than 40 years and recently served as ACLU-MN's interim legal director. Throughout his career he's worked on complex commercial litigation, but also has taken on public interest cases. He represented LGBT students seeking relief from harassment in the Anoka-Hennepin School District, plaintiffs challenging Minnesota's "conceal-carry" firearms statute and immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S.

He has also taught law at the University of Minnesota and the University of St. Thomas.

ADVERTISEMENT

Gordon said he's thrilled to be at the ACLU, where he can work full-time on causes he's supported for years. He replaces Charles Samuelson, who retired in February after leading the chapter for 20 years.

THE ACLU'S ROLE TODAY

Gordon said the ACLU's work is critical in today's climate, when many people feel their rights and liberties are under threat.

"I don't think there has ever been a time when it is more important for us to be defending the Constitution and the Bill of Rights," Gordon said.

He noted the ACLU was active during the Red Scare, in the civil rights and anti-war movements, and other turbulent times in history. But now: "I think we are seeing an avalanche of cruelty, homophobia, racism and violence that literally permeates our public and our civil life. I know the ACLU has played a key role in upholding the rule of law and upholding the Constitution in past times, and I'm confident we will continue to do that," he said.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Gordon said the ACLU will continue to work on the same issues as always, including freedom of speech, immigrants' rights, racial justice, police misconduct issues, and more. But the organization will also turn to emerging issues in defense of the Constitution.

For example, new technology has brought up issues that didn't exist five years ago, such as police use of body cameras and the policies that surround them, or the use and sale of student data by marketers, he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

Concerns have also arisen over interactions between state and local governments and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Gordon said the Justice Department is trying to get state and local governments to hold people longer than they are entitled to so immigration officials can pick them up.

He said immigration enforcement is less discriminating than it was under the Obama administration.

"This Justice Department has very intentionally put this entire community in fear," he said. "You can see it in people's faces."

WHAT ABOUT HATE SPEECH?

When asked how the ACLU will navigate protecting a person's right to free speech when it comes to hateful or racist rhetoric, Gordon said the ACLU's priority is the vigorous protection of the Constitution and the First Amendment.

"But we do have to make sure that we are not facilitating threats against people, bullying of people, putting people in fear, endangering them  that is not what we are going to be doing. That is, in fact, what we are fighting against," he said.

"We are not going to work with people who are using the Constitution as a sham or as a vehicle for doing hateful and violent and dangerous things," he said. "How does that play out in any given circumstance? You don't know until someone knocks on your door."
Over the past several months Ive reported the machinations involving President Trumps nomination of Minnesota Justice David Stras to the Eighth Circuit. The nomination dates back to early May. The nomination remains in limbo. President Trump has yet to nominate candidates for four other vacancies including United States Marshal, United States Attorney and two federal district court judgeships. All these pieces are in play. The principal players dealing with the White House are Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and Minnesota Third District Rep. Erik Paulsen, each of whom has promoted candidates for the vacancies.

Klobuchar has negotiated with the White House over the vacancies in connection with the Stras nomination. The White House has sought to work out a deal with her. She has failed to respond to any of my inquiries on the subject and Ive quit asking. On August 4, for example, I reported that Klobuchar was promoting Minneapolis attorney Joe Dixon for the position of United States Attorney. Neither Klobuchar nor Dixon responded to my inquiries in that case.

I thought that the Star Tribune would pick up the thread somewhere along the line, although I didnt think it would take quite this long. Its a significant story of local interest and beyond. In todays Star Tribune Stephen Montemayor turns to it in the article With spotlight on Stras Eighth Circuit nomination, new uncertainty for other Minnesota vacancies.

Montemayor alludes to Klobuchars negotiations with the White House. These negotiations have been ongoing for a while although I dont think they have previously seen the light of day in the Star Tribune. After I wrote about Klobuchars promotion of Dixon, I received a message from the White House Counsels office asking me to quit writing about Klobuchar while they tried to work out a deal with her; I was annoying her.

Montemayor discusses the various candidates for United States Attorney including Dixon. He also reports: Sources have said the White House at one point floated the possibility of nominating a candidate recommended by Klobuchar and Franken in exchange for their blessing for a Senate hearing for Stras, who has been described as a priority for the administration.

Klobuchar has her own suggestions for the district court vacancies. The context of the sentence above suggests that the reference is to these district court vacancies. I believe that Klobuchar has candidates she has been pushing for all the vacant Minnesota positions.

Earlier this week I reported that Klobuchar had returned her blue slip on Justice Stras. Montemayor adds a bit with the help of a comment from Klobuchar: After Franken announced he would not return his blue slip, thus stalling Stras nomination, Klobuchar said in a statement that she would have supported a Senate hearing for Stras, and sources said she indeed returned a blue slip for his nomination. But she also said that the White House will need to provide additional names for the 8th Circuit position.

What does this mean? It implies that the Stras nomination will not proceed based on his refusal to return his blue slip on Stras. Klobuchars comment calls for further interpretation and commentary that are conspicuously lacking in the article. I gave mine in Klobuchar shows her blue slip. At this point I can only observe that this complicated story requires continuing attention and development.
The mainstream media has been promoting the idea that the Trump administration is intentionally sabotaging Obamacare. This article in the Washington Post, which uses the word sabotage in the headline of the paper edition, is an example of the talking point.

One way the administration is said to be sabotaging Obamacare is by cutting funds to groups that try to enroll people in the program and by reducing its advertising budget. Fewer enrollments by young, healthy consumers undermine Obamacare, which relies on their participation to buffer the health-care costs of sicker customers, to borrow the euphemistic language of Post reporter Juliet Eilperin.

I dont know whether the Trump administration is trying to sabotage Obamacare. However, the case for cutting funds to activist groups that work to enroll people in the program, and for slashing the advertising budget, seems solid on the merits.

Obamacare has been around long enough to sell itself to those to whom it can be sold. If Obamacare is a good deal, and Im sure it is for some, word of its virtues will have spread by now. The left may regard Americans as sheep in need of herding, but theres no reason why the rest of us should.

The famous push to enroll Americans (Pajama Boy and all that) made sense when Obamacare was rolled out in 2013, though I always had reservation about using left-wing activists for this purpose. Four years on, it makes sense to cut back substantially on this effort.

In addition, there is a strong case that Obamacare is a bad deal for young, healthy Americans. That is the view of the Trump administration.

It is problematic for an administration to try to persuade these people to agree to what it considers a bad deal for them. This is especially true of an administration, like Trumps, that doesnt even believe their participation will serve a greater good  namely the preservation of Obamacare, a system it opposes.

The Posts article also considers the unwillingness of the Trump administration to approve, so far, various requests from states  e.g., Iowa  to make changes in their ailing health insurance marketplace. These waiver requests require a case-by-case analysis, and Eilperin doesnt supply enough information  e.g., the administrations side of the story  to permit readers to evaluate the merits.

One of the cases involves Minnesota. There, the administration approved a request for more than $300 million in funds to establish a reinsurance program that will lower premiums by guaranteeing insurers limited financial exposure for customers with particularly high medical expenses. However, the administration also cut a slightly larger amount in funding aimed at residents who earn between 138 percent and 200 percent of the federal poverty level  in other words, residents who arent poor.

I cant speak to the merits of this compromise. I will note that the assumption of the administrations critics, and throughout Eilperins article, is that it is somehow illegitimate to be concerned about the cost to the federal government of patching up Obamacare. If Tom Price can fly on chartered jets, we are told, then the feds can be more generous with this or that program or subsidy.

This is an obvious non-sequitur. Its reasonable for the Trump administration to be cost conscious for any program, and certainly for one it doesnt like. However, the benefit of a particular waiver request, or program that might be used to offset the cost, must also be part of the administrations calculus.

And I think Trump should be mindful that the collapse of Obamacare markets in states like Iowa might damage him politically.

UPDATE: A reader asks:

Did the Post and its fellow travelers publish stories that President Obama sabotaged federal immigration law with his executive orders? Did they suggest the Obama Administration sabotaged the Constitutions treaty ratification procedures after it reached its nuclear arms agreement with Iran?

No. I dont recall any such stories or suggestion.
A woman that a 52-year-old Oak Park man said he hired for sex in Detroit stole his car, cash and iPhone after they spent the night together Sept. 22 at Americas Best Value Inn, 13181 Michigan Ave.

The man called police that morning to report the vehicle theft.

When police arrived at the motel at about 7 a.m., he told them a woman he picked up the night before had stolen his 2008 Ford Explorer.

The man told police the woman was a prostitute and that he paid her $80 to spend the night together.

He said he picked her up at about 3 a.m. near Livernois and Michigan Ave.

The man said he then drove to the Dearborn motel and spent the night with the woman until she left at 4:20 a.m. with the mans car keys, $100 cash and phone.

The woman then drove off in an unknown direction in the mans car.

Due to the mans level of intoxication the night before, he couldnt remember the womans name, but was able to describe her as a white woman, about 25 years old, with blonde hair.

Surveillance footage captured the woman walking out of the hotel room carrying a small black bag.

 Scott Bolthouse
Cheryl Farley was so convinced she would die by the time she was in her 70s that she already made arrangements for her house, assets and final wishes.

With a family history of premature death, which she relates to disease and weight-related conditions, Farley, 58, of Mays Landing, thought she would follow in the footsteps of her late mother, father and brother.

But in early 2016, Farley said she took a hard look at her health, heavy weight and lifestyle and became determined to beat the family odds, dropping more than 130 pounds in the first year and a half.

As health experts link obesity to more diseases like cancer, diabetes and heart disease, some people like Farley are drastically changing their lifestyles with exercise and nutrition to avoid medical procedures, pain, medications, health risks and a life cut short.

My life is completely different now, she said. I want to live a long time, and I got tired of taking all the medications and being in pain.

Nearly 28 adults per every 100 people are overweight or obese in New Jersey, according to an August Trust for Americas Health report. The states rate ranks low among all others, but experts say it is still growing.

In addition to common weight-related conditions like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and hypertension, officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that overweight and obesity are associated with increased risk of 13 types of cancers.

Experts found that those cancers, including multiple myeloma, thyroid, gallbladder, stomach, liver, pancreatic, liver, ovarian, colon and others, accounted for about 40 percent of all cancers diagnosed in the United States in 2014.

About 630,000 people in the country were diagnosed with a cancer associated with overweight and obesity in 2014, the majority of which were among adults ages 50 to 74, according to a CDC report released Thursday.

Farley said before February 2016, she was taking 12 different medications for Type 2 diabetes, cholesterol, inflammation, her thyroid and depression, among other conditions. She went to bed and woke up most days in pain, especially in the knee where she had a replacement several years ago.

She got inspired to make big changes in her life through a wellness program at her workplace, Wawa, and set out to find a trainer that would design a personalized exercise and nutrition plan for her physical and medical goals.

All the exercise plans we do are individualized, said Joseph LaCerra, Farleys trainer and owner of Hometown Health and Fitness in Mays Landing. For Cheryl, because she had a knee replacement, we needed to work on how to move properly and safely first.

This was the fourth gym and trainer Farley tried, which led to frustration, she said. LaCerra said not finding the right person and wellness plans could serve as barriers for someone pursuing a healthier lifestyle, especially when medical conditions may be involved and a customized routine is necessary.

Farley said she eventually felt comfortable enough with LaCerra to tell him about all the medications she was taking for various weight-related conditions, and that made it easier for him to create exercise routines and nutrition guidance that would work for her body as well as her goals.

Since her lifestyle changes, Farley doesnt wear her knee brace anymore, because shes no longer in pain and because it no longer fits her slimmer leg.

Last month, her doctor took her off the last of her medications as her body and mind didnt need them anymore. Whereas doctors had previously encouraged her to get weight-loss surgery, Farley said shes no longer a viable candidate.

Farley meets with LaCerra three times a week to work on exercise and nutrition. She has tried almost every group fitness class at the gym at least once and no longer stands in the back in baggy shifts that hide her frame.

Instead of having all those plans for her belongings when shes gone, Farley said, Now, Ive created a bucket list. Things that I never thought Id be able to do, that I want to do. Im so excited about what the future has  and my family is so impressed with what Ive done.

Im having more fun in my life than Ive had in the last 30 years. I just need to keep moving.
GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP  AtlantiCare and nine other New Jersey hospitals won national recognition this month for their focus on health care for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients and employees.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of the countrys largest LGBTQ civil-rights organization, named the hospital a leader in health care equality for work on eliminating discrimination through policies and programs for staff and patients.

The hospital created its PRIDE Employee Resource Group in 2010 to bring advocates together in order to start initiatives that would make LGBTQ employees feel welcome in working at AtlantiCare and encourage patients to seek health care.

Unfortunately, LGBTQ often face discrimination, said Dr. Edward Hamaty, executive sponsor of PRIDE and chairman of AtlantiCare Critical Care. Were definitely making a statement that LGBTQ people are welcome here, not only as patients, but employees.

AtlantiCare holds nondiscrimination training and programs for staff and patients, has established policies that protect LGBTQ patients visitation rights and addresses patients by their preferred gender pronouns.

Other recognized hospitals were Hackensack University Medical Center, Veteran Affairs New Jersey Health Care system, Jersey City Medical Center, Goryeb Childrens Hospital, Morristown Medical Center, Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, Newton Medical Center, Chilton Medical Center and Overlook Medical Center.

Hospital experts said the focus for this year and the future is to increase health care resources for transgender patients.

Hamaty said it would best serve the community to provide basic testing and services locally, limiting the number of times people may have to travel to places such as Philadelphia or New York City where transgender specialists often reside.

We try to eliminate that unconscious bias to the heterosexual model, Hamaty said. For years, thats how everything was done, and it causes some distress to people who dont fall into that category.
A Pennsylvania man became the 10th person to plead guilty as part of a federal investigation into a prescription drug scam thats cost New Jerseys public employee health care plans millions of dollars through fraud.

Pharmaceutical sales representative Michael Neopolitan, 49, of Willow Grove, admitted Friday he defrauded New Jersey state health benefits programs and other insurers out of millions of dollars by submitting fraudulent claims for medically unnecessary prescriptions.

Neopolitan appeared before U.S. District Judge Robert B. Kugler in U.S. District Court in Camden on Friday morning to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud.

In his plea, Neopolitan admitted recruiting employees covered under the state health benefits plans, getting their insurance information and filling out prescriptions for compounded medications, selecting the most expensive options without regard to their medical necessity.

State Health Benefits Plan targeted in fraud case For most public employees, New Jerseys State Health Benefits Plan is some of the best healt

He would then have doctors sign the prescriptions without evaluating the patients and fax the prescriptions to the compounding pharmacy, which would fill the order and bill the states pharmacy benefits manager.

Neopolitan must forfeit $198,671 and pay $762,519 in restitution, according to the plea deal. He faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced Jan. 12.

More than $25 million in fraudulent prescriptions were paid out in the scam in a year, prosecutors said.

Nine other conspirators have pleaded guilty, including four South Jersey men. Matthew Tedesco, 42, a Linwood pharmaceutical representative; Michael Pepper, 45, an Atlantic City firefighter; Richard Zappala, 45, a pharmaceutical rep from Northfield; and John Gaffney, a physician in Margate, have pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme and await sentencing.

Margate doctor admits $24 million prescription-fraud scheme CAMDEN  A Margate doctor admitted Friday morning to more than $24 million in prescription f

Many of those pleading so far have been pharmaceutical sales reps or employees, including Robert Bessey, 43, of Philadelphia; Steven Robert Urbanski, 37, of Marlton; Thomas Hodnett, 41, of Vorhees; Judd Holt, 42, of Marlton; and George Gavras, 36, of Moorestown.

Prosecutors have said the illegal scheme centers on the billing of the states public health benefits plan for compounded drugs. Drug compounding is a process in which a pharmacist mixes ingredients into a custom drug. While the process is legal, its not regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The drug mixtures are expensive, with a tube of cream costing thousands of dollars each. Recent federal prosecutions have uncovered massive abuse in similar investigations across the country.

As part of the local investigation, federal subpoenas were issued in June to Atlantic City, Ventnor and Margate seeking information about potential fraud targeting public-employee prescription benefits.

Former Atlantic City firefighter joins guilty pleas in federal health fraud case CAMDEN  A former Atlantic City firefighter pleaded guilty Friday to health care fraud in co

A separate investigation led by Atlantic County Prosecutor Damon G. Tyner also is focusing on public-employee prescription fraud, including compounded medications.

Prosecutors alleged that from January 2015 to April 2016, Neopolitan recruited individuals in New Jersey to obtain very expensive and medically unnecessary compounded medications from an out-of-state pharmacy.

The pharmacy was not identified in the information, which referred only to the Compounding Pharmacy.

Acting U.S. Attorney William E. Fitzpatrick credited agents of the FBIs Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gallagher in Newark; IRSCriminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jonathan D. Larsen in Newark; and the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael C. Mikulka in New York, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea. He also thanked the Division of Pensions and Financial Transactions in the state Attorney Generals Office, under the direction of Attorney General Christopher Porrino and Division Chief Eileen Schlindwein Den Bleyker, for its assistance in the investigation.
ATLANTIC CITY  A vote-by-mail ballot returned to the County Clerks Office was improperly handled and ended up in the hands of another would-be voter, according to a court certification from the deputy Atlantic County clerk Thursday.

The mix-up led the second voter, Atlantic City Councilman Jesse Kurtz, to receive a ballot that was already filled out with votes cast for Democrats Phil Murphy for governor, Councilman Frank Gilliam for mayor and George Tibbitt for City Council, Deputy County Clerk Michael Sommers said in a five-page affidavit.

The most likely explanation for this mishap was that this office received a prior request for a duplicate ballot which occurred prior to Mr. Kurtzs arrival and that the returned ballot was not properly segregated and was misplaced in the pile of ballots to be distributed to the future mail-in ballot requestors, Sommers statement said.

Saying its never happened before, Sommers also outlined procedures for preventing future mix-ups.

Our voting records indicate that as of Oct. 5, 2017, this office has processed 6,162 ballot applications inclusive of Vote By Mail and messenger applications, the statement said. There have been no other incidents or problems encountered by the County Clerks Office in the 2017 election process.

The incident was brought to public attention by the Atlantic County Republican Committee,which asked the state Attorney Generals Office to investigate possible tampering of vote-by-mail ballots.

Kurtz, a Republican, has declined to comment.

Randolph Lafferty, an attorney with Cooper Levenson representing the Atlantic County Republican Committee, sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General George Cohen dated Monday that requested an investigation into alleged vote-by-mail ballot tampering.

According to the letter, the registered voter went to the Clerks Office to get a ballot for the upcoming election and received one that was allegedly already filled out.

The ballot was reported to the Clerks Office, and the voter was eventually given a clean ballot to use, according to Laffertys letter.

The Attorney Generals Office received the letter Tuesday, said Leeland Moore, spokesman for the office. Moore declined to comment on the letter or a possible investigation.
Theres a good debate going on in America about monuments and memorials for past historic figures and events. Simply making people more aware of history these days is a plus, and thinking about the reasons these durable expressions were created is always appropriate. If they were intended to glorify something rather than just be a reminder, people today are entitled to decide whether that something is still admirable.

Stockton University has been rethinking its namesake, Richard Stockton, and the bronze bust of him that it recently removed from its library. Whatever the school decides to make of him today, clearly its original intent was to remind people that New Jersey, too, had founders supporting the Declaration of Independence. If that glorifies anything, its the great American ideals of liberty and self-determination.

The same goes for the great majority, if not all, of the celebrations of Americas founding, from the massive granite pavilions honoring the Founding Fathers in Washington to the historic markers along the Freedom Trail in Boston. Theyll be preserved as testaments to the self-governing people Americans still are today, even as re-examining those leaders and events makes clear that people then were as imperfectly human as people today.

Civil War monuments and memorials are more challenging. That was the ultimate divide in America, closed in the worst possible way  with the nations greatest wartime loss of life and suffering. A century and a half later, people are still working through the related issues.

One of the best ways, oddly enough, is to fight the war all over again  but this time seeking a victory for empathy, understanding and camaraderie. Legions of Civil War re-enactors have been doing that for decades. They showed how they do it last month at the annual Civil War Weekend at Historic Cold Spring Village.

People from all walks of life immersed themselves in their period characters, going beyond stereotypes to portray actual Americans swept into both sides of the war. They dont just dress the parts, they learn about soldiers lives and try to be them for a while.

Best of all, often after walking a mile in the blue or gray shoes of a character, they switch sides to see everything from the other perspective.

A Cape May re-enactor said he and his group sometimes take the field as the Confederate 1st Maryland Artillery and sometimes as the Unions 1st Maryland Light Artillery. He said the ability to do justice to both sides requires an understanding of both in their historic contexts.

The main event each day was a mock battle with cannons and guns ablaze, and this too gave each side its due. One day the Union forces won, and the following day the Confederates prevailed.

Whatever roles re-enactors take in their simulated warfare, they begin and end the day as ordinary Americans  and come to understand that was true for the real soldiers as well.

Such simulated engagements have been giving people an idea of what war was like since the start of the Civil War in 1861. Known as sham battles, the militaries used them during the war to prepare troops for battlefield action and to entertain civilians with a safe experience of a bit of shock and awe.

Since then theyve become living-history events, engaging scholars and hobbyists alike in understanding Americas past. About 10,000 re-enactors re-create the Battle of Gettysburg on its anniversary each year.

Re-enactors show that healing even the most painful divisions of the past is possible if people engage the facts and arguments of history  and work at seeing the world as others see it.
SK Planet Japan (SKPJ) will use GATCOIN's targeted A-DropTM technology to issue branded crypto-currencies to Chinese tourists. Tourists can use them to redeem beverage, fast food, and convenience store products in SKPJ's network of franchise partners.

"SKPJ coins can be traded in our ecosystem for GAT Coins, a publicly traded global crypto-currency" said Simon Cheong, Founder and CEO of GATCOIN. "This provides a way to monetize any retail coin issued on our platform. So, it is very much like sending tourists a bit of spending money to encourage them to walk into SKPJ's retail outlets" Mr. Cheong adds.

SKPJ and GATCOIN plan to roll out a complete suite of crypto-currency solutions for retailers in Japan covering loyalty programs, gift vouchers and pre-paid cash credits.

"Providing an unlimited variety of spending options, plus leveraging the liquidity of the crypto currency markets is an extremely powerful combination," says Mr. Lee. "This could possibly be one of the biggest marketing innovations since the invention of points," he adds.

For more information, contact:

Chris Tong Andrew Work Digital Marketing Manager Head Content Strategist, Asia Pacific GATCOIN NexChange Tel: +852-61130116 Mob: +852-60100794 Email: chris@gatcoin.io Email: andrew.work@nexchange.com

About GATCOIN

SK Planet Japan is a wholly owned subsidiary of SK Telecom, Korea's largest provider of mobile commerce and consumer services.

GATCOIN is a distributed retail shopping platform operating on high-speed super large ledgers. GATCOIN holders will be able to buy and sell digital currencies issued by retailers on our platform. GATCOIN will offer access to a retail network of 60,000+ stores and 21 major global brands in Asia in 2018.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/568911/GATCOIN_logo.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/568910/SK_planet_Japan_Logo.jpg

SOURCE GATCOIN
The poll found a majority of Americans (56 percent) view Christopher Columbus either "favorably" or "very favorably." Half as many (28 percent) take a negative view.

Columbus Day will be celebrated on Monday, Oct. 9, by countless Americans at Columbus Day parades and other commemorations.

"The Knights of Columbus joins the vast majority of Americans in celebrating Columbus Day," said Knights of Columbus CEO Carl Anderson. "He was a man ahead of his time, who brought two worlds together and began the process that led to the founding of this country. It is a testament to Americans' commitment to a fair reading of history that the explorer's popularity has endured despite the unfair and hateful attacks by British propagandists, the Ku Klux Klan and revisionist academics."

Among respondents identifying as Catholic, approval of the navigator is even higher, with almost two-thirds (65 percent) of respondents expressing a "favorable" or "very favorable" opinion of Columbus and the national holiday that honors him.

The world's largest Catholic fraternal organization, the Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882 by Venerable Father Michael McGivney, who chose to honor Columbus because he was a widely acclaimed Catholic figure from American history during a time when Catholics were frequently discriminated against and marginalized.

Poll Methodology

The survey of 1,224 adults was conducted Sept. 11-13, 2017, by The Marist Poll and funded in partnership with the Knights of Columbus. Survey participants were 18 years or older and residing in the continental United States. Participants were reached through randomly selected landline or mobile numbers. Responses were recorded by live interviewers.

About the Knights of Columbus

Today, the Knights of Columbus counts nearly 2 million members throughout the world, including in North America, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean. Last year, the Knights set a new all-time record for charitable donations, with more than $177.5 million in donations and more than 75 million hours of service valued at $1.8 billion.

SOURCE Knights of Columbus

Related Links

http://kofc.org


ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- First- ever joint Russian/Eurasian-Caribbean economic, media and academic forum, taking place on Nov. 1-3, 2017 at the Radisson Grenada Beach Resort on Nov. 1-3, 2017 will bring together participants from Russia, Eurasia and the Caribbean.

This new format was initially envisaged and organized by the Ministry of International Business, Government of Grenada, and the Bering-Bellingshausen Institute for the Americas ("IBBA") (Montevideo, Uruguay), an NGO founded by South American and Russian journalists, which has successfully carried out such events in Argentina, Chile, Cuba, Honduras, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Uruguay. From Russia proper it is supported by its Foreign Ministry, Roscongress (the operator of the prestigious St. Petersburg International Economic Forum), the Gorchakov Foundation, Moscow Institute for Latin American Studies, St. Petersburg and Kazan Federal Universities and such leading Russian media outlets as Russia-24, Izvestia, Kommersant and The Russian Gazette. From the Caribbean, the forum is supported by THG Network International (St. Kitts and Nevis), The Voice (St. Lucia), Antigua Chronicle (Antigua and Barbuda) and BVI News (British Virgin Islands).

These days it is of utmost importance to engage in a meaningful dialogue which establishes the basis for mutual understanding and collaboration. The Forum is a convenient setting which facilitates open discussion and a candid exchange of opinions on major topics regarding the regional and global economy.

"Russia/Eurasia-Caribbean: A New Dawn 2017," forum will offer an excellent environment for participants to work, aiming to develop and enhance business communication and relationships.

More information about "A New Dawn 2017" is available at www.dawn.gd.

Media Contact:

Gabriela Casulo

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE A New Dawn 2017

Related Links

http://www.dawn.gd


PEORIA, Ill., Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Midwest Urological now offers GAINSWave, a drug-free, noninvasive medical therapy that enhances sexual performance and treats Erectile Dysfunction!

The GAINSWave protocols use high-frequency acoustic waves to improve sexual performance. As men age, the vessels in their penis weaken, contract and fill with micro-plaque. As these tiny vessels become clogged, men have a harder time achieving a pleasurable orgasm. The energy of these high-frequency acoustic waves also known as shockwave therapy, can cause a biological reaction that repairs existing blood vessels and improves sexual function.

There are over 40 clinical studies on Shockwave Therapy showing significant improvement in the symptoms of erectile dysfunction. GAINSWave is ideal for men looking to improve spontaneous erections without the use of drugs like Viagra or Cialis," says Dr. Joseph Banno, of Midwest Urological, located near Springfield, IL. "It has proven to be a safe and effective alternative to Viagra and other oral ED medications. Patients receiving this therapy have reported improved quality of erections, sensitivity, and overall performance. Additionally, GAINSWave helps men with erectile dysfunction overcome their difficulties and can help any man perform better sexually.

The drug and surgery-free procedure, commercially known as GAINSWave (or "extracorporeal shockwave therapy"), takes no longer than 20 minutes and ultimately helps men achieve and maintain more sustainable erections with increased sensitivity. Midwest Urological is now treating men around the Springfield, IL area with the GAINSWave therapy in their offices at 7309 N Knoxville Ave, Peoria, IL 61614.

A native and lifelong resident of Chicago, Dr. Joseph Banno founded the Sexual Health and Treatment Center of Illinois and in 1996 he assisted in developing the world's first mobile ambulatory surgery center. Dr. Banno is considered one of the top penile implant surgeons in the country. Since 2000, he has been performing outpatient implant surgeries using Dr. Perito's minimal invasive approach. His Sexual Health and Wellness practice includes the most cutting edge and advanced technologies. Along with his specialized care team, he is devoted to healing each patient on an individual level.

For More Information Contact:

Alexandra Schapiro

Marketing Account Manager

[email protected]

305-918-1886

SOURCE GAINSWave
PAs are licensed medical providers who conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, write prescriptions, and perform medical procedures in nearly every practice setting and medical specialty.

"This week is a chance for us to raise awareness and celebrate the significant contributions that PAs make to healthcare," said L. Gail Curtis, PA-C, MPAS, DFAAPA, president and chair of AAPA's Board of Directors. "It's also a time for PAs to pause and remember why we became PAs in the first placeto give back."

PA Week, which takes place this year during the profession's 50th anniversary, serves as a time to reflect on progress to date and look ahead to the profession's priorities for the near future, including:

Modernizing PA laws and policies : AAPA is working with state PA chapters and at the federal level to modernize current PA practice laws and policies so that PAs can fully contribute to healthcare delivery.

: AAPA is working with state PA chapters and at the federal level to modernize current PA practice laws and policies so that PAs can fully contribute to healthcare delivery. Documenting and measuring PA value : AAPA believes it is vital to capture the work of PAs in billing and other records to more accurately measure PAs' impact.

: AAPA believes it is vital to capture the work of PAs in billing and other records to more accurately measure PAs' impact. Advocating for evidenced-based maintenance of certification (MOC): AAPA supports evidence-based MOC in place of a high-stakes test that may jeopardize a PA's ability to practice.

AAPA supports evidence-based MOC in place of a high-stakes test that may jeopardize a PA's ability to practice. Improving employer policies and workplace cultures: AAPA is focused on improving employer policies and workplace cultures to allow PAs to maximize their impact and give them enhanced access to the leadership ladder.

Throughout the week, current and future PAs will participate in a variety of special events and activities, including community health events. On Oct. 9, more than 200 PA students will participate in a PA Week tradition by attending PAs on the Plaza, a gathering on the set of NBC's The Today Show.

To learn more about PA Week and the PA profession, go to aapa.org/pa-week or search #PAweek on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

About the American Academy of PAs

AAPA is the national organization that advocates for all PAs and provides tools to improve PA practice and patient care. Founded in 1968, AAPA represents a profession of more than 115,500 PAs across all medical and surgical specialties in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. territories and the uniformed services. Visit www.aapa.org to learn more.

SOURCE American Academy of PAs

Related Links

http://www.aapa.org


ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Foundation is delighted to announce that two student pharmacists recently completed a summer internship organized by the Foundation and supported by Allergan Plc. The interns executed capstone research projects that will be delivered via poster presentations at AMCP Nexus 2017, Oct. 16-19, in Dallas, Texas.

"We were proud to offer these talented young pharmacists the chance to work for a summer within a leading U.S. biopharmaceutical manufacturer," says Paula J. Eichenbrenner, CAE, Executive Director of the AMCP Foundation. "The real-world training made possible by Allergan equipped our 2017 interns for future professional practice. These students now join the 160-plus alumni who have participated in our internships over the years."

Now in its 10th year, the highly competitive AMCP Foundation/Allergan Plc Specialized Summer Internship in Health Outcomes is designed to stimulate student pharmacists' career interests in health outcomes and pharmacoeconomics through exposure to research, measurement and applications of evidence-based decision-making. Both interns were placed at Allergan in Irvine, CA in the Global Health Economics and Outcomes Research (GHEOR) department.

Claire Nichols , University of California San Francisco , School of Pharmacy

Poster #D1: "A Systematic Literature Review of Patient Reported Impact of Uterine Fibroids on Women's Health-Related Quality of Life and Daily Activity"

Preceptor: Jonathan Kowalski , MS, PharmD





, , School of Pharmacy Poster #D1: "A Systematic Literature Review of Patient Reported Impact of Uterine Fibroids on Women's Health-Related Quality of Life and Daily Activity" Preceptor: , MS, PharmD Kathy Nguyen , University of California, San Diego

Poster #G32: "Acute Treatment Optimization in Migraine Patients: Results from a Large Medical Group"

Preceptor: Hema Viswanathan , PhD

In addition to the rigorous onsite experience at Allergan, the interns learned about AMCP and the Foundation via "virtual" preceptors and a one-week rotation at AMCP/Foundation headquarters in Alexandria, Va. View their research results during the poster presentations in The Exchange at Nexus on Wednesday, October 18, from 12:00-2:45 p.m.

About the AMCP Foundation

Established in 1990, the 501(c)3 nonprofit AMCP Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP). It exists to advance collective knowledge and insights on major issues associated with the practice of pharmacy in managed health care settings. By facilitating innovative research initiatives and providing educational opportunities to learn about managed care pharmacy, the AMCP Foundation invests in the future of managed care. Visit www.amcpfoundation.org.

About AMCP

The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) is the nation's leading professional association dedicated to increasing patient access to affordable medicines, improving health outcomes and ensuring the wise use of health care dollars. Through evidence- and value-based strategies and practices, the Academy's 8,000 pharmacists, physicians, nurses and other practitioners manage medication therapies for the 270 million Americans served by health plans, pharmacy benefit management firms, emerging care models and government. www.amcp.org.

SOURCE Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) Foundation

Related Links

http://www.amcpfoundation.org/


HOUSTON, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- alliantgroup, the nation's foremost provider of specialty tax services, has joined the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) as a corporate member.

"We're delighted to welcome alliantgroup as a new member. ACT-IAC is a volunteer association formed on the idea that collaboration with industry and government can create a more effective and efficient government through the application of technology. With the support of our members, we hope that we can continue to pursue this mission. We look forward to alliantgroup supporting this goal," said Ken Allen, Executive Director, ACT-IAC.

ACT-IAC is a non-profit educational and training organization established to improve government through the effective and innovative application of technology. The organization is the premier public-private partnership in the government technology community and provides a trusted forum where government and industry executives can collaborate and work together. ACT-IAC represents a diverse range of companies within the technology sector, including IT, cybersecurity, software and digital firms as well as other businesses that incorporate technology into their services. Many ACT-IAC member companies possess tremendous technical prowess.

"I am so proud that ACT-IAC has brought us on as a Corporate Member to their first-class organization," said Dhaval Jadav, alliantgroup CEO. "ACT-IAC members are doing the kind of dynamic and innovative work that will improve both the public and private sectors. We cannot wait to collaborate with ACT-IAC members to help government agencies achieve their mission."

alliantgroup is a leading tax consultancy that assists industry organizations, U.S. businesses and their CPA advisors in properly identifying and correctly claiming federal and state tax incentives. To date, the firm has helped 12,000 American companies claim more than $6 billion in tax incentives. alliantgroup is headquartered in Houston and has offices nationwide, including in New York, Chicago, Indianapolis, Boston, Irvine, Sacramento, Orlando and Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE alliantgroup

Related Links

https://www.alliantgroup.com


ATLANTA, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Strengthening their longstanding commitment to the credit union community, Interstate National announced that Allied Solutions has renewed their strategic partnership for another five years. The continued partnership extends Allied's existing Mechanical Breakdown Protection program with Interstate and adds innovative products such as a powersport offering for credit union partners, enhanced marketing & training resources, as well as integration with Interstate's call center for digital marketing campaigns and warm transfer options related to Mechanical Breakdown Protection enrollment.

"We are excited to be able to build upon our partnership with Interstate, a market leader," said Michael Naughton, Sr VP of Product Management & Client Services at Allied Solutions. "Our goal is to work together to bring our shared expertise and perspectives with credit unions, to enhance the products and services sold and, the way they market to their members."

Interstate and Allied plan to help credit union members understand the benefits of owning a Mechanical Breakdown Protection plan by utilizing Allied's SmartVideo platform. By personally engaging members digitally and leveraging telephony support via Interstate's call center, SmartVideo educates members on their mechanical breakdown protection options.

"Working with Allied Solutions over the past several years has been a great experience for Interstate National. Through this strategic partnership, we have significantly expanded our footprint nationally to help hundreds of credit union partners protect their members with our AssureGuard product. With Allied, we look forward to developing even more innovative solutions for the credit union marketplace and the members we jointly serve," said Brian Becker, EVP, Chief Sales & Marketing Officer.

About Allied Solutions, LLC

Allied Solutions is one of the largest providers of insurance, lending, and marketing products to financial institutions in the U.S. Allied Solutions uses technology-based products and services customized to meet the needs of 4,000 clients along with a portfolio of innovative products and services from a wide variety of providers. Allied Solutions maintains over 15 regional offices and service centers around the country and is a subsidiary of Securian Financial Group, Inc. Visit www.alliedsolutions.net to learn more.

About Interstate National

Interstate National headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, offers 36 years of experience with nearly 4.6 million contracts sold and over $1.1 billion in paid claims to over 2 million consumers. Interstate National partners with over 3,000 producers in the U.S. and Canada. Interstate developed AssureGuard in 2012 in partnership with Allied Solutions. For more information visit www.InterstateNational.com and follow AssureGuard on Facebook and Twitter.

Media contact:

[email protected]

SOURCE Interstate National

Related Links

http://www.interstatenational.com


LONDON, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Bentley Walker, the largest supplier and operator of VSAT Networks outside of North America, has launched a live DVB-S2X satellite service leveraging iDirect's iQ Desktop and iDX 4.0 software. Bentley Walker will deploy the new service in the Middle East with capacity from Avanti's HYLAS 2 Ka-band satellite. The DVB-S2X-based service will target a range of end users including consumer markets, small-to-medium enterprises, large corporate companies, Wi-Fi hotspots and military organizations.

iDirect's DVB-S2X technology allows Bentley Walker to leverage the benefits of Avanti's HTS Ka-band capacity, supporting MODCODs up to 256APSK, to significantly increase network efficiency and performance. The iQ remote supports a high number of traffic sessions and delivers over 100 Mbps for a high-quality, cost-effective solution. Furthermore, with the software-defined iQ remote, Bentley Walker can adapt its service to future customer requirements by licensing additional throughput and networking capabilities.

Anthony Walker, CEO of Bentley Walker, said: "The iQ Desktop is a game changer for our business. It unlocks a new era of satellite connectivity and opens attractive new opportunities. We believe that iDirect has the best DVB-S2X product in the market and gives us a true leadership edge. As iDirect expands the iQ series product line, we will continue to deepen our investment to bring continuous value to our customers, staying ahead of demand in this dynamic market."

Dave Harrower, Sr. Vice President, Global Sales, iDirect, said: "It has been a tremendous opportunity to work with a pioneering service provider to test and now deploy our next-generation DVB-S2X technology. We are thrilled their network is live, and they are seeing such fantastic results from the iQ Desktop and our new iDX 4.0 software. We are excited to see Bentley Walker raise its profile in the market and to continue our successful partnership as the company builds its future on our innovation."

The Bentley Walker team will be attending the Gitex Technology Week exhibition, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on October 8, and looks forward to talking to customers about the success of the new service. To schedule a meeting with the Bentley Walker team, please contact [email protected].

About Bentley Walker

Bentley Walker is ranked as the largest supplier and operator of VSAT Networks outside of North America. Comsys independently audited Bentley Walker as having around 45% of the Market in Europe and the Middle East, to date having sold and brought online over 40,000 VSATs.

Bentley Walker Ltd and Bentley Telecom are both privately owned Companies, the former started in 1947 by the Late LT Commander C Walker (George Cross DSC, DSO, DFC) RNVR in 1947 and is currently run and owned by Mr. Anthony Walker and Mr. Matthew Walker.

Visit us at www.bentley-walker.com or www.freedomsat.com.

SOURCE iDirect
PITTSFIELD, Mass., Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Berkshire Medical Center nurses, and their union and community supporters will hold a rally at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6 outside the hospital after visiting members of the Berkshire Health Systems Board of Trustees.

"Non-profit boards are stewards tasked with the amazing responsibility of overseeing valuable community resources," said RN Alex Neary, Co-Chair of the BMC MNA Bargaining Committee. "Berkshire Medical Center and the patient care that nurses and other staff provide are among our community's most valuable assets. BMC is funded primarily through public money and therefore trustees should take the time to listen to members of our community and take action."

Board of Trustee Visits

What: BMC nurses and supporters will visit members of the Berkshire Health Systems Board of Trustees to ask them to direct the hospital management to bargain solutions to the nurses' issues.

When: Starting at 12 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6.

Where: First visit to BHS Trustee Barton Raser at Carr Hardware at 547 North St. in Pittsfield

Other visits afterward include: BHS Trustee John Bissell, at 150 West St. in Pittsfield (Greylock Federal Credit Union, where he works as the CEO); and BHS Trustee Jerome Jay Anderson, at 70 South St. in Pittsfield (The Pittsfield Cooperative Bank where he works as COO).

Labor Solidarity Rally , Sponsored by the Berkshire Central Labor Council

What: BMC nurses, and union and community supporters will rally and then link arms along the sidewalk in front of the hospital. This show of solidarity is in support of a fair contract that protects safe patient care at BMC and respects nurses.

When: Friday, Oct. 6 at 5 p.m.

Where: Outside Berkshire Medical Center on North Street in Pittsfield.

One-Day Strike and Lock Out Background

During a rally in North Adams on Thursday, Berkshire Medical Center nurses and advocates brought attention to the economic and health care injustice of BMC making $47 million in profits last year  more than three times the state average  while refusing to provide safe RN staffing and essential hospital services in North Adams.

Read more about that issue here: http://massnurses.org/news-and-events/p/openItem/10669

BMC refused to allow its own nurses back into the hospital on Wednesday morning after their 24-hour strike ended. Nurses were ready to return to caring for their patients after advocating for them and a fair contract. The hospital had previously announced it would lock out BMC nurses and keep them outside for four additional days as a consequence of the strike. The hospital said instead it would pay for replacement nurses from outside the community. The MNA is seeking information from the employer to obtain evidence that this is retaliatory and therefore unlawful.

The nearly 800 registered nurses of Berkshire Medical Center, who are represented by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, delivered a 10-day notice to hospital management on Friday, Sept. 22 notifying BMC of their intent to hold a one-day strike beginning at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 3 and running until 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 4.

BMC nurses have been bargaining in good faith for a year, seeking to ensure that their patients are able to receive the safest and most effective nursing care possible. The hospital has refused to negotiate over concrete improvements to patient care and RN staffing. BMC management has also refused to provide information necessary for nurses to negotiate quality, affordable health insurance.

MassNurses.org  Facebook.com/MassNurses  Twitter.com/MassNurses  Instagram.com/MassNurses

Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association

Related Links

http://www.massnurses.org


COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Lots announced today it is celebrating the grand opening of its newest store in Mesa, Arizona, on Friday, October 6, 2017. The store will reflect a new format unveiled last month at the Company's Investor & Analyst Conference. The "Store of the Future" showcases the Ownable and Winnable merchandise categories of Furniture, Seasonal, Soft Home, Food, and Consumables with prominent positioning in the store, and is part of a broader initiative to reposition the brand as a community retailer offering trustworthy value and friendly service.

"We're excited to open our store in Mesa," stated David Campisi, CEO and President of Big Lots. "The Phoenix area is one of two markets introducing the Store of the Future format which brings to life our new brand principles, including our mission to serve everyone like family."

As part of the grand-opening celebration, Big Lots will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, October 6 at the store located at 2840 East Main Street, Mesa. Customers will find sweepstakes information in store for the chance to win one of six weekly $100 gift cards and a $1,000 home makeover shopping spree.

As previously announced, Big Lots has recently relaunched their point-of-sale fundraising campaign to benefit Nationwide Children's Hospital, which provides care to children in all 50 states and more than 52 countries from around the world. Donations will be accepted September 28 through October 29 at Big Lots stores with 100 percent of the proceeds going directly to support the hospital.

In celebration of the Mesa store opening, Big Lots will match dollar-for-dollar amounts raised in all Phoenix area stores from October 5 through October 29. In addition, Big Lots will sponsor the 2017 Butterfly Run for Behavioral Health, a 5k/10k/Kids Fun Run on November 11 in Tempe.

The Mesa store will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Saturday.

To learn more about Big Lots or set up an interview with a company representative, please contact Andrew Regrut at 614-278-6622 or email [email protected].

About Big Lots, Inc.

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Big Lots, Inc. (NYSE: BIG) is a unique, non-traditional, discount retailer operating 1,426 BIG LOTS stores in 47 states with product assortments in the merchandise categories of Furniture, Seasonal, Soft Home, Food, Consumables, Hard Home, and Electronics, Toys & Accessories. Our vision is to be recognized for providing an outstanding shopping experience for our customers, valuing and developing our associates, and creating growth for our shareholders. Big Lots supports the communities it serves through the Big Lots Foundation, a charitable organization focused on four areas of need: hunger, housing, healthcare, and education. For more information about the Company, visit www.biglots.com.

SOURCE Big Lots, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.biglots.com


BOSTON, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Students and faculty from The Boston Architectural College (BAC) are building bridges to Mexico. A collaboration with the Centro Metropolitano de Arquitectura Sustentable (CMAS) in Mexico City has explored local and international work around Rising Tides and Resiliency in Boston and Lynn, Massachusetts; Mangrove Ecosystems in the Yucatan Shores; and the 400 year-old UNESCO World Heritage site, Padre Francisco Tembleque Aqueduct in Tulancingo, north of Mexico City (among others).

In celebration and recognition of the five-year BAC/CMAS international collaboration, a concurrent exhibition Because Of Water / A Causa Del Agua is being held in both cities. The exhibit shares projects affected by water and includes student and faculty projects that examine urban landscapes and cities shaped by politics, human density, lack of green areas, and climate change.

"Boston is flooding. Mexico City is sinking," explained Maria Bellalta, dean of the BAC's School of Landscape Architecture. "Territories vary: from low-lying or high and mountainous profiles. The sudden overabundance, scarcity, velocity, and force of water increasingly shapes our landscapes. The conditions are different as are the geographies. Even so, we experience one recognizable climate-culture since we are now bound because of water."

http://the-bac.edu/experience-the-bac/news-and-events/events/bos-mex-because-of-water-exhibition

The public is invited to an Opening Reception to be held on Wednesday, Oct. 11th 6:00  8:00 pm at the BAC's McCormick Gallery, 320 Newbury Street. A gallery talk by BAC Dean Maria Bellalta will be held at 7:00 pm. Also attending the reception will be Francisco Luna from Centro Metropolitano de Arquitectura Sustentable. The exhibition runs through November 12.

Visitors to each exhibit in Boston or Mexico City can view the other school's gallery through virtual reality.

September's devastating 7.1-magnitude earthquake in Mexico City resonates with the exhibition's theme of continuing environmental challenges the world faces.

"This exhibition marks a new chapter of an international academic collaboration between the two institutions," according to Bellalta. "It seeks to demonstrate the value of a cross-cultural exchange of ideas and design approaches as a method of inquiry into environmental and urbanization issues affecting global communities today."

Founded more than 125 years ago, The Boston Architectural College offers bachelor's and master's degrees in architecture, interior architecture, landscape architecture, and design studies. It also provides certificates in digital design and visualization and sustainable design. The BAC was the first architectural school to offer a NAAB-accredited online architecture.

SOURCE Boston Architectural College (BAC)

Related Links

http://the-bac.edu/


MIAMI, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Boys & Girls Clubs of America is reinforcing its commitment to the health and wellness of children and teens in Florida, thanks to $20,000 in Triple Play grants from Amerigroup Foundation. Triple Play is Boys & Girls Clubs of America's leading healthy lifestyles program, making a meaningful impact on the health and well-being of kids and teens during the critical after-school time at Boys & Girls Clubs around the country.

The Amerigroup Foundation will be issuing the Triple Play grants to the following Clubs to encourage healthy eating and physical activities for Club members:

Boys & Girls Clubs of the Suncoast

Boys & Girls Clubs of Miami-Dade County

Boys & Girls County of Broward County

Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Florida

"It has been proven that children and teens are more likely to be inactive and consume less healthy foods during out-of-school hours," said Lourdes Rivas, Simply Healthcare Plan President. "With Florida youth back to school, continued support of the Triple Play program will health educate and motivate youth to get active and develop healthy habits that lead to a great future."

As Boys & Girls Clubs of America's proven health and wellness program, Triple Play is a game plan for the mind, body and soul. Supported by founding sponsor The Coca-Cola Company and co-sponsor, Amerigroup Foundation, the program's three components encourage Club members to eat healthier (mind), become more physically active (body) and increase their ability to engage in healthy relationships (soul).

"Boys & Girls Clubs of America is focused on providing programs that are designed to make a lasting impact during the critical after-school hours and beyond," said Dr. Jennifer Bateman, national vice president for programs, training and youth development with Boys & Girls Clubs of America. "Thanks to the Amerigroup Foundation this grant will create a healthy environment where youth across Florida can adopt a healthy lifestyle that will positively influence their physical, social and intellectual wellness for years to come."

Amerigroup Foundation is committed to improving health and strengthening communities. Through its Healthy Generations grant program, the Amerigroup Foundation works to identify the issues most in need of attention and then directs its financial support and volunteer efforts toward improving health in those areas. Promoting youth health and active lifestyles is an ongoing focus of the foundation.

The Triple Play grants announced today are part of a five-year, $10 million commitment from Amerigroup Foundation's parent company foundation to Boys & Girls Clubs of America to promote healthy lifestyles.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America

For more than 150 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, 4,300 Clubs serve 4 million young people through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Club programs promote academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 54 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at on Facebook and Twitter.

About the Amerigroup Foundation

The Amerigroup Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Amerigroup, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anthem, Inc. Together, with local, regional and national organizations, the Amerigroup Foundation works to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that Amerigroup and its affiliated health plans serve. Amerigroup Foundation funding is focused on strategic initiatives working to address and provide innovative solutions to health care challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative with five areas of focus: Healthy Heart, Cancer Prevention, Healthy Maternal Practices, Type 2 Diabetes Prevention, and Healthy Active Lifestyle. These disease states and medical conditions include: prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the company's year-round Associate Giving program which provides a 50 percent match of associates' campaign pledges, as well as its Volunteer Time Off and Dollars for Doers community service programs. To learn more about the Amerigroup Foundation, please visit www.anthem.foundation.

SOURCE Boys & Girls Clubs of America

Related Links

http://www.bgca.org


PASADENA, Calif., Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CIT Bank, N.A., the bank subsidiary of CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT), today announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its reverse mortgage servicing business, Financial Freedom, and its reverse mortgage portfolio to an undisclosed buyer. The transaction includes the sale of mortgage servicing rights and approximately $900 million of reverse mortgage whole loans, including other real estate owned assets as of June 30, 2017. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2018 and is subject to certain regulatory and investor approvals and other customary closing conditions.

"This transaction marks another step in our plan to simplify CIT," said Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of CIT Ellen R. Alemany. "Throughout this year we have made continued progress in transforming the company and applying our focus toward maximizing the potential of our commercial banking and deposit franchises, which are the core of our go-forward strategy. We are pleased to have reached this agreement, which will enable CIT to exit the reverse mortgage business."

Financial Freedom was part of CIT's acquisition of OneWest Bank in August of 2015 and, since that time, was reported in CIT's discontinued operations. The reverse mortgage portfolio is reported as part of the company's continuing operations.

CIT was advised by Houlihan Lokey as financial advisor and Sidley Austin as legal advisor.

About CIT

Founded in 1908, CIT (NYSE: CIT) is a financial holding company with more than $50 billion in assets as of June 30, 2017. Its principal bank subsidiary, CIT Bank, N.A., (Member FDIC, Equal Housing Lender) has more than $30 billion of deposits and more than $40 billion of assets. CIT provides financing, leasing, and advisory services principally to middle-market companies and small businesses across a wide variety of industries. It also offers products and services to consumers through its Internet bank franchise and a network of retail branches in Southern California, operating as OneWest Bank, a division of CIT Bank, N.A.

CIT MEDIA RELATIONS:

Gina Proia

212-771-6008

[email protected]

CIT INVESTOR RELATIONS:

Barbara Callahan

973-740-5058

[email protected]

SOURCE CIT Group Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cit.com


POWELL, Ohio, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Columbus Wellness Medicine, LLC is now treating their male patients with GAINSWave! This breakthrough noninvasive medical therapy uses low-intensity shockwave therapy to enhance sexual performance and to treat Erectile Dysfunction symptoms.

As men age, the vessels in their penis weaken, contract and fill with micro-plaque, which can lead to Erectile Dysfunction. As these tiny vessels become clogged, the penis decreases in sensitivity, making it harder for men to achieve and maintain an erection. Thankfully, the GAINSWave protocols can enhance a man's performance by using high-frequency acoustic waves to repair existing blood vessels and improve blood flow.

Over 40 clinical studies demonstrate how Low-Intensity Extracorporeal Shockwave Therapy (Li-ESWT) improves Erectile Dysfunction symptoms. "GAINSWave is ideal for men seeking better erection quality without the use of ED medications like Viagra or Cialis," says Dr. Tuttle, of Columbus Wellness Medicine, LLC (located near Columbus, OH). "It has proven to be a safe and effective alternative to oral ED medications." Patients receiving GAINSWave therapy have reported improved sensitivity, powerful erections and decreased refractory times between orgasms, which is why this is an excellent alternative to ED medications.

This drug and surgery-free procedure only takes about 20 minutes and can enhance a man's sex life while addressing the root cause of Erectile Dysfunction. Columbus Wellness Medicine, LLC is now treating men with the GAINSWave Therapy in their offices located at 3807 Attucks Drive, Powell, OH 43065.

Dr. Elizabeth Tuttle, went to Medical school at The University of Florida College of Medicine. She then completed her fellowship in Anti-aging and Regenerative Medicine with A4M and opened her own wellness practice. She primarily provides BHRT and testosterone replacement; but she also offers the O-Shot and P-Shot for her patients and is excited to become a GAINSWave provider.

For More Information Contact:

Alexandra Schapiro

Marketing Account Manager

[email protected]

305-918-1886

SOURCE GAINSWave
OKLAHOMA CITY, Oct. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Continental Resources, Inc. (NYSE: CLR) ("Continental" or the "Company") plans to announce third quarter 2017 results on Tuesday, November 7, 2017 following the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The Company plans to host a conference call to discuss third quarter 2017 results on Wednesday, November 8, 2017 at 12:00 p.m. ET (11:00 a.m. CT). Those wishing to listen to the conference call may do so via the Company's website at www.CLR.com or by phone:

Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120327/DA76602LOGO

Time and date: 12 p.m. ET, Wednesday, November 8, 2017 Dial-in: 844-309-6572 Intl. dial-in: 484-747-6921 Conference ID: 89145961



A replay of the call will be available for 14 days on the Company's website or by dialing:



Replay number: 855-859-2056 or 404-537-3406 Intl. replay: 800-585-8367 Conference ID: 89145961

Continental plans to publish a third quarter 2017 summary presentation to its website at www.CLR.com prior to the start of its conference call on November 8, 2017.

About Continental Resources

Continental Resources (NYSE: CLR) is a top 15 independent oil producer in the U.S. Lower 48 and a leader in America's energy renaissance. Based in Oklahoma City, Continental is the largest leaseholder and one of the largest producers in the nation's premier oil field, the Bakken play of North Dakota and Montana. The Company also has leading positions in Oklahoma, including its SCOOP Woodford, SCOOP Springer and SCOOP Sycamore discoveries and the STACK plays. With a focus on the exploration and production of oil, Continental has unlocked the technology and resources vital to American energy independence and our nation's leadership in the new world oil market. In 2017, the Company will celebrate 50 years of operations. For more information, please visit www.CLR.com.

Investor Contacts: Media Contact: J. Warren Henry Kristin Thomas Vice President, Investor Relations & Research Senior Vice President, Public Relations 405-234-9127 405-234-9480 [email protected] [email protected]



Alyson L. Gilbert

Manager, Investor Relations

405-774-5814

[email protected]



SOURCE Continental Resources

Related Links

http://www.clr.com


WELLESLEY, Mass., Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Cure Alzheimer's Fund announced that it is dedicating $500,000 to a research effort in the memory of the late Trish Vradenburg, co-founder of UsAgainstAlzheimer's, who passed away in April.

Trish Vradenburg began her career in Washington DC as a speechwriter in the U.S. Senate. Vradenburg wrote for various legendary television shows, including Designing Women, Family Ties, and Kate & Allie. As a journalist, she wrote extensively for the New York Daily News, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, Ladies' Home Journal and Women's Day. Trish co-founded UsAgainstAlzheimer's with her husband George in tribute to her mother who was afflicted with the disease.

"Trish Vradenburg made an enormous contribution to the fight against Alzheimer's disease," said Tim Armour, President and CEO of Cure Alzheimer's fund. "Her work, and that of UsAgainstAlzheimer's, has had a dramatic impact on increased awareness of the disease and the need for additional funding for research. We are naming this research in her memory and hope that it will contribute to her legacy."

"I'm deeply grateful to Cure Alzheimer's Fund for this major contribution to women's Alzheimer's research and immensely honored that they have done so in Trish's name," said George Vradenburg, Co-Founder and Chairman of UsAgainstAlzheimer's. "Two-thirds of those dying with Alzheimer's are women and one in six women aged 65 and over will develop the disease. In fact, Alzheimer's kills more women than breast cancer. Women are also twice as likely to care for someone with Alzheimer's, slowing or ending their careers and job opportunities. Yet, Alzheimer's is rarely defined as a sex or gender-based public health crisis. Cure Alzheimer's Fund's priority on sex-based research should be emulated by the federal government and others in the field."

Other organizations focused on funding Alzheimer's research have been invited to participate in the effort and Cure Alzheimer's Fund will publish a list of those who have accepted on our website later this Fall.

About Cure Alzheimer's Fund:

Cure Alzheimer's Fund is a non-profit dedicated to funding the most promising research to prevent, slow or reverse Alzheimer's disease. Since its founding in 2004, Cure Alzheimer's Fund has contributed over $55 million to research, and its funded initiatives have been responsible for several key breakthroughs  including the groundbreaking "Alzheimer's in a Dish" study. Cure Alzheimer's Fund has received a perfect score of 100 percent regarding its overall financial health from Charity Navigator and a four star rating from the organization for five consecutive years. With 100 percent of funds raised going directly to research, Cure Alzheimer's has been able to support some of the best scientific minds in the field of Alzheimer's research. For more information, please visit http://www.curealz.org/

About UsAgainstAlzheimer's:

UsAgainstAlzheimer's (UsA2) is an innovative networked, patient-led organization demanding  and delivering  a solution to Alzheimer's. Driven by the suffering of millions of families, UsAgainstAlzheimer's presses for greater urgency from government, industry and the scientific community in the quest for an Alzheimer's cure  accomplishing this through effective leadership, collaborative advocacy, and strategic investments.

Founded in 2010, UsAgainstAlzheimer's has worked across sectors to: (1) secure the national goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer's by 2025 and help secure nearly $500 million in additional public funding for Alzheimer's research over the past few years; (2) drive global efforts that resulted in the leaders of the world's most powerful nations, the G7, to embrace a similar 2025 goal and to call for greater levels of research investment and collaboration; and (3) forge industry commitments to improve efficiencies for an expedited drug discovery and approval process. More information can be found at: http://www.usagainstalzheimers.org/.

SOURCE Cure Alzheimer's Fund

Related Links

http://www.curealz.org


ROCHESTER, N.Y., Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- webSURGE Digital Marketing is celebrating company growth by hosting an open house on Thursday, October 12, 2017 from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm at their new location, 807 Ridge Road, Suite 200, Webster, NY 14580.

Clients, family, friends and those interested in our expansion are invited to come enjoy light hor d'oeuvres and refreshments, experience the new office space, and learn what's new in digital marketing.

webSURGE has recently seen tremendous growth, both internally and externally. Within the past six months, they have gained numerous clients and now have 14 full-time employees. More growth is expected this coming year, with a projection of doubling company size by 2018.

In October, 2015 webSURGE moved from the house of owner and president, Joe Crestuk, to a three-room office space located in Webster, NY off North Avenue. At that time, webSURGE employed a total of five full-time employees. Two years later, webSURGE now employs three web developers, three content writers, two social media experts, a project manager, an SEO specialist, salesperson, office manager, and a graphic designer  a total of 14 and the number continues to grow. The new space is over 4,000 sf and is strategically positioned for additional expansion.

About webSURGE

webSURGE works with CEOs and business-owners to increase the quality and quantity of sales leads to improve and increase sales results. The company, founded by Joe Crestuk in 2007 specializes in providing Digital Marketing services B2B manufacturing and technology companies. Additional industries served include but are not limited to medical, healthcare, construction, and non-profit. Headquartered in Rochester, NY, webSURGE serves local, national, and global clients through a full suite of digital marketing services to increase brand awareness, support public relations, and ultimately generate high-interest, high-value online sales leads. webSURGE has increased sales results for their clients by up to 100%.

webSURGE Digital Marketing can be contacted at 866.669.5404 M-F, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm ET. https://websurgenow.com/

Media Contact:

Joe Crestuk

President/CEO

webSURGE

(866) 669-5404

[email protected]

SOURCE webSURGE, LLC

Related Links

https://www.websurgenow.com


NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The Dodge Momentum Index fell in September, moving 8.4% lower to 116.4 (2000=100) from the revised August reading of 127.1. The Momentum Index is a monthly measure of the first (or initial) report for nonresidential building projects in planning, which have been shown to lead construction spending for nonresidential buildings by a full year. Both components of the Momentum Index declined in September. The institutional building component fell 11.5% from August, while the commercial building component fell 6.1%. While the overall Momentum Index has lost ground for four consecutive months, this should not be seen, in and of itself, as a predictor of a turn in building markets. Prior to the previous peak of the Momentum Index in January 2008 it had suffered similar significant declines, only to rebound and post strong gains in subsequent months in line with overall economic growth. Similarly, the Momentum Index posted healthy gains from late-2016 through early 2017. Economic growth remains solid, and building market fundamentals are supportive of further growth in construction activity.
PLANTATION, Fla., Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Active Life Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine, PA is proud to announce they have become a certified provider of GAINSWave, a drug-free, noninvasive medical therapy that enhances sexual performance and treats Erectile Dysfunction!

As men age, the vessels in their penis weaken, contract and fill with micro-plaque. As these tiny vessels become clogged, men have a harder time achieving a pleasurable orgasm. Thankfully, the GAINSWave protocols use high-frequency acoustic waves to improve sexual performance. The energy from these high-frequency acoustic waves (or shockwave therapy) causes a biological reaction which repairs existing blood vessels and grows new ones, which equates to better sexual function.

There are over 40 clinical studies showing how Shockwave Therapy provides significant improvement in the symptoms of Erectile Dysfunction. GAINSWave is ideal for men looking to improve spontaneous erections without the use of ED medications like Viagra or Cialis," says Jessica Allen, ARNP, CRNA, MSN (located near Sunrise, FL). "It has proven to be a safe and effective alternative to Viagra and other oral ED medications". Patients receiving GAINSWave therapy have reported improved quality of erections, sensitivity, and overall performance.

The drug and surgery-free procedure, commercially known as GAINSWave (or "extracorporeal shockwave therapy"), takes no longer than 20 minutes and enhances men's sex lives using sound waves, which ultimately helps men achieve and maintain more sustainable erections with increased sensitivity. Active Life Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine, PA is now treating men with GAINSWave therapy in their offices at 8320 West Sunrise Boulevard, Suite 111 Plantation, FL 33322.

Jessica Mendelsohn-Allen ARNP, CRNA, MSN has a passion for helping others is best exemplified by her 8 years as a Captain in the US Air Force, flying injured patients to treatment centers. Her career ultimately led her to specializing in Anti-Aging Cosmetic Treatments where she could help others feel their best by looking their best. Her specialty is using one's natural beauty enhancing their best features while eliminating imperfections to build self-esteem and confidence as she combines wellness and beauty techniques.

For More Information Contact:

Alexandra Schapiro

Marketing Account Manager

[email protected]

305-918-1886

SOURCE GAINSWave
WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Fannie Mae (OTC Bulletin Board: FNMA) priced its tenth Multifamily DUS REMIC in 2017 totaling $991.8 million under its Fannie Mae Guaranteed Multifamily Structures (Fannie Mae GeMS) program on October 4, 2017.

"The M12 met with solid investor demand this week with both tranches over two times subscribed," said Dan Dresser, Vice President, Multifamily Credit Pricing and Capital Markets. "The 10-year fixed rate collateral behind this deal is the workhorse of the DUS world; it is a testimony to the product's solid credit performance and call protection that it was so well received in the market."

All classes of FNA 2017-M12 are guaranteed by Fannie Mae with respect to the full and timely payment of interest and principal. The structure details for the multi-tranche offering are in the table below:

Class Original Face Weighted

Average

Life Coupon (%) Coupon

Type Spread Offered Price A1 $80,330,000 6.13 2.747 Fixed S+47 101.00 A2 $911,430,025 9.54 3.181 WAC S+60 102.07 X $80,330,000 6.11 0.434 WAC IO Not Offered Not Offered Total $991,760,025











Group 1 Collateral





UPB: $991,760,025 Collateral: 69 Fannie Mae DUS MBS Geographic Distribution: FL (18.34%), CA (14.20%), GA (14.13%) Weighted Average

Debt Service Coverage Ratio (DSCR): 1.46x Weighted Average

Loan-to-Value (LTV): 70.5%



Settlement Date: October 30, 2017



Lead Manager: Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC Co-Managers: KGS-Alpha Capital Markets

PNC Capital Markets LLC

Great Pacific Securities

For additional information, please refer to the Fannie Mae GeMS REMIC Term Sheet (FNA 2017-M12) available on the Fannie Mae GeMS Archive page http://www.fanniemae.com/portal/jsp/mbs/mbsmultifamily/gems_archive.html.

Certain statements in this release may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. In addition, not all securities will have the characteristics discussed in this release. Before investing in any Fannie Mae issued security, you should read the prospectus and prospectus supplement pursuant to which such security is offered. You should also read our most current Annual Report on Form 10-K and our reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") available on the Investor Relations page of our Web site at www.fanniemae.com and on the SEC's Web site at www.sec.gov.

Fannie Mae helps make the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage and affordable rental housing possible for millions of Americans. We partner with lenders to create housing opportunities for families across the country. We are driving positive changes in housing finance to make the home buying process easier, while reducing costs and risk. To learn more, visit fanniemae.com and follow us on twitter.com/fanniemae.

SOURCE Fannie Mae

Related Links

http://www.fanniemae.com


STEUBENVILLE, Ohio, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "Franciscan University of Steubenville recognizes today's action by the Health and Human Services Department that expands the religious liberty exemption from the contraception mandate under the Affordable Care Act. The contraception mandate would have forced Franciscan University to violate our religious beliefs by facilitating the provision of morally objectionable health coverage to employees, including potentially abortion-inducing drugs and devices, contraceptives, and sterilizations, or face ruinous fines in the millions of dollars.

"As we understand it, the new rule does not resolve the HHS litigation for which religious organizations have been advocating for five years. We are conferring with our legal counsel to determine the full ramifications and effect of the new rule, but even though the government must still sign an agreement resolving the litigation, we see the rule as a hopeful step toward restoring the constitutionally protected religious and moral freedoms of Catholics and all Americans.

"The Government has recognized that Franciscan University has the freedom to provide a health plan that does not violate its core religious beliefs as a Catholic institution.

"When confronted with issues that are contrary to the teachings of the Catholic Church such as contraception and abortion, Franciscan University will always stand with the Church and foster the dignity of each human person from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. As a Catholic university, Franciscan University not only has a responsibility to teach what the Church teaches, we must live out that teaching to the best of our ability. We are grateful that our constitutional right to free exercise of religion has been restored."

BACKGROUND:

In May 2012, Franciscan University joined with 42 other Catholic organizations from around the country in filing lawsuits that challenged the HHS contraception mandate. The University's suit was dismissed in March 2013 in the Southern District Court of Ohio for lack of "ripeness, " claiming that the University had yet to be directly injured by the HHS mandate since it operated under a "grandfathered" health plan. The University was never required to comply with the HHS mandate and never provided nor facilitated the morally objectionable health coverage.

Contact:

Tom Sofio

Marketing and Communications

Franciscan University of Steubenville

740-284-5893

[email protected]

SOURCE Franciscan University of Steubenville

Related Links

https://franciscan.edu/


WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, will appear at a National Press Club Headliners Luncheon on Friday, Nov. 3 to discuss the FDA's agenda and related issues.

As a result of the impact of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the large number of pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing facilities on the island, Dr. Gottlieb had to travel to Puerto Rico on Sept. 29 (the originally scheduled date for this Luncheon) to meet with government officials to assess the impact the hurricane had on the U.S. drug supply.

Lunch will be served in the club's Ballroom at 12:30 p.m., with remarks beginning at 1 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session ending at 2 p.m. Tickets cost $25 for National Press Club members (members may purchase two tickets at this rate) and $39 for all other non-member tickets. Please click here to purchase tickets to the luncheon.

Dr. Gottlieb was sworn in as the 23rd FDA commissioner on May 10th. Since taking office, he has focused on increasing efficiency and consistency in the review process, addressing the opioid crisis, growing competition as a mechanism to make pharmaceuticals more accessible, and addressing the chronic staff shortage.

For all ticketing-related questions, please email [email protected] or call (202) 662-7501. Tickets must be paid for at the time of purchase. To submit a question for the speaker in advance, put FDA in the subject line and email to [email protected]. The deadline for submitting questions in advance is 10 a.m. on the day of the luncheon.

NPC Members who have a paid reservation to the Luncheon and wish to attend the pre-luncheon reception must send their RSVP via email to [email protected] at least 48 hours before the date of the Luncheon. Space may be limited.

The National Press Club is located on the 13th Floor of the National Press Building at 529 14th St., NW, Washington, D.C.

Contact:

Lindsay Underwood

[email protected]

(202) 662-7561

SOURCE National Press Club

Related Links

http://www.press.org


HOUSTON, Oct. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Flotek Industries, Inc. ("Flotek" or the "Company") (NYSE: FTK) today announced executive leadership changes and an increase to its borrowing capacity under its credit facility as filed in a form 8-K, Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").

Josh Snively, EVP and President Florida Chemical will act as the Company's head of operations and will oversee operations of the Energy Chemistry Technologies ("ECT") segment and the Consumer and Industrial Chemistry Technologies ("CICT") segment. This will lead to greater company-wide synergies and continue the path of focusing Flotek on increasing cash flows through streamlining processes. Mr. Snively joined Florida Chemical in 1995 and has well over 20 years of experience in managing chemistry manufacturing processes and facilities. He graduated with a degree in Finance and Citrus Management from Florida Southern College. Mr. Snively currently serves on the board of CenterState Bank and is acting chairman of the Bank's loan committee. Mr. Snively's full bio can be found at www.flotekind.com.

James Silas will become part of the executive leadership team and report directly to John Chisholm, CEO and Chairman. This will allow greater streamlining of product development and further accelerate go-to-market opportunities of products. Dr. Silas has over 15 years of physics and chemistry experience with surfactants and polymers. Dr. Silas was an assistant professor of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University before joining Flotek and holds a B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University, a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from University of Delaware, and was a NIH Ruth L Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellow at University of Pennsylvania in Bioengineering. Dr. Silas' full bio can be found at www.flotekind.com.

As a part of these leadership changes, Robert Bodnar, will no longer serve as EVP, Performance and Transformation Officer.

Additionally, in a form 8-K filed with the SEC Tuesday, Flotek has announced it has amended its credit facility, increasing the capacity from $65 million to $75 million and extending the term to May, 2022. Detailed changes to the restrictions and important information regarding this facility can be found in form 8-K which is also available on the Company's website and through the SEC website.

John Chisholm, Flotek's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer commented, "We thank Robert Bodnar for playing an important role in the transformation of Flotek. Moving forward, Josh will play an expanding role in the organization's cross-segment integration and G&A reduction strategy which we look forward to providing more clarity into on the Company's upcoming earnings conference call. Dr. Silas has been pivotal in the build out of our Global Research and Innovation Center and will continue to help shape the future of Flotek. His inclusion into our executive leadership team should provide accelerated product introduction and customer adoption lifecycles. Additionally, our client base continues to expand its reliance on our industry leading Research capabilities in the application of chemistry to their reservoirs, his increased responsibilities come at the right time to address this growing focus.

"We believe the ability for Flotek to increase its borrowing capacity further allows for greater flexibility to fund growth and opportunities to increase shareholder value. We continue to appreciate the long-standing relationship with our lender and ability to grow together."

About Flotek Industries, Inc.

Flotek develops and delivers prescriptive chemistry-based technology, including specialty chemicals, to clients in the energy, consumer industrials and food & beverage industries. Flotek's inspired chemists draw from the power of bio-derived solvents to deliver solutions that enhance energy production, cleaning products, foods & beverages and fragrances. In the oil and gas sector, Flotek serves major and independent energy producers and oilfield service companies, both domestic and international. Flotek Industries, Inc. is a publicly traded company headquartered in Houston, Texas, and its common shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "FTK." For additional information, please visit Flotek's web site at www.flotekind.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements set forth in this Press Release constitute forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) regarding Flotek Industries, Inc.'s business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Words such as expects, anticipates, intends, plans, believes, seeks, estimates and similar expressions or variations of such words are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying forward-looking statements in this Press Release.

Although forward-looking statements in this Press Release reflect the good faith judgment of management, such statements can only be based on facts and factors currently known to management. Consequently, forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results and outcomes may differ materially from the results and outcomes discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences in results and outcomes include, but are not limited to, demand for oil and natural gas drilling services in the areas and markets in which the Company operates, competition, obsolescence of products and services, the Company's ability to obtain financing to support its operations, environmental and other casualty risks, and the impact of government regulation.

Further information about the risks and uncertainties that may impact the Company are set forth in the Company's most recent filings on Form 10-K (including without limitation in the "Risk Factors" Section), and in the Company's other SEC filings and publicly available documents. Readers are urged not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this Press Release. The Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements in order to reflect any event or circumstance that may arise after the date of this Press Release.

IR Inquiries, contact:

Matthew Marietta

Senior Vice President

Corporate Development, Investor Relations

E: [email protected]

P: (713) 726-5348

Media Inquiries, contact:

Danielle Allen

Senior Vice President

Global Communications & Technology Commercialization

E: [email protected]

P: (713) 726-5322

SOURCE Flotek Industries, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.flotekind.com


WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Family Research Council applauded two major actions today by the Trump administration that safeguard religious freedom. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is directing federal agencies to respect religious freedom while the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is exempting religious entities from the oppressive Obama contraceptive mandate.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement:

"After eight years of the federal government's relentless assault on the First Amendment, the Trump administration has taken concrete steps today that will once again erect a bulwark of protection around American's First Freedom  religious freedom.

"President Trump is demonstrating his commitment to undoing the anti-faith policies of the previous administration and restoring true religious freedom. Last May, the president ordered the federal government to vigorously promote and protect religious liberty and now the DOJ and HHS are moving to make that order a reality.

"Under the Obama administration, agencies lost the understanding that religious freedoms extend to the public square, not just one's place of worship. As a result, our own government began threatening hardworking, patriotic Americans with crushing fines for simply seeking to live their lives according to their faith.

"President Trump and the Department of Justice are putting federal government agencies on notice: you will not only respect the freedom of every American to believe but live according to those beliefs. This is a freedom that has been a fundamental part of our society since the beginning of our nation.

"To aid the Trump administration's efforts in vigorously promoting and protecting religious liberty, Family Research Council today is launching a web hotline for those who believe that they have suffered discrimination at the hands of federal agencies based on their religious beliefs or practices. The 'Free to Believe' hotline will help ensure that no federal employee, contractor or citizen will be forced to choose between their faith and equal treatment by the federal government.

"As President Trump continues to follow through on his promises on these core issues, he will continue to have the support of social conservatives on his policy initiatives," concluded Perkins.

Click here for more information on the religious hotline:

http://freetobelieve.com/federal

SOURCE Family Research Council

Related Links

http://www.frc.org


DEERFIELD, Ill., Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Freudenberg, the global technology company, is expanding its business in the food industry, specifically in confectionery. Capol GmbH, Elmshorn, Germany, a company that belongs to the Freudenberg Chemical Specialities Business Group, has today announced the acquisition of Colarome Inc. of Saint Hubert, Canada  a specialist in natural food additives  with immediate effect. The company holds production technology patents that enable the manufacture of a unique line of natural pigments. In addition to colorings, Colarome also manufactures flavorings and natural vanilla extracts. The company has 17 employees. The transaction includes the acquisition of a Colarome production facility in Canada. The acquisition is an important step in the long-term development of Capol's global business.

"Additives for the food industry are an attractive market segment in the long-term. Having Colarome now in our portfolio, we will be able to strategically develop this business segment," says Hanno D. Wentzler, President and CEO of Freudenberg Chemical Specialities. "Both Capol and Colarome have very similar business models, so we expect a swift integration into Capol," he said.

Capol and Colarome are well-known for their expert know-how in specific segments of the food industry, particularly in the confectionery market. Capol products serve all applications of the confectionery industry requiring surface treatment. The company supplies anti-sticking agents for gums and jellies, as well as glazes and polishing agents for sugar dragees and chocolate-coated centers.

"For Capol, the acquisition generates substantial synergy effects. We will be even better able to offer and develop products that precisely meet our customers' requirements. The acquisition is a further step to expanding our position as an industry leader for coatings in the confectionery industry," explains Christian Hauk, CEO of Capol GmbH.

Headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Deerfield, Illinois, Capol LLC is the company's North American subsidiary.

About Colarome

Colarome Inc. is a privately held Canadian company operating in the natural ingredient sector. Since 1998 Colarome has developed processes for the manufacturing and the formulation of dyes, pigments, flavors and extracts. The company's head office, production plant and research and development laboratory are located in the Greater Montreal Area (Canada), where most of its currently 17 people are employed

About Freudenberg Chemical Specialities

Freudenberg Chemical Specialities develops, manufactures and markets chemical specialties. To be close to its customers, the company is represented globally in the market with its five brands, Kluber Lubrication, Chem-Trend, OKS, SurTec and Capol. Freudenberg Chemical Specialities is one of the global leading manufacturers of specialty lubricants, release agents, chemotechnical maintenance products, and solutions for surface and galvanic technologies. Headquartered in Munich, Germany, the Business Group runs its own companies in some 40 countries. In 2016, Freudenberg Chemical Specialities employed about 3,360 people and generated sales of more than 1 billion.

About the Freudenberg Group

Freudenberg is a global technology group that strengthens its customers and society long-term through forward-looking innovations. Together with its partners, customers and research institutions, the Freudenberg Group develops leading-edge technologies and excellent products and services for more than 30 markets and for thousands of applications: seals, vibration control components, nonwovens, filters, specialty chemicals, medical products, IT services and the most modern cleaning products.

Strength of innovation, strong customer orientation, diversity, and team spirit are the cornerstones of the Group. The 168-year-old company holds strong to its core values: a commitment to excellence, reliability and pro-active, responsible action. In 2016, the Freudenberg Group employed more than 48,000 people in almost 60 countries worldwide and generated sales of approximately 8.6 billion. For more information, please visit www.freudenberg.com.

SOURCE Freudenberg North America

Related Links

http://www.freudenberg-nok.com


LOS ANGELES, Oct. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Film Institute (AFI) Board of Trustees announced today that actor, director, writer and producer George Clooney will be the recipient of the 46th AFI Life Achievement Award, the highest honor for a career in film. The award will be presented to Clooney at a Gala Tribute on June 7, 2018, in Los Angeles, CA. The AFI Life Achievement Award Tribute special will return for its sixth year with Turner Broadcasting to air on TNT, followed by encore presentations on sister network Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Audi and VIZIO return as Official Sponsors of the event.

"George Clooney is America's leading man," said Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman of the AFI Board of Trustees. "Director, producer, writer and actor  a modern-day screen icon who combines the glamour of a time gone by with a ferocious passion for ensuring art's impact echoes beyond the screen. AFI is proud to present him with its 46th Life Achievement Award."

George Clooney is one of Hollywood's most dynamic multi-hyphenates, a presence bigger even than his movies. With an instantly recognizable charm, he has captivated audiences in front of the camera, and defined a cinematic voice all his own behind it  all while using his global voice to shine light on issues of human rights, climate change and more. Throughout a career spanning screens big and small, his work has earned him eight Academy Award nominations and two wins  with nominations in the most categories ever. He won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for SYRIANA (2005), and went on to earn Best Actor nominations for MICHAEL CLAYTON (2007), UP IN THE AIR (2009) and THE DESCENDANTS (2011)  all films grounded by his signature charm, and his universal relatability. Clooney is as accomplished a filmmaker as he is a performer, from his directorial debut CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND (2002) to his multiple-Oscar-nominated GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK. (2005) and THE IDES OF MARCH (2011). He earned a Best Picture Academy Award for producing ARGO (2012). On screen, he continues to deliver performances that are moving, humorous and human, with additional acting credits including: OUT OF SIGHT (1998), THREE KINGS (1999), O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? (2000), the OCEAN'S trilogy (2001, 2004, 2007), SOLARIS (2002), BURN AFTER READING (2008), FANTASTIC MR. FOX (2009), GRAVITY (2013), and HAIL, CAESAR! (2016). His latest project is SUBURBICON (2017), which he directed, and also co-wrote alongside his frequent collaborators the Coen brothers.

SOURCE American Film Institute
DUBLIN, October 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

The "Global Coaxial Cables Market 2017-2021" report has been added to Research and Markets' offering.

The global coaxial cables market to grow at a CAGR of 6.43% during the period 2017-2021.

Global Coaxial Cables Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.

According to the report, one of the major drivers for this market is Adoption of cables for broadband Internet access. Till the early 1990s coaxial cables were only used for transmission of cable television (CATV) and communication networks, which limited their uses in digital space. The implementation of multimedia over cable alliance (MoCA) technology allows transmission of high-speed broadband Internet and digital content access over coaxial cable networks.

The latest trend gaining momentum in the market is Growing investment in the aerospace sector. The aerospace and defense sector is a major user of coaxial and micro-coaxial cables. These are used to provide interconnection between essential electronic components in aircraft. Since aircraft have several radio communication equipment, isolation of the radio signals is critical for the smooth functioning of these equipment, which makes coaxial cables play a major role in electronic communication. Any interference in radio communication between the aircraft and air traffic control (ATC) during takeoff or landing can be extremely dangerous.

Further, the report states that one of the major factors hindering the growth of this market is Declining CATV subscriber base in several countries. The cable industry has seen a significant decline in television subscribers even as the number of cable broadband subscribers increased. This is due to consumer preference of switching toward streaming, satellite TV, and IPTV-based services. Streaming service providers like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video provide monthly access to online shows at a fraction of the CATV subscription price. These services are also known as subscription video-on-demand (SVoD).

Key vendors

Belden

General Cable

LS Cable & System

Nexans

Prysmian Group

Sumitomo Electric Industries

Other prominent vendors

Amphenol

CommScope

Habia Cable

Hengxin Technology

Kingsignal Technology

Trigiant Group

W. L. Gore & Associates

& Associates Zhuhai Hansen Technology

Key Topics Covered:



Part 01: Executive Summary



Part 02: Scope Of The Report



Part 03: Research Methodology



Part 04: Introduction



Part 05: Market Landscape



Part 06: Market Segmentation By End-User



Part 07: Geographical Segmentation



Part 08: Decision Framework



Part 09: Drivers And Challenges



Part 10: Market Trends



Part 11: Vendor Landscape



Part 12: Key Vendor Analysis



Part 13: Appendix



For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/bdjfb2/global_coaxial

Media Contact:

Research and Markets

Laura Wood, Senior Manager

[email protected]



For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470

For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630

For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900



U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907

Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716

SOURCE Research and Markets

Related Links

http://www.researchandmarkets.com


PORTLAND, Oregon and PUNE, India, October 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

According to a new report published by Allied Market Research, titled, "Tempered glass Market by End-Use Industry: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2017-2023," the global tempered glass market was valued at $46 billion in 2016, and is projected to reach at $65 billion by 2023, registering a CAGR of 5.0% from 2017 to 2023.

Tempered glass or toughened glass is one of the types of flat glass, which is four times stronger than annealed glass. Tempered glass finds wide range of usage in automotive and construction applications. It is manufactured during the preparation of flat glass. Silica mix is heated up to 600C and then rapidly cooled to produce tempered or toughened glass. Tempered glass also finds its application in furniture and interior building activities.

Do Enquiry for Sample Report@ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/3786

Growth in the automotive and construction industry in the emerging economies such as, India, Brazil, UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Africa majorly drives the tempered glass market. Moreover, the increased consumer expenditure on interior designing of their houses boost the market growth. In addition, the increased usage of tempered glass in furniture support the growth. However, the market growth for tempered glass is restricted by the stringent regulations towards automotive and building & construction industry.

In 2016, the construction segment accounted for the highest share, and is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period, owing to the upsurge in construction and renovation projects globally.

Do Enquiry before purchasing [email protected] https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/3786

KEY FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

Asia-Pacific was the leading region in the global tempered glass market in 2016, followed by Europe

was the leading region in the global tempered glass market in 2016, followed by The construction segment generated the highest revenue in 2016, and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.1% during the forecast period

The automotive segment is projected to witness the highest growth rate of 5.8% during the forecast period

The Asia-Pacific tempered glass market is anticipated to register the highest CAGR of 5.2%, followed by LAMEA

tempered glass market is anticipated to register the highest CAGR of 5.2%, followed by LAMEA Europe accounted for approximately one-sixth share in the global market, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.8%.

Asia-Pacific and Europe collectively contributed about 81% share of the global market in 2016 owing to the increased consumption of tempered glass from automotive industry. Also the construction and renovation activities in Asia-Pacific and Europe respectively drives the market.

The key players profiled in the report include Saint-Gobain, Guardian Industries, NSG Group, Asahi Glass Company (AGC), PPG Industries, AFG Industries, Pilkington, Cardinal FG, Shanghai Northglass Technology & Industry Co., Ltd., and AYG Coating Glass Co., Ltd.

Ask for discount before buying@ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/get-discount/3786

About Us:

Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

Contact:

Dhananjay Potle

5933 NE Win Sivers Drive

#205, Portland, OR 97220

United States

Toll Free : +1-800-792-5285

UK : +44-845-528-1300

Hong Kong : +852-301-84916

India (Pune) : +91-20-66346060

Fax : +1855550-5975

[email protected]



Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com

SOURCE Allied Market Research
MIAMI, October 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

HD View Technologies, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HD View 360 ("HD View" or "HDVW"), (OTC MarketsOTCQB: HDVW), announced today exciting progress on the development of its proprietary Point of Sales (POS) software.

Combining cloud-based convenience with an intuitive, easy-to-use interface, the POS solution will support multiple business types through an assortment of highly-flexible catalog configurations.

Today's updates include a centralized administrative portal for all operational and marketing data entry; an intelligent dashboard with strong reporting tools for accounting, payroll, and business analysis; and a fully-secure PCI-compliant regulatory system. These updates will add to the user experience making it easier than ever for businesses to boost efficiency and increase revenue.

Designed to work with almost any operating system, including Android and iOS devices, the hardware agnostic system integrates seamlessly with customer's already-existing technology configurations. And, since the system is accessed completely through the cloud, clients never have to lease or purchase new hardware to run the Point of Sale in any of their locations.

In August, HDVW signed its first letter of intent with Pizzafire, a rapidly-growing fast casual dining franchise, to supply its Point of Sale technology to all 20+ locations nationwide. HD View 360 will keep updating shareholders as new enhancements are released and additional agreements for its technology are signed.

About HD View 360, Inc.

HD View 360 and its subsidiary companies are a complete B2B Information Technology solution that provide hardware installation, security monitoring systems, telephone services, merchant processing, POS software, and ongoing IT support to small and medium-sized businesses. Where some IT companies specialize in one specific area, HD View 360 has hands-on experience in almost every aspect of retail operations. In a few short years, the quality and value of HD View 360's services have been recognized by top franchise brands, including European Wax Center, Amazing Lash Studio, OrangeTheory Fitness, and Massage Envy. HD View 360's rapid growth, solidified business relationships, and smart acquisition strategy have positioned the company to deepen its services to include a more comprehensive geographic presence, while acquiring new franchise clients and increasing revenue streams and profit margins for the company and its shareholders.

Please visit http://www.hdview360.com for more details.

Safe Harbor

This press release contains forward-looking statements, particularly as related to, among other things, the business plans of HDVW, statements relating to goals, plans and projections regarding the HDVW's' financial position and business strategy. The words or phrases "would be," "will allow," "intends to," "may result," "are expected to," "will continue," "anticipates," "expects," "estimate," "project," "indicate," "could," "potentially," "should," "believe," "think", "considers" or similar expressions are intended to identify "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements fall within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Act of 1934 and are subject to the safe harbor created by these sections. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, involve known and unknown risks, a reliance on third parties for information, transactions or orders that may be cancelled, and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements, or developments in our industry, to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from anticipated results include risks and uncertainties related to the fluctuation of global economic conditions, the performance of management and our employees, our ability to obtain financing, competition, general economic conditions and other factors that are detailed in our periodic reports and on documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements made herein are as of the date of this press release and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. HDVW cautions readers not to place undue reliance on such statements. HDVW does not undertake, and HDVW specifically disclaims any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences, developments, unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statement. Actual results may differ materially from HDVW's expectations and estimates.

Press Contact:

Dennis Mancino

[email protected]

+1-786-294-0559



Press Contact:

Dennis Mancino

[email protected]

+1-786-294-0559





http://www.hdview360.com

SOURCE HD View 360, Inc.
Global fintech event leads with Blockchain, Cybersecurity, Insurtech and WealthTech

HONG KONG, Oct. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- "As a growing fintech center on the global stage, Hong Kong is uniquely suited to bring the biggest players from Asia and the West together," says NexChange CEO and Founder Juwan Lee. NexChange is the Program Partner for October 23-24 at Hong Kong Fintech Week, hosted by InvestHK. "Top notch speakers from around the world will tackle tough topics and showcase best practice in the new fintech economy."

In its second year, this event will host the world's best entrepreneurs, financiers, regulators over a week long period. Major topics to be covered in the first two days include:

Blockchain, including the spread of cryptocurrency and ICO's

Insurtech

WealthTech

Cybersecurity

China fintech

Feathered Speakers will include:

Commissioner Bart Chilton , former Commissioner at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)

Soul Htite, CEO, Dianrong, a leading P2P lender in China

Henri Arslanian , PwC FinTech & RegTech Lead for Mainland China /HK and U.S. Liaison

Andy Hsu , Client Solutions Lead, Finance & Travel Greater China Facebook

Angel Ng , Country Business Manager, Citibank HK

Caroline Ada , Country Manager, Hong Kong and Macau , Visa

Jacyln Jhin , Managing Director, Chief Legal and Compliance, CITIC CLSA

Neal Costigan , CEO, BehavioSec

For more information, visit www.nexchange.hk for the full agenda, speaker list and delegate and media registration.

Contact:

Andrew Work

Head Content Strategist, Asia Pacific

NexChange

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +85260100794

About NexChange

NexChange is the global social network connecting professionals to financial services and innovation. The Company has grown rapidly with presence in Hong Kong, New York City and London and has over sixty partnerships of which thirty are in media content. The Company has also built one of the most recognized Fintech brands under Fintech O2O event series and is one of the main organizers of Hong Kong Fintech Week 2017.

SOURCE NexChange
CHICAGO, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hub International Limited (Hub), a leading global insurance brokerage, announced today that it has acquired the assets of Banyan Consulting Group, Inc. (Banyan). Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

With offices in Greensboro, Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina, Banyan specializes in employee benefits. Alan Overbey, CEO of Banyan, will join HUB Carolinas. With the Banyan acquisition, HUB Carolinas will be serving clients in North and South Carolina with a total of 12 regional offices.

"We're excited to have Banyan join and strengthen our HUB Carolinas benefits operations," said Tommy Suggs, President of HUB Carolinas. "Alan and his team have done an outstanding job building a special firm whose primary focus will remain the clients' success."

Overbey added, "Banyan's culture focuses on doing what's right for the client every single time. Hub's reputation and operating philosophy were critical factors in our decision to join the Hub team and our partnership honors our long-standing commitment to our clients, their employees and our culture."

About Hub's M&A Activities

Hub International Limited is committed to growing organically and through acquisitions to expand its geographic footprint and strengthen industry and product expertise. For more information on the Hub M&A experience, visit WeAreHub.com.

About Hub International

Headquartered in Chicago, IL, Hub International Limited is a leading global insurance brokerage that provides property and casualty, life and health, employee benefits, investment and risk management products and services from offices located throughout North America. For more information, please visit hubinternational.com.

CONTACT:

Media: Marni Gordon

Phone: 312-279-4601

[email protected]

M&A: Clark Wormer

Phone: 312.279.4848

[email protected]

SOURCE Hub International Limited

Related Links

http://www.hubinternational.com


ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., Oct. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Recognized as a thought leader in the world of residential real estate, Spyro Kemble has joined Inman as a Content Contributor. Providing articles focused on topics such as infusing soul back in to real estate, revisiting the art of civility, and best practices for smart marketing, his content has become a destination for agents across the country who want real advice with no pretense. As an agent, speaker, writer and soon to be book author, Spyro is driven to provide access for agents to the resources they crave to raise the bar on their performance in the real estate industry.

"Being able to share my perspective on the world of residential real estate via the Inman platform is truly an honor. I have a deep respect for their organization and feel blessed to be a part of their family of contributing writers." Spyro Kemble.

Learn More: https://www.inman.com/2017/09/21/what-ever-happened-to-being-civil-in-real-estate/

About Spyro Kemble:

An industry innovator and thought leader in the world of real estate, Spyro Kemble has earned a reputation for excellence. Having cultivated a network of prestigious alliances with some of the most in-demand organizations, brands, and influencers across the globe, Spyro's tenure and insight have proven to be invaluable both personally and professionally. As a trusted advisor for both peers and clientele, Spyro's commitment to upholding the gold standard in all he does is relentless. His unwavering dedication has allowed him to flourish throughout the ebbs and flows in real estate, and today he enjoys being able to mentor future generations. It also effectively positioned him for his current role as the President of the Newport Beach Association of Realtors and a Contributor to Inman.com.

With a passion for life and a keen eye that appreciates the finer things, his energy, quick wit and relatability have created a platform for him in the public eye, through the Bravo series "Real Estate Wars". Married to the love of his life Tracy, the couple resides in Newport Beach, California with their beloved Samoyed "Apollo". Together, Tracy and Spyro are active philanthropists for the WIN Foundation.

www.SpyroKemble.com | www.Facebook.com/SpyroKemble | @SpyroKemble

Sterling Public Relations

Paula Steurer

949-200-6566

[email protected]

SOURCE Spyro Kemble

Related Links

http://www.SpyroKemble.com


ROSEMONT, Ill., Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Surgical navigation is a "very promising" tool for oral and maxillofacial surgeons, although its high cost and steep learning curve are possible drawbacks, according to a new study.

Surgical navigation  when doctors use a system to track their instruments during computer-assisted surgery  is similar to GPS in cars. Through surgical navigation's three chief components  a localizer similar to a satellite, a surgical probe and a computed tomography scan dataset similar to a map  data are inputted into a computer and used to guide surgical procedures.

Surgical navigation can be useful for surgical planning, execution, evaluation and research, according to the systematic review published this fall in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, the official journal of the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS).

To examine surgical navigation's most common indications, treatments and outcomes, researchers conducted a search in electronic databases, journals and bibliographies published between 2010 and 2015 that included clinical studies of at least five patients. The areas of interest were traumatology, orthognathic surgery, cancer and reconstruction surgery, skull-base surgery and foreign body removal.

Using surgical navigation "considerably improved" treatment of complex orbital fractures in comparison to traditionally treated control groups, researchers concluded. Surgical navigation also is "an excellent device for treatment evaluation" and could have a role in research "in the search of clinical excellence."

Another advantage of surgical navigation in orthognathic (corrective jaw) surgery lets the operator relate segment movements to the simulated plan for cutting of bone, which is otherwise impossible with traditional-model surgical procedures that carry a higher risk of inaccuracy.

Planning a procedure in a three-dimensional environment and executing it with "real-time guidance" can greatly improve precision, researchers concluded. All surgical team members have to be highly integrated in the process, researchers added.

Surgical navigation techniques have been tried in maxillofacial surgery, but "some major challenges" have occurred, according to the study.

When considering integrating surgical navigation as part of the treatment regimen, "one must bear in mind that great surgical skills cannot be compromised," researchers said. "There is a learning curve and financial concerns to be dealt with, but oral and maxillofacial surgeons report that [it] is a very beneficial tool when the techniques have been sufficiently mastered."

The authors of "Surgical Navigation: A Systematic Review of Indications, Treatments, and Outcomes in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery" are R. Bryan Bell, MD, DDS, Director, Providence Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Program and Clinic, Providence Cancer Center, Portland, Ore.; and Iman Azarmehr, DDS, Kasper Stokbro, DDS, and Torben Thygesen, DDS, PhD, all from the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Odense University Hospital, Denmark.

The full article can be accessed at www.joms.org/article/S0278-2391(17)30073-3/fulltext.



The Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery is published by the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons to present to the dental and medical communities comprehensive coverage of new techniques, important developments and innovative ideas in oral and maxillofacial surgery. Practice-applicable articles help develop the methods used to handle dentoalveolar surgery, facial injuries and deformities, TMJ disorders, oral and head and neck cancer, jaw reconstruction, anesthesia and analgesia. The journal also includes specifics on new instruments and diagnostic equipment, and modern therapeutic drugs and devices.

CONTACT: Jolene Kremer, Associate Executive Director, Communications & Publications,

American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

Phone: 847-233-4336

Fax: 847-678-6286

[email protected]

www.AAOMS.org

SOURCE American Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons

Related Links

http://www.aaoms.org


IRVING, Texas, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Luminant, a subsidiary of Vistra Energy (NYSE: VST), today announced plans to retire its Monticello Power Plant in Titus County, Texas. In total, approximately 1,800 MW of power will be taken offline in January of 2018.

Curt Morgan, Vistra Energy's president and chief executive officer, said, "For more than 40 years, Monticello employees have generated reliable power for Texans, and we honor and recognize their service. But the market's unprecedented low power price environment has profoundly impacted its operating revenues and no longer supports continued investment."

Luminant estimates that approximately 200 employees will be impacted by Monticello's retirement. Eligible and affected employees will be offered severance benefits and outplacement assistance. The company will also assist employees who are interested in pursuing open positions within our fleet.

Mr. Morgan continued, "This was a difficult decision made after a year of careful analysis. We are sensitive to the consequences of our decision on employees and members of the local community, with whom we have worked closely for decades. Luminant will be coordinating with civic leadership to prepare for the impacts of the transition."

As part of the retirement process, today Luminant filed a notice with the Electric Reliability Council of Texas ("ERCOT"), which will trigger a reliability review. If ERCOT determines the units are not needed for reliability following this 60-day review, Luminant expects to stop plant operations on Jan. 4, 2018.

Luminant will take the necessary steps to responsibly decommission the facility in accordance with all federal and state regulations. In addition, we will continue the ongoing reclamation work at the plant's mines, which ceased active operations in the spring of 2016.

Vistra estimates it will record one-time charges of approximately $20-25 million in the third quarter of 2017 related to the retirement, including employee-related severance costs and non-cash charges for materials inventory and the acceleration of Luminant's mining reclamation obligations.

Media

Allan Koenig

214-875-8004

[email protected]

Analysts

Molly Sorg

214-812-0046

[email protected]y.com

About Vistra Energy

Vistra Energy is a premier Texas-based energy company focused on the competitive energy and power generation markets through operation as the largest retailer and generator of electricity in the growing Texas market. Our integrated portfolio of competitive businesses consists primarily of TXU Energy and Luminant. TXU Energy sells retail electricity and value-added services (primarily through our market-leading TXU Energy brand) to approximately 1.7 million residential and business customers in Texas. Luminant generates and sells electricity and related products from our diverse fleet of generation facilities totaling approximately 18,000 MW of generation in Texas, including 2,300 MW fueled by nuclear power, 8,000 MW fueled by coal, and 7,500 MW fueled by natural gas, and is a large purchaser of renewable power including wind and solar-generated electricity. The company is currently developing one of the largest solar facilities in Texas by capacity.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. These statements are often, but not always, made through the use of words or phrases such as "may," "should," "could," "predict," "potential," "believe," "will likely result," "expect," "continue," "will," "anticipate," "seek," "estimate," "intend," "plan," "project," "forecast," "goal," "target," "would" and "outlook," or the negative variations of those words or other comparable words of a future or forward-looking nature. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statement involves uncertainties and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the discussion of risk factors under "Risk Factors" and the discussion under "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in the Form 10-Ks and Form 10-Qs filed by Vistra Energy Corp. and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by such forward-looking statements.

Any forward-looking statement speaks only at the date on which it is made, and except as may be required by law, Vistra Energy undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible to predict all of them; nor can Vistra Energy assess the impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

SOURCE Luminant
WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Joint Polar Satellite System-1 (JPSS-1), the first in a new series of four highly advanced National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) polar-orbiting satellites, which will help increase weather forecast accuracy from three to seven days out, is scheduled to launch on Friday, Nov. 10 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

Liftoff aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 2W is targeted for 1:47 a.m. PST (4:47 a.m. EST) at the opening of a 65-second launch window. JPSS, a collaborative effort between NOAA and NASA, represents significant technological and scientific advancements in observations used for severe weather prediction and environmental monitoring.

Media accreditation for U.S. citizens or permanent resident card holders is open through noon Wednesday, Nov. 1. Please provide full name, date of birth, and driver's license or identification card number and state from which it was issued. The deadline for accreditation of international news media is at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11. Please provide full name, date of birth, and passport number and country from which it was issued.

Media interested in attending launch need to register by emailing Michael Stonecypher, 30th Space Wing Public Affairs Officer, at [email protected].

JPSS satellites circle Earth from pole-to-pole and cross the equator 14 times daily providing full global coverage twice a day. Polar satellites are considered the backbone of the global observing system.

NOAA's National Weather Service uses JPSS data as critical input for numerical forecast models, providing the basis for mid-range forecasts. These forecasts enable emergency managers to make timely decisions to protect American lives and property, including early warnings and evacuations.

For more information about JPSS-1, visit:

https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/jpss-1

https://www.jpss.noaa.gov

SOURCE NASA

Related Links

http://www.nasa.gov


CLEVELAND and PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Louis Navellier and Navellier & Associates, Inc. allegedly defrauded their clients and prospective clients by misleading them regarding the performance track record of the "Vireo AlphaSector" investment strategies that the firm offered under the "Vireo" brand name from 2010 to 2013, according to an SEC lawsuit recently filed and currently under review by investor right attorneys Alan Rosca of the Peiffer Rosca Wolf law firm and Paul Scarlato of the Goldman Scarlato & Penny law firm.

The two law firms are investigating potential securities claims on behalf of investors in the Vireo AlphaSector investment strategies offered by Navellier & Associates from approximately 2010 to 2013.

Mr. Navellier and his firm breached their fiduciary duty to clients by ignoring and concealing red flags that the Vireo AlphaSector investment strategies had not performed as Navellier & Associates' advertised, the SEC alleged in its lawsuit. According to the SEC lawsuit, Navellier & Associates' advertisements claimed that "Vireo AlphaSector" investment strategies had a proven track record based on actual results compiled from April 2001 to September 2008, and those strategies significantly outperformed the S&P 500 Index from April 2001 to September 2008. In truth, no client assets had tracked the strategy from April 2001 through September 2008, and instead, the advertised results were 'back tested," according to the SEC. Moreover, even the "back tested" performance claims were substantially overstated, the SEC claims.

The SEC further alleged that Navellier & Associates continued to disseminate materially false advertisements and client communications regarding the performance track record of the Vireo investment strategies, even after they learned of the truth. Once Navellier and his firm concluded that the misrepresentations could get them in legal trouble, they sold the Vireo line of business in August 2013 for $14 million instead of correcting their prior misrepresentations to their clients or informing their clients about their conflicts of interest in selling the Vireo business.

The Peiffer Rosca Wolf and Goldman Scarlato and Penny securities lawyers often represent investors who lose money as a result of investment-related fraud or misconduct and are currently investigating Louis Navellier and Navellier & Associates's alleged false performance claims in advertising materials. They take most cases of this type on a contingency fee basis and advance the case costs, and only get paid for their fees and costs out of money they recover for their clients.

Investors who believe they lost money as a result of Louis Navellier's alleged false performance claims in advertising materials may contact the securities lawyers at Peiffer Rosca Wolf, Alan Rosca or James Booker, for a free no-obligation evaluation of their recovery options, at 888-998-0520 or via e-mail at [email protected] or [email protected].

Attorney advertising. Paid for by the Peiffer Rosca Wolf and Goldman Scarlato & Penny law firms. Attorneys Alan Rosca, James Booker, and Paul Scarlato are responsible for this release. Please visit our respective websites, www.securitieslitigators.com and www.lawgsp.com, for important disclosures, office locations, and lawyer admissions. Peiffer Rosca Wolf Abdullah Carr & Kane, APLC ("Peiffer Rosca Wolf") and Goldman Scarlato & Penny P.C. ("Goldman Scarlato & Penny").

SOURCE Peiffer Rosca Wolf
The Sukkot holiday began at sunset on October 4, 2017 and ends Wednesday, October 11 at sundown. There are several additional activities taking place at the sukkah, on JFS campus, including "Soup in The Sukkah" and senior programs.

With three walls and an open door, the sukkah represents inclusivity, hospitality, and the temporary nature of life. For the project, NewSchool students conformed to specifications that respect Jewish traditions while also integrating design approaches that reflect NewSchool's own emphasis on sustainability.

"The Sukkah Project is a unique one that I look forward to every year," said Chuck Crawford, associate professor of graduate architecture at NewSchool. "This project reflects and aligns with our school values. The community involvement, cultural learning and team building is crucial to their real world education and future careers."

JFS Chief Executive Officer Michael Hopkins thanked the NewSchool students noting, "I think they did an amazing job capturing a number of essential aspects: the value of the sukkah and the value of ritual, and the rules for building it." Hopkins also complimented the acrylic colors "that represent the diversity of your class and the diversity of the community as well."

For more information on NewSchool of Architecture and Design, visit newschoolarch.edu. For more information about Jewish Family Service of San Diego, visit jfssd.org.

Student Team:

Principal Designer:

Dilini Perera

Project Coordinators:

Sarah Cabana

John Sanders III

Design and Fabrication Team:

Firas Alrakhayes

Cameron Atsumi

Noura Bishay

Nic Coffman

Marlena Jackson

Oscar Lopez

Miguel Marquina

Cynthia Morose

Madhavi Natarajan

Adam Peltier

Sovanarry Phy

Veena Ravi

Technical and Construction Advisor:

Doug Blume, Paragon Builders

Instructor:

Charles Crawford

About NewSchool of Architecture & Design

Located in San Diego's design district, NewSchool of Architecture & Design prepares students for career success in design fields with an emphasis on human-centered design, including interdisciplinary and global design skills, industry collaborations and real-world projects. Programs include architecture, construction management, product design, media design, and interior architecture & design. Best College Reviews.org ranked NewSchool #2 for Best Online Masters in Construction Management Degree Programs for 2017-2018. NewSchool is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission. NewSchool offers Bachelor and Master of Architecture programs, accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB). One of more than 70 institutions in 25 countries that comprise the Laureate International Universities network, New School prepares students to successfully work in global and diverse organizations. For more information, visit www.newschoolarch.edu.

SOURCE NewSchool of Architecture & Design

Related Links

http://www.newschoolarch.edu


LANSING, Mich., Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Peckham is proud to celebrate National Disability Employment Awareness Month, an annual awareness campaign that takes place each October. The purpose of National Disability Employment Awareness Month is to educate (the public) about disability employment issues and celebrate the many and varied contributions of America's workers with disabilities. This year's theme is "Inclusion Drives Innovation."

"NDEAM is about showcasing the power of people with disabilities," says Mitch Tomlinson, President & CEO of Peckham, Inc. "We have seen the results and achievements of what people with disabilities can do at work. But nationally, there is much more work to be done to expand work opportunities for people with disabilities."

Peckham believes people with disabilities should have every opportunity to become fully integrated into the communities where they live and work. Peckham is committed to working with employers to serve as a resource and solution to build an inclusive workforce that includes individuals with disabilities.

"Peckham is one of the largest employers in the Lansing area, and partners with local businesses and organizations who want to create a more inclusive workforce," says Caleb Adams, Senior Director of Vocational Services. "Last year, because of the support of local employers and their commitment to creating a more inclusive workplace, we were able to support more than 650 individuals with disabilities in earning employment outside of Peckham."

Peckham provides people a platform to demonstrate their ability, learn new skills, participate in work and enjoy the rewards of their success and experience meaningful employment growth. Peckham is committed to assisting job seekers secure and maintain long-term employment, allowing for job upgrades and career advancement. A wide range of services are offered with a focus on job readiness skills, career exploration, resume development, interviewing, guided job searches, as well as developing interpersonal and coping skills to enhance job retention.

"Peckham's goal is to provide opportunities for people with disabilities to earn and maintain meaningful employment," says Tomlinson. "We hope our work inspires other employers to consider the skills, talents and valuable contributions of this amazing workforce."

Employers and employees in all industries can learn more about how to participate in National Disability Employment Awareness Month and ways they can promote its messages  during October and throughout the year  by visiting www.dol.gov/ndeam.

Peckham, Inc.

Peckham, Inc. is a nonprofit community vocational rehabilitation organization that values quality, diversity and performance. Our mission is to provide a wide range of opportunities to maximize human potential for persons with disabilities who are striving for greater independence and self-sufficiency. To learn more about Peckham, visit www.peckham.org.

If you are an employer who is interested in creating a more inclusive workplace, visit our website at www.peckham.org.

Contact: Kelsey Southwick, Public Relations Specialist

517.316.4352 | [email protected]

SOURCE Peckham, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.peckham.org


PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Nicholas Warywoda, Senior Trial Attorney of the national law firm of Parker Waichman LLP, is at it again. Warywoda, the lawyer who in April 2017 won an $8 Million verdict against the medical provider at the Nassau County (New York) jail for failing to properly treat Marine Corps combat veteran Bartholomew Ryan, causing him to commit suicide, has now undertaken the case of Emanuel McElveen, yet another inmate at the same jail who came under the inadequate care of that same medical provider, Armor Correctional Health Services according to the law firm and Newsday. Since the Ryan case, Armor has been removed as the detention facility's provider and replaced by Nassau University Medical Center (NUMC). In this new case, however, both Armor and NUMC are charged with failing to detect McElveen's fatal cancer.

McElveen, only 20 years old at the time of his death, died when Armor's doctors failed to diagnose a cancer that was both "treatable and curable", according to Warywoda. Added to that is the finding of the New York State Commission of Correction which concluded that it was Armor's failure to provide McElveen with adequate health care that directly resulted in the boy's death. To make matters worse, the Commission also found that the Nassau County Sheriff's Office, which supervises the jail, did nothing to reform Armor's negligent conduct despite having knowledge of the numerous prior deaths in the jail at Armor's hands.

Warywoda described Emir McElveen as a young father with a toddler son, who would now never know his father. McElveen was in jail serving a one-year sentence on a misdemeanor conviction for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. His death was one of 14 deaths at the same Nassau County jail during Armor's 6-year contract at the facility, at least 8 of which were attributed by the Commission to Armor's inadequate care. The action is pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York under Docket No. 2:17-cv-05623.

Parker Waichman offers free legal consultations to victims of negligence. Please contact the firm by visiting its website at yourlawyer.com or calling 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636).

SOURCE Parker Waichman LLP

Related Links

http://www.yourlawyer.com


JOHNSON CITY, Tenn., Oct. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Perserbid, an online platform that allows homeowners to find, select, and hire local contractors, launched a securities crowdfunding campaign. Rather than more commonly known crowdfunding where one invests in hopes for an early look at a new product, this campaign allows investors to share in the financial success of the venture by investing funds to actually own a piece of the company.

"After managing some initial test users, we launched our platform in August are seeing lots of momentum," said Edwin Williams, the founder and CEO of Perserbid. The company currently operates in the Tri-Cities area of Northeast Tennessee and wants to expand their market reach to into Knoxville, Chattanooga, and eventually, Atlanta.

Edwin continued, "Both contractors and homeowners are finding our product differentiations useful."

The company has implemented a few early solutions:

First, improve communication opportunities for homeowners and contractors by allowing homeowners to take a picture of their current space, post an improvement job with that picture or pictures along with a written description of what they are looking for, and communicate with contractors to have a better understanding if they are the right fit.

Second, set up a blind bidding process so homeowners know they are getting a fair deal after estimates come in.

Third, hold the funds for the job in an escrow account and encourage a milestone payment process.

These concepts help protect both parties financially and bolsters the company's communication mission, resulting in clear expectations and higher quality work. Both homeowners and contractors can sign up, post, and/or bid on jobs at www.perserbid.com. There is no fee to join, no monthly fee, and no fees for leads. Perserbid only gets paid when jobs are won and milestones are met.

Perserbid is an active member of the Johnson City Area Homebuilders Association. The terms of the offering and other investment details of the equity raise can be found on the portal, www.startengine.com.

Media Contact:

Edwin Williams

[email protected]

423.454.1545

SOURCE Perserbid

Related Links

http://www.perserbid.com


SAN ANTONIO, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- This October, the Petco Foundation, in partnership with Natural Balance pet food, invites the public to join them to celebrate and support the transformative impact that therapy, service, and working animals have on individuals and communities around the world. With a goal to raise more than $2.5 million in Petco stores and online, the Helping Heroes campaign supports the incredible work of organizations that help animals who save and improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of people each and every day.

These helping heroes safeguard our military, rescue people impacted by disasters, give independence, comfort the sick, and help children learn to read. The Petco Foundation has invested more than $10 million to support this life-changing work.

Throughout the campaign, the Petco Foundation will share stories about the transformative impact these animals have on human lives. On Saturday, October 14, the public is invited to meet a helping hero animal in select Petco locations nationwide. Details and participating store locations can be found at petcofoundation.org/heroes.

Some of the amazing animal heroes being featured in this campaign include:

Hank, a retired explosive detection dog from Kuwait. Thanks to Mission K9 Rescue, Hank was able to retire back in the United States and be adopted by Lloyd, a Vietnam veteran and combat tracker, who decades earlier had to leave his working dog behind after the war.

Justice, a dog adopted from a shelter and trained to become a seizure alert dog for a teenage pageant queen.

Skye, a former shelter dog, who was rescued and trained by the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation as a search and rescue canine.

Mokey, a once-homeless cat, who was adopted from Town Cats of Morgan Hill and certified as a therapy pet who now helps children learn to read and visits seniors in nursing homes.

"We believe that the love of a pet has the power to change lives, communities, and even the world," said Petco Foundation Executive Director Susanne Kogut. "These Helping Hero pets are certainly doing that every day. What is even more exciting is when we see rescued shelter pets who are then trained as service, working, or therapy pets. We invest significantly in organizations that save these pets and transform them into helping heroes."

Individuals can support the Helping Heroes campaign by donating online or in a Petco or Unleashed by Petco store October 7 through October 29, 2017. To learn more about the Foundation and this campaign, visit www.petcofoundation.org/heroes.

About the Petco Foundation

At the Petco Foundation, we believe that every animal deserves to live their best life. Since 1999, we've invested more than $200 million in lifesaving animal welfare work to make that happen. With our more than 4,000 animal welfare partners, we inspire and empower communities to make a difference by investing in adoption and medical care programs, spay and neuter services, pet cancer research, service and therapy animals, and numerous other lifesaving initiatives. Through our Think Adoption First program, we partner with Petco stores and animal welfare organizations across the country to increase pet adoptions. So far, we've helped more than 5.3 million pets find their new loving families, and we're just getting started. Visit petcofoundation.org to learn more about how you can get involved.

Media contact, for more information: Lisa Lane, 1-858-877-0431, [email protected]



SOURCE Petco Foundation

Related Links

http://www.petcofoundation.org


BIRMINGHAM, Ala., Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ProAssurance Corporation (NYSE: PRA) will report results for the third quarter of 2017 after the close of normal New York Stock Exchange trading on Monday, November 6, 2017.

ProAssurance will conduct a conference call at 10:00 am et on Tuesday, November 7, 2017 to discuss the results, and other items of interest to investors participating in the call. US-based investors are invited to participate by phone by dialing (888) 349-0134 (toll free), Canadian investors may dial (855) 669-9657 (toll free), and international investors may dial (412) 317-5145. The conference call will also be webcast through the Investor Relations section of ProAssurance.com.

A telephone replay of the call will be available through November 7, 2018 at (877) 344-7529 (toll free), Canadian investors may dial (855) 669-9658 (toll free), and international investors may dial (412) 317-0088; all using access code 10113012. A replay will be available on the internet through December 31, 2017 at ProAssurance.com. ProAssurance will make a podcast of the call available on its website and on iTunes.

About ProAssurance

ProAssurance Corporation is an industry-leading specialty insurer with extensive expertise in healthcare professional liability, products liability for medical technology and life sciences, legal professional liability, and workers' compensation insurance. The company is recognized as one of the top performing insurance companies in America by virtue of our inclusion in the Ward's 50 for the past eleven years. ProAssurance Group is rated "A+" (Superior) by A.M. Best; ProAssurance and its operating subsidiaries are rated "A" (Strong) by Fitch Ratings.

For the latest on ProAssurance and its industry leading suite of products and services, cutting edge risk management and practice enhancement programs follow @ProAssurance on Twitter or LinkedIn. ProAssurance's YouTube channel regularly presents thought provoking, insightful videos that communicate effective practice management, patient safety and risk management strategies.

SOURCE ProAssurance Corporation

Related Links

http://www.proassurance.com


SAN DIEGO, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- ResMed (NYSE: RMD) (ASX: RMD) the world's leading tech-driven medical device company and innovator in sleep-disordered breathing and respiratory care, today announced the following updates in its ongoing global patent infringement litigation with Fisher & Paykel:

In Germany , the court concluded, after an oral hearing on September 21 , that Fisher & Paykel's Simplus, Eson and Eson 2 each infringe two ResMed European patents. Consistent with German procedure, the court stayed the infringement proceedings to permit ResMed to defend the validity of its patents in the European Patent Office.

the court concluded, after an oral hearing on , that Fisher & Paykel's Simplus, Eson and Eson 2 each infringe two ResMed European patents. Consistent with German procedure, the court stayed the infringement proceedings to permit ResMed to defend the validity of its patents in the European Patent Office. In the United Kingdom , ResMed is proceeding to trial in defense of one of three UK ResMed patents that Fisher & Paykel has challenged there, while agreeing to revoke the other two UK patents. The United Kingdom litigation does not involve any allegations against any of ResMed's own products, will have no commercial impact on sales of ResMed's products, and is not binding on the European Patent Office or the German Courts.

, ResMed is proceeding to trial in defense of one of three UK ResMed patents that Fisher & Paykel has challenged there, while agreeing to revoke the other two UK patents. The litigation does not involve any allegations against any of ResMed's own products, will have no commercial impact on sales of ResMed's products, and is not binding on the European Patent Office or the German Courts. In Australia , after ResMed presented its evidence defending a key ResMed mask patent, Fisher & Paykel immediately withdrew its validity challenge to that patent and must pay ResMed's court costs.

after ResMed presented its evidence defending a key ResMed mask patent, Fisher & Paykel immediately withdrew its validity challenge to that patent and must pay ResMed's court costs. In New Zealand , ResMed's case against Fisher & Paykel for patent infringement is moving forward. ResMed is looking forward to a trial in New Zealand in late 2018.

"ResMed will continue to stand against those we believe have unlawfully violated our patents," said ResMed global general counsel and chief administrative officer David Pendarvis. "We have more than 5,000 patents in our portfolio, reflecting three decades and millions of dollars of sustained investment in research and development, focused on ensuring that patients around the world receive the high-quality care they deserve. We're confident, as we've seen in these early rulings, that ResMed will ultimately prevail against Fisher & Paykel."

About ResMed

ResMed (NYSE: RMD) changes lives with award-winning medical devices and cloud-based software applications that better diagnose, treat and manage sleep apnea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other chronic diseases. ResMed is a global leader in connected care, with more than 3 million patients remotely monitored every day. Our 6,000-strong team is committed to creating the world's best tech-driven medical device company  improving quality of life, reducing the impact of chronic disease, and saving healthcare costs in more than 120 countries. ResMed.com | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn

SOURCE ResMed Inc.

Related Links

http://www.resmed.com


HIAWATHA, Iowa, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Crystal Group, a leading designer/manufacturer of rugged and reliable computer hardware, will unveil its revolutionary new Crystal Group FORCE Rugged Server line at the 2017 AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington, D.C., October 9th through 11th (booth 6514). Crystal Group's new Fully Optimized Rugged Computer Equipment is FORCE. The company's new FORCE rugged rack-mount servers marry the latest Intel Xeon Scalable Processors with high-speed networking, enhanced I/O, platform security, and thermal management in a modular, customizable high-performance computing (HPC) system to bring unprecedented processing power and flexibility to the battlefield.

"The Crystal Group FORCE line comes in direct response to customer requests for faster processing speeds and greater storage capacities in a rugged enclosure with advanced thermal management  optimized for size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C)," said Jim Shaw, Crystal Group Executive Vice President of Engineering. "We continue to expand the Crystal Group portfolio of trusted rugged solutions to provide precisely what's needed on today's multi-domain battlefield: robust, rugged, and reliable systems capable of withstanding harsh environments and tackling complex, compute-intensive applications, such as sensor fusion, machine learning and artificial intelligence, autonomy, electronic warfare, and so much more."

Crystal Group FORCE Rugged Servers are offered with single or dual Intel Xeon Scalable Processors (Purley/Skylake), each supporting up to 24 cores and 48 PCIe lanes to provide a substantial boost in compute capability. The Intel Advanced Vector Extensions 512 (AVX-512) ultra-wide vector processing simplifies repetitive tasks. The Platform Controller Hub (PCH) offers 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) ports for high-speed communication, up to 14 SATA 3 ports for expanded storage capacity, and QuickAssist Technology (QAT) for enhanced security, authentication, and compression.

Crystal Group FORCE RS1104, RS2608, and RS3712 Rugged Servers are available now. The newly designed, lightweight chassis come in 1U, 2U, and 3U sizes with 19-, 22-, and 25-inch depths, with a choice of ATX or eATX motherboard, and air- or liquid-cooled thermal management. FORCE Rugged Servers offer a wide variety of front-end configuration options, including serial and USB ports, 2.5-inch drives, CMOS battery, pump assembly for liquid cooling, circuit breaker, card reader, USB sound card, sanitize button for security, DVD, and LCD. "The Crystal Group FORCE RS1104L22 can dissipate an unprecedented 280 watts of CPU power with its state of the art liquid cooling. It is the world's first and only Xeon Skylake powered server capable of such a feat," Shaw adds.

Crystal Group is demonstrating 1U, 2U, and 3U air- and liquid-cooled configurations of its new FORCE Rugged Servers  the RS1104, RS2608, and RS3712  in booth 6514 at the 2017 Association of the United States Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting & Exposition, October 9th through 11th at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

Contact Crystal Group for a quote, custom configuration, or more information on new FORCE Rugged Servers, available now.

About Crystal Group Inc.

Crystal Group Inc., a technology leader in rugged computer hardware, specializes in the design and manufacture of custom and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) rugged servers, embedded computing, networking devices, displays, power supplies, and data storage for high reliability in harsh environments. An employee-owned small business founded in 1987, Crystal Group provides the defense, government and industrial markets with in-house customization, engineering, integration, configuration management, product lifecycle planning, warranty, and support services.

Crystal Group products meet or exceed IEEE, IEC, and military standards (MIL-STD-810, 167-1, 461, MIL-S-901); are backed by warranty (5+ year) with in-house support; and are manufactured in the company's Hiawatha, Iowa, USA, facility certified to AS9100C:2009 and ISO 9001:2008 quality management standards.

crystalrugged.com

 2017 Crystal Group Inc. All rights reserved. All marks are property of their respective owners. Design and specifications are subject to change.

SOURCE Crystal Group Inc.

Related Links

https://www.crystalrugged.com


SK Planet Japan (SKPJ) will use GATCOIN's targeted A-DropTM technology to issue branded crypto-currencies to Chinese tourists. Tourists can use them to redeem beverage, fast food, and convenience store products in SKPJ's network of franchise partners.

"SKPJ coins can be traded in our ecosystem for GAT Coins, a publicly traded global crypto-currency" said Simon Cheong, Founder and CEO of GATCOIN. "This provides a way to monetize any retail coin issued on our platform. So, it is very much like sending tourists a bit of spending money to encourage them to walk into SKPJ's retail outlets" Mr. Cheong adds.

SKPJ and GATCOIN plan to roll out a complete suite of crypto-currency solutions for retailers in Japan covering loyalty programs, gift vouchers and pre-paid cash credits.

"Providing an unlimited variety of spending options, plus leveraging the liquidity of the crypto currency markets is an extremely powerful combination," says Mr. Lee. "This could possibly be one of the biggest marketing innovations since the invention of points," he adds.

For more information, contact:

Chris Tong Andrew Work Digital Marketing Manager Head Content Strategist, Asia Pacific GATCOIN NexChange Tel: +852-61130116 Mob: +852-60100794 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected]

About GATCOIN

SK Planet Japan is a wholly owned subsidiary of SK Telecom, Korea's largest provider of mobile commerce and consumer services.

GATCOIN is a distributed retail shopping platform operating on high-speed super large ledgers. GATCOIN holders will be able to buy and sell digital currencies issued by retailers on our platform. GATCOIN will offer access to a retail network of 60,000+ stores and 21 major global brands in Asia in 2018.

SOURCE GATCOIN
"We are very pleased with the results achieved in London this week, which followed successful sales of Western and Asian Contemporary Art in Hong Kong last week, as well as offerings from the collections of Mario Testino and Edward Albee in London and New York last month," said Tad Smith, Sotheby's CEO. "The global demand for Contemporary art at all price points bodes well for the major upcoming sales in November."

The Evening Sale of Contemporary Art was led by one of the greatest David Hockney landscapes in private hands, 15 Canvas Study of the Grand Canyon (1998), which sold for $7.9 million  the second highest price for the artist at auction, following the record set in Sotheby's New York salesroom earlier this year.

The most valuable artwork sold this week was Cy Twombly's Untitled, which achieved $8.5 million, and a new auction record was set for Josef Albers, whose Homage to the Square: Temperate sold for $3 million.

About Sotheby's

Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art financing company, as well as the collection advisory services of its subsidiary, Art Agency, Partners. Sotheby's presents private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Global Fine Art Division, and two retail businesses, Sotheby's Diamonds and Sotheby's Wine. Sotheby's has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).

New York | +1 212 606 7176 | Lauren Gioia | [email protected] |

Dan Abernethy | [email protected]

SOURCE Sotheby's

Related Links

http://www.sothebys.com


SILVER SPRING, Md., Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- FDA continues extensive efforts to provide direct assistance to the residents of Puerto Rico following Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and is taking new steps to mitigate the impact of these twin disasters on the island's vibrant medical product manufacturing sector. Our top priority is the people of Puerto Rico.

As part of that commitment, FDA has an important mission to help Puerto Rico recover its medical product manufacturing base. These facilities are a key component of the island's economic vigor. The pharmaceutical and biological drug products and medical devices produced on the island account for about 30 percent of Puerto Rico's gross domestic product. Moreover, about 80 percent of the drug products manufactured on the island are consumed by U.S. citizens in Puerto Rico and across all fifty states. Securing this manufacturing base is vital to maintaining access to many important medical products.

According to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the pharmaceutical products manufactured in Puerto Rico make up nearly 10 percent of all drugs consumed by Americans. And that doesn't even account for medical devices. Puerto Rico is vital to the health and wellbeing of all Americans.

Some of these facilities were hit harder than others. But even the facilities that sustained relatively minor damage are running on generator power. They could be without commercial power for months while crews work to restore stable power to the island. The generators allowed many facilities to re-start production, but certainly not all. Moreover, most of the facilities that we know of, that have resumed production, maintain only partial operations. New shortages could result from these disruptions and shortages that existed before the storms could potentially be extended. We've been in touch with all the firms. In the case of products we're most concerned about, FDA leadership is in contact with senior management teams.

We're keeping a close watch on the most critical medical products. These are the products for which a shortage could have substantial impact on the public health. This list currently comprises about 40 pharmaceutical and biological drug products. In some cases, we're in daily communication with the companies to stay on top of the evolving challenges and to act quickly when we can to prevent drug and device shortages. In urgent cases, when critical products are at issue, we've intervened over the last two weeks to help firms secure fuel to maintain production lines, get clearance to move logistical support into the island or finished goods to their recipients.

I've been asked over the last couple weeks if I can provide more details on the specific products impacted. We'll continue to provide as much information as we can appropriately make public and we'll update regularly on our progress. We expect that, as we learn more about the supply chain and take additional steps to help restore production, FDA will pare its list of about 40 products to a smaller number that we're monitoring. We'll be proactive in communicating about products that reach a shortage situation.

The FDA remains committed to Puerto Rico's future. Everyone is dedicated to these relief efforts. Last Friday I visited with FDA's staff in San Juan. I was moved by their courage and commitment. I'm also inspired by the work of everyone assisting this relief effort from our White Oak, Maryland headquarters. This will be a long recovery. The devastation was significant. But we're in this for the long run. We'll continue to partner with the people of Puerto Rico to help them recover, and secure their economic future.

For additional information:

HHS activates aid for uninsured Puerto Rico residents needing medicine

FDA Fast Facts: FDA's Support of the Hurricane Relief Effort

Media Inquiries: Megan McSeveney, 240-402-4514, [email protected]; Jennifer Dooren, 301-796-2983, [email protected]

Consumer Inquiries: 888-INFO-FDA

SOURCE U.S. Food and Drug Administration

Related Links

http://www.fda.gov


GxAlert users already benefit from real-time visibility into clinical and operational information from diagnostic devices, including the ability to have devices automatically send alerts about new diagnoses, including MDR-TB, to specific members of the health system and clinical care teams. SystemOne's Data Deep Dive provides additional information based on GxAlert data, including insights that can inform programmatic workflow and logistics decisions.

"Overall, countries are finding the deep dives very helpful in understanding how GxAlert data can be utilized to provide insights and improvements to their programs," said Nancy Brown, Vice President of Implementation, SystemOne.

About SystemOne:

Founded in Massachusetts in 2012, SystemOne focuses on producing solutions for disease surveillance and response. SystemOne has offices in Springfield and Boston, MA and Johannesburg, South Africa.

The company's new disease intelligence software, Aspect, addresses numerous infectious diseases including Zika, Ebola, HIV, Malaria, Hepatitis C and more on a host of diagnostic devices.

For more information please email us at: [email protected]

To connect with SystemOne on Twitter please visit: https://twitter.com/SystemOneCo

To connect with SystemOne on Instagram please visit: https://www.instagram.com/systemoneco

SOURCE SystemOne

Related Links

http://www.systemone.id


As part of the Takeda Cares Day event, employees will run or walk a 5K course around the company's headquarters in Deerfield to raise money for organizations that support health, science education and community vitality.

"Our corporate giving program, Takeda Cares, underscores our company's commitment to being a solid corporate citizen," said Ramona Sequeira, president of Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. "Takeda Cares Day celebrates this program and all our year round giving efforts including the hundreds of volunteer hours our employees give to local non profits, charitable donations and grants we provide local, regional and national non profits. It's a day our employees look forward to as it provides a meaningful opportunity for us to celebrate the positive impact we're making in our communities and to organizations dedicated to health, science education and community vitality."

As part of its Takeda Cares Day event, the company's employees voted to donate $50,000 to the American Red Cross and provide donations of $25,000 each to Mother's Trust Foundation and Operation Support Our Troops America. In addition to its annual Takeda Cares Day event, Takeda also donates more than $1 million annually to local, regional and national charities.

"These charitable organizations really depend upon corporate support, and it's great to see one of Chicago's premier pharmaceutical companies stepping up," said Evelyn Sanguinetti, Illinois lieutenant governor.

Sanguinetti is the 47th Lieutenant Governor of Illinois and the first Latina to hold that office. She was formerly an adjunct professor of law and a Wheaton City Councilwoman. Following graduation from Florida International University, Sanguinetti moved to Chicago to attend The John Marshall Law School. After graduation, Sanguinetti joined Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan's office as an Assistant Attorney General. She was elected to her current position in 2014.

Takeda Also Announces Investment In Deerfield Facilities

Takeda also announced that it plans to make a multi-million dollar investment in renovations and remodeling for its corporate campus in Deerfield, IL. The company has operated from its 70-acre corporate campus in Lake County since 2006, and it serves as the company's commercial headquarters for its U.S. Business Unit. The facility also houses various global operations roles for Takeda's marketed products portfolio.

The company said the renovation project is expected to begin in the 3rd quarter, 2017 after an architect is selected. Once the renovation project is underway it should be completed in 18 months. The Takeda corporate campus is comprised of three office buildings and a separate child care facility. In total, the structures comprise more than 628 thousand square feet.

Further, the company said it was time for an update to its campus since it was built more than 10 years ago. It hopes the renovated space will better reflect the way work is increasingly being done by its employees  more collaboration, increased teamwork  and better utilize the existing space.

About 70 percent of Takeda's Deerfield-based employees live close enough to the suburban campus their commute is less than 30 minutes. Employees can take advantage of such benefits such as onsite daycare, walking/running trail, fitness facilities as well as access to public transportation and outstanding schools and many nearby family-oriented neighborhoods.

The upward business growth of Takeda's U.S. Business Unit and its established presence as one of the top biopharmaceutical employers in the area has contributed to Takeda earning several national workplace awardssome for up to five consecutive years.

About Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (TSE: 4502) is a global, R&D-driven pharmaceutical company committed to bringing better health and a brighter future to patients by translating science into life-changing medicines. Takeda focuses its research efforts on oncology, gastroenterology and central nervous system therapeutic areas. It also has specific development programs in specialty cardiovascular diseases as well as late-stage candidates for vaccines. Takeda conducts R&D both internally and with partners to stay at the leading edge of innovation. New innovative products, especially in oncology, central nervous system and gastroenterology, as well as its presence in emerging markets, fuel the growth of Takeda. More than 30,000 Takeda employees are committed to improving quality of life for patients, working with our partners in health care in more than 70 countries.

For more information, visit http://www.takeda.com/news

About Takeda in the U.S.A.

Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. is the U.S. commercial organization of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited. Takeda has a strong commitment to the U.S. with more than 5,000 employees, a significant R&D presence, Oncology and Vaccines headquarters and manufacturing capabilities. Additional information about Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc. is available through its website, www.takeda.us.

SOURCE Takeda Pharmaceuticals U.S.A., Inc.

Related Links

http://www.takeda.us


SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, Oct. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Teamsters from across the country are on the ground in Puerto Rico assisting with disaster relief, following a chartered flight of over 200 union volunteers that arrived in Puerto Rico yesterday.

"Teamster volunteers are wasting no time getting the job done in the critical roles of supply delivery, sanitation support, hooking up generators, and debris removal following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria," said Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa. "I'm inspired that we were able to galvanize so many members and supply donations on such short notice."

Teamsters Joint Council 13 Human Rights Coordinator Roy Gillespie noted from on the ground in Puerto Rico that the decimation of the island's infrastructure presented a unique set of challenges for the volunteers.

"All of the traffic lights are gone, it's incredibly hot outside, there's no functioning phone service, and the only people who have power in the town where we are right now are people who have generators," Gillespie said. "This is ten times worse than what I expected, much worse than what people are seeing and hearing back home. I've never seen anything like this."

Teamsters Joint Council 16, which has jurisdiction over Teamsters Local 901 in San Juan, spearheaded the effort to identify and deploy the volunteers in Puerto Rico.

"In spite of the immense and unprecedented challenges that these selfless volunteers are facing, they are on the ground right now doing everything they can to assist our brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico," said Teamsters International Vice President and Joint Council 16 President George Miranda. "We are our best in adversity. There are 3.5 million U.S. citizens that need our help right now. Whether you're on the island or the main land, the Teamsters are a family, and we don't leave family behind."

"We are eternally grateful for the outpouring of support we have received from our fellow Tronquistas (Teamsters) from all over the main land," said Alexis Rodriguez, Secretary-Treasurer of Local 901. "These volunteers didn't think twice to come out here to help our membership at a time when we desperately need it. The level of kindness and empathy that they have demonstrated towards our communities and our local really goes to show what being a Tronquista is all about."

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Visit www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and "like" us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.

Contact:

Ted Gotsch (202) 624-6911

[email protected]

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Related Links

http://www.teamster.org


In addition to the New York citizens, this event introduces Templestay and temple food to the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in New York, Korean Cultural Center New York, Korea Tourism Organization New York Office and related officials in Korea, cultural arts associations, local media in New York.

Over 100 participants experienced various Templestay activities and temple food tasting at the Astor Center, New York. Among them, lotus flower lantern making was the most popular activity, and Ssambap and natural potato chips were particularly among the food favorites.

Participants who have experienced the Templestay exhibition have requested a recommendation of the temple to experience Templestay with Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games next year.

In addition, the mascots of Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games, Soohorang and Bandabi, gave local New Yorkers opportunities to promote 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games and to take photographs at the same time.

On the other side of the event, people from government, business, arts and culture, media and prominent chefs attended the temple food banquet. A variety of temple foods such as porridge with potato matzo balls, buckwheat crepes, seasoned were airlifted from Gangwon-do Province.

One of New York's famous restaurant, Jean-Georges Restaurant Chef Kenny Pinney said "It was very impressive that it tastes clean and refreshing. I could feel the original taste of the ingredients purely."

And Maangchi Kim, a renowned Korean food power blogger with about 2 million YouTube readers in the US and around the world, said, "It's a great honor to have an opportunity to get to the temple food in New York. Roasted tofu with chili pepper pickles made me feel the taste of Korean traditional food by unique smell and texture. I would like to introduce temple food at my YouTube channel."

Bailey and Tarsha exalted in an interview that, "I was able to feel Korean tradition and the depth of food from the temple food. Especially, the chili pepper pickles were impressive. Unlike American pickles, it has a beautiful taste given by the chef's sincerity and the time of waiting." In addition, they thanked to Ven. Beopsong who introduced temple food saying "If I have a chance to visit Korea, I would like to experience temple food and traditional Korean culture through Templestay."

On 29th of September (local time), Ven. Beopsong's special lecture about temple food was held at a famous American cooking school CIA(Culinary Institute of America). About 100 professors and students of CIA attended the lecture with huge interest and enthusiasm for the temple food. There were lots of thoughtful questions about traditional recipe for temple food and the characteristics of temples from students. In addition, Michael Pardus, a CIA professor of Asian food, thanked Ven. Beopsong and the staff of Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism serving kimchi noodle soup, soy sauce and local special fruits.

The Cultural Corps of Korean Buddhism has been hosting a biannual temple food promotional event in New York since 2010. This year's event was particularly designed to emphasize awareness of Pyeongchang Winter Olympics 2018.

SOURCE TEMPLESTAY
CARLSBAD, Calif. and BOSTON, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 800 executives from the life science industry attended BioPharm America 2017 life science partnering event in Boston last week. Each year at this event, unmatched networking possibilities combined with two days of one-to-one partnering meetings propel valuable deals in the drug development industry.

The highly successful 2017 event included attendance by delegates from 528 companies representing 32 countries. As well, almost 2,000 one-to-one partnering meetings took place at the event where 812 licensing opportunities were on offer, and there were 45 company presentations.

The tenth annual event was held over two days, September 2627, at the Sheraton Boston, in conjunction with several Biotech Week Boston events at the Hynes Convention Center including the BioProcess International Conference & Exhibition, Cell & Gene Therapy BioProcessing & Commercialization, and the Xconomy Awards. The Translational Impact Forum hosted by Charles River presented the latest trends in groundbreaking life science research and connected entrepreneurs and researchers to funding, development and commercialization partners. The Startup Toolkit and Pitch Competition provided useful tips and experience to a host of very early-stage biotech startups.

High-level pharma and finance executives spoke on Strategy and Business panels on topics including:

What's the next big thing on investors' wish list?

Alternative financing and venture philanthropy

Why Chinese investors are pouring big money into biotech

What's the next big thing on pharma's wish list?

Cell and gene therapies: From discovery to commercialization

The startup pitch contest, featuring 20 early-stage entrepreneurs, offered a first-place prize including post-show mentorship by top-tier venture capitalists, pharma representatives and private equity investors with the opportunity to return for BioPharm America 2018 to give a full-length presentation. The winner was Sven Karlsson, Co-Founder and Chief Business Officer of Platelet BioGenesis.

BioPharm America 2018 will be held in Boston September 56, 2018.

Additional links and information:

Follow BioPharm America on Twitter: @EBDGroup (hashtag: #BioPharmUSA).

About EBD Group

EBD Group is the leading partnering firm for the global life science industry. Since 1993, biotech, pharma and medical device companies have leveraged EBD Group's partnering conferences, technology and services to identify business opportunities and develop strategic relationships essential to their success.

EBD Group's conferences are run with the support of leading corporations and international trade associations and include:

EBD Group's sophisticated web-based partnering service, partneringONE, is used as the partnering engine at numerous third-party events around the world. Tune into EBD Group's Partnering Insight for timely coverage of news that influences the business strategies of the life science industry.

EBD Group is an Informa company. Informa is the largest publicly-owned organizer of exhibitions, conferences and training in the world.

For more information please visit www.ebdgroup.com.

For more information, contact:

Kari Bennett

EBD Group

[email protected]

(760) 930-0500

SOURCE EBD Group

Related Links

http://www.ebdgroup.com


LOS ANGELES, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (TCSPP), a leading nonprofit university devoted exclusively to psychology, and related behavioral health sciences, has partnered with the National Military Family Association (NMFA) to offer eligible NMFA military spouse members scholarships ranging from $2,500 to $16,500. Through this partnership, TCSPP aims to support NMFA's goal to "help prepare military spouses for meaningful employment and to better contribute to their family's financial security."

The Chicago School will offer potential scholarships of $7,500 for Bachelor's degrees ($2,500 for degree completion), $8,500 for Master's degrees and $16,500 for doctoral degrees. These scholarships are exclusively for military spouses who register on the NMFA website.

Scholarships are distributed over the students' terms/semesters and prospective students can attend all TCSPP campuses located in Chicago, Los Angeles, Irvine, San Diego, Washington, D.C., and Online, where more than 20 degrees are offered in the fields of psychology and behavioral health, including business psychology, forensic psychology, and counseling services.



"Our partnership with NMFA furthers our mission to have a diverse student population, and is unique in that it supports the spouses of military members who are eager to continue their education," said TCSPP President Dr. Michele Nealon. "These scholarships will put many military spouses in a better position to help fill the gaps in mental and behavioral health care services."

"Military spouses often put their own education and career goals on hold to support their family through deployments, frequent moves, and even a service member's injury," said NMFA Executive Director Joyce Raezer. "We are grateful that TCSPP recognizes these sacrifices, and because of their commitment, we are excited to see more military spouses enter the mental health field and make a difference in their communities."

About The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

Founded in 1979, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology (TCSPP) is a nonprofit, private school devoted exclusively to psychology, and related behavioral health sciences. The Chicago School is an affiliate of TCS Education System, a nonprofit system of colleges advancing student success and community impact. The institution serves approximately 4,300 students across campuses in Chicago; Southern California (Los Angeles, Irvine and San Diego); and Washington, D.C., as well as through online programs. The Chicago School is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission, (WSCUC), and its Clinical Psychology Doctoral Programs in Chicago and Washington, D.C. are accredited by the American Psychological Association. With more than 20 graduate degree programs, thousands of hours of real-world training, and a wealth of international opportunities, TCSPP is the leader in professional psychology and behavioral health education. To learn more, visit www.thechicagoschool.edu.

MEDIA CONTACT: Rebecca Bravo

(213) 615-7292

[email protected]

SOURCE The Chicago School of Professional Psychology

Related Links

http://www.thechicagoschool.edu


LONDON, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Summary

"Top Growth Opportunities: Bakery & Cereals in the US", provides recommended actions and detailed analysis of how to target the best growth opportunities for Bakery & Cereal producers and retailers. Readers can understand what categories, channels, companies, and consumers will drive the success of Bakery & Cereal markets in the US through GlobalData's detailed and robust data, expert insight, and case studies.







Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5134594







GlobalData's Top Growth Opportunity reports use a risk versus reward opportunity model to identify the best growth markets for Bakery & Cereal producers. Through this in-depth study of market and category dynamics, readers are able to identify key opportunities, and what they need to do in order to target them.



Top Growth Opportunities for Bakery & Cereal in the US provides an overview of the Bakeryy & Cereal market, analyzing market data, demographic consumption patterns within the category, and the key consumer trends driving consumption. GlobalData's propriety Risk vs Reward Opportunity model pinpoints the best growth opportunities for Bakery & Cereal producers, suppliers and retailers by combining robust, granular data and expert insight. The report uses this framework to identify the best opportunities, analyze white spaces in the market, and outline new product development that will effectively target the most pertinent consumer need states. These are combined to offer strategic recommendations to capitalize on evolving consumer landscapes.



Get access to -

- Key consumer demographic groups driving consumption within the US market. Improve your consumer targeting by understand who's driving the market, what they want, and why

- A study of market value and volumes over 2011-2016 for the US, supplemented with category, brand and packaging analysis that shows the current state of the market, and how it will evolve over the 2016-2021 period

- White space analysis, to pinpoint attractive spaces in the market and the key actions to take

- Insight into the implications behind the data, and analysis of how the consumer needs will evolve in the short-to-medium term future

- Examples of international and US-specific product innovation targeting key consumer needs



Scope

- The US has the largest bakery & cereal sector by value globally, worth in excess of US$105 billion. However, growth for this market is relatively low compared with other developed nations, with a forecast CAGR for 2016-2021 of 2.5%.

- The US ranks third amongst the top ten bakery & cereal markets in terms of per capita expenditure (in US$ terms), smaller than Saudi Arabia and Chile.

- The US Bakery & Cereals market is led by 'Cakes, Pastries & Sweet Pies' category in value terms which grew at a CAGR of 3.5% during 2011-2016 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.9% during the forecast period (2016-2021).



Reasons to buy

- This report brings together consumer analysis and market data to provide actionable insight into the behavior of the US Bakery & Cereal consumers.

- This is based on GlobalData's unique consumer data, developed from extensive consumption surveys and consumer group tracking, which quantifies the influence of 20 consumption motivations in the Baekry & Cereal sector.

- Category, brand, and packaging dynamics are also examined. This allows product and marketing strategies to be better aligned with the leading trends in the market.



Download the full report: https://www.reportbuyer.com/product/5134594



About Reportbuyer

Reportbuyer is a leading industry intelligence solution that provides all market research reports from top publishers

https://www.reportbuyer.com



For more information:

Sarah Smith

Research Advisor at Reportbuyer.com

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +44 208 816 85 48

Website: www.reportbuyer.com

SOURCE ReportBuyer

Related Links

http://www.reportbuyer.com


Trailer Bridge has been actively shipping relief goods to the citizens of Puerto Rico on their multiple weekly sailings from Jacksonville, FL to San Juan, PR. With the increased weekly liner capacity Trailer Bridge will be able to provide another 300 containers, equating to an additional 13.5mm lbs. of relief goods, on top of the millions and millions already being sent. In an effort to ensure operations in San Juan continue to operate at full capacity, the Trailer Bridge Puerto Rico-based family, as well as their family members, have been provided with the critical necessities, such as power, fuel, food, water, etc.. According to Mitch Luciano, CEO, "As soon as it was clear that Hurricane Maria was headed to Puerto Rico, we began filling containers with goods for our team and their families there. It was important to us, to not only support our family there, but to also ensure we sustained full operations for our customers and the relief effort of Puerto Rico." Luciano added, "We have been working very hard to make sure the needs of all Puerto Ricans are met with the additional capacity being added."

According to the National Weather Service, Hurricane Maria, which passed over Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, was the worst hurricane in nearly 90 years for the island. Areas along the center of the hurricane left behind catastrophic damage and flooding, as well as a loss of power and utilities to the island's nearly 3.5 million residents.

Luciano continued, "With the amount of damage left behind by Hurricane Maria, it is clear that it will take some time for the island to rebuild. We have seen an enormous outpouring of support for the people of Puerto Rico, our team there, and thank everyone that has supported them and their loved ones. The efforts of many to help communities on the island, along with the incredible spirit and strength of the Puerto Rico citizens will no doubt see them through this challenging time. Our hearts are with all of the people of Puerto Rico. We are proud to stand firm with them during this time and grateful for the opportunity to provide the relief they need and deserve."

ABOUT TRAILER BRIDGE

Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Jacksonville, Trailer Bridge, Inc. is an asset-owned, leading shipping and logistics firm providing services in ocean, truckload, intermodal, expedited, specialized cargo, vehicles, over-dimensional, warehousing, and transloading services. Trailer Bridge has offices in Jacksonville, FL, Charleston, SC; San Juan, Puerto Rico; the Dominican Republic; and the US Virgin Islands.

Trailer Bridge was voted "Best Places to Work" in 2016 and in 2017 in Jacksonville.

RELATED LINKS

http://www.trailerbridge.com

http://www.weather.gov/media/sju/events/Maria/HurricaneMaria.pdf

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2017/05/23/these-are-jacksonvilles-best-places-to-work-2017.html

TRAILER BRIDGE CONTACT:

Indie B. Bollman

Director of Corporate Development

T: 904 751 7142

E: [email protected]

www.trailerbridge.com

SOURCE Trailer Bridge, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.trailerbridge.com


Seven of the UKs leading wholesalers have written a joint letter to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) urging it to block the Tesco-Booker merger.

The managing directors of Bestway, Bidfood, Confex, Landmark, Spar, Sugro and Todays co-signed a letter, which was submitted to the CMA as part of its ongoing Phase 2 investigation.

The letter challenges the claim that Tescos acquisition of the Booker Group, which supplies Londis, Budgens and Premier stores, will enhance competition in the UK and promote consumer interests.

The group have told the CMA that if Booker acquires Tescos unrivalled power in grocery procurement it would harm suppliers and result in higher prices and less choice for independent retailers and consumers.

It added that Tesco, with its ability to target lower prices where it faces local competition, would also have the power to force out of business all those independent retailers with which it competes locally.

The CMA is in Phase 2 of its investigation into Tescos proposed acquisition of Booker Group. It is expected that the CMA will issue its provisional decision towards the end of October.
The film, a modern classic, is widely regarded as a reinvention of the film musical. Before the popularization of the mash-up, the "Elephant Love Medley" brought together a distillation of the twentieth century's great songs into an argument-in-song between the Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor. "Lady Marmalade" created a one-time-only super group. The album purposefully brought together an eclectic cross-section of artists and music creators to make a definitive musical statement at the dawn of the new millennium. Where else can one hear the likes of Bono, Rufus Wainwright, Beck, David Bowie, Jose Feliciano, and Fatboy Slim all joining in a unified musical gesture?

"We wanted to celebrate the great songs of the twentieth century as a lens through which to view the world of the turn-of-the-century Paris Belle Epoque, while remaining visceral and relevant to the audience watching the film in 2001." - Baz Luhrmann

The album is best known for its first single, "Lady Marmalade," re-recorded by Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya and P!nk, produced by Missy Elliott and writing partner Rockwilder, with the lyrics transposing the original location from New Orleans to the title Paris nightclub. "Lady Marmalade" reached #1 in its eighth week on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, spending five weeks at the top of the chart, the third airplay-only song in Billboard chart history to hit #1 without being released as a commercially available single. The soundtrack album debuted at #5, and peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200, while topping the charts in Australia and New Zealand. It eventually reached #1 on the Top Soundtracks chart and was certified in April, 2002, double-platinum.

The song earned a 2002 Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and MTV Video Music Awards for Best Video of the Year and Best Video from a Film, along with nominations for Best Dance Video, Best Pop Video, Best Choreography and Best Art Direction. The album was Grammy-nominated in the category of Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. Luhrmann (along with music supervisor Anton Monsted, under the music production pseudonym BLAM), is a co-producer on cast recordings on the album. Luhrmann, along with music director Marius DeVries, oversaw all of the cast recordings for the film during pre-production.

The album includes Beck's "Diamond Dogs" and Bono, Gavin Friday and Maurice Seezer's take on T. Rex's "Children of the Revolution," among the highlights. Other tracks include Ewan McGregor and Alessandro Safina's take on Elton John's "Your Song," Nicole Kidman and McGregor's love song, "Come What May," originally composed by David Baerwald and Kevin Gilbert for Luhrmann's previous film, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, but first heard here.

Moulin Rouge! Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film Track Listing:

LP 1

Side A

1. Nature Boy - David Bowie

2. Lady Marmalade - Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, Mya, P!nk

3. Because We Can - Fatboy Slim

4. Sparkling Diamonds - Nicole Kidman, Jim Broadbent, Lara Mulcahy, Caroline O'Connor

Side B

5. Rhythm of the Night - Valeria

6. Your Song - Ewan McGregor, Alessandro Safino

7. Children of the Revolution - Bono, Gavin Friday, Maurice Seezer

8. One Day I'll Fly Away - Nicole Kidman

LP2

Side A

1. Diamond Dogs - Beck

2. Elephant Love Medley-Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, Jamie Allen

3. Come What May-Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor

Side B

4. El Tango De Roxanne - Jose Feliciano, Ewan McGregor, Jacek Koman

5. Complainte De La Butte - Rufus Wainwright

6. Hindi Sad Diamonds - John Leguizamo,Nicole Kidman, Alka Yagnik

7. Nature Boy - David Bowie, Massive Attack

SOURCE Universal Music Enterprises

Related Links

https://ume.lnk.to/MoulinRouge


GENEVA, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A United Nations (UN) resolution regarding the situation in Yemen, introduced by Egypt on behalf of the Arab Group and supported by the entire membership of the UN Human Rights Council, called for the release of all Baha'i detainees in the country.

Titled "Human Rights, Technical Assistance and Capacity-building in Yemen," the resolution was adopted by consensus at the Council on Friday, September 29, 2017.

The text expressed concern over "the severe restrictions on freedom of religion or belief, including for minorities, such as members of the Baha'i faith." It further called upon "all parties to immediately release all Baha'i[s] detained in Yemen due to their religious belief, to cease the issuance of arrest warrants against them and to cease the harassment to which they are subjected."

There are currently seven Baha'is in prison in Yemen, most of whom are held in undisclosed locations and one of whom has been detained for nearly four years owing to repeatedly postponed court-hearings. Arrest warrants have been issued for over a dozen others, while a number of families have been forced to leave their homes.

"What is remarkable about this resolution," explained Diane Ala'i, the Representative of the Baha'i International Community at the UN in Geneva, "is that all members of the Council were able to reach a consensus regarding the dire situation in Yemen, including the persecution of the Baha'is as a religious community."

While the Yemeni Baha'is are being targeted by the Houthi-Saleh authorities, the Baha'i International Community indicated, in a statement delivered at the Council last week, that reliable sources confirm that Iranian authorities are, in fact, behind the persecutions.

"Despite the harrowing circumstances in Yemen, the Baha'is have, based on the principle of non-involvement in political activities, refused to side with one group or another," further stated Ms. Ala'i. "They have, instead, endeavored to serve all people."

"Therefore, this strong signal from the Human Rights Council not only calls on the responsible entities to cease this unjust treatment, but it also serves as a beacon of hope for those currently suffering in the country."

For more information, please contact the U.S. Baha'i Office of Public Affairs at 202-833-8990, or visit publicaffairs.bahai.us.

Media Contact:

Danyelle Simpkins

Junior Account Executive

Ballantines PR

310.454.3080

[email protected]

SOURCE U.S. Bahai Office of Public Affairs

Related Links

http://publicaffairs.bahai.us/


INDIANAPOLIS, Oct. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY) today announced that the Patent Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has ruled in the company's favor regarding patentability of the vitamin regimen for Alimta (pemetrexed for injection).

In the inter partes review (IPR) proceedings initiated by Neptune Generics, LLC and Sandoz Inc., the U.S. PTO found that the claims of the vitamin regimen patent are valid. If the patent is ultimately upheld through all remaining challenges, Alimta would maintain U.S. exclusivity until May 2022, preventing marketing of generic products for as long as the patent remains in force.

"We are pleased with today's ruling by the U.S. PTO finding the claims of the Alimta vitamin regimen patent are valid," said Michael J. Harrington, senior vice president and general counsel for Lilly. "This ruling largely confirms the earlier decision of the district court which was affirmed on appeal by a unanimous court."

Harrington continued, "The significant scientific research that Lilly performed in support of the vitamin regimen patent deserves intellectual property protection, which has been confirmed in every validity challenge to date. We continue to emphasize that protection of intellectual property rights is extremely important to the biopharmaceutical industry and the patients we serve. These rights help support the development of the next generation of innovative medicines."

In March 2014, the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Indiana upheld the validity of the vitamin regimen patent. In August 2015, the same court ruled in Lilly's favor regarding infringement of the vitamin regimen patent. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit confirmed these rulings in a unanimous decision in January 2017, finding the patent is valid and would be infringed by the generic challengers' proposed products.

About Eli Lilly and Company

Lilly is a global healthcare leader that unites caring with discovery to make life better for people around the world. We were founded more than a century ago by a man committed to creating high-quality medicines that meet real needs, and today we remain true to that mission in all our work. Across the globe, Lilly employees work to discover and bring life-changing medicines to those who need them, improve the understanding and management of disease, and give back to communities through philanthropy and volunteerism. To learn more about Lilly, please visit us at www.lilly.com and http://newsroom.lilly.com/social-channels. C-LLY

This release contains forward-looking statements regarding the U.S. Alimta patent litigation. These statements are based on management's current expectations but actual results may differ materially. There can be no assurance that the company will prevail in any appeal. Also, the company cannot predict whether generic pemetrexed will be marketed prior to the expiration of the vitamin regimen patent. Other risk factors that may affect the company's results can be found in the company's latest Forms 10-K and 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Alimta (pemetrexed, Lilly)

SOURCE Eli Lilly and Company

Related Links

http://www.lilly.com


PITTSBURGH, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The United Steelworkers issued the following statement after the business community criticized the current direction of NAFTA negotiations.

Since the day NAFTA was signed into law, workers in the United States, Mexico and Canada have suffered from its impact and have hoped for its reform or repeal.

Next week, negotiators will meet for the fourth round of talks to update its provisions and attempt to reverse the significant economic damage the agreement has caused.

It's no surprise that business groups are concerned that NAFTA's outsourcing provisions may be dramatically altered, and that provisions might be included to develop an agreement that is fairer to workers.

Organized labor is working with the Administration to advance proposals that will promote growth and opportunity for workers in all three countries. A deal that achieves those goals would be worthy of our support.

Businesses have set the agenda for far too long and the result has been rising trade deficits, lost jobs, devastated communities and rising income inequality.

The USW represents 850,000 workers in North America employed in many industries that include metals, rubber, chemicals, paper, oil refining and the service and public sectors. For more information: http://www.usw.org/.

CONTACT: Roxanne Brown (202) 778-4384

[email protected]

SOURCE United Steelworkers (USW)

Related Links

http://www.usw.org


NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of the Virgin Islands RTPark, (UVI RTPark), the Specialist Economic Development Program, has launched a special donation appeal to support the Fund For the U.S. Virgin Islands on the heels of Hurricanes Irma and Maria.

The RTPark's own headquarters on St. Croix suffered significant exterior and interior damage from Hurricane Maria on Tuesday, September 19, 2017 with the building losing its decorative winged roof and suffering tremendous water damage to its offices.

But despite its loss, the RTPark as a good corporate citizen is pitching in to help by supporting the FUND FOR THE VIRGIN ISLANDS, (FFVI), which has been set up by the non-for-profit organization, the Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands, (CFVI), in collaboration with USVI Delegate to Congress, Hon. Stacey Plaskett.

The RTPark's immediate goal is to provide financial support for the critical needs of U.S. Virgin Islands residents impacted by both Hurricanes Irma and Maria. These needs include:

Water

Food Supplies

Clean-Up Supplies

Batteries, Lanterns

Diapers

Baby formula

Tarpaulins

Please support this effort by contributing a donation here.

"The devastation wreaked by Hurricanes Irma and Maria provides a unique opportunity for the US Virgin Islands and the wider Caribbean region to build capacity and undertake a major program in smart, green resilient technology," said Executive Director Dr. Gillian Marcelle. "The RTPark is ready to make a major contribution to this effort as a knowledge hub that brings together the impact investment community, the private sector, governments and the academic community."

C. Knox LaSister, CEO, Smart, Inc. added that the islands of the Caribbean, including the U.S. Virgin Islands, must look at making improvements such as: enhancing building codes, changing infrastructure requirements to respond to need for more resilient structural integrity; improved power generation and management systems and smart water distribution management systems.

"The UVI RTPark headquartered in St. Croix is the perfect hub for generating this kind of innovative and strategic thinking; we can find creative and effective solutions necessary in this new environment," he added.

For more information about the UVI RTPark, log on to uvirtpark.net or find us at Twitter @UVI_RTPark or on Facebook at UVI Research and Technology Park. You can also tweet about us using the hashtags: #Rebuild USVI or #USVIStrong.

SOURCE UVI RTPark
BOSTON, Oct. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kyros Law Offices is alerting investors of Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl (NYSE: VRX) that it is investigating legal claims against the company for possible securities fraud violations committed by Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl (NYSE: VRX).

Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl (NYSE: VRX) investors that have invested over $100,000 before March 2016 are urged to contact our law firm immediately to protect their rights. Visit our VRX Lawsuit website or call 1-800-934-2921 to speak to someone about your case.

The investigation concerns possible violations of securities law committed by Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl (NYSE: VRX) management that has led to significant losses to investors. Recent lawsuits filed against the company allege that Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl (NYSE: VRX) may have improperly used a pharmacy network to artificially increase sales for their drugs.

In February 2016, Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl (NYSE: VRX) announced it would restate its financial results, citing issues with revenue recognition stemming from sales from a specific pharmacy network. That same month, the company came under SEC investigation. During this time, the stock price of VRX dropped significantly, with the share prices dropping more than 90%.

Kyros Law has been recently contacted by numerous unhappy VRX investors with hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in the company. The law firm is dedicated to fighting for the rights of these investors, and other investors that have lost money in VRX stock.

Kyros Law Offices urges Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl (NYSE: VRX) investors that invested more than $100,000 prior to March 2016 to contact our law firm immediately to protect their rights. Visit our VRX Lawsuit website or call 1-800-934-2921 to find out if you have a case.

Kyros Law specializes in a wide range of complex litigation, mass torts, and corporate governance matters, including the representation of whistleblowers, shareholders and consumers in securities fraud, false claims act and class actions. Our lawyers have been responsible for recovering hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients throughout the United States, Africa, Asia and Europe. Visit our website to learn more about our firm.

SOURCE Kyros Law
Highly regarded industry leaders become Principals, will focus on mortgage brokerage, project-level equity raises and recapitalizations across all asset types

WASHINGTON, DC, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ - Josh Peyton, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of the company's Washington, DC region, announced today the strategic hiring of commercial real estate finance specialists Wesley Boatwright, Jonathan Goldstein and Michael Yavinsky in Washington.

Effective immediately, Boatwright, Goldstein and Yavinsky become Principals of Avison Young. Serving with the firm's capital markets group, they will work as a team and focus on mortgage brokerage, project-level equity raises and recapitalizations across all asset types. Together, Boatwright, Goldstein and Yavinsky bring more than 60 years of commercial real estate industry experience to Avison Young, most recently with Jones Lang LaSalle in the Washington, DC region, where they were managing directors in the capital markets group. Since 2012, the team has closed in excess of $6 billion in transactions and most recently facilitated the $233-million recapitalization of Port Covington in Baltimore on behalf of Sagamore Development and Plank Industries.

"We are excited to have Wes, Jon and Mike, who are three highly regarded industry leaders, become part of the Avison Young family as we grow our capital markets services in the Washington area and across the company," comments Peyton. "They will complement and expand our existing strong capital markets group in Washington while collaborating with Avison Young professionals across the U.S. and in Canada, Mexico and Europe. When it comes to providing excellence in real estate finance, they have set the bar extremely high."

Peyton continues: "We are fortunate to have such a high-caliber team assist our company and our clients with investment-grade acquisitions as well as development and adaptive-reuse projects. Furthermore, their client-centric approach to every financial and investment transaction aligns perfectly with the Avison Young commitment to provide solutions-driven advisory services. Over more than six decades combined, Wes, Jon and Mike have built distinguished careers by representing diverse investor groups on office, retail, industrial, multi-family and hospitality real estate investments. They will be integral to the future success of our capital markets group."

"We couldn't be more excited to have Wes, Jon and Mike join our capital markets team in metropolitan Washington," states John Kevill, Avison Young Principal and Managing Director of U.S. Capital Markets. "Their knowledge and experience working in the debt and equity markets dramatically expands our ability to service our clients throughout the capital structure. It is a testimony to Avison Young's client-centric culture that a team of this quality is joining our firm as Principals, and I am certain that their deal acumen and energy will be transformational to the firm in DC as well as key elements to our national growth."

Over the past nine years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 80 offices and from 300 to more than 2,400 real estate professionals in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Europe.

"Avison Young's ongoing aggressive global expansion program, strong growth in the Washington, DC region and dedication to providing clients with creative financing options and solutions attracted me to the company," says Boatwright. "I'm looking forward to continuing to work with Jon and Mike as we collaborate with our new colleagues across the company on local, national and international investment transactions."

Goldstein says the opportunity to become a Principal while continuing to work with Boatwright and Yavinsky was too good to pass up.

"I'm a big believer in continuity, and it's exciting to know that Wes, Mike and I will be able to work together for many more years under a rapidly expanding global brand," says Goldstein. "In addition, Avison Young's collaborative approach to every transaction  whether it's a sale, recapitalization or financing  is closely aligned with my core principles. I firmly believe that having close partnerships and collaborating with other colleagues is crucial to being successful in our industry, and it's a great feeling to know that Avison Young shares these views."

Yavinsky adds: "I'm looking forward to serving new and existing clients at Avison Young as we help grow the company's capital markets business in DC and across the U.S. Like Wes and Jon, I'm excited by the new possibilities and growth opportunities that loom at Avison Young."

Biographies

Wesley Boatwright

Wesley Boatwright brings 24 years of real estate experience to Avison Young, most recently with Jones Lang LaSalle in Washington, DC where he was a managing director in the capital markets group. His expertise includes the structuring of joint venture equity, construction loans and floating and fixed-rate debt for multi-family, office, condominium and retail properties. He has worked in numerous markets around the Mid-Atlantic region, including Philadelphia, Baltimore, Richmond, VA and Raleigh, NC. His expertise also covers the full spectrum of real estate financial services, with a focus on acquisitions, recapitalizations and development. He has underwritten and closed more than $10 billion in financing deals during his career.

Before joining Jones Lang LaSalle, Boatwright served as a senior vice-president at Spaulding and Slye and as a vice-president at Walker and Dunlop. He is a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association, International Council of Shopping Centers and Urban Land Institute. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the College of William and Mary and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Washington and Lee University. Boatwright is also an adjunct professor at Georgetown University in its Masters of Real Estate program.

Jonathan Goldstein

Jonathan Goldstein brings 15 years of commercial real estate experience to Avison Young, most recently as a managing director in the capital markets group at Jones Lang LaSalle in the Washington, DC region. Goldstein specializes in arranging financing for the acquisition, refinancing, development and recapitalization of office, multi-family, retail, industrial and hospitality properties. During his career, he has underwritten and closed more than $8 billion in financing deals. At Jones Lang LaSalle, Goldstein focused on debt-and-equity placement for all property types. Prior to moving to the company, he served as a vice-president at Cassidy Turley, and assistant vice-president at BB&T Bank.

Goldstein serves on the Board of Directors of George Washington University's Real Estate and Finance Alliance. In addition, he is a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association, Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Association and NAIOP. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of Arizona.

Michael Yavinsky

Michael Yavinsky brings more than 20 years of experience in commercial real estate to Avison Young, most recently as a managing director in the capital markets group at Jones Lang LaSalle in Washington, DC. During his career, he has underwritten and closed more than $10 billion in debt-and-equity financing transactions. Over the years, he has developed expertise in a wide variety of areas in capital markets as well as a deep understanding of the credit markets. At Jones Lang LaSalle, Yavinsky focused primarily on debt-and-equity placement for all types of property, including investment-grade office, retail, multi-family, industrial and hospitality assets. Before joining Jones Lang LaSalle, he spent 14 years in the capital markets group at Walker & Dunlop. Yavinsky is a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association and International Council of Shopping Centers, and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Delaware.

Avison Young is the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 2,400 real estate professionals in 80 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial, multi-family and hospitality properties.

For further information/comment/photos:

Sherry Quan , Principal and Global Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young: 604.647.5098; cell: 604.726.0959





, Principal and Global Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young: cell: Josh Peyton , Principal and Managing Director; Washington, DC , Avison Young: 202.644.8688





, Principal and Managing Director; , Avison Young: John Kevill , Principal and Managing Director of U.S. Capital Markets, Avison Young: 202.602.1737





, Principal and Managing Director of U.S. Capital Markets, Avison Young: Wesley Boatwright , Principal, Avison Young: 202.644.8559





, Principal, Avison Young: Jonathan Goldstein , Principal, Avison Young: 202.644.8687





, Principal, Avison Young: Michael Yavinsky , Principal, Avison Young: 202.602.1729





, Principal, Avison Young: Earl Webb , President, U.S. Operations, Avison Young: 312.957.7610





, President, U.S. Operations, Avison Young: Mark Rose , Chair and CEO, Avison Young: 416.673.4028

www.avisonyoung.com

Avison Young was a winner of Canada's Best Managed Companies program in 2011 and requalified in 2017 to maintain its status as a Best Managed Gold Standard company.

Follow Avison Young on Twitter:

For industry news, press releases and market reports: www.twitter.com/avisonyoung

For Avison Young listings and deals: www.twitter.com/AYListingsDeals

Follow Avison Young Bloggers: http://blog.avisonyoung.com

Follow Avison Young on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/avison-young-commercial-real-estate

Follow Avison Young on YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/AvisonYoungRE

Follow Avison Young on Instagram: www.instagram.com/avison_young_global

Editors/Reporters

 Please click on links to view and download photos of Wesley Boatwright, Jonathan Goldstein and Michael Yavinsky:

http://www.avisonyoung.com/documents/20342/2631393/Wesley+Boatwright.JPG

http://www.avisonyoung.com/documents/20342/2631393/Jonathan+Goldstein.JPG

http://www.avisonyoung.com/documents/20342/2631393/Michael+Yavinsky.JPG

SOURCE Avison Young Commercial Real Estate (BC)

Related Links

www.avisonyoung.com


LAKEWOOD, Colo., Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- William Howard Taft University is pleased to announce the 17th Annual Roger J. Duthoy Scholarship recipient is Linda Spreitzer from Milliken, Colorado. Mrs. Spreitzer is the principal of Knowledge Quest Academy, a rural Colorado charter school. She was the unanimous choice of the scholarship review committee, which was impressed with her demonstrated leadership, perseverance, and creativity in overcoming obstacles within her growing charter school. The scholarship is valued in excess of $20,000, and includes all tuition and fees.

Linda Spreitzer, Roger J. Duthoy Scholarship recipient

Prior to joining Knowledge Quest Academy, Linda was a classroom teacher for many years before becoming the Dean of Students at another institution. Through her classroom and administrative experience, she was able to acquire functional knowledge of the needs of the students, teachers, and administrators. Her passion for education led her to Knowledge Quest Academy where she utilized her experience to overcome challenges and grow her institution into a successful and inspirational charter school.

William Howard Taft University is proud to recognize Linda Spreitzer's unwavering dedication to education with the Duthoy Scholarship.

Due to the significant number of applications, Taft University also awarded partial scholarships to Jason Morgan of New Mexico and Matthew Taylor of California.

Jason Morgan is the Assistant Principal for The Academy for Technology and the Classics in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Jason steadfastly believes in the unique role charter schools play in the educational system. Due to his dedication to innovation, we are confident that Jason will be able to consistently advance in his leadership of charter schools.

Matthew Taylor is the Director of Data and Analytics for the Fortune School of Education in Sacramento, California. He is dedicated to providing educational opportunities to all students. He has worked within education research, education programs, and evaluation departments within the California Department of Education, and has also worked as the Director of Research within the California Charter School Association.

About William Howard Taft University

For over four decades, William Howard Taft University (www.taft.edu) has offered distance learning graduate degree programs to students throughout the world. Presently, the University offers nationally accredited programs, including the Master of Education and Doctor of Education with the option of three concentrations: Leadership and Management, Technology and Leadership, and Charter School Administration. The W. Edwards Deming business school offers a Bachelors completion program, four MBAs, a DBA and a Masters in Taxation.

Media Contact:

Stephanie Wheeler

303-867-1155

[email protected]

SOURCE William Howard Taft University

Related Links

http://www.taft.edu


NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Following the recent inability of the U.S. Congress to overhaul the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the most critical issue facing the nation's healthcare system is soaring prices, according to Allen Fisher, Global Head of Healthcare Banking at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG).

Mr. Fisher cited three reasons for rapidly rising healthcare prices: uncertainties related to the federal government's healthcare policy, the high costs associated with the current U.S. opioid crisis; and increased Medicare spending as Americans live longer lives.

He made his remarks on September 28 in New York during a session of MUFG Explores, an issues-oriented series in which MUFG subject matter experts meet with journalists to discuss newsworthy topics and trends. Andreas Dirnagl, Global Head of MUFG's Healthcare Strategic Research, joined Mr. Fisher as a co-host for the event.

"As healthcare prices continue to climb, countless Americans will struggle to find adequate treatment  a situation that is particularly troubling given the decreased amount of funding the ACA receives from the federal government," said Mr. Fisher. "Further, when you factor in how expensive it is to fight the expanding opioid-addiction crisis, in addition to the costs associated with an aging population, it's clear that suitable, affordable healthcare will not be available to many of those who need it most."

One way to reduce costs and raise revenues, he added, is to increase access to walk-in clinics, urgent care facilities, and wellness centers.

"By decentralizing the care provided away from expensive hospitals, people are able to get more care, more often  that is why we need to focus on wellness care," said Mr. Fisher. "The United States is terrific in dire situations, such as cardiac and orthopedic surgeries  these operations are complex and highly profitable for hospitals. What we aren't so good at is prenatal care and preventative medicine."

Mergers & Acquisitions

Meanwhile, Mr. Dirnagl noted that while there have been fewer transformative healthcare industry mergers and acquisitions, there have been a significant number of smaller transactions.

"One reason why healthcare M&A activity has been down this year is that in 2014 and 2015, many companies had the opportunity to do inversions," said Mr. Dirnagl, citing the tactic in which U.S.-based companies keep some of their capital with overseas subsidiaries to avoid paying taxes in the U.S. where corporate rates are generally higher. "That was more or less snuffed out in 2016" when the Obama administration halted the practice, he added.

Mr. Fisher has nearly 20 years of healthcare-banking experience, as well as an extensive background in leveraged finance and loan syndications. Mr. Dirnagl has worked for more than 25 years in the financial markets and healthcare finance.

MUFG has relationships with virtually every major pharmaceutical, biotech, and med-tech company in the U.S. The bank ranks number one in healthcare receivable securitizations, and is in the top 10 for healthcare investment-grade bond underwriting.

Future MUFG Explores sessions will look into compelling subject areas including renewables, the retail sector, and Latin American finance.

About MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation

Headquartered in New York, MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation is a financial holding company and bank holding company with total assets of $150.6 billion at June 30, 2017. Its main subsidiaries are MUFG Union Bank, N.A., and MUFG Securities Americas, Inc. MUFG Union Bank, N.A., provides an array of financial services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, and major corporations. As of June 30, 2017, MUFG Union Bank, N.A., operated 361 branches, comprising primarily retail banking branches in the West Coast states, along with commercial branches in Texas, Illinois, New York, and Georgia, as well as 16 PurePoint Financial Centers and two international offices. MUFG Securities Americas Inc. is a registered securities broker-dealer that engages in capital markets origination transactions, private placements, collateralized financings, securities borrowing, and lending transactions, and domestic and foreign debt and equities securities transactions. MUFG Americas Holdings Corporation is owned by The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd., and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., which is one of the world's leading financial groups. Visit www.unionbank.com or www.mufgamericas.com for more information.

About MUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.)

MUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.) is one of the world's leading financial groups, with total assets of approximately $2.7 trillion (USD) as of June 30, 2017. Headquartered in Tokyo and with approximately 350 years of history, MUFG is a global network with approximately 2,300 offices in nearly 50 countries. The Group has more than 140,000 employees and about 300 entities, offering services including commercial banking, trust banking, securities, credit cards, consumer finance, asset management, and leasing. The Group's operating companies include Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (Japan's leading trust bank), and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Holdings Co., Ltd., one of Japan's largest securities firms. Through close partnerships among our operating companies, the Group aims to "be the world's most trusted financial group," flexibly responding to all of the financial needs of our customers, serving society, and fostering shared and sustainable growth for a better world. MUFG's shares trade on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and New York (MTU) stock exchanges. Visit www.mufg.jp/english/index.html.

SOURCE MUFG Union Bank, N.A.

Related Links

http://www.unionbank.com


New Delhi, Oct 1 : Continuing his outreach programmes, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat is scheduled to meet intellectuals from different walks of life and officials of different government and NGOs here on October 6, said informed sources.

The event is likely to be attended by Vice Chancellors of various central universities, heads of PSUs, top bosses of other government-run organisations and eminent personalities like doctors, former bureaucrats, lawyers and industrialists, the sources said.

The meeting of the RSS chief, which is taking place days after his annual Dussehra speech on Saturday, assumes significance as the government is under attack within and from the opposition as well over the state of economy.

"After Vijaya Dashmi speech, Sarsanghachalakji meets people from different walks of life and discusses several issues. This tradition is being followed since last many years. There is nothing new in this," Manmohan Vaidya, the head of RSS Publicity Department, told IANS.

He said such meetings would also take place in 12 different regions of the country. These meetings will be addressed by other RSS officials and attended by intelligentsia and heads of different organisation.

Sources said Bhagwat would meet the people from different walks of life to get their feedback about the working of RSS and while he would seek suggestions for them for the improvement in the organisation.

"It will be an interactive session likely to be attended by aroud 70 delegates. Those invited for the event would be given opportunity to speak. They can ask to RSS chief for any clarification about the organisation," an RSS office-bearer busy with the preparations of the event, told IANS.

Besides the RSS chief, senior functionaries like Bhaiyaji Joshi, Krishna Gopal and Dattatreya Hosabale would attend the meet at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts in central Delhi. Sources said that none of the Union Ministers have been invited for the event.

Before reaching Delhi, Bhagwat would attend a two-day international religious conference on the ocassion of 1000th birth anniversary of great philosopher-saint Ramanajucharya at Bihar's Ara on October 4-5.

Bhagwat, since last few years, has been meeting industrialists, educationists, diplomats and intellectuals from different walks of life to strengthen the saffron organisation.

Recently, Bhagwat met diplomats of different countries here at a function organised by India Foundaion.
San Francisco, Oct 2 : In a bid to help news publishers woo more readers online, Google is ending its controversial 'First Click Free' policy, which required publishers to provide a minimum of three free articles per day via Google Search and Google News before people were shown a paywall.

While research has shown that people are becoming more accustomed to paying for news, the sometimes painful process of signing up for a subscription can be a turn off.

"We will end our 'First Click Free' policy in favour of a 'Flexible Sampling' model where publishers will decide how many, if any, free articles they want to provide to potential subscribers based on their own business strategies," Richard Gingras, Vice President News, Google, wrote in a blog post on Monday.

The "first click free" model has been described as "toxic" by some big publishers.

"The new move is informed by our own research, publisher feedback, and months-long experiments with the New York Times and the Financial Times, both of which operate successful subscription services," he added.

Apart from dropping 'First Click Free', Google is also making it easier for users to subscribe to services.

Publishers generally recognise that giving people access to some free content is the way to persuade people to buy their product.

The typical approach to sampling is a model called metering, which lets people see a pre-determined number of free stories before a paywall kicks in.

"We recommend that monthly, rather than daily, metering allows publishers more flexibility to experiment with the number of free stories to offer people and to target those more likely to subscribe," Gingras posted.

For most publishers, 10 articles per month is a good starting point.

"Since news products and subscription models vary widely, we're collaborating with publishers around the world on how to build a subscription mechanism that can meet the needs of a diverse array of approaches to the benefit of the news industry and consumers alike," the post further read.

The company is also exploring how Google's machine learning capabilities can help publishers recognise potential subscribers and present the right offer to the right audience at the right time.

"Google's decision to let publishers determine how much content readers can sample from search is a positive development," said Kinsey Wilson, an adviser to New York Times CEO Mark Thompson.

"Longer term, we are building a suite of products and services to help news publishers reach new audiences, drive subscriptions and grow revenue," Gingras added.
Chennai, Oct 2 : T.T.V. Dinakaran, leader of a faction of AIADMK gunning for the K. Palaniswami government, on Monday expressed the hope that the newly-appointed Governor of Tamil Nadu Banwarilal Purohit will maintain "neutrality", while DMK Working President M.K. Stalin said they will decide on meeting him after the Madras High Court verdict on the floor test issue.

Dinakaran, whose 18 MLAs have withdrawn support to Chief Minister Palaniswami, told reporters that the acting Governor Ch. Vidyasagar Rao had "dilly dallied" on the demand for a floor test in the Assembly for the Chief Minister to prove his majority and probably the new Governor was appointed because he had got a "bad" name for the Centre.

He dared the Chief Minister to resign and call a meeting of the Legislature Party to get re-elected to the post if he is sure of his majority. "Those who betrayed Sasikala have no right to continue in power. The disqualification of 18 MLAs (owing allegiance to him) is only temporary. We will send them packing home soon and defeat their designs in the High Court (where the faction has petitioned against the disqualification). We will install the rule of Amma (Jayalalithaa)," Dinakaran said.

He said the Chief Minister was under compulsion and was duty bound to prove his majority on the floor of the Assembly though it was well-known to the world that he did not have it.

Responding to a call by Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker M. Thambidurai to him to reunite with the ruling AIADMK, Dinakaran said "We don't have to join anyone. Others have to come to us. If Thambidurai wants to join us, he is welcome."

On the other front, Stalin told reporters in Ooty that his party will decide whether to meet the new Governor, who is expected to take over on October 6, or not after the order of the High Court when it takes up hearing on the issue on Wednesday.

"We will continue to press our demand (for an immediate floor test)," he said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam met the outgoing Governor in what is seen as a farewell courtesy call.
New Delhi, Oct 3 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will join "Jana Raksha Yatra" or "March for People's Protection" on Wednesday, a day after BJP President Amit Shah launched it on Tuesday from Payyannur in Kannur district, the party said.

"Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-ji to lead the Jan Raksha Yatra tomorrow (Wednesday) from Kechery to Kannur," the Kerala unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said in a tweet.

The march, a show of strength by the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), will pass through 11 of the 14 districts in Kerala and end in Thiruvananthapuram on October 17 when Shah will be present again.

Apart from Yogi, senior union ministers, including Home Minister Rajnath Singh and chief ministers of the BJP-ruled states, will also join and address the Yatra.

The BJP, which has just one member in the 140-seat Kerala Assembly, is highlighting the issue of political killings through this Yatra.

While inaugurating the Yatra, Shah launched a scathing attack on Kerala's ruling LDF, saying Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was to blame for the murders of BJP and RSS workers in the state.

An aggressive Shah said that as many as 120 BJP and RSS workers had been murdered in Kerala since 2001 and asked the CPI-M-led LDF government to let the people know who was responsible for the killings.

The Delhi unit of BJP will also take out a Jana Raksha Yatra in entire Delhi from October 4 to protest the brutal murder of party workers in Kerala which will continue till October 16.

"Besides 'dharna' (sit-in), 'pradarshan' (demonstration) and 'padyatra' (march) by the party leaders a photo exhibition will also be organised to expose the inhuman acts of the leftist parties," Delhi BJP President Manoj Tiwari told reporters.

This Yatra will start on Wednesday from Delhi BJP office and will be joined by party Vice President Delhi Incharge Shyam Jaju, and Union Minister Jitender Singh and will conclude with a sit-in and demonstration at the CPM office at Bhai Veer Singh Marg in central Delhi.

Tiwari said that the RSS and BJP workers were being selectively murdered in Kerala.

"An atmosphere of terror is being created in order to finish the spirit of nationalism under a conspiracy. When terrorists are killed by the army, then so called custodians of human rights raise hue and cry. But when BJP workers, who are supporters of a nationalistic thinking, are brutally killed, then the silence of these so-called custodians of human rights becomes dangerous for the country," Tiwari said.
Erbil (Iraq), Oct 3 : Veteran Kurdish leader and former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has died in Germany aged 83, the media reported on Tuesday.

Talabani, a veteran leader of the Kurdish struggle for self-determination, passed away after he slipped into a coma, broadcaster Kurdistan 24 reported, citing officials from his Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party.

Talbani's death was also reported by Iraqi state television and by Kurdish broadcaster Rudaw.

Talabani had flown to Germany on September 11 for medical tests, Kurdistan 24 said. His health deteriorated after he suffered a stroke in December 2012.

He spent a year and a half in Germany receiving treatment and withdrew from public life, stepping down as President in July 2014 after his return to Iraq.

At a rally in Sulaimani, heartland of the PUK, before Kurdistan's disputed independence referendum last month, Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani said the quest for independence would have been easier if Talabani was in better health.

The PUK, Iraqi Kurdistan's third largest party, has faced internal political turmoil and disunity since Talabani's ill health.

Talabani, who was born in November 1933 near Erbil, now the seat of the Kurdistan regional government in northern Iraq, served as the first non-Arab president of Iraq.

He was first elected to the post in 2005, two years after the US-led invasion that ousted late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

He won a second term as President the following year and was re-elected in 2010.

Talabani was active in politics from an early age and joined the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in 1947, aged 14. In 1975, he left the KDP and founded the PUK under the motto: 'Peace, democracy, human rights and self-determination'.

He graduated with a law degree from Baghdad University in 1959.
New Delhi : As world energy markets transform at an unprecedented rate, India is at the forefront of the shift towards profitable renewables given that the countrys solar belt has the potential of 749 GW for power generation. As shown by a new IEEFA (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis) analysis, accelerating this trend will allow India avoid the costly mistakes made by slow-moving, late-learning European utilities, which have wasted billions on stranded coal and other thermal power assets.

In Europe, the rise of cheap renewable energy has pulled down wholesale electricity prices, causing financial pain for utilities that have delayed their transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Over the 2010-2016 period, European utilities have made $150 billion in asset write-downs. Investors from Goldman Sachs and UBS have been warning for years that coal has reached retirement age and that solar will become the "default technology of the future".

Similar trends have been apparent now for some time in China and India, where drives to install both thermal and renewable capacity concurrently have seen coal-fired power station utilisation rates drop to record lows of 47 per cent and 57 per cent respectively in 2016. This is despite electricity demand growing in these countries.

To illustrate further, the giant, 63 percent state-owned power company, NTPC, provides 25 per cent of India's electricity supply and as such plays a critical role in the country's economic activity. Historically dependent on coal-fired electricity generation, India's power sector is moving in a starkly new direction. The Indian energy ministry is driving this trend, pushing the nation toward energy efficiency and renewable energy targets that are highly ambitious but in IEEFA's view, entirely achievable.

The government has set a target of 175 GW of renewable energy by 2022, including 100 GW of solar and 60 GW of wind. India's draft Third National Electricity Plan (NEP3) for the next two five-year periods, to 2027, unambiguously concludes that beyond the half-built plants already under construction, India does not require any new coal-fired power stations. The 50 GW of coal power currently under construction nationally will operate at just 50-55 per cent capacity. Where these proposed new plants don't replace old coal, they will essentially become stranded assets operating largely as reserve capacity. NTPC has 15 GW of coal-fired capacity in development but plans to retire 11 GW of older capacity.

Despite its history as a fundamentally coal-based power generation utility, NTPC is now rapidly rolling out in-house, utility-scale solar projects and it is signing power purchase agreements for solar power from private solar operators at record low, deflationary electricity tariffs absent subsidies. It is even beginning an entry into the electric vehicle sector by setting up charging stations. NTPC has committed to contributing 10 GW of solar capacity to the overall 100 GW government national target, making the company a cornerstone facilitator of India's national electricity transformation.

Loss-making European utilities are now looking to India for new, safe investment opportunities given the impressive renewable energy drive. One of the biggest European power companies, the French utility Engie, which lost a total of some $40 billion during 2010-2016 on fossil fuels and nuclear holdings, intends to invest $1 billion in Indian solar over the next five years whilst also considering wind power. Engie is also reported to be one of the parties interested in the purchase of Singapore-based Equis Energy's Indian renewable energy portfolio.

Engie investors, like Indian officials, see that the transition from polluting to low carbon technology is where smart money is heading. Thus, Engie is undergoing a transformation plan, which includes a target that low carbon activities aiming to represent more than 90 per cent of earnings by 2018.

Engie and Italian utility ENEL are also amongst the international investors heading into South African renewables. The country has been running a renewable energy procurement programme that is internationally regarded as well-designed and successful. So far 2.2 GW of renewable capacity has been completed, attracting over $14 billion of investment.

But South African utility Eskom continues to fail to appreciate the future role of renewable energy as it continues with expensive giant new coal plants, Medupi and Kusile, even though electricity demand is falling. Eskom now has more than 5 GW of excess coal capacity even before most units of its new plants are operational.

South Africa, like India, is in transition. A key difference between the two nations is that electricity demand growth has stalled in South Africa which means any renewables growth immediately eats away at coal's generation profile as in Europe. In India, continued demand growth can help NTPC avoid the huge losses in its existing coal fleet if that demand growth is increasingly supplied by renewables going forward. If you look at the evidence, there is only one safe bet to make billions and avoid European-style losses.

(Tim Buckley, Director of Energy Finance Studies at IEEFA, has 25 years of financial markets' experience, having spent the majority of this time as a top-rated equities research analyst in Australia, and he has covered global and Asian equity markets. The views expressed are personal. He can be contacted at tbuckley@ieefa.org)
Sydney, Oct 4 : Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Wednesday said that his government has proposed a measure to include photographs and driving license information in the facial recognition database as part of the fight against terrorism.

"You can't allow the risk of hacking to prevent you from doing everything you can to keep Australians safe," Turnbull told ABC radio.

He added that half of the Australians were already in the federal government systems.

The proposal, a part of a series of measures to unify the central government resources with those of states and territories in the fight against terror, will be discussed during a meeting in Canberra, Efe news reported.

Turnbull said that details of licenses would be linked to the passport and immigration information database to allow the monitoring of airports or shopping centres.

Australia also sought to harmonise the laws in the states and territories to allow the detention of a terror suspect of up to 14 days without charge.

Currently, New South Wales is the only state implementing the regulation, but the government said it hopes to see its implementation in all parts of the country.

The federal government also sought to make possession of instruction materials on carrying out acts of terror, mostly available on the internet, an offence.

"In the age of encrypted messaging applications, in the age of the internet, somebody can be sent from the other side of the world or download from the internet an instruction manual to build a bomb," Turnbull said.

The government, which has stepped up security against potential terror attacks in the country after a terror alert was raised to high in September 2014, passed a series of anti-terror laws to prevent attacks on its territory.
The 110-ft tall bamboo idol of Goddess Durga which is all set to enter the Guinness Book of Records as the tallest bamboo sculpture ever made. Image Source: IANS News

Muslim artisan Nuruddin Ahmed in front of the Durga idol he created at Bishnupur area of Guwahati. Image Source: IANS News

Guwahati, Oct 4 : An Assam based artist has become a striking symbol of India's traditional religious harmony in challenging times, proving yet again that art and culture transcend man-made social divisions of religion or caste.

Prominent art director Nuruddin Ahmed has been in the news recently for making the tallest idol of Durga in one of the pandals (marquees) in the state's principal city Guwahati.

Ahmed has not only designed the 110-feet Durga idol with bamboo sticks in Bishnupur Durga Puja pandal, but also applied to the Guinness Book of Records to recognise the idol as the world's tallest bamboo sculpture.

The art of Ahmed, who has won several national level awards for his art works in the past -- like the prestigious Chaman Lal Memorial National Award in 2004 for his contribution to the field of stagecraft -- assumes significance in the backdrop of worrying incidents of religious intolerance and hate crimes against minorities and lower castes reported across the country.

"I am born Muslim but religion has never come in the way of my work. I am an artist and what I wanted to create is a piece of art. I have been doing this since 1975," Ahmed told IANS.

Born in North Lakhimpur district of Assam, Ahmed made the first Durga idol in 1975 and has since created over 200 such idols so far and designed many puja pandals in Assam.

"I still remember that the first idol and pandal I designed was in 1975 in North Lakhimpur. Everyone liked it. No one raised any question that a Muslim has made an idol to be worshiped by the Hindus," he said.

"You see, this feeling of religious hatred was not there in Assam in the past. Hindus and Muslims have been living in Assam like brothers for ages. I celebrate puja and there are many Hindu friends who come to my house during Eid. However, things are changing now due to some recent happenings, which is not good for a society like Assam," said Ahmed, expressing concern over the growing incidents of religious intolerance.

"I do not believe in religious hostilities. I am a Muslim but that does not make me hate other religions. I equally respect other religions like Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity and others," said Ahmed.

Regarding his Durga idol, an excited Ahmed said that the breadth of the podium is 20 feet while the length is 63 feet. The height is 110 feet.

Ahmed, along with 40 workers, started working on August 1 and it took almost two months to complete the idol.

Unfortunately, a cyclonic storm that hit parts of Guwahati on September 17 grounded the whole structure. The team then worked with redoubled enthusiasm to re-erect it and completed the idol on September 23. His co-worker Deep Ahmed said that close to 5,000 bamboo sticks were used to make the structure, which cost around Rs 12 lakh.

The Durga Puja festival came to a close over the weekend.

"It is a matter of pride for us that we have got a designer like Nur Da (as Ahmed is called by most) to build and design our idol this year. We are happy that he had finished the idol on time despite the cyclone devastating it once completely," said D. Sarkar, one of the members of the puja committee.

"We have known Nur Da for a long time. Although he was a born Muslim he is basically a humanist and religion has never come in the way of his work," he said.

(This story is part of a special series that showcases a diverse, progressive and inclusive India and has been made possible by a collaboration between IANS and the Frank Islam Foundation. Aditya Baruah can be contacted at anupghy@gmail.com)
A Wednesday narcotics bust led to two individuals being charged with numerous drug-related offenses, released information from the Fremont Police Department states.

The information says investigators with the III CORPS Drug Task Force set up a location for a drug transaction to happen with two people from the Omaha area.

Contact was made with the individuals who met at a Fremont location. Contact was made with two males who were inside of a vehicle, and a strong odor of raw marijuana was allegedly detected inside.

A search of the vehicle revealed approximately 1/2 pound of marijuana, as well as cocaine.

As a result, two individuals were arrested and transported to the Dodge County Jail holding facility.

Alex Mendez Adkins, 21, of Omaha was arrested and charged with being in possession of a controlled substance  cocaine, possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver  marijuana, and conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance.

Jacob J. Ebeltoft, 20, of Omaha was charged with being in possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver  marijuana, and conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance.
Riyadh, Oct 4 : Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud on Wednesday began an official visit to Russia to discuss ties with President Vladimir Putin.

A statement from the Saudi Royal Court said the King would also be discussing means of strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries in various fields, WAM cited Saudi Press Agency as saying.

King Salman expressed his hope to strengthen relations with Russia to serve the interests of both countries and to achieve international peace and security.
Varanasi, Oct 5 : Acting chairperson of NCW Rekha Sharma on Thursday said a probe will be initiated at all levels in last month's BHU violence and the former Vice Chancellor be given an opportunity to explain his side of the events.

Sharma, who arrived in the temple town on Wednesday, reached the Banaras Hindu University campus on Thursday. She went straight to the LD guest house, interacted with girls and held a hearing on the issue.

"If he (Vice Chancellor Girish Chandra Tripathi) wants to put up his side of the story well and good, otherwise he will be asked to appear before the National Commission for Women and do so," Sharma told the media here.

The NCW chief also said that since both the police and the BHU authorities were denying any cane-charge on girl students, the matter needs to be probed threadbare, at all levels.

Violence had erupted on the BHU campus on September 24 when students from boys' hostels hurled stones and petrol bombs at the police and paramilitary forces on VC Lodge Road on campus.

Students had gone berserk following reports of some hostel inmates suffering injuries in the cane-charge by policemen near the VC lodge.

Police had resorted to use of force after a group of boys blocked the gate of the Vice Chancellor's lodge in support of girl hostellers protesting against the menace of harassment on campus.

Girl hostellers had held a 13-hour demonstration even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also the Lok Sabha MP from here, was in the city on a two-day visit.
Moscow, Oct 5 : Russian President Vladimir Putin met Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud at the Kremlin on Thursday, with issues such as oil, arms and conflicts such as Syria on the agenda.

It is the first-ever visit by a Saudi monarch to Russia, Efe news agency reported.

"This is the first visit by a Saudi king in the entire history of our relations," Putin, who was the first head of Kremlin to visit Saudi Arabia in 2007, said at the start of the meeting, stressing that it was a significant event that would enhance the development of bilateral ties.

He recalled that the Soviet Union in 1926 was the first country in the world to recognise the kingdom created by King Ibn Saud, the father of King Salman.

King Salman, on his part, said he was happy to visit Russia and expressed his willingness in strengthening relations in matters of peace and security and his interest in the development of the global economy.

During the meeting, the Saudi king advocated the resolution of the crisis in Syria in accordance with the June 2012 Geneva Communique on the creation of a transition government with members of the Bashar Al Assad government and the opposition that guaranteed the territorial integrity of Syria.

Moreover, he underlined the importance of maintaining the territorial integrity of Iraq, in a clear allusion to Iraqi Kurdistan, which on September 25 held an independence referendum.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al Yubeir said that both countries will sign several agreements, which will take bilateral relations from good to excellent.

On Wednesday, Putin, during the Russian Energy Week, said that he would discuss with the Saudi monarch the possible prolonging of the agreement for reduction of oil production among the member and non-member countries of the OPEC.

Russia and Saudi Arabia have been on opposing sides in the Syrian conflict, as Moscow supports the Assad regime, whereas Riyadh has openly supported the opposition.

King Salman's visit coincides with a Russia-Saudi investment forum in Moscow in which more than 200 firms are taking part.

Russia and Saudi Arabia, among other agreements expected to be signed during this bilateral summit, will create a billion-dollar investment fund for different energy projects.

Moreover, according to the Kommersant newspaper, Russia will propose selling Saudi Arabia its latest anti-air S-400 Triumf missiles, a deal which could go up to $3 billion.

Russia's Rosoboronexport and the Saudi military consortium signed a memorandum on the manufacturing rights of Russian military equipment in Saudi Arabia.

Moreover, both state firms agreed to sign a contract for the production of AK-103 Kalashnikov rifles and ammunition in the Arabian country.
Madrid, Oct 6 : Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy on Thursday called on Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont to return to "legality" as soon as possible in order to end the ongoing crisis in Catalonia.

"Is there a solution to this? Yes and the best solution is a rapid return to legality and the confirmation as soon as possible that there is not going to be a unilateral declaration of independence (in the Catalan region), because that would avoid things getting worse," Xinhua quoted the Prime Minister as saying.

"I think that everyone shares the idea is that all of those people and leaders who have decided that to stand outside of the law return to legality," he added.

Rajoy was speaking four days after the Catalan independence referendum, declared illegal by the Spanish Constitutional Court.

There was a general strike in Catalonia on October 3 with hundreds of thousands of people protesting, while there have also been wide-scale protests outside of hotels where police are being housed during the crisis.

There has been no relaxation in the tension with a strong message from King Felipe VI of Spain accusing Catalan authorities of breaking the Spanish Constitution and their Autonomous Status "in a repeated and systematic manner" and in showing "inadmissible disloyalty to the powers of the state."

In return, Puigdemont on Wednesday spoke reproaching the King's attitude, saying "in that way no," but also saying he was open to dialogue.

Although Puigdemont has said he is open to dialogue, it is also true that the Catalan regional government have been called to a session on Monday October 9 with the possibility of a unilateral declaration of independence on the agenda.

Allegedly 90 per cent of the approximately 2.2 million Catalans who voted on Sunday (41 per cent of the total number allowed to vote) casting their vote in favour of separating from Spain.

The Spanish Constitutional Court on Thursday afternoon suspended this sitting of the Catalan assembly in which UDI (Unilateral Declaration of Independence ) will be discussed.

This in turn presents the possibility of pro-independence parties sitting on their own, which could bring forward a central government decision to bring Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution into effect and suspend the autonomy of the region.
Washington, Oct 6 : US President Donald Trump has planned to announce next week that he will "decertify" the landmark Iran nuclear deal, a move that could lead to the potential collapse of the agreement.

Trump was expected to roll out a broader US strategy on Iran, in which his decision on the nuclear deal was an important part, Xinhua quoted officials as saying.

On October 15, Trump is due to testify to Congress whether Tehran is complying with the deal and whether it remains in the US interests in sticking to it.

If he decides it is not, it could open the way for US lawmakers to re-impose sanctions, leading to the potential collapse of the agreement.

Trump has long criticised the Iran nuclear pact, a signature deal reached between Iran and the world six powers of Britain, China, France, Russia and the US plus Germany in July 2015.

In his speech delivered at UN General Assembly last month, Trump called the agreement "an embarrassment" for the US and indicated that he may not re-certify the deal at its mid-October deadline.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned earlier that Tehran will only abide by the provisions under the nuclear deal if the other parties remain committed to it.

The Iran nuclear deal, officially known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, has helped defuse the Iran nuclear crisis and bolster the international non-proliferation regime.
United Nations, Oct 6 : India has called for a new global partnership to stimulate the weak economic growth through long-term investments in critical sectors and enhancing trade.

The global economic recovery is only progressing slowly and growth is weaker than expected while risks persist, Ashish Sinha, a First Secretary in India's UN Mission, told the General Assembly committee dealing with economic and financial matters on Thursday.

In this scenario, there was great need for a renewed global partnership to promote longer-term investment, including foreign direct investment, in critical sectors such as transportation, agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and information and communications technology, he said.

"Policies for enhancing economic growth and growth inducing investment should be our top priority," he said.

In July, the World Bank projected the global growth rate for this year to be just 2.7 per cent, marginally up from last year's 2.4 per cent.

Sinha said: "The new partnership should also identify effective mechanisms to mobilise additional resources for financing sustainable development."

He recommended trade liberalisation and integration into the global economy as a way to spur growth in developing countries citing the case made by Arvind Panagariya, the former vice chairperson of the Niti Aayog, in his keynote address to the committee.

"Open trade is a means to create employment and contribute to achievement of SDGs (UN's Sustainable Development Goals) through greater economic activity and revenues," he said.

"Developing countries derive significant benefit from an open, fair, rule-based, predictable, and non-discriminatory trading and financial system."

Sinha gave an assurance of India's support for a multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) "as the cornerstone".

"India believes that multilateral negotiations such as those envisaged under the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) are aimed at addressing existing inequities in the trading system and must be given high priority," he said.

The DDA the WTO negotiation launched in Doha in 2001 aimed at lowering trade barriers and revising trading rules to mainly benefit developing countries.

Sinha said that additional measures such as improving rural infrastructure were needed to help integrate rural households into world markets.

(Arul Louis can be reached at arul.l@ians.in)
Mumbai, Oct 6 : Actor Neil Nitin Mukesh, who marks his debut in Telugu film with Prabhas-starrer "Saaho", says the shooting was a great experience for him.

Neil on Friday took to Twitter and said that he is jetting off to London where he is shooting for "Firrkie".

"Back to London. Hyderabad was beautiful as always. And shooting for 'Saaho' was simply amazing. Looking forward to doing the team soon," Neil tweeted.

Neil, who will reportedly be seen playing a villain in "Saaho", also praised his co-stars Prabhas and actress Shraddha Kapoor, who is also making her Telugu debut.

"Prabhas is truly a darling and Shraddha Kapoor you are amazing. Looking forward to seeing you soon on the sets. God Bless," he added.

"Saaho" is being shot simultaneously in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. It will showcase high-octane action sequences for which the makers are leaving no stone unturned.

The film also stars Jackie Shroff, Mandira Bedi and Arun Vijay among others. It is being produced by Vamsi, Pramod and Vikram of UV Creations.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday escaped unhurt after his vehicle met with a minor accident while he was on his way to Vrindavan from Delhi, Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Manmohan Vaidya said.

"Vehicle of RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat met with a minor accident on his way to Vrindavan from Delhi. It was a minor one and everybody is safe. His journey has resumed," Vaidya said in a statement.

Bhagwat is scheduled to meet intellectuals from different walks of life besides government officials and NGOs representatives on Friday.
Srinagar, Oct 6 : A 70-year-old man was killed by a vigilante mob on Friday in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district after he was mistaken for a braid chopper, police said.

Police said when Abdul Salam Wani of Danter village in Anantnag district had come out of his house in the early hours of Friday to answer the call of nature, the mob mistook him for a braid chopper and hit him with a brick.

"He died instantly," a police officer said.

Vigilante mobs have been keeping surveillance against braid choppers in different places of Kashmir Valley.

So far, the mobs have only beaten up innocent people after alleging they were braid choppers.

On Thursday, police registered an FIR against one such mob that was harassing non-local labourers in Pattan area of Baramulla district.
Canberra, Oct 6 : More than 50,000 firearms in Australia have been turned in since June when a national gun amnesty was declared, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said on Friday.

"This amnesty has taken off 51,000 of those unregistered weapons off the streets," Turnbull said in a statement.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin praised the measure, saying "this is 50,000 less firearms that may find their way into criminal hands. This is 50,000 firearms that might be part of a tragic accident somewhere", reports Efe news.

The amnesty waived punishments for those who turned in illegally owned weapons.

The initiative is the first such measure at national level since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania, which led to the purchase of around 700,000 illegal arms.

After the tragedy, which left 35 people dead, the Australian government approved the National Firearms Agreement, regulating the use of firearms through a system of licenses which prohibits the sale of all automatic and semi-automatic weapons.

The number of gun-related crimes has reduced significantly since the law was implemented.
Hope Frey has worked nearly her entire life to have her voice heard.

Frey, formerly of Hooper, was partially paralyzed on the right side of her body when she was just 14-months old. She was told she would never walk, and she did. For years she was never able to move her right arm without assistance. Now she can do that too.

Various therapies, of course, have paid colossal dividends, but her incredible sense of drive and perseverance has been the real game-changer in regard to taking control of her life. With the right support system, Frey said that she believes individuals with all sorts of disabilities can live relatively normal lives and do just about what everybody else can.

In April 2016, Frey started her own chapter of The People First Nebraska, Inc., an organization dedicated to empowering, training and advocating for people with all disabilities so they are able to speak for themselves.

From 5-6 p.m. the third Tuesday of every month, Frey said she meets with approximately eight people inside of the Deerfield Appt. Clubhouse, 1021 S. Howard St. They cover a wide range of topics, but the focal point revolves around discussing how they can make better lives for themselves, and how they can facilitate real change by speaking up for themselves and making it known that they need to be treated the same as anybody else.

On Wednesday, Frey met with representative from the Munroe-Meyer Institute to discuss some of her thoughts about advocacy and to discuss how her group brings about positive outcomes.

With approximately 230,000 people with disabilities in the state of Nebraska, the need for specialized programs and support services to improve their quality of life is vital. Munroe-Meyers mission is to lead the world in transforming the lives of all individuals with disabilities and special health care needs, their families and communities through outreach, engagement, premier educational programs, innovative research and extraordinary patient care, information off of the Munroe-Meyer webpage says.

Munroe-Meyer representatives have been traveling to communities outside of Omaha to discuss patient needs with physicians, as well discussing how numerous partnerships with the Institute could be beneficial for patients and doctors, alike.

We look at the lifespan, we provide a lot of healthcare in different areas, we teach students in areas, we do research and we are also trying to show that when people (with disabilities) are done with school, something else happens, said Dr. Wayne Stuberg, associate director and professor of pediatrics rehabilitation medicine at Munroe-Meyer. You get a job to the extent that you are able to, and you live independently to the extent that you are able to do that. And self-advocacy groups are very important, and People First of Nebraska is the primary one here in the state.

Frey explained that people with a variety of disabilities sometimes just need a confidence boost to believe in themselves.

I think sometimes people dont feel confident and some people with disabilities dont always see their ability and look down on themselves because they feel badly that they have a disability, she said. And as a self-advocate, you cant look at it this way because people with disabilities have all sorts of abilities, and they really can do whatever they want in their life.

Frey has a goal of eventually becoming a motivational speaker and missionary. With her faith and inspirational story, she believes she can have an even bigger impact on the lives of people; her net, so to speak, will be cast much further.

Once she started her own chapter of People First Nebraska, Inc., there was no looking back.

I just kind of ran with it, she said. I have had to overcome a whole lot to get to the point I am at with myself. And honestly, my biggest motivator to be a team leader is my faith, and also having people to look up to like (USA volleyball player) Jordan Larson from my hometown. She has taught me a lot about team work and leadership.

For more information or to join her People First of Nebraska chapter, people are encouraged to contact Frey at 402-719-3968. Additional information can be found by visiting www.peoplefirstnebraska.com.
Mumbai, Oct 6 : Energy major Reliance Industries on Friday said it has entered into an agreement for the sale of its assets in the "Marcellus Shale Play" of northern and central Pennsylvania.

According to a BSE filing, Reliance Marcellus II, LLC, a subsidiary of Reliance Holding USA, Inc., and Reliance Industries has signed "agreements to divest all of its interests in certain upstream assets in north-eastern and central Pennsylvania".

The filing said that assets, which are currently operated by Carrizo Oil and Gas, were sold to BKV Chelsea, an affiliate of Kalnin Ventures for a consideration of $126 million, subject to customary closing terms and conditions.

"Additionally, Reliance could receive contingent payments of up to $11.25 million in aggregate based on natural gas prices exceeding certain thresholds over the next three years," the company said in a regulatory filing to the BSE.

"The assets produce mainly gas and are located in Susquehanna, Wyoming and Clearfield Counties of Pennsylvania."

The company said the sale of assets will be consummated in accordance with the terms of a purchase and sale agreement, dated October 5, 2017, by and between Reliance and the buyer.

The transaction is anticipated to close by the end of the third quarter of FY2018.
Mumbai, Oct 6 : Actress Kriti Sanon loves driving cars, but says that she can tell from her personal experience that it's a bad idea for girls to have their father's company on their first drive.

On the sidelines of the showcase of German luxury car manufacturer Audi's A5 trio here on Friday, Kriti spoke to IANS about her experiences behind the wheel.

Born and brought up in Delhi, Kriti learnt how to drive during her college days.

Recounting her first memory of driving, she said: "It was college first year. I had got my learner's license and that was the first day I was driving a car. It was exciting for me because before that I only tried my hand at cars of the motor school during my driving classes.

"My dad was sitting next to me and he was anxious from the beginning. I had to take a U-turn and because of the steering issue, my dad panicked and I panicked even more, and I banged the car into the divider. I think girls shouldn't take their dads on their first ever drive."

She burst into laughter and added: "I want to mention that post that accident, I never met with any accident, touchwood."

Being a tall girl, Kriti enjoys the comfort and space that a SUV provides. She currently has an Audi Q7, but says she rarely gets to be in the driver's seat.

"I needed a driver and a new car because after 'Heropanti', I started attending red carpet events and award functions where I was wearing designer clothes, and driving the car wearing those dresses, or stepping out of the car at the red carpets, appeared difficult."
Damascus, Oct 6 : At least 27 people were killed in a targeted bombing and a rocket attack in the Syrian city of Deir al-Zor, authorities said on Friday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said 14 people died in an alleged bombing by Russian aircraft targeting the Mahkan area, reports Efe news.

According to the NGO, 13 people died when a rocket struck near a school in the al-Qusur neighbourhood.

Both attacks took place on Thursday night.

The attacks come as violent clashes continued on the outskirts of Deir al-Zor between Syrian government forces, its allies, and the Islamic State.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : BJP leader Yashwant Sinha has said he will wait for the day when his son and Union Minister Jayant Sinha realises that his dharma is to support his father.

Speaking at a book release function on Thursday night, Sinha said there was an attempt to create father-son complications following his article slamming the Modi government's handling of the economy.

His son Jayant Sinha, who is Minister of State for Civil Aviation, had written an article a day later talking about "fundamental structural reforms" that were "transforming the economy."

Answering a query, Yashwant Sinha said that overemphasis was being made on the fact that his son is in the council of ministers.

"There have been several instances in history, even today, of father and son not agreeing. As I said on the first day, he is doing his dharma, I am doing mine.

"Someday he realises his dharma is to support me, I will wait for that day. If he does not realise, good luck to him," Yashwant Sinha said after releasing the latest book of Congress leader Manish Tewari "Tidings of Troubled Times".

Yashwant Sinha also indicated that he will continue to articulate his views on various issues. "I am assured of one thing, there is no Agra Fort in which I can be locked up," Sinha said.

His reference was to Mughal emperor Shah Jahan who was imprisoned by his son Aurangzeb in the Agra Fort for eight years in the seventeenth century.

Yashwant Sinha also said that there were leaders who speak to people from a distance and he had been engaging in conversation.

Asked about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's monthly 'Mann Ki Baat' radio programme, he said "a lot of things are one-sided conversations".

Yashwant Sinha said he had got the invitation for the book launch much before the debate erupted over his article.
Mumbai, Oct 6 : The government plans to announce the much-awaited new Haj Policy 2018-2022 on Saturday, Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said here on Friday.

The minister said a four-member committee headed by retired IAS officer Afzal Amanullah would submit its report to the government on the New Haj Policy 2018-2022 on Saturday.

The Haj from next year onwards would be organised in line with the new policy that aims to make the process smoother and more transparent.

According to informed sources, the new Haj Policy is likely to recommend reviving the sea voyage from Mumbai and other locations to Jeddah for the pilgrims which would be highly economical.

Taking a review, Naqvi said this year, pilgrims departed by 454 flights operating between July 24 and August 28, with 1,24,940 going through the Haj Committee of India and the rest, around 45,000, through private operators this year.

In all, around 170,000 pilgrims from India performed Haj this year.

"Ensuring safety and world-class facilities for the pilgrims was our priority. We completed all our preparations keeping in mind...a smoother Haj pilgrimage," Naqvi said after chairing a post-Haj review committee meeting here.

This year, the Saudi Arabia government had increased the Indian Haj quota significantly to 170,025, enabling more people to perform Haj, he added.

The pilgrims left for Saudi Arabia from 21 embarkation points at New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Indore, Mumbai, Aurangabad, Nagpur, Goa, Srinagar, Guwahati, Lucknow, Varanasi, Gaya, Bengaluru, Mangalore, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Ranchi and Bhopal.

The largest batch of pilgrims -- 16,627 -- boarded flights from New Delhi, followed by Lucknow (12,314), Kochi (11,805), Ahmedabad (11,073) and Kolkata (10,263), he said.

Naqvi lauded the Air India and other agencies for their support, cooperation and coordination in ensuring a smooth and hassle-free Haj this year and appreciated the Saudi Arabian government for its key role in the same.
Kathmandu, Oct 6 : Nepal's Ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyay has resigned from his post effective from Friday.

Upadhyay submitted his resignation to Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara at the Ministry stating his desire to "return to social life".

Upadhyay, who was a former minister from the Nepali Congress, is contesting in upcoming federal parliamentary elections from his home district Kapilvastu.

Upadhyay served twice as Nepal's Ambassador to India. He took his first diplomatic assignment in New Delhi from April 2015 to May 2016 and was recalled by the K.P. Sharma Oli government in May last year after he was accused of being involved in a bid to topple the government.

Again in October 2016, he was reappointed as the Nepali Ambassador to India by the Pushpa Kamal Dahal-led government.

Once the Cabinet approves his resignation, Upadhyay will finally announce his candidacy for contesting the elections. Before leaving New Delhi for Kathmandu, he held a brief meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

Upadhyay served in New Delhi at a difficult time in Nepal-India history during the five-month-long economic blockade along the border. It is said that the next appointment will be made soon as soon as his resignation is approved.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : As the harvesting of paddy begins and incidents of stubble burning are already being reported in parts of Punjab and Haryana, strong and dry north-westerly winds will add to a grimmer picture for the already deteriorating air quality of Delhi.

However, on Friday, the Ambient Air Quality Index (AQI) for Delhi shown by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) was recorded at 182, under 'Moderate' category, against 'Poor' on Thursday and Wednesday. Particulate Matter (PM2.5 and PM10), as per the CPCB monitoring stations, were the major reason behind the deteriorating air quality.

Meanwhile, the officials from CPCB said to have received information about incidents of stubble burning in parts of Punjab and Haryana, where farmers face short deadline to prepare their fields for potato and wheat cultivation, slated from November first week.

"The incidents (of stubble burning) are being reported now, but not on a large scale yet. The condition of air is however dependent on many factors, including the concentration of emissions that reaches Delhi and that which is dispersed," an official from the CPCB told IANS.

The areas where stubble burning is being reported are at the aerial distance of about 150 to 200 kms from Delhi.

According to a forecast by System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research (SAFAR), Delhi will see moderate air quality for the next three days, though the PM2.5 and PM10 (particles in air with diameter less than 2.5 and 10 mm) was still higher than the permissible limit.

PM2.5 is one of the major and common pollutant with direct consequences on life expectancy.

On Friday, Delhi's PM10 was recorded at 142 microgrammes/cubic metre and PM2.5 at 74 microgrammes/cubic metre. For Saturday, SAFAR has projected it to be 138 and 70 respectively.

The standards prescribed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for PM2.5 is 10 microgrammes per cubic m annual mean and 25 for 24 hours mean, and for PM10, prescribed international standards is 20 microgrammes per cubic m annual mean and 50 for 24 hours mean).

However, the Indian standard keeps it at PM2.5 at 40 (annual) and 60 (24 hour mean), while for PM10, it's 100 units (24-hour mean).

According to the private weather forecasting agency Skymet, the present strong north-westerly winds (from Punjab and Haryana) entering Delhi are also a reason for slight deterioration in the air quality.

However, the wind direction is projected to change in the next two days, which may aggravate the air quality situation of Delhi.

"From October 18 onwards, easterly winds from Uttar Pradesh will start. The wind speed would be less, thus concentration of pollutants may be slightly higher," Mahesh Palawat, director Skymet said.

On Wednesday, farmers from Punjab registered their protest at National Green Tribunal (NGT), stating that the state government, as directed by the tribunal, is not providing them with adequate resources to dispose the stubble and other residue in an environment-friendly way.

This, they said, is forcing them to opt for the traditional method of burning it -- a major reason leading to poor air quality of the national capital.

"We are not left with any option but to burn the residue. The state machinery is not helping and managing the stubble otherwise is very expensive," said Omkar Singh, a member of farmer organisation Bhartiya Kisan Union in Punjab.

"This is the reason many farmers have already started burning the paddy residue."

The National Capital last year (November to December) suffered from one of the major air quality crises of the decade after Diwali.

The after-Diwali effect (emissions from crackers and other sources), large-scale stubble burning in neighbouring Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh led to a cumulative effect of dragging the AQI under 'Severe' category, thereafter the AQI (PM2.5 and PM10) breached the 500 mark at all locations in Delhi.

Schools were closed following government advisories and outdoor activities were officially discouraged.
Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh), Oct 6 : An Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter crashed on Friday morning in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang district near the China border, killing all seven people on board, officials said.

The Russian-manufactured Mi-17 V5 chopper with five IAF and two Army personnel took off from Khirmu and was on its way to Yangtse to drop off kerosene jerry cans at an Army camp of the 10 Madras regiment.

A Defence Ministry official who did not wish to be named told IANS that all the seven personnel were charred to death.

"They were supposed to drop kerosene jerry cans at the Army camp. One of the cans opened and got entangled in the tail rotor," an official said.

The wreckage was located at Tapugar area, about 130 km away from Tawang.

A team of IAF officials from New Delhi flew to the crash site to investigate the cause of the mid-air disaster.

An IAF official based at the Eastern Air Command in Shillong said no one knew what led to the chopper crash.

"We cannot comment anything on the accident now. Let our investigators from Delhi find out the exact cause," the official told IANS.

Meanwhile, all the bodies have been recovered by the IAF and the Army.

The dead were identified as Wing Commander B. Upadhyay, Squadron Leader S. Tiwari, Master Warrant Officer A.K. Singh and Sergeants Gautam and Satish Kumar of the IAF and Sepoys H.N. Deka and E. Balaji from the Army Service Corps.

The Defence Ministry official said Sepoy Deka jumped from the helicopter in an attempt to save his life but died.

All the bodies have been flown to the Tezpur air base in Assam.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu said he was shocked to hear the news of the crash.

"My deep condolence to the bereaved families... May the departed souls rest in peace," Khandu tweeted.

A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to establish the cause of the crash.

Arunachal Pradesh has had a history of crashes due to frequently changing weather condition.

In July, an IAF chopper engaged in a rescue mission during floods crashed near Papum Pare district in the hill state killing four persons including three IAF crew and one India Reserve Battalion (IRB) personnel.

In May, two IAF pilots in a Sukhoi-30 jet crashed near the Assam-Arunachal border.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : The Army Commanders' Conference, set to be held here next week, will for the first time have command-based sessions in which each army commander will be given separate time slots to make presentations related to issues in their areas.

The upcoming conference, which is set to be the first to be addressed by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and also the first after the stand-off with China in the Sikkim sector, and amid continuing tension at both northern and western borders.

About the conference, Director General, Staff Duties Lt. Gen. Vijay Singh said the week-long event would see top Army commanders discussing "current and emerging perspectives on issues related to operations, logistics, administration, human resource management and welfare of troops".

"This time there is a change in the conduct of the conference wherein each Army Command will put forth their view points and concerns on various issues which have a bearing on the field formations and Indian Army as a whole," he said.

The Indian Army is divided in seven commands - Northern Command, Western Command, Central Command, Eastern Command, Southern Command, Southwestern Command and Training Command.

There will also be interaction between officials from the Defence Ministry and Army Commanders on "outstanding issues".

It would also be the first time Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra will attend the Army Commanders' Conference in this capacity.

Lt. Gen. Singh added that discussions will also be held on office cadre related management issues, Special Selection Board for promotion to the rank of Lt General and nomination of officers for the National Defence College courses and Advanced Professional Program in Public Administration courses.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : It is just not the government's business to tell the people what they should eat or drink because it would hurt the tourism industry, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Friday, amid alcohol prohibition and beef ban diktats in the country.

In an address to the World Economic Forum, Kant also questioned how can tourists visiting India chill out if they are barred from making their eating and drinking choices.

"Indian states can't get into what a tourist wants to eat and drink. Just not possible. What he wants to eat and drink is an individual's business and not the state's business," he said.

The remarks come a month after Union Tourism Minister K.J. Alphons advised foreigners visiting the country that they should eat beef at home and then come to India.

Kant was asked about his views on states banning beef and alcohol with Gujarat, Bihar, Nagaland and Manipur already dry states and Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Daman announcing plans to ban liquor sales.

"I have been a long term believer on couple of things. Tourism is essentially civilisational in character, you can't have garbage and filth and say that we have great heritage sites. So, India must focus on cleanliness. It is number one. Number-2 its about seamless experience.

"I have said it all the time that for a tourist...its about creating experiences.

"In the evening he wants to relax and he wants to chill out and therefore you need to create that evening experience for (him) in terms of Indian culture."
It all started while I was writing a story about Vern Gibson.

In the early 1960s, the Fremont man was in the U.S. Army, serving in Berlin during the Cold War. Back then, the city was divided into Communist East Berlin and the democratic West Berlin with a huge wall in between. The Communists were determined to keep East Berliners in place.

Many people in East Berlin wanted to escape to freedom in the west, but that wall, along with soldiers, barbed wire and mines kept them from doing so.

Vern and some of his fellow American soldiers did an incredibly brave and dangerous thing when they smuggled two teenage East Berliners through the lone access of Checkpoint Charlie into West Berlin.

I loved writing that story and while doing so, I was looking up other facts about those years when I came across an account of two East German men  Peter Strelzyk and Gunter Wetzel - and their families who escaped by hot air balloon in 1979.

There are news accounts and Gunter has a website. On his website, Gunter tells how his wifes sister, whod been able to leave East Berlin before the wall was erected, brought a newspaper when she came to visit.

The newspaper had an article about an international balloon festival in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Gunter thought he and his friend might be able to fly a hot air balloon over the fortified wall. Their wives, Petra and Doris, agreed to try it and bring the families four children.

They gathered fabric and other supplies. The men would build three balloons before they found one that could carry them to safety.

The families made their escape at night. It was an exceptionally risky move. Gunter tells about a hole that was torn in the balloon and how the burner, which is the engine, went out. Search lights were directed toward them, but didnt expose their mission.

How they made it over the wall and past trees _ and out of the balloons basket  to safety in the west fascinates me.

It also reminds me of a couple of basket escapes in the Bible.

The first is in the Old Testament book of Exodus, starting with Chapter 2.

At this point, the Israelites are slaves in Egypt where the Pharaoh has decided that all the male babies are to be killed. One Israelite woman hides her infant for three months. When she cant hide him anymore, she makes a basket out of a type of water plant. She coats it with tar (made from decaying plants). She puts her little son in the basket and floats it among reeds in the river bank. Her daughter stays at a distance to watch the child.

Pharaohs daughter is bathing in the river, when she sees the basket and has her servants bring it to her. She opens the basket, where she sees the baby, who is crying, and takes pity on him. She realizes hes one of the Israelites babies.

The babys sister comes and asks if she could find a nurse for the infant and the Pharaohs daughter ends up paying the family to take care of their own child. When the child is older, hes brought to Pharaohs daughter and becomes her son.

She will call her child, Moses. Decades later, Moses will lead the Israelites out of slavery.

We can read about another basket escape in the New Testament book of Acts, Chapter 9, starting with verse 23.

Here we learn that people are planning to kill a man named, Saul, whos had a dramatic conversion to Christianity. Saul is in Damascus, where enemies are watching the city gate night and day.

Some of Sauls disciples decide to help him escape at night. So they lower him down in a basket through an opening in the city wall.

He will go on to have an amazing ministry.

And we will come to know this escapee as the Apostle Paul, who will write much of the New Testament.

God obviously had plans for both of these men and helped people find creative ways to help them escape.

I cant imagine being a mom and trying save my baby by putting him in a basket. Moses Israelite mother must have been so scared.

And for someone, like me, whos afraid of heights, the thought of being in a basket  whether its being lowered over a wall or flying high above one in a hot air balloon seems quite unnerving.

On his website, Gunter tells how he and Peter had a falling out (not from the basket) after their extraordinary escape. They parted company and I dont know if they ever reconciled before Peters death in March. He was 74 years old.

Disney turned the story of the families escape into a movie called Night Crossing in 1982. Various stories about the brave escape can be found on the Internet.

The Berlin Wall was torn down in 1989, something that amazed Vern, who said he didnt think that would ever happen.

Vern never learned what happened to the East Germans, who he and his fellow soldiers helped escape to freedom  not via a balloon, but in the trunk of a car.

Im so glad we can learn about these escape-to-freedom stories through people like Vern and news or website accounts.

But Im most glad that we can read about how our Lord could use something as simple as a basket to save the lives of people  whether theyre a baby whod become a great leader or an apostle-in-the-making.

That said, I believe the greatest escape story ever told has nothing to do with a basket, but with our Savior Jesus Christ  who through his death on the cross  enables us to escape an eternity in hell.

God can bring us to places of abundant life here on earth and into the peace of heaven.

And you dont have to be in a hot air balloon to have the joy and freedom of Christ take you to new heights.
Patna, Oct 6 : The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will contest all 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar in 2019 to provide an alternative to the people, a party leader said on Friday.

AAP leader Rakesh Kumar Sinha told the media here that the party, which rules Delhi, had begun preparations for the general elections.

He said that unlike in 2014, there would be a wave against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The AAP leader also accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of "ruining" the education system in Bihar.

"There is rampant corruption and education has been ruined in Bihar," he said.

Sinha said till June Nitish Kumar talked about a "Sangh-mukt" (RSS-free) India but had since joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance which he alleged was fully controlled by the RSS.
Ghaziabad, Oct 6 : A criminal along with an accomplice looted a gun from a security guard here on Friday but was arrested within half hour, police said.

The incident occurred in Vasundhara residential locality.

The police said two bike-borne criminals looted the gun from Nathu Ram at Mukut Banquet Hall after firing two shots in the air from a pistol.

A police team which pursued the criminals opened fire, triggering a gun battle, injuring one of the snatchers.

The man, later identified as Kamaluddin, was arrested while his accomplice escaped, Superintendent of Police Akash Tomar said. A pistol, a motorcycle and the gun were recovered from his possession.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : The Centre has set up a committee to look into the problems faced by people in Jammu and Kashmir residing near the LoC and International Border and are victims of repeated ceasefire violations by Pakistan.

The committee, headed by Special Secretary (Internal Security), has been tasked by the Union Home Ministry to submit its report within two months.

The move comes two days after two minors were killed in Poonch sector of Kashmir in a ceasefire violation by Pakistani troopers.

Informed sources said the step is also the outcome of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh's visit to Jammu and Kashmir last month when some residents of Rajouri and Nowshera appealed to him to urgently set up bunkers for those living near the border.

The Border Migrants Coordination Committee told the Minister that "residents need bunkers more than food as it works like bullet-proof jacket for the residents and their families".

"A study committee headed by Special Secretary (Internal Security) has been set up by the Home Ministry to look into the problems of victims of ceasefire violation by Pakistan and those living near LoC and IB. The mandate of the committee is to speak to border residents, public representatives and district administration to see what kind of measures can be taken to help those facing the problem on different occasions," a Home Ministry official said.

Currently, the central government provides Rs 5 lakh to victims of cross-border firing under an assistance scheme. The compensation is provided only in case of death or loss of limbs.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : India and the European Union on Friday agreed to cooperate in the fight against terrorism while deciding to resume talks on a free trade agreement. At the 14th India-EU Summit here, both sides also adopted a joint statement against terrorism.

"We have agreed to work together against terrorism and expand security cooperation in this regard," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a joint address to the media along with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker after delegation-level talks here.

On his part, Tusk said both sides adopted a joint declaration on counter-terrorism "to deal effectively with the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters, terror financing and arms supply".

"We agreed to cooperate in security in the Indian Ocean region and beyond," he said.

According to the India-EU Joint Statement on Cooperation in Combating Terrorism, the leaders "strongly condemned recent heinous terrorist attacks in India and the member states of the European Union and reaffirmed their determination to jointly combat terrorism and violent extremism in all their forms and manifestations irrespective of their motivations, wherever and by whomever they are committed".

"Condemning the recent terror attacks in Pathankot, Uri, Nagrota, Anantnag (Amarnath Yatra), Srinagar, Paris, Brussels, Nice, Berlin, London, Stockholm, Manchester, Barcelona, Turku, and other terrorist attacks and recalling the November 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, the leaders called for the perpetrators of these attacks to be brought to justice," the statement said in an obvious reference to Pakistan.

"They further called for greater unity, stronger international partnership and concerted action by the international community in addressing the menace of terrorism."

According to the statement, both sides called early conclusion of negotiations and the adoption of the India-initiated Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism in the UN

Stating that the EU continues to be India's largest trading partner, Modi, in his address to the media, said the 28-nation bloc was also one of the largest investors in India.

Juncker pointed out that the EU was India's largest trading partner accounting for 13 per cent of India's overall trade.

Stating that it was time for a free trade agreement, he said talks on this would resume once conditions were met.

A Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) between India and the EU has been hanging fire for 11 years now despite 16 rounds of negotiations.

"The leaders expressed their shared commitment to strengthening the economic partnership between India and the EU and noted the ongoing efforts of both sides to re-engage actively towards timely relaunching negotiations for a comprehensive and mutually beneficial India-EU Broad Based Trade and Investment Agreement," an overall joint statement issued at the end of the summit said.

Briefing the media here, Ruchi Ghanashyam, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, said that the next round of talks for the BTIA will be held on November 13-14.

Both India and the EU also expressed deep concern at the recent spate of violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state that has triggered the outflow of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people into neighbouring Bangladesh.

"Both sides took note that this violence was triggered off by a series of attacks by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) militants which led to loss of lives amongst the security forces as well as the civilian population," the joint statement said.

"Both sides recognised the need for ending the violence and restoring normalcy in the Rakhine state without any delay."

India and the EU also expressed support to the government and the people of Afghanistan in their efforts to achieve an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned national peace and reconciliation.

"India and the EU underline the importance of the regional and key international stakeholders to respect, support and promote a political process and its outcome in order to ensure peace, security and prosperity in Afghanistan," the joint statement said.

Both India and the EU condemned the nuclear test conducted by North Korea on September 3 and said it was another direct and unacceptable violation of that country's international commitments.

"They agreed that DPRK's (Democratic People's Republic of Korea oir North Korea) continued pursuit of nuclear and ballistic missile programmes and its proliferation links pose a grave threat to international peace and security, and called for the complete, verifiable, irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, which has been endorsed by the UNSC and the Six-Party Talks," the joint statement said.

India and the EU signed three agreements following Friday's talks: between European Commission and the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) for Indian researchers hosted by the European Research Council grantees in Europe; finance contract of Bengaluru Metro Rail Project Phase-2 for 300 million euros out of total European Investment Bank (EIB) loan of 500 million euros; and a joint declaration between the Interim Secretariat of the ISA and the EIB.

Apart from the one on combating terrorism, two separate joint statements were also adopted by the two sides - one on clean energy and climate and another on a partnership for smart and sustainable urbanisation.

During the course of the day, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj also called on Tusk and Juncker separately and held a meeting with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted that Sushma Swaraj and Mogherini "held productive discussions".
Mosul (Iraq), Oct 6 : Thousands of people on Friday bid farewell to former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani who died earlier this week.

Tatabani's funeral in northern Iraq was attended by several high-level officials including President Fuad Masum, President of Iraqi Kurdistan Masoud Barzani, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Iraqi Interior Minister Qasim al-Araji, Efe news reported.

Talabani, a veteran leader of the Kurdish struggle for self-determination, was in coma when he died in a German hospital on Tuesday.

His body was flown to the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah, his hometown, where a red carpet and a guard of honour awaited on the tarmac on Friday.

The death of the 83-year-old came at a sensitive time in relations between Kurdish leaders and Baghdad.

Last week, people living in northern Iraq voted overwhelmingly in favour of independence for the Kurdistan Region in a referendum, despite outrage in Baghdad, Iran and Turkey.

Talabani had not been well enough to give his views on the referendum, but it had been only half-heartedly backed by his Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party, BBC reported.

He had historically opposed full Kurdish independence, arguing for semi-autonomy within a democratic Iraq.

The flight carrying Talabani's body was given special dispensation to land amid an Iraqi-government-imposed ban on international flights to the Kurdistan Region following the plebiscite.

The coffin was received by a guard of honour and given a 21-gun salute, followed by the Iraqi national anthem, on the tarmac of Sulaimaniya airport. It was then taken to the city's grand mosque.
Madrid, Oct 6 : A Spanish court on Friday handed Portuguese defender Ricardo Carvalho a seven-month prison sentence for two tax crimes in 2011 and in relation to his image rights in 2012 after a deal was struck with prosecutors.

The court also fined the former Real Madrid player, who acknowledged the charges against him, 142,822 euros ($167,216), although the state attorney had asked for a one-year jail sentence and a 300,000 euro ($351,691.5) fine, reports Efe.

The court said that the player had paid back the evaded taxes amounting to 545,981 euro ($640,146.34) and confessed before his trail.

The 39-year-old Carvalho spent two seasons at Real Madrid between June 2010-June 2012.

Carvalho joined Chinese Shanghai SIPG in 2017 after three years in Monaco.

In Spain, jail sentences under two years tend to be served under probation.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : India on Friday said there are "no new developments" at the face-off site and its vicinity in Doklam along the India-China border and status quo continues, after reports that China is engaged in construction activity around 10 km away from the site.

"We have seen recent press reports on Doklam. There are no new developments at the face-off site and its vicinity since the August 28 disengagement," the External Affairs Ministry said in a statement.

"The status quo prevails in this area. Any suggestions to the contrary is incorrect," it said.

Fresh construction activities by China, around 10 to 12 km away from the face-off site in Doklam were reported, leading to the opposition to question the government over the situation.

Government sources said that the current construction is well within Chinese territory and not on any disputed land, and it was not for India to interfere in it.

India and China were involved in an over 70-day stand off in the Doklam area, close to the India-Bhutan-China tri-junction from June 16 to August 28 after a construction party of China's People's Liberation Army was stopped by the Indian Army from building a road in the area.

While India and Bhutan maintained that China had violated status quo at the tri-junction area, Beijing claimed that it was Chinese territory.

The imbroglio ended just ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to China in the first week of September for the BRICS Summit.

According to sources, the understanding reached at the time of disengagement was that China will stop the road construction work.
Thiruvananthapuram, October 10 : Former chief minister and senior congress leader Oommen Chandy has come out strongly against attempts by leaders of the bharatiya janata party (BJP) to portray Kerala in a bad light.

In a sharply-worded facebook post on Friday, Chandy asserted that the people of Kerala would resist unitedly moves by BJP national president Amit Shah to malign the state.

The attempt to insult Kerala using the failed Gujarat model is preposterous, he wrote, pointing out that the human development indices of Kerala for years have been of international standards.

The public backlash that prime minister Narendra had faced for comparing Kerala with Somalia was proof that the BJPs anti-Kerala propaganda would come a cropper, Chandy added.

Slamming the BJPs janaraksha yatra, the former chief minister charged that the yatra could only be viewed as a cheap political tactic aimed at concealing the failures of the Narendra Modi-led government, of which corruption, price rise, infant deaths, and rail accidents have become the hallmarks.

What all states in the country, including Gujarat, desired was to be rescued from the BJP of Narendra Modi, who through his maladministration had wreaked havoc in all sectors of the country, Chandy quipped.

BJP launched the janaraksha yatra in Kerala led by its state unit president Kummanam Rajasekharan on October 4. The stated aim of the yatra is to highlight the alleged red and jihadi terror in the state.

A host of top BJP leaders, including national president Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, landed in Kerala to participate in the yatra.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : The CBI questioned RJD chief Lalu Prasad's son Tejashwi Yadav for over seven hours on Friday in connection with its ongoing probe into alleged irregularities in the 2006 IRCTC hotels maintenance contract case.

Tejashwi Yadav, a former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, reached the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) headquarters on Lodi Road in south Delhi around 11.15 a.m. and was questioned till 6.30 p.m.

"Tejashwi was questioned for over seven hours by CBI investigators. He faced more than 100 questions in connection with the IRCTC case," CBI spokesperson Abhishek Dayal told IANS.

Dayal further said that the CBI may call Tejashwi Yadav again for another round of questioning but the next date was yet to be decided.

The questioning comes a day after Lalu Prasad was questioned for seven hours in connection with the case.

The CBI had on September 26 issued fresh summons -- the third in a month -- to the Rashtriya Janata Dal chief and his son in the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp (IRCTC) contract case.

Tejashwi Yadav appeared before the CBI after skipping two earlier summons.

The CBI on July 5 filed a corruption case against Lalu Prasad, his wife Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav for alleged irregularities in the allotment of contracts for IRCTC hotels in Ranchi and Puri in 2006 to a private firm when the RJD chief was the Railways Minister.

The contracts were given to Sujata Hotels, a company owned by Vijay and Vinay Kochhar -- both named in the CBI FIR as accused -- in lieu of bribe in the form of a three-acre commercial plot at a prime location in Bihar's Patna district, the CBI said.

A preliminary CBI inquiry found that the said land was sold by the Kochhars to Delight Marketing Company and payment was arranged through Ahluwalia Contractors and its promoter Bikramjeet Singh Ahluwalia, another accused person.

The ED has since questioned Ahluwalia.

Delight Marketing, which bought the property from the Kochhars, was later taken over by Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav, alleges the CBI.

Sarla Gupta, wife of RJD chief's close associate and former Union Minister Prem Chand Gupta and a director of Delight Marketing, is a co-accused in the case, apart from then IRCTC Managing Director P.K. Goel.

The ED had on July 27 registered a separate case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act following the CBI FIR and was probing Lalu Prasad and others for alleged transfer of money through shell companies.

The ED has summoned Rabri Devi to appear before it next week.
Varanasi, Oct 6 : The National Commission for Women (NCW) team probing the violence in Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in September, on Friday indicted the former Vice Chancellor for the incident.

Acting Chairperson of NCW Rekha Sharma said here that had the Vice Chancellor met the girls who were agitating against eve-teasing (molestation), the situation would not have spun out of control.

Sharma said the girls told them during the probe that their agitation had been "taken over" by some outsiders and it was they who were responsible for the agitation going violent.

The NCW Chairperson also said that there was a lot of eve-teasing and harassment of girls on the university campus and the situation in the hostels was very bad. Many a time, boys were spotted outside the windows of the girls' hostel, she said.

She also called for enhanced security outside hostels, especially girls' hostels. Hi-tech cameras for 24x7 monitoring of the campus have also been recommended. The CCTV cameras of specialised kind have, however, been already installed on the campus.

The Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Varanasi, has meanwhile also been asked by the women's panel to get 50 unlawfully staying students out of the hostels.

Sharma also rued that the Vice Chancellor had so far not appeared before the panel and that he had not even taken telephone calls so far nor responded to SMSs.

Police have also been indicted in the probe for the cane-charge and faulted for the absence of women police personnel during the scuffle with agitating girl students.

The whole ruckus at the famous BHU started on September 21 when a group of girls were teased by three boy students in the Arts faculty.

Girls alleged that they had raised the matter with the Warden and also the Chief Proctor, but no action was taken against the errant students. The girls were instead asked by the varsity officials not to step out late night.

Demanding that the security be enhanced at the hostels and the campus, hundreds of girls had staged a sit-in the next day when the Prime Minister was in town on a two-day visit.

The same night they had also staged a march along with boy students to the bungalow of Vice Chancellor G.C. Tripathi but were cane-charged by the police when they refused to back off.

Irate students then took to violence, vandalised university property and torched some two-wheelers.
BRITT | After more than two years with the city of Britt, Shell Anderson has resigned as city administrator/clerk.

Anderson, who was hired as the city clerk in May 2015 and appointed as city administrator/clerk in July 2015, submitted her letter of resignation for city council approval Tuesday.

Working for the city of Britt has been a great learning experience for me. I have a much better understanding and appreciation for all that goes into running an effective city, she wrote in her letter of resignation. I am grateful for the experience and the relationships I have gained throughout my time here.

Anderson said she has accepted an accounting position at IMT in Garner.

Although a number of factors lead me to this decision; ultimately, I want to be able to focus more of my attention on finance and accounting, her letter said.

Her last day is Oct. 26, but she has offered to come back on an hourly basis to keep the citys finances up to date and help train the new city administrator/clerk.

On Tuesday, the city council  although reluctant  unanimously accepted Andersons resignation, while expressing appreciation for the work shes done in organizing community events and creating a social media presence for the city of Britt.

Thank you for all the work youve done, Councilor Paul Verbrugge said.

The city council also approved posting for the city administrator/clerk position.

The position requires a bachelors degree in public administration, business management or a related area of study, and experience in long-range planning, economic development, intergovernmental relations, finance and budgeting is preferred.

Salary will be dependent on qualifications. Andersons current salary is $56,375.

Applicants must submit a resume, cover letter and application to the city of Britt by 5 p.m. Oct. 24.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : Facing severe criticism over the implementation of Goods and Services Tax, the government on Friday announced a slew of measures to ease the concerns of traders, exporters and small business while slashing the rates on 27 items of common consumption, including roti, khakra, namkeens, stationery, man-made yarn -- with most of them brought to five per cent category.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Friday raised the threshold limit for Composition Scheme to Rs 1 crore and allowed quarterly return filing for traders having Rs 1.5 crore turnover to ease the tax filing for small traders.

"Traders having Rs 1.5 crore turnover, which are approximately 90 per of assessees outside Composition Scheme, can now file quarterly return," Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said after the Council's 22nd meeting here, coming two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to remove the shortcoming in the new indirect tax regime and to ease woes of traders.

The registered buyers from such small taxpayers would be eligible to avail input tax credit on a monthly basis.

The tax rate on services, including government contracts involving large labour, job work services in relation to imitation jewellery, some food and food products has been reduced from 12 per cent to 5 per cent.

Tax rate on man made yarn was reduced to 12 per cent from the current 18 per cent, which is expected to provide relief to the textile industry. Moreover, tax rate on unbranded namkeen, unbranded ayurvedic medicine, e-waste, paper waste, rubber waste, plastic waste was reduced to 5 per cent.

The Council also increased the threshold for Composition Scheme under which traders, manufacturers and restaurants have to pay a fixed tax rate of 1, 2 and 5 per cent respectively. The scheme can be availed only by those businessess who operate within the state and do not have inter-state sales.

"For small and medium taxpayers, the tax burden is less but compliance is more. So the threshold has been now increased. So far 15.5 lakh taxpayers have opted for composition scheme," Jaitley said.

A total of 72 lakh taxpayers have migrated from the old regime and 26 lakh new taxpayers have registered under GST. About 95 per cent of the revenue is collected only from large assessees, he said.

Taking stock of the exporters' working capital that was getting blocked under GST affecting their cash liquidity, the Council has decided to disburse their refunds through cheques for July and August from October 10 and October 18 onwards respectively.

A new electronic system of e-wallet is being created for exporters, which will be implemented from April 1, 2018. The exporters will receive some notional credit in their e-wallet as advance. They will pay their tax and the refund will get offset within the wallet. A technology company will be allotted the task to develop e-wallets for exporters.

Till then, exporters will have to pay nominal GST of 0.1 per cent for procuring goods from domestic suppliers for export.

The Council decided to form a group of finance ministers (GOM) to discuss issues including, allowing inter-state traders under composition scheme, reducing GST on restaurants and exempting zero rated goods in calculation of turnover. The GOM will have to submit its report within a period of two weeks.

E-way bill, which allows for seamless movement of goods worth over Rs 50,000, is likely to be implemented from April 1, 2018.

The system shall be introduced in a staggered manner with effect from January 1,2018 and shall be rolled out nationwide with effect from April 1, in order to give trade and industry more time to acclimatise itself.

The reverse charge mechanism has been deferred till August 31, 2018. Under it, if a registered trader buys goods from unregistered supplier, the compliance of the unregistered buyer is the responsibility of the registered trader.

"The reverse charge mechanism will be reviewed by a committee of experts. This will benefit small businesses and substantially reduce compliance costs," Jaitley said.

Presently, anyone making inter-state taxable supplies, except inter-state job workers, is compulsorily required to register, irrespective of turnover. It has now been decided to exempt those service providers whose annual aggregate turnover is less than Rs 20 lakh from obtaining registration even if they are making inter-state taxable supplies of services. This measure is expected to significantly reduce the compliance cost of small service providers.

After assessing the readiness of the trade, industry and government departments, it has been decided that registration and operationalisation of TDS/TCS provisions shall be postponed till March 31, 2018.
Bengaluru, Oct 6 : Emerging e-commerce startup GS Farm Taaza Produce Ltd said on Friday it had raised $8 million (Rs 52 crore) in the first round of funding to invest in scaling its technology platform.

"We have raised $8 million from multiple investors, including Hong Kong-based Epsilon Venture Partners to scale our business by using the fund in our technology platform," said Farm Taaza Chief Executive Kumar Ramachandran in a statement here.

The city-based B2B enterprise in the fresh produce of fruits and vegetables commenced its operations in August 2015 with an unspecified amount of seed funding from the unnamed angel investors from Silicon Valley.

Tara India Fund IV, managed by IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd, is among the investors participating in the latest funding round.

"We want to enable a seamless supply chain from farm to store and leverage machine learning, artificial intelligence and data analytics for quick decision-making," said Ramachandran.

With operational centres in Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad and collection centres at Chikkaballaupra in Karnataka and Ooty, Krishnagiri, Olakoor and Mettupalayam in Tamil Nadu, the company plans to make the agro-food ecosystem efficient by using technology.

It has tied up with modern retail, traditional kirana (pop and mom stores) and HoRaCa (hotels, restaurants and catering) for supplying the farm product in the B2C segment through the year.

As the next phase of innovation in the e-commerce segment is in the B2B space, the technology platform will ensure end-to-end efficiency in the fresh produce market, estimated to be $20-billion annually across the country.

The farm produce in the sub-continent is driven by volatile prices and fragmented suppliers, with perishability and quality issues as they are diverse and category specific.

"The digitisation of supply chain with automation, data management, collaborative planning and forecasting, smart sourcing and product tracking will Farm Taaza agile and transparent," said Epsilon General Partner Mahesh Vaidya in the statement.

About 1,400 farmers in the two southern states are associated with the startup to supply 150 varieties of fruits and vegetables.
New Delhi, Oct 6 : Indian Naval Ship Trishul on Friday thwarted a piracy attempt on an Indian merchant vessel in the Gulf of Aden, Indian Navy said.

All 26 Indian crew on board the Indian ship are safe.

"INS Trishul thwarts piracy attempt on Indian ship MV Jag Amar at 1230 hrs this noon in the Gulf of Aden," Navy's Spokesperson Captain D.K. Sharma said in a tweet.

According to the Indian Navy, the merchant vessel called for assistance around noon, and guided missile frigate INS Trishul, which is deployed on anti-piracy duty in the Gulf of Aden responded immediately.

MARCOS (marine commandos) on board INS Trishul rushed out to the merchant vessel, and the piracy attempt was thwarted.

An AK-47 rifle, a magazine with 27 rounds, grapnels, ropes, fuel drums and ladders were recovered from the ship.

In May, INS Sharda, deployed for anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden, rescued a Liberian merchant vessel Lord Mountbatten from a pirate attack.

In April, INS Mumbai, Tarkash, Trishul and Aditya, which were passing through the Gulf of Aden on way to deployment to the Mediterranean Sea, had saved another merchant ship MV OS 35 from pirates.
We simply cannot continue to rely only on the former methods of learning. The kinds of technology available mixed with our greater understanding of how, why, and where students learn best demand that we investigate and experiment with new learning technologies.

Macmillan Learning, a premier educational solutions company, today launched their fifth annual Executive STEM Summit in partnership with Scientific American. The two-day event brought together leaders from education, business, technology, policy and research communities to debate the most critical issues facing STEM education.

The robust line-up of speakers from Chevron, Microsoft, XPRIZE, Project Lead The Way, Volley.com, Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Massachusetts Amhersts Center of Knowledge and more spoke to the role of technology in all levels of education. While topics ranging from digital engagement, diversity, technology, and policy, the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education quickly became a focus.

There is so much discussion in education circles on what new ideas or methods may have an impact, said Macmillan Learning General Manager Susan Winslow. AI for education has arrived and it will definitely impact the kind of products and services we will offer. In STEM, there are questions as to how Artificial Intelligence might enhance instruction, foster greater inclusivity and retention, and impact personal learning paths, as well as address how we view the nature of data gathered from students. We all need to be involved in these discussions.

AI is a complex and rapidly-advancing science, but it is not a magic box. It deserves to be understood, said Volley.com CTO Carson Kahn. Education stakeholders must come together to form a common language so we can readily understand, innovate, and implement AI in education.

Attendees debated the role digital tools have in teaching todays students in providing greater access and exposure to content and ideas, but noted that STEM courses specifically could be greatly enhanced by the kind of support AI would offer. Exploring the kinds of technological changes available in other industries becomes a critical mandate for learning solution providers.

We simply cannot continue to rely only on the former methods of learning, said Ms. Winslow. The kinds of technology available mixed with our greater understanding of how, why, and where students learn best demand that we investigate and experiment with new learning technologies.

My research is driven by the hope that AI can help make education accessible to all, providing new opportunities for quality learning across the world, said Ashok Goel, Professor of Computer Science and Cognitive Science in the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology.

Where AI for education has failed in the past, there have now been groundbreaking advances in using machine learning to improve human learning, said Mr. Kahn. We at last have the technology to realize true personalization and data-driven pedagogy. Engagement and understanding will come much more quickly to the learners of tomorrow.

For more information on the event and to see livestream coverage, discussions, and event photos, go to community.macmillan.com/community/stemsummit.

About Macmillan Learning:

Macmillan Learning improves lives through learning. Our legacy of excellence in education informs our approach to developing world-class content with pioneering, interactive tools. Through deep partnership with the worlds best researchers, educators, administrators, and developers, we facilitate teaching and learning opportunities that spark student engagement and improve outcomes. We provide educators with tailored solutions designed to inspire curiosity and measure progress. Our commitment to teaching and discovery upholds our mission to improve lives through learning. Macmillan Learning includes both academic and institutional divisions. To learn more, please visit http://www.macmillanlearning.com or see us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIN or join our Macmillan Community
2017 ERG & Council Honors Award Taking top honors was the General Motors Employee Resource Group, followed by the Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals Inclusion & Diversity Council and the Aramark Diversity Advisory Board.

The Nations Top 25 Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), Business Resource Groups (BRGs) and Diversity Councils were honored at the 9th Annual ERG & Council Honors Award luncheon celebration today at the 2017 ERG & Council Conference at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Orlando. Taking top honors was the General Motors Employee Resource Group, followed by the Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals Inclusion & Diversity Council and the Aramark Diversity Advisory Board.

The ERG & Council Honors Award is part of the annual ERG & Council Conference presented by diversity and inclusion training and consulting firm PRISM International, Inc., and its practice group the Association of ERGs & Councils. ERGs and Diversity Councils are vital links for improving organizational results," said Linda Stokes, President and CEO of PRISM and co-host. "Participants report that completing the application challenges them to look hard and deep at what they are doing by evaluating their efforts and then enacting adjustments that make them better. Our intent is to enable ERGs, BRGs and Diversity Councils to use this application to learn what they are doing well and how they can continue to increase their impact and effectiveness," concluded Stokes.

In its ninth year, the prestigious ERG & Council Honors Award recognizes and awards the outstanding contributions and achievements of U.S. ERGs, BRGs and Diversity Councils that lead organizational diversity and inclusion processes and demonstrate results in their workforce, workplace and marketplace. Fernando Serpa, the Executive Director of the Association and last nights co-host said, This years applications represented 1,330 ERGs, BRGs, Diversity Councils and their chapters. This is by far the most competitive and exciting field to date." The 2017 ERG & Council Honors Award recipients are a diverse combination of U.S. organizations representing most sectors, geographies and sizes. We also had several non-Top 25 groups demonstrate best practices and results that deserve to be recognized, said Serpa. As a result, we have introduced the Spotlight Impact Award that highlights the achievements of these select groups in the categories of Organizational Impact, Talent Management and Culture of Inclusion.

Award recipients included a diverse combination of corporations, governmental agencies and not for profits representing various sectors, geographies and organization sizes. The 2017 ERG & Council Honors Award recipients (by rank):

1. General Motors Employee Resource Group Council

2. Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals Inclusion & Diversity Council

3. Aramark Diversity Advisory Board

4. ClinicPride Employee Resource Group  Cleveland Clinic

5. Texas Instruments Diversity Network

6. Professional Women's Network Massachusetts Chapter - State Street Corporation

7. U.S. Bank Proud to Serve

8. Americas D&I Council - JLL

9. Diversity Advisory Council - American Airlines

10. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council - Davenport University

11. Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Council - Erie Insurance

12. InspirASIAN - AT&T

13. Diversity & Inclusion - Delhaize America

14. MSAG (Military Support and Assistance Group) - Bank of America

15. Entergy Employee Resource Group

16. Froedtert Health Diversity Council

17. UNIDOS System Resource Group - Carolinas HealthCare System

18. Bon Secours Executive Council - Bon Secours Health System

19. Ricoh Diversity and Social Responsibility Council - Ricoh USA, Inc.

20. Research Quality Nutrition and Technology Diversity and Inclusion Council (RQNT D&I) - The Kellogg Company

21. Women's Initiative Network (WIN) - Enterprise Resource Group - MUFG Union Bank, N.A

22. African American Employee Resource Group (AA-ERG) - Northwestern Mutual

23. U.S. Bank Spectrum LGBT

24. SALUD - Cleveland Clinic

25. Diversity Advisory Council - Summa Health

The 2017 Spotlight Impact Award recipients (in alphabetical order):

CalPERS - CalPERS Diversity & Inclusion Group

KeyBank - Key Business Impact and Networking Groups (KBINGs)

NextEra Energy, Inc. - NextEra Energy Women in Energy ERG

Northwestern Mutual - Military Veterans ERG

Novant Health - Latino/Hispanic BRG

PNC Bank - Cleveland Chapter Military Employee BRG

PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. - Military Virtual EBRG

PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. - PNC Regional Diversity & Inclusion Council

To qualify for the ERG & Council Honors Award, ERGs and Diversity Councils must be in operation for at least two years and have demonstrated significant contributions and achievements in four categories: Demonstrated Results; Demonstrated Management Commitment; Measurement and Accountability; and, Communication and Education. Every applicant receives their results in their complimentary Application Summary Report that provides feedback and information that will enhance their performance and increase their value to the organization they serve. This is an open application process with no cost or obligation. Membership with the Association of ERGs & Councils is not required.

The 2018 ERG & Council Honors Award application process opens in February 2018. For more information about the ERG & Council Honors Award or the ERG & Council Conference, visit ERGCouncilConference.com.

About the ERG & Council Honors Award

The ERG & Council Honors Award is the only annual national award that recognizes, honors and celebrates the outstanding contributions and achievements of ERGs, BRGs and Diversity Councils that lead the diversity and inclusion process in their organizations and demonstrate results in their workforce, workplace and marketplace. Learn more by visiting ERG & Council Honors Award.

About the ERG & Council Conference

ERGs and Diversity Councils are vital links for improving organizational results. However, to remain impactful and effective, they need opportunities to increase their skills and knowledge and to learn and share best practices. They need opportunities to network, celebrate and grow. This is the purpose of the only annual conference designed specifically for ERGs and Diversity Councils. Learn more by visiting ERG Council Conference.

About PRISM International, Inc.

PRISM is a WBENC-certified, full-service provider of innovative and proven consulting, training and products for leveraging diversity and inclusion, addressing unconscious bias, increasing cross-cultural competencies and creating more effective ERGs and Diversity Councils. Learn more by visiting PRISM.

About the Association of ERGs & Councils

The Association of ERGs & Councils is a practice group of PRISM and the premier resource for transforming Employee Resource Groups, Diversity Councils & Employee Network Groups to impact key organizational & business objectives. Learn more by visiting the Association.
2017 ASDS Annual Meeting

Thomas E. Rohrer, MD, President of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS), the largest specialty organization representing dermatologic surgeons, has awarded five members with Presidents Awards for their extraordinary contributions to the Society and dermatologic specialty.

Dr. Rohrer presented the awards at the 2017 ASDS Annual Meeting on Oct. 6 in Chicago as his final duty as ASDS President. The 2017 recipients were Murad Alam, MD, MBA; Seemal R. Desai, MD; Jeffrey S. Dover, MD; George J. Hruza, MD, MBA; and Susan Weinkle, MD.

Dr. Rohrer expressed his gratitude for the amount of time and energy Dr. Alam dedicates to advancing the Societys goals as President-Elect and chair of the Cosmetic Dermatologic Surgery Fellowship Accreditation and Federal Affairs Work Groups. Dr. Alam is Vice Chair of the Department of Dermatology at Northwestern University, where he also serves as a Professor of Dermatology, Otolaryngology and Surgery and Section Chief of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery.

Dr. Alam takes on challenging roles and can be consistently counted upon to follow through with those tasks, said Dr. Rohrer. Im incredibly appreciative of his willingness to take on the development of clinical guidelines in collaboration with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. His leadership has been instrumental to the successful progress weve made to date.

As a member of the Federal Affairs Work Group, Dr. Desai was recognized for his support of the Societys advocacy efforts including participating in the Federal Fly-in effort and testifying at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on in-office compounding. Dr. Desai practices at Innovative Dermatology in Plano, Texas.

These efforts have contributed to the advancement of those legislative and regulatory issues of greatest importance to ASDS members, said Dr. Rohrer. Dr. Desai sets an excellent example for others who wish to make a difference.

Dr. Dover was saluted as a visionary and educator for sharing his knowledge and experience with hundreds of ASDS members over the years. He practices at Skin Care Physicians in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Dr. Dover has invested countless hours of his personal time to ASDS serving as faculty and committee member, Board member and President, said Dr. Rohrer. His vision to invest in our residents has paid tremendous dividends already and will continue to keep ASDS healthy and growing for the forseeable future.

Dr. Hruza, an ASDS Past President, was praised for his mentorship and leadership within the specialty. Dr. Hruza is an Adjunct Professor of Dermatology at St. Louis University and Medical Director at Laser & Dermatologic Surgery Center in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a member of the ASDS Nominating Committee, Federal Affairs and Research Work Groups.

The hard work by Dr. Hruza has helped advance our advocacy efforts, said Dr. Rohrer. He leads by example and the work he performs on the Societys behalf has a tremendous impact on all of dermatologic surgery.

Dr. Weinkles passion and personal time commitment to the specialty was recognized by Dr. Rohrer. She owns a private practice in Bradenton, Florida where she specializes in Mohs Micrographic Surgery and cosmetic dermatology.

Our phenomenal successes in fundraising and in fostering relationships with industry partners are tied directly to Dr. Weinkles accomplishments, said Dr. Rohrer. These efforts make many of the programs and services we offer our members possible. The Society also acknowledges her commitment to the education of our resident and early-career members.

About American Society for Dermatologic Surgery

American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) is the largest specialty organization exclusively representing dermatologic surgeons who have unique training and experience to treat the health, function and beauty of your skin. ASDS members are pioneers in the field. Many are involved in the clinical studies that bring popular treatments to revitalize skin and fill and diminish wrinkles to the forefront. Their work has helped create and enhance many of the devices that remove blemishes, hair and fat, and tighten skin. Dermatologic surgeons also are experts in skin cancer prevention, detection and treatment. As the incidence of skin cancer rises, dermatologic surgeons are committed to taking steps to minimize the life-threatening effects of this disease. For more information, visit asds.net.

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ASDSNews

Become a Facebook fan: facebook.com/TheASDS

Locate a dermatologic surgeon in your area: asds.net/FindADermatologist.aspx
MASON CITY | Sixteen years ago, Jordan Manning and his brother found their mother on her bedroom floor in Fort Dodge.

Joni Manning, 42, had her hands tied and was beaten to death by Mark Wilson, 42, a man she had been dating for eight months. Now, Jordan  who moved to Mason City in 2005  wants people to know that domestic violence is a serious issue.

"It's very important," said Jordan, 31. "For a lot of people, Im sure its not in the front of their mind that this stuff happens ... its good that they have events like this that helps bring it to the forefront."

The event Jordan was talking about is "Remember My Name," an annual gathering of local law enforcement, along with friends and family of domestic violence victims.

Since 1995, 295 people have been killed in domestic violence and abuse incidents statewide. In the Mason City Room at the Mason City Library Friday afternoon, Sheriff Kevin Pals told those gathered how many people have been killed each year since, highlighting notable local cases during that time span.

As specific stories were told, family and friends who knew the victims would come forward and tie a ribbon with the victim's name to a tree at the front of the room.

Pals told the Globe Gazette that domestic violence is preventable, and urged more people to speak out, whether it be to police or crisis intervention groups.

He added that since only 30 percent of all cases are reported statewide, it's important people speak out, no matter who is involved.

"Let's just say it's a highly visible elected official, and they're the victim or they're the abuser," he said of one possible example. "And their spouse doesn't want people to know, it's embarrassing, people could lose their jobs ... which we all think in society is really important, but really when you get down to it, means nothing if you're not treating each other with respect or dignity."

One of the groups in town that helps handle domestic violence issues is Crisis Intervention Service. Mary Ingham, its executive director, urged those affected to speak out, as all their services are confidential.

Ingham noted that while the 295 people killed since 1995 is a considerable amount, many more relatives, friends and community members are also impacted. Like Pals, she said it's important to report any issues, because domestic violence related homicides are completely preventable.

"It's not something that just happens out of the blue," she said. "Often times, there's a pattern that people can see."

Pals said one of the major issues is that many victims have been abused in other relationships, because they attract abusive behavior.

"We all need to work together to let not just women, but let men know that it's not right to control people," he said. "It's not right to 'keep the money and not give access to other people in the relationship.' Especially if they're married, they're supposed to become one."

Mark Wilson, who beat Joni Manning to death in July 2001, eventually surrendered to police in California on Aug. 11, 2009, and was convicted of first-degree murder in March of the following year.

Jordan, who was 14 at the time of his mom's death, hopes events like "Remember My Name" lead to less stories like his.

"If you see stuff that don't look right, say something," he said. "A lot of people cover up stuff and try to hide it ... let somebody know and seek help, because when things go bad, they can always go worse."
2017 ASDS Annual Meeting

The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Association (ASDSA) honored the recipients of its 2017 Patient Safety Hero awards at the 2017 ASDS Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Aaron Mangold, MD, was honored with the ASDSA State Patient Safety Hero Member Award, which is given to a member who has contributed significantly to a successful campaign centered on patient safety in their state legislative or regulatory arena.

Dr. Mangold championed ASDSAs SUNucate initiative in his home state of Arizona. Governor Doug Ducey signed SUNucate into law last spring, making Arizona one of the first states to pass SUNucate model legislation.

Dr. Mangolds instrumental support commenced the great success of the Societys SUNucate initiative, which was signed into law by seven states in 2017, said ASDSA Immediate Past President Thomas E. Rohrer, MD. With five other states bills pending and two additional states interested in the legislation, SUNucate is well positioned for 2018.

Arizona Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery Society (ADDSS) received the ASDSA State Dermatological Society Patient Safety Hero State Society Award. This honor is given to a state dermatological society that has worked effectively on behalf of the specialty and patient safety.

By working with ASDSA, multiple health care organizations and patient groups, ADDSS showed legislators the need for SUNucate legislation and the importance of protecting children from skin cancer by allowing them to use sunscreen at school and day camps.

ASDSA is greatly appreciative of ADDSSs involvement with the realization of SUNucate legislation in Arizona, said Dr. Rohrer. Because of their dedication, Arizonas youth is now able to access sunscreen at school and camp, which will make a real impact in helping prevent skin cancer.

About the ASDSA

With a membership of 6,100+ physicians, ASDSA is a 501(c) (6) association, dedicated to education and advocacy on behalf of dermatologic surgeons and their patients. For more information, visit http://asdsa.asds.net.

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ASDSAdvocacy

Become a Facebook fan: facebook.com/ASDSAdvocacy
CMR Naviscan

CMR Naviscan Corporation announces that it has acquired certain Gamma Medica (GM) assets and intellectual property. The GM Molecular Breast Imaging (MBI) technology, including the LumaGEM MBI scanner complements the existing CMR Naviscan organ-specific positron emission tomography (PET) product portfolio, including its Solo II Breast PET Imaging (BPI) system, positioning CMR Naviscan as a comprehensive solutions provider to the diagnosis and care of breast cancer patients.

With the addition of this Molecular Breast Imaging technology, we are now able to offer healthcare providers a more comprehensive portfolio of screening and problem solving tools for the care of breast cancer patients, including secondary screening of dense breasts, image-guided biopsy, surgical planning, and treatment monitoring, said Tonatiuh Monroy, CMR Naviscans President.

The value of MBI in the patient care continuum is detailed in the recently published article, Molecular Breast Imaging in Breast Cancer Screening and Problem Solving, (RadioGraphics 2017:37:1309-1327; https://doi.org/10.1148/rg.2017160204). Furthermore, with guidance on MBI as appropriate radiologic care, American College of Radiology (ACR) Practice Parameter, published in July, (https://www.acr.org/~/media/ACR/Documents/PGTS/guidelines/MBI.pdf?db=web), the role of the technology is becoming a standard of care. By adding MBI to its suite of solutions, CMR Naviscan continues on its path as a leader in molecular imaging and problem solving.

Please visit CMR Naviscan at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), November 26  30, to learn more of the tools and solutions now available. We will be located as part of the Compania Mexicana de Radiologia (CMR) exhibit, located at Booth #2941, McCormick Place, Chicago.

About CMR Naviscan Corporation

CMR Naviscan is a leader in organ-specific molecular imaging and part of the Compania Mexicana de Radiologia CGR, S.A. de C.V. (CMR), a global developer and manufacturer of high quality diagnostic imaging equipment and healthcare information systems, including DICOM-compliant imaging software. CMR Naviscan, headquartered in Carlsbad, California, develops and manufactures molecular imaging systems, including the Solo II High Resolution Breast PET Imaging (BPI) scanner, which detects breast cancers as small as 1.6 mm, the Stereo Navigator PET-guided biopsy tool, and the LumaGEM dual-head molecular breast imaging (MBI) system. CMR Naviscan is US FDA registered and ISO 13485:2012 certified. For more information visit http://www.cmr-naviscan.com/.
Everyone is talking about this Hurricane Harvey love story, after Morgan Falls Event Center decides to give a Kingwood couple their dream wedding given this recent disaster. Chloe Bennett, a student at Texas A&M and Timothy Watterreus, who recently enlisted into the Marines, were expecting to tie the knot during an intimate ceremony in their parents backyard, until Hurricane Harvey unexpectedly changed everything.

Like most, the couple lost their home, vehicle and belongings, but they also lost their entire wedding. Morgan Falls, a wedding venue located in Alvin Tx, were contacted by a friend of the couple after Chloe shared on Facebook about her loss. The friend of the couple wanted to get help replacing the wedding items that were lost, including the Brides dress along with other sentimental things.

When the wedding coordinator, Kristina Cox heard their devastating story, she decided to do more than replace the items that were lost, she became determined to give Chloe and Timothy their dream wedding. When I heard Chloes story on Facebook notifying their family that her wedding was destroyed, it broke my heart! From that moment, we were determined to give their family a celebration after all theyd just gone through.

Celebrate & Communicate at Morgan Falls is hosting and coordinating the wedding for seventy-five people free of charge. They have onboard several vendors to make this day very special and have said there will be a few surprises to make this day very memorable! Originally, the couple were set to wed on September 2, 2017. The new ceremony will take place at Morgan Falls Event Center, 2300 Koster Rd, Alvin Texas 77511This Saturday, October 7, 2017, at 7pm.

For more information on Morgan Falls Event Center please visit, http://www.MorganFallsEvents.com or call 832-643-4048.
By working with F&I Express, we enable our dealers to create contracts from all of their providers in one portal.

ServiceGuard offers and administers Extended Service Contracts, GAP products, Credit Life and Disability Insurance and other related products to the Automotive, Powersports, Trailer, Marine and RV industries.

The success and longevity of ServiceGuard are largely attributable to its philosophy of meeting the needs and demands of the industries it serves and then providing quality coverage at a fair price.

By working with F&I Express, we enable our dealers to create contracts from all of their providers in one portal, said Gary Pecherkiewicz, Director of Information Technology at ServiceGuard. This speeds up the process in the F&I office and reduces mistakes caused by double entry. This is the solution the dealers have been looking for and we are pleased to be able to deliver it through integration.

F&I Express has the largest network of aftermarket providers in the industry. Digital solutions from award-winning F&I Express include eContracting, eSignature, Express Recoveries aftermarket cancellations, and more. F&I Express streamlines the aftermarket process for optimized efficiency to make F&I easier and more profitable for everyone involved.

F&I Express is excited about partnering with ServiceGuard in support of its XtremeGard Marine program, said Brian Reed, CEO of F&I Express. This partnership will make the process of rating, contracting and registering their products easier for their customers.

ABOUT F&I EXPRESS

Since 2008, F&I Express has been dedicated to leading the aftermarket industry into the digital age with innovative technology solutions. With digital solutions that cut costs and increase efficiency, F&I Express helps its dealer clients CSI ratings by providing a faster and error-free process to eRate, eContract and eRegister all of their aftermarket products on one platform. Established by the international company Intersection Technologies Inc., F&I Express has a network of more than 140 aftermarket providers. By moving product and pricing information online, F&I Express provides all parties with instant online data access they want with simplicity and transparency. For more information about our innovative technology solutions, please visit fandiexpress.com or follow us on Twitter @fandiexpress.

ABOUT SERVICEGUARD SYSTEMS, INC.

In business for over 40 years, ServiceGuard Systems, Inc. is located in Moreland Hills, Ohio, and offers fully insured service contracts and other F&I products. ServiceGuard has been at the forefront of developing and offering F&I products for its dealer base. For more information, visit serviceguardsystems.com.
We cant express how honored we are to be recognized for the work weve done with these two amazing clients. It is truly flattering to receive such special recognition for this broad scope of work, and we look forward to continuing these results-driven relationships long into the future.

Digital Natives Group (http://nativesgroup.com) has received two prestigious accolades from the dotComm Awards for the agencys work with the Louis Armstrong House Museum on their website (http://www.louisarmstronghouse.org/) and on the social media marketing campaign for Dr. Terry Wahls and the Walks Protocol Cooking for Life book launch. Natives and their two clients were recognized as Platinum Winners for Best Travel Website and Best Facebook Overall in the 2017 competition.

With over 20 years of history and 200,000 total entries, the dotComm Awards are a highly competitive industry event, and winners include the top brands and agencies in the world. The awards, which honor excellence in web creativity and digital communication, are administered by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, an international organization of industry experts and leaders.

Natives worked with the Louis Armstrong House Museum to build a brand-new digital home for the legendary jazz musician. The new, fully-responsive website is the result of a comprehensive redesign process that included interviews, site visits, archival research, competitive analysis, and more. Visitors will find a large assortment of vivid imagery, some never before publicized, culled from reviewing over 10,000 photographs. Home-recorded audio of Louis himself discussing his life and career further brings Satchmo to life.

Natives work with Dr. Wahls encompassed a holistic digital campaign that used Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other tools to drive sales of the April 2017 book. Combining influencer outreach, pre-order incentives, blog and podcast seeding, engaging video content, and a host of other tactics, the book debuted as a #1 best-seller in the Paleo Cookbooks and Musculoskeletal Diseases category on Amazon.

We cant express how honored we are to be recognized for the work weve done with these two amazing clients. It is truly flattering to receive such special recognition for this broad scope of work, and we look forward to continuing these results-driven relationships long into the future. Hearty congratulations to the whole team both at Natives and on the client side for such great collaboration! said Ben Guttmann, Partner at Digital Natives Group.

This recognition from the dotComm Awards are the latest honors for Natives, a problem-solving digital marketing agency in New Yorks Long Island City neighborhood. In addition to Louis Armstrong House Museum and Dr. Wahls, Natives specializes in action-oriented websites, mobile apps, and marketing campaigns for similar brands both domestic and global.
ASDS Vice President Adam M. Rotunda, MD I believe we will face a variety of challenges and opportunities advocating for and representing fairly the needs of our members.

Members of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS), the largest specialty organization representing dermatologic surgeons, have elected a new Vice President and three members of the Board of Directors. Their terms officially began on Oct. 6 at the 2017 ASDS Annual Meeting in Chicago.

Lisa M. Donofrio, MD, succeeds ASDS President Thomas E. Rohrer, MD, who becomes the Societys Immediate Past President. Dr. Donofrio has been in private practice for 23 years. She owns Aria Dermatology in Madison, Connecticut and co-owns the Etre Cosmetic Dermatology and Laser Center in New Orleans, Louisiana with Kyle Coleman, MD. She is also Associate Clinical Professor in the Department of Dermatology at both Yale University School of Medicine and Tulane University School of Medicine. Dr. Donofrio has contributed to various ASDS committees, including the Tradeshow, Annual Meeting and Awards Work Groups; Strategic Planning and Patient Photographic Consent Task Forces; and Physicians Aesthetic Coalition. She is an Assistant Editor of the Dermatologic Surgery journal.

Murad Alam, MD, MBA, ascended to President-Elect. Dr. Alam is the Vice Chair of the Department of Dermatology at Northwestern University, where he also serves as a Professor of Dermatology, Otolaryngology and Surgery and Section Chief of Cutaneous and Aesthetic Surgery. He is currently serving as Chair of the ASDS Cosmetic Dermatologic Surgery Fellowship Accreditation and Federal Affairs Work Groups and has served on numerous work groups and task forces. Dr. Alam has served as an AMA Representative on the CPT Advisory Committee since 2008.

Elected as the new Vice President is Adam M. Rotunda, MD, of Newport Beach, Calif. He serves as Assistant Clinical Professor in the Division of Dermatology at the University of California Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine and is an Assistant Volunteer Clinical Professor at the University of California Irvine School of Medicine Department of Dermatology. He has served ASDS in multiple capacities over the past 15 years with increasing responsibility. This includes mentorship roles in the Future Leaders Network Program, Resident Preceptorship Program, Visiting Professor Program and International Traveling Mentorship Program, as well as participation in various work groups, task forces and faculties.

The Board has a fiduciary responsibility to its membership to become their unified voice, despite distinct interests, experiences and practice settings, said Dr. Rotunda. I believe we will face a variety of challenges and opportunities advocating for and representing fairly the needs of our members.

Elected to three-year terms on the ASDS / ASDSA Boards of Directors are: Vince Bertucci, MD, FRCPC, of Woodbridge, ON, Canada; Sabrina Guillen Fabi, MD, of San Diego, Calif; and Glenn D. Goldman, MD, of Burlington, Vt.

Dr. Bertucci is a faculty member at the University of Toronto Womens College Hospital. He is Chair of the Leadership Development Work Group and has served as a Future Leaders Network Mentor and on the ASDS Annual Meeting Faculty.

Having practiced in both an academic and private office environment, I understand many of the issues facing our varied membership, Dr. Bertucci said. This background, combined with my ability to build bridges and bring people together, will help me better serve our society and further develop ASDS programs for the next generation of leaders.

Dr. Fabi is an Associate of Cosmetic Laser Dermatology in San Diego and Volunteer Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine Department of Dermatology. She is a member of the Future Leader Network and is the current Chair of the Membership Work Group. Dr. Fabi also has contributed to numerous ASDS and Dermatologic Surgery initiatives.

I will continue to recruit new members to our organization while encouraging engagement of current ones to increase member retention, said Dr. Fabi.

Dr. Goldman is Professor and Chief of Dermatology for the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine Division of Dermatology. He has served as Chair for a variety of the Societys international work groups and currently serves as a member of the International Dermatologic Surgery Fellowship Program.

I hope to provide service to ASDS in the areas of coding and reimbursement, legislative work, education, collaborative partnerships and industry innovation, said Dr. Goldman. Medicine is changing, and a nimble leadership at ASDS will help us to adapt and thrive.

Elected as Resident Representative to the ASDS and ASDSA Boards of Directors is Kelly MacArthur, MD. Dr. MacArthur is Chief Resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital Department of Dermatology in Baltimore, Maryland. The Resident Representative holds a two-year term providing input and guidance to the Society and Association in their efforts to expand outreach and services to dermatology residents.

About American Society for Dermatologic Surgery

American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS) is the largest specialty organization exclusively representing dermatologic surgeons who have unique training and experience to treat the health, function and beauty of your skin. ASDS members are pioneers in the field. Many are involved in the clinical studies that bring popular treatments to revitalize skin and fill and diminish wrinkles to the forefront. Their work has helped create and enhance many of the devices that remove blemishes, hair and fat, and tighten skin. Dermatologic surgeons also are experts in skin cancer prevention, detection and treatment. As the incidence of skin cancer rises, dermatologic surgeons are committed to taking steps to minimize the life-threatening effects of this disease. For more information, visit asds.net.

Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/ASDSNews

Become a Facebook fan: facebook.com/TheASDS

Locate a dermatologic surgeon in your area: asds.net/FindADermatologist.aspx
The Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association (PFDA) strongly condemned the alleged actions of a licensed director working in an East Stroudsburg funeral home. As reported in the Washington Post, the funeral director has been charged by the Monroe County District Attorney's Office with abuse of corpse and harassment. County detectives discovered that the funeral directors cellphone contained selfies and other photos of the deceased. Its alleged that the photos were shown to others by the funeral director.

SOURCE:https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/funeral-director-accused-of-taking-photos-facing-new-charges/2017/10/03/568830fc-a85d-11e7-9a98-07140d2eed02_story.html?utm_term=.9e5df510bb72

Kathleen Ryan, PFDA Executive Director and General Counsel, condemned the unprofessional conduct. The report of this type of conduct is very disturbing. As licensed funeral directors our utmost concern is the respectful treatment of the deceased. Taking pictures of bodies is a blatant violation of the publics trust. Its unfortunate that the misguided actions of one malingerer will stain the professional dedication of funeral directors across the Commonwealth.

PFDA has long advocated for our member funeral homes to establish and strictly enforce guidelines for photographing the deceased, continued Ryan. No photos should be taken of the deceased by the funeral home staff, unless it is necessary for identification purposes. In these instances, only licensed directors should be authorized to obtain photos, using a camera or cell phone, which is the property of the funeral home. No personal devices should ever be used for this purpose. Once the identification process has been completed all electronic versions of the image should be immediately and permanently deleted.

Organized in 1881, the Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association (PFDA) is one of the largest state funeral directors associations in the nation. Representing 1,200 member funeral homes and 3,500 licensed funeral directors, PFDAs mission is to inform and educate the funeral director, the public and government about the value of funeral service and licensed funeral directors on a pre-need, at need and post-need basis. For more information visit http://www.pfda.org.
HOW TO EXPAND US ONLINE PROGRAMS TO CHINA AT GLOBAL QUALITY SUMMIT

Summit located at Disney World resort in Orlando, Florida on Nov 15th, 2017

CMS Global and the Online Learning Consortium (OLC) are proud to announce they will host the Global Quality Summit (GQS) in conjunction with the Accelerate event in Orlando Florida this November. The GQS is another critical component of CMS Globals efforts to promote the US-Sino Online Higher Education (USOHE) Consortium. This consortium is focused on promoting scalable cross border mutual credit recognition, opening access to quality education and establishing high quality standards for global online learning.

Chinese enrollment has grown five-fold from over 62K students a decade ago, to over 320K students in 2015/2016 according to the Institute of International Education, marking a huge increase in the importance of international students for US Universities. With a dedicated focus on advancing growth of global online education, the GQS will provide opportunities to learn, discuss and share best practices in online and digital learning. Additionally, US Universities and educational leaders will learn more about elevating their brand overseas and growing enrollment with international students. The GQS will include high level representatives from Greater China top 100 schools including, Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China), National Chiao Tung University (Taiwan), Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Hong Kong), and Shenzhen University (China). You will also hear from President of the Australasian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE).

In this interactive and informative summit, CMS Global and OLC will kick off with a panel of speakers discussing legal and operational challenges facing US educators as they seek to expand access to Chinese learners via online modality. Attendees will have the opportunity to collaborate with proven higher education professionals from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan and to identify avenues to expand into greater China through online and digital learning.

Presenters to include innovative leaders in global online learning such as:



Mr. Yao Kai, the Vice Secretary General of China UOOC, a 110 universities alliance founded by Shenzhen University. UOOC Online is certified by the MOE as one of the 4 largest online education platforms and serves as the online learning platform for more than 300 universities and supports cumulatively over 1 million students.

Prof. Wei-I Lee, the first advocator of OpenCourseWare (OCW) movement in Taiwan. In 2006 and under his management in 2013, National Chiao Tung University launched the first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platform ewant in Taiwan. As of August 2017, the ewant platform has collaborated with more than 86 universities and offered more than 500 online courses.

Dr. Hanqin Qiu, a professor from Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Professor Hanqin Qui has published more than 80 referenced journal articles in leading hospitality and tourism journals and is the Chairwoman of the learning and teaching committee at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management in which she is leading the development of HKPolyUx MicroMasters Credential in International Hospitality Management.

Mr. Charlie Nguyen, CEO & Founder of CMS Global. With proven experience in accelerating adoption of online learning and facilitation of numerous strategic partnerships between US and Greater China institutions, Charlie will highlight some of the potential challenges and how to overcome them.

Dr. Sun Wei, Founder and CEO of HTCs VIVEDU which has launched the worlds very first VR education solution - allowing 30 students to simultaneously use VIVE for VR learning in an innovative classroom setting. Dr. Sun is also the founder / Professor / former Dean of the School of Software at Beihang University, China's Caltech" that recruits the top 0.1% of students from the National College Entrance Examination.

CMS Global and OLC invite global Universities and Academic leaders to attend the summit to network, learn and take actionable steps towards advancing efforts overseas. At the summit, attendees will learn about the opportunity to join the USOHE in order to work towards joint objectives tied to global online learning. Attendees will also learn about the necessities tied to online curriculum with global growth and will be able to socialize with leaders from the Global top 100. The summit will be held in Orlando Florida at the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort on November 15th. Contact Charlie Nguyen at Charlie.nguyen@cmsglobal.us or visit https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/attend-2017/accelerate/. or http://www.cmsglobal.us to attend.

About CMS Global

CMS Global Inc. educates and connects the world as a trusted global hub for higher education. With decades of experience pioneering online learning, CMS Global is uniquely positioned to help academic leaders around the world capture opportunities through customized solutions both domestically and internationally. Our expertise in online international higher education expands affordable access to US institutions for Chinese and Vietnamese learners in a scalable manner. To learn more, please visit http://www.cmsglobal.us

About OLC and Accelerate

The Online Learning Consortium is the leading professional organization devoted to advancing quality online learning by providing professional development instruction, best practice publications and guidance to educators, online learning professionals and organizations around the world. OLC Accelerate 2017 is all about accelerating online learning worldwide, it is the premier global gathering covering the fastest growing sector in education today - online learning. This 2017 conference will be the ultimate event to network with and learn from - thousands of your e-Learning peers. Learn more at here or at https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/attend-2017/accelerate/.

Contact: Charlie Nguyen

Tel. +1.832.426.2658

Email: Charlie.nguyen(at)cmsglobal.us
We are thrilled to welcome our new clients. Each one has a unique story and we look forward to working together to share their successes.

Powers Brand Communications LLC today announced the addition of four new clients to its roster: Corps Team; Multifamily & Healthcare Finance, LLC; Global Safety First, LLC; and Boyds LP.

We are thrilled to welcome our newest clients, said Vince Powers, President & CEO. Each one has a unique story and we look forward to working together to share their successes.

The Powers Brand Communications Agency 2.0 model offers a new approach in which the account team is custom-built to support each clients individual needs.

Corps Team is a national boutique talent advisory, search, and staffing firm that helps fast-growing companies build their teams with highly skilled, hard to find professionals in accounting, finance, marketing, HR, and other business services.

Multifamily & Healthcare Finance, LLC (MHF) is an approved MAP and LEAN FHA lender that specializes in originating and underwriting loans for owners, developers, and investors in multifamily and healthcare properties throughout the United States. With decades of expertise in FHA-backed commercial lending and a focus on personalized customer service, MHF is a complete source for clients MAP or LEAN financing needs.

Global Safety First, LLC develops, manufactures, and markets ReadiMask, a multipurpose respirator that substantially protects against airborne particles and is designed to fit both adults and children. It is the only full-face respirator that seals an individuals face using a hypoallergenic medical adhesive at the perimeter of the mask. The ReadiMask is pocket-sized, virtually weightless, and available with or without an eye shield.

For nearly 80 years, Boyds has been a family-owned Philadelphia retail icon committed to providing its customers with the best of the best, including quality merchandise, impeccable service, complimentary valet parking and over 40 on-site European tailors. Boyds offers exclusive brands that cant be found anywhere else in the region and has one of the countrys largest selections of womens and mens designer clothing, shoes and accessories.

Powers Brand Communications specializes in getting brands noticed. From public relations, social media, and content marketing to traditional advertising, email, and direct marketing, Powers helps its clients connect with key target audiences and keep their brands top-of-mind.

About Powers Brand Communications LLC

Based in Berwyn, PA, Powers Brand Communications LLC is a brand communications firm representing small- to mid-size companies and non-profit organizations. Founded in 2012, Powers Brand Communications works with clients in industries including consumer product/retail, financial/insurance, education, hospitality/real estate, nonprofit, and professional services. For more information, http://www.powersbc.com.
The 10th Annual Siouxland IT Symposium is returning to the Sioux Falls Convention Center on Thursday, November 2, 2017. This is a one-day, executive-level event designed for Chief Information Officers and their management teams. There will be over 200 CIOs and members of their executive management teams present at this years event.

The event will be highlighted by three keynote speakers. Gert Garmin will open the event with her discussion titled, "Collabor8. Cre8. Innov8. Thinking Beyond What You've Always Done". This talk will teach you how to get unstuck and keep things fresh to continually innovate.

Dakota State University President Dr. Jose-Marie Griffiths will discuss the flood of cybercrime that is headed toward every meaningful endeavor in the country. What organizations must do to prepare for these attacks, and how you can engage with and benefit from the work that is going on at DSU.

The day will end with a special interactive experience by Garet Qualls. Garet uses mind reading demonstrations to teach simple human connection techniques that will improve team chemistry and culture.

If you and your team would like to join us for a great day of education, networking, and collaboration, please register at http://www.siouxlanditsymposium.com. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.

NOTE: This event is closed to any non-sponsoring vendor companies. For sponsorship information, please contact Matt Emick at matt(at)efminc(dot)com.
Doug Rozendaal has been flying airplanes for more than four decades, but when he took off from Mason City Airport on Friday it was a first for
ScoreDatas ScoreFast engine not only streamlines the process of routing customers to the appropriate touchpoints in the enterprise but also simultaneously empowers agents to deliver superior customer service resulting in outstanding customer experiences.

ScoreData Corporation announced today the completion of its Series Seed round of financing. Participating in the round were the following angel funds: 500 Startups Silicon Valley, USA, Global Reach Investments Ltd, (GRIL), Elevate Innovation Partners VC, NYC, USA, and 3one4Capital, Bengaluru, India.

The modern Digital Contact Center is an indispensable touch-point for customer engagement in the enterprise. ScoreDatas ScoreFast is revolutionizing how customers interact with agents at enterprise contact centers. ScoreFast-powered applications are yielding greater revenues, significantly improved operations, and superior customer experiences at Fortune 1000 customers.

"ScoreData is reinventing how customers engage with the enterprise. The vast majority of enterprise engagement centers use script and attribute based routing. ScoreDatas ScoreFast engine not only streamlines the process of routing customers to the appropriate touchpoints in the enterprise but also simultaneously empowers agents to deliver superior customer service resulting in outstanding customer experiences. Early validation by leading firms, the extraordinary management team, and attributable business impact of the ScoreFast-powered applications at the engagement centers, were important reasons why we invested in ScoreData," said Sridhar Chityala, Chairman Elevate Innovation Partners VC, NYC.

Individuals who invested in the round were Ashok Krishnamurthi (angel investor), Betsy Atkins (Board Member at several US and international publicly held companies), Andrea Weiss (Board Member at several US and international publicly held companies), and Asha Jadeja Motwani (well-known Silicon Valley-based angel investor) and Shalini Prakash (via 500Startups).

About 500 Startups

500 Startups is a global venture capital seed fund with a network of startup programs headquartered in Silicon Valley with over $350M in committed capital across main funds and micro funds. We have invested in 1,800+ technology startups all over the world since our inception in 2010.

About Global Reach Investments Limited

Global Reach Investments Ltd (GRIL) is a private, Isle of Man based investment vehicle with a focus on identifying and backing high growth, high impact ventures with global potential. The first GRIL portfolio comprised 13 investments made over 3.5 years, to date delivering a 5X realized return on capital.

About Elevate Innovation Partners VC

Elevate Innovation Partners, a New York City-based early to mid-stage venture capital fund, recently announced the first close of its Venture Capital fund with target size of $30 Million. Consistent with EIP's focus, the fund will seek to capitalize Fintech, Enterprise software, Marketing analytics and new media platform startups that have validated business models and are generating revenue. The geographic focus is on the U.S. East Coast with selective investments in India, Germany and Netherlands -- all regions where the fund has local partners. EIP has also expanded its focus into new frontiers of unstructured data, machine learning, and robotic decision sciences fields looking for new investments.

About 3one4 Capital

3one4 Capital is an early-stage venture capital fund based in Bangalore, India. The fund works in select market categories and in the intersection of adjacencies that are large, growing, and ready for unique products and services. The focus areas include machine-driven actionable intelligence services for enterprise, enterprise automation, edtech, fintech, media and multi-lingual content generation, and high-margin niche retail. Through a deep involvement strategy, the fund works with founding teams and subject-matter experts to prioritize and strategize for product-market fit, and then optimize for defensibility and growth in revenue and impact. With a focus on margins and on delivering uncompromised end-user experiences, the fund aims to reduce risk, detect new growth opportunities, and return rewarding outcomes to all the stakeholders involved.

About ScoreData

ScoreData Corporation is re-inventing how customers engage with businesses across the omni-channel using artificial intelligence and patented dynamic machine learning. ScoreData recently launched ScoreFast, which not only revolutionizes how businesses combine external data sets with legacy enterprise data, but also dramatically improves customer experience with predictive customer-agent mapping in the modern Digital Contact Center.

ScoreFast is an award-winning predictive application development system that improves critical KPIs such as first call resolution (FCR), shortens average handle times (AHT), and dramatically improves customer experience and net promoter scores (NPS). ScoreFast also streamlines the development of predictive analytics applications at enterprise engagement centers.

ScoreFast deployments have demonstrated significant lift, and performance improvements in legacy systems for several use-cases, at a number of Fortune 1000 customer engagement applications for insurance, financial services, and media industries.

ScoreData Corporation is a privately held company based in Palo Alto, California. http://www.scoredata.com

For more info contact:

Info(at)ScoreData(dot)com
VIP's Eight Five Star Mortgage Professional Award Recipients VIPs number one priority has always been customer satisfaction

VIP Mortgage is proud to announce that many of its top loan originators have been recognized as recipients of the 2017 Five Star Mortgage Professional award.

For this award, recent homebuyers, agents, escrow and title professionals are surveyed and asked to evaluate mortgage professionals they have worked with. Self-nominations are not accepted. The final list of Five Star Mortgage Professionals includes less than 7 percent of the mortgage professionals in any given market.

VIPs number one priority has always been customer satisfaction and we are honored anytime we are recognized in this capacity, said Jay Barbour, president and founder of VIP Mortgage. This award highlights our employees commitment to helping our customers finance the American dream of homeownership.

The eight VIP Mortgage loan officers receiving this award are:



Allen Fredrickson https://allenfredrickson.vipmtginc.com/

Brandon Hendrick https://brandonhendrick.vipmtginc.com/

Chris Gilbert https://chrisgilbert.vipmtginc.com/

Michael Metz https://mikemetz.vipmtginc.com/

Michelle Milliron https://michellemilliron.vipmtginc.com/

Steve Surkis https://stevesurkis.vipmtginc.com/

Stuart Crawford https://stuartcrawford.vipmtginc.com/

Tim Nelson https://timnelson.vipmtginc.com/

About VIP Mortgage

VIP Mortgage is a full-service mortgage lender committed to restoring the reputation of the housing industry. VIP Mortgage, Inc. does Business in Accordance with Federal Fair Lending Laws. NMLS ID 145502. For state specific licensing, visit http://www.vipmtginc.com/national-licenses/.

###
Supreme Corporation and VOLT Smart Yarns received the Show Stopper award for innovative excellence at the 2017 Industrial Fabric Association International (IFAI) Conference held September 26-29, 2017, in New Orleans. Supreme Corporation took first place in the Fabrics, Fibers & Films category for showcasing the VOLT Smart Yarns capabilities as a leader of high-tech, innovative textiles.

We are incredibly pleased to be chosen as a winner of the Show Stopper award, said Matt Kolmes, CEO of Supreme Corporation. This award reflects a great deal of hard work as we strive to deliver high quality products that further push the envelope on what is possible in smart fabrics and yarns.

In its sixth year, the IFAIs Show Stopper competition recognizes the best of the best leaders in the industry, from fabrics, equipment and chemicals, to service and end products. Exhibitors at the IFAI Expo submitted entries of new and revolutionary products/services that were displayed on the show floor, and judged by a committee of industry experts. Supreme Corporation partnered with Pressure Profile Systems, Inc. (PPS), to exhibit a cutting-edge smart protective vest, SmartVest, that utilizes VOLT Smart Yarns to transmit information wirelessly, in real-time.

Exhibiting at IFAI and sponsoring the Smart Fabrics Workshop was a great experience to showcase the tremendous growth we are achieving in Smart Textiles, said Kolmes. The energy on the showroom floor, watching the kits get assembled into working prototypes and witnessing the level of innovation among our competitors was exciting.

Recently introduced under the Supreme Corporation portfolio of innovative products, VOLT Smart Yarns performs with high levels of conductivity that had not previously been achieved. When woven into fabric, VOLT Smart Yarns is transforming the smart clothing industry as the only yarn capable of sending power and signals, further enhancing the capabilities of its wearers.

About Supreme Corporation

A leader in textiles, fiber and safety apparel technology, Supreme Corporation manufactures innovative specialty yarns and safety apparel. The privately-held, Hickory, NC-based company has held 185 patents in 60 countries and currently has 60 active patents in high-tech yarns and fabrics, with another 15 patents pending.

VOLT Smart Yarns is a new division of Supreme Corporation. Using exclusive and patented processes, Supreme engineers are able to create revolutionary highly-conductive custom Volt Smart Yarns with specific levels of conductivity, resistance, and strength. These Volt Smart Yarns harness the power of highly conductive copper wires to deliver yarns and sewing threads that are poised to change the world and what is possible in Smart Textiles.

For more information, please visit http://www.supremecorporation.com.
Japanese Kitchen Design

News for Virginia homeowners planning a kitchen remodeling soon. Leading Fairfax based home renovation company Kitchen and Bath VA has recently announced to extend remodeling services for every kind of kitchen style with due respect to the specific culture and lifestyle of the clients.

Kitchen is the place where we find ourselves, our native taste and our roots. Thus, no matter in which corner of the world your present home is, your kitchen should reflect the very feel of your own culture and motherland. This way you would be able to connect better with your native food, taste and culture, even when you are residing in a foreign country. Virginia is a melting pot of various cultures from all over the world. It would be an injustice to design a generic kitchen for different ethnicities as it wont help them to resonate to the culinary experience. Such a realization inspired us to educate ourselves on the different styles of kitchens so that we can remodel your kitchen just the way you wish to  as per your specific culture, belief and tastes, stated David McGavin, the man behind Kitchen and Bath VA.

A name of high repute across VA bath and kitchen remodeling scene, Kitchen and Bath VA has been operating for over a decade now. The company has assured to provide expert assistance with various styles of kitchens including American traditional, Middle-Eastern, Chinese, European and so on.

We promise you a thoroughly customized kitchen remodeling service based on your particular needs and lifestyle. We start every project with a thorough discussion with our clients so that we can understand the specific nuances of their cultural backgrounds. All your particulars would be duly incorporated during the kitchen remodeling phase. We do recognize that people from different cultures would have different choices. And, we heartily welcome all your inputs to ensure the perfect kitchen for your home.

The company has assured a comprehensive remodeling service right from the start till the last day of the project. McGavin stressed on his well-equipped team armed with highly trained designers, personnel and staff who are committed to ensure a spectacular kitchen remodeling service. From countertops to cabinets to plumbing- Kitchen and Bath VA promised quality assistance at every step of the kitchen remodeling projects.

We are operating for a decade now and we know what it takes to ensure a high end kitchen remodeling service. We guarantee to exceed your expectations through our professional service and strict attention to every detail. Customer satisfaction is the main watchword here and we will be by your side at every step of the project. We also keep ourselves updated about the latest construction products and types to help our customers with dynamic and trendiest of kitchens.

For more information, please visit http://www.kitchenandbathva.com.
Katzenworld is all about being a fun, informative place that promotes all things cats and this year they are going to be at the National Pet Show in Birmingham this November to showcase some of their cat lover / cat owner products as well as introduce new readers to the world of cats.

The main focuses of the online publication are:



Insight on cat care

Cat Welfare

Top cat events

Cat Cafes - a cafe where cats are watched and played with for a cover fee.

On-line shop selling exclusive cat products

Katzenworld welcomes its cat-loving community with open arms and provides a forum where stories, hints and tips are shared.

Theyve carefully listened to their followers, and through their suggestions and feedback, fun-themed posts such as the Friday Art Cat, Tummy Rub Tuesday and Purrsday Poetry have been introduced. They have now become popular permanent editions to the regular schedule.

Katzenworld has close relationships with International Cat Care too. They provide support in ensuring that their cat care topics are accurate. They also help to promote one anothers cat welfare campaigns.

Katzenworld is especially proud to offer a large range of high quality valerian and catnip toys by 4cats from Germany. Visit the stall at the show to grab some exclusive toys.

The history behind the creation of Katzenworld:

Katzenworld was founded by Marc-Andre Runcie-Unger and his close friends Yuki Chung & Laura Haile.

It all started over a board game one evening at Marcs place back in 2014. He and his partner had just adopted two shelter cats (Oliver & Nubia), and as Yuki was already looking after her own cats, the chat soon turned into a great discussion about cats. Back then there werent many community-focused online publications so a plan was developed to change all that!

Many people wonder where the name came from. Well, Marc is German, and Katzen means Cats, so in English the blog means Cats World though many people think it means Cat Zen World!

Yuki is a professional illustrator and produced the original Katzenworld artwork as well as the iconic Katzenworld logo.

As with many great new ideas, what started out as a small group of people soon became a large community project. Today, Katzenworlds team consists of Lisa, Carol (US), Marc & Iain, Zoey and Rachel (UK), Charlotte (Finland), Ann-Kristin (Germany) and Laura (Japan). To learn more about them and their cats, check out the About Us page.

But the growth of this cat-loving community hasnt stopped there. In addition to the actual Katzenworld team, there are currently more than 100 active contributors from countries all across the world. They submit content on a regular basis plus many more guest bloggers who also submit content from time to time.

And their latest venture is a little online shop offering people some of their own Katzenworld merchandise and high quality cat toys that they identified as brilliant through their reviews and tests.

The team hopes to see many familiar faces at the show but also to introduce new people to their Blog and Online shop portal.
Pack Expo 2017

noax Technologies, a leading German manufacturer of industrial computers, exhibited at the recent Pack Expo (Booth 8423) trade show on September 25-27, 2017 which was held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV. Pack Expo, a trade show event for bringing the processing and packaging professionals together. The show is designed to assist manufacturers from over 40 markets capitalize on growth by providing access to the latest solutions for enhancing efficiency, flexibility, automation and productivity for supply chains.

noax had a great show and are excited to return with new opportunities to introduce our industrial touchscreen PCs into more manufacturing environments. noax displayed their latest widescreen industrial PC from their Steel Series line of industrial computers. As the first industrial PC of its kind, the noax S21WP offers PCAP multi-touch functionality which allows for smartphone-oriented gesture control in challenging environments. The S21WPs edge-to-edge display offers best-in-class screen performance with ultra-wide viewing angles and touch points.

noax Technologies has 25 years of experience in the proprietary development and product of complete sealed industrial PCs. noax offers customers a full spectrum of services ranging from consultation and sales to installation and technical support. noax rugged PCs are in use across the world in the most demanding environments in the food processing, logistics, automotive and chemical industries.
Dr. Heather Lee "We are thrilled to have Dr. Lee officially join our plastic surgery practice as a practicing physician," Dr. Vito Quatela said.

Dr. Heather Lee, a highly-trained facial plastic surgeon, has joined Dr. Vito Quatela, Dr. William Koenig and Dr. Emese Kalnoki of the Quatela Center for Plastic Surgery in Rochester, NY. Dr. Lee specializes in aesthetic and reconstructive facial surgery and hair restoration procedures.

We are thrilled to have Dr. Lee officially join our plastic surgery practice as a practicing physician. Her surgical ability and exceptional bedside manner led us to offer her the opportunity to join our practice after her fellowship, and we know she is the perfect addition to the Quatela Center, said Dr. Vito Quatela.

With the growth of our business over the past few years, we knew we wanted to add another surgeon specializing in facial plastic and reconstructive surgery. Dr. Lee adds a younger physicians perspective to our organization. She will be an excellent complement to what we currently offer patients, allowing us to continue to provide exceptional care, stated Dr. William Koenig.

While I have only been practicing at the Quatela Center since June, Im excited about the opportunity to welcome another female surgeon to our team. Her focus on holistic wellness will only further our goal of changing peoples lives, Dr. Emese Kalnoki remarked.

Dr. Lee graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Sciences and Biochemistry from the University of Pennsylvania, while also completing a minor in Asian American Studies. She continued at the University of Pennsylvania to obtain a Masters degree in Biotechnology before returning to her home state of Kentucky to study medicine at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, where she graduated cum laude. Dr. Lee received several awards of recognition as a medical student and resident, including awards for Outstanding Performance and Excellence in Otolaryngology and a research award from the James Graham Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville.

Dr. Lee completed a five-year residency in Otolaryngology  Head and Neck Surgery in Louisville before her selection into the AAFPRS Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery fellowship at the Quatela Center with Dr. Vito Quatela. Specializing in both aesthetic and functional procedures, Dr. Lee performs a variety of surgical and nonsurgical options including facelift, cosmetic and functional rhinoplasty, forehead lift, injectable fillers, Mohs repair, hair restoration procedures, cosmetic and functional blepharoplasty, and trauma and reconstructive surgery. She is a member of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and the American Academy of Otolaryngology.

To learn more about Dr. Lee and/or the Quatela Center for Plastic Surgery, visit Quatela.com or call 585.244.1000.
Light Reading (http://www.lightreading.com) is hosting its first automation event, Automation & the New Carrier Network (https://tmt.knect365.com/automation-the-new-carrier-network/), in London on November 2.

Automation & the New Carrier Network is the first in a series of automation-focused events that Light Reading is hosting. The half-day event brokers a conversation about what the industry's next steps should be. Industry leaders will discuss the state of automation, NFV and SDN, and stimulate a dialogue about how to fit the pieces together and map them to sustainable business cases.

The event will feature speakers Dave Hughes, Vice President of Engineering at PCCW Global, and Oliver Cantor, Business Network and Security Solutions at Verizon.

Topics to be discussed at the event include:



How do data models and information models fit into this, and how can carriers drive these efforts?

What impact are the multiple NFV MANO initiatives having on enabling automation?

Where and how are goals for automation being defined and time-tables being set?

How can operators ensure automation and virtualization don't create new attack surfaces for hackers?

What are vendors doing to prepare for automated deployment of software-defined network functions?

What roles do AI/machine learning and big data/analytics play in enabling automation?

"Automation is arguably the end-game for SDN and NFV, but that goal is sometimes easy to forget," says James Crawshaw, senior analyst at Heavy Reading. "At Automation & the New Carrier Network we will discuss the state of automation and what the next steps should be. To compete with the OTT players, telcos need to be nimbler and the only way to do this cost effectively is by increasing the level of automation, not just in network operations but throughout the organization."

Early-bird rate passes are now available for purchase for 299.

Register here

Sponsor opportunities are still available. Contact sales(at)lightreading.com for more information.

About Light Reading

Light Reading (http://www.lightreading.com) combines its research-led online communities and targeted events portfolio to help those in the global communications industry make informed decisions. Lightreading.com is the ultimate source for telecom analysis for more than 400,000 subscribers each month, leading the media sector in terms of traffic, content and reputation. Light Reading produces targeted communications events and focused one-day and two-day conferences each year for cable, mobile and wireline executives.
MWG continues to deliver the thought leadership and deep market expertise to enable retail grocers to bring their eCommerce offering to market quickly

Retail CIO Outlook announced today that MyWebGrocer (MWG), a leading provider of enterprise software and digital media company to the grocery and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industries, has been recognized as one of the Top 10 eCommerce Solution Providers 2017.

We take pride in honoring MWG as one among the Top 10 eCommerce Solution Providers 2017, said Katie William, Managing Editor of Retail CIO Outlook magazine. "The evolving needs of todays increasingly digitally engaged shoppers is drastically impacting the role that eCommerce technology plays in helping retailers drive business value and gain market share. As a pioneer in grocery eCommerce for close to two decades, MWG continues to deliver the thought leadership and deep market expertise to enable retail grocers to bring their eCommerce offering to market quickly".

MWG is honored to be recognized by Retail CIO Outlook, said MWGs President of Retail Services, Barry Clogan. "This award serves as validation for MWGs vision in building a modern and scalable Digital Experience Platform (DEP) which enables our Retail Grocery partners to deliver and optimize shopper engagement by providing a seamless omnichannel shopping experience.

To view the magazine article featuring MWG, visit [https://goo.gl/RuXivm

About MyWebGrocer

MyWebGrocer (MWG) is the leading enterprise software and digital media company connecting Retail Grocers, Consumer Packaged Goods brands and shoppers through its Digital Experience Platform and holistic set of integrated service offerings. The platform powers every digital interaction to attract, engage, transact with and retain grocery shoppers through digital offerings ranging from planning and eCommerce to mobile and social. The company also helps Consumer Packaged Goods brands reach shoppers with relevant and contextual advertising, promotions and offers throughout their grocery path to purchase. For more info, visit: http://www.mywebgrocer.com

About Retail CIO Outlook

Published from Fremont, California, Retail CIO Outlook is a technology magazine, which gives information about new enterprise solutions that helps the technology, and business leaders to achieve business goals. A panel of experts and board members of Retail CIO Outlook magazine finalized the Top 10 eCommerce Solution Providers 2017 and shortlisted the best vendors and consultants in the Retail industry. For more information visit: http://www.retailciooutlook.com

####
We want to let our students know they have the power to make an impact. Alone these are small steps, but together we are making a huge difference in the life of someone else and thats certainly something worth sharing and worth smiling about.

From World Smile Day on October 6, to Giving Tuesday on November 28, Operation Smile will celebrate its 35th anniversary by simultaneously hosting medical, training and education programs around the world, impacting more than 5,000 patients, medical and nonmedical volunteers, and in-country healthcare workers. This ambitious effort is part of the organizations UNTIL WE HEAL campaign, a commitment to eradicate the backlog of people living with untreated cleft conditions by increasing global access to safe surgery.

Operation Smiles global campaign includes a three-pronged approach to eradicating the backlog of cleft:

1. Patient management  Innovative new solutions to finding every last patient with a cleft.

2. Medical, education and training programs  Increasing the number of skilled-local health care professionals.

3. Collecting UNTIL WE HEAL pledges  Building a coalition committed to action in the call for safe surgery.

Today, Operation Smile student volunteers across the country, and around the globe, are launching the Smile Change Makers fundraising campaign. Over the next month students will collect change in their schools, clubs and communities. These advocates for safe surgery are collecting money to provide free, safe surgeries for children with cleft lip and cleft palate.

We want to let our students know they have the power to make an impact, said Student Programs Development Officer Amanda Bryer, Alone these are small steps, but together we are making a huge difference in the life of someone else and thats certainly something worth sharing and worth smiling about.

Almost 10,000 people have taken the UNTIL WE HEAL pledge, advocating for increased access to safe surgery. In the U.S., House Representative Scott William Taylor and Supreme Allied Commander Transformation of NATO General Denis Mercier also signed the pledge to show their support for the campaign. Internationally, more than 10 dignitaries have signed the pledge including the Philippines Vice President Maria Leonor "Leni" Santo Tomas Robredo, the Minister of Public Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Dr. Oly Ilunga Kalenga and First Lady of Honduras Ana Garcia Carias de Hernandez.

After 35 years, Operation Smile has developed an effective approach to delivering surgical care in low-and middle-income countries. This approach which includes identifying patients and then providing surgery for those in need, as well as training and education for medical professionals, enabled Operation Smile to eradicate the backlog of cleft in both Honduras and Panama. Today the healthcare infrastructure of these countries makes it possible for babies born with a cleft to access care at an early age. These 35 years of leadership and expertise in cleft care have now made it possible for Operation Smile to expand its impact to address the global need for access to safe surgery.

About Operation Smile

Operation Smile is an international medical charity that has provided hundreds of thousands of free surgeries for children and young adults in developing countries who are born with cleft lip, cleft palate or other facial deformities. It is one of the oldest and largest volunteer-based organizations dedicated to improving the health and lives of children worldwide through access to surgical care. Since 1982, Operation Smile has developed expertise in mobilizing volunteer medical teams to conduct surgical missions in resource-poor environments while adhering to the highest standards of care and safety. Operation Smile helps to fill the gap in providing access to safe, well-timed surgeries by partnering with hospitals, governments and ministries of health, training local medical personnel, and donating much-needed supplies and equipment to surgical sites around the world. Founded and based in Virginia, U.S., Operation Smile has extended its global reach to more than 60 countries through its network of credentialed surgeons, pediatricians, doctors, nurses, and student volunteers. For more information, visit http://www.operationsmile.org.
MASON CITY | A Mason City Schools employee sent an email to a police officer to communicate a student's threat to shoot students at John Adams Middle School, delaying investigation of the incident because the officer didn't work until the next day.

A judge Friday morning ordered a 13-year-old male to further detention and ordered an evaluation. The judge also rejected a motion to close to the hearing to the public due to the nature of the threats.

Capt. Mike McKelvey told the Globe Gazette that a school employee attempted to notify police about the Monday incident via email. The police recipient of that email  no school official spoke to law enforcement Monday  did not see the email until arriving to work Tuesday, according to McKelvey. Earlier Friday, police said the threat and report were both Wednesday.

The nature of the threat was confirmed by Mason City Schools Superintendent Dave Versteeg but school officials were adamant law enforcement was involved.

Versteeg told the Globe Gazette the message was discovered Monday and officials reported the incident to the police that day, via the school liaison officer.

School administrators, he said, assessed the situation and were heavily involved in the investigation.

There was never any safety concern," Versteeg said. "The student was not deemed to be a threat" but the incident did warrant police involvement.

It didnt raise to the level that students were threatened," Versteeg said. "The administration feels that students were 100 percent safe.

It was a poor choice on the students part.

Lt. Frank Stearns said police continue to work with school officials.

We worked with the school system immediately, Stearns said. There was never any real credible threat at that time.

This is not the first time the child has made a threat to shoot classmates. The student has been suspended from school, according to Versteeg.

Late Friday morning, the district posted a message on Facebook, noting "the district has not received any kind of threat to any building or any persons in the district today."

The post reiterated priorities for the safety of students and staff members.

"We know that parents and families are feeling scared and concerned and anxious about the safety of their loved ones," the post read. "We apologize for any confusion in regards to the timing of the reporting of this incident."

The student

The child faces a first-degree harassment charge after threatening a shooting at John Adams Middle School.

According to documents obtained by the Globe Gazette and confirmed by the Mason City Police Department, a 13-year-old made a written threat on a desk at the school that he would shoot people before the end of this month.

According to Iowa Code, a detention hearing must be held within 24 hours of the child being detained, excluding weekends and holidays.

At a detention review hearing Friday morning at the Cerro Gordo County Courthouse, Judge DeDra Schroeder ordered continued detention for the child and that he be held for a 30-day evaluation.

Prosecutors made the recommendation given the nature of the allegations, as well as concern for the community.

The child's parents agreed with the order.

The judge also denied a request by the child's attorney, Parker Thirnbeck, to close Friday's hearing to media members and the public. He said that with everything going on this week considering the allegations, it would be in the childs best interest to keep it private. However, the judge ruled the nature of the threats involved in the case warranted public access.

The next hearing in the case was scheduled for Oct. 12.

Communication

On the heels of increased occurrence of schcool threats in North Iowa, Mason City officials emailed parents and guardians of students late Wednesday afternoon. The letter was also posted on the school district's website.

Versteeg said the actual threat was not related to the email.

"The incident was in no way connected to the statement issued on Wednesday, Versteeg said. That statement was related to what we were hearing in the news. At no time were students at school in danger.

The letter did not state that there was a threat made in Mason City.

That was repeated in the Facebook post Friday morning: "This incident at the middle school was in no way connected with the statement the district issued on Wednesday in response to the threats school districts in the area and across the state and nation received this week."

It also noted that "the school district has not been made aware of any additional threats since the issuance of its statement on Wednesday."

Versteeg, the superintendent, told parents in the emailed letter Wednesday that there may be an additional uniform presence throughout the district.

District administration is working with the Mason City Police Department, Versteeg said in the email. MCPD will determine if a threat is credible.

Versteeg added that the district would take appropriate actions, if necessary.

The school district and law enforcement will not tolerate threats or hoaxes related to student safety, the letter continued . All threats will be investigated and could result in consequences, including charges being filed.

We will keep you informed if we receive any threats; and if threats are not found to be credible, we plan to have school as scheduled."
Pictured from left are: Bob Day, KANE truck driver; Randy Castellani, Chief of Staff, Rep. Kevin Haggerty; Erin Owen, Archbald Borough; Shirley Barrett, Archbald Mayor; PA State Rep. Kevin Haggerty.

Third-party logistics provider Kane Is Able, Inc. (KANE - http://www.kaneisable.com) is proud to be supporting national relief efforts to aid those in need after Hurricane Harvey. Partnering with the Borough of Archbald and Pennsylvania State Representative Kevin Haggerty (D-112) KANE donated a trailer which was used to collect items for residents of Texas.

As logistics professionals, we all have tremendous power to make a positive impact on those whove experienced disasters, said Michael Gardner, President & CEO of KANE. As civic-minded community leaders, weve pulled together and our friends and neighbors have donated literally thousands of items for those in need.

On Monday, the fully loaded trailer will be driven to Rockport, Texas, where the food, household goods, clothing, personal items and more will be sorted and distributed to those in need.

No matter what the disaster, people from all over the nation have always stood up to help those in need, said Haggerty. I am proud to participate in this relief effort for the people of Texas and to work closely with the borough of Archbald and KANE to see that those in need receive help.

In addition to this work, KANE is a founding member of ALAN (American Logistics Aid Network). Today, ALAN comprises hundreds of supply-chain businesses who stand poised to respond in the event of disasters. KANE recognized early-on the unique capabilities of supply chain professionals to support disaster relief in ways that highlight their strengths and engage their business interests.

About Kane Is Able

Kane Is Able is a third-party logistics provider that helps manufacturers and their retail partners efficiently and effectively distribute goods throughout the United States. KANEs value-added logistics services include retail consolidation, nationwide warehousing and distribution, contract packaging, and transportation solutions.

Pictured from left are: Bob Day, KANE truck driver; Randy Castellani, Chief of Staff, Rep. Kevin Haggertys Office; Erin Owen, Archbald Borough; Shirley Barrett, Archbald Mayor; PA State Representative, Kevin Haggerty; Robert Munley, Legislative Assistant, Representative Kevin Haggertys Office.

# # #
Weldaloy welcomes more than 70 high school students for national Manufacturing Day

Weldaloy welcomes more than 70 high school students from Fitzgerald High School (Warren, Mich.) and Cornerstone Health & Technology High School (Detroit, Mich.) to its campus on Friday, October 6, 2017 for Manufacturing Day. Students will experience manufacturing operations through hands-on, interactive tours of manufacturing facilities.

A nationwide event, Manufacturing Day hopes to inspire the next generation of manufacturers. In Southeast Michigan, the last decade has seen a reduction in skilled laborers to support manufacturing. Weldaloy has worked closely with the Macomb County Economic Development Committee (MEDC) to promote the great career opportunities that exist in manufacturing in Macomb County. MEDCs goal is for 2,000 Macomb County students to visit local manufacturing facilities at this annual event. Weldaloy is eager to highlight career opportunities for skilled workers to these student guests.

For more than 70 years, Weldaloy has been a leading provider of custom copper, aluminum, and other non-ferrous forgings serving a variety of industries such as Aerospace, Electronics, Oil and Gas, and more. Weldaloys goal is to create meaningful and lasting relationships with each customer by providing the highest level of service and quality.

Note: Story has been updated to reflect correct name of Cornerstone Health & Technology High School.
PURSUIT: The Official Magazine of Baker College It is a tremendous honor to have led and guided the development of PURSUIT from concept to reality, said Dr. Cleamon Moorer, Jr., dean of Baker College of Business and editor-in-chief of PURSUIT.

Baker College, which opened more than 100 years ago and is Michigans largest independent not-for-profit college, is continuing its evolution with the launch of its first-ever publication, PURSUIT: The Official Magazine of Baker College.

A higher learning lifestyle publication, PURSUIT is designed to inform, engage and inspire readers with features on Baker Colleges best and brightest leaders, students and alumni. With 12 campus and extension sites across the state and online degree programs accessible worldwide, each issue of PURSUIT will shine a spotlight on at least two of Bakers many colleges and programs, with the inaugural edition highlighting the College of Business Administration and the Culinary Institute of Michigan.

It is a tremendous honor to have led and guided the development of PURSUIT from concept to reality, said Dr. Cleamon Moorer, Jr., dean of Baker College of Business and editor-in-chief of PURSUIT. I am very excited about this new endeavor, to share with the world what we at Baker College have been privileged to know for a very long time.

The first-ever edition of PURSUIT will be available on Oct. 6, 2017, and will be published bi-annually thereafter, every spring (April) and fall (October). PURSUIT will be distributed by e-mail to current students, alumni, faculty, staff and community partners of Baker College, and also will be available in print at select on-campus locations. More information on PURSUIT, and e-editions, will be available online at https://www.baker.edu/pursuit.

Launching its own magazine is just the latest step for Baker College in the evolution of the 100+-year-old organization. Earlier this year, Baker unveiled a refreshed personality for the college with its new BakerProud brand identity, and is investing additional resources in further developing and improving its social media channels. In another first, the college started its fall 2017 school year on a semester schedule for the first time, instead of quarters, offering a variety of advantages for current and incoming students.

The launch of PURSUIT gives our constituents and communities yet one more reason to be BakerProud, said Dr. Bart Daig, Baker College system president. Everyone at Baker College is here in pursuit of a better way forward, and this publication provides an exciting platform to showcase firsthand how others are pursuing and achieving their dreams in partnership with Baker College.

About Baker College

Baker College is Michigans largest independent not-for-profit college, with 12 campus and extension sites across the state, as well as 100 percent online program options, across 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Founded in 1911, Baker College represents a better way forward for more than 3,300 faculty and staff, 17,000 students and hundreds of thousands of alumni. For more information on Baker College, visit http://www.baker.edu or follow Baker College on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
ChefUniforms Coat Customizer Our Chef Coat Customizer is an industry first and ideal for the unique chefs and restaurants who often want individualized looks and custom-made coats

ChefUniforms.com, a leading manufacturer and distributer of high-quality chef and hospitality apparel worldwide launches an innovative Chef Coat Customizer tool. Using the Artifi platform, customers can now order and coordinate their chef coats to the color scheme of their workplace to complete their brands image.

Our Chef Coat Customizer is an industry first and ideal for the unique chefs and restaurants we work with who often want individualized looks and custom-made coats, says Athena Petrou, Director of Design at ChefUniforms.com. It was a pleasure to work hand-in-hand with Artifi to design an exclusive customizer for our website that allows our customers to tailor every aspect of their coat, including fabric and trim colors, logos and text embroidery, with the ability of seeing a mockup of the design before purchasing.

Yash Shah, CTO of Artifi, states, Athena and her team at ChefUniforms had a very clear vision for the Chef Coat Customizer. The coat customizer now allows customers to design coats based on their brand guidelines. Artifi is glad to be part of this innovative step by ChefUniforms in the uniform industry.

To learn more about ChefUniforms.com and their chef coat customer, visit their website at http://www.chefuniforms.com.

About ChefUniforms.com

ChefUniforms.com is an apparel brand that manufactures and distributes high quality culinary and hospitality apparel worldwide. Chef Uniforms remains determined in their mission to provide a large selection of innovative high-quality chef apparel at the best prices. Chef Uniforms corporate office is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with a distribution center near Atlanta, Georgia. For more information, visit http://www.chefuniforms.com.
Cars In Cleveland- Public Square Cleveland We knew people in Northeast Ohio loved their cars, but we didnt anticipate this level of interest and excitement.

Public Square in Downtown Cleveland is just hours away from transforming into the center of exotic car world  at least for a day.

Tens of thousands of visitors and car lovers will flock to the center of Cleveland on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., for the inaugural Bernie Moreno Companies Cars in Cleveland event.

This display of amazing vehicles is open to the public and will feature live music, activities, food and drink -- and more than $30 million in jaw-dropping cars, including:



Vehicles from LeBron James private collection, including a Bentley and his customized Hummer.

Bernie Morenos $2.5 million Aston Martin Vulcan (one of only two dozen in existence).

Rare vehicles from Western Reserve Historical Societys Crawford Collection.

Scores of other luxury models, including Lamborghini, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Lotus, Maserati, McLaren, Porsche, Rolls Royce, and many more

The response to this event has been breathtaking, Moreno said. We knew people in Northeast Ohio loved their cars, but we didnt anticipate this level of interest and excitement.

In an era when America seems to be growing more divided, exotic cars can prove that the opposite is really true, Moreno added.

We all have more in common that we realize, he said. A shared love of cars can bring people together, start conversations and lead to the realization that we are all more alike than different."

The power of these stunning cars isnt all under the hood.

Although Cars in Cleveland is a complementary event, the public is encouraged to RSVP online at carsincle.com.

Charity Beneficiary:

LeBron James Family Foundation

Sponsors:

AllianceBernstein

Marshall Goldman Motor Sales

WKYC Channel 3

Suburban Collision Centers

Sky Quest LLC

Empire Dealer Services

Cleveland Auto Show

Force Marketing

Dealer Inspire

JACK Cleveland Casino

Medical Mutual

Tenable Protective Services, Inc.

Block-A-Chip

107.3 The Wave - WNWV!

Marriot Hotel Cleveland

The public is reminded that no drone-flying is allowed over Public Square.

What: Bernie Moreno Companies inaugural Cars in Cleveland event. When: Saturday, October 7, 2017, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Where: Public Square, Downtown Cleveland. Who: Everyone. Cars in Cleveland is open to the public.

For more information on the event or to set up an interview with Bernie Moreno, contact Ralph Stawicki, Director of Marketing, at 440-567-9144.

In 2005, Bernie Moreno purchased a small, underperforming Mercedes-Benz dealership on the west side of Cleveland, turning it into Mercedes-Benz of North Olmsted, the flagship dealership of his organization. After just one year, that dealership earned a coveted Best of the Best award from Mercedes-Benz and would go on to win the award for 10 consecutive years, something no other Mercedes-Benz dealer has ever done. In the meantime, Bernie Moreno Companies has become one of the fastest growing and most admired auto-dealership organizations in the country, earning awards for its growth, client service, community involvement and employee engagement.
Richard Carmona, MD, MPH Most of the factors that are driving our increased cost, as well as the increased disease burden, are primarily related to lifestyle choices.

The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) will host Lifestyle Medicine 2017, October 22-25 at the Westin La Paloma in Tucson, Arizona. This years conference, Transforming Health, Redefining Healthcare, will feature a keynote presentation by 17th U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, on Lifestyle: The Vaccine and Treatment for an Unhealthy World.

Carmonas presentation will review the lifestyle choices that contribute to the plague of preventable disease while making the business case for pursuing optimal health and wellness. The keynote will include discussion of the preventable national and global disease and economic burden, the science behind lifestyle choices, and the importance of health literacy and cultural competence in effecting individual change and results in improved health and wellness.

As Surgeon General of the United States, it became apparent to me that preventable disease and its corresponding economic burden in the United States continues to rise, Carmona said. Although we spend more per capita on health care than any other developed nation in the world, our performance metrics rank us far from the top in many categories. Most of the factors that are driving our increased cost, as well as the increased disease burden, are primarily related to lifestyle choices. If we dont address this now, we know that the legacy we will leave our children is unsustainable.

Serving on ACLMs Board of Advisors, Dr. Carmona has been a champion of a lifestyle medicine-first approach to healthcare, which is essential to our ability to rein in the lifestyle-related chronic disease trends and their associated costs, both here in the U.S. and around the world, said ACLM Executive Director Susan Benigas. To say that this is an urgent matter is an understatement, as even the World Health Organization now recognizes non-communicable disease, as opposed to infectious disease, as the looming global pandemic with incalculable consequences.

In 2006, Dr. Carmona successfully completed the statutory four-year term of the U.S. Surgeon General and was named to the position of vice chairman for Canyon Ranch, a leader in the health and wellness field for over 35 years and a member of ACLMs Corporate Roundtable. He also serves as chief executive officer of the companys Health division and oversees health strategy and policy for all Canyon Ranch businesses. He is president of the nonprofit Canyon Ranch Institute and the first Distinguished Professor of Public Health at the University of Arizonas Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

The ACLM annual conference is the nations premier medical education event exclusively focused on lifestyle medicine as the foundation of a transformed healthcare system. The CME-accredited conference will deliver impressive keynotes, evidence-based educational sessions, research posters and ample networking activities, as well as the inaugural meeting of the Lifestyle Medicine Global Alliance. The day following the conferences conclusion, the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine will administer the first-ever board certification exam in Lifestyle Medicine to some 300 physicians and other health professionals from around the world.

To register for the conference, please visit https://lifestylemedicineconference.org/

ABOUT THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF LIFESTYLE MEDICINE: ACLM is the physician-led professional medical association for clinicians dedicated to the advancement and clinical practice of Lifestyle Medicine as the foundation of a transformed and sustainable healthcare system. More than a professional association, ACLM is a galvanizing force for change. ACLM addresses the need for quality education and certification, supporting its members in their individual practices and in their collective desire to domestically and globally promote Lifestyle Medicine as the first treatment option, as opposed to a first option of treating symptoms and consequences with expensive, ever-increasing quantities of pills and procedures. ACLM members are united in their desire to identify and eradicate the cause of disease. Join today at http://www.LifestyleMedicine.org. Board certification in the field is available through the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine. Visit http://www.ablm.com for details.
New Perspective Senior Living Ad Campaign Gives Seniors an Authentic Voice Our residents may be retired, but they are far from retiring, and this campaign reflects that.

In its new ad campaign New Perspective Senior Living breaks away from senior housing ad stereotypes and goes for authenticity. The campaign features actual residents talking about their concerns and the subsequent benefits of making the move to a New Perspective community.

Advertising in the senior living business is typically a listing of features, stock photography and a building photo, observed Doug Anderson, New Perspective Senior Living VP of Marketing, who took on the top marketing role for the company just over a year ago. We wanted to convey a sense of a shared experience. We wanted seniors and their adult children to view these ads, and immediately realize our residents may resemble themselves and that their children would share the same sentiments. The seniors in our ads faced the same concerns many prospects do, and they ultimately feel great about their choice.

The campaign features actual residents alongside call-out quotes addressing a specific benefit or aha moment they had after moving into a New Perspective residence. For Twin Cities resident, Margaret Willetts, it was about regaining a sense of belonging and independence: Its good to have people around my own age, and I am not dependent upon my kids. They can have their own lives and can be kids again.

The campaign launched via regional print and direct mail in July. Response has been positive both in terms of leads and in regards to using actual residents, according to Anderson. Co-workers and clients at the hair salon in Milwaukee where 90-year-old Carol Leininger works two days a week were all abuzz when the campaign began running. I walked into the salon (after the direct mail campaign hit), and I felt like a celebrity, stated Leininger.

Our residents may be retired, but they are far from retiring, and this campaign reflects that, said Ryan Novaczyk, New Perspective Senior Living President and CFO. Theyre just like the rest of us. Theyre not thinking about their age, theyre thinking about what they want to do next. And with our foundational belief that all seniors deserve to Live Life on Purpose, helping them do exactly that is what were all about.

About New Perspective Senior Living:

Founded in 1998, New Perspective Senior Living (NPSL) is a family owned company that develops, owns and operates vibrant senior living communities in Minnesota, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Illinois. Its foundational belief  that all seniors deserve to Live Life on Purpose and age with dignity  was forged from the personal experience of Founder and CEO Todd Novaczyk and his family. For seven years, they cared for his mother-in-law, Betty Berkeley in their home as she struggled to maintain her strong, independent spirit while coping with Alzheimers disease.

Today, New Perspective Senior Living operates 23 senior communities serving over 2,000 seniors through Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care options, with a goal to be serving 10,000 seniors by 2025. Based in Eden Prairie, Minn., the company has won multiple awards including Top Assisted Living Facility, Best-of-the-Best Dining Experience and Top Workplaces. In addition, Todd Novaczyk, was recently profiled in the Senior Housing News, The Leadership Series, while Ryan Novaczyk was just named to 50 for the Next 50 by LeadingAge of Minnesota
Desktop Metal, metal 3D printers are safe in office enviroments Our mission is to help customers do more with less

Technical Equipment will showcase the latest advancements in CNC metal cutting machinery from Makino and Tsugami and introduce metal 3D printing technology from its newest partner, Desktop Metal in booth 217 at the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Show (AMTS) October 18-19, 2017. AMTS will take place at the Dayton Convention Center in Dayton, Ohio and is expected to draw several thousand manufacturers from Ohio and surrounding areas.

In Technical Equipments booth, Desktop Metal will deliver daily presentations about advancements in additive manufacturing, including an overview of their award winning, revolutionary metal 3D printing technology that is safe to use in an office environment.

Seating at the presentations will be limited; advance registration is required.

Contact Tom Nugen | (513) 874-0160 | tnugen(at)techequip(dot)com

Makinos Wire EDM, the U3 Heat with Hyper i control and twin flushing pumps, will be on display in booth 217 as will Makinos Sinker EDM, EDGE 3. Makino engineers will be available throughout the show to demonstrate equipment, discuss applications and answer any questions.

Tsugamis SS327-5AX will demonstrate simultaneous 5-axis surfacing and contouring. The BW209Z, which is capable of cutting with 3 tools simultaneously, will demonstrate pinch turning, pinch milling and super positioning. Technical Equipment engineers will be on site to discuss applications.

Our mission is to help customers do more with less, Technical Equipments President John Murphy said. Were really looking forward to demonstrating how these machines can help manufacturers boost productivity and reduce costs.

Admission to AMTS is free for attendees.

Exhibits are open Wednesday, October 18, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Thursday, October 19, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more show details and registration, visit the http://www.daytonamts.com

Technical Equipment (http://www.techequip.com) is a division of Morris Group, Inc. The company is an exclusive distributor for Hwacheon, Makino, Tsugami, Hermle, Murata and many other products in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. In addition to new machine tools, Technical Equipment provides engineered solutions, replacement parts, service, preventive maintenance and more. Services also include financing, installation, training, service and disposal of retired machines.
ISSA We are proud to recognize these individuals and organizations who are amongst the most dedicated and innovative in raising the bar for the industry and the profession alike.

The Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) announced today the 2017 ISSA International Awards winners. This year eleven leaders in cybersecurity have been recognized for their contributions to advancing the cybersecurity profession and industry: Gail Coury, Russ McRee, Center for Internet Security, Frank Gearhart, Robert Martin, Jake Ross, Elisa Bertino, Brian Krebs, ISSA Chattanooga Chapter, ISSA Central Maryland Chapter and ISSA Colorado Springs Chapter.

Each year outstanding individuals, chapters, and organizations are selected by the ISSA Awards Committee, which is comprised largely of past recipients. The recipients are at the forefront of protecting personal and corporate information for some of the worlds largest organizations and government agencies, shaping the industry, and giving back to the community. The 2017 ISSA International Awards winners are as follows:

CHAPTER OF THE YEAR

This award recognizes chapters that have done an exceptional job of supporting ISSAs mission, serving their member communities and advancing the field.

Chapter of the Year: Small - ISSA Chattanooga Chapter

Chapter of the Year: Medium - ISSA Central Maryland Chapter

Chapter of the Year: Large - ISSA Colorado Springs Chapter

HONOR ROLL

This lifetime achievement award recognizes an individual's sustained contributions to the information security community, the advancement of the association and enhancement of the professionalism of the membership.

Gail Coury is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) of Oracle Cloud and is breaking new ground in cloud platform information security. Gail has contributed to the security profession for over twenty years serving as the security leader for Galileo, JD Edwards, PeopleSoft, and Oracle. Gail is on the Advisory Board of the ISSA CISO Executive Forum and a mentor/leader in a number of organizations such as the ISACA International Advisory Council for Women in Technology and the Oracle Women Leadership group.

Russ McRee has a strong history in the information security as a teacher, practitioner and writer. He is responsible for 107 technical papers published in the ISSA Journal under his Toolsmith byline in 2006-2015. These articles represent a body of knowledge for the hands-on practitioner that is second to none. These titles span an extremely wide range of deep network security topics. Russ has been an invited speaker at the key international computer security venues including DEFCON, Derby Con, BlueHat, Black Hat, SANSFIRE, RSA, ISSA International.

ORGANIZATION OF THE YEAR

This award recognizes candidates with a sustained, proactive presence that directly contributed to the overall good and professionalism of the association and its membership, providing either services, products and/or direct support that ensures the promotion of the highest ethical standards in addressing information security and its future direction.

Center for Internet Security (CIS) provides a collaborative global IT community to safeguard private and public organizations against cyber threats. It is best known for the CIS Controls and CIS Benchmarks, which are arguably the global standard for securing IT systems and data against the most pervasive attacks. The founding organizations or partners of CIS include ISACA, The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), The International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC2) and The SANS Institute (System Administration, Networking and Security).

VOLUNTEERS OF THE YEAR

This award recognizes a member who has made a significant difference to their chapter, the association or the information security community through dedicated and selfless service to ISSA.

Frank Gearhart distinguished himself through countless volunteer hours with the Colorado Springs ISSA Chapter. He consistently taught the chapter's CISSP Exam Prep Review Seminar classes and the chapter's Security+ Exam Prep Review Seminar classes, every year since 2014. He reviewed and analyzed the new 2015 (ISC)2 CISSP Common Body of Knowledge. Frank is the consummate Cyber Security Professional, willing to research and teach any topic, often on short notice.

Robert Martins contribution to the Raleigh ISSA chapter's success cannot be understated. Robert served as the chapter's president from January of 2013 to December of 2015 and is now the Sponsorship Director. He has demonstrated initiative and leadership while developing multiple programs at the ISSA, including CISSP reviews, information security awareness through partnerships with other North Carolina entities and area schools including North Carolina State University, East Carolina University, Wake Technical Community College, East Coast Polytechnic Institute, and Carolina Career College.

Jake Ross is the president of Cyber Hui, a non-profit organization that focuses on inspiring Hawaii's youth to be the next generation's cyber security professionals and member of the ISSA Hawaii chapter. Jake works closely with middle schools, high schools, local colleges, University of Hawaii, Hawaii Pacific University, Department of Defense, Federal, State, and local governments to achieve Cyber Huis goals. He is actively involved in the Air Force Associations CyberPatriot program, which is a High School National Cyber Defense Competition.

HALL OF FAME

This lifetime achievement award recognizes an individual's exceptional qualities of leadership in his or her own career and organization as well as an exemplary commitment to the information security profession.

Elisa Bertino is recognized for her 30 years of contributions to the information security profession. Her academic research is widely cited in the industry. She has authored or co-authored 8 books, has published 228 papers in scientific international journals and 324 papers in international conferences, symposia, and workshops. She is also a Fellow of the ACM, of a Fellow of the IEEE, and a Fellow of the AAAS.

PRESIDENTS AWARD FOR PUBLIC SERVICE

This award recognizes an individual's contribution to the information security profession in the area of public service.

Brian Krebs is an investigative journalist best know for his KrebOnSecurity.com blog and news site focused on information security. His analysis of the bad actors and the dark web shines a light on the criminals and their methods that attack information security. The information that he exposes to the light of day makes the jobs of white hats and blue teamers easier. Brian is the household name that broke the story of the Target Corporation credit card breach that affected over 40 million credit cards in 2013.

We are proud to recognize these individuals and organizations who are amongst the most dedicated and innovative in raising the bar for the industry and the profession alike, said Mark Hahn, Chairman of the Awards Committee.

Past awards have honored such high-profile industry leaders as Dave Cullinane, Mary Ann Davidson, Stephen Northcutt, Alan Paller, Marcus Ranum, Ron Ross, Eugene Spafford, Howard Schmidt, Bruce Schneier and Harold Tipton.

The awards will be presented during the ISSA International Conference, themed Digital Danger Zone, to be held October 9-11 at the Sheraton Hotel and Marina in San Diego, CA.

Resource Links



To visit the ISSA Awards Page: http://www.issa.org/?page=Awards

To learn more about the International Conference: http://www.issa.org/page/issaconf_home

Follow ISSA on Twitter: @ISSAINTL

About ISSA

The Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) is a not-for-profit organization. It is the community of choice for international cybersecurity professionals and practitioners dedicated to advancing individual growth, managing technology risk and protecting critical information and infrastructure. Its mission is a commitment to promoting effective cyber security on a global basis: serving as a respected forum for networking and collaboration, providing education and knowledge sharing at all career lifecycle stages, and acting as a highly regarded voice of information security that influences public opinion, government legislation, education and technology with objective expertise that supports sound decision-making. Visit ISSA at http://www.issa.org
Chute, the leading user-generated content platform for travel brands and destinations, is today launching Destination Concierge, a bot platform for marketers to reach travelers at scale through mobile messenger apps. Piloting the launch is NYC & Company, the official destination marketing organization for the five boroughs of New York City.

According to Forrester, people spend 85% of their mobile time using the top messenger apps including Facebook Messenger, Kik, Slack and WhatsApp and already 2 billion messages are sent between people and businesses each month, including both automated and people-initiated. However, destinations provide travelers with information primarily through visitor's guides and websites, which can easily become outdated. Chutes messenger bot can be white-labeled and allows travel brands and destinations to distribute their existing content through a new channel and one where travelers are already going for information.

Our mission is to maximize travel and tourism opportunities throughout the five boroughs by providing resources for visitors to discover everything they need to know about what to do and see in NYC, said NYC & Company president and CEO Fred Dixon. However, todays travelers are no longer just going to one resource or turning to visitor guides alone to research and plan. With so many outlets, its vital for destinations to be at the ready and reach travelers wherever they are.

After someone engages the Destination Concierge bot, destination marketing teams can then follow up with those same travelers proactively with news, content updates, promotions, etc. Marketers are also able to extract powerful analytics from quantity and quality of conversations and popularity of various questions to then inform future bot content and even to better understand travelers needs.

At Chute, our goal is to help travel brands tell better stories - whether thats through using the earned content being shared about them by visitors during or after a trip or reaching potential travelers when theyre researching and planning, Ranvir Gujral, Chutes CEO said. Today, the average wait time for a reply to a Facebook message to a brand is 10 hours. Thats unacceptable in a world where travelers have so many other resources at their fingertips. Desi Bot furthers our ability to give travel marketers a holistic suite of tools to reach people instantaneously during every stage of the traveler journey.

For more information about Destination Concierge, head to http://www.getchute.com/destination-concierge/. To experience the official New York City chatbot, go to m.me/nycgo.

About Chute:

Chute helps leading brands and destinations tell better stories. The platform offers a holistic approach to authentic marketing - enabling marketers to discover user generated photos and videos with visual recognition, geolocation, and text search, and to get the rights to and publish across all marketing channels. Plus, customers can glean content and influencer trends and data. Chutes clients include Wyndham Worldwide, Travel Nevada, The Ritz-Carlton, Universal Studios, SeaWorld, Pure Michigan, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and San Francisco Travel.

About NYC & Company:

NYC & Company is the official destination marketing organization for the City of New York, dedicated to maximizing travel and tourism opportunities throughout the five boroughs, building economic prosperity and spreading the positive image of New York City worldwide. For all there is to do and see in New York City, visit nycgo.com.
With these new updates, we have developed an industry-leading capacity for advanced analytical insights.

The latest updates to the award-winning learning management system (LMS) itslearning will provide educators with a more comprehensive reporting solution that makes it easier for them to acquire the insights they need to evaluate and improve instructional activities for students.

The system currently warehouses grade and assessment data so as to expand and enhance the ways in which educators can analyze student performance. Now, using itslearnings advanced reporting tools, users can review reports across schools and courses, on historical data and trends as well as detailed accounts of current platform use, curriculum management and student progress.

With these new updates, we have developed an industry-leading capacity for advanced analytical insights, said Arne Bergby, CEO of itslearning. Our cutting-edge reporting approach makes it possible for users to mine data and align reports in a multitude of ways depending on their individual needs. This is part of what differentiates itslearning from competitors  an emphasis on flexibility and customization.

For example, users can go from a course-wide assessment trends report, which helps them better identify students at risk, to a more specific activity status report for monitoring students progress through a particular course and use of that courses content. Educators also can access a new comprehensive individual progress and report including time spent online completing tasks and time spent in each course.

We also designed these reporting updates to enhance teachers understanding of each student progress in their course, said Bergby. Both our advanced and standard reports include detailed status and trends at point of use for teachers. Our aim is to provide 360-degree report visibility that makes for just-in-time support to stretch students learning opportunities if they are ready and support intervention as needed. Students will benefit from better understanding progress and how best to meet their learning goals.

About itslearning

With a passion for improving teaching and learning through technology, itslearning lives at the heart of education. In fact, the itslearning platform is the first LMS in the K-12 marketplace to offer educators content accessible from the cloud, including 2 million free and open resources, searchable, tagged with rich metadata, and ready to use. Established in 1999, itslearning is headquartered in Boston, MA and Bergen, Norway and serves more than 7 million users worldwide. For more information, visit https://itslearning.com

# # #
Kathryn Baerwald, National Lutheran Communities & Services' Chief Philanthropy Office ...I gained an appreciation for living a life in which service to others is an essential component.

National Lutheran Communities & Services (NLCS) is pleased to announce that Chief Philanthropy Officer Kathryn Baerwald has been awarded the Alumni Service Award from Valparaiso University, in Valparaiso, Ind. The award recognizes alumni who have rendered outstanding service to the University.

Valparaiso was instrumental in my life for a number of reasons, said Kathryn. I learned critical thinking and not to take what is being presented at face value. At the same time, I gained an appreciation for living a life in which service to others is an essential component.

Kathryn joined NLCS in 2010, creating a thriving philanthropy program which benefits the entire National Lutheran family of organizations. Supporting NLCS mission to expand beyond its physical walls, Kathryn spearheaded the development of the Community Impact Grant program. The program supports other senior-focused organizations and to date has awarded 68 grants totaling $713,317 in support.

Having remained active at Valparaiso University throughout the years working to enhance the undergraduate experience and future careers for students, Kathryn partnered with the Institute for Leadership and Service at Valparaiso as both a fellowship supervisor and an alumni mentor for the Calling and Purpose in Society (CAPS) Fellows program. As a result, the past four years, NLCS hosted nine undergraduates and one graduate student through the CAPS program, enabling these students to explore career opportunities in senior living.

Whether professionally or personally, Kathryn Baerwald is an exemplar of what it is to lead and serve in church and society, wrote Hannah Albers and Emily Knippenberg, both former CAPS Fellows at NLCS, in their letter to the Alumni Association nominating Kathryn. Additionally, Larry Bradshaw, president and CEO of NLCS, and Dr. Elizabeth Lynn, director of the Institute for Leadership and Service at Valparaiso, both provided letters of support for Kathryns nomination.

Kathryn earned her bachelor of arts with highest distinction in history and German and was a student in Christ College at Valparaiso University. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study in Germany in 1972, but declined in order to attend law school. In 1975, she earned her juris doctor, magna cum laude, from the University of Minnesota Law School, and received her master of laws degree with distinction from Georgetown University Law Center in 2007. Kathryn and her husband, Tom Baerwald, currently live in Alexandria, Va.

About National Lutheran Communities & Services (NLCS)

Based in Rockville, Md., NLCS is a not-for-profit, faith-based ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Americas (ELCA) Delaware-Maryland, Metropolitan Washington, D.C. and Virginia Synods, serving people of all beliefs. With more than 125-years experience, NLCS honors, inspires and supports opportunity and choice to seniors through retirement communities and services in Maryland and Virginia. Other communities and services sponsored by National Lutheran include The Village at Rockville in Rockville, Md., The Legacy at North Augusta in Staunton, Va., The Village at Orchard Ridge and myPotential at Home in Winchester, Va., and The Village at Providence Point in Annapolis, Md., subject to Maryland Department of Aging approval. For more information, visit http://www.nationallutheran.org

###
I am excited to join StayNTouch as they continue to drive innovation in the hotel industry. The company is set to accelerate its already impressive growth trajectory as hospitality companies gain a better understanding the power of the SaaS to transform their operations and profitability.

StayNTouch, an innovator in mobile technology and Property Management Systems (PMS) for hotels, today announced that Nisha Singh has been named Vice President of Sales. Nisha brings more than 15 years of sales management experience, with a focus on driving growth in cloud-based SaaS companies.

We are very pleased to welcome Nisha Singh to the StayNTouch management team, said Jos Schaap, CEO and Founder of StayNTouch, The entire hospitality industry is being transformed through the power of cloud-based software, driving efficiency, cost-savings and an improved guest experience. Nishas deep experience in growing SaaS, cloud-based software companies will be a boon not only for StayNTouch, but also for hotels looking to stay competitive with the latest in operations technology.

Nisha Singh comes to StayNTouch from CircleBack, Inc., where she worked closely with the CEO to build out the entire sales and client success infrastructure from the ground up, helping lead the company to a $12M Series C fundraise. Prior to that Nisha was a Sales Director at Vocus, a SaaS firm providing software to the PR and Advertising industry. At Vocus, Singh managed a team of cloud based Sales Executives to success. She has a B.A. from George Mason University.

Nisha Singh said, I am excited to join StayNTouch as they continue to drive innovation in the hotel industry. The company is set to accelerate its already impressive growth trajectory as hospitality companies gain a better understanding the power of the SaaS to transform their operations and profitability.

For more information about StayNTouch, contact:

Frewoini Golla, Marketing Manager

StayNTouch Inc.

Tel: +1 301-799-3280

Email: frewoini(at)stayntouch(dot)com

About StayNTouch Inc.

StayNTouch is a Software as a Service hotel property management systems (PMS) company focused on developing solutions that help hotels raise service levels, drive revenues, reduce costs, and ultimately change the way hotels can captivate their guests. Developed with mobility in mind, the pioneering platform enables hotels to create long lasting relationships with their guests by delivering personalized service levels that todays guests require. StayNTouch operates on tablets and smartphones, empowering hotel employees to go above and beyond in exceeding guest expectations at every touch point.

Powering over 75,000 rooms globally, our game-changing solution frees hotels from the constraints of legacy or premise systems, dramatically streamlines operations, increases margins, and revolutionizes how front-line staff connect with guests. StayNTouch is a trusted partner to many of the most forward thinking hotels, resorts, casinos and chains in the industry, including Yotel, Zoku Amsterdam, Valencia Hotels, The Freehand Hotels, Modus hotels and the Fontainebleau Miami Beach.

To learn more watch our video "The New Way...To Hote l!"

Twitter: @StayNTouchInc

Facebook: facebook.com/stayntouch

LinkedIn: LinkedIn/stayntouch
We are very humbled to be included among Arizonas most philanthropic companies which is a testament to the generosity of our owners, employees, Associates and customers.

The Phoenix Business Journal has recognized Isagenix International, a global health and wellness company providing nutrition and lifestyle solutions, among the Valleys 25 Largest Corporate Philanthropists. Isagenix took the No. 9 spot, ranked by 2016 cash contributions to Arizona charities.

We are very humbled to be included among Arizonas most philanthropic companies, which is a testament to the generosity of our owners, employees, Associates and customers, said Cheryl Lewis, vice president of corporate affairs. Isagenix is committed to impacting not only our economy, but also our global and local communities. We support many civic and charitable organizations and our executives serve on numerous boards.

We are particularly proud to be one of the largest global supporters of Make-A-Wish, one of the largest and most respected charities in the world, added Lewis. Since 2012, Isagenix and its customers and employees have donated over $7.3 million and have helped grant 800 wishes to deserving children with serious illnesses in 12 countries.

Isagenix, its customers, Associates, and employees contribute to many charities that align with their core values through its charitable giving program. Organizations receiving support from Isagenix include the Arizona Better Business Bureau (BBB), Food for Thought, Southwest Autism Research & Resource Center, the Town of Gilbert, and many others through the annual START Global Give Back Day which takes place May 20.

In 2016, Isagenix joined with BBB Arizona and the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) to be the sole corporate sponsor of the Ethical Athlete Scholarship awards, which recognizes a male and a female high school athlete in Arizona every month of the school year for doing the right thing. Isagenix is also a presenting sponsor for the Arizona Cactus-Pine Girl Scout Councils Badge Bash, a new signature event in 2017.

Last year alone, Isagenix donated a total of $1.6 million in cash contributions through direct corporate giving to charitable organizations. In addition, the company donates its products, including meal replacement bars and shakes, snacks, and electrolyte replacement products to charity auctions, and to nourish disaster victims and provide food for people in need. Isagenix also provides volunteers and meeting space to many Arizona charitable and civic organizations.

The Phoenix Business Journals list recognizes top companies in a variety of industries. The publication has recently recognized Isagenix as a top Family-Owned Business and Healthiest Employer. View the full list here.

To learn more about Isagenix, visit our newsroom at Isagenix.com, like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Isagenix, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram @Isagenix.

About Isagenix International

Established in 2002, Isagenix provides systems for weight loss, energy, performance, healthy aging, and wealth creation. With more than 550,000 customers worldwide and more than 100 life-changing products, packs, and systems globally, the company is committed to producing Solutions to Transform Lives. In 2017, Isagenix surpassed $5 billion in cumulative global sales through an independent network of associates in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Mexico, Singapore, Malaysia, Colombia, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom. Isagenix is a privately owned company with headquarters in Gilbert, Arizona. For more information, visit Isagenix.com.
In 2016, the Playboy Mansion was put on the market with the stipulation that Hugh Hefner would be allowed to live there for the rest of his life.

Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion

Hugh Hefners death at age 91 marks a new start for one of the worlds most famous homes. Although the original Playboy Mansion was a 70-room, French-style estate in Hefner's native Chicago where the magazine was headquartered, Hefner later moved to Southern California where he bought the current Playboy Mansion in 1971 for $1.1 million. Built in 1927 in Holmby Hills near UCLA and the Los Angeles Country Club, it is one of America's most prestigious neighborhoods where celebrities including Humphrey Bogart, Bing Crosby, Walt Disney and Frank Sinatra once lived. The original owner was the son of Los Angeles Broadway department store founder, Arthur Letts.

The entire Playboy party scene was much more than just the 22,000-square-foot mansion with a built-in pipe organ, wine cellar with secret door and bathhouse. Near the famous pool is the licensed zoo with Hefner's monkeys, flamingos, peacocks and a few real bunnies. Across the street from the mansion is Hef's much publicized six-acre party compound with rooms for his bevy of beauties called the Bunny Hutch, the iconic grotto, a 70-person staff and a 24/7 kitchen that catered to his upside-down schedule. A tireless worker and marketing genius, many times when the parties were going full bore and being photographed and filmed, Hef was comfortably ensconced in his silk pajamas inside his house working on his next business move. The adjacent Bunny Hutch complex was put on the market in 2013 and sold for $17.25 million.

In early 2016, the Playboy Mansion was put on the market with the unusual requirement granting Hefner a life estate; he would be allowed to live in the mansion for the remainder of his life. The asking price was $200 million, a record price for the United States. It sold in late 2016 to his next-door neighbor, 34-year-old investment heir Daren Metropoulos, who was fine with Hefner sticking around. The sale price was $100 million, a big discount but still a record sale price for a Los Angeles home. Metropoulos is from the family that has resurrected some of America's most famous brand names including Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer, Hostess Twinkies and Chef Boyardee.

Now that Hefner has died and his widow Crystal Hefner is living in a $5 million contemporary villa in the Hollywood Hills that he bought her in 2013, the value of the Playboy Mansion will probably increase, but Metropoulos apparently plans to keep the entire 7.3 acre complex. Since purchasing the home, Metropoulos has said that he plans to combine it with his home next door that he purchased for $18 million in 2009 from Hefners ex-wife Kimberley Conrad. Although the interior of the mansion will have to be stripped out and undergo a total restoration, Metropoulos has indicated that the Playboy Mansion exterior will remain intact.

The real estate agents who handled the Playboy Mansion sale in 2016 were Mauricio Umansky of The Agency in Beverly Hills and Drew Fenton and Gary Gold of Hilton & Hyland in Beverly Hills.

Visit TopTenRealEstateDeals.com for more historic, celebrity and spectacular homes and real estate news.
Cheryl McCants We are incredibly proud and grateful to have our work recognized by experienced communication and business professionals.

New Jersey-based, minority woman-owned firm, Impact Consulting Enterprises has been selected as a finalist for the national 2017 PR News Digital Awards in two categories. The firm was selected from hundreds of applicants around the country as one of five finalists for the Best Blog award, and one of seven finalists for the Best Media Relations Campaign award. Impact is also a finalist in three categories of the international 2017 Stevie Awards for Women in Business, including the Women Helping Women Award and Women-Run Workplace of the Year. McCants is also a finalist for one of the organizations top honors, Woman of the Year in Advertising, Marketing & Public Relations.

Impacts commitment to women  as an audience, and as business partners, mentees and clients  across several projects and opportunities, inspired the Stevie Awards judges. Impacts informative multimedia blog, and pro-bono, six-day campaign with the United Way of Essex and West Hudson on the New York Jets Man of the Year check presentation ceremony, impressed the PR News Digital Awards selection committee.

On behalf of my entire team at Impact Consulting Enterprises, we are incredibly proud and grateful to have our work recognized by experienced communication and business professionals. To be considered alongside such accomplished co-finalists is a huge honor, said Cheryl McCants, president & CEO of Impact Consulting Enterprises. As the Impact team tells our clients stories, seeks opportunities to center women, and shares what weve learned along the way via the Impact Blog, we continue to improve our skills and learn better ways to serve others.

PR News is a leading public relations and communications digital publication, offering the most up-to-date industry news, events, professional development opportunities, and more. Past PR News Digital Award winners include the UN Foundation, Jet Blue and Cisco. The Stevie Awards recognize the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and working professionals worldwide; its Women in Business award winners are chosen by an international judges panel of their peers. Both organizations evaluate candidates based on efforts and successes from the previous calendar year, and will announce their winners at ceremonies this November. This year more than 1,500 nominations from 25 nations were reviewed in the Stevie Awards for Women in Business.

Impact Consulting Enterprises is a minority, woman-owned strategic communication, marketing and public relations firm founded in 1989 by business strategist and communication professional, Cheryl McCants. Individuals, corporations, small businesses, non-profit organizations and public agencies partner with Impact to tell their untold stories to women, millennials, African Americans, Latinos and Asians. Impact is HUBZone, WBE, WOSB, SBE, MWBE, and 8A certified.
I wanted to create a new way to help my wife care for her skin, said an inventor, from Denver, Colo., so I invented the KING CREAM.

The KING CREAM provides an effective way to care for skin. In doing so, it offers an alternative to traditional lotions, creams and skin care products. As a result, it helps to decrease wrinkles, blemishes, and dry and sagging skin. It also firms the skin and increases collagen production. The invention is lightweight, easy to apply and use, and ideal for men and women. Additionally, it is producible in design variations and a prototype is available.

The inventor described the invention design. My design softens skin while helping to prevent blemishes and other skin issues. In fact, it includes ingredients that are clinically shown to reduce wrinkles and sagging by over 40 percent in a 60-day study, and increase collagen production by 150 percent."

The original design was submitted to the Denver office of InventHelp. It is currently available for licensing or sale to manufacturers or marketers. For more information, write Dept. 16-DPH-143, InventHelp, 217 Ninth Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, or call (412) 288-1300 ext. 1368. Learn more about InventHelp's Invention Submission Services at http://www.InventHelp.com - https://www.youtube.com/user/inventhelp
"Im looking forward to utilizing my skill set and expertise to help Worldwide Facilities continue its growth trajectory, says Galaviz.

National wholesale insurance brokerage and managing general agent Worldwide Facilities welcomes John Galaviz as their new Chief Financial Officer.

Prior to joining Worldwide Facilities, Galaviz served as Chief Financial Officer for Answer Financial, an Allstate company providing on-line distribution of property and casualty insurance. His background includes corporate development with Symetra Financial, a Berkshire Hathaway and private equity backed financial services company as well as investment banking experience with Lehman Brothers, Dillion & Read and Merrill Lynch.

Im looking forward to utilizing my skill set and expertise to help Worldwide Facilities continue its growth trajectory, says Galaviz.

Worldwide Facilities President, Ron Austin, commented, We are extremely pleased to have John join the Worldwide Facilities executive team. His considerable experience and knowledge will surely contribute to the growth goals of the company.

Galaviz earned a BA degree from the University of Michigan and an MBA from Stanford.

About Worldwide Facilities, LLC

Worldwide Facilities is a national wholesale insurance broker and managing general agent that has been in business since 1970. Our brokers and underwriters are industry leaders providing expertise in a wide range of specialty lines, as well as extensive contacts with carriers domestically and overseas. For more information, please visit wwfi.com.
When is Iowa going to catch up with the rest of the nation?

Every week or two, another case makes headlines around the United States when a police officer acts in a way that many people find troubling. Typically, within a few weeks, police video of the incident is released so the public can evaluate the officers actions.

The latest example occurred in Salt Lake City, when a police officer manhandled and arrested a nurse in a hospital emergency department. The incident was recorded on two police officers body cameras, and the video has triggered outrage across the nation.

The nurses offense? She patiently and politely explained to the officer that she could not allow him to draw a blood sample from an unconscious patient who had been in a traffic accident.

The reason she could not allow that? Utah state law, hospital policy and a U.S. Supreme Court decision requires that one of three circumstances had to exist:

The patient had to give his consent. (He was unconscious and couldnt.) He had to be suspected of a crime. (He wasnt; a pickup crashed head-on into his truck.) Or the police officer needed a judges order. (The officer had not asked for one.)

None of those three circumstances existed. But the officer did not like being told no, so he barked at the nurse, Were done; youre under arrest. He wrestled her toward the door, handcuffed her and locked her in his squad car.

Public outage was instantaneous when the videos were made public recently. A criminal investigation is underway into the officers actions.

Its important that the people of Utah were allowed to see the body camera video right away, while officials are still trying to figure out what the judicial systems response should be.

The quick access in Utah is in sharp contrast to the lethargic, or nonexistent, public access to police body camera video and squad car video in Iowa.

The most egregious example: Today, more than two and a half years after Autumn Steele was shot to death by a Burlington police officer, the public still has not seen the entire video.

Steele was unarmed when she was fatally wounded in her yard in January 2015. The officer slipped while drawing his gun and killed Steele while trying to shoot her dog as it came toward him.

Burlington police, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Iowa attorney generals office take the position that Iowas public records law is absolute and allows government to keep police body camera video and squad car video secret forever if they choose.

In the Burlington case, the prosecutor concluded within a few months of the tragedy that the officer would not face criminal charges for his actions.

Had the Utah hospital incident occurred in Iowa, Iowans might never get to see the troubling video of an out-of-control police officer arresting a nurse for following the law.

Based on legal arguments the attorney generals office has made in the Burlington case, officials have the legal authority to deny the public access to such videos  even if they might provide evidence of the careless actions of a police officer.

Last week, a nationally distributed podcast discussed the Utah case and the broader implications of police officers who act above the law while enforcing the law.

James Harrigan, CEO of the Freedom Trust, a nonprofit organization that focuses on educating people about their freedoms, posed some thorny questions during the podcast: Is it necessary for police to be above the law to enforce it? Does the practice of granting police qualified immunity lead to irresponsible behavior?

This is where we are at, Harrigan said. We have police who violate the law and can skirt around accountability because of this concept in the United States called qualified immunity.

Qualified immunity shields police and other government employees, too, from civil liability in the course of performing their jobs unless their actions violate a persons constitutional rights.

Its incredibly difficult to hold them accountable in any realistic way for actions they take in the pursuance of their jobs, Harrigan said of police.

Because of the preferential treatment police receive in the legal system, accountability comes from public opinion and public pressure, Harrigan said.

That public opinion is beginning to shift because of video evidence the public sees from incidents like the one in Utah and elsewhere around the United States, he said. Its not surprising law enforcement officials are opposed to public access to police videos, he added.

Theres a lesson in all of this for people in Iowa:

We need to tell our state representatives and senators we want them to revise Iowas public records law to make it absolutely clear that public access to police videos is mandatory, not optional, when the actions of officers are questioned.

We shouldnt have to wait for another tragedy like the one in Burlington  or an outrageous incident like the one in Salt Lake City  for lawmakers to understand this is a reasonable change they must make.
Welcome Guest! You Are Here:

Home Regional News East
By the United Nations' estimate, the continent will see its current population of 1.2 billion double by the year 2050. That's an expected growth of 42 million people  basically a brand-new Argentina  every year.

A number of important infrastructure projects are underway to make room for all those people, including railways, dams, and clean energy solutions such as solar arrays.

Here are some of the largest projects coming to Africa in the next several decades.

In 2009, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa began work on the North South Corridor  a series of roadways and railways spanning more than 6,000 miles across seven countries. Its total cost is approximately $1 billion.

Tanzania's Bagamoyo Port will become Africa's largest port, capable of handling 20 million containers per year. With an estimated cost of $11 billion, a Chinese government construction firm expects to complete the port by 2045.

In 2013, Chinese development firm Zendai Property Limited announced it was building an $8 billion city outside Johannesburg, called Modderfontein New City. It will become a hub for Chinese firms investing in African infrastructure.

Not to be outdone, Kenya is getting Konza Technology City, a $14.5-billion software hub outside Nairobi. The government is calling it "where African silicon savannah begins."

In 2013, Morocco launched a $420-million urban development project in the Bouregreg Valley. Building up the area will link Rabat and Sale, two of Morocco's most vibrant towns currently split by the valley.

Earlier this July, China and Nigeria agreed to a $11-billion contract to build the Lagos-Calabar coastal railway. It'll stretch for 871 miles and is expected to open in 2018.

At a cost of $4.8 billion, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will provide hydroelectric power to Ethiopia and nearby countries. There is some criticism, however, that the dam forces the relocation of nearly 20,000 people.

At an average output of 39,000 MW per year, the Grand Inga Dam will become the largest energy-generating body in the world. Its total development cost is an estimated $100 billion. Developers expect to finish the project by 2025.

Opened in South Africa in 2014, the Jasper solar farm produces roughly 180,000 megawatt-hours per year, capable of powering 80,000 homes. It is the largest solar power project on the continent.

Construction began on an extension to the existing Suez Canal in 2014. The "New Suez Canal" adds 22 miles in a new shipping lane beside the original 102-mile canal and is expected to double annual revenue with the room for added ships.

Dangote Cement, Africa's largest cement producer, signed contracts worth $4.3 billion in 2015 with a Chinese engineering firm to increase its capacity to 100 million tons across 15 countries by 2020. The deal will enable the construction of many other projects around the continent.
Thanks for signing up for our daily insight on the African economy. We bring you daily editor picks from the best Business Insider news content so you can stay updated on the latest topics and conversations on the African market, leaders, careers and lifestyle. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
Now let me tell you why.

In the heat of the campaign ahead of election 2016, then Presidential Candidate for the New Patriotic Party (NPP) made many promises, so did the then President who was seeking a second term, John Mahama.

The NPP made promises which include 1-district,1factory, Free SHS, 1 village,1 dam, restoration of teacher and nursing trainees allowance among others.

He had promised not to spend the taxpayers money on frivolous things. He accused the then governing party of corruption and misuse of money.

Maybe many Ghanaians believed in Nana Addo.

He won the election by over a 1million margin. Impressive!

The President told Ghanaians that he was in a hurry. He was going to start working immediately.

The budget was read and after appointing ministers and their deputies some of the policies started running.

President Akufo-Addo was on a mission to start as many projects in his first year.

I dont have an issue with that. However, my challenge is with the idea of launching every program.

The President has launched policies like Free SHS, national ID, One District, One factory, Planting for food and jobs among others.

A press release also issued by the Minister of Health Kwaku Agyemang-Manu said there will be a launch of the restoration of the nursing trainee allowance on October 10, 2017, at the Nursing and Midwifery Training School, Sunyani, Brong Ahafo.

In a statement issued on October 4, 2017, Agyemang-Manu said the President will be the Special Guest of Honour and main speaker for the occasion.

In my opinion, it is not necessary to launch the restoration of nursing trainee allowance. It was not necessary to launch some policies that have already been inaugurated.

It is a waste of the taxpayers money.

Consider how many V8s will make their way to Sunyani on Tuesday. The fuel they will consume and the fact that the money will be from the taxpayers money.

If the President is going, think of the security for him alone and the cost involved. We havent mentioned the cost of getting the venue ready for the event itself.

Official government work will likely come to a halt or reduce for the day of the launch. Some ministers and their deputies will follow the President to the launch and return later when the day is almost ending.

A sympathiser of the NPP argued that this is their way of informing the world of which policies they have started.

My response: we cannot continue this way. We cannot keep launching every policy before implementation begins. I know the government wants the media to trumpet the beginning of every program but you can send a press release which will be given the needed attention.

The total amount of money that would be wasted for the launch of the restoration of the nursing trainee allowance can pay a number of the students.

I am saying this because this is the same President who said he did not inherit a rich father.

Dear President Akufo-Addo if your predecessor left you with a bad economy dont you think you should rather be using the little you have for the needed things instead of chanelling it into launching policies?

This is a rip-off but just a reminder, you promised not to govern in similar ways your predecessor did. Many Ghanaians believed in you and voted for you. Please deliver on your promises.
They brought their 10-years working relationship to an end this week but the reasons are yet to be known.

SaminisHigh Grade Family record label member confirmed the split to Pulse.com.gh on Thursday, October 5, 2017, but could not give the reasons behind their split.

Samini has managed to win over 20 local and international awards under Tony Pans management. Hes won MTV Africa Music Awards, MOBO Awards, The Headies, Channel O Music Video Awards and Ghana Music Awards under his former manager.

Aside from that, Samini has churned out several hit songs and international collaborations under Tony Pun.

Since their split, neither Tony Pun nor Samini has come out to make it known to the public. But, it appears Samini has signed a new contract with a PR company, Africa1Media  the same company that handles Sarkodie and VVIPs PR works.

Samini has changed his booking information on his social media accounts, directing potential business partners to contact Africa1Media instead.
The family which lives at the Torontos Forest Hill said the neighbours violated its copyright when renovating their property, thus decreasing the value of their own home.

The Jason and Jodi Chapnick family therefore demanded over $2.5 million in damages Barbara Ann and Eric Kirshenblatt.

As it stands now, learning from the experience of Barbara Ann and Eric Kirshenblatt family, one needs the permission of another to build a house to look like theirs.

This was what the Kirshenblatt family had to suffer three years ago, when they were taken to court by their neighbors, Jason and Jodi Chapnick, whose home they had allegedly used as inspiration when renovating their own property.

In all, the aggrieved family were asking for $1.5 million in damages, $20,000 in statutory copyright damages, $1 million in punitive damages, and for the defendants to change the look of their house.

In their statement of claim made in 2014 , Jason and Jodi Chapnick described their architect-designed home as one of the most well-known and admired houses in the Cedarvale and Forest Hill neighbourhoods, in a large part due to its uniqueness.

What saddened the claimants most was the fact that the defendants breach of their copyright ended up increasing the value of their (defendant) newly bought house, while decreasing the value of theirs (the claimant).

According to Odditycentral.com, both the Chapnicks and the Kirshenblatts provided photos to prove their case, with the former insisting that both the general look and small design elements, like the windows, the chimneys and the arched doors were incredibly similar, while the latter claiming that their house was simply inspired by Tudor stone cottages, and that they had done nothing wrong.

However, Jason Chapnik, an entrepreneur and CEO of a Toronto-based investment firm, insists that, when his neighbors began renovating their house, their contractors visited his home and indicated that they were building a house nearby and were copying aspects of his design. Chapnik only noticed the similarities when his neighbors blue windows were installed, and he immediately delivered a notice to Barbara Ann Kirshenblatt to cease infringing his copyrighted house.

Barbara Ann and Eric Kirshenblatt never resided at their newly renovated house, and in February 2015, they sold it for $3.5 million, almost $2 million more than what they had paid for the property.

This was what infuriated the claimants to file their lawsuit.

The plaintiffs asked their neighbors to provide photos of houses that they had used as inspiration to prove that they had not stolen their design, but only received photos of houses found online as well as of a famous movie castle. The defendants do not know the addresses for the houses (found online) or the Castle from the James Bond movie, case documents show.

Odditycentral.com further reports that after three years of litigation, the two families, whose homes are on different streets, 850 meters apart, have finally decided to settle out of court, for an undisclosed amount.

Jason and Jodi Chapnick said A tremendous amount of skill, effort, time, judgment, care (and money) was spent across nearly seven years in terms of designing, architecting and building a unique and beautiful house. The settlement will allow us peace of mind to know that this should not happen again in the future.

The Kirshenblatts lawyer said Given the costs associated with the matter through trial, it was in the interests of all parties to reach an amicable settlement.

While rare, copyright cases between homeowners should act as a warning to everyone that just because you like how a house is designed, you cant just use it as inspiration for free.
He was arrested on Thursday, October 5, 2017, at Nsekina in the Ga West Municipality.

Amasaman Police Commander, Superintendent John Ferguson Dzineku told the Graphic online that the incident happened on Thursday, October 5, 2017, at Nsekina.

He said Robert Otoo and the victim, Emmanuel Nanor, 45, unemployed, are neighbours and shared the same wall.

One resident in the area said they suspect Otoo's "pen is not writing well", suggesting that the suspect was suffering from erectile dysfunction.

Superintendent John Ferguson Dzineku said the police received a distress call that a certain man had been injured at Nsekina and was on the verge of dying.

The police rushed to the scene and found blood in the victims room, but the victim had been put in a vehicle to a hospital for treatment.

Supt Dzineku said the police found the testicle lying in a pool of blood in the victims room and sent it to the police hospital for preservation.

Upon interrogation, the victim, popularly known in the area as Awots told the police that he was reading his Bible when two men forcefully entered his room.

The men reportedly held his throat and pinned him to the ground and told him that, they were sent by Robert Otoo to come for his testicles as his punishment for having an affair with his wife.

According to Superintendent Dzineku, one of the two men removed a knife from their pocket and used it to remove the testicle while the other one held the victim firmly to the ground.

He said as soon as they finished removing one of his testicles, they escaped.

He said the victim shouted for help and some residents rushed to his aid.
Sakina was granted bail by the Sunyani High Court on 7th September this year. However, dramatically, her 51-year-old mother, Arahamatu Zulkallia was also arraigned before a Berekum Circuit Court on the same day on the provisional charge of possessing narcotic drugs without lawful authority.

READ MORE: Prisoner faces trial for possessing Indian hempArahamatu was granted bail to reappear on 27th October, 2017 while the daughter is also to reappear at later date before the Sunyani High Court.

Brong Ahafo Regional Crime Officer of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Nana Kwaku-Duah,told the Daily Guide that, a police patrol team at Berekum received information that Arahamatu Zulkallia was selling drugs in her house at Amangoasey, a suburb of the Berekum.

He said the police patrol team proceeded to the said house on 6th September, 2017. Upon seeing the police van, the woman tried to escape, but was given a hot chase and arrested.

Police conducted a search in the house and discovered dried leaves concealed in four Ghana Must Go Bags and a mini fertilizer sack which apparently belong to Arahamatu.

READ ALSO: Police arrest drug suspect in the ocean

Superintendent Nana Kwaku-Duah said it took diligence to uncover the dried leaves because were covered with black polythene and sawdust.

After listening to the arguments of her lawyer when she appeared before the court the first time, the judge, Osei Kofi Amoako, granted the accused bail on ill health grounds to reappear on 27th October, 2017.
The council unanimously adopted a British-drafted resolution that welcomed the ceasefire and agreed to a request from the government for UN observers to take part in monitoring, alongside ELN representatives and the Catholic Church.

"We know that this is just the start," British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft told the council after the vote, who stressed that the top UN body had moved quickly to shore up the truce.

"Let us do all we can to support the government of Colombia and the ELN in that effort."

Under the measure, the mission will report regularly to the council on the ceasefire with the ELN, which is to remain in force until January 9.

The FARC and ELN were formed in 1964 to fight for land rights and to protect rural communities.

The conflict drew in leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitary groups and state forces and has left 260,000 people dead, more than 60,000 missing and seven million displaced.

After completing a first mission to oversee the disarming of FARC rebels, the United Nations in July established a second presence to help former combatants return to mainstream society.
Three former Tesco executives are standing trial for fraud relating to a "black hole" of nearly 250 million in the retailer's profits, which was first reported in September 2014. All three deny guilt.

Amit Soni, a senior member of Tesco's finance team who allegedly acted as a whistleblower in the case, gave evidence on the fifth day of the trial at Southwark Crown Court in London on Thursday.

The court heard that a document commissioned by Soni and written secretly by a member of his team outlined a budget shortfall of 250 million which had been covered up by "pulling forward" income from future accounting periods.

The report, part of which was read aloud to the court, said: "Pulling forward this income and falsifying documents to minimise audit risk [...] generates a significant amount of work for our teams."

Soni said that "falsifying documents" referred to the practice of pulling forward income from future accounting periods. Soni said commercial directors were under pressure to pull forward more income in order to continue covering up holes in accounts.

"Any document relating to pull-forward would have to be a false document," Soni told the court. "It would not be a genuine transaction."

He said that in at least one instance, income from suppliers due to be invoiced over a five-year period had been pulled forward into the current budget in order to make existing accounts appear more healthy.

"There was one or more case when it was clear that the income had been taken from the supplier for a contract that was pulled forward at least five years, so the income that should have been recognised over five years was recognised over one year," Soni said.

The report also described accounting practices that were used "to avoid the attention of external audit," and cited "material audit risks" in Tesco accounts.

"Pulling forward income goes against relevant accounting standards and the Groceries Supply Code of Practice," the report said.

Former Tesco UK managing director Christopher Bush, former UK finance director Carl Rogberg, and former food commercial director John Scouler are all charged with fraud by false accounting and of fraud by abuse of position.

The trio were formally charged by the Senior Fraud Office last year. Lawyers acting for the trio have already pleaded not guilty.
Special counsel Robert Mueller has interviewed the veteran British spy who wrote a cexplosive memos alleging ties between

Comparing events that unfolded during the campaign with the dossier's allegations yields some striking coincidences.

The document includes allegations of a quid-pro-quo in which Russia agreed to leak the hacked Democratic National Committee emails to WikiLeaks in exchange for the Trump campaign sidelining Russian aggression in Ukraine as a campaign issue. It also alleges that Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, managed the communication between Russia and the campaign.

offered to give "private briefings" about the Trump campaign to a Russian oligarch and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin

At least five other Trump associatesmet with Russia's ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak, in the latter half of 2016. The FBI reportedly obtained a FISA warrant to monitor Page's communications after he returned from a trip to Moscow last July. He and Flynn are named in the dossier as being complicit in the alleged collusion.

June-July

Carter Page, an early foreign policy adviser to Trump, visits Moscow, the GOP platform is changed, top Trump surrogate then-Sen. Jeff Sessions meets Russia's US ambassador Sergey Kislyak, WikiLeaks publishes hacked DNC emails, and the FBI opens its investigation into Russia's interference.

Dossier allegations

June 20, 2016: The dossier alleges that Trump had been cultivated by Russian officials "for at least five years," that the Kremlin had compromising material related to "sexually perverted acts" Trump performed at a Moscow Ritz Carlton, and that Trump's inner circle was accepting a regular flow of intelligence from the Kremlin on Hillary Clinton.

The flow of intelligence is being facilitated by

Actual events

June 9, 2016: Donald Trump Jr. hosts Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and Russian-American lobbyist Rinat Akhmetshin at Trump Tower after being promised compromising information about Hillary Clinton. Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort attend the meeting. Manafort takes notes that reportedly reference donations and the Republican National Committee.

July 7, 2016: Page, who s" target="_blank"on key transactions"travels to Moscow to speak at the New Economic School. There, he gives a speech that is heavily critical of US foreign policy. He stays in Russia for approximately three days.

Dossier allegations

July 19, 2016: A Russian source close to Igor Sechin, the president of Russia's state-owned oil company Rosneft, "confided the details of a recent secret meeting" between Sechin and Trump campaign adviser Carter Page while Page was in Moscow in early July.

Sechin "raised with Page the issues of future bilateral energy cooperation and prospects for an associated move to lift Ukraine-related western sanctions against Russia."

Actual events

July 7, 2016: Manafort writes his longtime employee, Russian-Ukrainian operative Konstantin Kilimnik, asking him to offer "private briefings" about the campaign to a Russian oligarch and Putin ally.

July 11, 2016: GOP platform week kicks off, one week before the start of the Republican National Convention. An amendment to the Republican Party's draft policy on Ukraine proposing that the GOP commit to sending "lethal weapons" to the Ukrainian army to fend off Russian aggression is softened to "provide appropriate assistance."

Dossier allegations

The Trump campaign "agreed to sideline Russian intervention in Ukraine as a campaign issue" in return for

Actual events

July 27, 2016: Trump holds a press conference in which he asks Russian hackers to "find the 30,000 [Hillary Clinton] emails that are missing. I think you will probably be rewarded mightily by our press. His campaign later said he was joking.

July 31, 2016: Sessions, who said in 2015 that the west has to "unify against Russia," goes on CNN and characterizes US relationship with Russia as a "cycle of hostility" that needs to be resolved.

August

Paul Manafort resigns amid negative press about his work in Ukraine, and Roger Stone  a top Trump confidant and early campaign adviser  that Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta, will "soon" be targeted.

Dossier allegations

July 31, 2016: Steele writes that the Kremlin has more intelligence on Clinton and her campaign but doesn't know when it will be released.

August 5, 2016: The

Actual events

August 5, 2016: Roger Stone writes in Breitbart that "a hacker who goes by the name of Guccifer 2.0," and not the Russians, hacked into the DNC and fed the documents to WikiLeaks.

August 12, 2016: "Guccifer 2.0" releases files purportedly stolen in a cyberattack on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Guccifer 2.0's Twitter account is briefly suspended. When it is reinstated, Roger Stone begins a private Twitter conversation with the alleged hacker. the product of a Russian disinformation campaign

August 15, 2016: Sergei Ivanov, tis unexpectedly fired by Putin.

Dossier allegations

August 10, 2016: Steele writes that a "Kremlin official involved in US relations" commented in early August that the Kremlin had been trying to build sympathy for Russia in the US by funding several political figures' trips to Moscow, including Michael Flynn and Carter Page. The trips were "successful in terms of perceived outcomes," the official said.

August 15, 2016: Ousted Ukrainian president Viktor

Actual events

August 19, 2016: Manafort resigns as Trump's campaign manager after denying that he ever collected any payments that had been earmarked for him in Ukraine.

August 21, 2016: Roger Stone tweets a prediction about Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman, John Podesta. Trust me, it will soon the [sic] Podesta's time in the barrel. #CrookedHillary

September

Trump says he'll "take" Putin's "compliments," Sessions meets privately with Kislyak, and Carter Page takes a "leave of absence."

Dossier allegations

September 14, 2016: A Kremlin official "confirms from direct knowledge" that Russia's US ambassador Sergey Kislyak had been aware of the Kremlin's interference in the US election, and had "urged caution and the potential negative impact on Russia from the operation/s."

The official says the Kremlin has further kompromat on Clinton that it plans to release via "plausibly deniable" channels  aka WikiLeaks  after Russia's mid-September legislative elections. But a growing train of thought inside the Kremlin is that Russia could still make Clinton look "weak" and "stupid" without needing to release more of her emails. It's decided that Putin himself will have final say over whether further Clinton kompromat is disseminated.

Steele writes another dispatch dated September 14, 2016, detailing the relationship between Putin and Russian oligarchs who control Russia's Alfa Bank.

Actual events

September 7, 2016: NBC's Matt Lauer confronts Trump about his praise of Putin. Trump replies, "

September 8, 2016: Sessions and Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak meet privately in Sessions' office. An administration official tells NBC in early March  when news of the meeting breaks  that "election-related news" was likely discussed.

September 26, 2016: Page takes a "leave of absence" from the Trump campaign after a Yahoo News report alleges that Igor Sechin offered him the brokerage of a 19% stake in Rosneft.

October

Roger Stone's tweets foreshadow WikiLeaks' release of John Podesta emails, Obama publicly accuses Russia of hacking Democrats, and the FBI examines computer server activity between the Trump Organization and Alfa Bank.

Dossier allegations

October 12, 2016:

"buyer's remorse set in" as Podesta's emails proved less damaging to the Clinton campaign than Russia had expected. Russians injected further anti-Clinton material into WikiLeaks pipeline "which will continue to surface, but best material already in the public domain."

Actual events

October 1, 2016: Roger Stone tweets that

@wikileaks and my hero Julian Assange will educate the American people soon #LockHerUp."

October 5, 2016: Stone tweets

November-January

A Russian oligarch while Trump is there campaigning, Trump wins the election, Rosneft signs a massive deal, travels to Moscow again, Obama issues new sanctions over Russian hacking, and Trump's lawyer for Ukraine.

Actual events

November 3, 2016: R

November 8, 2016: Donald Trump wins a dramatic and unexpected victory in the presidential election.

Early December, 2016:

December 7, 2016: Rosneft s

December 29, 2016: Obama i
No matter how much traveling you do, these creatures have you beat. These are the animals with the longest migrations.

In the Yukon, Porcupine caribou travel 3,000 miles. This is the longest migration by land of any mammal on Earth.

Monarch butterflies fly about 3,000 miles each year. Some will travel all the way from Canada to Mexico.

Leatherback turtles will swim 10,000 miles across the Pacific between the US and Indonesia.

The globe skimmer dragonfly has that name for a reason. It crosses the Indian ocean between East Africa and India. The total trip is about 10,000 miles.

Humpback whales travel over 10,440 miles from Costa Rica to Antarctica and back. It is the longest mammal migration on Earth.

Great white sharks migrate 12,400 miles between South Africa to Western Australia and back.

But no one can cover more ground than the birds! The sooty shearwater travels 40,000 miles. It flies between New Zealand and Alaska.

At the top of the list is the arctic tern. It has been recorded migrating over 44,000 miles, flying from the Arctic to Antarctica.
People don't forfeit their right to freedom of speech when they launch a new company. Plenty of businesses feature religious symbols and even Bible verses on their business cards, websites and brochures, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that practice.

But when a company makes a point of telling potential customers that it will refuse service to people because of their race, religious beliefs, gender or sexual orientation, then a line is crossed.

That's why we strongly agree with the U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, which last week ruled against Angel and Carl Larsen, a Minnesota couple that wanted to expand their media production company to include the filming of weddings  but only heterosexual weddings.

This is what they wanted to put on their company's website: "Telescope Media Group exists to glorify God through top-quality media production. Because of TMG's owners' religious beliefs and expressive purposes, it cannot make films promoting any conception of marriage that contradicts its religious beliefs that marriage is between one man and one woman, including films celebrating same-sex marriages."

The problem is, the Minnesota Human Rights Act prohibits companies from refusing to do business based on sexual orientation, and the district court rightly ruled that such a statement on a website would be "akin to a 'White Applicants Only' sign."

Chief U.S. District Judge John Tunheim wrote, "Posting language on a website telling potential customers that a business will discriminate based on sexual orientation is part of the act of sexual discrimination itself. As conduct carried out through language, this act is not protected by the First Amendment."

The Larsens, who are represented by the Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian nonprofit organization, say they will appeal the court's ruling.

We suspect that they will be wasting their time. Consider:

Can a business owner who is Jewish refuse to serve someone with a tattoo? Of course not.

Can a Mormon refuse service to someone who is carrying a cup of coffee, or wearing a Jack Daniels T-shirt? Certainly not.

But let's take this to another level: Can a devout Christian doctor refuse to deliver the baby of a drug-addicted, HIV-positive mother? Can a police officer who is a teetotaler refuse to help a drunken driver who has crashed and is bleeding?

Or, even more to the point: Can a day care provider reject a child because he or she has two mothers and no fathers? Or because the child's parents are Muslim?

Of course not. Such refusals wouldn't be freedom of speech  they would be discrimination, and in some cases out-and-out professional misconduct.

The bottom line is that no one is forcing the Larsens  or anyone else  to create a business or enter a particular profession. They are doing so of their own free will. Nor can the Larsens be prevented from declaring their conservative Christian beliefs on every document, business card, brochure and website related to their wedding-filming business. That's their right, and exercising it will probably drive most same-sex couples to look elsewhere for wedding videographers.

But no business can refuse to serve someone on the basis of race, gender, age or sexual orientation  and those who can't accept this truism should either close their businesses or be prepared for the day when they will have to smile through gritted teeth and say "Yes, we'd be happy to help you."
Not only is he is on the list but betting firm, William Hill, predicts that the Catholic leader might win, Independent reports.

Apparently, Pope Francis is the favourite candidate for this years award. If he wins, he will be the first pontiff to have this prize.

Reportedly, he was nominated by one Norwegian politician that said he chose him because he is one of the rare ones to stand up to Donald Trump.

Pope Francis was also nominated for addressing refugees, social justice, climate change and basically being a liberalising force for the Catholic Church.

Other nominees for the same award include President Donald Trump, Kim Jong-un, labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders.

Bookmakers predict that the North Korean leader, United States and Russian President all have a 1001 chance of winning this prize. While Corbyn and Sanders are both at 501.

The Pope might be the favourite but he is not the only one in the favourite category.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Federica Mogherini, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and White Helmets.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the American Civil Liberties Union, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and CIA whistleblower Edward Snowden are also in the favourite category.

Recipients of the award are people or group who have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.

This years winner will be announced in Oslo today, October 6, 2017.

Update:

The winner of the 2017 Noble peace prize has just been announced. Sadly, it is not Pope Francis.

Despite earlier predictions that the Pontiff would win, the award given to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), according to CNN.

The group, a body of NGOs in 100 countries, were honored for protesting against the tensions between North Korea and the US.

According to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, ICAN received the award for its "work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons."

Nobel committee president Berit Reiss-Andersen also praised the work of ICAN. She said,"Some states are modernizing their nuclear arsenals, and there is a real danger that more countries will try to procure nuclear weapons, as exemplified by North Korea.

"Nuclear weapons pose a constant threat to humanity and all life on earth. Through binding international agreements, the international community has previously adopted prohibitions against land mines, cluster munitions and biological and chemical weapons. Nuclear weapons are even more destructive, but have not yet been made the object of a similar international legal prohibition."

Beatrice Fihn, the organization's chief executive, was quite surprised. Speaking with reporters, she said she thought the phone call from the Nobel Committee was "a prank."

In her words, "I think it's hugely important that we raise awareness of this issue and this treaty, the treaty on prohibition of nuclear weapons, has declared that kind of behavior illegal.

"The prize sends a very strong signal that this is unacceptable, you have to stop and you have to join majority of states in the world that have concluded that this is unacceptable and illegal."

ICAN also released a statement saying that it was a "great honor."

It read, "The belief of some governments that nuclear weapons are a legitimate and essential source of security is not only misguided, but also dangerous, for it incites proliferation and undermines disarmament."

"All nations should reject these weapons completely -- before they are ever used again. This is a time of great global tension, when fiery rhetoric could all too easily lead us, inexorably, to unspeakable horror.

"The specter of nuclear conflict looms large once more. If ever there were a moment for nations to declare their unequivocal opposition to nuclear weapons, that moment is now."
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
"Anne died this morning. She had been very sick," her brother Pierre Wiazemsky, an actor, told AFP.

Wiazemsky, 70, made her screen debut as an elfin 19-year-old in "Au Hasard Balthazar", Robert Bresson's classic 1966 film about a mistreated Christ-like donkey, before meeting Godard -- then at the height of his fame -- a year later.

They married during the shooting of his 1967 film "La Chinoise", in which Wiazemsky plays a member of a Maoist revolutionary cell.

Her grandfather, the Nobel Prize-winning novelist Francois Mauriac, opposed the marriage to the radical maker of "Breathless" and "Contempt", who was 17 years her senior.

But the French student uprising and strikes of May 1968, in which Godard became a major player, overwhelmed them.

"The further it went on, the more our paths diverged," Wiazemsky told AFP in an interview this year.

She later wrote a book about their short-lived relationship, "Un An Apres" (One Year Later). It was the basis of a recent comedy about Godard, "Le Redoutable" (Redoubtable), by the Oscar-winning director of "The Artist", Michel Hazanavicius.

One of Wiazemsky's last public appearances was at the movie's premiere at the Cannes film festival in May.

She appeared in more than 35 films, most memorably alongside Terence Stamp in Pier Paolo Pasolini's "Theorem", which was initially banned for obscenity in Italy in 1968 for its story of a lost disciple of Christ who seduces a whole family.
This movie was shot among the Sura and Angas tribes on the Bauchi Plateau  the text says  less than ten years ago, these tribes were cannibals.

Over the course of 107 cringe-worthy minutes, the movie then goes on to depict Nigerian tribes at their most crude and misrepresented.

Theres everything that the average English man in Liverpool in 1926 would have expected to see in Africa; guns, spears, bows and arrows, alcoholic kings and unintelligent chiefs, a benevolent Englishwoman who tries to save the cannibals from themselves.

Even though it carries the title of Nigerias first feature film, Palaver was written and produced in its entirety by GeorgeBarkas, a British filmmaker who later gained renown for his work in documenting the Second World War.

In the 1920s, colonialism was Britains biggest export but the growth of the colonies coincided with a dearth of the countrys filmmaking culture.

According to the Royal Society of Arts Journal, dated June 3, 1927, Britains Prime Minister at the time, Stanley Baldwin had called for action in 1925, noting the "danger to which we in this country and our Empire subject ourselves if we allow that method of propaganda [film] to be entirely in the hands of foreign countries".

Succinctly, Britain had to protect and project its image both home and abroad and film was the way.

Out of the rubble of the British film industry came New Era films. It announced in that year that not one, but three feature films would be released on consecutive days in September.

ALSO READ: How Western Influence broke spirituality and identity in African music

Palaver, shot as an examination of Britains interaction with Nigerias primitive cultures in the North, was one of them.

Today, the Nigerian film industry has moved down south to Asaba, where actors gather in hotels to shoot entire movies in one weekend; Lagos, where flashing lights bring the content into focus and 51, Iweka Road, where money and movie exchange hands.

In that time, Nigerian films have grown into a behemoth, trailing only the United States and India in size and quantity of production. The tone of stories has also evolved.

Questions of morality and justice defined the golden age of Nigerian film in the 1990s; the films of today cover issues as harmless and relatable as cultural wedding tropes and practices (Wedding Party) and as thematic and political as tribal relations during military rule (76), a stark departure from that era.

In 1927, where the world knew little about the African continent, Palaver only enforced streotype that had led many to call it the "dark continent".

The movie was built around the story of a young English nurse who gets caught in a love triangle between Captain Peter Allison, the British District Officer and Mark Fernandez, a tin miner and economic mercenary.

Apart from this relationship, the protagonists are the members of the royal court of the Sura Tribe, but where they are depicted, they are shown not as independent individuals but as a function of the British people that have foisted themselves on their land.

The culture of the Sura tribe is rich; before westernization interfered, the people mostly got around on horses in small villages. They built large communal structures on avenues bordered by cactus plants with vast, open fields for each family.

None of this makes its way into the movie; instead, every scene, every conversation, every reference to Sura men is filled with imperialist stereotypes.

The movie begins by enhancing two of the biggest tropes that define the Wests exotic view of Africa till this point.

Yilkuba, the witch doctor is shown warning his king, Dawiya of the prospect of war. He advises him to be wary, in the context of the white men and their intrusive and domineering policies.

The idea of a witch-doctor, as Yilkuba is referred to, advising the king on war fits into the British imperialist ideal that the native population was a primitive, uncultured batch of people who revelled in regression and satan worship.

It is worth noting that relations between the King, Dawiya and Allison, the district officer break down after the latter hears complaints against the King. He pays his royal residence a visit, only to find him drunk on unlawful liquor.

Later in the movie, Dawiya was only convinced to declare war by Fernandez who falsely tells him that Allison is planning war against him. Dawiya is then shown drinking large quantities of alcohol to gather courage.

The image here is simple; the native leader is depicted as a simpleton who is easily misled; a coward, who has to drink to go to war, a not-so-subtle jab at the integrity of indigenous leaders.

Even though it was produced in Nigeria, Palaver was made for the British audience. There is no error in that the narrative was consistent with the popular idea sold in Europe that the colonial masters were doing Africans a favour by colonizing them.

The Palaver Pressbook, a pamphlet which accompanied the movie, captured the idea of this heroic work more than anything else  "Here, as elsewhere", the publicity document stated, "men of our race have plunged into the Unknown, and set themselves to transform chaos into order and security. Battling against slavery, human sacrifice and cannibalism, against torture and devil worship, against famine and disease, they have worked steadily on, winning the land for the natives under the Imperial Crown.

As the story unfolds, the inner workings of the love triangle affect the relationship between Dawiya, his people and the British under Allison. The two go to war and Dawiya puts up a good fight but there has only been one winner from the beginning.

Allisons troops overrun the Sura warriors but in truth, the victory belongs to thinly-veiled racism and the long arms of British imperialism.

In retrospect, the only thing Nigerian about Palaver was the location and the actors. The movie is told completely from the perspective of British actors. It never strays from the conventional depictions of what the World expected from A Romance of Northern Nigeria.

The natives are exhibited as primordial and unsophisticated people who are steeped in quaint traditions that have locked them in inane religions. Where the situation gets a bit complex, as with Dawiya and Fernandez, the movie suggests that Africans prefer to resolve it with violence.

In the words of Dr. Tom Rice, a lecturer of Film Studies at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, The idea of turning chaos into order shapes the narrative in Palaver. Such a message may be largely familiar, both in print and on film, but Palaver sought to extend and directly present this message to future generations.

For example, the press book for Palaver noted the importance of these boyhood tales of peril and adventure in shaping the young men who court hardship and danger in the furthest posts of the Empire.

Now 80 years later, such imperialist narratives are still told, if subtly in movies, but where the Nigerian story previously lacked the means and the audience to change these misconceptions, the birth and growth of Nollywood have empowered three generations of storytellers.

There are filmmakers who recognize the importance of telling local stories and portraying Africans with context, nuance and truth but a majority of movies out of Nollywood are still easy-watch material; fast-food inspired reiterations of common plot-lines and basic values.

For every 76, there are ten movies that start with a young, broke and hungry man who decides to join an armed robbery group (with the perfunctory funny member), only to meet a painful end after realizing that every man must die for his sins.

The question is simple; why have our storytellers refrained from telling counter-narratives that depict our culture and heritage for what it is?

Imoh Umoren, the producer and director behind The Happyness Limited and Children of Mud thinks its down to the people who finance movies, and their preferences.

The problem is multi-layered, he tells me in an e-mail interview, While cultural films are big on Pay TV channels like Africa Magic and the rest, the distributors seem to favour a more bourgeoisie depiction

Now I assume this may be as a result of the financiers and wanting to see more of their lifestyle and less of the suffer head storylines., he continues.

The idea of telling complex stories is all noble and grand but when it comes down to what matters, investors and financiers want to see a return on their investment.

It is only natural that they stick with what has always worked; thinly-veiled materialism and aspiration.

In retrospect, the British movies of the Palaver era also had an economic purpose; inspiring confidence in the British experiment in Africa. The pro-British narrative also ensured it could get a run in the cinemas.

As difficult as it may be to admit, Palavers goals were achieved. Its easy to understand why such movies and a culture of subtle racism will affect the average Europeans perspective on Africa.

But even more subtly, such narratives and years of colonialism have affected the Africans view of himself. For this, and many other reasons, imperialism, and to an extent, movies like Palaver are the reason why our storytellers have stayed away from responding with our own narratives.

Its difficult to fight something when you already see it as superior.

As Africans, weve somewhat been programmed to think that western representations are superior, Imoh Umoren says So the accent, styling and locations try to represent this Shangri La that people are aspiring to

One must admit that any effort to change the depiction of African society must be subtle yet direct; making a reverse-racist movie would completely defeat the point.
Resumption was barely four weeks away. She and her colleagues at the Yaba College of Technology would continue work on their sketches and the finer aspects of fashion design as soon as they returned for the holiday.

Ijeoma had packed her bags early, this time, to spend a few days with her friends from the youth body at church, away from the stress that comes with being home for a little too long.

The bus was cramped when everyone finally grabbed a seat. Air was barely finding its way around but in one of fates masterstrokes, Ijeoma got a window seat.

So before the bus started moving, it was actually parked in a very narrow place, she says, I brought my hand outside the window because the bus was so tight.

On any other day, Ijeoma would be more careful about such things; but the heat and discomfort had caused her to make an immediate decision.

I didnt even know when the bus started moving, she recalls, I was hearing my bone as it was breaking

The bus, in trying to squeeze through this narrow place, had crushed Ijeomas hands against the wall.

She dragged her arm from the crevice. Then, she went into shock.

For the majority of Nigerias estimated 180 million people, adequate health-care is an inaccessible myth.

While the resurgence of health centres and private clinics has done much to serve a glaring need, the void becomes more obvious when the more complex issues arise, like terminal illnesses, podiatry or orthopaedics.

According to estimates from the Nigerian Medical Association, there are only about 350 specialized orthopaedic surgeons in the whole country, a rate of one surgeon to 500,000 people.

Confused and scared, Ijeomas church members scurried to find a hospital that could tend to her.

When accidents like this occur, there is one place that comes to the Lagosian mind. From the church compound, they headed for the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi.

Founded in 1943, as a treatment centre for soldiers from World War 2, the term Igbobi has become a popular slang for the gory fractures and indescribable injuries that the doctors and surgeons attend to every day.

That night, there was no place, no bed for Ijeoma.

ALSO READ: Inside the brutal life of a Dambe fighter

With their backs against the wall, one of her friends had a light bulb moment. She knew of a woman in Ojodu, Berger who had treated an acquaintances fracture to near-perfection.

They took Ijeoma to her makeshift clinic.

In the absence of orthopaedic surgeons, most Nigerians turn to traditional means of healing fractures and bone injuries. With little more than years of apprenticeship and the benefit of experience, these bone-setters tend to anything from small sprains to major fractures, to varying degrees of success.

While their methods have been called into question, these bone-setters render services that access and finances would otherwise deprive their patrons of.

In the communities where they practice their art, they are small-time heroes.

"Mama Dey Go", the woman who has tended to Ijeomas fractures for well over a month now, is one of those heroes.

An Isan indigene of Edo State, Mama Dey Go says she has treated broken bones from her youth, for over 30 years.

Soft-spoken and introverted, she would rather treat a severe case than have a conversation; so when I ask her where she acquired her skill, she says, succinctly, Na God teach me.

After a little prodding, she continues, When I first started, I treated just one person. After a while, I moved on to multiple patients and then God just helped me

The town in Edo where Mama Dey Go spent her formative years is known for its traditional bone-healing practices, albeit with a dash of fetish rites and charms. While she watched her older family members treat bones from a very young age, she chose what she learned.

It is in our family, she tells me of that variant of bone setting,  but I didnt keep my eyes on that. Its God that taught me.

Whenever I pray, God answers my prayers, she adds.

ALSO READ: A story of how Endurance Otobi defied the odds

Her belief and faith in the Christian God is a big part of Mamas practice. She says a prayer before every treatment. In her main room, where she attends to patients, a large banner with an image of Jesus hangs close to the ceiling.

At the entrance to her clinic, a rosary hangs on the door.

In a society where religion and faith is a currency more than anything else, Mamas faith and Christian paraphernalia would probably count for little to the sceptical eye.

But beyond healing broken bones, perhaps the greatest proof of who she stands beside her at all times; a team of five or so men that holds many duties from assistant to the manager of the clinic, a man in his early 40s who handles financial duties and logistics.

Most of them have been with Mama Dey Go for between 10 to 15 years. They call her Mama or Mother. The most popular of them is Sunny, Mamas most trusted assistant who holds patients and tries to whisper some of the pain away, while she works her magic.

Mama does not use anaesthetics.

Even though the process of setting bones through traditional means is incredibly painful, Mama does not give her patients any painkillers.

In fact, the only orthodox medical items you will find in her clinic are wire gauze, cotton wool and bandage.

When a patient is first brought to her clinic, she washes the wound with methylated spirit to rid it of infectious bacteria.

Her assistants put her tools within a grabs distance; a herbal powder made from the bark of trees that she says helps the bones and muscles heal, medicated powder to act as a breaker between the wound and cotton wool, shea butter to ease the bone massage and her gloves.

She puts the gloves on, prays and her nimble hands get to work.

Loud screams follow but within weeks, they often give way to smiles and praise-singing.

Among Mamas patients, she is a hero. But the medical community thinks otherwise; in those circles, people like Mama Dey Go are seen as unskilled purveyors of a haphazard practice that is as harmful as it is dated.

Mr Mike Ogirima, the President of the Nigerian Orthopaedic Association, describes the practice as obsolete and an abuse of patients desire to seek orthodox means for their problem.

He also added that patients are often abused by the obsolete traditional practitioners.

Given the choice between western medicine and a stint in Mamas make-shift clinic, a few conversations with patients in Mamas clinic make it clear why they have made this choice.

Ive heard so many stories from people here about people that lost their limbs in Igbobi, Ijeoma says.

I was even asking if theyre collecting arms and legs there., she continues, They dont even make any effort to treat anything If at all they are treating, they only use POP (Plaster of Paris), and thats just it.

In Ojodu/Berger, where she is a neighbourhood legend, Mama Dey Go is an alternative to an industry that is untrusted, understaffed and underqualified.

ALSO READ: Israel is now a rising destination for medical tourism

Still, there is very little to reflect the value of the services that she renders.

Her patients say Mama is usually reluctant to talk about money. She charges tens of thousands for her services, always ready to make concessions when the patient cannot afford the fees.

These conversations usually come after she has begun treatment. As one of her patients says, when a victim is brought to her clinic, the first thing is to get the person treated and rested, money comes later.

Even at that, many patients take advantage of her levity and enjoy treatment, only to default in paying the cost.

In their defence, some of them bare their hearts before her, telling her they cannot gather their money.

When this happens, Mama tells her patients dey go.

It is where she gets the moniker that has spread far beyond the community where she lives.

Her team does not like this; she is too caring, her manager says,  but Mama needs money. We need to leave this place.

Her clinic is a trio of rooms built on a parcel of land she leased from its owners.

Her manager says she would like to erect more suitable and befitting structures, but her finances are a hindrance, and even at that, the owners have refused to let her build anything more.

Still, with very limited resources and her team on standby, Mama continues to offer healing, one patient at a time.

What I will do is that by the time I am fully recovered, I will bring my people here, one of her patients says. To come and give glory to God

When I was in Igbobi, I spent three hundred and sixty thousand, he continues, Here, I havent spent a dime and Im walking now

To the patients who go under her hand every other day, her skill comes with a package of motherly endearment that they would not find in an orthodox Nigerian hospital.

She is only wicked when shes treating, Ijeoma laughs.  but after treatment, she is just like our mother. She will call you my baby.

Fractures and accidents may have brought her to this yard on a street split down the middle by erosion, but when she leaves, it will be with her arm in good condition and her hands strong enough to sketch her designs as she did before.
Daily Guide reports that Obeng was declared wanted after she and her gang had duped over 10 Ghanaians of money running into millions of Cedis under the pretext of selling vehicles to them.

The suspect who used the operational name of Naana was apprehended at Baah Yard, Awoshie, Accra, after reportedly successfully playing hide-and-seek with the Police over the period she was declared wanted.

The Police, it was gathered, had earlier arrested a different person they had suspected was her and later realized it was a mistaken identity.

However, upon a tip-off, Obeng was later arrested after she defrauded yet another person in Osu and handed over to the CID for investigation.

The CIDs Director of Operations, ACP Peter Gyimah who confirmed the arrest of Obeng, said she displayed various vehicles for sale on the social media, claiming to be a Customs officer and that the cars were on auction, with her contact numbers for victims to call her.

ACP Gyimah added that when interested persons contact Obeng, she would arrange to either meet them or asked her accomplices to do so and in the process, defrauded the victims of various sums ranging from GH9,000 to GH50,000 and then disappeared into thin air.
But little did he know that Bukkie just manipulated him into the marriage just to bear the tag of a married woman.

Now he has been turned into a slave by his wife and her family who have dared him to take a walk and see how they would deal with him.

Read his story here:

"My name is , a 28-year-old man. I have been married for two years now but that has been the biggest mistakes I have ever made in my life because I am now a slave in the marriage.

My wife, , is eight years older than I am and the only child of her very wealthy parents and that has given her and her family the impetus to treat me like a slave.

I met Bukkie when I got a job in her father's company about four years ago. She was then an Admin Manager though she is now the General Manager and a Director of the company.

I worked directly with her and from the start, some other staff told me to be careful the way I dealt with her as she not only a snub and arrogant, but had the habit of looking down and insulting her staff.

Having been given the heads up on her, I decided to face my work and shun any attempt at being friendly with her. I gave her the respect due to her whenever I met her but I tried as much as I could to stay out of her way.

I remember the number of times she would sweep into the office, ignoring the greetings of the staff and move into her office only to call one of us and berate him or her over one offence or the other.

You can imagine my surprise one day when Bukkie called me into her office and told me that she would be traveling to Abuja for a business conference and wanted me to go with her as she had things she wanted me to help her do.

When I told my other colleagues, some of them pitied me, saying she would turn me into her Man-Friday and all round servant during the trip. But I had no choice but to go with her.

You could then imagine my shock when we got to Abuja and Bukkie booked a double room in a high-class hotel. As I helped her unpack her things, I asked her whether there was a room for me or I should arrange where to stay.

She told me I was going to stay with her in the room. I did not understand her and stood there looking at her in confusion when she told me that there was no conference and that she just wanted us to get away from Lagos and spend some time together.

She went on to tell me that she was in love with me and Lagos was just not convenient for us to be seen together just yet.

To cut the story short, we spent a whole week in Abuja where she treated me like a king, catered to my needs, bought me new clothes, and when we came back, she gave me a huge sum of money to get a better apartment where she could come and spend some time.

However, she warned me that no member of staff must get to know that we were dating or else I would not like her reaction.

We continued in this secret affair for about six months before Bukkie told me she was pregnant and that we had to get married. She took me to her parents and told them we were getting married, just like that.

We got married in a court after we had done all the necessary traditional rites and even my parents were surprised at the rush.

Before the marriage, Bukkie had told me to resign from the company, saying she would give me money to go into a business or at most, become a partner in her father's business but since we got married and I moved into their palatial home, I have been reduced to a slave, a houseboy and an object of mockery.

It turned out that Bukkie was not pregnant and just used the trick for us to get married as she was getting older and no man was coming for her.

I go to the market, wash her cars, clothes, prepare her food and worse of it all, she has stopped sleeping with me after she kicked me out of her bedroom.

To crown it all, she has been sleeping around with different men and if I complain, all I get are insults and abuses. She has even dared me to divorce her and has promised to make my life a hell as long as I live and knowing she has the connections to achieve her threats, I am in a serious dilemma.

I am seriously fed up and don't know how to free myself from this bondage.

Nathan."

The teaser for the day was:

What advise do you have for Nathan today?

How Nigeria voted:

Nathan should make up his mind and walk out of the marriage - 65%

Nathan should divorce Bukkie by all means - 25%

Nathan should go to a powerful man of God for deliverance - 3%

Nathan should talk to his wife to see if she can change - 10%
They were, however, released on N100, 000 bail.The accused  Olorundeji, 16, and Ibrahim, 15  whose addresses were not provided, are facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing.The duo, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.But the Prosecutor, Sgt. Anthonia Osayande, insisted that the accused and others now at large, committed the offences at Pako Bus Stop on Mushin Road in Itire area of Lagos at 10.45 p.m. on or before Sept. 24.

Osayande said the accused stole a Tecno Camo C8 phone valued at N45,000 belonging to the complainant, Salaudeen Toheeb.According to her, the duo stole the complainants phone while trying to board a bus.

Toheed, who immediately noticed that his phone has been stolen, raised alarm at the bus stop and during a search, the phone was found in possession of one of the accused.

The offences contravened Sections 287 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (revised).

Ruling on the bail application of the teenagers, Chief Magistrate Aro Lambo granted them N50,000 bail each with one surety each in like sum.

Lambo said the surety must be gainfully employed with an evidence of tax payment.
It was between 1775 and 1780, under the leadership of one Lisabi who was a resident of Igbehin but was born in Itoku.

At the time, the Egba people were under the sovereignty of the Alaafin of Oyo Empire.

Lisabi organized an insurgent group and disguised it as something else: A traditional mutual aid society.

He would later use the insurgent society, in1890, to free the Egbas by simultaneously killing all the collectors of tribute representing the Alaafin in all the Egba settlement.

Over six hundred of them were wiped out in one day.

Upon hearing the news, the Alaafin dispatch an Army to crush the rebellion. But the Egba people knew beforehand that the response from the headquarters wont be otherwise.

They defeated Alaafin's Army in the Egba forest and established their freedom.

However, the unity among them was not strong enough to sustain their unifying force. And it was this lack of cooperation that made it possible for them to be routed during the Yoruba wars.

Thus, it happened that between 1825 and 1830, when the Egba people could no longer withstand the frequent attacks of the slave hunters from Ibadan and Dahomey,

The Egba people, on the directives of the Ifa Oracle, was led by chief Shodeke on an exodus to the western side of what is known as Olumo Rock.

Language

The Egba people speaks North-West Yoruba (NWY) dialect of the Yoruboid languages which belong to the larger Niger-Congo language phylum.

Apart from Egba people of Abeokuta, NYW dialect is also spoken in Ibadan, Oyo, Ogun, and Lagos (Eko) areas.

Traditional Attire

Men:

Trousers, kembe/Sokoto

Top, Buba, and Agbada

Cap, Fila (a beti aja)

Women:

Wrapper, Iro

Top, Buba

Headgear, Gele

Other: Ipele - Piece of cloth placed on the shoulder or wrapped around the waist

Food

Lafu, (White Amala) and Ewedu soup; badan

Geographical location and economy

Abeokuta is situated in the fertile country of wooded savanna, the surface of which is broken by masses of grey granite.

It is spread over an extensive area, being surrounded by mud walls 18 miles in extent.

Palm-oil, timber, rubber, yams, rice, cassava, maize, cotton, other fruits, and shea butter are the chief trading products.

It is a key export location for cocoa, palm products, fruit, and kola nuts.

Both rice and cotton were introduced by the missionaries in the 1850s and have become integral parts of the economy, along with the dye indigo.

It lies below the Olumo Rock, home to several caves and shrines. The town depends on the Oyan River Dam for its water supply.

Abeokuta is the headquarters of the Federal Ogun-Oshin River Basin Authority, which is responsible for the development of land and water resources for Lagos, Ogun, and Oyo states.

Included in this are irrigation, food-processing, and electrification.
Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected! Welcome to the Pulse Community! We will now be sending you a daily newsletter on news, entertainment and more. Also join us across all of our other channels - we love to be connected!
The not-so-good news? The method thats growing fastest in popularity is one that can be pretty damn risky.

Thats what researchers determined after surveying over 3,000 unmarried men ages 15 to 44 on their methods of birth control. The findings? Using any kind of male contraceptive method increased from 52 percent in 2002 to 59 percent from 2011 to 2015.

But the withdrawal methodalso known as pulling outis the one that was growing the fastest. In 2002, just about 10 percent of men said they used withdrawal method. But by 2011 to 2015, that number had grown to 19 percent.

Rates of withdrawal method use were highest in for never-married guys, in comparison to formerly married men or cohabiting men.

Problem is, the withdrawal method can be a risky form of birth control. If used perfectlymeaning, you pull out before you ejaculate, so no semen gets in her vagina or on her vulvacouples have a 4 percent chance of getting pregnant within a year, according to estimates in the journal Contraception. But with typical usemeaning you pull out too latethe pregnancy risk within a year grows to 22 percent.

Sperm is mobile, says Raegan McDonald-Mosley, M.D., M.P.H., chief medical officer at the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, told us in the past. It swims around. Even if a little bit of semen gets near the womans vulva, it can swim into the vagina and increase the risk of pregnancy.

Plus, even if you do use the withdrawal method perfectly, its not foolproof, since its possible that the pre-ejaculate you release during sex can contain sperm.

So if youre not okay with the pregnancy risk that comes with withdrawal, seek other methods instead. If youre not looking to have kids, a permanent method like vasectomy may be a better male contraceptive method. In the year after the procedure, 15 to 20 couples out of 10,000 will experience a pregnancy, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Thats in comparison to 1,400 out of 10,000 couples using condoms.
1. More cow, more wives; Kenya

The Pokot tribe of Kenya measures the wealth of a family according to the number of cows that the family owns.

Thus, the number of wives a man can be allowed to marry is determined by the number of cows he owns.

2. Potency/Virginity test, Uganda

The Banyakole tribe, a minority tribe in Kenya places quite a heavy burden on the brides aunt when a wedding is to hold.

Not only does the aunt have to test and confirm the brides virginity, she also has to have sex with the groom to prove his potency and virility.

3. Sexual cleansing, Malawi

When a man dies, it is believed that his widow's soul has been stained by his death.

To cleanse her soul and free the dead husbands spirit, she is forced to have sex with his brother, relative or clansman.

4. Kidnap the bae, Sudan

In the Latuka tribe of Sudan, when a man intends to marry a woman, he kidnaps her to indicate his interest. Then elderly members of his family go and seek the consent of the girls father.

If he agrees, the father beats the man up as a sign of his acceptance of the union, but even if he doesnt, the man might forcefully marry the girl anyway.

5. Whipped for a wife, Nigeria:

The Fulani people of Northern Nigeria have a traditional practice called sharo which means flogging.

When a man wants to marry a woman, he is whipped publicly to demonstrate that he is strong enough to be worthy of a bride.

He is to demonstrate perseverance and strength as he endures severe whippings.

6. Fatten the boo, Mauritania

In Mauritania, a large, full-bodied wife is believed to be a symbol of good luck and prosperity in a marriage.

Women are therefore force-fed to become fatter for their wedding. This sometimes causes illness and health issues later.

7. Perform for the ladies, Niger:
I am an avid reader of your posts and on account of how you deal with issues of relationships, I am more than confident to share mine with you for a possible way out.

I met this girl some weeks ago here in Nigeria. She's a student, studying pharmacy in Turkey.

I immediately walked up to her, exchanged some pleasantries and I asked for her contact which she obliged.

The next day, I got her a flower which she reluctantly accepted because she is the shy type and I was obviously a stranger at the time.

The next day, she sent me an international number, telling me she was traveling back to turkey the next day and that I could only reach her on the said line.

Now, she's in Turkey and we have been chatting since then.

Just a while back she attacked me of not being ready for a relationship now.

Mind you, I have not officially asked her yet but I really like her and I guess she got that hint from the flower I bought her.

She even told me that she took the flower with her to Turkey.

To me, she's all I have ever wanted in a lady but I think she's building a wall of "Hey... don't come near me" around herself.

I don't want to rush things but I am deeply in love with her.

I have decided to give her a breathing space till her birthday, which is next month.

I have a feeling she loves me by our previous conversations but I just can't seem to figure out how best to get her.

Do I give her time? Do I let her be for now? Do I just maintain a platonic relationship with her for now?

What can I do to win her love notwithstanding the distance? Should I just damn the consequences and ask her out?

Please I need your advice.________________

Dear reader;

Thanks for trusting me with this.

I think she likes you and in my opinion, there are few reasons here which may be pointing in that direction.

If shes already talking to you about not being ready for a relationship, then she must have thought about it and assessed your suitability for a relationship with her.

That she said you are not ready for a relationship could mean two things;

One, it could mean that you do not meet her imagination of what a perfect partner should be like yet.

And secondly it could mean that you are dragging your feet. Its more like an invitation to ask her out and this is the interpretation Id go with if I were in your shoes.

She took the flower with her to turkey, so it means something to her and of course if it does, theres a likelihood that the giver means something to her, too.

She gave you her international number when she could have easily ignored to. If she wanted you off her case, that was the perfect opportunity to do so.

And then you seem quite confident that she likes you. Add these things together and it seems clear enough to me that the coast is clear for you to proceed.

However, if you are not ready for a relationship  mentally, financially, and other ramifications - then, please do not ask her out.

But if you keep hovering around her life, then you better make up your mind fast or move out of the way for her to concentrate on other people as it would be selfish to awaken her passion and get her interested without any intention on acting on those feelings.

But then again, I think you should go ahead and ask her out, bearing in mind all the undefinedof a long-distance relationship.________________

Do you want to talk about your love life, marriage or family issues?

Do you have burning questions that you would love to get answers to?

Just send a mail, include your location and detail your issues to relationships@pulse.ng.

I'll provide the most honest answers to them anonymously.

So, why not send that mail today and let's talk about it?
Jointly organized by Verdant Zeal in partnership with Kaduna State Government and Peugeot Automobile Nigeria, The Innovention Round Table is propelled by the success achieved with the annual Innovention Series which has held since 2012 but with a renewed vision to impact key economic hubs across Nigeria.

Scheduled to hold in Kaduna State, a key economic hub in Northern Nigeria, the Innovention Round Table will create a free platform for all employers of labour, e-commerce solopreneurs and SMEs to appreciate the place of innovation in business growth. The Innovation Roundtable Kaduna will also feature pitches from startups at CoLab, Kaduna.

The event will hold on Thursday, October 19, 2017 at The Umar Musa YarAdua Hall, Kaduna. The event which will be chaired by the Chairman, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar will have the Executive State Governor, Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai as Special Guest and the Keynote address delivered by the Managing Director Peugeot Automobile Nigeria, Mr. Ibrahim Boyi.

To be moderated by the General Manager, Supreme 96.1FM, Kaduna, Mr. Isaac Bare, other panel discussants at the event will be, Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mr. Laoye Jaiyeola; Founder/CEO, Zamani Foundation, Philomena Zamani-Henry and Kabir Farida Mohammed, Chief Executive Officer, Online Training and Awareness Campaign (OTRAC).

Register to attend for free at www.innoventionseries.org/roundtable
Okeke was said to have withdrawn his suretyship for Amosu on Thursday, October 5.

He appeared before Justice Mohammed Idris at the Federal High Court in Lagos, where Amosu is being tried, seeking to retrieve the title documents of his landed property.

He had deposited the documents in the court's custody to secure bail for Amosu.

Okeke told the judge that he has urgent need for the documents, pointing that he had applied for it since April.

"I submitted a letter five months ago; I have been trying to withdraw the documents since April. I want to use it for family reasons," he told Justice Idris.

The Judge assured him that the documents would be released to him on Thursday.

"You can withdraw; as soon as the court finishes the business for today, your documents will be released to you," Justice Idris said.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had arraigned Amosu alongside 10 others on June 29, 2016, over an N22.8 billion fraud.

The court granted him N500m bail with two sureties in like sum, and that the sureties must be owners of landed properties within the jurisdiction of the court.

The presiding judge, Justice Idris, had said that each of the sureties, is to swear to an affidavit of means, which must be verified by the prosecution.

Amosu and his co-defendants were consequently released on bail, the freedom which is now threatened with the withdrawal of Okeke's suretyship.
The Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman, said the leader of the separatist group has been using his position to manipulate members of the group in their agitation for an independent Biafran republic.

He also dismissed the group's allegation that Kanu is in the custody of the military, saying that his family know where he is hiding.

While speaking at a two-day media conference on the military's enhancement of human rights, Brig.-Gen. Usman said, "There was an allegation that somebody (Kanu) went into hiding. Now, I can't remember the day but in an interview on Channels TV, one of Nnamdi Kanu's younger brothers said that he was in hiding and he knew where he was.

"And one lawyer came up that he has taken the Chief of Army Staff to court. Now, who gave you the brief? You said you do not know where he (Kanu) is. Now, who gave you the brief? And the media is asking us where is Nnamdi Kanu?

"Why not ask the man that said so who gave him the brief to take people to court when he does not know where the man is?

"That is why those people following him have entered into a one-chance vehicle. This is somebody standing trial in a criminal case.

"Sometimes, whether we like it or not, we want to stand against the truth. But no matter how long, the truth will come to pass on October 17. This is an individual without a means of livelihood.

"I can speak eloquently. So what? If I can speak like him; I can also have my own group, that's exactly what is happening.

"So, what is the essence of our education as a people? You know that somebody is in a criminal case, and you believe in him."

Kanu has not been seen in public since September 14 when IPOB alleged that the Nigerian Army took him into custody, an allegation that has been strongly denied by the military and the presidency.

Former Abia state governor, Orji Uzor Kalu, has fueled other claims that the IPOB leader has fled the country saying he's been reliably informed that Kanu escaped to London through Malaysia.

On Wednesday, September 20, the Federal High Court in Abuja granted the Federal Government an interim injunction proscribing activities of IPOB.
Amb. Hussein Abdullahi, former Under-Secretary, Regions and International Organisations, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated this while delivering Nigerias statement on Measures to Eliminate International Terrorism at the UN headquarters, New York.

He said, however, the Nigerian Government introduced many measures to fight the terrorist group from different fronts and in compliance with human rights obligations in the fight against terrorism.

In August, 2016 President Muhammadu Buhari launched the revised National Counter Terrorism Strategy (NACTEST) and urged Nigerians to team up to win the psychological battle against terrorism.

The President called for multi-sectoral collaboration and urged all government establishments to cue into NACTEST for maximum achievements.

The revised strategy was meant to confront the dynamism of the perpetrators and involve all stakeholders in the battle by encouraging Nigerians to unite against terror in spite of their religious, tribal and political leanings.

Since the presidents launch of this revised National Counter Terrorism Strategy, Nigerians have equipped themselves psychologically to win the war against the terrorist group.

The strategy succeeded in uniting Nigerians from all walks of life towards defeating Boko Haram.

It also encourages religious leaders to use their various places of worship to enlighten their followers through change of mindset to embrace morality and love of God, he said.

Abdullahi said with the measures taken by Nigerians and the Federal Government in confronting the Boko Haram terrorist organisation head-on, their activities had been completely degraded.

Nigerian forces have been able to clear Boko Haram out of many areas in the northeast by reclaiming territories captured by the organisation and restoring peace and stability in the affected states.

Today, residents in the North-Eastern states now move about their daily businesses in relative safety, he said.

According to him, Nigeria has trained and equipped the military forces in counterterrorism and counter-insurgency on subjects ranging from urban patrol to unarmed combat and humanitarian law.

He said the Special Forces of the Nigerian military had been training a mobile strike team of some officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps and the Nigerian Police.

As additional measure, Nigeria has developed huge capacity for the prompt and timely prosecution of Boko Haram suspects.

This has been made possible by the establishment of a Complex Case Group to specifically address all terrorist-related matters.

The Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force of the UN has successfully trained many government officials in the areas of human rights, rule of law and counter-terrorism, he said.

The Nigerian official also said that there was a programme for de-radicalisation, rehabilitation, reorientation and re-integration for repentant Boko Haram suspects.

In order to assist the victims of Boko Haram, government initiated a Victims Support Fund and the Presidential Initiative for the North East as well as the Safe Schools Initiative.

These initiatives have facilitated the provision of humanitarian relief, socio-economic stabilisation and resettlement of persons displaced by the terror organization.

It is remarkable to note that Nigeria has indeed recorded significant progress in the fight against terrorism through international cooperation from some friendly countries around the world, Abdullahi said.

He pointed out the closer cooperation Nigeria enjoyed with its neighbours, Cameroon, Chad, Niger Republic and Benin Republic, within the framework of the Lake Chad Basin Commission to form a Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF).

Consistent with our faith in the need for a collective fight against terrorism, I like to re-affirm Nigerias commitment to work closely with all UN counter-terrorism entities.
JOLIET, Ill., Oct. 05, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) held its annual Fall Rally, presented by the Steel Market Development Institute (SMDI), this week at the Autobahn Country Club in Joliet, Illinois. Automakers showcased their latest cars, trucks and SUVs where 80 media members from across the country gathered to put nearly 70 vehicles through their paces on track, street and off-road course.



Toyota opened the event with a breakfast presentation featuring its 2018 Camry, Americas best-selling car for 15 consecutive years and a candidate for North American Car of the Year. Chad Moore, product training expert at Toyota, led the presentation on the eighth-generation Camry. He explained that it has gone through a total evolution from a proven, dependable and safe car to one that also possesses a more exciting and emotional character, thanks to its newfound sporty performance and eye-catching style.

Additionally, the new Camry utilizes Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA) which represents new strategy to the way the company designs, engineers and packages its vehicles. TNGA retains all of Toyotas traditional values of superlative build quality and safety while injecting a fun driving experience that plays on all the senses. The physical manifestation is the usage of a new engine, transmission and GA-K platform.

Following the morning session featuring track touring laps, street driving and an off-road course sponsored by Jeep, the group gathered for lunch, where Honda led a presentation featuring the Civic Type R. Carl Pulley, assistant public relations manager at Honda, said this all-new Type R continues its legacy as an exciting, front-wheel-drive, high-performance hatchback and is the ultimate expression of the genre. Media members had the chance to test drive one of two Type R vehicles that Honda brought for media members to experience on the track at the Fall Rally.

Pulley said everything about the Civic Type R was designed to create the optimum performance driving experience  from the performance-tuned 2.0L i-VTEC DOHC turbocharged engine and six-speed manual transmission to the Type R unique chassis components and three-mode dynamic driving control. This is the most extreme Type R ever built, with track-ready performance providing the most rewarding driving experience in its segment, according to Honda.

The MAMA Fall Rally is one of two track events the organization hosts each year. MAMA also hosts monthly meetings for its members; the upcoming event list can be found at www.mamaonline.org.

For multimedia - http://mama.tritium.co/mama-hosted-75-media-members-to-experience-nearly-70-vehicles-at-its-annual-fall-rally

About the Midwest Automotive Media Association

The Midwest Automotive Media Association (MAMA) is a professional non-profit press association, with a 25-year history, that brings together automotive journalists and manufacturers to provide a platform for automakers to release news. MAMA's membership has grown to nearly 300 and includes journalists covering print, broadcast, online as well as media relations professionals within the automotive industry. For more information, visit www.mamaonline.org.

Contact:

Jill Ciminillo

MAMA President

president@mamaonline.org
The minister arrived at the Presidential Villa around 11:40am on Friday, October 6, 2017, to discuss the contents of the letter where he made allegations against the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru.

In the letter he wrote to the president, who is also the Minister of Petroleum, Kachikwu said he considered it important to call the attention of the president to his concerns about Baru because they're capable of hindering progress in the petroleum sector.

In the letter dated August 30, 2017, Kachikwu had also complained about how attempts to book an appointment with the president had failed.

The meeting was reported to be taking place yesterday, but there was no official confirmation that it happened.
The president stated this when he hosted a delegation of the judicial arm of government led by the Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Walter Onnoghen, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday.

He, therefore, stressed the need to put in place urgent new measures to speedily decongest the prisons across the country.

He stated that the call had become imperative not only in the interest of justice but to save the cost of prisons maintenance and boost the welfare of prisoners.

We need a new approach to prison congestion. It is a national scandal that many prisons are overcrowded by 90 per cent.

Urgent new measures should be put place to speedily decongest the prisons not only in the interest of justice but to save cost of prisons maintenance and welfare of prisoners.

My Attorney General is advocating establishment of courts inside the prisons to speed up decongestion, he said.

On review of the conditions of service of the judicial staff, the president directed the office of the Attorney General of the federation to take up the issue with the Salary and Wages Commission with a view to advising him for prompt action.

He stated that his administration was not unmindful of the challenges facing the judiciary, saying that the increased budgetary allocation to the judiciary in the 2017 fiscal year would be sustained.

Buhari lamented that huge sums were being spent on security, especially in the North East and Niger Delta regions, instead of meaningful development, to better the lives of citizens.

He, however, expressed optimism that God would touch the minds of Nigerians to be patient with the government in its efforts to transform the nations economy.

From 1999 to 2014, Nigeria has never realised so much resources since our independence, never, because the average production, go to any renowned financial or economic institution in the world they know Nigeria produced an average of 2.1 million barrel per day at an average cost of 100 dollars per barrel.

But when we came in it crashed to 37 dollars per barrel, and we looked saving and there was no saving

So really, we have just started working and we hope God in his infinite mercy would give Nigerians the patient to tolerate us, he added.

While commending the judiciary for establishing special courts to speed up trial for corruption and other criminal cases, Buhari said the stability of the country depended a lot on the Judiciary and Police.

Earlier, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, thanked God for healing the President Buhari.
The 13 patients, including a medical doctor and a 17-year-old boy suspected to be infected with the monkeypox virus currently isolated at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital (NDUTH), are responding to treatment and are at various stages of recovery.

Prof. Ebitimitula Etebu, Bayelsa Commissioner for Health, who addressed a news conference on Friday, along with his Information counterpart, Mr Daniel Iworiso-Markson, said that there was no cause for alarm as the state had taken steps to curtail further spread.

Etebu had on Thursday put the figure of affected patients at 11.

He however, added that two of the infected patients earlier isolated, had been treated and discharged.

NAN recalls that the first index case was reported two weeks ago at Agbura, a rural settlement near Yenagoa.

Etebu said the victim had killed and eaten a monkey with members of his household and neighbours who later showed symptoms of the monkeypox virus.

He, however, said that results of the blood samples dispatched to the World Health Organisation reference laboratory in Dakar for confirmatory tests, were still being awaited.

He said that it was only the results that would confirm the identity of the virus.

We, have taken the `usual steps in medical parlance in accordance with international best practices and the tests take some time because they have to culture the virus and allow it to grow sufficiently for it to be identified.

That is the process we are taking and once the results are out, the public will be notified about it,? he said.

On his part, Iworiso  Markson said the state government was, doing its best to arrest the situation as it responded promptly to the health emergency.

He said that the government had since inaugurated a Quick Response Team which was working round the clock to contain the outbreak.

He urged the residents to be calm and report any suspected case of rashes similar to chickenpox to the disease surveillance teams on toll free numbers 08066987752 , 08035474676.

Speaking earlier, Chief Medical Director, of NDUTH Prof Dimie Ogoina, said that the state was receiving support from the World Health Organisation and the Centre for Disease Control.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the union agreed to suspend the strike following the conciliatory meeting at the instance of the Minister of Labour and Employment on Sept. 30 in Abuja.

However, only a few patients were seen at the out-patient department.

The hospitals JOHESU Chairman, Mr Uzondu Eke, said that the workers held their congress and had resumed work.

The strike has been suspended and we are back to work.

We are already attending to the patients who are government owned as they have no relations.Patients who come to the hospital at this time will be received, he said.

The Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Oluyemisi Ogun, said that patients would receive better care.Normal activities will resume and the patients will be better taken care of, she said.

It would be recalled that JOHESU had embarked on an indefinite strike on Sept. 20 over non-implementation of agreement reached with the Federal Government.

ALSO READ: Strike continues till Friday despite negotiations with FG

The unions demands include adjustment of CONHESS salary as done for CONMESS since 2014, and abolition of scale to scale promotion, payment of outstanding arrears of promotion, skipping and relativity.
The minister was involved in a closed door meeting with the president to discuss the controversial letter that was leaked to the media three days ago.

He arrived at the Presidential Villa around 11:40am to discuss the contents of the letter where he made allegations against the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru.

While leaving the Presidential Villa around 12:50pm, the minister refused to answer questions about what was said behind closed doors, simply responding, "No comment."

In the letter leaked he wrote to the president, who is also the Minister of Petroleum, Kachikwu said he considered it important to call the attention of the president to his concerns about Baru because they're capable of hindering progress in the petroleum sector.

In the letter dated August 30, 2017, Kachikwu had also complained about how attempts to book an appointment with the president had failed.
Here are 10 things you need to know about whats going on:

1. Monkeypox is a 'zoonotic' virus. That means it comes from animals. It can be transmitted from animals to humans and from humans to humans.

2. It was first discovered in crab eating Monkeys in Copenhagen, Denmark in 1958 by a scientist called Preben von Magnus.

3. Monkeypox was first discovered in humans in 1970.

4. Even though its called Monkeypox, most animals bear the virus.

Squirrels, rats, antelopes and some other rodents you can think of, are vectors of Monkeypox. Best to stay off bush meat while you still can.

5. You get Monkeypox from an animal bite or from contact with an infected animal. Fluids and droppings from infected animals arent to be touched.

Secretions from dead animals are highly contagious as well. Fluids from infected persons are also contagious.

Children and young adults are most susceptible to infection.

6. The first index case of Monkeypox in Bayelsa came from Agbura in Yenagoa where someone who killed and ate a Monkey, immediately started developing the rashes.

7. The Bayelsa Health Commissioner says the State is working with the Veterinary Unit of Ministry of Agriculture to increase surveillance at abattoirs where animals are slaughtered for human consumption.

8. Symptoms of Monkeypox include swelling of lymph nodes, headache, fever and muscle pain. The rashes come soon after.

9. Monkeypox has a lower death rate than the Smallpox. According to Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu who is the CEO of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC),in previous outbreaks, it has led to death in about one to 10 per cent of infected cases. Although there is no specific medicine to treat the disease, when intensive supportive care is provided, most patients recover fully.

10. So far, 11 cases of Monkeypox have been identified in Bayelsa while 32 persons are being monitored after contact tracing.
Nganjiwa, a judge of the Federal High Court, Bayelsa Division, is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged corrupt enrichment to the tune of 260,000 dollars and N8.7 million, totalling N81.7 million.

The federal high court judge had filed an application before Justice Akintoye, urging him to stay proceedings of the alleged corrupt enrichment case before his court.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the defendants counsel, Mr Robert Clarke (SAN), had moved a motion for the stay of proceeding pursuant to Sections 6(6) and 36 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

Clarke said: Whatever powers this court possess is subject to the Constitution, it is an application challenging Your Lordships jurisdiction.

He argued that the court was bound to refrain from further action on the case, particularly since the appeal was set in motion before the defendant took his `not guilty plea.

As of today, the Court of Appeal is fully seized of this matter. In those days, when we were younger, if a lower court disregarded the judgment of a higher court it was called judicial rascality, he said.

Clarke contended that the application was constitutional not frivolous, adding that the issue involved was a grey area of the law.

We urge Your Lordship to be on the side of caution and in the interest of justice and grant the application.

But the Prosecutor, Mr Wahab Shittu, who stood in for Mr Rotimi Oyedepo,the EFCC counsel, opposed the application, describing it a time-wasting ploy.

We are strongly opposing this application based on statutory provisions, particularly Section 273 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State and Section 40 of the EFCC Act, all of which prohibit the granting of stay of proceedings.

The application by the learned silk is incompetent because the law does not allow it; the rationale for this is to forestall delay.

Our courts frown at delay tactics by defence counsel. This application is an attempt to stall proceedings by counsel.

I urge My Lord to dismiss the application and order the prosecution to commence its case, he told the court.

But Akintoye, however, ruled that the defendants application was without merit.

The judge, who held that Nganjiwas application seemed like a delay tactics, added that his trial before his court would continue while the outcome of his appeal at the appellate court was being awaited.

This court is not empowered to entertain any stay of proceedings or deferment of proceedings however it may be described in criminal matters.

The judicial system has moved from delay tactics which may be brought to forestall the hearing of a case.

As a result, this matter will continue today as we await the outcome of the decision of the esteemed Court of Appeal, Akintoye ruled.

NAN also reports that the trial could not go on because counsel to the defendant, Clarke, requested for more time to study the application for proof of evidence served on the defendant on Thursday by the prosecution.

He said: I am seeing the processes for the first time in this court. I need time to go through them.
At the resumed hearing, Mr Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN) announced to the court of his readiness to move his clients application.

Justice John Tsoho, however, refused to entertain the suit on the grounds that the respondent was not represented in court.

The suit was brought pursuant to Order 2 Rule 1 of the Fundamental Rights Enforcement Procedure Rules 2009 and Sections 34(1), 36(1), 37, 42 and 44 of 1999 Constitution as amended.

The applicant is praying for an order for general damages and compensation in the sum of N2billion.

She averred that the amount would serve as compensation for the violation of her fundamental rights by the commission.

Mrs Jonathan is also seeking a declaration that her incessant harassments by the EFCC through negative media publications aimed at degrading her person as corrupt had sufficiently violated her rights.

She alleged that the commissions malicious campaigns against her were carried out by the respondent without prior invitation to defend herself.

Mrs Jonathan further averred that the respondents actions were not offshoot of her trial and conviction in any courts of competent jurisdiction.

She said her rights and good public image had been violated under Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution as a result of the respondents untamed actions.

She is also seeking a declaration de-freezing all her bank accounts and those of her relatives held down by the EFCC under the guise of investigation of proceeds of crime.

The applicant averred that the commission had without her invitation and interrogation approached a court to freeze those accounts.

ALSO READ: Patience Jonathan recovers N2 billion hotel from EFCC

She is further seeking a declaration that the invasion of her property by the EFCC officers in her absence was a breach of her fundamental right among others.

The applicant has therefore, asked for an order restraining EFCC, whether by itself, its agents, privies or any person acting on its behalf from further violating the her fundamental rights.

The EFCC had seized a multi-million naira hotel allegedly belonging to the wife of ex-president Jonathan.

The anti-graft agency also seized three other properties in Abuja alleged owned by the applicant.

Mrs Jonathan first came under EFCCs search light in May 2016 when the commission arrested a former Special Adviser to the President on Domestic Affairs, Waripamowei Dudafa.

The applicant laid claim to about 15 million US dollars found in bank accounts allegedly belonging to Dudafas domestic servants.

She had swiftly sued Skye Bank Plc and the EFCC on that account.
Misau alleged the Police boss was pocketing N10 billion "illicit fund" generated by the Force from private firms on monthly basis.

The Police, however, denied the allegation but also accused Misau of deserting the Force.

Misau was a former Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) before he ventured into politics.

While speaking on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday, October 3, 2017, Misau accused the IGP of having sexual relationship with two female police officers.

The Bauchi Central lawmaker also accused the IGP of secretly tying the knots with a female cop which he impregnated.

Senate President Bukola Saraki referred the matter of Misaus alleged desertion to the committee on ethics and privileges.

An ad-hoc committee was also set up to investigate the allegation of corruption against the Police boss, Idris.

But in a statement made available to , Agbese argued that the Senate was acting out a 'well-rehearsed script.'

The Senate, acting out what is now increasingly proving to be a well-rehearsed script, now has not one but two committees investigating the Inspector General of Police over what may well be a vendetta since there is no substance to warrant the deployment of scarce legislative resources in this manner, Agbese said.

In the coming days the two committees will likely be serving made-up obscene details that will make us all forget the key issue, which is that of a Senate populated with people that only serve their own interests.

It is about the Senators striving hard to get Nigerians something to ventilate about while ignoring the substance of the matter. It will be another season of made-for-television reality show that will neither add value to our lives nor to deepen our democracy.

The issue is a Senate that has failed to come up with the appropriate intervention to deploy more funding to make the Police more effective but has instead decided to hound those currently managing the little that is available to combat crimes spawned by the political class typified by Senators.

It is about lawmakers that are angry because the Inspector General of Police possibly found public-private partnerships that work at a time when no ideas are coming from those drawing jumbo salaries and allowances for that very purpose, he added.

The activist advised Nigerians to elect responsible representatives to the National Assembly.

If there is something Nigerians are yet to learn is the need to ensure that they only send in serious minded people as their representatives to the National Assembly.

Each constituency or district tend to think Nigeria can manage with the mediocre they are sending to parliament unawares that the other districts are doing about the same thing so we end up with a mediocre mass that we expect to legislate and perform oversight functions as applicable in other parts of the world.
The day-long invite only conference attracted some of Nigerias emerging big-wigs in the world of coding and marketing.

Some of the speakers at the Conference were, Emeka Afigbo, Facebook head of Facebook Strategy & Partner for West Africa who spoke on Building Communities & Products.

Others were Brad Heintz who spoke on building meaningful customer connections with Facebook, Tudor Sapunaru who apoke on How to build your, Proud Dzambukira on Facebook Analytics: Product Overview and Babara Mbanefo on Facebook Audience Network. Christine Abernathy spoke on React. A Java Script library for building user interface.

The Facebook Team was led by Jennifer Fong, Strategic Partnership Manager, Middle East and Africa for Facebook.

Participants at the Conference were able to ask pertinent questions about building a viable startup community using Facebook and also leveraging on the platform for building customer experience.

While others were interested in leveraging on Facebooks analytics in refining their marketing strategies in terms of search and conversion.

Speaking at the Conference, the founder of Ingressive, Maya Horgan-Famodu she said that Ingressive provides curated market access for investors, tech companies and corporates to enter and operate in the African market.

According to her, the philosophy that drives Ingressive is that technology will be the main driver of long-term economic development in Sub-Saharan Africa. And the goal of the company is to identify and invest in businesses that will shape the future of Africa through technology, and improve the lives of millions across the region.

We have a constantly growing network of high net-worth investors and entrepreneurs and the zeal to make a huge impact on the African tech ecosystem.

One of the ways Ingressive hopes to achieve this is the High Growth Africa boot camp for startups.

The High Growth Africa Summit is an intense two days dedicating to teaching and learning how to build, scale and fund high growth businesses in Africa.

Successful business founders and investors from the Silicon Valley, Europe & Africa will convene to share practical how-to guides on strategy, tactics and tools startup founders can use to grow their business in Africa.
ZURICH, Switzerland, Oct. 05, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thunderbird Resorts Inc. (Thunderbird or Group) (Euronext Amsterdam:TBIRD) (FSE:4TR): The Group owns a mixed-use, 19-story tower in Lima, Peru that is comprised of a 66 all-suite hotel, approximately 5,400 m2 of leasable offices, approximately 7,000 m2 casino operation with approximately 680 gaming positions, and 308 underground parking spaces. The Group also operates 3 other gaming operations in Peru, with an additional approximately 560 gaming positions.



The Group is pleased to announce that it has signed binding agreements with SunDreams S.A. of Chile to sell all of our Peruvian gaming operations plus the approximately 7,000 m2 of gaming real estate and approximately 150 parking spaces. The price for these assets is USD $26 million. The transaction is subject to certain conditions precedent and regulatory approvals, and is projected to be completed before the end of January 2018.

The Group is not selling its 66 all-suite Fiesta hotel or its approximately 5,400 m2 of leasable offices or the remaining parking area as a part of this transaction. We will continue to pursue transaction(s) that support the best interests of shareholders as per the shareholder mandate set forth in the September 21, 2016, Special Resolutions. We will keep you informed as to any material events and/or progress.

Salomon Guggenheim

Chief Executive Officer and President

ABOUT THE COMPANY: We are an international provider of branded casino and hospitality services, focused on markets in Latin America. Our mission is to create extraordinary experiences for our guests. Additional information about the Group is available at www.thunderbirdresorts.com.

Contact : Peter LeSar, Chief Financial Officer  Email : plesar@thunderbirdresorts.com

Cautionary Notice: Cautionary Notice: This disclosure contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the securities laws and regulations of various international, federal, and state jurisdictions. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in the Annual Report, including without limitation, statements regarding potential revenue and future plans and objectives of Thunderbird are forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. There can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Thunderbird's forward-looking statements include competitive pressures, unfavorable changes in regulatory structures, and general risks associated with business, all of which are disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in Thunderbird's documents filed from time-to-time with the Euronext Amsterdam and other regulatory authorities.
Battisti was detained Wednesday near Brazil's border with Bolivia, apparently while trying to skip the country amid reports the Brazilian authorities were ready to end the protection he was accorded under former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Italian Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano said in a tweet that he was working with Rome's ambassador to Brazil to "bring Battisti back to Italy and hand him over to justice."

Battisti has been sentenced to life in prison in his homeland for his role in four murders attributed to Armed Proletarians for Communism, an extremist group active in the 1970s.

He admits to having been part of an armed revolutionary group but denies responsibility for any deaths.

Having published several critically acclaimed novels, he described himself in a rare interview in 2011 as a reformed man.

Writer in Paris

"Aspiring to change society with arms is idiotic," he said. "But listen, at the time everyone was packing a gun. There were guerillas all over the world, Italy was in a pre-revolutionary situation.

"It has been 30 years since I considered myself a political militant, now I'm an activist for literature."

Convicted in 1979 of being a member of an armed gang, Battisti escaped from a prison near Rome two years later and fled to Mexico via France.

He was subsequently convicted in absentia of having personally killed two members of Italy's police forces, taking part in the murder of a butcher, and having helped plan the slaying of a jeweller who died in a shoot-out which left his 14-year-old son in a wheelchair.

"I hope that after 40 years, justice will finally be done and that the doors of prison will open to let in an assassin," said Debora Serracchiani, president of the Friuli Venezia region, where the butcher, Antonio Santoro, was killed in 1978.

After a spell in Mexico, Battisti moved in 1990 to Paris, where he was able to pursue his writing career, safe from the risk of being extradited.

France at the time routinely rejected requests for the repatriation of leftists convicted of violent crimes during Italy's so-called Years of Lead.

That was a period spanning the 1970s and early 1980s that was marked by political bombings, kidnappings and killings carried out by extreme left and right groups.

Last-ditch reprieve

France's policy reflected the concerns of then president Francois Mitterrand over Italy's anti-terrorism legislation and the use of witnesses guaranteed protection to obtain convictions.

Under pressure from Italy, France eventually abandoned the so-called Mitterrand doctrine, and was on the verge of handing Battisti back in 2004 when he skipped bail and fled to Brazil.

There he lived clandestinely until his 2007 arrest in Rio de Janeiro. He subsequently spent four years in custody while his fate was debated by politicians and the courts.

An attempt by the left-wing government of the time to give him political refugee status was quashed but the final decision on whether or not Battisti was extradited was left with the president.

On January 31, 2010, hours before the end of his time in office, Lula ruled that Battisti should not be sent back to Italy.

In June 2011, the supreme court upheld the decision and Battisti was freed, sparking outrage in Italy.

The circumstances of Battisti's latest arrest suggest he was planning to flee to Bolivia.

According to reports, he was in a Bolivian taxi headed for the border and was stopped because he was carrying $5,000 and 2,000 euros in cash, leading to his arrest for attempting to take more than the authorised amount out of the country.
The 76-year-old, the highest ranking Catholic official to face such offences, attended the Melbourne Magistrates Court for the largely administrative hearing even though he was not required to do so.

He is accused of multiple historical sexual offences, meaning that the alleged crimes occurred long ago.

The exact details and nature of the allegations have not been made public, other than they involve "multiple complainants".

The former Sydney and Melbourne archbishop, who returned from Rome in July to attend the first hearing, has always maintained his innocence.

He has not had to enter a plea yet, but at his last appearance at the same court instructed his lawyer to make clear he intended to plead not guilty.

"For the avoidance of doubt and because of the interest, I might indicate that Cardinal Pell pleads not guilty to all charges and will maintain the presumed innocence that he has," barrister Robert Richter said at the time.

Friday's short hearing, known as a committal mention, was called to deal with procedural issues ahead of a full committal hearing.

At his first court appearance, Pell had to battle through a crush of national and international media as he walked the short distance from his barrister's office to the court's main entrance.

Hunched over and looking weary, Australia's most powerful Catholic made the same trek Friday but with a much heavier police presence, making no comment.

Pell has been granted a leave of absence by the Pope, who has made clear the cardinal would not be forced to resign his post as head of the Vatican's powerful economic ministry.

But the scandal has rocked the church. He is the most senior Catholic cleric to be charged with criminal offences linked to its long-running sexual abuse scandal.

The allegations against Pell coincide with the final stages of Australia's Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sex Abuse, ordered in 2012 after a decade of pressure to investigate widespread allegations of institutional paedophilia.

The commission has spoken to thousands of survivors and heard claims of child abuse involving churches, orphanages, sporting clubs, youth groups and schools.
Another driver was killed in Berlin, rescue workers said. Several others were injured as the heavy winds swept through the German capital before weakening later in the day.

Most of those injured were struck by falling tree branches.

A truck driver was also killed by a falling tree on a main road in the northeastern state Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, police told news agency DPA, and a female driver was killed in the Brandenburg region when a tree hit her car.

Three more people were killed in similar incidents, according to local authorities.

The German weather service (DWD) predicted that hurricane-force winds would continue to lash northeastern Germany into the evening Thursday.

State-owned rail operator Deutsche Bahn ordered a halt to trains across northern Germany, especially the Hamburg-Berlin line, as many routes were blocked by fallen trees.

Many services were also cancelled in the country's east, as were urban S-Bahn trains in capital Berlin.

Berliners packed into trams and underground services to escape the powerful gusts of wind, which threw traffic signs and advertising billboards to the ground.

Firefighters in the German capital were on high alert after receiving 50 emergency calls in the space of half an hour, while their colleagues in Hamburg reported responding to over 800 calls.

In Berlin meteorologists said that wind gusts of up to 120 kilometres per hour could be expected.

Berlin zoo was closed to the public in the early afternoon.
She is one of hundreds of thousands in the region who are against independence and are watching events unfurl with growing disquiet and anger.

The stand-off between Catalonia's separatist leaders and Madrid has escalated, with the regional executive warning they could proclaim independence as early as Monday.

They are backed by a wave of popular support among those in favour of splitting from Spain, and also among others furious at the police repression of an independence referendum that took place on Sunday despite a ban by Madrid.

'Silent majority'

Other Catalans, though, are not so supportive of their regional leaders.

Calling themselves a "silent majority," they are against independence and worried about the economic and political consequences such a move would entail.

In the Nou Barris district of Barcelona, traditionally less separatist than other areas of the Mediterranean seaside city, many were concerned on Thursday.

But most refused to give their names, afraid of standing out in a general atmosphere of pro-independence fervour they don't feel they belong to.

One woman said she wouldn't identify herself "for fear".

The man next to her pointed to a Catalan separatist flag flying from a nearby balcony.

Justified or not, the fear points to growing tensions in Catalonia, where the latest opinion poll commissioned by the regional government in July had indicated just over 41 percent of inhabitants were pro-independence.

That figure may well have gone up since Sunday's police violence. Anger has erupted over anti-referendum measures judged too harsh such as the detention of organisers of the vote, which was deemed illegal by the Constitutional Court.

But roughly half of Catalonia is still believed to be firmly against separating from Spain, and as the economic stakes rise, so do their worries.

Spain's fifth-biggest bank Sabadell, for instance, decided on Thursday to shift its legal domicile away from Catalonia in response to the crisis.

"It's a disaster," says Garcia. She says many people she knows are currently holding out on buying non-urgent items like clothes to see how the situation evolves.

"People are scared of finding themselves without work, or not being able to take money out" of the bank, she says.

The subject of independence is even dividing families.

Jose-Maria, the 46-year-old manager of several cafes in Barcelona who refused to give his surname, says his two sons are pro-independence but he isn't.

"If we talk about the subject, we argue," he says.

In an opinion piece for the El Pais daily, Catalan filmmaker Isabel Coixet said she had been called a "fascist" by unknown men as she walked her dog, due to her public views against independence.

"For months, even years... the insults and discrediting directed at those who, like me, don't follow the independence movement's single thought and express our disagreement have been constant," she wrote this week.

"And in the past few months, the hate we have generated is reaching unprecedented heights."

'More important things'

Even those whose experience has not been so publicly difficult complain that the "pros and cons" of an independent state have not properly been explained by Catalan leaders.

Juan, 67 years old and retired, questions how the wealthy yet heavily indebted northeastern region will be able to finance a new state.

"They won't be able to pay things here, the pensions," he says.

"They will have to have an army, pay the police, cleaning services, lots of things."

Over in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat near Barcelona, David Fernandez, a 42-year-old window-fitter, is equally confused.

"If they declare independence, what will happen?," he says.

"Will there be free healthcare? Work for all?"

He is angry at the police crackdown against the referendum, and says even that stance has caused problems among his friends who think the forces' action was "justifiable".

"There is definitely social disruption," he says.
In announcing the move, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres noted that the coalition had taken some measures to improve the protection of children.

"In Yemen, the actions of the coalition to restore legitimacy in Yemen objectively led to that party being listed for the killing and maiming of children," said a report released along with the list as an annex.

In 2016, the coalition was responsible for 683 child casualties and for 38 verified attacks on schools and hospitals, it said.

Yemen's government forces, pro-government militias, the Huthi rebels and Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) were also cited for violations, but in a separate section of the list that said they had failed to protect children.

Guterres spoke to Saudi King Salman ahead of the release of the list, which UN officials had shared with Riyadh months earlier to avoid a repeat of the clash that followed the blacklisting by his predecessor Ban Ki-moon last year.

Ban removed the coalition from the list and publicly complained that it was unacceptable for countries to "exert undue pressure" on the United Nations to avoid scrutiny.

Saudi Arabia denied that it had pressured Ban and has since insisted that the coalition is respecting its obligations under international humanitarian law.

Saudi Ambassador Abdallah al-Mouallimi is scheduled to hold a news conference at the United Nations on Friday.

In a statement, Guterres stressed that the blacklist was "not only to raise awareness" but also to "promote measures that can diminish the tragic plight of children in conflict."

The UN chief said he was encouraged that some governments were taking steps to spare children from the horrors of conflict and voiced hope that "more will follow."

Suspend Saudi weapon sales

The report and the list were on Thursday sent to the Security Council, which includes countries such as the United States, Britain and France that support the coalition in its war against Iran-backed Huthi rebels.

Human Rights Watch applauded the decision to include the coalition on the list but disputed the view that the military was taking measures to protect children.

"The coalition needs to stop making empty promises to exercise caution, take concrete action to stop these deadly unlawful attacks in Yemen, and allow desperately needed fuel and aid to reach those in need," said Jo Becker, HRW's children's rights advocate.

"Until this happens, governments should suspend all Saudi weapons sales," she said.

The report said the coalition was responsible for 683 of the total 1,340 child casualties last year in Yemen and for 73 percent of the 52 attacks on schools and hospitals.

The council will hold a debate on the report on October 31.

Swedish Ambassador Olof Skoog, who leads the council's committee on children and armed conflict, backed Guterres' efforts to engage with Riyadh on the next steps and said the list should serve to "promote change."

The Saudi-led Arab military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi after the Huthis forced him into exile.
It was the first time Francis has met with Barbarin, the Archbishop of Lyon, since the cardinal learned last month that he would have to appear in court in April in connection with priest Bernard Preynat's abuse of boy scouts in the 1980s.

Public prosecutors ruled last year that Barbarin did not have a case to answer but he and six other co-defendants have been directly indicted by some of Preynat's victims. A judge ruled last month that the case could proceed.

Barbarin, 66, faces a potential jail sentence if found guilty of failing to act immediately and appropriately when one of the victims reported Preynat to the Church in 2014, demanding he be sacked.

But Barbarin -- one of the French Church's most prominent figures -- left him in his post for several more months.

The cardinal has denied any attempt to shield Preynat, saying he did not know how to deal with allegations relating to events dating back over two decades.

But after initially saying he first learned of the allegations in 2014, Barbarin admitted in 2016 to having known about the allegations for nearly a decade.

The case has been damaging for the church in France and the credibility of Francis's promises to rid the global institution of a scourge that has done enormous damage to its standing with believers and non-believers alike.

Francis has said senior clerics who shield paedophile priests should resign, but he has stood by Barbarin, insisting the cardinal, to whom he is reportedly close, took the necessary measures in the Preynat case.
The decision was also supported by Kiev's Western partners but bitterly opposed by hardcore Ukrainian nationalists who set off flares outside the chamber during a feisty debate held Thursday.

Deputies voted Friday by a 229 to 57 margin to extend "local self-government in individual districts of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions" once all Russian troops and arms are withdrawn from Ukraine's war-scarred east.

The legislation strikes at the heart of an intractable Ukrainian problem: putting an end to one of Europe's deadliest modern wars and reunifying the country while getting Russia to admit it is behind fighting in which more than 10,000 have died.

The pro-EU leaders who rose to power after a February 2014 revolution toppled a Kremlin-backed regime view the bloodshed as an effort by Russian President Vladimir Putin to continue exerting control over Kiev.

The Kremlin denies any involvement despite overwhelming eyewitness evidence of its tanks and troops crossing the Russian-Ukrainian border into the warzone since fighting broke out in April 2014.

'Occupied territories'

The local self-government rule never technically went into effect in Lugansk and Donetsk. Both Western states and OSCE monitors back Kiev's assertion that thousands of Russia's troops and its weapons are still in the conflict zone.

But the provision is demanded by Moscow and viewed by some Western diplomats as a way of keeping alive sputtering peace negotiations periodically held in the Belarussian capital Minsk.

One of Ukraine's top representatives to the Minsk talks pleaded with deputies to adopt the bill in an emotional address that came in the heat of a passionate parliamentary session full of pushing and shoving.

"We cannot free our occupied territories only through military means," Iryna Gerashchenko said while about 100 nationalists rallied outside the building.

"We have to unite the diplomatic tracks with the military ones," she said.

"So our goal is to create this synergy -- to beef up our military and beef up our diplomacy," Gerashchenko said.

The US envoy to the Ukrainian negotiations said the vote "shows Ukraine (is) taking tough steps for peace."

"Hope Russia now acts to make peace -- time to end conflict," Kurt Volker tweeted.

And a European diplomatic source in Kiev told AFP that parliament's failure to adopt the self-rule extension would have opened up the "risk that Russia will abandon the negotiations and that Ukraine will be held responsible".

'Very important bill'

Russia's initial response was cautious but seemingly welcoming.

"This is a very important bill," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

"Of course, the expiration of the old law (without a replacement) would have sparked everyone's concern," said Peskov.

The Donetsk representative to the peace talks also toned down his usual vitriolic attacks on Kiev after the self-rule legislation was passed.

"Ukraine was forced to extend this special status law because Russia, Germany and the United States demanded it," Denis Pushylin said in a statement issued on one of the insurgents' websites.

Partial autonomy would allow the Russian-backed regions to set up their own police forces and even court systems.

Lawmakers also gave initial backing to legislation proclaiming the war a Russian "occupation" in which Moscow finances the fighters and supports "terrorist activity".
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  The Udall Foundation has named Purdue University student Sabrina Myoda a 2017 Udall Scholar. Myoda is among 50 U.S. students across the nation to receive the prestigious award.

The Udall Scholarship recognizes college sophomores and juniors for leadership, public service and commitment to issues related to the environment or American Indian nations. It provides up to $7,000 for the scholars junior or senior year, connects them to a rich network of leaders in their fields of study and develops their skills with a five-day national conference in Tucson, Arizona.

As a Udall Scholar, I am invested in making real change in the agricultural sector, particularly in developing nations, Myoda said. I hope to build a career around improving global food systems, increasing food security and having a real impact on the day to day lives of people who are facing hunger and malnutrition.

Myoda also wants to help consumers make more economically, environmentally and socially sustainable decisions. The Wilmington, Delaware native is studying sustainable food and farming systems in the College of Agriculture. She is also a member of Purdue Honors College.

Sabrina is the quintessential stand up citizen: morally grounded and ethically motivated, said Steve Hallett, professor of horticulture and faculty advisor for Purdue Student Farm Organization. She is extremely engaged in learning and has the ability to understand complex theories of land use, preservation and management.

Myoda shares her knowledge as a peer mentor in the Honors College and is spreading the word about sustainable agriculture with Purdue Student Farm, a group dedicated to producing fresh, healthy food on campus. She also designed and organized a panel discussion at Purdue to connect agricultural experts to students and local citizens.

In addition to recruiting experts and developing an excellent rubric to measure changes in perception, she was able to generate a large enough group of attendees to make the event standing room only, Paul Ebner, associate professor of ansimal sciences said.

Ebner was also impressed with Myodas diligence in a service learning course where students work directly with livestock producers in Romania to implement solutions to operational challenges.

No other student spent as much time learning about Romanian culture, economics and agricultural practices in the semester leading up to the in-country portion of the course, he said. This included learning the Romanian language. Her drive was in fact motivating and helped me become a better teacher.

Sabrina is a focused, yet open, leader who prioritizes excellence and diverse experiences, added Honors College professor Jason Ware. She has a seemingly innate ability to bring people together.

Myoda earned a Udall Scholarship Honorable Mention in 2016. She is Purdues third Udall Scholar. Students undergo a rigorous application process to become Purdue's nominees for the scholarship through the National and International Scholarships Office, which is housed in Purdue Honors College.

Writer: Lindsay Perrault, lindsayperrault@purdue.edu

Sources: Sabrina Myoda, smyoda@purdue.edu

Steve Hallett, halletts@purdue.edu

Paul Ebner, pebner@purdue.edu

Jason Ware, jaware@purdue.edu
AutonoMe (TM) preloaded IOL delivery system provides easy, intuitive control for precise IOL insertion during cataract surgery



New Clareon IOL in vitro data and early clinical experience to be presented at European Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons congress

Basel, October 6, 2017 - Alcon, the global leader in eye care and a division of Novartis, has achieved European CE Mark for the Clareon IOL with the AutonoMe(TM) delivery system. AutonoMe(TM) is the first-and-only automated, disposable, pre-loaded IOL delivery system that enables precise delivery of the IOL into the capsular bag in patients undergoing cataract surgery[1-2]. The new device is being introduced with the Clareon IOL, a new BioMaterial with an advanced design that enables sharp, crisp vision; low edge glare; and, unsurpassed optic clarity[2]*. These new innovations, along with supporting scientific data, will be presented at the XXXV congress of the European Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS) taking place October 7 - 11 in Lisbon, Portugal.

"With the introduction of Clareon AutonoMe(TM), we are proud to unveil our latest innovations to benefit doctors and their patients undergoing cataract surgery," said Mike Ball, Chief Executive Officer, Alcon. "Throughout Alcon's history, we have worked with doctors to enhance and transform the way cataract surgery is performed. Clareon AutonoMe(TM) builds upon the comprehensive legacy of AcrySof by offering cataract surgeons easy, intuitive control of IOL delivery with the newest optic material."

The AutonoMe(TM) delivery system, preloaded with the Clareon IOL, is designed with advancements intended to benefit both surgeons and cataract patients. Its automated CO 2 -powered delivery mechanism and intuitive, ergonomic design allow precise and simplified single-handed control of IOL placement during cataract surgery[1-2].

"Comfort and efficiency during the cataract surgery are key to achieving better outcomes. This new device is expected to improve the procedure and ultimately to reduce surgical time," said Prof. Rudolph Nuijts, University of Maastricht, Netherlands. "This is great news for surgeons because Clareon AutonoMe(TM) provides a cutting-edge, intuitive and easy-to-use device that allows precise and controlled IOL delivery."

The Clareon hydrophobic acrylic IOL, which received CE Mark in May, is made of a patented, innovative optic polymer material. Clareon builds on and maintains the benefits of the proven AcrySof platform with a new optic BioMaterial that offers cataract patients unsurpassed clarity[2]*.

Alcon will present new data on Clareon via paper presentations and electronic posters at ESCRS, including:

Scientific Paper Presentation: Optical Purity Evaluation and Accelerated Aging of the New Clareon  Biomaterial vs. Other Hydrophobic Acrylic Material in a Laboratory Setup , Dr. G. Auffarth (Tuesday, October 10, 3:42 - 3:48 p.m., Room 3.6, FIL congress center)

Scientific Paper Presentation: Evaluation of Clarity Characteristics in a New Hydrophobic Acrylic IOL in Comparison with Commercially Available Lenses , Dr. L. Werner, (Tuesday, October 10, 3:48p.m., Room 3.6, FIL congress center)

Electronic Poster: Model Eye and In Vitro Assessment of Positive Dysphotopsia or Glare Types Photic Phenomena: A Comparison of a New Material IOL to other Monofocal Intraocular Lenses , Dr. L. Werner

Electronic Poster: Laboratory Evaluation of the New Clareon  Hydrophobic Acrylic IOL Material: Biomaterial Properties and Capsular Bag Behaviour , Dr. G. Auffarth

Electronic Poster: Miyake-Apple Posterior View analysis of Capsular Bag Behavior of the New Clareon  Hydrophobic Acrylic IOL Material , Dr. H. Fang

Electronic Poster: Silicone Oil Adhesion of Hydrophobic Acrylic Intraocular Lenses (IOL): A Comparative Laboratory Study of the New Clareon  Versus Current AcrySof  IOL Material , Dr. F. Hengerer

Electronic Poster: Evaluation of the Mechanical Behavior of a New Single-Piece Intraocular Lens as Compared to Commercially Available IOLs , Dr. S. Lane

Clareon AutonoMe(TM) is expected to be commercially available to cataract surgeons in the EU early next year. Learn more about these innovations at the Alcon Booth #P272 in the exhibition area of the Feira Internacional de Lisboa (FIL) congress center at ESCRS.

About Cataracts

A cataract is a clouding of the natural lens of the eye that affects vision. As a cataract develops, the eye's lens gradually becomes harder and cloudy which scatters light rays and allows less light to pass through it, thus reducing the patient's ability to see. The vast majority of cataracts occur as part of normal aging but radiation exposure, taking steroids, diabetes, and eye trauma can accelerate the development of cataracts.

Additionally, cataracts can be hereditary and congenital and can present shortly after birth[3]. Cataracts are the most common age-related eye condition and the leading cause of preventable blindness in adults 55 and older[4]. Cataracts are treated by surgically removing the eye's cloudy natural lens and replacing it with an intraocular lens (IOL). More than 98 percent of cataract surgeries are considered successful and patients can usually return to their normal routines very soon after surgery[5].

Important Information About the Clareon IOL with the AutonoMe(TM) Delivery System

As with any surgical procedure, there is risk involved. Potential complications accompanying cataract and/or IOL implantation surgery may include, but are not limited to, the following: lens epithelial cell on-growth, corneal endothelial damage, infection (endophthalmitis), retinal detachment, vitritis, cystoid macular edema, corneal edema, pupillary block, cyclitic membrane, iris prolapse, hypopyon, transient or persistent glaucoma. Surgeons should use careful preoperative evaluation and sound clinical judgement to decide the benefit/risk ratio before implanting a lens in a patient with one or more of the conditions identified in the product labeling. Only Alcon-qualified ophthalmic viscosurgical devices (OVDs) should be used with Clareon AutonoMe(TM). The use of an unqualified OVD may cause damage to the lens and potential complications during the implantation process.

Disclaimer

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by words such as "potential," "can," "will," "plan," "expect," "anticipate," "look forward," "believe," "committed," "investigational," "pipeline," "launch," or similar terms, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential marketing approvals, new indications or labeling for the investigational or approved products described in this press release, or regarding potential future revenues from such products. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on our current beliefs and expectations regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. There can be no guarantee that the investigational or approved products described in this press release will be submitted or approved for sale or for any additional indications or labeling in any market, or at any particular time. Nor can there be any guarantee that such products will be commercially successful in the future. In particular, our expectations regarding such products could be affected by, among other things, the uncertainties inherent in research and development, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection; the particular prescribing preferences of physicians and patients; global trends toward health care cost containment, including government, payor and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures; general economic and industry conditions, including the effects of the persistently weak economic and financial environment in many countries; safety, quality or manufacturing issues, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

About Alcon

Alcon is the global leader in eye care. As a division of Novartis, we offer the broadest portfolio of products to enhance sight and improve people's lives. Our products touch the lives of more than 260 million people each year living with conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, retinal diseases and refractive errors, and there are millions more who are waiting for solutions to meet their eye care needs. Our purpose is reimagining eye care, and we do this through innovative products, partnerships with eye care professionals and programs that enhance access to quality eye care. Learn more at www.alcon.com.

Alcon is on Facebook. Like us at www.facebook.com/AlconEyeCare

About Novartis

Novartis provides innovative healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, cost-saving generic and biosimilar pharmaceuticals and eye care. Novartis has leading positions globally in each of these areas. In 2016, the Group achieved net sales of USD 48.5 billion, while R&D throughout the Group amounted to approximately USD 9.0 billion. Novartis Group companies employ approximately 119,000 full-time-equivalent associates. Novartis products are sold in approximately 155 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.

Novartis is on Twitter. Sign up to follow @Novartis at http://twitter.com/novartis

For Novartis multimedia content, please visit www.novartis.com/news/media-library

For questions about the site or required registration, please contact media.relations@novartis.com

References

*Based on aggregate results from in vitro evaluations of haze, SSNGs and glistenings compared to TECNIS OptiBlue ZCB00V (Abbott),TECNIS ZCB00 (Abbott), Eternity Natural Uni W-60 (Santen), Vivinex XY-1 (HOYA) and enVista MX60 (B&L; Bausch & Lomb).

 Trademarks are the property of their respective owners

# # #

Novartis Media Relations

Central media line: +41 61 324 2200

E-mail: media.relations@novartis.com

Eric Althoff

Novartis Global Media Relations

+41 61 324 7999 (direct)

+41 79 593 4202 (mobile)

eric.althoff@novartis.com Wes Warnock

Alcon Global Communications

+1 817-615-2501 (direct)

+1 210-240-4998 (mobile)

wes.warnock@alcon.com

Novartis Investor Relations

Central investor relations line: +41 61 324 7944

E-mail: investor.relations@novartis.com
COAL VALLEY -- For the fifth year in a row, property taxes will not be raised in the village.

Village administrator Annette Ernst said a proposed tax increase of 4.99 percent was removed from the 2018 draft budget, with no objection from trustees at Wednesday night's board meeting.

The draft budget shows $3,464,804 in revenue, and $3,445,731 in expenditures, giving the village a surplus of $19,000.

"We are also very fortunate we have $3.4 million in reserves," Ms. Ernst said. "I couldn't be more proud of working with each department to achieve the surplus we are at right now. The board and mayor also echo the same."

Mayor Michael Bartels said the village will hold one more budget meeting, but doesn't expect any tax increase to be included in future drafts.

"We looked at what was needed and what wasn't," he said. "If there is no tax increase, that's great. That is ultimate goal for the residents and the board."

Mayor Bartels attributes the millions in reserves to previous boards and former Mayor Stan Engstrom, who now serves as a trustee.

Ms. Ernst said she included the tax raise in the original draft as a way to increase revenue for the village.

"My position as the administrator is that I have to look out for best interest of the community," she said. "Property tax is one of those revenues we rely on."

Ms. Ernst said the village already has one of lowest tax rates in the area at 8.5 percent.

"Our equalized assessed value came in higher than last year; by 1.74 percent higher, which was enough for me," she said. "That was my justification for no increase. I wanted to make sure we had that revenue source coming in because of the many changes the state of Illinois has implemented."

Because of the corporate personal property replacement tax, Ms. Ernst said the village will lose at least $36,000 annually.

Replacement taxes are collected by the state and paid to local governments to replace money that was lost when their ability to impose personal property taxes on business entities was taken away. The tax was established decades ago.

"It's affecting every other community the same as us," Ms. Ernst said.

Also on Wednesday, Mayor Bartels presented Police Chief Jack Chick with a 10-year service award.

Chief Chick oversees five full-time and two part-time police officers. He was sworn in as chief on Dec. 8, 2015.

"Jack is a very dedicated, passionate employee," Mayor Bartels said. "I've noticed an increase in morale among the officers since he came on board. He represents the community well, and we're happy to have him in that position."

Ms. Ernst said she has enjoyed working with Chief Chick during the 18 months she has been employed by the village.

"He's a great guy. He takes his job very seriously and he's a valuable asset to the village," she said.

In other business, trustees approved trick or treating hours on Oct. 31 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Celebrating Our Service Members

Friday, November 11 is Veterans Day, when we honor and show gratitude to all members of our Armed Forces  those currently serving, those who...

Transit Equity Starts With QueensLink

For decades Queens has seen a disinvestment in the necessary transit infrastructure the borough needs to promote equity and sustainability. Most of the time, transformative...
LOGO Lounge by Lori Goldstein Hooded Top with Front Drape Pockets is rated 4.2 out of 5 by 68 .

Rated 3 out of 5 by luvmylabs from Nice for sale price I ordered this on the logo how low can you go deal. I got it for $23 and I wouldn't pay more than that. I am 5'4 approx. 145 lb and usually order large in any top but ordered medium in this from the reviews on sizing and this is very roomy even for sizing down. It is a very cute hoodie pullover but not the most flattering fit, I do love it to lounge around the house and it is extremely comfy and wear with a thin layer under keeps you warm, I can't see how to dress this up for it is more of a casual look, would recommend at price I paid not even the now clearance price is worth it. just my own opinion and not meaning to offend ANYONE! I got the charcoal and it is very soft and like the pockets that give it more flattery.. would recommend at maybe another logo low deal!

Rated 5 out of 5 by KEMS from Love!! I really love this top! It is comfortable, warm and cozy. The material is an excellent quality also. Wish they had more in medium as I would purchase another.

Rated 5 out of 5 by TeresaAnn from COZY! I have two of these: Ash Rose and Laurel Green. I've paired them with Logo Lounge pants and they are perfect for a cozy day at home watching the football game or running errands.

Rated 5 out of 5 by half moon from Love Love Love This is really cozy, soft and warm. So glad I ordered this when it was on a special price. Only wish I would have ordered more colors. If it is ever on the low price again, I am getting more. I am 5'1" got the black in x-small and it fits me loose, like I like it, and it isn't to long on me. I absolutely love this one....Plus it has a hood.....

Rated 5 out of 5 by shabowman from My Favorite Go To Top!!!! I've tried a few LOGO tops, but have never been thrilled with any of them. Not this one, I truly LOVE it!!! I get tons of compliments every time I wear it. It's nice to be comfortable, but not sloppy & still look stylish. Please add more colors!

Rated 5 out of 5 by Styleinwi from Great top Love this top! Soft, warm but not heavy. Comfortable but still stylish.

Rated 1 out of 5 by jackie1610 from Don't love it I don't love this its just OK - wish the fabric had just a bit of stretch, wish it was just a bit shorter & a bit less full, I didn't like the grey but I kept it. I would say its not worth the $132 I paid for two. Its just OK, I wouldn't buy LOGO again.
Through its Infrastructure and Environmental Operational Programme, the EU will contribute Zlotys 617m ($US 168m) towards the extension of the tram network to Wilanow and Goclaw, the purchase of 68 LRVs and the construction of a new depot.

The 12km line from Warsaw West station to the southern district of Wilanow will serve 18 stations, including an underground station at Warsaw West. The project includes the acquisition of 50 bidirectional LRVs and the construction of a new depot at Annapol, which will accommodate up to 150 trams. The EU will contribute Zlotys 555m towards the Zlotys 1.19bn project.

The 4km line from Aleja Waszyngtona to Goclaw will run alongside the Wystawowy canal, terminating at Trasy Siekierkowskiej in Goclaw, where a balloon loop will be constructed. The project includes the reconstruction of 4.5km of the existing tram line along Aleja Waszyngtona and the modernisation of eight stations, which will be adapted for passengers with reduced mobility.

Warsaw Tramways will procure 18 unidirectional trams as part of the Zlotys 392m project, which will receive Zlotys 62m in EU funding.

For detailed data on light rail projects around the globe, subscribe to IRJ Pro.
The supplementary authorisation to place into service (SAPS) applies to Vectron MS locomotives (variant X4-E-Lok- A10, version D 1.03) equipped with ATB-EG, LZB80E Eurloloop, SCMT, MIrel, SHP, and Alstom ERTMS equipment (Levels 1 and 2).

This type is capable of operating on 1.5kV dc and 15kV 16.7Hz/25kV 50Hz ac systems. The locomotive is designed to operate at up to 200km/h but is limited to a maximum of 160km/h on the Dutch network.

The locomotive is permitted to operate on all cross-border electrified lines into Germany, but cannot work across the Dutch-Belgian border.

The Vectron MS only required SAPS certification to run in the Netherlands because an Authorisation to Place into Service (APS) has already been granted in another European Union country (in this case Germany).
6 October 2017 - Kvrner ASA will publish its 3rd quarter results 2017 at the Oslo Stock Exchange on Friday 27 October 2017 at 07:00 CET. A presentation will be held at Kvaerner's offices at Fornebuporten, Oksenyveien 10 at 09:00 CET the same morning.

We invite investors, analysts and the media to the presentation:

Date: Friday 27 October 2017

Time: 09:00 CET

Location: Fornebuporten, Oksenyveien 10, Lysaker

Language: English

To attend the presentation, please register by emailing ir@kvaerner.com.

The presentation will be broadcast live on www.kvaerner.com and http://webtv.hegnar.no/presentation.php?webcastId=67384042 at 09:00 CET.

The complete 3rd quarter results 2017 presentation will be available at http://www.kvaerner.com and www.newsweb.no.

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Investor Relations:

Ingrid Aarsnes, VP Investor Relations & Communications, Kvaerner, +Mob: +47 950 38 364, email: ir@kvaerner.com

Media:

Torbjrn Andersen, Head of Communications, Kvaerner, Mob: +47 928 85 542, email: torbjorn.andersen@kvaerner.com

About Kvaerner:

Kvaerner is a leading provider of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services, and delivers offshore installations and onshore plants for upstream oil and gas production around the world. Kvaerner ASA, through its subsidiaries and affiliates ("Kvaerner"), is an international contractor and preferred partner for oil and gas operators and other engineering and fabrication contractors. Kvaerner and its approximately 2 600 HSSE-focused and experienced employees are recognised for delivering some of the world's most amazing and demanding projects.

In 2016, the Kvaerner group had consolidated annual revenues of close to NOK 8 billion and the company reported an order backlog at 30 June 2017 of NOK 9 billion. Kvaerner is publicly listed with the ticker "KVAER" at the Oslo Stock Exchange. For further information, please visit www.kvaerner.com.

To subscribe or unsubscribe to our press releases, please see our web page: http://www.kvaerner.com/en/toolsmenu/Media/Subscribe-to-releases/
Edward Brandis has joined LILEE Systems, a provider of smart connectivity solutions for the transportation industry, as Business Development Manager, Transit. He will focus on increasing awareness within the North American public transportation sector and bridging the gaps between the demands of the industry and LILEEs technology-based solutions for smart connectivity, the company said.

Brandis has more thah 20 years of experience working in the public and private transit sectors, with roles such as field engineering, project management, product management, market analysis, and business development.

LILEE Systems has demonstrated leadership in the mobile routing, mobile data, and cloud computing solutions, which puts us in a unique position to address the needs for greater security and performance that other solutions simply failed to deliver, Brandis said. The solutions that LILEE has developed will be leveraged with additional ITS applications to provide transportation providers with feature-rich, cost-effective solutions with a single, unified platform. In particular, LILEES Connectivity-as-a-Service and T-Cloud (zero-touch network management) will revolutionize how public transit can deploy and manage ITS implementations.

The key to our success is industry experience and expertise. Ed Brandis possesses a deep knowledge that is instrumental to our growth in public transportation in North America, said Jia-Ru Li, CEO of LILEE Systems.
One of the greatest public policy problems associated with illegal immigration is the expansion of violent gang activity in the United States. U.S. officials have taken notice, with many calling for increased deportations and stronger border protections to deter gangs like MS-13. While this is a good start, more needs to be done to deter people from joining such international gangs in the first place, otherwise their members will keep coming to our shores.

Ground zero for MS-13 recruitment is Central America, where the cartel began in the wake of political and economic instability. MS-13 exploits a lack of jobs, education, and opportunity and promises wealth and power to those who will join. To combat MS-13s infiltration, the U.S. must encourage investments in the region that put people to work and keep them off the streets.

The U.S. can start by lending support to Guatemala, where a major economic development project is in jeopardy. A frivolous lawsuit is threatening the countrys largest mine and the livelihoods of the thousands of workers it employs. The Trump administration must encourage the continued operation of the mine, as the jobs it provides are essential to fighting the lure of MS-13 in Guatemala and thus, indirectly, protecting communities in the United States.

Guatemala is a key transit point in the flow of illegal drugs from South America: Nearly 90 percent of narcotics pass through Central America, especially Guatemala. While geographic location makes Guatemala an ideal spot on this route, its the countrys instability, corruption, and weak institutions that make it particularly attractive to criminals and traffickers.

The Escobal mine in San Rafael, the worlds third largest silver mine, has helped combat these destabilizing forces by creating jobs and providing crucial investment in the country. The mine supports nearly 8,000 workers and has brought more than $1 billion to Guatemala through taxes, wages, and contribution to community services and sustainability initiatives. This investment helps the country build and support the institutions it needs, such as a strong police force and robust judiciary, to combat gangs and illegal drug trafficking.

But the investment and jobs provided by Escobal have been put at risk by an anti-mining group, which has filed a lawsuit to close the mine over claims that the indigenous community was not properly consulted. The group successfully won a two-month suspension of the mining license, and while a recent court decision has allowed operations to resume, protestors have blocked the road to the mine and are keeping it out of operation.

The uncertainty surrounding the mine  its future is still being appealed  is especially harmful to the effort to quash MS-13 and the international illegal narcotics trade. Without the jobs and security provided by Escobal, the incomes of thousands of Guatemalans will be eliminated, encouraging drug traffickers and gang membership to fill the void.

Guatemala cannot afford to drive away industries that contribute millions in taxes to the country. The State Department has identified low tax revenue as a major contributing factor to the weakness of Guatemalas institutions. Taking away additional revenue will severely hinder the ability of the developing nation to address gang violence and narcotrafficking seriously and substantively through law enforcement and the judicial and correctional systems.

Its not just the loss of jobs, tax revenue and other economic contributions by the Escobal mine that is at stake. If the mine is closed for good, it will send the message that outside businesses should think twice about investing in Guatemala. That could put a chill on the foreign investment in the developing nation  a disastrous outcome for the United States and Guatemala in their work to stop the pipeline of illegal drugs and criminals that move through the country.

The United States has spent more than $1 billion in Central America over the last 12 years to strengthen the region and bolster it against the threat of drug traffickers and violent gangs. Guatemala is central to this strategy, and the Escobal mine is central to the countrys success and stability. The Trump administration must encourage the Guatemalan government to support the continued operation of the mine  it cant risk losing this important aid in the fight against MS-13 and the illegal drug trade.

Creating jobs in Central America promotes stability and economic prosperity in countries like Guatemala, which can, in turn, help stem the flow of illegal immigrants across the southern border of the United States.

Andrew Langer is President of the Institute for Liberty.
Property details:

This is a listing to sale 100 acres. I have 100 acres vacant forest land near Lake George in Chestertown/Olmstedville/North Creek. Beautiful private forest-two homes/dwelling allowed. The closing will be done in attorney's office. This property is 100 acres close to 68 Ted Wells Road, Chestertown(North Creek), NY 12853. There is a deeded right of way from Ted Wells Road. Being lot Number: 34-1-31, Warren County, New York.This property is ideal for recreation/hunting/residence.The NY Forest law a...

Price: $ 100,000 Seller State of Residence: New York Property Address: Off Ted Wells Road State/Province: New York City: Chestertown Type: Homesite/Recreational/ Acreage Zoning: Private Forest (Dwelling allowed every 43 acres) Zip/Postal Code: 12853 Location: 128**, North Creek, New York

You will be redirected to eBay



Nearby 12853
Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale

Buy real estate. Find a great selection of commercial real estate, manufactured homes, timeshares and more for Sale in US and Canada.

Search Real Estate
,



We're sorry, this article is not currently available
DENVER, Oct. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kalnin Ventures LLC (Kalnin) today announced that an affiliate of its BKV Oil and Gas Capital Partners, LP fund (the Fund), has entered into Purchase and Sale Agreements with respect to the Funds fifth acquisition of assets in just over 2 years in the northeast portion of the Marcellus Shale. The Fund is financially backed by its sole investor, Banpu Pcl, a Thailand-based coal mining and power generation company with total assets of more than $6 billion.



The transaction is valued at an aggregate price of $210 million, with potential additional payments to the sellers of up to $18.75 million over the next three years depending on natural gas prices. Separate purchase and sale agreements were entered into with Carrizo (Marcellus) LLC and Reliance Marcellus II, LLC, to acquire their respective interests in the assets (subject to customary closing conditions), which are comprised of interests in 112 wells, including 98 producing wells, 11 drilled and uncompleted (DUC) wells and three wells that are temporarily abandoned.

The assets, which are predominantly located in Pennsylvanias Wyoming and Susquehanna Counties, will generate cash flows for the Fund immediately and fit within Kalnin's strategy of acquiring profitable, low-risk assets that provide strong cash flow yields.

With its fifth transaction in just over two years, Kalnin has invested, through the Fund, $417 million in the Marcellus Shale and is poised to fully invest its first fund as it continues to expand and diversify its strategy of acquiring, managing, and monetizing portfolios. With this acquisition, the Fund is now one of the top 20 natural gas producers in Pennsylvania, and Kalnin has an eye toward continued future growth.

This deal is unique from our previous four in that it provides us the opportunity to naturally expand into an operator position while also acquiring additional midstream assets, said Christopher Kalnin, Managing Director and Co-founder of Kalnin Ventures LLC. However, it is similar to prior deals in that we are acquiring profitable assets and enhancing them with technology and big data. Our experience as a non-operator, and now operator, coupled with our high-quality asset base and proprietary technology, has put us in a compelling position to expand further in the Super Core of the Marcellus.

The acquisition follows the Fund's previous transactions with Zena Energy LLC, Radler 2000 LP - Tug Hill Marcellus, LLC; Chief Exploration and Development LLC; and Range Resources - Appalachia, LLC, all located in the productive Marcellus Shale.

Upon completion of this transaction, the Fund will have an interest in 355 active wells. These transactions provide the Fund with net natural gas production of 160 million cubic feet per day.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP acted as legal advisor to Kalnin and the Fund on the transactions.

About Kalnin Ventures

Kalnin Ventures is a valuesdriven firm that believes that the combination of visionary strategy, focus on execution, and balance in daytoday life are the keys to creating longterm sustainable value. Kalnin Ventures is backed by investors with original equity fund commitments of $500 million within its oil and gas fund BKV Oil and Gas Capital Partners, L.P. The company seeks to invest in attractive upstream oil and gas opportunities in North America with the goal of creating longterm sustainable value in the energy industry. More information is available at www.kalninventures.com.

About Banpu

Banpu Pcl is listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand and is now one of the energy leaders in the Asia-Pacific region with widespread experience in a variety of domestic and international energy industries. Banpu is focused on developing and investing in coal, power generation and alternative energy investments, with investments located in Thailand, Indonesia, China, Australia, Lap PDR, Mongolia, Singapore, Japan and the United States. More information is available at http://www.banpu.com.

Press Contact:

April Lynch, Pennebaker

april@pennebaker.com

Phone: 1+ 7139221895
On Saturday, Oct. 7 from 5 to 10 p.m., Athens Area Pagans will come together to present Athens Pagan Pride Day, an event that allows the Athens community to explore pagan culture and appreciate the individualistic nature of the pagan beliefs.
Its time we take responsibility for our city by cleaning up after ourselves and avoid polluting it in the first place. This opinion does not reflect the opinions of the editorial staff.
Its up to each of us, especially those of us who are gun owners, to contact our elected leaders to let them know that now is exactly the right time to act on gun control.
You have to really bungle to produce 5.7 per cent growth under the conditions this government is currently facing, says Mihir S Sharma.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

I suppose we should be grateful. After months and months in which voices have been raised in concern about a serious and structural slowdown in the Indian economy, the central government has finally accepted that it may, perhaps, have a teensy-weensy problem on its hands.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has met various senior officials, and a revival plan has reportedly been presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Better late than never, you might say. Well, that depends on exactly what the government eventually winds up doing.

The details of the plan are still unavailable as of writing this, but there is every reason to believe reports that its main weapon will be increased government spending.

Even if not presented as such, it is likely that increased spending will be the only easily operationalised aspect of any revival plan.

And thus voices from the ruling party to the commentariat to even the State Bank of India have begun to argue that the government should ignore its achievements on fiscal consolidation, and start throwing money at the slowdown.

It is impossible to exaggerate how bad an idea this is. In fact, I am appalled that it is being made at all.

First of all, prioritising government action would suggest that no lessons have been learned by the Modi government from its mismanagement of the economy thus far.

Since it took office, the government has focused on the following approach: First, move towards correcting some of the business-cycle problems it had inherited; second, take advantage of tax growth and expenditure savings on account of cheaper oil; third, spend the proceeds on infrastructure without cutting other spending; and fourth, prioritise positive messaging about the economy in order to raise investors animal spirits.

While this is a coherent economic programme in theory, it was poorly conceived and implemented.

It rested on a fundamental misdiagnosis of the problems and how they could be solved.

For one, it assumed that higher infrastructure spending would solve the slump in private investment; government spending would crowd in private investment by making returns look more attractive.

This has clearly not happened.

Private investors are still concerned about overcapacity, weak demand, and the security of their investments in India. And thus, private investment, and growth, continue to struggle.

In addition, those aspects of the programme that were in fact of importance -- such as cleaning up the bad loans problem -- were not prioritised in effect.

This is where the mismanagement comes in.

The government took years to move on these problems, and thus they continue to hang over the economys head like the sword of Damocles.

Ministers have often talked up the decisiveness of this government, but where politically risky decisions were necessary in figuring out who took haircuts as a consequence of boom-era bad choices -- consumers, public sector banks, or promoters -- they are still to be taken in more than three years, so I am not feeling like giving the government any points for decisiveness.

The government has known since the day it took office that the banking sector was in trouble, yet its action to repair it has been ineffective and poorly managed, and based around talking points leaked to WhatsApp groups instead of institutional change at banks.

And finally, given that the programme depends on an external impetus -- the oil price bonanza -- it is inherently unstable, unsustainable, and politically risky, as demonstrated by the increasing clamour for petrol taxes to be reduced.

As a consequence of this poor economic management, the economy has now been slowing for six quarters in spite of benign macro-economic conditions, a growing world economy, and increasing government spending.

You have to really bungle to produce 5.7 per cent growth under the conditions this government is currently facing.

So, you may well ask, surely the logical approach to this situation would be to revisit the economic programme decided in 2014 and correct it?

What is not logical is to instead throw out of the window the one genuine accomplishment of this government -- its sticking to a fiscal consolidation path that it inherited.

Government spending has been increased in each Union Budget, and that has not helped the economy recover.

So how can further spending be even considered, especially as Indias history with stimulus packages has been poor?

Many of the economys current problems can be dated to the pre-2008 boom, but many are also the product of the easy money on offer when the government panicked after the 2008 financial crisis.

The fiscal deficit rose to dangerous levels, reform was postponed, taxes were cut, loans were rolled over, and so on -- all justified by the crisis.

At least that was a real, global crisis. Are we going to make the same mistakes to get out of the current, self-inflicted one?

There is no reason to suppose the Modi stimulus will be any more effective or any less dangerous than the Mukherjee stimulus.

In spite of pious and repetitive statements about a culture of honesty, the plain fact is that the fundamental political economy of the country has not changed since 2010; in the absence of institutional reform, the same incentives still exist to make the same mistakes that were made then.

The problem is that the government seeks to address, on this occasion, a structural problem through attempting counter-cyclical policy.

This is more than a business cycle slowdown. A business cycle slowdown is what India had in 2012-13, and we were pulling out of it well before Modi took power.

Our current slowdown is a consequence of structural problems: An increasingly uncompetitive economy, a lack of property rights and security of investment, an incompetent administration at all levels and a poor regulatory environment.

These are the structural issues that need to be addressed in order to restore India to a higher potential growth path.

With every passing day they go unaddressed in a globalised economy, Indias potential growth actually comes down, as it gets less and less competitive.

Address these issues, and demand, and investment appetite and growth will return.

Spend money without fixing these problems, and they will only get worse. But judging by this governments track record, it will be unable to think beyond what a few bureaucrats recommend.

And bureaucrats tend to like spending money, not losing power.

Until India has a government in which policy is not made by bureaucrats, it will struggle to pull itself out of the Modi slowdown.
I am only suggesting greater sensitisation and understanding of adults' sexual and lifestyle choices, says Shekhar Gupta.

Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com

Why did a young woman go to watch a late-night movie with her boyfriend, wearing tight jeans and t-shirt? Does it not suggest a promiscuous relationship? Why did she not keep her parents and college informed, particularly when her daddy isn't rich enough to give her the safety of a chauffeur-driven car?

And why were she and her boyfriend hanging around a lonely Delhi road at night, and why did they cadge a ride in an empty bus on an irregular run with six lumpen, hormone-laden young men in it?

What kind of reckless, adventurous, and irresponsible behaviour was this? The men in the bus were wrong to rape the girl and beat up the boyfriend, but why did you put four hormone-laden urchins in such a tempting predicament?

And when they did fall for that temptation, why didn't you, following the principle Asaram Bapu enunciated later, not call them your brothers and offer to tie rakhis on their hands?

And if even that didn't work, why didn't you appreciate the odds and just play along? It would have spared you the violence and death.

And since you had a boyfriend, maybe you too were used (or, as is preferred by our criminal lawyers, habituated) to sex. So what was the big, fatal fightback about?

If those poor boys, idiots, hadn't killed you, they could have deserved a more lenient, even suspended sentence. After all, this case would then not have gut-wrenching violence, which precedes or accompanies such cases.

It would have been just another non-violent rape, like 85 per cent of all of them, within families, on dates, under intoxication, etc.

And they could have returned to normal, sane lives after being given some counselling by India's finest psychologists at Bengaluru's NIMHANS (National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences).

Courts may have even been large-hearted enough to facilitate this by ordering the director of NIMHANS to do this on priority and report back to them.

No wonder, what is thrown up before us is a tragedy of sorts, driving eight lives and an equal number of families into an abyss.

One precious young life was lost, one committed suicide, one will nurse his physical injuries and emotional loss, and four will hang.

What is equally worrisome is how these young people have dragged themselves and their families into an abysmal situation, be it the victim or the perpetrators.

You must be mad with me for writing all this, obviously referring to the 'Nirbhaya' gang rape and murder case, which shook the entire country. And if you are mad with me, that was the intention behind this outrageous ploy. It's worked.

Let's shift our attention to something that happened in Sonepat, Haryana, on the northern outskirts of the capital about a year after the Nirbhaya case.

A student at the private and, if we say so for convenience, elite OP Jindal Global University accused her boyfriend (and campus-mate) of blackmail and serial rape, by him and his friends, at least once in a gang rape situation.

The boy sent her his nude pictures, coaxed her to send him hers, and then blackmailed her, threatening to reveal them on the campus and to her parents.

She said this to a magistrate under Section 164 of Code of Criminal Procedure, in conformity with the tough, new, post-Nirbhaya rape law.

It set off a pattern of blackmail, rape, forced alcohol, and drug (probably smoked marijuana) abuse. She said he had blackmailed her into buying a sex toy and using it while he watched on Skype.

The case came up for trial. It was contested vigorously by both sides.

Trial judge Sunita Grover accepted the woman's charges. The three boys were convicted for an assortment of crimes including rape, blackmail, and violating the Information Technology Act, and handed tough, multiple sentences, including 20 years for rape.

The convicts appealed in the Punjab and Haryana high court.

The appeal is currently pending and will take the time that litigation in criminal cases in our system usually does.

An example: The convicted dentist parents' appeal in the Aarushi murder case is pending in the Allahabad high court since 2013.

Last week, however, the Bench in the Punjab and Haryana high court granted bail to the rape/blackmail convicts, suspended their sentence as the judges saw some significant mitigating features in the case although -- in fairness -- they clearly stated that nothing they were saying in the order should influence the merits of the appeal.

Further, they said, since the appeal process in our system took time, it was fair to let the boys go out in the meanwhile, rebuild their lives, and complete their education, even overseas education, after duly taking the court's permission.

They also ordered the boys be given counselling at New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences, asked its director to facilitate it, and report the progress to the court.

The judges also asked the parents of the boys to help reform and report on the progress.

It isn't my intention in the least to question the judges' wisdom. It is clear that they found evidence, drawing from the complainant's background, conduct, and her relationships with the convicts to take this important decision. No argument there.

Fairness and prudence demand that we now wait for the final order on the appeal.

The following are some passages I have picked from the honourable judges' 12-page order with the help of my colleague Apurva Vishwanath, who knows the law:

A perusal of the statement of the victim as also her cross-examination reveals a promiscuous relationship and sexual encounters with all the three accused persons over a period of time and at no stage did she ever make any attempt to reveal her mental state to either the authorities in the college or to her parents or her friends.

She also conceded in her cross-examination that her hostel room was searched leading to recovery of condoms by the warden, but the parents were not informed in this regard.

She further admitted that she used to smoke cigarettes of 'Classic' make. Apart from this, she admitted use of drugs but clarified it that it was not by choice. She conceded that the drug which she took was known as 'Joint' and the same is smoked.

The entire crass sequence actually is reflective of a degenerative mindset of the youth breeding denigrating relationships mired in drugs, alcohol, casual sexual escapades and a promiscuous and voyeuristic world. No wonder, what is thrown up before us is a tragedy of sorts, driving four young lives and equal number of families into an abyss.

The testimony of the victim does offer an alternate story of casual relationship with her friends, acquaintances, adventurism and experimentation in sexual encounters and these factors would therefore, offer compelling reasons to consider the prayer for suspension of sentence favourably, particularly when the accused themselves are young and the narrative does not throw up gut-wrenching violence, that normally precede or accompany such incidents.

The perverse streak in both is also revealed from her admission that a sex toy was suggested by Hardik and her acceptance of the same.

A reading of these, first of all, will explain to you the loaded construction of my first few paragraphs in this article. The words in italics are inspired from passages in this order. My argument is self-explanatory.

Once again, I am not questioning the judges' reasoning. I'm also not pretending to call out any patriarchy or moralising -- not when what we are questioning are easy labels.

I am only suggesting greater sensitisation and understanding of adults' sexual and lifestyle choices.

A viewing of Jonathan Kaplan's 1988 award-winning classic The Accused, starring Jodie Foster, may be a good beginning.

The gang rape victim, played by Foster, is a sex-show performer and a defence witness (played by Leo Rossi) justifies it asking: 'Raped? She's a whore...she f.....d a bar full of guys...she loved it...now she blames others.'

That wasn't accepted as justification in the 1988 film. Should it be, in real life, in 2017?
FORM 8.3

PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY

A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE

Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code")

1. KEY INFORMATION

(a) Full name of discloser: Jupiter Asset Management Ltd (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):

The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named. (c) Name of offeror/ offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:

Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree Tesco PLC (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: (e) Date position held /dealing undertaken: :

For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure 5th October 2017 (f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer?

If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state "N/A" Yes

Booker Group Plc





2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security.

(a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)

Class of relevant security:



Ordinary 5p



Interests Short positions Number % Number % (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 128,728,915 1.57 (2) Cash-settled derivatives:



40,000 0.00 (3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell:



TOTAL: 128,728,915 1.57 40,000 0.00

All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.

Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).

(b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors' and other employee options)

Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists: None Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages: None

3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in.

The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.

(a) Purchases and sales

Class of relevant security Purchase/sale



Number of securities Price per unit NONE

(b) Cash-settled derivative transactions

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. CFD Nature of dealing

e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit Ordinary 5p CFD Increasing a short position 12,000 1.871251

(c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)

(i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying

Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type

e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit None

(ii) Exercise

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit None





(d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)

Class of relevant security Nature of dealing

e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable) None





4. OTHER INFORMATION

(a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements

Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:

Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"



None





(b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives

Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:

(i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or

(ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:

If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"







None

(c) Attachments

Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO

Date of disclosure: 6th October 2017 Contact name: Nabeel Ashraf Telephone number: 0203 817 1407

Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service and must also be emailed to the Takeover Panel at monitoring@disclosure.org.uk. The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.
Tejashwi Yadav, son of Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad, was on Friday grilled by the Central Bureau of Investigation for nearly seven hours in connection with alleged corruption in the award of contract to maintain two IRCTC hotels in 2006 when his father was the railway minister.

The 27-year-old former deputy chief minister of Bihar appeared before the agency after evading three notices for questioning in connection with the case, CBI sources said.

They said Tejashwi arrived at the CBI headquarters at 11 am and his questioning ended around 6 pm.

The agency had quizzed Prasad for seven hours on Thursday.

He had alleged the government was pursuing political vendetta against him and his family.

The case pertains to allegations that Prasad, as railway minister, handed over the maintenance of two hotels run by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation, a subsidiary of the Indian Railways, in Ranchi and Puri to Sujata Hotel, a company owned by Vinay and Vijay Kochhar, in return for a prime plot of three acres in Patna through a benami company.

The FIR alleged the RJD chief abused his official position for extending undue favours to the Kochhars and acquired a piece of high value premium land through the benami firm Delight Marketing Company.

As a quid pro quo, he dishonestly and fraudulently awarded them the contract for the two hotels.

After the tender was awarded to Sujata Hotel, the ownership of Delight Marketing also changed hands from Sarla Gupta to Rabri Devi and Tejashwi Yadav between 2010 and 2014, according to the FIR.

The sources said officials asked Yadav some crucial questions about the change of ownership of Delight Marketing and the purchase of land.

The agency will analyse his answers and may call him again for questioning, they said.

Image: Former Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav arrives at the CBI headquarters for questioning in connection with an alleged case of corruption in awarding a maintenance contract for two IRCTC hotels to a private firm, in New Delhi. Photograph: PTI Photo
People in Vadnagar, the ancestral village of Narendra Modi, are waiting eagerly for his first visit as prime minister.

Modi, who will be in Gujarat for a two-day trip starting Saturday, will be visiting Vadnagar, his birthplace, in Mehasana district on Sunday.

There is a lot of excitement in Vadnagar as well as nearby villages such as Badarpur and Molipur over the visit, said the prime ministers elder brother Somabhai Modi.

Ahead of the prime ministers visit, the administration is busy working on roads and ensuring cleanliness. Fire engines have also been deployed inside the railway station for cleaning of trees on its premises.

The PM has dedicated himself to the service of the nation and everyones blessings is with him, Somabhai Modi said, adding that his father had built a house in Vadnagar in 1949 but it was destroyed in the 2001 earthquake, following which they sold the land.

He said the family has constructed a shelter home for the elderly in the village.

The prime ministers school teacher, Dr Prahlad Patel, said he hopes to meet Narendra Modi who writes letters to him occasionally.

The prime minister will also inaugurate a medical college and a hospital, and a new building at the local railway station, according to officials.

With Gujarat gearing up for assembly elections, Prime Minister Modi will be attending a bhumi pujan and foundation laying ceremony for several projects as well as launching government schemes.

There will be an exhibition of photos at the canteen of the local railway station where the prime minister's father used to prepare tea. Narendra Modi in his childhood would often help his father and paternal uncle, and also deliver tea to train passengers.

The prime minister will also be visiting the Dwarkadheesh temple in Jamnagar and will be doing the bhumi pujan at Rajkot airport. He will also be addressing a public rally in Vadnagar.

Image: Preparations are in full swing in the village of Vadnagar ahead of PM Modi's visit to his birthplace. Photograph: PMOIndia/Twitter
Pakistan's top diplomat has warned India against launching surgical strikes or targeting the country's nuclear installations, saying nobody should expect restraint from Islamabad if that happens.

Responding to a statement of India's Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa that his forces are ready for a full spectrum operation, Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan wants to live in peace and harmony with its neighbours.

But if India carries out any surgical strike in Pakistan or strikes at its nuclear installations "nobody should expect restraint from us", he warned on Thursday.

Speaking at the United States Institute of Peace, a Washington-based think-tank, Asif said the "relationship with India is at a lowest ebb at the moment".

Responding to a question on India, he said, "sadly India did not respond" to Pakistani efforts to improve relationship.

"What is going on in Kashmir is the biggest roadblock to normalisation to talks," Asif said.

Asif, who is here as part of efforts to rebuild bilateral ties frayed after President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of sheltering terror groups, said his meetings with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Advisor H R McMaster were good.

"The meeting went well with Tillerson and McMaster (meeting) was good. (It) was not bad," Asif said, noting that the two countries need to pursue contacts with each other.

He favoured adopting an approach of talks and exchange of views more vigorously.

Asif in a way acknowledged that the madrasas were training ground for terrorists.

"These madrasas were nurseries for American jihad in Afghanistan. People who took those decisions will burn to hell. We are actually living in hell because of that decision," he said, adding that Pakistan is paying the price of such a decision.

The US, he said, is focusing solely on safe haven allegations or blaming Pakistan for what they have not achieved in Afghanistan.

"There are many more dimension of what is going on in Afghanistan," he added.
The Congress on Friday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to tell the country what was happening at Doklam and about his policy on the issue with Rahul Gandhi taking a swipe at him demanding an explanation on road construction by China if he was done with chest thumping.

Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal asked Modi to explain his policy to deal with the issue and whether he intended to invite Chinese President Xi Jinping to Sabarmati again.

The comments came a day after sources said China maintained a sizeable presence of troops near the site of the Doklam standoff with India and had started widening a road, around 12 km from the area of conflict.

Modiji, once youre done thumping your chest, could you please explain this? Gandhi tweeted, tagging a news report headlined, With 500 Soldiers On Guard, China Expands Road In Doklam.

At the AICC briefing, Sibal said, Your (Modis) meeting was good, but what was the result of it and what is happening about it. Please tell the country as to what is happening at the border, especially along the Doklam plateau.

What is going to be your policy in this regard and whether you will again invite President Xi to Sabarmati for a swing with him and have a good sleep, the former minister asked.

Sibal asked what was happening in Doklam on Friday and said it is very disappointing that Modi met Xi at the BRICS Summit and there was a lot of talk about the meeting that would help ease the border tension with China as Chinese troops had withdrawn and so had India, removed their equipment and this matter will not be escalated further.

But what we are hearing now is that in the Doklam plateau near the trijunction and 10 km within the chicken neck, a new road is being constructed and the same equipment is being used there. Reports also say that some 500 to 1,000 Chinese soldiers are also deployed there, he said.

The Congress leader also referred to the statement of Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat who said that the Chinese will be doing excursions and we should be ready for that.

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day standoff in Doklam that began from June 16 over road construction activity at the India-Bhutan-China trijunction.

The tension eased after talks between top officials of both the countries.

The Congress, in an article put out on its website, also said that the fresh Doklam development underscores that deft diplomacy was not practiced and requires an explanation from the government.

The article said the news that China has stationed over 1,500 troops in close proximity to the standoff zone makes warnings given out by Congres leaders earlier sound prophetic.

In the absence of the National Democratic Alliance government not clarifying particulars as to the de-escalation, this fresh development looks alarming and underscores that deft diplomacy was not practised, the article said.

It said that Indian surveillance has reportedly detected new bunkers, and some road re-laying has also been done in the vicinity. China is reportedly using the road construction materials it brought to Doklam, to strengthen infrastructure in the environs of the standoff zone.

The Congress said it is widely evident that a build-up of roads and bunkers is a step towards Chinas stated goal to exercise its sovereign rights in the region.

It said Army Chief Rawat has termed these as salami slicing tactics and warned that continued tensions may snowball into a larger conflict.

In military parlance, salami slicing is a series of many minor actions, often performed by covert means, that as an accumulated whole produce a much larger result that would otherwise be difficult to execute all at once.

The Congress article said in September, China also opened a strategic highway to Nepal via Tibet and Chinas state-run Global Times alarmingly stated that this highway is just a forerunner to a railway link.

It said as per a recent report, China is reinforcing its claim on the Doklam territory by upgrading the road around 10-km north and east of the earlier face-off site.

One cannot be sure whether these events had been discussed on the table during the standoff. If it is so, then a legitimate question arises, what all concessions have the government made to the Chinese to solve the crisis?

Is this just the tip of the iceberg? If instead, the government is getting cold feet, then Chinas salami tactics are working, the article said.
Rediff.com captures the mood among the people at Elphinstone Road railway station, a week after 23 people died in a stampede at a footover bridge

IMAGE: It was this bridge that claimed 23 lives in a stampede on the morning of September 29.

Just 30 metres ahead lies another chicken's neck-like narrow pathway, sandwiched between two skyscrapers.

Many commuters, apart from widening of the footover bridge, are also demanding widening of this narrow patch that could prove fatal some day given the circumstances that led to the September 29 stampede.

Photographs and Videos: Afsar Dayatar/Rediff.com

It was silly. It was freaky. It was devastating.

In under 30 minutes, 23 railway commuters, all strangers, known to each other only by the virtue of sharing their plight as railway commuters of one of the busiest and most crowded railway network, were crushed under the pile of weight of their fellow commuters as they took shelter under a narrow footover bridge to September 29 at 10.20 am to avoid the rains.

Normally, it doesn't rain much after September 15 in Mumbai, but then fate plays its own vicious game.

Amid scare-mongering that the bridge was coming crashing down, that there was a fire caused by the short circuit, that some flower seller slipped on the slippery bridge and those stranded in hundreds fell one on top of another, in a dangerous domino that claimed 23 lives.

A week later, at the same bridge, about the same time, life is routine.

The rush, though, was orderly, at least on the bridge that had witnessed 23 deaths just seven days ago.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, among the only political party in the state, had organised a small shraddhanjali programme to remember the dead. The party workers handed over red roses to all those who volunteered to pay their respects.

In about 20 minutes they had all gone. The pile of red roses, in front of a huge collage of all those who died, lay silently under the sun, ready to wither, just like those lives who succumbed to their nasty fate on September 29.

***

IMAGE: BJP workers distributed red roses to whoever volunteered to pay their respects to the departed souls. The narrow chicken's-neck pathway is just another 20 metres down this road

"The people are scared. There is still fear on their faces," says Akash Devrukhe, a local and college student, who was among the very first of the good Samaritans to rush to help those, suffocating under the weight of their fellow commuters.

"Because of the rains that day many people took shelter under this bridge and then there was a rumour that the bridge was falling apart which led to the stampede. There was also some electric sparks that added to the panic and everybody started running to save their lives," says Akash explaining the cause of the stampede.

But his observations are based on the conversations he had had with his friends who were near the bridge where the stampede took place that day.

"It was such an overcrowded bridge that in the panic, they trampled upon each other. Apni, apni jaane bachakar bhag rahe the sab," he says.

"We rescued one person stuck under other commuters and took him to KEM (King Edward Memorial) Hospital," he adds.

Talk to any person who was an eyewitness that day or anybody else who spoke to Rediff.com citing what they heard and they attribute the cause of the stampede to the fear of the bridge crumbling, electrical short-circuit or a flower seller who fell down on the wet, muddy bridge and led to a domino.

Diwakar Shelke, senior police inspector, Dadar who is preparing an Accidental Death Report of the incident said that most of the eyewitnesses whose statements he had recorded to ascertain the cause of the stampede described one of the three incidents as the probable cause.

Shelke refused to comment on by when a first information report could be lodged in this case and he was focusing on investigating the probable cause of the stampede.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajiv Jain, Zone V, under whose jurisdiction the incident occurred said, "There is no book in the world that defines the number of days within which an FIR has to be filed. This is an ongoing inquiry and nothing more can be discussed about it at this moment."

***

BJP's Shaina NC, however, has been maintaining since the day of the stampede that there could have been some miscreants at work.

Among the only BJP leader from Mumbai to attend the shraddhanjali programme organised by local party unit, Shaina NC, who too buys the bridge-falling-apart and other such theories, said, "Let's also think about who spread the rumour, understand our social responsibilities; those who shouted 'pul gir gaya, gir gaya,' are also responsible and we must now ensure that no rumour-mongering puts the lives of fellow Mumbaikars at risk."

When asked for the reason behind her confidence in alleging that it could be a man-made stampede, either with or without intention, she said, "I am not assuming or going into any conspiracy theory but there have been perpetrators."

She also assured Mumbaikars that Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal and the Narendra Modi government accord prime importance to the safety and security of city's commuters.

"As a Mumbaikar and somebody who is part of the government, I can only assure that safety and security (of the commuters) will be paramount. There will be more security on railway platforms and stations; more personnel to ensure safety and security of women commuters."

Since the stampede last Friday, a posse of Railway Protection Force has been deployed at various sections of Elphinstone Road railway station.

Priya Sawant, who works at one of the garment shops at Elphinstone Road said the presence of RPF at various points on the railway station and in front of the ill-fated bridge does give her some extra confidence as she walks down it these days.

"At least they can maintain some order if such a situation were to arise again," she said.

***

Like Sawant, Shaikh Mohammed Sadiq too appreciates the presence of police on the railway station and at the footover bridge.

IMAGE: Shaikh Mohammed Shakil's elder brother Sadiq (in yellow) showing his Aadhar card to prove that his brother's photograph in the collage behind him, and numbered 18, was not his brother. Taamil (in black tee), who is elder to Shakil, also works in one of the garment outlets at Elphinstone Road station

"When I get down at Parel station there are always RPF guards there. They help commuters with their safety and concern. The Parel bridge is more narrow than the Elphinstone bridge and many people feared such a stampede would happen there and not here," he says underlining the irony.

A resident of Mumbra, a far-flung metropolitan suburb of Mumbai, had come to join work on Friday morning at a garment shop after his employer had persisted to do so.

For the last seven days he had been bereaving his brother, Shakil's death.

The youngest in the family, Shakil, 32, a tailor by profession, was crushed under the crowd September 29, leaving behind his wife, who he married eight years ago.

"When I heard about the incident I tried calling my brother. But his phone was switched off."

"Somebody said there was a short circuit and the stampede began. He (Shakil) died because of the intense pressure on his heart. Perhaps he was under a mass of people; there was no visible injury marks on his body," says Sadiq.

"My brother's dead now. I don't want any other person to go through this. I request the government and the Railways to improve the condition of this footover bridge for the convenience of those who take Mumbai locals daily," says Sadiq, who has yet received only Rs 15,000 in cash from Western Railway authorities the day he collected Shakil's body and later a cheque of Rs 4,85,000.

He said he has no idea when his family would get the rest of the compensation announced by Maharashtra government (Rs 5 lakh, ex-gratia) and another Rs 8 lakh from Railway Claims Tribunal.

Incidentally, his brother's identity was not properly ascertained and Shakil's name and number was mentioned under an unknown person's photograph.

"The one in the photo number 18 is not my brother. This is him," says Sadiq showing his younger brother's Aadhar card.
The United States military is "ridding" the world of terrorism, President Donald Trump has said, asserting that America's goals were denuclearising North Korea and stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Trump's remarks came after he held a meeting with top US military leaders on Thursday. The meeting was also attended by the President's advisers, including the National Security Adviser H R McMaster, Chief of Staff John Kelly and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.

"I put my trust in you to execute our mission aggressively and effectively, and you are delivering. We're ridding our world of terrorism and terrorists as much as it can be done," Trump said.

Noting that he wanted to discuss certain critical things with the military, Trump also listed out some of his priorities.

"In North Korea, our goal is denuclearisation. We cannot allow this dictatorship to threaten our nation or our allies with unimaginable loss of life. We will do what we must do to prevent that from happening. It will be done, if necessary, believe me," he said.

The US must not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed and chaos across the Middle East, he alleged, adding that this is why America must put an end to Iran's continued aggression and nuclear ambitions.

"They have not lived up to the spirit of their agreement," he said.

Trump said in Afghanistan he had lifted restrictions and expanded authorities for commanders in the field.

"You know that very well, and everyone in this room is very happy that it's been done finally. We've made more progress in our campaign to defeat ISIS in the last eight months than in many, many previous years, all combined," Trump said.

Earlier, Trump issued a national security memorandum aimed at integration, sharing and use of national security threat actor information to protect Americans.

National security threat actor information comprises identity attributes and associated information about individuals, organisations, groups or networks assessed to be a threat to the safety, security or national interests of the United States, the memorandum said.

Image: US President Donald Trump participates in a briefing with senior military leaders at the White House in Washington DC. Photograph: Yuri Gripas/Reuters
The purpose of the day is to provide you with an update on AND's new MapFusion product. We will provide presentations and thereafter will give you ample opportunity to discuss with Hugo van der Linde (CEO AND International Publishers NV).The day will start at 09:30 am and end at approximately 1:00 pm and includes lunch and an optional visit to the collection of the Louwman museum (the world's oldest and finest private collection of classic motor cars).To attend please register before October 25, 2017 via this link or send an email to info@and.com.A detailed programme and other additional information will be sent to the attendees by email. For more information, please contact Ilse Bolier via info@and.com.We look forward to seeing you!Hugo van der LindeCEO
ATLANTA, Oct. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HAVERTYS (NYSE:HVT) (NYSE:HVT.A) today reported sales for the quarter ended September 30, 2017.



Havertys sales for the third quarter 2017 decreased 1.9% to $207.6 million, compared with $211.7 million for the third quarter of 2016. On a comparable store basis, sales for the quarter were down 2.9%. Comparable store sales do not include locations opened, closed or otherwise non-comparable during the last 12 months. Sales for the first nine months of 2017 totaled $604.9 million, compared with $601.0 million in 2016, representing an increase of 0.7%. On a comparable store basis, sales decreased 0.6% for the first nine months.

Total written sales for the third quarter of 2017 were down 3.5% and written comparable store sales decreased 4.2% over the same period last year. During September, 55 of Havertys stores were closed for one or more days due to Hurricane Irma. The negative impact on third quarter total written sales and written comparable store sales because of these closures is estimated at 1.2%.

Sales in Millions

(unaudited) Total

Sales

% Change Comparable

Store Sales

% Change 2017 2016 Third Quarter $207.6 $211.7 -1.9 % -2.9 % Nine Months $604.9 $601.0 0.7 % -0.6 %

Clarence H. Smith, chairman, president and CEO, said, The third quarter was one of our more challenging periods in recent years. Our sales results for the quarter as we entered September were slightly positive with written business running somewhat negative. Our markets were not directly impacted by Hurricane Harvey, but its devastation heightened the concern for the larger and more powerful Hurricane Irma. In advance of Irmas approach, we closed stores and readied them for possible severe weather and halted home deliveries. Given the anticipated path of the storm, 55 of our stores were closed for at least one day, including stores in metro Atlanta. We were fortunate to have only minor property damage to a few locations but 14 stores remained closed for three or more days due to power outages. We are working with our insurance provider on recovery claims.

Hurricane Irma disrupted not only our retail operations but caused us to close our Florida and Eastern distribution centers and corporate offices. I was pleased by the excellent collaboration and communication to protect Havertys property and reschedule over 3,900 home deliveries; and very proud of the concern and assistance our team members demonstrated to those directly impacted by the storm.

The Company will release third quarter 2017 financial results on Tuesday, October 31, 2017, after the market closes. Havertys will host a conference call with analysts and investors on Wednesday, November 1, 2017 at 10:00 AM (ET).

About Havertys

Havertys (NYSE:HVT) (NYSE:HVT.A), established in 1885, is a full-service home furnishings retailer with 124 showrooms in 16 states in the Southern and Midwestern regions providing its customers with a wide selection of quality merchandise in middle to upper-middle price ranges. Additional information is available on the Companys website havertys.com.

News releases include forward-looking statements, which are subject to risk and uncertainties. Factors that might cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, the consumer spending environment for large ticket items, competition in the retail furniture industry and other uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Companys report filed with the SEC.

Contact:

Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. 404-443-2900

Richard B. Hare

EVP & CFO

Jenny Hill Parker

SVP, Finance, Secretary and Treasurer

Source: Havertys
Currently Reading

50 things to do this Columbus Day weekend in Connecticut, October 6-9
FORM 8.3

PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY

A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE

Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code")

1. KEY INFORMATION

(a) Full name of discloser: HARGREAVE HALE LIMITED (for Discretionary Clients) (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):

The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named. N/A (c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:

Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree CLINIGEN GROUP PLC (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: N/A (e) Date position held/dealing undertaken:

For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure 05 OCTOBER 2017 (f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer?

If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state "N/A" If YES, specify which: QUANTUM PHARMA PLC

2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security.

(a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)

Class of relevant security:



ORDINARY 0.1p



Interests Short positions Number % Number % (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 2,208,786 1.9145 (2) Cash-settled derivatives:



(3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell:



TOTAL: 2,208,786 1.9145

All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.

Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).

(b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors' and other employee options)

Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists: Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages:

3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in.

The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.

(a) Purchases and sales

Class of relevant security Purchase/sale



Number of securities Price per unit ORDINARY PURCHASE 1,100 1169.94p

(b) Cash-settled derivative transactions

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. CFD Nature of dealing

e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit NONE





(c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)

(i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying

Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type

e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit NONE

(ii) Exercise

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit

(d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)

Class of relevant security Nature of dealing

e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable) NONE

4. OTHER INFORMATION

(a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements

Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:

Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"



NONE





(b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives

Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:

(i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or

(ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:

If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"



NONE





(c) Attachments

Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO

Date of disclosure: 06 OCTOBER 2017 Contact name: DAVID CLUEIT

HARGREAVE HALE LTD Telephone number: 01253 754739

Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service.

The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.
TORRINGTON - A New Milford caregiver accused of stealing and pawning more than $26,000 worth of jewelry and other valuables from a town resident pleaded guilty to second-degree larceny Tuesday in Superior Court in Torrington.

Maria A. Baratta, 32, was arrested May 31 and charged with first-degree larceny, according to court records.

She pleaded guilty to second-degree larceny Tuesday as part of an agreement with the state and was given a prospective sentence of six years, suspended after two years, with three years probation.

Baratta, listed alternatively in court records as a resident of New Milford and Danbury, was ordered to pay up to $26,874 in restitution to the victim's estate and $2,665 to area pawnshops as part of the agreement.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, New Milford police determined Baratta, while serving as the caregiver for a New Milford woman, had sold a series of items to pawn shops that later were determined to belong to the womans family.

These included a number of pieces of jewelry, including a 14-karat golden chain, a 14-karat ring with a diamond and ruby, a Cuban link necklace with an oval diamond bezel and a 14-karat diamond ring.

According to the affidavit, Baratta pawned $26,874 worth of items determined to belong to the womans family. She was paid $2,665 for the goods.

Baratta called police March 25 due to the deteriorating health of the New Milford woman, police said.

Baratta had told a member of the victims family that she did not possess any form of medical training, but had aided her with day-to-day requirements. She had been hired to care for the victim in December 2016, and had been living at home since that time.

She told police that she contacted the family member on March 21 and 22 about the victims declining health, but had not received a response until March 25, when she was directed to call emergency services.

Her alleged theft of the items was discovered by New Milford police during the resulting investigation, according to the affidavit.

Baratta's case was continued to Dec. 15 for sentencing, according to court records.

Reach Ben Lambert at william.lambert@hearstmediact.com.
WASHINGTON - The long-simmering debate in this country over gun rights took a dramatic turn Thursday when the National Rifle Association unexpectedly joined an effort to restrict a device used to accelerate gunfire in the Las Vegas massacre.

The NRA's announcement gave political cover to a growing number of Republicans who have indicated a willingness to consider regulating "bump stocks," devices that allow a legal semiautomatic rifle to mimic the rapid discharge of a fully automatic weapon. Less clear is whether the move signals an opening for further action on an issue that has divided the nation and produced virtually no new restrictions in recent years despite a steady stream of mass shootings.

"The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations," read a statement issued by the powerful organization Thursday.

Federal law enforcement officials have said that Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock fired weapons outfitted with bump stocks Sunday, leaving 58 dead and hundreds injured in a matter of minutes. Experts have said that audio of the attack makes clear that the shooter unleashed a torrent of bullets faster than he could have fired without adapting his rifles.

As the country's largest gun rights group, the NRA exerts considerable influence among conservative voters who support the organization - and on the GOP's approach to gun policy. Many Republicans have operated under the fear that opposing NRA positions could lead to primary challenges. But public opinion is also on the minds of Republicans as they head into a midterm election year that is expected to be contentious. Regulating bump stocks could help the party combat perceptions that it has done nothing to address the mass shootings.

The sheer carnage of Sunday's attack is fueling lawmakers' interest in the issue, said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. "Look at Las Vegas. That's how I account for it," McCain told reporters. "Americans are horrified by it. They're horrified, and they should be."

Still, even after the group's announcement Thursday, only a handful of Republicans had stepped forward to consider examining bump stocks.

House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., all said Thursday that lawmakers will consider further restrictions on the devices. More than a dozen Senate Republicans said they were open to the possibility. A few of Congress's most conservative lawmakers - as well as some of its most avid supporters of gun rights - said the restrictions were worth consideration.

"I didn't know what a bump stock was until this week," Ryan said at a news conference in Chestertown, Maryland. "A lot of us are coming up to speed. . . . Having said that, fully automatic weapons have been outlawed for many, many years. This seems to be a way of going around that, so obviously we need to look how we can tighten up the compliance with this law so that fully automatic weapons are banned."

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders welcomed the NRA's position and said President Donald Trump wants to be part of a "conversation" about cracking down on bump stocks. "We're open to having that conversation," Sanders said during Thursday's White House press briefing. "We think we should have that conversation, and we want to be part of it moving forward."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., stuck out as one of the only members of Republican congressional leadership who had not indicated he was on board. He told reporters Tuesday that it is "completely inappropriate to politicize an event like this" and declined to answer further questions on the subject.

The NRA's position Thursday reflected an about-face on a long-standing position of opposing most gun restrictions, a position founded on the philosophy of the "slippery slope" - that allowing such legislation would beget still more, until law-abiding gun owners were deprived of their Second Amendment right to bear arms.

On Thursday, the NRA blamed the Obama administration for authorizing the sale of bump stocks in 2010, based in part on the manufacturer's claim that the device was intended to assist people with "limited mobility" in their hands. At the time, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives concluded that the bump stock "has no automatically functioning mechanical parts or springs and performs no automatic mechanical function when installed," according to a letter from the bureau that the manufacturer, Slide Fire Solutions, posted to its website. "Accordingly, we find that the 'bump-stock' is a firearm part and is not regulated as a firearm under Gun Control Act or the National Firearms Act."

In the joint statement from the NRA's executive vice president and chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, and Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, the group called on ATF to again review "whether these devices comply with federal law."

Advocates for greater regulations on guns questioned the sincerity of the NRA and Republican leaders, given their unwillingness to support more-substantial restrictions such as an assault-weapon ban.

"The gun lobby has for years boosted devices that effectively convert rifles into machine guns and boasted that you can get away with guns that mimic fully-automatic fire," said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, the gun-control advocacy group founded by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg. "So it's hardly a surprise that they're calling for a review of bump stocks by a friendly regulatory agency rather than legislation from Congress."

The organization also does not have long-standing connections to the companies that make bump stocks, which do not have much history of lobbying. A recent search of contributions to federal political campaigns, for instance, turned up none from Slide Fire.

And few lawmakers knew what a bump stock was before this week. Talk of the device has taken over Capitol Hill since the shooting, the worst in modern American history. At least a dozen of the 23 firearms recovered from Paddock's hotel room were modified to include the accessories, which can be purchased online for a few hundred dollars.

Some lawmakers turned to YouTube to watch videos showing how the devices work.

"That's what I did yesterday," said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. "I don't think most people in the Senate were familiar with this."

Support for a possible ban has started to coalesce around several pieces of legislation. One measure, unveiled Wednesday by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., would ban the sale, transfer and manufacture of bump stocks, trigger cranks and other accessories that can accelerate a semiautomatic rifle's rate of fire.

Feinstein's bill had support from 38 Democrats as of Thursday morning, including Sens. Bill Nelson, Fla., and Claire McCaskill, Mo., who both face uphill fights for reelection next year in conservative states. "The notion that we're allowing an add-on that allows people to convert a semiautomatic weapon to an automatic weapon - we've got to address that," McCaskill said.

In the House, a bill from Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., would focus on bump stocks but leave out restrictions on other gun accessories. Curbelo said he had been "flooded" with requests from Republicans who want to sign on to the measure, which he planned to introduce Friday. "I think we are on the urge of breakthrough where when it comes to sensible gun policy," said Curbelo, a moderate Republican who represents a Miami-area district.

Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., introduced legislation similar to Feinstein's in the House. It had attracted 140 sponsors as of Wednesday night.

Democrats' electoral map might complicate the debate. Ten Democratic senators, including McCaskill, face reelection bids in mostly rural states that Trump easily won in the 2016 election.

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., another such Democrat, said in a statement that she did not know much about bump stocks, "and I first want to learn more about them."

Sen. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., said that Feinstein's idea "sounds sensible and reasonable to me," but he planned to consult hunters in his state before taking a position.

Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Ind., issued a statement: "This is a critical and timely issue. I am very concerned about bump stocks, and I am closely reviewing recently proposed legislation."

In a sign of the far-reaching interest in the issue, even Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., an ardent conservative, suggested he is open to supporting the bill. "Not yet," he said. "I think I probably will eventually."

On Thursday, a pair of lawmakers began an effort that could preempt legislation on bump stocks. Two House Republicans with military backgrounds, Reps. Mike Gallagher, Wis., and Adam Kinzinger, Ill., were gathering signatures for a bipartisan letter asking ATF to revisit its 2010 administrative determination that bump stocks are legal. A group of Democrats made the same request in their own letter to ATF.

Former ATF assistant director Michael Bouchard said in an interview that bump stocks serve "no purpose other than someone to have it and say, 'This is cool.' "

"It serves no purpose for anything," said Bouchard, who ran the agency's regulatory and criminal field operations. "Not for sporting, not for target practice, not for hunting."

David Chipman, a former longtime ATF official who now works as a senior adviser to the gun-control group Americans for Responsible Solutions, said firearm technology has "outpaced the law."

"Our legislators move at a crawl, and our technology is moving at warp speed," he said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Aaron Davis, Sean Sullivan, Sari Horwitz and Paul Kane contributed to this report.

- - -

Video: Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., says that he would be willing to consider controls on so-called "bump-stock" conversion kits for firearms, as he shares his perspective on gun control in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history this week in Las Vegas. (Washington Post Live)

Short: URL: http://wapo.st/2xTUI1Z

Embed code:

- - -

Video: What is a bump stock?

Investigators say that Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock had 12 rifles with bump stocks on the night he killed 58 people.

Short URL: http://wapo.st/2xWAVPv

Embed code:
FORM 8.3

PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY

A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE

Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code")

1. KEY INFORMATION

(a) Full name of discloser: Kames Capital Plc (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):

The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named. (c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:

Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree Paysafe Group plc (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: (e) Date position held/dealing undertaken:

For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure 05/10/2017 (f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer?

If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state "N/A" NO

If YES, specify which:

2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security.

(a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)

Class of relevant security:



Ordinary Share



Interests Short positions Number % Number % (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 11,567,819 2.3693 0 0.00 (2) Cash-settled derivatives:



604,613 0.1238 0 0.00 (3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell: 0 0.00 0 0.00



TOTAL: 12,172,432 2.4931 0 0.00

All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.

Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).

(b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors' and other employee options)

Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists: Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages:

3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in.

The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.

(a) Purchases and sales

Class of relevant security Purchase/sale



Number of securities Price per unit Ordinary Share Sale 700,000 5.8300 GBP

(b) Cash-settled derivative transactions

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. CFD Nature of dealing

e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit

(c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)

(i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying

Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type

e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit

(ii) Exercise

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit

(d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)

Class of relevant security Nature of dealing

e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable)

4. OTHER INFORMATION

(a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements

Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:

Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"



None





(b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives

Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:

(i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or

(ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:

If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"









(c) Attachments

Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached?





Date of disclosure: 06/10/2017 Contact name: Stephen Adams Telephone number: 0131 549 6714 For any issues relating to this disclosure please contact 0131 549 3288 or kamestradeoperationsmb@kamescapital.com

Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service and must also be emailed to the Takeover Panel at monitoring@disclosure.org.uk. The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.
FREMONT, Ohio, Oct. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Fremont Company today announced that Dave Stark of Toledo, Ohio will join the company as its vice president of Human Resources. Mr. Stark will be leading all company HR initiatives and building an exceptional place for employees to work, and a culture that attracts great talent.



Dave brings more than 20 years of experience in the areas of Human Resources and organization effectiveness, said Eric Kadrovach, Director of Operations. His experience includes efforts in the areas of employee relations and benefits administration. 

Mr. Stark previously served as Director of Human Resources at Shrader Tire and Oil. As part of the leadership team, Mr. Stark was recognized in 2008 with the HR Excellence Award from his alma mater the University of Toledo.

Mr. Stark is a graduate of the University of Toledo, with a degree in human resource management and is a board member with the Northwest Ohio Employers Association. Mr. Stark has been a speaker at THRAC (Toledo HR Association Conference) and at the University of Toledo. Mr. Stark is active in supporting the Feeding America network of Food Banks, where the Fremont Company is set to provide over 20,000 meals in 2017.

About The Fremont Company

The Fremont Company is a 112-year-old consumer food products company, headquartered in Fremont, OH. The Fremont Company manufactures, markets, and distributes store brand and branded food products to customers worldwide, including private brand ketchup, Franks Sauerkraut and Mississippi BBQ Sauce. http://www.fremontcompany.com

Elsa Cantu (214) 608 2320 ecantu07@gmail.com
Government lawyers in Cambodia moved on Friday to end opposition to the continued rule of Prime Minister Hun Sen, submitting a petition to the countrys Supreme Court that it formally dissolve the Cambodia National Rescue Party.



The five lawyers representing the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) said the petition was based on complaints filed recently by the leaders of two smaller rival parties, Pich Sros of the Cambodian Youth Party and Prince Norodom Ranariddh of Funcinpec.



We have studied the evidence and believe that we have ample and strong evidence against the CNRP that will allow the Supreme Court to dissolve the party, government lawyer Ky Tech told reporters in Phnom Penh after filing the motion.



According to [Cambodias] amended Law on Political Parties, the CNRP can be dissolved, CPP spokesman Sok Eysan said in a text message distributed to reporters on Friday. If the party is dissolved, its seats in the National Assembly will be allotted to other parties that took part in the election.



Fridays petition to dissolve the CNRP follows other government moves to destroy Cambodias most effective political opposition to Hun Sens 32-year rule. The CNRPs performance in local elections in June were seen as pointing to a strong showing in next years general elections.



On Sept. 3, party leader Kem Sokha was arrested without a warrant in the capital Phnom Penh and accused of treason in a move critics say shows Prime Minister Hun Sen is intensifying his attacks on political opponents ahead of national elections scheduled for July 2018.



Almost 20 CNRP lawmakers, along with fellow deputy presidents Mu Sochua and Eng Chhay Eang and a number of party activists, have meanwhile fled Cambodia fearing retaliation by Hun Sens CPP following important electoral gains by the CNRP in local elections in June.



A troubling move



Speaking to RFAs Khmer Service, Cambodian political analyst Meas Ny described himself as troubled by todays move against the CNRP.



I dont see how a political party supported by almost half of the people who cast votes [in June] can be dissolved, he said.



This proves Hun Sens failure to uphold the multiparty democracy guaranteed to Cambodia in its constitution. I dont see how the upcoming national election can possibly be free and fair.



Also speaking to RFA, a resident in the capital Phnom Penh said that widespread support in Cambodia for the CNRP has made Hun Sen afraid he will lose the next election.



The CPP is now using smaller parties to destroy the CNRP by creating the illusion that without the CNRP there will still be an opposition. The government is trembling with fear that they cant compete, he said.



Human Rights Watch Deputy Asia Director Phil Robertson meanwhile said the motion to dissolve the opposition party will almost certainly be approved.



The Supreme Court is totally controlled by the ruling CPP party, and the judges will perform exactly as Hun Sen orders, Robertson said in an Oct. 6 statement.



This is a strongmans coup detat, with Hun Sen shamelessly transforming himself into a dictator for the whole world to see.



Call to cut off aid



Noting that Japan and the European Union have already provided millions of dollars to support next years election, Robertson added that the only honorable way forward is for Japan and the EU to immediately cut off any further aid or technical assistance to an election will not be free or fair.



Attempts to dissolve Cambodias opposition party are the latest move by a small, corrupt elite to maintain its grip on power and wealth at the expense of the rest of the country, London-based opposition watchdog Global Witness said in a statement Friday.



The international community cannot stand back and watch as the country slides into outright dictatorship. Cambodias donors and trading partners have the power to intervene, Global Witness campaigner Emma Burnett said.



While sanctions imposed against Cambodia might also be effective, these should be carefully applied, CNRP deputy president Mu Sochua told RFA on Friday, speaking from an undisclosed location after fleeing Cambodia earlier this week ahead of possible arrest.



They should be imposed in a way that hurts only the senior officials of the government and their families, and not the ordinary people, she said.



In the continuing crackdown on Hun Sens opposition, armed security forces meanwhile surrounded the Phnom Penh home of CNRP Youth Movement leader Hing Soksan on Friday. Family members told RFA the authorities searched the house, but the activist was not at home.



Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Nareth Muong. Written in English by Richard Finney.
US Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) (standing, center-R), chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, tells journalists that the commission will nominate jailed Hong Kong activists and the 2014 'Umbrella Movement' for the Nobel Peace Prize, in Washington, Oct. 5, 2017.

Freedoms of speech and religion, the rule of law, and individual rights and freedoms have worsened during the past year under the ruling Chinese Communist Party, an annual congressional-executive report has found, calling on the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to do more to halt the decline in basic freedoms.

"As President Trump heads to China next month, he must press China to uphold international human rights norms, respect the rule of law, and adhere to universal standards," Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) chairman Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) told journalists on Thursday as the report was published.

The report found that the Chinese Communist Party continues to "use the law as an instrument of repression to expand control over Chinese society," and that "the criminalization of Chinas human rights lawyers and advocates is ongoing, including credible reports of torture in detention."

Meanwhile, in the former British colony of Hong Kong, "the long-term viability of the 'one country, two systems' model ... is increasingly uncertain given central government interference," it said.

It also cited intensifying restrictions on religious freedom, particularly in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region and Tibet.

Rubio said he and co-chair Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) plan to nominate jailed Hong Kong activists Joshua Wong, Nathan Law, Alex Chow and the 2014 "Umbrella Movement" for fully democratic elections for the Nobel Peace Prize for their peaceful efforts to bring political reform and protect the autonomy and freedoms guaranteed Hong Kong in the Sino-British Joint Declaration."

Under the terms of the 1997 handover, Hong Kong was promised a high degree of autonomy and the maintenance of judicial independence, progress towards universal suffrage and traditional freedoms of speech, publication and association.

But a series of high-profile interventions by China's parliament have cast doubts over Beijing's growing political influence in the city, which extended to stripping pro-democracy lawmakers of their seats in the Legislative Council, after their oaths of allegiance were ruled invalid.

The oaths row "was the first time the [National People's Congress] standing committee] had preemptively ruled on a case under consideration by a local court, raising further concerns about Hong Kongs autonomy," the report said.

In Hong Kong, Civic Party leader Alvin Yeung welcomed the report, saying the Hong Kong establishment and pro-Beijing politicians were "unwilling to face up to this reality."

"The report has seen through the emperor's new clothes, and details a number of things that the pro-establishment camp doesn't want to admit," Yeung said. "That includes stripping six lawmakers of their seats, and more than one 'interpretation' [from the National People's Congress]."

"We have seen one challenge after another to the 'one country, two systems' approach," he said.

Democratic Party leader Wu Chi-wai said the pledge of autonomy for the city has now largely been broken.

"Whether on the part of the central government, the Hong Kong government or the pro-establishment politicians, this has been an exercise in gradual deception," Wu told RFA. "But if the political risk factor keeps rising, as it has done, this will affect investment in Hong Kong."



People attend a candlelight march for late Chinese Nobel laureate and pro-democracy dissident Liu Xiaobo in Hong Kong, July 15, 2017. Credit: AFP Liu Xiaobo to get Gold Medal

Meanwhile, the CECC said it would award a Congressional Gold Medal to late political prisoner and 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, and to all advocates of democracy and human rights in China.

"The death from liver cancer in July 2017 of Liu Xiaobo ... brought renewed attention to the government and Partys shameful treatment of political prisoners," the annual report said.

"In his last days, authorities repeatedly denied Liu Xiaobo medical treatment abroad, counter to his wishes and those of his wife, Liu Xia," it said.

The medal would be "in recognition of ... extraordinary advocacy for liberty and human rights despite repression," it said.

Smith said growing human trafficking had also been highlighted in this year's findings, which estimate that 62 million girls were never born owing to sex-selective abortion, which promotes sex trafficking.

Bob Fu of the U.S.-based Christian rights group ChinaAid, said the situation for human rights in China is at its worst since the political turmoil of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).

"The rule of law, the treatment of lawyers and civil rights activists since the July 2015 crackdown, and the three prisoners of conscience who have just been jailed in Hong Kong all point to the fact that the situation has seriously deteriorated," Fu told RFA.

"I think the international community should face up to this soberly, and hold the dictatorship to account for their rights violations," he said.

Wang Yanfang, wife of jailed rights lawyer Tang Jingling, called on Trump to raise the issue of political prisoners on his forthcoming visit to China.

"I hope that Trump will raise the issue of Tang Jingling and many other prisoners of conscience," Wang said. "They are in a dire situation."

The CECC said it has 1,400 "active cases" in its political prisoner database.

"These men and women ... represent the human toll exacted by Chinas repressive and authoritarian one-party system," the annual report said.

Reported by Lam Kwok-lap for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Zhang Li for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
The ruling Chinese Communist Party is flooding the United States with its spies, according to exiled billionaire Guo Wengui, who is on Beijing's most-wanted list for a number of criminal charges.



Guo, who also goes by the name Miles Kwok, revealed a document to the National Press Club in Washington on Thursday that he said backed up his claim that China has stepped up its U.S.-based spying operations, sending dozens of new operatives from the state security police to work in the country.

"This document has been verified as genuine for us by government agencies in the U.S. and in other countries," Guo told journalists, adding: "The mere possession of this document is enough for an automatic prison sentence of three-to-five years."



Document No. 82, 2017 is on headed paper from the general office of China's cabinet, the State Council, and the National Committee on State Security, and is a response to earlier proposals from the ministry of state security.



"After researching the matter, we agree in principle to your proposal to send 27 officers of the People's State Security Police to the U.S., in addition to He Jianfeng," the document, which RFA was unable to verify independently, states.



The document is dated Apr. 27, 2017, marked Top Secret and copied to the general office of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the standing committee of the National People' Congress, and the general office of the party's Central Military Commission.



Bank branches, diplomatic missions



Guo said the new spying operations use the Bank of China branches in New York city and Washington D.C., as well as Chinese diplomatic missions in the U.S., as a base.



"Since then, around 50 more people have been sent," he added.



Their brief is intelligence gathering, counterespionage, and the vetting of management personnel in the U.S. operations of state-owned corporations, Guo said.



They are also charged with actively supporting and cooperating with the Communist Party's "United Front" ideological work, diplomatic and military missions, and any other personnel-related business, he said.



"A lot of people think that [I] only have documents that date back to pre-2015, but I can tell you that I can get hold of top-level documents of the Chinese Communist Party at any time, whenever I want to," he said.



"This is a top secret level state document ... We have friends all over the world ... those who provide the documents are among the most senior people, including the current Politburo standing committee," he said. "My material is real. Otherwise, they wouldn't be afraid of it."



However, he declined to elaborate further on the source of the leak.



Repeated attempts to contact the Bank of China in New York regarding Guo's allegations were unsuccessful on Wednesday.



'A Mafia-like group'



Guo, who had an Interpol "red notice" issued for his arrest in April, hit out at what he called a small clique of corrupt "kleptocrats" running China.



"What they're doing is anti-humanity," he said. "The U.S. ought to do something instead of just talking to the Chinese kleptocracy, who are simply a mafia-like group."



Guo, who applied for political asylum in the U.S. earlier this month, said the threat from Chinese espionage is "100 or 1,000 times" greater than that posed by major terror attacks on U.S. soil.



"I would like all members of the Chinese Communist Party to wake up and say No to this ruling clique," he added.



The Associated Press has reported that Chinese prosecutors are investigating Guo "for at least 19 major criminal cases," which included allegedly bribing intelligence officials, kidnapping, fraud, and money laundering.



In August, AP revealed that Chinese authorities have requested a second Interpol warrant for Guo, on a claim that he raped a 28-year-old former personal assistant.



Reported by Ho Shan and Ma Lap-hak for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Wang Yun and Han Jie for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie.
North Korea is secretly running 19 clothing factories in the Kaesong industrial zone, once a symbol of cooperation between the two halves of the divided Korean peninsula that was shuttered last year as Pyongyang ramped up its missile and nuclear programs, sources in China told RFAs Korean Service.

Kaesong was closed in February 2016 after North Korea ordered all South Koreans out of the complex, seized South Korean assets there, and declared the area under military control.

The move came a day after South Korea announced it was pulling out of Kaesong in retaliation for North Korean nuclear and long-range missile tests earlier in the year.

North Korea is secretly operating 19 clothing factories in Kaesong Industrial Complex without informing South Korea, a source in China involved in trade with North Korea told RFA.

Clothing factories in Kaesong Industrial Complex produce clothes for the domestic market but majority of their workload includes processing orders made from China, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The trader said that North Korea addressed a lack of electricity at Kaesong by diverting some power from the munitions sector.

However, the clothing factories do not require much electricity since they only need some electricity to run sewing machines, the source said.

The source added that with UN and other international sanctions imposed on North Korea over its repeated missile and nuclear tests, the 19 clothing factories that are secretly operating will experience difficulties getting orders.

A second source familiar with North Korean trade and manufacturing said he was unsure when exactly the North started making textiles at Kaesong, but it is definitely more than six months since it began running.

Commuter buses taking workers into the plant near North Koreas border with South Korea were running, the second source said, but authorities were taking extra steps to maintain security and secrecy.

The inside of the factory is invisible from outside. All the lights from inside of the factories are securely blocked by curtains, said the second source.

Two North Korean propaganda outlets quoted by Reuters news agency from Seoul indirectly and possibly inadvertently confirmed the reported use of the factories, which South Korea said had violated its property rights by using the equipment.

"They do not even see our proud workers laboring vigorously working in the Kaesong industrial complex," North Korea's propaganda web site Meari was quoted by Reuters as saying on Friday.

The agency quoted the Uriminzokkiri propaganda site as saying "it is nobody's business what we do in an industrial complex where our nation's sovereignty is exercised.

It was not immediately clear what South Korea could do about the latest action by North Korea, which has broken most if not all previous inter-Korean economic and political agreements without facing serious consequences.

In December, sources familiar with Kaesong told RFA that South Korean cookware seized illegally by North Korean authorities after the joint industrial park was closed was seen on sale in large quantities in Chinese cities near the North Korean border.

Reported by RFAs Korean Service. Translated by Leejin Jun. Written in English by Paul Eckert.
A newly arrived Rohingya refugee breaks for a meal while building a shelter for his family on government-owned land in Ukhia, a sub-district of Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, Sept. 17, 2017.

Bangladesh's home minister told a high-level Myanmar delegation that Naypyidaws security forces must stop laying landmines along the border with Bangladesh and intruding into its airspace, the minister said in an interview with BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service, following bilateral talks over the Rohingya refugee crisis.

Meanwhile, Bangladeshi officials on Thursday announced plans to concentrate some 900,000 Rohingya refugees sheltering in the southeast into a single space by adjoining 3,000 acres of land located next to the Kutapalong refugee camp in Coxs Bazar district.

The week began with Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal and Foreign Minister A.H. Mahmood Ali meeting in Dhaka with Kyaw Tint Swe, the minister for the Office of the State Counsellor of Myanmar, and other delegates from Naypyidaw to discuss how the two countries could work together to resolve tensions over the crisis.

More than one-half million Rohingya Muslims have fled to southeastern Bangladesh from Myanmars Rakhine state since the last week of August alone. Another 400,000 had entered Bangladesh after fleeing from earlier cycles of violence in Rakhine.

At Mondays meeting where Kyaw Tint Swe said Myanmar was willing to take back Rohingya who had fled to Bangladesh, according to the Bangladeshi side, the home minister said he brought up the issue of land-mines and incursions by Myanmar helicopters and drones into Bangladeshi airspace.

I raised the issue of planting land mines along the zero line. I clearly told the honorable minister that, according to international law, Myanmar cannot plant land mines along the border. This is illegal, Minister Khan told BenarNews during an interview at his office after the talks.

Bangladeshi police and border guards reported at least 10 people, mostly Rohingya refugees, have been killed by anti-personnel explosives on the Myanmar side of the border as they fled to Naikhangchhari, in southeastern Bangladesh.

The Myanmar minister listened to us and said he was taking note of the matter and he would communicate Bangladeshs concern with the right authorities, Khan said.

The latest influx has occurred amid a crackdown by the Myanmar military that followed attacks on police outposts in Rakhine state, mounted on Aug. 25 by a militant outfit known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA).

On Thursday, a U.S. State Department official expressed concern that the exodus to Bangladesh, combined with Myanmars military crackdown in Rakhine, could lead to an influx of international terrorists, according to the Associated Press.

Burmas nascent democracy is at a turning point and a heavy-handed response invites international terrorists and challenges for other neighbors, said Patrick Murphy, a senior department official for Southeast Asia, using the alternative name for Myanmar.

Airspace intrusions

Since the crisis broke out, Bangladeshs foreign ministry had summoned Myanmars acting ambassador in Dhaka three times to protest air space violations by Burmese helicopters and drones.

I raised the issue of air space violations. The Myanmar minister replied their helicopters flew according to the GPS. The minister said the air space violation occurred because of the faulty GPS, Khan said.

Then I asked him why Myanmar did not correct this as Bangladesh had repeatedly conveyed concerns about air space violations, Khan said.

Concerning Rohingya Muslims, Bangladeshs government will not offer them refugee status but will refer to them instead as forcibly displaced Myanmar citizens, Disaster Management and Relief Secretary Shah Kamal told reporters on Thursday.

We are not terming them as Rohingya refugees. This means they are not being recognized as refugees. They have just sought shelter here in Bangladesh, the secretary told a news conference.

In addition, officials announced that the government was planning to move all Rohingya people scattered in different sub-districts of the southeast into one giant Kutapalong camp.

[A]ll the Rohingyas who fled into Bangladesh from Myanmar since 1978 till now will be moved to one place temporarily. Then it will be easier for us to provide them food and maintain law and order, Disaster Management and Relief Minister Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya told reporters, according to local media.

The government plans to construct camps to shelter Rohingya on 3,000 acres of land next to Kutapalong camp, he said.

The government had earlier allocated 2,000 acres  but now it has been increased to 3,000 acres to accommodate the increased number of Rohingya, Maya said. We are doing this to ensure security, food supply, medical treatment, sanitation facilities and proper registration.

Bangladesh will construct 150,000 camps to accommodate the increasing number of Rohingya.

At first we had a plan to construct 84,000 camps, but now the number has been increased to meet the need of the rising number of Rohingya, he said.

Millions of dollars needed

In other related news, humanitarian groups assisting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh said they needed U.S. $434 million to scale up efforts to bring them relief, according to the United Nations.

The U.N.s migration agency, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), has been leading the efforts of humanitarian agencies on behalf of the Bangladesh government.

Unless we support the efforts of the Bangladesh government to provide immediate aid to the half million people who have arrived over the past month, many of the most vulnerable  women, children and the elderly  will die, said William Lacy Swing, IOMs director general, in a statement. They will be the victims of neglect.

Bangladesh, IOM, and its partners are now struggling to provide adequate shelter, food, clean water, health care, and protection to hundreds of thousands camped out over the vast muddy sites that now dot Coxs Bazar, he said. Five weeks on from the start of the crisis, funding has started to arrive, but much more will be needed.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Buddhists at the International Buddhist Monastery in Dhaka pray for Rohingya during Probarona Purnima, normally a festive event, Oct. 5, 2017.

Bangladeshs Buddhist minority this week cut back on colorful traditions that mark Probarona Purnima (Full Moon Night)  the communitys second-biggest religious festival  as a show of sympathy for hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslim refugees sheltering in their country.

The celebrations usually feature revelers lighting and unleashing countless balloon-like fanush (sky lanterns) into the air and launching a token ship of imagination, but Thursday nights Probarona festivities in majority-Muslim Bangladesh were more subdued.

Local Buddhists said they were mindful of the plight of one-half million Rohingya who fled to southeastern Bangladesh in the past five weeks while escaping from an explosion of violence in Rakhine, their home state in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, which does not recognize them as citizens.

Releasing sky lanterns on Probarona Purnima is a part of our religious rite. To protest the torture by Myanmar security forces on Rohingya Muslims, we have dropped all gorgeous festivities from this years celebration, Asim Ranjan Barua, president of Bangladesh Buddhist Federation, told BenarNews, , an RFA-affiliated online news service.

We have shortened this years celebration to express sympathy for the Rohingya, he said.

In southeastern Chittagong, Bangladeshs second largest city, Buddhist youths released a few sky lanterns on Thursday night.

Buddhists from across the country would also donate money for the Rohingya refugees, Barua said.

I, as a Buddhist, feel ashamed about the torture that the security forces and the vigilante Buddhists have been perpetrating on the Rohingya Muslims in the Rakhine state, he added. Buddhism is the religion of non-violence. The inferno that has taken place there (Rakhine) can never be acceptable.

He said Buddhists in Bangladesh maintained no ties with those in Myanmar.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been persecuted in our neighboring land. How can we celebrate with festivities? said Proggananda Bhikshu, an assistant director of Ramu Central Buddhist Monastery in Ramu, a sub-district of Coxs Bazar, the area that has borne the brunt of Rohingya refugee arrivals from neighboring Rakhine over the years.

We have finished this years Probarona Purnima with some simple religious rites. The local administration has assured us it would extend support to celebrate our festival, but we willingly refrained from celebrating, he told BenarNews.

The Myanmar military has oppressed the Rohingya for years, but this years violence in Rakhine was unprecedented, in Bhikshus view.

The refugee crisis began when the Myanmar security launched a crackdown in Rakhine following attacks on police outposts by Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) militants on Aug. 25. Since the violence broke out, widespread reports have emerged of the Myanmar military and Buddhist militia allegedly targeting Rohingya civilians in killings, rapes and the burning of Rohingya villages.

Myanmar authorities have denied the allegations and blamed the violence on ARSA, saying the militants have also carried out atrocities against members of Rakhines Hindu minority.

What has been happening in Rakhine is state-sponsored, Bhikshu said.

Calls for arming the Rohingya

A Bangladeshi Islamic scholar welcomed the display of Buddhist compassion for the Rohingya.

This sacrifice of the Buddhist community proves that Bangladesh is a country of religious harmony, Mufti Enayetullah told BenarNews.

On Friday, however, thousands of members of a conservative Muslim group, Hefazat-e-Islam, held a protest rally in Chittagong. They denounced de facto Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi and called on their government to put diplomatic pressure on Myanmar to end violence against Rohingya, as well as arm the Rohingya so they could defend themselves.

Millions of people will stand with the government if they declare jihad against Myanmar, if the genocide continues, Hefazat Secretary General Junaid Babunagari told rally goers.

We have also asked the government to train and arm the Rohingya so that they can liberate their homeland, Hefazat spokesman Azizul Hoque Islamabad told Agence France-Presse.

Human rights reactions

Meanwhile, human rights and refugee advocacy groups kept the pressure on Myanmar.

Washington-based Refugees International issued a report, Bearing Witness to Crimes Against Humanity, which recommended that the U.N. demand an end to abuses against the Rohingya and impose an arms embargo and sanctions on Myanmar.

The current crisis that began just over a month ago is of an entirely new scale and level of inhumanity, the group said in a statement accompanying its report.

[M]any people from other ethnic groups, including Rakhine Buddhists and Hindus have been displaced and killed as well, reportedly in attacks by Rohingya insurgents, but the attacks on other groups has been nowhere on the scale of the attacks on the Rohingya, it added.

Elsewhere, Amnesty International issued a letter to members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nation (ASEAN) calling on them to take urgent steps to resolve the human rights crisis.

ASEAN is failing to take a stand as one of its member states carries out a violent campaign of ethnic cleansing, said James Gomez, Amnesty Internationals director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, in a news release.

Governments in the region must uphold the commitments to human rights enshrined in the ASEAN Charter, commitments which Myanmars military is showing clear contempt for as they perpetrate crimes against humanity against the Rohingya.

UN Fears Fresh Exodus

On Friday, the United Nations was bracing for a possible further exodus of Rohingya from Myanmar, a U.N. humanitarian aid official said. About 515,000 Rohingya have arrived in Bangladesh from Rakhine since the last week of August, in what the U.N. has called the worlds fastest-developing refugee emergency.

This flow out of Myanmar has not stopped yet, its into the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya (who are) still in Myanmar, we want to be ready in case there is a further exodus, Mark Lowcock, U.N. under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told a news briefing in Geneva.

Half a million people do not pick up sticks and flee their country on a whim.

An estimated 2,000 Rohingya arrive in Bangladesh every day, Joel Millman of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) told a separate briefing.

Aid agencies have warned of a malnutrition crisis with about 281,000 people in Bangladesh in urgent need of food, including 145,000 children younger than 5 and more than 50,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Reported by BenarNews, an RFA-affiliated online news service.
Hundreds of Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar's northern Rakhine state wait to cross the border into neighboring Bangladesh in an undated photo.

UPDATED at 1:30 P.M. EST on 2017-10-10

An estimated 17,000 Rohingya Muslims from Buthidaung township in Myanmars violence-ridden northern Rakhine state have been trying to flee to safety in neighboring Bangladesh since Sept 26, the Myanmar government said Friday, well after the supposed end of a military crackdown in the region.

The unusual announcement by the Information Committee of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyis office comes a month after the government declared that attacks by Muslim terrorists and and a military counteroffensive had ended. The figure is much less than the half-million Rohingya refugees that the United Nations says have fled northern Rakhine.

Earlier this week, Bangladeshi officials said that 4,000 to 5,000 Rohingya were crossing the border each day following a brief lag in arrivals and that 10,000 more were waiting at the border.

The government statement said the 17,000 Rohingya have been fleeing Buthidaung since Sept. 26 because they are concerned about their survival, health, and security as a minority ethnic group and that their Muslim relatives in Bangladesh had asked them to come so they could all live together within the same clan.

The Rohingya have been arriving in the villages of Ywathit Kay, Layyinpyan Kwin, and Ngayantchoung that border Bangladesh, the statement said.

Though authorities intercepted them, the statement did not say whether the Rohingya were permitted to cross the border or were forced to return to their homes.

Bangladesh and humanitarian agencies have been struggling to accommodate and provide basic services for the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who left northern Rakhine during a military crackdown following deadly Aug. 25 attacks on 30 police posts and an army facility.

The Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), a militant Muslim group, claimed responsibility for the attacks as well as for deadly smaller-scale raids on three border guard stations in October 2016.

Blame game

Rights groups and the United Nations have accused the Myanmar military of crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing in northern Rakhine amid numerous reports by Rohingya of security forces murdering civilians, burning villages, torturing people, and raping girls and women.

The government has denied the allegations and blamed the killings and torchings of villages on Muslim militants.

In a speech to diplomats on Sept. 19, Aung San Suu Kyi said the government did not know why the Rohingya were continuing to leave northern Rakhine after the security operations ended earlier that month.

She said that the majority of the 1.1 million Muslims living in Rakhine state had not fled and that more than 50 percent of their villages were still intact.

Myanmar considers the Rohingya illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and has denied them citizenship, though some have lived in the country for generations. They have also been denied access to basic services such as education and health care.

Myanmar and Bangladesh have set up a working group to facilitate the repatriation of the Rohingya, though rights groups have warned that the Muslims who fled should not be forced to return to a country where they will continue to face systematic discrimination.

Reported by RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Khet Mar. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin.
Tibetan nomads evicted in June from government-built housing in Qinghais Yulshul prefecture are now living in desolate tent settlements while their former homes are torn down to make way for Chinese development projects, local sources say.



The nomads had been forced years before from their traditional grazing areas and are now being uprooted again, a Tibetan resident of the area told RFAs Tibetan Service.



Many who had sold their herds when they were first resettled have no way to return to their former lives, and the poorest among them have now resorted to begging in the nearby township just to make ends meet, RFAs source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.



Chinese construction workers have already arrived in the area and have started to demolish the neighborhoods that were built for nomad resettlement, the source said.



If the government fails to provide new housing for them, the evicted Tibetans plan to live in their tents till next year, he said.



Other nomadic groups who still owned livestock have already moved back under government orders to the nomadic areas from which they were originally removed, sources said.



The resettlement sites now vacated outside Yulshuls Dzatoe (in Chinese, Zeduo) county seat under a policy announced last year will be developed as housing for Chinese government workers and tourists, sources told RFA in earlier reports.



Residents of a nomad resettlement village near Domda township in Yulshuls Tridu (Chenduo) county have meanwhile also been forced from their homes and told to return to their native regions, sources said in June.



Now the authorities are planning to demolish the houses built for the nomads and build housing instead for new Chinese migrants and tourists in the Domda area, which is known for its natural scenic beauty and good supplies of water and electricity, one source said.



Reported by Kunsang Tenzin for RFAs Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Richard Finney.




Silver Spring, MD, Oct. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Twice a year, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) independent Accreditation Commission reviews accreditation applications from the best aquariums, nature centers, science centers and zoos in the world. Most recently, the Commission reviewed 28 accreditation applications and two certification applications. AZA is proud to announce the accreditation of the following facilities:

African Safari Wildlife Park, Ohio

Bergen County Zoological Park, N.J.

Cape May County Park Zoo, N.J.

Chicago Zoological Society - Brookfield Zoo, Ill.

Dakota Zoo, N.D.

Denver Zoological Gardens, Colo.

Dickerson Park Zoo, Mo.

Fundacion Temaiken, Argentina

Lake Superior Zoo, Minn.

Lincoln Park Zoological Gardens, Ill.

Little Rock Zoological Gardens, Ark.

Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden, Ind.

Minnesota Zoological Garden, Minn.

Northeastern Wisconsin (NEW) Zoo, Wis.

Peoria Zoo, Ill.

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium, Wash.

Potter Park Zoological Gardens, Mich.

Pueblo Zoo, Colo.

Racine Zoological Gardens, Wis.

Riverside Discovery Center, Neb.

SEA LIFE Orlando, Fla.

Scovill Zoo, Ill.

Toledo Zoological Gardens, Ohio

Topeka Zoo, Kan.

Tulsa Zoo, Okla.

Zoo Boise, Idaho

AZAs accreditation standards for animal health and welfare are the highest in the zoological profession  the gold-standard and our independent Commission grants accreditation only to the top zoos and aquariums in the world, said Dan Ashe, President and CEO of AZA. The 196 million visitors that visit AZA-accredited facilities each year can be certain they are supporting facilities dedicated to superior animal care, meaningful guest education, and impactful wildlife conservation.

AZA also granted certification to 2 applicants- the Colorado Wolf & Wildlife Center and The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. The certification process is equivalent to the accreditation process but is designed for wildlife-holding facilities that are non- commercial entities and that are not open to the public on a regular basis.

Each facility underwent a thorough review to make certain it has and will continue to meet ever-rising standards, which include animal care and welfare, veterinary programs, conservation, education, and safety. AZA requires facilities to complete this rigorous accreditation process every five years to be members of the Association.

The accreditation process includes a detailed application and a meticulous on-site inspection by an independent team of trained zoological professionals. The inspecting team observes all aspects of the facilitys operation, including animal welfare and well-being; veterinary care; keeper training; safety for visitors, staff, and animals; educational programs; conservation efforts; financial stability; risk management; guest services; and other areas. Finally, top officials are interviewed at a formal hearing in front of the Accreditation Commission, after which accreditation is granted, tabled, or denied. Any facility that is denied may reapply after one year.

Two facilities, the Henson Robinson Zoo and the Biodome de Montreal, elected to let their accreditation expire at the end of September to allow for construction and other internal improvements before seeking accreditation for another five years.

Over the past ten years, the Commission has accredited 246 facilities, with many being successfully accredited twice during that time span. The Commission has denied accreditation to 20 facilities.

There are currently 230 AZA-accredited facilities and 12 AZA-certified related facility members throughout the U.S. and in eight other countries.

"It is important that individuals, families, governments, and partners like the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission easily identify zoos and aquariums whose commitment and standards of conservation and animal welfare are top, said Kira Mileham, Partnership Director of the IUCN Species Survival Commission. "AZA accreditation is a rigorous and trustworthy way for us to be confident that those accredited organizations are striving for the best interests of the animals both in their care and in the wild."

The Commission will next meet to review accreditation applications in Spring 2018 in Jacksonville, Florida. For a full list of facilities applying for AZA accreditation, please visit https://www.aza.org/upcoming-reviews. For a full list of currently accredited AZA-facilities, please visit https://www.aza.org/current-accreditation-list.

About AZA

Founded in 1924, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums in the areas of conservation, animal welfare, education, science, and recreation. AZA is the accrediting body for the top zoos and aquariums in the United States and eight other countries. Look for the AZA accreditation logo whenever you visit a zoo or aquarium as your assurance that you are supporting a facility dedicated to providing excellent care for animals, a great experience for you, and a better future for all living things. The AZA is a leader in saving species and your link to helping animals all over the world. To learn more, visit www.aza.org.

###

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a791895e-69e3-4019-8b02-672bff2cfc6a
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
MUSIC: classic big band jazz

FROM: Washington, D.C.

As part of the ongoing observance of the 75th anniversary of World War II, the Richmond Folk Festival is proud to present the U.S. Army Blues, an acclaimed military ensemble that carries on the American big band tradition with both precision and style. This 18-member jazz ensemble is one of 10 musical groups that make up the U.S. Army Band Pershings Own. General John Black Jack Pershing founded the U.S. Army Band in 1922, inspired by the example of European military bands active during the First World War. The Army Blues became an official division of Pershings Own in 1972, carrying on a jazz legacy begun by the Army Dance Band that entertained in war zones during World War II.

As part of Pershings Own, the U.S. Army Blues is the premier jazz ensemble of the United States Army. All the members of the band are active duty military as well as professional musicians, dedicated both to serving the nation through music and telling the story of Americas Army. Chief Warrant Officer 2 JacKel Smalls is the Director and officer in charge of the Army Blues. CW2 Smalls, who has been a member of the Army since 2007 and was previously Commander of the 77th Army Band at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, proudly describes the ensemble as the best musicians in the country  connecting the American people to the Army through what we do as musicians. The Army Blues will be joined in Richmond by vocalist Christal J. Rheams; a member of the Army since 1993 and of Pershings Own since 1998, Sergeant Major Rheams is an alto vocalist and group leader with the U.S. Army Band Downrange, the rock ensemble of Pershings Own.

While the repertoire of the U.S. Army Blues spans the history of jazz music to the present day, the ensemble has a special love for the music of Ellington and Basie, and other classics of the big band era. As a soundtrack for the war years and a generation of Americans, this music has a particular poignancy and relevance on the occasion of the wars 75th anniversary. A quintessentially American art form, jazz emerged as an African American tradition in late 19th-century New Orleans. Big band reached its heights on the cusp of World War II, during the Swing Era, when Benny Goodman and other white bandleaders brought jazz to national prominence, but the music has its roots in 1920s Harlem when Fletcher Henderson and Duke Ellington shaped a new jazz idiom. These pioneering bandleaders attracted accomplished musicians and showcased their talents.. The sectionsreed, brass, rhythmbecame the building blocks; the interplay between the sections, not individual instruments, was key, as they engaged in dueling lines and call-and-response forms, creating a layered, textured, and thrilling sound.

Were honored to host this outstanding ensemble from Fort Myer, Virginia, as the festival salutes the greatest generation.
FORM 8.3

PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY

A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE

Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code")

1. KEY INFORMATION

(a) Full name of discloser: Tyrus Capital S.A.M. (b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions disclosed, if different from 1(a):

The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient. For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries must be named. (c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant securities this form relates:

Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree Paysafe Group plc (d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree, state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree: (e) Date position held/dealing undertaken:

For an opening position disclosure, state the latest practicable date prior to the disclosure 5 October 2017 (f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the discloser making disclosures in respect of any other party to the offer?

If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state "N/A" N/A

If YES, specify which:

2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security.

(a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the dealing (if any)

Class of relevant security:



0.01p ordinary



Interests Short positions Number % Number % (1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: (2) Cash-settled derivatives:



35,740,000 7.320 (3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options) and agreements to purchase/sell:



TOTAL: 35,740,000 7.320

All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.

Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).

(b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors' and other employee options)

Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription right exists: Details, including nature of the rights concerned and relevant percentages:

3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE

Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b), (c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant security dealt in.

The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.

(a) Purchases and sales

Class of relevant security Purchase/sale



Number of securities Price per unit





(b) Cash-settled derivative transactions

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. CFD Nature of dealing

e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing a long/short position Number of reference securities Price per unit 0.01p ordinary CFD



Increasing a long position 16,450,000 GBP 5.83

(c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)

(i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying

Class of relevant security Product description e.g. call option Writing, purchasing, selling, varying etc. Number of securities to which option relates Exercise price per unit Type

e.g. American, European etc. Expiry date Option money paid/ received per unit

(ii) Exercise

Class of relevant security Product description

e.g. call option Exercising/ exercised against Number of securities Exercise price per unit





(d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)

Class of relevant security Nature of dealing

e.g. subscription, conversion Details Price per unit (if applicable)





4. OTHER INFORMATION

(a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements

Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or any agreement or understanding, formal or informal, relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the person making the disclosure and any party to the offer or any person acting in concert with a party to the offer:

Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should not be included. If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"



none





(b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to options or derivatives

Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding, formal or informal, between the person making the disclosure and any other person relating to:

(i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under any option; or

(ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal of any relevant securities to which any derivative is referenced:

If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings, state "none"



none





(c) Attachments

Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO





Date of disclosure: 6 October 2017 Contact name: Jonathan Beer Telephone number: +377 9999 5030

Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory Information Service.

The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.

The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.
The red ribbon in the plaza of the new Junior Achievement Finance Park is practically the only sign of the color associated with negative in the world of finance. Green  the color associated with positive  is everywhere. With a few scissors and about 20 elected officials, the red ribbon was soon in pieces.

About 200 local businesspeople, school and municipal officials, and members of the community were on hand Thursday to watch the ribbon-cutting that officially opened the new finance park in Henrico County, a multimillion-dollar project that brought together nine school divisions. The goal of the park is to improve the financial literacy of students in central Virginia through what is essentially an amusement park for introductory finance.

The park is located on the third floor of the Libbie Mill Library, which opened in 2015 at 2100 Libbie Lake East St. The project fits right into the modern library with high-tech exhibits and a career center set to open in December.

Although the finance park is in Henrico, speakers at Thursdays unveiling stressed that the facility will benefit students throughout the region.

Many of the decisions we make in life are long-term, and thats what this program is about, said Henrico County Manager John Vithoulkas.

The area school divisions involved signed memorandums of understanding with Junior Achievement of Central Virginia, a nonprofit aimed at helping students prepare for the future, so that high school students will take a field trip to the finance park after completing 13 finance sessions in their home classrooms.

Then the fun begins.

For the field trip, students will be randomly assigned a credit score. They must then navigate the room, making stops to research and allot money for their budget. Volunteers help the students at each stop, most of which are sponsored by local companies. Dominion Energy, for example, sponsors the stop where students must budget their energy bill.

When those proverbial light bulbs begin, thats when you know youre building a strong future, said Daphne Swanson, the president and CEO of Junior Achievement of Central Virginia.

The trip gave Jasmine Medrano, a junior at Glen Allen High School, a taste of reality.

Having to go through a virtual persona to visit a taste of the real world was not only entertaining for me, but more so a reality, said Medrano, the nonprofits student ambassador.

The day was extra special for Medrano, who was surprised with a $2,500 scholarship. She had originally envisioned being a nurse practitioner, she said, but is now considering going to school to be an accountant.

An estimated 9,000 students are expected to attend the park this year. The first round of students taking the field trip is expected in the first week of November.

The high-tech facility, geared with about 130 iPads and touch screens, was originally in a mobile unit on Broad Street. Junior Achievements board took on a $4 million fundraising campaign to improve the park, and through Thursday, had raised about $3.6 million.

We needed to build a facility that could actually accommodate (the students), and this was that facility, said Swanson, the CEO.

Aaron Montgomery, a board member for the nonprofit, was still in awe Thursday as he looked around at what was built.
Virginia Attorney General Mark R. Herring got fundraising help this summer from fellow Democrat George Jepsen, the attorney general of Connecticut.

Jepsen held a fundraiser in his home for Herring on July 26, soliciting money from Connecticut utilities, banks, pharmaceuticals and insurance companies, the Hartford Courant reported.

The Courant noted in a story Friday that under Connecticuts clean election laws that stop executives who hold state government contracts from donating to Connecticut candidates, Jepsen would not be able to solicit the same kind of donations for himself that he solicited for Herring.

The Courant reported: Jepsen was asked in an interview Wednesday whether he was circumventing the clean-election laws  or violating their spirit and principle  by putting the arm on forbidden or restricted in-state financial sources on behalf of a friends out-of-state campaign.

He said no, adding that its self-evident that I dont benefit directly from it, and if the legislature had wanted to prohibit this kind of activity they certainly could have done so, but they did not. They chose to draw the line where they did.

Virginias campaign finance laws, considered among the weakest in the nation, do not compare with Connecticuts. As an example, Herrings office contracts with the law firm Williams Mullen for legal work. On Aug. 15, Williams Mullen gave Herring a $5,000 campaign donation.

Herrings most recent campaign finance report included $24,800 from businesses or individuals in Connecticut, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Fifty-three percent of his money during the period came from Virginia.

When asked if he could call to discuss the Connecticut fundraiser, Herring campaign manager Adam Zuckerman responded by email about GOP challenger John Adams.

When are you going to look at Adams and tell readers anything about him, what he believes, and what kind of AG hed be? Zuckerman wrote. Wed be happy to share with you what we know. For example, just looking at recent endorsements, theres a clear consensus emerging among the business community that Adams would put Virginia on the wrong track with his way out there social agenda.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch profiled Adams in July.

Among Herrings recent big endorsements are one from the Northern Virginia Business Political Action Committee; he was the only Democrat to receive its endorsement in the three statewide races on the ballot Nov. 7.

And at this point it looks like RAGA is essentially, now on a weekly basis, the only source of funding for his entire campaign, Zuckermans email continued. That might be worth including in any money story for some balance.

RAGA is the Republican Attorneys General Association, which is indeed pumping money into the Adams campaign.

For the fourth straight week, the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) has sent six-figure transfer to the John Adams campaign, bringing RAGAs total contributions to $1.85 million, a RAGA news release on Thursday read.

Herring, finishing his first term as attorney general, still has a big money edge over Adams, a white-collar defense attorney with McGuireWoods. The two candidates are political opposites on social issues. Herring supports abortion and gay rights, while Adams  who opposes both  has said the House of Delegates should have impeached Herring for not defending the states ban on same-sex marriage. The ban was later struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, which has made legal same-sex marriage the law of the land.

Adams campaign manager Nick Collette issued this statement:

John set early fundraising records from in-state fundraising. RAGA continues to invest in Johns race because they know he can win. The only person with an agenda is Mark Herring and the political agenda hes using the AGs office to advance.

That includes the agenda of big unions that have bankrolled his campaign  and in return he has actively opposed Virginias Right to Work law, filing briefs in opposition in the Supreme Court. Meanwhile John continues to receive the support of Virginias law enforcement community  a community that supported Herring four years ago. That is telling.
Comments from Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel that her Democratic opponent in the race for lieutenant governor, Justin Fairfax, is not informed enough to talk intelligently sound more like 1957 than 2017, Virginia Democrats said Friday.

I was dumbfounded and astounded to hear those words come out of her mouth, Democratic Party Chairwoman Susan Swecker said on a conference call for reporters with Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan, D-Richmond.

Vogel, R-Fauquier, made her remarks during a debate with Fairfax on Thursday hosted by the Virginia Bar Association at the University of Richmond School of Law. She was discussing a controversial bill she sponsored in 2012 to require women to have an ultrasound before an abortion.

He brings this up every chance he gets because there are other issues that he could talk about, but I clearly think he is not informed enough on those issues to talk intelligently about them. I just have to put that out there, Vogel said in the debate.

Vogel campaign spokesman Chris West said Friday: All that we have to say is that Senator Vogel stands by her comments from last night.

Swecker said: For those of you that were there, like Senator McClellan was, or for those of you who watched the video, you could audibly hear the gasp in the room,

Justin is a former prosecutor with degrees from Duke and Columbia and to question his ability to quote talk intelligently unquote is more like something from 1957 instead of 2017.

Vogel later in the debate offered this: I questioned how informed he is. I have no doubt Justin Fairfax is very intelligent. In fact, hes an incredibly nice person. I enjoy actually being on the trail with him. But I will question how informed he is on many of these issues, and that is why I take the position that he has taken very extreme positions that are incredibly hard for him to defend.

Swecker said she immediately got calls and texts.

I cant speak to what was inside of Jill Vogels head, but the optics of a white woman saying that a black man with extraordinary credentials  who last night spoke with substance and great command of the issues  those optics arent good. As we say in Highland County, if it quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, its probably a duck.

McClellan said Vogel still has not explained why she filed the 2012 bill that she later pulled from consideration, a bill McClellan called one of the most embarrassing pieces of legislation any legislator in Virginia has authored over the past 10 years.

When given an opportunity by debate moderator Bob Holsworth to explain why her transvaginal ultrasound bill wasnt an unwarranted intrusion by government into the personal health care decisions of Virginia women, Jill instead went on the attack, McClellan said.

State Del. Sam Rasoul, D-Roanoke, in a tweet posted early Friday, shared his take on Vogels comments: What condescending & racist crap is this? he wrote.

Del. Lamont Bagby, D-Henrico, who attended the debate, said the situation is unfortunate.

Like most in the room I cringed when I heard what sounded like dog whistling politics, he said in a statement. It was my hope that Senator Vogel would retract her statements and provide clarity but instead she has decided to double down and that is unfortunate. What was also unfortunate is her decision not to explain the rationale behind her invasive ultrasound bill.
President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Thursday night to endorse Republican Ed Gillespie for governor and attack Democrat Ralph Northam.

Ralph Northam, who is running for Governor of Virginia, is fighting for the violent MS-13 killer gangs and sanctuary cities. Vote Ed Gillespie! Trump tweeted.

The presidents foray into the race adds a new dimension to the contest about a month before the Nov. 7 election.

Virginia is the only Southern state that Trump did not carry in November. His approval rating in the state was below 40 percent in recent polls.

While former President George W. Bush will appear with Gillespie at a fundraiser in Richmond this month, as yet there is no word about a Trump campaign event with Gillespie.

In response to the president's endorsement, Northam tweeted: "TBH (to be honest) I've been expecting this" and provided a link where his supporters could donate to his campaign.

In immigration-themed TV ads, Gillespie has sought to draw attention to violent crimes tied to the gang MS-13 by featuring ominous photos of tattooed Hispanic men. One highlights the gang's motto: "Kill. Rape. Control."

A new mailer that Gillespie approved accuses Northam of wanting to make life easier for illegal immigrants.

The flier promises that Gillespie will crack down on illegal immigration and claims that Northam, Virginias lieutenant governor, supported restoring rights to illegal immigrants who committed crimes.

That was a reference to data errors that occurred when Gov. Terry McAuliffe took executive action to restore civil rights to more than 206,000 felons. McAuliffes list at one point included a sex offender who had been deported to Peru. The McAuliffe administration corrected the errors.

Under the headline Liberal Ralph Northam stands with illegal immigrants, the flier says Northam supports in-state tuition and drivers licenses for illegal immigrants and that he cast a deciding vote in favor of sanctuary cities.

There are no sanctuary cities in Virginia, which Gillespie has acknowledged publicly.

Ed Gillespies desperate, negative campaign has adopted the Donald Trump playbook. So, its no wonder that Donald Trump endorsed Ed Gillespies divisive campaign tonight, said Jared Leopold, a spokesman for the Democratic Governors Association.

The facts are clear: Ed Gillespie will not stand up to Donald Trump on policies that harm Virginians. Now that Gillespie has Trumps official endorsement, we look forward to seeing them proudly campaign together this month.

During a Sept. 19 debate with Northam in Fairfax County, Gillespie repeated his stance that he would welcome the president's support in the contest, but in speaking with reporters afterward, he declined to say whether he would invite Trump to campaign with him.

Northam referred to the president as a narcissistic maniac while fending off former Rep. Tom Perriello in a June primary.

But in a TV ad out this week, Northam says he would work with the president when it is in Virginias interest.

"As a doctor, nobody ever asks if I'm a Democrat or a Republican," Northam says in the ad. "They just want my help. So if Donald Trump is helping Virginia, I'll work with him."

Northam says in the ad that he "stood up to Donald Trump" on issues such as cutting funding for schools and "taking away health care from thousands of Virginians."

Gillespie and Northam meet in their third and final debate on Monday in Wise County in Southwest Virginia.
The two candidates for lieutenant governor debated issues including gun control and abortion on Thursday in a forum that grew tense after Republican Jill Holtzman Vogel said Democrat Justin Fairfax was not informed enough to talk intelligently about issues in the campaign.

Fairfax responded that Vogels style is the politics of destruction and said voters would reject it.

The exchange during a debate at the University of Richmond School of Law came after one of the debate moderators, Bob Holsworth, asked about a 2012 bill filed by Vogel, a state senator from Fauquier County, that would have required women getting abortions to submit to an ultrasound.

The bill was controversial and Vogel pulled it; Fairfax said it would have required an invasive, transvaginal ultrasound and was an example of Vogel consistently trying to take away womens rights and shame women for exercising their constitutional rights.

He said he wasnt attacking Vogel personally but was stating facts.

Vogel replied: The only person that has been making personal attacks in this race is Justin Fairfax. I have been nothing but gracious and polite and talked only about the issues.

Of her 2012 bill, she said, He brings this up every chance he gets because there are other issues that he could talk about, but I clearly think he is not informed enough on those issues to talk intelligently about them. I just have to put that out there.

She said Fairfax was trying to score political points at the expense of women and said, I fundamentally believe that he misunderstands the subject matter.

Fairfax then largely ignored a question about why he opposes the two proposed natural gas pipelines that would cross Virginia and will not accept donations from Dominion Energy.

You just saw a perfect example of the way Senator Vogel engages in elections, he said. She said that I am not intelligent enough to understand a piece of legislation. ... This is exactly what people reject. She just hired her second Trump adviser on her campaign this week. And so what we can expect is for Senator Vogel to keep going in the gutter.

He noted that Vogel emerged from a GOP primary with her main competitor threatening to sue her for defamation.

I have never questioned her intelligence. My professors at Duke University and Columbia Law School, when I was on the Columbia Law Review, would be shocked to hear that Im not intelligent enough to read a piece of legislation. They gave me all those great degrees.

Fairfax is a white-collar defense attorney at the law firm Venable in Northern Virginia and a former federal prosecutor who has never held public office. Vogel, a state senator for 10 years, is the managing partner of a law firm that specializes in campaign finance and voting laws and whose family owns a real estate and oil business.

The two are vying for a part-time office, the duties of which are mainly to preside over the state Senate and break tie votes on most issues. The post of lieutenant governor is considered a launching pad for a run for governor.

Vogel later in the debate said: I did not question his intelligence. I questioned how informed he is. I have no doubt Justin Fairfax is very intelligent. In fact hes an incredibly nice person. I enjoy actually being on the trail with him. But I will question how informed he is on many of these issues and that is why I take the position that he has taken very extreme positions that are incredibly hard for him to defend.

Among those, she said, was Fairfaxs support for a single-payer health care system and his opposition to natural gas pipelines that would bring jobs to Virginia, she said.

Said Fairfax: Unfortunately Senator Vogel, who is a strong supporter of President Donald Trump  represents a vision that would take us backwards.

They were asked about the massacre in Las Vegas that left 58 dead and hundreds injured.

We do not need to have these military-grade assault weapons on our streets in the hands of people like the shooter in Las Vegas, who shot upwards of 600 people, Fairfax said.

Vogel said not enough facts about the shooting are known.

Im not running for lieutenant governor to take anybodys rights away, she said. If you restrict peoples gun rights, it does violate the Constitution.
BELGRADE, Mont., Oct. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Xtant Medical Holdings, Inc. (NYSE American:XTNT), a leader in the development of regenerative medicine products and medical devices, today announced the closure of its Dayton, Ohio facility and the transitioning of its fixation operations to the Companys headquarters in Belgrade, Montana. This decision will allow the Company to align operations with the current and future needs of its customers, and recognize cost-savings by consolidating facilities and reducing duplicative resources.



"In an effort to maximize the benefit of the 2015 merger with X-Spine, and optimize synergies including efficiencies and cost savings, we made the difficult decision of transitioning operations to Montana and closing the Dayton facility," said Carl OConnell, CEO of the Company. "Hardware will continue to be an important aspect of our business, and is an area we intend to build on in the future. We remain excited about the new technologies in development. With the continued efforts in 2017 towards restructuring and reducing costs, we are looking to strategically invest in both our existing business and new market opportunities, for hardware and biologics in 2018. We will be working to make this transition as smooth as possible for our employees and our customers."

The Dayton, Ohio facility employs approximately 55 employees in various quality assurance, regulatory, inventory management, finance, engineering, and distribution positions. Many of these functions will ultimately transition to our Montana facility. Once the transition is completed, annualized cost savings are anticipated to be in excess of $2 million, resulting from right-sizing the organization and reduction in facilities. The one-time cost for executing this change is estimated to be $1.5 million.

The Company will file the Worker Adjustment and Retaining Notification with the State of Ohio and the Department of Job and Family Services.

About Xtant Medical

Xtant Medical Holdings, Inc. (NYSE American:XTNT) develops, manufactures and markets class-leading regenerative medicine products and medical devices for domestic and international markets. Xtant products serve the specialized needs of orthopedic and neurological surgeons, including orthobiologics for the promotion of bone healing, implants and instrumentation for the treatment of spinal disease, tissue grafts for the treatment of orthopedic disorders, and biologics to promote healing following cranial, and foot and ankle surgeries. With core competencies in both biologic and non-biologic surgical technologies, Xtant can leverage its resources to successfully compete in global neurological and orthopedic surgery markets. For further information, please visit www.xtantmedical.com.

Important Cautions Regarding Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains certain disclosures that may be deemed forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include statements that are predictive in nature, that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, or that include words such as "continue," "efforts," "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "strategy," "will," "goal," "target," "prospects," "potential," "optimistic," "confident," "likely," "probable" or similar expressions or the negative thereof. Statements of historical fact also may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. We caution that these statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of important factors, including, among others: the ability to comply with covenants in the Companys senior credit facility and to make deferred interest payments; the ability to maintain sufficient liquidity to fund operations; the ability to remain listed on the NYSE MKT; the ability to obtain financing on reasonable terms; the ability to increase revenue; the ability to continue as a going concern; the ability to maintain sufficient liquidity to fund operations; the ability to achieve expected results; the ability to remain competitive; government regulations; the ability to innovate and develop new products; the ability to obtain donor cadavers for products; the ability to engage and retain qualified technical personnel and members of the Companys management team; the availability of Company facilities; government and third-party coverage and reimbursement for Company products; the ability to obtain regulatory approvals; the ability to successfully integrate recent and future business combinations or acquisitions; the ability to use net operating loss carry-forwards to offset future taxable income; the ability to deduct all or a portion of the interest payments on the notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes; the ability to service Company debt; product liability claims and other litigation to which we may be subjected; product recalls and defects; timing and results of clinical studies; the ability to obtain and protect Company intellectual property and proprietary rights; infringement and ownership of intellectual property; the ability to remain accredited with the American Association of Tissue Banks; influence by Company management; the ability to pay dividends; and the ability to issue preferred stock; and other factors.

Additional risk factors are listed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q under the heading "Risk Factors." The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law.

Investor Contact



CG CAPITAL

Rich Cockrell

877.889.1972

investorrelations@cg.capital



Company Contact



Xtant Medical

Molly Mason

mmason@xtantmedical.com
Mathematics came to the Supreme Court this week in the form of the efficiency gap, a proposed formula for detecting gerrymandering. State legislators along with the nine justices might ask: Is this what the Founding Fathers intended, for mathematical formulae to be embedded in our democratic process? The answer is a resounding yes  and it has lessons for legislators today.

The Virginia state legislature, rather than being reluctantly dragged along by the court, can instead lead the nation in open districting reform. In doing so it would restore the principled tradition of Jefferson in its application of scientific and mathematical tools in democratic ideals and process.

The roots of American democracy are enmeshed with those of mathematics and science. The Declaration of Independence is what mathematicians call a proof by contradiction (King George III violates the self evident axioms; Brits Out!), a logical argument Jefferson encountered in the Euclid of his youth when mathematics was the passion of (his) life. Jeffersons Notes on the State of Virginia defended America against latent European snobbery by cataloging Virginias ecological diversity and its large quadrupeds. Science was Jeffersons sword and shield in furthering and defending American exceptionalism.

The history of representative apportionment is instructive for the supporting role that mathematics can play in democracy. After every decennial census, each state is assigned seats according to its relative population. In 2010, Virginia had 2.6 percent of the population so must be assigned 2.6 percent of the 435 seats in the House of Representatives. That is, 11.31 seats. Only whole numbers are tenable so Virginia was assigned 11 seats. Likewise, California has a claim on 52.85 seats and was assigned 53 seats. Heres why apportionment is tricky: If a method simply rounds to the nearest whole number it is unlikely that the total number of seats assigned will necessarily equal 435. Congress needs a fair and transparent system to decide how to round.

The Founding Fathers spiritedly debated apportionment. First, Hamilton proposed a method: Round down the fractional seat number and then give one surplus seat, in order, to states with the largest fractional parts. Washington, on Jeffersons advice, vetoed Hamiltons method, the first presidential veto in U.S. history. Shortly thereafter, Jefferson proposed an alteration of Hamiltons method that placated Washingtons objections. Congress endorsed Jeffersons method and it became the law upon which apportionment was based.

As the states and seats changed in number, Jeffersons method was updated by Congress but only after input from scientists. The current method, proposed by a Census Bureau statistician named Joseph Hill, was approved by Congress in 1941 and it can be understood by a non-specialist; Justice John Paul Stevens gave a master class on math and apportionment when writing a unanimous 1992 court decision upholding Hills method.

Districting does not have the same constitutional mandate as apportionment. However, Virginia, on paper, already has sensible standards for districting, ones that must respect compactness and communities of interest. The core problem is that these terms are ill-defined and thus not respected in practice. Mathematicians and statisticians can  as Jefferson and Hill did for apportionment  lend modern perspectives on compactness and communities of interest to give precision and clarity to these state standards. Like Hills method, the perspectives can be balanced so as not be so technical as to be rendered opaque to the general public.

As with mathematics in apportionment, mathematics in districting will not please everyone: Just ask Montana  which has 0.32 percent of the population but only one congressional seat  how it feels about Rhode Island having two seats despite having only 0.01 percent more of the countrys population. There will be dissent but that should not be a prima facie reason to reject potential reform; rather, it is a core feature of democracy and science, a feature that would legitimize legislative action.

The efficiency gap formula that is at the center of Gill v. Whitford is a faithful but imperfect weighted average because, like all averages, it stands in isolation. It needs to be complemented by local and geometric contexts. For Virginia, a measure like the efficiency gap coupled with a sincere rededication to compactness and communities of interest would go a long way to fairer districting.

The gerrymandering case before the court provides an impetus for legislatures across the country to lead the national conversation on fair districting. Virginia legislators are in the unique position of being able to call upon their Houses Jeffersonian tradition, that of bringing the tools of mathematics and the transparency of the scientific method from the lecture halls and laboratories to the state legislature.
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
GAITHERSBURG, Md., Oct. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Emergent BioSolutions Inc. (NYSE:EBS) announced today that it has completed its acquisition of Sanofis ACAM2000, (Smallpox (Vaccinia) Vaccine, Live) business, which includes ACAM2000, the only smallpox vaccine approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a cGMP live viral manufacturing facility and office and warehouse space, both in Canton, Massachusetts, and a cGMP viral fill/finish facility in Rockville, Maryland. With this acquisition, Emergent also plans to assume responsibility for an existing 10-year contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), originally valued at up to $425 million and with a remaining value of up to approximately $160 million, for the delivery of ACAM2000 to the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and establishing U.S.-based manufacturing of ACAM2000. The completion of the acquisition follows the satisfaction or waiver by the parties, as applicable, of all closing conditions, including termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act), as amended.



Emergent is pleased with the closing of this transaction, which expands our portfolio of revenue-generating products, strengthens our manufacturing capabilities, and grows our workforce of talented and committed professionals, said Daniel J. Abdun-Nabi, president and chief executive officer of Emergent BioSolutions. We look forward to integrating the ACAM2000 business into our operations and working with the U.S. government to ensure an uninterrupted supply of ACAM2000 to the SNS.

At the closing, Emergent paid $97.5 million in an upfront payment and $20 million in milestone payments earned as of the closing date tied to the achievement of certain regulatory and manufacturing-related milestones, for a total payment in cash of $117.5 million. The agreement includes a potential milestone payment of up to $7.5 million, tied to the achievement of the remaining regulatory milestone event.

Facility Licensure and Resumption of ACAM2000 Deliveries

With the closing of the transaction, Emergent expects to complete the tech transfer of an upstream portion of ACAM2000 manufacturing to the Canton facility. Fulfillment of all remaining product deliveries under the existing CDC contract is contingent on Emergent successfully securing FDA approval of a recent supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) submission.

The company anticipates resuming deliveries of ACAM2000 under the existing CDC contract in 2018. In addition, the CDC contract will expire and be up for renewal or extension in 2018 and the company intends to negotiate a follow-on, multi-year contract with the U.S. government to ensure the continued supply of ACAM2000 to the SNS.

2017 Financial Forecast

The company will be issuing financial results in early November for the three and nine months ended September 30, at which time it will provide an update on the impact of this transaction on full-year 2017 guidance.

About ACAM2000

ACAM2000 is the primary smallpox vaccine designated for use in a bioterrorism emergency, with more than 230 million doses having been supplied to the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile. ACAM2000 is also licensed in Australia and Singapore, and is currently stockpiled both in the U.S. and internationally.

About Smallpox

Smallpox is a highly contagious disease caused by the variola virus, a member of the Orthopox virus family. According to the CDC, it is one of the most devastating diseases with a mortality rate as high as 30%. Smallpox is classified by the CDC as a Category A bioterrorism agent and the U.S. government continues to invest in countermeasures to protect the nation from this threat. Governments around the world are also taking precautionary measures to be ready to deal with a potential smallpox outbreak.

About Emergent BioSolutions

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. is a global life sciences company seeking to protect and enhance life by focusing on providing specialty products for civilian and military populations that address accidental, intentional, and naturally emerging public health threats. Through our work, we envision protecting and enhancing 50 million lives with our products by 2025. Additional information about the company may be found at www.emergentbiosolutions.com. Follow us @emergentbiosolu.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any statements, other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding the expected FDA licensure of the U.S. manufacturing facility for ACAM2000, the anticipated delivery schedule under the existing CDC contract, the potential opportunities and financial impact of the transaction, and any other statements containing the words believes, expects, anticipates, intends, plans, targets, forecasts, estimates and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current intentions, beliefs and expectations regarding future events. We cannot guarantee that any forward-looking statement will be accurate. Investors should realize that if underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could differ materially from our expectations. Investors are, therefore, cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, and, except as required by law, we do not undertake to update any forward-looking statement to reflect new information, events or circumstances.

There are a number of important factors that could cause the companys actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including our ability to successfully integrate the business and realize the benefits of the transaction; the timing of expected FDA approval of the sBLA; our ability to extend or to otherwise deliver under the ACAM2000 contract with the CDC upon its expiration in 2018; the timing and yearly volume of product deliveries to the CDC once such deliveries have resumed under the current contract; the availability of funding and the exercise of options under the current contract for ACAM2000; and our ability to secure a follow-on, multi-year contract with the CDC.

The foregoing sets forth many, but not all, of the factors that could cause actual results to differ from our expectations in any forward-looking statement. Investors should consider this cautionary statement, as well as the risk factors identified in our periodic reports filed with the SEC, when evaluating our forward-looking statements.

Investor Contact:

Robert G. Burrows

Vice President, Investor Relations

240-631-3280

BurrowsR@ebsi.com

Media Contact:

Lynn Kieffer

Vice President, Corporate Communications

240-631-3391

KiefferL@ebsi.com
BLACKSBURG  Parents and teachers at Kipps Elementary School were surprised recently by the sudden retirement of their principal.

It was a surprise for 46-year-old Chris Widrig, too.

Retiring wasnt in my plans, the former principal said in an interview on Tuesday.

Widrig has overseen the schools more than 400 students and about 70 employees since 2009. But a worsening of the symptoms of the multiple sclerosis Widrig has lived with since at least 2001 compelled him to give up his career in education, he said.

Im really appreciative of the opportunity to work at such an excellent school, Widrig said of Kipps.

More broadly, he said: Its been a great career. I dont want to leave it.

But the disease has compromised his ability to focus and caused some mobility issues, he said. As part of his treatment, Widrig is on a new medication and hopes giving up his job will help slow the progression.

Widrig announced his retirement to the Kipps staff and families of his students late last week. Sept. 29 was his last day of work.

The news was a surprise to many because the Pearisburg native had kept his diagnosis to himself.

I wanted to be known as an elementary principal, not as the principal with MS, Widrig said. So I didnt discuss my illness with anybody.

For years, his health didnt slow him down.

Widrig began his career teaching business at Salem High School in the 1990s and was named assistant principal at Dublin Elementary School in 2000, according to The Roanoke Times archive. Two years later, he was appointed principal of Shawsville Elementary School.

There Widrig pushed academics. Under his leadership, Shawsville went from failing test scores and missing adequate yearly progress  the federal governments standard for achievement  to receiving full state accreditation, the newspaper reported.

Widrig was named principal of Kipps in 2009, and has made building relationships there a priority.

Students want to know that you know them  something more about them than just their faces, he said. Besides creating a welcoming atmosphere, those relationships help administrators identify when kids need help, before a crisis develops, he added.

Everybody has this feeling of belonging. Its home, said Suzy Noakes, the mother of two children at Kipps. For kids to have that kind of safe environment  is really amazing and whats needed for any kid to learn.

Every time I walk into the school, I feel happy, Noakes added. I hope the next person can foster that same sort of feeling and environment.

Noakes said it wasnt unusual to see Widrig leaving the building after 6 p.m. on weeknights.

Hes a hard worker, she said. Hes always present. Every activity weve ever gone to, he was always there, smiling and willing to talk.

Montgomery County Schools Superintendent Mark Miear did not return messages seeking comment.

School system spokeswoman Brenda Drake said that Rhonda Baker, a retired principal of Belview Elementary School, will fill in at Kipps until Widrigs replacement is found.

The search process is underway. Drake said that a new hire could be named as early as November.
White House counselor Kellyanne Conway used a visit Friday to Optical Cable Corp. for Manufacturing Day as an opportunity to promote tax reform, with a focus on business.

President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers proposed sweeping changes to the federal tax code last week. The proposal suggests reducing the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent and setting a tax rate of 25 percent for pass-through businesses, which are currently taxed at the rate of their owners.

Conway told a crowd that included Optical Cable employees, area business leaders and representatives from Virginia Western Community Colleges mechatronics program that the manufacturing industry is so near and dear to the presidents heart.

Trump and his administration already have demonstrated their commitment to giving manufacturing a boost, Conway said, by reviving the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines, renegotiating trade agreements and rolling back job-killing regulations. Tax reform is next on the agenda, though Conway said the changes are better described as tax cuts.

Were very excited about the prospect of tax cuts, she said. The president says that tax cuts is better than tax reform. I think reform strikes some as swamp-like semantics, weve heard it all before.

Jay Timmons, president and CEO of the National Association of Manufacturers, said the intense focus the Trump administration has given to strengthening manufacturing is unlike anything hes seen before. Timmons served as chief of staff to George Allen, the former Republican governor and U.S. senator, for a decade.

Conway cast this as a historic effort to simplify a tax code with which Americans spend countless hours and dollars trying to comply.

We look at the tax cuts as being a pay raise for hard-working Americans, so you can keep more of your hard-earned money, she said.

Lowering the tax rates for corporations and businesses will foster a more competitive environment, Conway said, and give companies the ability to reinvest and reward their employees.

Timmons said a recent survey of the associations 14,000 members done in conjunction with Industry Week magazine found that, if tax reform is adopted, two-thirds of businesses would use savings to invest in plants and equipment and hire additional workers. He also said a vast majority indicated they would increase wages and benefits for employees.

If we get this one thing done, were going to see an incredible improvement in the business climate in this country, Timmons said.

Conway said she hopes Democrats, many of whom have said the proposal benefits the wealthy rather than the middle class, will get on board with tax reform, as Trump wants major initiatives to be bipartisan efforts.

We think Americans deserve a pay raise and we dont care if those Americans are Republicans, Democrats, independents, or hate politics, Conway said. We want the rising tide to lift all boats. So we hope the Democrats will come to the table.

On behalf of the president, Conway said she wanted to honor and thank the Optical Cable employees who are among the 12 million men and women in manufacturing improving the everyday lives of Americans.

Each and every one of you adds true meaning and consequence to those four words: made in the USA, she said.

An apt slogan for Manufacturing Day might be Make it in America Again, Conway said, playing off of Trumps Make America Great Again.

She presented Optical Cable CEO Neil Wilkin with a letter from Trump recognizing the companys contributions.

Wilkin said it was an honor to have Conway visit Optical Cable, and he appreciated the administrations commitment to manufacturing and tax reform.

Its a bright future for manufacturing right now, he said.

Conway said she felt tax reform was key to Trumps win in the election.

He promised to reduce the tax burden on the hardworking men and women, she said. And I was very, very pleased to see so many of them in the room today at OCC.

The event at Optical Cable was one of 3,000 organized by the National Association of Manufacturers. Conway said she chose to attend this one because she was impressed by Optical Cables work.

And not just because one of their expertise in harsh environment connectivity solutions. At the White House we can learn about that since were all being thrust into those, Conway quipped, noting she was smiling as she said it.

From her days as a pollster, Conway said, she learned that going to the source, in this case manufacturers, is the best way to come up with solutions.

If we can shine a light on businesses like this and employers like this and they can tell us what they would do with a tax break, then its good for everyone, she said.

We think Americans deserve a pay raise and we dont care if those Americans are Republicans, Democrats, independents, or hate politics. We want the rising tide to lift all boats. So we hope the Democrats will come to the table. Kellyanne Conway | White House counselor
WEST JORDAN, Utah, Oct. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Throughout October, Mountain America Credit Union is celebrating Techtober by highlighting innovative and secure mobile technology and providing convenient assistance to members within the branch locations. This year, Mountain America is also encouraging members to use mobile deposit while supporting the Humane Society of Utah. Now through October 31, Mountain America will donate $1 to the shelter, up to $5,000, for every mobile deposit transaction.



Techtober is about helping members learn how convenient our mobile services are, while adding an additional layer of security, says Nathan Anderson, chief operating officer at Mountain America. Solutions such as alerts, Card Manager and biometric logins make it easier to safely monitor your financial activity from the convenience of your smart phone.

Mountain America Tech Champions (specially-trained staff) are ready in the branches and service center to answer questions and teach members how to use a variety of mobile banking tools and innovations, including Card Manager, biometric logins, mobile deposit, and more.

About Mountain America Credit Union

With more than 680,000 members and $6.7 billion in assets, Mountain America Credit Union assists members on the right path to help them identify and achieve their financial dreams. Mountain America provides consumers and businesses with a variety of convenient, flexible products and services, as well as sound, timely advice. Members enjoy access to secure, cutting-edge mobile banking technology, 87 branches across five states, thousands of shared-branching locations nationwide and more than 50,000 surcharge-free ATMs. Mountain Americasafely guiding you forward along your financial journey. Learn more at macu.com




President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Thursday night to endorse Republican Ed Gillespie for governor and attack Democrat Ralph Northam.

Ralph Northam, who is running for Governor of Virginia, is fighting for the violent MS-13 killer gangs and sanctuary cities. Vote Ed Gillespie! Trump tweeted.

The presidents foray into the race adds a new dimension to the contest about a month before the Nov. 7 election.

Ralph Northam,who is running for Governor of Virginia,is fighting for the violent MS-13 killer gangs & sanctuary cities. Vote Ed Gillespie!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 6, 2017

Virginia is the only Southern state that Trump did not carry in November. His approval rating in the state was below 40 percent in recent polls.

While former President George W. Bush will appear with Gillespie at a fundraiser in Richmond this month, as yet there is no word about a Trump campaign event with Gillespie.

In response to the presidents endorsement, Northam tweeted: TBH [to be honest] Ive been expecting this and provided a link where his supporters could donate to his campaign.

In immigration-themed TV ads, Gillespie has sought to draw attention to violent crimes tied to the gang MS-13 by featuring ominous photos of tattooed Hispanic men. One highlights the gangs motto: Kill. Rape. Control.

A new mailer that Gillespie approved accuses Northam of wanting to make life easier for illegal immigrants.

The flier promises that Gillespie will crack down on illegal immigration and claims that Northam, Virginias lieutenant governor, supported restoring rights to illegal immigrants who committed crimes.

That was a reference to data errors that occurred when Gov. Terry McAuliffe took executive action to restore civil rights to more than 206,000 felons. McAuliffes list at one point included a sex offender who had been deported to Peru. The McAuliffe administration corrected the errors.

Under the headline Liberal Ralph Northam stands with illegal immigrants, the flyer says Northam supports in-state tuition and drivers licenses for illegal immigrants and that he cast a deciding vote in favor of sanctuary cities.

There are no sanctuary cities in Virginia, which Gillespie has acknowledged publicly.

Ed Gillespies desperate, negative campaign has adopted the Donald Trump playbook. So, its no wonder that Donald Trump endorsed Ed Gillespies divisive campaign tonight, said Jared Leopold, a spokesman for the Democratic Governors Association.

The facts are clear: Ed Gillespie will not stand up to Donald Trump on policies that harm Virginians. Now that Gillespie has Trumps official endorsement, we look forward to seeing them proudly campaign together this month.

During a Sept. 19 debate with Northam in Fairfax County, Gillespie repeated his stance that he would welcome the presidents support in the contest, but in speaking with reporters afterward, he declined to say whether he would invite Trump to campaign with him.

Northam referred to the president as a narcissistic maniac while fending off former Rep. Tom Perriello in a June primary.

But in a TV ad out this week, Northam says he would work with the president when it is in Virginias interest.

As a doctor, nobody ever asks if Im a Democrat or a Republican, Northam says in the ad. They just want my help. So if Donald Trump is helping Virginia, Ill work with him.

Northam says in the ad that he stood up to Donald Trump on issues such as cutting funding for schools and taking away health care from thousands of Virginians.

Gillespie and Northam meet in their third and final debate on Monday in Wise County .
SEATTLE, Oct. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- University Village today announced the addition of new restaurants and pop-up stores for Seattle shoppers.



This fall, University Village will welcome Juice Press, a premier organic grab-and-go health food shop with a selection of organic, plant-based food and beverage products. The U Village location will be the first on the West Coast, and will be located next to Aveda and Microsoft.

Even Stevens Sandwiches, a sandwich shop with a cause, will also open this fall next to Kids Club in their first Washington State location. For every sandwich sold, Even Stevens will donate one to a local non-profit partner. Since 2014, the company has donated more than 1.8 million sandwiches.

These new eateries will join recently-opened additions to University Villages dining scene, which include Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, a delicious Hokkaido-style ramen restaurant known for its signature white broth that is never boiled.

Ba Bar, with its ever-popular Vietnamese street food, is now open daily for cocktails, pho, banh cuon, coffee, fresh pastries, and more in University Villages South building, below Virginia Mason.

Also, Seattle favorite Rachels Ginger Beer, featuring Maono fried chicken at the U Village location, is now open across from Pottery Barn.

Just in time for fall temperatures, the Escape Outdoors Pop-Up recently opened next to Anthropologie, and features a large selection of outdoor apparel including Patagonia and ArcTeryx, as well as local brands such as Casual Industrees and Northwest Riders.

With their first location in Washington State, WILL Leather Goods Pop-Up is now open near the popular kids play area, and features a collection of bags, belts and leather accessories that are uniquely American. The family-owned lifestyle brand, based in Eugene, OR, is known for its fine leather craftsmanship and pieces that will last a lifetime.

About University Village

Located north of downtown Seattle, University Village is an open-air lifestyle shopping center which offers a unique formula of locally-owned boutiques and signature national retailers. University Village is a regional destination for home furnishings, the latest fashions and unique gift items with a distinct collection of restaurants and eateries. For more information, visit uvillage.com or follow University Village on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or Pinterest.
Chicago, IL, Oct. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tech in Motion publicly recognized Brads Deals commitment to diversity, naming the company First Runner-Up in the Best Tech Workplace for Diversity category at the 2017 Timmy Awards, held at 1871 on September 21, 2017.

Event co-organizer Maeve Cloherty told the assembled crowd that more than 390 Chicago tech companies applied for four awards that included Best Tech Startup, Best Tech Work Culture, Best Tech Workplace for Diversity, and Best Tech Manager. Each category was narrowed to ten finalists before opening to public voting, which accounted for half of each companys vote total.

Brads Deals application focused on its gender diversity, noting that the company is more than 56% women, 69% of management, 66% of senior leadership, and 50% of the executive leadership team. The company also launched its Womens Tech Accelerator in 2016 and recently began its second cohort, thereby extending its commitment to encouraging women in tech into the greater Chicago community.



We were thrilled to receive runner-up in the Timmy Awards for workplace diversity, said Jessica Adams, Vice President of People. Not only are we incredibly proud of our team here at Brads Deals and the Womens Tech Accelerator that we started, but we had some pretty stiff competition from organizations like 1871, Avant, Thoughtworks and Codifyd as well as others. These awards are a great way to recognize and celebrate our differences and keep challenging us to do better and better things as it relates to diversity.



If youre interested in working at one of Chicagos best tech companies for diversity, you can check out open positions at Careers at Brads Deals.



Brads Deals brings together the best deals on the internet, all in one place. The company has grown from a one-person operation in 2001 to a dynamic, 75-person team that helped shoppers save more than $195 million in 2016 alone. Learn more at www.bradsdeals.com.
October 3, 2017 Sarah Quesenberry Smith, 87, of Christiansburg, went to be with the Lord on Tuesday, October 3, 2017. She was born in Montgomery County to the late Lee and Ethel Quesenberry. She was also preceded in death by three brothers and three sisters. Sarah is survived by her loving husband of 68 years, Rudolph; sons and daughter-in-law, Ralph and Mary Smith, Paul Smith; grandchildren, Shane Smith, Erin Smith; sisters, Dolly Mays, Elva Danley, and Polly Lawson; as well as a host of other family and friends. Sarah was a member of Edgemont Christian Church. The family would like to thank Dr. Jamison, the staff of Heritage Hall and English Meadows, and a special caregiver and niece, Peggy Borman. The Graveside Service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 7, 2017, at Sunset Cemetery, Christiansburg, with the Rev. Bob Edwards and the Rev. Everett Shepherd. In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Christiansburg Rescue Squad or to the Christiansburg Fire Department. Online condolences may be left for the family at www.hornefuneralservice.com.
CRESCO, PA, Oct. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Net Savings Link, Inc. (OTC: NSAV), announced today that the Company has completed a major upgrade of its Chinese medical website ( www.vital-strategic.com ) in anticipation the closing of the acquisition of world renowned Chinese medical software company, Shanghai based Vital Strategic Research Institute (VSRI). VSRI is a medical research firm with a long history of expertise in design, clinical trials and global research. VSRI has collaborated with pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb. VSRI intends to apply for a license to test medical cannabis in China. The license will enable VSRI to test all cannabis products produced in China for THC/CBD potency, terpenoids, microbials and mycotoxins.



NSAV also announced significant progress in the development of MJCOIN,

( www.mjcoin.com ). The goal of MJCOIN is to be a digital currency, which provides payment solutions to the legal cannabis industry. The Company is currently in talks with several exchanges and hopes to have an announcement next week. Medical cannabis sales are projected to grow from $4.7 billion in 2016 to $13.3 billion in 2020 in the U.S. alone.

The Company also announced that it has reached an agreement with its Chinese brewery partner, to brew, bottle and distribute its Tiger Hemp Beer brand. Further details will be announced in the coming week. Additional photos of the Chinese brewery will be released on the Companys Twitter site later today.

NSAV also announced that it has chosen a U.S. brewery partner for Tiger Hemp Beer. They are a major brewer, based in California. We will release the brewer's name, as soon as all paperwork is signed, which we expect to be next week.

The Company would like to officially notify all shareholders and the entire investment community that the continuing rumors of a reverse stock split are entirely 100% false. There is no truth to these rumors whatsoever.

James Tilton, president of NSAV stated, I believe the new VSRI website will really make people standup and take notice of what a gem we have here. Medical cannabis testing in China is a huge untapped market and NSAV will be ready to take advantage of it.

Mr. Tilton went on to state, In just two days, we have received an amazing response to MJCOIN. It is moving very quickly and we are all very excited and we hope our shareholders are as well.

Mr. Tilton went on to further state, Our Chinese brewery partner is extremely excited at the opportunity to be a part of Chinas first hemp beer, Tiger Hemp Beer. The same for our U.S. brewery partner and the feelings are surely mutual.

NSAV's vision is the establishment of a fully integrated technology company that provides turnkey technological solutions to the legal medical cannabis and hemp industries, as well as other areas of the medical industry. Over time, the Company plans to provide a wide range of services such as software solutions, e-commerce, advisory services, financial services, patents and trademarks and information technology.

For further information please contact NSAV at 1 (480) 326-8577 or tenassociates33@gmail.com

The NSAV corporate email address is info@nsavholdinginc.com

The NSAV corporate website can be accessed at http://nsavholdinginc.com

The NSAV Twitter account can be accessed at https://twitter.com/NSAV_MJTechCo

The NSAV Facebook account can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/NSAVHolding

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that, all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, the ability of Net Savings Link, Inc. to accomplish its stated plan of business. Net Savings Link, Inc. believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward- looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by Net Savings Link, Inc. or any other person.
MTA

The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) will replace the railroad's 103-year-old Post Avenue Bridge that carries the Main Line over Post Avenue at the Westbury train station.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) says he new bridge will be 13 feet wider than the existing bridge in order to accommodate the Third Track and will mark the first completed Third Track-related project since the Main Line Expansion Project was approved in July. The $9.7-million bridge project utilizes a design-build contract to expedite the timetable of the project, which MTA says is on track to be on time and on budget.

After 70 years of stagnation, New York is regaining its building spirit and transforming the LIRR into the 21st century commuter rail that Long Island deserves, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said. By rebuilding the Post Avenue bridge and paving the way for the historic Third Track project, we are showing that its possible to upgrade the LIRR on time, on budget and with community input at every step of the way. While others talk about infrastructure, New York is getting it done.

Workers began assembling the new bridge in April of this year in the parking lot at the Westbury station to minimize traffic and rail disruptions. The projects culmination will take place on the weekend of October 21-22, when MTA says workers will use cranes and an industrial-grade movable hydraulic lift to remove the existing bridge and replace it with the new bridge, all timed down to the minute to ensure that all the work is wrapped up before the first train of the Monday morning rush hour.

The new bridge will be 50 feet wide, or 13 feet wider than the 37-feet-wide old bridge, and is one of several bridges that are being expanded to accommodate a third track. The $2-billion Third Track project will add a third track to 9.8 miles along the congested Main Line of the LIRR between Floral Park and Hicksville, and eliminate all seven street-level grade crossings within the project corridor.

Additionally, MTA reports that the existing bridge has been struck by trucks between five and nine times per year in each of the past six years, resulting in extensive train delays. The new bridge will have a clearance of 14 feet above the roadway, or two feet, two inches higher than 11-foot, 10-inch clearance of the old bridge. The increase in clearance will improve train service by significantly reducing bridge strikes.

After decades of delays and false starts, the LIRR is moving forward with historic projects to strengthen service and improve communities all along the railroad, including the Village of Westbury, said Village of Westbury Mayor Peter I. Cavallaro. From expanding parking to eliminating dangerous grade crossings to ensuring sound protection for our residents, the LIRR has taken the communitys input into consideration at every step of the way. This is why I was the first mayor and the Village of Westbury was the first village to sign onto the third track plan. I want to thank Governor Cuomo for his leadership and for his commitment to rebuilding our infrastructure on Long Island.
Taco Bell, the Mexican-inspired fast-food chain owned by Yum Brands Inc., said Thursday that it is collaborating with fast-fashion brand Forever 21 for a fashion line.

The new limited edition Forever 21 x Taco Bell collection will be launched in Forever 21 stores and online globally on October 11.

Beginning Thursday, people can submit photo or video content on social media using the hashtag #F21xTacoBell to be featured in design details alongside the models debuting the collection.

The photo or video content should define one's love of Forever 21 + Taco Bell together, and showcase individual style and love of one's favorite Taco Bell menu items.

"By capturing content that personifies "Forever Taco Bell," the essence of the preview event, fans can actively take part in the ultimate fashion after-party," Taco Bell said in a statement.

The companies will preview the collection on October 10, and include content submitted by fans.

The Forever 21 x Taco Bell collection features tops, bodysuits and cropped hoodies for women, and sweatshirt, hoodie and anorak jacket for men. The exclusive collection also features select graphic tees, a pullover and hoodie for girls.

Marisa Thalberg, Chief Marketing Officer at Taco Bell, said, "We often think of Taco Bell as 'the fast fashion of food,' given how we continuously introduce innovative limited edition products that everyone can enjoy, so when it came to our first-ever retail collaboration, we knew our partner had to be the leader in actual fast fashion."

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
(Agencia CMA Latam) - The Special Tax Regularization Program (Pert, also known as new Refis) passed this week by the Brazilian Senate should frustrate the government's originally expected revenue with the measure at around R$ 3 billion (US$ 960 million) this year and R$ 900 million in 2018, said Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles.

According to him, the measure approved by the Senate is "a little better" than the version that passed in the House of Representatives. However, it is still "too early" to talk about a possible recommendation of veto to the President Michel Temer, Meirelles said.

"It's something we have to look at carefully. There are some aspects of the measure that have some important questions to be taken into account," he noted.

Regarding pension reform, Meirelles said he does not believe that the vote on the tax regularization program could affect the government plans for pension reform. He expected that the measure should be voted in November, after the congressional review of the new criminal complaint against Temer.

by Agencia CMA Latam

For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com

Economic News

What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a release issued under the same headline on October 4, 2017 by VirtualArmour International Inc. (CSE:VAI) (Frankfurt:3V3) (OTCQB:VTLR), please note that in the first paragraph of the release, the OTCQB symbol should be "VTLR" rather than "VTRL" as previously stated. The corrected release follows:

Premier Managed Services Provider, VirtualArmour International Inc. (the Company) (CSE:VAI) (Frankfurt:3V3) (OTCQB:VTLR) announced today that, having gained clearance from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), its common shares were upgraded and approved for trading on the OTCQB Venture Market under the ticker symbol VTLR.



This expansion into the U.S. Securities market brings an added strength to the Company and allows us to aggressively pursue growth in what is a quickly changing and expanding industry, said Christopher Blisard, Chairman and Co-Founder VirtualArmour. We expect our presence on the OTCQB to further enhance trading liquidity and provide additional exposure to institutional investors who are looking to align with progressive organizations like ours in the exploding cybersecurity space.

Businesses and investors alike are responding to high profile breaches, from the 3 Billion Yahoo accounts to Equifaxs 145.5 Million accounts to the SEC and Deloitte, no business is safe if they dont invest in the type of protection that VirtualArmour can provide.

To be eligible to trade on the OTCQB, companies must be current in their reporting and undergo an annual verification and management certification process.

About VirtualArmour

VirtualArmour is an international cybersecurity and Managed Services provider that delivers customized solutions to help businesses build, monitor, maintain and secure their networks.



The Company maintains 24/7 client monitoring and service management with specialist teams located in its US and UK-based security operation centers (SOC). Through partnerships with best-in-class technology providers, VirtualArmour delivers only leading hardware and software solutions for customers that are both sophisticated and scalable, and backed by industry-leading customer service and experience. VirtualArmours proprietary CloudCastr client portal and prevention platform provides clients with unparalleled access to real-time reporting on threat levels, breach prevention and overall network security.



VirtualArmour services a wide range of clients - which include those listed on the Fortune 500 - within several industry sectors, in over 30 countries, across five continents. Further information about the Company is available under its profile on the SEDAR website, www.sedar.com, on the CSE website, www.thecse.com, and on its website www.virtualarmour.com

About OTC Markets Group Inc.

OTC Markets Group Inc. operates the OTCQX Best Market, the OTCQB Venture Market, and the Pink Open Market for 10,000 U.S. and global securities. Through OTC Link ATS, we connect a diverse network of broker-dealers that provide liquidity and execution services. We enable investors to easily trade through the broker of their choice and empower companies to improve the quality of information available for investors.

Company Contact:

Nick Dinsmoor

Vice President Strategy and Marketing

Office: 720-644-0913

nick.dinsmoor@virtualarmour.com

Media Contact

Josh Stanbury

Office: 416-628-7441

josh@sjspr.co.uk

Forward-Looking Information:

This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. The forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of VirtualArmour. Although VirtualArmour believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information as VirtualArmour cannot provide any assurance that it will prove to be correct. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release and VirtualArmour disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws.




NEW YORK, Oct. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brookfield Global Listed Infrastructure Income Fund Inc. (NYSE:INF) and Brookfield Real Assets Income Fund Inc. (NYSE:RA) (each, a Fund, and collectively, the Funds) today announced that their Boards of Directors declared their monthly distributions.



Brookfield Global Listed Infrastructure Income Fund Inc. declared a monthly distribution of $0.0817 per share, payable on October 26, 2017 to stockholders of record on October 18, 2017. The ex-distribution date is October 17, 2017. Based on the NYSE closing price of $13.36 on October 5, 2017, the Fund's annualized distribution rate was 7.34%.

Brookfield Real Assets Income Fund Inc. declared a monthly distribution of $0.1990 per share, payable on October 26, 2017 to stockholders of record on October 18, 2017. The ex-distribution date is October 17, 2017. Based on the NYSE closing price of $23.77 on October 5, 2017, the Fund's annualized distribution rate was 10.05%.

Shares purchased on or after the ex-distribution date will not receive the distribution discussed above. Please contact your financial advisor with any questions. Distributions may include net investment income, capital gains and/or return of capital. The distribution rate referenced above is calculated as the annualized amount of the most recent monthly distribution declared divided by the stated stock price. Any portion of the Funds distributions that is a return of capital does not necessarily reflect the Funds investment performance and should not be confused with yield or income. The tax status of distributions will be determined at the end of the taxable year.

Brookfield Investment Management Inc. (the Firm) is an SEC-registered investment adviser and represents the Public Securities platform of Brookfield Asset Management, Inc., providing global listed real assets strategies including real estate equities, infrastructure equities, multi-strategy real asset solutions and real asset debt and diversified real assets. With more than $15 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2017, the Firm manages separate accounts, registered funds and opportunistic strategies for institutional and individual clients, including financial institutions, public and private pension plans, insurance companies, endowments and foundations, sovereign wealth funds and high net worth investors. The Firm is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management, Inc., a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $250 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2017. For more information, go to www.brookfield.com.

Brookfield Global Listed Infrastructure Income Fund Inc. and Brookfield Real Assets Income Fund Inc. are managed by Brookfield Investment Management Inc. The Funds use their website as a channel of distribution of material company information. Financial and other material information regarding the Funds are routinely posted on and accessible at www.brookfield.com.

COMPANY CONTACT

Brookfield Global Listed Infrastructure Income Fund Inc.

Brookfield Real Assets Income Fund Inc.

Brookfield Place

250 Vesey Street, 15th Floor

New York, NY 10281-1023

(855) 777-8001

funds@brookfield.com




/NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES/



CALGARY, Alberta, Oct. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bayshore Petroleum Corp. (Bayshore or the Company) (TSX Venture Exchange:BSH) announces the resignation of director C.F. Cheng effective immediately. Mr. Cheng leaves the Company to focus on his other business interests, and Bayshore thanks him for his tremendous support and many years of service. The Company wishes him the best in his future endeavors. Bayshore anticipates replacing Mr. Cheng soon in connection with an anticipated financing.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

BAYSHORE PETROLEUM CORP.

"Peter Ho"

Chairman and CEO

Bayshore Head Office:

PHONE +1403 265 8820

ccc@bayshorepetroleum.com

14  3515 27th Street N.E.

Calgary, Alberta, T1Y 5E4, Canada

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities of the Company in the United States. The Company's securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.
Seven defence personnel were killed after an Mi-17 V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday.

Tawang district Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Meena said the chopper crashed around 6.30 a.m. killing all the seven people on board.



The chopper was on a routine Air Maintenance Mission, Meena quoted a Defence officer as saying.



The crash site is located at some four-to-five hours drive from Tawang. "It is a forested area," Meena said adding that the bodies are being brought to the helipad near Tawang.



"We are told that there were no civilians and all were defence personnel," he said.



Earlier in July an Indian Air Force chopper engaged in a flood rescue mission crashed near Papum Pare district in the hill state killing four persons including three IAF crew and one India Reserve Battalion (IRB) personnel.





The frequently changing weather condition in Arunachal Pradesh makes flying of choppers difficult in the area and there have been several incidents of crashes in the hill state in the past.



The then Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Dorjee Khandu, and four others also died in a chopper crash in the hill state in 2011.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is visiting the White House this week. Over the past two years, Najib has been embroiled in a massive corruption scandal that is threatening the continued rule of his United Malays National Organization party, or UMNO, which has governed Malaysia since independence in 1957. U.S. anti-corruption investigators have added fuel to the fire, mapping out the alleged conspiracy and freezing assets of the prime ministers associates. Throughout this time, however, heavy Chinese investment has been helping bail out the beleaguered government, rapidly expanding Chinas footprint in key sectors of both Malaysias economy and that of the broader region. Meanwhile, Chinese-Malaysian military ties have been gradually strengthening. Given Malaysias importance as a U.S. security partner and a gateway to maritime trade routes that connect Asia and Europe, the issue illustrates how politics sometimes affects geopolitics. It also demonstrates Chinas penchant for gaining the favor of its neighbors by easing the pressure it had applied on them. But it does not indicate a substantive shift in Malaysias strategy, nor in the balance of power in East Asia.

Strategic Value Malaysias strategic value stems from its position at one of the worlds busiest sea lanes. The gap between peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo is the southern gateway to the South China Sea and a thoroughfare for seaborne trade bound for the Malacca Strait, the length of which peninsular Malaysia runs.

( click to enlarge )

Some 80 percent of Chinas oil imports pass through these waters; roughly half of Chinese exports do as well. Denial of this passage would be a threat Beijing could not abide. Nor would its leaders tolerate a tighter coordination among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations littoral states that would deter Chinas southern expansion into the South China Sea. But Beijing also sees opportunities in Malaysia. It is a partner in Chinas One Belt, One Road initiative , a series of projects meant partly to bypass chokepoints such as the Malacca Strait by opening up alternate routes in the Indian Ocean. Malaysia represents, moreover, a way for China to undermine the influence of the United States  the only naval power capable of shutting down Chinese trade. For its part, the U.S. sees Malaysia as one of many potential partners that can help stabilize the region . Washington relies heavily on Singapore to support its security interests in the region, but it cooperates with Malaysia on regional security efforts such as counterpiracy. Malaysia even allows the U.S. to launch surveillance flights from its territory and receives occasional port calls from the U.S. Navy. So long as the U.S.-Singapore partnership remains robust, the U.S. will refrain from pushing for a formal alliance with Malaysia or, say, permanent basing access. The main U.S. strategic goal with Malaysia is to prevent the country from drifting too far into Chinas orbit  especially if Chinese military assets there could threaten U.S. assets in Singapore and the Philippines. The countrys inclusion in the doomed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact was in large part a strategic decision in support of this aim, intended to help the country avoid Chinese economic coercion.

The Scandal Malaysias role in the emerging competition between China and the U.S. in Southeast Asia puts the countrys domestic issues in a new light. The scandal revolves around a state investment fund known as 1MDB. Najib, who also serves as finance minister, launched and oversaw the fund, which fell deep into debt when oil prices famously dropped. Najib is accused of diverting nearly $1 billion into personal accounts and using some of the funds to secure election in the 2013 general election. (He claims the money found in his accounts was a gift from an unnamed donor in the Middle East.) A U.S. Department of Justice report released last year bolstered the claims, sounding the alarm among foreign investors and the Malaysian business community. Similar investigations launched in finance centers like Switzerland, London and Singapore havent helped matters. The issue threatens not only Najibs tenure, but also the relative political stability Malaysia has experienced during UMNOs uninterrupted rule since independence. General elections will be called no later than the middle of 2018. Najibs ruling Barisan Nasional coalition narrowly held onto power after losing the popular vote in 2013, and the opposition subsequently fractured. But a new opposition alliance has formed around Najibs mentor, former longtime Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, and Mahathirs erstwhile rival, Anwar Ibrahim, and threatens to chip into UMNOs ethnic Malay base. Protesters listen to speeches during the Bersih 4.0 rally on Aug. 30, 2015, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. CHARLES PERTWEE/Getty Images Thus, over the past year, the government has moved quickly to try to put the 1MDB issue to rest, and Chinese firms have evidently been keen to help. Several troubled assets owned by 1MDB were sold off to Chinese firms, eventually allowing Najib to declare the state investment fund debt-free. A flood of Chinese investment came pouring into other areas such as a rail line, industrial parks and a $100 billion real estate development. Tens of billions of dollars of Chinese backing for a trio of major port and pipeline projects could ostensibly weaken Singapores pre-eminent hold over regional energy flows. Through August, China-Malaysia trade was up 15 percent over the same period a year earlier. Malaysia, meanwhile, has been mostly quiet about Chinese assertiveness in the South China Sea. And military cooperation between Malaysia and China has gradually been increasing. In November, during a visit to Beijing shortly after the U.S. Department of Justice report broke, Najib signed a deal to jointly build four littoral mission ships. Last month, Malaysian media reported that, in exchange for another lucrative rail contract, China had offered to station 12 units of the AR3 multiple launch rocket system in Johor, less than 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the U.S. military assets stationed at Singapores Changi Naval Base. Najib has shrugged off the oppositions claims that hes selling out Malaysian sovereignty to the Chinese for political gain. But the underlying question remains: Can Chinas accumulation of soft power in Malaysia be cashed in for hard power?

Largesse Malaysias strategic interests must be factored into any attempt to answer this question. Like those of many of its Southeast Asian neighbors, Malaysias disjointed geography and somewhat arbitrary post-colonial borders lend themselves to deep ethnic fractures and regional disparities . As a result, the government in Kuala Lumpur tends to be too preoccupied with domestic issues to overextend itself in foreign affairs. Nearly 400 miles of water separate its two halves. Two of the most valuable pieces of British Malaya  Singapore and Brunei  are fully independent states. During periodic bouts of central government weakness, other semi-autonomous regions on Malaysias periphery routinely, if half-heartedly, threaten to secede as a means to reclaim lost power and reassert control over their resources. To an extent, this environment plays into Chinas favor. Chinese investment deepens the well of patronage the central government needs to keep the country together, maintain the political stability that foreign investors prefer, and build out the infrastructure networks needed to diversify its economy away from oil and natural gas. (Energys share of government revenues has dropped from around 41 percent to 22 percent since the collapse of oil prices.) But in the long term, Malaysia cannot build its strategy around Chinese largesse. Doing so would assume that Chinese aid and investment can continue in perpetuity. Already, Beijings crackdowns on reckless outbound investment is reportedly threatening certain big ticket projects in Malaysia. It would also leave the government vulnerable to Beijings bidding. Moreover, UMNOs ethnic Malay majority is deeply suspicious of Malaysias own politically and economically powerful ethnic Chinese population, making Chinese investment a potential political liability as much as an asset. Absent a lasting political accommodation, China has an interest in at least keeping regional states off balance. Given its potential for internal fracturing, Malaysia cannot allow that to happen. What gives China an opportunity now  the inherent fractiousness of Malaysia  is what has also made Kuala Lumpur wary of close partnerships with outside powers and of participating in zero-sum competitions.
Dear Editor

Re: Manslaughter charge dismissed

Something doesnt sound right about this ruling.

According to Justice Leiataualesas ruling, in order to prove the charge of manslaughter against the accused, the prosecution must prove the following ingredients of the offence beyond reasonable doubt.

That the accused was in charge of or had under his control or operates anything whatever which in the absence of precaution or care may endanger human life; and

That the accused had a legal duty to take reasonable precautions against and to use reasonable care to avoid the danger; and

That the accused breached that legal duty in that the breach by omission or neglect is a major departure from the standard of care expected of a reasonable person to whom that legal duty applies in those circumstances; and

The omission or neglect caused the death of the deceased.

The accused was in charge of operating a vehicle under his control, and the accused did not used reasonable precautionary measures and reasonable care to avoid the danger to human life. The accused breached his legal duty by the absence of reasonable care and precautions given to operating the vehicle under his control caused the man his life.

Q) So who caused the death of the man?

The omission or neglect caused the death of the deceased.

A) The accused.

Q) What precautionary measures and reasonable care the accused should have taken to avoid the loss of human life?

A) The accused should have pulled the vehicle to the side of the road and stop, parked the car and search for the lost object that he was looking for, as the Judge used that evidence from Constable Ioapo to base his ruling on.

Q) Why would any vehicle traveling off the sealed roadway and on the gravel/grass shoulder?

A) Any alert driver who uses precautionary and reasonable care of his legal duty would swerve to the side in an effort to avoid danger and or collision.

Q) Would the bus received damaged without collision? And would someone die without damage to bus?

A) Not without accident, carelessness, omission of duties, ignorant, or intent to harm.

And the so called a New Zealand crash investigations expert with 16 years Police experience and his qualifications include traffic crash investigations for trucks, motorcycles and vehicles. Long description and he could only testified about the bus and not the minivan. I would say trucks and motorcycles are also considered vehicles. I doubt this testimony.

This expert witness probably got paid much money when his testimony could have been given by a kolipopo who uses logic.

It just doesnt make sense to me.

Segale Manusina
Its been said that experience is the teacher of all things.

Nicola from South Africa would agree. The Pacific is a long way from South Africa and Samoa probably wouldnt even register on the radar of many South Africans.

For Nicola, her curiosity about the elusive Pacific saw her taking on a primary school teacher job in Suva Fiji so that she could travel and see more of the blue Pacific.

Ive been in Fiji for one year now since last August, she said.

Its such a long way to visit from South Africa, I was looking at teaching jobs and the opportunity came up to teach in Suva so I grabbed it because its such a great opportunity to travel around the Pacific a little bit, otherwise its just so far.

This is Nicolas first trip to Samoa and so far she has liked what shes seen.

I love it, its really beautiful. Yesterday I went around in the car around the southeast, spectacular beaches, its really good. The people are so warm and friendly and happy and relaxed. Its very peaceful.

Getting out of the city was Nicolas aim when she decided on a Pacific Island holiday destination.

After being in Apia for a couple of days she was ready to hit the big island of Savaii.

I live in Suva which is the capital, theres a lot of traffic and its dense and more pollution- and its a lot more developed than here although, Apia is pretty developed too. I would say that this place is more for relaxing, later on Im heading to Savaii I heard that its beautiful.

Her accommodation was to her liking and what little local food she has tried, she found delicious.

I was staying at the Talofa Inn, it was very good. There are two lovely ladies running the place and its very clean which I like. Lovely breakfast and variety of fresh fruit and coffee, it was perfect. I had one of those coconut buns in the coconut cream, it was really good and tasty.

I havent really tried out any local food aside from the food, couple of fruits Ive tried here I never seen before but I cant remember the names. I tried the sour sop fruit with the bumpy skin and it was delicious and tasty.

Nicola considers herself a no frills traveller and for her life was more about collecting experiences rather than collecting things.

I have been popping into a lot of bakeries and filling up with a lot of hot dogs since Ive arrived. Im on a tight budget as well so Im spending as little money as possible on shopping or eating out and drinking and more on the sightseeing. Id love to have more cocktails but Im more about spending money on seeing more places and the transport to get there.
Lakopo Loasa, a resident of Leulumoega, is pleading for water and electricity.

The governments water supply can never come through this area, Lakopo told Village Voice.

The 30-year-old said they have been struggling with the problem for a long time.

The same thing goes for electricity because as you can see; there are no electricity poles throughout this whole area, he said.

Water and electricity connections can be found in the inner areas of this village but out here, we have nothing. Thats where everything is but looking at the families here, I think in all fairness, we all deserve to have the same life.

I dont really mind not having electricity because I know water matters more to everyone.

A lot of families are settling in this area and I cannot help but ask why the government cant figure out a way for their water to reach the outer parts of this village.

They need to find a way to make it possible for us to have water supplies as well because I know most of the people that have moved here are scared to live in the inner village ever since the tsunami in 2009.

Lakopo said they had been donated water tanks from the government last month.

We are thankful for all these but we always tend to struggle when getting water from faraway places.

This is the dry season, so if theres no rain, then these water tanks will remain empty and most of us always end up staying with our families in the inner part of the village.

Our plantations are here in the forestry side of the village so you get why we always come back here. Not only do we have our homes here, we also have our plantation here.

Lakopo stays with his brother and they are both farmers.

We dont need much, we just need water. The government must do something about their water supply not getting through to other areas and locations because thats the only problem we have that we cant fix.
As Samoa gears up to celebrate White Sunday tomorrow, spare a thought for many families who are struggling to make ends meet.

The skyrocketing cost of living, coupled with rising food prices, means parents have to be extra careful with their spending  if they have money to spend at all.

Over the years, the day is usually celebrated by children donning expensive clothes and families gathering together for big feasts.

This has meant parents looking for loans to fund the habit.

An official at the S.N.P.F said they have been inundated with members seeking to borrow money for White Sunday.

Weve had long queues from Monday up until today, the official said.

Sadly, many of them were turned away as they had no entitlements. We tried to help as much as we can but there is only so much we can do.

The S.N.P.F was not the only loan place packed with desperate parents.

Similar scenes were seen at the local banks as members of the public looked for some cash for the weekend.

And with many of them being rejected, the celebrations this weekend might be a little subdued.

The cost of goods, especially clothes, has not helped.

In Apia yesterday, a number of parents the Weekend Observer spoke to admitted they had discovered a significant increase in the cost of most White Sunday items compared with previous years.

Tuauta Tupai, a mother of four from Lepale, Fasitoo describes the challenges she faces in managing her budget now.

I just cant manage my budget now because of the high cost of living; honestly my husband is the only person who works to provide for the family.

We have two children and its not that cheap but were still trying to cope with the high cost of living and try my best to buy whatever I can for my children.

A man from Lotofaga, Molesi Tufuga agreed.

Molesi said businesses around the town were struggling.

I think many of our people turn to Chinese shops because of (low) prices.

He said he could not afford to buy all that his children wanted.

The main reason is the high cost of living, but what can we do, Ill just try my best to make sure my children get everything they need for White Sunday.

Several years ago, I could buy everything my children needed with just $100, now we are talking about $500 to get all my childrens clothes for White Sunday.
PINKTOBER: Central Bank employees have given up other ideal attires for Fridays in the month of October.

They have all agreed to flaunt a pink dress or shirt in line with Samoas commitment to Pinktober. Governor of Central Bank, Maiava Atalina Ainuu-Enari said Pinktober was the official cancer awareness month for Samoa that meant everyone should be supporting the important cause.

Pinktober is a national initiative under which we as a nation can unite together in the fight against breast cancer, she said.

She also emphasized the Vave campaign, to promote early detection, such as VAVE ILOA, VAVE VAAI SE FOMAI and VAVE VILI MAI.
Tomorrow will be a White Sunday to remember for ten families, thanks to the generosity of Betham Brothers Enterprises. The families were featured in the Village Voice section of the Samoa Observer.

Courtesy of the Betham Brothers Enterprises, Trans Pacific Travel and Budget Rentals, these families each received food supplies and $200 to make this Sunday extra special.

Reports of the everyday lives of these families were published in the paper throughout this year and they were randomly chosen by the company.

Village Voice is the section of the national newspaper that focuses on families with stories of everyday struggles and hardships.

The donation by B.B.E. totaled $5,000 with $3,000 spent on food supplies and $2,000 distributed as cash gifts.

According to the Office Supervisor of B.B.E. Ltd, Ruta Williams, the donation was made possible with the money raised during the companies fundraising games last Saturday.

Instead of the company spending the money, they decided to donate it as White Sunday presents for these families.

These funds were initially allocated for office purposes, said Ruta to the Village Voice families.

However, after further elaborations and discussions, weve opted to donate this money for families who need the financial assistance.

For this White Sunday, we want your children to feel and have what we provide for our own children.

Fiu Mosiula of Falelauniu and his family were the first to receive the donation. His story was published on 19th May, 2017.

The 70-year-old and his wife were overwhelmed with the unexpected visit from staff members of the companies.

This is definitely a surprise for us, Fiu said.

We thank you so much for noticing our family and we truly appreciate everything that you have given us.

Lisi Tomas family of Malie also expressed similar sentiments.

Lisi couldnt hold back her tears when she was presented the gifts.

I didnt really expect this to happen, Lisi said.

And I just want to thank your companies for doing this for my grandchildren. I have nothing to offer but all I can say is; may the Lord bless you for all that you have given for my family.

The look on the childrens faces put smiles on the B.B.E staff members faces as it was definitely something they would remember for a long time. It was an emotional and a happy moment for all the families because they had never expected to be blessed with gifts before White Sunday. They were all thankful for the assistance and goods provided by the companies.

The B.B.E. family of Companies had provided assistance to other Village Voice families last year.

The ten families:

1) Fiu Mosiula from Falelauniu

2) Lisi Toma from Malie

3) Eunike Vaafai Finau from Afega

4) Alaese Fereti from Lotosoa Saleimoa

5) Sue Epati from Faleasiu

6) Taatia Reupena from Faleasiu

7) Anovale Aiono from Fasitoo uta

8) Tifitifi Ioelu from Fasitoo uta

9) Akenese Ah Sam from Fasitoo uta

10) Pepe Uati from Falelauniu
To protect personal and private information, the Ministry of Police has implemented new requirements for obtaining clearance reports.

In doing so, the Ministry has issued a warning to members of the public that it is an offence to provide wrong information or documents to the Police.

This is according to a notice regarding new procedures put in place in terms for obtaining a clearance report from the Records Division of the Police Ministry.

The Ministry of Police further warns that anyone who presents wrong information to the Police will be prosecuted.

Emails sent to the Police Superintendent and Media Spokesperson as to what prompted the move for the new changes; have yet to be answered as of press time.

The Public Notice says that the new procedures that will be implemented by the records section of the police when requesting a police clearance report.

Third party transactions involving application for police clearance report will no longer be acceptable, due to privacy concerns.

However, if the applicant cannot submit the application in person and requires another person to submit it on their behalf, a signed consent letter is required.

In addition, its also required for the third party person to provide a valid passport or drivers license plus the birth certificate.

In the case of children 17-years of age and below, parents can act on their behalf.

The birth certificate of the child is acceptable for the application of the police clearance report plus a valid identification from both parents.

The notice says that for regular applications, it is required to provide your passport or birth certificate and a passport size photo along with a $30 tala fee.

A maximum period of two working days is given for officers to conduct a thorough background check of police records once all the relevant documents and fees are provided before processing the request.

The police do not accept urgent fees to instantly process any application.

Their official business hours for the records office to process police clearance reports are from 9.30am-4.00pm Monday to Friday.
Travellers to American Samoa will no longer have to put up with filling two entry forms.

The American Samoa Government has announced the implementation of the new single Entry Form to eliminate the response burden and replication of information by completing two or more forms by travellers upon arrival into the Territory.

A memorandum issued by the Governors Office indicated the new forms were available as of October 1, 2017.

Accordingly, a new arrival form has been developed to combine all statutory requirements pertaining to Immigration, Customs, Quarantine, Health and Tourism.

By law, all travellers crossing the borders into American Samoa must identify himself or herself by recording information such as name, age, sex, marital status, occupations, nationality, country of origin, country of citizen, race, place of permanent residency, intended future permanent residence and if a United States citizen or national, the facts of which claims of the status are based.

The memo further notes that under American Samoa Code Annotated, all goods brought into American Samoa is to be declared on the Customs portion of the form as well as the Agriculture and Quarantine reports.

All travellers must comply with health alerts and warnings.

The memo also notes that a companion form for departures has been developed to improve data collection on resident travellers reasons for moving abroad, tourism travel and other pertinent information to improve local visitor industry developments.

The Governor urged all government agencies, travel agencies, airlines shipping agencies, fishing vessels and cruise ship agencies etc., to take the necessary steps to adhere to this announcement unveiling the new entry and departure forms designed to ease the burden on travellers and to ensure the collection of information necessary is provided for services planning of the American Samoa Government.
Its that time of the year again where on the second Sunday of October; Samoa commemorates White Sunday.

Including all Samoans overseas, this is a celebration that is dedicated to the children of Samoa.

And town has been busy all week with parents and their children doing shopping in preparation for this auspicious occasion.

Sixty-two year-old Osovale Lele from Letava told Samoa Observer that its the same preparation every year.

I came early with my three grandchildren to buy their stuff for White Sunday, their father passed away in 2015, so even though my son has passed away, I thank God that my grandchildren are still happy and healthy, she said.

Osovale said she would be buying suitable clothes for her grandchildren this White Sunday.

Referred to as Lotu a Tamaiti in Samoan or Childrens Service in English, White Sunday is usually a day for children to perform skits, songs, dances and recite verses from the bible.

Fourteen-year-old, Tomasi Lolo from Lalomauga couldnt stop smiling yesterday as she held a shopping bag with her new dress in it.

I look forward to White Sunday every year because I will be given special treats from my parents like new clothes or shoes.

This is because its not every day that our parents buy us expensive new clothes to wear on Sunday.

It was also a happy day for PJ Nanai from the village of Matautu, Falelatai.

The sun and the dust did not stop me and my mother from walking around town to look for new clothes for me and my siblings.

Were also looking for a barber shop to cut my hair because Ill be Sarah in one of our performances tomorrow morning.

White Sunday is the only time when we can choose whatever we want and our parents always buy us what we want to make us feel special.

The children practice for several weeks before the big day, putting on skits from Bible stories, singing songs, and often the older children will be responsible for the day's sermon or message.

Here are some photos from yesterday.
We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2022. Donate today
Theyre studying the streams of water vapor that dump rain and snow on California, how burning fields alter monsoon patterns in Africa, and what changing ocean chemistry means for shellfish.

A group of 13 graduate students from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, and several from the universitys School of Global Policy and Strategy, will attend the 23rd United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn, Germany, next month, bringing research on topics ranging from coral reef ecology to paleoclimatology.

They also aim to represent U.S. efforts to combat climate change on the global stage in the wake of President Trumps declaration that he plans to exit the Paris climate accord.

Advertisement

Trump announced in June that he would withdraw from the landmark agreement, through which 197 nations set targets for cutting carbon emissions. The accord would weaken the U.S. economy, he said, while allowing China, India and other major polluters to keep emitting greenhouse gases.

Scientists and business leaders who support the agreement lobbied against the withdrawal, arguing that policies designed to stem global warming will help the U.S. launch clean power industries, including solar and wind power. A group of 15 states, including California, formed the U.S. Climate Alliance, declaring their plans to slash greenhouse emissions. And scientists have continued working to understand the consequences of a warming world.

We want to share the story of how the U.S. is still taking action to mitigate climate change and reduce our carbon emissions, despite what the federal government will do, said Kaitlyn Lowder, a fourth-year graduate student at Scripps, who also attended COP21 two years ago.

For her, that means looking at how carbon emissions impact marine diversity and the food we put on our tables.

I study how driving your car affects your lobster dinner, said Lowder, 25.

As a child, she said, she grew up in Las Vegas and Utah, but vacationed in San Diego, where she played at the beach and became fascinated by shrimp, crabs and lobsters, and their unique physiology.

Ive had a love of crustaceans, especially their exoskeleton, she said. Its such a diverse piece of armor for the animal.

She studied marine biology and creative writing at Western Washington University, and is now pursuing her doctorate in marine biology at Scripps. Shes looking at spiny lobsters, a globally popular seafood species, and how their predator defenses are affected by ocean acidification. Known as the evil twin of global warming, ocean acidification occurs when seawater absorbs excess carbon from the atmosphere.

The increasingly acidic ocean water impairs oyster shells. Can it also affect crustaceans exoskeletons, she asks? Ocean acidification dulls the sense of smell for some fish species, and could do the same to lobsters, she said, hindering their ability to smell predators, or to find their own prey. Over time, that could affect an important food source, bringing the issue of climate change to the kitchen table.

As our oceans warm up, as we have lower Ph and lose oxygen, it can make it more tangible if you talk about fisheries, she said.

Tashiana Osborne, a third-year graduate student at Scripps studying climate sciences with a focus on hydro-meteorology, is studying atmospheric rivers. Osborne, 25, earned an undergraduate degree in meteorology and hydrology in Minnesota, and became intrigued by extreme weather, including the columns of water vapor that form in the tropical Pacific and hit land in California.

If you think of a river in the sky, thats exactly what they are, she said. They are long, narrow corridors, ribbons of moisture in the atmosphere that are flowing toward land.

These are the storms that soaked California last winter, and nearly burst the Oroville Dam. Theyre also key to the states farms and reservoirs.

Atmospheric rivers are the number one cause of flooding throughout California and a key factor in flooding for other states, Osborne said. They account for half of Californias water supply. But if you get too much or too little rain or snow, that can lead to disaster.

Coastal mountain ranges can shift the direction and downfall of the atmospheric rivers. Osborne is studying how the states topography alters precipitation from the storms, and whether it falls as rain or snow. At the climate convention, shell hold a press conference on atmospheric and oceanic phenomena and their role in global climate models, and plans to introduce the topic of atmospheric rivers.

Osinachi Ajoku, 28, is studying how soot from wood-burning stoves in Central Africa alters West African monsoons, and connecting with a Nigerian project to replace wood-burning stoves with clean, gas-powered alternatives.

Born in Los Angeles, Ajoku was the first in his family to go to college. He studied geology in college, and became fascinated by weather when he encountered snow on a field trip. In his third year at Scripps, hes calculating how smoke particles from slash-and-burn agriculture and wildfires in Central Africa alter monsoons in West Africa. High concentrations of smoke tend to suppress rainfall, possibly contributing to drought, he said.

He participated in last years climate convention In Marrakech, Morocco, and visited its African pavilions to learn about climate issues and agricultural practices on the continent. There he met a royal dignitary from Cameroon, who invited him to present his research after he publishes.

He also plans to connect with African officials who are working to replace wood-burning stoves with cleaner gas stoves in rural areas. That strategy, first adopted in India, reduces climate pollutants while protecting people from the health hazards of soot. Ajoku, whose parents are Nigerian, is applying for dual citizenship, and aims to work on these issues in Africa after he completes his doctorate.

I have this crazy idea of being a diplomat, and this would be a step toward that, he said.

This year hes interested to see how other nations who signed the Paris Accord will respond to U.S. plans to exit the agreement.

How will the rest of the world make up for climate emissions of America? he asked.

deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan
Shelley Glenn Lee published nature stories with kindergartners, studied wildlife cameras with fifth-grade students, and built birdhouses with first-graders.

Those efforts with her classes at High Tech Elementary North County in San Marcos earned her recognition as an environmental educator from the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which announced the awards last week.

Lee, who has taught for more than 20 years, including five at High Tech Elementary, was one of a dozen teachers and several students throughout the country who were honored by the EPA. She received honorable mention for Region 9, which includes the Pacific Coast and Southwest, and visited Washington, D.C., to receive the award.

Advertisement

The awards program recognizes educators who approach environmental education through innovative, hands-on projects that involve the community.

I was honored obviously to know that Im one of 12 teachers across the country who were being acknowledged, and I think the thing that I was really appreciative of was meeting the other teachers and kids who are doing work in their own community, and how powerful their work is, said Lee, of Carmel Mountain Ranch.

Each year, she said, she plans a kindergarten project focused on habitat, in which students study and share different key habitat types in San Diego. Using students artwork and writings, her classes published several books through Amazon, including Treasure Our Tidepools! as well as Protect Our Ponds! and Save Our Sandy Shores!

The young students also presented their work at Birch Aquarium at Scripps, discussing their projects with aquarium visitors, she said. Her first-grade students helped with the tide pools book, and also built birdhouses to help shelter sensitive local species such as the western bluebird.

In addition to her work as a teacher, Lee is a board member of the San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy, and serves as the organizations chairwoman of education. She led fifth-grade students in a study of the conservancys wildlife cameras, titled Critters on Camera, in which students identified the animals captured on camera, analyzed the data and did poster presentations about wildlife at the site.

Through their work, these impressive educators and students demonstrate how community partnerships  between schools, business and government  can build and sustain environmental change, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a statement. Together, EPA and our partners are working to improve environmental literacy across the nation.

deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan
An Oceanside man suspected in a string of smash-and-grab heists in Laguna Beach had roughly $500,000 worth of what is believed to be stolen jewelry in his home, authorities said Thursday.

Edward Torrison, 30, is also a person of interest in two similarly styled break-ins in Fallbrook last month, including a burglary at the Fallbrook Gem & Mineral Museum.

Torrison was arrested shortly before 8 p.m. on Sept. 26 after a short foot chase in downtown Oceanside  during which he threw an aquarium containing a gecko through a window, Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Jim Cota said. (The animals tail was injured in the incident.)

Advertisement

When police searched his nearby home, they found two loaded guns and a large, heavy-duty storage cabinet with rows and rows and rows of drawers filled with jewelry, the sergeant said.

There were so many items discovered that investigators called in cadets to help the departments property crimes team catalog it into evidence  a big chore that took about four days, Cota said.

It is still unclear if the seized items included anything taken during two smash-and-grab heists in Fallbrook last month. The gem museum was hit on Sept. 10, and museum officials said the loss included five notable pieces from the treasured tourmaline collection, including two remarkable 9-inch-long pink and green pieces from North County mines.

Related

Thieves in smash-and-grab heist take iconic museum gems

A little more than a week later, on Sept. 18, a Fallbrook jewelry shop was similarly hit by a thief or thieves. Fallbrook sheriffs Sgt. Joel Couch said Thursday that Torrison was a person of interest in both cases.

On July 26, less than two months before the Fallbrook burglaries, five jewelry stores were burglarized at a Laguna Beach shopping center  break-ins that police detectives in that city believe were related to a series of heists throughout southern Orange County.

Surveillance footage linked to one Laguna Beach heist showed two men, one believed to be Torrison. The second suspect remains at large.

Cota said Laguna Beach police are working with law enforcement agencies from San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles counties to identify other potential theft victims.

Torrison pleaded not guilty in Orange County Superior Court last week to four felony charges, including burglary of a Laguna Beach shop. More charges could be coming for Torrison, who has at least one prior felony theft conviction in San Diego County.

His defense attorney in the current case did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday afternoon.

Orange Countys online jail booking lists Torrisons occupation as gemologist.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

(760) 529-4945

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT
Nachum Kerpilevich was 8 years old when Nazis confined him to a ghetto in his Ukrainian village, along with 22,000 other Jewish people.

On Monday, Kerpilevich, who leads Israels largest group of Russian-speaking Holocaust survivors, shared his story with students at Escondido High School.

When it happened, Germany was under the rule of Hitler, and he made a plan to eradicate and kill all the Jewish people, Kerpilevich, 84, said through an interpreter, Brian Slater.

Advertisement

Slater and Kerpilevich traveled from their homes in the Israeli city of Netanya, to schools and synagogues in the United States, where Kerpilevich put a voice and face to the Holocaust.

Michelle Peace, an English learner specialist for the school, arranged the visit after learning of Kerpilevichs tour.

As they study World War II, students analyze different types of historic sources, including text, poetry and primary sources including first-hand accounts. Kerpilevich, she said, offered a rare opportunity to hear from a Holocaust survivor.

Students also had the opportunity to get contact information for other Holocaust survivors whom Kerpilevich represents, and correspond with them about their experiences.

One of our standards is being able to look at sources in different mediums, Peace said. This is another medium that students wont have access to in the very near future. While he is still alive, I thought it would be good to have a primary source live and in front of the students, versus just watching a movie.

Coming the morning after the worst massacre in U.S. history, in Las Vegas, and following a spate of terror attacks in Europe, and on the heels of violent conflicts in Charlottesville, Va., and elsewhere, Kerpilevichs story provided a perspective with relevance to contemporary events.

With so much tragedy around the world, its important that we pay attention to history so history doesnt repeat itself, Peace said.

In 1941, Kerpilevich told students, Romanian soldiers under Nazi command attacked and occupied his home in the Ukrainian village of Bershed.

They collected Jews from surrounding areas and brought them to Bershed, he said.

The village, previously home to 4,500, swelled to nearly five times that size, as 22,000 Jewish people were crammed into a ghetto there.

It was very difficult to live there, he said. In the winter it was very cold, sometimes freezing. There was no food to eat, and there was terrible disease. Every day, people were dying.

His father worked from morning to night for their captors to earn meager rations of spoiled bread  the only nourishment available.

He thinks about it now and he wonders how he even ate it, Slater translated.

Residents of the ghetto were forbidden to leave, but children and adults would slip out when they could to seek food, he recounted. Once, a young boy he knew was caught outside the camp.

A Romanian soldier hit him over the head with a gun, Kerpilevich said. He hit him many times until he fell to the ground. The soldier thought he was dead, and walked away.

A Ukrainian family saw the injured boy and checked on him, demonstrating that in the face of brutality, some people responded with compassion and humanity, Kerpilevich recalled.

He was still alive by some miracle, he said. They brought him into their own home for months. Because of that, this man was a Holocaust survivor. When he became an older boy, he and his family (immigrated) to Israel.

In 1944, shortly before the war ended, the Gestapo pulled 300 men from the camp and executed them, Kerpilevich said. His father was one of those murdered.

When the war ended, the Soviet army liberated the Bershed ghetto, he said. Although life after the war was difficult, it slowly improved as he finished school, went to college, and became a mechanical engineer.

In 1995, he and his extended family immigrated to Israel, along with many other Jewish Ukrainians. There he became an advocate for survivors. But those remaining are elderly, most between 80 and 100 years old, he told students.

In a matter of years, they will not exist anymore, Slater translated. That is why it is such a privilege for him to be here.

After Kerpilevich concluded his story, students had the chance to ask questions.

What do you consider a fascist? one student asked.

Fascists are anti-Semites, and not nice people, he answered. Then there are Nazis who were even worse than the fascists.

Students also wondered whether his experience could shed light on current political turmoil, and whether it served as a warning.

Do you think that todays political climate is similar to the way it was back then, asked Sam Serrano, 15.

No, its completely different, Slater said, translating Kerpilevichs reply. In the last two and a half weeks, hes met many people that love Israel and the Jewish people. He cannot see that there will be another Holocaust, because of the friends hes made.

Serrano said he enjoyed reading about the experience of Holocaust survivors, and said it was hard to comprehend the horror of their experience. He took a photo with Kerpilevich, and planned to pen a thank-you letter for the visit.

Isabella Martinez also picked up information for several survivors, and said she planned to write with questions about their personal experiences. How did they cope with the experience, she wondered? Did they have mental health issues in the aftermath of the war? How did their families fare?

I would like to know if they had siblings that they were able to connect with after the war, she said.

For Kerpilevichs part, he hoped it piqued their interest in one of historys great tragedies.

He wants them to understand everything that happened in the Holocaust, and wants them to read more about it in books and understand the pain and suffering, Slater said.

deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan
Oceanside lifeguard David Wilson received a medal of valor for risking his life to rescue a man from the pounding surf who was trapped between two boulders by a rock jetty near the mouth of the Oceanside Harbor, known as Devils Triangle.

After responding to a distress call on July 17, Wilson, an Oceanside Fire Department lifeguard, found a barely conscious man whose boat had capsized. He was wedged between two rocks and being pushed underwater by crashing waves.

Wilson tried to free the victim while placing himself in front of him to lessen the impact of the waves on the victim, according to a memo from Oceanside Fire Chief Rick Robinson to Oceanside Mayor Jim Wood and the City Council. Wilson was repeatedly knocked down, getting cuts and bruises from the rocks.

Advertisement

An Oceanside Harbor officer arrived on a police boat to help Wilson dislodge the victim from the rocks. Wilson dove underwater between the rocks to free the victims legs, despite the force of the waves. The victim was airlifted to a local hospital and survived.

Wilson denied medical treatment for himself and joined his colleagues in rescuing 20 other people that day.

Gov. Jerry Brown joined Attorney General Xavier Becerra in presenting the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor to Willson in a ceremony Sept. 25 at the State Capitol in the Governors Council Room.

Wilson was commended for extraordinary bravery, heroism and courage in the face of imminent and personal life-threatening peril.

Wilson is the first lifeguard to receive the medal according to the fire chiefs memo. Wilson is set to receive additional medals of valor from the United States Lifesaving Association and California Surf Lifesaving Association on Oct. 12.

For more stories and digital subscription information, visit https://ad.sandiegouniontribune.com
A former Marine who served two tours in Iraq was convicted Thursday of second-degree murder in the 2015 stabbing death of a friend in the friends Oceanside home as the victims toddlers slept.

David Anthony Strouth, who was living in Oceanside after spending 10 years in the Marine Corps, faces 16 years to life in prison when he is sentenced.

According to the trial brief filed by the prosecution, Strouth, now 36, was depressed and going through a divorce in the spring of 2015. The attack occurred sometime before 9:30 p.m. on April 24 while the defendant was hanging out with the victim, Brad Garner, at Garners home. The two men were in the garage, and a babysitter was inside with Garners boys, ages 2 and 3.

Advertisement

At some point, as the boys slept on the couch, the babysitter heard a loud crash in the garage. When Strouth entered the home a few minutes later, she asked him if something fell. Hell fell, was part of his reply before he returned to the garage.

According to the brief, Strouth stumbled back inside moments later. He told the sitter that Garner was the devil, but he had slayed the beast.

The sitter fled for help  and saw Strouth leaning over Garners body in the garage as she left. She returned with two neighbors who had armed themselves to save the children. They also tried to restrain Strouth, who had started cutting himself. He asked the neighbors and responding police to kill him, according to the prosecutions filing.

Police found Strouths bloody K-bar knife  with the inscription Operation Iraqi Freedom  in the garage. Garner, 49, died from multiple stab wounds.

Strouths defense attorney, Sloan Ostbye, said her client testified that it had been self-defense. The defendant said Garner had come at him with the knife, and they struggled but he won control of it.

Doctors on both sides of the case found that Strouth has post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.

Deputy District Attorney Patrick Espinoza said he was pleased with the jurys verdict.

We felt the verdict demonstrated that PTSD may explain but does not excuse an unprovoked killing, he said in an email.

He added that the jurors later said they believed Strouth had suffered a psychotic break, but that it was not a legal defense to murder.

Strouths attorney argued at trial that because of the PTSD, he could not have had the state of mind to form malice  a required element to find a person guilty of murder.

Ostbye said her client, who goes by Tony, is disappointed by the verdict.

My client is a Marine to the core, so he is sucking it up, she said. Hes disappointed, and frankly, I am concerned for his mental state.

She said Strouth is from Virginia. He is an only child; his mother is a teacher and his father is a coal miner.

teri.figueroa@sduniontribune.com

(760) 529-4945

Twitter: @TeriFigueroaUT
Leonard Pelkey is gone. Leonard Pelkey is everywhere.

In the playwright-actor James Lecesnes quietly moving solo show about a missing teen-ager, a few motley objects  a backpack, a broken watch, a single rainbow-colored sneaker  are all Leonard has left behind.

Except, that is, for a community transformed by this defiantly unconventional 14-year-old, who never tried to hide who he was even as bullies and bigots did their best to make his life hell.

Advertisement

Leonard recognized and inspired authenticity in others, too: As one admirer puts it, He saw us not the way we were, but the way we hoped to be.

The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, now receiving an intimate, funny and sometimes soul-searing San Diego premiere in the Old Globes compact White Theatre, is based on Lecesnes young-adult novel Absolute Brightness.

The playwright and performer, who wrote the Oscar-winning short film Trevor and appeared on Broadway in The Best Man, is the founder of the Trevor Project, a crisis-intervention resource for LGBTQ youth.

He also has spoken of the struggles he faced as a gay kid growing up in New Jersey  experiences that fed into the fictional story of Leonard, whose own adoptive family barely knows what to make of him.

Lecesne brings two masterstrokes to the show. One is the way he frames an emotional, hot-button saga with an almost bloodless storytelling device: The police procedural.

Lecesne plays a world-weary Jersey detective named Chuck DeSantis, who walks us through the progress of the missing-persons case via the seven objects  Exhibits A through G  arrayed upon a table.

The other act of magic Lecesne lends to Leonard Pelkey is the way he also plays everybody else in the piece, from the boys family members to his fussy drama teacher to classmates to townspeople who encountered and were changed by him. Everyone except Leonard himself, whos absent yet always present.

The actor has an aptly hard-boiled touch as Chuck, whos like a character right out of Raymond Chandler (by way of Law & Order) as he talks about Case 3684599.

Im a detective; the dark side is my beat, he says, before introducing Ellen Hertle, a hair salon owner and sort-of relative of Leonards who has become the boys guardian; along with her wary daughter Phoebe, whos 16 going on 45.

As Lecesne shifts into those characters and others  nine in all  he often spins in a quick pirouette that heralds a startling transformation in voice and posture and facial expression, with only the occasional donning of eyeglasses as a prop.

And as these quirky characters and their often laugh-out-loud observations share what they know of Leonard  his kindnesses and idiosyncrasies and sharp sense of justice  a brightness seeps out the seams of the stark crime story.

The understated but haunting music by Duncan Sheik, the Spring Awakening Tony-winner whose Whisper House had its world premiere at the Globe, adds to the atmosphere of mystery and revelation, as does Matt Richards lighting on Jo Winiarskis almost bare set.

We do eventually learn what happened to Leonard, as well as who was responsible for his fate, over the course of director Tony Speciales lean, 75-minute production  though the revelation of a key clue is perhaps a bit too convenient to be believed.

But Leonard Pelkey isnt meant to be a whodunit; its about a life rather than a loss.

And the detective, who has taken up Shakespeare thanks to the missing kids influence, quotes words from Hamlet that capture the message Leonard left:

This above all: To thine own self be true.

The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey

When: 7 p.m. Tuesdays-Wednesdays; 8 p.m. Thursdays-Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays (plus 2 p.m. Oct. 18; no matinee Oct. 21). Through Oct. 29.

Where: Old Globes Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, Balboa Park.

Tickets: $30 and up

Phone: (619) 234-5623

Online: theoldglobe.org



jim.hebert@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @jimhebert
With two key California WaterFix votes looming, Gov. Jerry Brown expressed confidence Thursday that water agencies will commit to enough funding to sustain the massive project.

Brown was in Los Angeles to lobby for the $17-billion proposal, which would re-engineer the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the hub of Californias complex waterworks.

Im just trying to put the ball over the goal line, he said in a telephone interview in between visits to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Southern California Assn. of Governments.

Advertisement

MWDs board is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a $4.3-billion buy-in to WaterFix, which is a top priority for Brown. Two days later, the Kern County Water Agency board is expected to take its vote.

As the two largest contractors in the State Water Project, the agencies participation is critical to WaterFix, which is to be financed by the urban and agricultural districts that get deliveries from the south delta.

That financing plan suffered a major blow last month when the Westlands Water District, the nations largest irrigation district, voted against joining the project, saying it was unaffordable.

But Brown said Thursday that WaterFix could survive, albeit in a scaled-down version, without money from Westlands and other agricultural districts that receive delta supplies from the federal Central Valley Project.

The project can be altered to reduce the costs if the federal contractors dont want to be a part of it, the governor said. The state needs the water. Were not going to commit suicide. We gotta have it.

Brown, who met this week with members of the Kern County Water Agency, was optimistic about the upcoming votes. I think we will have enough funds for the project, he said.

His visit to Southern California was reminiscent of the lobbying his father  Gov. Pat Brown  did more than half a century ago to win support for the State Water Project, which sends delta supplies hundreds of miles down the California Aqueduct to the Southland.

It was construction of the state project that helped send the delta on a downward environmental spiral, triggering endangered species protections that in recent decades have restricted delta deliveries.

WaterFix calls for the construction of new diversions on the Sacramento River in the north delta that would feed two enormous tunnels connected to existing pumping plants in the south delta.

Proponents  including most of the states major water agencies  hope that by withdrawing less water from the south delta, the tunnels will diminish environmental restrictions on deliveries.

Opponents  primarily environmental groups and delta growers  argue that delta conditions will worsen with the new diversions, hurting water quality and further depleting imperiled salmon populations.

The funding issue has loomed over the project for years. Now it has reached a critical point, with agencies deciding whether to open their wallets.

Environmental groups in Southern California argue that the billions of ratepayer dollars that would go to WaterFix would be better spent developing local supplies such as recycled water or stormwater capture.

To avoid a violation of the Brown Act, which generally requires legislative bodies to gather in open session, the governor met with only some members of the MWD board at the agencys Granada Hills water treatment plant. The session did not include MWDs Los Angeles delegation.

Theyre hesitant to form an opinion yet. Theyre waiting, Brown said of the citys board members.

bettina.boxall@latimes.com

Twitter: @boxall
Two brothers facing trial later this month on charges of beating and kicking a homeless man to death in Santee changed their pleas to guilty on Friday.

Austin Mostrong, 22, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury. He admitted using a weapon when he attacked George Lowery, 50, last year.

Preston Mostrong, 21, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, mayhem and inflicting great bodily injury.

Advertisement

Austin Mostrong with attorney Abrahm Ginser on May 2, 2016 pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in George Lowerys death in Santee. (David Brooks/SDUT)

As part of the plea deal, Preston Mostrong is to be sentenced to 24 years in prison and Austin Mostrong will get 20 years to life, a District Attorneys office spokeswoman said.

They are expected to be sentenced Jan. 12.

The brothers and their attorneys appeared briefly before El Cajon Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein to enter their guilty pleas. The Mostrongs were set to go to trial Oct. 25 on charges of murder and torture.

Prosecutors have said Austin Mostrong shot a different homeless man with a paintball gun on April 20, 2016. Another man intervened, taking the gun and possibly some personal items from Mostrongs truck.

The brothers were alleged to have returned to the homeless camp off Magnolia Avenue on April 24 to retrieve the paintball gun and other items. Prosecutors said the brothers also wanted revenge.

Lowery was there alone. He was hit and kicked in the head repeatedly, then hogtied with his bleeding face pressed into the muddy sand. His wife returned from a store to find him barely alive under a sheet of plywood. Lowery died at a hospital.

Austin Mostrongs girlfriend, Hailey Suder, then 18, was in the truck during the assault. She faces trial Oct. 25 on a felony count of being an accessory to a crime after the fact. Prosecutors allege she initially lied to sheriffs homicide investigators by saying she didnt see the assault.

pauline.repard@sduniontribune

Twitter: @pdrepard
The Uber sticker on the gray Dodge Charger stuck out as odd to the Border Patrol agent the afternoon of Aug. 15. Uber isnt usually seen this far east, in Boulevard, she thought, according to court documents.

The car ended up carrying paying passengers, except theyd just crossed the border illegally, authorities said.

The agent spotted the car off Old Highway 80 near Interstate 8 about 3:40 p.m. It was the same car shed seen 15 minutes prior at the Golden Acorn Casino with the same driver and passenger, she said.

Advertisement

But the car was riding significantly lower than it had been at the casino, she noted, a common indication of hidden human cargo. She ran the California license plates and the car came back as a rental out of Tulsa, Okla. This further piqued her interest and she began to follow the car.

The Dodge merged onto I-8 but drove slower than the surrounding traffic. As the agent passed, she saw a person lying in the backseat, according to the complaint.

She called for backup and stopped the car. Three men who later admitted to being in the country illegally were lying across the backseat. They told authorities they were going to pay $6,000 to be smuggled from Mexico.

The driver, Domonick Lawrence Guy, told authorities that he delivered food for UberEats and PostMates and that hed just met the passenger, Roxie Ann McCrary, in Long Beach a few days earlier. He said she asked him to drive her to San Diego to pick up some people he believed were friends, according to the complaint. He said she offered him $200 for the trip.

In Boulevard, he said McCrary unlocked the doors and let in three men who emerged from behind a tree, the complaint states.

McCrary told authorities that shed been offered $80 to $100 to pick up some homeless people from an unidentified person.

Each was arrested on a charge of transportation of unauthorized immigrants for financial gain. They have pleaded not guilty and were granted bond by a magistrate judge in San Diego federal court.

According to Uber, Guy has not driven for the company in the past few months.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis
Californias outbreak of hepatitis A, already the nations second largest in the last 20 years, could continue for many months, even years, health officials said Thursday.

At least 569 people have been infected and 17 have died of the virus since November in San Diego, Santa Cruz and Los Angeles counties, where local outbreaks have been declared.

Dr. Monique Foster, a medical epidemiologist with the Division of Viral Hepatitis at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters Thursday that Californias outbreak could linger even with the right prevention efforts.

Its not unusual for them to last quite some time  usually over a year, one to two years, Foster said.

That forecast has worried health officials across the state, even in regions where there havent yet been cases.

Many are beginning to offer vaccines to their homeless populations, which are considered most at risk. Doctors say that people with hepatitis A could travel and unknowingly infect people in a new community, creating more outbreaks.

San Diego, Santa Cruz and L.A.

San Diego County declared a public health emergency in September because of its hepatitis A outbreak.

Since November, 481 people there have fallen ill, including 17 who died, according to Dr. Eric McDonald with the countys health department. An additional 57 cases are under investigation, he said.

Hepatitis A outbreak 481 cases in San Diego County

70 cases in Santa Cruz County

12 cases in L.A. County

6 cases elsewhere in the state Sources: County health departments, California public health departments

Hepatitis A is commonly transmitted through contaminated food. The only outbreak in the last 20 years bigger than Californias occurred in Pennsylvania in 2003, when more than 900 people were infected after eating contaminated green onions at a restaurant.

Californias outbreak, however, is spreading from person to person, mostly among the homeless community.

The virus is transmitted from feces to mouth, so unsanitary conditions make it more likely to spread. The city of San Diego has installed dozens of handwashing stations and begun cleaning streets with bleach-spiked water in recent weeks.

McDonald said county health workers have vaccinated 57,000 people in the county who are either homeless, drug users or people in close contact with either group.

The general population  if youre not in one of those specific risk groups  is at very low risk, and were not recommending vaccinations, he said.

The outbreak has also made its way to Santa Cruz and L.A. counties, where 70 and 12 people have been diagnosed, respectively.

Officials from both counties say theyve vaccinated thousands of homeless people and will continue to do so.

New cases linked to the outbreak might not appear for weeks, because it can take up to 50 days for an infected person to show symptoms, said Santa Cruz public health manager Jessica Randolph.

I dont think the worst is over, Randolph said.

A man passes behind a sign warning of an upcoming street cleaning along 17th Street in San Diego. (Gregory Bull / Associated Press)

Where next?

Tenderloin Health Services, a clinic in the San Francisco neighborhood known for its large homeless population, has been offering hepatitis A vaccines to its patients for weeks. The clinic recently held an event in which workers gave shots to 80 people in three hours, said Dr. Andrew Desruisseau, the clinics medical director.

The cases in San Diego and the magnitude of the epidemic there certainly set off alarms in the Bay Area, he said. So far, there have been 13 hepatitis A cases in San Francisco, but none associated with the outbreak.

Desruisseau said 90% of the clinics patients are homeless and many also have other liver problems or are drug users, making the disease especially dangerous.

Typically, only 1 out of every 100 people with hepatitis A dies from the disease, but it appears to have killed a higher rate of people in San Diego because of the population affected, experts say.

All 17 people who have died in the San Diego outbreak had underlying health conditions, including 16 who had liver problems such as hepatitis B or C, McDonald said.

Desruisseau said he was particularly concerned about conditions on the streets in San Francisco.

With all of the housing crisis and gentrification in San Francisco, were seeing a much more condensed homeless population, he said. We have a lot of obstacles in keeping it a very sanitary place for our clients.

Doctors and nurses in several California counties are beginning to offer vaccines to their homeless populations, as recommended by the state health department. Typically only children and people at high risk are vaccinated for hepatitis A.

In Orange County, which has had two hepatitis A cases linked to the outbreak, public health workers have given out 492 vaccines, mostly to homeless people, officials said. County nurses have also been visiting shelters and parks to vaccinate people.

Some officials, including in Riverside and Sacramento counties, also said they were reviewing their sanitation protocols for homeless encampments. An L.A. councilman recently called for more toilets in neighborhoods such as skid row and Venice in light of the local hepatitis cases.

Many have blamed San Diegos outbreak on a lack of public bathrooms near homeless encampments.

In Oakland, city workers, represented by SEIU Local 1021, sent a letter to City Hall last month saying they feared a hepatitis A outbreak in the regions homeless community. So far, there havent been any cases in Oakland or the rest of Alameda County, but city safety steward Brian Clay said he believed the city has allowed unsanitary conditions in homeless encampments.

Oakland city officials did not respond to a request for comment.

Theres syringes, theres human feces, there are dead animals, rats alive, and dead rats  pee bottles, five-gallon buckets used as toilets, Clay said. Were definitely concerned about this added threat of hepatitis A.

soumya.karlamangla@latimes.com

Twitter: @skarlamangla

This article was originally published at 12:10 p.m.
Workers in charge of maintaining San Diego trolleys say homeless people regularly urinate and defecate inside the trains, and the hepatitis A outbreak across the county has them worried they may be infected.

In a letter to CEO Paul Jablonski, the lawyer representing the Public Transit Employees Association requested a meet-and-confer session to address the union members health concerns  and any concerns of trolley riders.

We have been told that it has become more commonplace for (apparent) homeless riders on the trolley to defecate and urinate in trolley cars in early morning hours, attorney Maria Severson wrote Thursday. We have been told that some of the homeless riders are getting onto the trains with passes, laying out newspapers and defecating inside the trolley cars.

Advertisement

The two-page letter, which also requests that the law against going to the bathroom inside trolleys be more strictly enforced, was addressed to Jablonski but Severson also sent copies to 14 members of the Metropolitan Transit System board of directors.

By Friday, Jablonski replied with a two-page note of his own, outlining the agencys response to the hepatitis A emergency. He too copied all of the board members.

Be assured that MTS is taking every precaution for its employees and passengers in response to the hepatitis A outbreak, he wrote. We have been very proactive in our efforts.

The MTS chief also said he and his staff have encouraged all employees to get vaccinated against the virus, and managers held a health fair offering vaccinations..

Cases of riders urinating or defecating inside the train cars are extremely rare, Jablonski said.

When it happens, we immediately take the train out of service and thoroughly clean the vehicle, he wrote. Additionally, as per county protocols, we enhanced our cleaning procedures several weeks ago.

We have added a bleach solution to our nightly cleaning of all trolley, bus and station surfaces, he added. Cleaning procedures have been reviewed with all personnel. Employees have been provided gloves and other personal; protective gear to further provide for their safety.

The hepatitis A outbreak has infected almost 500 people in San Diego County in recent months, making it one of the worst events of its kind in decades. Seventeen people in the region have died from the disease, and more cases are expected in coming months.

County health officials say the crisis is expected to grow worse, in large part because the particular strain is being spread person-to-person rather than through a single food source, which is far more common.

Also complicating the response is an incubation period that can stretch for up to 50 days. That means an infected trolley passenger can touch a seat or rail and the virus could be transmitted for weeks thereafter.

Jablonski did not respond to Seversons request for a meeting to discuss the hepatitis threat to the 325 or so union members represented by the attorney.

The Metropolitan Transit System operates a network of buses and trolleys that service much of south and east San Diego County. Its budget is just over $278 million.

Last month, as city and county officials ramped up their response to the public health threat, Jablonski announced that he was boosting security along its 95 bus routes and across its three trolley lines covering about 53 miles.

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

jeff.mcdonald@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1708 @sdutMcDonald
The opening of San Diegos first city-sanctioned homeless camp site is back on track for a Monday opening.

Bob McElroy, president and CEO of the Alpha Project, had said earlier Friday that the opening would be delayed a day because tents that had been purchased might not arrive in time.

After an online San Diego Union-Tribune story appeared announcing the delay, McElroy said he heard from the mayors office that the site still should open Monday by using rented tents.

Advertisement

Mayor Kevin Faulconer on Wednesday announced plans to open the site at a city public works yard near Balboa Park. Since then, McElroy said he and other organizers have been working to get everything in place in time for the opening, which originally was scheduled for Monday.

McElroy said wash stations, restrooms and other amenities at the site will be in place soon, and rented tents will be in place by the time people start arriving at 7:30 a.m. Monday.

As of Friday, details about transporting people to the site still were being worked out, but McElroy said the plan is to give priority to seniors, the disabled and families with children. He also said the Alpha Project will coordinate with the San Diego Police Departments Homeless Outreach Team, the countys Psychiatric Emergency Response Team and other providers to pick up clients from Rachels Womens Center, the Neil Good Day Center and other locations to shuttle them to the site.

The campsite will be at a city public works yard at 20th and B streets, where 136 camp site spaces will be set up to serve more than 200 people.

The site is expected to be temporary and in place only until a large industrial tent that holds at least 250 people is set up at Newton Avenue and 16th Street. That temporary shelter will be run by the Alpha Project and is one of three such facilities the city plans to erect by the end of the year.

McElroy said he expects the Newton Avenue and 16th Street shelter will be in operation by Thanksgiving.

Homeless Playlist  On Now San Diego hepatitis outbreak continues to grow: 481 cases On Now Homeless entrenched in booming tent city along Santa Ana River On Now San Diego mayor agreed to homeless hub, then delayed, advocates say On Now Homeless outreach in San Diego On Now Video: Street Art: Portraits of San Diego's Homeless #8 On Now In poverty himself, 'Water Man Dave,' is the fearless saint of San Diego's homeless 5:41 On Now Video: Homeless living in cars find safe havens 2:21 On Now Street Art: Portraits of San Diego's Homeless #7 On Now Pitching a tent plan for San Diego's homeless On Now Homeless efforts get $80M boost for various services

gary.warth@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @GaryWarthUT

760-529-4939
Another member of Rep. Duncan Hunters party has stepped up to challenge him for his inland San Diego County congressional seat.

Shamroze Shamus Sayed, 40, announced Friday that hes joining the growing list of people hoping to unseat the five-term Republican, whos facing ongoing investigations into whether he misused campaign funds for personal expenses.

Sayed is chief operating officer of Interpreters Unlimited, a translation services company, and lives in San Diego, outside the district.

In a statement announcing his run, Sayed emphasized his business experience and pledged to bring integrity and accountability back to the district. He said his priorities would be cutting taxes on small business and cutting regulations.

Hunter also faces Republican Andrew Zelt, a San Diego County sheriffs deputy, and five Democrats: Pierre Beauregard, Josh Butner, Ammar Campa-Najjar, Glenn Jensen and real estate agent Patrick Malloy.

Advertisement

Daniel Casara, another Republican who initially said he would run against Hunter, changed his mind and announced a campaign against Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, instead.

Hunter, who won reelection by nearly 27 percentage points last year, is considered among the safer GOP incumbents who have been targeted by Democrats in the midterm elections.

Still, Hunter faces a probe into his alleged misuse of campaign funds, and has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on legal fees this year. In August, the FBI seized computers and documents at the offices of Hunters campaign treasurer. Last month, Hunters chief of staff stepped down.

christine.mai-duc@latimes.com
A marijuana delivery driver was robbed at gunpoint in Pacific Beach Wednesday by a man who pretended to be an interested customer, police said.

Lt. Eric Hays said the suspect solicited pot through a cellphone app.

The victim, who police said works for an unlicensed marijuana delivery service, agreed to meet the interested buyer in a parking lot on Garnet Avenue near Jewell Street to complete the transaction.

Advertisement

Once he arrived, the suspect got into the delivery drivers vehicle, pulled out a gun and demanded all of his marijuana, Hays said. The thief also took an undisclosed amount of cash.

The robber was described as a black, about 20 years old, 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing about 150 pounds and wearing a green camouflage jacket and black pants.

Anyone with information about the theft was asked to call the San Diego police robbery unit at (619) 531-2299 or the Crime Stoppers tip line at (888) 580-8477.

Breaking News

Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
Police are asking the public to help find a missing San Diego woman whose cellphone was found tossed in a dumpster in Vista Wednesday.

Alexandria Nicole Smith, 30, was last seen driving away from her home in the College Area about 11 p.m. Monday, National City police said.

Her mother reported her missing to National City police because she believed her daughter went to a party in National City, police Lt. Graham Young said. Smith lives with her mother and young daughter.

Advertisement

On Wednesday, someone rummaging in a 7-Eleven dumpster for recyclables found Smiths phone, Young said. The screen was cracked and the cellphone had no power.

The person who made the discovery charged the phone, then called Smiths mother and the Sheriffs Department, Young said. Police were working to obtain a search warrant to go through her cellphone.

At this point, police have not ruled out foul play, Young said.

Smith is 5 feet 4 inches tall, 130 pounds, with brown eyes, red hair and several tattoos, including a peacock and flower on her back and a star on her chest. She left her home wearing blue jeans and a blue sweater, police said. She drives a gray 2014 Toyota Corolla, with California license plate number 7CPB649.

Her family told police she uses drugs and has suffered from depression.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts was asked to call the National City Police Department at (619) 336-4411.

Breaking News

Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
A judge who had second thoughts about a sentencing reduced the prison term on Thursday for a man involved in the pickup artist rape of an intoxicated woman in downtown San Diego five years ago.

Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Fraser said he had grown concerned that he did not give enough weight to factors in favor of a lighter sentence for Jason Berlin, including that he had pleaded guilty early and testified against a co-defendent.

Before making his decision, Fraser listened to hours of testimony from a forensic psychiatrist who said Berlin has Autism Spectrum Disorder, a mental disability that reduced his understanding of right and wrong behaviors.

Advertisement

The judge also heard an impassioned plea from the rape victim to keep Berlin locked up as long as possible, so he wouldnt victimize anyone else.

In the end, Fraser reduced Berlins sentence from eight to six years.

Berlin, 29, Alexander Markham Smith and Jonas Dick were convicted of raping a 31-year-old woman in October 2013. Fraser imposed eight-year sentences on all three men, the maximum term available under the law.

Smith and Dick had created what Fraser called a crime syndicate with the purpose of having sex with women.

Berlins testimony against Smith, Fraser said, was helpful in our understanding of the industry. He said he didnt think anyone involved in the case knew of the existence of the online enterprise known as Efficient Pickup before Berlin described how it worked.

Smith and Dick charged large fees for a boot camp to train socially inept men how to engage women in conversation, size them up for vulnerability and quickly lure them into sex.

Berlin had sought out the training, and even paid rent on an apartment near the Gaslamp Quarter so he and the other defendants could meet women in bars and hustle them into the bedroom before they might change their minds, Deputy District Attorney Lisa Fox said.

The victim and her girlfriend left a Gaslamp bar after closing time and were invited by Smith and Dick to go to the apartment. Once there, authorities said, Dick distracted the girlfriend while Smith took the victim into the bedroom and raped her. Then he told Berlin it was his turn.

Berlin bragged about it in subsequent online blogs and praised Smith and Dick for their skill in training him in what to do.

On Thursday, New York defense attorney Mark Mahoney argued that Berlin should have the lightest possible sentence because he didnt understand that what he had done was wrong.

After pleading guilty to rape charges in 2015, Berlin was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder, a mental development disorder.

Mahoney put forensic psychiatrist Dr. Denise Kellaher on the stand to explain that Berlin had no better ability than a typical 5-year-old to understand other peoples facial expressions, body language or other non-verbal communications. Therefore, she said, he would not understand whether the woman he was having sex with was capable of giving consent while she was so intoxicated.

The judge expressed incredulity that Berlin was no more aware than a little child about the effect of his sexual assault on the victim. He noted that Berlin had the skills to graduate from UC San Diego and run a successful real estate business, then look for ways to improve his social skills with women by signing up with Efficient Pickup.

He wanted sex, Fraser said. With Berlin paying for his pickup lessons and the apartment, the judge added, You cant ignore the role he played.

pauline.repard@sduniontribune

Twitter: @pdrepard
San Diego police are seeking the publics help in locating a man suspected of attacking a student near campus.

About 10:30 p.m. Sunday, a female student was approached by a man she did not know while walking on Campanile Drive near Baja Drive, according to a community safety bulletin sent out by university officials.

The woman told police the man threw water in her face before wrestling her to the ground. She was able fight off the man, who then fled in a faded, dark blue car, officials said.

Advertisement

The suspect was described as Latino, about 6 feet tall and weighing about 180 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He was wearing a dark long-sleeve shirt and dark pants.

The San Diego Police Department  not university police  is investigating the attack. Anyone with information was asked to contact San Diego police at (619) 531-2000 or Crime Stoppers at (888) 580-8477.

Breaking News

Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
A 19-year-old man was shot while he was standing in a parking lot in City Heights Thursday night, San Diego police said.

The gunman, wearing a bandanna over his face, pulled up in an older-model white minivan and shot the victim about 8:20 p.m. on El Cajon Boulevard near 36th Street, police said.

The victim suffered a gunshot wound to his upper abdomen and was taken to a hospital. Police said he is expected to survive.

Advertisement

No detailed description of the suspect was released.

Breaking News

Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez

UPDATES:

11:15 p.m.: This article was updated with additional details.

This article was originally published at 9:40 p.m.
Firefighters quickly extinguished an accidental fire at a pest control company in Kearny Mesa Thursday afternoon.

The blaze broke out just before 3 p.m. in a warehouse or storage area at the Terminix facility on Complex Street near Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, said San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokeswoman Monica Munoz.

Crews got a handle on the fire in about 25 minutes, Munoz said.

Advertisement

A hazardous-materials team was summoned because there were chemicals on site, but it turned out the flames did not burn any hazardous chemicals, Munoz said.

Investigators ruled the fire accidental but did not elaborate. Munoz said it caused about $13,000 in damage.

No one was injured.

Breaking News

Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
In a move that will definitely not be seen as yet another petty snub of a political and personal rival, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today that he's assembled a "Fix NYC" panel that will solve our city's traffic problems and funnel more money to the MTA. It has some real boldface names, like Mr. Gridlock Sam Schwartz, former governor David Paterson and former MTA chair and CEO Tom Prendergast. All the panel is missing, in fact, is a single person with any governing authority over New York City. But uh, it's got the Suffolk County Executive and the mayor of Yonkers!

The prestigious panel was announced today in a press release, in which Cuomo said that with the birth of the panel, "we take a major step forward in coming up with a real solution to tackle the issue of congestion while helping to fund mass transit moving forward."

16 people were listed as panel members, all of whom are "transportation experts, representatives from the MTA region, local leaders and stakeholders," according to Cuomo. None of the 16 people listed as members actually govern New York City, the geographical area that the governor says the panel will fix.

The absence of anyone from City Hall or the Department of Transportation or anyone in the city's executive branch, and the fact that congestion pricing advocate Sam Schwartz is on the panel, suggests that this is yet another indication Governor Cuomo wants to fund the MTA with some kind of traffic pricing instead of the mayor's idea for a millionaire's tax.

A spokesperson for the mayor's office was dismissive of the panel.

"Weve yet to see a real plan from the governor on congestion pricing, and City riders don't need yet another commission to tell them that the State has failed their transit system," spokesperson Austin Finan told Gothamist. "Riders deserve real solutions and a dedicated transit funding stream like the millionaires tax the mayor has already proposed."

The governor's office did not respond to a request for a comment as to why no one from City Hall was included.

Riders Alliance Executive Chairman John Raskin was supportive of the panel, provided it was going to recommend congestion pricing.

"Congestion pricing is a fair and sustainable revenue source that could generate billions of dollars to fix transit while also alleviating traffic and boosting the region's economy. If Governor Cuomo leads with a strong congestion pricing plan that generates billions of dollars for public transit, he will have the support of millions of frustrated subway and bus riders who are desperate for relief," he said in a statement.

Left unsaid at the moment is what kind of traffic pricing system would be endorsed by the governor, since state legislators said they hadn't heard anything about East River bridge tolls when Cuomo first endorsed congestion pricing. Any NYC congestion pricing plan would require legislation passing in Albany.

Schwartz, who helped design the Move NY plan that relies on East River bridge tolls to raise funds for the MTA, seemed to understand that.

"This is gonna be the Cuomo plan, not Sams plan, and I recognize that. Ill have the opportunity to describe the Move New York plan in full detail to the panel and there are lots of elements that I certainly hope that the panel does accept," he told the Daily News.
Six people were arrested in connection with a carjacking in Vista, where a man and woman stabbed their victims hand, slashed one of her legs and dragged her from her car before stealing it, authorities said Friday.

About 14 hours after the robbery on Thursday, a detective happened upon the stolen car at a gas station and deputies arrested two people at the scene.

They launched a search for a third person, sheriffs Sgt. Frank Sandoval said. Deputies found the suspect hiding in the crawlspace of a nearby home and arrested him along with three others accused of harboring a fugitive.

Advertisement

The violent carjacking happened about 5 a.m. Thursday on Rollins Way in Vista, Sandoval said.

A woman was sitting in the drivers seat of a 1997 Toyota Camry when a man and woman approached, threatened her with a knife and ordered her out of the car.

A struggle ensued and the victim was stabbed in the hand, cut on theleg, dragged from the vehicle and pushed onto the ground,' Sandoval said.

He said the thieves drove off in the vehicle. The victim was taken to a hospital for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.

About 7 p.m. that evening, a detective happened upon the stolen car at a gas station on North Melrose Drive and Olive Avenue, Sandoval said. Gang and patrol deputies arrested two people there but a third man rant.

Deputies searched the neighborhood and found a man hiding in the crawl space of a house, Sandoval said. A sheriffs patrol dog helped get the man into custody.

Jorge Earl, 33, and Alexis Zamora, 23, were arrested on suspicion of carjacking, the sheriffs sergeant said. Jail records showed Earl was no longer in custody this morning, while Zamora was being held in the Vista Jail on $75,000 bail on suspicion of felony carjacking and assault with a deadly weapon.

Yobani Zamora, 24, was arrested at the gas station with Alexis Zamora on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine for sales, Sandoval said.

The three people arrested at the home where Earl was found hiding were Rachel Penton, 41, Jose Gutierrez, 37, and 35-year-old Salvador Martinez. All three were jailed on suspicion of harboring a fugitive.
A community activist has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Lemon Grove City Councilman Jerry Jones and City Manager Lydia Romero, alleging they curtailed his free speech by retaliating against him for comments on Facebook.

The activist, Marcus Bush, worked for Rick Engineering of San Diego, which has a city contract with Lemon Grove. Bush claims that city officials sought to affect his employment after he criticized Jones on the social media site.

They used their political influence to attack me personally by trying to cut off my ability to provide for my kids and going after my job, Bush told The San Diego Union-Tribune in an emailed statement. Speaking out against government abuse is a cornerstone of our democracy.

Advertisement

Bush is an ally of Councilman David Arambula, a Democrat who has sparred publicly with Jones on several matters. Jones earlier this year left the Republican Party and now lists his political affiliation as no party preference.

In particular, the two have disagreed over legislation by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher, D-San Diego, that would reorganize the regional planning board known as the San Diego Association of Governments. Arambula favors the legislation, while Jones opposes it.

The legislation, Assembly Bill 805, passed the legislature and is awaiting Gov. Jerry Browns signature. The goal is to make the agency more transparent and accountable, but opponents say it will drain power from smaller cities like Lemon Grove.

According to the lawsuit filed by attorney Cory Briggs, Bush posted a comment on Facebook in July supporting a politician named James Elia, who is running for state Assembly.

Time to usher in a new era of progressives and leave behind the ugly, thinly-veiled racist tendencies of men like Jerry Jones and (El Cajon Mayor) Bill Wells, Bush posted. So excited for James campaign!

Bush, who lives in National City, later explained that he saw racism against Gonzalez-Fletcher in Jones opposition to AB 805.

Bush alleges that to get even, Jones complained to Romero less than two hours later, apparently in hopes that Bush would be quashed from making any further negative comments  or possibly affect his job.

If this person is still working in the area I hope he doesnt not (sic) see any time in Lemon Grove, Jones allegedly wrote to Romero by email. We need objective professionals that will serve the needs of the people of Lemon Grove. We do not need this kind of poison in our little city.

The suit says that shortly after this exchange, Bush received a text message from his supervisor at work, Brian Mooney.

Marcus there is a rumor out there the you placed a negative comment about a lemon grove councilman on Facebook, do you know anything about it? Call me so I can straighten it out, the text said, according to the lawsuit.

According to the text message exchange attached to the lawsuit, Bush answered Mooney, Yea it was about Jerry Jones and his criticizing my Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez-Fletcher with thinly-veiled racist remarks. I called those remarks exactly that. It was all regarding her proposed bill AB805.

Bush told Mooney that his comments came from a personal Facebook page unconnected to Rick Engineering.

Mooney texted back that Bush identifies himself on his Linkedln page as a Rick employee, and the councilman is our client so anything you post directly effects (sic) this company. I have been notified and all the management by the City Manager.

The suit claims that Jones abused his position as an elected official and with the assistance and influence of Romero, directed employees of the City of Lemon Grove to contact (Bushs) employer, who holds a lucrative contract with the city, and urge that (Bush) be fired. As a consequence, (Bush) was indeed subjected to adverse treatment at work.

Bush told the Union-Tribune, Nobody should have to fear losing their job as a consequence of speaking out against injustice.

According to Briggs, Bush has left the company and is pursuing a graduate degree.

Jones said he was taken aback by the comments and had not seen the lawsuit. He said that as far as he knew, hes never met or spoken to Bush face-to-face. Jones has been on the Lemon Grove City Council since 2002. He was elected to the citys school board in 1996 and again in 2000.

I am not a racist, and I dont live my life that way, he said.

Wells, the El Cajon mayor, said he also was unaware of the lawsuit but any correlation of his opposition to AB 805 to race is wrong. He said his concern was making sure El Cajons taxpaying residents are properly represented at SANDAG. He also defended Jones.

It saddens me that oftentimes when people are losing the argument they resort to calling people racist, Wells said. I think racism is one of the most outdated concepts. We should be so past evolved at looking at peoples skin color. I believe having heard Jerry Jones talk about this issue that his thoughts are very parallel to mine. I find it absolutely offensive that people would try to link this to racism.

Romero declined to comment.

Without knowing any of the specifics, I cannot comment on the suit, she said.

karen.pearlman@sduniontribune.com
As a recent San Diego transplant, I went to the Clairemont DMV days after the Sept. 19 earthquake hit Mexico to apply for my California drivers license. Diana, the Mexican-American who processed my paperwork, teared up as she asked me about my family in Mexico City and told me about the donations for the victims that she and her co-workers had hastily collected to send south.

Over the past month, two devastating earthquakes struck central and southern Mexico, ending the lives of hundreds of Mexicans and toppling dozens of buildings, with the damage concentrated in Oaxaca, Chiapas and Mexico City.

The past few weeks have shown us that the Mexican government has come a long way in learning how to cooperate with the international community since 1985, when the last powerful earthquake hit Mexico, killing thousands in the capital. In the weeks after the quake, then-President Miguel de la Madrids administration came to a standstill, initially turning down offers of lifesaving international aid, which infuriated Mexicans abroad and sympathetic onlookers from around the world.

Advertisement

This time, the overwhelming response in Mexico from young people, civil society and the military has been a source of great pride, and the international support in Mexicos hour of need, especially from neighboring countries, has been commendable.

Mexicos southern neighbors, despite their own economic struggles, have come through. El Salvador and Honduras sent rescue brigades, and Costa Rica, Panama, Chile and other South American countries sent additional forms of help.

The United States governments support has been extraordinary. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense James Mattis have personally supervised the stream of aid to Mexico, while the U.S. continues to deal with the aftermath of the natural disasters that recently devastated Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.

Additionally, U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Roberta Jacobson has facilitated the communication about relief efforts between the two countries, perfectly encapsulating what I have witnessed over the past few weeks: When we see tragedies in the U.S. or Mexico, the best of our people and both of our countries arises.

The reaction in the San Diego-Tijuana region has been awe-inspiring, as members of local government, civil society, the private sector and the media have sought ways to help from afar. The Mexican consul general in San Diego, Marcela Celorio, described the response as truly binational, with collection centers on both sides of the border inundated with canned food, toilet paper, soap and other in-kind donations.

Members of our community have come up with new, creative cross-border ways to help support relief and reconstruction. Claudia Sandoval, a MasterChef winner from San Diego, and Javier Plascencia, a culinary icon from Baja California, teamed up to put on the first Borderless Dine & Wine, donating the proceeds to the Mexican Red Cross.

At my own institution, UC San Diego, we organized a brainstorming session at the Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies to identify avenues to support earthquake relief and reconstruction efforts. I was incredibly moved by the interest from our engineers, computer scientists and medical doctors, as well as the numerous Tijuana officials who attended the meeting and offered insight. It was truly a collaborative effort of solidarity and support.

This week, a group of UC San Diego engineers is in Mexico, working shoulder-to-shoulder with their counterparts from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, to help speed up the evaluation of damaged properties, as hundreds of Mexicans are still waiting to return to their homes.

While political rhetoric has recently called into question bilateral relations between the U.S. and Mexico, the organic outpouring of generosity and unity in the face of disaster confirms our interdependence and a common future for North America.

Fernandez de Castro is director of the UC San Diego Center for U.S.-Mexican Studies and professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy.
In the wake of the deadliest episode of gun violence in modern U.S. history, there was widespread apprehension that even having 50-plus people slaughtered and nearly 500 injured wouldnt break the congressional stalemate over new measures to limit such carnage. Instead, however, there could be a significant step toward a safer America.

On Thursday, the National Rifle Association  normally an implacable opponent of any new gun rules as a step on a slippery slope toward abandoning Second Amendment rights  said it welcomed additional federal regulations on bump stocks. Those relatively inexpensive devices  costing $100 to $400  are already banned in California. They allowed the Las Vegas shooter to fire the semi-automatic rifles he had in his Mandalay Bay suite at close to the same rate as a machine gun. Several politicians who have been ardent gun-rights defenders for decades also backed new bump stock rules, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Illinois, argues that congressional action isnt even necessary. He says the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) can readily reverse decisions it made in 2010 and 2012 that allowed bump stocks to be sold.

But however the ban is achieved, it must be done as soon as possible. Decades after federal laws created a de facto ban on automatic weapons, its incomprehensible that a simple, legal device can allow a semi-automatic rifle to fire 600 rounds a minute.

Advertisement

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, and other Democrats also hope for progress on additional gun regulations that are acceptable even to many gun owners  starting with requiring background checks on all purchases. Limiting the number of rounds in the magazines used in semi-automatic weapons also seems reasonable. It may be a long shot to hope that Second Amendment die-hards would suddenly be willing to accept such ideas. But maybe, just maybe, the events of Oct. 1 were horrific enough to sway the NRA and its allies.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion
Kersey wrong to be so supportive of pot

Regarding San Diego legalizes local supply chain (Oct. 3): Councilman Mark Kerseys argument is specious regarding Proposition 64 being a mandate for him to create a supply chain of pot businesses. Proposition 64 was not about increasing or allowing pot businesses. It was about allowing adults to possess and use recreational marijuana.

It was heavily advertised as a social justice and personal liberties issue so that you could smoke and grow in your own home. Since Kersey is running for state senator and his area includes Poway, he should remember that Poway voted to ban all pot businesses as a quality-of-life and safety issue, and to protect youth.

And Poway Unified School District includes Poway, Rancho Bernardo and Rancho Penasquitos, whose families know well the problems associated with commercializing marijuana use, which brings normalization and advertising from pot businesses enticing to youth.

Advertisement

Barbara Gordon

San Diego

Letters and commentary policy

The U-T welcomes and encourages community dialogue on important public matters. Please visit this page for more details on our letters and commentaries policy. You can email letters@sduniontribune.com or leave a comment below.

Follow @UTLetters on Twitter and UTOpinion on Facebook.
The still-stunning decision by University of California President Janet Napolitano to interfere with a state audit  by removing and weakening criticism of her offices performance from individual UC campuses  has gotten the harsh rebuke it deserves. It came in the form of Assembly Bill 562, which Gov. Jerry Brown signed this week. Under the new law, a state agencys decision to interfere with, impede or obstruct a state audit requested by the Legislature or required by statute is now a misdemeanor crime with a fine of up to $5,000.

How Napolitano thought her behavior was acceptable in this matter remains incomprehensible. As part of state Auditor Elaine Howles review of Napolitanos office and its finances, Howles staff sent campus officials a survey  one that was supposed to be confidential  asking them to evaluate services provided by the presidents office. But before the surveys were returned to the auditor, they were in several cases revised to make responses more favorable to Napolitano and her aides. Yet at a May 2 meeting of a joint legislative oversight committee, Napolitano asserted the changes were made not to make her look better but to make the responses accurate. An egregious change involving UC San Diegos survey shows the absurdity of this claim: The response to a question about the presidents offices transparency and budget process was changed from dissatisfied to satisfied.

The University of Californias resistance to meaningful oversight  even on basics such as how it spends public funds  has been a problem for years, long preceding Napolitanos hiring as president in 2013. Given that UCs independence is guaranteed in Californias Constitution, this may not change any time soon. But at least theres now a state law that makes clear this independence doesnt extend to sabotaging official state audits.

Advertisement

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

Facebook: San Diego Union-Tribune Ideas & Opinion
Members of Congress and the National Rifle Association are both taking a closer look at a device known as a bump stock after it was used by the man who opened fire on a country music festival in Las Vegas on Sunday, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds more.

A bump stock is an attachment that allows a semi-automatic rifle to mimic a fully automatic weapon. The device assists the shooter by making the finger bump against the trigger.

Investigators found that the shooter had 12 bump stocks and 47 guns in his possession.

With the national debate on gun control in high gear after the tragedy, the spotlight quickly shifted to the so-called bump stock. Heres what you need to know about national effort to regulate or ban the device, as California already does.

What is the current status of a bump stock?

Theyre legal. In a letter the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sent to Slide Fire, one of the biggest bump stock manufacturers in America, the agency clearly defines the device as legal in these terms:

The stock has no automatically functioning mechanical parts or springs and performs no automatic mechanical function when installed  Accordingly, we find that the bump-stock is a firearm part and is not regulated as a firearm under Gun Control Act or the National Firearms Act.

What is Congress doing about it?

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, who proposed banning bump stocks in 2013, introduced a bill Wednesday to ban the devices and what she called an automatic weapon loophole.

The bill, known as the Automatic Gunfire Prevention Act, would prohibit any person from importing, selling, manufacturing, transferring or possessing any part or combination of parts designed to accelerate the rate of fire of a semi-automatic rifle.

You can read the bill here.

The only reason to fire so many rounds so fast is to kill large numbers of people, Feinstein said. No one should be able to easily and cheaply modify legal weapons into what are essentially machine guns.

She said in a tweet on Thursday that she already has the support of 38 of her fellow Democrats in the Senate.

Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo was reportedly planning to introduce similar legislation in the House of Representatives.

Other Republican senators, including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and Marco Rubio of Florida, say they would be open to considering legislation, according to The New York Times.

House Speaker Paul Ryan , R-Wisconsin, agreed Thursday that Congress needs to look into them more.

I didnt even know what they were until this week, and Im an avid sportsman, so I think were quickly coming up to speed with what this is, Ryan said in an interview on MSNBC. Fully automatic weapons have been banned for a long time. Apparently this allows you to take a semi-automatic and turn it into a fully automatic so clearly thats something that we need to look into.

Has the president weighed in yet?

The White House says President Donald Trump is open to reviewing federal policy related to bump stocks.

Were certainly open to having that conversation, spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Thursday.

Why is the NRA getting involved?

The NRA, known for its staunch advocacy of the Second Amendment, joined efforts to increase regulations on such devices.

The National Rifle Association is calling on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to immediately review whether these devices comply with federal law, a statement from the organization said. The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function lik fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations.

Not all gun rights groups are in favor of a ban or new restrictions, however.

Accessory bans wont save a single life. Criminals will always find ways to commit violence. Prohibiting law-abiding gun owners from owning a piece of plastic wont stop violent criminals, Moriah Day, the executive director of the Kansas State Rifle Association, told the Kansas City Star. I find it absolutely despicable that the anti-gun lobby wants to place the responsibility for this violence on an inanimate object rather than the killer.

Heres a look at the wide-ranging discussion about bump stocks occurring on social media.

For more information about bump stocks, read: What is a bump stock and how does it work?

Email: abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @abbyhamblin
President Donald Trump is undertaking another reversal of an Obama administration policy, this time with a decision to allow more employers to decline to provide birth control to women based on religious or moral objections.

The Trump administrations announcement rolls back an aspect of the Affordable Care Act , also known widely as Obamacare, which required employers to cover birth control as a preventative service for women.

Here are the key parts of Fridays ruling to know about.

What is the new ruling from the Trump administration?

The U.S. departments of health and human services, treasury, and labor have come together to put forth two new rules.

Heres the basic outline provided by Health and Human Services (HHS). The rules exempt entities  like for-profit companies and universities  from providing an otherwise mandated item to which they object on the basis of their religious beliefs or moral conviction.

The new rules dont otherwise roll back preventive service for employers and other entities that dont have the religious or moral objections.

Who would be affected?

The Trump administration says there are about 200 groups  who have already sued or otherwise voice objections  in the U.S. that will be affected.

"These rules will not affect over 99.9 percent of the 165 million women in the United States," the HHS maintains.

But some question whether more objections will come from additional employers who want to opt-out now that they know the option is available, however.

The rules are effective immediately.

Will the decision be challenged?

Some advocacy groups, like the American Civil Liberties Union, are already announcing plans to fight the rules in court.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra says hes planning to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration too.

Why is Trump doing this?

In May, Trump issued an executive order calling on the executive branch to vigorously enforce federal law's robust protections for religious freedom.

Federal law protects the freedom of Americans and their organizations to exercise religion and participate fully in civic life without undue interference by the federal government, the order says. The executive branch will honor and enforce those protections.

You can read the full order here: Presidential Executive Order Promoting Free Speech and Religious Liberty

The Little Sisters of the Poor are a group of nuns that are one of the most famous groups that have fought the contraception mandate in court, and Trump promised during his campaign to support it and others who oppose the mandate. He also invited the group to the White House when he signed the executive order.

With this executive order, Trump told the group we are ending the attacks on your religious liberty.

How is the announcement going over?

The fight over the contraception mandate has been going on for years with advocates on both sides, so it was no surprise that many spoke up after Trumps decision on Friday.

The rule fulfills one of the Trump administrations most important campaign promises to restore religious liberty, said Ashley McGuire of The Catholic Association, according to The Associated Press.

Some conservative lawmakers were quick to praise the decision on Friday.

Other lawmakers, like California Assembly Leader Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, objected via social media.

Led by advocacy group Planned Parenthood, #HandsOfMyBC, with BC referring to birth control, quickly became a trending topic on Twitter.

Others praised the decision, seeing it as a win for religious liberty.

Read the full announcement from the Trump administration here: Trump Administration Issues Rules Protecting the Conscience Rights of All Americans

Email: abby.hamblin@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @abbyhamblin
Gov. Jerry Browns bold $17 billion plan to build two gigantic 35-mile, 40-foot-wide tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to make it easier to move water from Northern California to Southern California and to stabilize the states water distribution system always seemed like a tough sell. Critics were far more energized than supporters. Then last month, a huge new obstacle emerged. Thats when the Central Valleys Westlands Water District  the nations biggest irrigation district  came out against the project. It had been expected to pay nearly a quarter of the $17 billion cost.

But after a scathing report from state Auditor Elaine Howle was released Thursday, the project may be doomed. Among the audits harsh findings:

Even as Brown aggressively lobbies for the project, the state Department of Water Resources has not completed either an economic or a financial analysis to demonstrate the financial viability of WaterFix  the Brown administrations name for the tunnels plan. In a state government with a recent history of huge cost overruns on rebuilding the Bay Bridge and building the states high-speed rail project, this is an immense problem.

Advertisement

There are warning signs that the water agency is not prepared for the transition of WaterFix to the design and construction phase. The audit questioned whether the projects governance structure was up to the challenges ahead and cited incomplete work on crucial management documents.

The water agency ignored state law when it replaced the program manager for the conservation and conveyance program ... without advertising a request for qualifications. There is no evidence that water officials ever actually evaluated the qualifications of the new manager, the Hallmark Group, to handle its responsibilities.

The state audit suggested a way forward for the project  starting with completing both the economic analysis and financial analysis for WaterFix and [making] them publicly available as soon as possible. But the audits suggestions feel perfunctory  window-dressing so that Howles office can claim to have constructive intent. Its impossible to read a lengthy analysis questioning the actions of the state Department of Water Resources and then buy any suggestion that years of poor decisions can be readily fixed.

The audit was provided to the state before its release so the water agency could respond. The agency strongly disagreed with some conclusions  especially related to the hiring of the Hallmark Group  but didnt make a strong case against Howles broader findings and recommendations.

Yet even though the governor must have been aware of the audits harsh criticism for weeks, he appears to still think he has a credible, worthwhile plan to sell. On Thursday, Brown personally lobbied some board members of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in advance of MWDs crucial Oct. 10 vote on whether to support WaterFix.

But if the governors plan dies  as seems likely unless he effectively addresses Howles concerns  state leaders still must address crucial water issues. At the least, theres an urgent need to improve the health of the heavily stressed Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, given that it supplies the water used by 25 million state residents and much of Californias huge farming industry.

A good starting point may be heeding the suggestions of three prominent 2018 Democratic candidates for governor. In interviews with the Los Angeles Times, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa both suggested more modest approaches to addressing the deltas health and to shoring up water supplies. Newsom and state Treasurer John Chiang also appeared skeptical of the idea that massive tunnels would help, not hurt, the deltas fragile and precarious ecosystem.

There will be many pressing state matters for gubernatorial candidates to address in the 13-plus months until Californians elect Browns successor. Plenty will involve flashier issues  but few if any of these issues affect more residents than ensuring reliable supplies of clean water.
The Poway Unified School District Board of Education will review submitted drafts of election district maps at the monthly board meeting on Thursday night.

There were 14 maps submitted through a website set up by NDC Research, a demographic firm the district hired to advise on the districting process.

The maps can be viewed here on the districts election district webpage.

Only 11 of the 14 maps will be reviewed by the board, as three of the maps were not population balanced as required. By law, each district must be within 5 percent population with each other.

The maps will be presented by plan number, without the submitter being identified.

The board will review the submitted maps and listen to public comments on the submitted maps. The public is invited to speak at the meeting on what maps they like or dislike as well as why they feel that way about the maps.

These are not the final versions of the maps and they can be revised before a final map is voted on by the board at the Nov. 9 board meeting.

The splitting of the district into five election districts is the result of the district receiving a threat of a lawsuit under the California Voting Rights Act of 2001. PUSD is one of many cities and school district to receive such a demand from attorney Kevin Shenkman, threatening to sue the district if it did not comply.

Shenkman claimed that the districts at-large voting system violates the CVRA because it dilutes the abilities of Latinos (a protected class) to elect candidates of their choice or otherwise influence the outcome of district elections.

The board must approve a map by Nov. 9 to comply with the deadline in the receipt of demand. The new election districts will be used in the November 2018 election, where three of the five board seats will be up for election. The remaining two seats will be filled by district elections in 2020.

Under the new election districts, those living within a district will only be able to vote for the candidates in their area.

The meeting will start at 6 p.m. and will be held at the district office, 15250 Avenue of Science in Carmel Mountain Ranch.

Email: news@pomeradonews.com
News outlets have identified the construction worker who murdered his former foreman at a Midtown construction site before turning the gun on himself as Samuel Perry, 44, of Far Rockaway, Queens. Perry, a carpenter, had been fired from the construction job at Waterline Square at 645 West 59th Street on Monday, and returned Thursday morning to fatally shoot foreman Christopher Sayers, 37, who had dismissed him. He then shot himself in the head in a bathroom, police said.

Perry had reportedly been hinting at his deadly plan a day or two before carrying it out.

Perry shot Sayers on the 37th floor of the high-rise development. A fellow construction worker on the site, Robert "Spider" Pagan, told reporters he saw Perry at the site on Thursday in the stairwell near the 31st floor, shortly after hearing what he thought were gunshots.

"I actually hugged him on the way down, not knowing he had done it. He was very casual. I said, 'What's going on?'" Pagan told DNAinfo. "I asked, 'Are you bringing guns to the job?' He said, 'No Spider, I'm going home.'" Then Pagan found Sayers's body. "I checked his pulse, but it didn't seem like he had one. He was face down," he said.

Neighbors say Perry had actually warned them he'd act out after getting fired from the site. "Hes been telling me. I was trying to talk him out of it. He got fired two days ago. It pushed him to his limits," next door neighbor Karinne Gale told the Post. The tabloid reported that Perry also texted his brother telling him he was going to kill his boss, and tried to get rid of his pit bull the day before the shooting. "He told me he wanted to shoot the dog and bury him in the yard. I told him dont do that," another neighbor, Mike, told the Post.

Neighbors and police also told reporters that Perry's wife took her own life about two years prior, reportedly dousing herself in gasoline and lighting herself on fire inside their home. "He told me she did it in the middle of the night. She came into his room and was calling his name," Gale said.

Co-workers described Perry as "a bit of a hot head." Sayers, meanwhile, was praised for his leadership. "Hes a quiet guy. He comes in the morning real early, drinks his coffee, smokes his cigarette, and then he went about his business. He never gives nobody a hard time. Never," Dennis Greaves, who worked on the Waterline Square project, told the Times.

Police are still trying to determine how Perry got inside the development.
New York, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/06/2017 -- Carmine is also known as Cochineal Extract. The dye processed from the cochineal bug is collected, killed by immersion, and then dried. The shade of red color that results depends on whether it is dried using the sun, steam, or an oven. Basically, carmine is a red dye that comes from the crushed shell of female beetles. Carmine is a coloring agent which is obtained from the dried bodies and shells of a cochineal which is the aluminum lake of the coloring principle. Cochineal bug is also named "true bug". This acid is processed further to produce the carmine, which used by several known food industries to color their food in red.



Cochineal bug attaches itself to specific varieties of cactus like opuntia or nopalea which is found in semi-arid areas of Chile, Peru, Bolivia, the Canary Islands and Mexico which is used as a coloring agent in dehydrated and canned soups, frozen meat & fish, various types of drinks, canned fruits like cherries & jams, ketchup and others.



A sample of this report is available upon request @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/15211



Global Carmine Market: Segmentation



Carmine market can be segmented on the basis of end-use industries, forms, and by regions. Based on applications, carmine is segmented into food & beverages, bakery & confectionary, cosmetics, dairy & frozen products, textile dyes, meat products, cake icing, hard candy, pharmaceuticals coating, personal care and others. Others include niche industries like crayons, floor waxes & paint manufacturers. Dairy & frozen products are the foremost segment of carmine market due to its major use in dairy products like chocolate milk, drinking yogurt, whey-based drinks, eggnog, etc. Bakery & confectionary is the second is the second major global market after dairy & frozen products followed by cosmetic products. Carmine is found in various cosmetics products like nail polish, eye shadow, shampoos, lipsticks, rouges, and blushes. Cosmetics segment is expected to expand at relatively high CAGR owing to the wide use of carmine in cosmetics products. Based upon forms, carmine market is segmented into powder and liquid form.



Global Carmine Market: Regional Outlook



On the basis of the geographical market segment, it is segmented into seven different regions: North America, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and Asia-Pacific region, Japan and the Middle East and Africa. In regional segments, Europe is expected to hold relatively high share in terms of volume over the forecast period due to stringent regulations as the European government banned the usage of synthetic colors. North America & Asia Pacific region is expected to witness relatively high growth in the carmine market over the forecast period as increasing demand for natural colorants in food & beverage industry.



Global Carmine Market: Drivers



The global carmine market is expected to witness sustained growth over the forecast period. The growth of carmine market is driven by its wide application in the food and beverage industry is the key factor to drive the carmine market globally. Moreover, rising application of carmine in cosmetic and pharmaceutical is anticipated to boost the carmine market in future. Other factors attributable to the high growth includes increasing health concerns, growing awareness and to reduce the usage of artificial colorants in food and beverages contributes significantly to its volume growth over the foreseeable period.



To view TOC of this report is available upon request @ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/15211



Global Carmine Market: Key Playershttps://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/carmine-market.asp



Some of the players operating in the carmine market include Amerilure, Inc., The Hershey Company, DDW Color House, Sensient Colors Europe GmbH and Proquimac, MIGUZ International, PROQUIMAC COLOR S.L. and few other regional players. In order to meet the increasing demand of carmine, companies all over the world are expanding the product portfolio and increase the sales strategies. The companies are also focusing on different strategies in order to maintain the market share in the global carmine market.
Albany, NY -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/05/2017 -- Transparency Market Research, a leading market research and intelligence firm, has announced the publication of a new market research report. The new research study, titled 'Marine Lubricants Market- Turkey Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2014 - 2022', explores the potential of the Turkey marine lubricants market in the given forecast period by analyzing the historical data regarding the market in the context of the currently prevalent trends in the market.



View Full Report: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/turkey-marine-lubricants-market.html



According to the study, the Turkey marine lubricants market is expected to grow from a volume of 84.5 kilo tons in 2013 to 103.8 kilo tons in 2022. This represents a CAGR of 2.40% between 2014 and 2022. The market is expected to display a higher CAGR in the same timeframe by revenue; the market's revenue is expected to rise at a 3.48% CAGR.



Marine lubricants are crucial in any ship, since internal combustion invariably results in the generation of some wasted heat. Accumulation of heat within a ship's engine can damage numerous crucial parts, which may not be tuned to operate at high temperatures. Lubricants, which have a high boiling point, help dissipate the heat and thus prolong the lifespan of engines. Despite their importance in the smooth operation of ships, the market for marine lubricants is restrained by the risk posed by conventional lubricants to marine ecosystems.



Request to view Sample Report: http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=4462



Mineral lubricants, which constitute 83% of the total demand from the Turkey marine lubricants market, are nonbiodegradable, which means accidental spillage has the potential to harm the local ecosystem. Long-term disposal of mineral marine lubricants can have deadly effects on marine life. This has led to growing demand for biobased marine lubricants, which are biodegradable and thus pose a lesser threat to aquatic life in the long term. The EU has championed the usage of biobased lubricants in ships for a long time, and growing interaction with Europe's shipping channels has forced Turkish shipping operators to conform.



Within mineral oil, engine oils are by far the dominant subcategory, holding the majority of the mineral oils market and 46% of the overall Turkey marine lubricants market. Apart from mineral and biobased lubricants, the Turkey marine lubricants market includes synthetic lubricants. The report provides a forecast for all product segments of the Turkey marine lubricants market, helping the reader figure out which segments are the best to invest in.



Request to download and view full ToC - http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/4462



The rising trade activities in the Turkish Straits have ensured steady demand from the Turkey marine lubricants market for years to come. Combined with Turkey's willingness to incorporate environmental standards into its growing shipping industry, this could make Turkey the dominant player in the Europe marine lubricants market.Apart from the detailed discussion on the major drivers and restraints acting upon the Turkey marine lubricants market, the report describes the market's competitive landscape. Major companies such as BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Turcas Petrol A.S., and Total Submarine, and others are examined in the report, with the SWOTs, company profiles, product specifications, business strategies, and recent developments of each company analyzed in detail.



Global Marine Lubricants Market Report is available at US$ 5795 - http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=4462
FLORENCE, S.C.  Later this month, Pee Dee residents will have their first opportunity to hear encouraging messages about HOPE FOR (a better) LIFE at the Florence Civic Center.

The three-day event will start at 7 p.m. on successive nights, Tuesday, Oct. 17 through Thursday, Oct. 19. The event will be cohosted by eight regional congregations of the Churches of Christ.

Steve Ridgell, director of the HOPE FOR LIFE ministry from Abilene, Texas, will be the featured speaker.

Each evenings lesson will be different, but all of them will highlight the hope for a better life thats possible through obedient faith in Jesus.

Come one, come all, said Jim Yarian, minister for the Gregg Avenue Church of Christ in Florence, one of the hosting congregations. Since EVERYONE truly wants a BETTER life, theres no situation or circumstance in a persons experience  good or bad  for which these lessons wont be thought-provoking, soul-searching and hopeful.

Attendance is free, but seating is limited. Those planning to come need to be registered online as soon as possible at greggavechurchofchrist.com. More details will be given and frequently asked questions will be responded to by calling 843-496-0509.

Co-hosting congregations include the Florence, Gregg Avenue and West John Paul Jones Road Churches of Christ in Florence; the Timmonsville, Mullins, Hartsville and Bishopville Churches of Christ; and the Plaza Church of Christ in Sumter.

Ridgell is a storyteller who recounts scriptural incidents from Jesus life and draws fresh, relevant application for folks in an increasingly troubled world. His down-to-earth, often humorous illustrations enable people to see themselves in a different light from Gods perspective.

Neither a seminar nor a revival, neither high-brow nor rah-rah, the hourlong nightly experience will re-examine how Jesus dealt with all kinds of people in healing, helpful and hopeful ways.

Whether one is an avid Bible student or a first-time spiritual-seeker, Ridgells message poses not only the question Who is Jesus? but also What difference can he make in my life?

On the opening night, the lesson will be Healers in a Hurting World. If you have a negative reaction to religious rules and primarily just want to help other people  you might have more in common with Jesus than you thought.

Demons, Pigs, Jesus and You is the curious title of the talk on the second night. Ridgell will address the all-too-common feeling of my life is so messed up and powerfully demonstrate how change is possible when a person genuinely experiences the love of Christ.

On the concluding night, the message will be, I Just Dont Get It. It will confront widespread confusion about unfamiliar religious jargon, worship practices and Bible teaching  Is this stuff realand what does Jesus want from me, anyway?

HOPE FOR LIFE is a ministry overseen by the Herald of Truth, a 65-year-old international religious organization that specializes in mass media (radio, TV, print, campaigns, seminars and films) and is affiliated with the nondenominational Churches of Christ.
FLORENCE, S.C.  Florence School District One schools will participate in College Application Month.

Throughout October, high schools across the state will host College Application Day events to assist students with the application process. The goal is to provide a forum for all South Carolina seniors to complete and file college applications.

Local high school College Application Days: Wilson, Tuesday; West Florence, Friday; and South Florence, Oct. 24.

While much of the focus of College Application Month is geared toward first-generation college students and students who might not otherwise apply to college, participating high schools are encouraged to include activities for all students, including freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors who have already applied to college.

The South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, in collaboration with the South Carolina Department of Education, announced that October is College Application Month.

For more information, contact the high school guidance counselor or visit the SC CAN Go to College website at sccango.org/.
Like so many Americans, the members of Action Together Pee Dee  a diverse group of over 450 citizens who advocate for equal rights and justice  have been disturbed and dismayed by the current climate of heightened racial tension in this country, especially after the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville and the presidents divisive comments in its aftermath. On Aug. 24, Action Together Pee Dee held a rally for peace and justice at the FMU Performing Arts Center that was attended by dozens of citizens, including representatives of local faith-based groups, business leaders, educators, parents and even a member of the Florence City Council. We invite you to join us at our next public event to be scheduled this fall. Florence will thrive when we come together, embrace our diversity, respect our differences and applaud our community's accomplishments.

As a representative of this group, I recently reached out to Florence Mayor Stephen Wukela and the city council and asked them to issue a statement confirming that Florence condemns racism, bigotry and white nationalism and to consider adding a fourth point to the citys mission statement that reads Respect: We will support and celebrate diversity and will strive for social justice. Such a statement would send the message that hate has no home here.

Wukela answered this request with a letter to Action Together Pee Dee confirming that hate groups such as the KKK and Neo-Nazis are responsible for the violence in Charlottesville and that their message of hatred and white supremacy has no place, and is not welcome, in this community. Wukela went on to cite his 2016 State of the City address in which he applauded Florences response to the 2015 tragedy in Charleston that demonstrated that the citizens of Florence refuted all of the hateful, incendiary language of those, both black and white, who would widen the racial divide, who would exploit and inflame anger.

As adults in this growing diverse community, it is up to us to role model kindness and compassion, respectful dialogue to understand our differing viewpoints and, most important, bravery to stand, sit, kneel or speak to protect our civil rights.

Last Friday, I attended the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce Legislative Breakfast, and I was very pleased to hear Councilwoman Teresa Myers-Ervin speak about the councils commitment to investments that will benefit all of Florence regardless of income or ethnicity. It brought tears to my eyes hearing that in the near future the Iola Jones Park will have a community center with public restrooms. For decades this predominantly African-American neighborhood has gone without and has been asking the city of Florence to rectify this lack of a basic necessity.

The members of Action Together Pee Dee applaud the city council and the mayors stance against bigotry and violence and urge all citizens of Florence, Florence County and the Pee Dee to examine how they might effect change in their communities and work toward a more equal and just society.

SUZANNE M. LA ROCHELLE

Member, Action Together Pee Dee

Florence
Like you, Im grateful I get to call Montana home. Ive always said one of the best decisions I ever made was picking my great-great grandmother, who homesteaded east of Conrad and got our family to Montana.

Montana offers an unmatched quality of life  we offer a work force that is unmatched with a strong work ethic that is passed on from generation to generation in Montana.

And now with technology, we can grow more good-paying jobs that allow Montanans to stay in the state we love. Thats because technology has removed geography as a constraint. We can build world-class businesses in Montana.

Thats why one of the first actions I took as your U.S. senator was to host the first Montana High Tech Jobs Summit. This summit brought together Montanans and global leaders in technology to my hometown of Bozeman, the same place where I helped grow RightNow Technologies into the areas largest commercial employer.

And now, just two years later, Im co-hosting the second Montana High Tech Jobs Summit in Missoula on Oct. 9. Missoula is a leader in high-tech innovation and entrepreneurialism.

The Montana High Tech Jobs Summit will be held on the campus of the University of Montana on Oct. 9. We have a great lineup of keynote speakers who will discuss opportunities in tech, including the president of Microsoft, vice president of T-Mobile, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee.

Together we can encourage the growth of high-tech jobs in Montana. These are good-paying jobs that will not only allow our state to grow economically, it will ensure that the kids were training at our universities and colleges can stay in Montana, which is why Im hosting this event at the University of Montana.

As Ive traveled the state, Ive seen the impact that technology has had on dozens of small Montana businesses. From Proof Research in Columbia Falls to Blackfoot Communications, who are working to expand and improve internet access, Montana is becoming a hub of innovation and technological success.

At RightNow Technologies, where we created 500 high-paying Montana jobs, our recruiting slogan was work where you also like to play. The areas largest employer is a global business based in Bozeman, just a short drive to Yellowstone National Park.

And throughout the Montana High Tech Jobs Summit we will learn together what it takes to create jobs in our back yard so we can continue to get outdoors and enjoy what makes Montana great: the Beartooths, Glacier Park, Holland Lake and the Spanish Peaks.

You wont want to miss this great event, so register now at montanatechsummit.com while space is still available!

The future of Montana belongs to us all  and we already know technology is the future.

See you there.

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, is co-sponsoring the Montana High Tech Jobs Summit in Missoula on Oct. 9.
These figures, highlighting respective 6.4% and 4.1% increases over 2017, were released during the Italian Cruise Day today in Palermo. This annual cruise sector forum was organized by Risposte Turismos tourism research and consulting company, in partnership with western Sicilys Port Authority System (Autorita di Sistema Portuale) and the support of CLIA Europe.

According to Risposte Turismos Italian Cruise Watch 2017 report, presented at the same event by company president Francesco di Cesare, the estimated 2018 figures wont make up for 2017's contraction in numbers.

Civitavecchia will continue its leading position with 2.5m passengers and a growth of 12% compared to 2017, when numbers are estimated to reach 2.2m passengers and 741 calls. Venice will remain in second place with traffic holding flat at 1.4m passengers and 473 calls, down 11.4% and 10.6% respectively compared to 2016.

Naples will reach almost 1m passengers, a 15% increase from 2017, when numbers are expected to decine 27.3% and 29% compared to 950,000 passengers and 350 calls registered in 2016.

Savona will follow in fourth place with 950,000 passengers and a 12.6% increase compared to the 843,853 passengers in 2016. Genoa, meanwhile, is expected to post a slight gain (0.5%), to 920,000 passengers, compared to 915,000 passengers and 208 calls in 2017, positioning itself in fifth place.

The Italian Cruise Watch 2017 report also highlighted that five Italian portsCivitavecchia, Venice, Naples, Genoa and Savonaare at second, fourth, sixth, eighth and ninth place respectively in the provisional list of top 10 Mediterranean ports for passenger traffic in 2017, demonstrating the importance of the region for cruising.

The report also analyzed other key aspects of the cruise sector in Italy and the Mediterranean in 2018 and future years.

Among these, the number of cruise terminals will grow to 47 in 2018, compared to 44 in 2017, and the investments in this infrastructure by the main national ports will total 300m for the 2018-2020 period. About half that amount will go toward security and equipment and the rest for infrastructure.

For the fourth consecutive year, estimates of travel agencies cruise sales in 2017 and 2018 are positive, highlighting the importance of the sector to the national economy. The report cited an increasing trend for both first-time cruisers and passengers under 30.
The annual Cargo Conference hosted by the Association of Ship Brokers and Agents (ASBA) tanker market panel moderation of Navig8 Americas Jason Klopfer, was full of insights not likely available elsewhere on the conference circuit.

On the prospects for larger sized tankers, panelist RJ Lyons, president of Baere Trading, tied to tanker logistics company and risk manager Mjolner Shipping, described the market as seeing a full realization of vessel oversupply after a synthetic reduction in fleet supply in 2014 and into 2015.

A theme pervading the two-day conference was the great changes that the maritime business has undergone in the past decade.

For smaller tankers, there have already been some sparks. Panelist Derek Solon, from International Seaways, the international fleet spun out of OSG, stressed the critical role of the US in clean product movements, including exports that were briefly disrupted by early Septembers weather. Solon contrasted the short-lived spike in MR tanker rates in September with the post Hurricane situation in the mid 2000s, when hurricane induced disruptions impacted the market for months afterwards.

Panel member Tom Nolte from Hartco Trading, an amalgamation of Oaktree Capital and what was once the Hess oil trading arm, amplified on some the sparks alluded to by Solon and the possible optimism for the product sector.

Nolte described the market for smaller tankers as bouncing on a bottom and unlikely to get much lower, as hires have impinged upon vessels daily breakeven levels. Looking ahead, he told the audience at the Miami Beach venue, the next few months could be quite interesting with some signs of an emerging shortage of products in the Atlantic Basin, related, in part, to supply disruption as a result of recent hurricanes. Following the disruptions with refining, he opined that: the reaction may be delayed.

Similarly, changes in trade patterns may be emerging in the crude oil trades, the type of inflection point that moderator Klopfer had implored the panelists to identify. Lyons noted that distress in the US refineries has led to a wider price spread [of Brent over WTI oil]. He tied this oil price dynamic to emerging reports of record levels of US crude oil exports.

Panelist Lyons noted that US refineries are not all geared to run light sweet crude, typical of that from shale, so those barrels will continue to feed the export trend increasing ton miles or more crude from the Atlantic going farther distances in the words of Solon. But the panel members expressed caution overall about prospects for the large vessels, citing likely OPEC cutbacks which would reduce ton miles.
DECATUR  Massive wind turbines towering over northwestern Macon County make an impressive sight on the prairie horizon, but passersby might wonder why they've been sitting motionless for months.

That will change soon.

Construction on all 139 turbines of Radfords Run Wind Farm began in May and wrapped up Sept. 28. They can begin rotating after some testing, said Matthew Tulis, communication manager at E.ON, the company that will operate the wind farm.

We expect all the turbines to be up and running by the end of the year, he said. We havent seen any delays or unforeseen changes, and the installation of the turbines was completed ahead of schedule.

The news isnt welcomed by some neighbors of the wind farm, which is north of Warrensburg and west of Maroa.

Im concerned I wont be able to sleep, said Allan Hans, who can see several of the 400-foot-tall turbines jutting into the skyline from his bedroom window.

Hans said he struggles with sleep apnea and familial tremors. Some reports suggest that turbines can cause sleep disruptions, and he said he is worried about the health effects of living within a mile of seven turbines.

Hans is among three dozen landowners who filed a lawsuit last year in an attempt to stop the project. The case is pending in Macon County Circuit Court, but progress on the wind farm has continued at full speed.

Project origins

The turbines were installed in a plot that stretches 24,000 acres, with the northwestern edge near the intersections of the Macon, DeWitt and Logan county borders.

The base of each turbine is roughly 15 feet in diameter and 400 feet tall, with three curved blades that measure 160 feet in length. They are unfenced and accessible by a small gravel road.

When the machines start turning, it will be the culmination of a project thats been discussed publicly since 2008.

The county board in 2013 approved a special permit to allow construction of a 5-acre electric substation that served as the starting point for the project, formerly known as the Twin Forks Wind Farm. Final plans were approved in 2015.

Construction on the turbines began May 22. Upwards of 300 workers spent the summer turning the rural area into a miles-wide construction zone.

The turbines will produce about 300 megawatts per hour when running under normal wind conditions, Tulis said. Thats enough to power roughly 90,000 homes.

Energy generated by the wind farm will go into the PJM Interconnection, a massive grid spread throughout 13 states in the Midwest and East.

Landowners near the wind farm objected to the project from the start. Dozens of opponents, as well as supporters, filled county committee meetings in the summer of 2015 to express their concerns. They worried about noise and flicker effect created by the turbines, the environmental effect on livestock and birds and a potential decline in their property values.

Several also questioned the timing of the countys legislative process, saying they werent given proper notice of a public hearing or timely access to informational materials about the project.

That claim lies at the heart of the lawsuit filed by 36 landowners in December 2015.

Macon County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Little denied a motion June 27 to grant summary judgment, or make an immediate decision, in the landowners favor. He said there were still factual issues in the case that needed to be resolved.

Since then, attorneys have been taking depositions from the dozens of people involved in the case, said Richard Porter, a Rockford-based attorney representing the landowners.

The case could head to trial as early as next May, Porter said.

Were still on course for a trial, and were going to continue to pursue it, Porter said.

Among the plaintiffs is Alan Ruwe, who said he is already concerned about the value of the property that he has called home for 42 years, with 12 turbines now within a mile of it.

Like Hans, Ruwe said he is worried about negative health effects, especially for his wife. He cited reports that say shadow flickers and ultrasound emissions from the turbines can cause health problems.

He said he and his wife will take a wait and see approach as the turbines near full operation, but the words and testimonies he has heard from others who live near turbines gives him concern.

If we accept their testimony, we would have to move, Ruwe said.

Financial benefits

Over the next three decades, the wind farm is expected to generate $46 million in new property tax revenue, according to the original application to the county.

That money wont start coming in until 2019. Because of the timing of the construction, the wind farm wont be assessed for property tax purposes until next year, said Joshua Tanner, chief county assessment officer.

School districts would get the biggest increase in property tax revenue, but they would also see cuts to their state aid, making for a smaller net gain.

For instance, Maroa-Forsyth School District would receive an additional $17.1 million in property taxes over the 30-year life of the project, according to a study that was part of the wind farm application. After state aid cuts, the gain for the district would be $4.4 million.

Similarly, Warrensburg-Latham School District would receive $14.6 million more in property taxes but a net revenue increase of $4.1 million, the study said.

Clinton and Mount Pulaski school districts would receive $305,000 and $440,000 in net revenue, respectively.

The benefits to county and township governments are more straightforward. Before construction was complete, Macon County had already collected about $3 million from fees associated with special permits for the turbines. Part of that money went toward purchasing new election equipment in the Macon County Clerk's Office.

Over the course of the project, Macon County is expected to receive an additional $6.1 million in property tax revenue. The Austin, Maroa, Illini and Hickory Point townships would split the remaining $7.8 million.

In the first year, Macon County would collect $95,000 to $100,000, board Chairman Jay Dunn said. That number would decrease each subsequent year of the wind farms operation.

Still, any extra cash is welcome news for the county, which asked departments to cut their budgets by 6.2 percent this year to help make up a nearly million-dollar revenue shortfall.

It will definitely help us, Dunn said.
Press Release

October 6, 2017 Drilon presses for pre-shipment inspection of cargoes Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon vowed to block the budget of the Bureau of Customs (BoC) if the administrative order subjecting containerized cargoes to shipment inspection is not signed. "We make of record the position of the minority leader. We will oppose the approval of the budget of the Bureau of Customs unless this administrative order is amended - which amendment has been pending for I don't know how long - in order that we can immediately address the issues of these contraband drugs passing through our customs," Drilon said at the interpellation of the proposed P3.105 bllion 2018 budget of the agency. "I have no qualms in saying that I have not opposed the approval of any budget here in my 19 years. But this time I will put my foot down," he added. In an ambush interview, the minority leader reiterated his position: "I will block the budget of the Bureau of Customs unless that matter of pre-shipment inspection can be put to full use." He said that the smuggling of 604 kilograms of shabu could have been prevented "if the amended administrative order was in existence at that time because there would have been a pre-shipment inspection." "If there was no delay and the amended AO was signed, we may not have been confronted with this smuggling of 604 kilos of shabu because it could have been caught immediately at source or country of origin," Drilon said. The minority leader explained that a pre-inspection shipment is already being done but is only limited to bulk cargo and non-containerized shipments as provided for in the Administrative Order No. 243-A entitled "Creating a System for the Bulk Cargo Clearance Enhancement Program of the Bureau of Customs". Bulk and break cargo accounts for 65 percent of the country's total importation volume, while the remaining 35 percent refers to containerized cargoes, he added. Drilon said that the program, which is now in its seventh year of implementation, has proven to be effective in curbing smuggling and corruption. Hence, Drilon said there is a need to expand its coverage to include containerized cargoes, which are now being used to transport drugs and illegal goods. Drilon said the pre-shipment inspection of containers is a "recognized way of thwarting smuggling," as it will prevent the entry of illegal, fake, substandard and misdeclared goods into the country by stopping them at the country of origin. If the AO is amended to cover containerized cargoes, Drilon expressed confidence that it can help minimize entry of drugs and other illegal and substandard goods, increase government revenue, and thwart smuggling and corruption. "The BoC must realize the value of amending this administrative order in order to put a stop to the problem of smuggling and entry of shabu into our ports as soon as possible," Drilon said. Drilon said that the Senate Finance Committee has agreed on the importance of a pre-shipment inspection, vowing to provide funds for the pre-shipment inspection. "They have agreed that it is worth the expense and the chair of the committee on finance agreed that we should be able to come up with a budget," he concluded.
Press Release

October 6, 2017 POE: ERASE BACKLOG IN SCHOOL CANTEEN, EQUIPMENT Government should start treating kitchen equipment as basic education facility that can be used to feed kids in school and to teach them home economics courses, Sen. Grace Poe stressed. Poe said there is a huge backlog in food preparation and storage equipment in public schools "which in turn hamper the latter's mission to provide education and nutrition." She said that schools today are not just oriented "to feed the mind, but also to do feeding programs." "This is due to the fact that schools are where millions of children hungry for knowledge and food go. School is where the war against illiteracy and hunger is fought. If many of our children go to bed hungry, then we should see to it that when they go to school, they are fed," said Poe, who authored a measure seeking to institutionalize the school-based feeding program. Poe said massive funding for school-based feeding underscores the need for well-equipped school canteens and kitchens. This year, the Department of Education (DepEd) has a budget of P3.93 billion to feed Grades 1 to 6 students one meal a day for 120 days. This will go up to P5.3 billion next year. "But the question is, are there enough school resources that will aid in the implementation of this program? Maraming schools na wala o kulang ang espasyo ng canteen. Mas marami ang walang kusina. Kaya kung wala nito, saan magluluto ng pagkain para sa mga bata?" Poe cited. The senator said the answer lies in conferring upon kitchen equipment the same status and importance as "books, computers, wash facilities." She said that kitchen equipment do not only prepare healthy food but are teaching tools as well. "They are essential ingredients in cooking classes. Remember that one of the tracks in the K-12 senior high school curriculum is voc-tech, of which culinary arts is one of the offerings. Kung walang stove, paano matuto ang bata? Di naman pwedeng manood lang ng cooking shows sa YouTube," Poe emphasized. Poe said a program to erase the backlog in school canteen and kitchen equipment "would hit two birds with one stone: you will have the equipment for feeding and for teaching." Poe said if the DepEd is having a hard time spending allocations for buildings, "then perhaps it should divert some of the funds in buying easy-to-acquire stoves, refs, ovens." Due to procurement problems, the DepEd has been reverting to the Treasury unused funds and is projected to return again P21 billion in expired and unutilized appropriations by the end of this year. Poe also called for an increase in the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses fund of a school so that it can have a budget to operate school kitchens and canteens. A recent government survey pegs at 18 million the number of Filipino children under 10 to be undernourished.
Press Release

October 6, 2017 Teachers can have higher allowances, take-home pay by Jan. 1 - Recto Threatened by a P30 billion cut, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto today called for the rechanneling of DepEd's 2018 budget to "low hanging fruits" which can be used to increase a number of teacher's allowances. If these "benefit amelioration" items will be added to the income retained when bigger personal income tax exemptions will take effect, the result is a higher take-home pay for public elementary and high school teachers, Recto said. "We can double the chalk allowance, increase the uniform allowance, implement so-called step increments so that teachers will move up the pay scale, and increase the operating fund of schools," Recto said. "On top of these, new tax exemption rates so that teachers will either pay zero tax or a smaller tax on their income," he added. "All of the above are doable, and are in the pipeline. They can take effect in 12 weeks, or by January 1. Kaunting push na lang," Recto said. Recto said the above are interim measures until a higher pay for teachers is legislated together with the rest of government workers. Recto said the House of Representatives, citing DepEd's slow use of funds, had cut nearly P30 billion from the agency's building fund for 2018. "My proposal is that instead of transferring this money to other agencies, why not retain it there but change the intended use, toward the easy to implement, like teacher's allowances," Recto said. Recto is proposing that the teacher's annual uniform allowance be raised to P8,000, from the current P5,000. "That P8,000 is still half than what jail guards, firemen, policemen, and soldiers get," he explained. Recto's proposal is P2,000 higher than the P6,000 recommended by the Duterte administration for all civilian government workers. "'Yung additional P2,000, pang-sapatos. So clothing and shoes allowance na." According to Recto, another allowance long in need of adjustment is the one for teaching supplies, popularly called "chalk allowance," which is pegged at P2,500 per teacher annually. "Gawin nating P5,000. Doubling it will cost less than P2 billion. Mas maliit pa rin yan kaysa sa P30 billion cut," Recto said. "Chalk allowance is to teachers as what bullets are to soldiers. Diyan kinukuha ni Teacher ang pambili ng cartolina, papel, pen, USB, internet load. On 200 classroom days, bale kakarampot na P12.50 a day ang budget nya," Recto said. The government, he said, can also institute a "mass promotion" program for teachers by authorizing "step increments," a move that will assign a teacher to a higher step in the salary grade, resulting in a higher pay. Recto said increasing a school's MOOE (Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses) allotment will also redound to teachers "as it will spare them of out-of-pocket expenses for school and town activities and training." At present, the school MOOE is on the average P865 per elementary student, P1,377 per high school student, and P 1,670 per senior high school student, "rates which should be increased," Recto said. "Ang biro nga nila, ang mga guro natin ay kasapi ng Abono partylist, kasi wala na silang ginawa kundi dumukot at abonohan ang lahat ng activities ng school," he said. Another "low hanging fruit ripe for picking" is the tax package pending in the Senate, which raises income tax exemption rates. The bill sponsored on the Senate floor saves a Teacher 1 about P19,000 in income tax payments annually. But Recto is proposing a higher no-tax zone of P250,000 in taxable income annually so that teachers with small businesses and professors in state colleges will be exempt.
Editor's note: The Herald & Review each day is listing a reason the Decatur region is loved. We're profiling people, places and history that are special to our region  and that make it a great place to live. See more here.

Archer Daniels Midland Co. continues to provide both a variety of opportunities to the area and quality products to the world since it built its first plant in Decatur in 1939.

In 1970, Dwayne Andreas became the chief executive officer of ADM, and is credited with transforming the firm into an industrial powerhouse. Andreas remained CEO until 1997.

With more than 4,000 employees working at ADMs facilities and North American headquarters located in Decatur, the Chicago-based worldwide agribusiness giant remains the citys largest employer. The ADM Global Technology Center is downtown.

Soybeans and corn are the two main crops that ADM processes here, but in recent years, the company has embraced the changes in the food industry by investing millions of dollars into developing products that are gluten-free, clean label, organic, low in sodium, plant-based proteins and high in fiber.

In addition to improving the food that we eat, ADM has also shown a great interest becoming more environmentally friendly. In Decatur, the company unveiled its $208 million project to reduce carbon dioxide emissions that operates underground near Richland Community College.

Alison Taylor, ADM's vice president and chief sustainability officer, said she hopes the project demonstrates the technology to leaders of industries outside of agriculture, and will ultimately contribute to reducing carbon emissions around the world.

"We need to look at our operations and be responsible," Taylor told the Herald & Review in October. "That's a part of our business plan as well."
6 p.m. The WSOY Community Food Drive has once again met its goal, raising a total of 1,501,537 million pounds/dollars over the course of 12 hours at Kroger on the city's east side.

Thousands of people and companies donated over the course of the day, including Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, who called in with a $25,000 donation. More than 500 volunteers worked in the rain to fill semi trucks with food and field phone calls with monetary donations.

Of Macon County schools, St. Teresa High School raised the highest amount with 252,296 pounds/dollars collected. The remaining winners were:

2: St. Patricks School, 210,780 pounds/dollars

3: Mount Zion High School, 101,153 pounds/dollars

4: Eisenhower High School, 95,743 pounds/dollars

5: Warrensburg Latham High School, 92,851 pounds/dollars

***

3 p.m. A large group of Archer Daniels Midland employees operated a white tent where people could make cash donations toward the WSOY Community Food Drives $1.5 million goal.

As the amount of activity happening at the Airport Road Kroger began to come to a lull, many of them lined up and started doing The Wave in order to keep energy levels high.

Earlier in the afternoon, ADM Business Solutions Analysts Angela Hill and Derek Stevenson volunteered their time at the tent, donning pink shirts that said Team ADM on the back.

This was Hills third time volunteering for the food drive, and Stevensons first.

I think its important to help the community, Hill said. Everything donated here goes toward helping Decatur.

ADM employees have worked two-hour shifts at the food drive since it began at 6 a.m. Stevenson said hes enjoyed his first year as a volunteer, and will sign up to join the team again for next years drive.

We all live in the community, he said. Its all about helping others. Its like, if theyre helping out people, then Ill help them too, and take the initiative. Ill do it again next year.

At 3 p.m., the amount of pounds/dollars raised sat was 1,110,115. St. Patricks School led the school donation race with 177,159 pounds/dollars raised. St. Teresa High School, Eisenhower High School, Mount Zion High School and Our Lady of Lourdes followed.

***

2:00 p.m. When Bryan Burcham II overheard his grandpa talking about a semi truck on the phone, he was surprised and confused. Once he learned the truck would be filled with non-perishable food items and donated to the WSOY Community Food Drive in the name of his school, Our Lady of Lourdes, he was ecstatic.

Brian Burcham told his grandson to keep the truck a secret, and he did.

Then, Friday morning at school, when he could finally tell, his eighth grade classmates they didnt believe him.

They joked around with him, teasing about when his semi would show up, and when it did, they were surprised too. Bryan was still in shock as the semi was unloaded Friday afternoon.

I dont know about the semi, he said. They didnt believe me.

The elder Brian and his wife Becky have worked hard to make sure all their children and grandchildren take care of other people, said Alexis Burcham, his granddaughter.

We want to teach the grandkids to give, the elder Brian Burcham said.

Brian Burcham said it took a lot of talking and searching to find enough food to fill a semi truck. But he was glad he could gift the gift to his grandson and teach him to continue giving back to the community, he said.

Our Lady of Lourdes school also donated a U-Haul of food that the students, faculty and staff collected.

The updated total of food collected was 1,070,228 pounds/dollars by 2 p.m.

***

12:30 p.m. The 16th annual WSOY Community Food Drive was over halfway to its goal by noon Friday, having raised 864,164 pounds/dollars.

The total goal is to collect 1.5 million pounds/dollars. Brian Byers, vice-president of Neuhoff Media and one of the event organizers, said from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. was the slowest hour with only 40,000 pounds of food collected.

There is no guarantee the goal will be met, Byers said.

I dont want anyone to assume we will get there, he said. It isnt a given.

It can be harder to meet the goals for the last half of the food drive, Byers said, because the totals dont add up as quickly in 5, 10, 20 pound increments. A big jump of the morning came when Archer Daniels Midland Co. donated over $100,000 to the cause.

The first lines of the day to donate began around noon with schools bringing donations and sending volunteers.

The race for first place in the school collection competition remains close. The ranking was first St. Teresa High School, second St. Patricks School, third Eisenhower High School, fourth is Mount Zion and fifth is Warrensburg-Latham.

Jimmy Johns delivered sandwiches for volunteers. Kroger donated food as well as the proceeds of their concession stand and raffle drawing.

***

10:30 a.m. Donations continued to stream in to the WSOY Community Food Drive through mid-morning Friday despite rainy, cold weather.

The children of St. Patricks School came to the Airport Plaza Kroger and sang a song with lyrics they wrote themselves to encourage others to give to the food drive and help their community.

Larry and Nancy Bullock of Decatur bought a cartload of groceries at Kroger then came outside to donate it. Nancy Bullock said it is hard to explain why they want to donate, but it's just their way of giving back.

This is our community and we've lived here for 45 years, and we just want to help the community whose been good to us, she said. It's just a way of giving back.

Longtime volunteer Don Klinker of Decatur has been directing traffic since 6 a.m. He said he volunteers every year with the Knights of Columbus organization.

It's fun. I'm a people person, and I get to talk and joke, he said. And you get to see community people people you don't get to see very often.

Another reason he volunteers is he is upset with the amount of homeless people and people in need in the community. And he hopes to do what he can.

In a country like ours, with the money we have, and there are people who are starving to death  that is something wrong, he said.

Despite all the donations today, the shelters will be out of food before next year, Klinker said.

It's just unbelievable, he said. There are so many people in this town that don't have anything.

***

8 a.m. The WSOY Community Food Drive has raised more than 472,000 pounds/dollars in donations as of 8 a.m. Friday, almost a third of the way toward its goal of 1.5 million pounds/dollars.

"It's going really well so far," said Kevin Breheny, one of the event's organizers. "It's off to a great start."

Traffic is picking up at the Airport Plaza Kroger despite continued. Volunteers are wearing ponchos and trying to stay dry, while still continuing to remove food from donors' cars, deposit checks and move the food into waiting semi trucks.

People have dropped off donations of all sizes, from checks for thousands of dollars to a bag or two of groceries.

The competition between the schools is heating up as Decatur Public School transportation unit goes to pick up donations, said Tim Helm, foreman at the school district. They will have trucks picking up food all day.

Currently, St. Teresa High School is in the lead and Eisenhower High School is in second place, with the other schools not far behind.

***

6 a.m. The 16th annual WSOY Community Food Drive is now underway at Kroger, 1818 S. Airport Plaza on the city's east side. It began at 6 a.m. and will continue until 6 p.m.

The goal is to raise 1.5 million pounds of food throughout the day, said Brian Byers, vice president of development at Neuhoff Media and organizer of the event.

"Its a great day to be proud of your community," Byers said.

Physical and monetary donations will be accepted at Kroger, 1818 S. Airport Plaza. Donations by phone can be made at 217-875-3350 (First Christian Church). Please indicate if your company offers matching donations.

All of the money and food collected will be given to local charities and food banks, including the Northeast Community Fund, the Good Samaritan Inn, the Judy Mason Thanksgiving Basket Project, Reasonable Service, Gods Shelter of Love, AMELCA Food Pantry, Interchurch Council of Blue Mound-Boody-Stonington and Mount Zion United Methodist Food Pantry.

This story will be updated throughout the day. To follow our coverage on social media, "like" the Herald & Review on Facebook, and follow reporters Claire Hettinger (@ClaireHettinger) and Jaylyn Cook (@Jaylyn_HR) on Twitter.
Political events in the Bay Area

Politics and media: Longtime San Francisco journalist Tim Redmond discusses media coverage and the Trump administration. Event begins at 3 p.m. in the Richmond Meeting Room of the Sen. Milton Marks Branch Library, 351 Ninth Ave., San Francisco. http://bit.ly/2wJub72

Single-payer: Peter S. Arno, senior fellow and director of health policy studies at the Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, will speak on single-payer health coverage for the state and how to pay for universal coverage. The event will be at 1333 Pine St. in Martinez from 3-5 p.m.

Haiti: A screening of a new documentary Serenade for Haiti will be held at 7 p.m. at the Roxie Theater with a question and answer session following. The screening will benefit Engineers Without Borders working in Haiti. http://bit.ly/2hSWieo

Democracy, explained: Learn how to run a campaign and get appointed to a commission from the Lamorinda Democratic Club, from 7-9 p.m. The event will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Lafayette Library and Learning Center, featuring elected officials, campaign managers and consultants. http://bit.ly/2hGwXnJ

Limits of Whiteness: Neda Maghbouleh, assistant professor of sociology at University of Toronto, will lecture on how Iranian Americans move across a white not-white color line, discussing race in North America today. The lecture runs from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m at the Humanities Auditorium at the San Francisco State University. http://bit.ly/2fHvtFF

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.

Black Panther history: Joshua Bloom and Waldo E. Martin Jr., authors of Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party, discuss their book at the San Francisco Main Librarys Koret Auditorium. 1 p.m. Oct. 29. Information about this event and others noting the books selection in the One City One Book program: http://bit.ly/2eTr1mz

To list an event, email Annie Ma at ama@sfchronicle.com
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

The Las Vegas mass killers use of a device that can turn semiautomatic rifles into virtual machine guns prompted a shift in tone by Republican leaders and the powerful National Rifle Association, who on Thursday suggested they might be open to restricting the devices despite their usually rigid stances on gun rights.

But gun-control proponents cautioned that the emergence of bump stocks  which a Nevada man used to convert 12 rifles into rapid-fire weapons, increasing the number of dead and wounded at a country music concert below his hotel-suite perch  marked only the latest effort to circumvent safety regulations while ramping up the firepower of legal guns.

Time and again, the advocates said, inventive manufacturers have come up with work-arounds, often add-on products like bump stocks, that subvert the intent of legislators who pass firearms restrictions. Its a game of whack-a-mole thats been particularly energetic in California  a state with some of the strictest gun laws in the country.

The gun industry for a long time has expended a lot of energy to devise new increasingly dangerous ways to take human life, said Ari Freilich, an attorney with the San Francisco-based Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. It requires policymakers to stop and close loopholes and protect human life.

A prime case in point is Californias continuing effort to plug leaks in its assault-weapons ban, which was passed in 1989 and outlawed sales of a roster of high-powered guns as well as other firearms that have certain components. Notably, a rifle that accepts a detachable magazine, which speeds up reloading, cannot include any of a number of features including a forward grip and a flash suppressor.

But then came the work-around  a bullet button that allowed for the quick release of a magazine with a tool, such as the tip of a bullet. Because a tool was required, the rifle was no longer detachable under the state law. So it wasnt an assault weapon.

In 2016, the Legislature went after the work-around. It passed a measure banning bullet buttons, months after the terrorist shooting in San Bernardino in which Syed Farook and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, quickly reloaded semiautomatic rifles as they unleashed more than 100 rounds at a community center holiday party in 2015 that left 14 dead.

Under the law, California residents can keep weapons they own with bullet buttons, but they must register them.

But even as the ban on bullet buttons became effective, weapons makers were busy bringing to market several new devices capable of releasing a guns magazine, which they say comply with state law. One such add-on, the Patriot Mag Release, has been dubbed bullet button reloaded by its inventor.

Gun sellers have also long sold firearm parts  unfinished guns  that they say are legal but can be used to assemble an illegal weapon, Freilich said. Earlier this year, San Francisco sued five gun companies, saying they were violating the states ban on the sale of high-capacity-ammunition magazines by offering magazine repair kits. But the kits contained all of the parts necessary to build the outlawed magazine, the city said.

Its a constant effort to keep up with, and affect policy, against these weapons, Freilich said. We have to continue to be aware of, and respond effectively to those innovations.

While California has paid close attention to the work-arounds, other states have largely allowed the introduction of the devices.

The shooting from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino was a nightmare that some gun-control advocates had anticipated. A dozen of the shooters weapons were equipped with stocks that allowed for the simulation of rapid fire with a single squeeze of the trigger, even though machine guns are largely banned under federal law.

The bump stocks were legal under Nevada law because they did not alter the guns internal trigger mechanism, according to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., introduced a bill Tuesday targeting bump stocks and similar devices like trigger cranks that effectively turn firearms into Gatling guns. The only reason to fire so many rounds so fast is to kill people, she said.

The NRA said federal regulators should consider tightening rules on devices like bump stocks, though Feinstein said legislation  not regulation  was the answer.

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.

The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semiautomatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations, the group said in a statement.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said a conversation about a ban is something were very open to.

California outlawed devices like bump stocks in 1993 under a law that bans making guns fire like fully automatic weapons  a law with broad language that doesnt allow for work-arounds. Freilich hopes the law in California will be a model for federal legislation.

I hope we learn more from this tragedy than simply to ban bump stocks, he said.

Evan Sernoffsky is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @EvanSernoffsky

Both sides of line

For a comparison of gun laws in California and Nevada, go to http://bit.ly/2xlK8MN.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

When Silicon Valley talks about diversity, about boosting underrepresented groups, theyre not talking about Asians.

Asian and Asian American tech workers are lumped in with white employees  categorized as overrepresented, a group that companies dont need to worry about.

That perception has for years overshadowed the reality faced by these tech workers, according to a study released this week: People of Asian descent, especially Asian women, are among the least likely to be promoted to management positions.

And that is just the beginning of Silicon Valleys continuing problem with race, according to an analysis of federal employment data from 2007 to 2015 by the Ascend Foundation, a nonprofit that advocates for Asian representation in business.

Representation among black and Hispanic workers declined over that time period, the study found. And though the gender gap in leadership is closing for white women, women of color lagged far behind.

Its pretty startling that over the last nine years, not much has changed as far as upward mobility for minority groups, said Denise Peck, one of the studys authors and a former vice president at Cisco.

Part of the problem, the researchers said, is that while executives may examine data about their workforce, they may not scrutinize the problems that certain groups  like Asian and Hispanic women  have with getting promoted.

Asians are the only race underrepresented in middle management  that really surprised me, said Buck Gee, who is also a former Cisco vice president and co-author of the study. And thats a trend that is consistent over time, not just a one-year aberration.

You see a lot of Asians all over campus, and you dont get a sense theres a problem by just the sheer number, Peck added. But when you look at the data, you see that, my goodness, theyre the most likely to be hired but the least likely to be promoted to mid-level or senior management.

Its not just tech leaders who assume Asians are overrepresented in tech.

Steve Bannon, the White Houses former chief strategist and close adviser to President Trump, suggested in a 2015 interview with Trump that there were too many Asian CEOs in Silicon Valley.

Bannon suggested foreign-born students should return to their countries after completing school in the U.S, rather than applying for jobs here and working, say, at a tech firm.

When two-thirds of, three-quarters of the CEOs in Silicon Valley are from South Asia or from Asia, I think   he said, trailing off. A country is more than an economy. Were a civic society.

Two of the most prominent CEOs in technology are, in fact, Asian: Googles Sundar Pichai and Microsofts Satya Nadella are originally from India.

According to Ascends analysis of data from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Asian and Asian American men make up about 32 percent of the tech workforce  an increase of about 9.5 percent since 2007  and about 20 percent of tech executives.

Meanwhile, Asian and Asian American women, who make up about 15 percent of techs workforce, hold only about 5 percent of leadership positions, according to Ascend. The difference between the number of Asian women in the workforce and their representation in leadership is is far greater than in any other group, the study showed.

White women, though only 11.5 percent of the tech workforce, make up 13.4 percent of tech leadership, the study found.

Looking at the patterns of white women and men versus those of racial minorities led the authors of the study to conclude that race, rather than gender, appeared to be a bigger hindrance for tech workers seeking a promotion.

What you start to see when you really study this data is there are specific problem areas with specific demographic groups, Peck said. With black women, you have a problem of recruitment and retention. With white women, its mostly recruitment. With Asians, you have a problem of promotion. I think what we need tech companies to start doing is to look at their diversity data in a very fine-grained way.

Though the Asian diaspora is wide and culturally varied, Gee and Peck said the trends among Asians in their study held true for East Asians and South Asians alike. Because they relied on a data set collected by the U.S. government, they were unable to break down the numbers into specific ethnic groups, such as people of Chinese, Indian or Filipino descent.

One issue, said Kim Marcelis, Ciscos vice president of operations and a former adviser to the companys Asian employee resource group, is that Asians tend to run up against a clash between their cultural norms and behavior expected of tech leaders.

I think a lot of Asians believe that if they keep their head down and do the work, their work will speak for itself, she said. Its a cultural thing that many of us are brought up believing.

But potential leaders, she said, are expected to network and assert themselves.

When she was younger, Marcelis would call her manager with weekly voice mail updates of what she was working on and how she was doing. It was perfect for her, a self-described introvert: She could call and talk to a machine, delete and rerecord as many times as she wanted, and still convey confidence.

Despite companies increased diversity efforts  reporting workforce data and spending millions on recruiting and retention the representation of other minority groups, like black and Hispanic tech workers, started at low levels and worsened over the period studied.

Black women, the least represented group in tech, make up less than half a percent of executives, the study found.

The researchers based their findings on the responses of nearly 261,000 workers at companies including Apple, Facebook, Cisco, Twitter, Intel, Hewlett-Packard and Yelp.

Marissa Lang is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mlang@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Marissa_Jae
BART Police released a new photo of a man suspected of robbing a woman aboard a Fremont-bound train last month.

The suspect, Fredachi Stone, is wanted in connection with a Sept. 11 gunpoint robbery of a woman on a train between the Hayward and South Hayward stations, police said. He approached the victim on the train and showed what looked to be a black semi-automatic handgun before grabbing the victims purse and getting off the train at South Hayward station. The victim was uninjured in the encounter.

Police described Stone as 5-foot-9-inches tall and 187 pounds. He has no known address, police said, but is known to frequent the area around 81st Avenue in Oakland.

The newly released photo clearly shows Stones face. An earlier photo, taken from a surveillance camera, helped investigators identify Stone via an anonymous tip.

Police said Stone should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information on the suspect can contact police by calling (510) 464-7040.

Annie Ma is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: ama@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @anniema15
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

When Koran Streets was 12, his face was scarred in a freak accident: His dreadlocks caught fire as his mother used a home remedy  gasoline  to kill lice.

It seemed like when a drop hit me, my whole head caught on fire, ignited like the Ghost Rider, Streets, now 26, said referring to the comic book character who rides a motorcycle with a flaming skull.

The then-South Berkeley resident was in a coma for six months. He had 20 skin-graft surgeries. Six fingers were amputated.

The accident didnt extinguish his charisma, though.

Streets, whose real name is Koran Jenkins, is an actor and rapper  his debut album, You.Know.I.Got.It (The Album) has earned rave reviews. Rolling Stone named it one of the best rap albums of 2016, noting the sincere desperation throughout that gives it both a human spark and a targeted, specific realism.

Streets, who now lives in West Oakland, has a deep connection to marginalized East Bay communities. His mother, Ayodele Nzinga, is the founder of Lower Bottom Playaz, a theater company that produces performances about social issues.

Streets grew up performing on his mothers stage. Hes also been in two independent films  Licks and Kicks  that have depicted the hard-knock obstacles black and brown youth face in Oaklands and Richmonds toughest neighborhoods, respectively.

Streets has lived the lyrics he writes and the lines he recites. Hes been homeless. In 2013, he was sleeping in a Crown Victoria and showing up to red-carpet premieres for Licks. Hes also served time in jail for selling drugs in South Berkeley.

I always acted, because that was my mothers thing, he said. But my thing was music. I wanted to be a rapper. I hung on to them both, and acting flourished before the music.

The South Berkeley neighborhood where he grew up was the heart of Berkeleys black community. Its also an area that has historically been rough and poor. On Sacramento Street, the west end of South Berkeley, there are three liquor stores in the 10 blocks between Dwight Way and Ashby Avenue. I didnt notice any restaurants on the stretch.

I walked with Streets to Bobs Liquors & Deli at the corner of Sacramento and Oregon streets. Its one of the spots where he used to sell drugs, and its where his brother, Stanley Hunt, was shot three times during an attempted robbery.

I didnt see any people hanging on the corner. Maybe its because the neighborhood has changed  its now popular with UC Berkeley students and young professionals looking for affordable rent.

These streets were the center of his childhood and life  and the lives of many poor black people living in the shadows of the countrys No. 1 public university.

Even as the old South Berkeley slowly vanishes  another victim of the housing crisis that has forced people to move into neighborhoods they never would have considered before  Streets will keep it alive in his music.

Up there is where the money is at, said Streets, referring to North Berkeley. Thats where the white folk at. We down here. We all trapped in down here. We trying to survive down here.

He knows he soon might not even recognize South Berkeley.

This is the area when gentrification really, really hits, this is going to get hit first, he said.

We met earlier this week in front of the duplex on the block  the 2800 block of Sacramento Street  where he was raised. The numbers are tattooed on his left bicep.

We decided to take a drive in his Audi through Berkeley. He pointed out the corner of Parker and Sacramento streets. Thats where he was arrested for cocaine and gun possession. After the arrest, he said his mother told him he was wasting his talent and life  and ruining her reputation.

I heard her, he told me as we waited in traffic. I dont like talking about it now, because Im so reformed.

As we were driving on Shattuck Avenue toward campus, which seems much, much farther than just 2 miles away, we passed the Dwight, a new apartment complex on the corner of Dwight Way and Shattuck. Studio apartments start at $2,825 per month.

How do you feel? Streets asked as people swept through a crosswalk on their way to lunch.

Hungry, I told him.

Its vibrant up here. Its energetic up here. You feel like its alive, he said. You dont really feel like that down there.

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Otis R. Taylor Jr. appears Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Email: otaylor@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @otisrtaylorjr
More than any other issue that has threatened transatlantic cohesion this year, President Donald Trump's decision to decertify Iranian compliance with the nuclear deal could start a chain of events that would sharply divide the United States from its closest traditional allies in the world.

"After the Paris climate decision," in which Trump withdrew the United States from a widely supported, painfully negotiated accord, "this could push multilateralism to the breaking point," said a senior official from one of the three European signatories to the Iran deal.

None of the three - Britain, France and Germany - believes Iran is in violation, and each has said publicly it will not renegotiate the nuclear agreement. U.S. imposition of sanctions affecting banks that even indirectly do business in Iran would doubtless influence those countries' companies, they say, and would be considered an unfriendly act.

"We will not follow the United States in reneging on our international obligations with this deal," said a second official. "Not the E-3, nor the rest of the 28" members of the European Union.

Trump is expected to give a speech late next week announcing his decision and outlining the results of a months-long Iran policy review. People familiar with his thinking say he will not certify that Iran is honoring its commitments and will declare that sticking with the deal is no longer in the U.S. national interest.

Nothing will happen immediately, as the decision would be punted to Congress. The Senate could decide to restore pre-deal sanctions on Iran with a simple majority of 51, including a vote by Vice President Mike Pence to break any tie.

In that case, Iran could call for a meeting of the majority-ruled committee of signatories and declare that the United States has violated the deal, an assertion with which the Europeans believe they would be hard put to disagree. That would place them on the same side as the other two signatories - China and Russia - that are sure to support Iran, leaving the United States as a minority of one.

"What do we do? What do we say?" asked the first European official, one of several from the signatory countries who spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss the sensitive diplomatic issue. "It would be a big crisis."

The Europeans insist that everyone they have spoken to inside the Trump administration - except for Trump himself - has expressed opposition to decertification. But they have for some time considered his decision a foregone conclusion and have directed their attention to Congress, where even some Republicans who have long opposed the deal as deeply flawed worry that a reimposition of sanctions might make matters worse.

"We're working the Hill a lot," the first official said. "What we understand is that there is no inclination in the Senate to kill the deal by voting immediate sanctions. Staffers tell us that nothing is decided."

"But we're convinced somebody like Cotton will go out with a bill," said the official, referring to Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark. "That will cause a crisis among the Republicans. . . . Nobody wants to appear to be defending Iran. Nobody wants to appear to be defending Obama."

The White House has seemed to signal to Republicans that they can decide not to immediately reimpose sanctions, and Cotton himself, an outspoken hawk on Iran who met Thursday with Trump, said this week that he has "no intention right now to introduce . . . sanctions legislation." While a law passed when the deal was done gives Congress 60 days to reimpose the sanctions lifted by the agreement with relative ease, lawmakers can take more time and pass a new sanctions law whenever they want.

"I'm not sure 60 days is enough," Cotton said Tuesday at the Council on Foreign Relations, for the United States to practice "coercive diplomacy" to bend others to its will. It might, he said, take until spring, but no longer.

"I hope we don't have to coerce allies. I'd like to persuade allies," Cotton said. "Many of them don't require much persuasion, allies in the Middle East, for instance," although they are not signatories to the deal. "But ultimately, countries have to make a decision, if it comes to that. Do they want to deal with the United States' $19 trillion economy, or do they want to deal with Iran's economy . . . about the size of Maryland?"

Even if European political leaders are unpersuaded, he said, European businesses, vulnerable to U.S. sanctions if they continue dealing with Iran, may be. And if that does not work, he said, "let there be no doubt about this point: If forced to take action, the United States has the ability to totally destroy Iran's nuclear infrastructure. And if they choose to rebuild it, we could destroy it again, until they get the picture."

Such comments infuriate the Europeans. "I would remind our American friends that when we started to impose sanctions, the United States did not have any trade with Iran . . . [and] we carried the burden" of financial losses, Gerard Araud, France's ambassador to the United States, said last week at the Atlantic Council.

A Western diplomat in Geneva said the Europeans are contemplating reviving regulations the EU used to shield its companies and individuals from U.S. secondary sanctions in the 1990s. "Everyone's looking at options," the diplomat said.

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.

Any deal without the United States would be "very fragile" in terms of keeping the incentive for Iran to uphold its side of the bargain, said a senior executive with a large multinational corporation. "It will also play to the hard-liners in Iran and help shift power back to them," the executive said.

Long-standing Republican antipathy to the deal has come back to haunt its creators. Negotiators envisioned a U.S. president who would justify staying in it as long as Iran lived up to its obligations, not a die-hard opponent who has branded the agreement an "embarrassment." The 60-day, expedited "snapback" provision in U.S. law was designed to punish Iran quickly in the event it violated the deal and did not envision that the United States would breach it.

Europeans are frustrated with what they consider misperceptions about what the agreement says and what it was intended to do. While Trump and other critics say Iran got a $100 billion "payoff," Europeans counter that the money belonged to Iran and was frozen in Western banks under sanctions. While detractors say all of the deal's restrictions on Iran's nuclear program will be moot when some provisions of the arrangement expire in 2025, Iran will remain under the requirements of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which forbids weapons development.

And negotiators of the deal deliberately separated the nuclear program from their many complaints that Trump and others say are now reason to renegotiate or abrogate it - Iran's development of ballistic missiles, its destabilization of the Middle East and support its for terrorism.

"We can speak with the administration about containing Iran's malign influence," the second European official said. "The question is: Does the U.S. have a strategy for that? Maybe they do. I don't know."

- - -

The Washington Post's Erin Cunningham in Geneva contributed to this report.
As horrific as it was  the crackling gunfire and the mayhem  many Americans will soon forget about the Las Vegas massacre. But the families of the 59 people who died in the concert chaos last Sunday night will remember. The loved ones of the estimated 95 others who died in gunfire the same day  unmentioned victims in the quotidian toll of ordinary U.S. firearm deaths  will remember, too.

Let their coming lifetime of heartbreak afford a moment of soul-searching for our country. What could we do to prevent mass shootings and meaningfully reduce gun violence? If we really could do something, then what is stopping us?

Preventing firearm deaths in the United States remains an elusive public health goal, for several reasons.

First, private gun ownership is highly prevalent, culturally entrenched, corporately sustained, constitutionally protected and politically radioactive.

Second, although our Constitution would brook no impediment to limiting the gun rights of truly dangerous people, our science cannot reliably tell us who all the dangerous individuals are.

Third, our 1960s-era gun-prohibiting criteria are both overbroad and too narrow, and we have few practical ways available to separate guns from risky people at risky times.

So, do we give up and get used to this? No.

Is there an easy solution that nobody has thought of? Also no.

Gun violence prevention is like a jigsaw puzzle with a few missing pieces under the rug  challenging, but not impossible. Here are some pieces we could put in place.

Fix the legal rules for buying a gun. To stop violence with guns, deny gun sales to people with violent records, including misdemeanor violent crime convictions and temporary domestic violence restraining orders. Too often, todays fist and black eye become tomorrows gun and dead body. And with mounting evidence that problem drinking elevates violence risk, why not prohibit people with multiple driving-under-the-influence convictions from buying guns? These gun purchase prohibitions could be time-limited: 10 years for violent misdemeanants, five years for multiple DUI offenders.

Prohibit individuals from accessing guns for a period of five years after any brief involuntary psychiatric hospitalization. We know that suicide risk is higher in people who have taken a non-optional ride in a police cruiser to a hospital emergency room, where a psychiatrist has found them to pose a danger to themselves or others. But many such cases do not progress to a gun-disqualifying involuntary civil commitment hearing. Our research in Florida found that 72 percent of psychiatric patients who died from gun suicide could legally have bought a gun on the day they died, even though more than half of them had a history of a short-term psychiatric hold.

To be clear, mental illness contributes little to the risk of interpersonal violence. Keeping guns out of the hands of people in a crisis  whatever its origin  might have a bigger impact.

Pass a comprehensive background-checks bill. Conforming states gun-denial criteria to reflect signs of risky behavior could save some lives, but many more if all gun buyers had to pass a background check. Enacting such a law is a job for Congress. States can do this on their own, but then they tend to attract unwanted gun traffic from neighboring states that dont. Large majorities of their constituents across the political spectrum  hunters too  like the idea.

Enact risk-based, time-limited gun removal laws. Merely stopping a dangerous person from buying a new gun protects no one from the weapons that the dangerous person may already possess. Our national study found that nearly 1 in 10 adult Americans display impulsive, destructive, angry behavior and have access to firearms. Craig Stephen Hicks legally owned a cache of a dozen firearms when he shot three North Carolina Muslim young people in the head in 2015. Hicks frightened neighbors with his angry outbursts and display of weapons, but there was nothing they could do.

In 2014, a resentful and enraged Elliot Rodger shot and killed six strangers before ending his own life in Isla Vista (Santa Barbara County). Three weeks earlier, Rodgers worried parents had informed police that their son had posted alarming videos and purchased handguns. Police had dutifully checked on Rodger, but found he had committed no crime and did not meet Californias legal criteria for an involuntary mental health evaluation. So they left him alone. Then people died. Later that year, California became the third state in the nation to enact a preemptive, risk-based, temporary gun-removal law that would have allowed police officers to search for, and seize, Rodgers three handguns.

In Connecticut, the first state to enact such a law, for every 10 to 20 gun-removal actions, one life was saved through averted suicide. The law works because it tends to be applied to very risky people who own many guns. Also, gun removal from a person in crisis can open a door to timely mental health treatment. But even if the risk of self-injury stays the same, just taking guns out of the picture for any future suicide attempt could flip survival chances from about 10 to 90 percent.

Do more to reduce social and psychological determinants of violence and self-harm. Gun-violence prevention is not only about restricting access to lethal means.

We may never live in a world where no one is inclined to hurt themselves or others. We should not have to live in a society where dangerous people on their worst day have easy access to such an efficient killing technology as we saw in Las Vegas last Sunday night.

A piece here, a piece there. We might solve the puzzle of gun violence in America, and prevent many unpredictable shootings from becoming unimaginable tragedies.

Jeffrey Swanson is a sociologist and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University School of Medicine. To comment, submit your letter to the editor at SFChronicle.com/letters.
Consider the traffic signal. Whether one chooses to cross the street by car, on foot or aboard one of those silly electric skateboards, green means go; red means stop. Its beautiful in its simplicity.

Or, from the perspective of the sprawling California bureaucracy, it cries out for complication.

Now WALK and DONT WALK have been deemed hopelessly binary and pedestrian. Under a bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown this week, anyone crossing a California street will have the benefit of a far more intricate set of legal instructions.

The law will still allow entering a crosswalk when the signal says WALK, straightforwardly enough. But thats where the straightforward bit ends.

As of Jan. 1, pedestrians may also enter a crosswalk if the signal is flashing DONT WALK (or an approved Upraised Hand symbol) with a countdown  provided they finish before the countdown ends. If the flashing warning doesnt come with a helpful countdown, however, or if its gone from flashing to steady, pedestrians may not begin crossing  though they may finish if they started during the display of the WALK or approved Walking Person symbol.

Convoluted as it sounds, the legislation was necessitated by overzealous law enforcement, improved traffic signal technology and outdated rules.

Current law prohibits entering a crosswalk against even a flashing DONT WALK, a surprise to pedestrians who correctly understand it as an intermediate step before the steady warning preceding a red light. Countdowns  a pedestrian safety measure that proliferated after successful testing in San Francisco  effectively invite crossing during this period by showing how much time pedestrians have.

All of this could have remained academic if police hadnt begun vigorously enforcing the law despite its conflicts with common sense and improved signals. Thousands of $200 tickets handed out for crossing during green lights in certain Los Angeles neighborhoods prompted City Council members there to call for a legislative remedy. Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco  who joined Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, D-Los Angeles, as an author of the bill  noted that the pedestrian advocacy organization Walk San Francisco provided evidence that jaywalking tickets in his city also fall disproportionately on particular neighborhoods, namely the Mission and the Tenderloin.

So while the old law  dont walk unless the signal says to  was appealingly simple, it also allowed police to punish thousands of people for crossing the street when they had plenty of time to do so.

Ting acknowledged the complexity of the update but said it was a consequence of the delicate balance between public safety and pedestrian-friendliness, as well as a natural tendency of this sort of legislation. Read the remainder of the vehicle code, he said, and this seems pretty simple.

This commentary is from The Chronicles editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
Asked about gun laws, President Trump said Tuesday that well be talking about gun laws as time goes by. Its a maddeningly familiar refrain after each massacre. Politicians who are beholden to the gun lobby jump to its talking points:

 Now is not the time to make policy decisions.

Dont politicize the tragedy.

Killers will find a way to get their lethal weaponry no matter the law.

It says something about the grip of the gun lobby on Americas elected representatives that a mass slaughter such as the one we saw in Las Vegas last weekend is met with resignation instead of resolve.

None of them would dare say after a devastating earthquake or dam breach: This is not the time to raise engineering standards.

None of them would dare not ask after the fatal Ghost Ship fire: How many other warehouses are vulnerable?

None of them would dare say after millions of Americans lost their homes and savings through banks recklessness: This is not the time to tighten regulation of the financial industry. OK, OK, more than a few politicians, shamefully after the 2008 debacle, but thats a story for another day.

We do know this.

None of them dared say after 9/11: Because we cannot anticipate every conceivable mode of terrorist attack, this is not the time to take unprecedented steps to make it more difficult for the evildoers. So emerged the Patriot Act, the extraordinary security measures at airports and the Department of Homeland Security. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were rationalized as necessary in an all-out effort, direct and indirect, to counter the terrorist threat.

No such urgency has followed the mass shootings of Americans by Americans. In the lunacy of U.S. gun laws that are singularly promiscuous by the standards of industrialized nations, even suspected terrorists on the no-fly list are allowed to buy deadly firearms. Let that one sink in. Someone is considered too dangerous to board a plane, even after physical screening, yet is allowed to walk into a gun shop and buy weapons capable of inflicting mass carnage.

Ive been writing and editing commentary on mass shootings for more than 20 years at this newspaper. While the magnitude of the massacres has only intensified, Congress has passed only the most modest of gun-control measures, such as a 2008 law for better updating of records of people prohibited from buying weapons (such as those with documented mental health issues or certain criminal convictions). The National Rifle Association supported that bill, thank you very much, mostly out of its concern for people prevented from buying firearms because of outdated databases.

At least House Republican leaders had the decency after Las Vegas to delay a vote that would have loosened access to gun silencers. Also in the congressional hopper is a measure that would allow people with concealed-weapon permits in their home states to carry a shrouded firearm in other states, even those with more restrictive laws.

Meanwhile, significant public safety measures such as an assault weapons ban or the extension of background checks to gun shows and Internet sales continue to languish.

And so it goes.

The outrage fades, the gun-industry contributions flow, a nation sighs (in relief or frustration, depending on ones interpretation of the Second Amendment) until the next horrific event leads to a new round of declarations that this is no time to act.

Americans are asked to merely offer thoughts and prayers  and wait, yet again, for sign of a spine to form in Congress.

As time goes by.

 John Diaz, editorial page editor








Lance Iversen/The Chronicle

San Francisco has more disabled parking placards than metered curb spots. Among the 8 million Bay Area residents, some 500,000 people have the plastic strips dangling from rearview mirrors. Somethings definitely wrong with such numbers and the system designed to ease life for those with medical disabilities.

The situation may finally be improved. Rules just signed into law will bear down on the profligate totals by matching a list of deaths reported to Social Security with a list of placards issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Rafi Baghdjian was appointed the CEO of Initiatives for Development of Armenia (IDeA) Foundation.

Rafi has over 35 years of experience with Shell, covering the technical, commercial and leadership aspects of the energy business. His main expertise lies in cultural navigation, deal-making and strategic leadership.

In May 2016, Rafi was named a Chief Operating Officer of Shell UK, being on call for advisory support, until he retired from Shell in January 2017.

Edgar Manukyan, whohad headed IDeA since July 2015, resigned to engage in private business.

Rafi Baghdjians Biography

Rafi was born in Beirut in 1956 and graduated as a chemical engineer from the Ecole NationaleSuperieure de Chimie de Lille (France), in 1981.

After starting his career with Shell in The Hague, Rafi moved to Yokohama in 1984 where he was a design engineer for the North West Shelf (Australia) LNG project. After a couple of years as a process engineer back in The Hague, Rafi moved to the commercial side of Shell as a business analyst for Shell International Gas, in London, in 1987.

In 1989, Rafi transferred to Tokyo, as manager for the Brunei LNG Project, and was involved, among others, in the customer interface of that project.

In 1992, Rafi moved to Muscat to become the Corporate Affairs Manager for Oman LNG where he spent 6 years working on the project from its inception, setting-up its Commercial, Marketing, Public Affairs, IT, Administration and other departments.

Rafi then moved to London to look after the Northern Rim of Latin America and became the Project Leader for the Mariscal Sucre (Venezuela) LNG project.

In 2004, Rafi was based in Dubai as the General Manager Gas, Middle East, for Shell Global Solutions International, the technical arm of Shell.

In mid-2007, Rafi moved to Doha as Vice President Technical Services and Business Relations, also deputizing for Shells Managing Director and Country Chair at Qatar Shell. Rafi managed Shells technical support services in Qatar, overseeing Shells activities at the Qatar Shell Research & Technology Centre and looking after government and business relations and all CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities for Shell in Qatar. Shells investments in Qatar during Rafis tenure exceeded $21 billion.

In mid-2012, Rafi became the Chief Operating Officer at Shell Abu Dhabi, covering all Shells activities in Abu Dhabi, looking after existing shareholding in oil and gas companies to new multi-billion dollar bids in new and existing projects.

In May 2016, Rafi was named a Chief Operating Officer of Shell UK, being on call for advisory support, until he retired from Shell in January 2017.

In February 2017, Rafi became the CEO for Middle East and North Africa at N2Growth, an executive search and consulting firm.

Rafi is married and has two sons. He enjoys traveling, reading, exercising and social interactions.
With the announcement last week that San Francisco and Oakland have sued big oil companies for the impacts of climate change, climate litigation is not just on the horizon: it is at the door, in the courts, and rising into boardrooms. They join three other California jurisdictions that have already filed suit against thirty-seven companies for climate impacts. After a summer of catastrophic fires, floods and extreme storms made worse by climate change, additional climate litigation is not a question of if but of when.

Investorsparticularly those with fiduciary duties to othersshould take note. Failing to account for the rising tide of climate litigation puts assets at risk.

On September 12, the New York Supreme Court denied efforts by ExxonMobil to shield its auditors records from an ongoing state investigation into potential climate-related fraud. The following day, a federal judge in Massachusetts denied Exxons motion to dismiss a complaint by the Conservation Law Foundation alleging that the company failed to plan for climate impacts at its facilities, potentially endangering nearby residents. Shell faces a similar suit filed in August. These claims are especially prescient in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, which caused petrochemical facilities in low-lying areas of the Gulf to release massive amounts of toxic contaminants.

Shell and Exxon are not the only companies under pressure. Chevron has acknowledged climate litigation as a material financial risk in its securities filings. Saudi Aramco sees potential US litigation risk as a relevant factor in deciding whether to hold its initial public offering in New York.

Unfortunately for major carbon producers, the legal elements of successful complaints are increasingly in place. Rapid advances in climate science have made it possible not only to attribute globally significant greenhouse emissions to a discrete group of corporate defendants, but to link those emissions to quantifiable increases in temperatures, sea level rise, and extreme weather events.

This is bad news not only for fossil fuel companies, but for investors that fail to consider litigation risks in evaluating investments in fossil fuel assets and companies.

Climate litigation is unfolding far faster than the tobacco suits that preceded it. It took 30 years of litigation for the first judge to find evidence of corporate malfeasance by a tobacco company. Climate plaintiffs are going into court with compelling evidence of malfeasance already in hand.

In Texas, for example, Exxon faces a class action securities lawsuit claiming the company misled investors about climate risks. The lead plaintiff in the case, a Pennsylvania pension fund, recently amended its complaint to incorporate new evidence from the New York investigation indicating the misrepresentations were approved at the highest levels of the company.

Pensions and other institutions that must invest over long time horizons will be particularly vulnerable to these risks.

San Franciscos Board of Supervisors has urged the citys pension fund to pull fund assets from fossil fuels now, rather than face continued losses. To date, fund managers have failed to act, leaving the fund exposed to more than $500 million in fossil fuel assets.

Meanwhile, evidence of what fossil fuel producers knew about climate change, and how they responded, continues to mount. Recently, Harvard University researchers quantitatively proved Exxons decades-long pattern of misrepresenting climate risks to consumers and investors.

Massachusetts courts, upholding the Massachusetts AGs ongoing investigation of Exxon, have held that such conduct, if proven, could violate that states consumer protection statute. More than a dozen states have nearly identical laws on the books.

As the world confronts the realityand costsof a destabilized climate, a growing universe of plaintiffs will seek redress for its resulting harms. The science has long been on their side. The law is catching up. Climate litigation is no longer a question of if or when, but of how fast. As costs mount and plaintiffs multiply, fossil fuel companies will find themselves defendants over and over again.

Pension funds and other investors should be equipping themselves to shoulder the financial burden of those vast liabilities, preparing to explain the losses to stakeholders and beneficiaries, or exiting these increasingly toxic assets before the rest of the market does.

Carroll Muffett is the president of the Center for International Environmental Law in Washington, D.C.
The Nobel Prize season is over. All that remains for the scientific winners is to receive their prizes from the king of Sweden in Stockholm on Dec. 10. I have a revolutionary suggestion: The king should step down, and Sarah Palin should present the medals.

There is method in my madness. It has to do with public perception of the prizes. As well as being rewards for discovery, they have become flagships for science  an emblem for originality, creativity and a promotion for the value of science.

But its not working. People in positions of influence continue to denigrate science. One example is Palins declaration to a Pittsburgh audience that [Tax] dollars go to projects that have little or nothing to do with public good  things like fruit fly research in Paris, France. I kid you not.

This example, from a 2008 speech, is now being quoted with relish by scientists because this years Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to three U.S. researchers for their work on the humble fruit fly.

OK, lets be fair. Its a different fruit fly. Palin was talking about Bactrocera oleae, the olive fruit fly, an endemic pest in the olive groves of the Mediterranean, and a real threat to the Californian olive industry. The USDA had invested a paltry sum at the time to investigate it in its native habitat, which hardly seems a big deal. To new Nobel laureates Jeffrey Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael Young, the vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster was the key to an understanding of how our body clocks work, with wide-ranging medical implications.

But there is an even bigger deal with the Nobel Prizes  to help people to understand why science is worth their support. Here I have a great deal of sympathy for Palin. She may have been speaking in ignorance, but she spoke for many people when she displayed her puzzlement at why scientists do many of the things that they do.

Why, for example, would someone think of feeding Prozac to clams? Its not as if clams are particularly depressed. But that wasnt why Peter Fong from Gettysburg College tried. He had noticed that the chemical structure of the relatively cheap Prozac was similar to the expensive chemicals that U.S. clam farmers were using to get their clams to spawn in synchrony, and wondered if Prozac might have the same effect.

It did, and as well as making a practical contribution to the clam farming industry, Peter made the news in a way that he didnt expect. He received a widely publicized spoof Ig Nobel prize for contributing to the happiness of clams.

The intention of the Ig Nobel prizes, according to founder Marc Abrahams of Harvard, is to get people thinking about science, with the slogan: First, they make you laugh; then, they make you think.

My dream is to get people like Palin thinking about the value of science, and to promote it as an integral part of our culture. If she were to present the Nobel Prizes, then she could use her undoubted talents in public speaking to help share and promote the science that is now central to our society, rather than denigrating it as irrelevant.

Surely thats something worth thinking about.

Len Fisher of Bristol, England, is the 1999 winner of the Ig Nobel Prize for how best to dunk a tea biscuit.
Perle in Oaklands Montclair Village considers itself a wine bar, but takes a different direction from the casual, pared-down menus at similar places. Rather, it feels like a full-blown restaurant with an extensive wine list, good cocktails and a large menu that covers all bases.

At the 11-seat bar, diners overlook shelves filled with not wine bottles but spirits. The menu features charcuterie and cheese, as might be expected at a wine bar; however there are also five pearls, or raw bar preparations, followed by five first courses, five main courses and three sides.

Perle has an impressive pedigree. Its owned by Marcus Garcia, who for more than a dozen years was the sommelier and general manager for the once four-star and now closed Fleur de Lys. For the past three years hes been the sommelier and director of operations for the private Cercle lUnion, better known as the French Club in San Francisco. At night he heads back across the Bay Bridge to Perle.

Garcias wine list offers up to 50 wines available by the taste, glass or bottle. The bottle list runs 400 strong and is still growing. Garcias list includes many excellent wines at a little over retail, in the $30 to $40 range, good enough for me to brave bridge traffic to come for a glass and a bite. Garcia and his crew are always around to help, providing seamless service.

The kitchen is run by partner Rob Lam, best known as the owner of the Asian-inspired Butterfly on the Embarcadero, where he showcased an East-West menu. He closed the business earlier this year after a 15-year run. At Perle, Lam is cooking French-Mediterranean food, although he throws in a few zingers from time to time.

The wine bar is a homecoming for Garcia and Lam, who both live in the East Bay. They are following the trend of other high-profile owners such as Jen Biesty and Tim Nugent at the Spanish Shakewell, and Rich and Rebekah Wood at Wood Tavern, who found the cost of doing business in San Francisco, and the progressively difficult commute, to be a burden.

Perle also speaks to its location in Montclair Village, where restaurants need to offer a wider variety of options to lure locals.

Lam and Garcia cast a wide net to capture as many different tastes. For the typical wine bar enthusiast, the chef has created an exceptional charcuterie plate with five selections ($7 each), including a lean smoked duck breast and rich, fatty duck rillettes made in-house. The five cheeses are curated by nearby Farmstead Cheeses & Wines. Then theres a section for oysters and seafood, and main courses for those who want a more traditional dining experience.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

Lam has transitioned easily into cooking a different cuisine. His refined technique shows on such items as the poulet roti ($26), where he rolls the breast and confits the leg. Its served on corn and squash, a scattering of arugula leaves and Jackson Pollock-like drizzles of balsamic.

The Angus onglet, or hanger steak ($38), is sliced and casually spaced around the plate on a mushroom demi-glace with chunks of portobello mushrooms with pommes dauphinoise (scalloped potatoes) in the center. Foie gras bearnaise comes on the side, adding a luxurious richness.

The other main courses include Pernod mussels ($26) with tiny fennel sausage meatballs; and linguine alle vongole ($29) with steamed clams and three clams casino on top  the clams broiled with butter, bacon and bread crumbs. They are good but seem superfluous; the dish would have been better without them.

Lam has created a clever cultural mashup with the hamburger ($16) with caramelized onions. He treats the burger like a French Dip sandwich, adding a cup of broth to the side. I liked the idea, but the milk bun was a little too soft and began to disintegrate when dipped.

The chef sneaks in a few Asian touches on what has become a signature dish: pan-seared red abalone ($28) arranged over tempura squash blossoms with bearnaise and ponzu sauces. The abalone has an intensity that stands up to the other ingredients. This dish is from the Pearl section, which also includes a caviar service ($39 or $68), oyster shooters ($12) and oysters supreme ($18). The latter piles just about every decadent ingredient onto the shell: uni, salmon caviar, black truffle and foie gras. Its a little too much for me.

Oysters also show up on the first course: fried ($11) and set atop deviled eggs with smoked trout roe and a bold relish with Calabrian chile. Garcia and Lam have also revived Hubert Kellers signature mushroom cappuccino soup ($9) with black truffle foam and porcini powder. I can see why it became a signature. Even though Fleur de Lys closed three years ago, this soup is so luxurious it goes down as one of my all-time favorites. Its rich, elegant and rustic  contradictory qualities that often denote a beautifully conceived dish.

Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The Chronicle

One of the most interesting salads is a melange of heirloom tomatoes ($14): A whole tomato stuffed with brown butter ricotta is off to one side, and at least four other varieties are scattered around the plate, with avocado, a few sprigs of arugula and a ring of balsamic.

Lam saves his biggest surprises for dessert. The warm baba rum has a soft plastic cylinder filled with rum stuck in the cake, accompanied by roasted strawberries and tangy whipped creme fraiche. Diners squeeze in what they want.

Pastry chef Cheryl Lew also does a great job on the corn financier, two fingers of slightly caramelized cake with huckleberry and blueberry coulis on half the plate, creme anglaise on the other half and a topping of candied corn flakes.

This type of stylish food is a surprise given the more casual space. The open kitchen and bar form an L at the back of the restaurant. The ceiling has an open grid, and the focal point on the walls is a framed design made of thousands of corks Garcia has collected.

The 47-seat space feels cozy and comfortable, with more improvements to come. Garcia says he is changing out the glass storefront door to something more appropriate and adding planter boxes filled with herbs to use in the cocktails.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Its yet another way this duo is trying to fit into the neighborhood, yet set themselves apart.

Michael Bauer is The San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic and editor at large. E-mail: mbauer@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @michaelbauer1. Instagram: @michaelbauer1

  

Perle

Food:   

Service:   

Atmosphere:  

Price: $$$$

Noise: Four Bells

2058 Mountain Blvd. (near Lasalle), Oakland; (510) 808-7767 or www.perlewinebar.com. Dinner 5-10 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Full bar. Reservations and credit cards accepted. Street parking, generally easy.
A Chainsmokers concert at AT&T Park being held as part of a tech conference was audible all the way over on Potrero Hill on Wednesday night, residents complained.

"DANCE ALL NIGHT WITH THE CHAINSMOKERS AND ELLIE GOULDING," the Oracle CloudFest website offers by way of description of the show, clarifying slightly downpage that the event would actually only run until 11 p.m., the city curfew at the park.
Private memorial services are being planned for Dr. Edmond Ted Eger, a longtime UCSF anesthesiologist and pioneer in the field of inhaled anesthetics.

Dr. Eger, who had pancreatic cancer, died Aug. 26 at his Tiburon home at age 86.

In the 1960s, Dr. Eger helped establish what is now regarded as a universal standard for dosing inhaled anesthetics, called MAC  minimum alveolar concentration  which is used in the administration of anesthesia in surgery rooms around the world.

MAC is a unit of measurement for the potency for all inhaled anesthetics including nitrous oxide, sevofluorane and desflurane, the most commonly used anesthetic gases in modern medicine. It is the concentration at which 50 percent of patients do not respond to pain stimuli like a surgical incision. Before this standard was established, doctors had to estimate how much anesthesia to give a patient by watching for signs like breathing patterns.

Dr. Eger also developed the mathematical principles that guide the transfer of the anesthetic from the anesthesia machine to the patients brain, blood and lungs, and then from the brain and blood to the lungs so it could be exhaled, said Dr. Steve Shafer, a friend and the editor of Dr. Egers upcoming autobiography and who is a professor of anesthesiology at Stanford University.

Anesthesiologists apply those principles every day when they put (patients) to sleep, Shafer said. He created a framework by which we now understand the behavior of all inhaled anesthetics.

Two incidents shaped Dr. Egers lifelong drive to better understand anesthesia and make it safer, said his wife, Dr. Lynn Spitler. When he was 6, he was anesthetized with ether, an experience he later described as terrifying, like being drawn into a horrid vortex, Spitler said. Years later, as a medical student, he was tasked with monitoring a patient by manually controlling his anesthesia breathing bag.

It was such an overwhelming experience to him, Dr. Spitler said. This was one place in medicine where the patients life and death really is in your hands.

Dr. Eger, described by friends and family as warm, gracious and curious, was an avid backpacker and lover of poetry, with a fondness for the poet Edna St. Vincent Millay. He read poetry every night before bed, and composed a poem for his wedding day to Dr. Spitler, his wife of 21 years. For his 75th birthday, Dr. Eger and his family hiked to the top of Yosemites Half Dome.

Edmond I. Eger II was born in Chicago on Sept. 3, 1930. His father was an advertising executive and his mother was a homemaker. He graduated from Northwestern School of Medicine in 1955.

Dr. Eger is survived by his wife, who lives in Tiburon; daughters Cris Cadence Waste of Juneau, Alaska, Dr. Renee Eger of Sharon, Mass., Dr. Doreen Eger of Kensington; son, Edmond Eger III of Portola Valley; stepdaughter Dr. Diane Anderson of Danville; stepson Paul Spitler of Bozeman, Mont.; seven grandchildren; six stepgrandchildren; and half-brother, Larry Eger of Sarasota, Fla.

The family asks that donations in Dr. Egers memory be made to Planned Parenthood or the Wilderness Society.

Catherine Ho is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: cho@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Cat_Ho
On Wednesday night, British rock band Coldplay continued way beyond 10 p.m. at their concert at Levi's Stadium, with the group playing for nearly an hour after the Santa Clara city-mandated curfew. The concert organizers had previously been denied a curfew extension for the weeknight event, adding more fuel to the fire in the fight to let Levi's Stadium concerts end a bit later.

The relatively early curfew has already apparently driven away some business for the venue; in September, crooner Ed Sheeran backed out of a planned 2018 show at the stadium, with his manager telling organizers that there was "no way" he'd be able to wrap a show by 10 p.m.
An Oakland woman sued her former employer, a federal contractor that operates Job Corps centers nationwide, for disability discrimination Thursday, saying the company refused to let her use a cane after a knee injury and then fired her because she couldnt stay on her feet for eight hours.

When Martha Daniels returned from a medical leave for knee surgery, she told her supervisors at Adams and Associates that her doctors had recommended no more than three hours of standing or walking in a workday, Daniels said in her lawsuit, filed in federal court in San Francisco. She said the companys human resources director responded, Dont you know that you work eight hours, not three hours?

Daniels said she explained that she was asking for periodic rest breaks, not a shorter workday, but was told not to come to work the next day and was fired six weeks later. Daniels worked for the company from August 2009 to November 2014 as a supervisor and residential coordinator in dormitories for low-income young women at the Treasure Island Job Corps Center.

It was devastating to me to lose the job I loved, Daniels, now 65 and working part time in another job, said in a statement released by her lawyers. Her suit seeks damages for lost wages and emotional distress, as well as punitive damages.

Adams and Associates, which operates out of Reno, did not respond to a request for comment. The company has a U.S. Labor Department contract to provide housing, academic counseling and job training to about 11,000 people ages 16 to 24 at 17 Job Corps sites across the country.

As a dorm supervisor, the suit said, Daniels earned the friendship and respect of her young students, going out of her way to help them fill out job applications and paying out of her own pocket for graduation parties for students who had no family members attending.

Daniels suffered a knee injury and underwent surgery for a torn meniscus in July 2013. When she returned to work four months later, the suit said, she asked a manager if she could use a cane while walking down the dorm floor for bed checks, but was told it was against company policy.

She continued working without a cane, then suffered a severe flare-up in her knee in February 2014 and went on unpaid medical leave, her lawyers said. The lawyers said Daniels doctors cleared her to return to work in August 2014, with rest breaks and limits on standing, walking and lifting, but Adams never provided accommodations, and finally told her that the proposed restrictions would cause an undue hardship to the company.

Adams actions violated both federal and state laws that require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to disabled employees, the suit said.

Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @egelko
Getty

A 15-year-old sophomore at Piedmont Hills High School in San Jose has died from injuries suffered in a bike accident last week, officials said.

San Jose resident Dan Luong was riding his bike in the 3000 block of Orange Street when he ran into a tree on Sept. 29 at 4:55 p.m. He was not wearing a helmet and suffered major head injuries.
Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian today met with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs today in Yerevan, and the parties discussed organizing an upcoming meeting of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

They discussed the current situation along the Line of Contact and the prospects for a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

Ambassador Andrzej Kasprzyk, the Personal Representative of the Chairperson-in-Office on the conflict dealt with by the OSCE Minsk Conference, also attended the meeting.
Eileen West, the San Francisco fashion designer famous for her womens sleepwear, died Sept. 27 in Marin of complications from organizing pneumonia.

Mrs. West, who was born Aileen Reis and shortened her married name Westerbeke professionally, was 68. Her death was confirmed by her daughter, Julia Westerbeke, the creative director of the Eileen West brand.

Mrs. West founded the Eileen West clothing company with her business partner and friend, Laney Thornton, in 1978. The designs are sold at department stores including Nordstrom, Macys and Bloomingdales and online. At one time, there were three Eileen West boutiques in San Francisco, one on Divisadero Street and two on Grant Avenue. They closed in the 1990s.

The company was created with an emphasis on using 100 percent cotton fabrics, incorporating feminine details like lace and floral patterns, and creating timeless cuts for its robes, pajamas and nightgowns.

In the heyday of polyester and nylon, Eileen insisted her garments be made of all cotton and could be sold year-round, a proposition that buyers initially scoffed at, Thornton told The Chronicle via email. From the beginning, Eileen impressed me with her insight, intelligence and her profound humility. Partnering with her was one of the professional and personal delights of my life.

Sleepwear in the 70s was different, Westerbeke said. My mother is credited with creating this beautiful, comfortable cotton sleepwear. She was kind and compassionate and had an incredible amount of integrity with her designs and how she treated people.

Shes always been my role model, and I hope to make her proud as I keep the brand alive in her memory.

Aileen Reis was born on Sept. 1, 1949, to Frank and Mary Reis in Greenbrae, the fourth of six children. She attended schools and grew up throughout Marin County. In the early 1970s, Mrs. West attended the College of Marin and took classes at UC Berkeley. She met David Westerbeke in 1971 at a Leon Russell concert held at the Pepperland auditorium in San Rafael.

The couple married on Sept 6, 1975, at the Westerbeke Ranch in Sonoma. Julia was born in 1981. The family lived in Mill Valley and Sonoma.

After marrying, the Westerbekes worked for Consolidated Milling in San Francisco, a family business owned by Davids grandfather. Mrs. West worked as a bookkeeper, David as a salesman.

During this time and while she was working at the Alvin Duskin clothing boutique, David Westerbeke remembers his wife always doing little sketches and drawings, little flower design things that became pattern, lace and dress ideas.

When David Westerbekes father purchased a house at Sacramento and Divisadero streets in San Francisco, the family met Laney Thornton, who lived next door. A close friendship and business relationship was formed.

Laney was an importer and entrepreneur and mom was a designer still in her 20s, Julia Westerbeke said. Because she was so young when she started, being in business was her real education.

Together, Thornton and West founded four clothing businesses: an accessories collection named Adero; a womens sportswear brand called Rio, which Julia Westerbeke said was known for making the 70s-style harem-pant fashion overalls; the Eileen West collection, which started in 1978; and Queen Annes Lace, a couture division of Eileen West, which continues to be made in San Francisco. In addition to sleepwear, the label also makes bedding and a line of ready-to-wear womens clothing.

The company was originally Aileen West with an A, Julia Westerbeke said. They shortened Westerbeke to West, because it was a bit of a mouthful. But then they learned there was another company with a similarly spelled Aileen in the name.

That company had an issue with the new company, she said. The business name was then changed to Eileen with an E, she said.

As president of Eileen West, Westerbeke said her mother had her hand in every aspect of the business.

I dont know how she found the time  she had an incredible work ethic and attention to deal, Westerbeke said. When I was born, she was in Sonoma, and she installed two land lines to keep business calls in check. She was that devoted to her lifes work.

Since the late 1990s, Eileen West has been licensed to New York sleepwear company Komar but has remained based in San Francisco.

In recognition of her contributions to the fashion industry, Mrs. West was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Intimate Apparel Industrys annual Femmy Gala in 2005.

Outside of her business, Westerbeke said her mother was a fan of opera and ballet, Italian cooking and knew the name of every flower in existence. Mrs. West also loved animals, and could pet the deer that would come to her backyard in Marin as a child.

In addition to her husband and her daughter, Mrs. West is survived by brothers Dennis Reis of Penngrove, Jim Reis of Santa Rosa, Frank Reis of American Canyon and Ed Reis of Tucson; sister Jeanette Long of Chandler, Ariz.; and grandson Beckett Quinn of San Francisco.

Funeral services will be private. The family requests memorial donations be made to the Marin Humane Society in Mrs. Wests name.

Tony Bravo is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: tbravo@sfchronicle.com Twiutter: @TonyBravo
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

With more than 100 contestants in the Great Amazon HQ2 Beauty Pageant, it takes a little more than good looks and a plucky attitude to get the judges' attention. Some cities are going above and beyond standard proposals to be sure that their pitches for Amazon's second corporate headquarters are on the company's radar.

There's the small town charmer offering to name a city after Amazon, a candidate from the southwest who thought a giant cactus might curry favor with the judges, and the southern bell hoping a big, flashy display will get her noticed.

These stunts may seem elaborate but consider what the lucky winner will be taking home: A $5 billion project bringing 50,000 jobs to the winning metro region.

The deadline for proposals is Oct. 19, which means we could see even more outrageous stunts over the next two weeks. Continue reading for seven of the craziest things cities have done so far.

Tucson: A big symbolic gesture

The City of Tucson, Ariz. wanted to send a message to Amazon: "We have room for you to grow here." Cards are a bit old-fashioned for a company devoted to innovative new technologies, so Tucson decided to make its point with a 21-foot saguaro cactus, delivered to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

Tucson made its point but the cactus won't find a home in Amazon's giant new botanical spheres. The company declined the gift, choosing instead to donate it to a museum.

Philadelphia: Enlisting Ivy League brainpower

The University of Pennsylvania's business school, Wharton, is partnering with the City of Philadelphia to leverage the creativity of its students. Wharton is holding two pitch competitions  one from its communication program and the other as a business case competition  asking students to pitch Philly to Amazon. City officials are planning to attend the contests.

Philadelphia also sent a fact-finding delegation to Seattle to inform the city's HQ2 pitch and Amtrak suspended development plans in Philly, pending Amazon's decision.

MORE FROM GEEKWIRE:

Facebook hackathon applies machine learning to Seattle data to solve civic challenges

Streaming ratings are a secret, but new report reveals most popular Netflix, Amazon, Hulu shows

Study: Amazon Echo owners love the iPhone, while Google Home keeps it in the Android family

Elon Musk's tweets about a solar rescue plan spark interest from Puerto Rico

Detroit: The Amazon War Room

Dan Gilbert, the Detroit billionaire who founded Quicken Loans and Rock Ventures, has established a 59-person committee made up of business leaders and politicians, including the mayor of nearby Windsor, Ontario. The war room is designing an "Olympics-like bid" for Amazon's HQ2, according to Crain's Detroit.

Gilbert and his group are promoting Detroit's proximity to Canada as a way for Amazon to access more international talent. Speculation that Amazon will choose a Canadian city for HQ2, to avoid the tumultuous immigration climate in the U.S., has been swirling since the company announced its second headquarters plan. Gilbert also owns large swaths of real estate in Downtown Detroit, which he is offering up to Amazon.

Birmingham: Thinking outside the box

Birmingham, Ala. has placed three giant Amazon delivery boxes around town as part of a social media campaign to get the e-commerce giant's attention. Residents are encouraged to snap photos with the boxes and post them to social media with the hashtag #bringatob.

It's PRIME time for a #shadesvslogan photo opp. #bigcomtwins #bringatob A post shared by Logan Shoaf (@lshoaf) on Oct 5, 2017 at 10:51am PDT

"We heard you are looking for a city that makes bold bets, has the mindset of a pioneer, and thinks big," BringATOB.com says. "Well, meet Birmingham: a city that was built on what's possible. Not only are we off the charts on quality of life and affordability, we have some of the most passionate citizens on planet earth."

New Jersey: A giant tax break

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and other lawmakers have pledged to offer tax breaks worth $5 billion if Amazon builds HQ2 in the state. The plan would make an exception for "transformational projects" like Amazon's, offering up to $10,000 for each job the company creates in the state each year for a decade.

The bill would allow Amazon to carry the tax credits forward for 50 years and sell up to $25 million to third parties for 20 years, Observer reports.

Stonecrest: The City of Amazon

The City of Stonecrest, Ga. has approved a plan to carve out a 345-acre stretch of land inside the town to give Amazon its own city if it wins HQ2. But don't expect the Amazon executive team to be managing sewer systems and pubilc transportation. The Atlanta Journal Consitution reports that the "City of Amazon" could make a deal with Stonecrest to get municipal services.

It's a bit of a hail mary, as Stonecrest's population is roughly half of what Amazon is seeking: metropolitan areas with at least 1 million residents. Plus, Stonecrest will be competing with nearby Atlanta, which is planning to submit its own proposal.

Chicago: A 600-person taskforce

Chicago leaders have formed a committee with a cool 600 members dedicated to bringing Amazon's HQ2 to the Windy City. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner are leading the massive taskforce, with help from some high-profile CEOs and government officials, The Chicago Tribune reports.

As Basecamp CEO Jason Fried pointed out, the attempt may be slightly misguided:

But Chicago does meet many of the criteria Amazon laid out in its RFP and Emanuel has reportedly spoken directly to Bezos on several occasions about HQ2.
BURLINGTON, Vt.  Ice cream maker Ben & Jerrys promised this week to improve the pay and working conditions of laborers hired by the farms that provide milk for the Vermont companys quirky flavors while promising to pay the farmers who employ the workers more.

The Milk with Dignity agreement was signed by Ben & Jerrys CEO Jostein Solheim and members of the group Migrant Justice. It assures the human rights of the workers and ensures better relations with farmers because workers will do a better job, said Enrique Kike Balcazar, a 24-year-old farmworker from Tabasco, Mexico, who has worked in Vermont for seven years and is now a leader of Migrant Justice.

And Ben & Jerrys wins ... because they will sell a product that assures the human rights of the workers so the consumers will receive a just product. That is milk with dignity, Balcazar said.

Solheim said the agreement is the first of its kind in the dairy industry in the United States and possibly the world.

Its an agreement that puts the worker in charge of workers rights, he said. Its a worker-led movement, but its a very clever system. Its a system that really does create a win, win, win.

About 85 percent of the milk Ben & Jerrys uses in its ice cream made in North America comes from about 80 Vermont dairy farms, many of which rely on immigrant labor.

Balcazar said a survey of workers found that 40 percent didnt get a day off and 40 percent werent paid a minimum wage. Most farms provide housing and the workers need a minimum housing standard.

The program establishes a standards council, an independent nonprofit that will work with farmers and farmworkers to ensure workers are treated fairly.

Solheim called it a collaborative process of arriving at an outcome for the farmer and the farmworker that would be different for every farm. He said the extra money paid to farmers would not result in more expensive ice cream. The company will absorb the cost as a part of doing business, he said.

When you buy Ben & Jerrys, you are buying those values and those standards, he said.

Eventually all the farms that provide milk to Ben & Jerrys will be required to participate in the program. After that, it could spread to other parts of the country.

Balcazar said many farmers treat their workers well, while others need help and support.

Today we are taking a big step with us, the workers, to make this a reality, he said. We are calling this a new day in the dairy industry in Vermont.

Wilson Ring is an Associated Press writer.
If you missed it ...

In a week when Yahoo shocked the world by disclosing it had 3 billion users, this also happened:

Facebook finally did something real to help the news media, placing ads in the print editions of the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal to explain its plans to fight election interference. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and top policy executive Joel Kaplan have also been working the phones with congressional leaders, Axios reported.

Levis celebrated the 50th anniversary of its Type III Trucker Jacket, the first jacket the company sold as everyday apparel, not workwear. Justin Timberlake and other celebrities showed off custom versions on Twitter and Instagram. Trucker jackets are having a moment: Shipments nearly tripled this year, according to Edited, a retail analytics firm.

Union Bank of Switzerland said San Francisco is one of the most overpriced cities in the world in terms of housing. Home prices have risen 65 percent since 2012, while average income rose only 10 percent. The bank was not available for comment on whether the sky was also blue.

In an attempt to seem slightly less coarse and venal, Uber announced a plan to open lounges for passengers at 33 Westfield-owned shopping malls. The lounges will be staffed by human attendants  until Uber figures out how to replace them with robots.

Verizons top-ranking woman, Marni Walden, announced plans to retire. She will be replaced as head of the companys media business by Tim Armstrong, a man primarily known for coming up with the name Oath, which is what were now supposed to call AOL and Yahoo.

Great news! After Amazon.com cut prices at Whole Foods, shopping there now only costs 99 percent of your paycheck. Despite splashy markdowns, average prices at the grocery chain dropped just 1.2 percent over five weeks, according to research firm Gordon Haskett.

Daily Briefing is compiled from San Francisco Chronicle staff and news services. See more items and links at www.sfgate.com. Twitter: @techchronicle
Earnest , a well-funded startup with bold ambitions to create a modern financial institution, is being bought by student loan company Navient for $155 million in cash, according to the Wall Street Journal. Investors had put roughly $320 million into the company, which started out with a focus on providing small loans to people based on their earning potential and evolved to provide personal loans to a broader base of customers, as well as lend money to coding academies. In 2015, Earnest was valued at about $375 million, according to the Journal, more than double the price for which it has agreed to sell. Separately, Pennsylvanias attorney general is suing Navient over abusive practices, a filing revealed.

Air power

As automakers race to build battery-powered cars, a Boeing-backed startup plans to put a hybrid-electric aircraft into commercial service within five years. Zunum Aeros 12-seat plane will carry battery packs and a small fuel reserve for a backup engine. The first model will fly about 700 miles, far enough to ferry travelers from the Bay Area to Los Angeles, the company says. Zunum, backed by JetBlue Airways as well as Boeing, is racing competitors such as Europes Airbus.

Scenes

from a mall

Hey, Jeff, wanna go shopping? Amazon, which helped get the world hooked on online commerce, could choose a defunct mall for its second headquarters. After the Seattle company announced last month that it is hunting for a second North American home with 500,000 square feet, developers jumped. One plan floated for the Dallas area would make the site of the nearly vacant Valley View Mall the cornerstone of an up-to-400-acre development. Mall developers in suburban Phoenix and Detroit also hope to court Amazon.

Daily Briefing is compiled from San Francisco Chronicle staff and news services. See more items and links at www.sfgate.com. Twitter: @techchronicle
A personal shopper is something you might expect at Bergdorf Goodman or a boutique on Madison Avenue.

Not at the Walmart on Route 42 in Turnersville, N.J.

But thats where you will find Joann Joseph and a team of Walmart workers each day, filling up shopping carts with boxes of cereal, Cheez-Its and peanuts.

Customers select their groceries online, and then the shoppers pick the items off the store shelves and deliver them to people when they arrive in the parking lot. Customers never have to step inside the store.

Walmart, one of the largest food retailers in the United States, sees grocery pickup as a way to marry its e-commerce business with its gigantic network of stores  a goal that has eluded many other retailers. The company began offering the service two years ago, and it is now available in about 1,000 of Walmarts 4,699 stores across the country.

Grocery pickup is the latest salvo in Walmarts retail battle with Amazon.

Many retailers are focused on new ways to deliver groceries to peoples homes  particularly in big cities. Walmart is betting big on the millions of Americans in suburban and rural areas who drive everywhere. The company is trying to make ordering groceries online and then picking them up in your car as seamless as a fast-food drive-through.

Groceries have become one of the most fiercely contested areas of retail. Amazon upped the ante in June with its $13.4 billion purchase of Whole Foods.

Walmart has been experimenting with different ways to get an edge. In a few cities, it works with Uber to deliver groceries to homes. And last month, Walmart said it would begin testing a home-delivery service in which a worker loads the food into the refrigerator, even when no one is home. The customer can watch the process remotely from a home security camera and track when the delivery worker enters and leaves the house.
San Francisco police are investigating a shooting that killed a 40-year-old man in the Potrero Hill neighborhood sometime between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning.

Kenneth Babers, who had no known address, was found dead on the 100 block of Dakota Street, according to the San Francisco medical examiners office. Police suspect the shooting in the Potrero Terrace public housing development occurred between 7 p.m. Wednesday and about 8:30 a.m. Thursday.
Ron Chapple/Getty Image

An 11-year-old girl waiting for her mother on a San Francisco sidewalk was robbed of her cell phone at knifepoint, police said Friday.

The mugging happened just after 7 p.m. Thursday at Persia Avenue and Paris Street in the Excelsior neighborhood, said Officer Robert Rueca, a police spokesman.
Police are seeking the publics help to identify a man who secretly took a photograph under a womans dress at a Target store in San Mateo.

Officers responded to a report from loss prevention of a suspicious man at the Target on 2220 Bridgepointe Parkway. Surveillance video showed the man following the victim around the store. When she bent over, the man ran up behind her and took a photo under her dress before quickly walking out of the store.
What are we to do about Catalonia? Who can blame this rich and beautiful region, with its splendid capital in Barcelona, its rich and ancient culture and its distinct language, for wanting to run its own affairs?

People love independence, and they will often fight like tigers for it. It is not for those of us who have such things as birthrights to sneer at the desires of others for the same thing.

I urge all my readers to watch the current superb series on the Vietnam War, now being shown rather late at night on BBC4, to be reminded of the patriotic passion in that country which ultimately defeated the French Empire and then the superpower USA.

But at what level does it become a reasonable and practicable demand?

In moments of utter satirical despair about British politics, I have contemplated pretending to be a virulent Cornish nationalist (Hitchens is a Cornish name and my forebears, who may well have obtained some Spanish genes from shipwrecked survivors of the Armada, trudged from there to Hampshire in the 18th and 19th centuries).

I could grow an enormous beard, buy a capacious knitted jumper, and learn Cornish (nobody can criticise your pronunciation because there is no record of a native speaker). I might even get a grant (not from the EU any more, but there must be some other source for this sort of thing) for demanding signs in Cornish on public lavatories, banks, post offices, police cars etc.

Id get more BBC airtime and sympathy for that, I suspect, than I do for my annoying form of conservatism.

Because minor nationalism is very much in fashion. And it has been the EU which has done so much to encourage it.

By draining the real power and independence out of the great nation states of Europe, it has revived these old lands and cultures, sometimes deliberately, sometimes as a by-product of its own self-aggrandisement (see below).

I do not want to be rude to or about smaller nations here. But it is sometimes necessary to say that not every people can sustain an independent, sovereign state. It takes wealth, determination and strength to do it. I say this, knowing that Britains ability to do so is looking thinner by the day.

It has been truly said that a dialect is a language without an army, and a language is a dialect with an army. It neatly sums up the facts of life, in this subject. But you dont just need an army. You need one which could, if challenged, defend your territory against all comers and make invaders wish they hadnt tried.

The rules are not fair. Russia, with no sea, mountain or desert guarding its borders, needs a much bigger army than does Britain, which is entirely surrounded by deep, stormy salt water. On the other hand, we need a Navy. Salt water isnt much use if an enemy has command over it. Spain has the Pyrenees. Switzerland has its mountain fastnesses. Egypt has the desert. China likewise has desert and mountains. Japan has the sea, and so does the USA, combined with the good fortune that it has Mexico on one side and Canada on the other. Those without these advantages are going to find nationhood harder to attain or keep.

And then you have to have the wealth to issue and maintain a currency, and the strength to keep order in your territory and decide who can cross your borders. Without either of these things, your nation will be an illusion. You will eventually need to trade, to be able to send embassies abroad, and to protect your countrymen and women abroad from pirates or state seizure.

How many modern countries really measure up to these demands, or would do if tested? Many supposed modern countries have the limited sovereignty a term invented (though the thing itself had always existed) by Richard von Kuehlmann, Germanys foreign minister towards the end of the Great War. This status was generally granted by Germany to countries formerly part of the Russian empire, who would be allowed the trappings of nationhood, but not the reality, in return for entering Berlins sphere of influence. Now it is granted to those countries seized and occupied by Germany in 1938-41, and then liberated in 1945. Despite being liberated, they have not (at least for long) re-attained full sovereignty. By a polite and tactful arrangement, they have come to recognise that German domination of Europe is inevitable, but must now be done in a civilised and good-mannered way.

The EU is entirely composed of countries which are not real nations, but semi-nations with limited sovereignty, the trappings of independence without the substance. Real nationhood means an army, not an anthem, a frontier, not a flag. France may have a nuclear bomb, which of course she cannot use. And she is permitted to go on military adventures in Africa and perhaps the Middle East, where she once had an empire. But she has neither her own currency nor control of her borders.

Look at todays world. How many countries have unlimited sovereignty or anything approaching it? Neighbours of the USA which wish to exercise it need a powerful outside protector if they are to survive (hence Cuba and the USSR). And so they simply limit their sovereignty in another way.

Ireland, for more than 50 years after independence, was in reality still heavily dominated by Britain, but protected by the USA and its large Irish-American lobby. In reality, it even shared a currency with us. Now it has become a province of the EU, granted by Brussels much more of the panoply of independence than we provided, but also (thanks to the single currency) even less of the substance.

Scotland until recently hoped for something similar, the Scotland in Europe aim first voiced (I think) by the ex-Labour MP Jim Sillars, and a realistic aspiration. Basically, it would have been an EU region with a flag, an anthem and perhaps some small armed forces. Full Scottish independence, with a currency, serious armed forces and a global diplomatic service, would be a much harder thing to achieve. The people who benefit above all from these arrangements are the political and administrative (and legal) classes of the new limited nations, who immediately become grander and better rewarded and have much more impressive titles. For almost everyone else it is just a different symbol on the flag and the official rubber stamp, combined (perhaps) with higher taxes.

Having grown up in a free and independent country, I cannot mock or belittle the aspiration as such. But I can warn. It may not end well for a territory such as Catalonia.

Catalonia can only contemplate independence, it seems to me, within the EU. And the EU  which is now discouraging this - has only itself to blame for helping Catalonians to believe this possible.

I have long suspected, but cannot prove because all the media coverage and history I have seen have so far been written from the other point of view, that the break-up of Yugoslavia was long encouraged by the EU, which, as readers here will know, I regard as the continuation of Germany by other means.

EU foreign policy is more or less German pre-1914 policy, with smiley badges on it. The one exception is the pathetic present position of Britain, which in 1914 lay largely outside German ambitions, and could have continued to exist independently from a German-dominated Europe. Can it now? It has, thanks to its entry into the Russo-German war in 1914, lost its empire, most of its markets and much of its accumulated wealth, and is an enfeebled debtor nation.

The continuation of Germany isnt just the neutralisation of France and its permanent detachment from Russia, or German dominance of the Low Countries and Scandinavia, though these are of course evidently involved. The extension of German influence, power trade etc into Italy, the Balkans, Poland. Hungary, Bohemia, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, the Caucasus and the Baltics are also involved, with Spain and Portugal thrown in for good measure.

Note in this list The Balkans. The collapse of the Warsaw Pact left its small, and/or impoverished subject nations with little alternative but to become German vassals through EU membership. The one remaining awkward survival of the 1918 Versailles project after World War One was Yugoslavia. It was a strange hybrid country, stiff and artificial, given new life by its resistance to German occupation and then its resistance to Soviet domination.

Its multinational structure was not what made it so interesting. Much of Europe, including Germany and France, is made up of former statelets now combined into bigger organisms. But France was ruthlessly centralised in the 18th and 19th centuries. And Germanys old states have never sought to regain their full freedom from Berlin since 1870, not even Bavaria. In fact even Austria is only too happy to have effectively unified with Germany thanks to the EUs abolition of the Austrian-German frontier, and of their separate currencies.

It was the nature of those federated nations, and the relations between them, that made the difference. Yugoslavia, and to a lesser extent the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, were anomalous in the new Europe. They were the only truly federal states, containing elements which had in recent memory been truly separate and might be revived. The breakaway by Ireland (first promoted by German intervention, made ultimately possible by pressure from the USA and by Britains post-1918 general weakness) had shown that the United Kingdom was divisible.

The Stormont parliament, a by-product of Irish secession, provided an awkward precedent for something similar in Wales and Scotland. And the fissures between the nations of the UK (and between Britain and Ireland) grew deeper the longer we stayed in the EU. Irelands adoption of the Euro, and its more aggressive policy towards Northern Ireland, were both symptoms of this. One of the most interesting features of Britains departure from the EU will be the effect it has on this process.

In Yugoslavia, the fissures between the federal states deepened *before* any part of it became EU territory. But can there be any serious doubt that the EU hungered for Slovenia, once part of Austria-Hungary? And who can doubt its desire for a closer relationship with Croatia, historically a German ally in the Balkans. The EU and the Yugoslav federation could not simultaneously co-exist in the same territory( any more than, in my view) the UK and the EUY could long exist in the same territory. In Yugoslavias case this problem was solved by the independence of Slovenia and Croatia, which subsequently became EU provinces, as will the rest of former Yugoslavia in time (where else can they go? They cannot survive as genuine sovereign states). This has involved an interesting process under which Serbia has become (like Russia) an official international villain, whose undoubted crimes are dealt with harshly, while those of other former Yugoslav states are less publicised and attract less condemnation. But Serbia can, if it humbles itself enough, be allowed into the EU in the end and has begun negotiations. Whereas Russian membership of the EU is impossible, because its size alone would upset the Franco-German agreement under which the EU is really governed. Russia can only enter the EU in pieces, and may eventually do so, but not as a whole. The EU likes to break up any really big or formerly powerful countries which join it, hence its delight in creating regions.

Then there is Kosovo, which in 2008 actually declared independence from Serbia. This action, recognised by many EU and NATO nations, has proved embarrassing for the EU-NATO bloc, because it contradicts its claims to oppose the revision of borders in Europe by force, and Kosovos breakaway was undoubtedly achieved thanks to NATO force.

Crimea used Kosovos independence as a precedent for its breakaway from Ukraine in 2014. (Though, as discussed here, it had another precedent in Ukraines breakaway from the USSR in 19991 http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2015/02/a-not-so-brief-history-of-crimea.html )

Spain tacitly acknowledged the force of the Kosovo argument by declining to recognise Kosovo, presumably fearing that this would be used as propaganda for independence in Catalonia and perhaps also in the Basque country. Most EU members cheerfully recognised Kosovo. But one has to wonder if they knew what they were doing when they did so.

And the EUs pushes into Yugoslavia and Ukraine have fanned these embers. Now Brussels really doesnt know what to say about Catalonia. And no wonder. It doesnt really have a logical case against Catalonia independence following its Kosovo behaviour, and nor does NATO, come to that. Next on the list is Venetian independence from Italy, a campaign well under way. And what about Flanders, which seethes under the Belgian crown, and longs either to break away or even unite with the Netherlands?

The problem is, once the EU began to break down the old nations of Europe, and turned the continent into a sort of Unholy German Empire, it reminded millions of people of older loyalties, crushed in the era of big nations but now free to flourish under the blue and yellow flag, to the strains of the Ode to Joy. This is the problem of Catalonia. By joining the EU, Spain ultimately made its own break-up seem thinkable. Now it is angry at what it permitted, by joining the EU project. And it seems to have no argument but force. Perhaps this a matter of competence or intelligence. I know too little about Spanish politics to judge, though I have seldom seen a crisis worse-handled. Clubbing old ladies trying to vote is never a good tactic. But perhaps the sad truth is that Catalonias claim, in justice and logic, is so irresistible, that force is the only practicable weapon against it. In which case there is much misery to come. My own view of such matters, conditioned by the Irish tragedy after 1916, is that if constituent parts of your nation desire to leave it, you must let them go. If you cannot hold your country together by love and loyalty, then the use of force will poison that nation for decades afterwards  and may in the end lead to a worse breach than before. The greatest counter-example to this is of course the American civil war, but some would say that conflict did indeed poison the USA forever, and still does so. Others would say that the USA at that point became an empire more than a nation. I can only say how much I wish we had granted Home Rule to Ireland some time before 1914.

Love of place, language and home will always find a way to express themselves. In my view, the nation state was a pretty good way to do so, but if thats all over, perhaps I could have a single ticket to Truro? Or maybe make that a return. Things are a bit unpredictable just now.
WASHINGTON  Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive by the Taliban for half a decade after abandoning his Afghanistan post, is expected to plead guilty to desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, two individuals with knowledge of the case said.

Bergdahls decision to plead guilty rather than face trial marks another twist in an eight-year drama that caused the nation to wrestle with difficult questions of loyalty, negotiating with hostage takers and Americas commitment not to leave its troops behind. President Trump has called Bergdahl a no-good traitor who should have been executed.

The decision by the 31-year-old Idaho native leaves open whether he will return to captivity  this time in a U.S. prison  or receive a lesser sentence that reflects the time the Taliban held him under brutal conditions.

Bergdahl could face up to five years on the desertion charge and a life sentence for misbehavior.

Freed three years ago, Bergdahl had been scheduled for trial in late October. A guilty plea later this month will spare the need for a trial.

Sentencing will start on Oct. 23, according to the individuals with knowledge of the case. They werent authorized to discuss the case and demanded anonymity. During sentencing, U.S. troops who were seriously wounded searching for Bergdahl in Afghanistan are expected to testify, the individuals said.

Bergdahl was a 23-year-old private in June 2009 when he disappeared from his remote infantry post, triggering a massive search operation.

Bergdahl himself told a general during a preliminary investigation that he left intending to cause alarm and draw attention to what he saw as problems with his unit.

In May 2014, he was handed over to U.S. special forces in a swap for five Taliban detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison, fueling an emotional U.S. debate about whether Bergdahl was a hero or a deserter.

Josh Lederman and Lolita C. Baldor are Associated Press writers.
1 Congressman resigns: Rep. Tim Murphy, an outspoken abortion opponent embattled by allegations that he encouraged his lover to terminate a pregnancy, announced Thursday that he would step down from his House seat on Oct. 21. Murphy faced an intensifying backlash over reports from The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he encouraged the woman with whom he was having an extramarital affair to have an abortion during an unfounded pregnancy scare. Speaker Paul Ryan announced Murphys plans to resign. The decision comes less than 24 hours after Murphy said he would retire at the end of his term next year.

2 Black Lives Matter: A federal judge says he intends to dismiss a lawsuit that accuses Black Lives Matter and several movement leaders of inciting violence that led to a gunmans deadly ambush of law enforcement officers in Baton Rouge, La., last year. U.S. District Judge Brian Jackson issued that warning in an order this week, after ruling Black Lives Matter is a social movement that cant be sued. Last Thursday, Jackson threw out a police officers lawsuit blaming Black Lives Matter and movement leader DeRay Mckesson for injuries he sustained during a protest over a deadly police shooting in Baton Rouge last year. The judge is also vowing to dismiss a separate suit filed on behalf of a sheriffs deputy wounded in the July 2016 attack that killed three other officers.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico  Below him, upended boats. Above his head, a blown-off roof.

From high above and on the ground, Vice President Mike Pence took in the devastation Friday that Hurricane Maria has brought to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. He offered assurances that better days were ahead  and that the federal government would help hasten them.

The devastation here is overwhelming but the resilience of the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands is even greater, Pence said after visiting a Red Cross outpost on St. Croix where hundreds had taken shelter. Were going to keep the help coming.

Pence, wearing short sleeves and cowboy boots, spoke to residents from the altar of a church with gaping holes in the roof. On an aerial tour of the Virgin Islands, he saw upended boats along the coast, blue tarps atop damaged homes and uprooted trees and vegetation.

The vice president said he came bearing a message from President Trump: We will be with you every day until the Virgin Islands comes all the way back. It was a message he repeated a few hours later for residents of Puerto Rico.

Trump himself had been to Puerto Rico just days earlier, but difficult logistics had kept him from the Virgin Islands.

Where Pence dispensed reassurances and hugs on his visit, the president had delivered a more uneven message. Trump spoke at length in self-congratulatory tones about the strength of the federal recovery effort and made light of how costly Puerto Ricos troubles were to the federal budget. He compared the islands lower death toll to the real catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when more than 1,800 people died.

Pence, for his part, said there had been steady progress on opening roads and addressing other challenges, but acknowledged we have a long way to go.

The people of Puerto Rico can be assured that we will be with you every step of the way, he said.

Priest Willie Pena also spoke of the resiliency of the people, explaining to Pence that he tells those who talk about still being in the dark, We do not have electricity but we do have light.

On St. Croix, construction worker Jose Sanchez, 33, said Pences visit builds morale. It gives us hope.

As for the impact of Maria, Sanchez said: It was a whipping that we received. It is something that people are never going to forget, like Katrina.

Ken Thomas is an Associated Press writer.
WASHINGTON  Just 24 percent of Americans believe the country is heading in the right direction after a tumultuous stretch for President Donald Trump that included the threat of war with North Korea, stormy complaints about hurricane relief and Trumps equivocating about white supremacists. Thats a 10-point drop since June, according to a poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The decline in optimism about the nations trajectory is particularly pronounced among Republicans. In June, 60 percent of Republicans said the country was headed in the right direction; now its just 44 percent.

The broader picture for the president is grim, too. Nearly 70 percent of Americans say Trump isnt level-headed, and majorities say hes not honest or a strong leader. More than 60 percent disapprove of how he is handling race relations, foreign policy and immigration, among other issues.

Overall, 67 percent of Americans disapprove of the job Trump is doing in office, including about one-third of Republicans.

Tracy Huelsman, a 40-year-old from Louisville, Ky., is among them. A self-described moderate Republican, Huelsman said shes particularly concerned about the divisiveness she feels the president promotes on social media.

Its scary in 2017 that we are in what seems like a worse place in terms of division, said Huelsman, who did not vote for Trump in last years election.

The assessments come after a turbulent summer for Trump that included a major White House shake-up, bringing the departure of his chief of staff, top strategist and press secretary. Though the installment of retired Marine Gen. John Kelly as chief of staff has ushered in more day-to-day order in the West Wing, the president has still stirred up numerous controversies, including when he blamed both sides for the clashes between white supremacists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Va.

Trump has also raised the specter of a military conflict with North Korea over its nuclear provocations. Hes derided North Koreas leader, Kim Jong Un, as rocket man, including during a speech at the United Nations, and has downplayed the prospects that diplomatic negotiations with Kim could yield results.

Despite his electoral success, Trump struggled as both a candidate and now as president to broaden his base beyond his ardent supporters. The loyalty of his core backers has been enough to keep Republican lawmakers largely in line, but party operatives are closely watching Trumps support among GOP and independent voters ahead of next years midterm elections, when the balance of power in Congress will be at stake.

To be sure, lawmakers have their own problems to worry about. Americans have even less esteem for Congress than Trump, with just 18 percent saying they approve of the job being done by the House and the Senate.

The AP-NORC poll of 1,150 adults was conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 2 using a sample drawn from NORCs AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

Julie Pace and Emily Swanson are Associated Press writers.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

UPDATE: A woman who fell off a cliff at Fort Funston died from her injuries, according to multiple reports.

Firefighters are working to rescue a woman who fell off a cliff at Fort Funston, near Lake Merced in San Francisco.

The San Francisco Fire Department issued a statement about the rescue on Twitter just after 5 p.m.

ALSO: Glowing 'Harvest Moon' lights up the Bay Area sky

Firefighters referred questions to the National Park Service. Further details were not immediately available.
State environmental regulators are seeking public input on plans to amend a permit for a controversial Monroe County frac sand plant.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources will hold a public hearing Friday in Tomah on possible changes to a permit issued in May allowing Meteor Timber to fill 16.25 acres of wetlands for its proposed $65 million processing and loading facility, which environmentalists call massive wetland destruction.

According to the official notice, Meteor has requested the DNR modify the permit to reflect current construction and design specifications in satisfaction of conditions attached to the permit.

DNR spokesman Jim Dick said there is no change or addition to the permit, but the agency is considering Meteors proposed plans to satisfy some 59 conditions attached to the original permit.

The public will have a chance to comment on whether or not the department should accept the condition responses and therefore grant the request to modify the permit stating conditions were met, Dick said in an email.

Evan Feinauer is a staff attorney for Clean Wisconsin, which has challenged the original permit, and said he doesnt yet know what the modified permit will look like.

Were concerned that the public wont have a real opportunity to understand what it is the DNR is doing in this modification process and therefore wont have a real opportunity to participate, Feinauer said. Its really important to do all your homework before the test.

The DNR has granted Clean Wisconsins request for a contested case hearing before an administrative law judge where interested parties can present evidence and cross-examine witnesses. That hearing has been postponed until an amended permit is issued.

Clean Wisconsin argues that destroying the pristine forested wetlands  home to several rare and endangered species  would open the door to the destruction of more rare wetlands. The DNR acknowledged the permit approval may lead to increased applications to fill rare, sensitive and valuable wetland plant communities.

The destruction of this wetland is something that a little bit of tinkering with the information isnt going to completely alleviate, Feinauer said.

In the original permit application, Meteor proposed to restore and preserve more than 640 acres of other land  including more than 296 acres of existing wetlands  near the the 752-acre site between Warrens and Millston, which would serve two nearby mines on land the company acquired in 2014 when it purchased nearly 50,000 acres of Wisconsin forest.

However, the DNR determined those mitigation efforts are not likely to fully compensate for what it calls permanent and irreversible secondary impacts from activity on the site and may not compensate for the direct loss of 13.4 acres of exceptional quality white pine and red maple swamp, which is considered an imperiled habitat.

Meteor has yet to secure wetland permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Its a big project with a lot of moving parts, Feinauer said. Im not averse to them modifying the permit if thats really necessary because the facts on the ground have changed. I just hope the modification process is done in a transparent way.
RACINE  Two years after his arrest, a teen pleaded guilty Wednesday in the fatal shooting of his girlfriend.

Appearing in Racine County Circuit Court, 16-year-old Keller G. McQuay pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree reckless homicide, possession of a firearm by a felon, and possession of a short-barreled rifle.

A sentencing hearing in the case has been set for 3 p.m. on Feb. 26.

The homicide and weapons charges stem from a Sept. 10, 2015, incident in which McQuay allegedly shot his 14-year-old girlfriend, Vista Jackson. The shooting occurred in McQuays mothers home in the 1000 block of Albert Street.

McQuay also entered guilty pleas Wednesday to charges of battery by prisoner and resisting and obstructing an officer.

The battery by prisoner charge stems from an Oct. 28 incident at the Racine Juvenile Detention Center, 1717 Taylor Ave., in which McQuay reportedly banged and kicked a door at the detention center, threw a cup of toilet water on two detention center workers, and spit in one of their faces, allegedly because he didnt want to go to an early court appearance.

At a May 16 hearing, Edward Kirchner, a case manager for the Racine County Human Services Department, testified that McQuay should remain in adult court, noting that the teens behavior was escalating.

In 2010, at age 10, McQuay caused damage to a car by jumping on it, netting a criminal damage to property charge, Kirchner said. In 2013, McQuay was involved in a fight at school and was back in the juvenile system for disorderly conduct, he said.

Right afterward, McQuay faced two counts of first-degree sexual assault of a child for molesting a 7-year-old and 6-year-old, Kirchner said. The teen became a juvenile sex offender and was placed in a residential treatment center for about six months.
Political events in the Bay Area

Politics and media: Longtime San Francisco journalist Tim Redmond discusses media coverage and the Trump administration. Event begins at 3 p.m. Saturday in the Richmond Meeting Room of the Sen. Milton Marks Branch Library, 351 Ninth Ave., San Francisco. http://bit.ly/2wJub72

Single-payer: Peter S. Arno, senior fellow and director of health policy studies at the Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, will speak on single-payer health coverage for the state and how to pay for universal coverage. The event will be at 1333 Pine St. in Martinez from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday

Haiti: A screening of a new documentary Serenade for Haiti will be held at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Roxie Theater, 3117 16th St. in San Francisco with a question-and-answer session following. The screening will benefit Engineers Without Borders working in Haiti. http://bit.ly/2hSWieo

Democracy, explained: Learn how to run a campaign and get appointed to a commission from the Lamorinda Democratic Club. The event will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday at the Lafayette Library and Learning Center, 3401 Mount Diablo Blvd., and will feature elected officials, campaign managers and consultants. http://bit.ly/2wCoUuI

Civil discourse: The League of Women Voters of North and Central San Mateo County holds an interactive workshop on civil discourse. 1 to 3 p.m. Oct. 24 at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, 1300 El Camino Real, San Mateo. http://bit.ly/2xo4EfV

Limits of Whiteness: Neda Maghbouleh, assistant professor of sociology at University of Toronto, will lecture on how Iranian Americans move across a white/not-white color line, discussing race in North America today. The lecture runs from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 26 at the Humanities Auditorium at San Francisco State University. http://bit.ly/2fHvtFF

Black Panther history: Joshua Bloom and Waldo E. Martin Jr., authors of Black Against Empire: The History and Politics of the Black Panther Party, discuss their book at the San Francisco Main Librarys Koret Auditorium. 1 p.m. Oct. 29. For more information about this event and other books selected in the One City One Book program: http://bit.ly/2eTr1mz

To list an event, email Annie Ma at ama@sfchronicle.com.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Nearly every hotel chain has pushed out a fall promotion recently. One of the most unique and valuable this year is Best Westerns two-pronged offer.

Prong #1: Best Western Rewards members earn double points on all stays between now and November 30. You earn 20 points per dollar spent (up from the standard 10), so youll see your points balance skyrocket after just a few stays. Plus there is no limit to the number of eligible stays or points that can be earned during this timeframe.

Prong #2: Best Western has reduced the number of points needed for redemptions to just 10,000 at all its hotels in North America for stays between November 1 and January 31, 2018. That means all those points you earned in the fall (or before) can be redeemed at deeply discounted levels 10,000 points is cheap when you consider that the average Best Western redemption goes for about 16,000 points. And at many of its very best Premier hotels, rooms typically go for a lot more.

To get the deal, members must first register here.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Best Western Hotels & Resorts. We will periodically publish posts like this one from commercial partners about topics relevant to frequent travel.

Whats remarkable about this promotion is the breadth of that redemption offer you can get a free night for just 10,000 points at some of the nicest Best Western Hotels & Resorts out there where rooms typically go for close to 40,000 points per night. How nice? Well, weve cherry picked some of the best below some are perfect for business travel, others might be better suited for a mid-winter long weekend. Scroll through the slideshow above to see each of these properties>

New York City: The Big Apple has become freakishly expensive this year, so a room for just 10,000 points per night is quite a deal at two of the highest rated Best Westerns in the area: The Best Western Premier Herald Square (on West 36th Street) and over in New Jersey, the new Best Western Premier NYC Gateway.

San Diego: Soak up the SoCal sun overlooking Mission Bay and Marina at The Dana on Mission Bay, BW Premier Collection (pictured at the top). From there you can jump in your car for a long walk on the beach, or hop into town for meetings or dinner.

New Orleans: Slide into the Big Easy at the Blake Hotel New Orleans, BW Premier Collection located in the center of the action at St. Charles Avenue and Poydras Street. The hotel was recently redone from top to bottom- and some rooms overlook historic Lafayette Square.

San Francisco: Like New York, San Francisco hotels have become painfully expensive- especially when theres a big convention in town. You can stay in the thick of things at the The Cartwright Hotel, Union Square, BW Premier Collection and walk everywhere Moscone Center is about 10 minutes away (downhill from the hotel). The Financial district and Embarcadero are about 15 minutes away. And its also an easy walk from the Powell Street BART station.

Las Vegas: The 2,427-room Stratosphere Hotel, Casino and Tower, BW Premier Collection is located on the north end of The Strip, close to the Convention Center and downtown Las Vegas. Opened in 1996, its the tallest structure in Vegas, rising 1,149 feet above the ground and includes a spectacular observation deck with sweeping 360-degree views of the Vegas strip and surrounding areas.

Vancouver: Enjoy recently updated rooms and suites with views from balconies overlooking the center of this vibrant and diverse Canadian city at the Vancouver Best Western Plus Chateau Granville.

You can check out all of Best Westerns high-end Premier and Premier Collection Hotels on this helpful map.

To get the deal, members must first register here.

This sponsored post first appeared on TravelSkills.com

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Best Western Hotels & Resorts. We will periodically publish posts like this one from commercial partners about topics relevant to frequent travel.
BEIRUT  Syrian government forces pushed into one of the last remaining urban strongholds of the Islamic State in the countrys east Friday, after days of fierce fighting and intense Russian air strikes that involved cruise missiles from the Mediterranean, activists and officials said.

The push into the town of Mayadeen came as al Qaeda-linked fighters attacked a key central Syrian village at the crossroads between areas under government control and those controlled by insurgents, activists said.

Taking Mayadeen would mark another blow to the extremist group, which has lost wide areas of Iraq and Syria in its self-declared caliphate over the past year.

Fierce battles are still expected in the town that over the past months became one of the extremists main centers after losing other strongholds in Iraq and Syria.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights in Britain, Syrian forces and allied militiamen entered western parts of Mayadeen, including the towns wheat silos compound and the sheep market.

The Russian state RIA Novosti news agency quoted a Syrian army general as saying that the Syrian forces have fought their way into Mayadeen. The agency quoted the unidentified officer as saying that the army entered the western neighborhoods of the town on Friday.

Syrias state news agency SANA said troops killed many Islamic State fighters on the western outskirts of Mayadeen and captured western parts of the town. The Russian Defense Ministry announced its submarines fired 10 cruise missiles on Thursday at Islamic State positions outside of Mayadeen.

Air strikes on the town and nearby areas over the past days have killed and wounded scores of people, including 15 civilians  women and children among them  who were killed when a missile slammed into a government-held neighborhood in the city of Deir el-Zour on Thursday evening.

In central Syria, the attack on the village of Abu Dali in Hama province was led by al Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al Sham  Arabic for Levant Liberation Committee. It came two weeks after insurgents attacked a nearby area where three Russian soldiers were wounded.

Earlier this week, Russias military claimed the leader of the al Qaeda-linked group was wounded in a Russian air strike and had fallen into a coma. The military offered no evidence on the purported condition of Abu Mohammed al-Golani.

The al Qaeda-linked group subsequently denied al-Golani was hurt, insisting he is in excellent health. The groups fighters have been gaining more influence in the northwestern province of Idlib and northern parts of Hama, where they have launched attacks on rival militant groups, as well as areas controlled by the government.

Bassem Mroue and Vladimir Isachenkov are Associated Press writers.
The Supreme Court has ruled that litigation funder LPF Group was allowed to back a legal claim against PricewaterhouseCoopers, despite the two parties settling their dispute in private.

The lawsuit from the liquidators of David Henderson's failed property development firm Property Ventures (PVL), which was bankrolled by LPF in return for 42.5 percent of any settlement, had alleged PwC and managing partner Maurice Noone advised PVL on ways to continue trading when by some accounts it was insolvent while at the same time giving the company a clean bill of health as auditor. PwC had denied the allegations.

PwC asked the High Court to stay the proceedings, saying the funding was an abuse of process, but that was dismissed in 2015. That ruling was upheld by the Court of Appeal in 2016, and a further appeal was heard in the Supreme Court in March this year.

In August, the parties reached a confidential settlement, though the Supreme Court said it had still chosen to issue its judgment today "because the appeal involves important issues" and the underlying proceeding is continuing against other defendants.

The majority of the bench said they would have allowed the appeal to the extent that they would have allowed the litigation funding to remain, but would have required the funders to enter into a contract which lessened their control of the litigation and ensured it would pay out any money recovered to unsecured creditors.

The litigation funders made undertakings to do both of those things in court submissions, but the undertakings were not presented in the High Court or Court of Appeal hearings, and the Supreme Court said it was undesirable that the court be presented with a position that differs materially from that presented in the lower court and that both issues could and should have been dealt with earlier. The majority of the bench would not have awarded any costs.

Chief Justice Sian Elias gave a dissenting judgment, saying the court should not deliver its findings following the settlement. She said it was "well-arguable that the litigation funding agreement in issue here is contrary to law", though PwC had not asked the courts to consider that, but thought it was "undesirable" for the court to give judgment as the dispute was settled and the scope of the argument had been constrained.

The Chief Justice said that the likely effect of the judgment was that it will be considered a development in litigation funding law, "even though such development was not the subject of argument", and that such a development should only occur after it has been fully argued.

(BusinessDesk)

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:

Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process.

Related News:

ALF - Mark Franklin

Geneva Appointments new Head of Sales and Lending

A shiny new system or the Wazgij of planning systems?

THL - Apollo shareholders approve merger

TWL - TradeWindow and EMA partner-up to build export capability

November 15th Morning Report

RAK 1H23 Results Business Update Webcast & Teleconference

AoFrio appoints new Vice President of Product

HFL - Annual report for the year ended 31 August 2022

Rob Buchanan resigns from Manawa Energy


The New Zealand dollar is heading for a 1.5 percent fall this week ahead of tomorrow's final vote count and as hopes for US tax reforms and rate hikes push up the greenback.

The kiwi traded at 70.96 as a 5pm in Wellington versus 71.13 cents as at 8am and from 71.53 cents yesterday. It traded at 72.05 cents in New York last Friday. The trade-weighted index declined to 75.23 from 75.55 yesterday.

The greenback got a lift Friday after the Republican-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved a fiscal 2018 spending blueprint containing a legislative tool enabling a tax bill to pass by a simple majority vote in the Senate, where they hold 52 of 100 seats, according to Reuters. The vote was viewed as being one step nearer to the tax reform. The focus is also on US job data for September, which is expected to show the world's biggest economy only added 90,000 jobs last month versus 156,000 in August, after the hurricane impact.

"They have placed the bar so low it's making a beat quite possible and if we have a miss they will just attribute it to noise around the weather," said Sheldon Slabbert, a trader at CMC Markets. "Notwithstanding some noise around the number, I think the market will just revert to the over-riding themes at the moment, which are tax cuts and Fed hikes."

Recent solid data out of the US and comments from Federal Reserve officials have increased expectations of a US rate hike in December. Against a backdrop where the rate differential narrows between the US and New Zealand, the kiwi will get squeezed, said Slabbert.

New Zealand's two-year swap rate rose 1 basis point to 2.20 percent, and 10-year swaps rose 2 basis point to 3.25 percent.

Domestically, investors will be watching for the final general election vote count tomorrow, meaning political parties will be able to kick off formal negotiations to form a government. Slabbert said if the eventual government is led by the incumbent National Party it will be positive for the kiwi whereas if it is led by a Labour-Green coalition the currency might lose some ground. Any move, however, will be short-lived "given that the US dollar is on the march higher."

The kiwi traded at 60.65 euro cents from 60.84 cents yesterday. The local currency rose to 54.26 British pence from 54.01 pence yesterday and was at 91.51 Australian cents from 91.37 cents yesterday. It traded at 4.7212 Chinese yuan from 4.7591 yuan and dropped to 80.09 yen from 80.64 yen yesterday.

(BusinessDesk)

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:

Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process.

Related News:

ALF - Mark Franklin

Geneva Appointments new Head of Sales and Lending

A shiny new system or the Wazgij of planning systems?

THL - Apollo shareholders approve merger

TWL - TradeWindow and EMA partner-up to build export capability

November 15th Morning Report

RAK 1H23 Results Business Update Webcast & Teleconference

AoFrio appoints new Vice President of Product

HFL - Annual report for the year ended 31 August 2022

Rob Buchanan resigns from Manawa Energy


US President Donald Trump's tax overhaul could benefit New Zealand business operating in the world's biggest economy although the devil lies in the unknown detail.

Trump aims to enact a package of tax cuts for corporations, small businesses and individuals before January, pledging that sharply lower taxes will boost US economic growth, jobs and wages. Among other things, the nine-page tax reform - unveiled last month - would drop the corporate income tax rate to 20 percent from the current 35 percent in a bid to make US companies more competitive. According to the tax plan, the average in the industrialised world is 22.5 percent. New Zealand's is 28 percent.

It also includes a one-time, low tax rate on wealth already accumulated overseas to remove incentives to keep money offshore rather than repatriating it, with the New York Times reporting that as much as US$2.6 trillion in such profits sits in offshore subsidiaries of US corporations.

Both of these proposals have the potential to affect New Zealand businesses operating in the US although John Cantin, a tax partner at KPMG, warned there is a great deal of uncertainty about what the final package will look like as "there are no guarantees about any legislation changes in the US. This is certainly high-level and very much subject to implementation," he said.

While Trump may hope to push the reform through this year the expectation may be that it happens next year and the reality could be even later, Cantin said.

The Republican-controlled House of Representatives this week narrowly approved a fiscal 2018 spending blueprint containing a legislative tool enabling a tax bill to pass by a simple majority vote in the Senate, where they hold 52 of 100 seats, according to Reuters.

However, the tax reform plan has already come under fire.

Democrats argue it benefits the wealthiest Americans while raising taxes on the middle class and cutting spending on social programmes while some Republicans question the elimination of certain deductions and have raised red flags about increased debt levels.

Mainfreight chief financial officer Tim Williams told BusinessDesk the move was positive but that the company wasn't banking on it being implemented swiftly. "It is a benefit to us if it does occur ... but until it gets passed in legislation you can't count on it because it has a lot of hurdles to get over in the meantime," he said.

The Auckland-based transport and logistics firm has global operations and currently pays around 41 percent or 42 percent taxes in the US, a combination of the 35 percent federal tax and 6 percent-to-7 percent state taxes. If the reform gets through it could potentially pay around 26-to-27 percent, which represents savings of $2 million to $3 million tax per year, he said.

The company generates around 25 percent of its $2.33 billion of annual revenue in the US and the US market contributes around 5-to-10 percent of its profit.

While on the face of it lower taxes should be positive, KPMG's Cantin noted it will depend on how the package is funded - something that is not yet clear. According to the tax plan it will be fully or mostly paid for with a combination of economic growth and reforms that broaden the tax base, and by eliminating special interest tax breaks. In some cases, if certain deductions are eliminated, that might have an offsetting impact, said Cantin. Also, companies will need to look at their imputation credit positions, he said.

"If you are paying out dividends and youve got mainly New Zealand shareholders, you will still want to be paying tax in New Zealand as opposed to the US," he said, adding there is still a bit of balancing to think through. "It's not as straightforward as thinking: 'the US tax rate is going to be 20 percent, it's 28 percent in New Zealand, so I'll pay tax in the US'," he said.

Another result might be that US companies would see if they can have more income in the US rather than less and "there would be an encouragement to produce in the US rather than elsewhere." While this could create more competition in that market, potentially putting New Zealand companies at a disadvantage, Cantin said companies will need to assess all their costs, not just tax. "If it's possible to produce something for half or less, whereas doing it in the US doubles your prices, that has a profit impact before tax," he said.

Other New Zealand companies are also taking a cautious stance. A spokeswoman for Xero said the company "closely monitors tax matters in jurisdictions where we operate but note that this is only at the proposal stage".

"I think the message for New Zealand businesses is that it is very interesting, they do need to keep an eye on it, and give some thought to what differences it might make to their businesses but it's early to act on it and say: 'this is what I should be doing next'," Cantin said.

(BusinessDesk)

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:

Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process.

Related News:

ALF - Mark Franklin

Geneva Appointments new Head of Sales and Lending

A shiny new system or the Wazgij of planning systems?

THL - Apollo shareholders approve merger

TWL - TradeWindow and EMA partner-up to build export capability

November 15th Morning Report

RAK 1H23 Results Business Update Webcast & Teleconference

AoFrio appoints new Vice President of Product

HFL - Annual report for the year ended 31 August 2022

Rob Buchanan resigns from Manawa Energy


Goodbye Christopher Robin is a sobering look at the life of the real little boy who inspired his father A.A. Milnes beloved childrens books, only to find himself loved by the world but neglected by his parents.
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.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With fun fundraisers aplenty this time of year -- each and every one benefiting a charity -- we would be remiss if we didn't zero in on one organization of which Ashley Marie Davis is ambassador and emcee.

The New York City Chapter's Walk To End Alzheimer's is all set for Saturday, Oct. 14, at Clove Lakes Park in Sunnyside.

FYI: Registration is at 9 a.m.; ceremony at 9:45 a.m. and walk at 10:15 a.m.

"As the Staten Island Alzheimer's Ambassador and former Miss Richmond County 2017, I have been given the opportunity to host the 2017 Walk To End Alzheimer's on Staten Island," says an excited Ashley Marie before adding:

"We also have former Miss New York's Outstanding Teen 2005/former Miss Staten Island 2013 Amanda Lee Alicea singing the National Anthem at this years Staten Island Walk. "

Many may recall the former Miss Richmond County has been recognized by The National Alzheimer's Association for the work she's done and her commitment to the association that raises awareness and funds for research for the more than 390,000 New Yorkers suffering from the disease.

FYI: Check out Ashley Marie's new blog: AdvocacywithAshley.blogsot.com.



Ashley became interested in pageants and their goals when she was a young child and has been competing for titles within the Miss America organization since 2013.



Currently a senior at Marymount Manhattan College, the psychology major notes that "many people don't realize the Miss America organization is the largest contributor of scholarships for women in the country."



She added, "The Miss Richmond County title has helped me with my college loans and has given me a platform to help support Alzheimer's disease, which is close to my heart, and part of my family history. During my reign, I've traveled around New York State, performing and participating in events to help advocate for a cure."

Ashley Marie's story

In 2007, Ashley Marie's great-grandmother developed vascular dementia and Alzheimer's; her great-grandfather started to exhibit symptoms of the disease soon after.

Ashley Marie, whose personal platform is "Memories Matter: Alzheimer's Disease Awareness and Support," served as the Alzheimer's Association Ambassador for Staten Island in Washington, D.C., during the 2017 Advocacy Forum.



"It was inspiring to work with my Congressional Action Team to advocate for Alzheimer's priorities on the federal level, including a request for an additional $414 million in research funding supported by the National Institutes of Health for fiscal year 2018, and support for the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act," said she. "I was able to tell my congressman, Rep. Dan Donovan, how Alzheimer's has impacted me personally and advocate for all those affected by the disease."



What Ashley Marie loves the most about being a titleholder are the opportunities she's had to help others while she's learning and improving herself.



"I have had the opportunity to discuss Alzheimer's treatment options with doctors and perform in nursing homes as I travel through Staten Island. I value these hands-on experiences, and the chance to speak with our legislators most of all. I hope I can make a difference for those affected by the disease and I will continue to help raise funds for a cure to honor my great-grandparents and all they did for me. Alzheimer's is more than a platform; it is a part of my life."

And Ashley Marie will compete for the title of Miss Manhattan 2018 and Miss Bronx 2018 in the near future.

For further information about the walk and the Alzheimer's Association contact the Alzheimer's Association at 646-793-3524.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Two Staten Islanders were among 67 New Yorkers honored Thursday during the city's first-ever Lifesaver Awards Ceremony for using the anti-overdose drug naloxone to save people.

Collectively, the honorees saved at least 255 lives by administering naloxone to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Jamie Longo of Great Kills saved one of those lives last winter.

As she was driving along Forest Avenue, Longo passed a car on the side of the road. She saw a woman inside who appeared slouched over, and thought it was unusual for a young girl to be sleeping in her car during the day.

Longo pulled over to check on the woman, who was unresponsive. That's when she noticed syringe caps on the floor of the car and got out her naloxone. She administered the overdose reversal drug and "one to one and a half minutes later, [the woman] came to," she said.

While Longo was on the phone with 911, the woman awoke and drove off.

Though she works at the Community Health Action of Staten Island training people how to administer naloxone daily, it was Longo's first experience using the drug to stop an overdose in real life. "It's a whole different experience when it [really] happens," she said. She added how lucky she was that the car doors were unlocked.

Being one of the award recipients at Thursday's ceremony is especially meaningful for Longo.

"I, myself, am a recovering addict," she said, adding she has no shame in sharing this detail about herself. "I'm proud of my recovery. It's probably the proudest I've ever been of myself on this side of the fence."

Longo and the other 66 award recipients were recognized for their life-saving efforts by First Lady Chirlane McCray and Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett. The Health Department and the mayor's office could not provide the name of the other Staten Islander who was honored.

One of the award recipients personally reversed more than 40 overdoses. The ceremony also recognized the work of about 140 opioid overdose prevention programs that distribute naloxone within their communities.

"The New Yorkers honored today are heroes, and their actions demonstrate that reversing a drug overdose and saving someone's life is possible with naloxone," Health Commissioner Bassett said. "With a record number of people dying from a drug overdose last year, we need New Yorkers to learn about this potentially life-saving medication and carry naloxone."

Last year, New Yorkers reported using naloxone to reverse more than 450 overdoses, according to a press release for the event and many more saves go unreported.

"A multitude of heroes have stepped in to save the life of a family member, a friend or a total stranger, and I salute each one of them,'' said First Lady Chirlane McCray, who leads the City's mental health and substance misuse efforts. "By safely administering naloxone, these heroes saved not just one life but helped whole families and communities. And these lives represent a mere fraction of the lives that have been saved with naloxone, as many instances go unreported."

The opioid epidemic is particularly troubling on Staten Island, where, in the past week, there were nine overdoses in just four days -- four of the overdose victims lost their lives.

Longo encounters the day-to-day realities of the Island's epidemic in her work with the Community Health Action, rather than just hearing the numbers from afar. She said she hopes the stigma against addicts will end, as more and more people realize addiction is a disease.

"I know we are only making an inch toward solving a really big problem, but as long as we save one person, it's worth it."

Local politicians at the ceremony all stressed the power naloxone has in preventing overdose deaths and how it could have an even more effective impact if every New Yorker carried a naloxone kit and learned how to administer the drug.

The Health Department offers regular naloxone trainings, which teach New Yorkers to recognize the signs of an overdose and respond by calling 911 and administering naloxone. The trainings are free, and all participants are offered a free naloxone kit.

"It doesn't matter whether you're a professional, uniformed first responder or an everyday New Yorker - if you step up to save a life, you're a hero," said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. "Congratulations and thank you to these 67 New Yorkers, who have set an example for all of us. As we struggle to reach the day when the heroin and opioid crisis is behind us, we all should learn how to spot overdoses and never hesitate to call for help and intervene to save lives when we can."
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Some of the parents of Port Richmond High School students are growing discontent over changes at the school under the guidance of its new interim acting principal, Oneatha Swinton.

At the crux of the issue are concerns about Port Richmond's honors program, including a rumor that it had been eliminated.

Port Richmond offers six Small Learning Communities, including the Honors Academy, which consists of the Collegiate Academy and Gateway honors programs. Students in the Gateway program typically seek careers in health, medicine, engineering and other science related fields, while students in the Collegiate Academy program typically study the humanities and pre-law programs.

Some parents claim the programs were disbanded, but nothing has been eliminated, a Department of Education spokesman said. Instead, the Honors Academy will pool resources to allow greater financial support for all participating students, the spokesman said.

At the same time, while incoming students can still apply for a program in the Small Learning Communities, the courses are being opened to all the students, the spokesman said.

For example, students in the MedTech program can also take culinary or technology classes or produce a show for "Good Morning Port Richmond," a weekly television show.

"While the school continues to have its Small Learning Communities and Honors Academy, the administration has made reforms to better fund programs and ensure students have access to a wider range of course offerings," said District 31 Community Superintendent Anthony Lodico.

PARENTS' CONCERNS

But Nicole Caliendo, whose daughter is a senior at Port Richmond, said the Gateway and Collegiate Academy programs were combined to form one honors program. The DOE did not respond to a request for information about the programs being merged.

"[Swinton] came into that school like a wrecking ball," she said. "She should have came in looking at the programs to give her a chance to adjust. She's only in there a month and she should have observed and took the time to get to know the school [before making changes]."

Another parent who wished to remain anonymous said her freshman daughter and her classmates have been confused about the program changes.

"We wanted Small Learning Communities and by merging them she made one large group and took the focus away from that," the parent said. "The students are unhappy and there's a lot of confusion."

LETTER SENT TO PARENTS

Swinton sent a letter to parents of students in late September to address the rumors.

In the letter, which was obtained by the Advance, she said that the Small Learning Communities are being offered to all students and no programs have been eliminated.

She added that the Honors Academy will receive greater financial support as a result of the changes and continue to act as an academically competitive program on Staten Island.

"We have committed $50,000 to both honors programs to sustain activities such as college tours and academic and personal development," Swinton wrote. "A team has been formed to continue providing this group with all of the many opportunities that exist. This group of students will continue to function within a smaller community will all of the supports and systems they are accustomed to."

In addition, Swinton is expected to host families twice a week for "Pastries with the Principal," where parents can ask questions and share their concerns.

Attempts to speak to Swinton directly for this story were unsuccessful.

EDUCATION TOWN HALL

During an hourlong town hall meeting with parents Tuesday night at PS 48 in Concord, Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina spoke about the concerns at Port Richmond.

"When people change jobs, I think there needs to be an adjustment period," Farina said. "I think this is an ongoing conversation and I think the parents on the SLT [School Leadership Team] should expect to have this conversation with the new principal."

The explanation doesn't sit well with Caliendo, because Swinton previously served as principal of the John Jay for Law High School for seven years before becoming the interim acting principal at Port Richmond.

"How is there an adjustment period?" Caliendo asked. "You're not going into a new job, you're going into a new place with the same job you came from. You're just going into a new school as a principal."
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- While former Congressman Michael Grimm paid off $150,000 in restitution earlier this year, he's now fighting a more than $900,000 debt from New York State that he says is erroneous.

Grimm told the Advance recently that most of the restitution was paid for with a loan from his family, who sold their Queens home when they moved in with Grimm on Staten Island.

Crain's New York first reported that the state's tax database shows Grimm owes more than $940,000 in taxes related to his former business, Healthalicious,

He went to prison for less than eight months after pleading guilty to tax fraud for paying employees off the books and not reporting sales at the restaurant.

But Michael Caputo, Grimm's new campaign advisor as he seeks to unseat Rep. Daniel Donovan, said the tax debt is listed in error -- Grimm was no longer a co-owner of the company during the years the tax debt accrued.

Grimm hired Staten Island tax attorney Richard Gabor -- "He's disputing all of this," Caputo said.

But there's a backlog for disputing state taxes, and it's unclear when the alleged debt, filed under an LLC, Granny Sayz, will be hashed out.

Grimm had a 45-percent stake in the Manhattan health food restaurant, Healthalicious, until April 2009, when he sold his stake to one of the other two partners, Bennett Orfaly. Orfaly owned several other businesses and was sentenced to 6 months in prison last year for underreporting sales at his other restaurants.

A third partner, who Grimm declined to name, sold off the business with Orfaly in June 2010, Caputo said.

The tax debts appear to be from 2011, 2012 and 2016.

Caputo said two of the largest amounts, more than $440,000 each, are duplicative.

Asked why the state would tie Grimm to debt that's not his Caputo said, "We don't know. New York State is trying to connect Michael Grimm to the restaurant long after he sold it."
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- As Congress is weighing a ban on "bump stocks," the device that shooter Stephen Paddock used to modify his semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic weapon, killing 58 people and injuring almost 500 in Las Vegas, Albany lawmakers are taking up their own bills, including one sponsored by Staten Island state Sen. Andrew Lanza.

The Republican lawmaker is a hunter, self-described "student of American history," and a strong supporter of the Second Amendment.

He is drafting the bill, he said, to close a loophole that could allow a gun to function as a fully automatic weapon when those weapons are already banned.

Fully automatic weapons reload and fire continuously with a single pull of the trigger. Semi-automatic weapons reload automatically but fire only once per trigger pull.

It's the illegal conversion of semi-automatic weapons into an automatic weapon that is being debated in Congress and in state legislatures throughout the country.

The bump stock device that Paddock used harnesses a gun's natural recoil and bounces back and forth off the shooter's trigger finger, firing off 100 rounds in seconds.

Lanza, sensitive to concerns of Second Amendment supporters like himself, said, "This bill in no way, shape or form infringes on our Second Amendment rights. Fully automatic machine guns are not legal. This device allows for a semi-automatic weapon to be operated as if they're fully automatic machine guns. In effect, it's a loophole."

In New York, attaching and using a bump stock is already illegal.

But Lanza's Senate bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy (D-Albany) in that chamber, also makes it illegal to sell, buy, manufacture or transport any devices that would modify firearms to make them function as automatic weapons.

"It's akin to a technical amendment to what's already law," Lanza explained.

Asked whether he's aware of any instance of such a device being used in any shooting in New York, the state senator said he's not.

"It's only this horrific incidence in Las Vegas that brought the existence of this device to my attention," he said.

Lanza's bill is still being drafted, and he doesn't expect a special session to be called to address it, so the bill won't be voted on until the new legislative session begins in January.

Republicans, and even the NRA, are supporting congressional bills to ban the sale and use of a bump stock.

"This is an area where there is general consensus," Lanza said. "This is just a common sense provision which just provides a technical amendment to the law already in existence. I think this just makes all the sense in the world."

Speaking to the Daily News about bipartisan support for the bill, Fahy said, "It's a big darn deal. I think it's a breakthrough."

Her bill makes possession and sale of a devices a misdemeanor, and makes manufacturing or transporting them a felony.

While Lanza is unsure Albany's bills will have the same support, he said he wanted to get a bill out there before liberal Democrats seize the opportunity and propose stronger gun ownership and use restrictions as a response to the Las Vegas shooting.

"Strong supporters of the Second Amendment are maligned by the left with the dishonest characterization that we're against any common sense measures to protect people, so I wanted to get out there early," he said. "This ought to be the response, and nothing more."
CITY HALL -- Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis on Thursday called for tougher discipline in public schools and said she would consider suspending more kindergartners if elected.

Mayor Bill de Blasio called for an end to suspensions for students from kindergartners to second grade last year, "replacing them with appropriate positive disciplinary interventions." After significant opposition from the teachers' union, the city decided to simply reduce them to the worst cases.

Malliotakis, de Blasio's Republican opponent, said she would reverse this policy.

"If a child is disruptive, if he's hitting another child, if he's hitting his teacher, you know, that is something that you need to have some type discipline, and they're being disruptive to the classroom," Malliotakis said at a press conference outside the Department of Education headquarters in lower Manhattan. "I'm not looking to go back to what was being done in 2012, when it was a 10-day suspension, but certainly there needs to be some type of disciplinary action taken. We can't have children in our schools believing they can do anything and that they can get away with it."

There were 801 suspensions handed down to kindergartners, first- and second- graders during the 2015-16 school year, a decline from 1,454 the previous school year.

"It's been effective," Malliotakis said. "There needs to be some type of disciplinary action. And also, you know, it notifies the parents, gets them involved. ...Young people have to be taught from a very early age that they need to respect their teachers and they need to respect their classmates, and they can't be punching people, and they can't be insulting people... Don't you want people in our society that respect people and follow rules?"

Malliotakis spoke about increasing school discipline the week after a stabbing at a Bronx high school left a teenager dead and another student injured.

She also said she would also put more metal detectors in city schools and expand the NYPD's presence in the system.

City Hall dismissed her proposals.

"With school metal detectors, you either trust the NYPD and their decisions or you don't. The mayor trusts the NYPD," de Blasio spokesman Eric Phillips said in a statement. "When it comes to suspending kindergartners, your goal is either to kick 5-year-olds out of school or its not. The mayor believes these young kids should be in school so we can address their underlying challenges and they can learn."
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Students in Staten Island's public schools performed well on state exams, outperforming their citywide peers in every borough but Manhattan for the 2016-2017 school year.

According to borough and District 31 results from the Department of Education:

A total of 47.1 percent of Island students in third through eighth grade read at or above grade level. This was a 2.7 percent improvement from 2016.

In 2017, 40.6 percent of students citywide met proficiency standards in English, a 2.6 point increase from 38.0 percent last year.

City students outperformed their New York State peers in English for the first time last year, and widened the gap with this year's result.

Since 2013, the percentage of students citywide who are proficient in English has increased by 54 percent.

Using the Advance's interactive tool below, you can search to see how your school did on the reading exam.



To use the search tool:



1. Type the first few characters of your school's name in the first field, for example P.S. 3 or I.S. 75. (Note: You must use periods, as in "P.S. 50." It may not work if you omit the periods.)



2. A list of schools will appear; simply choose your school from the list.



The search results will show the percentage of students who passed the exam.

to load this Caspio

by Caspio
Billed as "a suite of diversity and inclusion programming designed to raise our cultural fluency and strengthen our community," this year's "In It 2" will engage Skidmore students, faculty and staff WednesdayFriday, Oct. 1113. Events are free and open to the public as space allows. Grappling with the intersections of gender and other identities, the "In It 2" lineup features a screening and discussion with Skidmore alumni and parent filmmakers Gayle Nosal '79 and Beret E. Strong, P'19, an exhibition tour by student-curator Laila Morgan '18 and three major discussion events:



Kergil's book Kergil's book

Wednesday brings Skylar Kergil '13, a transgender activist and popular YouTube blogger, to converse with faculty and staff at 2:15 p.m. in the Surrey-Williamson Inn and then to speak and sign books at 7 p.m. in Gannett Auditorium. His commentaries about gender transition have educated and inspired a huge following and led this year to his first book, Before I Had the Words.



Tatum Tatum

On Thursday, Beverly Daniel Tatum, former Spelman College president, will receive a Skidmore honorary degree and then engage in a discussion, Q&A and book-signing, all beginning at 3:30 p.m. in Zankel Music Center. A scholar and trainer on racial identity in education, she won the American Psychological Association's top lifetime honor. A fully revised edition of her bestseller Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria was published this year. Ticketsrequired but freeare available at the Zankel box office.







Friday's marquee event is a three-generation panel on gender, race, business and public affairs at 12:15 p.m. in Filene Recital Hall. Founder of the African American Booksellers Association, Clara Villarosa is the author of Down to Business: The First 10 Steps to Entrepreneurship for Women; Clara's daughter Linda, a journalist, has been executive editor of Essence magazine and a health reporter from the New York Times to O to Salon; Linda's daughter Kali '18 is an international affairs major, student club leader and U.S. State Department intern.

The latest "In It 2" schedule and details are here.


Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan: The time for a debate on gun control is now
Editor Emeritus Dave Zweifel has been with The Capital Times since he graduated from UW-Madison in 1962, serving as the paper's editor in chief from 1983 to 2008. He was president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council for 15 years, served as a Pulitzer Prize judge in 2000 and 2001, and named to the Wisconsin Newspaper Hall of Fame in 2011. A native of New Glarus, Wis., where he grew up on a farm, he serves on several non-profit boards and is a military veteran, having served on active duty as a field artillery officer in the early 1960s and for 26 years in the Wisconsin Army National Guard where he retired as a colonel in 1993.
By clicking Agree, you consent to Slates Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and the use of technologies such as cookies by Slate and our partners to deliver relevant advertising on our iOS app to personalize content and perform site analytics. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information about our use of data, your rights, and how to withdraw consent.

Agree
After he retired amid allegations of misconduct, Sauk Countys former highway commissioner was paid $3,000 as a private consultant on a project that involved public money.

The contractor who billed the county for that work said he had not hired Steve Muchow when the retired highway czar began working on behalf of his firm, and there was never a written contract in place.

Jewell Associates Engineers President Greg Jewell said Thursday he retroactively agreed to pay Muchow for the work he did under an arrangement with the county. He then billed the county for reimbursement.

I dont know what to tell you, Jewell said. Its one of those weird arrangements. The whole thing was weird.

The payment to Muchow is ambiguously listed in a document recently obtained under an open records request. The document, a contract amendment between Sauk County and Jewell Associates, discloses 40 hours of work completed by a construction manager at a rate of $75 per hour.

Jewell confirmed in a phone interview Thursday the item refers to work done by Muchow.

The former highway commissioner gave notice of his pending retirement in April, which prompted county officials to drop a personnel investigation into numerous employee allegations against him. His last day on the job was June 2.

Employees complained that Muchow repeatedly used county property for personal reasons, misrepresented financial information, manipulated bids, misused his relationships with private businesses and falsified timecards.

Attorneys with expertise in criminal law have said some of the allegations, if proven, may constitute violations of a state law prohibiting misconduct in public office. Muchow has denied any wrongdoing and said he was not aware of the investigation when he decided to retire.

Prior to his retirement, Muchow had overseen the countys involvement in the construction of a multi-use trail through the Sauk Prairie area. The county had hired Jewell Associates for design work.

After Muchow left county service in June, Sauk County Board Chair Marty Krueger and Administrative Coordinator Alene Kleczek Bolin asked Jewell to consider hiring the former highway commissioner as a consultant.

Jewell said Thursday that Muchow then began working in that role without ever being hired by us. He later learned of the allegations against Muchow from a newspaper article, and decided not to hire him.

Reached by phone Thursday, Muchow said he could not remember who authorized him to begin working on behalf of Jewells firm.

I cant say, Muchow said. I dont recall.

The Baraboo News Republic first disclosed the suggested hiring of Muchow in a June article. At the time, Kleczek Bolin said the county wanted to find a way to retain the expertise Muchow brought to the project.

When asked Thursday, she could not say who might have authorized Muchow to begin working as a consultant without a written contract in place.

I do not know what, if any, arrangements Mr. Muchow made with Jewell, Kleczek Bolin said in an emailed response. I do know that Jewell agreed orally to hire Steve to do the project management. This was a fluid situation and we were attempting to find ways to keep the project moving forward.

The countys original contract with Jewell Associates was for $128,230. Muchows payment was part of $37,862 in contract additions for unexpected work that the county approved Aug. 21.

Sauk County Sheriff Chip Meister determined in June that the allegations against Muchow were not worthy of criminal investigation.

In August, the News Republic published a story disclosing that Meister and Muchow were members of a social group that dined together monthly.

The story also quoted attorneys with expertise in criminal law who said they disagreed with the sheriffs determination, and that he should have recused himself from the matter.

The day that story was published, Meister asked the Wisconsin Department of Justice to review his determination. Days later, the DOJ confirmed that it had opened an investigation.

DOJ spokesman Johnny Koremenos confirmed in an email Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing.
What would be necessary? Here's a quick list I threw together. Undoubtedly incomplete.

- Take responsibility for 1/35th of federal debt as of November, 2015. I think it was around $620B so that would be $17.7B. This is to be paid to the Gov't of Canada over twenty years without interest. ($870M/yr)

- Pay 1/35 of Canada's November 2015 Defence budget of $23B yearly to the Gov't of Canada. This is $657M/yr or until such time as Saskatchewan deems necessary to provide for our own defence.

- A flat tax on all income, personal and corporate.

- Look towards Switzerland for banking regulation.

- All current Indian Reservations remain under the purview of the Gov't of Canada and outside the responsibility of the Gov't of Saskatchewan. All Status Indians remain Canadian Citizens with the right to immigrate to become a Saskatchewan Citizen with all the Rights and Responsibilities that entails.

- Until such time as Saskatchewan law can be clarified, Saskatchewan will continue to enforce the Canadian Criminal code as it exists from the point of separation.

- Freedom of speech, property rights, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, the right to firearms, the right to not self-incrimate, the right to due process, and freedom of the press be enshrined

- Elected Judges with 10 year terms.

- An appointed Supreme Court by the legislative body.
Thank you for visiting the Daily Journal.

Please purchase an Enhanced Subscription to continue reading. To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.



We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.



A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means youre helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948

/var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0e5aff0)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0e47df0)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0e5aff0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0e47df0)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0ec3928)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0e47df0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0e47df0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612e8ea2f40)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f04e4868)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f04e4868)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948

/var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0305680)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0218ee0)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0305680)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0218ee0)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612f0309af8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0218ee0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612f0218ee0)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612e719ee10)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f0309e70)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612f0309e70)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
System error

error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.

context: ... 21: </%method> 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: </%perl> 28: <table width="90%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> 29: <tr> ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25

/usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:948

/var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17

/usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149



Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. Trace begun at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Exceptions.pm line 125 HTML::Mason::Exceptions::rethrow_exception('Can\'t call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25.^J') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 157 HTML::Mason::Component::run_dynamic_sub('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612eff3c158)', 'main') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 948 HTML::Mason::Request::call_dynamic('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612efc74008)', 'main') called at /var/cache/mason/obj/2011159162/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj line 17 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612eff3c158)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1302 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 955 HTML::Mason::Request::call_next('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612efc74008)') called at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html line 149 HTML::Mason::Commands::__ANON__ at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Component.pm line 135 HTML::Mason::Component::run('HTML::Mason::Component::FileBased=HASH(0x5612eff684c8)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1300 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 1292 HTML::Mason::Request::comp(undef, undef, undef) called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 481 eval {...} at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm line 433 HTML::Mason::Request::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612efc74008)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 165 HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler::exec('HTML::Mason::Request::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612efc74008)') called at /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/ApacheHandler.pm line 831 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handle_request('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler=HASH(0x5612efc1fad0)', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612eff1d288)') called at (eval 592) line 8 HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler::handler('HTML::Mason::ApacheHandler', 'Apache2::RequestRec=SCALAR(0x5612eff1d288)') called at -e line 0 eval {...} at -e line 0
They're the national treasures kept safe inside The Lodge and Canberra's Government House.

Artworks, furniture, memorabilia, ceramics and silverware cared for by the Australiana Fund and on show at the official residences of the Australian prime minister and governor-general have been showcased in a new book.

An open day at Government House. Credit:Kirsty Umback

The landmark volume Collecting for the Nation: The Australiana Fund documents the provenance, history and restoration of the collection, established by Tamie Fraser, wife of former prime minister Malcolm Fraser.

Launched last month at a special event with Curtis Sandberg of Washington DC's White House Historical Association, the book includes a detailed history of the architectural development of the two Canberra properties as well as Sydney's Kirribilli House and Admiralty House.
A long-awaited summit on Canberra's affordable housing problems is likely to lead to government picking "low hanging fruit" proposals, rather than substantive new government funding or whole-scale reforms.

After six weeks of consultations with 125 organisations and almost 2400 hits on the government's housing strategy discussion paper online, a summit to discuss the options will be held on October 17 at QT Hotel.

Housing minister Yvette Berry with Chief Minister Andrew Barr. Ms Berry has not committed to a timeframe for changes out of a proposed housing strategy. Credit:Rohan Thomson

While the consultations have garnered numerous suggestions for change, summit participants will not vote on any specific measures and the government will decide later what will actually be implemented.

Instead, Housing ACT executive director Louise Gilding said, the government expected it to be a "challenging and creative day that generates new insights and 'aha' moments".
Forcing two siblings together can sometimes be a recipe for disaster, but that doesn't seem to be the case between sister cities, Canberra and Wellington.

It's been just over a year since international flights were launched on Singapore Airlines between the two little capitals, and this weekend, the New Zealand capital has sent over some of it's top food and art representatives for a collaboration with Canberra.

Rob Essenburg and Simon Pepping from Egmont Street Eatery, Sarah McDougall from Summerhill Road Vineyard, Sean McConnell and Dan Flatt from Monster kitchen and bar and NZ singer Eva Prowse will all be taking part in the Capital Collab at New Acton. Credit:Rohan Thomson

A Taste of Two Cities will fill Kendall Lane in New Acton on Saturday, for a bi-city celebration of craft beer, food, wine and music.

Chefs Rob Essenburg and Simon Pepping from hip Wellington restaurant Egmont Street Eatery will collaborate with Monster's Sean McConnell and Dan Flatt in a purpose-built laneway kitchen, serving up a one-off menu.
Chocolate lovers rejoice. Adelaide's Haigh's Chocolates has announced its first Canberra store, set to open in Canberra Centre's soon-to-open lifestyle precinct.

The Canberra Haigh's is scheduled to open on November 2, with a store decked out in the company's traditional style with jarrah, Tasmanian oak, marble and glass.

Adelaide luxury confectionery Haigh's Chocolates is opening its first Canberra store. Credit:Janie Barrett

For Canberrans, the chocolates have long been the treat stashed in the bags of friends and relatives on their return from interstate.

Alister Haigh said the family-owned business has been looking at options for a Canberra store for, "quite a few years".
The Australian virtual reality film Collisions, now screening at the National Museum of Australia, has won the Emmy for Outstanding New Approaches  Documentary at the 38th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards.

Director Lynette Wallworth accepted the award at a ceremony on Friday in New York City.

An image from within the 'Collisions' virtual reality experience at the National Museum of Australia. Credit:Animation artwork by Jossie Malis / Spirit Cloud imagery Lynette Wallworth

Wallworth said, "It was a big surprise - it was a big honour to be nominated and it was exciting to win."

This was her first Emmy nomination and win, for a film that used a combination of 360-degree vision and CGI to tell the story of Indigenous elder Nyarri Nyarri Morgan and his encounter with nuclear testing in the remote Western Australian desert.
The doctor who treated a helicopter pilot who fell and got wedged in a crevasse in Antarctica told an inquest he had hoped for a miracle as staff worked to keep him alive for 18 hours before his death.

Captain David Wood, 62, died of hypothermia the day after he plunged about 14 metres into the chasm on the western ice shelf during a routine mission to restock a fuel cache on January 11, 2016.

Helicopter pilot David Wood. Credit:davidwarburtonwood.com

His colleague flew back to Davis station for help and returned with a rescue team as Mr Wood waited, wedged vertically between the ice, for four hours.

He was taken to the base for medical treatment but died on January 12.
Just 117 Canberrans nominated to be part of Chief Minister Andrew Barr's much-promoted citizens' jury on compulsory third party insurance, about half of whom will sit on the jury when it sits this month.

Despite 6000 invitations being sent to people to nominate for the jury, it seems few were interested, lending weight to Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur's concerns the idea risked "boring the people".

Of the 56 people chosen, 45 per cent are women, 66 per cent own their own home and more than 10 per cent are under 24 years old.

Some 79 per cent drive a car, 11 per cent use public transport, five per cent use ride a bike and four per cent ride motorcycles.

While the jury was meant to exclude people with a stake in the industry, and jurors were asked if they worked in the industry or relevant government policy roles, there has been no verification process to confirm that.
"It is not a bit of a mess," says Liberty House billionaire Sanjeev Gupta. "It is a major mess." Credit:Bloomberg "It is not a bit of a mess, it is a major mess," said Sanjeev Gupta, 46, the British billionaire owner of Liberty House Group, who saw firsthand the effects of policy neglect after buying an ailing steel-making business in blackout-beleaguered South Australia in July. Natural gas was meant to bridge the electricity supply gap left by the shutdown of decaying coal-fired stations and the gradual shift to solar and wind energy. But rising exports of the fuel to higher-paying overseas buyers have created a local shortage. With no long-term solution in sight, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull threatened gas producers with export restrictions unless they plugged the domestic shortfall. The government is also trying to convince power generators to patch up old and dilapidated coal-run stations such as Liddell in NSW, prolonging dependence on a fossil fuel the rest of the developed world is spurning. "It takes a while to cause a trainwreck this bad," said Tony Wood, energy program director at the Grattan Institute, a Melbourne-based think tank. "And it also takes a while for a government to think about how they get out of it."

We have every energy resource you could want -- whether its old school or new school -- here in Australia. Yet, we have the most expensive power in the world. Sanjeev Gupta The nation's largest power generators are urging Australia to ditch coal and join the renewables revolution. Turnbull, whose harbour-side mansion is powered by solar panels, is reluctant to remove the fossil fuel from the energy mix lest it boosts power costs further. The Liddell power station, perched on a lake in the coal-rich Hunter Valley, has come to symbolise the nation's struggle with an industry linked to greenhouse-gas emissions and climate change. The facility 240 kilometres north of Sydney was the most powerful electricity generating station in the country when it was commissioned in the early 1970s. Its four coal-fired generation units supply the Tomago aluminium smelter, Australia's largest single consumer of energy, and enough to power more than 1 million homes. Nowadays, it's plagued by failures from rusty, leaky equipment that put it on a "sliding scale to oblivion," according to its managers.

The Turnbull government wants to extend its life. But keeping it running beyond its scheduled closure in 2022 would cost as much as $900 million, and lender ANZ Bank said it's unlikely to finance any refurbishment because it probably wouldn't meet the bank's environmental standards. Owner AGL Energy instead wants to re-purpose the site, potentially for gas-fired or battery-stored energy. "It beggars belief that something like Liddell is the backbone of our power supply," said Barry Millar, acting general manager for technical services with plant operator AGL Macquarie. "In the UK, something of this age would be well and truly gone." For power generator EnergyAustralia, the failure to anticipate electricity demand and supply stems from the absence of a clear climate policy. "When you've got an environment where the economics will fluctuate from 'this looks like a reasonable project' to 'this is absolutely terrible and don't go anywhere near it' over the space of two years, that is un-investable," said Mark Collette, EnergyAustralia's energy executive. Squabbling over climate policy has been a key contributor to political turmoil, which has led to five prime minister changes in the past decade.

Kevin Rudd was elected in 2007 promising a carbon-trading scheme, but he shelved the plan amid resistance in the Senate. His successor Julia Gillard introduced a price on carbon, which was scrapped after Tony Abbott led the Liberal-National coalition to victory in 2013. Though replaced by Turnbull in 2015, Abbott's sustained support for coal has emerged as a divisive voice within government ranks. With the government unable to agree on a clean-energy target and electricity prices surging, energy-intensive industry is demanding investment certainty. Mining giant BHP said it may curtail investments, and Rio Tinto said price spikes are putting projects at risk. As well, a third of large industrial users of gas will either cut production or shutter their operations entirely due to the spiralling price of the fuel, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. "There are clear sectors of our economy for whom this is a nasty outcome," said the Grattan Institute's Wood. "I think we will see some energy intensive manufacturing close down."

Wood, a former executive at Origin Energy, doesn't see energy prices falling anytime soon, even as the country tries to ramp up renewable power sources. Almost 90 per cent of the $88 billion forecast to be spent adding power capacity through 2040 will go toward clean energy, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. It estimates less than 2 per cent will be spent on coal, and even then only to refurbish existing plants, with the rest invested in gas. So far, the move to clean energy has done little to lower the world-topping electricity prices in South Australia, where solar and wind account for about 40 per cent of total power generation, the most of any mainland state. A series of blackouts there the past year prompted Tesla billionaire Elon Musk to propose building what he said would be the world's biggest battery system in Jamestown, about 210 kilometres north of Adelaide. Across the Spencer Gulf to the west in Whyalla, Liberty House Group's Gupta is planning to install a variety of alternative energy sources -- including solar electricity, hydropower and storage batteries -- to overcome uncertainty around power supply and prices for his newly acquired steel assets.
Intense competition for CBD office properties in Melbourne and Sydney is creating a surge of activity in fringe office markets.

The proposed new building at 600 Church Street, Cremorne.

As yields drop well below 5 per cent in the prestigious CBD markets, deals are being struck at unprecedented levels in fringe markets, according to a new metro office report.

Colliers International's national research director Anneke Thompson, said: "The Sydney and Melbourne city-fringe markets continue to lead the country in terms of rental growth, with each market recording A-grade net effective rental growth of 27 per cent and 24 per cent respectively.
"It continued through the boom years of the 1980s, when Japan became the world's second-largest economy and everyone was on the juggernaut. "And it remained after the bubble burst in the late 1990s, when companies began restructuring and employees stayed at work to try to ensure they weren't laid off. "Still, irregular workers - who worked without benefits or job security - were brought in, making the regular workers toil even harder. "Now, no one blinks an eyelid at 12-hour-plus days. " 'In a Japanese workplace, overtime work is always there. It's almost as if it is part of scheduled working hours,' said Koji Morioka, an emeritus professor at Kansai University who is on a committee of experts advising the government on ways to combat karoshi. 'It's not forced by anyone, but workers feel it like it's compulsory.' "

The country classified 189 deaths from overwork in 2015 - 93 suicides and 96 from heart attacks, strokes and other illnesses related to overwork - although experts believe the actual number might be much higher. In addition to long hours, holidays routinely go unused: on average, employees used less than half of their leave time in 2015 - about nine days a year, The Guardian reported. More than one in five Japanese employees work 49 hours or more each week. In Sado's case, 159 hours of overtime averages more than 5 hours a day over the course of a 28-day month. The Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported that Sado was busy covering candidates and their supporters, shooting footage of speeches and attending meetings during the election. "She was under circumstances that she could not secure enough days off due to responsibilities that required her to stay up very late," said a release from labour regulators, the paper said.

"It can be inferred that she was in a state of accumulated fatigue and chronic sleep deprivation." Sado started work at NHK in 2005, when she was in her early 20s, the Japan Times reported. NHK said that it waited to make information about her death public out of deference to her family, reports said. "Even today, four years after, we cannot accept our daughter's death as a reality," Sado's parents said in a statement released by the broadcaster to Japanese media. "We hope that the sorrow of the bereaved family will never be wasted." The deaths of other young Japanese workers have brought renewed attention to the issue in recent years.

In 2015, the despondent messages left on Twitter by Matsuri Takahashi, a 24-year-old who was working more than 100 hours of overtime a month at an ad agency, drew wide attention after she killed herself by jumping from a company dormitory. "I'm going to die. I'm so tired," she wrote in one message. The company's president and chief executive later resigned, due in part to an outcry over her death. Later that year, 34-year-old maintenance worker Kiyotaka Seriwaza killed himself after putting in 90-hour weeks at a company from which he had tried, unsuccessfully, to resign. The government has been taking steps to change the culture around work to address the problem of karoshi, passing legislation in a bid to reduce the number of employees working more than 60 hours a week and to entice them to use their paid holiday time.

Early this year, a government spokesman told Bloomberg News that Japan needed to "end of the norm of long working hours so people can balance their lives with things like raising a child or taking care of the elderly". Companies have been joining the effort, taking steps to encourage workers to leave work, use their holidays and spend more time away from work. Dentsu has begun shutting the lights off in its headquarters at 10pm and now requires workers to take at least five days off every six months. Japan Post Insurance, a life insurance company, shuts off its lights at 7.30pm. Yahoo Japan has been considering a four-day work week. Sado had sent an email in the weeks before her death that warned of the toll her work was taking on her, the Shimbun reported.
Without question, this has been a peak year for Amazon paranoia. The company seems to be everywhere, eager to crush or absorb anything in its path. For you "Star Trek" nerds, Amazon is the Borg.

But this fear has obscured a harsh reality: Unlike most other US technology superpowers, Amazon is not very worldly.

Two-thirds of Amazon's revenue comes from sales in the US. Amazon Prime is available in a dozen or so countries, but it's not big in many of them.

Just four countries -- the US, Germany, Japan and the UK -- contributed 92 per cent of Amazon's $US136 billion ($171 billion) in revenue for 2016.
At Windsor Bridge, the locals recently celebrated 1500 days of continuous occupation in defence of the country's oldest urban square and the sweet wooden bridge that the Roads and Maritime Services want to replace with an ugly modern job that is mining truck-capable.

At the same time, the federal government behaves increasingly like some savage pimp, threatening military and fiscal brutality to force us back into a fossil-fuel addiction we yearn to escape.

"The left brain manipulates the world the right brain understands it." Illustration: Simon Bosch

It's like we're living a parable from Iain McGilchrist's 2009 book The Master and His Emissary; the divided brain and the reshaping of Western civilization. McGilchrist, a British psychiatrist, argues that the brain hemispheres are asymmetrical, in size and power as well as shape and function, and that the hemisphere responsible for narrow, exploitative utilitarianism increasingly out-yells that which sees the bigger, more complex, more connected picture.

For me, it's an argument that resonates. Everywhere I go right now, normally placid, even quite bourgeois people are saying, "What's going on? Soldiers to protect mining? In Australia? Governments outlawing peaceful protest? Huge public subsidies to help tycoons to destroy our reef, trash our towns, pollute our Great Artesian Basin? Has the world gone completely nuts?"
Perhaps the reason for the NRA's step back is the character of the killer. Paddock is not the usual mass shooter. Before his outrage changed the world's view of him, he was Mr Average America: white, middle-class, wealthy, successful, retired, with no record of crime or of religious or political extremism. His motives for massacring 59 and injuring hundreds remain obscure. Even those closest to him  his brother and his girlfriend  are mystified. Certainly he spent years stockpiling the huge arsenal he used in his rampage, but in NRA-controlled America, who can criticise that? He looked, in fact, just like many other NRA members. Yet even President Donald Trump, the NRA's biggest supporter, has now described this exemplar of NRA virtues as evil.

Congress has been criticised for its stubborn inaction on guns, but now even Republican politicians including the House Speaker, Paul Ryan, who routinely kowtow to the NRA, are falling in line. Something, then, may actually happen.

The US National Rifle Association (slogan: "I'll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands") has relented on one small issue of gun control. The organisation that holds US politicians, and through them the population at large, to ransom on firearms appears amenable to restricting one accessory that makes some deadly weapons even deadlier. It has asked if bump stocks  a legal, detachable mechanism that uses a weapon's recoil to enable a semi-automatic to be fired at the same rate as a fully automatic version  should be subject to controls. Among the 23 weapons found in Stephen Paddock's Las Vegas hotel room were 12 semi-automatic weapons that bump stocks had effectively converted to fully automatic. Their machinegun chatter is the sound heard on footage of the slaughter, the first signal to the concert audience of Paddock's murderous intent.

Whether Paddock, by holding a mirror up to the NRA, has given even that unreflective organisation cause to think twice we cannot know. If it has been prompted to support restricting the availability of the deadliest weapons, that is good, as far as it goes. But it will not be enough. One small restriction will change almost nothing, and as we have said, the world need not expect any fundamental change to emerge in the United States from this mass murder or those that inevitably will follow it. It is more likely the NRA realises some concession suits its long-term interest, and is offering one that affects the rights of gun owners least.

Australians look on these regular, agonising events in the US with curiosity. We tell ourselves with some smugness that we are much safer because our gun laws, thanks to John Howard's quick action after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, are much better. But there is no reason for complacency  quite the opposite.

Australians should view with alarm the findings of Gun Control Australia's 20-year survey of the National Firearms Agreement  the Commonwealth-state pact that was the product of that massacre. The survey published this week found no Australian state or territory has ever been fully compliant with the National Firearms Agreement. And NSW is one of the worst offenders. Silencers, banned under the NFA, are legal in this state. People other than pest-control shooters may use semi-automatic weapons. Antique weapons other than revolvers need not be registered. Children over 12 do not have to register if they shoot while supervised. These are only some of the many ways the rules in NSW fail to comply with the much-vaunted crackdown on gun ownership.

Pressure from Australia's own gun lobby has been successful in preventing the agreement from being implemented in full. Two decades after the Port Arthur massacre Australia is yet to establish a national firearms registry, because states, including NSW, are dragging their feet.

Like its US counterpart, but thankfully with less effectiveness, the gun lobby here is relentless. Its aims do not change over time, though its tactics may. Working through political entities such as the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, the lobby makes what gains it can when governments need its support for other legislation.
Is the purpose of being in government primarily to keep the opposition from doing it? The Coalition is now in its fifth year in power, yet it spends more time blaming Labor for the country's problems than spelling out its own plans to improve Australians' lives.

That is not to say that the Turnbull government lacks a vision. It clearly wants Australia to have a bigger economy, more jobs and greater security. But given that no one is actually proposing to shrink the economy, reduce the number of people in work and create danger for our citizens, the government's "vision" is as meaningless as its promise to be a "grown-up government". It sounds good but says nothing.

A depiction of yet-to-be-built Shortfin Barracuda, which will make up Australia's $60 billion future submarine fleet.

The big question facing Australia, and indeed all countries, is which parts of the economy we want to grow, and which we want to see decline. What kind of jobs do we want more of, and which do we want fewer of. And as no one wants to make Australia more dangerous, what kinds of risks do we want to work together to reduce?

Modern politicians don't like to talk about the need for some jobs and industries to decline, but this is a major reason why modern politicians find it hard to get anything done. We couldn't have ended whaling without reducing the size of the whaling industry. We couldn't have ended the use of asbestos without reducing the size of the asbestos industry. And, of course, we can't reduce greenhouse-gas emissions without reducing the number of coal-fired power stations and coal mines.
It was a moment instantly burnt into the skin of my memory. A high school history teacher who planted her hands on the edge of my desk, leaned her face towards mine and said with a strange kind of anger: "There is nothing new under the sun, Julia. No thought, no idea  they have all been said before."

We had been arguing about something that escapes me now, an ancient skirmish or far-off war and I had pressed the point, to her obvious irritation. I still remember the flash of fury I felt, at being told at the age of 16, that I would never have a new thought, that all was inherited, all tracks worn, all roads trod; as though human thought was an exercise in mass, if inadvertent plagiarism of previous generations.

Who is the teacher who inspired you to greater things? Credit:Eddie Jim

Don't dare, don't dream, it's all been done before.

I now understand it as a central tenet of history  that human folly, striving, madness, triumph, repeats itself  but it is so often in infinitely new ways. And surely every kid should only ever be told to dare to do and be more.
Remember back to the simpler, gentler time of April this year, when the government could mention the word "citizenship" without people making baaing noises at Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, and when One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts was simply a man who believed global warming was a UN-inspired hoax to introduce an anti-human socialist new world order, as opposed to a possibly British man who believed those things?

Back in April, when the government announced its intention to "strengthen" citizenship laws, no one suspected Senator Matt Canavan might be a secret Italian, and his mother had not yet been blamed by her son for allegedly pledging him to the tricolour without his knowledge (a claim he has since retracted). Back then, mums were still sacred.

Things have changed, citizenship-wise, and now it seems half of Parliament has had their Australian-ness impugned and is throwing out blame like confetti at a Florentine wedding.

In April, the Turnbull government still felt confident enough in its innate Australian-ness to introduce plans to "strengthen" citizenship laws. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Immigration Minister Peter Dutton announced changes that they said would "reinforce" the existing citizenship system, despite not being able to point to any flaws in the current system.
One of Australia's biggest political donors, who rubbed shoulders with serving and former prime ministers, has been accused of engaging in clandestine activities to "advance the interests of the People's Republic of China".

The allegations involving Chau Chak Wing, an Australian citizen who has also donated $45 million to Australian universities, are detailed in a defamation case in the Federal Court.

Property billionaire and political donor Chau Chak Wing. Credit:Sahlan Hayes

Mr Chau launched the defamation action against Fairfax Media and ABC's Four Corners after a series of stories that showed the Chinese-born property billionaire was a key member of Chinese propaganda organisations in Australia, and that ASIO had warned political parties about their associations with him.

Now, barristers for investigative reporter Nick McKenzie, Fairfax Media and the ABC have filed documents in the Federal Court alleging they had "reasonable grounds to suspect" that Mr Chau "betrayed his country [Australia], in order to serve the interests of a foreign power, China, and the Chinese Communist Party by engaging in espionage on their behalf".
The competition watchdog will demand ESSO and BHP Billiton explain in more detail why gas supplies from its Bass Strait joint venture will decline sharply next year amid concerns the nation is "being held to ransom".

There are also calls for acting resources minister Barnaby Joyce to make public a study into offshore gas resources he has had for more than a month that could shed light on the venture's future.

Under scrutiny: A big drop in expected gas supplies from the Bass Strait has the ACCC drilling for more information. Credit:Jessica Shapiro

The Turnbull government has so far blamed soaring gas prices on governments in Victoria and NSW for blocking or stalling on new gasfields, and in Queensland for allowing excessive LNG exports.

But by far the biggest contributor to the projected national shortfall of 55-108 petajoules of gas in 2018 will be the 86pj drop from the Esso-BHP's record output of 330pj this year, according to a recent Australian Competition and Consumer Commission report.
It is the report that can end a parliamentary career  revealing how much federal MPs have splurged on travel, charter flights, office facilities and other work expenses.

The Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority released its first report on Friday, aiming to ensure politicians are accountable for the way they spend millions in taxpayer dollars.

Announced after the travel scandal that claimed the scalp of former health minister Sussan Ley, the new quarterly report was touted by the federal government as one of the biggest reforms to the expenses system in a generation.

The release, covering the period from January 1 to March 31, 2017, shows senator Cory Bernardi charged taxpayers more than $1600 to attend an anti-halal rally in Melbourne in his first public outing as the leader of the Australian Conservatives party.
On the eve of the 20th anniversary of the death of rock star Michael Hutchence, the late INXS frontman remains a complicated and contradictory character for those who knew him best.

While Hutchence often referred to his band mates as his "brothers", he had been trying to get out of the band for years, his sister Tina Hutchence said.

Hutchence met his untimely end in a Double Bay hotel suite on November 20, 1997.

Speaking to The Australian Women's Weekly, Tina Hutchence makes it clear that feelings between her and the remaining INXS band members remain somewhat fraught.
When I was being treated for cancer, a friend used to say to me, "You know you look pretty good  you look like a Facebook cancer fake."

It was a backhanded compliment that always made me smile. Bowel cancer is no laughing matter and neither was the treatment: radiotherapy and chemo, then surgery, then more chemo, then more surgery. It seems this worked and three years later I'm one of the lucky ones: in remission.

So for me, the tawdry story of Belle Gibson and her lies are a bitter pill to swallow. She got off lightly.

Gibson claimed to have had only months from live due to brain cancer, which was cured after she gave up conventional treatment and used natural remedies.
Sydney's traditional northern Bible belt is losing its religion as suburbs in the south-west emerge as the city's most devout.

The share of people with no religion in the Bible belt districts of Ku-ring-gai, Hornsby Shire and The Hills Shire has climbed sharply over the past decade, an analysis of the 2016 census shows.

In the Ku-ring-gai council area the population share with no religion has risen from 16.3 per cent in 2006 to 31 per cent in 2016 and is now above the national average.

Ku-ring-gai has traditionally been seen as Sydney's Anglican heartland but the proportion in the district affiliated with that denomination has slumped from 27.1 per cent to 18.8 per cent over the past 10 years.
The former national president of the RSL suspected the-then boss of the NSW branch was misusing the charity's money but he didn't have evidence to prove it, a public inquiry has heard.

Ken Doolan says he became aware of allegations Don Rowe misused the charity's money during his time as president shortly after Mr Rowe's resignation in 2014.

He was told by NSW RSL councillors an investigation would be launched.

Mr Doolan says he didn't ask for the results of the investigation or for evidence into the allegations because he didn't have the authority to do so.
Convicted rapist Simon Monteiro says it is "in the public interest" that he be released, but the so-called "playboy rapist" is yet to convince the state parole board.

Dressed in prison greens, Monteiro represented himself at the hearing, delivering an at times combative argument for his parole, which was first signalled in a closed doors meeting by the State Parole Authority last month.

Simon Monteiro is yet to convince the state parole board that he be released.

However on Friday the decision was stood over to December 12, until a full psychiatric review of Monteiro's mental health could be completed, as requested by the NSW commissioner.

The authority found it could not make a parol release order in light of "the need to protect the safety of the community," determining that the exact nature of any mental health issues "remained largely unclarified".
Two men have been described as Australia's dumbest criminals after being caught on camera allegedly stealing outdoor furniture from a home in Sydney's south-west.

Police released the images of the men as part of a public appeal for information about the missing furniture.

Police believe these men, who arrived at a Georges Hall property in this white ute, may be able to assist with their investigation into missing furniture. Credit:NSW Police

Police said the men pulled up in a white ute outside a home on Marion Street, Georges Hall, at 3.30pm on September 28.

They allegedly took the four-piece grey and white cane setting from the home's front verandah, loaded it on to the ute and left.
A former Brisbane teacher aide will spend at least a year behind bars for luring four high school students to an isolated park in a bid to commit drunken sexual acts.

The Brisbane District Court heard on Friday the 42-year-old plied the victims, aged between 14 and 17, with alcohol before performing oral sex on three of them.

The man was sentenced to three years' jail, suspended after 12 months.

AAP
A former Redbank Plains taxi driver who stored his cab near Wacol train station has been named the murderer of 20-year-old Sharron Phillips, closing a chapter on a 31-year cold case.

Raymond Peter Mulvihill worked for Ascot cabs and is believed to have picked up Ms Phillips shortly after she made a call from a bank of telephones near Wacol Station after midnight on May 9, 1986. Mr Mulvihill died in 2002. His Ascot taxi is believed to have been destroyed.

Sharron Phillips disappearance in 1986 became Queensland's highest-profile missing person case.

His son, Ian Seeley, contacted homicide detectives and Fairfax Media in May 2016 after a story in Brisbane Times with two of Ms Phillips' siblings raised questions about the three-decade-old disappearance.

On Friday afternoon, Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath decided to reopen the inquest into Sharron's death.
A retiree who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing five young boys on his yacht near Brisbane has been jailed for eight years.

Noel Alfred Sneddon, 64, carried out "all manner of sexual acts" on the children, including maintaining a sexual relationship with a nine-year-old.

The Brisbane District Court on Friday heard Sneddon had an "infatuation" with the child, who he knew was in foster care and particularly vulnerable.

At the time the other children were as young as five, 12, 13 and 15 and abused on or near Sneddon's yacht between August 2015 and May 2016.

The court heard Sneddon told at least one of the boys, "what happens on the boat, stays on the boat".
A taxi driver who died in 2002 has been named as Sharron Phillips murderer, after a 31-year police investigation.

Following a decades-long search for answers, homicide squad Detective Inspector Damien Hansen on Friday named Raymond Peter Mulvihill as her killer, saying he would have been arrested if he was still alive today.

Sharron Phillips has been missing since 1986 and is presumed dead.

Police will pass information to the coroner and want to speak to a neighbour of Mr Mulvihill, called Jim, who is not a person of interest.

Inspector Hansen said there was no evidence to implicate Sharrons father, Bob Phillips.
Advancements in virtual reality could threaten the future of theme parks, according to a Queensland researcher.

The Queensland University of Technology's Malcolm Burt, known as DrCoaster, said because the brain could be tricked into believing it was on a ride, thrillseekers could one day pay a subscription to access amusement parks from their lounge rooms.

QUT's @DrCoaster Malcolm Burt conducting research on The Gatekeeper winged rollercoaster ride at Cedar Point, Ohio considered the rollercoaster capital of the world.

Mr Burt said facilities around the world were "rushing" to incorporate virtual reality into their rides.

"Virtual reality allows parks to offer different versions of the same attraction without the traditional expense of physically creating new rides," he said.
Google's AI-first mantra is bearing fruit, with the latest crop of Made By Google hardware benefiting from the guiding hand of machine learning.

Google's continued shift from a mobile-first to an AI-first approach to computing has seen the technology giant rethink all its major projects, says chief executive Sundar Pichai.

"It is not just about applying machine learning in our products but it's radically rethinking how computing should work," Pichai says. "People should be able to interact with computing in a natural and seamless way."

"In an AI-first world, I believe that computers should adapt to the way people live their lives, rather than people having to adapt to computers."
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has said he is "keenly aware" of the pain and disappointment NBN installations are causing the public, but says the issues are related to marketing and customer service, not the network's technology itself.

"[NBN Co has] got to improve the installation experience. That's a people management, a process management issue. And they're getting on top of that", Mr Turnbull said in an interview with 3AW's Neil Mitchell, adding that complaints about poor installation experiences were one of the two areas causing the majority of the strife.

The second, he said, was that retail service providers were "not buying enough capacity" to deliver the speeds they are promising to consumers.

"People are being told by the telecom retailers that they're going to get speeds which are not being delivered at peak times. And we've got a number of changes to ensure that that problem doesn't continue", Mr Turnbull said.
Victoria's dodgiest landlords and real estate agents will be publicly named and shamed on a blacklist available to tenants as early as next year, the state government has pledged.

The Andrews government is promising renters a fairer deal, with a ban on the "scourge" of rental bidding including new apps used for this purpose.

"All of my friends have had problems," says Chelsea Hickman. Credit:Joe Armao

The real estate industry has long used dreaded "tenancy databases", which charge a fee for the rental histories of prospective tenants.

But Real Estate Institute of Victoria chief executive Gil King was scathing of the idea of a landlord blacklist.
Elderly people are being taken to emergency departments in their final hours of life and dying "under fluorescent lighting in a hospital cubicle" because many aged-care homes are not equipped to provide palliative care.

It is common for ambulances to be called for people in their final stages of a terminal illness, with nursing home staff not experienced enough to recognise and treat a dying person, health professionals say.

Most Australians would prefer to die at home, but few are able to. Credit:Peter Braig

Australasian College for Emergency Medicine president elect, Dr Simon Judkins, said people who should be receiving palliative care are sometimes dying in an emergency department cubicle before there was time or space to send them to another ward.

"We get quite upset by that because coming to hospital and passing away in an emergency department is not by anybody's definition a good death," he said.
A Kelmscott man is lucky to be alive after crashing his car into a tree and splitting it in two during a high-speed pursuit with police.

The 23-year-old was spotted by police on Digby Street in Gosnells around 11.20pm on Thursday driving his Mitsubishi Magna.

The man failed to stopped when asked to do so by police, instead leading officers on a 35km chase south of Perth.

A police spokesman said he crashed into a tree on Brookton Highway near Flint when he failed to negotiate a corner at speed.
Environmental groups have lashed out at a federal agency for spruiking a "polluting, dangerous and unpopular" energy project in WA's picturesque Kimberley region, a move which could see the Commonwealth at odds with the state government.

Regional Development Australia Kimberley expressed its support for a fracking project in its monthly newsletter - despite the State Government's temporary ban on all fracking exploration.

Shale gas exploration has been a strong source of contention in Kimberley communities for years.

RDA Kimberley chair Graeme Campbell signalled the agency's tentative support for the Mitsubishi Energy and pipeline company DBG's project in the organisation's Tuesday newsletter.

"RDA Kimberley is excited to be involved with a game-changing concept which will benefit stakeholders who have already listed their support, and also has the potential to create new development opportunities for future industries in the Kimberley," he wrote.
For most West Aussies, packing up the family into the fuel-guzzling station wagon and heading "down south" for a quick getaway is a rite of passage.

Now, holiday-goers can ditch the gas-guzzler and make the trek in a more environmentally conscious vehicle, with electric car maker Tesla opening its first supercharge station in WA at Eaton Shopping centre, just north of Bunbury.

Frank Lister was the first person to charge his electric car at the new supercharger at Eaton near Bunbury.

The superchargers are more powerful than any existing technology going around and it only takes 30 minutes to power up the car, which gives the driver a range of 270 kilometres.

Bagging a Tesla isn't cheap with the model S and X rolling off the showroom for a cool $120,000.
"People won't be able to get legal advice because the exhibits can't be examined," he said. "It will delay police, the defence and the prosecutions. It will clog up a legal system that is already clogged up." The trouble-plagued PathWest centre has been under fire since the McGowan government announced in May it would review 15 years of results after it was found a DNA profile bungle caused a WA man to be wrongly convicted of a home invasion in 2004. It was understood the DNA error had been uncovered 12 months before it had been reported to the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the bungle prompted an immediate review into PathWest's operations to determine if the error was an isolated issue. And in late March one of the state's top DNA scientists was sacked for "cutting corners" during testing at the state-run pathology centre.

Dr Turbett said in the letter PathWest would "endeavour" to provide the reports earlier to police whenever possible. "However, WA Police have indicated that because of the delays in our provision of summary reports, there is less time available for them to conduct their investigations," he said. "Therefore, this delay with summary reports does have the potential to also affect our ability to provide full court reports." Dr Turbett said PathWest had recently recruited several forensic scientists through funding from WA Police. Opposition attorney-general spokesman Michael Mischin said it was "quite disturbing" that PathWest was allowed to drift into such dire straits.

"The government needs to explain after it delivered its budget in September how it pinched money from the police budget just so scientists can do their job," he told WAtoday. "The Attorney-General (John Quigley) called PathWest a 'dog's breakfast'... well he and the Minister for Health (Roger Cook) have been in office for six months now so they need to explain how reports have blown out to 12 weeks." When asked by WAtoday if he was concerned innocent people could be left in remand for longer because of the delays in police reports, Mr Mischin said "quite possibly". "Forensic biology evidence like DNA is crucial for identifying the offender, but that person may have a potential defence that could be argued in a court," he said. "But because the reports are going to take 12 weeks that could delay the criminal justice system."

Health Minister Roger Cook said the delay in reports was only "temporary". "We expect that PathWest will continue to deliver the services that WA Police require and that any possible delays will be worked through appropriately by both parties to minimise impacts," he said. "Our understanding is that court reports will continue to be met within agreed time frames, which means there is no change to the service delivery from PathWest to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. "Some of the challenges faced by PathWest were never resolved by the previous government. We are now left to work through these issues." Assistant Commissioner for State Crime, Michelle Fyfe, said the delays were due to the workloads generated from some ongoing homicide investigations.
A Kalgoorlie man wrongly sentenced to 12 months jail for his involvement in the Kalgoorlie riot - sparked by the death of Aboriginal teenager Elijah Doughty  will walk free from jail after winning his appeal.

Gary Yarran was sentenced to one year behind bars in June for yelling obscenities at police prior to a lawful protest outside Kalgoorlie Magistrates Court on August 30, 2016 turning violent.

Riot police came face to face with protesters in Kalgoorlie. Credit:John Wibberley/ABC

The 30-year-old left Hannan Street before the riot broke out, but later was one of four who was charged and pleaded guilty to the offence of being involved in a riotous assembly.

His sentence was successfully appealed on Thursday by social justice lawyer, Stewart Levitt, who claimed the punishment was excessive and racially discriminatory.
The Perth man sentenced to ten years behind bars for abducting and sexually abusing two children he lured from a child care centre has been convicted of setting his ex-girlfriend's house and car on fire just days beforehand.

Vincenzo Mule was sentenced in the Perth District Court on Wednesday for luring a five-year-old boy and four-year-old girl from a North Perth child care centre on April 2016, and forcing them to perform oral sex acts on him.

Vincenzo Mule has been found guilty of lighting his ex-partner's house on fire days before abducting two children from a child care centre.

On Friday, the 54-year-old was found guilty of lighting his former partner's North Beach house and vehicle on fire three days before he abused the children.

He was convicted of arson in the Supreme Court of Western Australia after a trial by judge-alone.
A father has told a courtroom how his female boss gloated about murdering an autistic teenager and provided graphic details as they stacked shelves at a Perth supermarket.

Matthew Stray described a bizarre shift at a Woolworths store when his supervisor Jemma Victoria Lilley approached him in an aisle and said "I did it".

Aaron Pajich's body was found in the backyard of an Orelia home in June 2016.

When he questioned her she was excited as she told him "I did it, I killed someone", Mr Stray told a jury in the Supreme Court of Western Australia on Friday.

Lilley and Trudi Clare Lenon, 43, are on trial before a jury after pleading not guilty to murdering 18-year-old Aaron Pajich on June 13 last year.
Bandar Seri Begawan: Oil-rich Brunei's absolute ruler is marking 50 years in power, with elaborate celebrations that include a glittering procession through the capital on a gilded chariot.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, 71, is now the world's second-longest reigning monarch, after ascending the throne in the tiny northeast Borneo nation in 1967.

Brunei's Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah waves to people in a procession to mark his golden jubilee of his accession to the throne on Thursday. Credit:Reuters

Dressed in gold brocade, the sultan entered the capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, with his wife, Queen Saleha, and their children on a carriage pulled by 50 members of the royal household clad in traditional black and gold woven cloth.

A military band led the five-kilometre procession, which was greeted by more than 80,000 well-wishers, some of whom had arrived as early as 5am to secure a good spot.
A castell, or human tower, being built in the Catalonian town of Valls in 2014. Credit:New York Times In 1934, Catalonia's president Lluis Companys proclaimed the Catalan State as part of a left-wing insurrection. It was quickly crushed. Most of the new government's members were jailed and Companys was executed in 1940. Spain has not yet said how it will respond to a declaration of independence if it comes next week. But there have been reports of the country's defence ministry sending convoys to set up new barracks for police on Barcelona's fringes. Unionist demonstrators march in Barcelona on October 3. Credit:AP Spain's Constitutional Court has ordered the suspension of the Monday session of the regional parliament, which was expected to make the independence declaration.

And Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy called on Catalan President Carles Puigdemont to abandon the plans for the declaration "to avoid greater evils"  a barely veiled threat. A street covered with referendum ballots in the aftermath of the vote for independence. Credit:AP Catalonia is already an "autonomous community" under Spain's 1978 constitution, which restored democracy after Francisco Franco's death. It has its own executive and parliament, and in 2006 won greater powers over taxation and nation status. However much of that statute of autonomy was struck down as unconstitutional by a court decision in 2010. The country's constitution asserts the "indissoluble unity" of Spain, and any referendum to the contrary is not just toothless, it's illegal. A woman holds a Spanish flag in support of police as pro-independence protesters gather in front of the national police headquarters in Barcelona on October 3. Credit:AP

The conservative Rajoy has taken a similarly inflexible stance. His view, backed by the court's, is that the referendum is not worthy of the name - and he says police acted on Sunday in just defence of Spanish democracy. After voting, Josep headed into Barcelona. He is a member of the national secretariat of the National Catalan Assembly, an organisation campaigning for Catalan independence. Ballots ready to be used by voters in Sant Julia de Ramis, near the city of Girona. Credit:AP On the train into Barcelona he got a call from a friend back in Roquetes. "He told me how the police were arriving, how they were breaking the windows, how they came to look for the ballot boxes," he says.

Catalans confront Spanish riot police near a voting site in Barcelona on polling day, October 1. Credit:AP He saw photos. "To see the police beating up an entire village is very affecting. I - well - I cried." He felt worry, then rage, but then, he says, he was moved by the people's resistance. 'A trap': Police push away Pro-referendum supporters outside the Ramon Llull school in Barcelona. Credit:AP "Even when they hit us we stayed silent, seated and didn't move an inch and didn't reciprocate their violence.

"I don't want to be part of a state that comes to your village and attacks you, I can't be part of that state any more." School teacher Elisa Aroca stands in front of the Estel School in central Barcelona, where National Police confiscated ballot boxes during the referendum voting. Credit:AP Catalan health authorities reported more than 800 people were injured when police stormed polling stations around Catalonia last weekend, dragging people out of voting queues, beating them with truncheons, even shooting them with rubber projectiles. Spain's interior ministry disputed the Catalan figures, saying the real number of injuries was just four. They said 431 members of state security forces  police and civil guards  were injured by bruises, scratches, kicks and bites from would-be voters. An international parliamentary delegation later expressed its "abhorrence" at the violence of the Spanish state. Amnesty International said it had "directly confirmed on the ground that members of the [Spanish police] and Civil Guard officers used excessive and disproportionate force against demonstrators who were passively resisting in the streets and at the entrances to polling stations".

"It was a trap," says one Catalan who supports union with Spain. He says the separatists had predicted that their victory would be the images of police suppressing the vote. "They had more cameras than the Olympic games and the Spanish government fell into it." Tunku Varadarajan, former Madrid bureau chief for The Times of London, agrees. In an editorial for Politico after the referendum, he wrote that the separatists had created a "political mise-en-scene". Despite the police action, the vote went ahead. Some polling places used stunts to hide their ballot boxes: in one photo, which went viral on Twitter, polling officials cheekily played a game of dominos as nonplussed riot police stood behind their shields. In another village, people sang in a church to disguise the vote count.

On the streets of Barcelona, as Sunday night wore on, impromptu street parties formed around polling stations. And then, around 11pm, the crowd erupted. Vote counters emerged with ballot boxes aloft like trophies. And then came the booth's official result: more than 4000 'yes', less than 400 'no'. A ballot box is taken from a school in Girona assigned to be a polling station by the Catalan government. Credit:Francisco Seco It was a microcosm of the vote as a whole  more than 90 per cent of ballots were cast for independence. But unionists scorned the result. Most of those against independence had decided not to vote, so as not to legitimise the referendum. Just over 40 per cent of the region's registered voters had taken part. Opinion polls have in recent years shown a region split down the middle. This division is relatively new. A decade ago, the independence movement was a very small minority.

Then came the 2010 decision of Spain's Constitutional Court, cutting back Catalan language status, powers on immigration and taxes and the right to call referendums. The next day a million Catalans took to the streets and put a new fire under the independence movement. Catalonian national day, 2013. Since 2010, support for independence has grown significantly. This is the standard narrative, but it is not undisputed. Others take a more pragmatic view, citing the global financial crisis and Europe's persisting economic malaise afterwards as a major factor in the new push for secession. Independence supporters claim the Spanish state takes far more in taxes than it repays in benefits and investment. Joan Llorach is the co-author of an unlikely bestseller, titled "The accounts and the tall tales of independence" (it sounds much better in Spanish: Las cuentas y los cuentos). The book takes apart some of the economic claims of Catalan separatists  including the myth of the big fiscal deficit.

Llorach says independence for Catalonia has been sold on the back of an economic fantasy that bears no relation to the present and certainly will not represent its future. "It would be a phenomenal self-inflicted limitation of opportunity, like Brexit," he says. His co-author, well-known Socialist Party politician Josep Borrell, has publicly compared one of the most prominent pro-independence politicians, historian Oriol Junqueras, to Britain's Nigel Farage. Catalan politician Oriol Junqueras, second from left, has been compared by opponents of independence to Britain's Nigel Farage. Credit:Angel Navarrete Last year Borrell called the separatist movement "a mirror of Brexit" and said Junqueras and Farage had "deceived their fellow citizens", one with false economic data to sell the benefits of independence, and the other defending Brexit with arguments that had been proven untrue.

"We live in a post-fact democracy," Borrell complained. Llorach says the Spanish government may have successfully prevented independence now, but the support may continue to grow. This makes him unhappy. He - a Catalan born and bred - sees independence as a "move against the progress of humanity". He sees a reversal of the recent trend to international friendship, of bonds that cross borders. The divisions that have grown in Spain, and particularly in Catalonia, are breaking his heart, he says. Irene Guszman, 15, wearing a Spanish flag on her shoulders and Mariona Esteve, 14, with an 'estelada' or independence flag, in Barcelona on October 3. Credit:Emilio Morenatti

"In every family there is a major split. And we don't have an end date, because the Spanish government is never going to have a referendum." Josep Sabate, though, is inspired and excited by the prospect of independence. He thinks Madrid held back progress and progressive politics in Catalonia. He doesn't necessarily want border posts to spring up overnight. He pictures a few years in which the divorce is settled, hopefully mediated by disinterested internationals (some have suggested Kofi Annan, or Barack Obama). If Spain acts unilaterally, he predicts Catalonia will "mobilise in the street". "If [Spain] use force it can't last forever," he says. "They can't take control of territory on a permanent basis if that's their strategy." There is increasing pressure on Rajoy to open dialogue with Catalonia, and perhaps bring some concessions to the table. It's not his style, though. He is not a natural charmer or conciliator.
A girl poses with a bear fur during New Year ritual dances in Comanesti, 300 kilometres north of Bucharest, Romania. Credit:AP "But I would say we have at least a thousand more this year," says game management expert Alexandru Gridan from Romania's National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry. "This is nearly twice the country's carrying capacity [the number of animals a habitat can support sustainably]." Most of the country's bears are in Transylvania, which means a region of the country less than half the size of Victoria contains roughly 15 times the number of bears that currently live in California's Yosemite National Park. The numbers are disputed, but one thing is certain: after the Romanian government banned the hunting of brown bears, wolves, lynx and wild cats in a surprise decision late last year, the number of incidents involving bears increased dramatically.

The decision was widely seen as a response to popular opposition to the trophy hunting trade, which exploded with Romania's accession to the European Union in 2007. In June, authorities temporarily closed Poenari Castle after tourists came face to face with a mother bear and her cubs. A month later, two Transylvanian shepherds were injured in a bear attack. In August, the BBC posted a video online showing amateur footage of bears rummaging around in urban bins, charging locals who got too close and getting into scraps with dogs. A young man told a local reporter why the people from his village were out in the street. "A bear entered an old woman's house," he said, "and ate the pancakes from her table." "There have been at least 10 times the number of incidents that there were last year," Gridan says. "Attacks, damage to livestock and crops. These are just the ones we know about." Every summer, Australia debates the morality of culling sharks in the interest of human safety. In the United States, where reintroduction programs have brought the grey wolf back from the brink of extinction and thus back into people's lives, the question of hunting is also regularly debated.

A female grey wolf and pups in Lassen County, California. Credit:US Forest Service via AP Wolves, incidentally, were this year removed from the endangered species list in Wyoming, where the hunting season opened last weekend. A dozen wolves - more than a quarter of the total number that can be legally killed in the state over the next three months - were killed in the first 40 hours. Experts suggested that maybe the animals had become "naive" after being protected for so long. In West Bengal, conservation efforts have seen the tiger population climb as well, and the number of fatal tiger attacks along with them, while lion attacks continue to raise questions about the relationship between game management, trophy hunting and conservation in countries such as Zimbabwe. Walter Palmer, left, poses with the corpse of Cecil the lion. Cecil's death in 2015 reignited the debate over trophy hunting and conservation in Zimbabwe. Romania has responded to its own particular crisis, reversing last year's decision to protect the bears, albeit only slightly. In August, Environment Minister Gratiela Gavrilescu announced that the government would allow 140 bears and 79 wolves to be killed or relocated before the end of this year, with so-called "nuisance animals" taking precedence.

Everything would take place "under supervision", Gavrilescu said, in order to "prevent trophy hunting". The decision immediately found itself in the crosshairs. A spokesperson for the Humane Society International described it as a "U-turn" that "threatens the very survival of bears and wolves in Romania". Animal rights groups accused the government of giving in to hunting interests, much as hunting interests had accused the government a year earlier of throwing rural populations under the bus. But Gridan rejected the decision from the other side of the cultural divide. "This is a drop in the bucket," he says. "The problem is not 'problem bears'. The problem is the number of bears." He says it desperately needs to be reduced. Verifying the size of the bear population is an important aspect of this debate. Bear expert Csaba Domokos from the Transylvania-based Milvus Group says that doing so is almost impossible. "The 'census' method that has been used so far is totally inadequate from a scientific point of view," Domokos told Fairfax Media. "We don't know the size of Romania's bear population, not even to the level of an educated guess."

He says the cull does not need to go ahead, and that relocating bears is a much better option. "Negative conditioning" - the use of non-lethal deterrents like pepper spray in the moments before anaesthesia is induced - has resulted in effective relocation attempts, he says. Gridan disagrees: "You can take these animals 200 kilometres away and they're home in three days. They're not stupid." Gridan insists that he's not merely waiting to go out and shoot himself a couple of throw rugs. Indeed, he says his concerns are actually not entirely removed from those of the activists he so disagrees with. "The ban on hunting has resulted in people taking things into their own hands," he says. "There's a 40,000 ($60,000) fine for killing a bear in Romania, even if it's attacking your crops or livestock. But it's not stopping anyone." "We've gotten reports of people laying snares, lacing dog food with arsenic, even putting meat out on the railway tracks. It can take up to three weeks for a snare to kill a bear. How is this a good thing?"

What's more, he says, allowing the bear population to grow unchecked is a bad thing for other species, too. There's a reason other European countries get cold feet whenever the issue of bear reintroduction comes up. "It's not just that people don't like the idea of bears in their backyards," Gridan says. "The European hunting industry makes a lot of money off its animal populations and bears tend to reduce those populations significantly. Large carnivores aren't just dangerous. They're expensive." Domokos agrees that Romania's hunting ban - whatever form it should ultimately take - will eventually threaten other species. But he says the threat will come from hunters themselves rather than from an overabundance of bears. "Wildlife managers will slowly but surely increase pressure on other species such as red deer," he says, "which is the second most expensive game species to hunt after bear." Domokos feels for the old woman and her pancakes, of course, and says that the country's compensation system leaves something to be desired. Like Libearty's Cristina Lapis, he believes better data is required in order for game managers and conservationists to make better decisions.
New Delhi: The Jain community is still in shock over a decision by a couple in their early 30s to withdraw from the world, renouncing their families, business, home and, most poignantly of all, their three year old daughter.

The tradition of austerity in the Jain faith is strong but individuals usually renounce worldly things after growing old and having fulfilled their responsibilities to family and children. What has stunned Jains is that Sumit Rathore chose to become a monk and his wife Anamika a nun in Surat, western India last month, in their early 30s and with a little girl to raise.

Young monks in Surat studying texts with a senior monk. Credit:Pradip Gohil

"We tried our best to dissuade them. For about 10 days, we all went to their house to tell them they couldn't abandon Ibhiya (the daughter). But they were adamant," said Sandip Rathore, Sumit's cousin and the only one in the family to speak out openly against the decision.

The initiation ceremony took place in Surat in the last week of September. The couple put on seamless white robes, went barefoot and covered their mouths with a mask so as not to accidentally kill a fly or tiny insect while talking. Inside their respective buildings (men and women are segregated), they plucked each hair out of their head.
Eric Paddock, brother of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock, was "dumbfounded". Credit:John Raoux Paddock was a professional gambler who lived in a housing complex for those aged over 55. But, according to IS boasts in the hours after the attack, he converted to Islam "a few months ago" and was bestowed the Arabic name Abu Abd El Bar. In the following days, IS clarified further: Paddock converted six months ago, and was known as Abu Abdul Barr al-Amriki, they claimed. Stephen Paddock smashed windows in his suite at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Credit:New York Times There has been no clarifying evidence provided from the terror group, Paddock's family or friends, or authorities, including the FBI and CIA.

"He has no political affiliation, no religious affiliation, as far as we know," brother Eric Paddock said. "This wasn't a terror attack." Stephen Paddock's girlfriend, Marilou Danley. Credit:AP Paddock's partner, Marilou Danley, was in her native Philippines at the time of the attack. By the time she travelled back to the US, she was seen as the key to the case: if the answers had not been found in the hours immediately afterwards, the truth must lie with her, was the logic. Eric Paddock had described her as the closest person to his brother. A "bump stock" attached to a semi-automatic rifle allows it to mimic fully automatic weapons. Credit:AP

But she did not know why either. "He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of, that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen," she said. FBI special agent Aaron Rouse confirmed the day after the attack that the bureau had "determined to this point no connection of an international terrorist group". But there were others in authority who were less definitive. "This person may have been radicalised, unbeknownst to us, and we want to identify that source," Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Joe Lombardo said in the hours after the attack.

He bordered on speculative in the following days, when he said he was not convinced Paddock had acted alone, and questioned whether he had deliberately concealed the motive. There was a note in Paddock's hotel room, he added. But it was not a suicide note, and it seemed not to have illuminated or explained anything about a motive. "What we know is, Stephen Paddock is a man who spent decades acquiring ammunition and weapons and living a secret life, much of which will we'll never fully understand," Lombardo said. All this means it may never be known why Paddock committed the worst mass shooting in recent US history. So why would IS, the biggest brand name in global terror, claim him as one of their own?

Under "normal" circumstances, the terror group claims an attack if they helped actively plan it; if they sent the offender; or if the offender drew inspiration from IS. At 64, Paddock would have been the oldest IS recruit from the US by nine years, according to George Washington University research. He had no known online profile or social media accounts, meaning there is no evidence that he had gravitated towards radicalism. Nothing was found on his electronic devices that indicated he had self-radicalised or was in communication with IS. He was, therefore, not in obvious contact with IS, nor a sympathiser, and did not fit the demographic profile of a radical.

Which leaves the circumstances of the attack. If anything, recent IS messaging has emphasised the ease of mounting unsophisticated strikes using trucks or vans, and knives rather than guns. Paddock's attack certainly did not lack sophistication: hidden cameras to monitor movement outside his room, evidence he had scoped other locations, and then the troubling potency of his arsenal: 47 guns, 33 that he bought in the past year, bump stocks which allowed some of them to fire automatically, 1600 rounds of ammunition and 22 kilograms of ammonium nitrate. It was an armoury any terrorist group would be proud of. But Paddock seemingly bought all of it legally, with his own money. All of this appears to add weight to the suggestion that IS claims about the Las Vegas massacre are false; the third recent occasion of the terror group incorrectly taking credit for an attack.

Last month, it claimed responsibility for a bomb plot at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, and in June it said that a man who killed 36 people at a Manila casino was one of their "fighters". Both statements were released by its Amaq news agency, which also hailed Paddock this week. Both were found to be false within days. The Manila attacker was a problem gambler, and the airport evacuation was not caused by a bomb threat. But while IS has a shaky recent track record, it is a misconception that the group has a record of incorrectly claiming attacks. (An article published in the UK this week entitled "Isis just claimed responsibility for Theresa May's cough" sums up the sentiment.) Rukmini Callimachi, who covers IS for the New York Times, tweeted that in her rough analysis of more than 50 cases the group had claimed, only three were false. There were also attacks which they could have claimed  because IS flags were found at the scene, or because of the background of the offenders  but did not.

The main thrust of her argument was that the group is right more often than wrong. She also dismissed the suggestion that claiming credit for the attack was a sign the group was struggling for legitimacy as coalition forces take hold of its territory in the Middle-East. Experts have argued that the IS propaganda machine is no longer slick and disciplined, and is over reaching to claim violence against "crusaders". "It seems like they're desperate for attention and will claim just about everything," Rand Corporation terrorism expert Colin Clarke told CNBC. "They've lost so much territory, and they fear they're becoming irrelevant." But other experts believe the IS propaganda machine is stronger than ever.

In a study published in the Australian Journal of International Affairs before the Las Vegas attack, Macquarie University counter-terrorism expert Dr Julian Droogan writes that IS had found new ways to communicate, despite being pushed from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, especially through their Rumiyah magazine, which is translated into several languages. "The Islamic state-building prospect is going to fail but when it does it will not be the end of the ideas," he said. Regardless of whether there was IS involvement, was the Las Vegas shooting terrorism? Some angry commentary in the aftermath of the shooting claims that Paddock was a terrorist because he caused terror, and the only reason he was not being accused of that crime was because he was white, and not Muslim. Under Nevada law, in fact, his mass shooting would be considered an act of terrorism. The State Statute defines terrorism as anything that involves the use of violence to cause death to the general population. Under American Federal law, another element is required  political motivation. Terrorism is defined as using "violence against persons...to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives".
Acclaimed Melbourne bar Black Pearl has become the Steven Bradbury of Aussie cocktail-making, claiming the title of Best Bar in Australasia by staying steady as its Sydney competition crashed to the ice.

At the World's 50 Best Bars awards in London on Thursday the fixture of Fitzroy, the training ground for some of the country's best bartenders, was judged the 22nd-best in the world  and the best on the continent.

The sbagliato cocktail made at The Black Pearl Bar in Melbourne, Australia. Credit:Josh Robenstone

Black Pearl also ranked at 22 in the awards last year, but was then beaten by Sydney's Baxter Inn which came in at number 12.

This year, though, Baxter Inn slumped to number 45.
The trauma unit at the University Medical Centre on Tuesday, after the attack. Credit:AP The rounds struck victims with horrific force, causing severe damage to human tissue and organs. "These were definitely injuries you would see in a war zone," says Compton, the general surgery flight commander for the 99th Medical Group, who has been deployed to US military hospitals in Qatar twice. Blood and a lost shoe down the street from the Mandalay Bay Resort. Credit:New York Times When Chesnut and Compton arrived at the hospital shortly after midnight, the trauma centre was packed with patients in urgent need of assessment.

Crude tourniquets had been affixed onto many victims to control bleeding, but quick decisions had to be made to prevent fatal blood loss. An undated photo of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock. Credit:AP And with hospital resources taxed by the influx of patients, Chesnut and Compton say, their military training proved invaluable in helping to triage patients. The new Air Force mobile surgical teams - more nimble offshoots of military field hospitals - were redesigned this year so medical decisions can be made faster on the battlefield, according to Colonel Virginia Garner, the commander of the 99th Medical Group. Each team consists of a surgeon, an anesthesiologist, an emergency room physician, a critical-care nurse, a scrub technician and a medical administrator. One team can conduct five sterile, open-air operations.

The team members are trained to react expeditiously under overwhelming circumstances, relying on their medical instincts to decide which patients can be stabilised quickly enough for evacuation to military hospitals. "We use very little blood, no CT scanners, just ultrasounds, and our clinical diagnostic skills," Chesnut says. "So, when I walked into that trauma resuscitation bay on Sunday night and Monday morning, I thought to myself, 'How would I treat these patients working in the middle of the desert in five-man teams'?" Initially, Chesnut and Compton saw 20 to 30 patients waiting for evaluation for what appeared to be gunshot wounds to their arms and legs. To move them along the treatment process, the two began helping other doctors to check the victims' pulse rates. If pulse rates in damaged extremities differ from other parts of the body, that would be a sign that an amputation may be needed. No amputations ultimately were required, so the surgeons then began assessing for internal injuries. High-calibre weapons can leave deceptively small entrance wounds, Compton says.

"The hospital only had so many CT scanners, and you have a lot of people with extremity injuries ... so who gets that precious CT scanner first?" says Compton, an 11-year-veteran of the US Air Force. "The triage skills that we learned, training to go out on these small surgical teams, where even five or six patients and we can be overwhelmed, all helped us decide who gets that resource first." As the backlog of patients began to lessen, the Air Force surgeons began helping doctors care for even more critically wounded patients. Because Paddock had been firing from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, many bullets struck victims in the chest before smashing downward into the abdomen. That caused rare, severe wounds to both patients' chests and their abdomens. "The thing that struck me most, which I did not expect to see, is the trajectory," Chesnut says. "When gunshots enter through the chest and go through the abdomen, you have potentially catastrophic injuries because you can die from an injury to the chest and injury to the abdomen." Chesnut and Compton also found it unusual that so many patients did not suffer exit wounds, considering the speed of the rounds.

"We found a lot of bullets," Chesnut says. "Whether those bullets passed through another individual and ended up in our patients, it's impossible to say." The rounds also caused devastating injuries to arteries, Chesnut says. He recalled helping to put a chest tube into one young man. "I have never seen so much blood pour out of anyone," the officer said. "But we saved his life." About nine hours after they arrived, Chesnut and Compton left the hospital Monday. Now, they must carry the weight of the experience onto far more familiar grounds. Chesnut is leaving this weekend to take part in the Air Force's rescue mission in Puerto Rico. Compton is also preparing for deployment, but he can't say where for security reasons. When they arrive on their missions, both hope they never again see what they saw Sunday night. But if they do, they say, they will be even more prepared.
San Jose: Tropical Storm Nate has killed at least 22 people in Central America as it pummeled the region with heavy rain while heading toward Mexico's Caribbean resorts and the US Gulf Coast, where it could strike as a hurricane this weekend.

In Nicaragua, at least 11 people died on Thursday, seven others were reported missing and thousands had to evacuate homes because of flooding, said the country's vice president Rosario Murillo.

Four storms: Hurricane Katia in the western Atlantic between Bermuda and the US East coast; tropical storm Lee's remnants affecting the north-eastern US, tropical storm Maria in the central Atlantic; and newborn Nate in the Bay of Campeche, Gulf of Mexico. Credit:NASA/NOAA GOES

Emergency officials in Costa Rica reported that at least eight people were killed due to the lashing rain, including two children. Another 17 people were missing, while more than 7000 had to take refuge from Nate in shelters, authorities said.

Two youths also drowned in Honduras due to the sudden swell in a river, while a man was killed in a mud slide in El Salvador and another person was missing, emergency services said.
KRALENDIJK, Bonaire:--- During its visit to Bonaire on October 3rd the Board of financial supervision Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (Cft) emphasized the need for an adequate budget execution (such as key role functions) and the management of government entities in its meetings with the Executive Council and the Island Council. "It requires collaboration and effort of not only the finance department but of all the management boards, the Executive Council and the Island Council in order to improve this rapidly," was the statement of the new Cft chairman Raymond Gradus.

During the visit of the Board, meetings were held with the Lieutenant Governor, the Executive Board and the Island Council. A work visit was made to the Chamber of Commerce. The Cft was informed of the many economic developments and the challenges the various sectors are facing. In addition, the rapid succession of various Executive Councils and Commissioners has also been addressed, which is something that causes important decisions to be delayed. Chairman Raymond Gradus: "If plans are not implemented (timely), this is not good for the investment climate, detrimental to economic growth and, therefore, not good for Bonaire society as a whole."

The 2017 budget implementation and the 2018 budget preparation were discussed with the new Finance Commissioner. One of the subjects was the intention to raise staff costs in the 2018 budget. Another topic was the prior agreement to fill up a number of crucial vacancies. It is agreed that these crucial functions will be completed by January 1st, 2018. In addition, the Commissioner indicated to come with plans to limit the increase of staff costs.

The recommendations of the various reports on the improvement of the financial management were also discussed. The process of reviewing the various procedures and processes has cost more time than was originally planned. At last all final reports on the procedures and processes have been completed and an implementation plan has been prepared by the Finance Department. The Executive Board has indicated that this implementation plan will be submitted, making it possible for Bonaire to realize an unqualified audit statement on the financial statements for the year 2019. Furthermore, the financial statements for 2016 were discussed. The audited financial statements 2016 were submitted late. The submittal of the draft budget 2018 is also delayed. The belated submission of the draft 2018 budget is related to the late adoption of the 2016 financial statements. The fall of the coalition in July has also contributed to the tardiness. The 2018 budget will be submitted shortly to the Cft.

Another particularly important part of the discussion were the developments at two government entities. These developments may have a major impact on the budget. The Executive Board has indicated the intention to improve the management of these government entities. The Cft wishes to emphasize the importance of this matter.

Cft visit with new chairman and new member on behalf of the BES Islands

The visit to Bonaire on October 3rd was the first headed by the new Cft chairman Raymond Gradus. The Board has meanwhile been reinforced with the arrival of the new member on behalf of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, Mr. Herbert Domacasse. The Board of financial supervision Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba now consists of Raymond Gradus, Sybilla Dekker and Herbert Domacasse. The Cft looks back on a useful visit to Bonaire.

Furthermore, the Board expressed its compassion with all who have been affected by the recent natural calamity on the Windward Islands. The Cft considers it not fitting at this moment to visit Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius or Saba. Perhaps the Cft will make a separate visit to the Windward Islands by the end of this year.

CFT Press Release
In just 10 days, supporters of Madison maker space Sector67 and its founder, Chris Meyer, topped the $100,000 mark in a fundraising campaign to finish remodeling the nonprofits new space and to help Meyer and his wife, Heather Wentler, pay their bills as Meyer recovers from burns he suffered in an accident at the site last month.

Thats more than twice the initial fundraising target, $50,000, which was reached within 48 hours. And the donations keep coming.

As of Friday, more than $105,620 had been raised, with contributions from about 800 people.

Its surprising just in the sheer volume of money raised, said Forrest Woolworth, chief operating officer of PerBlue, a Madison mobile game development company, who helped launch the GoFundMe campaign.

Its not as surprising when you realize just how much of an impact Chris has on the community ... how many people believe in what hes doing and want to help him, Woolworth said.

Meyers condition was upgraded to good on Friday at UW Hospitals burn unit. He was injured in an accident on Sept. 20 at 56 Corry St., the metal building that is being revamped to become the new home for Sector67.

Im just speechless

Wentler said Meyer was moving a steel beam column when it fell onto a propane tank used to run a forklift. Propane gas was released and a spark from the forklift caused a propane flash explosion, she said. The Madison Fire Department has not released a report yet on its investigation.

The accident happened five minutes after Wentler left the Corry Street building. A neighbor across the street heard the steel beam fall, helped Meyer get out of the building and called 911, Wentler said.

Meyer suffered burns on 40 percent of his body  his head, arms, back and neck, Wentler said. Most were second-degree burns and some were more serious third-degree burns, affecting tissue below the skin.

Last week, Meyer had surgery to receive skin grafts on his arms. Some came from skin on his legs and some were StrataGraft, a skin tissue developed by Stratatech, a Madison company now owned by Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, which is conducting clinical trials on the product.

Chris was super-excited when he was given the opportunity to be part of that, Wentler said. Every day, were seeing big strides in his road to recovery. She said the nurses keep telling her about Meyers ideas for improving their medical tools and which Sector67 members can help them.

Meyer and Wentler, both 32 and natives of the Edgerton area, started dating in high school and have been together 16 years.

We dont even have words to articulate how much we appreciate the support weve received from the community. Im just speechless, Wentler said.

She said she doesnt know how much longer Meyer will be in the hospital, but has been told it will be a year or two before he is back to full strength.

Wentler is co-founder of the Doyenne Group, a nonprofit that supports entrepreneurship for women, and founder of Fractal, a program for children in science, technology, engineering, art and math. The classes are offered, mainly during vacation times, at Sector67.

Sector67 transformation

Sector67, founded in 2010, has a wide variety of equipment, including 3-D printers, laser cutters, wood and welding shops, computers, a car lift and sewing machines. It offers classes to people of all ages.

It originally was slated to be a key component of the StartingBlock Madison entrepreneurial hub under construction in the 800 block of East Washington Avenue, but Meyer later pulled out of the plans, largely because of the financial terms.

Sector67s new location will double the size of its current leased location, 2100 Winnebago St. The nonprofit bought the Corry Street building in February.

Were in the midst of a phenomenal transformation as an organization to a more mature nonprofit with paid staff and enhanced programming, said Scott Hasse, a Sector67 board member who is serving as interim leader while Meyer is recovering.

Hasse said members have been helping with the remodeling project, and other volunteers have pitched in. A guy tuned up our forklift for free. We needed some real quick advice on a plumbing situation and had a local plumber step up, he said. Employees of Tormach, a Waunakee CNC (computer numerical control) machine company, have offered welding services.

Hasse said he hopes local contractors will get involved, too. Were raising the roof 10 feet in the air, so theres a lot of steel work, a lot of concrete work, and there will be carpentry work when the walls are up, he said.

Sector67 plans to have the new space ready by March 2018. Thats when it has to be out of its current location, which will be transformed into co-housing and a home for Madison Circus Space, Hasse said.

A super hero

Donations are coming from around the community, as some comments on the GoFundMe website show:

Sector67 kindly hosted my sons Lego team last fall, free of charge. Paying that kindness back, wrote one donor.

One contributor called Meyer a super hero. Another said he is a gleaming example of whats right with the world. Keep inspiring.

Chris, Heather, and Sector67 are an unbelievable force for good. And not just regular old boring goodreally exciting, scrumptious, inspiring good, said another.

Woolworth, PerBlue CEO Justin Beck and Meyer were UW-Madison students together, involved in many of the same activities. Beck and Meyer were roommates at Chadbourne Hall in their freshman year and have remained close friends.

(Meyers) passion for fueling the creativity and ability to enable builders and makers to actually be able to envision their dreams (is something) he and I both share, Beck said.

John Neis, executive managing director of the Venture Investors investment firm, met Meyer when Neis served as a judge for a UW business plan competition in which Meyer pitched the concept for Sector67. Since then, Neis and his wife, artist Chele Isaac, have become friends with Meyer and Wentler, who stayed at their home for a year and will return there for Meyers recovery. Neis and Isaac have contributed $25,000 on top of the GoFundMe total and urged others to donate, too.

Sector67 is a unique and important asset in this community that goes far beyond a place that provides machines and tools, Neis wrote on the GoFundMe website. He is eager to teach others, from kids to those with advanced degrees, delivered with his disarming grin, giving people confidence that they can do new things where they thought they lacked the skills or know-how.
New research shows the Madison School Districts 4-year-old-kindergarten program is enrolling a greater share of minority and low-income children, potentially boosting opportunity for historically disadvantaged youths as more 4K participants overall go on to district kindergarten.

But theres room for improvement as well, as about 20 percent of Madison public schools 4K graduates still attend kindergarten in a different district.

The substantial number of students who participate in 4K but move on thereafter may represent a sizable loss in district enrollment worth addressing, said the report from the Madison Education Partnership, a joint research practice between the district and UW-Madison School of Educations Wisconsin Center for Education Research.

Over the programs start, from 2012-13 to 2016-17, the districts overall 4K participation rate has risen from 67 percent to 72 percent of the districts entering kindergartners, and is 5 to 10 percentage points higher among African-American and Latino students, low-income students and students who are English language learners.

That shows theyre doing a good job of reaching out to kids from diverse backgrounds, said Eric Grodsky, a UW-Madison associate professor and co-director of the research partnership.

The study showed 76 percent of African-American kindergarten students had attended 4K in the programs first year, rising to 78 percent last school year. The same percentages were seen for Latino kindergartners, with low-income kindergartners 4K participation increasing from 73 percent to 79 percent over the same period.

White and Asian kindergarten students also saw increasing 4K participation over the six years, though at percentages lower than the other examined groups and lower than the overall percentage for all students. The rise was 64 percent to 69 percent for Asian kindergartners and 61 percent to 66 percent for white kindergartners.

Its confirming the notion that 4K is this equity-building enterprise, said Beth Vaade, the districts co-director of the research partnership. Its reaching the children who we know are most in need of support at the earlier ages.

The study of enrollment patterns in the districts 4K program, now entering its seventh year, is the partnerships first research project since it formed about one year ago in a collaboration sought by WCER Director Bob Mathieu and district Superintendent Jen Cheatham.

The 4K study was intended as much to lay a data foundation for more in-depth study as it was to glean basic facts about the program, Vaade and Grodsky said.

Now that we have a common understanding of where the program is and where its trending, were really excited about the work to come around 4K, Vaade said. This is just the start of a much larger conversation were going to be having around 4K over the next two years.

Led by principal researcher Jaymes Pyne, a doctoral candidate in sociology at UW-Madison, the 4K study used data from the district to compare enrollment by year, race, income, disability and English language proficiency.

The study showed enrollment in the 4K program has fluctuated between 1,700 to 2,100 students annually, with a racial/ethnic composition closely mirroring the district  43 percent white, 16 percent black, 22 percent Latino, 10 percent Asian and 10 percent identified as other. Last years class also was 45 percent low-income, 37 percent English language learners and 7 percent disabled.

The study also examined where 4K participants attended the three-hour, play-based classes  at the districts 24 school sites or at one of the programs 29 community-based locations that work under contract with the district  and who attends morning vs. afternoon sessions.

On those fronts, the researchers found the districts school-based sites tend to serve a slightly more diverse student population, while parents with higher incomes tend to enroll their children in afternoon sessions.

However theyre situated, 4K programs function as pre-kindergarten enrichment opportunities designed to bridge the gap between home and school and build the social, emotional and early academic skills of 4-year-olds.

4K is a space where you can allow kids to learn how to do school, and be part of that school community, Vaade said. They need to learn the fundamentals of literacy and numeracy, but (teachers) also want to let their creativity come out and let 4K be the wonderful setting that establishes school as a really good place to come to.

The research partnerships next planned topic will be looking at the association between 4K participation and early literacy skills, followed by a study aimed at exploring chronic absenteeism in young children, 4K to grade 3.

The district also planned to study more closely why 1 in 5 of their 4K students attend kindergarten in other districts, and try to turn that around.

But the 4K programs growing reach among minority, low-income and English language learners also is seen as a positive, regardless of where they attend kindergarten.

As a district, wed love to keep those students, Vaade said, but the reality is we want kids to be successful wherever they go to school.
RFS to showcase their new and innovative antennas at GITEX 2017 in Dubai

Posted by Publisher Telecommunication

With over 150,000 participants and more than 4,500 exhibitors, the GITEX is one of the biggest and most influential tech events in the world. Taking place from October 8th to 12th at the Dubai World Trade Centre, it will attract retailers, entrepreneurs and IT professionals from the Middle East, Africa, the Americas and Europe. RFS, global designer and manufacturer of cable and antenna systems, will also attend this year?s event to showcase their new and innovative antennas.

GITEX Technology Week: A hotspot for technology and innovation

The annual GITEX Technology Week is a festival of innovation with hundreds of independent events taking place. It focuses on the Middle Eastern technology sector, but attracts startups, entrepreneurs, investors and tech enthusiasts from all over the world to experience the world?s most advanced technology and drive digital transformation.

Notable speakers talk about their experience as well as new trends, startups have the chance to pitch their idea during Startup Movement, and exhibitors showcase their newest products and developments during this week. In addition, this year?s GITEX also includes new sectors to be discovered such as smart manufacturing, global smart cities, robotics or vehicle tech.

RFS shows what it has to offer to the telecom market

For the 2017 GITEX RFS is partnering with their local distributor Minerva to present the latest additions to their portfolio: the SuperSlim antennas as well as their RF X-TREME? antenna for Tetra, WiFi, LTE, GSM and LTE+ coverage. Whereas the SuperSlim antennas are used for a better indoor network coverage, the RF X-TREME? is used as the foundation for high-performing lines of multi-band base station antennas and has the best in class wind load design in the market.

?Over the last few years, I have seen a great demand and thus the need to show our customers, what we have to offer. At GITEX 2017, we will be displaying our first ever, one of a kind SuperSlim antennas. This will mark the end of the IBS antennas? legacy and the beginning of the race of being the first to introduce the smallest antenna for indoor solutions?, Rayan Hamze, Regional Sales Manager Middle East for RFS, explains. ?We?ve had tremendous success in the past few years and we plan to go above and beyond for our customers in the following years.?

If you?re interested and want to learn more about the innovative RFS antennas, you can find them in Zabeel Hall, Stand Number Z-K12.
Solar Novus Today Has Been Integrated

With Novus Light Technologies Today

Visit Novus Light Technologies Today to see all the cutting-edge stories and products that you have come to enjoy on Solar Novus Today. In addition, you will find more information on related light-based technologies.



Get the latest solar and renewable energy news delivered right to your inbox. Sign up for the Green Technologies newsletter





CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO OUR GREEN TECHNOLOGIES NEWSLETTER






























Police from across Wisconsin supported a bill Thursday that would set state policy for when body camera video can be made public and would allow for much of the footage to be withheld.

Bill sponsor Rep. Jesse Kremer, R-Kewaskum, said at an Assembly committee hearing that the goal was to protect the privacy of people captured on police body camera footage and to set statewide guidelines for law enforcement agencies.

But advocates for open records argued that the measure went too far and would make it difficult, if not impossible, for footage thats in the public interest to be released. The bill would not require police departments to use body cameras.

Jim Palmer, executive director of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, the states largest police union, said the creation of the statewide policy would lead to more police departments using cameras. He said no one knows how many currently have them.

Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney testified that his concerns over protecting the privacy of people captured on police body cams have led him to reject funding that would have paid for equipping his 400 officers with cameras. Mahoney spoke in favor of the bill on behalf of groups representing sheriffs and deputies across the state.

This legislation is necessary to ensure consistent policies across the board throughout our state as well as protecting the privacy of victims, Mahoney said.

The primary reason police officers are given body cameras is to increase accountability and public confidence in their actions, and the bill is contrary to those goals, said Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council. The group, which represents newspapers, broadcasters and other media outlets, joined with the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association in opposing the measure.

Thirty other states have laws related to police body cameras. Of those, 18 address how data captured on the cameras are addressed under open records laws, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Under the Wisconsin proposal, all footage taken from a police body cam would be exempt from the open records law except for video involving injuries, deaths, arrests and searches.

But if footage were taken in a place where someone has a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as a home, police would have to first seek permission from any victims, witnesses and property owners before the video could be released to the public.

If they dont receive approval, police could still release the footage if they determine its in the public interest to do so.

These are certain to create administrative headaches and result in the denial of access to records of public interest, Lueders said.

The bill also would allow police to destroy footage after 120 days unless its related to an injury, death, arrest or search. That footage could be destroyed only upon final disposition of a case or when a judge decides the video is no longer needed, although prosecutors, police, defendants and judges could order any footage preserved beyond the 120-day mark.

Theres been a push nationally in the wake of officer-involved shootings to require more police to wear body cameras to help determine what happens in those cases. The footage can end speculation about an officers actions, stoking or quelling public outrage in high-profile, racially charged shootings.

The Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee took no immediate action on the proposal, which must pass both the Senate and Assembly, and be signed by Gov. Scott Walker, before becoming law.
Mark Clarke expected to spend his career working around animals after he graduated from UW-River Falls with a degree in animal science, but each successive job took him further from that goal.

Im doing nothing with my degree now, said Clarke, executive director of the Alliant Energy Center.

But theres no question that Clarkes experience working in animal-related businesses has played a big role in making the Alliant Center profitable again despite its aging facilities.

Besides continuing to host the World Dairy Expo, which is taking place this week, and the Midwest Horse Fair, the Alliant Center has added a third megashow  the CrossFit Games  upped its livestock shows from eight to 20 and increased its number of concerts at the Dane County Coliseum.

Clarke, who grew up in rural Janesville, began his career as an independent contractor breeding cows for the American Breeders Service in DeForest. After nine years, he moved on to head the the U.S. headquarters for a Netherlands-based transgenic cloning company, Pharming Healthcare, that made pharmaceutical drugs from the protein of cows milk. It also was located in DeForest and worked closely with ABS.

Pharming Healthcare closed its U.S. office after the Food and Drug Administration decided not to approve drugs from cloned animals, Clarke said. At the time, it was a little controversial, he said.

Clarke moved on to BouMatic, an ag manufacturing company in Madison, where he was a product manager in charge of all of the milk harvest equipment. He also filled BouMatics directors seat on the World Dairy Expo Board, which led to him becoming general manager of the World Dairy Expo in 2007. The Dairy Expo enjoyed steady growth under Clarkes direction and it also took giant steps to improve its biosecurity protocol.

Clarke said he understood the challenges ahead when he became Alliant Centers executive director in November 2012. Dane County owns the center but doesnt provide it with any tax dollars, and Clarke was told to make it self-sufficient, though many of its buildings are aging or inefficient.

His first task was to create a plan to replace the aging barns, and the $24 million New Holland Pavilions that opened in 2014 have been a great success, partly because they turned Alliant Center into a year-round venue.

I knew we could get the Pavilion thing done and that was a big piece of the puzzle and then wed have to go on to the next piece, whether its (replacing or renovating) the Coliseum or (expanding) the Exhibition Hall, Clarke said.

Cite one of the changes you made to make the Alliant Center more efficient.

Its the little stuff. Like you have to have the right equipment so the staff can do their jobs correctly. That had been really neglected and I saw that really quick. We had seven forklifts but four were in the shop and we were renting forklifts. So we werent efficient and we were paying overtime because we didnt have the equipment to do it right.

Explain why the Quilt Expo is as important to the Alliant Center as the Dairy Expo.

When you have an event that has livestock, theres a lot that is out of my control. What if theres a tuberculosis outbreak in the state and no animals are allowed into the state? That makes it a risky show. The risk with Quilt Expo and those kind of shows is much, much less. The bottom line is that you have to manage your event portfolio so that its diverse enough to cover whatever emergencies pop up.
Georgetown, SC (29440)

Today

Cloudy with rain in the morning...then scattered thunderstorms in the afternoon. High near 70F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 70%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms likely in the evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms later on. Low 52F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
Chicago does not have the strictest gun laws in the country. Its time for gun lovers to stop spreading that lie.

A decade ago that was indeed a title Chicago wore proudly. We were the only major city that still had an ordinance banning residents from keeping a handgun in their home.

The handgun ban made us the primary target of the National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment Foundation, and in 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court forced Chicago to fall into line with the rest of the country.

Since then, the courts have peeled off so many layers of our once stellar gun ordinance that its barely recognizable. Were still maneuvering to keep gun stores and shooting ranges from opening in the city limits. But the courts have ruled against us on that, too, so we know its just a matter of time.

Remember that old requirement that gun owners in Chicago register their firearms with the city and obtain a permit? Well, thats gone too.

And thanks to the Illinois General Assembly, which was pressured by the federal courts to pass a concealed carry law in 2013, people can walk the streets of Chicago with a gun attached to their waist and another strapped to their ankle.

Sorry, gun lovers, your attempts to use Chicago as a prop to bolster your claims that gun control laws do nothing to curb gun violence just dont hold up.

New York, in fact, has stricter gun laws on the books than Chicago. And guess what? Its homicide numbers are heading toward historic lows. Los Angeles has some pretty tough gun laws too. Its homicide numbers also pale compared with Chicagos.

Those kinds of details dont fit the conservative, pro-gun narrative, though. To use New York as a talking point, theyd have to admit that strict gun laws might actually have an impact on homicide rates.

We dont make excuses for our ghastly homicide numbers in Chicago. With 762 people killed last year, no one has to remind us that we have a serious gun problem. We own it. And we have to do something about it.

But we are tired of Donald Trump and pro-gun advocates using our city to promote their political agenda.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders dragged Chicago into the fray again recently when responding to a reporters question about gun policy in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Las Vegas.

One of the things that we dont want to do is try to create laws that wont stop these types of things from happening, Sanders said at a news conference. I think if you look to Chicago where you had over 4,000 victims of gun-related crimes, they have the strictest gun laws in the country and that certainly hasnt helped there.

Sanders should listen to U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., who argues that the problem is Chicago being surrounded by red states that have completely surrendered to the pro-gun lobby.

With no gun stores in Chicago and no background check loopholes for private sales, one thing is clear. The guns being used to kill people on the streets arent originating in Chicago. Theyre coming from someplace else.

When politicians and others repeat that ridiculous statement about Chicagos gun laws, it shows how out of touch they are with the problems urban areas face when it comes to gun violence.

When it comes to gun laws, big cities are only as strong as the states that border them. And in Chicagos case, thats Indiana. Thanks to Vice President Mike Pence, the former governor, Indiana has some of the weakest gun laws in the nation.

While Illinois has gone to great lengths to see that background checks are done for all gun purchases, Indiana has done the opposite. To buy a weapon in Illinois, the owner must have a valid firearms owners identification card, issued by the Illinois State Police.

With no permit or license required to purchase a gun in Indiana, it is incredibly easy for a trafficker to drive across the state line, obtain a gun and use it to commit a homicide on the streets of Chicago.

Those with felony convictions commonly use straw purchases, in which they enlist someone with a clean record to purchase multiple guns and bring them into the city.

Law enforcement officials say 60 percent of the guns confiscated on the streets of Chicago come from Indiana, Wisconsin and Mississippi. The other 40 percent come from suburban Cook County and nearby suburbs.

Its tough, but we can try to sort out the bad apples in our own state and shut them down. But were helpless when it comes to regulating Indiana, Wisconsin and Mississippi.

Congress could do something, though. Lawmakers could pass legislation requiring universal background checks. That would close federal loopholes on background checks at gun shows and other private sales.

Congress could also limit the number of guns that can be purchased by one person in a period of time. And lawmakers could toughen penalties for straw purchases.

Military-style assault weapons already are banned in the city of Chicago, but in most other places in Illinois and in most other states, they can be purchased as easily as a handgun. If Congress really wanted to stop massacres like the one in Las Vegas from occurring, lawmakers could pass a federal assault weapons ban to replace the one that expired in 2004.

The gun lovers in Washington dont want to talk about these things, though. Its a lot easier to just keep picking on Chicago.
Optimization

Are you frustrated with a slow pc or a hard disk not performing as it should?

Try SLOW-PCfighter to speed up boot time on a slow PC, or try a free scan of FULL-DISKfighter to recover space on a full disk. The latest offering is DRIVERfighter to update your driver updater. Get complete PC optimization and extend the life of your PC with these must-have software tools.
The dairy industry is in a period of consolidation after the milk price crash but farmers should be prepared for future volatility, changes to basic payments and need to focus on promoting the high standard of product they produce.

We do not sell ourselves as a nation and there is very little realisation that we produce the highest quality milk in the world and have some of the highest standards in the world, according to Mike Houghton at Andersons Consultants.

We need to differentiate British food from imports. The standard of welfare and stockmanship that the UK dairy industry achieves is a key element. At events like the Dairy Show, everyone recognises this but we are very poor at pushing it out to the public.

David Handley, at Farmers For Action, encouraged farmers to shout about being in the dairy industry. Farmers need to tackle communication with consumers  especially the children of today and tomorrow. We need to get out there and promote our product - the next generation have the opportunity to drive change.

Milk prices have swung from around 19p/litre in June 2016 to around 30p/litre now  such a swing in a short space of time has resulted in challenges for farmers but also means the industry could be quick to forget the sheer size of the losses that occurred. The support industry for dairy has over 1bn worth of debts  now is a period of consolidation to get back to a debt that is manageable, he explained.

Michael Oakes, NFU dairy board chairman reiterated that prices had turned at the right time, but that now was the time to redress the bank balance. The advice is, if you are to make an investment, make yourselves more productive and efficient, not necessarily produce any more milk  theres a big difference. Concentrate on becoming more resilient. Farmers need to develop tools with processors and milk buyers to help manage volatility going forward.

It is sustainability we need to be looking at, added Mr Houghton. The message to all producers should be based around supply and demand. If they have not got a market  a value added market producers should be encouraged not to grow their business beyond where they can get a sensible price for their milk. The law around supply and demand is incontestable  either farmers learn to manage their supply or supply manages the number of farmers we have. We need to learn all about risk management.
The Krone BaleCollect standout feature is its hydraulic drawbar that telescopes to provide absolutely safe castering in road transport - a unique feature that sets it apart from all traditional bale collectors. This telescoping drawbar breaks the connection between the bale collector and the baler, allowing the collector to track behind the baler like a second trailer (3.9m total transport length). There is no bouncing, because the brake on the Big Pack has been designed to also handle the extra weight of BaleCollect, ensuring exemplary rides on slopes as well.

Another plus point is the fact that the type approval is issued for the baler-collector combination and not for the tractor-baler-collector combination, giving machine owners maximum flexibility in the use of the tractor. This is a great advantage over competitor collectors where the approval covers the entire combination of tractor, baler and collector and becomes void when a different tractor is used.

Furthermore, the Krone BaleCollect also offers superb operator comfort, courtesy of the BaleCollect data management which is integrated in the hydraulic and electronic system (BUS system) and which allows the baler and collector to be operated from the same terminal.

How BaleCollect works

In transport position, the sides fold on to the table to reduce the transport width to less than 3m. The bale collector pulls like a second trailer behind the Big Pack  a boon when travelling around bends or through narrow gates. BaleCollect is compatible with all Big Pack models and can be approved for 50km/hr.
President Donald Trump scolded the media back in February for not reporting that the national debt had fallen by $12 billion during his first month in office, compared to an increase of $200 billion during former President Barack Obamas first 30 days in the White House.

The numbers in Trumps tweet were accurate but meaningless, which is why they didnt garner lots of news coverage (though the president apparently learned about them by watching Fox News).

The precise size of the national debt fluctuates from month to month, financial experts quickly pointed out. But the clear and unmistakable trend is that Americas debt continues to climb.

It topped $20 trillion for the first time last month, according to the Treasury Department, and stood at $20.3 trillion as of Tuesday.

Thats more than $400 billion higher than in February, when President Trump sent his self-congratulatory tweet, which Politifact.org described as highly misleading.

More important, the Republican president has shown little interest in controlling the debt since then, as it rises ever higher.

Trumps plan to overhaul the tax code is just the latest example. The president last week promised a giant, beautiful, massive tax cut that the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget predicts will add $2.2 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.

Even House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, long a champion for addressing the nations out-of-control debt, is starting to hedge on whether he would support an overhaul of the tax code that runs up the annual budget deficit further. Thats disappointing.

The Trump administration claims tax cuts will stimulate the economy and bring in enough new revenue to offset lower rates. But the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, led by former Republican Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and former Democratic presidential adviser Leon Panetta, as well as other fiscally responsible groups, disagree.

As is, the plan would add a substantial amount to the federal debt, and it would be impossible to offset this amount solely through higher economic growth, according to the committees website.

The good news is that at least a few Republicans who railed against soaring debt when a Democrat was in charge are still consistently raising concerns now. U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said Sunday on NBCs Meet the Press that he will not vote for any tax plan that adds to the federal deficit.

If it looks like to me its adding one penny to the deficit, Corker said, I am not going to be for it. OK? Im sorry. It is the greatest threat to our nation.

Corker isnt running for re-election, making it easier for him to do the right thing. Similarly, Wisconsins U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, has made the debt one of his top issues and doesnt plan to run for office again. Johnson told the Madison Area Builders Association last week he wouldnt support a tax cut that increases the national debt.

Good. The convoluted tax code is in dire need of simplification. But any changes should be revenue neutral so future generations of Americans arent stuck with an even bigger and more burdensome pile of IOUs.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

STAMFORD  The pomp and circumstance of the citys annual Columbus Day parade has quietly come to an end.

Organizers said it became too costly to hold the event, which will be replaced with the Columbus Day Italian Street Festival. The new event will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday in Columbus Park.

Alfred Fusco, chairman of the festival and president of the Stamford chapter of Italian service organization UNICO, said the parade became a logistical nightmare. He said the parade required paying for permits, insurance, city services and police security.

Fusco said the cancellation was not related to the ongoing nationwide debate about Columbus Day and controversial historic monuments. He said the festival has been in the planning stages for eight months and was determined to be more feasible.

We want to focus on Italian heritage and how that is woven into the American experience, Fusco said. We hope people to walk away with a little more knowledge of Italian culture.

According to a 2015 report by The Order of Sons of Italy in America, more than 10 percent of Stamford residents identify themselves as Italian. The report ranked Stamford among the top-50 cities in the nation for the highest Italian populations.

Mike Batinelli, a member of UNICO who organized the parade up until this year, said the festival will show Italian-American pride.

While the food festival has been recently promoted, there has been no official announcement about the parades cancellation. Fusco said that was because the parade was never an official city event.

The festival will include Italian food and music, antique cars, demonstrations and activities, including wine and pasta making. Admission is free and there will be free parking in the Bell Street garage.

tclark@stamfordadvocate.com; 203-964-2265; @travclark2
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

STAMFORD  For Pam Bacco, no jail sentence will bring back her son.

Her 25-year-old, Christopher Lynch, visited his father in New Canaan last year and never returned home.

Mark Lynch, 58, pleaded guilty Friday to providing the heroin that led to his sons fatal overdose.

Lynch, like others accused in Connecticut of providing drugs that lead to fatal overdoses, was charged with second-degree manslaughter. The charge is defined as recklessly causing the death of another person and carries no mandatory minimum penalty with sentences typically ranging from 18 months to about four years.

Lynch will return to court in December when he will be sentenced to three years in jail on reduced charges.

For me, 100 years isnt long enough, Bacco said.

As the opioid epidemic continues to rage throughout the country and in Connecticut, where there were 917 fatal overdoses in 2016, state Rep. Kurt Vail, R-Stafford, said he believes defendants like Lynch should be charged with murder.

But faced with the state budget crisis and an ongoing effort to reduce the number of inmates in Connecticut prisons, Vails proposed stricter law  and a similar one made by state Rep. Devin Carney, R-Old Lyme,  never made it out of the states Judiciary Committee.

People should all know how bad this epidemic is, and if you as a drug dealer take advantage of it and someone dies, you should be held accountable for taking the persons life, Vail said.

State Sen. John Kissell, R-Enfield, and state Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, co-chairmen of the Judiciary Committee, supported Vails efforts. But Kissell said the proposed law concerned some members because it contradicted Gov. Dannel P. Malloys second-chance legislation.

Lethal mix

There has been heightened urgency to address the opioid epidemic since cheaper and more powerful drugs like fentanyl have been mixed with heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine to form an even deadlier combination.

According to the state Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, 479 people who died of overdoses in 2016 had fentanyl in their system. That is six times more than in 2014, when 75 people died with the drug in their system.

In 2016, there were 276 people who died of overdoses with heroin and fentanyl in their bodies compared to just one person who digested the mixture and died in 2012. There were 142 overdose deaths in 2016 with cocaine and fentanyl in their bodies compared to two people who died with the mixture in their system in 2012.

In one July day this summer, there were seven overdoses  two fatal  in Norwalk, where police say the incidents were caused by crack cocaine cut with fentanyl.

Like Lynch, 29-year-old Norwalk resident Eric Frank has been charged with second-degree manslaughter in the death of one of the men.

Toll on justice system

In Massachusetts, which also uses a second-degree manslaughter charge with no mandatory minimum in these cases, the governor has proposed increasing the penalty to first-degree manslaughter carrying a sentence of at least five years.

New York also uses a second-degree manslaughter charge, but a conviction there results in a three-year minimum sentence.

In New Jersey, there is a specific law: strict liability for drug-induced deaths, which carries a 10-year minimum sentence. There also is a similar federal law: distribution of drugs causing death has a 20-year minimum sentence.

Some feel stiffer penalties will not deter dealers from supplying lethal drugs.

The overwhelming number of people who provide illegal drugs to others on the street are themselves users, and ascribing to those people the ability to rationally evaluate the risk of their own behavior is misguided, said Lynchs attorney, Matthew Maddox.

Maddox spent months negotiating a deal for his client until reaching the agreement with Stamford States Attorney Richard Colangelo on the lesser charges of criminally negligent homicide and sale of narcotics.

Colangelo said establishing a law carrying, for example, a five-year mandatory minimum sentence would take its toll on the states justice system with more cases going to trial.

Id love to take every one of these cases to trial. But it is not what we do in the system, realistically, he said.

Colangelo said the Stamford-Norwalk Judicial District has lost five prosecutors in the past two years, in addition to other courthouse staff.

Colangelo said he understands the magnitude of the opioid crisis, but believes families of victims are more interested in drug dealers taking responsibility for their actions.

Bacco disagrees.

Drug dealers think they are untouchable, that they wont get caught, said Bacco, who left Lynch 13 years ago and is now remarried and living in Colorado. They may go to jail for 15 or 18 months and get out. Then they get out on the streets and are doing it again and more people die.

jnickerson@stamford

advocate.com
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

WASHINGTON  A move to ban bump-stock devices is accelerating in Congress, with some Republicans joining Connecticuts two senators and other Democrats in calling for scrutiny of the add-on the Las Vegas shooter used to turn single-shot rifles into machine guns.

In a major surprise, the National Rifle Association said Thursday the devices should be subject to additional regulations.

On Thursday, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., a staunch gun-rights supporter, said the legality of the bump stock is something that we need to look into.

Asked about bump-stock controls, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Were certainly open to having that conversation.

On Wednesday, a slew of Republican senators including John Cornyn, R-Texas; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said they, too, were open to bump-stock controls.

Connecticuts Democratic lawmakers are used to mass shootings, such as Newtown in 2012, being met by resistance from Republicans  and some Democrats  to any new gun laws.

After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that took the lives of 20 first-graders and six adult staff members, the Democratic-controlled Senate in 2013 fell six votes short of overcoming a filibuster against universal background checks.

A different reaction

More Information What is a bump stock? Created to enable people with disabilities to shoot a gun, a bump stock is an attachment that allows a semi-automatic rifle to fire faster. The device, which sells for less than $200 and causes the gun to buck back and forth between the shooter's shoulder and trigger finger, allowing more shots quickly. See More Collapse

Few in Washington expected a different reaction after Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock used an arsenal of 18 weapons to spray fire Sunday at a country music festival, killing 58 and wounding 515 before he died.

But lawmakers of both parties have keyed in on Paddocks possession of 12 bump-stock devices, which enabled him to up the death toll by turning his single-trigger-pull, semi-automatic rifles into weapons that imitate machine guns.

This does feel different, said Sen. Chris Murphy, who along with fellow Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal and other Democrats held the Senate floor for nearly 15 hours last year to force ultimately unsuccessful gun-law votes in the wake of the Pulse nightclub mass shooting in Orlando.

Im glad Republicans are open to regulation of these devices, Murphy said.

He and Blumenthal co-sponsored legislation introduced Wednesday by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., that would ban the sale, possession and importation of bump-stock devices.

Its still a long uphill road, Blumenthal said. Nevertheless, he added, he was surprised by Republicans, because their standard, knee-jerk reaction is implacable opposition.

Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-Conn., who represents Newtown and serves as vice chair of the Democratic House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, said: Im happy to see progress of any sort. I think we have a decent possibility of getting this passed, because bump stock is so outrageous.

The president of Connecticuts leading gun-rights organization, the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, said he was wary of any calls for new gun laws in the aftermath of mass shootings.

Our concern as an organization is that bans on inanimate objects always lead to more bans on other items, Scott Wilson said. It never seems to end.

A nuanced distinction

Machine guns were subject to strict regulation in 1934 and banned outright in 1986, with the exception of weapons made before the laws effective date.

Later Thursday, Ryan suggested bump stocks might be subject to a regulatory solution rather than a legislative one.

Fully automatic weapons have been outlawed for many, many years, Ryan said. This seems to be a way of going around that. So obviously we need to look at how we can tighten up the compliance with this law so that fully automatic weapons are banned.

The NRA and some Republican House members said it was up to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives to evaluate bump stocks and make sure they comply with these laws.

ATF agents test-fired the devices and judged them by the governments legal standard: A rifle that discharges a single bullet with each trigger pull is legal; a rifle that discharges a burst of bullets with each trigger pull is not.

Because bump-stock devices harness the natural recoil of a rifle discharge to chamber additional rounds and send forth a paroxysm of fire, the ATF determined they met the single-trigger-pull standard.

We dont take a position on whether we like an item or dont like an item, ATF senior firearms enforcement officer Max Kingery said in a 2013 interview with Hearst Newspapers at the bureaus facility in Martinsburg, W. Va. We simply classify it according to the law.

Blumenthal characterized the NRA call for ATF re-examination of the devices as a delaying tactic.

Its a deceptive and dangerous dodge, he said, noting federal rulemaking often takes years. Its a really sinister tactic to distract from the need for a law banning bump stocks.

dan@hearstdc.com
By Register Staff / Photo courtesy of Branford Police

BRANFORD  An 81-year-old man was charged Thursday morning with trying to stab his 74-year-old wife with a kitchen knife, according to a police press release.

Anthony Delucia, of Turtle Bay Drive, was charged with criminal attempt to commit murder, second-degree assault on an elderly victim and breach of peace, police said in the release.
WESTPORT  Oscar-winning Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein is taking a leave of absence from his own company after an explosive expose on decades of sexual harassment against women, from employees to actress Ashley Judd.

The revelations came Thursday in a story published in The New York Times. Weinstein owns a home in Westport.

At this time there is nothing for Westport police to investigate because we have received no complaints of this nature, Lt. Jillian Cabana said.

Cabana said the department will not investigate unless a complaint is filed.

Weinstein owns two adjacent properties on Beachside Avenue - one assessed at $8.5 million and the other, $7.1 million. One of those Beachside Avenue houses was on the market in 2016, but had no takers.

Weinstein, a prominent Democratic fundraiser, held a fundraiser for President Barack Obama in 2012 that raised $2 million. The star-studded event featured celebrities Anne Hathaway, Jim Naughton, Joanne Woodward, Aaron Sorkin, and Anna Wintour.

On Oct. 2, Weinstein sold a house on Minute Man Hill for $1.65 million; the listing price was $1,795,000. Weinstein purchased the house for $825,000 in October 1995. The four-bedroom house has 3,049-square feet of living space.

The New York Times story includes interviews with current and former employees from Weinsteins businesses, Miramax and the Weinstein Company, as well as film industry workers.

The article includes first person accounts of Weinstein's alleged conduct, including from Judd, who recounts an incident from two decades ago in which she said she was asked to meet Weinstein in his hotel room. Weinstein greeted her wearing a bathrobe and asked her if she would give him a massage or watch him shower, the paper reported.

Women have been talking about Harvey amongst ourselves for a long time, and it's simply beyond time to have the conversation publicly, Judd told the Times.

Weinstein has been accused of sexual harassment and unwanted physical contact and reportedly reached at least eight settlements with women. One of them was identified as Rose McGowan, the actress who was only 23 when the incident occurred in 1997.

McGowan, who has spoken out in the past about rape and harassment issues, also tweeted Thursday. She did not name anyone, but said that anyone who does business with (blank space) is complicit.

Women fight on. And to the men out there, stand up. We need you as allies, she wrote

Nevertheless Weinstein's attorney Charles J. Harder said in a statement that the story is saturated with false and defamatory statements about Harvey Weinstein.

We sent the Times the facts and evidence, but they ignored it and rushed to publish, Harder said. He did not respond to questions about what specific allegations Weinstein was contesting.

Weinstein apologized Thursday and announced he will take a leave of absence from his businesses. In a statement responding to the Times article, Weinstein wrote he will now focus his anger towards combating the NRA and its leader, Wayne LaPierre, as well as President Trump.

I appreciate the way I've behaved with colleagues in the past has caused a lot of pain, and I sincerely apologize for it, Weinstein said in a statement. Though I'm trying to do better, I know I have a long way to go.

His statement did not address any specific incidents.

Weinstein had a powerful perch in Hollywood for three decades, and was known for producing films like Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love, for which he won an Oscar.

He has also launched the careers of numerous actresses and directors and executed extremely successful Oscar campaigns with his company Miramax, which he ran with his brother Bob Weinstein. In 2005, they launched a new production company, The Weinstein Co.

Known for his angry outbursts, his often aggressive tactics were chronicled in the Peter Biskind book Down and Dirty Pictures.

Weinstein has been married to designer Georgina Chapman since 2007, they have two children together. He has three children from his previous marriage.

In Weinstein's lengthy statement, in which he quotes a Jay-Z lyric about being a better man for his children, he references coming of age in the 60s and 70s when, all the rules about behavior and workplaces were different.

I want a second chance in the community but I know I've got work to do to earn it, he wrote.

Weinstein quickly became a trending topic on Twitter. Lena Dunham wrote that the women, who chose to speak about their experience of harassment by Harvey Weinstein deserve our awe. It's not fun or easy. It's brave.

The Weinstein Company has in recent years suffered from a string of executive exits, mounting lawsuits and increasingly hectic distribution decisions.

In 2016, the company didn't receive a best-picture nomination for the first time since 2008. Weinstein returned to the category with Lion at this year's Oscars, but his preeminence as an Academy Awards heavyweight has undeniably waned.

Money problems have plagued the company intermittently since 2009, when it entered bankruptcy. But last year, The Weinstein Company continually shuffled release dates and delayed films amid reports that it was too cash-strapped to put a full slate of films into theaters. Some 50 staffers were let go last year.

Movies like The Founder and Tulip Fever were juggled over numerous release date shifts.

After The Founder, with Michael Keaton, was released in January along with the Matthew McConaughey-led Gold, the co-financier of The Founder, FilmNation, sued The Weinstein Company for $15 million, alleging Weinstein violated the non-compete clause of their agreement.

The Weinstein Company had a modest hit this summer with the acclaimed thriller Wind River. The $11 million film has made $33 million. But the company's fall season awards hopeful The Current War, with Benedict Cumberbatch, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival to withering reviews.

Contact svaughan@hearstmediact.com

Staff Writer Michael P. Mayko and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
From the start of history the world has been a composite of cultures. Early man gathered with those similar to him to form a group in which they could live in harmony. As the groups grew larger they eventually became nations, each with its own culture. So when we speak of culture, we refer to the very core of what makes a Frenchman French, a Swede Swedish, an Englishman British. It is the soul of a country, what makes it unique.

Culture does not live in museums alone. It is the everyday life of the individual, what he eats, drinks, the type of house he lives in, the countrys history, its festivals and national holidays, its art, music and literature, his religious faith and most important of all, a common language. Together these form the individuals identity in the world. A man was interviewed recently at JOuvert, the Caribbean festival, on why he came. His answer: Here, Im with my own people. It was his tribe, his culture.

Brexit is the result of culture. The British were getting sick of Brussels dictating 60-70 percent of regulations affecting them in the name of the European Union. Their long tradition of individual freedom personify what being British is all about. Only the urban young were for the EU since they had no cultural history to fall back on at their young age.

Within a country culture can have variations. Think of northern and southern Italy  so different, Provence and Normandy. But when their national anthem plays, their flag waves, they become one. Tourists travel the world to experience different cultures, scenery and architecture.

America is no different. It was founded by one tribe: Anglo-Saxon men with dreams of being their own free nation equal to others. When European immigrants came, they at first formed their own individual tribes but after two generations became English-speaking Americans eager to develop its vast land from ocean to ocean. In the South and parts of the North, slavery was an established lifestyle among wealthy landowners since before the Revolutionary War. It took another war to end this evil forever although a hundred years later the wounds are still raw.

America is a nation of regional tribes. The South, Northeast, Middle West, West Coast each has its own culture that evolved over the years. The traveler can identify where he is by the locals lifestyle, climate, food, music, politics. The one thing they all have in common is the English language. This mosaic of cultures attract like-minded people who feel comfortable with one another. But like Europeans, when wars or natural disasters come they rally as one people.

These tribes form a wide arc of political views, from far-left California to conservative Middle America. These views are formed by education, religion, lifestyle, tradition, income and location (rural or urban.) City people are liberal by the very nature of the lifestyle of constant renewal, changes, excitement of mostly young people crowded together chasing dreams. Rural people have always been conservative. The vagaries of climate shape them, the hardship of farm work or cattle ranching, their income depending on factors beyond their control. What they can control are the values they grew up with, church, family, patriotism, morals, self-sufficiently. These conservative values existed long before modern life cast them aside in too much of a hurry. Suddenly rural Americans feel overwhelmed by gay marriage, men and women even children changing sex, homosexuals adopting children, the hook-up culture in colleges, inter-racial marriages, children born out of wedlock, a sex-saturated media that glorifies modern life ceaselessly.

Cultural changes that used to take a generation or two to absorb are a challenge for rural America to grasp within little more than a decade; these changes can be legislated but they must come from the heart to be accepted. This takes time, patience, education to change a persons view of those different from himself. The college educated children who return home, even for only a short time, bring the outside world to them and the understanding of new values, new lifestyles.

How to bring all these tribes together? It is too late for the old but not the young. School is one way, but much depends on location and the school, but compulsory military service for men and women for a designated period is the answer for our polyglot nation. Many countries have it: Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Austria, Norway. Brazil, Bermuda, China and Russia, among others. What better way for young people to get to know one another than by eating together, working together, playing together 24 hours a day learning discipline and respect. Think of what it would do for gang members, the KKK crowd, the races, ethnicities and religions thrown together unable to escape. By the time they got out 18 months later, society would be the winner by receiving physically and mentally fit young men and women with a broader view of life ready to start their careers and work alongside a diverse group of people. A nice byproduct would be a population with basic training ready to help in natural emergencies. Its worth thinking about.

Greenwich resident Carla Wallach is an author of five books and writer of numerous articles in national newspapers and publications.
AG Nessel joins multistate coalition strengthening protections against sexual harassment in schools LANSING  Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general in a comment letter, led by...

A tribute to Michigans veterans Veterans Day is a time to pay tribute to all Michiganders who have served in our Armed Forces and their...

Coach had large impact in small amount of time A s you meander your way through life, there are certain people you meet that come into it for just...

Michigan Achievement Scholarship will make attending college more affordable for students LANSING  Recent high school graduates will now be eligible for a new scholarship to make attending college more affordable,...
Ontario, Canada-based Agri-Plastics will open its first U.S. facility in Sidney, Nebraska, next year.

The company plans to hire more than 20 employees next month in Sidney for manufacturing and production jobs. The company manufactures calf hutches, which house dairy calves that have been weaned, and plastic products for the dairy industry.

State and local leaders have been focused on recruiting new businesses to Sidney since Bass Pro Shops said last year it would buy Cabelas, which had its headquarters there. Bass Pro finalized its purchase of Cabelas last month, but its still unclear what will happen to operations there. A Bass Pro spokesman did not respond to questions about what would happen to the Cabelas operation in Sidney.

The company will take over part of the building formerly occupied by wiring plant CommScope, which closed last year, and invest $4.5 million into the project. Part of the building already is used by Lukjan Metal Products, which was recruited to Sidney this year.

Gov. Pete Ricketts met with Agri-Plastics corporate leaders during Nebraskas first trade mission to Canada in August.

The company is in the process of applying for the states economic incentives package and incentives from the Site and Building Development Fund. Agri-Plastics cited Sidneys arid climate  ideal for plastics production  plus access to Interstate 80 and a quality workforce as factors that ultimately won Sidney the plant.

Agri-Plastics President and Chief Executive Darren VanBuuren said the company had been looking to open a facility near emerging dairy markets in the mountain states and the southwest.

While we considered growing our company in these other states, accessibility to Nebraskas strong economic development programs and opportunities to build our workforce in Sidney are in line with our companys goals for growth, he said in a statement.
GERING  Gov. Pete Ricketts was in western Nebraska Thursday, Oct. 5, to promote the states second leading industry  manufacturing.

Ricketts spoke at the Nebraska Diplomats regional meeting at the Wildcat Hills Nature Center to emphasize the importance of local communities in bringing new industries to the state.

Local communities need to reach out and develop the relationships that get people interested in coming to the state, he said. No company established their manufacturing plant in a generic place called Nebraska. Companies only come to local communities. Were in a state where we grow things and make things.

He said manufacturers employ 97,000 people and contributes $13 billion each year to the states economic growth.

Those manufacturing jobs are created all across the state, not just in Lincoln and Omaha, Ricketts said. Thats important because we cant be a healthy state if were only growing in one area. Manufacturing gives us the opportunity to do that.

He outlined three broad areas the state needs to focus on to attract and expand manufacturing. The first was making sure the state has competitive taxation. The governors proposed budget included both property and income tax relief. While it got stalled in the first round of debate, the governor said he isnt giving up.

The only sustainable way you can have tax relief is by controlling spending, Ricketts said. You have to keep your expenses down to grow your economy, just like a business.

Ricketts said that when he came into office, the budget was growing at a 6.5 percent clip every year. Last year. it was .6 percent, a 90 percent decrease in the growth rate.

The second point he mentioned is making sure the state is doing all it can to cut the red tape that keeps businesses away. He said the state needs to get rid of the obstacles and make it easy for businesses to relocate or expand in Nebraska.

He said the state is already doing that by putting many necessary permits online so businesses can fill them out and return them quickly. Forbes magazine has rated Nebraska No. 1 for regulatory environment and No. 3 in best places to do business.

The governor has also placed a freeze on implementing state regulations until they can be reviewed to determine whether theyre needed at all or how they can be streamlined.

The third area focused on addressing the needs of workers in areas such as workforce housing and transportation.

Another grant program the governor implemented was the Developing Youth Talent Initiative. It encourages private sector business to work with their local school districts to encourage young people, starting in junior high, to consider careers in the trades.

The school can put together a curriculum that exposes students to available opportunities like manufacturing and construction, technology, computer coding, drafting and other areas, Ricketts said. We want young people to know there are great careers there without going into a lot of debt for college.

He said the average manufacturing job pays an average of $14,000 more than the average Nebraskan makes. Exposing young people to those opportunities will help the states manufacturing sector grow.
SCOTTSBLUFF  Tommy Rose takes a measured scoop of soy and places it through a large yellow funnel. Jill Allen follows with a measured scoop of apple bits, followed by Kendra Feather with oatmeal. These are the first three steps to making one of the 60,000 meals during the United Way of Western Nebraskas Day of Caring.

On Thursday, about 200 volunteers spent 2 hours packaging 60,000 meals (10,000 packages) of shelf-stable, microwaveable, fortified mac-n-cheese and apple cinnamon oatmeal food products. Volunteers come from all parts of the community, including individuals, Pacesetter businesses, service organizations, VALTS and LifeLinks students, church organizations and congregations and other United Way agencies.

Feather has been a volunteer since the event began four years ago. She enjoys coming out each year to make the packages.

Its a fun day and its nice to do so much food for that amount of people in such a short period of time, Feather said.

Tables are set up in an assembly line so food is measured and placed into a bag through a funnel. The next step is to make sure each package weighs the same amount. The packages are sealed, labeled and placed in a box. Once the box is full, runners, who also refill food, take the boxes and stack them onto pallets to be distributed throughout town.

First-time volunteer Paslensia Marez, of the Natural Leadership Society, chose to help out because it looked like it was a lot of fun. She spent the day with several members of Community Action Partnership of Western Nebraska.

Since we get funds from the United Way and some of these packages are distributed in our (CAPWN) pantry, we try to make it here to help out every year, said Delana Legler, who also serves on the United Way special events committee.

The staff from the DOVES Program also felt the same way.

Steph (Black, director, United Way) always helps us out and we wanted to be able to come here and help her out today, said Hilary Wasserburger, executive director at DOVES.

Members of the Westway Christian Church volunteered their time as a way to give back to the community. Lead Pastor John Mulholland said the church is always trying to do help out and do a variety of things in the community.

Our support locally is mostly finances, Mulholland said. When we all met, we agreed we wanted to try to do things that have a direct impact in the community.

The members of Kiwanis were also encouraging friendly competition with the Rotarians, with each group insisting they were doing better and packaging more throughout the morning. In addition to helping out a good cause, Rotarian Michele Lambert said it was a good way to support the community while getting to know each other a little better. The Rotarians were there, quietly fulfilling their motto, Service before self.

Raul Aguallo, with the Kiwanis Club, said volunteering for the event fits into what the Kiwanis do.

We are making a difference and serving the children of the world, said Shawna Manley, Kiwanis member.

The packages made on Thursday will stay in the local community and be distributed to 21 community entities to help those in need. Each fortified, dry product has a two-year shelf life. They are microwave-safe so anyone who is in a crisis can use them, especially if they are temporarily being housed in a hotel.

The program also helps other local entities. The local backpack programs in Scottsbluff, Gering, Mitchell, Morrill, Minatare and Bayard schools receive packages. So do food pantries, soup kitchens, disaster relief programs, the Diaper Depot, Firefighter Ministry, Jeremiah House, Panhandle Love in Action and Scottsbluff Volunteer Centers Snow Angel.
Romania is a stable, secure country with the highest economic growth in the European Union, a worth-to-invest in, privileged partner of the United States, Romania's ambassador to the United States of America, George Cristian Maior said on Thursday, as the Romanian Embassy hosted a dinner reception for the Harvard Club in Washington, the Embassy to the U. S. informs.

Attending the event were rd 100 members of the Harvard Club, Harvard University alumni, active in various fields, such as government, diplomacy, military, business and civil society. On this occasion, ambassador George Cristian Maior made a presentation of Romania from both the historical and its current evolution's point of view, emphasizing the moments that have enhanced the relation between Romania and the United States, as well as the Strategic Partnership between the two countries, signed 20 years ago.

The participants were interested in the region's security context, Romania's vision regarding the NATO role and the transatlantic relationship, alongside the economic developments and opportunities. To me, it's an honour to address an elite group made up of alumni of one of the most reputed university in the world, ambassador Maior stressed.

The dialogue with the Romanian diplomat gave the participants the occasion to have a better insight into the Romanian realities, the special relation between Romania and the U.S. and the opportunities our country has to offer considering its significant economic growth and the values shared with the United States of America.

Agerpres.
Romania will continue to be a responsible and active ally of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu said on Friday at the meeting with NATO Parliamentary Assembly President Paolo Alli, who is in Bucharest in the context of the 63rd Annual Session of NATO's Parliamentary Assembly. According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) for Agerpres, the discussions between the two "focused on topical issues on NATO's current agenda regarding the phase and prospects of implementing NATO decisions to strengthen the defense and deterrence posture and to ensure an increased role of the Alliance in stability projection."

The two high officials exchanged assessments on the main security developments in the eastern and southern neighborhood, underlining the importance of maintaining the Alliance's capacity to deal with all threats to the member states, regardless of their area of origin. The importance of NATO-EU co-operation has been highlighted in as many areas of common interest as possible for the two organizations, which is all the more necessary in the context of strengthening the EU's role in the field of security and defense.

The head of the Romanian diplomacy voiced appreciation for the work of the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO and emphasized the unique and extremely important role that this format plays in connecting allied objectives and policies to the needs and expectations of citizens in the member states. Teodor Melescanu stressed that "Romania will continue to be a responsible and active ally in promoting a strengthened NATO profile and will remain a trustworthy dialogue partner for its allies," the quoted source informs.

The President of the NATO's Parliamentary Assembly appreciated Romania's important contributions to the Alliance, materialized, among other things, in its significant participation in allied missions, hosting the Aegis Ashore rocket defence system and in meeting the Alliance's objective to allocate 2pct of GDP to defense. Moreover, given the double quality of the foreign dignitary, as president of the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO, as well as a deputy in the Italian Parliament, also highlighted during the meeting was the very good Romania-Italy political dialogue, in the context of a bilateral relationship of Consolidated Strategic Partnership. Also underscored were the important role of the Romanian community in Italy in the bilateral relationship and the common concern for its good integration into the Italian society, the MAE also informs.
The Constitutional Court of Romania over time has been notified 35 times to acknowledge legal conflicts among the powers of the state, and several times the conflicts were indeed a reality, as one power had crossed into another one's area of competence, Justice Minister Tudorel Toader said on Friday at the University of Craiova (southwest of Bucharest).

"The CCR has often found legal conflicts of constitutional nature, has stated the causes of this kind of conflict and the measures that were to be taken so as such conflicts be not repeated in the future, and the authorities, the powers never enter in conflict with each other again. Moreover, it is interesting that out of the 35 instances, the majority are positive conflicts, i.e. a power has stepped into another power's area of competence," Tudorel Toader said, upon delivering a speech on "The balance of powers in the rule of law's architecture" on the occasion of being bestowed the Doctor Honoris Causa title by the University of Craiova.

"Should we draw any conclusion as regards these conflicts, we'll find that in its 25 years of existence during which the Constitutional Court was notified with such conflicts, each power has been in conflict with another power or with the other two powers. I mean, there was no power in Romania not to enter, at some point and for one reason or another, into conflict with the other powers, via authorities. Each time, such a conflict notified to the CCR has marked such an imbalance among powers, and the CCR's decision has reestablished the respective balance," Tudorel Toader, who has also served as CCR justice, stressed.

Agerpres.
The last three warplanes of the F-16 squadron were received on Friday at the Air Base 86 in southeastern Borcea, in a ceremony attended by Air Force Chief of Staff Laurian Anastasof, Secretary of State Mircea Dusa and his Portuguese counterpart, Marcos Perestrello. "Technologically, switching from generation 3 to generation 4 is bringing Romania into the club of countries with credible capability and arrives with a perspective to be able to make the transition to the generation 5 of fighter jets." For the Romanian Air Force it has been an important and obligatory step, with the recent technological innovations having led to rapid developments and changes in the air defense system," Lieutenant General Laurian Anastasof said on Friday.

He also said that it is important for this air platform to be exploited to its maximum capacity, the F-16 being a highly technological weapon system, interconnected to all communication, command / control systems in the national air defense system and NATO. "The bringing of F-16 warplanes in Romania represents the transition stage for the introduction of the generation 5 aircraft in the service of the Romanian Air Force and the modernization of the Romanian combat aviation. At the level of the Ministry of Defense, a complex process of analysis is underway, and its findings will allow us to identify the optimal way to complete the transition stage," State Secretary Mircea Dusa said.

After the completion of the ceremony occasioned by the reception of F-16s, a demonstrative flight by these planes took place at the Air Base 63. The first six aircraft in the squadron of 12 multi-role warplanes included in the Romanian-Portuguese agreement were received by the Romanian Air Force on September 29, 2016 and the next three on December 16, 2016.

Agerpres.
NATO Assistant Secretary General for Executive Management Wayne J. Bush stated on Friday at Bucharest Forum that NATO exists in an uncertain world in order to protect almost one billion citizens and that is a major responsibility that the Alliance has always carried out.

He talked about the commitment of NATO to peacekeeping. He said that this commitment represents the promise of defending each other in accordance with the Article 5 of the Treaty, which reads "all for one and one for all." He also talked about the relationship between NATO and Russia, and underscored the Alliance's openness towards dialogue.

Russia is the biggest neighbour of NATO, the official said. He went on saying that NATO doesn't want a confrontation with Russia, but the aggressive conduct of Russia undermined the confidence, stability and security in Europe, adding that Russia illegally annexed Crimea and continues to destabilise the eastern Ukraine. In this context, the NATO official highlighted that he has two-ways approach towards Russia, namely defence and dialogue. Nobody should doubt NATO's determination and availability to defend its allies, he added. He brought to mind that NATO is consolidating its multinational presence in the Black Sea region, on air, sea and land, and it is based on the multinational brigade of Romania. Eight allies have committed to offer personnel and five have committed to grant equipment and air police forces.

All our measures are defensive. He added that here, too, there are some key-words: they are transparent, proportional and in accordance with our international obligations. In this framework, he added that NATO seeks a more constructive and predictable relationship with Russia, in which transparency and credibility are critical. He also talked about the worldwide terrorist threat and about the manner in which it should be approached. We shouldn't close our cities, but we can't no longer accept terrorism as a normality. He pointed out that if we endorse values and if we are resilient, powerful and united then we will be able to counterattack this threat as we have done it before.

According to Wayne J. Bush, NATO maintains its commitment to prevent the situation in which Afghanistan becomes a refugee for terrorists. He also brought to mind the allies' efforts to take unitary action within NATO. We are conducting many exercises, share good practices and technologies and work closely with all allies in order to see how we can integrate capabilities, he added. The official said he is glad that this effort at the NATO headquarters was coordinated by his dear Romanian colleague, Mr Ducaru.

He also referred to the tendencies of the Alliance members to currently or the future allocate 2 percent of the GDP for Defence. He pointed out that in an uncertain world, NATO exists in order to protect almost one billion citizens, and that is a huge responsibility that the Alliance has always carried out.

Agerpres.
Regele Ferdinand Frigate (F-221), the flagship of the Romanian Naval Forces (FNR), on Friday morning has left the southeastern Constanta Port within a military ceremony, to participate in the Sea Guardian Operation in the Mediterranean Sea.

The ceremony was attended by the Naval Forces Chief of Staff (SMFN), Vice Admiral Dr. Alexandru Mirsu, Fleet Commander - Fleet Rear Admiral Daniel Capatana, and the Chief of Staff of the SMG Joint Forces Command, Commodore Marian Savulescu. According to the SMFN spokesperson, Colonel Corneliu Pavel, the event marks the resumption of the missions of the Romanian Naval Forces in the operation theatres under NATO mandate in the Mediterranean, interrupted in 2014, after the security situation in the Black Sea degraded and the Crimean Peninsula was illegally annexed by the Russian Federation.

Regele Ferdinand Frigate (F-221), with a Puma Naval helicopter aboard and a 240-strong crew will join for a month the SNMG-2 (Standing NATO Maritime Group 2) naval group forces that participate in the Allied Maritime Command-led Sea Guardian Operation that is mainly targeting to ensure the maritime security of the Alliance's members in the Mediterranean Sea. "By the participation of the Regele Ferdinand Frigate in the NATO Sea Guardian Operation, the FNR is contributing to accomplishing the commitments assumed by our country towards its Alliance's partners and proves that Romania is providing a constant support to the consolidation of the security and collective defence measures, this year the warship being included in the resources our country is putting at NATO's disposal, also being twice integrated in the NATO SNMG-2 naval group that has carried out missions in the Black Sea," Colonel Corneliu Pavel told Agerpres on Friday.
Kellogg, best known for Frosted Flakes and Pop-Tarts, has struggled to make its cereals and snacks more appealing to Americans who want to avoid sugary processed foods. Its revenue has suffered, falling every year since 2013. RXBar says its bars are made with egg whites, fruits and nuts, and exclude dairy, soy or gluten. Last week, Kellogg Co. hired new CEO Steven Cahillane from vitamin seller Nature's Bounty Co. as it seeks to offer healthier packaged foods.
Theater, people say, is one of the great achievements of culture.

But we really ought to make that cultures.

Four shows are opening here this week, and some that opened recently are still playing. Will that pose a problem for theatergoers, racing from one venue to the next?

Most unlikely. Thats because its hard to imagine anyone waiting breathlessly to see two of these shows.

One of them? Of course! Each production is aimed at its own particular audience, which will be happy to turn out.

But dont expect much overlap. Its not a case of culture clash so much as culture containment. These cultures just dont speak the same languages.

Passport culture

Upstream Theater has long made it a point to present plays that come from other places. Its latest effort, Sweet Revenge, comes from Poland  from 19th-century Poland at that. According to Upstreams Philip Boehm, the translator and director, Aleksander Fredos verse play about squabbling neighbors is considered the Polish theaters finest comedy ever, which for all we know is a highly contested distinction. To add a twist, Boehm is staging it as if it were staged by an amateur troupe of Polish immigrants here in the 1930s. In fact, the cast includes some of St. Louis top professionals, among them John Contini, Eric Conners and Whit Reichert.

When Friday through Oct. 22; 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturdays, 7 p.m. Sundays and Oct. 15, 2 p.m. Oct. 22  Where Kranzberg Arts Center, 501 North Grand Boulevard  How much $25-$35  More info 314-669-6382; upstreamtheater.org

Culture gone missing

Have you ever seen Cardenio? Ever read Cardenio? Ever heard of Cardenio? No, Shakespeare scholar, you are not allowed to weigh in on this one. Co-authored by William Shakespeare and John Fletcher (who succeeded Shakespeare as house playwright for the Kings Men), Cardenio debuted in 1612 and seems to have been staged again in 1613. But then it got lost, maybe in the Globe Theatre fire (also in 1613) or in the Great Fire of London (1666). After about four centuries, Gregory Doran of the Royal Shakespeare Company set off to unearth every clue he could and reimagine a playable Cardenio. Thats the version that Donna Northcott, founder of St. Louis Shakespeare, directs here. Set in Spain, the lost play is based on an episode in Cervantes Don Quixote, also published in the early 17th century. If you prefer your Shakespeare on more familiar terms, previews of Hamlet start Wednesday at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

When Friday through Oct. 15; 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays, 7:30 p.m. Thursday  Where Ivory Theatre, 7620 Michigan Avenue  How much $20, $15 for students and teachers, $18 for seniors  More info brownpapertickets.com

Dad-jeans culture

Defending the Caveman returns to the Playhouse @ Westport Plaza, with its notion of suburban domestic life as a throwback to the era of hunters (husbands) and gatherers (wives). This theory explains everything from snack habits to behavior in big-box stores. This time out, the one-man comedy stars Cody Lyman.

When Friday through Oct. 29; 8 p.m. Tuesdays, 2 and 8 p.m. Wednesdays, 8 p.m. Thursday  Where Playhouse @ Westport Plaza, 635 West Port Plaza  How much $60  More info 314-534-1111; metrotix.com

Splash culture

College kids choose to vacation in a remote cabin in the woods, and guess what happens next. Based on the cult movie franchise, Evil Dead  The Musical features such snappy tunes as Look Whos Evil Now and All the Men in My Life Keep Getting Killed by Demons. Dedicated fans may choose to sit in the splash zone, where they can pay more to make sure that theyre covered in gore by the curtain call.

When Thursday through Oct. 22; various times  Where The Grandel, 3610 Grandel Square  How much $50-$90  More info 314-534-1111; metrotix.com

Also onstage

Shows that already have opened and are still running:

Kafka culture  The Feast at the St. Louis Actors Studio, through Oct. 8

Riot-grrrl culture  Lizzie at New Line Theatre, through Oct. 21

Kleenex culture  Tuesdays With Morrie at New Jewish Theatre, through Oct. 22

Teen-torment culture  Spring Awakening at Stray Dog Theatre, through Oct. 21
Tony Messenger Tony Messenger is the metro columnist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Follow Tony Messenger 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

Except for a few reporters, the Kennedy Hearing Room at City Hall was mostly empty.

The public safety committee of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen was questioning Maj. Mary Warnecke of the St. Louis police about the departments use of force policy.

For more than two weeks, protesters had taken to the streets in part because they believe the police department has a history of using too much force  deadly force  when black suspects are involved. Some aldermen wanted to hear directly from Interim Police Chief Lawrence OToole, but a resolution calling for him to appear was referred to committee.

So they peppered Warnecke with questions.

Alderman Christine Ingrassia pointed out that three years ago, after the Ferguson unrest, the state-appointed Ferguson Commission issued a series of calls to action and areas of guidance for policing and other racial equity issues.

She read from the Forward Through Ferguson report and asked Warnecke whether the police department had implemented the findings from the report. Other than offering implicit bias training to commanders, Warnecke wasnt sure whether the various calls to action had been implemented.

Ingrassia came away wondering if the right people had even read the report.

Several days later, one of the men who co-chaired the Ferguson Commission was arrested.

The Rev. Starsky Wilson was among protesters who were detained Tuesday night after some of them had briefly shut down traffic on eastbound Highway 40 (Interstate 64) near Jefferson Avenue. About the time Wilson and state Rep. Bruce Franks and hundreds of others were protesting, there was an important meeting 11 miles to the west.

State Sen. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, was hosting a panel discussion about the potential consolidation of city and county governments in the St. Louis region. Among the panelists were two men representing the nonprofit Better Together, which since late 2013 has been studying the inefficiencies inherent in a region in which its metropolitan city  St. Louis  is separated from the county surrounding it and that county is broken into 89 municipalities.

Among the many calls to action in the Forward Through Ferguson report guided by Wilson are proposals to consolidate the approximately 60 police departments and 80 municipal courts in the region. Why? Think back to Ferguson. When the Department of Justice came in to examine racial discrimination it found numerous examples in that one small St. Louis County suburb. Ferguson is now operating under a consent decree with the federal government, even though it is but a symptom of the regions larger dysfunction.

The DOJ didnt look at the city of St. Louis, even though the Anthony Lamar Smith shooting that sparked this years protests was three years earlier. It didnt examine the numerous small town police departments around Ferguson that were known for shipping troubled police officers among them.

Three years later, political leaders are blowing the dust off the Forward Through Ferguson report, realizing there has been little progress despite widespread political and civic support for the reports conclusions when it came out. On Wednesday, St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson met with leaders from Forward Through Ferguson. According to one participant, the meeting wasnt very productive.

No surprise there. The common denominator in the Forward Through Ferguson report and the Better Together studies is this one:

St. Louis is broken.

Protesters hit the street day after day bringing attention to the fact that African-American young people concentrated in high-poverty neighborhoods are an afterthought in the regions economy. Meanwhile, bureaucrats fighting to hold on to their own fiefdoms are staging their own form of protest, passing resolutions city by city opposing the future consolidation that could improve the economy of the entire region.

At the root of both protests is money, and who controls how it is distributed.

Late last month, in a piece in the St. Louis American, one of the three members of the Better Together task force studying what a consolidation plan might look like made the case that more regional governance would help St. Louis achieve the racial equity sought in the Forward Through Ferguson report.

Stronger regional governance would ... ultimately enable the African-American community to seek solutions of the magnitude to the problems that affect us, wrote Will Ross, an associate dean at the Washington University School of Medicine. Contrary to some opinions, rather than being lessened by regionalism, we will be stronger, focused, and committed to a strategic vision where everyone is a winner in the St. Louis region.

The nightly fight over ownership of the streets of St. Louis is really a metaphor for something bigger.

Ultimately, the Forward Through Ferguson report is a road map for how to redistribute the areas wealth so that everybody in the St. Louis region shares in it. A divided and dysfunctional government structure stands in its way.

Whose money? Our money.
FRANKLIN COUNTY  A couple from Franklin County has been indicted on a federal charge and accused of stealing aluminum stabilizing braces that keep railroad cars from derailing.

Jacob C. Brewer, 29, of Beaufort, and Michelle L. Phipps, 27, of Washington, were indicted July 19 on one count of violence against railroad carriers and appeared in federal court in St. Louis Friday morning, prosecutors said.

The indictment says the pair took the braces from coal cars owned by Ameren and used to transport coal from Wyoming. Prosecutors said that more than 100 braces were taken from 90 cars, and the cost to the repair the damage was $218,000.

No lawyers are yet listed for Brewer or Phipps.
ST. LOUIS  Two men were injured in a drive-by shooting Friday afternoon near a St. Louis elementary school.

The victims, both 20, were shot about 2:40 p.m. in the 1800 block of O'Fallon Street, near Jefferson Elementary School.

One was hit in the upper torso, according to police. Another was hit in a limb.

Police said they were both conscious and breathing when taken to a hospital. One was in critical condition; the other was stable but his medical condition was not available.
ST. LOUIS  A group of protesters blocked traffic at Hampton Avenue and Chippewa Street on Thursday evening before marching to the nearby St. Louis Police Officers Association and calling for its controversial spokesman to be fired.

The protest was part of an ongoing series related to the acquittal last month in the murder case of a former city police officer.

The group first formed a line in the street shortly before 6 p.m. Police were monitoring the protest and warned of traffic delays.

The intersection is a busy one in south St. Louis. A Target store is in one corner, and a Schnucks grocery and JC Penneys store are in a shopping center across the street.

About a dozen counterprotesters gathered in the Target parking lot, some of them holding "Thin Blue Line" flags to signify their support of police.

While there, a few people from both protest groups talked to each other about their reasons for protesting.

Marcellus Buckley, who was protesting against the not-guilty verdict, said he talked to the opposing group to give them "a better understanding of the reasons we're out here."

We all have different views but we have to look at the same picture together," he said. "We can't be divided."

"We had some guys that are like 'don't talk to them' but that's only because they're afraid of us getting to love each other and grow with each other and change the status quo.

Buckley said he was out protesting against "police brutality."

"It's simple, when we don't get justice, expect us," he said.

After briefly blocking the intersection, the protesters marched north on Hampton to the St. Louis Police Officers Association building between Tholozan and Mardel avenues, where they called for the association to fire police union business manager Jeff Roorda.

Speaking to the group on a megaphone, protest organizer Cori Bush called the "St. Louis' Finest" tagline on the police association building's sign "a lie."

Now, they can be St. Louis finest," Bush said. "They can be. They have to want to be. But Jeff Roorda cares not. He does not care.

Roorda recently announced his candidacy for Jefferson County executive and said he would step down from his role with the association if he wins. Earlier this year, he called mayoral candidate Tishaura Jones a "race baiter" and "cop hater," after which her opponent at the time, Lyda Krewson, called on the association to fire him.

Several other protesters spoke in front of the building before the group marched back to Hampton and Chippewa.

As police began to redirect traffic around demonstrators, a vehicle westbound on Chippewa Street approached the protesters and turned right onto Hampton Avenue.

Police pulled over the vehicle. The driver was not given a citation, police at the scene said.

There were no reported injuries or arrests amid the protests. All lanes at Hampton were reopened by around 7:15 p.m., police said.

On Tuesday night, 143 people were arrested after protesters briefly blocked traffic on Highway 40 (Interstate 64) in the city. They were later charged with trespassing.
FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS  Police had one suspect in custody and were looking for a second suspect in a shooting that injured one person here Thursday night.

Police responded to South Ruby Lane near St. Clair Drive about 7:20 p.m. for a shots fired call, police said.

Arriving officers found a person at a home there suffering from a gunshot wound, police said. The victim was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The victim had been hit by gunfire when one of two suspects in a "scuffle" fired a gun, police said. One of those suspects was found at the scene and taken into custody after the shooting.

The second suspect fled the shooting in a white Dodge passenger car, police said. Police described him as an African-American man in his 20s with an average build and short hair.

Police did not release more details.

Authorities ask anyone with information about the shooting or the suspect's whereabouts to call the Fairview Heights Police Department at 618-489-2100 or leave an anonymous tip at www.fhpd.org
CLAYTON  Mark Wrighton is reluctant to talk about his legacy.

He says it was teamwork that elevated Washington University to its national and international stature  not just the work of the chancellor.

Perhaps that is true, but plenty of people say his role was critical in changes the campus has seen during his tenure of more than 22 years.

Wrighton told the university board Friday that he plans to step down .

Since the chancellor took office in 1995, the universitys endowment has increased by more than $5 billion, applications are up by more than 200 percent, the number of faculty members has grown by 48 percent and the university continues to climb in various national rankings.

While Wrighton seems content about his decision to step down, he said the university has unrealized potential. New leadership will help the elite, private research school reach those unidentified heights, he said.

It could be a while before he starts to pack up his office, however.

The longtime chancellor wants to see some efforts through, including a fundraising campaign that started in 2009 with a $2 billion goal. When the campaign hit that goal in 2016  well before its scheduled end in June 2018  leaders pushed for $2.5 billion. Wrighton and his campaign chairman, Andy Taylor, Enterprise Holdings Inc.s executive chairman, made that goal this year. Now, theyre hoping for more.

Wrighton told his board on Friday that he plans to stay no longer than a year after the campaign ends in June. He hopes by then his successor is named, if not earlier.

The board will hold a national search for his replacement.

Weve been blessed

Its just time to say goodbye, Wrighton told the Post-Dispatch last week inside Harbison House, his home on Forsyth Boulevard.

As time unfolded and some of my great colleagues came up to age 70, if they had been in their position a long time and had done extremely well, I suggested thats a good time for transition, said Wrighton, who is 68. Ive been thinking about that for myself, now that Ive served more than 22 years.

The average tenure of a college president nationwide is about seven years, less than one-third of the time Wrighton has been in office.

Washington U. has had success with longevity. Before Wrightons time, former Chancellor William Danforth held the office for 24 years.

Im a huge believer in stability with leadership, said David Kemper, the chief executive officer of Commerce Bank and a vice chair on the universitys governing board. Wed love to find another Bill Danforth or Mark Wrighton. That (longevity) is the key to our success.

John McDonnell, retired board chairman at McDonnell Douglas and a big donor to Washington U., said he hopes lightning strikes three times on the search for Wrightons replacement.

It was hard to imagine when Bill Danforth retired what we might get, and we got Mark, he said. Weve been blessed.

When Wrighton hired Holden Thorp in 2013 as the provost, his second-in-command, the two leaders downplayed whether Thorp was set to become the heir apparent when the chancellor decided to retire.

University board chair Craig Schnuck, former president of Schnuck Markets, said Thorp, 53, is very much a candidate in the national search. Thorp is a former chancellor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

The biggest decision the board makes is the selection and retention of a chancellor, Schnuck told the Post-Dispatch. We owe it to all of the constituents of the university to have a search and to make sure we are picking the very best person.  (Thorp) understands and said he expected a national search.

A visionary

Three board members and two university leaders who were asked about Wrightons tenure stressed three accomplishments:

 The changes he has made to the undergraduate experience and admissions.

 Growth in the universitys international visibility, particularly through the McDonnell International Scholars Academy.

 Physical changes on campus, including the $240 million construction project happening now on the east end of campus.

Wrighton would add ongoing work with Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital to that list. Others also point to how he and his team backed the St. Louis technology hub, Cortex, and the work done under his leadership to support and sponsor local charter schools.

He really is a visionary beyond being an academic, Kemper said. Theres a lot of talk about ivory towers in education, but Mark is the opposite of that. He wants to reach out and help the community. For being such a brilliant guy, he also actually cares.

Wrighton doesnt dwell on the things that didnt go well during his tenure. Like any college leader, he has had his share of challenges: protests, a hunger strike and, like institutions everywhere, struggles after the fallout from the financial crisis of 2009. It comes with the territory.

But he has few regrets, and he feels good about helping the university community realize some of its potential.

The university was far stronger than the world knew, Wrighton said, recalling when he came in 1995. (I tried) to get people to set aside the notion of a vertical position on a list and think about trying to join the ranks of some of the very best places. We had a lot more strength than people understood.

Whatever he has done has worked. Programs such as the McDonnell Scholars Academy are helping the level-one research institute in the Midwest poach students who might otherwise go to Stanford or Harvard. Thats something that fills the longtime leader with pride.

And while it might be a vertical list, the campus is tied with Notre Dame University at No. 18 on U.S. News and World Reports list of top schools. Washington U. also came in at No. 11 on Wall Street Journals annual college rankings released last week.

What makes a leader

Wrighton is all about the long game, the strategy. His job has been one big chess match.

Hes quiet, slow and focused, said Risa Zwerling Wrighton, his wife. She describes long, thoughtful pauses on his phone calls with Thorp. They have this pace that would drive anyone else crazy, but boy, what theyve communicated in a brief exchange  they move mountains.

The long-game approach is how Wrighton leads. It works well for someone who is often the most quiet person in the room.

Enterprises Taylor, a longtime member of Washington U.s governing board, describes Wrighton as a surprise.

Hes quiet and unassuming, but when he starts talking  holy smokes, he said, lauding the chancellors memory and candor that help him build relationships with donors.

Wrighton earned his doctoral degree at 22 from the California Institute of Technology and was a tenured professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before he was 30. The renowned chemist was later recruited to lead MITs chemistry department, and three years later became provost  a large leap in academia.

Four years after that, he flew to St. Louis to interview for the chancellor position at Washington U.

Mark tells me hes the luckiest person because he has the best job in the world, his wife said. Wrighton nodded.

The pair plan to call St. Louis their home base when the time comes to step down, with the exception of some travel to see their children in other cities.

I expect to continue to be involved in the life of Washington University and St. Louis, Wrighton said. I want to make sure the university continues to thrive. Ill take a little time for reflection ... but I have a lot of things to do before the day comes when my successor is in place. Theres no real rest until that person is in place.

Theres something else in the works for the duo. Theyre not done making a mark on St. Louis, but theyre also not ready to tip their hand.

Youll hear some more from us, Risa Wrighton said, smiling. Weve got some ideas.
Updated at 2:05 p.m.

WASHINGTON  President Donald Trump's administration on Friday undermined requirements under the Obamacare law that employers provide insurance to cover women's birth control, keeping a campaign pledge that pleased his conservative Christian supporters.

Administration officials said effective immediately two new federal rules will let any nonprofit or for-profit entity make religious or moral objections to obtain an exemption from the law's contraception mandate. The changes also let publicly traded companies obtain a religious exemption.

It was not clear how many employers would actually drop birth control coverage on religious grounds. The move drew praise from conservative Christian activists and congressional Republicans. It was criticized by reproductive rights advocates and Democrats. Some states and groups including the American Civil Liberties Union vowed to sue to block the move.

"This is a landmark day for religious liberty. Under the Obama administration, this constitutional right was seriously eroded," Republican House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said.

"This administration's contempt for women reaches a new low with this appalling decision," top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi said.

Trump, who criticized the birth control mandate in last year's election campaign, won strong support from conservative Christian voters. The Republican president signed an executive order in May asking for rules that would allow faith-based groups to deny their employees insurance coverage for services they oppose on religious grounds.

"We will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied or silenced anymore," Trump said at the time.

The contraception mandate was one provision of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, Democratic former President Barack Obama's signature legislative achievement. Trump and Republicans in Congress campaigned against Obamacare, as the law is known, but could not get enough votes to repeal it as they promised.

"The Trump administration just took direct aim at birth control coverage for 62 million women," Planned Parenthood Federation of America President Cecile Richards said in a statement.

"With this rule in place, any employer could decide that their employees no longer have health insurance coverage for birth control," Richards added.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services broadened narrow religious exemptions to include an exception "on the basis of moral conviction" for non-profit and for-profit companies.

Federal rules implemented under Obamacare required employers to provide health insurance that covers birth control, but religious houses of worship were exempted. Some private businesses sued regarding their rights to circumvent such coverage, and the Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that they could object on religious grounds.

'Alienating potential shareholders'

Case Western Reserve University School of Law professor Jonathan Adler said it was unlikely publicly traded companies would seek exemptions. "Why would a publicly traded company risk alienating potential shareholders by taking such a step?" Adler said.

According to one estimate, only 3 percent of nonprofit groups offering health benefits have objected to contraceptives coverage.

"All Americans should have the freedom to peacefully live and work consistent with their faith without fear of government punishment," the conservative Christian legal activist group Alliance Defending Freedom said in a statement praising the administration's action.

"HHS has issued a balanced rule that respects all sides  it keeps the contraceptive mandate in place for most employers and now provides a religious exemption," said Mark Rienzi, one of the lawyers for the Little Sisters of the Poor. The order of Roman Catholic nuns, which runs care homes for the elderly, had challenged the mandate in court.

The Little Sisters and other Christian nonprofit employers objected to a 2013 compromise offered by the Obama administration that allowed entities opposed to providing contraception insurance coverage to comply with the law without actually paying for the required coverage.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said he was "prepared to take whatever action it takes" to defend the mandate that health insurers provide birth control.

The Justice Department released two memos that will serve as the government's legal basis for justifying the rule and laying out a framework for how apply religious liberty issues in legal opinions, federal rules and grant making.

One memo instructs Justice Department employees to incorporate its legal arguments on religious freedom into litigation strategies and how they review rules. A second memo used a similar directive to government agencies to be used in the course of "employment, contracting and programming."

In another decision popular with Trump's evangelical supporters, the Justice Department on Wednesday reversed federal policy and declared that federal law banning sex discrimination in the workplace does not protect transgender employees. Trump also has removed protections for transgender students and moved to ban transgender people from the military.

Trump's support among evangelical voters, a major force in his 2016 election victory, remains strong, but has been slipping in line with his overall approval ratings, according to recent Reuters/Ipsos poll results.

Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch in Washington and Caroline Humer in New York. Additional reporting by Lawrence Hurley and Lisa Lambert in Washington, Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago and Dan Levine in San Francisco.
Accent on 'hype'

For 20 years, the Missouri Department of Transportation, unable to convince the Legislature to spend several billion dollars rebuilding Interstate 70 as a toll road between St. Louis and Kansas City, has turned its attention to an equally daunting alternative: a Hyperloop.

MoDOT is part of a consortium of universities, business groups and tech firms looking for $1.5 million to study moving people and freight across the state at 600 miles an hour. Passengers and freight ride in pods inside tubes, suspended by magnetic levitation and whisked along by linear induction motors.

In theory it works just fine; a test track has been set up in the Nevada desert, and lots of states have been competing for the prototype. We doubt the idea could get past the trucking lobby in Jefferson City, but if it can get us to Arthur Bryants Barbecue in Kansas City in 30 minutes, we're in.

Loesching out

The National Rifle Association was eerily silent in the wake of Sunday nights slaughter in Las Vegas. But on Monday, after the American College of Physicians called for a ban on automatic and semiautomatic weapons as a public health hazard, the special assistant to NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre swung into action.

Right after we ban pools, cars, cigarettes, alcohol, hands feet & fists. Lives lost due to these constitute an epidemic, tweeted local girl made good and professional mean person Dana Loesch.

An epidemic of hands and feet? It was the sort of bitter non sequitur Loesch has been known for since launching her career as a right-wing provocateur in St. Louis some nine years ago. We knew her as the Post-Dispatch Mamalogues columnist. Now she hosts a radio show from Dallas and is Wayne LaPierres authorized spokesman. A guy shoots 580-plus people and she sees feet and fists as the problem. It's a living.

Love in the time of granola

The Beatles were wrong. Love is not all you need. Southwest Airlines and Subaru might have to rethink the use of love in their ad campaigns. And the Nashoba Brook Bakery absolutely will have to stop listing love with oats, nuts and seeds among the ingredients in its granola. The Food and Drug Administration has told Nashoba that love is not an ingredient.

In a terse letter Tuesday, the FDA wrote: Your Nashoba Granola label lists ingredient Love. Ingredients required to be declared on the label or labeling of food must be listed by their common or usual name. Love is not a common or usual name of an ingredient, and is considered to be intervening material because it is not part of the common or usual name of the ingredient.

In case youve forgotten, the FDA is now under the direction of President Donald Trump, who has never listed love as one of his ingredients.

Free speech isn't free

President Trumps son, Donald Trump Jr., is scheduled to speak at the University of North Texas in Denton on Oct. 24 but has decided to ban members of the news media from covering it. The university says this is common, but at least one previous speech in the universitys Kuehne Speakers Series, by former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, allowed for news media coverage.

Sorry, not this time. Trump Jr. reportedly is being paid $100,000 for the engagement. His topic: freedom of speech.

Its good to be Grand

Its official. South Grand is grand. The boulevard was designated this week as one of five great streets and 15 great places in America by the American Planning Association.

What makes a great street is planning, says the national organization. South Grands walkability, cultural diversity, mix of retail, international restaurants and housing make it an ideal neighborhood for urban living. It also manages to balance all forms of transportation and is close to Tower Grove Park.

Great streets create a sense of place. They can stimulate economic activity and energize a community. South Grand has always reminded us of the High Street that can be found in neighborhoods across Britain or Lincoln Avenue in Chicago. Lincoln Avenue was also designated as one of Americas five great streets this year.

Senator from TAMKO

Senate President Pro Tem Ron Richard, R-Joplin, cant seem to do enough for Joplin roofing magnate David Humphreys, head of TAMKO Building Products. After Richard sponsored legislation to benefit the company, Humphreys contributed $100,000 to him. The measure went nowhere, but critics said it was a glaring example of pay-to-play politics.

More recently, The Kansas City Star reported that Richard let Paul Mouton, a lobbyist for Humphreys, park in his reserved spot in the Capitol garage 32 times. Rep. Mark Ellebracht, D-Liberty, wants Humphreys to be fined the maximum of $10,000 for each time the spot was used.

Mouton already was fined $2,000 for not registering as Humphreys lobbyist the past two years. He will only have to pay $200 if he abides by the states lobbying laws for the next two years.

Humphreys is a GOP megadonor who, along with his relatives, spent $14 million on GOP candidates during the 2016 election cycle. A $320,000 fine wont empty the multimillionaires coffers, but it might teach him some respect for the states ethics laws.
With this week being National Pharmacy Week, I think its a great time to show our appreciation for the crucial role played by Missouri pharmacists in our states battle against methamphetamine production. By working with law enforcement to enforce laws related to over-the-counter medicines, pharmacists are doing their part to make our state safe.

By implementing and using the National Precursor Log Exchange (NPLEx) system, our pharmacists are able to assist law enforcement in stopping criminals from purchasing pseudoephedrine in excess of the legal limit. Pseudoephedrine, commonly found in cold and allergy medicines, such as Sudafed and Claritin D, is an important medicine in the hands of the law-abiding consumers. But in the hands of criminals, it can be used to cook meth.

The NPLEx system blocks attempts to purchase pseudoephedrine in excess, and it immediately alerts law enforcement so that they can arrest and prosecute criminals. Just in the first half of this year, the system blocked the illegal sale of 17,470 boxes of pseudoephedrine, keeping 45,580 grams from potentially getting into the hands of meth criminals.

Without our local pharmacists and their use of the NPLEx system, our law enforcement would not be able to stay one step ahead of drug criminals, and our streets would be less safe. For that, we should all thank Missouri pharmacists for doing their part in the fight against meth production.

Ron Fitzwater  Jefferson City

CEO, Missouri Pharmacy Association
As we have since July 2006, each Friday well post our sampling of cigar news and other items of interest from the week. Below is our latest, which is the 550th in the series.

1) On Tuesday, the cigar industry filed motions in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (above) pursuing relief from upcoming FDA regulations. The motionsone a motion for preliminary injunction, the other a motion for partial summary judgmentwere filed jointly by Cigar Rights of America, the Cigar Association of America, and the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association. At issue are expensive user fees and obtrusive warning labels. The FDA has until October 24 to respond. As reported by Cigar Aficionado, while many aspects to the FDA regulations on cigars have been pushed back, the ones calling for extensive warning labelslabels that cover 30 percent of a cigar box, and 20 percent of an advertisementhave not. They are scheduled to take effect roughly ten months from today. As for the user fees: Since October 2016, cigar manufacturers and importers, in accordance with the FDAs controversial Final Deeming Rule, have been required to submit federal excise tax information to the FDA on a monthly basis. The FDA, in turn, analyzes this data to calculate user fees for cigar companies, which are paid on a quarterly basis. Cigar companies pay the user fees directly to the FDA, and those payments are the sole source of funding for the Center of Tobacco Products, the branch of the FDA responsible for carrying out tobacco regulation activities.

2) Skip Martin of RoMa Craft Tobac took to Facebook on Wednesday to announce the impending re-launch of the companys website, which will feature an online store for direct-to-consumer sales of branded merchandise, including Xikar accessories. Evidently, an unnamed gossipy, jealous, busy body little hater had spread a rumor that RoMa would begin selling its cigars via the new website. Martin made abundantly clear this is not the case. He went on to write: To our haters, you really dont have to try so hard. Just focus on making better cigars, more consistently, and selling them at a fair price. Aint nobody got time for all the petty drama.

3) Members of Tatuajes private Saints & Sinners club received an email update on Tuesday regarding the status of the 2017 membership kits. Due to the hurricane, our delivery of the cigar kits has been delayed and is expected to arrive late next week. We have been getting everything prepped and ready to ship as soon as they arrive but are still anticipating these to be arriving to you all right around Halloween. Saints & Sinners is an invitation-only club that annually sends its members exclusive Tatuaje cigars along with Tatuaje-branded merchandise like wine openers, poker chips, lighters, cutters, and apparel.

4) Inside the Industry: Rafael Nodal, owner of Boutique Blends Cigars, has been named head of product capability at Tabacalera USA, a new role that places him in charge of Tabacaleras premium cigar business, which includes Altadis USAs premium cigars. Steve Sakas Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust has hired its first full-time team member, Yvonne Ramee, who will be working out of the Dunbarton office/warehouse in New Hampshire.

5) From the Archives: Speaking of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, in 2015, back when Saka was preparing the first shipment of his inaugural Sobermesa line, StogieGuys.com caught up with him at a cigar shop in New Hampshire. Read the whole interview here.

6) Deal of the Week: For today only, here are 100 deals, including cigars from Ashton, Oliva, CAO, My Father, Tatuaje, Rocky Patel, Davidoff, Perdomo, Padron, Drew Estate, and more. Free shipping is included on any purchase. If you really want to stock up, add promo code GBP20D at checkout to knock $20 off an order of $150 or more.

The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Google Maps
. To do so, first type the original number into the text box. Then click on the "Scientific Notation" option located at the top of the floating window. Finally, click on the "Standard" button found beneath the text box to display your result. This program is useful for scientists and engineers working with decimal-based numbers. It provides easy access to those who need to convert those numbers into more compact forms without having to do heavy math calculations first.

Scientific notation is a way to express very large or very small numbers. It is used in physics, chemistry and other fields where large numbers are common. Those numbers are written as a power of 10 followed by a number with an exponent. For example, 1,000,000 (one million) is written as 1  103. The exponent shows how many zeros are after the first digit. For example, 1,000,001 is written as 1  102. Scientific notation is a useful tool for making calculations easier. You can use it to write down very big or very small numbers in one step instead of writing out both the large and small numbers separately. You can also use it to express large or small numbers in terms of other units like centimeters or millimeters.

Scientific notation solver is an online tool that can be used to convert any number into scientific notation. Simply enter any number to the left of the decimal point and it will automatically convert it into a scientific notation equivalent. This web tool can be very helpful when you need to convert a large number into scientific notation. However, please note that this online tool can only convert numbers that are in scientific format. For example, it cannot convert a non-scientific number like "1,085" into a scientific notation equivalent. It is also important to keep in mind that this web tool only works when converting numbers from one particular format to another. For example, if you want to change a non-scientific number like "1,085" into standard format, then you will have to use another online tool like NumberFormatting.com.
Is South Asia the new Middle East? By Dominique Moisi, Exclusive to the Sunday Times in Sri Lanka View(s): View(s):

PARIS  The Middle East is often viewed as a region waylaid by feelings of collective humiliation and violent rivalries, both between and within countries. But South Asia is beset by some of the same forces, reflected in a surge of Buddhist nationalism in Myanmar, where the Muslim Rohingya are being driven from the country, and Hindu nationalism in India, under Prime Minister Narendra Modis Bharatiya Janata Party.

The good news for South Asia is that a Middle Eastern future is not inevitable. But the mere possibility indicates the febrile state of affairs that rising nationalism, often couched in religious terms, is producing across the region. It is as if growing fundamentalism within Islam has now encouraged fundamentalism in other religions.

The situation is particularly dire for the Rohingya. Since August, the military has been engaged in a brutal campaign that, despite being nominally focused on stopping Rohingya militants, has targeted civilians and burned entire villages, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee to neighbouring Bangladesh. But while this latest crackdown is particularly devastating  a textbook example of ethnic cleansing, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees  persecution of the Rohingya is nothing new. Since independence in 1948, successive governments have denied even the most basic rights to the Rohingya, refusing to grant them so much as citizenship.

As the international community has condemned the crackdown, Myanmars de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi has stood largely silent, a choice that has done untold damage to her once impeccable image as a courageous champion of democracy and human rights. Even when she finally did address the issue  at a press conference, delivered in English, after weeks of violence  she refused to mention the Rohingya by name.

Suu Kyis problematic response has often been attributed to her political calculations regarding how to deal with Myanmars military, which ruled the country until just last year and remains beyond civilian control. But, as unbefitting as it is for a Nobel Peace Prize winner, the truth is that her response probably also reflects her indifference to the fate of a small minority. Muslims comprise just 4% of Myanmars population. To her Burman aristocratic sensibility, their interests barely register.

What began as a localised tragedy has now become an international crisis  and not just because of the refugee flows into Bangladesh and elsewhere. As in the Middle East, national and religious identities tend to be inextricably linked. Like Myanmar, neighbouring Thailand is a majority-Buddhist country; Malaysia and Indonesia are mostly Muslim; and India is majority Hindu. Pakistan, for its part, was created as the homeland for the Muslim minority in Britains former Indian empire after independence.

For religious minorities in the region, security can be hard to come by, not least because of the British and Dutch imperial legacies. The British Raj used minorities to help enforce colonial rule, by promising to provide a better life for those enduring discrimination. But when the British went home, discrimination resurfaced  sometimes with added zeal, given resentment of minorities collaboration with colonial rule.

It is that discrimination that has led a small minority of young Rohingya to choose violence, such as the attacks in August on security outposts and police stations. The militants may have been egged on by fundamentalist Muslim preachers from the Middle East, or even by home-grown fanatics. In any case, they are typically seeking to strike back at the system and people responsible for oppressing them.

And radicalisation within Myanmars Muslim community has proceeded alongside the growth of religious extremism among the Buddhist majority. Buddha preached peace and tolerance. Yet some Buddhist priests today are inciting hatred and violence. In fact, even before the latest eruption, a succession of massacres garnered only indifference from the international community. Like the horrors inflicted on Bosnias Muslims during the Balkan wars in the 1990s, the assault on the Rohingya seems to reveal the Western worlds selective empathy.

The result is a vicious circle of radicalisation and violence. Terrorist organisations like the Islamic State, now defeated on the ground in Syria and Iraq, undoubtedly hope to use the Rohingyas plight to mobilise Muslims, particularly in Asia, for their own ends. As religious tensions escalate, regional cooperation is in jeopardy. How can an organisation like ASEAN, which has promoted gradual progress on security and economic collaboration, weather the killing and displacement of religious minorities in its member states?

If a geostrategic catastrophe is to be avoided, the unholy alliance of religion and nationalism must be broken. The United Nations should take the lead in this regard, by committing to bringing an end to the Rohingya crisis. Beyond the moral imperative of doing so, a successful intervention could help to restore multilateral institutions tarnished image. The last thing the world needs is another politically fragmented region mired in violent conflict.

(The writer is Senior Counsellor at the Institut Montaigne in Paris.)

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2017.www.project-syndicate.org
SCHAUMBURG, IL - Friday, local manufacturers and high school students celebrated National Manufacturing Day. A number of TMA's members opened up their facilities to the next generation of workers.

National Manufacturing Day is intended to change perceptions of the manufacturing industry to encourage the next generation of workers to consider a career in manufacturing. Among the members of the Technology & Manufacturing Association participating this year are Principal Manufacturing, Broadview IL; Prater Industries, Bolingbrook IL; Keats Manufacturing, Wheeling IL; Termax Corporation, Lake Zurich IL.

"Today is a great day for the manufacturing industry," said Steve Rauschenberger, President of TMA. "Our members continue to engage the community to change the misperceptions of manufacturing. Connecting manufacturers and high school students, and informing students of the benefits of seeking a manufacturing career is exactly what today is all about."

"The manufacturing industry is experiencing tremendous growth, and that growth will lead to the need of 3.5 million jobs in the next ten years. Manufacturers are facing a critical skills shortage that will have an adverse impact on the economy if those jobs go unfilled. Most students are stunned to learn that you can make over $100,000 and work with cutting-edge technology in today's factories. Not to mention that most of these factories are cleaner than the average kitchen," Rauschenberger concluded.

Manufacturing Day is an annual opportunity for high schoolers to visit manufacturing companies and learn more about the STEM careers available.
Mark Kirk was elected narrowly in 2010, in a race that should have been a landslide even in Illinois. It was the best year for the Republican party in generations, and he was fortunate to have a general election opponent whom even the Chicago Tribune called the mobs banker.

In the summer and fall of 2015, many Illinois Republicans called for the party to retire incumbent US Senator Mark Kirk in the primary. Despite some party pressure, but obviously not enough, he refused to sit out the election. He campaigned for re-nomination, which scared both candidates and money out of the primary, and he won the spring losing the fall as everyone predicted.

In office, Kirk suffered a stroke, severely limiting his campaigning ability... and several political choices as a Senator, particularly his support of carbon cap and trade regulation and belief in the manmade climate change hoax, utterly doomed his candidacy for re-election.

Mark Kirk had never been comfortable with the Republican base, and the feeling was mutual. His hostility to conservatives was kept somewhat in check as a Congressman but was unleashed, full-force, once he reached the Senate. The power of incumbency enabled him to coast to re-nomination in 2016, but his repulsion of the partys base doomed him in November.

And it was predicted.

Second Verse, Same as the First

We see the same story being written again for 2018, this time in the Governors race.

Bruce Rauner and Mark Kirk have very different histories, of course; one a lifetime businessman, new to politics, and the other an old legislative aide and Congressman who rose to statewide office in the usual way.

But they also have incredible similarities. Both were always distrusted by the partys base. Both gained statewide office as something of an internal compromise by conservatives  hes not one of us, but he may be the best we can get hell still be better than a Democrat would be. So the base may not have chosen them in the primaries, but accepted them in the generals, and pushed them over the line in their first Novembers.

But as we close in on three years of the Rauner experiment, we find ourselves in much the same position we were in at this time in 2015 with Mark Kirk.

Rauner has turned off so many core constituencies  through such fatal errors as signing a sanctuary state law, allowing transgender drivers licenses, and taxpayer funding of abortion  that he has utterly lost the republican base.

As everyone knows, Illinois is a difficult state for a Republican. Its not impossible, but it is hard, and getting harder every year, as the majority of the 95,000 or so who annually flee the state are Republicans.

This means that a Republican candidate for statewide office simply cannot turn off any major element of the GOP base, and Rauner has turned off several. He promised to be no more than a moderate on the issues on which he is wrong; contrary to his promises, he chose in 2017 to be downright radical on them.

The war chant of the rampaging RINO has always been Where else can they go? and that argument has often won the day, because in fact the patriot must usually admit that a modern Democrat would always be worse.

But Mark Kirk often made us question that argument, and Bruce Rauner in 2017 has made it his business to destroy it.

It is almost inconceivable that even a Democrat would dare statewide funding of abortion-on-demand, or turn the entire state into a sanctuary state. Chris Kennedy, in recent weeks, has even made some pointed centrist remarks on such key issues, to ensure that if he survives his partys primary, he can run to the right of Rauner on issues of importance to the GOP base (Kennedy doesn't need to win us all, he just needs to splinter us).

Bruce Rauner cannot win the entire Republican base, and build on it with a majority of the middle and a decent subset of the left, as he did last time. He got into office with an outsiders magic act that simply cannot be repeated, now that he has a record.

The luster is off the statue now, as independent businessman Bruce Rauner has become a politician and not a particularly successful one at that:

His claim of being the stern money manager, holding out for systemic reforms before approving tax increases, collapses under the weight of his signature of the abortion bill and the sanctuary bill, because  as everyone knows  the half-million-plus illegal aliens in Illinois are a huge part of the states financial troubles from the costs of crime, welfare, healthcare, and the competition in employment.

The single easiest way to plug our budgetary hole would be to eject the illegal aliens who arent allowed to be here anyway; inviting countless more to flood in, through sanctuary status, is fiscal (as well as cultural) suicide.

A governor who is concerned first and foremost about fiscal responsibility would have to be on the side of law enforcement here, not on the side of the sanctuary millstone that is fast sinking our state (along with so many others).

This issue can only become ever more obvious over the course of the year to come. Bruce Rauner cannot win re-election in November by competing only over the left and the middle, having ceded the right to two sad choices: either leaving our ballots blank in disgust, or voting for third parties in desperation.

The Republican party has only one choice, if it wants to retain the Executive Mansion in Springfield for the critical 2019-2022 term  the term in which the legislative remaps set the table for the 2020s:

We need to see beyond Rauners massive war-chest - since he has already rendered himself unelectable, his war-chest doesnt matter  and look to November.

Rauner won the primary last time because the legitimate Republican candidates split between three choices  Dan Rutherford, Bill Brady, and Kirk Dillard. This time, the opposition must unite behind one person with impeccable party credentials and a voting record that shows consistency with the party platform a county chairman, a state rep or a state senator, who can mount a credible campaign in the fall against whichever left-wing amateur the Democrats nominate.

Illinois Republicans have to learn from 2015, and do what we should have done then: every single GOP county committee should issue a resolution that We Will Not endorse Bruce Rauner for re-nomination, period.

We must treat this race as an open seat, one in which the extremist Bruce Rauner need not apply and run one great, winnable Republican to lead our ticket in the fall.

Illinois Republicans have a choice to make:

Either we beat Bruce Rauner in the Primary, or we watch the Democrats beat us in the General.

Copyright 2017 john F. Di Leo

John F. Di Leo is a Chicagoland-based trade compliance lecturer, writer and actor. His columns are regularly found in Illinois Review. Permission is hereby granted to forward freely, provided it is uncut and the IR URL and byline are included.
Brian Rogers

Rogers Rabbits

www.sunlive.co.nz

Greetings Sunners

Weve had extraordinary feedback from last weeks column  the piece on Winnie The Pooh and his friends, post-general election.

The Sun has been overwhelmed* with messages about this column.

Thanks for the feedback. I even got a text from my Dad.

Then that radical, outspoken website, Whale Oil, contacted us and asked if they could re-publish it. Which we agreed to, which means a whole new audience of Whale Oil followers are now tuned into The Weekend Sun website and SunLive.

Interestingly, we didnt get much feedback from the ACT party or Labour.

But a couple of Greens party folk queried why they were left out. Just goes to show you cant please everybody.

Which is not surprising; the column doesnt set out to please anyone, rather poke as much borax as possible in as many different directions as possible.

Anyway, this week has been a dogs breakfast of events, bizarre news,

and disaster.

US firearms reform necessary

Our thoughts are with the US and the good people of Las Vegas after a horrific massacre at the hands of what appears to be another deranged nutter.

Its clear that some firearms reform is necessary; at least better controls on the sale and possession of automatic weapons; or those that can be altered to rapid fire.

The satirical website the Onion this week pointed out that Australia celebrated more than 7800 days without a massacre, citing stricter gun controls as the answer.

Theres got be some middle ground whereby the rights of genuine, sane hunter-gatherers are retained; while the rights of the rest of the population get protection from automatic-fire weapons. Theres no place for machine guns in any civilian role, yet it seems from the Las Vegas footage that the weapons deployed were full automatic.

Here in New Zealand these are not permitted, except in the case of bonafide collectors; only semi-autos one pull of the trigger per round.

There will be plenty of gun aficionados out there to correct me on the finer

points, but to put it in laymans terms, no society can justify the civilian ownership of automatic fire machine guns with massive magazines, when a semi-auto with a maximum five or six rounds should be plenty for the average hunter-gatherers purposes.

And if theres a nutter prepared to kill innocent people, guns are not the only weapons that need controls. There have been plenty of cases of trucks, planes and pressure cookers deployed as weapons of mass destruction. Perhaps these weapons need some stricter controls on them too.

Meanwhile, the week just went weirder after that.

Weird supermarket stuff

Being a hunter-gatherer, I rarely go to the supermarket. I avoid this whenever possible. This week I was instructed to search for Angus beef patties. I couldnt find Angus but returned with another brand. I was in deep trouble. I still dont understand.

I dont care what the beefies name was. Hes dead now, so we might as well eat him.

One good reason to avoid the supermarket, unless you are completely out of rations: it is too easy to buy things that are not necessary. And besides, there are disturbing and weird people in there.

Such as this guy:

People give me grief about wearing zip off pants, Crocs and hats with solar lights. But at least I havent sunk to the depravity of skin tight grundies, purple knee stockings under Doc Martens. I dont like to judge, but I will.

This must be some sort of sickness.

This message on behalf of my dog: cats should be made to pick up after themselves and not be allowed to litter the aisles.

Warning:

If you get a deal offering a special on canned meat, beware.

I reckon its just spam.

Weird week

Tom Petty died, then it was discovered he wasnt dead, just brain dead but still had a pulse. So kinda like Keith Richards, I guess. Then Tom died. Such sad news.

The dog stole and ate a pound of butter off Uncle Tonys kitchen bench. Shes now asking for toast to go with it.

Kim Jong and Prez Don continue to rattle their sabres and take us all a step closer to nuclear annihilation.

And Winston is doing exactly what he said hed do: wait for the special votes to be counted. Despite this, some of the media are trotting out the old line country held to ransom. What bollocks.

Theyre simply waiting for the full result and then getting into coalition talks. Memo to media: Dont hold your breath.



*How the media measures feedback:

Some interest: The dog woke up.

Great interest: The dog barked and one person commented.

Substantial feedback: The dog sat up for a scratch, the phone rang and more than one email received.

The phone didnt stop ringing: the phone rang twice, but one of those was a wrong number.

Overwhelmed: Had more than 20 emails, a couple of phone calls, a chat at the Chapel St petrol station and a text from Dad.

Inundated: Stopped counting the emails, upset the Spinners & Weavers, invited to speak at service club meetings.
I liken it to living with a difficult four-year-old, says Rachael.

We will call her Rachael simply to preserve her dignity and loyalty to a husband we will call Clark  a man living with Parkinsons, the progressive neuro-degenerative disease. Also to protect them both from one of the worst aspects of Parkinsons and thats the stigma.

At least with a four-year-old whos having trouble eating, dressing or using a toilet, you know they will eventually grow out of their tricky behaviours, says Rachael. With someone living with Parkinsons, you know the behaviours will never, ever be easier to deal with.

That thought, and the frustration and the fears, set off the tears. Because I still love him, says Rachael. Parkinsons may be destroying him physically, but he is still the same man. I will always love him.

And her chat with Clark is liberally laced with phrases such as Are you alright darling? and Thank you sweetheart  a constant reinforcement for both of them that while some things have changed, the important things, like the love, hasnt and wont.

Parkinsons affects one in 500 people  so there are about 260 people living with the disease in the Bay of Plenty. That means a client group of 500 because the support person is just as affected by Parkinsons as the person with the disease, says Rachael.

For example, the support person would be picking up more and more responsibility around the house, trying to manage the house and the person living with Parkinsons as well as holding down a full-time job.

There are many days she wakes wondering if it will be a good day or a bad day. And if its a bad day, is it safe to be leaving him? says Rachael. But in fact I have obligations at work and I cant just suddenly drop work.

The Weekend Sun met up with Rachael to discuss Parkinsons New Zealands appointment of two new community educators  they now have three, all of them registered nurses, serving the Bay. But to understand their work, it helps to understand the problem.

Parkinsons is a disease but its not contagious, it cant be caught. Symptoms can be treated but theres no cure and it has little effect on life expectancy. Symptoms include the tell-tale tremor  about 70 per cent of people with Parkinsons have a tremor, often starting in one hand or arm.

The small things that we take for granted  turning over in bed, standing up or delicate movements like doing up buttons  become frustrating, time-consuming chores for someone with Parkinsons. It can also affect posture, speech and facial expressions.

We were crossing the road the other day and a car was coming. Clark just stood there teetering and unable to walk, says Rachael. The brain was sending messages but they werent getting through to the limbs. His legs wouldnt do as they were told. The driver of the car must have wondered what the hell was going on.

So people with Parkinsons often find starting movement difficult, or it might take them longer to perform a task. This can affect things like repetitive limb movements, handwriting and getting dressed can take so long the person begins to get cold.

Once upon a time, a field officer might have been someone who simply had an interest in Parkinsons, or drew on personal experience to provide advice. Now Parkinsons New Zealand community educators are health professionals.

They have specialised knowledge to conduct an ongoing overview of a person with Parkinsons, their environment and their needs, and to make decisions and referrals depending on the persons fluctuating needs.

Clark has had Parkinsons for more than 15 years. Its been a rollercoaster ride and becoming more difficult. He has good days but also bad days when he cannot get his body to respond to what he is telling it he wants to do, says Rachael, a manager with 12 direct reports.

Clark says he runs the household, but hes doing less and its taking him longer.

So after a busy day at work, Rachaels also having to cook meals, get the washing in, as well as household chores at the weekend. More frustrating for her is that it takes Clark more than an hour to get out of bed, showered and dressed. Its time she doesnt have spare when she needs to leave the house at 7.30am. And if she doesnt insist Clark gets up, he will stay in bed all day.

The compromise is leaving him to get up in his own time and ringing him during coffee break at work. Not only to check whether he is up, but also that he hasnt had an accident.

In her assessment, community educator Glennis Best is more concerned about Rachael. Shes at the end of her tether. Clarks not sleeping  disturbed by bad dreams and frequent trips to the bathroom. So I have disturbed sleep and find it difficult to concentrate at work.

An option is giving up the managerial position and working part-time  compromising her career and her income.

Rachaels mental well-being becomes the focus. And by listening she will assess whether Clark be referred for respite care, giving Rachael some time out, or figuring what could happen if Rachael can no longer manage.

But they are confident of good outcomes because the community educators, all of them registered nurses, are regularly assessing their needs.

There are a whole lot of issues having someone with Parkinsons, says Rachael. Like you dont want pity, but actually, you do want it. So you dont know what you want kind of thing.

And there are good reasons people like Clark lose their confidence and social abilities and why support people try to shelter them.

Sometimes when I ring Clark it would be easy to think he has been drinking. But I know he hasnt. Hes tired and his voice wont come out. And sometimes if she looks at Clark she will notice he has lost weight, his trousers dont fit and hes trying to buckle them and he cant get his words out.

If he was in a shop you probably wouldnt want to help him  you would probably think he is a just a drunken old fool. Again, slow speech and mobility issues are mistaken for drunkenness.

Its the stigma, peoples perceptions. So you are constantly trying to protect him.

Another man living with Parkinsons had isolated himself at home because people didnt understand his problem. He was extremely unwell, wasnt taking his medication and couldnt fend for himself.

Its crucial the right medication is taken at the right time, says Rachael. The community educator applied some nursing principles, assessed him for three hours, got him back on a regular medication regime and now hes absolutely fine.

Glennis says she got a call from a Parkinsons support person wanting Nordic poles. Was there anyone in the society that could help?

Glennis tried to do some assessing  who was the person with Parkinsons, what was his name, would she know him, could she help, what was his medication regime. But the shutters went up. The family was caring for the man and the GP was managing his medication.

It raised all sorts of alarm bells. Was the man hiding at home to avoid the stigma? Was he physically unable to leave home? Was he in poor mental health?

Thats where the nursing, the assessing applied by the community educators is crucial to the well-being of people living with Parkinsons people and their support people.

Rachael says she never appreciated how much nursing was involved in the role of the community educators. But, as Glennis says, the more effective she is at implementing early interventions, the more invisible the nursing is.

For more information contact Glennis Best 021 840 808 (from Otumorakau to Tauranga Central), Liz Rapley-Jones 021 544 566 (Waihi Beach to Tauranga central) or Sharyn Elstob 07 219 0818 (Matata to Waihau Bay).
The weather forecast today is for a mostly cloudy day. There will be a few showers developing in the morning, possibly clearing through the afternoon but turning to rain tonight. Northerlies will be developing during the morning.

We have more rain coming over the next few days so today is a good opportunity to go see the displays of cherry blossoms around the city before they disappear. Our video was filmed at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology and Greerton Village which both feature cherry blossoms; and the Mount Main beach.

Its a two-clothing layer day today with a high of 18 and an overnight low of 13 degrees.

High tide is at 8.30am and low tide is at 2.40pm. Sea temperature is 15 degrees. Theres an average sea swell of about 0.3m and sunset tonight is at 7.20pm.

If youre going fishing today the best fish bite time is between 6 and 9pm.

This day in NZ history in 1917 the German sea captain Count Felix Graf von Luckner, known as the Sea Devil, was imprisoned in New Zealand. His ship, The Seeadler, a converted merchant ship, sank 14 Allied ships in the Atlantic and Pacific between January and July 1917. He was captured after his ship ran aground on an atoll.

This day in world history in 1913, in attempting to find ways to lower the cost of the automobile and make it more affordable to ordinary Americans, Henry Ford took note of the work of efficiency experts like Frederick Taylor, the father of scientific management. The result was the assembly line that reduced the time it took to manufacture a car, from 12 hours to 93 minutes.

Our quote for today is from Jesus Christ who said "Ask and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you." (Matthew 7:7)

To get involved in activities happening around the Bay, please check out our Whats On page.

Have a great day!
We spoke with Lawrie Kearns, Director of Private Wealth, Harneys Fiduciary, BVI, to learn more about the company, and also to find out how they coped with the ravages of Hurricane Irma that swept across the BVI in early September.

Harneys is the oldest and largest law firm in the British Virgin Islands, he began by telling us. We also have offices elsewhere in the world, in 12 other locations.

"We focus on BVI, Cayman and Cyprus law, and we have offices in Asia - Hong Kong, Singapore and also Sao Paulo, Montevideo, in London as well. So really were an international business."

Inevitably, conversation soon turned to Hurricane Irma. So how did the terrible storm impact on Harneys?

It affected us significantly, he said. It took a big hit, a lot of damage to infrastructure. Its been a difficult few weeks, but theres a lot of resourceful people on the ground there and the good news is that it gets better day by day.

"A combination of the BVI government, the UK government, and humanitarian agencies really pulling together, so the one positive  if you can take a positive  from whats been a very difficult time, is the way people have come together, pulled together. That sort of team effort has been quite amazing to see really.

Harneys as a law firm are very collegiate, with a big emphasis on teamwork, and seeing that in the community has been, as I said, the one positive from it. And weve got a number of offices so weve been able to share the burden.

You can watch the full video interview with Lawrie Kearns above this article.
Rasmussen will remain on staff until Friday, Oct. 13 to help ensure a smooth transition.

Former U.S. Attorney Rodger Heaton will become his chief of staff effective Monday, Oct. 9. Heaton most recently served as the director of Public Safety and chairman of the Statewide Commission on Criminal Justice and Sentencing Reform.

CHICAGO - Besieged Governor Bruce Rauner dismissed former Illinois Policy Institute vice president Kristina Rasmussen as his chief of staff Friday and moved to the Left with an establishment-friendly replacement.

The announcement follows an array of Governor Rauner actions that have been confusing and frustrating to Republican rank and file, as well as elected officials.

State Rep. David McSweeney, a outspoken critic of Rauner, said Rasmussen leaving indicates the governor is moving further and further away from Republican basics and more and more to the Left.

"Kristina Rasmussen is a tenacious fiscal conservative leader with a very bright future," McSweeney said. "With her departure, it's clear that Bruce Rauner will move further to the left."

Earlier this week, after Rauner signed into law a measure that requires Illinois taxpayers to fund Medicaid abortions, McSweeney said Rauner was "a failed governor."

But why Heaton and why not Rasmussen, who moved into the COS spot just weeks ago?

Heaton has served as public safety director and the governors Homeland Security adviser since January 2015. In these roles, he has worked extensively with members from all three branches of Illinois state government and is familiar with the workings of the Office of the Governor and the priorities that the governor has established.

Im excited to promote Rodger to be our team leader, Rauner said. His combination of legal, legislative and policy experience will help us build on the significant improvements that Kristina accomplished in a very compressed and challenging time.

Heaton has had a 30-year career in law, litigation, law enforcement and policy. From 2005 to 2009, he served as U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois, the chief federal law enforcement official for 46 counties. He also served on the U.S. Attorney Generals Advisory Committee, a body that advises the Attorney General on all policy matters related to the justice system.

The governor lauded the work of outgoing Chief of Staff Kristina Rasmussen, who is leaving the administration to pursue other interests.

I brought Kristina on last summer because of her reputation as a foremost policy leader and organizational innovator, the governor said. I asked her to reinvigorate our staff and advance our goals in improving education, growing jobs, and protecting taxpayers  and she delivered on all fronts.

Kristina built and organized a team that is enhancing our executive operations, making them more focused, more effective and better prepared to win a growth agenda for Illinois, Rauner said. I know she will be a great success in any endeavor she chooses in the future.
When Hurricane Marias 160 mile per hour winds struck Dominica head on on September 18, 2017, the island was devastated.

The Category 5 storm claimed lives on the Caribbean island. Most of the trees were stripped of their leaves, and the island was left covered with downed trees and debris several feet deep. Most of the homes and buildings, including the hospital and the Prime Ministers dwelling, lost their entire roofs or the roofs were damaged.

Everything is gone, said Floyd resident Gaynell Larsen. There is no vegetation. They say it is the worst devastation since Hurricane David (in 1979).

For Gaynell and husband David who first visited Dominica in 1997 and have been taking supplies and giving other support there almost 30 times in the past 20 years, the island is a special place. Its like home, and theyre like family, Gaynell commented. What this tiny island and others around it are going through is heartbreaking, she added. Every power line is down. Food and water are needed. All of the food above ground - bananas, grapefruit, oranges, and yams - are gone, Gaynell commented. Were just hoping we can get more food over there. Tarps are also needed for the houses.

Supplies are getting to the capital of Roseau, which has 2-3 feet of mud in the stores, Gaynell said, but there is no way to distribute supplies to the other areas. Roads are blocked so there is no way to get from village to village as of the past week. Mudslides have isolated some of the areas, including in Wooten Waven, where the Larsens stay when they visit the island.

Communication needs are also priorities during this time. Several amateur radio groups have come forward to help - DERA (Disaster Emergency Response Association) and the Larsens FAIRS (Foundation for Amateur International Radio Service) will be sending radios and solar chargers to Dominica. Brian Machesney and his wife Michelle Guenard have monitored the radio communications from Vermont and helped with broadcasting reports of damage. The couple has helped with training of new hams on the island which proved to be very helpful during this time of disaster.

The Larsens are also taking donations, preferably monetary contributions that will be sent to a friend, Josanna Lockhart Brown, a pastor on the island of Antigua. Josanna will then buy food, water and medical supplies (including bandaids, Ibuprofen and antibiotic cream) and have them transported by ferry to Dominica. The Larsens first met Josanna when she was a teen growing up in Dominica. She started the Kids for Christ group and DAD (Dominicans Against Drugs) in Castle Bruce. She and her husband Orlando are both pastors in Antigua; they have two children. Antigua is also helping the residents of Barbuda, which were evacuated to Antigua after Hurricane Irma struck last month.

There are 21 new amateur radio license operators on Dominica with radios, but they dont have solar charges. Thus the shipment going to them will make a big difference. Where we live the antenna blew down, but we had a portable reserve antenna, Gaynell said. Solar panels on the house survived the hurricane, so friend Clement Pierre Louis, who lives there with wife Hetty, can keep his radio charged and get updates to the Larsens and others.

FAIRS, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, is accepting donations for the island. For more information or to make a donation, call 745-2322, or mail to FAIRS, (memo  for Dominica relief), P.O. Box 179, Floyd, VA 24091.
Cortland, N.Y. -- Cortland is getting $10 million from the state to revitalize its downtown area.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the grant Friday as part of the second round of his $100 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative.

One municipality from each of the state's 10 regional economic development regions are selected each year as a $10 million winner. Last year, Oswego was selected in the Central New York region. The selections are made by the regional economic development councils appointed by the governor.

"This funding will bring new life to downtown Cortland and assisting in its transformation into an economic engine for the entire region," Cuomo said in a statement.

Cortland's downtown is within walking distance of State University of New York at Cortland and Tompkins Cortland Community College. There are 450 businesses employing 5,100 people within a half-mile radius of downtown, making the area the largest employer in Cortland County.

The city is to develop a strategic investment plan to revitalize its downtown, with up to $300,000 of the $10 million grant available for planning. A local planning committee made up of municipal representatives, community leaders and other stakeholders supported by a team of private sector experts and state planners, will lead the planning, state officials said.

The plan, which is expected to be ready in early 2018, will identify economic development, transportation, housing and community projects that will help revitalize the downtown area, according to the state.

On Wednesday, Cuomo announced that Watertown would receive $10 million to revitalize its downtown. It was selected by the North Country Regional Economic Development Council.

Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148
HANNIBAL, N.Y. -- An Oswego County man is facing sex-offense charges for incidents involving a young girl, according to New York State Police.

Jeffrey Erskin Sr.

Jeffrey P. Erskin Sr., 59, of Hannibal, was arrested and charged with first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child, a felony, troopers announced Friday.

State police said Erskin had sex and other sexual contact with a girl under age 13.

Troopers did not give further details, but state law dictates the incidents must have happened at least twice over a period of at least three months for that particular felony charge.

Erskin was arraigned in the Town of Hannibal court and sent to Oswego Count jail on $5,000 cash bail or $10,000 bond, troopers said. He is no longer in custody, according to VineLink records.

He is schedule to reappear in court on Oct. 31.
HASTINGS, N.Y. -- A man accused of violently assaulting a 69-year-old man outside an Oswego County restaurant and tavern last year was found guilty, District Attorney Gregory Oakes announced Thursday.

Chad Burman

Chad Burman, 32, of Cicero, is set to be sentenced in December for second-degree assault, a felony.

Police were called to the Waterfront Tavern, 6 U.S. Route 11, Hastings, on June 3, 2016, after receiving a report of a fight.

A 69-year-old man reportedly got into an argument with Burman and Richard D. Boyle, then 29, of Geddes, inside the restaurant. The two men followed the 69-year-old as he left and were seen kicking and punching him outside in the parking lot, according to state police.

The victim needed stitches over his eye and other treatment after the beating, troopers said.

Burman's trial began Monday with 10 witnesses called to the stand, Oakes said. The jury deliberated for 4 1/2 hours before they convicted him, he said.

Boyle, who was an associate attorney at the Scolaro, Fetter, Grizanti, McGough & King, P.C.'s Business Practice Group in Syracuse, was also charged with second-degree assault. His case is still pending.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Onondaga County Comptroller Bob Antonacci has abandoned his threat to sue County Executive Joanie Mahoney over allegations that she dined with a man who is pursuing litigation against Antonacci and the county.

That's one lawsuit that won't go forward. But the feud between Antonacci and Mahoney seems far from over.

Antonacci filed a notice of claim against the county in March, accusing Mahoney of "cavorting'' with a county contractor who has accused Antonacci of racial discrimination. Antonacci dropped his claim against Mahoney six months later -- one day before he was due at a hearing to answer questions about his potential lawsuit.

"This letter will confirm that Mr. Antonacci will not be pursuing a claim,'' the comptroller's attorney, Gregory Scicchitano, wrote in a Sept. 5 letter to the county.

Antonacci referred questions about why he dropped the case to his attorney. Scicchitano said only that Antonacci decided against pursuing the matter.

Here is Mahoney's take: The comptroller's claim was spurious from the start, filed only to stir up negative publicity about a heated confrontation between Mahoney and allies of Antonacci at a DeWitt restaurant.

"I believe it was filed as a political stunt,'' Mahoney said.

The whole case stemmed from a December 2016 evening at the Scotch 'N Sirloin in DeWitt, where Antonacci accused Mahoney and two other county officials of dining with Dino Dixie, a county contractor who sued Antonacci and the county in federal court.

Dixie is one of three African-American vendors who have accused Antonacci of violating their civil rights. That lawsuit is ongoing.

Antonacci wasn't at the Scotch 'N Sirloin that night, but was contacted by a political ally, Brian Renna, who was. Renna later accused Mahoney of grabbing his phone and throwing it across the bar after he tried to take her picture.

Antonacci said he believes Mahoney instigated the federal lawsuit filed by Dixie and others. He cited their dining together at the restaurant as evidence of collusion. His notice of claim asserted that Mahoney was violating her "fiduciary duty'' to county taxpayers by socializing with Dixie.

"If the county executive is behind this lawsuit, she has used the federal courts as a political tool to attack one of her political enemies,'' Antonacci said in an interview. "Is Joanie Mahoney behind this lawsuit? Absolutely, in my opinion.''

Mahoney denied working with Dixie on the lawsuit, pointing out that the litigation exposes county taxpayers to potential costs from a verdict, plus ongoing legal costs. Not only are county lawyers defending the case in court, but county taxpayers are paying for Antonacci's personal lawyer in the case, she said.

The legal costs to date are $53,850, county officials said. The case is still in the pre-trial discovery phase.

"The comptroller himself faces a lot of exposure in this case, and Onondaga County taxpayers face a lot of exposure,'' Mahoney said. "And the question is whether the allegations are true.''

Mahoney said Antonacci's legal attacks against her have cost county taxpayers big money.

The county paid roughly $500,000 in legal bills last year after Antonacci sued all 17 legislators and the county executive over pay raises passed in late 2015. The county hired six outside law firms to defend against the suit.

A judge upheld the county executive's raise, and declared the pay raises for legislators improperly passed. Lawmakers later passed corrected legislation to reinstate their raises.

The county this year hired an outside lawyer to defend against Antonacci's notice of claim. That cost is $1,222 to date, according to the county law department.

Contact reporter Tim Knauss anytime | email | Twitter | 315-470-3023
SYRACUSE, NY - Producers, directors, camera people, assistants, location scouts, extras, and two Hollywood stars filmed scenes in downtown Syracuse today for a new movie.

People walking by stopped and stared, asking what movie and commenting on "how cool" it was to see a film being made in Syracuse. The movie is "Holly Slept Over," and is expected to be released in late spring 2018.

Actress Britt Lower, known for 2015 "Sisters" and 'Man Seeking Woman," filmed several takes in a vehicle at the intersection of Washington and South Salina streets. With cameras mounted on the front and side of the car, Lower drove the vehicle first around the block several times for different takes.

She then went inside for a quick wardrobe change and then back in the car for a longer ride around the city.

Filming means a lot of waiting and lugging equipment around, and the crew set up shop at Otro Cinco restaurant around the corner and had lunch there.

Actor Josh Lawson, who starred in five seasons of the Showtime series "House of Lies," arrived about 4 p.m. to shoot several scenes in an eighth-floor law office and in the lobby of the University Building at 120 E. Washington St. He plays a lawyer named Noel in the movie.

The movie also stars "Office Space" actor Ron Livingston, who is filming his final scene in Liverpool tonight, and Nathalie Emmanuel of "Game of Thrones." Emmanuel wrapped up her scenes and left Syracuse Wednesday. The film also stars Erinn Hayes, who starred in "Kevin Can Wait."

Today was the last day of 15 days of filming - most at a home in Manlius and some in hills of Pompey. Today was the only day for filming in the Syracuse.

The busy intersection was chosen because it can resemble a busy city anywhere in the United States, said Will Phelps, one of the producers.

Tom and Alla Farber-McEntee, whose Manlius home was chosen as the main setting for the movie, were on hand to watch the filming and star as extras in the law office scene.

"It's been really fun,'' Alla Farber-McEntee said. "It will be interesting to see what our home looks like in the final product."

The film is about the relationship struggles between a newly married couple - played by Lawson and Lower - and the tension that ensues when an old college roommate stays over for the weekend, Phelps said.

Syracuse is a great place to film a movie because it has all four season and many different landscapes, the producers said, noting that the city and county were helpful in working with them on location filming.

This is the first film by the team behind the Liverpool School of Cinema. That includes producers Will Phelps, Glen Trotiner and Jeremy Garelick.
Santa's trained will not be visiting Saratoga Springs this year because of a financial dispute between the railroad and the events company that puts on Santa's train ride, according to the Albany Times Union.

Rail Events, a Colorado-based company that licenses some Polar Express holiday trains, told the Times Union it had been unable to reach a settlement with Iowa Pacific Holding. Iowa Pacific owns the Saratoga and North Creek Railway.

But families can still catch the train ride with Santa in several other Upstate New York communities. The events elsewhere are all run by different companies.

The Polar Express visits Utica, Medina and Kingston, starting in November.

For information about Utica tickets, visit the Adirondack Scenic Railroad website.

For information about Medina tickets, visit the Medina Railroad website.

For information about Kingston tickets, visit the Catskill Mountain's event website.
President Donald Trump had the chance this week to show the nation he can comfort, support and lead in times of crisis. His actions in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico came up woefully short.

The president seemed more concerned with portraying the federal relief effort in a positive light and settling scores with his critics than he was with getting an unvarnished view of conditions on the ground.

Wednesday, a full two weeks after Hurricane Maria made landfall, half of the island had access to drinking water and 5 percent had access to electricity, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency data reported by the Washington Post.

News reports show that aid has still not reached small communities in the island's interior. People are still drinking stream water and are running out of food. And that data about water and electricity no longer appears on FEMA's website, making it harder for Americans to gauge the progress of the relief effort.

The president minimized the suffering of Puerto Rico residents by comparing their misery to that of Hurricane Katrina, as if that would make them any less thirsty or hungry. The visual of Trump launching paper towel rolls into a crowd of people was comical.

Yes, the Puerto Rico relief effort poses unique challenges due to the severity of the storm and the island's distance from the mainland. Repairing the electrical grid, which was already in bad shape, will take time. On Wednesday, the Trump administration asked Congress for $29 billion in disaster aid. Puerto Rico's shaky finances pose a longer-term challenge for lawmakers and the president.

The national conversation about Puerto Rico shouldn't be about photo ops or press conference gaffes or personal feuds. Trump owes it to the American people - including the 3.4 million U.S. citizens living on Puerto Rico - to speak the truth about conditions there. That's what journalists on the ground are doing, by traveling into the interior, interviewing desperate residents and beaming back accounts of their long, hot, dark and lonely nights waiting for help to arrive.

Relief and recovery efforts in Puerto Rico will take a long time. The president shouldn't be a distraction from what's really important.

Syracuse.com editorials

Editorials represent the collective opinion of the Advance Media New York editorial board. Our opinions are independent of news coverage. Read our

Members of the editorial board are Tim Kennedy, Stephen Cvengros, Stephen Rogers, Christine Loman and Marie Morelli.

To respond to this editorial: Post a comment below, or submit a letter or commentary to

. Read our

If you have questions about the Opinions & Editorials section, contact Marie Morelli, editorial/opinion leader, at
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. John Katko says he wants to build a consensus in Congress on gun laws, without the emotion surrounding the worst mass shooting in U.S. history that left 59 people dead this week in Las Vegas.

Katko, R-Camillus, said he's pleased that leaders in Congress, the White House and National Rifle Association agreed Thursday to explore adding regulations on "bump stocks," the devices that convert semi-automatic rifles, allowing them to fire more like a fully automated weapon.

"That's sanity prevailing here," Katko told syracuse.com in an interview. "We're going to build a consensus and go with the consensus."

The gunman in the Las Vegas shooting apparently used legal bump stocks to increase his firing speed.

"I routinely deal with automatic weapons, and they're heavily restricted and largely outlawed," said Katko, a former organized crime prosecutor. "The bump stocks seem to be an exception. We're taking a very hard look at that right now. I am concerned about it."

Katko said he will reserve his final decision on the bump stocks and other potential gun laws until after he studies the issue. He sees no reason to rush any legislation because of the Las Vegas shooting.

"A lot of these decisions tend to be based on emotion," he said. "You've got to step back from the emotions of Las Vegas and look at things more clinically."

Katko, an avid hunter and sportsman, said he remains undecided on how he will vote on the SHARE Act, an NRA-backed bill that includes provisions that would make it easier to buy gun suppressors and roll back other firearms rules.

The legislation backed by House Republicans was headed toward swift passage, passing in committee, before the Las Vegas shooting.

Katko said there are a lot of hunter-friendly provisions in the SHARE Act (Sportsman's Heritage and Recreational Enhancement Act) but he wants to personally investigate whether it makes sense to roll back an 80-year-old law that regulates the sale of silencers or suppressors.

The NRA supports the bill, arguing it will protect hunters from hearing damage through the wider use of gun suppressors. But opponents, including members of law enforcement, say the law could lead to deadlier mass shootings.

"Silencers distort the sound of gunfire and diminish the muzzle flash of firearms, two things that help police locate active shooters," Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus wrote last month in an op-ed opposing the law in the Arizona Daily Star.

Katko said he wants to see for himself, and plans to arrange a trip to a shooting range to witness a suppressor in action on semi-automatic rifle.

"This issue about the suppressors, everyone thinks it's a gun silencer," Katko said. "But it really mimics the sounds of a jackhammer. They're not a silencer at all."

Katko said he also wants to make sure the devices don't suppress the flash of a firearm.

"It's being sold as a way to prevent the hearing loss of people involved in competitive shooting," he said of the legislative effort. "If it does that, it's fine."

Contact Mark Weiner anytime: Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751
KRG situation could affect tanker market

This weeks non-binding independence vote in Iraqi Kurdistan may do little to change the semi-autonomous regions crude output in the short term.

However, the Kurdistan Regional Governments (KRG) ambition to use the vote as a negotiating tool may have wider ramifications going forward, including for the tanker market, Gibson said in a recent report. Oil is a critical source of funding for the KRG, yet the KRG relies on exports via pipeline to Turkeys Ceyhan Terminal to export the oil. These export flows are also an important source off demand for the crude tankers, especially Suezmaxes and Aframaxes. Kurdish exports via Ceyhan average 500,000 barrels per day in the third quarter of this year, underlining its significance. However, now politics threaten this source of income for the KRG, plus the Mediterranean tanker markets prospects. Despite the vote being non-binding, and the KRG suggesting it will not declare independence until negotiations have taken place with Iraqs central government, this development has clearly concerned neighbouring governments, which have their own Kurdish populations, primarily Turkey and Iran. Iran may well have less leverage over the KRG but Turkey has threatened to cut off its access to the international oil markets. Oil prices reacted to this threat, with Brent trading near 26 month highs, as any disruption to Kurdish exports, would coincide with an already tightening oil market. The KRG has few alternative routes to the sea. There are no routes through Iran or Syria. Furthermore, any exports via the south would effectively relinquish control of exports to the central government in Baghdad. However, Baghdad may have little direct power itself. The KRG has been key to the fight against ISIS and remains a critical ally, whilst Kurdish forces control the necessary oil installations. The central government could, however, increase its efforts to seek the arrest of vessels carrying Kurdish crude in an effort to make Kurdish exports more problematic. Fundamentally it is the Turkish Government who holds the physical power to halt oil shipments and disrupt the tanker market, Gibson concluded. Another report from the Oil Research Team at Thomson Reuters took a look at how Mediterranean crude oil refineries margins could potentially experience negative outcomes from a pipeline closure enforced by Turkey, due to disruption in Kirkuk blend. A temporary removal of Kirkuk blend from the market, would create a gap in the medium grade oil segment, allowing substitutes, such as Urals, Basrah Light and Arab Light to increase loadings. The longer term implications could allow the region to increase production by attracting more international oil companies through favourable PSCs, tighter security and low operating costs. The reports highlights include -  *Kurdistan is poised to become a regional player, but requires diversity away from the petroleum sectors in order to build an industrial economy utilising oil revenues.  *Disruptions to the Ceyhan pipeline will cause Kurdistans production to cease and with the resulting lack of exports, economic issues. Further reaching implications will be felt by Mediterranean crude oil markets and refineries.  *With regular payments from the KRG to Iraqi oil companies, investment is being directed towards exploration rather than production, amid lower production figures relating to geological issues.  *Kirkuk grade seaborne exports have started to increase in terms of volume, over the last three months, a monthly average of 15.1 mill barrels.  *Kirkuk blend share in the total Iraqi exports started to increase from May, 2017 onwards, with the share of Kirkuk in Iraqi exports accounting for 12.3%.  *In the case Kirkuk blend, exports are removed from the market, this would cause a supply gap of 15 mill barrels in the medium grade oil segment of the Mediterranean region.  *Kirkuk crude has been among the most favourable crude streams in the Mediterranean, because of its cracking margins and favourable yields of light ends and middle distillates.  *A change in the composition of the crude slate for Mediterranean refineries could result in a fall by up to $1 per barrel in the refinery margins. Meanwhile, events in Iran, Iraq and Venezuela could halt up to 2 mill barrels of oil exports per day, analysts said earlier this week. Iran could be de-certified by the US on 15th October, if the Trump administration does a U-turn on lifting sanctions, resulting in fresh sanctions against the country. In Venezuela, PDVSA has almost run out of money, while the Chinese have stopped helping out the Maduro government. The Iraq situation mentioned by analysts refers to the Kurdish problems as highlighted above.




StormGeo to track cyclones

StormGeo's shipping division (formerly AWT) has introduced multi-model technology enabling Masters to make better routing decisions around tropical cyclones.

StormGeo's Tropical Cyclone track uses multi-model ensembles and advanced analysis to narrow the cone of uncertainty, the area extending out from a storm on a forecasting map that projects a cyclone's path. In order to improve decision-making for the crew, the new Tropical Cyclone Multi-Model (TCMM) track technology is included in the latest versions of the on board BVS and Routing Advisory Service. In addition, StormGeo's clients will also receive colour-coded graphics, four times a day, to quickly assess where the most likely tracks will occur. "Understanding the likelihood of encountering a tropical cyclone on a given shipping route days in advance of the occurrence and having the benefit of time necessary to navigate away from the dangerous situation are vital for safe operations," said Richard Brown, StormGeo ship operations CEO. "With our new technology, captains have information to help them make better decisions in the face of inherently erratic weather conditions." The industry-standard cone of uncertainty concept was generated by The National Hurricane Center (NHC) using historical data to demonstrate forecast error. However, this method is limited in its ability to display multiple possible tracks because the cone dimensions do not vary based on forecast uncertainty or confidence level. StormGeo's TCMM technology offers significant improvement, indicating the most likely path of a tropical cyclone and providing a range of possible alternate routes, the company claimed. "Our customers rely on StormGeo for the most innovative products in the industry, and our new technology delivers on our promise," Brown said. "The data on which the system is built was collected from four major weather agencies' ensembles, and 94 algorithms were created to parse the data into one multi-model ensemble. This is a leading edge, advanced weather and navigational achievement with great potential for improving shipping safety."




Thank you for reading!

Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.
Of late, one of the biggest current smartphone trends is all about getting rid of bezels, but the thing is, manufacturers have also set their sights on the 3.5mm headphone jack.

As evidence to that, Google has also dropped the audio port from the new Pixel 2, following the path that Apple arguably paved with the iPhone 7.

Why Doesn't The Pixel 2 Have A Headphone Jack?

According to Google's vice president and general manager for phones Mario Queiroz, the headphone jack wasn't included in the Pixel 2 simply to minimize bezels for an edge-to-edge display. Unlike Apple, it's not exactly a move out of "courage."

"The primary reason [for dropping the jack] is establishing a mechanical design path for the future. We want the display to go closer and closer to the edge. Our team said, 'if we're going to make the shift, let's make it sooner, rather than later.' Last year may have been too early. Now there are more phones on the market," Queiroz told TechCrunch.

That said, under the circumstances, Google had to bring a "solution" to the table, and as such, it introduced the new Pixel Buds, which is reminiscent of Apple's AirPods launching to complement the iPhone 7.

It should be noted that the Pixel Buds may have the edge in the competition between it and the AirPods, thanks to its capability of translating conversations in real time.

Interestingly enough, the so-called war against bezels is also what pushed Google to equip the Pixel 2 XL with P-OLED or plastic OLED.

Why Did Apple Ditch The Headphone Jack Again?

As a refresher, Apple had similar reasons for dropping the headphone jack. Back in September 2016, senior vice president of hardware engineering at Apple Dan Riccio told BuzzFeed that the Cupertino brand had to remove the audio port from the equation because it was holding them back from putting more things they wanted into the iPhone.

"It was fighting for space with camera technologies and processors and battery life. And frankly, when there's a better, modern solution available, it's crazy to keep it around," Riccio said, later stating that the move also helped Apple meet an IP67 water and dust resistance for the iPhone 7.

It's worth mentioning that a new Belkin dongle now lets iPhone users listen to music and charge their devices at the same time, which offers more than what other iPhone accessories such as the Uncourage can.

Basically, manufacturers are ditching the headphone jack to make more room to cram more innovative technologies into their phones.

To boil things down, the future of smartphones seems like it won't have bezels or headphone jacks but with Bluetooth audio peripherals and edge-to-edge displays.

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The Android Wear section of the online Google Store suddenly vanished just as Google unveiled a host of new devices in its recently held Pixel 2 event.

The quiet disappearance of Android Wear does not necessarily mean that Google is discontinuing the wearable device operating system, but it raises questions on its direction.

Android Wear Disappears From Google Store

Upon visiting the Google Store, users will be greeted with a splash page featuring all the devices that Google announced at its Oct. 4 event. However, a quick look around the online store reveals that the Android Wear section is nowhere to be found.

Users can still access the Android Wear page directly, but this year's smartwatches that utilize the operating system, namely the LG Watch Sport and LG Watch Style, are shown as no longer available.

Speculation on what prompted Google to remove a link to the Android Wear section on the Google Store homepage revealed two possible scenarios. Google either wants to feature only Google-branded products in the Google Store, or the company was slowly pushing Android Wear out as it becomes less important.

Android Wear Here To Stay?

Android Wear Googler Hoi Lam later confirmed that the removal of an Android Wear link on the Google Store was done due to the decision to stock only Google-made hardware in the online store. This meant that the LG-branded smartwatches no longer followed the criteria, and it made no sense to have an Android Wear link that contained no devices for sale. Instead, Google helped create Android Wear storefronts at other online retail stores, such as Amazon.

Android Wear is not going anywhere, and is here to stay. However, with no exposure on the Google Store, the wearable device operating system will likely fall behind Apple's watchOS.

Google has also not really made much of an effort for Android Wear recently, with no mention of the software at this year's Google I/O and no known plans for a Google-branded Android Wear smartwatch. That's a shame, considering the potential of Android Wear 2.0 that was released in February.

Customers browsing through the Google Store will see products such as the highly touted Pixel 2 smartphone, the new Home Mini and Home Max smart speakers, the artificial intelligence-powered camera named Google Clips, and the real-time translation-capable Pixel Buds. Unfortunately, Android Wear will not be there, raising two questions: is Google planning to unveil a Google-branded smartwatch soon, or will Android Wear remain in the background of the company's other hardware?

 2022 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Purchases made via links on our site may earn us an affiliate commission
As violent crime continues to bloody Baton Rouge, Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome's office released details Friday about "call to action" meetings for the public set for Oct. 10.

Solving an uptick in homicides this year has recently become a major talking point for law enforcement and public officials in Baton Rouge. Acting U.S. Attorney Corey Amundson announced this week that federal and state law enforcement were creating a strike force to target the most brutal groups in Baton Rouge and then to harshly prosecute them.

Broome also recently asked for Louisiana State Police to help patrol Baton Rouge while the Baton Rouge Police Department trains new officers in an attempt to address a severe manpower shortage.

But Broome also has repeatedly emphasized that cutting crime in Baton Rouge will also require help from the public.

Her "call to action" meetings will happen simultaneously from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday at four churches spread throughout the parish. The churches are Greater King David Baptist Church; Broadmoor United Methodist Church; Oasis Christian Church and Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church.

While law enforcement is a vital piece to prevent and reduce these attacks in our neighborhoods, community engagement is of the utmost importance and community input is often the best way to find solutions," Broome said in a statement Friday.

Law enforcement officials have attributed the rise in violent crimes to gangs, domestic violence and drug trafficking. The city-parish should soon start receiving more than $2 million in Department of Justice grants to support local law enforcement initiatives for domestic violence programs, prison re-entry, sexual assault survivors, body camera implementation and victim assistance.

Amid the uptick in crime, Broome has not yet chosen a permanent police chief. Former BRPD Chief Carl Dabadie agreed to retire in late July after a monthslong standoff with Broome, and she appointed Jonny Dunnam to serve as interim chief.

Though Broome promised a national police chief search both on the campaign trail and after she took office, the national search never happened. Applicants for the job are required under state civil service laws to take a test, and Broome's office said they realized months after promising the national search that the test requirement would turn off national applicants.

Twelve people have submitted applications for the chief position and will take their exam Oct. 10. Those who score 75 percent or higher will be passed onto Broome for consideration.
A heated dispute between Baton Rouge personal injury lawyers Gordon McKernan and E. Eric Guirard over accusations of ripping off advertising slogans and imagery just got hotter.

In recent court filings, Guirard asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit McKernan filed against him in late June for alleged trademark infringement. Guirard also struck back by filing a countersuit against McKernan.

Guirard has resumed using his "E Guarantee" trademarked slogan that he used for many years prior to his 2009 disbarment by the Louisiana Supreme Court, which restored his law license in 2016.

McKernan, meanwhile, has been using his "G Guarantee" slogan in his advertising since obtaining a trademark on the slogan in 2014 and wants Senior U.S. District Judge James Brady to prohibit Guirard from using his own signature "E Guarantee" catch phrase. McKernan's attorneys claim the "E Guarantee" slogan was officially abandoned during Guirard's disbarment.

In a court-filed answer to McKernan's suit, Guirard's attorneys allege that McKernan "sought to capitalize" on Guirard's disbarment by "muscling in" on Guirard's longstanding trademark and related slogans and imagery. Guirard is asking that McKernan be stopped from using his "G Guarantee" slogan.

The legal spat also involves Guirard's mocking television commercial that depicts a man bearing McKernan's likeness falling off an 18-wheeler while filming a TV ad.

McKernan is asking Brady to order Guirard to stop using McKernan's image and likeness without authorization in commercial advertisements for legal services.

Guirard's attorneys contend McKernan's and his law firm's motive in using and obtaining registration rights in the "G Guarantee" and "Lawyer on a Truck" trademarks "was not to identify and differentiate their own services in the legal marketplace, but rather was calculated to hinder and obstruct (Guirard's and his firm's) attempts to engage in legitimate competition" with McKernan and his firm.

Guirard's attorneys also allege McKernan's use of his "G Guarantee" was intended to "sow confusion" with Guirard's longstanding use of similar trademarks and to "tee up this very legal dispute in an effort to drain (Guirard and his firm) of time, money, and other critical resources."

McKernan's suit likewise alleges the two lawyers slogans are "confusingly similar" and likely to cause confusion in the marketplace.

As for Guirard's mocking TV spot, his attorneys contend the ad is an "obvious parody" of McKernan's marketing efforts and they say McKernan is not the "gatekeeper of images featuring both a man and a truck for the entire trucking-litigation marketplace." McKernan's popular TV spots show him standing atop a big rig with arms folded.

McKernan's attorneys, in their court-filed answer to Guirard's counterclaim, also maintain Guirard "committed fraud" in 2014 by filing an intent-to-use trademark application for the "E Guarantee" slogan at a time when he was still disbarred and prohibited from practicing law.

Guirard's court filing says the application to register the trademark "E Guarantee" was filed "in anticipation of Mr. Guirard's readmission to the practice of law in Louisiana."

Guirard and his then-law partner, Thomas R. Pittenger, were disbarred in 2009 because of what the state Supreme Court called their "business first" model, which included rewarding the firm's non-lawyer case managers for settling cases as quickly as possible, the high court said. Pittenger's law license was given back to him in 2015. Guirard is under supervised probation until next spring.

McKernan's suit alleges both trademark infringement and misappropriation of identity, and seeks monetary damages. Guirard also seeks damages.

Guirard and his firm are represented by Metairie lawyer Eric O'Bell and Albert Myers, of Georgia. McKernan's lawyers are Michael Rhea, Michael Leachman and Donald Washington with the Jones Walker law firm.
WASHINGTON  Several Louisiana lawmakers and interest groups are sounding the alarm over major changes to the National Flood Insurance Program included in the Trump administration's request for emergency hurricane relief money.

The White House is asking Congress to bar the NFIP from issuing new policies to cover new homes or business in any flood zone, a provision that would hit coastal areas of Louisiana particularly hard, along with several other significant changes to the federally run program.

White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, in a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, says the NFIP is "simply not fiscally sustainable in its current form" and outlines several other potentially significant changes to program rules.

Mulvaney called for lawmakers to maintain subsidized insurance rates for low-income homeowners  but called for pairing that with "accelerated premium increases for policyholders who can afford to pay risk-based rates."

Flood insurance could get temporary extension in deal struck this week WASHINGTON  The National Flood Insurance Program would get a three-month extension under a 

The White House is also pushing for more authority for the government to cancel policies on properties that have flooded more than once.

The letter doesn't lay out exact details of the proposed federal policy changes. A bill to provide hurricane relief and to address the National Flood Insurance Program's cash shortfall is expected to be introduced next week.

But Mulvaney's letter hints at several changes that could lead to much higher rates for many Louisiana homeowners  or lead some to be booted from the program altogether  and advocates for changes that members of Louisiana's congressional delegation have fought against.

Caitlin Berni, vice president of policy and communications for Greater New Orleans Inc., a regional economic development group that has focused extensively on flood insurance issues, said excluding any newly constructed buildings in flood zones  designated "A" or "V" zones on FEMA flood maps  from the program is her biggest concern.

Significant swaths of south Louisiana fall in those zones, Berni noted. Exclusion from NFIP would make it nearly impossible for would-be home buyers in those areas to obtain a mortgage and would effectively stop any new development or construction in those zones.

"That's a non-starter for us," Berni said.

Berni noted that newly constructed homes in flood zones are actually at lower risk of flooding because of more stringent elevation requirements than existing properties in the same areas which have risk and elevation levels that are grandfathered in.

Berni also said she'll be watching closely for the details in the bill, which is expected to be drafted and publicly released sometime next week.

Just what changes Mulvaney has in mind by "accelerated premium increases for policyholders who can afford to pay risk-based rates" isn't entirely clear. Many homeowners in Louisiana enjoy grandfathered rates, meaning their risk of flooding  and premiums  are calculated based on the base flood elevation at the time the property was built and not on current elevations, which are usually higher.

Previous proposals to phase out grandfathering for NFIP policyholders, such as under the since-rolled-back Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, would've sent premiums for many homeowners in flood zones skyrocketing, Berni said.

If flood insurance premiums for a home rise  or if federal authorities boot the property from the program altogether  its value is almost sure to drop.

Similar provisions to hike premiums to "risk rates" and to exclude categories of homeowners from the program have been put forward previously by a handful of House Republicans, including U.S. Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, who chairs the committee that oversees the flood insurance program.

Budget hawks like Hensarling have pointed to the program's debt as a sign the program is fiscally unsustainable and have pushed for the federal government to get out of the flood insurance business.

The Trump administration's letter also proposes changing rules to make it much easier for private insurance companies to offer flood insurance policies for homeowners. Louisiana lawmakers have embraced that idea in theory  but expressed deep concerns that private companies would cherry pick the lowest-risk properties, sucking away premium dollars and leaving the NFIP in worse financial shape.

The White House's proposals on flood insurance aren't an entirely bitter pill for NFIP policyholders in Louisiana: The Trump administration proposes forgiving $16 billion in NFIP debt in order to free up money to pay new claims from hurricanes Irma, Harvey and Maria.

Tens of billions of dollars in expected claims following massive damage from hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria this year are expected to swamp the National Flood Insurance Program. The already debt-laden program has nearly exhausted its cash reserves and congressional authority to borrow money, even as new claims from policyholders continue to pour in.

U.S. Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, said the only feasible alternative to forgiving part of the debt would be to allow the program to borrow billions more from the U.S. Treasury.

That, Graves noted, would mean policyholders would have to make ballooning interest payments on the NFIP's debt. NFIP policyholders already pay more than $400 million in interest to the U.S. Treasury on the program's roughly $30 billion debt. Borrowing to pay Harvey, Irma and Maria claims could knock that figure up to $1.5 billion, Graves said.

"Thats artificially jacking up flood insurance supplemental payments," Graves said, calling the interest payments "an injustice."

The NFIP had remained solvent and in the black until 2005, when the massive destruction caused during Hurricane Katrina wiped out its cash reserves and forced the program to go about $17 billion in debt to pay off claims.

Graves, Berni and others in south Louisiana have argued that much of those claims stemmed from massive federal levee failures and not the kinds of flood risks factored into NFIP premiums.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-Madisonville, said Mulvaney's proposals would price families out of their homes.

"I am going to fight the inclusion of this language," Kennedy added. "Owning a home is part of the American dream. We can't put that dream out of reach."

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, said in a statement about Mulvaney's proposal that while he is "encouraged by provisions that would increase affordability  there are some provisions we have concerns about.

"We look forward to working with the administration to find something which strengthens the program and increases the accountability, affordability and sustainability," Cassidy said.

Graves, the Baton Rouge congressman, said he's already spoken with Republican leaders in the House of Representatives about his concerns about portions of the White House proposal.
LATEST: Tropical Storm Nate strengthens as it churns toward Gulf, New Orleans; see latest track

ORIGINAL STORY

Tropical Storm Nate roared toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula Friday morning after drenching Central America in rain that was blamed for at least 22 deaths, and forecasters said it could reach the U.S. Gulf Coast as a hurricane as early as Saturday night.

Louisiana officials have declared a state of emergency and ordered some evacuations of coastal areas and barrier islands ahead of Nate's expected landfall; evacuations also began at some offshore oil platforms in the Gulf.

The most recent track for the fast-moving storm shows it making landfall to the east of New Orleans, near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Nate is expected to reach hurricane strength by Saturday evening and make landfall by Sunday morning, at which point it will weaken to a tropical storm.

Projections indicate anywhere from 1 to 6 inches of rain for the eastern portion of Louisiana.

A hurricane and storm surge warning is in effect from Louisiana to the Alabama/Florida border.

Can't see the video below? Click here.

+2 Tropical Storm Nate: What to expect for Louisiana wind, rain totals as potential hurricane nears Gulf As the fast-moving Tropical Storm Nate continued to approach the Gulf of Mexico on Friday, the New Orleans area remained poised for a direct h

Larger swaths of rain are expected of up to 10 inches, but that is mostly expected to fall over the Gulf.

The center of Nate, tracking at 21 mph, was projected to move across the northwestern Caribbean Sea today and move over the the northeastern coast of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula by Friday evening. The system will then move in the Southern Gulf of Mexico by Saturday morning, reaching the northern Gulf Coast by as early as Saturday night.

Reports indicate that maximum sustained winds are now near 50 mph (85 km/h) with higher gusts. Additional strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days, and Nate is expected to become a hurricane by the time it reaches the northern Gulf of Mexico.

In Nicaragua, Nate's arrival followed two weeks of near-constant rain that had left the ground saturated and rivers swollen. Authorities placed the whole country on alert and warned of flooding and landslides.

Nicaragua's vice president and spokeswoman, Rosario Murillo, said that at least 15 people had died in that country due to the storm. She didn't give details on all the deaths, but said two women and a man who worked for the Health Ministry were swept away by a flooded canal in the central municipality of Juigalpa.

Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Organism blamed seven deaths in that country on the storm and said 15 people were missing. Flooding drove 5,000 residents into emergency shelters.

The forecast track showed that Nate could brush across the tip of Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula as a tropical storm late Friday night.

Gov. John Bel Edwards declared a state of emergency for Louisiana and mobilized 1,300 National Guard troops, with 15 headed to New Orleans to monitor the fragile pumping syste.

With forecasts projecting landfall in southeast Louisiana as a Category 1 hurricane, Edwards urged residents to ready for rainfall, storm surge and severe winds  and to be where they intend to hunker down by "dark on Saturday."

Edwards said Nate is forecast to move quickly, rather than stall and drop tremendous amounts of rain on the state. State officials hope that means New Orleans won't run into problems with its pumps being able to handle the water.

Edwards warned, however, against underestimating the storm.

Officials ordered the evacuation of part of coastal St. Bernard Parish east of New Orleans ahead of the storm. Earlier Thursday, a voluntary evacuation was called for Grand Isle.

New Orleans officials outlined steps to bolster the city's pump and drainage system. Weaknesses in that system were revealed during summer flash floods.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement's New Orleans office said in a news release that as of midday Thursday, six production platforms, out of the 737 manned platforms in the Gulf, had been evacuated. No drilling rigs were evacuated, but one moveable rig was taken out of the storm's path.

The agency estimated less than 15 percent of the current oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has been shut-in, which equates to 254,607 barrels of oil per day.
I would like to thank The Advocate for Danny Heitman's column. He is a wonderful writer, and I look forward to his column every Sunday. In his Sept. 17 column, he made me feel like I was right there looking at the beautiful birds as I used to see at my former home. Upon cleaning out his closet, his description of finding his hospital scrub shirt with two tiny footprints that he wore when his daughter was born and who is now in college brought tears to my eyes.

Heitman should write a book. I'm sure it would be a big success.

Danny Heitman's "At Random": A father clears his closet Parting the bedroom curtains last weekend on the first cool Saturday of September, I noticed

Peggy Duffel Simmons

homemaker

New Orleans
There's been lots of discussion during the New Orleans mayoral campaign about crime, which regularly tops lists of issues that concern voters most. There hasn't been much discussion, though, about the New Orleans Police Department's leadership.

The results of a new poll taken for the New Orleans Advocate and WWL-TV hint at why.

Despite general frustration over what's happening on the city's streets, it turns out that the man in charge is pretty popular. Sixty percent of the 500 registered voters interviewed by the Clarus Research Group last month said they approve of Superintendent Michael Harrison, who rose through the ranks and projects an open and reassuring image. Just 21 percent disapprove. He did significantly better than the city's other major crime-fighter, District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, a more bombastic and controversial figure, who scored 46 percent approval and 31 percent disapproval ratings.

NOPD as a whole got high marks too, with 63 percent approving and 27 percent disapproving of the department.

+2 Stephanie Grace: In New Orleans mayoral race, subtle differences begin to emerge Theyve appeared at so many forums together that they might as well set up a carpool, but st

That may help explain why, even as the candidates promise to staff up and fault Mayor Mitch Landrieu for not hiring during the administration's earliest and most financially challenging days, they don't make it all about finding a new leader. In fact, the three top-polling candidates, former Civil District Court Judge Michael Bagneris, City Councilwoman LaToya Cantrell and former Municipal Court Judge Desiree Charbonnet all say they'd conduct a search for the best police chief  but also that they'd invited Harrison to apply.
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, center, poses for a group photo with senior military leaders and spouses in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017. Trump was hosting the dinner for the group. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Over a seven-month period in 2015, a member of the Jefferson Parish School Board barraged the board's secretary with hundreds of phone calls and text messages, many of them after business hours, according to a report prepared by an outside attorney.

The board member, Cedric Floyd, was at times solicitous, according to the report, telling the secretary that he was "thinking about" her in one call and that his "world was coming to an end" because a few minutes had gone by without a call from her.

At other times, the report says, Floyd was angry and bullying, telling her on one occasion, "I can't beat you up now. I will call you back."

The accusations appear in a report prepared by an attorney hired by the board after the secretary, Sharon Hunter, complained to school system administrators. It was added recently to a federal lawsuit Hunter filed months ago against the board.

But the board itself has never reviewed the report's findings, despite having paid $26,000 to the attorney who put it together, I. Harold Koretzky.

Koretzky delivered the report to school system officials in October 2015, but the board put off considering it for three months. In February 2016, a proposal to consider it publicly failed, and then a motion to take the board into closed session to discuss it also failed.

The report was not made public at the time, and a public records request for it by The Advocate was denied on the grounds that it was a personnel issue. It became public after it was filed into the court record.

Hunter's suit against the School Board details a pattern of interaction that she said caused her to suffer from migraines and neck pain and eventually to resign from her job.

Ex-Jefferson School Board aide files EEOC complaint against former board president The Jefferson Parish public school system appears likely to face a lawsuit over allegations 

During his investigation, Koretzky interviewed Hunter, Floyd and others.

The report shows that over a seven-month period, Floyd, who was then the board's president, called Hunter more than 1,000 times and sent her more than 400 text messages on both her work and personal cellphones.

He berated her for work he considered sub-par and sometimes asked her personal questions that went beyond the bounds of a proper employer-employee relationship, the report says.

Phone logs provided by Hunter showed that Floyd called her personal cellphone 530 times between Jan. 18 and Aug. 11, 2015. The majority of those calls  382  occurred outside her normal work schedule. He also called her board-issued cellphone, which he told her to keep with her at all times, 544 times during the same period. Of those, 80 were outside her work schedule.

Hunter recorded some of the calls. In one from July, Floyd told her, "I could have beat(en) you down a little bit ... whatever you're saying, it doesn't meet my expectations," the report says.

Then, a few days later, during an after-hours call, Floyd told her, "I can't beat you up now. I will call you back."

Some of Floyd's calls took a different tone. "Five minutes without a call and my world is about to come to an end," he told her during an afternoon call on July 27. Two days later, he repeated three times during an after-hours call that he was "thinking about her," according to the report.

Floyd also sought to isolate Hunter from other staff members, the report says, even moving her desk into his office. He told he wanted to be informed whenever she spoke with the school district's superintendent, Isaac Joseph.

The report says Floyd was often harshly critical of Hunter's performance. During one incident, concerning a $25 million check the school system received from BP after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Floyd grew upset because Hunter had not stored the check in his desk, as he had told her to do, but in the district's safe. When she called him the next morning, he exploded.

+2 Jeff School Board member Floyd to push for superintendent's suspension Cedric Floyd has not yet persuaded his colleagues on the Jefferson Parish School Board to su

"Floyd continued to raise his voice over the phone such that Hunter left her desk and ended up at the desk of a fellow district employee with the phone on speaker," the report says. "Two district employee witnesses who heard the call thought it was an irate parent and took steps to put the third floor on lockdown."

Floyd told Koretzky that he had been on a walking track in Metairie at the time and may have raised his voice because his surroundings were noisy. He also called Hunter a "perfectionist" who didn't take criticism well.

He said that the two had a friendly relationship, noting that he had loaned her money on a couple of occasions and that she took him to lunch and a movie on his birthday in August 2015, the report says.

In her lawsuit, Hunter claims that things did not improve after she complained to administrators. She resigned in September 2015, and in February 2016 she filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Then, after the EEOC declined to act, she filed her suit earlier this year.

Koretzky concluded that Hunter's claims "had merit," though Floyd may not have explicitly violated board policy.

He outlined several steps the board could take in response to Hunter's complaints: remove Floyd from his role as president of the board, insist that he not be allowed to hold any board leadership posts without first having attended anger-management classes, or some other form of censure.

He also recommended that the board strengthen its policies defining the proper roles of board members and administrators and warned that the school system could be at risk if Hunter decided to sue.

"The district and the board face bigger concerns should Hunter file suit seeking emotional damages," Koretzky wrote.

In the end, the board took no action against Floyd, who remains a member.

Floyd did not respond to text and phone messages for comment Thursday.

Ricky Johnson, one of the board members who voted against hearing the report, said he was blindsided by the details of Hunter's complaints. "I never saw this coming," he said.

Marion Bonura, who also voted against hearing the report in executive session, said some of the claims were new to him when a reporter read them over the phone.

"I have not read that report," he said. Bonura said he had voted against reviewing the report because he had understood that it did not recommend Floyd's removal or suspension.

He also dismissed the number and timing of phone calls, saying that it was his understanding that the board secretary was required to be available to the president "24-7."

Melinda Doucet, another board member who voted against hearing the report, said she understood that the report alleged no ethical violations by Floyd. But, she said, "I've never read it, never seen it."

Larry Dale, the board member who moved to hear the report, remains incredulous that the board never gave it an audience. "Why do you pay for an attorney to look into charges and not even want to hear what comes back?" he asked. "Are you not curious?"

Hunter's lawyer, Michael Delesdernier, said his client remains traumatized by Floyd's actions. "She doesn't want to be a martyr; she just wants justice," he said.

Delesdernier is a former Jefferson School Board member who frequently clashed with Floyd while both were on the board. He left the board before the events covered in Koretzky's report.
An anti-Desiree Charbonnet political action committee that has been running ads and sending out mailers in an attempt to sink her mayoral candidacy is being funded by prominent, deep-pocketed members of the business community, according to the group's campaign finance report.

Not For Sale NOLA, which has been attacking Charbonnet for weeks, raised $190,000 for the campaign against the former Municipal Court judge, largely from people who frequently dabble in New Orleans politics, according to the report. Those donors also have given to Charbonnet's opponents, primarily former Civil District Court Judge Michael Bagneris.

The PAC's report was filed Wednesday night just before the midnight deadline.

The primary is Oct. 14.

Anti-Desiree Charbonnet mailers, website appear, but source is unknown The first major shots have officially been fired in what so far has been a mostly low-key, a

The group's ads have created a stir in an otherwise mostly humdrum election season. The booklets, TV spots and online ads have delved into past accusations that Charbonnet, in previous jobs, hired friends and relatives of her political allies and supporters. They also cast aspersions on members of her inner circle.

Chief among the group paying for the ads are prominent charter school advocate Leslie Jacobs and Lane Grigsby, a Baton Rouge businessman and major contributor to conservative campaigns, as well as an architect of pro-charter school and voucher efforts. Each donated $40,000 to the effort to defeat Charbonnet.

Jacobs referred all questions about the PAC to Jesse Gilmore, the political consultant who runs it.

In a news release sent out Thursday, Gilmore said the group is not backing any candidate.

The PAC "is a bipartisan effort of concerned citizens who care deeply about the future of New Orleans and, like many others, have been dismayed by New Orleans long history of corrupt politics," according to the release. "It has complied with all of Louisianas campaign finance reporting laws and disclosed its donors to the public."

Grigsby said Thursday that he didn't want "to get into specifics" about the PAC and said, "I forget how I got engaged in it."

"People contact me all the time about getting involved with candidates and races," he said.

The new report confirms rumors that have been circulating for weeks about the general contours of the group financing the PAC and its attacks on Charbonnet.

Charbonnet, in fact, mentioned Jacobs by name last week when asking Bagneris to swear his campaign was not involved in the ads. He said it was not.

Bagneris has denied any connection to the group.

Jay Lapeyre, head of Laitram LLC and a major player in the Business Council of New Orleans and the River Region as well as the wider business community, gave $25,000 to Not For Sale NOLA.

Stuart Phillips gave $25,000 as well. Phillips, who did not respond to a request for comment, is not a well-known figure in city or state politics or business circles.

New Orleans mayoral candidates trade shots over mailers, monuments, more at forum The gloves may be coming off in the New Orleans mayors race.

Another $15,000 came from shipbuilding magnate Boysie Bollinger, and Crescent Bank and Trust, led by businessman Gary Solomon Sr., gave the same amount.

WTD Publishing gave $10,000. The first lists its manager as Mohamad Motahari, who works for Frank Stewart, a prominent businessman who has supported Bagneris in the mayor's race and who earlier feuded with Mayor Mitch Landrieu through a series of ads excoriating him for removing four Jim Crow-era monuments. Stewart's backing helped Bagneris gain significant campaign funds from the city's business community.

William Goldring, who made his fortune through the Sazerac Co., gave $5,000 through a company he owns, as did Paul Fine, who has worked with Goldring for years.

Aurelius Management, a firm based in Utah, also gave $5,000. The firm's registered agent, John McNamara II, is president and CEO of Stewart Capital, Stewart's investment company.

There's significant overlap between the donor bases of Not For Sale NOLA and Bagneris' campaign.

Solomon and Crescent Bank gave Bagneris $10,000, Motahari gave him $5,000, firms associated with Fine and Goldring gave $7,500, and Lapeyre, his family and businesses gave Bagneris $25,000.

Stewart and his wife gave Bagneris $10,000, although campaign officials said Bagneris returned those donations after being told the Stewarts were planning on spending money independently in the race.

A relative of Lapeyre's also gave $500 to mayoral candidate LaToya Cantrell this cycle.

Bollinger gave Bagneris $15,000 personally or through his businesses. He has also given $5,000 to Charbonnet's campaign.

Bollinger Shipyards, which is now run by a relative of Boysie Bollinger, also gave $5,000 to a PAC supporting Troy Henry's run for mayor.
Belconnen is the apartment capital of Canberra, as more and more people in the ACT move into high density housing.

The latest figures from the the Australian Bureau of Statistics show about 40,000 Canberrans lived in an apartment when last year's census was filled out, with apartments now accounting for about one in six households in the ACT.

Belconnen Community Council chairman Glen Hyde is one of more than 3600 apartment dwellers in Belconnen. Credit:Karleen Minney

About three in five apartments in the ACT were rented, although that number was closer to three in four in Tasmania, the Northern Territory and South Australia.

Around one in five ACT apartments were mortgaged - the highest proportion in Australia - while fewer than one in 10 were owned outright - the second lowest proportion in Australia.
Construction giant Geocon says it is working to address disturbances reported by residents of a Belconnen apartment development, including persistent loud noises heard inside homes over a least five months.

Structural engineers and tradespeople visited the Wayfarer building on Eastern Valley Way this week, after complaints to the company about noises coming from roof spaces and walls in a small number of the 330 apartments in the development.

The Wayfarer Building in Belconnen.

Owners in the building, completed in December 2016, said the persistent noises were loud enough to wake them up and could be heard at random intervals during the day and night.

One owner provided recordings and videos from their apartment to The Canberra Times which included a range of noises, the loudest of which sounded like a banging on a door or wall.
An audit of scaffolding on Canberra construction sites has uncovered serious issues of non-compliance, including a lack of protection from potentially deadly falls.

The WorkSafe ACT audit found just one out of five scaffolds on commercial sites were fully compliant with access opening requirements.

Scaffolding on a Kingston site in 2016. Credit:Jeffrey Chan

Almost half the 21 residential sites inspected recorded issues with design, including construction on uneven ground, large gaps on platforms and incorrectly installed stairs and ladders.

The audit of 26 sites resulted in three prohibition notices, meaning work was halted until issues were fixed, and three since-cancelled improvement notices. All notices related to residential work sites.


At first, Belinda Wrigley was intrigued by the glossy travel brochure posted from Malaysia which arrived in her letter box.

The brochure was from a travel company called Sweet Summer Tour and contained two scratchies, part of a promotion to celebrate the organisation's 13th year in business.

Mrs Wrigley and her husband Luke were thrilled when she scratched one of the tickets to find she'd won second prize in the contest, a cash gift of $US190,000 ($A242,000).
ABC boss Michelle Guthrie has launched a stinging attack on her commercial television rivals, accusing their chief executives of wanting to deny "your children and grandchildren" the right to watch Play School and Peppa Pig.

Ms Guthrie also questioned the commercial strategies of rival media players and said the Turnbull government's media law reforms were designed to further a "political vendetta".

"There is no pressing need to change the ABC Act and its Charter, no matter how much commercial chief executives and their compliant media outlets argue otherwise," she said in a draft of her speech to the ABC Friends Public Conference dinner in Sydney on Friday.

Ms Guthrie heaped scorn on the chief executives of media companies who lobbied the government for changes in ownership laws, including the removal of restrictions on media companies owning radio, television and print in a single city.
The lack of a space agency has meant Australia is effectively shut out of the discussion at an international level. Credit:Xinhua/AP We now spend less than $40 million a year on our civil space program, according to a 2016 budget green paper by the Space Industry Association of Australia. Establishing a serious space agency in more than just name would mean increasing its budget ten-fold. The European Space Agency, showing the Beagle 2 Probe on the surface of Mars. Credit:AP/European Space Agency That is equal to the Australia's entire foreign humanitarian assistance budget or five new 'growth centres' in science and technology, mining, oil and gas, medical, food and advanced manufacturing, according to the federal budget.

Or eight schools and three marriage equality surveys a year. The Dish, Australia Telescope National Facility, Parkes. Credit:Dallas Kilponen With most of these, we have historically had a comparative advantage. With space, we do not. Australia is just one of two countries in the OECD without a space agency, the other being Iceland, but there is no law of economics that says if every other country's got one, we need one too. NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly is seen inside a Soyuz simulator. Credit:NASA/Bill Ingalls/Courtesy of Penguin Random House

Our "lucky longitude" close to the equator has meant we theoretically should be able to launch satellites easier due to the laws of physics, but the last time we launched a satellite from Woomera in the 1970s, it failed to reach orbit, and we were only given a seat at the table so the European Space Agency could use our pad. Even that enormous feat of broadcasting engineering, beaming the moon landing from the Parkes Dish, watched by six hundred million people, or one fifth of mankind in 1969, failed to spark a national lust for space. Since then our space program has been mired in missed opportunities for intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonics and tales of sudden funding shortfalls and rapid cuts. So whats changed? The opportunity cost. According to astrophysicist Alan Duffy small, scalable satellites the size of a smartphone mean we don't need to launch satellites the size of a bus anymore.

"We get to space cheaper and we can do more when we're there," he said last month. Despite the absence of a space agency, Australia still rates very highly in space startups per capita. They are not Virgins or Teslas, but small companies punching above their weight in niche areas. Among them Gilmour Space Technologies based on the Gold Coast which will be launching low-cost hybrid rockets for the small satellite market by the end of next year. In New Zealand, the growth of startup Rocket Lab has been the defining reason for the government establishing its space agency. The company will charge $5 million to launch satellites weighing up to 150 kilograms to a 500-kilometre orbit.

Just a decade ago NASA signed contracts with SpaceX for $1.6 billion for 12 launches. Brian Li from the University of Canberra estimates Australian consumers and the government pay about $5.3 billion to overseas satellite corporations every year for mapping and informational technology, and the development of a micro-satellite industry will have significant flow-on effects. It could stop some of our brightest students leaving Australia to pursue their careers. Cue the possibility of higher productivity, employment, spending and economic growth. The director of Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research at UNSW, Andrew Dempster says at some point Australia has to stop free-loading off other countries' space capabilities.

"Australian solutions to Australian problems: i.e. it is about Australian sovereignty," he said. He recalls a 2013 audience at the Space Industry Association of Australia getting bogged down about whether Australia would still have access to free data from the recession-hit countries that give it to us. "Developed countries don't behave this way [well, only one does]: a developed country designs its own satellites to solve its own problems," he said. The lack of a space agency has meant Australia is effectively shut out of the discussion at an international level, with no one able to answer questions from the NASAs, UKSAs and CASAs of the world, let alone ask them. Simon Driver, a Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Western Australia, says Australia already plays a critical role in many other countries' space programs, and it was time it started getting what it was owed.
Electrical workers have stopped work on the $200 million Sydney Opera House renovation for the second time in two months over asbestos concerns.

The Electrical Trades Union said workers stopped work on Friday morning after receiving confirmation that potentially-deadly friable asbestos had again been located in work areas.

The union said samples collected on Thursday were on Friday confirmed to contain friable asbestos. Electrical workers decided to walk off the job until the safety issue was resolved.

"This issue was first identified two months ago, with SafeWork NSW issuing improvement notices to builder Laing O'Rourke giving the company seven days to remove the asbestos or eliminate the threat to workers through appropriate safety measures," ETU secretary Dave McKinley said.
Alas, there's no gentle way into this discussion: a mass murderer with an enhanced semi-automatic weapon does not automatically equal a "terrorist".

No matter how much partisan warriors and even governments try to squeeze the Las Vegas tragedy into the post-9/11 template, the facts simply don't fit. At the time of writing, everything we know  as in, don't know  about the shooter, Stephen Paddock, suggests that noun has no place in this atrocity, even if the verb is horrifically apt, as the 64-year-old professional gambler terrorised, with chilling method, 22,000 people at the Route 91 Harvest Festival from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

Paddock was not a terrorist, even if we acknowledge that to those left injured and grieving after the worst mass shooting in modern US history this parsing of definitions might seem an insensitive parlour game.

The distinction matters because defeating terrorism, an inherently political act, requires a different strategy to combating psychopathic killers with their idiosyncratic motivations. If we cannot distinguish terrorist from psychopath, then we'll struggle to combat mass casualty attacks full stop. And the more clouded our thinking, the more we remain vulnerable to groups and institutions that seek to exploit tragedies such as Vegas for their own political ends, the more our civil liberties and public discourse will keep taking a hit.
The achievement of the latest stage in the development of the 11.2 megawatt solar power plant at Williamsdale is a major milestone on the ACT's journey to 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2020.

Climate Minister Shane Rattenbury unveiled the recently completed array of 36,000 solar panels 20km south of Canberra earlier this week.

The solar farm can generate up to 21,500 megawatt-hours of electricity a year. That is enough for 3500 homes.

It is part of a commitment to the evolving technology by the ACT government that has made the territory a world leader in the takeup of renewables.
Obama didn't try to tell Americans that they should ban guns, only assault weapons. He also proposed to make background checks for prospective gun buyers more rigorous. "Are we really prepared to say that we're powerless in the face of such carnage, that the politics are too hard?" Obama posed."Are we prepared to say that such violence visited on our children year after year after year is somehow the price of our freedom?" Yes, came the answer from the US Congress. Obama's efforts failed. In fact, during his eight years in office, gun regulation overall was not tightened but relaxed. How can it be? The reflex answer is to blame the notoriously effective lobby, the National Rifle Association (NRA). But Thomas Mann, a politics scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, says that the first part of the answer is the structure of the American system. "The electoral college system"  by which the president is elected  "advantages small states and non-metropolitan areas, while support for gun control is mostly in the cities," he explains. "Then the smaller states are also advantaged in the Senate, as well. It makes it exceedingly difficult." One result: when the US Senate voted on Obama's proposal for tougher background checks on gun buyers, it was defeated by senators representing just 37 per cent of the population. The structural imbalance built into the system meant that 37 could beat 63.

"As long as the Republicans control the White House, or either of the houses of Congress, they have a veto point" to prevent any reform, says Mann. "And now they control everything"  the White House as well as both the Senate and the House of Representatives. This system, a presidential form of government, was designed by people with little trust in government, a rebellious republic. The legislature and the presidency have the power of veto over each other. The Westminster system that Australia took from Britain is much more trusting, where the House, at least, is axiomatically under the control of the prime minister. And then there's the NRA. The system rewards lobbies or interest groups that combine three elements, says Mann  intensity, organisation, and money. The NRA has all three. Before running for the presidency, Donald Trump supported tougher regulation of guns. But after the NRA gave $US30 million to his campaign, presidential candidate Trump told an NRA convention: "You came through big for me, and I am going to come through for you." So the NRA has made a tactical concession in response to the Las Vegas massacre. It conceded that there may be a case for putting some regulations on the gun accessory  the bump stock  that allowed the butcher Paddock to turn his legal semi-automatic rifle into a fully automatic one, creating a non-stop stream of fire.

Not banned, mind you. The NRA statement says "additional regulations" should apply. But that tactical concession does not mark any change in strategy or direction. In the very same statement, the gun lobby called on the Congress to pass the so-called "National Right-to-Carry reciprocity" measure now before it. Decoded, this proposal would mean that Texas residents, for instance, who can legally and openly carry guns in public in their home state, could travel to states where this would be illegal, say California, and be allowed to carry their firearms regardless of Californian law. Make no mistake, the NRA is charging ahead towards its ultimate aim of America as a libertarian fantasy free-fire zone. The guns example is a case study in what the American political philosopher Francis Fukuyama has categorised "vetocracy". That is, the US system is not a democracy dominated by the "demos", the Greek word for people. In a vetocracy, it is the veto that is all-powerful. Americans prefer "constraint of authority" over "effective government", Fukuyama said. One of Fukuyama's favourite examples is the US federal budget. The Congress hasn't passed a normal budget in the traditional way for a decade, with Congress constantly threatening to "shut down the government" by denying it funding authority.

On another Australian achievement that Obama wanted for America, universal healthcare, he and his party made a huge effort. And while he didn't get everything he wanted through the "vetocracy", he did get some. Obamacare, as its known, is an ugly hybrid of the old American health system of survival of the fittest with some elements of universal care. It approximately doubled the percentage of Americans with health insurance. But it still leaves about 10 per cent, between 20 million and 30 million people, with none. And the program's future is uncertain. The Republican Party promises to abolish Obamacare. And on Obama's third Australianism, compulsory voting, he decided that this was just too hard to attempt, an impossible dream. So is America's "vetocracy" a terrible failing that allows organised minorities to defy the majority's will and block national progress? Looking at the Obama experience from an Australian viewpoint, you'd probably say yes. But now look at the American system under President Trump. He took office promising to impose many radical policies and disregarding conventional processes. Panic welled  he would be an American fascist, a dictator who would trash the independent institutions and smash American democracy.

But, so far at least, the opposite is true. After nine months, Trump is proving to be remarkably ineffectual. He promised to build a wall across the Mexican border and make Mexico pay for it. But the US Congress has refused to allocate any funds for it and Mexico is certainly not offering. Trump signed executive orders banning travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries, but has been repeatedly frustrated by the courts. He vowed to improve relations with Moscow and lift sanctions on Russia, but dropped the idea in the face of fierce Congressional opposition. He has sought to fulfil his pledge to repeal Obamacare but has twice failed to win enough support in the legislature. Trump signed an order to pull the US out of the Paris climate accord but discovered that he cannot and must wait years to even begin the process; his authority is insufficient to override US treaty obligations. Trump promised to impose punitive 40 per cent tariffs on all Chinese imports and declare China a currency manipulator, but the weight of US commerce and the reality of Chinese power has stayed his hand. Trump asked the Congress to cut medical research funding to the National Institutes of Health by $US7.5 billion. Instead, the Congress did the opposite and increased funding by $US2 billion.

This week he called for a Congressional inquiry into "fake news" outlet NBC, but, as Thomas Mann points out, "it's not going to happen, it would violate the First Amendment" right to free speech. Rather than rule with an iron fist, Trump is tweeting with frustrated fingers. He may be making waves on social media but barely a ripple of change in the real world. Mann, while deeply worried about the future under Trump, notes that his top national security aides are limiting him and the courts and Congress are blocking him  "there are constraints operating, legislating is really hard". The media is not relenting in its scrutiny of Trump and neither is the former FBI chief Robert Mueller, appointed special counsel to investigate claims of Trump campaign collusion with Russia. The vetocracy, which worked to frustrate Obama, is now working to constrain Trump. Same system, different president, and suddenly it doesn't seem to be such a terrible thing, does it? In the meantime, Obama's Australian aspirations live on in the minds of the next generation. His other ambassador to Australia, Jeff Bleich, is now running to be elected lieutenant governor, or deputy leader, of California, America's biggest state economy.
The Turnbull government has rejected an opposition proposal to ban the cladding responsible for London's deadly Grenfell Tower fire, putting it at odds with the Property Council of Australia and the recommendations of a Labor-chaired Senate inquiry.

Assistant Minister for Industry Craig Laundy said the proposal would ban a material that can legally be used in shop fronts and outdoor signage.

"You would be banning across the board something that can be used legally in certain environments," he told ABC Radio on Friday.

Labor leader Bill Shorten urged the government to block imports of cladding made from polyethylene, when building ministers meet on Friday.
Sometimes, long-distance patients - often from the Northern Territory - are in their first trimester when they find out they are pregnant and can't get an appointment in Darwin. If they can't immediately find the funds to fly down and cover the cost of the abortion, overnight accommodation for themselves and the person with them, and sometimes childcare, their situations will escalate. Depending on how far into the pregnancy the woman is, one minor procedure can become two procedures that happen over two days, and at three times the price. "It drives my frustration with the system," Grozdich says. "You just think, Why is this happening? How could so many things have happened to bring this person to us, today?" Except for South Australia and the NT, abortions mostly take place in specialist clinics, set apart from public hospitals, and often run by large not-for-profits such as Marie Stopes International. Women can also access an over-the-phone service, through which supplies for a medical abortion are posted to you after a phone consultation - a practice the medical director of the Tabbot Foundation, which provides the service, says helps women avoid judgment from doctors and pharmacists. After all, getting an abortion is a crime in NSW, and women qualify only if their doctor believes that continuing with their pregnancy poses serious danger to their physical or mental health, or life. The first openly run abortion clinic in Australia was founded in 1972, in Melbourne, by doctor and campaigner Bertram Wainer. Two years earlier, he forced the Victorian government to hold an inquiry into abortion protection rackets run by the police, which focused public attention on the corruption and exploitation permeating underground practices. This was also a problem in NSW, where the first legal clinic opened in 1974. The following year, a rebate for abortions became available through Medibank, the forerunner of Medicare, and now roughly half the cost is covered for abortions at nine weeks' gestation or less. At Marie Stopes, which provides about one-third of abortions in Australia, the average out-of-pocket cost at this stage of pregnancy is $500, and prices rise after the first trimester: up to $3800 at 20 weeks. The Medicare rebate amount stays the same.

In a study of barriers to accessing abortion in NSW, Dr Frances Doran of Southern Cross University and Julie Hornibrook of James Cook University, who specialise in health research, distinguished between internalised stigma, which stems from secrecy, and external stigma, which is foisted on people by society. While keeping an abortion secret may be a way of avoiding external stigma, they write, this can lead to internalised stigma, and perpetuate a cycle of shame. Telling people about having an abortion can be unexpectedly revealing. As one woman told the researchers: "It was an eye-opener when everyone I had disclosed to had also told me they've had at least one, so why is it so difficult?" In May, the NSW Upper House voted down a Greens' bill put forward to decriminalise abortion, which required protest exclusion zones outside clinics, placed no upper time limit on when an abortion could be performed, and didn't mandate for it to be performed by a clinician. More than 100 law academics in NSW signed a letter in support of the bill, stating that abortion was a "health and welfare matter, not a criminal issue" and that women and doctors "should not face the risk of criminal prosecution" for it. Yet society's attitudes are shifting: the proportion of Australians who think women should be able to obtain an abortion, readily when they want one, has risen from 55 per cent to two-thirds over the past 20 years, while the minority who think it should be banned has reduced from 6 per cent to 4 per cent, according to the Australian Election Study. The procedure itself is common and, from a medical perspective, simple. It's been estimated that one in four women in Australia will have an abortion in their lifetime, according to figures from SA Health, the only jurisdiction that collects and publishes the data. Jill, from Queanbeyan, NSW, was a 24-year-old undergraduate of science and psychology when she had an abortion in 2014. (She didn't want her real name in this article to protect her family's privacy.) She has never regretted the decision, which allowed her to pursue the life she imagined for herself. Though she thought her boyfriend of five months was wonderful, it was too early to know if they wanted to spend their lives together. She was studying part-time, working full-time, lived with an alcoholic father and an imperious mother who fought constantly, and had no desire to raise a child.

The moment after her pregnancy test came back positive, Jill was searching online and calling clinics. "I actually thought that in Australia, there was no issue with getting an abortion, and it wasn't until I started Googling it that I was like, 'Oh, okay - there's not that many providers'." On Wikipedia, she saw that abortion laws varied significantly between states and territories. "I was like, What the hell? What's going on? I started to become a little bit worried and concerned: Am I actually going to be able to do this?" Her local clinic had told her that she would be questioned on the grounds she had for getting a termination, which made her feel like something was wrong. She drove to Canberra, instead, where abortion is decriminalised. She discovered that clinics had fast approaching close-down periods over Christmas, and that, if all went smoothly, she would be out-of-pocket by at least $400. On the drive to the clinic, she said to her partner, over and over: "Thank goodness we live so close."

If she hadn't been able to access a legal abortion, she says would have tried to induce a miscarriage some other way. "I would have tried some dangerous things." What she remembers most was the relief when it was over, and the sympathy of the nurses and doctor, who treated her like a person capable of sound judgment. She talks often about her experience, but she didn't tell her mum, who is fiercely religious. For years, it was easier not to bring it up - and when she did, her mother was silent. She clearly didn't want to talk about it, and Jill hasn't raised the subject with her again. It's a type of discomfort that Kitty Grozdich is used to. Family members make jokes about coat hangers, and friends call her "the arborist" because they don't want to say "abortion". She thinks her job garners less respect than other jobs. But she is proud of her work. She considers herself a "social advocate", and thinks that getting an abortion should be talked about in the same straightforward way one would talk about having wisdom teeth removed. Loading
Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock was generous with his gambling spoils, condescending to his girlfriend and strident about his constitutional right to own firearms.

Those were the observations of Brisbane businessman Adam Le Fevre, who spent time with the man who would go on to become the perpetrator of the worst mass shooting in modern American history.

Mr Le Fevre, the former partner of Ms Danley's sister, told A Current Affair on Friday that he went on a holiday to Las Vegas with Paddock, who put the group up in a hotel penthouse that was one of his perks for being a "high-roller".

Another perk, Paddock told Mr Le Fevre, was access to free call girls. "I did have no doubt that some of those offers had been accepted," he said.
By PTI: Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 6 (PTI) Six Dalits are among 36 non-Brahmins, who have been recommended for appointment as priests in temples in Kerala being managed by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).

The recommendation in this regard was made by the Kerala Devaswom Recruitment Board, a press release said.

This is for the first time six people from the scheduled caste community have been recommended for the appointment as priests.

advertisement

A written examination and an interview on the lines of those conducted by the Public Service Commission (PSC) was held to prepare for the appointment of part-time priests, the release said.

Devaswom minister Kadakampally Ramachandran had made it clear that there should be no room for corruption and the selection should be on the basis of merit and by following reservation norms.

A recommendation had been made for the appointment of a total of 62 priests, including 26 from forward caste, it said.

The TDB manages at least 1,248 shrines, including the famous Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala. PTI UD SS KJ

--- ENDS ---
Detectives are combing through CCTV footage and reviewing a witness statement that are "pointing (them) in certain directions" as they continue to hunt for the man responsible for the stabbing death of a German backpacker in the heart of Brisbane on Friday morning.

Two men were walking near the intersection of Milton Road and Clifton Street before 4am when a man and woman, believed to be in a green Holden Barina, approached.

Police are reviewing CCTV footage and a witness statement in relation to the fatal stabbing. Credit:Nine News Queensland - Twitter

Police said an argument ensued, which included "lots of yelling" between the man in the car and one of the men on foot.

The dispute ended in the pedestrian being stabbed in the abdomen and back multiple times and the car fleeing the scene.
A man aged in his early 30s, who was stabbed in the abdomen and back during the early hours of Friday morning on a busy inner-Brisbane road, has died in hospital.

The Homicide Squad has joined the investigation into the incident, with police continuing to appeal for two people to come forward who were with a man when he was stabbed.

Detectives set up an investigation centre at the Brisbane City Police Station on Charlotte Street, as they ask the man and woman who were with the victim at the time of the attack to make contact.

Police also appealed for anyone on Milton Road at 3.30-4am who has further information or dashcam vision to contact Policelink on 131 444 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Paramedics rushed to resuscitate the pedestrian found stabbed in the abdomen and back at the intersection of Milton Road and Petrie Terrace before 4am.
An 11-month operation has led to officers seizing chemicals that could be used in the production of $8.7 million of drugs from properties in Brisbane's south-west and North Ipswich, according to police.

Two men have been charged with several drug offences after raids allegedly uncovered a drug lab, drugs and the chemicals able to produce more than 38 kilograms of drugs.

The investigation began in November last year after the alleged importation of precursor chemicals used to produce methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), an addictive hallucinogenic drug that is part of the amphetamine family.

The search warrants were executed on October 3, leading to the arrest and charging of a 29-year-old North Ipswich man and 26-year-old Chapel Hill man, who both appeared in the Ipswich Magistrates Court on October 3.

Detective Superintendent Jon Wacker of the Drug and Serious Crime Group said this was a well-established criminal syndicate with the capability and resources to produce commercial quantities of MDA.
A Gold Coast grandfather accused of grooming a child for sexual activity overseas has been granted bail a day after he was pounced on by Australian Federal Police officers at Brisbane Airport.

The Brisbane Magistrates Court heard on Friday Rex George Harrison was preparing to fly to the Philippines when he was taken into custody.

Australian Federal Police arrested the accused at the Brisbane Airport. Credit:Robert Rough

Magistrate Judith Daley granted him bail on a number of conditions, including that he reside at an address in Loganlea.

An Australian Federal Police statement issued later on Friday said a 63-year-old Biggera Waters man was arrested after an investigation by the Queensland Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team.
When you're pouring beers and dealing with drunk customers at 3am on a Sunday, it's the penalty rates that make it worth your while.

So when bartender Claire Nelson was told by her bosses at Fitzroy's Provincial Hotel she would no longer be paid extra for weekend work, the 25-year-old knew she was being ripped off.

Casual workers at The Provincial Hotel in Fitzroy lost thousands of dollars after being forced off the hospitality award. Credit:Darrian Traynor

The native New Yorker had been working at the pub for six months, earning $23 an hour as a casual employee on the award. On weekends, she would earn up to $32 an hour with penalty rates.

Then in mid 2015, staff were told a payroll company was their new employer, and they would need to sign forms consenting to a new workplace agreement.
Labor has been accused of running a "false and misleading" advertising campaign about level crossings, because several on a list of 50 that it plans to remove are not truly among Melbourne's most congested.

The Andrews government has long claimed it is removing "Melbourne's 50 most dangerous and congested level crossings" and is spending more than $20 million of taxpayers' money to spruik the project.

The Andrews government is spending $20 million to spruik its level crossing program. Credit:Paul Rovere

It will use the bulk of the proceeds from its $9.7 billion long-term lease of the Port of Melbourne to pay for its signature eight-year removal program, which has already seen 10 crossings removed and eight railway stations torn down and rebuilt.

Data from VicRoads, the Department of Transport and the City of Wyndham reveals some of the crossings on Labor's hit list are considered far less dangerous and congested than many that will be left in place indefinitely.
Wayne and Lizzie Russell. Credit:Simon Schluter About 70 per cent of us would like to die at home, according to research from the Grattan Institute. But that's not usually what happens. Around 40,000 Victorians die each year; half of those in hospital, 35 per cent in aged care and 15 per cent at home. And more than half of the palliative services in the state can't keep up with demand, according to Palliative Care Victoria. Too often people in regional areas, adults with conditions like dementia, Aboriginal Australians and those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds miss out. Lizzie Russell, who is carer for her terminally-ill husband Wayne. Credit:Simon Schluter When Wayne and Lizzie Russell were first referred to palliative care, the Somerville residents thought it meant drugs on Wayne's deathbed. But when the caseworker suggested Wayne, 59, join the local men's shed, or go on holiday, their assumptions were overturned.

Lizzie had quit her supermarket job to take on the role of carer: "I was almost going crazy myself before we came on board - he wasn't sleeping and I had to take him to emergency all the time." She's been shown how to administer her husband's pain-relief syrup and other medications, and given the number for a 24-hour helpline. I'd like to go, can I have an injection? Betty Ogle, 85 Palliative nurses visit and call often, and they've encouraged Lizzie to take care of herself too. Each week a few hours are carved out for a solo coffee or swim. "It's so good to know I've got backup," she says, wiping away a tear. Odette Waanders, the head of Palliative Care Victoria, is familiar with the public ignorance about palliative care. On the way to our interview the taxi driver asks her what she does for a job. Oh, he says, those machines. She realises he's referring to being kept alive on a respirator. "We get that a lot: you're the ones who hasten people's death." Not so, says Waanders. Good palliative care maximises the quality of life for people who have a disease that can't be cured. It's most effective when undertaken early - months, sometimes years before death.

Drugs and medical interventions are used to manage physical pain. But palliative care also provides strategies including counselling, family support and art therapy to relieve existential distress. Funding to Victorian palliative care grew by 8 per cent in the last financial year, to $135 million. Palliative Care Victoria are not commenting publicly on the proposed euthanasia laws. But the body's submission to the inquiry is clear: "It is imperative we do not cross the ethical barrier and allow doctors to kill patients." It says that there is a real danger that legalising euthanasia will lead to "a growing sense of a duty to die". But sometimes palliative care is not enough, says Jan Ogle. Her mother Betty was an independent, active 85-year-old widow when she was suddenly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Her daughters, both nurses, cared for her at home with the support of a palliative care service.

Betty told the nurses she wanted a dignified death. They reassured her. But in her final weeks her abdominal pain became difficult to control and she stopped eating, says Jan. "She turned to the palliative carers and said 'I've had enough now, I'd like to go, can I have an injection?' They said, 'we can't do that'." Jan Ogle with a photo of her mother Betty. Credit:Rachael Dexter The palliative nurses increased her medication, but only in doses low enough to make her drowsy, not enough to rid her of pain, her daughter says. On Betty's final night, no one from the palliative service was available until morning. So Jan endured the worst night of her life as she listened to her mum draw rattling breaths and administered morphine every four hours. Voluntary assisted dying should be there if people want it, says Jan. "It's the relatives who are there for ... the pressure sores, the coldness, the bruising, the stiffness. The doctors get to walk away."

Palliative care and assisted dying can be complementary, says palliative care physician Dr Ian Maddocks, a member of the expert advisory panel which investigated Victoria's proposed legislation on assisted dying. There were occasions over a long and distinguished career when his patients killed themselves in private, sometimes using drugs Maddocks had prescribed for pain. Now in his mid-80s, he still feels sadness at this, knowing they were isolated and miserable. "I would have been a far better palliative care physician if it could have all been in the open, so we could talk about what mattered to patients and their families." While death in a palliative setting could be "lovely", says Maddocks, "there are occasional situations where it has seemed to me quite logical that someone should say I think I should die, and I would agree with that". The atmosphere is tranquil inside a large, nondescript office building near Mornington's town centre. Peninsula Home Hospice provides palliative care to patients at home (including Wayne and Lizzie Russell), in local aged care homes and in hospital.

First up are practicalities. A host of equipment eases the burden at home: electric recliners, pressure cushions, shower stools, toilet frames, wheelchairs and emergency medications for pain. Palliative nurses review a patient's history and try to plan for possible drug interactions or side effects. With corporeal needs met, the head and heart follow. With a counsellor, patients can talk. Fears, longing, grief. About the sibling who wants mum to get last-minute chemo, versus the sibling arguing for quality of life. How lonely it feels to be dying. Black humour. Some want to help to leave a legacy; letters for children or a song. Sometimes, rifts are healed. Inge McGinn, the manager of clinical services, recalls a woman who would not talk to her husband about the illness because she wanted to protect him. After counselling, the wife finally felt able to express herself: "She told him that what she wanted most of all when she died was to be able to look into his eyes. She died 24 hours later, in the way she wanted." Surprisingly, it's not unusual for a patient to be sent to a palliative service not knowing their illness is terminal. "Their doctor says 'We'll make a referral to the "nursing" service'. We go into the home and there might be that moment of clarity," says Nikki Jenkins, a clinical nurse consultant. This comes down to a reluctance to talk about dying, says Dr Peter Poon, the director of McCulloch House palliative care, part of Monash Health. Junior doctors have told him it's difficult to have these conversations with patients and they need more training.

Patients and their families also cling to hope, bringing in sheafs of internet research, even going overseas for experimental treatments. "Sadly, we haven't heard yet of a story like that with a happy ending," Poon says. The heightened public debate over assisted dying has taken a toll on palliative care workers. Staff at Eastern Palliative Care will have debrief sessions in coming weeks as they field questions from patients. Many are anxious that staff won't be able to help them, says chief executive Jeanette Moody: "It has been portrayed in the media as if there are people dying in absolute agony and it's just not the case." There are times when a patient won't find relief in palliative care but they are very rare, says Moody. Some people choose not to have pain medication because of their concerns about unpleasant side effects, including nausea and confusion. These usually resolve after a couple of days but some people still decide against the drugs. And the second is existential pain; for example, a young mother who is dying and leaving behind her children. It was late to be driving fast along a dirt country road. But Dr Claire Hepper knew she was needed urgently at the home of her patient, 18-year-old Shannon McKnight.

Shannon, a Wagga High School student, had endured two years of treatment for lymphoblastic leukaemia at hospitals in Sydney and Melbourne. When it became clear Shannon was near the end of her life, her parents Jeremy and Belinda brought her back to their hobby farm in the Central Goldfields. Shannon McKnight and her dad Jeremy. Shannon's care was transferred to Hepper, and a palliative care appointment was booked in for the following week. But Shannon was running out of time. On paper, every part of Victoria is covered by a palliative care service. But in practice, specialist nurses and palliative services are thin on the ground in regional areas.

The day after Shannon arrived home, the teenager had a bleed in her spine. Hepper made her late-night dash to show Shannon's parents how to administer pain relief medicine through a special device in her skin. But it wasn't enough. "I thought 'we can do better than this'," Hepper says. So she and a colleague went to the chemist and made a "symptom-relief" pack for the teen. Inside were antiemetics for nausea, ampoules of pain relief, mouth care (palliative patients are often dogged by extreme mouth dryness), vomit bags and tissues. Shannon McKnight, who died from cancer when she was 19, enjoys a trip to a cafe. In her memory, Hepper and a team of volunteers still make batches of "Shannon's packs" and post them to bush hospitals or country GPs all over Australia. If the assisted dying legislation is passed, doctors will have the right to refuse to help terminally ill patients who wish to die. Hepper will become one of these "conscientious objectors". She believes that until there is universal access to palliative care, any debate on euthanasia is defunct.

Like some other palliative professionals The Age spoke with, Hepper is furious about a "horror" movie produced by Andrew Denton's right-to-die group Go Gentle, which depicts the agonising last days of a man dying from cancer. His terrible experience epitomises a lack of good palliative care, not the need for assisted dying, Hepper says. Claire Hepper with Shannon's father, Jeremy McKnight, a portrait of Shannon and one of "Shannon's packs". Credit:Dylan Burns But some worry that taking a strong public position against assisted dying will make patients feel they can't ask questions. These conversations are already happening, says one nurse who has had patients take their own lives: "If palliative care is portrayed as anti-euthanasia, patients won't talk to us about it." Wayne and Lizzie talk openly about everything with each other. Wayne doesn't want to die at home, fearing it would be a burden on his wife. And he doesn't want to give up until the end. He was worried about pain, until his palliative care team put his mind at ease. But he says those who want help to end their lives when they are dying should have that right. Wayne's life insurance has paid off the mortgage, and a security upgrade for their modest house. He wants Lizzie well set up. They have a Darwin holiday booked soon to visit a new grandchild. And a new patio where he can sit in the sun, decorated with rainbow-coloured lanterns and orbs of coloured glass. They glow when the light hits them.
Sao Paulo: In a move that critics say impinges on the legitimacy of democracy, the Brazilian Congress has approved legislation allowing parties and candidates to force social media outlets to censor offensive or critical content by anonymous authors.

The law was included in a late vote in Congress of a set of rules for next year's general election, and was met with harsh criticism from groups defending civil rights and online freedom of expression.

The National Congress illuminated at night in Brasilia, Brazil. Credit:AP

Social media would have to provide the full name, identification and the equivalent of a tax file number of the author to keep the comment online, although it was not clear where they would need to send that information. Tax files numbers are routinely used in Brazil to identify people, even when making purchases in store in a move designed to curb tax evasion.

The legislation only requires a complaint be made to the social network about the content. It does not require a judicial order for candidates or parties to request the withdrawal of posts from websites and apps. It could still be blocked by Brazilian President Michel Temer, who is expected to sign the broader set of rules for 2018 elections by Saturday.
Boris Johnson, UK foreign secretary, attends the speech by Theresa May, UK prime minister and leader of the Conservative Party, at the party's annual conference in Manchester, UK. Credit:Bloomberg Several government backbenchers were despairing, singling out Uber, recently banned in London - a decision backed by by the Labour mayor Sadiq Khan - as an example of where the party can present the modern case for markets in presenting consumers with choice. But Uber's plight was not mentioned by not one of the ministers who gave keynote speeches. Still recovering from her speech: Theresa May, UK prime minister Credit:Bloomberg Government intervention

Mayism, for however long it lasts, has always favoured bigger government. With Corbyn tacking so far left, the Tory party has sought to combat his success by shifting left too, fighting Labour on issues like housing, university fees and the NHS - in short - enemy territory. With its response, the government hopes to paint itself the "balanced" option. As party chairman Patrick McLoughlin said: "Labour always take it too far." Labour's retort is devastatingly easy. "Theresa May's response to the broken energy market doesn't go nearly far enough," said frontbencher Rebeca Long-Bailey. And there is no more pertinent symbol of a dysfunctional market than the UK's housing crisis where prices are now about eight times higher than the average wage. "It's a mark of our failure on housing that the Labour party, a party led by Jeremy Corbyn, is being taken seriously again," conceded Sajid Javid, the secretary for communities and local government and potential leadership option.

The deputy prime minister and May confidante Damian Green even invoked Jeremy Corbyn's slogan: "We remain the only party committed to home ownership for the many," he told members. In last year's address to conference, the prime minister cited the financial crisis and Brexit as evidence of the British public crying out for change and spoke of the "need to rebalance the economy...in order to spread wealth and prosperity around the country." "Time to reject the ideological templates provided by the socialist left and the libertarian right and to embrace a new centre ground in which government steps up  and not back  to act on behalf of us all," she said, singling out the housing and energy markets as ripe for intervention. In 2017 the rhetoric was far more pro-market but the policies to deal with the two issues were vintage Mayism. On Sunday evening, May ended her birthday at Conservative Home drinks for the 1922 committee and gave a rousing speech on the need to re-prosecute the case for markets.

"One of the lessons that the general election has taught us is that there is something else we now need to do as Conservatives. We thought that over the last few decades we had made and won arguments about the importance of free market economies, about the importance of fiscal prudence, about the wealth creation," she said. "But Jeremy Corbyn has shown that we have to got to go out and make those arguments all over again and we will do that and you know what? We won the argument last time, we're going to win those arguments again." But when put to the test May reached for state intervention and government handouts. A further 2 billion will be allocated to "affordable housing," which are rented at 80 per cent of market rent via not-for-profit housing associations. Social housing in the UK is popular and does not carry as much stigma it might in a country like Australia. As Southwark Council recently told Fairfax Media, voters are sick of the affordable housing myth and want a revival in council homes, which were effectively halted by Thatcher. Now Thatcher's female successor wants a "new generation of council houses to help fix our broken housing market." Councils will be urged to apply and offer homes at social rent, well below market level, effectively "getting government back into the business of building houses," May told conference.

Earlier in the week, the Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond announced a further 10 billion for David Cameron's Help to Buy scheme which offers government equity loans. "10bn to inflate the housing market through Help to Buy bubble, 2bn to provide a real solution through social rent. It's a bit of a muddle," observed Dave Richmond who manages housing for Hull Council. And with her pledge to allow the regulator to impose caps on energy prices, May revived a policy styled by Ed Miliband in 2013. "Cough..I am sure I've have heard this somewhere before," the former Labour leader crowed in a tweet. Stephen Martin from the Institute of Directors (IoD) said conference season had been one big let down for business. "On the one hand you have a Labour Party which has decided that business is the bad guy, on the other you have a Conservative Party which talks about the importance of markets, but then tinkers around with help to buy and energy price caps. What are business leaders meant to make of it all?"
By PTI: (Eds: updating with fresh deaths)

Guwahati, Oct 5 (PTI) At least eight infants have died at the Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital (FAAMC) in Assams Barpeta district since yesterday.

Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said about five crib deaths at FAAMC since yesterday, while its principal said three more infants died this evening.

advertisement

"The (five) infants died due to serious neo-natal medical complications and not due to human negligence. Doctors tried their best to save the newborns and adequate medicines were available in the hospital," the minister said.

Three more infants, aged between one day and two months, died due to birth asphyxia, FAAMC Principal Dilip Dutta said.

Birth asphyxia is a condition when a babys brain and other organs do not get enough oxygen before, during or right after birth.

The infants had low birth weight or were admitted to the hospital in a very critical condition at a very late stage, Dutta said.

Among the deceased infants, eight were male and one female.

"I have talked to the doctors concerned and they have categorically said that the infants could not be saved in spite of their best possible care," the minister said.

These mortalities are related to purely critical nature of the case like age of the mother or weight of the baby, Sarma said.

The minister ordered an inquiry into the crib deaths by the Director of Medical education who visited the hospital along with consultants from UNICEF to audit the deaths.

An expert team of doctors has been called from Guwahati Medical College and Hospital to support the doctors at FAAMC, Dutta said. PTI DG NN

--- ENDS ---
LL Beachwear

Help fund TBW for as little as $3

Search This Blog

Blog Archive Blog Archive November (8) October (17) September (9) August (6) July (8) June (5) May (2) April (7) March (10) February (5) January (7) December (12) November (12) October (16) September (20) August (29) July (18) June (12) May (4) April (14) March (21) February (27) January (56) December (27) November (43) October (43) September (48) August (39) July (37) June (27) May (12) April (41) March (49) February (89) January (106) December (72) November (67) October (21) September (28) August (29) July (45) June (56) May (27) April (28) March (32) February (36) January (45) December (37) November (53) October (45) September (40) August (63) July (54) June (46) May (51) April (54) March (64) February (62) January (94) December (71) November (75) October (87) September (84) August (72) July (82) June (71) May (69) April (103) March (126) February (108) January (80) December (72) November (57) October (3) September (54) August (74) July (107) June (66)
By PTI: London, Oct 6 (PTI) Nearly 80 per cent of schizophrenia risk may be traced back to genes inherited from the childs parents, according to the largest study of twins for the disorder to date.

The study, published in the journal Biological Psychiatry, indicates that genetics has a substantial influence on risk for schizophrenia.

"The new estimate of heritability of schizophrenia, 79 per cent, is very close to the high end of prior estimates of its heritability," researchers said, referring to previous estimates that have varied between 50 and 80 per cent.

advertisement

Researchers, including those from the University of Copenhagen, used a record of all twins born in Denmark since 1870 to assess genetic liability in over 30,000 pairs of twins.

They found a similar estimate of 73 per cent, indicating the importance of genetic factors across the full illness spectrum.

"This study is now the most comprehensive and thorough estimate of the heritability of schizophrenia and its diagnostic diversity," said Hilker.

"It is interesting since it indicates that the genetic risk for disease seems to be of almost equal importance across the spectrum of schizophrenia," even though the clinical presentation may range from severe symptoms with lifelong disability to more subtle and transient symptoms, said Hilker.

"Hence, genetic risk seems not restricted to a narrow illness definition, but instead includes a broader diagnostic profile," she said.

The researchers used a new statistical approach to address one of the factors that contributes to inconsistencies across previous studies.

Usually studies of heritability require that people be classified as either having schizophrenia or not, but some people at risk could still develop the disease after the study ends.

Researchers applied a new method to take this problem into account, making the current estimates likely the most accurate to date. PTI SAR SAR

--- ENDS ---
September 29-October 5, 2017

Welcome to a supersized version of our weekly royal jewel roundup! Dont forget to vote for your favorites in the poll below!

20. Princess Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia chose a trendy diamond ear climber for the Elie Saab show in Paris on Saturday.





DANIEL MIHAILESCU/AFP/Getty Images

19. Princess Stephanie of Monaco wore sparkling stud earrings as she visited Romania on Wednesday to dedicate a monument to her late father, Prince Rainier III, at Circus Park in Bucharest.

18. On Friday, the Countess of Wessex wore blue topaz drop earrings and a necklace from Hermes at the Headley Court Farewell Parade in Dorking.

CHRISTIAN MIRANDA/AFP/Getty Images

17. The Akishino visit to Chile continued this week; on Saturday, Princess Kiko wore oversized (yet understated) stud earrings for a visit to an adult rehabilitation center in Puerto Montt.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

16. On Monday, Princess Alexandra of Hanover (daughter of Princess Caroline of Monaco) wore a silver necklace with a heart charm  perhaps Tiffany?  for the Giambattista Valli show in Paris.

15. Gold earrings and a statement necklace accompanied Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands to an awards ceremony in The Hague on Tuesday.

14. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands made a major statement with yellow earrings on Thursday for a conference on gender and womens health in Amersfoort.

ROBIN UTRECHT/AFP/Getty Images

13. Queen Maxima chose her earrings from Amrapali for a visit to the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague on Wednesday. ( See an earlier wearing of the earrings over here!

ROBIN UTRECHT/AFP/Getty Images

12. Earrings from Ole Lynggaard, plus a floral brooch and glittering bracelets and rings, were Maximas choice for a lecture at Koppert Cross in Westland on Tuesday.

Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images

11. Modern diamond and gold earrings were the jewel of choice for Sarah, Duchess of York at the BFI Luminous Fundraising Gala in London on Tuesday.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

10. Princess Sirivannavari, the fashion-mad daughter of the King of Thailand, was still in Paris this week; on Saturday she wore trendy earrings and a stack of bracelets (including two Cartier Love Bracelets) at the Elie Saab show.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

9. On Monday, Princess Sirivannavari wore glittering diamond earrings (and a sparkly beauty mark) at the Giambattista Valli show in Paris.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

8. Princess Sirivannavaris tour of the Paris fashion shows continued on Tuesday at Chanel, where she wore diamond earrings. (The ornament on her sweater, which I love, is made by Chanel and is attached to the garment.)

YANN COATSALIOU/AFP/Getty Images

7. Catching up on an event from late last Thursday, Princess Charlene of Monaco wore major diamond stud earrings for the Monte-Carlo Gala for the Global Ocean.

Andrew Toth/Getty Images for World Childhood Foundation USA

6. For this weeks World Childhood Foundation Thank You Gala in New York, Princess Madeleine wore statement earrings with blue gemstone drops. ( More images over here!

Andrew Toth/Getty Images for World Childhood Foundation USA

5. Queen Silvia chose her new pearl choker necklace, oversized stud earrings, and a pearl bracelet for the Thank You Gala. ( More images over here!

4. At the opening of parliament in Denmark this week, Queen Margrethe II, Crown Princess Mary, and Princess Marie all accessorized with brooches.

3. My favorite jewels from the opening of parliament belonged to Princess Benedikte, who wore a necklace with red and green cabochons.

2. On Friday, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom wore her Sapphire Chrysanthemum Brooch for a visit to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. (Shes had the brooch since she was a princess; learn more about it over here!

ROSLAN RAHMAN/AFP/Getty Images

1. The Sultan of Brunei and Queen Saleha get my joint top vote this week  I mean, look at the diamonds they were both draped in for Thursdays Golden Jubilee procession!
The plea claims more than two people were involved in the assassination of the Mahatma. The Supreme Court asked the petitioner not to go into political passions but remain confined within law.

A plea in the Supreme Court has sought the re-opening of the investigation into the murder of Mahatma Gandhi (File photo)

By Anusha Soni: Hearing a plea seeking a reopening of the investigation into the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, the Supreme Court today put some searching questions and wondered if some new evidence regarding the case has surfaced.

The petition - filed by Mumbai-based Dr Pankaj Phadnis, a researcher and a trustee of Abhinav Bharat - has sought the reopening of the probe on several grounds, claiming it was one of the biggest cover-ups in history.

advertisement

The plea claims more than two people were involved in the assassination of the Mahatma. The court asked the petitioner not to go into "political passions" but remain confined within law.

During the hearing which lasted about 15 minutes, the apex court was initially of the view that "nothing can be done in law" in the case which has been decided long ago. It also said it might be difficult to open the matter again.

However, it later told Sharan that its observation was not binding on him to make an assessment of the matter and posted it for further hearing on October 30.

After a brief hearing, a bench comprising Justices SA Bobde and L Nageswara Rao appointed senior advocate and former additional solicitor general Amrender Sharan as amicus curiae to assist the court in the matter.

Gandhi was shot dead at point blank range in New Delhi on January 30, 1948 by Nathuram Vinayak Godse, a right-wing advocate of Hindu nationalism.

Also watch: Plea seeks reopening of Gandhi's assassination case, Supreme Court appoints amicus curiae

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: PM

(Eds: With additional quotes and details) Mumbai, Oct 5 (PTI) MNS chief Raj Thackeray today led a march to the Western Railway headquarters here to protest the recent death of 23 people in a stampede on a foot overbridge here and said he felt "betrayed" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Thackeray submitted a list of demands highlighting various issues concerning suburban passengers to the General Managers of the Western Railway (WR) and Central Railway (CR) before addressing a gathering of protesters outside the Churchgate station in south Mumbai where he lashed out at Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.

advertisement

"Will you act only after people die in such (stampede) accidents? Profile of many areas in south Mumbai has changed over a period of time. Though the number of commuters travelling from far-flung suburbs has gone up exponentially over the years, the infrastructure has remained the same," the MNS chief said.

The MNS chief gave the Western Railway an ultimatum of 15 days to evict illegal hawkers from all railway stations, failing which, he said, he will deal with them in the "MNS style".

In his speech, Thackeray targeted Modi over his electoral promise of bringing good days for people.

"It seems as if only two or three people are running the country. BJP president Amit Shah himself called their own promises chunavi jumla (election rhetoric). Even (Union minister) Nitin Gadkari said the promise of achhe din is like a bone stuck in the throat. It clearly means the government has failed on many fronts," the MNS chief said.

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena leader, who had a good rapport with Modi and backed his prime ministerial bid in 2014, said he was angry because the country has seen very little progress in the last three years.

"I do not see any major changes in the last three years despite the government having a good mandate. We believed in him (Modi) and now we feel we have been betrayed," he said.

Thackeray, whose party has been marginalised in Maharashtra politics after successive electoral setbacks, has been firing salvos at Modi at growing frequency.

After launching his Facebook page recently, Thackeray has taken many potshots at Modi. Thackeray also accused the prime minister of shifting his stand on issues frequently.

During his meeting with officials of the Western and Central Railway, Thackeray handed over memorandum of demands, which mainly included improvement in infrastructure.

A senior Western Railway official said that most of the demands made by Thackeray are being acted upon.

"Raj Thackeray submitted his list of demands which we are taking care of," Western Railways Chief Spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar said.

He said the MNS chief demanded operation of more trains during rush hours and sought implementation of measures to ensure the safety of commuters, especially women.

advertisement

Thackeray also drew their attention to the condition of toilets at suburban railway stations.

He said the Western Railway will soon come up with a consolidated action plan to address the issues of passenger safety, security and amenities, which will be implemented in coordination with multiple agencies.

"Thackeray has also demanded evicting all hawkers from the premises of railway stations withing 15 days. We have already launched a drive to evict hawkers which will be completed within 10 days. We are also going to demarcate the station areas, as most of the complaints we receive against the hawkers do not come under our administrative zone," Bhakar said. PTI ND APM NSK SK

--- ENDS ---
The relationship between the Texas A&M University System and Blinn College is seemingly closer than ever as the development of the RELLIS Campus accelerates toward the first group of undergraduate students arriving next fall.

The Blinn College Foundation celebrated the partnership along with A&M System Chancellor John Sharp during a packed event Thursday at the Miramont Country Club.

Charles Moser, chair of the Blinn College Board of Trustees, said he and his colleagues are "extremely excited by our increasingly close and invaluable relationship" with the A&M System. Additionally, he said it is "easy to see" why Gov. Greg Abbott recently selected Sharp to serve as commissioner of the state's efforts to rebuild the public infrastructure damaged by Hurricane Harvey alongside his regular duties as chancellor of the A&M System.

"No knows Texas or Texas government and how it works better than John Sharp," Moser said.

Along with the appreciation of the college, the foundation also announced a new endowed scholarship in Sharp's name that will be awarded to a student who attends the RELLIS Campus.

Sharp said he was surprised by the announcement of the scholarship, but that he looks forward to meeting its first recipient.

While speaking during the event, Sharp said he is thankful to those around him who have made the budding partnership at RELLIS -- as well as the campus itself -- a possibility.

He said the accomplishments achieved thus far are undoubtably the results produced by an "unbelievable team."

Among the many people Sharp said he shared credit with -- including Blinn Chancellor Mary Hensley, Associate Vice Chancellor and RELLIS Campus Director John Barton, Assistant Vice Chancellor and Director of Special Academic Initiatives James Nelson and the man Sharp dubbed "the best government employee in the state," Chief Financial Officer Billy Hamilton, among others -- was Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service Agency Director Gary Sera, whom he credited as being one of the first to bring him the idea of doing more with the land and facilities where the RELLIS Campus is now developing.

Sera said after the event the support and determination of Sharp in support of the RELLIS Campus, as well as the research, training and certification programs that are housed there, has been essential to its progress thus far.

"The chancellor has two incredible gifts and the first is his vision," Sera said. "He sees the possibility in a piece of land that nobody else can see. But also, he gets stuff done. Without an execution plan, a vision is nothing but a dream. He has been able to orchestrate the resources necessary to really create what nobody else has been able to even come close to."

As for the growing partnership between Blinn and the A&M System at RELLIS, Sera said collaboration on workforce and training programs was a natural and mutually beneficial relationship.

"We can leverage each other's capabilities," Sera said. "... TEEX offers training, but we are not a degree-offering institution. So we want to continue to create programs with Blinn -- we already have fire and law enforcement -- where Blinn students can take our courses and get good credit toward a degree."

Looking forward to the future, Hensley said she is excited to see where this partnership leads as it continues to evolve.

"As we prepare to welcome a new campus in August 2018, [the A&M System's] friendship and support will be the cornerstone for a bright new legacy of student success, and I hope community pride as well," Hensley said.
The Deanville Volunteer Fire Department will host its 40th annual fundraiser barbecue on Sunday.

Pit-cooked pork, beef, chicken and sausage will be available beginning at 7 a.m., with fried chicken plates available after 11 a.m.

Games and train rides for children will be available, and an auction with a raffle drawing will start at 2 p.m. Homemade baked goods will also be for sale.

The annual event raises money for insurance, new equipment and the operational costs.

The station is at the corner of F.M. 60 and F.M. 111 in Burleson County, 10 miles west of Caldwell and three miles south of Texas 21.
The Texas A&M University Press will have a book signing today with Rob Clark, The Eagle's special projects editor, at Barnes & Noble in the Memorial Student Center on the Texas A&M campus.

Clark wrote Live From Aggieland: Legendary Performances in the Brazos Valley, which was published by the University Press earlier this year. The book chronicles some of the area's biggest concerts, including performances by Elvis Presley, Nat "King" Cole, Johnny Cash, R.E.M., The Ramones, Garth Brooks, Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen and Willie Nelson's Fourth of July Picnic.

Clark will sign copies at the bookstore from 3 to 5 p.m.
Gov. Greg Abbott's office, the Texas Workforce Commission and the Research Valley Partnership co-hosted Thursday one of six Governor's Small Business Forums being held across the state.

Matt Prochaska, president and CEO of the RVP, called the one-day workshop "a resourcing day for our small businesses and to really give them some tools to grow their businesses."

"We're expecting great things as a result of today. A lot of great seeds have been planted," said Prochaska.

The sold-out event featured 29 local, state and federal exhibitors on-site at the Stella Hotel to offer resources to local small businesses. Prochaska said 160 people attended the forum.

"Our overall goal is to support and complement the community in everything we're doing," he said.

The roughly eight-hour forum featured networking, perspectives on business planning and CEO panel sessions on customer service, products and teams.

Michael Treyger, from Abbott's office, said Thursday's forum was one of six statewide; the Office of the Governor is also offering five service provider-facing workshops and 18 service provider grants. Altogether, Treyger said 29 regions will be touched through these small business initiatives.

Treyger said the governor's office chose Brazos Valley for one of the six forums because the RVP provided a "compelling narrative" in their response to the office's call for partnerships.

In a panel focused on local business leaders' perspectives on customer experience, moderator Jose Quintana, president and chairman of AdventGX, asked Dave Fox, president of Blue Baker, for his perspective on creating unique experiences that make for great customer service experiences.

"We're full of recipes in a bakery, but there's really no recipe for positive or memorable service," Fox said, emphasizing the unique experience of customer interaction.

Al Gonzalez, sales and service site director for Wayfair, said the key to great customer service was investing in employees' development and celebrating their victories, suggesting that such a focus on employees will translate to positive customer service.

Brandon Jones, president and CEO of TexAgs, recommended small businesses spend time tailoring strategies for each customer. Jones suggested this will help companies be more authentic and true to their brands.

Prochaska said forums such as Thursday's create a space for new and existing businesses to grow, helping the local economy and community to grow alongside them.

"If we work together as a community, everyone can benefit," he said.
By PTI: (Eds: Updating with fresh inputs)

Chennai, Oct 6 (PTI) Banwarilal Purohit was today sworn- in as the 25th Governor of Tamil Nadu, taking over at a time when the state is witnessing political turbulence in the ruling AIADMK and demand by the opposition for a floor test.

Chief Justice of Madras High Court, Justice Indira Banerjee, administered the oath of office to Purohit, a former Governor of Assam at a ceremony at Raj Bhavan here.

advertisement

Taking oath in the name of God, Purohit said he would "faithfully execute the office of governor of Tamil Nadu and will to the best of ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law and that I will devote myself to the service and well being of the people of Tamil Nadu."

Chief Minister K Palaniswami, his cabinet colleagues, and DMK Working President and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly M K Stalin, were among those present. Senior BJP leaders including union minister Pon Radhakrishnan were among those present.

Earlier, Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyanathan read out the Warrant of Appointment issued on September 29 by President Ram Nath Kovind, appointing Purohit as Governor of Tamil Nadu.

The first full-time Governor to be appointed since the completion of term of K Rosaiah in August 2016, Purohit, an experienced campaigner, has his task cut out as the Opposition DMK has already expressed that he would act on their plea for a floor test in the wake of the Palaniswami government being reduced to a "minority" following the August 22 revolt by 19 MLAs owing allegiance to sidelined AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran against the Chief Minister.

Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao had been given additional charge of the state since September 2016 before Kovind appointed Purohit as Governor of Tamil Nadu.

DMK Working President and Leader of Opposition, MK Stalin, who had earlier welcomed Purohits appointment, had expressed confidence yesterday that the new Governor would "take appropriate action" on its plea for a floor test of the AIADMK government.

"We believe he will not function like the (previous) Governor in-charge (Rao). We believe he is arriving here to be sworn-in as Governor, well aware of the present political situation in Tamil Nadu and that its ruling dispensation has lost majority," Stalin, who participated in todays swearing-in of Purohit as Governor, had said on Thursday.

"We are, therefore, confident that he will for sure take appropriate steps in that regard," he had said in an apparent reference to opposition demands for a floor test of the Palaniswami government.

He said the DMK had approached the court seeking direction to the governor to order for a floor test of the Palaniswami government "after having lost confidence" in Rao.

Earlier, Rao had come under criticism from DMK for not ordering the floor test as demanded by it after the 18 MLAs, now disqualified, had expressed lack of confidence in the chief minister.

advertisement

While originally 19 MLAs had revolted against Palaniswami, one of them later switched over to the faction led by the Chief Minister. Tamil Nadu Speaker P Dhanapal had disqualified the 18 MLAs last month. Following the August 22 revolt by 19 AIADMK MLAs, the opposition, including DMK, made a beeline to the Raj Bhavan seeking the governors intervention. They had repeatedly urged Rao to direct a floor test of the Palaniswami government, contending that it had "lost its majority."

The Opposition had knocked the doors of President Kovind with a similar plea. Dhinakaran had also later called on the Rao with a plea to remove Palaniswami as chief minister. While the DMK has moved the Madras High Court seeking a direction to the governor for the conduct of the floor test, the disqualified legislators have also petitioned the court against the speakers action. Purohit, appointed last week amid growing calls for a full-time governor for the state, has been involved in social, political, educational and industrial fields in Vidharbha in Maharashtra. He plunged into active politics in 1977 and entered the Maharashtra Assembly for the first time in 1978 by winning the Nagpur East seat.

advertisement

He is also credited with revival of The Hitavada, an English daily founded by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, the mentor of Mahatma Gandhi.

Following the completion of Rosaiahs term, Vidyasagar Rao was given additional charge of Tamil Nadu in September 2016, days ahead of then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa being hospitalised.PTI SA SS DV

--- ENDS ---
A man accused of severely beating his roommate in the Brazos County Jail, a College Station man who allegedly pistol-whipped and shot at a man while robbing him and his sister and a College Station man accused of manufacturing and delivering 4.5 grams of crack cocaine were among the 56 people indicted on felony charges Thursday by a Brazos County grand jury.

An indictment is not an indication of guilt and does not mean the accused have been convicted. It means enough probable cause exists for the case to move forward in the criminal justice process.

Rufus Deshadron Davis Jr., 22, is charged with beating his roommate so severely at the county jail that he allegedly caused a brain injury. Originally arrested by the College Station Police Department on suspicion of aggravated robbery, Davis's alleged altercation was reportedly caught on surveillance footage. The footage shows Davis spraying his unnamed roommate with a bottle of a cleaning product, after which the two began fighting, according to authorities.

A police report alleges Davis threw him to the ground and punched him in the face several times before stomping his head into the concrete floor. Police said someone took Davis off the man, allowing him to try to run away, but Davis reportedly chased him down and slammed him head-first into the floor.

Officers took the man to CHI St. Joseph hospital in Bryan, where he was treated for a broken collarbone and bleeding on the brain.

In addition to previous charges, Davis is now charged with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Also indicted was Ledarius Depre Hill, a 22-year-old man charged with two counts of aggravated robbery, both of which are punishable by up to 99 years in prison and $10,000 in fines.

College Station Police responded to an apartment complex in the 1200 block of Harvey Road on June 30 after a woman reportedly told authorities her brother had been shot in his head. According to an arrest report, a man and three others ran into the apartment and attacked the victim, yelling, "Where's the weed?" A man wearing a dark hoodie pulled out a gun and shot the man before running away. A security video revealed that the hooded figure looked like Hill.

Bryan police arrested Richard Bernard Stepp, 51, after a traffic stop on July 19. Police said Stepp appeared nervous after an officer pulled him over for having a broken tail light and headlight. Authorities detained him after learning Stepp had two active arrest warrants. Police said they found a locked box containing a razor blade and three large pieces of a chalky substance later identified as crack cocaine in Stepp's car. Authorities also reportedly found a glass pipe, two debit cards under the names of two different women, another man's birth certificate, a Social Security card and a driver's license.

The grand jury indicted Stepp on Thursday for: manufacturing and delivering 4.5 grams of crack cocaine, a first-degree felony punishable by up to 99 years in prison and $10,000 in fines; fraud use/possession of identifying information of less than five items and possession of a controlled substance less than one gram, both of which are state jail felonies each punishable by 180 days to two years in a state jail and a fine up to $10,000.
August 15, 1974 - September 20, 2017

Hicella "Sally" Sandoval Knippa, 43, passed away September 20th, 2017.

Hicella was born August 15, 1974 in Edinburg, Texas to Antonio and Maria (Bazan) Sandoval. Her father Antonio was originally from Micoacan, Mexico and was a jeweler; her mother Maria is a homemaker from Rio Grande. Hicella was a very active child, growing up in Port Arthur. She enjoyed watching her mom cook, and then cooking herself. As a teenager, her high energy helped her to be a good cheerleader for Stephen F. Austin and Thomas Jefferson High Schools in Port Arthur.

After graduating from Jefferson High School, Hicella immediately enlisted in the US Army.

She served proudly for three and a half years in supply, first at Fort Benning, Georgia, then Fort Carson, Colorado, and finally finishing with a tour of service in Germany. While in the Army, she met and married Juan Cotto. The two had three children: Juan Antonio, Joshua Lee, and Adiana Marie. Her children were her priority. After her honorable discharge from the Army, she attended North Georgia College and State University where she studied business and received her AA.

Hicella later met her husband Matthew Knippa over a cup of coffee at Starbucks. They later married and lived in Cypress. During their nine-year marriage, they moved several times with their children and lived in different cities in Texas, before finally settling in Bryan.

Hicella loved being a homemaker and loved taking care of people, especially her family, friends and her spark for the last year and half an adopted, grandson Scooter. Hicella was his Memaw and her husband was his Papa. Although Hicella had several medical challenges, she did not let them hold her back. She was very determined and made the best of every situation. She was always fun to be around. In support of her son who is currently in the Army, as well as for herself and her husband, who are both veterans, Hicella started an online military page for support of military families. Through this page, Hicella was able to show her compassionate and caring nature, remembering everyone's birthday, and offering an open ear to anyone who needed her, no matter the time of day. Hicella always would put others first before herself. She loved to cook and picture collage, as it was another way to show love to her family. Anytime she was able to get away with her family and go to the beach was a time she cherished. She also enjoyed knitting, sewing, dancing, and yard work.

Hicella leaves behind a large family including her husband Matthew A. Knippa, her children Juan Antonio Cotto, Joshua Lee Cotto, Adiana Marie Cotto, Brenda Sky Knippa, Audrey Nicole Knippa, and Matthew Knippa, Jr. Grandson Christian (Scooter) Baker. She also leaves her parents Antonio and Maria Sandoval, her sister Maria Concepcion Sandoval Nava (and husband Julio Rosales), her brother Sergio Sandoval Nava, sister Maria Antonia Sandoval Nava (and husband Ricardo Veloz), brother Jose Daniel Sandoval Nava (and wife Ester Arce), Joe Riviera and sister Yezenia Salome (and husband Alberto) Hernandez. She will be met in heaven by her brother Roel Riviera. She also leaves behind many nephews and nieces.

A visitation will be held from 10-11 AM on Friday, October 6, 2017 at Hillier Funeral Home of Bryan with a service to begin at 11 AM.

Please go to www.hillierfh.com to share memories and stories.
The partisan gerrymandering case argued this week in the Supreme Court presents one of the most important, difficult and intriguing legal questions of the past quarter-century.

The constitutional issue in the case, coming out of Wisconsin, is whether and when courts should invalidate redistricting plans that are designed to give a strong advantage to one political party. In extreme cases, such plans are an obvious violation of the Constitution. The problem is that its not at all obvious how courts can police them.

To see why the constitutional violation is obvious, imagine a state where party X now has control of the state legislature, but where party Y has more voters  say, a healthy margin of 2.3 million to 1.7 million voters. What can party X do to maintain its control in the future?

The simple answer is that its officials can use arithmetic and map-making skills to entrench themselves through redistricting.

For example, party X might create five districts, each with 800,000 people. Three of them might be designed so that its voters outnumber party Ys by 500,000 to 300,000. Two of them might be designed so that party Ys voters outnumber party Xs, 700,000 to 100,000.

Voila! Party X is pretty well guaranteed to get 60 percent of the representatives  even though it has just 42 percent of the voters. With a little luck, the party should be able to entrench itself for a very long time.

In this weeks oral argument, most of the justices seemed to agree that in principle thats unconstitutional. As Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg put it, what becomes of the precious right to vote?

Justice Anthony Kennedy asked about a state law explicitly stating that in designing districts, the overriding concern is to have a maximum number of votes for party X or party Y. Such a law would, and should, be struck down in a heartbeat.

The problem of partisan gerrymandering has become worse than ever. Technology is allowing officials to obtain and to use extraordinarily sophisticated data about their residents and how they are likely to vote. In a period of acute polarization, officials are in an increasingly good position to choose their voters, rather than the other way around.

Thats essentially what happened in Wisconsin. The Wisconsin State Assembly, dominated by Republicans, engaged in a redistricting process specifically designed to ensure that Republicans would maintain a supermajority in the Assembly, even if Democrats got a majority of the statewide vote.

More particularly, they packed Democratic voters, by drawing district lines so that they were concentrated in specific districts. They also cracked Democratic voters, by splitting them up so that they were outnumbered by Republicans in other districts. The result? A large and likely durable advantage for Republicans.

In principle, thats tough to defend on constitutional grounds. But in 2004, four members of the court  a plurality rather than a majority  said that courts never should get involved in disputes about partisan gerrymandering.

Speaking for the four, Justice Antonin Scalia argued that there are no judicially discernible and manageable standards for adjudicating those disputes. In his view, it was impossible to produce a legal test that real-world judges could use to distinguish between permissible and impermissible gerrymandering.

Officials draw district lines for all sorts of reasons. How can judges possibly discern the intentions of those who produce district lines? And if the party that originally drew those lines ends up keeping its majority through subsequent elections, that doesnt prove anything untoward; after all, Democrats sometimes vote for Republicans, and vice versa. Political affiliation isnt the only factor that affects voting.

Justice Kennedy  the crucial vote back in 2004, and very possibly now as well  refused to join Justice Scalias opinion. He agreed that no legal standard had yet been formulated.

But he thought that in the future, a limited and precise rationale might found be found to correct an established violation of the Constitution in redistricting cases.

Much of Tuesdays oral argument focused on whether such a rationale could be found. Chief Justice John Roberts worried that it could not be  and that if the Supreme Court gets in the business of evaluating partisan gerrymandering, it will have to take sides with either Democrats or Republicans, thus causing very serious harm to the status and integrity of this Court in the eyes of the country.

Several of the justices focused on newly developed statistical tests, which ask whether both parties are equally able to turn popular support into legislative representation  partisan symmetry, as it is called. Social scientists have developed sophisticated methods for measuring partisan symmetry.

Chief Justice Roberts worried that those methods are sociological gobbledygook. They arent, but hes entirely right to ask whether lower courts can apply statistical methods.

Early in the oral argument, Justice Stephen Breyer briefly sketched the core of a promising approach  and its not all that complicated.

In a nutshell: If one party controls the redistricting, if the resulting map treats one party much better than another, if it would do so over a wide range of potential votes (and thus entrench one party), and if it is an extreme outlier compared with what is done in the rest of the country, then it would be struck down  unless it could be defended by reference to some legitimate and neutral justification.

Thats not perfect. It needs work. But its a good start  and its a lot better than giving a free pass to the most extreme forms of partisan gerrymandering, which threaten to do catastrophic damage to the very idea of self-government.

Cass R. Sunstein is a Bloomberg View columnist. He is the author of #Republic: Divided Democracy in the Age of Social Media and a co-author of Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness. Email him at csunstein1@bloomberg.net.
You have a character that goes through the scrutiny of being sexualised , and then an audience that does the same thing.
As hunters, motorists and pretty much anyone who hangs around the woods long enough will notice, the deer are out in force in Franklin County again this year.

By the numbers seen in fields and along highways, they are undoubtedly plentiful.

To mark the arrival of deer season, Franklin County Library in downtown Rocky Mount hosted more than 35 people at a show-and-tell of deer antlers and facts about the deer population in Franklin County on Oct. 3. Dan Lovelace of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries spoke about deer in Franklin County.

The most important big game animal in Virginia is the white- tailed deer, he said.

Besides humans hunting and vehicles on highways and roads, the two big threats to the state deer population are deer hemorrhagic disease and chronic wasting disease. Deer hemorrhagic disease is caused by a biting fly and does affect local populations. Chronic wasting disease a neurological and brain disease is caused by prions and is only in the northwestern part of the state.

Otherwise Franklin County is a healthy county for deer, he said; more than 4,300 were harvested by hunters in Franklin County last year. Lovelace said, In the 1930s and 40s deer were almost gone due to over-hunting. Since the 1970s the populations have increased steadily.

With deer season around the corner with bow, black powder and rifle seasons coming this month and next, a certain amount of deer hunting fever reverberated through the room.

Antlers were brought to the library for the first annual contest. Christine Arena, who directs library planning and outreach, passed out small gifts to the winners, from a blaze-orange hat to hand- and foot-warmers to notecards. Lovelace told of how a buck ages. Lovelace said, Most 8-point bucks are 3.5 to 4 years old. Most everyone in the room approved of an 8-point buck.

Winners of the contest were:

General harvest: Henry Harrison

Anomaly long-spiked antler: George Brown

Sheds collected by a dog: Heidi Edwards

European mount: Bill Kidwell

Harvest by mother/daughter: Christi Pruitt and Leah Baker

Antlers harvested by the military: John Hinkle.

This is the second wildlife lecture held by the library. The first was on safety around bears in June. More will follow, Arena said.
Hina Khan will lash out at Arshi Khan in tonight's episode, and will even compare her with Season 10 contestant Priyanka Jagga.

By India Today Web Desk: Bigg Boss 11's Friday Ka Faisla is going to be an interesting episode for sure. Why, you ask? Because we are talking about Bigg Boss 11 here. Because Hina Khan has decided to take Arshi Khan and Shilpa Shinde in a big way.

Here's what the new episode will bring to you:

Zubair Khan, Akash Dadlani, and Shilpa Shinde to be put in jail

advertisement

The three contestants will be put in the cell by other housemates for not performing well in the luxury budget task. In fact, Hina Khan and Vikas Gupta, and a few other housemates will jointly take this decision.

Arshi Khan irks Hina Khan

#BB11 House mein jab jal gayi chai, the contestants ke dher saari raai! Don't forget to tune in aaj raat 10pm! pic.twitter.com/taVUVqcYby- Bigg Boss (@BiggBoss) October 6, 2017

Shahid Afridi's alleged girlfriend Arshi Khan will create havoc in the house by destroying the milk which other housemates were preparing for themselves. She will claim as her tea was burnt, she will put haldi in the big vessel of milk. While other contestants will discourage her from doing the deed, Arshi will go ahead with her decision and put haldi in the milk.

Hina Khan gives it back to Arshi Khan

Hina Khan, unable to contain herself, will lash out at Arshi tonight for her behaviour. She will also make fun of her by mimicking her, and will be seen telling other contestants that Arshi is doing everything for the sake of footage. The actress will even compare Arshi to Priyanka Jagga, and will claim that Arshi will be thrown out of the house just like Jagga.

Jal gayi hai chai aur kya hai contestants ki raai? Find out tonight 10pm on #BB11! #BBSneakPeek pic.twitter.com/oMVOAwLEC4- COLORS (@ColorsTV) October 6, 2017

Shilpa Shinde and Vikas Gupta's fight will take an ugly turn

After fighting for the past five episodes, both Vikas and Shilpa will take their 'spat' to another level. While Shilpa will put ginger in an ailing Vikas' milk, Vikas will spill tea all over the actress' clothes. Later Shilpa, while making fun of Vikas, will bump into him accidentally. This in turn will drive Vikas over the edge and he will be seen pushing Shilpa while trying to warn her. Contestants will try to intervene, but things will get out of hand, with Shilpa complaining to Bigg Boss about the whole incident.

To know how the madness will end, watch Bigg Boss 11 at 10 pm tonight on Colors TV.

--- ENDS ---

advertisement
Franklin County officials privately opted to allow the local YMCA to skip monthly rent payments through the end of the year, a move that will cost taxpayers more than $53,000 in lost revenue.

During a private meeting earlier this year, county officials opted to forgo rent payments of $7,651 apiece from the Franklin County YMCA for the years last seven months. Two supervisors who responded to calls from The Franklin News-Post told the newspaper that the board, County Administrator Brent Robertson and the countys attorney took part in the closed-door session.

Robertson did not respond to repeated calls from a reporter.

In late 2016, the Y missed a payment and eventually fell four months behind. The organization got caught up, but then came the private discussion to waive the years remaining rent with the organization citing continued financial woes, Supervisor Tim Tatum said.

Were trying to help them out, Tatum said. They have some issues, managerial issues, and they are having some issues paying their bills. Were trying to help them out so that they can stay in business.

But there are questions about whether the move to allow the Y to skip its rental payments complies with open-meetings law.

When the county entered into its most recent lease agreement with the YMCA in 2015, supervisors held a public hearing and then a vote. Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said when public officials vote in public to enter into a contract  as they did in the lease for the Y  they also should vote in public on any amendments to the deal.

"In my opinion thats the kind of thing that would have to be voted on in public," Rhyne told The Roanoke Times.

This issue was never moved to a formal vote, but, Tatum said, supervisors and Robertson stayed in line with what the county attorney advised.

We try our best to follow open government law, said Supervisor Bob Camicia, who declined to comment further.

This move was the latest in a series of turns by the county to aid the Y, which has been mired in financial trouble for the last decade.

Supervisors unanimously decided in 2013 to spend more than $2 million in taxpayer money to buy the two Rocky Mount buildings housing the Y and voted in 2015 to approve the countys most recent lease agreement with the organization. That agreement expired last year, triggering an automatic month-to-month renewal clause.

Tatum said officials believe a large part of the Ys financial problems are due to the fact that its main building is older now. The building maintenance could be costing more than officials expected, he said. Memberships also have plateaued out.

We dont want to get into YMCA business, Tatum said. We dont want to run their business. We just wanted to help them out, but eventually they will have to stand on their own. We could push them into foreclosure, but who is that helping?

County YMCA Director Kevin McAlexander did not return requests for comment.

The organizations financial struggles date to 2008, when Dave Lawton replaced Russ Merritt as executive director. The Y finished $521,242 in the red that year after ending each of the previous three years with six-figure profits, including a high of more than $605,000 in 2006, according to its tax filings with the IRS.

In Lawtons second year, the Y lost another $579,955 and in his third, $495,006. Tax records for that last year, 2010, show him getting just two-thirds of the $83,848 in total compensation he received from the Y the year before. The filing also lists an interim executive director.

By the following year, Lawton was gone from the Ys records. The years of red ink preceded the organizations decision to sell its Technology Road buildings in December 2011 to CRM Mid-Atlantic Properties. Tax records from the same year show the Y lost $2.8 million on investments and finished $3.2 million in the red.

Following the sale, the Ys losses eased from 2012 to 2015  the organization turned profits two of those four years  but its struggles continued.

In 2012, county supervisors, citing the Ys financial woes, voted to donate back to the organization the $78,000 in real estate taxes Y property generated under new ownership. The following year, the county bought the buildings.

As the organizations finances took a southward turn following the boom years ending in 2007, its payroll ballooned 45 percent, from $1.1 million to $1.6 million in 2015, the latest year for which tax records were available.

That year, with new executive director and CEO Jim Currie on board, the Y turned to Franklin County Public Schools for help covering some $90,000 in spending on swim programs.

That amount was roughly equal to the $94,167 in total compensation Currie received from the Y that year, according to tax records.

He since has left the organization.
Let's take a look at a few facts about Bigg Boss 11's 'moohfat' Jyoti Kumari.

By India Today Web Desk: She came as a commoner in the Bigg Boss house this season. Jyoti Kumari , who belongs to a middle class family is an ambitious girl. She is claimed to be the youngest contestant of the house but that doesn't come in her way when it comes to picking fights or confronting the so-called big celebrities.

advertisement

Let's take a look at a few facts about the 'moohfat' Jyoti Kumari:

1) Jyoti Kumari, born and brought up in Massaudi, Bihar, is the youngest contestant of Bigg Boss 11; she is just 20 years old.

2) Daughter of a peon, Jyoti belongs to a middle class family. But her dreams were never middle class.

3) She always wanted to be a celebrity. "I always wanted to be on TV, since my childhood," she told India Today Online before entering the house.

4) Reportedly Jyoti has topped class 10th, 12th and has cleared UPSC exams as well.

5) Right after she completed her graduation, she got through the Bigg Boss auditions.

In these five days, Jyoti's straightforward approach has landed her in trouble with co-contestants like Sapna Chaudhary, Arshi Khan and Benafsha Soonawalla to name a few. Let us see if she makes the final cut.

OMG ! Is jyoti starts Smoking ? Part 1: Does Jyoti really smoke? Follow @instabiggboss for more ! A post shared by BIGG BOSS (OFFICIAL) (@instabiggboss) on Oct 3, 2017 at 8:06pm PDT

--- ENDS ---
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

STAMFORD  A 33-year-old city man drowned Friday in Stamford Harbor.

Police are investigating how Rasheed Hines ended up in the water near the harbors East Branch about 11 a.m. Friday.

He apparently waded into the water and began struggling and yelling for help, Capt. Richard Conklin said.

Several witnesses saw Hines and tried to help, including one person who dove into the water and retrieved his wallet, which helped police quickly identify his body.

We really dont know what happened, Conklin said. We are trying to reach out to additional witnesses and looking for video in the area. We are meeting with the family to see if they can give us any insight.

Conklin said the death is being considered a possible drowning pending an autopsy.

Rescuers searched for Hines body for about an hour until they found him about noon Friday. He was pulled from the water and transported to Stamford Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

jnickerson@stamfordadvocate

.com
The Bigg Boss 11 contestant is not related to Haseena Parkar, or her family in any way, fresh reports claim.

By India Today Web Desk: Bigg Boss 11 contestant Zubair Khan is not related to Haseena Parkar, fresh reports claim. According to a report by BollywoodLife, Zubair has been making false claims to get attention.

In fact, Haseena Parkar's family has taken offence to the tall claims made by the contestant and wants to take action against him by filing an FIR. Zubair had even said that he was one of the producers of Haseena Parkar the film, which starred Shraddha Kapoor. Recently, a member of Dawood Ibrahim's family and real co-producer of the movie, Sameer Antulay, told Mid-day that Zubair is spreading rumours about his relations with the underworld family.

advertisement

"Zubair Khan is a fraud. He has no connections with our family. He is misusing the Dawood title for publicity. We will be approaching the cops to register an FIR against him," Sameer told Mid-day.

Sameer further added that Zubair is not married to any of late Haseena Parkar's daughters. Haseena has two daughters, Qudsia and Humeira. Zubair is apparently claiming to be married to Qudsia, who is the wife of a certain Zaheer Shaikh, according to the same report.

Sameer also said that Zubair had actually approached Haseena for a biopic, but his offer was turned down, as the family didn't know Zubair well.

--- ENDS ---
The first emergency alert sent out using Grand Islands IPAWS tool didnt work out very well Thursday night.

The text alert was received by some Grand Island residents and not by others. It was also sent to cellphone users outside of Grand Island, including Cairo and Chapman. Some recipients received more information than others.

This was the first time the Grand Island Emergency Center used its IPAWS tool, said Jon Rosenlund, Grand Island/Hall County emergency management director.

IPAWS stands for Integrated Public Alert and Warning System.

The alert was sent out shortly after 8 p.m. at the request of the Grand Island Police Department, which was conducting a foot pursuit in the area of Fourth and Jefferson streets. Police were using a canine team to search for 34-year-old David Anderson of Grand Island, who was wanted on outstanding warrants. Anderson was arrested at about 11 p.m. on the 1300 block of South Locust.

The message was meant to go to cellphone users in an area bounded by Fourth, Fifth, Jefferson and Adams streets, Rosenlund said. But the delivery was hit or miss, he said. People outside Hall County should not have gotten the text.

Many of the problems were due to issues involving cellphone towers, carriers and differences in types of phones.

The IPAWS tool allows us to warn a certain segment of the population by geography, but its kind of a blunt instrument, Rosenlund said.

As of midday Friday, Rosenlund was still investigating what happened. He was working with the company that sold the device as well as FEMA. Because FEMA helps us manage that IPAWS system, he said.

IPAWS is the tool the Grand Island Emergency Center uses to send alerts through the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) public safety system.

Once dispatchers send out an alert, were trusting that the IPAWS system and the wireless vendors are going to deliver our text message to the appropriate target area, Rosenlund said.

The IPAWS tool directs cell towers serving the targeted area to send its wireless customers that text.

If the system is working correctly, every cellphone user in that area should receive the message.

Rosenlund knows one iPhone user who received more information than other users got Thursday night.

In filling out the emergency alert information, dispatchers can fill in a box to indicate the location of the incident. The iPhone user learned that the area involved was surrounded by Fourth, Fifth, Jefferson and Adams streets.

But other users didnt receive location information.

The emergency alert most people received said there was a police warning. All residents were cautioned to stay inside and lock all doors because there was a wanted person in the area.

Emergency personnel may decide to be more specific in the future.

Weve talked about it, Rosenlund said. The alert only gives us 90 characters. And so were limited by what we can type in there.

But, according to information from the FCC, inconsistent distribution of a message may be driven by the wireless device people use. Or it may be driven by the carrier that they have their cellphone with, Rosenlund said.

Two people standing next to each other may or may not get the same message if they have different devices or there are differences in their carrier, he said.

Those kinds of variables are all outside of my control, Rosenlund said.

Peoples cellphones might latch onto different towers when they move, he said. Two friends with the same carrier might be connected to two different towers.

In the past, the Emergency Center used older systems, which Rosenlund describes as reverse 911. But they were based on technology from a decade ago.

Cellphone saturation is now greater than landlines. The WEA system allows emergency personnel to hit every person with a cellphone, he said.

Its fair to say, Rosenlund agrees, that some of the bugs of the IPAWS system still need to be worked out. The 90-character messages could probably be more detailed.

But some of the uncertainties are out of his hands. He still needs to find out from FEMA why the text message delivery was so inconsistent.

You dont need to sign up for the emergency alerts. They go automatically to everyone who has a cellphone.

Grand Island police lost track of Anderson earlier in the evening. But they caught him later because Grand Island police are nothing if not tenacious, said Capt. Jim Duering.

Getting people to stay inside makes things safer for the community and police officers, and helps the canine do its job, Duering said. The goal was to create the safest environment we could to track him down.

The Grand Island Police Department does not send out emergency alerts on its own.

On Friday in Hall County Court, Anderson was charged with two counts of failure to appear when on bail for a misdemeanor, obstructing a peace officer and criminal possession of a forged instrument. A counterfeit $100 bill was found in his possession, Duering said. Anderson is listed as homeless.
Alex Solis, who is wanted for the shooting of a Grand Island woman on Sept. 2, was arrested Thursday by the U.S. Marshals Service in Pottawattamie County, Iowa.

Solis, 31, was wanted for first-degree assault and use of a weapon in the commission of a felony.

The arrest was the result of combined effort between several local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and the cooperation of the public in providing information on the fugitives whereabouts, says a news release from the Grand Island Police Department.

Solis was either going to or at a Walmart when he was arrested, said Grand Island Police Capt. Jim Duering,

The victim of the shooting was Jessica Alvarez, who was shot once with a handgun at 3033 W. Capital Ave. She was treated and released that night from CHI Health St. Francis.

On Sept. 5, Grand Island police issued an arrest warrant for Solis, whose recent addresses include Kearney and Grand Island.

There is a lot more information about what has happened through the course of the investigation but I dont think were prepared to release any of that (in advance of a) trial, Duering said.

Solis is currently being held in Pottawattamie County with bond, pending extradition to Hall County.
Dear Annie: I am a 13-year-old girl in Montreal. I go to a private high-tech school with nice friends and teachers. I have divorced parents and an elder brother, Edward.

My mom and I spend quality time together pretty often. We go out and have fun, and she buys me things. The thing is that she does these nice things  such as taking me for ice cream or shopping  and then uses them against me later. She also says Im rude when Im just doing my thing. I am sick and tired of having my mom use the fun times and activities we do as leverage to make me feel bad. Why does she do these things? Is it my fault? Is it hers? Should I talk about it again with her?

Also, my mom tells me not to bully Edward, when he lies more than I do and often starts the problems. She doesnt believe me when I tell her the truth, though.

Does she like him more than me? I must admit that I get along better with my father and Edward gets along better with our mother. But Mom always tells me were equal in her eyes. I dont believe her.

Please help me; I have no one else to turn to. I do believe this could help others with the same problem who are afraid to speak up.

 Lost and Unloved

Dear Lost and Unloved: Though we do our best as parents, were not perfect, and sometimes we dont realize the impact of our words. The next time you and Mom are out together, tell her how much you enjoy the quality time. Then explain that youre feeling anxious about doing these outings together because youre afraid shell bring the memories up in a negative context. Rest assured your mom loves you and your brother equally, my dear. You both will always be No. 1 in her heart, no matter what.

Regarding your issues with your brother, heres the bad news: Elder siblings have been blaming younger siblings for things since the dawn of time. The good news: They eventually grow out of it. In the meantime, when Edward starts to bug you, just ignore him.

Dear Annie: This is in response to First-Time Heart Patient. Im not a physician, but Im a retired open-heart surgery nurse who specialized in critical care. I want to assure First-Time Heart Patient that it sounds as if he received excellent care. Apparently, the doctors thought his situation was so critical that rather than discharge him from the hospital, they sent him for cardiac intervention as soon as it could be coordinated. This would be considered an urgent heart catheterization and intervention.

Perhaps he was too overwhelmed or too ill at the time to remember the nurses explaining the medication to him, or perhaps the meds had to be given very quickly to prevent further problems. That happens. However, it should all have been in the printed copy of his discharge instructions, which should have been given to him and reviewed with him before he went home.

I understand his anxiety and concern about this life-threatening condition. Mended Hearts is a great support group for heart patients after heart attacks and beyond. He can check with his hospital to see whether this is available in his area. Good luck!

 J.P.

Dear J.P.: I so appreciate your taking the time to write in and share your expertise and experience. Thank you.

Annie Lane, a graduate of New York Law School and New York University, writes this column for Creators Syndicate. Email questions to dearannie@creators.com.
AARP Nebraska will hold a community conversation on health care reform in Grand Island on Oct. 18.

The session is especially aimed at Nebraskans ages 50 to 64 who do not have employer-sponsored insurance and are eligible to enroll in Affordable Care Act (ACA) health plans offered in the insurance marketplace.

Mark Intermill, advocacy director for AARP Nebraska, will discuss different options for improving the Affordable Care Act. Attendees will have the opportunity to share their opinions and ideas. The annual open enrollment period for ACA health plans in 2018 is from Nov. 1 to Dec. 15.

The event will run from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Heartland Events Center, 700 E. Stolley Park Road. It is open to the public at no charge and a light meal will be provided. Registration is required by Oct. 11 by calling 1-877-926-8300 or online at aarp.cvent.com/HealthCareGrandIsland.

AARP is urging Congress to focus on commonsense solutions to stabilize the Affordable Care Act insurance marketplace, increase enrollment and competition and lower costs for consumers.
About 50 Nebraskans, including some from Grand Island, have committed to going to Washington, D.C., for Awaken the Dawn: Americas Tent of Meeting Friday through Monday.

Awaken the Dawn is a gathering of people from all 50 states. Each state will have a tent set up with a time for worship and prayer. Several other tents will serve as regional tents and also have special events, such as additional musicians for worship.

Steve Johnson of Grand Island, Nebraskas state coordinator for the event, said there couldnt be a better time for the event with all of the things going on in the world. According to the events website, the idea was a long time in the making and was derived from lots of prayer and listening.

Johnson said the event was expected to happen in 2018 at one point, but it was very clear that it needed to happen in 2017.

More planning for the event has been done in the past year and he said there was no way to have known the tragedies that would happen just in the last few months with hurricanes and shootings, but Awaken the Dawn is something thats needed.

This event is coming on the heels of perhaps the greatest tragedy since 9/11 with the Las Vegas events, all intertwined with the racial and political unrest in our nation, Johnson said. I cant think of a more succinct time to reach out to our creator and invite his compassion and direction to our nation and her leaders.

Johnson said as far as he knows, although there could be more people who make the trip, four churches from the Grand Island area, five churches from the greater Omaha area and some others from around Nebraska will be represented.

The worship may look different for each person, he said, and people will be able to worship in the way they feel most connected.

Johnson attended the Promise Keepers Stand in the Gap gathering that happened 20 years ago on the National Mall, the same place where Awaken the Dawn will be this weekend. Stand in the Gap brought more than a million men together for a full day of prayer. On attending Awaken the Dawn on the anniversary of the large event he attended 20 years ago, Johnson said itll be another weekend to remember.

I fully believe that I will be able to look back at this event in the years to come in the same light that I did with Stand in the Gap, he said, adding that its significant for where America is at today.

Johnson describes the event to people as conducting a congress from each of the 50 states, but with no political connotations. If people arent able to go with their fellow Nebraskans to the national event to pray for the country, and the world, he said they can participate from home by taking their own opportunity to reflect and pray for the nation.

For more information on Awaken the Dawn, visit www.awakenthedawn.org.
By PTI: New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) A study group has been set up by the government to examine the problems being faced by the people residing near the International Border and and the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir in the wake of regular ceasefire violations by Pakistan, an official said.

The group will meet people living in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir, security forces deployed there, district administration officials and local public representatives and submit its report within two months.

advertisement

"The competent authority has approved the constitution of a study group for considering various problems being faced by the people residing near IB and LOC in the wake of regular threats of cross border firing," an order issued by the home ministry said.

Special secretary in the home ministry Rina Mitra will head the team. The principal secretary (home) in the Jammu and Kashmir government, the divisional commissioner of Jammu and the divisional commissioner of Srinagar are members while the joint secretary (J&K) in the home ministry is the member- secretary of the group.

The study group will prepare a detailed report of the issues being faced by the public living near IB and LOC and submit its recommendations on the remedial action that needs to be taken to address these issues, the order issued yesterday said.

India shares a 3,323 km long border with Pakistan of which 221 km of the IB and 740 km of the LOC fall in Jammu and Kashmir.

There has been a sharp increase in ceasefire violations by Pakistan in recent times. Till August 1, there were 285 violations by Pakistani forces while in 2016, the number was 228 for the entire year, according to Army figures.

There were 83 ceasefire violations, one BAT (border action team) attack and two infiltration bids from the Pakistani side in June in which 4 people, including 3 jawans, were killed and 12 injured.

Eleven people, including nine soldiers, were killed and 18 injured in Pakistani ceasefire violations in July.

On August 27, five civilians, including a woman and two minor boys, were injured in a ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops in Poonch district.

On September 1, an Assistant Sub Inspector of the Border Security Force (BSF) sustained bullet injuries due to enemy fire from across the LoC at a forward post in Krishna Ghati sector.

An Army jawan was killed as Pakistani forces violated the ceasefire by firing from across the LoC in Poonch district on October 3. PTI ACB BSA

--- ENDS ---

advertisement
About 20 people gathered outside the Platt Deutsche in the gloomy weather to protest the NRA fundraiser going on inside. The fundraiser was held by the Central Nebraska Friends of the NRA.

Robin Vodenhal said she organized the protest after she heard about the fundraiser a few days ago, after the Las Vegas shooting.

I think its such in poor, poor taste, especially to have a fundraiser after Las Vegas, Vodenhal said.

On Sunday night in Las Vegas, a gunman opened fire on a music festival from a room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Fifty-nine people were killed and more than 500 people were injured.

Vodenhal said after a shooting things seem to calm down and the conversations about it dwindle.

Im done, Vodenhal said. She said these types of shooting sprees shouldnt happen and something needs to be done.

We have to keep the momentum up, Vodenhal said about having conversations about gun regulation.

Carole Denton, a protester who held a basket with information on how to donate to Las Vegas shooting victims, said she doesnt understand the NRA fundraisers after the tragedy this week.

Why not donate money to victims? Denton said.

Denton said she doesnt support taking away guns. She understands the need for them and has hunters in her family.

Who wants to take away guns? We want to regulate guns, thats all, Denton said.

Denton said two men from Hamilton County who were going into the fundraiser donated to the victims, which she said was very kind of them.

Julie Nichols wore a blaze orange hat and held up a sign that said I (heart) hunters. The flipside of the sign said Thank you for supporting Philandro Castile. She said she also doesnt want to take away guns, but shed like to see the NRA do more about standing up to the unjust way some people are using guns. She said her sign about hunters is true, as she grew up eating wild game and in a family of hunters. She said there are lots of responsible gun owners who use guns in the safe way they should be used for, which is hunting and self defense. She said shed like the NRA to stop buying politicians and for the responsible gun owners a part of the NRA to take a stand.

Nichols said she feels like theres so many mixed messages in our country about guns and who can and cant own them. She thinks the message needs to be clearer. Nichols said its not unreasonable for someone to have a weapon near their home for their own safety, but its not safe when guns get into the hands of irresponsible owners.

Tim Bacon, the NRA Field Rep for Iowa and Nebraska who was at the fundraiser, was given the chance to comment in response to the protest. He declined.
Birth announcements

GONIFAS  To Jonathan and Jenny (Hutchinson) Gonifas of Grand Island, a daughter born Oct. 3, 2017, at CHI Health St. Francis.

GOODER  To Kyle and Hillary (Wieczorek) Gooder of Phillips, a daughter born Oct. 2, 2017, at CHI Health St. Francis. Grandparents are Tim and Becki Spires of Hordville, Joyce Gooder of Grand Island and Bill and Norma Gooder of Harlington, Texas.

FRIEDRICHSEN  To Daniel and Kira (Putscher) Friedrichsen of St. Libory, a daughter born Oct. 1, 2017, at CHI Health St. Francis. Grandparents are Tim and Penny Putscher of St. Libory and John and Sue Friedrichsen of Palmer. Great-grandparents are Dorthea Fairbanks of Nebraska City, Don and Jean Putscher of Chehalis, Wash., Clarence and Sharlene Minor of Alda and Carmen Harrahill of Grand Island.

STARMAN  To Brad and Emmily (Woodward) Starman of Alda, a daughter born Sept. 28, 2017, at CHI Health St. Francis.

Police/Sheriff

Anyone with information about any crime in the state may call the Grand Island-Hall County Crime Stoppers, (308) 381-8822. Callers will remain anonymous.

A reward of up to $1,000 will be paid after law enforcement agencies have determined the seriousness of the crime and the usefulness of the information.

Inmate custody status can be obtained by calling the VINE hotline at (877) NE 4 VINE or by visiting www.vinelink.com. Information is available 24 hours a day.

If you see a crime happening, call the Grand Island-Hall County Emergency Center  911.

Grand Island Police

The following felonies were reported:

 Estid Barrios was arrested for possession of a controlled substance (meth) Wednesday at 210 Voss Road.

 A 15-year-old female reported a sexual assault Wednesday.

 A 16-year-old female reported inappropriate communications of a sexual nature Wednesday.

 Taco Bell, 2009 N. Diers, reported a counterfeit $20 bill Wednesday.

Hall County Sheriff

Law enforcement arrested twp people on warrants in two cases. There were 25 calls for service.

For more information visit www.hallcountyne.gov and click on the sheriff link.

 An adult female reported a sexual assault in western Hall County Wednesday.

 Donald Haller reported theft Wednesday at 1408 Marshall St. in Wood River.

Court report

Hall County District Court

 Jose Buruca Jr., Nebraska Department of Corrections, attempt of a Class 2A felony, two to three years in jail. Also guilty of attempt of a Class 1/1A/1B/1C/1D felony, three to six years in jail. Sentences will be served concurrently.

 Katie Wamsley, 36, North Loup, theft by receiving stolen property totaling $1,500 to $5,000, three years probation, 60 days in jail with credit for 34 days served, $900 probation fee.

 Molly Smith, 33, Grand Island, third-degree domestic assault, 12 months probation, $300 probation fee.

 Cassandra Elson, 31, Grand Island, theft by shoplifting totaling $0 to $500, third or subsequent offense, 24 months probation, $120 probation fee.

 Tayler Williams, 23, Grand Island, third-degree domestic assault, 18 months probation, $450 probation fee, ordered to pay $411.11 in restitution. Also guilty of attempt of a Class 4 felony, 18 months probation.

 Tanya Hernandez, 37, homeless, failure to appear when on bail for a felony, nine to 12 months in jail with credit for 65 days served.

 Jessica Alvarez, 32, Grand Island, obstructing a peace officer, 24 months probation, $120 probation fee. Also guilty of theft by shoplifting totaling $0 to $200, second offense, 24 months probation and $120 probation fee.

 Jason Lemburg, 40, Grand Island, failure to appear when on bail for a felony, 20 to 36 months in jail with credit for 76 days served. Also guilty of committing child abuse intentionally with no injury, 24 to 36 months in jail with credit for 76 days. Sentences will be served concurrently.

Hall County Court

 Lorenzo A. Ramirez-Nunez, 19, Grand Island, was charged with committing burglary on Tuesday. Preliminary hearing set for 10 a.m. Nov. 15.

 Estid N. Barrios, 25, Grand Island, was charged with third-degree domestic assault, possession of 1 oz. or less of marijuana, first offense, and possession of a controlled substance, all on Wednesday. Preliminary hearing set for 10:30 a.m. Nov. 13.

 Tyson A. Hiatt, 21, Hastings, was charged with delivery, dispensing, distribution, manufacture or possession of a controlled substance  Schedule 1, 2, 3, and possession or use of drug paraphernalia, both on Wednesday. Preliminary hearing set for 10:30 a.m. Nov. 15.

 Johnathan W. Danley, 20, Grand Island, was charged with committing burglary on Tuesday. Preliminary hearing set for 10 a.m. Nov. 15.

 Daniel A. Mehaffie, 37, Wood River, was charged with two counts of issuing a bad check  second or subsequent misdemeanor, both in April. Arraignment set for 2 p.m. Oct. 18.

 Mario Valadez-Acevedo, 59, Grand Island, was charged with driving while revoked from DUI/refusual-subsequent offense on Wednesday. Preliminary hearing set for 2:30 p.m. Nov. 13.

 Jacqueline K. Couton, 56, Dannebrog, was charged with committing theft by shoplifting totaling $0 to $500, third or subsequent offense, on Sept. 13. Arraignment set for 1:30 p.m. Oct. 18.
An open letter to Josh McDowell and Tawana Grover (chief academic officer and superintendent of the Grand Island Public Schools):

With only one exception, I strongly applaud your plans to structure education at Grand Island Senior High around five or six Prep Academies.

Generally speaking, a plan such as this is exactly whats needed in this countrys high schools at a time such as this when our countrys economy is becoming focused on increasingly demanding, ever-changing occupations.

There was a time when a young person departing public school  such as my farm-boy father in 1928  could count on getting a decent job, at least in a big city. Those days are gone forever. Neither Donald Trump nor any lesser mortal is going to bring the lost jobs back.

But certainly one thing few 18- or 19-year-olds completing high school will ever enjoy hearing is Congratulations! Now you and your family need to decide whether youre going to start work in a fast-food restaurant or go on to a few more years of education. Sure, youre dealing with amazing new (to you) social distractions  but just wait a few more years and then you can check them out!

That is indeed the implied message now being given to high-school graduates by this countrys traditional high schools. You, Josh and Tawana, and your co-workers should be thanked most emphatically for working to minimize that kind of thing happening in Grand Island.

(Of course, students looking forward to a career as, say, a teacher or doctor will always have to accept four or more years of additional education.)

Please note in passing: I assume there will continue to be coursework at GISH covering skills in the basics of communication, especially writing skills, as well as the cultural and governmental blessings given to us by past generations.

Your emphasis on Nebraskas H3 model (high-wage, high-skill, and high-demand jobs) is most laudable; one of the core problems in secondary education today seems to be the ignoring of factors such as those.

BUT (here comes that one exception):

You are planning a curriculum based on five academies (plus a sixth one for freshmen)  academies in health sciences; human services; technical sciences; power, robotics and security; and business and communication. That list is clearly in accord with the H3 model.

But, Josh, I noted you saying that, in addition to choosing regular elective courses, all students will have  classes attached to their selected Prep Academy. Here we have a problem.

What about high-school students whose interests and abilities are leading them to pursue careers such as (this list simply includes occupations that came to this writers mind):

n surveyor

n architect

n professional musician

n lawyer

Students on trajectories toward occupations such as those will probably have little interest in, or need for, eight semester-long classes (again I quote you, Josh) in health sciences, human services, or any of the other academy areas.

At best, such students will be bored by much of their studies in whatever academy they choose. At worst, they will be induced to abandon the career paths into which their unique abilities and interests are leading them.

Please seriously consider adding another academy for all those students whose interests and abilities and skills do not lead them into any of the five H3 choices you have envisioned.

Individualizing or customizing course planning for students in such an academy would probably be necessary. This could admittedly be challenging at times to the schools counselors, teachers and administrators.

But the serious mismatching of a student with a large chunk of his or her coursework  a mismatch that for many students would result from the Prep Academies as planned  would present a colossal problem for many. It would be for many a serious educational step backward.
President Trumps tax reform package arrived at Congress last week, and its reception was all too predictable. Opponents trashed it as soon as it hit their desks.

Democrat House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi tagged the presidents bill as a giveaway to the rich at the expense of the middle class. She warned that Republicans would soon sharpen their knives for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. For good measure, she added her worry that the federal budget would be in the red by billions  a concern she rarely expressed back when she herself took the lead in supervising congressional spending.

Pelosi was mild, however, when compared to Vermonts Sen. Bernie Sanders. In addition to his usual rants, Sanders labeled Trumps tax plan immoral. When an opponents reaction to a proposal is that it is immoral, it is hard to reach compromises.

The problem with all of this is that much of the presidents plan has yet to be defined. He wants to lower tax brackets, but doesnt specify what income levels will be affected. He wants to eliminate a host of deductions, but doesnt specify exactly which ones are to be eliminated. He wants to expand child credits, but amounts and conditions arent specified.

In short, much of the tax proposal has yet to be determined. This hasnt stopped a number of so-called bipartisan organizations from announcing that Trumps plan would result in large budget deficits. How did they arrive at their conclusions when so much of the proposal was incomplete, you might ask? They simply inserted their own assumptions.

You can reach any conclusion you wish if you are allowed to name your own assumptions. Rather than doing so, we wish our countrys leaders were more patient and willing to be a constructive part of filling in the details. Republicans have some issues they believe are important, and so do Democrats. There should be sincere efforts to see which ones might be accommodated.

Tax laws have a major impact on people and businesses, which is why Washington is home to so many lobbyists. Determining their content is a large undertaking, and consensus should be sought whenever possible.

Unfortunately, the current process is off to a rocky start.
Eagles rally, then get sloppy in 4th quarter as undefeated hopes end

Several observations from the Eagles' Monday night game against the Washington Commanders.
On this weeks episode of Segue, the premier radio show on WSIE 88.7 FM The Sound that discusses the ideas and issues on campus at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and beyond, Greg Budzban, PhD, College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) dean, sits down for an interview with Nell Cobb, associate chair and professor of teacher education at DePaul University, about their collaboration on The Algebra Project.

Since 1982, The Algebra Project has used mathematics as an organizing tool to ensure quality public school education for low-income children across the United States. Founded by civil rights leader and math educator Bob Moses, PhD, the project develops curricular materials, trains teachers and teacher-leaders, and provides on-going support and development opportunities for its participating teachers and schools. Budzban and Cobb worked in collaboration with educators to transform the way mathematics is taught in schools around the country.

Cobb began her education career as a high school teacher in the west side of Chicago. After receiving her masters in mathematics education from DePaul, she joined the faculty and has taught middle school and elementary mathematics education courses for nearly 24 years.

When I first became involved with the project, we worked with many elementary schools to transition the curriculum from elementary math to algebraic reasoning, Cobb says. Since then, Ive gone to over 500 public schools and worked with teachers through the transitions, and trained teacher-leaders who would enter classrooms to support teachers in those areas.

The professional development strategy of teachers and teacher-leaders involved with The Algebra Project is essential to the programs success.

At our professional development conferences, we go through the materials with teachers as though they were students, Cobb says. We try to bridge the gap between procedural and conceptual learning. Through the experiential learning experience, our teachers draw and learn through symbolic representation. We then see how we can mathematize these experiences.

Experiential learning is one of the core values of an SIUE education, Budzban says. This idea expands across all our disciplines and is part of the reason I came here.

Cobb says that when Moses talks about his work in mathematics education, he mentions it is crucial to work with students in the bottom quartile who struggle with mathematics.

When students are struggling with math, teachers get in this cycle of remediation, Cobb says. Weve flipped the script and tell our teachers not to remediate concepts, but accelerate. We encourage them to introduce students to deep mathematical ideas and engage them through those ideas.

Engagement truly helps students in their learning, Budzban says. In the Algebra Project, we try to figure out what other ways we can represent this problem to the students. They were initially challenged by the concept, but now the students are thinking of other ways to represent the problems they encounter.

In February and May, Budzban, Cobb, Moses, and mathematics researchers and educators from around the country gathered in St. Louis for two National Science Foundation (NSF) conferences.

These conferences were great experiences, Cobb says. We were able to bring together like-minded individuals from around the country that work with students from the lower quartile and addressed the students as well as the teachers needs.

Some of these programs often work in isolation, and this conference gave people an opportunity to come together, talk about best practices, share the challenges they face and provide opportunities to strengthen professional equity, Budzban says.

When it comes to the future for Budzban and Cobbs work with The Algebra Project, the two professionals are eager to build new relationships. In particular, Budzban hopes to create new alliances with local institutions around the St. Louis area.

If youre involved in education in communities that need support in these areas, feel free to call my office at 618-650-5047, Budzban says. We are interested in reaching out to help students in your communities get the education they deserve.

Catch the entire conversation between Budzban and Cobb by tuning in at 9 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 8, to WSIE 88.7 FM The Sound.

By Madelaine Gerard, SIUE Marketing & Communications
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin EDITORIAL (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 6, 2017 08:20 1866 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a236e503 4 Editorial #Editorial,Komnas-HAM,#KomnasHAM,human-rights-abuse,human-rights,house-of-representatives,#DPR,corruption,corruption-case Free

The National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM) established in 1993, near the end of Soehartos regime, has become a model for the region. The commission, first chaired by retired Supreme Court justice Ali Said remains the benchmark for its successors  which have not managed to emulate its integrity or credibility.



Ironically, the first batch of commission members  including activist Asmara Nababan, former chief prosecutor Baharuddin Lopa and Golkar Party politician Marzuki Darusman  were appointed by the president, not by lawmakers as is the case in todays democracy.



On Wednesday, the House of Representatives elected seven commission members for the 2017-2022 term. The House will submit the names to the President for approval.



However, few would express much hope in the new faces although they do include leading human rights advocates Choirul Anam and Ahmad Taufan Damanik, formerly of the ASEAN commission on women and children  given the squabbles and lack of integrity of previous commissioners.



Indeed, the selection of members of state institutions should no longer be under the authority of the House.



The lawmakers vested interests are too obvious, as most notably displayed in their repeated assault on the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Even though they select its commissioners, the politicians have persistently attempted to undermine the KPKs performance and its authority.



The selection of state body members by the House was part of strengthening the legislative branch compared to its previous role as a rubberstamp to the strong presidency during the New Order. But we have seen how the politicians resistance against threats to their interests plays strongly into their authority to screen candidates of state bodies.



As state bodies answer directly to the president, selection of their members should be left to the president, who now merely approves or disapproves the short list recommended by the House. Nevertheless, any attempt at interference by the president would come under the scrutiny of a public inured to the principle of independence of state bodies, regardless of criticism of either the KPK or Komnas HAM, for instance.



Time and again the independence of state bodies are tested; the KPK, which includes detectives deployed by the National Police, often faces mega corruption cases implicating high ranking officers. Until today, one of its detectives, Novel Baswedan, is still getting treatment for an acid attack, while the perpetrators remain unknown and free. The stagnancy of the case partly can be blamed on commissioners with less unity than their predecessors, all handpicked by the House.



Every new batch of state bodies must prove their independence to win public trust. We do not need the repeated saga of candidates who have faced considerably rigorous screening by the selection committees only to see politicians choosing those who apparently pose less of a risk to their interests.



We now have only seven new commissioners of the Komnas HAM, an attempt to make them more solid. We wish them every bit of luck.
By Suhani Singh: Director: Raja Krishna Menon

Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Svar Kamble, Padmapriya, Milind Soman, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Dinesh P Nair

Rating: (2.5/5)

Warning: Chef shouldn't be watched on an empty stomach as the tummy will register its protest at the sight of all the scrumptious food. What makes matters worse is when one is forced to make ado with popcorn and a sweet fizzy drink to calm the growling stomach. Such is the effect of Raja Menon's Hindi adaptation of Jon Favreau-directed comedy Chef that one can almost sense the whiff of finger-licking good food from Delhi, Goa and Kerala and the preparation of some of it. Food here is that reliable universal ingredient that helps both build and mend a father-son relationship.

advertisement

When we first meet Roshan Kalra (no relation to Punjab Grill's Jiggs Kalra) more than his culinary skills we see his ability to lose his temper easily. Roshan punches the customer who criticised his food and ends up in New York jail. Fired for his arrogant demeanour and lack of fresh ideas, he heads to Cochin to spend time with his neglected son, Armaan (Svar Kamble) and his ex-wife aka a classical dancer mother (Padmapriya) in a lovely spacious abode. It helps that Menon shows Kerala as the ideal gorgeous retreat, just what the doctor would have ordered to calm an irritable chef.

Roshan's arrival is a means to connect with his son though we don't get much background on how long has he been gone for from their lives or good reason for what led to the disillusionment of the marriage. When the mother is conveniently dispatched for a Europe tour, Roshan gets to bond with his son by telling him about his epicurean journey which starts off with a fraught relationship with his own father that pushed him to run away from Chandni Chowk to toil in the kitchens of a dhaba in Amritsar. The kid is more captivated than the audiences will be by the story but they ride along for it means more mouth-watering dishes including a must-try tomato chutney.

The real masterstroke casting is inclusion of the dishy Milind Soman - dressed in a white mundu in one scene -as Biju, the ex-wife's new businessman-"friend". Playing jealous and insecure are the easiest things for a man to do when around Soman and that's what Saif does well and funnily. The brief exchanges between the two men are amusing to behold with Roshan fussing over Biju's love for art, vintage cars and organic vegetables and Biju lamenting Roshan for his unwillingness to test new grounds by turning a dilapidated double decker bus into a food truck.

The vehicle here is an instrument for the father-son to embark on a journey where they get comfortable with each other with Roshan realising the value of the son in his life. Help in the mobile kitchen arrives in Roshan's erstwhile employee in New York, Nazrul (Chandan Roy Sanyal). Dinesh P Nair as the Malayalee driver fit to compete in Formula One adds more humour to the proceedings. Soon rotza (crispy whole wheat rotis filled with mozzarella and savoury mixture of mutton, egg, paneer or vegetables) are being served in Cochin, Goa and ultimately Delhi with father giving son some life lessons on the way - not to take your customer for granted, be loyal to your job and more.

advertisement

Roshan's conflict with his own father over his profession lacks emotional punch and its resolution is rather hasty. Menon's periodic removal of the ex-wife from the narrative doesn't make much sense. As a result Padmapriya seems to be there just to eat, drink, dance and be merry. Even a promising character like Biju is randomly dismissed. So viewers get to see Saif Ali Khan back in form after the forgettable Rangoon. Here Khan does a commendable job as a charming 40-year-old chef with anger management and fatherhood issues. Svar Kamble is an able child actor to help him overcome them.

Menon throws in a decent mix of father-son friendship and footage of food to keep Chef from falling flat. Some delightful moments emerge courtesy the generation gap between Roshan and Armaan. Credit goes to chef Sandhya C Kumar for picking out an array of dishes that will either make you step out for a meal or put on the apron on to attempt making the rotza. Ultimately Chef is that rare Hindi film that celebrates India's diversity of cuisine and its unfailing ability to whet our appetite and for that alone it's worth a watch.

advertisement

ALSO WATCH: India is not a secular country, says Saif Ali Khan

--- ENDS ---
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Liza Yosephine (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 6, 2017 13:35 1866 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2379225 1 Food gordi,coffee,food,#food,#coffee Free

Jakarta-based coffee curator company, Gordi, caters to adventurous customers on a regular basis, as it sends out its subscription-based box of unannounced beans to coffee drinkers.

Established in 2016, founder Arief Said said the service came as a response to the increasing trend of coffee drinkers choosing and brewing their own coffee at home.

The company curates roasts from across Indonesia and the globe that it sends out every two weeks, without telling subscribers what they would get. It is only when it arrives at your doorstep that the coffee bean is revealed.

Almost two years later, Arief said customer have become more advanced in their knowledge and curiosity over coffee.

"We found that they were craving for something more," Arief said during a recent media gathering at Gordi HQ in South Jakarta.

Beginning in September, the company launched its Black range, a package set for the world's best and rarest coffee. Best, however, also means it comes with a higher price.

Read also: Damn fine coffee! 6 places in Jakarta to get your caffeine fix

Gordi's Orange and Blue packages are each priced below Rp 200,000 (US$14.8) for two delivers a month, where customers can get between 100-500 grams during their subscription period, depending on the market price. Its newest package, meanwhile, sells for Rp 280,000 for a single delivery a month, with only 70-100 grams.

"We send it out once a month to make sure we have enough time for research and development on the coffee and to tell the story as well," Arief said, adding that each box contains a booklet on the farm-to-cup experience.

The first package features Morgan Estate Geisha from Panama. With its complex flavor boasting fruity and floral aromas. Arief said the Geisha varietal is one of the coffee industry's most exclusive beans.

To enhance the experience, he added that the black package also includes ingredients to make water specifically for the coffee.

Using deionized water to be mixed with baking soda and magnesium, Arief stressed that the right balance of minerals magnifies the full flavor potential of the beans to create a more satisfying sip. (kes)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Tokyo  Fri, October 6, 2017 18:06 1865 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2388391 2 Books Nobel,#Nobel,books,#books,Kazuo-Ishiguro,Literature,#literature Free

The Japanese publisher of Nagasaki-born Kazuo Ishiguro said Friday it would republish eight of the British author's books in translation, reporting "a huge number of orders" after he won the Nobel Literature Prize.

Ishiguro left Japan when he was five and moved to Britain, only returning to visit his native land as an adult three decades later.

Japan had been pinning its hopes on its best-known novelist Haruki Murakami to win the Nobel Prize but eagerly claimed a link to the British winner with Japanese roots.

"Since last night, we have received a huge number of orders. We're very happy," a spokeswoman for Ishiguro's Japanese publishers Hayakawa told AFP.

"We have decided to reprint the eight works that we have already published in Japanese," she said.

Ishiguro's best-known novel, "The Remains of the Day," is among the works that have been translated into Japanese.

Read also: British author Kazuo Ishiguro wins Nobel Literature Prize

Japanese media showed images of late-night bookshops frantically digging out their sparse stocks of Ishiguro works and placing them above Murakami books.

Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Friday that Japan congratulated its native son "from the bottom of its heart".

"His novels are also read by many Japanese and they have been turned into a play and a TV drama," said Suga.

Nagasaki mayor Hodo Nakamura also congratulated Ishiguro, saying it was an "immense honour" for his city.

Both his first novel, "A Pale View of Hills" from 1982, and his subsequent work, "An Artist of the Floating World" from 1986, take place in Nagasaki a few years after World War II.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 6, 2017 08:00 1866 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a236d556 1 City water-supply,infrastructure-project Free

Residents of 22 subdistricts should prepare to face lower volumes of tap water as the supply will be affected by pipe relocation in Central Jakarta, a water supplier executive said.

Private tap water supplier PT Aetra Air Jakarta said on Thursday that water volume would be lower than usual from 8:30 p.m. on Oct. 8 until 5 a.m. on Oct. 9.

The companys corporate communication and customer manager, Astriena Veracia, said areas that would be affected were Ancol and Sunter Agung in North Jakarta, and Pasar Baru and Senen in Central Jakarta.

We apologize for the inconvenience. However, we have prepared some strategies to channel the water so the impact wont be widened, she said as quoted by wartakota.tribunnews.com, adding that the company had prepared water tanks to meet the demand of residents.

Astriena said the 800-milimeter pipe should be relocated as it was affected by the ongoing construction of a 667-meter underpass at the intersection of Jl. Matraman Raya and Jl. Salemba, Central Jakarta.

She also said the company was committed to maintaining the quality of the water supply amid the massive construction of infrastructure in the city.

The company has communicated with Jakartas Bina Marga road agency to minimize the impact of the construction, Astriena said. (cal)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 6, 2017 12:34 1866 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2377b0c 1 City Depok,firefighters,equipment Free

Despite the large number of high-rise buildings in the area, the Depok administration in West Java lacks fire trucks equipped with turntable ladders, an agency official has said.

"To date, we have yet to have vehicles with ladders," said Depok Fire and Rescue Agency head Yayan Arianto as quoted by kompas.com on Friday.

Such equipment is needed to tackle fires in more than 15-meter high buildings, he said.

Depok, hence, has allocated an estimated Rp 30 billion (US$2.2 million) per unit in the 2018 city budget for the procurement of ladder-equipped firetrucks.

"Insya Allah [God's willing] in 2018, we can buy a stair-equipped vehicle unit," Yayan said at Cinere Bellevue Mall, which is integrated with a 20-story apartment building, on Thursday evening.

The mall under the apartment caught fire on Wednesday evening and was extinguished on Thursday morning.

Although the fire did not reach the building's higher levels, apartment residents were trapped in the emergency exit areas due to thick smoke.

They were eventually rescued by firefighters who used turntable ladders provided by the Jakarta Fire and Rescue Agency. (agn)

Topics : Depok firefighters equipment
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Rendi A. Witular (The Jakarta Post) Rendi A. Witular  Fri, October 6, 2017

Indonesia has accepted a proposal from Norway for the latter to form an ocean trust fund, the first of its kind, to support developing countries in conserving ocean environments and implementing sustainable fisheries.

In a meeting between Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti and Norwegian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Vidar Helgesen on the sidelines of the fourth Our Ocean Conference (OCC) on Wednesday, Indonesia expected that the planned fund could accelerate attempts to better protect its oceans.

Norway already has a commitment for such a fund for the forestry sector. Now were exploring whether they can also provide a similar commitment for ocean conservation, which would cover far bigger areas than forest, Susi said.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 6, 2017 15:59 1865 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2382c4b 4 Business jakarta,traffic-jams,economic-loss Free

National Development Planning Minister and National Development Planning Board (Bappenas) head Bambang Brodjonegoro has said that traffic congestion costs the capital US$5 billion annually, as kompas.com reported on Thursday.

Economic losses due to traffic jams cost $5 billion annually, Bambang said on Thursday in Depok, West Java, adding that the major cause of congestion was limited roadway capacity, which could not accommodate the increasing number of vehicles in the capital.

He also blamed the sluggish development of public transportation infrastructure, like the MRT and LRT projects.

He said the MRT feasibility study had been available in the 1990s, but that the government had failed to realize the project, arguing that it was financially unfeasible.

We are 30 years late in building the MRT. We considered the project unfeasible financially, because we only thought about value and investment and revenues from the project, said Bambang.

The MRT project, which is expected to be completed in 2019, also required economic considerations, he added, particularly in terms of losses from traffic jams  losses incurred as a result of longer travel times and greater fuel consumption.

The government is now working on the first phase of the MRT project, which runs from Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta. The second phase of the project will extend the route completed during the first phase to Kampung Bandan in North Jakarta. (bbn)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 6, 2017 14:21 1865 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a237bb3f 1 Business holding-company,SOEs,Rini-Soemarno,2017 Free

State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Rini Soemarno has said that the process of establishing two holdings  a mining holding and an oil and gas holding  would be completed this year.

There was no problem in the process of establishing holdings. We only wait for the administrative work, which needs time, said Rini in Jakarta on Thursday night as quoted by Antara.

She said state-owned energy company Pertamina would act as the leading company of the oil and gas holding with members that include state-owned gas distribution firm Perusahaan Gas Negara (PGN).

Meanwhile, state-owned aluminum firm PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium (Inalum) will act as the leading firm in the mining holding with members that include coal mining firm PT Bukit Asam, tin mining firm PT Timah and diversified mining company PT Aneka Tambang.

She said that many SOEs had become more independent because although they received capital injection from the government, they also paid dividends. The [SOEs] had transferred [...] Rp 113 trillion (US$8.37 billion) in dividends to the state treasury from 2015, 2016 to 2017, said Rini.

She said the establishment of the holdings would reduce costs and make the SOEs more operationally efficient.

Currently, each company has to make an investment separately. With synergy through the holding, heavy equipment can be jointly used by all companies, helping them to reduce production costs." (bbn)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Rizal Harahap (The Jakarta Post) Pekanbaru, Riau  Fri, October 6, 2017 18:29 1865 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2388729 1 National pangolins,Riau,BKSDA,animal-trading,smuggling Free

Customs and excise personnel in Dumai, Riau province have foiled an attempt to smuggle nearly 100 pangolins, the world's most trafficked mammal.

The customs and excise officers found 95 pangolins, the offices spokesman, Khairil Anwar, said. The team also seized two boxes containing 37.5 kilograms of pangolin scales.

The evidence was seized from a car passing through Medang Kampai subdistrict at 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, he said on Friday.

Before the raid, a patrol team had been following the car for nearly an hour on suspicion of carrying illegal goods. Suspicions grew after the car was seen heading toward an illegal port.

Realizing the car was being tailed, the driver made a sudden stop and abandoned the car. The team members searched for the driver but to no avail, Khairil said.

He suspected the pangolins and the scales came from Jambi to be smuggled to Malaysia. The patrol team had received a tip-off from locals regarding the reported plan on Sept. 28.

The office will coordinate with the Riau Natural Resources Conservation Agency to follow up on the pangolins.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified them as critically endangered, one rank below extinct in the wild.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 6, 2017 14:04 1865 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2379e3a 1 City puskesmas,graft Free

The National Police are investigating alleged corruption concerning the construction of 18 community health centers (Puskesmas) inaugurated by Jakarta Governor Djarot Saiful Hidayat on Wednesday.

National Police corruption department deputy director Sr. Comr. Erwanto Kurniadi said the police had received a public report regarding the alleged graft in the project. He did not specify the details of the report.

The police are now communicating with the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) to follow up on the report.

"The corruption department was conducting a preliminary investigation and communicating with the BPK to see whether there were state losses coming from the construction," Erwanto said on Friday as quoted by kompas.com.

Governor Djarot inaugurated two public hospitals and 18 Puskesmas, including four each in Central Jakarta, West Jakarta and North Jakarta, three in East Jakarta, two in South Jakarta and one in Thousand Islands.

The development of the facilities cost Rp 256.9 billion (US$19 million) of the city budget. (cal)

Topics : puskesmas graft
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Rendi A. Witular (The Jakarta Post) St. Julians, Malta  Fri, October 6 2017

Indonesia has accepted a proposal from Norway for the latter to form an ocean trust fund, the first of its kind, to support developing countries in conserving ocean environments and implementing sustainable fisheries.

In a meeting between Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti and Norwegian Minister of Environment and Climate Change Vidar Helgesen on the sidelines of the fourth Our Ocean Conference (OCC) on Wednesday, Indonesia expected that the planned fund could accelerate attempts to better protect its oceans.

to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,500/month Unlimited access to our web and app content

e-Post daily digital newspaper

No advertisements, no interruptions

Privileged access to our events and programs

Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login
Saif Ali Khan-starrer Chef which is the remake of the Hollywood film of the same name is now in theatres. The film is nothing spectacular, says our review.

By Samrudhi Ghosh: Saif Ali Khan is here with his latest Bollywood release, Chef, a remake of Jon Favreau's Hollywood film of the same name. Here is our Chef movie review.

What is the million-dollar idea of the head chef of a three-Michelin-starred restaurant who needs to get out of a rut and rediscover his passion for cooking? The "rotzza" (roti + pizza)... which is essentially a cheese frankie, but instead of being rolled up, it's flat with another roti on top. Tastewise, it's nothing you wouldn't find on every other street corner.

advertisement

Raja Krishna Menon's Chef is no different. It offers nothing new, but that doesn't make it completely unpalatable.

A remake of Jon Favreau's Hollywood film of the same name, Chef features Saif Ali Khan as Roshan Kalra, the aforementioned inventor of the rotzza. A middle-class boy from Chandni Chowk who ran away from home to pursue his passion for cooking, he is now a big-shot chef in New York's Galli Restaurant. But Saif ends up punching a customer who complains that the food is not as good as before, and is promptly fired.

This brings him to Kochi, where his ex-wife Radha (Padmapriya Janakiraman) and teenage son Armaan (Svar Kamble) reside. In chasing his dreams, Saif has been an absentee dad. But his ex-wife and her new boyfriend (the oh-so-dishy Milind Soman) make him an offer he can't refuse - run a food truck, and in the process, reconnect with his son.

No prizes for guessing how the story ends. The journey to the finish is not perfect - at times, the scenes get a bit too saccharine, and sometimes, the story gets contrived. Much of the second half is just spend road-tripping, with little else happening. The climax is high on sentiment and kind of abrupt.

Some scenes that could have developed into something more, are left at just that. For instance, Roshan is painfully unaware about social media, while his son is quite the pro and successfully uses Twitter to create a buzz around the food truck. It could have turned into a bonding moment, but it is not utilised.

At a time when it is not uncommon to find 50-somethings playing 20-something skirt-chasers, Saif Ali Khan embraces his middle-aged father role, and even throws in some dad jokes. He and Svar Kamble share a pleasant dynamic - their relationship looks every bit real and heartwarming. Padmapriya is mostly relegated to the sidelines in Saif's journey, but when she is on screen, she steals the spotlight. A special mention for Chandan Roy Sanyal's supporting role.

Raja Krishna Menon whips up no gourmet meal. Watch it, if you will, for the genuinely enjoyable father-son angle.

advertisement

ALSO WATCH: India is not a secular country, says Saif Ali Khan

--- ENDS ---
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 6, 2017 21:55 1865 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a238a3b4 4 Politics Jokowi,survey,SMRC,survey-jokowi Free

The latest survey on President Joko Jokowi Widodos administration, which indicates that the president remains a strong figure, is being taken casually by the Presidential Palace, which claims that all surveys are used for internal reference.

We read all surveys but we only use it for reference, cabinet secretary Pramono Anung said on Friday as reported by tempo.co.

Pollster Saiful Mujani Research Center (SMRC) released its latest survey on Thursday in which they announced the finding that in his third year in office, Jokowi landed a strong approval rating at 68 percent in addition to his robust popularity standing at 38.9 percent, making him the strongest candidate to compete in the 2019 presidential election.

Read also: Jokowis image remains strong: Survey

Pramono claimed the Presidential Palace did not see survey results as something special just because the polls showed good figures on the administration. The most important things to pay attention to, he said, are the issues that must be improved by the government.

We will pay more attention to issues related to regional gaps, staple food needs and so on, mentioned in the survey, he added.
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Rendi A. Witular (The Jakarta Post) St. Julians, Malta  Fri, October 6, 2017 15:38 1865 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a237eb90 1 Business SusiPudjiastuti,Our-Ocean-Conference,malta Free

Confronted with challenges to ensuring maritime security in the high seas, Indonesia has called on the international community to deliver a concerted policy directed at assuring sustainable and responsible fishing practices.

Speaking during the fourth Our Ocean Conference in St. Julians, Malta, on Thursday, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti said that illegal fishing activities were often linked to other forms of organized crime, such as human trafficking, drug and weapon smuggling, wildlife trafficking as well as forced labor.

Such activities, she said, could be controlled by a corporate syndicate that gives orders and provides fishing vessels with supplies, fuel and crew members through agents in various countries.

Susi cited as an example the FV. Viking case in which its owner operated through a shell company domiciled in Seychelles, and instructed an agent located in Singapore to provide the vessel with transshipment routes, logistics, fuel and a crew.

This organized operation allowed FV. Viking to stay on the high seas for a long period, Susi said.

This method allowed fishing vessels to evade monitoring and enforcement.

The underlying problems of fisheries issues, Susi said, included a lack of regulations or unenforced regulations. (bbn)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam, Riau Islands  Fri, October 6, 2017 18:45 1865 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2389273 1 National divorce,Batam,Riau-Islands,marriage Free

Financial issues top the cause of divorce in Batam, Riau Islands, where mostly wives file for divorce after their husbands are dismissed from work, according to data by Batam religious court.

The court recorded 1,300 divorce cases from January to September this year, caused mostly by economic problems. Some 80 percent of the cases were filed by the wives.

The majority of the cases are financial issues. Husbands who could not provide for their wives or family, the courts spokesman Ahmad Nabawi said on Friday.

The husbands did not have the income to support the family after they were fired from their jobs, as there had been many lay-offs taking place in Batam.

The number of divorce cases rose compared with 1,000 cases handled by the court throughout last year.

Read also: Pigeon racing leads to dozens of divorces in Purbalingga

In an effort to reduce the high rate of divorce, the Batam office of the Religious Affairs Ministry has encouraged mediators to bridge the communication between couples who are on the verge of divorce. The mediation process takes place usually before the couple proceed with the divorce process in the court.

Batam Empowerment Agency reported that from January to July this year there had been 46 small scale and big scale companies in the city that filed for closure to the agency on the back of negative economic conditions. A total of 3,000 workers had been dismissed, the agency head Rudi Syakyakirti said. (rin)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Fri, October 6, 2017 14:37 1865 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a237cf0c 1 City robbery,fatal-robbery,shooting Free

An unidentified person shot and killed his victim during the course of a motorbike robbery on Friday in Benda, Tangerang, the local police chief has confirmed.

The victim, Alif Rizki Maulana, 26, died from his wounds at a local hospital.

The incident occurred at around 1:15 a.m., when Alif realized that his motorbike had just been stolen and he chased after the robber, said Tangerang Police chief Sr. Comr. Harry Kurniawan in a report by wartakota.tribunnews.com.

He found his motorbike, but was shot in the right side of his head, Harry said,

Alif was rushed to Tangerang General Hospital, but died five hours later at 5.30 a.m.

The police are investigating the crime.

The robbery-homicide is the third fatal crime to occur in Greater Jakarta in the last four months.

In June, a member of a robbery gang shot dead 30-year-old Davidson Tantono in Daan Mogot, West Jakarta, as he tried to prevent the gang from stealing a large sum of money from his car.

Three days later, Italia Chandra Kirana Putri, 22, a resident of Karawaci, Tangerang, was shot in the chest when she tried to fight off robbers caught in the act of stealing her motorcycle from her house. It was reported she died immediately. (wnd)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta  Fri, October 6, 2017 15:06 1865 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a237d766 2 News Lampung,dolphin,Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia Free

Kiluan Bay in Pekon Kiluan Negeri, Tanggamus regency, Lampung, is a popular place for whale and dolphin sightings.

The bay is the migration route of two kinds of dolphin, namely common bottlenose dolphin and spinner dolphin.

These two species are quite friendly with people. Dolphins like to swim near a boat or ship in the ocean. The best time to see these dolphins is at 6 a.m., said Tourism Ministry's head for convention and meetings promotions and overseas marketing deputy, Eddy Susilo.

Kiluan Bay also hosts other tourist attractions named Laguna Gayau, a natural swimming pool located behind the hill of Kiluan Bay. It takes around 30 minutes to reach this place.

Local guides are available for first-time visitors; the service is priced at Rp 50,000 [US$3.71] for a round-trip, Eddy added.

Read also: Four Indonesian diving destinations where you can spot manta rays

To enter the laguna area, visitors need to pay Rp 5,000 per person for the entrance ticket. They will get to walk past a beautiful beach prior to arriving at Laguna Gayau.

Enclosed by coral reefs, the depth of the swimming pool is between one and three meters and boasts crystal blue water.

Meanwhile, Kiluan Bay is located 80 kilometers away from Lampung city, which is about three to four-hour trip by car.

In several spots visitors can expect to find shrimps cultivation areas, traditional houses of Lampung and multi-ethnic houses from Bali, Java, Sunda, Bugis and others, said Eddy.

He suggested for visitors to stay overnight at Kiluan Bay considering the best time for dolphin-viewing is at dawn.

There are plenty of hotels alongside the bay, however none of them is air-conditioned and use fans instead. Some of the lodgings are located above water and some are on the side of the hill, he added.

The hotel fares in Kiluan Bay are somewhere between Rp 200,000 and Rp 500,000, with prices of food start at Rp 20,000. (kes)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta  Fri, October 6, 2017 16:09 1865 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2383694 2 News Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,digital-technology,Conference Free

Indonesia is currently hosting Comsnets Conference 2017, an international conference that discusses about research and development of global Information Communication and Technology (ICT).

Initiated by the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) and M-Solving Group, the event is slated for two days until Oct. 6 at Fairmont Hotel, Jakarta.

We all know that industry development in the future will rely more on ICT; from banking, manufacturing, transportation, communication and tourism, said KADIN head Rosan P. Roeslani.

Read also: Three Indonesian smart cities to look up to

In this conference we bring together academics, researchers and industries that we can collaborate with. This is important considering Indonesia has a huge potential in ICT, Rosan added.

Meanwhile the president of COMSNETS Association & IIT Delhi, India, Prof. Huzur Saran said that Comsnets was founded by selected professionals and ICT experts. A decade after it was first established, the organization became Comsneta Association.

The main goal of this association is to bring together famous experts in the ICT sector to share about the latest finding, technology and development featuring industry representatives, government and academics, said Huzur.

Huzur added that the Comsnets conference in India has become the most prestigious event in the communication, network, application and service departments with guests coming from America and Europe continents. (kes)
Share this article Whatsapp

Facebook

Twitter

Linkedin (Pesona Indonesia) Jakarta  Fri, October 6, 2017 13:01 1866 1f87594453bb792833e1ece3a2378fae 2 News Arief-Yahya,Tourism-Ministry-Pesona-Indonesia,tourism-ministry-wonderful-Indonesia,bali,Mount-Agung,#MtAgungVolcano Free

Tourism Minister Arief Yahya recently traveled to Bali to oversee the situation near Mount Agung.

Arief visited Besakih Temple that is located nine kilometers away from the center of eruption.

During his visit to the temple, a prayer gathering called Sembahyang Purnama was being held by the locals to ask for safety for the people of Bali.

The government has announced an exclusion zone within a 12 km radius from the volcano. The alert status has recently also been increased to the highest level.

Arief asked everyone to follow all the regulations set by the officials and has called on tourists to stay calm since the government has prepared plans for every possible outcome from the disaster.

Read also: Tourism Ministry prepares disaster-handling procedure for Mount Agung eruption

A crisis center has been established with Balinese governor as the leader. We changed the name from Crisis Center to Bali Tourism Hospitality since Bali is Indonesias tourism icon, said Arief.

First thing first; we need to give a sense of security for the people who live near Mt. Agung as well as tourists; everything has been prepared for their own safety, he added.

Arief moreover said that in a few days, both local and foreign tourists will be advised to travel to Lombok instead.

If the wind heads to the west, our plan is to [encourage them to travel to] Lombok. We will prepare the transportation to carry tourists who are currently in Bali to Lombok, told Arief.

Tourists will be traveling by sea using boats that travel between Ketapang Harbor in Banyuwangi, East Java, and Gilimanuk in Bali.

The government has prepared around five ferries to transport the tourists.

If there are 5,000 [tourists], four until five huge ferries [will be able to transport them] in a week, said the minister.

As for accommodation, the ministry is coordinating with the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) to prepare a special discount for tourists who have to stay longer due to airport closure. (kes)
Delhi is all set to host a cultural exhibition Chhatrapati Shivrai Mahotsav in the honour of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The festival will comprise an exhibition of 120 oil paintings, which have been worked on for 14 years now.

By Karishma Kuenzang: Glorifying the conquests, technique and political strategies of the warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the Capital is all set to host a cultural exhibition in his honour.

Called the Chhatrapati Shivrai Mahotsav, the festival will comprise an exhibition of 120 oil paintings, which have been worked on for 14 years now, along with seminars about Shivaji and a food festival of regional Maharashtrian cuisine. Author Babasaheb Purandare, who has written books on Shivaji, has mentored art enthusiast Deepak Gore, who has put together the collection of paintings, made by father-son duo Shrikant and Gautam S Chougule.

advertisement

"I grew up listening to songs and stories about Shivaji since I was five years old. I've been doing research on him for the past 40 years and I want everyone to know the history behind the king, especially students. And what better way to do it than art," Purandare says.

But why paintings? "People don't have time to read today, so visual education works best. Shivaji once said that this whole country belongs to him, and it's his duty to preserve it. That's the message we intend to spread through this exhibition --that it's our duty to preserve our heritage," he adds.

Purandare also spoke about how Shivaji used the tactic of Guerrilla warfare and the paintings depict the strategies he used. "Shivaji built a lot of qilas (forts), which were on hilltops and his enemies couldn't climb 2,000-3,000 feet and fight because they didn't have any experience to do that. Hence, Shivaji always won."

The author also reminds how Shivaji used surprise attacks to defeat his enemies. The paintings capture some of the most important events of Shivaji's life. "It was quite a challenge to depict his life and works through them," says Gore.

Purandare believes art and history should be true to each other, which sadly isn't the case in India. "You'll never find an authentic depiction of history in the arts. A little bit of fiction is fine, but they mix it up so disproportionately that it's not even five per cent accurate," he says.

AamchiDilli, a body working for promotion of awareness of history and culture, is organising the Oil Painting Exhibition: 'Raja Shivchhatrapati: Life, Vision, Legacy', at Twin Art Gallery, Indira Gandhi National Centre Of Arts in the city from October 6-16 between 10am and 7pm.

--- ENDS ---
China on Friday said there was "no dispute" about its claims to Doklam and that it had "always" patrolled the area, amid reports that Beijing was beefing up its deployments.

By Ananth Krishnan: China on Friday said there was "no dispute" about its claims to Doklam and that it had "always" patrolled the area, amid reports that Beijing was beefing up its deployments .

The Chinese Foreign Ministry told India Today on Friday, "There is no dispute that Donglang [as China calls Doklam] has always been a part of China's territory, and always under China's effective and valid administration."

advertisement

India and Bhutan, however, see a roughly 89 sq km area in the plateau that abuts the India-China-Bhutan trijunction as Bhutanese territory.

While India has not objected to Chinese patrolling, which has taken place in the past, New Delhi stepped in to stop China from extending a road deep into Doklam, close to the Indian border in June.

This led to a 72-day-long stand-off, with both sides agreeing to disengage only on August 28, after India withdrew its troops and China removed its bulldozers and construction equipment.

Since then, reports have said China has moved towards beefing up its presence in the region and has retained several hundred troops in Doklam.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday defended its patrols, but did not comment on its future road construction plans.

"The Chinese troops of border defence have always been patrolling in Donglang to protect their territorial rights, according to the relevant border treaties and agreements", the ministry added.

ALSO WATCH VIDEO | India, China agree to disengage on Doklam ending two-and-a-half-month-long standoff

--- ENDS ---
When bands talk about the different eras of their existence it usually spans many years or even decades, but Derby rock trio Unqualified Nurse Band are explaining how soon to be released second album Trashland marks new era for the band.

They have been in existence for under two years!

In that short time they have given the world an EP, a stunning debut album and are now on a second long-player. UQNB is an entity so brimming with ideas that their output equals bands who have been around double the time.

They have also had a number 78 chart placing for their Too Pure Singles Club release Death Surf A52. Not bad going!

I am sat in an over-run Wetherspoons pub, selected for its usual week night quietness, but today being the cheapest day all year for eating in a spoons there is a noisy buzz as I talk to Chris Jones, Andrew Foster and Mark Jones to discuss how their jam-packed but short history has led to this new record.

The trio are no strangers to making music, drawing on over 15 years experience in several brilliant acts including Crushing Blows, Ghost Twins and Goddesses leading to this new project.

UQNB started life as a solo-project for Chris before bringing in the other members to pad out the sound and take it forward. This new music came with a definite plan to deliver something more simple and direct than the work of their previous bands.

Chris explains, The Nurse stuff, by design, was made to be able to be played in any room. So the gear wasnt an issue or the set-up  we could set up in the corner of the pub and it would sound like the record and if you go to a great venue its going to sound like the record.

Mark adds, When we formed Chris and Foster had just come out of doing Ghost Twins and were working with all this equipment and how to do it live and I was doing my solo stuff with weird guitar tunings and we came to do Nurse which is three guys playing loud rock n roll.

That formula meant they emerged as a fully-formed entity. Seeing their early gigs was like seeing a very established band and this ethos soon birthed their debut album Debasement Tapes which our review called an unashamed, direct, brutal assault on the senses.

Most of those songs are like a sledgehammer. Thats why it was called Debasement Tapes because it was a debasement of rock n roll, it was noisy and relentless, explains Chris.

But through the full-on noise there was much for listeners to explore, many hidden depths that nodded to the massive departure of new record Trashland which expands on the bands sonic template with more ambitious songs and adds pop-sensibilities into the bands pilfering of rock past.

Chris continues, We always say we are part looking into the past, we love 60s pop and all that, and part is to the future if youre looking for innovation. All the bands we love from the 60s, they changed the face of music after five years. When youre a band like us who plays all the time and writes all the time, new eras come around really quickly.

Trashland certainly marks something new for the band whilst retaining a lot of the directness of the debut. Take, for example, opening track Transplosion which opens with ambient keyboard drone lurching through 60s girl group melodies into big riff classic rock territory  the ideas fall thick and fast but all work as a whole. This again seems very much by design as Foster explains.

Its quite cinematic actually. That sounds quite pretentious but if you were to listen to it in one sitting, how it comes in with the first track and how it ends on the last it is a bit like opening credits and closing credits to a film. I just hope people stick with it because the last track is a twelve minute song, its a hard sell.

In reality every song fits to form part of the bigger picture completing an album in the classic sense. But this pretentious approach hasnt removed the pure rock n roll ambitions at the heart of UQNB, this music is still accessible.

For me its not an album for the modern way of releasing songs. But its not a 70-minute prog-rock beast, its a 35-minute record and you want to go from beginning to end.

The concept of producing albums as a whole work of art is not the only modern way UQNB are side-stepping. The polish and shine of modern rock production is of no interest to this band. Classic rock records have rough edges and realism, and that is what Trashland aims to retain.

Foster has some things to say about mainstream modern rock, If you listen to the Radio One Rock Show all those records sound like pop music, I cant quite put my finger on it. They have polished off the rough edges, its a bit unnatural and you need a bit of that in there.

I was listening to 6Music today and they were playing the Prophets of Rage stuff. Its Rage Against the Machine which is one the best rock bands other last 25 years, Chuck D from Public Enemy who were just awesome but its produced like a modern rock record. It loses that edge. Theres a reason that people hold [Black] Sabbath and Led Zeppelin on an untouchable pedestal and its because you can never listen to those records and never get fatigued by listening to them. Its not that theres no production on them, they went into world class studios using amazing gear but at the heart it still sounds like those people blasting out those tunes and you just dont get that from most modern rock music. Its turgid, just the worst.

And on Trashland, despite these rough edges, you can hear the ambition of both the songwriting and the production but there is a definite organic band playing in a room vibe, that sets it apart from the current rock on the airways  in a good way.

This organic by design element means that everything translates perfectly to the live arena and has made UQNB one of the most engaging live rock bands to emerge in the last few years. This fact may come to wider recognition when they support Derby ska punk legends Lightyear on their reformation tour with national dates this month.

Chris explains, We are touring with Lightyear and its quite a mismatch, well a complete mismatch, a hardcore/ska band and us. Their fans will probably hate us. We are as hard as any punk band when we play. But you just dont know how they are going to take to it, its all up for grabs.

And it certainly is all up for grabs for a band who have crammed different eras into two years and have the ambition and skill to keep pushing their sound in new directions.

Unqualified Nurse Band are the band keeping rock simple whilst simultaneously throwing out the rulebook and in 2017 they are the kind of contradiction that rock needs.

Trashland is released 20th October 2017 via Medicine Music and Reckless Yes.
Tentang Situs Slot Online Resmi MGS88 Nama Situs  MGS88 Minimal Deposit  Rp. 10.000,- (Sepuluh Ribu Rupiah) Proses Deposit   2 Menit Metode Deposit  Bank Transfer,  Pulsa,  E-Wallet Judi Online Terbaik  Slot Online,  Judi Bola,  Casino Online,  Togel Online,  Tembak Ikan Provider Slot Gacor Mudah Maxwin  Pragmatic Play,  PGSoft,  MicroGaming,  Habanero Slot Gacor Gampang Menang  Gates of Olympus,  Sweet Bonanza,  Wild West Gold,  Starlight Princess Win Rate 98%

RTP Live Slot Gacor Tertinggi Hari Ini Terbaru Terlengkap

Selamat datang di halaman RTP live dan informasi soal slot gacor hari ini dari situs MGS88 yang setiap hari selalu update. Berdasarkan RTP Live MGS88, Anda bisa mendapatkan informasi tentang slot online yang saat ini yang sedang Gacor atau onfire dengan persentase yang terbukti akurat, ini bisa menjadi rekomendasi anda sebelum memilih permainan slot online di situs MGS88. Cek RTP Slot sekarang juga bosku

Klik Provider Slot Untuk Mengetahui RTP Slot Secara Real Time

Selamat datang bagi kalian yang sedang mencari situs RTP Live terlengkap dan terkini hari ini. Sangat sesuai jika Anda mengunjungi website MGS88 RTP live untuk informasi tentang permainan slot yang lagi gacor dengan slot RTP yang terupdate. Persentase kemenangan yang kami berikan tentunya diambil dengan data yang sangat valid dan hanya untuk permainan slot yang tersedia di situs MGS88. RTP yang tersedia juga akan selalu diperbarui setiap hari berdasarkan level kemenangan yang diberikan kepada member kami.

Memang sih untuk bermain slot itu tergantung hoki dari setiap pemain, Namun RTP live atau bocoran slot dari yang kami sediakan ini adalah data autentik dari banyaknya pemain yang telah bermain dan mencapai kemenangan tinggi. Sederhananya, kalau banyak pemain yang menang di dalam 1 permainan slot, karena itu permainan slot tersebut akan mempunyai persentase RTP yang sangat tinggi.

Namun kami tegaskan sekali lagi, ini bukan sebuah paksaan kami situs MGS88 untuk anda bermain di game slot yang mana. Ini bisa dijadikan sebagai referensi atau tolok ukur, boleh dicoba kalau anda mempunyai feel yang kuat dalam memainkan permainan game slot. Anda dapat mengakses kapan saja dan di mana saja selama anda siap bermain. Jangan ragu untuk bertanya ya seputar pola putaran terhadap kami, sebab kami juga menyediakannya loh.

Apa itu RTP Live?

RTP Live ialah informasi mengenai persentase tertinggi saat ini dari hasil RTP Live dengan bocoran kemenangan pemain saat ini. RTP Live merupakan singkatan dari Return To Play atau bisa juga diartikan sebagai Return to Player. Karena itu, para pemain slot sekarang jika ingin mengetahui seberapa besar kemenangannya, bisa dengan memainkan permainan yang akan dimainkannya dan bisa untung dengan mudah dan tentunya maksimal.

Apa itu RTP Slot?

RTP Slot juga dikenal sebagai return to player atau pengembalian ke Pemain. RTP slot ialah persentase dari nilai pengembalian semua uang yang dipertaruhkan pemain dari waktu ke waktu. Dengan kata lain, RTP juga dianggap sebagai salah satu fitur slot yang mengembalikan uang pemain saat pemain kalah.

Persentase digunakan untuk menghitung RTP dalam permainan slot. Misalnya, jika slot memiliki RTP 97%, itu berarti untuk setiap 100.000 koin yang hilang di slot, slot dapat mengembalikan 97.000. Jika Anda mengetahui RTP sebuah permainan slot, Anda dapat memutuskan permainan slot mana yang akan dimainkan tanpa kerugian besar.

Apakah Angka Persentase RTP Slot Itu Penting?

Biasanya pemain slot itu tidak memperhatikan RTP dalam permainan yang akan dimainkan, biasanya setelah anda mengisi saldo utama anda akan langsung buru-buru memainkannya. Yang terakhir 90-96% mempengaruhi jumlah kemenangan. Semakin tinggi jumlah RTP yang digunakan, semakin luas peluang untuk mendapatkan keuntungan.

Akan namun itu segala tak secara 100% menjamin kemenangan kau dalam bermain, RTP itu cuma sebagai kalkulasi pengeluaran anda saja selama bermain slot.Dengan adanya RTP, kau dapat mengerjakan pengaturan atas uang yang akan kau pertaruhkan nanti pada ketika bermain.Untuk itu pada ketika kau bermain slot dan telah mengalami banyak kekalahan di satu permainan, direkomendasikan kau pindah ke permainan slot lainnya yang RTP nya lebih tinggi dari permainan yang tadi kau mainkan.

Keuntungan Menggunakan Bocoran RTP Slot Hari Ini

Situs MGS88 Akan dengan senang hati akan beberapa keuntungan yang didapatkan jika anda bermain slot dengan menggunakan RTP Live yang telah disediakan. Berikut Keuntungannya :

Peluang Kemenangan Meningkat Tentu saja, saat bermain slot online, menang adalah hal yang paling penting. Di sinilah RTP berperan sebagai metode atau metode baru yang akan membantu Anda memilih permainan slot persentase tinggi. Mendapat variasi dalam Memainkan Game Slot Pastinya banyak pemain slot online yang hanya memainkan 3-5 permainan slot saja. Namun dengan RTP Live slot akan memberikan banyak game slot lain yang bisa anda coba. Tentunya semua permainan slot memiliki potensi kemenangan yang besar, jadi jangan hanya mengandalkan beberapa permainan saja. Menambah Pengalaman Dalam Bermain Slot Keuntungan terakhir adalah Anda tentu saja menambah pengalaman dan keahlian dalam permainan slot online. Dengan berbagai macam permainan slot yang dimainkan, Anda pasti mengetahui karakteristik dari setiap permainan slot yang Anda mainkan. Akibatnya, Anda pasti bisa dianggap sebagai pemain slot yang andal, yang pasti akan meningkatkan peluang Anda untuk menang besar menggunakan RTP.

Daftar 8 Situs Dengan RTP Slot Live Tertinggi Hari Ini

Ada banyak penyedia mesin slot online di internet. Tetapi tidak semuanya memiliki peluang tinggi atau RTP Live Slot yang sangat tinggi. Tapi jangan khawatir, berikut ini adalah situs slot gacor yang akan memberikan bocoran slot dengan RTP Live Tertinggi:

RTP Live Slot Pragmatic Play (RTP Slot 97.85%) RTP Live Slot PG Soft (RTP Live 96.15%) RTP Live Slot Habanero (RTP Slot 95.89%) RTP Live Slot CQ9 (RTP Live 98.83%) RTP Live Slot Spade Gaming (RTP Live 94.99%) RTP Live Slot Micro Gaming (RTP Slot 95.39%) RTP Slot Live Top Trend Gaming (RTP Live 96.14%) RTP Slot Live JOKER123 (RTP Live 97.45%)

Itulah Daftar 8 Provider Slot Gacor dengan RTP Live teratas diatas tentunya kami analisa terlebih dahulu. Anda bisa membuktikannya langsung dengan mengklik banner atau meprovider game slot yang sudah tersedia di atas. Saran kami yaitu Anda harus memainkan semua penyedia slot di atas untuk mencapai peluang kemenangan terbaik.

Daftar Slot RTP Live Tertinggi Sering Kasih Jackpot

Selain mempertimbangkan RTP Slot Gacor yang ada, sebenarnya ada banyak faktor penting untuk menang dalam permainan judi online. Sebab ada banyak game yang memiliki fitur dan mekanisme unik dan bisa membantu anda meraih Jackpot yang sangat besar.

Berikut ini akan kami ulas daftar 5 game slot paling populer karena sering memberikan jackpot:

RTP Live Gates of Olympus Gates of Olympus adalah game slot teraneh dan terbaik di Indonesia. Karena permainan mesin slot ini paling populer karena kakek Zeus dapat mengizinkan pengganda x500. Selain itu, fitur dan mekanik Gates of Olympus juga sangat menguntungkan untuk memenangkan Grand Jackpot. Secara teoritis, RTP slot langsung Gates of Olympus bernilai 96,50%, yang berarti peluang Anda untuk memenangkan MaxWin cukup tinggi. RTP live Sweet Bonanza Sweet Bonanza adalah permainan slot terpopuler kedua. Game slot bertema buah dan permen yang lezat ini sepertinya akan menarik banyak perhatian karena tergolong slot gacor yang mudah menang. Secara teoritis, slot Sweet Bonanza RTP bernilai 96,48%, yang berarti peluang Anda cukup tinggi untuk memenangkan jackpot. RTP Live Wild West Gold Wild West Gold adalah permainan slot bertema koboi yang juga populer di kalangan penggemar konspirasi. Permainan slot Wild West Gold sendiri kerap menawarkan kejutan jackpot bagi para pemainnya. Selain itu, nilai RTP Live Slot menunjukkan indeks tertinggi hari ini, yang berarti sangat layak dan sangat direkomendasikan. RTP Live Starlight Princess Slot Starlight Princess ini memiliki gaya dan fitur yang mirip dengan Gates of Olympus. Perbedaannya hanya pada desain dan karakter gamenya saja, karena memiliki fitur dan mekanik yang sama tentunya RTP slot teoritis pada game slot ini sama yaitu 96,50%. RTP Live Cash Elevator Mungkin sebagian dari Anda baru mengenal slot Cash Elevator. Namun dari data benchmark yang diungkap, ternyata banyak sekali yang menikmati permainan slot ini. Dengan fitur dan mekanisme unik seperti Lift up and down asli, slot ini juga memiliki slot RTP Live dasar 96,64% yang juga memiliki mekanisme yang sangat menguntungkan untuk memperlancar tingkat kemenangan besar.

Bocoran Jam Main Slot Gacor Hari Ini

Dalam bermain permainan slot online itu tidak bisa dilakukan dengan sembarangan yah. Jadi, Jika anda bermain pada waktu tertentu seperti yang akan kita bahas sesaat lagi, ada kemungkinan anda untuk mendapatkan kemenangan lebih tinggi. Jam RTP Slot Gacor merupakan bocoran jam main slot yang akan memberikan anda kapan waktu yang pas dalam bermain game slot.

Tentu saja seluruh provider slot online memiliki jam tertentu dalam memberikan peluang kepada para pemainnya untuk mendapatkan kemenangan. Disini kami akan memberikan anda Bocoran Jam Slot Gacor yang Paling Akurat Hari ini:

Jam Slot Gacor Pragmatic Play 02:30 WIB - Jam 05:25 WIB Jam Slot Gacor Habanero 14:26 WIB - Jam 17:38 WIB Jam Slot Gacor CQ9 00:45 WIB - Jam 05:53 WIB Jam Slot Gacor PG SOFT 14:25 WIB - Jam 17:35 WIB Jam Slot Gacor Joker123 17:41 WIB - Jam 20:42 WIB Jam Slot Gacor Microgaming 22:30 WIB - Jam 00:35 WIB

MGS88: Situs Judi Slot Online Gacor Pay4D Resmi dan Terpercaya

MGS88 adalah situs game slot online Gacor terbaru yang bermitra dengan Pay4D, Pay4D sendiri merupakan daftar situs game slot online terpercaya dengan berbagai macam permainan judi yang mudah dimenangkan seperti Game Bola, Casino Online, Slot Pay4D, Tembak Ikan dan Pay4D Online Permainan togel seperti Singapura, Hongkong, Sydney dan lain-lain. Tujuan utama kami adalah menjadi situs judi online Pay4D yang menyediakan layanan judi online terbaik di Indonesia.

Kami juga salah satu situs resmi PAY4D di Indonesia yang pasti akan membayarkan semua kemenangan kepada semua member kami, karena kepercayaan dari semua member kami adalah prioritas utama kami sebagai mesin slot 4d Asia terbaik di Asia, khususnya di Indonesia.

Dalam melakukan sistem transaksi sistem simpanan dapat dilakukan dengan mudah melalui mobile banking dan electronic banking berupa bank BCA, BSI, BRI, BNI, Cimb Niaga, Permata dan Mandiri. Selain itu, transaksi e-wallet juga tersedia melalui Dana, Gopay, LinkAja dan Ovo serta dapat digunakan untuk pulsa tanpa dipotong.

Untuk mempermudah dan kenyamanan dalam melakukan registrasi atau melakukan setiap transaksi, MGS88 menyediakan layanan live chat dan Whatsapp terhubung langsung dengan customer service online 24 jam.

Mengenal Istilah Dalam RTP SLOT

Di slot RTP Live Anda akan melihat berbagai fitur yang mungkin tidak Anda pahami masing-masing. Namun jangan khawatir, disini sebagai situs slot gacor MGS88 kami akan memberikan penjelasan lengkap mengenai tentang istilah yang ada di RTP SLOT dibawah ini.
The night sky illuminated in China after a big meteor exploded with a loud bang.

By India Today Web Desk: There was a fireball, and there was so much light when a shooting star dazzled over Shangri-La City in China's Yunnan province.

According to witnesses, there was a loud bang along with mild shaking which followed the flash.

Residents of Shangri-La captured the fireball which travelled the skies for a few seconds before exploding. Social media platforms in China were abuzz with several videos of the shooting star illuminating the world up above.

advertisement

The NASA tracks all fireball events worldwide.

The NASA registered the fireball entering the area on October 4. The object was heading at a speed of 14.6 km/s and was observed by NASA at an altitude of 37 km , some 164 km northwest of the city, RT reported.

Watch: Major fireball in the sky over China

An eyewitness, cited by the Daily Mail, said that the meteorite fell in a village some 40 km from the city.

A resident of a nearby village told Chinese television that he heard a loud sound and felt mild tremors.

There have been no reports of casualties, but the local Kunming Daily newspaper reported that some tourists visiting the area saw buildings shaking.

"This is a very big rock from space, and somewhere in China, there are fresh meteorites on the ground waiting to be found," said David Finlay, of Australian Meteor Reports, as cited by The Watchers.

--- ENDS ---
After the conclusion of the 22nd GST Council meeting today, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the government will initiate an e-wallet facility for all exporters from April 1, 2018.

By India Today Web Desk: The GST Council on Friday eased rules for exporters and gave relief to small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) on filing returns and paying taxes, 3 months after the Goods and Services Tax legislation came into effect since July 1.

In the 22nd GST Council meeting, taxes were cut on more than two dozen items.

advertisement

The government will initiate an e-wallet facility for all exporters from April 1, 2018, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Friday after the completion of the meeting.

"Compliance burden of medium and small taxpayers in GST is being reduced", Jaitley told reporters after the 22nd meeting of the Council.

Jaitley conceded that there had been blockage in credit of exporters which was affecting their cash liquidity. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with Rs 1 crore turnover will have to file quarterly returns, the Finance Minister said.

HIGHLIGHTS OF JAITLEY's SPEECH:

Big taxpayers, who contribute 94-95 per cent of the total taxes, will continue to file monthly returns and pay taxes on a monthly basis.

For the remainder of the fiscal, they will operate under an exempted category paying a nominal 0.1 per cent GST. From April 1, attempt would be made to launch an e-wallet facility for the exporters to provide liquidity.

Exporters, who have been facing sluggish growth due to global slowdown, will get refunds for the tax paid by them on exports during July and August by October 18.

Government contracts involving high amount of labour will be charged 5 per cent GST instead of 12 per cent in order to contain the cost of those programmes.

Job works like zari, imitation, food items and printing items would attract 5 per cent tax instead of 12 per cent.

Food packets given to school kids under Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) will attract 5 per cent tax instead of 12 per cent.

Tax on stationery items, stones used for flooring (other than marble and granite), diesel engine parts and pump parts has been cut to 18 per cent from 28 per cent. GST on e-waste has been slashed to 5 per cent from 28 per cent.

GST on unbranded ayurvedic medicines to be reduced from 12 per cent to 5 per cent.

Members wanted to revisit tax structure of restaurants with more than Rs 1 crore turnover, will be reviewed.

Man-made yarn, which was taxed 18 per cent, has now been put in the 12 per cent slab. It will have an effect on textiles.

E-way bill was discussed in the meeting, Karnataka is already having a good experience with it. After Jan 1, it will go to other states; will try to implement by April 1.

Traders to pay 1 per cent, manufacturers 2 per cent and restaurants 5 per cent under composition scheme. The scheme allows small taxpayers to pay GST at a fixed rate of turnover and not go through the tedious GST formalities. The scheme cannot be opted by supplier of services other than restaurant related services; manufacturer of ice cream, pan masala, or tobacco; casual taxable person or a non-resident taxable person; and businesses which supply goods through an e-commerce operator.

No input tax credit can be claimed by those opting for composition scheme. Also, the taxpayer can only make intra-state supply (sell in the same state) and cannot undertake inter-state supply of goods.

90 per cent of the assesses, who have turnover less than Rs 1.5 crore turnover to file quarterly returns.They will not have to pay tax according to the current provision of monthly filings.

The limit for turnover for business to avail of in composition scheme, which allows them to pay 1-5 per cent tax without going through tedious formalities, was raised from Rs.75 lakh to Rs. 1 crore.

We tried to resolve problems of exporters. Refunds of exporters were slow. There has been blockage in credit of exporters which affects their cash liquidity.

Exporter refunds will be expedited, advance tax refund for exporters from October 10.

With small businesses and traders complaining about the compliance burden the new Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime has put on them, the panel decided to give the option to taxpayers to avail of the so-called Composition Scheme if their turnover is less than Rs 1 crore as against the previous limit of Rs 75 lakh. So far, over 15 lakh out of the 90 lakh registered businesses have opted for the composition scheme.

SMEs with Rs 1 crore turnover to file quarterly returns. The switch-over to quarterly tax filing for small and medium businesses would happen from October 1 and they will have to file monthly returns for the first three months of GST, which was implemented from July 1.

The past 3 months were a transitional phase were a transitional phase for GST, which is why the pattern of collection (of GST) was not clear.

DEALERS OF GEM STONES, JEWELLERY EXEMPTED FROM MONEY LAUNDERING ACT

With an eye on the Gujarat polls, the government put gem and jewellery dealers out of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the GST Council meeting.

The move is believed to be timed with a view to the wooing voters in the upcoming Gujarat assembly election as the development will particularly impact traders in the state.

In doing so, the government rolled back the previous notification, according to which dealers in precious metals, precious stones and other high value goods were notified as persons carrying on designated business and professions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

#UPDATE Any person buying jewellery above Rs 50,000 will not be required to submit PAN or Aadhar Card details #GSTCouncilMeet- ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2017

The Centre will issue a fresh notification separately after carefully considering the points raised during the meeting and by holding wider stakeholder consultations in this regard.

According to the notification which has been rolled back, any dealer of precious metals, precious stones and other high-value goods with a turnover of Rs 2 crore or more in a financial year was to be covered under the Act.

advertisement

The limit of Rs 2 crore was to be calculated on the basis of the previous year's turnover, according to the notification.

(WITH INPUTS FROM RAHUL SHRIVASTAVA AND PTI)

WATCH VIDEO | Arun Jaitley tweaks GST, major relief for small firms

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: (Eds: updating toll)

Karachi, Oct 6 (PTI) The death toll in the suicide attack at a prominent Shia shrine in Pakistans restive Balochistan province has risen to 22, officials said today.

A suicide bomber detonated his explosives vest when he was stopped by a police officer guarding the Dargah Fatehpur, according to Deputy Commissioner Asadullah Kakar.

advertisement

The attack, claimed by the Islamic State group, took place when there was a heavy rush of devotees who had gathered at the shrine in the village of Jhal Masgi, located about 400 km from Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province.

Devotees gather at the shrine of the revered Sufi saint every Thursday to participate in a sufi dance called dhamaal and prayers.

At least 22 people, including three children, were killed and more than 30 others injured in the bombing, Geo TV quoted a senior police official as saying.

Officials said the death toll rose after an under- treatment victim succumbed to his injuries at the Chandka hospital in Larkana.

Investigations are under way and police have collected evidence from the site of the blast, the official said.

He said the bravery of police officials and security guards at the entrance of the shrine ensured that the suicide bomber could not harm the people who had amassed inside.

The Islamic State terror group claimed responsibility for the attack in a brief statement carried by its propaganda Amaq news agency.

This was also the second attack on the Pir Rakhel Shah shrine since 2005. In March, 2005, at least 35 people were killed when a suicide bomber exploded himself at the shrine.

Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti said the shrine was holding its annual Urs and hundreds of devotees from all over the country had come to pay their respects.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi condemned the attack and vowed that his government will act against militants with full might.

Yesterdays attack is the second major strike at a shrine in Balochistan where in November 2016, at least 52 people were killed and 102 injured in a blast at the shrine of Shah Norani in Khuzdar district. PTI ZH AKJ AKJ

--- ENDS ---
Hundreds of BJP workers and supporters in Delhi joined the rally carrying the party's flags and shouting slogans against the left-wing rule in Kerala.

The protest march began from the party office at Pandit Pant Marg to the CPM Head Quarters in Gol Market. Photo: Pooja Shali

By Pooja Shali: Politics over blood continues in Kerala as protests escalate in the national capital. The Delhi wing of Bharatiya Janata Party organised a protest today against the killing of BJP/RSS workers in Kerala.

The protest march began from the party office at Pandit Pant Marg to the CPM Head Quarters in Gol Market, a stretch of about two kilometers.

advertisement

Hundreds of BJP workers and supporters joined the rally carrying the party's flags and shouting slogans against the left-wing rule in Kerala.

Speaking to India Today, Minister of State Dr Mahesh Sharma said, "The prime minister is attempting to invest in state tourism and also granting funds but violence continues there. They (state government) will have to answer and take accountability of their actions. Those parties will have to respond why they are indulging in this."

In the past few months, a spate of killings have been witnessed in Kerala between the right-wing and left-wing groups. While each side accuses the other of indulging in violence, the situation has turned alarming.

Recent visit by BJP President Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath maintained focus on the killings of their workers. Amit Shah even accused Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan of being responsible for the violence.

Delhi Minister Manoj Tiwari said, "Nationalists are being killed in the country, BJP and RSS workers murdered in front of their family members. The lLeft has accepted they are indulging in violence."

The BJP intends to make inroads into the left-dominated Kerala, one or the few states where the BJP has never been visible.

The violence have primarily been reported from Kannur, which remains a hotbed of the killings in Kerala.

According to statistics by the IndiaSpend, between 2000 and 2016, Kannur reported 69 political murders. In 2016, the RSS-BJP tally of deaths (four) in political clashes in Kannur was one more than the CPM's (three), but in the 15 preceding years, both parties lost 27 supporters each to political violence.

Meanwhile, both parties claims the numbers on their respective side is much higher.

--- ENDS ---
The children, cousins by relation, were playing in the car when a family member locked it through central locking, unaware of kids trapped inside.

By India Today Web Desk: Two boys, aged four and five, died of suffocation after being stuck in a car for close to 9 hours in Delhi's Ranhola area. The incident was reported on October 3.

The children, cousins by relation, have been identified as Raj (five) and Sonu (four).

The kids were playing in a car owned by Raj's father, which was parked near their house. At around 1 pm, Raj's father, a taxi driver, locked the vehicle through central locking, unaware of the children trapped inside it.

advertisement

Hours later, when the family members realised that the children were missing, they rushed to the police station to file a complaint. As fate would have it, they made this travel in a neighbour's car.

A BIT OF CARELESSNESS COST TWO CHILDREN'S LIVES

Meanwhile, a relative unlocked the car in which the children were stuck and found them in an unconscious state with burn injuries on their bodies.

Police said that boys were then rushed to a hospital, but were declared as 'brought dead'.

The post-mortem report confirmed that the children died due to suffocation.

(With inputs from PTI)

--- ENDS ---
The steps initiated by state governments to discourage farmers from setting fire to paddy residues have had no real impact.

Farmers burn paddy stubble on the outskirts of Amritsar. Punjab and Haryana have both imposed a complete ban on it but the farmers donat care

Delhi confronts yet another grey winter this year. Dense plumes of acrid smog rising from burning paddy straw-residue from this season's kharif crop-are already beginning to pick up across Punjab and Haryana as harvesting gathers momentum.

The steps initiated by state governments to discourage farmers from setting fire to paddy residues have had no real impact. Scores of farm fires have already been spotted in Punjab and Haryana, despite both states imposing a complete ban on stubble burning and notifying stiff penalties, including possible jail terms, for defiant farmers.

advertisement

In Punjab, the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government, last week, also directed deputy commissioners to make 'red ink' entries on the khasra girdawari (land record) of defaulters. Landowners are being warned that such entries could result in the denial of loans and farm equipment from cooperative societies. But calling the state government's bluff, farmer organisations have said they are willing to bear any consequences. Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) Dakonda faction vice-president Manjit Singh Dhaner declared that the only way for state governments to stop farmers from burning paddy stubble was to provide alternatives. The cultivators want the government to either provide requisite machinery for sowing, or announce an additional Rs 200 per quintal bonus to cover the high cost of separating the straw from the soil.

Agricultural experts say equipment like the 'Happy Seeder', recommended by the Punjab Agricultural University, can be employed to sow the winter wheat crop without the need to remove the paddy stubble. However, most farmers can't afford the high cost (Rs 1.3 lakh) and subsidies to buy the equipment are hard to come by.

The Supreme Court-appointed Environment Pollution (Prevention & Control) Authority (EPCA) estimates that as much as 35 million tonnes of paddy straw is set afire at the onset of winter to clear farms in Punjab and Haryana for the rabi wheat sowing.

Monitoring by NASA's Aqua satellite has shown that stubble burning in northwest India peaks around October 20-25. Besides the dense smog that hugs the earth amid falling temperatures and chokes Delhi and several other cities, the burning of paddy straw also depletes soil nutrients. Agricultural scientists estimate that burning of a single tonne of paddy straw removes 5.5 kg nitrogen, 2.3 kg phosphorous, 2.5 kg potassium and 1.2 kg of sulphur from the soil.

EPCA's Comprehensive Action Plan to tackle air pollution calls for a stringent enforcement of the ban on the burning of agricultural residues in Punjab and Haryana. But with subsidies for the purchase of Happy Seeders or other such equipment lagging, farmers in the two states aren't likely to comply with any ban. At least, not this winter.

--- ENDS ---
By Seth Taylor

taylorse@grinnell.edu

Mayor Gordon Canfields office resides in the newly renovated Spaulding Building. His window looks out to downtown Grinnell, and the flags of Iowa and the United States sit next to each other against the back wall. His desk and walls are lined with gifts from grateful citizens, plaques of appreciation and rewards  paraphernalia collected over 18 years in office. Now, after nine consecutive terms as mayor of Grinnell, Canfield has decided to step down.

This time, I decided Im 78 years old so its time to do something else, Canfield said with a laugh. After some thought, he continued, I got into this thing, being mayor, and I thought, Its a lot of fun. Its really an enjoyable job.

Canfield has lived in Grinnell ever since he was eleven years old, stocking shelves at the local grocery stores and learning the ropes of the community.

I always liked Grinnell because I had these contacts that were comfortable for me.  By the time I had graduated from high school I really knew all the families, Canfield said. He attended the University of Minnesota after graduating from Grinnell High School, returning to take a job with Grinnell Mutual Insurance Company. He worked at the company for 37 years, eventually rising to the position of executive vice president. Retiring young, Canfield began to volunteer with the city, getting involved in local politics with the Grinnell Hotel-Motel Tax Committee and the Grinnell Sister City Association. In September of 1999, then-mayor Robert Anderson passed away while in office and Canfield was appointed in his place. He has held the office since, acting as a dedicated and engaged public servant for 18 years.

Being the mayor of a small, Midwestern town certainly has its challenges.

Everybody knows who you are, what you are, what you do  what you shouldnt be doing, Canfield said. And the citizens of Grinnell arent hesitant to get involved; Canfield remembers well the controversy stirred by a city ordinance on shoveling sidewalks. Chuckling, Canfield added, We had people standing out in the hall just screaming at us, (the ordinance was eventually passed). Nevertheless, Canfield is proud of Grinnellians dedication to their city. He cites redesigning the streets of downtown Grinnell, raising funds for the community pool and the recent update of Central Park as some of his proudest accomplishments.

Hes also pleased with the progress made in bridging the gap between the College and the town, although he refuses to take much credit.

There was kind of like an invisible wall around the campus, and that was partly due to the way the college was run and it was partly due to the way the city reacted, he said. One of the reasons that its only going to improve is the College is expanding the zone of confluence.  And the whole idea is to get more mix between students and town people  just be with each other a little bit more. I think thats going to be very important. I wish I could be mayor for the next 20 years so I can see how that all plays out.

Canfields dedication to Grinnell isnt partisan either.

One of the things that made this very enjoyable for me is that we are in municipal elections  totally nonpartisan, Canfield said. Fixing a sewer and fixing a sidewalk has no political bearings whatsoever. Its the work that has to be done. We are the government that is closest to the people and we try to make sure that Grinnell is a great place to live, work and play.

Looking to the future, Canfield acknowledged the changing nature of small towns in America and the need to adapt.

Theres got to be creative ways of dealing with a new kind of economy, he said. But he also had confidence in Grinnells adaptability and endurance. I think that this town is going to go on forever. Its not going to be a giant lurch forward, but I think well just inch our way through history.

Canfield doesnt have much planned for what hes going to do after his term ends. Relaxing and traveling are two things hes considering. Dan Agnew is the lone candidate running for mayor this year, and while Canfield is confident in Agnews abilities, and in the enduring quality of what Canfield calls the citizen operated town of Grinnell, it is clear that Agnew has big shoes to fill. The town will go on, but it certainly wont be the same.
By Ben Mikek

mikekben@grinnell.edu

At the beginning of October, the Department of Campus Safety released the Grinnell Colleges annual reports on crime and fire safety at the school. The reports help the College comply with a federal mandate to report crime statistics, the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.

Often known simply as the Clery Act, it is named after Jeanne Clery, a Lehigh University student who was raped and murdered in her dorm room by another student in 1986. The Clery Center, an advocacy group set up by Clerys parents following the murder, claims that the lack of campus crime reporting made them unaware of the potential danger to their daughter. To combat this problem, in response to lobbying efforts by Clerys parents, Congress did eventually enact legislation to require colleges to report statistics about crimes committed on or within one mile of campus.

According to its website, the Clery Center remains dedicated to guiding institutions of higher education to implement effective campus safety measures.

At Grinnell, this report includes statistics from the main campus in Grinnell, but also the Conard Environmental Research Area and the Grinnell-in-London Campus. Neither the Conard area nor the London campus have seen any crimes during the last 3 years. On the main campus, however, modest numbers of crimes have been reported for all three years included in the report. In 2016, the report lists 5 cases of sex offenses, rape; 6 cases of sex offense, fondling; one burglary; and one case of arson. Additionally, 7 arrests and 8 disciplinary referrals occurred for drug abuse violations, and 14 arrests and 38 disciplinary referrals occurred for liquor law violations. There were also 4 reports of domestic violence, 6 reports of dating violence, and 5 reports of stalking. Most of these statistics are in line with 2014 information but mark a sharp decrease from 2015 numbers: rape, fondling, aggravated assault, and motor vehicle theft all saw significant declines over 2015.

In addition to these reported crimes, the college reported two cooking-related fires in residential facilities during 2016. This number is in line with 2015 totals, but a sharp decrease from 2014, when the college reported 14 fires in one calendar year.

In general, these statistics appear to be in line with statistics at other comparable institutions.

The task of compiling the report is carried out by the Department of Campus Safety, in coordination with other offices. Staff from Campus Safety were not able to comment on this story by press time.

Im appreciative of the herculean efforts within the Department of Campus Safety to comply with the Clery Act by submitting and publishing our Annual Security Report. This important document represents collaborations with a variety of different individuals and offices that contribute to our crime reporting and policy sections. We take this responsibility seriously, wrote Andrea Conner, Associate Vice President of Student Affairs, in an email to The S&B.

The Clery Act does provide another resource for students to evaluate their own well-being, and for prospective students to evaluate the safety of Grinnells Campus.
By Alice Herman and Candace Mettle

hermanal17@grinnell.edu, mettleca@grinnell.edu

In the wake of the most deadly mass-shooting in U.S. history, community members of both the City of Grinnell and the College mourned the deaths of 59 concertgoers in Las Vegas, Nevada. Concerned residents representing the College and the City have encouraged a frank community discussion on gun rights and violence. Discussions are particularly relevant locally as Pete Brownell, current president of the NRA and CEO of the gun retailer Brownells, acts as a major benefactor of College and community programs and organizations.

The NRA has attracted controversy in light of the countrys ongoing and polarizing gun control debate. Over the summer, the association received criticism after putting out a commercial that denounced the political left as violent and lying. More recently, the NRA backed the Sportsmans Heritage and Recreation and Enhancement Act (SHARE), a bill that includes a provision to ease restrictions on the purchase of gun silencers. The question of silencers has also been an object of debate following the deadly shooting in Las Vegas last week.

The NRAs influence in legislation began in the 1970s when they created their own political action committee (PAC) to fund individual legislators and has increased since. The organization defends a literal interpretation of the Second Amendment and has worked to resist gun control efforts following incidents such as the Las Vegas, Sandy Hook and Aurora shootings. District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the first Supreme Court case to decide if the Second Amendment allows an individual to keep and bear arms for self-defense, and McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010), which addressed the states rights regarding the right to bear arms, have also galvanized the NRA.

Brownell, who sat on the NRAs board of directors and assumed the position of NRA president in May 2017, enjoys the status of a Golden Ring of Freedom member, a privilege reserved for donors contributing at least one million dollars to the association.

Among other acts of local philanthropy, Brownell has funded libraries, the Grinnell Area Arts Council and a child care center. Brownell has not donated exclusively to organizations run by Grinnell community members, however. Adam Laug, Director of Development at the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, wrote in an email to The S&B that [m]ost recently, the Redmond/Brownell family has supported the Ignite program. Pete Brownell also sat on the board of judges for Pioneer Weekend, a student innovation competition.

According to Laug, [t]he College does not share specific gift amounts to protect donors privacy and confidentiality unless the donor has approved a gift announcement from the College, so the size of Brownell family donations is unclear.

The College, additionally, has the right to deny gift donations with the guidance of the Gift Acceptance Policy. As their policy states, the College can only accept gifts that can benefit the college and are in the philanthropic interest of the donor.

An unsubstantiated report available on the NRAs website emphasizes Brownells close relationship with the College, stating that Pete volunteered to lecture on Second Amendment issues [at Grinnell College] and, in time, managed to start a shooting club on campus. The report goes on to describe faculty members on the shooting range: the majority of the faculty left Brownells property giddy with excitement over having actually fired a real handgun. Today these same educators are regulars at the range. The newly committed gun owners have been known to take their guns with them when they return to New York for civic events.

The S&B reached out to President Raynard Kington for a statement on the matter of Brownell donations, but he was not available for comment.

The Rev. Wendy Abrahamson of St. Pauls Episcopal Church in Grinnell, and a registered lobbyist for the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, has reached out to Brownell for a meeting regarding Brownells position at the NRA. Abrahamson, along with Cameron Barr, pastor of United Church of Christ, hope to speak with Brownell to determine his position on gun violence and to build a relationship that can lead to heightened gun safety.

I think as president [of the NRA], hes in a unique position to speak up, Abrahamson said. If hes president and doesnt agree with where the organization is, theres a dissonance there.  The NRA seems to be putting [gun regulations] as all or nothing which is just not true  you can have sensible gun regulations and still let people have guns.

Although Abrahamson and Barr contacted Brownell as religious leaders, Abrahamson noted that her concern about the NRAs efforts to prevent gun safety legislation was not only a religious one. Her identities as an American, as an Iowan and as a person who has lost a family member to gun violence have informed her vocal stance on the issue. However, Abrahamson also admits that there are difficulties inherent in such activism, especially in a town in which the Brownells are so involved.

For instance, when she realized that an organizations of which she was a part accepted money from the Brownells, Abrahamson quietly gave up her position within in it, rather than advocating for the organization to divest, knowing that the organization depended on Brownells donations.

[I]f you have enjoyed any of the things we like to enjoy here  and a lot of those things that we all talk about why Grinnell is so great  the Brownells have been a part of the financial support, Abrahamson said. So in terms of organizing, anyone whos going to organize [has] to have some humility about it because youve received gifts from the Brownell family.

Neither Brownell nor representatives from Brownells responded to The S&Bs requests for a statement on gun violence and regulation.
By Jackson Schulte

schultej@grinnell.edu

As the Colleges Fossil Fuel and Climate Impact Task Force and the Board of Trustees wrap up their meetings this week, participants acknowledged the Colleges need to address its carbon footprint, the way the endowment supports the fossil fuel industry and the Colleges rights to profitable oil extraction in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas.

Michael Kahn 74, a trustee and head of the task force, discussed the Colleges mineral rights during the third session of open discussions held by the task force. Kahn explained that when Fred Darby, an oil tycoon who graduated in the class of 1895, died, he donated 5 million dollars to the College.

Darbys estate bequest included mineral rights. Grinnells investment team highlighted these mineral rights as part of our endowment fossil fuel holdings during their September 19th presentation, Kahn wrote in an email to The S&B. Currently, the College operates these mineral rights through a holding company called Poweshiek Petroleum Corporation (PPC).

In his email, Kahn noted that, while called a Petroleum Corporation, the PPC is technically not an oil company, and thus goes untaxed.

[Poweshiek Petroleum Corporation] is not actually an oil company at all, though it is associated with oil rights.  It is very important that Grinnell College maintain its tax exempt status and some of the holdings in the Darby bequest are taxable assets. So Poweshiek Petroleum was set up to house these taxable mineral rights assets in order to keep these taxable assets separate from our non-taxable assets.

Andrew Choquette 00, director of investments, also noted in an email to The S&B that [t]he mineral rights held in Poweshiek Petroleum are certainly tied to oil and gas extraction. The distinction though is that Poweshiek Petroleum is a holding company for those rights versus an operating company where the College is making operational decisions.

Nonetheless, the College profits from the mineral rights by leasing them to energy companies. According to Mineral Holders, a database of mineral rights leases in Texas, the College leases its mineral rights to several energy companies, including Chevron, ConocoPhillips and many more.

Other entities are doing the extraction and the College does not make any operational decisions related to the rights. The College does, though, have the ability to make the decision to sell these rights, Choquette wrote.

Choquette revealed that the College made $710,285 from assets held in Poweshiek Petroleum from fiscal years 2005 through 2017. In fiscal year 2015, it was estimated that the carbon footprint from the Colleges mineral rights was roughly 1,700 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.

The major hurdle the College would have to address in getting rid of its mineral rights is a financial loss.

One issue highlighted by the investment team is that nobody gets fair market value for mineral rights, so any decision to divest these assets would mean certain loss of income to the College, Kahn wrote.

In the Fossil Fuels and Climate Impact Task Forces dialogue sessions in September, a member of the audience asked whether the College could keep the mineral rights but leave the fossil fuels in the ground, preventing any potential buyers from extracting the fossil fuels from the Earth.

The thing that we have to always try to balance is the revenue to the school and the ability to provide an education and support the operating budget, Choquette responded at the session.

Another audience member asked whether Poweshiek Petroleum could switch its direction and create renewable energy on the land that stores the mineral rights, given topographical viability.

Thats an idea.  The mineral rights are scattered all over the country. If it were just one oil field it might be a little easier to handle, but, you know, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas  thats a lot of different properties, responded Angela Clement, associate director of investments.

There are many shared social values that we all have. If we had to purify our endowment from all those things that we might take offense at, it could well mean fundamentally changing what Grinnell College is, who can come here, financially, and many, many other things. This task force exists because we think [the Colleges investment in fossil fuels] does merit serious examination, Kahn said during a September session.

In the immediate future, the Fossil Fuel and Climate Impact Task Force will face tough choices regarding the mineral rights. Professor Wayne Moyer, political science and member of the task force, said that the trustees must be transparent when discussing the mineral rights.

There was no effort to conceal anything to anybody. The trustees conveyed that [the mineral rights are] an issue they want to deal with, said Professor Wayne Moyer, political science and member of the task force. This is an issue they have to address.  And they have to be public about it. My sense is they havent made any final decisions.

Kahn concluded his email with a reminder to Grinnellians that [t]he three task force trustees are after all Grinnellians who care deeply about environmental issues and want to see the College we love make a difference in addressing the impacts of climate change.

Going forward, it will be important for the Grinnell College community to stay on top of the task forces agenda and reach out with questions and concerns. Suggestions and feedback for the task force can be sent to fossilfuels@grinnell.edu.
It has emerged that following demonetisation last year, many companies opened multiple bank accounts and broke up big amounts into smaller figures to escape I-T department and other agencies.

By India Today Web Desk: The Centre today said it has received information from 13 banks about 5,800 companies that used multiple bank accounts to hide black money after demonetisation.

Earlier this year, the government had struck off 2,09,032 companies from the Register of Companies because of suspicious transactions.

The operation of bank accounts of these 2 lakh suspicious companies was then restricted to just the discharge of their liabilities.

advertisement

HOW THESE FIRMS OPERATED

So, what did these companies do? All the cash that demonetisation made worthless had to be exchanged. But then there was a limit to how much one could deposit in each account. So, some companies tried the simplest of tricks - open multiple bank accounts and break up the big figure into smaller amounts.

Some of these companies had over 100 accounts to their names. One company opened a massive 2,134 accounts. There were many others with the number of accounts in the range of 900 and 300. That added up to 13,140 accounts for 5,800 companies. Accounts were opened, money deposited and the accounts were quickly bottomed out.

When banks started investigating the trail of cash-to-account-to-cash, the real story emerged. Before demonetisation was announced on November 8, 2016, these companies had a balance of just Rs 22.05 crore, not including the loan accounts, where borrowed funds were kept.

Between November 9 and the day their names were struck off from the Register of Companies, they had deposited a massive Rs 4,573.87crore and also withdrawn an equally large amount of Rs 4,552 crore. In fact, with loan accounts, there was a negative balance of Rs 80.79 crore in these accounts.

ALL BANKS WERE TARGETED

The bid to hoodwink the authorities was across banks. In one bank, 429 companies had zero balance on November 8, deposited and withdrew over Rs 11 crore leaving a cumulative balance of just Rs 42,000 on the date the accounts were frozen.

In another bank, more than 3,000 companies, most with multiple accounts, had a cumulative balance of about Rs 13 crore on the day demonetisation was announced. They deposited and withdrew about Rs 3,800 crore leaving a negative cumulative balance of almost Rs 200 crore at the time of freezing of their accounts.

The accounts were not operated after withdrawing money with only paltry balance left in them. Some companies were so adventurous that they made deposits and withdrawals even after being struck off the list knowing well that they were under investigation.

Details about 5,800 companies accounts for just 2.5 per cent of over 2 lakh companies that were struck off the list are under investigation. Investigative agencies have been asked to complete necessary investigation in a time bound manner.

advertisement

BANK OF BARODA

In Bank of Baroda, 1,701 companies had opened 8,633 accounts. One company named the Gold Sukh Trade India Ltd had 2,134 bank accounts with the Bank of Baroda.

The Ashwin Vanaspati India Pvt Ltd held 915 bank accounts, the Anujay Exim Pvt Ltd 313 accounts while the Radhakrishna Payal Bhandar had 298 bank accounts which showed suspicious transactions after demonetisation.

CANARA BANK

The Canara Bank has given a list 717 companies and 784 accounts. These accounts were current accounts in operational nature. The bank also shared information about 15 companies which opened accounts for term deposits.

The data shared by the Canara Bank also shows that 429 other companies with zero balance on November 8, 2016 deposited and withdrew Rs 11 crore and left just Rs 4200. IDBI BANK

The IDBI Bank found 3,330 companies with 3,634 suspicious bank accounts. The balance on November 8 last year in these accounts was Rs 13.29 crore.

Following note ban, a sum of Rs 3,972 crore was deposited in these accounts from which Rs 3,794 was withdrawn. These companies continue to deposit money in the same accounts even after they were de-registered by the government.

advertisement

After their names were struck off from the Register of Companies, a total deposit of Rs 21.30 crore was made in these accounts. The companies withdrew Rs 249 after de-recognition from the accounts before they were frozen.

(With inputs from Himanshu Mishra)

--- ENDS ---
By Amanda Weber

weberama@grinnell.edu

This weekend, the Grinnell College Theatre Department is putting on a production of the play Nice Fish by Mark Rylance and Louis Jenkins. The S&B got the chance to attend a tech rehearsal and speak to director Professor Ellen Mease and cast member Joseph Robertson 19 about the production.

The plot of Nice Fish, an absurdist comedy in the style of Samuel Beckett, revolves around two old friends ice fishing on a lake in Minnesota. The friends discuss love, mortality and the meaning of life, all while battling storms and desperately seeking a nice fish.

Its the span of a whole life thats being depicted in this single day on the ice, with the catastrophe of the storm bringing up essential aspects of the human condition, Mease said.

Written by lauded Shakespearean actor Mark Rylance, Nice Fish was heavily influenced by and contains the work of prose poet Louis Jenkins. It made its world premiere at St. Anns Warehouse in February of 2016, and now has come to the College for its first Grinnell treatment.

Mease is intimately acquainted with the play, as she is a personal friend of Jenkins and has been an audience member at a number of the plays premieres. Her familiarity with the play and its poet, and the similarities she saw between the Midwestern atmosphere of the play and Grinnells own Midwestern vastness, led her to choose Nice Fish for the College. She hopes to be as true to the original vision of the play as possible.

There is no directorial innovation here. Im doing the play as carefully and honestly as it can be done, Mease said.

According to Mease, challenges faced during the rehearsal process have mainly included dealing with the less-than-ideal acoustics in Roberts Theatre and ensuring that the actors are all word-perfect on their poetic monologues. Inflection, Mease believes, should be perfect, as the actors typically only get one shot to present the best possible version of the play to their audience.

We get to study the script. We get to repeat, repeat, repeat, which is what rehearsal is. But the audience only hears it once, Mease said.

In order to ensure that the final product is as polished as possible, the rehearsal process has been rigorous. The cast met Sundays through Thursdays for three and a half hours every day. However, there was enjoyment to be found amongst the stress.

Its just so magical when the lighting and the sound design comes in during tech week, Robertson said. It can be a little tedious to have to stop-go, stop-go, but when everyone is on top of their lines and everything is moving smoothly, its just a really beautiful, dynamic form of art thats taking place.

A good portion of the artistry of the show manifests itself in the effects and set as well. The theater is experimenting with some new effects, from a bluescreen to a shoreline that bobs in the background to a mechanized, flopping fish imported from the Guthrie. Furthermore, the entire stage has been transformed into a frozen, snow-dusted lake, making the barren, cold atmosphere of the play all the more convincing.

Fortunately, the show is populated by characters colorful enough to keep the desolate tundra engaging. The shows two focal characters, aging fishermen Erik and Ron, played by Reed Roffis 18 and Robertson respectively, artfully play off of one another. Erik, cynical and serious, ruminates on lifes heavier burdens, but is offset by the childish humor of Robertsons Ron.

I love how Ron is either completely focused on something nonsensical or completely open to the whole universe in all of its wonder and never anywhere in between, Robertson said. Hes either obsessing over the snowmans nose or hes contemplating love.

All of these factors result in a light-hearted, comedic and surreal performance punctuated by moments of poignancy and sincerity. On the whole, Grinnells production of Nice Fish provides an authentic reflection of Jenkins original poems and Rylances subsequent adaptation, capturing a mood that is funny, moving and genuine  just like life.

In the plays program, Mease conveys what she wants audiences to take from the show: What the play gives us  is the gift and sheer pleasure of laughter. Might as well laugh, in spite of everything.

Showings of Nice Fish will take place on Oct. 6 and 7 at 7:30 p.m., and Oct. 8 at 2 p.m. in Bucksbaums Roberts Theatre, and have an approximately 100 minute run time. For those interested in learning more about Louis Jenkins and hearing more of his poetry, he will be speaking at 4:15 pm on Oct. 6 in Roberts Theatre.
By Hallela Hinton-Williams

hintonwi@grinnell.edu

Artist Swarna Chitrakar impressed the Grinnell College community with beautiful singing and descriptive and stunning artwork during her gallery talk on Wednesday, Oct. 4 in the Faulconer Gallery. The event was the latest in a series of talks held in Faulconers current exhibition, Many Visions, Many Versions, which features contemporary indigenous Indian art.

The audience got a small taste of her work, which utilizes the art form patachitra, a unique folk tradition of storytelling. Patachitra consists of beautifully painted scrolls accompanied by songs to describe the scene, a long tradition in India. The painters, known as Chitrakars or Patuas, travel with the pata, or cloth paintings, and perform the story and song to other villages.

The work is the beginning of modern animation, Chitrakar related through translator Suravi Sarkar.

Traditionally, the stories are mythological tales about Ramayana, Mahabharata and Mangal Kavyas, among many more. After being advised to terminate the pregnancy of her child in case it was a girl in her personal life, Chitrakar decided to integrate womens rights, social issues and symbols of womans power into her work. She also has scrolls dealing with the tsunami and HIV.

I like to paint the Hindu goddess Durga. Durga has the power to protect people and their children. She is an idol for many Bengalis. It is a symbol of embalmment, Chitrakar said.

Chitrakar began this tradition at a young age by helping her father, another Patua, with the sight part of the scroll. When her father would take a break, Chitrakar would mix the colors and fill the figures in. Helping her father shaped Chitrakar into an impressive Patua and allowed her to prevent patachitra from declining. The stories are recounted only orally, so, for a bit of time, patachitra was a revivalist art form.

The younger generation didnt want to pursue this art form because of less exposure and decrease in compensation. But since 2004, there has been an intervention of various organizations, such as Banglanatak, and galleries that have turned it to a living tradition. Chitrakar said.

This living tradition needs to be sustained for a lot longer. Without people to take up patachitra, a significant part of a culture could be lost.

As Sarkar related about Chitrakar, Its not her story, but the story of her village.

To leave a legacy is why Chitrakar is training her five daughters and teaching the younger adults and children of her village. She also participates in residencies at colleges to teach students about the mythological stories and the process of patachitra.

Chitrakar and other Patuas in the village Pingla host a festival, POT Maya, that allows tourists, fellow artists and community members to interact with artists, learn how to extract natural colors and visit the community museum, the Folk Art Centre.

Learn more about Swarna Chitrakar, scroll painting and storytelling at Fall Fest, this Saturday Oct. 7, from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Many Visions, Many Versions, which features Swarnas work along with twenty-four other artists, will be on display in Faulconer Gallery until Dec. 10.
Domestic politics and Xi Jinping's quest to have firm grip on the Chinese Communist Party may be fueling Doklam tension.

By Prabhash K Dutta: The Doklam plateau is back in the reckoning merely five weeks after an over 70-day stand-off came to an end in the wake of BRICS summit at Xiamen in China. Reports from the region suggest that China has not removed its forces or road construction equipment from the region.

China is reported to have resumed work on widening of road about 10 km from the site of Doklam stand-off. However, this area was never in contention between Bhutan and China. India had not objected to construction activities on the present stretch of road building.

advertisement

However, with China making its intention clear, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar travelled to Bhutan with a group of officials to hold take stock of the situation. This is the first high-level visit from India to Bhutan since Doklam stand-off was defused.

POST-DOKLAM RESPONSE

On August 28, India and China announced to disengage at Doka La, the site of military stand-off that had begun in June. The two sides agreed to pull their troops back by 150 metres each.

India kept its troops at 150 metres from Doka La till a few after the BRICS summit was over. At Xiamen, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to enhance confidence building measures between the two countries.

Following this understanding between Modi and Jinping, India moved its troops to the India Army posts. China also moved its troops backwards. But, the Chinese troops remained stationed at a distance of about 800 metres from Doka La.

China is said to have reduced its strength from over 3,000 soldiers in the region to 1,500. At present, reports say that China maintains about 1,000 troops in the Doklam region. China has not, it seems, implemented the understanding arrived for disengagement. And, its domestic political considerations are being cited as the reason.

CPC CONGRESS

The Communist Party of China, the ruling power, is holding its week-long Congress from October 18 in Beijing. The Congress, held every five years, is the biggest political event for China.

During the week-long Congress meet, the polit buro and the polit buro standing committee of the Communist Party of China will get a new look. Xi Jinping is looking to consolidate his position in the Congress.

Xi Jinping is logged in an internal political battle with the loyalists of former President Jiang Zemin, who continues to wield considerable influence. Jiang Zemin loyalists are pushing for more seats in the standing committee, which is arguably the most powerful body in the CPC.

On the other hand, Jinping is looking to fill all the posts with his own loyalists. But, on account of age - which became the top criterion for entry into the polit buro standing committee - only Xi Jinping and his Premier Le Kiqiang will enter the revamped body.

advertisement

Doklam stand-off was largely seen as backing off by China in the face of stiff resistance from India and mounting international pressure in the wake of BRICS summit. Aggressive posturing ahead of CPC Congress is an attempt by Xi Jinping administration to assert his authority and win more members of the Communist Party of China to his side.

XI JINPING'S AMBITION

The 19th CPC Congress is crucial for Xi Jinping for another reason. Jinping completes his second term in 2022. This is the last Congress before he ordinarily retires. But, Jinping is looking for a third term.

If Jinping has to secure a third term, the CPC Congress will have to approve amendment to the Constitution paving way for his continued leadership. But, this can happen only if Jinping manages to sideline or win over the supporters of Jiang Zemin.

The seven-member polit buro standing committee of the CPC has, at least, three members - Zhang Dejiang, Liu Yunshan and Zhang Gaoli - are considered Jiang Zemin loyalists. The polit buro has more number of Jiang Zemin loyalists, who may oppose a third term for Xi Jinping.

advertisement

Xi Jinping has been trying to project himself as the strongest leader since Deng Xiaoping and possibly Mao Zedong. Jinping got his position elevated to the "core leader" in the CPC. This position was held by Deng Xiaoping, who is widely held as the father of modernisation of China.

But, in August this year, Jinping was publicly addressed as the "Chairman" by the PLA forces. This title was never held by any Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, the founder of the communist China.

Mao had attained cult status in China following his 1962 invasion of India in the eastern theatre. Jinping cannot order an invasion as it may backfire, but a strong posturing over Doklam close to winter - during which he may easily allow the military build to die - may win him crucial votes in the Congress for an unprecedented third term as President of China.

--- ENDS ---
Six Dalits are among 36 non-Brahmins, who have been recommended for appointment as priests in temples in Kerala being managed by the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB).

The recommendation in this regard was made by the Kerala Devaswom Recruitment Board, a press release said.

This is for the first time six people from the scheduled caste community have been recommended for the appointment as priests.

A written examination and an interview on the lines of those conducted by the Public Service Commission (PSC) was held to prepare for the appointment of part-time priests, the release said.

Devaswom minister Kadakampally Ramachandran had made it clear that there should be no room for corruption and the selection should be on the basis of merit and by following reservation norms.

A recommendation had been made for the appointment of a total of 62 priests, including 26 from forward caste, it said.

The TDB manages at least 1,248 shrines, including the famous Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala.
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday discussed the issues related to constitutional amendments needed to integrate the troubled Jammu and Kashmir and also the present economic situation of the country with top intellectuals of the country.

Continuing his outreach programmes, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on Friday met intellectuals from different walks of life and officials of different government and NGOs here at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts.

The event, attended by Vice Chancellors of various central universities, heads of PSUs, top bosses of other government-run organisations and eminent personalities like doctors, former bureaucrats, lawyers and industrialists, was a indoor meeting.

The meeting of the RSS chief with the top intellectuals of the country assumes significance as the government is under attack within and from the opposition as well over the state of economy.

After Vijaya Dashmi speech, Sarsanghachalakji meets people from different walks of life and discusses issues raised in his speech. He discussed the issues here also, Manmohan Vaidya, the head of RSS Publicity Department (Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh) said.

Bhagwat also got feedback from the invitees about the working of RSS and the improvement needed in the organisation.

Besides the RSS chief, senior functionaries like Bhaiyaji Joshi, Krishna Gopal and Dattatreya Hosabale, Manmohan Vaidya attended the meet.

Before reaching Delhi, Bhagwat met with a minor accident during his return from Vrindavan in the morning.

Bhagwat, since last few years, has been meeting industrialists, educationists, diplomats and intellectuals from different walks of life to strengthen the saffron organisation.

Recently, Bhagwat met diplomats of different countries here at a function organised by India Foundaion.

During his Dussehra speech, Bhagwat had raised concerns about constitutional provisions like Article 35(a), that empowers the states legislature to define Jammu and Kashmir residents and accord citizenship rights to them, for the backward life of these Hindu migrants and also Kashmiri Pandits, who migrated from the valley in early 1990s when an armed insurgency broke out in the state, saying their condition remains as it is.
The Congress on Friday said that measures announced by the Narendra Modi government to ease concerns over Goods and Services Tax were too little, too late and procedural reliefs will not compensate for messing with the basic architecture of GST.

Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said, in a series of tweets, that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley should have listened to the sane advice given by party Vice President Rahul Gandhi.

#GSTCouncilMeet Too little, too late. Procedural reliefs will not compensate for messing with the basic architecture of GST by Modi Govt, Surjewala said.

Huge opportunity of adding 2% to Indias GDP squandered away by GST mess & subsequent half baked rollbacks by panic stricken Modi Govt.

Wish that PM/FM could remove blinkers of arrogance to listen to the sane counsel of @OfficeofRG, Dr Manmohan Singh & @Pchidambaram, he added.

Rahul Gandhi had said earlier in the day that petrol and diesel should be brought under the GST regime to prevent excessive profiteering. He had called for correcting distorted structure concerning textiles, making GST simpler and the processing of filing of returns easy.

The government, which faced severe criticism over the implementation of GST, on Friday night announced a slew of measures to ease the concerns of traders, exporters and small business while slashing the rates on 27 items of common consumption, including roti, khakra, namkeens, stationery, man-made yarn  with most of them brought to five per cent category.
Claiming threat to his life, Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah today sought a direction to the Tihar Jail authorities here to shift him to the high-risk ward in an application before a Delhi court.

62-year-old Shah moved the application before Additional Sessions Judge Sidharth Sharma where he also alleged that the jail authorities were not providing him proper medicines.

The court sought a response from the jail authorities on the application by October 13.

The application, moved through advocate M S Khan, said there is serious threat to his (Shah) life and few incidents have happened with him in jail as well as in the judicial lock-up.

Direct the jail authorities to shift him (Shah) to high risk ward in order to ensure his safety and security, the application said.

The court had earlier allowed Shahs plea seeking his production before it through video conference.

Shah was earlier denied bail by the court on August 22 after the Enforcement Directorates advocate Naveen Kumar Matta said the agency was probing whether he had received money from enemy countries like Pakistan to promote terrorism in India.

Shah was arrested last month by the ED, a day after several Hurriyat leaders were taken into custody of the National Investigating Agency (NIA) in a case of alleged terror funding in the valley to fuel unrest.

He was arrested in connection with the August 2005 case in which the Special Cell of Delhi Police had arrested 35-year old Wani, an alleged hawala dealer who is currently in ED custody, claiming that Rs 63 lakh was recovered from Wani, of which Rs 52 lakh was allegedly to be delivered to Shah.

The agency had earlier issued summonses to Shah in the case, the prosecution had said, adding that Wani had claimed he had given Rs 2.25 crore to Shah. Wani was arrested earlier this month.

Investigating agencies such as the NIA had cracked down on Hurriyat leaders, arresting Syed Ali Shah Geelani s son- in-law  Altaf Ahmed Shah, also known as Altaf Fantoosh  and six other Kashmiri separatists.
Amidst media reports that it has stepped up the presence of troops and widening the road in Doklam area, China on Friday said it has the right to protect its territorial rights.

The Chinese border defence troops have always been patrolling in Donglang district to protect the territorial rights, according to relevant border treaties and agreements, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

There is no dispute that Donglang (Doklam) is always part of Chinas territory and is always under Chinas effective and valid administration, it added.

India, meanwhile, said there were no new developments at the face-off site and its vicinity in Doklam along the India-China border and status quo continues.

In late August, India and China ended their 73-day military stand-off at Doklam where their borders meet with Bhutan.

In June, the Indian army had stopped the Chinese army from building a road in the area, which is claimed by Bhutan. This led to the face-off.

However, both sides decided to retreat from the face-off point, ending the crisis.

However, media reports said this week that China had increased the number of troops in Doklam and was expanding the existing road.
In a possible bid to boost the partys prospects in the coming assembly elections, PM Modi will be in his home state on Saturday and Sunday. The PM will lay foundation stones of a number of projects, besides addressing public rallies.

He will visit the Dwarkadheesh Temple on 7 October. At Dwarka, he will lay the foundation stones of a bridge between Okha and Beyt Dwarka; and of other road development projects, besides addressing a public meeting.

From Dwarka, the PM Modi will go to Chotila in Surendranagar district. He will lay the foundation stones of a greenfield airport at Rajkot; six-laning of Ahmedabad-Rajkot National Highway; and four-laning of Rajkot-Morbi State Highway. He will also dedicate a fully automatic milk processing and packaging plant; and a drinking water distribution pipeline for Joravarnagar and Ratanpur areas of Surendranagar. PM Modi will also address a public meeting.

The Prime Minister will then proceed to Gandhinagar and will dedicate the newly constructed building of IIT Gandhinagar. He will also launch the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA) and will address the public. PMGDISHA is aimed at imparting digital literacy to citizens in rural areas.

On 8 October, the Prime Minister will visit Vadnagar. This will be PM Modis first visit to the town, since assuming the office of Prime Minister. He will visit the Hatkeshwar Temple. At a public meeting, the Prime Minister will launch the Intensified Mission Indradhanush, to accelerate progress towards the goal of full immunisation coverage. The Prime Minister will distribute e-tablets to health workers to mark the launch of ImTeCHO.

ImTeCHO is an innovative mobile phone application to improve performance of ASHAs through better supervision, support and motivation for increasing coverage of proven maternal, newborn and child health interventions among resource-poor settings in India. ImTeCHO stands for Innovative mobile-phone Technology for Community Health Operations.

From Vadnagar PM Modi will visit Bharuch. He will lay the foundation stone for Bhadbhut Barrage, to be built over the Narmada River. He will flag off the Antyodaya Express between Udhna (Surat, Gujarat), and Jaynagar (Bihar). He will unveil plaques to mark the laying of foundation stone, and inauguration of various plants of Gujarat Narmada Fertilizer Corporation and will address a public meeting.

The Prime Minister will return to Delhi on the evening of 8 October.
Belligerence could be the name of the tune to which the Indian armed forces now march. The normally reticent Chief of the Air Staff has, ahead of the IAF anniversary, followed his counterpart in olive-green in making comments ~ even if in response to queries ~ that his predecessor would have opted to shun.

Fair enough: military force is a legitimate instrument of state policy and the two Chiefs were in step with the tough image the government is projecting of itself, hence attention will be focused on what the Navy Chief says a couple of months down the road. Pakistan has immediately reacted strongly to Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoas comments, as the Chinese had done to General Bipin Rawats when the Doklam crisis was brewing.

Both the Air Force and Army Chiefs have been stressing a capacity to fight a two-front war, perhaps a way of countering increasing cooperation between Beijing and Islamabad. Apart from creating an impact however, there is little in what Air Marshal Dhanoa has said that would qualify as breaking news, a term admittedly rendered irrelevant by overuse on television.

Even before Pakistan boasted its new range of nuclear weapons to counter Indias cold strike plans the IAF would have developed the wherewithal to take out the nuclear weapons across the western border ~ as indeed the PAF would have done as well.

As for the Plan B to compensate for dwindling forcelevels, had not a previous Air Chief on an earlier IAF Anniversary spoken of what he called a swing doctrine by which air assets could be quickly switched to the eastern theatre from their normal bases east of the Radcliffe Line? The public and a section of politicians might applaud such gungho, military-minds might not get carried away so easily.

Well, every Chief is entitled to a share of the limelight. It might not have been politically correct to say so, yet the IAF cannot camouflage its concerns over now being 15 fighter-squadrons short of the desired levels and that situation is unlikely to ease in the immediate future.

Two squadrons of Rafales will not enter service till the end of next year, and basing one each at Ambala and Hashimara will hardly tilt the military balance. No forward movement has been reported on acquiring 100 singleseat fighters to compensate for the retirement of the MiG series, nor have plans been firmed up for acquiring additional AWACS and mid-air refuellers, force-multipliers both.

Domestic production of the Tejas LCA and a range of indigenous helicopters remain lethargic, little is heard of the Tata-Airbus project to replace the HS-748 transports and so on. That tale of woe could be lengthy, and it will not have a happy ending by making much of a handful of women entering the fighterpilots stream.
"The status quo prevails in this area. Any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect," the External Affairs Ministry said in response to "recent press reports" on Doklam.

By Geeta Mohan: India on Friday rejected recent reports of a sizeable presence of Chinese troops near the Doklam stand-off site.

The Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement, "We have seen recent press reports on Doklam. There are no new developments at the face-off site and its vicinity since the 28th August disengagement. The status quo prevails in this area. Any suggestion to the contrary is incorrect.

In response to recent press reports about Doklam, our statement : pic.twitter.com/vIUp4xvFXR- Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) October 6, 2017

advertisement

An indication of increased presence of Chinese forces in the Chumbi Valley in the Doklam plateau was also given by Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa on Thursday.

"The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, their forces in Chumbi Valley are still deployed and I expect them to withdraw as their exercise in the area gets over," he said.

China on Thursday said there had been no violation of the understanding between India and China on the 89 sq km Doklam area (which is disputed territory between China and Bhutan) so India had never objected to the patrols or the troop presence in that area. The main concern was the road construction by the Chinese forces, which has come to a halt.

An official explained the situation, saying there has been "no such movement or construction work by the Chinese forces that would impinge upon the understanding of disengagement between the two sides".

Indian is constantly monitoring the situation, which remains far from normal. But New Delhi has not witnessed any change that would affect its "core concerns".

VIDEO | MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar on recent media reports about Doklam

#WATCH: MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar says, 'no new developments at the face-off site & its vicinity since 28 Aug disengagement' #Doklam pic.twitter.com/E9ozgccdRs- ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2017

Video courtesy: ANI/Twitter

--- ENDS ---
A suicide bomber on Thursday blew himself up at a Shia shrine packed with devotees in Pakistans troubled Balochistan province, killing at least 18 people and injuring 25 others, police officials said.

The attacker tried to enter the Dargah Fatehpur in the Jhal Magsi district of Balochistan and detonated his explosives vest when he was stopped by the police at the main entrance, Deputy Commissioner Asadullah Kakar told the media.

Kakar said an assistant sub-inspector of police was killed while attempting to stop the suicide bomber from entering the shrine. Two other policemen were also injured.

The Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement posted on the Islamic State-linked Aamaq news agency.

Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti told the media that 18 people including a police constable and three children were killed in the blast.

The brave police constable stopped the suicide bomber from entering the shrine after which he blew himself up. If he had managed to enter the shrine there would be have been greater casualties, Bugti said.

The minister said that around 25 people were injured in the blast and they were shifted to different hospitals.

Dr Rukhsana Magsi at the Gandawah hospital in Jhal Magsi, about 400 kms east of Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, confirmed 15 bodies were brought to the hospital.

Rescue officials fear that the death toll could rise as the blast took place when there was a heavy rush of devotees who had gathered at the shrine to pay their respect.

Devotees gather at the shrine of the revered Sufi saint every Thursday to participate in a sufi dance called dhamaal and prayers.

Bugti said the shrine was holding its annual Urs and hundreds of devotees from all over the country had come to the place to pay their respects.

A bomb attack on the same shrine killed 35 people in 2005.

The local administration declared an emergency at hospitals in Sibbi and Dera Murad Jamali.

Earlier, Balochistan government spokesperson Anwarul Haq Kakar said 13 people had been killed. We have confirmed reports it was a suicide attack, he said.

Initial probe showed that the blast occurred when dhamal was going in the premises of the shrine.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi condemned the attack and vowed that his government will act against militants with full might.

Todays attack is the second major strike at a shrine in Balochistan where in November 2016, at least 52 people were killed and 102 injured in a blast at the shrine of Shah Norani in Khuzdar district.
At least 19 people were killed on Friday when a passenger bus collided with a train in Russia, police said.

The disaster took place at a railway crossing near Pokrovka station in Petushinsky district, reports Xinhua news agency.
The US has violated the body and spirit of the nuclear deal signed in July 2015 between Tehran and six major international powers, a senior Iranian cleric said on Friday.

Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami was responding to US President Donald Trumps Thursday statement accusing Tehran of not upholding the spirit of the nuclear deal.

Trump said he was about to decide on certifying the Iran nuclear deal or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and said that there was a need to put an end to Tehrans aggression and nuclear ambitions, Efe news reported.

The ayatollah, who is an important member of the Assembly of Experts, said that Iranian leaders agreed that the JCPOA could not be renegotiated. Khatami also warned that Europes support could not be taken for granted and it would choose the US over Iran if forced to.

Only the US government has opposed the nuclear deal, which has the support of five other signatories: Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom and Germany.

Ali Akbar Salehi, vice-president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, appealed to all parties on Thursday to continue with the deal if they wish to persuade North Korea to come to the negotiating table.

Salehi said that if other countries also withdraw from the deal, the JCPOA will collapse, but if it is only Washington that leaves, the joint supervising commission can decide further course of action.

Trump has until October 15 to decide on certifying whether Iran is fulfilling the terms of the agreement, which puts restrictions on its nuclear capabilities in exchange for lifting international sanctions.

A US decision to not certify Iran will not mean its withdrawal from the pact, but will start a process which can culminate in a re-imposition of sanctions on Iran for its nuclear programme, a step which would probably put an end to the deal.

Many media outlets reported that the Trump administration is planning to de-certify Iran, citing US national interests.

We hope that the final decision that the US President adopts will be weighed and based on reality, because it is an extremely necessary programme, Russias Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.
Tropical Storm Nate churning north along Central America has killed at least 20 people in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras, media reports said.

The Met predicts it could strengthen into a hurricane as it heads for Mexico and the US.

A state of emergency has been declared in the Central American nations, where it has caused heavy rains, landslides and floods blocking roads, destroying bridges and damaging houses, the BBC reported.

In Costa Rica, nearly 400,000 people were without running water and thousands were sleeping in shelters.

At least six people have died in the storm there, while another 11 were killed when it moved north and reached Nicaragua. Three persons have been killed in Honduras and several are reported missing.

Costa Rica declared a national emergency, closing schools and government offices on Thursday and Friday. All train journeys were suspended and dozens of flights cancelled on Thursday.

It also closed national parks and several electricity plants.

Nate sparked heavy downpour in the Central American region since Wednesday, dumping up to 215 litres of rain per square meter in Costa Rica, Efe news quoted the National Meteorological Institute as saying.

The forecasters said Nate would gain strength and become a category 1 hurricane before it made landfall on the southern coast of US on Sunday.

Oil companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico said they were evacuating staff from platforms which lie along the predicted path of the storm, the BBC said.

The region was already recovering from several major hurricanes: Hurricane Harvey tore through Texas in August, and Hurricane Irma hit Florida in September. Another powerful storm, Hurricane Maria, ripped through the Caribbean in late September.
Montreal, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

A mix of clouds and sun early, then becoming cloudy later in the day. High 37F. Winds light and variable..

Tonight

Cloudy with snow showers developing after midnight. Low 31F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 70%.
By PTI: (Eds: Correction in second para)

Hyderabad, Oct 6 (PTI) The ruling TRS in Telangana has criticised the idea of curtailing the term of Assemblies and called for a consensus on the issue of holding simultaneous Lok Sabha and state polls.

Telangana Rashtra Samitis (TRS) floor leader in the Lok Sabha, A P Jithender Reddy, said people elect a government for a term of five years, and this mandate should be allowed to be completed.

advertisement

"We are always ready (for elections) but what I think is when the mandate is given for five years, we (states) should complete the mandated period," Reddy told PTI.

He suggested giving extensions to Assemblies which completed their five-year term to synchronise the national and state-level poll schedules.

"If somebody (state) has completed their term, let them get an extension (till the time of simultaneous elections). Nobody should go (to polls) before (their) term (ends)," he said.

Reddy said a consensus should be built on holding simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and state Assemblies.

"Dont call for election before (expiry of) term. People have given five years mandate. The term should not be curtailed," said the Lok Sabha member from Mahbubnagar.

Earlier this week, Election Commissioner O P Rawat said in Bhopal that the poll body would be "logistically equipped" by September 2018 to hold simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP have been pressing for simultaneous elections to save time and resources. PTI RS RMS RMS

--- ENDS ---
In a big boost to the education sector, the Aam Aadmi Party government will inaugurate over 5,000 new classrooms in more than 100 Delhi government schools.

By Pooja Shali: In a big boost to the education sector, the Aam Aadmi Party government will inaugurate over 5,000 new classrooms in more than 100 Delhi government schools.

Nagendra Sharma, advisor to the Delhi government, confirmed the information saying, "Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will gift 5,695 new classrooms to more than 100 Delhi government schools."

Sharma called this move the "biggest step towards expansion of educational infrastructure in the capital."

advertisement

On Saturday, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia will first visit a government school in his constituency Patparganj and inaugurate a few classrooms there. Following this, classrooms in other schools will be gifted via video conferencing.

The Delhi government has been praised by parents for starting parent-teacher meetings in government schools on a regular basis.

Moreover, quality infrastructure in these government schools has also brought smiles and hope to many families to send their children.

The Aam Aadmi Party is likely to use this decision as an election agenda for the next elections.

Only a few days ago, the Delhi government had announced that it would regularise 15,000 guest (private) teachers. However, the Lieutenant Governor turned it down, quoting procedural issues.

--- ENDS ---
Organization: Refugee Law

Project (RLP)

Duty Station: Uganda

Reports to: English for

Adult Coordinator Kampala

About US:

The Refugee Law Project (RLP) is an outreach project of the School of

Law, Makerere University. Our Mission is to empower asylum seekers, refugees,

deportees, IDPs and host communities to enjoy their human rights and lead

dignified lives. Refugee Law Projects work is currently structured in five

thematic areas: Access to Justice; Conflict, Transitional Justice &

Governance (CTJ&G), Gender & Sexuality; Mental Health & Psychosocial

Wellbeing; and Media for Social Change.

Job Summary: The English for

Adult Team Leader is mainly responsible for facilitating the learning of

English language to non-English speaking refugees and other victims of forced

migration to enable them advocate for their human rights and access services.



Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities:

Manage the teaching of Adult learners

functional English and practical skills to help them in running their day

to day affairs.

Coordinate with class leaders in respective

classes to ensure that classes are run in a systematic manner and order

Maintain an up-to-date register for EFA

students.

Develop training curricula, instructor

manuals, learner guides, and other materials, and/or utilize purchased

training programs that meet identified learning goals.

The incumbent will also ensure that

debates for the learners are organised to help them develop confidence in

the language taught though educational arguments.

Formulate and prepare lesson plans for the

class assigned to fit within the specified period of study(term)

Guide the EFA Facilitator in executing

assignments to learners in time and making sure that the given assignments

are marked and results handed over to the learners on time.

Work closely with EFA Coordinator in

curriculum development

Conduct and mobilize communities for

community policing meetings

Ensure that class are run and maintained

in a clean and professional classroom environment.

Manage the arrangement and organization of

materials to be used in community policing as well as police trainings.

Ensure that all EFA materials are filed in

a way that can make them easily accessible by users.

Ensure that all information disseminated

to learners is given in proper manner and in the languages understood by

the learners.

The jobholder will also attend in-house

and out of office meetings/workshops whenever requested and represent RLP

in a professional manner.











Experience: Qualifications, Skills andExperience:

The ideal candidate for the Refugee Law

Project (RLP) Data Analyst job opportunity must hold a Bachelors degree

in Adult and community Education, Education

At least two years experience in

facilitating professional adult learning

Broad knowledge of adult learner and

alternative educational methods and have the ability to apply these

methods for adult, at-risk teens and multi-cultural forced migrants

Ability to facilitate classes of diverse

abilities and backgrounds and overcome barriers to success in a

multi-level class

Ability to build a classroom environment

that is conducive to learning and appropriate to the maturity and

interests of students.

Ability to relate well to different groups

of learners of different ages and ability levels.

Computer literacy skills i.e. ability to

use a variety of audio -visual equipment

Ability to communicate effectively both

orally and through correct written grammar and usage.

Must have good classroom management skills.

Possess a strong desire to work with people from a broad range of

backgrounds

Good team-player who can collaborate with

colleagues.

Excellent communication and organisational

skills.

Enthusiasm for the subject material that

will foster a love of learning by students.

Be self-motivated, versatile and adaptable

to different cultures and people.

How to Apply:



capacity are encouraged to send a motivation letter and curriculum vitae

electronically to: All candidates who wish to join the Refugee Law Project (RLP) in thiscapacity are encouraged to send a motivation letter and curriculum vitaeelectronically to: recruitment@refugeelawproject.org

NB: The position applied

for MUST be indicated in the subject line of the email. Copies of certificates

should not be attached, but will be requested for from short-listed candidates

only.

th October

2017 by 5.00pm Deadline: 9October2017 by 5.00pm



find us on our Facebook page For more of the latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com orfind us on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline






Organization: Catholic

Relief Services (CRS)

Duty Station: Uganda

Reports to: Livelihoods

Program Manager

About US:

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is an international non-profit

organization which implements the commitment of the Bishops of the United

States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas. Our Catholic identity is at

the heart of our mission and operations. We welcome as a part of our staff and

as partners people of all faiths and secular traditions who share our values

and our commitment to serving those in need.



Job Summary: The Field Officer 

Savings and Internal Lending Communities (SILC) will support livelihoods

programming for the Uganda Country Program within an emergency/early-recovery

context in support of CRS South Sudanese refugee response in northern Uganda.

S/he will primarily focus on SILC activities under the USAID/BPRM-funded

Emergency WASH and Livelihoods (EWLS) Project that is supporting South Sudanese

refugees in Bidibidi settlement. As a member of the livelihoods project team,

s/he will assist project implementation by working directly with community

members, coordinating various project activities and events in support of

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) work to serve the poor and vulnerable. Her/his

service and community relations skills ensure that the local partners and

communities feed into and benefit from the project that consistently applies

best practices and continuously works towards improving its impact. The SILC

Field Officer will have a high level of self-initiative and use critical

thinking skills to identify, report, and fill gaps. The position requires close

communication and coordination with all project staff involved in the emergency

response.



Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities:

Provide support in the coordination and

monitoring of SILC activities at the field level, ensuring implementation

schedules are met as per the detailed activity plan, and that adherence to

systems for quality project implementation are strengthened.

Manage community mobilization for SILC

including field agent selection process and self-selection process for the

establishment of SILC groups

Work closely with various community

stakeholders and mobilize them to ensure full involvement of community

leaders, community representatives, and local government representatives

in the overall implementation and improvement of project activities.

In charge of training and oversight of

field agents on SILC methodology, responsibilities, and group mentorship

Keenly monitor progress of SILC groups

through regular structured visits, provide ongoing support to field agents

who take over the facilitation of SILC groups.

Coordinate communication and facilitate

information sharing among the project team, implementing partners, and

project beneficiaries at the community level to assist local partners in

strengthening the community interest, involvement and support networks.

The jobholder will also coordinate,

monitor, and report on volunteer activities and maintain good records.

Compile data provided at the community

level as per project requirements and contribute to the preparation of

reports.









Qualifications, Skills and

Experience:

The ideal candidate for the Catholic

Relief Services (CRS) Field Officer  Savings and Internal Lending

Communities (SILC) job opportunity should hold a Bachelors degree in

business administration, finance, economics, international development, or

a related field preferred.

One to two years of work or volunteer

experience in community development and mobilization.

Computer literacy skills

Preferably from Yumbe District or

West-Nile sub-region, otherwise willing to be based in rural northern

Uganda and travel to field locations.

Good observation, active listening and

analysis skills with ability to make sound judgment

Excellent interpersonal skills and the

ability to interact effectively with diverse groups

Highly proactive, results-oriented and

service-oriented

English fluency, including oral and written

skills, required.

Agency-wide Competencies (for all CRS

Staff): Serves with Integrity, Models Stewardship, Cultivates

Constructive Relationships, Promotes Learning, Trusting Relationships,

Professional Growth, Partnership, Accountability

How to Apply:

All suitably qualified and interested Ugandan candidates are encouraged

to send their cover letters, CVs and three work references (names and contact

information only) to ug_recruitment@crs.org

th

October 2017 by 5:00PM Deadline: 11October 2017 by 5:00PM



find us on our facebook page

For more of the latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com orfind us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline






The Railway Ministry's incapability to make sufficient rakes available to carry coal has led to a massive electricity crisis in Maharashtra.

By Kiran Tare: The Railway Ministry's incapability to make sufficient rakes available to carry coal has led to a massive electricity crisis in Maharashtra.

According to Vishwas Pathak, Director of Maharashtra State Electricity Board holding company, the present power shortfall in the state is 2,000 MW.

"We require 32 railway rakes daily to carry coal from the mines to Maharashtra. We are getting only 21 rakes", Pathak told India Today.

advertisement

He said that the government would not wait for the railway rakes any more. "We will fetch coal by road transport if the rakes are not available", he said.Maharashtra gets coal from the mines in Jharkhand.

Pathak said that Maharashtra was facing power shortage because of shortfall in the raw material (coal). "We have the capacity to produce power, equal to the installed capacity but we can't do it in the absence of raw material", Pathak said.

ALMOST 5 HOURS OF POWER OUTAGES IN MAHARASHTRA's RURAL AREAS DAILY

At present, semi-urban and rural areas in Maharashtra have been facing power shortage for at least five hours daily.

The state has been buying 1,200 MW power from the central grid to recover the shortfall. Out of this, 500 MW power is priced at over Rs 4 per unit. It is also buying power from private players such as Adani and JSW.

The state on Friday decided to withdraw load-shedding in the A and B category cities, where losses in transportation were less than 30 per cent.

The Maharashtra government reserves 40 per cent of its power for agricultural and 20 per cent for industrial usage and hospitals. "The load-shedding is applicable in the remaining 40 per cent sector, which includes domestic consumers", Pathak said.

--- ENDS ---
Organisation: Mercy Corps

Duty Station: Kampala,

Uganda

Reports to: Program Manager

About US:

Mercy Corps is an international non-profit organization which

implements high-quality, analytical development programmes in very difficult

places. Mercy Corps has been operating in Uganda since 2006. It has and

continues to implement programs in Acholi and Karamoja sub regions. Mercy Corps

is taking a community-led, market driven approach to address poverty and food

insecurity needs through interventions that get to the root causes and contributing

factors of economic vulnerability. Donors include the United States Agency for

International Development (USAID), DFID, Mastercard Foundation, WALMART

Foundation, Coca Cola Africa Foundation, US Depart of State (DOS) /PEPFAR, ECHO

and Nike Foundation.

About ECHO Program:

Mercy Corps were recently awarded funding for an 18-month

Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid

Operations (ECHO) funded program around Livelihood Programs for South Sudanese

refugees in Bidibidi Settlement in Yumbe District, Rhino and Palorinya Camp in

Uganda. The program will focus on building Livelihood activities and

Agriculture resilience through agricultural inputs and trainings, creation of

VSLAs and IGAs activities.

Job Summary: The Logistics

and Procurement Officer will be primarily responsible for supporting the

operations and functions of the field office to ensure programs run smoothly.

The Logistics and Procurement will support the functioning of field offices and

the adherence to policies for staff in all aspects of logistics including

Procurement, Fleet, Asset (including warehousing and stock-keeping), Security,

and HR & Administration. The Logistics and Procurement Officer is

responsible to support the supervision of compound/equipment maintenance as

well as general day to day management of the office.



Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities:

Fleet:



Reads and has a clear understanding of the Mercy

Corps Fleet Management procedures.



Assists the Senior Operations Officer in

ensuring all vehicles are in good repair



Maintain administrative vehicle files for each

vehicle



Support the overseeing of fuel consumption

purchase and tracking including coordination with gas station(s)



Ensure major repairs are done in a timely

manner.



Assist the Senior Operations Officer in

coordinating with drivers.



Support the completion and filing of accident

reports

Asset:



Reads and has a clear understanding of the Mercy

Corps Asset Management and Warehouse Manual and all procedures; Reads and has a clear understanding of the MercyCorps Asset Management and Warehouse Manual and all procedures;



Supports the implementation of procedures

outlined in the Mercy Corps Asset Management and Warehouse Manual for all West

Nile field offices



Help to ensure that Mercy Corps assets in the

field office are in the asset register and ensure the appropriate coding and

tags are placed on each item.



Help to ensure stock in Yumbe Office is

maintained as per Mercy Corps Warehouse Policies and Principles.



Help to ensure the electronic database is

updated monthly and provide an electronic copy to supervisor; a hard copy is

printed, signed and filed in the assets folder;



Guide colleagues on guidelines of Mercy Corps

asset and equipment use guidelines when directed by the Senior Operations

Officer

Procurement:



Has a full understanding of MC procurement

policies and formats.



Tasked with managing all procurement filing for

both electronic and hard copy documents.



Manage minor repairs at residences and office

(Plumbing, electrical and general)



Help in the enforcement of proper use of

procurement ceilings and approval procedures.



Assist Program and Operational personnel in

regular procurement planning meetings.



Render support in the gathering of quotations

and bids from the market for PRs as per Mercy Corps standards and formats;



Regularly interact with contractors, in

coordination with program staff and as directed by Senior Operations Officer



Ensure that the required documentation of

supplies and transactions are completed to MC standards.

Security: Support the Senior Operations Officer in drafting

regular security reports to Supervisor on occurring incidents and any security

issues/concerns Support the Senior Operations Officer in draftingregular security reports to Supervisor on occurring incidents and any securityissues/concerns











Experience: Qualifications, Skills andExperience:



The applicant for the Mercy Corps Logistics and

Procurement Officer job opportunity should preferably hold a Bachelors Degree

in relevant field



Significant background in humanitarian response

activities preferred.



At least three years experience in Logistics

and Administration management preferred.



Good writing, communication, organization,

prioritization and negotiating skills.



Good (English) verbal and written communication

skills preferred.



Computer literacy skills i.e. full knowledge of

office applications.



Keen attention to detail and ability to complete

tasks in a timely manner.



Excellent teamwork abilities and interpersonal

skills.



Demonstrated flexibility, creativity and

enthusiasm as well as a willingness to learn and to be continually adaptive

within a dynamic and often self-directed working environment mandatory.



Highly proactive, problem-solving action

orientation is essential.

How to Apply:

All suitably qualified and interested candidates should send their

E-mail applications including a cover letter clearly stating the salary

requirements, updated CV (with three professional referees), and copies of

academic qualifications/certificates addressed to the Senior HR and Legal

Manager, Mercy Corps Uganda to: ug-mcjobs@mercycorps.org

th October 2017 Deadline: 12October 2017
Job Title: Several Female Driver UN Jobs

Organisation: United Nations

High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Position No.: Temporary

Vacancy Notice No.: 30/2017

Duty Station: All UNHCR Duty

Stations, Uganda

Reports to: Administrative/Finance

Associate

Position Grade: GL2

About UNHCR:

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was

established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly.

UNHCRs mandate under the Statute of the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees is to lead and co-ordinate action for international

protection to refugees; seek permanent solutions for the problems of refugees

and safeguard refugee rights and well-being. UNHCR has an additional mandate

concerning issues of statelessness, as it is given a designated role under

Article 11 of the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

Job Summary: The Female

Driver is responsible for up keep and maintenance of the assigned UNHCR

vehicle(s) as per technical guidance and specifications established by the

organisation. He/She will be required to follow strict instructions and

security guidance provided by the supervisor. While the basic function of a

driver is to drive the official vehicles of UNHCR, he/she may be called upon to

perform minor maintenance and repair of UNHCR vehicles. The incumbent has

regular contacts with staff within UNHCR office and with service providers

outside UNHCR involving a limited exchange of information



Responsibilities: Key Duties andResponsibilities:



The jobholder will drive UNHCR vehicles for the

transport of authorized passengers and delivery and collection of mail,

documents, UNHCR pouch and other items.



Meet official personnel at the airport and

facilitate immigration and customs formalities as required.



Carry out the day-to-day maintenance of the

assigned vehicles; check oil, water, battery, brakes, tires, etc. and ensure

that the assigned UNHCR vehicles are road worthy and maintained up to the

established security standards.



Conduct minor repairs and arrange for other

repairs and ensure that the vehicle is kept clean.



Ensure that the steps required by rules and

regulations are taken in case of involvement in accident.



Log official trips, daily mileage, gas

consumption, oil changes, greasing, etc. -Perform other related duties as

required.

Key Performance Indicators:



Assigned UNHCR vehicles are properly maintained

and equipped as per technical guidance and specifications established by the

Organisation.











Local traffic rules and regulations are strictly

observed.



Instructions and security guidance provided by

the supervisor and security focal point are strictly followed by the Driver and

the passengers during the journey



Experience: Qualifications, Skills andExperience:



The ideal candidate for the United Nations UNHCR

Driver job placement should have completed Primary Education or equivalent

technical or commercial school.



At least two years of previous job experience

relevant to the function.



Hold a clean and valid driving licence, knowledge

of driving rules and regulations and skills in minor vehicle repair.



Good mechanical skills.



Ability to work in remote areas.

How to Apply:

All interested Ugandan nationals who wish to join the United Nations

High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the aforementioned capacity are

encouraged to click on the link below and follow the application instructions

after reviewing the job details.

th

October 2017 Deadline: 19October 2017



find us on our facebook page

For more of the latest jobs, please visit https://www.theugandanjobline.com orfind us on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/UgandanJobline






Amid growing incidents of selfie-related deaths, Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan on Friday advised people to be cautious while clicking selfies.

"While taking selfies many people met with an accident and therefore, we should remain cautious whenever clicking selfies," he said.

Bachchan was speaking in Bhopal at the opening of Kalyan Jewellers' first store in Madhya Pradesh. The actor, who is the brand ambassador of the jewellery company, was present along with his wife, actress-MP Jaya Bachchan.

"Wherever we go, we normally click 10-12 photos, but still we say one selfie is must...We will also take one with the people here," Bachchan said when he was requested by the organisers to take a selfie from the dais with the crowd present at the function.

Referring to the fans, who jostled with one another to catch a glimpse of the popular actor couple, the megastar said, "I always feel very happy after meeting you people and therefore, I feel that I should come here again and again."

Bachchan is also known as the famous son-in-law of Bhopal as his wife belongs to the city.
Bringing back the dark memories of children's deaths in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur in August, at least ten newborns have died in the state-run Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital in Barpeta since Wednesday morning. Two more newborns are reported to be in critical condition. All the newborns were admitted in the sick newborn care unit of the hospital.

The incident has sent shock-waves across the state. The parents who lost their newborns were seen crying and wailing inconsolably as medical staff members are trying to control the situation.

However, the principal-cum-chief superintendent of the college, Dr Dilip Kumar Dutta has denied any medical negligence. He stated that the deaths are due to a medical condition called birth asphyxiadeprivation of oxygen to a newborn during the birth process and lasting long enough to cause physical harm, usually to the brain.

He explained that the neonates succumbed to other factors including low birth weight, or due to delay in seeking treatment. Few mothers, he said, are also critically ill.

The state government has sent the Director of Medical Education and a consultant from the UNICEF to probe into the deaths at Barpeta. A team of doctors from the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) has been rushed to the hospital to support the doctors and take care of any exigencies.

On Wednesday, five newborns were reported to be dead and five more the next day. Most of the dead were from the Bengali-speaking minority community belonging to the very poor section of the society. Two-month-old infant of Aminul Islam of Shahpur and another girl-child of Hasina Begum of Dhubri were declared dead at 8 pm on Thursday.

The newborns were born with extreme low birth weights like 1 kg, 2 kg and 2.2 kg. The mothers were also admitted late to the hospital, due to which proper monitoring of the mothers was not possible leading to the tragedy, Dutta averred. He added, "The deaths are not due to the negligence of doctors. Unfortunately, we could not save them though we tried our best."

A wailing Aminul blamed the deaths on medical negligence. How can so many babies die at the same time? he asked. They kept the condition of our child a secret. No information was given out except the news in the end. I have lost everything, nothing can bring back my child, wailed Islam holding his dead child in his hands, as relatives and friends tried their best to console him.

State health minister Himanta Biswa Sharma said all the babies received proper medical attention but it was the critical nature of the cases that led to the tragedy. He also mentioned that some of the mothers were very young, barely twenty years old. " I talked to the doctors concerned on phone. They have categorically said that the babies could not be saved despite best possible care in the hospital. We have sent the Director of Medical Education and a consultant from the UNICEF to enquire into the reasons behind the deaths. Doctors told me they did their best, Sharma said.

Additional deputy commissioner Bipul Saikia and additional superintendent of police Pankaj Kakati also visited the hospital on Thursday.

The Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College and Hospital is the newest addition to the medical education scenario in the state. The fifth medical college in Assam, it was inaugurated in 2011. At present, there are ten doctors including six specialists. Congress MP and Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Ripun Bora demanded a "high-level inquiry and adequate compensation to the victim families".

Nazrul Islam, president of the influential KMSS (Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity) Barpeta, said, " This is a case of total failure of the health department in Assam. The deaths are due to doctors' negligence and poor management of the hospital. The senior doctors pass on their duties and responsibilities to the interns and junior doctors who are not equipped to deal with emergencies," he said. The KMSS also demanded Rs 10 lakh per family as compensation.

Interestingly, as per reports, 26 doctors have resigned from the hospital and three doctors have gone on leave without information, while nine took voluntary retirement in the recent past.
China has maintained a sizeable presence of its troops near the site of the Doklam standoff with India and even started widening an existing road which is at a distance of around 12 km from the area of conflict.

Sources said China has been slowly increasing its troop level in the Doklam plateau which could further escalate the current situation as India has reasons to be concerned over it.

They said an existing road is also being strengthened in the Doklam plateau, adding the road is at a distance of around 12 kms from the earlier face-off site.

An indication of tension between the two countries due to presence of Chinese forces in the Chumbi Valley in the Doklam plateau was also given by Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa today.

"The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, their forces in Chumbi Valley are still deployed and I expect them to withdraw as their exercise in the area gets over," Dhanoa told reporters.

There has been territorial disputes between China and Bhutan over Dokalam and India has been staunchly supporting Thimphu over the issue.

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day-long standoff in Doklam since June 16 after the Indian side stopped the building of a road in the disputed area by the Chinese Army. Bhutan and China have a dispute over Dokalam.

Bhutan and India were in touch with each other during the course of the face-off that ended on August 28.

Days after the face-off ended, Army Chief Bipin Rawat had said China has started "flexing its muscles" and warned that the situation in India's northern border could snowball into a larger conflict.

There are also reports that People's Liberation Army (PLA) has increased more troops on its forward post in Yatung.

Sources said though Chinese troops have been deployed in Doklam Plateau, they leave the area during winters.

But, there were indication that they may leave the areas this time, they added.
Seven defence personnel were killed after an Mi-17 V5 helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday.

Tawang district Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Meena said the chopper crashed around 6.30 am killing all the seven people on board.

The chopper was on a routine Air Maintenance Mission, Meena quoted a defence officer as saying.

The crash site is located at some four-to-five hours drive from Tawang. "It is a forested area," Meena said adding that the bodies are being brought to the helipad near Tawang.

"We are told that there were no civilians and all were defence personnel," he said.

Earlier in July an Indian Air Force chopper engaged in a flood rescue mission crashed near Papum Pare district in the hill state killing four persons, including three IAF crew and one India Reserve Battalion (IRB) personnel.

The frequently changing weather conditions in Arunachal Pradesh makes flying of choppers difficult in the area and there have been several incidents of crashes in the hill state in the past.

The then chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Dorjee Khandu, and four others also died in a chopper crash in the hill state in 2011.
Replying to a query in a news conference, Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa quipped: "Air Force has the capability to locate, fix and strike targets across the border.

He was stating a fact. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has the technological capability to acquire, engage and destroy all varieties of military targets in Pakistan. This was misinterpreted to mean that the IAF has plans to take out Pakistans nuclear warheads.

Shortly thereafter, while speaking at a think tank in Washington DC, Pakistans Foreign Minister Khawaja M. Asif said, If that happens, nobody should expect any restraint from us. Earlier, as defence minister, Asif had threatened the use of nuclear weapons five times.

While delivering nuclear threats is a part of the Pakistani civilian and military leaderships DNA, the more important issue is whether there was any wisdom in attacking nuclear warhead storage sites and missile launchers during a conventional conflict with Pakistan. Or, will such attacks from the air and by long-range Indian artillery have a destabilising effect?

Those who oppose targeting nuclear warhead storage sites and missile launchers argue that if the adversary apprehends that his strategic assets can be destroyed before they can even plan to employ them, it creates a use them or lose them fear psychosis and, consequently, lowers the threshold for use of the nuclear weapons.

Pakistan follows a first use nuclear strategy so as to neutralise Indias superior conventional military strength. So, it is in the latters national interest to locate and destroy as many nuclear warhead storage sites, missile launchers and their command and control systems as early as possible.

Also, some of Pakistans nuclear-tipped missiles are short-range ballistic missiles (SRBMs). Hatf-IX (NASR), to cite an example, has a maximum range of merely 60km. SRBMs like NASR need to be deployed well forward. As India can never be sure exactly when Pakistan may carry out its threat to hit their leading combat echelons with nuclear warheads, it is necessary to locate and destroy all forward-deployed missile launchers.

What Pakistans civilian and military leadership need to understand is that the possession of tactical nuclear weapons (TNWs) is inherently destabilising. Apart from the proclivity to use them or lose them, TNWs are prone to the mad major syndromethe unauthorised launch of a nuclear-tipped missile by an officer who is fighting his own war. It is difficult to ensure the safety and security of TNWs. These are stored and moved around under field conditions.

Also, the warheads on nuclear-tipped missiles, when these are deployed, are vulnerable to sympathetic detonation that may, in a rare case, lead to a nuclear explosion. This might cause the adversary to think that the missile battery was deliberately targeted with a nuclear warhead.

It is for all these reasons that India, very sensibly, decided not to opt for TNWs or nuclear weapons intended for battlefield use. Pakistan would also do well to dismantle its TNWs. In fact, India and Pakistan should mutually agree to retire SRBMs from their nuclear arsenals. Pakistan should agree to dismantle Hatf-I, II and III and India should remove Prithvi-I and II from its nuclear units.

Such an agreement will be a nuclear confidence building measure (CBM) of a very high order. It will lead to other, even more important, CBMs being negotiated in due course. TNWs are well past their use by date.

The writer is Distinguished Fellow, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi. All views expressed are personal
The CBSE has told the Supreme Court that Pradhuman Thakur's death in a Gurugram school could have been averted, had school authorities discharged their duties and responsibilities with care and sincerity, a lawyer said on Thursday.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) also told the top court that the board's fact-finding committee observed "certain severe irregularities and security lapses" at the Ryan International School in Bhondsi area on Sohna Road in Gurugram district.

Pradhuman, aged seven, was found murdered on September 8 in the school washroom. His father Barun Chandra Thakur has since moved the apex court on the matter.

Barun Chandra Thakur's counsel Sushil K. Tekriwal said the CBSE affidavit in the apex court points out that the school management failed to provide basic amenities on the campus.

"The Ryan management never provided portable drinking water to students. There was no reverse osmosis plant. Water drawn from a bore well was supplied on the campus," Tekriwal said quoting the affidavit.

He said the CBSE also said there were no ramps and no closed-circuit television at prominent places on the campus, and the classrooms not in use on two floors of the school building were not put under lock and key.

Tekriwal said many serious irregularities and security lapses have been pointed out in the CBSE affidavit, like no attendant to accompany students to washrooms, no separate toilets, bathrooms, and restrooms for children and non-teaching staff.

The lawyer said police was not informed immediately after the crime and no FIR was registered by the school management. There was also the absence of a boundary wall of sufficient height and barbed wire thereon.

Pradhuman's father Barun Chandra Thakur said his stand on the whole issue had been vindicated by the CBSE affidavit in the apex court and expressed the hope that the family will get justice.

The fact-finding committee was set up by the Central Board of Secondary Education on September 9. It submitted its report on September 14 to the board.

The CBSE told the court that on the basis of the committee report, a show-cause notice was issued to the school on September 16.
By PTI: PM

By Deepak Ranjan

Vadnagar (Gujarat), Oct 6 (PTI) People in Vadnagar, the ancestral village of Narendra Modi, are waiting eagerly for his first visit as prime minister.

Modi, who will be in Gujarat for a two-day trip starting tomorrow, will be visiting Vadnagar, his birthplace, in Mehasana district on Sunday.

There is a lot of excitement in Vadnagar as well as nearby villages such as Badarpur and Molipur over the visit, the prime ministers elder brother Somabhai Modi told PTI.

advertisement

Ahead of the prime ministers visit, the administration here is busy working on roads and ensuring cleanliness. Fire engines have also been deployed inside the railway station for cleaning of trees on its premises.

The PM has dedicated himself to the service of the nation and everyones blessings is with him, Somabhai Modi said, adding that his father had built a house in Vadnagar in 1949 but it was destroyed in the 2001 earthquake, following which they sold the land.

He said the family has constructed a shelter home for the elderly in the village.

The prime ministers school teacher, Dr Prahlad Patel, said he hopes to meet Narendra Modi who writes letters to him occasionally.

The prime minister will also inaugurate a medical college and a hospital, and a new building at the local railway station, according to officials.

With Gujarat gearing up for assembly elections, Prime Minister Modi will be attending a bhumi pujan and foundation laying ceremony for several projects as well as launching government schemes.

There will be an exhibition of photos at the canteen of the local railway station where the prime ministers father used to prepare tea. Narendra Modi in his childhood would often help his father and paternal uncle, and also deliver tea to train passengers.

The prime minister will also be visiting the Dwarkadheesh temple in Jamnagar and will be doing the bhumi pujan at Rajkot airport. He will also be addressing a public rally in Vadnagar. PTI DR JC ANB

--- ENDS ---
Pakistans Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif has warned India against launching a surgical strike on the countrys nuclear installations, saying if that happens, nobody should expect restraint from Islamabad.

Yesterday, the Indian air chief said we will hit, through another surgical strike, Pakistans nuclear installations. If that happens, nobody should expect restraint form us. Thats the most diplomatic language I can use, the Dawn quoted Asif as saying at the US Institute of Peace in Washington.

Indias Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa on Thursday said that the Indian Air Force (IAF) has the capability to "locate, fix and strike across the border," in response to a question about handling the tactical nuclear weapons of Pakistan, at the annual press conference in New Delhi.

According to the report, Asif urged Indian leaders not to consider such actions as those could have dire consequences.

Earlier, Asif, who is on a three-day official visit to US, met US National Security Adviser Gen H.R. McMaster and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Relations between the United States and Pakistan became strained on August 21 this year when President Donald Trump announced his new strategy for South Asia and squarely blamed Pakistan for sheltering terrorists in safe havens. He also threatened to stop economic and military assistance to Islamabad and offered India a greater role in Afghanistan, ignoring Islamabad's concerns.

Pakistan has since downgraded delegation-level visits, but is still talking to the American leadership on a case-by-case basis.
Crispin Odey was briefly married to James Murdoch's elder sister Prue

Sky investors are being urged to vote against re-electing James Murdoch as Chairman at next weeks AGM due to concerns about his independence.

How will Skys tenth-largest shareholder, hedge funder Crispin Odey, vote, I wonder?

Hes been cool on Skys takeover bid from 21st Century Fox, saying recently that hed be happy if it now failed.

Not that its relevant, but Odey was briefly married to Murdochs elder sister Prue in the mid-1980s, describing James back then as a squit.

Royal Mail has urged the Communications Workers Union (CWU) to return to the negotiating table after it balloted for strike action next month over pay and pensions.

It may have to wait a bit. A quick glance at CWUs Facebook page shows a large chunk of delegates are now enjoying an overseas jolly in Latvia. Splendid!

With Deutsche Bank investors said to be twitchy over stocks approaching record lows, shouldnt the bank end its costly support for the Frieze Art Fair which it is sponsoring this week for the 14th year? Dont hold your breath.

Financial institutions love sponsoring highfalutin events such as these. They think its lends them the illusion of respectability.

Suggestions that Monarch Airlines collapse could solve Ryanairs current pilot shortage are over-simplistic. Monarch used Airbus planes.

Ryanair flies Boeings. Manning a different make of aircraft would require hours of costly training, which Ryanair boss Michael OLeary would expect applicant pilots to pay for themselves.

Of course he would! The rascal even makes staff pay for their own biros.

Finally, I mentioned earlier this week that Lady Bradys salary as chairman of Sir Philip Greens company Taveta Investments was 650,000.

Sir Philip rings to inform me hes actually paying her 200,000. My apologies. Sober October abstinence is already making me careless.
By PTI: New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) Legal experts today welcomed the Supreme Court collegiums decision to make public its proceedings on elevation, transfer and confirmation of judges.

Former attorney general Mukul Rohatgi and senior advocates Ajit Kumar Sinha and Dushyant Dave termed the decision as a "step in the right direction" which will remove "opaqueness" in the process.

advertisement

"It is a very good move. For 50-60 years, meetings were shrouded in secrecy and there was lack of transparency. Nobody knew what was going on. People will now know who is becoming a judge and why," he said.

His view was shared by Sinha, a former high court judge, who said, "It will reduce the opaqueness and people who are really interested and concerned with welfare of the institution will be put to some sort of information, and information is knowledge".

"To either appreciate and react, there will be some scope to information which will lead to transparency. It is a first step towards that direction. It is a welcome decision," he said.

Dave, while hailing the decision of the apex court, however, said something more was required to make the process more transparent.

"It is a step in the right direction, but it falls much short of what is required. The entire deliberations of the collegium should be disclosed," he said, adding factors that weighed in while selecting a judge for elevation should also be made public. The senior advocate said this would help explain why a certain judge was selected and why others were not as the decisions taken by the collegium were a "fait accompli" since they could neither be challenged nor questioned.

"Best among those available should be selected. Disclose the whole process, then only it becomes transparent," Dave added. PTI RRT AG HMP RKS PPS SRY

--- ENDS ---
In May I booked a hotel in Thailand through Expedia for a holiday this December and specifically chose the website as it had a 'free cancellation' policy.

This is because our plans weren't concrete so I wanted to make sure I was able to cancel if we decided we weren't going to be away.

I then realised we would be at a wedding somewhere else so logged onto Expedia to cancel the hotel and found there was no option.

Jitesh was told his hotel room had free cancellation before Wednesday 13 December

I called Expedia and was shocked to hear it would cost me 1,670 to cancel the hotel  when the original cost was 2,400.

This was because apparently it was not the hotel's policy to allow cancellations for the dates I had booked (the 21st to the 25th of December).

This is stated in the terms and conditions, I was told, in the small print on the final reservation page.

While this clause may be in the small print, to make sure I wasn't going mad I checked the booking page again and it clearly says 'free cancellation before Wed 13 Dec'.

Therefore I find it very unfair I'm now not allowed to cancel without paying a large sum and Expedia won't budge on the issue.

Am I to blame for carelessness here or is this a clever way for Expedia to bend the rules? Jitesh Patel, via email.

Rebecca Rutt, of This is Money, replies: When you book a holiday online through a website such as Expedia, if there are any clauses that mean you aren't allowed to cancel, or it will cost you to do so, these should be made clear.

Jitesh Patel booked a holiday with free cancellation but was then charged

In your case you booked a holiday well in advance but chose to book with Expedia because you weren't sure of your plans and wanted to make sure you would be able to cancel without it costing you.

The web page you used clearly shows a sign saying 'free cancellation' therefore I find it hard to understand why Expedia is not backing down.

While it may say in the terms and conditions that free cancellation isn't allowed - this directly contradicts the message being shown on the initial booking page and therefore it is misleading.

I got in contact with the website to try and find out what had happened. After sending your details to the company and the screen shots of your booking, you were then contacted by Expedia.

Having previously been told by the firm that you could not cancel the booking without the hefty fee, you were then told you could cancel the booking  but you would be charged the outstanding amount by the hotel (of 1,670) and then you would need to request a refund from Expedia for this amount.

You told Expedia, quite rightly, you didn't expect to have to pay anything extra and eventually it agreed to waive the fees completely and you have been allowed to cancel without a charge.

A spokesperson got in contact with us and explained there had been a website error when you booked.

When I booked my holiday it said there was free cancellation - so why is it now charging me?

They said that although the terms and conditions stated you couldn't cancel without a charge, the text stating 'free cancellation' on the first page of your booking, which it says was an error, was misleading.

They commented: 'While the Terms and Conditions about the Christmas period being non-refundable were visible in the booking process we do believe it could have been clearer and that the pop up stating free cancellation caused confusion, we've therefore waived the cancellation fee and the customer is happy with the outcome, we apologise for the inconvenience caused to Mr Patel.'

While this is a positive outcome, I think it's rather shoddy that Expedia only agreed to waive these fees after we had been in touch and had previously told you it was not possible.

Your other option if you had still been unable to cancel would have been to contact your local Trading Standards office. It may have been able to help and investigate if you had been misled by the wording on the booking page.

If it ruled a mistake had been made you would have been allowed to cancel and get a full refund and it may also have forced Expedia to make changes to the website. There are more details about this on both the Citizens Advice and Trading Standards websites.
Boutique fund manager Evenlode Investments is set to launch its second fund to scour the globe for the best income shares in November.

Fund launches are hardly few and far between, but Evenlode Global Income's is worth paying attention to as it comes from the architects behind the Evenlode Income fund, which has delivered strong returns in the past five years.

That fund headed by brothers-in-law Hugh Yarrow and Ben Peters returned 97 per cent over the period - a third more than funds tracking the FTSE All-Share Index over the same period.

As its name suggests, the Evenlode Global Income fund will look around the world for companies with a high return on capital and strong free cash flow

The Cotswolds-based fund house, named after the village that it operates from, will hope to emulate this benchmark-beating success with the new proposition.

But will the fund live up to its billing? And what will it invest in?

We take a look under the bonnet to investigate the investment style.

What is on offer?

Ben Peters has been given the reins to the new Evenlode Global Income fund, which will be co-managed by Chris Elliott.

Peters said the new portfolio will be different but have the 'same flavour' as the original UK-centric income fund which was launched in 2009 and has since attracted 1.5billion in assets under management

For retail investors, the fund levies ongoing charges of 0.90 per cent with a minimum investment of 1,000. Different DIY investing platforms may offer the chance to lower this initial investment, or invest less in monthly instalments.

What will Evenlode Global Income invest in?

As its name suggests, the fund will invest around the world. It will invest in a select group of companies for the long term, with the aim of delivering an attractive yield today combined with sustainable dividend growth over time.

In addition, the fund will focus on large companies with a high return on capital and strong free cash flow.

The emphasis on long-term investing means portfolio turnover is likely to be low.

Details on the fund are sparse at the moment but further information will be made available when the fund launches on 6 November.

How does the Evenlode Global Income fund compare?

With any new fund launch there is no track record to work on, however, Evenlode's Global Income fund should adopt a similar approach to the UK income fund, which means a focus on quality and a relatively small portfolio of companies held, at about 50.

The fund will be pitted against heavyweights in the IA Global Equity Income sector like Artemis Global Income, Fidelity Global Dividend and Invesco Perpetual Global Equity Income which are the first, second and third best performing funds in the sector respectively over the past five years.

Evenlode Income has returned 97 per cent over the past five years - a third more than funds tracking the FTSE All-Share Index over the same period

Artemis Global Income returned 116 per cent over the same time period, compared to the 98 per cent generated by the Fidelity Global Dividend - which is a smidge more than the 97 per cent achieved by Invesco's global income proposition.

Evenlode Global Income will be slightly cheaper than both Fidelity's and Invesco's offerings, with ongoing charges of 0.90 per cent versus 0.97 per cent and 0.92 per cent, respectively, but is more expensive than the Artemis fund at 0.81 per cent.

Is Evenlode Global Income worth investing in

Many industry experts consider global equities as the closet thing to a silver bullet in investments.

This is because the world economy has grown every year bar one in 1961. The blip came in 2009 in the immediate aftermath of the devastating financial crisis.

Of course, that doesn't mean that shares will rise, as there is not always a direct link between economic growth and stock market growth,

But it does mean that by investing globally, you are giving yourself the opportunity to tap into companies that can benefit from growth around the world, rather than restricting yourself to one region or country.

Unless you believe that business across the world will enter a prolonged stagnation or regression in the future, investors are likely to find at least some good growth opportunities on a global scale.

Whether Evenlode Global Income is the best fund for this is another matter.

There is not enough information on the product to do a detailed comparison on investment strategy with rival propositions, but its price point is around average for funds with a similar mandate.

What we do know is that while Evenlode has only been around for eight years, it has developed a good reputation for the solid performance of its UK income fund.

Investors have enjoyed dividend rises every year since launch  an achievement that few rivals have matched.

Whether the new fund will reach the same heights remains to be seen.
Insurance firm Aviva has snapped up a majority stake in Wealthify, an investment service targeting millennials and those who are new to investment.

Customers can make investments with Wealthify, starting from 1 in one of five plans through ISAs and general investment accounts.

Aviva's acquisition of the Cardiff-based startup is subject to regulatory approval. The firm failed to provide details on how much it was buying the stake in Wealthify for.

The future?: The decision by Aviva to buy a stake comes amid a wave of investment in robo-advice, with price comparison site GoCompare recently taking a stake in Mortgage Gym

The deal sees Aviva become the latest financial services firm to invest in automated robo-advice.

The insurance giant said the move was 'another important step' forward in its digital strategy as it looks to overhaul the insurance industry and transform itself into a fintech firm.

Wealthify will become accessible through Aviva's online portal alongside the insurer's other products and services.

Cardiff-based Wealthify is a low-cost automated service which aims to make investing affordable and accessible, allowing customers to invest with as little as a pound.

It was launched in April last year by technology entrepreneur Richard Theo and chartered wealth manager Michelle Pearce and offers customers the choice of investing in one of five diversified investment plans through Isas and general investment accounts.

Blair Turnbull, managing director of Aviva UK Digital, said the investment 'underlines our commitment to invest in and partner with leading digital businesses, allowing our customers to benefit from new technology and making insurance and investments simpler, easier and more convenient'.

Dr Theo, co-founder and chief executive of Wealthify, said: 'Aviva's investment in our business reflects a clear shift in market demand for high-quality, technology-enabled financial services solutions like Wealthify.'

The decision by Aviva to buy a stake comes amid a wave of investment in robo-advice, with price comparison site GoCompare recently taking a stake in Mortgage Gym.

Many High street banks such are also gearing up for robo-advice investment services

High street banks such as NatWest are also gearing up for robo-advice investment services.

Robo-advice has become all the rage in recent years, although it has had teething problems.

Earlier this week online investment management service Nutmeg saw losses widen last year as it continued to invest heavily, and said it may need to raise more cash to continue its expansion.

Its accounts with Companies House revealed that pre-tax losses went up from 8.9million to 9.3million in 2016 as operating expenses increased by nearly 1.2million to 11.9million.

The website, which offers investors an automated way to invest online at a selected level of risk versus reward, said that it may need more cash on top of the funding it received last year to continue its development.

Last year the company received large funding from investors, including 12million from Taiwan-based Taipei Fubon Bank and 24million from Hong Kong financial advice firm Convoy.
Conflict of interests? James Murdoch is chief exec of Fox and chairman of Sky

Investors have been urged to oust James Murdoch as chairman of Sky amid claims 21st Century Foxs 11.7billion bid for the British broadcaster poses a major conflict of interest.

The 44-year-old, who is also chief executive of 21st Century Fox, was appointed chairman of Sky last year, but critics say he lacks the independence to do the job, given that his family controls 21st Century Fox.

He could now face a revolt at the Sky AGM next week, after influential advisers Pirc, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis urged investors to block his re-appointment.

Glass Lewis said: We believe independent shareholders will need an independent chairman to best protect their interests and [Mr Murdoch] does not fulfil this role.

Concerns have also been raised about Skys deputy chairman, Martin Gilbert, who is also co-chief executive of Standard Life Aberdeen, with ISS warning he was stretched.

A Sky spokesman said: Given his deep knowledge of the global media industry, we believe James is uniquely well-placed to fulfil the role of chairman alongside Martin Gilbert.
Fare play: Uber's profits rose from 1.8m in 2015 to 3m last year

Uber's profits in London had soared by 65 per cent before the taxi app firm was threatened with a ban in the capital.

The company's profits rose from 1.8million in 2015 to 3million last year after turnover rocketed from 23million to 37million.

Uber's board members signed off the accounts on September 28  a week after its London subsidiary was handed a shock notice from Transport for London announcing it was set to lose its operator's licence.

The directors said: 'The company intends to appeal the decision and meanwhile TfL has confirmed it can continue to operate as usual.'

Uber paid 551,174 in tax and its staff headcount rose from 105 to 199, according to its filings.

About 40,000 drivers work for it in London but the company says they are 'independent contractors'  a classification that is the subject of an ongoing legal battle.

Its global chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi, jetted in to London on Tuesday to hold crisis talks with authorities.

Afterwards, both sides said the discussions had been constructive and they are expected to continue.
A Dutch finance firm yesterday outlined plans for one of the biggest flotations on the London stock market this year in a major vote of confidence in Brexit Britain.

As the City geared up for a string of listings that could spark a fees bonanza for bankers and other advisers, TMF said that once the deal is complete it will leave its headquarters in Amsterdam for a new base in the capital.

The company, which employs 7,000 staff in more than 80 countries and offers accounting, tax and payroll services for clients such as Netflix and Linked In, looks set to be valued at around 1.4billion when it goes public next month.

Bosses at TMF said the Brexit vote 'has not been a barrier to the company choosing London'  adding the UK's exit from the EU 'could actually present an opportunity'.

Dutch finance firm TMF is to float on the London Stock market and quit its headquarters in Amsterdam for a new base in the UK capital once the deal is complete

In a further sign of the City's enduring appeal, Russian energy company En+ outlined plans to raise 1.1billion in London and Moscow  making it Russia's first listing in the capital since 2014.

British Virgin Islands investment company J2 Acquisition also said it had raised 950million through an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange.

LSE bosses are hoping to lure in the biggest deal of all, Saudi state oil firm Aramco, which is valued at about 1.6trillion.

It comes amid growing optimism for Britain's stock exchange, which suffered a fall in initial public offerings immediately after the Brexit vote but has rapidly bounced back.

More businesses floated on London than any rival in Europe, the Middle East, India or Africa in the third quarter of 2017, according to accountant EY.

Its figures also revealed that foreign firms accounted for 12 per cent of these listings and 56 per cent of the 2.9billion raised.

The biggest hitter so far this year has been Allied Irish Banks, worth 10.6billion, which raised 2.7billion in one of the City's largest stock market listings for two decades.

Shares in the firm  which was bailed out by Ireland's government at the height of the financial crisis  began trading in London and Dublin in June.

PwC director Hilary Eastman said: 'Investors are still reasonably confident about the future for UK companies, which may explain why London is still seeing healthy initial public offering activity.'

And speaking at the Tory conference earlier this week, LSE chief executive Xavier Rolet said it would be 'conservative' to expect a financial technology firm valued at between 100billion and 300billion to come out of London in ten years.

TMF's listing in particular will be seen as a huge feather in the City's cap after the business said Brexit presented a major moneymaking opportunity.

It added: 'Brexit has not been a barrier to choosing London  in fact, the UK's exit from the EU could actually present an opportunity to TMF Group, given that business complexity and companies moving across borders are key drivers of its growth.'
SIGNING OFF The former finance director of embattled builder Carillion is stepping down from the board of estate agent Countrywide.

Richard Adam, 59, left Carillion about seven months before a disastrous trading update that wiped about 70 per cent off its market value.

Last month he also resigned from the board of First Group, about six months after joining.

HIGH NOTE Banknote maker De La Rue has been hired by the Bank of England to supply polymer for the new 20 notes alongside Canadian rival CCL. The note, featuring artist JMW Turner, will be issued in 2020.

GET TOGETHER Britains biggest nightclub operator has turned up the volume in its bid to merge with rival Revolution Bars.

Deltic is proposing an all-paper merger that would see Revolution own 65 per cent of the combined business and Deltic the remaining 35 per cent.

DIVI DELAY Hundreds of investors have faced a lengthy wait for their dividends after a meltdown in Barclays online investing system.

Shareholders in several huge companies, including Lloyds, have been waiting for late payouts from the banks Smart Investor system, with another eight-day delay expected.

FLUSHED OUT Toilet roll maker Accrol has suspended trading and issued a profit warning after being hammered by rising costs caused by a shortage of raw materials.

CHECKING IN Hotel operator Hilton is investing 38million over the next five years to fund its expansion into Africa.

The money will support the conversion of around 100 hotels into Hilton-branded properties.

GOING UP Budget airline EasyJet carried 7.7m passengers in September  up from 7m the year before.

Despite the surge, the airline still carried fewer passengers than Ryanair, which flew 11.8m people during September even after cancelling thousands of flights due to a pilot scheduling mix up.

GOLD SHINE AIM-listed Caledonia Mining says it has produced 14,389 ounces of gold from its Blanket mine in Caledonia during the third quarter, marking record production.

DIG DOWN Miner Ferrexpos steel pellet production dropped to 7,653 tons during the third quarter, compared to 8,328 tons during the same period last year.
Wholesale bosses are battling Tesco's 3.7billion takeover of Booker, warning that it could put them out of business.

Some of the country's largest wholesale groups are urging the competitions watchdog to block the sale.

It comes just a day after Tesco boss Dave Lewis stressed he 'remained confident' about the Booker deal as he toasted upbeat Tesco results.

Some of the country's largest wholesale groups are urging the competitions' watchdog to block the sale of Booker to Tesco

The Competition And Markets Authority is looking into the tie-up due to concerns it could lead to higher prices in about 350 areas across the UK.

Tesco operates more than 3,000 stores but would also become a major supplier of small retailers if it bought Booker, which supplies more than 5,000 stores including Premier and Londis.

AMAZON ON THE PROWL Amazon is now eyeing up supermarkets in France. The online giant approached major supermarket operators about a purchase or distribution deal, according to French newspaper Le Monde. It claimed that Amazon had contacted supermarket firms Intermarche and Systeme U as well as Casino. There has also been speculation that it is interested in bidding for Carrefour Group. The sprawling firm, which has just snapped up US grocery chain Whole Foods for 10billion, is also turning its sights on a bar  opening up a pop-up in Tokyo's Ginza district to promote alcoholic products sold on its website, featuring an ordering system that will suggest drinks.

Now leading wholesalers including Today's Wholesale Services, Spar, Bestway, Bidfood, Landmark, Confex and Sugro have written to the CMA to say the deal 'threatens the survival of the independent retailer' by creating a group with such large buying power.

According to the letter seen by the Telegraph, they said: 'Tesco will have incontestable power over the procurement of all grocery categories in the UK. Suppliers will find it even harder to resist Tesco's demands.'

They added: '[Tesco] will be able to drive its competitors out of business. At the retail level, the combination of Booker's wholesale prices and Tesco's deep pockets will present independent retailers with a stark choice: Join a Booker/Tesco symbol or go out of business.'

Their letter echoes several formal submissions to the merger probe by the CMA.

Unnamed retailers warned: 'A substantial lessening of competition will result because the acquisition of Booker will enhance Tesco's ability to act across several markets with a view to raising prices and eliminating competition.'

The CMA said it had spoken to one wholesaler who warned that the deal had the 'potential to wipe out wholesale competition' and another who said it could be 'disastrous to his business'.

Two wholesalers also expressed concerns the merged group would have access to information about the performance of other Booker-supplied chains.

Tesco and Booker have argued the tie-up will mean they can improve the choice, quality, value and service for customers, and deny it will undermine suppliers.

They have added: 'Strong partnerships with suppliers are crucial to our business and allow us to give consumers the mix of household brand names, innovation and fresh produce that they want.

'We believe suppliers will support the proposed merger  and the opportunities it brings for them, in terms of growth and additional revenue and/or in terms of efficiency and reduced cost.'

This week Tesco reported a 21.1 per cent leap in UK and Ireland operating profits to 471million, with sales rising from 27.3billion to 28.3billion.

It has also resumed its dividend after halting it nearly three years ago, paying 1p per share in an interim payout.

The CMA is due to give its provisional findings in October.
A tainted watchdog stuffed with former PwC partners has dropped a probe into the accountant over alleged wrongdoing at Barclays.

The Financial Reporting Council spent three years investigating the bean-counter over claims it had failed to spot Barclays taking risks with clients' money.

But yesterday it said there was 'not a realistic prospect' a tribunal would find PwC  Barclays' auditor for 120 years  had done anything wrong.

The Financial Reporting Council spent three years investigating the accountant over claims it had failed to spot Barclays taking risks with clients' money

The FRC came to the decision after City regulators at the Financial Conduct Authority, a separate watchdog, fined Barclays 38million for putting 16.5billion of customers' assets at risk from 2007 to 2012.

It is the third probe dropped in the past few weeks by the FRC, which is notorious for providing a home to former accountants from the big firms it is supposed to keep an eye on.

ACCOUNTANT IN THE DOCK PwC was investigated over the 326million black hole in the accounts of its client Tesco but the case was dropped in June An earlier probe into claims of problems with PwCs work for Barclays was abandoned in 2013 But the FRC did hit PwC with a record fine of 5.1million earlier this year for sloppy audits of crisis-hit finance firm RSM Tenon PwC was also fined 5million by the FRC following an investigation into its dealings with Connaught

No fewer than six ex-PwC partners sit on major FRC committees that make decisions on regulation. They include audit director Melanie McLaren and non-executive director Roger Marshall, who sits on the codes and standards committee.

Both worked for PwC until 2009.

Accounting professor Prem Sikka, at Essex Business School, said: 'The FRC lacks independence from the industry it regulates.'

The FRC axed another probe into PwC in June over its failure to spot a 326million black hole in Tesco's accounts.

An FRC spokesman stressed decisions on whether to proceed with an investigation are made by its executive counsel, barrister Gareth Rees. He added: 'The FRC has clear rules on conflicts of interest.'

A PwC spokesman said: 'We co-operated fully during the FRC's thorough investigation and are pleased that the FRC has closed it without any further action.'
By PTI: Mumbai, Oct 6 (PTI) A major fire broke out at two fuel storage tanks on Butcher Island off the east coast of Mumbai this evening but no casualty has been reported, an official of the Mumbai Port Trust said.

The fire broke out around 5 pm at tanks 13 and 14, which have storage capacity of around 10 to 15 lakh litres each, said the MPT fire brigade official.

advertisement

Butcher Island houses an offloading terminal, and petrol and diesel storage tanks.

Fire-fighting operations were on and no casualties had been reported so far, he said.

Cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained. PTI DC KRK TIR

--- ENDS ---
MBABANE  Their mission is to win and find their way to Germany.

Mbabane Methodist Church Choir leaves the country this morning for Bloemfontein in South Africa to represent the country in the Methodist Church Choral Music finals.



The choir hopes to win and fly to Germany as the overall winners will get a free ticket to Germany with all expenses paid for.

The choir conducted by Menzi Gule qualified for the finals after becoming the overall winners of the Highveld and Swaziland Methodist Competition held in Thembisa two months ago



The choir scored an overall mark of 179 which saw them winning the competition.

Competing against Mbabane Methodist were six choirs from some of the provinces in South Africa.

The finals are scheduled tomorrow and the choir hopes to become the overall winner.



They will be competing with choirs from countries within the Southern African countries.

The choirs competing against the Mbabane Methodist Church Choir will be from countries such as Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Lesotho and South Africa.

Vusi Dlamini, the choirs vice chairperson thanked everyone who supported them as they were preparing for the competition.

He said although the competition looks tight, they have one intention and that is to win.








MBABANE  Its back to the drawing board for the portfolio committee of the Deputy Prime Ministers (DPM) office, following the public outcry over the scrapped clauses in the Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Bill, 2015.



The committee, which is chaired by Sandleni Member of Parliament (MP) James Simelane, found itself locked in a private meeting at Sibane Hotel yesterday where they deliberated on the issue. However, more submissions by the MPs are expected to be made on Monday morning before the House sitting, which is scheduled for 2:30pm.



Gender activists who had attempted to sit in during the legislators meeting were informed that it was private and according to Parliament protocol, they would not be allowed in.

The four core clauses which have been scrapped from the proposed law are Clause 4, 10, 42 and 47, which are incest, unlawful stalking, abduction and flashing, respectively.



One of the MPs who attended the sitting, said they advised that when the House sits on Monday, the chairperson should see it fit to withdraw the report.

The legislators further suggested that in the meantime, the committee would start working on the Bill and look into including the deleted clauses. With further consultations, we believe that there is a way in which the clauses could be reinserted with changes in wording or other strategies, said the MP.



The Bill and report was not debated and adopted in the House of Assembly on Wednesday, as the MPs were engaged in the debate over the suspension of the Swaziland Christian University (SCU). Several MPs confirmed that since the story broke on the removal of the clauses, they had received many calls from members of the public questioning this move. The scrapping of the clauses has been described as a terrible move by members of the public.
MANZINI  A fight after the news that his girlfriend was pregnant saw a Form V pupil miss three examination papers.



This is the plight of Ciniso Sikhondze (23) of Nkiliji, who is currently at home while his schoolmates are proceeding with examinations. The cause for the pupil missing his exam was a physical altercation that he had with his girlfriend *Gugu (22) while at school. The girl is said to be in the same class as Sikhondze.



According to Sikhondze, on Tuesday, he was called by his girlfriend while waiting to write their second paper of the day. When he gave her audience, he said Gugu informed him that she was three months pregnant.



In a bid to ascertain whether she was serious, Sikhondze said he denied he was responsible, not knowing that Gugu would use a pen in an attempt to stab him. I hastily evaded being stabbed and out of anger I used a broom stick to hit her, he said. During the assault, Sikhondze said teachers came through and he was shown the gate by the school head teacher.



For a week now, Sikhondze said he had been home and had missed three papers already. His fear is that he will not be able to write the papers since 24-hours had elapsed, which is the allowance to sit for an examination after the specified time. I have reported the matter to the Manzini Regional Education Office (REO) and I was told to go to the head teacher to ask for forgiveness, he said.



In his narration of the events leading to his stay at home, the pupil said he was arrested for insulting his girlfriend with whom he had disagreements. Sikhondze said he remained in police custody for five days. She said I assaulted and strangled her, which was not true. The charges were dropped and I was freed on September 2, he said.
By PTI: New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) Railway Minister Piyush Goyal today called for innovation in making the railways safer while stressing that enough money is available for the purpose.

Speaking at the International Conference on Technological Advancements in Railway and Metro Projects, Goyal also said that budget allocations are a limitation and tend to hold back research and innovation.

advertisement

"Personally, I believe a budget is a limitation, it holds you back. Allocation of a budget doesnt allow scientists to flourish as he wants to. Budgets restrict innovation," said Goyal as he called for out-of-the-box thinking to improve rail safety features like as signaling systems and fog vision for locomotive pilots.

The railways is embarking on a massive programme to ensure safety of the entire network, he said. "As much money as required is available for safety.

"I am not even saying it will be made available, I am saying it is available," he said, adding that he cannot make the railways safe without new ideas and he hoped that the conference will help generate innovations.

The rail minister also pointed to Vice President Venkaiah Naidus speech on September 27 at the IISc Bengaluru where he said that innovation plays a key role in driving the knowledge-based economy.

To highlight his point, Goyal said that the last time a train with additional speed, comfort and safety features was introduced was way back in 1969 -- the Rajdhani Express.

"From 1969 to 2017 we have not embarked on any major new technological initiative that will take us to international standards of passenger safety, comfort, convenience and speed," he said.

Japan, he said, has progressed technologically as it has managed to create an ecosystem where scientists and researchers can think out-of-the-box.

"Our plan for the future is to create an ecosystem where the scientific community will choose to stay in India and not go to NASA," the minister said.

He said the railways is open to engaging with experts in improving the environment, stations and passenger convenience.

Enumerating his expectations from the scientific community, Goyal said he needs technology and knowhow to improve driver vision during foggy weather, make the signaling system better, manufacture tracks faster and more efficiently, and predict track failures or fractures.

"I do believe that the time has come for us to aggressively go in for newer technologies and better ways of doing work. We will have to work collectively to see what can be done faster and smarter," he said. PTI ASG BSA

--- ENDS ---

advertisement
By PTI: New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) Drug firm Granules India today said it has received Establishment Inspection Report (EIR) from the US health regulator for the OmniChem facility at Vizag, Andhra Pradesh.

OmniChem facility is operated by 50:50 joint venture of Granules India and Ajinimoto OmniChem N V, it said in a filing on BSE.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) has issued EIR for the companys OmniChem facility, it added.

advertisement

"This facility was inspected by the USFDA in December 2016 and there were seven observations during the inspection. The facility manufactures Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) intermediates," Granules India said.

Shares of Granules India were today trading at Rs 122 per scrip on BSE, up 6.50 per cent fom its previous close. PTI AKT ANU

--- ENDS ---
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, warning of a rising risk of nuclear war and the spread of weapons to North Korea, awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday to a little-known campaign group seeking a global ban on nuclear arms.

The award for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) was unexpected, particularly in a year when the architects of the 2015 nuclear deal between international powers and Iran had been seen as favorites for achieving the sort of diplomatic breakthrough that has won the prize in the past.

Still, supporters saw it as a potential breakthrough for a global movement that has fought to ban nuclear arms from the day the first atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in August 1945.

ICAN\s Executive Director Beatrice Fihn told Reuters the group was elated.

"Nuclear weapons are illegal. Threatening to use nuclear weapons is illegal. Having nuclear weapons, possessing nuclear weapons, developing nuclear weapons, is illegal, and they need to stop."

Two days before her group won the prize, Fihn tweeted that Trump was "a moron". She told Reuters she had written this in the context of news reports at the time that U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had used the same word to describe his boss. But she said Trump\s impulsive character illustrated the importance of banning nuclear arms for all countries.

"A man you can bait with a tweet seems to be taking irrational decisions very quickly and not listening to expertise, it just puts a spotlight on what do nuclear weapons really mean. There are no right hands for the wrong weapons," she said.

ICAN describes itself as a coalition of grassroots non-government groups in more than 100 nations. It began in Australia and was officially launched in Vienna in 2007.

"We live in a world where the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time," said Berit Reiss-Andersen, the leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

"Some states are modernizing their nuclear arsenals, and there is a real danger that more countries will try to procure nuclear weapons, as exemplified by North Korea."

The award was hailed by anti-nuclear campaigners around the world. Mikiso Iwasa, an 88-year-old Hiroshima survivor, told Reuters the prize would help push the movement forward.

"It is wonderful we have this Nobel Peace-Prize winning movement. All of us need to join forces, think hard and walk forward together to turn this momentum into something even bigger," he said.

The prize seeks to bolster the case of disarmament amid nuclear tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, as well as uncertainty over the fate of the 2015 deal between Iran and major powers to limit Tehran\s nuclear program, although the committee made no mention of Iran in its award citation.

The committee raised eyebrows with its decision to award the prize to an international campaign group with a relatively low profile, rather than recognizing the Iran deal, a complex agreement hammered out over years of high-stakes diplomacy.

"Norwegian Nobel Committee has its own ways, but the nuclear agreement with Iran achieved something real and would have deserved a prize," tweeted Carl Bildt, a former Swedish prime minister who has held top posts as an international diplomat.

The Iran accord, which Trump has repeatedly called "the worst deal ever negotiated", is seen as under particular threat this week. A senior administration official said on Thursday Trump is expected to decertify Iran\s compliance, a step toward potentially unwinding the pact.

The committee may have been reluctant to reward the Iranian government for its role in the nuclear deal because the only Iranian winner so far, 2003 laureate Shrin Ebadi, a lawyer and human rights campaigner, is forced to live in exile.

"I think the committee has thought about the human rights situation in Iran. It would have been difficult to explain the prize even though it has a favorable view of the Iran deal," Asle Sveen, a historian of the Nobel Peace Prize, told Reuters.

The Norwegian Nobel committee denied that giving the prize to an anti-nuclear group was intended either as a rebuke to Trump, or as a snub to the architects of the Iran nuclear deal.

"The Iran treaty is a positive development, a disarmament development that is positive, but the reason we mentioned North Korea (in our statement) is a reference to the threat that people actually feel," Reiss-Andersen told Reuters.

"Iran has not voiced recent threats to use nuclear weapons, on the contrary," she said in an interview.

ICAN has campaigned for a U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was adopted by 122 nations in July this year.

That agreement is not signed by  and would not apply to  any of the states that already have nuclear arms, which include the five U.N. Security Council permanent members, the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France, as well as India, Pakistan and North Korea. Israel is also widely assumed to have nuclear weapons, although it neither confirms nor denies it.

Major allies of the declared nuclear powers also oppose the new treaty. Nevertheless, campaigners see it as a framework that would make it easier for countries that have nuclear arms to work toward eliminating them.

The United Nations said the award would help bolster efforts to get enough of the countries that signed the new treat to ratify it so that it can come into force. Fifty ratifications are needed.

"I hope this prize will be conducive for the entry into force of this treaty," U.N. Chief Spokeswoman in Geneva Alessandra Vellucci told a news briefing.

SOURCE: REUTERS
After 38 days on the run, the incarcerated guru's flamboyant companion is arrested - but not before some more televised histrionics.

She's singing a whole new tune now. "I am innocent! My Papa is innocent!" Priyanka Taneja a.k.a. Honeypreet Kaur Insan told India Today Television in an exclusive interview just hours before the Haryana and Punjab police squads tracked her down and arrested her at the Panchkula-Zirakpur state-line outside Chandigarh on the afternoon of October 3.

She had been on the run for 38 days, ever since the Haryana police special investigation team (SIT) posted lookout notices for her, three days after Dera Sacha Sauda adherents indulged in arson and violence following dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's conviction on August 25. The police named Honeypreet among the 43 dera functionaries accused of conspiracy, inciting violence and sedition.

advertisement

Teary-eyed, Honeypreet insists she has committed no wrong. "You've all seen what happened. I accompanied my Papa (Gurmeet Singh) to court. There was so much security. How could I have entered (the court) without permission?" she asked. Close to breaking down several times through the nine-minute conversation, the dera chief's favourite 'daughter' admitted she was "frightened" and in a "deep depression". The seriousness and enormity of her situation, which could well bring jail time, perhaps finally dawning on her, Honeypreet said, "They are accusing me of deshdroh (sedition)!"

But just hours away from being arrested, Honeypreet also retained some of the brazenness she's often been accused of. Asked about some dera followers, including her former husband Vishwas Gupta, accusing her of 'inappropriate' relations with Gurmeet Singh, Honeypreet bristled: "Who are these people? Does anyone even know them? They are nobody!"

It was the kind of bluster she had shown in 2011 too. At the district court in Sirsa with a dowry harassment case against her former husband, his lawyer Pankaj Bhardwaj vividly recalls how "each time her spouse got up to make a statement, she would threateningly glare at him and point at her shoe".

No 'blushing bride', Honeypreet had married Gupta, a grandson of two-time Haryana (Gharounda) MLA Rulia Ram on the asking of the dera chief on February 14, 1999. But it was all apparently part of a sordid 'arrangement', shockingly revealed when Gupta petitioned the high court in October 2011. A third-generation Sacha Sauda adherent, Gupta told the court that his wife, who had been christened 'Honeypreet' and adopted by Gurmeet Singh, was in fact being "sexually exploited by the dera chief". He also alleged that after not being permitted to consummate his marriage for 11 long years, he faced death threats from Gurmeet Singh's henchmen after he saw the guru engaging in sex with his adopted daughter.

Evidently at his wits' end, Gupta told Bhardwaj and later a news conference in Chandigarh, that Honeypreet was the dera chief's constant companion, even sharing hotel rooms with him when travelling out of Sirsa. She was the only one who had living quarters inside Gurmeet Singh's infamous gufa (cave), while everyone else, including mother Naseeb Kaur, wife Harjeet Kaur and his real children lived in separate homes on the extensive Sacha Sauda premises.

advertisement

"In June 2011, after he walked in on them having sex, Vishwas was thrashed by Ram Rahim and warned against revealing anything," claims the lawyer. Days later, when his father Mohinder Pal Gupta (a retired Haryana executive engineer) was treated to a similar drubbing by the dera chief, the family decided to move out to rented accommodation in Panchkula. But the threats followed them. A group of dera henchmen stalked Gupta for a long time, noting his every movement, people he met or spoke to. When he eventually gathered the courage to petition the high court in Chandigarh, Gupta sought two things: protection from the dera's goons and the release of his wife from the "clutches" of Gurmeet Singh. Honeypreet and the dera followers deny the charges.

Whether bedazzled by the wealth and power at her command, or just smitten by Gurmeet Singh, Honeypreet responded by slapping a dowry harassment case against Gupta and his family. In a police case filed in Sirsa, she alleged her husband had demanded Rs 2 lakh from her family. In the courtroom in Sirsa, she told Gupta's counsel that "he will pay dearly for daring to go against Pitaji".

advertisement

She remained firmly on the dera chief's side even as the Guptas were hounded with multiple cases filed against both father and son in Rajasthan, Gujarat and even Mumbai. "Forced to live in constant fear, the family was literally reduced to penury with no resources to pursue the legal battles with the dera," says Bhardwaj. They eventually gave up, with a widely publicised apology amid thousands of premis (dera adherents) at Sirsa wherein Gupta and his father publicly withdrew every allegation they had made against Gurmeet Singh. As a settlement, all the cases against Guptas magically disappeared. The settlement however, also required that he agree to divorce by mutual consent. Yes, Honeypreet got to stay where she most wanted to be-by the side of her 'doting daddy'.

Notably, Gupta, who has since remarried and has two children and lives under police protection in Karnal, revived his allegations at a September 22 news conference in Chandigarh, a month after Gurmeet Singh's conviction. Evidently distraught, the ex-husband claimed a persisting life threat: "I am not sure whether I will be alive after this press conference."

advertisement

Born in 1980 to middle-class parents in Haryana's Fatehabad town, Priyanka Taneja, by most accounts, was an ordinary young girl. Sunita Madaan, her former class teacher who is now principal of Fatehabad's DAV Centenary Public School, recalls her as being "not very good at studies and just barely scraping through exams". Madaan says no one in the school had any idea that Priyanka had become Honeypreet. "It was only after all the publicity following the dera chief's conviction that we made the connection," she says. The principal dimly remembers that "while she was below average in academics, the girl had a particular fondness for singing and dancing".

In fact, few in Fatehabad seem to have any continuing links with Honeypreet. The last thing local resident Sandeep Singh remembers is a whole lot of excitement back in 1999, when Gurmeet Singh showed up at her (Honeypreet's) wedding: "The whole place was ablaze with decorative lights. It was easily the biggest event this place had witnessed until then," he says. While there is no clarity on exactly when, residents say after the wedding Honeypreet and her family relocated to the dera at Sirsa, where her father opened a small-time tyre retreading workshop.

Already among the guru's 'favourites', it was after her divorce that Honeypreet really spread her wings, to the envy of many, taking up permanent residence in Gurmeet Singh's lavishly appointed gufa. Reports quoting police officers who raided the dera premises in Sirsa claim her living quarters had direct and unhindered access to the dera chief's chamber.

A senior official of the Haryana police SIT says Honeypreet's continual proximity to the dera chief gave her unbridled power within the Sacha Sauda. "She was all-in-all," says the official, based on sustained interrogations of top dera functionaries now in custody, including Dhan Singh, legal head of the sect who was responsible for dealing with Gurmeet Singh's lawyers, and Rakesh Kumar Arora a.k.a. 'PA', the dera chief's man Friday.

Police officers who interviewed dera functionaries in Sirsa, including the sect's incumbent chairperson Vipassana, say that Honeypreet was also responsible for driving a wedge between Gurmeet Singh and his son Jasmeet Insan in 2015. By then all-powerful in the dera hierarchy, Honeypreet wanted a merger between Kings Biscuits (a factory Jasmeet started in Sirsa in 2011) and MSG Products, a food retail line launched that year. "Gurmeet Singh sided with Honeypreet forcing the merger, which deprived Jasmeet of Rs 15-20 lakh in monthly earnings," a Sacha Sauda insider told the police, adding that the son wasn't on talking terms with his father after that.

Honeypreet controlled all the finances, doling out monthly Rs 5 lakh allowances to Gurmeet Singh's real children, a dera hand told the police. "She even gifted her younger brother, Sahil Taneja, an Audi SUV some years ago," a senior SIT officer told india today.

After his conviction on August 25, Gurmeet Singh's family quietly withdrew to his ancestral village, Gurusar Modiya, in Rajasthan's Ganganagar district. And while Honeypreet grabbed eyeballs by engaging the Haryana police in a breathless chase across three states, there hasn't been a peep out of his 'real' family members. Barring, of course, the brief trip his ageing mother Naseeb made to visit Gurmeet Singh in Rohtak's Sunaria jail on September 25.

A lot of what Honeypreet claimed in her nine-minute chat-on-the-run with india today TV appears problematic. Contrary to her teary assertion that she never nursed any Bollywood dreams and wanted to remain behind the scenes, Honeypreet fully shared Gurmeet Singh's penchant for the bling lifestyle of ostentatious, over-the-top clothing, flashy cars and glitzy movies. Starting out in 2015, she has been in all his five movies, even co-directing the last two-Hind ke Napak ko Jawab and Jattu Engineer. Just a few months before his incarceration, Gurmeet Singh had famously bragged that 'Honeypreet has broken Jackie Chan's record by playing 21 different roles' in his now-unlikely-to-be-released sixth movie, Online Gurukul.

Also quite the social media animal, on www.honeypreetinsan.me, her personal web portal, Honeypreet describes herself as a "philanthropist, cine editor, actor and director". She has, believe it or not, over one million followers on Twitter and another 528,000 on Facebook. This hardly sounds like the reticent bystander she now, understandably, wants to be seen as.

The only 'family member' by his side when Gurmeet Singh was convicted of raping two sadhvis on August 25, Honeypreet was subsequently also permitted to accompany him onboard the chartered helicopter that ferried him to Rohtak's Sunaria jail. She even requested permission to stay with the prisoner in his jail cell as his "physiotherapist", but was, expectedly, turned down.

It has been one hell of a chase since then. There's evidence to show that Honeypreet headed back to reach the Dera Sacha Sauda in Sirsa around 3.45 am on August 26. Separating from the rest, she left Sirsa heading out to Hanumangarh, where she stayed with relatives for a night before travelling to Gurusar Modiya on August 28.

While the SIT, headed by Haryana police ADGP P.K. Agarwal, tracked her diligently and came close to nabbing Honeypreet on more than one occasion, she somehow always managed to evade the posse. And for someone who's now posing as a 'damsel in depression', Honeypreet seems to be well versed in the ways of a seasoned absconder.

Consider what the SIT now knows: Accompanied by just one or two persons at any given point and time, Honeypreet ditched the greater luxury of the top-of-the-line Lexus SUVs she was accustomed to in Gurmeet Singh's company, for the relative anonymity of smaller Hyundai and Maruti hatchbacks; smartphones were replaced by cheap Rs 800-1,000 feature phones with the pre-activated, pre-paid SIM cards freely available in Rajasthan (where Sacha Sauda has a significant following).

But like all fugitives, Honeypreet (or someone accompanying her), made the critical error that every good-cop-in-a-chase looks out for. Mobile phones, she was known to be carrying, were briefly switched on in Punjab on October 1. After that, it was only a matter of time.

Honeypreet Insan will now face a trial and possible conviction. On September 18, DGP B.S. Sandhu said a total of 41 people were killed (35 in Panchkula and 6 in Sirsa) in the August 25 violence, besides destruction of property worth crores.

--- ENDS ---
Did you vote in the midterm elections as if your countrys existence depended on it?
Asked about bump-stock controls, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, "We're certainly open to having that conversation."

"Banning devices that are created to turn semiautomatic weapons into fully automatic weapons is a no-brainer," said Rep. Paul Tonko of Amsterdam. "Time is of the essence."

Legislative action over bump stocks also took place in Albany. On Thursday, two bills aimed at outlawing devices that accelerate the firing rate of a semiautomatic weapon, including bump stocks, were introduced.

Matthew Hamilton contributed.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

Rail Events, the Durango, Colo.-based licensor of Polar Express holiday trains, said Thursday it had been unable to reach a settlement with Iowa Pacific Holdings over millions of dollars in royalty payments it says it is owed, and that Polar Express trains won't operate this winter in Saratoga Springs and other locations where Iowa Pacific was the licensee.

But Iowa Pacific's president, Ed Ellis, said Friday afternoon that the Polar Express, operated by Chicago-based Iowa Pacific's Saratoga and North Creek Rail Road, would be replaced by the "Train to Christmas Town."

"It's actually a story we like better," he said. "It's all about friends and family. We wanted a different story, a fresh story."

The book was written by Ellis' wife, Peggy. The Christmas Town theme will also replace other Iowa Pacific Polar Express trains in Massachusetts, Mississippi, Oregon, and at two locations in the United Kingdom.

For Iowa Pacific, The switch represents a significant cut in expenses.

"Thirty cents out of every revenue dollar (was spent) just to use the words 'Polar Express'," Ellis said.

Iowa Pacific still owes about $3 million in royalties to Rail Events, and Ellis said he intends to settle the debt with the licensing firm. He said he also plans to operate three full dome cars on the Saratoga and North Creek Rail Road's Train to Christmas Town, making more premium tickets available and boosting revenues.

Last year, the seats in the one dome car would sell out even as seats were still available in the other passenger cars.

"I expect we're going to have an increase in ridership in New York," he predicted Friday. "It's really about the show and I think we're going to do better."

Still, it's not clear whether Train to Christmas Town will have the wide appeal that the Polar Express, based on a 1985 book popularized in the 2004 movie with Tom Hanks, did.

Iowa Pacific has struggled financially. It revisited a two-year-old plan to store surplus oil tanker cars on its tracks in the Adirondacks. The railroad said it needed the revenue the storage business would provide. It canceled the earlier effort in the face of strong opposition from officials and local residents.

Passengers who prefer the Polar Express experience can find it in Utica, Kingston or Burlington, Vt. Adirondack Scenic Railroad operates a Polar Express each holiday season out of Utica's Union Station, about 90 miles west of the Capital Region. Its first run this year will be on Nov. 17.

The Catskill Mountain Rail Road's Polar Express operates out of Kingston, about 60 miles south of the Capital Region, while the Vermont Children's Trust Foundation operates one in Burlington, about 150 miles north of the Capital Region.

Then there's the bus.

In the Capital Region, Yankee Trails operates its Santa's Magical Express, which includes rides aboard a double-deck bus and a motor coach with a range of characters, from Ebenezer Scrooge to Frosty the Snowman, as well as Santa. Trips run from the Friday after Thanksgiving through Dec. 23.

More details on the Train to Christmas Town will be released in coming days, Ellis said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

TROY - Attorneys in a federal lawsuit filed by the widow of a Watervliet man who was fatally shot by a Troy police sergeant are seeking to unseal the minutes of a Rensselaer County grand jury that cleared the officer of wrongdoing.

A U.S. magistrate judge overseeing the federal lawsuit recently approved the attorneys' request to pursue the unsealing. The request was made by attorneys for the city of Troy and attorneys for the widow of Edson Thevenin, who was killed in the April 2016 shooting.

It's unclear whether the grand jury minutes will be made public if a Rensselaer County judge allows them to be unsealed. The lawyers in the federal lawsuit also have asked for a ballistics report prepared by the office of state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman as part of its ongoing investigation of Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel E. Abelove's handling of the shooting case.

The ballistics report examined the trajectory of the eight rounds fired by the officer who opened fire on the vehicle of Thevenin. Police officials said the officer, Sgt. Randall French, began shooting when his legs were pinned between Thevenin's vehicle and his patrol car. They said Thevenin was not armed but used his vehicle as a weapon.

Schneiderman's investigation is examining whether French was in imminent danger when he opened fire. The attorney general also is investigating Abelove's decision to rush the case before a grand jury that cleared the Troy officer of wrongdoing less than five days after the shooting.

Schneiderman criticized Abelove for taking the case to a grand jury at a time when the attorney general's office was examining it. Two civilians who witnessed the shooting and called into question the account of the incident by police were not subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury that cleared French.

Schneiderman obtained approval to convene a special grand jury on Sept. 20 that is investigating the district attorney's actions. The panel began hearing testimony last week from Troy police officers.

It's the first time Schneiderman's office has empaneled a grand jury to investigate a sitting district attorney since Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an order in 2015 giving the attorney general authority to intervene in cases in which unarmed civilians are killed during confrontations with police.

The Times Union reported last year that Abelove did not require French to sign an immunity from prosecution waiver when the officer testified before the grand jury that cleared him.

The federal lawsuit was filed against French and the city of Troy on behalf of Thevenin's widow, Cinthia, and the couple's two sons. The complaint alleges civil rights violations, including assault and battery, claiming that French was not in imminent danger when he opened fire.

The shooting took place about 3:15 a.m. on April 17, 2016, on Hoosick Street near the Collar City Bridge. Thevenin was shot after his vehicle was boxed in by two police cruisers following a chase that police said began when he fled a DWI traffic stop.

Abelove's office issued a statement less than a week after the shooting saying a grand jury reviewed evidence in the shooting and found no wrongdoing.

"Specifically, the grand jury found that Sergeant Randall French's use of deadly physical force was justifiable under the law," the statement from Abelove's office said. "The grand jury considered the evidence and has passed on charging Sergeant French with any crime relating to the death of Edson Thevenin."

Schneiderman's office said it had not been notified of Abelove's intention to present the case to a grand jury. Schneiderman's office then accused Abelove of doing an "end run" around the executive order the governor signed giving Schneiderman authority to investigate fatal encounters between police and unarmed civilians.
ALBANY  Jose Daniel Flores-Caraballo and his family are seasoned hurricane survivors. Growing up in Puerto Rico brought experience with the hammering seasonal storms  buckling down every few years when one hit the island, dealing with a week of inconveniences, and then moving on.

But Hurricane Maria was a different animal. We never thought it was going to be as devastating as it was, said Flores-Caraballo, who lives in Halfmoon and serves as the artistic director of Albany Pro Musica.

Hundreds of miles from the island, the gravity of the situation hit him as he watched news reports about the lack of gas and water as well as long-term power outages across the island. His mind immediately went to his parents  especially his mother, who was just days away from her 80th birthday when Maria rolled over Puerto Rico.

The biggest concern this time, what made it different, was the fact that our mothers health is delicate, he said. His mother was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, and needs an air conditioner.

Flores-Caraballo's older brother, Eliut, lives in Puerto Rico and had moved his parents out of their flooded home in Juncos, in the island's east-central region. Eliut, luckily, had a generator that made living conditions more tolerable.

Flores-Caraballo put up a Facebook post that described his parents' predicament. "People started to mobilize, he said.

The brothers were flooded with messages from friends offering help. One of them, Dr. Lori Jurgens, connected them with Rosana Guernica, a Puerto Rican and third-year student at Carnegie Mellon University who was raising money to fly down to Puerto Rico. Her plan was to bring down 2,500 pounds of supplies, then return to the U.S. with a planeload of patients and evacuees.

Guernica was convinced that too many official efforts to get supplies to the island were being impeded by bureaucracy.

By the time normal distribution channels open, it will be too late for the people who needed it the most, Guernica wrote on her YouCaring crowdfunding page. It is time to help the most vulnerable before it is too late.

Flores-Caraballo said he could sense in Guernica "a level of empathy and compassion that left me a little speechless." She also shared with him that her grandfather had survived cancer.

Guernica was able to connect with Flores-Caraballo's parents, who arrived in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday with one small bag apiece, plus their poodle Freddy. His mother saw a doctor the following day and was able to continue her cancer treatment. She turned 80 on Thursday, and celebrated with another of Flores-Carabello's brothers, Marcos.

There was a chain of people trying to make a difference, and we are now beginning to see the results, Flores-Caraballo said. It goes to prove that we are one people in this divided world that we live in, and people are willing to help each other.
Albany

Former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator Judith Enck has been traveling to the U.S. Virgin Islands in the wake of recent hurricanes to help advise the territorys governor on safely cleaning up from the carnage left by Hurricane Maria.

Enck was invited to the territory by its governor, Kenneth Mapp, a Brooklyn-born former NYPD police officer.

"I am running around on environmental issues," she told the Times Union in an email.

Mapps New York roots are typical of the close ties between many Caribbean islands and the state of New York. Shortly after Maria flattened much of the Virgin Islands infrastructure, Mapp invited Gov. Andrew Cuomo to visit and see the damage. After his tour, Cuomo sent a contingent of state troopers and National Guard members to help maintain security.

Enck is familiar with the Virgin Islands through her seven-year tenure as the regional administrator for the EPAs Region 2 which 2 covers New York State as well as New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

She stepped down in January when President Donald Trump took office.

Enck had also served as an environmental advisor for governors Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson.

Her focus in the Virgin Island has been to persuade officials, including those from the federal Army Corps of Engineers, to chop up and compost, rather than burn, much of the wooden debris the hurricane left behind. Ive got to get all this wood composted, she said.

The small islands already have a significant amount of ongoing air pollution, she added, due to the diesel generators being used for electricity.

Air quality is a concern given the islands heat and humidity, she said.

"This is still a beautiful place with wonderful people but it is a broken paradise," Enck said Friday in a phone interview with radio host Susan Arbetter on the Capitol Pressroom show.

Like neighboring Puerto Rico, authorities estimate it will be months before the power grid is fully restored. Thats the same with cell service.

Encks husband, Green Party activist Mark Dunlea, said she generally has two windows a day for cell service: during the 20 minute ferry ride between St. Thomas and St. John -- where she is staying.

Her efforts are unfolding as business magnate Elon Musk is proposing that his SolarCity solar panel company play a role in rebuilding Puerto Ricos storm-damaged, oil-based power grid.

Enck said she hopes Musk offers to build solar infrastructure on the Virgin Islands as well.

Getting power and phones back, she added, will just be the start of a long rebuilding process.

Its really just step one, she said.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU
Honeypreet Insan, who had been on the run for 38 days before being arrested on October 3, is giving sleepless nights to the SIT members, who have so far failed to elicit any confession during the first 3 days of her interrogation.

By Manjeet Sehgal: Convicted godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's closest aide Honeypreet Insan, who had been on the run for 38 days before being arrested on October 3, is giving sleepless nights to the SIT members, who have so far failed to elicit any confession during the first 3 days of her interrogation.

The police have accused Honeypreet of not cooperating with the investigation and giving misleading answers. Cops also failed to establish whether Honeypreet actually stayed in Bathinda and other nearby towns while she was evading arrest. The house in which she allegedly stayed is now learnt to have been locked for the last six years.

advertisement

"Honeypreet was not fully cooperating with the police in investigation and was evasive in her replies. She is misleading the police", Panchkula Police Commissioner A S Chawla said.

Sources said Honeypreet used as many as 17 different SIM cards during the 38-day period while she was absconding, out of which 3 cards were international. It is yet to be ascertained whether the cards had an ISD facility activated in them or were foreign.

The police are now keen to get details about the SIM cards used by Honeypreet, who is not ready to answer any question about how she communicated during that period.

Honeypreet denied speaking to anyone abroad and rejected the charge that she used international SIM cards during the 38 days she was at large for. She kept mum when asked about the number of mobiles and SIM cards she used during her disappearance. Her answers about her mobile phone and SIM card were also very vague. She had claimed that she might have lost her mobile phone somewhere and that she could not recall where exactly.

Sources say Honeypreet's accomplice Sukhdeep Kaur has given important leads about Honeypreet. According to her, Honeypreet's mobile could be lying in a Taran-Taran village, where she stayed briefly.

"Honeypreet had many SIM cards. She destroyed some of them and threw away the others. She also used some international numbers", Sukhdeep told the police.

The police now want to search Honeypreet's mobile phone to find out its EME number so that calls made by using this unique number can be traced. The police had also mentioned in their remand request made to the court that they wanted to collect evidence, including Honeypreet's mobile number, to substantiate the charges.

Sukhdeep has also provided important leads about fugitive Dr Aditya Insan and Pawan Insan, who were in touch with Honeypreet. Police now plan to conduct fresh raids in Rajasthan and Punjab to arrest top Dera functionaries.

HONEYPREET CONTROLLED GURMEET RAM RAHIM SINGH's FINANCES

Apart from taking care of 'Pitaji', Honeypreet also used to manage Dera's finances. She had also sanctioned Rs 5 crore to the Dera goons in Panchkula to 'manage' the crowd. Arrested Panchkula Dera unit in-charge Chamkaur Singh has told the police that he was given Rs 1.25 crore to handle the situation in Panchkula. This was one part of the total of Rs 5 crore cash that was sent to Panchkula alone. The police recovered Rs 25 lakh from his possession.

advertisement

Sources said Gurmeet Ram Rahim had entrusted Honeypreet with the responsibility of overseeing his finances. She used to sign cheques and monitor all the transactions.

Meanwhile, in another development, the IT experts hired by the Haryana Police have successfully retrieved data from one out of the 65 hard disks, which were recovered from Sirsa on September 14 when Dera's IT department head Vineet Kumar was trying to put them inside a pit within the Dera complex.

Data retrieved from a partially-damaged disc has led to the discovery of transactions and investment details worth crores of rupees. Sources said the data showed transactions and investments worth Rs 700 crore rupees. As per the directions of the court, the hard disk will be handed over to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has been asked to probe the allegations of money laundering against Gurmeet Ram Rahim.

According to Sukhdeep Kaur, Honeypreet still holds the number two position in the Dera. She used to call somebody to arrange money for her. She had a lot of cash, Kaur said.

advertisement

"She also was aware of what the media said about her as she used to watch all channels and read online newspapers. Even as she kept her car windows covered, she had complete knowledge about the route as we (Sukhdeep Kaur and Honeypreet) never inquired about the way from anybody. I was with her in the Delhi court too and we had gone from Bathinda. All my relatives knew about her as we stayed with them in Bathinda", Sukhdeep Kaur told the police.

WATCH VIDEO | Honeypreet used 17 SIM cards to evade arrest

--- ENDS ---
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

ALBANY - Historic Albany Foundations longest standing executive director is stepping down to lead building preservation efforts in Ithaca.

Susan Holland, who has been Historic Albanys executive director for 12 years, announced her last day will be Nov. 17 as she heads west to become the executive director for Historic Ithaca.

As a Cornell University graduate, Holland said shed always envisioned returned to Ithaca, and when the position opened recently, she had to throw her hat in the ring.

When I was young, I thought that I would want to retire to Ithaca, Holland said. I have a lot of friends and connections in that area, so the decision wasnt in a vacuum. I love, love that area.

But leaving the Capital Region  she grew up in Colonie  isnt going to be easy. The political scene and culture of Albany is something Holland said shell miss.

Ive been indoctrinated into the political stuff in Albany, she said. When you live it and breathe it for as long as I have, its part of you.

For 43 years, Historic Albany has championed stabilization and adaptive reuse of historic buildings across the city, sometimes butting up against city leaders and agencies when trying to preserve buildings slated for demolition.

One of those historic buildings once on the chopping block was the over 150-year-old Church of Holy Innocents in Arbor Hill. The church and surrounding structures were saved when local developer Patrick Chiou purchased the property late last year with plans to rehabilitate it into a restaurant or community center.

Seeing some of the younger developers really get in there  and some of the older ones, too  to rehab and take risks, those have been amazing projects, Holland said.

Holland also has been vocal against the swelling number of demolitions in the city rather than seeking alternatives, which many have seen as a longstanding administrative practice.

In mid-August, the Times Union reported the city had leveled 43 buildings due to safety concerns. An additional 14 were demolished because of fires, and only seven structures were stabilized.

"They aren't taking a step back and saying, 'This has value,'" Holland had said at the time. "It's how people should be treating a historic city."

She said one skill she'll take with her to Ithaca is that of negotiation.

Ive learned to not be a quick trigger, she said, noting some may think she goes on her gut. I use the facts.

Other projects that stood out during Hollands time with Historic Albany included Wellington Row and the work being done on 48 Hudson Ave., Albanys oldest Dutch-style home. She also was happy to see building preservation trades program get up and running at Hudson Valley Community College.

Its been so eye-opening and so rewarding, Holland said of the work shes been part of. As much as people dont think about it, preservation is economic development. All were talking about is a vision  how you get there and whats the next stage. Were more futurists than a lot of people who deal with it every day."

Historic Albany has posted the open position on its website, and will continue to search for the right person to fill Hollands shoes. She said theres plenty of talent to pull from.

Theres a lot of work to be done, so I think Historic Albany is in a great spot, Holland said. There is still a lot to celebrate, a lot of success, and there will be more.
BUFFALO  Prominent western New York political operative Steve Pigeon is facing a new eight-count federal indictment that accuses him of bribing a former state Supreme Court justice, an allegation also leveled by the state attorney general's office in a separate case.

The former Erie County Democratic chairman pleaded not guilty to the charges on Friday in U.S. District Court in Buffalo.

The indictment accuses Pigeon of attempting to bribe former state Supreme Court Judge John Michalek in exchange for official action.

Prosectuors say Pigeon promised to get a job for a member of Michalek's immediate family member in President Barack Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, and offered to help the same family member get a job with the U.S. Department of State. The charges say he also agreed to support Michalek's application for appointment to the the appellate division of state Supreme Court.

Pigeon is accused of taking the actions to win favorable decisions from Michalek and to have control of who Michalek would appoint to a paid court receivership.

"Bribery of a judge strikes at the very core of our democracy," Acting Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kenneth Blanco said in a statement. "The independence of the judiciary is paramount to civilized society. Our prosecutors and law enforcement partners will pursue any and all attempts to corrupt our fundamental institutions, including the judiciary."

Pigeon was indicted on state bribery and other charges in 2016 related to his alleged illicit dealings with Michalek, who pleaded guilty to accepting the bribes allegedly provided by Pigeon.

Pigeon's attorney Paul Cambria told reporters that the federal charges "are nothing more than an end-around in which the feds are trying to rescue the state case," in which email evidence was suppressed by a judge in June, the Buffalo News reported.

Schneiderman spokeswoman Amy Spitalnick bristled at that suggestion.

"We intend to vigorously pursue our prosecution and ultimately prevail," she said.

Pigeon, who has worked with high-level politicians ranging from Bill Clinton to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has faced overlapping federal and state legal troubles since last year. He has maintained his innocence.

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office brought a criminal complaint against Pigeon and two associates in April, alleging that they engaged in illegal campaign coordination to boost the Western New York Progressive Caucus in its efforts to win the 2013 Democratic primary for three candidates.

Federal prosecutors slapped him with another charge in May related to a $25,000 campaign contribution to Cuomo that came from a Canadian national.

However, the News reported the charge was dismissed on Friday at the request of prosecutors.

mhamilton@timesunion.com  518-454-5449  @matt_hamilton10
ALBANY  State University of New York students who have been displaced by recent hurricanes in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands will get a discount on their tuition.

The SUNY board of trustees voted to charge in-state tuition rates instead of the much higher out-of-state rates as a "humanitarian response" that acknowledges the students' inability to return home, according to a resolution approved Friday. Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged the action two days earlier.

For undergraduate students attending a four-year SUNY campus, that's the difference between a $16,320 tuition bill and a $6,670 bill. For those attending a community college, it's the difference between an approximately $9,350 tuition bill and a $4,520 bill.

While the action taken Friday applies to the state's four-year colleges, the trustees urged the state's 30 community colleges and its statutory colleges to take similar action.

"SUNY has a responsibility, as a public institution, to step in and help students when circumstances beyond their control may affect their ability to attend, pay for, and succeed in college," said SUNY Board Chairman H. Carl McCall. "This is SUNY's call now, as our students and their families are challenged by the devastation left in Hurricane Maria's path. The SUNY Board of Trustees is proud to do what it can for these displaced students."

Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands were both torn up by hurricanes over the past month. Puerto Rico's already weak infrastructure of electricity, running water, and communication and financial systems were wiped out, and have been slow to come back on. The Virgin Islands, meanwhile, were left without power and Internet service, and homes and businesses were destroyed across both U.S. territories.

New York's public university system has discounted tuition in the past for students displaced by mass devastation, including students affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

"Today we see SUNY and New York state at their very best, as we stand together and extend assistance to a community in need," said SUNY Chancellor Kristina Johnson. "It is our hope that by easing the financial burden for students displaced by Hurricane Maria, they can stay in school and continue to work towards a degree."

University at Albany President Havidan Rodriguez, a native of Puerto Rico, said Friday the university would work to create a "seamless transition" for students looking to enroll at UAlbany.

"I am proud to be part of a state and a university system that are demonstrating both compassion and action for students suffering from the devastating impacts of these disasters," he said.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

BRUNSWICK  Rebecca Grasso has arrived at a moment rich with promise and potential.

The 26-year-old Troy resident has a newly minted doctorate degree and a ring on her finger proclaiming her engagement to Matthew St. Pierre, the guy she fell in love with in college.

She was upbeat about her future, as might be expected and in any case seems her nature, during an interview at her parents home in Brunswick last month. Yet her outlook is also tempered by a battle she is waging against a little-known disease diagnosed seven years ago.

There were signs of neurofibromatosis earlier, but they were even more difficult to see than they are now. The tell-tale tumors on Grassos skin look like mildly discolored bumps  theyre dubbed cafe au lait spots. It takes spending time with Grasso to glean the damage under the surface, most notably to her hearing and balance, caused by tumors on the nerves leading to her inner ear.

How to help Fundraiser for NF research Glennpeter Jewelers Diamond Center 1544 Central Ave., Colonie Nov. 17, 2017, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Or donate online: nfincne.org To earmark funds to the Rebecca Grasso NF2 Fund, click on the "Donate" buttons until you get a drop-down menu called "Family Fund." The Grassos will help determine the research projects that receive these funds. See More Collapse

So while Grasso is hunting for a physical therapy job, shes grappling with how much to tell potential employers about her medical status, and when to ask about accommodations for her own disability.

And the wedding? Grasso thinks it will happen in a couple of years. Right now, shes got her hands full, with her father Vitos help, seeking an experimental treatment that could improve her condition. Shes not putting her life on hold for a cure  theres no telling how long that might take  but shed like to have a treatment plan in place.

I dont think I can plan a wedding quite yet, she said.

NF is a genetic disorder that causes tumors to form on nerves. Characterized by erratic cell growth, it is called a cousin to cancer, said Karen Peluso, executive director of Neurofibromatosis Northeast, a Boston-area advocacy group. A significant difference: NF tumors are not typically life-threatening.

They certainly can be life-changing, however. Grasso has neurofibromatosis type 2. Acoustic neuromas on the nerves supplying the inner ear are a hallmark of NF2.

Like many people with the condition, she was not aware of a problem until her 20s. She recalled the moment she first had symptoms: In her sophomore year at Siena College, she heard ringing while in class, and asked if the heater had kicked on; no one else heard anything.

Some of the discolored bumps on her skin, including a rather large one on the bottom of her foot, had been there since childhood. They didn't worry the Grassos, however. Rebecca's sister Caroline had similar pigmentations at one time, and they went away. (Vito said they are not uncommon for Asians; Rebecca and Caroline were adopted from South Korea.) But they seemed to cause her no trouble, and doctors had written them off as fatty deposits, Vito Grasso said.

Dr. Michael Devito, an ear, nose and throat specialist in Troy, figured out Grasso had NF. Grassos sister Caroline, a scientist at a local pharmaceutical company, found a clinical trial in Boston for the drug Avastin, used to starve cancer tumors.

The drug has slowed the rate of tumor growth for Grasso; she now gets infusions every three weeks at Albany Medical Center. But it hasnt stopped NF2; its just impeded the diseases progress.

Other medical options are limited for NF2 patients, Peluso said. Surgery is of no use for the growths on Grassos auditory nerves. Doctors have told her it would be risky, as imprecise as operating on cobwebs.

So the Grassos, especially Vito, are leading the search for other therapies. Rebecca is awaiting the results of genome sequencing to determine which of several experimental treatments might be best for her.

If there was ever a family who have tried to uncover any possible treatment, they have left no stone unturned, Peluso said.

They have become advocates for more research, too, lobbying in Congress for funding  always a battle for rare diseases, which affect fewer than 200,000 Americans. It was initially an uncomfortable role for Rebecca, she said. She never wanted NF to be her identity. But she said shes grown into it.

The progressive loss in her ability to communicate has been the most difficult challenge. She wears a special hearing aid, but with almost no hearing remaining in her left ear, its not a perfect fix. She must look at you to listen, so she can lip-read. She has a captioning telephone and uses email for complicated conversations, but misses the ease of a regular old phone call.

The inability to communicate without concentrated effort causes Grasso anxiety. She relies on St. Pierre, her fiance, referring to him as her hearing eye dog.

Hes been amazing through this journey, she said.
Given Albany's reputation for corruption and incompetence, angry citizens in a healthy, self-rule democracy would jump at the chance to outflank their inept state legislators. On November 7, New Yorkers will have the opportunity to do just that  if they approve the creation of a Constitutional convention.

If the ballot initiative is approved by the voters, it will set in motion a do-it-yourself lawmaking process likely to tackle a long list of important but neglected issues including health care, clean energy, repel of campaign finance rules that sell our government to the highest bidder and denying pensions to officials convicted of duty-related felonies.

Will New Yorkers grasp this rare chance to drain the state's political swamp?

Citizens in a self-rule democracy are responsible for their own political fate. That is why their support and active participation is needed to ensure convention delegates use this opportunity to put forward proposed amendments to the state constitution that will benefit the many, not the few. Since all proposed amendments must then be approved or rejected by the voters on November 5, 2019, the risk that a few clever delegates can highjack the convention is eliminated.

But in both 1977 and 1997, citizens turned down constitutional convention ballot initiatives. According to Peter Galie, a retired Canisius College professor, it is likely these initiatives failed due to fear and ignorance.

In 1997, 929,000 citizens voted for a constitutional convention but were outdone by more than 1.5 million citizens against. I suspect many of these "no" voters feared powerful, well-organized, self-serving interest groups would dominate the convention.

Most alarming of all, more than 1.6 million voters left the ballot blank, an indication that they simply did not care enough to take the time to learn what was at stake and then cast an informed vote one way or another.

Fearmongering is once again a factor. Some fear public pensions are at risk (they are protected by existing law); others fear the status of the Adirondack Park could be harmed (polls show New Yorkers overwhelmingly love the park, as is) and Buffalo school teachers  the very people that should be developing strong democratic principles in future citizens  are being advised to vote against the initiative.

America has long been in the grip of a dangerous case of citizen apathy and low rates of participation in their democracy. In poll after poll, a majority of the people have voiced their feelings of political powerlessness and report that elected officials quickly lose touch with voters back home.

Sign up for the Observation Deck newsletter Read the latest Times Union opinion, perspective and letters to the editor on Mondays by signing up for our Observation Deck newsletter.

But when citizens abandon their place in the public arena, a political vacuum allows self-serving politicians and powerful interest groups to control the governing process.

An August 2017 Siena poll found that 45 percent of New Yorkers say they will support a constitutional convention vote in November, while 33 percent will oppose it. The remaining 22 percent said they did not know, or had no opinion.

Will 2017 be remembered as the year in which New Yorkers finally took seriously their self-rule responsibilities? Or will the citizens of New York once again demonstrate they simply don't give a damn?

Ronald Fraser lives in the town of Colden and is the author of, "America, Democracy & You: Where have all the Citizens Gone?"
If only Stephen Paddock had been a Muslim ... If only he had shouted "Allahu akbar" before he opened fire on all those concertgoers in Las Vegas ... If only he had been a member of ISIS ... If only we had a picture of him posing with a Quran in one hand and his semiautomatic rifle in another ...

If all of that had happened, no one would be telling us not to dishonor the victims and "politicize" Paddock's mass murder by talking about preventive remedies.

No, no, no. Then we know what we'd be doing. We'd be scheduling immediate hearings in Congress about the worst domestic terrorism event since 9/11. Then Donald Trump would be tweeting every hour "I told you so," as he does minutes after every terror attack in Europe, precisely to immediately politicize them. Then there would be immediate calls for a commission of inquiry to see what new laws we need to put in place to make sure this doesn't happen again. Then we'd be "weighing all options" against the country of origin.

But what happens when the country of origin is us?

What happens when the killer was only a disturbed American armed to the teeth with military-style weapons that he bought legally or acquired easily because of us and our crazy lax gun laws?

Then we know what happens: The president and the Republican Party go into overdrive to ensure that nothing happens. Then they insist  unlike with every ISIS-related terror attack  that the event must not be "politicized" by asking anyone, particularly themselves, to look in the mirror and rethink their opposition to common-sense gun laws.

So let's review: We will turn the world upside down to track down the last Islamic State fighter in Syria  deploying B-52s, cruise missiles, F-15s, F-22s, F-35s and U2s. We will ask our best young men and women to make the ultimate sacrifice to kill or capture every last terrorist. And how many Americans has the Islamic State killed in the Middle East? I forget. Is it 15 or 20? And our president never stops telling us that when it comes to ISIS, defeat is not an option, mercy is not on the menu and he is so tough he even has a defense secretary nicknamed "Mad Dog."

But when fighting the the National Rifle Association, which more than any other group has prevented the imposition of common-sense gun-control laws  victory is not an option, moderation is not on the menu and the president and the Republican Party have no mad dogs.

And they will not ask themselves to make even the smallest sacrifice  one that might risk their seats in Congress  to stand up for legislation that might make it just a little harder for an American to stockpile an arsenal like Paddock did, including 42 guns, some of them assault rifles  23 in his hotel room and 19 at his home  as well as thousands of rounds of ammunition and some "electronic devices." Just another deer hunter, I guess.

On crushing ISIS, our president and his party are all in. On asking the NRA for even the tiniest moderation, they are AWOL.

And in the wake of last month's unprecedented hurricanes in the Atlantic  that wrought more than $200 billion of damage on Houston and Puerto Rico  Scott Pruitt, Trump's head of the Environmental Protection Agency, also told us that it was not the time to discuss "the cause and effect" of these superstorms and how to mitigate their damage. We need to focus on helping the victims, he said. But for Pruitt, we know, it's never time to take climate change seriously.

To take ISIS seriously abroad, but then to do nothing to mitigate these other real threats to our backyards, concert venues and coastal cities, is utter madness.

It's also corrupt. Because it's driven by money and greed  by gunmakers and gun-sellers and oil and coal companies, and all the legislators and regulators they've bought and paid to keep silent.

Sign up for the Observation Deck newsletter Read the latest Times Union opinion, perspective and letters to the editor on Mondays by signing up for our Observation Deck newsletter.

What to do?

Forget about persuading these legislators. They are either bought or intimidated. Because no honest and decent American lawmaker would look at Las Vegas and Puerto Rico today and say, "I think the smartest and most prudent thing to do for our kids is to just do nothing."

So there is only one remedy: Get power. If you are as fed up as I am, then register someone to vote or run for office yourself or donate money to someone running to replace these cowardly legislators with a majority for common-sense gun laws. This is about raw power, not persuasion. And the first chance we have to change the balance of power is the 2018 midterm elections. Forget about trying to get anything done before then. Don't waste your breath.

Just get power. Start now.

Thomas L. Friedman writes for The New York Times.
This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate

"Out of thin air."

Not the words most would describe a start in the restaurant business, one typically associated with low success rates within the first few years of opening. But it's how Aneesa Waheed said Tara Kitchen started for her and her husband, Muntasim Shoaib, when she spoke recently to Women@Work.

Waheed's passion for Moroccan food was fueled by the time she spent with her husband in the country. With no formal business or culinary education, she and her husband began a now-two-restaurant and retail venture. Tara Kitchen seems to be a name that follows, "You've got to try..." from many in the Capital Region.

We'll be able to hear more of Waheed's origin story, what she's learned about the restaurant business and more when she speaks during the next Women@Work Straight Talk breakfast on Oct. 11, with doors opening at 8:15 a.m.

More Information If you go: Aneesa Waheed Straight Talk When: 8:45 to 9:45 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11 (Doors open 8:15 a.m.) Where: Hearst Media Center, 645 Albany Shaker Rd., Albany Cost: Free for Women@Work members, $25 for new and renewing members More info: Visit tuwomenatwork.com See More Collapse

For those of you not familiar with the Straight Talks, let's run down the details: Networking starts at 8:15 a.m., with the main show beginning at 8:45 a.m. Our featured speaker is interviewed by a Women@Work staff member, then it opens up to a Q&A with attendees. The program ends around 9:45 a.m. Oh, and did we mention the coffee, mini-muffins and other breakfast stuffs to get you going?

Sign up for The Knick  Get the latest news and features with our afternoon newsletter.

Women@Work members get to go to the monthly Straight Talk breakfasts for free. Even if you are not a member of Women@Work, your $25 entry fee to the Straight Talk gets you a membership, a subscription to our bimonthly magazine, and more.

For more information, visit tuwomenatwork.com.
By Lakshana N Palat: Let's be fair, we all love good Bollywood gossip and controversy. It's always fun to know who's dating whom, who dumped whom, who avoided a party because their ex was there, and so on. A few examples these days being Sidharth Malhotra and Alia Bhatt's rumoured relationship, whether Ranbir Kapoor is actually dating Mahira Khan, or if Jacqueline Fernandez unfollowed Alia on Instagram. A timeless mystery would, of course, be the Amitabh Bachchan- Jaya Bachchan-Rekha tale.

advertisement

For most of the time, celebs smile and laugh it off and use the age-old dialogue, "We are just friends." Or even better, "We have no problem with each other, we share a strictly professional relationship". And you can't help smirk and say to yourself, yeah right. However, when a story drags on and becomes a situation where the celebrities air their dirty laundry in public every single day, it grates your nerves.

THE PERFECT SCANDAL, IN THE BEGINNING

And, this is the case with the infamous Hrithik Roshan and Kangana Ranaut saga. It was an intriguing scandal in the beginning, (read, two years ago), when Hrithik first slapped the defamation case on Kangana, as he thought she referred to him as a "silly ex" in one of her interviews. Sigh, we loved it then, because we would wonder why Hrithik would assume that; she didn't even mention his name.

And then came the barrage of accusations, defense statements and infinite mud-slinging. Other celebrities gave their opinions too, and took sides. For a while, we stayed glued to Twitter, wondering what was to happen next. We were still keen, though our interest was starting to wane.

DRAMA, FULL STEAM AHEAD!

There was silence on the subject for a while, and then once again there was an explosion, as Kangana opened a can of worms in her next interview (Note: We should just stick to asking questions about her films, really!). Here she slammed ex-boyfriend Aditya Pancholi, his wife, Zarina Wahab and even their daughter wasn't spared. Of course, she recited the sordid tale of her and Hrithik's affair, which is supposed to have started when they were working together on the 2010 film Kites. And one of Kangana's friends also said that the stars were engaged in Paris. Many applauded Kangana for her no-holds-barred attitude in interviews, and said she was gutsy, and were impressed. Maybe, she was. But since then, no one has stayed quiet.

ENTER SISTER RANGOLI

The soap opera has gotten more dramatic and incoherent, as Kangana's sister Rangoli entered the scene too. Practically every day, she decides to tweet in defense of her sister, by sharing intimate photos (which are obviously accused of being doctored), and old mails. Of course, Pancholi weighs in on that, and said in an interview to Spotboye that he was convinced that Kangana was using her sister's account, as "the writing was similar." Yes, thanks Pancholi, for playing Sherlock.

Is dat not u, who has grabbed Kangana's waist like a creep and smelling her neck, who seems disinterested? @iHrithik pic.twitter.com/I7YrLrEg6C - Rangoli Chandel (@Rangoli_A) October 5, 2017

Postin d mail frm Hrithik 2Kangna here nt fr petty gosip bt 2 shw dat he usd I pad fr comunicatin wid hr Nt d laptop pic.twitter.com/hl9vZB8MKm - Rangoli Chandel (@Rangoli_A) October 5, 2017

So what if ur ex wife ws dere, I don't knw bt we all read rumours about hr affair with your friend. Pls prove dis is photoshopped @iHrithik - Rangoli Chandel (@Rangoli_A) October 5, 2017

advertisement

EKTA, ARE YOU LISTENING?

Sounds like the perfect Ekta Kapoor story, doesn't it? You have those mysterious and sudden letters being brought up from the past, and a stream of characters whose names you forget the next day. All you need is Ekta's dhoom tana background music to go with it. And if we use this comparison, we must also add that Ekta is famous for dragging on serials for eight years, and transcending generations. Though, we're not sure if even Ekta would be inspired by this ugly tale. In retrospect, the Salman Khan-Aishwarya Rai-Vivek Oberoi fiasco seems positively tame compared to this.

advertisement

FOCUS THE EXTRA ENERGY ON FILMS, GUYS

After Hrithik's pained statement yesterday, lawyers' statements from both sides, it's safe to say that even the biggest Bollywood addict would be entirely fed up, and would wish that they could tell both of them to take a hike.

It's really no longer about who's telling the truth, it's now about who's becoming more annoying. Here's the newsflash: It's a tie. Neither of them are victims, and both sides are losing people's sympathy because of their churlish behavior. If we're talking lawsuits, we should inflict on these two for films such as Krrish 3 and Katti Batti (shudder).

Or if you wish to promote your films so much, try another route? How about the traditional marketing strategy of posters, clean interviews, trailers and teasers? That might work.

ALSO WATCH: Exclusive: Kangana on being called witch, whore and psychopath

advertisement

--- ENDS ---
[October 05, 2017] XIFIN Launches Next-Generation Sequencing Module; Expands Genomics-Based LIS Workflow

CAP17 Booth 220 -- XIFIN, Inc., the healthcare information technology company revolutionizing the business of healthcare diagnostics, today announced that it has expanded its laboratory information system, XIFIN LIS Anywhere, with the launch of a next-generation sequencing module to provide advanced workflow functionality for laboratory sequencing operations and precision medicine. XIFIN LIS Anywhere for NGS will be showcased at the College of American Pathologist's CAP17 Meeting, being held Oct. 8-11 in National Harbor, Maryland. XIFIN LIS Anywhere is an advanced laboratory information system that includes robust solutions for anatomic pathology, molecular diagnostics and genomics, and clinical and toxicology. The diagnostic platform supports XIFIN ProNet, a collaborative clinical data management solution that facilitates cloud-based digital pathology as well as physician collaboration through the exchange of key images, data and reports. The NGS module expands XIFIN's suite of genomics-based LIS workflow tools to help labs grow molecular lines of business, drive adoption of sequencing tests, and improve the genomics workflow for better patient outcomes and maximum return on investment. NGS has transformed the genomics and molecular diagnostics landscape. According to the Next Generation Sequencing Market Report published by Allied Market Research, the global NGS market is expected to reach $12.8 billion by 2022. Technological advancements in NGS platforms, increasing applications, and unprecedented adoption of NGS among research laboratories and academic institutions are driving the growth of the market.



"XIFIN continues to invest in genomics-based LIS and genetic analysis solutions - including pharmacogenomics testing and interpretation, polymerase chain reaction methods, telegenetic counseling services, and our newly launched next-generation sequencing module - to help innovative labs grow new business lines and support precision medicine initiatives," stated Lale White, CEO of XIFIN. "In addition, XIFIN ProNet enables precise tracking of patient response to therapy lines by combining clinical narratives with patient level data, imaging and NGS results." XIFIN LIS Anywhere for NGS provides intuitive cloud-based workflow management to support the sequencing operations of genomic laboratories for commercial testing. The end-to-end workflow solution enables laboratories to drive growth of business lines by improving sequencing operations through efficient wet lab management, extending the AP module for TC/PC splits and facilitating cloud-based digital images as well as physician collaboration. XIFIN LIS Anywhere for NGS improves sequencing efficiencies through the following capabilities:

Plate Management

Configurable Batch Processing

Clinical Trials Management

Laboratory Procedure/Protocol Management

Reporting

Interoperability and Connectivity The NGS module is delivered as part of XIFIN LIS Anywhere, or can also be used to augment less robust LIS or research-oriented LIMS systems. Company representatives will be demonstrating the new NGS capability in booth 220 at the annual College of American Pathologists CAP17 conference to be held October 8-11 in National Harbor, MD. About XIFIN, Inc. XIFIN is a healthcare information technology company that leverages diagnostic information to improve the quality and economics of healthcare. The company's cloud-based technology facilitates connectivity and workflow automation for accessing and sharing clinical and financial diagnostic data, linking healthcare stakeholders in the delivery and reimbursement of care. To learn more, visit www.XIFIN.com or follow XIFIN on Twitter and LinkedIn. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171005006450/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[October 05, 2017] SteelBridge Laboratories Announces Its Newest Portfolio Company, NuMoola, LLC

PITTSBURGH, Oct. 5, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- SteelBridge Laboratories, LLC (The Lab) is an early stage, independent technology incubator that provides investors and entrepreneurs the opportunity to realize their technology vision. James Haluszczak, Founder and CEO of SteelBridge Labs, announced today that a new company, NuMoola, is joining The Lab. "This is an exciting time for The Lab as we welcome our newest company. We look forward to the partnership with NuMoola and collaborating with them to build a successful company that is squarely focused on the national savings crisis here in America. We love the approach that NuMoola is taking to solve this problem, and know NuMoola will be both a fun and productive way for kids to learn," said James. NuMoola is a kid-focused savings platform designed to help children build betterfinancial skills at any age, while connecting them with their parents and other adults in their life that contribute money to their savings accounts. NuMoola makes savings and investing fun for kids, while also teaching and promoting good saving habits and important life skills. NuMoola CEO, Eric Redline said, "We are very excited to be partnering with SteelBridge Labs and leveraging their expertise and shared services to build out an incredible platform that we believe solves a gap in today's FinTech landscape. This is an amazing time to be launching a new company and having great partners is instrumental in delivering results."



For more information please visit http://steelbridgelabs.com and http://numoola.com. Media Contact:

Allison Brunette

724-462-4927

[email protected]

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/steelbridge-laboratories-announces-its-newest-portfolio-company-numoola-llc-300532236.html SOURCE SteelBridge Laboratories, LLC

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
By PTI: Itanagar/New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) An Mi-17 helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh today, killing all seven military personnel on board, officials said.

Five IAF personnel, including two pilots, and two armymen were killed in the crash near the remote town of Tawang, close to the China border, around 6.30 am.

advertisement

The chopper had taken off from the Khirmu helipad near Tawang and was on its way to Yangste, said Tawang Superintendent of Police M K Meena said.

The Russian manufactured Mi-17 V5 chopper was on an air maintenance mission and was also scheduled to drop off kerosene jerry cans at an Army camp in Yangste, he said.

All the bodies were recovered by a team of the IAF and the Army.

The dead have been identified as Wing Commander Vikram Upadhyay, Squadron Leader S Tiwari, Master Warrant Officer A K Singh, Sgt Gautam and Sgt Satish Kumar of the Air Force and Sepoys E Balaji and H N Deka from the Army.

"The rescue operation was carried out at an altitude of almost 17,000 feet above sea level," Meena said.

"All the bodies were brought to Khirmu helipad for medical formalities and flown to Tezpur airbase," he added. A team of police and district administration officials have left for the crash site to gather more details.

"A court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident," a senior IAF official said in Delhi.

The Mi-17 V5 (domestic designation Mi-8 MTV5) is a military transport variant in the Mi-8/17 family of helicopters. It is produced by Kazan Helicopters, a subsidiary of Russian Helicopters.

The aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight of 13,000 kg. It can transport either 36 armed soldiers internally or 4,500 kg of load on a sling.

"Our losses in the peacetime are a cause of concern. We are making concerted efforts to minimise accidents and preserve our assets," Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa had said yesterday, referring to a string of crashes of IAF choppers and military jets in recent years.

Todays crash comes two days ahead of Air Force Day on October 8 and is the second incident involving IAF helicopters in Arunachal Pradesh in three months.

An Advanced Light Helicopter of the IAF had crashed at Saglee in Papum Pare district on July 4, claiming the lives of of all four on board.

advertisement

The chopper had been deployed for lifting passengers who were stranded on the Sagalee to Itanagar route due to the road being blocked. PTI UPL KK MIN

--- ENDS ---
[October 06, 2017] Commercial Aerospace MRO and Manufacturing Sector: Big Opportunities for Growth in Thailand

BANGKOK, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Frost & Sullivan and Suranaree University recently organized an Aerospace Industry Seminar in association with The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) on September 19, 2017. The Seminar discussed the current market scenario in commercial aerospace MRO and manufacturing, followed by the trends and future projections of the industry. The Seminar also highlighted the existing gaps in the industry, which could be potential opportunities for Thailand. In his presentation on the Growth Prospects of Aerospace Manufacturing & MRO Industry in Thailand, Mr. Amartya De, Associate Director of Aerospace & Defense, Frost & Sullivan mentioned, "The Thailand aerospace sector is expected to grow rapidly due to expansion in airline fleet size in Thailand and neighboring countries. This coupled with the rising trend of the migration of Commercial MRO activities to the APAC region is creating new job opportunities in ASEAN". He also compared government initiatives and policies in emerging countries with those of Thailand, which need to be further improved to compete with the global markets in the region. Frost & Sullivan estimates, in the next 2 decades, 42% of the 32,146 global aircraft deliveries will happen in Asia-Pacific while that of total aircrafts in Thailand alone is expected to almost triple from 314 aircrafts in 2017 to 811 aircrafts by 2037. This is mainly a result of growing passenger traffic, which will rise from 60 million unique passengers to 180 million unique passengers by the end of 2037. The rise in passenger traffic, aircraft departures, and the aircraft deliveries in Thailand indicate the growing importance of Thailand's aerospace industry, which creates enormous opportunities in MRO and Manufacturing sectors. Frost & Sullivan stresses on the US$ 6.3 billion gap that will exist in the Thailand MRO market in the next 20 years thus creating significant business opportunities for the aerospace MRO companies. A total of 7,700 new technician and engineering jobs are expected to be created in the commercial MRO space over the next 20-year period from 2017 to 2037. The market gap of US$ 6.3billion over the 20 years is enough to accommodate almost three new full-fledged MRO companies similar to Thai Airways Technical Department that can serve the MRO services demand locally in Thailand.



The seminar also gave an opportunity for the industry stakeholders to highlight issues and challenges hindering the growth of aerospace manufacturing and the MRO industry in Thailand. "Competitiveness from other country policies in terms of investment support, technology transfer and the 49% foreign ownership restriction are the key challenges faced by the aerospace companies in Thailand," said Mr. Simon Shale, CEO, Senior Aerospace thus highlighting the importance of government support required for growth of the aerospace industry in Thailand. Mr. Martynas Grigalavicius, CEO, FL Technics pointed out, "Language is a barrier in Thailand for aerospace industry growth which can be subdued if Thai citizens are equipped with English language skills in schools and universities".

Mr. Frank Boland, Business Development Director, Airborne Support focused on the regulatory and policy challenges that are crippling the aerospace industry in Thailand. He said, "The drawbacks of regulations such as the prevention of Thai registration of aged aircraft and helicopters beyond 16 and 5 years respectively, will prevent growth of general and business aviation." Mr. Boland further highlighted that general aviation and local companies need to be supported by the government to help create more qualified manpower for the industry. "Local MRO service providers are unable to support Thai military requirements since, by law, all contracted (outside) aircraft and component repairs should be performed by an OEM endorsed organization," he continued. Thailand supports a very modern and sophisticated transportation structure and by being centrally located in the region, it possesses all the ingredients to become an Aviation & Aerospace hub if the government establishes a coherent and professional managing structure with a focused aerospace development policy. Officials from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand welcomed the suggestions and the challenges put forth by industry stakeholders. They acknowledged that the government would bring the necessary changes after evaluating all the issues and challenges of the aerospace industry in Thailand through the study and initiatives being developed for the Aerospace OEM and MRO industries in Thailand by Frost & Sullivan Thailand and the Suranaree University. For more information on the Thailand aerospace sector, please visit: https://goo.gl/5gDjux About Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants. For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Contact us: Start the discussion Contact: Carrie Low

Corporate Communications  Asia-Pacific

P: +603 6204 5910

F: +603 6201 7402

E: [email protected] Melissa Tan

Corporate Communications  Asia-Pacific

P: +65 6890 0926

F: +65 6890 0999

E: [email protected] http://ww2.frost.com View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/commercial-aerospace-mro-and-manufacturing-sector-big-opportunities-for-growth-in-thailand-300532348.html SOURCE Frost & Sullivan

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[October 06, 2017] Bank of England extends collaboration with MindBridge Ai

OTTAWA, Oct. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Bank of England announced that it has extended its Proof of Concept engagement with MindBridge Analytics Inc. to a second phase.

In the first phase, the MindBridge Ai Auditor tool demonstrated it can usefully detect anomalies in datasets and its intuitive user interface presented the results visually allowing the Bank to explore a time series of each variable, while comparing the result to the industry average. In this second phase, the Bank will build on the learnings from the first phase to look at the versatility of the MindBridge Ai Auditor to provide data visualisation and data preparation techniques for larger numeric and transaction-level datasets. The Bank is interested in the potential of machine learning to assist the way the Bank conducts plausibility and validation checks on different types of datasets. One of the datasets the Banks in-house experts will run through the MindBridge artificial intelligence tool will be the transaction data that will go towards calculating the Banks reformed SONIA (Sterling Over Night Index Average) benchmark. The Bank of Englands innovative FinTech Accelerator program is a great means to advance the adoption of artificial intelligence in the financial sector, sad Eli Fathi, MindBridge Ai CEO. MindBridge is delighted to continue its collaboration with the Bank of England in applying our Ai Auditor technology against broader datasets that span regulatory and transactional data that is used in calculating the SONIA benchmark.



The Bank of England FinTech Accelerator was launched in 2016 to work in partnership with firms working with new technology to explore how FinTech innovations could be used in central banking. This helps the Bank improve its understanding of FinTech trends, and allows it to support development of the sector. It also offers firms a chance to demonstrate their solutions for real issues, gain knowledge from Bank experts and a valuable client reference. About MindBridge Analytics Inc.

MindBridge Analytics Inc. MindBridge Ai is a venture-backed analytics company based in Ottawa, Canada. Through the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies, the MindBridge Ai engine uncovers material irregularities in data that are caused by human error, or by intent. Using the MindBridge Ai-Auditor, organizations across multiple industries can minimize financial loss, reduce corporate liability and enhance their professional judgment. For more information, visit www.mindbridge.ai

The Bank of Englands announcement can be found here: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/speeches/2017/1003.aspx A summary of the first phase of the PoC can be found here: http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/Documents/fintech/mindbridgeaipoc.pdf Contact: Name: Dipalli Bhatt Company: MindBridge Analytics Inc. Email: [email protected]

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[October 06, 2017] OUTFRONT Media's Canadian Business Partners With Leading Canadian Not-For-Profit, The David Foster Foundation

NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2017 /CNW/ -- OUTFRONT Media Inc. (NYSE: OUT) today announced that its Canadian business has entered into a media partnership with the David Foster Foundation. The partnership includes a significant donation of media space, spanning 100 digital billboards in OUTFRONT Canada's top five national markets: Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. The goal is to encourage Canadians to register as an organ donor, while also urging them to donate to the David Foster Foundation so it can continue supporting families in need. The David Foster Foundation helps the families of children in need of life-saving organ transplants, providing financial support for non-medical expenses such as transportation, short-term rent or mortgage assistance, and clothes and basic personal items. The organization has helped more than 1,000 families since its inception. "We are very honored to be able to expand awareness of the David Foster Foundation and ultimately increase donations. It is incomprehensible what these families go through during these times, and to have an organization like David Foster Foundation there to help is very inspiring," said Brandon Newman, SVP, Sales - Canada of OUTFRONT Canada. About OUTFRONT Media Inc.

OUTFRONT Media connects brands with consumers outside of their homes through one of the largest and most diverse sets of billboard, transit, and mobile assets in North America. Through its ON Smart Media platform, OUTFRONT Media is implementing digital technology that will fundamentally change the ways advertisers engage people on-the-go.







Contacts:





OUTFRONT Media Canada:

Amanda Dorenberg

416-521-6439

[email protected]





Investors: Media: Gregory Lundberg Carly Zipp (212) 297-6441 (212) 297-6479 [email protected] [email protected]ia.com

SOURCE OUTFRONT Media Inc.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[October 06, 2017] alliantgroup Joins ACT-IAC, The Premier Public-Private Partnership in the Government Technology Community

HOUSTON, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- alliantgroup, the nation's foremost provider of specialty tax services, has joined the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council (ACT-IAC) as a corporate member. "We're delighted to welcome alliantgroup as a new member. ACT-IAC is a volunteer association formed on the idea that collaboration with industry and government can create a more effective and efficient government through the application of technology. With the support of our members, we hope that we can continue to pursue this mission. We look forward to alliantgroup supporting this goal," said Ken Allen, Executive Director, ACT-IAC. ACT-IAC is a non-profit educational and training organization established to improve government through the effective and innovative application of technology. The organization is the premier public-private partnership in the government technology community and provides a trusted forum where government and industry executives cancollaborate and work together. ACT-IAC represents a diverse range of companies within the technology sector, including IT, cybersecurity, software and digital firms as well as other businesses that incorporate technology into their services. Many ACT-IAC member companies possess tremendous technical prowess.



"I am so proud that ACT-IAC has brought us on as a Corporate Member to their first-class organization," said Dhaval Jadav, alliantgroup CEO. "ACT-IAC members are doing the kind of dynamic and innovative work that will improve both the public and private sectors. We cannot wait to collaborate with ACT-IAC members to help government agencies achieve their mission." alliantgroup is a leading tax consultancy that assists industry organizations, U.S. businesses and their CPA advisors in properly identifying and correctly claiming federal and state tax incentives. To date, the firm has helped 12,000 American companies claim more than $6 billion in tax incentives. alliantgroup is headquartered in Houston and has offices nationwide, including in New York, Chicago, Indianapolis, Boston, Irvine, Sacramento, Orlando and Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alliantgroup-joins-act-iac-the-premier-public-private-partnership-in-the-government-technology-community-300532609.html SOURCE alliantgroup

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[October 06, 2017] Nsav Announces Major Upgrade of Shanghai Vital Strategic Medical Website and Significant Progress of Mjcoin

CRESCO, PA, Oct. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Net Savings Link, Inc. (OTC: NSAV), announced today that the Company has completed a major upgrade of its Chinese medical website ( www.vital-strategic.com ) in anticipation the closing of the acquisition of world renowned Chinese medical software company, Shanghai based Vital Strategic Research Institute (VSRI). VSRI is a medical research firm with a long history of expertise in design, clinical trials and global research. VSRI has collaborated with pharmaceutical giants such as Pfizer and Bristol-Myers Squibb. VSRI intends to apply for a license to test medical cannabis in China. The license will enable VSRI to test all cannabis products produced in China for THC/CBD potency, terpenoids, microbials and mycotoxins.

NSAV also announced significant progress in the development of MJCOIN,

( www.mjcoin.com ). The goal of MJCOIN is to be a digital currency, which provides payment solutions to the legal cannabis industry. The Company is currently in talks with several exchanges and hopes to have an announcement next week. Medical cannabis sales are projected to grow from $4.7 billion in 2016 to $13.3 billion in 2020 in the U.S. alone. The Company also announced that it has reached an agreement with its Chinese brewery partner, to brew, bottle and distribute its Tiger Hemp Beer brand. Further details will be announced in the coming week. Additional photos of the Chinese brewery will be released on the Companys Twitter site later today. NSAV also announced that it has chosen a U.S. brewery partner for Tiger Hemp Beer. They are a major brewer, based in California. We will release the brewer's name, as soon as all paperwork is signed, which we expect to be next week. The Company would like to officially notify all shareholders and the entire investment community hat the continuing rumors of a reverse stock split are entirely 100% false. There is no truth to these rumors whatsoever.



James Tilton, president of NSAV stated, I believe the new VSRI website will really make people standup and take notice of what a gem we have here. Medical cannabis testing in China is a huge untapped market and NSAV will be ready to take advantage of it. Mr. Tilton went on to state, In just two days, we have received an amazing response to MJCOIN. It is moving very quickly and we are all very excited and we hope our shareholders are as well.

Mr. Tilton went on to further state, Our Chinese brewery partner is extremely excited at the opportunity to be a part of Chinas first hemp beer, Tiger Hemp Beer. The same for our U.S. brewery partner and the feelings are surely mutual. NSAV's vision is the establishment of a fully integrated technology company that provides turnkey technological solutions to the legal medical cannabis and hemp industries, as well as other areas of the medical industry. Over time, the Company plans to provide a wide range of services such as software solutions, e-commerce, advisory services, financial services, patents and trademarks and information technology. For further information please contact NSAV at 1 (480) 326-8577 or [email protected] The NSAV corporate email address is [email protected] The NSAV corporate website can be accessed at http://nsavholdinginc.com The NSAV Twitter account can be accessed at https://twitter.com/NSAV_MJTechCo The NSAV Facebook account can be accessed at https://www.facebook.com/NSAVHolding This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. Investors are cautioned that, all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including without limitation, the ability of Net Savings Link, Inc. to accomplish its stated plan of business. Net Savings Link, Inc. believes that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking statements included in this press release will prove to be accurate. In light of the significant uncertainties inherent in the forward- looking statements included herein, the inclusion of such information should not be regarded as a representation by Net Savings Link, Inc. or any other person. Contact TEN Associates LLC 1 (480) 326-8577 [email protected]

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[October 06, 2017] Ahead of Tropical Storm Nate, Kepler51 Announces Complimentary Hurricane Reports for Transportation

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Kepler51 Analytics announced today that it will make available, at no cost, daily hurricane reports with commentary on the potential disruption to the road network and commercial vehicle industry. As a Public Benefit Corporation, the company has a charter to promote safer roads and is therefore providing this free service to help all road users and transportation companies to mitigate risk. The Hurricane Disruption Reports are issued twice per day providing information on the anticipated storm track, intensity, probability of impact, and the expected level of disruption. "After the devastation of recent hurricanes and the impact on the commercial vehicle industry, we feel this is a valuable service we can contribute as a part of our mission to do public good," saidMurray Armstrong, CEO.



In addition to risk mitigation and fleet management, Kepler51 provides solutions to help restore transportation networks safely and efficiently. By restoring the network as quickly as possible, supplies can be delivered to affected regions and to those in need. Users can subscribe to the complimentary report on www.Kepler51.com.

About Kepler51 Analytics, PBC

Austin, Texas-based Kepler51 Analytics is a big data geospatial analytics company. We have applied machine learning to decades of research and tens of millions of road accidents to identify combinations of factors contributing to increased risk to safety or reduced mobility. We monitor the road network in real-time using predictive analytics to help reduce accidents and increase mobility. Contact Information:

Kepler51 Analytics, PBC

[email protected] View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ahead-of-tropical-storm-nate-kepler51-announces-complimentary-hurricane-reports-for-transportation-300532702.html SOURCE Kepler51 Analytics

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[October 06, 2017] KGPL Announces Clarifications Regarding Recent Supreme Court Proceedings in the Krida Matter

MUMBAI, October 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Introduction: We are writing to you on behalf of The Rummy Federation (TRF), which constitutes of the country's leading online rummy companies, to give you some clarificatory details on the coverage of the Supreme Court hearing regarding the petition by 'Krida Games Private Limited' against the States of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Please note that post the ordinance in Telangana, our member companies have stopped offering our services within the State of Telangana. Key update: We would like to inform you that the Supreme Court has not passed any ruling on the constitutionality of the recent amendments passed by the Telangana government. The online rummy companies that are petitioners in the ongoing proceedings at the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh High Court were not party to the Supreme Court petition and only Krida Games -an offline rummy club operator was the petitioner. The Supreme Court has merely expressed its disinclination to entertain the petition while granting liberty to the Petitioner, Krida Games to instead approach the respective High Courts, including in the High Court of Telanganaand Andhra Pradesh where proceedings are already under way. Further, there are no ordinances or recent amendments to the law in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to restrict online games of skill.



Summary of the Supreme Court proceedings in the Krida matter: Mr. Mukul Rohatgi, the learned Senior Advocate appearing for the State of Telangana made a principal argument against the maintainability of the captioned writ petition that the matter, being one that largely pertained to the state of Telangana, was already pending before the Hyderabad High Court. The Bench heard the submissions of Mr. Soli Sorabjee, learned Senior Advocate appearing for the Writ Petitioner who argued that under Article 213 of the Constitution, an essential condition for promulgation of an ordinance was the existence of circumstances that rendered it necessary for the Governor to "take immediate action", when the State Legislative Assembly was not in session. Mr. Sorabjee sought to impress upon the Bench that it is hard to conceive what the possible circumstances requiring "immediate action" could have been in the present case, especially in the context of the promulgation of the Second Ordinance dated 08.07.2017 so closely after that of the First Ordinance dated 17.06.2017.

The Bench subsequently dismissed Krida's writ petition and granted Krida the liberty to approach the appropriate High Courts to take up the matter because the core issue was already a subject matter of adjudication before the Hyderabad High Court. TRF viewpoint: On behalf of The Rummy Federation, Mr. Malay Kumar Shukla (Secy), has the following view - "The Supreme Court upon being informed about proceedings in the High Court challenging the Telangana ordinances directed that the proceedings in the High Court of Telangana and AP continue. Today's decision by the Hon'ble Supreme Court order is to ensure that there is no multiplicity of litigation in this matter and in line with its earlier order, it was only appropriate to let the Hon'ble High Court decide the case on its merits."

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
[October 06, 2017] INVESTOR ALERT: Kirby McInerney LLP Commences Investigation on Behalf of Shopify Inc. Investors

The law firm of Kirby McInerney LLP announced today an investigation on behalf of Shopify Inc. ("Shopify" or the "Company") (NYSE:SHOP) investors concerning the Company and its officers' possible violations of federal securities laws. To obtain information or aid in the investigation, please visit the Shopify page on our website at www.kmllp.com. On October 4, 2017, Citron Research published a report portraying Shopify as "a completely illegal get-rich quick scheme." The report alleged, among other things, that Shopify inaccurately described the Company's relationship with certain affiliates, stating, in part: "Shopify calls these affiliates 'partners.' We call them promotrs selling business opportunities." The Citron report compared Shopify's business practices to those of Herbalife Ltd. ("Herbalife"), a company that recently paid $200 million and agreed to an order "prohibit[ing] Herbalife from misrepresenting distributors' potential or likely earnings" to settle Federal Trade Commission charges.



On this news, Shopify's stock dropped $13.51, or 11.57%, to close at $103.30 on October 4, 2017, thereby damaging investors. If you purchased or otherwise acquired Shopify securities, have information or would like to learn more about these claims, please contact Thomas W. Elrod of Kirby McInerney LLP at 212-371-6600, Toll-Free at 888-529-4787, or by email at [email protected] to discuss your rights or interests with respect to these matters without any cost to you.

Kirby McInerney LLP is a New York-based plaintiffs' law firm concentrating in securities, antitrust, whistleblower and consumer litigation. The firm's efforts on behalf of shareholders in securities litigation have resulted in recoveries totaling billions of dollars, and the firm's achievements and quality of service have been chronicled in numerous published decisions. Additional information about the firm can be found at Kirby McInerney LLP's website: http://www.kmllp.com. This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171006005745/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
By PTI: Itanagar/New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) An Mi-17 helicopter of the Indian Air Force crashed near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh today, killing all seven military personnel on board, officials said.

Five IAF personnel, including two pilots, and two armymen were killed in the crash near the remote town of Tawang, close to the China border, around 6.30 am.

advertisement

The chopper had taken off from the Khirmu helipad near Tawang and was on its way to Yangste, said Tawang Superintendent of Police M K Meena said.

The Russian manufactured Mi-17 V5 chopper was on an air maintenance mission and was also scheduled to drop off kerosene jerry cans at an Army camp in Yangste, he said.

All the bodies were recovered by a team of the IAF and the Army.

The dead have been identified as Wing Commander Vikram Upadhyay, Squadron Leader S Tiwari, Master Warrant Officer A K Singh, Sgt Gautam and Sgt Satish Kumar of the Air Force and Sepoys E Balaji and H N Deka from the Army.

"The rescue operation was carried out at an altitude of almost 17,000 feet above sea level," Meena said.

"All the bodies were brought to Khirmu helipad for medical formalities and flown to Tezpur airbase," he added. A team of police and district administration officials have left for the crash site to gather more details.

"A court of inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident," a senior IAF official said in Delhi.

The Mi-17 V5 (domestic designation Mi-8 MTV5) is a military transport variant in the Mi-8/17 family of helicopters. It is produced by Kazan Helicopters, a subsidiary of Russian Helicopters.

The aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight of 13,000 kg. It can transport either 36 armed soldiers internally or 4,500 kg of load on a sling.

"Our losses in the peacetime are a cause of concern. We are making concerted efforts to minimise accidents and preserve our assets," Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa had said yesterday, referring to a string of crashes of IAF choppers and military jets in recent years.

Todays crash comes two days ahead of Air Force Day on October 8 and is the second incident involving IAF helicopters in Arunachal Pradesh in three months.

An Advanced Light Helicopter of the IAF had crashed at Saglee in Papum Pare district on July 4, claiming the lives of of all four on board.

advertisement

The chopper had been deployed for lifting passengers who were stranded on the Sagalee to Itanagar route due to the road being blocked. PTI MPB UPL KK MIN ZMN

--- ENDS ---
"Bolden noted in a letter sent home with students on October that he and the district are working with the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department as it works to investigate the threat . . ."
Kansas City Keeps The Fire

6 Intoxicating Things To Do In Kansas City This Weekend A sober mind is a healthy mind. Yet there's something about even a faintly altered state that's potentially appealing in one way or another to practically everybody. Even children run in circles just to get dizzy - as if life isn't enough of a merry-go-round! Where does that leave us this weekend?

Important Story Of Gratitude

Mothers of Jessica Runions and Kara Kopetsky thank community for support Following an announcement that Kylr Yust, long suspected in the 2007 disappearance of Kara Kopetsky, was charged in Cass County with killing her and Jessica Runions, Kylr Yust, Jamie Runions and Rhonda Beckford thank the community for its support and prayers

Better Kansas City Boiler Rooms

Don't forget to vote for Coolest Office Spaces, Division 1 - Kansas City Business Journal A hometown headquarters is leading the pack in division 1 of the KCBJ's Coolest Office Spaces contest. As of Thursday afternoon, engineering firm Burns & McDonnell's new headquarters expansion, which opened in 2016 and earned a Capstone Award this year, had garnered a bit more than one-third of the votes (about 35 percent) and leads the grouping of large companies.

Believe In Kansas City

New book chronicles UFO sightings around Kansas City A local UFO researcher says Kansas City is a hot spot for sightings. Margie Kay is assistant state director for the Missouri chapter of MUFON, the Mutual UFO Network, and author of a new book, The Kansas City UFO Flaps. The publication documents numerous sightings, mostly in Eastern Jackson County in 2011 and 2012.

Urban Core Heroes For Doggies

Kansas City security guards thanked for saving dog that was starving Usually the job of security guards is to keep out intruders. But on Thursday night, some Honeywell guards are getting a big thank you for welcoming one and making sure he stayed. Last month, two security guards spotted something truly unsettling at the vacant Federal Complex at Bannister and Troost - a dog that was starving to death.

Local Doggie Sickness Spreading

Reports of deadly parvo in dogs on the rise around Kansas City The Humane Society of Kansas City says a highly-contagious disease is threatening dogs in the Kansas City area. Parvo is deadly to dogs, but it is easily preventable, in spite of increased infections in recent weeks. "The disease is spread from dog to dog by ingesting the virus, usually through fecal matter," said veterinarian Christina Nelson.

Kansas City Pumpkin Spice Soundtrack

Sympathetic Vibrations | Catch These Releases Fall marks the beginning of the home stretch for the year. And while many KC residents are gearing up for sweater weather and pumpkin spiced what-have-yous, many of our favoritest local bands are feverishly prepping their social media pages for new releases - of which there will be plenty in the upcoming months.

We move toward the weekend with a tribute toto start First Friday. Take a peek at some of the top news links we've put together to keep our readers looking almost as smart as the greatest Instagram model in all of the world . . .is the song of the day and this is thefor right now . . .
Kansas City Barrio Big Bucks!!!

Kansas City's West Side Entrepreneurs Get $1.6 Million Boost For Business Incubator The U.S. Department of Commerce is awarding $1.6 million to the Hispanic Economic Development Corporation of Greater Kansas City, or HEDC. The grant, announced on Thursday, will be used to renovate an industrial building near 27th and Southwest Boulevard, at 2720 Jarboe, and turn it into a small business incubator.

Hip-Hop Jacking In Court

Tech N9ne's Strange Music sues Strainge Music for trademark infringement - Kansas City Business Journal Lee's Summit-based Strange Music Inc. is accusing the owners of a new music label called Strainge Music of purposely infringing on its trademarks to confuse customers and gain profits. The lineup of Strange Music, which was founded in 2000 by Aaron Yates and Travis O'Guin, has grown to include more than a dozen artists.

City Hall Wasting Time & Money

What is Kansas City's plan for Amazon's second headquarters? It's a secret The tantalizing prospect of landing Amazon's second headquarters - a $5 billion prize promising 50,000 jobs - has cities scurrying to woo the tech giant with public pitches and grand gestures. In Dallas, the city teamed up with a major developer and the parent company of The Dallas Morning News to unveil a 50-acre downtown location for a future Amazon campus.

Another Kansas Youngster For Guv???

4th teen announces plans to run for governor in Kansas HUTCHINSON - A fourth teenager is running for governor in Kansas, entering an already crowded field of nearly 20 candidates. The latest entrant is 17-year-old Dominic Scavuzzo, who appointed his father as his campaign treasurer Wednesday, The Hutchinson News reports.

Kansas City Talks The Paseo

Paseo Gateway to take another step forward with public meeting Right of way and utility relocation at the Independence Ave. and Paseo intersection is expected to begin in 2018, and construction is scheduled to begin in early 2019, according to KCMO Parks and Rec Project Manager James Wang. To update the public on progress, a Paseo Gateway public meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, October 11, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Local Hiring Spree

FedEx to hire about 1,500 workers in Kansas City area Federal Express announced an ambitious plan to hire thousands of part time employees ahead of the holiday shopping season. About 1,500 positions need to be filled, mostly at FedEx ground facilities in the Kansas City metro, said Nikki Mendecino, company spokeswoman. The shipping giant is responding to continued growth in e-commerce.

Crossroads Artsy Guide Tonight

October 2017 First Friday Radar Mexico City Benefit Show Friday 5:00 pm -11:00 pm 122 W 18th St. Kansas City, MO 64108 A one night event, on behalf of Saturnal Temple of the Eternal Cult of Rome, is a fundraising event looking to raise funds which will go towards relief efforts in Mexico City and its surrounding areas that were impacted by the recent earthquake.

Hottieand her bikini promo goodness inspires this quick gulp of Kansas City news for First Friday afternoon. Take a peek:And this is thefor right now . . .
An Indian Air Force Mi=17 V5 transport helicopter crashed at around 6 am near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. All seven personnel on board the aircraft died in the crash.

By India Today Web Desk: An Indian Air Force (IAF) Mi-17 V5 helicopter crashed early today morning in Arunachal Pradesh's Chuna area. All seven people on board - five from the Indian Air Force and two from the Indian Army - were killed in the crash.

The crash took place at around 6 am in Chuna in Arunachal Pradesh's Yangstse sector. The chopper crashed in a hilly terrain around 12 kilometers from the India-China border and around 100 kiolmetres from Tawang.

advertisement

The helicopter chopper involved in today's crash was carrying out an air maintenance mission and had taken off from the Tawang sector.

(An approximate Google Maps location of Chuna in Arunachal Pradesh where an Indian Air Force Mi-17 5 chopper crashed today morning)

The Indian Air Force has ordered a Court of Inquiry into the crash in order to ascertain its cause. The helicopter crash comes just two days before the force marks its 85th Air Force Day this Sunday.

The crash also comes a day after Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa expressed concern over armed forces' loses during peace time. "Our losses during peace time are cause of concern. We are making concentrated efforts to minimize accidents& preserve our assets," Dhanoa had said.

The Mi-17 V5 is a Russian-made military transport helicopter and is often in disaster relief operations, especially floods. The Mi-17 V5 was most recently deployed in Gujarat and Rajasthan for flood relief operations.

Also watch: IAF helicopter crashes in Arunachal Pradesh's Chuna, all 7 personnel onboard killed

--- ENDS ---
Add water and the Northland will blossom.

Wealth inequality is only getting worse in the U.S. - The American suburban dream is becoming a cruel joke that's unattainable thanks to ruling class of greedy corporations.





- Big money is still moving Downtown and the urban core . . . The McMansion is now a sign of middle-class vapidity whereas locals with the big bucks want to pretend that the Crossroads is Midtown Manhattan NYC. And a lot of them have the cash to do it.





- The Northland needs more jobs . . . Working at a box store or strip mall isn't going to afford the suburban dream and the smart local economic players are working behind the scenes to bring more hiring to this often overlooked part of town.

"KC Water recently completed the third phase of the Arrowhead Transmission Main project. This main will increase the reliability of water distribution north of the river by adding a 54 transmission main to supplement two existing water mains."

The theory is simple and longstanding for residents across the bridge:Maybe and maybe not . . .Not so long ago,A few not so fun facts . . .And now back to the amateur urban planner porn where locals can pretend to understand population shifts and trend that are mostly beyond their control . . .You decide . . .
Nearly 60 students and young employees attended Business Day, the biggest event for the professional orientation of young people, that was held at the U.S. Embassy in Athens on Wednesday.

Business Day, a meeting of students and young talented employees with leading companies, is organized by Iordanis Ladopoulos, a former professor of business administration. Ladopoulos is the initiator of the Panorama of Entrepreneurship and Career, that hosts Business Day.

U.S. Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey R. Pyatt, welcomed the young participants and spoke warmly about Greece and its financial prospects.

Pyatt noted that it is among his priorities to support Greeces efforts to emerge from the eight-year crisis. He said he is impressed by the Greek entrepreneurial spirit and human capital, stressing that the history of the Greek economy recovery will be written by young people like you.

The U.S. Ambassador spoke about the deep historical ties between the two countries, the cooperation with the Greek Diaspora, and his personal commitment to the Embassys continued involvement in entrepreneurship issues. One of the things missing from Greece, he commented, are places where researchers and aspiring entrepreneurs from different parts of the country can come into creative contact.

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

Photo Source: Wikimedia Commons Copyright: BIONIC University License: CC-BY-SA

Source: greekreporter.com
The Czech climber on Wednesday evening fell in a ravine in the area of Kakkoskala of Mount Olympus in central Greece

The Consul of the Czech Republic in Thessaloniki Margarita Ignatiadou on Thursday sent a letter thanking the rescue teams that took part in the rescue of a Czech climber on Mt. Olympus.

"The immediate action and coordination of all groups, despite the adverse weather conditions prevailing on Mt.Olympus, enabled the missing hiker to be found and rescued in only an hour and a half," noted the consul.

The Czech climber on Wednesday evening fell in a ravine in the area of Kakkoskala of Mount Olympus in central Greece. He is being hospitalised in serious condition at Thessalonikis "Papanikolaou" hospital.

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

Source: ANA-MPA
TUI announced its new investment plans for Greece that include the creation of 10 new four-and five-star hotels, focusing on quality services and expanding cruise services.

The leading German tour operator has been able to increase the number of visitors to Greece this summer by around ten percent to 2.5 million. As a result, Greece the second most important destination for the TUI Group behind Spain. "Greece is one of the winners of the 2017 summer season. The tourism sector is one of the most important employers for the country", said the Chairman of the Executive Board of the TUI Group, Fritz Joussen, following a meeting with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras in Athens. Joussen emphasized: "TUI continues to be oriented on growth. We are investing worldwide in hotels, resorts and our cruise lines Hapag Lloyd Cruises, TUI Cruises and Thomson Cruises. The growth in hotels and cruises is also planned to happen in Greece. For this purpose, we require a good infrastructure, hotels in locations close to the sea and well-qualified employees. "The next project is the opening of the third Robinson Club in Greece. TUI has purchased a plot of land on Crete for that purpose.

TUI now operates 32 of its own hotels in the Greek holiday areas. Athens is also the location of TUI Destination Services for the Eastern Mediterranean region. In total TUI employs around 1,300 people in Greece. It is planned to expand the number of Greek employees.

The Greek island of Crete is planned to be developed as a showcase for sustainable catering on holiday. The international TUI Care Foundation is supporting a project in Crete which brings together the important economic sectors of tourism, agriculture and wine-growing. Under the name "TUI Cares for Crete", the foundation is networking local producers with hoteliers and the tourism sector.

More and more local products are thus finding their way into the holiday resorts. The project was launched together with the Greek Tourism Minister, Elena Kountoura, and the Governor of Crete. In the meantime, 200 local companies, olive-growers and winemakers in Crete are participating in this project.

About the TUI Group

TUI Group is the worlds number one integrated tourism group operating in around 180 destinations worldwide. The company is domiciled in Germany. TUI Groups share is listed in the FTSE 100 index, the leading index of the London Stock Exchange and in the German open market. In financial year 2015/16, TUI Group recorded turnover of 17.2bn and an operating result of 1.001bn. The Group employs 67,000 people in more than 100 countries. TUI offers its 20 million customers comprehensive services from a single source. It covers the entire touristic value chain under one roof. This comprises leading tour operator brands and 1,600 travel agencies in Europe, five European airlines with around 150 modern medium and long-haul aircraft, more than 300 Group-owned hotels and resorts with premium brands such as RIU and Robinson. With cruise ships ranging from the MS Europa and MS Europa 2 luxury class vessels to the Mein Schiff fleet of TUI Cruises and the vessels of Thomson Cruises in the UK, TUI is also strongly positioned in the growing cruise sector. Global responsibility for sustainable economic, ecological and social activity is a key feature of our corporate culture. The TUI Care Foundation builds on the potential of tourism as a force for good by initiating projects that create new opportunities for the next generation and contribute to thriving destinations all over the world.

Further information is available at www.tuigroup.com

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
Russia and Saudi Arabia have agreed on nuclear energy and space cooperation, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after negotiations between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.



"I would like to mention the energy industry, not just traditional one, but the nuclear energy industry as well and cooperation in space exploration, agricultural sector and infrastructural projects among advanced industries in which agreements were signed today," the Russian top diplomat was quoted as saying by Tass news agency.



Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia has shown interest in purchasing Russia's S-400 missile systems, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin said.



"There is some interest, of course," he said. "Talks on S-400 are in progress, but there are no final decisions yet," he said according to Tass news agency.



Rogozin added that military-technical cooperation was discussed during the talks behind closed doors.
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has completed 14 per cent of the engineering studies for the hydroelectric power station that will make use of the water stored in the Hatta Dam.



This is part of a consultancy contract, which covers all design, hydro-geological, geological, environmental, geotechnical, and deep excavation studies. It also includes consultancy on deep-water tunnel designs, the upper reservoir and hydroelectric power station, the tender for material supply, supervision of construction work, site installation, on-site testing and commissioning.



Dewa awarded the Dh58 million ($15.7 million) consultancy contract for the pumped-storage hydroelectric power station to Frances EDF. The project is the first of its kind in the Arabian Gulf, with a total capacity of 250MW, and a lifespan of 60 to 80 years.



As part of our support for the Comprehensive Development Plan for Hatta, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, we have launched several projects, including the hydroelectric power station, at a cost of Dh 1.92 billion, said Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dewa.



The hydroelectric power station will generate electricity by making use of the water in the Hatta Dam, which can store up to 1,716 million gallons, and an upper reservoir that will be built in the mountain that can store up to 880 million gallons.



The upper reservoir will be 300 metres above the dam level. During off-peak hours, turbines that use clean and cheap solar energy will pump water from the lower dam to the upper reservoir. During peak-load hours, when production costs are high, turbines operated by the speed of waterfall from the upper reservoir will be used to generate electricity and connect it to Dewas grid. The efficiency of power production will reach 90 per cent with a 90-second response to demand for electricity, added Al Tayer.



Our reliance on hydropower is part of our drive to achieve the objectives of the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, to transform the Emirate into a global hub for clean energy and green economy, and to increase the share of clean energy mix in Dubai to 75 per cent by 2050.



Hydropower, which is the generation of power by harnessing energy from moving water, is one of the main sources of renewable and clean energy in the world. In recent years, there have been significant global developments in hydropower. The total installed capacity has grown by 39 per cent from 2005 to 2015, with an average growth of about 4 per cent per year.



The rise has been concentrated in emerging markets. In 2016, hydropower installed capacity reached 1,064 gigawatts (GW) globally, generating 71 per cent of all renewable electricity, and 16.4 per cent of the worlds electricity from all sources, noted Al Tayer.



In addition to being a low-cost reliable and efficient source of clean energy, hydropower is the most important source for energy storage. It is estimated that storage hydropower represents 99 per cent of the worlds operational electricity storage. Other benefits include water security, flood control, drought management, irrigation, and recreation. Hydropower is one of the most flexible and sustainable renewable energy sources. It can be operated to provide base-load power, as well as peak-load supply through pumped-storage. However, estimates indicate the availability of approximately 10,000TWh/year of unutilised hydropower potential worldwide, said Al Tayer.



In 2015, pumped storage hydropower installed capacity worldwide was 144,465MW. East Asia uses this technology the most with an installed capacity of about 58GW. Japans installed capacity is 27,637MW and Chinas installed capacity is 23,060MW. The Middle Easts pumped storage installed capacity is 1,744MW.  TradeArabia News Service
With his comments about locating and fixing targets including tactical nuclear weapons in Pakistan, was Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa dropping a subtle hint about his force looking to take out Pakistani weapons systems such as the Nasr?

By Sandeep Unnithan : "As far as the Air Force is concerned, it is not only with tactical nuclear weapons, but any target across the border, we have the ability to locate, fix and strike targets across the border," Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa said yesterday.

The IAF chief was answering a question at the annual Air Force Day press conference on how the IAF planned to respond to Pakistan's store of tactical nuclear weapons.

advertisement

With his response, was Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa dropping a subtle hint about his force looking to take out Pakistan's tactical nuclear weapon launchers such as the 'Nasr'?

First tested in 2011, the Nasr weapons system has four nuclear-tipped short range missiles mounted on to an 8x8 transporter erector launcher (TEL). Each missile is believed to carry a nuclear warhead with a blast yield estimated between 0.5 kilotons to 5 kilotons (the Hiroshima bomb's yield, for comparison, was 15 kilotons).

On September 21, speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Pakistan's prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, said that his country had developed tactical nukes in order to deter India's Cold Start doctrine (which calls for lightning-quick, shallow military thrusts into Pakistan at a short notice).

During a recent test-launch of the Nasr, the Pakistani army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, too had made similar comments. "Nasr has put cold water on cold start," Bajwa had said after a training launch of the Nasr missile system in July this year.

Surgical strike is a decision that has to be taken by Govt of India. IAF has capability to carry out full spectrum of air ops: BS Dhanoa pic.twitter.com/gfvZxOxhmM- ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2017

Theoretically, multiple salvoes of Nasr are meant to be launched against advancing Indian battlegroups in what Pakistan terms its 'Counter-Cold Start doctrine'.

Indian Air Force chief BS Dhanoa may have talking about taking out the Nasr missile systems when he made his comments yesterday. However, does the Air Force have the ability to precisely 'locate' and 'fix' these dispersed vehicles and knock them out using air strikes?

Rajesh Rajagopalan of the School of International Studies at JNU thinks that while the IAF may have the capabilities to carry out an air strike, the force may not have the precise intelligence and information required about the missile systems' locations. "There is a huge question mark on the kind of surveillance and intelligence the IAF would need for such a task."

advertisement

Notably, during the 1991 Gulf War, the United States launched over 2,000 air missions in order to find and destroy the Iraqi 'Scud' tactical ballistic missile. The 'Great Scud Hunt', however, failed to destroy even a single mobile missile or launcher. The US missiles, instead, hit fuel trucks and some decoy launchers.

Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retired) of the Centre for Air Power Studies thinks the air chief's statements are only meant to indicate the fact that India's nuclear doctrine is sufficient to tackle any strike by an adversary using nuclear weapons.

"Our doctrine is meant to plant the doubt in the minds of the Pakistanis whether they can test India's resolve in the employment of nuclear weapons. To extend it to say that India is planning a counterforce strategy (targeting nuclear weapons) is incorrect," he said.

THREAT OF PAK NUKES

Pakistan's tactical nukes are being seen as potentially destabilising because they delegate the ability to launch nuclear weapons to military commanders on the ground.

"Pakistan has three to four operational tactical command posts where nuclear weapons might or could be launched from... each of them is like a nuclear-armed country," former US Senator Larry Pressler said in New Delhi on September 28. The former senator, who authored the Pressler Amendment in 1990 cutting Pakistan's access to military hardware, was speaking at the September 28 launch of his book 'Neighbors in Arms'.

advertisement

The possibility of counterforce options was earlier raised by former National Security Adviser Shiv Shankar Menon in his book "Choices: The Making of India's foreign policy", published this year.

Menon mentioned that Pakistan's use of nuclear weapons, even tactical nuclear weapons, would effectively free India to undertake a 'comprehensive first strike' against it. A comprehensive first strike is a strike which targets an opponent's nuclear weapons arsenal rather than cities and population centres.

--- ENDS ---
Save Up To 20% On Your Yuletide Overland Adventure!



(TRAVPR.COM) UK - October 6th, 2017 - It may seem like a world away, but Christmas will be here before you know it, so Acacia Africa have picked out a few fabulous guaranteed to go overland tours for your virtual stocking. Pitch a tent or as its a special occasion upgrade to an accommodated overland tour. The Africa specialist is offering a 20% discount on selected camping overland departures and a 10% saving on selected accommodated overland departures if booked before 31 October.

Arno Delport Sales & Marketing Manager comment, If you book now youll pay our 2017 prices, and youll save on your travels too, flights almost always coming in cheaper if you pin down dates at least two months before the festive season starts.

Dont necessarily go by your exact departure date, be flexible and you could end up saving even more. If youre flying into Cape Town or Johannesburg, those destinations would certainly justify a few extra days of travel, especially if exploring the city is going to keep your flight costs down. It also pays if you dont fly direct. Travel to your destination via Europe as in the Northern Hemispheres winter flight prices from the US are going to be less costly. While you need to factor in time to make all of your connections, using separate airlines for different legs of the route could help too, as will using Africas low cost carriers like Mango, a government owned airline and subsidiary of South African Airways.

SAVE 20% (USD $491pp) East Africa will have your festive season sorted, the 24 day South East Adventure tour arriving in the Masai Mara the night before Christmas. Thats right, you could be game driving in this world renowned Big Five haven on the 25th and sipping cocktails beachside on New Years Eve in Bagamoyo. Have your camera at the ready as you might well spy the magnificent snow-capped Mount Kilimanjaro, Africas highest peak (5895m), en route to the Tanzanian town. Departing 24 December. From only USD $1,964pp (no single supplement) + Adventure Pass from USD $1,400pp including transport, camping accommodation, 59 meals and services of a tour leader/driver. Excludes return flight. Starts Nairobi - ends Livingstone. Full tour price before discount USD $2,455pp. Book by 31 October.

SAVE 20% (USD $307pp) Book yourself on the trip-of-a-lifetime and go gorilla viewing before the year is out. The 14 day Gorilla Encounter departs on 16 December and stops in Jinja on the 25th, so why not make a splash in Africa this Christmas and go white water rafting down the Nile. From only USD $1,228pp (no single supplement) + Adventure Pass from USD $130pp + gorilla and chimp permit from USD $690pp including transport, camping accommodation, 38 meals and services of a tour leader/driver. Excludes return flight. Starts Nairobi - ends Nairobi. Full tour price before discount USD $1,535pp. Book by 31 October.

SAVE 20% (USD $385pp) Go wild on Christmas day and swap Netflix for 24/7 wildlife viewing in Namibias Etosha National Park. On New Years Eve youll be Botswana bound so you can ring in 2018 poolside with Natas elephants  your campsite a pachyderm paradise. Departing 16 December. 19 day Desert Tracker from only USD $1,540pp (no single supplement) + Adventure Pass from USD $480pp including transport, camping accommodation, 47 meals and services of a tour leader/driver. Excludes return flight. Starts Cape Town - ends Livingstone. Full tour price before discount USD $1,925pp. Book by 31 October.

SAVE 20% (USD $385pp) Love the tour, but still cant get away for Christmas. Opt for a later 19 day Desert Tracker departure. Spend your New Years Eve day chilling in Namibia by the Orange River and in the evening up the tempo and get ready to party on into 2018 (live music/DJ still to be announced)! Departing 30 December. From only USD $1,540pp (no single supplement) + Adventure Pass from USD $480pp including transport, camping accommodation, 47 meals and services of a tour leader/driver. Excludes return flight. Starts Cape Town - ends Livingstone. Full tour price before discount USD $1,925pp. Book by 31 October.

SAVE 20% (USD $213pp) Opt for an African Christmas this year, and treat yourself to a game drive in South Africas Kruger National Park. Tempted? Book yourself on the seven day African Insight southbound departing 20 December. From only USD $852pp (no single supplement) + Adventure Pass from USD $100pp including transport, camping accommodation, 16 meals and services of a tour leader/driver. Excludes return flight. Starts Livingstone - ends Johannesburg. Full tour price before discount USD $1,065pp. Book by 31 October.

SAVE 20% (USD $499pp) Treat yourself to some fun in the sun this Christmas and hit the sandy shores of Lake Malawi on 25 December. The 22 day Zanzibar, Victoria Falls & Kruger departs on 19 December and winds its way through to Livingstone on the 31st  the ideal location for an unforgettable New Years Eve bash! From only USD $1,996pp (no single supplement) including transport, camping accommodation, 49 meals and services of a tour leader/driver. Excludes return flight. Starts Dar es Salaam - ends Johannesburg. Full tour price before discount USD $2,495pp. Book by 31 October.

-ends-

Acacia Africa SATSA membership No. 1931, Atta membership no. 20151, ATOL No. 6499 and ABTA No. W4093 PROTECTED.

###
MARCOS commandos recovered a skiff used by pirates, an AK -47 assault rifle, ammunition, ladders, and grapplers used to climb on ships.

The INS Trishul boarding party in their boat

By Sudhi Ranjan Sen: MARCOS commandos aboard Navy vessel INS Trishul today thwarted a piracy attempt on an Indian ship, the 82,000-ton cargo carrier MV Jaga Mar, in the Gulf of Aden.

Both the ship, and the 26 Indian crew members on board are safe, the Navy has said.

The vessel radioed for assistance at around 12.30 pm IST. The Navy's stealth frigate - which is on anti-piracy duty - responded immediately, Navy Spokesperson Captain DK Sharma told India Today.

advertisement

At 5:52 pm IST, the Navy said on its official Twiiter account that the operation had ended.

Boarding Ops by MARCOS completed.1AK47 +1Mag with 27 rds, grapnels, ropes, fuel drums & ladders recovered. MV Jag Amar + 26 indian crew safe pic.twitter.com/pycgxxAIDD- SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) October 6, 2017

PIRACY IN THE GULF OF ADEN

The Gulf of Aden, a 1,000 km stretch of water located between the coasts of Yemen and Somalia, is jointly policed by India, China and the combined Maritime Forces - a 32-nation multi-national naval force - to counter pirates.

The Indian Navy deploys a warship permanently in the Gulf Of Aden for anti-piracy operations.

--- ENDS ---
A news report identified the man as 26-year-old Amir, a mobile store owner from Tamil Nadu's Mettupalayam with no known criminal record.

By India Today Web Desk: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has apprehended a merchant in connection with the sale of a SIM card that was used to contact the terrorist group ISIS, or Islamic State, ANI reported.

TN:A mobile phone SIM card seller apprehended by NIA in connection with sale of 5 SIM cards from which one SIM card was used to contact ISIS- ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2017

advertisement

A Times of India report identified the man as 26-year-old Amir, a mobile store owner from Tamil Nadu's Mettupalayam with no known criminal record.

Amir was apprehended in Kerala's Kochi, and interrogated in Mettupalayam, the report said.

Only last month, the NIA arrested a suspected ISIS operative, Shakul Hammed, in Chennai. He allegedly received funds on behalf of the terrorist organisation to establish its presence in the Tamil Nadu capital, and stage attacks in the state.

It was reported in April this year that the NIA was interrogating three youths with alleged links to ISIS - two from Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu and one from Alappuzha in Kerala.

As for the man who was questioned by the NIA today, the Times of India quoted police as saying he tried to "establish telephone contacts with a few ISIS extremists in Syria."

Amir, whom police have been tracking since March, now needs to re-appear before the NIA on Monday, the report said.

NOTE: The image of NIA officials used at the top of this page was chosen for representational purposes.

ALSO WATCH | India Today penetrates Islamic State's India module, terror tapes reveal recruitment drive in Kerala

--- ENDS ---
New Delhi, October 6

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Friday dismissed the plea of ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry seeking transfer of his case challenging the ouster to the New Delhi Bench from Mumbai.

The principal bench of the NCLT also imposed a cost of Rs 10 lakh on Mistry's two investment firms, which would be shared by both.

"We are of the considered view that this application is devoid of merit and thus liable to be dismissed," said the Bench headed by Justice MM Kumar.

The two companies are Cyrus Investments Pvt Ltd and Sterling Investments Corporation Pvt Ltd.

"This application fails and same is dismissed with cost of Rs 10 lakh. This cost shall be paid to all respondents in equal share," said NCLT.

The tribunal has directed the Mistry's two investment firms to pay Tata Sons and other respondents.

During the hearing, senior advocate CA Sundaram appearing for Mistry argued that the NCLT Mumbai has prejudged the facts specifically relating to the applicants and there is "reasonable inference" that the same bench would not be able to deal with the issues "fairly".

He had also cited some specifics para's of the NCLT Mumbai's previous order of March 6, and April 17, 2017.

However, the principal bench said that the para's read by Sundaram "would not commend us to take a view that NCLT, Mumbai have anyway displayed any such bias which would constitute a basis for us to exercise jurisdiction, if any, to transfer... to another appropriate bench of NCLT".

On April 17, the Mumbai Bench of the NCLT had rejected the waiver plea filed by the investment firms, while on March 6 it had set aside the one over maintainability.

"We find that directing the transfer of the petition would attract a unsavoury tendency of seeking transfers on minor excuses which needs to be discouraged. Therefore, we are unable to persuade ourselves to accept the prayer made in the application," it said.

Last month, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had granted Mistry waiver in the minimum shareholding rule for him to file a case of alleged oppression of minority shareholders after observing "exceptional" and "compelling circumstances" in the entire episode.

The Mistry family owns 18.4 per cent stake in the closely-held Tata Sons. The holding is less than 3 per cent if preferential shares are excluded, not meeting the criteria of at least 10 per cent ownership in a company for the filing of a case of alleged oppression of minority shareholders.

It had directed the NCLT, which had previously dismissed Mistry's petition against Tata Sons on the ground of not meeting the minimum shareholding criteria, to decide the case in three months.

Mistry has been locked in a legal battle with the Tatas since his unceremonious exit as chairman of Tata Sons  the promoter company of the $105-billion salt-to-software Tata group  in October last year.

He was ousted as Tata Sons chairman on October 24, 2016, and was also removed as a director on the board of the holding company on February 6, 2017.

Cyrus Investments Pvt and Sterling Investments Corporation Pvt had moved the NCLT against Tata Sons after Mistry's ouster last year alleging oppression of minority shareholders and mismanagement. PTI
New Delhi, October 6

Reliance Industries Ltd today said it has sold one of its three shale gas assets in the US for $126 million, offloading stake in Marcellus, operated by Carrizo.

RIL held stakes in three US shale gas ventures  45% with Pioneer Natural Resources in the Eagle Ford shale play; 40% with Chevron and 60% with Carrizo Oil & Gas in the Marcellus Shale play.

Reliance Marcellus II, LLC, a subsidiary of Reliance Holding USA, Inc and RIL, signed agreements to divest all of its interest in certain upstream assets in north-eastern and central Pennsylvania, the company said.

The assets, which are currently operated by Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc, were sold to BKV Chelsea, LLC, an affiliate of Kalnin Ventures LLC, for $126 million, subject to customary closing terms and conditions.

Additionally, Reliance could receive contingent payments of up to $11.25 million in aggregate based on natural gas prices exceeding certain thresholds over the next three years.

The assets produce mainly gas and are located in Susquehanna, Wyoming and Clearfield Counties of Pennsylvania.

Walter Van de Vijver, President and CEO of Reliance Holding USA, Inc, said: This transaction represents an opportunistic sale of developed upstream Marcellus assets and ends a successful partnership of 7 years with Carrizo in a joint sale. RIL said it will continue to manage the remainder of its US shale resources.

Reliance remains invested in the Marcellus shale play via its non-operated position with Chevron in southwestern Pennsylvania and in the Eagle Ford play via its non-operated position with Pioneer in Texas, it said.  PTI

About the deal
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 6

As many as 28 workers  25 women and three men  who fell unconscious in the fire incident at the Devdarshan Dhoop factory in the Industrial Area, Phase II, today, were rushed to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Sector 32.

Dr Sonali, who was supervising the emergency services at the GMCH, said the condition of all workers was stable. As many as 25 of the injured were discharged after treatment.

A majority of the workers were affected due to suffocation and none of them sustained major burn injuries. The suffocation was caused due to inhalation of fumes, she said. Many workers complained of difficulty in speaking while a few others said they were having difficulty in breathing.

Chaos prevailed at the emergency unit of the hospital. Panic-stricken kin of the workers were seen pressing doctors to treat the patients on a priority basis.

The workers undergoing treatment at the hospital were worried about losing their livelihood. They were earning their living by working in the factory. They said the fire incident would lead to a financial crunch in their houses.
Tribune News Service

Panchkula, October 6

The local police have arrested the accused who allegedly fired at an accountant of a private firm and looted Rs 2.5 lakh from him in Panchkula on August 11. The accused was the head of the infamous Zen gang, which committed a number of robberies in Panchkula.

The accused, Satpal Singh (56), a resident of Kansal in Mohali district, had committed the crime along with his accomplice Sukhjit Singh, a resident of Amritsar.

The accused was produced in a court which remanded him in police custody till October 11.

Panchkula Police Commissioner AS Chawla said the accused was a big catch and was arrested by a team of the crime branch, led by Inspector Suraj Chawla.

During interrogation, the accused said Sukhjit Singh used to do a recce of banks and keep an eye on people who used to withdraw heavy cash. The moment such persons came out of banks, Sukhjit would inform Satpal and they would jointly follow them and snatch the cash at secluded places. If anyone opposed, Satpal would shoot them.

The accused admitted that they had been committing such crimes in a Maruti Zen car along with three or four accomplices in Panchkula since 2005. As the Zen car was popular then and the police mostly checked these, they later started using Swift and Indigo cars for committing such incidents. They had used an Alto K10 in the latest Panchkula incident, the accused told the police.

Inspector Suraj Chawla said the accused had confessed to having committed around 10 such robberies and the police were verifying the facts. The Alto K10 has been impounded by the police but the revolver used in the crime was yet to be recovered.

Was running taxi business

The police said the accused was 56 years old and had long white beard due to which people did not suspect him. He was running a taxi business in the tricity and bought these taxis and a house in Chandigarh with looted money. Satpal used to do a recee in his taxis, the police said.
S Nihal Singh

IT was a moment filled with great symbolism when the Kurds cast votes in a referendum seeking independence for the autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq. The world has turned against the Kurds now as the colonial powers did in dividing up the Middle East after World War I. And a people 30-million strong spread across Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria never got a state of their own.

The countries ranged against Kurds are many. The US, which has used and armed peshmergas, rated the best fighters on the ground to chase the Islamic State and its supporters out of Iraq and Syria, is afraid of the break-up of Iraq. Ironically, it was the US which enforced a no-fly zone over Kurdish areas that enabled the Kurds to administer their corner, which evolved into the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Iraqi Kurds neighbours have parochial concerns of their own restive Kurds receiving encouragement from the referendum.

Yet Kurds are people who were gassed by Saddam Husseins forces at Halabja. Turkey has been fighting its Kurds in a war of attrition, with its leader in prison for several years. Iran is nervous of its own Kurds and Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has issued stern warnings to Kurdish leaders. Syria is similarly inclined.

Despite the avalanche of protests and threats, the result of the referendum, a 93 per cent turnout with an overwhelming vote for independence, is a historic landmark because Kurds, who have pined for their own state for generations, have put their problem upfront not to be brushed away under the carpet. There are, of course, a sea of problems in taking the independence issue forward. Nothing is simple in the Middle East, fighting two major wars and innumerable other problems, including a Saudi-led war in Yemen and the split in Arab ranks by Saudi Arabia leading a boycott of fellow Qatar on flimsy grounds.

In Iraq itself, the picture is complicated by the oil-rich Kirkuk region, with a mixed population, in Kurds possession. In 2014, Iraqi troops ran away from the region against the onslaught of the Islamic State and Kurdish forces fought and won the area, with a stipulated deadline for consultations of residents long past. Baghdad stopped funding the KRG over differences forcing Erbil, capital of the Kurdish region, to export oil through Turkey, which is now threatening to switch off the tap. Baghdads initial reaction has been to stop international flights to Kurdistan, but this is in the nature of opening shots in a long game.

Yet in a sense Mr Masoud Barzani, the KRG president, has shrewdly calculated his move. He realises that the best time with ground fighters helping the US in eliminating Islamic State forces, is when the task remains unfinished. And perhaps he believes that the plight of his people will prick the conscience of the world in gradually undoing the great injustice done to his people.

With President Trump in power in Washington, his policies remain unpredictable. Thus far, he has cemented alliances with Saudi Arabia and Israel. The American aversion to the Kurds referendum simply flowed from the logic of not further complicating a messy Middle Easts problems. Whether his administrations approach to the Kurds will evolve over time remains to be seen. Irans influence over post-Saddam Shia majority Iraq is well known, with Shia militias doing much of the fighting to protect the state. There are reports of Iran as well as Turkey moving troops to the KRG border.

As in the past, the Kurds are fighting a lonely battle, but this time they have nailed their flag to an overwhelming vote for independence of their state. Obviously, their neighbours fear contagion from their brethren inspired by the Iraqi Kurds seeking an independent state, however tortuous the journey ahead.

An independent Kurdish state has to cross many hurdles before it can become a reality. In the short term, Baghdad is making life difficult for those in authority in the Kurdish region, stopping flights as an opening gambit and Turkeys President is threatening to turn off the tap for the regions oil exports, which provide 90 per cent of its revenues. The central Iraq government stopped the regions subsidy as punishment for its unofficial oil exports through Turkey choking the land-locked region. Iran has closed its air space to Kurdistan. Iranian Kurds reportedly cheered the Iraqi Kurds referendum. And Iran and Turkey have conducted military exercises on Kurdistan border.

One of the several ironies is that Mr Najmaldin Karim, the governor of Kirkuk fired by the Iraqi government, remains in office because the Kurds still control the area. Kirkuk is, of course, a disputed area between the Kurds and Baghdad and is one of the many issues that remain to be resolved. Thus far, Baghdad is refusing to countenance the departure of Kurdistan.

Inevitably, this tug of war can turn ugly because most of Iraqs neighbours side with Baghdad for their own reasons. Whether President Trump can change the scenario once the Islamic State is finally thrown out of Iraq and Syria remains to be seen. Mr Trumps own inclinations would be not to complicate his problems further in his effort to divest as much international responsibility as he can, despite giving the war in Afghanistan a fillip.

In the meantime, Mr Barzani seems to have achieved something by refusing all entreaties to postpone the referendum and demonstrate to the world how overwhelmingly the Kurds desire a state of their own. It is an arduous task requiring years of dedicated work. Among former American diplomats, Mr Peter Galbraith has been an avid supporter of the Kurdish cause and other sympathetic observers point out the raw deal given to Kurds. With a large part of Kurdistans neighbours and the world against its cause, can the Kurds still emerge victorious? They have justice on their side even as the demands of realpolitik militate against Kurds. Kurds and their supporters hope they will win in the end.
A 40-year-old woman from Jaipur thinks that PM Narendra Modi is alone, just like her. And she has been on a sit-in at Delhi's Jantar Mantar for a month now to marry him.

By Abhishek Anand: In what seems like one of the most bizarre reasons to stage a protest, a 40-year-old woman is on a sit-in at Jantar Mantar of Delhi to marry Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Hailing from Jaipur, Rajasthan, Om Shanti Sharma is on a sit-in since September 8. She has clarified that her mental condition is perfectly fine. Shanti just wants to serve PM Modi had has stated that he is alone and has a lot of work to do.

advertisement

"I was married earlier but the relation didn't last long. I am alone since past many years. I refused a lot of marriage proposals and now I am here to marry Narendra Modi," Shanti said sitting in a tiny shed at a corner at the Jantar Mantar.

Jaipur woman on sit-in at Jantar Mantar to marry PM Modi

REASON TO MARRY

Asked about why she wants to marry the Prime Minister and why she is on a sit-in, she said, "I know people will not allow me to meet him. But I also know that he needs help. He is alone like me."

"When people here about this, they often laugh at me. I want to tell them that I just don't want to marry Modi ji because I have thing for him, it is also because I respect him. In our culture, it has been taught since childhood to respect elders and help them in their work. I want to do my bit and help," Shanti said.

SHANTI IS RICH

Shanti has a 20-year-old daughter from her first marriage back. She is not worried about her future as she claims she has a lot of land and money.

"I have a lot of land back in Jaipur. I have planned to sell some of them and buy some gifts for Modi. I will remain on a sit-in till the time Modi ji comes to meet me," she said.

SHANTI'S SIT-IN

Sharma is using the public toilet at Jantar Mantar and eating at gurudwaras and temples to continue her sit-in to marry Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

She says she is worried about National Green Tribunal's order to shift the protest spot from Jantar Mantar to some other place.

"I don't know what will I do if the government removes me from here. It has been a month and this place is good and hospitable for me," she said.

--- ENDS ---
IT was fortuitous that BJP president Amit Shah was called back to the Delhi durbar a day before he was to lead an aggressive mob through the hometown of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The overgrown hamlet, Pinarayi, is the epicentre of a murderous two-decade-old turf war between the CPI (M) and the RSS. Shah was counting on the raised tensions to serve as the symbolic throwing of the gauntlet to Vijayan, who has never backed away from a good fight in the badlands of northern Kerala. The BJP has tried its hand at several permutations in Kerala. Tribal rights activist CK Janu was drafted into the NDA but she barely managed to save her deposit in the previous Assembly elections.

The BJP has a Christian card up its sleeve, courtesy KJ Alphons. This approach may not work because of the RSS cadres antagonism to the People of the Book. So what better than to fall back on the BJPs well-honed formula of ratcheting up communal tensions? This is what Shah, with UP CM Yogi Adityanath in tow (even as two BSP leaders were murdered a day before in his home state), wanted to accomplish. Only, things are not that simple in Kerala. The Left, the Muslim League and the Congress have so far successfully mediated the accommodation of all diverse groups in the power equation.

The BJP opted to sell its divisive brand of politics in northern Kerala because of its proximity to Mangalore, in Karnataka, where the Sanghs spear carriers have plied their divisive trade since the 90s. Unsurprisingly, the BJP has won the Mangalore Lok Sabha seat five times and feels that northern Kerala is ripe for Amit Shahs booster dose of communal polarisation. In two Assemblies, it has already been the bridesmaid seven times. Kerala is in distress because of the slowdown in Gulf remittances and the fall in the prices of spices and rubber, its agricultural mainstays. At a time of economic pain, it may seem uncomplicated to fracture communal amity. But the pieces will be difficult to pick in a place not incorrectly called a madhouse of castes and religions.
THE Modi governments conscious blurring of the line between the militarys operational autonomy and partisan political objectives has rubbed on to the service chiefs. Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat seemed to have overlooked the well-proven axiom that the key to accomplishing foreign policy objectives is skilful diplomacy, and not military prowess. His declaration that India is prepared for two-and-a-half-front war, which includes both the external and internal enemies, may have been tested in sand model war games. But in public, none has gone so far as to suggest that ones own citizens could also be potential enemies. The Indian Air Force Chief, who the other day was complaining about badly depleting force levels, has now followed in his wake.

The quick turnover of Defence Ministers may have compelled the governments security managers to deploy the service chiefs in a domain reserved for diplomats and politicians. However, the rattling of the sabres to essentially meet foreign policy objectives appears terribly misplaced. The Doklam standoff with China is a salutary lesson in how military muscle is no substitute for diplomatic resourcefulness. After the loud claims of victory, it now transpires that there are more Chinese soldiers in that region and whats more, they have restarted work on a road that was at the root of the standoff. Neither Gen Rawat nor Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa, both ready to tee off a two-front war, has any solution on resolving this security headache on a tiny sliver of land.

Despite the talking up of Indias defence preparedness, an audit has revealed an embarrassing shortfall in Indias war reserves. And despite the professed commonality of objectives, the service chiefs do not agree on a unified military command like the well-oiled war machines of the US, Russia and China. Historically, and as the US has painfully learnt, sole reliance on military force does not work very well. Though nationalist sentiments are peaking, it will be perilous to cede space to the other side of the civil-military equation, even if temporarily.
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 6

The Supreme Court has taken suo motu cognisance of question paper leak in the Haryana Judicial Service (Preliminary) Examination 2017 and transferred to itself of the case pending before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

A Bench headed Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra will take up the matter on November 20.

A candidate named Suman had moved the high court alleging that a day before the examination, she was approached by two persons who were ready to give her the question paper for Rs one crore.

She claimed at least two questions disclosed to her by them actually figured in the paper.

After finding that some candidates had access to the question paper, the Recruitment/Promotion/Court Creation Committee (Subordinate Judicial Services) of the high court had recommended scrapping of the Haryana Judicial Service [HCS (JB)] Preliminary Examination-2017. Accordingly, the high court had quashed the examination.

The committee had also recommended registration of an FIR and disciplinary action against the registrar and his transfer from the post, pending further action.

The high court was informed that 760 calls and SMSs were exchanged between the said registrar and one of the conspirators in the last one year.

The Chandigarh Police have already registered an FIR against the said registrar various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and the Indian Penal Code.
Rajinder Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, September 6

The Panchkula police have found that two top Dera Sacha Sauda functionaries arrested in connection with the violence in Panchkula on August 25 do not have testicles.

The police have asked the Panchkula CMO to examine them medically and report whether or not these two are cases of surgical castration. A board of doctors has been set up in this regard.

A senior police official said during investigation of the Panchkula violence, they had arrested top dera functionaries Daan Singh and Rakesh.

The former, legal head of the dera, had been associated with the sect since 1995. The latter, dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singhs private assistant, accompanied the sect head when he appeared in court on August 25.

During investigation, the police found that testicles of both of had been removed. The police were not sure whether their testicles had been removed surgically or they had some problem.

A letter was sent to the CMO to seek a medical report. The CBI, handling one such matter connected with the dera, was also informed, the police official added.

Report sought from Rohtak PGIMS, too

A senior police official said they would get a report on castration from the PGIMS in Rohtak as well. As the case was very serious in nature, they did not want to take chances, he said.

Former followers case similar

Dera follower Hansraj Chauhan had recently told mediapersons in Chandigarh that he was castrated. In a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court in July 2012, he had claimed that he and 400 others were lured into getting their testicles removed on the pretext of an opportunity to meet god. Following his plea, the CBI had been ordered in 2014 to carry out an investigation.
Lalit Mohan

Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, October 6

Former minister and senior Congress leader Vijai Singh Mankotia will not apply for the Congress ticket from Shahpur Assembly constituency. Mankotia, however, said that he had been campaigning in the Shahpur Assembly constituency and holding village level meetings. The people of the area are urging me to contest. I cannot contest from the Congress ticket till Virbhadra Singh is at the helm of affairs in the party, Mankotia said.

When asked if he would join some other party, Mankotia said there was nothing on cards for the time being. On contesting as an independent, Mankotia said, This is the option as I have promised to my supporters in the constituency that whatever may be the circumstances, I shall contest the next Assembly elections.

Mankotia once again attacked the Chief Minister and said that he could not be accepted as the leader of the Congress as he and his entire family was on bail in corruption cases. I can only consider contest from the Congress ticket if there was change in leadership in party, he said.

Mankotia has been carrying out tirade against the Chief Minister for the past about two months. The Chief Minister has been demanding that he should be ousted from the Congress. However, till date the party has dithered over taking action against Mankotia. When asked, Mankotia also said that he had been hearing that the party was issuing him show cause notice but he has not received any as yet.

HPCC president Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu and the party general secretary Shushil Kumar Shinde had also been maintaining silence over the issue. Mankotia had sweet and sour relations with Virbhadra Singh. Mankotia entered electoral politics in 1982 from Shahpur Assembly constituency.

After that he won four times consecutively from Shahpur in 1982, 1985, 1990, 1993. In 1998 he was defeated by Sarween Chaudhary of the BJP but was again re-elected in 2003. After developing differences with Virbhadra Singh, he raised the issue of discrimination against Kangra by the Congress governments. In 2007 Mankotia joined the BSP and released a CD against Virbhadra Singh that contributed, among other factors, to the defeat of the Congress.

During the last Assembly elections in 2012, Mankotia buried hatchet with Virbhadra Singh and again joined the Congress. He contested from Shahpur as a Congress candidate but lost to Sarween Chaudhary. During the current government he was given the post of Vice Chairman of Tourism Development Board of Himachal, a relatively insignificant post. However, during the past two months Mankotia has again turned to Virbhadra bashing.
Tribune News Service

Dharamsala, October 6

Pensioners in the state have threatened to oppose the Congress in the forthcoming Assembly elections in the state. PS Rana, president of the Kangra Pensioners Welfare Sangh, said they had decided to oppose the Congress government as the announcement by CM regarding their long-pending demand had not been implemented.

He said on December 17, 2016, the CM announced in Shimla that additional pension at the rate of 5, 10 and 15 per cent of the basic pay would be granted to the pensioners after attaining the age of 65, 70 and 75 years. At that time, the CM even announced that Rs 100 crore required to implement the demand was sanctioned. However, no notification has been issued for implementing the announcement so far.

Gurdev Singh Bharti, the vice-president of the Pensionera Welfare Association said the said demand was promised even in the Congress manifesto during the last Assembly elections. The pensioners were just demanding parity with the Punjab Government scales for pensioners. It seems that the bureaucracy was not listening even to the CM in the present government due to which his announcement was not being implemented, he said.

Subhasha Bharti, the spokesperson of the pensioners association, said many lower-rank employees due to ignorance had not filled option of getting medical allowance with the pension. On their demand, the government had agreed to provide them another opportunity to go for the option. If the employees were allowed to exercise the option they would get just Rs 400 per month as medical allowance. However, even this demand was not being met by the government, he said.

The pensioners said they had decided to oppose the present government and its MLAs in the forthcoming Assembly elections as their pleas had fallen on deaf ears of the present government.
Vikas Sharma

Tribune News Service

Jammu, October 6

Mere completion of a Diploma in Elementary Education (DElEd) by in-service teachers of government schools will not be enough for them to continue with their jobs now.

Teachers (graduate and undergraduate) not having 50 per cent aggregate marks (General category) and 45 per cent aggregate marks (reserved categories) at the senior secondary level will have to register themselves for improvement with the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) portal for a senior secondary course. The diploma certificate will be issued only when the teachers secure more than 50 marks or above in the course.

More than 25,000 untrained in-service teachers of government schools in the state had recently registered with the NIOS after the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry had set a deadline for school education departments across the country to train their untrained teachers before March 31, 2019, failing which they would lose their jobs. Under this, all untrained in-service teachers had registered with the NIOS portal in September this year.

Primary teachers (teaching up to Class V) have to compulsorily undergo the DElEd course even if they have passed Bachelors of Elementary Education (BElEd). However, upper primary teachers who had done BElEd need not require to apply for the DElEd course.

Sources said the untrained teachers who secured less than 50 per cent marks (general category) and 45 per cent marks (reserved categories) had to register with the NIOS online at www.nios.ac.in for improvement under stream-1 or stream-4 as a part of credit in one, two, three or four subjects.

In Jammu province, there are 13,667 untrained teachers, including 4,728 undergraduates and 8,939 graduates. The strength of Rehbar-e-Taleem (RET) teachers who were appointed on Class XII basis is between 3,000 and 4,000.

Mohammad Iqbal, Joint Director, Trainings, State Institute of Education, told The Tribune, Yes, in-service untrained teachers of the state have to apply for improvement in case they have less than aggregate marks in terms of percentage.

When asked about the exact figures of in-service government teachers who had secured less than 50 per cent marks at the senior secondary level, the Joint Director said, The exact data is not available at the moment but the strength of untrained undergraduate teachers who registered at the NIOS last month was around 4,700 which has now increased to 6,500.

The undergraduate untrained teachers will be trained through the District Institute of Education and Trainings in every district while the graduate untrained teachers will get training through the Indira Gandhi National Open University.
New Delhi, October 6

Two persons arrested for allegedly providing logistical and material support to terrorists infiltrating from Pakistan into Kashmir for carrying out subversive activities were today sent to judicial custody by a Delhi court for a month.

District Judge Poonam A Bamba sent Zahoor Ahmed Peer and Nazir Ahmed Peer to jail after they were produced in the court by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) which submitted that they were not required for further custodial interrogation.

Both the accused, residents of Wahama, Kupwara, in north Kashmir, were arrested on September 19 by the NIA from Jammu in connection with a case registered in July last year.

Police in Jammu and Kashmir had arrested a Pakistani national, Bahadur Ali, from Handwara in north Kashmir in July last year and allegedly seized a large quantity of incriminating material, including arms and ammunition, from him. The case was later handed over to the NIA.

The two accused allegedly provided material and logistical support to Ali and his associates soon after their infiltration into Indian territory, the NIA said.

Both the accused were local supporters of Ali and had visited Pakistan thrice and met terrorists from Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and were still in their contact, it was alleged.

In January this year, the NIA had charge-sheeted Ali, a member of the banned terror outfit LeT who had been arrested from Yahama village of Handwara on July 24 last year.

The charge sheet highlighted gaps along the Line of Control (LoC) as Ali along with two other terrorists had walked undetected for seven days.

The NIA said Ali alias Saifullah Mansoor along with two associates, Abu Saad and Abu Darda, all trained terrorists, infiltrated into Indian territory equipped with arms and ammunition, navigation equipment, combat material and other articles.

The trio entered India during the intervening night of June 12-13 last year and reached their destination around June 20. The area is expected to be dotted by security personnel as part of counter-infiltration grid.

On June 22, Alis two associates left to get some food, leaving Ali on a hill top. Both were killed in an encounter.

According to the NIA charge sheet, investigation had established that Ali, a school dropout and originally a resident of Jia Bagga Village of Raiwind in Lahore, Pakistan, was also provided a map depicting parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK).

He was provided with Grid References (GR) that had been recovered from his possession. Ali plotted these GRs on the map which was sent for examination to the Surveyor General of India at Dehradun who affirmed that the terrorist had plotted them correctly.

A pocket diary recovered from Ali, among other things, listed the names of several towns in Jammu and Kashmir.  PTI
Ambika Sharma

The sixth edition of the much-awaited Kasauli literature festival got off to a colourful start with a bevy of writers, cine-stars and noted journalists descending on to this pristine cantonment town at the historic Kasauli Club. Lending the characteristic zing to the proceedings were Shobhaa De, author and columnist, Pavan K Verma, diplomat, writer and politician, Arun Shourie, former union minister for Disinvestment, Communications and IT, Vijay Tankha, former head of Department of Philosophy, St Stephens College, Delhi, and many more.

Political thought

Arun Shourie was at his witty best while sharing his fond association with Khushwant Singh. Addressing a session on how to recognsie rulers for what they are, he gave the audience nuances of how a politician adroitly uses public goodwill to camouflage his failures. He candidly termed a section of politicians as sociopaths and self-seeking. Politicians should be judged by their actions and what they have condoned, not merely by what they have said. Claims made by them should be examined by the people, he shared. He aptly used the opportunity to question NDA governments claim of having generated 5.5 crore jobs through the much-publicized MUDRA scheme, when, in fact, 1.5 million jobs had been lost in the first quarter of this year alone. He said the government, on the contrary, had promised 2 crore jobs, annually. He even rubbished the figures presented in the economic surveys and said a large section of the media was playing to the galleries.

Talking religion

Vijay Tankha, during a session on Khushwant Singhs insights for Indian @ 70 said though he was known for agnostic moorings, his immense interest in translating religious texts proved the contrary. Khushwant rejected the religiosity that pervades the popular norms and denounced religious people like Asa Ram and Ram Rahim, he said. He questioned the agnostic claims of Khushwant and said had he not had an immense interest in various religions, he would not have spent so much time studying and translating religious texts. Pavan Verma also reflected on his association with Khushwant Singh during the session.

Bold topic

In the session Kama and the difficulty of doing good, writers like Shobha De and Amrita Narayanan, actress Divya Dutta, and Chief Executive Officer, Harper Collins, dwelt on the connotations of bold themes in literature. Shobha noted that when women write on bold themes like pornography, they are viewed differently. Divya shared her initial inhibitions while enacting an amorous scene before the camera, but later saw it as an opportunity of looking at the camera and making love to it. She spoke about her various roles including one of Milkha Singhs sister, who was sexually abused by her husband.

70 & going strong

Marking 70 years of the nations independence, 70 has been chosen as this years theme for the festival. It also symbolizes seven decades of achievements, challenges and battles still to be won against problems like poverty, illiteracy and corruption, deteriorating environment fuelling climate change and the malaise of terrorism and fundamentalism.
Faced with the forcible acquisition of their land, farmers in Nindar village on the outskirts of Jaipur buried themselves up to their necks in soil. Calling their protests "zameen samadhi satyagraha", the farmers said they would stay in their pits "day and night". They have already been protesting for a couple of weeks, said an organiser, but no one from local government had paid any heed, forcing 21 farmers into more drastic action. More are expected to join. The Jaipur Development Authority is buying the land for a housing development project. The scheme, to build 10,000 houses on the land, was announced in 2011, but farmers allege that land acquired under most such JDA schemes lies vacant.

--- ENDS ---

advertisement
Jasmine Singh

Punjabi films can survive without the loud and drooling comedy. The realisation comes after watching this weeks release, Bailaras. For those of you who wouldnt know, Bailaras is the brand name of a tractor, around which the entire plot of the film revolves.

Director Ksshitij Chaudhary is known for his laughter plots, in Bailaras however, he breaks his mould by directing a story that has sensitivity, depth, romance, smile (laughter is a huge expression for Punjab), and emotions.

While the tractor, Bailaras, plays the inanimate protagonist of the film, the director has proved why it is so. The story of the film, written by Jass Grewal, has newness and all the elements of relatability. Almost every Punjabi, for that matter every agriculturist, can relate to the film. The film has some weak moments (slow pace and exaggerated climax), but the content overshadows it too.

It is interesting to note that in his previous film, Vekh Baraatan Chaliyan, Binnu Dhillon ventured into Haryana, and now he has turned his drive to Shimla. After a long time, one gets to see the scenic beauty of the Queen of Hills. Bailaras also has a strong element of subtle romance, unseen in Punjabi films where romance also happens, hikk de jor naal.

The songs add to the flow of the film. Ammy Virk and Ranjit Bawas tracks pump up the tempo of Bailaras. The strength of the film lies in its star cast and Bailaras boasts of a battery of actors, each justifying their role.

Actor Binnu Dhillon proves yet again that he can nail comedy, romance and emotions together and separately too. This actor with a theatre background plays his part like it was cut out just for him.

Punjabi audience has seen Binnu doing comedy in umpteen films, of late though they are seeing his potential in emotions as well. Binnu can carry the film on his shoulders without cracking a single joke. Karamjit Anmol shows us his fine acting skills yet again. In fact, Karamjit Anmol and Binnu Dhillons jodi is now being compared to Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsis jodi, totally unbeatable.

Hobby Dhaliwal and Nirmal Rishi have played their characters well. Both the artistes have immense potential, it only takes a fine director to take the best out of them. Dev Kharoud, the Rupinder Gandhi, plays a baddie in the film, and we must say he is quite likeable as a bad man too. Dev is an actor who takes risks by picking different roles and it clearly shows in Bailaras. Thankfully, we have a pretty face Prachi Tehlan who can act as well, though she needs to change her stylist after the Bailaras. And here comes another doe-eyed artiste (after Manav Vij), Ravneet, an anchor-turned-actor who holds a strong potential in films. Jatinder Shahs music is totally in sync with the theme, subtle and foot-tapping at the same time.

Bailaras is a strong content-driven film, which has subtly to it, something Punjabi cinema doesnt engage in much. Bailaras does cross the finish line successfully with just a few glitches.

jasmine@tribunemail.com
Ratna Raman

THE world is becoming a more unhappy space to live in. Too many tragedies, predominantly caused by humans, are becoming the order of the day. One way of reaching out to people who have lost near and dear ones is to offer condolences.

Condolence (Latin condole, French condoleance) means to suffer together, and feel anothers pain and grief. Usually when humans encounter bereavement (loss due to death) the shock and pain experienced makes them reach out and offer condolences. Condolences are part of the solicitous concern that can be communicated through language.

In spite of all our technological advancement, human life remains fragile and mortal and death continues to be the final frontier. An expression of condolence is usually prefaced with words such as sincere, heartfelt or deeply felt, which measure up to the gravity of the situation. It is a travesty to offer warm condolences as the US President did in the aftermath of the Las Vegas shooting. Apparently such inappropriate usage can be surpassed. Social media ensures that anyone who can see, hear or read receives immediate notification of the gaffes made in high places, globally.

Worse than sending warm condolences, is to send condolences to people who have died, because the dead at the Elphinstone stampede in Mumbai could not acknowledge the sympathy being offered to them.

Significantly, English is one of Indias national languages and also the father tongue of an America shaped by male founders. Arguably, Twitter handles and handlers are effective in routine situations. Using them to address deaths caused by human failure to provide safeguards trivialises death in no uncertain terms.

Even more disturbing than the choice of medium and the ungrammatical message is the fact that heads of democracies, in charge of the very lifeblood of the process, need to do far more than merely express condolences.

In both these instances, the form of expression itself becomes an indicator of intention. The Vegas shooting was an act of evil. However, the evil that allows lawmakers and politically elected representatives to authorise the wielding of guns and the fitting of silencers on automatic weapons, putting more lethal weapons into circulation, continues unabated.

The railways, battling with the collapse of infrastructure, systemic breakdown and poor maintenance require repair and expansion. We cannot be gung-ho (unthinkingly enthusiastic) about a bullet train facility for the elite that is scheduled to run on a limited track when essential facilities continue to receive short shrift.

Such diabolic duplicity (deceit) continues to be condoned (acceptance of behaviour that is morally wrong) by supporters entrenched in the system. Both horrific events happened close to Gandhi Jayanti. Gandhi had astutely observed that there is enough for everyones need, but not for everyones greed. The hatred and greed of the powerful triggers off the worst possible assaults upon humanity. Condoning it will only lead to the proliferation of more hollow condolences.
Bijay Sankar Bora and Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

Guwahati/New Delhi, October 6

All seven defence personnel on board were killed when an Indian Air Force (IAF) M-17 V5 helicopter crashed about 130 km from the monastery town of Tawang in Arunachal Himalayas close to the India-China border on Friday.

Tawang Superintendent of Police MK Meena informed The Tribune over phone that the deceased included two Army personnel and five IAF personnel, including the two pilots of the chopper.

He said the crash occurred around 6.30 am today after the chopper had taken off from Khirmur helipad to an Army post with some supplies on board to drop the same at the army post.

A rescue team comprising Army and IAF personnel rushed to the crash site located in a hostile terrain and recovered the bodies. The police official said the cause of the crash was being investigated. He said the weather was all right around Tawang at the time of the crash.

The IAF has confirmed all seven deaths. A court of inquiry has been ordered.
Oslo/Geneva, October 6

The Norwegian Nobel Committee, warning of a rising risk of nuclear war and the spread of weapons to North Korea, awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday to a little-known campaign group seeking a global ban on nuclear arms.

The award for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) was unexpected, particularly in a year when the architects of the 2015 nuclear deal between international powers and Iran had been seen as favourites for achieving the sort of diplomatic breakthrough that has won the prize in the past.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

ICAN describes itself as a coalition of grassroots non-government groups in more than 100 nations. It began in Australia and was officially launched in Vienna in 2007.

We live in a world where the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time, said Berit Reiss-Andersen, the leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Some states are modernising their nuclear arsenals, and there is a real danger that more countries will try to procure nuclear weapons, as exemplified by North Korea. ICANs executive director told Reuters the group was elated.

Asked if she had a message for North Koreas Kim Jong-Un, who has tested nuclear arms in defiance of global pressure, and President Donald Trump, who has threatened to totally destroy North Korea to protect the United States and its allies, Beatrice Fihn said both leaders need to know that the weapons are illegal.

Nuclear weapons are illegal. Threatening to use nuclear weapons is illegal. Having nuclear weapons, possessing nuclear weapons, developing nuclear weapons, is illegal, and they need to stop.

The Nobel prize seeks to bolster the case of disarmament amid nuclear tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, as well as uncertainty over the fate of the 2015 deal between Iran and major powers to limit Tehrans nuclear programme.

The committee raised eyebrows with its decision to award the prize to an international campaign group with a relatively low profile, rather than recognising the Iran deal, a complex agreement hammered out over years of high-stakes diplomacy.

The committee may have been reluctant to reward the Iranian government for its role in the nuclear deal because the only Iranian winner so far, 2003 laureate Shrin Ebadi, a lawyer and human rights campaigner, is forced to live in exile.

The Iran treaty is a positive development, a disarmament development that is positive, but the reason we mentioned North Korea (in our statement) is a reference to the threat that people actually feel, Reiss-Andersen told Reuters. Iran has not voiced recent threats to use nuclear weapons, on the contrary, she said in an interview.

ICAN has campaigned for a U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was adopted by 122 nations in July this year. I hope this prize will be conducive for the entry into force of this treaty, U.N. Chief Spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci told a news briefing.  Reuters
Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 6

Heralding an era of transparency in judicial appointments, the Supreme Court Collegium headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra has resolved to make public all decisions on appointments and transfers on its website.

In a decision dated October 3  which was made public on Friday  the Collegium, comprising CJI Misra and Justices J Chelameswar, Ranjan Gogoi, Madan B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, said the information posted online will also indicate the reasons for the recommendation or rejection of a name for judicial appointment, transfer and elevation to high courts and the Supreme Court.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The decisions henceforth taken by the Collegium indicating the reasons shall be put on the website of the Supreme Court, when the recommendation(s) is/are sent to the Government of India, with regard to the cases relating to initial elevation to the High Court Bench, confirmation as permanent judge(s) of the High Court, elevation to the post of Chief Justice of High Court, transfer of High Court Chief Justices/ Judges and elevation to the Supreme Court, because on each occasion the material which is considered by the Collegium is different, a note posted on SC website said.

The resolution is passed to ensure transparency and yet maintain confidentiality in the Collegium system, it added. The historic move aimed at ensuring transparency in judicial appointments comes amid severe criticism of the Collegium for its recent controversial decision to transfer Justice Jayant Patel of the Karnataka HC to the Allahabad HC, leading to his resignation.

Former CJI KG Balakrishnan welcomed the decision, saying, Transparency is good. There is nothing wrong in making the Collegiums decisions public. He, however, expressed apprehension about its possible fallout on candidates rejected by the Collegium.

The reasons for rejection should not be made public. Suppose a Chief Justice of a High Court has been rejected for elevation to the Supreme Court and the reasons for non-elevation are put on the website. It would be difficult for him to continue as Chief Justice, Justice Balakrishnan told The Tribune.

Similarly, if a senior advocate is rejected for judgeship of a High Court, disclosure of the reasons for rejection of his candidature could affect his public standing, reputation and practice. Genuine candidates may not come forward for judgeship for fear of possible embarrassment, the former CJI said.

Judicial appointments in India have traditionally been wrapped in secrecy making it difficult to know about candidates being considered or recommended for judgeship. After creation of the Collegium system by the SC, which took over the power to appoint and transfer judges in 1993 through a verdict described by many as a judicial coup, the degree of opacity increased.

Many candidates with questionable credentials, including Justice Soumitra Sen for the Calcutta High Court and Justice Paul Daniel Dinakaran for the Supreme Court, were recommended for judgeship while many others, such as then Delhi High Court Chief Justice AP Shah, were ignored for elevation.

Following its 2015 verdict declaring the National Judicial Appointments Commission as unconstitutional, the Supreme Court itself had underlined the need to make the Collegium system transparent and had ordered re-drafting of the Memorandum of Procedure for appointment of judges. Justice Chelameswar had delivered a dissenting verdict.

Even as the government and the Collegium indulged in a slugfest over various clauses of the MoP, Justice Chelameswar insisted on transparency and boycotted many Collegium meetings. He said there must be some record of the Collegiums meetings. Differences within the Collegium over transparency in its functioning persisted during the tenure of CJI Misras predecessors Justice TS Thakur and Justice JS Khehar, leading to a delay in appointment of judges in various high courts, where almost 40 per cent posts were vacant.

To start with, the Collegium posted online detailed reasons for its October 3, 2017 recommendations for judicial appointments to the Madras High Court and the Kerala High Court under the tag Collegium Resolutions, along with the minutes of its meeting.
Bijay Sankar Bora

Tribune News Service

Guwahati/New Delhi, Oct 6

Seven military personnel died in a helicopter crash near Tawang, the Tibetan monastery town in Arunachal Pradesh, near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto boundary between India and China, this morning. Only yesterday, Indian Air Force Chief Air Chief Marshall BS Dhanoa, at a press conference in New Delhi, had said: Our losses (crashes) during peacetime are a cause for concern.

The deceased are Wing Commander Vikram Upadhyay, Squadron Leader S Tiwari, MWO AK Singh and Sergeants Gautam and Satish Kumar of the IAF and Sepoys E Balaji and HN Deka of the Indian Army.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The IAF has ordered a court of inquiry to ascertain the cause of the crash, Tezpur-based Defence PRO Lt Col Sobmit Ghose said.

The Mi-17 V5 chopper was carrying supplies to a forward post in the hilly terrain. It crashed close to the dropping zone and caught fire immediately, an IAF spokesperson said in New Delhi. The Russia-made copter was on its second sortie of the day.

On an air maintenance mission, it was scheduled to drop off kerosene jerry cans at an Army camp in Yangste, he said.

Tawang SP Manoj Kumar Meena told The Tribune over the phone that the crash occurred around 6.30 am, 130 km from Tawang, after the chopper had taken off from the Khrimur helipad.

A rescue team comprising Army and IAF personnel rushed to the crash site and found the bodies, which were transported to the IAF base at Tezpur, Assam.

The crash comes two days ahead of Air Force Day on October 8 and is the second incident involving IAF helicopters in Arunachal Pradesh in three months. An Advanced Light Helicopter of the IAF had crashed at Saglee in Papum Pare district on July 4, claiming four lives.

Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Gen VK Singh (retd) expressed grief over the loss of lives.
Washington, October 6

Pakistans Foreign Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif has warned India against launching a surgical strike on the countrys nuclear installations, saying if that happens, nobody should expect restraint from Islamabad.

Yesterday, the Indian Air Chief said we will hit, through another surgical strike, Pakistans nuclear installations. If that happens, nobody should expect restraint from us. Thats the most diplomatic language I can use, the Dawn quoted Asif as saying at the US Institute of Peace in Washington.

Indias Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa on Thursday said the Indian Air Force (IAF) had the capability to locate, fix and strike across the border in response to a question about handling the tactical nuclear weapons of Pakistan, at the annual press conference in New Delhi.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

According to the report, Asif urged Indian leaders not to consider such actions as those could have dire consequences.

Earlier, Asif, who is on a three-day official visit to the US, met US National Security Adviser Gen HR McMaster and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

Relations between the United States and Pakistan became strained on August 21 this year when President Donald Trump announced his new strategy for South Asia and squarely blamed Pakistan for sheltering terrorists in safe havens. He also threatened to stop economic and military assistance to Islamabad and offered India a greater role in Afghanistan, ignoring Islamabads concerns.

Pakistan has since downgraded delegation-level visits, but is still talking to the American leadership on a case-by-case basis. ANI
Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 6

Truth is truth to the end of reckoning, Justice Narang quotes William Shakespeare in his report on the investigation into the suspected mining scandal in Punjab. However, several crucial bits of apparently good evidence fail to find mention in his report.

Justice JS Narang, who headed the judicial commission of inquiry set up to probe Irrigation Minister Rana Gurjit Singhs involvement in sand mining auctions, does not seem to have taken note of crucial facts that could have linked him to two successful bidders  his cook Amit Bahadur and a deputy general manager in his company, Kulwinder Pal Singh.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The commissions report, submitted to Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on August 10, however, does establish that Bahadur and Kulwinder participated in the auction as front men, and did not pay even a rupee from their accounts to the government. Instead, the report finds that both acted as front men for Sahil Singla (who is a son of the ministers chartered accountant Triloki Nath Singla) and Sanjeet Randhawa (son of Capt JS Randhawa, who was the election agent of the minister). The report notes that their act is in violation of Conditions 5, 22, and 25 of the notification of the Industry Department on mining, which require that money should come from the bidders accounts.

However, the report does not indicate if it questioned Amit Bahadur or Rana Gurjit about financial transactions between the two. It was reported by The Tribune that in an affidavit submitted to the Election Commission, the minister had reported being in business with four companies in which Bahadur and another employee, Balraj Singh, were directors. Both participated in the auctions. Rana Gurjit received loans and advances of Rs 25 crore from the four companies.

Bahadur continued as director in three companies  Flawless Traders, Century Agros, and RJ Texfab  even after the May auction of mines, a fact that the Narang report does not go into. These companies were being operated from the address where the ministers companies have their headquarters.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs was intimated of Bahadurs resignation from the directorship of these companies after The Tribune expose.

The commission has simply accepted the claims of both Bahadur and Kulwinder that they resigned from the ministers companies a few weeks before the auctions. The report does not mention if it made any further investigation on media reports that both of them were working for the minister even when the auctions took place.

Another important fact not touched upon is that Kulwinder was getting land sale deeds signed on behalf of the minister on May 17 and May 18 at the Kharar sub-division office. Even copies of sale deeds executed in favour of the family of Rana Gurjit Singh show that Kulwinder was present on behalf of the minister.

The commission had earlier come under flak after it came to the fore that Justice Narangs son had represented the Rana family in a court case in the past. Subsequently, Opposition parties had appealed to Justice Narang to step down from the commission.
Ratnagiri, October 6

Maharashtra's former chief minister Narayan Rane said on Friday his political outfit  the Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksh  would join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), less than a fortnight after he quit the Congress.

"I have decided to be a part of the NDA for the development of the state and the Konkan region," Rane told reporters.

He dismissed reports that said he would likely get a Cabinet berth saying he would stay in Maharashtra till 2019.

General elections will be held in 2019.

Rane resigned from the Congress after a long tussle with the partys state leadership. He claimed three days ago that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had invited him to join the NDA.

A prominent leader from the influential Maratha community, Rane is Sindhudurg district in Konkan. He quit the Shiv Sena  under which he was made chief minister in 1999  in 2005 to join the Congress, but later accused the latter of having gone back on their promise of making him chief minister.

The Sena  a constituent of the NDA and an ally of the BJP in the state  meanwhile had opposed his being invited into the BJP. PTI
New Delhi, October 6

Almost seven decades after Nathuram Godse killed Mahatma Gandhi in the national capital on January 30, 1948, the Supreme Court today decided to consider a PIL seeking to reopen the probe into the assassination.

Acting on a petition by a Mumbai researcher, a Bench headed by Justice SA Bobde appointed senior advocate Amrender Sharan as amicus curiae to assist it in the matter even as it wondered if any evidence would be there after such a long time.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

Dr Pankaj Phadnis, a trustee of Abhinav Bharat, has demanded reopening of the investigation, calling it one of the biggest cover-ups in Indian history. He has challenged a Bombay High Court decision dated June 6, 2016, dismissing his PIL on the ground that it had been filed 46 years after the submission of the Kapur Commission report.

Before posting the matter for October 30, the Bench, also comprising Justice L Nageswara Rao, raised several questions. It wondered how evidence could be collected after such a long gap for further probe into the assassination for which Godse and Narayan Apte were hanged in 1949. Vinayak Damodar Savarkar was given the benefit of doubt for lack of evidence.

We are not inclined to go into it, the Bench said, only to change its mind after Phadnis said he should be given time as his appeal before the National Archives and Research Administration, US, for de-classifying documents connected with the assassination was yet to be decided.

He questioned the three-bullet theory relied upon by courts to convict Godse and Apte and claimed that there could be a third assassin.

We want to go by the law and not by passion... You say that there was someone else, a third person who killed him (Gandhi). Is that person alive today to face the trial? the Bench asked. The assassination could have been carried out by an organised body, named Force 136 (a British special intelligence unit), Phadnis responded. He said there was a need to investigate if OSS, an agency of the US during World War II, had tried to protect Gandhi.  TNS
By PTI: Patna, Oct 6 (PTI) The ruling Janata Dal (United) today took a swipe at RJD president Lalu Prasad over his outbursts on social media where he accused the Narendra Modi government of having filed a "fraud case" against him in the hotels-for- land scam.

"Lalu ji has become a twitter baba. He should alsotweet about the questions he was asked during the grilling by CBI and the explanations he may have given about the source of his immense wealth", JD(U) spokesman Neeraj Kumar said here in a statement.

advertisement

"Whatever Lalu ji is going through, he should blame his own deeds for that. And as a natural outcome of his actions, his son Tejashwi has also been named as an accused in the case. After all, he has not been appearing before the CBI court for having taken part in the struggle for Independence", the JD(U) leader remarked.

The JD(U) spokesmans comments came in response to a series of tweets by the RJD supremo, shortly after his appearance before the CBI in New Delhi.

Prasad was questioned for seven hours yesterday by the CBI in connection with alleged corruption in the award of contract for the maintenance of two IRCTC hotels in 2006.

The former railway minister had tweeted, "I brought glory to the Indian Railways. Modi govt has filed a fraud case against me. BJP, Amit Shah and Narendra Modi are party to this."

"I challenge divisive politics therefore they want to ruin my family but I am not scared. I will uproot communalism and fascism even if I am hanged", he had alleged in another one of his tweets.

In a scathing attack on the RJD supremo, Kumar said there are few examples in the country of a person indulging in rampant corruption and making his family members too suffer on that account.

Incidentally, the RJD and JD(U), along with the Congress, had fought the 2015 assembly polls together as alliance partners. However, relations between the two parties begun to sour when the names of Lalu and Tejashwi cropped up in corruption cases relating to the UPA 1 period when the RJD supremo was the railway minister.

The Grand Alliance finally collapsed with JD(U) president and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar pulling out of the coalition citing his "zero tolerance policy" towards corruption. He then formed a new government with the support of the BJP and eventually joined the NDA. PTI NAC RG BSA

--- ENDS ---
Washington, October 6

Export of American crude oil to India will create jobs, economic stability and national security in both countries, US Energy Secretary Rick Perry has said, days after the first-ever shipment of US crude oil landed in Odisha.

The shipment, loaded at Saint James, Louisiana, and Freeport, Texas, terminals last month, docked at Paradip port in Odisha on October 2.

This event represents the growing and important strategic energy partnership between the US and India, and I look forward to exploring new opportunities to expand the role of reliable, responsible, and efficient energy sources with our allies, Perry said on Thursday.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

He said the export of US crude oil to India would create jobs, economic stability and national security in both countries.

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modis visit to the US, Indian companies ramped up purchases of American crude.

To encourage US crude purchases, the government has allowed refiners to use a foreign rather than an Indian-owned vessel for the purchase. Indian refiners typically have to use domestic vessels for their crude imports.

In a blog post on Thursday, the US State Department said increased Indian purchases of US crude oil are a direct outcome of the June visit of Modi to the White House during which the leaders committed to expanding and elevating bilateral energy cooperation through a Strategic Energy Partnership.

We expect this first shipment of crude oil will be followed by many more as both the Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum have placed orders for over 2 million barrels from the United States, said Tom Vajda, Office Director for the India Desk in the South and Central Asia Bureau of the State Department.

US crude oil shipments to India have the potential to boost bilateral trade by up to USD 2 billion.

Not only does this weeks shipment demonstrate the strength of the US-India bilateral relationship, but also how our relationship with India continues to benefit the American economy, Vajda said.

Buying US crude has become attractive for Indian refiners after the differential between Brent (the benchmark crude or marker crude that serves as a reference price for buyers in western world) and Dubai (which serves as a benchmark for countries in the east) has narrowed.

India, the worlds third-largest oil importer, joins Asian countries like South Korea, Japan and China to buy US crude after production cuts by oil cartel OPEC drove up prices of Middle East heavy-sour crude, or grades with a high sulphur content. PTI
Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 6

Ahead of the sand mining auctions in May, Irrigation and Power Minister Rana Gurjit Singh had called up Director (Mining) Amit Dhaka and enquired about the procedure.

Dhaka has said this in his statement before the Justice JS Narang (retd) Commission.

The commission was formed following The Tribune report on May 25, highlighting how four employees of Rana Gurjit had bagged mining contracts. Taking cognisance of the report, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh had constituted a judicial commission of inquiry under Justice JS Narang (retd).

Narang had submitted his report on August 10. Subsequently, the Chief Minister had asked the Chief Secretary to examine the report.

The commission, in its report, has given the clean chit to the minister.

The Chief Minister holds the portfolio of Industry, under which the mining wing falls.

As per the statement given before Justice Narang, Dhaka said he had received a number of calls from several persons in connection with the procedure of the auction. Those who called included politicians. I told every person that the procedure and process had been posted online.

In reply to a question whether or not Rana Gurjit had tried to influence him for favouring anyone in connection with Saidpur Khurd and Mehadipur mines or any other mine, Dhaka accepted the minister had called him up just before the auction of May 19 and 20.

He called on my telephone and asked for the procedure and process finalised for holding the sand mine auctions, he said.

Dhaka claimed he explained to the minister the procedure had been improvised by the software developed by Punjab Infotech and Indian Telephone Industries Limited. I told him that for any clarification, he should call on helpline numbers.

Rana Gurjit admitted that he had called up Dhaka before the auction. In his statement before the commission on July 26, the minister said, I called up the Director (Mining) to understand the procedure being adopted for e-auctions as some of my persons had enquired from me.

Rana Gurjits four employees had bagged mining contracts that courted controversy. His cook Amit Bahadur got the contract of a mining site in Nawanshahrs Saidpur Khurd village for Rs 26.51 crore. Kulwinder Pal Singh, deputy general manager, got the contract of Mehadipur quarry for Rs 9.21 crore, Gurinder Singh bagged a quarry in Mohalis Rampur Kalan village for Rs 4.11 crore and Balraj Singh bagged a contract at Bairsal village for Rs 10.58 crore.

Later, Balraj and Gurinder had backed out when it came to depositing 55 per cent of the bidding amount. So, they were not allotted the sites.

The minister had claimed they were his former employees and had resigned just before the mining auctions.
Yash Goyal

Jaipur, October 6

A local court sentenced a Khalistani militant to life in prison for abducting the son of a former Congress minister in a case that dates back to 1995 on Friday.

Khalistan Liberation Front militant Harnek Singh was found guilty in separate cases of kidnapping, encounter with police, and illegal possession of arms registered in three different police stations on Thursday.

(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)

The life sentence was awarded only for abduction.

After his sentenced was passed, Singh said to the press: "I would thank Jail and Police departments, and media. I respect the court order, but I will appeal it because there are lacunae in the judgement that relate to recovery of arms and ammunition.

The judgement comes eight years after Rajendra Mirdha, son of Congress leader Ramniwas Mirdha, died.

Khalistan militants Daya Singh Lahoria, Harnek Singh, Navneet Kandiya and Suman Sood abducted Mirdha in 1995 to pressure then prime minister Narasimha Rao to have the Khalistan Liberation Fronts chief Devinderpal Singh Bhullar  who had been found guilty for his involvement in the 1993 Delhi blast case and was kept in a prison in Punjab  released.

Police freed Mirdha after a raid at a house at Model Town near Malviya Nagar on February 26, 1995. Kandiya was killed in the gun battle that followed, but Daya Singh, his wife Sumon Sood and Harnek Singh escaped.

Daya Singh and his wife then fled to the US and were brought back to India on January 3, 1997, after an extradition treaty was signed.

Daya Singh was sentenced for life in 2004, and his wife got five years in jail.

Punjab Police arrested Harnek Singh in 2004 and handed him over to Rajatshan on February 26, 2007.

The judge announced separate punishments in each case.
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 6

Dismissing the findings of the Justice JS Narang (retd) Commission, Leader of the Opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira today demanded a CBI inquiry into the sand mining auction row allegedly involving Power and Irrigation Minister Rana Gurjit Singh.

Addressing a press conference, the AAP MLA alleged that Justice Narang went out of the way to save Rana Gurjit. He said though the commission had given the clean chit to the minister, but after reading its report, there was no doubt that Amit Bahadur and Kulwinder Pal Singh participated in the auction on Rana Gurjits behalf.

He alleged that now the commission was trying to save the minister and made other scapegoats. He alleged that everybody knew that the people, including Sahil Singla and Sanjeet Randhawa, who transferred money in accounts of Rana Gurjits employees, were close to the latter.

He asked when the money didnt come from accounts of Amit Bahadur and Kulwinder Pal, which was a precondition, how were they issued certificate of approval by the mining wing. It cant happen without the ministers influence, alleged Khaira.

He said he would also move the High Court to seek justice.

Khaira also demanded that the Chief Secretary should cancel the allotment of mines to the ministers employees and forfeit the money deposited by them as they had violated conditions of the notification.
Tribune News Service

Gurdaspur, October 6

The local police have booked former SAD minister Sucha Singh Langah, who is facing rape charges, under Section 295-A (deliberate act intended to outrage religious feelings) of the IPC.

The case was registered after a Sikh delegation, led by SGPC member Amrik Singh Shahpur, complained against Langah to SSP HS Bhullar. The delegation referred to the obscene video that has gone viral.

The SSP said Shahpur presented a copy of the Rehat Maryada to show that Langah had violated tenets of Sikhism.

An officer said the SSP had directed officials to file the FIR under Section 295-A after DSP (special branch) Gurbans Singh Bains submitted a report.

Langah is in police custody till October 9.

Cong burns effigies

Muktsar: Local Congress men on Friday burnt effigies of BJP candidate for the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll Swaran Salaria and SADs former minister Sucha Singh Langah, alleging that both were accused of rape.

PPCC general secretary Jagjit Singh Honey Fattanwala led the Congress workers and burnt the effigies on the Kotkapura road here.  TNS
Tribune News Service

Pathankot, October 6

Swaran Salaria, BJP candidate, said today that he would file a Rs50-crore defamation suit against Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal for allegedly distorting the facts mentioned in the affidavit submitted to the EC.

Manpreet had claimed on Wednesday that Salaria omitted details of the cases registered against him. The minister had stated that a Mumbai-based woman had lodged a case against Salaria, but he had not specified the same in the nomination papers filed with Returning Officer Gurlovleen Singh Sidhu.

Manpreet should have checked his facts before going public with the accusations. I know so many personal things about Sunil Jakhar, but I have never brought them in the public domain, Salaria said.

BJPs focus on growth: Malik

Amritsar: Rajya Sabha member and state BJP spokesperson Shwait Malik said here today the Congress was indulging in mudslinging against BJP candidate Swaran Salaria because its campaign was bereft of progressive agenda.

During investigation, the police had dropped the rape charge against Salaria. Unlike Congress, the BJPs focus is solely on development. We cannot stoop so low to go into private lives of people for political gains, Mailk said here.

He, meanwhile, hit out at Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu. He has said 95 per cent of sewers in towns of the state are blocked. I ask him what percentage of sewers he got repaired in the past seven months of assuming charge, Malik added.  TNS
Vaibhav Sharma

Hot on the heels of Apples big unveil comes Googles big splash with a lot of new hardware that it has labelled Radically Helpful. At its annual Pixel event on October 4, the company introduced the second generation of Google-made products: new Pixel phones, Google Home Mini and Max, Pixelbook, Google Clips hands-free camera, Bluetooth headphones called Google Pixel Buds, and an updated Daydream View headset.

Pixel phones

The Pixel and its XL variant were probably the best Android phones you could buy this year, and Google is keen on continuing that trend with Pixel 2. Following a similar design language with a part glass back, but slightly narrower bezels, the new devices come in 5 and 6 configurations with the internals receiving the customary spec bump. The camera continues to be the marquee feature, and despite sticking to a single lens system, the new phones will boast a portrait mode. Google believes that hardware differentiation between manufacturers is levelling out and the next advancements will come through a mix of artificial intelligence, hardware and software. The portrait mode seems to be a clear demonstration of the companys prowess in machine learning as well and is remarkable considering that even Apple decided to go with a two-lens system to achieve the coveted bokeh effect. The Pixel 2 goes on sale November 1 at Rs 61,000 (64GB) and Rs 70,000 (128GB), whereas Pixel 2 XL will be sold starting November 15 at Rs 73,000 (64 GB) and at RS 82,000 for the 128GB version.

Google Home Mini and Max

Powered by the smart Assistant, these speakers are competition to Amazon Echo and Apples upcoming HomePod. The Mini can play music, but is more focussed on being a great voice assistant that serves as an alarm clock in the bedroom, a recipe book in the kitchen, and a fun encyclopaedia in the living room. It can recognise the voice of each individual at home, and offer personalised information tailored exclusively for that person e.g. looking up the calendar.

The Max can do all that, but also aims to be a serious music player directly competing with the HomePod that only works at its best with Apples devices. It is priced at $400 (around Rs 26,000), while the Mini is $49 (around Rs 3,200) .

Pixelbook

The all-new Pixelbook was long due. It is 10.3mm thin, super light (1.1 kg) 4-in-1 convertible that comes with Intels 7th gen chips. While the jury is still out on the usefulness of Chrome OS, the fact that it supports all Android apps is a plus. Google is marketing it as a premium laptop that starts at $999 (Rs 65,000).
Tribune News Service

Dehradun, October 6

Union Minister of State for External Affairs and former Army chief General VK Singh today said politicians and people should come forward to ensure everlasting peace in Kashmir valley.

He was interacting with mediapersons on the sidelines of a two-day seminar on Military History that started at Welham Boys School here today. General VK Singh asserted that Indo-China relations were good on economic front and other issues too should be sorted out. Further, Prime Minister himself has said that it was in the interests of both India and China to work together, former Army chief said.

General VK Singh said it was important that politicians read military history of the country so they do not take wrong decisions.

Admitting to shortage of officers in the Army, he said while a large number of students opted for defence forces as career after Class XII, same case not the case after they graduated. He said there were limited training resources after Class XII added to the problem.

Darshan Singh, chairman, Welham Boys School, said it was important that the coming generations were made aware of military history of the country. Perhaps today, people between the age of 10 and 50 years, know almost nothing of the action in Kashmir in 1947-48 or the wars in 1962, 1965, 1971and 1999. Such ignorance should be avoided and children should be taught military history, said Darshan Singh.

He said the seminar wasdesigned to promote collaborative thinking and deliberation among the students. Students of various schools from across the country are participating in the seminar.
Chittagong, October 6

Thousands of Islamist hardliners marched in Bangladeshs port city of Chittagong on Friday calling for the government to arm Rohingya Muslim refugees fleeing a crackdown in Myanmars troubled Rakhine state.

More than half a million Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since attacks by militants belonging to the Muslim minority on Myanmar police posts sparked brutal reprisals by security forces.

The refugees accuse Myanmars armyflanked by mobs of ethnic Rakhineof slaughtering them and burning their villages in a campaign which the United Nations says amounts to ethnic cleansing.

Myanmars military have blamed the unrest on the Rohingya.

Up to 15,000 people joined the demonstrations in Bangladeshs second largest city, police said, organised by hardline Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam to protest against the killings of the Rohingya.

We demanded a halt to the genocide of the Rohingya, Hefazat spokesman Azizul Hoque Islamabad told AFP.

We have also asked the government to train and arm the Rohingya so that they can liberate their homeland, he said.

Communities in Chittagong share close cultural, religious and linguistic ties with the Rohingya, and images on social media purportedly showing abuses against the Muslim minority in mainly Buddhist Myanmar have aroused strong sympathy in Bangladesh.

Islamist parties, including Hefazat, have staged several demonstrations over the issue in recent weeks and some firebrand leaders have called on the government to go to war with Myanmar to liberate Rakhine for the persecuted Rohingya.

Experts said Bangladeshi Islamist extremist groups could exploit the situation and forge closer ties with Rohingya militants.

The plight of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority who are reviled and denied citizenship in Myanmar, has roused anger across the Islamic world, with protests held in Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The influx has also put Bangladesh under immense strain, with the South Asian country already hosting at least 300,000 Rohingya refugees in squalid camps along its border with Myanmar before the latest surge in arrivals.  AFP
Sinha recently penned a hard-hitting opinion piece in a leading Indian daily, in which he criticised the Modi government's economic policies, and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in particular.

By Hemender Sharma: Senior BJP leader Kailash Sarang has said he regrets introducing former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha to LK Advani and facilitating his entry into the BJP.

Sinha recently penned a hard-hitting opinion piece in a leading Indian daily, in which he criticised the Modi government's economic policies, and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in particular. On Monday, he asked the Modi government to identify all stockholders in the Jammu and Kashmir issue, and initiate a time-bound dialogue immediately.

advertisement

"The BJP should seriously think of taking action against Sinha if his rants don't stop," Sarang told India Today, while explaining why he wrote a scathing letter to the former FM.

In the letter, he told Sinha: "Initially I thought that you wanted some public office but ever since you talked about talking to Pakistan on the Kashmir issue I realised you were echoing the sentiments of Pakistan..."

"I had to write this letter because I had some role in his getting into the BJP," Sarang told India Today.

"I'm older than him and we both were members of the Rajya Sabha at the same time. He had expressed his desire to join the BJP to me, following which I took him to Lal Krishna Advani. He not just became...(a)...member of the BJP but also...a minister, and look this is what he is giving in return to the party."

Sarang thinks Sinha should have voiced his opinion at party forums.

If "the Prime Minister did not give him time to meet, he should understand that he is a busy man," Sarang said,

"He could have written a letter like (the one) I'm writing."

--- ENDS ---
Madrid, October 6

A Spanish government official today offered the first apology to Catalans injured by police during their outlawed independence vote as the sides showed signs of seeking an exit from the crisis.

Catalan leaders had threatened to declare independence unilaterally and PM Mariano Rajoy vowed to stop them, rejecting calls for mediation.

The worsening standoff raised fears of further unrest in the northeastern region, a tourist-friendly land of 7.5 million people that accounts for a fifth of Spains economy.

But today saw the first signs the sides may be willing to step back from the brink in a political conflict that threatens to destabilise Europe.

After days of ill-tempered rhetoric, the central government said it regretted last Sundays injuries and suggested Catalonia should hold a regional election to settle the crisis.

Catalan government minister Santi Vila, a close of ally of regional president Carles Puigdemont, meanwhile said his side could consider a ceasefire in the dispute, to avoid a further crackdown by Madrid.  AFP
Beijing, October 6

China today defended the presence of its troops in the Doklam area, over a month after the standoff with India ended, saying its soldiers are patrolling the region, also claimed by Bhutan, to exercise Beijings sovereignty.

The Donglang (Doklam) area has always belonged to China and has been under the effective jurisdiction of China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said here in response to questions about a report that the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) is beefing up troops in the area.

There is no dispute. The Chinese border forces have been patrolling in the area of Donglang, exercising their sovereign rights and safeguarding territorial sovereignty according to the historical boundary, the ministry said in a written response.

The 73-day Doklam standoff which began on June 16 over PLAs plans to build a road in area claimed by Bhutan, ended on August 28 following mutual agreement between India and China.

Recent reports in India said China has beefed up its troop strength in the area.

Yesterday, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa said Chinese troops were currently present in the Chumbi Valley, which is in the Doklam Plateau.

The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, their forces in Chumbi Valley are still deployed and I expect them to withdraw as their exercise in the area gets over, Dhanoa said.

About Foreign Secretary S Jaishankars visit to Bhutan, the first such visit after the Doklam standoff, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said although China and Bhutan have not yet established diplomatic relations, the two countries have maintained traditional friendly relations.  PTI

Rahul seeks explanation from PM
SAN JOSE, October 6

Tropical Storm Nate took aim at Caribbean resorts on Mexicos Yucatan peninsula on Friday on its way to the US Gulf Coast where it could strike as a hurricane this weekend after killing at least 22 persons in Central America.

Nate was blowing maximum sustained winds of 72 kmh and was about 370 km southeast of the Mexican holiday resort island of Cozumel early on Friday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The storm is expected to reach the eastern edge of the Yucatan peninsula, home to popular vacation destinations such as Cancun and Playa del Carmen, on Friday evening, the NHC said.

Nate will likely strengthen to a hurricane by the time it hits the northern Gulf of Mexico, it added. Oil and natural gas producers began evacuating staff at US Gulf of Mexico platforms on Thursday.

The storm doused Central America with heavy rains on Thursday, killing at least 11 people in Nicaragua, eight in Costa Rica, two in Honduras and one in El Salvador.

Thousands were forced to evacuate their homes and Costa Ricas government declared a state of emergency, closing schools and all other non-essential services.

US officials from Florida to Texas told residents on Thursday to prepare for the tropical storm.  Reuters
Las Vegas, October 6

The US gun lobby, which has seldom embraced new firearms-control measures, expressed a willingness to support a restriction on the rifle accessory that enabled a Las Vegas gunman to strafe a crowd with bursts of sustained gunfire as if from an automatic weapon.

The gunman Stephen Paddock, police said, fitted 12 of his weapons with so-called bump-stock devices that allow semi-automatic rifles to operate as if they were fully automatic machine guns, which are otherwise outlawed in the US.

Authorities said his ability to fire hundreds of rounds per minute for 10 minutes from a 32nd-floor hotel suite was a major factor in the high casualty count. Paddock, 64, killed himself before police stormed his suite.

The carnage on Sunday night across the street from the Mandalay Bay hotel ranks as the bloodiest mass shooting in modern US history, surpassing the 49 persons shot to death last year at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

The influential National Rifle Association (NRA), which staunchly opposed moves to tighten gun control laws after the Orlando massacre and others, said on Thursday bump stocks, which remain legal, should be subject to additional regulations.

Gun control is a failed policy. Weve tried it and it is safe to say that it doesnt keep people safe, Chris Cox, executive director at the NRAs Institute for Legislative Action, said on Fox News.

There needs to be an honest conversation about solutions that work and one of those solutions is to make sure the Second Amendment is supported and protected. Democrats were urging new legislation, as the shooting reignited the long-standing US debate over regulation of gun ownership, protected under the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. The NRA called for the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to address bump stocks by regulation, rather than opening up the issue to the legislative process.

Senior Republicans also signalled they were ready to deal with the sale of bump stocks, an accessory gun control advocates regard as work-arounds to bans on machine-guns. Clearly thats something we need to look into, House Speaker Paul Ryan told radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt.

US Representative Steve Scalise, a member of the Republican House leadership who is himself a victim of gun violence, voiced concern that hasty congressional action to restrict bump stocks could lead to wider limits on the rights of gun owners.

US President Donald Trump, an outspoken proponent of gun rights during his campaign for the White House, suggested he was open to curbs on bump stocks.  Reuters

What is a bump stock and how does it work?
Security forces launched a search operation in the area. This was the second such incident on Thursday: a civilian had been shot at in Tral earlier.

By India Today Web Desk: Suspected terrorists on Friday shot an SPO and his 11-year-old son in Hajin village in Handwara, a tehsil in Kashmir's Kupwara district.

Both the police officer, Gh. Mohmamad Khan, and his son, Altaf Ahmad Khan, were taken to hospital.

Security forces launched a search operation in the area.

A civilian was shot at in Tral earlier on Thursday.

advertisement

(With inputs from Shuja-ul-Haq and ANI)

--- ENDS ---
Internationl demonstrates that technology and style needn't be at odds with its revamped LoneStar tractor. Photo: Christina Hamner



The International LoneStar is one of those trucks that incites passion both for and against it. The drivers and fleet executives Ive talked to over the years either love the truck or loathe it. Theres seemingly no middle ground when it comes to the retro design  and no looking away when one's comes down the highway, either.

Through one of those weird little quirks that befall all of us from time to time, Id never had the opportunity to drive a LoneStar all these years. So when International offered me a chance to take its latest iteration for a spin following the North American Commercial Vehicle Show, I jumped at the chance  even though it meant another drive back to Atlanta.

For the record, count me as one of LoneStars fans. If you follow me on Twitter  and you should, @By_JackRoberts  you know that Im always posting pictures of classic cars and trucks. So I find the LoneStars overt, throwback styling highly appealing.

The LoneStars exterior lines borrow heavily from the Art Deco styling that was prevalent in the 1930s and into the 40s. Those lines remain some of the most evocative in the entire history of the automotive age. But the fact that those lines were inspired by early attempts at streamlining both cars and trucks is often overlooked. International engineers were able to build on those early design efforts and leverage modern computer design to produce a truck that is both striking to look at and capable of holding its own in today's race toward 10 mpg. Its one reason some fleets are perfectly happy to offer LoneStars as prestige trucks for valued drivers: Good looks and good fuel economy in one complete package.

Still, with almost a decade under its belt, International knew it was time to freshen things up a bit for the LoneStar. And with its defining exterior look nailed down, its not surprising that the bulk of these new upgrades are focused inside the cab or under the hood.

A Touch of Technology

The bulk of LoneStars upgrades are focused in the all-new, driver-centric cab. The first thing I noticed climbing into the truck was the solid feel the steps, ladder, and doors all have. The overall arrangement of steps and grab-handles is logical, and the door slams shut with a nice, hearty thump.

A quick scan around the cab reveals a thoroughly modern interior with a well-lit sleeper behind. Everything is tamped down nice and tight, and the door seals do an excellent job of minimizing outside noise. Im a fan of the new dashboard and instrument panel. The layout allows for a quick scan of all gauges, and the graphic display is easy to read even in bright, mid-day sunlight. All switches and knobs are within easy reach and clearly marked for quick identification. The dash has a sort of terraced design, which provides lots of handy ledges and storage pads for phones, tablets, billfolds and all the other stuff we carry around with us.

A new dashboard features crisp instrumentation and graphic displays with plenty of places to stow your stuff. Photo: Christina Hamner

October in Georgia can be hot. And the interior of the truck was pretty warm when I climbed up inside. But the newly upgraded HVAC system was more than up to the challenge. Even in 90-degree heat, the AC was so effective I had to cut the fan speed down and divert the air vents after only a couple of minutes.

Getting down to business, the views over LoneStars dramatically narrowed hood are outstanding. The powered rear-view mirrors adjust quickly. And mirrors themselves are solidly mounted to the cab, which means theres almost no vibration evident as youre cruising down the highway.

A couple quick adjustments to the highly comfortable drivers seat and steering wheel, and I was set to go. My test truck was equipped with an Eaton Fuller 18-speed manual transmission and a 605-hp Cummins X15 engine rumbling away up front. Thats a lot of old-school power on hand, and the LoneStar doesnt disappoint if you decide to put the hammer down. The truck has plenty of low-end grunt and accelerates nicely once you flip into High Range on the manual gearbox.

Forward views over the LoneStar's dramatically narrowed Art Deco hood are excellent and welcome in heavy Atlanta traffic. Photo: Christina Hamner



Truck cabs are getting quieter these days. And International clearly wants in on that trend. Its engineers focused on reducing cab noise levels with this refresh effort. And overall, the effort seems to have paid off: Theres almost no road or wind noise evident inside the cab at cruising speeds. The predominant sound is the big Cummins diesel lugging away in front of you. But even the sound levels on a big-bore like the Cummins X15 have been tamped down to levels where conversation in a normal tone of voice is possible.

Laterally and longitudinally speaking, the LoneStar is one stable tractor at highway speeds. This is a truck that doesnt float around on you or feel top-heavy during lane changes or on freeway ramps. Its also an extremely comfortable truck to drive thanks to the interior layout  notably the perfectly sculpted elbow ledge on the driver-side door.

If youre a LoneStar fan, theres a lot to like with this recent slate of upgrades. The truck is comfortable, quiet with an interior totally centered on driver comfort and productivity. Its a modern truck in every sense of the word with a style and stance that sets it apart from the crowd. The LoneStar isnt a truck for everyone. But, then again, it was never meant to be a truck for everyone.
In the wake of acute power crisis plaguing Maharashtra, NCP leader Nawab Malik asked whether there was a conspiracy to create any artificial demand and purchase excess electricity from private companies.

By Mayuresh Ganapatye: The Nationalist Congress Party took on the Maharashtra government over load-shedding, which has led to several power outages across the state.

The NCP asked whether the Fadnavis government, through these power cuts, was trying to show that Maharashtra needed excess power supply. NCP leader Nawab Malik said, "There are areas in the state that have witnessed 8 to 9 hours of load-shedding. Now even suburban parts of Mumbai, Kalyan and Navi Mumbai are facing power cuts."

advertisement

"If PM is saying that we have excess electricity, why can't the Maharashtra govt get the same. On the contrary, a minister in the Fadnavis government is saying that there is shortage of coal, which is hampering electricity production. Is there a conspiracy to create any artificial demand and purchase excess electricity from private companies", Malik asked.

The NCP also reminded the govt that PM Modi had said that once the Narmada power plant got functional, it would create electricity of worth Rs 400 crore. "If that is the case, why is Maharashtra facing power cuts", Malik said.

"During the UPA regime, Maharashtra and Gujarat got the MahaGuj coal mine, but in the last three years, no work has started on this mine. BJP was very vocal when in Opposition, why they are silent now", he asked.

--- ENDS ---
Starting Monday, diners can show their support in the fight against hunger by dining at select restaurants participating in the Rescuing Leftovers Restaurant Week.

For the week of Oct. 9th through the 16th, diners are encouraged to make a pledge with Rescuing Leftover Cuisine (RLC), a nonprofit that picks up unused or unsold cuisine from area restaurants to donate to local agencies, and eat at restaurants actively doing something to reduce food waste, according to the groups Facebook event page.

We partner with restaurants to pick up any food that is left over  that they wont be able to use or that they dont want to sell the next day, explained Amanda Johnson, who heads the Tulsa branch of the national nonprofit. In September, we collected 503 pounds from all our donors and its been over 2,100 pounds since April.

During the RLC Restaurant Rescue Week, diners will have a chance to win gift certificates to some of the participating restaurants by checking in on social media to the event page or at any of the participating restaurants. The idea behind the restaurant week is to show support for local companies that donate their unused inventory to feed others in the community, Johnson said.

Its so sad that in a country like America, so many people go without food, she said. Theres such a large amount of food that is wasted, and there is always something you can do with it  so many people can benefit from these donations.

The group is volunteer driven and is always looking for more help. Volunteer work includes picking up donations and delivering them to local agencies that will distribute them to people who need it. It can take as little as 30 minutes, and Johnson said many of her volunteers fit it into their lunch breaks. Donations can be picked up each day from area restaurants, so there is plenty of opportunity to help, she added.

For more information about the Tulsas Rescuing Leftover Cuisine organization or to sign up as a volunteer, call 386-299-5225 or email amanda@rescuingleftovercuisine.org. To learn more about the national nonprofit, visit rescuingleftovercuisine.org.
A new rendering of a 12-story, mixed-use building that could feature downtown Tulsas first grocery store in years has removed a local grocery store chains name from the development.

The Tulsa Performance Arts Center Trust voted in September on the proposed final contract to sell to Flaherty & Collins, an Indianapolis-based developer, the parking lot between Second and Third streets from Cincinnati to Detroit avenues for $5.5 million.

Reasors has been associated with the project over the course of the years it took Flaherty & Collins to negotiate a contract with the PAC Trust, but the new rendering doesnt include the stores name.

Brent Edstrom, Reasors chief operating officer, told the Tulsa World on Sept. 18: We are evaluating the entire market, as we frequently do to see what opportunities exist.

Since there is no signed agreement between Reasors and the developer, both parties decided it best to remove the name from the renderings, Edstrom said Friday.

We dont want to misrepresent anyone, Edstrom said. We agreed that its mutually beneficial to take the name off of the rendering.

He added that the grocers location near 15th Street and Lewis Avenue handles a lot of the need downtown and that location has room for growth but didnt rule out the possibility of a downtown location.

Were still looking at opportunities all over the city. Were still evaluating downtown, Edstrom said.

The Annex, as the development is known, would include retail spaces, more than 200 apartments and about 600 parking spaces.

A downtown grocery store has been regarded by some as one of the hurdles that Tulsas resurgent downtown still has to overcome.
Tulsa-based aerospace manufacturer NORDAM has reached an agreement with Airbus that could eclipse $1 billion over its duration, potentially making it the largest contract in the companys 48-year history, NORDAM CEO Meredith Siegfried Madden announced Thursday.

The pact centers on supplying the engine buildup system for A320neos equipped with the Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engine. The length of the contract will extend the life of the program, which is undetermined, a company representative said.

NORDAM estimates the pact will create 30 to 40 jobs in the Tulsa area, mainly in engineering, supply chain and logistics, the spokesperson said.

The company will use its engineering and supply chain teams to provide Airbus with engine buildup system design and related component procurement. Although the NORDAM Nacelle & Thrust Reverser Systems Division has delivered integrated power-plant design for various business-jet customers, this is its first engine buildup system for a commercial aircraft.

Not only is this a very large program on one of the worlds bestselling aircraft, but one that is highly strategic for NORDAM, Madden said in a statement. This win aligns perfectly with our strategic goals of growing our commercial manufacturing business and diversifying NORDAM.

The engine buildup system integrates the engine to the aircraft by a series of electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, fire-detection and bleed-air systems. NORDAM will design, integrate and deliver the specified combination of wires, ducts, brackets, anti-ice valve, tubing and more for delivery to Airbus final-assembly lines in Toulouse, France; Hamburg, Germany; Tianjin, China; and Mobile, Alabama.

NORDAMs first experience with the EBU was with the Gulfstream G200 program in 1994. Subsequent programs included the Hawker4000, the Dornier 328, Falcon 2000EX and the G500/G600.

Founded in 1969 and among the worlds largest independently owned aerospace companies, NORDAM employs 2,500 people across multiple strategically located operations and customer support facilities around the globe.
Oklahoma public schools are about to get their first look at results from new tests aligned to the states new academic standards, and Joy Hofmeister has a warning for teachers, parents and the public:

The scores will drop, so just be ready.

Speaking Thursday at the Tulsa Regional Chamber, the state superintendent of public schools said Oklahoma previously set passing scores  called cut scores  in a manner that inflated student academic achievement for years.

Embracing this decision to have a high expectation that begins where our children are now has to be understood and applauded, she said.

After Oklahoma abandoned Common Core standards in use by 42 other states, the state had to adopt new academic standards. Those new standards and new tests aligned with them were implemented in 2016-17, and Hofmeister explained that the Oklahoma educators who helped write the standards and set new cut scores intentionally made them much more rigorous.

When people say Well, those tests were a bit harder, its not about hard, its about more complex, she said. It is going to be very much a different report for families, but as long as people appreciate it is a total reset year  you cannot compare this year to last year.

To raise the bar, the new Oklahoma Academic Standards for high school students now are embedded with the same benchmarks of success required on ACT and SAT college entrance exams, and for elementary students and middle schoolers, benchmarks from the National Assessment for Educational Progress, or NAEP.

She said because those benchmarks are set nationally, they cannot be manipulated in any way.

NAEP, which tests a representative sample of fourth- and eighth-graders for reading and math proficiency in every state, has consistently shown far lower student proficiency levels for Oklahoma than state-issued standardized tests.

And Hofmeister said parents and educators should be bracing for statewide test results, which have been showing student proficiency levels of 70 percent and higher in many cases, to fall to where NAEP results indicate they really have been all along  the 20s and 30s.

Schools will be able to access their new scores next week. Depending on the size of the school district, it is expected to take district officials until late October or early November to be able to report student and school-by-school results to parents and the public.

We want our families to appreciate there will be a change, but it doesnt mean our children are any less capable or that our schools are any less committed, Hofmeister said. In a way, its like turning the lights on after playing in a dark gym. Were using the same effort to shoot that basket, but now we can see in a new way.

Sand Springs Public Schools Superintendent Sherry Durkee, who was in the audience, said outside of the forum that she has been going from school to school and community group to community group to prepare her town.

The big takeaway is the fact that we are not going to be able to compare them the way we have in the past, Durkee said. With the level of complexity, you would absolutely see a pretty significant drop in scores. Its a start over  heres where were at, and heres where were going to build from.

Hofmeister urged patience in expecting student proficiency to rebound, saying, Its not going to change overnight; it will take time. She also urged parents and community and business leaders to demand that our schools have what they need to meet the needs of our students.

Kathy Dodd, associate superintendent of teaching and learning at Union Public Schools, noted the loss of droves of Oklahoma teachers to higher-paying states and zero state funding for textbooks since 2014 in asking Hofmeister what hopes she has for the Legislatures ongoing special session, as well as its next regular session.

Hofmeister said legislators are demanding reform in exchange for their work on funding issues, such as teacher pay raises and other state funding needs.

But she said lawmakers need to recognize that it was hundreds of public school educators who worked to raise the bar on academic standards and the states student testing program  and that is a significant reform effort that will have implications for every public school for years to come.

The message is We are not going to fund more for education and teacher pay raises without reform, Hofmeister said. What has just occurred is more sweeping than anything that has happened in recent years.

My message (to lawmakers) is: Catch up.
Correction: This story originally misidentified the title of Chris Payne. The story has been corrected.

The teenager accused of fatally shooting a Broken Arrow teacher on Sunday had been released from jail three days before the homicide took place due to a breakdown in communication at the time of his arrest for property crimes, a Tulsa Police official said Thursday.

Deonte Green, 16, has been jailed since late Sunday on first-degree murder, first-degree rape, robbery and other complaints in connection with the death of geography teacher Shane Anderson, the sexual assault of an 81-year-old woman and reported armed robberies that day.

Tulsa Police officials told the Tulsa World this week that at least two detective units had intelligence about Greens risk to the community before the homicide occurred, which could have been better communicated internally.

Its just concerning when you have someone of that age  I mean, hes 16 years old  and you already have members of a detective unit that already know who he is, Sgt. Shane Tuell said Wednesday. His activity as such a young youth  when you know him by name at the age of 16, thats not good.

Sgt. Dave Walker called the crimes evil and said authorities will hold Green accountable for his actions.

But his mother, Ebony Green, and his stepfather, Mario Brown, are publicly questioning the circumstances of his two most recent arrests. They said Deonte Green has a mental illness thats been exacerbated by the 2011 death of his father and the 2015 passing of his grandmother, but they maintained he is not a killer or a rapist.

Hes been through a lot in his life, Ebony Green said. And ever since then (in 2015) its been where hes been more depressed and wanting to kill himself. But hes never said he wanted to harm somebody or been like, Im going to go out today and commit a crime. No. And I asked for help. Hes been going to a psych doctor since he was 5 years old.

Deonte Green was booked at the Tulsa Jail on Sept. 22 as a youthful offender on complaints of second-degree burglary, knowingly concealing stolen property, tampering with a surveillance system and malicious injury to property based on claims he broke into a storage unit, stole a bike and pulled down surveillance cameras. But Oklahoma laws relating to youthful offenders indicate Green should have been treated as a juvenile instead.

The law states a 16- or 17-year-old has to have at least two distinct juvenile adjudications for residential second-degree burglary before becoming eligible for youthful offender certification. Ebony Green said her son has two cases pending before the Tulsa County District Courts Juvenile Bureau, but his history at that time didnt meet the legal burden to be tried as anything other than a juvenile.

Tuell said the arresting officer acted on the belief Deonte Green had youthful offender status, which is why the teen was taken to the Tulsa Jail. He said, though, that the departments handling of Deontes arrest does not answer why he was later released without first being sent to juvenile detention, where he said it is possible Green could have been released on bond due to the buildings space limitations.

The Oklahoma Juvenile Code states a prosecuting agency generally must file a petition listing criminal charges within five business days of an arrest. If such a petition isnt filed, custody of the child must be turned over to a parent, legal guardian or other responsible adult.

The Tulsa County District Attorneys Office declined youthful offender prosecution on Sept. 28 in favor of sending it to the Juvenile Bureau, but a prosecutor there would have had to file a petition and issue a summons that day to stop Green from going home.

You have a breakdown in some companies, and no one ever knows, Tuell said. You have a breakdown somewhere in law enforcement and a lot of people know, and a lot of people should know because of transparency. I would agree ... there was a breakdown somewhere after this young man was booked in.

District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said that after a review of the reports received it was determined Green could not be charged under Oklahoma law for a youthful offender crime. Because of this, his office declined to file charges and instead transferred the reports to the Juvenile Bureau for review and handling.

Kunzweiler said he was frustrated by the tragedy of these crimes.

I understand and respect the need for confidentiality in juvenile court proceedings, but it makes my job difficult when I am called upon to explain such matters to the public, Kunzweiler said.

Juvenile proceedings are typically closed to the public, with information only being released upon request when a minor is charged with committing an offense such as first- or second-degree-murder. The Tulsa World was able to obtain a copy of Greens Sept. 22 arrest report on Wednesday because it was filed for consideration for a youthful offender case.

We cant circumvent the law, Walker said Thursday when asked about the issue. It is what it is. But we (within the department) could have let everybody know that he is rapidly on a path for destruction. We could have said Weve seen it before and maybe do something with him.

Green was subsequently released from the Tulsa Jail but returned there Sunday night after police found him running away from the scene of a reported armed robbery near 71st Street and Memorial Drive. At that time police collected evidence they said tied him to that incident, Andersons death and the earlier altercation with the elderly couple.

Brown said Green was just an average 16-year-old and is not a monster, and said it was hurtful to see scores of comments on news articles asking that he never get out of prison.

Hes not that type of person, but theyre making him out to be an animal and my sons no animal. Hes a good kid, he said.

Greens mother said he had been a Union Public Schools student in a special education program, but Union district spokesman Chris Payne said Green transferred to Tulsa Public Schools on Sept. 25 after spending only about a month enrolled at Union. Payne said Green was with Union from fourth to seventh grades and then transferred to Tulsa Public Schools for some time before his brief return to Union.

Brown said he didnt know why Deonte was apparently involved in earlier property crimes in which authorities alleged he took weapons, and Ebony Green said she did not allow her son to handle guns at all.

We begged you all to send him somewhere and get him some help, Brown said of the teens prior court involvement. The juvenile system never got him any help. Evidently hes not that bad of a person or they would have kept him (in custody).

Tuell said the department wasnt notified when Deonte Green was released from jail last week, which he said was frustrating for law enforcement trying to keep repeat offenders behind bars.

This is a good example of how communication within an organization needs to improve, Walker said of the situation. Thats not a slam on anybody. If the intelligence is there, it should be where we can go get it.
OKLAHOMA CITY  Gov. Mary Fallin on Thursday rebuffed reports that a bipartisan budget agreement had been reached.

There is no budget deal, she said, adding that she is disappointed that more progress had not been made.

Her comments came Thursday afternoon after House Minority Leader Scott Inman tried to apply pressure on Republicans to support what he said was a bipartisan budget agreement.

Inman called a Capitol news conference Thursday morning to say his caucus would compromise and support several key elements in a plan that Fallin presented to lawmakers last week.

Today, I come to you with an announcement that my caucus is proud to say we are in agreement with a plan that the governor and I and House and Senate Republicans have at least contributed to over the last six weeks, said Inman, D-Del City.

He said the plan was the largest and most significant bipartisan agreement to come out of the Capitol since the passage in 1990 of a landmark education reform and tax bill, House Bill 1017.

Fallins office has said the proposal is a collection of ideas from her, Democrats and Republicans in both chambers.

No Republican legislative leaders joined Inman, who is running for governor, when he announced his caucus support for the bipartisan agreement.

If there is only one person at the altar, there is no marriage, Fallin said at a Thursday afternoon news conference. There is your quote of the day.

There is no deal at this point, said Jason Sutton, a spokesman for House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka. Negotiations are ongoing.

Senate Pro Tem Mike Schulz, R-Altus, also said no budget agreement has been reached, despite reports.

The Senate maintains that its budget plan presents the clearest path forward, but we will continue working with the Governors Office and the House to find an agreeable solution, Schulz said.

Inman said his caucus would support the House Republican plan to raise the cigarette tax by $1.50 and the Senate Republican proposal to increase the motor fuel tax by 6 cents if they were part of a bipartisan package.

Republicans need House Democratic support to get to the supermajority of votes needed to raise taxes.

Although his caucus does not like a proposal by Fallin and House Republicans to eliminate the manufacturing sales tax exemption for the wind industry, the members are willing to do it, Inman said.

In addition, Democrats would support Fallins proposal to add a sales tax to some services, Inman said.

In exchange, his caucus wants to increase the gross production taxes to 5 percent on new wells and restore the income tax to some high-wage earners who previously saw cuts, Inman said.

The ideas would generate $560 million that could be used for core services, Inman said.

They would also provide for a $2,000 across-the-board pay raise for teachers, even though House Democrats think the figure should be higher, he said.

Oklahoma Education Association Vice President Katherine Bishop called the proposal a common sense, achievable plan but said it falls short of significant pay increases.

Oklahoma Public Employees Association Executive Director Sterling Zearley said a plan that does not include raises for state employees is short-sighted. Zearley said some state employees have not had a raise in 10 years.

Fallin called the Legislature into special session on Sept. 25 after the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers had violated the law in the way it passed a $1.50-per-pack tax on cigarettes.

The measure was expected to generate $215 million, but coupled with the loss of federal matching dollars, the budget hole would be about $500 million.

The Oklahoma Health Care Authority, Oklahoma Department of Human Services and Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services were to have received the bulk of the money.

Fallin said the three state agencies face serious consequences if no budget agreement is reached, adding that they provide services to 1 million people.

The clock is ticking, the governor said.
Mallika Sherawat was trolled after she posted a hot picture of herself on Instagram.

By India Today Web Desk: It is not uncommon for celebrities to be on the receiving end of vicious trolling. When Mallika Sherawat took to Instagram to share a picture of herself, little did she know that she would become a target of trolls.

Mallika shared a sultry picture from a photoshoot, and a barrage of nasty comments came her way. Most commenters called her "aunty" and asked her to "stop trying such stunts".

?????? A post shared by Mallika Sherawat (@mallikasherawat) on Oct 4, 2017 at 9:29pm PDT

advertisement

Mallika has been missing from the Bollywood scene for a few years now, but she continues to make headlines every now and then. The 40-year-old actor, who is best known for films like Murder, Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Welcome, was last seen on the big screen in the Chinese fantasy-action-adventure film Time Raiders.

On the personal front, she is in a relationship with French businessman Cyrille Auxenfans. A few months ago, there was speculation that she had tied the knot with her beau secretly, but she clarified that no such wedding ever took place.

ALSO WATCH: India is regressive for women, says Mallika Sherawat

--- ENDS ---
Several members of Oklahoma's all-Republican congressional delegation expressed a willingness Thursday to consider bans on so-called bump stocks, a gun accessory used in Sunday's mass shooting in Las Vegas.

The conservative delegation's approach to the bump stock debate differs from its usual opposition to gun control measures. It follows the worst mass shooting in modern American history, possibly made worse by shooter Stephen Paddock's use of bump stocks, which convert a semi-automatic gun into something resembling an automatic gun.

"Although I need to study the issue more, there is something innately wrong about a technology that takes something that is legal and makes it illegal," said U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore.

Though automatic firearms are not strictly illegal in the United States, they have been heavily regulated and traced since the 1930s, making them largely unavailable to all but collectors.

"I am open to the debate on banning the product," Cole said of bump stocks, "but only if the legislation is narrowly focused and does not morph into a broader gun control measure that would infringe on Americans' Second Amendment rights."
OKLAHOMA CITY - A 29-year-old man who texted bomb threats and threatened to kill employees was arrested Thursday, Oklahoma City police report.

About 6:20 p.m. on Wednesday, officers responded to People Ready, a temporary employment agency, where an employee reported Christopher Devilion Jackson had become irate after she told him he was suspended over the phone. After yelling and swearing at the employee, her supervisor told Jackson he was fired, according to a police report.

About an hour after the phone call, Jackson sent a text message to the company saying he had placed explosives in the business and another branch and would be blowing both businesses up tomorrow.

In another message sent shortly after, Jackson said Paddock aint got (expletive) on me, referring to suspected Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock, 64, who authorities said opened fire on to a crowd at a country music festival from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino on Oct. 1.
The number of Oklahoma newborns testing positive for drugs and alcohol has skyrocketed.

And the number of children who were poisoned before they were born might actually be even higher.

Health-care professionals reported 517 cases of drug- or alcohol-exposed newborns in 2016, a 62 percent increase from 2013 levels.

In all honesty, state officials cant say if the 2016 numbers are that sharply higher or if the state is just finding out about more cases. In fact, they suggest some cases might still be dismissed as colic or something else, meaning we might still not have an accurate picture of the situation.

But we do know this: Its too high.

Its heartbreaking that innocent babies are being born with physical effects of exposure to methamphetamine, opioids, alcohol and other poisons.

Children exposed to drugs and alcohol as fetuses are at risk of a horrible range of problems that can follow them the rest of their lives.

A Monday story by Oklahoma Watchs Warren Vieth included a description of a 5-day-old infant struggling to deal with the world while the effects of pre-natal exposure to methamphetamine, as told by Dub Turner, head of the drug-endangered childrens section at the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control.

It would shake and scream and cry, Turner said. There was nothing they could do. ... It was trembling, kind of like a seizure.

When health-care officials confronted the mother with the babys blood test results, she left the hospital and the baby.

The anecdote and statistics are despair-inducing, and we dont have a panacea, but we do know this: The solution begins with properly funded state substance abuse services.

If we dont offer a road to recovery for women, its certain that we will condemn innocent children to the horrors of substance abuse poisoning and taxpayers to the huge costs that follow from that social failure.
This Page Is Under Construction - Coming Soon!

Why am I seeing this 'Under Construction' page?
Error. Page cannot be displayed. Please contact your service provider for more details. (27)
By India Today Web Desk: Tollywood's favourite couple, Naga Chaitanya and Samantha, tied the knot in the presence of close friends and relatives at a private hotel in Goa. The couple entered into wedlock in a traditional Hindu ceremony on Saturday. Sharing the pictures on Twitter, superstar Nagarjuna wrote, "ChaiSam happiness is now official."

advertisement

Samantha took to Instagram to share pictures from the Mehendi function. Needless to say, the two looked adorable. They will have a Christian wedding later tomorrow.

Mehendi #chaysam @josephradhik @kreshabajaj @vanrajzaveri @storiesbyjosephradhik A post shared by Samantha Ruth Prabhu (@samantharuthprabhuoffl) on Oct 6, 2017 at 7:32am PDT

Earlier today, Nagarjuna took to Twitter to post pictures of the groom. Welcoming Samantha, he wrote, "My kodalu in a few hours."

Ahead of their wedding, an interesting video featuring Samantha in her wedding lehenga was doing the rounds online. The couple has invited close to 150 families to the wedding. ChaiSam are to host a grand reception on October 8.

Speaking about her honeymoon, Samantha had said, "We will fly out of the country for Christmas and New Year's Eve."

The two have worked together in films like Ye Maya Chesave, Autonagar Suriya and Manam. Reports also suggest that they might reunite for a Telugu film post wedding.

On the work front, Samantha awaits the release of Mersal starring Ilayathalapathy Vijay in the lead. She will also be seen opposite father-in-law Nagarjuna in the horror-thriller Raju Gari Gadhi 2.

ALSO WATCH: Naga Chaitanya and Samantha engaged

--- ENDS ---
From being best friends to lovers, Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu have come a long way.

By India Today Web Desk: Telugu actors Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Naga Chaitanya's wedding has been the talk of the town for a while now. The happy couple, who are in the midst of their wedding celebrations, have always made their fans' hearts melt with their adorable pictures on social media.

If you didn't know about Chai-Sam (as their fans call them), and their love story, we'll clue you in:

advertisement

- The two met on the sets of the hit movie Yeh Maaya Chesave (2009). Their camaraderie translated into sizzling on-screen chemistry. However, the two didn't get into a relationship as Chaitanya was in a relationship with Shruti Haasan, while Samantha was dating Siddharth. Chai became single in 2013 and Sam, a while later.

- It is believed that sparks flew between them during the making of Autonagar Surya (2014). In 2015, some cute Twitter flirting started happening. Sam typed an adorable birthday message for Chaitanya and posted it on Twitter. She wrote, "Happy birthday to my favourite person. Forever and Always. A great year it's going to be." He replied, calling her "paapa" (his special nickname for her), and thanked her. This is when the murmurs about a possible relationship between the two started.

- Later that year, there was a strong buzz after the two were often spotted together in public.

- Later in 2015, Chai's father, Nagarjuna, confessed that his son had found someone. Fans were more or less sure that it was Samantha. It was only a matter of time before the two admitted to being in a relationship.

- In May 2016, they were seen stepping out from a multiplex after watch the actress's film, AAA. Yet, they didn't confirm their relationship. It was them attending a wedding together in August 2016 that convinced everyone that they were a couple.

- In September 2016, Samantha finally confessed that she's dating Naga Chaitanya, but added that they weren't planning to get married anytime soon.

- In December 2016, they took a vacation by the beach. Naga Chaitanya proposed, and pictures from their romantic vacation flooded Samantha's Instagram page.

Everyday,you save me ?? #holdonforever A post shared by Samantha Ruth Prabhu (@samantharuthprabhuoffl) on Mar 24, 2017 at 8:29am PDT

About last night #myhappiness #chaylove A post shared by Samantha Ruth Prabhu (@samantharuthprabhuoffl) on Dec 10, 2016 at 1:49am PST

- And then tada! Sam and Chai got engaged earlier this year, on January 29, in a picturesque ceremony. They revealed that they had been dating since November 2015.

My happiness has always been in the littlest of details ??? #airamydoll A post shared by Samantha Ruth Prabhu (@samantharuthprabhuoffl) on Jan 30, 2017 at 10:40pm PST

advertisement

- The first person Chai told about his relationship was, his father, Nargarjuna. "The minute he heard the news, he looked at me and said, 'You're telling me this now, but I've known all along'. Our families have been supportive and everyone is happy," said Chaitanya, earlier in an interview to Newindianexpress.com.

- And now, the much-in-love couple will tie the knot in a dream-like wedding in Goa, at midnight on the beach. Isn't this what love stories are made of?

ALSO WATCH: Raees-Kaabil fight gets intense, Samantha-Naga Chaitanya engaged

--- ENDS ---
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).
Private Bangladeshi donors raise money, food and clothing providing needed assistance to Rohingya refugees at an aid distribution point in Kutupalong refugee camp, near Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.  UNHCR/Roger Arnold

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is urgently seeking US$83.7 million in additional funds for the next six months to help the more than half a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

According to latest estimates some 515,000 refugees have fled from Myanmar since 25 August, including people continuing to arrive this week. The emergency assistance is focused on refugee protection, shelter, water and sanitation and bolstering the capacity of the local host communities across south-east Bangladesh. Relieving dramatic overcrowding in the two existing camps  Kutupalong and Nyapara  which are now twice their population prior to the latest crisis  is also a priority, not least as refugee numbers are still growing.

Among the refugees are large numbers of children, many of them unaccompanied or separated from their families. More than half the new arrivals are women, including mothers with small children or infants. There are also many older people and people with disabilities. Illness, injuries and trauma as a result of extreme violence, torture and sexual abuse exacerbate the hardships. Many have lost family, relatives and friends. The new arrivals have joined an estimated 300,000 refugees who were already in Bangladesh before the crisis.

In light of the scope and speed of displacement UNHCR declared a Level 3 Emergency  the top level  for this crisis in mid-September.

From the outset, UNHCR has been supporting the response managed by the Bangladeshi authorities and all partners to help organise the effective delivery of aid and services for refugees. In addition to protection, shelter and sanitation work in south-east Bangladesh, we have so far organised five airlifts, flying in some 500 metric tonnes of aid. More flights are being planned. We have also doubled the number of our staff in Bangladesh to almost 100. We will continue to expand our work and operations, presence and staff throughout south-east Bangladesh as necessary.

UNHCRs supplementary appeal is meant to meet urgent additional requirements from September 2017 through to February 2018. It is vital, even at this stage, that the response reflects mid- to long-term needs, while at the same time ensuring that voluntary return of refugees in safety and dignity remains a viable option. We are grateful for the prompt and generous initial response both from the governments and private donors so far, contributing already US$ 24.1 million since the onset of the emergency.

Donors that have provided major support to the emergency include the United States, Canada, Denmark, Japan, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and UNIQLO. Furthermore, the governments providing us with un-earmarked funding  Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway and others  enabled us to kick-off the emergency response.

While addressing the urgent and immediate refugee needs in Bangladesh, UNHCR is concerned about the continuing influx from Myanmar and stresses once again the need for the root causes to be addressed. Delivery and improving conditions remains our utmost priority.

For more information on this topic, please contact:
Superstar Nagarjuna took to Twitter to share the first picture of to-be bride Samantha Ruth Prabhu.

By India Today Web Desk: After Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, actors Naga Chaitanya and Samantha's marriage is perhaps the biggest event in Tollywood this year. The two are tying the knot at midnight today.

Much to everyone's expectations, ChaiSam fans have already started with the celebrations on social media. Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu will have a traditional Hindu wedding today, followed by a Christian wedding tomorrow.

advertisement

After sharing a family picture with groom Chaitanya, superstar Nagarjuna welcomed Samantha on Twitter. He wrote, "My kodalu in a few hours."

Nagarjuna will share screen space with Samanth in Raju Gari Gadhi 2.

Ahead of their wedding, an interesting video featuring Samantha in her wedding lehenga is doing the rounds online. Going by the video, it looks like Samantha had a dreamy, gorgeous pre-wedding photoshoot. The couple has invited close to 150 families to the wedding. ChaiSam are to host a grand reception on October 8.

According to reports, Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Ruth Prabhu have spent a whopping Rs 10 crore for this 'simple' wedding, that is currently taking place in Goa. Photos from their beach wedding too have been shared on social media.

The two have worked together in films like Ye Maya Chesave, Autonagar Suriya and Manam. Reports also suggest that they might reunite for a Telugu film post wedding.

ALSO WATCH: Naga Chaitanya and Samantha engaged

--- ENDS ---
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the recommendations announced today by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley after a GST Council meet, would "immensely" help small and medium businesses.

By India Today Web Desk: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said the Goods and Services Tax had become "even simpler," after the GST Council eased rules for exporters and gave relief to small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) on filing returns and paying taxes.

The recommendations announced at a press conference by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley would "immensely" help small and medium businesses, he said.

Good and Simple Tax (GST) becomes even simpler. Todays recommendations will immensely help small and medium business.- Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 6, 2017

I congratulate FM @arunjaitley & his team for engaging with various stakeholders for extensive feedback which led to today's recommendations- Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 6, 2017

Composition scheme has been made more attractive & other facilitation measures will make the GST even more people-friendly & effective.- Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 6, 2017

advertisement

Modi said GST was "in line" with his government's "constant endeavour" to ensure the growth of India's economy and to make sure that its citizens' interests are safeguarded. His remarks come days after he used the platform of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India to counter the discourse that the economy was on a declining curve.

Taxes were cut on more than two dozen items at the 22nd GST Council meeting, which was chaired today by Arun Jaitley.

Chairing 22nd meeting of the #GST Council in New Delhi, Oct. 6, 2017 pic.twitter.com/bE00APAQ5q- Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) October 6, 2017

To learn more about the announcements Jaitley made today, click here.

WATCH | GST council meet: Exporters to get e-wallets from April, 2018, says Arun Jaitley

--- ENDS ---
October 6 2017

Argyll and Bute Council has marked the successful conclusion of a 14m fundraising drive to restore Rothesay Pavilion , enabling work to get underway to breathe new life back into the A-listed landmark.This will allow the art deco landmark to be repurposed as a cultural and community hub; enabling the Pavilion top play host to a year-round programme of exhibitions. Other interventions include a revamped main hall to accommodate a range of events and performances together with a new shop and cafe.Architects Elder & Cannon will also erect a new top floor to accommodate a mix of office space, meeting and function rooms.Julia Twomlow, chief executive and artistic director of Rothesay Pavilion Charity commented: Securing this additional funding is a marker of the architectural and historic importance of Rothesay Pavilion, which is recognised at a national level.The contract to commence restoration work will be awarded later in the autumn in the expectation of beginning work before Christmas. Rothesay Pavilion could then open its doors to the public in July 2019.
By PTI: By Shirish B Pradhan

Kathamandu, Oct 6 (PTI) Deep Kumar Upadhyay, Nepals ambassador to India has resigned as he wants to contest in the upcoming parliamentary elections, sources said today.

He submitted his resignation to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Krishna Bahadur Mahara, sources said on the condition of anonymity.

His resignation will come into effect once it is accepted by the Council of Ministers.

advertisement

Upadhayay said that he has put in his papers for "returning to social life", Himalayan Times reported.

Upadhayay was appointed during former prime minister Sushil Koirala-led government in April 2015. He was recalled by the subsequent government headed by the CPN-UMLs K P Sharma Oli in May, 2016 on charge of working against the countrys interest.

He was reappointed last year by Prachandas government. PTI SBP UZM AKJ UZM

--- ENDS ---
UTSA students from the first cohort along with UTSA professor Abraham DeLeon (third from right).

(Oct. 6, 2017) -- The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) College of Education and Human Development recently established a new teacher residency model in partnership with the Northside Independent School District, the largest school district in the San Antonio area. The first cohort of students within the model began this fall.

We are very excited about this new residency model with Northside ISD, said Margo DelliCarpini, dean of the College of Education and Human Development. This model represents the type of innovative programming currently taking place in the college and the strong partnerships the college has maintained within the community.

The Teacher Residency Model 2.0 is designed so that UTSA students will complete their coursework, field experience, and clinical teaching in Northside ISD schools. Upon graduation and certification, they will be prepared to teach in Northside ISD.

"The residency model with Northside ISD provides the opportunity for a demonstration site that is an incubator of innovation and is contextually situated to meet the specific needs of the district and their students, said UTSA Professor and Associate Dean of Professional Preparation, Assessment, and Accreditation Belinda Flores.

The three-year program begins during the UTSA students sophomore year in their foundational education and theory classes, and will continue through their final clinical teaching semester. This fall, Social Foundations of Education in a Diverse U.S. Society, a sophomore level course taught by Abraham DeLeon, was reimagined to fit within the context of Northside ISD.

This program is another great opportunity to partner with UTSA, said Diana Ely, executive director of Teaching and Learning in Northside ISD. We have a long history of working with UTSA in both teacher and leadership development.

The model will also help prepare educators to fill areas in critical need of teachers, such as bilingual education, special education, teaching English as a second language, mathematics, and science.

We hope to capture top education candidates particularly in critical demand teaching areas, provide them with opportunities in our schools with outstanding teachers and leaders, and help develop them to be strong teachers in our district beginning on day one of their teaching assignment, said Ely.

The model is the result of a year of preparation and work by Flores and DelliCarpini, who evaluated scholarly research and the colleges current educator preparation program to help them develop the new model in conjunction with Northside ISD.

Over the past several years, there has been an ongoing critique of traditional educator preparation programs and their ability to prepare educators who have a measurable and positive effect on student learning and who help to close the achievement gap for culturally, economically, and linguistically diverse learners, said Flores. At UTSA, we believe that the time has come to move from a philosophical discussion to identifying practices, like the Teacher Residency Model 2.0, that can radically change the way teachers are prepared, and how they are inducted, mentored, and professionalized in the field of education.

UTSA is recognized as one of the top five young universities in the nation by Times Higher Education.
(Oct. 5, 2017) -- The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is preparing to host an event that commemorates the history and impact of its Downtown Campus and offers a glimpse toward its future. The program on Monday, Nov. 13 will feature panel presentations with notable guests and a keynote address by Julian Castro, former mayor of San Antonio and secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The event will culminate in an evening celebration. All components of the event are free and open to the public.

Twenty years ago this fall, UTSA opened the doors of its Downtown Campus. The establishment of a campus in the heart of the city signified the university's commitment to the community, bringing access to high quality college education and career advancement opportunities to diverse populations in the downtown area. In addition to honoring its past, the Downtown Campus anniversary program will explore future opportunities for UTSA to serve as a model urban-serving university and contributor to San Antonios cultural and economic ecosystem.

More details will be shared soon.

UTSA Downtown Campus 20th Anniversary Celebration

Monday, November 13, 2017

3 p.m. Keynote & Panels

6:30 p.m. Celebration
UW Alumnus, National Geographic Photojournalist Joe Riis to Speak in Laramie Nov. 30

Yellowstone Migrations, a new book published by Braided River, features the work of wildlife photojournalist Joe Riis, a UW alumnus.

Wildlife photojournalist Joe Riis, who has documented the migrations of pronghorn, mule deer and elk in Wyoming for more than a decade, will give a presentation and book signing at the Gryphon Theatre in Laramie Thursday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m.

Riis will share work from his new book, Yellowstone Migrations, from nonprofit publisher Braided River, which will be available for purchase following the presentation. The Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources and the Wyoming Migration Initiative, both housed at the University of Wyoming, along with Braided River, sponsor the presentation.

Riis earned a degree in wildlife biology as well as environment and natural resources from UW in 2008. As he finished school, he was embarking on his first wildlife photography project, often using motion sensor-triggered cameras to photograph the 100-mile-long migration of pronghorn antelope between the Green River Basin and Grand Teton National Park in western Wyoming. Following his graduation, he received small grants from the university and the National Geographic Society that supported him as he lived in his truck and worked on the pronghorn migration project for two years along with writer and UW graduate Emilene Ostlind. He captured the first-ever photographs to convey the essence of the migration, the challenges the animals face in their journey and the ecological significance of the corridor to the species.

That work led to additional wildlife photojournalism projects both globally and in Wyoming. In 2013-14, Riis created the first photos and videos of the 150-mile-long Red Desert-to-Hoback mule deer migration, in collaboration with biologist Hall Sawyer, who discovered and mapped the corridor. Following that project, Riis teamed up with ecologist Arthur Middleton to photograph and produce a film about the far-ranging Yellowstone elk migrations. These three journeys -- pronghorn, mule deer and elk -- are the focus of Riiss new book, Yellowstone Migrations, available this month from Braided River.

Joe Riis will present on his wildlife photography adventures Thursday, Nov. 30, at 7 p.m. at the Gryphon Theatre in Laramie. (Joe Riis Photo)

What I hope to do is to encourage people to see the landscape from the animals point of view, Riis says. Animals dont see boundaries or borders. Their quest for food and shelter is instinctual, and I hope my images help people understand and experience that.

In an era of scientific discovery around migrations dominated by increasingly detailed tracking data, remotely sensed maps and big data, Riiss work stands out for bringing intimate portraits of the critical journeys these animals make twice a year. Riis is a Photography Fellow at National Geographic as well as at the Wyoming Migration Initiative. Since 2009, he has worked on natural history photography assignments for National Geographic on five continents. Yellowstone Migrations is the first book to feature his images exclusively.

At his Laramie presentation, Riis will share photos and video clips from his life on the trails of these wildlife migrations. A book signing and reception will follow the presentation. The event is free and open to the public.

For more information, visit www.yellowstonemigrations.com or contact Ostlind at emilene@uwyo.edu or (307) 766-2604.
The Bihar Chief Minister has been invited as the chief guest to attend the 183rd edition of NRI conclave organised by the Mauritius government.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will be in Mauritius from November 1 to 4 to attend the NRI conclave to be held there. This will be Nitish's second visit to Mauritius since he became chief ninister in 2005. He last visited Mauritius in 2007.

The Bihar Chief Minister has been invited as the chief guest to attend the 183rd edition of NRI conclave organised by the Mauritius government.

advertisement

Nitish finalized his visit to the island country after he met Jagdishwar Govardhan, the High Commissioner of Mauritius to India on 26 September in Patna. The High Commissioner in his meeting with the Bihar Chief Minister had invited him to his country to attend the NRI conclave there on 3rd November.

As per the draft itinerary that has been prepared for the Chief Minister's visit, Nitish will be landing in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius on November 2 and will meet the President Amina Garib Fakim and Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth.

The same day in the evening, Nitish will meet people from Bihar who have settled in Mauritius. On November 4, Nitish will tour the Ramayan circuit in the country.

Around 60 per cent of the population of Mauritius is of Indian origin, and most of them are from Bihar with Bhojpuri being their mother tongue.

Interestingly, in May this year, Nitish Kumar had skipped a meeting with Congress President Sonia Gandhi in Delhi to attend a lunch on meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi which was given in honour of the visiting Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth. This meeting happened at a time when political crisis was looming large in Bihar.

--- ENDS ---
We live in a world where the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time, the committee that awards the Nobel Peace Prize said as it conferred the award to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapon.

By India Today Web Desk: The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) was today awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Peace Prize calls "upon nuclear-armed states to initiate negotiations to gradual elimination of the world's 15,000 nuclear weapons," the Nobel committee that awarded the prize said.

"The organization is receiving the award for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons," the Nobel Peace Prize committee said.

advertisement

"ICAN has in the past year given the efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons a new direction and new vigour," the committee said. "ICAN has been the leading civil society actor in the effort to achieve a prohibition of nuclear weapons under international law."

The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, which said in a release that "We live in a world where the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time."

The 2017 Nobel Peace Prize to ICAN has a solid grounding in Alfred Nobel's will. @nuclearban #NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/ALQatCVRjR- The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 6, 2017

The committee referred to North Korea, whose pursuit of nuclear weapons has been a headline point in recent months, to illustrate its concerns of more and more countries acquiring nuclear weapons.

"Some states are modernizing their nuclear arsenals, and there is a real danger that more countries will try to procure nuclear weapons, as exemplified by North Korea," the committee said.

The committee also noted that while land mines, cluster munitions and biological and chemical weapons are the objects of binding international agreements prohibiting their use, "nuclear weapons [which] are even more destructive, have not yet been made the object of a similar international legal prohibition."

The ICAN has helped fill this legal gap, the Nobel Peace Prize committee said. "ICAN has been the leading civil society actor in the endeavour to achieve a prohibition of nuclear weapons under international law."

Did you know? The lines in the peace symbol, made for the 1958 British Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, represent the letters 'N' and 'D': pic.twitter.com/AbcP7s0YKn- The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 6, 2017

The committee also went on to say that the next step in reaching a nuclear-free world "must involve the nuclear-armed states."

"This year's Peace Prize is therefore also a call upon these [nuclear] states to initiate serious negotiations with a view to the gradual, balanced and carefully monitored elimination of the almost 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world," the committee said.

advertisement

This was the 14th Nobel Peace Prize to be awarded in the field of arms control and disarmament. The most notable among the 13 previous Peace Prize recipients is former US President Barack Obama who was awarded the Peace Prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples".

After announcing the 2017 Nobel Prize for Peace, the committee also released a short audio clip of the moment when Beatrice Fihn, the Executive Director of ICAN, recieved the news that her organisation was being given the award. Listen in:

WORLD EXCLUSIVE: THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE CALL FROM OSLO!Listen to when Executive Director of ICAN Beatrice Fihn receives the news #NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/UyjH7NK8My- The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 6, 2017

--- ENDS ---
By: Dezan Shira & Associates

Editor: Koushan Das

Vietnams Ministry of Planning and Investment has submitted for approval, a new draft law on special administrative-economic zones (SAEZ) to attract more investments in three special administrative-economic zones located in Van Don (Quang Ninh Province), North Van Phong (Khanh Hoa Province) and Phu Quoc Island (Kien Giang Province).

RELATED: Pre-Investment Advisory Services from Dezan Shira & Associates

SAEZ Specialization

All three SAEZs are known for specializing in certain industries.

Van Don SAEZ: Industries include ones supporting advanced technology, eco-tourism, cultural tourism, air transportation and services supporting air transportation, and international commerce and consumption.

North Van Phong SAEZ: Industries include precise information, electronics, mechanics technology, international goods and passengers seaport, tourism, seaport services, commerce, and finance.

Phu Quoc SAEZ: Industries include wellness tourism, eco-tourism, international convention/exhibition center, international commerce and consumption, assets management, and healthcare.

Preferential Treatments

All three SAEZ will benefit from a number of preferential treatments.

Business registration

Companies or projects located in the SAEZ, the investment and business registration will be conducted at the Public Administrative Center, which will govern the three SAEZs, instead of the Peoples Council. This will reduce administrative procedures leading to efficiency.

Special treatment for strategic investors

Investors qualifying as a strategic investor according to the Draft Law will receive preferential treatment in the processing of investment procedures, site clearance, compensation procedures and allowing to select projects in involving more than 2 investors.

Preferential treatment in land usage rights

Besides leasing and sub-leasing land, the foreign-invested enterprise may receive a land allocation from the State to conduct the projects in SAEZ. For investments that are in line with the specialized industries in the SAEZs, the land lease tenure may be as long as 99 years, subject to the Prime Ministers decision.

Investors could be exempted from land and water surface rent for up to 15 years. For the investments that are in line with the specialized industries for each SAEZs and the projects of strategic investors, investors may be exempted from land and water surface lease fee during the project implementation period.

Non-agricultural land use tax has been exempted in the new proposal.

RELATED:New Inspection Regime for Foreign Owned Enterprises

Waiver of construction permit

Construction permits may be waived for constructions that have been approved in the 1/500 detail zoning plan and small-sized advertisement billboards.

Preferential tax treatment

Vietnamese tourists residing in the SAEZ for more than 24 hours at select accommodation will be able to purchase tax-exempt goods in a tax-free zone, while few products imported for creating fixed assets and which cannot be manufactured in Vietnam may be exempt from import tax.

The standard enterprise income tax preferential treatment applicable would include; a special tax rate of 10 percent for 15 years, tax waiver for four years, and a 50 percent reduction in tax payment for nine years applicable from the year in which the taxable income is generated. The enterprise income tax preferential treatment will vary, according to the investments.

For casino business, the preferential excise tax rate of 10 percent may be applied for 10 years, from the day of revenue generation.

Treatment in trading goods

Foreign-invested enterprises headquartered in SAEZ may exercise their import, export, and distribution rights within the SAEZ in line with domestic investors. This also includes the service sectors not included in any applicable treaties. Foreign-invested trading companies would not be required to obtain a trading license and pass the economic needs test that foreign retailers have to do for establishing new retail outlets.

Visa preferential treatment

Foreigners coming into SAEZ by air or sea transport may be exempted from visa requirements if their stay does not exceed 60 days.

Establishing casinos

The proposal also includes provision for setting up casinos in the SAEZ to lure foreign investors. Vietnamese will also have access to the legalized casinos in the SAEZs.

RELATED: The Guide to Understanding Vietnams Industrial Zones

Going Forward

All three SAEZs are predicted to contribute heavily to the economy from 2020 and can achieve an average per capita income of 12,000-13,000 USD by 2030. Offering greater investments, increasing transparency, and reducing restrictions in SAEZs will increase competitiveness and lead to a favorable business environment, especially for foreign investors. The draft law will come into effect, after the approval by the National Assembly.

Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure

Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN, and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide.

An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017

An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam 2017 will provide readers with an overview of the fundamentals of investing and conducting business in Vietnam. Compiled by Dezan Shira & Associates, a specialist foreign direct investment practice, this guide explains the basics of company establishment, annual compliance, taxation, human resources, payroll, and social insurance in this dynamic country.



Managing Contracts and Severance in Vietnam

In this issue of Vietnam Briefing, we discuss the prevailing state of labor pools in Vietnam and outline key considerations for those seeking to staff and retain workers in the country. We highlight the increasing demand for skilled labor, provide in depth coverage of existing contract options, and showcase severance liabilities that may arise if workers or employers choose to terminate their contracts.
As an American in 1990s Cuba, Tria Giovan risked being branded a traitor. But the photographer continued to visit and, from the dance hall to the hair salon, she captured the resilient spirit of the Cuban people.I had this preconceived romantic notion that somehow Cuba would be immune to that kind of homogenization and development, said Giovan . I think just because of the nature that it was, you know, you werent supposed to go.So it was looking for things that were a bit of an adventure, looking for things that were either off the beaten track or somewhat inaccessible.Tria Giovan first traveled to Cuba in 1990. Over the next six years she took twelve month-long trips, traversing the island numerous times, and making more than 25,000 images. Immersing herself in Cubas history, literature, and politics, she photographed interiors of homes and businesses, city streets, rural landscapes, signs and billboards, and, most of all, the people, creating a compelling body of work that captures the subtleties and layered complexities of day-to-day Cuba born from complete engagement and informed perspective.(Photos  Tria Giovan)
File photo of Japanese firefighters. (Photo: AFP/ Behrouz Mehri)

Police discovered five bodies at an apartment in Hitachi City some 100 km north of Tokyo after the blaze was extinguished in the early hours of Friday, Jiji Press reported.

A child found in critical condition later died in hospital.

Local media said the children were aged between three and 11.

A man in his 30s told authorities he had started the fire, according to Jiji, citing unnamed police sources. He is believed to be the father of the five children.

A police spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
His lawyers said Mauss was unable to mount a "proper defence" because he was still bound by confidentiality agreements linked to his undercover work. (Photo: AFP/Marcel Kusch)

His lawyers said Mauss was unable to mount a "proper defence" because he was still bound by confidentiality agreements linked to his undercover work. (Photo: AFP/Marcel Kusch)

The 77-year-old dubbed the "German James Bond" was found guilty of stashing undeclared assets in offshore accounts and shortchanging the state of millions in taxes between 2002 and 2011.

Judge Markus van den Hoevel said he took into account Mauss' "impressive life achievement" in handing down the verdict which fell far short of the six years and three months' imprisonment sought by the prosecutor.

Mauss had denied the charges and claimed the accounts were set up to channel funds used in operations to free hostages.

The former agent was unable to mount a "proper defence" because he was still bound by confidentiality agreements linked to his decades of undercover work, his lawyers said.

Investigators first got on his trail after one of his aliases was found among names of UBS account holders on a CD which the state of North-Rhine Westphalia had purchased from a whistleblower.

Mauss agent had apparently failed to declare an account held with the Luxembourg subsidiary of UBS.

He was briefly detained in late 2012 before making a 4-million payment to the tax office. He also paid bail of one million euros, according to the indictment read out in court.

After the UBS revelation, his name subsequently emerged in connection with several shell companies listed in the so-called Panama Papers - leaked documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that exposed the murky offshore financial dealings of the rich and famous.

On his website, Mauss says he was "involved in the smashing of more than one hundred criminal groups and in the arrests of around 2,000 individuals" during his long career in the secret services.

He notably claims to have helped negotiate the release of hostages in Colombia, and boasts of tracking down 41 barrels of toxic waste that had gone missing after an explosion at a chemical plant in Italy in 1976.
An India Today reporter went undercover after the Elphinstone stampede to assess the ground reality. The findings, made public in a special report called Operation Bombay Dying, revealed heartless indifference to passenger safety.

By India Today Web Desk: Railway Police have begun an inquiry into revelations made by Operation Bombay Dying, an India Today special report which exposed police corruption in Mumbai's railway stations in the wake of the Elphinstone stampede.

23 commuters were killed in the stampede, and more than 35 were injured.

Days later, Operation Bombay Dying revealed heartless indifference to passenger safety.

advertisement

At Mumbai's Charni Road Station, a GRP official allowed India Today's reporter to sneak in some toys to sell on an overpass, in exchange for a bribe worth the price of a single toy.

At Santacruz station on Mumbai's western suburbs, an RPF cop advised the journalist to revisit after a week.

"Senior officials are here from Delhi on inspection," he said. "I would have allowed you to operate after taking my "chai-pani" cut. But, the immediate situation is not conducive because of inspections," the cop added.

Similarly, at Mumbai's Ghatkopar and Goregaon stations, India Today's reporter encountered no railway guards as he sat on their footbridges to sell toys during peak hours.

WATCH | Operation Bombay Dying: No lessons learned from stampede; authorities waiting for another Elphinstone?

--- ENDS ---
Explore Florida's Lighthouses

Want a different way to explore Florida history? Follow Florida's Lighthouse Trail.



Florida has more than 1,800 miles of coastline, more than any other state in the continental United States. To ensure safe marine navigation along that vast stretch of waterfront, there is an impressive collection of lighthouses in Florida, including some of the nation's oldest and tallest. There are thirty lighthouses still standing proud in Florida. Most of these have been lovingly preserved and several have undergone complete restoration. Some lighthouses in Florida invite visitors to climb their spiraling staircases and take in the dazzling view from their lofty lanterns. Many others, although their towers aren't open to the public, are located in public parks and can be easily viewed at close range. Even the spider-legged reef lighthouses offshore can be conveniently viewed by boat. But in every case, these venerable beacons continue to illuminate the pages of history. Be sure to have your camera handy.

This tour of lighthouses in Florida explores the entire state, from the Northeast Coast down along the Atlantic Ocean to the Florida Keys, and back up the West Coast along the Gulf of Mexico.

Because days and hours of operation vary greatly, and some Florida lighthouses have minimum age and/or height requirements for climbing their towers, we strongly recommend calling the contact number provided before traveling to visit the lighthouses.

Northeast Coast

The journey begins at the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Maritime Museum, (904) 829-0745. To get there from I-95, exit at S.R. 16 (Exit 318, about 30 miles south of Jacksonville) and drive east for about six miles until you reach U.S. 1. Turn right and proceed south for a mile and a half, then turn left on King St. Cross the Bridge of Lions and you'll be on Anastasia Island. Continuing on U.S. 1, you will appear to go past the Lighthouse on your left. You will pass RB Hunt Elementary also on the left. Get into the turn lane and make a left turn onto Red Cox Road, which becomes Lighthouse Avenue. The lighthouse parking lot will be on the right. This lighthouse holds the distinction of being the first in Florida officially authorized by the U.S. Congress. It was lit in May of 1824 on the site of an old Spainish watchtower that dated to 1589. The old lighthouse washed into the sea in the 1880s. The present 165-foot tall tower was constructed in between 1871 and 1874. Its day mark is a black and white spiral with a red lantern. It is only lighthouse in the nation with this particular combination and the 10th tallest in the U.S.

It also retains its original first-order Fresnel (pronounced "frenE'-el") lens. The lens was hand-blown in Paris, France, for the St. Augustine Lighthouse in 1874, and is 9-feet-tall. It uses one 1,000-watt bulb, and has six bulls-eye panels which cast a single "flash" of white light every 30 seconds. 119 stairs with eight landings make the tower climb relatively easy and well worth the sweeping view it affords of "America's Oldest City."

The beautifully restored keeper's house has galleries for viewing artifacts from shipwrecks located by underwater archaeologists. The history of the U.S. Coast Guard and the shrimping industry of St. Augustine in the 1940s and 1950s, are also shared. The nearby visitors center is both the entrance and exit, and houses a small exhibition gallery and a gift shop. An audio tour is offered free with admission. The admission fee helps with preservation and research about our nations earliest maritime history.

Since you will already be on A1A, the easiest and most scenic route to reach the next lighthouse is to simply stay on that road and drive south about 50 miles to Daytona Beach. A1A is also called Atlantic Ave. once you reach Daytona Beach. At the Dunlawton Bridge in Port Orange, A1A turns inland. Stay on South Atlantic Ave. until it ends (about five miles) and follow signs to reach the lighthouse. The Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse and Museum, (386) 761-1821, a 175-foot tall tower and one of the tallest masonry towers in the U.S., was completed in 1887 to guide mariners as they navigated one of the nation's most treacherous inlets. A National Historic Landmark, this is one of only a handful of early light stations that has retained all of its original buildings. Here you'll see a variety of exhibits in the restored keeper's dwellings, plus a modern exhibit hall devoted to the museums collection of magnificent Fresnel lenses. A 203-step climb brings you to the lighthouse tower's main gallery and a panoramic view of the Atlantic coast. The museum is open seven days a week.

To find the next lighthouse at Jupiter Inlet, head back north on A1A approximately five miles and turn left on Dunlawton Blvd. Follow Dunlawton five miles west to I-95. Head south on I-95 for 130 miles to the S.R. 70/Okeechobee Rd. exit (Exit 129). Bear right on Okeechobee Rd., then turn left on S. Kings Hwy. to get to the entrance ramp for Florida's Turnpike. Take the turnpike to the Indiantown Rd./Jupiter east exit (Exit 116) to U.S. Highway 1 and turn left. Turn Right on Alt. A1A/Beach Road, then take the first right into Lighthouse Park at Captain Armours Way. Designed by Lieutenant George Gordon Meade, the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum's, (561) 747-8380, distinctive red tower was first illuminated in 1860. Meade was famous, not only as a Union general, but also as the engineer of several revolutionary screw-pile lighthouses. The 108-foot tower sits on a 48-foot tall ancient Indian shell mound and is topped with its original first-order Fresnel lens, possibly the oldest in the state. A small museum in the tower's former oil storage building showcases the station's long career. Extensive renovation of the lighthouse was completed in 2000.

Southeast Coast

To reach today's first lighthouse, return to I-95 and drive south 80 miles to Miami. Take the Rickenbacker Causeway exit (Exit 1A), continue east on the Causeway (S.R 913) across Biscayne Bay, past the Miami Seaquarium onto Key Biscayne itself. The road will end at the Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, home of the Cape Florida Lighthouse, (305) 361-5811, Dade County's oldest structure. The original Cape Florida lighthouse was built at the southern tip of Key Biscayne and was heavily damaged in 1836 during a Seminole attack. The present tower, dating from 1847, was raised and improved by George G. Meade in 1855 to extend its visibility from the sea. An extensive restoration project spearheaded by The Dade Heritage Trust and the Florida Park Service was completed in 1996, so the lighthouse and keeper's quarters today faithfully reflect their 1855 appearance, minus the large second order Fresnel lens that was removed in 1878 when the tower was decommissioned.

The drive to Key West is a delightful experience. Drive west on Rickenbacker Causeway to U.S. 1 and turn south to Key West for the 154 mile drive surrounded by clear skies, sparkling waters and charming vistas. Follow U.S. 1 (Truman St.) through the city to Whitehead St. and the Key West Lighthouse and Museum, (305) 294-0012, will be on your left. The original lighthouse, activated in 1826, was replaced further inland, the first lighthouse built within the limits of a city, in 1848. The attractive white tower with its black lantern became a beacon to land travelers as well as to those traveling by sea. Today, beautifully restored and maintained by the Key West Art and Historical Society, a climb to the top of its 88 steps rewards the visitor with a spectacular view of the island and harbor. Visitors are also welcome in the museum, housed in the restored keeper's dwelling.

Southwest Coast

Depart Key West on U.S. 1 North, driving 129 miles to the southern entrance of Florida's Turnpike. Follow the turnpike north 39 miles to the I-75 North exit toward Naples (Exit 39), then travel I-75 north approximately 164 miles to the Kings Hwy. exit (Exit 170). After only about a block on King's Hwy., turn right on Veteran's Hwy. which will become S.R. 776. After approximately 10 miles, turn left on Gasparilla Rd. (also S.R. 771). Travel S.R. 771 to the Boca Grande Causeway and turn left, be prepared to stop and pay toll. At the four-way stop sign once you're on Gasparilla Island, turn right. The road makes a quick jog back to the left and you will be on Gulf Blvd. Stay on Gulf Blvd. for nine miles and at the stop sign at Belcher Rd., go straight ahead into the park; be prepared to pay a nominal fee. Here at the southern end of Gasparilla Island you will find the Port Boca Grande Lighthouse, (941) 964-0060. There are three buildings on the island. The first of the structures to be erected, the white Boca Grande Lighthouse is in the "cottage style" with a matching keeper's house. Built in 1927 and lit in 1931, the light was supplemented by a newer, skeletal steel tower, the Gasparilla Island Lighthouse, (941) 964-0375, designed to provide rear range guidance to ships entering the harbor. This structure is located one mile north. Both of these Florida lighthouses are operational today and although the steel tower is not open to the public, the clapboard lighthouse is, as well as the museum and gift shop.

Head further north to view the sunset and the lighthouse at Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge and State Park, (727) 893-2627, that marks the entrance to the Ports of Tampa and St. Petersburg. From Gasparilla Island, return to I-75, then drive north about 50 miles to I-275 and the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. After crossing the bridge to St. Petersburg, take Exit 4 and travel west on the Pinellas Bayway S.R. 682, then south on Pinellas Bayway S.R. 679 to Fort DeSoto Park. Built in 1848, Egmont Key Lighthouse, was at the time the only lighthouse on the west coast situated between Key West and St. Marks. The present building was relocated inland upon its reconstruction in 1858. The Northern navy used the island as a post for its blockade of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Estimated to be the oldest structure in the Tampa Bay Area, the lighthouse is only accessible by private boat or excursion boats which operate from marinas throughout the St. Petersburg area.

North Central Coast

A pleasant day's drive northwest along the Gulf of Mexico leads to the St. Marks Lighthouse, located at the mouth of the St. Marks River, 20 miles south of Tallahassee. To get there from St. Petersburg, drive north on U.S. 19 approximately 70 miles. When U.S. 19 North joins U.S. 98 West in Crystal River, continue north 90 miles to Perry. Follow U.S. 98 west in Perry and drive 41 miles to C.R. 59 and turn left into the entrance to St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, (850) 925-6121. This brilliant white lighthouse sits east of the harbor entrance at the foot of C.R. 59, looking out over the blue-green waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The tower was erected in 1842 after efforts to provide a safe foundation for the original failed in the 1830s. Viewing of the lighthouse is permitted, and the surrounding habitat provides spectacular bird-watching opportunities. Dolphins can frequently be seen from the point.

Northwest Coast

Begin the day with an early morning drive along northwest Florida's coast. Follow scenic U.S. 98 west through the towns of Apalachicola, Panama City and Destin to Pensacola. After crossing the Pensacola Bay Bridge, veer left onto Bayfront Parkway, which turns into Main Street. Take a left onto Barrancas Avenue. Turn left onto South Navy Boulevard and drive through the east gate of Pensacola Naval Air Station. After passing through the guard station, turn right onto Taylor Road and then take another right on Radford Boulevard. Pensacola Lighthouse and Maritime Museum, (850) 393-1561, will be on your left, directly across from the National Naval Aviation Museum. First lit Jan. 1, 1859, the current Pensacola Lighthouse remains an active aid to navigation. Throughout its lifetime, this lighthouse withstood attacks by Union forces during the Civil War, lightning strikes, hurricanes, tornados and even an earthquake, but the structure held fast. Today, lighthouse is maintained jointly by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Pensacola Lighthouse Association. The tower is open to the public and the renovated 1869 keepers quarters displays artifacts from many eras of northwest Floridas history, including the early Spanish settlements and the Civil War.

For those interested in learning more about Florida lighthouses or in joining the Florida Lighthouse Association, visit www.floridalighthouses.org.
Name any intelligence agency which does not maintain links with militant groups - that is how the Pakistani military spokesperson responded when asked about the ISI's links to militant groups.

By India Today Web Desk: Does the Inter-Services Intelligence, Pakistan's premier spy, agency have links with militant groups?

What intelligence agency in the world doesn't have "links" to militants - that was how Major General Asif Ghafoor, the spokesperson of all things Pakistani defence, responded when asked the same question.

Ghafoor, the head of Pakistani armed forces' media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations, was speaking at a press conference in Rawalpindi when he was asked about the senior-most United States general's recent observation that the ISI has connections to militant groups.

advertisement

"Name any intelligence agency which does not maintain links with militant groups" Ghafoor was quoted as saying by The Express Tribune in response to the question on the ISI's links with militants. Ghafoor sought to differentiate between having 'links' to militants and 'supporting' them.

According to a report in Dawn, Ghafoor said that having "links" can be positive and that the US general's about the ISI "did not say there was support".

The US general in question is Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford who is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest-ranking US armed forces member. "It is clear to me that the ISI has connections with terrorist groups," Dunford recently said in the US.

'THREATS FROM INDIA PERPETUAL'

Major General Ghafoor, in his press conference, also said that Pakistan shares an "unsafe" border with India due to New Delhi's "inappropriate actions". ?"In the east, we have a border with India which is unsafe because of India's inappropriate actions," Dawn quoted the Pakistani military spokesperson as saying while speaking about Pakistan's borders.

"Threats from India are perpetual. We are a peaceful country and we do not want war with them, but we will defend ourselves and have the capability to do so," Ghafoor went on to say.

The military spokesperson also accused India of violating the ceasefire along the Line of Control and claimed that Pakistani troops had responding in a befitting manner.

"The ceasefire violations in 2017 are considerably more in number than any other year before this, with 222 civilian casualties along the Line of Control. However, India has also paid a price due to our response [to attacks] and we will continue to do so [respond] if it does not act with restraint," Ghafoor claimed.

US TURNING SCREWS ON PAK

Ghafoor's comments come as the Donald Trump administration in the US increases diplomatic pressure on Pakistan for its support for terrorist groups.

The US has, in recent time, not refrained itself from explicitly calling Islamabad. US President Donald Trump, while unveiling his new Afghanistan policy, said that his country cannot remain "silent about Pakistan's safe havens to terrorist organisations."

"Pakistan has much to gain from partnering in our effort in Afghanistan, it has much to lose in continuing to harbour terrorists and criminals," Trump had said.

advertisement

Recently, Trump's civilian defence chief, Jim Mattis delivered what sounded like an ultimatum. Mattis, the American defence secretary (the US equivalent of a defence minister), recently said that the Trump administration would try to work with Pakistan "one more time".

If the current strategy of working with Islamabad fails, Washington " is prepared to take whatever steps are necessary" Mattis had said.

--- ENDS ---
We accept many different kinds of announcements. Just click on the button below and submit a form.

Go to forms
Funeral Announcements A daily list of current funeral annoucements as heard on KXRA 1490 AM/100.3 FM

News Updates The daily news, sports, and events delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria.



Sports Update This current sports headlines delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria.

Upcoming Events This email is the events of the area delivered daily from Voice of Alexandria.

Breaking News The big news. Sent only as it happens.
Radio Free Asia has just launched a campaign aimed at fooling us into thinking that the Koran is now banned in China [1].

Daesh propaganda has been making this charge for two years now.

Radio Free Asia was established by the CIA in the 50s, before it was brought under the control of the US Information Agency (an agency for US Propaganda in the Cold War), and finally the Broadcasting Board of Governors. Its budget is entirely funded by US tax payers. Contrary to what it claims, it is thus clearly a state media belonging to the US.

This campaign occurs at the same time that the Pentagon prepares for a possible war against Myanmar, which the international press is accusing of genocide of its Muslim minority [2].

While Rohingyas are in fact subject to discrimination, the following two facts contradict the charge of an anti-Muslim genocide:

 those from South Myanmar and those in the refugee camps following previous exoduses are stable and the exodus does not involve those situated in the North of the country.

 since the XVIIth century, there has been another Muslim minority in Myanmar, the Kamans, which have never been subject to discrimination.

Radio Free Asia campaign is occurring as the Chinese government has just declared new legislation on religious issues, aimed notably at fighting the confusion between the Muslim religion and political Islam [3].

China has also just banned copies of the Koran which have been annotated and commented upon by Islamists which have been in circulation for several years now.

Since 1953 and the alliance between the Political brotherhood between the Muslim Brotherhood and the CIA, the US and the United Kingdom have created confusion between the political plan of the Brotherhood and the Muslim religion [4].
However, Hello!

Nothing will significantly change in "big German politics" after the elections. That is why it is especially interesting to talk about the paradoxical results of the elections in the GDR. The former one, of course.

According to the results of the elections in the eastern lands of Germany, CDU party of Frau Merkel came out as a winner , although with worse result than in the rest of Germany. However, the second place was taken by "Alternative for Germany", and the third by the left. That is, the heirs of the GDR communists. If Merkel had to form a government in her native East Germany, she would not be able to create any coalition without the Social Democrats at least. And according to the results of the elections in the most radical of the eastern lands Saxony the right "Alternative" came out in the leaders, and the left in the third place, ahead of the Social Democrats.

That is, non-governing system aligned, or even even anti-governing system parties of the former GDR were practically equal with "pro-government " ones. And what unites these anti-system parties is a radical protest against anti-Russian sanctions.

Jorg Moyten, co-chairman of Alternatives for Germany: "In any case, we and the Left party want to get rid of these sanctions against Russia. We will cooperate with any party that will stop this nonsense. "

It is for the "big German politics" that foreign policy is a sideshow. For non-system parties, geopolitical orientation is extremely important. Because, in fact, the non-system aligned ones are anti-globalization supporters. And this is in East Germany, where trillions have been invested, and a new generation has grown up, who ought to be thoroughly brainwashed by so-called ideals of Euro-Atlantic propaganda.

Gerhard Schroeder, Chancellor of Germany said in September 2004: "Never in the history of relations between Germany and Russia the ties were as close and well-established as at present ... Germany has consistently advocated the formation of a comprehensive partnership ... It is impressive how much our interests coincide in so many areas."

There were times when the prospects of the Russian-German strategic alliance seemed so improbable that even the future head of the Rosneft Board of Directors did not consider it shameful to talk about it openly. We all underestimated the influence of Americans on German politics and on German media, in particular. The 70 years spell of occupation of Germany was exactly about stopping, at any cost, the Russian-German alliance the eternal nightmare of the Anglo-Saxons.

However, in East Germany this technique seems to be failing. East Germans, whose parents literally demolished the Berlin Wall by hand whilst aspiring to join the West, refuse to lose their East German identity. They are not loyal, not politically correct and not intimidated.

In any case, the East Germans, unlike some, cannot be told that Hitler was defeated by Americans and Martians. They do not have the mentality of the losing side. That is because we, as a matter of fact, never considered the GDR to be a defeated country.

However, goodbye!
We have repeatedly written it, several times now, and certainly before everyone started talking about it, that very soon in the Middle East, particularly in Mesopotamia, everything is going to change - in balance of power at state borders.

The time is now five to midnight and when midnight strikes Iraqs borders will be changed and Syria transformed into a federal state.

It is the United States and Russia that will determine outcome on the ground and in the diplomatic backdrop of this process, which will determine the regions future, perhaps for centuries. While the factor from which each is trying to extract a profit, to ensure their own strategic interests is the Kurdish issue.

Furthermore, Israel should play a meaningful role (principally under the table). Israel which according to the estimations of Turkish and Arab diplomats as well as others, is seeking to fragment the big states in the region and to create little states - easy to manipulate. Israels ultimate goal is controlling the energy and water resources to ensure its own viability and security.

Throughout this process, Turkey is well aware that according to the best-case scenario, it is the third country in line for federalization (while the worst case mentions a dismantling and even control of Constantinople, Smyrne, Mersin and other cities by the Kurds living there) and is seeking to achieve two aims: first, to acquire new geopolitical bases and second, to change the course of developments, if not avoiding the worst, at least reducing its extent...

In the context of these efforts, Turkey is the state that smartly bypasses the government of Baghdad, and signs contracts directly with the government of Erbil to export Kurdish oil through Kirkuk-Ceyhan. It is also Turkey that has helped like any other the independent administration of Kurdistan and has strengthened Barzani to the extent that today the latter is making a demand for independence. Yet now Turkey radically changes its strategy and turns towards Russia.

This change is the other great upheaval that is taking place, after the change, under incubation, of the regions borders.

In 1926, Turkey signed the Treaty of Ankara with England. By doing so, Mustafa Kemal undertook to abandon all claims he had over Kirkuk and Mosul and accepted the existing border with Iraq. These undertakings Kurdistan inherits, following its independence. In actual fact, he was placed under Englands influence. Certainly the worst[Translators note]

Savvas Kalederides

Translators Note: I have translated this article using the French (predominantly), Greek and Spanish texts. I have tried where possible to let the Greek text control. I note that the French translation supplements the Greek text with the following paragraphs which are stuck on to the end of the Greek text:

In actual fact, evil tongues are saying that right from the beginning, Kemal had been Englands man. Indeed, Erdogan himself, in the context of his rhetoric challenging the Treaty of Lausanne, has recently let it be understood that, in order to satisfy the Westerners, those who signed it, accepted a secret provision for the de-islamization of the new Turkey from which would flow secularization, the abolition of the caliphate and the Ottoman writing !

From the time of its creation, Turkey has been a key pillar of Western policy to hedge the Russian threat. This role was strengthened when it (Turkey) became a member of Nato in 1952.

So now, Turkey is not only disrupting its own policy vis-a-vis Barzani, its ally of yesterday, but also its primordial strategic choice of orienting itself geopolitically towards the West.

Everything may have commenced with the threats and blackmail it made to the United States and Nato, to avoid the bitter drink of the Kurdish issue. But now that she sees that her blackmail is having no effect, Turkey had begun to distance herself from Nato in small yet concrete steps and is inching closer to Russia.

The hypothesis and the approach of buying the Russian S-400 missiles system and the programme of independent development of the defense industry are really serious problems that should concern the West, Brussels, Washington and Athens.

If everything that we mention above were to materialize, then the strategists in Athens will have to understand that each step that Ankara makes towards Moscow increases exponentially Greeces strategic importance for the West.

Sharpen your pencils ...
The Vice President of Cambodias Party of National Rescue, Mu Sochua (photo), has fled following the arrest of her Partys President, Kem Sokha, for treason and spying.

According to her, the Prime Minister, Hun Sen, who has been in power for 32 years, would cling on to power and would prepare for the 2018 elections by repressing the opposition.

There are in total 23 parliamentarians that have been in exile for a month.

Kem Sokha was arrested on 5 September. The government released a video, recorded four years ago. In this video, you see Sokha explaining to an Australian audience that he is relying on the United States for his ascension to power.

The government also shut down an Anglophone daily newspaper, Cambodia Daily and cut the antennae of two radios (Radio Free Asia and Voice of America) of the US State. It has also expelled the controlling minds of the National Democratic Institute, the democrat branch of the NED/CIA led by Madeleine Albright.

Cambodia, Thailand and Burma - all three have been hit at the same time by political troubles.
The Ministry for Heritage has announced that three new interpretation panels have been placed within our Old Town in order to provide information on our Medieval History, namely our Islamic and Spanish Periods.
UN UPU Letter Writing Competition Prizes

The Hon Albert Isola MP presented the prizes to the winners of the local leg of the UNs Universal Postal Union Letter-Writing Competition at a ceremony held in his offices on Monday 2 October 2017.

This was the fifth consecutive year that Gibraltar has participated in the competition. The theme for 2017 was:

"Imagine that you are an advisor to the new UN Secretary General; which world issue would you help him tackle first and how would you advise him to solve it?"

Six local schools and 118 pupils took part in the competition. The winners were as follows:

The following also received Certificates of Merit for producing the best letter from each of the participating schools:

The Minister thanked all the participants for their efforts in promoting the important art of letter writing and particularly Casey Torres, whom he further congratulated for his winning entry tackling the problem of world poverty.

Thanks also go to the volunteer, retired teachers, Mrs Vivien Dawson, Ms Rosemarie Bruzon and Mrs Carol Brooks, who kindly agreed to judge the competition.

Caseys letter is currently representing Gibraltar in the main international competition at UN UPU Headquarters in Berne, Switzerland. The Minister wished Casey the best of luck in the international competition.
Photo: Getty Images

As part of our ongoing investigation into how movies are written now, Vulture talked to some of Hollywoods most powerful executives and producers about what exactly theyre looking for in a script in 2017. Below, find out what drives these gatekeepers nuts, why they do (or dont) care about spelling and grammar, why page length matters, how Trump has changed their tastes, and what goes into the oft-forgotten art of saying no.

Photo: Sonia Recchia/Getty Images for RBC

Gatekeeper: Michael Barker

Title: Co-President, Sony Pictures Classics

Notable Credits: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, All About My Mother, Midnight in Paris

Scripts that are most interesting to me right now: I ask myself, Will these characters and this story stand the test of time? and Is this a resonant story at this moment in the world? I tend to look for something fresh that surprises me. When [Sony Classics co-president] Tom [Bernard] and I first read Pedro Almodovars Talk to Her, at one point in the script it says, Film goes to dark; a tiny man is climbing a naked giant woman and jumps into her vagina. We went, What???

The most annoying trend in screenwriting: American screenplays tend to be very long in a way thats really irritating. Screenplays we get from European writers like Michael Haneke are generally shorter. Scripts are also irritating when, if after 15 or 20 pages, youre still like, What is this? Whats going on?

Im most turned off by: Horror movies. But Im a sucker for Westerns.

The best first drafts Ive ever read: David Mamets were always spectacular. For Woody Allens movies, we never read the scripts. His movies are based on very little knowledge on our part; we throw fate to the wind.

The budget of a movie is: Always on our minds. We often say, Holy mackerel, theres no way we can make this, because nowadays, we only invest in the screenplay about a third of the time. Nora Ephron once told us she wanted to do an indie and sent us a screenplay, but there was no way it could be made low-budget. She didnt understand that part of the business, because she had only made big movies.

What I look for in an ending: I have seen so many films that, if they dont send the audience off on a high note, or have the right punctuation at the end, it really hurts the word-of-mouth. A good ending is vital.

Photo: Rich Polk/Getty Images for Universal Studi

Gatekeeper: Jason Blum

Title: Producer, Blumhouse Productions

Notable Credits: Paranormal Activity, Whiplash, Get Out

The most annoying trend in screenwriting: Self-referential comedies whose characters comment on whats going on in the movie; its a cutesy style of writing that winks to the audience, Were in on the joke! It used to be funny in early 2000 Will Ferrell movies  he could pull it off. But its overdone now. Also, scripts that have characters talking about movies is my pet peeve. Quentin Tarantino can get away with it, but it totally pulls you out of the movie. Its like reminding the audience that they are sitting in a theater. Its the screenwriters job is to make the audience forget that.

Should a script follow a traditional format? Not at all. Almost everything weve done, starting with Paranormal Activity, breaks the mold. That was an 80-minute movie with a 45-minute first act, and the first big scare happens over halfway through. In tentpole movies, its too risky to break the three-act structure. But almost every movie we do challenges the notion that theres a formula to screenwriting.

The best first draft Ive ever read was: Sinister. It didnt change very much. And neither did Get Out.

Scripts based on preexisting source material make me feel: Very mixed. Obviously the most successful movies of this summer were superhero movies. As much as people are disdainful of these, its what audiences are showing up to see. If I were making $100 million movies, Id be doing the same thing. I do think rebooting horror-movie franchises is a more forgiving thing than, say, resurrecting a preexisting comedy. Horror relies on concept. Comedy relies much more on the actors and the comedians.

My go-to way of telling someone I dont like his or her script: I have strong feelings about this, because Im often on the receiving side of passes [laughs]. But I have two rules: Respond quickly and chalk it up to personal taste. If you say you personally dont like something, no one can argue with that. Sadly, most of Hollywood doesnt pass like this and it drives me bananas.

Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Gatekeeper: Kristin Burr (right)

Title: Producer, Burr! Productions; former executive VP of production for live-action film at Disney

Notable Credits: Sweet Home Alabama, The Proposal, The Muppets

The stories I most want to tell right now: Are heartfelt, sincere, and hopeful. The world can feel bleak sometimes, so I want you to feel better walking out of the theater than you did walking in.

The most annoying trend in screenwriting: Violence for violences sake. I appreciate the craft that goes into action and fight sequences, but it seems the stream of assassin-character scripts tend to celebrate violence and destruction without purpose or repercussion.

The most promising trend: Scripts that show empowering female characters with sincerity and complexity. I dont need another story about women that doesnt run deeper than romantic woes or petty differences.

Proper grammar and spelling matter: A script can feel lacking in professionalism when its full of typos. Also, at this point, shouldnt we all know the difference between to and too?

It makes me want to throw a script across the room when: Someone attempting to write for kids by making it feel less intelligent and, frankly, lame. My favorite movies as a kid are still things I admire today because they have smart, engaging characters.

Im aware of the race and ethnicity of characters when Im reading because: I prefer for movies to reflect our world as it is and sometimes as it should be, so I seek out opportunities to include a diverse cast  no matter the type of film.

When a script is more than 120 pages: It drives me bananas. I can already hear people describing the movie as slow.

Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

Gatekeeper: Michael DeLuca

Title: Founder, Michael DeLuca Productions; formerly the president of production at both New Line Cinema and DreamWorks

Notable Credits: The Social Network, Moneyball, Fifty Shades of Grey

Related Stories The Dos and Donts of Writing a Blockbuster for China

The stories I most want to tell right now: I love escapism, but what gets me really excited are true-life stories; movies like I did with [producers] Scott Rudin and Dana Brunetti  Social Network, Moneyball and films like Zero Dark Thirty, and Argo.

The most annoying trend in screenwriting: Slavish devotion to formula or anything too derivative or anything thats riding the coattails of another movies success can be a little deflating, rather than taking four stabs at making originals; jury-rigging tentpoles as opposed to investing in originality and innovation.

Proper grammar and spelling matter: Not very much. By the time a script reaches me, its rare to run into grammar and spelling problems. But if Im digging the script, Ill forgive any number of typos. Those are easy to fix; fixing theme, plot, and character is not!

The best first drafts Ive ever read: Boogie Nights by Paul Thomas Anderson and Aaron Sorkins The Social Network. They basically shot the scripts I read. Thats extremely rare.

I dont mind writers bending script format rules: If its satisfying, all bets are off. Some of my favorite films have incredible voice-overs: Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now, and Goodfellas. Then there are movies that are practically silent like 2001: A Space Odyssey; or really any script by Charlie Kaufman. Im grateful for it all; its like a buffet.

Existing IP works if: It really depends. Im working on a new version of Battlestar Galactica because I loved both TV series. I also read the comic. Im full-on a fan. If you have a personal connection to something, or you think you have something to contribute to a new version, then have at it. But I dont think thats what we should do exclusively.

My go-to way of telling someone I dont like his or her script: I usually say, Great work, but its just not for me. If youre a writer, getting a phone call back at all is a victory. Were all up a shit creek if we dont keep writers at least a tiny bit happy.

Photo: Andreas Branch/Patrick McMullan

Gatekeeper: Helen Estabrook

Title: Producer, Right of Way Films/Estabrook Productions

Notable Credits: Up in the Air, Young Adult, Whiplash

Scripts that are most interesting to me right now: Anything new and strange, as long as its intelligent and emotionally honest.

Most annoying trends in screenwriting: I am always annoyed when I read something that feels like it was just written to sell. Its very obvious when someone has written something they actually believe in.

The genre Im most turned off by: I would have a hard time signing onto a horror script, mostly because I think its the one genre that has done the best to both utilize and subvert the established tropes. I am just not nearly as well-versed in the canon to make a great horror film.

The one thing a writer can do to make me want to throw a script across the room is: Have terrible descriptions of female characters.

When a script is more than 120 pages: Im already turned off if Im looking at the page count.

What I look for in a character: I think a lot about E.M. Forsters delineation of round and flat characters: A round character acts and speaks as a real person would, and increases in complexity throughout the story; theyre capable of contradiction and change, and we see their emotional and psychological development as the story progresses. I think a lot of unlikability for the audience is born out of flat characters.

What I look for in an ending: I used to talk with a colleague about the idea of the parking lot ending  the thing youre debating, in an excited way, while youre still in the parking lot of the theater. So, I want it all: satisfaction and more questions.

What itd take to get me to take a chance on the next Being John Malkovich or Pulp Fiction: This is basically all I want to make. Send me these scripts, please!

Photo: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Amazon Studios

Gatekeeper: Lynda Obst

Title: Producer, Lynda Obst Productions

Notable Credits: Sleepless in Seattle, The Fisher King, Interstellar

The scripts most interesting to me right now: Are stories that run perpendicular to the political narrative, but still shed light on it, and stories that reveal something moving and deep about character.

Most annoying trends in screenwriting: I loathe slasher movies and dystopian future scenarios  lazy, repetitive, and depressing. I also hate bad science in sci-fi when its easily correctable. The country is dumb enough without our cooperation. Also, making movies out of TV series. It shows a depressing lack of confidence in market, and an overreliance on marketing.

Proper grammar and spelling matter: I think a writer is suspect if a script isnt spell-checked. Im an ex-editor, so grammar is important except obviously in dialogue.

The one thing a writer can do to make me want to throw a script across the room is: Be full of cliches and mention the Kardashians.

The best first draft Ive ever read is: Richard LaGraveneses The Fisher King.

What I look for in an ending is: Relief and resolution of something, if not everything. It depends on the genre. But always remember that your test number is highly determined by the feeling at the end of the movie. I learned this working on Risky Business.

Does whats happening in the news affect what I want to read? Not at all. Personally, I want to make nothing that reminds me of Trump.

Photo: Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for BET

Gatekeeper: Will Packer

Title: Producer, Will Packer Productions

Notable Credits: Think Like a Man, Straight Outta Compton, Girls Trip

Related Stories Girls Trip Is an Insanely Good Time

Scripts that are the most interesting to me right now: Are those that authentically represent the perspective, lifestyles, cultures, struggles, and joys of real people. Thats why I think Girls Trip worked; it had nuances that other movies like it didnt have. It gave women, regardless of ethnicity or background, an aspirational feeling of being free.

The most annoying trend in screenwriting: Its less about a lack of creativity from the writers perspective than it is what financiers, studios, and distributors are pushing writers to write.

I think about the potential diversity of a cast while Im reading: Quite a bit. The reason theres been such a dearth of diversity in Hollywood is because a narrow group of writers have depicted their versions of reality. If Im telling stories that truly reflect the world, I shouldnt have to try to be diverse. Also, Im not white; I didnt come up in the Hollywood system. This helps me have a very different view of content creation. And I live in Atlanta  not Los Angeles  so Im naturally around more so-called real people, and that helps.

What I look for in an ending: Personally I like unexpectedness, but thats not usually the commercially viable version of a ending. Unfortunately, we always want the protagonist to win, the underdog to overcome, and the lead characters arc to be completed.

My go-to way of telling someone I dont like his or her script: I try to respond as quickly as possible. I have a lot of respect for writers, so I treat them as such when Im interacting with them, even if its saying, I cant move forward with your project. I have such an appreciation for how hard their job is.
Responding to Indian Air Force Chief BS Dhanoa's statement yesterday about destroying Pakistan's nuclear installations, Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif warned that if it happens, they won't hold back either.

By India Today Web Desk: Pakistani Foreign Minister Khawaja Mohammad Asif has warned India of "dire consequences" if India hits their nuclear installations in a surgical strike. He said nobody should expect restraint from Pakistan either.

This was Asif's response to Indian Air Force Chief BS Dhanoa's statement yesterday that if need be, Indian aircraft could "locate, fix and destroy" Pakistan's nuclear installations.

advertisement

"Yesterday, the Indian air chief said we will hit, through another surgical strike, Pakistan's nuclear installations. If that happens, nobody should expect restraint from us. That's the most diplomatic language I can use," said Asif.

Asif delivered his 'diplomatic' response during a talk at the US Institute of Peace in Washington earlier today, warning Indian leaders of "dire consequences" that such actions could lead to.

WHAT DHANOA SAID

Air Chief Dhanoa said yesterday that the Indian Air Force has the capability to "locate, fix and destroy" tactical nukes (TNW) developed by Pakistan - should the need arise.

He was talking about Hatf-9 (Nasr) Short-Range Ballistic Missiles (SRBM) which are equipped with a tactical nuclear warhead (TNW) to be used in the battlefield only.

On several occasions, Pakistan has said the TNW have been developed as to counter India rapidly mobilising troops and armour, and overwhelming Pakistan's defence and forces.

--- ENDS ---
Photo: Penguin Random House

After the massive success of his debut book, The Martian, sci-fi author Andy Weir has written a crime caper, titled Artemis, with a heroine whom actress Rosario Dawson describes as super MacGyver. Dawson, who voices the protagonist, Jazz, in the audio version of Artemis, took part in a panel at New York Comic Con with Weir (via satellite), moderated by New York Magazine and Vulture contributing editor Jada Yuan. Both the audio and print version of the book will be available on November 14, but 20th Century Fox has already acquired the film rights and filmmakers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (21 Jump Street, The Lego Movie) were swiftly tapped to make the film after they exited the Star Wars Han Solo spinoff film. The story centers on Jasmine Jazz Bashara, a young Saudi Arabian porter and newbie smuggler trying to survive on the first city on the moon, Artemis. Read on for eight more things we learned from Weir and Dawson about the forthcoming book and film.

The Earth still exists. Artemis takes place around the late 2080s and Earth is fine, Weir said vaguely. But Artemis exists because there is an economic reason for it to, he added. Its a tourist location (and economic boon) that anyone can visit for around $70,000, for two weeks. Lunar tourism would be something middle-class people could afford, he said. You know, as a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing.

Artemis is split up into districts. Called Armstrong, Aldrin, Conrad, Bean, and Shepherd. Armstrong is industry, Aldrin is the tourist center with casinos and hotels and stuff, and Conrad where the blue-collar folks live, Weir explained. Bean is sort of like suburban life  its town folks  and then Shepherd, there are, like, really rich people there.

Before Artemis, there was Zhek. After Weirs first sci-fi novel, The Martian, became a best seller, Weir signed a contract with Penguin Random House to finish his second book within a year. But with 70,000 words of Zhek already written, and a looming deadline, Weir realized, This book sucks. He scrapped all 70,000 words and started over. (To put that number into perspective: The Martian tallied some 105,000 words.)

George R.R. Martin gave him advice while he was writing Artemis. Weir was hanging with the Game of Thrones author in Sante Fe, New Mexico, (as one does) and told Martin he was worried that Artemis wouldnt be as good as The Martian. Youll be working on your 28th book and youll still feel that way, Martin offered, which werent quite the words of comfort he was searching for.

Jazz wasnt going to be the protagonist. In fact, she was only going to have a couple of lines. That story wasnt very good, the plot didnt flow very well, Weir said. So I scrapped it. Again. The book went through a lot of revision before settling with Jazz as the lead character.

Rosario Dawson speaks onstage at New York Comic Con. Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images

20th Century Fox gave him a big pile of money for the film rights to Artemis. It was a slam-dunk offer for a straight-up purchase, Weir said. Not the option. A purchase. Which is a big distinction.

Weir is not adapting the book into the screenplay himself. I wouldnt want to adapt my own book into a screenplay, he said. Its so hard. Its all about cramming everything into 120 minutes. So youre like, Which one of my children do I love the least? I think its best for adaptations to be done by a different author. A screenwriter is yet to be named, but Weir hinted that it will be someone who has worked with Lord and Miller before  and praised screenwriter Drew Goddard for his work on The Martian.

Rosario Dawson does not have her heart set on playing Jazz in the movie. What I love about this is how diverse the cast has the potential of being, she said. It would be really amazing to have and find a young Saudi Arabian actress to play this role and really cast people appropriately, which doesnt happen very often.

Artemis is available for pre-order on Audible.

*An earlier version of this piece incorrectly stated the Artemis release date. It will be available on November 14.
Spoiler! At the end of Pacific Rim, man won the war for humanity against an invading army of enormous kaiju. It cost us Idris Elba, but we won  or did we? The premise for Pacific Rim 2: Uprising clarifies that we merely won a battle, and the war for the planet is only just beginning. John Boyega takes the lead in the sequel as our heartthrob Jaeger pilot, and hes banding together with evergreen hotshot Scott Eastwood and mad scientist Charlie Day and scads of others to become mankinds last best hope against another kaiju siege. Wielding all those extendo swords and light-whips seems like it takes a lot of practice, but well hop in the Drift and train with Boyega anytime. See it in theaters March 23.
Anyone else still gobsmacked that the powers behind Greys Anatomy have decided to explain a characters worst qualities by giving her a giant tumor on her frontal lobe? You know, the part of the brain that controls personality and decision-making? I dont know if Im infuriated or impressed. It must be the most audacious way to fix a character problem in television history. Okay, so maybe I am impressed. Giving Amelia Shepherd a ten-centimeter tumor thats been growing for ten years takes balls, Shondaland. Real big balls.

As Amelias old professor and chosen neurosurgeon, Tom Koracick, begins to question DeLuca and Webber as to how no one picked up on any symptoms, I just laughed. Im sure I wasnt the only one. Was Amelia ever erratic? Impulsive? Obsessive? Did she ever run out on her wedding only to screech about her terrible decisions whilst sipping a Slurpee? Okay, he doesnt actually ask that last one, but he might as well have. Tom is basically writing an Amelia Shepherd character description. If she makes it out of this surgery alive (please, Shonda, do not take away another one of Tyne Dalys children. That woman has been through some things), I suppose well face several episodes about Amelia figuring out who she really is and if any damage control can be done to her marriage  if she and Owen even want to be married anymore. So, we have that to look forward to?

Anyway, this tumor is really happening, and aside from the initial shock, it provides some good moments. Amelia, like all Grey Sloan doctors, doesnt want to tell any of her loved ones about it. Tom pretty much forces her to at least tell Webber. DeLuca hates being burdened with this secret, so he makes a hilarious attempt to tell Maggie without telling her. He brings her into a room with all of Amelias scans up and says he wants to talk about how his and Maggies relationship ended. He wants to ameliorate the situation and shepherd in a new era. Maggie doesnt pick up what hes putting down, but it is adorable to watch. When did DeLuca become such a great supporting character? Lets have him hook up with someone soon. Between dealing with dumb Jo and crazy Amelia, not to mention his orgasm-obsessed sister embarrassing him at every turn, its only fair.

At the moment, Amelia only has Richard to talk to about her situation. Honestly, if youre only going to have one person be your people, Richard might be the best pick. He walks Amelia off the ledge of believing shes screwed up every patient shes had in the last ten years  her mortality rate was better than Dereks  and then he goes into one of his inspirational, thought-provoking Richard Webber speeches. She needs to let the people who love her help her through this. Hold me, Richard!

Amelia knows Richard is right, so she sits Maggie down for a chat. Maggie is weepy, but she can also see through Amelias attempt to mask her fear with humor. Its a testament to their sister-bond. Amelia asks Maggie to be there when she tells Owen, and that shes going to need Mags to tell Meredith. Amelia cant bear to give Meredith the satisfaction of being right: Merediths been saying it for years, and now she is kind of crazy. Maggie obliges on both requests. Owen is pissed that hes been summoned to the hospital after getting the cold shoulder for so long, but seeing Amelias scans shuts him up. Meredith comes to Amelias hospital bedside and doesnt say I told you so, even though she is probably aching to, and instead crawls in bed with her sister. Amelia has her people with her as shes admitted to the hospital. Its all very Izzie has stage IV metastatic melanoma, but here we are.

Speaking of old friends and colleagues, Merediths therapist from when she was attacked by a patient that one time is admitted with a giant blood clot. Hes the one who helped Meredith embrace life post Derek. Hes a miracle-worker. Even in his hospital bed, hes happy to listen to Meredith unload about her current problems with Nathan Riggs. Shes seemingly enraged by Nathans face, which is weird because it is a very nice face. Alas, she is in a mood and not even Zola can snap her out of it.

When I say Walter Carr is a miracle worker, Im not exaggerating. While hes being pulled in and out of tests, procedures, and even a life-saving surgery, he and Meredith chat. They chat about her anger. They chat about the fact that she will never EVER allow herself to be put into another love triangle, which is what Megan and Riggs are doing to her. They chat about why she started a relationship with Riggs: He understood what it was like to lose the love of your life. Walter listens and has thoughts, but ultimately, Meredith comes to her own conclusion as to the underlying reason for why shes so upset. Once she has this breakthrough, she immediately goes to see Riggs.

Meredith is mad at Riggs because he is throwing away this wonderful gift that shell never get to have. They fell for each other because they shared that same unattainable dream that their true loves lived, and if Riggs wont fight for Megan, he is betraying their dream. Riggs not fighting to win Megan back is offensive to Meredith.

Meredith is a complicated woman. What else is new?

Laughter Is the Best Medicine, Except for Real Medicine

 Can Debbie Allen and Chandra Wilson form a comedy duo? The two of them fumbling around after finding Harper Avery  a.k.a. the curmudgeon, resident misogynist, scathingly mean grandfather, and head of the Harper Avery Foundation that provides all of Grey Sloans funding  dead in a conference room brought life where there was none before.

 Jesse Williams could be their sidekick because that pregnant pause in the middle of his speech about his late grandfather (I take special comfort knowing that he died  doing what he loved) was a great little button to the story line.

 You said the walls looked lovely!

After watching Bailey and Ben suffer through the whole church and state dark period of their marriage, it sure is nice to see them so in love and supportive and HOT for each other. Carina DeLuca teaches some of the staff that an orgasm is a natural pain reliever, so when Bailey complains of aches and pains after a long day, Ben puts that knowledge to good use. Get it, you two! Get it all the time!

 Thank Shonda for Megan Hunt bringing some much needed get a grip attitude to Grey Sloan. As Owen blathers on about his marital problems, she has very little sympathy. Being a hostage in Iraq for ten years and coming home to give up the man she loves so that he can be with the woman he fell for while she was presumed dead will always trump Amelia drama. Fact of life.

 I hate that a hocopro is a real thing, but not as much as I hate that I now know what a hocopro is. Its a homecoming proposal, for those who would like to suffer with me. Im so glad Im not in high school in 2017.

 This Alex and Jo reunion isnt really lighting my fire. However, even I can admit that Jos mini hocopro to ask Alex to move back into the apartment was cute. Ugh, I hate myself.

Sob Scale: 2/10

Im not complaining about Greys hitting the humor and lightheartedness hard in season 14, but I fear that the show is just building up a whole reservoir of intense moments that it will release all at once, like some sort of dramatic sob-inducing kraken.
David Boies. Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

A new report from the International Business Times says David Boies donated $10,000 to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. in 2015, months after the D.A.s office declined to bring charges against Harvey Weinstein over a sexual-assault allegation. Boies has represented Weinstein publicly in many of the producers high-profile tussles, including his fight against Warner Bros. over the title of The Butler, and multiple battles with the MPAA over ratings; his firms website lists the Weinstein Company as one of his clients. In a statement to the IBT, Vances communications director said, David Boies did not represent Harvey Weinstein in 2015 during the criminal investigation. A spokesperson for Boiess law firm said that Boies has been a supporter of the District Attorney since long before 2015, including before he was first elected, and has never spoken to him about Harvey Weinstein, and that Boies, his son, and his law partners have contributed to Vance over the years.

The New York Times report about Weinsteins history of sexual-harassment allegations detailed the incident: In March 2015, Italian model and aspiring actress Ambra Battilana called the police during a Friday-night meeting with the producer. Battilana said Weinstein grabbed her breasts after asking if they were real, and put his hands up her skirt, according to the police report. The D.A.s office did not bring charges the following month, saying, After analyzing the available evidence, including multiple interviews with both parties, a criminal charge is not supported. Vance is also involved in a similar controversy with Ivanka and Donald Trump Jr. On Wednesday, ProPublica reported that Vance overruled his own attorneys and declined to pursue felony fraud charges against the Trumps after Trump attorney Marc Kasowitz gave Vances campaign $25,000. After the donation, Kasowitz and Vance met in person, according to ProPublica, and Vance dropped the case.
Photo: Ian Gavan/Getty Images

Harvey Weinstein is speaking on his own behalf following the New York Times story detailing sexual-harassment claims against him from a number of women, including Ashley Judd. In an interview with the New York Post, Weinstein offers another round of self-effacement (I have got to change, Ive got to grow, Ive got to deal with my personality, Ive got to work on my temper, I have got to dig deep) while justifying his lawsuit against the newspaper for its reckless reporting.

The reason I am suing is because of the Times inability to be honest with me, and their reckless reporting. They told me lies. They made assumptions, Weinstein said. The Times editors were so fearful they were going to be scooped by New York Magazine and they would lose the story, that they went ahead and posted the story filled with reckless reporting, and without checking all they had with me and my team.

Additionally, Weinstein said that the Times has a vendetta against him, which is why the paper never covered his good works, like the money he raised for charity or a documentary he produced with Jay Z about Rikers Island. As for the allegations, Weinstein says he never laid a glove on Ashley Judd, who went on the record for the Times article. He also said the damning memo the Times cited from former employee Lauren OConnor amounted to nothing because she withdrew it shortly after it was submitted to executives at his company. Weinstein did not mention that it was withdrawn after a settlement was reached with OConnor.

Meanwhile, the Times stands by its story. We are confident in the accuracy of our reporting, a spokesperson for the New York Times told THR. Mr. Weinstein was aware and able to respond to specific allegations in our story before publication. In fact, we published his response in full.
Its difficult to retain a sense of self in the universe, especially when everyone keeps confusing you for your doppelganger who is also a movie star, and who sometimes appears in the same ones as you. Isla Fisher  who, to be clear, is not Amy Adams  went on Jimmy Kimmel Live and told stories about all the times people have insisted that she is, in fact, Amy Adams. The best story: Lady Gaga approached Fisher at the Vanity Fair Oscar party and told her that she loved her performance in American Hustle. Then, the real Amy Adams walked into the party, and Fisher pointed her out: Im like, Theres Isla Fisher. Shes not even nominated for anything, whats she doing here? Now, which celebrities have made Wedding Crashers jokes to Amy Adams?
Olivia Popes luxurious wardrobe, with all its cashmere layers and dramatic silhouettes, serves a much greater purpose than fueling get the look for less service journalism. Each outfit is a sartorial mood ring, and the quickest way to figure out whats behind Olivias poker face is to see which cowl-necked tunic she wears from one scene to the next. In Watch Me, the first episode of Scandals seventh and final season, each of Olivias ensembles looks like it was inspired by some kind of funereal look book. To quote Jay Z, shes in all black everything, which is fitting since she seems determined to deliver on the sixth season finales promise to intoxicate her with absolute power. Watch Me heralds the birth of a brand-new Olivia Pope, one far more willing to follow her darker impulses if she believes the ends justify the means.

The episode begins with a whirlwind montage that confirms the death of Luna Vargas following Olivia and Jakes intervention, as well as the ascendance of Cyrus Beene to the vice-presidency. Jake still has his cabinet position as well as his tenuous place in Olivias bed. With the same faces haunting the West Wing, the only real change in happening inside Olivia. For all her quixotic talk of white hats, gladiators in suits, and standing in the sun, her moral compass has never known true north. But this Olivia, the one splitting her time between running Mellie Grants West Wing and overseeing a reconstituted B6-13, isnt a gladiator in a suit; shes a bruiser in Balenciaga. When a member of Congress wont agree to rubber-stamp Mellies newest legislative effort, Olivia summons him to her office to show him why she buys her manila envelopes in bulk. Suffice it to say, whatever is in that envelope is enough to get him onboard.

Things are certainly different since Quinn Perkins and Associates hung their under new management sign outside the door. Without Olivias name lending credibility to this ragtag group of fixers, torturers, and spies, the business has been even slower than usual. Theres finally a break when QPA gets a walk-in: a woman named Madeline who is trying to figure out why her father, Joshua Stewart, a mild-mannered theology professor, went missing during one of his far-flung research trips. As it turns out, Joshua is a CIA asset whos been captured by the government of Bashran, a hostile foreign power on the cusp of gaining nuclear capabilities.

Jake, the cold-hearted pragmatist, tells Olivia the only way to deal with Stewarts capture is to have him killed. Its only a matter of time until the Bashranis push Stewart past his breaking point, Jake argues, so the only option is to sacrifice him rather than risk the exposure of other assets in the region. But Olivia refuses to go along with the plan. She says Stewart is an American hero who has repeatedly risked his life to keep the country safe, so killing him is a non-starter. As she mentioned earlier to the stubborn senator, this is Olivias world, and everyone around her is expected to follow her lead, including the president.

When Jake makes an end run around Olivia, appealing directly to Mellie to authorize a surgical strike instead, Olivia could have chosen to give Mellie enough rope to hang herself with. Instead, she goes to the Bashrani ambassador and threatens to assassinate his son unless he makes a call to have Stewart escorted to the American embassy unharmed. Mellies moment of relief is short-lived once she realizes that instead of coordinating the elimination of a potentially toxic asset, she has instead led the country into a diplomatic imbroglio. Meanwhile, Huck never gets the answer to his question about whether Olivia was serious about killing the ambassadors elementary-age son if she didnt get what she wanted. But its safe to say putting an actual sniper in place is a lot of trouble to go to for a bluff.

During their weekly father-daughter dinner, Papa Pope tries to tell Olivia she wont be able to dance with darkness and not be consumed by it. Naturally, she doesnt pay him any attention  but by the end of Watch Me, its obvious that Olivias moral decay is a question of when and not if. And any chance there was of Mellie helping to slow or prevent Olivias metamorphosis is dashed during the epic final scene, when Mellie makes clear that her priority is still making a name for herself no matter the cost. Lets see what happens when the person calling the shots would love nothing more than for her enemies to call her a nasty woman.

Talking Points

 According to the closed captioning, the opening montage was supposed to be set to Tone Locs Funky Cold Medina, which would have been super weird. Swapping in Public Enemys Fight the Power was a wise choice.

 Jay Hernandez joins the cast as Curtis Pryce, host of the prime-time cable crossfire show The Pryce of Power. Oh, and hes also Olivias new sleepover buddy.

 Speaking of new additions, Shaun Toub is a great addition as the Bashrani ambassador. He deployed the same scary intensity on Homeland, and hed make a terrific antagonist for Olivia and Mellie.
Photo: RLJE Entertainment/TIFF

This article was originally published during the Toronto International Film Festival.

Remember when Vince Vaughn was kind of Americas boyfriend and dated Jennifer Aniston? You might want to file that away as ancient history, because you are not ready for the cute cad from Wedding Crashers to go full-tilt, right-wing nut job  with a Southern accent, and a shaved head with a black cross tattooed to the back of it  in his brutal new prison revenge flick, Brawl in Cell Block 99.

Perhaps this makes more sense if you consider that in real life, Vaughn is an outspoken libertarian and gun-rights advocate who endorsed Ron Paul, and then Rand Paul, in the last three elections. (Yeah, I Googled that multiple times to confirm.) His #NotImpressed lack of enthusiasm during Meryl Streeps rousing anti-Trump Golden Globes speech, while seated with fellow ultra-conservative and good friend Mel Gibson, made him a meme, and a bit of an alt-right hero. And there seems to be a distinct trend in the 47-year-olds work toward playing roles that delve into toxic masculinity or the broken promise of the American dream and the anger and violence it may beget.

Take his drill-sergeant character in his buddy Mels Hacksaw Ridge, who is extremely pro-America, and only starts to respect Andrew Garfields pacifist character once he understands that just because he wont carry a firearm doesnt mean hes a pussy. Or the terrifying crime boss he played on True Detective season two, whos the definition of a man trying to shape the world to his desires through brute force and is driven by an insecurity that hes failing at his duty to provide for his scary, hard-ass wife. (An insecurity that manifests itself in his beating the crap out of a low-level Latin pimp named Santos and ripping his gold grillz out of his mouth with pliers.) And its no coincidence that in Brawl, theres a direct line between Vaughns character losing his blue-collar job and his mayhem-ridden confinement in a minimum freedom prison.

Whatever you ultimately think of Brawl  and Vaughns  politics, its hard to deny that this is superior grindhouse filmmaking. (Prime-cut exploitation porterhouse, one review called it after its premiere as part of the Toronto International Film Festivals Midnight Madness section; theres no U.S. distributor yet.) Its director, S. Craig Zahler, proved his skill with both gore and insane setups in his first film, the horror Western Bone Tomahawk, in which Kurt Russells sheriff takes on a tribe of cave-dwelling cannibals. Brawl is even more gruesome, if you can believe it (who knew there were so many ways to break limbs or smash in skulls?), with Vaughn in a powerhouse performance as a hulking, muscular, hand-combat killing machine, like youve never seen  or would never expect to see  from him before.

Within minutes of the film starting, hes ripping apart his wifes car with his bare hands in a jaw-dropping scene that both announces what this guy is capable of, and what we, as an audience, should prepare ourselves to expect. And weirdly, his actions are kind of understandable. His character, tow-truck driver Bradley Thomas  also an ex-boxer and cancer survivor, two years sober  arrives to work that morning to find out hed been laid off (goddamn economy), then arrives home unexpectedly to catch his wife Laura (Jennifer Carpenter) about to drive off to cheat on him. Im seeing someone, she tells him, as he pulls her out of the car and commands her to go inside. You can see the beginnings of what happens in the trailer, as Vaughn pounds on the drivers side window and then finally just punches through it to rip out the rearview mirror. This is not a car destruction like any youve ever seen; its like this guy is unleashing a shrapnel-bomb of rage out of his fists onto the helpless machinery. The side mirror is next; then the hood, which he tears straight off the hinges and tosses into the street; then a headlight, which he not only smashes open but also reaches into and pulls out the wires from. (According to the producers at the post-screening Q&A, those are all practical materials Vaughn is destroying: real metal, real plastic, real glass, just rigged not to hurt their star outright.)

And then, after all that, with his knuckles swollen and dripping with blood, he rejoins his wife in their living room to discuss the state of their marriage. He has a long, oddly soft-spoken monologue comparing all their bad luck  which includes a miscarriage  to the frustration of going to a coffee shop and, again and again, accidentally picking up skim milk when what you really want is cream. The law of averages would suggest that at least some of the time, Id get the cream, he says. He wants the cream. Which means, hes willing to test his sobriety and start running drugs for his friend. And he thinks they ought to try for another baby.

I think the scene that hooked me was when Bradley goes home and finds out shes been cheating and kind of beats the car up, but then goes and says, This is a good sign that we need to get closer, Vaughn said, laughing, at the post-screening Q&A. I found it surprising and I also found it kind of real. Here are two people whove experienced a lot of pain, but are now trying to make a good life for themselves, So, they come together in that moment, and it oddly made me really root for them, he says.I think Craig does a really good job of having you connect to the characters and invest in them, and then the violence  you really understand whats at stake and the motivation of it by the time you get to the first arm break. Its understandable, sort of.

You know from Brawls title where all that drug running is going to have Bradley wind up, but the how is still pretty thrilling, involving unrelenting shootouts and Vaughn climbing up a pole underneath a pier thats covered in glass shards. Zahler takes his time building Vaughns character as a man of decency who loves his family and doesnt default to violence, but is nonetheless capable of striking down with great vengeance and furious anger if provoked. Once in jail, hes got to deal with shit-covered cells and Don Johnson as a cigar-chomping torture master of a warden who likes hooking up new prisoners to electric-shock belts; but its only when the king of exploitation movies, Udo Kier, shows up to issue a very motivating threat that Vaughn  who wrestled when younger, boxed his whole life, and now does jujitsu  really breaks out some impressive bone-crunching skills. Vaughn said even he was worried about hurting himself during the 15-, 20-punch combinations wed do in a take, and full blow, because theres really no way to make it look good without really kind of committing to it. (Udo Kier loved Vaughns performance so much that he kissed him onstage at the TIFF Q&A.)

Still, once you spot the conservative coding of the whole endeavor, its hard to unsee. Its his layoff, as a Forgotten American, that sends him into his life of drug-running and violence. His default, though, is being a guy who wont allow his pregnant wife to handle a kitchen knife because shes too delicate, and even carries her around their house so she wont have to walk. (She does, however, know how to use the gun from their bedside table.) When it comes to protecting her, theres no limit to the number of prison guards, drug bosses, and gangsters  often, youll start noticing, black, Latino, or Asian  whose faces hell bash in. And if that message were a bit too subtle, the film also includes a scene where a police detective seems almost reluctant to send him to prison, telling him he can tell hes a man with a moral compass. I knew before you told me that you had an American flag in your home, says the policeman. Youve probably got more than one. Youre a patriot.

I cant speak confidently to Zahlers politics. But just try not to make a connection between Vaughns statements on affirmative action; the trifecta of his Brawl, Hacksaw Ridge, and True Detective roles; and Zahlers broad-stroke themes, such as Bone Tomahawk being about the takedown of tribal savages who are terrorizing white people, or one of the villains of Brawl being a comically slimy Chinese abortionist. Theres also a line, uttered to a Mexican drug thug: The last time I checked, the colors of the flag werent red, white, and burrito. It got a big laugh at my screening, in socialist-heaven Toronto. Go figure.

Then theres Vaughns next project, Zahlers third feature, Dragged Across Concrete, co-starring Mel Gibson (an old friend of mine, Vaughn said at the Q&A) and reuniting the Brawl team of Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, and Udo Kier. Its a crime thriller about two policemen, an old vet, and his hothead younger partner, who get suspended when the liberal media latches onto a video of whats seen as their use of strong-arm tactics, and they have no choice, broke and embittered by what they see as their unjust persecution, but to enter the criminal underworld. Unsurprisingly, its already gotten a ton of backlash from liberal watchdogs bracing for what theyre sure will be a grossly conservative interpretation of police brutality.

Chances are, those liberal watchdogs arent far off; one of the films defenders is Donald Trump voter Dean Cain, who spoke out on Gibson and Vaughns behalf to Fox News. Still, even as a staunch immigrant-loving tree-hugger myself, I cant condone the outcry that suggests that Vaughn and Gibson and Zahler have no right to make their White Mens Rights horror-fantasy  if that is what it turns out to be. As much as parts of Brawl made my skin creep, it felt like valuable time spent immersed in the the other sides perspective: the rage, the entitlement, the feeling of being fucked over by a system thats stacked against Hard-Working Americans; the idea that a womans only place is as a volition-free flower to be protected at all costs (what are you doing in this, Jennifer Carpenter?). I havent seen American Assassins, the brain-off spy movie my colleague Emily Yoshida so artfully eviscerated, but Brawl has a kind of menace that I dont think could be mimicked with Hollywoods usual crop of bleeding hearts playing at counterterrorism or incarceration. Its terrifying, both for whats onscreen and just for existing. I want to see everything these guys have got. And, I have to admit, Vaughn is astonishing  and that car-pummeling scene is one of the most insane things Ive ever seen.
Photo: Jacopo Raule/GC Images

On the heels of Thursdays bombshell New York Times expose, which details numerous accusations of sexual harassment and other too-nauseating-to-even-contemplate abuses of power and station by Weinstein Company co-chairman Harvey Weinstein, the hard-charging, Oscar-winning studio mogul has become toxic in Hollywood. His public dressing-down has drawn the tweeted opprobrium of (among others) Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd  actresses who reportedly personally endured Weinsteins sexual misconduct  and now, as a direct result, the Academy Award rainmaker is getting mentioned almost invariably in the same breath as Roger Ailes and Bill Cosby around town.

Taking a leave of absence from TWC a day ahead of an emergency board of directors meeting scheduled for Friday evening, Weinsteins continuing ability to lead the company he co-founded with brother Bob in 2005 remains a subject of intense debate for studio executives, producers, talent agents, and filmmakers.

We spoke to three people who all worked with the 65-year-old studio chief in some capacity: a filmmaker, a producer, and an agent. And their thinking at this breaking-news-scramble stage of the Weinstein scandal falls into two distinct categories: Harvey will be fine and Harvey wont be fine.

In terms of the latter, a producer who has made films for TWC and has been in regular contact with studio executives before and while the scandal broke had this to say: He was asked to take a leave of absence for a couple of weeks. Usually you dont come back from that situation. The board of directors doesnt like the situation one bit. And [Weinstein Company COO/president] David Glasser has been angling to run that company for a long time. He steps in right now. Honestly, I dont see how Harvey comes back from this.

In the Harvey will be fine camp? They may say, Fuck you, Harvey for a while, says a filmmaker who has written several films for Weinstein and who asked to remain anonymous to maintain his business relationship with the mini-major studio. But even if the board votes him out, hell be back. Hes a carnival barker. Dont look to Hollywood to be so morally righteous. I think for the same reason Mel Gibson is starring in Daddys Home 2  after they have him on tape with his ex-wife saying, I hope you get raped by a pack of n-words and all the other anti-Semitic crap hes on record as saying  theyre just going to keep doing what theyre doing. In Hollywood, theres no morality. No one cares, no one remembers.

At both ends of the spectrum, however, the sources contacted by Vulture agreed that Weinsteins reputation as one of indie cinemas most prominent purveyors of prestige fare has suffered an existential wound due to the allegations that he lured actresses and female studio employees to hotel suites, requesting massages or that the women watch him shower, among other forms of sexual harassment. He cant go to the women who he needs for these Academy movies, says our producer. Nicole Kidman, who he repeatedly goes back to  people like her  I think theyre going to stand by the sisterhood.

(Weinstein, for his part, has accused the New York Times of reckless reporting and indicated he plans to sue the newspaper for $50 million. His lawyer Lisa Bloom said in a statement: He denies many of the statements as patently false  He is an old dinosaur learning new ways. He wants to reach out to any of the women who may have issues with him in a respectful, peaceful way, with me present if that is acceptable to them.)

According to a top talent agent who has brokered deals for the sale of films to Weinstein for many years, allegations surrounding the moguls sexual conduct belie the studios overarching cash-flow problems.

People have been thinking the Weinstein Company is going to go under for a while. He was having a hard time raising the money, the agent says. His head of distribution left the company, his head of marketing left the company. Theres no one that works there that youve ever really heard of anymore. Glasser left and then came back. The infrastructure isnt there anymore.

Whats more, Weinsteins legendarily combative nature makes it hard to sympathize with his plight. Nobody has anything good to say about the guy, the agent continues. You have this raging lunatic asshole whos incredibly fucking successful. And the minute his star starts to go down, everyone starts to come out of the closet. Because they just want to kill him.

But in an era when Woody Allen has withstood sustained accusations from his own family members that he sexually assaulted his adopted daughter Dylan, but continued to attract Hollywoods creme de la acting creme to appear in his films, our filmmaker predicts Weinstein will enlist A-list pals such as Quentin Tarantino and Gwyneth Paltrow to publicly rally support  effectively running a For Your Consideration campaign to resurrect his own reputation.

Ben Affleck, Matt Damon? Why wouldnt you call in those favors? Theyre all going to say Harveys the man. Just like Robert Downey Jr. and Jodie Foster came out in favor of Gibson at the height of his controversy, he says.

He pauses before adding: So the head of a studio made some improper advances? To me, its much ado about nothing. It seemed like he never crossed the rape line. Not one of those people said he slipped something in their drink or penetrated them or forced them to do a sexual act against their will. None of thats there.

He asked for a few massages? Waaah! Welcome to Hollywood!
Producer-actor Rahul Raj Singh opens up about link-up rumours with Sita Narayan, says he is single and not looking for a relationship.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Actor Rahul Raj Singh , accused of abetting the suicide of Balika Vadhu star and his girlfriend Pratyusha Banerjee, has been romantically linked with Sita Narayan. But he says the southern actress is just a friend.

"She is just a friend. I don't know why people are spreading such news. She is a friend and it's been almost a month since I met her. I am single now and not looking for a relationship," Rahul told IANS. "I am trying to move on with my work."

advertisement

Rahul, known for shows like Mata Ki Chowki and Amber Dhara, has bought a flat in Bandra here.

"I will be shifting later this week. I am very happy about being an owner of two BHK flat in Mumbai. My parents will soon visit me for the welcome ceremony. One room will be mine and the other will be for them. However, they won't be here for long," he said.

"Hope it brings lots of positive energy in my life," he added.

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: Addis Ababa, Oct 6 (PTI) Indias ties with Ethiopia is symbolic of its engagement with Africa, President Ram Nath Kovind said as he invited business stake-holders from the region to partner with India and benefit from them.

Addressing the India-Ethiopia Business Dialogue, organised to commemorate the 12th Anniversary of the India Business Forum here yesterday, the president said Ethiopia and India have been trading with each other for centuries.

advertisement

"Trade relations between Ethiopia and India flourished during the ancient Axumite Empire from the 1st century AD," he said, noting that the economic ties now covers trade, private investment, concessional loans for infrastructure projects and development assistance, largely for capacity building.

President Kovind said that Indias relationship with Ethiopia is symbolic of its engagement with the African continent, of which Addis Ababa is such a vital hub.

He recalled that at the Third India Africa Forum Summit in New Delhi in 2015, India had announced the offer of concessional credit of USD 10 billion over the next five years to Africa.

"We have also committed to a grant assistance of USD 600 million that will include an India-Africa Development Fund of USD 100 million and an India-Africa Health Fund of USD 10 million. The Asia-Africa Growth Corridor is another initiative brimming with potential," the president added.

He invited business stake-holders in Ethiopia and Africa to partner India in these frameworks and benefit from them.

The president pointed out that India is now among the top three foreign investors in Ethiopia.

"Indian investments in Ethiopia have had a significant presence in manufacturing and value addition to local resources. They have created jobs in this country and contributed to the prosperity of Ethiopian families," he said.

He also congratulated the Indian Business Forum for playing a lead role in encouraging Indian investment and promoting trade and commerce between the two countries.

Earlier in the day, President Kovind visited the Presidential Palace in Addis Ababa and led delegation-level talks with his Ethiopian counterpart Mulatu Teshome.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of two bilateral agreements ? the first on Trade Facilitation and the second related to the Information Communication and Media sector.

Later in the evening, President Kovind held talks with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn.

During their talks, both leaders affirmed commitment to stronger bilateral ties, according to the official twitter account of the President.

"We have agreed to consider fresh line of credit of USD 195 million for development of Ethiopias power transmission," the president said.

advertisement

Kovind arrived here from Djibouti on Wednesday on the second leg of his maiden visit abroad. His visit is the first by an Indian president to Ethiopia in 45 years since President V V Giris trip in 1972. PTI ZH

--- ENDS ---
Wiener Dog Races return to the Heart O Texas Fair and Rodeo at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The entry fee is $20 per dachshund. All dogs must have a current DHLP or 7-way vaccination and a current rabies vaccination. Two people per dog must be available for the races, and dogs must be on a leash to enter the fairgrounds.

The entry fee comes with two general admission tickets to the fair for the two dog handlers. The Wiener Dog Races will take place in the Extraco Banks Kids Zone Arena.

Visit hotfair.com for more information and to register.

Art Guild meeting

The Art Guild of Central Texas will meet at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at Martin Museum of Art at Baylor University.

There will be a brief meeting, followed by a viewing of the new exhibit by Danville Chadborne, Retrospective Part IV: Small Wooden Sculptures.

For more information, call 722-9928.

Native American ancestry

The Central Texas Genealogical Society and West Waco Genealogy Center will present Discover Your Native American Ancestry at noon Monday at the West Waco Library meeting room, 5301 Bosque Blvd.

The event is free. For more information, call 750-5945.

La Vega fun run

The La Vega Pirates Education Foundation will host its second annual La Vega Pirate 5K and 1 mile fun run and walk at 8 a.m. Saturday at La Vega Stadium. Participants can walk or run one or both courses for a single $20 fee. Refreshments will be provided at the stadium and on the course. All proceeds benefit the La Vega Pirates Education Foundation.

The 1-mile fun run will take place first and stay close to the stadium. The 5K will start at 8:15 a.m. and wind through the streets of Bellmead and back to the stadium. All participants will receive a T-shirt, and winners in all age categories will receive medals. Visit www.piratesfoundation.org to download a copy of the registration form.

Wild West traffic

The 33rd annual Skittles Waco Wild West Ride will start at 8 a.m. Saturday at Heritage Square.

Numerous streets and roads in the downtown Waco area will be closed or have restricted access from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Roads around Waco Regional Airport, China Spring, Crawford, Speegleville, Oglesby, Woodway, Hewitt, Lorena, Robinson and Mother Neff State Park will also be affected.

There are 10-, 26-, 67- and 100-mile bicycle courses. To register for the event or view the routes, visit wacowildwest100.com.

For more information, call 405-2518 or 405-5113.
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar toured the SpaceX rocket development plant in McGregor on Thursday and later touted Greater Waco as a hotbed of aerospace-related companies contributing to a statewide manufacturing base that eclipses the total economy of Portugal.

Hegar spoke to about 60 business and community leaders at the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce headquarters, his third visit on a Good for Texas Tour: Manufacturing Edition. Topics ranged from Hurricane Harvey and school finance to the challenge of accommodating the 1,200 people who have moved to Texas daily the past 15 to 20 years.

I focused on the aerospace industry here because it is such a significant part of the Waco economic picture, Hegar said during an interview.

He mentioned SpaceX, which employs about 500 people, and the L3 Technologies plant at Texas State Technical College airport that modifies commercial and military aircraft and employs about 1,300 people, though it has experienced layoffs in recent years.

Kris Collins, senior vice president for economic development at the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, said Greater Waco has become home to more than 40 aviation- and aerospace-related companies.

The aerospace industry employs a highly educated and skilled workforce, Hegar said during his presentation. About 60 percent of its Texas employees have at least some college experience, compared to 47 percent of all employed Texans.

The aerospace industry also creates jobs that pay well above the statewide average, with the average full-time worker earning more than $97,000 a year.

Aerospace and other makers of transportation equipment contribute $9.8 billion to annual exports and create almost 177,000 direct and indirect Texas jobs, adding $12.9 billion to the states gross domestic product, according to a fact sheet Hegar distributed.

In all, Texas manufacturers accounted for more than 3 million direct and indirect jobs in 2016, and manufacturers exported $210 billion in goods and contributed $228 billion to the states GDP.

Texas has the 10th largest economy in the world, bigger than the U.S. neighbors of Mexico and Canada, and that of Russia as well, according to PolitiFact Texas.

Talk within the Trump administration of abolishing the North American Free Trade Agreement would prove harmful to the states economy, Hegar said. He urged the business community to push back against the idea.

Does it need reviewing? Yes. But to rip it up and throw it away would be a bad idea for the state of Texas, Hegar said.

Laredo has become the third-busiest port of entry among 29 in the United States that receive shipments of goods by land, sea and air, he said.

Before his talk with business leaders, Hegar ate lunch with Waco Mayor Kyle Deaver, McLennan County Judge Scott Felton and Waco Assistant City Manager Wiley Stem. Waco banker David Lacy, who serves as chairman of the Waco chambers public policy committee, and Jessica Attas, the chambers director of public policy, also attended the lunch.

Banker Rodney Kroll attended as a representative of the Waco Industrial Foundation, and Mark Reynolds attended as chairman of the chamber.

Attracting more manufacturing jobs has been a 50-year priority of the city of Waco, Lacy said during an interview.

Weve done well, but we can do better, he said. Id like a few more high-tech companies sprinkled into the mix.

Collins, who recruits industry, said the chambers pipeline of prospects considering a move to Greater Waco includes manufacturing companies, though she declined to discuss specifics of what they produce.

Addressing questions posed by attendees, Hegar said Hurricane Harvey inflicted $180 billion in damage on the Gulf Coast. Hundreds of thousands of residents suffered property damage due to flooding, but only an estimated 15 percent had flood insurance, he said.

This event will not necessarily impact the state budget, but local communities are devastated, Hegar said.

At least 100,000 vehicles were damaged, and the state will receive sales tax revenue on cars and trucks bought as replacements, helping to offset costs associated with assisting residents not receiving federal support.

He said property tax reform remains on the minds of many, especially as it relates to school funding, which creates the bulk of the pressure.

Texas proves attractive to business prospects because it has no state income tax, but high property taxes sometimes hamper negotiations, he said.

Our sales tax generated $28 billion last year, 58 percent of our state revenue. But the list of things exempt from sales tax is longer than the list of inclusions, Hegar said.

Broadening the list of items subject to sales tax could represent a solution to school funding squeezes, he said.

The Texas economy has created 300,000 jobs over the past year, and has averaged annual growth of 3.8 percent the last 20 years.

Last year, it was down to three-tenths of 1 percent due to falling oil prices and the loss of 160,000 oil-patch jobs, he said. But during the first quarter of this year, the rate is back up to 3.9 percent.
Twenty-nine months after the deadly skirmish at Twin Peaks, an attorney for the first biker set for trial said Thursday that his trial will start next week come hell or high water.

After more than two years of examining trials, hearings, motions to recuse judges and to disqualify prosecutors, appeals court rulings and a host of speedy trial demands, it appears that Jacob Carrizal, the president of the Dallas chapter of the Bandidos, will stand trial next week.

Judge Matt Johnson of Wacos 54th State District Court held a brief pretrial status conference Thursday and took up a few housekeeping matters involving discovery issues raised by Carrizals attorney, Casie Gotro, of Houston.

After the hearing, Gotro, who successfully fought to have 19th State District Judge Ralph Strother recused from hearing Carrizals case, said she will be ready for trial next week.

If there are no last-minute delay requests, Carrizal will be the first of 154 bikers indicted in the Twin Peaks melee to go to trial.

About 150 prospective jurors have been told to report Monday morning to fill out questionnaires with about 65 questions, which prosecutors and Gotro and her co-counsel, Thomas Lane, will use to aid them in selecting a jury. The judge has scheduled jury selection to start Tuesday.

The questionnaires will ask potential jurors about their knowledge of the Twin Peaks incident, if they know parties or potential witnesses in the case and what they think about the so-called motorcycle lifestyle. They also will be asked what they know about the Bandidos and Cossacks, the two warring motorcycle groups that collided that Sunday afternoon at Twin Peaks, leaving nine dead and dozens wounded.

Johnson resolved some discovery issues Thursday involving cellphone records, police reports and other items Gotro has said she is entitled to before trial but had not yet received from the district attorneys office.

Carrizal, 36, of Dallas, an employee of the Dallas, Garland and Northeastern Railroad, is charged with one count of directing activities of a criminal street gang, one count of engaging in organized criminal activity with the underlying offense of murder and one count of engaging in organized criminal activity with the underlying offense of aggravated assault.
George Baer

July 18, 1942 - Oct. 3, 2017

George Ronald Baer, aged 75, passed away on Tuesday, October 3, 2017, surrounded by his loving family. A visitation will be from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., Saturday, October 7, at Lake Shore Funeral Home in Waco, TX. A graveside service with military honors is scheduled for 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, October 10, at Waco Memorial Park.

He was born on July 18, 1942, in Waco, Texas. Ronnie served his country for five years in the United States Marine Corps, including one tour in the Vietnam theater. After his years in the service, Ronnie worked as a plasterer for Baer Lathing and Plastering, and participated in the construction of countless public buildings in Waco and around the state of Texas.

Ronnie was an avid fisherman, hunter, and outdoorsman. He was known for his dedication to his family and community, his generous smile, and his sparkling wit.

Ronnie was preceded in death by his parents, George and Joy Baer.

He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Carol Jones Baer of Waco; his sister, Judy (Roger) Warren of Waco; daughters, LeeAnn (Craig) Wilson of Axtell, Missy (Paul) Roberts of Leander, and Kim (Kip) Oren of Driftwood; grandchildren, Emily Roberts, Holly Roberts, Tyler Wilson, Skot Roberts, Jordin Gwyn, and Shafer Oren II; and many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be directed to Providence Hospice of Waco.

The family would like to thank the nurses, doctors, and staff of Providence Hospice.

"Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time." -Colossians 4:5

Thoughts and memories may be shared at www.LakeShoreFH.com.
ASHLAND  Norm Regier will be the featured speaker at the Men in Mission meeting on Saturday, Oct. 7 at American Lutheran Church in Ashland. Coffee is served at 6:30 a.m. and the free-will-offering breakfast will begin at 6:45 a.m.

Regier was born and reared on a farm near Mountain Lake, Minn. It was there where he learned the fundamentals of life  relationships with his parents, siblings and the Lord. Obedience, work and perseverance were expected and lead to fulfillment and even joy at times.

His passion is to invest his life in others by teaching them the same fundamentals he learned as a lad in Minnesota. He has taught music at Febias College of Bible, Manila, Philippines (SEND International), Grace University in Omaha, Briercrest Bible College in Caronport, Saskatchewan and Lincoln East High and Zeman Elementary School in Lincoln.

During retirement he has been substitute teaching in Lincoln Public Schools and sharing Christ with No Place Left Network.

He is married to Nancy and together they have four married daughters, and 11 grandchildren.

The Men in Mission Romans Bible Study will be held Saturday, Oct. 21 at 7 a.m., at Ashland Bible Church.
WAHOO  A grand jury called in Saunders County District Court Sept. 26 regarding two recent Saunders County inmate deaths decided there was no criminal wrongdoing regarding their deaths.

Inmates Robert Imus, 46, and Gage Mills, 20, both died while in custody of the Saunders County Sheriffs department.

According to the grand jury report, Imus died of methamphetamine toxicity July 29 at Saunders Medical Center in Wahoo and Mills died of suicide by self inflicted wound Aug. 12 at Bryan LGH West in Lincoln.

Imus was found unresponsive in his cell July 29. Life-saving efforts were conducted by jail staff and emergency responders before being transported to SMC.

According to the grand jury report, Imus was pronounced dead by a physician at SMC.

Imus grand jury received evidence ant testimony from Nebraska State Patrol Investigator Nicholas Fredrick, nurse practitioner with the Saunders County jail Wauneta Kempf and Jail Administrator Bryan Styskal.

Mills was found unresponsive in his cell Aug. 8 and life saving efforts were conducted by jail staff and first responders.

Mills was transported to SMC and subsequently to Bryan LGH West where he was put in a medically induced coma.

He was later pronounced brain dead by physicians on Aug. 10 and taken off life support.

Mills was pronounced dead Aug. 12 due to suicide by self-inflicted wound.

Mills grand jury received evidence and testimony from Styskal, Saunders County Sheriff Investigator Jay Morrow and Jail Officer Zahira Marquez.

A grand jury of 16 members voted unanimously in both cases to render no true bill.

This means that the grand jury decided there was no criminal wrongdoing of any third party regarding the deaths, said Saunders County Attorney Steven Twohig.

The decision cannot be appealed, he added.

Saunders County District Court Clerk Patty McEvoy said these are the fourth and fifth grand juries in her 17 years with the county, but there have been three in the last two years.

The most recent grand jury was approximately two years ago in the death of Stanley Bane, who died in custody, but was not in jail, Twohig said.
The station house officer got himself in to trouble after he offered his seat to the controversial Godwoman, wore her chunari in reverence and stood beside her with hands folded.

By Munish Pandey: A day after self-styled Godwoman Radhe Maa landed in Delhi's Vivek Vihar police station and in the SHO's seat amid cheer, the 48-year-old has jumped in defense of SHO Sanjay Sharma, who stands suspended.

"I wanted to use the washroom and that is why I went to the police station. I saw an empty chair and sat on it, as I was not aware that it is the SHO's seat," Radhe Maa said today.

advertisement

She added that the SHO then requested her with folded hands to vacate his chair, which she readily did.

"He (SHO) does not even know me. I had no intention to disrespect the Delhi Police or the SHO of the station," Radhe Maa explained.

The station house officer got himself in to trouble after he offered his seat to the controversial Godwoman, wore her chunari in reverence and stood beside her with hands folded.

The Godwoman on Thursday did not only enjoy a heartfelt reception but a floral welcome too at the East Delhi Police Station.

'WHAT IS WRONG IN GIVING RESPECT'

According to reports, she visited the police station at around 1 am for what is believed to be for a matter pertaining to her security. Following the incident, the DCP ordered an inquiry and the SHO was transferred to district lines but later suspended.

Sanjeev Gupta, 'caretaker of Radhe Maa' also issued a statement, expressing disappointment over cops facing disciplinary action for giving her respect.

"She went to police station because she wanted to use toilet. There is nothing wrong if police people showed her respect. She is maa for us. We are disappointed that the police officer has to face this action," he said.

In a video footage obtained, the policemen at the Vivek Vihar Police Station were also seen singing bhajans with Radhe Maa.

WHO IS RADHE MAA?

The 48-year-old Radhe Maa was born in Gurdaspur district of Punjab as Sukhwinder Kaur, who studied till class IV. Sukhwinder Kaur was married off at 17 to one Mohan Singh.

To support back up her husband's meagre earning, Sukhwinder Kaur stitched clothes as teenager. After Mohan Singh went to Qatar in search of better job, Sukhwinder Kaur, at 23, became a disciple of Mahant Ram Deen Das of 1008 Paramhans Dera of Mukerian in Hoshiarpur district.

Ram Deen Das gave her the title of Radhe Maa after initiating her in tantric learning. Later, Radhe Maa moved to Mumbai and made it her base. She was at the centre of controversy in Mumbai after Niki Gupta complained to police that Radhe Maa incited her in-laws to harass her for dowry.

--- ENDS ---

advertisement
The contests are crucial for Congress, but perhaps even more for CM Vasundhara Raje who has a year before she seeks a fresh mandate in December 2018.

In Rajasthan, three untimely deaths have prompted fresh polls - two for Parliament and one to the state assembly. The contests are crucial, both for the top Congress leaders - Sachin Pilot, C.P. Joshi and Jitendra Singh Bhanwar - associated with the seats, but perhaps even more for chief minister Vasundhara Raje who has a point to prove a year before she seeks a fresh mandate in December 2018.

The dates aren't in as yet, but there's huge interest in whether or not Pilot, the state Congress chief, will contest from Ajmer, the seat he lost in 2014. Handed the reins of the state unit in January 2014, Pilot's decision to contest the Lok Sabha from Ajmer instead of campaigning across Rajasthan-months after the party was reduced to a mere 21 seats in the state assembly in December 2013-has often been questioned. Then, conveniently, he was able to lay his defeat at former Congress CM Ashok Gehlot's door. He will have no such cover this time.

advertisement

The 'maharaja' of the erstwhile princely state, Bhanwar, Jitendra Singh-long a part of Rahul Gandhi's inner circle-faces a similar dilemma in Alwar. A bypoll defeat will raise serious questions about his claim to his family bastion-a seat he had lost in 2014.

The third election, to the Mandalgarh assembly segment of Bhilwara, is a matter of personal pride for Joshi, a chief ministerial aspirant like Pilot. A victory in the segment would raise his stature within the state Congress.

But CM Raje has the biggest stake riding on the three bypolls. Sulking until she led the party to an unexpected victory in Dholpur in April, she has enthused the BJP rank and file which is hoping for a repeat of the 2014 Lok Sabha victory, when it took all 25 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

The renewed exuberance also got a push from BJP chief Amit Shah's three-day visit in September, following which the party appointed Chandra Shekhar of the RSS as its organising secretary. Adding momentum to this was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to an RSS event, to inaugurate the Pratap Gaurav Kendra, a memorial for Maharana Pratap in Udaipur, on August 29. He also laid the foundation stones for many other state schemes.

Meanwhile, CM Raje has her hands full in an unruly season. Communal violence flared up in Pratapgarh on Ramnavami and Moharram; parts of the walled city in Jaipur also had to be placed under curfew on September 8, after the minority community resorted to arson to protest an anti-encroachment drive. And in the CM's home constituency, Jhalawar-Baran, Pilot has been mobilising farmers seeking crop loan waivers. This, after the state government gave in and set up a committee to examine the waivers announced by other states following a shutdown by farmers in Sikar on September 11-12.

Raje and her government face rising anti-incumbency across Rajasthan with crumbling governance and the terrible state of civic amenities, including city roads. Pilot and Gehlot leave no opportunity to fuel this sentiment at public forums. In this turbulent scenario, the bypolls are sure to be read as portents of the way things are headed in Rajasthan.

advertisement

--- ENDS ---
The report prepared for the Education Council details the 2016 results of Nationally Consistent Collection of Data on School Students with Disability  information collected by schools which will help determine school funding from next year. These figures feed into the schooling resource standard, which measures how much government funding schools are entitled to. Australian Education Union federal president Correna Haythorpe said the data  which the union obtained via freedom of information  revealed "alarming discrepancies". "In 2017, schools considered to be funded above the schooling resource standard are suddenly projected to sit significantly below it in 2018, when the need of their students cannot possibly have changed to such a drastic degree," she said. Lauriston principal Susan Just said the data the school had collected on students with a disability was confidential. "We hope that all students with individual needs will be recognised in the school's funding allocation," she said.

"It is oversimplifying the process to say Lauriston has gone from overfunded to underfunded. The new needs-based funding model is different to the old system, and the criteria have changed." She said enrolments fluctuated and the needs of students changed, so it was misleading to predict how much funding the school would receive in the future. In 2017, Lauriston was considered overfunded because it received 130 per cent of its funding entitlement from the Commonwealth and state government. More than 102 per cent of this came from the Commonwealth, but this has been revised down to 49.6 per cent for next year. Under the new Gonski school funding model, the federal government must provide 80 per cent of needs-based funding to private schools, which will lead to significant funding increases for these schools. State governments are expected to make up the remaining 20 per cent.

The opposite has occurred at non-government schools considered less needy. They will therefore receive less generous funding increases under Gonski 2.0  Haileybury moved from 78.7 to 85.8 per cent of its funding entitlement, Penleigh and Essendon Grammar increased from 80.06 to 82.9 per cent and the Catholic education commission of Victoria increased from 75.02 to 79.8 per cent. An Education Department spokesman said the figures were not comparable and had changed to reflect current financial settings and student data. "The main driver of the differences in estimated funding for these schools is that they reported significantly higher counts of students with disability in the 2016 NCCD [disability data] compared to the less detailed census data," he said. He said payments for 2018 would be based on more recent disability data, which is being finalised. The new model includes four categories of disability (physical, cognitive, sensory and social/emotional) and students are funded accorded to the level of support that they receive. Public education lobby group Save Our Schools, which is run by former Productivity Commission economist Trevor Cobbold, analysed the data and said it showed "unjustifiable increases" in Commonwealth funding for several of Melbourne's "most elite schools".

"Some schools with more than 75 per cent or more of their students from the top socio-educational advantage quarter will get increases of between $2.6 million and $3.2 million," Mr Cobbold said. Independent Schools Victoria chief executive Michelle Green said previous methods for assessing the eligibility of funding for students with a disability were narrow. "It is misleading to compare figures on students with disability and any related allocation of government funding, when methods of assessing them have changed from one system to another," she said. "In many cases, assessing a student as having a disability  asthma, for example  does not entail additional government funding." She said the organisation was committed to ensuring that the data was collected consistently across sectors.
An elderly Perth woman has been left shaken after an opportunistic robber entered her home as she was outside putting rubbish in her bin - stealing her purse, phone and car.

The man, believed to be in his 20s or 30s, ran into the 85-year-old's Eden Hill house around 8am Thursday.

An elderly WA woman was robbed after taking rubbish out on Thursday morning.

A police spokesman said the man then confronted the woman when she walked back inside.

"He threatened and pushed the victim before stealing her purse, mobile phone and car keys," he said.
WA's peak hotel body has called for the state government to start regulating 'quasi-hotels' after a report revealed Airbnb is booming in the state.

The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre report on The Impact of Airbnb on WA's Tourism Industry, released on Friday, showed WA had more than 8000 Airbnb listings in March 2017 - most offering short-term stays in an entire house or apartment.

There are more than 8000 Airbnb listings in WA. Credit:Josh Robenstone

The shared accommodation platform now accounts for an estimated 25 per cent of WA's room capacity, with supply increasing by around four per cent each month.

Australian Hotels Association WA chief executive Bradley Woods said the platform, which was originally launched as a means for people to rent out their 'spare rooms', had become more like a hotel service.
By PTI: London, Oct 6 (PTI) One of the worlds most elusive species of songbird may be so hard to spot because it never existed in the first place, according to a study.

The Liberian Greenbul has eluded experts for decades after it was spotted in a forest in the West African country in the early 1980s.

The only specimen that exists differs from the commonly found Icterine Greenbul by the distinctive white spots on its feathers.

advertisement

The Liberian Greenbul has long been one of the worlds most poorly known bird species and was listed as Critically Endangered up until 2016.

Now, DNA analysis by experts at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland has concluded that the Liberian Greenbul is most likely an unusual plumage variant of the Icterine Greenbul, possibly caused by nutritional deficiency while the feathers were growing.

The study, published in the Journal of Ornithology, compared DNA from the Liberian Greenbul specimen with DNA from the Icterine Greenbul and others and found there was no significant genetic difference between Icterine and Liberian Greenbuls.

Comparatively, studies of other species of greenbul revealed large genetic differences between different species, suggesting the lack of difference between the Icterine and the Liberian indicates they are the same bird.

"The Liberian Greenbul has gained almost mythical status since it was sighted in the 1980s," said Professor Martin Collinson, a geneticist from the University of Aberdeens Institute of Medical Sciences.

"We cant say definitively that the Liberian Greenbul is the same bird as the Iceterine Greenbul but we have presented enough evidence that makes any other explanation seem highly unlikely," said Collinson.

The Liberian Greenbul was seen on nine occasions between 1981 and 1984 in the Cavalla Forest in Eastern Liberia. The only known specimen was collected in January 1984 and described as species new to science.

The devastating civil wars that subsequently engulfed the country prevented any serious attempt by ornithologists to find any more individuals for another 25 years.

Targeted searches of the two known sites in 2010 and 2013 failed to find any sign of the bird, meaning the Liberian Greenbul had never been seen since the only known bird was shot. PTI SAR SAR

--- ENDS ---
At a tribal boys' hostel in Nashik on September 30, some 150 people danced around a young man dressed as Ravana, chanting "Ravan mandavi (king) ki jai!". In faraway Vidarbha, another tribal community in Katol forced the local administration to cancel the burning of Ravana effigies on Dussehra.

A counterculture movement is mobilising tribals and Dalits across several states, including Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and West Bengal. The Maharashtra Rajya Adivasi Bachao Abhiyan (MRABA) is uniting tribal communities and has come out against the "slander of Ravana". Besides prayers at six locations, it's pushing an alternative narrative: "Ravana did no wrong except abducting Sita. That too was an act of revenge, not lust," says MRABA chief Ashok Bagul. A tribal himself, Bagul points to festivals like Bohda and Dongaryadev, dedicated to the Lanka Medha (King of Lanka). In mass marriages it organises, MRABA has couples seek Ravana's blessings. Five such events were recently organised in and around Nashik.

advertisement

Nashik, in tribal folklore, was part of Ravana's kingdom and governed by his sister Surpanakha and her husband Marich. Local tribal leader Ramesh Bhoye echoes Bagul: "Ravana abducted Sita to avenge the disrespect to his sister".

While the movement is centred around Ravana worship, Bagul says the real purpose is to get tribals moolnivasi (original inhabitant) status and demand their right to resources. MRABA celebrates August 9 as moolnivasi din in keeping with the resolution the United Nations passed on 13 September 2007, establishing minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of indigenous peoples.

The Ravana worship, though, has the right wing worried. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's national sampark pramukh Aniruddha Deshpande says "Ravana glorification" will create a cultural divide in India. Sharad Shelke of Maharashtra's Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram (VKA) criticises MRABA for "corrupting tribals". He claims only two of the 45 tribes-Kokana and Bhilla-see Ravana as a hero. "The tribals narrate Ramkatha in their songs. In all of them, Ram wins," he says. VKA is now going about 'educating' tribals about 'their' sacrifices for the country. It has been organising lectures on how tribes like Magasa in UP and Bhilla in Rajasthan stood behind the locals against foreign intruders.

The new tribal assertion in Maharashtra is apparently driven by fears that the Devendra Fadnavis government could dilute tribal quotas, a move the CM himself denies.

--- ENDS ---
The Fourth Global Canine Forum was organized by the World Customs Organization (WCO) from 2 to 4 October 2017 in Prague, Czech Republic with the support of the Czech Customs Administration and funded by the Customs Cooperation Fund Japan (CCF/Japan).

This edition of the Global Canine Forum provided an open platform for over 120 experts from 44 countries to share the latest best practices and experience in terms of training for detector dogs and handlers.

The Forum was opened by Mrs. Alena Schillerova, Deputy Minister of Finance of the Czech Republic, and Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, Secretary General of the WCO. She acknowledged the long history of using dogs to detect contraband and protect society. Dr. Mikuriya stressed the important role played by sniffer dogs to detect explosives, illegal drugs, currency, and even electronics. He acknowledged the expertise and professionalism demonstrated by the Forum participants, and encouraged a proactive exchange of experience to combat criminal organizations worldwide. Secretary General Mikuriya also extended his gratitude to the Czech Customs Administration for hosting this important global event.

On the first day of the Forum, delegates visited the canine facility at Prague Airport where they were treated to a demonstration by detector dogs arranged by Czech Customs. These dogs are capable of searching for a wide variety of items, including drugs, firearms, tobacco, alcohol, CITES goods and, more recently, currency.

During the following two days of the Forum, participants actively exchanged knowledge and experience on various aspects regarding developments in the use of detector dogs, dog breeding, management of canine centres, and design of training programmes. They welcomed the establishment of the CENcomm Global K9 Forum virtual expert group by the WCO, and some countries also expressed an interest in having their canine centre accredited by the WCO as a Regional Dog Training Centre (RDTC).

The Chairperson Ms. Vendulka Hola brought the Forum to a close by highlighting the importance of holding regular meetings of experts in dog training, handling, breeding and research. This not only facilitates sharing of expertise but also promotes a network for multilateral collaboration among WCO Members. All the participants appreciated the hospitality of Czech Customs headed by Director General Milan Poulicek.
The WCO participated at the East African Community (EAC) donor roundtable on support for implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement which was held on Wednesday, 27 September 2017 at the EAC Secretariat Arusha, Tanzania. The EAC Secretariat organised the roundtable to review support offered by different development partners and identify new areas where further support to its Trade Facilitation agenda can be extended. The Partner States of the EAC are Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.

The Roundtable brought together senior Customs and Trade officials, Chairpersons of National Committees on Trade Facilitation from the EAC Partner States and a number of EAC development partners that included the WCO. The discussions where preceded by presentations on the overview of the TFA, the TFA facility, the WCOs Mercator Programme and the EAC action plan on implementation of the TFA

During the presentations, the meeting congratulated Rwanda and Kenya for having ratified the TFA and contributing to its official entry into force. The meeting also noted that all EAC countries of have made category A notifications and are making progress towards ratification.

The WCO addressed how support for trade facilitation measures including the WTO TFA is being provided through the Mercator Programme, using WCO instruments and tools as most of the TFA provisions relate to Customs. The WCO also highlighted a number of areas where support is being provided to the EAC under the Mercator framework among which is the implementation of the Regional Authorised Economic Operator Program and reaffirmed its continued support.

In addition, the WCO took part in a panel discussion on Monitoring and Evaluation of the TFA implementation efforts. The meeting was informed the topic aligned to Performance Measurement which is one of the six (6) priority areas of the WCO and highlights of initiatives including instruments and tools were presented.

In concluding the roundtable, the EAC and development partners agreed on specific recommendations and a way forward which includes submission by the EAC Secretariat of project proposals that need donor support. It was further agreed that the project proposals will be in line with the 5th EAC development Strategy.
The two iconic designers have announced the launch of a very special collection of shoes.

By Indo-Asian News Service: French luxury designer Christian Louboutin announced the launch of an exclusive collection of womens and mens shoes and small leather goods created of handcrafted saree fabrics from the archives of Indian designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee.

"Indian handicraft is the best of the best in the world. The luxuriance of Indian workmanship is at the maximum. I would love the world outside of India to love it as I do," Louboutin said in a statement.

advertisement

The two met in Sabyasachi's Mumbai boutique and that led to an immediate connection followed by sharing an adoration of India's culture, exquisite craftsmanship and love of food.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/discoveredition

"India has been at the heart of luxury since the age of the Maharajas. Working with Christian revisits that couture tradition, connecting our handicrafts with his eclectic point of view to create bespoke delights for cultural magpies," said Sabyasachi.

Also Read: Sabyasachi's new jewellery collection is as beautiful as his bridal garments

Women's shoe styles includes an exquisite thigh-high boot crafted with delicate leather strips designed to harness and highlight the leg. Aptly named Tall and Deep, a very few pairs will be available worldwide as an exclusive, made-to-measure item.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/suman_indianblog Picture courtesy: Instagram/suman_indianblog

For men, Louboutin chose to revisit select iconic styles from his collections. The Dandelion loafer received the Sabyasachi magic touch with an embroidered toe-cap recalling traditional Indian wedding shoes while Louis Junior is transformed into an incredibly rich patchwork of motifs and colours.

Picture courtesy: Instagram/louboutinworld

The Piloutin, an evening bag designed to look like a precious pillow, was created from Sabyasachi sari ribbons collection. As a declaration of love to the glamorous Bollywood actresses dressed in Sabyasachi, an adorable Poupette handbag charm was created to complement the bags, adorned with embroidered ribbons and crystals, said a statement.

The two associated first in July 2015, when Louboutin conspired to create the extraordinary shoes that walked the runway of Sabyasachi's annual couture show held in Mumbai, followed again in October 2016, with a small number of exquisite handbags added to pair with the shoes.

Next, came an invitation to "Sabya's" home city of Kolkata, and a rare visit to his private archive of saris and ribbons.

--- ENDS ---
The actor reveals that he rarely feels like dressing up, no matter what the world says he must do.

By Indo-Asian News Service: Actor Saif Ali Khan doesn't believe in having an airport look, but says he is under immense pressure to come up with one.

The actor feels one "should live in a society that looks within and not (at) what you're wearing".

Saif opened up about fashion and things associated with it during an episode of Yaar Mera Superstar Season 2. The episode will go on air on Saturday on Zoom channel, read a statement.

advertisement

Asked if he is lazy when it comes to some activity, Saif said: "Dress up, sometimes...If it's winter, I love dressing up. But if it's hot, I'm lazy to dress up. I'm also lazy to wake up, generally.

Also Read: 6 times Saif Ali Khan proved that he's the nawab of fashion

"I mean I like sleeping. I can give it 12 hours. I can do a 10 to 10. But that is very rare. That's when I'm catching up on my sleep. Like if I haven't slept a lot and then one day I can do it like a 12-hour, otherwise 7 hours I sleep...We should live in a society that looks within and not what you're wearing and all.

"Everyone shoots you and puts it up and then someone makes a fashion comment. Airport look! If I ever get an airport look, just come and slap me. I don't have an airport look but I'm under pressure to have."

Also Read: Ouch: Saif Ali Khan just wore formal shoes with pajamas

Has he come up with an airport look for himself?

"No. Never. My airport look is like a non-look," said the actor, whose wife Kareena Kapoor Khan is considered a fashion icon.

Saif is busy with the promotions of his forthcoming entertainer, Chef. Directed by Raja Krishna Menon, it's an Indian adaptation of the 2014 American film of the same name by Jon Favreau and is slated for release on Friday.

--- ENDS ---
The story is thought-provoking even today, amid the culture wars over the protection or restriction of women at Banaras Hindu University and elsewhere across the country.

The strong women of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's path-breaking novel, Srikanta, set in late 19th-early 20th century Bengal, may not seem as bold as they did in 1917, when the first part of the book was published. But veteran theatre director Akash Khurana's adaptation for the stage is a visual pleasure that charms despite some clumsy English and ill-considered gimmicks.

Part of Aadyam's third season, Khurana's Under the Gypsy Moon moves from Mumbai to Delhi this week for performances on October 7 and 8. The story is thought-provoking even today, amid the culture wars over the protection or restriction of women at Banaras Hindu University and elsewhere across the country. The production brings into focus several female characters who dared to live life on their own terms and who had a profound influence on the eponymous Srikanta, a dithering, educated young man who flitted "from one flower to another".

advertisement

Anada didi is fiercely loyal to her violent, good-for-nothing snake-charmer lover. The Dickens-quoting Abheya has a live-in relationship with the friend of her opium-addict husband. Rajlaxmi, who takes lessons in English from Srikanta as a child, becomes a dancing girl in a kotha, but later leaves it for an ashram to become a Vaishnavite. In the same ashram is Komal Latha, who is having an affair with Gauhar, a Muslim man writing the Ramayan. The stage, dominated by a large full moon and several gnarled banyan trees, is imaginatively lit up in many ways through the play, in keeping with the changing moods of the narrative. Adding to the aesthetic charm are musical pieces from Bengal-baul , Nazrul sangeet, Rabindra sangeet-as well as the Awadhi thumri, all richly sung, and accompanied by dances that delightfully combine traditional and modern steps.

While the Bengali flavour of the story is skilfully presented through snatches of dialogue and costumes, most of the play is in English. It is here that it falters. Some of the dialogue is awkward, jarring rather than establishing characters' identities. The gimmicks are bothersome too-the tiger and ghosts interrupt the story's narrative and aesthetic flow.

That apart, Under the Gypsy Moon will appeal to those who enjoy emotional stories from a different era, revolving around characters in search of themselves through platonic, physical or metaphysical relationships.

--- ENDS ---
Many major retailers will be closed on Thanksgiving Day
Advertisement

By West Kentucky Star Staff

Oct. 05, 2017 | PADUCAH, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Oct. 05, 2017 | 04:21 PM | PADUCAH, KY

Baptist Health Paducah is warning folks about a scam that involves people pretending to be employees of the hospital.



In a press release, the hospital says they have learned that several people have received phone calls from someone pretending to represent the hospital and asking for money.



The hospital and Baptist Health Foundation in Paducah remind everyone that they never solicit funds over the phone, so these calls are most likely part of a spoofing scam. Caller ID spoofing allows robo-callers and scammers appear as if they are calling from a local number.



Baptist Health advises the community to be cautious when receiving calls from anyone who claims to represent the hospital and asks for donations.



Never give out important financial information over the phone.






Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required.

Your Full Name: (optional)

Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required.
By West Kentucky Star Staff Oct. 06, 2017 | 03:53 AM | MCCRACKEN COUNTY, KY

A tip led to the arrest of two people on drug and warrant charges.

According to the McCracken County Sheriff's Department, deputies received information late Thursday night that 27-year-old Brandi Scott of Paducah was at a home on Greenvale Lane and had active warrants for her arrest. Upon arrival, Scott initially gave deputies a false name and birth date. She was arrested and taken to the McCracken County Regional Jail.

During the investigation, deputies saw 26-year-old Charles P Rodgers, also of Paducah, attempting to hide a methamphetamine smoking pipe and some meth in a couch. Rodgers also had active warrants for his arrest. Rodgers was also arrested and taken to the McCracken County Regional Jail.



Upon being booked into the jail, it was discovered that Rodgers had a straw which contained residue inside his wallet.

Rodgers was charged with possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, tampering with physical evidence and promoting contraband. Scott was charged with a McCracken County Parole warrant, and giving officer false identifying information.
Advertisement

By West Kentucky Star Staff

Oct. 06, 2017 | CALVERT CITY, KY

By West Kentucky Star Staff Oct. 06, 2017 | 07:22 AM | CALVERT CITY, KY

Northbound traffic on the Purchase Parkway is changing to the new alignment in the Interstate 24/Purchase Parkway Exit 25 Interchange work zone in Marshall County this morning.



The traffic shift will open "Ramp A, which is the flyover ramp to carry traffic to the end of the Parkway at US 62 in Calvert City and the exit for motorists seeking to transition to I-24 westbound.



Motorists should be aware that access to I-24 westbound and Calvert City via the Parkway will require them to exit off the Purchase Parkway to the right of the new alignment. If northbound motorists remain on the Parkway as it was they will arrive at the merge point with I-24 heading eastbound.



Permanent signage will not yet be in place, but there will be message boards and temporary signage to direct motorists. There will also be some pavement markings that will restrict northbound Parkway traffic to one lane at times on the approach to the new ramp.



There is still a significant amount of work to complete before other portions of the new interchange can be opened to traffic.




Starting October 7, Saturday, disputed AIADMK General Secretary will be in Chennai- which has been duly fortified by the EPS government in tune with Chinamma's popularity with masses and affinity with MLAs.

By India Today Web Desk: Jailed AIADMK leader VK Sasikala has been granted a five-day parole by the Karnataka prison authorities, days after she filed for a 15-day bail to attend to her ailing husband in Chennai.

Starting October 7, Saturday, disputed AIADMK General Secretary will be on parole in Chennai- which has been fortified by the EPS government in tune with Chinamma's popularity with masses and affinity with MLAs.

advertisement

In addition, the Palaniswami government has set a slew of conditions to be met with regarding the 60-year-old's visit in order to contain any untoward incident.

The Tamil Nadu government laid down rules like, Sasikala be confined to her house and travel only to and fro the hospital.

The EPS faction wary of Sasikala's influence over party MLAs also demanded that the beleaguered AIADMK leader not be allowed to meet any political figurehead.

According to reports, scores of Sasikala's supporters gathered outside Parappana Agrahara Central Prison in Bengaluru today to catch her glimpse.

#WATCH: VK Sasikala leaves from Bengaluru's Central Jail after being granted a parole of 5 days to visit her ailing husband pic.twitter.com/llHAcW560q- ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2017

Her parole plea expedited today after Bengaluru prison authorities received a mail from the Chennai Commissionerate confirming that her husband Natarajan is indeed unwell.

The letter also mentioned that Sasikala's lawyer Ashokan will be giving surety on her behalf.

With inputs from Rohini Swamy and Pramod Madhav

--- ENDS ---
Loading...

In space, nobody can hear you howl. Laika was the world's first astronaut  she just happened to be a dog. In 1957, at the start of the space race, Soviet scientists scooped a stray off the streets and sent her into orbit aboard Sputnik 2. Her mission came a mere month after the first ever satellite launch. Laika would boldly go where no living creature had been before.

It should be a simple story  not only a brilliant adventure with a perfect protagonist, but a story that proves that anything's possible, no matter what your start in life. But Bryony Hannah and Avye Leventis's version never lifts off. Rather than focusing on Laika's tale, they put it in parallel with a human equivalent  a female astronaut Val, mother to Sami, about to head off on a mission to Mars. Both she and Laika are brave enough to broach new ground. Neither of them is lucky enough to return.

Anna Martine Freeman makes a fine female role model  a corrective to the endless images of spacemen  but her story's unnecessary. Josie Daxter, who bounds around in a shaggy brown jumper, could have waved a banner for the pioneering woman in a more subtle way. As it is, the two stories double up  a melee of training montages and anti-gravity aerial routines  without either elevating the other. Laika ends up on the sidelines of her own story.

In the process, the messaging gets somewhat mixed. Told from a childs-eye perspective, Laika stresses the strength and determination of working mothers, but in pairing a dog destined to die in space with a mother heading to Mars, Hannah and Leventis end up with an abandonment narrative. It's not entirely clear whether Val ever planned on returning  a huge thing to handle as lightly as this.

It doesn't help that the show's style's a muddle  too many ingredients doing too many things. There are floating toys and portholes on the world, glow-in-the-dark constellations and light bulb stars. In one tangent, an usher chases Laika through the theatre; another overloads the young audience with an astronomy lecture. Rather than refining its story, Laika piles up moments and routines, ending up both distracted and altogether diffuse  a case of the tale wagging the dog.

Laika runs at the Unicorn until 12 November.
Williamson, WV (25661)

Today

Cloudy with periods of rain. High near 45F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall around a half an inch..

Tonight

Cloudy. Slight chance of a rain shower. Low 37F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph.
Saudi Arabian King Salman's shiny-shiny escalator got stuck midway while transporting him down to the ground as he landed in Moscow, and Twitter couldn't keep calm about it.

By India Today Web Desk: The plan was, Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz will fly to Moscow in fancy airplane, come down from it on a fancy golden escalator, and go on to discuss oil market and the Syrian crisis with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

But, alas, all did not go as planned. As luck would have it, King Salman's shiny-shiny escalator got stuck midway while transporting him down to the ground.

advertisement

No matter how much the officials fretted over the machine, the escalator wouldn't budge, leaving the 81-year-old king pretty confused and helpless.

Finally, with nothing else to be done, King Salman eventually started descending down the steps on foot, followed by his retinue.

And as the king, who is known for his extravagant travels, took one step at a time of an ordinary task that common public does unquestionably every day, witter couldn't keep calm about it.

You can watch the viral video here:

Saudi Arabia king uses golden escalator as a airplane stairs. When he arrived to Moscow yesterday, his golden stairs got stuck. pic.twitter.com/h3o1UD8s8p- English Russia (@EnglishRussia1) October 5, 2017

--- ENDS ---
The Houston Nature Center will be having a Fall Color Celebration from 1 to 3:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 14.

Explore color under the guidance of Houston Arts Resource Council members by painting with leaves and/or making a leaf relief. There also will be the opportunity to help press cider and receive a sample to take home.

Cost is $3 per activity. All ages and skill levels are welcome. The Houston Nature Center is located one block north and west of the intersection of Hwys. 16 and 76 in Trailhead Park. RSVPs appreciated by calling 507-896-4668 or emailing nature@acegroup.cc.

The event will be held rain or shine if we have enough interest.
Ryuta Nakajima may not be able to talk to squid in the traditional sense, but hes certainly trying to listen.

The associate professor of painting and drawing at the University of Minnesota Duluth calls squid and other cephalopods, such as octopus and cuttlefish, creative partners in the art he creates. His exhibit, A Squid and I: An Art and Science Symbiosis, is the result of this partnership.

The exhibit opens to the public Friday, Oct. 6 at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum. Nakajima held a Walk and Talk on Thursday afternoon prior to a reception celebrating the exhibit.

By capturing how these sea creatures react to classic and contemporary art, Nakajima hopes to discover how their perception of reality compares to that of humans.

We like to think that what we do is much more complex than what they do, but I dont think it is, Nakajima said. If we can actually talk to a squid, we can talk to anybody and everything else.

His work involves placing the unique specimen in an environment that they would adapt to through camouflage.

This act of mimicking the environment is similar to todays fashion world, and the human desire to blend in through one way or another.

Watching a cuttlefish disappear into a coral reef is one thing, but watching it blend into the colors of a painting is truly remarkable.

The cephalopods are fascinating creatures by themselves, Nakajima said, some communicating through bioluminescence and reaching their tentacles out to form unique shapes. However, its their ability to fool observers that makes them truly special life forms.

To make capturing this artwork possible, Nakajima works with a number of scientists to engineer aquacultures for his subjects to exist in.

Then he is able to insert artwork to test the visual range the specimen can adapt to. This includes everything from Picasso and Monet to Japanese animation and Star Wars.

Through the creatures interacting with the images at face value, the eye is challenged with new perceptions of the artwork.

Theres this strange separation between the humanities and science, and the competition that goes on between them, Nakajima said, adding that this creates a disservice to the advancement of humanity.

This is us going to an alien world, said Jon Swanson, MMAM curator of collections and exhibits. Even if you know nothing about science, art or cephalopods, come in and learn something. Its fun and educational.

Katelin Kent is a Winona State University student whose interest was sparked by the balance struck by the exhibit.

I was really excited to see how he combined art and science, Kent said.

Nakajima often goes deep sea diving, and said there is less life to see every time he does so.

A large squid made of plastic trash often found in the ocean hangs from the ceiling in the center of the exhibit and is an exemplification of the damage currently being done the marine ecosystem.

Nakajimas goal is to deepen our understanding and kinship to this creature in the water.

Greta Berg was sketching a picture of one of the large images of squid after the opening presentation. She said squid are just fascinating, before working on the details of each tentacle.
Winona Area Public Schools has no plans to use eminent domain to expand Washington-Kosciusko Elementary School, Superintendent Rich Dahman said Thursday, responding to residents concerns that the district might force them to sell their property.

In April, the district approached five property owners near W-K to gauge their interest in selling, which would make way for the expansion of the east-end elementary school.

Dahman said two of the five property owners expressed interest, contingent on the passage of the districts facilities referendum Nov. 7. Those property owners remain open to the idea, he added, based on recent talks they had with district.

The district will not pursue agreements with property owners who are against selling, he added.

A report by the Daily News last month found that at least three of the property owners  the three directly adjacent to W-K across Wabasha Street  were lukewarm, at best, about striking a deal.

David Dulek, one such homeowner, said hed like to continue living in the house his grandfather built almost 70 years ago, but added that he would probably sell if he was the only holdout on his block.

A homeowner who asked to remain anonymous expressed a similar sentiment, saying that, at their stage of life, she and her husband would rather not move.

John Meier, the owner of Bobs Home Heating and Cooling, said he is firmly against relocating his business, saying: As a small business owner, its hard. Youre running a business, and you have these big guys pounding on your door.

According to Dahman, the district hopes to use the land across Wabasha Street for off-street parking and greenspace, although district officials say the referendum and facilities plan could go forward even if the district fails to acquire more land.

Kelly Halvorsen, the districts director of learning and teaching, said the school board approved the facilities plan in June with the understanding that more property might not become available.

W-K currently sits on two acres, and it would house roughly 500 students under the districts plan.

The state of Minnesota recommends that new elementary schools, regardless of size, sit on no fewer than 10 acres.
By India Today Web Desk: Things are not going well for Bigg Boss 11 contestant Shivani Durga. In yesterday's episode Shivani broke down saying that people in the house are spreading gossip about her supposed tantric powers, and seeked comfort in fellow contestant Benafshah's arms. Meanwhile, in the big bad world outside, Shivani has upset the apex body of seers called Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP) by participating in Bigg Boss 11.

advertisement

A while ago, the seers of the group released a statement saying that they might release a second list of fake babas with Shivani's name in it. The list, which is said to release after Diwali, already has Bigg Boss 10 contestant Om Swami's name in it, according to a report in the Hindustan Times.

The parishad's president Mahant Narendra Giri said that he will not think twice before declaring Shivani a fake baba if she continues to associate herself with such shows.

"For money and media mileage, such self-styled fake saints take part in such shows or give media bytes. We will not tolerate this and will induct such controversial names in fake saint list, which is being compiled," HT quoted the parishad's head as saying.

Interestingly, Shivani Durga had claimed in one of her promos for Bigg Boss 11 that she wants to be a part of the show in order to redeem the name of saints all over the country.

--- ENDS ---
Winona-based Hiawatha Broadband Communications has been bought by an Indiana-based company, with the purchase expected to close at the end of the year.

Schurz Communications of Mishawaka, Ind., completed the purchase on Oct. 3 and announced it early Friday.

Schurz said in its announcement that the HBC will continue to operate under its own name and be based out of Winona, and that the purchase was part of their efforts of expanding into communities with growth potential.

Schurz president Todd Schurz said in a press release that the company will continue to function as a local player and it hopes to improve service and technology with the purchase.

HBC has been an integral part of southeast Minnesota for 20 years, and thats not going to change, Schurz said. We plan to continue investing in the business and the employees because we know that our success is at the local level where the day-to-day business will be run.

HBC chief executive officer Dan Pecarina said in the announcement that they carefully considered if Schurz was the right company to carry forward the true spirit and intent of what the HBC team has worked hard to create in Minnesota and ultimately decided they were and that theyll help HBC grow into something better in the future.

Schurz believes, as we do, that a good company is actively engaged in and cares about the communities they serve, Pecarina said. Schurz focuses on employees and customers and believes that local employees making the day-to-day decisions serve the customer best.

HBC operates a broadband network along with a telephone and video service.

It also has wholesale, construction, business consulting and engineering divisions and is the operator of the RS Fiber Cooperative gigabit fiber-to-the-farm project in Minnesota.

HBC serves over 20 cities and rural communities in southeaster Minnesota and has been expanding broadband further into Winona County over the past several years.

Schurz communications consists of cable, newspaper publishing and digital media.

The company publishes daily and weekly newspapers in medium and small markets, and owns cable companies and phone directories.

Schurz has businesses in Arizona, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania and South Dakota.

Schurz believes, as we do, that a good company is actively engaged in and cares about the communities they serve. Dan Pecarina, CEO of HBC
I have had two envious work assignments in Puerto Rico, one on the northern coast and one on the southern. My experiences in both cases were picturesque and charming, as I enjoyed pleasant Caribbean springtime respites from my Western Pennsylvania doldrums. My heart aches today as I think of the challenges these residents face as they seek to survive the immediate shortages, prioritize their needs, and work to establish their new normal. While San Juan and Washington make critical decisions to assist the commonwealth, it is also important that we recognize similar vulnerabilities on the mainland.

In preparation for my 2016 trip to the island, I read about Puerto Ricos water shortages. According to CNN (Aug. 4, 2015), the government was rationing residential water use, turning off tap water in people homes, sometimes for days at a time. Although the immediate cause of the acute shortage was a reduced level of rainfall, the chronic problem, according to many residents, was that the government has mismanaged the islands water supply and pipes for years.

As Maria approached the island, we read about an unstable electric grid, in serious need of repair. Simply put, the island was not prepared for Maria. It was a literal perfect storm, with a direct hit of a powerful hurricane, on a bankrupt island, with a decaying infrastructure. The cataclysmic results were easy to predict. Our hearts continue to bleed for the struggling residents.

While Washington continues to bicker about partisan issues like health care and tax reform, very little has been done to address the nations crumbling infrastructure, a bipartisan issue. In its 2016 report, Failure to Act: Closing the Infrastructure Investment Gap for Americas Economic Future, the American Society of Civil Engineers argue that 10 key sectors of infrastructure are currently inadequate to meet our needs, let alone to address the increasing demands of a growing society. We need to invest in our aviation, bridges, drinking water, electric grid, inland waterways, ports, public transit, rail, roads, and wastewater. Failure to make these investments will result in growing economic waste.

We can be certain that natural disasters will continue to happen. We dont know exactly where and when they will occur, but the hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, floods, and blizzards will keep coming. We have taken some steps to prepare for these by tightening our building codes. Nevertheless, we seem to be unwilling to invest in our crumbling infrastructure.

Of course, such infrastructure work requires money, and we have spent ourselves into a $20 trillion hole. Just as Puerto Rico found it impossible to improve its infrastructure, because of its bankrupt finances, the mainland is staring into the face of the same scenario. We increase social services every time the Democrats are in power. We reduce taxes every time the Republicans are in power. Meanwhile, our bridges continue to crumble, our drinking water is contaminated, while Nero fiddles.

Granted, our tax code should be simplified and our health insurance system needs attention. Meanwhile, however, our current government has done little to address the bipartisan issue of a crumbling infrastructure. If we continue with the status quo, the next natural disaster may take out 100 percent of our power, phone service, gasoline delivery, and drinking water supplies.

Louis Pasteur said, Chance favors the prepared mind. Puerto Rico was not prepared, and it has not been favored. We have been warned. Failure to plan for the rainy day will result in cataclysmic loss. I pray that the lessons coming from Puerto Rico will encourage all Americans to strengthen our infrastructure to ease the losses of the next disaster, whether it is named or not.
Democrats dont need to warn Americans and GOP leaders about the dangers of a Donald Trump presidency. Several credible Republican journalists and commentators are doing it for them.

David Frum, former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, conservative political commentator and an editor at the Atlantic, has written frequently about the perils of the Trump presidency. In the March issue of the Atlantic, he wrote, The Trump presidency will corrode public integrity and the rule of law  and also do untold damage to American global leadership, the Western alliance, and democratic norms around the world. The damage has already begun, and it will not be soon or easily undone.

Frum ends by saying, We are living through the most dangerous challenge to the free government of the United States that anyone alive has encountered.

Kathleen Parker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning conservative journalist, wrote in the Washington Post on July 4, Bizarre. Absurd. Ridiculous. Embarrassing. Trump. Or Americas first toddler president. Take your pick.

She was referring to the doctored clip Trump tweeted of himself taking down a wrestler, with the CNN logo photo-shopped onto his face. She concluded that our stature as a nation is threatened by his immature rants. We look like fools because our president so convincingly plays one.

Before the election, in 2015, George Will, another Pulitzer Prize-winning conservative columnist, observed in the Washington Post, It is perhaps quixotic to try to distract Trumps supporters with facts, which their leader, who is no stickler for dignity, considers beneath him.

This May, he wrote in the Washington Post that Trump has a dangerous disability and is not capable of sequential thought, which is dangerous to a president.

What is most alarming is not that Trump has entered his eighth decade unscathed by even elementary knowledge about the nations history. The most dangerous thing, he said,  is that he does not know what it is to know something.

He went on to cite Trump stating that Andrew Jackson was angry about the Civil War that began 16 years after Jacksons death. Trump made it even worse when he declared, People dont realize, you know, the Civil War, if you think about it, why? People dont ask that question, but why was there the Civil War?

Will responds, seemingly trying not to laugh, that library shelves are groaning under the weight of books that explain why and how the Civil War started in answer to all the questions that have been asked about it.

Kurt Bardella, who worked many years for Republican members of Congress, was a spokesman for Breitbart News and is CEO of the communications firm Endeavor Strategies, on Sept. 7 told USA Today, I worked for Republicans and Breitbart. Trump made me see whats wrong with the GOP. He elaborated,  it took the reality of the Trump administration to force me to confront some of the ugly realities about the GOP that, for years, I completely ignored because that was my team.

In an Aug. 19, 2016, column for The Hill, Bardella said Breitbart, under Steven Bannon, became Trumps propaganda machine. He said he would vote for Hillary Clinton because, Donald Trump is dangerous for America and is surrounding himself with a team that will empower him to leave a lasting mark on the political discourse in this country. Whether he wins this election or not, he is building an organization that ensures that this personal brand of nihilism continues to have a platform.

Charles Sykes, a longtime conservative talk show host on WTMJ in Milwaukee and editor of Right Wisconsin, admitted in a Sept. 21 article for Newsweek, that it was painful to write, I realized that conservatives had created an alternate reality bubble  one that I had helped shape.

He noted that Republicans were blinded by crackpots and bigots in their midst and Somehow a movement based on real ideas  such as economic freedom and limited government  had devolved into a tribe that valued neither principle nor truth.

He echoed what many Americans are thinking about the cowardly Republican leaders in Congress who refuse to act against a president who is, according to a growing number of their fellow Republicans, a danger to our nation, By failing to push back against the racist birther-conspiracy theory  among other harmful, batty ideas  conservatives failed a moral and intellectual test with significant implications for the future.

These are only some of the many prominent Republicans who are frightened of the damage this president is doing and will continue to do to our nation if GOP leaders dont act soon. Longtime, serious observers of the political scene who care about our country are warning them of the danger of an out-of-control, ethics-free president.

Are they listening?
The nonprofit Western Governors University is either a great experiment in higher education that has hit a bump in the road, or a flawed institution that is not providing its 83,000 enrolled students  2,455 of whom live in Missouri  with the education they deserve. The first viewpoint comes from educators and many university alumni; the second is from the inspector generals office of the U.S. Department of Education.

Neither side disputes the online university is innovative and has made higher education more affordable and accessible for low-income and nontraditional students. But the inspector general wants the university to pay back $713 million in federal loans and grants and be barred from receiving more payments.

The inspector generals audit said WGU did not employ enough faculty to qualify as a distance education program as required for eligibility by a 1992 federal law  back when there was no such thing as an online university. The audit report said the universitys courses should have been labeled as correspondence courses, which are not eligible for federal financial aid.

Scott Pulsipher, president of WGU, says the audit took a narrow view of faculty roles, and that the school uses a nontraditional model. He says it has 2,000 faculty members involved in curriculum development, course teaching and student progress evaluation. WGU is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

Congress clearly should update the 1992 law. Moving forward, the law could prove problematic for other online education programs as well. WGU has a competency-based education model, which allows students to master academic content at their own pace. Opinions vary on its viability.

Barmak Nassirian, director of federal relations and policy analysis at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, is skeptical. By its nature, its highly susceptible to waste, fraud and abuse because youre dispensing with the one rock-solid guarantor of integrity that there is, and that is qualified faculty, he told The Washington Post.

Pulsipher says the model works for contemporary students who need flexibility to pursue higher education degrees. Graduates give WGU high marks. Its student engagement scores are consistently better than the national average, and 97 percent of graduates say they would recommend WGU to others. A recent Harris Poll showed graduates reporting their average income increase within four years of graduation was $19,100.

Pulsipher says most students pay $15,000 tuition to get a bachelors degree in 2 years, and that 91 percent say it was worth the money. The school reports a 49 percent graduation rate. The national rate for standard four-year university programs is 59 percent.

Educators dont expect the Trump administration to follow through on the inspector generals recommendations, which the Education Department can reject. Congress should change the law to reflect the reality of todays students.
On the Sept. 12 Baraboo News Republic website, letter writer A.L. Garber dismisses Amtrak as obsolete; as tax revenues squandered. Garber blindly ignores Japan's and Europe's investments in modern rail systems that transport millions of people daily.

Amtrak's potential is always underfunded and overlooked while public money is spent elsewhere. One example is when Gov. Scott Walker killed a passenger train plant in Janesville. It not only cost jobs and taxes, it also helped sideline rail travel. Paradoxically, the all-freight rail carrier Wisconsin & Southern Railroad lost the money it invested in a feasibility study for the possibility of providing passenger rail service.

Garber mouths "sympathy emotionally" for the Amish, for fixed income seniors and the like. That's crocodile tears for anyone who doesn't fit Garber's government spending vision. We're meant to swallow a line that Garber's taxes are worthy but taxes paid by the poor train riders are wasteful.

So you say you can go from Seattle to Portage, view America's vistas, meet and dine with folks from Kennebunkport, Maine to San Diego, have plenty of room to move, without a baggage charge, all for under $200? Harrumph, there's something wrong there.

John Miller, Baraboo
The Beaver Dam Police and Fire Commission approved outlay budget requests for the police and fire departments Tuesday night, with a few cuts.

I think this is a good clean budget, Chairman Jeff Kohman said.

After cuts were made, the police departments total outlay budget request for 2018 is $200,600 compared to $378,300 this year and the fire departments total outlay budget request for 2018 is $78,300 compared to $46,400 this year. The police and fire departments maintain separate operating budgets for salaries and other expenditures.

The police department budget requests 17 police radios for patrol officers at a cost of nearly $63,000. The radios will be compatible with Dodge Countys radio systems and they are compatible with Beaver Dams new system that was installed this year, according to Beaver Dam Police Chief John Kreuziger.

He said some squad laptops also need to be replaced. The department is requesting to purchase eight new Panasonic Toughbooks for a total of $31,000. The request form states some laptops are more than seven years old and are starting to have technical issues.

The department is requesting more than $81,100 to lease three Dodge Chargers and one Ford SUV. All four vehicles are on a two-year lease. The request form states the department will replace the vehicles every two years so they dont need as much upkeep. Vehicle radio and radar units will be upgraded as well.

Other general capital outlay requests from the police department include:

One replacement ballistic shield ($2,100)

Five soft body armor vests ($3,675)

Nine replacement ballistic helmets ($2,070)

Network infrastructure switches ($17,500)

The fire department had two cuts made to its budget requests.

Deputy Fire Chief Matt Christian told the committee the department is requesting one additional full-time firefighter/paramedic. The cost to employ this person would be $75,000. Kohman said the department should hold back on hiring because a north-side fire station and staffing study at a cost of $12,000 is pending. The study will look at creating a second fire station on Beaver Dams north side and staffing levels for the fire department.

Also cut was $47,600 for a replacement staff car. Christian said the department already set aside $16,000 for a new staff vehicle. Kohman said the department should use that $16,000 and buy a used vehicle instead.

One priority for the department is replacing turnout gear costing $47,000. Christian said exposure to contaminated equipment can lead to duty-related cancers.

Other general capital outlay requests from the fire department include:

Wetland protective clothing for the all staff ($2,750)

Thermal imaging devices ($4,500)

One Blitz fire nozzle ($3,100)

Two EVAC Paks and one rope rescue truck cache kit ($3,500)

Send two personnel to 2018 Annual Fire Department Instructor Conference ($2,500)

Outside fire instructor visits ($3,000)

Both budgets were sent to the citys Administrative Committee meeting for consideration Oct. 23.

Kreuziger also said that under the operating budget, police department salaries and wages will have a 7.3 percent increase over last year due to previous union negotiations. There also will be a 17.8 percent jump in shooting range costs. He said the rising cost of ammunition and bean bags caused the increase. In addition, the department will have go through bean bag training.
JUNEAU  A 50-year-old Watertown man was found guilty Thursday of causing the death of Holly Nehls by delivering her a fatal dose of heroin in May 2016.

A Dodge County jury deliberated for about two hours before finding Terrence Jannke guilty of first-degree reckless homicide, maintaining a drug trafficking place as a party to a crime, and possession with intent to deliver heroin as a second and subsequent offense. He faces up to 56 years in prison and up to $135,000 in fines.

Under Wisconsin law, if a person delivers controlled substances and then a person dies as a result of drug use, the supplier can be convicted of homicide. Anyone in the chain of delivery may be held responsible for the death.

Jannke did not testify during the four-day trial. Dodge County Circuit Judge Joseph Sciascia approved the verdict.

The eight men and four women on the jury requested all of the paper documents presented during the trial while deliberating.

Dodge County District Attorney Kurt Klomberg went through the series of witnesses who testified over the trial during his closing argument, including Gabriel Brandl, who administered the drug to Nehls and has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in her death.

Brandl testified that Jannke met him and Nehls at Clyman Park on May 30, 2016, for a cook-out and to purchase heroin from Jannke.

The obvious purpose of the meeting was to buy heroin from the defendant, Klomberg said.

Nehls overdosed from the heroin administered by Brandl, and Brandl and Jannke drove with her in the car for hours around the Watertown area before returning to Jannkes house.

What did they do but go inside to do a lot of heroin? Klomberg said. They did not discuss payment. It was effectively the equivalent of hush money. There might have been a more sinister motive to provide enough heroin for Brandl to die as well.

Over and over the witnesses spoke about purchasing heroin from Jannke in his room and going to Rockford, Illinois, to get heroin.

He provided heroin to all these people, Klomberg said during his closing argument. Holly died from this heroin. And what did Jannke do? He bragged that his heroin was so good it killed someone, as if this was some kind of macabre marketing tool.

Defense attorney Bill Mayer said there were two other prescription medications in Nehls system at the time of her death along with the heroin.

All of these caused her death, Mayer said.

Jannke is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 8.
1967

Columbus has a new mayor and a new fire chief as a result of action taken by the city council. The council elected Harley Fox as mayor, who had been serving as acting mayor since the death of Mayor John Albright. Steve Kapitan was appointed alderman to replace Fox. The Council also appointed Merlin Klecker as fire chief, James Boness as first assistant, and Joe Altschwager as second assistant chief.

The Columbus area Pass, Punt, and Kick Contest that is open to boys ages 8-13 will be held at Firemans Park. Donnie Anderson of the Green Bay Packers will be present to greet the boys.

1977

When most people think of the American Field Service (AFS) they think of students coming from foreign lands to spend a school year in Columbus. Participants in a new domestic AFS program are Elizabeth Severson of Columbus who will be spending a semester in Paso Robles High School in Paso Robles, California and Glyn Boone from New Alexandria, Pennsylvania will spend a semester in Columbus.

Central business districts are not dead, they just need resurrecting, was the message guest speaker Robert Zoschke had for members of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce at a recent Chamber dinner.

1987

The Columbus Womens Civic Club will be sponsoring in conjunction with the 1992 Columbus Quincentennial Celebration Committee, a celebration for the cities namesake Christopher Columbus. Guest speaker will be Luigi Cappellini of Genoa, Italy. A new statute of Christopher Columbus will be unveiled at the program.

1997

The first Michelle Vick Memorial Softball Tournament was sponsored by the Columbus Womens Softball League. Seven teams participated, raising $800 to be used toward area park improvements.

Fred Dartt retired from his position as full time school bus driver after 35 years of service. He will continue as a substitute school bus driver and will serve one more year as fire chief.

Follow Columbus Historical Society on its Facebook page, Columbus, WI Area Historical Society or email: columbusareahistory@gmail.com
Its been one year since the Columbus School District started a bold new vision and the district is ready to celebrate and update the community on what its accomplished in the last 12 months.

To update Columbus on the Launch initiative, the school district will host an information session Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. in the Columbus Middle School Gym. Superintendent Annette Deuman said the event will not only celebrate the one-year anniversary of Launch, but will also remind parents, teachers and students of the programs key priorities.

The catalyst for developing Launch began a couple years ago  Deumans first year with the district  when the Columbus School Board was working to create a long-term strategic plan. Deuman said the board and district administrators wanted a plan that would encompass the entire Columbus community, not just the schools.

Most of the work Ive ever been involved in when it came to strategic planning, included a much broader group of people to access where the district is and then using that data and that information to create the strategies moving forward, Deuman said. Once the board heard that they were very much on board with including the broader community in the strategic plan.

Besides those directly connected with Columbus schools, Launch includes local business owners, church leaders, and other organizations with a stake in the future of K-12 education. In early October 2016, the group met for three days to discuss strategies for Launch, formulate goals, and design a long-term plan. They had a particular date in mind to reach the programs objectives.

We chose the year 2030 because last year, at that time, our 4K students will graduate in that year, Deuman said. It will be an opportunity to see those kids all the way though.

Once the date was determined, the group set six key priorities for Launch. Those priorities are focused on auxiliaries (facilities), STEAM opportunities, student needs covering social needs, student needs covering co-curriculars, community involvement and technology. They also created a three-year plan to hit short-term goals and make sure Launch is staying on course to reach all the objectives by 2030.

Thirteen years out is a long time, but we wanted to break it down more in increments where we could really put together a solid action plan and we could report back on those plans and see where were at, Deuman said.

The superintendent said staff and community reaction to Launch has been mostly positive. Deuman said staff commitment and feedback is essential to the programs success. The district has provided a few updates to the community since the program launched.

The community has been excited about some of the action plan initiatives weve already completed, Deuman said. Of course some are going to feel like were not moving fast enough on some items theyre passionate about. But it takes time. We really wanted to take these first three years to access where we currently are.

The district wants to lay a strong foundation for Launch so it has a chance to meet all priorities in the next 13 years. At the Oct. 11 meeting, Deuman will look for feedback from community members and staff on whether Launch is meeting its early goals. Suggestions will be ranked and the group will determine which of those are most important.

Deuman said its vital for school districts to share a common vision with its community.

Its more of a vision of all the other aspects of what we need to do to get to academic achievement, Deuman said.
By PTI: New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) Shares of Shoppers Stop surged nearly 9 per cent in intra-day trade today after the K Raheja Groups retail arm announced an agreement to sell Hypercity Retail to Future Group for Rs 655 crore.

The loss-making Hypercity, majority owned by Shoppers Stop, operates 19 large format premium stores in some key cities.

advertisement

Shoppers Stop scrips jumped 8.92 per cent to Rs 552.40 during the day on BSE, but pared most of the gains towards the fag-end to close at Rs 513.20, up 1.19 per cent.

Reacting to the development, shares of Future Retail also rallied 5.94 per cent to Rs 559 during the day. It later closed at Rs 537.80, up 1.92 per cent on BSE. "Shoppers Stop has announced the sale of its entire stake in HyperCity to Future Retail. We expect the deal to be a win-win proposition for both players," Edelweiss Securities said in a report. The deal will give the Future Retails flagship retail chain Big Bazaar access to a premium brand and great locations in main metros. The board of both companies decided on the transaction and according to the term sheet, Future Retail will allot 93.1 lakh shares with a face value of Rs 2 each to Hypercity promoters, aggregating to Rs 500 crore, on a preferential basis, Future Retail said in an exchange filing yesterday.

The preferential allotment will be made at a premium of Rs 535 per share and the remaining Rs 155 crore will be made upfront in cash. On completion of the transaction, Hypercity will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Future Retail, the statement said. PTI SUM MKJ

--- ENDS ---
In an effort to draw new members and raise cash for library programming, the Friends of the Portage Public Library group has decided to turn its annual meeting into one big party.

From 3:30 to 6 p.m. Oct. 14, the library will host Pizzazz!  a first-ever, Friends-sponsored event that will feature live music from the all-women a capella group Cheddar Chicks, as well as food and drinks and raffle items. Raffle items are now available for purchase at the library for $2 and can be purchased all the way up to 5 p.m. on the night of the event.

We made an effort to get items that would please a variety of people, said Friends President Jane Considine. Those items include $250 in cash, a 6-foot plush tiger, season tickets to Portage Center for the Arts, gift baskets, a Samsung tablet, a canoe and several other items. Participants do not need to be present to win.

After the party, Friends members will elect officers and vote on the groups annual budget.

Theyve really added quite a lot to this to make it a fun, open house  more so than just a meeting, said Library Director Jessica Bergin.

The group

Friends of the Portage Public Library, established in 1988, has 180 members. Individual membership requires an annual $10 donation, while families pay $20 and businesses pay $50.

The groups annual budget averages about $12,000  $7,000 of which is raised in the groups annual July book sales. The rest of the money comes in donations, membership and miscellaneous efforts, such as its Hot Reads shelf located at the entrance of the library, where Friends donate books to be sold for $3.

Friends support the library in three programming categories: children, teen and adults. The group pays for performers and supplies, as well as a quarterly newsletter. The group in the summer received a donated spinet (a small piano), for which Friends paid for the moving and its tuning. The piano has been placed on a cart, allowing for easy movement between the teen and childrens areas.

Wed like to increase membership because we do occasionally call on our members to help us with something thats going on, Considine said.

Coming up

Bergin noted two new offerings coming up for the Portage library.

A walking program will be held through the end of the year, as weather permits, taking residents along the Levee Trail for stretches and aerobic exercises, all of which can be done at your own pace, Bergin said. The program occurs at 9 a.m. each Wednesday and Friday.

Create at the Library begins this week as an opportunity for people to meet with other patrons who are undertaking creative projects, whether theyre drawing, painting, knitting or anything else. This is basically open studio time for people to work together, Bergin said, but its not a class, and theres no fee. Its just a time for creative people to get together and work on their projects. The program will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on the first and third Wednesdays of each month.

Year one

Bergin, who is from Kansas  hired as the director in June 2016  said her time in Portage has so far been highlighted by the generosity of its residents. Ive just been so impressed with how much this community comes together for all kinds of causes and events.

Bergin said she was impressed by residents efforts to revitalize the downtown area and improve the appearance and use of the buildings.

Id say the library serves a lot of roles for a lot of different people, Bergin said of her focus as director. We do a lot of early childhood literacy education for kids  and we make it fun for kids and their families.

Bergin noted the importance of offering several recreational programs for adults and seniors.

We try to have something for everybody and make it a destination for anyone  a place to socialize, a place to learn and really get help for resources, if you need them, she said.
Only a guitar, a microphone and the distance between the stage and the seats will separate Steven Curtis Chapman from his audience in Wisconsin Dells when he performs Oct. 13 at Crystal Grand Music Theatre.

Chapman, one of Christian contemporary musics most successful recording artists, will bring his guitar, a microphone and his ability to play and sing some of his 48 No. 1 hits and other favorite songs, marking one of the first of his unplugged performances on a tour that will last into 2018.

In other words, it will be Steven Curtis Chapman unplugged, as Generation X used to call it. Or, to hear Chapman tell it, unadorned yet honest.

You cant hide behind a great sideman or a great groove when youre playing by yourself, Chapman told Wisconsin Dells Events by telephone from his home in Tennessee. You have to create it all right there, and theres something really honest about that.

Hearing Chapmans songs accompanied by only a guitar will allow fans to experience the songs in their original habitat. The prolific songwriter does all of his creating either with the guitar or a piano and his own voice, he said.

My songs have been written mostly with a guitar and singing, sitting in a room by myself, he said. Its the most organic, honest way.

But Chapman also will take the time during his appearance to tell a few of the stories behind his songs, and his one-man approach also allows him to respond spontaneously to audience requests as well as his own inspirational whims.

Such was the case during one recent performance, he said, when an audience member suggested he perform the first song he ever learned on guitar. He complied, and out came Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash, Steven Curtis Chapman-style.

Such spontaneity wouldnt be as possible were a full band accompanying the artist, and he says thats another reason performing by himself makes such appearances so special for both him and his audience.

It just gives me that freedom to go where the wind blows me, he said. Its really unique, and I think people enjoy hearing these songs in that unique way.

The stories also will come from his life and career, the latter of which has lasted more than 30 years and has seen him become one of the dominant performers in his genre.

As for the former, Chapmans life story is now in print, in his recently released memoir, Between Heaven and The Real World: My Story, written by him with Ken Abraham.

Chapmans is a life that encompasses incredible highs and faith-shaking lows, according to the books overview in barnesandnoble.com. The highs, of course, include the 11 million records he has sold and the five Grammys and 58 Gospel Music Association Dove Awards he has won.

The faith-shaking lows include a challenging childhood and the devastating loss of his five-year-old daughter Maria in 2008.

Throughout all of these experiences is the faith that got him through that childhood and brought him into the Christian music world, then brought him and his family through their tragic loss and continues to come through in his music.

Im in the same world everybody is living in, he said. Holding on to that one thing thats been true in my life has held me together, its been my anchor. I dont have all the answers, I dont understand it all. I dont have it all figured out  and its why I write these songs.
In the past few weeks, there has been some evidence that social media trolling and effective mockery are tricks that the opposition too have up their sleeves.

Since 2014, it has been the BJP's social media strategy that has been lauded for its sharpness, its savvy and its ferocity. But in the past few weeks, there has been some evidence that social media trolling and effective mockery are tricks that the opposition too have up their sleeves. Last month, BJP president Amit Shah asked young people at a 'townhall' meeting in Ahmedabad to ignore social media campaigns against the party. "I want you to apply your mind," Shah said about "anti-BJP propaganda being spread on WhatsApp and Facebook".

No one is quite ready yet to say the tide has turned against the BJP. Certainly not in Gujarat. But a concerted effort by the Congress and other opposition parties to target the BJP online is leaving its mark. Rahul Gandhi, the butt of so much trolling, has added one million followers on Twitter over the past two months. A consequence, some analysts argue, of the Congress's growing social media presence.

advertisement

One social media user, Ajendra Tripathi, says that in his view even perusing the comments on tweets by ministers shows a change, that the normal deluge of fawning praise is now being countered by more sarcasm, more scepticism. Between September 14 and 30, Tripathi analysed over

60,000 tweets and found that, on average, there are 18 negative tweets about Prime Minister Narendra Modi every hour, 11 against finance minister Arun Jaitley, eight against BJP president Amit Shah and foreign minister Sushma Swaraj and six against home minister Rajnath Singh.

Much of this momentum is being credited to a Congress social media campaign in Gujarat titled 'Vikas gando thayo chhe', loosely translated as development gone mad. Rohan Gupta, head of the Congress's cyber cell, told reporters that 45 people have been working round the clock to get the message out on social media. They've been using memes and viral videos and humour, a broken-down bus, say, with the 'development gone mad' hashtag, for maximum effectiveness. According to Virag Gupta, another avid social media user, the Congress campaign appears authentic, that the responses to it are from real people with genuine handles rather than bots or party volunteers retweeting canned responses.

The BJP has countered with its own campaign, 'Hun chun vikas, hun chu Gujarat'. The aim is to focus on the BJP's claim to providing development for all, the so-called 'Gujarat model' that propelled Modi to the prime minister's chair in 2014. Of course, placed in perspective, even Rahul Gandhi's amped-up following represents only a tenth of that enjoyed by Modi. Amit Malviya, the BJP's combative IT guru, points out that in the past two years, the party has nearly doubled its Facebook following from 7 million to over 13 million; nearly 7 million people follow the party on Twitter. It means any social media campaign orchestrated by the BJP reaches a vast audience. The opposition might enjoy a brief bounce through negativity, Malviya says, "but our positive, fact-based campaign will ultimately prevail."

Malviya's strategy appears to be to take the 'development gone mad' meme head on and portray it as fake news. For all the dazzle of the Congress social media campaign, the BJP's difficulties in Gujarat are more prosaic, to do with caste considerations and the Patidar agitation. Rahul Gandhi effectively attacked chief minister Vijay Rupani and his government for lack of performance. But it is the dazzle that is appearing to cut the deepest. The party was worried enough to send big hitters Jaitley and defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman into the fray. They were part of a workshop designed to show the BJP's Gujarat leaders how to use social media to their advantage. Rupani attended the session.

advertisement

Ministers and politicians in Gujarat, IT cell sources say, have been told to focus their social media posts on environmental protection, cleanliness and similarly uncontroversial topics. "There is," one insider said, "less scope to get caught up in a flame war. The opposition is going to try to

get BJP leaders to address rising prices or cow-related violence or GST, but we have asked them not to engage." Amit Shah's performance in Ahmedabad supplied the template, a sustained belittling of the state of Gujarat before the BJP came to power, and how without the BJP the electorate risked a return to those dark days.

--- ENDS ---
The Supreme Court asked the Centre to reply to a petition that seeks the abolition of hanging by the neck as a form of capital punishment.

By India Today Web Desk: Is hanging by the neck an inhumane form of execution that violates a death row convict's right to life? The Supreme Court wants the Centre to weigh in and opine on the question.

The apex court's direction comes in a Public Interest Legislation filed opposing hanging as a form of capital punishment.

The plea posits that the Indian Constitution's Article 21 (Right to Life) includes within it the right of a condemned prisoner to have a dignified mode of execution that ensures that death is less painful.

advertisement

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud heard the plea today and issued a notice to the Centre, seeking its response on the PIL in three weeks.

The PIL, filed by lawyer Rishi Malhotra in his personal capacity, refers to previous Supreme Court judgements that have censured the practise of hanging to execute people convicted of capital crimes.

The PIL, which also refers to a Law Commission report that has discussed in depth the forms of capital punishment, suggests shooting squads or lethal injections as alternative, more humane forms of executions.

The Supreme Court, while observing that other scientific and less painful forms of execution could be used, asked the Centre to file its reply to the petition in three weeks.

(With inputs from Anusha Sonia in New Delhi and PTI)

--- ENDS ---
The Supreme Court Collegium has decided to put the reasons for the appointment and rejection of judges online for all to see.

By Anusha Soni: In the interest of transparency, accountability and a more robust legal system, the Supreme Court Collegium comprising of top five judges has agreed to put the reasons for the appointment and rejection of judges online.

To begin with this practice, the SC has posted online reasons for its recommendations for judicial appointments to the Madras HC and the Kerala HC.

advertisement

After the five judge Supreme Court bench struck down the NJAC in 2015, the memorandum of procedure has been stuck between the Centre and the Collegium with no clear process of appointment in place. Now with the Supreme Court agreeing to put the details online, this is a huge leap forward for transparency and dropping the curtains of secrecy and confidentiality.

Recently, the transfer of Jayant Patel from Gujarat High Court brought Collegium under severe criticism. In fact, Justice Jayant Patel, former acting Chief Justice and then judge in the Karnataka High Court resigned from the service.

While he did not state any reason but sources said that Justice Patel was not made the Chief Justice in any High Court despite seniority.

He also ordered a CBI prove into the encounter of Ishrat Jahan after which the agency filed a charge sheet in the case naming top officials of the Intelligence Bureua.

The voices of dissent and criticism were coming from within the bar and the collegium itself.

Earlier last year Justice Chelameswar had gone on record to say that basic rules of administrative law are not followed in Collegium proceedings. No reasons are recorded in writing for appointment or rejection of names for High Court and Supreme Court.

Collegium system which has no mention in the Indian Constitution came through subsequent constitution bench judgments of the Supreme Court.

Recently the transfer of Jayant Patel from Gujarat High Court brought Collegium under severe criticism. Senior lawyer Dushyant Dave openly alleged that judges are 'pro' government alleging that the top court does not work objectively. Though sitting judge Justice Chandrachud clarified that SC judges worked for the betterment of citizens, voices demanding change and transparency were becoming stronger.

With the Supreme Court taking the leap forward what needs to be seen is whether there is any movement forward in framing the memorandum of procedure which remains a contentious issue.

The resolution passed by the Collegium says:

"That the decisions henceforth taken by the Collegium indicating the reasons shall be put on the website of the Supreme Court, when the recommendation(s) is/are sent to the Government of India, with regard to the cases relating to initial elevation to the High Court Bench, confirmation as permanent Judge(s) of the High Court, elevation to the post of Chief Justice of High Court, transfer of High Court Chief Justices / Judges and elevation to the Supreme Court, because on each occasion the material which is considered by the Collegium is different. The Resolution is passed to ensure transparency and yet maintain confidentiality in the Collegium system."

--- ENDS ---

advertisement




China News on Women





Sorry, the page you requested was not found. If you're having trouble locating a destination on Womenofchina.cn, try visiting the Womenofchina Home page
Russia, Saudi Arabia strengthen ties in nuclear energy

06 October 2017

Share

Rosatom and the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA-CARE) signed a 'program of cooperation' in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy in Moscow yesterday as part of Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud's state visit to Russia. The program aims to develop the intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy the two countries signed in June 2015.

The latest document was signed by Khalid Al Falih, Saudi minister of energy, industry, and mineral resources, and Maher Al Odan, head of the nuclear energy division of KA-CARE, and Alexey Likhachov, director-general of Rosatom, and Evgeny Pakermanov, president of Rusatom Overseas.

Rosatom said they plan to cooperate in small- and medium-sized reactors, which can be used both for power generation and desalination of sea water; in the training of personnel for Saudi Arabia's national nuclear program; and in the development of the kingdom's nuclear energy infrastructure. Russia and Saudi Arabia will also "appreciate the prospects" of constructing a Russian-designed nuclear power plant in Saudi Arabia.

Although Saudi Arabia's nuclear program is in its infancy, it has plans to construct 16 nuclear power reactors over the next 20 years. A 2010 royal decree identified nuclear power as essential to help meet growing energy demand for both electricity generation and water desalination while reducing reliance on depleting hydrocarbon resources.

In January this year, Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum of understanding with China on the construction of high-temperature gas-cooled reactors (HTGRs) in the Middle Eastern country. They signed a cooperation agreement for a joint study in March and held their first meeting to discuss the feasibility of constructing HTGRs in May.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
UAE nuclear operator committed to safety, says IAEA

06 October 2017

Share

The operator of the United Arab Emirates' first nuclear power plant - the first two units of which are due to start up next year - has shown a commitment to safety, an expert team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has concluded. However, the team identified areas where further improvements in operational safety may be achieved.

Barakah units 1 and 2, pictured in May, are due to start operating next year (Image: Enec)

Four Korean-designed APR-1400 pressurised water reactors are being built at Barakah for the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec). The plant is being built by a consortium led by the Korean Electric Power Company (Kepco). Construction of Barakah 1 began in 2012, with units 2, 3 and 4 following in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Units 1 and 2, now over 96% and 85% complete, are both expected to start up next year. Units 3 and 4 are expected to start up in 2019 and 2020. When complete, the power station will deliver up to a quarter of the UAE's electricity.

Enec established Nawah Energy last year as a joint venture with Kepco to operate and maintain Barakah units 1-4. The company is 82% owned by Enec and 18% owned by Kepco.

A Pre-Operational Safety Review Team (Pre-OSART) team concluded an 18-day mission on 3 October to assess operational safety at the Barakah site in Abu Dhabi.

Pre-OSART missions aim to improve operational safety by objectively assessing safety performance using the IAEA's Safety Standards and proposing recommendations for improvement where appropriate.

The 15-member team reviewed leadership and management for safety; training and qualification; operations; maintenance; technical support; operating experience; radiation protection; chemistry; emergency preparedness and response; accident management; human, technology and organisational interactions; and commissioning.

The team praised Nawah for having a leadership development program that ensures "the multi-cultural, multi-national nature of the staff is maintained and leveraged to build strong teams with a focus on safe operation". It also said the development of the UAE's National Qualification Authority for nuclear positions will enhance and streamline training and qualification of employees.

The IAEA also said Barakah management have established good relations with off-site organisations and other stakeholders. This, it says, will allow for rapid communications and actions should an event occur at the plant.

However, the team made a number of recommendations, including that the plant reinforces the effectiveness of managers by ensuring that their expectations are met at the point of work. It should also improve oversight of maintenance activities performed by contractors in order to ensure equipment safety and reliability.

The team also suggested Nawah ensures "timely development, validation and approval of a comprehensive surveillance program and implementation procedures". The IAEA also said the Barakah plant should "enhance configuration control" over changes made to the plant design by the contractor during construction and commissioning. This will help the plant reflect these changes in operations and maintenance procedures, as well as in training.

The mission team has submitted a draft report of its finding to the plant management. The management, together with the UAE's Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation (FANR), will be able to comment on the report, a final version of which will be submitted to the UAE government within three months.

Team leader Peter Tarren, head of the IAEA's operational safety section, said: "Constructing a large, modern nuclear power plant in a country with no previous nuclear experience requires senior leaders to establish a sustained commitment to nuclear safety and for every level of the organisation to adopt it. The Pre-OSART team has observed that commitment and has been able to offer practical ways in which it can be enhanced."

Follow-up missions are standard components of the OSART program and are typically conducted within two years of the initial mission. The Barakah plant management said it would address the areas identified for improvements by the Pre-OSART team and requested a follow-up OSART mission in about 18 months.

Earlier this year, IAEA safeguards inspectors verified the correctness and completeness of the UAE's initial inventory of nuclear material. As part of the verification process, IAEA safeguards inspectors visited the Barakah plant and other locations in the UAE where small amounts of nuclear material are used. The IAEA confirmed at a follow-up meeting with FANR representatives at the agency's Vienna headquarters that information submitted by the UAE in its initial inventory was complete.

In November 2016, an IAEA International Physical Protection Advisory Service mission concluded the UAE has undertaken "strong and sustainable" nuclear security activities. The mission - carried out at the UAE government's request - reviewed the country's legislative and regulatory framework for nuclear security, looked at the physical protection of nuclear material and nuclear facilities, and the security of radioactive material, associated facilities and associated activities.

An IAEA Emergency Preparedness Review service team carried out a mission in early 2015 to assess the UAE's arrangements and preparations to respond to nuclear and radiological emergencies at the Barakah plant. That team praised the country's emergency preparedness and response arrangements.

Researched and written

by World Nuclear News

Related topics
St. Elmo is a ghost city located in Chaffee County, Colorado. The town lies in the middle of Sawatch Range, about 32 kilometers south-west of Buena Visita. St. Elmo was previously known as Forest City but it was renamed because many other towns were also called Forest City. The name St. Elmo was chosen by one of the founders, Evans Griffith, who named it after a romance novel he was reading. When the mining of gold and silver took off in St. Elmo, approximately two thousand people settled there. However, the mining industry started to gradually decline in the 1920s leading to the discontinuation of the railway services and the ultimate demise of the town.

The Rise of St. Elmo

Founded in the 1880s, approximately 2,000 people settled in St. Elmo during the discovery of gold and silver mines. The mining activities took place in the town for around 40 years. The towns growth reached its climax in the 1890s when mining became the major activity in the town. There were a number of social amenities like hotels, salons, telegraph office, a railway service station, and a post office. The mines in St. Elmo numbered approximately 150, with the main mine being the Mary Murphy mine where most of the residents worked. It was the largest and the most successful mine, generating over $60 million worth of gold. Other major minefields included Teresa C, the Molly or the Pioneer Mines. While other minefields started to shut down due to the exhaustion of gold and silver.

Decline and Ghost Town Status

The Mary Murphy mine continued operating until the railway serving St. Elmo was abandoned in 1922 by its then management, Pacific Railroad Service. After the mine fields were shut down, most people moved out of the town to look for other opportunities and mine fields elsewhere. It did not take long before the business district in the town was closed. However, a few people continued residing in the town. The postal service came to an end in the town after the postmaster died in 1952. Most of the ancient structures erected in St. Elmo still stand in the town, save from a few buildings that were burnt down on April 15, 2002. The old town hall was among the six buildings that were torched down. Most of the private owners of the property in St. Elmo decided to give the property to Buena Vista Heritage so that it can preserve the ancient buildings.

St. Elmo Today

Despite being considered a ghost town, St. Elmo is inhabited by a number of people today. The major activity going on in St Elmo is tourism. The old gold and silver mines attract many tourists to the ghost town annually. There are several four wheel drive trails that pass throughout the town along the mine roads. Tourists are allowed to rent the four-wheel drives and move around the city. The general supply stores are usually opened during the summer holidays where tourists can buy souvenirs and supplies. Besides, there are a number of good fishing grounds in Chalk Creek that passes through St Elmo. Residents and tourists practice fishing activities.
The Bitcoin ATM was invented as the internet machine which enables an individual to exchange bitcoins and cash. A Bitcoin ATM differs from the traditional ATM in several aspects one of them being that it does not link to a bank account but a Bitcoin exchange. A Bitcoin ATM is connected to the internet, and it enables one to insert cash for bitcoins which can be given as a paper receipt or through moving funds to a public key on the blockchain. Some Bitcoin ATMs allow a user to purchase bitcoins and redeem the same for cash while users with existing accounts are the only group of people who can use some Bitcoin ATMs as required by providers. Brian Krebs raised concerns in 2016 over the use of these machines for money mulling.

History

The initial publicly accessible bitcoin machine to operate in the world was unveiled in the Waves coffee shop in Vancouver, Canada on October 29, 2013. The Robocoin machine operated until January 2016. Several Robocoin machines have subsequently been converted to operate other software. The first machine to operate in the US went online in an Albuquerque cigar bar on February 18, 2014, but it was shut down after 30 days. The D Casino unveiled the first Bitcoin ATM in a Las Vegas Casino in 2013. A bitcoin machine operator based in New Zealand announced they were forced to shut-down operations because of interference with banks in 2014.

Bitcoin ATM's In Different Parts Of The World

North America

Coin ATM Radar estimates that over 800 Bitcoin ATMs are operating on US soil as of 2017. Small shop owners are earning approximately $300 each month for rental space. Users of the ATMs pay 16% in transaction fees, and online transaction fees are about 7.5%. Bitcoin machines remain unregulated in neighboring Canada although regulations have been formally suggested for all bitcoin exchangers. The country's Finance Minister in February 2014 announced plans to initiate anti-terrorist and anti-money laundering financing regulations for all the virtual currencies including Bitcoin.

Kosovo

The Albvision Group manages a Bitcoin machine in Kosovo, and it is reportedly situated in Pristina. The firm began operating in 2000, and it has a workforce of 54. The company is involved in the telecommunications, information and security systems, energy, and banking sectors where it provides strategic and professionals services. The Central Bank of Kosovo had warned citizens against the use of digital currencies before news of the establishment of the machine was released. Banks such as the Raiffeisen and TEB have asserted that they do not engage in transactions in digital currencies. The country imported equipment valued at 800,000 euros which were channeled into the production of bitcoin mining devices. Albvision Group announced plans to install Bitcoin ATMs in Skopje and Tirana.

Asia

Bitcoin ATMs have been propping up across Asia in the recent years. About 4% of these machines operate in Asia. Japan has 11 of these machines followed by Hong Kong and Macau with four and China, Singapore, and Indonesia with three. South Korea and Malaysia have two Bitcoin ATMs with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the Philippines having one each. Bitcoin Vietnam agreed to a partnership with Easybit to operate BitAccess machines in the country. This partnership will facilitate the establishment of an additional three Bitcoin machines to the one running in Ho Chi Minh City.
Introduction

On August 2, 1990, the Iraqi military conducted a 2-day campaign to annex Kuwait and claim the natural resources and land for Iraq. The initial operation was a resounding success, and the Iraq armed forces occupied the entire neighboring country as well as overrunning the majority of the Kuwait army. The invasion resulted in a seven month Iraqi occupation of Kuwait, and many from the country fled to Saudi Arabia or Bahrain. The invasion was costly for the Kuwaiti army, losing 4,200 troops on the battlefield as well as some 12,000 were captured by the invading Iraqi army who suffered minor casualties in comparison. Kuwait was also declared as the "19th Province of Iraq" by dictator Saddam Hussein.

Hussein, the Iraqi leader at the time, and his country had recently come to the end of a costly and bloody war with Iran and had racked up enormous debt from Kuwait during this period of war. Kuwait sought to curb the influence of a revolutionary Islamic state like Iran and agreed to finance a significant portion of the Iraq war effort in this conflict. This debt was thought to be as much as USD 14 billion and the country needed to recover somehow and pay-back some of this enormous debt. Iraq's financial struggles during this time were often blamed on neighboring countries as a way to deflect criticism from Saddam Hussein. After asking Kuwait to forgive the debt and Kuwait refusing this request, Hussein began to start various diplomatic spats with their neighbor. Kuwait had begun to produce what Hussein felt was too much petroleum, creating a dent in his country's profit from oil due to an increased supply. Hussein also accused Kuwait of slant-drilling oil from Iraqi land, blaming them for stealing Iraqi national resources, which to him, amounted to a declaration of war. All of these factors lead to the decision to invade Kuwait.

Build-up and Commencement Of Operation Desert Storm

The United Nations swiftly condemned Iraq's invasion of a sovereign nation and issued economic sanctions as well as a resolution denouncing the actions of Hussein and calling for a withdrawal. As discussed above, Iraq successfully invaded Kuwait and occupied the country for seven months, effectively ignoring the United Nations. This lead to the United States leading a military coalition of 39 different countries after the United Nations had authorized the use of force in late 1990. Before conducting the military operation, the United States built-up troops in Saudi Arabia to deter Iraq from attacking yet another country. In January of 1991, the coalition troop build-up in Saudi Arabia had reached upwards of 700,000, ready to attack the Iraqi forces who had yet to withdraw from Kuwait.

To ensure the Iraqi army would be sufficiently weakened before launching the counter-invasion, the Coalition started a vicious aerial bombardment of Iraq as well as Iraqi forces in Kuwait. The sustained air campaign from the Coalition targeted Iraqi air-defense systems, communications systems, government buildings, oil fields, and vital bridges and roads. February 24th, 1991 signified the first day of the ground campaign with coalition troops attacking the Iraqi armed forces in Kuwait and also attacking from the Iraq/Saudi Arabia border. After just three days of the ground campaign, Kuwait was liberated and on February 27, 1991, Coalition troops stopped attacking Iraqi forces after learning they were to comply with the original United Nations resolution. April 6, 1991, marked the day that Iraq accepted the terms of a cease-fire agreement and the First Gulf War formally ended.

Consequences And Cost Of Operation Desert Storm

The financial cost of the war to the United States of America was estimated at USD 61.1 billion, although the majority of this was paid back by other countries. A combined $36 billion was paid to the United States by Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf nations. Some of this payment was not monetary but service-related such as food and transport while United States troops were based in Saudi Arabia. Since United States forces represented almost three-quarters of the troops fighting the conflict, the country absorbed a lot of the initial costs.

While retreating from Kuwait, the Iraqi armed forces enacted what is known as a "scorched earth: policy", destroying anything of economic value. The Iraq army subsequently set 700 oil wells on fire in January and February of 1991, and some of these fires were not extinguished until November of the same year. Estimates put losses at approximately 6 million barrels of oil per day and the $1.5 billion Kuwait paid to have the fires extinguished was an enormous sum.

Casualties from both sides were vastly different, as the United States held a distinct advantage with their superior air power and technology. The United States and other Coalition troops sustained 190 troop deaths and 776 injuries on the battlefield. The Iraqi army suffered many, many more casualties with numbers ranging from 20,000-30,000 deaths and as much as 75,000 injured during Operation Desert Storm. This war was the first conflict to be broadcast live around-the-clock, and many media scholars maintain that the coverage of the war was similar to that of a video game, effectively desensitizing the mainstream public to seeing live killings and military operations broadcast on news networks.

Some authors maintain that the invasion of Kuwait in 1991 eventually lead to the United States' 2003 Iraq invasion and occupation due to tactics used by Hussein in the aftermath of the First Gulf War. For example, Kurdish people in the North and Shi'ites in the South of the country saw an opportunity to take advantage of a weakened Iraqi state post Desert Storm. The way in which Hussein had these uprisings dealt with lead to further economic sanctions, a no-fly-zone, as well as a brief bombing campaign against Iraq by the United States in 1998.
Where Is Togo?

The African nation of Togo is located in West Africa where it stretches as a narrow band between the countries of Ghana to the west and Benin to the east. To the north of Togo lies Burkina Faso while at the south, the Gulf of Guinea washes the shores of the country. Togo encompasses a total area of 57,000 square km and it houses a population of about 7.6 million people.

What Is The Capital Of Togo And Where Is It Located?

The capital city of Togo is Lome. With a population of 837,437, Lome is also the countrys most populous city. The city has a coastline along the Gulf of Guinea. To the north, the city is surrounded by a lagoon. The city shares its western borders with Aflao, Ghana and the Togoan village of Be lies to the east of the city. Lome houses a population of 837,437.

History Of The Capital City Of Togo

An African ethnic group, the largest one in Togo, the Ewe people were the founders of the first settlements in the area that is now Lome. In the 19th century, European and African traders set up their trade posts in the city. In 1897, the city became the capital of Togoland. Over the years, the population of Lome multiplied and by the time Togo became an independent nation (1960), the population of the city was 80,000. Within only a decade, the city experienced a rapid increase in population to 200,000 in 1970.

Present-Day Role Of The City As The Capital Of Togo

The capital city of Togo is the meeting place of the countrys unicameral National Assembly, the legislative branch of Togos government. The city also houses the Palace of the Governors, the official residence of the Togolese Republics President.

Lome is not just the political capital of Togo but it is also the financial capital of the country. The city is an important port with a free trade zone. Several products like cotton, palm oil, coffee, phosphates, etc., are exported from the port at Lome. An oil refinery is also present at the port.

Togos capital city also has a growing tourism industry. The city hosts the 36 stories tall Hotel Corinthia, the countrys tallest building. The busiest airport of Togo is also located near the city.
By India Today Web Desk: Bollywood can never get enough of remakes. And it's been a while since the remake of Hollywood film The Fault In Our Stars has been in news. Earlier, there were reports of Jhanvi Kapoor making her Bollywood debut with the film, but it soon fizzled out. And now the remake is finally back on track. And it is Sushant Singh Rajput who has been brought on board to play the leading man in the Hindi remake of the hit film.

advertisement

According a report in Mumbai Mirror, Josh Boone's 2014 American romantic drama will have Sushant as the lead. Produced by Fox Star Studios, the Hindi remake will be directed by casting director Mukesh Chhabra, and is expected to roll next year.

A source was quoted as telling the daily, "Mukesh was the one who introduced Sushant to Abhishek Kapoor for Kai Po Che! He had always wanted to work with him and felt he would be perfect for this film. He is currently on the lookout for his leading lady. Though inspired by the Hollywood film, the script will be adapted to Indian sensibilities."

Chhabra, who is making his debut as director, confirmed the news to daily, "Yes, I am on board for The Fault in Our Stars remake. I'm working on the script at the moment. Sushant is the leading man and we are still in the process of casting the heroine."

Currently, Sushant is shooting for Kapoor's Kedarnath in Uttarakhand.

ALSO WATCH: Sushant Singh Rajput felt cheated at engineering college because there were no girls

--- ENDS ---
Petition for improved access at local train station to go to Parliament

This article is old - Published: Friday, Oct 6th, 2017

Campaigners calling for improved access at local train station turned out in force ahead of a petition being presented to Parliament.

Clwyd South AM and MP Ken Skates and Susan Elan Jones joined volunteers from the Friends of Ruabon at the train station to show their support for the campaign last week.

The Ruabon Station has been described as inaccessible to a number of potential users due to a footbridge being the only way of getting between the platforms.

A petition has since been launched, calling on the UK Government to act and improvement the site.

Speaking after her visit, Ms Jones said: The campaign for better access at Ruabon continues and the excellent turn-out today shows the strength of feeling locally.

This is an important station connecting people to our wonderful World Heritage Sites and key local destinations such as Wrexham and Chester, so it needs be more accessible.

At present, its almost impossible for disabled people and those with restricted mobility.

Mr Skates said the lack of disabled access was insufficient in the 21st century for such an important station.

Last year Mr Skates and Ruabon councillor Dana Davies called on Wrexham Council to reinvest money from the new parking charges  up to 400 a year per person  into improving the stations facilities, such as better disabled access.

Mr Skates added: The many, many people who have signed the petition want and need to be better connected  and that means access for all.

Im delighted Susan is going to present it at Parliament in the coming weeks and will continue to support the campaign however I can on behalf of my constituents and station users.

Pupils of Ysgol Rhiwabon also went along to help plant new floral donations from Arriva Trains Wales to help spruce up the stations appearance  with praise from Mr Skates and Ms jones for the work of the dedicated and tireless Friends of Ruabon.
At his first rally after the BJP's victory, Adityanath had complained that foreign dignitaries were "gifted replicas of the Taj Mahal and other monuments that did not reflect Indian culture".

The Uttar Pradesh government held a press conference on September 27, World Tourism Day, to publicise a 32-page booklet listing the state's many attractions. Conspicuous by its absence in that list was the Taj Mahal, one of the world's seven wonders but apparently an eyesore for the UP chief minister, Yogi Adityanath.

Back in June, at his first rally after the BJP's thumping election victory and his surprise appointment, Adityanath had complained that in the past, foreign dignitaries were "gifted replicas of the Taj Mahal and other monuments that did not reflect Indian culture". The snub was compounded in his government's first budget when no funds were allotted to improve the experience for tourists visiting Agra. In July, Adityanath doubled down on previous remarks by reiterating in Varanasi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency, that people "should not connect the Taj Mahal with Indian culture" and identity.

advertisement

No wonder then that UP's new tourism brochure features the famous Ganga aarti of Varanasi on the cover and devotes an entire page to the Gorakhnath mutt. Perhaps, in the UP government's view, the Taj is too iconic to need much promotion. According to central government data, 458,000 people visited the monument between January and July this year, a 30 per cent increase over the same period last year.

Ram Prakash, a long-time tour guide in Agra, said the "BJP government treats the Taj Mahal as if it's linked only to a particular minority community. But more than 80 per cent of the shops surrounding it are owned by Hindus, as are most of the hotels. By ignoring the Taj, the BJP is hurting its own supporters". When Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav was UP chief minister, he spent several hundred crores to "beautify" the area around Taj and improve infrastructure. According to Yadav, "CM Yogi Adityanath should now write a letter to the PM asking him to ban national and international tourists from visiting the Taj Mahal."

UP tourism minister Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who released the controversial brochure, has been tasked with fighting a rearguard action in the face of widespread criticism. "Taj Mahal," she said, "is our cultural heritage." Awanish Awasthi, principal secretary to the CM, said the government is devoting "Rs 156 crore to projects related to the Taj".

Too late though for the cartoonists and social media wags laughing at the UP government for its pettiness, its one-sided feud with one of the most glorious of India's cultural treasures.

--- ENDS ---
By PTI: By Lalit K Jha

Washington, Oct 6 (PTI) The US military is "ridding" the world of terrorism, President Donald Trump has said, asserting that Americas goals were denuclearising North Korea and stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Trumps remarks came after he held a meeting with top US military leaders yesterday. The meeting was also attended by the Presidents advisers, including the National Security Adviser H R McMaster, Chief of Staff John Kelly and Defence Secretary Jim Mattis.

advertisement

"I put my trust in you to execute our mission aggressively and effectively, and you are delivering. Were ridding our world of terrorism and terrorists as much as it can be done," Trump said.

Noting that he wanted to discuss certain critical things with the military, Trump also listed out some of his priorities.

"In North Korea, our goal is denuclearisation. We cannot allow this dictatorship to threaten our nation or our allies with unimaginable loss of life. We will do what we must do to prevent that from happening. It will be done, if necessary - believe me," he said.

The US must not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed and chaos across the Middle East, he alleged, adding that this is why America must put an end to Irans continued aggression and nuclear ambitions.

"They have not lived up to the spirit of their agreement," he said.

Trump said in Afghanistan he had lifted restrictions and expanded authorities for commanders in the field.

"You know that very well, and everyone in this room is very happy that its been done finally. Weve made more progress in our campaign to defeat ISIS in the last eight months than in many, many previous years, all combined," Trump said.

Earlier, Trump issued a national security memorandum aimed at integration, sharing and use of national security threat actor information to protect Americans.

National security threat actor information comprises identity attributes and associated information about individuals, organisations, groups or networks assessed to be a threat to the safety, security or national interests of the United States, the memorandum said. PTI LKJ MRJ

--- ENDS ---
The pain of such tragedy

The waste of such life

The death of a husband, his children, and wife.

The stairs were too many

My breaths were too few

My body exhausted. Now mentally too

It is difficult to sum up just how anyone could feel, after having entered Grenfell Tower on that fateful night, battling terrible conditions, desperately trying to save residents lives, against insurmountable odds. But Ricky Nuttall, one of the firefighters who was part of the Grenfell rescue effort, wrote a moving poem, The Firefighter, a part of which is quoted above. It says that the tragedy has left a hole in my soul that will never repair. The poem ends with the lines:

My lips wet with tears. I am lost. There is no plan.

Emotionally ruined. One broken man.



The poem was read out on BBC Radio 5 live during a discussion on the impact of trauma on the mental health of fire crews. Nuttall, a firefighter for 13 years stationed at Knightsbridge and Hillingdon, told the getwestlondon web site of the mental anguish Grenfell wrought:

I have been to counselling and I still currently go to counselling. I have had eight sessions since Grenfell. Grenfell was the catalyst for a lot of other incidents and stuff coming to the fore. Its a collective thing, not just Grenfell. Its other countless incidents I have attended over the years.

Many of the firefighters who tackled the Grenfell fire suffered mental health problems following that terrible event. This year alone 103 firefighters from the London Fire Brigade had to take mental health leave, five as a direct result of Grenfell.

These figures were uncovered by the BBCs 5 Live Investigates programme, using Freedom of Information requests.

The number of firefighters and other employees taking long-term leave because of mental health issues, including depression and anxiety, has risen from 600 to 780 in the last six years. Since 2011, 126 fire service workers have left the service due to mental health issues.

Separate research carried out by the Fire Fighters Charity found that there were 41,000 shifts lost nationally in the past year because of mental health issues.

The new findings substantiate research undertaken last year by the Mind mental health charitys Blue Light Programme. It found that 27 percent of firefighters had contemplated suicide due to stress or poor mental health, with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) commonplace.

Minds research included an online survey of 3,627 emergency staff personnel, representing 1.5 percent of the blue light national workforce, including firefighters and ambulance workers. It found that those working in the emergency services were disproportionately affected by the work they do, with nine out of ten staff having experienced stress and poor mental health at work.

As a group of workers, they are twice as likely to identify problems at work as the cause of their poor mental health.

Emergency services workers are exposed to trauma by the nature of their work. However, large numbers of staff reported factors such as reduced budgets, with more challenging targets placing them under increasing pressure, and reducing the opportunities for more informal supporta significant factor that staff depended on in the past.

Of those interviewed, 56 percent were affected by excessive workload. Pressure from management was cited by 52 percent and long hours by 45 percent. Stress from exposure to traumatic incidents stood at 42 percent.

The aftermath of a fire or other incident can potentially leave staff experiencing symptoms associated with trauma. This can include, poor sleep, low mood, flashbacks, depression and anxiety. Without the right help, this can have a long lasting and detrimental effect and can in some cases lead to long lasting, and serious mental health problems.

Many emergency staff did their best to prevent their mental health affecting their performance at work, but this came at a high personal price, often affecting their physical health, and relationship breakdowns. Mind found that 28 percent of staff turned to drink and drugs to deal with increasing pressure.

Faye McGuinness, programme manager for the Blue Light programme, said, Our survey of over 1,600 staff and volunteers across emergency services shows nearly nine in ten have experienced stress, low mood or poor mental health while working in their current role. A shocking one in four told us they had contemplated taking their own lives.

Sean Starbuck, mental health lead for the Fire Brigades Union, said, Grenfell has brought this issue to the forefront, but weve been raising it for some time with our employers on the back of the earlier Mind information.

The Fire Fighters Charity reports a growing number of firefighters and rescue staff turning to them for help. According to CEO, Dr Jill Tolfrey, 5,000 people visit their support centres every year and 40 percent enlist for psychological support.

The drastic increase in stress and trauma levels among emergency services workers is a direct outcome of nearly a decade of unrelenting austerity measures, which have destroyed or sharply reduced their budgets. Cuts to Londons fire service vastly reduced their ability to deal with fires, but also included cuts to counselling services for those working on the frontline.

Former Conservative Mayor of London Boris Johnson, prior to the Grenfell fire, made enormous cuts to the fire services across the capital. These included the closure of 10 fire stations, the loss of 13 fire engines and 600 firefighters jobs. At the same time counselling services were slashed, with the number of counsellors trained to help firefighters process traumatic scenes slashed from an already low 14 to just 2. This is what the ruling elite now considers adequate for nearly 6,000 firefighters who serve the capitals population of nearly 10 million and attend around 50,000 incidents each year.

Since 2010, 11,000 firefighters (one fifth of the workforce) have lost their jobs, while at the same time firefighters are responding to a record number of incidents. Latest government figures show a rise in fire deaths by 15 percent in 2015/16.

In April 2016, the heads of six large fire services across England, but outside London, raised concerns that further budget cuts posed a risk to community safety. In 2015, 294 deaths were caused by fire, as against 242 for the year 2014, a rise of 21 percent. This was the largest rise since 2001-2002.

The fire services face budget cuts of up to 50 percent by 2020, from a 2010 benchmark. Greater Manchester fire service is being cut by 43 percent, from 117 million to 96 million, and West Midlands by 46 percent, from 119 million to 94 million.

The firefighters who faced the inferno at Grenfell were clearly ill equipped to be able to deal with the fire as it unfolded. Following the fire, in an outpouring of solidarity from the local community, there were offers of help from more than 300 hundred professional counsellors and therapists. They offered free sessions to all those forced to deal with the trauma of the blaze.

This instinctive response to help others contrasted sharply with that of the central government and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea council, who stood by and did nothing despite possessing enormous wealth and resources. This callous indifference was summed up by Johnson, who in 2013 told protesting firefighterswarning him about the life threatening impact his cuts would haveto get stuffed.
The Nobel Prize in Physics for 2017 has been awarded to Kip Thorne, Rainer Weiss and Barry Barish for their pioneering work to directly observe gravitational waves. As noted by the Nobel committee, this was a decisive advance in scientific cognition and technical mastery and has been celebrated around the world.

The work spanned the course of five decades and culminated on September 14, 2015 when the twin Advanced Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors recorded the first unambiguous signature of a gravity waveone which also matched theoretical predictions of what a merger of two black holes into a larger one would show. Gravitational waves were first predicted by Einstein in 1916 and have been pursued for the past century as one of the many proofs of the general theory of relativity, and as a tool to explore a new facet of the universe.

Those honored in the prize ceremony reflect some of the variety of backgrounds of the nearly 1200 researchers and engineers that work on LIGO. Thorne was born in Utah in 1940 to a Mormon family whose ancestors traveled west by foot and horse during the era during and after the American Civil War. He studied general relativity at Princeton and joined the faculty of the California Institute of Technology in 1967 where he began to work on the mathematics needed to detect gravitational waves. Weiss and his family were forced to flee Nazi Germany and then Europe in 1938, when the future physicist was six years old, so that his father could avoid persucution and possibly death at the hands of the Nazis for being Jewish and for being a member of the German Communist Party. His academic career, from his bachelor's through his professorship, centered around the Massechusetts Institute of Technology, where he started work in the 1970s to develop the special instruments needed to test general relativity. Barish, now 81, was born in Nebraska to Jewish immigrants from Belarus. His education and professional life have been at CalTech, where he is currently a professor emeritus and the principal investigator and director of the LIGO collaboration.



Two others, both deceased and thus ineligible for the Nobel, deserve mention for their critical contributions to LIGO: Ronald Drever and Vladimir Braginsky. Drever was born in 1931 in Bishopton, Renfrewshire, Scotland and received both his bachelor's and doctorate at the University of Glasgow. He was part of the original team in the 1970s that worked on the mathematics to analyze and detect gravitational waves. Braginsky was born in Moscow in 1931 and received his Ph.D. from the Moscow State University in 1967. He had been working on his own method to detect gravitational waves when he was visited by Kip Thorne in 1968 and the two worked closely until Braginsky's death in 2016.

From a technical standpoint alone, the achievement of the LIGO collaboration is deserving of the prize. Starting in the early 1990s, the detectors were developed with the understanding that new technologies in lasers, vacuums, remote sensing, mirror polishing and seismology would all be needed to achieve the necessary sensitivity. The hundreds of engineers on this project played critical roles in trailblazing new fields to complete the first iteration of this detector, and to further upgrade it to sensitivities which now permit routine detection.

Researchers on the project also had to develop new areas of mathematics to properly understand the signals that were recorded and to extract an actual gravitational wave signature from the myriad false signals that appear. In effect, they had to measure the distance between Earth and the nearest star, Proxima Centauri, to the accuracy of the width of a human hair, while at the same time accounting for the subtle shifts in Earth's orbit caused by every planet, moon, asteroid and comet in the Solar System.

The theoretical achievement, however, is even more profound. The vast majority of what humanity has learned about what exists beyond Earth has been through the study of light and its different wavelengths and orientations. On occasion, we have learned about high energy processes when Earth is struck by a particularly intense cosmic ray, a particle produced vary far away and by some colossally powerful event such as a gamma ray burst. Once, in 1987, 20 neutrinos were detected from a star as it collapsed into a supernova, confirming parts of our understanding of the last moments of the life of stars much more massive than our own Sun.

Now, however, astronomers have a growing data set of events only observable through their gravitational interactions, through the warping of space and time that is caused as objects accelerate. While this field is still basically brand new, it has already yielded an impressive amount of scientific results.

To date, there have been four concrete detections of gravitational waves and a handful more that are less statistically certain. One of the initial findings is that all the events detected so far are from the merger of black holes in the range of seven to 36 times the mass of the Sun. While the existence of these objects had been considered a possibility, they had never been previously observed and no one was sure of how common they were or how often they collide. The origin of this population remains uncertainsome think many may arise from the very first population of stars. Thanks to LIGO and its sister detector Virgo, cosmologists now have new windows into the formation and evolution of rare ultra-heavy stars, addressing some long-standing questions.

There are also tantalizing clues, which a larger sample of detections will pin down, as to whether this first generation of stars formed preferentially in dense clusters or was more evenly distributed. The detected black hole collisions also give clues about how the supermassive black holes formed that are found at the heart of virtually every galaxy.

The most recent detection, recorded seven and a half weeks ago on August 14, has revealed even more. This was the first time that the two LIGO detectors, in Hanford, Washington and Livingston, Louisiana, were able to work in conjunction with the newly upgraded Virgo Observatory located near Pisa, Italy. By utilizing the detection recorded by all three instruments, the astronomers on each project were able to shrink the volume of sky from which the gravitational waves originated by a factor of 20. This enabled 25 facilities from around the world to perform follow-up visual observations, but no bright event was identified in the calculated region, further confirmation that what is producing the gravitational wave is a black hole merger.

The three-detector observation has also allowed researchers to determine the internal oscillation structure (the polarization) of the gravitational wave. This was a critical test of general relativity, which predicts a certain description of gravitational waves. Other theories of gravity, which modify, expand or sometimes replace general relativity, have their own predictions. The current analysis shows that even in such extreme cases, Einstein's theory is correct.

One of the more exciting future prospects about gravitational wave astronomy is the ability to directly gather information further back in time than is possible with light. As anyone who has ever stood in the shadow of a tree on a sunny day understands, branches, leaves and a variety of types of matter can block light. This is replicated on a cosmic scale when attempting to use light to see the first moments of the known universe. There is a "shadow" known as the cosmic microwave background that prevents us from seeing the first 380,000 years of the known universe's existence.

Gravitational waves do not have this problem. As far as we know, the only object that might reflect, refract, diffract or absorb a gravitational wave is a black hole, and they are few enough in number compared to the vastness of space that gravitational waves travel essentially unimpeded from where they were created to Earth. This allows us to get first-hand knowledge from events that we literally cannot see.

While a great deal has been learned in the past two years, a great many more questions remain. For example, there has yet to be a detected gravitational wave signal from a collision involving neutron stars or white dwarfs, both extremely dense objects whose insides are much more complicated than that of a black hole. And LIGO and Virgo themselves only observe one part of the gravitational wave spectrum.

A different sort of detection method, known as pulsar timing, observes different frequencies of gravitational waves than those observed by LIGO and Virgo and is expected to find gravitational waves from supermassive black holes during galactic mergers. As more and more instruments to detect gravitational waves come online, the more humanity learns about some of the most esoteric events in the cosmos, including its origins.
The minimum one-way travel distance to the nearest abortion facility for 27 percent of US women is over 30 miles, according to a study published in the Lancet on Tuesday. In six states, the minimum median average travel distance exceeds 50 miles. In three statesWyoming, North Dakota and South Dakotaat least half of women of reproductive age lived more than 90 miles from the nearest abortion care provider.

Ninety percent of all US counties lack any abortion facility, and 39 percent of women of reproductive age live in those counties. In 39 states, at least 1 in 5 women lived more than double the median average distance away from the nearest abortion facility. In 26 of these states, these women would have to travel more than 50 miles to reach their nearest abortion facility; in nine states, the minimum one-way travel distance for these women exceeds 100 miles.

The study, conducted by the not-for-profit Guttmacher Institute, which advocates for reproductive health care access, is the first to examine spatial inequality in access to abortion services on a national scale.

Changes in accessibility have followed mass closures of abortion facilities since 2011at least 162 providers have stopped offering abortions or shuttered entirely following 338 state-level abortion restriction laws enacted since that year, mostly in the Midwest and South. For example, in Texas, after the introduction of abortion restriction legislation in 2013 that resulted in the closure of 22 of the states 41 abortion facilities, the number of women who would need to travel more than 50 miles to an abortion care provider increased from 10 percent to 44 percent.

The studys authors note that their data does not take into account other barriers to abortion access, such as the incapacity of a resource-strapped facility to meet local demand, or state laws that force women to make the trip twice by mandating in-person counseling sessions with providers followed by waiting periods of a day or more.

Fifty-seven percent of women of reproductive age live in a state classified by the Guttmacher Institute as either hostile or extremely hostile to abortion rights. Seven statesKentucky, West Virginia, Missouri, Wyoming, South Dakota, North Dakota and Mississippihave only one remaining abortion provider. For many women, the only way to receive an abortion in a timely manner is to travel to a facility in another state.

The authors limited their analysis to providers that publicly acknowledge that they provide abortion services. With the exception of one stand-alone clinic, all non-public providers were either hospitals or physicians offices. The authors also redacted the locations of some public lower-volume facilities, defined by the Guttmacher Institute as performing fewer than 400 abortions annually, due to concerns over the providers safety. Some 84 percent of abortion providers have reported receiving anti-abortion harassment, and 3 percent reported receiving bomb threats. Anti-abortion theft, vandalism and arson have driven some providers into financial ruin, forcing them to cease providing abortion care or close permanently.

Over 99 percent of the non-public abortion providers known to the Guttmacher Institute are located in urban areas. Even if these providers publicly advertised their services, they would still be inaccessible to many poor and working women living in rural areas.

Poor and low-income women and those who live in rural areas are often hit hardest by state restrictions that exacerbate long-standing inequalities in abortion access, said Megan Donovan, Guttmacher policy expert. Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) legislation imposes onerous requirements that make it difficult or impossible for providers to stay afloat.

These laws mandate hefty staffing requirements that are too expensive for most clinics to maintain. These include requirements that physicians have admitting privileges at a local hospital, which may deny granting these privileges on religious grounds, and costly and unnecessary facility modifications so that abortion providers can double as ambulatory surgical centers. Other state restrictions include banning insurance coverage of abortion care, and banning the use of state funds to provide abortion care except in cases where the womans life is in danger.

Jonathan Bearak, lead author of the Guttmacher study, points to social pressure as another factor deterring providers from offering abortion care. Not just the patients, but the doctors are affected by stigma, Bearak told NPR. Local physicians fears that providing abortion care would negatively impact their medical careers compel some facilities, such as the Planned Parenthood Sioux Falls clinic in South Dakotathe states only abortion clinicto fly in out-of-state doctors on rotation.

Ive been told by a supportive physician here that basically, providing abortions for a South Dakota physician in Sioux Falls would be career suicide, Dr. Carol Ball, one of the four doctors practicing at the Planned Parenthood clinic, told NPR, adding, the feeling is that there would be consequences to their practice."

The attacks on abortion rights have been seized upon by the American ruling elite to spearhead the assault on health care infrastructure as a whole. Abortion-providing facilities that receive public funding serve as vital providers of health care for low-income workers and young people, especially those dependent on publicly funded health insurance. These facilities offer a range of vital services that would otherwise be inaccessible to many workers and young people, such as cervical and breast cancer screenings, contraceptives, comprehensive sex education, and prevention and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

Two and a half million Americans go to Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the largest provider of abortion care in the United States, as their primary health care provider. According to Planned Parenthood, federal Title X grants have allowed their facilities to provide 6 million STI screenings, 1 million breast exams and 800,000 cervical cancer screenings in 2015 alone.

In April, President Donald Trump signed federal legislation that allows states to deny federal Title X grants, which funds family planning and preventive health services, to any facility that provides abortion care, effectively using the right to abortion to hold hostage other facets of reproductive health care from the working class.
The World Socialist Web Site invites workers and other readers to contribute to this regular feature.

Europe

Overwhelming vote by UK Royal Mail staff for rolling strikes

UK postal workers employed by Royal Mail voted to strike by 89 percent out of 110,000 balloted, in a turnout of 73 percent.

Their grievances concern the ending of their final salary pension scheme to new entrants, the terms of its replacement, disputes over pay and the closure of delivery offices.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said it would decide whether to act on the vote at their next strategy meeting.

If the strike goes ahead, it would be the first in four years since Royal Mail was privatised. While the CWU complains management cost cutting and asset stripping since privatisation have provoked the dispute, it was its abject capitulation that enabled this to take place.

CWU Deputy General Secretary Terry Pullinger bemoaned, Any sense of vocational spirit and working together with management has been lost in a climate of fear and insecurity.

This massive failure in trust has created a breakdown in relationships and a toxic environment where working together to solve difficult problems has become almost impossible.

UK rail guards continue strikes

This week, conductors at Southern Rail, Merseyrail, Arriva Rail North and Greater Anglia struck on Tuesday and Thursday against plans to introduce Driver Only Operated trains (DOO)a measure that will result in 6,000 redundancies and compromise passenger safety.

Private rail firms nationally, with the backing of the government, are determined to impose DOO, which already operates on a third of trains.

The workers are members of the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT), which has just signed a deal with the Welsh Labour-led Assembly. This opposes DOO in words, but accepts the downgrading of the conductors jobsimilar to the sell-out arrangement that the union organised at ScotRail.

This week, conductors employed on the South Western franchise, run by First MTR since August, voted in a ballot organised by the RMT to join strikes against DOO.

Portuguese doctors to take industrial action

Beginning October 11, doctors in Portugal will begin regional strike action followed by a nationwide walkout November 8. The doctors, organised in the National Federation of Doctors (FNAM), have a list of 25 grievances including excessive overtime hours.

Nurses, who voted to strike last month, continue to threaten industrial action this month in pursuit of a 400 pay hike.

Aslef union suspends London tube strike

UK train drivers union Aslef called off a 24-hour strike, due Thursday, on the London Underground. This followed talks with the governments arbitration service Acas. The dispute was over rosters and work-life balance.

Aslefs London Underground organiser, Finn Brennan, said, We have always been prepared to keep talking to resolve this dispute. ... Our ballot remains live.

Striking London cinema workers threatened with the sack

Cinema workers in London entering the second year of their dispute have been notified by lawyers for Picturehouse that they face instant dismissal if they strike.

Workers plan to take nine days action between October 4 and 15 in their struggle to be paid the London living wage of 9.75.

The workers are employed at the Ritzy in Brixton, the Hackney Picturehouse, Crouchend Picturehouse, East Dulwich Picturehouse and Picturehouse Central.

The strike coincides with the start of the British Film Institutes London Film Festival.

Bus strike begins in Manchester, England

Bus drivers employed by First Manchester in northwest England began strike action on October 2 as part of a series of one-day stoppages on the 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th of the month.

Six-hundred and seventy-nine members of the Unite trade union, operating buses on 43 routes, are protesting over pay and conditions. The union has confined the strike to workers at depots in Bolton and Rusholme.

The workers at the Rusholme depot are on lower wages than other depots. Rusholme was taken over from the Finglands company in 2014.

University of Manchester staff vote yes to strike

Faced with the threat of 140 redundancies, academic staff at the University of Manchester in northwest England voted by 93 percent, on an 87 percent turnout, to strike.

Management is proposing to shed 35 posts in the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, 65 in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, and 40 in the Alliance Manchester Business School.

The 140 jobs lost will be replaced with 100 new early career academic appointments, at lower salaries.

The University and College Union pointed out that the University was in surplus last financial year and also sits on 1.5 billion of reserves.

Belfast baggage handlers strike vote

Baggage handlers at Belfast City Airport, employees of Swissport, have voted to strike in support of a sacked Unite union representative. Sixty out of 100 employees voted to strike.

Polish doctors hunger strike

Resident doctors in Warsaw hospitals began a hunger strike last Monday over low salaries that make it impossible to make ends meet.

They are also protesting inadequate health care funding and staff shortages, both of which have led to staff being overworked.

Polish Health Minister Konstanty Radziwi said the doctors pay expectations were unrealistic.

Greek retirees protest pension cuts

Fifteen-hundred Greek pensioners took to the streets of Athens Monday to demand the Syriza government rescind cuts to their already meagre pensions.

Syriza, which came to power in 2015 on a wave of mass protests and promising an end to austerity, immediately began implementing the cuts demanded by the European Union and banks in return for loans to pay off the countrys debt mountain of more than 300 billion.

According to Eurostat, 22.2 percent of the Greek population are severely materially deprived.

With high unemployment43.3 percent in June amongst the youthfamilies are dependent on pensioners to survive.

Protester Athanasios Christou, an octogenarian, told Reuters, Im supporting two families on my pension. I dont know what I will do if its reduced further. I have cut back on everything, coffee at my local, newspapers. I go to the doctor only for something serious, and even then its on borrowed money.

Rail strike looms in Ireland

Next month, staff at Irish Rail are to ballot for industrial action over a proposed pay rise of 4 percent. The ballot follows a breakdown in talks between the Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union (SIPTU) and management at the Workplace Relations Commission.

According to Business Irish, a secret company memo claims pension fund problems will be used to say the company is facing insolvency in order to fend off the pay claim.

Food industry workers strike factory in Kerry, Ireland

Two-hundred and ninety workers at food factory Kerry Ingredients took the first in four 24-hour strikes last Tuesday in a dispute over pay and the introduction of new computer system to control production at the plant.

The workers at the firms plant in Listowel supported a strike ballot by a 90 percent majority.

The SIPTU members say the new systems will place greater demands on them.

Pilots form ad hoc committee to battle Ryanair

Pilots working for Dublin-based Ryanair have formed an unofficial committee to negotiate with the airline, which refuses to recognise the pilots union BALPA or the Irish IALPA.

Ryanair has only negotiated locally with airport-based employee representative committees (ERCs), which pilots say has resulted in a race to the bottom in terms of their pay and conditions.

Ryanair recently cancelled 18,000 flights on 34 routes over the next six months, due to staff shortages, causing much distress to passengers.

Africa

South African shop workers strike for a wage and minimum pay increase

More than 5,000 South African shop workers went out on national strike September 22 demanding better wages.

The strike involves workers at 20 Makro wholesale stores nationwide.

On top of the wage increase, workers are looking for an increase in the minimum wage of around 20 percent from R5,000 (US$365) a month to R6,000 (US$441).

Negotiations have been ongoing with the South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Trade Union and the wholesaler since April, with the company offering 7.5 percent.

During the strike, workers in Pietermaritzburg were confronted with police military-style armoured Casspir vehicles in the wholesalers car park.

South African smelter workers oppose buy-off pay and allowance increases

Six-hundred members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) struck on September 30 at the Richards Bay aluminium smelter in Kwazulu-Natal.

Management is offering R100,000 (US$7,350) to buy off three years of wage increases and R10,000 (US$735) to defer any claims on allowances over the same period.

The union has described as bribes managements other alternatives to the pay offermainly offering cash sums as alternatives to increases on the hourly pay.

The unions are demanding a 7.5 percent pay increase and 8.2 percent for the lowest paid. They also want medical aid paid for, a R5,000 (US$365) housing allowance, and a 20 percent bonus as well as equal pay for equal work.

NUMSA says there is a discrepancy of up to R200,000 (US$14,750) in some cases between workers doing the same work. The union is also claiming that the settlement covers workers belonging to other unions at the plant.

South African college staff strike over pay progression

Staff at South Africas Central Johannesburg Technical and Vocational Education and Training college (TVET) are on strike.

They are demanding the implementation of a 2015 pay progression agreement. The agreement was established when higher education came under the control of the Department of Higher Education and Training, from the provinces.

Workers expect to progress in pay as they were promoted, but pay rates have remained the same.

The Times Live web site cited a representative for striking staff at seven of the colleges branches who warned , Graduations on Friday will not happen if we are not paid what is due to us. Same thing will happen with the exams we will keep all TVET colleges closed.

South African aircraft engineers threaten strike over wage disagreement

Aircraft maintenance workers have threatened to strike at South African Airways (SAA). The threat is based on a disagreement in wage negotiations between a union, and SAATechnical, a subsidiary of SAA.

Like some other airlines across the world SAA is in bankruptcy, but is going through a process of bailout.

The airline is to be given R4.2 billion as working capital and debt repayment funds from the countrys National Revenue Fund. SAA owes R6.8 billion to Citibank, and R1.8 billion of this is up for payment at the end of September.

Workers originally feared the bailout was to be drawn from their pension fund.

Medical care unions send striking workers back to work in Nigeria

On September 29, while medical care workers in Rivers State Nigeria were joining the Joint Health Service Unions (JOHESU) strike, the union was in the process of calling it off. This it did the day after.

Workers had struck over unpaid wages, pensions and allowances.

JOHESU incorporates 95 percent of union employees in the health care industry in six unions.

The 12-day strike was suspended in principle after the unions nine-hour meeting with the federal government, with workers then sent back to work on Wednesday this week.

Although no reason was given as to why the strike was called off, at a meeting last Tuesday the federal government negotiator claimed the strike was illegal because 14 days of notice was not given.

Workers in Benue State, Nigeria, strike

The Nigerian Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress have called a strike in Benue State over unpaid wages, pensions and allowances.

Almost a years wages are owed to the states workers and payments to pensioners are outstanding for 13 months. The strike proceeded on Tuesday following a seven-day warning strike.

The State Executive Council responsible for calling the strike said they regretted the governments inability to meet their demands and that all avenues for arbitration on the matter yielded no results.

The strike is being conducted over the same issues affecting Rivers State medical employees, with similar issues facing doctors in the Medical Doctors Association.

Nigerian doctors call seven-day warning strike

The Medical Doctors Association declared a seven-day warning strike in Benue State on Tuesday, after a previous 21-day ultimatum to pay wage arrears ran out. It said it was excluding private hospitals from the dispute for now.

Private hospitals are going through a boom period, while the unions collaborate in the destruction of the meagre health system workers rely on.

Kenyan government accused of lying in its attempts to break nurses strike

Kenyan nurses have accused county governors of lying when they claim they are returning to work. The governors claim that out of 44,500 nurses employed, 22,000 are back at work. Governors also claim that in West Pokot County nurses are in negotiations with them, although no nurses or health workers at all are at work there.

As part of the brutal destruction of the health care system, nurses are being confronted with the sack. Nurses have been striking for 121 days, even longer than the 100-day doctors strike.

It is reported that central government is holding meetings of the Salary Remunerations Committee and the Council of Governors that concern the nurses dispute, but nurses representatives are not invited.
A report published September 27 by the US Federal Reserve, the Survey of Consumer Finances, shows that the top 10 percent of Americans now own 77 percent of all wealth. The top 1 percent increased its share of wealth from 35.5 percent in 2013 to 38.5 in 2016. The share of the bottom 90 percent declined from 25 percent to 22.9 percent over the same period.

These percentages show a transfer of trillions of dollars from the working class to the rich and affluent in just three years.

The bottom three quarters of the population, some 240 million people, now own less than 10 percent of the wealth. That is, if the United States were a 10-storey apartment building with 100 people, the richest person would be living on the top four floors, the nine next wealthiest people on the next four floors, fifteen on the second floor, and 75 people cramped at the bottom level.

The Federal Reserve data demonstrates, in empirical terms, profound changes in social relations that affect hundreds of millions of people, touching all aspects of political, cultural and intellectual life. The US is an oligarchy in which the government, trade unions, media, universities, and major political parties are instruments used by the ruling class to manipulate the population, mask its own wealth, and crush social opposition from below.

The figures expose the material basis for the emergence of a campaign in the ruling class to block access to the World Socialist Web Site and other left-wing sites in the guise of combatting Russian aggression.

In an oligarchy, social inequality is incompatible with democratic rights. Incapable of and unwilling to address the social needs of the masses of people, the government turns to censorship, surveillance, blacklisting, and violence as its preferred methods for defending unprecedented levels of wealth monopolized by the ruling class.

The data shows that the main dividing line is between the top 10 percent and the bottom 90 percent that comprise the working class. The Federal Reserve figures expose as lies the claims by politicians and media pundits that the bulk of the US population belongs to the middle class.

Below the aristocracy and the affluentconcentrated in certain neighborhoods of major centers like New York, the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and other citiesthe United States is a country dominated by tremendous economic hardship. The data shows that while different strata of the population face economic insecurity at different levels of urgency, decades of social counterrevolutionary policies by both parties are bringing them closer together, marking all with the same scars of class exploitation.

The poorest ten percent of the population, some 32 million people, possess negative wealth. They include the homeless and the hopelessly in debt. For this section of the population, roughly equal to the populations of Texas and New York combined, life expectancy, disease rates, and living standards resemble third world conditions.

The next poorest ten percent have no wealth, between $0 and $5,000 per family, less than the value of a 10-year-old used car. The combined wealth possessed by this layer is not significant as a proportion of overall wealth.

Roughly the lower-middle third of the population, from the 20th to 50th percentile, control just 1.6 percent of total wealth. A family of four with two parents working full-time at the minimum wage with one average-priced vehicle and no other assets would fall in the middle of this broad category of workers.

The 64 million people in the 50 to 70 percent range control just 5.1 percent of the wealth. A family with a below average-priced home worth $150,000, plus a vehicle and $0 in savings would be above the 60th percentile in wealth. A family with two working adults making between $40,000 and $50,000 each would find itself in the 70 to 80 percentile, perhaps possessing two cars, a home valued just above the national average of $175,000, a life insurance policy and $10,000 in savings.

The 80 to 90th percentile owns 11.2 percent of the wealth. Two skilled workers with incomes of $60,000 to $80,000 each, one pension, a $300,000 home, and two vehicles would find themselves in this decile. This section is slightly more comfortable, but by no means financially secure.

The chasm separating the top 10 percent from the working class has widened in recent years. From 2004 to 2016, the working class saw its wealth decline precipitously across all strata. The median family in the poorest fifth lost 29.5 percent of its wealth over this period, followed by 24.7 percent for the median family in the 20th-39th percentile, 10.8 percent in the 40th-59th percentile, 17.3 percent in the 60th-79th percentile, and 1.3 percent in the 80th-89th percentile. This wealth went to the top 10 percent, where median family wealth rose by 38.7 percent over the same period.

As a result of this massive transfer of wealth, median family wealth in the top 10 percent is nearly triple that of the 80 to 90 percent, 20 times greater than a family in the 50th percentile, and 254 times more than the median family net worth in the poorest 20 percent.

The political establishment that has overseen this transfer systematically ignores and aggravates the urgent social problems confronting the vast majority of the population.

Footage of Trump flipping paper towel rolls to victims of the storm in Puerto Rico epitomizes the callous and insulting response of the oligarchy to the problems of the working class. But sanctimonious claims by Democrats that Trumps actions were insensitive ignore the fact that the entire ruling class is responsible for the social catastrophe. After all, it was Barack Obama who travelled to Flint, Michigan and told a crowd of people to drink the water. Nobody in the Democratic or Republican parties has made any real effort to address the opioid crisis, homelessness, declining life expectancy, storm protection and disaster infrastructure, skyrocketing student debt and the health care crisis.

The three branches of government, largely comprised of millionaires and billionaires, focus exclusively on the interests and social demands of the top 1, and, more broadly, the top 10 percent of society. A key concern of the affluent 10 percent is blocking the growth of social opposition and protecting their own wealth and privileges. In recent years, the American ruling class has become more aware of the growth of social opposition within the population to war, inequality and poverty.

Fearful that the technological advances of the Internet and social media platforms can increase access to alternative political viewpoints, the oligarchy has initiated a campaign to censor left-wing websites and crack down on social media platforms in the name of blocking Russian interference in the US political system. Without a shred of credible evidence to back their claims, newspaper editors, TV talking heads, Senate and House committee members, corporate executives, trade union leaders and academics are engaged in a mad rush to censor the Internet and protect the population from fake news.

The anti-fake news censorship and blacklisting initiative is an escalation of a years-long campaign by the ruling class to create the framework for police state methods of rule. At the same time, the growth of social inequality revealed in the Federal Reserve figures points to the inexorable intensification of social and class conflict in the United States, the objective foundation for socialist revolution.
The Liberal-National Coalition federal government and the state and territory governments, most of which are controlled by the Labor Party, yesterday announced an extraordinary increase in police powers.

The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) summit agreed unanimously to sweeping new measures, including real-time use of facial recognition technology to monitor the population, 14-day police detention without charge, expanded powers to call out the military to deal with domestic unrest, and vague new criminal offences.

Yesterdays announcement marks another nodal point in the bipartisan agreement of the Coalition and Labor to erect the framework for a police-state. The powers are truly Orwellian, that is, reminiscent of the totalitarian nightmare of universal political surveillance and repression presented by George Orwell in his novel 1984.

The new powers add to the more than 70 tranches of counter-terrorism legislation already imposed on the population since 2001. The politicians, backed by the corporate media, claimed the measures are intended to keep people safe.

In reality, the war on terrorism has been a fraudulent cover for the evisceration of fundamental legal and democratic rights. Each of the latest measures extend far beyond combatting purported terrorist threats, and severely erode the civil liberties of the entire population.

The Labor Party premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, was the most explicit in dismissing any concerns about civil liberties, which he disparaged as a luxury of notional considerations.

Far from a luxury, rights such as freedom from political surveillance and protection from detention without trial were won through centuries of social and class struggle against absolutist regimes and capitalist governments.

In unison with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Andrews sought to depict the overturning of core legal rights as only affecting a minority of the population. We are going to have to curtail the rights and freedoms of a small number of people in order to keep the vast majority of Australians safe, he stated.

Every authoritarian regime has made the same claim. An examination of the measures themselves exposes the lie that only a minority will be affected.

First, as some technology experts warned, the national facial biometric matching capability adopted at the COAG summit will permit police and intelligence agencies to quickly pick out any individual in shopping areas, large cultural and sporting events, and political demonstrations. According to the COAG communique, this system will be targeted at not just terrorism suspects, but other criminal activity.

CCTV, drones and other increasingly sophisticated photographic and facial recognition devices will enable authorities to almost instantaneously match facial images to those in a national database of passport, visa and citizenship images, now to be expanded by the addition of all state and territory drivers licence photos.

Turnbull denied suggestions by some journalists that this could lead to Big Brother mass surveillance, but he confirmed that the technology could be used in public spaces such as shopping malls. The prime minister also admitted that unspecified private companies would be given access to the intelligence information.

Writing in the Australian Financial Review, Paul Smith described the plan as horrifying. It would hoover up the vast majority of the rest of us, and remove any notion of a right to expect privacy in our day-to-day lives (and yes, we have no Bill of Rights.)

On the City A.M. website, Tom Chatfield, a technology author, wrote: Imagine. A super-high resolution drone camera captures ten thousand faces from a crowd in one shot; an algorithm processes and identifies over ninety percent of them within moments; the results are cross-referenced with billions of bytes of other data, dating back decades. All of this is preserved indefinitely and shared widely, with corporations and governments tracking everything from credit and criminality to protest and voting patternsand none of this process is either visible to you, reversible or accountable.

Second, even children as young as 10 will be subjected to federal and state laws that permit police to detain suspects for up to 14 days of questioning before laying charges. This applies to any terrorism-related offences, which are defined so broadly that they could capture a range of political activities, such as opposing Australian military interventions.

Justice Minister Michael Keenan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation it was deeply regrettable that children could be held under the new powers, but he claimed Islamic State specialised in the radicalisation and recruitment of children.

As recently as 2015, Turnbull said such detention would be unconstitutional, because only courts have the power to punish people under the Australian Constitutions separation of powers provisions. But now the state and territory leaders have agreed to meaningless safeguards, such as supervision by magistrates, that Turnbull claims overcomes the constitutional issue.

Just a decade ago, in 2007, a public outcry erupted when the Australian Federal Police (AFP) used investigation detention powers to hold an innocent man, Gold Coast-based doctor Mohamed Haneef, for 12 days without charge. That furore played a role, a few months later, in the landslide defeat of the Howard Liberal-National government. The incoming Rudd-Gillard Labor government was forced to promise limits on the power. That pretence has now been thrown overboard.

Third, two new serious criminal offences were unveiled at COAGpossessing instructional terrorist material and staging a terrorism hoax. These further widen the already vast scope for the authorities to use so-called anti-terrorism laws to organise provocations against broader expressions of political discontent.

Fourth, the COAG leaders agreed to yet-unseen legislation proposed by Turnbulls government to expedite the domestic mobilisation of the Australian Defence Force. While Turnbull spoke of using troops in the event of a terrorist incident, the military call-out powers are tied to what the Constitution calls domestic violencea term for political or social unrest deemed threatening to the existing political order.

This is not the end of the assault on democratic rights. Turnbull foreshadowed further measures. He said the Coalition, which has passed nine tranches of national security legislation since 2013, was determined to stay ahead of the threat of terrorism. Labor leader Bill Shorten has stated his in-principle support for the decisions at COAG.

Already, a previous COAG gathering agreed to a post-sentence detention regime, whereby prisoners convicted of serious offencesnot just terrorist-relatedcan be kept in prison, potentially for life, even after their sentences have expired.

Over the past three months, the Turnbull government has unveiled the most substantial revamping of the countrys security apparatus since the global political convulsions of the 1960s and 1970s. This includes plans for a Home Affairs super-ministry to take command of seven agencies, such as the AFP, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and Australian Border Force (ABF), and a new US-style Office of National Intelligence (ONI) in the prime ministers office, headed by a Director-General of National Intelligence.

In June and August this year, the federal and state governments, aided by the media, laid the propaganda basis for the latest measures by exploiting dubious terrorist incidents, one involving a hostage-taking by a mentally unstable young man, and an implausible airport plot to blow up a plane with a bomb encased in a meat grinder or kill the passengers using rotten egg gas.

The WSWS warned at the time that the manner in which governments seized on these events pointed to plans for another boosting of police-state powers. As a recent intelligence review revealed, ruling circles are wracked by immense political fears, related to rising social and political disaffection and the prospect of mass opposition to its mounting preparations for war. The review highlighted the global turmoil and uncertainties produced by the Trump administration, and the seething discontent in every country, including Australia, generated by ever-greater social inequality.

These are the concerns that are driving the endless escalation of police powers, not a threat from a relative handful of terrorists. Parallel build-ups of the capitalist state apparatus are underway internationally, such as in France, where President Emmanuel Macrons regime is demanding permanent emergency powers. These developments are a warning of preparations for dictatorial methods of rule.
Once again this year the US Census Bureau reported that Detroit, Michigan is the poorest large city in the US, with an overall poverty rate of 35.7 percent, belying the narrative that is central to the re-election campaign of incumbent Mayor Mike Duggan that Detroit has experienced a comeback. According to the September Census report, more than half the children in Detroit live in families below the poverty level.

Duggan is up for re-election in early November. He has spent most of his four-year term arranging hundreds of millions in tax breaks for real estate speculators and billionaires like Dan Gilbert and the Ilitch family, heirs to the Little Caesars Pizza empire, and to various business and real estate ventures in the citys downtown.

A mass campaign of water shutoffs began in earnest in 2014, following Duggans election in 2013. It coincided with the massive attack on pensions and wages and benefits of Detroit city workers mandated by the Detroit bankruptcy, which was supported by Duggan, the Obama administration and the entire Democratic Party establishment.

The Detroit bankruptcy gutted the pensions and health benefits of Detroit city workers and set a precedent for attacks on public worker pensions nationwide. As part of the settlement the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) was placed under control of a regional water authority, a step toward the privatization of the system.

It is now four years into the residential water shutoff offensive by the DWSD. By January of this year 83,000 residential water accounts had already gone through the shutoff process. By the beginning of the summer of 2017, ten thousand Detroit households faced water shutoffs.

Instead of declining, as the city claimed would happen as they signed up more people for payment plans, the number of shutoffs kept piling up under the Duggan administration.

Duggans opponent, Coleman Young II, a Michigan state senator and the son of the long-time former mayor of Detroit Coleman Young senior, has demagogically attacked Duggan for ignoring Detroits neighborhoods outside of downtown. However, Young is part of the same Democratic Party establishment that has overseen the deindustrialization and impoverishment of Detroit dating back to Coleman Young seniors election in 1974. His attacks on Duggan are a transparent attempt to revive the discredited program of racial politics promoted for decades by the Democrats to divide the working class.

It is a measure of the relentless march to the right of the Democratic Party that there have been no calls by either Duggan or Young for any programs to confront the poverty so many Detroit households face on a daily basis in a city that at one point enjoyed the highest standard of living in the United States.

Double digit rent increases are driving the remaining poor out of the city altogether. Detroit, which once boasted the highest home ownership rate in the country, has now, for the first time in the post-World War II period, become a majority renter city. According to an October 5 report in the Detroit Free Press, one in five Detroit families in rental units face eviction every year.

Behind the water shutoffs is a social assault, overseen by Duggan and DWSD head Gary Brown, a former cop and lieutenant of hated former Detroit Emergency Manager Kevin Orr. To satisfy the rapacious greed of Wall Street lenders, the threat of living without running water is used as a punishment to extract tribute from Detroits impoverished residents.

Fifty percent of every dollar DWSD collects goes to creditors and bondholders as a part of political arrangements made at the time of the Detroit bankruptcy. When the last dime is extracted, poorer residents of the city are to be pushed out.

Partly to deflect criticism and partly to assist in extracting back debt from customers, schemes were expanded in early 2016 that put more low-income households on payment contracts. These payment plans are often nothing but a sham, limiting eligibility to a pre-specified number of months and creating bigger bills by tacking on arrearage charges.

One in four of Detroits residential customersdefined as households with incomes under 150 percent of povertyended up on various temporary and often onerouspayment plans. The number of people enrolled in some water assistance program had gone from 9,000 in 2015 to 44,000 in early 2016.

The WRAP program was one such program, ostensibly set up to help water customers, but resulting in future bills low-income households struggled to afford.

The World Socialist Web Site spoke with several Detroit residents trying to avoid shutoff who had come to the citys east side water payment office.

Jay Harris, a painter, was rushing out to get back to work. He told our reporters:

I dont think anything of this mayoral election. The only thing I notice is the downtown getting bigger and greater and since it is around election time of course they are fixing up some parks to get the vote. Why did they not do that right away?

I notice that instead of them tearing down burnt up houses, they are tearing down the one or two brick houses on a block and leaving the burnt ones alone. That is the craziest thing I ever saw. Why not keep the houses that someone could live in?

I have been renting my home for seven years. The last time I called on my water bill they told me $120 was due on the 20th. I paid that bill. Now they are telling me I have to find that money tomorrow somehow or I will be cut off. I already lost $100 by taking off work and coming down here to pay a bill I already paid.

I have been on the WRAP program for 12 months and now they say it is over. I come down here and they counsel me and tell me I missed a payment and now I have to come up with $420.

Kathy and Steve Petty charged that the water department still does not have correct accounting. I hope everyone hears what I have to say, Kathy told our reporters. They are terrible in there. Terrible! I get a balance due bill every month and I regularly pay my bill. Now they are letting me know that even though I just paid all this money, they have no record of the payment.

I also had a problem last month because they double-billed me. I came down here then and they told me just pay half the bill because someone made a mistake down here. So I did that. Then all of a sudden the bill was over $200 and they are threatening to shut me off.

World Socialist Web Site reporters also spoke to a local owner of some rental properties who had come down to pay some of her tenants water bills.

She said, Why are people being victimized? I dont like Duggan or Young.

It is sad! I am pressed, oppressed and depressed. Rights are not rights anymore. Water usage should not cost that much. We are paying more now under Duggan than under [former Mayor] Kwame Kilpatrick!

People are being pushed out to the suburbs. The people are divided. I cant find someone who cares about the people. This country is not an opportunity employer.
Pradhan said that the Centre is aware about Bihar's financial handicap due to prohibition in the state but hopes nevertheless that Bihar will cut VAT on fuel.

By Rohit Kumar Singh: Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today met Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and urged him to reduce the VAT on petrol and diesel in the state by 5 per cent. Pradhan, who was in Patna to attend the BJP state executive meeting, met Nitish at 1, Anne Marg and requested him to consider cutting VAT on petrol and diesel .

advertisement

"Petroleum products are taxed by the Centre and state, both. Centre has reduced the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 2 per liter . We have made an appeal to all state governments to reduce VAT on petrol and diesel by 5 per cent. I have personally requested Nitish Kumar also to reduce VAT on fuel in the state", said Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Petroleum Minister.

Pradhan maintained that the Centre was aware about Bihar government financial handicap following implementation of prohibition in the state but hoped that despite this, Bihar will cut VAT on fuel keeping in mind the interest of the people .

"Due to prohibition, Bihar is not getting excise duty and is stressed. The state government despite revenue losses due to implementation of prohibition is carrying out developmental work which is commendable. Financially, it a challenging situation for Bihar but I am still hopeful that it will reduce VAT on petrol and diesel to some extent", said, the Union Petroleum Minister.

Pradhan expressed hope that the petroleum products in days to come will come under the ambit of GST.

--- ENDS ---
TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- About 2 years ago, Florida's Capital City reached out to Dr. Karen Russell, a cancer and hematology specialist. Tallahassee was one of the few cities of its size without a center doing cancer research.

Only 3% of patients with cancer diagnosis are enrolled in clinical trials. Dr. Russell knows there are useful questions that if answered can directly benefit these patients and others. The center needs patients to get the answers. For example, a lot of childhood cancers are now curable because over 60% of kids under 18 are enrolled on clinical trials.

Everything experts know is based on what doctors learned from patients who chose to participate. Bringing trials offers people additional medicine and information about their condition. Dr. Karen Russell states,"To have a cancer center for a community, a big part of that is research because you're going to have patients who maybe you've done everything for them and you need a novel drug or you want to contribute to a general knowledge of how to take care of something."

Dr. Russell's big push is to enable adults with cancer to have access to clinical trials that they wouldn't otherwise have, and so far she is successful. She said one of the challenges of clinical trials is enabling people in the community to actually have access to them. People don't want to or can't travel for trials, so Tallahassee Memorial Hospital brought them to citizens of the Big Bend.

The Tallahassee Memorial Cancer Center is associated with the University of Florida Health, which has helped the center establish itself, train physicains, and gain access to national and international trials.
FLORIDA (WTXL) - Death row inmate Cary Michael Lambrix is scheduled to be executed tonight for the 1983 murders of Aleisha Bryant and Clarence Moore in Hendry County.

Lambrix met Bryant and Moore at a LaBelle Bar and invited the pair to his mobile home for a spaghetti dinner, but they were killed outside the home.

The Florida Supreme Court has rejected arguments from the death row inmate that his life should be spared because a jury did not unanimously recommend that he receive the death penalty.

This has become a major issue since a January 2016 U.S. Supreme court decision that found Florida's death-penalty sentencing system unconstitutional because it gave too much authority to judges.

The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops has asked Governor Rick Scott to commute Lambrix's death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Lambrix is schedule to be put to death by lethal injection at 6 p.m. at the Florida State Prison.

He would be the second person executed since the supreme court decision.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - The Tallahassee Police Department is looking for a man wanted for shooting himself in the leg and trying to cover it up.

TPD says that they were called to to 2012 Bradford Court on Sept. 17 for a shooting.

When they arrived, they found a victim, later identified as 59-year-old Kevin Difulio, who was taken to a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries. Difulio told police that he was possibly shot by people in a brown sedan while he was in the parking lot of his apartment complex.

However, as police began to investigate the incident, they found that Difulio's story was false and believed the story was a cover up for the fact the victim shot himself in the leg and is a convicted felon.

As a convicted felon, Difulio cannot be in possession of a gun leading police to think this is the reason why he made up the story.

Investigators are asking anyone with information about this case to please call them at (850) 891-4200 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 574-TIPS.
AIADMK leader VK Sasikala is out on parole to meet her ailing husband, Natarajan. She was convicted in a disproportionate assets case by the Supreme Court in February.

By Pramod Madhav: VK Sasikala, the former Jayalalithaa aide who was elected the AIADMK's legislative party leader before being jailed in a disproportionate assets case in February, is out on parole to meet her ailing husband in Chennai.

When she reaches the Tamil Nadu capital later today, she won't be able to meet her supporters, or give interviews to journalists.

advertisement

The Tamil Nadu government, led by two of Sasikala's friends-turned-foes - Chief Minister E Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam - has drawn up a list of rules for her to follow during her stay in Chennai. Take a look.

Sasikala's husband, M Natarajan, was admitted to the Liver Intensive Care Unit of Chennai's Gleneagles Health City on September 10.

The AIADMK leader's parole ends on October 11. She will need to be in her Bengaluru jail by 6 pm on October 12 - next Thursday.

ALSO WATCH | Sasi ki Kala: Chinamma's gala time in Bengaluru jail

--- ENDS ---
VALDOSTA, GA (WALB) - A Lowndes County veteran finds new meaning in the phrase "Home Sweet Home."

Air Force Veteran Raun Hampe was handed the keys to his mortgage-free home Thursday, thanks to an organization called 'Operation Homefront.'

Hampe and his family were speechless as they stood outside their new home.

I'm overwhelmed, its a beautiful, amazing feeling, said Hampe

Hampe was flooded with emotions as he received the keys to his new home, and the best part is that it is completely free; a dream he never thought possible.

Operation Homefront's primary goal is to help veterans in need of critical financial assistance, transitional, and permanent housing.

Hampe heard about the program and applied.

When I applied, I didn't expect it to be me. I felt like there were more deserving people out there. People go through stuff all the time, said Hampe.

Hampe joined the Air Force in 2002, retiring in 2010, due to post-traumatic stress disorder.

He had been deployed three times.

Once retired, Rauns parents moved in with him, and tragedy struck when his father died, and he was left to care for his mother.

His dad, my husband, passed away about four years ago. If it wasn't for him, I don't know where I'd be he helps me tremendously, said Diane Hampe.

Hampe is also a single dad sharing custody of his son. He said this home will help him regain everything he's fought so hard to keep: his family.

"It's financial stability, it's going to be closer to my son, closer to VA facilities. It's just going to open a lot of doors, and make a lot of things better," said Hampe.

Operation Homefront partners with J-P Morgan Chase to provide these homes to veterans. Over 600 homes have been donated since 2002.

Copyright 2017 WALB. All rights reserved.
Yakima homicides in 2017

 Jan. 20: Francisco Tinajero, 32, of Grant County was found fatally shot inside his car at Sarg Hubbard Park.

 Feb. 11: Eddie Abrams, 28, of Yakima was found shot to death in the 800 block of East Spruce Street. Police say the killing possibly was gang-related.

 Feb. 21: Noel Moctezuma, 26, was found shot multiple times in an apartment on South 56th Avenue. Police are looking for possible suspects, a man and a woman driving a dark-colored sedan. Police say they lack sufficient information to determine if the homicide was gang-related.

 March 5: Jared Scroggins, 23, was shot in the abdomen while walking west on D Street, between Eighth and Ninth streets. Scroggins had no gang ties, but the neighborhood is known for gang violence.

 April 6: Clerk Vikram Jaryal, 25, was shot and killed in an early morning robbery at the AM/PM mini mart at 601 E. Yakima Ave.

 April 24: Kabin Smith, 14, of Union Gap was killed in a drive-by shooting near the intersection of Cornell Avenue and West King Street. A suspect, Luiz Barrera, 23, was arrested April 28 and is charged with first-degree murder. Police determined the shooting was gang-related.

 May 5: Carlos Guerrero, 27, was fatally shot while sitting in his car outside a home in the 500 block of North Fourth Avenue. Police say they lack sufficient information to determine if the homicide was gang-related.

 May 10: Cuahutemoc Comacho Salamanca, 33, was shot and killed in the 1400 block of Cherry Avenue. Police say the killing was gang-related.

 May 19: Emilio Phelan, 31, was fatally shot at the intersection of West Peach Street and Cornell Avenue.

 June 4: The body of Stan Brader, 59, was found in his driveway near a trailer in the 1500 block of South 72nd Avenue. An autopsy showed he died of severe head injuries.

 Aug. 15: Raymond Moreno-Hernandez, 26, of Yakima died as a result of a gunshot wound to the head he suffered April 15 while sitting in a car outside the Market & Deli at 315 N. Eighth St.
Muharram procession in West Bengal's Kharagpur was skipped this year as the community decided to fund the cancer treatment of a Hindu man in the locality.

By India Today Web Desk: Muharram procession in West Bengal's Kharagpur was not carried out as the Muslims there decided to cancel it for a cause.

The Muslims decided to not use the money for celebrations but donated the amount for the treatment of a Hindu neighbour who is suffering from cancer.

Samaj Sangha Club which organises Muharram procession in Kharagpur's Puratan Bazar, raised Rs 50,000 initially. In that amount, the Muslim community had plans for a joyous Muharram but it took a back seat for humanity to sit in front.

advertisement

Thirty-five-year-old Abir Bhunia is a mobile recharge shop owner. He is suffering from Hodgkin's lymphoma, which is a cancer of the immune system. The amount of Rs 50,000 was donated to Abir, according to Hindustan Times.

ABIR, TREATMENT AND MUHARRAM

Bhunia is undergoing chemotherapy at Saroj Gupta Cancer Centre in Kolkata. He needs a massive sum of Rs 12 lakh. The treatment includes bone marrow transplantation.

"Muharram processions can be organised every year. But we have to save the life first," HT quoted Amjad Khan, secretary of Samaj Sangha.

"We have started raising money. On Friday, after the namaz we will ask the imam in the mosque to announce a donation drive for Abir. We hope to raise a bigger amount than the budget for our procession," Amjad Khan said.

Abir is full of gratitude and said, "I don't know whether I will be cured finally. But what my neighbours did for me have touched my heart."

Mohammad Bilal, a member of the Muharram committee of Puratan Bazar said, god would be satisfied "if we serve the people".

"He is suffering from cancer and fighting with death. We should stand by him," HT quoted Bilal.

--- ENDS ---
If you are sending a Letter To the Editor, please be sure to follow these rules:

Letters have a firm 200-word limit and will be edited for grammar, clarity and accuracy.

The person who signs the letter must be the author. Anonymous letters will not be considered. Letters must address the editor, not a third party.

We will not print form letters, libelous letters, business promotions or personal disputes, poetry, open letters, letters espousing religious views without reference to a current issue, or letters considered in poor taste.

Letters reflect the opinion of the writer. The Yakima Herald-Republic cannot verify the accuracy of all statements made in letters.

Writers are limited to one published letter per calendar month.
The woman said the alleged rapists "constantly threatened" to kill her child, and tied and beat her husband.

By India Today Web Desk: A woman has alleged that she was gangraped by four men at gunpoint in front for her husband, who she said was tied and beaten by her tormentors in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district.

And it gets worse. The men also "constantly threatened" to kill her child, she was quoted as saying.

A police official said an FIR had been registered, and that both the alleged victim and her husband underwent medical examination.

FIR has been registered, medical examination of both the victim and her husband being done; investigation underway: SP pic.twitter.com/Fygp8g4HCJ- ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) October 6, 2017

advertisement

The accused are yet to be identified, the police said. According to Superintendent of Police Ajay Sehdev, the woman and her husband were returning from a village with their three-month child on a motorbike, when the four men in a car intercepted them near Nirgajni village in the district. They pulled her off the bike and dragged her to a sugarcane field nearby. The four men then raped the woman at gunpoint and threatened her and her husband of dire consequences against disclosing the incident to anyone.

Police said that the accused beat her husband. A probe into the incident.

(With inputs from PTI)

ALSO WATCH | 5 ways friends and family can help a sexual assault survivor heal

--- ENDS ---
AMSTERDAM

Europe's rabbis are losing sleep at night: Radical Islam is taking root in the continent, the far right is growing stronger as a reactionand the Jews, as always, are caught in the middle. Not to mention the assimilation issue and the difficulty of bringing Jews closer to Judaism.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



Some 300 rabbis and rabbinical judges gathered recently in Amsterdam for the 60th anniversary convention of the Conference of European Rabbis (CER). In dozens of sessions and discussions, they dealt with key decisions on cardinal Jewish issues like conversion courts, kashrut matters, the rabbis role, etc.

Senior European Union officials and members of its agency for combating anti-Semitism chose to participate in the convention, as the burning issues on the Jewish communitys agenda are only a microcosm of the issues concerning Europe as a whole: Anti-Semitism, radical Islam, freedom and the far right.

Photo: Eli Itkin

When I say good morning to the neighbor next door, and meet non-Jewish people as part of my job, I cant stop thinking about their grandfather murdering my grandfather, the chief rabbi of Vilnius, Rabbi Shimshon Isaacson, tells Ynet. This is something which hasnt gone away and wont go away, definitely not over two generations.

He remembers how during one of his tours of the city, he ran into a local man who started accusing him of murdering Jesus. The rabbi didnt panic and noted pleasantly that if there was any truth to the accusation, he must have supernatural powers that he used to kill a god, which raises the question how dare that man scream at him. Anti-Semitism is in the European DNA, not in its cognitive part.

Dealing with Jewish life itself

Katharina von Schnurbein, the European Commission coordinator on combating anti-Semitism, clarified that the European Commission cant accept the fact that 72 years after the Holocaust, Jews still question whether they have a future in Europe.

CER President Pinchas Goldschmidt, Moscows chief rabbi, believes that its in Europe's soul. Radical Islam, he says, wants to return to the Middle Ages, to the era of the caliphs. The far right wants to divide Europe and go back to 1914. We, the Jews, want to march forward and turn to the future with the experience of the past.

The rabbis of Frankfurt and Odessa (Photo: Eli Itkin)

Post-war Amsterdam had 50,000 Jews and as many as 50 rabbis. Today, there are only 2,000 left, a local Jew tells me at the Ibis Hotel where we stayed, which caters to Jewish guests.

This is in fact the story of many European communities. Among the many rabbis, there are tens and hundreds of young men in their 30s who lead communities in different corners of Europe, some of which most Israelis have likely never heard of. These rabbis arent just dealing with questions of anti-Semitism or complex religious issues, but with what they refer to as the Jewish life itself.

Before I became the rabbi of the (southern French) city of Montpellier, I knew there was a Shabbat Jew and a Yom Kippur Jew, says local rabbi Benhamo. Now I have learned that there is a Jew of purification, of death.

He says he often holds ritual purification and burial ceremonies for Jews who have already become gentiles for all intents and purposes from a genealogical aspect, but what is left from Judaism is the handling of the dead.

Rabbi Isaacson of Vilnius adds with a bitter smile, Many Jews see themselves as Jews because they belong to the global Maccabi movement, thats all. Sound strange? Foolish? But thats how it works.

Jewish community leaders vs. rabbis

The assimilation rate, which in many cases reaches 90 percent, is also an implication of the unstable Jewish infrastructure. Its important for everyone to be Jewish, a British congregation rabbi explains. The thing is that if theres no kosher meat, if theres no Jewish education or a kindergarten to teach basic concepts, theres a detachment from the values and from the Jewish communal activity, and it is only then that the barrier of being married to a non-Jewish spouse is lifted.

The young rabbis are highly motivated, and with the help of the CER and senior rabbinical figures in Europe, they are trying to revive their communities with Jewish education and Zionism. No one here talks about repentance in its classical sense, but about instilling basic Jewish values.

Photo: Eli Itkin

The activity is carried out mainly by students, whose age is similar to the rabbis age. Today, everyone understands that the young 15- to 40-year-olds are our future, says Rabbi Isaacson. They are the ones who will give birth to children in the community, and they are the ones who will revive and activate it. You cant work with the old generation when you want to build a community, and when the rabbi is their age and speaks their language, its obviously an advantage.

Surprisingly, however, the rabbis seem to have quite a few opponents in the community itself. One of the rabbis, who asked to remain anonymous, says that the community committee, which is made up of people who have lived here for years, is afraid of us. It sees our success and its afraid that people will get swept away and it will negatively affect their position.

Rabbi Shimon Isaacson

This is a familiar phenomenon in many communities, the young rabbi of Vilnius explains. The committee or the community leaders maintain a certain Jewish status quo, and every change terrifies them. Many times, they are unwilling, for example, to fund communal activitybeyond putting the synagogue at the rabbis disposal. If dozens of people suddenly show up for a lesson or a party around a Jewish issue or event, they ask themselves: When will this harm me? When will the community members ask for other things and dismiss me?

Aliyah? A sensitive issue

The aliyah issue is constantly present in the air too, although its not always explicitly discussed. The Brexit, Marine Le Pens impressive achievement and the massive waves of immigration to Europe make it impossible to avoid the issue.

France is experiencing a serious identity crisis, and theres no doubt that if Le Pen had won, many of us would have considered leaving and immigrating to Israel, says Rabbi Moshe Sabag of the Great Synagogue in Paris.

The aliyah issue is extremely complicated as far as Europe's rabbis are concerned. As a congregation rabbi in Germany put it, half joking: The unofficial response is that if the community members make aliyah, the rabbi would lose his livelihood, as a community with no Jews needs no rabbi, and then what would the rabbi eat?

Photo: Eli Itkin

They say there is a grain of truth in every joke, but there is a more formal answer, the rabbi says: There are Jews in the community who can be brought closer to Judaism, even if they are currently far. If they go to Israel, theyre more unlikely to move closer to Judaism.

His comment reflects the perception of many of Israels senior rabbis, who have spoken against bringing Europe's Jews to Israel, fearing a spiritual decline. People are free to choose, says Rabbi Weil of France. I really think this is a matter we shouldnt intervene in. Each person should know if their time has come to make aliyah.

It seems, however, that the general hearts desire is to immigrate to Israel, but there is still a long way to go. As Rabbi Isaacson says, In my parents apartment, on top of my toy chest, there are boxes which they have kept since I was a child. When I asked my mother whats in there, she said: Those are new instruments which well use when we get to Israel. Decades have passed since then. So theres a great desire at heart, but its not an easy road to take, and it could take an entire lifetime.
At first they sat quietly, too scared to even utter a word. Twenty-three sick Syrian children, tired and exhausted from a sleepless night, from a meeting in the middle of the night with soldiers from the IDF; soldiers who were armed with weapons, soldiers who helped them cross the border into Israel.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



The fear was evident in their faces, but within a few minutes it is replaced with laughter. Johnny Havis, a medical clown, plays up-beat music and invites them to dance. "Abra Cadabra!" He says, and makes his red nose disappear. The doctors, nurses and soldiers of the " Good Neighbor " operation walk around smiling and handing out chocolates.

Four hours earlier, at 3:00am, IDF soldiers gathered at the border between Israel and Syria as part of the Operation Good Neighbor. Captain Oz Meshulam of Nahal Brigade faced the soldiers of the special force accompanying the operation and gave out instructions.

Photo: Elad Gershgoren

After the vanguard forces made sure the road is clear and safe, the soldiers continued toward the border. On the other side were 20 anxious mothers. The little children were clinging to their long dresses, and there were babies in their arms. One by one they passed the soldiers' inspection.

From then on, within 24 hours, the alienation gave way to familiarity, and the fear of security and the remnants of rooted hatred, was replaced with gratitude.

The security interest

"The Good Neighbor Operation started about a year ago," explains Lt. Col. A. "Our understanding is that it also serves a security interest, since when the citizens on the other side realize that Israel cares for them and saves their children's lives, it will be hard for anyone to convince them that we are the enemy who wants to destroy them."

Since the operation's establishment a year ago, more than 3,500 Syrians have received medical treatment in Israel and have returned home. Once a week, women and their children are transferred to hospitals in Israel, and the IDF distributes to them clothes, food, medical equipment and medicine.

"It is at this time when they understood that we are not the devil, as they have been taught all these years," Lt. Col. A. notes. "Later they will also be our ambassadors, and I am sure that a child who's life is saved by us today will tell his children about it, too."

Lieutenant Colonel A., a married man and father of three, expresses his sympathy towards the Syrian refugees.

"I see a 3-year-old boy with torn pants, no shoes. I then see my children, right in front of my eyes," he says. The division commander then took out his personal credit card and told me, "these children do not return to Syria without shoes and clothes. Every one of these children returns home with an Israeli bag of flour, sugar, cooking oil, clothes, diapers, milk substitutes and medicine."

It's now 7:20am. The mothers and children arrive at a special hospital ward that had been specially prepared for this.

G., a Syrian doctor who accompanies them, relates that almost all the doctors in Daraa and Quneitra either fled or were killed.

"We have no more hospitals," he says. "Every one of them was hit."

In their first moments in the reception hall, the children are worried, reserved. Johnny Havis springs to action and starts playing music and making them laugh. Within minutes, the children begin to smile.

Nur (a pseudonym, like all the Syrian names in this article), a 10-year-old girl, came here for a second visit. She is expected to have a catheterization after she was diagnosed with a heart defect on a previous visit. Next to her is Amal, 3, who is blind from birth.

"She really likes to sing and dance," says her 25-year-old mother. "The first time we arrived, it was at night. We saw soldiers with weapons, it's scary, but from the moment we got to the hospital and saw the reception, I calmed down."

Stay for the night

Nine-year-old Jamila, wearing jeans with gleaming sequins and a purple flower pin in her hair, is sitting surrounded by her five brothers and three sisters, happily eating chocolate.

"It's tiring," she says, nursing an injured leg. "But it's fun. I especially like the clown."

"At first I was afraid of the soldiers," she admits. "It was very scary to walk in the dark and suddenly see the soldiers with their weapons standing in front of us."

Wounded Syrian children coming to Israel for treatment (Photo: Elad Gershgoren)

Her brother Bashir, 8, smiles. "I was not at all afraid of the soldiers," he says.

Dr. Michael Harari sits in one of the examination rooms in front of a broken and worried mother. On her knees lies the sleepy head of a tiny girl with honey-colored curls. Her name is Yasmin, and she suffers from repeated attacks of shortness of breath.

"It is very possible that there is one explanation for all her problems, but there may be different factors," explains Dr. Harari. "To find the reason we need to do an X-ray, liver ultrasound, blood tests... The simplest way is to do all the tests while she is admitted. I recommend that you not return to Syria tonight."

Tears well up in the mother's eyes.

"I understand the difficulty," says Dr. Harari. "You have 11 more children at home but it's important that you stay. I do not know how long the tests will take and cannot even guarantee that we will find the cause. But if we do, we can treat it."

The mother picks up the child in her hands, and she wakes up startled and clings to her.

"I was afraid to come here," she admits. "I'm an Arab, Israel is foreign country. They speak here in a foreign language. But when they told me that someone would come and help with translation, it made it easier for me."

10:00am. Dr. Moshe Dotan receives a mother with two tiny daughters, two and three months old, both of whom suffer from heart disease. The little one cries, she is cold. He puts the stethoscope on her heart and lifts her in his arms.

Photo: Elad Gershgoren

The children remain for tests, receiving medical treatment and medication. In the middle of the night, the IDF forces aid in their return across the border.

Four children remain hospitalized, including Yasmin who underwent a pus drainage procedure from her lungs that day, under full anesthesia. She was hospitalized in the pediatric intensive care unit transferred the next day to the pediatric ward. She was transferred several days later to Rambam Hospital where she underwent surgery.

Dr. Zarka Salman, director of the Ziv Medical Center, is very proud of the project.

"You are witnessing something very special that the State of Israel is doing for the Syrian people," he said. "We so far treated more than a thousand patients Just at Ziv Medical Center, some of them suffering life-threatening injuries or ailments that required immediate treatment. They were all treated here professionally and with all the care in the world."
The scenario for the breakout of the next war, which the IDF's Northern Command has recently drilled as part of a large-scale training exercise, includes the infiltration of Hezbollah fighters into an Israeli community.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



"We have intelligence, we have fortifications and we have offensive plans to thwart it," the IDF chief tells Ynet. "I can't guarantee there wouldnt be an infiltration into Israel's territory and into a community. I can guarantee high efficiency in defense, I can guarantee that if anyone infiltrates the State of Israel, we would kill them. We would prevent (Hezbollah) from having any significant achievements. Both Hezbollah and Hamas understand the unbearable price they would have to pay for infiltrating an Israeli community and harming civilians."

Eisenkot in his office (Photo: Avi Mualem)

With the High Holy Days marking the start of a new Jewish year, IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot looks to the north, where he sees the gravest threat to Israel in the region.

In his first interview since taking office as the IDF's top commander, Eisenkot talks about the preparations for a war with Hezbollah, past and maybe future efforts to eliminate its leader Hassan Nasrallah, and the greatest enemy of allIran.

Eisenkot also discusses the other threats and issues that have placed the IDF, and him, in the spotlight over the last year: From Elor Azaria to the submarine affair.

Hezbollah is the enemy were concerned about

A caricature hangs on the wall of the IDF chief's office depicting Nasrallah, Syrian President Bashar Assad, and former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad looking at Eisenkot, then still a major-general, in his combat uniform and his yet-to-go-gray hair, on the day he was discharged from the IDF. "I have a feeling we'll be seeing him again," the three say with a wicked smile.

The caricature is from 2011, when Eisenkot had one leg out the door, after he finished his term as the GOC Northern Command and following the nomination (which was later withdrawn) of Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant to IDF chief.

Alongside the prophetic caricature is a metal statuette of an infantry soldier's shoes made of shrapnel from mortar shells and rockets launched at Israeli communities on the Gaza border. The shoes are walking on a sketch of the map of Israel. This farewell present from his former head of office, Col. Nir, is more of a depiction of Eisenkot's current role as an intrepid Golani infantryman who has no qualms about marching down a long path, charging with zeal at any goal he sets for himself and achieving it.

Currently, after the 21st IDF chief's term has crossed its halfway mark, Eisenkot continues working diligently to change the face of the Israeli military. Just before the beginning of the High Holy Days, Ynet joined him on the training grounds in the north and at his 14th floor office in the Kirya IDF Headquarters base for an in-depth interview.

Eisenkot in his office (Photo: Avi Mualem)

The word Eisenkot keeps using during the interview is "stateliness." As a follower of David Ben-Gurion, the first Israeli premiers legacy of stateliness is one of the main assets Eisenkot is fighting to keep in the IDF. Sometimes, he does so while swimming against the current.

The most important thing for the IDF in order to continue realizing its mission for many years to come is, in my eyes, the publics trust. Even if there is an argument over one incident or another, he says. Our approach is to be stately and professional. The IDF enjoys high regard in Israeli society, and we need to bolster this with professional, moral and impartial work.

Our first meeting took place in the field on the final day of the large-scale Northern Corps training exercise, which simulated an all-out war against Hezbollah. The decision in principle to hold this massive drill was among the first he made when he took over the IDF's reins.

Eisenkot with Ynet's Attila Somfalvi and Yoav Zitun at the IDF Northern Command drill (Photo: Yaron Brenner)

Tens of thousands of soldiers, dozens of fighter jets flying overhead, hundreds of vehicles rolling across the northern soilall taking part in a drill that even for Eisenkot was the largest Ive participated in, larger than the last Northern Corps exercise in 1998, when I was the Golani Brigade commander.

Are we facing imminent war?

At the moment, I dont see desire or motivation in any of our enemies to attack, to intentionally start a war. Our experience has taught us that our test as an army should center on capabilities. There is significant capability (to start a war) in Lebanon and certain capability in Syria.

Hezbollah is a semi-military organization, with many components and aspects of a military. It has gained experience over the last few years in the kind of fighting I dont take lightly: It operated battalions and brigades, received offensive aid, made intelligence collection efforts. Alongside that, Hezbollah also paid a very steep price2,000 of its men were killed and some 7,000 wounded.

Hezbollah is the enemy were concerned about right now, more than any other enemy around us, but the strategic balance massively tips in the IDFs favor.

Eisenkot at the IDF Northern Command drill (Photo: Yaron Brenner)

Defense Minister Lieberman has said that in the next confrontation in the north, Lebanon will burn on several fronts.

I dont like making threats and declarations. We have a use-of-force policy that is far more significant than what the average Israeli civilian can see. Weve significantly improved our capabilities, including in intelligence, since 2006. I have no doubt the IDF has the ability to defeat Hezbollah and minimize, as much as possible, the price paid by the Israeli home front.

How will the next war look?

The IDF is operating to defeat its enemies and increase our periods of calm. But if we have to go to warthe IDFs enemies would find themselves facing a sharper, stronger and more professional army than ever before.

IDF holds large scale training exercise (:  )

X

As the one who rehabilitated the Northern Command in the five years that followed the war in 2006, Eisenkot has become identified with the Dahiya doctrine: The use of disproportionate force to destroy the Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut, which to this day serves as the underlying deterrence for Nasrallah.

We tried to get Nasrallah at the beginning of the war. We attacked the building he was living in and the one that served as his bunker," Eisenkot admitted. "Throughout the war we tried to track him down. He knows why hes been living in a bunker for 11 years. He doesnt dare go outside, even though hes an admired figure in Lebanon.

'Working to stop Iranian entrenchment in Syria'

During Eisenkots tenure, the IDF has stepped up what has been dubbed as operations between warsmissions designed to thwart Hezbollah and Harmass efforts to arm themselves with advanced weaponry. In fact, special air, naval and land forces have been splitting their time in recent years between training and such covert activity, to which Eisenkot dedicates a significant portion of his time.

The IDF is working around the clock to allow Israels citizens to live in security. Our forces operate overtly and covertly every night to complete their missions, he says.

Some of these operations are meant to prevent the conversion of thousands of Hezbollahs rockets and heavy missiles into precision-guided munitions at factories Iran is planning to build in Lebanon or Syria. Improving the accuracy of these projectiles would allow Hezbollah to hit within a radius of no more than a 100 meters from their targetbe it the IDF Headquarters in the Kirya, the Ramat David Airbase or the Haifa refineries.

We consider accurate munitions to be a very severe strategic threat to the State of Israel. Weve been dealing with the aspiration to reach this capability for years now and have worked to prevent it, so far successfully. At present, there are no precision-guided munitions threatening Israels strategic locations, Eisenkot assures.

Eisenkot at the IDF Northern Command drill (Photo: Yaron Brenner)

To the credit of the defense minister and the Cabinet, I can say the IDF enjoys very broad operational freedom. I cant remember an operation we recommended that weve not been allowed to carry out. Our operations between wars have not led to escalation because our enemies understand were hitting the capabilities that need to be targeted. We carry out many types of operations, some of them violent, and only a small portion becomes known.

"In hindsight, it led to many achievements. We have intelligence and aerial superiority that creates great deterrence for the IDF. Its a fact that weve carried out hundreds of attacks in several types of operations, and there hasnt been any retaliation. It shows the great deterrence the IDF has, while at the same time we understand deterrence is a slippery concept.

While the prime minister has publicly confirmed Israels attacks in Syria, the situation in Lebanon is a lot more complex.

A status quo has been established following the Second Lebanon War, in which attacks in Lebanon have only been done in response to incidents, Eisenkot says. And security calm has been established on both sides on the border. Our challenge is on the one hand to prevent the emergence of a severe strategic threat such as precision-guided munitions, while on the other hand maintain the security calm that has lasted for 11 years now, benefiting residents on both sides.

The only thing that has is new over the last year is the Lebanese state taking responsibility, the IDF chief stresses. This is the choice made by Saad Hariri as prime minister and (Michel) Aoun as president. Shortly after Nasrallah and his men make belligerent declarations on the border, Hariri goes and tries to keep the peace. And he went to the United States, where he was met with the demand for the Lebanese state to take responsibility. So recently, the Lebanese army chief boasted a victory in Qalamun, and then he said, Were now going to claim our responsibility in the south.

This is a process that takes time. Our intelligence shows Nasrallah still maintains a presence in all of the villagesand certainly the Shiite onesnear the Israeli border and is developing its capabilities there almost completely undisturbed. In this complex reality, the wise thing is smart management.

'All options on the table' regarding Iran

As of late, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been putting the Iranian nuclear program back on the international agenda in light of Tehrans entrenchment in Syria. The prime minister discussed the matter with US President Donald Trump and spoke about it at length in his speech at the UN General Assembly, but it is doubtful Netanyahu could achieve his goal of having the nuclear agreement canceled.

Netayahu speaks at the UN General Assembly (: )

X

The agreement is a fact, the IDF chief says, refusing to directly address the question of whether scrapping the deal would be good for Israels security. Its an agreement that has holes, and as far as were concerned, it shouldve had more teeth, been more strict and included tighter supervision. An Iranian nuclear bomb is a danger to Israel, and we will continue monitoring to prevent them from (achieving) it via covert and indirect channels.

Are the Iranians in compliance with the agreement?

Theyre in compliance with the agreement for tactical reasons. Their long-term strategic goal is to obtain nuclear capabilities. There is no doubt about it. The IDFs challenge of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear capabilities has been at the top of our list of priorities over the past decade. This mission will continue being a top priority, since we understand this is a threat on a different scale.

Eisenkot at the IDF Northern Command drill (Photo: Yaron Brenner)

Is the military option still on the table?

When the political ranks say the State of Israel has the ability and that all options are on the table, they say so based on existing military ability. Meaning, the IDF has basic plans, it has the ability and if the IDF is required for the task, it would know how to act and meet the objectives set to it by the political ranks.

How does the threat from North Korea change the picture?

The State of Israel shouldnt be the first to tackle any threat on Earth. Our challenge is to prevent this phenomenon in Iran. That is the challenge of the regions countriesmostly the moderate Sunni campas well as of Europe and the United States.

Beyond its nuclear aspirations, Eisenkot stresses, Iran views itself as a regional power. There are 17,000 fighters in Syria today working under Iranian guidance, including 7,000 Hezbollah fighters, 9,000 Shiite militiamen, and 1,000-2,000 Iranians, with Tehran seeking to increase those numbers.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards fighters in Syria

X

How close are they to Israels border?

Only a few of them are close to our border; most of them are in north-western, central or eastern Syria. Were pursuing several different avenues to prevent Iranian entrenchment within 30-40km of the border, and were operating in quite a few avenues to minimize the missile accuracy capabilities Iran is trying to give our enemies, Hezbollah and Hamas. We want to get to a point where there is no Iranian influence in Syria, and this is being done in a combined military and diplomatic effort.

Despite the strengthening of the Shiite axis, which bolstered Syrian President Bashar Assad with Russian help, Eisenkot is not quick to declare the end of the Islamic State (ISIS) threat and confirms for the first time the IDFs part in the fight against ISIS.

Its too early to eulogize ISIS, because it is a phenomenon and an idea beyond being an organization. The fight against ISIS will continue for many years, he says.

Eisenkot in his office (Photo: Avi Mualem)

Since our intelligence capabilities are the best in the area, and certainly in Israels close vicinity, we contribute to the effort to defeat ISIS and the Nusra Front. We do with this our allies, sharing intelligence to support this effort. We pass on information to countries when we know something is in the works (in those countries). The (Israeli) intelligence community greatly contributes to thwarting terror attacks in the Middle East and elsewhere around the globe.

'Hamas will be taking a very big risk if it attacks us'

There are changes in Gaza, at least on the outside. Do you see any change concerning Hamas?

The security situation at the Gaza border since Operation Protective Edge is complex. On the one hand, theres unprecedented calm, the kind of which we havent seen since 1967. Its been three years now that not a single Israeli citizens has gotten so much as a scratch. Unfortunately, one IDF soldier was lightly hurt, and several dozen rockets were firedmostly close to the border. We are able to deter Hamas and allow for a very good security situation both on our side and theirs.

On the other hand, Hamas has been working to increase their power, including building up their underground capabilities, particularly the defensive ones, and attempting to obtain more rockets so they can return to some of the capabilities they had in the past.

The reality in the Gaza Strip is very concerning, because the economic-civic-humanitarian situation is very bad: the power supply is 4-6 hours a day, the water quality is low, 47 percent unemployment. Our interest is for there to be a good quality of life there, for the Gazans to have hope. At the same time, were not forgetting they are holding two bodies of IDF soldiers and two Israeli citizens who crossed the border, who should all be returned to the State of Israel.

Eisenkot in his office (Photo: Avi Mualem)

What is your position, as the IDF chief, on the topic?

This is a conversation that should not be had in public. It gives Hamas an advantage. They take advantage of our openness and our sensitivity when it comes to human life. They take advantage of the families distress, which is why we are taking steps to make things very difficult for the Hamas leadership, which will only increase. At the same time, we ensure the Gaza population can live their lives and not go hungry because of its irresponsible leadership.

At the moment, the Hamas government in the Gaza Strip is strong and dominant, but faces quite a few difficulties. This was reflected when Hamas agreed to disband its administrative committee and seemingly begin reconciliation, though it doesnt really want full reconciliation. The distress Hamas has been in since Operation Protective Edge has led it to a series of concessions to relieve the immense pressure it has been under.

Our interest is to not have a Hamas regime in the strip, but rather a more moderate government. I dont see any moderate government except for the Palestinian Authority, despite all of its shortcomings.

Palestinian Prime Minister Hamdallah meets with Hamas leader Haniyeh in Gaza (Photo: Reuters)

Is the IDF concerned that continuing building the Gaza subterranean obstacle , which is meant to stop cross-border tunnels, might lead Hamas to use a tunnel that crosses into Israel?

We take this possibility into account, because an army naturally looks at the risks rather than the opportunities. So we view this as a risk. But we are facing this risk from a position of power. If we uncover attack tunnels crossing into our territory, wed deal with it very gravely, as weve done in recent years. We carried out attacks, a numerous amount of times. Even when we thought it would hurt Hamas, we continued carrying out hundreds of strikes since Protective Edge. And despite the fact weve attacked hundreds of times, not a single bullet has been fired in response. Hamas will be taking a very big risk if it attacks as a result of us uncovering its cross-border tunnels.

Do you support the construction of a sea port in the Gaza Strip?

I support a sea port in principle, but for a sea port and other big projects, like an industrial area, to be possible, some conditions need to exist.

Preventing a third intifada

Eisenkot has served as the commander of the Judea and Samaria Division at the height of the second intifada and was one of the architects of the victory over suicide bombers, who have not reared their heads again since.

At the end of his first year as IDF chief, Eisenkot found himself, along with the top officers in the Central Command, once again dealing with a wave of terror attacks on the verge of escalating into a full-blown third intifada. The attacks, which claimed the lives of dozens of soldiers and civilians across Israel, were suppressed within a few months.

We consider the Palestinian Authority responsible. The (Palestinian) security services are making an effort to thwart attacks because of internal Palestinian considerations, he says.

Eisenkot in his office with Ynet's Yoav Zitun, Attila Somfalvi and Gido Ran (Photo: Avi Mualem)

Over the last month and a half, since the Temple Mount crisis, the cooperation with the PA has been limited, but still to the benefit of both sides. The PA is in charge of the life of over 2.5 million Palestinians in Judea and Samarias areas A and B. Theres dialogue, Eisenkot says.

Discussing how the IDF chose to tackle the wave of terror, Eisenkot says, Weve encountered a new phenomenon for the first timenot organized terrorism with proper weapons, but inspired terrorism. We were able to restore security because were very experienced in dealing with terrorism. We operated in a determined and focused manner, while distinguishing the terrorists from the population and creating positive incentives for the majority of the Palestinian population. Every morning, over 900,000 young Palestinians go to study, while half a million go to work in Israel and Judea and Samaria. This is a positive dynamic and we have a distinct interest in preserving it: On the one hand to determinedly fight terrorism, while on the other to continue to allow a better daily life for the population.

Border Police at the Temple Mount in the height of the crisis (Photo: AFP)

Did you think of copying a part of this model to the strip and giving permits to Palestinians from Gaza to work in Israel?

At this point, I dont see work permits being issued, but definitely efforts to improve the civilian-economic reality with water and electricity projects, as well as bringing goods into the strip, alongside creating great difficulties to the Hamas leadership. This is a formula that is hard to implement, but its the right thing to do, because there are still 2 million people living there. If the Hamas leadership hadnt cynically used two civilians who crossed the border and two bodies, I assume life in the strip wouldve been better.

'We must not allow mob-mentality in the IDF'

Shortly before Yom Kippur, the IDF chief decided to grant Elor Azarias request to commute his 18-month sentence, which the former soldier had already begun serving at Prison 4.

Eisenkot decided to reduce four months from Azarias time, making it likely the former soldier, who shot dead a neutralized Palestinian terrorist in Hebron, will be out of prison within less than a year on good behavior.

Elor Azaria (Photo: Shaul Golan)

How do you respond to criticism from the judges in the first verdict, who said the IDFs top command and then-defense minister Moshe Yaalon came out with statements against Azaria too soon, before the investigation was completed?

My first comment as IDF chief was made a month and a half after the incident, Eisenkot clarifies.

The IDF spokesman made a comment on the topic on the same day in front of the cameras, describing the incident as one that began with the attempted murder of two soldiers and praising their actions. He then said it appeared like an abnormal incident occurred after the attack, in which a soldier decided 11 minutes later to open fire at a Palestinian lying on the ground a meter away from his commander. At the same time, the IDF spokesman expressed the armys view that the soldier was innocent until proven otherwise. The position the IDF took was professional and ethical, the IDF chief insists.

Eisenkot in his office (Photo: Avi Mualem)

If you ask me today, in hindsight, if it was the right thing to put handcuffs on the soldier, my answer is no, but this is a longstanding procedure. Was it right to charge him with murder? This is another procedural manner no commander can influence. These are things I cant determine myself, as the decision here is professional, legal.

The two procedureshandcuffing and charging with murderhave since been nixed for similar cases of soldiers arrested for an alleged offense committed under operational circumstances.

Eisenkot stresses that, Beyond the position the commanders took, our approach was to let the investigation take its course, act fairly, allow for the presumption of innocence. I can only regret greatly the cynical exploitation of this event to drum up support, get publicity, try to influence commanders, and try to influence the court. I think this is an undesirable situation.

What did you make of the hateful chants outside the Kirya IDF Headquarters, such as Gadi beware, Rabins looking for a friend, This night, Gadi, you will die?

I heard it and I cant say I liked it. I know it is an opinion held by only a few people. I regret the hateful discourse surrounding this incident. There was similar discourse surrounding co-ed service (which was harshly criticized in religious circles) and the desire to influence the IDFs character from the outside.

Eisenkot at the IDF Northern Command drill (Photo: Yaron Brenner)

This kind of discourse doesnt exist in a vacuum. Some politicians dragged the IDF into this argument.

Any external attempt to influence the armys positions, norms, values and its courts is wrong. I hope lessons are learned from this and the military justice system, which is clean, is allowed to make the IDF stronger, more ethical and more professional. I have no expectations from a mob, but I do have expectations from leaders, and everyone should learn from this, myself included.

The IDFs commanders should be allowed to dictate the armys values. We cant hide behind civilian discourse. Were leading soldiers in missions and must make every effort to bring them back safe and sound, and commanders took a stand based on these values. I give my full support to the commanders, even if errors were made along the chain of command.

When I arrived at the scene two days later for the reconstruction of the incident, I understood the distress and the difficulties, but at the same time I also understood the professional approach the commanders took when they decided after three hours that the incident has surpassed the chain of command, and that a legal investigation must be conducted.

Eisenkot in his office (Photo: Avi Mualem)

Did this incident cause damage to the IDF?

In the short term, the IDF was hurt by this incident. In the long term, this would make the IDF a stronger, more professional and more ethical army that can draw the line. I said this, and I dont regret it: We must not allow mob-mentality in the IDF, as it would only encourage behavior that deviates from the orders, values and norms set by the commanders.

What is your message to Azaria?

Azaria is a young Israeli man who chose to serve in a combat unit, and I greatly respect him for that. However, in this case, both courts and the chain of command have made their position known in a very clear manner.

'I hope those involved in submarine affair are innocent'

Another issue that hits close to home for Eisenkot is the submarine affair. So far, no IDF officer currently serving in the army has been questioned in connection with the affair. Even the allegations attributed to former Navy commander Maj. Gen. (res.) Eliezer Marom concern the years following his retirement from the IDF.

However, it is possible current IDF officers might be questioned soon, and the IDF chief has already decided in principle to establishlikely after the completion of the police investigationan internal inquiry team to deal with the issue of conflicts of interest for retiring officers.

The historical understanding is that IDF officers dont touch money. The IDF presents the operational needs and those required to fulfill those needs are civilian elements. The right thing is to set a very high wall separating officers and influential people, he says.

If there was a criminal offense and officers did have a hand in it, we would be sure to bring them to justice, he adds.

Eisenkot in his office (Photo: Avi Mualem)

During the time in question (when Marom was the Navy commander), I was the GOC Northern Command. I know the people involved and hope they are without blame. I work under the assumption everyone is innocent under proven otherwise.

There are currently five submarines in service in the Israeli Navy. Two of them are new and, according to foreign reports, are capable of carrying nuclear armament. An additional submarine, INS Dakar, will arrive from Germany in a year.

Eisenkot pointed out that, Factually, the IDF has shown over the past decade that it needs 5 or 6 submarines to meet its operational needs. The additional deal being talked about (in the affair) included a 7th, 8th and 9th submarine. The new ones would be more advanced. Such a move requires looking 20-25 years into the future, how to properly build up the military. Weve released a written position of the IDFs requirements. Either way, when there was a (police) examination here, all of the material was gathered and passed on. We said that if the need arises to question officers, they will be there. I dont know of any officer currently in the IDF who was summoned or is expected to be summoned for questioning.

'At 18, everyone must put personal views aside and fight for security'

Earlier this month, the High Court of Justice tossed out an amendment to the Conscription Law that lowered the annual quota for ultra-Orthodox men being required to serve in the IDF. The court tasked the government with passing new legislation within a year that would prevent discrimination and equally distribute the burden of service.

If you ask Eisenkot, hed be willing to conscript thousands of additional Haredim first thing tomorrow not just in the name of equality, but primarily for operational needs.

Every 18-year-old man or woman needs to come to the IDF induction center and enlist, including the Haredim, Eisenkot clarifies the IDFs position.

Today, only 67 percent of 18 year olds are required to enlist, and this is not right. Our aspiration is to make better use of the manpower, mostly when just ahead theres going to be a cut to the length of service (which will cause a shortage of thousands of soldiers).

Haredim protest IDF draft (Photos: Reuters, AFP)

According to Eisenkot, the IDF is willing to bear the costs of conscripting the Haredim and making the necessary adjustments of service conditions.

This is what it means for the IDF to be the peoples army. You cant say that and then have selective service, he explains.

We need to demand a general draft of all sectors of Israeli society. If theres a wide-scale conscription of Haredim, theyd look at soldiers differently and wont view them as something to attack. Today, there are 7,000 Haredim serving in the army, among them 400 are officers and career soldiers. This successful integration of Haredim makes the army stronger. This phenomenon of a Haredi soldier going home and being beaten is wrong and very serious. The aspiration is to have all parts of society help in carrying the burden of security, he elaborates.

IDF Northern Command drill (Photo: Yaron Brenner)

While Eisenkot is popular among the public, he still receives quite a lot of criticism and suffers abuse, perhaps more than any IDF chief before him.

He has been branded as a leftist for a series of moves that were not popular across the board, including canceling the exemption from shaving (which angered religious soldiers); increasing the amount of female soldiers in combat roles and launching a pilot to open the possibility of serving on tanks to women as well; instating co-ed service for men and women; bringing the separate Jewish Awareness Department under the Education Corps; condemning Elor Azarias actions; giving the scissors speech; supporting easing restrictions on the Palestinians in the West Bank; and supporting the plan to expand Qalqilya.

All of these moves were meant to strengthen the IDF, Eisenkot says. Since 2008, the IDF has been operating without a co-ed service order, and it was destructive for the army. The commanders need such an order as guidelines on what should and should not be done, as well as give them tools to realize the IDFs objective of being the peoples army, which brings together the city dweller and the small town man, the Druze, Bedouin and Jew, the Sephardic and the Ashkenazi, the religious and secular to carry out a shared mission, with the understanding that at age 18 you put your personal views aside and everyone comes together under the banner of security.
An American amphibious assault ship docked at the Eilat port on Thursday morning after two months of sailing at sea.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



The arrival of the USS America (LHA-6) in the area is part of the USs re-deployment of its military in the region.

Photo: Roi Ritter

It is the first visit by the mammoth helicopter carrier to Israel, the aim of which is to strengthen relations between Israel and the US, when the two states are working together for the sake of regional stability and security.

During the visit, the sailors and crew members are expected to tour different cultural and heritage sites in Israel.

USS America (LHA-6) (Photo: U.S Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist seaman Vance Hand)

We came to work together with our partners, and our strength is the best amphibious task force in the world, said the commander of the15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Colonel Joseph R. Clearfield.

In addition to helicopters, aboard the ship were a variety military aircraft, including Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey military aircraft, capable of vertical propeller rotation, enabling it to land and take off on the spot without the need for a runway, and can serve as a small aircraft carrier.

Photo: Roi Ritter

Another military aircraft on board was the single-engine ground-attack aircraft AV-8B Harrier, also capable of landing and taking off without a runway.

In July, for the first time in 17 years, the USS George H. W. Bush aircraft carrier anchored off the coast of Israel at Haifa Bay about 4 km from the breakwater of the port of Haifa, being too large to dock at the port itself.
An oil painting produced by the Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler was recently vandalized in an art exhibition in an Italian museum by an enraged man wielding a screwdriver yelling Where is that piece of sh*t of Hitlers?

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



The 40-year-old man, incensed by the museums choice to display the painting, only managed to cause minor damage after stabbing it while screaming sh*t head due to the fact that it was covered with a protective layer.

Before he entered the political world and dragged the European continent into the Second World War, Hitler was an aspiring but failed artist, rejected repeatedly by academies.

Vandalized painting by Hitler

The painting was submitted by the dictatorwho liquidated millions of Jews and orchestrated the murder of hundreds of thousands of opponents and minority groupsas part of his application to the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts, from which he was rejected twice.

Despite the vandalism, the private German owner decided not to file a complaint against the perpetrator. After being restored, it was returned to the exhibit and will remain on display until November 19.

Adolf Hitler

Speaking after the incident, the curator of the museum, Vittorio Sgarbi, said he agreed with the succinct description of the painting being a piece of sh*t but insisted that it has a place at the exhibition since it portrays madness and nothing is more crazy than war.

The painting, according to this rationale, is befitting of the museum known as Museo della Follia, the Museum of Madness.

It's a piece of sh*t, it's a painting by a desperate man ... You don't see greatness but you see misery here," Sgarbi said in an interview with the Italian news agency ANSA. "It isnt the work of a dictator but that of a wretch, it reveals a profoundly melancholy soul."
Denmark looks set to become the next European country to restrict the burqa and the niqab, worn by some Muslim women, after most parties in the Danish parliament backed some sort of ban on facial coverings.

Full and partial face veils such as burqas and niqabs divide opinion across Europe, setting advocates of religious freedom against secularists and those who argue that such garments are culturally alien or a symbol of the oppression of women.

The niqab covers everything but the eyes, while the burqa also covers the eyes with a transparent veil.

France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and the German state of Bavaria have all imposed some restrictions on the wearing of full-face veils in public places.

"This is not a ban on religious clothing, this is a ban on masking," Jacob Ellemann-Jensen, spokesman for the Liberal Party, told reporters on Friday after his party, the largest in the coalition government, decided to back a ban.
The US army has begun arming its tanks with the Israeli-made  Trophy  protection system, capable of intercepting anti-tank missiles and rockets and other explosive weapons.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



The American Defense Department gave General Dynamics Aerospace (GDA), an American defense company, a first contract worth $10 million to conduct research, development and the necessary trials to augment the Abrams M1A2 tank with the defensive system.

Israel's Merkava 4

The US army plans to initially kit one armored brigade by 2019 with the Israeli technology which will be deployed before other brigades in crises around the world.

While it remains unclear how the work will be distributed between the GDA and the RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systemsthe company behind the innovationthe deal is estimated to amount to a massive $300 million.

While the US rarely purchases foreign-produced weaponry, the aberration came after tests with the sophisticated armor, after American designers failed to complete the development of similar defensive devices.

The Trophy system was made all the more tempting to the US army in its current form given its proven capabilities on the battlefield after being appended to the latest IDF Merkava 4 tank.

The decision was also influenced by the Americans' concern over the fact that Russia has already equipped their tanks with a parallel defense system, and may sell it to their allies; China and Iran.

"Only two countries have developed and equipped to date a defense system for tanks, and one of them is our ally," an American general recently said in a congressional testimony.

The Ministry of Defense and RAFAEL are already working on a new generation of the system. At the same time, the Americans are expected to acquire the equivalent system of IMI Systems, Iron Fist, for their armored personnel carriers.

RAFAEL will present in the US next week a version of the Trophy protection system for light armored vehicles, and a remote controlled firing position that saves the need to externaly load ammunition during combat, which endangers the lives of soldiers.
After discussing Iran and North Korea with US military leaders on Thursday, President Donald Trump posed for a photo with them before dinner and declared the moment the calm before the storm.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



You guys know what this represents? Trump said after journalists gathered in the White House state dining room to photograph him and first lady Melania Trump with the uniformed military leaders and their spouses.

Maybe its the calm before the storm, he said.

US President Donald Trump (L) participates in a briefing with senior military leaders at the White House in Washington, US, October 5, 2017 (Photo: Reuters)

What storm?

Youll find out, Trump told questioning reporters.

Classical music played in the background and tables were set in the nearby Blue Room for a fancy meal.

The White House did not immediately reply to a request to clarify Trumps remark.

Earlier in the evening, while seated with the top defense officials in the cabinet room, Trump talked about the threat from North Korea and preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

In North Korea, our goal is denuclearization, he said. We cannot allow this dictatorship to threaten our nation or our allies with unimaginable loss of life. We will do what we must do to prevent that from happening. And it will be done, if necessary, believe me.

During his speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month, Trump said the United States would totally destroy North Korea if needed to defend itself or US allies.

The president on Thursday also had tough words for Iran, saying the country had not lived up to the spirit of an agreement forged with world powers to curb its nuclear program.

A senior administration official said on Thursday that Trump was expected to announce soon he would decertify the landmark agreement

Trump has filled top posts within his administration with military generals, including his chief of staff, retired General John Kelly, and national security adviser, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster. McMaster, who normally dresses in civilian clothes at the White House, wore his uniform for the meeting.

Without being specific, Trump pressed the leaders to be faster at providing him with military options when needed.

Moving forward, I also expect you to provide me with a broad range of military options, when needed, at a much faster pace. I know that government bureaucracy is slow, but I am depending on you to overcome the obstacles of bureaucracy, he said during their cabinet room meeting.
When Israels envoy told UNESCO delegates last July that fixing the plumbing in his toilet was more important than their latest ruling, it highlighted how fractious geopolitics are paralyzing the workings of the agency.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



Whoever wins the race to replace Irina Bokova as head of the UNs cultural and education body next week will have to try to restore the relevance of an agency born from the ashes of World War Two but increasingly hobbled by regional rivalries and a lack of money.

Its triumphs include designating world heritage sites such as the Galapagos Islands and the historic tombs of Timbukture-built by UNESCO after Islamist militants destroyed them.





UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France (Photo: AP)

But in a sign of how toxic relations have become, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told world leaders at the UN General Assembly last month that UNESCO was promoting fake history.

Like Israels plain-speaking envoy Carmel Shama Hacohen, Netanyahu was referring to UNESCOs designation of Hebron and the two adjoined shrines at its heartthe Jewish Tomb of the Patriarchs and the Muslim Ibrahimi Mosqueas a Palestinian World Heritage Site in Danger.

Jews believe the Cave of the Patriarchs is where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their wives, are buried. Muslims, who, like Christians, also revere Abraham, built the Ibrahimi mosque, also known as the Sanctuary of Abraham, in the 14th century.

Israeli-Palestinian hostilities, though, are only part of a minefield of contentious issues on which the UN body has to hand down rulings

Japan, for example, threatened to withhold its 2016 dues after UNESCO included documents submitted by China on the 1937 Nanjing Massacre in its Memory of the World program.

Carmel Shama-Hacohen

The Paris-based organization, which also promotes global education and supports press freedom, convenes its executive council on Oct. 9 to begin voting on seven candidates.

Azerbaijan, China, Egypt, France, Lebanon, Qatar and Vietnam have put forward candidates. There is no clear frontrunner.

UNESCOs struggles worsened in 2011, when the United States canceled its substantial budgetary contribution in protest at a decision to grant the Palestinians full membership. UNESCO has been forced to cut programs and freeze hiring.

Its an organization that has been swept away from its mandate to become a sounding board for clashes that happen elsewhere, and that translates into political and financial hijacking, said a former European UNESCO ambassador.

Drawing lots

All the candidates have vowed a grassroots overhaul and pledged independence from their home nations.

France and China, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, argue the agency needs strong leadership, which can only come with the backing of a major power.

Chinese candidate Qian Tang has almost 25 years experience at UNESCO. His bid fits into Beijings soft power diplomacy, though Western capitals fret about China controlling an agency that shapes internet and media policy.

Former French culture minister Audrey Azoulay carries the support of Frances new young president, Emmanuel Macron. But the last minute French candidacy has drawn the ire of Arab states, notably Egypt, who believe it should be their turn.

The Arab states face their own political tests. Their three entries underscore their own disunity, something the Egyptian hopeful Moushira Khattab has indicated stymie the Arab bid.

The Cave of the Patriarchs (Photo: Gil Yohanan)

The crisis engulfing Qatar and its Gulf Arab neighbors, who have called Doha a high level sponsor of terrorism, meanwhile may have hurt the chances of former Qatari culture minister Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari.

Voting takes place over a maximum five rounds. If the two finalists are level, they draw lots.
President Donald Trump will announce new US responses to Iran's missile tests, support for "terrorism" and cyber operations as part of his new Iran strategy, the White House said on Friday.

"The president isn't looking at one piece of this. He's looking at all of the bad behavior of Iran," Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, told reporters.

"Not just the nuclear deal as bad behavior, but the ballistic missile testing, destabilizing of the region, Number One state sponsor of terrorism, cyber attacks, illicit nuclear program," Sanders continued.

Trump "wants to look for a broad strategy that addresses all of those problems, not just one-offing those," she said. "That's what his team is focused on and that's what he'll be rolling out to address that as a whole in the coming days."

A senior administration official told Reuters on Thursday Trump was expected to announce he will decertify the landmark international deal curbing Iran's nuclear program, in a step that potentially could cause the accord to unravel.

The administration was considering Oct. 12 for Trump to give a speech on Iran but no final decision had been made, an official said previously.

It was not clear to what illicit nuclear program Sanders was referring as the International Atomic Energy Agency says Iran is complying with the 2015 nuclear deal reached with the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, Germany and the European Union.

The Trump administration also has acknowledged that Iran has not breached the accord's Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA but contends that it has violated the "spirit" of the deal.
The US State Department said the government had approved the sale of the THAAD missile defense system to Saudi Arabia for $ 15 billion.

"The sale pre-empts the national interest of the United States and its foreign policy, and supports the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region against Iran and other regional threats," the statement said.

The United States has already provided the system to the neighbors of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE. This year, the United States decided to install the system in South Korea as a result of increased tensions with North Korea.
Balochistan: Death toll in a suicide bombing that took place at Fatehpur Dargah (shrine) in the Jhal Magsi area of Pakistan`s Balochistan has risen to 20 from 13, confirmed District Chairman Jhal Magsi, Aurangzaib Magsi late Thursday the night.

According to a report in the Dawn, more than 30 people were injured in the same incident.

Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said he has instructed concerned authorities to respond immediately.

The explosion, which the police has attributed to a suicide bomber, took place at the entrance to the dargah at a time when scores of people had gathered to pay their respects.

Thursdays are usually busy in terms of attendance at shrines as the day is considered spiritually significant.

The suicide bomber had tried to enter the Fatehpur Dargah (shrine), but a security guard stopped him, following which the attacker detonated the explosives.Balochistan spokesman Anwarul Haq Kakar has confirmed it was a suicide attack.

The security forces reached the spot and condoned the area after the incident.

At least two policemen were also injured in the blast. The injured are being transferred to DHQ hospital for treatment.

The local administration has declared an emergency at hospitals in Sibbi and Dera Murad Jamali.

No group has claimed responsibility for the blast.
Mumbai: Filmmaker Zoya Akhtar has revealed she will start shooting for her upcoming film Gully Boy starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt this year end.

A vintage fashion lover Zoya was present for the Blenders Pride Fashion Tour 2017 preview on Thursday, where she spoke about her upcoming and future projects that include a web series and a short film as well.

The Dil Dhadakne Do director attended the event along with fashion designers Tarun Tahiliani, Manish Arora, Shantanu-Nikhil, Falguni-Shane Peacock, Gauri-Nivedita, Gaurav Raina and Abraham-Thakore.

Zoya termed the new trend of content-driven films doing better than big starrers "a very positive change".

"Audience's taste is changing. It means we have wider scope to make films on different stories and themes. Plus new actors also get an opportunity to work in those films. I feel there is no harm in it."

Would the new phenomenon diminish importance of stars, Zoya said: "No. I don't think that way. Audience still come to watch movies when you have big actor. It still happens. I feel it will never go away.

"An increase in the number of screens and awareness among the audience has led to all kinds of films being made today and it's a welcome change," she said.

Farhan Akhtar is penning dialogues for sister Zoya's Gully Boy. This will be Ranveer's second with Zoya after Dil Dhadkne Do.

Commenting on the actor's first look as Sultan Alauddin Khilji from Padmavati, Zoya said: "I always say Ranveer looks good. No matter which movie or which look."

Talking about her other future projects, Zoya said: "I am also doing a short film with Bombay Talkies. We have actually finished shooting for the short film and now just started shooting for Made in Heaven, it's a web series with Amazon."

Shooting of the 10-episode web-series for Amazon Prime is currently underway in Delhi. It revolves around the competition between two wedding firms.

Personally Zoya feels "fashion isn't something that is currently going on. Fashion is what my mom used to wear in the past".

"I am more interested in the 50's, 60's and 70's fashion than today's. Maybe after a decade I'll look back to all of this and find it more interesting."
New Delhi: India will have 10-15 public sector banks with government's majority stake, down from 21 at present, as part of its plan to consolidate banks, Finance Ministry's principal economic advisor Sanjeev Sanyal said on Friday.

He said cleaning up of the bad loan problems is the first priority and after that the PSU banks could be consolidated.

"There are something like 21-22 public sector banks.. The numbers will be reduced in terms of consolidation, but somewhere to the 10-15 range. We are not going to take it too far down...We need to consolidate some of these large number of banks, but be clear that we are not going to reduce these down to some people think like 4-5 national champions.

We recognise that that will lead to too many 'too-big- to-fail' banks. Currently, we have one large bank State Bank of India... We do not want to create a large number of them. Then we will have a real problem in terms of concentration of risks," Sanyal said at the India Economic Summit.

He said consolidation of banks is longer term commercial decisions, whereas recapitalisation of PSBs is "more an urgent issue" in order to get the banking system running again.

Adding to inefficient banks does not lead to a bigger efficient bank. So, this cleaning up of the bad loans problem is the first priority, he said.

As part of the clean up process, the RBI has already started recognising the bad assets, provision them and is taking some of them to bankruptcy and insolvency process.

"Now, the second step consequently is recapitalisation and getting these banks running again... That will be done in next few months. The government is fully aware that we need a much larger banking system by factors of multiple than what it is today," Sanyal said, adding India's banking system is way too small for future and needs to be expanded significantly.

Recapitalisation bonds is one of the options for infusing capital into banks, he said, adding that the government could also dilute its stake in some lenders to 52 percent.

"There are many options and all of them will be explored in combination," he said.

In the last consolidation drive, five associate banks and Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) became part of State Bank of India (SBI) on April 1, 2017, catapulting the country?s largest lender to among the top 50 banks in the world.

State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur (SBBJ), State Bank of Hyderabad (SBH), State Bank of Mysore (SBM), State Bank of Patiala (SBP) and State Bank of Travancore (SBT), besides BMB, were merged with SBI.

While deciding on the consolidation, the ministry would keep in mind factors like regional balance, geographical reach, financial burden and smooth human resource transition. Also a very weak bank would not be merged with a strong one "as it could pull the latter down".

As per S&P Global Ratings, PSU banks will need at least Rs 1.9 lakh crore additional capital by March 2019 as the lack of it will restrict their ability to write down non-performing loans.

Sanyal further said the government is moving from "rent- seeking patronage-based economy" to "rule-based, entrepreneur based economy".

"When you introduce radical changes like this (demonetisation and GST), you have to expect unintended consequences. So, it was a huge political step to step into the water and then learn to swim," he added.
New Delhi: The National Company Law Tribunal on Friday dismissed the plea of ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry seeking transfer of his case challenging the ouster to the New Delhi bench from Mumbai.

The principal bench of the NCLT headed by Chairman Justice M M Kumar also imposed a cost of Rs 10 lakh on Mistry's two investment firms, which would be shared by both.

The two companies -- Cyrus Investments Pvt Ltd and Sterling Investments Corporation Pvt Ltd -- had held that the Mumbai bench could have a cause of bias.

Last month, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had granted Mistry waiver in the minimum shareholding rule for him to file a case of alleged oppression of minority shareholders after observing "exceptional" and "compelling circumstances" in the entire episode.

The Mistry family owns 18.4 percent stake in the closely-held Tata Sons. The holding is less than 3 percent if preferential shares are excluded, not meeting the criteria of at least 10 percent ownership in a company for the filing of a case of alleged oppression of minority shareholders.

It had directed the NCLT, which had previously dismissed Mistry's petition against Tata Sons on the ground of not meeting the minimum shareholding criteria, to decide the case in three months.

Mistry has been locked in a legal battle with the Tatas since his unceremonious exit as chairman of Tata Sons -- the promoter company of the USD 105-billion salt-to-software Tata group -- in October last year.

Mistry was ousted as Tata Sons chairman on October 24, 2016, and was also removed as a director on the board of the holding company on February 6, 2017.

Cyrus Investments Pvt and Sterling Investments Corporation Pvt had moved the NCLT against Tata Sons after Mistry's ouster last year alleging oppression of minority shareholders and mismanagement.

However, on April 17, the Mumbai bench of the NCLT had rejected the waiver plea filed by the investment firms while on March 6, it had set aside the one over maintainability.

Following that, both the investment firms had moved the appellate tribunal.

The NCLAT, however, dismissed another petition filed by the Mistry family's investment firms on maintainability, saying the firms do not have more than 10 percent in Tata Sons.
New Delhi: The auspicious occasion when women keep a day-long fast for the well-being of their husbandsKarwa Chauth will be celebrated this year on October 8. The most loved festival among womenfolk falls on the fourth day after the full moon, as per the Hindu lunisolar calendar month of Kartik.

Karwa Chauth vrat (fast) is observed by wives for a happy and prosperous long life of their husbands. It is largely celebrated in parts of North India, especially Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, parts of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh as well.

These days, almost everyone joins in the festivity. Also, unmarried girls keep the fast in hope of getting a groom of their own choice or even for their fiances.

So, on this day you can soak in the festivity by sending these best Karwa Chauth WhatsApp messages:

Here's wishing you a happy Karwa Chauth

May there be light in your life just like the beautiful Karwa Chauth Moon

Let this day bring happiness to your lives and help you build a strong love bond with your hubby!

Karwa Chauth festival is full of colours, love and light, hope your loved ones are blessed on this day

Celebrate the essence of love this Karwa Chauth my dear

Let's wait for the moon like none is watching and together pledge to stay like this forever. Love you loads

My dear wife, I can't express my gratitude enough and the amount of love I feel for you. I promise to make this and every Karwa Chauth special for you. Love Hubby!

Today is Karwa Chauth, hope it brings happiness and longevity for everyone.

It's time for applying henna, wearing colourful bangles and getting dressed up. The moon will keep us waiting but nonetheless, our love shall conquer all.

A very happy Karwa Chauth to all, let there be love forever!
New Delhi: A crucial meeting of the GST Council on Friday reached consensus on increasing composition threshold for SMEs to Rs 1 crore from Rs 75 lakh, Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Y Ramakrishnudu said.

This will allow small businesses, including eateries, to pay 1-5 percent tax without having to deal with the three-stage filing process.

Chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the 22nd meeting of the GST Council was attended by finance ministers of states and GST Secretariat officials.

The GST Council discussed issues faced by small traders and requested quarterly filing of returns for small businesses, Ramakrishnudu told reporters after the meeting concluded.

The Group of Ministers, under Sushil Modi, set up to look into GSTN glitches also briefed the Council on the portal's functioning.

With over 33 lakh businesses filing the final GSTR-1 return, the GoM has tasked GSTN to send reminder text messages to the remaining 20 lakh businesses which are yet to submit the tax forms.

The last date for filing of final sales returns for July in GSTR-1 form is October 10, while the date for uploading of purchase returns in GSTR-2 is October 31.

The final GSTR-3, matching GSTR-1 and 2, is to be filed by November 10.
New Delhi: A crucial meeting of the GST Council was underway here on Friday to decide on providing some relief to exporters in terms of faster refunds as well as compliance.

Chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the 22nd meeting of the GST Council was being attended by finance ministers of states and GST Secretariat officials.

The full fledged meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council is also likely to assess the improvements in the GST Network's functioning.

The Group of Ministers, under Sushil Modi, set up to look into GSTN glitches will also brief the Council on the portal's functioning, PTI reported quoting officials in the ministry

With over 33 lakh businesses filing the final GSTR-1 return, the GoM has tasked GSTN to send reminder text messages to the remaining 20 lakh businesses which are yet to submit the tax forms.

The last date for filing of final sales returns for July in GSTR-1 form is October 10, while the date for uploading of purchase returns in GSTR-2 is October 31.

The final GSTR-3, matching GSTR-1 and 2, is to be filed by November 10.

The GoM in its meeting on Wednesday has asked GSTN and Infosys to brace up for handling the rush of last-minute filers.

Besides, the committee set up under Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia on issues faced by exporters, is likely to submit its preliminary report to the Council today.

Based on that the Council is likely to recommend some relaxation for exporters so that their working capital which is locked up in refunds is released, officials said.

Also, the apex indirect tax body CBEC will inform the Council that it is ready to release Integrated GST (IGST) refunds to exporters from October 10.

In a meeting with the Revenue Secretary last month, exporters had said that an estimated Rs 65,000 crore is locked up in GST refunds.

Also officials said that easy compliance for exporters, like quarterly filing of returns instead of monthly filing, is likely to be discussed by the Council.

The government has already allowed exporters to furnish Letter of Undertaking (LUT) instead of bonds at the time of exports, which will ease the compliance burden and stop locking up of capital.
New Delhi: Intensifying its crackdown on black money, the government on Friday said it has collated information about 5,800 shell companies whose near zero- balance accounts saw nearly Rs 4,574 crore of deposits post note ban and Rs 4,552 crore withdrawal thereafter.

"Vital information has been received from 13 banks regarding the bank account operations and post-demonetisation transactions of some of the 2,09,032 suspicious companies that had been struck off the Register of Companies earlier this year," the government said in a statement today.

Last month, the government imposed restrictions on operations of bank accounts of over 2 lakh 'struck-off' companies.

Terming it as a "major breakthrough" in fight against black money and shell companies, it said the first instalment of data pertains to about 5,800 companies -- out of more than 2 lakh that were struck off -- involving 13,140 accounts.

"Few of the companies have been found to have more than 100 accounts to their names. The highest grosser among these is a company having 2,134 accounts, followed by others having accounts in the range of 900, 300 etc," it said.

The data on pre-demonetisation accounts and transactions conducted during the cash ban period is "startling", the government stated.

After separating the loan accounts, these companies had a meagre balance of Rs 22.05 crore on November 8, 2016.

"However, from November 9, 2016 (after the announcement of demonetisation), till the date of their being struck off, these companies have altogether deposited a huge amount of Rs 4,573.87 crore in their accounts and withdrawn an equally large amount of Rs 4,552 crore," the statement said.

With loan accounts, there was a negative opening balance of Rs 80.79 crore in these accounts.

Companies had multiple accounts with minuscule or negative balance as on November 8, 2016, which have seen deposits and withdrawal running into several crores. The accounts were thereafter again left as dormant with paltry balance.

"This exercise of swindling the authorities was carried out post demonetisation till the companies were struck off. In some cases, certain companies have gone more adventurous and made deposits and withdrawals even after being struck off," it said.

Citing an example, it said that in one of the banks, 429 companies having zero balance each on November 8, 2016, deposited and withdrew over Rs 11 crore and left again with a cumulative balance of just Rs 42,000 as on the date of the freeze.

Similarly, in the case of another bank, more than 3,000 such companies -- most having multiple accounts -- have been located.

From having a cumulative balance of about Rs 13 crore as on November 8, 2016, these companies have deposited and withdrawn about Rs 3,800 crore, leaving a negative cumulative balance of almost Rs 200 crore at the time of freezing of their accounts.

"It needs to be re-emphasised that this data is only about 2.5 per cent of the total number of suspected companies that have been struck off by the government. The huge money game played by these companies may well be the tip of an iceberg of corruption, black money and black deeds of these and many more of their brethren," the statement said.

Investigative agencies have been asked to complete necessary investigation in a time-bound manner.

After being removed from the list, operations of the bank accounts of 2,09,032 suspicious companies were restricted for discharge of their liabilities only.
Mumbai: Actress Bhumi Pednekar, who attended the Glitter Exhibition 2017 here on Friday, said Sonam Kapoor is the fashion diva of our country.

Bhumi was asked who she admires the most for their style. She said: "I think Sonam Kapoor is by far the fashion diva of our country, and I have been admiring her for years. I think she is such a warm person that it shows on her face and in her style."



The "Dum Laga Ke Haisha" actress also spoke about her future projects.



"My next film is Abhishek Chaubey's new film which is tentatively titled 'Chambal'. I won't be able to disclose any further information. I think it would be better if it's the director who talks about his film first. What I can tell you is that we will start shooting for it very soon."



"Apart from that, there are a lot of amazing things lined up for me, but as always I can't talk about them because I would rather have my seniors related to the projects talk about them first."



The festive season has already set in with Diwali just being a few days away.



Asked how she will celebrate the Festival of Lights this year, Bhumi said: "Life has taken a big jump in 2017 for me. Usually, I spend Diwali with my family, but this year I will be busy shooting. But I am very excited to be working on Diwali. It is a very auspicious day and if I get the chance to work on such a day, then it would be good luck for the entire year to come.



"But I would like to wish a very Happy Diwali to everyone and tell them to be safe and please don't burst crackers. It's bad for noise pollution, and it is harmful to our street dogs. We are already destroying our planet Earth bit by bit, so please don't burst crackers. And if you wish to spend that money, you can always give it to charity."



Bhumi was last seen on screen in "Toilet: Ek Prem Katha" and in "Shubh Mangal Saavdhan".
Vadnagar: People in Vadnagar, the ancestral village of Narendra Modi, are waiting eagerly for his first visit as prime minister.

Modi, who will be in Gujarat for a two-day trip starting tomorrow, will be visiting Vadnagar, his birthplace, in Mehasana district on Sunday.

There is a lot of excitement in Vadnagar as well as nearby villages such as Badarpur and Molipur over the visit, the prime minister's elder brother Somabhai Modi told PTI.

Ahead of the prime minister's visit, the administration here is busy working on roads and ensuring cleanliness. Fire engines have also been deployed inside the railway station for cleaning of trees on its premises.

The PM has dedicated himself to the service of the nation and everyone's blessings is with him, Somabhai Modi said, adding that his father had built a house in Vadnagar in 1949 but it was destroyed in the 2001 earthquake, following which they sold the land.

He said the family has constructed a shelter home for the elderly in the village.

The prime minister's school teacher, Dr Prahlad Patel, said he hopes to meet Narendra Modi who writes letters to him occasionally.

The prime minister will also inaugurate a medical college and a hospital, and a new building at the local railway station, according to officials.

With Gujarat gearing up for assembly elections, Prime Minister Modi will be attending a 'bhumi pujan' and foundation laying ceremony for several projects as well as launching government schemes.

There will be an exhibition of photos at the canteen of the local railway station where the prime minister's father used to prepare tea. Narendra Modi in his childhood would often help his father and paternal uncle, and also deliver tea to train passengers.

The prime minister will also be visiting the Dwarkadheesh temple in Jamnagar and will be doing the 'bhumi pujan' at Rajkot airport. He will also be addressing a public rally in Vadnagar.
Rohtak: Honeypreet Insan, who has been arrested on charges of sedition and rioting, stayed in Rajasthan and Delhi during the time she was absconding, police said on Friday.

"She revealed during the interrogation that she stayed in Rajasthan and Delhi while she was at large," Panchkula Commissioner AS Chawla said.

He, however, added that the police have no information about Dera spokesperson Aditya Insan, who is still missing.

"Have no input on Dera spokesperson Aditya Insan crossing the borders of the country," ANI quoted Chawla as saying.

"We have to prove in the court whether Honeypreet had a role to play in violence following the sentencing of Dera chief," he added.

Earlier, the Panchkula top cop said that Honeypreet was not cooperating with the police in interrogation and is trying to mislead them.

Meanwhile, the Haryana Police is likely to conduct a narco test on her since she has remained evasive about her whereabouts, giving 'confusing' answers. She proved tough to interrogate when Haryana SIT placed some 40-odd questions before her.

Priyanka Taneja or Honeypreet as she is widely known, was among 43 people wanted in connection with the probe into the violence after Ram Rahim Singhs conviction that left 41 dead. Honeypreet said she was seeking legal opinion and is likely to move the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

Honeypreet said she was with Ram Rahim Singh on August 25 discharging her duties as a daughter.

"Every daughter supports her father...I went with him. Have you heard me uttering a word where I instigate people? I had gone there (to CBI court) with a hope that my father will return by the evening. But when he was held guilty, I went into depression. How could I think about anything else? I was devastated," she claimed.

Honeypreet had accompanied Ram Rahim Singh from the Dera headquarters at Sirsa to the special court in Panchkula on August 25. After the Dera chiefs conviction, she accompanied him in a chopper to Rohtak where he was lodged in a jail.

She said the authorities never raised objections when she accompanied Ram Rahim Singh in the chopper. "Later, so many things were said about how I accompanied him," she said.

After August 25, Honeypreet had remained untraceable. The woman, however, claimed she was not running away from the law and was only trying to come to terms with Ram Rahim Singhs conviction.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday issued a notice to Centre asking for its reply to a plea seeking replacement of death to a convict by hanging. Seeking a reply within three months, the apex court asked if the legislature can think of any other mode for death convicts.

"Our constitution is a compassionate one which recognizes the principle of sanctity of life said Supreme Court while hearing the plea. With the invention of various modes in modern time, the legislature can think of other mode for death convicts," observed Supreme court.

The SC said that the other modes can be considered by the legislature, keeping in view the dynamic progress in science.



The plea filed in the SC said that Article 21 (Right to Life) of the Constitution also includes the right of a condemned prisoner to have a dignified mode of execution so that death becomes less painful.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud issued notice to the Centre and sought its response in three weeks on the PIL which referred to the 187th Report of the Law Commission against the present mode of execution.

Lawyer Rishi Malhotra, who filed the PIL in his personal capacity, has also referred to various apex court judgements in which the practise of hanging a death row convict has been assailed.

A provision in the Criminal Procedure Code provides that the mode of execution of death penalty would be hanging by the neck. The plea also challenges the constitutional validity of this provision.
New Delhi: China has been amassing troops near the site of the Doklam standoff and also widening a road in the area, a media report said on Friday.

Citing sources, PTI reported that the presence of a large number of Chinese troops in the area has been a matter of concern for India. The widening of the road is reportedly being carried out just 12 km away from the conflict area.

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa has also indicated of a brewing tension due to the presence of Chinese troops in Doklam's Chumbi Valley.

"The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, their forces in Chumbi Valley are still deployed and I expect them to withdraw as their exercise in the area gets over," PTI quoted Dhanoa as saying.

China and Bhutan have been at loggerheads over their territorial right in Doklam, but New Delhi has backed Thimphu over the issue.

Indian and Chinese troops were recently locked in a major standoff in Doklam over a road construction by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA). The standoff ended last month after both sides agreed to pull back their troops.

Bhutan and India were in touch with each other during the course of the face-off that ended on August 28.

Days after the face-off ended, Army Chief Bipin Rawat had said China has started "flexing its muscles" and warned that the situation in India's northern border could snowball into a larger conflict.

There are also reports that People's Liberation Army (PLA) has increased more troops on its forward post in Yatung.

Sources said though Chinese troops have been deployed in Doklam Plateau, they leave the area during winters.

But, there were the indications that they may leave the areas this time, they added.

(With PTI inputs)
Beijing: Over a month after the Doklam border stand-off with China was resolved diplomatically, the neighbouring country on Friday defended the presence of its troops in the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet tri-junction, claiming that the area always belonged to them.

"The Donglang (Doklam) area has always belonged to China and has been under the effective jurisdiction of China," the Chinese Foreign Ministry told PTI in response to questions about a report that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is beefing up troops in the area.

"There is no dispute. The Chinese border forces have been patrolling in the area of Donglang, exercising their sovereign rights and safeguarding territorial sovereignty according to the historical boundary," the Ministry said in a written response.

The reaction from the Chinese Foreign Ministry came a day after it was reported that Beijing is still flexing its muscles and has deployed more troops in the Chumbi Valley.

It was also reported that China is building bunkers and a road on the Doklam Plateau, just 10 km from the location of the last conflict.

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day standoff in Dokalam that began from June 16 over road construction activity at the India-Bhutan-China trijunction.

It is to be noted that the Doklam Plateau is claimed by both Beijing and Bhutan as their territory. The tension eased after talks between top officials of both the countries.

Meanwhile, Indian Air Force Chief BS Dhanoa, in a press briefing on Thursday, confirmed the presence of the Chinese troops in Chumbi Valley in the Doklam Plateau.

However, he appeared confident that a peaceful resolution of the issue with China was still possible.

Dhanoa, while stating that the stand-off with China can be resolved diplomatically, ruled out any possibility of a military face-off with the neighbouring Communist state.

"The two sides are not in a physical face-off as we speak. However, I expect the Chinese troops to withdraw from Chumbi Valley as their exercise in the area gets over," Dhanoa told reporters ahead of IAF Day, which is marked on October 8.

Dhanoa also rejected concerns regarding India's military preparedness vis-a-vis Beijing and said that the IAF is capable of effectively countering any threat from China and Pakistan simultaneously in a two-front war.

(With PTI inputs)
United Nations: India has called for a new global partnership to stimulate the weak economic growth through long-term investments in critical sectors and enhancing trade.

The global economic recovery is only progressing slowly and growth is weaker than expected while risks persist, Ashish Sinha, a First Secretary in India`s UN Mission, told the General Assembly committee dealing with economic and financial matters on Thursday.

In this scenario, there was great need for a renewed global partnership to promote longer-term investment, including foreign direct investment, in critical sectors such as transportation, agriculture, energy, infrastructure, and information and communications technology, he said.

"Policies for enhancing economic growth and growth inducing investment should be our top priority," he said.

In July, the World Bank projected the global growth rate for this year to be just 2.7 per cent, marginally up from last year`s 2.4 per cent.

Sinha said: "The new partnership should also identify effective mechanisms to mobilise additional resources for financing sustainable development."

He recommended trade liberalisation and integration into the global economy as a way to spur growth in developing countries citing the case made by Arvind Panagariya, the former vice chairperson of the Niti Aayog, in his keynote address to the committee.

"Open trade is a means to create employment and contribute to the achievement of SDGs (UN`s Sustainable Development Goals) through greater economic activity and revenues," he said.

"Developing countries derive significant benefit from an open, fair, rule-based, predictable, and non-discriminatory trading and financial system."

Sinha gave an assurance of India`s support for a multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) "as the cornerstone".

"India believes that multilateral negotiations such as those envisaged under the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) are aimed at addressing existing inequities in the trading system and must be given high priority," he said.

The DDA the WTO negotiation launched in Doha in 2001 aimed at lowering trade barriers and revising trading rules to mainly benefit developing countries.

Sinha said that additional measures such as improving rural infrastructure were needed to help integrate rural households into world markets.
New Delhi: India and the European Union on Friday adopted a declaration to counter terrorism as they discussed ways to strengthen their cooperation in key areas of trade and security during the 14th summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the top EU leadership here.

"Leaders of India and EU agreed on stronger cooperation to act against global terrorists and terror entities including Hafiz Saeed, Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, Dawood Ibrahim, Lashkar-eTaiba, Jaish e Mohammad, Hizbul Mujaheedin, Haqqani Network, Al Qaeda, ISIS and affiliates," said Ruchi Ghanshyam, secretary in the MEA.

Also Read: India, European Union agree to combat terror, resume talks on free trade

PM Modi, while addressing a joint press event with the EU leaders, said,"We have agreed to strengthen our security cooperation and work together against terrorism. We will not only further strengthen our bilateral cooperation on this issue, but will also increase our cooperation and coordination in multilateral fora."

The Prime Minister said both sides agreed to cooperate on global issues and work together on climate change.

"Our multi-dimensional relations and strategic partnership is of prime importance," he said, adding that relations between the two sides had been reinforced following the 13th India-EU Summit at Brussels last year.

India and the EU also held extensive discussions on bilateral, regional and international issues, including the Rohingya crisis and volatile situation in the Korean peninsula.

Prime Minister Modi told reporters that the two sides have agreed to work in close cooperation against terrorism. "We have agreed to strengthen our security cooperation and work together against terrorism. We will not only further strengthen our bilateral cooperation on this issue, but will also increase our cooperation and coordination in multilateral fora," PTI quoted the Prime Minister as saying.

After the summit, India and the EU also inked three pacts which included one on an international solar alliance. "We have adopted a joint declaration on counter-terrorism in which we agreed to counter violent extremism and radicalisation, particularly online, and to deal effectively with the threat by foreign terrorist fighters, terrorist financing and arms supply," PTI quoted European Council President Donald Franciszek Tusk as saying.

The EU is India's largest regional trading partner with bilateral trade in goods at USD 88 billion in 2016. It also remains the largest destination for Indian exports and a key source of investment and technologies.

The two sides have been strategic partners since 2004 and held the 13th India-EU summit in Brussels last year during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Europe.
New Delhi: It is just not the government`s business to tell the people what they should eat or drink because it would hurt the tourism industry, NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said on Friday, amid alcohol prohibition and beef ban diktats in the country.



In an address to the World Economic Forum, Kant also questioned how can tourists visiting India chill out if they are barred from making their eating and drinking choices.



"Indian states can`t get into what a tourist wants to eat and drink. Just not possible. What he wants to eat and drink is an individual`s business and not the state`s business," he said.



The remarks come a month after Union Tourism Minister KJ Alphons advised foreigners visiting the country that they should eat beef at home and then come to India.



Kant was asked about his views on states banning beef and alcohol with Gujarat, Bihar, Nagaland and Manipur already dry states and Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Daman announcing plans to ban liquor sales.



"I have been a long-term believer on a couple of things. Tourism is essentially civilisational in character, you can`t have garbage and filth and say that we have great heritage sites. So, India must focus on cleanliness. It is number one. Number-2 it's about the seamless experience.



"I have said it all the time that for a tourist...its about creating experiences.



"In the evening he wants to relax and he wants to chill out and therefore you need to create that evening experience for (him) in terms of Indian culture."
New Delhi: A day after it came to fore that Beijing is still flexing its muscles and has deployed more troops in the Chumbi Valley, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Friday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi over China constructing a road in Doklam.

He took to Twitter and tagged a media report claiming that China is building a bunker and expanding its base in Doklam. Here is what he tweeted:

Modiji, once you're done thumping your chest, could you please explain this?https://t.co/oSuC7bZ82x  Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) October 6, 2017

Nearly a month after the Doklam border stand-off with China was resolved, a large number of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops is still stationed a few hundred metres away from the Dokla stand-off site.

China is also reportedly building bunkers and a road on the Doklam Plateau, just 10 km from the location of the last conflict.

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day standoff in Dokalam that began from June 16 over road construction activity at the India-Bhutan-China trijunction.

It is to be noted that the Doklam Plateau is claimed by both Beijing and Bhutan as their territory. The tension eased after talks between top officials of both the countries.

(With PTI inputs)
New Delhi: The Panchkula police has sent notices to 45 members of Dera Saccha Sauda's Management Committee in connection to the Panchkula violence on August 25. The police also recovered a hard disk allegedly containing details of the sect's revenue.

On Wednesday, Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim's adopted daughter Honeypreet was arrested from Zirakpur-Patiala road, hours after she appeared for interview on TV channels.

In September, the police conducted a massive search and sanisation operation at Dera's headquarters in Sirsa. Luxury cars, old currency notes and several hard disks containing crucial information were seized during the raids.

Ram Rahim was sentenced to 20-years in jail after being convicted of raping to sadhvis or female disciples by a CBI special court in Panchkula. He is currently lodged in the District Jail at Sunaria near Rohtak.

Immediately after his rape conviction on August 25, riots ensued in Panchkula and Sirsa leaving at least 41 dead and over 250 injured.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday asked searching questions over a plea seeking reopening of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi's assassination probe, before appointing senior advocate and former additional solicitor general Amrender Sharan as amicus curiae to assist in the matter.

In the hearing, which lasted about 15 minutes, the court told Sharan that its observation was not binding on him to make an assessment of the matter and posted it for further hearing on October 30.

A petition filed by Mumbai-based Dr Pankaj Phadni, a researcher and a trustee of Abhinav Bharat, sought the reopening of the probe on several grounds.

The bench, comprising of Justices S A Bobde and L Nageswara Rao, felt that "nothing can be done in law" in the case which has been decided long ago.

On January 30, 1948, Gandhi was shot dead at point blank range in New Delhi by Nathuram Vinayak Godse.

Phadni claims Gandhi's assassination is one of the biggest cover-ups in history and could involve a foreign hand. He also sought a probe to ascertain if there was a second assassin besides Godse.

In his written submission, Phadni adds of all telegrams sent from the US Embassy, one still remains classified.

As per a "restricted" telegram of January 30, 1948 sent from the US Embassy at 8 pm, Herbert Tom Reiner, Disburing Officer, was within five feet of Gandhi when he was shot, and with the aid of Indian guards, he had apprehended the assassin, says Phadni.

"The said Reiner filed a report on reaching the Embassy later in the evening. However, after 70 years, the said report remains classified. The petitioner (Phadnis himself) has filed an application under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA of USA) for declassification of the said report," he said in his written submission.

With PTI Inputs
Barmulla: Following a number of mysterious braid chopping incidents in Jammu and Kashmir the separatists planned protests in the valley which led to the suspension of internet services for at least six hours on Friday.

However, later in the day, the internet services were restored in Srinagar and Budgam.

As per reports, random people are being identified as braid choppers and attacked by the mob.

J&K: Internet restored in Srinagar & Budgam; services were suspended today due to separatists' plan of protests on braid chopping incidents.  ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2017

Police, investigating the braid-chopping incidents, fear that it could incite violence and anti-India protests.

Earlier on Sunday, the state Police doubled the bounty to Rs 6 lakhs for providing any information about the mysterious braid chopping incidents that has gripped the Valley.

The police had also formed a Special Investigating Team (SIT) to investigate the incidents.

Last week, clashes erupted in Anantnag district after reports of braid chopping incidents in the adjoining Kulgam district.

Several girls and women complained of their braid being chopped off. They claim that someone uses a spray to make them unconscious and later cuts of their braided hair.

Hundreds of women across the north Indian belt have complained about their braids being mysteriously chopped off. Nearly 50 incidents of braid-chopping instances have been reported from Jammu and Kashmir alone.
Hyderabad: The Karnataka Prisons department on Friday granted parole to former AIADMK general secretary VK Sasikala for 5 days to visit her ailing husband.

The prisons department had earlier rejected her parole application on September 3.

60-year-old Sasikala's husband M Natarajan is admitted to the intensive care unit of a corporate hospital since September following a kidney and liver failure. He is awaiting a donor for liver transplantation and a kidney transplantation, according to doctors.

Sasikala has been in jail since February after the Supreme Court upheld her conviction by a special court in a disproportionate assets case. Along with Sasikala, her relatives Ilavarasi and VN Sudhakaran are also serving a four-year jail term.
Indore: Seven students of Devi Ahilya University here, who were last week forced to stay out of the girls' hostel overnight for going out without permission, have been now asked to vacate their rooms and shift to a dormitory on the varsity premises.

"All seven girls will have to leave the hostel and go to the dormitory. It is necessary to punish these girls to send a message of discipline to other students living in hostels," said vice-chancellor Narendra Dhakad today.

On September 28, seven girls went out to attend a Garba without seeking permission from the hostel administration, and returned around 11.30 pm. As punishment, they were not allowed to enter the hostel that night.

Asked about the incident, Dhakad told PTI, "These girls had gone out to see Garba without informing the administration and returned late at night without caring about their own security. Due to the blessings of the almighty, university administration was saved from embarrassment as nothing untoward took place."

Greeshma Trivedi, national executive member of student organisation ABVP, termed the action as injustice. "Earlier they were kept out of the hostel overnight and now they are told to vacate their rooms. We will not tolerate this," she said.

Vipin Wankhede, president of the Madhya Pradesh unit of NSUI, warned of agitation if the girls were evicted from the hostel rooms.
Mumbai: Maharashtra's former chief minister Narayan Rane, who recently quit the Congress, today said his political outfit-- 'Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksh'-- would join the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

"I have decided to be a part of the NDA for the development of the state and the Konkan region," Rane told reporters.

Dismissing speculation that he would be accommodated in the Union Cabinet, Rane said, "I will stay in Maharashtra till 2019." He was apparently hinting at contesting the Lok Sabha polls to be held that year.

Rane, who resigned from the Congress party about two weeks ago after a long-drawn tussle with its state leadership, had claimed three days back that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had invited him to join the NDA.

A prominent leader from the influential Maratha community, Rane hails from Sindhudurg district of the Konkan region. Rane became the chief minister in 1999 when he was in the Shiv Sena.

He quit the Congress, alleging that the party had reneged on its promise to make him the chief minister when he joined it in 2005 after quitting the Shiv Sena. The Sena is a constituent of the NDA and had advised the BJP against inducting him into the party.
Mumbai: Pallavi Vikamsey, the 21-year-old daughter of ICAI president Nilesh Vikamsey, has been found dead on the railway tracks in a suburb here, media reports said on Friday.

The law student was found dead on the stretch between Parel and Currey Road stations on Wednesday, DNA reported. She had gone missing on the same day.

Nilesh Vikamsey is the president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

The police are trying to trace her mobile phone, which they believe might have been stolen. Her other belongings were also missing from the scene.

"On Wednesday, when her family could not contact her, they made inquiries with her office and were told that she had left around 5 pm. They then lodged a missing persons complaint around 10.30 pm," Senior Police Inspector Sukhlal Varpe said.

Pallavi's body was found by the GRP (Government Railway Police) around 6.30 pm. Her body was identified after her photo was circulated at railway and police stations.

"Her family does not suspect anything foul. We have registered a case of accidental death and are probing further," Senior Police Inspector Nitin Bobade was quoted as saying.
The Assam government has ordered an inquiry into the deaths of eight newborn babies who allegedly died at a hospital in Assam in the past two days.

The deaths occurred at Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed Medical College(FAAMC) in Assam's Barpeta district.

Assam Health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the doctors tried their best to save the infants but were unsuccessful. The minister said there were adequate medicines available in the hospital.

"The (five) infants died due to serious neo-natal medical complications and not due to human negligence," Assam health minister told PTI.

"I have talked to the doctors concerned and they have categorically said that the infants could not be saved in spite of their best possible care," the minister added.

Three infants died due to birth asphyxia, a condition when baby's brain and other organs do not get enough oxygen during or just after birth, FAAMC Principal Dilip Dutta informed reporters.

"The infants had low birth weight or were admitted to the hospital in a very critical condition at a very late stage, Dutta said. Among the deceased infants, seven were male and one female," FAAMC Principal Dilip Dutta informed PTI.

A team has been set up to investigate the deaths with consultants from UNICEF set to audit the report.

FAAMC has requested an expert team of doctors to support the medical college hospital.

- WION Bureau
Mumbai: Hrithik Roshan, who remained tight-lipped for many months, broke his silence Thursday morning by issuing a statement as a response to allegations levelled by his Krissh 3 co-star Kangana Ranaut. And now, the actress lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee has hit back at Roshan by seeking answers to nine questions.

According to a dnaindia.com report, Siddiquee's statement says, My client categorically seeks answers to the below questions which have remained unanswered since very long. Instead of coming out clean and answering the below questions Mr. Hrithik Roshan is only using diversionary tactics.

Here are the questions raised by Kangana's lawyer:

1) Mr. Hrithik Roshan very well knew that my clients emails were hacked since May 2014 and he was personally accused of the criminal act of hacking her email accounts. Under these circumstances why did he take any risk of slyly receiving, collecting and saving thousands of unverified emails on his personal email id from a hacked account, despite the fact the charges of hacking were made against him personally since May 2014, and not as an afterthought?"

2) Mr. Hrithik Roshan as a married man and father of two young children should have been shocked and should have immediately spoken to my client or her sister or other family members and complained about the emails being received by him. Why did he fail to take the right step and instead kept meticulously collecting these unverified and fabricated emails from a hacked account, instead of deleting them forthwith and reprimanding my client with full authority, if he had actually no guilt and had committed absolutely no wrong?

3) When my client was lending full co-operation and was willing to be a part of the Criminal Complaint then Mr. Hrithik Roshan had no good reason to lie to the Police or cause delay in filing a FIR against an imposter, then on what grounds did he lie to the Police and only file an informal complaint instead of a FIR against an imposter, and that too without knowledge of my client, who was a concerned and interested party?

4) Why was it so important for Mr. Hrithik Roshan to wait for about 7 months and first collect thousand of all sorts of beneficial emails from a hacked account, and only thereafter pursue an informal Police complaint? What was the aim and intent behind this act?

5) Why did Mr. Hrithik Roshan only after receiving a strong reply notice, then seek to formally lodge a FIR after about 2 years against an imposter, and is now miserably trying to look for an imposter despite full knowledge that there never was any imposter in the first place and had there been any imposter as alleged by Mr. Hrithik Roshan, then the said imposter would have already done serious damage with the material data which was collected by the said imposter through emails. ?

6) Why is Mr. Hrithik Roshan so desperately seeking to rely on a private and favorable forensic report which he has personally paid for?

7) My client and Mr. Hrithik Roshan share the same family Doctor since many years and Mr. Hrithik Roshan knows fully well that my client does not suffer from any kind of mental ailments or syndromes whatsoever, then on what grounds did he circulate an unreliable and fabricated email to the media. What was the aim and object behind it?

8) Besides my client states that no person would have under any circumstances circulated or shown to any third party (be it media or otherwise), any private pictures which were communicated by my client to Mr. Hrithik Roshan during a relationship. Then on what grounds and on whose advice did he seek to openly outrage the modesty of my client?

9) My client demands to know that except for unreliable, fabricated and unverified emails which Mr. Hrithik Roshan is relying upon (and has never shown to my client till date), is there any other act of stalking that has been indulged in on the part of my client. If no then on what grounds is Mr. Hrithik Roshan claiming to be stalked by my client?

Kangana had made explosive revelations while promoting her film Simran a few weeks back just when people thought that the legal battle (which began last year) between her and Roshan had ended for good.

Things have taken a very ugly turn since Thursday. Soon after Hrithik issued a statement clearing his stance, Kanganas sister Rangoli took to Twitter to slam the actor for lying. She even posted an image of the e-mail allegedly sent to her by him to substantiate Kanganas claim.
Mumbai She may have started her career as a model before eventually making it big in films, but actor Kriti Sanon said her first ever ramp walk was so horrible.

Kriti said during her ramp debut she was so nervous that she messed up the order and was scolded by the choreographer.

"I remember my first ramp walk clearly, because I had really messed it up. It was in Delhi, and I was walking in a lawn. It gets very difficult walking with heels because it sort of goes into the ground and it isn't very walk-friendly. It was my first walk, I was very nervous and I mixed up the order.

"The choreographer was very rude and she blasted me in front of all the models. I didn't work with her post that. I remember sitting back in an auto and I was feeling so bad, I started crying a lot. I can never forget that," Kriti told reporters.

She was speaking at the launch of the new Audi A5 range here last night. She walked the ramp at the event and said coming back to a fashion event feels like home.

"It's always nice to walk the ramp. You feel beautiful in the outfits you are wearing, you feel like you own the place. It is so fast, it gets over quickly, but it is a lot of fun."

Kriti had a packed year so far, with the release of "Raabta" and "Bareilly Ki Barfi". While her name has cropped up in several upcoming projects, the actor remained tight-lipped and said she has signed one film, but will let the producers announce it.
Dressed in their best fineries, married women in India observe a day long fast on the occasion of Karva Chauth and break it after sighting the moon at night. Karwa Chauth falls on Krishna Paksha Chaturthi in the Hindu month of Kartik according to the North Indian calendar and in the month of Ashwin in the south Indian calendar. This year, women will observe Karwa Chauth vrat on October 8.

According to Drikpanchang, the Tithi begins at 4:58 PM on October 8 and ends at 2:16 PM on October 9.

The Puja muhurat begins at 5:56 PM and end at 7:10 PM.

The moon is expected to rise at 8:15 PM.

Karwa Chauth Puja Vidhi

A woman dedicates the auspicious day to pray for the well-being of her husband.

Women in the family and neighbourhood gather together to start the Karwa Chauth rituals in the morning by consuming traditional recipes specifically prepared on the day of the festival. A woman gets gifts in the form of Sargi from her mother-in-law and Baya from her mother. These often consist of sweets, fruits, clothes etc. The Baya contains the Karwa, the pitcher which is of utmost importance in the Puja.

After observing a fast post sunrise, women take part in various traditional activities and prayers and take part in Karwa Chauth Katha.

Karva is actually a pitcher filled with water or milk and coins that is used by the women during the festival. It is later given as charity for the well-being of the family and future generations.

On this occasion, Akhanda Saubhagyavati Goddess Parvati is worshipped. Women also worship her husband Lord Shiva and their sons Ganesha and Kartikeya on this day.

A woman seeks blessings from the supreme powers to bless her as she observes a nirjal vrat (fating without even drinking water) until she offers her prayers to the moon god in the evening.

"         "

Meaning  Bless me as I observe this fast for the well-being of my family, wealth and prosperity.

After offering her prayers, the Karwa is donated.

Then, the suhagan catches a glimpse of the moon through a sieve with a diya placed on it. Then she looks at her husband through the sieve. Her husband helps her break her fast by making her drink water and offering her sweets.

These days most men observe the Karwa Chauth vrat to express their love for their wife.
Lucknow: A graduate student was on Friday shot at in Uttar Pradesh after she resisted alleged attempted molestation by five men.

The incident took place in Lucknow's Malihabad town.

The Uttar Pradesh Police arrested at least four accused in connection whereas one is said to be absconding, ANI reported.

SP Gramin Dr Satish Kumar told ANI that the victim was rushed to a local hospital and that they are still waiting for medical reports to come out.

A FIR has been registered and investigation underway.
OSLO: Efforts to limit or reverse the spread of nuclear weapons head the field for Friday`s Nobel Peace Prize but face likely competition from the UN refugee agency, Syrian do-it-yourself rescuers and a Congolese "miracle" doctor.

The five members of Norway`s Nobel committee will unveil their pick at 0900 GMT in Oslo, in what is traditionally an eagerly anticipated award handed out during the foundation`s prize-giving week.

While there is no public candidates list, speculation has grown in the run up to Friday`s announcement that the honour could go to the key architects of Iran`s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which effectively put an atom bomb out of Tehran`s reach.

As such, Iranian foreign minister Mohammed Javid Zarif, EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini and former US Secretary of State John Kerry are all thought to be in with a shout.

"It would be a very a good prize, very unpopular for some, very popular for others," said Nobel historian Asle Sveen.

The 2015 accord between Iran and world powers drastically curbed Tehran`s controversial nuclear programme in return for a gradual lifting of crippling economic sanctions on the Islamic republic.

As tensions soar between the United States and North Korea over Pyongyang`s pursuit of an atomic bomb, US President Donald Trump has threatened to tear up the Iranian deal, labelling it an "embarrassment".

"If Trump scraps this deal, it will also be a signal for instance to North Korea that it is impossible to have a decent deal with the United States because you`ll never know what they will do," said Sveen.

Henrik Urdal, director of the PRIO think tank that monitors Peace Prize coverage, said the team behind the Iran deal would be a "worthy and notable winner". Nobel Peace Prize predictions are notoriously difficult, especially since the Nobel Institute keeps the list of nominations secret for 50 years.

Only those who are allowed to submit nominations are free to disclose their choices publicly.

As such, another anti-nuclear weapon initiative, ICAN, is also thought to be nominated.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons has campaigned for a decade to consign the atom bomb to history and was this year a vital proponent of a non-proliferation treaty signed by 122 countries.

The accord was however largely symbolic as none of the known nine nuclear-armed nations put their names down.

Another contender and bookies` favourite is Syria`s White Helmets civilian rescue service, which has gained worldwide renown for the bravery and selflessness of its volunteer paramedics.

And at a time when there are more displaced people worldwide than ever before recorded, some experts believe the UN`s refugee agency UNHCR could be primed for its third Peace Prize.

"UNHCR has shown its capacity and integrity in standing up for refugees` rights and needs time and time again," said Urdal.

"They are working tirelessly to mend the consequences of war in major conflict theatres like Syria, Afghanistan and South Sudan."

UNHCR previously won Nobels in 1954 and 1981. Another perennial contender is Congolese physician Denis Mukwege, known as "Doctor Miracle" for his work treating survivors of sexual violence in the restive Democratic Republic of Congo.

For his role in bolstering a peace accord between Colombia`s government and rebel groups, Pope Francis is thought to be nominated.

The jailed journalists of Turkey`s oldest newspaper, Cumhuriyet, Saudi blogger Raif Badawi and US civil rights crusaders the ACLU have all also been mentioned in the build-up to Friday.

But the Peace Prize has a recent history of throwing up surprises, including in 2015 when the committee plumped for four Tunisian groups instrumental in the country`s transition to democracy -- none of whom had been mentioned in any pre-announcement speculation.

The Nobel prizes for physics, chemistry, medicine and literature have already been announced -- all going to men.

All recipients, barring British author Kazuo Ishiguro, have hailed from Western Europe or the US.

Lawmakers and cabinet ministers, former laureates, and some university professors are among the thousands of people around the world entitled to suggest candidates for the Peace Prize.

This time around they have thrown up names such as Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and former French leader Jacques Chirac.

One online gambling site had a eye-catching outsider offer on the eve of the prize -- North Korean strongman Kim Jong-Un at 500/1.
Brasilia: The Brazilian government plans to extradite Cesare Battisti, an Italian former left-wing guerrilla convicted of murder in his country, the newspaper O Globo reported on Friday.

Battisti is under arrest in the Brazilian frontier town of Corumba where he was detained on Wednesday as he tried to cross into Bolivia in a taxi, apparently fearing that Brazil`s government would revoke his asylum status at Italy`s request.

Battisti faces life in prison in Italy, where he was convicted of four murders committed in the 1970s, when he belonged to a guerilla group called Armed Proletarians for Communism. He escaped from prison in 1981 and lived in France before fleeing to Brazil to avoid being extradited to Italy.

Brazilian police said he was being held for breaking currency laws due to the "significant" amount of cash in euros and dollars that he had at the border crossing.

President Michel Temer's government is waiting for Italy to agree to reduce Battisti`s prison term to a maximum 30 years, in accordance with Brazilian law, O Globo said, without naming its sources.

A spokesman for Temer told Reuters the president had not taken any decision on the Battisti affair. Italian diplomats did not return calls.

Italy has asked Brazil to review the status of Battisti, who was granted refugee status by former leftist President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva on his last day in office in 2010. Lula had refused an Italian extradition request, a decision that upset relations between the two countries.

But that is likely to change with Temer, the center-right president who took office last year when Lula`s hand-picked successor Dilma Rousseff was impeached.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - After discussing Iran and North Korea with U.S. military leaders on Thursday, President Donald Trump posed for a photo with them before dinner and declared the moment "the calm before the storm."

"You guys know what this represents?" Trump said after journalists gathered in the White House state dining room to photograph him and first lady Melania Trump with the uniformed military leaders and their spouses.

"Maybe it`s the calm before the storm," he said.

What storm?

"You`ll find out," Trump told questioning reporters.

Classical music played in the background and tables were set in the nearby Blue Room for a fancy meal.

The White House did not immediately reply to a request to clarify Trump`s remark.

Earlier in the evening, while seated with the top defence officials in the cabinet room, Trump talked about the threat from North Korea and preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

"In North Korea, our goal is denuclearisation," he said. "We cannot allow this dictatorship to threaten our nation or our allies with unimaginable loss of life. We will do what we must do to prevent that from happening. And it will be done, if necessary, believe me."

During his speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month, Trump said the United States would "totally destroy" North Korea if needed to defend itself or U.S. allies.

The president on Thursday also had tough words for Iran, saying the country had not lived up to the spirit of an agreement forged with world powers to curb its nuclear programme.

A senior administration official said on Thursday that Trump was expected to announce soon he would decertify the landmark agreement.

Trump has filled top posts within his administration with military generals, including his chief of staff, retired General John Kelly, and national security adviser, Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster. McMaster, who normally dresses in civilian clothes at the White House, wore his uniform for the meeting.

Without being specific, Trump pressed the leaders to be faster at providing him with "military options" when needed.

"Moving forward, I also expect you to provide me with a broad range of military options, when needed, at a much faster pace. I know that government bureaucracy is slow, but I am depending on you to overcome the obstacles of bureaucracy," he said during their cabinet room meeting.
New Delhi: India and Australia on Friday discussed ways to enhance cooperation in tackling terrorism, radicalisation and cyber-crimes, the home ministry said.

The India-Australia joint steering committee discussed the issues threadbare at its first meeting here.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed the scope for cooperation in counter-terrorism and checking extremism and radicalisation besides steps to check illegal financial transactions, counterfeiting and cyber-crimes, a home ministry statement said.

Issues related to human trafficking and people smuggling, combating illegal drug trafficking, and sharing information between law enforcement agencies were also discussed.

The two sides agreed to pursue further the agenda for cooperation in specific areas with meetings of operational joint working groups involving agencies concerned, the statement said.

Today's meeting is a follow-up to the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in combating international terrorism and transnational organised crime exchanged between the two sides during the visit of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to New Delhi in April this year and his talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Additional secretary in the home ministry TVSN Prasad and Stephen Bouwhuis, Australia's first assistant secretary in the International and Auscheck Division, criminal justice group, Attorney-General's Department, led the India and Australia delegation respectively led the delegations respectively.
Pakistan has again attempted to blame India for its own problems, by accusing it of economic terrorism. It also alleged that India was using terrorist organisations against it. Islamabads latest salvo against India comes amid rising pressure over its use of terrorism as a tool of state policy.



Pakistans Foreign Office spokesperson Nafees Zakaria accused India of using terrorist organisations like Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Jamaatul Ahrar (JuA) against Pakistan. These are two groups that Islamabad does not have control over and has been fighting for years.



Even as the Foreign Office tried to blame India for problems of Islamabads making, Pakistans top military spokesperson Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said Indias economic terrorism was a plot to sabotage economic activity in Pakistan. This, he said, is why India is opposing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).



Also, Ghafoor candidly admitted that the ISI does indeed have links with terrorist organisations. He even tried to spin the ISI-terrorist relationship as a good thing. "Having links is different from supporting. Name any intelligence agency which does not have links. Links can be positive," he claimed.



He said the connections between the ISI and terrorists was part of Islamabads attempt to integrate militant-linked groups into the mainstream of the country's politics.



Pakistans attempt at deflection came days after the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US military, General Joseph Dunford, told a US Congressional committee that it was clear that the ISI has connections with terrorist groups.



Just a day earlier, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis had also told the Congressional committee that Pakistan could benefit economically from India if it chose to stop supporting terrorism from its soil.
PARIS: The Islamic State group may soon be defeated in Iraq and Syria but a "virtual caliphate" could be harder to conquer, experts and officials have warned.

The jihadist propaganda machine will continue to exist in hidden corners of the dark web, inciting sympathisers to action, they say.

"Defeating ISIL on the physical battlefield is not enough," General Joseph Votel, the top commander for US military forces in the Middle East, warned in a paper earlier this year.

"Following even a decisive defeat in Iraq and Syria, ISIL will likely retreat to a virtual safe haven -- a virtual caliphate -- from which it will continue to coordinate and inspire external attacks as well as build a support base until the group has the capability to reclaim physical territory," said Votel.

He described this online network as "a distorted version of the historic Islamic caliphate: it is a stratified community of Muslims who are led by a caliph (currently Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi), aspire to participate in a state governed by sharia, and are located in the global territory of cyberspace."

The Islamic State group`s loss of almost all its territory in Iraq and in Syria has damaged its online communication efforts, following a boom in propaganda operations in 2014-2015.

But it has not put an end to it completely.

The IS "news agency" and propaganda machine Amaq continues to claim responsibility for attacks and incite further violence.

Most recently, it claimed that Stephen Paddock, the gunman who massacred 58 people in Las Vegas on Sunday, was an IS "soldier" -- an assertion met with widespread scepticism.

One theory is that IS is seeking to keep up publicity efforts to maintain relevance with its sympathisers and continue to recruit support, even as it faces military defeat on the ground in Iraq and Syria.Researcher Charlie Winter, who wrote a report on IS`s web presence for British think tank Quilliam, says the group will work to persuade followers that the idea of a caliphate is more important that its physical presence.

"Censoring the internet is not going to work," he told AFP.

"Policy makers are focusing their attention on the wrong part of the internet, and that`s problematic given that it`s going to be a phenomenon to be dealt with in the next few years.

"Terrorists are now hiding in the deep web using encryption.

"There will always be a safe place for them on the internet regardless of what politicians like to say."

Under pressure from public authorities, internet providers and major online players are beginning to put in place measures and procedures to disrupt IS`s exploitation of the web.

"But despite the increased vigilance of authorities and social networks the Islamic State has demonstrated significant resilience due to its flexibilty and ability to adapt when facing the suppression of online jihadist content," according to French researchers Laurence Binder and Raphael Gluck.

"It manages to still disseminate sufficiently to reach a pool of sympathisers and recruits."
Moscow: North Korea is preparing to test a long-range missile which it believes can reach the west coast of the United States, a Russian lawmaker just returned from a visit to Pyongyang was quoted as saying on Friday.

Anton Morozov, a member of the Russian lower house of parliament`s international affairs committee, and two other Russian lawmakers visited Pyongyang on Oct. 2-6, Russia's RIA news agency reported.

"They are preparing for new tests of a long-range missile. They even gave us mathematical calculations that they believe prove that their missile can hit the west coast of the United States," RIA quoted Morozov as saying.

"As far as we understand, they intend to launch one more long-range missile in the near future. And in general, their mood is rather belligerent."

Morozov`s comments drove up the price of U.S. Treasury bonds, as investors worried about the prospect of new North Korean missile tests moved into assets the market views as a safe haven in times of uncertainty.

Reuters was not able to independently verify Morozov`s account, and he did not specify which North Korean officials had given him the information about the planned test.

His delegation had "high-level" meetings in Pyongyang, RIA news agency said, citing the Russian embassy in the North Korean capital.

Tensions over North Korea's nuclear programme have been running high in the past several weeks since Pyongyang staged a series of missile tests, and conducted a text explosion on Sept. 3 of what it said was a hydrogen bomb.

There has also been an exchange of tough rhetoric between Pyongyang and Washington.

US President Donald Trump threatened to "totally destroy" North Korea if it threatens the United States. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un responded by calling Trump deranged and saying he would pay dearly for his threat.

"BELLICOSE RHETORIC"

Morozov is a member of the LDPR, a right-wing populist party. It casts itself as an opposition party, but hews close to the Kremlin line on matters of international affairs.

Describing meetings with North Korean officials, Morozov said they "displayed serious determination and bellicose rhetoric," RIA reported.

"The situation, of course, demands the swiftest intervention of all interested states, particularly those represented in the region, in order to prevent wide-scale military action," the agency quoted him as saying.

Russia has closer relations with Pyongyang than many other world powers, linked in part to Kim Il Sung, the founder of North Korea and the current leader's grand-father, having lived for a time in the Soviet Union.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has joined other world powers in condemning North Korea`s weapons programme, but has taken a softer line than Western governments.

Putin has said that Pyongyang will not be cowed into giving up its weapons programme. He has accused Washington of trying to effect regime change in North Korea, and predicted that would unleash chaos.

U.S. Treasury prices surged on the report of a possible new missile test, pulling yields lower, as investors cut risk out of their portfolios and sought the safety of Treasuries. Treasury prices move inversely to their yields.

Benchmark 10 year U.S. Treasury yields fell from the session high 2.40 percent mark to 2.35 percent around midday (1600 GMT) in New York.

"It has just been risk-off buying into the long (Columbus Day) weekend ... You look at the charts, it has really been a one-way trade of lower yields," said Justin Lederer, Treasury analyst at Cantor Fitzgerald in New York.
North Korea has started operating some Seoul-invested factories in its Kaesong industrial complex after South Korea pulled out of the joint venture, Pyongyang`s online media said Friday.

The South suspended operations at the industrial complex in February last year, saying that money Pyongyang made from the venture was going towards its nuclear weapons programme.

An association representing the 120 South Korean firms operating factories in Kaesong, which lies just across the North Korean border, estimated the value of the assets left behind at 820 billion won ($663 million).

On Friday, North Korean media outlets confirmed joint-run factories were still running and that plants left by the South could no longer be considered their assets.

"No one can interfere with whatever we are doing in the industrial zone that lies within our sovereign territory," Uriminzokkiri, one of Pyongyang`s propaganda outlets, wrote.

The article added that Pyongyang would freeze all facilities, products and materials left by the South and eventually control and manage them.

"No matter how fiercely the US and its cronies may attempt to intensify sanctions, they can never stop us moving forward and the plants in the industrial zone will churn out all the more actively," it said.

Another North Korean online propaganda site, Arirangmeari.com, said the plants left by the South had been forfeited.

"The dogs bark but the caravan goes on. No matter how desperately hostile forces may clamour, the plants in the Kaesong industrial zone will run all the more actively," it said.

The announcement followed news reports that North Korea has been using Seoul-invested facilities at 19 factories to produce clothes in Kaesong.

North Korea is subject to a multiple layers of international sanctions over its pursuit of nuclear and missile programmes.

In response to the announcement, an official at Seoul`s unification ministry told Yonhap news agency: "North Korea must not infringe upon property rights of South Korean companies".
WASHINGTON: A former British spy who compiled a dossier with allegations that Russia helped Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election has met with investigators working for the special counsel on the case, a source familiar with the contact said on Thursday.

Christopher Steele, a former senior operative for MI6, the British foreign intelligence agency, met representatives of special counsel Robert Mueller`s team "recently," said the source, who declined to provide further details.

A spokesman for Mueller did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

While President Trump and some of his supporters have dismissed the dossier as "fake news", two sources familiar with Mueller`s probe and a Senate Intelligence Committee investigation of suspected Russian meddling in the election said on Thursday that investigators have not dismissed it.

Russia has repeatedly denied any interference in last November`s election won by businessman Trump, a Republican.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr said on Wednesday that his panel had made several attempts to contact Steele and to meet him and "those offers have gone unaccepted."

"The committee cannot really decide the credibility of the dossier without understanding things like who paid for it, who are your sources and sub-sources," Burr said.

The meeting between members of Mueller`s team and Steele was first reported by CNN earlier on Thursday.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that Mueller`s team had taken over multiple strands of FBI investigations related to possible financial and personal links between Trump, his associates and Russia.

Steele met with FBI representatives before the election to discuss his findings on Trump and Russia. A copy of his so-called Trump dossier was posted publicly on the BuzzFeed website in January.

Although several news organizations, including Reuters, were briefed on Steele`s dossier, most decided not to report on the material because its inflammatory and sometimes salacious content could not be verified.

The information on Trump collected by Steele, whom officials say was one of MI6`s most respected Russia hands, was laid out last year in political "opposition research" initially financed by supporters of one of Trump`s Republican primary election opponents. After Trump won the Republican nomination in July, backers of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton picked up the support of Steele`s work.
London: Theresa May has come under fresh pressure from within her own party to step down as British prime minister as it emerged today that a former Conservative party chairman is leading an attempted coup against her.

Grant Shapps, co-chair of the ruling Tory party between 2012 and 2015, claims having the backing of nearly 30 party MPs ? including former Cabinet ministers.

He plans to spend the weekend taking that number up to the required 48 MPs to write to the chairman of the Conservative Party's powerful 1922 Committee of backbench MPs to trigger a leadership contest within the party.

"I think it's time we actually tackle this issue of leadership and so do many colleagues. We wanted to present that to Theresa May privately. Now I'm afraid it's being done a bit more publicly," Shapps told the BBC.

While 61-year-old May's own Cabinet has rallied around her, Shapps accused them of trying to overlook a series of blunders that made May's leadership of the party and the country untenable.

Calls for the British premier's resignation have been growing ever since a doomed general election in June, which lost the Tories their overall majority in Parliament.

Most recently, calls for May to step down have been revived as a result of a disastrous speech at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester.

Her key policy messages were all lost in a series of mishaps, including an interruption by a prankster, her own coughing fit and, to make matters worse, a faulty party message sign falling off on stage letter by letter.

"I think a growing number of my colleagues realise the solution isn't to bury our heads in the sand and hope things will get better. We have spoken to people from the Cabinet and ones who privately agree, I'm sure today publicly they will say otherwise," said Shapps during a series of media statements on the issue.

He said the group of MPs supporting him included members across policy divides and covered Brexiteers and those who supported remaining in the European Union (EU).

But at the same time there are party?colleagues who have jumped to May's support and accused Shapps of stirring up trouble when an "overwhelming majority" want her to carry on as premier.

"The truth is the overwhelming majority of Conservative MPs, the truth is the entirety of the Cabinet, the truth is the overwhelming majority of people, want the prime minister to concentrate on doing the job that 14 million people elected her to do earlier this year," said UK environment secretary Michael Gove, who had been one of the leadership contenders for the Conservatives alongside May when David Cameron exited 10, Downing Street after the Brexit vote last year.

Gove's intervention came as UK home secretary Amber Rudd made a very public appeal in 'The Daily Telegraph' asking May?to continue despite the "trio of mishaps" that blighted her conference speech.

"We, Theresa May's government, want to set out a better path, one that actually leads to a prosperous, secure and united country. We can do that, and we will under her leadership. She should stay," she wrote.

Charles Walker, the vice-chairman of the influential Tory backbench 1922 Committee, also came out strongly against the Shapps-led coup attempt.

He said, "No 10 must be delighted that it's Grant Shapps leading this alleged coup. Grant has many talents but one thing he doesn't have is a following in the party, so really I think this is going to fizzle out to be perfectly honest".

May, meanwhile, is recovering from her cold and cough that ruined her party speech at home in her Maidenhead constituency before spending the weekend at the prime minister's country retreat in Chequers.

Next week, on Wednesday, the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs will meet for the first time since the party conference for what could be a crucial moment for the party's future and May's own leadership.
SAN JOSE: Tropical Storm Nate killed at least 22 people in Central America on Thursday as it pummeled the region with heavy rain while heading toward Mexico`s Caribbean resorts and the US Gulf Coast where it could strike as a hurricane this weekend.

In Nicaragua, at least 11 people died, seven others were reported missing and thousands had to evacuate homes because of flooding, said the country`s vice president Rosario Murillo.

Emergency officials in Costa Rica reported that at least eight people were killed due to the lashing rain, including two children. Another 17 people were missing, while more than 7,000 had to take refuge from Nate in shelters, authorities said.

Two youths also drowned in Honduras due to the sudden swell in a river, while a man was killed in a mud slide in El Salvador and another person was missing, emergency services said.

"Sometimes we think we think we can cross a river and the hardest thing to understand is that we must wait," Nicaragua`s Murillo told state radio, warning people to avoid dangerous waters. "It`s better to be late than not to get there at all."

Costa Rica`s government declared a state of emergency, closing schools and all other non-essential services.

Highways in the country were closed due to mudslides and power outages were also reported in parts of country, where authorities deployed more than 3,500 police.

The Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Nate could produce as much as 20 inches (51 cm) in some areas of Nicaragua, where schools were also closed.

Nate is predicted to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane by the time it hits the U.S. Gulf Coast on Sunday, NHC spokesman Dennis Feltgen said.

At about 8 p.m. EDT (0100 GMT) Nate was some 45 miles (72 km) west of the Honduran town of Puerto Lempira, moving north-northwest at 10 mph (16 kph), the NHC said.

Blowing maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (64 kph), Nate was expected to move across eastern Honduras on Thursday and enter the northwestern Caribbean Sea through the night.

The storm will be near hurricane intensity when it approaches Mexico`s Yucatan Peninsula late on Friday, where up to 8 inches (20 cm) of rain were possible, the NHC said.

Nate is expected to produce 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm)of rain in southern Honduras, with up to 20 inches (50 cm) in some areas, the NHC said. The storm was forecast to dump 3-6 inches(7.5-15 cm) of rain in northern Costa Rica, with up to 10 inches (25 cm) in some areas, it added.

US officials from Florida to Texas told residents on Thursday to prepare for the storm. A state of emergency was declared for 29 Florida counties and the city of New Orleans.

"The threat of the impact is increasing, so folks along the northern Gulf Coast should be paying attention to this thing," the NHC`s Feltgen said.

In Mississippi, the US Environmental Protection Agency plans to release as a precautionary measure 40 million gallons (151 million liters) of acidic water from storage ponds at a Pascagoula waste site.

The release to a drainage bayou is intended to prevent a greater spill during the storm, the EPA said, adding there are no anticipated impacts to the environment.

Major Gulf of Mexico offshore oil producers including Chevron, BP plc, Exxon Mobil Corp, Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Statoil were shutting in production or withdrawing personnel from their offshore Gulf platforms, they said.

About 14.6 percent of US Gulf of Mexico oil production and 6.4 percent of natural gas production was offline on Thursday, the U.S. Department of the Interior`s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement said.
October 4, 2017

Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan kicked off a high-profile visit to Iran today as both countries vowed to prevent Iraqs Kurds from splitting away to form their own independent state and to boost economic ties.

Erdogan was flanked by his top lieutenants including Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and his son-in-law, Energy Minister Berat Albayrak.

Turkeys Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar, who has been in Tehran since Sunday holding talks on cooperation in Iraq and Syria, was among those to receive the Turkish leader at the airport.

At a joint news conference with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani, Erdogan repeated Turkeys demands that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) annul the results of the referendum on Kurdish independence that was held and overwhelmingly approved on Sept. 25. There is no country other than Israel that recognizes it. A referendum that was conducted by sitting side by side with [Israels national spy agency] Mossad has no legitimacy, he said. Erdogan warned of further decisive steps that Turkey, Iran and Baghdad might take if the KRG ignores their calls.

Rouhani concurred, saying, Turkey, Iran and Iraq have no choice but to take serious and necessary measures to protect their strategic goals in the region, and that the wrong decisions made by some of the leaders of this region must be compensated for by them.

Erdogan also met for an hour and 10 minutes with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

There was nothing new in the calls, which are beginning to sound more toothless by the day. Turkey and Iran have yet to act on any of their threats to seal their borders with the Iraqi Kurdish region, halt trade or to take military action against it. The potentially harshest measure the Iraqi Kurds face is the insertion of Iraqi customs officials on their enclaves borders with Turkey and Iran, a scheme that reportedly has the blessing of the United States as a face-saving way out for all sides.

Brett McGurk, the US presidential envoy to the anti-Islamic State coalition, is expected to return to Iraq sometime later in the month to try to bring the Iraqi Kurds and Baghdad back to the negotiating table. The United States was also fiercely opposed to the referendum on the grounds that it would weaken its close ally Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to the benefit of his pro-Iranian foes. Washington declared the results illegitimate but apparently lacks a clear plan to break the deadlock between the Iraqi Kurds and Baghdad, who are of equal strategic importance to its interests in the region. Abadi is demanding that KRG President Massoud Barzani scrap the referendum as a prerequisite for dialogue. Barzani insists the path toward independence will remain on the agenda in any bilateral talks.

The hope, at least in Ankara, appears to be that if Turkey repeats its demands enough times, Barzani, who championed the referendum as an irrevocable step toward full independence, will eventually crumple. Pro-government columnists have suggested that Ankara entertains the fantasy that the best way out of the current impasse is for Barzani to step down. Another idea being floated is for the KRG to void the referendum for the oil-rich province of Kirkuk. American pressure is seen as a prerequisite for any of these scenarios to materialize.

But there are no signs that the steely septuagenarian will budge. If anything, Turkeys shrill reaction is helping shatter the Iraqi Kurdish oppositions narrative that Barzani is a Turkish pawn and boosting his street cred among Kurds across the globe. At the same time, it is denting Erdogans popularity among his own Kurdish constituents, which may explain why he has softened his tone if not his message to the KRG. Barzani, for his part, is betting that when push comes to shove, his foes lack the stomach to act on their threats and that the best course of action is to stick to his guns and wait for the clamor around the referendum to die down. As ever, the biggest challenge remains the divisions among the Iraqi Kurds themselves.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Approximately 2000 Armenians live in Norway, according to statistics. The majority of Armenians live in Oslo, while the other overwhelming part live in the countrys south, and a small group of Armenians reside in northern regions.

Narine H. Harutyunyan, director of external relations of the Armenian Apostolic Church community of Norway, and finance director of Brownells, conditionally divides the Armenian community to two parts -the Armenian cultural community and the Armenian Apostolic Church community. The cultural community was formed in 1989 by Lebanese-Armenians and Iranian-Armenians, while the church community was formed later in 2012. It was created by Armenians who arrived in the country from Armenia.

The first flow of Armenians into Norway began in 1970 from Iran, Middle East and Armenia. The overwhelming majority of immigrants in the past 20 years are from Armenia, but Armenians from Syria arent few either.

As it was mentioned numerously, Armenians are hardworking people. It is also seen among the Armenians of Norway. Armenians of Norway carry out activities in various sectors. For example healthcare, economics, music, high technologies, woodworking, construction, arts etc. I can reassure that all of them are high class professionals of their work. There are renowned Armenians in various sector, but I wouldnt want to point out someone in particular. I can only say that every Norwegian-Armenian, regardless of everything and employment, is first of all introducing himself of being from the country which was the first to officially adopt Christianity in the world. And we also dont miss the chance to tell about the centuries old history, Harutyunyan told ARMENPRESS.

Speaking about the preservation of the language, she said it is one of the most painful issues of the Armenian community. Armenians living in Norway are few in number and are spread all across the country, therefore it is difficult to establish an Armenian school.

Harutyunyan says they want to organize Armenian language courses in Norway, and also establish Armenian dance studios.

Commenting on tourism matters, Harutyunyan says only two small travel agencies offer tour packages to Armenia.

It is mainly us Armenians that inspire our European friends to visit Armenia. We had guests from Norway at my wedding, which took place in Armenia, she said, adding that after returning to Norway their guests were speaking about Armenia with admiration.

Speaking about the Artsakh and Armenian Genocide issues, Harutyunyan said there is no big centralization regarding Artsakh in Norway. But in terms of the Armenian Genocide, she said both the church and cultural communities regularly bring up the matter on various occasions. Narine Harutyunyan noted that the society in Norway has low awareness on the issue. Even the textbooks, in which the WW 1 is taught, dont mention the Armenian Genocide.

We try to inform our Norwegian colleagues about it. We had tried to raise the issue of the Armenian Genocide in relevant bodies, but we didnt succeed because of interference of the Turkish Embassy. I would like to mention that the Christian Democratic Party of Norway is the only party which has recognized the genocide, internally. And we know that if we succeed in raising the issue in the Parliament then we will have endorsers, she said. Kragero is the first municipality of Norway to recognize the Armenian Genocide  thanks to Bodil Catharina Biorn.

Every year on April 24, the Armenian community visits the memorials of Fridtjof Nansen and Bodil Biorn, lays flowers for the memory of the 1,5 million victims.

A torchlight procession took place during the 100th anniversary events, a mass was held with officials, clergymen and others in attendance.

Anna Gziryan
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Nearly two dozen people were killed when a train plowed into a crowded bus on a railway crossing in the Vladimir Region east of Moscow, the Russian Investigative Committee said in a statement, RT reported. The Investigative Committee said at least 17 were killed, but conflicting reports were made on the death toll.

Local health authorities, cited by TASS, report that 19 people were killed. Earlier reports by local authorities indicated there were at least two children in critical condition after the collision.

Interfax later reported that at least 21 were killed.

The accident happened at 3:39am on Friday near the Pokrov station in Vladimir Region.

A hospital caring for the injured has told Sputnik news agency that five people have been admitted, and that four of them are in critical condition. Police are working on the ground to establish the details of the accident. Early data indicates the driver went across the rail tracks in spite of a red traffic light, and the bus's engine stalled in the process.

The regional governor's press secretary told RIA that the bus, with Kazakhstan license plates and carrying Uzbek citizens, was going around a traffic jam when it arrived at the railroad crossing and stalled.

"People inside the bus were sleeping, there were 50 of them. The driver shouted and 34 people ran out of the bus to push it. They survived. Those who remained in the bus died. It got literally torn apart," Rita Shlyakhtina said.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Rafi Baghdjian was appointed as the CEO of Initiatives for Development of Armenia (IDeA) Foundation, IDeA told Armenpress.

Rafi has over 35 years experience with Shell company, covering the technical, commercial and leadership aspects of the energy business. His main expertise lies in cultural navigation, deal-making and strategic leadership. In May 2016, Rafi was named a Chief Operating Officer of Shell UK, being on call for advisory support, until he retired from Shell in January 2017.

The recent years were a period of formation for IDeA. We are hopeful that Rafi Baghdjians experience and knowledge will help the Foundation facilitate the development of cultural and social entrepreneurship in Armenia, IDeA co-founders Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend said.

I am delighted to join IDeA Foundation. It is a great pleasure to serve my motherland, bringing in my 35-year experience with Shell from around the world, Baghdjian commented on his appointment.

Edgar Manukyan, who had headed IDeA since July 2015, resigned to engage in private business.

We are thankful to Edgar for his great job and particular contribution to the creation of UWC Dilijan and wish him every success in his future endeavors, Vardanyan and Zonabend said.

Rafi Baghdjians Biography

Rafi has over 35 years experience with Shell, covering the technical, commercial and leadership aspects of the energy business.

Rafi was born in Beirut in 1956 and graduated as a chemical engineer from Ecole Nationale Superieure de Chimie de Lille (France), in 1981.

After starting his career with Shell in The Hague, Rafi moved to Yokohama in 1984 where he was a design engineer for the North West Shelf (Australia) LNG project. After a couple of years as a process engineer back in The Hague, Rafi moved to the commercial side of Shell as a business analyst for Shell International Gas, in London, in 1987.

In 1989, Rafi transferred to Tokyo, as manager for the Brunei LNG Project, and was involved, among others, in the customer interface of that project.

In 1992, Rafi moved to Muscat to become the Corporate Affairs Manager for Oman LNG where he spent 6 years working on the project from its inception, setting-up its Commercial, Marketing, Public Affairs, IT, Administration and other departments.

Rafi then moved to London to look after the Northern Rim of Latin America and became the Project Leader for the Mariscal Sucre (Venezuela) LNG project.

In 2004, Rafi was based in Dubai as the General Manager Gas, Middle East, for Shell Global Solutions International, the technical arm of Shell.

In mid-2007, Rafi moved to Doha as Vice President Technical Services and Business Relations, also deputizing for Shells Managing Director and Country Chair at Qatar Shell. Rafi managed Shells technical support services in Qatar, overseeing Shells activities at the Qatar Shell Research & Technology Centre and looking after government and business relations and all CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities for Shell in Qatar. Shells investments in Qatar during Rafis tenure exceeded $21 billion.

In mid-2012, Rafi became the Chief Operating Officer at Shell Abu Dhabi, covering all Shells activities in Abu Dhabi, looking after existing shareholding in oil and gas companies to new multi-billion dollar bids in new and existing projects.

In May 2016, Rafi was named a Chief Operating Officer of Shell UK, being on call for advisory support, until he retired from Shell in January 2017.

In February 2017, Rafi became the CEO for Middle East and North Africa at N2Growth, an executive search and consulting firm.

Rafi is married and has two sons.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan addressed a message to the participants and guests of the 6th Armenian-Russian inter-regional and the 2nd Eurasian Partnership international forums, press service of the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

The message reads:

I sincerely welcome the participants and guests of the 6th Armenian-Russian inter-regional under the title Armenia and Russia: All Edges of Partnership and the 2nd Eurasian Partnership international forums.

Today it can be stated for sure that the forums have become effective platforms for comprehensive, constructive dialogue by proving their demand.

Regularly holding the forums enables to discuss contemporary issues of the agenda, reveal the further cooperation development potential of our countries.

Armenia attaches a special attention to the development of multilayer commercial relations with Russia. The economies of our countries are closely linked. We jointly implement large-scale programs in trade-economic, scientific-technical, cultural-humanitarian and other fields of bilateral cooperation.



The regions of our countries play an active role in expanding the partnership for which the Armenian-Russian forum has become a platform of direct contact for the local authorities of the regions and the representatives of the business and expert communities. It is welcoming that the proposals made during the previous Armenian-Russian inter-regional forums are being implemented through joint initiatives.

Undoubtedly, the integration processes contribute to the development of inter-regional cooperation. First of all it relates to the Eurasian Economic Union thanks to which the decentralized partnership has increased to a new, higher level. The Eurasian Economic Union multiplied the creative potential of our countries, eliminated many barriers on the way to mutually beneficial economic cooperation. The main task of our integration union is that the implementation of all initiatives and upcoming programs should result in increasing the quality of life and prosperity and be visible for each citizen and the region.

I hope during this forum there will be productive exchange of opinions which will lead to creating new demanded ideas which we will together implement for the benefit of Armenian-Russian allied relations. And the consultations developed during the forum will contribute to developing business ties, inter-regional exchange, expanding the mutual partnership of NGOs and youth organizations, as well as further integration within the frames of the Eurasian Economic Union.

I am convinced that the 2nd Eurasian Partnership international forum will in tis turn contribute to revealing wide range of business and investment opportunities and implementing new mutually beneficial business projects.

Holding the forums is in line with the brotherhood and friendship traditions through which the relations of our peoples have strengthened over centuries. I am confident that these traditions will also contribute to strengthening the allied relations of Armenia and Russia.

I wish all the participants and guests of the forums a productive work and new achievements for the welfare of our states and peoples.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on October 6 held a meeting with President of the Tavitian Foundation Aso Tavitian, press service of the Presidents Office told Armenpress.

President Sargsyan handed over the Order of Honor to Aso Tavitian which was awarded to him on the occasion of Armenias Independence for the contribution to strengthening Fatherland-Diaspora ties.

Serzh Sargsyan thanked Aso Tavitian for the patriotic activity and wished him further success.

Aso Tavitian accepted the state order with a gratitude and considered it a great honor for him and the Foundation to have a contribution in creating a viable society and strengthening governance in Armenia through education.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan attended the opening of the joint plenary session of the 6th Armenian-Russian inter-regional conference and the 2nd Eurasian Partnership conference on October 6.

In his opening remarks the PM welcomed the participants and guests, stressing that the agenda of the conferences is extremely important. PM Karapetyan highlighted the existing opportunities in Armenia.

Being a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, Armenia can be a good platform for our friends today and be viewed as not only an Armenian domestic market, but also as a platform for developing relations with our neighboring country Iran. Soon we will complete the work over organizing a free economic zone with Iran and we are agreeing with the Iranian side over a special regime on the border. Today, Armenia has GSP+ and GSP privileged regimes  with EU countries and the US respectively. I think it would be appropriate to also discuss the prospects of the participation of our countries in these works, he said.

Speaking about the 6th Armenian-Russian inter-regional conference, the PM noted that economic cooperation is on a high level at all levels of intergovernmental relations between Armenia and Russia, but the existing potential hasnt yet been fully used.

We have high growth of trade turnover with all EEU countries, including with Russia, we have growth in imports and exports. After passing the decision on enabling visits to Armenia on internal Russian passports we have 37% growth in tourism, he said.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Ara Babloyan, Armenias Speaker of Parliament, held a meeting October 6 with the parliamentary delegation of the US state of California.

During the meeting the Parliament Speaker attached importance to the yearly developing Armenian-US relations, emphasizing the presence and significant role of the Armenian Diaspora in this matter.

According to Babloyan, not only political relations are expanding with the US, but also cultural, educational and economic.

Ara Babloyan attached importance to US assistance to the establishment and development of democracy in Armenia.

I appreciate the US assistance for the creation and establishment of the independent Armenias healthcare system. The first rehabilitation center in Armenia was created by US assistance  by changing the mentality and attitude for disabled children, he said.

Speaking about the ongoing reforms, Babloyan mentioned that unlike certain neighboring states, Armenia is proceeding on the path of democracy, freedom of speech and protection of human rights, and decentralization of the administration system.

Commenting on the NK conflict, the Speaker said: Armenia doesnt have a territorial issue with Azerbaijan: the issue relates to the self-determination right of the people of Artsakh. People are the highest value, and the protection of human rights and security are important for us. Peace has no alternative in the civilized world, therefore the NK conflict must be solved peacefully, in the OSCE Minsk Group format.

Head of the US delegation Scott Wilk thanked Babloyan for the reception and introduced the members of delegation, many of whom are ethnic Armenians.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Harlem Desir released a statement on his visit to Armenia.

During meetings, Harlem Desir underlined the need to continue the fruitful co-operation between his office and Armenia to promote the freedom of the media, the OSCE office told ARMENPRESS.

Journalists have the right and duty to report freely. This includes reporting on rallies and demonstrations. The police and the judiciary should take all necessary measures to protect journalists and other media actors, and effectively prevent crimes against them, Desir said

Addressing the safety of journalists requires a systematic approach and strong political will. My office stands ready to assist on this very important issue, he said.

The Representative met with Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian, Justice Minister Davit Harutyunyan, Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan, Head of the Police Headquarters Hovhannes Kocharyan, and members of the executive management of the Public Service Broadcaster Margarita Grigoryan and Mark Grigoryan.

The Representative also raised concerns about the planned amendments to the countrys Freedom of Information Law, stressing the need to avoid any risk of limiting citizens existing right to access to information.

The OSCE media freedom representative also met with journalists and representatives of non-governmental organizations to learn about their perspectives of the media freedom situation in the country.
YEREVAN, 6 OCTOBER, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 6 October, USD exchange rate is up by 0.30 drams to 478.75 drams. EUR exchange rate is down by 2.52 drams to 560.38 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate is down by 0.04 drams to 8.29 drams. GBP exchange rate is down by 6.30 drams to 625.01 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price is up by 16.14 drams to 19617.32 drams. Silver price is down by 2.38 drams to 256.43 drams. Platinum price is up by 8.80 drams to 14037.66 drams.
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 6, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Edward Nalbandian received on October 6 the newly appointed Ambassador of France to Armenia Jonathan Lacote.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of MFA Armenia, congratulating the Ambassador on the occasion of handing the copies of the credentials, Minister Nalbandian wished him success and hoped that Jonathan Lacote will contribute to the further development of Armenian-French privileged relations.

Thanking for the warm wishes, Ambassador Lacote assured that he will spare no efforts to further expand and deepen the exceptional relations between Armenia and France.

The interlocutors discussed a broad scope of issues of bilateral cooperation, referred to the high level political dialogue between the two states, partnership in the international organizations, active inter-parliamentary interactions, decentralized cooperation, as well as various forms of cultural ties. The sides mutually highlighted the valuable role of French-Armenians in strengthening interstate relations.

The Armenian FM and the French Ambassador exchanged ideas over trade and economic cooperation and issues of increasing the French investments in Armenia. The sides also touched upon Armenia-EU cooperation and the preparatory works of the Eastern Partnership summit in Brussels.

The interlocutors referred to the preparation of the summit of the Heads of Governments of the states of the International Organization of the Francophonie to be held in Yerevan next year.

Edward Nalbandian highlighted the role of France in Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement as an OSCE Minsk Group Co-chair country.
LOS ANGELESDoc Johnson on Friday announced plans to launch its temporary, traveling vending machine installation this evening.

Doc Johnson has transformed a traditional vending machine into a technicolor touring pop-up, which will feature a curated selection of high-design Doc Johnson products (including the TRYST multi-erogenous Silicone Massager, the BUZZ Liquid Vibrator, and the multi-colored American POP! Mode plug), as well as select Doc Johnson swag.

The "Pop Up Pleasure Machine" will travel to various locations across the USA for a few days at a time, and will tour the country throughout the next few months and into early 2018.

The machines first stop will be today in downtown Los Angele for Whitney Bells press-magnet exhibition, "I Didnt Ask for This: A Lifetime of Dick Pics," which recently caused a stir in San Francisco and is now making its way to Los Angeles.

The machine will make its second appearance this Saturday at Boomtown Brewery in DTLA for a party at the Disco Dining Cluban underground, bi-monthly supper club which draws in tastemakers like Dita Von Teese and has been heralded in the press as Los Angeles Most Decadent Dinner Party."

For the remainder of the Pop Up Pleasure Machines multi-city tour, Doc Johnson will announce the ongoing vending machines locations via press releases and on its social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Our new campaign, the Pop Up Pleasure Machine, aims to expand our reach, and drive awareness of the Doc Johnson brand amongst a millennial audience in particular, said Doc Johnson Marketing Executive Erica Braverman. Were finding that people, and millennial men and women especially, want to break the sex toy taboo with us; and they also want to engage with brands in an authentic, experiential way.

The point of this project is really not about the sale of individual products, but is more so a unique and interesting way to connect with a new audience while also sparking conversation and generating excitement for pleasure products in general, said Doc Johnson COO/CCO Chad Braverman. I think that this pop-up concept is right on brand for us, and something that people will love getting involved in.

Scott Watkins, Doc Johnson VP of sales and marketing, said: While customers can already see our products in retail stores across the country, we wanted to provide another way to create top-of-mind awareness for people who wouldnt have otherwise thought of sex toys as a holiday gift. Our retail and distributor partners should prepare for an influx of demand for Doc Johnson products in generalwith a particular focus on TRYST, BUZZ, and our American POP! collection.

For more information and tickets to Whitney Bells "I Didnt Ask for This: A Lifetime of Dick Picks" exhibition, click here.

For more information and tickets to Disco Dining Clubs Playground Edition pop-up event, click here.

For sales inquiries, contact your representative or email [email protected].
MUNICH, GermanyThe Munich District Court I recently issued two rulings in the legal dispute between epi24 and EIS GmbH.

Epi24 is the maker of the Womanizer brand of items, while EIS is the maker of the Satisfyer range of products.

According to a press release issued by epi24, the Munich District Court ordered EIS GmbH to refrain from advertising with the statement Satisfyer engages public prosecutors office against womanizer.

The court agreed with the opinion of Womanizer that such a statement appears to create the incorrect assumption that Womanizer had behaved unlawfully, the release said. In doing so, the esteem held for womanizer is degraded with respect to its entrepreneurial quality or products.

Johannes von Plettenberg, managing director of the Womanizer group, said: We are pleased that German courts are not permitting such behaviour in the form of an untrue degradation of our products and are sanctioning them appropriately.

In the second judgment, according to the PR, the court confirmed the interim injunction dated June 4, 2017, against EIS GmbH and granted Womanizer injunctive relief.

The reason for the action taken against Womanizer was a statement made by EIS GmbH in the course of trade: Our own technology, which is already protected in Germany, with which EIS GmbH advertised for its pressure and contact vibrators using the name Satisfyer.

EIS GmbH did not present any protection covered by patent law, the statement from epi24 said. The court agreed with Womanizer and ordered EIS GmbH to refrain from making such statements.

For more, visit Womanizer.com.
The Democrat leadership has made constant, profound and incredible pronouncements that one's supportive vote for Republicans is tantamount to surrendering Democracy forever. Understanding their sincere thinking in their extreme position: How will you still vote on this election day?

Democrat; because the continuance of this Democracy from the existential threat of extreme Republicans is paramount.

Republican; the process of having a choice is the democratic method within what so called "Democracy" does exists.
The PACT Act would enable federal authorities to crack down on the practice of bestiality, which like animal fighting and the crush video trade, involves a national subculture where animals are often moved across state lines and information is exchanged on websites to enable this exploitation to happen. Photo by iStockphoto

972 shares







Last week, the Kansas City Star reported that an elementary school worker in Springfield was being investigated by federal authorities for pornography involving sexual acts between that individual, a four-year-old child, and a dog.

The facts in this case as we understand them are deeply disturbing and, by all appearances, the U.S. attorney in the region is taking the matter seriously.

We have federal anti-pornography and child exploitation statutes that may enable a prosecution if the facts line up adversely for the suspect. But theres no federal statute to criminalize a wide range of malicious acts of animal cruelty, including bestiality. In short, theres a gap in the federal law, and its time for the federal government to enact a federal anti-cruelty statute that complements the anti-cruelty standards established in state law.

The legislative embodiment of that idea is the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (H.R. 1494/S. 654) introduced by Reps. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, and Ted Deutch, D-Fla., in the House, and Sens. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., in the Senate. Between them, the bills have massive bipartisan support, with more than 260 lawmakers cosponsoring the bills, and theyve been endorsed not just by The HSUS, but also by the National Sheriffs Association, the Fraternal Order of Police, the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, the National Childrens Center, and hundreds of local law enforcement agencies.

The PACT Act would enable the federal government to prosecute malicious acts of animal cruelty on federal property such as military bases, federal prisons, airports, and national parks. It would also enable federal authorities to crack down on the practice of bestiality, which like animal fighting and the crush video trade, involves a national subculture where animals are often moved across state lines and where information is exchanged on websites to enable this exploitation to happen.

Such websites are gathering places for people with deviant sexual behavior. One site with more than a million registered users, for example, hosts thousands of advertisements, categorized by state, from people seeking animals to sexually abuse. Craigslist is another online forum used to facilitate bestiality. During any one week, a states Craigslist page has dozens of ads from people soliciting or offering animals for sex, often to be transported across state lines. There are still five states that do not prohibit bestiality  Hawaii, Kentucky, New Mexico, West Virginia, and Wyoming.

Bestiality is also associated with child pornography and other sexual crimes against humans. During the course of child exploitation investigations, for example, detectives commonly find sexual predators in possession of bestiality materials. In fact, in a study of more than 44,000 adult males evaluated for sexual misconduct, researchers concluded that bestiality is the number one risk factor and the strongest predictor of increased risk of sexual abuse of a child. A study from the University of Tennessee determined that human sex offenders were eight times more likely than the general population to have a history of bestiality.

Sexual predators move their animal victims across state lines to abuse them and there is a predictive association of this behavior with human-to-human sexual abuse. We have federal laws to stop specific acts of cruelty, such as injuring Tennessee walking horses or staging animal fights. The Senate passed the PACT Act last year, but the House failed to act, even though a solid majority of that chamber backed the legislation. Its past due for both chambers of Congress to adopt a standard against general malicious acts of animal cruelty, including bestiality. Congress can attend to its other legislative priorities and take care of this item too, making animals and people safer in the process.
The President of the United States is Angry at Rex Tillerson, who was recently reported to have called Donald Trump 'a fucking moron,' a charge the Secretary of State and former Exxon-Mobil CEO does not deny.

JUST IN: Pres. Trump was furious with Sec. Tillerson after @NBCNews report, 5 admin. sources say  @mitchellreports https://t.co/qKHbzKnqSk  NBC Nightly News (@NBCNightlyNews) October 5, 2017

This reveals Trump's upbeat statements on the matter to be yet another of his public lies.

Andrea Mitchell of NBC News broke the news this evening on MSNBC.

From Talking Points Memo:
Imagine having a mind so poorly developed that it tags all bias-challenging information as a false flag operation.

From Vice News:

VICE News: In fairness, antifa is in the news because of a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville.

ARIZONA REP. PAUL GOSAR: Well, isn't that interesting. Maybe that was created by the Left.

VICE News: Why do you say that?

GOSAR: Because let's look at the person that actually started the rally. It's come to our attention that this is a person from Occupy Wall Street that was an Obama sympathizer [Er, not really. Snopes]. So, wait a minute, be careful where you start taking these people to.

And look at the background. You know, you know George Soros is one of those people that actually helps back these individuals. Who is he? I think he's from Hungary. I think he was Jewish. And I think he turned in his own people to the Nazis [false: Snopes]. Better be careful where we go with those.

VICE News: Do you think George Soros funded the neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville?

GOSAR: Wouldn't it be interesting to find out?
Parents of Georgia middle schoolers are saying a teacher gave students an assignment asking them to create a mascot for the Nazi party.

WSB-TV Atlanta reports sixth graders from Shiloh Middle School in Snellville were handed a homework assignment to imagine being commissioned by nazis, then draw and name them a mascot based on all their teachings about Hitler and nazis.

"Directions: The year is 1935 and you have been tasked with creating a mascot to represent the Nazi party at its political rallies," the directions read. "Think about all the information that you have learned about Hitler and the Nazi party. You will create a COLORFUL illustration of the mascot. Give the mascot a NAME. You will also write an explanation as to why the mascot was chosen to represent the Nazi party."

Via WSB-TV Atlanta:

Gwinnett County Schools said learning about Nazism, the use of propaganda and the events that resulted in the Holocaust is part of the sixth grade social studies curriculum. However, a school district spokesperson said in a statement, "This assignment is not a part of the approved materials provided by our Social Studies department and is not appropriate and the school is addressing the use of this assignment with the teacher."

Image: DrRandomFactor
Nicolas Cage's mug is being used on the packaging of a Japanese snack food. Because, of course it is.

RocketNews24 writes that Cage's endorsement of Umaibo's "Nicolastick," a 10-cent corn chowder-flavored cheese puff stick, is part of a promotion for the Japanese film Ore no Emono wa bin Laden (Bin Laden is My Prey):

[The film] observes several Japanese cinematic traditions by being quaintly renamed from the original title (Army of One), having an official Japanese-market title (Finding bin Laden) that doesn't match the meaning of its Japanese one, and coming out long, long after its original release (Army of One premiered in November of 2016 in America, but Bin Laden is My Prey won't hit Japanese theaters until this December). Sadly, the Nicolastick won't be sold in stores. The only way to get your hands on them is to purchase advance tickets for Bin Laden is My Prey when they go on sale on October 13 at Tokyo's Cinema Shinjuku, Osaka's Cinemart Shinsaibashi, or Nagoya's Century Cinema, or through online ticketing service Major at a yet-to-be-determined date. 1,500 yen (US$14) gets you a ticket to the movie and an undisclosed number of Nicolasticks.

Well, dang. I really wanted one.

(Dangerous Minds)

image via ITMedia
Whatever this guy is on, it's not good. He looks and behave exactly like a movie zombie trying to get to people inside a bus by ramming the bus's window with his head.

Here's a Forbes article about the stuff the man is allegedly on, Cloud 9:

"Cloud 9 is not a drug," says Rusty Payne, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). "It's a name." Some accounts describe Cloud 9 as a marijuana substitute, similar to products such as Spice or K2. Other accounts, including 2013 testimony by Joseph Rannazzisi, who runs the DEA's Office of Diversion Control, identify Cloud 9 as a methamphetamine or cocaine substitute in the same family as products sold as "bath salts." So which is it? A synthetic cannabinoid or a synthetic stimulant? "It could be anything," Payne says. "It could be all of those things." As John Yang noted in his NBC report, the bottles of Cloud 9 sold in southeastern Michigan have "just the name on the label, no other writing. It doesn't say who made it, where it's from, or what's in it."

Stories in the local press do not shed much light on that last question. In a May 21 story headlined "Cloud 9 Rains Misery on Family," Lisa Roose-Church, a reporter for Michigan's Livingston County Press, calls Cloud 9 "a synthetic cannabinoid" marketed as "hookah-related incense or oil." But she also says "it has been sold as bath salts" and quotes the website of Sober Living by the Sea, a chain of California drug treatment centers, as saying Cloud 9 "gives users a euphoric ecstasy-like sensation, with an amphetamine-like high." Roose-Church adds that "product ingredients vary, but typically include stimulant compounds such as methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) or 4-methylmethcathinone, also known as mephedrone." Those are both stimulants, not cannabinoids, and they are banned by name under federal law, which makes NBC's claim that Cloud 9 is legal rather puzzling. A September 18 story from Associated Newspapers of Michigan, headlined "3 Teens Suffer Effects of 'Bath Salts' Overdose," likewise describes Cloud 9 as "a synthetic cathinone," the family to which MDPV and mephedrone belong.
One of the major triumphs of Elizabeth Warren's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was a rule that banned the finance industry from using binding arbitration clauses to prevent defrauded customers from joining in class action suits to sue crooked banks.



The reason for the rule is easy to understand: alone, an individual wronged by a bank might only be able to extract a small sum in penalties  so small that it's not worth spending hundreds of thousands of dollars suing the bank. This frees banks up to commit a baseline of widespread, continuous fraud (which, indeed, they have), safe in the knowledge that no one will ever hold them to account for frauds that can run to hundreds of millions in aggregate.





The poster child for this kind of fraud with impunity is Wells Fargo, who defrauded at least 2,000,000 customers with fake accounts and then convinced judges that forging those customers' signatures on forced arbitration agreements meant that the customers couldn't sue the bank for ripping them off. Instead, Wells wanted its victims to enter into a parallel legal system called arbitration, in which arbitrators working for the companies accused of wrongdoing decide whether their paymasters should be punished. Unsurprisingly, customers who are forced into arbitration get little or nothing out of the companies that wrong them  while customers who band together in class actions, aggregating their losses until they add up to a pile worth suing over, extract real penalties from crooked companies.

This week, America's largest financial institutions, along with the Chamber of Commerce and other business lobbies, banded together to sue the CFRB in federal court to force the CFRB to make it impossible for the public to band together and sue them in federal court.

The businesses on the plaintiff side argue that the arbitration system they're not using is really the best way to resolve disputes like theirs, and that the court system that they are using is something that no one should get to use.

Or, as the headline in The Intercept reads: "In New Lawsuit, Corporations Band Together to Stop Consumers From Banding Together."



The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is among the plaintiffs. They represent thousands of corporations, none of which decided to file their own administrative grievance against the CFPB. Those corporations don't have the resources to engage in high-profile litigation against the government by themselves, so they band together and pay into a fund, so the Chamber can represent their interests. This is what the Chamber wants to prevent consumers from doing. To pull this off, the Chamber enlisted the assistance of several other banking trade groups, which also represent thousands of individual businesses. The American Bankers Association, the American Financial Services Association, the Consumer Bankers Association, and the Financial Services Roundtable joined the list of plaintiffs  you might call them a "class"  in the lawsuit. Thirteen Texas-based business groups, from the Texas Association of Business and the Texas Bankers Association to local Chambers of Commerce in Grand Prairie, Lubbock, and Port Arthur, are also on the lawsuit. Despite this being a national case, the plaintiffs presumably filed in Texas in the hopes that conservative judges there would look favorably on their case. In other words, they engaged in "forum shopping," a primary complaint corporations have with class-action litigation.

IN NEW LAWSUIT, CORPORATIONS BAND TOGETHER TO STOP CONSUMERS FROM BANDING TOGETHER

[David Dayen/The Intercept]
Worth County, GA Sheriff Jeff Hobby (+1-229-776-8211) had his deputies repeatedly subject all 900 students at Worth County High School in Sylvester to "highly intrusive" pat-downs that included touching genitals and breasts; they say they were looking for drugs but they never found any.

Sheriff Hobby ordered these searches regularly, and wanted to do it again, sure that he had missed some drugs on the earlier junk-touching expeditions, but he can't because nine of the students are suing him and two of his deputies, and he's been indicted by a grand jury for sexual battery, false imprisonment and violation of oath of office .

Interestingly, if he loses the lawsuit, he could also be stripped of his immunity in the criminal prosecution.

Apparently, Sheriff Hobby is going to claim he's innocent because he didn't personally pat down any of the students. That may save him from the sexual battery charge, but it's not going to help him much with the other two: violation of oath of office and false imprisonment. Without the sheriff giving the orders, it's unlikely his deputies would have locked down a school and patted down 800 students. Hobby's statements made in defense of the search  all made pre-lawsuit and pre-indictment  aren't going to help much either. He feels he's completely justified in performing en masse suspicionless searches of US citizens. They may have limited rights as minors and school attendees, but their rights do not vanish entirely once they walk on campus. The whole debacle was an ugly abuse of Hobby's power. Preventing future abuses depends greatly on the judicial system's ability to hold the sheriff accountable for his actions. With Hobby in charge, the Worth County Sheriff's Department is unqualified to police itself. Whether or not he's convicted, he should be removed from office. His post-search comments show he's willing to violate rights of hundreds of people simultaneously to find contraband he swears exists, but has yet to actually discover.
Here's a rare historical gem from Walt Disney World's history: the 15-minute long promotional video for Walt's utopian EPCOT Center (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow).

The Disney Parks Blog writes that they pulled it out of the "video vault" for Epcot's 35th anniversary:

This film, which offers a look inside WED Enterprises during the "Imagineering" of EPCOT Center in the 1970s, originally ran on a loop in the EPCOT Preview Center at Magic Kingdom Park. The purpose of the film was to introduce a new kind of Disney theme park to guests, showcasing exciting experiences they could have in the park's Future World and World Showcase areas. The film offered sneak peaks at attraction models, renderings and animation for The Living Seas, Horizons, World of Motion, CommuniCore and Spaceship Earth, as well as early construction footage. It also offered a first-listen to some of the fun music composed for this new park, including songs like "It's Fun to Be Free," "Universe of Energy" and "Listen to the Land."

As a bonus, here's the TV opening special for EPCOT which aired on October 23, 1982 (the park opened on October 1st of that year). It's hosted by Danny Kaye:
Featured Post Indigenous Protest at UN Climate Summit: Natives Protesting Biden have Credentials Removed The actions of powerful Indigenous women at COP27, led by Ponca and Anishinaabe, under the heavy oppression of Egypt. Indigenous grandmother...

White Mesa Ute Spiritual March to Shut Down Uranium Mill



Mohawk Warrior Society Book Launch



Lakota Jean Roach: The True Story of Leonard Peltier



Justice for Dad: Taylor Dewey Shares the Harsh Road to Justice



Justice Dept Files Lawsuit Against Rapid City Hotel



Western Shoshone Ian Zabarte Speaks on Radiation



Archive

Search This Blog

About Censored News Censored News is published by Brenda Norrell. Since 2006, Censored News has received more than 20 million pageviews. As a collective of writers, photographers and broadcasters, we publish news of Indigenous Peoples and human rights. Contact publisher Brenda Norrell: brendanorrell@gmail.com

From the publisher Censored News is published by Brenda Norrell, a journalist in Indian country for 40 years. Norrell created Censored News after she was censored and terminated as a staff reporter at Indian Country Today in 2006. She began as a reporter at Navajo Times during the 18 years that she lived on the Navajo Nation. She was a stringer for AP and USA Today and later traveled with the Zapatistas through Mexico. She has been blacklisted by all the mainstream media for 14 years. Contact brendanorrell@gmail.com

Translate
The president of the company that owns the Ambassador Bridge says it may not be allowed to tear down the existing bridge after completing a replacement span even though the demolition has been ordered by the Canadian government.

"The U.S. permits say we have to keep the old bridge up. It's on historical lists. But Canada says tear it down. We're going to leave that up to the two countries to tell us what to do," said Dan Stamper in Windsor Thursday. "Our view is we want to build a new six-lane bridge. We want to do it as soon as possible and whatever the outcome is we'll do. If it means tearing we'll tear it down."

The permit from the Canadian government granting the company permission to begin construction came with several conditions, including a stipulation it must "demolish" the Ambassador Bridge no more than five years after the new bridge opens to traffic.

Stamper said that came as a "surprise" considering an American permit, which was issued more than a year ago, includes conditions from the State Historic Preservation Office that designated the bridge a historically significant site that must be preserved.

He added the company has raised the issue with representatives from both governments, who must now decide how to deal with the discrepancy.

"I don't necessarily see it as a stumbling block, I just think the permits need to be consistent," he said. "It's just one of those things when you have one foot in Canada and one foot in the U.S. and they're not on the same time frame for issuing permits."

'You're going to see a lot more of us'

Stamper also said the company is planning a PR campaign in Sandwich that will see it open a storefront, host regular meetings and provide updates during the construction of a second span.

"You're going to see a lot more of us in the community, talking with the community and supplying information," said Stamper.

Story continues

The presence of the company is already being felt by the community in the shadow of the bridge. Workers in bright orange vests began demolishing derelict homes along Indian Road this week, ending a decade-long stalemate with the City of Windsor.

The work began almost immediately after the city issued demolition permits to comply with the federal cabinet order approving the construction of a new, six-lane replacement span for the Ambassador Bridge.

"You're going to see a lot of work going on over the next couple of years," said Stamper.

The Canadian Transit Company plans to move the area's fire hall to the other side of Huron Church Road, fix up neighbourhood roads around the existing bridge and build a truck plaza, which Stamper insists will be smaller than rumours would have people believe.

"The truth is it's about six and a half acres," he said "It's already part of the bridge plaza so we're not going to be extending into the community."

Canadian workers used for construction

Stamper said the company plans to buy local materials wherever possible as it builds the $1-billion bridge.

"All the work we're going to be doing in Canada will be sourced in Canada," he said.

Stamper blamed the Canadian government for not providing answers for years about whether a second bridge would ever be built at the site, causing the company to get a "bad rap."

"Have we done some things wrong? Yes," he conceded. "Has the government done some things wrong? Yes. The good news now is I think we're on the same page."

Stamper declined to comment on the future of the Gordie Howe Bridge, promised by the Canadian government for years and set to be constructed just kilometres away, other than saying the border isn't busy enough to support two crossings.

"The issues of a competing bridge are in somebody else's hands," he said. "We've made it clear how we feel about it. Traffic doesn't warrant it."
By Eric Auchard LONDON (Reuters) - Taxify, an upstart European rival to Uber [UBER.UL], said on Thursday it had begun offering services in Paris despite regulatory uncertainty governing the status of private-hire cab companies that compete with licensed taxis. The Estonia-based company, which is backed by Chinese ride-hailing giant DiDi Chuxing, operates in 25 cities in central and eastern Europe as well as Africa, where it has made inroads in the past year against Uber. (http://reut.rs/2eVl0qa) Its basic appeal to drivers is that it charges a 15 percent commission on rides compared with the 20-25 percent that Uber charges, which can translate into cheaper fares for passengers. Last month, however, Taxify was forced to halt pickups just three days after entering the London market when local regulator Transport for London (TfL) accused the company of failing to obtain a proper license to operate. (http://reut.rs/2xjtVIk) Taxify said that unlike in London, ride-hailing apps are not required to receive licenses to operate in France. "London is quite unique in its licensing environment," Taxify Chief Executive Markus Villig said. "In Paris, and in most cities of the world, there is nothing needed for us to book rides. Only the drivers need to have an appropriate license." It said it had signed up 5,000 licensed operators - mostly private hire but also some taxi cab drivers - to its online ride-booking platform in Paris ahead of entering the market. Nonetheless, the regulatory standing for ride-hailing apps remains uncertain in France, which has seen a crackdown against Uber - including the arrest of two senior executives there (http://reut.rs/2fn2gTO). A 2014 French law on taxis and chauffeured services makes it a criminal offense to organize taxi services with unregistered drivers and sets restrictions on software that enables customers to book cabs on the street. Taxify said in a statement: "The regulatory environment regarding the VTC (private hire) service is evolving. Taxify is fully committed to complying with all regulations." In London the transport regulator contacted Taxify via email two weeks ago and pledged to proceed with licensing discussions, Villig said. It was the first time Taxify had been contacted by TfL after five months of attempts to do so, he said. "We are doing everything we can to get a license. Unfortunately it is going extremely slow," Villig told Reuters. "We hope to have some progress in the next few weeks." Over the next three to six months the company plans to expand to more cities in Britain and France, he added. (This version of the story has been refiled to fix spelling error in paragraph six) (Reporting by Eric Auchard; editing by Mark Heinrich)
By Vladimir Soldatkin and Katya Golubkova MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Saudi Arabia's King Salman for talks at the Kremlin on Thursday, cementing a relationship that is pivotal for world oil prices and could decide the outcome of the conflict in Syria. King Salman, the first sitting Saudi monarch ever to visit Russia, led a delegation to Moscow that agreed joint investment deals worth several billion dollars, providing much-needed investment for a Russian economy battered by low oil prices and Western sanctions. Saudi Arabia said it had signed a memorandum of understanding on the purchase from Russia of S-400 air defense systems. That marked a shift for the kingdom, which buys most of its military kit from the United States and Britain. On the political front, there was no sign of any substantial breakthrough on the issues that have long divided Moscow and Riyadh, including the fact that they back rival sides in Syria's war. However, any discord was eclipsed by mutual expressions of respect, and the pomp and ceremony laid on by Russian officials to greet the Saudi king. On his journey into central Moscow from Vnukovo airport late on Wednesday, King Salman's limousine passed billboards bearing his photograph and messages in Russian and Arabic welcoming him. On Thursday, Putin received the monarch in the gold-decorated St. Andrew Hall, one of the grandest spaces in the Kremlin, attended by soldiers in ceremonial dress and with an orchestra playing their countries' national anthems. "I am sure that your visit will provide a good impulse for the development of relations between our two states," Putin told King Salman later as they sat alongside each other in the Kremlin's lavishly-decorated Green Parlour. Russia and Saudi Arabia, despite their differences, have been drawn together by a common interest in propping up flagging world oil prices, and by the fact that Moscow, since its military intervention in Syria, has clout in the Middle East that other players in the region cannot ignore. The Saudi king invited Putin to visit his country - an offer the Russian leader accepted - and said they planned to keep cooperating to keep world oil prices stable. Moscow and Riyadh worked together to secure a deal between OPEC and other oil producers to cut output until the end of March 2018, helping support prices. Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said Saudi Arabia was "flexible" regarding Moscow's suggestion to extend the pact until the end of next year. The message of further joint Saudi-Russia action on output helped push up oil prices on Thursday. Brent crude was up more than 2 percent at $57.12 a barrel by 1615 GMT. SYRIA DIFFERENCES In Syria, Riyadh supports rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assads army, while Russian and Iranian forces have sided with Assad. This leaves Moscow aligned with Saudi Arabias arch-rival Iran, whose influence Riyadh fears is growing in the region. Briefing the media after the talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov focused on the common ground, saying the two leaders had agreed on the importance of fighting terrorism, finding peaceful solutions to conflicts in the Middle East, and on the principle of territorial integrity. His Saudi counterpart, Adel al-Jubeir, said new horizons had opened for Russia-Saudi ties that he could not previously have imagined. "Relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia have reached a historical moment," said Jubeir, speaking through an interpreter. "We are certain that the further strengthening of Russian-Saudi relations will have a positive impact on strengthening stability and security in the region and the world." SLEW OF DEALS A package of investments announced during the visit will go some way to plugging the vacuum left by sluggish Western investment in Russia that is, in part, a result of sanctions imposed after Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014. Among the deals was an agreement between Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund to invest up to $100 million in transport projects in Russia. The two countries also signed a deal to set up a $1 billion joint investment fund. Another memorandum of understanding was signed under which Russian petrochemicals firm Sibur would explore cooperation with Saudi Arabia. RDIF head Kirill Dmitriev said his fund was interested in partnering with Saudi investors to acquire a minority stake in Russian oilfield services firm Eurasia Drilling. Absent from the slew of deals was any agreement on Saudi Aramco taking a stake in an Arctic liquefied natural gas project run by Russia's Novatek. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said earlier this month that Saudi officials were studying joint gas projects with Novatek. However, Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser said such a deal was not being discussed at this stage. (Additional reporting by Andrew Osborn, Dmitry Solovyov, Jack Stubbs and Olesya Astakhova; Writing by Christian Lowe; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
The family of a man originally from Toronto is grieving after the 38-year-old was fatally shot just outside his home in Belize Wednesday night.

Gabriel Bochnia is being remembered as a devoted father, beloved son and brother, his sister, Kate Bochnia, told CBC News.

"He was known for his big heart, always willing to assist those in need," said Bochnia's sister, who lives in Toronto. "His loss is a horrific blow to our family and friends and we are devastated."

Bochnia was returning to his family's home in the Chula Vista area of the seaside town of Corozal with his wife and their three children when he was shot, Belize police spokesperson Raphael Martinez said.

Martinez said Bochnia had gotten out of his vehicle to open the gate when a man with a rag over his face emerged from behind the bushes, shooting Bochnia in the abdomen.

He died in hospital.

Martinez says Bochnia's wife  27-year-old Jeshanah Maritza-Zetina  and the children were not injured and the attacker fled.

Martinez could not say how long Bochnia had lived in Belize, adding that the investigation is in its early stages.

Bochnia's death comes just five months after another Ontario resident was murdered in the Central American country.

In a statement to CBC News, Global Affairs Canada said it is in contact with local authorities to gather more information and is ready to provide consular assistance to the family.

"Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the Canadian citizen who passed away in Belize," spokesperson Brianne Maxwell said.

"I pray he's so happy, wrapped in a blanket of God's love," Bochnia's sister wrote in a Facebook post announcing his death.

"Gabriel, you have been an angel on earth and you are our angel in Heaven. Rest in peace my baby brother."
WE CAME TO WRECK EVERYTHING

JOHN CLIFFORD WHITE - THE ROMPER STOMPER ORCHESTRA AND BAND - OST ROMPER STOMPER - 1992 MUSHROOM RECORDS

STARDUST

ELECTRIC MOON - STARDUST RITUALS - 2017 SULATRON RECORDS - STARDUST RITUALS -

STRING QUARTET NO. 3 (MISHIMA)

KRONOS QUARTET - KRONOS QUARTET PERFORMS PHILIP GLASS - 1995 NONESUCH

HOLLOW HILLS

BAUHAUS - MASK - 1981 BEGGARS BANQUET

HAPPINESS IS A WARM GUN

THE BEATLES - ANTHOLOGY 3 - 1996 APPLE RECORDS

HIGGS BOSON BLUES

NICK CAVE AND THE BAD SEEDS - PUSH THE SKY AWAY - 2013 BAD SEED LTD

STATE TROOPER (SPRINGSTEEN 1982 NEBRASKA)

COWBOY JUNKIES - WHITES OFF EARTH NOW! - 1986 LATENT RECORDINGS - WHITES OFF EARTH NOW! -

LAND

PATTI SMITH - HORSES - 1975 ARITSTA

GLENN

SLINT - UNTITLED EP - 1994 TOUCH AND GO

ORANGE

5IVE - 5IVE - 2000 TOTUGA RECORDINGS

OIRECTINE

BOARDS OF CANADA - TWOISM - 1995 MUSIC70

HIERO-BOSCH FOR KHALIL

CLARK (CHRIS CLARK) - OST THE LAST PANTHERS - 2016 WARP

SLAC

F.U.S.E. (Richard Michael Hawtin) - DIMENSION INTRUSION - 1993 PLUS 8 RECORDS - DIMENSION INTRUSION -

WILSON'S MILLIONS

FUNKI PORCINI - THE ULTIMATELY EMPTY MILLION POUNDS - 1999 NINJA TUNE

FANTASTIC JUSTICE

CRIPPLED BLACK PHOENIX - I, VIGILANTE - 2010 INVADA

WISE BLOOD

PRIMAL SCREAM - ECHO DEK - 1997 CREATION RECORDS

SANTE

TRUE WIDOW - AVVOLGERE - 2016 RELAPSE RECORDS

BOARD THE BUS

SIX FINGER SATELLITE - SEVERE EXPOSURE - 1995 SUB POP

RED BUS NEEDS TO LEAVE

DJ SHADOW - MIDNIGHT IN A PERFECT WORLD - 1996 MO WAX

CLEARANCE FOR BRONCHIAL DIFFUSION IN GASTRONOMICAL PROPORTIONS

DUNCAN HEINZ - BAKING CAKE FOR THE STARVING MASSES - 1997 UNRELEASED - BAKING CAKE FOR THE STARVING MASSES -

NOCTURNAL THOUGHT

DJ VADIM - VARIOUS - ORGANISED SOUND - 1996 JAZZ FUDGE
Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

LinkedIn

Email

Telegram



New York, October 6, 2017Authorities in Equatorial Guinea should immediately release cartoonist and blogger Ramon Nse Esono Ebale, whom they have held without charge for weeks, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Ebale, who is known by the pen name Jamon y Queso, was arrested with two friends on September 16, 2017, around 7:00 pm by three men who identified themselves as security personnel, according to a written account in Spanish provided to CPJ by one of the friends arrested with Ebale. The friends, who are both Spanish nationals, were quickly released.

Ebales drawings and his blog feature critical commentary on President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and the Equatoguinean government, and have been blocked by authorities, according to media reports and Tutu Alicante, executive director of EG Justice, a U.S.-based organization advocating for human rights in Equatorial Guinea. The blog, LocosTV, was founded in 2011 and originally published under the title Las locuras de Jamon y Queso.

It is outrageous that Ramon Nse Esono Ebale should be snatched off the streets of Equatorial Guinea and jailed for weeks just because he writes or draws critically about the countrys top public figure, said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Angela Quintal. We call on authorities to release him immediately.

Ebale and his friends were stopped, handcuffed, and had their mobile phones seized while getting into Ebales sisters car after leaving a restaurant in Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, according to the friends account and media reports. The men took them to the police station where police interrogated Ebale about his work as a cartoonist, specifically his online drawings of Obiang, said the friend.

Police told Ebales friends that he was the target of their arrest and that he needed to make a statement explaining his drawings and blog posts about the Equatoguinean leadership, according to the friends account.

Ebale is accused of money laundering and counterfeiting, allegations that he denies, Alicante told CPJ.

Ebale appeared in court October 3 and gave a statement before a judge, after which he was taken back to prison, Alicante told CPJ in an email.

Having lived outside of Equatorial Guinea for years, Ebale had returned to apply for a passport so that he could join his wife and one of his children in El Salvador, Alicante told CPJ.
Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

LinkedIn

Email

Telegram



New York, October 5, 2017Armed men dressed as police officers this morning abducted local photographer Edgar Daniel Esqueda Castro from his home in the central Mexican state of San Luis Potosi, according to media reports. The states general prosecutor said in a statement that the prosecutors office is investigating, and denied that the state police were involved in the abduction.

Authorities in the state of San Luis Potosi and Mexican federal authorities must find Edgar Daniel Esqueda Castro as swiftly as possible and bring him to safety, said Alexandra Ellerbeck, CPJs program coordinator for North America. Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. If the Mexican government is as committed to press freedom as they claim to be, they must prevent future kidnappings and killings.

Esqueda Castro covers crime and society and contributed to the local news sites Metropoli San Luis and Vox Populi.

Mexico is the deadliest country for journalists in the Western Hemisphere. In 2017, at least four journalists have been murdered in direct retaliation for their work, and CPJ is investigating the circumstances of another killing, according to CPJ research. CPJ has documented the disappearances of 14 journalists in Mexico, excluding Esqueda Castro. In May, journalist Salvador Adame Pardo was abducted from his home in the Mexican state of Michoacan.
Share this: Twitter

Facebook

WhatsApp

LinkedIn

Email

Telegram



New York, October 5, 2017The Committee to Protect Journalists called today for the Uzbek authorities to immediately release journalist Bobomurod Abdullaev, who went missing on September 27 and has since been secretly tried in a criminal court in Tashkent, the capital.

Abdullaev faces criminal charges of attacking the constitutional order of Uzbekistan and is in the custody of Uzbekistans National Security Service (SNB), according to the independent regional news agency Fergana. Fergana reported on October 3 that Abdullaev faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Citing Tashkent-based human rights defender Surat Ikramov, Fergana said it is unclear why the chargers were brought against Abdullaev.

Bobomurod Abdullaevs disappearance and the charges against him are extremely disturbing. If authorities believed the journalist had committed some crime other than voicing his dissent, they would have no reason to hide his trial behind closed doors, CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said. We call on the Uzbek government to immediately release Bobomurod Abdullaev, drop the charges against him, and stop its ruthless anti-press campaign.

Abdullaev worked for years as a freelance journalist, contributing to the Uzbek service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, locally known as Ozodlik, as well as the London-based Institute for War & Peace Reporting. He also founded an independent news website, Ozod Ovoz (Free Voice), which Uzbek authorities shut down following the May 2005 crackdown on antigovernment protesters in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijan.

Abdullaev was one of few independent journalists who did not flee Uzbekistan following the Andijan events, and continued to openly criticize the Uzbek government in YouTube videos, his interviews with Ozodlik, and other media outlets.

Last week his wife, Katya Balkhiboyeva, told media outlets that her husband at noon on September 27 left their house in Tashkent to take his car to a local repair shop and never returned.

Balkhiboyeva filed a missing person report with local police on September 29. A few hours after she filed the missing person report, police raided the journalists apartment, Abdullaevs wife told the BBC Uzbek service.

During the BBC interview, which took place as police were raiding the apartment, Balkhiboyeva said police refused to inform her about her husbands whereabouts or any charges against him.

According to Fergana, Abdullaevs relatives have yet to receive an official notice about the arrest of and charges against the journalist.

Nadezhda Atayeva, who heads the Association for Human Rights in Central Asia from exile in France, wrote on her Facebook page that Abdullaev complained about being followed before his September 27 disappearance.

On September 27, the same day Abdullaev was first detained, Uzbek authorities also detained dissident writer Nurullo Otakhonov at the Tashkent airport upon his return from self-imposed exile in Turkey, and charged the writer with anti-state activities.
India, Ethiopia sign agreements on trade, communication

Published: October 6, 2017

India and Ethiopia have signed agreements on trade, communication and media to boost bilateral ties. The agreements were signed after wide ranging talks between President Ram Nath Kovind and his Ethiopian counterpart Mulatu Teshome at Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.

The agreement was signed during President Ram Nath Kovinds second leg of his maiden visit abroad to Djibouti and Ethiopia

Singed Agreements

Trade Agreement

Agreement in field of Information, Communication and Media.

India-Ethiopia Relations

Bilateral partnership between India and Ethiopia rests on civilizational ties and cultural bonds. Historical linkages between both countries go back about 2,000 years of recorded history. India is amongst top trade, investment and development partner of Ethiopia.



Indias is third most important trading partner for Ethiopia. Indias exports to Ethiopia in 2012 amounted to US $ 890 million i.e. 11% of all of Ethiopias imports. It mainly comprised primary and semifinished iron and steel products, drugs and pharmaceuticals, machinery and instruments, metal, plastic chemicals, transport equipments, electrical materials etc. Indias annual imports from Ethiopia have stagnated in range of US $ 30million. These mainly consist of cotton, pulses and spices.

Ethiopia continues to be largest recipient of Indias concessional Lines of Credit in Africa, with commitment of over one billion dollar. India is second largest foreign investor in Ethiopia with approved investment of US $ 4.78 billion. About 40% of Indian investment is in field of commercial agriculture. India is actively playing important role of capacity building in Ethiopia in field of ITEC, education, Science and Technology and Defence etc

Month: Current Affairs - October, 2017

Topics: Communication  India-Africa  India-Ethiopia  Media  National  Trade

Latest E-Books
The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC) has submitted an official petition for clemency to the Bahraini Government on behalf of Mohamed Ramadhan and Husain Moosa, two men facing imminent execution in Bahrain. Mr Ramadhan and Mr Moosa were convicted of carrying out a 2014 bombing in Bahrain; both men insist that police tortured them into making false confessions to a crime they did not commit.





BHRCs petition calls for clemency to be shown in the cases of both men and for judicial processes to be reopened on the grounds that the trials of Mr Ramadhan and Mr Moosa failed to comply with fair trial standards, particularly to observe super due process as required in capital cases by international law. In these circumstances, the convictions should not remain.





The Fourth High Criminal Court relied solely upon confessions to convict these men, apparently satisfied with reports written by a Bahraini government doctor stating that neither man had been tortured. However, Dr Brock Chisholm, a UK expert in examination of torture victims reviewed these reports, declared them non-compliant with international standards, and advised that they be completely disregarded. The Bahraini governments refusal to investigate Mr Ramadhan and Mr Moosas torture allegations during their trial accordingly constitutes a serious breach of international law.





In addition to its clemency petition, BHRC continues to be concerned about the lack of investigation into the torture allegations that are the basis of the convictions. Following Mr Ramadhans arrest in February 2014, detailed complaints regarding his torture and forced confession were submitted to the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman acknowledged receiving these complaints initially, but refused to investigate them. Two years passed during which time Mr Ramadhan and Mr Moosa were convicted. This conduct constitutes a serious breach of the United Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT), which requires all states to initiate a prompt and impartial investigation, wherever there is reasonable ground to believe that an act of torture has been committed.





Following intense public pressure from human rights groups such as Reprieve, in May 2016 the Ombudsman finally agreed to open an investigation into Mr Ramadhan and Mr Moosas allegations of torture and forced confessions. However, in the fifteen months since, the Ombudsman has disclosed no information about its findings, and has indicated that it has referred that case on to the Special Investigation Unit, a UK-trained body, for further investigation. Despite claiming to have opened investigations, neither the Ombudsman nor the SIU have communicated any findings to Mr Ramadhan, Mr Moosa, their lawyers or their families. This too constitutes a serious breach of international law.





In light of the training provided to Bahraini institutions by the UK government, BHRC urges the UK government to call publicly on Bahrains King to exercise clemency in the cases of Mohamed Ramadhan and Husain Moosa and to properly investigate accusations of torture by Bahraini officials.





Kirsty Brimelow QC, Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales said:





The UK government has carried out international human rights law training of the Special Investigation Unit in Bahrain. In these circumstances, it must have an enhanced duty to ensure the implementation of international human rights law. Words need to be reflected in action. There must be a transparent investigation of this evidence of torture. Also, at minimum, the UK government should join the Bar Human Rights Committees call for clemency to be applied to the death penalty sentences.





You can read the Reuters article on our intervention here

 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!





"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
A death row inmate is challenging the state's current method of execution on the grounds that the public should have had a chance to comment on the process put in place 3 years ago.





The Indiana Supreme Court considered the fate of the state's death penalty protocol Thursday after hearing oral arguments in the case of Roy Ward. The case comes after Ward broke into a Dale, Spencer County, home in 2001 and raped and murdered a 15-year-old girl. He was sentenced to death in 2007.





Ward's attorney, David Frank of Fort Wayne, argued the state didn't properly follow administrative procedures when it chose the new lethal injection drug cocktail in 2014.





"The General Assembly dictates by law this combination of drugs use," Justice Mark Massa said.





"If a state agency or unelected state agency adopts new protocols, they should do it in front of the public," Frank said, noting current statute says public comment must be allowed. He argued because there was no public hearing, the death penalty protocol adopted in May 2014 is considered void.





The 3rd drug added to the state's cocktail - methohexital (marketed under the brand names Brevital and Brietal) - has never been used in another state, which makes some wary about how it would affect death row inmates.





Often, death penalty appeals revolve around whether the drug mixture amounts to a violation of the 8th Amendment's provisions against cruel and unusual punishment. Ward isn't arguing that point, focusing instead on the drug not being chosen in front of the public.





But some justices wanted to know why this is being brought up now.





"This issue has never been raised before," Justice Steven David said. "It's not like the Department of Correction changed this in the last 25 years. There has never been a rule making application with what the ingredients of the injection are."





This issue, however, has been raised in other states. In 2010, a Kentucky judge halted executions over concerns about the 3-cocktail injection. In 2012, the state said it would switch to a 2-cocktail injection, which uses a sedative and painkiller.





Indiana State Attorney Stephen Creason argued the statute gives the Department of Correction authority to choose lethal injection drugs like it did 3 years ago.





"Choice of drug only matters as to whether it constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the federal Constitution if constitutionally valid the opinions of the public, the state agency and the state courts don't matter in choosing a new drug," Creason said.





There have been no execution dates set for the 12 death row inmates at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City. If Ward's appeal prevails, then the state would be left without legal means of carrying it out.





However, if the change enacted by the Department of Corrections was considered a rule, then it would have to go through the administrative process - if not, it stands as is.





The state's high court is expected to decide the case in the next several months.

 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!





"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde

thestatehousefile.com, October 6, 2017
CARSON CITY  The Nevada Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the convictions and death sentences for Donte Johnson in connection with a 1988 quadruple homicide in Las Vegas.





Johnson raised multiple issues in his post-conviction appeal, but the court unanimously upheld the lower court decision, which found no merit to the claims.





Johnson was sentenced to death for killing Jeffrey Biddle, 19, Tracey Gorringe, 20, Matthew Mowen, 19, and Peter Talamantez, 17.





The men were bound with duct tape while Johnson and two other men searched their east valley home. Before they left, Johnson shot each man in the back of the head.





The robbers made off with about $240, a pager, a videocassette recorder and a video game system.





The trial jury deadlocked in 2000 during the penalty phase, and a three-judge panel later handed down a death sentence. But that sentence was overturned.





A jury again sentenced Johnson to death in 2005. He is on death row at Ely State Prison.





The post-conviction appeal covered issues both in his 2000 conviction and later 2005 death sentence.





Among the claims were that the jury selection process in his 2000 trial was flawed because there was an under-representation of African Americans in the jury pool.





Johnson also argued that his attorney should have challenged the introduction of evidence, including autopsy photos.





The Supreme Court rejected all of the claims.

 | Report an error, an omission, a typo; suggest a story or a new angle to an existing story; submit a piece, a comment; recommend a resource; contact the webmaster, contact us: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com



Opposed to Capital Punishment? Help us keep this blog up and running! DONATE!





"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted." -- Oscar Wilde
The piece originally appeard in the New York Post.

A popular Facebook and Twitter game asks friends to post an unpopular opinion. Here is an unpopular fact: Tax reformers cannot deeply cut income taxes for lower-income families, because they already pay no collective income tax.

Tax reform is intended to bring simplification and economic growth. Yet many commentators seem interested only in redistribution.

This explains the teeth-gnashing over the Tax Policy Center estimate that the Republican tax blueprint would save the median family $420, but a family in the top income quintile $10,610.

While that sounds unfair, consider this: The top-earning 20 percent of households currently pay 88 percent of all federal income taxes. So even a proportional income-tax cut will save them the most money.

In 2013 (the latest data year available), the top 20 percent of households paid $1.2 trillion in income taxes. The next 20 percent paid just $175 billion. The bottom 60 percent collectively paid $0. Actually, the IRS paid them $17 billion, thanks to refundable tax credits.

Put another way: Household income-tax bills averaged $47,000 for the top income quintile, $7,000 for the next quintile, and negative $200 for the bottom 60 percent.

How are tax reformers supposed to target most income tax savings to those with no income tax burden?

Obviously, some wealthy families escape taxes and some poorer families face painful tax burdens  which should be addressed. However, the aggregate tax savings will align with the aggregate tax burden.

By the way: In anticipation of knee-jerk dismissals of right-wing lies and propaganda, all this data is publicly available from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (the same group cited as gospel in the recent health coverage debates). The Obama Treasury produced similar data, which no serious economist has challenged. It cannot be wished away simply because it conflicts with populist narratives.

Nor can this extreme progressivity in our tax code be dismissed as the inevitable result of the rich earning all the income. We can adjust for income inequality by comparing the ratio of taxes paid to income earned.

The richest 1 percent pays 38 percent of all income taxes while earning 15 percent of all pre-tax income. Thus, their share of the income taxes is 2.6 times their share of the income earned. For the top 1 percent and top 20 percent of earners, this ratio has grown steadily since the 1980s  meaning their share of the income taxes has grown significantly faster than their share of the income earned (surprisingly, the top 1 percents share of the income remains at 1998 levels).

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in 2008 showed that the United States had the most progressive tax code of all 24 countries measured. And that doesnt even count Americas 2013 upper-income tax hikes, or Europes steep value-added taxes, which each widen Americas progressivity lead over Europe.

European governments tax the rich more heavily than America does  yet Europes tax burden is flatter because it also slams the non-rich with a VAT and high income (and payroll) taxes.

By contrast, America has steeply cut taxes for the non-rich.

Actual tax returns show that the top 1 percent and the top 20 percent pay average effective income-tax rates of 23 percent and 16 percent, respectively  nearly the same as in 1979. Yet the average rate paid by the bottom 80 percent of families has fallen from 5.4 percent to 0.1 percent. Millions of low-income families were removed from the income-tax rolls by the expanded Earned Income Tax Credit, refundable child credit and reduced, 10 percent bracket (thank you, George W. Bush).

Yes, families pay payroll taxes  often exceeding their income-tax burden. But payroll taxes finance the Social Security and Medicare systems, which these families will benefit from later (and cutting payroll taxes means fewer benefits at retirement). Should the entire rest of the federal government be funded by only 20 percent of families? Ten percent?

Adding all federal taxes together, the top-earning 20 percent fund 69 percent of all federal revenues.

The point is not that progressivity is harmful or should be reversed. Rather, it mathematically limits the low-income taxes left to cut.

Its easy for politicians, populists and panderers to pretend that the middle class pays all the taxes, and thus deserves the largest tax savings. But the first assertion is demonstrably false, which makes the second mathematically impossible. Champions of progressive income taxation have won. The bottom 60 percent have seen their collective income tax reduced to zero. In tax reform, there are no more winnings left for them to claim.

Brian Riedl is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Follow him on Twitter @Brian_Riedl.

Interested in real economic insights? Want to stay ahead of the competition? Each weekday morning, E21 delivers a short email that includes E21 exclusive commentaries and the latest market news and updates from Washington. Sign up for the E21 Morning Ebrief.
The United States has ordered 15 Cuban officials to leave the Cuban embassy in Washington. The move came just days after the United States announced it would significantly reduce its embassy staff in Havana, leaving only emergency personnel to carry out core diplomatic and consular functions. As a result, the United States issued a Travel Warning for U.S. citizens not to travel to Cuba.

The U.S. actions were in response to mysterious attacks which targeted numerous U.S. embassy employees over a ten-month period. The attacks began last year and continued into August. Twenty-two persons have been medically confirmed to have experienced physical harm from the attacks; their symptoms include hearing loss, dizziness, balance problems, headache, fatigue, cognitive issues and difficulty sleeping.

The Cuban government has denied any involvement. It has been investigating the attacks and has been cooperating with the United States in its own investigation. Both investigations continue. However, the source, methods and means of the attacks remain unknown. The United States decided to draw down the U.S. embassy personnel in Havana to limit the number of diplomats who could be exposed to harm.

Referring to the expulsion of the Cuban officials from the United States, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a press statement, The decision was made due to Cubas failure to take appropriate steps to protect our diplomats in accordance with its obligations under the Vienna Convention. In addition, he said, This order will ensure equity in our respective diplomatic operations.

But the safety, well-being and security of its diplomatic personnel are the most important considerations of the U.S. government. Until the government of Cuba can assure that it can and will protect our diplomats, as it is required to do under the Vienna Convention, U.S. non-emergency embassy personnel will not return to Havana.
2017 has been marked by one humanitarian crisis or natural disaster after another.

Were seeing right now a time in history where the worlds on fire and there are immediate, pressing humanitarian needs that we see right before us, said U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, Administrator Mark Green at a recent conference regarding U.S. humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The United States is the worlds leading humanitarian donor. Still, this year, we have our work cut out for us, said Mr. Green.

Today, North America and the Caribbean nations are dealing with the aftermath of three deadly hurricanes, while Mexico is responding to two powerful earthquakes in less than two weeks.

Over the past month, USAID sent Disaster Assistance Response Teams to Mexico and countries across the Caribbean to coordinate U.S. international disaster response efforts.

USAID Administrator Green announced that the United States will increase its humanitarian aid to these four countries by more than $575 million.

On the other side of the world, severe drought and armed conflict have caused food insecurity in South Sudan, Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen, and all four countries face the credible threat of famine this year. Some twenty million people are at risk of severe hunger or starvation there. On September 26, USAID Administrator Green announced that the United States will increase its humanitarian aid to these four countries by more than $575 million, bringing the total to nearly $2.5 billion for these four countries alone.

And in South Asia, hundreds of thousands of the Rohingya Muslim people are fleeing violence in their native Burma. They are looking for refuge in Bangladesh, a country that is not equipped to handle such an enormous influx of refugees. The displaced Rohingya people in both countries, as well as the host country Bangladesh, are in desperate need of assistance. The United States recently announced that it will provide 32 million dollars in humanitarian relief for the Rohingya Muslims and their hosts.

I want to make clear that America is and will remain the worlds leading humanitarian donor, said USAID Administrator Green. Whether its responding to an earthquake, drought, or conflict, America is committed to standing shoulder-to-shoulder with people in their hour of need. It is who we are as Americans.
Mossos chief Josep Lluis Trapero (c) arrives at the High Court.

Scroll down for updates

Its been another fast-moving day of events in Catalonia today, starting first thing this morning with the appearance of the head of the Mossos regional police force, Josep Lluis Trapero, in Spains High Court in Madrid over accusations of sedition. The charges relate to the Civil Guard searches of the regions economy department on September 20, and the actions of the Mossos in dealing with the crowds of protestors that gathered outside the building as the operation took place.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry announced that the extra Civil Guard and National Police officers who have been drafted into Catalonia will be staying there an extra week, until October 18.

After the weekly Cabinet meeting, ministers announced that they had approved a Royal Decree that would make it easier for companies to move their legal headquarters out of Catalonia given the ongoing uncertainty that a potential unilateral declaration of independence is causing. Today alone a number of major firms, including energy giant Gas Natural, announced that they would be taking that step.

The regional premier, Carles Puigdemont, has requested to make an appearance before the Catalan parliament on Tuesday, potentially sidestepping a Constitutional Court ban on a parliamentary session tabled for Monday, given the likelihood of an independence declaration being made.

And late on Friday afternoon, the regional government published the definitive results of Sundays referendum vote.
The chief of the Catalan police, Josep Lluis Trapero, and three other people have been summoned to appear on Friday morning before Spains High Court, the Audiencia Nacional, which is investigating them for sedition .

Protests outside the Ministry of the Economy in Barcelona on September 20. ALBERT GARCIA

The charges against Trapero, his aide Teresa Laplana and the heads of two pro-independence civic groups (Jordi Sanchez of ANC and Jordi Cuixart of Omnium) are the result of a complaint filed by prosecutors over these individuals role in the events of September 20.

On that day  and well into the early hours of September 21  thousands of protesters congregated in front of the Barcelona building that houses the Catalan governments department of economic affairs, to protest the arrests of several officials involved in organizing the illegal independence referendum of October 1.

The protest involved acts of vandalism against Civil Guard patrol cars, and hindered the work of officers who were inside the building in search of election material to confiscate. The judicial representative who was overseeing the court-ordered search was forced to leave the building from the rooftop.

Many jurists consider that sedition, which is considered a felony against public order, cannot be investigated by the High Court

Sedition is a crime that is practically unheard of in Spanish democratic history, even though its origins go all the way back to Roman law; it has been included in all of Spains criminal codes since 1822.

Sedition carries a maximum 15-year prison sentence for those who publicly and tumultuously rise up to prevent, by force or outside the legal channels, application of the law, or any authority, official corporation or public officer from the lawful exercise of their duties, or implementation of administrative or judicial resolutions.

But the wording of the definition and its position within the Spanish criminal code has led to disagreement among legal experts over what constitutes sedition, and whether it falls under the High Courts jurisdiction.

A Supreme Court decision from October 1980 struck down a ruling by the Provincial Court of Huesca that had found local councilors guilty of sedition for making public calls to join a protest against a home eviction. Even though the protest never took place, the councilors were sentenced to three months for incitement to sedition.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court established that sedition is consummated when the tumultuous uprising takes place, regardless of whether it achieves its goal or not. This decision was based on a 1934 ruling stating that at least 30 people had to participate in the acts.

Outside Catalonia, there is an ongoing investigation into sedition over the air traffic controllers wildcat strike of 2010

The 1980 ruling defined tumultuous as something chaotic, anarchical, inorganic and disorderly although it did not preclude sedition in the case of an organized and orderly uprising.

Since then, the crime of sedition has hardly ever been considered by the courts. Actions to prevent the implementation of judicial decisions, even when committed by groups of people using force, have always been tried as crimes of disobedience, resistance or assaults on the authority.

Outside Catalonia, there is an ongoing investigation into sedition over the air traffic controllers wildcat strike of 2010, when the government was forced to close off airspace, decree the state of alarm and militarize control towers.

Many jurists consider that sedition, which is considered a felony against public order, cannot be investigated by the High Court, whose jurisdiction includes crimes against the form of government.

But investigating judge Carmen Lamela and the most recent doctrine issued by the courts criminal division see it otherwise. The judge says that even though not all charges of sedition should be investigated by the High Court, this particular case also affects the form of government, as it is part of a secessionist drive to illegally declare independence and alter the organization of the Spanish state.

English version by Susana Urra.
This past week several fake photos and videos of police action during the referendum in Catalonia have been used to denounce the actions of the Spanish authorities. Many of them have been seen on foreign media outlets, both in Europe and in North America. These photos have also been circulated heavily on social media. These are the most shared falsehoods, broken down one by one.

1. An old photo of a head wound

On October 1, Lagarder Danciu, an activist with 22,800 followers on Twitter, shared this image that was retweeted by the thousands. Yanina Hernandez also shared the same image with more than 9,000 followers, 6,700 of whom retweeted. Javier Bauluz took the photo on July 12, 2012 during police action against the riots sparked by a mining demonstration. It was published by the Human Journalism website. It is also the first image that appears when you search man with bleeding head in Spanish on Google.

2.The child injured in 2012

This image of a child with a bloody face is actually from November 14, 2012. The juvenile, 13, was injured when four people were charged with public disorder by the Catalan police in front of the El Corte Ingles in Tarragona, a city on the northeast coast. Twitter user Marta Guira received more than 1,000 retweets before deleting the post, which was replicated by other users.

3. Old Catalan police operations

International users, such as @ScotIndyDebate and @ MC1988, shared videos of these police raids in 2012, where you can clearly see Catalan police officers chasing and using their batons on people on the street. The original video can be seen on YouTube and was published by EL PAIS and El Mundo in 2012.

4. Attack on a disabled person

This photo was shared by several Twitter and Facebook users, especially outside Spain, such as the Italian Veneto Award, to highlight alleged police brutality. The image was taken in May 2011 and is hosted on the Acampadabcnfoto Flickr account. It came about during the 15-M anti-austerity movement in Spain. The complete sequence also shows that the Catalan police officer is not attacking the disabled person, but rather someone behind him.

5. Clash of police officers and firefighters in 2013

The Twitter account of Canadian user @ClaudeDuguay2 spread an image of firefighters cornered by police officers holding batons to represent the tension between Catalan firefighters and Spanish officers. The image is actually another anti-austerity protest in 2013 in Barcelona. AP photographer, Paco Serinelli, took the photo. It appears alongside other photos used on October 1 when you search police vs. firefighters on Google.

6. Fake flags

Josep Maria Mainat, a member of a group called La Trinca who has 75,400 followers on Twitter, shared a photograph of a struggle between Civil Guard officers and a group of citizens. The photo he shared had a Catalan independence flag digitally added. He captioned the tweet, Pulitzer photo, and it received more than 12,500 retweets.

English version by Debora Almeida.
(Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday he hoped U.S. President Donald Trump would make a "balanced" decision on whether to remain engaged in the international deal to curb Iran's nuclear program.

"It is very important to preserve it in its current form and of course the participation of the United States will be a very significant factor in this regard," Lavrov told reporters on a visit to Kazakhstan.

Under the deal, Iran agreed to restrict its nuclear program in return for lifting most international sanctions that had crippled its economy.

Trump is expected to announce soon that he will decertify the deal, a senior White House official said on Thursday, in a step that potentially could cause the 2015 accord to unravel.

Trump, who has called the pact an "embarrassment" and "the worst deal ever negotiated", has been weighing whether it serves U.S. security interests as he faces an Oct. 15 deadline for certifying that Iran is complying with its terms.

If Trump declines to certify Iran's compliance, U.S. congressional leaders would have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions on Tehran suspended under the agreement.
(Reuters) - President Donald Trump is expected to announce soon that he will decertify the landmark international deal to curb Iran's nuclear program, a senior administration official said on Thursday, in a step that potentially could cause the 2015 accord to unravel.

Trump has been weighing whether the pact, which he has called an "embarrassment," serves U.S. security interests as he faces an Oct. 15 deadline for certifying that Iran is complying with it.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump is also expected to roll out a broader U.S. strategy on Iran that would be more confrontational.

The Trump administration has frequently criticized Iran's conduct in the Middle East.

If Trump declines to certify Iran's compliance, U.S. congressional leaders would have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions on Tehran suspended under the agreement.

The Washington Post first reported Trump's plans to say that he will decertify the deal.

Trump has long criticized the pact, a signature foreign policy achievement of his Democratic predecessor Barack Obama which was signed in 2015 by the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, the European Union and Iran.

Many of Trump's fellow Republicans who control Congress also have been critical of the deal, whereas the other powers that signed it strongly support it. Supporters say its collapse could trigger a regional arms race and worsen Middle East tensions, while opponents say it went too far in easing sanctions without requiring that Iran end its nuclear program permanently.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a close ally of Trump, last month said that unless provisions in the accord removing restrictions on Iran's nuclear program over time are eliminated, it should be canceled. "Fix it, or nix it," Netanyahu said in a speech at the U.N. General Assembly annual gathering of world leaders on Sept. 19.

An administration official previously said the administration was considering Oct. 12 for Trump to give a speech on Iran but no final decision had been made.

Trump is weighing a strategy that could allow more aggressive U.S. responses to Iran's forces, its Shi'ite Muslim proxies in Iraq and Syria and its support for militant groups.

Trump's defense secretary, Jim Mattis, told a Senate hearing on Tuesday the United States should consider staying in the deal unless it were proven that Tehran was not abiding by it or that it was not in the U.S. national interest to do so.

When Mattis was asked by a senator whether he thought staying in the deal was in the U.S. national security interest, he replied: "Yes, senator, I do."

Last week, Irans foreign minister said Tehran may abandon the deal if Washington decides to withdraw from it.

A senior European Union diplomat said this week European countries would do their utmost to preserve it. While Europeans have concerns about Iran's role in regional affairs, those issues are not part of the nuclear accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

A State Department official said the Trump administration was "fully committed to addressing the totality of Iranian threats and malign activities and seeks to bring about a change in the Iranian regime's behavior."

The official said that behavior includes ballistic missiles proliferation, "support for terrorism," support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, "unrelenting hostility to Israel," "consistently threatening freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf," cyber attacks against the United States and its allies, human rights abuses and "arbitrary detentions of U.S. citizens." "The JCPOA was expected to contribute to regional and international peace and security, and Irans regime is doing everything in its power to undermine peace and security, the State Department official added.

The move also would represent another step by Trump that would undo key parts of Obama's legacy.
Details added (first version posted on 11:59)

Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 6

Trend:

The globalization process did not bypass the sphere of the use of state language of Azerbaijan, said Ali Hasanov, Azerbaijani presidents aide for public and political affairs.

He made the remarks at a conference, titled The Role of Media in the Preservation and Development of the Azerbaijani literary language in Baku Oct. 6.

The conference is held with support of Azerbaijans National Television and Radio Council.

Councils Chairperson Nushiravan Maharramli, Executive Director State Fund for Support to Development of Mass Media under the President of Azerbaijan Vugar Safarli, members of the Azerbaijani parliament and others are taking part in the event.

Touching upon the main points of the policy of President Ilham Aliyev for the preservation and development of the Azerbaijani language, Ali Hasanov said that providing special care to preserve the purity, development and enrichment of the state language is of great importance.

Indeed, along with the fact that the Azerbaijani language is one of the main attributes of our state, it is also an important element of the ideology of Azerbaijanism, its dual function of political and socio-cultural support, noted the top official.

Hasanov said that the Azerbaijani language has gone through various stages of history before reaching its current level.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 6

Trend:

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order to provide funding for construction of Bigir-Jirgurd-Shakar-Veysalli-Alikand-Mirti road in Goychay district.

Under the presidential order, AZN6.4 million is allocated from the state budget for the building of the road connecting six residential areas with a total population of 11,000.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 6

Trend:

Azerbaijani defense minister, Colonel-General Zakir Hasanov will pay a visit to Minsk on Oct. 8 at the invitation of his Belarusian counterpart, Lieutenant-General Andrei Ravkov, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said in a message Oct. 6.

As part of his visit, Hasanov is expected to meet with the Belarusian military and political leadership and heads of other state structures.

Hasanov is also planned to visit the enterprises of the Belarusian military industry.

Prospects for development and expansion of bilateral cooperation in military education, military and technical sphere, as well as security and other issues of mutual interest will be discussed during the meetings.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 7

Trend:

The Heydar Aliyev Center hosted the opening ceremony of the exhibition of clothes and jewelry of the 1960s "Modernism and Fashion" by the Alexander Vasiliev Foundation.

First Vice-President of Azerbaijan, Mehriban Aliyeva took part in the opening ceremony held on October 6.

Director of the Heydar Aliyev Center Anar Alakbarov, addressing the event, stressed that the Center had already become a venue for international exhibitions.

We have several times turned to the fashion theme with the support of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, he said. The fashion show displaying Azerbaijani ornaments of Italian fashion designer Renato Balestra was held at the Center. Moreover, jewelry, samples of personal clothes of the Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly were presented in 2015 at the exhibition of the automobile collection "Grace Kelly: The Princess and the Style Icon", which was for the first time represented in Azerbaijan.

Speaking at the event, Alexandre Vassiliev noted that his trip to Baku is a great pleasure for him. He thanked Mrs.Aliyeva for supporting the organization of the exhibition and the Heydar Aliyev Center for the opportunity created for him to showcase the collection.

Mehriban Aliyeva and Alexandre Vassiliev then cut the ribbon symbolizing the opening of the exhibition.

The event showcases 100 samples of clothing and 350 accessories, dating back to the 1960s, from the unique collection of the Alexander Vasiliev Foundation.

Among the exhibits are rare dresses of Haute Couture made in the atelier of the world famous designers - Chanel, Dior, Balmain, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Nina Ricci, Cardin, Couregge, Laroche, Cassini, and Valentino.

Alexander Vasiliev is a well-known collector, fashion historian, art critic, interior decorator, theater artist, author of books and articles on this subject, TV host of some TV programs, member of the Russian Academy of Arts, founder of the international interior prize "Lilies of Alexander Vasiliev". His collection consists of more than 50,000 exhibits from the 17th century to the present.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 6

By Huseyn Valiyev  Trend:

Azerbaijan has wrapped up searching for natural reserves of nuclear materials, a source close to the matter told Trend.

The search was conducted in the Shamakhi District and Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The results of the past years expeditions were quite encouraging, and in this regard, the search continued in 2017.

The search for uranium reserves was carried out simultaneously with the study of radionuclide composition of the soil. The discovered uranium reserves were insufficient to expand production, as it is unprofitable. In the days of the former USSR, the availability of uranium reserves in Azerbaijan was never specified when preparing maps of the country. Azerbaijan has no nuclear raw materials, the source said.

However, Azerbaijans National Nuclear Research Center has earlier said that future plans include the construction of a research reactor, and in this connection, preparations are ongoing and the necessary documents are being developed and adopted.

Currently, the Research Center aims at increasing personnel potential. The field of nuclear technology is rather specific, and all the activity in this area is carried out directly with the participation of the International Atomic Energy Agency, as there are certain regulations, standards and requirements.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 6

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

It is necessary to expand access for Azerbaijans microfinance organizations to manat loans, according to Chairman of Azerbaijan Micro-finance Association Suleyman Kalyashev.

Addressing the 5th Investors Fair, titled Future of Micro-finance in Azerbaijan: Difficulties and Opportunities in Baku, he noted that supporting microfinance organizations can help not only develop economy, but also improve the welfare of the population.

Kalyashev reminded that the global crisis affected Azerbaijan as well.

As a result, devaluation of the national currency in Azerbaijan, and in order to weaken its effect on borrowers, microfinance organizations restructured loans, wrote off penalties for overdue loans, and carried out a number of other activities, he said.

It is necessary to rehabilitate financial organizations for the situation to stabilize, according to him.

We believe that support from the government and shareholders can help solve the problems of microfinance organizations, Kalyashev added.

Among the measures that can help develop the microfinance market, he pointed out the need to review the legislation regarding non-bank credit organizations.

He noted that currently, the number of borrowers of microfinance organizations is gradually reducing in Azerbaijan.

If in 2015, the number of clients of microfinance organizations in Azerbaijan exceeded 600,000 people, this number reduced to 298,000 people in 2016 and 118,000 people in 2017. Meanwhile, during the same period, microfinance organizations loan portfolio decreased from 800 million manats to 80.1 million manats.

Baku hosts the 5th Investors Fair, titled Future of Micro-finance in Azerbaijan: Difficulties and Opportunities. More than 100 representatives of the financial sector of Azerbaijan and other countries are taking part in the event.

(1.7002 AZN = $1 on Oct. 6)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 6

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

Declaring 2018 as a year of rapid economic growth in Azerbaijan is a positive signal for investors, said Vusal Gasimli, executive director of Azerbaijan's Center for Analysis of Economic Reforms and Communications.

Addressing the 5th Investors Fair, titled Future of Micro-finance in Azerbaijan: Difficulties and Opportunities in Baku, Gasimli noted that during last month, three important events took place in Azerbaijan: the signing of a new contract of the century, the decisive speech by the Azerbaijani president at the United Nations on the territorial integrity of the country and improvement of the position of Azerbaijan in the World Economic Forums Global Competitiveness Ranking, up to 35th position.

According to the executive director, all these events are closely interrelated and show political and economic power of Azerbaijan, and are also the result of social and economic policy of President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

Delivering a speech in Gobustan, the head of state noted that 2018 will be a year of rapid economic growth in Azerbaijan, I think that this is a message and a signal for investors. Having started open discussions of strategic road maps, and announced the plans in the sphere of oil production until 2050, we showed to everyone that our policy is transparent and open, added Gasimli.

He emphasized that foreign investors should bring their investment plans in line with strategic roadmaps.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 5

By Rufiz Hafizoglu  Trend:

The region where Turkey is located will acquire an even more important status in the future, Ahmet Arslan, the countrys minister of transport, maritime affairs and communications, said in an exclusive interview with Trend.

Such projects as Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, Osman Gazi Bridge, Canakkale 1915 Bridge as well as Eurasia Tunnel, Istanbul New Airport, Northern Aegean Port and important railway projects, which, in fact, are an addition to the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars (BTK) railway, will turn Turkey into an important transport corridor, he said.

The minister noted that trade relations as well as railway and sea communication are actively developing among countries.

"We believe that in terms of cargo transportation as well as in economic and tourism terms, the Anatolia region, the Caucasus, Central Asia and China will become even more important regions in the future," Arslan said.

He noted that Turkey also intends to become a logistics center in the region.

"Creation of logistics centers is a part of the Turkish governments plan Vision 2023 and a lot of work is being done for that," Arslan said.

Seven of 21 logistics centers planned for construction have been commissioned, seven more are being built, the minister noted, adding that research work on creation of the remaining seven logistics centers continues and tenders are expected.

Arslan noted that revenues from the logistics sector account for about 15 percent of Turkeys GDP.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 6

By Ali Mustafayev  Trend:

Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan signed contracts worth $200 million at the business forum held in Tashkent, the Uzbek Foreign Ministry said in a message.

The business forum was organized within the framework of the Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayevs visit to Tashkent, where he met with his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Mirziyoyev highlighted, during the meeting that only in the first half of 2017 there was a tenfold increase in trade turnover between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

If we remove still existing obstacles, this will be another boost to our bilateral relations and mutual cooperation, said Mirziyoyev.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 6

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

In conditions of high dollarization, Azerbaijans banks should support export-oriented customers, according to Anar Hasanov, first deputy chairman of Azerbaijani AccessBanks Management Board.

After two devaluations, the level of dollarization in Azerbaijani banking sector increased significantly. As a result, banks had to give out manat resources from the capital, he told the 5th Investors Fair, titled Future of Micro-Finance in Azerbaijan: Difficulties and Opportunities in Baku.

However, this is not a problem as Azerbaijani banks can also lend in US dollars, Hasanov said. For this, it is necessary to help clients who export products.

Hasanov noted that Azerbaijans banks could render non-financial services to their clients, including assistance in improving financial literacy.

Baku hosted the 5th Investors Fair, titled Future of Micro-Finance in Azerbaijan: Difficulties and Opportunities. More than 100 representatives of financial sector of Azerbaijan and other countries took part in the event.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 29

By Azad Hasanli  Trend:

The Black Sea Trade and Development Bank (BSTDB) is ready to issue bonds in Azerbaijani manats, BSTDB President Ihsan Delikanli said in an interview with Trend.

"We have initiated the discussion with the relevant Azerbaijani authorities earlier this year and are ready to continue this dialog," he noted. "As a matter of business strategy, we are developing and gradually introducing bonds and financial products denominated in the national currencies of our member states."

The BSTDB has started this program from Georgia in 2015 and already issued bonds in national currency for Georgia (worth 60 million laris in 2015), and most recently provided a national currency loan worth one billion rubles in Russia in June 2017.

Other international financial organizations are also interested in issuing bonds in manats. For example, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Developlment (EBRD) has repeatedly announced such plans.

EBRD President Suma Chakrabarti said earlier that all the procedures necessary for issuing bonds are ready, but the bank expects the relevant situation on the market.

The BSTDB was established by Azerbaijan, Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Armenia, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia. The banks authorized capital is 3.45 billion euros.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 4

By Gulgiz Muradova  Trend:

Zenith Energy Ltd., a Canadian energy company specialized in oil and gas production and exploration, announced plans to increase employment.

Company CEO Andrea Cattaneo told Trend that currently 97 per cent of the companys employees are local, while few expatriates work on the technology.

"We are working to increase our employment in the future within our expansion policy and we are particularly committed to hiring young workers and giving them the opportunity to develop professionally within our company," he said.

He further added that the company also eyes increasing investing in the new technology.

Today, approximately 210 .people work for Zenith in Azerbaijan.

Zenith holds an 80% participating interest in the three fields within the agreement area (Muradkhanli, Jafarli and Zardab), while a SOCAR Oil affiliate company (fully owned by SOCAR) retains the remaining 20%.

The Muradkhanli-Jafarli-Zardab bloc is located in the oil and gas area of the Yevlakh-Agjabedi-Imishli region of Azerbaijan. The bloc covers a total area of 642.4 square kilometers and offer Mesozoic sediments.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @GulgizD
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.5

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Iran will have to take bigger share of OPEC cuts in the case of further increasing the targeted volume of oil output cuts, Tom Pugh, the economist at British economic research and consulting company Capital Economics, told Trend.

"Iran is a great proponent of everybody else cutting output. Iran feels that because it has been under sanctions for so long, therefore, it shouldnt have to do as much heavy lifting as other members. But it seems likely that if the cuts are deepened, Iran will have to take a bigger share of the cuts," he added.

Irans oil output decreased in August by 2,300 barrels per day month-on-month, and stood at 3.828 million barrels per day (mb/d), according to the September Oil Market Report of OPEC.

The report says that Irans August oil output was 310,000 b/d more than the 2016 average and 992,000 b/d more than the 2015 output.

Earlier, Iranian oil minister Bijan Zangeneh said there is no pressure on Iran to join the cuts.



"No [there is no pressure]. We are complying with our commitment very well. We have more than 100 percent average compliance," Zanganeh told reporters ahead of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum ministerial meeting in Moscow.

On May 25, OPEC member countries and non-OPEC parties, Azerbaijan, Kingdom of Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, Republic of Sudan, and the Republic of South Sudan agreed to extend the production adjustments for a further period of nine months, with effect from July 1, 2017.

The reductions will be on the same terms as those agreed in November.

As for the possibility of the OPEC deal extension, Pugh noted that by extending the deal, OPEC+ is likely to just encourage further non-OPEC output and lose more market share.

Earlier, Russia and Saudi Arabia proposed to extend the oil production cut deal by June 2018.

"I dont think extending it to June will be enough to do much. They would have to extend it until the end of 2018 in order to make any sort of difference," said Pugh.

Moreover, Spencer Welch, director of the oil markets and downstream team in the London-based IHS Mark pointed out that back in November 2016, this deal was intended as a short term nudge to rebalance the market, it is now looking increasingly likely that this supply cut is almost a permanent necessity.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.6

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Oil market rebalancing is ongoing, demand and supply are gradually, but steadily coming to balance with the equilibrium price in sight, says OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo.

We believe that in addition to production, which is a key parameter, it would be enriching for us also to look at other parameters such as export, said Barkindo in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

He pointed out that discussions are underway with various data providers, service providers covering export, to see how export can be incorporated into the OPEC oil output cut deal.

However, export should not replace production, but supplement it, OPEC secretary general explained.

As for the low level of compliance by some participating countries, Barkindo noted that OPEC has received commitment from Iraq at the highest level that they will do whatever is possible to reach the target of 100 percent.

Our conformity level continues to rise from month to month, he said, recalling that OPEC conformity level reached 116 percent, the highest level so far, in August 2017.

On May 25, OPEC member countries and non-OPEC parties, Azerbaijan, Kingdom of Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, Republic of Sudan, and the Republic of South Sudan agreed to extend the production adjustments for a further period of nine months, with effect from July 1, 2017.

The reductions will be on the same terms as those agreed in November.

---
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.6

By Leman Zeynalova  Trend:

Azerbaijan has been extremely supportive of the oil output cut deal of OPEC and participating non-OPEC countries, OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo said in an exclusive interview with Trend.

The assessment of the conformity of all participating countries is taken by both OPEC and non-OPEC. To implement the Declaration of Cooperation, a Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) was established, which has so far met five times this year. The members of this committee are Kuwait, Algeria and Venezuela from OPEC; and from non-OPEC, the Russian Federation and Oman. To support the JMMC, a Joint Technical Committee (JTC), working alongside the OPEC Secretariat, was also formed. The JTC has met eight times so far this year, said the secretary general.

Barkindo pointed out that the adoption of the joint framework for oversight and monitoring implementation of the Declaration of Cooperation is innovative and unique.

They are also prime examples of OPECs support for data sharing, openness and transparency, he added.

I should also like to stress that Azerbaijan has been extremely supportive of the Declaration of Cooperation, achieving fully conformity to its production adjustment. Its commitment has been exemplary to the common goal of oil market rebalancing, added Barkindo.

Daily oil production in Azerbaijan stood at 785,700 barrels in September, of which 733,000 barrels accounted for crude oil and 52,700 barrels for condensate.

Meanwhile, 627,000 barrels of crude oil, 52,700 barrels of condensate and 19,300 barrels of oil products were exported per day.

Azerbaijan once again completely fulfilled its commitments to reduce production by 35,000 barrels per day, said Azerbaijans Energy Ministry.

Azerbaijan produced 793,900 barrels of oil per day in January, 776,400 barrels of oil per day in February, 733,300 barrels of oil per day in March, 781,100 barrels of oil per day in April, 785,300 barrels of oil per day in May, 793,700 barrels of oil per day in June, 796,700 barrels of oil per day in July, 734,800 barrels of oil per day in August, said the ministry.

In December 2016 in Vienna, 11 non-OPEC countries, including Azerbaijan, agreed to curtail oil output jointly by 558,000 barrels per day. The agreement was signed for the first half of 2017.

On May 25, OPEC member countries and non-OPEC parties, Azerbaijan, Kingdom of Bahrain, Brunei Darussalam, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Sultanate of Oman, the Russian Federation, Republic of Sudan, and the Republic of South Sudan agreed to extend the production adjustments for a further period of nine months, with effect from July 1, 2017.

The reductions will be on the same terms as those agreed in November.

---

Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 6

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

A number of appointments have been made in the government of Turkmenistan.

Relevant documents were signed by the countrys President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers dedicated to the results of nine months of 2017, says the message.

Under the presidential decrees, Batyr Bazarov has been appointed as Minister of Finance and Economy of Turkmenistan; Niyazly Niyazlyev  as Chairman of the Turkmenhimiya State Concern.

Meanwhile, Selimov Soenchnazar has been appointed as Deputy Minister of Construction and Architecture, while Atamyradov Azat  as Deputy Minister of Railway Transport. Selimov Soenchnazar will also serve as interim minister of construction and architecture.
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, Oct. 6

By Huseyn Hasanov  Trend:

Turkmenistans President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov expressed dissatisfaction at a meeting of the government, pointing to low rates of cargo transportation by the State Service of Maritime and River Transportation, the Altyn Asyr TV channel reported Oct. 6.

Berdimuhamedov noted that Turkmenistans transport system has considerable reserves of production capacity, allowing it to ensure increasing volumes of transportation of goods and passengers, including those traveling through Turkmenistan to another country.

According to him, the formation of modern transport and transit infrastructure, the involvement of new territories in it means today not only the growth of cargo turnover, but also corresponds to the trends of global development.

Focusing on the development of the modern transport and communications system of country, the Turkmen head also spoke about the low rates of freight traffic by the Ministry of Railway Transportation.

It was previously reported that construction of a new international sea port is underway in the Caspian city of Turkmenbashi. Once the sea port is commissioned, there will emerge great opportunities for sending cargoes arriving to Turkmenbashi along the Silk Road from Asian and Pacific countries further to Europe via ports of Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran.

Turkeys Gap Insaat company plans to complete construction of the international sea port in the city of Turkmenbashi in December 2017. Annual capacity of the port will be 17-18 million tons. Cost of the project is more than $1.5 billion.

The project of the new port in the city of Turkmenbashi envisages construction of ferry, passenger and container terminals. The complex will include general loading terminal, bulk cargo terminal, polypropylene terminal, as well as shipbuilding and ship repair plants. Total area of the new port will be over 1.4 million square meters. Total length of the mooring line will be 3,800 meters.

International ferry and passenger port in the city of Turkmenbashi will be able to serve 300,000 passengers and 75,000 trailers a year. Its container terminal has an average annual capacity of 400,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units).
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.6

By Khalid Kazimov  Trend:

In a move aimed at extending support for domestic producers, Iranian government over the past decades has imposed serious restrictions on importing goods and commodities.

The countrys automotive industry is an example of the efforts to boost the domestic production. Although the automotive industry is the second biggest sub-sector of the Iranian economy after oil, the figures and stats on car imports suggest that the local carmakers have failed to earn the nations trust.

On the other hand Irans leading carmakers have put a great deal of effort in exporting a part of their output to the global markets, having reached only limited success.

While Irans auto industry exports registered a fall by 32 percent in terms of value and 20 percent in terms of volume during the first five months of the current fiscal year, the Islamic Republic imported $1.4 billion worth of vehicles and chassis from China in Jan-Aug. 2017.

This is while Iranian carmakers manufactured over 496,800 units over the first five months of the current fiscal year (starting March 20), an increase of 20 percent year on year.

Given the stated goal of reaching a production level of 3 million cars with a million exported by 2025, the fall in export figures suggests serious underlying issues in the industry that almost certainly will fall substantially short of its export targets and the quality upgrading that is needed to achieve export expansion in the next eight years, Mehrdad Emadi, an economic expert and consultant at the UK-based Betamatrix International Consultancy, earlier told Trend.

Some observers blame the government policies on supporting the domestic producers, suggesting that such policies have led the domestic manufacturers to produce expensive but sub-standard cars.

Over the past years, a group of Iranian consumers have joined a campaign to support domestic production through purchasing Iran-made goods but in the absence of a proper balance between quality and price the customers are very likely to walk away from the campaign.

In this situation, the countrys industrial policymakers apparently need to draw up new strategies to help the domestic producers to make high-standard goods at proper prices in order to reach the global markets.
Tehran, Iran, Oct. 6

By Mohammad Jafari Trend:

The US administration appears very unlikely to succeed in re-imposing fresh sanctions on Iran as the other signatories of the 2015 nuclear deal describe the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as a reliable accord.

"The European members of the Group P5+1 [US, Russia, China, France and the UK plus Germany] have adhered to their promise to be loyal to the JCPOA, signed between Iran and the major powers in 2015," Seyed Baha'edeen Hosseini-Hashemi, an Iranian expert in financial and banking sphere, told Trend.

President Donald Trump is expected to announce soon that he will decertify the landmark international deal to curb Irans nuclear program, a senior administration official said on Thursday, in a step that potentially could cause the 2015 accord to unravel, Reuters reported.

Hosseini-Hashemi added that the Group 5+1 and Iran had realized that they would see better future for their economic and strategic interests when they gathered to ink the nuclear deal to lift sanctions on Tehran in 2015.

The expert went on to say that the great international companies, mostly from the Europe, have concluded very good economic agreements with Iran, saying, "very good investments are being carried out by the foreign investors on Iran's oil and gas sectors."

"The US state-run or private companies own considerable shares of the largest European companies via exchange market or out of the exchange market, so, re-imposing Iran sanctions will inflict great financial, credit and moral losses on the US too," the expert pointed out.

Hashemi further said that the US Congress will say the last word in such cases not President Donald Trump.

"Even if Donald Trump refuses to confirm Iran's commitment to the JCPOA before the Congress in the next couple of days, the Congress won't surely approve re-imposing sanctions on Tehran due to the economic and even moral considerations," he underlined.

The expert suggests that the US president is making efforts to put Iran under more pressure through threats about fresh sanctions.

Trump seeks to provoke Iran to do a strategic mistake in order to leave the JCPOA , which will give a good pretext to the US president to materialize his objectives.

Hashemi said that Iran is an effective country in the regional and international scenes and the entire European countries, Russia and China are working hard to protect the JCPOA.

He mentioned that the Europeans are interested in continuing cooperation with Iran due to the benefits of doing business with the Middle Eastern nation.
By Jalil Roshandel for Trend

King Salmans visit is a historic turning point in Saudi Arabias relations with Russia. Last visit of Vladimir Putin in 2007 had never been reciprocated by the Saudis; and the current visit had been rescheduled for several times during the past six months.

While we know what the Saudis will expect from Russia and what kind of incentives they will put on the table to encourage the Russians, we dont really know if Russia could do much.

Saudis will, no doubt, agree with Bashar Assad to stay in power, expecting that Russia can put more pressure on Iran to withdraw its supported groups from Syria. Putin can do little as Russia joined Irans support for Bashar Assad at a time Saudis backed the Syrian opposition. In doing so they agreed with Iran. At this point the Saudis do not have the same strength and the influence among those groups once they supported in Syria. They may no more see it necessary or in line with their interest. But Bashar Assad has the upper hand by receiving support from Russia and Iran. This entire process has made Russia stronger. Now expecting Iran to cease its support or Russia to no more back Tehran requires stronger leverage than what the Saudis can offer.

Iran expects to have Moscows support on the grounds that, first, it is part of the solution and not part of the problem, and secondly, reassure Saudis that Iran can be trusted. Iran considers itself a common ally to Russia while the later has long term agenda for Iran. Russia expects to have longer relations with Iran in nuclear technology and military cooperation.

However, the Saudis will remain suspicious about Irans regional plans and influence. They would like to see Russias reassurances that Iran will be contained when needed. With a weakening Islamic State (IS or ISIS) terrorist group, Iran is emerging stronger and therefore its long-term goals for the region remain unclear. The militia groups Iran supports in Lebanon and Yemen as well as its role in Iraq will remain an argument between Saudis and Russians on one side, and Russia and Iran on the other.

Russians may even attempt to bring the two sides closer and solve their diplomatic disputes. Iranians and Saudis accuse each other of intervening in domestic and regional affairs. However, Russians will be in a predicament to abandon Iran on exchange with emerging relations with the Saudi Kingdom, despite the fact that the Saudis seem frustrated about their relations with the United States.

What leverages the Saudis have? Well, they can cooperate with Russia in terms of future oil prices within OPEC and they can also put their earlier promises of economic relations in action. Lots of what had been talked about between Russians and Saudis in the past have never been put into action. Now, it is the time to act.

In addition, Saudis, who are to some extent dismayed with President Trumps promises on arms and other regional issues, can easily acquire Russian weapons, including the famous S-400. What is not quite clear is whether the Russians will feel comfortable to deliver S-400 to a territory where American military equipment and personnel have the upper hand.

What can aggravate the situation are the emerging issues in Iraqi Kurdish Province, where a change of regional configuration can work to the detriment of all sides involved.

Jalil Roshandel is a commentator and associate professor of political science at East Carolina University.
President Donald Trump is reportedly mulling whether to dismiss embattled Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and replace him with trusted confidante CIA Director Mike Pompeo, days after Tillerson reportedly referred to him as a moron.

Pompeos name recently surfaced as Tillersons potential successor due to his strong relationship with the president and the stability that comes with choosing a replacement from within the existing cabinet, according to Axios.

A member of Trumps inner circle, Pompeo enjoys unique access to the president, delivering his daily briefings and offering consultation on all foreign policy decisions.

Trump was reportedly furious with Tillerson after reports of their discord captured the medias attention, distracting from Trumps Wednesday trip to Las Vegas to visit victims of the mass shooting that claimed 59 lives Sunday.

NBC reported Wednesday, citing multiple sources, that Tillerson referred to Trump as a moron in front of fellow cabinet officials during a July 20 meeting at the Pentagon. The report also alleged that Tillerson was considering resigning at the time and threatened not to return to the capital after Trump gave an explicitly politicized speech at a Boy Scouts of America Jamboree. He was reportedly dissuaded from resigning by Vice President Mike Pence.

Tillerson denied that he ever considered resignation during an impromptu Wednesday afternoon press conference and referred to the moron allegation as petty nonsense.

Theres never been a consideration in my mind of leaving, Tillerson told reporters before lauding Trumps performance and praising his leadership ability.

Trump dubbed the report fake news and called for a congressional investigation into outlets that purvey what he believes to be inaccurate information.

A number of outlets independently confirmed the report following Trump and Tillersons denial.
Islamists have been cleared from over 91 percent of the Syrian territory, according to figures published Friday in a newspaper affiliated with the Russian Defense Ministry, Sputnik reported.

An infographic in the Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) newspaper has showed that 91.6 percent of the land is now free from the Islamic State terrorist group.

During the past week, Russian warplanes have made some 500 sorties, the military said, destroying almost 1,400 Daesh assets.

Russian forces in Syria have also continued scouting Daesh-controlled territories using surveillance drones. They have flown more than 190 missions during that period and identified over 129 Daesh targets.

The war in Syria has been on since 2011. A security vacuum let the Daesh seize large swathes of land and proclaim an Islamic caliphate in the areas under its control. Russia launched a military operation in Syria in September 2015 to provide air support for Syrian government forces, driving Daesh militants from much of Syrian territories.
After discussing Iran and North Korea with U.S. military leaders on Thursday, President Donald Trump posed for a photo with them before dinner and declared the moment the calm before the storm, Reuters reported.

You guys know what this represents? Trump said after journalists gathered in the White House state dining room to photograph him and first lady Melania Trump with the uniformed military leaders and their spouses.

Maybe its the calm before the storm, he said.

What storm?

Youll find out, Trump told questioning reporters.

Classical music played in the background and tables were set in the nearby Blue Room for a fancy meal.

The White House did not immediately reply to a request to clarify Trumps remark.

Earlier in the evening, while seated with the top defense officials in the cabinet room, Trump talked about the threat from North Korea and preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct.6

By Leman Zeynalova - Trend:

Pedro Agramunt announced in a letter his resignation as President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), said the message on PACEs website.



A motion for his dismissal had been scheduled for debate at the opening of the plenary session in Strasbourg on 9 October. This debate will now not take place.

Following his resignation, the most senior Vice-President of the Assembly, Sir Roger Gale, automatically becomes acting president. In line with the PACE Rules, he shall act until the election of a new president at the following part-session of the Assembly, said the message.
KYODO NEWS - Oct 6, 2017 - 20:04 | Urgent, All

A woman and five children died in a fire Friday morning at an apartment in Ibaraki Prefecture and her 32-year-old husband later told police that he killed the six before setting fire to their home, investigative sources said.

Hirobumi Komatsu was arrested on suspicion of murder after he confessed to setting fire to the apartment where his 33-year-old wife and four children were found dead. A sixth victim, an 11-year-old girl, was confirmed dead after being taken to a hospital.

Komatsu allegedly killed the girl, who sustained stab wounds, at his home in a three-story apartment building in Hitachi city. He handed himself in to the police.

The six victims -- his wife, daughter and four sons -- were found in a room on the first floor of the building, the police said, adding the bodies of the five in addition to the girl also sustained wounds.

The police believe the boys were aged 7, 5, and 3-year-old twins.

According to a neighbor of Komatsu, his wife had asked him for a divorce.

The fire broke out at around 5 a.m. and was put out about an hour later after about 10 fire engines and ambulances rushed to the scene.

"My wife and five children were in my house," Komatsu, who also suffered burns, said, according to the police.

Komatsu is suspected of killing the girl at around 4:30 a.m. at home. When interviewed by police, he admitted to killing his daughter and implied that he had killed all five children and his wife, investigative sources said.

(Supplied Image)

A neighbor said Komatsu's wife and children moved into the apartment about three years ago and Komatsu later moved in and the family of five lived together.

The suspect had taken work off this week, saying his wife was sick, according to his workplace.

The apartment is in a nearly 40-year-old complex about 1.5 kilometers southwest of Ogitsu Station on the JR Joban Line.
Saudi Arabia's energy minister said that Russia has helped to breathe new life into OPEC and that shale can be a major contributor to the market in years to come. "We welcome the contributions of shale as demand approaches 100 million barrels (per day) next year and continues rising," Saudi Arabia Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih told CNBC on Thursday. "In the years and decades to come, we want shale to continue to be a major contributor but we believe the pace of its growth will be more important." Speaking at a CNBC-moderated plenary session at Russia Energy week 2017, Al-Falih said that certain market predictions that shale producers would bounce back at certain price points had proven incorrect. "We believe that the unreasonable expectations that shale will somehow spring up at certain prices and grow exponentially has been proven to be way unrealistic." The price of oil collapsed from around $114 a barrel in June 2014 due to weak demand, a strong dollar and booming U.S. shale production. OPEC's reluctance to cut output was also seen as a key reason behind the fall. But, the oil cartel soon moved to curb production - along with other oil producing nations such as Russia - in late 2016.

Daniel Yergin, vice chairman of research firm IHS Markit, also spoke on the shale market at the same panel, saying that "every time you have a big new increment of oil coming to the market, it tends to lead to a price collapse." "And in a sense we saw that now. What is different now is that now it is no longer this mysterious new thing. Shale, this short cycle oil, is part of the market," he said.

Breathed life back into OPEC Al-Falih highlighted Thursday the role that Russia had played in stabilizing the market since 2014. "This partnership between Russia and Saudi Arabia has catalyzed cooperation of an unprecedented coalition of 24 countries (OPEC and non-OPEC). It has breathed back life into OPEC which found itself, quite frankly, unable to swing its production as supply was persistently high in 2014 and global inventories were steadily rising ahead of demand," he said. Al-Falih was optimistic that oil markets were continuing to rebalance, but added prices were not for him or his counterpart, the Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, to determine. "(Prices) are ultimately for the markets to determine based on marginal cost of productions and expectations of supply and demand. But as I think of fundamentals I am more optimistic than I have been in the last two or three years, demand is healthy around the world in developed and developing countries." Although prices have stabilized somewhat in markets from a low point of around $27 in early 2016, they are a long way from their peak price of $114 a barrel seen in June 2014. On Thursday, benchmark Brent crude was trading at $56.06 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) at $50.05. Al-Falih said it was a work in progress to balance markets and the job was not yet done. "We're not going to get complacent, we're not going to celebrate any time soon," he said.

Story continues

King Salman visits Russia Russia is rolling out the red carpet for King Salman of Saudi Arabia this week , with the monarch leading a high-profile and highly significant delegation to Moscow. The Kremlin said that King Salman was due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday and "the leaders will consider joint steps to further develop bilateral cooperation in the trade, economic, investment and cultural-humanitarian areas." The leaders are set to sign joint investment deals worth more than $3 billion on Thursday, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told the Financial Times on Wednesday, including a $1.1 billion agreement for Russian petrochemical firm Sibur to build a plant in Saudi Arabia. The visit is just the latest sign of increasingly cordial relations and closer economic and political ties between the two oil giants. The countries embarked on a closer relationship last year when Russia and the 14-member oil-producing organization OPEC  with Saudi Arabia being its de factor leader  announced they would restrict oil output in a bid to support global oil prices.





More From CNBC


Delivery company shares are dropping as investors worry Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is about to disrupt the industry. Shares of UPS (NYSE: UPS) fell more than 0.7 percent Thursday. FedEx (NYSE: FDX) dropped as much as 1.6 percent before closing 0.1 percent higher. Bloomberg News is reporting Amazon is trying out a new delivery program called "Seller Flex" where the company will pick up packages from third-party sellers selling on its platform and deliver the products to consumers. Amazon clarified that the offering will continue to use some of its current delivery partners, but didn't comment on whether it will increase its own deliveries directly to customers."We are using the same carrier partners to offer this program that we've used for years, including UPS, USPS and FedEx," Amazon said in a statement.One analyst believes a big expansion by Amazon into the delivery business is inevitable."Given the investments that Amazon is making in fulfillment infrastructure and transportation to support its own retail business, we view it simply a matter of time until they offer these services to third parties more broadly," Baird analyst Colin Sebastian wrote in an email. "This is the same strategy that Amazon has successfully utilized in retail (third party marketplace) and technology (AWS) where they offer as a service the same platforms built to run their business."UPS has downplayed the Amazon disruption threat in the past. "We don't believe that Amazon's strategy is to do it themselves and the reason we believe that is we have this huge infrastructure, we're investing in technology, we have a great mutual relationship with them," UPS CEO David Abney said in an interview with CNBC in December 2016. But the Amazon disruption threat has been a worry popping up periodically on earnings conference calls with analysts over the last year for both FedEx and UPS. FedEx on such a call in March of this year was asked about Amazon diving deeper into delivery. CEO Fred Smith signaled to analysts that his company may be less exposed to this risk than rival UPS. "The vast majority of FedEx's business is business to business. Eighty-five percent-plus of our business has nothing to do with e-commerce," he said.Smith continued:"So Amazon's a wonderful company and they certainly have revolutionized the e-commerce world, and we're not sure what Amazon's going to do one way or another. But the FedEx system that consists of thousands of facilities and the ability to pick up, transport, and deliver in one to two business days between any two addresses in the United States has been decades in the making. And we think that we have not a great risk of being disrupted, to use the term."The theory that FedEx is less exposed to this threat than UPS is apparent looking at the chart of both stocks versus the e-commerce juggernaut over the last five years. FedEx has posted strong returns, but UPS has actually trailed the market.Amazon shares are outperforming the delivery companies again this year so far. The internet e-commerce giant is up 29 percent year to date through Wednesday versus UPS' 4 percent and FedEx's 19 percent returns. The S&P 500 is up 13 percent in the same time period. This isn't the first time Amazon has made moves building out its own delivery offering. The Wall Street Journal reported in September 2016 the company was expanding its last-mile delivery services in major cities. FedEx's Patrick Fitzgerald sent this statement in response to the report:"We don't comment on speculative news stories but there continues to be reporting related to our networks and the transportation industry that demonstrates a clear misunderstanding of the scale, infrastructure and complexity involved in running a global transportation network. FedEx and other transportation providers are innovating as it relates to new services for e-commerce residential deliveries, but that is only one piece of the capabilities that we provide. Demand for our global portfolio continues to grow."UPS also sent the following statement:"Amazon is a valued UPS customer. We support all our customers with industry-leading ecommerce solutions and expect to expand these relationships further in the future. UPS continues to experience topline growth and margin enhancement driven by business-to-consumer volume growth and strong international expansion."WATCH: An inside look at how Amazon Prime Now delivers food and household items in less than two hours Delivery company shares are dropping as investors worry Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is about to disrupt the industry. Shares of UPS (NYSE: UPS) fell more than 0.7 percent Thursday. FedEx (NYSE: FDX) dropped as much as 1.6 percent before closing 0.1 percent higher. Bloomberg News is reporting Amazon is trying out a new delivery program called "Seller Flex" where the company will pick up packages from third-party sellers selling on its platform and deliver the products to consumers. Amazon clarified that the offering will continue to use some of its current delivery partners, but didn't comment on whether it will increase its own deliveries directly to customers. "We are using the same carrier partners to offer this program that we've used for years, including UPS, USPS and FedEx," Amazon said in a statement. One analyst believes a big expansion by Amazon into the delivery business is inevitable. "Given the investments that Amazon is making in fulfillment infrastructure and transportation to support its own retail business, we view it simply a matter of time until they offer these services to third parties more broadly," Baird analyst Colin Sebastian wrote in an email. "This is the same strategy that Amazon has successfully utilized in retail (third party marketplace) and technology (AWS) where they offer as a service the same platforms built to run their business." UPS has downplayed the Amazon disruption threat in the past. "We don't believe that Amazon's strategy is to do it themselves and the reason we believe that is we have this huge infrastructure, we're investing in technology, we have a great mutual relationship with them," UPS CEO David Abney said in an interview with CNBC in December 2016. But the Amazon disruption threat has been a worry popping up periodically on earnings conference calls with analysts over the last year for both FedEx and UPS. FedEx on such a call in March of this year was asked about Amazon diving deeper into delivery. CEO Fred Smith signaled to analysts that his company may be less exposed to this risk than rival UPS. "The vast majority of FedEx's business is business to business. Eighty-five percent-plus of our business has nothing to do with e-commerce," he said. Smith continued: "So Amazon's a wonderful company and they certainly have revolutionized the e-commerce world, and we're not sure what Amazon's going to do one way or another. But the FedEx system that consists of thousands of facilities and the ability to pick up, transport, and deliver in one to two business days between any two addresses in the United States has been decades in the making. And we think that we have not a great risk of being disrupted, to use the term." The theory that FedEx is less exposed to this threat than UPS is apparent looking at the chart of both stocks versus the e-commerce juggernaut over the last five years. FedEx has posted strong returns, but UPS has actually trailed the market. Amazon shares are outperforming the delivery companies again this year so far. The internet e-commerce giant is up 29 percent year to date through Wednesday versus UPS' 4 percent and FedEx's 19 percent returns. The S&P 500 is up 13 percent in the same time period. This isn't the first time Amazon has made moves building out its own delivery offering. The Wall Street Journal reported in September 2016 the company was expanding its last-mile delivery services in major cities. FedEx's Patrick Fitzgerald sent this statement in response to the report: "We don't comment on speculative news stories but there continues to be reporting related to our networks and the transportation industry that demonstrates a clear misunderstanding of the scale, infrastructure and complexity involved in running a global transportation network. FedEx and other transportation providers are innovating as it relates to new services for e-commerce residential deliveries, but that is only one piece of the capabilities that we provide. Demand for our global portfolio continues to grow." UPS also sent the following statement: "Amazon is a valued UPS customer. We support all our customers with industry-leading ecommerce solutions and expect to expand these relationships further in the future. UPS continues to experience topline growth and margin enhancement driven by business-to-consumer volume growth and strong international expansion." WATCH: An inside look at how Amazon Prime Now delivers food and household items in less than two hours



More From CNBC


The chief executive of Russia's sovereign wealth fund has denied that forming closer energy ties with Saudi Arabia is about politically sidelining Washington.Russia and Saudi Arabia are set to sign $3 billion in joint investments this week, according to the Financial Times. This includes a $1.1 billion agreement for Russian petrochemical company Sibur to build a plant in Saudi Arabia.Speaking to CNBC at the Russian Energy Week, Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said a deepening of ties with Saudi businesses posed no threat to the U.S."Well, I think Russia and Saudi Arabia have lots of things in common. We want to diversify our economies away from oil and frankly, there was not much going on before."So, of course we are not talking about Russia being a substitute for the U.S. The U.S. will remain a key partner for Saudi Arabia for hundreds of years to come."Dmitriev also played down suggestions that working with new overseas investors was a sign that Western sanctions were hurting the Russian economy."We are indeed working a lot with Chinese, Asian and Middle Eastern investors and they are replacing lots of the capital that was coming in from Europe and the U.S."Frankly, the effect of sanctions have already been taken in by the market. We had good positive growth of 2 percent this year and, frankly, most companies just shrug those sanctions off because nothing in those sanctions precludes anyone investing in us (Russia)," he added.Dmitriev said Russia believed that "sanity would prevail" and sanctions from the West would soon be removed. The chief executive of Russia's sovereign wealth fund has denied that forming closer energy ties with Saudi Arabia is about politically sidelining Washington. Russia and Saudi Arabia are set to sign $3 billion in joint investments this week, according to the Financial Times. This includes a $1.1 billion agreement for Russian petrochemical company Sibur to build a plant in Saudi Arabia. Speaking to CNBC at the Russian Energy Week, Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), said a deepening of ties with Saudi businesses posed no threat to the U.S. "Well, I think Russia and Saudi Arabia have lots of things in common. We want to diversify our economies away from oil and frankly, there was not much going on before. "So, of course we are not talking about Russia being a substitute for the U.S. The U.S. will remain a key partner for Saudi Arabia for hundreds of years to come." Dmitriev also played down suggestions that working with new overseas investors was a sign that Western sanctions were hurting the Russian economy. "We are indeed working a lot with Chinese, Asian and Middle Eastern investors and they are replacing lots of the capital that was coming in from Europe and the U.S. "Frankly, the effect of sanctions have already been taken in by the market. We had good positive growth of 2 percent this year and, frankly, most companies just shrug those sanctions off because nothing in those sanctions precludes anyone investing in us (Russia)," he added. Dmitriev said Russia believed that "sanity would prevail" and sanctions from the West would soon be removed.



More From CNBC


Samsung, Coca-Cola, Honda -- these are just a few of the brands familiar to consumers around the world. As intangible assets, brand names can be highly valuable, worth millions and billions of dollars.

Brand valuations are generally based on three factors: how well a brand is known, how well it is regarded, and how much it contributes to the parent companys financial success. Most of the brands on the 24/7 Wall St. 100 Most Valuable Brands In The World list exhibit strength across all of these categories.

The majority of the 100 brands are household names in America. Tens of millions of consumers in the United States either use or own products of all of the brands at the very top of the most valuable brands list -- like Apple, Facebook, and Google. These brands also generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue for their parent companies each year.

ALSO READ: Poorest Town in Every State

Some companies are synonymous with their brands. McDonalds, with a brand valuation of $41.5 billion is an example of this. The fast food company does not have any other major brands.

However, brands and companies are not interchangeable terms -- and companies often own more than one brand on this list. For example, the Volkswagen Group flagship brand, Volkswagen, is worth $11.5 billion. Its Audi luxury brand is worth $12.0 billion. Its Porsche ultra-luxury brand is worth $10.1 billion. Coca-Cola, the fourth most valuable brand on the list at $69.7 billion is owned by The Coca-Cola Company, which also owns more than a dozen other brands, including Sprite, Fresca, and vitaminwater.





100. Lenovo

> Brand value: $4.0 billion

> YoY change in value: -1%

> Parent company: Legend Holdings

> Parent company revenue: $43.0 billion

> Industry: Technology

99. Moet & Chandon

> Brand value: $4.0 billion

> YoY change in value: -3%

> Parent company: LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.E.

> Parent company revenue: $44.2 billion

> Industry: Alcohol

Story continues

98. Tesla (TSLA)

> Brand value: $4.0 billion

> YoY change in value: 0%

> Parent company: Tesla, Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $7.0 billion

> Industry: Automotive

97. Smirnoff (DEO)

> Brand value: $4.3 billion

> YoY change in value: 1%

> Parent company: Diageo Plc

> Parent company revenue: $16.0 billion

> Industry: Alcohol

96. Johnnie Walker (DEO)

> Brand value: $4.4 billion

> YoY change in value: 2%

> Parent company: Diageo Plc

> Parent company revenue: $16.0 billion

> Industry: Alcohol

95. Dior

> Brand value: $4.6 billion

> YoY change in value: -7%

> Parent company: Christian Dior S.E.

> Parent company revenue: $44.6 billion

> Industry: Luxury

94. Prada

> Brand value: $4.7 billion

> YoY change in value: -14%

> Parent company: Prada Holding B.V.

> Parent company revenue: $3.7 billion

> Industry: Luxury

93. Corona (BUD)

> Brand value: $4.8 billion

> YoY change in value: 6%

> Parent company: Anheuser-Busch Inbev S.A.

> Parent company revenue: $45.5 billion

> Industry: Alcohol

92. John Deere (DE)

> Brand value: $4.8 billion

> YoY change in value: -1%

> Parent company: Deere & Company

> Parent company revenue: $26.6 billion

> Industry: Diversified

91. Shell (RDS-B)

> Brand value: $4.8 billion

> YoY change in value: 5%

> Parent company: Royal Dutch Shell Plc

> Parent company revenue: $233.6 billion

> Industry: Energy

90. Sprite (KO)

> Brand value: $4.8 billion

> YoY change in value: -6%

> Parent company: The Coca-Cola Company

> Parent company revenue: $41.9 billion

> Industry: Beverages

89. Caterpillar (CAT)

> Brand value: $4.9 billion

> YoY change in value: -10%

> Parent company: Caterpillar, Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $38.5 billion

> Industry: Diversified

88. Ferrari (RACE)

> Brand value: $4.9 billion

> YoY change in value: 0%

> Parent company: Ferrari N.V.

> Parent company revenue: $3.7 billion

> Industry: Automotive

87. MINI

> Brand value: $5.1 billion

> YoY change in value: 3%

> Parent company: BMW Group

> Parent company revenue: $110.6 billion

> Industry: Automotive

86. Burberry

> Brand value: $5.1 billion

> YoY change in value: -4%

> Parent company: Burberry Group Plc

> Parent company revenue: $3.7 billion

> Industry: Luxury

85. Heineken

> Brand value: $5.2 billion

> YoY change in value: 1%

> Parent company: Heineken International

> Parent company revenue: $24.5 billion

> Industry: Alcohol

84. Salesforce.com (CRM)

> Brand value: $5.2 billion

> YoY change in value: 0%

> Parent company: Salesforce.com Inc

> Parent company revenue: $8.4 billion

> Industry: Technology

83. KFC (YUM)

> Brand value: $5.3 billion

> YoY change in value: -7%

> Parent company: Yum! Brands, Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $6.4 billion

> Industry: Restaurants

82. Jack Daniel's (BF-B)

> Brand value: $5.3 billion

> YoY change in value: 3%

> Parent company: Brown-Forman Corporation

> Parent company revenue: $3.9 billion

> Industry: Alcohol

81. Tiffany & Co. (TIF)

> Brand value: $5.4 billion

> YoY change in value: -6%

> Parent company: Tiffany & Co.

> Parent company revenue: $4.0 billion

> Industry: Luxury

80. PayPal (PYPL)

> Brand value: $5.4 billion

> YoY change in value: 12%

> Parent company: PayPal Holdings, Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $10.8 billion

> Industry: Financial Services

79. Discovery (DISCB)

> Brand value: $5.4 billion

> YoY change in value: -9%

> Parent company: Discovery Communications, Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $6.5 billion

> Industry: Media

78. Netflix (NFLX)

> Brand value: $5.6 billion

> YoY change in value: 0%

> Parent company: Netflix, Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $8.8 billion

> Industry: Media

77. Harley-Davidson (HOG)

> Brand value: $5.7 billion

> YoY change in value: 3%

> Parent company: Harley-Davidson, Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $6.0 billion

> Industry: Automotive

76. DHL

> Brand value: $5.7 billion

> YoY change in value: 0%

> Parent company: Deutsche Post DHL Group

> Parent company revenue: $67.4 billion

> Industry: Logistics

75. Panasonic

> Brand value: $6.0 billion

> YoY change in value: -6%

> Parent company: Panasonic Corporation

> Parent company revenue: $65.1 billion

> Industry: Electronics

74. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

> Brand value: $6.0 billion

> YoY change in value: 4%

> Parent company: Johnson & Johnson

> Parent company revenue: $71.9 billion

> Industry: FMCG

73. Land Rover (TTM)

> Brand value: $6.1 billion

> YoY change in value: 7%

> Parent company: Tata Motors Ltd.

> Parent company revenue: $32.2 billion

> Industry: Automotive

72. FedEx (FDX)

> Brand value: $6.3 billion

> YoY change in value: 12%

> Parent company: FedEx Corporation

> Parent company revenue: $60.3 billion

> Industry: Logistics

71. Mastercard (MA)

> Brand value: $6.4 billion

> YoY change in value: 11%

> Parent company: Mastercard Incorporated

> Parent company revenue: $10.8 billion

> Industry: Financial Services

70. Huawei

> Brand value: $6.7 billion

> YoY change in value: 14%

> Parent company: Huawei Culture Co., Ltd.

> Parent company revenue: $78.5 billion

> Industry: Technology

ALSO READ: 39 Cities Where Most Americans Can't Afford Their Homes

69. Kia

> Brand value: $6.7 billion

> YoY change in value: 6%

> Parent company: Hyundai Motor Company

> Parent company revenue: $81.9 billion

> Industry: Automotive

68. Santander

> Brand value: $6.7 billion

> YoY change in value: 8%

> Parent company: Santander Bank

> Parent company revenue: $51.6 billion

> Industry: Financial Services

67. LEGO

> Brand value: $7.0 billion

> YoY change in value: 5%

> Parent company: The Lego Group

> Parent company revenue: $6.0 billion

> Industry: FMCG

66. Thomson Reuters (TRI)

> Brand value: $7.1 billion

> YoY change in value: 4%

> Parent company: Thomson Reuters Corp

> Parent company revenue: $11.2 billion

> Industry: Media

65. Cartier

> Brand value: $7.5 billion

> YoY change in value: -2%

> Parent company: Compagnie Financiere Richemont S.A.

> Parent company revenue: $12.5 billion

> Industry: Luxury

64. Visa (NYSE: V)

> Brand value: $7.8 billion

> YoY change in value: 1%

> Parent company: Visa Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $15.1 billion

> Industry: Financial Services

63. Morgan Stanley (MS)

> Brand value: $8.2 billion

> YoY change in value: 14%

> Parent company: Morgan Stanley

> Parent company revenue: $34.6 billion

> Industry: Financial Services

62. Colgate (CL)

> Brand value: $8.3 billion

> YoY change in value: -1%

> Parent company: Colgate-Palmolive Company

> Parent company revenue: $15.2 billion

> Industry: FMCG

61. Sony (SNE)

> Brand value: $8.5 billion

> YoY change in value: 2%

> Parent company: Sony Corporation

> Parent company revenue: $57.1 billion

> Industry: Electronics

60. Starbucks (SBUX)

> Brand value: $8.7 billion

> YoY change in value: 16%

> Parent company: Starbucks Corporation

> Parent company revenue: $21.3 billion

> Industry: Restaurants

59. Nestle

> Brand value: $8.7 billion

> YoY change in value: 0%

> Parent company: Nestle

> Parent company revenue: $92.0 billion

> Industry: FMCG

58. 3M (MMM)

> Brand value: $8.9 billion

> YoY change in value: 9%

> Parent company: 3M Company

> Parent company revenue: $30.1 billion

> Industry: Diversified

57. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE)

> Brand value: $9.0 billion

> YoY change in value: -19%

> Parent company: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company

> Parent company revenue: $50.1 billion

> Industry: Technology

56. Adobe (ADBE)

> Brand value: $9.1 billion

> YoY change in value: 19%

> Parent company: Adobe Systems Incorporated

> Parent company revenue: $5.9 billion

> Industry: Technology

55. adidas

> Brand value: $9.2 billion

> YoY change in value: 17%

> Parent company: Adidas AG

> Parent company revenue: $22.7 billion

> Industry: Sporting Goods

54. Danone

> Brand value: $9.3 billion

> YoY change in value: 1%

> Parent company: Danone

> Parent company revenue: $25.8 billion

> Industry: FMCG

53. HP (HPE)

> Brand value: $9.5 billion

> YoY change in value: -8%

> Parent company: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company

> Parent company revenue: $50.1 billion

> Industry: Technology

52. Canon (CAJ)

> Brand value: $9.8 billion

> YoY change in value: -12%

> Parent company: Canon Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $30.2 billion

> Industry: Electronics

51. Gucci

> Brand value: $10.0 billion

> YoY change in value: 6%

> Parent company: Kering Group

> Parent company revenue: $14.6 billion

> Industry: Luxury

50. Siemens

> Brand value: $10.0 billion

> YoY change in value: 6%

> Parent company: Siemens AG

> Parent company revenue: $93.6 billion

> Industry: Diversified

49. Allianz

> Brand value: $10.1 billion

> YoY change in value: 6%

> Parent company: Allianz SE

> Parent company revenue: $143.8 billion

> Industry: Financial Services

48. Porsche

> Brand value: $10.1 billion

> YoY change in value: 6%

> Parent company: Volkswagen Group

> Parent company revenue: $255.2 billion

> Industry: Automotive

47. HSBC (HSBC)

> Brand value: $10.5 billion

> YoY change in value: 1%

> Parent company: HSBC Holdings plc

> Parent company revenue: $44.6 billion

> Industry: Financial Services

46. Citi (NYSE: C)

> Brand value: $10.6 billion

> YoY change in value: 3%

> Parent company: Citigroup Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $62.6 billion

> Industry: Financial Services

45. L'Oreal

> Brand value: $10.7 billion

> YoY change in value: -2%

> Parent company: L'Oreal

> Parent company revenue: $29.2 billion

> Industry: FMCG

44. Goldman Sachs (GS)

> Brand value: $10.9 billion

> YoY change in value: 16%

> Parent company: The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $30.6 billion

> Industry: Financial Services

43. Kellogg's (NYSE: K)

> Brand value: $11.0 billion

> YoY change in value: -6%

> Parent company: Kellogg Company

> Parent company revenue: $13.0 billion

> Industry: FMCG

42. AXA

> Brand value: $11.1 billion

> YoY change in value: 5%

> Parent company: AXA

> Parent company revenue: $177.7 billion

> Industry: Financial Services

41. Philips (PHG)

> Brand value: $11.5 billion

> YoY change in value: 2%

> Parent company: Koninklijke Philips N.V.

> Parent company revenue: $28.8 billion

> Industry: Electronics

40. Volkswagen

> Brand value: $11.5 billion

> YoY change in value: 1%

> Parent company: Volkswagen Group

> Parent company revenue: $255.2 billion

> Industry: Automotive

39. Nissan

> Brand value: $11.5 billion

> YoY change in value: 4%

> Parent company: Nissan Motor Co., LTD.

> Parent company revenue: $103.9 billion

> Industry: Automotive

38. Audi

> Brand value: $12.0 billion

> YoY change in value: 2%

> Parent company: Volkswagen Group

> Parent company revenue: $255.2 billion

> Industry: Automotive

ALSO READ: Cities With the Most (and Least) Divorce

37. Accenture (ACN)

> Brand value: $12.5 billion

> YoY change in value: 4%

> Parent company: Accenture Plc

> Parent company revenue: $32.9 billion

> Industry: Business Services

36. NESCAFE

> Brand value: $12.7 billion

> YoY change in value: 1%

> Parent company: Nestle

> Parent company revenue: $91.9 billion

> Industry: Beverages

35. Hyundai

> Brand value: $13.2 billion

> YoY change in value: 5%

> Parent company: Hyundai Motor Company

> Parent company revenue: $81.9 billion

> Industry: Automotive

34. eBay (EBAY)

> Brand value: $13.2 billion

> YoY change in value: 1%

> Parent company: eBay Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $9.0 billion

> Industry: Retail

33. Ford (NYSE: F)

> Brand value: $13.6 billion

> YoY change in value: 5%

> Parent company: Ford Motor Company

> Parent company revenue: $151.8 billion

> Industry: Automotive

32. Hermes

> Brand value: $14.2 billion

> YoY change in value: 11%

> Parent company: Hermes International S.A.

> Parent company revenue: $6.1 billion

> Industry: Luxury

31. Budweiser (BUD)

> Brand value: $15.4 billion

> YoY change in value: 2%

> Parent company: Anheuser-Busch Inbev S.A.

> Parent company revenue: $45.5 billion

> Industry: Alcohol

30. J.P. Morgan (JPM)

> Brand value: $15.7 billion

> YoY change in value: 11%

> Parent company: J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.

> Parent company revenue: $95.7 billion

> Industry: Financial Services

29. UPS (UPS)

> Brand value: $16.4 billion

> YoY change in value: 7%

> Parent company: United Parcel Service, Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $60.9 billion

> Industry: Logistics

28. Pampers (PG)

> Brand value: $16.4 billion

> YoY change in value: 2%

> Parent company: The Procter & Gamble Company

> Parent company revenue: $65.1 billion

> Industry: FMCG

27. American Express (AXP)

> Brand value: $17.8 billion

> YoY change in value: -3%

> Parent company: American Express Company

> Parent company revenue: $33.8 billion

> Industry: Financial Services

26. Gillette (PG)

> Brand value: $18.2 billion

> YoY change in value: -9%

> Parent company: The Procter & Gamble Company

> Parent company revenue: $65.1 billion

> Industry: FMCG

25. IKEA

> Brand value: $18.5 billion

> YoY change in value: 4%

> Parent company: IKEA Group

> Parent company revenue: $41.2 billion

> Industry: Retail

24. Zara

> Brand value: $18.6 billion

> YoY change in value: 11%

> Parent company: Inditex

> Parent company revenue: $27.4 billion

> Industry: Apparel

23. H&M

> Brand value: $20.5 billion

> YoY change in value: -10%

> Parent company: H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB

> Parent company revenue: $23.6 billion

> Industry: Apparel

22. Pepsi (PEP)

> Brand value: $20.5 billion

> YoY change in value: 1%

> Parent company: Pepsico, Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $62.8 billion

> Industry: Beverages

21. SAP (SAP)

> Brand value: $22.6 billion

> YoY change in value: 6%

> Parent company: SAP SE

> Parent company revenue: $25.9 billion

> Industry: Technology

20. Honda (HMC)

> Brand value: $22.7 billion

> YoY change in value: 3%

> Parent company: Honda Motor Company, Ltd.

> Parent company revenue: $124.3 billion

> Industry: Automotive

19. Louis Vuitton

> Brand value: $22.9 billion

> YoY change in value: -4%

> Parent company: LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton S.E.

> Parent company revenue: $44.2 billion

> Industry: Luxury

18. Nike (NKE)

> Brand value: $27.0 billion

> YoY change in value: 8%

> Parent company: Nike, Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $34.4 billion

> Industry: Sporting Goods

17. Oracle (ORCL)

> Brand value: $27.5 billion

> YoY change in value: 3%

> Parent company: Oracle Corporation

> Parent company revenue: $37.7 billion

> Industry: Technology

16. Cisco (CSCO)

> Brand value: $31.9 billion

> YoY change in value: 3%

> Parent company: Cisco Systems, Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $49.2 billion

> Industry: Technology

15. Intel (INTC)

> Brand value: $39.5 billion

> YoY change in value: 7%

> Parent company: Intel Corporation

> Parent company revenue: $59.4 billion

> Industry: Technology

14. Disney (DIS)

> Brand value: $40.8 billion

> YoY change in value: 5%

> Parent company: The Walt Disney Company

> Parent company revenue: $55.6 billion

> Industry: Media

13. BMW

> Brand value: $41.5 billion

> YoY change in value: 0%

> Parent company: BMW Group

> Parent company revenue: $110.6 billion

> Industry: Automotive

12. McDonald's (MCD)

> Brand value: $41.5 billion

> YoY change in value: 5%

> Parent company: McDonald's Corporation

> Parent company revenue: $24.6 billion

> Industry: Restaurants

11. GE (GE)

> Brand value: $44.2 billion

> YoY change in value: 3%

> Parent company: General Electric Company

> Parent company revenue: $123.7 billion

> Industry: Diversified

10. IBM (IBM)

> Brand value: $46.8 billion

> YoY change in value: -11%

> Parent company: International Business Machines Corporation

> Parent company revenue: $79.9 billion

> Industry: Business Services

9. Mercedes-Benz

> Brand value: $47.8 billion

> YoY change in value: 10%

> Parent company: Daimler

> Parent company revenue: $180.1 billion

> Industry: Automotive

8. Facebook (FB)

> Brand value: $48.2 billion

> YoY change in value: 48%

> Parent company: Facebook, Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $27.6 billion

> Industry: Technology

7. Toyota (TM)

> Brand value: $50.3 billion

> YoY change in value: -6%

> Parent company: Toyota Motor Corporation

> Parent company revenue: $244.5 billion

> Industry: Automotive

6. Samsung

> Brand value: $56.2 billion

> YoY change in value: 9%

> Parent company: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

> Parent company revenue: $176.2 billion

> Industry: Technology

5. Amazon (AMZN)

> Brand value: $64.8 billion

> YoY change in value: 29%

> Parent company: Amazon.com, Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $136.0 billion

> Industry: Retail

4. Coca-Cola (KO)

> Brand value: $69.7 billion

> YoY change in value: -5%

> Parent company: The Coca-Cola Company

> Parent company revenue: $41.9 billion

> Industry: Beverages

3. Microsoft (MSFT)

> Brand value: $80.0 billion

> YoY change in value: 10%

> Parent company: Microsoft Corporation

> Parent company revenue: $85.3 billion

> Industry: Technology

2. Google (GOOGL)

> Brand value: $141.7 billion

> YoY change in value: 6%

> Parent company: Alphabet Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $90.3 billion

> Industry: Technology

1. Apple (AAPL)

> Brand value: $184.2 billion

> YoY change in value: 3%

> Parent company: Apple Inc.

> Parent company revenue: $215.6 billion

> Industry: Technology

Detailed Findings and Methodology

Brand valuations are not static as sales and reputations change from year to year. Facebooks valuation grew 48% in 2016 to $48.2 billion -- the largest growth of any brand on the list. The social media giant's global membership of 2 billion active users continues to grow. Sales of parent Facebook, Inc. rose 47% year-over-year in the most recently reported quarter to $9.2 billion. Revenue is expected to grow rapidly for the next several years.

ALSO READ: American Cities Losing the Most Jobs

The brand value of Amazon, the e-commerce division of Amazon.com, Inc., rose 29% to $64.8 billion, the second largest growth of any brand reviewed by Interbrand. Amazon continues to take the retail industry by storm. In its most recently reported quarter, revenue rose 25% to $38.0 billion. All of the revenue, except $4.1 billion from Amazons cloud business, came from e-commerce operations.

Brand values can also slip sharply, often in a short time. The value of the IBM brand, owned by the tech giant, fell 11% to $46.8 billion. The parent companys revenue has dropped for 21 straight quarters as newer tech companies such as Microsoft and Amazon take its business. IBM shares have also underperformed the market in recent years and are down 12% so far in 2017.

To identify the most valuable brands in the world, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed brand consulting agency Interbrands Best Global Brands 2017 list. Interbrand determines a given brands value by weighing three factors: brand profitability, the role of the brand when a consumer decides to purchase a given product (as opposed to a products price, function, etc.), and projected growth. In order to be considered, 30% of a brands sales have to come from outside its home region. The brand also has to have a major presence in North America, Asia, Europe, as well a range of emerging markets. We also reviewed annual sales for each brands parent company. Revenue figures came from public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission as well as annual earnings reports.

Related Articles
Here are some mobile scams that every consumer should know about.

The relationship between smartphones and securing personal information can be complicated.

On the one hand, banking and payment apps have made it easier than ever to stay on top of our finances. At the same time, they require us to enter private information, like our bank account numbers, which could become vulnerable if our phones are hacked or stolen.

Most banking apps are protected by software that verify your identity when you log in. Many also use financial companies like Payfone to verify the phone thats attempting to log into a banking or financial app. Payfone is used by six of the top 10 banks in the United States.

Even so, not all apps have up-to-date security features, and some may leave the door open for interference. Even more, customers often choose convenience over security safeguards and criminals are constantly improving their hacking methods. All of this leaves consumers vulnerable to theft.

When it comes to managing money, Bank of America found that 54% of consumers use a mobile banking app, with 84% accessing their financial information from their phones at least once a week. Mobile accessibility provides convenience, but it also opens consumers up to fraud. Here are some mobile scams that every consumer should know about.

Hackers taking control of your phone

Picture this: You get an email saying that the passwords on your email and social media accounts have been changed. Theres one problem, you didnt change them. This happened to Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson in 2016, when a thief impersonating him called Verizon and changed his SIM. This allowed the thief to bypass the two-factor verification he had in place on his phone, and take control of his social media accounts.

By phishing your credentials, thieves can get into your phone. They change your password so youre locked out, and they find ways to steal your money, said Rodger Desai, CEO of Payfone.

Hackers are incredibly savvy, but there are some things you can do to safeguard your information. First, create a PIN on your wireless carrier account. This way, if someone calls your carrier, they wont be able to make important changes without that four-digit number. That said, make sure your PIN original. Do not use your birthdate or the last four digits of your social security number. Thanks to the massive Equifax hack, this personal information is probably easily accessible to thieves.

Story continues

In the event that a hacker breaks into your phone, you can also enable extra security measures on specific apps.

Take Venmo, for example. Under the settings tab, you can enable Touch ID to be used every time the app is opened. If this feature isnt enabled, anyone can simply log into Venmo on your phone and drain your bank account.

Most financial apps also have the option to require a passcode or Touch ID before gaining access, including Mint, ETrade, and most banking apps. Ensuring that this feature is enabled can make all the difference when it comes to protecting your assets.

Criminals calling for one-time PINs

Over the last five years, banks have drastically improved the ways in which they notify customers of fraudulent activity. Depending on your notification preferences, banks typically send you a text or email notification asking you to verify a large or unusual purchase.

What most banks wont do is call you on the phone.

Hackers have the ability to remotely take control of your phone.

Dont trust anyone asking you for anything over the phone. You should never give your information if it is requested through a voice call, dont pay anyone thats calling you, said Desai.

According to Desai, thieves have been hacking into phones and using the I forgot my password prompt. This sends a code to the customers phone. Moments later, the thief will call the phone owner, posing as a customer service representative, and ask the customer to repeat the one-time code over the phone. Just like that, the hacker now has the ability to change your password and access your personal information.

No one will ever send you a PIN and then call and ask for it. Desai repeated.

Purchase online, pick-up in store

Lets say a criminal accesses your credit card number and makes some online purchases. Over time retailers have gotten more savvy with security, and it raises some red flags if a purchase is sent to a shipping address that differs from the billing address.

To get around this, thieves have started using in-store pick-up when making online or mobile purchases. In many cases, retail websites give you the option to assign an alternative person to pick up the purchased item. So, criminals can get around the issue of showing an ID.

Even worse, criminals are using the in-store option to misdirect retailers.

Many fraudsters use the in-store pickup in conjunction with shipped orders as a way to bypass fraud screens, because merchants tend to consider orders with in-store pickup as less risky since they can check customer information at the store, wrote payment management company CyberSource in 2013.

Accessing your cardless ATM transaction

Today, banks like Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America are experimenting with a mobile feature that allows customers to initiate an account withdrawal on their phones and then remove the cash from an ATM machine by using their digital wallet (a virtual version of your credit card) or a one-time PIN. These options mean that your debit card is not needed. Typically, there is a cap of $250 to $500 for ATM withdrawals, but this new feature often bumps the maximum withdrawal up to $3,000. This works great if you lost your debit card, but for thieves, its just a new way to rip you off.

Desai said that some criminals have used the convenience to extort money from families. Thieves may call a customer and claim to have someone they love held hostage. The customer is then instructed to initiate a cashless ATM withdrawal, and are forced to give the criminals the PIN over the phone. The criminals never had anyone held hostage, but now they have the PIN and your money.

In a more likely scenario, if a hacker manages to take control of your phone, they could access your banking app and initiate a cashless ATM transaction. So again, it would be wise to enable the Touch ID security feature or a complicated password to thwart access into your banking app.

Consumers expect convenience, but its creating more and more holes that companies need to protect, said Desai.

Brittany is a reporter at Yahoo Finance.

The New York City hustle every tourist needs to know about

5 ways you can get fined for things you do every day

6 ways you can get fined while traveling abroad
On Oct 3, we issued an updated research report on Sirius XM Holdings Inc. SIRI. The stock has been upgraded to a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) from a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Shares of Sirius XM have gained 9.5% in the last six months versus the industrys decline of 2.4%.

Reasons Behind the Upsurge

Sirius XM has healthy net subscriber growth. In fact, the year-end is anticipated to witness further ascent in this respect. The company raised full-year 2017 Self-pay net subscriber additions to 1.4 million (previous guidance: 1.3 million).

The companys guidance for 2017 also buoys optimism. Revenues in 2017 have been increased to $5.375 billion (previous guidance: $5.3 billion). Adjusted EBITDA outlook has been raised to $2.05 billion (previous view: $2.025 billion), while free cash flow remains unchanged at around $1.5 billion. Warren Buffetts decision to elevate his stake in the company is also encouraging.

The company recently acquired a 19% stake in Pandora Media, Inc. P, following completion of the $480 million strategic investment in this online music streaming company. Sirius XM has also received three board seats (including that of the Chairman) in Pandora.

The companys efforts to augment shareholders wealth through dividends and buybacks are also impressive. Most recently, the company hiked quarterly dividend by 10%to 1.1 cents per share (or 4.4 cents annually) from a penny (or 4 cents annually). Approved by the companys board of directors, the dividend payment will be made on Nov 30, 2017 to stockholders of record as of Nov 9.

In view of the above mentioned positives, we believe investors should currently retain the Sirius XM stock.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Sirius XM currently carries a Zacks Rank #3. Some better-ranked stocks in the Consumer Discretionary sector are Gray Television, Inc. GTN and Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. NXST holding a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Story continues

Shares of Gray Television and Nexstar Broadcasting have gained 12.4% and 3.5%, respectively, in the last three months.

Can Hackers Put Money INTO Your Portfolio?



Earlier this month, credit bureau Equifax announced a massive data breach affecting 2 out of every 3 Americans. The cybersecurity industry is expanding quickly in response to this and similar events. But some stocks are better investments than others.



Zacks has just released Cybersecurity! An Investors Guide to help Zacks.com readers make the most of the $170 billion per year investment opportunity created by hackers and other threats. It reveals 4 stocks worth looking into right away.



Download the new report now>>



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



Pandora Media, Inc. (P) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (SIRI) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Gray Television, Inc. (GTN) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc. (NXST) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
Photo credit: Zunum Aero

From Popular Mechanics

Zunum Aero, a hybrid-electric aircraft startup with financial backing from Boeing and JetBlue Airways, just announced details about its first planned aircraft and a timeline for development. Zunum hopes to start selling a 12-passenger commuter plane with hybrid-electric propulsion by 2022, according to Aviation Week.

The aviation startup, headquartered in Kirkland, Washington, has been quietly working on aircraft designs for some time. In April, Zunum announced plans to build a wide range of hybrid-electric planes to provide fuel-efficient flight, especially over regional routes. The company hopes to have a fleet of electric planes ranging from 10 to 50 seats by the end of the 2020s.

The planned 1-megawatt hybrid-electric propulsion system would use a 500 kilowatt turbo generator that burns jet fuel to charge a modular battery system. Batteries integrated into the wings could either be recharged on landing or swapped out for quicker turnaround, something Matt Knapp, Zunum Aero CTO and co-founder, called "a great design challenge." The hybrid-electric system would power a motor to drive twin ducted fans.

"It is roughly the size of a [Pilatus] PC-12, maybe a bit bigger with the ducted fans," Knapp told Aviation Week.

Photo credit: Zunum Aero

Based on estimates using energy densities currently achieved in lithium-ion batteries out of Tesla's Gigafactory, Zunum projects its first aircraft will have a maximum takeoff weight of under 12,500 pounds, a range over 700 miles, and a cruise speed of 340 mph. The batteries, which can be swapped out and updated as new technology is developed, would take up about 20 percent of maximum takeoff weight. For short regional flights, in the 300 to 500 mile range, Zunum says their first commuter plane would operate at a cost of eight cents per seat mile, or 3 to 5 times cheaper than a similar sized aircraft like the PC-12. It would also carry only 800 pounds of jet fuel compared to the PC-12's 2,700 pounds.

Story continues

Zunum is planning to develop the propulsion system in house, but the startup is looking for a contractor to design and build the airframe. It is not clear if Boeing will assist with airframe manufacturing, but Knapp said his company is "looking for potential partners." Zunum also put out a request for information to manufacturers for the turbogenerator, while the company will design and build the motor in house. Once the powertrain is completed, Zunum will test it on a converted aircraft in flights scheduled for 2019. The final step would be to integrate the electric propulsion system with a new airframe design.

Photo credit: Zunum Aero

In addition to providing fuel-efficient flight and reducing aircraft noise, Zunum is betting that its new hybrid-electric planes will reinvigorate the regional airline market of flights that are less than 700 miles. By driving operating costs down with hybrid-electric technology, a12-passenger plane operating out of small airports would become a viable option for many passengers flying routes from San Francisco to Los Angeles, for example, a flight that Zunum told the Guardian would cost $120 one-way. The reduced speed of the hybrid-electric propulsion would be mitigated by cutting down on passenger travel time spent in lines and security at larger airports.

Electric flight has proven incredibly challenging, primarily due to the energy density of batteries not making up for the added weight in the aircraft. But as battery technology plods forward, and hybrid-electric systems become more sophisticated, planes with batteries are starting to look like an inevitability.

Source: Aviation Week

You Might Also Like
By Aditi Shah NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Bombardier Inc is betting on fast-growing markets like India to boost sales of its Q400 and CSeries narrow-body planes, a senior executive said on Thursday, at a time when the Canadian planemaker faces a trade row over sales to the United States. "The company is very focused on expanding into Asia, as we see Asia, and India for sure, as the growth engines of the sector," said Francois Cognard, head of Asia Pacific sales at Bombardier, adding this would be its focus region irrespective of how a heated trade spat with larger rival Boeing Co pans out. Cognard said he saw India's regional connectivity scheme as "well designed" and likely to boost demand for its aircraft in the country. India is one of the world's fastest growing aviation markets and the government's launch of the regional connectivity scheme last year to boost air connectivity to smaller towns and cities, is seen as a boon for small planemakers such as Bombardier and its European rival ATR. Bombardier last week finalised a deal to sell up to 50 Q400 planes to India's SpiceJet valued at $1.7 billion by list prices, its largest single order to date for the turboprop plane which will boost its presence in the country. Rival ATR, the market leader in turboprops, has also secured a provisional order for 50 ATR 72-600 aircraft, worth over $1.3 billion at list price, from Indigo, India's biggest airline by market share. In turboprops, Bombardier still trails ATR, which controls about 75 percent of the market and is co-owned by Airbus SE and Leonardo SpA. Brazilian rival Embraer SA has also said it would consider returning to the prop market. "There are still a lot of markets where you can't beat a turbo in terms of economics," said Cognard, adding Bombardier's move to increase the number of seats on the Q400 gave the plane a cost edge in the category. BOEING SPAT The focus on Asia comes at a time when Bombardier is locked in an acrimonious trade spat with U.S. rival Boeing. The U.S. Commerce Department last week slapped preliminary anti-subsidy duties of 220 percent on Bombardier's new jets, after a complaint from Boeing, which could effectively triple the price of the aircraft and shut it out of the U.S. market if upheld. "We see this as an abuse of trade laws by Boeing to attempt to block us from penetrating the U.S. market," Cognard said. The U.S. jetmaker alleges the CSeries would not exist without hundreds of millions of dollars in launch aid from the governments of Canada and Britain, or a $2.5 billion equity infusion from the province of Quebec and its largest pension fund in 2015. The Commerce Department's penalty against Bombardier will only take effect if the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) rules in Boeing's favour. "We expect the final ruling on this early next year," said Cognard, adding that its customers were not concerned about the spat and more focused on the economics of the jet, which boasts impressive fuel efficiency. (Reporting by Aditi Shah; Writing by Euan Rocha, editing by David Evans)
By Alwyn Scott

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bombardier Inc's (BBDb.TO) aerospace business spent $2.4 billion (1.83 billion pounds) in the United States last year, tapping more than 800 suppliers in all but three U.S. states, according to a confidential Bombardier report seen by Reuters on Thursday.

The report shows the potential impact on the U.S. economy and companies if the Canadian company's new CSeries jetliner is effectively kept out of the U.S. market by a trade row initiated by Boeing Co (BA.N) earlier this year.

Boeing has accused Bombardier of receiving taxpayer subsidies that allowed it to sell the CSeries in the United States at prices below cost. Last week, the U.S. Department of Commerce proposed a duty of nearly 220 percent to compensate for the subsidies, and the agency is due to issue a decision on potential additional duties for dumping later on Thursday.

The imposition of additional duties would effectively keep Bombardier out of the United States because it would make its planes too expensive to be competitive

The report said more than half of the materials Bombardier buys for the new CSeries plane come from U.S. suppliers, with the most spending in California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa and Kansas, the report said.

The duties, which would affect an order for 75 planes by Delta Air Lines (DAL.N), would not take effect unless approved by the U.S. International Trade Commission early next year.

Bombardier has already said that its spending supports 22,700 jobs in the United States, and it has identified major CSeries suppliers such as Connecticut-based engine maker Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp (UTX.N), and Iowa-based avionics maker Rockwell Collins Inc (COL.N). United Technologies is in the process of acquiring Rockwell Collins.

The report identifies the 10 largest CSeries suppliers, including French interiors supplier Zodiac Aerospace SA (ZODC.PA), through its operations in California; Honeywell International Inc (HON.N), which makes auxiliary power units in Arizona; Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc (SPR.N) in Kansas; and Parker Aerospace, a unit of Parker-Hannifin Corp (PH.N) which has operations in Utah, California and Michigan.

(Reporting by Alwyn Scott; Editing by Leslie Adler)
Shares of Mazor Robotics (MZOR) surged over 5% on Wednesday to touch a new all-time high. Now the question for investors is: should you consider buying the surgical robotics maker's stock?

Shares of Mazor Robotics MZOR surged over 5% on Wednesday to touch a new all-time high. Now the question for investors is: should you consider buying the surgical robotics makers stock?

Mazor Robotics medical devices focus on robotic guidance technology to help assist surgeons. The company has seen its stock price skyrocket from under $25 per share at the start of the year to its new all-time intraday trading high of $52.20 a share. This alone might scare away investors who are worried that it will be hard for Mazor Robotics to break through a new threshold soon.

Lets take a look at what the company does and some of its current fundamentals to see if it might be a stock for investors to consider.

Company

Mazor Robotics is a young surgical robotics company with a market cap of $1.28 billion that operates out of offices in Orlando, Florida and Caesarea, Israel. The company currently makes two different pieces of robotic surgery equipment, the Mazor X and Renaissance. The products are designed to help innovate surgical techniques for spine surgeries.

The surgical assurance platforms help surgeons maximize procedural predictability and patient benefits. The larger, trademarked Mazor X features a workstation with a large touchscreen monitor that serves as a guidance screen and the surgeons control panel. The robotic guidance system has a surgical arm, a 3D camera with special tracking, and a surgical control system.

The companys core focus is on pre-op analytics, intra-op guidance, and intra-op verification, which allows the surgeon to review the surgical plan in 3D, while the brace along with the surgical arm provide more control and precision than a human.

The concept is relatively simple: a surgeon operates at a workstation near the patient and the robotic components essentially perform the physical act of the surgery on the patient.

Mazor Robotics products have caught some investors eyes already, including medical device giant Medtronic plc MDT. Medtronic purchased a stake in Mazor Robotics last year as part of a deal that allowed Medtronic to distribute the Mazor X system.

Story continues

Mazor Robotics announced recently that the two companies would further their partnership, with Medtronics total investment in the company climbing to $72 million.

Current Fundamentals

Mazor Robotics is currently a Zacks Rank # 2 (Buy), with C grades for both Growth and Momentum in our Style Scores system. Like many young experimental medical and biotech companies, Mazor Robotics does not currently represent great value to investors. Because it is still unprofitable, the company currently has no price-to-earnings ratio, and has a P/B ratio of 19.34 and a 26.26 P/S ratio.

Mazor Robotics 0.60 Sales/Assets ratio falls just short of the industry average. Yet the company looks to be on a solid growth trajectory with current cash flow growth of 20.08%, beating the Medical  Instruments industry average of 4.37%.

Over the last 12 weeks, the companys stock price has climbed 17.80%, which tops the industrys 0.31% loss. Mazor Robotics 129.33% year-to-date price change crushes the industry average as well as the S&P 500.

Within the last 60 days, the surgical robotics company has received one full-year upward earnings estimate revision, as well as one for the following year. Mazor Robotics earnings are projected to pop 4.35% for its current quarter based on our consensus estimates. The firms full-year EPS is expected to fall 3.01% to post an $0.89 per share loss.

Yet, the companys revenues are projected to skyrocket 92.66% this quarter and 59.16% for the year. This indicates that the early stage medical device company is clearly expanding rapidly but this expansion has been costly.

Bottom Line

Investors who can handle the ebbs and flows that often come along with young firms in the biotech and medical device industries might consider Mazor Robotics, especially if Medtronic decides to buy the firm outright down the road.

Can Hackers Put Money INTO Your Portfolio?



Earlier this month, credit bureau Equifax announced a massive data breach affecting 2 out of every 3 Americans. The cybersecurity industry is expanding quickly in response to this and similar events. But some stocks are better investments than others.



Zacks has just released Cybersecurity! An Investors Guide to help Zacks.com readers make the most of the $170 billion per year investment opportunity created by hackers and other threats. It reveals 4 stocks worth looking into right away. Download the new report now>>



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



Mazor Robotics Ltd. (MZOR) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Medtronic PLC (MDT) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
The Corona family is growing. Riding a surge of interest in Mexican beer, Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) will debut Corona Premier nationwide in February. It will also release Corona Familiar in all major Hispanic markets, a key demographic for the brand. Constellation conducted a "successful" test of Premier before deciding to make it available nationwide. The company said the brew is aimed at a mature, sophisticated consumer looking to trade up from light beer.Premier contains 90 calories. In comparison, Extra contains 149 calories and Light contains 99."Corona Premier capitalizes on industry and consumer trends including declines of domestic light beers, growth of high end and interest in new light beers that are premium and have badge value," a spokeswoman said in an email.Corona and Modelo's popularity has helped Constellation's sales surge. In the second quarter, which includes the all-important summer months, Constellation's beer sales grew nearly 13 percent from the same time last year.The company beat Wall Street's profit expectations for the ninth straight quarter, thanks to higher margins. On Thursday, it also boosted its full-year earnings forecast to between $8.25 and $8.40 per share from $7.90 and $8.10 per share. Constellation's stock has skyrocketed about 36 percent this year. It gained 4 percent on Thursday.Constellation's growth comes as some big brewers' sales have struggled thanks to consumers' thirst turning toward craft beer. On a call with investors, CEO Rob Sands credited Constellation for driving growth in U.S. beer imports."So it's a little bit of a misnomer to think that the growth in the beer category, to the extent that there is any, is coming from [total] imports. It is not. It is coming from Constellation's portfolio of Mexican beers. And then there is also growth coming from the craft segment, and that's about it," Sands said.During the quarter, Constellation boosted TV and digital advertising for Corona Extra, Sands said. Corona Extra was the official beer sponsor for the much-hyped Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor fight.Constellation also launched a limited-edition can packaging, which the CEO said helped grow Corona's can format more than 20 percent.Sands said the company's beer portfolio is well-positioned for the second half of the year. Aside from Corona, Constellation's beers include brands such as Modelo, Pacifico and Funky Buddha, a craft beer it acquired last month.The holidays present a big opportunity for the alcohol industry. Constellation's portfolio includes wine and spirits brands such as Black Box, Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi and Robert Mondavi Private Selection wines, and SVEDKA.WATCH: Constellation Brands CEO on consumer trends The Corona family is growing. Riding a surge of interest in Mexican beer, Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) will debut Corona Premier nationwide in February. It will also release Corona Familiar in all major Hispanic markets, a key demographic for the brand. Constellation conducted a "successful" test of Premier before deciding to make it available nationwide. The company said the brew is aimed at a mature, sophisticated consumer looking to trade up from light beer. Premier contains 90 calories. In comparison, Extra contains 149 calories and Light contains 99. "Corona Premier capitalizes on industry and consumer trends including declines of domestic light beers, growth of high end and interest in new light beers that are premium and have badge value," a spokeswoman said in an email. Corona and Modelo's popularity has helped Constellation's sales surge. In the second quarter, which includes the all-important summer months, Constellation's beer sales grew nearly 13 percent from the same time last year. The company beat Wall Street's profit expectations for the ninth straight quarter, thanks to higher margins. On Thursday, it also boosted its full-year earnings forecast to between $8.25 and $8.40 per share from $7.90 and $8.10 per share. Constellation's stock has skyrocketed about 36 percent this year. It gained 4 percent on Thursday. Constellation's growth comes as some big brewers' sales have struggled thanks to consumers' thirst turning toward craft beer. On a call with investors, CEO Rob Sands credited Constellation for driving growth in U.S. beer imports. "So it's a little bit of a misnomer to think that the growth in the beer category, to the extent that there is any, is coming from [total] imports. It is not. It is coming from Constellation's portfolio of Mexican beers. And then there is also growth coming from the craft segment, and that's about it," Sands said. During the quarter, Constellation boosted TV and digital advertising for Corona Extra, Sands said. Corona Extra was the official beer sponsor for the much-hyped Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor fight. Constellation also launched a limited-edition can packaging, which the CEO said helped grow Corona's can format more than 20 percent. Sands said the company's beer portfolio is well-positioned for the second half of the year. Aside from Corona, Constellation's beers include brands such as Modelo, Pacifico and Funky Buddha, a craft beer it acquired last month. The holidays present a big opportunity for the alcohol industry. Constellation's portfolio includes wine and spirits brands such as Black Box, Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi and Robert Mondavi Private Selection wines, and SVEDKA. WATCH: Constellation Brands CEO on consumer trends



More From CNBC


FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank is making publicly available elements of its electronic trading platform, enabling software firms to write new applications based on it or to suggest improvements. "Autobahn" will be integrated into the "Symphony" financial industry messaging platform, which is backed by a consortium of major banks led by Goldman Sachs to share data and news. Deutsche Bank said in a statement on Wednesday that putting Autobahn's 150,000 lines of code into the public domain is designed to encourage the development of a standard trading platform that is not owned by one bank. The code is designed to connect thousands of different applications from across the financial services industry, enabling banks and clients' systems to talk to each other. The German bank said the project is part of a strategy to modernize, simplify and standardize its technology. (Reporting by Arno Schuetze; editing by Eric Auchard and Alexander Smith)
The Apple vs. Samsung legal battle was one of the most important patent-based wars in mobile tech until last year when Apple helped ignite what looks like a crusade against Qualcomm. Its all happening over a piece of technology that most users have no idea about, a chip that turns an iPod touch into an iPhone.

And it sure looks like Qualcomm cant come out on top.

Don't Miss: This best-selling sound bar is somehow only $90 on Amazon right now

Not only does Qualcomm make modems that allow devices to connect to a cellular network for calls and data, but the American company invented technologies that allow such connections. Without a cellular modem, the iPhone and any other smartphone would only connect to the internet when a Wi-Fi network is available.

Because Qualcomm was at the forefront of the mobile revolution, some of its inventions were turned into standards that are used by everyone in the business. And everyone pays royalties to the chipmaker for intellectual property rights, on top of actual hardware purchases.

So how did it all start? Its Bloomberg Businessweek that provides an extraordinary look at the chronology of the events, revealing details that we would otherwise miss. After all, unlike the Apple vs. Samsung battle where Apple accused Samsung of copying the iPhone, this is a legal fight over a critical piece of technology that must sound really boring to consumers.

The report reveals that Apples Tim Cook may have convinced Samsung Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee some two summers ago to be more aggressive with Koreas Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) which started its Qualcomm investigation in 2014.

Apple, a long-time Qualcomm customers, did not like the fact that Qualcomm asks for royalties worth 5% of a devices price, which can amount to $30 for the iPhone, but much less for a cheap Android phone made in China. Apple drove that price down to about $10 per phone, but one of the conditions it agreed to was not to challenge Qualcomms patents. Thats not including the actual cost of the modem, which can retail for $18 for the most recent iPhones.

Story continues

In August 2016, the KFTC interviewed Apple, prompting Qualcomm to say that Apples statement contained lies. In the month that followed, Qualcomm stopped paying its usual rebates to Apple, raising that royalty rate.

By the end of 2016, the KFTC fined Qualcomm $850 million for abuse of market dominance. Three weeks later, the US FTC announced its own inquiry into Qualcomms anticompetitive tactics. Apple followed with a suit of its own three days after the FTC, asking Qualcomm to pay $1 billion in damages and to reduce its royalties. In April, Apple cut off its royalty payments to Qualcomm altogether, which amount to some $2 billion per year. In addition to the immediate financial loss, Qualcomms market cap was shattered by these events.

In early July, Qualcomm countersued Apple, saying the company infringed on six patents related to battery life and graphics processing and asked the US International Trade Commission (ITC) to ban iPhone imports. The ITC will issue a verdict by September 2018.

Other companies then voiced their support for Apple, including Samsung and Google. Huawei is believed to be the second major smartphone maker to withhold royalty payments to Qualcomm.

Led by Apple, the battle against Qualcomm might be a long one, considering that you cant make a smartphone on this planet and not pay Qualcomm its fees. Its a fight Apple would have liked to bring forward many years ago, Apples general counsel Bruce Sewell told Bloomberg. But, at the time, it lacked an alternative to Qualcomms chips. Now, theres Intel which is making its own LTE modems now, although theyre not quite as performant as Qualcomms.

This particular quote perfectly explains Apples problem with Qualcomm:

On another table behind Sewell, an Apple representative has laid out two versions of the iPhone 7: One model, which has 128 gigabytes of memory was sold by Apple for $750. The other, which has 256 GB, sold for $100 more. How is it fair, Apple asks, for Qualcomm to charge as much as $5 more for the technology in the more expensive phone, given that the two devices are otherwise identical?

Philosophically speaking, anyone can charge whatever they want for a product. Thats why Apple can ask $100 more for a memory upgrade, that costs Apple a lot less than that. Qualcomm set its own prices for years, and Apple  and everyone else  was willing to pay them. The problem with Qualcomms technology is that its an essential tech that should be priced fair, reasonable, and nondiscriminatory, or Frand  again, thats the royalties, not the actual hardware. And thats why Apple is able to sue Qualcomm, and why regulators in various countries have already fined the company or are investigating it.

On the other hand, minimizing the importance of cellular connectivity, as Apple seems to do in this interview, seems out of place. Cellular connectivity is important, Sewell said, but its not as important as it used to be. Yes, you can get online over Wi-Fi and use plenty of iPhone features without a cellular connection. But lets not forget that Apple sells hundreds of millions of iPhones every year, not iPod touches. And its because of that cellular technology that people prefer to buy iPhones.

Whatever happens in the future, its clear that Apple will keep paying Qualcomm a fee for essential cellular technology used in an iPhone, even if the LTE chips will be made at Intel or in-house. But Qualcomm might have a tough time imposing its current royalty model to Apple and everyone else in the business.

Both parties do not seem to be ready to settle at this time, and it looks like both are ready for a long fight.

Read the full report at this link.

Trending right now:

See the original version of this article on BGR.com
FILE PHOTO: New Toyota cars are transported from their manufacturing facility in Burnaston, Britain March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Staples/File Photo

By Costas Pitas

LONDON (Reuters) - Japanese carmaker Toyota intends to build the next version of its Auris car at its British car plant on the assumption that the government secures a transitional Brexit deal, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The final decision is due to be made by the end of the year, according to the sources and a government briefing document released to Reuters under a freedom of information request.

The new Auris would keep one of Britain's biggest car plants operating, secure thousands of jobs and provide a welcome endorsement to Prime Minister Theresa May.

Toyota builds the current generation of Auris hatchbacks at its Burnaston plant in central England, with the run due to end in around 2021, but firms make model decisions up to three years in advance partly to organize supply chains.

"Toyota UK management have a working assumption that the UK will retain the next generation Auris because it is too early to determine the nature of the trading relationship with the EU," one of the two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

"They believe that there will be a transitional period," according to the source who said the firm was highly likely to build the next-generation Auris in Britain.

The final decision will be made by Toyota's board by the end of the year and announced shortly afterwards, the sources said.

Toyota declined to comment when contacted by Reuters. A spokesman at Britain's business ministry said it was a commercial matter for Toyota.

In March, the company said it would invest 240 million pounds ($314 million) to upgrade to a new global car-building platform but has not confirmed which models it will build going forward.

The platform investment decision was helped by a government letter reassuring the firm over post-Brexit trading arrangements, sources have told Reuters.

Britain's car industry is concerned that 10 percent tariffs, border checks and loss of free access to Europe could hit the viability of their plants if May fails to secure a good Brexit deal.

Story continues

IMPORTANCE OF TRANSITION

May said last month that she would seek a Brexit transition period of around two years after Britain formally leaves the EU in 2019, aiming to appease businesses concerned that the country could leave the European Union without a deal.

Finance minister Philip Hammond emphasized this week the importance to businesses of a period which would ease Britain out of the European Union and into a new trade relationship, causing as little disruption as possible.

"We have got businesses that have to make decisions over the next few months," he told BBC radio, not naming which firms he was referring to.

"Some of those decisions, once made, will be irreversible and if we don't give business clarity over the future, they will have to make decisions assuming the worst possible outcome," he added.

Toyota could delay its model investment decision for a few months, the second source said, as it did with its March architecture investment decision.

A key part of the current decision-making is around how much they could increase the local supply chain, the first source said.

In March, Toyota said its new vehicle architecture investment would also "promote UK supply chain efficiencies."

AVENSIS UNCERTAINTY

The Burnaston plant also builds the family Avensis car but Toyota has yet to make a final decision on whether to keep building the vehicle, whose sales have been disappointing.

"They've not given up on Avensis," the first source said.

In March, Executive Vice President Didier Leroy said no final decision had been taken on the future of the Avensis.

"Can we afford to have a specific model specifically for Europe, designed for Europe, produced in Europe and sold only in Europe or do we want some thing that is a little bit more global which can be designed and produced in Europe but using more global components?"

Japanese firms Nissan, Honda and Toyota built around half of British car output, which stood at 1.7 million units last year, but is likely to fall in 2017.

In the first eight months of the year, Toyota's British production fell around 20 percent with the Avensis model declining the most, according to the second source.

May visited Japan earlier this year, partly to allay Tokyo's concerns over Brexit. She met a number of business leaders including Toyota's Chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada.

Her meeting came just weeks after foreign minister Boris Johnson also traveled to Tokyo in July.

A government briefing note related to his visit released to Reuters under a freedom of information request, confirms that Toyota is due to make a model decision before the end of the year.

"Toyota made machinery investments in Burnaston ahead of model decisions this year," the note reads.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Guy Faulconbridge/Keith Weir)
(Reuters) - U.S. fast-food chain operator Sonic Corp said on Wednesday a malware attack at some of its drive-in outlets may have allowed hackers to access customers' debit and credit card information, the latest in a string of data breaches. Sonic's shares fell 2 percent to $24.73 in afternoon trading. The drive-in chain, which operates across 45 U.S. states, did not disclose how many store payment systems have been affected. Cybersecurity blog KrebsOnSecurity first reported the news last week and added that the activity may have led to millions of stolen credit and debit card numbers being sold in underground exchanges. (http://bit.ly/2xve25F) In wake of the breach, Sonic said it would offer affected customers free identity theft protection. Upscale grocer Whole Foods, which Amazon recently purchased for $13.7 billion, said last week that payment card information had been stolen from taprooms, restaurants and other venues located within some of its stores. Credit reporting firm Equifax Inc had disclosed last month that personal details of up to 143 million U.S. consumers were accessed by hackers between mid-May and July, in one of the largest data breaches in the country. (Reporting by Ahmed Farhatha and Vibhuti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Martina D'Couto)
The Trump administration continues to follow the playbook it has used since moving into the White House  delete or otherwise block easy access to unflattering information on government websites. This strategy is evident at the Interior Department, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), where climate change pages have disappeared, and many other agencies.

And now, the same thing is happening with Puerto Rico hurricane response efforts.

SEE ALSO: Photos from Puerto Rico reveal the devastating power of Hurricane Maria

Until sometime between Oct. 3 and Oct. 5, one could find information on how many Puerto Ricans were without power and without access to clean water via FEMA's website.

But those statistics are no longer readily available, perhaps because it goes against the administration's narrative that the situation on the ground in Puerto Rico is improving.

According to a report in the Washington Post and an analysis by the watchdog group, Environmental Data and Governance Initiative (EDGI), FEMA has removed statistics from its Hurricane Maria webpage that pertain to access to electricity and drinking water. In addition, EDGI wrote that "additional statistics, descriptive bullet points, and images were also updated."

According to the EDGI report, one subsection of FEMA data, titled Power Restoration and Fuel Impacts, was completely removed, while other bullet points on water access and a logistics snapshot for the storm were taken out as well.

FEMA Puerto Rico response page on Oct. 3, 2017.

Image: edgi

FEMA Puerto Rico response page on Oct. 5, 2017.

Image: edgI

Another section, which stated that 50 percent of Puerto Rico residents have access to drinking water, was removed as well.

The power and water statistics are now available on a website maintained by Puerto Rico's governor, Ricardo Rossello, but that site is in Spanish.

The disaster response agency told the Washington Post that the information is still available, just not its website.

Story continues

"Our mission is to support the governor and his response priorities through the unified command structure to help Puerto Ricans recover and return to routines. Information on the stats you are specifically looking for are readily available, a FEMA spokesman told the Post.

In response to Mashable's inquiry and those of other media organizations, a FEMA spokesman acknowledged the information was left off its Oct. 5 update, and said they will put the information back in coming days.

FEMA officials provide response and recovery updates in a variety of ways, to include through daily press conferences, news releases and social media posts," said FEMA Director of Public Affairs William Booher, in a statement.

"The Government of Puerto Rico provides information on the status of infrastructure on its publicly available website that we regularly use as a source of information for our reports. FEMAs Hurricane Maria website includes a range of information directly related to the federal response, and we often include some data from the Puerto Rico website," Booher said.

"While some information was not included in yesterdays update to our website, at no point was the data not publicly available. Reports suggesting an effort to remove any data points are simply erroneous.

To avoid any further confusion, this information will be posted on our Hurricane Maria website going forward, and will include a link to the Government of Puerto Rico website."

The Trump administration has come under criticism for its slow response to the crisis in Puerto Rico caused by Hurricane Maria. In addition, President Donald Trump's Oct. 4 visit to the island was interpreted by many as insensitive to the plight of millions of Puerto Ricans, since he only toured wealthy, relatively unscathed areas in San Juan.

This story has been updated to include FEMA's statement on the Puerto Rico infrastructure information.
Allow me to make a bold prediction: Google's Clips camera is going to flop.

Clips is a $250 camera powered by artificial intelligence and designed to snap images of important moments as they happen, no human input required. At best, it'll probably sell OK at launch -- there will be a handful of cute videos showing how the camera performs while attached to a dog or the top of a baby's toy mobile, and the internet will briefly swoon. Maybe a few months later, it'll catch a crime in action, and we'll be reminded that these odd, all-observant cubes exist.

But, regardless of the viral content that comes out of Clips, it's not going to be enough to convince mainstream consumers to run out and drop more than $200 on a clip-on camera. Smartphones have cameras (really good ones, even), and a lot of people have smartphones. Clips might address a real problem -- freeing up users to experience life without worrying about filming it -- but no one needs this technology right now. Besides, it's kind of a creepy concept overall.

Allow me to make another, less bold claim: Google knows all of this. And while it would be great for the company's bottom line (and its data-collection department) if Clips takes off, it doesn't need the hardware to sell well right now. Google most likely has larger plans for Clips' software.

Clips is a truly intriguing concept. As much as it evokes dystopian panic in the minds of anyone who's read 1984, the camera actually solves a ubiquitous issue with current capture technology. Every time we document something with our smartphones, we construct a barrier between ourselves and the actual experience, fundamentally changing the way we remember that moment. Cameras alter our perception of reality. Ideally, Clips removes the need to manually take photos or videos, allowing people to exist in the moment, secure in the knowledge they'll be able to upload the best bits to Instagram later.

This is the future of social media. Not the Clips camera itself, but the software inside of it. As wearables and smart-home devices become more commonplace, smartphones become less visible, and Google is preparing for a world where Glass actually looks good and sells well. Snapchat Spectacles proved people are into the idea of a camera attached to their glasses -- but now imagine if that camera automatically captured the coolest moments of your day and lined them up to be shared across social media platforms whenever you wanted. It sounds like something out of Black Mirror, and it's exactly what Google is building up to with Clips.

Google is banking big on AI across all of its products, and Clips is an ideal test of the public's comfort with computer vision in their everyday lives. This isn't the first clip-on camera designed to broadcast your day to the world -- here's looking at you, Narrative Clip -- but it is the first to incorporate machine learning into the process. Combined with future wearables, this is a massive evolution of the lifelogging platform.

Ahead of today's big Pixel 2 event, Google CEO Sundar Pichai told The Verge that his interest with Clips was not the camera itself, but its AI.

"I made a deliberate decision to name the hardware product with [a] software name," Pichai said. "The reason we named it Clips is that the more exciting part of it is ... the machine learning, the computer vision work we do underneath the scenes."

Using machine learning, Google says the Clips software will improve over time as it recognizes what users consider to be interesting or important moments in their everyday lives. It makes sense for the company to test out this type of technology now, via a standalone, throwaway device. Surely, Clips will sell well enough to generate a bunch of data for Google, but the camera itself doesn't give away the company's plans for the future. Google can pivot, streamline and perfect its Clips AI before integrating it -- as software, rather than hardware -- into reliable wearables and in-home devices. It already has a software name, after all.

As for the creepiness factor, here's where the 1984 paranoiacs might have it right. As demonstrated by the invasion of IoT devices in our homes and tracking apps on our phones, we'll get used to the idea of cameras constantly ready to document our lives. Hell -- we'll most likely love it. Google just needs to convince us to like it first.

Follow all the latest news from Google's Pixel 2 event here!
Investors in YPF Sociedad Anonima YPF need to pay close attention to the stock based on moves in the options market lately. That is because the Oct 20, 2017 $14 Put had some of the highest implied volatility of all equity options today.

What is Implied Volatility?

Implied volatility shows how much movement the market is expecting in the future. Options with high levels of implied volatility suggest that investors in the underlying stocks are expecting a big move in one direction or the other. It could also mean there is an event coming up soon that may cause a big rally or a huge sell-off. However, implied volatility is only one piece of the puzzle when putting together an options trading strategy.

What do the Analysts Think?

Clearly, options traders are pricing in a big move for YPF Sociedad Anonima shares, but what is the fundamental picture for the company? Currently, YPF Sociedad Anonima is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) in the Oil and Gas - Integrated - Internationalindustry that ranks in the Bottom 29% of our Zacks Industry Rank. Over the last 60 days, two analysts have increased their earnings estimates for the current quarter, while one has dropped the estimates. The net effect has taken our Zacks Consensus Estimate for the current quarter from a loss of 2 cents per share to a loss of 1 cent in that period.

Given the way analysts feel about YPF Sociedad Anonima right now, this huge implied volatility could mean theres a trade developing. Oftentimes, options traders look for options with high levels of implied volatility to sell premium. This is a strategy many seasoned traders use because it captures decay. At expiration, the hope for these traders is that the underlying stock does not move as much as originally expected.

Looking to Trade Options?

Each week, our very own Dave Bartosiak gives his top options trades. Check out his recent live analysis and options trade for the NFLX earnings report completely free. See it here: Trading Netflix's (NFLX) Earnings with Options or check out the embedded video below for more details:



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



YPF Sociedad Anonima (YPF) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Kellyanne Conway

Kellyanne Conway, the top counselor to President Donald Trump, on Thursday said the White House and many Republican lawmakers welcomed "thoughtful conversations" about gun control in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, but she then laid blame with the Obama administration for not regulating a device that allowed the shooter to mow people down with rapid fire.

The Sunday-night shooting at a Las Vegas music festival left 58 people dead and more than 500 injured.

"We always welcome thoughtful conversation about policy and issues," Conway told "Fox & Friends" on Thursday morning, adding that the right to bear arms was "a bedrock within our Constitution" and "must be protected."

Conway noted that several Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill had said they were unaware of the existence of the device, known as a bump stock, that allowed the Las Vegas gunmans semiautomatic rifles, in which the trigger must be pulled once for every shot, to behave like fully automatic weapons.

After suggesting Republicans would be open to regulating bump stocks, Conway attacked Democrats for not having already done so, noting that in 2010 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives decided not to ban the devices, which remain legal.

"This is a device that Obama's ATF decided would not be regulated in 2010, and I think that's an important part of this conversation," she said.

She then accused prominent Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, of largely ignoring the issue of gun control, speaking out about it only when politically convenient, including after mass shootings.

"They either have tweeted zero to one times this year about guns," she said. "They've tweeted about Russia dozens of times, they've tweeted about this president innumerable times ... they react and we need to have thoughtful conversations in this country."

Story continues

Conway made the same argument on CNN's "New Day," accusing Democrats of seizing on mass shootings to promote an issue they otherwise pay little attention to.

"I know the high-horse cavalry loves to run in, thumping their chest after the tragedies," Conway told CNN, "but let's step back and have a thoughtful conversation about everything that is at play here."

CNN host Chris Cuomo pushed back on Conway's claim.

"The president says not now, and then it doesn't happen," Cuomo said. "You make the point yourself ... you say, 'They don't talk about it except when these happen.' Yeah, that's right. Because when it happens there's acute need and there's focus, and when you say, 'We don't want to talk about it now,' you're ignoring the urgency and you're hoping it goes away."

Conway also accused Clinton and others of "jumping to Twitter while parents were literally still combing the hospitals, if not the rubble, for their missing loved ones."

Republicans have for decades thwarted attempts to regulate guns, including universal background checks, restrictions on people on terrorism watch lists obtaining firearms, and limits on the size of ammunition magazines.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat who has long advocated gun control, introduced legislation this week to ban bump stocks  something she attempted to do in 2013 as part of an unsuccessful renewal of the assault-weapons ban. Feinstein argued that the latest measure, which is supported by about two dozen Democrats, was narrow and would not be a significant victory for gun control but was simply common sense.

"I mean, if not this, what?" she said. "It doesn't take a weapon away. It just means you can't convert it into something it's not meant to be."

Feinstein has said her daughter had planned to attend the Route 91 Harvest festival, the target of Sunday nights shooting, but ended up not going.

NOW WATCH: The story of a North Korean amputee's 6,000-mile escape on crutches





More From Business Insider


The Mandalay Bay resort and casino, right, overlooks an outdoor festival grounds across the street, left, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017, in Las Vegas. Authorities said Stephen Craig Paddock broke the windows on the casino and began firing with a cache of weapons, killing dozens and injuring hundreds at a music festival at the grounds. (AP Photo/John Locher)

In the last four weeks, the president has visited Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. Today, he goes to Las Vegas.

He's doing what all presidents do...Comforting the bereaved, organizing relief and supporting the authorities on the ground who are dealing with disaster.

During this time, his approval rating has gone up. As comforter-in-chief, he's done the right thing and he's done it well.

The Left is not happy. The last thing they want to see is President Trump looking good. They thought they could run him out of office by now...

In their desperation, they've gone overboard. Their contempt for the president has been revealed. They've gone from the silliness of complaining about the first lady's shoes, to the insults in the [New York] Times yesterday, where a columnist called the president "a nasty showbiz huckster" who had failed Puerto Rico.

Today the president goes to Las Vegas. A CNN reporter has already speculated that he's only going because the shooting victims were "probably" Trump supporters.

TV news shows portrayed the trip as a giant photo op, for a narcissistic president. Senator Schumer criticized him for a "slow" response to Puerto Rico and said he should roll up his sleeves  does the senator believe this 70-year-old dynamo of a president is lazy? Thats laughable...

What is not laughable is the Left's politicizing of the Las Vegas massacre. Gun control is their rallying cry. With bodies still on the ground, Hillary Clinton was blaming the NRA. Tasteless to put it mildly.

Within the hour, the president lands in Las Vegas, and no doubt the political sniping will continue. But the Left should be careful; this latest mass shooting has touched a raw nerve. The country is anxious and troubled. It is not a good idea to throw personal attacks at the comforter-in-chief when he's doing his job as best he can.

Related Articles
(Adds Greens' decision to start exploratory talks)

BERLIN, Sept 30 (Reuters) - The premiers of two regions where the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party made big gains in Sunday's national election warned that Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives must change course to stop the former East Germany's rightward drift.

Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) suffered big losses across much of Germany in the election, in which the AfD, with its anti-immigration message, became the first far-right party in the national parliament in over half a century.

The calls for a rightward shift add to the challenge Merkel faces as she tries to assemble an already tricky three-party coalition including the left-wing Greens, the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP) and her own increasingly fractious party.

Prospects for a three-way pact nonetheless improved on Saturday when the Greens voted at a special congress to start exploratory talks on a deal despite reservations about the other parties' harder-line immigration policies.

The AfD's surge prompted soul-searching within the conservative camp, with many blaming Merkel's 2015 decision to open the doors to over a million migrants fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa for the far-right's surge.

The conservative premiers of Saxony, where the AfD topped polls, and of Saxony Anhalt called for the CDU to move to the right to stem the losses.

"People want Germany to stay Germany," said Stanislaw Tillich, premier of Saxony, in an interview with the Funke newspaper network. "They don't want parallel societies and rising criminality."

Rainer Haseloff, premier of Saxony-Anhalt, echoed this, telling newspaper Die Welt: "People want to know how Germany will preserve its identity."

These calls align the two influential state leaders more closely with the CDU's Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), which wants a hard immigration ceiling.

While both premiers stuck to Merkel's line that a firm upper limit would be impractical, their calls for the state to take a firmer hand with immigrants could strengthen the CSU's hand as the sister parties attempt to thrash out a common position ahead of coalition talks with the FDP and Greens.

Story continues

Some warn that a black (CDU)-yellow (FDP)-Green "Jamaica coalition", risks heightening a sense of alienation among voters in the former East Germany.

Given the losses all three parties had suffered in the East, "a Jamaica coalition would be seen as a West German coalition in the east," Green MP Canan Bayram said.

But Merkel, in a podcast released on Saturday, warned against treating Germany's poorer east as a homogenous bloc.

"We see these fears of globalisation, of anonymity, about old-age care everywhere, including in the west," she said. "We have to get people listening, to win people over by solving their problems. That's my task." (Reporting By Thomas Escritt; Editing by Stephen Powell)
U.S. steel imports show no signs of abating, notwithstanding a string of punitive trade actions (in the form of heavy tariffs) in the recent past. Steel imports have shot up roughly 21% year to date  according to a recent report from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), an association of North American steel makers.



Per AISI, based on preliminary U.S. Census Bureau data, total U.S. steel imports went up 20.6% year over year to roughly 26.6 million net tons through the first eight months of 2017. Finished steel imports for the same period also increased 15.5% to around 20.4 million net tons. Year to date, finished steel import market share is estimated at 28%, which is higher than 26% clocked in full-year 2016.



Major finished steel products that have showed a significant year-to-date increase in imports on a year-over-year basis include oil country goods (up 250%), standard pipe (up 47%), line pipe (up 42%), sheets and strip all other metallic coatings (up 33%), mechanical tubing (up 32%), cold rolled sheets (up 31%), sheets & strip hot dipped galvanized (up 25%) and hot rolled bars (up 19%).



The biggest offshore suppliers for the eight-month period were South Korea with 2,620,000 net tons (down 3% year over year), Turkey with 1,827,000 net tons (up 8%), Japan with 1,065,000 net tons (down 17%), Taiwan with 906,000 net tons (up 39%) and Germany with 849,000 net tons (up 2%).



Imports - Still a Pressing Problem



U.S. steel producers including Nucor Corp. NUE, United States Steel Corp. X, AK Steel Holding Corp. AKS, Steel Dynamics, Inc. STLD and Commercial Metals Co. CMC are still struggling to defend their turf from a tide of low-priced steel imports from foreign manufacturers.



Despite a raft of stringent trade actions and threats of further future measures, imports continue to make inroads into the American market due to foreign producers overcapacity.



While positive rulings in trade cases (resulting in levy of heavy tariffs) against China last year led to a decline in Chinese steel exports to the United States, imports from other countries remain at above historical levels.



Domestic steel producers, during their second-quarter earnings call, raised concerns about a renewed flood of subsidized imports this year.



Moreover, Nucor recently lowered its earnings guidance for the third quarter citing continued import pressure that has not allowed steel pricing to keep pace with higher raw material costs during the quarter. Steel Dynamics also provided lower-than-expected third-quarter earnings guidance recently, saying that high levels of steel imports have put pressure on domestic steel prices.



Nucor currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) while Steel Dynamics is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.



Much Hopes Pinned on Section 232



Domestic steel makers are pinning their hopes on President Trump enforcing new restrictions on imported steel. Steel stocks got a big lift in April 2017 after the Trump administration ordered an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The Section 232 probe is aimed at determining whether the imports pose a threat to national security and also gives the President the power to impose broad tariffs or quotas on imported steel.



Executives of U.S. steel and steel-related firms, in a letter, urged President Trump last month to impose immediate restrictions on imports. The appeal came after a delay in the release of the report on the Section 232 probe by the U.S. Department of Commerce, which was initially expected at the end of June 2017.



While the findings from the Section 232 steel investigation are due, it goes without saying that a favorable outcome from the probe will provide a major boost to domestic steel makers.



Should the findings under the investigation come positive, the Trump administration will get the opportunity to take broad-based trade actions against cheap imports. This would provide a significant thrust to steel prices and give American steel producers more pricing power.



Can Hackers Put Money INTO Your Portfolio?



Earlier this month, credit bureau Equifax announced a massive data breach affecting 2 out of every 3 Americans. The cybersecurity industry is expanding quickly in response to this and similar events. But some stocks are better investments than others.



Zacks has just released Cybersecurity! An Investors Guide to help Zacks.com readers make the most of the $170 billion per year investment opportunity created by hackers and other threats. It reveals 4 stocks worth looking into right away.



Download the new report now>>



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



AK Steel Holding Corporation (AKS) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Steel Dynamics, Inc. (STLD) : Free Stock Analysis Report



United States Steel Corporation (X) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Nucor Corporation (NUE) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Commercial Metals Company (CMC) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
Pump jacks are seen at the Lukoil-owned Imilorskoye oil field, as the sun sets, outside the west Siberian city of Kogalym, Russia, in this January 25, 2016 file photo. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/Files

By David Gaffen

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices fell on Wednesday after a surprising jump in U.S. crude exports to a record 2 million barrels per day fanned worries about global oversupply.

U.S. crude stockpiles fell sharply last week, but crude exports rose to 1.98 million bpd, the Energy Information Administration said. [EIA/S]

U.S. exports have became more attractive to buyers because the price of U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude (WTI) futures has been trading at a steep discount to Brent.

Rising U.S. crude production has held down WTI prices, while Brent's price has been heavily influenced by policy directions over output cuts led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

WTI (CLc1) settled down 44 cents to $49.98 a barrel while Brent (LCOc1) fell 20 cents to $55.80 a barrel.

The spread between the two benchmark's December contracts (WTCLc1-LCOc1), which had narrowed earlier in the day, widened again, to $5.54 a barrel from $5.31 before the data.

The concern among traders is that the heavy increase in U.S. exports - while shale production continues to rise - will undermine the OPEC-led efforts to reduce supply.

"The U.S. oil-production profile has forced OPEC and some non-OPEC countries participating in the ongoing output-cap agreement to re-evaluate their strategy," said Abhishek Kumar, senior energy analyst at Interfax Energys Global Gas Analytics in London.

U.S. crude inventories (USOILC=ECI) fell 6 million barrels in the week to Sept. 29, a much bigger decline than the decrease of 756,000 barrels analysts had expected. Gulf Coast refineries have been using more crude as they resumed operations after weeks of shutdowns following Hurricane Harvey.

Strategists viewed Brent as pricey after a third-quarter rally lifted it to mid-2015 highs by late September. A resumption in output at Libya's Sharara oilfield, which had been closed by armed brigades Sunday, fed the concerns.

"Fundamentals may not yet be strong enough to support a continued rally, especially in growth-dependent commodities such as oil," Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Denmark's Saxo Bank, said in a quarterly outlook to investors.

Story continues

Observers said a market rebalancing was well underway as a result of strong consumption and the OPEC-led output cuts.

On Wednesday, OPEC Secretary-General Mohammad Barkindo said he was confident his organisation could restore sustainable stability to markets. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he did not exclude an extension of output cuts until the end of 2018. Russia is part of the supply agreement.

Rising oil production in the United States, which is not involved in the deal, has limited price gains. U.S. output (C-OUT-T-EIA) hit 9.56 million bpd at the end of September, highest since July 2015, and drillers added six oil rigs in the week to Sept. 29, according to energy services firm Baker Hughes. (RIG-OL-USA-BHI)

(Additional reporting by Libby George and Ron Bousso in London; Henning Gloystein in Singapore and Scott DiSavino in New York; Editing by Marguerita Choy and David Gregorio)
By David Gaffen NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices rose about 2 percent on Thursday as signs Saudi Arabia and Russia would limit production through next year pushed the U.S. benchmark back above $50 a barrel. The news outweighed Wednesday's U.S. data showing record U.S. exports and the return of production at a major Libyan oilfield. Brent futures settled at $57 a barrel, up 2.2 percent, or $1.20, while U.S. crude rose 81 cents, or 1.6 percent, to end at $50.79. Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week that a pledge by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers, including Russia, to cut oil output to boost prices could be extended to the end of 2018, instead of expiring in March 2018. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday that Moscow would support new countries joining the agreement to restrict oil supply. The statement came as Saudi Arabia's King Salman visited Moscow. "Putin and Salman will most likely reach, but not announce, an agreement to extend the OPEC/non-OPEC production deal, though with a commitment to taper the cuts," said Eurasia Group. President Donald Trump was expected to announce soon that he will decertify the landmark international deal to curb Iran's nuclear program, a senior administration official said on Thursday, in a step that could lead to renewed U.S. sanctions against Tehran and could limit Iranian sales of oil. "It would make it difficult for barrels to be transacted through U.S. dollars," said Bernadette Johnson, vice president of market intelligence at Drillinginfo.com in Denver. "A lot would continue to flow, but that's probably a million barrels that is at risk." With the increase in prices to above $50, producers have started hedging more heavily, said Johnson. That would buffer drillers against losses if the price were to decline, which may spur more U.S. production - partially offsetting the OPEC-led deal to cut supply by about 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd). Other factors also weighed on oil prices, including the return to production of Libya's Sharara oilfield on Wednesday after an armed brigade forced a two-day shutdown. U.S. crude oil exports jumped to 1.98 million bpd last week, surpassing the 1.5 million bpd record set the previous week, the Energy Information Administration said. The increase followed a widening of the discount for U.S. crude against Brent , making U.S. oil attractive on world markets. (GRAPHIC: Oil demand to be hit by the rise of electric vehicles - http://reut.rs/2ypKwiH) (Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore and Christopher Johnson in London; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Susan Fenton)
[October 06, 2017] University of Michigan's Ross School of Business launches pilot program with Clixie Media's Interactive Video

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Oct. 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Clixie Media is pleased to announce the successful launch of its Interactive Video platform in Professor David Brophy's Finance and Entrepreneurship (FIN ES 329 629) class at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. Clixie's interactivity allows users to interact with digital video content to obtain more information about objects that appear within videos. This allows students to discover more information about specific subjects discussed by presenters, or to directly access class assignments. To see the interactive class video, please click here or go to http://www.clixievideo.com/elearning/. Clixie Media is integrated with the Canvas Learning Management System ("LMS") and all content is delivered directly from within the Canvas User Interface. "It's like having a personal virtual assistant taking notes about what students find interesting while watching the video, without interrupting the content itself," says Tim More, President of Clixie Media. "We are excited to work with the University of Michigan in maximizing the impact of digital education."



"The adoption of Clixie in the Finance and Entrepreneurship class at Ross has brought a whole new level of engagement for our students at the University of Michigan," says Professor Brophy. "The ability to deliver information directly within video content has streamlined the learning process. Also, the wealth of data available about viewer interaction has helped us to be more responsive to student interests and questions. Clixie is a tremendous leap forward for the University of Michigan and demonstrates why the Ross Business School continues to be one of the finest learning institutions in the world." "As educational programs rely more heavily on video as a preferred media, consumers will demand tighter messaging that delivers exceptional value with minimum time commitment," suggests Dr. Mike Barger, Executive Director of Academic Innovation at Ross. "To ensure the effectiveness of these shorter, 'just the facts' vehicles, videos will require not only mechanisms for interactivity, but must specifically offer viewers opportunities to seamlessly explore presented concepts, through embedded channels of exploration, to clarify understanding or satisfy curiosity, all while remaining connected to the original video. Clixie has created one such mechanism that is pushing the boundaries of current capability in the market."

Clixie is implementing other features during the Fall 2017 semester, including in-video quizzes, polls, assessments and conditional learning paths. Media Contact:

Timothy Moore

734-222-8012

[email protected] View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/university-of-michigans-ross-school-of-business-launches-pilot-program-with-clixie-medias-interactive-video-300532508.html SOURCE Clixie Media LLC

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
As usual, Apple started a trend. Last year, it dropped the standard 3.5 millimeter headphone jack from the iPhone. The industry was quick to respond. Motorola, even before the iPhone 7 was announced, also removed the port from the Moto Z (though curiously, it remained on the cheaper Z Play). HTC followed suit with the U Ultra this year, as did the geek-friendly Essential phone. Now that Google's Pixel 2 is confirmed to be headphone jack-less, it seems as if the port's survival, at least in the mobile world, is a lost cause.

The truly sad thing? A year after this trend began, we still don't have a good explanation of why we're better off without headphone jacks. Removing the port opens up a bit of precious internal space, which allowed Apple to stuff in a bigger 3D Touch module in the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus. But did that actually help make 3D Touch more useful? And what have other phone makers gained, exactly, by jumping on this bandwagon? The additional room isn't enough to significantly improve battery life, and aside from the Moto Z, it hasn't led to an influx of ultra-thin designs either.

With the Pixel 2 and its larger companion, in particular, we've gained very little by losing the headphone jack. Sure, they're much more water and dust resistant than the last models. But the Pixel 2's IP67 certification is something several Android phones have offered for years -- and they didn't need to lose the port to achieve it. Typically when we move away from legacy hardware, we're headed to something better. But in the case of the 3.5mm headphone port, the tech world seems to have forgotten that. Apple's joking explanation -- "courage" -- isn't enough.

I'm not blind to the benefits of wireless. My trusty BeatsX earbuds are the first pair I've used that sound almost as good as great corded headphones. And I truly appreciate being able to use them on the subway without getting tangled up in cables. But here's the thing: You don't need to remove the 3.5mm port to enjoy the benefits of Bluetooth headphones. In fact, I'm running my BeatsX on an iPhone 6S  the last iPhone to include the 3.5mm jack. I just like having the flexibility to freely connect my phone to auxiliary cables in cars and corded headphones without carrying around any dongles. It's 2017, that doesn't seem like too much to ask.

Story continues

And not to be too cynical, but it's hard not to view the move away headphone jacks as a way for companies to push their own expensive wireless headphones. It's no coincidence that Apple's $150 AirPod's debuted alongside the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus (as did the BeatsX). Today, Google also showed off its own offering, the aptly named Pixel Buds. It's almost as if tech companies realize consumers would shell out a bit extra for wireless headphone, rather than live the dongle life.

As someone who's chosen this hill to die on, the future looks bleak. Some manufacturers, like Samsung and LG, stuck with the 3.5mm port with their latest devices. Indeed, the the LG V30 appears to be the ideal new phone for audio fanatics, thanks to its powerful HiFi DAC. A headphone jack could just end up being a niche feature that some manufacturers use to entice geeks. But that doesn't help iPhone users who want to upgrade this year, or Android fans who want the purest experience possible with Google's Pixel phones.

It was easy for me to skip the iPhone 7 last year, as it was only a minor improvement over the 6S. But with the new design of the iPhone X, as well as its improved cameras, it'll be hard for me to stay away. And even if I were to make the leap to Android, I'm just as tempted by the Pixel 2 as I am by the Galaxy S8. As much as I'd like to stick with the headphone jack, it's only a matter of time until I'm tempted away. I just wish we had a good reason for moving away from the most widely supported port ever. No dongle will stop me from being resentful over that.

Follow all the latest news from Google's Pixel 2 event here!
Children wear masks in the capital Antananarivo to protect themselves against possible infection (AFP Photo/RIJASOLO) (AFP/File)

Antananarivo (AFP) - Authorities in Madagascar Friday announced a ban on prison visits to prevent the spread of a plague epidemic that has killed 36 people in the Indian Ocean island.

"In order to protect prisoners from the plague that is spreading outside the prison, we have decided to suspend family visits," prisons administrator Arsen Ralisaona told AFP.

The ban covers seven jails in the country's two worst affected regions.

The risk of contamination is high in overcrowded prisons, where conditions are usually unhygienic.

The outbreak includes bubonic plague, which is spread by infected rats via flea bites, and pneumonic plague, which spreads from person to person.

It has also resulted in a ban on public gatherings and forced the closure of two universities -- putting pressure on the countrys health facilities.

According to local media, Ambohimiandra, a specialised hospital in the capital Antananarivo, was failing to cope with the influx of infected patients. Long queues had formed outside, as people flocked to buy face masks and medicine.

Madagascar suffers annual plague outbreaks, but this year the disease has affected urban areas, triggering concern from the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The latest official toll from the plague stood at 36 on Friday, out of 258 people who have contracted the disease since August.

WHO has announced a delivery of 1.2 million doses of antibiotics to assist the country.

Most of the infections are associated with pneumonic plague  a more dangerous form of the disease that affects the lungs and is transmitted through coughing at close range.

Pneumonic plague can kill quickly, within 18 to 24 hours of infection if left untreated, but it can be cured by early use of antibiotics.

Bubonic plague which was dubbed the Black Death when it claimed an estimated 25 million lives in Europe during the Middle Ages, has become very rare.
Puerto Rico's power grid has been practically demolished in the wake of hurricane Maria. It now has a once in a lifetime opportunity to rebuild and the island's governor Ricardo Rossello wants to have a chat with Elon Musk about his recent offer to use Tesla batteries and solar power for the the job.

Only 10 percent of the island has power at the moment and, according to the Puerto Rico state owned electric company, some communities won't be able to turn the lights back on for four to six months.

Musk tweeted yesterday he could be the one to rebuild Puerto Rico's electricity system using independent batteries and solar power.

"The Tesla team has done this for many smaller islands around the world but there is no scalability limit, so it can be done for Puerto Rico too," Musk wrote back.

The Tesla team has done this for many smaller islands around the world, but there is no scalability limit, so it can be done for Puerto Rico too. Such a decision would be in the hands of the PR govt, PUC, any commercial stakeholders and, most importantly, the people of PR.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 5, 2017

Governor Rossello tweeted at Musk shortly after with, "Let's talk. Do you want to show the world the power and scalability of your #TeslaTechnologies? PR could be that flagship project."

As the Governments CINO, I fully support this! Lets build the Puerto Rico we all want through innovation #letstalk@prstateits  Glorimar Ripoll (@prstatecino) October 6, 2017

Puerto Rico's chief innovation officer Glorimar Ripoli is also on board. "As the Governments CINO, I fully support this! Lets build the Puerto Rico we all want through innovation," she tweeted.

Story continues

The real question is if this talking will turn into action.

Tesla has already shipped hundreds of its Powerwall battery systems to Puerto Rico and Tesla employees are currently busy installing them and training locals how to continue the process.

Musk also has a history of turning Twitter chats into something more. He struck a deal to build a battery plant in South Australia based on a tweet with Atlassian founder and Australian Mike Cannon-Brookes last March. Musk broke ground on the deal last month and stands to lose $50 million if he doesn't complete the job within 100 days.

As Musk mentioned in his tweet, Tesla has created a battery and solar power grid for other islands like the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative in Hawaii and in American Samoa.

Of course, those projects were for much smaller populations than Puerto Rico. But Musk seems confident his system can scale to meet the demands of the island's 3.4 million citizens.

Related Video:

Watch news, TV and more Yahoo View, available on iOS and Android.
Russian President Vladimir Putin inspects an AvtoVAZ Lada Vesta before driving to attend a session of the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi, Russia, October 22, 2015.

Russian President Vladimir Putinwhose homeland is one of the biggest oil producers in the worldhas given a ringing endorsement to electric cars and Elon Musks Tesla. But the Russian leader still prefers old-fasioned gas.

Asked if he would consider swapping one of his two Soviet-era Volgas or his Lada Niva 4x4 with an electric at an energy conference Putin said: Of course I can imagine it. I would immediately declare it, of courseI am looking at those who are always concerned about by material wealth.

Putins personal wealth is a subject of intense speculation, due to both his secretive family life and his modest property declaration, including one apartment in Moscow and a salary of just over $133,000 a year. Financier Bill Browder told Senate earlier this year that Putins actual worth is around $200 billion.

But it was the contents of the presidents garage which reopened the debate this summer, after he told Mitsubishi officials he owned one of their motorbikes, within earshot of cameras. His official declaration made no mention of a motorbike. The Kremlin later clarified that the motorcycle was owned by the presidential garage.

Speaking to the Interfax news agency at Wednesdays energy conference in Moscow, Putin confirmed he has already driven electric cars.

Our manufacturers who dream about producing electric cars have shown me such already. I am of course familiar with the U.S., Asian and in particular Japanese manufacturers, Putin said, not specifying brands or models. I have ridden on all of these cars.

It must be said that I like these cars, especially because they are modern, dynamic, agile, fast and effective, Putin said. Asked if he could see himself steering the wheel of a Tesla car, Putin answered: Why not?

But I will reiterate again, in my view at the end of the day presently the most eco-friendly type of fuel remains one for gas engines, Putin underlined.

Related Articles
Saudi Arabias King Salman arrived in Moscow on Wednesday in the first-ever official visit by a Saudi monarch to Russia, in a mission that signals an expanding Russian role in the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East as the Syrian civil war approaches an endgame.

The kings visit to Moscow would have been unthinkable just two years ago, when Russia intervened in the Syrian conflict on the side of President Bashar Assad. Russian airpower helped turn the tide of the war, supporting Assads troops as they moved to crush an armed insurrection that raged since 2011. Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states sided with the opposition, and those governments are now grappling with the reality that Assad will not be ousted.

For Russia, King Salmans trip illustrates its growing footprint in the politics of the Middle East after its military rescued the Assad regime from the threat of collapse. Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has become a key broker in the political struggle in Libya, and is improving ties with predominantly Sunni Arab Gulf states who seek Russias help in curbing the influence of Iranan ally of Moscow and an archrival of Saudi Arabia. Putin has shown a striking ability to transcend traditional dividing lines in the region, also cultivating ties with Israel, Palestinian factions, and Egypt.

For the Russians its definitely continuing to project the image of a great power in the Middle East, says Yury Barmin, an expert on Russian relations in the Middle East, speaking from Moscow. Theyre looking to create new contexts, to create new partnerships where they could be seen as an influential actor, he added.

The emerging partnership between Russia and Saudi Arabia is fueled by a shared economic lifeblood: oil. The two states are now leading an initiative to cut world oil production in order to drive prices up, reversing a catastrophic slide in the price of crude that resulted from the North American shale oil boom. Russia is now the largest country outside of the oil producers cartel OPEC that is complying with the plan to curb production. The two countries produce nearly a quarter of the worlds oil between them, and crude is a critical source of revenue for both states.

Story continues

Saudi Arabia is expected to expand its oil ties with Russia during King Salmans visit. Saudi Aramco, the giant state oil company, is expected to sign a series of agreements with Russian companies on energy initiatives. Saudi Arabia is also considering investing largest oil drilling contractor, Eurasia Drilling Co, according to Bloomberg. The final shape and scale of any investment has yet to be announced, and past Saudi-Russian economic cooperation has failed to materialize.

The visit suggests the Saudi government is pursuing a more balanced approach to the U.S.-Russian rivalry, a move that poses strategic questions for Washington. Saudi Arabia is one of the United States closest allies in the Arab world, and it has traditionally been aligned against Russia, dating back to Saudi Arabias support for anti-Soviet mujahideen in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Along with other Gulf states, the Saudis embraced the election of President Donald Trump, who they hoped would end years of friction with President Barack Obama, whose initial embrace of the Arab Spring uprisings, mild prodding on human rights, and nuclear diplomacy with Iran alienated the autocratic regimes along the Persian Gulf.

Yet, despite feteing Trump during the presidents first foreign voyage in May, the Saudi governments enthusiasm has faded as the Trump administration has struggled to find ways to check the expansion of Irans influence on the ground in the region. Pro-Iranian militias are playing a key in the battle to degrade the Islamic State in Iraq. Iran also sent its forces to aid the Assad regime in Syria. In June Saudi Arabia led a quartet of countries imposing sanctions on neighboring Qatar, demanding that the tiny nation end its unusually warm ties with Iran, but the dispute settled into a standoff.

Its not necessarily an indication that theyre moving away from the United States, but I think theyre hedging their bets a little bit on the U.S., says Gerald Feierstein, the former U.S. ambassador to Yemen and the current director of Gulf affairs at the Middle East Institute in Washington. They want to make sure that theyve got a number of different addresses that they can visit to pursue their own interests, he said.

The shifting Saudi Arabia-Russia relationship is also a stark illustration of how regional powers are dealing with a new phase of the conflict in Syria. With Russian and Iranian backing, the Assad regime has ensured its own survival inside a rump state within Syria. The armed rebellion against Assad is now confined to isolated enclaves in Syrias northwest, southwest, and the outskirts of Damascus. The United States and the United Kingdom also recently ended clandestine programs that had provided aid to the rebels. Analysts say that Russias ability to outflank western powers in Syria is reshaping the face of the region.

Russias resilience in the face of such efforts has been strengthened by the lack of serious Western action to push for political change in Syria. These dynamics have come to define a new balance of power in the Middle East, says Lina Khatib, the head of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House in London. Arab states are now faced with the challenge of maintaining their relevance in the face of this change, and this means needing to keep lines of communication with Russia open.

One mystery about the Kings visit was why the kingdoms other high-profile leader, his 32-year-old son and newly appointed Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, did not join him on the trip. He had been expected to attend the high-stakes diplomatic mission, which offered an opportunity to demonstrate his legitimacy as a future head of state.

A bulletin on Saudi Arabias official news agency gave no explanation why the crown prince did not travel with the king, saying only that he had tasked Mohammed Bin Salman with managing the states affairs in his absence.
Russia isn't happy that an alleged bitcoin money launderer is being extradited to the US following a court decision in Greece.

Russia's foreign ministry has sharply criticized a Greek court's decision to extradite Alexander Vinnik to the US for his alleged role in laundering funds through the BTC-e bitcoin exchange.

In a statement, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs said today that they "noted with regret" that the court opted to comply with the US's extradition request for Vinnik, who was arrested in Greece in late July and was accused of laundering billions of dollars in bitcoin through the exchange.

Both Vinnik and BTC-e were later charged by US prosecutors, with FinCEN handing down a $110 million fine after the sealed indictment was unveiled.

Since then, Vinnik has remained in Greece pending the outcome of the extradition process. During that time the Russian government moved to extradite Vinnik on unrelated charges, a move that was later endorsed by Vinnik himself in a statement to Russia Today.

To date, Vinnik has maintained that he is innocent of the charges, though he claims to have worked for BTC-e in the past. BTC-e, for its part, has denied Vinnik's involvement and, since the exchange's site domain was seized by US agents, has moved to establish a new cryptocurrency exchange.

But this week's ruling by a Greek judge was met with dismay by the Russian foreign ministry, which in a statement urged the court to reconsider the decision.

The Russian government said:

"We deem the verdict unjust and a violation of international law. A request from the Russian Prosecutor General's Office on extraditing Mr Vinnik to Russia was submitted to the Greek authorities. Based on legal precedent, the Russian request should take priority as Mr Vinnik is a citizen of Russia."

The statement notably makes no mention of BTC-e or the specific crimes for which Vinnik has been accused. That said, it does make note that Vinnik's legal team will appeal the decision, potentially leaving it up to the Greek Justice Ministry to decide on where the Russian national will be sent.

Story continues

The foreign ministry also expressed hope that Vinnik will ultimately be extradited to Russia.

"We hope the Greek authorities will consider the Russian Prosecutor General's Office request, and Russias reasoning, and act in strict compliance with international law," the ministry said.

Image via Shutterstock

Related Stories
The San Juan mayor ripped into Donald Trump for his overall response to the crisis in Puerto Rico brought on by Hurricane Maria.

Someone should probably keep President Donald Trump away from his Twitter account for the next 24 hours or so, because he's not going to like the "nasty" T-shirt San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz wore to protest him on live TV.

During a Univision interview, Cruz defiantly stated the shirt was in direct reference to the president describing her as "nasty"and then launched into another critique of Trump's response to the crisis in Puerto Rico brought on by Hurricane Maria.

"When someone is bothered by someone claiming lack of drinking water, lack of medicine for the sick and lack of food for the hungry, that person has problems too deep to be explained in an interview. What is really nasty is that anyone would turn their back on the Puerto Rican people," Cruz said in Spanish.

As Puerto Rico has struggled to recover from the hurricane, Cruz and Trump have publicly feuded. But Trump has made it far more personal, while Cruz has tried to focus on the work that needs to be done to help the island get back on its feet.

"We are dying here. And I cannot fathom the thought that the greatest nation in the world cannot figure out the logistics for a small island of 100 miles by 35 miles," Cruz said during a September 29 press conference. "So, Mr. Trump, I am begging you to take charge and save lives. After all, that is one of the founding principles of the United States of North America. If not, the world will see how we are treated not as second-class citizens but as animals that can be disposed of. Enough is enough."

The president apparently took issue with Cruz's remarks and responded by attacking her via his favorite social media platform. "The Mayor of San Juan, who was very complimentary only a few days ago, has now been told by the Democrats that you must be nasty to Trump," Trump said in a tweet.

Story continues

Trump was promptly condemned for not only attacking a mayor dealing with a crisis but also for referring to a female politician as "nasty." He infamously described Hillary Clinton as a "nasty woman" during the presidential campaign and has frequently been labeled a misogynist.

"Trump calling San Juan mayor 'nasty' is yet another reminder our sexist, misogynistic president can't handle being criticized by women," the pro-abortion rights

organization NARAL tweeted on September 30.

The president traveled to Puerto Rico on Tuesday but has been widely criticized for his behavior during the visit, which included complaining to the island's hurricane-ravaged residents they had thrown his administration's budget "a little out of whack."

On Tuesday night, Cruz described Trump's visit as "insulting" to Puerto Rico and called him the "miscommunicator in chief."

"This was a PR, 17-minute meeting. There was no exchange with anybody, with none of the mayors," Cruz said. "And in fact, this terrible and abominable view of him throwing paper towels and throwing provisions at people, it reallyit does not embody the spirit of the American nation, you know?"

Related Articles
[October 06, 2017] Securus Files Two (2) Additional Requests for Invalidation of Global Tel*Link (GTL) Patents

Securus Technologies, a leading provider of civil and criminal justice technology solutions for public safety, investigation, corrections and monitoring, announced today that it has filed additional patent invalidation requests (a.k.a. Inter Partes Reviews or IPRs) with the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). A brief description of each patent that Securus has filed to invalidate is as follows: Patent No. 6,895,086 - "Monitoring Three (3) Way Calls" - The patent covers particular systems and methods of three-way call detection, but uses an obvious alternative to conventional hook-flash detection methods widely used in the past. The claimed systems and methods monitor a test signal (white noise) that has been inserted into a narrow frequency band of a telephone line and detect changes in the amplitude of the test signal caused by echo cancellers when a third party is added to the line.

- The patent covers particular systems and methods of three-way call detection, but uses an obvious alternative to conventional hook-flash detection methods widely used in the past. The claimed systems and methods monitor a test signal (white noise) that has been inserted into a narrow frequency band of a telephone line and detect changes in the amplitude of the test signal caused by echo cancellers when a third party is added to the line. Patent No. 7,826,604 - "Monitoring Three (3) Way Calls"- The patent covers techniques for identifying a calling party at a receiving phone using steganography, involving hiding one set of data or signals within another signal or carrier in such a way that its presence is typically imperceptible to the human ear. "After a significant amount of legal and patent expert review, we believe both of the GTL (News - Alert) patents highlighted above are worthy of the formal process of patent invalidation," said Richard A. ("Rick") Smith, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Securus Technologies. "We believe that a number of patents in our competitor's portfolio can be invalidated by using the legal notion of 'prior art,'" indicated Smith. Prior art, in most systems of patent law, is constituted by all information that has been made available to the public in any form before a given date that might be relevant to a patent's claims of originality. If an invention has been described in the prior art, a patent on that invention is not valid. Attacking the validity of a patent must present clear and convincing evidence establishing facts that lead to the legal conclusion of invalidity. To establish invalidit under United States patent law, certain factual predicates are required before the legal conclusion of obviousness or non-obviousness can be reached. The underlying factual determinations to be made are:



1) The scope and content of the prior art; 2) The differences between the claimed invention and the prior art;

3) The level of ordinary skill in the art; and 4) Objective evidence of non-obviousness, such as commercial success, long-felt but unsolved need, failure of others, copying, and unexpected results. "I had previously indicated that we needed $115 million from GTL for a longer term license agreement based on other agreements that we negotiated with competitors including GTL - that is certainly justified in this case. We could reduce that request based on establishing mutual reciprocal patent license agreements," added Smith. "I love our industry and company, and want to move both Securus and GTL forward without the significant bandwidth and financial resources that are required by continuing our litigation," Smith said. "To date, for 2015 through August, 2017, we have spent approximately $18 million in outside legal costs to defend our patent portfolio, to invalidate GTL patents, and to file patent infringement lawsuits against GTL. I estimate GTL has spent at least $25 million doing the same things - so approximately $43 million in total. Projecting that out another five (5) years is at least another $125 million - which could be better directed to building products that benefit inmates, friends/family, corrections, law enforcement, and all of society. Securus does not choose the continued litigation path unless GTL chooses continued litigation. We are quite prepared for either option," said Smith. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has put a new "invalidation process" in place that allows litigants in patent infringement cases to attempt to invalidate patents. GTL has used this process to their advantage in having some pieces (claims) of Securus patents invalidated and we have done the same to GTL. Based on recent IPR rulings, we expect the invalidation process to eliminate approximately 50% of Securus and GTL previously approved patents. If that occurs, GTL will likely spend approximately $120 million and Securus will likely spend approximately $60 million in outside legal fees - a foolish use of money on both sides. BUT, GTL will also have the added burden of trying to invalidate an additional 20 to 30 new patents Securus is getting approved each year - or likely approximately $30 million to $45 million per year in additional legal costs to them. "Invalidating GTL existing patents is part of a process that they initiated approximately three (3) years ago instead of negotiating a license agreement with Securus - a route that every other significant carrier in our sector has taken. We have negotiated 19 license agreements with carriers - 2 of those with GTL," said Smith. "The carriers that have negotiated license agreements all have received significant value - and I believe they have recognized that. Overall, our patent related metrics are superior to those of GTL so in the long run, we should eventually prevail," concluded Smith. ABOUT SECURUS TECHNOLOGIES Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and serving more than 3,450 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1,200,000 inmates across North America, Securus Technologies is committed to serve and connect by providing emergency response, incident management, public information, investigation, biometric analysis, communication, information management, inmate self-service, and monitoring products and services in order to make our world a safer place to live. Securus Technologies focuses on connecting what matters. To learn more about our full suite of civil and criminal justice technology solutions, please visit SecurusTechnologies.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20171006005537/en/

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]
By Olesya Astakhova and Katya Golubkova MOSCOW (Reuters) - A plan to list Saudi Aramco in 2018 is on track, senior Saudi officials said in Moscow on Thursday, as Saudi Arabia gears up to sign a string of investment agreements with Russia. The plan to float around 5 percent of Aramco in an initial public offering (IPO) is a centerpiece of Vision 2030, a wide-ranging reform plan to diversify the Saudi economy beyond oil which is being championed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. "Work is ongoing to list Saudi Aramco in 2018," Aramco's Chief Executive Amin Nasser said at an energy forum in Moscow. "We will be looking at (evaluating) investors as we continue to make progress related to timing and location." Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, who is also Aramco's chairman, said on Thursday that the IPO would happen in the second half of 2018, adding that the listing would be used as a "catalyst" for the opening up of the Saudi economy. The announcement about the company's IPO will be made "in due course", he said while taking part in a panel discussion of an energy forum in Moscow. Prince Mohammad has said the IPO, which could be the world's biggest, will value Aramco at a minimum of $2 trillion and could raise as much as $100 billion. Money raised from the sale will be used to develop other sectors and industries in the country. Aramco's listing is planned on Saudi Arabias local stock market plus at least one overseas exchange. New York, London and Hong Kong are the main contenders. Nasser said the Saudi government would decide on the listing venue and that there were no current talks with Russian companies on them taking part in the IPO. INVESTMENT DEALS Both Falih and Nasser are part of an official Saudi visit to Moscow. Saudi King Salman is in Russia on a state visit, the first to Moscow by a reigning Saudi monarch. Several investment agreements will be signed during King Salman's trip and plans for a $1-billion fund to invest in energy projects are likely to be finalised. These are part of efforts by two of the world's biggest oil producers to increase cooperation. Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on Wednesday Russia and Saudi Arabia would sign joint investment agreements worth more than $3 billion during the visit. One of those was a memorandum of understanding signed on Thursday between Aramco and Russia's oil trading company Litasco. Other similar agreements with Gazprom, Gazprom Neft, and Sibur will also be signed. Nasser said Aramco was discussing several investment opportunities with Russian firms. "LNG (liquefied natural gas) is one of the area where we are looking to collaborate with Russian partners," he said, giving an example of the MoUs that will be signed with Gazprom and Gazprom Neft. The Russian Direct Investment Fund on Thursday will also sign an MoU with Aramco and Saudi's Public Investment Fund for investments in energy services and manufacturing. (Reporting by Olesya Astakhova, Katya Golubkova, Jack Stubbs and Vladimir Soldatkin; Writing by Rania El Gamal and Christian Lowe; Editing by Andrey Ostroukh and Jane Merriman)
Photo credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech

From Popular Mechanics

Yet another theory has been developed to explain the mysteries of Tabby's Star, one much more plausible than previous, eccentric theories of an "alien megastructure." A new study from NASA and Belgian AstroLAB IRIS observatory suggests that the star's odd behavior could be explained by an "uneven dust cloud."

This is not the most exciting explanation of the famous-in-astronomy-circles Tabby's Star, also known as KIC 8462852. It's been observed in the night sky since 1890, but in September 2015, Dr. Tabetha Boyajian, then of Yale and now of Louisiana State, published a paper titled "Where's the Flux?" which looked at 846's highly unusual light curve. Tabby's Star, as it became known, would experience a series of eccentric photometric "dips," which would dim its light with seemingly no pattern.

Theories erupted about what could be causing the dips. The most outlandish of these was that Tabby's Star was, or at least was involved in, the creation of an alien superstructure. But there have been other, more plausible theories. A planet with uneven, wobbly rings near the star could also potentially generate a similar effect.

Continued study, however, has shown less dimming in the infrared light coming from Tabby's Star than in its ultraviolet light.

"This pretty much rules out the alien megastructure theory, as that could not explain the wavelength-dependent dimming," says Huan Meng, at the University of Arizona, Tucson, who is lead author of the new study looking at the dust theory published in The Astrophysical Journal, in a press statement. "We suspect, instead, there is a cloud of dust orbiting the star with a roughly 700-day orbital period."

From January to December of last year, researchers looked extensively at the light from Tabby's Star in ultraviolet, infrared, and visible. Based on dips in ultraviolet light, they determined that tiny particles were blocking the star's light. Dust near a star, known as circumstellar dust, hits the Goldilocks test for what could be causing continued dimming. It's not so fine that it would fly away from the star, but not thick enough to uniformly cover everything.

Story continues

NASA compares the experience to going "to the beach on a bright, sunny day and sitting under an umbrella." While the umbrella will block some of the sunlight, it won't be able to stop the sunset from changing colors. The light changes through the scattering of particles, and Tabby's Star might experience a similar process from our vantage point. "The new study suggests," NASA says, "the objects causing the long-period dimming of Tabby's Star can be no more than a few micrometers in diameter (about one ten-thousandth of an inch)."

While NASA appears to be quite confident in the larger dust theory, there are still smaller mysteries within, like a three-day period earlier this year of continued short-term dimming. It's had to move its telescopes off the star for now, but it's clear that Tabby's Star will remain an object of curiosity in the sky.

"Tabby's Star could have something like a solar activity cycle," says Siegfried Vanaverbeke, an AstroLAB volunteer who helped convince the Belgian lab to make it a point of study. "This is something that needs further investigation and will continue to interest scientists for many years to come."

Source: NASA

You Might Also Like
Heres a look at some of the stocks the Yahoo Finance team will be tracking for you today.

Costco (COST) fell in early trading despite much better than expected results. While Costco beat on most key metrics, investors are worried about how the bulk retailer will withstand pressure from Amazon (AMZN). And one day after Amazon announced its testing its own delivery service, Costco is announcing a fresh-food delivery partnership with Instacart, a startup that delivers groceries in one day.

Yum China (YUMC) delivered a beat on both its top and bottom lines thanks to strong sales at KFC. It is also announcing a C-suite shake-up. CEO Micky Pant is stepping down. Joey Wat, Yum Chinas current COO, will replace him.

Switch (SWCH) shares soared on its market debut on the NYSE Friday morning. The Las Vegas-based data-center company priced its IPO higher than expected last night at $17 a share, raising more than $500 million. Switch plans to use the proceeds to buy out investors in its limited liability company.

Apple (AAPL) shares are in focus after state media in China said Apples iPhone 8 is popping open due to a swollen battery. Buyers say upon arrival, the phones are cracked open without them even turning it on or charging the phone.
Shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited TEVA declined almost 15% on Wednesday after Mylan N.V. MYL, after hours on Tuesday, announced the FDA approval of its generic version of a 40-mg thrice-weekly formulation of the formers blockbuster multiple sclerosis drug, Copaxone. The FDA also approved Mylans generic for Copaxone 20 mg formulation (once daily).

Mylan confirmed the launch of both the 40 mg and 20 mg formulations in the United States on Wednesday. Mylans shares were up 16.2% on Wednesday.

Notably, this is the first generic of Copaxone, 40 mg version that has been approved. Mylan along with the other filers may be eligible to enjoy exclusivity for 180 days. A generic version of the 20 mg formulation of Copaxone, Glatopa, has been marketed since 2015 by Novartis AGs NVS generic arm  Sandoz  and partner Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. MNTA.

In response to the launch by Mylan, Teva issued a press release on Wednesday saying that any launch by Mylan before a resolution of various patent appeals will be considered an at-risk launch and could result in substantial damages for the latter.

We remind investors that in January this year, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware invalidated four of its five Orange Book patents for Copaxone 40 mg. Teva has appealed against the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Teva has also appealed in the same court against the December 2016 inter partes review decisions of the Patent Trial Appeal Board that found all of the claims of three Copaxone patents to be unpatentable.

The 40 mg thrice-weekly formulation of Copaxone accounted for more than 85% of total Copaxone scrips in the United States at the end of the second quarter. With Copaxone generating almost $2.0 billion in worldwide sales in the first half of 2017, the earlier-than-expected entry of the generic version of Copaxone will be a major setback for the company.

Story continues

At the second quarter conference call, Teva had said that it does not expect any generic competition for Copaxone 40 mg this year. However, the company had also mentioned at that time that in case, one or more generic versions were launched for a full quarter this year, it will hurt earnings by 20 cents-25 cents per share. With the earlier-than- expected launch of Mylans generic version, Teva estimates a negative impact of at least 25 cents per share on fourth-quarter earnings.

In addition to Mylan, Momenta is also looking to get approval for its generic versions of the 40-mg thrice-weekly formulation of Copaxone. The FDA approval of Momentas generic version of Copaxone has been delayed owing to manufacturing issues. Momentas shares were down almost 14% on Wednesday.

As it is, Teva has been facing tough times and is a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) stock.

Year to date (YTD), Teva has lost 55.7% of its value compared with 20% decline of its industry.

A challenging environment in the U.S. generics business and the continued deterioration in Venezuela have been hurting Tevas sales. The U.S. generics industry is facing significant competitive and pricing pressure. These have been affecting the companys top line performance. Higher FDA generic drug approvals and ongoing customer consolidation have increased competitive pressure in the industry. The challenges in the U.S. generics market are expected to continue this year.

Meanwhile, delay in the launch of some new generic drugs and increased competition for some others is also hurting segment sales. New competition for branded products and a high cost base and debt load are some of the other woes. In August, Teva announced a 75% cut in its dividend.

You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

4 Stocks to Watch after the Massive Equifax Hack

Cybersecurity stocks spiked on recent news of a data breach affecting 143 million Americans. But which stocks are the best buy candidates right now? And what does the future hold for the cybersecurity industry?

Equifax is just the most recent victim. Computer hacking and identity theft are more common than ever. Zacks has just released Cybersecurity! An Investors Guide to inform Zacks.com readers about this $170 billion/year space. More importantly, it highlights 4 cybersecurity picks with strong profit potential.

Get the new Investing Guide now>>



Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report



Novartis AG (NVS) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (MNTA) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited (TEVA) : Free Stock Analysis Report



Mylan N.V. (MYL) : Free Stock Analysis Report



To read this article on Zacks.com click here.



Zacks Investment Research
By Timothy Gardner WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Interior Department this week will try again to delay parts of an Obama-era rule to limit methane emissions from oil and gas production on federal lands, a rule Congress upheld earlier in the year, a document showed on Wednesday. The rule, finalized by the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) two months before former President Barack Obama left office, requires oil and gas operators on public lands to prevent leaking, venting and flaring of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The administration of President Donald Trump has sought to do away with the rule, viewing it as excessive environmental regulation. BLM announced it would delay implementation of the rule in June, but a federal judge on Wednesday ruled it had violated a federal law dictating the process government agencies must follow for rule changes. The agency released a new proposal on Wednesday that would delay implementation until Jan. 17, 2019 as it reviews Obama's regulation, according to the document, scheduled to be published on Thursday in the Federal Register. The document can be seen at http://bit.ly/2xZ5BPc The petroleum industry's chief lobbying group praised the planned delay, while environmental groups criticized it. Delays could benefit energy drillers on public lands as the Trump administration seeks to make the country "energy dominant" by maximizing oil and gas output for domestic consumption and for shipping energy products to allies. Energy companies have said the methane rule could cost tens of thousands of dollars per well and hinder production. They consider it unnecessary because energy producers have made strides in reducing emissions of methane, the main component of natural gas. Drillers on federal lands produced 9 percent of the natural gas and 5 percent of the oil in the United States last fiscal year. The American Petroleum Institute, the industry's top lobbyist, said the delay provides time to "develop an achievable rule ... that serves to prevent waste and conserve resources while encouraging energy production on federal lands." Kate Kelly, public lands director at the liberal Center for American Progress, said Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and the Trump administration "need to realize that they are not above the law and that it is American taxpayers, not the oil and gas industry, that pay their salaries." In May, the U.S. Senate rejected a resolution to revoke the rule, as several of Trump's fellow Republicans, including Senator John McCain, voted against the measure. The Interior Department, which will take public comments on the proposed delay once it is published in the Federal Register, did not immediately respond to questions about the document. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner; additional reporting by Emily Flitter; Editing by David Gregorio and Cynthia Osterman)
Power plants account for almost 40 per cent of US carbon emissions: Lukas Schulze/Getty Images

The Trump administration reportedly plans to repeal the Clean Power Plan, a game changer of a piece of Obama era climate change legislation.

Reuters said it had seen a document distributed to members of the agencys Regulatory Steering Committee about issuing a proposal to repeal the rule and opening up a comment period for replacement legislation.

The CPP, called a game changer by the Union of Concerned Scientists in 2015 after it was passed into law, regulates the carbon emissions of power plants.

According to the Washington DC-based organisation, power plants account for almost 40 per cent of the countrys emissions - more than every car, truck, and plane in the US combined.

If left in place, the CPP would reduce power plants carbon emissions by 2030 to a level 32 per cent lower than they were in 2005.

This is the first step in the administrations repeal of much of the federal governments environmental regulations, a strategy made clear in a 28 March executive order signed by the President.

Opponents of the CPP went to court in 27 states to oppose it.

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals had suspended the regulation at the request of the Trump administration in April 2017 and set a 6 October deadline to get a report for the EPA about it will proceed, which could explain the timing of the intention to repeal being made public now.

According to the document, the agency will be developing a rule similarly intended to reduce CO2 emissions from existing fossil fuel electric utility generating units but no details were outlined in it.

Every state would have its own plans to reach its own, various emissions targets under the CPP if it were left in place.

The Obama administration saw it as the main means of meeting targets outlined in the Paris Agreement on climate change, which was signed by nearly 200 countries in December 2015, in an effort to reduce global carbon emissions and help poor countries adapt to an already-changed planet.

Story continues

However, in June, Mr Trump announced he would be withdrawing the US from the deal because he believed it put American workers at an economic disadvantage.

Janet McCabe, head of the EPAs Office of Air and Radiation during the Obama administration, told Reuters the actual repeal and replace of CPP may take several years because the EPA is using the advanced notice of proposed rulemaking procedure to gather input on a replacement.

Some groups, like the conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation, have called for a repeal without replacement.

But, others want some sort of replacement in order to avoid legal action by environmental advocacy groups and possibly state and local governments.

The formal announcement is expected by the end of the week.

The EPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
tony robbins donald trump

President Donald Trump tweeted on Thursday morning to ask the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Trump's possible collusion with Russia in the 2016 election, to instead look into "Fake News Networks."

"Why Isn't the Senate Intel Committee looking into the Fake News Networks in OUR country to see why so much of our news is just made up-FAKE!" Trump tweeted.

Trump's tweet continues a media offensive that began Wednesday morning when NBC News reported that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had called Trump a "moron" over the summer.

Tillerson held a press conference Wednesday in which he said Trump "is smart," though he did not explicitly deny having called him a moron. Instead, he dismissed the report as "nonsense" that he would not address.

"The @NBCNews story has just been totally refuted by Sec. Tillerson and @VP Pence. It is #FakeNews," Trump tweeted on Wednesday.

"It was fake news  it was a totally phony story," Trump told reporters during a visit to Las Vegas to meet some of the victims of Sunday night's mass shooting. "It was made up by NBC. They just made it up."

A representative for Tillerson did later explicitly deny the "moron" quip, but NBC News told Business Insider that it stood by its reporting.

According to the latest statement by Senate Intelligence Committee leaders, "the issue of collusion" between the Trump campaign and Russia "is still open." Additionally, an obstruction-of-justice case may be building against Trump after he fired the head of the FBI while the bureau investigated his campaign.

The committee on Wednesday also acknowledged the propaganda, or disinformation, that infiltrated US social-media networks before the election. Large tech companies like Facebook, Google, and Twitter have struggled lately at preventing their products from distributing fake news, but it's unclear whether Trump meant to include these companies in what he called "Fake News Networks."

Story continues

NOW WATCH: Tom Price resigns after controversy over private flights  here are the casualties of the Trump administration so far





More From Business Insider


The Trump administration is poised to scrap a policy limiting greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, furthering its attack on the United States efforts to combat climate change.

The Environmental Protection Agency is prepared to issue a proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan, according to a 43-page draft document obtained by HuffPost. The agency argues that the Obama-era policy exceeds the EPAs statutory authority.

The EPA has not determined if it will introduce a replacement rule to regulate greenhouse gases from power plants, or what such a rule would look like, according to the document.

The EPA is considering whether it is appropriate to propose such a rule, and it plans to solicit information on emission reduction systems, the draft states.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said Monday that he would sign the proposal the next day.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly condemned the Clean Power Plan, calling it stupid and a crushing attack on American industry. In March, he signed an executive order demanding that the EPA review the policy. Repealing it would fulfill a major campaign promise.

However, Vox notes that the EPA would have to go through a lengthy  possibly years-long  rule-making process to fully repeal the Clean Power Plan. That timeline contradicts Trumps declaration last month that the policy was already as good as dead. Did you see what I did to that? Boom, gone, he told a cheering crowd in Alabama at the time.

Former EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said the looming proposal was a wholesale retreat from EPAs legal, scientific and moral obligation to address the threats of climate change.

This administration is using contrived problems with our energy system to take money out of consumers pockets and giving it to fossil fuel companies, so they can force a shift away from clean energy and back to dirty fossil fuel. Thats not back to basics, thats just plain backwards, she said Friday, referring to Pruitts so-called Back-To-Basics agenda.

Story continues

When the Clean Power Plan was unveiled in 2015, it was hailed as the strongest action ever taken by a U.S. president to combat climate change.

Many scientists and environmentalists saw the policy, which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions from power plants by 32 percent by 2030, as the most important tool in the federal governments arsenal to help the U.S. meet its Paris Climate Agreement goals.

Trump announced in May that the U.S. would withdraw from the global climate deal, making it one of three countries not in the accord.

However, the Clean Power Plan has had its fair share of opponents.

More than two dozen states challenged the Clean Power Plan in court, prompting the Supreme Court to temporarily block it. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals had set a deadline for Friday to hear from the EPA on how it plans to move forward with the policy.

Myron Ebell, director of the Center for Energy and Environment at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, who previously served as Trumps EPA adviser, said Friday that he hopes the Clean Power Plan will be rescinded in its entirety.

Scrapping the Clean Power Plan is a key part of President Trumps de-regulatory agenda, which is designed to get the economy moving again, he said in a statement. This rule and other greenhouse gas emissions rules are depressing investment and job growth in resource and manufacturing industries.

Ebell is a longtime climate change denier and has called the environmental movement the greatest threat to freedom and prosperity in the modern world.

This article has been updated with additional details from the EPA document, as well as comments from McCarthy and Ebell.

Alexander C. Kaufman contributed reporting.

Related Coverage

Scott Pruitt Has Sued The Environmental Protection Agency 13 Times. Now He Wants To Lead It.

Betsy DeVos Visits Science Fair, Refuses To Talk About Climate Science

How Leaving The Paris Accord Will Hurt Our Health

Also on HuffPost

Strengthen city, county and state climate efforts

If the federal government refuses to stand up against climate change, itll be more important than ever for cities, counties and states to pick up the slack and become climate leaders. That means committing to divest from fossil fuels, embrace clean energy, set emissions targets and develop climate action plans, among other measures.



The ominous signals coming out of D.C. point to even more work needed at the city and state level, said Kate Kiely, national media deputy director at the Natural Resources Defense Council. In November, the NRDC announced partnerships with 20 cities across the country from St. Paul, Minnesota, to Houston, Texas, to make strides in renewable energy.



According to Brune, cities could have an especially big influence in the climate change fight. We should be pushing cities to go 100 percent clean energy and to reject natural gas and coal and other fossil fuels, he said. A majority of people now live in cities, so this could have a dramatic impact.



In the U.S., at least 20 cities have made commitments to rely completely on clean energy.



People should organize and get their own cities to move forward, Brune said.



Contact your mayor, city council, or county or state representative and get them to set a timeline to stop using fossil fuels.

Push companies and institutions to divest from fossil fuels

There are a lot of things that the president cant undo. He cant stop the fact that solar and wind are cheaper than coal and gas. He cant change the fact that dozens of businesses have already committed to clean energy, Brune said.



As of December, more than 640 institutions worldwide, including several universities, churches and for-profit companies and banks, have pledged to divest from their fossil fuel investments. According to Go Fossil Free, a 350.org campaign, the commitments amount to more than $3.4 trillion.



Consumers should petition companies to ditch their fossil fuel investments, and students should urge their schools and colleges to do the same.



As we wrap up the hottest year in history, we know that investments in the fossil fuel industry fund these climate impacts. Thats why its more critical than ever that we push our institutions to divest from the fossil fuel companies that are knowingly perpetuating the climate crisis, Lindsay Meiman, U.S. communications coordinator for 350.org, told HuffPost.



Want to push a company, school or place of worship to divest from fossil fuels? 350.org has a list of resources to help you start a campaign. Or find an existing one to get involved in.

Put your money where your mouth is

Petitions and protests can be powerful, but moving your money speaks volumes too. As a consumer and as an investor, ensure you're not personally financing climate change. This means, for example, choosing banks that are free of fossil fuel connections.



Your ATM card or checking account or your mortgage, these should not be financed by companies that are taking your checking fees or other payments to subsidize the Dakota Access Pipeline or finance drilling offshore. Make sure your money aligns with your values, Brune said.



In September, Amalgamated Bank became the first North American bank to commit to divest 100 percent from fossil fuels. Aspiration has bank accounts that are fossil fuel-free, and Beneficial State Bank has credit cards that dont invest in fossil fuels.



Anthony Hobley, CEO of the Carbon Tracker Initiative, said consumers should also ensure that their pensions, 401(k) or other retirement savings accounts are similarly not underwriting fossil fuel companies.



A lot of pressure can be made through the financial industry, Hobley said from London. Ordinary people who hold pensions can put pressure on companies through their pensions. Put pressure on the people who manage your money and thats one way to keep pressure on those companies too.



The financial services companies that manage retirement accounts arent used to getting many letters from the people whose money they manage, Hobley added. It wouldnt take much of an organized effort for them to take notice.



Are your investments supporting fossil fuels? FossilFreeFunds.org is a web tool that allows people to check whether their individual investments or employer-provided 401(k) is supporting coal companies, oil and gas producers, and fossil-fired utilities.

Making a "financial case" for clean energy

Hobley believes the best chance we have of convincing Trump to care about climate change is to make a compelling financial case for renewables.



With new clean energy technologies getting more efficient and cheaper than fossil fuels, a transition to renewables is inevitable, said Hobley. Its just a matter of time.



Trump can no more stop this transition than a previous U.S. president couldve stopped the transition from steam locomotives to the automobile or the typewriter to the computer. The technological genie is already out of the bag, he said. Its not a case of if, but when. But the when is important because of the 2 degrees budget, and thats where a lack of political leadership or resistance can have a real impact.



Clear political leadership from both the U.S. and China could mean a "smoother" and faster transition to clean energy. A lack thereof, however, could make it easier for big oil and gas companies to stay in denial  and that would be to their detriment, Hobley said. It would mean pouring more money, billions or trillions of dollars, into fossil fuel assets that we simply dont need.



Trump now has the opportunity to make the United States a leader in clean energy.



These are complicated and highly technical products, Hobley said. With an educated and skilled workforce, these are the kinds of things that should be manufactured in the U.S.



Creating new jobs was a central part of Trumps election platform. Maybe someone should remind him that the clean energy industry creates more jobs per unit of energy than coal and natural gas. In 2015, the number of U.S. jobs in solar energy overtook those in oil and natural gas extraction for the very first time.



A 2015 report by NextGen Climate America found that a transition to clean energy would add a million jobs by 2030 and up to 2 million jobs by 2050, while increasing the nation's gross domestic product by $290 billion and boosting household income.



We should be citing such figures and urging utility companies and public utility commissions to embrace clean energy. (Public utility commissions regularly hold hearings that are open to the public. Attend them, and voice your thoughts!)

Speak out!

Whats the single biggest way you can influence climate change? According to the NRDC, its speaking up.



Talk to your friends and family, and make sure your representatives are making good decisions, Aliya Haq, deputy director of NRDCs Clean Power Plan Initiative, wrote in a blog post. The main reason elected officials do anything difficult is because their constituents make them.



In the coming months and years, there will be mass mobilizations that folks should join to push back against Trumps regressive policies and hateful rhetoric, said 350.orgs Meiman. Folks can engage online by joining online actions, signing petitions and contributing their voice on social media to push back on Trumps agenda.



You can also participate in protests in your area or join and support local nonprofits in their fight against climate change.

Reduce your own carbon footprint

Power your own home with renewable energy, invest in energy-efficient appliances and lightbulbs, and remember to weatherize.



Building heating and cooling are among the biggest uses of energy, said NRDCs Haq. Make your home more energy-efficient by sealing drafts and ensuring your home is adequately insulated and ventilated too.



Also consider changing your diet. Cut down on meat consumption or even eliminate it from your diet completely, Brune said. I do think that people can have a powerful impact on the environment just by eating less meat.



It takes 14 times as much biologically productive land to produce 1 ton of beef as it takes to produce 1 ton of grain, according to the Global Footprint Network.



Global livestock is also responsible for 14.5 percent of all anthropogenic carbon emissions, data from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization shows.



Driving a fuel-efficient vehicle is another way to reduce your carbon footprint. You can also take steps to be more fuel efficient when you're on the road, no matter what car you drive.

Support environmental journalism

A major shortcoming of journalists during the presidential election was their failure to highlight climate change as a vital topic  and to force Trump (and Hillary Clinton, too) to address this crisis.



Over the next four years, Trump needs to be held accountable, and the press must make climate change a central issue in his presidency.



The Society of Environmental Journalists, a nonprofit membership organization supporting environmental journalists in the U.S. and around the world, aims to improve the quality, accuracy and visibility of reporting on the environment. You can also support nonprofit environmental news outlets such as Inside Climate, Grist and High Country News.

Love HuffPost? Become a founding member of HuffPost Plus today.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
After announcing a 220 percent countervailing duty on the aircraft in September 2017, the United States added another "preliminary" anti-dumping duty of 80 percent (AFP Photo/MICHAEL BUHOLZER) (AFP/File)

Washington (AFP) - The US Commerce Department on Friday slapped more duties on imports of Canadian manufacturer Bombardier's new CSeries jetliners.

One week after announcing a 220 percent countervailing duty on the aircraft, the United States added another "preliminary" anti-dumping duty of 80 percent.

The moves stem from a complaint by US aerospace giant Boeing alleging Bombardier had unfairly benefited from state subsidies that allowed it to sell 75 CSeries aircraft at below cost to Delta Airlines.

"The United States is committed to free, fair and reciprocal trade with Canada, but this is not our idea of a properly functioning trading relationship," said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.

"We will continue to verify the accuracy of this decision, while do everything in our power to stand up for American companies and their workers."

According to Boeing's complaint, Bombardier sold its CS100 for $19.6 million each, or $13.6 million below cost.

It also said Bombardier received more than US$3 billion in subsidies from Ottawa and the Quebec government.

A final decision is expected on December 19. If confirmed, the levies would be applied to the CSeries when they are delivered to Delta starting in spring 2018.

The jetliner is the first new design in the 100- to 150-seat category in more than 25 years, and only just started to roll off assembly lines.

Ottawa and Bombardier reacted angrily to the duties, accusing Boeing of manipulating the US trade remedy system to try to prevent a new competitor from selling in the key US aviation market.

"We are extremely disappointed by and in complete disagreement with the US Department of Commerce's preliminary determination in the anti-dumping investigation of exports of large aircraft from Canada," Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland said.

She also called the duties "baseless and absurdly high" while Bombardier called the Commerce decision an "egregious overreach."

Story continues

Bombardier spokeswoman Nathalie Siphengphet noted that all aerospace manufacturers, including Boeing, discount new models, adding that the US company's "hypocrisy is appalling."

By looking only at the first year of the CSeries rollout, she said Commerce's probe would result in a "deeply distorted finding."

In addition to creating jobs in Canada and Britain, Siphengphet pointed out that the CSeries going forward would generate more than US$30 billion for US suppliers and support 22,700 American jobs.

Relations between Ottawa and Washington have been strained for months over the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and another trade row over softwood lumber.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday to discuss these trade irritants as a fourth round of NAFTA talks kick off in a Washington suburb.
Consumer passenger flight could be the next industry that's transformed by electric powertrains, and Seattle's Zunum Aero wants to be at the forefront of that change.

The Seattle-based company, which is backed by Boeing's HorizonX fund and Jet Blue's Technology Ventures, has a plan to change the fundamental economics of regional flight, and shift the economics of air travel on a path towards eventual fully electric flight.

Zunum Aero's plan to make this happen starts with its first launch aircraft, a vehicle it revealed in full detail today, after sharing some information earlier this year. The first Zunum aircraft is designed for regional service, with seating for 12 passengers and a delivery window starting in 2022. The economics are potentially game-changing, with operating expenses of around $260 per hour for the aircraft.

With a max cruise stepped of 340 miles per hour in the air, a take-off distance of 2,200 feet, a total hybrid-electric range of 700 miles (which it hopes to scale to over 1,000 in time) and 80 percent lower noise and emissions vs. traditional regional planes, Zunum is position its airplane as the perfect way to light up under-utilized regional airports across the U.S., providing affordable and efficient commuter flights where economic realities have made running regular service impractical.

"In the past, very intentionally, we were quiet about operating costs, because it's just shockingly low what you can get with an electric. So that you can get an aircraft of a size that could never compete with an airliner that can get you below commercial fares," Zunum Aero CEO Ashish Kumar told me in an interview. He put the cost per seat operating expenses at around 8 cents per mile. "That's about one-tenth the operating cost of a business jet per hour," he said.

Kumar showed me a map of over 5,000 airports in the U.S. that are currently operating far under capacity, and explained that Zunum's goal is to change the face of air transport by maximizing the efficacy of this existing infrastructure.

Story continues

The Zunum airframe is designed to work with the runways and airports that are already in place, he explained, and they won't even require significant fuelling or charging overhauls thanks to the hybrid design. Their airframe is also designed to be easy for existing commercial pilots to get qualified on and use.

Over time, the Zunum Aero craft (which should have the same operable cycle limit as current commercial airplanes) is also designed to be adaptable to changing power source options: Zunum officially calls it a "hybrid-to-electric" aircraft, and it's designed so that its onboard fuel tank can eventually be reduced in size and replaced with additional battery units, so that as battery tech improves, it could transition to a fully electric aircraft  even without having to invest in a new generation airframe.

But what about the benefit to consumer? Kumar says that travel times could be dramatically reduced, turning the current 4 hour, 50 minute door-to-door trip to Washington, DC from Boston to a 2 hour, 30 minute trip, for instance. Plus, there'd be cost savings too, with a fare for that journey likely going for around $140, or about a third less than current commercial pricing.

In California, a San Jose to LA flight could take just 2 hours and 15 minutes, door-to-door, rather than the average 4 hours and 40 minutes currently required. Pricing would be around $120 based on estimates, which would again be under the average current ticket fare.

[gallery ids="1551518,1551519,1551520,1551521"]

Reducing those times is about more than just time spent in the air, since commercial jets actually fly at higher speeds in many cases. Instead, it's about reducing congestion at airports around major hubs, and redistributing regional flights away from jammed international facilities with enhanced security and longer check-in times, and about providing flights near to where consumers are living, rather than requiring a lengthy trip to the nearest major airport first.

"You have a business jet type travel experience, you walk on and off, perhaps without any security, you get to places a whole lot faster because you're flying out of small airfield, and you're not paying more than commercial economy," Kumar said.

Zunum Aero's plan is to aim for flight tests in 2019, which it'll do by opening a new development center near Chicago, and begin ground testing, and by continuing to hire more top talent, including recent engineers brought on from aerospace industry giants including Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Eventually, the company hopes to also field a second airframe designed to hold more passengers and replace vehicles doing longer range runs.
ASADABAD, Afghanistan -- Tribal leaders in a remote alpine valley in eastern Afghanistan say Taliban and Islamic State (IS) militants are using large-scale logging to fund their violent campaigns.

Residents of Chapa Dara, a district in eastern Kunar Province, say loggers backed by militants are felling hundreds of pine trees every day. The timber obtained from these trees is then smuggled on mules to a market in neighboring Nangarhar Province.

Mawlawi Shah Mahmud, a tribal leader in Chapa Dara, says various clans of the Safi Pashtun tribe in the region and some Pashai communities had protected their forests during various cycles of war over the past four decades by imposing strict bans on logging and the trade of timber.

It is very saddening to see the situation change rapidly for the worse, he told Radio Free Afghanistan. When the Taliban were in power [during the 1990s], they backed our effort to protect our forests by publicly standing behind our pledge against illegal logging.

Chapa Dara was relatively immune from the senseless illegal logging common elsewhere in Kunar. Home to one of Afghanistans last natural forests, such illegal logging threatens Kunars already depleted oak and pine forests with extinction. With the government controlling major roads to Kunar, Chapa Daras timber is smuggled to a market in neighboring Nangarhars Darai Noor.

The Taliban and IS are falling back on a tried-and-tested strategy to ensure their survival amid ramped-up military efforts to reduce their footprint in eastern Afghanistan, where they still hold large swaths of the countryside.

Malik Sher Khan, another Chapa Dara tribal leader, says that in the past people used to listen to their community leaders and were mostly committed to protecting their resources.

It is anarchy now. People dont care about the value of natural resources, and thats why some of them are complicit in destroying our forests, he said. It is still, however, in the hands of the government and insurgents to prevent our forests from complete destruction.

Nasrullah Khan, another tribal leader and government adviser, however, says todays insurgents are not interested in protecting public interests.

Even the Taliban are locals; we are calling on them not to allow such systematic destruction of our precious natural resources, he told Radio Free Afghanistan. Why are they silent over such practices?

It was not possible to reach insurgents for comment in remote Kunar regions. However, in past pronouncements, the Taliban have pledged to protect Afghanistans natural resources. Across the country, insurgent factions and warlords benefit from illegal mining, drug production, and smuggling. The Taliban often tax agricultural produce in regions they control.

In Kunar, Deputy Governor Qazi Muhammad Nabi Ahmedi says they are not allowing anyone to either engage in illegal logging or sell timber on the black market.

Wherever we have some authority and officials can visit, we make sure our national treasures are protected, he told Radio Free Afghanistan.

The situation in Kunar is less than perfect. While the government has been able to reduce illegal logging and the smuggling of timber on major roads has ceased after protests in recent years, such practices are rampant in remote mountainous valleys.

With white-water rivers, broadleaf oak forests at low elevations, and pine forests in the mountains, Kunar was once one of the most picturesque regions in Afghanistan.

Its precious deodar timber, however, invited trouble and instability after the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s. Revenues from the illegal timber trade bankrolled insurgents and aided their violent campaigns in this remote province on Afghanistans eastern border with Pakistan.

Following the fall of the Taliban regime, Kunar once again became a contested frontier. While the insurgents continued to exploit the regions forests, some government officials exploited the timber business to enrich themselves.

Abubakar Siddique wrote this based on Rohullah Anwaris reporting from Asadabad, the capital of Kunar Province in eastern Afghanistan.
In order to build trust with the Taliban, Afghanistan is working to bring back insurgent detainees from neighboring Pakistan.

The plan, still being shaped, is part of a broader effort to entice the insurgents into negotiations to end their 16-year war against Kabul.

Under the plan, Afghan Taliban detainees would be released from Pakistani custody in exchange for Pakistani militants currently detained in Afghanistan. The two sides are also working to secure the release of Western hostages held by the insurgents.

In a sign the exchange would be significant for the insurgents, a senior Afghan security official privy to the discussions with Islamabad told Radio Mashaal that the proposed exchange includes high-profile Taliban leaders such as the movements former deputy leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, Mullah Ahmadullah Muti (alias Mullah Nanai), Mullah Sulaiman Agha, and Mullah Abdul Samad Sani. The official requested anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss such sensitive deliberations with the media.

The aim is to bring back influential Taliban leaders to help convince insurgents on the ground to lay down their weapons, he said. It will also help convey the message that we are sincere about reaching a political deal [with the insurgents].

Abdul Hakim Mujahid, a former Taliban diplomat and senior member of the Afghan High Peace Council, says Kabul wants to use the release of detainees to build confidence with Pakistan while also trying to oblige the Taliban.

I dont think the detained Taliban leaders could directly help end violence; however, I believe this would bridge the gap between the government and the Taliban, he told Radio Mashaal.

Kabul is not only seeking the release of Taliban detainees. It also wants to free Afghan and Western hostages held by the insurgent group.

Mohammad Amin Waqad, deputy head of the Afghan High Peace Council, says Kabul and Islamabad are working on a mechanism for exchanging detainees because no such agreement exists.

If Pakistan sincerely wants to cooperate in peace talks, then freeing Taliban prisoners should not be a problem, he told Radio Mashaal. On the other hand, the Taliban also have people in their custody. For confidence-building measures, some people could be released first, which could then be followed by releasing high-profile detainees, he said.

The current Taliban hostages include a Western couple, Canadian Joshua Boyle and his American wife, Caitlin Coleman. They were kidnapped in Afghanistans central Wardak Province in 2012. Last year, the Taliban abducted an American and an Australian from Kabul, Kevin King and Timothy John Weeks, who taught at the American University of Afghanistan.

While Islamabad has not elaborated on the detainee exchanges, a statement by the Pakistani militarys media wing said Islamabad and Kabul agreed on joint efforts at an October 1 meeting between Afghan President Ashraf Ghani and Pakistani Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa.

Both sides agreed on the framework for working toward a peaceable environment conducive to the political process essential for enduring Afghan peace and regional stability, the statement noted.

The Afghan National Security Council noted that Afghan National Security Adviser Hanif Atmar and Pakistani Foreign Minister Khwaja Muhammad Asif discussed the release of Taliban detainees at a September 21 meeting.

The two sides also discussed [militant] sanctuaries in Pakistan and the exchange of top five Taliban leaders detained in Pakistan, the council said in a September 28 statement.

Talking to Pakistans GEO TV, Asif confirmed Kabul had provided a list of 78 Taliban leaders either in Pakistani custody or reportedly living in the country. Earlier this year, the Pakistani military gave Kabul a similar list of 76 Pakistani Taliban militants allegedly hiding in Afghanistan.

The senior Afghan security official who requested anonymity says the prisoner swap is part of proposals both sides are working on to end the war in Afghanistan.

These proposals include access to detainees, releasing prisoners, military coordination including intelligence sharing, and better border management, he said.

The official said both sides agreed to try to involve the Taliban in peace talks. Pakistanis will reach out to the Taliban, who could be influenced by them, and Afghans will reach out to others who are willing to work with Kabul, he noted.

Radio Mashaal has learned that former Taliban diplomat Mullah Abdul Salam Zaeef is now in Qatar on behalf of the Afghan government. He is meeting Taliban representatives at the groups political office in the countrys capital, Doha.

We are going to ask whether the Taliban want to work as a political party. If yes, we could work on making that happens, Waqad said.

The new diplomatic push to reset relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan comes after U.S. President Donald Trump called on Islamabad to stop supporting the Taliban and other insurgent groups.

Pakistan has much to gain from partnering with our effort in Afghanistan. It has much to lose by continuing to harbor criminals and terrorists, Trump said in his August 21 speech outlining his administrations new strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia.

Islamabad now appears to be striving to offset the pressure from Washington and NATOs demands over militant sanctuaries. The countrys foreign minister, Asif, is keen on telling Western capitals that his country now sees vital interests in peace and stability in Afghanistan.

"Ensuring security in Afghanistan is critical for the [South Asian] region," he told a think tank audience in Washington on October 5. "We will be the biggest beneficiary of peace in Afghanistan."

Ayaz Wazir, a former Pakistani diplomat, says a detainee exchange could help boost confidence between Kabul and Islamabad.

This could lead to concrete results to curb violence in the region, he said.

as/fg


Finnish English

CapMan Buyout press release 6 October 2017 at 11.00 a.m. EEST

CapMan Buyout to divest Oral Hammaslaakarit to Colosseum Dental Group

A group of investors led by CapMan Buyout, including funds managed by CapMan Buyout, are pleased to announce to have reached an agreement to divest Oral Hammaslaakarit Plc ("Oral") to Colosseum Dental Group ("Colosseum"), a Swiss-based dentistry group. Financial terms of the transaction have not been disclosed.

Oral is the leading Finnish private dentistry chain with 63 clinics and sales close to EUR 100 million. During CapMan's ownership, Oral's revenue has increased by 15 per cent annually while EBITDA has increased by a compound annual growth rate of 19 per cent. Funds managed by CapMan acquired Oral in 2014.

Together with Oral, Colosseum is expected to have sales of around EUR 350 million and will operate more than 200 clinics in Finland, Norway, Sweden, the UK, Switzerland, Italy and Denmark, further pursuing its journey to build a leading pan-European dentistry group.

"We are very pleased with the development of Oral and the return of our investment. During our ownership, Oral has significantly expanded and completed several developments projects, especially within the digitalisation of its operations. Today, Oral is one of the most developed private dental care companies in Europe. Oral will in my mind fit very well into Colosseum Dental Group, who will continue to support the company in its future development and further build on the strengths of the business and its ongoing initiatives. It has been an honour to be part of Oral's development, and I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the company's management, the dental care professionals and all its employees," says Jan Mattlin, Partner at CapMan Buyout and responsible for the investment in Oral.

"We are delighted to become part of the Colosseum Dental Group. The company has a long-term mandate to build a strong European dentistry platform. This allows us here in Finland to continue building a great local business with high quality offering for both patients and dentists. We will continue to improve oral health in Finland as we have done for the past 35 years. Oral's strong brand will prevail in Finland and our employees and dentists will have even more opportunities to develop their know-how in the future through the opening-up of opportunities for international exchange. We see the acquisition as a very positive opportunity for our service development in the years to come", says Martin Forss, CEO of Oral.

"With Oral we both reach a group of highly competent new colleagues, as well as gain access to forefront know-how around how to run many of our processes in a more advanced manner that we can leverage across other geographies. Our vision of modern, high quality dentistry for the benefit of patients, dentists and employees fits well with what management wants to accomplish. We are certain that the increased scale of the new company will be for the benefit of all stakeholders," says Tomas Aubell, CEO of Colosseum.

Colosseum will continue to support management with its development of the company and Martin Forss and his team have agreed to continue to run Oral also after the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in November 2017.

For more information, please contact:

Jan Mattlin, Partner, CapMan Buyout

jan.mattlin@capman.com

+358 40 508 6406

Tomas Aubell, Chief Executive Officer, Colosseum Dental Group

tomas.aubell@colosseumdental.com

+41 79 519 55 02

Martin Forss, Chief Executive Officer, Oral Hammaslaakarit Plc

martin.forss@oral.fi

+358 40 779 6266

About CapMan

CapMan is a leading Nordic investment and specialised asset management company. As one of the Nordic private equity pioneers we have actively developed hundreds of companies and real estate and thereby created substantial value in these businesses and assets over more than 25 years. CapMan has today 110 private equity professionals and manages 2.3 billion in assets. We mainly manage the assets of our customers, the investors, but also make direct investments from our own balance sheet in areas without an active fund. Our objective is to provide attractive returns and innovative solutions to investors and value adding services to professional investment partnerships, growth-oriented companies and tenants. Our current investment strategies cover Buyout, Growth Equity, Real Estate, Russia, Credit and Infrastructure. We also have a growing service business that currently includes fundraising advisory, procurement activities and fund management.

www.capman.com

twitter.com/CapManPE

About Colosseum Dental Group

Colosseum Dental Group, a company fully owned by Jacobs Holding AG, has the ambition to become the leading European provider for dentistry services. With the acquisition of Oral, Colosseum now operates more than 200 clinics with 900 dentists across Finland, Norway, Sweden, the UK, Switzerland, Italy and Denmark with run-rate sales of approximately EUR 350 million. The group wants to provide modern, quality dentistry services for the benefit of patients, dentists, employees and shareholders alike, striving for continuous growth and excellence.

www.colosseumdental.com

About Oral Hammaslaakarit Plc

The Finnish Oral Hammaslaakarit Plc is a service company offering oral health care, with more than 1,300 professionals providing services throughout Finland. In 2016, the company's revenue amounted to EUR 81.4 million. Oral provides dental health services at over 60 dental clinics in various locations in Finland. The dental laboratory Oral Hammaslaboratorio Oy is part of the Group.

www.oral.fi
Quote:

A. In South Korea in the early 2000s, growth in the nations ten largest companies assets was fueled by the companies rapid expansion into new lines of business: they had a total of 592 subsidiaries in 2011, nearly twice as many as in 2002.

Quote:

B. In South Korea, the nations ten largest companies asset growth was fueled by their rapid expansion into new lines of business: they had a total of 592 subsidiaries in 2011, nearly double that of 2002.

Quote:

C. In South Korea, the nations ten largest companies experienced rapid asset growth in the early 2000s, fueled by their rapid expansion into new lines of business: they had a total of 592 subsidiaries in 2011, nearly twice that of 2002.

Quote:

D. In the early 2000s, South Koreas ten largest companies experienced rapid asset growth, fueled by their rapid expansion into new lines of business: they had a total of 592 subsidiaries in 2011, nearly twice as many as in 2002.

Quote:

E. In the early 2000s, South Koreas ten largest companies assets grew rapidly, fueled by their rapid expansion into new lines of business: they had a total of 592 subsidiaries in 2011, nearly twice the number they had in 2002.

"They" really doesn't work very well here. Sure, we intuitively understand that "they" refers back to "companies"... except that "companies" is possessive in this sentence, and a non-possessive pronoun ("they") can't refer back to a possessive noun on the GMAT. At the very least, I've never seen a correct answer that does so -- and this could definitely be clearer. Eliminate (A)."That" is used as a singular pronoun here, so we need to look for a singular noun that it could refer back to. I don't see a whole lot of options: "total", I guess? But that really doesn't make much sense. ( For more on the GMAT's many uses of "that", click here. Plus, we still have the same pronoun issue as in (A). Eliminate (B)."They" works a little bit better, but "that of" still doesn't make any sense. (C) is out.This looks fine! We're legitimately comparing the number of subsidiaries now, and the pronoun issues have been cleaned up. Keep (D).The comparison at the end is incredibly wordy, and that's not necessarily the end of the world, but (D) is clearly better. Plus, we're back to the same pronoun issue as in (A) and (B). So (E) is gone, and (D) is the correct answer._________________
broall wrote:

Throughout European history famines have generally been followed by period of rising wages, because when a labor force is diminished, workers are more valuable in accordance with the law of supply and demand. The Irish potato famine of the 1840s is an exception; it resulted in the death or emigration of half of Ireland's population, but there was no significant rise in the average wages in Ireland in the following decade.



Which one of the following, if true, would LEAST contribute to an explanation of the exception to the generalization?



(A) Improved medical care reduced the mortality rate among able-bodied adults in the decade following the famine to below prefamine levels.



(B) Eviction policies of the landowners in Ireland were designed to force emigration of the elderly and infirm, who could not work, and to retain a high percentage of able-bodied workers.



(C) Advances in technology increased the efficiency of industry and agriculture, and so allowed maintenance of economic output with less demand for labor.



(D) The birth rate increased during the decade following the famine, and this compensated for much of the loss of population that was due to the famine.



(E) England, which had political control of Ireland, legislated artificially low wages to provide English-owned industry and agriculture in Ireland with cheap labor.



Source: LSAT

Option D talks about the population as a whole. However, the argument is only concerned with able-bodied labor supply.

4 out of 5 answer choices will explain the anomaly observed in Ireland i.e no change in labor supplyOption A says that the labor supply (able bodied individuals) did not decline because of improved medical careOption B says that the labor supply (able bodied individuals) did not decline because of eviction policiesOption C says that due to advancement in tech the demand for labor did not increase. Hence, supply demand was not disturbedOption E says that the labor supply (able bodied individuals) did not decline because of influx of labor from England
The Hope College Knickerbocker Theatres Fall Film Series continues with the British comedy Trip to Spain on Monday-Saturday, Oct. 9-14, at 7:30 p.m. in the Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland.

Trip to Spain has British comedians Rob Brydon and Steve Cooga come onto the big screen, once again, for a new escapade in Spain. The two comedians tour their way through a variety of European cities during a week-long drive filled with sightseeing and taste-bud adventures leading them to epiphanies regarding history, fame, fatherhood and what it means to settle into middle age.

The film is in English. It has a running time of one hour and 48 minutes, and is not rated.

Tickets are $6 for regular admission and $5 for senior citizens, Hope College faculty and children. Tickets will be sold at the door but are also available in advance at the Events and Conferences Office located downtown in the Anderson-Werkman Financial Center (100 E. Eighth St.). The office is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be called at (616) 395-7890.

The Knickerbocker Theatre is located at 86 E. Eighth St.
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
MATTOON -- When Gary Swearingen, Wells Fargo Advisors complex manager, called Coles County Habitat for Humanity's executive director, Melissa McDaniel, to give her the good news they secured a $5,000 "mini" grant for Habitat, McDaniel commented, "There's nothing 'mini' about this contribution. It will have a significant impact on our ability to provide affordable housing for our next two partner families."

According to a press release, Habitat's board recently approved the two families this past spring, both single mothers who want to create a better life for themselves and their children. With one current build taking place in Mattoon and one planned for this spring in Charleston, Wells Fargo's support came at the perfect time for Habitat, officials said.

"It costs approximately $80,000 to build each home, so every dollar and every donation matters," McDaniel noted.

Wells Fargo has been doing more than just donating money; they are becoming active volunteers at Habitat. From coming out to volunteer at events to swinging a hammer at builds, Wells Fargo is stepping up to be a key partner in Habitat's work.

Tom Bucher, Habitat's president, said, "We are thrilled to have Wells Fargo Advisors as a new partner supporting our work. It's because of generous donors and volunteers like them that we can continue our mission of building affordable homes for deserving low income families in Coles County."

Coles County Habitat for Humanity is an ecumenical Christian housing ministry organized in 1989. It seeks to eliminate poverty housing by building decent, safe and affordable homes for low-income families. Homes are sold to low-income families at no profit with a zero-interest mortgage provided by Coles County Habitat for Humanity.

Coles County Habitat for Humanity has been active in the community for 28 years and is the beneficiary of incredible community support. To date, the affiliate has completed 36 homes locally. Individuals or businesses wanting to assist with construction, donate their services/expertise, or make a financial contribution can contact the Habitat office at 217-348-7063, from 8 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday. More information is available at http://www.colescountyhabitat.net
Many of the same advisors to continue to hold sway over White House policy, however, including Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, who has been given primary credit for preserving the deal at the time of the previous two deadlines. This is in spite of the fact that Tillerson has repeated many of Trumps criticisms of the agreement and has called for thorough review of its enforcement. He has not, however called for unilateral withdrawal from it, presumably because of fears over the effect that this could have on the United States relationship with European allies.

On Tuesday, CNN reported upon Tillersons role in the run-up to the October 15 deadline, and it emphasized that these relationships remain an area of concern, perhaps even rising to the level of a crisis. In this sense, Tillerson is reportedly working to head off that crisis with a plan that addresses the presidents serious criticisms of Irans theocratic regime while keeping the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action technically in force.

Specifically, Tillerson has been working with Congress to refocus the relevant legislation so that the president doesnt merely report on the status of the JCPOA but instead reports regularly to Congress about overall Iranian threats to national security, including support of terrorism and the development and testing of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles. Such missile activities are not technically banned under the terms of the JCPOA itself, but Trump and others have frequently identified them as violations of the spirit of the agreement, especially insofar as they defy a United Nations Security Council resolution that was passed alongside the JCPOA and called upon the Islamic Republic to avoid work on weapons that are capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

The White House as a whole seems to have hinted at this shift in the run-up to the new deadline. It is expected that at roughly the same time Trump announces his decision on the matter of JCPOA compliance, his administration will also release the full results of a comprehensive review of Iran policy. Some results of that review have already allegedly emerged, and they include greater freedom for US military commanders to respond to Iranian threats in the form of missile launches and provocative maneuvers by Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps naval forces in the Persian Gulf.

The CNN report notes that Secretary of Defense James Mattis expressed keen support of this review process as a means to addressing national security issues that are related to Iran but fall outside of the scope of the nuclear agreement. Many critics of the previous American presidential administration have argued that the narrow focus of the JCPOA distracted attention away from unrelated or tangentially related issues, including terrorist sponsorship, missile tests, and Iranian involvement in regional conflicts.

But as the Associated Press emphasized on Tuesday in a separate report, Mattis also specifically told a Senate hearing that he did not believe the US should withdraw from the JCPOA and that continuing to enforce it would be in the national security interest of the United States. On Wednesday, the Washington Post took Mattis comments, along with those of Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Joseph Dunford, as support for the conclusion that Trumps own military generals are at odds with him over the issue of the JCPOA.

Other expressions of support for the nuclear accord have come from far more predictable sources, including a letter to the president that was reportedly signed by 180 House Democrats. On the other hand, some longstanding opponents of the agreement continue to urge Trump to uphold his campaign promise to tear up the deal, or at least to avoid the apparent endorsements that he offered to it with the two previous compliance certifications.

Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday that Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton had laid out a strategy that the president could pursue after decertifying Iranian compliance. Cotton recommended that the White House withhold certification but without explicitly withdrawing the US from the agreement. This would then allow Congress to deliberate over the next steps, which might involve preparing a list of demands to be made of the Islamic Republic, which the White House could then pitch to European allies in an effort to build global consensus.

Cottons plan is notably compatible with the one that Secretary of State Tillerson is supposedly pursuing, although the latter places considerably less emphasis on the JCPOA itself. Also notable is the fact that Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, specifically pointed out in a speech to the American Enterprise Institute last month that the denial of presidential certification did not necessarily mean the US would be withdrawing from the deal. This seems to suggest that the president has considered Cottons plan or one very similar to it.

However, if President Trumps plan poses any sort of threat to the JCPOA, it may continue to face serious challenges from some European policymakers. Various Iranian officials including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif have boasted that Europe will show willingness to defy the US if Trump single-handedly undermines the nuclear accord. European officials have lent some credence to this conclusion, although the extent of the prospective defiance is certainly an open question.

On Wednesday, Reuters reported that Helga Schmid, the secretary general of the European Unions foreign policy service told an Iranian investment conference that the EU would do everything in its power to preserve the JCPOA. Other leading European figures, like French President Emmanuel Macron, have directly urged the Trump administration to keep the agreement in force, although Macron and others have also seemed to soften their defense of it, acknowledging that the JCPOA does not do enough to constrain Iran, especially over issues that are not directly related to the nuclear program.

But even if Europe continues to diminish its resistance to a US-led shift in policy, the White House will continue to face challenges from other sources. Russia and China are both also parties to the JCPOA, as well as being permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. And on Wednesday, the Financial Times reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin had reaffirmed his governments support for the Iranian position on the nuclear deal.

On the other hand, one might argue that the Iranian government itself is doing its fair share to undermine international support for the agreement, as by responding to Trumps criticisms of the deal with even greater rhetoric. Zarif and other Iranian officials have publicly claimed that by continuing nuclear research after the implementation of the JCPOA, the regime has been preparing to ramp up its nuclear enrichment activities to greater levels than before, immediately after the deal ceases to be in effect.

Such commentary is presented as a reason for Europe to preserve the deal, which Tehran professes to be committed to. But such claims of commitment have also been undermined by the regime itself. According to The Guardian, the Iranian judiciary recently upheld a five-year prison sentence for an unnamed Iranian dual national who had played a significant role in the nuclear negotiations prior to July 2015. In so doing, the regime appears to be signaling general defiance against the West, as it has done with the arrest of several other dual nationals. But the incident also arguably speaks to a more specific aversion to the nuclear agreement, which hardliners fear represents the expectation of improved relations between Iran and the Western world.
The Education Ministry statistics show that some one million Iranian teachers make between $200 and $1,400 per month.

The 2014 poverty line in Tehran for a family of five stood at about $900. Teachers sometimes do not receive their salaries for several months. Iranian teachers also do not receive insurance, bonuses and other benefits. Many teachers work two or three shifts or have several jobs, which has a direct impact on the quality of their work.

Enactment of the Pay Parity Bill has been demanded by Iranian teachers, who believe it will promote their livelihoods, and give them minimum benefits and pay equal to that of other government employees.

In Iran, educators do not have the right to organize, however, they have been staging protests nationwide, over the past several years, demanding their basic rights. The regime has not responded to their demands, and security forces have harassed, repressed and imprisoned Iranian teachers. Articles 26 and 27 of the Iranian Constitution guarantee the freedom to hold protests and rallies.

On Thursday, March 10, 2017, thousands of working and retired teachers joined together in nationwide protests, demanding the release of their imprisoned colleagues, and condemning judiciary rulings against the teachers community.

The Ministry of Education in Iran has issued a directive on the terms and conditions for employment of teachers. This directive includes a list of chronic and persistent diseases that disqualify teachers from applying for employment.

Many items on the list relate to a teachers appearance. Being cross-eyed, or having facial moles or skin conditions, such as acne or eczema, are excluded from employment, as are those who suffer from infertility, cancer, bladder stones, or color blindness.

After it was published by the FARS news agency, the list was so highly criticized on social media and the online community that The Ministry of Education withdrew the circular. However, the Ministrys spokesman admitted that for many years, teachers were being recruited based on this directive.

It is important that on Worlds Teachers Day we remember the teachers of Iran, who bravely continue to educate Irans youth.
4 Performers of the Voala hanging from an aerial sculpture, perform the Muare Experience during the Seoul Street Arts Festival in Seoul, South Korea.
SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS, Ind. -- People of all faith traditions are invited to join the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind., and the greater faith community of the Wabash Valley for an ecumenical Taize Prayer gathering from 7-8 p.m. Tuesday in the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, located 10 minutes northwest of downtown Terre Haute, Ind.

The 2017 theme for Taize is Praying for peace in the world and in our hearts. The monthly Taize service is free to attend.

The hour-long service includes prayer, music, a time for silence, spoken and silent prayers. The prayer is quiet and reflective, peaceful and joyful. The prayer space is lit primarily by candlelight.

Taize takes place on the second Tuesday of each month. Remaining dates for 2017 include Nov. 14 and Dec. 12.

For more information, call 812-535-2952 or log on to Taize.ProvCenter.org.

The Sisters of Providence, a congregation of nearly 300 women religious, with more than 200 Providence Associates, collaborate with others to create a more just and hope-filled world through prayer, education, service and advocacy. The Sisters of Providence have their motherhouse at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, located just northwest of downtown Terre Haute, Ind.

Saint Mother Theodore Guerin founded the Sisters of Providence at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in 1840. Today, Sisters of Providence minister in 17 states, the District of Columbia and Asia, through works of love, mercy and justice. More information about the Sisters of Providence and their ministries may be found at SistersofProvidence.org.
Harvested Alive Documentary Inspires Texas A&M Students to Take Action

COLLEGE STATION, TexasA showing of the award-winning documentary Harvested Alive at Texas A&M University on Sept. 28 left audience members wanting to spread the word about atrocities taking place in China.

The film tells the story of a 10-year-long investigation by the World Organization to Investigate the Persecution of Falun Gong (WOIPFG) into the crimes of mass forced organ harvesting in China.

Reports by former Canadian Secretary of State (Asia-Pacific) David Kilgour, international human rights lawyer David Matas, and investigative journalist Ethan Gutmann, as well as by WOIPFG, have previously marshalled the evidence showing that there has been mass killing of prisoners of conscience to supply Chinas transplantation industry with organs, starting soon after the Chinese regimes persecution of Falun Gong began in July 1999.

Harvested Alive also presents this evidence, but it does so to make the case that the organ harvesting in China is a state-directed crime.

As director Jun Li told The Epoch Times in a previous interview, These are not doctors acting in their individual capacity, but the entire state apparatus that is committing this heinous crime.

The order to pillage the organs of Falun Gong practitioners came from the top down. The film quotes former Politburo member Bo Xilai as saying that then-Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin had issued the order of live organ harvesting from Falun Gong practitioners.

Significance

Organized by the university chapter of Amnesty International, the showing of the award-winning filmwhich in January won Hollywood International Independent Documentary awards in the categories of director and foreign documentary featurehad created some buzz on campus.

The registration was full two days prior to the event, and as a result, many people inquired if they could still attend as unregistered guests. Many viewers showed up early to get their seats, and a handful could not be admitted after all the seats were filled.

The full house of 180 was moved by the film, as evidenced by the discussion that followed, with remarks by College Station Mayor Karl P. Mooney setting the tone.

What are you going to do to be significant in this world? How are you going to make a difference? You can make a difference, Mooney said.

Some of you have parents, friends, grandparents who might need a transplant, and you can discourage them from going to China, from utilizing this particular source, Mooney said. Thats one step. Take the knowledge that you gained tonight, establish a purpose for your life, and strive to be significant!

Mooney broadened his talk from what the audience members could do in response to the film, to what the United States could do.

The U.S. has taken one step with H.Res.343, back in June of 2016, Mooney said. That House resolution expresses concern regarding persistent and credible reports of systematic, state-sanctioned organ harvesting from non-consenting prisoners of conscience in the Peoples Republic of China, including from large numbers of Falun Gong practitioners and members of other religious and ethnic minority groups.

Mooney said he hoped the Senate would now pass a similar resolution.

I hope that President Trump will look at it particularly once the Senate comes up with the resolution, Mooney said, and decide [on] the appropriate avenue of communication to China.

You cant turn a deaf ear [on this].

Taking Action

In the audience were over a dozen members of the Corps of Cadets, a uniformed, student military organization at Texas A&M.

The film is extremely eye-opening, said cadet David Campbell. It breaks my heart to see something so awful is happening in the world, and it makes me want to continue my academics so I can make a positive change in the future.

Cadet Robert Riegert said: This film motivates me to protect my family and the families that cant protect themselves. So as a cadet, thats what I come away with tonight.

Campbell agreed with one of Mooneys suggestions, discouraging others from going to China for transplants. I have family members who are going through surgeries, Campbell said. The very first thing I was thinking as the documentary was ending is that when I get out of here, I will immediately tell them, Dont go to China to get these procedures.

Riegert wants to spread the word about what he learned from the film. We will do as much as we can to get the word out. It shouldnt be happening. We will do what we can to help stop it, he said.

Faviana Soto, an international studies student, said: This issue is going to reach people in Honduras because I will tell my family members and my friends and share the documentary with them. This is a very good start to exposing this issue.

The documentary is free to download from the films website, HarvestedAlive.com, and so can easily be shared.

Many of the audience members signed a petition urging Texas senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz to co-sponsor the resolution S.Res.220.

That resolution, which is being considered by the Senate during this session of Congress, expresses solidarity with Falun Gong practitioners who have lost lives, freedoms, and rights for adhering to their beliefs and practices and condemns the practice of non-consenting organ harvesting.

Stephen Gregory contributed to this report.
A man lays on top of a woman as others flee the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after a active shooter was reported in Las Vegas, Nevada on Oct. 1, 2017. (David Becker/Getty Images)

Las Vegas Tragedy: Compassion, Empathy, Sympathy

Tragically, America must once again prayerfully pause with profound compassion and listen to the ocean of tears flowing from the city of Las Vegas.

American flags are too often at half-staff to honor those killed in mass-shootings.

The senseless murder of 59 people and wounding of 527, during the nations most horrific mass shooting, must ignite the deepest emotions of sorrow, sympathy, and empathy in the heart of America.

This most recent manifestation of abominable evil demands the nations condolences for the indescribable suffering of the victims, as well as for their families, friends, and co-workers.

America must also honor many unsung heroes who placed themselves in harms way to prevent additional fatalities. First-responders, private security, and medical professionals also deserve Americas praise for their selfless dedication to help the victims.

Our nation must also have unwavering hope, moral courage, and relentless resolve so healing may assuage the wounded heart of America.

America: Never Give Up

After the April 20, 1999 Columbine High School Tragedy, it was my privilege to travel the nation speaking at conferences to educators, law enforcement, and community leaders. The mission of my work was to inspire leadership to address the culture of violence and prevent additional heartbreak.

Shortly after the April 16, 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, also known as the Virginia Tech massacre, I was invited to speak to parents and family members of the victims. This mass-shooting tragedy was the worst in America at that time.

After the Dec. 14, 2012 killing of 20 children, ages 6 and 7, and 6 adult teachers and staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown Conn., this tragedy was also addressed in my articles and presentations.

On June 12, 2016, the heart of America was once again lacerated by the Orlando nightclub shooting. The tragedy was addressed in my article titled Orlando Shootings: Compassion, Empathy, Sympathy, for the June 16, 2016 edition of the Epoch Times.

For nearly twenty years, I have been working to prevent violence in America through numerous initiatives built on the foundation of leadership, vigilance, and collaboration.

During this time, I have repeatedly stressed that America must have the moral courage to stop the scourge of violence. This violence unleashed in our schools, workplaces, houses of worship, and communities must have our renewed resolve, and we must never give up.

Las Vegas Victims: A Spotlight

America must never give up, and now, once again, we must awaken compassion in our hearts. Our nation must take the time to reverently pause and reflect on lives gone too soon. Each person who perished in Las Vegas deserves Americas eternal remembrance, including the following:

Sonny Melton, 29, who worked at the Jackson-Madison County General Hospital, according to his Facebook page, is understood to be the first known fatality from the concert event. His wife, Heather Melton survived due to Sonnys heroism as memorialized by these somber words. He saved my life. He grabbed me and started running when I felt him get shot in the back. I want everyone to know what a kind-hearted, loving man he was, but at this point, I can barely breathe.

Susan Smith, a 53-year-old mother and office manager for Vista Elementary School in California. Susan was married and the mother of two young-adult children. She was remembered by her school in a Facebook posting with the words, she was a wonderful woman, an advocate for our children, and a friend.

Rick Silva, 21, had recently started a private security job because, according to his stepsister Daisy Hernandez, he loved helping people. She also stated, All I can tell you is that he was a great son, brother, and uncle who was loved by so many people. He had just turned 21 this August and Im pretty sure he died trying to protect people at that concert.

Rhonda LeRocque, a mother, daughter, wife, aunt, and sister who was remembered by her sister in a Facebook post. My Beautiful Sister Rhonda LeRocque lost her life in the Las Vegas mass shooting, Karina Champagne posted. My heart is broken, Im numb, I feel paralyzed. This doesnt seem real. All I can do is turn to Gods word for comfort, just as she would want me to. May she rest now until her name is called and she is awakened in paradise.

Quinton Robbins, from Henderson, Nevada, was remembered on Facebook by his aunt, Kilee Wells Sanders. She posted that Quinton was the most kind and loving soul. She also noted that Everyone who met him, loved him. His contagious laugh and smile. He was truly an amazing person. He will be missed by so many, he is loved by so many. So many awesome talents. I cant say enough good about this sweet soul.

Jack Beaton, was celebrating his 23rd wedding anniversary with his wife Laurie and friends at the concert. The day after the shooting, his son wrote about his father on Twitter. He jumped in front of my mom and got shot. I love you dad.

Final Reflections

The heartbreaking loss of these innocent souls, and all who perished, so cherished by family, friends, and communities, reminds us of the sacredness of each human life. Each of us is mystically connected in a human family and respect must always be the order of the day.

As we eternally honor the memories of all lost in Las Vegas, let us awaken compassion, empathy, and sympathy in the heart of America.

All who were lost in Las Vegas on that fateful day must be forever remembered with dignity, honor, and reverence.

Vincent J. Bove, CPP, is a national speaker and author on issues critical to America. Bove is a recipient of the FBI Directors Community Leadership Award for combating crime and violence and is a former confidant of the New York Yankees. His newest book is Listen to Their Cries. For more information, see www.vincentbove.com

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta clap during a Hispanic Heritage Month event in the East Room of the White House in Washington on Oct. 6, 2017. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)

Trump: Communism Is the Past, Freedom Is the Future

During an Oct. 6 event at the White House celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, President Donald Trump said his administration is working for prosperity and freedom, and is standing with the people of Cuba and Venezuela against the authoritarian systems of communism and socialism.

The same failed communist ideology that has brought oppression to Cuba has brought nothing but suffering and misery everywhere and [in] every place it has been, anywhere in the world, Trump said.

Communism is the past. Freedom is the future, he said, to cheers and applause from the crowd.

Communist regimes have killed more than 100 million people over the last century, according to The Black Book of Communism, published by Harvard University Press in 1999. Other estimates, however, suggest the number killed by communism may be closer to 150 million.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, a renowned Russian novelist and historian, estimated that former Soviet dictator Josef Stalin killed 60 million people; and in Mao: The Unknown Story, historians Jung Chang and Jon Halliday show Chinese Communist Party leader Mao Zedong was responsible for at least 70 million deaths.

The oppressive ideology of communism is based in atheism and struggle. It works by destroying tradition and belief, and by turning people against each other and manufacturing enemies for people to struggle against.

Trump said, Were working every day to secure a future of peace, prosperity, and sovereignty for every American citizen, and we hope for a future of freedom and prosperity throughout the entire Western Hemisphere. Thats why, under my administration, we have taken decisive action to stand with the good people of Cuba and Venezuela.

He noted, As I announced before a wonderful crowd in Little Havana earlier this year, we will not lift sanctions on the Cuban regime until it delivers full political freedom for the Cuban people.

Trump also denounced the authoritarian ideology of socialism. We also stand with the people of Venezuela who are suffering under the ruthless socialism of the Maduro regime. We reject socialist oppression, and we call for the restoration of democracy and freedom for the citizens of Venezuela, he said, again meeting with cheers and applause.

Communist writer Karl Marx referred to communism as merely a subset of socialism, and former Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin referred to socialism in Can We Go Forward If We Fear to Advance Towards Socialism? as a system of state-capitalist monopoly that leads to communism.

Related Coverage President Trump Says Socialism and Communism Lead to Devastation

Adolf Hitler used yet another form of socialism, national socialism, under his National Socialist German Workers (Nazi) Party, and the 25-point platform of the Nazis mirrored the policies of many of todays socialist regimes. Hitlers national socialist regime murdered an estimated 11 million people, not including those killed in war.

Benito Mussolini, founder of fascism and a lifelong socialist, also shared similar beliefs. Mussolini described his collectivist systems in his 1928 book My Autobiography, stating that the citizen in the Fascist State is no longer a selfish individual who has the anti-social right of rebelling against any law of the Collectivity.

Trump noted that his administration is standing against the authoritarian systems of both communism and socialism.

Many Hispanic-Americans understand very personally why it is so important for us to defend our nationGod-given freedom , it is God-given freedom, he said, and uphold the rule of law.

Our commitment to these values has been the source of Americas prosperity, the foundation of our security, and these values have made us a beaconan absolute beaconto the nations of the world.

As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, we are grateful to all of you who have contributed to our communities and for your continued leadership in America, Trump said. With your help, we will strengthen our countrys great foundations of faith, and family, and freedom; and we will build together one great American future. Its a tremendous honor to have you all at the White House.
A missile similiar to those sold to Japan is fired and destroys a target drone during an international flight test at the Andoya Space Center in Norway on Aug. 31. (Courtesy of Raytheon)

US Providing Japan With Advanced Air Defense Missiles

Announcement of sale comes days after Japan said it won't shoot down North Korean test ballistic missiles

The State Department approved the sale of nearly 60 advanced air-to-air missiles amid increased tensions with North Korea.

The proposed sale will provide Japan a critical air defense capability to assist in defending the Japanese homeland and U.S. personnel stationed there, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement.

On Monday, North Koreas regime threatened to bring nuclear clouds to Japan, and just two days later its state media said that Japan would be the first to be attacked in the event of a military conflict.

Japan is home to a number of U.S. military bases and a key ally of the United States in the region.

The United States itself announced earlier this week it is spending an additional $440 million on missile defense. President Donald Trump has spoken several times in recent weeks about the importance of building up U.S. missile defense capabilities.

Soldiers from the Japan Air Self-Defense Force set up PAC-3 surface-to-air missile launch systems during a temporary deployment drill at U.S. Yokota Air Base in Tokyo on August 29, 2017. (Toru Yamanaka/AFP/Getty Images)

U.S. military and intelligence officials have said that while North Koreas nuclear weapons program still faces some technical challenges, its only a matter of time before those are resolved.

The North Korean regime frequently calls for the destruction of the United States and its allies using nuclear weapons. In recent weeks the regime has boasted in its state media broadcasts about having nearly completed its nuclear program.

Since coming to power in 2011, Kim Jong Un, has sped up the Norths nuclear weapons program, conducting as many as 85 missile tests. Last month it conducted its sixth underground nuclear test.

Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told the Financial Times earlier this week that his country wont shoot down North Korean ballistic missile tests. The North has conducted two such tests in recent months in which it fired a ballistic missile over Japanese airspace into the Pacific.

Onodera said that he was afraid that such an act could be construed as a military action.

However, significant concerns have been raised in Japan over the tests, especially after North Koreas foreign minister announced last month that the North intends to explode a nuclear weapon over the Pacific. This would most likely mean that a missile equipped with a nuclear warhead would fly over Japanese airspace.

U.S officials, including President Trump, have warned North Korea against such actions, saying the health-damaging impacts from the radiation would be enormous.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr. told the Senate Armed Services Committee last week that the effects would be similar to the fallout of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which occurred in the Soviet Union in the 1980s.

In response to North Koreas most recent ballistic missile test, Japan had moved one of its American made Patriot missile defense systems to the Northern island of Hokkaido.

At the time, a Japanese official told AFP that Japan would take appropriate measures to protect peoples safety if North Korea were to conduct future ballistic missile tests over Japan.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Whether it be for the environment, one's health or other important causes, convincing people to adopt new or uncommon behaviors can be difficult. One reason is that societal norms powerfully reinforce the status quo.

Stanford researchers suggest a subtle shift in messaging can help. In new research that appeared Sept. 29 in Psychological Science, they find that focusing on how norms are changing can help people alter their behaviors.

"One question we're interested in from a psychological standpoint," said Gregg Sparkman, a doctoral student in psychology at Stanford and the paper's lead author, "is how social change happens. What leads people to overturn a status quo?"

He points out that although change usually happens slowly, it does happen, and perhaps more frequently than we notice. For example, seat belt use was once a nuisance, but now it's standard practice. Smoking in restaurants and other public places was once commonplace, but has declined.

The question for the researchers is what factors influence people to make those changes.

Dynamic vs. static norms

Past research on how social norms influence behavior has focused on seemingly static views of how most people behave, according to Greg Walton, associate professor of psychology and the study's senior author. Sparkman and Walton's research, however, tests how people behave when they think the norm is changing.

"Showing how norms are changing can give people a model of how they can change too, and lead to a circumstance where many people change," said Walton.

The researchers conducted four experiments relating to meat consumption, a norm Sparkman described as "well-rooted, highly visible and something you do every day in the presence of others." It's also a norm that has a huge negative impact on the environment, as livestock consume large volumes of water and emit greenhouse gases.

In one experiment, participants from across the United States read two statements about eating less meat. One statement (static) described how some Americans are currently trying to eat less meat, while the other statement (dynamic) described how some Americans are changing and now eat less meat.

The participants who read the dynamic statement reported more interest in reducing their meat consumption than those who read the static one. Those participants reported anticipating that this change would continue into the future  leading them to conform to that future norm.

Another experiment tested people's likelihood to order a meat-based lunch. People standing in line at a Stanford campus cafe read statements describing how some people "limit how much meat they eat" (static) or "are starting to limit how much meat they eat" (dynamic). Lunch goers who read the dynamic statement were twice as likely to order a meatless meal than those in the static group (34 percent compared to 17 percent).

Less is sometimes more

An important aspect of these studies, the researchers said, is that participants were never asked to change their behavior, or even told the benefits of doing so.

"We didn't ask people to not eat meat or eat less meat," Walton said. "They're just given information about change."

The researchers also conducted an experiment involving conserving water during the recent California drought. They posted signs in laundry facilities at high-rise residences of Stanford graduate students with static messages ("Most Stanford Residents Use Full Loads/Help Stanford Conserve Water") or dynamic messages ("Stanford Residents Are Changing: Now Most Use Full Loads/Help Stanford Conserve Water). While the number of laundry loads were unaffected in buildings with no signs over the next three weeks, there was a 10 percent reduction among those who saw the static message, and nearly a 30 percent reduction for those who saw the dynamic message.

The next question, Sparkman said, is to see whether it is possible to apply this method to other sustainability initiatives like curbing electricity usage and promoting policy support for new laws, such as those to reduce the gender gap in wages.

"Dynamic norms may play a large role in social change," Sparkman said. "Just learning that other people are changing can instigate all these psychological processes that motivate further change. People can begin to think that change is possible, that change is important and that in the future, the norms will be different. And then, if they become persuaded and decide to change, it starts to become a reality."

More information: Gregg Sparkman et al. Dynamic Norms Promote Sustainable Behavior, Even if It Is Counternormative, Psychological Science (2017). Journal information: Psychological Science Gregg Sparkman et al. Dynamic Norms Promote Sustainable Behavior, Even if It Is Counternormative,(2017). DOI: 10.1177/0956797617719950
An international multidisciplinary team of researchers from a number of institutions, including Baylor College of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, British Columbia Cancer Agency and the Broad Institute, who all are part of The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network, has completed a comprehensive molecular characterization of 412 muscle-invasive bladder cancers that resulted in the identification of five cancer subtypes with different susceptibilities to specific therapies. The results, which appear in the journal Cell, might lead to future personalized therapies.

"Bladder cancer is not one but multiple diseases," said corresponding author Dr. Seth Paul Lerner, who is the director of urologic oncology and the Multidisciplinary Bladder Cancer Program, as well as professor of urology and Beth and Dave Swalm Chair in Urologic Oncology at Baylor. "Under the microscope, invasive bladder cancer from different patients may look very similar. We know there are many variations though that may affect response to treatment and long-term survival. This research provides a much broader and refined understanding of the molecular underpinnings associated with these variations".

In 2014, the researchers published in the journal Nature the results of a study of 131 bladder cancers that presented the first integrated multi-'omic' characterization of molecular alterations in this type of cancer, a major step toward personalized medicine and a hallmark of The Cancer Genome Atlas projects. The study presented here expanded the 2014 study with a much larger cohort, integrated more types of genomic data and refined the molecular subtypes.

Understanding the molecular alterations and potential therapeutic targets for bladder cancer

"In this study, we tripled the number of bladder cancers studied, from 131 in 2014 to 412 in 2017, which resulted in the identification of 32 additional significantly mutated genes and added less common mutations that seem to be involved in this cancer," said Dr. John N. Weinstein, chair of bioinformatics and computational biology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. "These altered genes offer multiple opportunities for novel therapeutic interventions. Bladder cancer has one of the highest mutation rates, and it appears that the APOBEC signature mutagenesis is associated with this high mutation burden and is involved in up to 70 percent of the tumors. Tumors with the highest number of mutations and high APOBEC are associated with better survival than average."

In addition, integration of multiple molecular parameters, such as mutation, gene amplification, RNA and protein profiles, revealed that bladder cancer could be subdivided not into four subtypes, as the researchers had identified in 2014, but five subtypes. Each subtype, the researchers propose, may be associated with unique responses to therapies and this can be tested in future clinical trials.

"One prominent feature in this study is that we report survival analysis, which we did not report in the 2014 paper," said Lerner, who is also a member of the Dan L Duncan Comprehensive Cancer Center at Baylor. "Now, we are able to show that mutation signatures, molecular subtypes, load of new cancer-associated molecules, in addition to known clinical and pathological factors, have a very clear influence on overall patient survival."

The researchers propose that the information learned about bladder cancer should be taken into consideration when designing precision medicine clinical trials. This study and future research on the cancer subtypes might one day help physicians better match patients with specific, personalized therapies tuned to target the particular molecular signatures and other biological characteristics of their cancer.

"The project has produced a treasure trove of data  all of it now publicly available  that will be analyzed, interpreted and re-interpreted for literally decades by bladder cancer researchers to benefit bladder cancer patients and their families," Weinstein said.

"Bladder cancer causes an estimated 150,000 deaths worldwide per year, and we are behind other cancer fields in terms of the clinical applications of its molecular data and biology," Lerner said. "However, we can begin to see how we can use this information in the future to provide the best treatment for each patient."

More information: Comprehensive Molecular Characterization of Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer. Cell. DOI: Comprehensive Molecular Characterization of Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer.. DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2017.09.007 John N. Weinstein et al. Comprehensive molecular characterization of urothelial bladder carcinoma, Nature (2014). DOI: 10.1038/nature12965 Journal information: Cell , Nature
Millions of seniors will soon be notified that Medicare premiums for physicians' services are rising and likely to consume most of the cost-of-living adjustment they'll receive next year from Social Security.

Higher 2018 premiums for Medicare Part B will hit older adults who've been shielded from significant cost increases for several years, including large numbers of low-income individuals who struggle to make ends meet.

"In effect, this means that increases in Social Security benefits will be minimal, for a third year, for many people, putting them in a bind," said Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy consultant at the Senior Citizens League. In a new study, her organization estimates that seniors have lost one-third of their buying power since 2000 as Social Security cost-of-living adjustments have flattened and health care and housing costs have soared.

Another, much smaller group of high-income older adults will also face higher Medicare Part B premiums next year because of changes enacted in 2015 federal legislation.

Here's a look at what's going on and who's affected:

THE BASICS

Medicare Part B is insurance that covers physicians' services, outpatient care in hospitals and other settings, durable medical equipment such as wheelchairs or oxygen machines, laboratory tests, and some home health care services, among other items. Coverage is optional, but 91 percent of Medicare enrollees - including millions of people with serious disabilities - sign up for the program. (Those who don't sign up are responsible for charges for these services on their own.)

Premiums, which change annually, represent about 25 percent of Medicare Part B's expected per-beneficiary program spending. The government pays the remainder.

In fiscal 2017, federal spending for Medicare Part B came to $193 billion. From 2017 to 2024, Part B premiums are projected to rise an average 5.4 percent each year, faster than other parts of Medicare.

'HOLD HARMLESS' PROVISIONS

To protect seniors living on fixed incomes, a "hold harmless" provision in federal law prohibits Medicare from raising Part B premiums if doing so would end up reducing an individual's Social Security benefits.

This provision applies to about 70 percent of people enrolled in Part B. Included are seniors who've been enrolled in Medicare for most of the past year and whose Part B premiums are automatically deducted from their Social Security checks.

Excluded are seniors who are newly enrolled in Medicare or those dually enrolled in Medicaid or enrolled in Medicare Savings Programs. (Under this circumstance, Medicaid, a joint federal-state program, pays Part B premiums.) Also excluded are older adults with high incomes who pay more for Part B because of Income-Related Monthly Adjustments (see more on this below).

RECENT EXPERIENCE

Since there was no cost-of-living adjustment for Social Security in 2016, Part B monthly premiums didn't go up that year for seniors covered by hold harmless provisions. Instead, premiums for this group remained flat at $104.90 - where they've been for the previous three years.

Last year, Social Security gave recipients a tiny 0.3 percent cost-of-living increase. As a result, average 2017 Part B month premiums rose slightly, to $109, for seniors in the hold harmless group. The 2017 monthly premium average, paid by those who weren't in this group and who therefore pay full freight, was $134.

CURRENT SITUATION

Social Security is due to announce cost-of-living adjustments for 2018 in mid-October. Based on the best information available, it appears to be considering an adjustment of about 2.2 percent, according to Juliette Cubanski, associate director of the program on Medicare policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Kaiser Health News is another, independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation.)

Apply a 2.2 percent adjustment to the average $1,360 monthly check received by Social Security recipients and they'd get an extra $29.92 in monthly payments.

For their part, the board of trustees of Medicare have indicated that Part B monthly premiums are likely to remain stable at about $134 a month next year. (Actual premium amounts should be disclosed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services within the next four to six weeks.)

Medicare has the right to impose that charge, so long as the amount that seniors receive from Social Security isn't reduced in the process. So, the program is expected to ask older adults who paid $109 this year to pay $134 for Part B coverage next year - an increase of $25 a month.

Subtract that extra $25 charge for Part B premiums from seniors' average $29.92 monthly Social Security increase and all that be left would be an extra $4.92 each month for expenses such as food, housing, medication and transportation.

"Many seniors are going to be disappointed," said Lisa Swirsky, a policy adviser at the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

HIGHER INCOME BRACKETS

Under the principle that those who have more can afford to pay more, Part B premium surcharges for higher-income Medicare beneficiaries have been in place since 2007. These Income-Related Monthly Adjustment Amounts (IMRAA) surcharges vary, depending on the income bracket that individuals and married couples are in. Nearly 3 million Medicare members paid the surcharges in 2015.

For the past decade this is how surcharges have worked:

Bracket One: Individuals with incomes of $85,001 to $107,000 were charged 35 percent of Part B per-beneficiary costs, resulting in premiums of $187.50.

Bracket Two: Incomes of $107,001 to $160,000 were charged 50 percent, resulting in premiums of $267.90.

Bracket Three: Incomes of $160,001 to $214,000 were charged 65 percent, resulting in premiums of $348.30

Bracket Four: Incomes of more than $214,000 were charged 80 percent, resulting in premiums of $428.60.

Now, under legislation passed in 2015, brackets two, three and four are adopting lower income thresholds, a move that could raise premiums for hundreds of thousands of seniors. Bracket two will now consist of individuals with incomes of $107,001 to $133,500; bracket three will consist of individuals making $133,501 to 160,000; and bracket four will include individuals making more than $160,000. (Thresholds for couples have been altered as well.)

As John Grobe, president of Federal Career Experts, a consulting firm, noted in a blog post, this change "will add another layer of complexity" to higher-income individuals' decisions regarding "electing Part B."

If you've retired recently, moved to part-time status, divorced or otherwise undergone life changes that affect your income, you can ask Social Security for a new IRMAA determination, said Casey Schwarz, senior counsel at the Medicare Rights Center. Tips on what to do can be found at that organization's site for consumers, Medicare Interactive.

2017 Kaiser Health News

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Cannabis indica. Credit: Wikipedia

A new study by researchers at the Institut en sante mentale de Montreal demonstrates that sustained used of cannabis is associated with an increase in violent behaviour in young people after discharge from a psychiatric hospital.

The research by Dr. Alexandre Dumais (MD, PhD, FRCPC, psychiatrist at the Institut Philippe Pinel) and Dr. Stephane Potvin (PhD, professor at the Universite de Montreal), which studied 1,136 patients (from 18 to 40 years of age) with mental illnesses who had been seen five times during the year after discharge, took into account substance use and the onset of violent behaviour.

Previous research has already shown that a cannabis use disorder is associated with violent behaviour. According to this new study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, users who reported at each follow-up visit that they continued to smoke cannabis presented an increased risk (+144%) of violent behaviour.

These results also confirm the detrimental role of chronic cannabis use in patients with mental illness. According to the principal researcher Alexandre Dumais (MD, PhD, FRCPC): "an interesting feature of our results is that the association between persistent cannabis use and violence is stronger than that associated with alcohol or cocaine."

Indicator for external follow-up

Persistent cannabis use should therefore be considered as an indicator of future violent behaviour in patients who leave a psychiatric hospital for follow-up in an outpatient clinic, although the researcher points out that this behaviour tends to fade with time.

"This decrease could be explained by better adherence to treatment (the patient becomes more involved in their treatment over time) and by better support from their entourage. Even though we observed that violent behaviour tended to decrease during follow-up periods, the association remained statistically significant," noted Dr. Dumais.

The research results also suggest that there is no reciprocal relationship, that is, the use of cannabis resulted in future violent behaviour and not the reverse (for example, a violent person might use cannabis following an episode of violent behaviour to reduce their tension), as was suggested by previous studies.

The effects of cannabis on the brain

A recent meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies demonstrated that chronic cannabis users have deficits in the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that inhibits impulsive behaviour.

These results are important because they offer additional information to young adults, who can evaluate the risks of cannabis before deciding whether or not to use it. They will also serve as a tool to develop strategies to prevent the risk of violence associated with cannabis, since these risks have important consequences, both socially and for the health of young adults and for society in general.

More information: Jules R. Dugre et al, Persistency of Cannabis Use Predicts Violence following Acute Psychiatric Discharge, Frontiers in Psychiatry (2017). Jules R. Dugre et al, Persistency of Cannabis Use Predicts Violence following Acute Psychiatric Discharge,(2017). DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2017.00176
CHARLESTON -- Local paramedics will have more storage room in ambulances with new equipment the fire department received through a state grant.

The Charleston Fire Department was recently awarded $1,300 from the Illinois Department of Public Health EMS Assistance Grant to purchase four Pedi-Mate Restraint Systems, a more compact restraint system for children.

CFD Chief Steve Bennett said they are required by law to have a restraint system for children in ambulances at all times. Up until this week, the Charleston ambulance units had to simply use a regular car seat like ones anyone would find at the store.

The size of these seats has become an issue.

We don't transport pediatrics all the time, so having that big car seat in there kind of takes up a lot of room, he said.

The Pedi-Mate will replace these car seats in each of the four vehicles. The mat-like harness rolls out and is used to restrain a child to the ambulance cot. These restraints can safely transport children ranging in size from 10-100 lbs.

It is just another tool in the toolbox that we can use, the fire chief said.

It has an added bonus of being very portable and easy to clean, he noted.

Firefighters are training with the equipment currently, and it will be in service by the end of the week.

The department has received this state grant for several years now. Last year, the department received helicopter landing strobes to mark where a medical helicopter should land.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

For the second year in a row, the Centers for Disease Control is telling doctors not to give patients FluMist, the nasal spray flu vaccine, and that's a problem for kids and adults who are scared of needles.

Kids' reactions to shots may range from a mild anxiety to a full-blown meltdown, say area pediatricians. How many kids experience a fear of shots at some time in their lives? "100 percent," said Mike Steiner, the division chief of general pediatrics and adolescent medicine at UNC Health Care.

"At some age, every kid has a fear of getting a shot," Steiner said. "It's basically a universal experience."

And if the fear is not resolved it can turn into a problem for them as adults, causing them to avoid medical services over fear of injections.

"This may be a good time to deal with and navigate through this," said Ravi Jhaveri, a pediatric infectious disease specialist with UNC Children's Hospital. "Needles are a fact of life, whether for a vaccine or a blood test."

So if you have a kid who runs, faints or puts up their fists at the sight - or thought - of a needle, how do you deal with it?

Here are some suggestions from area doctors.

1. Ask your doctor about a new needle-free vaccine available for children as young as 5 years old. The vaccine, called Afluria, is administered under high pressure directly through the patient's skin. In September, it was approved for children age 5 and up. The most common side effects are tenderness, itching and bruising.

2. There are ways to minimize the physical sensation of a hypodermic needle. Ask your doctor or nurse to use numbing creams, lidocaine patches and ethyl chloride spray. Another technique is to press the thumb firmly into the child's arm, producing a temporary soreness than can mask the sensation of the flu shot.

3. If your child is truly needle-phobic, talk to your doctor about whether anti-anxiety medication is needed.

4. If your child is simply anxious, try distractions: play games, ask questions, tell stories, sing songs, blow bubbles, show a movie or a cellphone video. Pre-schoolers can be caressed in a parent's arms and comforted gently.

5. Don't shame or humiliate. Acknowledge the fear as genuine and help your child work through it, even if it requires seeing a therapist. Most people do not have an insurmountable phobia, but many have an instinctive aversion to foreign objects entering the body.

6. Don't lie to your child that the doctor's visit won't involve a shot or that that the shot will be absolutely painless. Dishonesty and trickery could exacerbate your child's fear and distrust.

7. Don't be afraid to abandon ship. "I've had parents decide not to give it if the child is really fearful or upset at the appointment, but I haven't ever had to cancel the vaccine if the parents are OK with us trying," pediatrician Sophie Shaikh with Duke Children's Primary Care in Brier Creek, wrote in an email. "For something that is recommended but considered more optional, such as the flu vaccine, we will take our lead from the parent. We obviously want to avoid traumatizing a child!"

And don't give up hope. More solutions could be on the way.

Steiner said that last month, at the annual conference of the American Academy of Pediatrics, he saw a vendor promoting virtual reality goggles as an emerging tactic to calm jittery kids during shots.

Researchers at Georgia Tech are working on a Band-Aid like patch with dissolvable microneedles that deliver the flu vaccine. The testing is in early stages yet, but a clinical trial at Emory University found the vaccine was just as effective as the traditional needle and syringe and was well-tolerated by test participants. One tester told NBC News it was like pressing down on the hard size of Velcro.

2017 The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.)

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(HealthDay)Just because a child isn't growing or developing exactly like his or her peers doesn't mean a host of medical tests are in order.

In fact, five medical tests commonly ordered for children who are short, overweight or showing signs of early puberty aren't always necessary. And, that's particularly true if youngsters are otherwise healthy, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

The five tests include hormone tests, endocrine tests, vitamin D screening, thyroid or insulin tests for overweight children and thyroid ultrasounds for kids with an enlarged thyroid gland or autoimmune thyroid disease, the group noted.

Doctors and their patients should carefully weigh the risks and benefits of these procedures, advised Dr. Paul Kaplowitz in an AAP news release. He's past chairperson of the AAP Section on Endocrinology.

"As a pediatric endocrinologist, I've counseled many parents who are worried about their children's growth," Kaplowitz said.

"There is a wide range of what is 'normal' for child growth and development. If a child is otherwise healthy and is following their own curve, what the parents often need is reassurance that their child is fine, and not a lot of testing," he said.

The AAP compiled a list of the five commonly used procedures, urging doctors to use evidence-based strategies when ordering these tests.

Hormone tests, for example, may be unnecessary for children with pubic hair or body odor but no other physical signs of puberty, such as a growth spurt or breast development.

Screening tests for endocrine disorders are unlikely to benefit children with a normal growth rate, according to the AAP.

Even when these tests are performed on children who are shorter than average, they only reveal an underlying health issue in 1 percent of cases. Screening tests may be indicated, however, for children who are significantly shorter than they should be based on their parents' height, the group added.

Meanwhile, testing for vitamin D deficiency is only appropriate for patients with disorders associated with low bone mass, such as rickets.

For obese children, thyroid testing should only be considered if their growth rate is abnormally low or there is another sign of a thyroid issue.

Thyroid ultrasounds may cause unnecessary worry and expenses among children and their parents. This test should be limited to children with swelling on only one side of their neck, nodules that can be felt through the skin and those with very enlarged thyroid glands.

"This new Choosing Wisely list will enhance discussions physicians and families have about issues in growth and development that often come up, and help craft the best treatment plans," Kaplowitz said.

More information: The U.S. National Library of Medicine provides more information on disorders that affect children's The U.S. National Library of Medicine provides more information on disorders that affect children's glands and growth

Copyright  2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
(HealthDay)With antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" continuing to be a threat in U.S. hospitals, doctors are looking for innovative ways to cut down on disease transmission.

Now, research suggests one solution may be within arm's reachliterally.

Physicians' white coats with sleeves above the elbow were much less likely to have traces of infectious viruses on them than long-sleeved versions, the study found.

"These results provide support for the recommendation that health care personnel wear short sleeves to reduce the risk for pathogen transmission," concluded a team led by Amrita John. She's an infectious disease specialist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland.

According to the team, "physicians' white coats are frequently contaminated, but seldom cleaned."

For that very reason, the United Kingdom already mandates that doctors be "bare below the elbows" as a means of lowering the chance that germs on a dirty coat sleeve will be transmitted to a patient.

But is sleeve length really a factor in the transmission of infections?

To find out, John's group had health care workers wear either short- or long-sleeved white coats while examining a mannequin with surfaces that had been contaminated with a harmless-but-communicable virus.

The workers then went and examined a second mannequinreplicating normal hospital "rounds" where doctors might visit numerous patients.

The researchers then tested both the sleeves and the wrists of each worker for a certain "DNA marker" that indicated the presence of the virus.

The result: "contamination with the DNA marker was detected significantly more often on the sleeves and/or wrists when personnel wore long- versus short-sleeved coats," the researchers reported.

In fact, while virus was detected on none of the sleeves or wrists of 20 workers wearing the short-sleeved coats, it was found on one-quarter (five out of 20) of those donning long sleeves.

And in one of those cases, the virus had made its way to the second mannequinshowing how a doctor's sleeve might transmit germs patient-to-patient.

The findings add weight to the recommendation for short-sleeved coats for physicians, the researchers noted.

Dr. Alan Mensch is a pulmonologist and senior vice president of medical affairs at Northwell Health's Syosset Hospital in Syosset, N.Y. Reviewing the findings, he agreed that keeping in-hospital infections to a minimum is crucial.

"Patients come to the hospital to get well, and it is the hospital's duty to accomplish that without causing a new infection," he said.

He called the new findings "intriguing," but said they also raise many questions.

"Though short sleeves may prevent transmission of [viral] DNA, will they decrease infections?" he wondered. And, "Should we advise health care providers to wash their wrists along with their handsand will that decrease infection transmission?"

The findings were presented Oct. 4 in San Diego at ID Week, the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Experts note that findings presented at medical meetings are typically considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information: Oct. 4, 2017, presentation, ID Week, San Diego; Alan Mensch, M.D., senior vice president, medical affairs, Northwell Health's Plainview and Syosset Hospitals, New York Oct. 4, 2017, presentation, ID Week, San Diego; Alan Mensch, M.D., senior vice president, medical affairs, Northwell Health's Plainview and Syosset Hospitals, New York There's more on protecting yourself from infections in the hospital at the National Patient Safety Foundation.

Copyright  2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

Research on a large sample of Canadians suggests that most people with celiac disease don't know they have it.

Ahmed El-Sohemy, a professor of Nutritional Science at the University of Toronto, and his colleagues studied the bloodwork of almost 3,000 Canadians and found that one in 114 (or almost one per cent) had elevated antibodies that indicate they suffered from celiac disease, which causes gastric distress and other symptoms. But the vast majority, almost 90 per cent, were unaware they had the disease. The data were collected about a decade ago, just before public awareness about the potential problems with gluten skyrocketed.

The study, published in the journal BMJ Open, is the first to screen for celiac antibodies in a Canadian population. It confirms previous research suggesting that Caucasians are more susceptible to celiac disease than other ethnocultural groups. Although the number of South and East Asians screened in the Canadian study was small, none were found to have the disease. Intriguingly, though, a genetic variant that puts people at high risk for celiac disease was almost as high in the South Asian samples as the Caucasian ones - suggesting that other factors could play a role in who goes on to develop the disease.

"This hopefully should just raise awareness that despite the gluten-free craze there are a lot of people who still don't know they have celiac disease," says El-Sohemy. "It's important for people to understand that celiac disease is not a single clear symptomit manifests itself in different ways. Symptoms could be fatigue, gastro-intestinal, or other problems. These symptoms are so diverse that doctors have a difficult time pinpointing the cause. Gluten intolerance is not usually the first thing that comes to their mind."

Adding to the diagnostic confusion, reactions to gluten are not often immediate and acute, El-Sohemy says. "It's not like lactose where you feel bad within a day after consuming it. Gluten causes damage to the intestinal lining, which results in malabsorption of vitamins and other nutrients, and the effects of those nutrient deficiencies are quite varied."

El-Sohemy believes people with a genetic susceptibility to Celiac Disease should consider blood tests to determine whether they have the disease if they present with any of the symptoms of Celiac Disease. His analysis of blood samples from Canadians of South Asian heritage suggests that genetic predisposition is only one piece of the Celiac puzzle. Future research may focus on the timing of exposure to gluten as well as the role of gut bacteria.

As for why so many non-Celiac sufferers feel better after giving up gluten, El-Sohemy speculates the real issue is "because they stopped eating heaping servings of pasta, white bread and other sources of processed carbohydrates."
Professor John Bertram and Dr Go Kanzaki. Credit: Monash University

Monash University's Biomedicine Discovery Institute (BDI) scientists in Melbourne, Australia, collaborating with researchers from the Jikei University School of Medicine in Tokyo, have shown for the first time that Japanese people have significantly fewer nephrons, the tiny filtering units in kidneys, than most other races.

Their research supported a link between low nephron count and hypertension (high blood pressure), which is a major risk factor in the long-term for diseases including coronary artery disease, stroke and heart failure. It also found a link with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

One in eight people in Japan have CKD, the second highest rate of the disease in the world.

The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight, was led by senior researcher Professor John Bertram from the BDI, and first authors Dr Go Kanzaki and Dr Victor Puelles. Dr Kanzaki, a clinician/researcher, recently returned to Jikei University after working with Professor Bertram for several years. He works closely with Jikei nephrologist Dr Nobuo Tsuboi.

Professor Bertram said the concept that low nephron count could be responsible in part for hypertension emerged in the 1980s but was controversial and hard to verify due to the minute size of the structures and because the only way this could be done was using tissue from an autopsy.

"This paper, the first such study in an Asian population, shows that Japanese with hypertension have significantly fewer nephrons than normotensive Japanese do  it's a clear-cut finding," Professor Bertram said. Kidneys regulate high blood pressure in a number of ways.

People in Japan had around 640,000 nephrons, a figure that dropped to 392,000 if they were hypertensive and 268,000 if they had CKD. This compared to a European average of around 900,000 nephrons. A low count meant the kidneys were less able to cope if the person went on to develop obesity, diabetes or other disease affecting kidneys later in life.

Professor Bertram and his team are world leaders in the field of nephron counting, responsible for the bulk of research into this including the previous finding that Indigenous Australians had less nephrons than non-indigenous people.

Dr Kanzaki, an internationally recognised expert in kidney biopsy, said the research has implications for the futures of low-weight babies. "There is a trend towards Japanese women staying thin and small during pregnancy to try to look beautiful but their babies are more likely to be born smaller and with smaller kidneys and therefore less nephrons  the number of nephrons is set at birth," he said.

Low nephron count could potentially help predict hypertension or CKD in the future if a safe, non-invasive method was developed to replace the one relying on autopsies, Professor Bertram said. "Ultimately, you would hope that health professionals will think more about low birth weight although the idea's not there yet."

More information: Go Kanzaki et al. New insights on glomerular hyperfiltration: a Japanese autopsy study, JCI Insight (2017). Journal information: Journal of Clinical Investigation Go Kanzaki et al. New insights on glomerular hyperfiltration: a Japanese autopsy study,(2017). DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.94334
The University of Miami's newest hospital has a six-bed emergency room, operating room, intensive care unit, a birthing suite and outpatient clinics.

The only thing missing is patients.

Instead, nursing students get a realistic clinical experience using computerized mannequins and staff actors.

"Practicing on real people can be a very intimidating environment, and as our patients become more savvy, they tend to hesitate when a student walks in," said Susana Barroso-Fernandez, who oversees UM's simulation program. "We created this environment to allow students to practice and make mistakes and never put a patient or student at risk."

UM's five-story, 41,000-square foot Simulation Hospital, which opened last week on its Coral Gables campus, is part of a growing trend of colleges building simulation centers to provide real-life experiences to students. Community colleges and vocational schools also use simulators for emergency medical technician, paramedic and medical assistant programs.

Broward College opened a 66,000-square foot Health Sciences Simulation Center in 2014. Florida International University, west of Miami, opened a 16,000-square foot facility in 2010. Nova Southeastern University recently opened a new simulation center on its main Davie campus. Simulation labs are standard in other South Florida nursing programs as well.

The move toward simulation has increased as nursing programs have grown faster than hospitals' capacity to accommodation these students.

"In certain areas like pediatrics, mental health or labor and delivery, it can be very difficult to get a quality hospital placement," said Marlaine Smith, dean of nursing at FAU, which uses simulation for about 10 percent of its student clinical work.

A 2014 study by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing found that colleges could substitute simulation for up to half of all clinical experience without any negative results. The students scored just as well on nursing license exams as those getting most of their experience in hospitals and healthcare centers. Officials at Broward College and NSU say they think simulation has helped their students achieve nearly perfect passing rates on the exams.

There are major benefits to simulation, officials said. In addition to giving students a safe environment to practice, it also gives students experience with scenarios that are rare, but still crucial for them to know how to handle. For example, students are taught how to care for a woman hemorrhaging during childbirth.

UM nursing professor Deborah Riquelme demonstrated a normal childbirth during an opening event for the facility. She served as the midwife for Lucina, an electronic mannequin who looks just like a mother about to give birth. Lucina has vinyl skin that feels lifelike and is programmed to breathe and blink her eyes. A technician sat close by using a computer screen to decide how fast to play out the scenario. Lucina could be heard saying, "I need an epidural" and "How much longer?''

A monitor showed contractions, vital signs, fetal position and that the baby was healthy. The baby was positioned inside Lucina just like a real baby would be, with the mannequin simulating contractions.

"Let us know when you're ready to push," Riquelme told the patient.

The baby slowly moved down the mannequin's birth canal. While the baby started crying, a crowd of spectators watching the simulation started cheering.

"An OB/GYN was watching and told me he was really enjoying watching it and said it was just like real life," Riquelme said.

Several other scenarios were happening simultaneously, as a patient entered the emergency department complaining of neck pain. While this patient was being assessed, another arrived by ambulance. This trauma victim was evaluated and rushed to one of the four hospital operating rooms for surgery.

The Simulation Hospital will also be used as a training venue for people outside of UM, including hurricane training, officials said.

"You can bring companies in that want to test new products before they go to market," Barroso-Fernandez said. "You can work with community partners like first responders, police departments and fire rescue. You can take this hospital and turn it into a mass casualty event and have the community practice disaster preparedness and response. It's not just about nursing education."

2017 Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Seemingly acute viral infections can persist in spite of viruses triggering an immune response. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania found that cells enriched with defective viral genomes, labeled in green, were more likely to survive infection than cells with full-length viral genomes, labeled in yellow-orange. Credit: University of Pennslyvania

Infections caused by viruses, such as respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, measles, parainfluenza and Ebola, are typically considered acute. These viruses cause disease quickly and live within a host for a limited time. But in some cases the effects of the infection, and presence of the virus itself, can persist. RSV, for example, can lead to chronic respiratory problems, measles can lead to encephalitis and the Ebola virus can be transmitted by patients thought to be cured of the disease.

New findings from the University of Pennsylvania suggest a mechanism that may explain how viruses can linger. Products of viral infection called defective viral genomes, DVGs for short, which have been known to be involved in triggering an immune response, can also kick off a molecular pathway that keeps infected cells alive, the researchers discovered. The study used a novel technique to examine the presence of DVGs on a cell-by-cell basis to show that DVG-enriched cells had strategies to survive in the face of an immune-system attack.

"One of the things the field has known for a long time is that DVGs promote persistent infections in tissue culture," said Carolina B. Lopez, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology in Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine. "But the question was, How do you reconcile that with the fact that they're also very immunostimulatory? How can they help clear virus at the same time as they promote persistence? Our work helps explain this apparent paradox."

Lopez was senior author on the work, teaming with co-lead authors and lab members Jie Xu and Yan Sun. Fellow coauthors included Gordon Ruthel and Daniel Beiting of Penn Vet, Yize Li and Susan R. Weiss of Penn's Perelman School of Medicine and Arjun Raj of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Their study was published in Nature Communications.

DVGs have been a major focus of Lopez's lab for years. These partial viral genomes are produced in infected cells when a virus begins to replicate rapidly, leading to defective versions of itself that contain large deletions. Once thought not to have any biological function, DVGs are increasingly believed to be important components of viral infections.

In 2013, Lopez and colleagues reported that DVGs were critical in stimulating an immune response to respiratory viruses in mice; when DVGs were depleted from a virus, mice had more severe infections. In 2015 they reported that DVGs are also critical for stimulating an immune response to the human virus RSV, also demonstrating for the first time that the presence of DVGs in human respiratory samples from infected patients correlates with enhanced antiviral immune responses.

In the current work, Lopez's team used a sophisticated technique that allowed them to differentiate full-length genomes from the partial genomes of DVGs at the single-cell level. They studied cells in culture infected with the Sendai virus, or with RSV, a virus that often affects infants and can lead to chronic respiratory problems,

Labeling the full-length genomes in red and the partial DVGs in green, the researchers found differences from cell to cell. Some cells had hardly any DVGs, while others were highly enriched with DVGs, with only a small number of full-length genomes.

"We saw this in many different cell lines and even in infected lungs in mice," Lopez said. "We hadn't appreciated before that there is a lot of heterogeneity in what is going on with these DVGs."

To dig deeper into how the DVGs were influencing the course of infection, the researchers infected cells either with a version of the Sendai virus that lacked DVGs or one enriched in DVGs. The cells infected with the virus high in DVGs survived more than twice as long as those infected with virus lacking DVGs. Adding purified DVGs boosted the cells' survival time, indicating a direct role for the DVGs in promoting cell survival.

The results were similar in parallel experiments with RSV, suggesting that the pro-survival role of DVGs held across viral types.

The researchers next were curious to know what molecular pathways might enable the DVG-rich cells to avoid apoptosis. An analysis of highly-expressed genes in DVG-enriched cells compared to the cells with full-length viral genomes revealed that a host of pro-survival genes were activated in the DVG-rich cells. Notably, these genes encoded signaling proteins of the TNF pathway, known to both boost immunity and cell survival, and IFN, known to play a role in antiviral immunity.

A final set of experiments elucidated the mechanism by which a subset of DVG-enriched cells persisted during viral infection. Lopez and colleagues found that signaling through the proteins MAVS and TNF receptor 2 protects infected cells from apoptosis that is otherwise triggered by TNF.

"We found this dual role for TNF during these infections," Lopez said. "If TNF binds to a cell that doesn't have the MAVS pathway engaged but is infected, the cell is killed, but, if the cell does have this pathway engaged, then it is protected. MAVS is engaged during the antiviral response, and only cells that have a lot of DVGs activate this pathway. These data show that our cells are wired to survive if they are engaged in an antiviral response, explaining the paradoxical functions of DVGs. It seems that in order to persist, the virus is taking advantage of these host pathways that are there to promote the survival of cells working to eliminate the virus."

The results, though limited to in vitro studies in the current report, point to a way that DVGs could enable "acute" viral infections to linger.

Lopez hopes to build on these findings to be sure they hold in vivo. She's also curious to learn more about the dual roles of TNF, which may help explain why the use of TNF-targeted therapies hasn't always turned out as expected.

"I want to see if there's a way we can harness this pathway to minimize and avoid the persistence of these viruses, which is really relevant if we think about the chronic diseases associated with some of these respiratory viruses," Lopez said.

In addition, she would like to explore how generalizable this pathway is and if it could, perhaps, help explain the problems with viral persistence seen in such infections with the Ebola and Zika viruses.

More information: Jie Xu et al, Replication defective viral genomes exploit a cellular pro-survival mechanism to establish paramyxovirus persistence, Nature Communications (2017). Journal information: Nature Communications Jie Xu et al, Replication defective viral genomes exploit a cellular pro-survival mechanism to establish paramyxovirus persistence,(2017). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00909-6
(HealthDay)In a move that could affect millions of American women, the Trump Administration is poised to roll back a federal mandate requiring that birth control be available as part of employer-based health plans.

Instead, new rulesexpected as early as Fridaywould give employers much wider leeway to declare themselves exempt from providing contraception due to moral or religious objections, The New York Times reported.

More than 55 million women currently have access to free birth control due to the contraceptive coverage mandate, according to data compiled under the Obama administration. The new rules would also affect hundreds of thousands of women who get free contraception under the Affordable Care Act.

The expected action from the White House fulfills a promise President Donald Trump made to voters during the 2016 election campaign.

According to the Times, wording in the new rules offers an exemption to any employer based on "moral convictions" or because it objects to covering birth control services "based on its sincerely held religious beliefs."

The Trump administration wording says that expanding exemptions was needed so that all religious objections to contraceptive coverage could be accommodated. "Application of the mandate to entities with sincerely held religious objections to it does not serve a compelling governmental interest," it says.

The birth control mandate was the focus of intense litigation during the Obama Administration, as companies, hospitals, charitable groups and other organizations with moral objections sought to distance themselves from providing birth control to female employees. In one such case, an order of nuns called the Little Sisters of the Poor said the mandate would make them "morally complicit in grave sin," the Times reported.

On the campaign trail, Trump told voters that he would "make absolutely certain religious orders like the Little Sisters of the Poor are not bullied by the federal government because of their religious beliefs."

But the new move is expected to prompt even more legal battlesthis time from groups advocating for women and public health.

In a statement, Dr. Anne Davis, consulting medical director for Physicians for Reproductive Health, said the rollback could send many American women "back to the days when patients couldn't afford the birth control that helps them live healthier lives."

"No matter where they work, women need and deserve birth control access," Davis said. "An employer's beliefs have no place in these private decisions, just as they would not in any other conversation about a patient's health care. It's a dangerous intrusion into a woman's privacy and her ability to get the care she needs."

Dana Singiser, Planned Parenthood's vice president of public policy and government affairs, agreed.

"Let's be clear: this rule has nothing to do with religion. Under the Affordable Care Act religious organizations already have an accommodation that still ensures their employees get coverage through other means," she said. "This rule is about taking away women's fundamental health care, plain and simple."

But the Trump administration said that in expanding exemptions, it is honoring objections to contraceptive coverage on moral as well as purely religious grounds.

"Congress has a consistent history of supporting conscience protections for moral convictions alongside protections for religious beliefs," the administration said.

Companies that now decide to opt out of contraceptive coverage are required to notify employees, the new rules state.

The new rules are to take effect immediately, the Trump administration said, because "it would be impracticable and contrary to the public interest to engage in full notice and comment rule-making." Public comments are being accepted, however.

More information: There's more on contraception at the There's more on contraception at the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

Copyright  2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) prescriptions in New York City increased by nearly 1,000 percent in two years, but men of color, women and patients outside the city center were less likely to be prescribed the HIV prevention medication. Taken daily, PrEP is more than 90 percent effective in reducing the risk of HIV infection and is recommended for everyone at very high risk, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A number of recent education campaigns and trials have demonstrated PrEP is effective, but many medical students and healthcare providers nationwide remain unaware of PrEP or are unsure of its benefits. These are among the findings on the status of PrEP use and awareness being presented at IDWeek 2017.

"Fewer than 10 percent of people who would benefit from PrEP are taking it," said Brandon Imp, MD, an internal medicine/preventive medicine resident at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco and lead author of a study on PrEP awareness among medical students. "We believe education works, but we need to do a better job throughout the country to inform future doctors as well as health providers who are on the front lines of care about the benefits of PrEP."

CDC guidelines published in 2014 recommend PrEP (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) for HIV-negative people at high risk of HIV, including: those who are in a relationship with an HIV-infected partner; gay or bisexual men who have sex without a condom or have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection within the past six months; heterosexual men or women who do not always use condoms when having sex with partners at high risk for HIV; and those who inject illicit drugs. CDC recommends PrEP be used in combination with other preventative measures, including condoms.

Huge Increase in NYC PrEP Prescriptions

The prescription of PrEP rose 976 percent between 2014 and 2016, according to an analysis of electronic health records from 602 New York City medical practices, undertaken by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The increase was noted after the CDC released PrEP guidelines in 2014 and as clinical trials and demonstration projects confirmed it is effective. Additionally, a variety of campaigns to educate healthcare providers about PrEP and its benefits were launched in New York City during that time. For example, the department launched a campaign in 2014 to reach out to primary care and infectious disease practices to provide them resources about PrEP, visiting more than 2,500 providers at more than 1,000 clinics throughout the city. PrEP messages were included in another campaign to encourage city residents to know their HIV status and community partner organizations have launched their own outreach efforts, say the researchers.

When analyzing the records, researchers found PrEP prescriptions were more likely to be written for younger, white, male patients and at Manhattan-based practices, community health centers and practices with onsite infectious diseases specialists. In other words, men of color, women, people getting healthcare at smaller private practices or those outside the city center were less likely to be prescribed PrEP.

"These results show that educating healthcare providers can really help improve the rate of PrEP prescribing, but it's apparent we need additional programs to ensure equitable access," said Paul Salcuni, MPH, lead author of the study and lead data analyst for prevention, Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Long Island City. To address the disparities, the department is planning new campaigns, including one focusing on women's health providers.

Many Medical Students Unaware of PrEP

Many medical schools aren't educating their students about PrEP and its benefits, suggests a survey of 1,588 medical students at 18 U.S. medical schools. According to the extensive survey about knowledge, beliefs and experiences, more than one in four (28 percent) medical students are unaware of PrEP and 18 percent of students in their last year of medical school were never taught about the HIV prevention regimen. Further, 57 percent believed behavioral intervention should be tried before prescribing PrEP, 45 percent believed patients would not adhere to it and 22 percent didn't think it was effective.

Studies have shown PrEP is far more effective at preventing HIV than behavioral intervention, and that while adherence is a concern for all medications, that should not deter physicians from prescribing the regimen.

"Medical students are not being taught about PrEP as they should and therefore are unaware of it, or have inaccurate beliefs about its value," said Dr. Imp, lead author of the study. "That is concerning because they are the next generation of physicians who will provide care to patients and help stem the spread of the disease. These results demonstrate the need to incorporate PrEP education into the medical school curriculum."

Doctors Often Uncomfortable Prescribing PrEP

Medical students are not the only ones who are unaware of the benefits of PrEP suggests a study of healthcare providers at one Boston hospital. According to a survey of 80 providers, including doctors (55 percent), physician assistants (20 percent), registered nurses (9 percent), medical students (8 percent) and medical assistants, research coordinators and physician assistant students (8 percent), about one-third overall had never heard of PrEP. Additionally, 32 percent of doctors said they were uncomfortable prescribing it, according to the Tufts University School of Medicine survey.

"PrEP has been widely publicized in the medical literature and media, so we were surprised at the low level of awareness of its benefits," said Rapeephan Maude, MD, MSc, lead author of the study, now an infectious disease physician at Mahachai Hospital, Thailand. "Doctors often said they were uncomfortable asking their patients about risk behaviors. We think this is a major reason why some people at high risk of HIV infection are not identified."

Some doctors said they preferred to refer patients to HIV and infectious diseases specialists, she said. While specialists have deeper knowledge about PrEP and are trained to ask about risk factors, referring patients may lead to a missed opportunity to start PrEP as early as possible. Additionally, some patients may not follow-up with a specialist, or have greater trust in their primary care doctor.

"We are confident these numbers will improve as more providers receive information on PrEP," said Dr. Maude. "Encouraging providers to work collaboratively with infectious diseases specialists would increase their comfort in identifying high-risk patients and prescribing PrEP."

Emergency Medicine Physicians Overlooked in PrEP Education Efforts

Emergency medicine physicians are generally aware of PrEP, but most aren't familiar with the CDC guidelines and many are uncomfortable discussing PrEP due to lack of awareness about its recommendations, according to a study at Washington University in St. Louis.

The study included survey results of 67 emergency room physicians who were asked about their knowledge of PrEP, including the CDC prescribing guidelines and concerns about use. Overall, 79 percent were aware of PrEP, but only 24 percent were knowledgeable about the guidelines. Additionally, 57 percent were not comfortable discussing PrEP with patients, 54 percent had concerns about whether it was effective, 90 percent worried about side effects and 70 percent feared it would promote HIV resistance. Large studies have addressed these concerns, noting that it is effective and does not promote HIV resistance. Additionally, PrEP's side effects should be discussed with patients, but benefits outweigh those issues in most cases, researchers note.

"The low levels of awareness of PrEP's benefits among this group are likely due to the fact that education and outreach efforts focus on HIV and infectious diseases specialists and primary care physicians," said Brett Tortelli, BA, lead author of the study and an MD/PhD student at Washington University. "While emergency physicians are unlikely to prescribe PrEP because it requires continued care, they can play an important role in identifying at-risk patients - many of whom have little interaction with the healthcare system otherwise - and connect them to care."

Researchers asked the physicians for their preferred method of PrEP education, and determined a variety of methods would be necessary, including educating them on the guidelines, providing existing research that would allay their concerns about PrEP and offering community resources they can use to refer patients for care.
YEREVAN.- Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan received on Wednesday President of the Senate of the Czech Republic Milan Stech, presidential press service reported.

Greeting the guest, the President recalled with warmth his meeting with Milan Stech in 2014 in the sidelines of his state visit to the Czech Republic. Serzh

Sargsyan hoped that the visit of the President of the Senate of the Czech Republic to Armenia will be productive, strengthening the friendly relations existing between the two states and Mr. Stech will feel the same warmth that he personally showed towards the representatives of Armenia during their visits to the Czech Republic.

The President of the Republic underlined that Armenia considers the Czech Republic a friendly country and reliable partner and is interested in deepening and strengthening the cooperation in all the spheres.

The President documented with satisfaction that stable political dialogue exists between the two countries and on all the levels.

Serzh Sargsyan highlighted the role of parliamentary diplomacy in the continuation of the existing dialogue noting that interparliamentary cooperation has a its important place in the agenda of Armenian-Czech elations.

The President of the Senate of the Czech Republic, thanking for the reception, noted that all his meetings in Armenia go on in a cordial and positive atmosphere.

Milan Stech also emphasized that the relations between Armenia and the Czech Republic are on the top level considering the active interactions and mutual understanding between the top leaderships of both countries, as well as the effective cooperation between the legislative and executive bodies of the countries. To his conviction, the high level of political relations should be replenished with active trade and economic ties for which some works are already underway.

The President of the Senate informed that Czech businessmen have arrived in Armenia as part of his delegation who will have meetings with Armenian businessmen, familiarize themselves with the capacities of the Armenian economy, and the market demands.

Milan Stech also referred to the noisy issue about the sales of Czech arms to Azerbaijan, stressing that those responsible for the deal had no permit of the authorities of the Czech Republic and now investigation is underway to find out how the deal was made.

During the meeting the sides exchanged ideas on regional and international problems and challenges, referred to Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement process. The President of the Senate of the Czech Republic emphasized that his country supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs and believes the conflict should be settled exclusively through peaceful means.
MATTOON -- Dean Drainage has purchased Pelican Signs and has upgraded its equipment for creating signs, banners, lettering, vehicles magnets, and more.

Owner Bill Dean acquired Pelican Signs this summer from Scott Ronchetti, who had owned and operated this sign business for more than 25 years. Dean has moved Pelican Signs from its former location at 2600 Marshall Ave. into his Dean Drainage building at 3356 U.S. Highway 45, across from Lake Land College. Dean operates Pelican Signs under Oskee Creative LLC.

"(Ronchetti) did lettering on my trucks for the last 15 years," Dean said. He added that this business relationship led to him purchasing Pelican Signs when Ronchetti decided to retire. Dean said Pelican Signs is a good partner business for Dean Drainage, which he founded 41 years ago, because they both serve customers in the agriculture industry.

Operations manager Keri Cox said Ronchetti has played a huge part in helping transition Pelican Signs over to new ownership and in sharing his extensive knowledge of the sign industry. She said Dean Drainage has opted to retain the Pelican Signs name because of its recognition and good reputation among customers.

"(Ronchetti) built a name in this area because he knew what he was doing," Cox said.

Pelican Signs creates custom signs, banners, displays, site signs, dimensional lettering, realty signs, window lettering, truck and equipment lettering, car magnets, decals and more.

Cox, who has worked at Dean Drainage for 10 years, said she has been trained to handle design, application, installation and other work for Pelican Signs. She said they have upgraded the printers, cutters and other equipment for this business.

Dean Drainage is a member of the Illinois Land Improvement Contractors Association. Cox said Pelican Signs creates banners, hardhat lettering and other materials for this organization. They are also a member of the Mattoon Area Chamber of Commerce.

The Oskee Creative name was inspired by the University of Illinois' "Oskee Wow Wow" fight song and the company's orange and blue colors were inspired by the U of I's school colors.

More information about Pelican Signs is available by calling 217-235-0085 or emailing oskeecreative17@gmail.com.
YEREVAN.  Vahagn Abgaryan, who was wounded in the fatal shots that were fired on September 14 in Yerevan, the capital city of Armenia, was checked out of hospital on Wednesday.

Astghik Medical Center, where Abgaryan was being treated, informed about the aforementioned to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Although it was originally said that Vahagn Abgaryan had not sustained severe wounds, he actually stayed in hospital for three weeks.

As reported earlier, shots were fired on September 14 at around 1:25pm nearby Vernissagea large open-air market that mainly features a collection of traditional Armenian art works, and primarily for touristsin downtown Yerevan, and one person was killed and another was wounded.

The person who lost his life in the shooting is Garik Mosinyan, 43, whereas the wounded is Vahagn Abgaryan, 39; they are from Alaverdi town, and members of organized crime.

Rafik Khachatryan, 60, Albert Blbulyan, 35, and Armen Karadavidov, 33, are charged with murder.

Khachatryan is detained, whereas search is still in progress for the other two.
Ardshinbank showcases the Google Pay for Android fans in Armenia

Secretary of State: U.S. stands ready to continue support for Karabakh settlement

Google Pay is a new contactless payment option for Converse Bank customers

Karen Vardanyan donated 112 million drams for the medical equipment for National Center for Infectious Diseases

Gold declines in value

World oil prices go down

Plans to build 'death pyramid' in London that will hold millions of bodies

Armenian and Georgian Foreign Ministries hold consultations in Tbilisi

Azerbaijani and Iranian FMs hold phone conversation

Steve Jobs' sandals sold for more than $200,000

Armenian PM accuses Azerbaijani leader of terrorizing Armenian civilians

Azerbaijan shells Armenian positions on border again

OPEC downgrades its forecast for global oil demand growth in 2022

White House: Biden and Xi Jinping agree on Blinken's visit to China

CNN: CIA chief Burns meets with SVR director Naryshkin in Ankara

Turkish FM Cavusoglu thanks Ararat Mirzoyan for condolences

Putin signs decree allowing stateless persons to serve in Russian army

Airbus CEO: There is no question of them breaking off trade ties

Armen Grigoryan receives Igor Khovayev

Britain and France sign agreement on strengthening cooperation on illegal migration

US updates its sanctions list for Russia: Milur Electronics LLC, an Armenian company listed

Potatoes prices grow by 20%: expert claims agriculture collapse in Armenia

Peskov says Russian-American talks in Ankara initiated by Washington

Morgan Stanley: UK and euro zone economies are likely to face recession

Xi Jinping hopes for comprehensive dialogue between NATO, the EU and the US and Russia

Japan proposes to deploy Australian nuclear submarines

Biden calls talks with Xi Jinping at G20 summit frank

WB: Debt levels among low- and middle-income countries soared in 2021

Xi Jinping: China does not intend to challenge the U.S.

Scholz: Adopting a joint G20 summit statement is a tough task

Biden and Xi Jinping oppose use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine

Nikol Pashinyan receives Russian co-chair of OSCE Minsk Group

IMF head warns of risks for world economy because of rivalry between China and US

Irakli Garibashvili: Georgia is ready to promote in every possible way the dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Red Wings airline launches direct flights from Makhachkala to Yerevan

Olaf Scholz: EU should expand its cooperation with Southeast Asian countries

Global Leadership Foundation will visit Armenia

Kurdistan Workers' Party denies its involvement in Istanbul terrorist attack

NATO Secretary General says they must not make mistake of underestimating Russia

IRGC resumes strikes on Iraqi Kurdistan

French and German central bank heads call for speeding up EU capital markets union

Control of U.S. House of Representatives depends on several tight races

Artsakh FM speaks with his Transnistria counterpart

Italy, Greece, Malta and Cyprus say they cannot accept migrants

Cavusoglu thanks Mirzoyan for condolences on terrorist attack in Istanbul

Xi Jinping and Joe Biden begin first face-to-face meeting in Bali

Zelenskyy arrives in Kherson

Armenian Defense Minister: After expiration of contract service 5 million drams will be provided to servicemen

Turkey refuses to accept U.S. condolences after terrorist attack in Istanbul

Defense Ministers of Georgia and Azerbaijan sign military cooperation plan for 2023

Russian Foreign Ministry denies reports about Lavrov's hospitalization in Bali

Yellen hopes Biden and Jinping meeting leads to engagement on macroeconomic issues

Russian Defense Ministry confirms violation of ceasefire in Artsakh by Azerbaijani Armed Forces

Artsakh MOD denies accusations of Azerbaijani MOD

Azerbaijani Defense Minister holds talks in Georgia

Armenian MOD denies another lie of Azerbaijani MOD

Germany warns its delegation about Egyptian spies at COP27

NSS of Armenia reveals channel of illegal migration

Azerbaijani State Security Service announces disclosure of 'Iranian spy network'

Politico: Indonesia, hosting G20, lobbies West to soften criticism of Russia in final communique

Ararat Mirzoyan expresses condolences to Mevlut Cavusoglu over Istanbul explosion

Iranian lawmakers sharply criticize Aliyev

Ambassador-at-Large: Azerbaijan's attacks on Armenia are a terrorist attack

Germany needs to diversify its business interests in Asia to reduce dependence on China

Head of U.S. Treasury Department says sanctions against Russia should remain in force even after war in Ukraine

Natasa Pirc Musar to become Slovenia's first woman president

IMF: World economic outlook even bleaker than predicted

Pashinyan: Azerbaijan calls Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh 'our citizens' and at the same time shoots at them

Turkish Interior Minister announces arrest of suspect in attack on Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul

Alpine to make 3 electric crossovers

Number of injured in Istanbul blast rises to 81

Paul McCartney sells guitar for $77,000 to support Ukraine

Erdogan says preliminary findings after Istanbul bombing point to terrorist attack

Erdogan says number of victims of Istanbul bombing rises to six

Authorities forbid TV channels to broadcast from Istanbul bombing site

Istanbul blast: Governor reports 4 dead and 38 wounded

Media: Terrorist attack considered as one of versions of bombing in Istanbul

Blast in Istanbul: victims reported

Reuters: National Bank of Ukraine prepares banking system for power outages

Explosion hits pedestrian street in Istanbul

Former Pentagon official Michael Rubin calls for Turkey to be recognized as sponsor of terrorism

Bloomberg columnist says Japan may be preparing for war with China

Reuters: U.S. to demand EU colleagues to continue aid to Kyiv at G20

Washington Post: U.S. intelligence believes UAE tried to interfere in U.S. politics

Yeni Safak: Turkey increases sales of winter products, blankets in EU by almost third since beginning of year

Fox News: Trump has been silent on social media for over 24 hours amid Republican failures

Lebanon extradites to Iraq relative of Saddam Hussein

Financial Times: Kyiv plans to nationalize more private companies

U.S. Senate declares 'death' of Republican Party after congressional elections

Head of U.S. Customs resigned

President of Georgia Zourabichvili says about 100 thousand Russians settled in country

CNN: Democrats to retain control of Senate after congressional elections

Alen Simonyan: We are truly and sincerely committed to the peace agenda

Artak Beglaryan: Genocidal purpose is apparent

French maritime services rescue more than 140 migrants trying to swim across English Channel

Biden says he is satisfied with results of midterm elections in U.S.

Slovenia holds second round of presidential elections

'Witch' burned alive in India, 14 arrested

COVID-19 cases are expected to surge in Germany this winter

Dollar makes worst showing in week since early days of COVID-19 pandemic
Armenian and Georgian clergymen and secular officials met at the Georgian Patriarchate.

Father Tatev Marukyan, pastor of the Holy Cross Armenian Church in Akhalkalaki town in Georgia, on Thursday told Armenian News-NEWS.am that during this talk, it was decided to set up a working group, and to discuss with the Kumurdo (Gumburdo) village residents the situation regarding the church of this rural community.

The results of the discussions at the Patriarchate were presented to the villagers, and they are not against this decision.

Fr. Marukyan added, however, that the church in Kumurdo is not considered an Armenian place of Christian worship.

We have never said this church is an [Armenian] Apostolic Church, he noted. It is on privatized territory and considered their [Georgians] historical and cultural heritage.

On September 30, clashes occurred between the Armenian residents of Kumurdo and police in Javakheti, which is a predominantly-Armenian-populated part of Georgias southeastern Samtskhe-Javakheti Province.

The Armenians wished to place an Armenian cross-stone in the courtyard of the local church, since the bones of their forebears are buried there. Police, however, did not let them inside the church saying they have a respective order.

The situation became tenser, and therefore special forces arrived at the scene. Police fired shots in the air, and they beat the local Armenians with clubs.
YEREVAN.  Speaking to Zhamanak (Times) newspaper of Armenia, Aleksandr Dugin, who heads the International Eurasian Movement, expressed a view that the matter of returning five regions of Nagorno-Karabakh will be raised at the upcoming talk between the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The situation in Armenian-Azerbaijani relations is reaching a point when it will be impossible to resolve the problem any longer; there is a need to achieve the resolution to this crisis, Dugin noted, in particular. I suppose the matter of deblockage of five regions of Karabakh will be put during that meeting of the presidents. But the problem is that the topic of returning the five regions under the control of Armenia to Azerbaijan is covered very inaccurately.

I was astonished at the fact that when it comes to the return of five regions, as a rule, an incorrect assessment is given to that matter. So, its very difficult to speak about it in Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia, alike, since uncompromising, wrong views have been formed.
YEREVAN.  Armenia intends to act as a kind of link in the development of relations between the Eurasian Union and Iran, one of the organizers of the Russian-Armenian interregional forum Ara Abrahamyan said at a briefing in the framework of the sixth meeting of the forum in Yerevan.

There is an agreement on the construction of a Russian trading house on the border with Iran, he said, adding that Armenia will sell Russian goods to Iran.

According to him, the opening of the production zone is also planned.

We will sell to Iran and other countries of the Persian Gulf, and there is interest from partners, but much depends on Armenia.
YEREVAN.  The President of Armenia, Serzh Sargsyan, on Friday received Denis Manturov, the Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia.

Manturov has arrived in capital city Yerevan to participate in the Sixth Armenian-Russian Interregional Forum, and the second International Forum of Eurasian Partnership, press office of the President informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

Sargsyan underscored these two events that are aimed at expansion and development of Armenian-Russian cooperation. Also, the interlocutors highlighted the need to hold such events on a regular basis.

At the ensuing talk, they reflected on the avenues for strengthening trade and economic ties and expanding industrial cooperation between Armenia and Russia.

The President expressed the hope that the ministers visit to Armenia will give new impetus to Armenian-Russian joint initiatives, whose opportunities, as per Sargsyan, grow also owing to cooperation within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)which comprises Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.
CHARLESTON (JG-TC) -- Local police received multiple calls of shots fired at 3:20 p.m. Thursday in the 800 block area of West Lincoln Avenue near Five Star Rentals.

Multiple witnesses reported that they heard four to five gunshots, but were unsure of where the shots came from, Charleston Police Department Deputy Chief Chad Reed said.

However, no evidence of gunshots was found in the area.

Reed said officers checked local businesses and other structures in the area for bullet holes. They also closed off Lincoln Avenue for a short period of time looking for bullet casings in the road.

Reed noted that no one has been checked into local hospitals for gunshot wounds following initial reports of shots fired.

The incident has been given to Charleston police detectives for further investigation, the deputy chief said.

Officers from the Charleston Police Department, Eastern Illinois University Police Department, Coles County Sheriff's Office and the East Central Illinois Task Force were involved in the investigation.
CHARLESTON -- A psychiatrist has visited with the teenage boy accused of shooting a fellow Mattoon High School student but reports on his condition haven't been submitted yet.

That was the report during a court hearing Thursday for the boy, who was an MHS freshman at the time of the Sept. 20 shooting in the school's cafeteria.

Another boy, who reportedly wasn't the actual target, was shot during the incident before the shooter was subdued, according to authorities' accounts. The boy was hit in the upper chest but accounts indicate that he's recovering from his wounds.

One of the few other developments during Thursday's court session was the appearance of the boy's new attorney, Ed Piraino of Champaign. Piraino replaces Public Defender Anthony Ortega, who had been appointed to represent the teen.

Piraino told Circuit Judge Matt Sullivan that psychiatrist Lawrence Jeckel met with the boy but not to the extent needed to make his evaluations, which were ordered during an earlier hearing.

State's Attorney Brian Bower reported that there's been no indication yet from Jeckel on when the evaluations will be complete.

The evaluations will address the possibility of insanity at the time of the incident, whether the boy is a risk to himself or others, and if he's able to understand and help with his case.

The teenager appeared in court in custody of a juvenile detention facility, which was also ordered at the last hearing. On Thursday, Piraino said it appeared that it's still best for the boy to "stay where he is."

Bower also said subpoenas have been issued for records, which he didn't specifically identify, that Jeckel has indicated he wants to use in the evaluations.

Piraino also said he hasn't received police reports about the shooting, but Bower said he understands Mattoon police have completed more than 200 interviews and the reports should be ready soon.

Based on the time needed for the various records and the attorneys' schedules, Sullivan scheduled the boy's next hearing for Nov. 17.

The boy is charged in juvenile court with aggravated battery with a firearm. It's a felony offense that could lead to his being held in the Illinois Department of Juvenile Justice until the age of 21.

According to information presented during the previous hearing and from authorities, the accused teen started to aim the gun at a girl but MHS teacher Angie McQueen grabbed him by the arm and the shot hit the other student instead.

More shots were fired into the cafeteria's ceiling before McQueen and Mattoon police school resource officer Kasey Alexander subdued the boy, according to the accounts.

Some sources have indicated that bullying might have been the motivation for the shooting. Authorities haven't said how the boy was able to bring the gun inside the school.
IS' West Africa Province Publishes Photos of Ambush on Nigerian Soldiers
India has long been the dominant power in South Asia but as Beijing invests millions in the region, New Delhi is looking to defend its sphere of influence . India must play to its strengths instead of attempting to match Chinese capital, a panel of experts at the World Economic Forum's India summit said in response to CNBC's question on the topic."China has surplus capital to invest  we don't but we can do our own thing in areas of different value...That's still highly appreciated and sought after," said Shashi Tharoor, a member of India's parliament. As part of its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing has funded various infrastructure projects right in India's backyard, such as Sri Lanka's southern port of Hambantota and the China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor. That's triggered criticism from New Delhi, which refused Beijing's invitation to join Belt and Road . It's also added to growing rivalry between the Asian giants  relations between the two fast-growing economies remain marred by territorial disputes like the Doklam standoff in the Himalayas that ended last month. To ensure China doesn't eclipse India on its home turf, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should continue exporting low-cost technology and offering favorable development loans, panelists at WEF said. India has emerged as a leader of low-cost tech in South and Southeast Asia. Its affordable generic pharmaceuticals are highly sought-after while the country is championing solar energy , reflected by the April launch of the International Solar Alliance  New Delhi's brainchild aimed at boosting solar cooperation among member nations. India is at an advantage in this arena because it shares similar challenges as other markets in the region, such as poverty and weather, said Suhasini Haidar, diplomatic editor of The Hindu newspaper. If New Delhi attempts to compete against China's sizable war chest on the investment front, "we're setting ourselves up for disappointment," she said. "We need to play to our strengths."India also supports the economic development of South Asian peers through rupee-structured loans, which helps avoid problems of exchange rate and devaluation, pointed out Leela Ponappa, India's former deputy national security advisor."There's no question of competing with China, why should we?" she said. Modi should simply focus on his country's long track record of building human capacities in South Asia, she continued. India has long been the dominant power in South Asia but as Beijing invests millions in the region, New Delhi is looking to defend its sphere of influence . India must play to its strengths instead of attempting to match Chinese capital, a panel of experts at the World Economic Forum's India summit said in response to CNBC's question on the topic. "China has surplus capital to invest  we don't but we can do our own thing in areas of different value...That's still highly appreciated and sought after," said Shashi Tharoor, a member of India's parliament. As part of its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing has funded various infrastructure projects right in India's backyard, such as Sri Lanka's southern port of Hambantota and the China-Pakistan-Economic-Corridor. That's triggered criticism from New Delhi, which refused Beijing's invitation to join Belt and Road . It's also added to growing rivalry between the Asian giants  relations between the two fast-growing economies remain marred by territorial disputes like the Doklam standoff in the Himalayas that ended last month. To ensure China doesn't eclipse India on its home turf, Prime Minister Narendra Modi should continue exporting low-cost technology and offering favorable development loans, panelists at WEF said. India has emerged as a leader of low-cost tech in South and Southeast Asia. Its affordable generic pharmaceuticals are highly sought-after while the country is championing solar energy , reflected by the April launch of the International Solar Alliance  New Delhi's brainchild aimed at boosting solar cooperation among member nations. India is at an advantage in this arena because it shares similar challenges as other markets in the region, such as poverty and weather, said Suhasini Haidar, diplomatic editor of The Hindu newspaper. If New Delhi attempts to compete against China's sizable war chest on the investment front, "we're setting ourselves up for disappointment," she said. "We need to play to our strengths." India also supports the economic development of South Asian peers through rupee-structured loans, which helps avoid problems of exchange rate and devaluation, pointed out Leela Ponappa, India's former deputy national security advisor. "There's no question of competing with China, why should we?" she said. Modi should simply focus on his country's long track record of building human capacities in South Asia, she continued.



More From CNBC


bitch, pay me $10k and ill let you sleep in my house

Reply

Thread

Link

I do sis, thats why I'm willing to sell out my house for 10k a month!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

This gif is totally me rn. (Except I'm eating cookie dough ice cream.)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link





idk OP me thinks you're making a lot of excuses for this white trash's behavior

Reply

Thread

Link





but how does that work because you're excusing his shitty behavior, not praising his work. Mmmmrightbut how does that work because you're excusing his shitty behavior, not praising his work.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

everyone can go home this is the perfect comment

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

LMAO that picture is killing me for some reason

Reply

Thread

Link

yeah, his drawstrings are so freaking long

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Mte

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Lmao mte.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

MTE

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

this always kills me

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Only thing I got from this is that OceanUp still exists....

Reply

Thread

Link

Never bought OceanUp but I did get WordUp and RightOn for all the B2K and IMX posters. I wonder if all those exist still 

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

yasssssss and omg i wonder if they do???

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

take your time

Reply

Thread

Link

omg your icon lmao!





Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I'd rather die.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Who's Jake Paul?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

*sigh* gotta show my son this thread. i recently learned about this person because of him





gonna be another lit friday night for your girl!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Bieber. There's a limitless desperation to youtubers meaning they're capable of anything.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Is OJ Simpson available?

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I think justin because most of the time he'll be traveling and won't be home. while that jake invites a bunch of randoms over and creates havoc for youtube hits.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link





Remember when Jake roped some poor teenage girl into getting molested by his dad?



https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NoF6Tajj4UM Justin, without a doubt. That's saying something. Jake and his brother are 100% desperadoes which makes them dangerous.Remember when Jake roped some poor teenage girl into getting molested by his dad?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Is "neither" an option?

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

why God why

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Justin. I feel like Jake is the exact type of annoying and ignorant that would eventually send me into a murderous rage, and I don't think I'd do well in prison.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

bieber. jake seems unhinged.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

jake paul. i desperately want to see what the life of a millenial internet famous viner is like.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Two grand a month for Toronto?! Holy shit. Is it a house?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

move to Windsor

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Lol I just moved to Toronto from Halifax and the rent prices here really blow my fucking mind, although I did find a bachelor for $1100 but I definitely got super lucky.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

lmao i pay $780 for a cute af 4 1/2 in montreal

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Londoner here and I feel you. I pay 1250 for a 1 bed in a really shitty area

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

This thread was a wild ride.



idk about Toronto since I've never lived there, but when I lived in DC my roommate and I paid US $1500 EACH for a nice but basic 2-bedroom, 1-bath apartment in the northwest part of the city. I loved living there, but wtf @ those housing prices (especially coming from Oklahoma, where shit's cheap as fuck...because the state itself is poor as fuck, but that's another story, lol).

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Justin Bieber's potential neighbors...welcome to The Resistance.

Reply

Thread

Link





"You know what this represents?" Trump said. "Maybe it's the calm before the storm." Pressed on what "storm," Trump says, "You'll find out"  Justin Sink (@justinsink) October 5, 2017





Pres Trump told press pool "it's the calm before the storm." Asked what storm, "you'll find out," he said mysteriously. pic.twitter.com/7s8yAQASvN  Mark Knoller (@markknoller) October 5, 2017





ok I know this is ot and the first page but this is too important not to share bc we're all gonna die and I am warning y'all

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

as in?

hes gonna fire someone on friday?

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Ugh Jesus Christ

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I hate him so much. :|

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Before buying a condo I was fortunate enough to find a two bedroom apartment on the third floor for $900 in Connecticut.

Reply

Thread

Link

was it in a decent neighborhood?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Yep. Great neighborhood. Walking distance from the center of town. Newly renovated. Normally, apartments in that area go for 11 or 1250 but I got lucky.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Where? I'm lucky to find a one bedroom for $900 in the ghetto.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I am sure he will be fine.

Reply

Thread

Link

Omg that's right! He could just shack up with Carl and be done with it.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Must've used ha up like a wet cum rag 

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Just buy a house, you fucking ding dong.



Where I live, the rent has gone up an insane amount recently. The unemployment rate here is super high and this city sucks so its reallf annoying

Reply

Thread

Link

LOL They let a Kardashian into Beverly Hills but not Bieber?

Reply

Thread

Link

Umm sis the klan lives in Kalabasas!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Really!? I could have sworn Kim was in Beverly Hills at one point.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link
He's sorry because he's losing that white money now. He should know as a black man to never make sexist or homophobic statements if he wants white money.

Reply

Thread

Link

Damn, didn't he do this yesterday? He lost endorsements that fast?



Edit: Just saw the post. I'm liking the reaction to his comments. Has anyone else lose money over misogyny?



Edited at 2017-10-06 02:27 am (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

what

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I said what I said.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

maybe he shouldn't make sexist or homophobic statements because it's disgusting...

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

truth

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

You think White folks care about women and homophobia?



Explain Trump.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

lol @ people being confused about what you're saying.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

That's a nice apology

Reply

Thread

Link

It always annoys me when shitty people have good PR teams. I want them to keep digging the hole and fucking themselves over.



Edited at 2017-10-06 02:31 am (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

Mte one of the reasons I'm glad Trump's administration is too incompetent to take away his twitter

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

IKR! It took a few days for the Jeffrey Dean Morgan fuckery to make it to a few major news outlets. I was shocked. There were a few blurbs on social media and that was it.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I feel like there are more important stories to report on in recent days.. like, who cares about Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

What did he do?

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

nice try, a shitty "apology" after losing endorsements and being called out publicly, i'm sure its very genuine.



Reply

Thread

Link

lol

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

lol

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I was never a fan, but that is the correct way to apologize, for whatever motivation. Sebastian Stan could take lessons.



It's amazing to me that in 2017 men are still making stupid comments like this to start with, but I don't know why I'm surprised.

Reply

Thread

Link

lmao

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

omg lmao

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Exactly.



I'm not a fan of "If you are a person who took offense to what I said, I sincerely apologize to you." though...





Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

he didn't apologize correctly tho.



If you are a person who took offense to what I said, I sincerely apologize to you.



failed right out the gate.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

"I'm sorry to anyone who felt offended..." Wrong, bitch. You say, "I'm sorry I was offensive."

Reply

Thread

Link

EXACTLY

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

The rest of his apology was well written but this is where everyone gets it wrong every. single. time.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Yeah, I don't know why this is so difficult.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Exactly! Drives me nuts!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

mte. where is the pr training needed tag?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

yep

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

What is this oscar speech? Just say you suck and you're sorry.

Reply

Thread

Link

LOL

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Omg your icon and this comment

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

lol irl

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

You still lost that endorsement tho.

Reply

Thread

Link



UPDATE: Dannon pulling Cam Newton ads, will not use him in future, but will pay him thru contracts end https://t.co/e5svbGyUAM  Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) October 5, 2017

He didn't

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I had no idea, it makes all of this even worse.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Wow. So if they start talking about whatever 'routes' are and some guy just started laughing at them, he'd join in? Cool.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Being better than you really ain't that hard you misogynist All Lives Matter fuck nigga



Edited at 2017-10-06 02:28 am (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

His comments were absolutely gross and sexist but did Peyton Manning suffer for being accused of sexual harassment?

Reply

Thread

Link

Again, not excusing Cams comments AT ALL. I just dont see men like Ben and Peyton suffering.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

He didnt and we all know why tbh

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I hate him for his voice alone.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

we know why.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Asking too much

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

They've had 200,000 years. It doesn't get better than this..

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I wish I was a zillionaire

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

People in Hell want ice water.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Wishful thinking, but yeah, same

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

on my christmas list every year.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

It's important to have hopes.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Omg shut up. Save it, dickhead. This is so obviously about not losing more $$$ and endorsements. He doesn't want to get fired.

Reply

Thread

Link

still a coon but ok

Reply

Thread

Link

I wish he could have found a way to incorporate his hieroglyphics text in this video

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

yuuuup

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link
He is such an awesome guy

Reply

Thread

Link





Here's was @LuisFonsi's response to my asking him to be on this song via DM.

We'd never met. He hadn't heard the song.#AlmostLikePraying  pic.twitter.com/h3nDKEQuf9  Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) October 6, 2017

He is awesome, bless everyone who participated. Also this made me smile:

Reply

Thread

Link

He's so great. They're all great. I wish there were subtitles though

Reply

Thread

Link

99% of the lyrics are just the names of the 78 towns of PR. 

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

He's so great. Thank you for posting this, OP!

Reply

Thread

Link

It's not that best song but it's pretty great for the short time Line had to put it together. Also, damn Lin's connections, they're pretty impressive. Camila's presence doesn't fit the rest, but it's for a good cause. Bad Bunny's song gave me chills last week too.



Honestly Lin is so quick-minded, I'm always in awe. How he connected WSS with the hurricane being called Maria and based the song off that idea...

Reply

Thread

Link

Lin is so connected and respected. Stephen Sondheim also had to sign off on this, since he wrote the "Almost like praying" lyrics, and that's a big deal because he's kind of a curmudgeon and very fussy about people using his lyrics.



PR is still such a mess. They have the electricity back on in San Juan, but the rural communities still have nothing for the most part. TBH, that's the way it is in the US when there's a power outage as well. They fix the cities first, and the small towns can just wait until they get around to it. They put the resources where they'll benefit the most people. Really sucks if you don't live in a big city.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Why would they put Kkkamila on the first line and waaay before Jennifer Lopez and Gloria Estefan? Epic put 5H on the 3rd line with fucking Iggy for jay-z benefits concert. Epic is just so fucking garbage. I really fucking hope their little payola spotify queen and her stans fade into oblivon after her album goes tinfoil and they see how much of a backfire she was with their money.



Edited at 2017-10-06 04:02 pm (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

I said what I said!

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

bc it's alpahabetical order? also Lin asked her to be on it after hearing "Havana", Epic had nothing to do with this. I dislike Camila as much as the next person but this is for a good cause come on now

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Do you ever just breathe and enjoy nature?

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

This had nothing to do with Epic, it was put out by Atlantic.... and like everyone said it's in alphabetical order lol.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link



when he was tweeting the different collaborators, I was like yay! yay!and then he posted a pic of himself w/ Kamilla and I'm like

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I still cant believe lin snapped like that! He is never like that.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

i believe if mr rogers was alive today (and had a twitter) even he would snap. the trumplstilskin brings it out in the nicest people

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I wish more people were as nice as him. The world would probably be a lot brighter.

Reply

Thread

Link

This is beautiful and I am glad that despite the goverment's poor response to this tragedy people are coming together to be proactive.

Reply

Thread

Link



Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ

Reply

Thread

Link

I haven't seen Hamilton or listened to the music but Lin-Manuel's twitter has made me a fan of his. As a puertorriquena this gave me goosebumps - esp. the coquis at the end. Not because it's an ~amazing song or anything, but just the concept of people coming together to help PR.

Reply

Thread

Link

i see two penises but ok

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

lmao same

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Does John Leguizamo still say he is puerto rican even tho his father says he isn't?

Reply

Thread

Link

lol what? really?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

yeah his dad gave an interview years ago saying he is colombian, had no puerto rican roots and spoke to john about clearing shit up.



i think john just wanted to ride the coattails of the nuyorican acting boom that was happening in the early 90s.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

awsome. i've finally been paid and can put my money where my mouth is and actually donate something.

on a related note: i watched the john oliver segment on american island territories last night and the fact that these people (for the most part american citizens, tho american samoans don't even get that) can't vote for a president because of some 100 year old racist law that states that they can't be afforded the same rights as other citizens on the mainland because these islands are inhabitet by "alien races" that are "not capable of understanding anglo-saxon law" is...actually it's completely unsurprising, considering how the american government views pocs and their rights.

Reply

Thread

Link

yeah, and they let american samoans serve in the military, but don't even give them citizenship. so they can die for the country but it's "fuck them" otherwise.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link
Wait. WTF. This sequel is 3 hours long?? The first movie isn't even 2 hours....

Reply

Thread

Link

it was SO long

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

baka

Reply

Thread

Link

Totemo Baka

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

it wasn't boring? i want to see it but it's so long and if it's boring it'll be a waste of money.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

DEFINITELY WORTH EVERYTHING TO SEE IT IN IMAX. lol I love it. Legit best sequel ever

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

it was so fucking GOOD

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I really liked everything except Leto. Not his character, but his acting. He annoyed me too much.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

are they giving any imax posters or anything with this release?



also, ia this movie's picture was so crisp idek. that opening shot (the eye) omw. i was only so-so on the movie but it's been on my head (the feel of it) and i'm going to see it again. ryan as k 

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Yeah, I still want to watch it one more time to see if I'm just blinded by my stanning but at the very least, it's a very gorgeous movie that not only calls back to the original film but builds upon it.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

The movie itself was very good but a masterpiece? it still has the same bullshit issues with its treatment of women and poc as the first one did.



Yes its visually and has a good story but if it can't move past that after 2 decades then it should be denied title of masterpiece.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I had to become the Japanese version of myself, wtf does that mean? Seems like bad translation

Reply

Thread

Link

It's the exact translation..

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

don't make excuses her...



Edited at 2017-10-06 09:46 pm (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Gross. Gross. Gross. It is quite obvious from the trailer that they are trying to make LA look like Beijing or Tokyo, but I wasn't sure if that was the intent for the entire movie. I guess you can't really be in the "future" without whitewashing Asia.

Reply

Thread

Link

Mte. Super gross. The trailer even had clear shots of building with Korean signage and yet they refuse to cast Asian actors/actresses? Disgusting.



I don't care how good the movie is. Between this actress' comments, the borrowing from Asia obvious in the trailer, and the lack of Asian casting, I don't want to pay money to see so much racism. As an Asian, I get it for free tyvm. It honestly makes everyone associated with the movie look bad. Puts me off Ryan Gosling for sure.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

They definitely used some asian alphabet and aesthetics to exoticize the landscape just like they did in the first one. They do the same one person of color detective on the screen for less than 5 minutes and central everything even the experience of the women around the two white male leads.



It is beautifully shot and the story is interesting but it has only evolved in the tech aspects of the film not how it treats its characters.



Oh i almost forgot the lame faux threesome scene with Ryan Gosling and two women, it was so typical. the treatment of women is eyeroll worthy to say the least.



Edited at 2017-10-06 10:46 pm (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

'Asian' aesthetic is often present in futuristic sci-fi but without Asians

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Okay what the fuck. This post is wild because while watching this IMAX movie in the theater last night, I had such a thought that an Asian actress should've portrayed Luv. It made sense to me and the movie would've been so much more perfect.



I was angry Leto had such long ass two scenes lol. I thought he'd pop up for a hot minute and then disappeared, I'd forget him.

Reply

Thread

Link

lol that's true, I was just annoyed but at least there were two scenes with him and nothing more. I thought those dragged on longer, so thankfully the movie is overall A+ perfection. Very sound, very solid plot wise on point all way to the end etc.



Like, I bet if this got made in 16-bit FF realness video game, this would have the same impact. Shoot, FF7 graphics of this movie would blow it out of water too. God, I love this movie 

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I had become the Japanese version of myself

With my best friend I occasionally greeted in Japanese



That's a very 2004 Gwen Stefani thing to say.

Reply

Thread

Link

All the benefits of appearing diverse without actually being diverse! What a time to be alive!

Reply

Thread

Link

You could tell they were trying to make her look asian, it was enough that I was convinced she was at least bi-racial when i saw it. She seemed almost like the asian ninja woman stereotype. Only wanting to please her master, cold, submissive etc.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

How very Ghost in the Shell of her

Reply

Thread

Link

More like Japanese Ghost in the White Shell. Racist power!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I AM MAJOR

I AM MOKOTO KUSANAGI

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Omg 

Reply

Thread

Link

no. it directly happens as a result of the last movie. watch the final cut version.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

yes, you can. yes, it's a continuation of the first one but they explain everything in this one (some people would say they over-explained) so you can watch this and understand what's happening (but you'll miss the impact of the callbacks.)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

You'll get more out of it if you've seen the original (and you should watch the original anyways, it's a sci-fi masterpiece) but you won't be confused if you haven't. The story as presented would make sense even if the original had never existed, though the emotional impact (esp. for Harrison Ford's scenes) is a lot greater if you get the callbacks.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Just read the plot summary on wiki that's what I did before seeing the new movie lol

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

i tried watching the first one but gave up 30 minutes in. i had no trouble at all understanding the new one - yes, there are some callbacks to the original, but they explain them like 0.5 seconds after they happen. now i might give the original another try. i'm a star wars fan after all, i'm used to consuming my media in the wrong order.)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Yikes.



Interesting timing too because I was just reading a good Blade Runner interview with Mackenzie Davis this morning where she discusses her role as Mindy Park in The Martian and whitewashing.

Reply

Thread

Link

Can you link me the interview pls?

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

http://www.vulture.com/2017/08/mackenzie-davis-halt-and-catch-fire-conversation.html



*also I meant to say HACF not Blade Runner - but there is some mention of Blade Runner in there.



Edited at 2017-10-06 05:26 pm (UTC) *also I meant to say HACF not Blade Runner - but there is some mention of Blade Runner in there.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

I though Mackenzie was a highlight in this blade runner movie, I really like her

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Oh, Sylviaatje

Reply

Thread

Link
Well, knowing the internet, they're going to spend at least the next week being called lying whores. So probably not great.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

We're gonna need a list of men who HAVEN'T sexually harrassed/assaulted women soon.



I don't think it would be very long.

Reply

Thread

Link

IKR :(

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

It will be three names.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Right? Men can be the most entitled, emotionally explosive, self-important, living beings on this earth.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

People like to ask me what my 'type' of man is, and I still haven't figured out a socially normal way to answer, 'fictional'.  Amanda Rose (@amandachirps) May 4, 2017





tbh tbh

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

The accuracy....

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

RIGHT?! I'm so glad these things are coming out and making others come out. Sadly, I expect a lot more.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Mr. Rogers

George Takei







?????

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

The sad thing about this is that it happens all the time in the workplace.

Reply

Thread

Link

Yep, the rights been trying democrats are bad for women! today, but nah its all men

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

And this is why I only see female doctors when given the choice.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

AND given that male doctors tend to explain away serious illnesses as a female thirst for attention or just ~part of being a woman, nah, fuck that shit. Every doctor I've chosen in my adult life has been a woman and always will be. Not that they're perfect, but they're preferable by far.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

well shit.

Reply

Thread

Link

For the past month or so following film news has been so depressing. Cinefamily scandal, Alamo Drafthouse, Weinstein, this.



So proud of all these women for coming forward and speaking out at great personal risk but man this is depressing as fuck and shows what a vice men have on the film community that they have been able to carry out their rampant sexual harassment and abuse for years and sometimes decades without impunity. It's happening on all levels. And I love movies and I don't want to support any of these assholes but I feel like the whole thing is a toxic sludge that everyone on every level is tainted by. It's so sad.

Reply

Thread

Link

It's certainly upsetting, but to me, it also feels like lancing boils. The disgusting pus you didn't see inside suddenly runs all over the place and nauseates you, but the pus isn't a sudden development; it was inside that boil for years and nothing was done about it.



This analogy is getting complicated, but basically what I'm saying is that this behavior has been happening for decades, maybe centuries, as women and men began working professionally with each other and nine times out of ten the men had the power to fuck with the careers of the women. It's not a sudden plague of boils, it's that those boils are becoming less and less tolerated and women are having the courage to lance the fuck out of them. Sure, some incel scum will keep claiming women are coming forward for ATTENTION!!!, but far more often the reaction is support -- and hopefully consequences.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I feel all of this has been a long time coming, from the age-old casting couch jokes to all the weird innuendos and other stuff that's been coming up for years but then under rug swept.



I actually feel like this is a way to cleanse Hollywood and its spin-off industries of the human garbage that it has attracted since the beginning of their existence and bring about a new age.



I am also known for being an optimist so...



Edited at 2017-10-06 07:15 pm (UTC)

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I guess the only faint silver lining is that it's an indication that things are finally starting to turn around for women in the industry. That they feel able to come forward with these stories, and that actions are actually being taken, even if they take longer than they should.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

film has always drawn some pretty terrible men. it's an industry where they're allowed to tell women what to do for the sake of "art" and where they're fed ideas that they're entitled to women (the hero always gets the hot girl!). it's always made my skin crawl.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

When it stops working

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Another day, another creepy predatory male exposed.



I was reading Brie Larson's tweets today about a male TSA agent who asked for her number when she was going through his security checkpoint, and the responses really made it clear that men just. don't. get. it. Guys just could not understand why there's a difference between a man at a bar asking a woman out and a man using his job to hit on women who have no choice but to encounter him just to live their lives.

Reply

Thread

Link

I really had to force myself to stop reading the stupidity 'cause it was making me too angry. "Well, you're attractive so of course he'll wanna hit on you" "This is why people are so alienated now!" Shut the fuck up!

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

She always responds with such dignity and reason to all the asshole MRAs that attack her twitter feed. I don't know how she doesn't just go off on them.



I had to hold myself back from engaging with all the men posting versions of "The real victim is that TSA guy; he can't even ask a hot girl out now without feminists accusing him of sexual harassment". But I know if I did, I'd get swamped with attacks by MRAs, too, and it's not worth it.





Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

i was at a bar for my bday a few years ago and as i tried to leave, a guy i knew was holding me in place. my friends had walked out already and the only way i was able to get him to let go of me was to tell him i had a boyfriend. this is a guy i was casual friends with who had a gf and got engaged like a week after this incident.



when i was ranting to a guy friend about it on the way home, he just said, "that's just what happens when you're a hot girl" and i just looked at him. they will never understand it.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I was reading that too and I lost count of the amount of times I refrained myself from yelling or clawing at my face. It's honestly depressing.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

#feminismiscancer #ladiesimsingle



men were a mistake BRIE IS SUCH A MEAN FEMINAZI FOR NOT GIVING THIS POOR GUY HER PHONE NUMBER HOW IS HE SUPPOSED TO MEET WOMAN!?!?! #maga men were a mistake

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I work in a library, and while most people are chill, I tend to get an unnerving amount of Creepy Old Fucks. Men either don't get it, or because they've never experienced it, thinks that it should be sooo easy to get rid of creeps. I was telling my dad about a creepy customer; I have amazing women bosses who handle that shit right away, but there has to be repeated sexual harassment to ban people. I told my dad about a nasty interaction and his immediate reaction was, "AREN'T THERE OFFICERS THERE? can't you review the footage and kick him out?" It's like he lives in a fantasy world where women aren't always accused of lying or men get more than 1-5 years in prison for rape.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

oh man, i saw that too. and the fact that men can't recognise there's a power imbalance between a tsa agent and a normal person that can be coercive as well.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

god thats horrible

its disappointing that im as surprised as i am that the other guys that work on this are supporting and believing the women that came forward

Reply

Thread

Link

Same.

That was kinda refreshing to see because men usually end up doubling down on the awful when its one of their own.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I'm not. While you might think they're your atypical film douchebros, they're a good lot of guys.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Did you watch movie fights last night. I can't imagine how hard it was for JTE to sit there and not drop kick Andy.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

Right? I don't want to be giving out gold stars just for being decent people, but it's so surprising that men are willing to believe these women over a male coworker.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

same =/

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

IA that I was also shocked but ultimately I'm happy there are still good guys out there.



I've always hated Andy and he always gave me creepy vibes.



At the same time, I've had the biggest crush on Dan.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Fuckkkk. Just fucking awful. Those poor women, I'm glad members of the team are supporting them. That dude can rot

Reply

Thread

Link

I guess its my turn: Men were a mistake.

Reply

Thread

Link

The Y chromosome is a broken-off flop. Scientific fact.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Wow. I mean yes its a fact, men were a mistake/plague and the y chromosome is doomed and fucked but im surprised to hear that from you.

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

this is so sad.  only hope the woman will be okay and it will lead to real consequences for men in the industry with all these reports the last few weeks.

Reply

Thread

Link

im glad dan spencer and joe are refusing to return until andy is gone. this is crazy to me tho. but i totally believe the victims. andy is gross af

Reply

Thread

Link

Yeah i was curious what their reaction would be cause especially Spencer is pretty vocal with these issues, but you never know how people react when its close to home. Hell you never know they might be doing it as well.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link
Please never disappoint me Riz <3

Reply

Thread

Link





But according to this:



This is one of the best charities in the world and they're on the ground helping the Rohingya right now, and you can donate to them from the US:



https://bracusa.org/southasiarecovery/



Edited at 2017-10-06 07:55 pm (UTC) Im in the US and was told billing address incorrect when I tried to donate. I think you have to be in the UK to donate to DEC.But according to this: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/29/world/asia/rohingya-aid-myanmar-bangladesh.html This is one of the best charities in the world and they're on the ground helping the Rohingya right now, and you can donate to them from the US:

Reply

Thread

Link

yeah I had a feeling it wouldn't work outside of the UK =/ Thanks for providing alternative organizations to donate to! <3

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

The DEC link you provided was so easy, too! It had Apple Pay right on the web page, I could've just donated by pressing a button and verifying my fingerprint! Too bad it didn't work in the US

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link





Some useful links:



http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/10/rohingya-crisis-eyes-refugee-171006080133297.html



http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/08/rohingya-muslims-170831065142812.html



https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/rohingya-crisis



And while Suu Kyi's response has been disappointing to say the least, this is also important reading:



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/myanmar-rohingya-aung-san-suu-kyi_us_59b83175e4b02da0e13cf59f?dm9



But while the world focuses on Suu Kyi, the man responsible for these horrific abuses doesnt get mentioned in government statements or the vast majority of media articles. Min Aung Hlaing is calling the shots. Articles about Suu Kyi are exactly what he wants to see; with more focus on her and none on him, he has more freedom to carry out his ethnic cleansing campaign



Min Aung Hlaing is guilty of ethnic cleansing and under investigation for war crimes, but he is embraced by the international community. This must change.



Min Aung Hlaing should be well known and treated as a pariah by now. He leads an army with one of the worst human rights records in the world. Even before this latest military offensive, it was under investigation by the U.N. for possible war crimes and crimes against humanity against the Rohingya and other ethnic groups in Myanmar. Even after reforms began, Min Aung Hlaings army has been engaged in domestic conflicts, most recently in Kachin State and Shan State, where his soldiers killed civilians.



Min Aung Hlaing is guilty of ethnic cleansing, he is under investigation for war crimes and crimes against humanity and he is the biggest obstacle to democratic reform in Myanmar. Nevertheless, not only is he not facing international pressure, he is embraced by the international community.



Last October, President Obama lifted most of the U.S. sanctions specifically targeting Myanmars military. In Europe, the British government provides the military with training at British taxpayers expense. Earlier this year, Min Aung Hlaing was given red-carpet treatment by the governments of Germany and Austria. They discussed military training and took him on tours of factories supplying military equipment. He was also taken to visit suppliers of military equipment on his visit to Italy last year. The European Union even invited him to address their prestigious annual meeting of military heads of EU countries.



Edited at 2017-10-06 07:56 pm (UTC) Great post OP, I just made one myself earlier about Bob Geldof and Aung San Suu Kyi. More people need to be informed about this crisis. My colleague's daughter / fellow volunteer is off to Bangladesh to help the refugees there for a few months. She's amazing. We're all worried for but she's an amazing person.Some useful links:And while Suu Kyi's response has been disappointing to say the least, this is also important reading:

Reply

Thread

Link

Of fuckibg course 

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Just saw your post this morning too! Thanks for all of that extra info - I've been following this since 2012 but not as closely as I could've since the U.S. and Pakistan are a mess. It's disturbing how no one has held the government accountable.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

i've been looking at what my country (germany) is doing to help and while it apparently gave 60 million in aid, it has been pretty weak on actually putting pressure on the myanmar government.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

mhmm, pakistan should have responded to the refugees with open arms, but nah. it's disgusting.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

BJP should get fucked.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

In Pakistans case they have always been shitty (see: that whole East Pakistan/Bangladesh mess). It also doesnt help that one Microsoft Office font has brought done a dubiously democratically elected government and their most recent election was a mess. Plus with the rampant Wahabism that is spreading like a virus in Pakistan, if you arent from a certain sect, prepare for violence and persecution.

Pakistan stays doing the least unless its some Arab nation needing something or they want to act like they care about Palestine.

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

I hope more people learn about this crisis, it's upsetting seeing (and hearing) people trying to downplay what's essentially ethnic cleansing.

Reply

Thread

Link





half my monthly donation budget goes towards the rohingya this month.

if you're german you can donate here: here is nicest man alive (according to charlie brooker lol) michael palin asking u to donate : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ShvniclvLM half my monthly donation budget goes towards the rohingya this month.if you're german you can donate here: https://www.aktion-deutschland-hilft.de/ , here https://www.muslimehelfen.org/ or here https://www.savethechildren.de

Reply

Thread

Link

Charlie Brooker? Have they worked on anything other than Dead Set together? that was ages ago

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

he said it in a screenwipe or newswipe episode, i think. idk, it's just something i always remember when i see michael palin lol

Reply

Parent

Thread

Expand

Link

This is really sad. :(

Reply

Thread

Link

The Pod Save the World episode about this is a good listen if, like me, you were pretty uninformed about what was happening.

Reply

Thread

Link





In 1982, General Ne Win's government enacted the Burmese nationality law, which denied Rohingya citizenship, rendering a majority of Rohingya population stateless

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rohingya_people



The Myanmar government treats them as stateless people, it's horrific I remember reading smth about the Rohingya being stripped of citizenship by the Burmese government decades ago.

Reply

Thread

Link



Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in Hello! Your entry got to top-25 of the most popular entries in LiveJournal!Learn more about LiveJournal Ratings in FAQ

Reply

Thread

Link

I really appreciate Riz using his platform to raise awareness. This shit is so scary

Reply

Thread

Link

Mte

Reply

Parent

Thread



Link

Im so confused because that pic looks 100% photoshopped to me.





Edit: No, it is definitely photoshopped.



Edited at 2017-10-06 08:40 pm (UTC)

Reply

Thread

Link

What's happening is so sad, it's crazy to see ethnic cleansing/genocide happen today and people still denying it. Glad he's raising awareness. <3

Reply

Thread

Link
Oregon, Washington to Issue RFP for Public Safety Network

The states expect to release their RFP within two weeks, or by around Oct. 11, and close it approximately five weeks later. There will then be a period of evaluation and possible selection of one or more vendors to advance to the next phase of the process.

The governors of Oregon and Washington announced their states will jointly issue a request for proposals to operate a high-speed, wireless broadband data network dedicated to public safety. This network won't replace existing public safety radio networks but will be another tool to ensure first responders can communicate in times of disasters that may overwhelm existing networks, and the two governors, Oregon's Kate Brown and Washington's Jay Inslee, said Sept. 27 they have not yet decided to opt out participation in FirstNet, a nationwide broadband network that Congress requires states to join.

More than $6 billion has been allocated to build FirstNet, but states have the option to opt out and build their own infrastructure. In a letter to Washington's Statewide Interoperability Executive Committee, Inslee wrote, "It is the intent of this RFP to explore options available to the state that will be most responsive to the needs of public safety entities and which will be sustainable over the coming 25-year period. I believe a regional solution with our partners in Oregon is one that should be explored."

The governors say their states will be able to make a more informed choice about the best option for building a network that serves the unique needs of the Northwest, especially in rural communities.

The states expect to release their RFP within two weeks, or by around Oct. 11, and close it approximately five weeks later. There will then be a period of evaluation and possible selection of one or more vendors to advance to the next phase of the process.

"Our interoperability council members have been hard at work on this effort for years, and I thank them for their invaluable expertise and feedback," Brown said. "Our first responders are eager to move forward, and their ongoing feedback will be essential to making sure we make the best decision for our states."
"Yes we can" get rid of nuclear weaponsICAN's chief Beatrice Fihn celebrates winning the Nobel Peace Prize with the group's coordinator Daniel Hogstan (left) and her husband at their offices in Geneva

Nuclear disarmament group ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for its decade-long campaign to rid the world of the atomic bomb as nuclear-fuelled crises swirl over North Korea and Iran.

More than 70 years since atomic bombs were used on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Nobel committee sought to highlight ICAN's tireless non-proliferation efforts.

The decision sent a strong message to nuclear-armed nations at a time when US President Donald Trump has threatened to tear up a 2015 deal curbing Iran's nuclear abilities and who last month alarmed delegates at the UN General Assembly by warning he may be forced to "totally destroy" North Korea over Pyongyang's atomic weapons programme.

ICAN "is receiving the award for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons," said Norwegian Nobel committee president Berit Reiss-Andersen in announcing the prize in Oslo.

"We live in a world where the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time," she said.

But she stressed that the committee's decision wasn't aimed at any particular world leader, adding: "We're not kicking anyone's leg with this prize."

The Nobel Committee awarded the peace prize to ICAN "for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons"

Founded in Vienna in 2007 on the fringes of an international conference on the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, ICAN (the International Coalition to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) has mobilised campaigners and celebrities alike in its cause.

It was a key player in the adoption of a historic nuclear weapons ban treaty, signed at the UN by 122 countries in July.

However, the accord was largely symbolic as none of the nine known world nuclear powers put their names down. It still needs to be ratified before entering into force.

ICAN, a coalition of hundreds of NGOs, says its main objective is the adoption of an international treaty banning nuclear weapons, along the lines of earlier agreements forbidding the use of biological and chemical weapons, landmines and cluster munitions.

Reacting to its win, ICAN said the "moment is now" to push for a total nuclear arms ban.

"This prize is a tribute to the tireless efforts of many millions of campaigners and concerned citizens worldwide who... have loudly protested nuclear weapons, insisting that they can serve no legitimate purpose and must be forever banished from the face of our earth," it said in a statement.

With the nuclear threat at its most acute in decades, activists from the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) demonstrated last month in Berlin, dressed up as US President Donald Trump and North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un

ICAN's high-profile supporters include form UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama.

Atomic tensions

Although global atomic weapons stockpiles have plummetedfrom around 64,000 warheads in 1986 at the height of the Cold War to more than 9,000 in 2017 according to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientiststhe number of nuclear-armed nations has grown.

Friday's awardthe climax to a week of prize-giving honouring the world's leading lights in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine and literaturecomes as Iran's nuclear deal is under increasing pressure from Trump.

The US leader has threatened to bin the agreement altogether, saying Tehran is developing missiles that may be used to deliver a nuclear warhead when the deal's restrictions are lifted in 2025.

Tensions have also soared between the US and North Korea, which has test-fired two missiles over Japan and conducted a string of apparent underground nuclear tests this year.

World map showing national nuclear stockpiles in 2017, compared to 2016

"This is a time of great global tension, when fiery rhetoric could all too easily lead us, inexorably, to unspeakable horror," ICAN said.

'Good omen'

The UN welcomed ICAN's win on Friday, with spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci telling reporters in Geneva that the prize was a "good omen" for the ratification of a nuclear ban treaty.

EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini also congratulated ICAN, tweeting: "We share a strong commitment to achieving the objective of a world free from nuclear weapons."

The Nobel committee has rewarded anti-nuclear weapons drives on several previous occasions, handing out the prestigious prize to Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov in 1975, the international non-proliferation IPPNW group in 1985, and the IAEA's then head Mohamed ElBaradei 20 years later.

More than 300 people and organisations were thought to have been nominated for this year's Peace Prize, including the UN's refugee agency UNHCR, Syria's White Helmets rescue service and Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege.

The Peace Prize, which comes with a gold medal and a cheque for nine million Swedish kronor (943,000 euros, $1.1 million) will be presented in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of the death of its founder, Swedish philanthropist and dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel.

 2017 AFP
Boeing's recent tech-focused investments show it thinks autonomous and hybrid aircraft may not be too far in the future

Boeing is beefing up its investments in autonomous and electric hybrid planes in anticipation that aviation could be primed for as much disruption as virtually every other sector.

The aerospace giant has announced a series of recent tech-focused investments, unveiling plans Thursday to acquire autonomous aviation company Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation, as well as a stake in Zunum Aero, which works on hybrid electric planes.

Many of the technologiessuch as unmanned flying taxissound space age, but the latest deals are a sign they may not be as far off as they seem. Boeing did not disclose financial terms for either investment.

"The aerospace industry is going to be changing," Boeing chief technology officer Greg Hyslop said in a conference call with journalists.

The Aurora purchase builds on Boeing's work with the company on commercial and military equipment. Today's commercial airplanes already employ sophisticated computer systems that have automated key aspects of flying.

But Aurora aims to go far beyond that, aspiring to a completely autonomous flight, from take-off to landing. A robot, with the aid of artificial intelligence, could back up a pilot by depressing the pedals, taking control in emergency situations or even landing the plane.

In May, Aurora, collaborating with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, successfully tested its automated co-pilot system on a Boeing commercial plane.

Aurora has also worked to develop a kind of flying taxi system, of keen interest to Boeing in its ongoing rivalry with Airbus.

In April, Aurora was selected by Uber to develop its on-demand urban air transportation system. Aurora's goal of delivering 50 autonomous aircraft for testing by 2020 is "well within reach," the company said at the time.

Airbus for its part is working to develop its flying taxi system Vahana by the end of the year, as well as another concept, Pop UP, that could travel between cities.

Electric planes in 2022

Boeing also is seeking greater exposure to electric hybrid aircraft, a pursuit of Aurora and also of Zunum Aero, a Seattle startup in which Boeing has a stake.

Zunum Aero said Thursday it expects to be able to deliver hybrid electric planes for delivery in 2022.

The plane aims to address a gap in regional travel of up to 1,000 miles, a segment for which there are few options, high costs and "door-to-door travel times haven't improved in decades," Zunum Aero said in a news release.

The technology could let planes skip big regional airports such as Washington and Boston and instead travel from Beverly, Massachusetts to College Park, Maryland at a lower fare.

The company expects to begin test flights in 2019. Zunum Aero has hired technologists who have worked on leading-edge vehicles for Boeing and Rolls-Royce.

"This aircraft is going to transform how we live and work," said founder and Aero chief engineer Matt Knapp. "We've pushed ourselves to challenge conventional wisdom and the limits of engineering to deliver an aircraft of which we are extremely proudone that offers efficiency and performance without compromise."

 2017 AFP
Synthesis scheme of 7-oxa-2-azabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-ene and its structure. Credit: Fedor Zubkov

Researchers from the People's Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) have refined our understanding of the structure of synthetic toxins that impede the development of red lionfish embryos, but in their modified form can be used for studying embryos of vertebrata. The results are published in Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry.

"A RUDN alumnus and my teacher, Vladimir Kouznetsov, also a chemistry professor, who works in Columbia now, had a paper published in the same journal in 2013. He described the synthesis of a previously unknown heterocyclic system of 7-oxa-2-azabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-ene. During one of the stages, from simple compounds, furfurylamines and maleimides, a complex skeletal molecule with prominent biological features was formed. For example, it could be used as an inhibitor for early stages of embryonic development of vertebrata," relates one of the article's authors, Ph. D., Fedor Zubkov, associate professor at the Department of Organic Chemistry, RUDN University.

But when re-conducting the experiment, the researchers discovered that a different compound is formed. It turned out that the system of 7-oxa-2-azabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-ene, described in Vladimir Kouznetsov's article, has spectral properties very similar to another class of organic compounds, 3-(furylmethylamino)-N-R-pyrrolidine-2,5-diones, which are, in fact, the products of the described reaction.

Using the combined data of X-ray diffraction analysis and nuclear magnetic resonance method (NMR), the researchers unambiguously determined the spatial structure of the reaction product. The mistake was in incorrect interpretation of the NMR data in the paper of 2013. The researchers from RUDN invited Vladimir Kouznetsov, the author of the 2013 paper, to contribute to their article refuting the previous one, in which they have explained the causes for differing results of the synthesis in two work groups.

Carbon and hydrogen are parts of every organic compound, so NMR spectroscopy is the best method for analyzing them, giving the most detailed information on the molecule's spatial structure. The NMR method of research means that the sample is placed in a strong magnetic field and exposed to high-frequency radiation, the frequency of which is, in certain points, equal to the absorption frequency of an atomic nucleus (mostly the nuclei of carbon and hydrogen are studied). If the setting of atoms in the molecule differs, their nuclei absorb energy in different frequencies, which is seen in their spectra as absorption signals. These signals' location and shape help to determine the quantity and type of certain nuclei in the molecule. After further mathematic and analytic work, it becomes possible to fully interpret the structure of the molecule: the spectra "show" the position of every atom in the compound. To verify the data from the NMR method, the scientists used X-ray diffraction analysis, through which it is possible to take a photograph of the molecule and to prove its structure unambiguously.

"We have determined the chemical environment of the carbon and hydrogen nuclei that are in the molecule, and our interpretation did not match with the interpretation that professor Kouznetsov's group suggested earlier. This uncertainty prompted us to conduct a more detailed study," Fedor Zubkov says.

More information: F. I. Zubkov et al, Comment on "An unexpected formation of the novel 7-oxa-2-azabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-ene skeleton during the reaction of furfurylamine with maleimides and their bioprospection using a zebrafish embryo model" by C. E. Puerto Galvis and V. V. Kouznetsov, Org. Biomol. Chem., 2013, 11, 407, Org. Biomol. Chem. (2017). DOI: 10.1039/C7OB01207A
A beach in Cuba. Credit: Sian Mooney

As extreme weather events become more commonplace, regions of the world that get hit the hardest are often left scrambling to put the pieces of their homeland back together.

Sian Mooney, associate dean and professor at Arizona State University's New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, researches the use of natural resources and the environment. She recently returned from a trip to Cuba, where the economist attended a tri-national workshop on the theme: "Enhancing Resilience of Coastal Caribbean Communities."

It couldn't have been more timely.

"This is certainly a great time to be looking at [coastal resilience]," Mooney said, "because the time we had the workshop was right after Hurricane Irma, and while we were there, Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico."

The group of scientists and researchers gathered for the event have been charged with defining and identifying sources of coastal resiliency and then working to implement them in the region over the next few years. It was the first convening of the group and the project is still in the planning and discovery phase, but Mooney was game to speak with ASU Now about initial discussions and potential trajectories.

Question: How urgent is it that we address the issue of coastal resilience?

Answer: The time is now to be looking at coastal resilience in the Caribbean. It's time to find out what are the interventions or policies that make the most sense for each area, because it's very diverse, so the same things don't make sense from place to place. It's a very complex issue.

Q: How is the region faring at the moment?

A: It really varies from location to location because in the Caribbean, you have small islands and large coastlines, like those along Florida and part of Mexico. So you can't really define one state of coastal resilience, but one thing we can say is it's certainly becoming much more of an issue of concern, with greater numbers of hurricanes, high winds and weather-related factors affecting the region.

When I was in Cuba, the country had just been hit by Hurricane Irma, and very fortunately for Cuba, it had not been hit by the high winds of Hurricane Irma. It was mostly subject to extremely high tides, which caused flooding and rain. But Havana showed very little evidence of the area having been hit by a hurricane, except for the boardwalk area, which was completely closed because it had been completely eroded away. But old town Havana

and the surrounding areas showed very little evidence, at least to the naked eye, that anything untoward had occurred. In comparison, I had spent the evening before arriving in Cuba in Miami, and it looked like a war zone. There were trees down everywhere, piles of shrubs, power lines down, boats piled up on top of each other.

Q: What factors influence an area's ability to be resilient?

A: We need to be looking both at communities and the physical nature of the land. One factor is topography, what does the land look like? Is it mountainous or low-lying? Also, human development and settlements. Have people located their homes right on a beach? Have they created instances where they have removed lots of vegetation so there is increased erosion and greater saltwater inundation or high tide?

One of the topics that came up really frequently [at the workshop] as having a big impact on coastal resilience, particularly in the Caribbean, was tourism. Tourism might encourage more development on coasts [which is not resilient], and it also creates a strain on resources in some areas because you need more water, more food, more infrastructure to support the tourism industry. And certainly, the Caribbean is very dependent on tourism for much of its income.

Q: Are there any efforts currently underway to promote coastal resilience?

A: In Cuba, they've already started to move the community away from the coast and resettle them in other areas. It's really complicated because people become very attached to houses and areas where they grew up. So even when new housing was provided, people still had a tendency to keep going back and living in their old houses.

Q: What are the next steps?

A: One thing we talked about [at the workshop] was what does resilience actually mean? It can be viewed in many different ways depending on if you're a physical scientist, a natural scientist, a social scientist. Also, communities might define for themselves very different definitions of resiliency. So I'll be working with local communities and scientists to try and understand what does the local populace really understand about coastal resilience? What are their thoughts, what do they feel resilience might look like? And then come up with ways we can help them adapt to the future and have healthy, active and productive lives.

It's a new area of research I'm looking forward to. We're going to write two papers as a result of the workshop: one looking at resilience and adaptive capacity, and the other looking at the relationship between food, water and health systems, because they're all related, and if you disturb one of those systems, it impacts the others. So those are the two areas we're going to start with.
Facing social and financial pressures, remarried women in Cambodia are at increased risk for domestic violence compared to first-time married, divorced or single women, Sothy Eng, Lehigh University professor of practice in comparative international education, found in research published n the Journal of Interpersonal Violence. The findings have ramifications for women and social workers worldwide.

"Remarried women," those who engage in subsequent marriage following divorce, tend to enter new relationships with compromise because divorce is usually stigmatized and they face significant pressure from their families to remarry, Eng observed. "Second marriages can include added stressors such as children, financial problems and complicated relationships with a previous spouse," Eng said. "This creates an economic and social dependency for women, making them more likely to tolerate domestic violence."

Remarried women with two to three children younger than age 5 and whose partners had low education were found to be at the highest risk.

While the study did not look at domestic violence in other countries, Eng argues that the issues facing remarried women in Cambodia are not country or culturally specific, but manifest in different ways globally based on cultural and societal norms. This is particularly the case in a culture or context where men exercise presumed male dominanceincluding in the United Statesand women in a second marriage are seen as second-class or less valuable, putting them at risk of emotional or physical abuse.

"This is an understanding of why remarried women are a marginalized group, and more often are subject to domestic violence," Eng said. "This is something to acknowledge and understand as a possible contributor to domestic violence, not necessarily a cause of domestic violence."

While each woman's experience is unique, equipping professionals who address domestic violence with statistical information that remarried women are more at risk "is an important piece to a very complex situation," Eng added. It also brings awareness of the signs and risks of domestic violence in Cambodia and beyond. "The more knowledge and understanding women have of marital, social and cultural issues surrounding domestic violence, the more informed their choices can be for the future," Eng said.

Eng's graduate students Whitney Szmodis and Kelly Grace are co-authors with him on the article, "Cambodian Remarried Women Are at Risk for Domestic Violence" in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence. The journal is devoted to the study and treatment of victims and perpetrators of interpersonal violence, addressing the causes, effects, treatment and prevention of all types of violence. It serves as a discussion forum for professionals and researchers working in domestic violence, child sexual abuse, rape and sexual assault, physical child abuse and violent crime.

More information: Sothy Eng et al. Cambodian Remarried Women Are at Risk for Domestic Violence, Journal of Interpersonal Violence (2017). DOI: 10.1177/0886260517691520 Journal information: Journal of Interpersonal Violence
Portable seismometer used to map the geology beneath Old Faithful. Credit: Paul Gabrielsen/University of Utah

Old Faithful is Yellowstone National Park's most famous landmark. Millions of visitors come to the park every year to see the geyser erupt every 44-125 minutes. But despite Old Faithful's fame, relatively little was known about the geologic anatomy of the structure and the fluid pathways that fuel the geyser below the surface. Until now.

University of Utah scientists have mapped the near-surface geology around Old Faithful, revealing the reservoir of heated water that feeds the geyser's surface vent and how the ground shaking behaves in between eruptions. The map was made possible by a dense network of portable seismographs and by new seismic analysis techniques. The results are published in Geophysical Research Letters. Doctoral student Sin-Mei Wu is the first author.

For Robert Smith, a long-time Yellowstone researcher and distinguished research professor of geology and geophysics, the study is the culmination of more than a decade of planning and comes as he celebrates his 60th year working in America's first national park.

"Here's the iconic geyser of Yellowstone," Smith says. "It's known around the world, but the complete geologic plumbing of Yellowstone's Upper Geyser Basin has not been mapped nor have we studied how the timing of eruptions is related to precursor ground tremors before eruptions."

Small seismometers

Old Faithful is an iconic example of a hydrothermal feature, and particularly of the features in Yellowstone National Park, which is underlain by two active magma reservoirs at depths of 5 to 40 km depth that provide heat to the overlying near-surface groundwater. In some places within Yellowstone, the hot water manifests itself in pools and springs. In others, it takes the form of explosive geysers.

Dozens of structures surround Old Faithful, including hotels, a gift shop and a visitor's center. Some of these buildings, the Park Service has found, are built over thermal features that result in excessive heat beneath the built environment. As part of their plan to manage the Old Faithful area, the Park Service asked University of Utah scientists to conduct a geologic survey of the area around the geyser.

For years, study co-authors Jamie Farrell and Fan-Chi Lin, along with Smith, have worked to characterize the magma reservoirs deep beneath Yellowstone. Although geologists can use seismic data from large earthquakes to see features deep in the earth, the shallow subsurface geology of the park has remained a mystery, because mapping it out would require capturing everyday miniature ground movement and seismic energy on a much smaller scale. "We try to use continuous ground shaking produced by humans, cars, wind, water and Yellowstone's hydrothermal boilings and convert it into our signal," Lin says. "We can extract a useful signal from the ambient background ground vibration."

To date, the University of Utah has placed 30 permanent seismometers around the park to record ground shaking and monitor for earthquakes and volcanic events. The cost of these seismometers, however, can easily exceed $10,000. Small seismometers, developed by Fairfield Nodal for the oil and gas industry, reduce the cost to less than $2,000 per unit. They're small white canisters about six inches high and are totally autonomous and self-contained. "You just take it out and stick it in the ground," Smith says.

In 2015, with the new instruments, the Utah team deployed 133 seismometers in the Old Faithful and Geyser Hill areas for a two-week campaign.

The model of Old Faithful's hydrogeological system suggested by the study's results. Credit: Sin-Mei Wu

The sensors picked up bursts of intense seismic tremors around Old Faithful, about 60 minutes long, separated by about 30 minutes of quiet. When Farrell presents these patterns, he often asks audiences at what point they think the eruption of Old Faithful takes place. Surprisingly, it's not at the peak of shaking. It's at the end, just before everything goes quiet again.

After an eruption, the geyser's reservoir fills again with hot water, Farrell explains. "As that cavity fills up, you have a lot of hot pressurized bubbles," he says. "When they come up, they cool off really rapidly and they collapse and implode." The energy released by those implosions causes the tremors leading up to an eruption.

One scientist's noise is another scientist's signal

Typically, researchers create a seismic signal by swinging a hammer onto a metal plate on the ground. Lin and Wu developed the computational tools that would help find useful signals among the seismic noise without disturbing the sensitive environment in the Upper Geyser Basin. Wu says she was able to use the hydrothermal features themselves as a seismic source, to study how seismic energy propagates by correlating signals recorded at the sensor close to a persistent source to other sensors. "It's amazing that you can use the hydrothermal source to observe the structure here," she says.

When analyzing data from the seismic sensors, the researchers noticed that tremor signals from Old Faithful were not reaching the western boardwalk. Seismic waves extracted from another hydrothermal feature in the north slowed down and scattered significantly in nearly the same area suggesting somewhere west of Old Faithful was an underground feature that affects the seismic waves in an anomalous way. With a dense network of seismometers, the team could determine the shape, size, and location of the feature, which they believe is Old Faithful's hydrothermal reservoir.

Wu estimates that the reservoir, a network of cracks and fractures through which water flows, has a diameter of around 200 meters, a little larger than the University of Utah's Rice-Eccles Stadium, and can hold approximately 300,000 cubic meters of water, or more than 79 million gallons. By comparison, each eruption of Old Faithful releases around 30 m3 of water, or nearly 8,000 gallons. "Although it's a rough estimation, we were surprised that it was so large," Wu says.

Further work

The team is far from done answering questions about Yellowstone. They returned for another seismic survey in November 2016 and are planning their 2017 deployment, to begin after the park roads close for the winter. Wu is looking at how air temperature might change the subsurface structure and affect the propagation of seismic waves. Farrell is using the team's seismic data to predict how earthquake waves might reverberate through the region. Smith is looking forward to conducting similar analysis in Norris Geyser Basin, the hottest geothermal area of the park. Lin says that the University of Utah's research program in Yellowstone owes much to Smith's decades-long relationship with the park, enabling new discoveries. "You need new techniques," Lin says, "but also those long-term relationships."

More information: Sin-Mei Wu et al, Anatomy of Old Faithful from subsurface seismic imaging of the Yellowstone Upper Geyser Basin, Geophysical Research Letters (2017). DOI: 10.1002/2017GL075255 Journal information: Geophysical Research Letters
In this Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017 photo, a bulldozer removes sand at Tel Es-Sakan hill, south of Gaza City. Palestinian and French archaeologists began excavating Gaza's earliest archaeological site nearly 20 years ago; unearthing what they believe is a rare 4,500-year-old Bronze Age settlement. But over protests that grew recently, Gaza's Hamas rulers have systematically destroyed the work since seizing power a decade ago, to make way for construction projects, and later military bases. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

Palestinian and French archaeologists began excavating Gaza's earliest archaeological site nearly 20 years ago, unearthing what they believe is a rare 4,500-year-old Bronze Age settlement.

But over protests that grew recently, Gaza's Hamas rulers have systematically destroyed the work since seizing power a decade ago, allowing the flattening of this hill on the southern tip of Gaza City to make way for construction projects, and later military bases. In its newest project, Hamas-supported bulldozers are flattening the last remnants of excavation.

"There is a clear destruction of a very important archaeological site," said Palestinian archaeology and history professor Mouin Sadeq, who led three excavations at the site along with French archaeologist Pierre de Miroschedji after its accidental discovery in 1998. "I don't know why the destruction of the site was approved."

Tel Es-Sakan (hill of ash) was the largest Canaanite city between Palestine and Egypt, according to Sadeq. It was named after the great amount of ash found during the excavations, which suggests the settlement was burnt either naturally or in a war.

Archaeologists found the 10-hectare (25-acre) hill to be hiding a fortified settlement built centuries before pharaonic rule in Egypt, and 1,000 years before the pyramids. But the excavations stopped in 2002 due to security concerns.

When calls on Hamas to stop the recent flattening intensified last month, the nearest available expert to gain access to Gaza was Jean-Baptiste Humbert, a Jerusalem-based archaeologist at the Ecole Biblique and who had excavated other sites in Gaza.

In this Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017 photo, Junaid Sorosh-Wali, a UNESCO official, takes photos while Fadel al-A'utul, a worker with French excavation mission, explains to him the damage at Tel Es-Sakan hill, south of Gaza City. Palestinian and French archaeologists began excavating Gaza's earliest archaeological site nearly 20 years ago; unearthing what they believe is a rare 4,500-year-old Bronze Age settlement. But over protests that grew recently, Gaza's Hamas rulers have systematically destroyed the work since seizing power a decade ago, to make way for construction projects, and later military bases. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

"Today the complete southern facade of the Tel is erased," said Humbert. In previous years, faces and ramparts on other sides were also destroyed. "Now it is destroyed all around," he said.

It's among the earliest sites indicating the emergence of the "urban society" concept in the Near East, when communities were transforming from farming villages around 4,000 BC, and it was on trade routes between Egypt and the Levant, according to Humbert.

Humbert shared an aerial photo from 2000 showing patterns of walls from atop the mound. The area "was the first city of Palestine to have a city wall," he said. Now, "the field work you see in the photo is totally destroyed."

Gaza is home to numerous ancient treasures, but politics have long complicated archaeological work.

The French excavations stopped in 2002 because of a Palestinian uprising in which protesters violently clashed with Israeli troops around the nearby Netzarim settlement. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. But Hamas, shunned by the West as a terrorist group, won elections and eventually drove out the Western-backed Palestinian Authority in 2007. The excavations never resumed.

Unlike more extreme Islamic groups, Hamas has not deliberately destroyed antiquities for ideological reasons.

In this undated image taken in 2000, provided by the Palestinian Department of Antiquities, an aerial view of the excavations at Tel Es-Sakan, shows houses dating to 2600-2300 B.C., left, and fortifications from the late fourth millennium B.C, south of Gaza City. Palestinian and French archaeologists began excavating Gaza's earliest archaeological site nearly 20 years ago; unearthing what they believe is a rare 4,500-year-old Bronze Age settlement. But over protests that grew recently, Gaza's Hamas rulers have systematically destroyed the work since seizing power a decade ago, to make way for construction projects, and later military bases. (Pierre de Miroschedji/Palestinian Department of Antiquities, via AP)

But with little open space in Gaza, a fast-growing population and an economy stifled by Israeli and Egyptian blockades, Hamas officials say they have no choice but to develop the area, making archaeology a low priority.

But the group has also seized ancient sites to build military training camps, including the 3,000-year-old Anthedon Harbor, parts of which were bulldozed in 2013.

In 2009 and 2012, the expansion of universities destroyed the western and northern facades of Tel El-Sakan. People displaced during three wars between Hamas and Israel set up temporary dwellings on the eastern side.

The southern front remained, but Hamas says it needs the land to compensate some of its senior employees, who have only received partial salaries from the cash-strapped group.

When the bulldozer work started in early August, the Hamas-run Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities appealed for help. Humbert rushed to Gaza, and with the help of colleagues from Gaza's Islamic University, he succeeded in stopping the work for two weeks while the ministry and Hamas' Land Authority worked to settle the dispute.

Jamal Abu Rida, the ministry's director of antiquities, said Tel Es-Sakan is a protected archaeological site, but that his ministry could not stop the more powerful Land Authority from destroying another 1.2 hectares (three acres).

In this Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017 photo, Junaid Sorosh-Wali, a UNESCO official, inspects damage at Tel Es-Sakan hill site, south of Gaza City. Palestinian and French archaeologists began excavating Gaza's earliest archaeological site nearly 20 years ago; unearthing what they believe is a rare 4,500-year-old Bronze Age settlement. But over protests that grew recently, Gaza's Hamas rulers have systematically destroyed the work since seizing power a decade ago, to make way for construction projects, and later military bases. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

The work resumed last week. Bulldozers loaded a truck with soil that contained fragments of jars. When the workers saw Associated Press cameras, they quickly left the scene.

Abu Rida said they recovered an early Bronze Age jar from the site during the most recent leveling. Fadel al-Outul a Gaza archaeologist, salvaged fragments that he used to reassemble two thirds of another jar. He also found a flint knife blade.

Junaid Sorosh-Wali, an official with the U.N. cultural agency UNESCO, inspected the damage at the site Tuesday after the bulldozers left.

What happened was "disastrous for the archaeology and cultural heritage in Palestine," he said. He said UNESCO had raised concerns with "the relevant authorities."

Amateur videos showed ramparts crumbling under the bulldozer's treads. The rampart of the southern facade was also uncovered and is slated for destruction.

Dozens of ancient sites have been found in Gaza, and excavations have revealed temples, monasteries, palaces, churches and mosques and mosaics. But most of the sites have been lost to urban sprawl and looting. UNESCO is struggling to preserve some of remaining ones.

In this Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017 photo, Junaid Sorosh-Wali, right, a UNESCO official, inspects the remains of a mosaic at St. Hilarion monastery, a site of early Christianity, in Nusseirat, central Gaza Strip. Gaza is home to numerous ancient treasures, but politics have long complicated archaeological work. At the monastery, which spans from the late Roman Empire to the Islamic Umayyad period, a breach in the fence suggested looters were trying to get in. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)

In 2016, the remains of a Byzantine church were discovered in Gaza, but authorities are believed to have destroyed them. And in 2014, a rare Apollo statue went missing and is believed to be held by a militant group.

At St. Hilarion monastery in the central Gaza Strip, which spans from the late Roman Empire to the Islamic Umayyad period, a breach in the fence suggested looters were trying to get in. Private construction is taking place next door. Someone recently dumped brick debris in the site from over the fence.

The birthplace one of the 4th century founders of Christian monasticism still has the clear remnants of a baptism hall, a church and an atrium.

Sorosh-Wali, the UNESCO official, said it is among around a dozen locations in the West Bank and Gaza that the Palestinian Authority wants to be listed as a UNESCO "world heritage" sites.

 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Credit: US Environmental Protection Agency

(Phys.org)In 2011, mathematicians Alexander Plakhov and Vera Roshchina proved that objects with mirror surfaces cannot be perfectly invisible. Now in a new study, Plakhov has returned to the problem, asking just how close to invisible a mirror-surfaced object can be.

Using concepts from billiards and optics, he has shown that the answer depends on the object's volume and the minimum radius of an imaginary sphere that contains the object. The work is published in a recent issue of the Proceedings of The Royal Society A.

In the study, Plakhov, who is at the University of Aveiro in Portugal and the Institute for Information Transmission Problems in Russia, begins by defining a "visibility index." For objects that are close to invisible, the visibility index is close to zero, while objects that are clearly visible have a higher visibility index.

The visibility index is determined by the angles at which light rays deviate when they reach an object. For perfectly invisible objects, the light rays pass straight through, so their angles do not change at all. In contrast, objects that are clearly visible cause large deviations in the light rays' angles.

In order to define the visibility index, Plakhov adopted ideas from billiard theory, as light rays reflecting off mirror-surfaced objects can be considered analogous to billiard balls bouncing off the sides of a billiard table. Using the billiard model, he then showed that the visibility index can never be smaller than a certain positive value that is a function of the object's volume and the radius of an invisible sphere that contains the object. That is, he determined that the visibility index never reaches zero, but has a minimum non-zero value, indicating how close to invisible a mirror-surfaced object can theoretically be.

For now, however, this minimum value is only an estimate and not a final answer, and Plakhov plans to further pinpoint this value in the future.

"The lower estimate obtained in the paper is far from being sharp, and further work is needed to improve it," Plakhov told Phys.org. "In particular, it is not clear if there exists a sequence of bodies with fixed volume and the diameter going to infinity, and with vanishing visibility index."

Also, since it's possible for objects to exist which are invisible only from certain directions, Plakhov plans to study a modified visibility index related to a chosen set of directions of observation.

The question of the invisibility of mirror-surfaced objects is not just a mathematical curiosity, but it also has potential practical applications. For instance, mirrors are much cheaper and easier to fabricate than metamaterials, which are currently being investigated for their invisibility properties. The ability to create the effect of invisibilityespecially when viewed from multiple directionshas a wide variety of potential uses, including military applications (hiding submarines and aircraft), medical imaging (cloaking internal organs that are blocking an area of interest), and improving the performance of small-scale electronics devices by carefully controlling the flow of light and heat.

"The work of mine and my collaborators has attracted the attention of the scientific community to the problem of mirror invisibility, which I consider to be of great importance," Plakhov said. "We are in the beginning of this journey, and I believe that the most significant discoveries are yet to come."

 2017 Phys.org
Credit: Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)

ANSTO environmental scientists have contributed to research on Rottnest Island that has provided invaluable information about its groundwater system that may be relevant for the sustainability of many other islands around the globe.

Rottnest Island, a national park and popular tourist destination, has a freshwater lens under it that sits atop seawater.

They are described as lenses because of their oval shape and are formed from rainwater seeping down through soil. The seawater stays below the freshwater because it is denser.

The groundwater source from the lens on Rottnest Island was previously used as a water supply but the community now has a desalination plant.

The Rottnest Island Authority wanted more information about the groundwater system to understand it and plan for the future.

"We were there to provide that advice," said groundwater scientist, Dr Karina Meredith, a co-author of one of the papers published in Science of the Total Environment.

Meredith and Prof Andy Baker and Dr Martin Andersen of UNSW supervised the research undertaken by PhD candidate Eliza Bryan.

"Using isotopic techniques and other methods, we were able to show that there is not only modern seawater below the freshwater lens but that there is older seawater in some sections of the aquifer," said Meredith.

"We were able to establish that there were three types of groundwaterfresh, brackish and saline."

Any change in equilibrium in the system will also change the environment of the microorganisms that live in the soil zone."The freshwater was modern, as was the first layer of seawater, but the lower layer of saline groundwater was 2000 years old, which is not what we expected to find. "

We expected the groundwaters to be all young and that tritium, which is very useful in determining the age of younger groundwater, would be our main age tracer.

But some of the groundwaters contained no tritium and therefore the research looked at the organic and inorganic carbon cycle which is important to define in carbonate systems, such as Rottnest Island.

Bivarate plots of 3H vs (A) 14CDIC, (B) 13CDIC and (C) 14CDOC for fresh, brackish and saline waters. Credit: Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)

In-fact using accelerator mass spectrometry, we were able to get measurement of 14C from dissolved organic carbon to get an age on the tritium-free seawater, whereas traditional inorganic carbon dating methods were not able to give us reliable ages".

The co-authors found that the old seawater did not evolve along a similar pathway to that of the modern groundwater. It may have arisen from either the slow circulation of water within the seawater wedge or from old remnant seawater (at a time when sea level was about four metres higher)

The study involved field work over three years, sampling and monitoring of groundwater from 30 sites across the island, as well as rainwater and seawater collection.

The phenomenon of a freshwater lens becoming salty is expected to become a world-wide problem as climate change impacts island settings. This is especially important when groundwater occurs predominantly by rainfall.

Earlier work by the same group of researchers had previously established that there was no connection between the island's hypersaline lakes and the freshwater lens and groundwater volume reduction was linked to levels of rainfall and not pumping.

"Rainfall is the primary driver of recharge in the system," said Meredith.

Only 2 per cent of volume reduction could be attributed to pumping while 30 per cent was explained by a decrease in rainfall.

The island has an average rainfall of 691 mm a year but an average evaporation rate of 1694 mm a year.

There has been a decline in rainfall in southwest Western Australia since the 1970s, which is causing a change in the equilibrium of the lens and reducing the volume of freshwater.

The freshwater lens also feeds natural springs on the island which is used by the island's fauna such as quokkas and reptiles.

"There is a threat of not only losing an important resource but potential harm to the ecosystem that relies on the groundwater," said Meredith.

Meredith and associates are involved in a similar study on Milingimbi Island in the NT, which also has a freshwater lens.

More information: Eliza Bryan et al. Carbon dynamics in a Late Quaternary-age coastal limestone aquifer system undergoing saltwater intrusion, Science of The Total Environment (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.06.094 Journal information: Science of the Total Environment
St Stephens was built by King Edward I to be a show-case of English royal splendour. Credit: University of York

The first dedicated House of Commons chamber, destroyed in the 1834 Palace of Westminster fire, has been reconstructed with the help of 3-D visualisation technology.

The House of Commons took shape in the medieval chapel of St Stephen, formerly a place of worship for the royal family. With few traces of the original building still remaining, echoes of the life of the chapel can only be found in centuries-old documents in parliamentary and national archives.

Funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, art historians at the University of York have now brought St Stephen's Chapel and the Commons chamber back to life by pioneering a technique combining traditional archival research with digital reconstruction.

3-D models of the Chapel and House of Commons have been installed on a touch-screen display in the Palace of Westminster, and are now launching online. The models reveal not only the colours and textures of the building, but also parallels between political debate in the 16th century and today.

Dr John Cooper, from the University's Department of History, said: "St Stephen's was built by King Edward I to be a show-case of English royal splendour. When the Chapel was dissolved during the Reformation, it became a meeting place for politicians to debate the issues of the day.

Credit: University of York

"Members of Parliament had previously met in a number of different locations. Once they took occupation of St Stephen's, however, they never left, even though there was never a grand plan for a new home for the House of Commons.

"The move into St Stephen's was a by-product of the Reformation, but it had profound consequences for the future of British politics.

"When the Commons was gutted in the Westminster fire of 1834, a new debating chamber was constructed of strikingly similar design. Our politicians still meet there today, in a Victorian re-imagination of a medieval and Tudor building. It's a fascinating example of continuity in British political culture."

Records reveal not only how St Stephen's Chapel was built, the masons, painters, sculptors and many workmen involved its construction and how much they were paid, but also the politics later conducted within its walls.

The seating of the Commons was arranged so that politicians would be facing each other at close quarters, much like today. Credit: University of York

The seating of the Commons was arranged so that politicians would be facing each other at close quarters, much like today. The overcrowding in the room meant that discussion could rise to intense levels. When divisions were called, some MPs were reluctant to get up to vote in case they lost their seats to someone else.

Chris Bryant MP said: "The shape and architecture of St Stephen's Chapel frame so many aspects of how we do our business in the Commons today.

"We shouldn't be bound by our history, but we should understand it better. This University of York project is enabling us to do just that."

Dr Cooper added: "It has been a fascinating journey through time and has taken us in unexpected directions. Officials at the Palace of Westminster have really embraced the project and we have presented our findings at Parliamentary committees, where we hope our research will influence discussion on the restoration and renewal work required within the building today."

More information: To view the 3D reconstructions of St Stephen's Chapel visit: www.virtualststephens.org.uk/
Mattel, whose CEO Margaret Georgiadis is seen at a 2017 conference, has scrapped plans to sell a connected speaker powered by artificial intelligence for children

US toy giant Mattel said Thursday it was cancelling its plan to deliver an artificial intelligence-infused digital speaker for children, following complaints from privacy groups and lawmakers.

The device called Aristotle was announced in January during the Consumer Electronics Show as a kid-friendly alternative to digital assistants such as Amazon's Alexa-powered speakers and Google Home, and which could also be used as a baby monitor.

But several activist groups and at least two US lawmakers said Aristotle threatened to undermine privacy and could open up children to marketers, hackers and other threats.

Mattel said in an email to AFP that its new chief technical officer Sven Gerjets, who joined the company in July, "conducted an extensive review of the Aristotle product and decided that it did not fully align with Mattel's new technology strategy."

"The decision was then made not to bring Aristotle to the marketplace as part of an ongoing effort to deliver the best possible connected product experience to the consumer," the statement said.

Last month, US Senator Ed Markey and Representative Joe Barton sent a letter to Mattel chief executive Margaret Georgiadis warning of privacy issues with the device.

The lawmakers said Aristotle was capable of "transmitting personal and sensitive information" about children to Mattel, and raised privacy fears because it could "build an in-depth profile of children and their family."

Meanwhile the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood sent a letter and 15,000 petition signatures asking Mattel to scrap Aristotle.

"Aristotle would inject corporate surveillance and marketing into the most intimate and important moments of young children's lives," said the group's executive director Josh Golin.

The dust-up was the latest over toys and devices for children which are connected to the internet cloud.

Last year, the US Federal Trade Commission said it would require toymakers to respect a law protecting children's online privacy, and the FBI warned that devices such as Mattel's "Hello Barbie" could "put the privacy and safety of children at risk due to the large amount of personal information that may be unwittingly disclosed."

 2017 AFP
Gradual environmental changes due to eutrophication and global warming can cause a rapid depletion of oxygen levels in lakes and coastal waters. A new study led by professors Jef Huisman and Gerard Muyzer of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) shows that microorganisms play a key role in these disastrous regime shifts. The researchers' findings were published in the journal Nature Communications on 6 October.

Regime shifts are abrupt, large and persistent changes in the structure and function of ecosystems triggered by gradual changes in environmental conditions. Regime shifts have been described for a large variety of ecosystems. One type of regime shift may occur in lakes and coastal waters when a rapid depletion of the dissolved oxygen concentration leads to a lack of oxygen, which is detrimental to most aquatic organisms. Although this phenomenon is well known, the underlying mechanisms causing the transition from oxic to anoxic conditions are not fully understood.

Scientists from the UvA and the University of Edinburgh developed a mathematical model to investigate interactions between the microbial species composition and the dissolved oxygen concentration. They discovered that lakes can be in two alternative stable states: one in which the lake is rich in oxygen, and another in which it lacks oxygen. Transitions from the oxic to the anoxic state occur in the form of a regime shift. "When the oxygen influx is gradually reduced, at first oxygen-producing cyanobacteria and algae still persist and the lake remains in the oxic state," explains first author Tim Bush. "Below a critical threshold, however, sulfate-reducing bacteria and photosynthetic sulfur bacteria take over. These cause an increase in sulfide concentrations, which then kills the cyanobacteria and rapidly flips the lake from an oxic to an anoxic state."

One of the implications of this regime shift is that a return to oxygen-rich conditions is not easy. The system displays hysteresis. Once the water has turned anoxic, high sulfide concentrations maintained by the anaerobic sulfur bacteria stabilize the anoxic conditions. As a result, returning to the former oxic conditions requires a much larger oxygen influx than the influx that originally brought the system into its anoxic state.

The researchers monitored a small lake with seasonal anoxia in the deeper water layers to investigate these model predictions. The lake displayed hysteresis in the transition between oxic and anoxic conditions, with changes in microbial community composition in agreement with the model predictions. Similar phenomena have been observed in eutrophied coastal waters, where anoxic conditions and high sulfide concentrations have led to mass mortalities of fish, molluscs and many other species. The authors indicate that similar oxic-anoxic regime shifts have probably occurred at a global scale in the Earth's geological past, when vast areas of the ocean became oxygen-depleted during periods of global warming and high atmospheric CO2 concentrations. According to professors Huisman and Muyzer, several aspects are still not fully understood or cannot be quantified in detail. However, these results provide a warning that continued eutrophication and warming of lakes and seas may push these ecosystems beyond a critical tipping point, causing rapid transitions from oxic to anoxic conditions that are not easily reversed.

More information: Timothy Bush et al. Oxic-anoxic regime shifts mediated by feedbacks between biogeochemical processes and microbial community dynamics, Nature Communications (2017). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00912-x Journal information: Nature Communications
A mobile app that can help diagnose crop diseases is being field tested in Tanzania. Credit: IITA

Researchers who developed a new mobile application that uses artificial intelligence to accurately diagnose crop diseases in the field have won a $100,000 award to help expand their project to help millions of small-scale farmers across Africa.

Cassava brown streak disease is spreading westward across the African continent and, together with cassava mosaic disease, threatens the food and income security of more than 30 million farmers in East and Central Africa. Likewise, banana is threatened by fungal and bacterial diseases, including the devastating banana bunchy top virus, while late blight still plagues potato farmers.

Farmers often are unable to identify these diseases properly, while researchers, plant-health authorities and extension organizations lack the data to support them.

To stop the spread of these diseases, a team under the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) has developed a revolutionary app to accurately diagnose diseases in the field, which will be combined with SMS services to send alerts to thousands of rural farmers.

CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) is a global research partnership dedicated to reducing poverty, enhancing food and nutrition security, and improving natural resources and ecosystem services.

"Smartphones are becoming more and more common in rural Africa," explained James Legg of the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), who leads the project with David Hughes, associate professor of entomology and biology, Penn State. "Smallholders or extension officers with a basic smartphone with a camera will be able to download the app for free, fire it up, point it at a leaf with disease symptoms and get an instant diagnosis. That is truly revolutionary!"

The app also will provide the latest management advice for all major diseases and pests of root, tuber and banana crops and will pinpoint the location of the nearest agricultural extension support for farmers.

The team's $100,000 grant is part of the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture "Inspire Challenges" program. The award was announced Sept. 21 at the Big Data in Agriculture Convention 2017 in Cali, Colombia.

The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) is collaborating with Penn State and Google to create a smartphone app for automatic and live cassava disease diagnosis. Credit: Pennsylvania State University

Although the app currently is developed for cassava, the grant will allow researchers to expand the tool for use with other root, tuber and banana crops that are critical sources of food, nutrition and income security for millions.

"This prize is transformative. It allows us to expand across multiple sites in Africa and multiple crops that are critical for food security on the continent," said Penn State's Hughes, who has appointments in the College of Agricultural Sciences and the Eberly College of Science. "We can amplify by 100 times what we have achieved so far."

Painstaking field work using cameras, spectrophotometers and drones at RTB cassava field sites in coastal Tanzania and on farms in western Kenya generated more than 200,000 images of diseased crops to train artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms.

Using many of these images, Hughes, Legg and collaborators developed an AI algorithm that can automatically classify five cassava diseases, and by collaborating with Google, the team was able to develop the smartphone app with TensorFlow. It is currently being field-tested in Tanzania.

Penn State also has developed a mobile spectrophotometer through a startup called CROPTIX. Early results suggest it can accurately diagnose different viral diseases in the field, even if the plant looks healthy.

"The app employs AI in real time so the farmer can be an active participant in disease diagnosis and crop health management, leading to more yields for smallholder farmers," Hughes said. "It also is revolutionary because our artificial intelligence is based on the world's best human intelligence on African cropsthe research scientists at CGIAR and RTB."

The researchers have developed linkages with the Vodafone agriculture SMS platform called DigiFarm, which will allow them to link digital diagnostics to large-scale rural text messaging services.

The team will deliver farmer-tailored SMS alerts on crop diseases and pests to 350,000 Kenyan farmers by July 2018.
Freeing up finance, one crypto currency at a time

A hackers' congress launched in Prague on Friday will discuss new cryptocurrencies and other tools to combat the erosion of financial freedom around the world, organisers said.

"Technology will allow users to shake off economic dependence on the state and achieve financial and personal freedom," co-organiser Martin Sip said in a statement at the start of the three-day event.

Organisers cited the anonymous cryptocurrencies Monero and Zcash, crypto-markets and decentralised exchange offices as examples of tools that could boost financial freedom.

Amir Taaki, a British-Iranian hacker and expert on the bitcoin cryptocurrency, told reporters in Prague that the western world was going through a social crisis rooted in its economic system.

"Today, most of the work that people do in their lives has absolutely no meaning and no purpose whatsoever," said Taaki, who founded Britcoin, Britain's bitcoin exchange.

"What is guiding this mechanistic system that uses human beings as objects is... a system of financial enslavement," he said, adding that the system wielded "a really sinister form of social control".

"Our task is to... challenge this system of hierarchy and the state to restore back people's sense of autonomy and free life."

"We have to find new forms of economic organisation... (and) bitcoin is the biggest tool that we have to challenge the power of the central banks today."

Wearing a cap, sunglasses and a mask at Prague's Institute of Cryptoanarchy, which is hosting the congress, a hacker nicknamed Smuggler said freedom suffers in a financial system dominated by central banks.

"We're living in a world where we don't really have money in the sense that we can just transact, but we always have money with permission," he said.

Earlier this week, reports said the US-based investment bank Goldman Sachs was looking into ways to trade bitcoin to meet client demand.

This would mean a breakthrough as large banks have so far avoided trading in bitcoin due to its reputation as a conduit for illicit activity.

But financial companies have been active in the development of "blockchain," the underlying technology of bitcoin, which is seen as a potentially major breakthrough.

Bitcoin reached the psychologically important milestone of trading at $5,000 on September 1. It has been retreating since then, trading at $4,375 on October 2.

 2017 AFP
Credit: CC0 Public Domain

SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk envisions a time in the near future when long-distance travelers on Earth can hop on a rocket to go across the globe in less than an hour.

But before Musk can set his plans in motion, there are a few down-to-Earth logistics questions he'll have to answer first.

Under the plan announced last week by Musk, passengers would board a large rocket and spacecraft system known for now as BFR. The rocket would hurtle passengers into space, before the first-stage booster returns to Earth and the spacecraft and second-stage continues on to touch down at its destination.

A video Musk showed during his keynote speech at the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, Australia, said the maximum speed of the vehicle would be about 16,000 mph. That would make a trip from New York to Shanghai as short as 39 minutes.

Questions remain about some technical details of the transport system, as well as what kind of market it would serve. But several analysts said Musk's vision at least forces people to think out of the box about supersonic or hypersonic passenger travel. (Supersonic flight is anything faster than the speed of sound, or Mach 1; hypersonic is generally regarded as Mach 5 or faster.)

Musk's ideas, and the actions behind his ideas, broaden minds about the "future of movement," said Megan Ryerson, an assistant professor of city and regional planning and electrical and systems engineering at the University of Pennsylvania.

"And I think that is exciting, even if there are a lot of kinks to work out," she said.

Here are some of those considerations.

The sonic boom that ripples outward after the first-stage booster lands would probably force the takeoff and landing areas to be several hours outside of major metropolitan areas the system is intended to serve.

That could make travelers think twice about whether a rocket trip would be worth it. The video shown by Musk at last week's space conference depicts a group of passengers boarding a speedy ship to reach a floating platform with the rocket far off the coast of New York City.

The computer-generated animation also shows the rocket landing on a similar floating platform far off the coast of Shanghai.

"You may end up saving some number of hours, but you would have to get to the launch site, and then you'd have to launch and then you'd have to arrive at the destination," said Richard Wirz, a professor at UCLA and director of the university's Plasma and Space Propulsion Laboratory. "There would have to be hours on either end of you embarking and disembarking on your trip."

Ryerson said passengers already have to decide that kind of trade-off when determining whether to travel a potentially further distance to a larger airport with nonstop flights, versus a closer, but smaller airport that offers trips with more layovers.

"While a trip to the rocket launcher might be longer for some people, presumably you would make all that up with the time savings in the air," she said.

On the plus side, the flights themselves would be very fast: Musk said in his presentation that most long-distance trips would take less than 30 minutes and that passengers could reach anywhere on Earth in less than an hour.

Several analysts pointed to the supersonic Concorde jetliner as an example of a speedy, but expensive, transportation option whose tiny market was not profitable enough.

The plane could cut travel times in half, but it was ultimately challenged by high maintenance costs, limited routes and ultra-high ticket costs. After 27 years of service and a catastrophic fatal crash in 2000, the Concorde touched down for the last time in 2003.

"It was very much a niche market," said Ray Jaworowski, senior aerospace analyst at market research firm Forecast International. "I don't think a whole lot has happened in the intervening years to change that."

Although speed is an important factor, airlines rank range, operating costs and seating capacity as more important considerations when determining which aircraft to purchase, Jaworowski said.

Musk has said the cost of a seat on the BFR will be "about the same" as full fare economy class in an aircraft.

A new crop of supersonic jet developers is banking on technological improvements in materials and computing to decrease construction costs. But analysts say the market for extremely fast air travel will be limited, at least initially, with the first aircraft to be supersonic likely to be business jets.

Boom Technology Inc., a Centennial, Colo., startup, plans to build a supersonic jetliner called the Boom. Aerion Corp. of Reno, Nev., has been working with Airbus to develop the A2, a supersonic business jet.

Even NASA is interested in the concept of supersonic planes. Last year, the agency partnered with aerospace giant Lockheed Martin Corp. to create a preliminary design for a Quiet Supersonic Transport, or QueSST, experimental plane.

SpaceX has made landing rocket boosters back on Earth seem routine, but the company will have to scale that technological achievement up to achieve reliable service for everyday travelers.

The idea of a rocket that can serve many markets - point-to-point travel on Earth, missions to the moon and to Mars, as well as low-Earth orbit launches - is the "holy grail of the space industry," said Jim Bell, professor at Arizona State University's School of Earth and Space Exploration and president of the Planetary Society space advocacy group.

Bell said overcoming some of these technical hurdles could be a tall order. But he noted that many people had doubted SpaceX's ability to land first-stage boosters on floating droneships in the ocean. SpaceX has landed 16 boosters so far, nine of them at sea.

"I don't think it pays to bet against Elon Musk at all on this stuff," he said.

2017 Los Angeles Times

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
Atomistic models and atomic-resolution STEM HAADF (scanning transmission electron microscopic high-angle annular dark-field) images showing three examples of segregation-induced superstructures observed at randomly-selected general grain boundaries of a nickel-bismuth (Ni-Bi) polycrystalline alloy. The formation of such ordered superstructures and the associated interfacial reconstructions that change the 2-D translational symmetries at both terminating grain planes, which had been thought impossible to be realized at general grain boundaries that should be lacking a long-range translational symmetry according to the classical theories in physical metallurgy, are enabled by faceting, as well as the formation of atomic-level steps at the grain boundaries. This somewhat surprising discovery enriches our fundamental knowledge of the atomic-level segregation structures at general grain boundaries, which are important in controlling a broad range of mechanical and physical properties of polycrystalline alloys. Specific to this nickel-bismuth system, such interfacial superstructures are the root cause of a mysterious phenomenon called liquid metal embrittlement, wherein a normally ductile nickel metal or nickel-based alloy can fail catastrophically in an extremely brittle manner in contact with a bismuth-based liquid metal. Credit: University of California - San Diego

A team of researchers found that randomly selected, high-angle, general grain boundaries in a nickel-bismuth (Ni-Bi) polycrystalline alloy can undergo interfacial reconstruction to form ordered superstructures, a discovery that enriches the theories and fundamental understandings of both grain boundary segregation and liquid metal embrittlement in physical metallurgy.

This discovery shows that segregation-induced ordered superstructures are not limited to special grain boundaries that are inherently periodic, but may exist at a variety of general grain boundaries that were thought to be lacking any long-range order; hence, they can affect the performance of polycrystalline engineering alloys.

The team, including nanoengineering professor Jian Luo here at the University of California San Diego as a co-corresponding author together with Professor Martin Harmer at Lehigh University, lays out their findings in the Oct. 6, 2017 issue of Science.

Researchers observed and investigated segregation-induced superstructures at randomly-selected general grain boundaries of a Ni-Bi polycrystalline alloy via aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (AC STEM), in conjunction with first-principles density functional theory calculations.

Grain boundaries are internal interfaces in polycrystalline materials that often control the materials' properties. The segregation of alloying elements or impurities at grain boundaries can significantly alter, often severely degrade, the mechanical and physical properties of engineered alloys.

Credit: University of California - San Diego

Prior studies of atomic-level grain boundary and segregation structures have been mostly focused on small-angle or special symmetrical tilt and twist boundaries with high symmetries and well-defined periodicities in artificial bicrystals. However, most grain boundaries in polycrystalline materials are so-called "general" grain boundaries of mixed tilt and twist character, which are not well understood due to the difficulties in characterizing and modeling them. Yet, such general grain boundaries are often significantly weaker mechanically and chemically than the well-studied special grain boundaries, thereby limiting properties and performance of engineered materials. Here, a traditional view is that these high-angle general grain boundaries may not undergo interfacial reconstructions to form ordered superstructures because a lattice match between the two abutting grains is lacking. This traditional belief is challenged by this new report in Science.

More specifically, interfacial reconstructions that change the 2-D translational symmetries, which are known to occur frequently at crystalline surfaces, were thought impossible to be realized at general grain boundaries that should be lacking long-range translational symmetries. But researchers showed that it is enabled by faceting, as well as the formation of atomic-level steps at the grain boundaries, which allows separate interfacial reconstructions to occur at both terminating grain surface planes in a unique "bilayer" interfacial phase (wherein an "interfacial phase" refers to a thermodynamically 2-D phase spontaneously-formed at an interface, which is also called a "complexion").

Specific to this nickel-bismuth system, such interfacial superstructures are the root cause of a mysterious phenomenon called "liquid metal embrittlement," wherein a normally ductile nickel metal or nickel-based alloy can fail catastrophically in an extremely brittle manner in contact with a bismuth-based liquid metal.

This work is a further, significant advancement of Luo's earlier collaborative research with Lehigh University published six years ago [Luo et al., Science 333: 1730-1733 (2011)].

Credit: University of California - San Diego

In that earlier work, researchers discovered this bilayer interfacial phase that is responsible for the mysterious liquid metal embrittlement in nickel-bismuth, but the exact atomic structures of the bilayers had not been determined at that time. Specifically, it was unclear whether the segregated bismuth atoms can form reconstructed superstructures, the existence of which was not expected at the general grain boundaries, but have been revealed in this new study. Another scientifically interesting observation of the current study is that the interfacial reconstruction is driven and dictated by the orientation of the terminating grain surface, rather than by lattice mis-orientation between the two abutting grains as commonly believed in classical physical metallurgy.

Researchers believe that these new and somewhat surprising discoveries are scientifically important and enrich our fundamental understanding of the general grain boundaries that often control the performance properties of various polycrystalline engineered materials.

This work was primarily supported by an ONR MURI project led by Professor Martin Harmer at Lehigh University (2011-2017). The first author of this article is Dr. Zhiyang Yu, who is currently an associate professor at Xiamen University of Technology in China. This work was also a collaboration with Professor Patrick R. Cantwell at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Professor Michael Widom and his student, Dr. Qin Gao, and Professor Gregory S. Rohrer at Carnegie Mellon University, Dr. Denise Yin at Lehigh University, and Dr. Yuanyao Zhang and Dr. Naixie Zhou, both of whom recently received their Ph.D. degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from UC San Diego.

In a broader scientific context, this study enriches the fundamental understanding of 2-D interfacial phases or complexions that can influence fabrication processing, microstructural development, and a spectrum of mechanical, electronic, ionic, and other physical properties of both metallic and ceramic materials. In a separate ongoing Vannevar Bush Faculty Fellowship (formerly National Security Science and Engineering Faculty Fellowship) project, Professor Luo and his team are also developing interfacial phase diagrams to help achieve better controls of such 2-D interfacial phases in general.

More information: Zhiyang Yu et al. Segregation-induced ordered superstructures at general grain boundaries in a nickel-bismuth alloy, Science (2017). DOI: 10.1126/science.aam8256 J. Luo et al. The Role of a Bilayer Interfacial Phase on Liquid Metal Embrittlement, Science (2011). DOI: 10.1126/science.1208774 Journal information: Science
Tempus Pro, a portable vital-signs monitor capable of telemedicine via satellite, is helping medics at ESA astronaut landings. Thomas Pesquet was the first to benefit following his Proxima mission. Credit: ESA

Tempus Pro, a portable vital-signs monitor offering telemedicine via satellite, is helping medics at ESA astronaut landings. Thomas Pesquet was the first to benefit at the end of his mission in May.

Astronauts returning from space must readjust to life on Earth. Gravity influences the body's balance, cardiovascular functions, and especially the muscles, so astronauts are carefully monitored as soon as they are out of their reentry capsule.

When Thomas landed in Kazakhstan from his mission on the International Space Station, ESA medical staff stood by with the Tempus Pro.

As he was feeling gravity for the first time in six months, several sensors were attached to his body and connected to the device to gather important medical information.

This was repeated in the medical tent, during the helicopter ride back to Karaganda in Kazakhstan and on the aircraft back to Cologne in Germany, to allow doctors to detect any changes in his condition.

"In the challenging environment of an astronaut landing, Tempus Pro allowed us to track and log medical information quickly and easily and to share this in real time with our medical colleagues at ESA's European Astronaut Centre in Cologne," commented Sergi Vaquer, ESA's flight surgeon.

The secured satellite link with the astronaut centre required a portable satellite antenna connected to the unit.

Medical teams at both sites examined advanced information containing Thomas' vital signs such as blood oxygen level, blood pressure and heart activity, ultrasound images, realtime videos, pictures and voice.

Tempus Pro, a portable vital-signs monitor capable of telemedicine via satellite, was used by medics at the landing of ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet following his Proxima mission. Credit: ESA

All data were recorded in an encrypted patient record on the device for further evaluation at the centre.

Sharing information between teams in real time ensures the best possible outcome in the event of a medical emergency during landing operations. Working together increases accuracy and speed of diagnosis and treatment. It also enables a more coordinated and effective emergency response.

An improved version of the Tempus Pro, based on lessons learned, will be used in December when ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli returns from the Space Station.

"The next challenge will be to send data from the Tempus Pro via satellite to medical teams on the ground from the aircraft transporting an ESA astronaut back to Cologne," commented Arnaud Runge, ESA's project manager.

Remote Diagnostic Technologies of the UK developed the device with funding and support from the Business Applications part of ESA's Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems programme, which helps European industry to use space to create commercial applications in non-space sectors.

Tempus is a fully medically approved product that is used by airlines, at sea, in remote regions, and by the military in Europe and the US. Lightweight, compact and robust enough to withstand being dropped from 2 m, it is an all-in-one unit, meaning medics have less equipment to carry.

All conventional instruments typically required for emergency monitoring and intensive care can be connected such as blood oxygen saturation and contact temperature sensors, invasive and non-invasive blood pressure equipment, electrocardiogram leads, a laryngoscope and a USB ultrasound probe. It includes a GPS chip and has wifi, Bluetooth and ethernet connectivity, and can exchange voice, video and medical data.

"We are very pleased to see Tempus Pro used at an astronaut landing. This is a very demanding situation and proves the performance of this product," added Arnaud.

The company is now developing Tempus ALS for ambulances and intensive care units, which can record data in a secured cloud via satellite communication as well as on the device, and plans new features such as a defibrillator.
Complaining at the water cooler can lead to anger, loss of hope, ASU study finds. Credit: Arizona State University

Like many research projects, Michael Baer's latest study was inspired by personal experience.

Baer, an assistant professor of management at the W. P. Carey School of Business, and a former colleague were unhappy about an unfair supervisor at their workplacewhich was not Arizona State University, he adds.

"It was, objectively, an unfair situation," he said. "But we realized that we kept talking about it and kept revisiting it, and one day we said, 'This is not helping. This is making things worse.'

"The more we talked about it, the more we disliked the supervisor and the less we were able to get over it."

So that inspired Baer's new study with several co-authors

, based on a cleverly designed experiment that found that complaining about an unfair supervisor to co-workers can end up hurting an employee's performance.

"This is one of my favorite studies because the general intuition is that when something bad happens, your natural inclination is to talk to other people about it, to make sense of it and get some clarity and emotional support," he said.

Their study cited research showing that people who had talked about their anger would do it again because they perceived it as helpful.

But Baer's study found that complaining decreases forgiveness for the unfair event, and it can decrease a person's performance by hindering "citizenship," or the desire to help the supervisor.

And what about the co-worker you're complaining to?

"The inclination is to go to people who agree when you complain and who will say, 'Wow you really got the short end of the stick,' " he said.

"But we looked at if you have a co-worker who reframes the situation, saying, 'Maybe there was a reason for that,' 'Maybe things aren't so bad' or 'What was your part in it?' "

Listeners who are passive don't help the situation, but if complainers talk to someone who "reframes" the situationlooking at it from a different perspectivethat can nullify all the negative effects of talking about unfairness, the study found.

The team of researchers did two studies, one using surveys and one in a lab. The first study surveyed 170 bus drivers

and 25 supervisors in London. The drivers were asked to rate their perceptions of unfairness on the job, their anger and hope, how they talked about that with co-workers, how the co-workers responded and whether they forgave their supervisors. The supervisors were asked how much the workers helped them.

The results found that talking about a supervisor's unfairness "can be detrimental in terms of increased anger and decreased hopewhich hinder employees' ability to 'move on' from the experience," according to the study, which is set to appear in the Academy of Management Journal. And listeners can mitigate the bad effects by reframing.

The researchers then wanted to replicate the results in a laboratory, so they recruited 105 college students who were asked to bring a friend to the experiment, which was set up this way:

The students were assigned to be the "talkers," and their friends were assigned to be "listeners."

The "talkers" were given a task and told that their performance would determine how much class credit they received. Before the task time was up, the experimenter rudely interrupted them and then marked some of their correct answers as incorrectcreating an "unfair" situation.

At the same time the listeners were getting briefed in how to respond. The pairs were reunited and the listener either just listened, saying little, or reframed the situation by saying, "Maybe there's a way to deal with this," or "Maybe she was having a bad day."

The "talkers" also were asked to rate their forgiveness levels.

At the end, the experimenters who created the unfair scenario asked the talkers to clean up the room.

"The ones who didn't forgive did very little cleanup, while the ones who did forgive actually cleaned up. That's how we tested willingness to help," Baer said.

The lab study reinforced the results of the first study: Talking about unfairness increases anger, decreases hope, hinders the complainer from "moving on," makes it difficult to forgive the supervisor and decreases the complainer's helpfulness to the supervisor. But co-workers who respond by reframing the situation can lessen these effects.

The article says that "reframing" by a co-worker does not mean a dismissive "get over it," but rather it includes expressing concern and suggestions for coping.

"I don't think any of these people were conscious of the fact that they were pulling back and exhibiting their anger," Baer said of the study subjects.

"So yes, talk about it, but be careful who you talk to, and at some point you have to cut it off."
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian oil-to-telecoms conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd has agreed to sell a shale oil and gas block in the United States for $126 million, a third of the price it paid seven years ago, amid a downturn in global oil prices. BKV Chelsea LLC, an affiliate of energy investment firm Kalnin Ventures LLC, bought the asset, located in the Marcellus shale in northeastern and central Pennsylvania, from Reliance, the company said in a statement, adding it could further receive $11.25 million based on changes in natural gas prices. Reliance bought the Marcellus asset in 2010 for $392 million. The U.S. shale market has since become highly competitive and companies have cut costs to stay afloat after a slump in crude oil and gas prices. Houston-based Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc, the operator of the Marcellus asset, also exited its investment, Reliance said. http://bit.ly/2xYqxGS The deal reduces the number of Reliance-owned U.S. shale assets to two. Reliance may look at selling its other U.S. shale assets, which have also been losing money, analysts said. It had invested just over $2 billion in 2010 to purchase the three assets, which were operated by its joint-venture partners. "It is a smart move," said an analyst with an Indian brokerage, referring to the sale. "The shale oil and gas market is consolidating in the U.S. and shale gas particularly is not remunerative at current low prices," said the analyst, who did not want to be identified, citing his company's policy. The three shale assets accounted for less than 1 percent of the consolidated revenue of Reliance, which runs the world's biggest refinery complex in western India. It has also expanded into telecoms in recent years, investing $30 billion in a new fourth-generation network named Jio. (Reporting by Promit Mukherjee and Tanvi Mehta; Editing by Dale Hudson)
By Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - Cambodian government lawyers filed a lawsuit on Friday to demand the dissolution of the main opposition party, in a move that would help Prime Minister Hun Sen extend his 32-year rule when the poor Southeast Asian nation votes in an election next year. The attempt to disband the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) comes after its leader, Kem Sokha, was charged with treason following his arrest on Sept.3. In their lawsuit on Friday, government lawyers said the opposition had conspired with foreigners to topple the government, citing a 2013 video clip that shows Kem Sokha talking about a plan to take power with the help of Americans. "Today we filed a lawsuit at the Supreme Court on behalf of the Interior Ministry to ask to dissolve the CNRP," Ky Tech, one of the government lawyers, told reporters. "The CNRP, besides colluding secretly with foreigners ... also intends to serve foreigners," the lawsuit said. Kem Sokha's daughter Monovithya Kem, who is also an official in the opposition party, said in a post on Twitter: "The international community has obligations to act now." The U.S. embassy said it was unable to comment on the lawsuit filed by the government on Friday, but it had earlier rejected the accusations relating to Kem Sokha. Western countries have condemned the opposition leader's arrest and have questioned whether the election can be fair following the crackdown on opposition leaders, activists and journalists. The European Union has made several statements about its concern. "In that context, dissolution by the authorities of the main opposition party would be an extremely negative step," said EU ambassador George Edgar in an email to Reuters. CHINESE BACKING Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander who defected from the genocidal group and helped drive it from power in 1979, is allied to China, and Beijing says it supports the Cambodian government's efforts to maintain national security and stability. Half of Cambodia's opposition members of parliament have fled the country. One of the remaining parliamentarians derided allegations that the CNRP had been involved in planning a US-backed coup. "This is intended to destroy democracy in Cambodia," Mao Monyvann said of the move to shut down the CNRP. The ruling Cambodian People's Party narrowly won the last election in 2013 after losing seats to the opposition in what was Hun Sen's worst election result since Cambodia returned to full democracy in 1998. The ruling party lost ground in local elections in June, after which, according to opposition members, Hun Sen stepped up a campaign against dissenting voices. Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia division, criticised the international community for not responding more strongly to Hun Sen's crackdown. "The international community obligated itself to protect human rights and democracy in Cambodia when they signed the Paris Peace Accords, but now they are looking the other way as that dream dies," Robertson told Reuters. "Prime Minister Hun Sen is effectively putting an end to Cambodian democracy," he said. (Reporting by Prak Chan Thul; Additional reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre in BANGKOK; Editing by Matthew Tostevin)
By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin LONDON (Reuters) - Low on cash but high on hope, Iran's technology entrepreneurs are learning to live with revived hostility in the United States and growing suspicion - or worse - from hardliners at home. Their startups and e-commerce apps are flourishing, driven by government infrastructure support and young Iranians educated both in the country and abroad. Some are even drawing foreign investment in a way that Iran's dominant oil industry has yet to achieve since most international sanctions were lifted early last year under a nuclear deal with world powers. Life remains tough despite the easing of Iran's international isolation. The atmosphere in Washington has soured again, with President Donald Trump signing legislation tightening domestic U.S. sanctions on Iran and threatening to pull out of the nuclear accord. On top of this, Google and Apple have withdrawn some services temporarily or indefinitely for Iranian users in recent months for reasons including the U.S. sanctions. Still, the absence of U.S. giants such as Amazon and Uber has allowed their Iranian equivalents Digikala and Snapp to grow rapidly. Many other local internet firms are following suit. Ramin Rabii, chief executive of Turquoise Partners, which facilitates foreign investment in Iran, said Trump's rhetoric could paradoxically help the tech sector. "If he keeps talking about sanctions, that would increase the risk of investment in Iran, but at the same time it will keep a lot of competition out," he told Reuters in a telephone interview from Tehran. "Major global players are not here." No figures are available on foreign investment in Iranian tech firms. Rabii, however, estimated it at hundreds of millions of dollars since the nuclear deal came into force. By contrast, an expected rush into Iran's huge energy reserves has yet to materialize. French group Total is investing in a gas project but Tehran has yet to seal any major oil deals with international partners. Foreign investment in Iranian tech remains modest compared with regional mega-deals such as Amazon's purchase in March of Dubai-based retailer souq.com. Amazon did not reveal the price but beat off a rival offer worth $800 million. Still, Rabii sees a bright future. "Many foreign investors ask me what is the best performing sector in Iran for the next decade. I always name e-commerce and the tech sector," he said. LOCAL INCARNATIONS After the relative isolation of the international sanctions era, the tech sector has attracted many young Iranians back from the United States, Canada and Europe. They hope to marry their experience of the startup scene with locally-educated talent. Reza Arbabian left Canada, where he went as a teenager, to join his family textile business in Iran. But in 2012 he launched Sheypoor, the Iranian answer to Craigslist, a U.S. classified advertisements website. Sheypoor now employs 200 and recently marked its fifth anniversary. Cash, however, remains tight. "Many foreign companies are still hesitant and Iranian investors don't understand the value in e-commerce. They cannot accept that they need to wait for five years for a startup to make profits," said Arbabian. Some outside Iran, especially in Europe where the sanctions net is not quite so tight, are nevertheless willing to take the plunge. Swedish-based Pomegranate Investment, for instance, has taken a 43 percent stake in Sheypoor. On a larger scale, Sarava, Digikala's main shareholder, is 45 percent-owned by foreign investors. These include Pomegranate, which raised its stake to 15 percent with a 41 million euro ($48 million) investment in 2016. Following the Amazon model, Digikala has grown into Iran's biggest internet company with a market share of 85-90 percent, according to Pomegranate. Staff numbers have leapt in the past two years from 800 to more than 2,000. INFRASTRUCTURE Iran came late to mass internet access but has invested heavily under President Hassan Rouhani, hoping to attract foreign cash and create more jobs. According to the Measuring Information Society of Iran, a government-linked portal, more than 62 percent of households were connected to the internet by March 2017. This was up from only 21 percent in 2013, the year Rouhani took office. Smartphone ownership has also rocketed. Iran, a country of 80 million people, had only two million smartphone users three years ago but the number hit 40 million in 2016. Such developments encouraged Kamran Adle, an Iranian born and raised in London, to move to Tehran last year. "Iranian infrastructure has dramatically improved in recent of years. 3G and 4G is much more commonplace than it was a couple of years ago," said Adle, whose firm Ctrl+Tech invests in early stage startups and helps them to develop apps. Some Iranian apps are copies of foreign equivalents, made out of the reach of international lawyers. But the years of isolation also forced domestic talent to be more innovative, and Adle says there is no shortage of app developers. One such is Farshad Khodamoradi, who has designed the app for a job-hunting startup being launched this month. Unlike traditional sites, "3sootjobs" will use an algorithm-driven matching system to connect candidates with the right employers. Khodamoradi complains about difficulties in accessing foreign tech services, many of which are U.S.-based. "The main problem is that the global services Iranian startups are using can be cut off overnight," he told Reuters from Tehran. He cited Google's Firebase, a platform used to generate push notifications - such as messages to passengers that a taxi has arrived to pick them up - without their having to open the app. This was unavailable in Iran on a number of occasions in June and July, disrupting startups including taxi hailing apps, he said. Google did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. Although technology firms can gain exemptions from the sanctions, U.S. corporations appear unwilling to risk involvement in Iran. In August, Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi threatened to take legal action over Apple's removal of Iranian apps from its app stores. Apple did not respond to Reuters requests for comment. MESSAGE FROM OBAMA All this seems in contrast to U.S. promises after the nuclear deal. In March 2016, in a message to the Iranian people, then President Barack Obama said ending international sanctions "would mean more access to cutting-edge technologies, including information technologies that can help Iranian startups". Since that message, anti-U.S. Iranian hardliners have followed the growth of startups suspiciously, branding them as vehicles of enemy infiltration. Two foreign-based tech investors have also ended up in prison. Nizar Zakka, a Lebanese information technology expert with permanent U.S. residency, was jailed in 2016 for 10 years for collaborating against the state. He had attended a conference in Tehran the previous year at the invitation of one of Iran's vice presidents, only to be arrested by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as he was going to the airport to leave the country. Iranian-American businessman Siamak Namazi also got 10 years in 2016 on charges of cooperating with the United States. While under arrest, Namazi appeared in an Iranian documentary seen by Reuters in which he said his mistake had been to accept money for his startup from an organization linked to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The Revolutionary Guards, a military force that runs an industrial empire, largely control telecommunications in Iran. However, tech entrepreneurs say the environment is generally supportive. "We haven't come across any of those governmental push-backs," Adle said. In the longer term, the sanctions would make using the souq.com model to cash in on Iranian investments much harder. But Eddie Kerman, of London-based Indigo Holdings which links retail investors to Iranian tech firms, is optimistic. "American companies like Amazon might not be able to enter the Iranian market, but there is a significant possibility that European or Asian companies buy the larger Iranian players," he said. (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; editing by David Stamp)
Libyan authorities on Thursday demanded an explanation from Britain's foreign minister Boris Johnson over his remark on the need to "clear dead bodies" away in the strife-torn North African country. The foreign secretary has already come under fire at home over his assessment of an August visit to Libya that the country could attract foreign investment and tourists after the corpses from fighting were cleared. Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord, met the British ambassador Peter Millett to demand an explanation of the "unacceptable" comment, according to the GNA's Facebook page. It quoted Millett as saying that Johnson was referring to the dead of the Islamic State jihadist group who had killed hundreds of Libyans. Libya's rival authorities in the east of the country, through parliament's foreign affairs committee, condemned Johnson's "irresponsible" comment that was "an affront to the dignity" of the Libyan people, demanding an official apology. Many ordinary Libyans went on social media to express their anger over the comment.
Venezuela's embattled President Nicolas Maduro hailed a "new era" in relations with Turkey after being welcomed by counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at his Ankara palace, saying both countries believed in a different, multi-polar world. Maduro, who has been shunned by the West and faced deadly protests against his rule this spring, was making the first state visit by a Venezuelan president to Turkey, after holding talks in Belarus and Russia in the last days. "We want to open a new era in relations between Venezuela and Turkey," Maduro said in a joint statement with Erdogan after their talks. "We believe in a different kind of world. We believe in a better world. This is not just possible, it's necessary," he said. "We want to sketch out a new era for the world. A multi-polar world where everyone can find their place." Venezuela has been going through months of upheaval with critics accusing the leftist Maduro of a naked power grab in July with the formation of a Constituent Assembly packed with his allies. A wave of protests between April and July left some 125 people dead. Maduro has been accused by the opposition of leading a "savage repression". The unrest comes as Venezuela suffers an intense economic crisis as falling oil prices whittle down the country's main source of revenue. Commenting on the strife in Venezuela, Erdogan said there was "nothing superior to the will of the people" and warned that "external intervention" usually made problems worse. "We hope that Venezuela will find a solution to its problems through sense, dialogue and reconciliation," he added. Washington had slapped sanctions on Venezuela and US President Donald Trump has urged the European Union to follow suit in "sanctioning the Maduro regime." Erdogan said Turkey planned to build a mosque in Caracas and hailed flag-carrier Turkish Airlines for keeping flights going to the capital when other airlines stopped. "Turkish Airlines has not left the Venezuelan public alone," he said. With ties fraying between NATO ally the United States as well as the European Union, Erdogan has in recent years sought to enliven relations with Latin America, a region where in the past Ankara had little influence.
Consumers and business owners expressed sharply different levels of optimism about the state's economy last month.

Consumer confidence tumbled in Nebraska during September, according to the latest monthly surveys from the Bureau of Business Research at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The monthly Survey of Nebraska Households showed that Nebraskas consumer confidence index fell to 93.5 in September from a value of 100.9 in August. The September value is well below the neutral level of 100, indicating that consumer confidence is now weak in Nebraska. Just under half of the respondents cited cost concerns -- such as the cost of living, health care costs, taxes and other major expenses -- as the top financial issue they face. Twelve percent cited concerns about their job or business.

Consumer confidence in Nebraska has returned to levels last seen in 2016, said Eric Thompson, an economist who serves as bureau director. The improvement in consumer confidence during the first half of 2017 appears to be abating.

By contrast, the monthly Survey of Nebraska Business indicated that Nebraskas business confidence has remained steady, actually rising slightly from a value of 104.2 in August to 105.2 in September.

Business confidence remains strong in Nebraska, Thompson said.

The surveys are sent each month to 500 randomly selected Nebraska businesses and households. During September, 156 businesses responded to the Survey of Nebraska Business, for a response rate of 31 percent. There were 136 respondents to the Survey of Nebraska Households, for a response rate of 27 percent.

For more information, the full survey report is available on the Bureau of Business Research website, www.bbr.unl.edu.
SAF national servicemen seen at the Army Open House event held at the F1 Pit Building in May. (PHOTO: Dhany Osman / Yahoo News Singapore)

A man who defaulted on his national service (NS) obligations and remained outside of Singapore for more than six years without an exit permit was found guilty on Friday (6 October).

Tan Yang En Isaac, the younger son of senior lawyer Tan Chee Meng, had admitted to three charges under the Enlistment Act in the State Courts.

Isaacs older brother, Jonathan Tan Huai-En, was also found guilty in February this year for defaulting on NS and was slated to start serving his four-month jail term on Friday (6 October) after withdrawing his appeal.

The younger Tans had left Singapore together with their sister and mother to migrate to Canada in December 2000 without the intention of returning. Isaac was eight years old at that time.

Isaac traveled in and out of Singapore on three occasions between 14 January 2001 and 22 March 2002. He took up Canadian citizenship in 2005, while still holding onto his Singapore citizenship. Isaac was required to obtain a valid exit permit as from 16 March 2009, after he turned 16 and a half years old but he did not do so.

Four days later, an NS registration notice was sent to his fathers lawyers to ask Isaac to register for NS between 1 April 2009 and 21 April 2009. The lawyers informed the Central Manpower Base (CMPB) that the notice was forwarded to Tans father.

However, Isaac failed to register by the deadline. Two further reporting orders were sent to his father to request for the younger Tan to report for his NS registration. Both times, Isaac failed to do so.

It was only in September 2009 that lawyers acting for Isaacs father wrote to CMPB to request for the younger Tans NS to be deferred until he was 21, as he had the intention to give up his Singapore citizenship.

However, CMPB replied to state that Isaac had to serve his NS first. They also said he should return to Singapore to resolve his NS offences as soon as possible in order not to prolong his default period.

It was only sometime in 2010 after Isaac turned 18 that he was told by his father that he was required to return to Singapore to serve NS. In May 2011, the senior Tan made another appeal to CMPB but it was rejected.

Story continues

Isaac only returned to Singapore on 6 August 2015  after a period of six years, four months and 21 days without a valid exit permit  and subsequently enlisted into NS on 29 October 2015.

On Friday, Tans lawyer Josephine Choo said in mitigation that Isaac only returned because he had a desire to serve his NS obligations. She also pointed out that he had never held a pink IC even though he was born in Singapore.

He did not leave the country to evade NS. It was (due to) immigration (with the family), Choo said. Whether he was aware if hes liable or not (to serve NS) the issues were dealt with by the father, not him.

The severity of the default was not as serious given that Isaac was not fit to be a combatant, Choo added. He had an existing skin condition since he was four and had sought treatment in Singapore before leaving for Canada.

While Tan was initially given a Physical Employment Standards (PES) B status for his physical condition, he was eventually downgraded to PES C while doing his basic military training. He was subsequently downgraded to PES E following a medical board review. A Singaporean mans PES status determines his suitability for various NS roles depending on his health and physical conditions.

However, Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Zhongshan questioned whether Isaac had the desire to return to Singapore to serve his NS, given the length of default. He also argued that there was no evidence to suggest that Isaac was not combat-fit when he was 18.

DPP Tan pointed out that all Singaporean males have to give up on their interests during the mandatory two-year period when they serve NS.

District Judge Marvin Bay adjourned the hearing to give both prosecution and the defence to work on further submissions. Isaac is expected to be sentenced on 11 October.
The latest story to run in a major newspaper about how employers simply cant find Americans to do the jobs they have open and are simply forced to turn to migrant labor at least has a twist. In this one, published Thursday by the Washington Post, the employer, Jesus Chuy Medrano, founder and owner of CoCal Landscape, himself immigrated from Mexico 44 years before. He really tried to hire only Americans this year. But when he failed, he wound up spending a lot of time and money to bring in a few dozen migrant workers from Mexicolegallyto mow lawns and maintain sprinkler systems.

Advertisement

The story says Medrano went to great lengths this summer to recruit Americans. He interviewed anyone interested, advertised, raised wages to $13.95, overlooked absenteeism to retain people, and hired more womenallowing mothers to work just the hours their children are in schooland college students. None of it worked.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

In Medranos telling, he simply had no choice but to turn to Mexicans who were able to obtain special visas. But like so many other employers, this business owner willfully misunderstands the labor market and the appeal of the work they have on offer.

Too frequently, employers assume that just because someone wont take the job, it means Americans simply wont do the work.

The labor market goes in cycles. When it is weak, workers have to compete with one another for available jobs, as they did in 2008 and 2009. When it is strong, employers have to compete with one another for available workers. That is whats happening now, because despite the fact that many people feel underemployed or are struggling to find work, the labor market is as tight as its been in recent memory. The national unemployment rate is a low 4.4 percent. The U.S. economy has added payroll jobs for a record 83 months. At the end of July, there were a record 6.2 million jobs open in the U.S., and there were only 1.1 unemployed people per job opening. (In July 2009, there were more than six unemployed people per job opening.)

Advertisement

Advertisement

And all that is based on national numbers. In Colorado, the task is that much harder. The unemployment rate in the state is an unthinkably low 2.4 percent. Simply put, pretty much everyone who wants a job in Colorado already has one.

Advertisement

Which means if you are looking to fill a post, you better come heavy: offer above-market wages, an appealing work environment, good benefits, and job security. On every one of those measures, the landscaper falls woefully short. The starting wages are  $14 per hour which, sure, is almost twice the federal minimum wage. But its also 47 percent below average hourly earnings. Imagine going shopping for a house in a neighborhood in which the average house costs $500,000 and wondering why you cant find a four-bedroom home for $250,000. Thats what Medrano is doing.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Too frequently, employersand the journalists who write about themassume that just because someone wont take the job you have on offer at the price youre willing to pay, it means Americans simply wont do the work. Thats not true. There is a price at which a landscaper in Colorado could fill all of his open positions, but when the unemployment rate is 2.4 percent, hed need to pay significantly more than $14 per hour.

Of course, if you dont want to use the blunt instrument of wages to attract people, you can offer other inducements that make it more appealing: benefits, more flexible scheduling, profit-sharing, a greater level of job security. But here, too, beyond offering women the opportunity to work part-time while their kids are at school, there is little sign that this company has thought deeply about using these tactics.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

Theres a difference between a job and some work.

If you dont want to do the hard work of re-engineering your business so that you can pay people enough to meet the local standard of living, it makes sense to bring in people in from a place where the standard of living is much lower. Thats pretty much what large chunks of the U.S. service economyrestaurants, agriculture, construction, and landscapinghave done in recent years. But in an age of resurgent nativism and tighter border control, this strategy has its limits.

A final piece of understanding this puzzle is that theres a difference between a job and some work. Most people want a job. What the landscaper, and too many employers in the U.S. today, are offering is simply some work. If you dont offer loyalty or the promise of a future to a potential employee at a time of 2.4 percent unemployment, why should people come flocking to your door? Reporter Tracy Jan notes that it is difficult to get workers to invest in a company that does not promise year-round employment. Once the fall turns to the winter, Medrano typically plans to lay off two-thirds of his workers. No wonder theyre not knocking down his door.
Video has to be part of your small business marketing mix if you want to compete. And live streaming is playing a bigger role in how video is used. While there are several free options in the marketplace, Vimeo Live has chosen to go with a subscription model that offers much more than its free counterparts.

The Vimeo Live service was launched after the company acquired Livestream and integrated the technology in September of this year. In addition to Livestreams technology, Vimeo also added a number of features to make the value proposition of the service worth considering.

Until very recently, small businesses didnt use video because of the complexity and cost associated with the technology. But the advent of smartphones and the internet has removed this barrier. However, most small businesses are using the free tools readily available online to make their videos. This has been hit or miss, something you dont want to do if you want to continuously add value to your brand.

In the press release on the acquisition, Jordan Smith, PR Associate at Vimeo, says the company will, Empower creators to capture, edit, stream, and archive live events, as well as host, distribute and monetize videos, all in one seamless workflow. This workflow is comprehensive with professional grade tools it will offer your small business to start live streaming.

Vimeo Live Streaming Video

The company describes Vimeo Live as a true end-to-end video solution for professionals, businesses and organizations by combining Vimeo and Livestream.

It starts with best-in-class production tools and services for capturing, broadcasting and editing live events by Livestream. Once the content is captured, Vimeos streaming technology is used to broadcast live events in full 1080p with built-in cloud transcoding and adaptive streaming.

Content Distribution

Even though the video is live, it can be archived and stored automatically. This makes it possible to use content for future broadcasting. The Vimeo player can also be embedded almost anywhere, allowing you to see who is attending with stats to track performance, as well as enabling live chat and email capture in the player.

Monetization

If you are a freelancer or a small business creating video content regularly, the Vimeo platform makes it much easier to monetize your library. You can offer your videos for rent, purchase or subscription to a worldwide audience. The company said it is going to be integrating over-the-top technology in the future so your live content can be branded across iOS, Android, Roku, Amazon, Samsung, and others.

Access to Professional Grade Technology

With Vimeo Live, your small business will have access to professional grade technology. Everything from the creation to the distribution of your video can be managed under one platform. Anjali Sud, CEO of Vimeo added in the release, We can empower a diverse range of creators to produce beautiful live experiences with professionalism and ease.

Can a Small Business Afford Vimeo Live?

Depending on the industry you happen to be in, the answer is yes. Each tier has a successive number of features so you can create, manage, distribute, market and monetize your videos. It starts with Pro Live at $75 per month, Business Live for $300 per month, and Custom Live for $800 per month.

If you are using Periscope, YouTube, Facebook or another solution for free, you may definitely notice a difference.
Seeks to impose anti-dumping duty on imports of PNA originating in or exported from China PR- 46/2017- Anti Dumping Duty

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

MINISTRY OF FINANCE

(DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE)

NOTIFICATION No. 46/2017- Customs (ADD)

New Delhi, the 4th October, 2017

G.S.R. 1219 (E). -Whereas, the Designated Authority, vide notification No. 15/09/2016-DGAD, dated the 1st September, 2016, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part I Section 1, dated the 1st September, 2016 had initiated a sunset review in the matter of continuation of anti-dumping duty on imports of Para Nitro Aniline (PNA) (hereinafter referred to as the subject goods), falling under heading of 29214226 under Chapter 29 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975), originating in or exported from China PR (hereinafter referred to as the subject country), imposed vide notification of the Government of India, in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), No. 88/2011- Customs (ADD), dated the 9th September, 2011, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3 sub-section(i) vide number G.S.R. 667(E), dated the 9th September, 2011;

And whereas, the Central Government had extended the period of imposition of anti-dumping duty on the subject goods, originating in or exported from the subject country up to and inclusive of the 8th September, 2017 vide Notification No. 49/2016- Customs (ADD), dated the 7th September, 2016 published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, sub-section(i) vide number G.S.R. 864 (E), dated the 7th September, 2016; against imports from subject country which, has expired on the 8th September, 2017;

And whereas, in the matter of review of anti-dumping duty on imports of the subject goods, originating in or exported from the subject country, the Designated Authority in its final findings, published vide notification No. 15/09/2016-DGAD, dated the 29th August, 2017, in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part I, Section 1, dated the 29th August, 2017 has come to the conclusion that-

(i) the subject goods have been exported to India from the subject country below its associated normal value except from M/s Suzhou Luosen Auxiliaries Co. Ltd exporting through M/s Wujiang City Yilin Foreign Trading Co;

(ii) the Domestic Industry has suffered injury from the exports from China except M/s Suzhou Luosen Auxiliaries Co. Ltd exporting through M/s Wujiang City Yilin Foreign Trading Co. Ltd.;

(iii) there is no likelihood of continuation or recurrence of dumping and injury in case of cessation of Anti-dumping duties from M/s Suzhou Luosen Auxiliaries Co. Ltd exporting through M/s Wujiang City Yilin Foreign Trading Co.,

and has recommended imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of the subject goods, originating in, or exported from subject country and imported into India, in order to remove injury to the domestic industry.

Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-sections (1) and (5) of section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act, (1975 (51 of 1975), read with rules 18, 20 and 23 of the Customs Tariff (Identification, Assessment and Collection of Anti-dumping Duty on Dumped Articles and for Determination of Injury) Rules, 1995, the Central Government, after considering the aforesaid final findings of the Designated Authority, hereby imposes on the subject goods, the description of which is specified in column (3) of the Table below, falling under tariff item of the First Schedule to the aforesaid Customs Tariff Act, as specified in the corresponding entry in column (2), originating in the countries specified in the corresponding entry in column (4), exported from the countries specified in the corresponding entry in column (5), produced by the producers specified in the corresponding entry in column (6), exported by the exporters specified in the corresponding entry in column (7) and imported into India, an anti-dumping duty at the rate equal to the amount and in the currency specified in the corresponding entry in column (8), and as per unit of measurement specified in the corresponding entry in column (9) of the said Table, namely:-

Table

Sl. No. Tariff Item* Description of Goods Country of Origin Country of Export Producer Exporter Amount (in US Dollar) Unit of Measurement (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) 1. 2921 4226 Para nitroaniline China PR China PR M/s. Suzhou Luosen Auxiliaries Co. Ltd. M/s. Wujiang City Yilin Foreign Trading Co. Ltd. Nil Metric Ton 3. 2921 4226 Para nitroaniline China PR China PR Any combination other than mentioned in Sl. No.1 to 2 above 256.48 Metric Ton 4. 2921 4226 Para nitroaniline China PR Any country other than China PR Any Any 256.48 Metric Ton 5. 2921 4226 Para nitroaniline Any country other than China PR China PR Any Any 256.48 Metric Ton

2. The anti-dumping duty imposed under this notification shall be effective for a period of five years (unless revoked, amended and superseded earlier) from the date of publication of this notification in the official Gazette and shall be payable in Indian currency.

Explanation. For the purposes of this notification, rate of exchange applicable for the purposes of calculation of such anti-dumping duty shall be the rate which is specified in the notification of the Government of India, in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), issued from time to time, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962), and the relevant date for the determination of the rate of exchange shall be the date of presentation of the bill of entry under section 46 of the said Customs Act.

[F. No. 354/148/2017 -TRU (Pt. I)]

(Ruchi Bisht)

Under Secretary to the Government of India
Sundar Pichai

Justin Sullivan / Getty Staff

Good morning! Here is the tech news you need to know this Thursday.

1. Google has revealed its second-generation smartphone, the Pixel 2. Google launched two new smartphones: the Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL.

2. Amazon has been ordered to pay Europe 250 million (221 million, $294 million) over unpaid back taxes. The European Union's competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, said Luxembourg "gave illegal tax benefits to Amazon."

3. The EU is taking Ireland to court for failing to collect 13 billion (11 billion; $15 billion) from Apple in back taxes. Ireland doesn't actually want Apple to pay the money, since it might discourage other multinationals from setting up shop there.

4. Google unveiled a $49 (37) answer to Amazon's Echo Dot. It's called Google Home Mini.

5. Google's taking on Apple's AirPods with a pair of $160 (121) wireless headphones that can translate different languages in real time. The headphones are similar to the "babel fish" concept in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."

6. There were several other new Google hardware products unveiled on Wednesday. They include a mini-camera and a high-end smart home speaker.

7. Google AI chief John Giannandrea said he isn't fretting about super-intelligent killer robots. However, he is concerned that machine-learning algorithms used to make millions of decisions every minute could be biased.

8. Certain Nissan owners will soon be able to use their Amazon Alexa to control aspects of their car. Starting later this month, a select few owners will be able use their Amazon Alexa to remotely start the car, unlock and lock the doors, flash the lights, and honk the horn.

9. Apple fixed the Apple Watch bug that prevented it from connecting to phone networks. The problem was actually related to WiFi, Apple representatives told Business Insider during a briefing.

Story continues

10. Snapchat is making its first-ever app for laptops. Parent company Snap Inc. is building a new version of Snapchat for the upcoming Pixelbook by Google, which functions like a laptop/tablet hybrid and runs Chrome OS.

NOW WATCH: I won't trade in my iPhone 6s for an iPhone 8 or iPhone X  here's why

See Also:
Patti Cake$ is, on one level, a movie weve seen dozens of times before -- a coming-of-age story of a young person who has to overcome multiple obstacles to make it." In this case, it's rap music, but it could just as well be a sport.

But, thanks to intense directing from Geremy Jasper, his gritty script that reworks the genres cliches and powerful performances, especially from star Danielle MacDonald, the picture is fresh and vibrant, and a story not before seen.

MacDonald plays Patricia Dombroski, aka Killa P, aka Patti Cake$, an aspiring rapper who wants more than anything to turn the rhymes she pens in her notebook into raps that shell record, with hopes that it will get her out of her rundown New Jersey suburb and the dead end existence shes facing.

Her partner in the breakout effort is Jheri (Siddharth Dhananjay), a pharmacy clerk who writes with her and encourages Patti as she does rap battle with the local wannabes, who put her down by calling her Dumbo.

Those arent Pattis only battles. She lives at home, taking care of her invalid grandmother Nana (Cathy Moriarty) and tangling with her mother, Barb (Bridget Everett), a hard drinker whose financial troubles force Patti to contribute most of her meager earnings from working behind the local dive bar to keep the creditors at bay.

That doesnt stop the ambitious Patti, who gets some part-time work for a caterer, stashing the money to pay for recording while dreaming of working with rapper O-Z (Sahr Ngaujah). But when she finally gets into a studio, she smokes some powerful pot, freaks out and splits -- her dreams again in tatters.

But running across another musical outcast, mysterious guitarist/beatmaker Basterd (Mamoudou Athie), Patti tries again.

That description very likely sounds typical for the form, but Jasper has crafted some distinctive characters whose histories ground the film in Jersey and, as a video director, uses insider knowledge to make the rappers ring true.

That includes the issue of cultural appropriation. Patti is caught on both sides, told she cant rap because shes not black by African Americans and that shes betrayed her race by, among others, her mother.

That question feels more than a little outdated as hip-hop has permeated the culture and there are plenty of legit white rappers, starting with Eminem. But it gives Patti Cake$ some bite, as do Pattis raps themselves.

MacDonald, who has some serious presence, really can spit and her rapping pushes the authenticity of her lived-in performance that makes the film feel almost like a documentary in places.

But she also powerfully conveys the anxiety, emotion, determination and disappointment with the skill of a fine actor in a performance thats good enough to merit some awards attention.

It helps that she gets to play off a fine supporting cast, especially veteran Moriarty, who gets her turn at rapping, and Everett, who is sadly revealing as we learn more about Barb.

Completing the package, Jasper gives Patti Cake$ a distinctive look, mixing dream scenes with the grime of the dive bar, the graffiti of a park tunnel, a millionaires mansion, the cluttered family apartment and even Pattis '80s land-yacht with a personalized license plate.

By the end of the film, youll unavoidably be rooting for the rappers. But, it is the measure of Patti Cake$ that is doesnt matter whether Patti and her partners win or lose. By then, the story and its characters have fully connected in a resonant hip-hop tale.
mandalay bay hotel window paddock

AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Air Force Maj. Charles Chesnut was asleep when Stephen Paddock opened fire on a crowd at a concert outside the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas just after 10 p.m. on Sunday.

About 90 minutes later, he was woken up by an alert to avoid the city's downtown area.

Despite that warning, Chesnut, a general surgeon assigned to the 99th Medical Group at Nellis Air Force Base, met his commander and headed toward the scene.

He arrived at University Medical Center of Southern Nevada around midnight, as treatment for the first wave of patients was wrapping up.

But his work was just beginning.

"Within two hours after the incident, all the resuscitation bays [at the hospital] were full, and six patients were being operated on by trauma surgeons," Chesnut said in an Air Force interview.

Air Force Col. Brandon Snook was another surgeon working at the University Medical Center during the aftermath of the shooting.

"Days like we experienced at UMC are the toughest ones, when you have multiple patients injured while multiple patients are continuing to come to the hospital," said Snook, a surgeon from the 99th Medical Group.

Las Vegas shooting hospital room trauma center nurse

(AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Chesnut said that doctors treated over 100 patients, most from gunshot wounds, as well as some patients who were trampled.

"My part of that was probably no more than 30 patients, ranging from surgical procedures to end-of-life care to supervising our residents in training to getting glasses of water and holding patients' hands and helping them charge their cellphones," he added.

The University Medical Center is the state's only level-one trauma center, meaning it is staffed with surgeons and trauma nurses 24 hours a day.

Though the facility has dealt with mass-casualty events in the past, the carnage on Sunday and Monday  when the hospital received 104 patients  still presented an unprecedented challenge.

Story continues

Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Active Shooter 2 October

Getty Images

Staff there were unaccustomed to wounds like those caused by Stephen Paddock's minutes-long barrage of semiautomatic-rifle fire. At times the din of beepers announcing a severe trauma case drowned out the voices of nurses and doctors.

"These were quite large wounds that we saw," Douglas Fraser, chief of trauma at the hospital, told The Washington Post.

Bullets from the semiautomatic rifles used by Paddock hit with more force than ones fired by handguns. In addition to damage as they enter and exit, they also cause damage with the shockwaves they send rippling through tissue, particularly when the bullets break into pieces.

"The fractured shrapnel created a different pattern and really injured bone and soft tissue very readily," Fraser said. "This was not a normal pattern of injuries."

Las Vegas Nevada bodies shooting victims

(AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

The hospital called on Air Force trauma surgeons, some of whom were on site as part of a visiting-fellow program and who were "used to seeing those things," Fraser said.

"I never thought that I would see this type of mass-casualty [event] stateside," Chesnut said. "This is the kind of thing that happens at Bagram or in Iraq or Syria, not Las Vegas, Nevada."

"There were four general surgeons and trauma surgeons down there helping to take care of these patients," Chesnut said. "Three active-duty general-surgeon residents participated in the care of these patients, and the following morning there were countless others from the Air Force base and the 99th medical group" on hand at the hospital.

"The environment down there was controlled chaos," he added. "There's no way that that cannot be chaotic."

But the disaster-response plan in place worked, Chesnut said, noting that at no time did he feel the situation outstripped their capacities. Training with similar kinds of patients in lower-intensity settings allowed him to "scale it up," relying on muscle memory and natural abilities.

US Air Force surgeon doctor hospital medical

US Air Force/Senior Airman Kevin Tanenbaum

The Air Force personnel assisted in a number of ways, but Chesnut said the biggest value they provided was "the overall coordination of care."

"Patients were  all throughout the hospital," he said, with some needing frequent follow-ups and their information routed back to surgeons and doctors. "I think that we added surge capacity. We added an ability to triage in a mass-casualty situation."

Some of the Air Force personnel on hand been in such environments in the field before, but all had been trained for it  some as recently as two days before during a mass-casualty training at Nellis Air Force Base.

"The training that we had on that Friday prior helped us immensely on the following Sunday into Monday morning," Chesnut said.

US Air Force fighter jet F-16 Fighting Falcon Nellis Air Force Base Las Vegas Nevada

US Air Force/Airman 1st Class Andrew D. Sarver

Coordination between military units like his and civilian facilities like the one at University Medical Center was a "match made in heaven," Chesnut said.

Just as their expertise augmented the civilian response to the Las Vegas shooting, Air Force personnel benefitted from being present during such events.

"We need to be immersed in this type of environment. This isn't the type of experience you can have just in the course of a few weeks prior to going down range and really be set up for success," he said. "So I think that the future of military medicine really are these civilian-military partnerships like we have here at Nellis Air Force Base."

NOW WATCH: 'We don't have to accept this as normal': Watch Mark Kelly and Gabby Gifford's powerful speech after the Las Vegas shooting

See Also:
By Gergely Szakacs OCSENY, Hungary (Reuters) - Zoltan Fenyvesi's offer to host migrants for a free holiday in his guest house set off a backlash in this southern Hungarian village. His van's tyres were slashed and angry locals railed against him. He says there was even a death threat. The controversy also triggered the resignation of the long-time mayor of Ocseny, a quiet village nestled among swathes of farmland 160 kilometres (100 miles) south of Budapest, as well as national debate about Hungarians' tolerance levels. As right-wing Prime Minister Viktor Orban gears up for an election in April that he is widely expected to win, this four-bedroom guesthouse, just across the street from an elementary school and a Catholic church, has become an unlikely flash point for anti-migrant sentiment. Orban has taken a hard line on immigration which has included a barbed-wire fence on Hungary's southern border and tough laws criticised by human rights groups. He has also referred to the importance of maintaining "ethnic homogeneity". The measures have kept out migrants and shored up support for his Fidesz party since 2015 when at the peak of the crisis hundreds of thousands of migrants from the Middle East crossed Hungary on their way to western Europe. Billboard campaigns, television ads and questionnaires sent to Hungarians to bolster Orban's platform have contributed to a surge in anti-migrant sentiment to record levels according to a survey by Tarki, a think-tank. Last week's town hall meeting in Ocseny to discuss Fenyvesi's offer, raised jointly with Migration Aid, a group set up to help migrants, descended into angry shouting and locals voicing fears of violence and robbery if migrants showed up. "Who can guarantee that the little boys and girls will not be harmed, like we heard of in other countries?" shouted a middle-aged woman in footage taken at the scene by local media. "Who will protect you if they sneak into your property at night and beat you to death?" she said. BOOS AND WHISTLES At one point, as Fenyvesi tried to make his case for hosting the migrants amid a cacophony of boos and whistles, a man walked up to him and took the microphone, prompting applause from the scores of agitated locals gathered at the town hall. "I thought I would be able to explain this (his offer of a free holiday)," said Fenyvesi, who has already hosted poor children, including Roma, at his guesthouse, which led to no such furore. Fenyvesi told Reuters that he had wanted to set a positive example after learning that a previous attempt to host some migrants for a holiday near Lake Balaton fell through due to local opposition. "It turned out otherwise. Very soon people started shouting and told me squarely they will have none of this," Fenyvesi said in an interview. Once the meeting was over, Fenyvesi said he had received a death threat in the street from a local he did not want to identify. Later that night, someone slashed the tyres of his van parked outside the guesthouse. Tyres on his son's vehicle were also cut. Police have launched an investigation. Fenyvesi abandoned the project because of the outcry. When 54-year-old Orban, whose Fidesz party is well ahead of its main rivals in opinion polls, was asked whether his government bore any responsibility for the anti-migrant feelings expressed by villagers in Ocseny, he said: "People have been lied to on the migrant issue so much, that they do not believe it is only children coming." Orban told reporters ahead of a European Council meeting: "I fully understand them and it is very right that they have expressed their opinion so resolutely, so loudly and clearly." MAYOR STANDS DOWN With the main opposition Socialists in disarray after the resignation of their candidate for prime minister, nationalist Jobbik is emerging as Orban's main challenger in the 2018 vote. Dressed in a dark blue suit, Balazs Szabo, a Jobbik council member in nearby Szekszard called on Fenyvesi at the debate in the town hall to devote his goodwill to poor Hungarians and children in need instead. His remarks earned a big round of applause. Szabo, Jobbik's candidate for parliament, said locals invited him to the event. Janos Fulop, the independent mayor of Ocseny who quit because of the row, said there was no legal recourse to stop legally residing refugees coming to Ocseny, if they wanted to. Some of his local critics deemed that stance too soft even though Fulop himself is opposed to the idea of mass immigration. "But if there are such people here already, the country must meet its obligations under international law," he said. Official data showed 881 migrants received some sort of state protection in Hungary, a country of about 10 million people, in 2017, including 75 granted refugee status. "I hope that people will find calm and talk to one another, but this will take time," Fulop said. He resigned after seeing the divisions both in the village and within the local council. Reuters tried to interview more than 20 locals on a week-day morning near the guesthouse, to no avail. The few who spoke off-camera expressed relief that no migrants would come. FIDESZ DOMINATING With Fidesz dominating the public discourse on migration, Orban's government announced a campaign aimed at Hungarian-born U.S. financier George Soros for what it said was a plan to bring a stream of refugees to Europe. His spokesman has described the government's portrayal of him as "fantasy". Orban has vowed to fight a ruling by the European Union's top court that dismissed a challenge by Hungary and Slovakia against migrant quotas that reignited an east-west row that has shaken EU cohesion. Data from Tarki shows the proportion of people deemed as xenophobic shot up to 60 percent this year, rising 19 points from two years ago when the migrant issue came to the fore and more than double the levels seen in 2010, when Orban took power. "I do not think this is all due to the government's behaviour, but it plays a very large role nonetheless," Tarki researcher Endre Sik said. "Ocseny is not some sort of hell-hole from this regard," he said. "These are average people, who have displayed non-average behaviour, the groundwork of which was laid very firmly by the government." The government declined to comment on the Tarki findings. Orban's chief of staff, Janos Lazar has said such feelings of distrust were inherent in Hungarians anyway. In a rare display of solidarity, the Roma mayor of Cserdi, a poor village also in southern Hungary, told local media that he would host any refugees rejected from Ocseny. (Reporting by Gergely Szakacs, editing by Peter Millership)




Earlier this year, unairbrushed photos of Kim Kardashian wearing a bikini on a Mexican beach caused a stir, with many critics hitting out at the reality star for heavily editing other photos of herself.

Now Kims reaction to the unflattering images has been captured on her familys docu-series Keeping Up With The Kardashians, with the star seemingly fuming that the paps had taken the photos without her knowledge.

In a new teaser trailer for the show, Kims assistant, Stephanie Sheppard, can be seen reluctantly passing her phone to Kim as the images appeared online.

Kim was stunned by the images. Copyright: [E!]

Looking at the photos, Kim gasps: Oh my god! I dont get it I literally dont look like this.

The group then share their shock at the fact that they had no idea that the paparazzi were lurking, with the sneakiness leaving Kim feeling uneasy after she was robbed at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room last October.

Speaking to the camera, the mum-of-two shared: I am already having this anxiety attack over security and I am already on high alert just the scrutiny that we get all the time  I thought we could avoid that.

I thought Im going on a private vacation, not posting, Im doing all the steps to try and be as discreet as possible.

Kim hit out at bodyshamers. Copyright: [E!]

And then you take pictures and if theyre not perfect people just body shame you and criticise you. And, like, for people to think thats OK, its just so frustrating.

At the time, it was claimed that Kim had been left crushed by the photos, with a source telling RadarOnline: Kim is crushed that people are being so mean to her about the cellulite on her butt.

Kim was almost in tears, almost crying about how sadistic people are. Kim feels like she just gets abused over everything lately and it is depressing for her. She isnt used to being so hated.

Kim later suggested that the paparazzi images had been altered to make her look bigger, saying during an appearance on The View: I saw these awful photos of myself when I was on a trip in Mexico and people were photoshopping them and sharpening them.

Story continues

Kim previously suggested the images had been altered. Copyright: [Rex]

I definitely was not in my best shape. I hadnt worked out in about 12 weeks. Id had two surgeries on my uterus. We documented that on the show.

But I was already not feeling like myself and when people were like sharpening them and making them look way worse and then those were going around, I was like Ok, Im going to get it together and I started working out with this bodybuilder girl that I found on social media.

Kim recently confirmed that she and her husband, Kanye West, are expecting their third baby via surrogate early next year, with doctors previously warning Kim that falling pregnant for a third time could kill her.

Follow Yahoo Celeb UK on Twitter and Instagram for all of the latest celebrity news!

Read more:

[ Rob Kardashian files lawsuit against Blac Chyna for assault and battery ]

[ Kim Kardashian leads celebrity tributes to Hugh Hefner ]

[ Kim Kardashian hits out at KUWTK producer who confirmed Khloes pregnancy ]
By Alexandria Sage and Sharon Bernstein LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Republican lawmakers on Thursday said they would look into "bump stock" gun accessories after a retiree used rifles equipped with them to rain gunfire onto a Las Vegas concert, killing 58 people in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. The influential National Rifle Association, which has opposed efforts to pass federal gun legislation following past mass shootings, said it would not oppose the move. It said the devices that allow semi-automatic rifles to behave as fully automatic weapons should be subject to additional regulations. Investigators struggled to understand why Stephen Paddock, 64, assembled an arsenal of nearly 50 firearms and used them to spray bullets from the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas Strip hotel into a crowd of country-music fans on Sunday before killing himself. Twelve rifles found in Paddock's hotel room had bump stocks, authorities said. The shooting spree also injured 489 people. Reports also emerged on Thursday that Paddock, a gambling and cruise enthusiast, may have looked into carrying out an attack in Chicago or Boston. Audio and video of the Sunday night attack contained the sound of extended periods of continuous gunfire into a crowd of terrified people, stirring the long-standing U.S. debate over how to regulate gun ownership, which is protected by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Senior Republicans on Thursday signalled they were ready to examine the sale of "bump stocks." The devices essentially allow legal rifles to serve as automatic weapons, which are largely illegal in the United States. "Clearly that's something we need to look into," House Speaker Paul Ryan told radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt, referring to the accessories. "I didn't even know what they were until this week ... I think we're quickly coming up to speed with what this is." The No. 2 Republican senator a day earlier had called for a review of bump stocks while Democrats had already been urging new legislation. Before the Las Vegas attack, a man named Stephen Paddock booked rooms in a Chicago hotel that overlooked the site of the August Lollapalooza music festival, a spokeswoman for Chicago's Blackstone Hotel said in an e-mail. It was unclear if that person, who never checked in, was the same Stephen Paddock, the spokeswoman said. Paddock also researched locations in Boston, NBC reported, citing multiple law enforcement sources. Police in Boston and Chicago said they were aware of the reports and investigating them. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Wednesday there remained no evidence indicating the shooting spree was an act of terrorism. Paddock's girlfriend, Marilou Danley, was questioned by the FBI on Wednesday and said in a statement she had been unaware of Paddock's plans. "He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen," Danley, 62, said in the statement released by her lawyer, Matt Lombard. Danley, who returned late Tuesday from a family visit to the Philippines, is regarded by investigators as a "person of interest." Lombard said his client, an Australian citizen of Filipino heritage, was cooperating fully with authorities. An FBI official in Las Vegas said no one has been taken into custody. Danley shared Paddock's home at a retirement community in Mesquite, Nevada, northeast of Las Vegas, before travelling to the Philippines in mid-September. Investigators questioned her about Paddock's weapons purchases, a $100,000 wire transfer to a Philippine bank that appeared to be intended for her, and whether she saw any changes in his behaviour before she left the United States. Danley said Paddock had bought her an airline ticket to visit her family and wired her money to purchase property there, leading her to worry he might be planning to break up with her. Discerning Paddock's motive has proven especially baffling as he had no criminal record, no known history of mental illness and no outward signs of social disaffection, political discontent or extremist ideology, police said. (Reporting by Alexandria Sage and Sharon Bernstein in Las Vegas; additional reporting by Susan Heavey, Richard Cowan, Doina Chiacu and Amanda Becker in Washington, Chris Kenning in Chicago and Karen Freifeld and Jonathan Allen in New York; Writing by Scott Malone; Editing by Frances Kerry, Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool)
By Sharon Bernstein and Alexandria Sage

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Investigators probing the mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert planned to interview the gunman's girlfriend on Wednesday, a day after she returned to the United States from the Philippines, while her relatives told media she had not known of his plan.

Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old retiree, killed himself moments before police stormed the hotel suite from which he unleashed Sunday night's attack. Paddock, who killed 58 people in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, left no clear clues as to his motive.

Law enforcement authorities were hoping to obtain some answers from the woman identified as Paddock's live-in companion, Marilou Danley. Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo called her a "person of interest" in the investigation.

Danley, an Australian citizen reported to have been born in the Philippines, landed in Los Angeles on Tuesday night after taking a flight from Manila, where she had travelled to before the shooting rampage.

A police official in Manila, the Philippine capital, and a law enforcement official in the United States, both speaking on condition of anonymity, said Federal Bureau of Investigation agents were meeting Danley on arrival.

The U.S. official said Danley was not under arrest but that the FBI hoped she would consent to be interviewed voluntarily.

Danley had assured her family she has a "clean conscience" following Sunday night's rampage, her brother told ABC News in the Philippines.

"I called her up immediately and she said, 'Relax, we shouldn't worry about it. I'll fix it. Do not panic. I have a clean conscience,'" Reynaldo Bustos told ABC in Manila.

Danley's sisters told Australia's Seven Network television that Paddock had bought Danley a ticket to the Philippines, a move they now believe was intended to allow him to plan his attack without interruption.

The network did not provide the sisters' full names.

Story continues

"She probably was even shocked than us because she is more closer to him than us," one of the sisters told the network.

WIRE TRANSFER

Investigators were examining a $100,000 wire transfer Paddock sent to an account in the Philippines that "appears to have been intended" for Danley, a senior U.S. homeland security official said on Tuesday.

The official, who has been briefed regularly on the probe and spoke on condition of anonymity, said investigators' working assumption was that the money was intended as a form of life insurance payment for Danley.

President Donald Trump, who strongly supported gun rights during his White House campaign, was travelling to Las Vegas on a condolence visit on Wednesday. The trip will be the first time that he has faced as president the aftermath of a mass major shooting of the type that have killed hundreds of people in recent years in the United States.

"It's a very, very sad day," Trump told reporters before leaving for Las Vegas, adding that the investigation was progressing. "They're learning a lot more, and that'll be announced at the appropriate time."

In Las Vegas, police said they did not yet know what motivated Paddock, who had no criminal record, no known history of mental illness and no outward signs of social disaffection, political discontent or extremist ideology.

Danley had been sharing Paddock's home in a retirement community in Mesquite, Nevada, about 90 miles (145 km) northeast of Las Vegas, according to police and public records.

She arrived in Manila on Sept. 15, flew to Hong Kong on Sept. 22 and returned in Manila on Sept. 25. She was there until she flew to Los Angeles on Tuesday night, according to a Philippine immigration official.

A Philippine police source said authorities in Manila were told Paddock used identification belonging to Danley, who has an Australian passport, when checking into the Mandalay Bay hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.

A total of 47 firearms were recovered from Paddock's hotel suite, his home in Mesquite, and another property associated with him in Reno, Nevada, according to Jill Snyder, special agent for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.

Snyder said 12 of the guns found in the hotel room were fitted with bump-stock devices allowing the guns to be fired almost as though they were automatic weapons. The devices are legal under U.S. law, though fully automatic weapons are banned for the most part.

More than 500 people were injured, some trampled in the pandemonium in Las Vegas.

The death toll far surpassed the massacre of 26 young children and educators in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, and the slaying of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando last year. The latter attack was previously the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

(Additional reporting by Lisa Girion in Las Vegas, Jonathan Allen in New York, John Walcott, Susan Heavey and Jeff Mason in Washington, Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles, Tom Westbrook in Sydney, Manuel Mogato in Manila, Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas and Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Writing by Steve Gorman and Scott Malone; Editing by Toby Chopra and Frances Kerry)
Sky News

Matt Hancock has said being voted leader of the I'm A Celebrity campsite "more than makes up for" losing to Boris Johnson in the 2019 Tory party leadership election. In Sunday's episode of I'm A Celeb, Mr Hancock received enough votes from the public to enter a head-to-head with former England rugby star Mike Tindall for control of the campsite. The former health secretary recruited ITV broadcaster Charlene White, who he has previously clashed with over his breaking of COVID-19 guidance during the pandemic, and they were triumphant in a challenge during which they had to work together to switch on a series of lights.
More than two months after a 38-year-old Florida woman's body was found in the woods near Weeping Water, what caused her death remains shrouded in secrecy.

A death certificate filed this week with the state says Alicia Wilemon-Sullivan's cause and manner of death remained undetermined, even after an autospy was completed.

The cause of her unspecified injuries are "to be determined by court proceedings," the document completed by Cass County Attorney Nathan Cox said.

Cox declined to elaborate Thursday, but said there was no plan to convene a grand jury in her death.

Someone found Wilemon-Sullivan's body Aug. 5 in a wooded area about 1,100 feet west of South Park and West P streets in a field, authorities said. Cass County investigators used ATVs to access the scene.

Officials haven't said who found her, but they believe she had been there several days.

Sheriff's deputies continue to investigate Wilemon-Sullivan's death, Cox said. Sheriff's officials didn't return a call seeking comment Friday.

Wilemon-Sullivan lived in Saint Cloud, Florida, near Orlando.
CHISINAU (Reuters) - Moldova will not receive expected tranches of funding this year under a 100 million euro (89.48 million) agreement with the European Union as it has not fulfilled the required conditions, Moldovan Prime Minister Pavel Filip said on Friday. In June, the European Union agreed to disburse 60 million euros in loans and 40 million euros of grants in 2017-18 to help the ex-Soviet nation stabilise its economy and to promote reform. "We won't receive money in 2017, but we'll definitely receive it next year," Filip told journalists, explaining that Moldova had to fulfil 30 criteria to unlock the funding. Finance Minister Octavian Armasu told Reuters the budget had foreseen Moldova receiving two tranches this year, but expressed confidence one would be disbursed in early 2018. The EU has said a basic precondition for the financial assistance is a respect for democratic process and the rule of law. Nevertheless Moldova this year introduced a new electoral law that a pan-European rights body ruled could make the system more susceptible to undue influence by vested interests. Moldova's economy grew 4.1 percent last year, recovering from a contraction of 0.4 percent in 2015 due in part to an economic crisis in nearby Russia that hit exports and remittances from Moldovans working there. The country, Europe's poorest, has also been rocked by a scandal that saw the equivalent of an eighth of its gross domestic product stolen from three of its largest banks between 2012-2014. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund have forecast growth of between 4 and 4.5 percent in 2017. (Reporting by Alexander Tanas; Writing by Alessandra Prentice; Editing by Toby Chopra)
By Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Friday that a fourth soldier was killed during an attack on Wednesday in Niger, raising the death toll from an incident that has thrown a spotlight on the U.S. counterterrorism mission in the West African nation. The United States had previously announced that three U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers had been killed and another two wounded when a joint U.S.-Nigerien patrol came under attack near the village of Tongo Tongo. It did not disclose until Friday that a fourth soldier had been missing. Officials said his body was found by Nigerien forces on Friday morning near the site of the ambush, ending an extensive rescue and recovery mission. No group has taken responsibility for the killings, although officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, say the United States suspects a local branch of Islamic State was responsible. The U.S. military's Africa Command declined to publicly name any group but said the American military would hunt down the insurgents. "Absolutely, we are resolved and stalwart in our efforts to go after those who attacked this joint patrol of Nigerien and U.S. forces," said Army Colonel Mark Cheadle, a spokesman for the U.S. military's Africa Command. From initial accounts, the 40-member patrol, which included about a dozen U.S. troops, came under a swift attack by militants riding in a dozen vehicles and on about 20 motorcycles. Islamist militants form part of a regional insurgency in the poor, sparsely populated deserts of West Africa's Sahel. Jihadists have stepped up attacks on U.N. peacekeepers, Malian soldiers and civilian targets since being driven back in northern Mali by a French-led military intervention in 2013. U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron discussed joint counterterrorism operations in the Sahel to defeat al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups during a call on Friday, the White House said. LOW-RISK Cheadle said the U.S. and Nigerien troops had been meeting with local leadership at the time of the attack, in what had been seen as a relatively lower-risk endeavour for America's elite commandos. There was not even any armed air cover at the time that could carry out air strikes if necessary. "It was not meant to be an engagement with the enemy. It was meant to establish relations with the local leaders and the threats at the time were deemed to be unlikely, so there was no overhead armed air cover during the engagement," he said. Cheadle acknowledged that loss of elite U.S. forces would trigger a review of how the U.S. military carries out operations but did not suggest any move to scale back the American mission. The U.S. military on Friday published the names of the three Army Special Forces soldiers from 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) who were killed when their reconnaissance patrol with Nigerien forces came under fire. They were Staff Sergeant Bryan Black, 35, of Puyallup, Washington, Staff Sergeant Jeremiah Johnson, 39, of Springboro, Ohio and Staff Sergeant Dustin Wright, 29, of Lyons, Georgia. The U.S. military said it had surged resources to Niger to try to locate the missing American soldier. Cheadle said that included U.S. fighter jets, helicopters and surveillance assets. "There was a full-court press," he said. (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Sandra Maler and Jonathan Oatis)
KIGALI (Reuters) - A prominent critic of Rwanda's president appeared in court alongside her mother and sister on Friday, all charged with forgery and inciting insurrection. Diane Shima Rwigara is accused of faking the registration papers she filed to stand against President Paul Kagame in an August election. She was eventually barred from running and Kagame went on to win with 98.8 percent of the vote. Rwigara, 35-year-old accountant, has repeatedly accused Kagame of stifling dissent and criticised his Rwandan Patriotic Front's tight grip on the country since it fought its way to power to end Rwanda's 1994 genocide. On Friday, she told the packed court room she had been forced to appear without her lawyer because authorities had not told him about the hearing in time. Rwigara, her mother Adeline and sister Anne, have said charges against them are politically motivated. Kagame has been widely praised for restoring stability but rights groups say he has muzzled independent media and suppressed opponents - accusations he dismisses. Rwanda last month charged another opposition official and eight others with forming an armed group and seeking to overthrow the government. Rwigara, her mother and sister were first taken from their home in the Rwandan capital on Aug. 30 on tax evasion allegations related to the familys tobacco company. The tax accusations did not appear on the charge sheet and prosecutors did not give details on the insurrection charge. Rwigara's sister Anne said they had not had enough access to their lawyer. "How can a lawyer defend the case he doesnt know?" she told the judges. "He came [last] Friday and he was only allowed five minutes to discuss with us and on Sunday when he came back he was not allowed to see us." Rwigara's mother is also charged with "discrimination and sectarianism". Prosecutor Michel Nshimiyimana said the Rwigaras' lawyer, Buhuru Pierre Celestin, had been informed. The judges set the next hearing for Monday. (Reporting by Clement Uwiringiyimana; Editing by Maggie Fick and Andrew Heavens)
Unemployment and drugs motivated a 21-year-old man whom investigators have tied to a handful of Lincoln bank robberies, police said Friday.

After an investigator arrested Israel Holmes following a bank robbery Tuesday in central Lincoln, police found evidence linking him to three other cases from this year, Chief Jeff Bliemeister said Friday.

Those include the July 25 robbery of a Pinnacle Bank branch at 201 Sun Valley Blvd., the attempted robbery of the Great Western Bank branch in Havelock on Sept. 18, and a robbery the same morning at the Cornhusker Bank branch at 1600 N. Cotner Blvd., the chief said.

Tuesday, Holmes wore a wig, sunglasses and a hooded sweatshirt to disguise himself while robbing the Lincoln Federal Savings Bank branch just south of 48th Street and Normal Boulevard, police say.

Holmes sprayed bank employees with pepper spray, police say, but an officer staking out the branch thwarted his getaway.

Bliemeister has said the stakeout was part of a citywide surveillance effort to solve bank robberies and catch suspects.

High-quality surveillance footage, similarities between the robberies, a stolen black Honda Accord police recovered, and physical evidence in Holmes' apartment linked the cases, Bliemeister said.

Holmes used the money to support his family and buy drugs, said Lincoln Police Investigator Brad Hulse.

"Some of the proceeds from the banks did travel to Colorado to purchase marijuana," Hulse said.

Police reached a similar conclusion about two people arrested last month in connection with the Sept. 25 robbery of Union Bank, 2201 Nebraska 2.

Investigators believe the pair, Roosevelt Erving and Danielle Lawson, used proceeds from that robbery to buy marijuana at a dispensary in Colorado, according to court documents.

A Lincoln police spokeswoman said Friday that investigators were still probing Holmes' case to see whether he was linked to the couple.

Holmes has been charged with bank robbery in connection with the Tuesday incident and remained in jail Friday on $500,000 bond. Charges had not been filed against him in the other cases.

This week's robbery was Lincoln's 10th of the year.

The city's record number of bank robberies in a single year is 13 in 2001, based on records dating to 1941. Police say 34 of the 38 bank robberies and attempted bank robberies since 2008 have been solved.

In all these cases, Bliemeister said his talented officers are showing that bank robbers will be found.

"It is evident that those involved or choosing to rob banks in Lincoln, Nebraska, will be held responsible for their actions," he said.
Sky News

Dua Lipa has denied reports she will be performing at the World Cup opening ceremony, saying she will only visit host nation Qatar when it improves its record on human rights. The 27-year-old pop singer made a statement on Instagram stories after she had been linked to a performance at the opening ceremony next week. "I will be cheering England on from afar and I look forward to visiting Qatar when it has fulfilled all the human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host the World Cup."
At least 16 people were killed when a train hit a bus that had broken down on a railway crossing east of Moscow, authorities said.

The victims were all on board the bus at the time of the collision near the town of Pokrov, Russian authorities said. No train passengers were injured.

"The bus stalled on the track," Vladimir Myagkov, a spokesman for Russian Railways, told Russian news channel Rossiya 24.

"Some people say the passengers tried to push the bus off the track. At that moment the train approached and a collision occurred."

The collision happened at 3.29am local time near the city of Vladimir, which is around 110km east of Moscow.

The train was travelling from St Petersburg to Nijini-Novgorod at 90 kmph when it hit the bus.

The train driver slammed on the emergency brakes and sounded the warning alarm when he was 400m away, Russian Railways said. But he was unable to stop in time.

The bus was carrying migrant workers from Uzbekistan who were returning to their home country.

The Uzbek foreign ministry said 56 people on the bus were Uzbek citizens and two others, the drivers, were from Kazakhstan.

Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement: "According to preliminary information, 16 people, including a child, have been killed."

The statement revised downwards a death toll of 19 that had been given earlier by the head of the regional health service earlier.

It added: "Other passengers, including minors, have been taken to hospital with various injuries. The number of dead and injured is being ascertained."

Bus accidents are not unusual in Russia. In August 17 people were killed when a bus veered off a pier into the Black Sea.
This summer, a University of North Georgia (UNG) professor and two students took part in a seven-week expedition across Kenya in search of evidence of early human origins.

Dr. David Patterson and students Kayla Allen and Brendon Zeller were participants in the Koobi Fora Field School, working on two research projects focusing on the ancient ecosystem of East Turkana in northern Kenya. The field school is part of the National Museums of Kenya and George Washington University's Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology that exposes students to an in-the-field paleoanthropology experience.

"It was an eye-opening experience, it's a completely different world that I've never seen before, said Kayla Allen, 24, a senior biology major. "The research that we were able to do there was transformative. I plan on doing grad school research in ecology, and going on this trip prepared me for that work."

Brendon Zeller, 23, a junior biology pre-med major, thought the research for his project wouldn't stimulate his interest.

"Studying fossilized soil didn't sound very interesting to me at first, but by the end of the trip, I wouldn't have traded my project with anyone else's," Zeller said. "It was a challenging project, both academically and physically. I got to dig for fossilized soil, which takes hundreds of thousands of years to form."

Patterson praised the efforts of both students.

"They did an absolutely wonderful job," Patterson said. "Their research will undoubtedly contribute to a growing conversation about the relationship between environmental change and human evolution. I look forward to seeing their work presented at conferences and eventually peer-reviewed publications".
Twenty five regional artists have also contributed to the exhibition, with many works created in response to their personal experiences as a service member, veteran, or caregiver. Artwork created in a variety of media present moving portrayals that are military-inspired, patriotic in nature, or pay tribute to veterans or service members. Some current and former service members are displaying their work as a means of healing or therapeutic expression.

Research shows art and art therapy can be beneficial to individuals with emotional, cognitive, or physical disabilities, said David Trinkle, associate dean for community and culture at the school and psychiatrist with Carilion Clinic. This art show gives service personnel, veterans, and their families who have used art to express their emotions and cope with their feelings a venue to showcase some of their work. In addition, its beneficial to our students, who will someday be providing medical care to veterans. By viewing the works of art, these future physicians can better understand the unique health needs of veterans and how art may have a positive impact.

This falls Mini Medical School series will allow attendees to learn about creative programs and innovative approaches to medical care for veterans and service members as well as how the work of local physicians is shaped by medical care and military service.

On Nov. 9, Tara Leigh Tappert will present In Service to the Nation: Arts and Crafts and the Military. Tappert will be joined by former Navy SEAL Rusty Noesner, whose experience as a participant of art therapy programs led him to establish War Paints, which seeks to empower veterans to create.
A parolee who was mistakenly caught in a dragnet following the discovery that Nebraska prisons had released hundreds of inmates early has lost his appeal to the Nebraska Supreme Court.

In an opinion Friday, the court said Johnnie W. Davis' lawsuit against the state, Parole Board, Department of Correctional Services, Attorney General's Office and others was barred under the doctrine of sovereign immunity, which protects the government from being sued, with rare exceptions.

Davis was paroled in 2012 for attempted second-degree murder and a gun charge for firing on Lincoln police during what started as a traffic stop in 1995. In the case, he had been found to be a habitual criminal.

In 2014, the Corrections Department got a warrant for his arrest after it was discovered the department had been miscalculating release dates for dozens of inmates, including habitual criminals.

Before Davis turned himself in June 25, 2014, he told the department and his parole officer that the mandatory minimum provision didn't apply to him.

The law that created mandatory minimum sentences for habitual criminal convictions didn't go into effect until September 1995 and wasn't retroactive.

"Because of this mistake, the Parole Board revoked his parole and reincarcerated him for nearly two months before releasing him on parole again," Justice Jeffrey Funke wrote.

After Davis got out Aug. 22, 2014, he filed a tort claim, then sued, saying state employees had negligently violated his civil rights by failing to research the law and by applying the wrong law to calculate his parole eligibility.

Davis alleged they had been deliberately indifferent to his protests and that the 59 days in prison before they released him was more than an insignificant amount of time.

But Lancaster County District Judge Lori Maret dismissed the case against the Parole Board, finding it couldn't be sued "because they perform a quasi-judicial function that is inherently discretionary."

Maret dismissed the other entities from the case, too, because they had no authority over the decision to revoke his parole.

Davis' attorney argued on appeal that the Parole Board wasn't entitled to immunity because it wasn't exercising discretion based on his conduct.

The Supreme Court found the Parole Board had exercised its discretion to revoke a parole "in reliance on information provided to it from the department."

"Nebraska's statutes require the department to provide the Parole Board with its calculations, and the Parole Board is entitled to rely on them," Funke wrote.
Freeport-McMoRan Inc. engages in the mining of mineral properties in North America, South America, and Indonesia. The company primarily explores for copper, gold, molybdenum, silver, and other metals, as well as oil and gas. Its assets include the Grasberg minerals district in Indonesia; Morenci, Bagdad, Safford, Sierrita, and Miami in Arizona; Tyrone and Chino in New Mexico; and Henderson and Climax in Colorado, North America, as well as Cerro Verde in Peru and El Abra in Chile. The company also operates a portfolio of oil and gas properties primarily located in offshore California and the Gulf of Mexico. As of December 31, 2021, it operated approximately 135 wells. The company was formerly known as Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. and changed its name to Freeport-McMoRan Inc. in July 2014. Freeport-McMoRan Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.
Dril-Quip, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, sells, and services engineered drilling and production equipment for use in deepwater, harsh environment, and severe service applications worldwide. The company's principal products include subsea and surface wellheads, subsea and surface production trees, mudline hanger systems, specialty connectors and associated pipes, drilling and production riser systems, liner hangers, wellhead connectors, diverters, and safety valves, as well as downhole tools. It also provides technical advisory services, and rework and reconditioning services, as well as rental and purchase of running tools for use in the installation and retrieval of its products; and downhole tools comprise of liner hangers, production packers, safety valves, and specialty downhole tools that are used to hang-off and seal casing into a previously installed casing string in the well bore. The company's products are used to explore for oil and gas from offshore drilling rigs, such as floating rigs and jack-up rigs; and for drilling and production of oil and gas wells on offshore platforms, tension leg platforms, and Spars, as well as moored vessels, such as floating production, storage, and offloading monohull moored vessels. It sells its products directly through its sales personnel, independent sales agents, and representatives to integrated, independent, and foreign national oil and gas companies, as well as drilling contractors, and engineering and construction companies. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
What's next for SD Gov. Kristi Noem as she heads into her second term?

politics
Nasario Garcia is a storyteller.

Since 1970, the New Mexico native has been sharing the stories of life and loss, myth and magic, farming and drought throughout the Rio Puerco.

Located near Cuba and southeast of Chaco Canyon, the Rio Puerco villages thrived from the 1900s to the 1950s.

This iconic valley, noted for the volcanic plug Cabezon Peak, is deeply connected to New Mexicos history.

For the past five years, filmmaker Shebana Coelho has worked with Garcia on creating the documentary Nasario Remembers the Rio Puerco.

It will air at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, on New Mexico PBS, Channel 5.1.

Were thrilled to have this film air on New Mexico PBS, Coelho says. Through the broadcast, this film will reach statewide audiences, and we want this story of New Mexico to be shared with as many audiences as possible, faraway and close.

Coelhos friendship with Garcia began about five years ago.

I heard Nasario speak about his abuela in 2012, she says. That was the beginning of our friendship. Then we did a play about his stories. With Nasarios energy, the entire documentary came alive in a different way.

In the documentary, viewers can join Garcia as he does what he loves  wandering through landscape and memory amid the ghosts towns of New Mexicos Rio Puerco Valley, reviving memories of his youth when the ranching villages thrived and elders told stories beside a river that once ran.

From a one-room schoolhouse in my native Rio Puerco Valley to my retirement as a university professor has been a marvelous journey, Garcia says. But the capstone to the dreams in my life is reflected in the film  about the past and present of my beautiful valley.

Garcia is proud of the film and hopes that audiences will enjoy his stories.

First and foremost, I hope the audience comes away with an appreciation for what life was like in the late 1930s, Garcia says. It was a very difficult time for parents like mine. They were trying to raise a family during the Great Depression. I hope that audiences get a feeling of what life was really like and the kinds of challenges that kids like me faced. We were able to pull forces together and ultimately survive. And there are more facets to the film.

As the film is ready for the PBS airing, Coelho and Garcia are ready for the world to see it.

Its been the most mysterious journey for me, Coelho says.

Garcia adds, Im ready and Im excited. Suffice it to say that I truly hope that all the people who see it will enjoy it. I trust my family will appreciate it.

SEND ME YOUR TIPS: If you know of a movie filming in the state, or are curious about one, email film@ABQjournal.com. Follow me on Twitter @agomezART.

On TV

Nasario Remembers the Rio Puerco will air at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12 on New Mexico PBS, Channel 5.1
The survival romance movie The Mountain Between Us seems straightforward enough  a couple of strangers are bonded forever when they endure a harrowing ordeal after their charter plane crashes on a mountain in Utah. Its Alive, without the cannibalism, and a lot more romance. But as the film progresses, it becomes clear that the romantic fantasy tendencies hijack this otherwise interesting unconventional love story in order to become a sort of bizarre Idris Elba fan fiction. This theme has been completely underscored by the marketing of the film as well.

Certified hunk Elba plays a character whos just too good to be true. Hes a doctor, he wears fine, expensive outerwear, and he listens to classical music on his headphones. Why does he need to rush back to New York? Because he has to do emergency brain surgery on a child, of course. One would imagine that the source material for the screenplay were a pulpy romance novel. It is, in fact, adapted from a novel, by Charles Martin (though the cover doesnt appear to feature any shirtless doctors), adapted for the screen by Chris Weitz and J. Miles Goodloe. The film is directed by Dutch-Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad.

Elbas character Ben, encounters another traveler, Alex (Kate Winslet), while theyre stranded in an airport, a chance meeting that changes their lives forever. Shes a photojournalist rushing to get home to New York for her wedding, and she suggests a private charter plane to this stranger she realizes is in the same predicament.

All too soon, theyre fighting for their lives on a snowcapped mountaintop in December, after their pilot (Beau Bridges) suffers a stroke while flying. During this ordeal, they become inextricably bonded, learning a great deal about each other, and themselves. If Ben is the brains of the operation, Alex is the heart  hes systemic and risk-averse, shes emotional and reckless. Sounds about right for their genders and professions.

What saves The Mountain Between Us from pulp are the performances of Winslet and Elba. Winslet has always been a wonderfully grounded actor, and shes at ease here, despite the extreme circumstances. Elba gets to flex a different muscle as the romantic leading man. His casting is a spot-on choice, and the two share a heartfelt chemistry as two people who genuinely learn to like each other, as much as they might love or hate each other at times.

So why does this horrific situation feel so much like fantasy? Because almost every step along the way is another chance for Ben to heroically care for and nurture Alex, to always run back for her, to pull her out of frozen lakes and spoon soup into her mouth. Hampered with a leg injury, the plucky Alex gets to be the damsel in distress, always saved from certain death by her traveling companion. Despite some of their injuries, this ordeal is made to seem downright glamorous and sexy.

While Abu-Assad captures the mountain landscape beautifully, its all presented through rose-colored glasses that make it hard to take seriously. The film shies away from many of the harsh realities to focus on their interpersonal connection, and perhaps thats what makes the stakes fade away and the authenticity seem an afterthought. The Mountain Between Us falls flat, struggling to truly enthral beyond a basic love story.
Time to think about getting that annual flu shot, and several medical systems will begin offering them this week.

Presbyterian Medical Group and University of New Mexico Hospitals will begin offering flu shots on Saturday.

The New Mexico Department of Health recommends that everyone 6 months old and older get a flu shot every year.

Most drug store chains offer flu immunizations, as do most primary care physicians and urgent care clinics. Presbyterian Medical Group will provide free flu shots from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday at locations in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Los Lunas and Belen.

Shots will be offered at Presbyterians Albuquerque clinics at 3436 Isleta SW and 401 San Mateo SE. Other clinic locations are: 200 Emilio Lopez Road, Los Lunas; 4005 High Resort Blvd. SE, Rio Rancho; and 609 S. Christopher Road, Belen.

University of New Mexico Hospital will offer flu shots by appointment at each of its clinic locations beginning Saturday through Dec. 7. To schedule an appointment, call 925-4636 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The first flu shot clinic at UNM Southwest Mesa Clinic, 301 Unser SW, is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The flu shot clinic will rotate through other UNMH clinic locations on subsequent Saturdays.

All patients 18 and younger will receive a flu shot at no cost.

For adults with UNM in-network insurance, the flu vaccine is fully covered, with no copay. Out-of-network adult patients and those with no insurance coverage will be responsible for a $20 copayment.

For those who lack insurance, the agency offers free flu shots at its public health offices. To view a map of office locations, visit nmhealth.org/location/public.
LAS CRUCES  A former Grant County Sheriffs deputy who reportedly cut off his ankle monitor in Las Cruces, tied up his mother and escaped to Silver City is recovering from a gunshot wound after trying to ram a police car with a stolen SUV.

Michael Aguirre, 41, faces three felony charges in Las Cruces in connection with a series of crimes that police say started at his mothers home there and ended in a high-speed chase in Silver City.

Aguirre cut off his ankle monitor and used a power cord to tie up his mother, according to Las Cruces police. He then stole her Toyota 4-Runner and drove to Silver City, where his ex-wife lives. Aguirre was under a court order forbidding him from entering Grant County.

He was charged earlier this year with domestic violence and receiving a stolen firearm, according to the New Mexico State Police, the agency investigating the officer-involved shooting.

Aguirre allegedly hit a Silver City Police Department patrol car during the chase.

The officer fired at Mr. Aguirre, striking him in the neck, and (he) was taken into custody by the officers, according to a news release from State Police.

Aguirre is recovering from non-life-threatening injuries at University Medical Center in El Paso and will be arrested by Las Cruces police as soon as hes released.

Aguirre retired from the Grant County Sheriffs Office in 2014.
OMAHA  Authorities have charged a woman involved in a crash that killed a 15-year-old Waverly High School student this week with felony motor vehicle homicide and drunken driving.

The crash Wednesday on Nebraska 50 in southern Sarpy County killed 15-year-old Alexandra Linscott of Eagle, who was passenger in her mother's car. Her mother, 48-year-old Elisa Linscott, was critically injured and is still hospitalized.

Investigators said 22-year-old Paige Seaton had been drinking when she crossed the center line at about 9:15 p.m., hitting the Linscotts' car. Officials said Seaton's blood-alcohol content after the crash measured 0.180 percent  more than twice the legal driving limit.

Seaton remains hospitalized for injuries she sustained in the crash.

Court records show Seaton was on probation for another DUI when the crash occurred.
Despite a tight projected budget for the next fiscal year, with possibly only a $25 million surplus if spending is kept constant, Gov. Susana Martinez says she will ask for $6.5 million in extra funding for the Bernalillo County prosecutors office.

Martinez announced her intention Thursday to ask for the increase next year in the $18 million budget for the 2nd Judicial District Attorneys Office. That would allow District Attorney Raul Torrez to hire more prosecutors, deliver raises to current staff and build computer systems.

Torrez in late September told the legislative Criminal Reform Subcommittee that hed need $6 million in extra annual funding for his office to keep up with crime in the county.

Torrez says 50 percent of the states crime happens in his jurisdiction, but his office receives only 27 percent of prosecutor office funding.

Legislators on the committee acknowledged a challenging battle against crime, but questioned if the county really deserves more money per capita than other areas in the state.

Martinez said in her announcement that she plans to include the increase in her executive budget for FY 2019, which will be negotiated with legislators in their session starting in January.

Many criminal justice agencies seek extra funding. The state Offices of the Public Defender says it is so overburdened and underfunded it is attempting to stop taking on clients in some southern counties. The state judiciary is also seeking a budget boost and had to get $600,000 of emergency funding to pay jurors earlier this year.

New Mexicans deserve to be safe. People in Albuquerque deserve to feel safe, Martinez said at a news conference at the Expo New Mexico fairgrounds where several police agencies were headquartered for a roundup of people with outstanding warrants.
It is easy to become discouraged these days in New Mexico as crime is out of control, our economy is in shambles and our public education system is among the worst in the country. As difficult as it is to acknowledge these hard truths, doing so also points the way to an achievable solution.

The link between our investment in our childrens education and safer, more prosperous communities is undeniable. Educated children grow up to be productive, engaged, law-abiding members of their communities, which leads to safer communities with plenty of jobs, which in turn will encourage young New Mexicans to remain in New Mexico rather than flee to surrounding states.

We know this to be true, yet instead of investing in education we seek short-term solutions to crime and joblessness, such as tougher prison sentences and tax breaks for businesses, which, in the cruelest of ironies, actually starve early childhood education programs and our schools of desperately needed funding.

The secret to success  both for individuals and society  isnt really a secret, its a good education.

It is not too late to turn things around in New Mexico. We should start by developing a common vision  and a plan to achieve that vision  of what we want New Mexico to be like for generations to come. New Mexicans from all walks of life, all backgrounds and all parts of the state must be involved in developing this shared vision. We are socially, economically, demographically and geographically diverse, which creates both challenges and opportunities, and we must not ignore any segment of our society in developing our plan.

Not only will this effort create a blueprint or strategic plan for making New Mexico great, it will also prove cathartic in itself by demonstrating that we need not accept our challenges as permanent obstacles. New Mexicans creativity is boundless.

Here are just some of the ideas Ive heard from fellow New Mexicans:

 Better coordinate educational services locally and regionally to maximize the efficiency of limited federal and state funding available for technology, health care, child well-being and education. We can afford neither duplication of nor gaps in service.

 Ensure community policing is the norm in New Mexico to strengthen community support of our law enforcement officers and reduce both violent and nonviolent crimes.

 Emphasize vocational as well as academic education in our public education and higher education systems and ensure that courses are aligned within each students academic career and lead to jobs in New Mexico.

 Market and capitalize upon New Mexicos strengths and uniqueness in agriculture, water and natural resource management, film and video production, environmental protection, science and technology development and health care in an effort to strengthen our local economies.

 Repurpose school buildings that may be closed due to declining enrollment as behavioral health crisis centers, small business incubators, adult education centers and community service centers.

 Continue to develop the Las Cruces-Santa Teresa area as a major educational and manufacturing corridor.

No community, state or country will ever be without problems or challenges, and I know that the challenges we face now seem insurmountable. The last decade has been devastating in New Mexico as people, especially younger workers, leave the state for safer and more economically rewarding lives in other states. But I am confident that we can turn things around as leaders emerge to encourage and guide us to work together, break down barriers and invest in solutions  starting with the education and well-being of our children.
CHICAGO  Puerto Ricans are Americans.

However, a recent survey by The Morning Consult, a research company, found that only 54 percent of Americans know that people born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens.

The island, a territory of the United States, may exist in peoples minds as not related to us because its not clear that it will ever pursue statehood, despite years of nationwide referendums with varying outcomes. Until it does, Puerto Rico remains something of a distant cousin to the United States  one of those so-distant cousins that most people arent sure theyre actually related.

The myth that Puerto Rico is not part of America is so pervasive and ingrained in our society that even children internalize the misunderstanding.

At the beginning of the school year, I was observing a classroom in which high school seniors were learning how to form arguments to defend their opinions. The task was for small groups of students to decide on which flavor of ice cream was the best and then persuade the rest of the classroom toward consensus.

At this predominantly Hispanic  and overwhelmingly Mexican  school, the students nominated flavors ranging from ordinary, like plain vanilla and chocolate, to decadent and tropical. One young woman wrote on her groups poster: The best flavor is coquito, because it soothes my foreign soul.

Coquito is a Puerto Rican treat  an eggnog-type of drink made with coconut cream, sweetened condensed milk and spices  and when I read the students comment, I nearly jumped out of my skin. Only respect for another teachers classroom kept me from calling a timeout to discuss this students egregious mistake.

When the bell rang, I ran to catch her and asked, Are you Puerto Rican? She shyly said, Yes. I told her, Dont ever call yourself a foreigner again  Puerto Ricans are American citizens. Your soul is not foreign here, its as beautiful and as part of America as everyone elses.

She broke into a big, wide grin and gave me a sheepish nod. It was a moment that struck me because we were standing less than three miles from Humboldt Park, the epicenter of the Puerto Rican community in Chicago, and the only nationally recognized Puerto Rican neighborhood in the country.

Still, it wasnt that surprising.

As with all subjects that are taught in school  with the exception of writing and math  geography and civics are pretty watered down. In units about the geography of the United States, its rare for much time  if any  to be spent on Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands or other American territories.

As such, Puerto Ricans are not alone in these sorts of misunderstandings. My younger sons best friend is from St. Croix, and he is forever forced to deliver his elevator speech about it being part of the U.S. Virgin Islands and that he is a U.S. citizen. And in stark contrast to the medias albeit late reaction to the plight of Puerto Rico following recent hurricanes, few are talking about the devastation in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

As a music geek, the media and publics anemic handling of the aftermath of Puerto Ricos hurricane-related destruction  largely because too few realize that Puerto Rico is part of the U.S.  got Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernsteins America looping through my brain.

West Side Story has always been my favorite musical, but the tragedy made me listen with new ears.

Anita and Rosalia duel about the charms and challenges of Puerto Rico with Anita complaining: Always the hurricanes blowing, always the population growing. Later the chorus sings the fundamental misnomer, Immigrant goes to America, Many hellos in America, before it immediately corrects itself:

Nobody knows in America, Puerto Ricos in America!

Repeat after me: Puerto Ricans are not immigrants or foreigners. If anything good can come out of the suffering and devastation our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico are experiencing, let it be that they can rebuild their community to be stronger than ever. And, maybe, their fellow citizens on the mainland can finally understand their citizenship status better.

Its past time to do so. After all, Puerto Ricans are the second largest Hispanic-origin group in the U.S.; there are more Puerto Ricans living on the mainland of the United States than on the Island; and the majority of them were born here. It really shouldnt have taken a weather tragedy to bring these facts to light.

E-mail: estherjcepeda@washpost.com. Copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.
At low tide, the sea is still a quarter-mile away across a broad expanse of wilderness beach in Southeast Alaska. On the far side of the inlet, green mountains turn gray as a squall skids through.

Seven women walk toward a lone pinnacle of rock on the beach. Its sharply eroded limestone, pocked and pocketed, stands almost 12 feet high. A bald eagle flaps off as we approach. The air temperature is 55 degrees Fahrenheit, water temperature is 51, and high tide is predicted for 3:08 p.m. We plan to climb onto that pinnacle of rock and perch there until the tide rises over it.

We know this wont be easy. Randomly distributed among us, ages 30 to 80, are three damaged eyes, two cranky knees, one sore back and, in my case, a deep fear of drowning. But we help each other clamber up, each deciding for herself how deeply she is willing to be submerged.

Why are we here? Scientists generally agree that unless the world acts fast on climate change, warming water and melting continental ice will raise sea levels about three meters  almost 10 feet  by 2100. Yet in the current political climate, many continue to dismiss the scientific predictions. Even for those who accept the science, its hard to visualize three meters of rising water. So the seven of us are going to provide a shivering, living example of that rise.

Although rising tides are very different from rising sea levels, they are similar in one major respect. The tide will rise whether we deny it or not. The same with rising sea levels. No attack on science, no denial of global warming, no alternative facts will hold back the sea.

So what does three meters of sea-level rise look like? How does it feel?

When you hear the tide rush up the beach, you feel unsettled, as if someone were sneaking up on you in the dark. When the tide rises to your knees, what you feel is pressure as the sea presses your waders to your calves. When the tide rises to your waist, you start to feel cold and you spread your arms to keep them dry, the way eagles do. When the water gets to your chest, your float-coat begins to lift and you drive your fingers into cracks to hold yourself in place.

We laugh, but its a nervous laugh. There are weak jokes about the Greek hero Prometheus, condemned to spend eternity chained to a rock in the sea while an eagle eats his liver  his punishment for stealing fire from the gods.

Soon Molly, standing on the gravel, is engulfed to her shoulders. She holds her sign higher. SUPPORT SCIENCE or we may all go under. I lift my sign higher too: How high can the water go? I learn the answer to the question as water begins to pour over the top of my waders. Before I know it, my socks are sloshing in cold saltwater.

Take the picture and get us off this rock, I say. By now, Molly is entirely underwater, bobbing up and down to grab quick breaths. Her hat floats off and sinks. The hem of Megans skirt is floating up to her armpits and she begins to sputter.

Take the damn picture, I say again, and now the question is, what was the plan to get us off this rock? We help each other climb higher on what is now a narrow pinnacle, and I tighten my grip. Our photographers turn rescuers, and we heave and flop into their boat, graceful as walruses.

It may be that Alaskans are especially nervous about sea-level rise because climate change is coming fast and furious here. With little sea ice to protect the shores, severe storms are already threatening to wash 31 Native Alaskan villages into the sea.

And we want to call attention to more than Alaska. Already, rising saltwater driven by fiercer storms is swamping land in Bangladesh, Florida, Cuba and Houston  ruining agricultural fields, flooding homes, scrabbling at the foundations of great cities, contaminating drinking water, driving climate refugees inland. Theres no denying the danger and the damage.

So heres the biggest question: What deeper understanding, what sinking feeling, what shiver of cold up the spine is required before people will rise like the tide against politicians and petrochemical industrialists who chain our future to the rock of fossil fuels?

Kathleen Dean Moore, Oregon author of Great Tide Rising and Piano Tide, and Megan Moody, a writer and educator who lives in rural Southeast Alaska, are contributors to Writers on the Range, the opinion service of High Country News (hcn.org).
Farmers in Taos County hope a state district judge will allow water to stay put in their area, an outcome that could throw a wrench into federal water rights litigation that has been around for over 50 years.

The Office of the State Engineer ruled in July that rights to up to 1,717 acre-feet per year of water can be transferred from the Top of the World farm, near the Colorado border, about 85 miles downstream to land on San Idelfonso Pueblo in Santa Fe County, to be used to be part of a multimillion-dollar regional water system that is expected to be built by 2024.

Taos County residents have been fighting the transfer for years. Taos County government opposed the transfer as it was considered at the State Engineers office and in August filed an appeal against the water rights transfer in Santa Fe District Court.

In transactions completed in 2006, Santa Fe County bought the 1,717 acre-feet per year of Top of the World water rights. About 1,100 acre-feet per year has since been acquired by the federal government for pueblo use and the rest was leased to farmers in Taos County.

If water rights are moved south, it will be more expensive for farmers in Taos County to water crops since theyll have to acquire water rights from somewhere else, argues Questa Mayor and Taos County Commissioner Mark Gallegos

I think its in the countys best interest (for the water rights) to stay and be able to be used here, said Gallegos.

It will create economic hardship for the land here in northern New Mexico. Its going to be tougher and tougher for farmers out here to manage their land because theres no water. Its going to have a long-term effect.

But State Engineer hearing examiner Kevin C. Myers wrote in his decision in favor of moving water rights from Taos County to the planned regional water system to the south that it wont hurt farmers irrigation ditches in Taos County, while supporting better water services in Santa Fe County.

Supporters of the transfer also have maintained in the past that the science shows that if water pumping stops at Top of World, water tables in the Questa area will actually increase.

Santa Fe County Attorney Greg Shaffer said water rights from Top of the World arent necessary for the new regional water system, planned as an indispensable part of a historic settlement over water usage in northern Santa Fe County.

The Top of the World water rights transfer is important but not necessary to Santa Fe Countys participation in the Regional Water System, said Shaffer in emailed comment. The County has backup plans in the event Taos Countys appeal succeeds.

The Top of the World rights have long been presented as important to the settlement in the Ammodt water rights case, originally filed in 1966 and named after one of the original parties. The case  the oldest in the country  is intended to sort out water rights among Tesuque, Nambe, Pojoaque and San Ildefonso pueblos, and non-Indian residents in northern Santa Fe County. The settlement was approved by Congress.

A 2014 Santa Fe County Commission resolution says that a cost-sharing agreement that is part of the Aamodt settlement requires the county and other parties to cooperate to secure the transfer of the Top of the World water rights  including both the 1,141 acre-feet per year acquired by the federal government and the 611 acre-feet per year retained by the county.

Parochial view dismissed

Shaffer said in a statement that hes optimistic that the state district court will uphold the State Engineers transfer decision.

Legally, no court has ever adopted the parochial view of the public welfare criterion urged by Taos County, which would pit county versus county, he said. We are optimistic that the Courts will uphold the State Engineers decision to consider the public welfare of the State as a whole and his conclusion that the transfer will provide water for a public works project, additional fire protection, improvement of health of inhabitants, improvement in riparian areas and recovery of groundwater levels without negatively impacting water rights or surface flows of any acequias in Taos County.'

Taos Countys court appeal has been assigned to state District Judge Sarah Singleton, although she retired Aug. 1 . Private attorney Peter Shoenfeld, who filed the appeal notice on behalf of Taos County, said he wasnt sure how the case will proceed. Gov. Susana Martinez is set to appoint a replacement for Singleton soon.

Santa Fe County first purchased Top of the World water rights in the late 1990s, and completed purchase of the ranch and the rest of the water rights in 2006, at a total cost of $6.5 million. The county a few years ago sold 1,141 acre-feet per year of Top of the Wold water rights to the federal Interior Department for $5.4 million to serve pueblos as part of the arrangements for the Ammodt settlement. The county also sold the farms 3,166 surface acres for $1,170,000.

In the event that the Courts overturn the State Engineers decision, the County would not take a loss, Shaffer added in his statement to the Journal.

First, the County has already made its money back on the Top of the World farm purchase by selling water rights to the federal government and the farm to a private party, Shaffer said. Second, the County is currently leasing its Top of the World water rights to the current farm owners. Third, the County could presumably sell its Top of the World water rights to a private or public entity in Taos County, if necessary.

The regional water system, estimated to cost about $261 million, has been given a 2024 deadline for completion by the federal government, which is contributing to Ammodt settlement costs.

Shaffer said its 611 acre-feet per year that the county still holds at Top of the World and which is proposed for transfer represents only part of the 1,500 acre-feet per year water diversion and treatment capacity that Santa Fe County is expecting from the new water system.

The water rights necessary for the County to utilize its maximum capacity are expected to come from two sources: its Top of the World water rights and water rights transferred to it by County water utility customers, he said.  Point being, it was always contemplated that the County would need other water rights to utilize its capacity and that those water rights would largely come from its customers.

Aamodt settlement

As part of the 2010 Aamodt settlement, then-President Barack Obama signed legislation providing $82 million in funding for the regional water system. Congress endorsed another $92 million in future funding that needs another vote for the money to be released. The state is to provide a total of $72 million, $15 million of which has already been provided.

Santa Fe County is obligated to pay $11.7 million. But the County Commission has said it will withhold the money until resolution of another dispute  over pueblo claims to roads that the county has always considered its own through private land that is within historical boundaries of the pueblos.

The legal fight has clouded home ownership titles, reduced property values and made selling property near the pueblos more difficult, non-Indian residents say.

A judge issued a final decree in the Aamodt case in July, but a lawyer for non-Indians affected by the settlement has filed notice of appeal to the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver.
President Donald Trump is expected to announce next week that he will decertify the international nuclear deal with Iran, saying it is not in the national interest of the United States and kicking the issue to a reluctant Congress, people briefed on the White House strategy said Thursday.

The move would mark the first step in a process that could eventually result in the resumption of U.S. sanctions against Iran, potentially derailing a deal limiting Irans nuclear activities reached in 2015 with the United States and five other nations.

But Trump would hold off on recommending that Congress reimpose sanctions, which would constitute a clearer break from the pact, according to four people familiar with aspects of the presidents thinking.

The decision would amount to a middle ground of sorts between Trump, who has long wanted to withdraw from the agreement completely, and many congressional leaders and senior diplomatic, military and national security advisers, who believe the deal is worth preserving with changes if possible.

This week, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford expressed qualified support for the deal during congressional testimony. And Mattis suggested he did not believe taking the step to decertify would scuttle the agreement.

Trump is expected to deliver a speech, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 12, laying out a larger strategy for confronting the nation he blames for terrorism and instability throughout the Middle East.

Officials cautioned that plans could still change, and the White House would not confirm plans for a speech or its contents. Trump faces an Oct. 15 deadline to report to Congress on whether Iran is complying with the agreement and whether he judges the deal to be in the U.S. national security interest.

The administration looks forward to sharing details of our Iran strategy at the appropriate time, said Michael Anton, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.

The fate of the nuclear pact is only one consideration in that larger strategy, U.S. officials said, although given Trumps focus on it as an embarrassment, it is the most high-profile element.

The deal signed under President Barack Obama was intended to close off the potential for Iran to quickly build a nuclear bomb by curbing nuclear activities the United States and other partners considered most troubling. It allowed some uranium enrichment to continue for what Iran claims is peaceful medical research and energy; the country says it has never sought nuclear weapons. In exchange, world powers lifted crippling U.S. and international economic sanctions.

At issue now is the fate of U.S. sanctions lifted by Obama and by extension whether the United States will move to break the deal. That could open an international breach with European partners who have warned they will not follow suit.

Outreach for a transatlantic understanding about reopening or supplementing the deal is likely to be part of Trumps announcement, according to one Iran analyst who has discussed the strategy with administration officials. Several other people familiar with a nine-month review of U.S. military, diplomatic, economic and intelligence policy toward Iran spoke on the condition of anonymity because aspects of the policy are not yet set, and Trump has not announced his decision.

Trump said last month that he had decided what to do on Iran but that he would not divulge the decision.

Welcoming military leaders to a White House dinner Thursday night, Trump said Iran had not lived up to its end of the nuclear bargain.

The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed and chaos across the Middle East, he said. That is why we must put an end to Irans continued aggression and nuclear ambitions. They have not lived up to the spirit of their agreement.

The presidents senior national security advisers agreed within the past several weeks to recommend that Trump decertify the agreement at the Oct. 15 deadline, two of those people said.

The administration has begun discussing possible legislation to strengthen the agreement, congressional aides and others said  a fix it or nix it approach suggested by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a leading Republican hawk on Iran.

But the prospects of such an approach are highly uncertain, and many supporters of the deal consider it a dodge.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said last month that he will not reopen the agreement for negotiation. Separately, representatives of Iran, China and Russia told Secretary of State Rex Tillerson the same thing during a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly session last month, two senior diplomats familiar with that meeting said.

Cotton appeared to preview the main elements of the administrations plan this week, although he said he does not know exactly what Trump plans to do. The two met Thursday at the White House.

In a speech Tuesday at the Council on Foreign Relations, Cotton said Trump should decline to certify the deal and begin the work of strengthening it.

He said decertification should be based on a finding that the deal is not in the U.S. vital national security interest, citing the long catalogue of the regimes crimes and perfidy against the United States, as well as the deals inherent weakness.

But Cotton said he would not push for the immediate reimposition of sanctions, as some conservative lawmakers and outside lobbying groups are pushing to do.

He laid out proposals for Congress to pass new stipulations for U.S. participation in the deal, including elimination of the sunset clauses under which restrictions on some Iranian nuclear activities expire after several years, tougher inspections requirements and new curbs on Irans ballistic- and cruise-missile programs.

Cotton claimed that a unified statement from Congress would help Trump forge a new agreement among European and other allies and strengthen his hand for renegotiation.

The world needs to know were serious, were willing to walk away, and were willing to reimpose sanctions  and a lot more than that, Cotton said. And theyll know that when the president declines to certify the deal, and not before.

In the Senate, plans have been underway for months to respond to a presidential decertification.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) has been Capitol Hills point person on discussions with the White House. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) also have been made aware of plans being discussed with the White House and State Department.

McConnell is not eager to take on the issue at a time when the Senate calendar is full and midterm elections are only a year off, according to congressonal aides and a Western diplomat who has met with him.

Hes not excited about getting the Old Maid,  said the diplomat, referring to the card game where the player left holding a certain card is the loser.

Still, Republican leaders say they are confident that they can craft a legislative response to the presidents decision that can address deficiencies in the deal and avoid turning the issue into a political litmus test for the GOP.

Some Republicans have also been urging the president to take a critical public stance against the deal  without blowing it up.

The president should come out and say, Hey, were going to enforce this, and right now I think these different provisions are being violated,  Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Ala.) said last week  adding that Trump should tell Iran it had a limited window to fix problems. If they dont, do what [then-Secretary of State] John Kerry and Barack Obama said they were going to do, which is snap-back sanctions.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., said a decertification would undermine global confidence in the deal and in U.S. commitments generally.

If the president fails to certify the deal while saying Iran is complying with it, its a destructive political gesture, Schiff said.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said that beginning a process that could result in the United States withdrawing from the Iran deal would go against advice from his own national security team and our closest allies.

Unilaterally abandoning this agreement will make the world less safe, she said in a statement.

A half dozen Democrats who went to the White House on Wednesday evening to meet with national security adviser H.R. McMaster came away with the impression that he agreed with Mattis and Dunford.

The group who visited with McMaster to discuss Iran included Cardin, D-Md., and Sens. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., Christopher Coons, D-Del., Joe Manchin, D-W.V., Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and Angus King, I-Maine, according to a person familiar with the meeting.

Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., called the nuclear deal very, very flawed but not totally ineffective  a common view among Republicans and a potential starting point for negotiations with Democrats.

What we have to figure out is how to actually accomplish what we were well on our way to do before Barack Obama gave them a patient pathway to a nuclear bomb, Gardner said, referring to what he and other Republicans see as the deals failure to prevent Iran from developing weapons down the road. Im not to commit to myself to one direction, other than that we actually have a deal in place to commit Iran will come to agreement without a nuclear program.



The Washington Posts Abby Phillip and Ed OKeefe contributed to this report.



VIDEO:

President Trump spoke about the agreement with Iran on their nuclear program when meeting with military leaders on Oct. 5. (The Washington Post)

 http://wapo.st/2xWHpxK


Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

A federal bankruptcy judge on Thursday unsealed deposition testimony from an Albuquerque pain medicine specialist whose surprise revelations about an Alamogordo hospitals experimental bone cement procedure have upended the resolution of a major medical malpractice case .

The lawsuit was filed by former patients who unwittingly agreed to the harmful spine surgery a decade ago.

Chief Judge Robert H. Jacobvitz of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Mexico ruled that the information from Dr. Robert Zuniga of New Mexico Pain and Spine Institute is public and isnt covered by the New Mexico peer review privilege law.

His ruling sets the stage for discovery into the identity of the female administrator Zuniga says he warned at Gerald Champion Regional Hospital in 2007 about injecting patients discs with bone cement as a way to alleviate back pain.

In my view, this wasnt even investigational. This was just somebody going out on their own and doing something crazy like this without any safety concerns, Zuniga said in an Aug. 21 deposition previously filed under seal.

The litigation, which has involved more than 70 former patients of Dr. Christian Schlicht and his one-time partner, Dr. Frank Bryant, contends the experimental spine procedures caused intractable pain, weakness and, for some patients, partial paralysis and loss of bladder and bowel function.

The Tennessee-based Quorum Health Resources, which managed the hospital, is the remaining defendant. Plaintiffs reached a $33 million partial settlement with the hospital and the doctors in 2012. The case is before Jacobvitz because the hospital filed for bankruptcy protection.

Quorum attorneys over the past three months have tried to exclude Zunigas testimony, saying they were concerned it was covered by the New Mexico peer review law that mandates confidentiality.

At a hearing on that question Monday, a Quorum attorney suggested the judge close the hearing to the public. Jacobvitz dismissed that idea and upheld the strong public policy grounds for unsealing Zunigas deposition.

Zunigas deposition revealed that when he was the program director of pain management services at University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center in 2007, he was contacted by a Gerald Champion administrator whose name he couldnt recall. She behaved as an administrator; she had some pretty administrative-type questions, he said.

She asked about whether other people in the community were doing this  whether this is something that we were training people to do basically.

I said, no, absolutely not  and in fact, this is a dangerous thing to be doing, Zuniga said. He said he agreed to review the charts of some patients who had undergone the procedure and called her back to tell her he thought the hospital was putting patients at risk. He said she seemed disappointed at his conclusions and he didnt hear from her again.

Based on the new information, lawyers for the former patients seek to reopen the question of Quorums liability, arguing that the Quorum-hired administrator should have stopped the procedures once she learned of Zunigas findings. The bone cement procedure began at Gerald Champion in 2006 and ended after the purported inventor, Schlicht, resigned in late 2008.

At Mondays hearing, Jacobvitz allowed both sides to now delve into when Zunigas communications with the hospital administrator occurred and who those communications were with and who might have talked to each other about those conversations. He added that discovery, which might include retrieving phone records, would be permitted.

This is an important issue in this case, Jacobvitz said during the hearing.

Zunigas revelations arose unexpectedly during a deposition about his treatment of a plaintiff in the case.

Lawyers for former patients contend the only female CEO employed at Gerald Champion while Schlicht worked there was Sue Johnson-Phillipe, who they say was fired in mid-July 2007. She contended she resigned to spend more time with her family.

But Quorum attorneys on Monday noted that Zuniga recalled he testified his conversation with the administrator was in November or December of 2007  months after Johnson-Phillipe left the hospital.

In a 2013 deposition, Johnson-Phillipe denied knowing about the bone cement procedure and said she didnt know that Schlicht was harming patients.

During Mondays hearing, Gerald Champion attorney John Wheeler told the judge the hospital has interviewed as many former employees as we could find, at least one dozen people. He said the hospital also checked patient charts but found no mention of Zunigas review.

Wheeler said the hospital could find no one who spoke to Zuniga or had even heard of him.

We dont have any evidence it (a peer review) even occurred, Wheeler said.
LAS VEGAS  After five days of scouring the life of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock and chasing 1,000 leads, investigators confessed Friday they still dont know what drove him to mass murder, and they announced plans to put up billboards appealing for the publics help.

In their effort to find any hint of his motive, investigators were looking into whether he was with a prostitute days before the shooting, scrutinizing cruises he took and trying to make sense of a cryptic note with numbers jotted on it found in his hotel room, a federal official said.

So far, examinations of Paddocks politics, finances, any possible radicalization and his social behavior  typical investigative avenues that have helped uncover the motive in past shootings  have turned up little.

We still do not have a clear motive or reason why, Clark County Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said. We have looked at literally everything.

The FBI announced that billboards would go up around the city asking anyone with information to phone 800-CALL-FBI.

If you know something, say something, said Aaron Rouse, agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI office. We will not stop until we have the truth.

Paddock, a reclusive 64-year-old high-stakes gambler, rained bullets on the crowd at a country music festival Sunday night from his 32nd-floor hotel suite, killing 58 and wounding hundreds before taking his own life.

McMahill said investigators had reviewed voluminous video from the casino and dont think Paddock had an accomplice in the shooting, but they want to know if anyone knew about his plot beforehand.

Investigators believe Paddock hired a prostitute in the days leading up to the shooting and were interviewing other call girls for information, a U.S. official briefed by federal law enforcement officials said. The official wasnt authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The official also disclosed that Paddock took at least a dozen cruises abroad in the last few years, most of them with his girlfriend, Marilou Danley. At least one sailed to the Middle East.

It is unusual to have so few hints of a motive five days after a mass shooting. In previous mass killings or terrorist attacks, killers left notes, social media postings and information on a computer  or even phoned police.

The lack of a social media footprint is likely intentional, said Erroll Southers, director of homegrown violent extremism studies at the University of Southern California. Were so used to, in the first 24 to 48 hours, being able to review social media posts. If they dont leave us a note behind or a manifesto behind, and were not seeing that, thats whats making this longer.

What officers have found is that Paddock planned his attack meticulously.

He requested an upper-floor room overlooking the festival, stockpiled 23 guns, a dozen of them modified to fire continuously like an automatic weapon, and set up cameras inside and outside his room to watch for approaching officers.

In a possible sign he was contemplating massacres at other sites, he also booked rooms overlooking the Lollapalooza festival in Chicago in August and the Life Is Beautiful show near the Vegas Strip in late September, according to authorities reconstructing his movements leading up to the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

His arsenal also included tracer rounds that can improve a shooters firing accuracy in the dark, a law enforcement official told AP. It wasnt clear whether Paddock fired any of the illuminated bullets during the high-rise massacre.

Paddock bought 1,000 rounds of the .308-caliber and .223-caliber tracer ammunition from a private buyer he met at a Phoenix gun show, a law enforcement official not authorized to comment on the investigation said on condition of anonymity.

Tracer rounds illuminate their path so a gunman can home in on targets at night. But they can also give away the shooters position.

Video shot of the pandemonium that erupted when Paddock started strafing the festival showed a muzzle flash from his room at the Mandalay Bay resort, but bullets werent visible in the night sky.

Investigators are looking into Paddocks mental health and any medications he was on, McMahill said.

His girlfriend, Danley, told FBI agents Wednesday that she had not noticed any changes in his mental state or indications he could become violent, the federal official said.

Paddock sent Danley on a trip to her native Philippines before the attack, and she was unaware of his plans and devastated when she learned of the carnage while overseas, she said in a statement.

___

Associated Press writers Regina Garcia Cano and Josh Hoffner in Las Vegas; Brian Melley in Los Angeles; Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix; and Don Babwin and Michael Tarm in Chicago contributed to this report.

___

For complete coverage of the Las Vegas shooting, click here: https://apnews.com/tag/LasVegasmassshooting.
LAS CRUCES  Plans to deploy six Spanish-speaking officers from the Las Cruces Police Department to Puerto Rico to assist with law enforcement duties in the wake of Hurricane Maria have been placed on hold, officials said.

LCPD received notice Thursday from the Department of Homeland Security Emergency Management that larger contingents of personnel per agency were needed, and that LCPDs group would be placed in the queue for possible deployment at a later time.

We were all set to go, LCPD Chief Jaime Montoya said in a statement. Our guys were packed, our travel orders were issued and our enthusiasm was high when we received word that we would have to stand down.

LCPDs planned deployment was in response to a request from the Puerto Rico Emergency Management Agency for 1,500 bilingual law enforcement officers.

DHSEM told us that contingents of up to 90 people at a time were needed. So bigger cities with larger police departments will be utilized, City Manager Stuart C. Ed said in a statement. Our group will remain on stand-by should they be needed later. The bottom line is, Puerto Rico issued a call for help and we answered that call.

The volunteer officers are:

Sgt. Jaime Quezada, 21-year veteran

Sgt. Thaddeus Allen, 9-year veteran

Ofc. Jose Prado, 10-year veteran

Ofc. Joshua Herrera, 9-year veteran

Ofc. Manny Soto, 9-year veteran

Ofc. Charli Velasco, 2.5-year veteran

Both Ed and Montoya reiterated their thanks to the volunteers and their families. The contingent was scheduled to fly to San Juan as early as Friday.



2017 the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.)

Visit the Las Cruces Sun-News (Las Cruces, N.M.) at www.lcsun-news.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

_____
Copyright  2017 Albuquerque Journal

A year into the search for its next president, the University of New Mexico has settled on a list of finalists.

The schools Board of Regents on Friday identified the top five candidates for the job, a pool that includes the University of Idaho president, the University of Missouri provost, leaders from academic health systems in California and New York, plus the former provost of Lehman College.

Each of the five candidates have scheduled on-campus interviews and open forums this month. Regents are expected to make a hiring decision the week of Oct. 30-Nov. 3.

The chosen candidate will become the universitys 22nd president, and the eighth person in that job  counting interims  since 1998.

Finalists, and the date they will host their open forums at UNMs Student Union Building, are:

 Dr. David A. Brenner, Monday, Oct. 9, 1:15 to 2:30 p.m.

Brenner, a gastroenterologist, has since 2007 served as University of California San Diegos vice chancellor for health sciences and School of Medicine dean. His oversight includes a pharmacy school and UC San Diego Health, which has about 9,000 employees and includes three hospitals, a cancer center and clinics, according to its website. A graduate of Yale Universitys School of Medicine, he has also taught at Columbia University and been editor-in-chief of the journal Gastroenterology.

 Dr. Kenneth Kaushansky, Tuesday, Oct. 24, 1:15 to 2:30 p.m.

Since 2010, Kaushansky has been Stony Brook Universitys senior vice president of health sciences and medical school dean. The Stony Brook Medicine network encompasses six schools, two hospitals, a childrens hospital and clinics. He held prior positions at the University of Washington and University of California San Diego. He attended medical school at the University of California Los Angeles.

 Anny Morrobel-Sosa, Ph.D., Tuesday, Oct. 10, 1:15 to 2:30 p.m.

She is founder and president of The Micaela Group, a consulting firm that works with universities, colleges and school districts on aligning their mission with organizational structure and resources and on recruiting and developing women and minority faculty and students in STEM disciplines. She was previously provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the City University of New Yorks Lehman College, 2012-16, and the College of Science dean at the University of Texas at El Paso, 2007-12. Morrobel-Sosa earned her doctorate in physical chemistry from University of Southern California. She has been a finalist for at least two other president positions in the past year: Salem (Mass.) State University and West Chester (Penn.) University.

 Charles Chuck Staben, Ph.D., Tuesday, Oct. 17, 1:15 to 2:30 p.m.

Staben has been president of the University of Idaho since 2014. The land-grant institution in Moscow, Idaho, has about 12,000 students and its total operating budget in 2016 was $470 million. He had former positions as provost at University of South Dakota and associate vice president for research at University of Kentucky. He has a doctorate in biochemistry from University of California Berkeley. He made national news last year with his decision to drop the Idaho football team from the Football Bowl Subdivision to the Football Championship Subdivision starting in 2018.

 Garnett Stokes, Ph.D., Monday, Oct. 23, 1:15 to 2:30 p.m.

Stokes has served the past 2 years as provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of Missouri, though she recently spent two months as interim chancellor at the school with approximately 30,000 students. She came to Missouri from Florida State University, where she was provost and executive vice president for academic affairs from 2011 to 2015, briefly stepping into the role of interim president. She has a doctorate in industrial/organizational psychology from University of Georgia.

UNM Board of Regents President Rob Doughty called the finalists a very accomplished group.

The search committee found them to be outstanding candidates with great enthusiasm for UNM and its future, Doughty said in a prepared statement.

The Journal emailed interview requests to each finalist Friday afternoon. Stokes responded that she did not have time for an immediate interview but that she was honored to have been chosen as a finalist and eager to meet the community during her visit later this month. Morrobel-Sosa said she is currently in the Dominican Republic. Staben said he was in meetings Friday afternoon.

Kaushansky said it was too premature for an interview, but that he thoroughly believe(s) in the incredible potential of the University of New Mexico to make a huge impact on the lives of its students and graduates, and through them, on the well-being of the entire state. An attempt to reach Brenner through a UC San Diego spokesman was unsuccessful.

One notable candidate who did not make the finals is New Mexico Higher Education Secretary Barbara Damron, who had expressed her interest in the position earlier this year after she said multiple people nominated her for the job.

The regents chose the finalists this week, working from a slate of semifinalists picked by a search committee made up of approximately 20 people from both inside and outside the university. The university also paid $111,000 in fees and expenses to a professional search firm, Isaacson, Miller, to help in the process.

Committee member Ray Birmingham, UNMs head baseball coach, said he felt the process was professional, fair and represented a number of constituencies.

I wish we couldve done it sooner, but its going to get done and  everybody took it serious, because this is very important for not only the university of New Mexico but the state, he said.

UNM has had a rocky couple of years. Its state appropriation has shrunk by about $27 million, or 8 percent, since 2016, and it has reduced staff positions by about 13.5 percent in that period. It is operating under the terms of a U.S. Justice Department agreement following a federal investigation into its handling of sexual assault claims, and both state Auditor Tim Keller and New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas launched investigations this year into financial management of its athletic department.

Doughty said each candidate has a full day of meetings when they visit campus this month. They have scheduled sessions with top administrators, deans, faculty, Health Sciences Center representatives, regents and others. They are not meeting with Gov. Susana Martinez or anyone in her administration, Doughty said.

The regents will solicit feedback from the groups the candidates meet. They are also collecting online surveys to get additional input from the campus community. More information is available at presidentialsearch.unm.edu.

The regents pick will take the UNM reins from Chaouki Abdallah, who has served as interim president since January. Abdallah, the schools provost, succeeded Bob Frank, who left at the end of 2016  about five months before his five-year contract expired  after a dispute with regents. He had already announced his plans not to pursue a new contract. His annual salary as president was $362,136.

Doughty said he could not yet say when the new president might start, and that the salary and benefits will be negotiated at the time of the offer.

The board is very aware of the Universitys financial situation and will ensure that executive compensation is fair and reasonable, Doughty said in a statement.
WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump is allowing more employers to opt out of providing no-cost birth control to women by claiming religious or moral objections, issuing new rules Friday that take another step in rolling back the Obama health care law.

The new policy is a long-expected revision to federal rules that require most companies to cover birth control as preventive care for women, at no additional cost. Preventive services are supposed to be free of charge to employees and their dependents under former President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act.

Trump's religious and moral exemption is expected to galvanize both his opponents and religious conservatives that back him, but it's likely to have a limited impact on America's largely secular workplaces. Most women no longer pay for birth control, and advocates immediately announced plans to try to block the new rule in court.

Although tens of thousands of women could be affected by Trump's new policy, the vast majority of companies have no qualms about offering birth control benefits through their health plans. Human resource managers recognize that employers get an economic benefit from helping women space out their pregnancies, since female workers are central to most enterprises.

The administration estimated that some 200 employers who have already voiced objections to the Obama-era policy would qualify for the expanded opt-out, and that 120,000 women would be affected. However, it's unclear how major religious-affiliated employers such as Catholic hospitals and universities will respond.

Since contraception became a covered preventive benefit, the share of women employees paying their own money for birth control pills has plunged to under 4 percent, from 21 percent, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The Trump administration's revision broadens a religious exemption that previously applied to houses of worship, religiously affiliated nonprofit groups, and closely-held private companies. Administration officials said the new policy defends religious freedom. Privately owned for-profit companies, as well as publicly-traded for-profit companies will be able to seek an exemption.

Officials also said the administration is tightening oversight of how plans sold under the health law cover abortion. With limited exceptions, abortions can only be paid for through a separate premium collected from enrollees. No public subsidies can be used, except in cases that involve rape, incest, or preserving the life of the mother.

Doctors' groups that were key to derailing Republican plans to repeal the health law outright expressed dismay over the administration's move on birth control.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said the new policy could reverse the recent progress in lowering the nation's rate of unintended pregnancies.

"Instead of fulfilling its mission 'to enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans,' HHS leaders under the current administration are focused on turning back the clock on women's health," said the organization's president, Dr. Haywood Brown.

Women's groups said they would try to stop the administration from carrying out the changes.

"The rules give employers a license to discriminate against women," said Fatima Goss Graves, president of the National Women's Law Center. "We will take immediate legal steps to block these unfair and discriminatory rules."

Administration officials said the new policy takes effect right away.
WASHINGTON  Just 24 percent of Americans believe the country is heading in the right direction after a tumultuous stretch for President Donald Trump that included the threat of war with North Korea, stormy complaints about hurricane relief and Trumps equivocating about white supremacists. Thats a 10-point drop since June, according to a poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The decline in optimism about the nations trajectory is particularly pronounced among Republicans. In June, 60 percent of Republicans said the country was headed in the right direction; now its just 44 percent.

The broader picture for the president is grim, too. Nearly 70 percent of Americans say Trump isnt level-headed, and majorities say hes not honest or a strong leader. More than 60 percent disapprove of how he is handling race relations, foreign policy and immigration, among other issues.

Overall, 67 percent of Americans disapprove of the job Trump is doing in office, including about one-third of Republicans.

Tracy Huelsman, a 40-year-old from Louisville, Kentucky, is among them. A self-described moderate Republican, Huelsman said shes particularly concerned about the divisiveness she feels the president promotes on social media.

Its scary in 2017 that we are in what seems like a worse place in terms of division, said Huelsman, who did not vote for Trump in last years election.

The assessments come after a turbulent summer for Trump that included a major White House shake-up, bringing the departure of his chief of staff, top strategist and press secretary. While the installment of retired Marine Gen. John Kelly as chief of staff has ushered in more day-to-day order in the West Wing, the president has still stirred up numerous controversies, including when he blamed both sides for the clashes between white supremacists and counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Trump has also raised the specter of a military conflict with North Korea over its nuclear provocations. Hes derided North Koreas leader, Kim Jong Un, as rocket man, including during a speech at the United Nations, and has downplayed the prospects that diplomatic negotiations with Kim could yield results.

Despite his electoral success, Trump struggled as both a candidate and now as president to broaden his base of support beyond his ardent supporters. The loyalty of his core backers has been enough to keep Republican lawmakers largely in line, but party operatives are closely watching Trumps support among GOP and independent voters ahead of next years midterm elections, when the balance of power in Congress will be at stake.

To be sure, lawmakers have their own problems to worry about. Americans have even less esteem for Congress than Trump, with just 18 percent saying they approve of the job being done by the House and the Senate.

Republicans took another hit last month when they failed  for a second time this year  to pass an overhaul of the nations health care law. GOP leaders tried to rush votes on the complicated legislation, leaving many voters unsure of what was in the package.

They never seemed to present a bill to people that you could actually look at the details of and the pluses and minuses of it, said Dennis Cronin, a 67-year-old independent from Wenham, Massachusetts.

The GOP failure on health care has irritated Trump, who promised voters that repealing Obamacare would be easy. Americans arent happy with his progress on health care either; 68 percent disapprove of his handling of the issue.

Of all the issues surveyed by the AP-NORC poll, the president performs slightly better on the economy. But even there, 56 percent disapprove of the job hes doing and just 42 percent say they approve.

On Friday, the Labor Department announced that the U.S. shed 33,000 jobs in September because of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which closed thousands of businesses in Texas and Florida and forced widespread evacuations. It marked the first monthly hiring drop in nearly seven years.

Ninety-two percent of Democrats and 69 percent of independents say Trump understands the problems of people like them not very or not at all well. Even among Republicans, only 42 percent say he understands them very well, while 32 percent say he does moderately well.

The AP-NORC poll of 1,150 adults was conducted Sept. 28-Oct. 2 using a sample drawn from NORCs probability-based AmeriSpeak panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

Respondents were first selected randomly using address-based sampling methods, and later interviewed online or by phone.

___

Online:

AP-NORC Center: http://www.apnorc.org/

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC and Emily Swanson at http://twitter.com/el_swan
Police have released photos of a man who they say stabbed a Nob Hill business owner last month in the hopes of catching him, according to a press release from Crime Stoppers.

The stabbing occurred on September 16, around 1:30 p.m., outside a Nob Hill antique shop, according to the release.

In the photos the business owner is in the white shirt and is attempting to stop the suspect, in the black shirt, who had stolen merchandise from his Nob Hill antique shop.

If you look closely, you can see the knife in the right hand of the suspect, as he wildly takes swings at the business owner, the release states. The suspect is described as a tall Native American man with long gray hair that was possibly in a braid.

Anyone with information will remain anonymous and could be eligible for up to a $1000 reward.

If you have any information, please contact Crime Stoppers at (505) 843-7867
A crash on Thursday in San Juan County left one dead and others injured, according to a New Mexico State Police spokeswoman.

Lt. Elizabeth Armijo said 23-year-old Kensley Sylvester, of Farmington, was killed and five others were injured in the two-vehicle crash.

She said the crash occurred around 3 p.m. on US 550 northbound, at mile marker 135, when a vehicle collided into the rear of a Silverado pickup truck that was stopped and attempting to make a left turn. Sylvester was a passenger in the Silverado.

All occupants in the Silverado were not believed to have been wearing seatbelts, Armijo said. Police do not believe alcohol is a factor in the crash.
Delta Air Lines has begun a new daily nonstop flight from Albuquerque to Los Angeles, according to a news release from the Albuquerque International Sunport.

The daily nonstop flight is currently on sale.

The new flight brings a fifth option for nonstop service to Los Angeles out of the Sunport. The daily flight leaves Albuquerque at 7 a.m. and returns from Los Angeles at 10:30 p.m.

The new route will be served with the Embraer E175 regional aircraft with 44 seats in the main cabin, 20 seats in Delta Comfort+, and 12 seats in first class, according to the news release.
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla.  Two mothers are facing child neglect charges after Boynton Beach police found them overdosed on heroin with their two infant children in the car, according to a police spokeswoman.

Kristen Leigh OConnor of Coral Springs spent Thursday night in the Palm Beach County Jail before being released Friday afternoon after posting a $4,500 bond. June Ann Schweinhart of suburban Greenacres remained jailed as of Friday afternoon and was being held in lieu of $3,000 bail.

The babies, ages 1 month and 2 months, were brought to the police department and were turned over to family members after the Florida Department of Children and Families was notified.

Police found OConnor, 27, and Schweinhart, 28, overdosed inside a 2006 Ford Expedition at about 1 p.m. Thursday, according to an arrest report.

The women were taken to Bethesda Hospital East, where OConnor told police she and Schweinhart knew each other from a drug treatment program and decided to hang out on Thursday, the report said. OConnor said the women became close friends because their babies  which were born four days apart  had the same due date.

On Thursday, the women bought $60 of heroin from OConnors drug dealer and snorted it inside a parking garage, with the infants inside the vehicle, the report said.

OConnor told police she allowed Schweinhart to drive her vehicle because she thought her friend could operate the SUV better under the influence of heroin.

Shortly after leaving the parking garage, OConnor began to shake and became unresponsive.

Oh my God, oh my God, OConnor said she heard Schweinhart say before losing consciousness.

The children were properly strapped into their car seats in the vehicles rear seat when police found them, according to the report.

During a court appearance Friday, a judge ruled that OConnor can see her child only while her mother is present. Schweinhart was ordered to undergo drug testing at least once a week and can have contact with the child only with another adult present.

The women were each told not to have any communication with each other.

Child neglect is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
GREELEY, Colo.  A former Colorado nurse accused of fondling patients while administering morphine and other pain killers has pleaded guilty.

Prosecutors with the Weld County District Attorneys Office say 45-year-old Thomas Moore pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of attempted sexual assault. A plea deal calls for 12 years in prison when hes sentenced Dec. 15.

Prosecutors say Moore touched the breasts of five female patients at a UCHealth emergency room between March 2014 and April 2015. He was arrested in Fort Collins in December 2015 for allegedly groping three patients there as well.

Moore is accused of inappropriately touching at least 10 patients across Colorado and Nebraska.

He was fired from three hospitals before his arrest, highlighting how easy it can be for nurses accused of misconduct to find work elsewhere.
Internet opens up many avenues for business and revenue generation. Affiliate marketing is one such business avenue. It can be understood as a business partnership in which an agent called an affiliate through its website/blog attract a customer, who in turn, either directly purchase the products, or registers to the sellers newsletter, or just browses the site as per the terms decided. Affiliate marketing has been introduced in India by many online companies. India being a big and diverse market place with growing online business has a potential for innovative and effective business models. According to estimates, the Affiliate marketing industry would grow at a CAGR of 27% to reach USD 835 million by 2025 from the current USD 96 million, a staggering 8 times growth.

Affiliate marketing today is primarily being leveraged by product categories brought or consumed online. Offline categories have found it difficult to effectively leverage the potential of affiliate marketing. However, increasing use of affiliate marketing for influencing decisions, and integration of online/offline are driving such companies to invest more in affiliate marketing programs. Hence, traditional industries like BFSI, Automobiles & Real Estate are allocating more money to affiliate marketing programs.

The flexibility of affiliate marketing is enabling brands to engage with a network of global influencers who are looking to promote their products worldwide. Given the unit metrics of Affiliate Marketing, this marketing channel will continue to grow. It will continues to adopt new technologies and ways of working to meet the needs of brands in coming days.

The interest in the industry was clearly evident as the Internet & Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), organized the 3rd edition of its two-day India Affiliate Summit, which is being attended by over 3500 delegates, from various brands.

The event boasts of over 70 exhibitors, 50+ industry speakers, 350+ companies, and 12+ hrs of content. Besides, there is the Affiliate Street - a section completely dedicated to Affiliate marketers to exhibit their services.

Some of the brands participated are: Flipkart, Google, Vivo, Tata, Pepsico, Abbott, DHFL, ICICI, PVR, Sun Pharma, HSBC, Reebok, Bajaj Capital, Best Seller, Zomato, Vodafone, Axis, Bata, Jabong, Micromax, Nestle, Shoppers Stop, Danone, The Body Shop, Honda, Kotak Mahindra, Big Basket, Piramal, Hero, JLL, Zivame, Croma, Barclays, Gitanjali, Novartis, Samsung, Dabur & Reliance, amongst others.
In our constant endeavour to give our readers content that is a little hatke from the trade media norm, Adgully has been coming out with Special sections like The W-Suite, Ad Lands Young Guns, Spirit W and Offbeat.

Our newest offering, Offbeat, seeks to give a glimpse of the lesser known facets of our very well-known industry leaders. We present, in the industry leaders own words, an interesting read on areas that are not usually highlighted in regular media coverage  be it about their childhood days, secret skills that they possess, how they unwind from their hectic schedules, and much more.

For Nisha Narayanan, COO, Red FM, it all started with All India Radio, which she joined as an RJ. Prior to this, she was heading the FM Projects at South Asia FM for five years. At Red FM, Narayanan has been instrumental in setting up radio stations across various cities in the country.

While a prominent name in the radio industry, not many know Narayanan beyond her professional life. Here, she reveals her passion to support handloom textiles and the floundering weaver community, her admiration for Garfield, being ambidextrous and a Cynophile, and more...

How were you as a child and which childhood trait do you still possess?

I was always a quiet and an introvert child, but a rebel in the head. My rebellious behaviour still stays with me and does push my thought process away from the convention. Being a little headstrong is a virtue sometimes.

Which superhero did you look up to as a kid and why? Which superhero power you wish you possessed?

Although these characters are not superheroes but I think, they have superhero like abilities. I have enjoyed Calvin & Hobbes and Garfield since childhood. Garfield, look at him! He is funny, goofy, sarcastic, full of witty one-liners and absolutely lazy. I admire him even better as inspite of being lazy, he smartly gets his work done! Now, that is a super power - Smart Work.

What is your biggest fear and how do you face it?

I have acrophobia, which is the fear of heights. However, I try to overcome my inner fear by going on adventure trails and treks whenever I find the time. Looking down from rooftops or high-rise buildings has always been a challenge, yet I still try to do it.

A skill you possess that no one knows about?

I am ambidextrous  I can use both my right and left hand equally well. People do not know that most part of my daily activities are done with my left hand.

What would one find in your playlist?

My playlist includes a varied genre of Classic rock to Country to Carnatic Classical Music.

Your go-to activity to relax?

I recently came across a word called Cynophile, which means someone who loves dogs. Being a dog lover, this is my therapy and go-to activity to relax.

What is the greatest lesson that you have learnt from life so far?

Nothing beats passion. If you do what you love to do, then it never feels like work. Always follow your heart.

A social cause that you are most passionate about?

I am a huge supporter of sarees and handloom textiles. I think there is a whole universe of traditional weaving which is dying and it is important to support the floundering weaver community and support handloom. It is very close to my heart.

What is the one thing you would like to change about yourself?

I come with enough vices and virtues, and the vices and shortcomings only make me try harder in getting my work done. So, let me be! There are no perfect people around.

If not Chief Operating Officer at Red FM, what would you have been?

Coming from a defence background, I was always very fascinated with the services. So maybe something in the services, which obviously is the complete opposite of what I am doing currently.
Alphabet, Googles parent company, makes a lot of money in ads and search, however the majority of its other businesses either barely makes any money or actually loses money. And that is the case for its artificial intelligence division, Deepmind, which was acquired by Google (before Alphabet was formed) in 2014 for around $525 million. Google saw Deepmind and its AI research as an important tool for the future, and it couldnt be more true. However all of this AI is coming at a price for Alphabet, as the division lost $162 million in 2016. This is according to information that the company filed with the UK government, which is required by law.

Last year, Deepmind generated around $52.7 million in revenue, and that was almost entirely for work it did for other companies under the Alphabet umbrella, and not for other companies. Breaking down its losses, the biggest loss was actually expenses for staff costs and other related costs which was around $137 million, which more than doubled from 2015. Of course, its legal fees also shot up quite a bit in 2016. To around $859K, from around $189K the year before. This all shows that artificial intelligence is proving to be pretty expensive for Google, and thats largely because its spending a ton of money, but not actually making a lot of money in regards to artificial intelligence. Even though AI is being put into virtually all of its products.

Googles CEO has said many times that artificial intelligence is going to be important for Googles success in the future. And it has been using artificial intelligence in the majority of its products as of late. In fact, with the Pixel 2 that the company debuted earlier this week, it made a big deal about artificial intelligence and how it is being used in different aspects of the phone like the camera. Its also being used in search and advertising, and even with the Google Assistant. So while Deepmind isnt really making a ton of money right now, it is working to make the future of Google a success and really push its products even further. While Deepmind did lost $162 million last year, that was still a large amount compared to the $19 billion that Alphabet made in profit in 2016.
Avast detailed the top battery-draining Android applications and other apps designed for Googles operating system which are extremely resource-intensive as part of its latest Android App Performance & Trend Report covering the first quarter of 2017. The company divided the most battery-unfriendly apps it identified into two categories  the ones that run at startup and those that dont. The former segment was led by Samsung AllShare, Samsung Security Policy Updates, and Beaming Service for Samsung, with the Korean companys ChatON service placing fourth and being followed by Google Maps, WhatsApp, Facebook, and WeChat. AppLock and DU Battery Saver are another two popular Android apps which will boot alongside your system and significantly degrade the battery life of your device, Avast said. On the other side of the spectrum are apps that wont launch by themselves but will still drain your battery to a noticeable degree, with this category having Samsung WatchON, Samsungs Video Editor, and Netflix in the top three, in that order. Spotify, Snapchat, and Clean Master are only slightly less battery-intensive, with other culprits in this category being LINE, Microsoft Outlook, and even BBC News.

If you often find yourself low on internal storage, social media apps are the first ones you should blame, the report suggests, pointing to Facebook and Instagram as the two largest Android storage eaters that run at startup, adding that theyre followed by Amazon Kindle, Facebook Messenger, and CosmoSia. In regards to apps that youll have to launch yourself before likely having your internal flash memory eaten, Spotify, Snapchat, LINE, Samsungs Video Editor, and SoundCloud are the apps to look out for, Avast claims. Facebook and Instagram were also found to be the biggest spenders of mobile data as far as apps that can launch themselves are concerned, with Netflix, Spotify, and Snapchat being on the top of a similar list meant for data-eating apps started by users. Mobile gamers should look out for Candy Crush Saga, Candy Crush Soda Saga, Piano Tiles 2, and Clash of Clans, all of which will significantly degrade the performance of their smartphones, the report suggests, while also mentioning My Talking Tom, Subway Surfers, Hill Climb Racing, and Clash Royale in the same context.

In the general performance-draining category which covers all resource-intensive aspects of apps that run as soon as the user boots their Android device, Samsung AllShare proved to be the greediest of the lot, with Samsungs ChatON and Push Service making the rest of the top three. Those were followed by a variety of Google-made offerings in the form of TalkBack, Google Play Music, Google Maps, Google Play Newsstand, and Google+, in that order. Google Hangouts was proven to be the tenth most performance-degrading Android app, right behind Samsungs ChatON service, Avast said. In regards to greedy apps that have to be launched by users, Samsung WatchON, Google Docs, and Samsung Media Hub were found to be the largest culprits for degraded performance, followed by SHAREit, Samsungs Video Editor, and Flipboard. Google Text-To-Speech, Clean Master, LINE, and Adobe Acrobat Reader made up the rest of the top ten list of Android apps that users would be better off not starting if they want to preserve the performance of their devices at all costs.

Advertisement

Avasts findings were based on a vast volume of data collected from more than three million Android users in a three-month period ending March 31st. While the cybersecurity company had data on even more apps at hand, it opted to exclude info on apps with less than 50,000 usage incidences over the observed period, consequently preventing (often extremely buggy) Android software which isnt popular from affecting its results. It bears to mention that Avasts findings arent meant to single out the most inefficient apps available on contemporary Android devices but those that have historically drained the largest amount of resources over the first quarter of the year. While that isnt to say e.g. Facebook is a particularly efficient mobile app, the fact that it tops several categories in Avasts report is more of a testament to how popular it is than the ultimate proof that its a poorly coded app, and the same goes for all of the other names that made an appearance in Avasts latest Android app performance report.
Right now, eBay has the Galaxy Note 4 for as low as $131.99, thanks to its Columbus Day sale. For Columbus Day, eBay is taking 20% off of select items that are over $25 (up to a total of $50 off) through October 10th. The Galaxy Note 4 is actually priced at $164.97, but with the promo code PCOLUMBUS2017 you can get it for as low as $131.99, making it a great price.

The Galaxy Note 4 may indeed be a somewhat old device, but it is still a good one to pick up. It is also Samsungs last smartphone with a removable back, so those that need a removable battery, this is the one to get. Samsung is still updating the Galaxy Note 4, so it is still nice and secure, as youd expect. This model here is unlocked and will work on GSM networks like AT&T and T-Mobile here in the US. So itll be a great phone to take with you on a trip out of the country, since the rest of the world (with very few exceptions) uses GSM.

eBay is offering up free shipping on all Columbus Day deals. And theres also no taxes being collected on the Galaxy Note 4. eBay does have plenty of other products on sale as part of this deal, which you can check out here.
Industry insider, Roland Quandt, is claiming that the BlackBerry Motion will be available on three major carriers in the United States. Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint will sell the handset, according to the rumor, although the rumor does not specify when the device will actually be launched by the carriers. In comparison, the BlackBerry KEYone is currently available on Sprint and AT&T but it took several months before the device arrived in the carriers stores. Mr. Quandt also mentioned that aside from China, the dual SIM variant of the BlackBerry Motion will be sold in a number of countries, although he did not mention which markets exactly will receive the unit. The insider also noted in another tweet that the upcoming handset will run the same ROM as the BlackBerry KEYone, albeit it will be modified to accommodate the lack of physical keyboard.

BlackBerry Motion has been leaked recently in a tweet by @evleaks, and it seems that the device will be a successor to the BlackBerry DTEK60, well, sort of. The BlackBerry Motions display will likely have an aspect ratio of 16:9, and below it is a physical home button that contains the logo of the Canadian smartphone company. A fingerprint scanner is likely embedded in the home button. At the bottom part of the handset, a USB type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and loudspeaker can be found. The right side of the device will contain three buttons, which will likely be the power button, volume rocker, and the convenience key, that is primarily used for jumping across different applications quickly.

The software features of the two smartphones will likely be the same since both the BlackBerry Motion and the BlackBerry KEYone will likely run the same ROM, aside from features that were exclusive to a physical QWERTY keyboard that the Motion does not sport. The devices skin will be somewhat similar to stock Android, though do keep in mind that stock Android will not be present here, the BlackBerry Motion will ship with BlackBerrys very own skin, just like the BlackBerry KEYone. The BlackBerry Hub, which comes pre-installed with the KEYone, will likely be present with the upcoming handset.

Advertisement

BlackBerry Motion aka BBD100 coming to Sprint, AT&T, Verizon. Dual SIM variant for certain markets (not just China)  Roland Quandt (@rquandt) October 5, 2017

Advertisement

It runs the same ROM as the KEYone w/ a different screen and no keyboard. Everything else should be very much similar (see UAProf leaks)  Roland Quandt (@rquandt) October 5, 2017
T-Mobile has launched a new initiative called Home Runs For Hurricane Recovery, in which the company promises to donate money to Team Rubicon for hurricane relief based on Tweets with the hashtag #HR4HR, as well as postseason home runs. Each home run will net Team Rubicon $10,000, while each Tweet is $1. In case those metrics dont add up to much, T-Mobile has promised to donate a minimum of $1 million to Team Rubicon. The Tweets are limited to $500,000 extra, while home run donations are unlimited. The donation pot from home runs is already at $140,000, and the promotion will run until the end of the MLB postseason.

T-Mobiles beneficiary for the promotion, Team Rubicon, is a non-profit based in California. Founded by US Marines, the company currently has workers on the ground with ongoing relief efforts in Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic. All four of those areas were devastated by hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, and with tropical storm Nate projected to hit the general area of the United States east coast as of this writing, the team will likely have more work to do after it hits, should it form into a hurricane. Even as a tropical storm, its already been pegged as responsible for 22 deaths and has temporarily shut down oil operations in some areas, among other exploits.

T-Mobiles hurricane relief efforts dont begin and end with this initiative. The company rolled out a text to donate feature for Harvey, Maria, and Irma, with customers able to donate $10 to relief efforts by texting the name of the hurricane that they want to donate for relief of in all caps to 90999. Like other text to donate efforts, customers dont have to fork over the cash right away; T-Mobile will front the donation, and it will appear on the customers next bill. Humanitarian efforts in a similar vein are currently happening for relief of the recent Las Vegas shooting, with customers able to text VEGAS to 50555 to donate $10 to medical relief efforts, or 20222 to donate directly to victims and their families. Like the hurricane text to donate promotions, customers will see the amounts on their next bill.
US Cellular started selling both variants of the newly released LG V30 earlier today, offering the regular V30 and V30 Plus on its prepaid plans and with installment pricing. The V30 can be purchased from the company for $28.32 per month for two and a half years with a new Retail Installment contract and a Total Plan, whereas the V30 Plus will set you back $30.20 per month over the same period, subject to identical conditions. Those willing to sign up for a Simple Connect prepaid plan can purchase the LG V30 and V30 Plus for $299.99 and $349.99, respectively, US Cellular revealed.

The Chicago, Illinois-based mobile service provider is only the second wireless carrier in the United States to sell the LG V30 Plus after Sprint announced the same model as its temporary stateside exclusive in late September. The two handsets are relatively similar and only differ in regards to their internal storage and accessories; the LG V30 Plus ships with 128GB of flash memory and LG QuadPlay earbuds, whereas the regular V30 has 64B of native storage and comes with a pair of headphones that werent specifically designed to utilize the smartphones Hi-Fi digital-to-audio converter (DAC). The Seoul-based tech giant equipped both models with a 6-inch P-OLED panel boasting a QHD+ resolution and a tall aspect ratio of 18:9, with the two flagships also featuring Qualcomms Snapdragon 835 SoC and 4GB of RAM. The rear panel of the LG V30 accommodates a dual-camera setup comprising a 16-megapixel sensor and a 13-megapixel one, with the former being mounted behind the brightest mobile lens in the industry boasting an aperture of f/1.6. The slim top bezel of the phablet has a 5-megapixel (f/2.2) sensor, with the device itself being powered by a 3,300mAh non-removable battery and featuring IP68 elements resistance.

Consumers who purchase either the LG V30 or V30 Plus from US Cellular will be eligible to receive a free unit of the second-generation Google Daydream View headset, as well as a virtual reality content bundle. The same offer extends to users who buy the device from other companies and requires you to register your purchase with the South Korean OEM. Doing so will also allow you to extend your limited warranty by an additional year free of charge, while the VR games and experiences included in the promo bundle will be redeemable on the Google Play Store with a promo code that youll receive from LG. Refer to the banners below for more details on the availability of the LG V30 on US Cellular, as well as related incentives for early buyers.
The League of Women Voters Lincoln/Lancaster's speaker at the Oct. 5 Lunch and Learn was District 10 State Senator Bob Krist, who presented information on term limits.

Term limits were approved by 56 percent of Nebraska voters in 2000 following a citizen petition drive. The law bars senators from serving more than two consecutive four-year terms, but they could return after sitting out one term. Krist addressed problems with term limits including lack of experience, increased power of lobbyists, political parties, the executive branch as well as the overall growth of money in politics.

He said the real reason for terms limits was to remove the longstanding senator from District 11, Ernie Chambers, who was term-limited out of office, but returned to office this year after sitting out four years.

Krist expressed concern that freshman senators with no experience are now given committee chair assignments. He suggested allowing three terms instead of two, providing senators on-the-job experience in their first term and becoming effective legislators for an additional eight years.

The next Lunch and Learn, scheduled Nov. 2 at the Graduate Hotel, Ninth and P streets, will address "Press Freedom in Today's Society." It will be presented by UNL Professor of Journalism John Bender, lead author of "Reporting for the Media," one of the best-selling textbooks on news reporting and writing.

Lunch and Learn is open to the public but luncheon reservations are required. Call (402) 475-1411 or email lwv-ne@inebraska.com.
By Dezan Shira & Associates



Editor: Bradley Dunseith

Located in the heart of South East Asia, Singapore is an attractive destination for centralizing payroll processing and wider regional HR functions for companies either entering ASEAN markets, or expanding their current operations. Singapore is well connected with all ASEAN member states and offers digital and communication infrastructure at global standards.

The high volume of regional headquarters already operating in Singapore makes the city-state an even more attractive destination for centralizing payroll. Additionally, Singapores unique history makes the city-state well equipped to maneuver the cultural worlds of South East Asia, Europe, and North America  an important skill when collecting information from offices in Asia and communicating the information to regional and overseas headquarters.

RELATED: Payroll and Human Resources Services from Dezan Shira & Associates

The Singapore advantage

Singapores bustling port and airport offer efficient and reliable connectivity throughout South East Asia. Strategically located, Singapore is never more than an hour and a half ahead or behind other ASEAN member states  making same-day communication between regional staff and offices elsewhere in ASEAN practical.

Singapore as a guide to ASEAN

Singapore has a history of facilitating cross-cultural trade and commerce. A former British colony, the island-republic has served as an important trading hub and port for much of South East Asia. Now, Singapores port is the second busiest in the world. Most residents in Singapore are at least bilingual in two of the four official languages: Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, and English.

Regional proximity and strong business and political relations with its neighbors lend Singapore-based companies a deeper understanding of the legal and regulatory landscapes of ASEAN states. Centralizing payroll processing in Singapore allows professionals with in-depth knowledge of ASEAN regulations to ensure a company delivers timely and state-compliant pay to its diverse workforce.

Technological advantages

Using new technologies to input and organize payroll information increases levels of transparency and efficiency; digitizing payroll systems makes information easier to access and faster to process. Singapore has the best digital connectivity among all ASEAN states, making it the best provider of tech-based payroll solutions.

Perhaps more important than efficiency when a company considers digitizing its payroll system is security. Singapore has robust cyber security laws, reliable digital infrastructure, and a technically proficient labor pool. Centralizing payroll in the city-state minimizes the risk of personal information being stolen or lost.

English as a language of business

English is the main working language in Singapore. Having a payroll team fluent in English makes communication with head offices outside of ASEAN states easier and more efficient. Fluency in English also means a stronger paper trail which a foreign manager can understand when examining work in case of disputes or discrepancies. Companies centralizing their payroll processing in Singapore will not face the same linguistic hurdles common in other ASEAN states.

Efficient business environment

While labor costs in Singapore are typically higher than in other ASEAN states, the standards of quality are also much higher. Singapore boasts world renowned universities and business centers. Its existing financial infrastructure and higher wages has created a competent workforce with an internationalist perspective.

Singapore, furthermore, is a politically stable country. Its own regulatory landscape favors transparency and pro-business efficiency, meaning that the government is unlikely to enact laws which create difficulty or confusion in processing a foreign companys payroll.

Why choose Singapore?

Singapores government has a history of business-friendly policies and is one of the most stable regimes in South East Asia. Singapore boasts world renowned universities and its work force is highly skilled  meeting international standards in terms of quality and reliability. As Singapore is already a business and technology hub of Asia, the city state offers exceptional digital and communication infrastructure. Similarly, Singapore has recently passed robust cyber-security laws and has the existing capacity to offer protection from digital hacks.

While labor costs in Singapore are relatively higher than in neighboring countries, centralizing payroll processing in the city-state can save a company money in the long term. Choosing Singapore as a payroll processing center minimizes communication gaps and frees up management to focus on expanding and strengthening their ASEAN operations.

This article is an excerpt from the June 2017 issu e of ASEAN Briefing magazine, titled Payroll Processing and Compliance in Singapore In this issue of ASEAN Briefing magazine, we discuss payroll processing and reporting in Singapore as well as analyze the options available for foreign companies looking to centralize their ASEAN payroll processes.We begin by discussing the various regulations that impact salary computation, and tax and social security calculation in Singapore. We then explore the potential for Singapore to emerge as a premier payroll processing center in ASEAN. Finally we consider the benefits of outsourcing payroll  both Singapore-based and ASEAN-wide  to a reliable third-party payroll processing provider.



About Us ASEAN Briefing is published by Asia Briefing, a subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates. We produce material for foreign investors throughout Asia, including China, India, Indonesia, Russia, the Silk Road & Vietnam. For editorial matters please contact us here and for a complimentary subscription to our products, please click here. Dezan Shira & Associates provide business intelligence, due diligence, legal, tax and advisory services throughout the ASEAN and Asia. We maintain offices in Singapore, as well as Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh City, and maintain Alliance offices in Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Manila as well as throughout China, South-East Asia, India and Russia. For assistance with ASEAN investments into any of the featured countries, please contact us at provide business intelligence, due diligence, legal, tax and advisory services throughout the ASEAN and Asia. We maintain offices in Singapore, as well as Hanoi & Ho Chi Minh City, and maintain Alliance offices in Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Manila as well as throughout China, South-East Asia, India and Russia. For assistance with ASEAN investments into any of the featured countries, please contact us at asean@dezshira.com or visit us at www.dezshira.com

Dezan Shira & Associates Brochure

Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing legal, tax and operational advisory to international corporate investors. Operational throughout China, ASEAN and India, our mission is to guide foreign companies through Asias complex regulatory environment and assist them with all aspects of establishing, maintaining and growing their business operations in the region. This brochure provides an overview of the services and expertise Dezan Shira & Associates can provide.

An Introduction to Doing Business in ASEAN 2017

An Introduction to Doing Business in ASEAN 2017 introduces the fundamentals of investing in the 10-nation ASEAN bloc, concentrating on economics, trade, corporate establishment, and taxation. We also include the latest development news for each country, with the intent to provide an executive assessment of the varying component parts of ASEAN, assessing each member state and providing the most up-to-date economic and demographic data on each.

How to Set Up in the Philippines



In this issue of ASEAN Briefing magazine, we provide an introduction to the Philippines as well as analyze the various market entry options available for investors interested in expanding to the island nation. We also discuss the step-by-step process for setting up a business entity in the Philippines, highlighting the various statutory requirements for overseas investors. Finally, we explore the potential for Singapore to serve as a viable base to administer investors Philippine operations.
Puerto Ricans are Americans.

However, a recent survey by The Morning Consult, a research company, found that only 54 percent of Americans know that people born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens.

The island, a territory of the United States, may exist in people's minds as not related to us because it's not clear that it will ever pursue statehood, despite years of nationwide referendums with varying outcomes. Until it does, Puerto Rico remains something of a distant cousin to the United States -- one of those so-distant cousins that most people aren't sure they're actually related.

The myth that Puerto Rico is not part of America is so pervasive and ingrained in our society that even children internalize the misunderstanding.

At the beginning of the school year, I was observing a classroom in which high school seniors were learning how to form arguments to defend their opinions. The task was for small groups of students to decide on which flavor of ice cream was the best and then persuade the rest of the classroom toward consensus.

At this predominantly Hispanic -- and overwhelmingly Mexican -- school, the students nominated flavors ranging from ordinary, like plain vanilla and chocolate, to decadent and tropical. One young woman wrote on her group's poster: "The best flavor is coquito, because it soothes my foreign soul."

Coquito is a Puerto Rican treat -- an eggnog-type of drink made with coconut cream, sweetened condensed milk and spices -- and, when I read the student's comment, I nearly jumped out of my skin.

When the bell rang, I ran to catch her and asked, "Are you Puerto Rican?" She shyly said, "Yes." I told her, "Don't ever call yourself a foreigner again -- Puerto Ricans are American citizens. Your soul is not foreign here; it's as beautiful and as part of America as everyone else's."

She broke into a big, wide grin and gave me a sheepish nod. It was a moment that struck me because we were standing less than three miles from Humboldt Park, the epicenter of the Puerto Rican community in Chicago, and the only nationally recognized Puerto Rican neighborhood in the country.

Still, it wasn't that surprising.

As with all subjects that are taught in school -- with the exception of writing and math -- geography and civics are pretty watered down. In units about the geography of the United States, it's rare for much time (if any) to be spent on Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands or other American territories.

As such, Puerto Ricans are not alone in these sorts of misunderstandings. My younger son's best friend is from St. Croix, and he is forever forced to deliver his elevator speech about it being part of the U.S. Virgin Islands and that he is a U.S. citizen. (And in stark contrast to the media's albeit late reaction to the plight of Puerto Rico following recent hurricanes, few are talking about the devastation in the U.S. Virgin Islands.)

As a music geek, the media and public's anemic handling of the aftermath of Puerto Rico's hurricane-related destruction -- largely because too few realize that Puerto Rico is part of the U.S. -- got Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein's "America" looping through my brain.

"West Side Story" has always been my favorite musical, but the tragedy made me listen with new ears.

Anita and Rosalia duel about the charms and challenges of Puerto Rico, with Anita complaining: "Always the hurricanes blowing, always the population growing." Later, the chorus sings the fundamental misnomer, "Immigrant goes to America, Many hellos in America," before it immediately corrects itself:

"Nobody knows in America: Puerto Rico's in America!"

Repeat after me: Puerto Ricans are not immigrants or foreigners. If anything good can come out of the suffering and devastation our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico are experiencing, let it be that they can rebuild their community to be stronger than ever. And, maybe, their fellow citizens on the mainland can finally understand their citizenship status better.

It's past time to do so. After all, Puerto Ricans are the second largest Hispanic-origin group in the U.S., there are more Puerto Ricans living on the mainland of the United States than on the island, and the majority of them were born here. It really shouldn't have taken a weather tragedy to bring these facts to light.
AMG

Other than the xDrive30i, theres only one other X3 available in the U.S. lineup at the present moment, and that is the performance-oriented M40i. For $54,300, the X3 M40i will gladly thrust to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds thanks to the 3.0-liter inline-6 hiding under the hood. The BMW M Performance TwinPower Turbo motor boasts 355 horsepower and 369 pound-feet.In the case of the lesser G01 X3 , the xDrive30i makes do with a displacement of 2 liters, 248 horsepower, and 258 pound-feet available from 1,450 to 4,800 rpm. Three trim levels are available (xLine, Luxury Design, Sport Design), and the entry-level X3 model could surely use the optional Convenience Package. As for the M40i, the most peculiar option on the list is leather upholstery, which can be added to the sporty utility vehicle for a whopping $1,700.Want to have a guess how much one has to pay for a fully-loaded X3 M40i? $70,120 including destination, which is a lot of money for a compact crossover. But then again, dont forget how many premium-infused goodies you get for your money, starting with full-LED headlights, automatic three-zone climate control, panoramic moonroof, and much, much more. The driving-oriented public should definitely opt for the Adaptive M Suspension, which adds electronically adjustable dampers to the X3 for $700.Customers in the market for an alternative to the Mercedes-GLC 63 should wait until the 2019 model year for the X3 M to arrive at U.S. dealers. Borrowing the I6 from the M3, the X3 M is expected to go official at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, with production to start soon after its debut.
SUV

4WD

Not the old one , which is largely unchanged since it went official in 1998, but the all-new generation of the small off-road utility vehicle. Spied and rendered time and time again, the newcomer will be revealed on October 25 at the 2017 Tokyo Motor Show, sporting squared-off panels and lots of ground clearance.Speaking to Autocar , Suzuki of Europes head honcho let it slip that the 2018 Suzuki Jimny had to have [the] uniqueness that appeals to the market. Takanori Suzuki couldnt be more right, with the Jimny coming in the form of a versatile off-road vehicle of the body-on-frame variety. Takanori also made it clear that the automaker doesnt plan on offering a longer car than the S-Cross.On a different note, the European director suggested that Suzuki is currently investigating the pros and cons of going fully electric. The most eco-friendly powertrain currently produced by the Minami-ku, Hamamatsu-based company is the SHVS. Standing for Smart Hybrid Vehicle by Suzuki , the powertrain revolves around an integrated starter generator powered by a small-ish battery.On the subject of SHVS, the 2018 Suzuki Jimny could be offered with the mild-hybrid powertrain to appease both the legislators and the consumer body. For what its worth, Suzuki can shoehorn anything from a 0.66-liter three-cylinder turbo to a 1.4-liter four-cylinder turbo in the engine bay of the mini-In the case of the Ignis , the SHVSspecification offers 89 hp (90 PS) at 6,000 rpm and 88 pound-feet (120 Nm) of torque at 4,400 rpm. For customers who need more grunt, the 1.6 DDiS turbo diesel also found in the S-Cross holds great potential.
EV

Very little, if we're honest, but we just wanted to get that off our chests. However, there is a slight connection: the vehicle you are looking at right now is called the Boreas, and, as the website of its manufacturer explains, that's the name of the ancient Greek god of winter. And we all know winter is coming , right?Right. As shaky as this introduction is, you really couldn't help for anything better for an unknown company such as DSD Design. The outfit is based on the sunny south-eastern coast of Spain and has next to no background in the industry. That means we don't really know what to expect from the Boreas, but based on what we can see so far, it seems at least they've got the design part covered.It looks like a mix between McLaren, Ferrari and a bit of Tesla (the headlights and a bit of the nose), but not without having some of its own personality. With aerodynamics pretty much governing the way this kind of vehicles look getting a unique appearance is quite difficult. But DSD Design seems to have pulled it off, and not just "for a beginner."The touted specs aren't too shabby either. Much like any self-respecting hypercar these days, the Boreas is said to hide a hybrid powertrain in a wonderful change of pace from the countless battery-powered similar vehicles of late.Other than its nature, the powertrain is pretty much kept under wraps, but DSD does claim it will be enough to push the Boreas to a top speed of 380 km/h (236 mph) and give it a 2.8 seconds 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) acceleration time. The electric motor will be responsible for driving the front wheels and promises to make the Boreas a decent commuter'swith a maximum range of 100 km (62 miles).Everything about the hypercar's chassis, body and interior will be made in-house, and production is scheduled to debut this December. With just 12 units on the cards, expect the DSD Design Boreas to be expensive as hell. But if they manage to keep its build quality at a high-enough level, its specs and design - as well as exclusivity - should be enough to convince 12 wealthy buyers.
AMG

Whether you like comic books or not, the movie still looks like it's going to be at least a great action flick. And how else could it be when you have people who can fly, run at the speed of light, command the sea currents or who, you know, can do all these things because they're Superman?Busy taking over the North American market, Mercedes-Benz couldn't afford to miss a glorious occasion such as this, so it immediately jumped on board. But since Iron Man already drives an Audi and he's busy doing things in another universe anyway, how could the German brand squeeze its products in without being too obvious or annoying?Well, we haven't seen the film, so we don't really know what to expect there, but we have watched this ad, and we'd say Mercedes has done a pretty good job. Featuring some of the cast members- including Israeli actress Gal Gadot who plays Wonder Woman in the film - the commercial shows two of the company's prototypes - the production-ready E-Class Cabriolet and the never-to-be-produced Mercedes-Vision Gran Turismo.Mercedes has even released an extended making-of video showing behind the scenes footage, more sequences from the movie as well as short interviews with the actors. There's even an interesting piece of trivia regarding the Vision Gran Turismo concept and Ben Affleck, the actor who plays Bruce Wayne/Batman.Because of Ben's size (6'4"), the team had to recreate the concept car and expand it by 10 percent. It also meant the team had to think of a fitting interior design since the original did not feature one. It's not exactly the first silver Batmobile, but it's damn near close.
SUV

Watch our video summary of our #DriveTheFuture strategic plan.

For more information, please visit : https://t.co/k1r0CbIuy4 pic.twitter.com/s9ZggioBSr  Groupe Renault (@Groupe_Renault) October 6, 2017

After acquiring Mitsubishi, the alliance started by Renault and Nissan went on to become the worlds biggest automaker , dethroning the Volkswagen Group from the top step of the podium. In regard to electrification, the French part of the alliance plans to add a subcompact-sized crossover to the assembly line of the Valladolid plant in Spain in 2019. Considering the Captur and Twizy are built there, word has it the B-will make use of an electric powertrain.The bottom line is, half of Renault-branded vehicles will be electrified of hybridized by 2022. In addition to the eco-friendly onslaught, the manufacturer is investing in robo-vehicles. Self-driving technology is the byword of todays automotive industry, and Nissans know-how in this regard will prove useful."Groupe Renault is now a healthy, profitable, global company looking confidently ahead. Drive the Future is about delivering strong, sustainable growth benefiting from investments in key regions and products, leveraging Alliance resources and technologies, and increasing our cost competitiveness, declared Renault Groupes chairman and chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn From a financial standpoint, Renault will save billions of euros by moving 80 percent of its vehicles on platforms shared with Nissan and Mitsubishi. In total, the company will introduce 21 new vehicles, including 3 add-ons, by the year 2022. By the end of the six-year plan, Groupe Renault expects to deliver revenues of more than 70 billion euros, achieving a group operating margin of more than 7 percent.It will be interesting to see how Mitsubishi will evolve, with the Pajero rumored to share its platform with the Nissan Patrol for the next generation
Safran, the French multinational aerospace and technology firm, celebrated the start of ground testing for its Open Rotor concept engine earlier this week. The Open Rotor is a variation on the propfan or unducted fan concept where a turbine engine drives one or more external fans. The Open Rotor utilizes two counter-rotating, unshrouded fans, which, like a turboprop, increases the effective bypass ratio of the engine. The European Commission, as part of the Clean Sky 2 research program, has given Safran 65 million over eight years to develop the fuel-efficient engine. After ten years of development efforts, we are very proud to see the Open Rotor demonstrator perform its first ground tests with success, said Clara de la Torre from the European Commission. The Open Rotor marks a major step forward in the aviation sector, since it meets two key challenges, namely to reduce fuel consumption and improve environmental performance.

Prior attempts at unducted fan designs have struggled with extremely high cabin noise levels from the unshrouded fan tips. Safran R&D director Stphan Cueille says theyve solved that problem: Our demonstrator has the same sound levels as [the LEAP turbofan], thanks to an optimization of the aerodynamics of fan blades. The company hopes to have a certified engine ready to market by 2030. Ground testing on the current engine will continue until at least the end of the year at Safrans new 864,000-square-foot open air test facility in Istres, France, says the company.

The Open Rotor is a major focus of Safrans research, said Philippe Petitcolin, CEO of Safran. With the LEAP engine, we proved our ability to develop and integrate new technologies. Our aim now is to push our innovation strategy even further so we can deliver the best solutions to the market in timely fashion. We are currently studying several paths, both different and complementary, to develop, along with our partners in Clean Sky, the technology building blocks for propulsion systems that will significantly improve performance on tomorrows airplanes. The LEAP turbofan is produced as a joint venture with GE.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigators met over the summer with Christopher Steele, the former British spy who wrote the dossier containing salacious but unverified claims about President Trump, his associates, and Russia, CNN reports.

The backdrop: Trump has said the dossier is entirely false. Investigators are less willing to dismiss it, however, and Mueller's team has taken over FBI inquiries into its contents.
Representative Tim Murphy told KDKA's Jon Delano he won't be seeking re-election in 2018, just a day after the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported he pushed his mistress to have an abortion earlier this year despite his pro-life political stance.

Why it matters: There are three Democrats already vying for his seat, according to Ballotpedia. Murphy, who has been in Congress since 2003, ran unopposed  by Dems and Republicans alike  in every election since 2012.
U.S., Russian and French mediators met with President Serzh Sarkisian in Yerevan on Friday to discuss preparations for his upcoming negotiations with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev which they hope will revive the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.

Sarkisians press office said the meeting with the three co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group focused on possibilities of pushing forward the process of a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, including issues related to organizing a meeting of Armenias and Azerbaijans presidents. It gave no details.

According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the mediators continued discussions on the Armenian-Azerbaijani summit at their separate talks with Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian held earlier in the day.

Russias Igor Popov, Frances Stephane Visconti and Andrew Schofer of the United States will travel to Baku on Saturday. Aliyev and Azerbaijans Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov said on Thursday that they too will discuss details of the planned summit with the three diplomats. It seems to us that Armenia is returning to the negotiation process and that is a very important issue, Aliyev was reported to tell visiting officials from the European Union.

The co-chairs already met with Nalbandian and Mammadyarov in New York late last month. In an ensuing joint statement, they expressed hope that the Aliyev-Sarkisian encounter will help the conflicting parties eventually find compromise solutions to the remaining key settlement issues.

The New York talks came just days after Aliyev and Sarkisian traded fresh accusations while addressing the UN General Assembly. The Azerbaijani leader also strongly criticized the international community for not helping Baku regain control over Karabakh. He similarly tweeted on Thursday that the Minsk Group must exert more pressure on Armenias occupier regime.

For his part, Sarkisian again voiced support for the mediating powers peace efforts when he met with Schofer separately on Thursday. The envoy, who took over as U.S. co-chair of the Minsk Group in August, visited Karabakh earlier this week.
Membership in the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) is very beneficial for Armenia and its struggling economy, an adviser to Russias President Vladimir Putin insisted on Friday.

Speaking to RFE/RLs Armenian service (Azatutyun.am) in Yerevan, the official, Sergey Glazyev, also claimed that Azerbaijans accession to the trade bloc would facilitate a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Glazyev argued that by being part of the EEU Armenia is in a position to attract foreign investors interested in tariff-free access to the vast Russian market. Armenia has unique relationships in the world, he said. We know the pervasive influence of the Armenian Diaspora. We know the competitive advantages enjoyed by Armenian business circles in various countries of the world, including those such as America that are now waging an economic war against us.

So for international investors Armenia is a very well-known point of entry into the Eurasian market, Glazyev said, echoing statements by Armenian leaders.

Pro-Western critics of the Armenian government say that EEU membership on the contrary hampers the countrys economic development. They argue that economic growth did not accelerate after Armenia joined the bloc in January 2015. Some of its macroeconomic indicators have actually worsened since then, they say.

I will allow myself to express the view that if Armenia had not been part of the EEU the situation would have been worse, countered Glazyev. He said that the Russian Central Banks tight monetary policy is primarily to blame for recent years economic downturn in Russia which has adversely affected Armenia and other EEU member states.

The Kremlin adviser, who deals with post-Soviet economic integration championed by Moscow, has long advocated stronger government intervention in the economy. He is also known for his hardline views on the West.

Speaking on the sidelines of a Russian-Armenian intergovernmental forum in Yerevan, Glazyev also made a case for bringing more ex-Soviet republics, including Armenias arch-foe Azerbaijan, into the EEU.

The enlargement of the EEU is a natural process because  all countries in the post-Soviet space co-existed for centuries, know each other well, know how to deal with each other, use Russian as a language of mutual communication, and share a common ancient culture of joint activity and joint building of huge empires. We jointly built the Russian Empire, the Soviet one, and can well build our future for the next 100 years, he said.

Glazyev at the same time dismissed as utter nonsense claims that Putins Eurasian integration drive is aimed at eventually restoring the Soviet Union. He insisted that the EEU will remain an economic union of sovereign nations.

Glazyev also said: If we want to have peace, mutual assistance and beneficial cooperation that would also help to end political problems, then we should integrate the entire Caucasus into the EEU.

I believe that if we form a common economic space, if long-term cooperative relationships emerge between companies and people, if our entrepreneurs do business together, then we will strengthen mutual trust, the economy will start getting ahead of politics, he went on. Azerbaijans membership in the bloc would therefore create additional possibilities of resolving the Karabakh conflict, he said.

Azerbaijans leadership has shown little interest in joining the EEU so far.
You're putting your life at risk, one like at a time.

Facebook's fairly recent slog into transparency reveals some rather nasty big-brother surveillance of their users.

It's always been a given that a service provider who does not directly charge customers can only pay the bills and employees if they're being subsidized, either by the government, advertising or leasing access to their clients' information.

The more information the service provider has, the more they can charge their own clients for access to that information.

There's really nothing new to this. Grocery stores, insurance companies and retailers of all sorts have been collecting such information for ages.

What's new is having 2 billion active monthly users willingly or unwittingly handing over their most personal data and that of their children to one site that then sells the information to thousands of businesses.

Facebook even tracks you across third-party websites, which a California judge decided is legal because you should know they do this and you should do more to keep your browsing histories private.

Will the next judge decide we should all be able to decipher and rewrite algorithms ourselves?

All of this worries some people, like a listener to my radio program who quit Facebook after he posted a couple of pictures from a car show he attended. Almost immediately, Facebook posted pictures from his friends in his own timeline featuring the friends' pictures.

This is a great feature for advertisers and a lousy one for you. Without paying you anything for your endorsement, Facebook uses your "likes," "favorites" and photos to sell your "friends" on the concept that if you like Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, then all of your friends will be encouraged to buy it.

But, what sorts of businesses are buying your personal information from Facebook?

As Facebook itself has operated from the beginning in deceptive ways, we cannot trust them to tell the truth. In fact, just as Equifax, Experian and Transunion collect and sell your data to thousands of companies, so is Facebook.

The New York Times reports, "Equifax has a team of mathematicians who mine its data to develop algorithms predicting how consumers will behave. Those insights are sold to companies like lenders."

That information is worth potentially more than the $400 million the company's consumer business generates in annual sales from people and companies like LifeLock researching credit reports.

Does Facebook sell your data to government agencies? Private companies whose clients include government agencies?

There's another threat to Facebook users.

It takes us back to a 2006 book titled, "Three Felonies a Day," by criminal defense lawyer Harvey Silverglate.

Harvey explains that there are so many thousands of laws that you, on average, commit three felonies every day because there's no way you can know every law.

Have you ever lied to a stranger who asked where you're going?

If that stranger is an undercover agent and you lied to him, you could spend a few months in jail, even if you were not aware that the scruffy dude was a federal agent.

Ever accept a package delivery that was not properly packaged according to the laws of a foreign country from which it came? Honest business people have been jailed for this.

Suppose you get lost in a snowstorm and use Facebook via cell to reach out for help. Park rangers find you and your companion lost, off your path, in a federal park on snowmobiles.

You'll be rescued and perhaps spend a few months in jail for trespassing.

This happened to race driver Bobby Unser, whose lawyers managed to keep him out of jail.

The more information Facebook and other services have on you, the less freedom you have and the greater danger you face.

Be careful what you post. That innocent family outing where the kids dig for arrowheads at your favorite campground could land you all in jail if you accidentally dig in federal land -- even if you find nothing.
6 October 2017 10:01 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 104 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said on October 6.

Armenians were using large-caliber machine guns.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, 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.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 14:52 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

The Armenian government has recently approved the draft state budget for the next year.

The document has many moments showing that the situation in the country is hopeless, because all prospects of Armenia are based on assumptions. The Armenian government expects a 4.2-percent economic growth in the coming year, according to the draft budget, but it is obvious that this will never happen.

Recently, the Armenian Finance Minister Vardan Aramyan has once again upset the population of the country saying that their pensions and salaries will not grow next year, as the budget does not provide any opportunities for these purposes. That is, for the third consecutive year the social spending of the Armenian government remains at the same level. Meanwhile, the cost of living is going up rapidly, and as a result, the middle class is slowly turning into the class of poor.

Armenian economist Mesrop Arakelyan believes that the quality of life of Armenians will not improve next year, because the countrys population live worse with every passing year.

The main indicator for this is the migration, and today the social factor is the main factor of migration. There was a war in the 1990s, but today people just cannot earn their daily bread, he has told Aysor agency.

The expert believes that it is better to have quite low economic growth, but which will have a significant impact on the welfare of society, rather than to provide such economic growth only thanks to the growth of one or two industries, the economic activities of one or two companies.

Indeed, there is a slowdown in economic growth in almost all sectors of the countrys economy. The decline is 0.9 percent in industry, 9.2 percent in electricity production, 2.2 percent in turnover, and 9.4 percent in agriculture.

Obviously, the doleful situation in Armenias economy and society upsets the population which is already tired of the fake promises of the government.

I am lecturer of the Yerevan State University, our salaries have been reduced because there are no students. And now it does not matter what the government says, publicist and political scientist Anush Sedrakyan has recently told 1in.am.

She further noted that the incomes of some oligarchs may have increased, but the gross income is primarily determined by the increase in economic status of citizens, but not by the wealth of four or five oligarchs.

There is undeniable truth in Sedrakyans words. The Karabakh clan that has been ruling Armenia for many years, the authorities and their teams possess the wealth that ordinary Armenians never dreamed of. The common Armenians have two options  to continue to live their poor life and listen to deceitful promises of the government or to leave the country for good.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 18:45 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Vice Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament, head of the Azerbaijani delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Bahar Muradova has urged Armenian MPs to refrain from making provocative statements.

Muradova, who spoke on the last day of the Assemblys session in Andorra on October 6, said that every such provocation has been adequately retaliated: This does not happen for the first time and such statements have not yielded any results so far.

This is why I urged my Armenian colleagues to refrain from making provocative statements that can complicate the situation," she noted.

Muradova also said that Armenia is permanently doing this in the occupied Azerbaijani territory that it controls and on the troops' contact line.

"If we cant do anything at the parliamentary level to ensure that common efforts yield expected results, we should not cause problems, she added.

Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in a conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.

Today, Armenia still ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 13:52 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

Baku International Sea Trade Port, the oldest and largest seaport on the coast of the Caspian Sea, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Constanta Port (National Maritime Ports Administration) on the sidelines of the Silk Way summit in Romania.

The two ports intend to ensure and promote an increase in quality and quantity of all types of transportation by using their facilities, according to the MoU.

The document points out the possibility of transporting cargo via Constanta by rail road from China to the Central and Western Europe and to Eastern Europe and Baltic states by Danube.

The MoU was signed by director general of Baku Port Taleh Ziyadov and general manager of Constanta Port Dan Nicolae Tivilichi.

Azerbaijan, which has set a goal to become a major commercial and transportation hub in the region and facilitate the regional trade, is currently engaged in development of the Baku International Sea Trade Port in Alat.

Recently, the Port signed a MoU on technical cooperation in Singapore with SMRT International Pte Ltd and Ectivise Solutions Pte Ltd to enhance the operational effectiveness of the new Port of Baku.

The two Singapore-based companies will advise and support the Port of Baku in its efforts to introduce new technologies and innovative solutions in the Port and Free Trade Zone operations.

The Port of Baku is located on an area of 400 hectares (ha) of land, of which about 100-115 ha cover the area for the development of the international Logistics and Trade Zone. The northern areas around the port are reserved for future expansion of logistics, industrial, and manufacturing activity.

The Port is expected to become one of the leading trade and logistics hubs of Eurasia. The implementation of all three phases of construction is projected to increase the capacity up to 7,660 tons on a daily basis.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 17:20 (UTC+04:00)

Tajikistan is keen on ASAN service brand and Azerbaijan State Property Committee's experience, said Qahhorzoda Fayziddin Sattor, Chairman of the State Committee on Investments and State Property Management of the Republic of Tajikistan, as he met Azerbaijani ambassador to Tajikistan Abbasali Hasanov.

The sides underlined expansion of relations between the two countries and discussed issues of cooperation in the field of investment, Azertac reported.

At his words, Azerbaijani companies are invited to participate more closely in tender projects announced in Tajikistan.

Addressing the event, Azerbaijani ambassador spoke of economic development of his country, stressing the services of great leader Heydar Aliyev in the achievement of this success and said that this policy was successfully continued by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.

Abbasali Hasanov emphasized that the State Register of Real Estate, state cadaster and address registry policy have good results and is ready to share its experience in this field. Azerbaijani ambassador gave detailed information about ASAN service and said that advantage of "ASAN service" is the high level of service for population.

The sides noted that despite the wide opportunities for cooperation between Azerbaijan and Tajikistan in trade-economic, scientific, cultural and other spheres, the problem of restoring the Dushanbe-Baku direct flight has not been solved yet, which also hinders the development of bilateral relations.

In turn, Fayziddin Sattor told that Tajik side is interested in buying oil products and crude oil from Azerbaijan, expressed hope for the participation of Azerbaijani companies in the free economic zone created in the Lower Punjab Province.

The meeting also emphasized the interest of Azerbaijani investors to Tajikistan's economy.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 17:07 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

The first Azerbaijani low-cost airline Buta Airways, launching its first flight from September 1, will increase the number of flights on the Baku-Kiev-Baku route.

Starting from October 29, Buta Airways will operate flights on the Baku-Kiev-Baku route three times a week  on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Currently, flights to Kiev are carried out on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and the move was explained by strong demand for additional direct flights on this route, according to Azertac.

The first low-cost airline in Azerbaijan as well as a structural division of the Closed Joint-Stock Company Azerbaijan Airlines, currently carries out flights to near abroad to nine international destinations in Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Georgia and Iran with flights from the airports of Baku and Ganja.

Since the beginning of its operation, Buta Airways has been in high demand both among the citizens of Azerbaijan and in other countries. Loading of aircrafts on the majority of destinations is not less than 85 percent.

The first Azerbaijani low-cost air company uses Embraer planes. Being a low-cost airline, Buta Airways offers additional services such as carriage of baggage, hand luggage, hot onboard meals, as well as seat selection in the airplane on the flights on a paid basis.

The airline provides sandwiches and water free of charge on all flights, hot meals can be pre-ordered during the purchase of the ticket for 7.90 euro. A variety of drinks and cold appetizers are available on board the aircraft.

Carriage of hand luggage of unlimited weight, with the sum of three dimensions not exceeding 110 cm will cost 25 euros. Carriage of baggage weighing up to 23 kg (inclusive), with the sum of three dimensions not exceeding 158 cm will cost 25 euros. When purchasing baggage on the website or at sales offices in advance it will cost 20 euros.

As additional options Buta Airways flights provide comfortable seats in the aircraft cabin. Seats with extra legroom in the first row and emergency exit will cost 25 euros, priority seats at the front of the cabin - 15 euros. Check-in will be available online on the website and self-service check-in kiosks free of charge. Check-in at the counters at the airport will cost 3 euros.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 11:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Amina Nazarli

Nakhchivan's mausoleums, considered as the main attraction of the Republic, have been submitted for consideration for inclusion in ISESCO (Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Islamic World Heritage list.

Nakhichivan Autonomous Republic, a landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan, is a land with special color, which absorbed several different cultures and characteristics at once, and became something of a kind of their peculiar reconciliation.

Vasif Eyvazzade, the Secretary General of Azerbaijan National Commission for ISESCO, head of the International Cooperation Department of the Culture and Tourism Ministry presented a collection of relevant documents and a letter of Culture and Tourism Minister Abulfas Garayev to ISESCO Director General Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri as they met on the sidelines of the 38th session of the Executive Council of ISESCO in Rabat, Morocco.

Eyvazzade gave detailed information about the monuments destroyed by the Armenians in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, saying that a special working group was created for this purpose.

Azerbaijans cultural and spiritual heritage is constantly exposed to aggression by the Armenians. After occupying 20 percent of Azerbaijans internationally-recognized territories in the early 1990s, Armenia pursues a policy of vandalism against Azerbaijans historical, material and cultural heritage on its own territory and on occupied Azerbaijani lands.

The Director-General of ISESCO, in turn, underlined that the organization stands by Azerbaijan in all issues.

The secretary general further said that in 2018 Azerbaijan will mark the 10th anniversary of the "Baku Process", noting the importance of ISESCO's active involvement in promotion of this event on the international arena.

Nakhchivan city, the capital of the Republic, is located 536 km from Baku, near the border with Iran. Folk legend says the city takes its beginning from the time of Noah and that Noah himself laid the foundations of the city after the Great Flood. Noahs Mausoleum is preserved in the southern part of the city.

Being one of the most ancient cities of Azerbaijan, Nakhchivan is rich with impressive ancient mausoleums.

The Mausoleum of Yusuf ibn Kuseyr (1162), Momine Khatun Mausoleum (1186), Garabaghlar Mausoleum (14th century), Diri Baba Mausoleum and other historical sites are a small part of the historical heritage of this ancient region.

Momine Khatun Mausoleum was built in the western part of Nakhchivan by the famous Nakhchivan architect, Ajami Abubakir oglu. The mausoleum was built upon the order of Shamsaddin Eldaniz, the founder of the Azerbaijan Atabay state, over the grave of his wife Momine Khatun. Words "We're leaving, but dreams remain. We are dying, but the foundation remains" were depicted on it.

Garabaghlar Mausoleum, located in the village of Garabaghlar, Kengerli district, belongs to the 14th century. It is assumed, however, that the minaret was built at the end of the 7th or early 8th century.

The Mausoleum of Yusuf ibn Kuseyr is one of the most ancient monuments in Nakhchivan. People call it also Atababa tomb. On the epitaph of the tomb, it was written that the tomb was built by the architect Ajami Nakhchivani son of Abubakr in 1162, and the name of the person who buried there is written on the stone as well. The tomb consists of underground and eight-pointed surface. The underground is the tomb, and the surface is of monumental type like memorial monument.

--

Amina Nazarli is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @amina_nazarli

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 13:26 (UTC+04:00)

By Rashid Shirinov

Armenia, which occupied Azerbaijani territories, violated most of the commitments undertaken upon accession to the Council of Europe, Azerbaijani MP Asim Mollazade told Trend on October 5.

He was commenting on President Ilham Aliyevs statement about the Council of Europe made at a meeting with the delegation of the Political and Security Committee of the Council of the European Union.

Depsite this, no discussions on these issues are held in this organization, Mollazade said.

Azerbaijan and Armenia for over two decades have been locked in a conflict, which emerged over Armenia's territorial claims to Azerbaijan. Since the 1990s war, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. Although the UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan, they have not been enforced to this day.

Asim Mollazade also noted that a concrete information struggle against Azerbaijan is being conducted in the Council of Europe.

I think that the Council of Europe should seriously change its policy on these issues, the MP said. First of all, we are talking about the work of the relevant executive body and the general secretariat of this organization.

He further opined that the Azerbaijani delegation represented in the Council of Europe will also express its position in this regard, and Azerbaijans interests will be discussed at the session of the organizations Parliamentary Assembly.

Since becoming a member state of the Council of Europe in January 2001, Azerbaijan has been actively and vigorously cooperating with all working institutions of the organization.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 09:49 (UTC+04:00)

First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has today viewed a new building for IDP families in Ramana settlement, Sabunchu district, Baku.

Deputy Prime Minister, chairman of the State Committee for Refugee and IDP Affairs Ali Hasanov informed First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva about the building, Azertac reported.

The building was constructed as part of the project aimed at providing IDP families temporarily settled in buildings in emergency state with new apartments. The construction work started in March, 2017. The five-storey building has five one-room, 20 two-room, 20 three-room, and five four-room apartments.

Mehriban Aliyeva praised the conditions created at the building. The First Vice-President was informed that 50 IDP families living in buildings in emergency state in Khatai district and Sarigaya residential area will be resettled here.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 09:52 (UTC+04:00)

First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has today viewed conditions created at a new building of Gubadli district Khanlig village secondary school in Ramana settlement, Sabunchu district, Baku.

Head of Gubadli District Executive Authority Malik Isagov informed Mehriban Aliyeva about the conditions created at the building, Azertac reported.

The school was commissioned in the 2017-2018 academic year. The construction of the building started this year and ended in four months. The 196-seat school is designed for children from Gubadli IDP families and residents of surrounding areas.

Mehriban Aliyeva spoke with first grade pupils of the school. The building was supplied with state-of-the-art equipment. All conditions have been created here.

The Azerbaijani First Vice-President viewed an informatics room. First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva viewed photos of Gubadli district`s pupils, who entered the universities with high scores.

Mehriban Aliyeva also viewed a photo stand reflecting President Ilham Aliyev`s meeting with athletes from Gubadli district. The First Vice-President then watched a training session of athletes from Gubadli district.

Mehriban Aliyeva met with the school staff, and congratulated them on World Teachers' Day.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
October marks the annual celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. This years theme is Inclusion Drives Innovation.

In July of this year, the National Organization on Disability released results that provided insights into the employment practices of more than 175 companies. The results show that companies with a higher than average workforce of individuals with disabilities share five key inclusion elements.

Strategy & Metrics  Senior leaders discuss and publicly promote overall diversity. They have a plan of action for improving disability inclusion practices that is driven by a disability champion who is accountable to advance this strategy.

Climate & Culture  Priority is given to creating employee/business resource or affinity groups that are specific to disability. Most critically, those groups have annual budgets that allow them to take visible and impactful action.

Recruiter Training  Recruiters, who are on the front line with job candidates, are trained in, and know how to find and use the companys accommodation process. This helps ensure candidates gain access to the supports needed to be a successful candidate and land the job.

People Practices  HR teams are trained to proactively ask new hires if they need an accommodation in the post-offer and pre-employment stages. This improves the employee experience and ensures that there are no gaps in providing support to employees with disabilities from day one.

Workplace & Technology  As new facilities are built, universal design principles  a set of design guidelines that ensure the physical workplace works well for people of every ability  are routinely applied.

LCS, in partnership with the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), works diligently with the local business community to encourage businesses to hire individuals with disabilities. LCS has had feedback from local employers that ranks individuals with disabilities as some of its best and most dedicated workers. LCS believes that potential is limitless and, as we work hard to spread this belief we are grateful to the many area employers that have provided employment and/or internship opportunities for the individuals that LCS and DVR mutually serve. For information about the employment services that LCS offers, contact Alison at 262-598-0098 or hoffmana@lcsracine.org.

A success story

Gerard is a former LCS Explore and E-Now! participant. Gerard learned employment skills in LCS Explore and moved into career exploration with E-Now! where he completed his application for DVR employment services. Gerard now works part time at a local business in a job that he proudly refers to as his profession. On his days off he volunteers at Aurora. Gerard is happy to be leading a life where he is independent and actively involved in the community.

Conference

LCS is pleased to be one of the sponsors of the Nonprofit Leadership Conference that the University of Wisconsin-Parkside is hosting on Nov. 14. Highlighting the conference is the keynote speaker Vu Le, executive director of Rainer Valley Corps, a nonprofit in Seattle that promotes social justice. Information about this important conference can be found at www.uwp.edu/nonprofit.

For information about LCS, contact Mary Beth at popchockm@lcsracine.org.
6 October 2017 09:56 (UTC+04:00)

First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has attended a ceremony to give out new apartments to IDP families as three new buildings were commissioned in Masazir settlement, Absheron district.

Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the State Committee for Refugee and IDP Affairs Ali Hasanov informed the First Vice-President of the works done in the IDP town, Azertac reported.

The buildings were constructed as part of the project aimed at providing IDP families temporarily settled in buildings in emergency state with new apartments.

All the apartments underwent major repair and were supplied with necessary equipment as well as with gas, water and electricity. Extensive landscaping work was done, green areas were created in the yards of the buildings.

Addressing the ceremony, First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva provided an insight into the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Saying the Azerbaijanis were forced to live as refugees and IDPs as a result of the conflict, First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva added that President Ilham Aliyev highlights the dispute in his speeches both in bilateral meetings and in international organizations.

Pointing out the Azerbaijani government's attention, the IDPs from Lachin and Aghdam districts thanked First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva for implementing this kind of projects.

The First Vice-President then viewed the apartments.

Mehriban Aliyeva was informed that two out of three buildings feature 80 and the third has 50 apartments.

First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva viewed IDP from Lachin district Innaf Najafova's apartment. Innaf Najafova thanked President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva for the conditions created for them.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 10:06 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order to provide funding for construction of Damirchi-Lahij road connecting two villages in Shamakhi and Ismayilli districts.

Under the presidential order, AZN3 million is allocated from the Presidential Contingency Fund for the building of the 22km-long road.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 10:16 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has signed an order to provide funding for the building of a new school in Lahij village in Ismayilli district.

Under the presidential order, AZN3.5 million is allocated from the Presidential Contingency Fund for the construction of the 400-seat school.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 16:17 (UTC+04:00)

By Sara Israfilbayova

World oil prices are down on Friday, as investors are wary of the tropical storm Nate heading to the Gulf of Mexico.



U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 is down by 0.14 percent at $50.72 per barrel, meanwhile Brent crude LCOc1 dropped by 0.11 percent at $56.94 a barrel, according to RIA Novosti.

Traders are worried on the eve of the expected storm. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) informed that Hurricane Nate appeared on the coast of Nicaragua.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) reported that oil and gas companies began evacuating their employees from platforms in the American part of the Gulf of Mexico because of the storm.

The regulator also added that the companies stopped production by 14.55 percent of the production capacity of oil and 6.4 percent - gas in the Gulf of Mexico in the U.S.

Thus, oil production in the region was reduced by 254,600 barrels per day. At the same time, investors do not exclude that the refinery will suspend its work in the region, which will reduce the demand for raw materials.

Investors weighed the possibility of an extension to the OPEC-led deal against expectations that growing output in the U.S. and Libya could weigh on oil prices.

Libya restarted its largest oil field after gunmen forced a shutdown of the field over the weekend while U.S. production hit its highest level in more than two years.

Oil prices are being preserved by news about the visit between Russian President Vladimir Putin and King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

The sides discussed the joint actions of countries that positively influenced the situation on the market, as well as the possibility of further cooperation in this direction.

During the previous trading session, support for quotations was the prospect of extending the global OPEC pact + on limiting the extraction of raw materials.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid Al-Falih said, within the framework of the energy week, being held on October 3-7 in Moscow that Riyadh welcomes Russia's readiness to extend the agreement by the end of 2018, as previously announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

OPEC and other major oil producers such as Russia and Azerbaijan reached an agreement in December 2016 to remove 1.8 million barrels a day from the market.



OPEC and its partners decided to extend its production cuts till March 2018 in Vienna on May 25, as the oil cartel and its allies step up their attempt to end a three-year supply glut that has savaged crude prices and the global energy industry.

The next meeting of the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) is scheduled for the day prior to the full ministerial meeting on November 30 in Vienna.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 11:50 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, the two Central Asian nations, continued their efforts in bringing the relations to the highest level as Tashkent hosted a meeting of Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev and his Uzbek counterpart Shavkat Mirziyoyev on October 5.

In a short time, due to the will of the two presidents, a historic level of mutual understanding between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan was reached, Mirziyoyev said, the press service of the Kyrgyz President reported.

He warmly welcomed the high guest, noting that this state visit is a symbolic continuation of the agreements concluded during the historic state visit to Bishkek.

"I think the peoples of the two fraternal countries will appreciate it. After our meetings in Beijing, Astana, historical negotiations in Samarkand, we achieved great results in all directions. If we talk about our political relations, then there is no unresolved issue left. We support each other within the UN, the CIS and the Islamic Cooperation Organization. In trade and economic relations, as we agreed, we will not interfere with our entrepreneurs," Mirziyoyev said, adding that the business forums in Bishkek, Tashkent confirm the establishment of contacts between entrepreneurs.

He went on to say that the greatest gratitude of citizens, especially residents of border areas, is connected with the opening of checkpoints, which people have waited for many years. These events are positively regarded by residents, according to the Uzbek leader.

The head of Uzbekistan also noted the cultural and humanitarian cooperation of the two countries. Currently, Bishkek holds the days of culture of Uzbekistan, in connection with which the famous creative collectives, writers and other representatives of the creative intelligentsia came to the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

Mirziyoyev also said that this state visit would open up new cooperation directions in a number of spheres, in particular, in the military-technical area.

Atambaev, in his turn, also emphasized with what joy the residents of the country took the news about the opening of checkpoints, which have been closed for years.

Following the meeting the sides signed more than 10 bilateral documents on various areas of cooperation.

Both presidents signed the Declaration on Strategic Partnership, Strengthening Friendship, Good-Neighborliness and Confidence between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, UzA reported.

During the press conference which was held after the meeting, the sides noted that the talks were held in a spirit of mutual understanding and sincerity and that the parties are united on all strategic issues.

It was stressed that the dynamically developing trade, economic and cultural-humanitarian ties, the activities of the open border checkpoints and the expansion of direct contacts between the regions are of great importance in the further strengthening of bilateral relations.

Mirziyoyevs visit to Kyrgyzstan on September 5 of the current year was the first by an Uzbek leader in 17 years.

Along with the signed border agreement during the visit, the sides voiced desire to reconsider the water and energy issues which caused controversy in the past.

A number of recent diplomatic meetings between Kyrgyz and Uzbek officials have indicated a significant improvement in bilateral ties between the two countries.

The parties also stressed that one of the key factors of Central Asias well-being is the integrated use of water and energy resources, taking into account the interests of all the states of the region. The importance of open dialogue and the search for mutually acceptable solutions in this sphere were underlined in this regard.

The two countries trade turnover rose by twofold in the first half of the current year and it is expected that the volume of bilateral trade will total $280 million in late 2017.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 11:43 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Islamic Republic's automotive sector, which accounts for 10 percent of the country's GDP and 4 percent of the workforce, is the second most active industry in Iran, after its energy sector.

Irans second largest car producer - Saipa - manufactured over 285,000 vehicles during the first half of the current fiscal year (started March 20).

The figure indicates a rise by 19.8 percent compared to the same period of the preceding year, according to the company on October 4.

Saipas production plan is materialized by 95 percent, the report said.

Meanwhile, Saipa sold 273,106 cars between March 20 and September 22 bringing in 77,844 billion rials (about $2.3 billion) in revenues, according to a letter the company sent to the Supervision Office of Irans Securities and Exchange Organization, Trend reported.

Saipas output amounted to 44,000 during the sixth Iranian calendar month (March 20-Sept. 22). The company sold 51,560 vehicles, worth 15,071 billion rials in the period, according to the letter.

The Iranian manufacturers currently produce different types of vehicle, including passenger cars, 4WD, trucks, buses, minibuses, and pickup trucks.

Irans passenger car (including sedans and SUVs) output registered a rise by 20 percent during the first five months of the current fiscal year (March 20-August 21) to stand at 496,833 units.

Iran's car output reached 1.165 million units in 2016, according to the OICA. The figure indicated an 18.6-percent rise versus 2015, which is the highest output growth rate among car manufacturers in the world.

The Islamic Republic was the world's 18th biggest car manufacturer in 2016. Irans car industry is the second biggest sector in country after the energy sector, which makes more than 10 percent of GDP.

Following the JCPOA, Iranian car manufacturers reestablished cooperation with European companies, including Peugeot, Citroen and Renault. This resulted in a strong growth of nearly 151 percent for automotive sector, which ended 2016 as the top performing sector on the Tehran Stock Exchange.

Traditional export markets for Iranian automobiles include Algeria, Azerbaijan, Cameroon, Ghana, Egypt, Iraq, Pakistan, Senegal, Syria, Sudan and Venezuela.

Under Iran's major economic development plan, the country has set a goal to boost car output to three million per year by 2025, reducing unnecessary car imports. Central geographic location of the country provides significant growth potential as an export hub.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 14:29 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

A mid-October deadline for recertifying Irans compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is coming closer with the U.S. president being opposed by the Congress on the future of the agreement.

U.S. President Donald Trump intends to announce the cancellation of the nuclear deal with Iran next week, the Washington Post newspaper reported.

President Trump is expected to announce next week that he will decertify the international nuclear deal with Iran, people briefed on the White House strategy towards Iran said on October 5, the newspaper said.

It is believed that Trump would not recommend the Congress to re-impose sanctions in order to reach a compromise with many congressional leaders who stand for keeping the deal at least with some changes.

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson stated on Wednesday that the administration is ready to offer president some options on the fate of the nuclear deal.

Both Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joe Dunford spoke for preserving the nuclear agreement at a hearing in the Senate Armed Services Committee earlier this week.

Mattis suggested not leaving the agreement on Iranian nuclear program, since there is currently no evidence of violations by Tehran and it meets the interests of Washington. Dunford also told the panel Iran is not in material breach of the agreement, contending that the pact has delayed the development of a nuclear capability by Iran.

The Iran nuclear deal was negotiated in July 2015 between Iran, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany. By ratifying the plan, Iran agreed to scale down its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

At the same time, the U.S. retains sanctions against Iran on the missile program, human rights and on suspicion that Tehran sponsors terrorism.

Currently, Washington insists on inspections of Iran's military facilities by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) under the JCPOA. However, Tehran rejects such inspections.

The presidential administration was previously instructed to review its policy on Iran, not only looking at Tehran's compliance with the nuclear deal but also its behavior in the region.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 18:29 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim received an official invitation from Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to visit Baghdad, the Turkish media cited the countrys prime minister as saying on October 6.

Yildirim added that the date of his visit to Iraq is currently being coordinated.

Ankara is interested in developing relations with Baghdad, especially after holding an independence referendum in the Kurdish autonomy of Iraq, he said.

On September 25, the Kurdish autonomy of Iraq held an independence referendum which is not recognized by the international community.

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 17:04 (UTC+04:00)

By Trend

Turkmenistans President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov expressed dissatisfaction at a meeting of the government, pointing to low rates of cargo transportation by the State Service of Maritime and River Transportation, the Altyn Asyr TV channel reported on October 6.

Berdimuhamedov noted that Turkmenistans transport system has considerable reserves of production capacity, allowing it to ensure increasing volumes of transportation of goods and passengers, including those traveling through Turkmenistan to another country.

According to him, the formation of modern transport and transit infrastructure, the involvement of new territories in it means today not only the growth of cargo turnover, but also corresponds to the trends of global development.

Focusing on the development of the modern transport and communications system of country, the Turkmen head also spoke about the low rates of freight traffic by the Ministry of Railway Transportation.

It was previously reported that construction of a new international sea port is underway in the Caspian city of Turkmenbashi. Once the sea port is commissioned, there will emerge great opportunities for sending cargoes arriving to Turkmenbashi along the Silk Road from Asian and Pacific countries further to Europe via ports of Russia, Azerbaijan and Iran.

Turkeys Gap Insaat company plans to complete construction of the international sea port in the city of Turkmenbashi in December 2017. Annual capacity of the port will be 17-18 million tons. Cost of the project is more than $1.5 billion.

The project of the new port in the city of Turkmenbashi envisages construction of ferry, passenger and container terminals. The complex will include general loading terminal, bulk cargo terminal, polypropylene terminal, as well as shipbuilding and ship repair plants. Total area of the new port will be over 1.4 million square meters. Total length of the mooring line will be 3,800 meters.

International ferry and passenger port in the city of Turkmenbashi will be able to serve 300,000 passengers and 75,000 trailers a year. Its container terminal has an average annual capacity of 400,000 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units).

---

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
6 October 2017 19:00 (UTC+04:00)

By Kamila Aliyeva

Tbilisi will host a special session of GUAM Council of Foreign Ministers on October 8 which will be attended by the representatives of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova.

The information was posted on the official twitter account of GUAM Secretariat on October 6.

During the meeting, the sides are expected to discuss the bilateral and multilateral cooperation among the member countries, including the expansion of collaboration within the organization, the action plan and other issues.

The foreign ministers will sign an action plan and a document on expansion of cooperation among the members of organization, Azertac reported.

As a part of his visit to Tbilisi, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov will also hold a number of bilateral meetings with Georgian government officials.

The meeting is dedicated to the 20th anniversary of creation of GUAM.

The GUAM format was created by four post-Soviet states in 1997 during the summit of heads of states of the EU in Strasbourg. The member states of the organization are Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova. In 1999, Uzbekistan joined the format and four years later withdrew.

In 2006, Ukraine and Azerbaijan announced plans to further increase the GUAM member relations and established its headquarters in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.

The GUAM plays an important role in ensuring regional security, as it contributes significantly to the development and strengthening of dialogue between the countries of the region.

Currently Georgia is chairing the organization.

---

Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz
RACINE  Jim Morrison said his older brother, Bob, had always looked out for him when they were growing up.

Bob protected me from bullies, said Jim. And when we got out of high school he got me my first drink.

In return, Jim volunteered to stay in Vietnam for six more months to spare his brother the experience.

Decades later, Bob, who is a former Racine alderman and City Council president, was able to return the favor by accompanying his brother on a Stars and Stripes Honor Flight to Washington, D.C.

He loved every minute of it, said Bob. And he deserved it for what he went through for this nation.

'I took care of him'

Jim, who is about two years younger than Bob, had enlisted along with three of his friends right after graduating high school. Stationed between Saigon and the Cambodia border, his company saw heavy fighting with the Viet Cong. Jim was thrown into the air twice by explosions and temporarily blinded by the flash from the main gun of a tank.

After graduating high school, Bob went to college for a few years but then dropped out. Fearing that he was going to get drafted, Bob decided to enlist.

U.S. Military policy at the time said that two brothers couldnt be stationed in Vietnam at the same time. So while Bob was in training, Jim signed up for another six months in Vietnam so his brother wouldnt have to go.

He took care of me my whole life while I was growing up, said Jim. So I took care of him.

Bob was stationed in South Korea, where he never saw combat. Jim, meanwhile, was sent to drive an M48A3 tank along the Cambodian border.

'To hell and back'

In 2010, Bob heard about an Honor Flight for World War II veterans and applied to be a guardian who escorts and looks after one of the flights veterans.

I had to wait quite a while until I was assigned someone and went on the flight for the first time, said Bob. It was such an incredible experience I told them, I will do whatever you want. I want to be a volunteer for this organization. 

Since the number of surviving World War II veterans has dwindled, the Honor Flight Network announced last spring it would start doing flights for Vietnam Veterans.

I wanted (Jim) to get on one of these flights so badly, said Bob.

Bob said that when Jim came back from Vietnam, the war had changed him.

He wouldnt talk a whole lot about his experience, but my family knew that hed been to hell and back, said Bob.

Since Jims wife died five years ago, hed started to open up and tell Bob stories from his service.

Theyll make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, said Bob.

Jim said that in addition to the trauma he experienced in Vietnam, he was also deeply traumatized by the reception he and other Vietnam veterans received when they returned home. Once, a friend of his wifes called him a baby killer to his face.

I never killed a baby  I never wanted to kill anybody, said Jim. I did what I had to do to survive.

Jim also came home to find that his three friends hed enlisted with, whod all been placed in different units, didnt make it back.

We were good friends, he said. And I never got to say goodbye to them.

Jim applied to go on the Sept. 16 Honor Flight so he could visit the black wall of names at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

I needed to do it for myself and for them, Jim said.

Bob initially wanted to be Jims guardian, but, he said, Honor Flights policy was that guardians had to be younger than the veterans. Since hed served in Korea, Bob got to join his brother as a veteran.

A life-changing experience

The two had a grand old time, especially Jim who got a new nickname.

My brother was very lively during the trip. He was full of humor, said Bob. His humor was so sharp the photographer on the trip called him Mr. Sassy-pants.

But the trip was also deeply emotional. Bob gave Jim some space as he and his guardian found the names of his high school friends, Dick OHare, Pat McClure and Dennis Tunstra, listed on the wall.

When I got to the wall, I lost it a little bit, said Jim. And they said, Everythings all right. 

The ghosts Ive been carrying in my heart for decades are finally gone, he added.

When they returned to General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee that night, the group was greeted by hundreds of people cheering.

All the love those people showed  it was amazing, said Jim. It was like coming out into a beautiful world full of beautiful people in it.

After volunteering on Honor Flights all these years, Bob is grateful for what the organization has done for his brother, whos continued to open up and reconnect with his family.

Weve just been so blown away by the fact that hes opening up," said Bob. Our organization brought him back to life.
To truncate expenses, Burlington, Mass.-based Lahey Health is laying off nearly 75 employees, according to America Closed.

Here are five things to know:

1. During the six-month period ending March 31, the health system suffered a series of losses. Emergency visits plummeted 0.9 percent and ASC visits fell 4.5 percent.

2. Lahey Health had operating losses totaling $37.3 million for the period, substantially more than the $3.8 million in operating losses for the same period of 2016.

3. The layoffs' timing coincides with the health system's planned merger with Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. A Lahey spokesperson said the job cuts have "nothing to do with the planned affiliation." The spokesperson attributed the layoffs to the "challenging healthcare environment."

4. Administrative and management positions will comprise the bulk of the job cuts.

5. Lahey Health employs nearly 14,500 individuals.
Eric Beck, DO, is the integrated delivery CEO of Envision Healthcare. He is also president and CEO of Evolution Health, a division of Envision Healthcare. Within Evolution Health, Dr. Beck oversees one the few U.S. post-acute provider practices focused on population health.

He was chief innovation officer, chief clinical integration officer and associate CMO of Evolution Health and American Medical Response, an Envision division, prior to taking on his current roles.

Dr. Beck attended osteopathic school at the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens. He completed an internship at Philadelphia-based Albert Einstein Medical Center and underwent fellowship training at University of Chicago.
Senior Director of U.S. Joint Reconstruction and Outpatient Marketing at DePuy Synthes Scott Zellner discusses the evolution of the Anterior Approach to total hip replacement and how the move to value-based care will propel future growth.

Question: What percentage of hip replacements are performed with the Anterior Approach?

Scott Zellner: An American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons survey from November 2016 shows 34 percent of surgeons are doing the Anterior Approach, which is quite remarkable. Since 2004 we have partnered with Dr. Joel Matta, a pioneer in the space to conduct surgeon education about the Anterior Approach, and back then 1 to 2 percent of surgeons were doing it. To see this climb to 34 percent nationally is really remarkable. We are seeing numbers higher than the industry average; however, with upwards of 40 percent of DePuy Synthes users performing the Anterior Approach.

Q: How has it become one of the fastest growing surgical approaches in orthopedics today?

SZ: It starts with patients. Hip and knee patients often delay for years before they have surgery and unfortunately, they are told it has to be the last resort. In the interim, they might gain 40 pounds, develop high blood pressure and cholesterol. Younger patients, including baby boomers, are increasingly interested in talking with their doctor about treating their pain and getting back to activities they enjoy.

The Anterior Approach enables patients to undergo surgery and permit a shorter recovery period. We are seeing 30 percent shorter hospital stays and 18 percent more patients discharged to home with the Anterior Approach than with traditional surgery. Patients are attracted to the muscle-sparing, tissue-sparing benefits of the Anterior Approach and this is being spread through word of mouth.

Bundled payments and the trend toward outpatient surgery are driving the adoption of the Anterior Approach from the hospital and physician perspective. Our surgeon customers are getting rewarded or penalized by value-based contracts. They need to deliver great outcomes, but they are also evaluated on their cost of care and patient experience. Because of the short stay and less pain, patients discharged home are reporting a better experience and we are seeing a 45 percent cost reduction with Anterior Approach versus the traditional approach.

Q: How common is it for orthopedic surgery to be performed in an outpatient setting? Is this a growing trend? How is DePuy Synthes supporting such a shift?

SZ: It's growing fast and it's really local. There are cities like Minneapolis, Las Vegas, and Columbus, Ohio, where we are seeing high penetration of hip and knee replacements in the outpatient setting. Nationally, somewhere from 5 to 10 percent of total joints are performed in ASCs. In the next three to five years, I believe north of 30 percent of joint replacements will be performed in ASCs, dependent on what CMS does as it relates to outpatient payments.

If you are going to start doing hip replacements in an outpatient setting, the Anterior Approach is an approach to consider. Patients already expect a shorter hospital stay and they are expecting a faster recovery and normal return to daily living activities.

As many of our hip surgeons look at outpatient, they quickly realize the Anterior Approach is a smooth way to make that change. We also run outpatient professional education and encourage surgeons who are looking to go to an ASC to consider using the Anterior Approach in the hospital setting and then taking it to the ASC once they are comfortable with it.

Q: How has the technology and technique evolved over the years? What new technologies are available to enable the Anterior Approach to be performed on more patients?

SZ: Customers have had a concern about the learning curve for adopting the Anterior Approach. DePuy Synthes has been a leader in the space, but we are also working hard on technologies to reduce the learning curve and improve the reproducibility. We are just launching the ACTIS Total Hip System, the first DePuy Synthes hip stem designed with the Anterior Approach in mind.

We also recently announced two partnerships, one is with Medical Enterprises Distribution, LLC to co-market the ME1000 Surgical Impactor designed to replace the mallet in the OR. The ME1000 delivers more consistent and stable energy that is designed to automate bone preparation, implant assembly and positioning, and helps reduce the stress on surgeons. I can't tell you how many hip and knee replacement surgeons need shoulder replacements because the wear and tear is significant.

The second partnership is with JointPoint, Inc. to co-market its proprietary software platform that provides computer navigation, case planning and intraoperative feedback. This is all iPad-based; when you pair the new hip stem designed to be utilized with tissue sparing approaches such as the Anterior approach, with the ME1000, which allows optimal implant placement, you've really made this Anterior Approach and other hip replacements as reproducible and reliable as possible, while making the learning curve as small as possible.

Q: How significant is the learning curve for surgeons? What professional education and training is available?

SZ: Our goal is to minimize the learning curve. We put on workshops that include a half-day didactic learning session about the procedure and half-day cadaveric training. We surround the day with digital learning and after the day make available the opportunity for OR visitations. To date we have trained more than 11,000 surgeons on the Anterior Approach as described by Dr. Matta.

Q: What investments has DePuy Synthes made to help surgeons bring Anterior Approach to their patients?

SZ: Beyond the investments we've made in the implants and technologies and the learning centers, centers of excellence and preceptorships, we are trying to reach customers where they are and when it's convenient for them. We can host national, regional and local programs; we think this is the right thing for patients, surgeons and hospitals and we are willing and able to help train where needed.

Q: What is the future of Anterior Approach? Will it become more common than traditional approaches?

SZ: I think I would still expect to see both approaches available in the US. Residents and fellows are training on the anterior procedure, which means they won't have the extra learning curve heading into their practice. I believe you'll see a mix where more than 50 percent of surgeons are doing the Anterior Approach in the future.
Leaders within the health IT space are continuously innovating to bring care outside of a hospital's walls and into patients' homes. Many questions remain unanswered, however, including how to relieve physician administrative burden related to EHRs and how to implement the necessary IT infrastructure for data sharing. Despite the many challenges at play, stakeholders across the care continuum are striving to answer these questions to elevate patient care.

In a webinar sponsored by Nokia Technologies and hosted by Becker's Hospital Review, John Halamka, MD, CIO of Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a 651-bed teaching hospital, and Alexis Normand, director of healthcare business for Nokia Technologies, weighed in on the many factors driving progress in the health IT space and how effectively leveraging patient-generated health data will transform care delivery.

Challenges and trends in the high-tech era of healthcare

"No other industry has moved so fast as healthcare in the high-tech era," Dr. Halamka said. In 2016, The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology found 96 percent of hospitals had a federally tested and certified EHR meeting CMS' Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. This figure is up from 71.9 percent in 2011.

"Healthcare moved a little faster than culture would allow," Dr. Halamka said. Integrating IT systems into daily workflows can take both time and energy. Other challenges with using data effectively include creating user-friendly patient portals, improving EHR interoperability and a steady decrease in innovation by EHR vendors due to government mandates.

Despite the many challenges impeding seamless data sharing, various trends are taking hold to eliminate challenges clinicians face in optimizing EHRs and other technological platforms. For example, Dr. Halamka predicted third parties will come into the mix and improve existing EHRs by adding unique functionalities. Dr. Halamka added this collaboration between EHR vendors and third parties will be the "real centerpiece of innovation."

IoT in 2017 and beyond

Many CIOs and other health systems executives are interested in IoT devices due to their potential for overcoming connectivity issues and sharing crucial information. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center recently implemented an application, BIDMC @ home, targeted for its congestive heart failure patients. The hospital employed middleware applications by connecting EHRs to smartphones to facilitate communication between patients and their care team. When patients open BIDMC @ home on their mobile devices, the app will show patients their care plan for that day, including medication dosages and recommended foods. The app's success in improving outcomes is contingent on a patient's willingness to engage in their care, as they are charged with inputting both objective and subjective data into BIDMC @ home. The application then shares that information with the EHR and BIDMC @ home will analyze the variances in data to see if an intervention is necessary. If the app deems an intervention is needed, it will provide patients a number to call to seek additional care, which may include sending a visiting nurse to the patient's home. BIDMC @ home also contains embedded links displaying the raw data that triggered that alert.

"Patient-generated healthcare data shows [a care team] what variance occurred. Unless you implement programs that incorporate some kind of subjective and objective patient data into care management, it will be hard to survive the transition to value-based purchasing," Dr. Halamka said.

Patient care teams within Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center prioritize patient education. Providers will show patients graphs generated from BIDMC @ home, which will give them a better picture of how they are doing in adhering to their care plan.

"It is not just about showing the data," said Dr. Halamka. "It is about interpreting that data to provide wisdom [leading to] a call to action."

How data is changing care delivery

To drive optimal patient outcomes and change care delivery, the industry needs to prioritize "social" precision medicine, including allowing patients to readily communicate with their care team over a secure platform. Precision medicine encompasses a social element, which entails identifying how patients and providers prefer to interact with technology; baby boomers may prefer a phone call while a 24-old patient opts for a text message.

Dr. Halamka shared his wife's personal experience with hyperthyroidism to illustrate this point. After continually experiencing an elevated heart rate of 110 beats per minute throughout the day and losing a notable amount of weight, Dr. Halamka's wife contacted her physician over a secure texting platform to say she may have a thyroid issue. The physician ordered tests at a lab in close proximity to her and she received lab results minutes after they were completed, indicating escalated triiodothyronine and thyroxine levels. Her physician used an app to locate a reputable endocrinologist nearby, who prescribed her medication that alleviated the symptoms within two weeks. A process that previously could extend months or beyond happened in a few days through collaboration and the use of a secure communication platform.

"[The industry should] knit together all the devices in a home with primary care providers, labs, pharmacists, specialists and others at almost no-cost in a system that pays [clinicians] for high-quality outcomes," Dr. Halamka said.

The power of predictive medicine  Creating care plans of the future

Innovators within the healthcare sector are devising ways to use data to change healthcare delivery to a model focused on prevention. Preventive medicine is not only key to improving Americans' health, but it also fulfills another vital purpose: slashing healthcare costs. Simply put, healthcare costs are spiraling out of control, with healthcare accounting for 17.8 percent of Gross Domestic Product in 2015 for a total of $3.2 trillion dollars. Healthcare costs accumulate in the traditional healthcare system because it is designed to treat people after they're already ill.

"In a sense, medicine is always too late," Mr. Normand said. "You always to go to a doctor when you [are] already sick. There are a lot of cases where if you have data beforehand, you can prevent undesirable health events through intervention."

Nokia Technologies is working on solutions allowing patient data to disrupt the way care is coordinated, with the overall goal of driving early interventions. The company is targeting consumers with technology they already use, including watches and other wearables. New solutions hitting the market allow everyone to be an active participant in their health. With patients becoming more involved in their care and technology rapidly evolving to meet consumer demand, Mr. Normand predicted care delivery will look vastly different in the coming years.

"Digital health will take place less in a hospital setting," he said. "It will happen everywhere. It will be less visible, but it will be more pervasive."

To view the webinar recording, click here.

To view the webinar slides, click here.
Here are 11 recent news updates on health IT companies.

1. Allscripts closed its acquisition of McKesson's Enterprise Information Solutions business Oct. 2.

2. Amazon spent between $50 million to $100 million to acquire a 3-D body scanning startup called Body Labs.

3. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David J. Shulkin, MD, said the VA will award Cerner a contract for the health system's EHR within the next month.

4. Hospital and physician group executives ranked Cerner the No. 1 EHR vendor for end-to-end IT outsourcing solutions, according to a Black Book report.

5. A U.S. jury reevaluated the $940 million in damages Tata Consultancy Services, a software services exporter, was ordered to pay Epic after the Mumbai, India-based company was found guilty of stealing trade secrets.

6. Epic is the No. 1 EHR vendor for hospitals participating in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program, according to ONC data gathered in July.

7. UC San Diego entered into a multiyear project with IBM Research to establish the Artificial Intelligence for Healthy Living Center on the university's campus, IBM announced Sept. 28.

8. Nuance Communications, a voice and language solutions provider, launched an artificial intelligence-powered virtual assistant solution targeted toward clinicians Sept. 27.

9. Chicago-based Outcome Health, a health IT provider, plans to lay off an undisclosed number of employees, just days after announcing it would hire an additional 2,000 workers over the next five years.

10. Samsung Electronics America entered into a partnership with TigerText, a clinical communications solutions provider, to improve communication among care teams, the company announced Sept. 28.

11. Brian McAndrews, former CEO of Pandora, the media company known for applying machine learning to song selection, was appointed to the board of directors at Teladoc Sept. 18.
Hospitals and health systems can achieve major efficiencies and cost savings by implementing new technologies. However, these technologies can also drain money from a healthcare organization if not properly implemented, managed and tracked.

This article is sponsored by Canon USA.

To better understand cost management issues surrounding healthcare technology, Canon USA continually reviews feedback from its nationwide reseller/dealer channel  who regularly engage hospital clients. Their observations share numerous obstacles hospitals face when trying to assure premium healthcare delivery and purchasing technology and its associated costs.

Randal Kendrix, The US Healthcare Business Development Manager at Canon USA, and Charles Lamb, CEO of Triagetech LLC, joined more than 25 hospital and health system leaders to discuss these findings and identify pain points surrounding healthcare technology costs during a Sep. 21 roundtable at the Becker's Hospital Review 3rd Annual Health IT + Revenue Cycle Conference in Chicago.

Here are four main challenges leaders discussed.

1. A complicated contracting and purchasing process

They shared that hospitals often develop overly complicated requests for proposals, often to satisfy compliance regulations or assuage concerns about security. However, these complex RFPs are often ineffective or disregarded by many technology vendors. A significant percentage of resellers said hospital RFPs are too demanding, and more than half said they will no-bid or discard these types of RFPs.

"We saw a 135-page RFP to buy a printer. It had enough legal language in there that vendors just threw it out," said Mr. Lamb. "We believe there is a cost to that for the hospitals."

The vice president of revenue cycle at a large health system on the West Coast said the two biggest factors fueling this complexity in purchasing and contracting are security and privacy.

"There have been many recent data breaches, that are scaring the daylights out of all of us. We're all worried we'll be the next health system in the papers," he said. "So that's a big driver for these long, complicated, drawn-out contracts."

Compliance rules and regulations also lead to complicated contracts, according to the vice president and CIO of a large nonprofit hospital in the Northeast. "In many cases, our RFP processes are driven by compliance rules, which can be arcane and goofy," he said. "These aren't always value-adding."

2. Limited insight on the benefits of technology purchases

Hospitals do not have a standard or effective way to assess the potential return on investment of technology purchases or measure how "well" they're using the products, according to the vice president of revenue cycle for a large health system on the West Coast.

"We probably use a fairly low number of functions and features on our EMR, but we paid full price for it, and we pay the annual subscription fees. That's our biggest cost," he said. "RFPs are so useless right now because there's no feedback to the original business case. No one is held accountable for why we spent that money."

The revenue cycle leader said vendors should not only install the technology, but also help hospitals and health systems see the full benefits of the solution. He believes technology companies should offer a benefits realization mechanism as part of product installation.

Mr. Kendrix echoed the need for vendor support when it comes to healthcare technology.

"The No. 1 statement I hear when I visit doctor's offices or hospitals is: 'We are healthcare workers, not technology experts,'" he said. "Your hospital's EHR may have thousands of functions, but if staff members dont utilize them, that's lost value for the healthcare organization."

3. Planning technology investments for a constantly changing future

Hospitals must look at technology as a long-term, evolving investment, rather than a bandage to solve an immediate need, according to the vice president of the EMR applications program for a nonprofit health system on the East Coast.

"We often try to add technology as a permanent solution, instead of using technology as part of the solution," she said. "That's something we fail at in healthcare."

The East Coast vice president said healthcare leaders should assess whether the solution can meet their needs today and in the future as healthcare  and technology  transform.

"What do we need from this system or solution in the future?" she said. "It can't just be about today."

However, the CIO of a major hospital operator in the South said annual strategic planning offers a more pragmatic approach to technology investments than planning for far into the future.

"If you really want to be nimble and agile, a five-year plan might get you into a situation where you commit to something and get stuck. The hospital could be forced to pour more money into a solution that doesnt fit the needs, instead of stepping back and saying, 'This was a bad idea, let's cut our losses and move on,'" he said.

4. Keeping track of product lifecycles

Overseeing the product lifecycles for thousands of technology solutions across a hospital or health system poses an extremely challenging task few healthcare organizations can manage without significant resources.

Repairing or replacing products at the end of their lifecycles can also rack up a large expense for a hospital, according to the executive vice president of finance at a large nonprofit health system in the West.

"Departments will go ahead and repair something that costs twice as much as replacing it because they don't have enough capital dollars, but they have the operating dollars," he said. "So they're fixing things they should be replacing. It's a massive issue."

Numerous leaders echoed the finance executive's struggle to manage product lifecycles, and Mr. Lamb highlighted the potential consequences of ineffective lifecycle tracking.

"The 100,000 products you're trying to keep track of  that's risk," he said. "Either financial risk or clinical risk if a product dies, and you can't deliver the care a patient needs."
Approximately 22 pediatricians and four specialists have left Jackson-based University of Mississippi Medical Center since July 2016, according to The Clarion-Ledger.

Between July 2013 and July 2017, an average of 11 physicians left UMMC's pediatric department each year. However, 10 physicians have resigned during the first three months of fiscal year 2017, which began July 1, the report states.

Omar Abdul-Rahman, MD, former professor of pediatrics and neurology and vice-chairman of pediatrics for faculty development at UPMC, told The Clarion-Ledger his departure is part of a mass exodus of physicians leaving UMMC in recent months. He said he chose to leave because of the hospital's poor leadership and budget cuts.

"I fully intended to spend my entire academic career at UMMC," Dr. Abdul-Rahman said. "To be perfectly honest, I think the things that have happened in the last couple years really come down to the leadership at the top  [the leadership] is not up to par with what our expectations were. A lot of people were very disappointed  I don't think [the departures are] done yet. I think there are more to come."

UMMC officials told the publication the departures during the last year and a half, comprising 13.6 percent of the department, is not an exodus. Rather, the decline is part of the normal "ebb and flow" at the hospital, according to the report.

Data provided to The Clarion-Ledger by UMMC indicated the hospital's pediatric department gained five physicians in 2016 and had not netted any faculty losses this fiscal year so far. LouAnn Woodward, MD, vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the UMMC School of Medicine, told the publication the pediatric department has hired replacements to fill the vacant openings and created new positions, the report states.

In February, the hospital received a $35 million reduction in Medicaid funding. As a result, the administration cut each department's funding by 5 percent and required each department chairperson to make their own cuts to find savings during the last four months of fiscal year 2016. Dr. Abdul-Rahman said for the pediatrics department, the cuts came in the form of a 4 percent salary decrease for physicians between April and June, the report states.

In March, UMMC also revealed plans to lay off approximately 195 people to shore up finances.

A spokesperson for UMMC told Becker's Hospital Review the hospital did not have a comment on the issue.

Editor's note: This article was updated Oct. 6 to ammend Dr. Abdul-Rahman's former title. A previous version of this article referred to him as a former associate professor of pediatrics and neurology. He also served as vice-chairman of pediatrics for faculty development.


The Senate confirmed Chicago lawyer Eric Hargan as deputy secretary of HHS Wednesday in a 57-38 vote.

Mr. Hargan is coming to HHS from Chicago, where he worked at the law firm Greenberg Traurig and taught classes at Loyola University Chicago School of Law, according to the Chicago Tribune. Mr. Hargan assisted the Trump administration with the HHS transition, and he previously served in the department during President George W. Bush's administration, according to the report.

He earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., and his law degree from Columbia University School of Law in New York City.

Mr. Hargan joins HHS as deputy secretary shortly after Tom Price, MD, resigned due to concerns over his use of taxpayer-funded private jets.

More articles on leadership and management:

Senate Dems try to attach CHIP funding to stabilization bill, but GOP balks

Physician whistle-blower at VA running for Congress in New Hampshire

ACA advocacy groups dedicate advertising resources in wake of outreach budget cuts
Stay in the know with Becker's Hospital Review's weekly roundup of the nation's biggest healthcare news. Here's what you need to know this week.

1. 3 things to know about HHS Acting Secretary Dr. Don Wright

President Donald Trump named Don Wright, MD, to fill the role of acting secretary of HHS Sept. 29, following the resignation of Tom Price, MD. Dr. Price resigned due to controversy over his use of taxpayer funded private jets.

2. 4 drop from running for HHS secretary

Although the White House has not officially commented on potential candidates for the head HHS post, four people have dropped out of the running.

3. Las Vegas hospitals deal with mass shooting aftermath, array of patient injuries

Las Vegas hospitals are seeing the effects of Sunday's mass shooting as they treat an array of traumas, including gunshot wounds and car injuries.

4. Sunrise Hospital CMO: 'Difficult, chaotic' experience treating those injured in Las Vegas shooting

Jeffrey Murawsky, MD, CMO of Las Vegas-based Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center, spoke to NPR about how the hospital operated in the 24 hours after a gunman opened fire during a country music festival Sunday evening, leaving at least 59 individuals dead and 500-plus people injured.

5. NYC Health + Hospitals chief to leave more jobs unfilled to cope with cash-flow crisis

Stanley Brezenoff, interim president and CEO of NYC Health + Hospitals, said the administration will fill only 25 percent of open positions at the health system due to a lack of city and state funding.

6. Nurses at California hospital walk off the job after not being paid

Tulare (Calif.) Regional Medical Center is once again in a dire financial situation since rebounding from the brink of closure in 2013.

7. Tennessee hospital closes after falling 94% short of GoFundMe goal

Copper Basin Medical Center, a critical access hospital in Copperhill, Tenn., closed Sunday after having been in a dire financial situation for months.

8. Hershey Medical Center cited for care delays that contributed to 2 patient deaths

State health officials recently issued five citations against Penn State Health's Milton S. Hershey (Pa.) Medical Center over the delayed care for three patients, two of whom later died.

9. California hospital files for bankruptcy after missing payroll

Tulare (Calif.) Regional Medical Center, a 112-bed hospital managed by Tulare-based HealthCare Conglomerate Associates, filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy Saturday.

10. HHS withdraws 3 proposed rules: 6 things to know

HHS withdrew three proposed rules Tuesday, including one that would have tested a new Medicare Part B drug payment model.

11. Cleveland Clinic demands Toby Cosgrove be removed from ballot initiative ads

Lawyers for Cleveland Clinic sent a cease-and-desist letter on Tuesday to proponents of a state ballot initiative, demanding the group immediately stop sending mailers that include a photograph and quote from Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove, MD.

12. Virginia hospital closes

Virginia lost its second rural hospital in the past five years when Pioneer Community Hospital of Patrick in Stuart closed last month.

More articles on leadership:

NYC Health + Hospitals chief to leave more jobs unfilled to cope with cash-flow crisis

Daniel Resnick ranked among Americas Top 500 Next-Gen Wealth Advisors by Forbes

26 pediatricians, specialists leave Mississippi hospital in 1 year
RACINE  While many residents are left wondering about the implications of the failed Machinery Row project, others are missing a former Halloween business that left Downtown Racine in the projects wake.

The popular Factory of Fear, a haunted house previously owned by Racine natives and former co-owners Darchell Rauter and brother Donta Albritton, saw success for seven years.

But during the 2015 Halloween season, Rauter and Albritton were informed that after their lease expired, they would be forced to vacate the building at 615 S. Marquette St. They also relieved the 30 employees who worked for them.

The decision to close the popular destination was connected to the Machinery Row redevelopment project located across the street between Water Street and the Root River. While the Marquette Street location was never a part of the Machinery Row project, the building was part of a package deal.

Former Mayor John Dickert previously confirmed the city wanted to market the Marquette Street building as ready for development, not one with a haunted house that would have to be dismantled and removed.

Two years later, the Machinery Row project is no longer happening and the building remains empty.

Return to Marquette Street not possible

Rauter said she would potentially be interested in reopening the Factory of Fear in Racine if the right terms were negotiated, but City Administrator Jim Palenick, who became city administrator in April after previous administrator Tom Friedel retired, says the city has no plans to rent the building.

Palenick explained that because many of the buildings are in such a state of disrepair, it no longer makes economic sense for the city to lease them.

At this point, the plan for that site is for the city to acquire the properties and demolish the buildings, said Palenick. Once demolished, the city will attempt to attract a new development for the waterfront property.

Upon hearing that Machinery Row had failed after Rauter had been forced to vacate the building and abandon her business, she was upset.

I think that they (the city) should let businesses stay open until they have something final that is going to go through, Rauter said. It has affected a lot of people  the employees, owners, customers  and all for nothing. They really need to have their ducks lined up.

Clearly there were some things that might have been done differently in hindsight, Palenick said. But we are focused on the future at this point.

Life after Factory of Fear

Rauter, who now lives in Franklin and opened a new business in Brookfield called Catch 22 Escape Rooms, 285 N. Janacek Road, in July 2016, said that while her new business is doing well and brings in an average of 25 groups of two to eight people each week, she remains aware of the void that the Factory of Fear left.

In fact, she still regularly receives calls about the business, especially at this time of year.

I get calls frequently, especially on the weekends until midnight asking when we are open, Rauter said. Thats how much of an impact we had on people after not being around for two years in the area.
A gunman opened fire during a country music festival in Las Vegas Oct. 1, leaving 50-plus individuals dead and 500-plus people injured. The experience proved traumatic for all parties involved, including the healthcare professionals near the site of the shooting and those assisting the injured and the dying in the hours following the incident.

Here are six healthcare professionals' thoughts and reflections on the shooting as it unfolded Sunday evening and in the hours following.

1. "Lots of shots; I ducked just a little. I felt like [the gunfire] was outside of the [arena] and I felt like if something was going on ... it was coming outside of the arena," Barry Bohlen, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Mary Lanning Healthcare in Hastings, Neb., told KLKN-TV.

2. James Sebesta, MD, a bariatric surgeon at Tacoma, Wash.-based MultiCare Health System and former Army surgeon told The Seattle Times: "You know, I've been in a lot of bad places during my career and seen lots of mass casualty [incidents]. But in the Army, we were ready for them.  The other thing is, there was a reason for them. I mean, it was war. This was the most devastating thing I've ever seen. I could not believe it."

3. Dorita Sondereker, RN, director of emergency services at Las Vegas-based Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center, told CBS News: "Ambulances were just coming from everywhere. There were pickup trucks with patients just cutting in front of me and just trying to come to the emergency room.  There was blood everywhere, and honestly, I want to say bodies on stretchers everywhere.The patients kept rolling in and we were just trying to find placement for everybody."

4. "All penetrating bullet wounds, whether it was shrapnel or whether it was direct hits, the sickest patients had direct hits to the torso or abdomen and gunshot wounds to the head," Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center Medical Director Scott Scherr, MD, told CBS News. "[The first thing I realized was] how horrific this was and the evil that is out there. And No. 2, the sense of humanity that was shared with our community, with the caregivers that came in to help. And last night when I got home, I had tears. I had tears of joy, of pride of our team and our community, and tears of sadness."

5. Sijo Parekattil, MD, a urologist and co-director of the PUR clinic at Clermont, Fla.-based South Lake Hospital, said he and his fiancee proceeded to hide in a closet at the back of a store in the hotel to escape the chaos. "It was very scary, because we didn't know what was happening outside. You're just hoping that it's not coming to you. We were thinking about how to barricade the door. We were looking around the closet to see if there was anything that could be turned into a weapon," he said.

6. "We have a relatively large emergency department, so we were able to triage the patients as they presented by ambulance from the scene. So [we] received about 30 at a time and were able to move them off to our operating rooms if they needed to go emergently or stabilize them in those bays and then move them upstairs into beds in the hospital. We've seen events that brought us 30 patients at once, but no one's seen anything of this magnitude before," said Jeffrey Murawsky, MD, CMO of Sunrise Hospital & Medical Center.
The following were among the most-viewed transactions and valuations stories published by Becker's Hospital Review the week of Oct. 6.

1. Quorum Health sells 2 Pennsylvania hospitals

Brentwood, Tenn.-based Quorum Health, the 32-hospital spinoff of Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems, sold two Pennsylvania hospitals to Williamsport, Pa.-based UPMC Susquehanna.

2. CHS completes divestiture of 5 Pennsylvania hospitals

Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems finalized its divestiture of five Pennsylvania hospitals to West Reading, Pa.-based Tower Health  formerly Reading Health System  Oct. 1.

3. Steward Health Care becomes private hospital operator of 36 hospitals following Iasis acquisition

Boston-based Steward Health Care completed its acquisition of Iasis Healthcare, an 18-hospital system in Franklin, Tenn., Sept. 29.
AbbVie must pay more than $140 million to a Tennessee man who says he experienced a heart attack after taking the company's testosterone replacement drug AndroGel, a federal jury ruled Thursday, according to Reuters.

Here are four things to know.

1. Jeffrey Konrad and his wife filed the lawsuit against AbbVie in 2015. Mr. Konrad experienced a heart attack after taking AndroGel for two months in 2010.

2. The jury ruled AbbVie misrepresented the drug's risks and ordered the company to pay $140 million in punitive damages and $140,000 in compensatory damages, according to David Buchanan, an attorney for Mr. Konrad.

3. AbbVie contends it marketed AndroGel strictly for uses approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

"We are disappointed with today's verdict, and we intend to appeal," AbbVie said in a statement cited by Reuters.

4. AbbVie faces numerous lawsuits from plaintiffs across the country who claim AndroGel caused heart attacks, strokes and other injuries. In a separate federal trial in July, the jury also ruled AbbVie misrepresented the drug's risks and ordered the drugmaker to pay $150 million in punitive damages.

More articles on supply chain:

FDA approves first Zika blood screening test

J&J exits insulin pump business: 4 things to know

CVS rolls out medication management tool: 4 things to know
Here are five spine and neurosurgeons making headlines.

Neuroscientist Ali Rezai, MD, left the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Marco A. Rodriguez, MD, unveiled the International Spine Institute in Baton Rouge, La.

Peter P. Sun, MD, earned a 2017 Top Doctor Award in Oakland, Calif.

William Watters, MD, professor at the Clinical Orthopedic Surgery Institute of Academic Medicine at Houston Methodist Hospital and a clinical professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch, discussed the biggest challenges and opportunities for spine surgeons today.

ORHub appointed Choll Kim, MD, of the Spine Institute of San Diego, to its advisory board.
The Ministry of Health and Prevention of the United Arab Emirates is dedicated to providing quality care for patients and education for clinicians.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention of the United Arab Emirates (MOHAP) and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding a pediatric specialty consultation program to provide clinical and educational services to MOHAP hospitals.

The Visiting Consultants Program intends to bring the expertise of CHOP physicians to patients at MOHAP hospitals within the United Arab Emirates. The visiting physicians will meet with the clinical team, perform clinical consultations as needed, perform inpatient consultations and give lectures to the MOHAP team.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention of the United Arab Emirates is dedicated to providing quality care for patients and education for clinicians.

As a result of this important initiative, both clinicians and children in the Middle East region will benefit from medical education and consultations by CHOP healthcare providers who are experts in the field of pediatric medicine.
Kareena Kapoor's Dazzling Avatar In Dubai Bollywood Wardrobe Dona

Kareena Kapoor attended the new store launch of Malabar Gold and Diamonds in Dubai. Her team shared the pictures on their social media page and we are totally mesmerized by the traditional look Bebo carried at the event.

Kareena wore a sharara suit by Faraz Manan which made her look pretty gorgeous. The pastel peach traditional suit had shimmery motif embroidery all over its body and had a Chinese collar neckline.

The attire was worn with beautiful diamond earrings and a ring from Malabar Gold and Diamonds and the jewellery brand's ambassador looked magnificent.

Did you like her traditional look? We are in love!
Types Of Dengue

Dengue is caused by the dengue virus that belongs to the Flaviviridae family and genus flavivirus. There are four distinct serotypes of the virus that mainly cause dengue: DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4. This is the reason why in a lifetime, a person can possibly get dengue a maximum of four times. [2]

According to a study, the four serotypes of dengue are believed to have evolved from sylvatic DEN strains (transmission of the virus between non-human primates like monkeys and mosquito species of the forest) in the forests of Malaysia and West Africa. The time of evolution is estimated to be between 100 to 1500 years ago. [3]

How Is Dengue Virus Transmitted?

The transmission of dengue peaks during the rainy season and in areas where the temperature is low and humidity is high. [4] All the serotypes of the virus are known to cause a full spectrum of the disease.

Some of the ways by which the transmission of the virus to humans occurs:

1. Mosquito to human

The female Aedes mosquitoes are the ones that require a blood meal to produce eggs. They bite a dengue infected person and become the carrier of the virus. Inside their bodies, the virus replicates within 8-12 days and get disseminated to body tissues like salivary glands.

Then, when these infected mosquitoes bite another healthy individual, the virus gets transmitted to their bloodstream, resulting in dengue infection.

Remember: Once a person recovers from dengue infection, they become lifelong immune against the dengue serotype that has caused the infection. However, the person still can get infected by the remaining serotypes of dengue. Also, if coinfection by any of the remaining three serotypes occurs in a short duration after recovery from one serotype, the person could be at greater risk of developing severe dengue. [5]

2. Other ways of transmission

These include: [6]
Diwali 2021: Here Is Why It Is Called The Festival Of Lights Festivals oi-Lekhaka

Diwali is famously known as the festival of lights; it is the most sought-after festival of the Hindus; it is celebrated with pomp and grandeur throughout the country. Diwali, also called Deepavali, is made of two words "Deep" and "Avali", meaning lights and rows; together it means rows of lights. This year the festival will be celebrated on 4 November.

When Is Diwali Celebrated?

Diwali is celebrated in the month of Ashwin and continues into the month of Kartik according to the lunar calendar. It is usually a 4-day-long festival, each day holding a certain significance. The main deity is Goddess Lakshmi, whose poojas are an important part of the festival. She is the goddess of wealth and is said to bestow her devotees with an abundance of wealth throughout the year.

The whole country unites as one to celebrate this much-awaited festival of the year. This festival is said to mark the end of the harvest season and is the most important festival before the start of the winter season. The main essence of the festival is the victory of good over evil.

Legends Associated With Diwali

There are a lot of stories behind the celebration of Diwali. The most famous reason is that Diwali marks Lord Ram's return to Ayodhya after defeating the evil Ravana. The king of Lanka had abducted Lord Ram's beloved wife, Sita when Ram, Sita and Laxman were in exile for 14 long years.

Ram waged a war against him in order to rescue Sita. The war went on for 10 days at the end of which Lord Ram defeated the evil king. Their return to Ayodhya after 14 years of exile and defeating the evil Ravana is celebrated as Diwali. Thus, the festival reinstates the victory of good over evil.

Another legend says that Diwali is celebrated to mark the auspicious marriage of Goddess Lakshmi with Lord Vishnu. Goddess Kali, the goddess of strength, is worshipped in most parts of Bengal on this day. The god of auspiciousness, Lord Ganesha, is also worshipped.

Diwali, The Festival Of Lights

8 reasons why we celebrate Diwali in India | Boldsky

Decorative lights and diya form the main part of the festivities. Lamps and lanterns are lit everywhere. You also get to see a lot of colours everywhere in the form of colourful rangolis and flower decorations. Every corner of the places, be it home or shops, are washed, lit and heavily decorated. Torans and pandals are also seen everywhere.

The sky is lit with fireworks and the constant sounds of firecrackers keep reminding us about the festivities. There are many reasons for all these customs and traditions. It is said that the lights attract the goddess Lakshmi into our homes. It also indicates that the light defeats the darkest of darkness and always emerges victorious.

The noise of the firecrackers sends a message to the heavenly gods about the joy and plentiful state of the humans. It also indicates the victory of good over evil. The display of fresh flowers and colourful rangolis is done to impress the gods and invite them to our homes. The people of Ayodhya decorated the whole city with diyas to mark the return of Lord Ram and this tradition is joyfully carried forward.

Another tradition that is widely associated with Diwali is gambling. It is said that whoever gambles with money on the day of Diwali, will be blessed with an abundance of wealth throughout the year. This is because Goddess Lakshmi is said to have played cards with her husband, Lord Vishnu.
MOUNT PLEASANT  On Wednesday, Foxconn Technology Group announced the area where it will invest an initial $10 billion to build a massive manufacturing plant in the Village of Mount Pleasant. However, well before then, the company will be renting a place to train employees and test new products.

Louis Woo, special assistant to Foxconn CEO Terry Gou, said some of the products to be tested in Racine County could be rolled out into stores sometime in 2018.

While the manufacturing plant is being built, Woo said, the company plans to continue working on its products, such as televisions and liquid crystal display (LCD) screens, to make sure there will be a smooth transition to the manufacturing plant.

When youre looking at making (televisions) from the components all the way to making it to a final product, thats going to take four or five years  to build the basic components, thats two pieces of glass which could be 80 inches, 120 inches, Woo said.

Were (going to be) doing some testing assembly  were renting a space to set up a training center and also an experimental center to make sure whatever we do two, three, four years down the line will be the most advanced that no one has done before.

Woo praised Wisconsin officials, particularly Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave and Mount Pleasant Village President Dave DeGroot, and said they worked hard to get us to where we are today.

When asked about why Foxconn chose Racine County, Woo said it was the people who won the company over.

Theyre not only hard-driving, hard-working people, but they are passionate and they are determined, Woo said.

Now the actual work begins

The county is still working to acquire the land necessary to build the Foxconn plant that will be located between Interstate 94 and Highway H, and between highways 11 and KR.

Delagrave said the county has been working hard to secure property.

Weve done an extremely aggressive job in getting land options for about 95 percent of what the site needs, Delagrave said.

Claude Lois, project director for the Village of Mount Pleasant, was hired in August to handle development related to Foxconn.

Lois said that now, The actual work really begins.

Now it gets down to the details of the development agreement; the (tax incremental district) stuff will all start now, Lois said.

There will be a public hearing regarding the TID district. At that point in time everything will be finalized with the TID boundary.

In September, Lois was part of a Wisconsin delegation that traveled to Japan on a fact-finding mission to see a Foxconn facility in action.
RACINE  A West Allis man is being charged after allegedly shooting and killing a man on Holmes Avenue last fall, possibly bringing the victims family one step closer to justice.

Michael A. Cina, 39, of the 1600 block of South 63rd Street in West Allis, is charged with first-degree intentional homicide with the use of a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon.

On Sept. 14, 2016, Racine police responded to the 1600 block of Holmes Avenue after it was reported that a man had been shot. Police found the victim, later identified as 36-year-old Joey Torrez, in a grass parkway between the sidewalk and street.

Torrez had reportedly been shot eight times in his car and was initially taken to Ascension All Saints Hospital. He was then transported to Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa for treatment. On Sept. 20, 2016, Torrez was removed from life support and died from the gunshot wound injuries he sustained.

During the investigation, police were able to obtain footage of the shooting from a surveillance camera in the neighborhood. The video reportedly showed Torrez getting into his vehicle, and a blue Ford Focus driving up next to Torrezs vehicle. The video shows a persons arm reach out of the Ford Focus, fire at Torrez and then drive away.

A witness reported that the Fords occupant was a allegedly a heavyset Hispanic male. Another witness told police Cina had reportedly admitted to killing a Racine man and not to worry about it because it had been handled.

The suspect was identified as Cina after police spoke with witnesses and learned Cina drove a blue Ford Focus with unique wheels matching the video footage of the shooting.

Also facing charges in Kenosha murder

Cina is also the suspect in a Kenosha homicide in which a glove with Cinas DNA was found. Shell casings from the Kenosha homicide also reportedly were fired from the same gun used in the Racine homicide.

In connection to the Kenosha homicide, Cina is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, burglary, armed with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

A preliminary hearing is set for Thursday at the Law Enforcement Center, 717 Wisconsin Ave. for the Racine case.

These new charges are something Torrez family has been waiting for all year. Even though its been a year, Esther Martinez, Torrez aunt, said it still feels like it was yesterday.

We are still having a hard time, said Martinez. We are trying to be strong. But its hard.

Torrez said her family doesnt know why Cina would shoot Torrez. Now, she is concentrated on the justice to come through the criminal justice system.

We want justice, Torrez said. Joey deserves it. We want him to rest in peace.
RACINE COUNTY  The $10 billion Foxconn project will be paid for without a sales tax and without raising property taxes anywhere in Racine County, officials revealed Wednesday.

Rather, the manufacturing complex, and development to follow, will be paid for entirely by a tax increment finance district, according to officials and the development team that negotiated the TID agreement with the company.

On Wednesday, the day officials revealed that Foxconn will build its 20 million-square-foot manufacturing plant in the southwestern corner of Mount Pleasant, the other major revelation was the public financing part of the plan: a TID. Tax incremental financing allows a municipality to pay for improvements in a district with the future taxes generated as development occurs there.

The financing plan, or TID plan, contains a $100 million incentive to the Taiwanese company  albeit an incentive that is entirely paid for by new tax valuation and property tax revenue created by the development itself.

The costs that are necessary are all paid for by the property taxes the company pays as a result of its development, said Jenny Trick, the executive director of the Racine County Economic Development Corp.

The financing anticipates a total investment in the project from the TID of $764 million. Foxconns $10 billion investment will generate more than $31 million per year in new tax revenue that will more than pay for all public improvements and development costs, according to materials provided to The Journal Times and according to the 39-page TID project plan.

Foxconn is providing financial guarantees to support a minimum valuation of $1.4 billion. That evaluation is expected to be reached in four years with a projected $350 million in new property valuation each of those years.

Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave said negotiators were able to avoid raising property taxes or adding a sales tax by using the TID economic development tool.

We took advantage of that and crafted a well-constructed project, he said.

Delagrave said the team didnt know at the outset of negotiations if it would be able to avoid a new tax to land Foxconn, a maker of liquid crystal display technology.

We didnt know either way, he said. I wanted to make sure that we had all options on the table. Thats why we were looking at it in the legislation; but just because it was in the legislation didnt mean we wanted or needed to enact it. I just wanted to make sure that everything was possible going into this project.

We worked hard at (the financing package), Mount Pleasant Village President Dave DeGroot said. We knew that we didnt have much of a chance getting through our village, our County Board, if the project costs were going to fall on the taxpayers.

First financing step: bonding

The financing of Foxconns project will start later this year with a $55.2 million bond issuance by Racine County for land acquisition in the area where the manufacturing campus will be built.

That will be followed next year by an estimated $53.7 million bond issuance by the Village of Mount Pleasant to fund sanitary-sewer infrastructure. That money will be repaid in 2020 by the states Clean Water Fund Loan Program.

Foxconn has also agreed to provide $60 million in up-front money for land acquisition in area two, its potential future expansion area. Mount Pleasant will hold title to that land until Foxconn can acquire pieces of it by developing chunks of that area.

The $764 million in project costs to be financed by the growth within the new TID include:

An estimated $168 million for land acquisition.

$160 million for water and wastewater infrastructure. That includes no expansion of either the Racine water nor wastewater treatment plants, which have the capacity to handle Foxconn, Trick said.

$116 million in added police and fire capacity. That will include construction of a new fire station in the area. A new police station is not anticipated, although more officers, squad cars and such are.

$12 million for road improvements and widening.

A $28 million contingency fund.

$5 million for fiber optics and other such costs.

$175 million in financing expenses.

The $100 million incentive to Foxconn which, if it meets all its benchmarks for hiring and so on, will end up paying that much less in property taxes from new taxes generated by Foxconns added property tax valuation.

Everyone else gets paid back first, DeGroot said. Foxconn is last in line.
It's ironic that Netflix shares jumped on Friday in response to it putting up subscription rates when the move itself was a response to more competition.

While subscription price increases have been announced only in its two major and most established markets  the US and UK  it's hard to imagine it won't roll out the new price structure in Australia eventually.

Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings has more competition on his hands. Credit:

Netflix is now the biggest producer of original  non-sports  content in the world and to maintain its edge in the streaming market it needs to offer those content-thirsty consumers more than its myriad competitors that are in catch-up mode.

Netflix has wisely decided not to fight on price  rather better quality and more choice.
Energy price shocks are the number one concern of Australian business, according to a global survey.

The World Economic Forum Global Risks 2018 report, published by Zurich Insurance Group and Marsh and McLennan companies, surveyed more than 12,400 executives from 136 countries, and put energy pricing as the leading concern for businesses operating in Australia within the next 10 years.

Australia is the only country in the world which views energy price shock as the greatest hurdle in doing business. Credit:Washington Post

Australia was the only country to rank energy price as its major concern, and the only other nation apart from Canada to include adapting to climate change within its top five risks.

This is a massive jump for energy pricing's risk rating; last year it was fifth on the list for Australian businesses.
Pet Circle already dominates the online pet market in Australia, turning over $70 million a year, and now founder Mike Frizell wants to take on the big box retailers.

PetBarn and PETStock are the leaders in Australia's pet food and product market but Frizell thinks it's time for some disruption.

Mike Frizell is looking to take on the big box retailers next. Credit:Brendon Thorne

"Big box pet retail is hugely inefficient," Frizell told an Entrepreneurs Organisation event in Sydney on Thursday. "I think you'll see retail innovation coming from ecommerce as opposed to online innovation. If we did retail it would look nothing like a pet store. We would do a very different format I doubt you could buy pet food in our store, but it would be in your home before you get there."

It might sound far-fetched but when Frizell started Pet Circle with co-founder James Edwards just over six years ago buying pet products online in Australia was in its infancy.
The latest mining boom has given Western Australia a windfall in revenues on which it can draw for what its residents need. Credit:Reuters The first resolution calls for an amendment to the Wesfarmers and Woolworths constitutions to allow member resolutions at AGMs. It will be interesting to see if institutional investors have much appetite for this as they see themselves as already having good access to boards, and companies would argue that such an amendment could open the floodgates to anyone filing a resolution, which could become messy and time-consuming. The second resolution is on human rights as it applies to the retailer's operations and supply chains. It requests disclosure of a number of human rights details, including the nature and extent of consultation with relevant stakeholders (including trade unions) in connection with the human rights assessments and commit to devoting resources to examining supply chains. Wesfarmers and Woolworths would argue they are already doing a lot in this area. They would also have a valid argument that their businesses are far more diverse than selling fruit and vegetables. The success or otherwise of the resolutions will largely depend on the proxy advisers and groups like the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI), which engages with listed companies on environmental, social and governance issues on behalf of its 37 members which collectively manage more than $1.6 trillion in assets.

Human rights, including slavery and wage fraud, is a hot issue. Some funds have been divesting shares, some are excluding shares from funds, while others are working with boards to try and prosecute change. According to ACSI's Ed John, labour and human rights in retail supply chains has been a major focus of ACSI's research and engagement with Australian company boards. "Reputational risk and the potential for supply chain disruption extends beyond direct employees or direct contracts. We look for companies to go well beyond 'tick the box' legal compliance," he said. Hot issues Human rights, including slavery and wage fraud, is a hot issue. Some funds have been divesting shares, some are excluding shares from funds, while others are working with boards to try and prosecute change.

NUW wants to work with boards. On October 5, the NUW national secretary Tim Kennedy wrote to Wesfarmers chairman Michael Chaney saying "As you are aware the NUW is a co-filer of the resolutions with the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility regarding the assessment, reporting and remediation of adverse human rights-related risks throughout the Wesfarmers operations and supply chain." Kennedy said he was notified by Wesfarmers on September 19 that the resolutions would not be listed on the basis it didn't qualify, based on the definition of a "member". He said this called into question the voting status of shares held by Wesfarmers' employees. He requested relevant Wesfarmers representatives meet with the NUW and the ACCR to discuss Wesfarmers' voluntary adoption of the human rights due diligence and disclosure standards contained in the resolutions filed. A spokesman for Wesfarmers said for the notice to be valid under the Corporations Act it must be given by 100 "members" entitled to vote at a general meeting of Wesfarmers. He said ACCR failed to meet the threshold. The proposed resolutions could not therefore be included in the Wesfarmers 2017 Notice of Annual General Meeting under section 249. He said Wesfarmers has various employee share plans and those shares were held initially in a trust arrangement until they are free from restriction. At that point, employees become entitled to own them directly and can transfer them to their own names when they will be a "member". "It is wrong to say that employees do not have voting rights while the shares are in trust, as the employee has the right to direct the trustee how to vote on their behalf on any resolutions at general meetings," he said.

It is a technical issue, which is yet to play out. But what made the letter all the more interesting is Kennedy is also chairman of LUCRF Super, which represents more than 162,000 members and more than 20,000 participating employers and holds shares in Woolworths and Wesfarmers. There is concern in some quarters that this is a conflict of interest given the NUW's interest in exposing exploited migrant fruit picking workers, some of whom are contracted by labour hire firms and who have been told not to join unions or they would be denied future employment. But Kennedy argues there is no conflict because as a super trustee it is incumbent on him and any trustee to make sure companies are doing the right thing because wrongdoing can result in reputational damage and investment risk, as evidenced by the wage fraud scandals at Domino's and 7-Eleven. It isn't the first time unions and super funds have started to take an interest in the behaviour of companies. A few months ago First Super, which is co-chaired by Michael O'Connor, who is also the national secretary of the CFMEU, put the private equity industry on notice with a decision to review its $100 million private equity portfolio over a series of wage fraud concerns.
Queensland is destroying tree cover at the rate of 10 square kilometres a day, harming biodiversity while stoking doubts about federal data suggesting emissions from land clearing are in decline.

On Thursday, the state Labor government revealed Queensland cleared an "alarming" 395,000 hectares of land in 2015-16 according to its Statewide Landcover and Trees Study (SLATS).

The land-clearing rate was up a third on the previous year. Almost half the area cleared was in river catchments near the Great Barrier Reef, increasing the flow of sediment onto offshore corals.

Emissions from the destruction of vegetation amounted to 45 million tonnes for that year, Steven Miles, Queensland's Environment Minister, said.
Fitness guru Fred Liberatore, 51, knows first-hand the importance of making astute choices in your 50s.

Fred is the twin brother of Brownlow medallist Tony Liberatore and uncle of AFL premiership player Tom Liberatore.

Fitness guru Fred Liberatore knows your 50s are a crucial decade for fitness. Credit:Kon Latrou

Fred is in the best physical shape of his life, winning body building competitions and running the thriving Real Fit gym business. He has observed the impact of his clients' choices in their 50s on their strength, mobility, independence and life satisfaction in retirement, and knows that this is a critical decade. He believes that living a healthy lifestyle is better than any pill for not only living longer, but living happier.

There are many parallels between fitness and finance. Your 50s may be some of your highest earning years and with the financial responsibility of kids mostly off your hands, it is the ideal opportunity to build retirement savings. Let's look at how to build a nest egg that, with increasing life expectancies, will need to stretch further into the golden years than it did for our parents.
Canberra courts would have to consider an accused person's Aboriginality when both deciding to release them on bail and how to sentence them, under changes to laws recommended by a specialist Indigenous legal service and submitted to a national inquiry.

Suggested reforms to address Indigenous incarceration rates also include long-term resourcing for "bail houses" in Canberra and NSW, and expressed support for Indigenous specific sentencing reports.

A national inquiry is considering the rate of Indigenous incarceration.

Federal Attorney-General George Brandis announced an inquiry last year into the rates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander incarceration, led by the Australian Law Reform Commission.

In its submission to the inquiry, the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) first observes that many of the proposals in the discussion paper reflect recommendations made more than 25 years ago by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.
George Pell arrives at his barrister's chambers in Melbourne ahead of his court hearing on Friday. Credit:Joe Armao, Fairfax Media. Mr Richter said he hoped to prove that "what was alleged was impossible". "We need to explore whether it could have happened ... whether it didn't happen," he said. Brian Cherrie outside Melbourne Magistrates Court holding signs, ahead of Cardinal Pell's hearing. Credit:Pat Mitchell, 3AW Magistrate Belinda Wallington gave the defence team permission to cross-examine most witnesses but ruled out a further five.

"We are dealing with historical events and memories are not static," she said. Police help George Pell through the 100-strong crush of national and international media in July. Credit:Justin McManus "I tend to think it's appropriate for witnesses' memories to be explored." Parts of what was discussed in court cannot be reported for legal reasons. Mr Richter said much of his cross-examination would be "short and to the point".

The case is set to return to court next month for more discussions on the number of witnesses and what they will be questioned about. Cardinal Pell slowly walked the 100 metres from his lawyer's offices to the court shortly before 9am, surrounded by dozens of cameras and reporters. A protester outside screamed abuse at him as he made his way up Lonsdale Street to the court entrance. The cardinal and his legal team were flanked by six police officers as they walked to court. One lane of Lonsdale Street was blocked off to provide space for the media pack as it spilled onto the road. Cardinal Pell did not have to walk through the metal detectors as others attending court do, but had to pass his belongings through the security scanner.

Before the hearing began he chatted quietly with two women, one seated either side of him. Media gathered outside the court from before dawn to secure a seat inside. Victim advocacy representatives were also outside, some holding signs. "It doesn't matter how high up the tree you are, it doesn't matter how much access to money you have, no one is above the law," Brian Cherrie said. Friday's turnout was more low-key than Cardinal Pell's first court appearance on July 26 when a 100-strong group of national and international media swarmed the cardinal outside court.

Unlike the previous hearing, there were empty seats in the courtroom on Friday. Once the hearing was over, the cardinal made the slow walk back to his lawyer's offices, again flanked by police. As he left, a woman screamed at him and then words were exchanged between one of the cardinal's supporters and several victims advocates. At his first appearance, Mr Richter told the packed court his client would plead not guilty, although he is only required to formally enter a plea if committed to trial. Loading
Lying on her back with her neighbour desperately trying to stab her in the heart, Denise Pederson thought she was going to die.

Her neighbour, William Sampson, who moments earlier had negotiated his way inside her Belmont unit with promises of ending their long-running dispute, thought so too.

Denise Pederson suffered horrific injuries to her neck, hands and face after she was brutally attacked in her own home by William Sampson.

"You're going to die," Sampson, 64, repeated as he struggled to deliver the fatal blow. But Mrs Pederson would not go without a fight.

After the initial shock, adrenaline kicked in and the courageous 65-year-old mustered all her strength to hold the knife away from her chest and struggle for her life.
Alex McEwan had allegedly left his Spring Hill home that night looking to kill someone. Ms Ban had just been going to work, what should have been a short walk from her Roma Street apartments to the Intercontinental Hotel. The wrong place at the wrong time, as Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said at the time. After eight days in court, aside from the Bans trauma, the increasing anxiety of her killer and tens of thousands of dollars of taxpayer money spent, the situation was essentially unchanged. In a rare series of events, a jury found him unfit to stand trial, back to where the Queensland Mental Health Court ruled him to be in May 2015. The 23-year-old who admitted to killing Ms Ban but blamed it on a demon in his head went back into custody, this time to a mental health facility where he would stay until he was fit for trial again.

The Bans walked out of court on Thursday afternoon with no idea what would happen to their daughters killer. On day one, the family, public and jury heard the strange combination of a not-guilty plea and a formal confession: Alex Reuben McEwan caused the death of Eunji Ban on 24 November, 2013. An artist's sketch of Alex McEwan in the court dock. Credit:Travis D. Hendrix/AAP There was no debate about whether the defendant had schizophrenia, just a question as to whether it impaired him significantly enough that he was not responsible for the young Koreans death. The rest of the trial was framed around Mr McEwans mental health all those years ago, before the case spent four years languishing in mental health tribunals and court rulings on fitness for trial.

And thats how it proceeded, first friend after friend saying they did not notice anything about the man they spent every weekend with. Then, eventually Mr McEwans voice mumbled to detectives that a demon had been troubling him since he was born, that he had been waiting his whole life to kill someone. The family of slain Korean student Eunji Ban are seen at the Brisbane Supreme Court. Credit:AAP That was right up until his current mental health got in the way, first on day three of the trial and then, more conclusively, on Wednesday when the jury heard only minutes of evidence. The body of South Korean student Eunji Ban was found in Wickham Park on November 24, 2013.

A demon called Jazzy intruded on the apprentice spray painters mind, the court heard, urging him to leap from the dock and attack the prosecutor, minutes after the jury was sent from the room. McEwan refused to listen, according to an expert psychiatrist who quizzed him on the incident, choosing instead to pummel his head with punches: One, two; one, two; one, two; back and forward between his fists, according to Justice Jean Dalton. Minutes earlier, he made a grand, throat-slitting gesture, at least a foot wide, that Justice Jean Dalton was sure one of the jurors must have seen. The next day, the whole trial was moved to the courtroom next door, and Mr McEwan placed in a secure, glass-walled dock in everybodys best interests. This was the second time the judge and barristers grappled with where to go next, the second time the jury would be sent home for the rest of the day.

On day four, they opted to press on with the trial, shortening sittings considerably so Mr McEwan would spend less time in the docks below the Queen Elizabeth II Courts of Law. Alex McEwan was ruled unfit to stand trial. When the 23-year-olds present state of mind intervened again on day seven, much more drastic measures had to be taken. Justice Dalton invoked Section 645 of the Criminal Code, an extraordinarily rare" move that created a trial within a trial to determine the defendants current sanity. In staggering evidence from Mr McEwans treating psychiatrist and an expert forensic psychiatrist, the jury and the public were given their most detailed insight yet into the mind of a man alleged to have gone out looking to kill someone on that November morning.

Crown prosecutor David Meredith introduced the court to a cast of voices afflicting the accused, including Jazzy; another demon called Dren; Nanna, Jesus, God and Satan. Psychiatrist Dr Donald Grant. Credit:AAP The court heard Mr McEwan told Dr Julian Dodemaide the first delay was caused by a sudden simultaneous onset of these characters. Jazzy was the primary player, prone to urging McEwan to self-harm or harm others, while Drens behaviour was more visual, cutting its own throat with blood leaking out in great amounts, the court heard. Psychiatric expert Dr Don Grant, who made a borderline call that the alleged murderer was fit for trial as recently as September 15, said Mr McEwan had only begun to consider he could have a mental illness in their most recent interview, on Thursday morning.

(He thought) what was happening was a contest between Heaven and Hell, Dr Grant said. It was the spiritual world thing, that he talks a lot about demons, about the Devil, about God, About Lucifer and so on. He talks about those things to the other prisoners in the other prison as well. Its only recently that he said Well Im starting to think maybe this is actually a mental illness. Mr McEwan had regularly blamed a demon for his actions in the early morning of November 24, 2013, when Ms Ban was bashed so badly she may have drowned on her own blood, dragged several flights of stairs and dumped under a tree in Wickham Park.

The court heard he told his sister he was possessed and she believed him. Both times Mr McEwan became overwhelmed during the trial came as he made shockingly blunt confessions to police. I killed her. I stomped her face in with my feet and fist, dragged her across the road, he said on video, just seconds before the court had to be adjourned on Wednesday. Psychiatrist Dr Julian Dodemaide. Credit:AAP Mr McEwan denied it was the video that brought on his increased anxiety and heightened hallucinations, described as rare in their extremity.

Ive seen it all before. I know that it wasnt really me, the court heard he told Dr Grant on Wednesday. It was a demon but I know the courts not going to accept it was a demon. In an interview with police, Mr McEwan claimed he was kind of waiting for it (to kill someone) all my life. After four years of waiting for trial, he told psychiatrists he wanted to continue, to get this done but the jury, after just four hours deliberating, ruled he was mentally unfit. "Putting someone on trial whose mental faculties mean that they don't understand or don't have the capacity to instruct (their lawyer) is not justice, it's barbarity," Queensland Law Society immediate past president Bill Potts said.
A man has been charged after a Queensland Rail tractor crane allegedly hit a 27-year-old woman in inner Brisbane on Thursday morning.

CCTV of the alleged incident. Credit:7 News Brisbane

A 58-year-old Flinders View man has been charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing grievous bodily harm with callous disregard and is due to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on October 25.

The charge comes as the alleged victim, Iuliana Stevenson, shows signs of improvement, with 7 News Brisbane reporting on Friday that she was awake and talking with family, but remains in a critical condition.
Australia's most influential independent political force, Nick Xenophon, has decided to quit federal politics to contest South Australia's March election, hoping to land a balance-of-power role that will decide not only which side forms government but what policies they can pursue.

The bold move threatens to turn the state poll - a race between a Labor government first elected in 2002, and a mistake-prone Liberal opposition struggling to inspire voters - into a three-way contest.

Minority government of one stripe or other now looms as the most likely outcome.

Senator Xenophon said he wanted to provide voters with an alternative because Labor was taking the state down the wrong path and the Liberals offered only a dead end.
At the time, Senator Sinodinos requested privacy and did not disclose the nature of his illness.

The minister announced two weeks ago that he was taking a period of medical leave and said he expected to be back as soon as practicable.

Senator the Hon Arthur Sinodinos AO, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, has taken a leave of absence to fight cancer. Credit:Christopher Pearce

Senator Sinodinos, the Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, is currently on leave and believes the prognosis is very positive and that the cancer is eminently treatable.

One of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's closest political allies, Arthur Sinodinos, has revealed he is fighting cancer.

The NSW senator, who served as chief of staff to former prime minister John Howard for a decade and is one of the most respected figures in the Federal Parliament, confirmed to Fairfax Media he has been undergoing treatment for cancer for the last two weeks.

Senator Sinodinos has not disclosed the type of cancer he is fighting.

Senator Sinodinos chose to reveal his fight to Fairfax Media to put to bed suggestions he may not return to work, and to make clear that he fully expects to return to politics fighting fit.

Senator Sinodinos' recent weight loss has not gone unnoticed by parliamentary friends and colleagues, some of whom have been concerned that he may step down from the ministry or even leave the Parliament.

There has also been speculation among some Coalition MPs that he may choose to leave the Parliament and take up a diplomatic posting.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has defied pressure from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to embrace controversial gas exploration, saying her state is "not budging" on the politically charged issue.

Speaking after a Council of Australian Government meeting in Canberra on Thursday, the Prime Minister stepped up pressure on his Coalition counterpart to approve the much-disputed $3.6 billion Narrabri Gas Project project by energy giant Santos, saying it would go a long way to helping meet a predicted east coast gas shortfall.

"[The project] is currently going through the planning process. What we would look forward to is that planning process being completed," Mr Turnbull said.

"The extra ... 58 petajoules [of gas produced per year] would make a very significant difference in supply and ... price is a function of supply and demand."
A Queensland Government minister has tendered his resignation after being diagnosed with a serious medical condition.

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Economic Development Bill Byrne will not recontest his Rockhampton seat at the next state election as his condition is "life-threatening".

Bill Byrne has resigned due to health concerns. Credit:Chris Hyde

He will see out his current term in Parliament as a local member, but Minister for State Development, Natural Resources and Mines Dr Anthony Lynham will take over his ministerial role.

Mr Byrne told The Morning Bulletin his condition was "cardiovascular".
An AR-15 rifle fitted with a "bump stock". Credit:AP For years, Republican lawmakers have been largely in line with the NRA, which has long objected to new restrictions. The shooting in Las Vegas, in which 58 people were killed, has brought new attention to bump stocks, aftermarket accessories that allow more rapid firing, and prompted Republicans' comments. Many Democrats have long called for much stricter gun laws. With the NRA and Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, open to more strict regulation of bump stocks, it stands a good chance of taking affect. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Credit:AP But some conservatives remain wary of taking any quick action. "Right now I think the focus needs to be on the victims," said Representative Barry Loudermilk. "We need to let some time settle before we address any of this." The legality of bump stocks could hinge on a "technicality," he said.

"There are multiple laws already in existence that he broke," Loudermilk said. " . . . Regardless of what we do here with the law, if someone's intending to do a capital crime, breaking laws isn't going to make a difference to him." House Judiciary Committee Chairman Representative Bob Goodlatte Credit:AP Top Democrat, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, urged Ryan to allow a vote on a Democratic bill to ban the devices. When asked whether the bill might be a slippery slope toward other gun restrictions, Pelosi said, "So what? . . . I certainly hope so." The devices The devices were introduced during the past decade by Bump Fire and Slide Fire, both based in Texas. Bump Fire's website appeared to be down for much of Wednesday. The company wrote on its Facebook page on Tuesday that its servers had been overwhelmed by "high traffic volume."

Multiple items on Slide Fire's site on Wednesday featured the notice, "Due to extreme high demands, we are currently out of stock." Bump Fire sells stocks for an AK-47 and an AR-15 for $US99.99 each. Slide Fire's stocks are priced between $US140 and $US300. Neither company responded to a request for comment. On Gunbroker.com, an auction site for firearms and shooting accessories, at least three dozen listings featuring bump stocks had attracted multiple bids. Zack Cernok, a Pennsylvania gun owner, was one of those trying to buy a Bump Fire bump stock. "I don't even have the gun for it, but I want the stock just to have it down the line," he said. "I just like the idea of them and want to see how it feels and if it's worth it  for $100, it's almost not a bad investment to buy it, try it out and sell it if I don't like it."

New push The push for new gun regulations comes at a fractured moment in American politics, but Democrats believe that the scope of the carnage in Las Vegas might make a difference. While some senior Republicans dismissed talk of new gun legislation as insensitive or premature, some ardent Second Amendment supporters said they are at least open to discussing new laws. One senator said he supports banning certain accessories used in the shooting. Congressional Democrats on Wednesday unveiled new, narrowly tailored proposals to ban devices used in the shooting and revived old ideas to close loopholes and restrict some gun purchases. Even President Donald Trump might be open to a debate. While he campaigned as a fierce defender of gun rights, this week he said, "We will be talking about gun laws as time goes by."

As Trump flew aboard Air Force One to Las Vegas to meet with survivors of the shooting, Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, unveiled a bill to ban bump stocks. It now has 38 co-sponsors, all Democrats. Feinstein said she had yet to identify potential Republican co-sponsors, but Senator Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin, said he would support banning bump stocks. "I have no problem banning those," he told reporters. Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the second-ranking Senate Republican, said that hearings on banning bump stocks would make sense. Senator John Thune, said that a potential ban "is worth having a conversation about, and some of our members agree with that." Other senior Republicans indicated that the latest tragedy is not going to change their position. In an interview Wednesday House Majority Whip Steve Scalise - who returned to Congress last week after surviving a shooting in Alexandria, Virginia, in July - agreed. "I think it's a shame that the day somebody hears about a shooting, the first thing they think about is how can I go promote my gun-control agenda, as opposed to saying, how do I go pray and help the families that are suffering?"

On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, told reporters that it's "completely inappropriate to politicise an event like this." He declined to answer questions on the subject. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Wednesday that the ban is "something I'd be interested in looking at to see if a law change would matter. Would it affect things? I'd be willing to look at that." Even some House Republicans who are among the most avid supporters of gun rights said they had not heard of bump stocks before this week. "This is such a new component to me, I have no idea how it operates, how simple it is," said Representative Jeff Duncan, who has sponsored numerous bills to expand gun rights, including a stalled effort to partially deregulate silencers. Others, such as Senator Richard Shelby were unmoved: "I'm a Second Amendment man," he told reporters. "I'm not for any gun control."

The National Rifle Association, the nation's most prominent gun rights organisation, did not have an immediate comment and has remained publicly silent since Sunday's shooting. Complicating the fresh debate for Democrats is their own electoral map next year. Ten Democratic senators face reelection bids in mostly rural states that Trump easily won in the 2016 election. But Richard Feldman, a former NRA lobbyist who now leads the Independent Firearm Owners Association, said the latest debate is likely to focus too much attention on the tools used instead of why people lash out so violently. "What sucks (to me anyway) is how we allow these bizarre events to focus our attention on the kind of gun, or calibre of gun instead of the person misusing the gun," Feldman said in an email. Loading
Scott Kelly and partner Amiko in Red Square, Moscow. Credit:Courtesy of Penguin Random House Australia "Amiko," I finally manage to say. She is alarmed by the sound of my voice. "What is it?" Her hand is on my arm, then on my forehead. Twin future astronauts Mark (left) and Scott Kelly, in 1967. Credit:Courtesy of Penguin Random House Australia Her skin feels chilled, but it's just that I'm so hot. "I don't feel good," I say.

Over the past year, I've spent 340 days alongside Russian astronaut Mikhail "Misha" Kornienko on the International Space Station (ISS). As part of NASA's planned journey to Mars, we're members of a program designed to discover what effect such long-term time in space has on human beings. This was my fourth trip to space, and by the end of the mission I'd spent 520 days up there, more than any other NASA astronaut. Amiko has gone through the whole process with me as my main support once before, when I spent 159 days on the ISS in 2010-11. I had a reaction to coming back from space that time, but it was nothing like this. The International Space Station, where Scott Kelly spent 340 consecutive days. Credit:Courtesy of Penguin Random House Australia This exposure would increase my risk of a fatal cancer for the rest of my life. I struggle to get up. Find the edge of the bed. Feet down. Sit up. Stand up. At every stage I feel like I'm fighting through quicksand. When I'm finally vertical, the pain in my legs is awful, and on top of that pain I feel a sensation that's even more alarming: it feels as though all the blood in my body is rushing to my legs, like the sensation of the blood rushing to your head when you do a handstand, but in reverse. I can feel the tissue in my legs swelling. I shuffle my way to the bath room, moving my weight from one foot to the other with deliberate effort. Left. Right. Left. Right. I make it to the bathroom, flip on the light, and look down at my legs. They are swollen and alien stumps, not legs at all. "Oh shit," I say. "Amiko, come look at this." She kneels down and squeezes one ankle, and it squishes like a water balloon. She looks up at me with worried eyes. "I can't even feel your ankle bones," she says.

"My skin is burning, too," I tell her. Amiko frantically examines me. I have a strange rash all over my back, the backs of my legs, the back of my head and neck  everywhere I was in contact with the bed. I can feel her cool hands moving over my inflamed skin. "It looks like an allergic rash," she says. "Like hives." I use the bathroom and shuffle back to bed, wondering what I should do. Normally if I woke up feeling like this, I would go to the emergency room. But no one at the hospital will have seen symptoms of having been in space for a year. I crawl back into bed, trying to find a way to lie down without touching my rash. I can hear Amiko rummaging in the medicine cabinet. She returns with two ibuprofen and a glass of water. As she settles down, I can tell from her every movement, every breath, that she is worried about me. We both knew the risks of the mission I signed on for. After six years together, I can understand her perfectly, even in the wordless dark. As I try to will myself to sleep, I wonder whether my friend Misha, by now back in Moscow, is also suffering from swollen legs and painful rashes. I suspect so. This is why we volunteered for this mission, after all: to discover more about how the human body is affected by long-term space flight. Scientists will study the data on Misha and my 53-year-old self for the rest of our lives and beyond. Our space agencies won't be able to push out farther into space, to a destination like Mars, until we can learn more about how to strengthen the weakest links in the chain that make space flight possible: the human body and mind. People often ask me why I volunteered for this mission, knowing the risks: the risk of launch, the risk inherent in space walks, the risk of returning to Earth, the risks I would be exposed to every moment I lived in a metal container orbiting the Earth at 28,100 kilometres an hour. I have a few answers I give to this question, but none of them feels fully satisfying to me. None of them quite answers it.

Scott Kelly (at left) undertaking a dangerous space walk outside the International Space Station. Credit:Courtesy of Penguin Random House Australia A normal mission to the International Space Station lasts five to six months, so scientists have a good deal of data about what happens to the human body in space for that length of time. But very little is known about what occurs after month six. The symptoms may get precipitously worse in the ninth month, for instance, or they may level off. We don't know, and there is only one way to find out. During our mission, Misha and I collected various types of data for studies on our selves, which took a significant amount of our time. Because Mark and I were identical twins, I also took part in an extensive study comparing the two of us throughout the year, down to the genetic level. The ISS was a world-class orbiting laboratory, and in addition to the human studies of which I was one of the main subjects, I also spent a lot of my time during the year working on other experiments, like fluid physics, botany, combustion and Earth observation. When I talked about the ISS to audiences, I always shared with them the importance of the science being done there. But to me, it was just as important that the station was serving as a foothold for our species in space. From here, we could learn more about how to push out further into the cosmos. The costs were high, as were the risks. On my previous flight to the space station, a mission of 159 days, I lost bone mass, my muscles atrophied, and my blood redistributed itself in my body, which strained and shrank the walls of my heart. More troubling, I experienced problems with my vision, as many other astronauts had. I had been exposed to more than 30 times the radiation of a person on Earth, equivalent to about 10 chest X-rays every day. This exposure would increase my risk of a fatal cancer for the rest of my life.

None of this compared, though, to the most troubling risk: that something bad could happen to someone I love while I was in space with no way for me to come home. I had been on the station for a week, and was getting better at knowing where I was when I first woke up. If I had a headache, I knew it was because I had drifted too far from the vent blowing clean air at my face. I was often still disoriented about how my body was positioned: I would wake up convinced that I was upside down, because in the dark and without gravity, my inner ear took a random guess as to how my body was positioned in the small space. When I turned on a light, I had a sort of visual illusion that the room was rotating rapidly as it reoriented itself around me, though I knew it was actually my brain readjusting in response to new sensory input. The light in my crew quarters took a minute to warm up to full brightness. The space was just barely big enough for me and my sleeping bag, two laptops, some clothes, toiletries, photos of Amiko and my daughters, a few paperback books. I looked at my schedule for today. I clicked through new emails, stretched and yawned, then fished around in my toiletries bag, attached to the wall down by my left knee, for my toothpaste and toothbrush. I brushed, still in my sleeping bag, then swallowed the toothpaste and chased it with a sip of water out of a bag with a straw. There wasn't really a good way to spit in space. I didn't get to spend time outside the station until my first of two planned space walks, which was almost seven months in. This was one of the things that some people found difficult to imagine about living on the space station, the fact that I couldn't step outside when I felt like it. Putting on a spacesuit and leaving the station for a space walk was an hours-long process that required the full attention of at least three people on station and dozens more on the ground. Space walks were the most dangerous thing we did in orbit. Even if the station was on fire, even if it was filling up with poison gas, even if a meteoroid had crashed through a module and outer space was rushing in, the only way to escape the station was in a Soyuz capsule, which also needed preparation and planning to depart safely. We practised dealing with emergency scenarios regularly, and in many of these drills we raced to prepare the Soyuz as quickly as we could. No one had ever had to use the Soyuz as a lifeboat, and no one hoped to.

I opened a food container attached to the wall and fished out a pouch of dehydrated coffee with cream and sugar. I floated over to the hot-water dispenser in the ceiling of the lab, which worked by insert ing a needle into a nozzle on the bag. When the bag was full, I replaced the needle with a drinking straw  this way the liquid didn't escape into the module. It had been oddly unsatisfying at first to drink coffee from a plastic bag sipped through a straw, but now I wasn't bothered by it. I flipped through the breakfast options, looking for a packet of the granola I liked. Unfortunately, everyone else seemed to like it, too. I chose some dehydrated eggs instead and reconstituted them with the same hot water dispenser, then warmed up some irradiated sausage links in the food warmer box, which looked a lot like a metal briefcase. I cut the bag open, then, since we had no sink, cleaned the scissors by licking them (we each had our own scissors). I spooned the eggs out of the bag onto a tortilla  conveniently, surface tension held them in place  added the sausage and some hot sauce, rolled it up, and ate the burrito while catch ing up with the morning's news on CNN. All the while I was holding myself in place with my right big toe tucked ever so slightly under a handrail on the floor. Handrails were placed on the walls, floors and ceilings of every module and at the hatches where modules connected, allowing us to propel ourselves through the modules or to stay in place rather than drifting away. There were a lot of things about living in weightlessness that were fun, but eating was not one of them. I missed being able to sit in a chair while eating a meal, relaxing and pausing to connect with other people. "I missed being able to sit in a chair while eating a meal, relaxing and pausing to connect with other people," writes Kelly of life on the ISS. Credit:Marco Grob More than 400 experiments took place on ISS during this expedition. NASA scientists talked about the research falling into two major categories. The first had to do with studies that might benefit life on Earth. These included research on the properties of chemicals that could be used in new drugs, combustion studies that were unlocking new ways to get more efficiency out of the fuel we burnt, and the development of new materials. The second large category had to do with solving problems for future space exploration: testing new life-support equipment, solving technical problems of spaceflight and studying new ways of handling the demands of the human body in space.

Science took up about a third of my time, human studies about three-quarters of that. I had to take blood samples from myself and my crew mates for analysis back on Earth, and I kept a log of everything, from what I ate to my moods. I tested my reaction skills at various points throughout the day. I took ultrasounds of blood vessels, my heart, my eyes and my muscles. I also took part in an experiment called Fluid Shifts, using a device that sucked the blood down to the lower half of my body, where gravity normally kept it. This tested a leading theory about why space flight caused damage to some astronauts' vision. In fact, there was much crossover between these categories of research. If we could learn how to counteract the devastating impact of bone loss in microgravity, the solutions could well be applied to osteoporosis and other bone diseases. If we could learn how to keep our hearts healthy in space, that knowledge could be useful on Earth. The effects of living in space looked a lot like the effects of ageing, which affected us all. The lettuce we grew was a study for future space travel  astronauts on their way to Mars will have no fresh food but what they can grow  but it also taught us more about growing food efficiently on Earth. The ISS's closed water system, where we processed our urine into clean water, will be crucial for getting to Mars, but it also has promising implications for treating water on Earth  especially in places where clean water was scarce. I tell my flight surgeon, Steve, that I feel well enough to get right to work immediately upon returning from space, and I do, but within a few days I feel much worse. This is what it means to have allowed my body to be used for science. I will be a test subject for the rest of my life. A few months after arriving back on Earth, though, I feel distinctly better. I've been travelling the country and the world talking about my experiences in space. It's gratifying to see how curious people are about my mission, how much children instinctively feel the excitement and wonder of space flight, and how many people think, as I do, that Mars is the next step. I also know that if we want to go to Mars, it will be very, very difficult, it will cost a great deal of money and it may likely cost human lives. But I know now that if we decide to do it, we can.
Ottawa, Ontario: For decades, Canadian social workers forcibly separated indigenous children from their families, putting them up for adoption by non-native families in Canada and around the world.

On Friday, the Canadian government took a step to make amends for that adoption program, which began in the 1960s and lasted until the 1980s, by agreeing to pay 750 million Canadian dollars in legal settlements.

Surrounded by Marcia Brown Martel and "Sixties Scoop" survivors, Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett responds to a question during a news conference on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Canada. Credit:AP

The settlement -- affecting as many as 30,000 people -- is part of a broader push across Canada in the last few years to grapple with its legacy of injustices against the country's indigenous populations.

It includes a similar settlement for indigenous children who were separated from their families and sent to residential schools far from their homes as well as measures like a promise by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to address a long list of native concerns.
Malmo: Fears are growing in Sweden over packs of radioactive wild boar moving north, ravaging forests and farmland.

One animal shot by hunters had more than 10 times the safe level of radiation, said to have been caused by a cloud of radioactive dust that blew in after the Chernobyl disaster 31 years ago, depositing caesium-137 in the ground.

A wild boar runs in a snow covered field in Belarus. Credit:AP

Ulf Frykman, an environmental consultant, has warned hunters in Gavle, 160 kilometres north of Stockholm, of "extremely high" radiation levels among local boar.

"This is the highest level we've ever measured," he said, after testing a beast in nearby Tarnsjo.
Las Vegas: The man who killed 49 people at an Orlando, Florida, nightclub last year pledged allegiance to the Islamic State, in a 911 call, as the massacre unfolded. The sniper who shot to death five police officers in Dallas told the police that his goal was to attack white people. The man who attacked a black church in Charleston, South Carolina, posted a racist manifesto online.

In one mass shooting after another, gunmen have offered telling evidence of their motives. But in the four days since Stephen Paddock's attack in Las Vegas - a shooting rampage that left 58 dead and hundreds seriously wounded - what drove him has remained a mystery, vexing the public and putting enormous pressure on federal and local investigators to find answers.

"In the spirit of the safety of this community or anywhere else in the United States, I think it's important to provide that information, but I don't have it," Sheriff Joseph Lombardo of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in an interview Thursday. "We don't know it yet."

No grandiose manifesto has been found. No account of Paddock behaving dangerously or holding extremist views has emerged from neighbours or relatives. Unlike past killers, Paddock did not dial up the police to explain his actions.
Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams

Theyre out for blood!

Brooklyn Bridge Rotary Club members are calling for non-squeamish locals to literally give of themselves at a Halloween-themed blood drive on Oct. 15 where the brave souls who donate will be rewarded with trick-or-treat goody bags packed with sweets and protein-filled snacks, according to an organizer.

We thought that we could have some good fun, like dressing up as vampires to make people laugh, by hosting it close to Halloween, said Celia Weintrob, the clubs treasurer.

The event is being held from 9 am to 2 pm inside Brooklyn Heights Congregation Bnai Avraham synagogue at 117 Remsen St. between Clinton and Henry streets. And following the wave of recent natural disasters and tragic acts of violence in the country and beyond, now is the perfect time to participate, Weintrob said, noting how several people can be helped with just one pint of plasma.

After all the recent hurricanes and earthquakes, and the largest mass shooting in the country, were all seeing non-stop videos of injured people who need blood, she said. Each pint donated can help up to three patients and directly saves lives.

Sign up in advance for the Brooklyn Bridge Rotary Clubs drive at www.brooklynbridgerotaryclub.org/blooddrive.
Sign up for our amNY Sports email newsletter to get insights and game coverage for your favorite teams

This cool kid isnt getting the warmest welcome.

The new Williamsburg outpost of a skate shop with a massive cult following will draw throngs of people in search of the brands exclusive merchandise to area streets, said some worried locals, who described the opening-day crowd outside the store on Thursday morning as similar to the rowdy groups that pack the nabes main drag during prime time.

It was something youd see on Bedford Avenue on a Friday night, but was happening at 9 am, said Jumi Cha, who lives a few blocks away from the Supreme store on Grand Street between Bedford Avenue and Berry Street.

The brand is known for its limited-edition clothing and accessories, which are released on a near-weekly basis every Thursday and attract masses of people hoping to get their hands on the goods. By 10:30 am, approximately 20 security guards were stationed on the streets surrounding the store and at a check-in point on South 2nd Street near Wythe Avenue, where people who were chosen to attend the opening via a lottery arrived to receive further instructions before entering the line to get in.

The queue outside of the actual store spanned less than a block, but the scene at the check-in point was much different. Approximately a hundred people stood inside barricades set up around it, and kids perched on nearby residential stoops to catch a glimpse of the action.

Supremes owners put a special plan together specifically to mitigate the effects that the opening-day crowd would have on sidewalk traffic, positioning the swag security guards outside the store to keep fans from clogging the streets and re-selling the merchandise  a popular pastime that was banned within a mile of the shop, according to an attendee who received a copy of rules that were distributed before the opening.

And there were so many guards on site that some passersby said the scene recalled the arrival of a presence far greater than a skate shop.

Its crazy, it looks like the president is coming or something, said Haneef Shaik, a Chicago resident vacationing in Brooklyn. Its like some CIA, FBI s.

But the heavy security was only in place for the grand opening, according to one guard, and it is unclear how crowds will be managed on future Thursdays.

Supreme recently started using a lottery system to keep order outside its Manhattan store after the groups that regularly gather there turned chaotic, according to another opening-day attendee, who said the ruckus deterred some patrons from trying their luck.

The lines were always madness and kind of shady, the fan said.

The new shop  which also boasts a huge skate bowl  occupies the former home of the Koolman ice-cream truck garage, where drivers used to set up tables for people to hang out and eat frosty treats. But Supreme wont foster the same sort of unity in the community because it will likely only attract transient visitors, said Cha, the local.

You could definitely tell [Koolman] was integrated with the neighborhood, she said. Now the exact opposite is happening  people outside the neighborhood come in for a few hours, get some exclusive merchandise, then just leave.

The resident admitted Supreme is better than some other tenants that could have taken the space, but said the store is still just another way that people are cashing in on the trendy nabe.

It has some semblance of culture to it at least, but its also really gross consumerism, Cha said.

Representatives from Supreme did not return a request for comment.

Reach reporter Lauren Gill at lgill @cngl ocal.com or by calling (718) 2602511. Follow her on Twitter @laurenk_gill
It was announced yesterday that Janssen Sciences Ireland UC will expansion its Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork facility with an investment of more than 300 million.

Janssen Sciences Ireland UC manufactures products indicated for the treatment of conditions that include rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and cancer. Established in 2005, there are 555 people working at the Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork facility.

In 2016 the company became the first pharmaceutical manufacturing company in Ireland to receive the Business Working Responsibly Mark for its commitment and activity towards creating responsible and sustainable business practices.

The expansion will increase the existing manufacturing space by an additional 19,100m2, provide employment for up to 450 people during construction and an extra 200 people once completed.



Janssen Sciences Ireland UC has operated a biopharmaceutical supply chain facility on its 40 hectare site in Ringaskiddy since 2005. Construction on the expansion is expected to take approximately two years, beginning in October 2017.



Speaking yesterday, An Tanaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Frances Fitzgerald said, "I warmly welcome Janssen's ongoing commitment to Ireland with this expansion of its manufacturing facility in Ringaskiddy. The pharma industry makes a huge contribution to the Irish economy in terms of jobs and manufacturing exports, and is one of our fastest growing sectors. This expansion announced today by Janssen is a strong commitment to our country and I wish them continued success."

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Ryanair on Thursday promised its pilots significant improvements in pay and conditions, saying it would exceed rates paid by rivals and improve job security, according to a letter to pilots seen by Reuters.

The Irish airline, the largest in Europe by passenger numbers, has in recent weeks announced the cancellation of thousands of flights, saying it did not have enough standby pilots to ensure the smooth operation of its schedule.

The move has sparked customer outrage and a wage of negative media coverage across Europe.

Unions have said a significant number of pilots have left Ryanair in recent months to get more secure contracts, better pay and improved conditions at rival airlines.

Ryanair last week said reports it had a pilot shortage were false, saying less than 260 of its 4,200 pilots had left so far this year and that it was in the process of hiring 650 more.

On Thursday Chief Executive Michael O'Leary sent a three-page letter to its pilots promising "significant improvements to your rosters, your pay, your basing, your contracts and your career progression over the next 12 months."

The letter, addressed to "all Ryanair pilots," said Ryanair would "beat" the pay and job security offered by fellow Boeing 737 operators Jet2 and Norwegian Air Shuttle.

He repeated a promise to increase pilots' pay by between 5,000 euros and 10,000 euros per year at four key bases and to negotiate with pilots at other bases about increases. He also pledged to offer a loyalty bonus of between 6,000 and 12,000 euros for pilots still employed at the airline in 12 months' time.

But he added a new offer to match local employment conditions where they differ from the Irish contracts under which all Ryanair pilots work, another key demand of the pilots.

Changes to the roster systems would mean that "your days off will really mean days off," he added.

The conditions mirror demands made in a letter by pilots at a number of Ryanair's 86 bases last month. While Ryanair does not recognize trade unions, pilots have been using social media to organize in recent months.

The often outspoken O'Leary, who last month said he "would challenge any pilot to explain how this is a difficult job," praised his pilots in the letter, describing them as "the best in the business."

He said the critical comments made at last month's annual general meeting had been misreported and were specifically directed at pilots of competitor airlines and their unions. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Britain and the European Union plan to send a letter to the rest of the World Trade Organization's 164 members next week, setting out Brexit plans that have already been rejected by seven key agricultural exporters, trade officials said on Thursday.

Britain is a member of the WTO in its own right but it has to establish its own distinct membership terms as part of its withdrawal from the European Union.

Reuters reported in July that Britain and the EU would put forward a joint proposal by October, explaining how they planned to disentangle the United Kingdom from the EU.

In leaving the EU, we will need to update the terms of our WTO membership where, at present, our commitments are applied through the EU as a whole," a spokeswoman for Britain's Trade Ministry said.

"The UK wants to ensure a smooth transition which minimizes the disruption to our trading relationships with other WTO members."

There are three main issues: the division of agricultural import quotas and of farm subsidy rights and - for Britain - continued membership of the WTO's government procurement agreement, which it is not a member of in its own right.

The thorniest is the planned sharing-out of import quotas, which has already been rejected by the United States, Argentina, New Zealand, Brazil, Canada, Thailand and Uruguay.

In a letter first published by the Financial Times, their representatives at the WTO said they would not accept the plan to split those quotas on the basis of historical averages.

They want to keep the flexibility they enjoy now, suggesting Britain should duplicate the EU import quotas, doubling their potential exports into the region.

A British official called their letter a negotiating tactic and an attempt to put a shot across the bows of the British-EU offer before it went to the wider WTO membership.

With the Brexit clock counting down to a divorce in March 2019, British officials say they have a year to sort out the WTO negotiation before submitting Britain's new membership terms.

The British-EU proposal is expected to be debated during the WTO's week of agricultural talks later this month and at the WTO ministerial conference in Buenos Aires in December. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie
Geometricas jubilee showcase

ICR Research By

Published 05 October 2017

This year marks a milestone anniversary for architectural, industrial and bulk storage specialists Geometrica. Providing structures for the cement industry for 25 years, the company reflects on some of its signature projects and accomplishments to date as it celebrates its silver jubilee. By Geometrica, USA.

Reaching spans of 300m, stockpiles of any shape, in any location can be enclosed. Geometricas trademark domes are custom-designed to fit specific needs. For a new site or existing cement plant, its structures protect against wind and rain, and help contain dust. Material is kept dry, ready for immediate handling and is not depleted from exposure to the elements.

To continue reading this story and get access to all News, Articles and Video sections of the CemNet.com website, please Register for a subscription to International Cement Review or Login
Vietnam's exports rise to 12.17Mt in first eight months

02 October 2017

According to preliminary statistics released by the General Department of Customs, Vietnam exported 12.17Mt of cement and clinker for a value of US$430.63m in the first eight months of 2017. The cement volume was up 20.5 per cent and the clinker volume up 13.2 per cent over the same period last year. In August alone, exports of 1.38Mt of cement and clinker reached US$54.09m (down 0.9 per cent in volume, but up seven per cent in value against July 2017).



Vietnam's average export price of cement in the first eight months of 2017 was US$35.4/t. The highest export prices were to Laos for US$66.2/t, followed by Cambodia for US$52.6/t.



Cement and clinker exports in August 2017 averaged US$39.07/t, an increase of eight per cent compared to July 2017, but down 0.6 per cent from August 2016. In August, the price of cement and clinker exported to Southeast Asian countries was high at around US$51/t. Exports to Laos reached the highest price at US$69.2/t, the Philippines reached US$52.8/t and Cambodia US$52.3/t. In contrast, exports to Malaysia reached the lowest at US$29/t, while exports to China and Bangladesh were around US$31/t.



Bangladesh was the largest consumer of cement and clinker from Vietnam, with 4.91Mt imported in the first eight months (up 56 per cent YoY), worth US$153.74m.



The Philippines was the second largest export market with a volume of 3.15Mt over the first eight months, up 28 per cent over the same period, and valued at US$141.2m, up 23 per cent over the same period.



Cement and clinker exports to China in the first eight months of this year increased sharply, up 155 per cent in both volume and value terms compared with the same period last year, although volumes only reached 69,960t.



In contrast, clinker and cement exports to Laos, Malaysia, Mozambique and Cambodia plunged 27-46 per cent in both volume and value compared to the same period last year.

Published under
Ash Grove Cement receives US$3.8bn takeover proposal

06 October 2017

CRH noted that an announcement by Ash Grove yesterday that the period for obtaining shareholder approval has been extended for its proposed acqusition. US cement maker Ash Grove Cement Co said on Thursday it received a larger takeover proposal valued at up to US$3.8bn, surpassing an earlier offer from Irish building materials firm CRH Plc.



CRH said last month it agreed to buy Ash Grove for a total consideration of US$3.5bn. Ash Grove said the new bid valued at US$3.7-US$3.8bn was expected to result in a superior offer.



Ash Grove has set a meeting on 1 November 2017 for shareholders to vote on the agreement with CRH. Responding to the rival offer, CRH said on Friday its proposal remains subject to approvals from Ash Grove shareholders.

Published under
Xuan Thanh cement plant opens 12,500tpd line

06 October 2017

ThaiGroup JSC, formerly known as Xuan Thanh Group JSC, has inaugurated the second production line of the Xuan Thanh cement plant in the northern province of Ha Nam, Vietnam.



The production line has a total investment of VND10.8trn (US$475.25m) and a clinker capacity of 12,500tpd, the Dau Tu newspaper reported.



After inaugurating the second production line, the company plans to invest in a third one with a cement capacity of 4.5Mta, raising the plants output to 10Mta.



In early 2016, the prime minister approved the addition of the Xuan Thanh cement plant in the northern province of Ha Nam to the portfolio of projects to be invested in the 2011-20 period with a vision to 2030.



At present, ThaiGroup is also developing a cement plant with a total investment of VND12trn and a capacity of 4.5Mta in the southern province of Binh Phuoc.

Published under
7 nabbed for running bitcoin exchange business

A police team deployed from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of Nepal Police for the first time arrested seven persons for allegedly running bitcoin exchange business from various parts of the country.
London's Natural History Museum crash 'not terror related'

One man was detained after a 11 pedestrians were injured in a collision with a car near the city's Natural History Museum on Saturday, but London police confirmed it was 'not being treated as a terror-related incident'..

A car mounted the sidewalk outside the tourist attraction, one of several large museums in that area of South Kensington, west London, hitting several pedestrians, police said.

'A vehicle has collided with pedestrians near the Natural History Museum entrance at Exhibition Road,' the museum, one of the most popular visitor attractions in the country, said in a statement.

'We are working with emergency services to assess the incident and we are doing all we can.'

Police described the incident as a 'road traffic investigation' after earlier suspicions it was a terror attack following a similiar pattern to those that struck Westminster and London Bridge earlier this year. Unverified footage from the scene showed a man being pinned to the ground by four people.

Nine people were taken to hospital, including the man detained by police, but they were 'not believed to be life-threatening or life-changing' injuries.

Prime Minister Theresa May was being updated, a spokesman said, adding it was usual practice in such circumstances.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was in close contact with the police's most senior counter-terrorism officer.

A Reuters witness said there were large numbers of police, including armed officers, and paramedics at the scene although the atmosphere appeared calm.

A BBC reporter at the scene said she could see a car diagonally across the road surrounded by a crowd of people with one or two on the ground. She said she was told by police injuries sustained were minor.

A spokesman for the museum told Reuters that no one was being allowed into the building and people were being let out through a different exit.

Britain is on its second highest security alert level, meaning an attack by militants is considered highly likely. There have been five attacks described by the authorities as terrorism this year, three involving vehicles.

In March, a man drove a car into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge killing four before stabbing a police officer to death in the grounds of parliament.

Three Islamist militants drove into people on London Bridge in June before stabbing people at nearby restaurants and bars, killing eight. The same month, a van was driven into worshippers near a mosque in north London which left one man dead.

The Natural History Museum is the fourth most popular tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, with 4.6 million visits during 2016, according to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions.
Blueprint for Church schism revealed as conservative Christian leaders plot separate Anglican structure

A blueprint for schism seen by Christian Today reveals extensive plans by conservative evangelicals to form a rival Anglican structure to the Church of England in the UK.

The proposals, born out of concerns about liberal teachings on homosexuality, include suggestions for a new synod, new liturgy, an appointments system for new bishops, new church canons and new statements of belief.

First mooted at ReNew, a conference of traditionalist church leaders last autumn, the 15-page discussion document outlines how the new faction could take shape and establish credibility as an alternative Anglican church.

'Widespread credible bishops serving conservative evangelicals here in England today seems an unlikely dream,' the document notes before going on to outline how traditionalists concerned about a liberal drift on issues like sexuality could appoint their own bishops.

Entitled Credible Bishops, the document defends the role of bishops to ordain 'biblically faithful' church leaders and says this is not always possible within the CofE.

'But that does not mean we should give up on having bishops altogether. It may mean that credible bishops have to be consecrated by other means, with the support of the wider Anglican Communion.'

It goes on to outline plans 'to consider irregular ordination' and 'irregular options for oversight' outside the CofE for conservative churches.

The document was leaked to Christian Today after one conservative church in Newcastle went ahead and made one of its clergy a bishop.

Rev Jonathan Pryke, of Jesmond Parish Church, was consecrated by the presiding bishop of a renegade Anglican faction in South Africa outside the authority of the Church of England.

Pryke, 57, was ordained as a 'bishop in the Church of God', a statement from his church confirmed, and will now oversee the ordination and planting of new Anglican churches conservative on the issue of homosexuality.

Peter Ould, an Anglican priest from Canterbury, told Christian Today the split had come after evangelicals felt marginalised within the CofE.

'This consecration in Jesmond raises some serious questions for the leadership of the Church of England,' he said. 'On the whole the conservative Anglicans I have spoken to have seen it as a schismatic move that they don't support.

'At the same time there is serious concern that those who share their theological convictions are not being appointed to similar senior roles within the institutional Church. The debacle over the appointment of Philip North and the fact that there is still only one Bishop who is a conservative evangelical [Rod Thomas] and that he is not in a Diocese but has a roaming brief means that the sense of marginalisation and rejection grows steadily.

'This needs to be addressed, and be addressed urgently.'

But the proposals discussed at the annual ReNew conference reveal a much larger scale rebellion against the established Church.

The move could lead the hundreds of churches associated with the conference to break away from the official CofE to form a conservative alternative Anglican body.

The level of detail includes suggestions for 'proactive and social media savvy' publicity as well costing for the new bishops offices and staff.

'Much more needs to be done to achieve this credibility than merely appoint a few people as titular bishops,' the document reads.

'There must be a draft system for appointments to episcopal ministry to avoid the charge of cronyism or short-termism. There must be plans for canons and statements of belief to shape our ministries in ways that exhibit humble submission to Anglican doctrine.

'There must be plans for some kind of synodical meetings as without these there is a deficit of congregational feedback to episcopal leadership.

'There must be credibly funded support structures to release bishops to do their ministry of pastoral care and oversight.

'There must be safeguarding procedures of the highest standards to protect the reputations of churches served by bishops.

'Drafting new liturgies for ordinations of presbyters affords us the opportunity to reform the liturgy in ways that will increase the credibility of our bishops with evangelicals  for example by including a revised vow of submission and providing for bishops to reaffirm their own vows.

'Combined with a transparent and publically available set of canons and disciplinary procedures for bishops this will do much to increase the credibility of episcopacy with evangelicals who have not seen the polity implemented well.'

It comes after GAFCON, a grouping of conservative Anglicans around the world, announced plans for a 'missionary bishop' to oversee parishes in the UK discontent with their more liberal local bishop.

Linked to GAFCON is Anglican Mission in England (AMiE), a group of Anglican churches already established as rivals to the CofE. AMiE sponsor the ReNew conference alongside Reform and Church Society  two other conservative evangelical groupings  and it is likely they will be at the heart of plans for new bishops and a fully separate Anglican structure.
Church sex abuse survivors hail 'significant' day at Canterbury protest

Victims of church sexual abuse are hailing a 'significant day' as they demand a 'tangible' shift in the Church's response to survivors.

A handful of those who have waived their right to anonymity, plus more who haven't, gathered outside Canterbury Cathedral on Friday while Anglican leaders from around the world met inside.

The Bishop at Lambeth, Tim Thornton  a senior aide to Justin Welby  came out to meet them, telling those protesting: 'We are deeply deeply sorry for all the abuse that has happened, not only against children but also against vulnerable adults.'

Before holding a private audience with victims, Thornton told those protesting what had happened was 'absolutely wrong'.

He said: 'We have done lots of things wrong in the past and I am sure there are still things going on today. We are trying our best and I think we can show evidence of things we are putting in place.

'But yes we have still got lessons to learn and we want to carry on learning from and listening to you.'

Speaking to reporters he said Welby himself was unable to come out as the meeting of Anglican leaders from around the world was reaching a conclusion on its last day. But Christian Today understands Welby is planning to meet survivors in the coming weeks.

'If you are a victim of abuse in any form then enough can never be done. The horrors that have happened have happened and they can never be undone,' Bishop Thornton told journalists.

'We are learning and we are trying our best but of course there are always more lessons to learn and  as was pointed out to me today  we need to go back and make sure we go on learning from the lessons of the past.'

He denied reports church officials had spoken to victims beforehand to persuade them not to come.

'We have been very positive in saying we want people to come along and have their voice heard,' he said.

Survivors of Church of England clergy abuse have been bitterly critical of the Church's response to their plight, with one, Rev Matt Ineson, claiming his revelations about being abused as a teenager by Rev Trevor Devamanikkam had been repeatedly ignored.

After their private discussions with Bishop Thornton, Andy Morse, who says he tried to commit suicide after being abused at the hands of John Smyth who ran Iwerne Trust youth camps, spoke to Christian Today about the meeting.

'He was saying all the right things,' he said of Bishop Thornton. 'Victims have a sense if we're being spun or if we're being told the truth and that Bishop Tim was telling the truth. That makes me feel good.

'This is a very significant day in the direction that I hope both the Church and survivors are going to take to work together towards making sure we don't need to have more days like this.'

The demonstration comes as the heads of Anglican provinces around the world met in Canterbury Cathedral this week to discuss religious persecution, refugees, climate change as well as their disagreements over sexuality.

Earlier in the week Justin Welby told reporters he often wakes up at night thinking about what the Church has done to victims  and survivors said they 'share that experience'.

Admitting there was 'a long history of significant failure' he said there was still 'a long way to go' in the Church.

'My profound sense of shame at what the Church has done remains and is central to my thinking about this,' he said.

'We should be held to a higher standard because we are Christians.'
Coptic Christian girl returns home after kidnapping and 'conversion' to Islam

A 16-year-old Coptic Christian girl has been released and returned to her family following 92 days in Islamist captivity outside Cairo, Egypt. She had been kidnapped to be 'converted to Islam, then married off or sold' before police found her.

Marilyn was found with her captors in 10th of Ramadan, a city just outside Cairo, according to World Watch Monitor. Her captors were arrested and on September 30 she was returned to her family.

Marilyn's village priest, Father Boutros Khalaf, said she had 'not been treated well' by her kidnapper and his brother, but was 'very happy to be back with her family'.

He added: 'We thank God for answering our prayers and the prayers of many other people,' he added. 'And we thank all the policemen in the police station that helped us so much in releasing our daughter, Marilyn. We appreciate their great efforts.'

Marilyn was kidnapped on June 30 as part of what World Watch Monitor has reported as a pattern of Islamist groups targeting young Coptic girls to be kidnapped, converted to Islam, then married off or sold.

The method of capture reportedly involves a 'romantic relationship' begun with a girl as a guise to gain their trust and hide what is ultimately a kidnapping. In Marilyn's case her 'boyfriend' Tala became her captor.

Following her disappearance, videos of Marilyn had surfaced online in which she said she had converted to Islam; she was seen holding a Qur'an in one video and apparently repeating words dictated to her in another.

Coptic Christians represent about 10 per cent of the majority Muslim population in Egypt. The past year has seen systemic persecution of the minority group, with multiple church bombings and attacks claimed by ISIS, that have killed more than 100 people.
'Gambit' cast news: Daniel Craig to terrorize Channing Tatum?

James Bond actor Daniel Craig is reportedly "in talks" to take the sinister role in the long-awaited film, "Gambit." Although he is also set to return for a fifth installment of the British spy franchise, he may likely jump on board to terrorize Channing Tatum's Gambit in the "X-Men" spinoff movie.

Sources revealed to Splash Report that Craig is added in the line-up to play the villain, Nathaniel Essex, popularly known as Mr. Sinister, in "Gambit." They said that there are "conversations" on the possibility of the actor landing the role, who is slated to appear not only in the stand-alone film but in the future "X-Men" installments too.

He will supposedly star as Mr. Sinister, a biologist from Essex who becomes obsessed with Charles Darwin's theories. He develops superhuman powers such as telekinesis, telepathy, regeneration, and shape-shifting. According to the website, who claimed to know the script details for the film, Gambit was hired by Mr. Sinister.

The script details read, "He offers Gambit 40 million to recover a mysterious trunk that was stolen by the Boudreaux clan. It will be auctioned off during the yearly Thieves Ball where all the criminal organizations in the world meet up. It uses New Orleans' Mardi Gras celebrations as a cover. Gambit decides to enlist a crew of mutants to pull off this seemingly impossible heist..."

As good as it may sound, The Wrap journalist Umberto Gonzales took to Twitter to debunk the casting reports about Craig's involvement in the movie. He wrote, "Sorry guys, I checked and unfortunately that Daniel Craig/MR. Sinister rumor is NOT TRUE. Please RT."

Considering the current status of the forthcoming film, it is best to take the reports with a pinch of salt until official announcements are released.

There have been no official announcements for the release date of "Gambit" yet.
OnePlus 6 release date, specs rumors: flagship leapfrogging 5T to launch early 2018

OnePlus is reportedly ditching plans of launching an upgraded model of OnePlus 5 this year. Instead, the Chinese company is looking to go straight with producing OnePlus 6 for an early 2018 release.

Citing a "reliable" report, Android Marvel claimed that OnePlus is cancelling the OnePlus 5T, which was supposed to be launched later this fall. It is unclear what pushed the tech giant to make such decision, but the publication predicted it could be due to the late release of Qualcomm's new chipset.

OnePlus 5 already offers flagship features and runs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor which has no successor in sight for now. Without a new chipset, the handset has nothing new to offer. Not to mention, the iPhone X and Google Pixel 2 are coming up, and will likely be dominating smartphone sales again. These leave the phone maker with no reason to launch an incremental version of the OnePlus 5 this year.

With 5T scrapped, OnePlus is ramping up development of its 2018 flagship, dubbed as OnePlus 6. The upcoming handset is expected to feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor paired with 6 gigabytes (GB) or 8 GB of random access memory (RAM). In terms of storage size, Digital Trends says it will offer 64 and 128 GB storage options with microSD slots for memory expansion.

OnePlus 6 will likely sport an all-screen design, a 6-inch QuadHD display, and an extra-tall 18:9 aspect ratio. Other rumoured features include a fingerprint sensor, Android Oreo, and water and dust resistance, which 5T was supposed to feature.

As with the aforementioned features, the OnePlus 6 release date has not been announced yet. But if the company follows its usual timeline of releasing new phones, its 2018 flagship will probably launch sometime in summer next year.

Price-wise, it may cost more than OnePlus 5 ($580) but less than the Samsung Galaxy S8 and iPhone X, which both costs $900-plus.
Pakistani boys arrested for burning Qur'anic texts in latest blasphemy controversy

Two Pakistani non-Muslim boys have been arrested for alleged blasphemy, in the latest case involving the country's strict and controversial blasphemy laws.

Vishal Masih, a Christian, and Bhola Ram, a Hindu, have been accused of desecrating Islam's sacred text, the Qur'an, by burning papers containing Qur'anic verses, according to the Centre for Legal Aid, Assistance and Settlement (CLAAS), a Christian charity that advocates for persecuted Christians in Pakistan.

A case was registered against the boys on September 28 at a police station in Bunga Dhongha, Bahawalnagar under section 295 B of Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

Vishal and Bhola, who are both cleaners at the local hospital, were accused by a local policeman who said they had been seen on September 27 burning government documents in the street, documents that apparently included texts from the Qur'an.

CLAAS-UK director Nasir Saeed said the boys are illiterate and that the case was another example of state oppression through blasphemy legislation.

'The misuse of the blasphemy law continues to rise and because of the inadvertence of the government and politicians it has become a very sensitive matter in Pakistan especially for religious minorities,' he said.

'The police register a case against someone without investigation and verbal statements are considered enough evidence to register a case against anyone. This incident requires proper investigation into the case before registration, and the policeman is not an eyewitness.

He added: 'Since both boys are illiterate, and don't know how to read and write, how can they be charged with committing blasphemy?

'The police needs to investigate those who provided those documents to be burnt, those people must be named in the FIR (First Information Report). It is also important ask the complainant or eyewitnesses why they didn't stop the burning and what those Qur'anic verses were.'

Saeed said the government should also ban the use of Qur'anic verses on its government documents.

Pakistan's blasphemy laws have drawn international condemnation and are frequently used to settle scores against religious minorities. In September one Christian man was sentenced to death for allegedly insulting the prophet Muhammad, while in July a 16-year old boy was charged with blasphemy for speaking to a colleague about Jesus.

One high-profile victim, Asia Bibi, has been on death row for many years.
Primates hit out at conservative plot for rival Anglican church

Senior bishops have hit out at moves from some rebel conservatives to launch rival Anglican structures, accusing them of subverting the authority of the Church.

The heads of 33 Anglican provinces around the world met in Canterbury this week and called for a 'season of repentance and renewal' following a spate of 'cross-border interventions'.

Although the Archbishop of Canterbury refused to name individuals it will be seen as a criticism of GAFCON, a conservative grouping that earlier this year consecrated Andy Lines as a 'missionary bishop' for the UK and Europe.

'Persistent and deliberate non-consensual cross-border activity breaks trust and weakens our communion,' the primates said in a comminque at the end of the week-long gathering.

'We recognised that there is a need for a season of repentance and renewal including where interventions may have happened without prior permission having being sought.'

Justin Welby said instances happened all over the world and undermined the authority of local church leaders. He said they had been recognised since the fourth century as causing 'demoralisation, division and a loss of impetus in the life of the church'.

Welby told reporters at a press conference: 'Jesus created the church to be one so that the world might know that he came from God.

'That is really really crucial. Failure to do that is a cause of repentance.'

Despite deep divisions over issues such as sexuality, the primates representing 33 of the 39 provinces across the worldwide Anglican Communion in Canterbury put on a display of unity to condemn the interventions, despite a number of leaders affiliating themselves to GAFCON being present.

The Archbishop of Kenya, Jackson Ole Sapit who is a member of the GAFCON primates' council, called on his fellow conservatives 'constructively engage' after three refused to attend in protest at what they see as a liberalising trend in the Anglican Communion.

In an interview with Christian Today earlier in the week he said: 'There are a whole range of areas that the Church is doing beautifully in and it can do even more when it is strong, when it is united because you can have a stronger voice than when we are disintegrated.'

He added: 'We can influence society, we can be able to able to influence decisions, even internationally, when we are together.

'But divided we shall be weak.'

The bulk of the week focused on issues such as refugees, religious persecution and climate change. The Archbishop of Canterbury declared 'business as usual' as the talks mainly focused on issues other than sexuality which, he said, 'has not been the case for 20 years'. He admitted to feeling apprehensive before the week, anticipating fractious debate but said the primates had 'arrived feeling beleagured and left feeling uplifted'.

The Archbishop of Hong Kong, Paul Kwong, who has attended the previous five meetings, said it was the best he had ever been to not because everyone agreed but because everyone was committed to walking together.

An interfaith commission to work with religious leaders around the world was also launched as the primates said: 'The world has never felt the need of a Saviour more keenly.'

Archbishop Josiah Idowu-Fearon, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, said the purpose was to work particularly where Christians are persecuted.

The Archbishop of Kenya also particularly focused on the role of women, detailing how his wife was viewed as 'mama Kenya' and regarded as a leader despite never benefitting from the education or training he had received.

The Archbishop of Canterbury's wife, Caroline Welby, is planning a series of trips to help train women around the Communion.
'Vikings' season 5 release, plot spoilers: Katheryn Winnick teases 'epic' return; Legartha to die?

With more than a month left before "Vikings" season 5 premieres, fans may find the wait excruciating, but series star Katheryn Winnick assures them it is worth it.

The actress, who plays Lagertha on the show, recently uploaded a snap of her character from the television show's trailer on her Instagram account. She teased that the new season is going to be "epic" and even changed her profile picture to the same photo.

Lagertha faces a rough road ahead of her. According to International Business Times, she will be involved in a big fight against the loyal forces of Ragnar Lothbrok's (Travis Fimmel) sons. From the looks of it, the reigning Queen of Denmark will be in great danger.

It's going to be epic! Season 5 trailer is out.. Premiere Nov 29th. #Vikings A post shared by Katheryn Winnick (@katherynwinnick) on Sep 29, 2017 at 3:27am PDT

Whether or not she will meet her demise soon remains to be seen. However, it's worth noting that her character has long been plagued with death rumors, especially after the Seer (John Kavanagh) predicted last season that she will die in the hands of Ragnar's son.

In "Vikings" season 4 episode 16 titled "Crossings," Lagertha asked the Seer if one of Ragnar's sons will kill her, and he said, "Yes." It was not revealed when she will die. Nonetheless, with the war looming and Ivar (Alex Hgh Andersen) still vengeful, fans are worried her death may happen in the upcoming installment.

The assumption grew even stronger when Winnick was announced to make her directorial debut in one of the sixth season's 20 episodes. Although the characters of actors who take directorial duties are not necessarily killed, it does not often guarantee their survival either.

Plus, the show is also shifting its focus on a newer generation. Just as Ragnar's journey to Valhalla shifts the story's focus to his sons, Movie Pilot explained that "Vikings" could also write off "Lagertha" in order for new stories to be told. Fans will have to wait and see.

"Vikings" will officially return for season 5 on The History Channel on Nov. 29.
Airlines companies at Kolti airport charging exhorbitant air fare

Airlines companies providing air service from and to Kolti airport are found to have been charging exhorbitant price for air tickets.
Why Martin Luther got James wrong: RT Kendall explains

Martin Luther was famously dismissive of the Epistle of James, describing it as a 'letter of straw' because of its supposed advocacy of justification by 'works' as opposed to faith.

But according to pastor and Bible teacher RT Kendall, he undervalued James because he misunderstood him  and the apostle's teaching is not just in line with that of Paul in Romans, but is a restatement of Jesus' teachings in the Sermon on the Mount.

Speaking at the Luther 500 conference at London's Kensington Temple, held to mark the 500th anniversary of the publication of Luther's 95 Theses, Kendall  now 82 years old and minister of Westminster Chapel for 25 years  spoke on 'Faith and Works: How Luther misunderstood James'.

He said that in the doctrine of justification by faith alone, Luther had recovered a key teaching of the Church that had been obscured for 1500 years. 'When we get obsessed with a particular teaching, it gives us blind spots,' he said. In Luther's case this extended to James, particularly because of James 2:14: 'What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?' Luther accepted James' place in the canon of the New Testament, but just a year before he died declined to teach from it any longer.

Traditional accounts of the meaning of the passage about faith and deeds (2: 14-26) reconcile it with justification by faith by saying it refers to good deeds as the fruit of salvation, and that these provide an assurance of forgiveness.

Kendall described preaching through the book of James at Westminster Chapel and reaching verse 14 without knowing what it meant, before achieving 'the most wonderful breakthrough in my 25 years in London  even probably, and I am 82 years old, the greatest insight of my lifetime'.

He said the verse had to be read in the context of the earlier part of the chapter, in which James condemns the church for discriminating against the 'poor man' of verse 6 because it wanted to attract higher-class converts. The 'Can such faith save him?' of verse 14 refers to this poor man; it illustrates the need for faith to be expressed in practical action for the poor and needy if it's to have any effect.

'How many of us look after the poor? This is where evangelicals fail more than anybody,' he said. 'Luther needed to realise that the reference to the poor man in verse 6 was the main focus.'

Realising that faith had to be expressed in action for the poor, he said, was transformative. And James was not about 'works' proving anything about our salvation, either to ourselves or to God: instead, he was teaching that good works demonstrate we care about our witness to the world.

RT Kendall is the author of a two-volume commentary on James.
Paradise Lost: A New Life of Scott Fitzgerald, by David S. Brown (Harvard University Press, 397 pp., 29.95)

The essence of revisionist history is boldness: if one is not prepared to overturn conventional readings radically, then there is little point to the exerciseand the bolder the revisionism, the greater the stakes. David S. Browns biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald deserves credit for taking such a bold approach. Most previous Fitzgerald biographies have been content to portray their subject as an honorable and hardworking writer of considerable talent whose inability to drink sensibly ruined his chances of writing the good books that he had it in him to writemore well-made books like The Great Gatsby, say, rather than potboilers like The Beautiful and the Damned or his often one-dimensional formulaic short stories or the ambitious but flawed Tender is the Night, which H.L. Mencken rightly regarded as poor stuff indeed. Instead of the gin-soaked scribbler trying, against all odds, to wrest literary greatness from personal ruin, Brown presents Fitzgerald as a social critic, who deplored the excesses and evils of market capitalism in nearly everything he wrote. Brown thus places Fitzgerald and his work not in the context of literary art but of intellectual history.

As theses go, this is not as implausible as it may sound. After all, The Great Gatsby could be read through this anti-capitalist lens. Gatsby, like Fitzgerald himself, invents a persona for himself in accordance with capitalist criteria for happinessand winds up with what T.S. Eliot called a receipt for deceit. In this reading, for the true denouement of the book, readers can look beyond Nick Carraways conclusion about Gatsbys inability to attain his dream to the disillusioned avowals of The Crack-up, where the romantic in Fitzgerald comes face to face, not with mans capacity for wonder, but with a kind of purchasers remorse. In My Lost City (1932), Fitzgerald struck a distinctly Chestertonian note when, standing atop the Empire State Building, the roof of the last and most magnificent of towers, he recalled what he describes as the citys crowning error . . . its Pandora Box, to which he gave characteristically trenchant expression: Full of vaunting pride the New Yorker had climbed here and seen with dismay what he had never expected, that the city was not the endless succession of canyons that he had supposed but that it had limits. In Orthodoxy (1908), Chesterton had articulated this reality with a pungency that must have stuck in Fitzgeralds youthful mind. The moment you step into the world of facts, the Fleet Street philosopher observed, you step into a world of limits. You can free things from alien or accidental laws, but not from the laws of their own nature.

One can entertain Browns revisionist thesis on other grounds. Stories like May Day (1920), The Diamond as Big as The Ritz (1922), The Rich Boy (1926), and Babylon Revisited (1931) can be read as Fitzgeralds sifting through the sand on which so much of capitalist society was built, the boom and bust that reflected the remorseless cupidity of the Scotch-Irish who devised its rulesmen like Mellon and Morgan, Carnegie and Frick and, indeed, Fitzgeralds own maternal grandfather, Philip McQuillan, who made a fair pile out of the wholesale grocery business, though it was always with his own father, whom Fitzgeralds first biographer Arthur Mizener characterized as a quiet gentlemanly man with beautiful Southern manners, that the novelist most identified.

Browns thesis has several problems, though. First, market capitalism does have limits, however much overzealous practitioners might sometimes wish to defy them: this is precisely why capitalism sees booms and busts. Fitzgerald can scarcely be credited with criticizing market capitalists by reminding them of a well-known reality. Second, Fitzgerald was nothing if not a lifelong fan of capitalisms fruits. The Plaza Hotel, Ivy League colleges, Ivy League clubs, expensive cars, expensive tipple, the French Riviera, Brooks Brothers, and Jazz Age New York were just a few of his favorite thingsand none would have been possible without a market economy. Third, if Fitzgerald was aware that the privileges and pleasures on which his often fortunate characters battened came occasionally at the expense of the less fortunate, he never indulged in the class resentment typical of capitalist critics. On the contrary, he often made no bones about his preference for writing of the more fortunate. An amusing example can be found in May Day, where Fitzgerald describes Yale undergraduates meeting against the backdrop of hopeless socialist protest. Here, readers of a certain age will recall what a mainstay of Manhattans class system could be found in one of its most characteristic eateries:

Childs, Fifty-ninth Street, at eight oclock of any morning differs from its sisters by less than the width of their marble tables, or the degrees of polish on the frying-pans. You will see a crowd of poor people with sleep in their eyes, trying to look straight before them at their food so as not to see the other poor people. But Childs Fifty-ninth, four hours earlier is quite unlike any Childs restaurant from Portland Oregon to Portland, Maine. Within its pale but sanitary walls one finds a noisy medley of chorus girls, college boys, debutantes, rakes, filles de joiea not unrepresentative mixture of the gayest of Broadway, even of Fifth Avenue.

If a social critic hid beneath the aesthete in Fitzgerald, he was oddly inept at showing himself. For Brown, though, the Great Gatsby offered readers a peek into the imposing Plaza Hotel, informed them that pharmacies were excellent places to buy illegal hooch, and effectively contrasted the nations new wealth-gathering with its older and presumably less material-minded ideals. Here, the shakiness of Browns revisionist thesis becomes most apparent. Fitzgerald, on the one hand, is a purveyor of a kind of morose delectation and, on the other, a critic of the new wealth-gathering, which, despite the prurience to which he caters, he contrasts presumably with undefined older and less material-minded ideals. Fitzgerald might have famously said that The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function, but this is hardly a good definition of a coherent social critic.

In any case, its dubious whether Fitzgeralds idea of paradise, lost or regained, had anything to do with market capitalism. Slowly drinking himself to death with his friend Ring Lardner would have been more to his taste than yearning after an American agrarianism, unrealistic even in Thomas Jeffersons day. Through page after page of this misguided book, I could not help recalling something Fitzgerald once said of his spendthrift wife Zelda and himself: Were too poor to economize. Economy is a luxury . . . our only salvation is in extravagance. The idea that this improvident hedonist was a secret acolyte of Thornstein Veblen and The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899) is comicaleven if, to turn a needed buck, Fitzgerald once wrote something called The Irresponsible Rich (1924).

Even with Fitzgeralds contradictions, Brown might have written a good book if he were a better intellectual historian. As it is, he never brings alive the figures whom he claims taught Fitzgerald to doubt the values on which he and his acquisitive society were reared. Speaking of Henry Adams, author of Mont Saint Michel and Chartres (1904), for example, Brown is not so much unenlightening as meaningless.

Like Adams, Scott wanted to understand the source of societys disenchantment, to follow the accelerating pace of its power as it rippled through regions, peoples and cultures. Both men were interested in observing the dynamos impact. Adams developed a particular interest in fifteenth-century European origins; Fitzgerald, by contrast, headed straight to Gotham.

No revisionist biographer capable of this degree of nonsense will convince us that Scott Fitzgerald took any serious interest in ideas, let alone economics. Brown may make the novelist congenial to the anti-capitalist academythe same academy that exhorts its charges to take to the ramparts in pursuit of utopian socialisms elusive benefitsbut he will not persuade anyone appreciative of the true source of Fitzgeralds elegiac art. To understand that peculiarly romantic wellspring, we have to go to another romantic William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), who summed up in two verses what Brown cannot capture in nearly 400 pages: Man is in love and loves what vanishes/What more is there to say?

Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The Pragmatist: Bill de Blasios Quest to Save the Soul of New York, by Joseph Viteritti (Oxford, 296 pp., $29.95)

Bloomberg: A Billionaires Ambition, by Chris McNickle (Skyhorse, 480 pp., $27.99)

Greater than Ever: New York's Big Comeback, by Daniel L. Doctoroff (PublicAffairs, 400 pp., $28.00)

Neoliberalisms heyday was the 1990s, when men of the left such as Bill Clinton embraced some elements of the conservative pro-growth philosophy. Since then, though, progressives have gained the upper hand in the Democratic Party, especially on social and economic issues. And, in the Trump era, its unclear how committed even Republicans are to the policies that they once handed down to the Clinton crowd.

Michael Bloomberg exemplified neoliberalism. Socially liberal and a gun restrictionist, Bloomberg couldnt win election in a red state but, through his three terms as mayor of New York, he focused relentlessly on economic growth, while maintaining respect for what the public sector can learn from the private sector. Bloomberg may have been too successful for his own good: he left the city in such good shape that his successor, Bill de Blasio, has felt emboldened to drop city governments concern with creating wealth, instead focusing chiefly on how to redistribute it.

Greater Than Ever is Daniel Doctoroffs account of serving for six years as Bloombergs head of economic policy. Doctoroff was the quintessential Bloomberg lieutenant: though highly accomplished working in private equity, he had achieved financial independence by his thirtieshe had no prior experience with city government. Yet he was something of a social entrepreneur. During the 1990s, Doctoroff conceived a passion for bringing the Summer Olympics to New York City. He spent hundreds of thousands of dollars of my own money on working up a bid for the 2008 games (the target was later shifted to 2012). His work on the Olympics brought him to Bloombergs attention; the mayor barely knew Doctoroff when he appointed him Deputy Mayor of Economic Development and Rebuilding.

Doctoroff had a sweeping portfolio of responsibilities, but his most important legacyand one of the Bloomberg administrationswas the physical revival of New York City. The projects that he worked on included Hudson Yards, Governors Island, Brooklyn Bridge Park, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center, and the High Line. Greater Than Ever raises the question of whether theres a difference, from a public policy standpoint, between working to grow a citys economy and improving its quality of life. Doctoroff links these two goals through a philosophy he calls the virtuous cycle of the successful city. The Bloomberg administration strove mightily to create the impression that New York Citys high cost of living was worth the price tag. Yes, Bloomberg and his lieutenants would say, taxes are higher, but youre getting a higher-quality product. They pitched this message to wealthy and upper-middle class New Yorkers; half of all city income taxes are paid by the top 1 percent of filers. Doctoroff saw himself as acting in the interests of all New Yorkers, because, he reasoned, more growth and tax revenues benefit everyone.

Chris McNickles book Bloomberg: A Billionaires Ambition provides an even more thorough defense of the Bloomberg philosophy. McNickle, who also wrote a biography of David Dinkins, canvasses the Bloomberg record in every major policy area, from K-12 reform to fighting poverty to counterterrorism. Its a level-headed account, deeply researched, and, in the end, is just as bullish on Bloomberg as Greater Than Ever. In the books foreword, Kenneth Jackson, a respected scholar of city history, describes Bloomberg as New Yorks greatest municipal executive and probably the most successful mayor the nation has ever known.

Bill de Blasio, who only got around to visiting the High Line last month, after nearly four years in office, is having none of thisand neither is his admiring biographer, Hunter college professor Joseph Viteritti, a longtime student of New York City history. In The Pragmatist, Viteretti argues that de Blasio has revived the true tradition of New York City politics developed by Mayors La Guardia, Wagner, and Lindsay, but neglected under Koch, Giuliani, and Bloomberg. The agendas of those three more recent mayors betrayed New Yorks soul, Viteretti suggests, because they benefited only the few. By contrast, La Guardia, Wagner, and Lindsay cared about everyoneas does de Blasio.

Viteritti wants us to see de Blasio as sui generis, because he possesses an unusually serious concern with ends over means. In trying to blend his philosophical commitment to progressive government with the practical realities of city politics and finance, de Blasio defies conventional labels, he writes, by way of explaining the books title. He is both insider and outsider, a gadfly and a seasoned operative . . . At times it seems as though he needs his own nomenclature: hes something of a pragmatist (emphasis in original). Some see de Blasios coziness with the real estate industry and his campaign-finance improprieties as evidence of a lack of principle, but in Viterittis view, these habits are just more proof of his devotion to progressive ideals. The mayor knows that the American political system is morally compromised but will risk his reputation by participating in it. Thats how much he cares.

Unsurprisingly, this argument is not convincing, and de Blasio is not nearly as interesting as Viterritti says he is. Within a New York context, de Blasio is eminently replaceable by any other progressive city politician, who, were he or she mayor, would pursue the same ends by the same means. De Blasios a consummate insider, having spent his entire professional life in politics and government. Yes, he has had to work with the real estate industry to advance his housing plan, but all progressive city politicians do that. During the 2013 Democratic mayoral primary, de Blasio bet big on the theme of income inequalitybut, contrary to Viterrittis suggestion that this strategy was risky, de Blasio had nothing to lose. Hes not complicatedjust ambitious.

De Blasio thinks of himself as a transcendent leader determined to overcome conventional political divisions to secure the common good. Bloomberg saw himself in this way, too. The two men also share a faith in the benefits of a highly engaged public sector. But they differ in their understanding of what it means for government to pursue the common good. Bloomberg saw city government as a handmaiden to economic growth, without which nothing is possible. De Blasio is more inclined to take economic growth for granted. In his view, city governments most solemn responsibility is to address the countless socioeconomic problems created by capitalism. De Blasio sees the private sector as the problem, whereas Bloomberg viewed it as the solutionthough Bloombergs neoliberal philosophy was just as different from small government-conservativism as it is from progressivism, as Doctoroff and McNickles books make clear. Bloomberg was no tax cutter and lacked the small-government conservatives instinctive distrust of the public sector.

From the perspective of many red-state conservatives, the dispute between Bloomberg and de Blasio may seem like a family feud. But, at the city level, the differences loom large, especially since scant evidence of a third option exists. Urban conservatives, though they may not share Bloombergs enthusiasm for soda taxes and other social causes, tend to admire him far more than they do Hillary Clinton, though his politics are mostly the same as hers. Whoever succeeds de Blasio might well prove even more liberal than the current mayor. Neoliberalism might be dead at the national level, but God help us if its no longer viable in New York City.
Earlier this week Alice Sharman and Kirsty Weakley went to Manchester to hear what Conservatives said about charities and what charities said to Conservatives. Here are the highlights.

Social Enterprise as a vision for the Tories

At an event hosted by Social Enterprise UK the MP George Freeman, who organised a pre-conference event to boost grass roots support and come up with new ideas for the Tory party, said that the social enterprise movement was something that the Conservative Party should get behind.

For those of us in the room who are Conservatives, we have a major challenge on our hands and the social enterprise sector goes right to the heart of solving 60 per cent of that  which isnt bad, he said.

But a member of the audience challenged the idea that the current system is broken. Gordon Gregory, who was the Conservative Party candidate for Sheffield Heeley at the last election, said that he thought the problem was just that "we haven't defended capitalism particularly well since the fall of the Soviet Union". He said he was "nervous about the narrative".

"It can be shown that capitalism has worked for the vast proportion of the world," he said.

Lord Adebowale, chair of SEUK, also told the event that social enterprises are different to charities and reiterated calls to move responsibility for the sector to the Department for Business, Energy and Industry.

Focus on international development

There were several sessions which considered the UKs commitment to international aid and how it was delivered.

At one fringe event a representative from the Taxpayers Alliance called for the commitment to spent 0.7 per cent national income on aid on aid to be dropped. James Price argued that British people would give more money to charity if their tax bill was reduced.

However at other events the former and current International Development Secretaries, Andrew Mitchell and Priti Patel, said they were proud of the pledge.

Patel told the Save the Children reception that it shows that in Britain We dont turn our backs.

Politicians also said that charities should be more transparent and also make a stronger case for the value of aid. And charities offered advice on the best way to support the sector.

During a panel discussion Adam Pickering, international policy manager for CAFs Giving Thought programme, said the government needs to build civil society within countries it is supporting.

This would create something more sustainable he said and mean we leave a legacy in countries.

At the Save the Children reception, Kevin Watkins, chief executive of Save the Children, said that transparency and value for money were important and that it is right for charities to be held to account for what we do.

Politics is back in international aid

Kirsty McNeill, executive director of policy, advocacy and campaigns at Save the Children, told a fringe event on answering difficult questions about foreign aid that the biggest story of the last couple of weeks is that politics is back in international development.

She said: We can see from the two party conferences that politics is back in international development. In a way I think is actually really healthy.

Referencing Priti Patels speech, she said: Weve just seen an incredibly muscular speech from the secretary of state putting economic development right at the heart and soul of international development.

McNeill said that although the Labour party and Conservative party have two completely different world views about aid, it is still incredibly healthy that we are starting to have a debate about development.

She said: It has been off the table for about five years now, and the fact that politics is back is the real story of the last fortnight for me.

But the reason I feel really pleased and happy about that is because we are now having a debate between parties on how we do development, not whether we do development.

She added that it is a "tremendous testament to activism in almost all political parties that the British mainstream is not about whether we do it".

McNeill also said that it is good that there are debates in the media about aid, and that there shouldnt be a binary consensus. But she Save the Children would be happy to take on myths about international aid when they arise.

Lobbying

Separately Mitchell criticised historical lobbying practices by charities and said government money should not be used for core costs.

Charities should get core funding from their members to be able to go out and campaign, he said.

But also speaking on the panel, Debbie Pippard, head of programmes at the Barrow Cadbury Trust, highlighted that part of the problem with the Lobbying Act and the anti-advocacy clause was the signal coming from us for developing countries.

It is embarrassing that we still exist

During a panel to discuss solving homelessness and rough sleeping, the chief executive of Crisis, Jon Sparkes, said it was embarrassing that his charity still exists.

We are 50 years old this year, he said, but it wasnt a reason for a part or a reason for a large fundraising campaign. It is a reason to be embarrassed.

He said the best legacy would be to be able to plan our demise.

Sajid Javid, Communities Secretary, said the government was committed to ending homelessness.

One person sleeping rough on our streets is one person too many, he said. Its my personal mission, and I wont rest until we have had a huge step change.

Former MP Brooks Newmark, who authored a report for the Centre for Social Justice advocating a "housing first" policy, whereby homeless people are provided housing without conditions and also support to tackle other issues, said the policy should be rolled out as soon as possible.

There is a disconnect between the will of the Prime Minister and the will of the Treasury, he warned, and said this was because the way the Treasury works makes it hard to fund things that will save money in the future.

Bob Blackman, the MP who sponsored the Homelessness Reduction Act, which comes into force next year and means that local authorities will be obliged to offer accommodation to people, urged people to write to their MPs giving their support for a housing first approach.

Funding for charities

At a session looking at charity funding leaders discussed ways the government could encourage more investment in the sector.

Dame Helen Ghosh, director general of the National Trust said that the transition to new models needed to be done in partnership with government.

Duncan Shrubsole, director of policy and partnerships at Lloyds Bank Foundation, called on MPs to do more to champion small charities in Parliament and not just when they are out in their constituency.

At the same event Oonagh Aitken, chief executive of Volunteering Matters, called for a wider debate about the role of civil society and volunteering in delivering public services.

Debate over full-time volunteering

At a panel debate about full-time social action, organised by the Centre for Social Justice, Karl Wilding, director of public policy and volunteering, questioned whether expanding full-time volunteering projects should be a priorty for the government, when there are other things that can be done to encourage volunteering.

He said the evidence is that the way people choose to volunteer is shifting from longer hours to shorter, more episodic and disjointed bits of time.

So is this going against the grain? he asked.

But James Probert, director of impact & design at City Year UK, which has been piloting full-time volunteering programmes and campaigning for a new legal status for full-time volunteers, said that the reason there were so few at the moment was because it is really difficult to volunteer full-time in the UK.

He said evidence from other countries suggested that it could add extra capacity in the voluntary sector and suggested that there was a lack of imagination from the established charity sector.

Solving poverty needs a new narrative

At an event about ways to address poverty Barry Knight, author of Rethinking Poverty: what makes a good society, and director of the Webb Memorial Trust, said charities needed to change how they spoke about poverty.

Poverty campaigners know that the story is broken, he said.

He said that he held a workshop with 25 leading charities and research with 12,000 people and discovered that the current narrative does not fly with the public.

Trying to change peoples minds is the wrong approach, he said, and that charities need to reframe the question.

Rather than focus on poverty, which is a rather toxic word, talk about how we get a good society.

He said that for most people part of a good society is not to have poverty in it.

Safeguarding organisations and technology

Speaking at a Barnardos reception on Charities in the digital world, chief executive Javed Khan said that technology organisations should work with childrens safeguarding charities and organisations while developing technology, to keep it safe for children.

"We can help them bring the safeguarding and risk aspects on children and make it safe and liberating so that it genuinely helps their education and relationships with their friends, parents and teachers," he said.

Bring those two, the tech expertise alongside the childrens safeguarding expertise, into one and ensure the new technology is safer and liberating, and reducing the risk.

Lets work together, and bring together our experience of supporting children and the techies, and try and get this right.

Pro bono meeting a selfish need

At a session on the role of pro bono, Mike Devlin, vice president of the Manchester Law Society, said that we should not allow the charitable sector to become a substitute for legal aid.

The session included a focus on the benefit of doing pro bono work on law students to gain experience and help their CVs. But Devlin said: I dont want to put a shower on this lovely idea of students helping out but pro bono is meeting a selfish need. We feel good about doing it, but there is a greater public need. That is where as a society we need to try to do a small amount.

Alex Chalk MP, who chaired the session and was chair of the APPG on pro bono, said in response to Devlin: I would take some issue with the suggestion that we are purely to do with students, although I know you are not suggesting that.

But actually the volume of people I have seen, certainly from the law societies that I have spoken to, and Im sure to others, the number of hours runs into hundreds of millions of pounds worth. It is hugely appreciated.

He added: Lets not forget that one of the most precious things we have in this country, is a nation on laws.
Michael Fabricant, MP. A bloke whose barnet is so tragic it actually makes that sprig of wheat pinned to his lapel look healthy by comparison.

Ah what a week its been for country. The governing political party of the United Kingdom, the Conservatives, held its annual party conference earlier this week and, yeah, it didnt go very well. Now, Society Diary was not in attendance at the conference, but you hardly needed to be. You could hear the funeral bells from London.

The nadir of the conference was, surely, Prime Minister Theresa Mays keynote speech. What was intended to be a brilliant re-affirmation of her right to lead both the Conservatives and the British public at large quickly collapsed into a farce. This column hasnt seen a more torturous hour of television since the last Christmas special episode of The Office.

Everything is absolutely fine and dandy in the Tories though, at least according to former Civil Society Minister Rob Wilson, whos taken to the digital pages of the Telegraph to assure everyone that, yes, Mays speech was a disaster but certainly not an unmitigated one. That remains, of course, to be seen with head agitator- (and buffoon) in-chief Boris Johnson hovering menacingly in the background of Mays premiership like Edgar Allen Poes Raven. Watch this space, and may God help us all if BoJo is really going to be the next PM.

Anyway, this week in charity sector satire: Michael Fabricant literally becomes a barrier for a guide dog, and Australia is swept by charity bin raiders.

Fabrican't you just move out of the way, Michael?

As discussed above, the Tory Party Conference in Manchester this week wasnt exactly a barrel of laughs. Between the supposedly red spectre of Jeremy Corbyn and his grass-roots army of Bolsheviks, Marxists, Leninists, Trotskyists and disaffected youths getting their hands on the on the sticky levers of power, and being completely riven by the ongoing national act of self-harm that is Brexit, the Tories seem a party on the brink of a collective breakdown.

Diary supposes this is what happens when, as a unit, a party manages to massively shoot itself in the foot by calling a totally unnecessary snap election, loses its majority, and literally can't agree about anything to do with Europe.

Still, while the halls of the convention centre were stuffed with nervous Tories  Tories, with their tweed blazers. Tories, with their polite, clipped tones and their dead, staring eyes  there was still the odd bit of humour to be found.

Enter Conservative Member of Parliament for Lichfield, and man most likely to play Charlie Mullins in the Channel 5 straight-to-TV-movie about the founding of Pimlico Plumbers, Michael Fabricant. Fabricant, the one with hair even more magnificent than Boris Johnson.

It's MP Michael Fabricant being an obstacle for @guidedogs in the quite literal sense pic.twitter.com/Z6IzAL7THb  Kirsty Weakley (@KirstyWeakley) October 3, 2017

Thats Michael Fabricant MP there, waving a white stick rather threateningly at a Guide Dogs trainer and his dog, standing in what Diary has on good authority was a small obstacle course highlighting the good work that the dogs can do in helping blind people navigate treacherous paths.

A few things from this. One: the trainer looks to be quite clearly ignoring Fabricant here, and two: Diary could be wrong about this, but its pretty sure that Fabricant has literally turned himself into an obstacle here for the dog to navigate.

Needless to say this is not the first, nor indeed the last, time a Conservative MP will be accused of getting in the way of a charitys work. Yet even for the Tories, Fabricants made a dogs dinner of this.

Raiders of the Lost morals

Once more to Australia this week, and this gem of a headline from Rupert Murdochs Aussie-tabloid-of-choice The Daily Telegraph.

"'Professional bin raiders' stealing from the needy" and then, the first line: THEY [the DTs all caps, not Diarys] are charity bin raiders with lost morals who have left a Bateau Bay woman gobsmacked.

The story here, essentially, is a woman was waiting for her partner to nip into a supermarket for a pint of milk and some industrial strength bug repellent (probably), when she saw some people diving into some charity clothes donation bins. Thats the whole story.

Still, never let the complete lack of a story get in the way of a good story. Props too to the woman in question  one Kate Waygood  for her evocative turn of phrase.

I was absolutely gobsmacked, they looked like miners, she said. My partner had gone in to Woolworths [an Australian supermarket, much like Sainsburys, and nothing like, um, Woolworths] about 8.30pm and I was just sitting in the car facing the charity bins.

Ive heard of people rummaging through before but they had head torches and a step ladder. They looked like 'miners'."

Whether or not these particular raiders struck gold isnt mentioned, but Waygood did take an incredibly unhelpful and genuinely terribly grainy photo of the, Diary guesses, bin mining (is that the phrase?) on her phone, which the Telegraph has run.

Waygood and the Telegraph also seem to imply that this bin mining (sticking with it) is actually a pretty lucrative gig to get into. Three people turned up in nice looking cars and at least one of these sub-human scumbags even owned their own step ladder! Fancy.

She also said that, as a result of this bin mining activity, prices at the charity shop have skyrocketed. Not sure what evidence shes used to draw that conclusion.

Anyway, if this pointless story from down under teaches you nothing else, Diary reckons a few charity shops should adopt the phrase: If youd give it to your mate, then its good enough to donate. You've got to admit, it's pretty catchy.
This week on The Kicker, we present a special episode recorded live from Atlanta. CJR Managing Editor Vanessa Gezari talks with The New York Timess Glenn Thrush and The Guardians Ben Jacobs about covering the Trump White House. They discuss the emotional toll of the breakneck news cycle, whats different about the new administration, and how to avoid getting caught up in a reality-TV presidency.

Subscribe via iTunes  Stitcher  RSS Feed  SoundCloud

SHOW NOTES:

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Meg Dalton and Pete Vernon are CJR Delacorte Fellows. Find Meg on Twitter @megdalts and Pete @ByPeteVernon.
Journalism is years behind other professions in how it deals with trauma. So this week, coinciding with Mental Illness Awareness Week, CJR is publishing a series of stories from members of the journalism community whove dealt with mental health, illness, or treatment. We asked each journalist the same two questions: 1) What has been the toll of the profession on your mental health, and how do you manage it? and 2) How can the industry work to better address the stigma still surrounding mental illness within the journalism community?

The final dispatch, from journalist and author Jan Wong, is below. Its been edited for length and clarity. She is a journalism professor at St. Thomas University and the author of five books, including Out of the Blue: A Memoir of Workplace Depression, Recovery, Redemption and, Yes, Happiness, which chronicles her struggles with workplace-related depression. Were publishing firsthand accounts throughout the week. Special thanks to our friends at BuzzFeed who inspired this series.

On her personal experiences:

Normally I thrive on adrenaline and deadlines and pressures. In my case, clinical depression was triggered by a backlash from the public about a story (in 2006) about racism in Quebec. What I said (in the article) was Quebec has a tradition of racial purity, and they have a term for it called pure laine, which means pure wool and jargon for pure blood.

ICYMI: NYTimes reporter gets candid about emotional toll of covering Trump

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

I was deluged with hate mail. [This was] before Twitter and before Facebook became very popular. It was basically email and snail mail. I got death threats. I got my book sent to me, sawn in half with a power tool. That was the trigger (for my depression). So I started becoming very anxious, very frightened. But what really plunged me under was the behavior of my newspaper (The Globe and Mail). They decided what I wrote about Quebec was a problem because, at the time, our ownership was a phone company, Bell Canada. So very uncharacteristically, the publisher got involved in the story and launched an investigation into it. My editors were very puzzled as to what they were investigating because there were no corrections. There was nothing wrong. But the article attracted huge interest. The prime minister wrote a letter attacking me in The Globe and Mail; so did the premier of Quebec. There was a vote taken in Parliament to unanimously denounce me.

When I started becoming really sick, I had no experience with clinical depression. I said I needed time off from work, and thats when this huge battle erupted with my employer, [which] did not believe that I was sick. And it went on and on, and I got worse and worse. A reporter has only her credibility, and when your own newspaper thinks youre lying, you really feel terrible. I had psychiatrists evaluate me and write reports, and they affirmed I had severe clinical depression. In the end, my newspaper ordered me back to work. I refused to go, mindful I would be fighting for every other reporter who had a mental illness on the job and needed to be open about it. Then my newspaper fired me. That started two more years of meditation and court proceedings.

On fighting the stigma in journalism:

At my particular newspaper, they were faced with a very clear-cut case with three medical professionals notes, including their psychiatrist. They didnt believe me, so they forced me to go to an independent (psychiatrist) to be evaluated. What the industry has to do is hold management accountable. They think were so afraid of stigma that we wont speak about it. As journalists, we cant be afraid. When I was sick, I was thinking, Oh if I go public with this, Ill never work again because we work essentially with our minds. But thats not true: I dont have any trouble working, and I am fully recovered.

We have to be public about it and force the hand of the owners and managers of newspapers, because were in a workplace like any other. They write stories about mental health in the workplace, but they dont clean up their own backyard. We have to take this out of the shadows, and people have to fight for their right to be sick.

CJRs health care reporting is sponsored in part by a grant from the Commonwealth Fund.

TRENDING: An analysis of Vegas shooting headlines reveals unsettling trends

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Meg Dalton is a freelance journalist and audio producer based in Connecticut. She's reported and edited for CJR, PBS NewsHour, Energy News Network, Architectural Digest, MediaShift, Hearst Connecticut newspapers, and more. Follow her on Twitter: @megdalts. Find her on Twitter @megdalts.
You cant say hit job in here.

I was six months into my tenure as the editor of the New York Observer, and I was schooling my publisher, Jared Kushner, on why ordering up a slam of someone who had crossed his family in business didnt pass the journalistic smell test.

Kushner, in an earlier meeting, had asked for a hit piece on an official at Bank of America, and was now in my office to check on how the story was coming together. I had spent the previous weeks trying to avoid the subject with him, knowing full well that the Observer was never going to pursue a story about an anonymous banker whose only sin was running afoul of the Kushner family.

ICYMI: I spent 45 minutes on the phone with Megyn Kelly asking her to not run that show

But he was pressing the issue. Finally, in that office meeting in the spring of 2010, I told him the piece was not going to happen, that talk of a hit job was a textbook definition of malice, and that I considered the issue closed.

Kushner, then a 28-year-old journalism novice who had so far been deferential to my news judgment, pursed his lips, paused a beat, and ended the conversation.

Sign up for CJR 's daily email

Thus began the unraveling of my relationship with the man who would become one of the most important advisers to one of the most press-hostile presidents in American history.

A year after that conversation, I would be tossed out, one of five editors at the Observer in the 10 years Kushner served as publisher. My case wasnt helped when I was quoted in a blog post calling the place a shitshow under Kushner and his business-side team.

TRENDING: New York Times makes important statement about mass shootings with a series of clocks

Throughout Donald Trumps campaign and into his presidency, I have looked back on my short tenure at the Observer for signs of the anti-press fervor I can only assume Kushner has shaped. How did this socially ambitious real-estate developer, who bought a beloved Manhattan weekly and counted Rupert Murdoch as one of his personal heroes, end up helping to guide an administration that has made the vilification of anyone associated with journalism a central plank? Did Kushner simply inherit the fake news mantra from his father-in-law, or did he have a hand in creating it? Were there hints during his tenure at the Observer of what was to come?

It didnt take long at the Observer for me to figure out that Kushner didnt have much respect for the people on his payroll who were reporters. Several times during my time there, when reporters were due merit raises, I went to him in his office building on Fifth Avenue in Midtownwhich he bought at such a premium that he nearly broke the family businessfor approval to raise their salaries.

The numbers were tiny, sometimes as little as $3,000 or $4,000 per year. But they meant a lot to the people who were getting them, who often were struggling to stay afloat in New York City. At the time, Kushner and Ivanka Trump were newly married, kidless, and living in an enormous loft apartment in lower Manhattan that had the feel of very fancy corporate digs. I didnt spot a single family picture or memento, and the fridge was stocked like a college students, with cartons of takeout food and little else. When I would approach Kushner about raises for the staff, he would almost always balk, pointing out that if we didnt boost their pay, there was a line of replacements willing to work for the same salary or less. Journalists, in his mind, were essentially interchangeable, and easily replaceable. The fact that they were so poorly paid was evidence, in his mind, that what they did or how they did it could not possibly be that important. On a couple of occasions, he reversed course, pulling the plug on pay raises hed approvedand that Id already let the staffers know were coming. (CJR asked Kushner, through a spokesman, for comment on the issues raised here, and they did not respond.)

I came to believe that Kushner wanted the Observer to succeed not because he believed in what it was, but because he needed it as a bullhorn for his own business interests.

While he was, on the one hand, rightjournalism is a notoriously low-paying profession, and there are more willing reporters than there are jobshis dismissive and even condescending attitude toward the people he had chosen to employ didnt fit with his emerging public persona as a hip, young progressive Manhattan player. Years later, I would recognize that same disdain for journalists coming from his father-in-law, amplified a thousandfold.

Most weeks, Kushner not only didnt read the Observer, he didnt appear to read anything else, either. I never knew him to discuss a book, a play, or anything else that was in the Observers cultural wheelhouse. His circle of friends was fairly limited, largely tech executives and other successful business people, a smattering of celebrities, and a coterie of much older successful men, people like Rupert Murdoch, financier Ron Perelman, and the public relations impresario Howard Rubenstein.

Even politics seemed to lie outside his area of interest. Every week, Kushner and I held a conference call with the Observers editorial writer, who would pitch ideas for the papers two main editorial slots. These ideas usually touched on state, local, or national politics. Kushner almost never showed any interest in what tended, at the time, to be the hottest and most pressing issues of the day.

He bragged that he never read The New York Times, though he did seem to care what was in the New York tabloids and The Wall Street Journal.

ICYMI: Newspapers are using two troublesome words to describe the Las Vegas shooting

At the time, his father-in-law showed a similar cluelessness. Very early in my tenure, I was asked by Kushner to meet with Donald Trump, as a courtesy visit. I went to Trump Tower, navigated the series of outer offices that surround Trump, and met the future president, who was sitting behind his desk, hands folded, in an office completely dominated by framed magazine covers of himself. I had the impression that he had spent a minute composing himself, even posing himself, before I stepped in.

I didnt entirely know why I was there, and nor, it seemed, did he. He had no words of advice or insights about the Observer or journalism, no thoughts on the news of the day, no story tips. It was clearly a ring-kissing visit, and the fact that I showed up meant the deed was done. We love Jared, he repeated, concluding our very short meeting.

While Kushner didnt remotely care about the content of the paper, he cared desperately that it be seen as a financial success. While that is essentially every publishers job, his interest in turning the business side of the Observer around seemed rooted more in bragging rights than in any commitment to the paper itself. He also made it clear that, compared to his day job of buying and selling real estate in New York City, this journalism stuff wasnt exactly heavy lifting; he treated it as a sort of annoying hobby. (The irony, of course, is that Kushner never was able to replicate the success of Arthur L. Carter, the papers founder and previous owner. As for his real-estate success, that has been overshadowed by severe debt problems at his flagship on Fifth Avenuethe building where wed have our weekly meetingsand some critical stories about rough tactics his company used to force out people who were late in paying their rent.)

You can hear echoes of Kushners attitudes toward the press in Trumps obsession with the failing New York Times, a notion that is inaccurate but that echoes Kushners singular focus on the Observers bottom line, often to the detriment of the quality and integrity of the paper he was supposed to be shepherding.

I came to believe that Kushner wanted the Observer to succeed not because he believed in what it was, but because he needed it as a bullhorn for his own business interests. The episode with the banker hit job was only the most egregious of many more minor examples of him using the paper to prop up himself and his family, ranging from a dubious annual listing of the top people in New York real estate (which was dominated by his clients and business partners) to favorable treatment for other people in his business circle. Other former editors of the paper have weighed in with their own stories about Kushners attempts to use the paper to settle scores or reward cronies, including an effort by Kushner to get a critical piece into the Observer about a lender who was taking a tough line in renegotiating debt on the Fifth Avenue tower. The story never ran.

Journalism for him was transactional, an attitude his father-in-law seems to share. I give you ratings and Web traffic, Trump seems to fume, and this is how you treat me? In the end, Kushner, too, seemed to have decided that he had wrung all he could out of the Observer, and that owning a newspaper with a staff of recalcitrant journalists was more trouble than it was worth. By the time he left the paper, it had given up any pretense of being independent of the Kushner family, or of Donald Trump, and its presence as a feisty independent voice in New York journalism had disappeared.

Theres a deep and complicated family history at play. Given his familys backstory, it never made sense to me why Kushner owned a newspaper at all. His father, Charles, had been sent to prison for, among other things, trying to coerce his brother-in-law not to cooperate with federal investigators by secretly taping him with a prostitute, then mailing the tape to his sister. The case was a cause celebre in New Jersey (the US Attorney on the case was Chris Christie), and the family long blamed the press for aiding in Charles Kushners downfall.

Jared and his family are extremely close, and it was clear that his fathers travails had a big impact on him. (Charles, whom Jared talked to frequently while the father was imprisoned in Alabama, popped in often during my meetings with Jared on Fifth Avenue. I remember this because Jared would refer to him as daddy, which I found strange. I also later learned that Charles was behind the hit job story, which explained in retrospect why Jared was so persistent about pursuing it.)

Given this background, why would Jared choose to buy a newspaper, of all things? Was his poor treatment of reporters some sort of revenge for the presss treatment of his father?

I came to view this family drama as almost Shakespearean, and gave up trying to make sense of why Jared did what he did. But these questions came back to me when I began to see Jared showing up at his father-in-laws primary rallies around the country, spouting the kind of conservative populist message that Id never heard come out of Jareds mouth. When I knew them, Jared and Ivanka were hanging out with Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, not trying to keep immigrants out of the country.

Initially, I chalked up his devotion to his father-in-law to family loyalty, a deep and unshakeable trait that runs through both the Kushner and Trump clans, and one that is quite admirable.

But there also was something familiar about the anti-media rants we were hearing from Trump. They brought me back to those two very difficult years at the Observer, and the frustration of working for a paper owned by a man who had no respect for or interest in journalism or the people who practice it. In fact, his view was the opposite, a deep suspicion and derision of journalism and reporters, an impression burned into him by a painful family trauma. In his view, journalisms utility lay only in what it could do to polish his image or enrich his coffers or those of his family.

And it dawned on me then that Kushner and his father-in-law werent so far apart after all. Both had used the media, quite successfully, for their own ends. Now the press had become more trouble than it was worth, and both felt perfectly fine tossing it aside.

It reminds me of a story often told by a writer then working for the Observer, who met Kushner, the man who signed his paycheck, for the first time at a cocktail party. The two of them chit-chatted until Kushner, in mid-conversation, turned and walked away. He had, he told the writer, found someone more important to talk to.

TRENDING: An analysis of Vegas shooting headlines reveals unsettling trends

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Kyle Pope is the editor in chief and publisher of the Columbia Journalism Review.
ProPublica on Thursday announced the launch of its own Local Reporting Network. With funding from a three-year, $3 million grant, the project will fund the salaries and benefits of up to six full-time reporters focused on investigative work in communities with populations of less than 1 million people.

Its one of several projects announced in 2017 that aim to help fill gaps in local reporting throughout small- and medium-sized communities throughout the US and Canada.

ProPublica drew some of the inspiration for its Local Reporting Network from Localore: Finding America, a public radio project aimed at developing stories in communities where terrestrial radio often doesnt reach. So we thought, what happens if you do Localore but for investigative journalism? Deputy Managing Editor Eric Umansky tells CJR.

RELATED: The phrase journalists used to describe Vegas shooter, and the unspoken implication

Proposals from newsroom leaders or managers (apply here) are due by November 3, with winning participants scheduled to be announced in December to allow work to start on January 2. Proposals can involve existing newsroom staffers interested in doing full-time investigative work or freelancers, and can focus on any medium, not just print. The reporters participating in the Local Reporting Network will work from the local newsrooms but receive support and guidance from ProPublica. The proposal guide asks for an estimated market salary for the reporter, and there will be no quota for the number of stories produced during the year-long term.

The creative challenge is to come up with what you think is the thing that is going to result in the journalism having the most resonance and kicking up the most shit, basically, Umansky says.

Sign up for weekly emails from the United States Project

ProPublica expects one of the winning placements to be in Illinois, where it launched a new regional operation earlier this year focused on local accountability reporting in the state, although the reporter will be based in a different newsroom. All of the work in the Local Reporting Network will be co-published by both ProPublica and the newsroom partners. ProPublica declined to disclose the funding source for the initiative.

The creative challenge is to come up with what you think is the thing that is going to result in the journalism having the most resonance and kicking up the most shit, basically.

The best way to reach new communities, says Umansky, is maybe not some fancy thing with your journalism that already exists but rather lies in creating journalism that is relevant to and emanates from communities you havent previously been reaching.

ProPublicas announcement comes only a few weeks after the launch of two other projects focused on local reporting. In September, the nonprofit television network TVO launched Ontario Hubs, a seven-person local journalism team covering Canadas most populous province. Not long after, nonprofit media organization The GroundTruth Project and Google News Lab launched Report for America. The public service initiative, modeled after Teach For America and other nonprofits, aims to help recruit, fund, and place 1,000 journalists in underserved newsrooms across the United States over the next five years.

Umansky says the genesis for the ProPublica initiative was in noticing that the greatest decrease in capacity for accountability reporting existed at local and regional reporting organizations. Theres the cliche sunshine is the greatest disinfectant, he says. Imagine what happens if theres no sunshine. You have large areas that once had ultimately more scrutiny. It aint a good thing for our country.

ProPublicas had success with similar investigative partnerships. Its joint investigation into New Yorks nuisance abatement law, with New York Daily News journalist Sarah Ryley, serves as an example of the power of collaboration The project prompted case reviews, 13 new bills, a class-action lawsuit, and won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for public service journalism.

ProPublica has been recognized for many of its data reporting projects. But Umansky says proposals for the Local Reporting Network do not all have be focused around a data component. There are lots of ways to do important accountability coverage, Umansky says, citing the recently published ProPublica story about Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner. Data is certainly one of them, but it is far from a prerequisite. Regional stories are about human beings.

Adding six jobs to an industry that has lost thousands wont solve everything. But in Umanskys nine-plus years of working at ProPublica, he says hes also seen how great partnerships in investigative reporting can make a difference. This is a modest effort, he says, but I think its an important one.

ICYMI: NYTimes reporter gets candid about emotional toll of covering Trump

Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today

Karen K. Ho is a freelance business, culture and media reporter, based in New York. She is also a former Delacorte Fellow at CJR. Follow her on Twitter @karenkho.
Chepang road gets the go-ahead from govt

The government has decided to construct 61km-long Chepang road which will connect Malekhu of Dhading with Bhandara of Chitwan as an alternative to Narayanghat-Mugling section of the road under the financing of Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Woman Accused of Stealing IDs to Get $150K in FEMA Money

A Louisiana woman is accused of using stolen IDs to apply for $150,000 in disaster unemployment assistance after the August 2016 floods in Louisiana.

The U.S. Attorneys Office in Baton Rouge says a federal grand jury indicted 47-year-old Renata Foreman of Independence on six counts Wednesday, including wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The indictment alleges that she obtained identity information from about 62 people and used three stolen IDs to submit about 55 fraudulent claims with the Louisiana Workforce Commission. Although the state administered the money, it came from the Federal Emergency Management Administration.

Louisiana Man Pleads Guilty to Disaster Aid Theft

A Louisiana man has pleaded guilty to stealing disaster aid linked to last years flooding in Baton Rouge.

Acting U.S. Attorney Corey Amundson says 65-year-old Joe W. Jones, of Baton Rouge, entered the plea Tuesday to theft of government funds in the amount of $13,806 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Amundson, in a news release, said Jones filed a fraudulent claim with FEMA seeking disaster assistance following the 2016 flooding that affected 12 parishes in south Louisiana. He says Jones filed for a home that he claimed was his primary residence at the time of the storm. But, Amundsons office says, Jones was living elsewhere and was renting the home to someone whose own FEMA application was delayed because of Jones fraudulent claim.

A sentencing date is pending.

West Virginia Men Sentenced for Fraudulent Claims in Staged Crashes

Two West Virginia men have been sentenced for their roles in filing false insurance claims for vehicle accidents.

Federal prosecutors say the accidents were staged from 2012 to 2014 in Taylor, Harrison and Marion counties.

Fifty-five-year-old Dallas Lewis of Clarksburg was sentenced Wednesday in federal court in Clarksburg to seven years and eight months in prison for his guilty plea to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

Thirty-four-year-old Charles Bonner of Morgantown was sentenced to two years and three months for mail fraud.

Lewis was ordered to pay $290,000 in restitution and Bonner was ordered to pay more than $152,000.

Bonner admitted faking injuries and filing a false insurance claim that paid about $101,500 to him and others. He also admitted a role in getting a settlement check sent to someone else for $46,500.

Man Arrested for Burning Down Mobile Home, Insurance Fraud

Authorities say a South Carolina man who burned down his roommates mobile home and attempted to make an insurance claim has been arrested.

The Herald of Rock Hill reported Wednesday that 57-year-old James Harold Baldwin was charged with second-degree arson and burning personal property to defraud an insurer. Firefighters later told police that no one was inside the mobile home at the time of the June 6 fire.

York County Sheriffs Office spokesman Trent Faris says Baldwin is accused of burning down the mobile home while his roommate was out of town. Authorities say he then tried to make an insurance claim on his possessions.

Baldwin is being held at the York County Detention Center on a $20,000 bond. Its unclear if he has a lawyer.

Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Prime Minister Theresa May leaves Downing Street on her way to attending Prime Minister's Questions in the Houses of Parliament on June 28, 2017 in London, England.

British Prime Minister Theresa May should call a leadership election and as many as 30 of her lawmakers support telling her to go, former Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said on Friday.

"I think she should call a leadership election," Shapps told BBC Radio 5 live. "The writing is on the wall."

Shapps, who chaired the party between 2012 and 2015, said up to 30 Conservative lawmakers backed the bid to tell May to go.
An oil well owned and operated by Apache Corp. in the Permian Basin of Garden City, Texas. Spencer Platt | Getty Images

Oil prices fell about 3 percent on Friday, as a week of profit-taking and the return of oversupply concerns led the market lower, snapping a multi-week bull run. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 2.95 percent, settling at $49.29, breaking a four week win streak. It closed down nearly 4.5 percent in the worst performing week since March 10. The prospect of extended oil production cuts by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other producers led by Russia had supported prices on Thursday. But on Friday Russia clarified remarks on the oil market made by President Vladimir Putin earlier this week, saying he did not propose extending a global oil output cut deal but said he recognized it was a possibility.

watch now

"Yesterday we had Russia and the Saudis talking about extending cooperation, and today we saw a little bit of backtracking with respect to additional cuts in production." said Houston-based consultant Andrew Lipow. "What the market gained yesterday is clearly being given back today." Saudi Arabia's energy minister said on Thursday he was "flexible" about prolonging the production-curbing pact until the end of 2018. However, concerns linger about growing U.S. crude exports, incentivised by a hefty WTI discount to Brent prices. "We have a couple of bearish factors like a new record for U.S. crude exports, the reopening of Libya's biggest oilfield, a new year high in U.S. crude production and the recent strength of the U.S. dollar," said Frank Schallenberger, head of commodity research at LBBW in Stuttgart. A stronger dollar also led to further losses in the oil market on Friday. The dollar hit a 10-week high after data showing the largest gain in U.S. wages since December 2016 bolstered bets on an interest rate hike by year-end. "I expect Brent to drop below $55 a barrel and WTI below $50 in the next couple of days," Schallenberger said. U.S. government data showed this week that crude exports had risen to a record of nearly 2 million barrels per day. Analysts told CNBC they expect the export levels to remain elevated in the coming weeks.
Chinese tourist fined Rs 25,000 for illegally flying drone in Manang

A Chinese tourist has been fined Rs 25,000 for flying a drone without permission and taking photos and videos.
As oil exports from the United States reach record highs, Mark Siegel, the executive chairman of Patterson-UTI Energy , told CNBC that the trend shouldn't worry commodity-watchers.

"I think everybody starts to think that there's an abundance whenever somebody's starting to do well," Siegel told "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer in an exclusive interview on Thursday. "The United States has become the marginal producer in the world and so we're very excited about our prospects."

The oil patch has been a highly contested area of the market as crude prices hover in the $50 range. Some experts worry about oversupply while others hold their breath ahead of anticipated production cuts by OPEC in November.

The high number of oil and gas exploration rigs in the United States has also been a source of worry, but Siegel said that companies like his are combating that by doing more with less.

"Quite frankly, we think that that's a very positive trend because it allows for very great efficiency on the part of our customers and that efficiency allows them to be productive," the chairman said. "Our rig count has stayed very, very flat and that's all about the fact that people can make money now with these kinds of energy prices."

And as the conversation about sustainability grows louder amid loosening regulations for methane emissions, Siegel highlighted the industry's wholesale shift to natural gas production.

"It's interesting, a lot of the natural gas is being used for manufacturing and for particular uses where it's already set in motion or for electrical generation. And so there's quite a market for us," Siegel told Cramer. "Natural gas has displaced coal this year, and that's really a long term trend, we think, in the United States. It's environmentally sound and it's cheaper."
Saudi King Salman said there was consensus with Russia's leadership on broadening the scope of relations between the two countries following a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, the Saudi state press agency reported on Friday.

"We note with complete full satisfaction the matching opinions we sensed from the Russian leadership towards working to move the level of relations to a broader perspective," the king told business officials in Moscow on Thursday evening.

Putin hosted King Salman for talks at the Kremlin earlier in the day, cementing a relationship that is pivotal for world oil prices and could decide the outcome of the conflict in Syria.
Financial watchdogs in Europe and Asia are investigating Standard Chartered Plc over the transfer of $1.4 billion of private bank client assets from Guernsey to Singapore ahead of new tax transparency rules, according to a source familiar with the matter.



The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Guernsey's Financial Services Commission are looking into the movement of assets in late 2015 just before the Channel Island adopted new global rules on exchanging tax information.



Under the rules countries will agree to automatically share annual reports about accounts belonging to people subject to taxes in each member nation.



Britain, Guernsey and Singapore have all signed up to the treaty but Guernsey implemented the rules ahead of the Southeast Asian city-state.



The Financial Services Commission and Standard Chartered's home regulator the Financial Conduct Authority declined to comment on the story while MAS did not respond to a request for comment outside of office hours.



The investigation was first reported by Bloomberg, which cited anonymous sources saying that Standard Chartered reported the matter itself to the regulators. It said the sources said regulators were looking into Standard Chartered's processes, but had not suggested the bank colluded with clients to evade tax.



Standard Chartered said last year that it was to close its trust operations in Guernsey and centralize that part of its business in Singapore.
U.S. Navy aircrewman carries an evacuee off an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter in the Caribbean region as part of Defense of Department support for those affected by Hurricane Maria.

Wood, speaking at an event where the report was presented, said the current troublesome status of the U.S. military is due to a general decline in U.S. defense investment since the end of the Cold War and was only made worse by decreased spending under the Budget Control Act and sequestration. It comes as there are increasing threats from nuclear-armed North Korea as well as more hostile military activities by superpowers such as Russia and China.

"We believe that the U.S. military is at marginal status and it's trending toward weak," said retired Marine Corps Lt. Col. Dakota Wood, a senior research fellow for defense programs at Heritage and editor of its 2018 "Index of Military Strength" report.

At the same time, the aging U.S. nuclear arsenal is suffering from "degradation" even as other nations such as Russia are engaged in an aggressive buildup of nuclear capabilities, said the report from the Heritage Foundation, the conservative Washington think tank.

The U.S. military has deteriorated in strength by years of underinvestment and lack of modernization to the point that some service branches are in "a dire state of readiness," according to a report issued Thursday.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, spoke at the Heritage event Thursday and said, "We have the best military in the world. There's no question about that. But I also believe we have not been resourcing our military commensurate with what we ask our military to do."

According to the report, "Overall, the 2018 Index concludes that the current U.S. military force is likely capable of meeting the demands of a single major regional conflict while also attending to various presence and engagement activities but that it would be very hard-pressed to do more and certainly would be ill-equipped to handle two nearly simultaneous major regional contingencies."

In perhaps a sign of the U.S. military being stretched too thin, the Pentagon said Thursday new U.S. forces flowing into Afghanistan have been delayed due to hurricane relief efforts. The Pentagon has sent extensive resources to help with assistance to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and other Caribbean islands in the region.

"Forces are flowing to Afghanistan; they have been slightly delayed by ongoing hurricane relief efforts," Joint Staff Director and Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie told reporters late Thursday.

The Pentagon said part of the delay is due to the shortage of available military transport planes, which were mobilized to bring in food, water, generators and other critical supplies as well as personnel to help with the storm relief. Thousands of active duty and National Guard troops have been sent to areas with devastation caused by Hurricane Maria, and the Pentagon said the number of troops helping on the mission may rise as they are needed.

On Tuesday, Defense Secretary James Mattis told Congress in hearings that the U.S. had about 11,000 troops in Afghanistan and an additional 3,000 U.S. troops would be arriving. The increased troop strength is part of President Donald Trump's new strategy on fighting the 16-year war in Afghanistan.

Meantime, the Heritage report listed the Army and Marine Corps readiness as "weak" given readiness challenges driven by the current operational demands and low funding. That means half of the nation's service branches are essentially considered in troubled shape in terms of readiness.

The report scored the Air Force and Navy as "marginal" in the readiness category.

In addition to readiness scores, the Heritage report provides a break down of military strength based on capacity and capability scores. The think tank uses a five-point scale for scoring, from "very strong" at the high end to "very weak" on the low end; the score of "marginal" is in the middle.

The Marine Corps readiness rating represented a decline from the think tank's previous report, and it noted that roughly two-thirds of the Marine Corps' aircraft today "are un-flyable." It said the aviation challenges for the Corps are due to "maintenance and flight hour shortfalls combined with old platforms to cause the service to self-assess a dire state of readiness."

As for the Army, it said just one-third of the service's current force is at "acceptable levels of readiness, and even for units deployed abroad, the Army has had to increase its reliance on contracted support to meet maintenance requirements."

Wood said the Army is smaller and the level of readiness of many of the brigade combat team units is lower than they should be today. "Only three units are in 'ready to fight' status," he said. "At the end of the Cold War, it was 780,000 active-duty soldiers; now they're below, I believe, 480,000."

Added the retired Marine Corps officer, "You just have fewer people trying to shoulder a massive load with obsolescencing equipment and not enough money to actually get out there [for sufficient field training]."

Another worrisome trend is Russian technological advances in ground combat vehicles when compared with the U.S. military.

The Abrams tank introduced by the American military in the 1980s has had upgrades but still is "inherently the same tank," said Wood. Yet the Russians have improved their capabilities in tanks and now have the T-14 Armata, which some reports indicate has about three times the range of the American M1 Abrams tank. Russia's T-14 uses a completely automated turret and advanced loading system that Wood said "enhances survivability."

"Per one official, Russia will soon surpass the U.S. in a majority of ground combat capabilities," Heritage said.

On the Air Force, the report said the service is currently short around 1,000 fighter pilots and estimated only about four combat fighter squadrons out of a total of 32 are considered "ready for combat." Although the Air Force's overall readiness score didn't change from last year, Heritage said the fleet of 923 combat-coded tactical fighter planes is now 236 below last year's count and 277 short of what the think tank believes is needed.

"Combined with a continued capability score of 'marginal,' the Air Force's overall military strength score continues to trend downward at a time when America's dominance in the air domain is increasingly challenged by the technological advances of potential adversaries," the report said.

As for the Navy, the readiness was listed as "marginal," but it scored "weak" in capability, which Heritage said was "largely because of old platforms and troubled modernization programs." As of today, there are 279 deployable battle force ships in the fleet compared with the Navy's requirement of 355 ships to respond to needs around the world. Still, the Navy has been budgeted with 308 ships in the current 30-year shipbuilding plan.

"While the Navy is maintaining a solid global presence (slightly more than one-third of the fleet is deployed at any given day), it has little ability to surge to meet wartime demands," the report said.

Also, the Heritage report concluded that the nuclear capabilities of America's military are "marginal," explaining that warhead modernization efforts, weak investment and talent drain are among the top problems facing the nation's nuclear capability. It said investments in the next-generation bomber and ballistic-missile submarine programs are encouraging but the age of the nuclear arsenal is a concern given more aggressive programs of competitors.
President Donald Trump cryptically suggested Thursday that a meeting with senior military leaders was "the calm before the storm."

"Maybe it's the calm before the storm," the president said after the White House called reporters out for a photo opportunity with officials and their spouses.

"We have the greatest military people in this room, I will tell you that," Trump added.

Asked what he meant by a "storm," Trump replied, "you'll find out."

Trump gave no hint what he could be referencing.
Brian and Laurie Chubb have three sons, all of whom always wanted to attend Texas A&M University. So in 2015, when the Chubbs' oldest son, Garrett, was a junior and their middle child, Ben, was a freshman at the school, they decided it was time to cut their housing costs. "We realized it would be smarter to invest in a property instead of paying rent for all those years," said Brian Chubb, who works in pharmaceutical sales and lives in Spring Branch, Texas, with Laurie and their youngest son, Brady. The Chubbs purchased a four-bedroom house in College Station, Texas, in December 2015, and their two older sons moved in the following school year, along with renters. Brady, 18, has been accepted to Texas A&M for next year, and will move into the house after completing a freshman-year stint in a dorm room.

Ben Chubb, left, and roommate Randy Rios. Source: Larry Field Photography

Affordability favors buyers in the Texas A&M area, according to a study by Pro Teck Valuation Services, a real estate valuation firm. The study estimated that a mortgage on a 1,200-square-foot condo in College Station costs about $6,696 per year, comparing favorably with on-campus housing costs that Pro Teck estimated at $6,221 per year. If your child attends the University of Washington in Seattle, however, consider those dorm fees a bargain. A mortgage on a typical 1,200-square-foot Seattle condo costs about $27,828 per year  assuming a 20 percent down payment  compared with Pro Teck's estimate of on-campus housing costs of $9,144 per year.

Home value forecast Town School Student Housing Cost Per Year Price per Sq. Foot, Condo Average Cost for a 1,200 sq. ft. Condo (1.200 x price/sq ft) 20% Down Yearly Mortgage State College, PA Penn State $6,738.00 $183.00 $219,600.00 $43,920 $9,816 College Station, TX Texas A&M University $6,221.00 $125.00 $150,000.00 $30,000 $6,696 Fayetteville, AR University of Arkansas $6,626.00 $137.00 $164,400.00 $32,880 $7,344 Ann Arbor, MI University of Michigan $6,523.20 $223.00 $267.600.00 $53,520 $11,952 Seattle, WA University of Washington $9,144.00 $519.00 $622,800.00 $124,560 $27,828

Source: Source: Pro Teck Valuation Services

"It's not for everyone or for every market," said Tom O'Grady, chief executive officer of Pro Teck. "But it's worthwhile to look at the option of purchasing." Average room and board fees at private four-year colleges were $10,304 during the 2016-2017 school year, an increase of 20 percent over the cost 10 years before, according to The College Board. Public colleges offered little in savings  average room and board fees were $9,767 in 2016-2017, up 28 percent in 10 years. Parents who become landlords get to deduct for mortgage interest, property taxes, insurance, utilities that they pay and some repairs, said Michael Eisenberg, an accountant and member of the American Institute of CPAs' financial literacy commission. If parents buy a property just for their child to live in, and don't receive rent, then they typically can't deduct for mortgage interest or property taxes unless the property meets the Internal Revenue Service's requirements for a second home, Eisenberg said. You might meet those requirements if you stay at the home periodically, and eventually plan to move there yourself, he said.

Instead of paying ABC bank, they're paying the bank of parental units. Heather Petrone-Shook president, Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors
The way large U.S. firms are taxed in the European Union is posing major challenges for France, the country's finance minister told CNBC Thursday.

Bruno Le Maire, the recently appointed French finance minister, is at the forefront of an initiative to impose an "equalization tax" for tech companies across the EU  a potential new policy that is set to disrupt the way companies operate in Europe.

"We have a huge challenge with the question of the GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon)," Le Maire told CNBC at the Women's Forum in Paris. "You'll think that I am obsessed by the United States  that's not the case. We just want to have fair trade in the world," he said.

One of the biggest proposals is to tax companies on their revenues rather than on their profits. Taxing the latter would usually culminate in a smaller number. The idea with an "equalization" tax is to avoid firms taking advantage of different tax codes across the 28 European member countries, which has allowed many of them to pay little tax in some countries.
Political tensions in Catalonia continue to simmer after Banco Sabadell confirmed its intention to relocate its legal headquarters, while Caixabank is due to hold a meeting to discuss the issue later on Friday.

Shares in both banks rallied yesterday on the news but have today given up some of those gains.

Fernando Sanchez Costa, Catalan parliament deputy, and member of Spain's ruling Partido Popular, told CNBC Friday that Catalan independence leaders are now in a difficult position.

"The Catalan high-class and middle-class have played to a revolution," he said. "And now they are discovering that revolution is not a joke. We have been telling them for years 'Please keep calm.'"

"So it is legitimate to defend independence, but what is not normal, what is not good, is to break everything  the rule of law, constitution," he added.
Activist investor Nelson Peltz told CNBC on Friday that P&G has wasted more than $100 million to fight his attempt to get on the board.

Given Procter & Gamble's market value of $235 billion, it's the largest company to face a proxy fight.

"This proxy fight is probably the dumbest thing I've ever been involved in," the billionaire CEO of Trian Partners said. "Think about that, $100 million, all this sales and effort, to keep me off the board," he said. "And I've said that if I come on the board, no one has to get off. I will nominate the man to come right back on."

He said the vote, scheduled for Tuesday, will be close.

"I'm not allowed to speculate," Peltz said on "Squawk Box." "But I would agree it's probably going to be close. I only have close ones."

Peltz's $12.7 billion hedge fund, Trian Partners, has taken a $3.5 billion stake in P&G. He told CNBC he's seeking a P&G board seat because the company has "lost its soul."

Peltz said Trian has gotten results even when it has lost proxy fights.

The hedge fund manager said he believes he can still work with P&G Chief Executive Officer David Taylor, adding people can mend fences after the dust settles.
Contractor for Bhairahawa airport project keeps job

The government has decided to retain the Chinese contractor for Gautam Buddha Airport in Bhairahawa as the company has started to show satisfactory progress.
Bitcoin was the top performing cryptocurrency in the last three months, despite the mega-rally earlier this year in so-called alternative coins, or altcoins.

Out of the top five cryptcurrencies by market capitalization, bitcoin reigned supreme in the third quarter. The digital currency was up 74 percent. Bitcoin cash, the digital currency created after bitcoin split, was not included as it was not trading for the entire quarter.

In contrast other altcoins were not as successful. Here's their third quarter performance in order of market capitalization, according to Coinmarketcap.com data:

Ethereum

Ripple fell from $0.26 to $0.19, declining 26.9 percent

Litecoin rose from $40.4 to $55.1, rallying 36.5 percent.

The third quarter marked a sharp contrast to the June quarter as people shifted away from altcoins back into bitcoin. For example, the second quarter saw ethereum rise over 500 percent and hit an all-time high.

Bitcoin has had an eventful quarter. Chinese regulators have cracked down on the cryptocurrency in contrast to Japan, which has been introducing supporting regulation. At the same time, bitcoin underwent a "fork" that split it in two, introducing another digital currency called bitcoin cash.
In middle school, Eileen Lowry swapped her band class out to try her hand at computer science. She hasn't looked back since.

"I've always been fascinated with 'how do things work?'"

Today, she's tackling what some analysts are calling the most transformative technology since the dawn of the internet as a program director for IBM Blockchain Labs & Garage North America in New York City.

Blockchain is a record of transactions  a transparent and tamper-proof digital ledger  that allows users to share information quickly, freely and without fear that it could be altered without user detection. While many associate the technology with the digital currency bitcoin, its uses have expanded in a big way, currently being applied by leading companies like IBM and Wal-Mart across industries including financial services, retail and logistics.

"It's just a fascinating technology  there are so many different aspects to it from talking about transactions and instilling trust in that," Lowry said. "That's my every day, talking to clients as to why they want to instill trust in their transactions and with their clients at well."

Globally, IBM has 1,500 employees working on blockchain and is looking to hire 150 additional workers around the world in the space. IBM and Wal-Mart are currently working together to leverage blockchain to address food-safety challenges. The technology can be used to trace food from "farm to fork," a process that typically would take nearly a week, in just seconds.

"It allows people to exchange value without knowing the identity of each other necessarily, in a secure way on the back end," said Jason Kelley, IBM's global manager for blockchain services. "On the front end, it's simplicity, transparency and trust. Think of all the cost, time and often waste that happens in the exchange of value  blockchain rids that from the system."
People hold Catalan separatist flags during a demonstration two days after the banned independence referendum in Barcelona, Spain, on October 3, 2017.

Catalonia's parliament will meet on Monday in defiance of a legal process to clamp down on those who want independence for the region, the Catalan head of foreign affairs said on Friday.

In a deepening standoff between those who support independence for the wealthy northeastern region and the Spanish central government, Raul Romeva told the BBC that Catalonia's regional parliament would make a decision on independence.

On Thursday, Spain's Constitutional Court suspended the session of the Catalan parliament scheduled for Monday, in which local leaders were expected to declare Catalonia's unilateral independence from Spain following a banned referendum on secession at the weekend.
The United States needs to reform its tax system, invest in infrastructure programs, overhaul its immigration policies and cut business regulations, said Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund.

Lagarde's list seems to align with the priorities of President Donald Trump who was elected on pushing U.S.-first policies rather than the global approach advocated by the IMF.

When asked if she's a fan of Trump, however, Lagarde said: "I'm not a fan of anybody. And I'm not a fan of any particular initial proposals. We want to see the details."

The IMF plans to upgrade its outlook for global economic growth when it releases its latest forecasts next week, she said.

In an interview that aired Friday on "Squawk on the Street," Lagarde said the strength is coming from about 75 percent of the economies around the world. "In other words, it's not one country that's leading the charge. It's not only the emerging market economies that used to be the case. It's Europe. It's the United States. It's Japan. And it's China of course and India, plus a few other countries."

In July, the IMF predicted global growth would hit 3.6 percent in 2018, which would be the fastest clip since 2011.

Lagarde did cite growing "debt around the world" as a concern, saying debt of all kinds  both public and private  has gone up since the 2008 financial crisis.
Costco Wholesale 's latest quarterly earnings conference call was "very disturbing," CNBC's Jim Cramer said Friday.

During the call, Costco Chief Financial Officer Richard Galanti addressed concerns about Amazon Prime impacting Costco's membership offering. Costco's membership renewal rates declined as its gross margins narrowed during the fourth quarter.

"As it relates to the publicity and the news and the noise around Amazon and Whole Foods, all we can do is perform," Galanti told analysts and investors.

The CFO then explained that slowing membership sign-ups at Costco were partially a result of decisions the retailer had made in past months, like opting to no longer accept American Express. Costco also raised fees on its 90 million members earlier this year.

"It was very disturbing," according to Cramer, "because it basically just says, 'Amazon is coming for [Costco], and [Costco doesn't] even care what [it] say[s].'"

Shares of Costco were falling more than 6 percent Friday, one day after the retailer reported a drop in quarterly margins, which raised concerns of an intensifying grocer price war. Shoppers were seen buying more fuel, which is less profitable, at Costco during the latest period.

With membership renewal rates on the decline, and management expecting this to continue for another six months, "this remains a top focus for investors given concerns about the competitive environment and migration to online shopping," Jefferies analyst Daniel Binder wrote in a note to clients.

"This could create some volatility in the shares, but strong traffic and comps should provide downside protection," Binder added.

Investors have been wary that Costco's business model, which mainly generates revenue through a niche membership club, faces increased competition from Amazon . The e-commerce giant is shaking up the grocery industry in acquiring Whole Foods.

Meantime, Costco shares have fallen more than 7 percent since the Amazon-Whole Foods deal was announced in June. The retailer's stock is down about 2 percent in 2017.

Investors do not want to pay "25 times earnings for a company that is up against Amazon," Cramer said Friday on "Squawk on the Street."

The host of CNBC's "Mad Money" added that Costco's stock has had a great run, and its stores have "put up some unbelievable numbers in every single aisle"  but "no one is listening."

"They're not signing up like they used to be. ... Do millennials still go there?" Cramer asked. "Every question of the undercurrent is Amazon."

"It's not a comedy, it's a tragedy," he said.

After the bell on Thursday, Costco reported that its fourth-quarter net income rose to $919 million, or $2.08 per share, from $779 million, or $1.77 per share, a year ago.

Total revenue rose 15.7 percent, to $42.30 billion.

For Costco, "Renewal rates will remain the focus for investors over the next year, given concerns about AMZN, grocery delivery and a recent fee hike," Jefferies' Binder reiterated.
President Donald Trump's recent comments are making Republican strategist Ron Christie nervous  and he told CNBC he's probably not the only one.

On Thursday, Trump cryptically suggested that a meeting with senior military leaders was "the calm before the storm." When asked what he meant by a "storm," the president replied, "you'll find out."

"It gives our allies and adversaries pause for reflection to say, 'What is the United States about to do?'" said Christie, former special assistant to President George W. Bush.

"You have to be very measured and very calm in your tone and I just hope that my friends in the White House recognize that the president may have made a lot of people very nervous today," he told "Power Lunch."
Bottles of Purdue Pharma L.P. OxyContin medication. George Frey | Bloomberg | Getty Images

How can we combat the opioid epidemic? One of the government's most recent suggestions is to take Opana ER, an opioid indicated for very severe pain, off the market. The request, filed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June, was linked to concerns of abuse-related HIV and hepatitis C outbreaks. But removing access to opioids altogether isn't the solution. There are individuals suffering from chronic pain who need or strongly benefit from these drugs. The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that a fourth of the nation's population suffers from pain lasting longer than 24 hours. Millions more suffer from acute pain. More from The Conversation:

How 'Germany's Hugh Hefner' created an entirely different sort of sex empire

The opioid epidemic in 6 charts

Catalonia's referendum unmasks authoritarianism in Spain As a researcher who studies how pharmaceuticals are used and what effects they have, I believe it makes more sense to reduce both the supply and demand side of prescription drug abuse  without interfering with their safe and appropriate use. We can do this by reimagining how we design and prescribe addictive drugs.

Redesigning the pill

Opioids such as morphine typically relieve pain by acting on opioid receptors distributed throughout the central nervous system. The FDA has come up with a number of ways to deter abuse by changing the way drugs work. For example, manufacturers could include an opioid antagonist in the formulation. This is essentially a drug that blocks the opioid's effect by binding to the same receptors in the brain that the opioid would. Changing the formulation in this way would reduce the chances of experiencing the euphoric high that leads to addiction.

Many solutions to the opioid crisis tend to focus on how far it has come and how to mitigate it. However, a more sustainable approach would be to rethink the process of care and engage the patient  who is at the center of it all.

A good example of an opioid that does this is Targiniq ER. If Targiniq ER is crushed or dissolved, it releases Naloxone, an opioid antagonist that blocks the effect of the opioid. Another option is to redesign the drug so it must be injected or implanted, instead of taken orally. That way, the drug would potentially have to be delivered under medical supervision. Requiring the drugs to be delivered under medical supervision could also potentially reduce the improper use of needles and related outbreaks. Even so, no method is foolproof; abusers can sometimes manipulate a changed drug. For example, Opana ER was designed to be difficult to crush, but abusers began to dissolve the drug into a solution and injecting it. To deter drug abuse, Opana ER's manufacturer, Endo Pharmaceuticals, devised a new medication formula that made the coating more difficult to crush or dissolve. Unfortunately, abusers still found a way to remove the coating and inject the drug.

Required prescription monitoring

Prescription drug monitoring programs have shown considerable promise in tracking potential abusers. These programs provide emergency departments and physicians with information about a patient's past use of controlled substances at the point of care. This can immediately flag any potential for abuse, making the doctor's decision to prescribe opioids  or not  much easier. Now, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has funded at least nine states to combine their prescription monitoring programs with local hospital electronic health records and other systems already in place. These collaborations provide clinicians with a comprehensive history of controlled substance, so they can make informed decisions about patient health. This has already had some success. For example, Illinois saw a 22 percent decrease in number of opioid prescriptions issued by prescribers and a 41 percent decrease in the number of patients who received at least one opioid prescription. More information on the nature of the epidemic  particularly its link to rural areas  could yield clues about where and how to intervene. However, publicly available data have limited geographical information and don't cover all information we might need, such as data about dose or treatment duration. What data are available are restricted to protect the identity of individuals. Rather than look at patients with opioid issues, we decided to look at the doctors who prescribe the drugs. Our group has been working with the state of South Carolina to combine our prescription drug monitoring program, called South Carolina Reporting and Identification Prescription Tracking System, or SCRIPTS, with Medicaid data. While we were able to combine only two years' worth of data, our research led to important insights into the abuse potential within South Carolina. By geocoding state prescription information, we found that a relatively small percentage of providers, concentrated in a few counties, accounted for most opioid prescriptions. In 2010, the top 10 percent of prescribers wrote more than half of all opioid prescriptions. This group represents a potential target for physician education and engagement in handling pain management and appropriate use of opioids.

Rethinking how we assess patients
Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said he will speak to Puerto Rico's governor about helping get the hurricane-hit island's power grid back online.

On Thursday, Musk tweeted that his company has built solar grids for many small islands, adding that there "is no scalability limit, so it can be done for Puerto Rico too."

TWEET

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rossello responded early Friday saying: "Let's talk today; I will be in touch."

TWEET

Musk tweeted back saying that he would be "happy to talk."

Last month, Puerto Rico was badly hit by Hurricane Maria. Electricity is not up and running yet and millions of citizens are struggling without basic necessities.

Tesla makes the Powerpack storage battery, which it's deploying in other countries. For example, Musk won a contract from South Australia to install a 100 megawatt facility, which could power 30,000 homes.
General Electric unveiled a slew of executive management changes on Friday.

The company announced that Jamie Miller, CEO of GE Transportation, will become chief financial officer on Nov. 1.

Miller worked at Anthem and PricewaterhouseCoopers, before joining GE as vice president, controller and chief accounting officer. She also served as GE's chief information officer before becoming the president and CEO of GE Transportation.

Current CFO and vice chair Jeffrey Bornstein will depart the company on Dec. 31. A 28-year veteran of the company, Bornstein said he decided this was the "right time to bring in a new CFO with a fresh perspective to guide GE's ongoing efforts to reduce costs, drive growth, improve our performance, and enhance shareholder value."

GE vice chairs Beth Comstock and John Rice will also be retiring at year end.

The announcements come soon after GE's board elected CEO John Flannery to succeed Jeffrey Immelt as chairman of the company.

GE announced Immelt's retirement on Monday, which came about two months earlier than expected. A company spokeswoman said that Immelt felt Flannery was prepared to take over the role of chairman. She also said that leaving the company would allow Immelt to explor other opportuniities.
GoPro investors are overreacting to the potential threat from Google's new camera product, according to JPMorgan.



Alphabet unveiled its new pocket-sized Google Clips camera on Wednesday. GoPro shares fell a total of 13 percent Wednesday and Thursday due to the announcement.

Google Clips is "not a short-term threat  [It is] not designed as a PoV [point of view] camera, not wearable, not ruggedized, lacking sound, image stabilization, high frame-rate and a host of other features," analyst Paul Coster wrote in a note to clients Friday.

"The stock looks particularly compelling here owing to a 2-day sell-off spurred by the introduction of Google Clips, a consumer-oriented capture device that validates part of GoPro's market, competes peripherally, and otherwise seems to be going in a different direction."

Coster reiterated his overweight rating and $15 price target for GoPro shares, representing 55 percent upside from Thursday's close.

Shares of GoPro rose 2 percent midday Friday after the report.

"Talking to GoPro's upbeat CFO, yesterday, we sense that the firm's technology road-map, partnering with leading chip OEMs [original equipment manufacturers], will lead to more on-device AI features soon," he wrote.
Dr Govinda KC launches 13th hunger strike

Dr Govinda KC began his 13th fast-unto-death on Thursday demanding that the Health Profession Education (HPE) Bill be endorsed immediately keeping the recommendations made by a team of experts intact.
Hollywood reacted with disgust  but not surprise  after allegations of decades of sexual harassment by producer Harvey Weinstein surfaced Thursday in The New York Times.

After being named in the Times piece, actress Rose McGowan tweeted: "Anyone who does business with __ is complicit. And deep down you know you are even dirtier. Cleanse yourselves."

@rosemcgowan: Anyone who does business with __ is complicit. And deep down you know you are even dirtier. Cleanse yourselves.

The Times wrote that in 1997, Weinstein reached a previously undisclosed settlement with Rose McGowan, then 23, after an episode in a hotel room during Sundance Film Festival.

More from USA Today:

Harvey Weinstein scandal: Read his full apology

Coroner releases Vegas victims list. Their stories.

The untold story of Kim Jong Nam's assassination by North Korea

The $100,000 settlement was "not to be construed as an admission" by Weinstein, but intended to "avoid litigation and buy peace," according to the legal document, which was reviewed by the newspaper. McGowan had just appeared in the slasher film Scream.

She did not comment to the Times.

After the piece broke, CNN's Jake Tapper tweeted that Weinstein's conduct was an open secret in Hollywood. "Hollywood producer I know: 'Shocked it's taken so long for a Harvey Weinstein behavior expose. One of the most open secrets in Hollywood.' "

@jaketapper: Hollywood producer I know: "Shocked it's taken so long for a Harvey Weinstein behavior expose. One of the most open secrets in Hollywood."

Former Hollywood Reporter editor in chief Janice Min (who previously served as editor in chief of Us Weekly) applauded on Twitter. "The media's white whale," she wrote. "Finally, finally, finally."

Amber Tamblyn, who recently wrote an op-ed about an unsettling experience she had as an underage teen with actor James Woods, tweeted this: "Heed the mantra and never forget: Women. Have. Nothing. To. Gain. And. Everything. To Lose. By. Coming. forward."

She added that her message was "for those who want to blame victims" and urged her followers to "Stand with @AshleyJudd or give your legs to someone else. What she and others have just done is painful and difficult and triumphant."

@ambertamblyn: Let me be emphatically clear. This tweet was for those who want to blame victims. Fellow women: Come. Forward. I will stand beside you.

America Ferrera tweeted that such "abuse of power must be called out, however powerful the abuser, and we must publicly stand with those brave enough to come forward."

And shortly after the Times piece posted, Oscar winner Brie Larson spoke of micro-aggressions she experiences daily. "I merely smiled at a TSA agent and he asked for my phone number. To live life as a woman is to live life on the defense," she tweeted.

Hollywood insiders also began to speak out about the Oscar-winning producer.

"I took meetings at Weinstein," wrote screenwriter Stephanie Mickus. "With other female execs. But every single time I'd hear 'as long as you aren't meeting with Harvey, you'll be fine.' That's our reality."

@smickable: I took meetings at Weinstein. With other female execs. But every single time I'd hear "as long as you aren't meeting with Harvey, you'll be fine." That's our reality.

"Just flipped through some contracts to make sure I'm legally allowed to say Harvey Weinstein is the worst person in the film business," tweeted film producer Keith Calder.

Weinstein, who announced Thursday that he'd be taking a leave of absence from his company, has threatened to sue the Times over "a story that is saturated with false and defamatory statements."
They're not alone. Hospital unemployment is now just 1.4 percent nationally, with administrators scrambling to fill jobs across a wide range of positions. In particular, they are facing shortages of primary care doctors and nursing staff.

"We're having to open up our pipeline. We're having to think innovatively," explained Brian Petranick, CEO of Right at Home. "We're looking at ways to certainly help with benefits and pay but also to provide even a better care experience for our workers, in general."

"It makes a huge difference.  It's not really like financial gains," Butamanya said. "To me, when you're appreciated by a client, as well as the person who employs you  it's more than anything." As Americans are living longer, demand for home health care workers is growing, and for home care firms like Butamanya's employer, Right At Home, so is the competition to make dedicated workers feel valued.

Vivian Butamanya left a human resources job last year to become a home health aide in the New York area. She wound up getting a bump in pay, but what she really values are the emotional rewards.

Vivian Butamanya left a human resources job to become a health aide, a move that gave her a bump in pay and more emotional satisfaction.

At health centers such as OhioHealth Doctors Hospital in Columbus, physician recruiters are looking at incentives such as help with student loans to attract and retain new doctors.

"I was with one of my recruiters yesterday, and she was working with a hospitalist who had $500,000 in student loan debt. That's a pain point for a lot of physicians coming out  even for physicians who are practicing," said Chris Corde, OhioHealth vice president and head of physician recruitment.

The shortages have affected hiring. Hospital monthly employment growth has slowed about half a percentage point to 1.7 percent from 2.5 percent a year ago, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While uncertainty over health-care regulation in Washington has given some health executives pause, the shortage of workers has also played a part in the slowdown.

It now takes a record 49 days to fill a health-care position, according to DHI Group, an employment consulting firm. That's two weeks longer than it now takes to fill a position in the highly competitive IT sector.

More health-care employers are trying to train the workforce that they need.

"The most innovative are the ones that are adding to their portfolios, and really going out and having an ongoing dialogue in the community, pipelining people, understanding who's in the market," said DHI CEO Mike Durney.

At Temple University Health system in Philadelphia, that has meant stepping up training for their current doctors in drug treatment as demand has grown in their community.

"The opioid epidemic has really highlighted the fact that we do not have enough people trained in addiction treatment," said Dr. Susan Freeman, chief medical officer.

While doctors have been trained in treating overdoses, they have asked for more training when it comes to overall addiction treatment.

"We are creating a center for addiction medicine to provide mentoring and training services" that their doctors are looking for, said Dr. Freeman.

At OhioHealth, they are also courting med students early, to develop a relationship as they start their careers.

"We are recruiting right now several urologists who are not going to be available until September 2019, but we're actively working with them," said Corde.

In an increasingly tight health-care hiring market, employers hope that the payoff will be finding qualified workers like Butamanya who will develop a strong connection to their team.



"It means a lot when your employer calls in and is like, 'Oh, we've had so much good stuff about you. The client really compliments you.'  That for me is everything," she said.
Credit Suisse shared with its clients the firm's best current stock picks. This is our "one-stop shop for the research team's best ideas. Every U.S. and Canadian research analyst identifies and ranks up to three top stock picks," analyst Arbin Sherchan wrote in a report Friday. The ideas "are simply a current snapshot of the analysts' top picks in their coverage universes." Here are five companies that made Credit Suisse's recommended list and their price targets. 1) Constellium (CSTM) Credit Suisse analyst Curt Woodworth has a $14 price target for Constellium shares, which is 26 percent higher than Thursday's closing price. "We view Constellium as one of the most attractive opportunities in the metals and mining space, as it has a clearer roadmap to more sustainable earnings growth and ROIC trends driven by improved operational performance, more efficient capital spending, and leading industry positions in automotive sheet and aerospace plate/alloy." 2) Mohawk Industries (MHK) Credit Suisse analyst Susan Maklari has a $274 price target for Mohawk shares. The target is 7 percent higher than Thursday's closing price. "We continue to believe Mohawk is among the best positioned within our coverage given its: (1) aggressive expansion in to faster-growing product categories, (2) ongoing success in its global consolidation efforts, and (3) continuous improvements in its legacy operations and the ability to drive synergies from acquisitions." 3) Kraft Heinz Company (KHC) Credit Suisse analyst Rob Moskow gives Kraft Heinz shares a $100 price target, which is 29 percent higher than Thursday's close. "We believe KHC's sustainable growth profile, cost efficiency and roll-up business strategy is best in class in a structurally declining food peer group. The company has the ability to create enormous shareholder value in an instant once it finds a willing acquisition candidate. As the food sector inevitably consolidates in the years ahead to give it more leverage in the dynamic omni-channel environment, it makes sense to own the best acquirer." 4) BlackRock (BLK) Credit Suisse analyst Craig Siegenthaler has a $597 price target for BlackRock shares, which is 29 percent higher than Thursday's close. "BLK owns the largest ETF manager in the world in iShares, which is large across all key product segments and in most geographies. We view ETF and passive as high growth segments, and we believe BLK's iShares business will capitalize on the secular trends. While passive share will likely reach ~50% of US equity retail AuM, the trend is less mature outside of the US which will benefit iShares internationally." 5) JPMorgan Chase (JPM) Credit Suisse analyst Susan Katzke gives shares of JPMorgan Chase a $103 price target, which is 6 percent higher than Thursday's close. "Best in class executionincluding organic revenue growth through investment in the bank's well-integrated, market share leading financial services businesses, coupled with a willingness to tightly manage expenses, and optimize capital should drive better than average earnings growth and returns on equity for JPMorgan."

Kraft and Heinz products Scott Olson | Getty Images
Huawei India Head Jay Chen, fourth from left, at a press conference in New Delhi on August 12, 2015.a

India is a major strategic market for Chinese smartphone maker Huawei, a senior executive at the company told CNBC this week.

Jay Chen, CEO at Huawei India, said that in the company's near two-decade presence in the country, it has made sizable investments and formed key partnerships in the telecommunications sector.

"We really believe India is one of the most important strategy market in Huawei's global layout," Chen told CNBC at the sidelines of the India Economic Summit in New Delhi. He added that the company has played a "more and more important role in the India market," and that it has "many strategic partnerships with the India telecom industry."

While the company may have deep ties to the telecoms business, its consumer business is still trying to carve a place in India's massive smartphone market.

According to Counterpoint Research, Samsung was the market leader by smartphone shipment in India for the second quarter of 2017. The South Korean giant was followed by Xiaomi, Vivo, OPPO and Lenovo (which includes its Motorola business).

Huawei's absence among the top five smartphone vendors in India is notable. It is currently the third-largest smartphone vendor by shipments globally, and has ambitions to usurp both Samsung and Apple.

September-quarter data on smartphone shipments by volume, both globally and locally, have yet to be revealed by most research firms.

On Thursday, Huawei introduced a new handset in the country  the Honor 9i smartphone, which has a 5.9-inch display, 4GB of RAM and dual front and dual rear cameras. The model, reports said, will be sold exclusively on Indian e-commerce platform Flipkart for about 17,999 rupees ($275.91).

Despite the competition, earlier this year Huawei reportedly set a target of capturing 10 percent market share in the Indian smartphone segment by the end of the year.

Chen said Huawei has developed channels and formed partnerships with e-commerce platforms. "In the last couple of years, Huawei's [been] one of the pioneers to do business on the e-commerce platform, especially for the smartphone business," he said.

The e-commerce push is likely a bid to raise Huawei's profile among Indian consumers  many of whom tend to purchase electronic gadgets from sites like Flipkart or Snapdeal.

Huawei's telecommunications business is also working with other telecoms and partners to develop India's 5G (fifth-generation mobile networks) ecosystem.

In 2015, Huawei said it was investing $170 million in a new research and development campus in Bangalore that can house up to 5,000 engineers. Last year, the company also announced it was going to start locally manufacturing smartphones.
Catalonia might be the separatist region making headlines at the moment but Europe has many other separatist movements that are closely watching developments in northeastern Spain. Separatist movements in Europe can range from small townships to entire regions and the motivations for wanting to go it alone are equally as diverse encompassing linguistic and cultural differences as well as economic and historical justifications. While some separatist movements harbor dreams of gaining just a bit more autonomy from the national government, others like Catalonia are aimed at gaining full independence and nothing less. Countries like Germany and Italy where states can have very distinct linguistic, cultural and historical differences tend to have numerous and significant separatist movements to contend with. Geographical characteristics can play a part too with islands  such as Sicily or the Faroe Islands (between Norway, Scotland and Iceland)  and peninsulas (such as Cornwall, in southwest England) often seeking more autonomy or independence, feeling "separated" and far from the centers of power.

watch now

Willem Buiter, chief economist at Citi, told CNBC on Wednesday that "the Europe of regions is making a comeback." "Too many countries in the European Union have secessionist problems, including the U.K., Belgium and Italy and this is not a unique problem," he said. Here. CNBC highlights some of the larger and long-standing separatist movements that are monitoring Catalonia's referendum with interest.

A Venetian autonomist screams pro independence slogan on April 25, 2014 in Venice, Italy. The march, which takes place on St Mark's day, had been banned by the Police for reasons of public order. Marco Secchi/Getty Images

Venice and Lombardy

Italy's wealthy regions of Lombardy and Veneto are both eyeing referendums on October 22 aimed at gaining more autonomy. Both regions have strong separatist movements, mainly driven by resentment at the perception that taxpayers' money is spent in the poorer south of the country. As with Catalonia and Spain, Italy's Constitutional Court has blocked the regions' plans to hold a referendum on independence and so the citizens in each region will be asked if they want more autonomy (and more money) from the national government.

Too many countries in the European Union have secessionist problems Willem Buiter Chief economist at Citi

Known for being the city of romance rather than rampant nationalism, it's worth remembering that Venice only became a part of Italy in 1866. In 2014, Venice had its own non-binding referendum on independence in which 2.1 million citizens (89 percent of the vote) voted for independence. Many voters feel that their taxes go to the poorer south rather than contributing to investment in the region.

Picture taken 14 May 2007 of two billboards pasted on a shopwindow by a local resident of Ninovse Steenweg, Sint-Jans-Molenbeek / Chaussee de Ninove, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, expressing his opinion in favour of two republics ie Flanders and Wallonia, instead of the Belgium monarchy, that would cost less money for Belgian citizens (200 millions Euro for monarchy every year while only 1 million Euro for a President). The message wa HERWIG VERGULT/AFP/Getty Images

Flanders and Wallonia

Belgium is a country split between three communities, languages and regions. Flanders and the Flemish community is in the north of the country (where Dutch or Belgian Dutch - also known as Flemish) is spoken. Then there is the mainly French-speaking south, known as Wallonia and just to complicate matters further, there is a German-speaking region in the far east of the country. There are also considerable movements within each of these regions striving for independence. Political groups such as the New Flemish Alliance, a nationalist, conservative group which is dominant in the Belgian parliament, advocate a gradual secession of Flanders from Belgium. Euronews reported that the party even hung a Catalan flag outside its headquarters recently in support of the Spanish separatist region. With elections in 2019, the issue of Flemish independence is not likely to disappear soon.

The Basque Country

One region of Spain that is certainly watching events in Catalonia with interest is the Basque Country, an "autonomous community" situated on the north coast of Spain. Like Catalonia, the Basque Country has its own language and distinct culture. Unlike Catalonia, it also has a history of some violent separatism with various terrorist attacks carried out by the nationalist and separatist group Eta. The armed movement for independence called a ceasefire in 2010 which was made permanent in 2011, however. Separatist movements remain a force to be reckoned with in the region, with a spokesman for the region's largest separatist party - the Basque Nationalist Party  saying recently that he hopes the region could have its own vote on independence just like Catalonia.

South Tyrol

The South Tyrol region is found in the northern-most part of Italy and is also known as the Alto Adige, but is distinctly un-Italian with German being the predominant language with only around a quarter of the region's 510,000 inhabitants speaking Italian. Despite being an autonomous province since 1972, giving it a greater level of self-determination - the region has a secessionist movement that would like to secede from Italy and reunify with Austria. The region was a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire but was annexed to Italy following the World War I.

Hundreds of Yes supporters gather in George Square to show their support for the independence referendum Jeff J Mitchell I Getty Images

Scotland
NEW DELHI  Executives across India Inc voiced broad-based optimism about the country's economic growth at the World Economic Forum's summit here in the Indian capital. But all of that positivity went hand-in-hand with a message to the government: It's time for more game-changing reforms.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi Adnan Abidi | Reuters

As the world's largest democracy embarks on a series of dramatic policies expected to transform the entire culture of doing business, its economy is feeling the sting. Ongoing pressure spurred by demonetization and supply chain disruption ahead of July's Goods and Services Tax (GST) pushed gross domestic product growth to a three-year low in the April-June quarter. Further compounding the situation are sluggish private investment and weak job creation. At a CNBC panel on Friday, leading Indian business players described those issues as short-term obstacles essential for long-term gain. "We're going through the pain, we'll see whether it takes one or three quarters," said Sanjiv Bajaj, managing director at Bajaj Finserv, which is a financial services firm part of the larger Bajaj conglomerate. "The impact of the net change will be significantly positive. A year down the line, we'll be talking with a very positive feel than where we are today." Adi Godrej, chairman of The Godrej Group, a corporation with interests in real-estate, household items and chemicals, said he expects GDP to improve as early as the the second half of this year. "This whole question mark about the Indian economy came from weak June growth," he explained. "In the manufacturing sector, the new GST rate was less than the combination of earlier excises, so obviously there was a lower destocking of those items and lower clearance, which affected GDP of that month." That won't be the case going forward, he continued, adding that Godrej's various companies will clock in higher sales in the coming months.

watch now

GST can ultimately boost economic growth, said Shobana Kamineni, president of the Confederation of Indian Industry. "What's going to happen is a reorganization of the entire supply chain network  consolidation of formal retail, movement of goods  the entire transition is for the future, and that's where GDP will kick up at least two points." Throughout this week's two-day India Summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration was widely praised for finally unleashing big-bang reforms deemed crucial for modernization. GST aside, New Delhi is also cleaning up debt-saddled public sector banks and it introduced a new bankruptcy law late last year to resolve the nation's $150 billion bad debt overhang. The government is cognizant of the economic slowdown, but it says the downturn couldn't be avoided. "When you're introducing radical changes, you have to expect unintended consequences of all kinds," Sanjeev Sanyal, principal economic advisor in the department of economic affairs at India's finance ministry, said at CNBC's panel. "The only way to introduce something like a banking sector cleanup or GST was to not keep thinking about it but actually do it and fix it along the way  sort of a feedback loop approach. This may look awkward in the short term, but it is the only real way you can introduce major changes in a country like India."

Next on the to-do list

New Delhi's work is far from over, however, with many calling for urgent labor and land reforms  issues Modi attempted to address in recent years but failed amid massive public backlash. On land, his government is looking to enable states to acquire private farmland for development projects, a move that critics call a land grab. But Modi must also ensure efficient utilization of public land, argued Godrej. "How we use our land is very important, whether it's for agriculture or animal husbandry. In housing, we're very inefficient as to how much housing we build on unit land compared to other countries." Sanyal shared those thoughts, saying India needs "more efficient cities rather than theoretical ideas from the 1950s that are embedded into urban design master plans."

watch now
Before the jobs report, the 10-year Treasury note yield touched 2.373 percent, its highest level since July 11 when it yielded as high as 2.395 percent. Following the release, the 10-year yield hit a new high of 2.393 percent, still its highest level since July.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was higher, at 2.4 percent at 9:57 a.m. ET, while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond was up at 2.932 percent. Bond yields move inversely to prices.

U.S. government debt yields rose Friday, as investors received their first sign that inflation may be on the rise in the latest jobs report.

The U.S. economy lost 33,000 jobs in September even as the unemployment rate fell to 4.2 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday.

It was the first time since September 2010 that the closely watched number was negative.

Even with the surprise jobs number, the closely watched hourly wages figure jumped higher 2.9 percent, suggesting a long-anticipated revival of inflation.

"A big numbers was the increase in average hourly earnings," said Kathy Jones, Chief Fixed Income Strategist, Schwab Center for Financial Research.

She added that the civilian participation in the labor force also proved healthy at 63.1 percent. "The labor force participation rate hasn't been that high since 2014. It's a very good number and has to made the Fed very happy."

US 10-year Treasury note yield intraday

Source: FactSet

"Our rates thesis is playing out," wrote Larry McDonald, head of the U.S. macro strategies at ACG Analytics. "Average hourly earnings [are] far more important than jobs. Average hourly earnings +0.50 percent versus +0.30 percent expected, finally seeing wage pressure."

Sticking with data, wholesale trade will come out at 10 a.m. ET while consumer credit will be released at 3 p.m. ET.

News out of the U.S. central bank is expected to keep dominating discussion, as more officials from the U.S. central bank head to key events to deliver remarks.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic and Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan will be the latest individuals to speak in Austin at the Investing in America's Workforce Capstone conference Friday.

Elsewhere, New York Fed President William Dudley will likely be weighing-in on the importance of higher education for economic mobility at the 56th Annual Financial Literacy & Economic Education Conference, which is set to take place in New York.

In Missouri, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard will be at the Bi-State Development 2017 Annual Luncheon Meeting in St. Louis.

Last but not least, on Saturday Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren will be speaking at the 84th International Atlantic Economic Conference in Montreal, where he is set to give the William S. Vickrey distinguished address.

On the commodities front, oil prices came under pressure during early trade, with traders showing signs of concern as another tropical storm appeared to be making its way towards the Gulf of Mexico.

Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.
Noting that he soon needs to issue his decision in the case, Bryson ordered Allergan and the defendants to file briefs by Oct. 13 "addressing the question wheth

But "no motion to join the Tribe has been forthcoming during the month since," Bryson wrote in the order in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, where Allergan is suing Teva Pharmaceutical , Mylan and other companies to block them from selling competitors to Restasis on patent-infringement grounds. The drug draws about $1.5 billion in annual revenue for Allergan.

Judge William Bryson, who is overseeing the federal patent infringement case, noted that on Sept. 8, after the case went to trial, Allergan told him that it expects to have the Mohawk tribe join Allergan "as a co-plaintiff in due course."

And one law professor said that question could open the drugmaker up to further legal challenges over the tribe's immunity in another legal venue.

That judge now is ordering Allergan to address whether it will name the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe as a co-plaintiff in its federal patent infringement lawsuit over the blockbuster eye drug Restasis.

Scrutiny of Allergan 's unusual patent partnership with a Native American tribe continued to ratchet higher Friday, with a federal judge raising the question of whether the deal is "a sham."

er the Tribe should be joined as a co-plaintiff in this action, or whether the assignment of the patents to the Tribe should be disregarded as a sham."

Allergan last month partnered with the tribe, seeking to benefit from its sovereign immunity to certain patent challenges in another venue, under a system known as inter partes review, or IPR.

The company has argued that dismissing the IPR case using the tribe's sovereign immunity had nothing to do with the federal case.

But Dan Ravicher, a law professor at the University of Miami, says the judge's order puts Allergan in a tough position, raising the question of whether naming the tribe as a co-plaintiff in the federal case could invalidate its sovereign immunity to the IPR challenges.

"It's a Catch-22," Ravicher said.

"Once they appear in federal court, they've now waived their tribal immunity."

The sovereign immunity to IPR challenges exists essentially because parties with that protection have to consent to be sued, Ravicher said. Enter into claims in federal court, waive your immunity in the IPR system, he said.

But Michael Shore, an attorney with the firm Shore Chan DePumpo, which orchestrated the partnership between the tribe and Allergan, disagreed.

"Participation in one forum does not waive as to another," Shore said Friday.

"Sovereign immunity means a sovereign chooses the forum and the claims to be adjudicated. The forum the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe chooses is federal district court with an Article III judge," Shore said.

On Sept. 8, Allergan said it had transferred the patents for Restasis to the tribe, which then licensed them exclusively back to Allergan. Under the terms of the deal, Allergan paid the tribe $13.75 million, plus the potential for $15 million more in annual royalties.

After the deal was announced, the tribe then moved to dismiss the IPR challenges, citing its sovereign immunity.

Allergan's stock initially rose, as analysts heralded the arrangement as creative.

But the move quickly led to intense scrutiny from lawmakers, nine of whom have weighed in with letters to the company or other actions.

On Thursday, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., introduced legislation seeking to abrogate tribal sovereign immunity as a defense in inter partes review of patents.

Allergan's stock now is down 7.5 percent since announcing the partnership.

In response to the criticism, Allergan has said it is not seeking to avoid defending its patents, pointing to the pending case in federal court, where a ruling is expected soon.

CEO Brent Saunders has argued the IPR process is flawed, and that the company was aiming to avoid a "double jeopardy" situation where it was simultaneously defending the same patents on two separate tracks.

Mylan , one of the companies seeking to invalidate Allergan's patents for Restasis, has been pushing back in federal court on Allergan's arrangement with the tribe.

In a filing last month, Mylan called the move "nothing less than a transparent, last minute attempt to shield the patents-in-suit from inevitable cancellation."

In response to the judge's order Friday, Allergan said "the district court had been informed of the intent to have the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe joined as a co-plaintiff in the litigation. And, today, the Court has ordered briefing on the issue of whether the transaction with the Tribe requires their joinder."

An Allergan spokesman referred additional questions to the tribe's attorney and Shore.

If the tribe is named as a co-plaintiff in the federal suit, the next likely step is for Mylan, which is challenging the Restasis patents in both venues, to challenge the tribe's sovereign immunity in the IPR process, said Ravicher, the University of Miami professor.

Jacob Sherkow, a professor at New York Law School, said it is not clear that naming the tribe in the federal suit would automatically invalidate its immunity to the IPR challenge. He noted that the suit was filed when Allergan owned the patents.

Sherkow said that one thing, though, is clear: The judge in the federal case doesn't appear happy with the situation.

"One thing that's a good general rule is that 'sua sponte' orders to brief an entire issue after the trial is closed generally mean the judge is upset about something," Sherkow said. The term "sua sponte" refers to a judge taking action on his own initiative, without a motion from either side in a case.

Shore, the attorney who connected Allergan with the Mohawk tribe, said the order doesn't mean the court is concerned with the transaction.

"What it means is that the judge wants all real patent owners bound by his decision  finality," Shore said.

But Sherkow argued that while it is impossible to know exactly how the judge is considering the issue, his order alone implies "some part of this is going to end in bad news for Allergan."

"I don't think Mylan's attorneys are opening up a bottle of champagne because of the order," Sherkow said.

"But maybe a bottle of beer."
IRS records show that the Las Vegas gunman who killed dozens in a hail of gunfire this week was a successful gambler who earned millions of dollars in 2015, according to a report by NBC News.

Stephen Paddock, who killed at least 58 people and injured more than 500 when he opened fire on a crowd of festival attendees on the Las Vegas strip, earned at least $5 million in 2015, the report said. The report noted that most of that income came from gambling, although some could have come from other investments.

The investigation by law enforcement initially raised questions about whether Paddock was staying alone in his hotel room, NBC reported. However, law enforcement later said that they were "confident" that no one else entered Paddock's hotel room prior to the shooting.

"He was the only shooter; I'm very confident of that," Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said, according to NBC.

The New York Times reported earlier this week that Paddock was not well known among Las Vegas's high stakes gambling crowd, though he would occasionally make tens of thousands of dollars in a single sitting. Because of his prolific gambling, Paddock was staying at the Mandalay Bay Hotel free of charge last weekend, The Times reported, citing a source familiar with Paddock's history.

Law enforcement in Las Vegas were not available to comment Friday afternoon. Officials also did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Republicans are getting the cold shoulder as they ramp up the pressure on Democrats to support tax reform.

First it was Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, rebuffing an overture from White House chief economic adviser Gary Cohn. Then Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana issued a biting statement declaring his independence on tax reform a week after flying with President Donald Trump on Air Force One. And Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia was not swayed despite being courted by a top White House official this week.

"We want a real seat at the table," Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, a member of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition, told reporters this week. "We don't want to be props."

Republicans have pinned their hopes of maintaining their majority on Capitol Hill in 2018 on passing a sweeping rewrite of the nation's tax code. They have proposed an aggressive reduction in corporate and individual rates that would also eliminate many popular deductions. It's a heavy political lift with high stakes for a party that failed to deliver on its signature campaign promise to repeal Obamacare.

There's not much room for error. House Republicans on Thursday passed a budget  widely seen as the first step in tax reform  with just two votes to spare. Eighteen GOP lawmakers voted against the document.

In the Senate, Republicans hold a razor-thin majority of 52 seats. Already, some of them have voiced concerns about various aspects of the tax plan, from the repeal of the estate tax to the impact on the national debt. Winning over even a few Democrats would provide Republicans a more comfortable buffer from defections within their own party.

But Democrats so far have been wary of the GOP outreach. After the White House requested a meeting with Wyden, the ranking member of the powerful finance committee and a key thought-leader on tax policy, the senator met with Cohn in his office for roughly half an hour Wednesday.

After it ended, Cohn told CNBC that "everything's going well" on tax reform. Wyden had a different take.

"It's clear this meeting was meant to 'check the box' instead of engaging in a real, substantive conversation about how to achieve lasting bipartisan tax reform," his committee spokesperson said.

Donnelly is another top target for Republicans. On the day the White House tax framework was unveiled with GOP leadership last week, Trump traveled to Donnelly's home state of Indiana to deliver a campaign-style speech. Trump first thanked the senator but then warned that if he opposed the tax plan, "we will campaign against him like you wouldn't believe."

On Thursday, Donnelly delivered his own sharply worded response in an online video.

"Right now, the only plan out there is missing a lot of important details," he said. "And like most Hoosiers, I'm not gonna buy a car before kicking the tires. That's not standing in the way. That's just common sense."

Republicans are using both carrots and sticks to get Democrats on board. Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group tied to the billionaire Koch brothers, launched a $4.5 million ad campaign targeting Donnelly along with Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin. Baldwin is expected to introduce her own tax bill on Friday that expands the low-income tax credits, among other things.

In a statement, Americans for Prosperity said it is "calling on these senators to support, not obstruct, this bold tax reform plan that will benefit hard-working middle-class Americans in their states."

"We are hopeful we can count on these senators to do the right thing, and our activists are ready, willing and able to swiftly bring to bear the full weight of our grassroots infrastructure to get this plan to the president's desk this year," the group said.

The White House is keeping up the pressure. Trump is bringing small business owners to discuss taxes at the White House on Friday in honor of National Manufacturing Day. It's no accident that several of the attendees represent companies based in Manchin's home state of West Virginia.

White House legislative director Marc Short visited Manchin in the senator's office on Tuesday to talk taxes. A Manchin spokesman said the senator wants to work with the White House on a tax plan that "helps the middle class and grows the economy." When asked if Manchin believes the current framework does that, the aide simply replied, "No."

Manchin is one of only three Democratic senators who did not sign a letter laying out the party's requirements for supporting a tax plan: It cannot cut taxes for the wealthy or increase the deficit, and it must go through regular order, rather than the special reconciliation process that Republicans hope to use to pass a bill. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Donnelly also did not sign the letter.

Several Democrats have proposed their own plans for tax reform. The Blue Dogs outlined several principles this week that include elements of the GOP tax framework, such as lower rates for corporations and pass-through businesses and moving to a territorial tax system.

But other ideas, such as tying tax reform to infrastructure, have already been discarded by Republicans. The Blue Dog proposal also calls for a tax package that does not increase the deficit. Republicans are likely to adopt a measure that calls for a $1.5 trillion tax cut over the decade.

California Rep. Jim Costa, one of the coalition's co-chairmen, called GOP projections that the tax plan would generate 3 percent growth and pay for itself "fantasyland."

Still, Costa said his members would be willing to negotiate with Republicans in hopes of replicating the bipartisan success of tax reform in 1986. Several have already been in contact with senior administration officials, he said.

"The reality is that Americans have been frustrated by the inability of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to reach agreement," he said. "They want Washington to get something done."

 CNBC's Mary Catherine Wellons contributed to this report.



Correction: White House legislative director Marc Short visited Manchin in the senator's office on Tuesday to talk taxes. An earlier version misstated the day and location.
EC asks Dev, Pokhrel to furnish clarification

The Election Commission has sought clarification from Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Jitendra Narayan Dev for transferring Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (Caan) Director General Sanjiv Gautam to the ministry without consulting the commission.
An 737 Boeing plane of the Ryanair company takes off at the Lille-Lesquin airport, northern France.

Ryanair on Thursday promised its pilots significant improvements in pay and conditions, saying it would exceed rates paid by rivals and improve job security, according to a letter to pilots seen by Reuters.

The Irish airline, the largest in Europe by passenger numbers, has in recent weeks announced the cancellation of thousands of flights, saying it did not have enough standby pilots to ensure the smooth operation of its schedule.

The move has sparked customer outrage and a wage of negative media coverage across Europe.

Unions have said a significant number of pilots have left Ryanair in recent months to get more secure contracts, better pay and improved conditions at rival airlines.

Ryanair last week said reports it had a pilot shortage were false, saying less than 260 of its 4,200 pilots had left so far this year and that it was in the process of hiring 650 more.

On Thursday Chief Executive Michael O'Leary sent a three-page letter to its pilots promising "significant improvements to your rosters, your pay, your basing, your contracts and your career progression over the next 12 months."

The letter, addressed to "all Ryanair pilots", said Ryanair would "beat" the pay and job security offered by fellow Boeing 737 operators Jet2 and Norwegian Air Shuttle .

He repeated a promise to increase pilots' pay by between 5,000 euros ($5,856) and 10,000 euros per year at four key bases and to negotiate with pilots at other bases about increases. He also pledged to offer a loyalty bonus of between 6,000 and 12,000 euros for pilots still employed at the airline in 12 months' time.

But he added a new offer to match local employment conditions where they differ from the Irish contracts under which all Ryanair pilots work, another key demand of the pilots.

Changes to the roster systems would mean that "your days off will really mean days off," he added.

The conditions mirror demands made in a letter by pilots at a number of Ryanair's 86 bases last month. While Ryanair does not recognize trade unions, pilots have been using social media to organise in recent months.

The often outspoken O'Leary, who last month said he "would challenge any pilot to explain how this is a difficult job," praised his pilots in the letter, describing them as "the best in the business."

He said the critical comments made at last month's annual general meeting had been misreported and were specifically directed at pilots of competitor airlines and their unions.
Spain apologized Friday for a violent police crackdown on Catalonia's independence referendum, in a conciliatory gesture as both sides looked for a way out of the nation's worst political crisis since it became a democracy four decades ago.

Spain's representative in northeast Catalonia, which accounts for a fifth of the national economy, made the apology just as Catalonia's secessionist leader appeared to inch away from a plan to declare independence as early as Monday.

"When I see these images, and more so when I know people have been hit, pushed and even one person who was hospitalized, I can't help but regret it and apologize on behalf of the officers that intervened," Enric Millo said in a television interview.

Spanish police used batons and rubber bullets to stop people voting in Sunday's referendum, which Madrid had banned as unconstitutional. The scenes brought worldwide condemnation and fanned separatist feeling but failed to prevent what the Catalan government described as an overwhelming yes vote.

Moments earlier, a Catalan parliament spokeswoman said the regional government's leader, Carles Puigdemont, had asked to address lawmakers on Tuesday, in timing that appeared at odds with earlier plans to move an independence motion on Monday.

Puigdemont wanted to speak on the "political situation".

The softer tone contrasted with remarks earlier on Friday from Catalonia's head of foreign affairs who told BBC radio it would go ahead with an independence debate in the regional parliament.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has offered all-party political talks to find a solution, opening the door to a deal giving Catalonia more autonomy.

But he has ruled out independence and rejected a Catalan proposal for international mediation.

The stakes are high for the euro zone's fourth-largest economy. Catalonia is the source of a huge chunk of its tax revenue and hosts multinationals from carmaker Volkswagen to drugs firm AstraZeneca.

Secession could also fuel separatist-nationalist divisions across the rest of Spain, which only this year saw ETA guerrillas in the northern Basque region lay down their arms after a campaign lasting almost half a century.
The Italian national flag, seen between statues, flies atop the Quirinale palace, the office of Italy's president in Rome, Italy. Alessia Pierdomenico | Bloomberg | Getty Images

The rise of populist politics in Italy should still be front and center for investors in Europe, despite recent tensions in Spain with Catalonia possibly declaring independence in the coming days. "Italy is not generating sustained growth and it still has the issue of bad loans," a Brussels-based official, who preferred to remain anonymous due to his participation in key EU economic meetings, told CNBC over the phone. "The euro zone is growing, even Greece is growing  But let's not get carried away with the short-term success," he added. Broadly, the region has seen improvement since the days of the sovereign debt crisis of 2011. Growth has returned to the bloc, unemployment has fallen and business activity has expanded. But Italy is seen by European many economists as the biggest risk to the euro zone at the moment. The economy is set to grow below 1 percent this year and slightly above that threshold in 2018, according to recent forecasts from the European Commission. Added to that, Claus Vistesen, the chief euro zone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said that new elections in Italy are just around the corner.

watch now

"It's certain that the Five Star Movement (Italy's populist party) will do very well in the upcoming election," Vistesen told CNBC Tuesday over the phone. Italian voters are due to elect a new government at the start of next year, though there's not a certain date set. At the moment, the populist Five Star movement is polling around the same numbers as the governing PD Party, led by former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. Five Star's new leader Luigi Di Maio has softened the party's stance on the euro, but he told CNBC last month that he wants to renegotiate treaties within the EU that "are capping the growth of Italy."

Five Star's stance is viewed as a risk to Italy's compliance with European fiscal rules. These rules constrain the ability of euro zone countries to spend, as they need to respect a 3 percent threshold for their deficit-to GDP (gross domestic product) ratio. Italy's deficit is set to reach 2.2 percent of its GDP this year, in line with European rules. But its government debt is already above EU's limit  nations are also supposed to keep their public debt below 60 percent of their GDP. Forecasts from the European Commission suggest it will rise to 133.1 percent of GDP this year. A populist government could potentially jeopardize Italian finances further.

watch now
The Trump administration is expanding exemptions to an Affordable Care Act rule requiring employers to include birth control coverage in health plans.

On Friday, the departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury and Labor issued "interim final rules" to make more entities exempt from providing plans that cover contraceptives without a copayment. They will create what a senior HHS official described as limited exemptions for organizations that have a sincerely held religious or moral objection to providing birth control coverage.

Under the eased rules, nonprofits, private companies, institutions of higher education and certain nongovernmental employers with religious objections can get an exemption from the mandate, an official told reporters.

"No American should be forced to violate his or her own conscience in order to abide by the laws and regulations governing our healthcare system," HHS press secretary Caitlin Oakley said in a statement. "Today's actions affirm the Trump Administration's commitment to upholding the freedoms afforded all Americans under our Constitution."

HHS claims the rules will not affect 99 percent of women currently covered. However, the figure assumes that only the 200 entities currently in litigation against the government over the rule will get exemptions.

The action could set off a string of new lawsuits over the issue. The American Civil Liberties Union said it will file a lawsuit Friday challenging the new rules.

Some religious employers such as churches already do not have to cover contraception. Organizations like Little Sisters of the Poor, an order of Catholic nuns, have objected to the requirement.

Women's health advocates have said expanding contraceptive coverage has improved well-being, beyond just preventing unintended pregnancies.

In a statement, Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards called the action an "unacceptable attack on basic health care that the vast majority of women rely on."

Democratic congressional leaders Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi both slammed the move, calling it a step backward that jeopardized women's access to health care. Republicans such as House Speaker Paul Ryan praised it as a reinforcement of religious freedom.

An HHS official said the rules follow through on President Donald Trump's pledges to promote religious liberty.

The rules do not affect government programs that offer free or subsidized contraception to low-income women, according to HHS.
Envoys ask govt to strengthen foreign ministry, missions

Nepals ambassadors to India, China and the United States have suggested strengthening the Foreign Ministry as well as the Nepali missions abroad to tap the vast opportunities for Nepal in the three countries.
is up almost 90 percent on the year, and one VC investor gushed to CNBC Friday about how well an early investment in that company has performed for his firm.

"Foundation Capital has invested in about 200 companies over the course of our history. Netflix is on the way to actually equaling or exceeding the value of all the other 199 companies we've invested in in that time period," Paul Holland, general partner at the investment firm, told CNBC's "Squawk Alley" Friday.

That's telling from a firm that's invested in heavy hitters such as Oracle and Uber. Foundation Capital invested in Netflix in 1999, just two years after its founding, according to the firm's website.

Holland said Netflix's unique ability to avoid trial-and-error advertising deals is what separates it from its fellow FANG companies  Facebook , Apple and Google parent Alphabet  and what makes the company such a lucrative investment.

"It's a subscription service. It's pure heroin. It is money coming directly into the company," Holland said.

Netflix announced Thursday that it was raising prices for two of its three subscription plans, sending shares up 3 percent.
By urging people to focus on the president's priorities when she was asked about his statements, Sanders' message was clear. To understand the president's intentions, one occasionally may need to ignore what he says.

"I think you can take the president protecting the American people always extremely serious," she replied. "He's been very clear that that's his number one priority."

Speaking at the White House daily press briefing, Sanders was asked how seriously the American public, and America's adversaries, should take his comments.

After a day of questions and concerns stemming from President Donald Trump 's cryptic comment Thursday that "this is the calm before the storm," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday sought to deflect attention away from words Trump uses, saying the public, and America's enemies, should focus instead on his priorities.

Yet this was difficult Friday, as Trump himself continued to sow confusion by refusing to clarify what he had actually meant by "the calm before the storm."

The first time he said it, Trump had been meeting with senior military leaders at the White House. All of a sudden the president looked around the room and said, "you guys know what this represents, maybe it's the calm before the storm." Asked what he meant, Trump replied "you'll find out," and then left for a dinner.

The meeting with military brass had included discussions of pressing national security threats, including North Korea's accelerated nuclear weapons testing, and the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. Given the timing, Trump's comment sparked fears of impending U.S. military action.

The confusion and concern dragged on into Friday. Asked again what he meant by "the storm," Trump merely winked at reporters and said "you'll find out."

Sanders, likewise, did little to shed light on the situation. "We're never going to say in advance what the president's going to do, and as [Trump] said last night, you'll have to wait and see."

One reporter even asked the press secretary whether Trump was employing a "madman theory" of leadership, and making empty threats intended to rattle his adversaries.

"He certainly doesn't want to lay out his game plan for our enemies," Sanders replied. "So if you're asking, is the president trying to do that? Absolutely. I mean, I don't think that's a secret."
A worker uses a forklift to load a delivery truck with MillerCoors beverages at the Stagnaro Distributing facility in Cincinnati, Ohio.

U.S. wholesale inventories increased slightly less than initially estimated in August amid a surge in sales, but still suggested that inventory investment could help to blunt the blow to the economy from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

The Commerce Department said on Friday that wholesale inventories rose 0.9 percent, the biggest gain since November 2016, after an unrevised 0.6 percent increase in July. The department reported last month that wholesale inventories jumped 1.0 percent in August.

The government said while it could not isolate the impact of Harvey on the data, it had received indications from companies that the storm, which slammed Texas in late August, had both "positive and negative effects on wholesale data."

The component of wholesale inventories that goes into the calculation of gross domestic product - wholesale stocks excluding autos - increased 0.8 percent in August.

That suggests inventory investment could contribute to GDP in the third quarter after adding just over one-tenth of a percentage point to the 3.1 percent annualized pace of growth in the April-June period.

Inventory investment, business spending on equipment and trade are seen cushioning the impact of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria on third-quarter GDP. The storms are expected to chop off at least six-tenths of a percentage point from economic growth in the July-September period.

Growth estimates for the third quarter are as low as a 1.8 percent rate.

After carefully managing inventories early in the year amid sluggish consumer spending, businesses are boosting stocks to meet rising domestic demand. Auto inventories increased 2.2 percent after gaining 0.4 percent in July.

Sales at wholesalers leapt 1.7 percent in August, the biggest increase since December 2016, after being unchanged in July. Sales of motor vehicles surged 4.2 percent in August after falling 0.7 percent the prior month.

At August's sales pace it would take wholesalers 1.28 months to clear shelves, down from 1.29 months in July.
Update 10/23/2017:

Kaspersky Lab has announced a transparency initiative, opening their source code up to independent review. The announcement comes after reports form the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, stating that Russian hackers used Kaspersky's product to steal sensitive materials from an NSA contractor's computer. Kaspersky denied any cooperation with the Russian government at the time those stories were printed, and continues to do so.

In a press release, Kaspersky says the transparency initiative will involve submitting the source code of its software  including updates and detection rules  for independent review. The aim is to give those with relevant interest a chance to validate and verify the code's trustworthiness, as well as the trustworthiness of the company's internal processes and business operations.

However, while the initiative is a solid starting point, it doesn't address the real concern, wrote Rick Ledgett, the former Deputy Director of the National Security Agency.

Anti-virus software is designed to have access to all the files on a customer's computer. In this case, the customer was an NSA contractor. By design, Kaspersky's software would have scanned those files, and if there was a signature match, it's possible they would have collected them for further analysis.

"So that is what Kaspersky has been accused of doing: using (or allowing to be used) its legitimate, privileged access to a customer's computer to identify and retrieve files that were not malware," Ledgett explained.

"Eugene Kaspersky's proposal to have experts analyze Kaspersky anti-virus code is irrelevant in this case, because the code is doing exactly what it has been designed to do, but in a way that is inconsistent with what customers expect and are paying for. It's not the code itself, it's the use of the code. The experts will find that the code does exactly what it's supposed to do, and he knows that."

This circles back to the original question. Did Kaspersky willingly share their trusted access, or were they victims too?

The original story, as well as all previous updates are below.

Update 10/10/2017:

On Tuesday, the New York Times published a story connecting Israeli spies to the 2015 data breach at Kaspersky. It was during the Israeli operation that they noticed the NSA tools on Kaspersky's network, and reported their discovery to the NSA. The NSA launched an immediate investigation, which is what eventually led to the black balling Kaspersky faces in the U.S. today.

The original NYT story is here.

In a statement, Kaspersky denies any involvement and says they have no knowledge of the intelligence operation described in the Times' article.

"Kaspersky Lab was not involved in, and does not possess any knowledge of, the situation in question. As the integrity of our products is fundamental to our business, Kaspersky Lab patches any vulnerabilities it identifies or that are reported to the company," the company said in a prepared statement.

"Kaspersky Lab reiterates its willingness to work alongside U.S. authorities to address any concerns they may have about its products as well as its systems, and respectfully requests any relevant, verifiable information that would enable the company to begin an investigation at the earliest opportunity. In addition, Kaspersky Lab has never helped, nor will help, any government in the world with its cyberespionage efforts."

Update:

After this story was published, Salted Hash was made aware of statements from Eugene Kaspersky on his blog.

"While protecting our customers, we do  as any other cybersecurity vendors  check the health of a computer. It works like an X-ray: the security solution can see almost everything in order to identify problems, but it cannot attribute what it sees to a particular user," Kaspersky said in his post addressing the WSJ report.

"In the wake of the last article I want to emphasize: if our technologies detect anything suspicious and this object is identified as malware, in a matter of minutes ALL our clients no matter who and where they are, will receive protection from this threat."

As for the notion that his company product was hacked:

"Now if we assume, that what is reported is true: that Russian hackers exploited a weakness in our products installed on a PC of one of our users, and respected government agencies concerned of national security knew about that, why didnt they report it to us? We patch the most severe bugs in a matter of hours, so why not make the world a bit more secure by reporting the vulnerability to us? I cant imagine an ethical justification for not doing so."

Original Story:

A report in The Wall Street Journal says that hackers working for the Russian government stole sensitive documents from a NSA contractor's home computer. The story goes on to say the contractor was targeted after the files were discovered by Kaspersky's Anti-Virus software, somewhat explaining the U.S. government's push to ban Kaspersky on its systems.

"The theft, which hasnt been disclosed, is considered by experts to be one of the most significant security breaches in recent years. It offers a rare glimpse into how the intelligence community thinks Russian intelligence exploits a widely available commercial software product to spy on the U.S. The incident occurred in 2015 but wasnt discovered until spring of last year, said the people familiar with the matter," the WSJ reported.

If the story proves to be true, the bigger picture is that the NSA suffered a third data breach of its hacking tools.

As to how Kaspersky ties into this data breach, the WSJ report says U.S. investigators believe the unnamed contractor's use of Kaspersky Anti-Virus (KAV) alerted the Russian hackers to the presence of the files.

"Experts said the software, in searching for malicious code, may have found samples of it in the data the contractor removed from the NSA. But how the antivirus system made that determination is unclear, such as whether Kaspersky technicians programed the software to look for specific parameters that indicated NSA material. Also unclear is whether Kaspersky employees alerted the Russian government to the finding," the WSJ reported.

One of the major unanswered questions in this story is what caused KAV to hit on these files?

If the files were related to Equation Group, then it should come as no surprise that Kaspersky's software scanned for known files and flagged them for further analysis. All anti-virus vendors do this, including those developed in the U.S.

In 2015, Kaspersky disclosed a nation-state level attack on their network (Duqu 2.0), and said the attackers were focused on their work related to APTs and nation-state attacks, including Equation Group and Regin. Considering the timeline, this suggests that Duqu 2.0 was some sort of retaliation for the compromise of the contractor's system  but that's just speculation.

The other big question: How did the Russian hackers get information from KAV?

Well, there are no solid answers to that million-dollar question.

The idea that Russian intelligence compromised Kaspersky's network in an effort to leverage their install-base isn't as far-fetched as it sounds. No one, not even Kaspersky, can thwart nation-state actors forever. Eventually, they will get what they're after. However, there isn't any proof such a scenario happened.

Did Kaspersky willingly hand over access to the Russian government? Again, while unlikely, there is no proof either way and Kaspersky denies any such cooperation with intelligence services.

In briefings with the private sector, urging them to dump Kaspersky products from their network, the FBI wouldn't get into much detail other than to essentially say, "Kaspersky, bad. Anything else, good." and leave it at that.

While it isn't clear what initially triggered the U.S. government's investigation into Kaspersky, Thursday's WSJ report certainly feels like a better explanation. They feel the software was used as a tool to compromise a NSA contractor.

Another interesting question stemming from the WSJ report centers on the hackers. What is the evidence that points to them working with or for the Russian government? If the usage of Kaspersky's software is the only link, that's a bit flimsy.

Kaspersky is a software company, they're not immune from exploitable flaws.

In 2015, Kaspersky worked with Tavis Ormandy to address a number of software flaws, "which could result in a complete compromise of any Kaspersky Antivirus user."

Is it possible one of those flaws, prior to being patched, led to outsiders compromising the software and the contractor's files? Maybe, but that would be speculation.

Again, the larger story is the third data breach of NSA hacking tools. This incident started with a contractor taking sensitive information home. Leaving Kaspersky completely out of the picture, this was never a good idea and placed that data at extreme risk.

Should enterprise managers consider today's story when selecting an anti-virus vendor? If Russia is part of your threat model, then perhaps Kaspersky isn't the best choice.

At the same time, there is a reason Kaspersky has a reputation before being aggressive and hard to avoid in the malware world. They're good at what they do.

However, risks should be weighed individually. What doesn't work for one organization might be fine for another.

In this reporter's opinion, it feels as if someone hacked Kaspersky's product and was able to access files that were being flagged for analysis. If this is the case, then the NSA's third data breach is the fault of an unknown contractor who took files home and a group of criminals who hacked a security vendor.

If Russian intelligence was responsible, then Kaspersky could be nothing more than a pawn in a political chess match. If anything, the WSJ shows just how hard it is for the NSA to control their tools and contractors.

The bad blood between Russia and the U.S. has placed Kaspersky in a crossfire, and today's story won't do them any favors.






In a phone conversation with NAFCU President and CEO Dan Berger after the CFPBs final payday lending rules release, CFPB Director Richard Cordray noted the impact NAFCUs advocacy had on the bureaus rulemaking to lessen its potential negative effects on the credit union industry.

While NAFCU is continuing to review the CFPBs rule on payday lending  which is 1,690 pages long  to determine its overall impact, initial reviews indicate the bureau removed parts of the rule that would have negatively impacted credit unions ability to meet members needs for short-term, small-dollar loans.

In particular, the final rule exempts all loans issued by credit unions in conformance with NCUA parameters for payday-alternative loans. It also contains other small lender exemptions and excludes provisions that posed the largest concerns regarding some longer-term lending.
Todays credit union website designs are guilty of vain repetition. They display the same thing to every visitor, even though each individual is unique. There are many different reasons people visit your credit union website, which means a one-size-fits-all experience is actually a one-size-fits-few problem.

But now, you can make your website more relevant to each visitor with personalization technology. Real-time personalization is the most impactful new trend in credit union website design because it dramatically increases engagement and conversion. A study by Forrester found that 77% of consumers have chosen, recommended, or paid more for a brand that provides a personalized service or experience.

Credit unions tend to think of website pages as static designs. For example, the all-important homepage is considered a single destination with a single layout and static content. But, given that every visitor is different, shouldnt the homepage adapt to each individuals interests?

What if your homepage could change on the fly based on what you know about a user? That could mean having 3, 5, or 1,000 different homepage variations. To see how that would work, lets look at the new, personalized website being designed for Yolo Federal Credit Union.

Example of a Personalized Website: Yolo FCU

Yolo FCU is a California-based credit union with a rich history (their name comes from Yolo County, California; they were Yolo before YOLO was cool). They have high standards for their products and services and want their new website to embody their personal, caring touch. Accordingly, Yolos marketing team readily embraced the idea of designing a new website that personalizes content in real time.

My team and I at BloomCU talked with Yolo about different types of credit union website users and identified three primary personas:

First-timers Shoppers Login-ers

Then, for each of these three personas, we designed the three custom templates shown below.

First-Timers

As the name implies, a First-Timer is a person visiting Yolos website for the first time. A First-Timer is probably a nonmember who is researching financial products and services. Therefore, the homepage template designed for First-Timers focuses on Yolos brand and explains why you should become a member of the credit union:

Immediate interaction is important because studies show that gradual engagement increases conversion. Thats why the homepage invites First-Timers to immediately interact and self-identify their interests. For example, in the Your Story section, a user might choose I want to borrow for a new car, then click Begin Your Journey:

Shoppers

A Shopper is a person returning to Yolos website after showing interest in a product or service on a previous visit. For instance, lets say a Shopper perused the auto loan page on her last visit. Her browsing behavior hints that she probably wants to buy a car. Hence, the homepage template designed for this Shopper shows information about getting an auto loan from Yolo:

For the interested Shopper, the new homepage also presents rates, a short quiz, FAQs, and blog posts centered on auto loans:

Within the Shopper template, there are dozens of variations based on Yolos products and services. Youve seen what that looks like for auto loans. Here are a few more examples:

A variation for users who are interested in certificates of deposit

A variation for users who are interested in home loans

A variation for users who are interested in vacation loans

Login-ers

A Login-er is a person returning to Yolos website after logging into online banking on a previous visit. For a Login-er, the homepage emphasizes an easy-peasy experience for signing in to online banking:

Importantly, a user is only a Login-er if she has not shown interest in a product or service. Accordingly, an unobtrusive promotion is placed just above the login box; the promo is simply a sentence with a link. This subtle promotion area enables Yolo to communicate a marketing message in hopes of creating a new interest, while maintaining a pleasant user experience.

How it Works

Personalization is made possible through cookies. Not the delicious chocolate chip kind, but the kind that store data about users browsing behaviors. Using data from cookies, we plug text and images into personalizable components throughout a web page. That way, when members return to Yolos homepage, for example, they are greeted with an experience thats tailored just for them.

(Learn more about how to add personalization to your credit union website design, including existing software solutions, how to build your own personalization software, and how to run personalization campaigns.)

Get Personal

Credit union website design is all about guiding users through the buying decision process. Along this decision process, one of our most important design principles is relevance. Personalization is about crafting personal, relevant experiences that genuinely help users. In return, you get more engagement, more leads, and fewer frustrated members. Thats why personalization is the future of credit union website design
China Wants To Use AI To Predict Civil Disorder

Chinas domestic security and intelligence chief has called on the countrys police to use artificial intelligence to improve their ability to predict and prevent terrorism and social unrest.

Meng Jianzhu (pictured) head of the Communist Partys central commission for political and legal affairs in charge of the countrys massive security and intelligence systems, pledged at a meeting in Beijing on Tuesday 19th September to use AI through machine learning, data mining and computer modelling to help stamp out risks to stability.

Artificial intelligence can complete tasks with a precision and speed unmatchable by humans, and will drastically improve the predictability, accuracy and efficiency of social management, Meng was quoted by Chinese news website Thepaper.cn.

Meng said security forces should study patterns that might be spotted in cases of terrorist attacks and public security incidents and build a data analysis model to improve the authorities ability to predict and stop such events taking place.

The idea has echoes of Steven Spielbergs science fiction thriller Minority Report, in which the authorities use technology and genetic mutation to predict when and where crimes will take place.

Meng said the security services should break down any barriers in data sharing to enable the smooth integration of various systems.

He also called for renewed efforts to integrate all the footage from surveillance cameras around the country.

It is not the first time the security chief has stressed the need for high technology to strengthen the countrys sprawling surveillance network to help combat crime.

Meng said last month during a five-day inspection in the restive Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in western China that large-scale use of cloud computing and AI, as well as analysis of big data, should be used to fight terrorism.

Zunyou Zhou, a counterterrorism law expert at Germanys Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law, said Xinjiang  where the government has vowed to combat what it calls the rising threat of terrorism and extremism  could provide a testing ground for cutting edge technologies.

However, he warned that the governments unbridled access to massive amounts of personal data could lead to abuse.

China has no specific data protection law. The government can use personal data in any way they like, which could pose a huge threat to its citizens privacy, he said, adding that legislation on the issue was urgently needed.

Maintaining social stability is one of the key tasks Beijing has set for its fledging AI industry.

The State Council unveiled a national artificial intelligence development plan in July, with the aim to raise the value of its core AI industries to 150 billion yuan (US$22.8 billion) by 2020 and 400 billion yuan by 2025.

The blueprint explicitly lays out AIs role in helping to manage public security, such as developing products that can analyse video footage and identify suspects from the biometrics of their faces and bodies.

Some technologies, such as facial recognition, have already been put into use, albeit for detecting the perpetrators of only minor crimes. Mainland Chinese media reported this week that traffic police in Shanghai were now using facial recognition technology to identify cyclists and pedestrians caught on surveillance cameras violating traffic regulations.

The government has also directed one of the countrys largest state-run defence contractors, China Electronics Technology Group, to develop software to collate data on citizens jobs, hobbies, consumption habits and other behaviour to help predict terrorist acts before they occur, Bloomberg reported last year.

Its crucial to examine the cause after an act of terror, but what is more important is to predict upcoming activities. Wu Manqing, the chief engineer for the military contractor, was quoted as saying.

SCMP.com

You Might Also Read:

China Postpones Implementing New Cybersecurity Law:

Here Comes Chinas Crypto-Currency:
Pa. Dems could flip the House of Reps. Here's what that might mean
Kantipur scribes to receive NRNA Int'l Journalism Award

Two journalists associated with Kantipur Publications have been selected for NRNA International Journalism Award 2017.
Intrepid Potash, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the extraction and production of the potash in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Potash, Trio, and Oilfield Solutions. The Potash segment offers muriate of potash or potassium chloride for use as a fertilizer input in the agricultural market; as a component in drilling and fracturing fluids for oil and gas wells, as well as an input to other industrial processes in the industrial market; and as a nutrient supplement in the animal feed market. The Trio segment provides Trio, a specialty fertilizer that delivers potassium, sulfate, and magnesium in a single particle. The Oilfield Solutions segment sells water for use in the oil and gas services industry; and offers potassium chloride real-time mixing services on location for hydraulic fracturing operations and trucking services. The company also offers salt for use in animal feeds, industrial applications, pool salts, and treatment of roads and walkways for ice melting or to manage road conditions; magnesium chloride for use in the deicing and dedusting of roads; brines for well development and completion activities in the oil and gas industry; and metal recovery salt, a combination of potash and salt to enhance the recovery of aluminum in the aluminum recycling processing facilities. Intrepid Potash, Inc. was founded in 2000 and is based in Denver, Colorado.
Biglari Holdings Inc., through its subsidiaries, primarily operates and franchises restaurants in the United States. It owns, operates, and franchises restaurants under the Steak n Shake and Western Sizzlin names. As of December 31, 2021, it operated 199 Steak n Shake company-operated restaurants, 159 franchise partner units, and 178 traditional franchise units, as well as 3 Western Sizzlin company-operated restaurants and 38 franchised units. The company also engages in underwriting commercial trucking insurance; selling physical damage and non-trucking liability insurance to truckers; and providing property and casualty insurance. In addition, it operates oil and natural gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico; and publishes and sells magazines and related publishing products under the MAXIM brand name. Further, it licenses media products and services; and engages in the investment activities. The company was formerly known as The Steak n Shake Company and changed its name to Biglari Holdings Inc. in April 2010. Biglari Holdings Inc. was founded in 1934 and is based in San Antonio, Texas.
The following companies are subsidiares of Tenneco: A.E. Group Machines Limited, AE International Limited, Anand I-Power Limited, Anqing TP Goetze Liner Co. Ltd., Anqing TP Goetze Piston Ring Co. Ltd., Anqing TP Powder Metallurgy Co. Ltd., Armstrong Properties (Pty.) Ltd., Ateliers Juliette Adam SAS, Autopartes Walker S. de R.L. de C.V., Beck Arnley Holdings LLC, CATAI s.r.l., CEDS Inc., Carter Automotive Company LLC, Clevite Industries Inc., Componentes Venezolanos de Direccion S.A., Cooperatief Federal-Mogul Dutch Investments B.A., Coventry Assurance Ltd., DRiV Automotive Inc., DRiV IP LLC, DRiV Incorporated, Dongsuh Federal-Mogul Co. Ltd., F-M Holding Daros AB, F-M Holding Goteborg AB, F-M Holding Mexico S.A. de C.V., F-M Motorparts Limited, F-M Motorparts TSC LLC, F-M TSC Real Estate Holdings LLC, F-M Trademarks Limited, FDML Holdings Limited, FM International LLC, FM PBW Bearings Private Limited, FM Participacoes e Investimentos LTDA, Farloc Argentina S.A.I.C. y F., Federal Mogul (Thailand) Ltd., Federal Mogul Aftermarket Egypt Ltd., Federal Mogul Argentina S.A., Federal Mogul Dis Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Federal Mogul Hungary Kft., Federal Mogul Powertrain Otomotiv Anonim Sirketi, Federal Mogul SAS, Federal Mogul Services Sarl, Federal Mogul Systems Protection SAS, Federal-Mogul, Federal-Mogul (Anqing) Powder Metallurgy Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul (Changshu) Automotive Parts Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul (China) Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul (Chongqing) Friction Materials Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul (Dalian) Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul (Langfang) Automotive Components Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul (Proprietary) Limited, Federal-Mogul (Shanghai) Automotive Parts Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul (T&N) Hong Kong Limited, Federal-Mogul (Tianjin) Surface Treatment Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul (Vietnam) Ltd., Federal-Mogul Aftermarket Espana S.A., Federal-Mogul Aftermarket France SAS, Federal-Mogul Aftermarket GmbH, Federal-Mogul Aftermarket Southern Africa (Pty) Limited, Federal-Mogul Aftermarket UK Limited, Federal-Mogul Anand Bearings India Limited, Federal-Mogul Anand Sealings India Limited, Federal-Mogul Asia Investments Holding Korea Ltd., Federal-Mogul Asia Investments Limited, Federal-Mogul Automotive GmbH & Co. KG, Federal-Mogul Automotive Pty Ltd, Federal-Mogul Automotive Verwaltungs GmbH, Federal-Mogul Betriebsgrundstucke Burscheid GmbH, Federal-Mogul Bimet Spolka Akcyjna, Federal-Mogul Bradford Limited, Federal-Mogul Bremsbelag GmbH, Federal-Mogul Burscheid Beteiligungs GmbH, Federal-Mogul Burscheid GmbH, Federal-Mogul Canada Limited, Federal-Mogul Chassis LLC, Federal-Mogul Componentes de Motores Ltda., Federal-Mogul Controlled Power Limited, Federal-Mogul Coventry Limited, Federal-Mogul Deva (Qingdao) Automotive Parts Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul Deva GmbH, Federal-Mogul Dimitrovgrad LLC, Federal-Mogul Distribucion de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Federal-Mogul Dong Feng (Shiyan) Engine Components Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul EMEA Distribution Services, Federal-Mogul Employee Trust Administration Limited, Federal-Mogul Engineering Limited, Federal-Mogul FIL-P43 S. de R.L. de C.V., Federal-Mogul FIL-S43 S. de R.L. de C.V., Federal-Mogul Filtration LLC, Federal-Mogul Finance 1 LLC, Federal-Mogul Finance 2 LLC, Federal-Mogul Financial Services Poland Sp.z.o.o., Federal-Mogul Financial Services S.A.S., Federal-Mogul Financing Corporation, Federal-Mogul Friction Products Barcelona S.L., Federal-Mogul Friction Products Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul Friction Products GmbH, Federal-Mogul Friction Products International GmbH, Federal-Mogul Friction Products Limited, Federal-Mogul Friction Products Ploiesti SRL, Federal-Mogul Friction Products S.A., Federal-Mogul Friction Products a.s., Federal-Mogul Friction Spain S.L., Federal-Mogul Friedberg GmbH, Federal-Mogul Garennes SAS, Federal-Mogul Germany Investments Holding GmbH, Federal-Mogul Global Aftermarket EMEA, Federal-Mogul Global Growth Limited, Federal-Mogul GmbH, Federal-Mogul Goetze (India) Limited, Federal-Mogul Gorzyce Sp. z o.o., Federal-Mogul Holding Deutschland GmbH, Federal-Mogul Holding Sweden AB, Federal-Mogul Holdings Ltd., Federal-Mogul Iberica S.L., Federal-Mogul Ignition GmbH, Federal-Mogul Ignition LLC, Federal-Mogul Ignition Products India Limited, Federal-Mogul Ignition Products SAS, Federal-Mogul Industria de Autopecas Ltda., Federal-Mogul Investment Ltd., Federal-Mogul Investments B.V., Federal-Mogul Italy S.r.l., Federal-Mogul Izmit Piston ve Pim Uretim Tesisleri A.S., Federal-Mogul Japan K.K., Federal-Mogul Juarez S. de R.L. de C.V., Federal-Mogul Lighting S. de R.L. de C.V., Federal-Mogul Limited, Federal-Mogul Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Federal-Mogul MP US LLC, Federal-Mogul Motorparts (India) Limited, Federal-Mogul Motorparts (Netherlands) B.V., Federal-Mogul Motorparts (Pinghu) Trading Limited, Federal-Mogul Motorparts (Qingdao) Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul Motorparts (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Federal-Mogul Motorparts (Thailand) Limited, Federal-Mogul Motorparts (Zhejiang) Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul Motorparts Colombia S.A.S., Federal-Mogul Motorparts Holding B.V., Federal-Mogul Motorparts Holding GmbH, Federal-Mogul Motorparts LLC, Federal-Mogul Motorparts Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul Motorparts Minority Holding B.V., Federal-Mogul Motorparts Philippines Inc., Federal-Mogul Motorparts Ploiesti SRL, Federal-Mogul Motorparts Poland Sp.z.o.o., Federal-Mogul Motorparts Pty Ltd, Federal-Mogul Motorparts Services SRL, Federal-Mogul Naberezhnye Chelny, Federal-Mogul Nurnberg GmbH, Federal-Mogul Operations France S.A.S., Federal-Mogul Piston Rings LLC, Federal-Mogul Plasticos Puntanos S.A., Federal-Mogul Powertrain (Netherlands) B.V., Federal-Mogul Powertrain Eastern Europe B.V., Federal-Mogul Powertrain IP LLC, Federal-Mogul Powertrain Italy S.R.L, Federal-Mogul Powertrain LLC, Federal-Mogul Powertrain Mexico Distribucion S. de R.L. de C.V., Federal-Mogul Powertrain Russia GmbH, Federal-Mogul Powertrain Solutions India Private Limited, Federal-Mogul Powertrain Systems S A (Proprietary) Limited, Federal-Mogul Powertrain Vostok OOO, Federal-Mogul Products US LLC, Federal-Mogul Pty Ltd, Federal-Mogul R&L Friedberg Casting GmbH & Co. KG, Federal-Mogul Risk Advisory Services LLC, Federal-Mogul S. de R.L. de C.V., Federal-Mogul S.A., Federal-Mogul SP Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Federal-Mogul Sealing System (Nanchang) Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul Sealing Systems GmbH, Federal-Mogul Sejong Co. Ltd, Federal-Mogul Sejong Tech Ltd, Federal-Mogul Serina Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul Sevierville LLC, Federal-Mogul Shanghai Bearing Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul Shanghai Compound Material Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul Singapore Investments Pte. Ltd., Federal-Mogul Sistemas Automotivos Ltda., Federal-Mogul Sistemas de Limpadores de Para-Brisas Ltda, Federal-Mogul Sorocaba-Holding Ltda, Federal-Mogul Systems Protection Hungary Kft., Federal-Mogul Systems Protection Morocco SARL AU, Federal-Mogul TP Europe GmbH & Co KG, Federal-Mogul TP Liner Europe Otomotiv Ltd. Sti, Federal-Mogul TP Liners Inc., Federal-Mogul TP Piston Rings GmbH, Federal-Mogul TPR (India) Limited, Federal-Mogul Technology Limited, Federal-Mogul Transaction LLC, Federal-Mogul UK Investments Limited, Federal-Mogul UK Powertrain Limited, Federal-Mogul VCS Holding B.V., Federal-Mogul VCS LLC, Federal-Mogul Valve Train International LLC, Federal-Mogul Valve Train S. de R.L. de C.V., Federal-Mogul Valvetrain GmbH, Federal-Mogul Valvetrain La Source SAS, Federal-Mogul Valvetrain Limited, Federal-Mogul Valvetrain Schirmeck SAS, Federal-Mogul Valvetrain s.r.o., Federal-Mogul Vermogensverwaltungs GmbH, Federal-Mogul Verwaltungs-und Beteiligungs-GmbH, Federal-Mogul Wiesbaden GmbH, Federal-Mogul World Trade (Asia) Limited, Federal-Mogul World Wide LLC, Federal-Mogul Yura (Qingdao) Ignition Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul Zhengsheng (Changsha) Piston Ring Co. Ltd., Federal-Mogul de Costa Rica S.A., Federal-Mogul de Guatemala Sociedad Anonima, Federal-Mogul de Matamoros S. de R.L. de C.V., Federal-Mogul de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Federal-Mogul de Venezuela C.A., Federal-Mogul of South Africa (Proprietary) Limited, Felt Products MFG. CO. LLC, Ferodo America LLC, Ferodo Limited, Fonciere de Liberation, Forjas y Maquinas S. de R.L. de C.V., Frenos Hidraulicos Automotrices S.A. de C.V., Fric-Rot S.A.I.C., Gabilan Manufacturing, Gasket Holdings LLC, Gillet Exhaust Manufacturing Limited, Gillet Pressings Cardiff Limited, Goetze Wohnungsbau GmbH, ISA Installations Steuerungs und Automatislerungs GmbH, J.W. Hartley (Motor Trade) Limited, Jurid do Brasil Sistemas Automotivos Ltda., KB Autosys (Zhangjiagang) Co. Ltd., KB Autosys Co. Ltd., KB Autosys India Private Ltd., Kinetic Pty. Ltd., Kontich, Leeds Piston Ring & Engineering Co. Limited, Maco Inversiones S.A., McCord Payen de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., McPherson Strut Company LLC, Monroe Amortisor Imalat Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Monroe Australia Pty. Limited, Monroe Czechia s.r.o., Monroe Holding S. de R.L. de C.V., Monroe Manufacturing (Proprietary) Ltd., Monroe Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Monroe Packaging BVBA, Monroe Ride Performance Sweden AB, Monroe Springs (Australia) Pty. Ltd., Montagewerk Abgastechnik Emden GmbH, Motocare India Private Limited, Muzzy-Lyon Auto Parts LLC, Parts Zone (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Payen International Limited, Piston Rings (UK) Limited, Precision Modular Assembly Corp., Productos de Frenos Automotrices de Calidad S.A. de C.V., Proveedora Walker S. de R.L. de C.V., Pullman, Pullman Standard Inc., Qingdao Tenneco FAWSN Automobile Parts Co. Ltd., Raimsa S. de R.L. de C.V., Ride Performance Canada Inc., Ride Performance Japan Ltd., Ride Performance Korea Limited, Ride Performance Mexico Holding LLC, SAXID Limited, Sapav Marketing Ltd, Saxid, Saxid s.r.l., Servicio de Componentes Automotrices S. de R.L. de C.V., Servicios Administrativos Industriales S. de R.L. de C.V., Shanghai Tenneco Exhaust System Co. Ltd., Sibirica Energy Limited, Sintration Limited, Speyside Real Estate LLC, Subensambles Internacionales S. de R.L. de C.V., T&N Industries LLC, T&N de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., TA (Australia) Group Pty. Ltd., TM S.r.l, TMC Texas Inc., TPR Federal-Mogul Tennessee Inc., Taiwan Federal-Mogul Motorparts Co. Limited, TecCom GmbH, Tenneco (Beijing) Exhaust System Co. Ltd., Tenneco (Beijing) Ride Control System Co. Ltd., Tenneco (Changzhou) Ride Performance Co. Ltd., Tenneco (China) Co. Ltd., Tenneco (Dalian) Exhaust System Co. Ltd., Tenneco (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Tenneco (Jingzhou) Ride Performance Co. Ltd., Tenneco (MSCan) Operations Inc., Tenneco (MUSA), Tenneco (Mauritius) Limited, Tenneco (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Tenneco (Suzhou) Emission System Co. Ltd., Tenneco (Suzhou) Ride Control Co. Ltd., Tenneco (TM Asia) Ltd., Tenneco (TM Belgium) BVBA, Tenneco (Tianjin) Ride Performance Co. Ltd., Tenneco Asheville Inc., Tenneco Asia Inc., Tenneco Automotie Nederland B.V., Tenneco Automotive (Thailand) Limited, Tenneco Automotive Brasil Ltda., Tenneco Automotive Deutschland GmbH, Tenneco Automotive Eastern Europe Sp. z.o.o., Tenneco Automotive Europe BVBA, Tenneco Automotive Europe Coordination Center BVBA, Tenneco Automotive Foreign Sales Corporation Limited, Tenneco Automotive France S.A.S., Tenneco Automotive Holdings South Africa Pty. Limited, Tenneco Automotive Iberica S.A., Tenneco Automotive Inc. Nevada, Tenneco Automotive India Private Limited, Tenneco Automotive Italia S.r.l., Tenneco Automotive Operating Company Inc., Tenneco Automotive Polska Sp. z.o.o., Tenneco Automotive Port Elizabeth (Proprietary) Limited, Tenneco Automotive Portugal  Componentes Para Automovel Unipessoal LDA., Tenneco Automotive RSA Company, Tenneco Automotive Second RSA Company, Tenneco Automotive Services Societe Par Actions Simplifiee, Tenneco Automotive Servicios Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Tenneco Automotive Trading Company, Tenneco Automotive UK Limited, Tenneco Automotive Volga LLC, Tenneco Automotive Walker Inc., Tenneco Brake Inc., Tenneco CA Czech Republic s.r.o., Tenneco CA Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Tenneco CA Netherlands BV, Tenneco Canada Inc., Tenneco Clean Air Argentina S.A.I.C., Tenneco Clean Air India Private Limited, Tenneco Clean Air Spain S.L.U., Tenneco Clean Air US Inc., Tenneco Deutschland Holdinggesellschaft mbH, Tenneco Eastern European Holdings S.a.r.l., Tenneco Eberspaecher (Beijing) Exhaust System Co. Ltd., Tenneco Emission Control (Pty) Ltd, Tenneco Etain Societe Par Actions Simplifiee, Tenneco Europe Limited, Tenneco FAWSN (Changchun) Automobile Parts Co. Ltd., Tenneco FAWSN (Foshan) Automobile Parts Co. Ltd., Tenneco FAWSN (Tianjin) Automobile Parts Co. Ltd., Tenneco Fusheng (Chengdu) Automobile Parts Co. Ltd., Tenneco Global Holdings Inc., Tenneco GmbH, Tenneco Holdings Danmark ApS, Tenneco Hong Kong Holdings Limited, Tenneco Hungary Korlatolt Felelossegu Tarsasag, Tenneco Industria de Autopecas Ltda., Tenneco Innovacion S.L., Tenneco International Holding Corp., Tenneco International Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Tenneco International Manufacturing S.a.r.l., Tenneco Japan Ltd., Tenneco Korea Limited, Tenneco Lingchuan (Chongqing) Exhaust System Co. Ltd., Tenneco Management (Europe) Limited, Tenneco Mauritius China Holdings Ltd., Tenneco Mauritius Holdings Limited, Tenneco Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Tenneco RP Germany GmbH, Tenneco Ride Control South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Tenneco Ride Performance US 4 LLC, Tenneco Ride Performance US 5 LLC, Tenneco Silesia spolka z ograniczona odpowiedzialnoscia, Tenneco SpinCo Incorporated, Tenneco Sverige AB, Tenneco Walker (Tianjin) Exhaust System Co. Ltd., Tenneco Zwickau GmbH, Tenneco-Eberspaecher (Dalian) Exhaust System Co. Ltd., Tenneco-Walker (U.K.) Limited, The Pullman Company, The Tenneco Automotive (UK) Pension Scheme Trustee Limited, Thompson and Stammers (Dunmow) Number 6 Limited, Thompson and Stammers (Dunmow) Number 7 Limited, United Piston Ring Inc., VTD Vakuumtechnik Dresden GmbH, Walker Australia Pty. Limited, Walker Danmark ApS, Walker Electronic Silencing Inc., Walker Europe Inc., Walker Exhaust (Thailand) Company Limited, Walker Gillet (Europe) GmbH, Walker Limited, Walker Manufacturing Company, Walker UK Ltd, Wellworthy Limited, Wimetal Societe Par Actions Simplifiee, and Wuhan Tenneco Exhaust System Co. Ltd..

Read More
Left electoral alliance leaves NC in tight spot

Leaders of the ruling Nepali Congress (NC) appeared sharply divided during the partys executive committee meeting on Thursday over the partys next move in the wake of rapid political developments which have brought communist forces together.
The following companies are subsidiares of MetLife: 10700 WILSHIRE LLC, 1201 TAB MANAGER LLC, 1350 EYE STREET MANAGER LLC, 1350 EYE STREET OWNER LLC, 150 NORTH RIVERSIDE PE MEMBER LLC, 1925 WJC OWNER LLC, 23RD STREET INVESTMENTS INC., 500 GRANT STREET ASSOCIATES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, 500 GRANT STREET GP LLC, 6104 HOLLYWOOD LLC, AFP GENESIS ADMINISTRADORA DE FONDOS Y FIDECOMISOS S.A., AGENVITA S.R.L., ALICO HELLAS SINGLE MEMBER LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, ALICO OPERATIONS LLC, American Life Insurance Company, BEST MARKET S.A., BLOCK VISION HOLDINGS CORPORATION, BLOCK VISION OF TEXAS INC., BORDERLAND INVESTMENTS LIMITED, BOULEVARD RESIDENTIAL LLC, BUFORD LOGISTICS CENTER LLC, CC HOLDCO MANAGER LLC, CHESTNUT FLATS WIND LLC, CLOSED JOINT-STOCK COMPANY MASTER-D, COMPANIA INVERSORA METLIFE S.A., CORPORATE REAL ESTATE HOLDINGS LLC, COVA LIFE MANAGEMENT COMPANY, DAVIS VISION INC., DAVISVISION IPA INC., DELAWARE AMERICAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, EURO CL INVESTMENTS LLC, EXCELENCIA OPERATIVA Y TECNOLOGICA S.A de C.V., FORTISSIMO CO. LTD, FUNDACION METLIFE MEXICO A.C., GLOBAL PROPERTIES INC., General American Life Insurance Company, Grand Bank N.A., HASKELL EAST VILLAGE LLC, HOUSING FUND MANAGER LLC, INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL AND ADVISORY SERVICES LIMITED, INVERSIONES METLIFE HOLDCO DOS LIMITADA, INVERSIONES METLIFE HOLDCO TRES LIMITADA, LHC HOLDINGS LLC, LHCW HOLDINGS LLC, LHCW HOTEL HOLDING 2002 LLC, LHCW HOTEL HOLDING LLC, LHCW HOTEL OPERATING COMPANY 2002 LLC, LUMENLAB MALAYSIA SDN. BHD., Logan Circle Partners, MARKETPLACE RESIDENCES LLC, MC PORTFOLIO JV MEMBER LLC, MCJV LLC, MCPP OWNERS LLC, MCRE BLOCK 40 LP, MEC HEALTH CARE INC., MET 1065 HOTEL LLC, MET CANADA SOLAR ULC, METLIFE 1007 STEWART LLC, METLIFE 1201 TAB MEMBER LLC, METLIFE 425 MKT MANAGER LLC, METLIFE 425 MKT MEMBER LLC, METLIFE 555 12TH MEMBER LLC, METLIFE 8280 MEMBER LLC, METLIFE ACOMA OWNER LLC, METLIFE ADMINISTRADORA DE FUNDOS MULTIPATROCINADOS LTDA., METLIFE ALTERNATIVES GP LLC, METLIFE ASHTON AUSTIN OWNER LLC, METLIFE ASIA HOLDING COMPANY PTE. LTD., METLIFE ASIA LIMITED, METLIFE ASIA SERVICES SDN. BHD, METLIFE ASSET MANAGEMENT CORP., METLIFE ASSIGNMENT COMPANY INC., METLIFE BORO STATION MEMBER LLC, METLIFE CAMINO RAMON MEMBER LLC, METLIFE CAMPUS AT SGV MEMBER LLC, METLIFE CAPITAL CREDIT L.P., METLIFE CAPITAL LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, METLIFE CAPITAL TRUST IV, METLIFE CB W/A LLC, METLIFE CC MEMBER LLC, METLIFE CHILE ADMINISTRADORA DE MUTUOS HIPOTECARIOS S.A., METLIFE CHILE INVERSIONES LIMITADA, METLIFE CHILE SEGUROS DE VIDA S.A., METLIFE CHILE SEGUROS GENERALES S.A., METLIFE CHINO MEMBER LLC, METLIFE COLOMBIA SEGUROS de VIDA S.A., METLIFE COMMERCIAL MORTGAGE INCOME FUND GP LLC, METLIFE CONSQUARE MEMBER LLC, METLIFE CONSUMER SERVICES INC., METLIFE CORE PROPERTY FUND GP LLC, METLIFE CREDIT CORP., METLIFE DIGITAL VENTURES INC., METLIFE ENHANCED CORE PROPERTY FUND GP LLC, METLIFE EU HOLDING COMPANY LIMITED, METLIFE EUROPE INSURANCE d.a.c., METLIFE EUROPE SERVICES LIMITED, METLIFE EUROPE d.a.c., METLIFE EUROPEAN HOLDINGS LLC., METLIFE FINANCIAL SERVICES CO. LTD, METLIFE FM HOTEL MEMBER LLC, METLIFE FUNDING INC., METLIFE GENERAL INSURANCE LIMITED, METLIFE GLOBAL BENEFITS LTD., METLIFE GLOBAL HOLDING COMPANY I GMBH, METLIFE GLOBAL HOLDING COMPANY II GMBH, METLIFE GLOBAL HOLDINGS CORPORATION S.A. De C.V., METLIFE GLOBAL INC., METLIFE GLOBAL OPERATIONS SUPPORT CENTER PRIVATE LIMITED, METLIFE GROUP INC., METLIFE HCMJV 1 GP LLC, METLIFE HCMJV 1 LP LLC, METLIFE HEALTH PLANS INC., METLIFE HOLDINGS INC., METLIFE HOME LOANS LLC, METLIFE INNOVATION CENTRE LIMITED, METLIFE INNOVATION CENTRE PTE. LTD., METLIFE INSURANCE AND INVESTMENT TRUST, METLIFE INSURANCE BROKERAGE INC., METLIFE INSURANCE COMPANY OF KOREA LTD., METLIFE INSURANCE K.K., METLIFE INSURANCE LIMITED, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL HF PARTNERS LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LLC, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED LLC, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND I LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND II LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND III LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND IV LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND V LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND VI LP, METLIFE INTERNATIONAL PE FUND VII LP, METLIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT EUROPE LIMITED, METLIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT HOLDINGS LIMITED, METLIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT HOLDINGS LLC, METLIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED, METLIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LLC, METLIFE INVESTMENTS ASIA LIMITED, METLIFE INVESTMENTS LIMITED, METLIFE INVESTMENTS PTY LIMITED, METLIFE INVESTMENTS SECURITIES LLC, METLIFE INVESTORS DISTRIBUTION COMPANY, METLIFE INVESTORS GROUP LLC, METLIFE IRELAND TREASURY D.A.C., METLIFE JAPAN US EQUITY FUND GP LLC, METLIFE JAPAN US EQUITY FUND LP, METLIFE JAPAN US EQUITY OWNERS BLOCKER LLC, METLIFE JAPAN US EQUITY OWNERS LLC, METLIFE LATIN AMERICA ASESORIAS E INVERSIONES LIMITADA, METLIFE LEGAL PLANS INC., METLIFE LEGAL PLANS OF FLORIDA INC., METLIFE LHH MEMBER LLC, METLIFE LIFE INSURANCE S.A., METLIFE LOAN ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC, METLIFE LONG SHORT CREDIT FUND LP, METLIFE LONG SHORT CREDIT MASTER FUND LP, METLIFE LONG SHORT CREDIT PARALLEL FUND LP, METLIFE MAS S.A. DE C.V., METLIFE MEXICO HOLDINGS S. DE R.L. DE C.V., METLIFE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., METLIFE MEXICO SERVICIOS S.A. DE C.V., METLIFE MIDDLE MARKET PRIVATE DEBT FUND II LP, METLIFE MIDDLE MARKET PRIVATE DEBT GP II LLC, METLIFE MIDDLE MARKET PRIVATE DEBT GP LLC, METLIFE MIDDLE MARKET PRIVATE DEBT II RATED FUND LP, METLIFE MIDDLE MARKET PRIVATE DEBT PARALLEL FUND LP, METLIFE MIDDLE MARKET PRIVATE DEBT PARALLEL GP LLC, METLIFE MMPD II SPECIAL LLC, METLIFE MULTI-FAMILY PARTNERS III LLC, METLIFE OBS MEMBER LLC, METLIFE OFC MEMBER LLC, METLIFE ONTARIO STREET MEMBR LLC, METLIFE PARK TOWER MEMBER LLC, METLIFE PENSION TRUSTEES LIMITED, METLIFE PENSIONES MEXICO S.A., METLIFE PET INSURANCE SOLUTIONS LLC, METLIFE PLANOS ODONTOLOGICOS LTDA., METLIFE POWSZECHNE TOWARTZYSTWO EMERYTALNE S.A., METLIFE PRIVATE EQUITY HOLDINGS LLC, METLIFE PROPERTIES VENTURES LLC, METLIFE RC SF MEMBER LLC, METLIFE REAL ESTATE LENDING LLC, METLIFE REINSURANCE COMPANY OF BERMUDA LTD., METLIFE REINSURANCE COMPANY OF CHARLESTON, METLIFE REINSURANCE COMPANY OF VERMONT, METLIFE RETIREMENT SERVICES LLC, METLIFE SECURITIZATION DEPOSITOR LLC, METLIFE SEGUROS S.A., METLIFE SENIOR DIRECT LENDING FINCO LLC, METLIFE SENIOR DIRECT LENDING FUND LP, METLIFE SENIOR DIRECT LENDING GP LLC, METLIFE SENIOR DIRECT LENDING HOLDINGS LP, METLIFE SERVICES AND SOLUTIONS LLC, METLIFE SERVICES CYPRUS LTD., METLIFE SERVICES EAST PRIVATE LIMITED, METLIFE SERVICES EEIG, METLIFE SERVICES EOOD, METLIFE SERVICES SOCIEDAD LIMITADA, METLIFE SERVICES SP Z.O.O, METLIFE SERVICIOS S.A., METLIFE SINGLE FAMILY RENTAL FUND GP LLC, METLIFE SINGLE FAMILY RENTAL FUND LP, METLIFE SOLUTIONS PTE. LTD., METLIFE SOLUTIONS S.A.S., METLIFE SP HOLDINGS LLC, METLIFE STRATEGIC HOTEL DEBT FUND GP LLC, METLIFE SYNDICATED BANK LOAN LUX GP S.A.R.L., METLIFE THR INVESTOR LLC, METLIFE TOWARZYSTWO FUNDUSZY INWESTYCYJNYCH S.A., METLIFE TOWARZYSTWO UBEZPIECZEN NA ZYCIE I REASEKURACJI S.A., METLIFE TOWER RESOURCES GROUP INC., METLIFE TREAT TOWERS MEMBER LLC, METLIFE WORLDWIDE HOLDINGS LLC, METROPOLITAN GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY, METROPOLITAN GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC, METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, METROPOLITAN LIFE SEGUROS E PREVIDENCIA PRIVADA S.A., METROPOLITAN LIFE SOCIETATE de ADMINISTRARE a UNUI FOND de PENSII ADMINISTRAT PRIVAT S.A., METROPOLITAN TOWER LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, METROPOLITAN TOWER REALTY COMPANY INC., MEX DF PROPERTIES LLC, MFA FINANCING VEHICLE CTR1 LLC, MIDTOWN HEIGHTS LLC, MIM CAMPUS AT SGV MANAGER LLC, MIM CLAL GENERAL PARTNER LLC, MIM CM SYNDICATOR LLC, MIM EMD GP LLC, MIM I LLC, MIM LS GP LLC, MIM METWEST INTERNATIONAL MANAGER LLC, MIM ML-AI VENTURE 5 MANAGER LLC, MIM OMD MANAGER LLC, MIM PROPERTY MANAGEMENT LLC, MIM PROPERTY MANAGEMENT OF GEORGIA 1 LLC, MIM SPOKANE INDUSTRIAL MANAGER LLC, MIM THIRD ARMY INDUSTRIAL MANAGER LLC, MISSOURI REINSURANCE INC., ML 300 THIRD MEMBER LLC, ML ARMATURE MEMBER LLC, ML BELLEVUE MANAGER LLC, ML BELLEVUE MEMBER LLC, ML CAPACITACION COMERCIAL S.A. DE C.V., ML CERRITOS TC MEMBER LLC, ML CLAL MEMBER LLC, ML CORNER 63 MEMBER LLC, ML DOLPHIN GP LLC, ML DOLPHIN MEZZ LLC, ML HUDSON MEMBER LLC, ML MATSON MILLS MEMBER LLC, ML MILILANI MEMBER LLC, ML OMD MEMBER LLC, ML ONE BEDMINSTER LLC, ML PORT CHESTER SC MEMBER LLC, ML SENTINEL SQUARE MEMBER LLC, ML SLOANS LAKE MEMEBR LLC, ML SOUTHLANDS MEMBER LLC, ML SOUTHMORE LLC, ML SPOKANE INDUSTRIAL MEMBER LLC, ML SWAN GP LLC, ML SWAN MEZZ LLC, ML TERRACES LLC, ML THIRD ARMY INDUSTRIAL MEMBER LLC, ML VENTURE 1 MANAGER S. DE R. L. DE C.V., ML VENTURE 1 SERVICER LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 1 LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 2 LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 3 LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 4 LLC, ML-AI METLIFE MEMBER 5 LLC, ML-URS PORT CHESTER SC MANAGER LLC, MLIA MANAGER I LLC, MLIA PARK TOWER MANAGER LLC, MLIA SBAF COLONY MANAGER LLC, MLIA SBAF MANAGER LLC, MLIC ASSET HOLDINGS II LLC, MLIC ASSET HOLDINGS LLC, MLIC CB HOLDINGS LLC, MLJ US FEEDER LLC, MM GLOBAL OPERATIONS SUPPORT CENTER S.A. DE C.V., MMP CEDAR STREET OWNER LLC, MMP CEDAR STREET REIT LLC, MMP HOLDINGS III LLC, MMP OLIVIAN OWNER LLC, MMP OLIVIAN REIT LLC, MMP OWNERS III LLC, MMP OWNERS LLC, MMP SOUTH PARK OWNER LLC, MMP SOUTH PARK REIT LLC, MNQM TRUST 2020, MREF 425 MKT LLC, MSHDF HOLDCO I LLC, MSV IRVINE PROPERTY LLC, MTL LEASING LLC, MTU HOTEL OWNER LLC, NATILOPORTEM HOLDINGS LLC, NEWBURY INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, OCONEE GOLF COMPANY LLC, OCONEE HOTEL COMPANY LLC, OCONEE LAND COMPANY LLC, OCONEE LAND DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LLC, OCONEE MARINA COMPANY LLC, OMI MLIC INVESTMENTS LIMITED, PACIFIC LOGISTICS INDUSTRIAL NORTH LLC, PACIFIC LOGISTICS INDUSTRIAL SOUTH LLC, PARK TOWER JV MEMBER LLC, PARK TOWER REIT INC., PJSC METLIFE, PLAZA DRIVE PROPERTIES LLC, PREFCO FOURTEEN LLC, PREFCO XIV HOLDINGS LLC, PROVIDA INTERNACIONAL S.A., SAFEGUARD HEALTH ENTERPRISES INC., SAFEGUARD HEALTH PLANS INC., SAFEHEALTH LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, SOUTHCREEK INDUSTRIAL HOLDINGS LLC, ST. JAMES FLEET INVESTMENTS TWO LIMITED, SUPERIOR PROCUREMENT INC., SUPERIOR VISION BENEFIT MANAGEMENT INC., SUPERIOR VISION HOLDINGS INC., SUPERIOR VISION INSURANCE INC., SUPERIOR VISION INSURANCE PLAN OF WISCONSIN INC., SUPERIOR VISION OF NEW JERSEY INC., SUPERIOR VISION SERVICES INC., Safeguard Health Enterprises, Security First Group Inc., THE BUILDING AT 575 FIFTH AVENUE MEZZANINE LLC, THE BUILDING AT 575 FIFTH RETAIL HOLDING LLC, THE BUILDING AT 575 FIFTH RETAIL OWNER, THE DIRECT CALL CENTRE PTY LIMITED, TRANSMOUNTAIN LAND & LIVESTOCK COMPANY, UVC INDEPENDENT PRACTICE ASSOCIATION INC., VERSANT HEALTH CONSOLIDATIONS CORP., VERSANT HEALTH HOLDCO INC., VERSANT HEALTH INC., VERSANT HEALTH LAB LLC, VIRIDIAN MIRACLE MILE LLC, VISION 21 MANAGED EYE CARE OF TAMPA BAY INC., VISION 21 PHYSICIAN PRACTICE MANAGEMENT COMPANY, VISION TWENTY-ONE MANAGED EYE CARE IPA INC., Versant Health, WDV ACQUISITION CORP., WFP 1000 HOLDING COMPANY GP LLC, WHITE OAK ROYALTY COMPANY, WHITE TRACT II LLC, and Willing.

Read More
RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. provides reinsurance and insurance products around the world. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Bermuda with offices in Ireland, Australia, Switzerland, Singapore, and the US.

The company operates through two segments that include multiple underlying businesses and investment vehicles. The two main segments are Property and Casualty & Specialty. The company operates through intermediaries that include DaVinci Resinsurance Inc, Top Layer Reinsurance LTD, and RennaisanceRe Syndicate 1458 among others.

Top Layer Re is the first major venture and was started in 1999. It is a joint venture with State Farm targeting high layers of the US reinsurance business. DaVinci Re was formed in the wake of 9/11 to assist with capacity and it was given added capacity in the wake of hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma. Medici was formed in 2009 and is an open-ended fund intended to spur investment in the catastrophe bond market.

The Property segment writes catastrophic insurance policies to insure insurance and reinsurance companies against natural and man-made catastrophes. These include but are not limited to hurricanes, floods, freezes, and terrorism.

The Casualty & Specialty segment provides a wide range of consumer products including business insurance, malpractice insurance, liability insurance, workers' compensation, mortgage insurance, and health insurance among others.

Among RenaissanceRes Specialty businesses is capital management. The firm offers 6 investment vehicles and has more than $11 billion under management making it the #1 ILS or insurance-linked asset manager in the US. In regards to its credit ratings, the firm and all of its vehicles carry an A or better rating from every credit rating agency.
MJF-L leaders at odds over Gachhadars decision to join democratic alliance

A dispute has arisen in the Madhesi Janadhikar Froum-Loktantrik (MJF-L) after party Chairman Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar decided to join the democratic alliance led by Nepali Congress without consulting the party leaders.
Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services to individuals, small and medium enterprises, and corporate customers in Brazil and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Commercial Banking and Global Wholesale Banking. It offers deposits and other bank funding instruments; debit and credit cards; digital prepaid solutions; payment platform; loyalty programs; employee benefit vouchers; payroll loans; digital lending and online debt renegotiation services; mortgages; home equity financing products; consumer credit; and local loans, commercial and trade finance, guarantees, structured loans, and cash management and funding solutions, as well as on-lending transfer services. It also provides funding and financial advisory services related to projects, origination and distribution of fixed-income securities in the debt capital markets, financing of acquisitions and syndicated loans, other structured financing arrangements, and subordinated debt and energy efficiency transactions; advisory services for mergers and acquisitions, and equity capital markets transactions; and stock brokerage and advisory, equity, and equity research services. In addition, the company structures and offers foreign exchange, derivative, and investment products for institutional investors, and corporate and retail customers; and provides market making services. Further, it offers instant payment services; range of products and services focused on the agribusiness sector; microfinance services; and online automotive listing and digital car insurance solutions, as well as digital trading platform. Additionally, it provides its financial services and products to its customers through multichannel distribution network comprising branches, mini-branches, ATMs, call centers, Internet banking, and mobile banking. Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. was incorporated in 1985 and is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Telefonica, S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides telecommunications services in Europe and Latin America. The company's mobile and related services and products comprise mobile voice, value added, mobile data and Internet, wholesale, corporate, roaming, fixed wireless, and trunking and paging services. Its fixed telecommunication services include PSTN lines; ISDN accesses; public telephone services; local, domestic, and international long-distance and fixed-to-mobile communications; corporate communications; supplementary value-added services; video telephony; intelligent network; and telephony information services, as well as leases and sells handset equipment. The company also provides Internet and broadband multimedia services comprising Internet service provider, portal and network, retail and wholesale broadband access, narrowband switched access, high-speed Internet through fibre to the home, and voice over Internet protocol services. In addition, it offers leased line, virtual private network, fibre optics, web hosting and application, outsourcing and consultancy, desktop, and system integration and professional services. Further, the company offers wholesale services for telecommunication operators, including domestic interconnection and international wholesale services; leased lines for other operators; and local loop leasing services, as well as bit stream services, wholesale line rental accesses, and leased ducts for other operators' fiber deployment. Additionally, it provides video/TV services; smart connectivity and services, and consumer IoT products; financial and other payment, security, cloud computing, advertising, big data, and digital telco experience services; virtual assistants; digital home platforms; and Movistar Home devices. It also offers online telemedicine, home insurance, music streaming, and consumer loan services. The company was incorporated in 1924 and is headquartered in Madrid, Spain.
Trilogy International Partners Inc., together with its subsidiaries, provides wireless voice and data communications services in New Zealand, Bolivia, and internationally. It offers prepaid and postpaid payment plans, including local, international long distance, and roaming services to customers and international visitors roaming on its networks. The company also provides fixed broadband communications to residential and enterprise customers, as well as a range of mobile and fixed line services in New Zealand and Australia; and fixed public telephony and wireless broadband services in Bolivia. As of December 31, 2021, it had a distribution network of approximately 13 company owned stores, 170 dealers, and 8,300 other dealer points of presence in Bolivia; and a distribution network of approximately 20 company owned retail stores, 40 independent dealers, and 2,500 points of sale through national retail chains and grocery stores in New Zealand. The company's services cover an aggregate population of 16.8 million users. It also provides services through its online self-service store in New Zealand; and operates under the Viva brand name in Bolivia. Trilogy International Partners Inc. was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington.
NC Central Working Committee meet underway in Baluwatar

A Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting of the Nepali Congress (NC) is underway at Prime Ministers official residence in Baluwater, Kathmandu on Friday.
Argan, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, operations management, maintenance, project development, technical, and consulting services to the power generation and renewable energy markets. The company operates through Power Industry Services, Industrial Fabrication and Field Services, and Telecommunications Infrastructure Services segments. The Power Industry Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction contracting services to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 15 gigawatts of power-generating capacity. This segment serves independent power project owners, public utilities, power plant equipment suppliers, and energy plant construction companies. The Industrial Fabrication and Field Services segment provides industrial field, and pipe and vessel fabrication services for forest products, industrial gas, fertilizer, and mining companies in southeast region of the United States. The Telecommunications Infrastructure Services segment offers trenchless directional boring and excavation for underground communication and power networks, as well as aerial cabling services; and installs buried cable, high and low voltage electric lines, and private area outdoor lighting systems. It also provides structured cabling, terminations, and connectivity that offers the physical transport for high-speed data, voice, video, and security networks. This segment serves state and local government agencies, regional communications service providers, electric utilities, and other commercial customers, as well as federal government facilities comprising cleared facilities in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Argan, Inc. was incorporated in 1961 and is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. provides investor communications and technology-driven solutions for the financial services industry. The company's Investor Communication Solutions segment processes and distributes proxy materials to investors in equity securities and mutual funds, as well as facilitates related vote processing services; and distributes regulatory reports, class action, and corporate action/reorganization event information, as well as tax reporting solutions. It also offers ProxyEdge, an electronic proxy delivery and voting solution; data-driven solutions and an end-to-end platform for content management, composition, and omni-channel distribution of regulatory, marketing, and transactional information, as well as mutual fund trade processing services; data and analytics solutions; solutions for public corporations and mutual funds; SEC filing and capital markets transaction services; registrar, stock transfer, and record-keeping services; and omni-channel customer communications solutions, as well as operates Broadridge Communications Cloud platform that creates, delivers, and manages communications and customer engagement activities. The company's Global Technology and Operations segment provides solutions that automate the front-to-back transaction lifecycle of equity, mutual fund, fixed income, foreign exchange and exchange-traded derivatives, order capture and execution, trade confirmation, margin, cash management, clearance and settlement, reference data management, reconciliations, securities financing and collateral management, asset servicing, compliance and regulatory reporting, portfolio accounting, and custody-related services. This segment also offers business process outsourcing services; technology solutions, such portfolio management, compliance, fee billing, and operational support solutions; and capital market and wealth management solutions. The company was founded in 1962 and is headquartered in Lake Success, New York.
Nepali Envoy to India Upadhyay resigns

Nepals Ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyay has resigned from the post.
CarMax, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a retailer of used vehicles in the United States. The company operates through two segments, CarMax Sales Operations and CarMax Auto Finance. It offers customers a range of makes and models of used vehicles, including domestic, imported, and luxury vehicles, as well as hybrid and electric vehicles; and extended protection plans to customers at the time of sale, as well as sells vehicles that are approximately 10 years old and has more than 100,000 miles through wholesale auctions. The company also provides reconditioning and vehicle repair services; and financing alternatives for retail customers across a range of credit spectrum through its CarMax Auto Finance and arrangements with various financial institutions. As of February 28, 2022, it operated approximately 230 used car stores. CarMax, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is based in Richmond, Virginia.
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..

Read More
The following companies are subsidiares of Dominion Energy: 96WI 8me LLC, Align RNG Arizona LLC, Align RNG Arizona-Snowflake LLC, Align RNG California LLC, Align RNG California-Corcoran LLC, Align RNG Grady Road LLC, Align RNG LLC, Align RNG Magnolia LLC, Align RNG North Carolina LLC, Align RNG North Carolina-Bowdens LLC, Align RNG Utah LLC, Align RNG Utah-Milford LLC, Align RNG Utah-Minersville LLC, Align RNG Virginia LLC, Align RNG Virginia-Waverly LLC, Alpaca Holdings LLC, Angus Holdings LLC, Aster Holdings LLC, Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC, BOE Holdings Inc., Bantam Holdings LLC, Bellflower Holdings LLC, Birdseye Holdings LLC, Birdseye Projects LLC, Birdseye Renewable Energy LLC, Blackville Solar Farm LLC, Blue Ocean Energy Marine LLC, BrightSuite Home LLC, BrightSuite Home Solar Inc., BrightSuite Inc., BrightSuite Solar CT Inc., BrightSuite Solar Development LLC, BrightSuite Solar SC Inc., BrightSuite Solar VA Inc., Brown Swiss Holdings II LLC, Buckingham Solar I LLC, CEA Americus LLC, CEA CO-Fort Morgan LLC, CEA Clovis LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Colorado LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Georgia LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Idaho LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Kansas LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Nevada LLC, CEA Dairy RNG New Mexico LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Texas LLC, CEA Greely LLC, CEA Mason LLC, CEA TX-Dimmitt LLC, CNG Coal Company, CNG Power Services Corporation, Canola Holdings LLC, Carolina Gas Transmission Corporation, Charolais Holdings LLC, Chester White Holdings LLC, Chicory Holdings LLC, Clean Energy Asset USA LLC, Clean Energy Enterprises Inc., Clipperton Holdings LLC, Collard Holdings LLC, Consolidated Natural Gas Company, Correctional Solar LLC, Cotswold Holdings LLC, Cove Point LNG Limited, Currant Holdings LLC, DE 700 Canal Place LLC, DE Arlington Solar LLC, DE Fluvanna Solar LLC, DE Hanover Solar LLC, DE Henrico Solar LLC, DE King William Solar LLC, DE Louisa Solar LLC, DE Newport News Solar LLC, DE Powhatan Solar LLC, DE Virginia Beach Solar LLC, DECP Holdings Inc., DEO Alternative Fuel LLC, Dairy RNG Holdings LLC, Denmark Solar LLC, Devon Holdings LLC, Dexter Holdings LLC, Dill Holdings LLC, Dillon RE Holdings LLC, Dominion ACP Holding Inc., Dominion Alternative Energy Holdings Inc., Dominion Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC, Dominion Capital Inc., Dominion Cogen WV Inc., Dominion Energy Birdseye Holdings Inc., Dominion Energy Fuel Services Inc., Dominion Energy Gas Distribution LLC, Dominion Energy Generation Marketing Inc., Dominion Energy Inc., Dominion Energy Kewaunee Inc., Dominion Energy Marketplace LLC, Dominion Energy Nuclear Connecticut Inc., Dominion Energy Payroll Company Inc., Dominion Energy Questar Corporation, Dominion Energy RNG Holdings II Inc., Dominion Energy RNG Holdings Inc., Dominion Energy Services Inc., Dominion Energy Solar CA LLC, Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc., Dominion Energy Southeast Services Inc., Dominion Energy Technical Solutions Inc., Dominion Energy Technologies II Inc., Dominion Energy Technologies Inc., Dominion Energy Terminal Company Inc., Dominion Energy Wexpro Services Company, Dominion Equipment III Inc., Dominion Equipment Inc., Dominion Fairless Hills Inc., Dominion Fowler Ridge Wind LLC, Dominion Gas Projects Company LLC, Dominion Generation Inc., Dominion Greenbrier Inc., Dominion High Voltage Holdings Inc., Dominion High Voltage MidAtlantic Inc., Dominion Investments Inc., Dominion Keystone Pipeline Holdings Inc., Dominion Keystone Pipeline LLC, Dominion MLP Holding Company III Inc., Dominion Mt. Storm Wind LLC, Dominion Nuclear Projects Inc., Dominion Oklahoma Texas Exploration & Production Inc., Dominion Person Inc., Dominion Privatization Florida LLC, Dominion Privatization Georgia LLC, Dominion Privatization Holdings Inc., Dominion Privatization Kentucky LLC, Dominion Privatization Maryland LLC, Dominion Privatization Pennsylvania LLC, Dominion Privatization South Carolina LLC, Dominion Privatization Texas LLC, Dominion Privatization Virginia LLC, Dominion Products and Services Inc., Dominion Projects Services Inc., Dominion Resources Capital Trust III, Dominion Retail Gas Holdings Inc., Dominion Solar Holdings IV LLC, Dominion Solar Projects C Inc., Dominion Solar Projects D Inc., Dominion Solar Projects III Inc., Dominion Solar Projects IV Inc., Dominion Solar Projects V Inc., Dominion Solar Projects VI Inc., Dominion Solar Projects VII Inc., Dominion Solar Services Inc., Dominion State Line LLC, Dominion Utility Privatization LLC, Dominion Voltage Inc., Dominion Wholesale Inc., Dominion Wind Development LLC, Dominion Wind Projects Inc., Dorset Holdings LLC, ESCT-SA-Suffield LLC, Eagle Holdco Solar LLC, Eagle Solar LLC, Eastern Shore Solar LLC, Endive Holdings LLC, Energize Holdings III LLC, Flax Holdings LLC, Fremont Farm LLC, Gideon Solar LLC, Ginger Holdings LLC, Greenbrier Marketing Company LLC, Greenbrier Pipeline Company LLC, Greensville County Solar Project LLC, Guernsey Holdings LLC, Hardin Solar Energy LLC, Hecate Energy Cherrydale LLC, Hecate Energy Clarke County LLC, Hemlock Holdings LLC, Hereford Holdings LLC, Hodges Solar LLC, Hope Gas Inc., Hosta Holdings LLC, Innovative Solar 37 LLC, Joanna Solar LLC, Kale Holdings LLC, Leek Holdings LLC, Leghorn Holdings LLC, Lentil Holdings LLC, Leyland Holdings LLC, Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas, Millet Holdings LLC, Moffett Solar 1 LLC, Moorings Farm 2 LLC, Mustang Solar LLC, Mustard Holdings LLC, Okra Holdings LLC, PSNC Blue Ridge Corporation, PSNC Cardinal Pipeline Company, Phone House, Pikeville Farm LLC, Power Path Holdings I LLC, Power Path Holdings II LLC, Power Path Holdings III LLC, Prairie Fork Wind Farm LLC, Public Service Company of North Carolina Incorporated, Quail Holdings LLC, Questar Corporation, Questar Gas Company, Questar InfoComm Inc., Ridgeland Solar Farm I LLC, Rutabaga Holdings LLC, SCANA, SCANA Corporate Security Services Inc., SCANA Corporation, SRFI LLC, Safflower Holdings LLC, Scott-II Solar LLC, Seabrook Solar LLC, Sedge Holdings LLC, Shallot Holdings LLC, Siler Solar LLC, Silkie Holdings LLC, Simmental Holdings LLC, Sol Madison Solar LLC, Sorghum Holdings LLC, South Carolina Fuel Company Inc., South Carolina Generating Company Inc., Southampton Solar LLC, Strawberry Holdings LLC, Sumac Holdings LLC, Summit Farms Solar LLC, Sussex Drive Solar Project LLC, TWE Myrtle Solar Project LLC, The East Ohio Gas Company, Trask East Solar LLC, Tredegar Solar Fund I LLC, Tredegar Solar LLC, VP Property Inc., Virginia Electric And Power Company, Virginia Power Fuel Corporation, Virginia Power Nuclear Services Company, Virginia Power Services Energy Corp. Inc., Virginia Power Services LLC, Virginia Solar 2017 Projects LLC, Wakefield Solar LLC, Watercress Holdings LLC, Wexpro Company, Wexpro Development Company, Wexpro II Company, Wilkinson Solar LLC, Yemassee Solar LLC, and Yorkshire Holdings LLC.

Read More
Prez Bhandari inspects Syafrubesi-Mailung road

President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Friday inspected the under construction Syafrubesi-Mailung road section in Rasuwa district. The construction works are undertaken by the Nepal Army.
Ecopetrol S.A. operates as an integrated energy company. The company operates through four segments: Exploration and Production; Transport and Logistics; Refining, Petrochemical and Biofuels; and Electric Power Transmission and Toll Roads Concessions. It engages in the exploration and production of oil and gas; transportation of crude oil, motor fuels, fuel oil, and other refined products, including diesel, jet, and biofuels; processing and refining crude oil; distribution of natural gas and LPG; sale of refined and petrochemical products; supplying of electric power transmission services; design, development, construction, operation, and maintenance of road and energy infrastructure projects; and supplying of information technology and telecommunications services. As of December 31, 2021, the company had approximately 9,127 kilometers of crude oil and multi-purpose pipelines. It also produces and commercializes polypropylene resins and compounds, and masterbatches; and offers industrial service sales to customers and specialized management services. It has operations in Colombia, the United States, Asia, Central America and the Caribbean, Europe, South America, and internationally. The company was formerly known as Empresa Colombiana de Petroleos and changed its name to Ecopetrol S.A. in June 2003. Ecopetrol S.A. was incorporated in 1948 and is based in Bogota, Colombia.
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.
RJP-N joint gen secy announces to quit party

Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal's central joint general secretary Dilip Dhadewa has announced that he is quitting the party, with the warning of forming a new one.
The following companies are subsidiares of ABB: ABB (China) Investment Limited, ABB (China) Ltd., ABB (Hong Kong) Ltd., ABB (Namibia) (Pty) Ltd., ABB (P.J.S.C.), ABB (Private) Ltd., ABB (Pty) Ltd., ABB (Pvt) Ltd., ABB A/S, ABB AB, ABB AG, ABB AS, ABB AUTOMACAO LTDA, ABB AUTOMATION AND ELECTRIFICATION (VIETNAM)COMPANY LIMITED, ABB AUTOMATION HOLDINGS (THAILAND) CO. LTD., ABB Algeria SpA Asea Brown Boveri, ABB Algerie Produits SpA, ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd, ABB Asea Brown Boveri SRL, ABB Ausbildungszentrum Berlin gGmbH, ABB Australia Pty Limited, ABB Automation (Thailand) Co. Ltd., ABB B.V., ABB Bailey Beijing Engineering Co. Ltd., ABB Bailey Japan Limited, ABB Beijing Drive Systems Co. Ltd., ABB Beijing Switchgear Limited, ABB Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungsges. mbH, ABB Bulgaria EOOD, ABB Business Services Sp. z o.o., ABB Cable Management Products Ltd, ABB Canada EL Holding GmbH, ABB Capital AG, ABB Capital B.V., ABB Centroamerica y El Caribe S.A., ABB Chargedot Shanghai New Energy Technology Co. Ltd, ABB Colombia Ltda, ABB Construction (ABACON) S.A.E., ABB E-MOBILITY INC., ABB E-MOBILITY PTE. LTD., ABB E-mobility AB, ABB E-mobility AG, ABB E-mobility AS, ABB E-mobility GmbH, ABB E-mobility Holding Ltd, ABB E-mobility QFZ LLC, ABB E-mobility S.p.A., ABB E-mobility SAS, ABB E-mobility SL, ABB E-mobility Technology Shenzhen Co. Ltd, ABB E-mobility UK Limited, ABB ELECTRICAL & AUTOMATION W.L.L, ABB ELECTRIFICATION HOLDINGS (THAILAND) CO. LTD., ABB ELETRIFICACAO LTDA, ABB Ecuador S.A., ABB Electrical Control Systems S. de R.L. de C.V., ABB Electrical Equipment (Xiamen) Co. Ltd., ABB Electrical Equipment Ltd., ABB Electrical Industries Co. Ltd., ABB Electrical Machines Ltd., ABB Electrical Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ABB Electrification (Thailand) Co. Ltd., ABB Electrification Canada ULC, ABB Electrification Norway AS, ABB Electrification Sweden AB, ABB Elektrik Sanayi A.S., ABB Engg. Technologies Co. (KSCC), ABB Engineering (Shanghai), ABB Engineering Trading and Service Ltd., ABB Equipo de Control Y Distribucion S. de R.L. de C.V., ABB Equity Limited, ABB FZ-LLC, ABB Finance (USA) Inc., ABB Finance B.V., ABB For Feeding Industries SAE, ABB France, ABB GLOBAL BUSINESS SERVICES AND CONTRACTINGINDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, ABB Global Industries and Services Private Limited, ABB Global Marketing FZ LLC, ABB Group Holdings Pty. Ltd., ABB Group Investment Management Pty. Ltd., ABB Guangdong Sihui Instrument Transformer Co. Ltd., ABB Hangzhou Winmation Automation Company Limited, ABB Holding AS, ABB Holdings (Pty) Ltd., ABB Holdings B.V., ABB Holdings Inc., ABB Holdings Limited, ABB Holdings Sdn. Bhd., ABB INDUSTRIAL SOLUTIONS (LODZ) S.A. W LIKWIDACJI, ABB Inc., ABB Inc., ABB India Limited, ABB Industrial Solutions (Australia) Pty Ltd, ABB Industrial Solutions (Belgium) BV, ABB Industrial Solutions (Bielsko-Biala) Sp. z o.o., ABB Industrial Solutions (Canada) Inc., ABB Industrial Solutions (Klodzko) Sp.z.o.o., ABB Industries (L.L.C.), ABB Industries FZ, ABB Information Systems Ltd., ABB Installation Products Caribe LLC, ABB Installation Products European Centre S.A., ABB Installation Products Inc, ABB Installation Products International LLC., ABB Installation Products Limited, ABB Installation Products Monterrey S. de R.L. de C.V., ABB Installacios Keszulekek Kft., ABB Investment Holding 2 GmbH, ABB Investments (Pty) Ltd, ABB Inzeniring d.o.o., ABB Jiangjin Turbo Systems Company Limited, ABB K.K., ABB Kaufel GmbH, ABB LAFRENZE PROPERTY (PROPERTY) LIMITED, ABB LLC, ABB LLP., ABB LV Installation Materials Co. Ltd. Beijing, ABB Limitada, ABB Limited, ABB Limited/Jordan LLC., ABB Lineage Power Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., ABB Logistics Center Europe GmbH, ABB Ltd., ABB Maghreb Services S.A., ABB Malaysia Sdn Bhd., ABB Management Services Ltd., ABB Mexico S.A. de C.V., ABB Motors and Mechanical Inc, ABB N.V., ABB Norden Holding AB, ABB Operations Center Ltd., ABB Orange B.V., ABB Oryx Motors and Generators Service LLC, ABB Oy, ABB Panama Sales S.A., ABB Power & Automation (Private) Limited, ABB Power & Automation Limited, ABB Power Electronics (Germany) GmbH, ABB Power Electronics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ABB Power Electronics (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., ABB Power Electronics Inc., ABB Pte. Ltd., ABB Reinsurance AG, ABB Robotics (Zhuhai) Ltd, ABB Robotics Machine Tending Limited, ABB Robotics Solutions NV, ABB S.A., ABB S.A. de CV, ABB S.p.A., ABB SARL, ABB SAS, ABB SIA, ABB Schweiz AG, ABB Shanghai Free Trade Zone Industrial Co. Ltd., ABB Shanghai Motors Co. Ltd., ABB South Africa (Pty) Ltd., ABB Sp. z o.o., ABB Stotz-Kontakt Gmb, ABB Striebel & John GmbH, ABB Susa Inc., ABB Technologies Ltd., ABB Technologies S.A., ABB Technology SA, ABB Tianjin Switchgear Co. Ltd., ABB Transmission & Distribution Limited LLC, ABB Treasury Center (USA) Inc., ABB Turbo Systems (Hong Kong) Limited, ABB Turbochargers S.A.E., ABB UAB, ABB Verwaltungs AG, ABB Wirtschaftsbetriebe GmbH, ABB Xiamen Corporation Management Service Co. Ltd., ABB Xiamen Low Voltage Equipment Co. Ltd., ABB Xiamen Smart Technology Co. Ltd., ABB Xiamen Switchgear Co. Ltd., ABB Xinhui Low Voltage Switchgear Co. Ltd., ABB d.o.o., ABB eMobility Digital Venture GmbH, ABB for Electrical Industries (ABB ARAB) S.A.E., ABB for Electrical Solutions and Technologies K.S.C.C., ABB s.r.o., ABB s.r.o., ABBNG Limited, APS Technology Group, ASEA BROWN BOVERI Portugal Unipessoal Lda, ASTI France SAS, ASTI Mobile Robotics, Asea Brown Boveri Electrica SGPS (Angola) Limitada, Asea Brown Boveri Industrial Technical & CommercialCompany of Imports  Exports S.A., Asea Brown Boveri Lanka (Private) Limited, Asea Brown Boveri Ltd., Asea Brown Boveri S.A., Asea Brown Boveri S.A. de C.V., Asea Brown Boveri S.A.E., Asti Mobile Robotics GmbH, Asti Mobile Robotics Group SL, Asti Mobile Robotics SAU, B & R Automazione Industriale S.r.l., B & R Industrial Automation Ltd., B + R Industrie-Elektronik GmbH, B&R Automatyka Przemyslowa Sp.z.o.o., B&R Automacao Industrial Ltda., B&R Holding GmbH, B&R Industrial Automation, B&R Industrial Automation (China) Co. Ltd., B&R Industrial Automation A/S, B&R Industrial Automation AB, B&R Industrial Automation Co. Ltd., B&R Industrial Automation Corp., B&R Industrial Automation GmbH, B&R Industrial Automation Iberica S.L.U., B&R Industrial Automation Inc., B&R Industrial Automation Pte. Ltd., B&R Industrial Automation Pvt. Ltd., B&R Industrie-Automation AG, B&R Industriele Automatisering B.V., B&R K.K., B+R Automation Industrielle SARL, B+R Industrial Automation OOO, B+R automatizace spol. s.r.o., BR Endustriyel Otomasyon Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Baldor Electric Company, Busch-Jaeger Elektro GmbH, Chargedot, Cherokee India Pvt. Ltd., Codian Robotics, Codian Robotics B.V., Codian Robotics of the Americas, Combustion Engineering Inc., Cylon Controls, Cylon Controls Limited, Cylon Energy Inc., DynaMotive Ltd., ELBI Elektrik, Edison Holding Corporation, Enervalis NV, Envitech Energy, Epyon, GE Industrial Solutions, Gomtec, Gresin Grupo Estudios Industriales, IMV Invertomatic Victron UK Limited, In-Charge Energy, Industrial C&S Hungary Kft., Industrial C&S of P.R. LLC, Industrial Connections & Solutions LLC, Industrial Connections of SA Pty. Ltd., Intrimmo BVBA, Jinan ABB SRI Rail Transit Equipment Technology Co. Ltd., Jordan Acquisition Group, KEYMILE - Business, Kaufel S.A., Kuhlman Electric Corp., Lineage Overseas LLC, Lineage Power (Argentina) S.R.L., Lineage Power (Luxembourg) S.A.R.L., Lineage Power China Co. Ltd., Lineage Power Holdings Inc., Lineage Power Matamoros S.A. de C.V., Lorentzen & Wettre, Los Gatos Research, Mincom, NUB3D S.L., Newave Energy Holding, Newron System, PT ABB Sakti Industri, Pinghu Zhuangbest Technology Development Co. Ltd., Power-One, Powercorp, Powertel India Pvt. Ltd., RGM - Rail vehicle power business, RMI Automation Co. Ltd., SVIA, SWISS TURBOCHARGERS SA DE CV, Saudi Industrial Solutions Ltd., Shanghai Zhuangbest Technology Development Co. Ltd., Shantou Winride Switchgear Co. Ltd., Sirius Holdings B.V., Smart Power Technology Co. Ltd., Spirit IT, Swissturbo (Shanghai) Investment Limited, SynerLeap powered by ABB AB, TURBO SYSTEMS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TURBO SYSTEMS ITALY S.P.A., TURBO SYSTEMS RUS LLC, TURBO-SUPERIOR SYSTEMS INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, TURBOCHARGING GREECE SINGLE MEMBER SA, Thomas & Betts, Thomas & Betts Saudi Arabia Limited Liability Co., Trasfor, Tropos Networks, Turbo Systems Argentina S.A., Turbo Systems Canada Inc, Turbo Systems Colombia SAS, Turbo Systems Dominican Republic SRL, Turbo Systems Finland Oy, Turbo Systems Germany GmbH, Turbo Systems Holding Ltd, Turbo Systems Iberia S.L., Turbo Systems Korea Ltd., Turbo Systems Myanmar Limited, Turbo Systems Pakistan (Private) Limited, Turbo Systems South East Asia Pte. Ltd., Turbo Systems Switzerland Ltd, Turbo Systems The Netherlands B.V., Turbo Systems Turkey Muhendislik Makine Sanayi Ve TicaretAnonim Sirketi, Turbo Systems US Inc., Turbo Systems United Co. Ltd., Turbo Systems Verwaltungs Ltd, Turbocharging Bangladesh Limited, Turbocharging Brasil Ltda., Turbocharging Systems Co. Ltd., Turbocharging Systems France SAS, Turbocharging UK Limited, Turbosystems Nigeria Limited LTD, Validus DC Systems, Vectek Electronics, Ventyx, Verdi Holding Corporation, W.J. Furse & Co. Ltd., Yangzhou SAC Switchgear Co. Ltd, and Zhejiang Chargedot New Energy Technology Co. Ltd..

Read More
Fortune Brands Home & Security, Inc. provides home and security products for residential home repair, remodeling, new construction, and security applications. It operates in three segments: Plumbing, Outdoors & Security, and Cabinets. The Plumbing segment manufactures, assembles, and sells faucets, accessories, kitchen sinks, and waste disposals under the Moen, ROHL, Riobel, Victoria+Albert, Perrin & Rowe, and Shaws brands in the United States, China, Canada, Mexico, Southeast Asia, Europe, and South America directly through its own sales force, as well as through independent manufacturers' representatives to wholesalers, home centers, mass merchandisers, and industrial distributors. The Outdoors & Security segment offers fiberglass and steel entry door systems under the Therma-Tru brand; storm, screen, and security doors under the Larson brand; composite decking and railing under the Fiberon brand; and urethane millwork under the Fypon brand. This segment also manufactures, sources, and distributes locks, safety and security devices, and electronic security products under the Master Lock and American Lock brands; and fire resistant safes, security containers, and commercial cabinets under the SentrySafe brand. It serves home centers, hardware and other retailers, millwork building products and wholesale distributors, specialty dealers, and remodeling and renovation markets, as well as locksmiths, industrial and institutional users, and original equipment manufacturers in the United States, Canada, Europe, Central America, Japan, and Australia. The Cabinets segment manufactures custom, semi-custom, and custom cabinetry, as well as vanities for the kitchen, bath, and other parts of the home directly to kitchen and bath dealers, home centers, wholesalers, and builders in North America under the AOK, Diamond Brands, Homecrest, Kitchen Craft, Omega, and EVE brands. The company was incorporated in 1988 and is headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois.
Gildan Activewear Inc. manufactures and sells various apparel products in the United States, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. It provides various activewear products, including T-shirts, fleece tops and bottoms, and sports shirts under the Gildan, Gildan Performance, Gildan Hammer, Comfort Colors, American Apparel, Alstyle, and GoldToe brands. The company also offers hosiery products comprising athletic; dress; and casual, liner, therapeutic, and workwear socks, as well as sheer pantyhose, tights, and leggings under the Gildan, Under Armour, GoldToe, PowerSox, Signature Gold by Goldtoe, Peds, MediPeds, Therapy Plus, All Pro, Secret, Silks, Secret Silky, and American Apparel brands. In addition, it provides men's and boys' underwear products, and ladies panties under the Gildan and Gildan Platinum brands; and ladies' shapewear, intimates, and accessories under the Secret and Secret Silky brands. The company sells its products to wholesale distributors, screen printers, and embellishers, as well as to retailers and lifestyle brand companies. The company was formerly known as Textiles Gildan Inc. and changed its name to Gildan Activewear Inc. in March 1995. Gildan Activewear Inc. was founded in 1946 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.
GSK plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the creation, discovery, development, manufacture, and marketing of pharmaceutical products, vaccines, over-the-counter medicines, and health-related consumer products in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Pharmaceuticals, Pharmaceuticals R&D, Vaccines, and Consumer Healthcare. The company offers pharmaceutical products comprising medicines in the therapeutic areas, such as respiratory, HIV, immuno-inflammation, oncology, anti-viral, central nervous system, cardiovascular and urogenital, metabolic, anti-bacterial, and dermatology. It also provides consumer healthcare products in wellness, oral health, nutrition, and skin health categories. The company offers its consumer healthcare products in the form of nasal sprays, tablets, syrups, lozenges, gum and trans-dermal patches, caplets, infant syrup drops, liquid filled suspension, wipes, gels, effervescents, toothpastes, toothbrushes, mouthwashes, denture adhesives and cleansers, topical creams and non-medicated patches, lip balm, gummies, and soft chews. It has collaboration agreements with 23andMe; Lyell Immunopharma, Inc.; Novartis; Sanofi SA; Surface Oncology; Progentec Diagnostics, Inc.; Alector, Inc.; and CureVac AG., as well as strategic partnership with IDEAYA Biosciences, Inc. and Vir Biotechnology, Inc. The company was formerly known as GlaxoSmithKline plc and changed its name to GSK plc in May 2022. GSK plc was founded in 1715 and is headquartered in Brentford, the United Kingdom.
Storm Nate: At least 22 dead in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras

Tropical Storm Nate has killed at least 22 people in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras before it moves north towards the US, BBC reported.
Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. engages in designing, building, overhauling, and repairing military ships in the United States. It operates through three segments: Ingalls Shipbuilding, Newport News Shipbuilding, and Technical Solutions. The company is involved in the design and construction of non-nuclear ships comprising amphibious assault ships; expeditionary warfare ships; surface combatants; and national security cutters for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. It also provides nuclear-powered ships, such as aircraft carriers and submarines, as well as refueling and overhaul, and inactivation services of ships. In addition, the company offers naval nuclear support services, including fleet services comprising design, construction, maintenance, and disposal activities for in-service the U.S. Navy nuclear ships; and maintenance services on nuclear reactor prototypes. Further, it provides life-cycle sustainment services to the U.S. Navy fleet and other maritime customers; high-end information technology and mission-based solutions for Department of Defense (DoD), intelligence, and federal civilian customers; nuclear management and operations and environmental management services for the Department of Energy, DoD, state and local governments, and private sector companies; defense and federal solutions; and unmanned systems. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Newport News, Virginia.
Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. provides technical, professional, and construction services. The company's Aerospace, Technology, Environmental and Nuclear segment offers scientific, engineering, construction, nuclear, environmental, and technical support services to the aerospace, defense, technical, and automotive industries. Its Buildings, Infrastructure and Advanced Facilities segment develops/rehabilitates plans for highways, bridges, transit, tunnels, airports, railroads, intermodal facilities, and maritime or port projects; develops or rehabilitates critical water resource systems, water/wastewater conveyance systems, and flood defense projects; and provides engineering design, construction management, design build, and operations and maintenance. This segment also designs and constructs buildings; offers consulting, engineering, procurement, construction management, and delivery services for life sciences clients; and provides services relating to modular construction and other consulting and strategic planning services, as well as offers services in containment, barrier technology, locally controlled environments, building systems automation, off-the-site design, and fabrication of facility modules. The company's Energy, Chemicals and Resources segment offers services relating to onshore and offshore oil and gas production facilities, processing facilities, gathering systems, and transmission pipelines and terminals; feasibility/economic studies, technology evaluation, conceptual engineering, front end loading, detailed engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, and commissioning services; and engineering, procurement, and construction solutions. This segment also provides services, such as manufacturing complex, expansions, modifications, and management of plant relocations; construction management and field construction services; and services to operate and maintain facilities. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Penske Automotive Group, Inc., a diversified transportation services company, operates automotive and commercial truck dealerships. The company operates through four segments: Retail Automotive, Retail Commercial Truck, Other, and Non-Automotive Investments. It operates dealerships under franchise agreements with various automotive manufacturers and distributors. The company engages in the sale of new and used motor vehicles, and related products and services comprise vehicle and collision repair services, as well as placement of finance and lease contracts, third-party insurance products, and other aftermarket products; and wholesale of parts. It also operates a heavy and medium duty truck dealership, which offers Freightliner and Western Star branded trucks, as well as a range of used trucks, and maintenance and repair services. In addition, it imports and distributes Western Star heavy-duty trucks, MAN heavy and medium duty trucks, buses, and Dennis Eagle refuse collection vehicles with associated parts in Australia, New Zealand, and portions of the Pacific. Further, the company distributes diesel and gas engines, and power systems. The company operates 320 retail automotive franchises, including 146 franchises located in the United States and 174 franchises located outside of the United States; 23 CarShop used vehicle dealerships in the United States and the United Kingdom; and 37 commercial truck dealerships in Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Georgia, Utah, Idaho, Kansas, Missouri, and Oregon, as well as Canada. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1990 and is headquartered in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
The following companies are subsidiares of Quanta Services: (De) Lazy Q Ranch LLC, 1 Diamond LLC, 1Diamond AS, 618232 Alberta Ltd., 8246408 Canada Inc., Advanced Electric Systems, Advanced Electric Systems LLC, Advanced Utility Testing & Maintenance LLC, Alexander Publications LLC, Allteck GP Ltd., Allteck Limited Partnership, Apprenticeship Programs Inc., Arby Construction, Arcanum Chemicals LLC, Arnett & Burgess Oil Field Construction Limited, Arnett & Burgess Pipeliners (Rockies) LLC, Arnett & Burgess Pipeliners Ltd., B&N Clearing and Environmental LLC, Banister Pipelines Constructors Corp., Banister Pipelines Constructors GP Ltd., Banister Pipelines Limited Partnership, Brent Woodward Inc., Brink Constructors Inc., Brink Constructors Inc. A Corporation Of South Dakota, Brown Engineering and Testing, CAT SPEC Ltd., CAT-SPEC Limited Partnership, CAT-SPEC Limited Partnership (Regd Name) CAT SPEC Ltd., CAT-Spec Limited Partnership, Canadian Utility Construction Corp., Cat Spec Limited LP, Cat Spec Ltd, Cat Spec Ltd. L.P., Cat Spec Ltd. LP, Cat Spec. Ltd. LP, Cat-Spec Ltd (A Domestic limited Partnership), Cat-Spec Ltd LP, Cat-Spec Ltd., Cat-Spec Ltd. L.P., Cat-Spec Ltd. LP, Cat-Spec Ltd. Limited Partnership, Catalyst Changers Inc., Chatham Electric, Citadel Industrial Services L.P., Citadel Industrial Services Ltd., Citadel Industrial Services Ltd. L.P., Citadel Industrial Services Ltd. Limited Partnership, Coe Drilling Pty Ltd., Computapole, Conam Construction Co., Consolidated Power Projects Australia Pty Ltd, Conti Communications Inc., Crux Subsurface Canada Ltd., Crux Subsurface Inc., Cutting Technology - 1 Diamond LLC, DB Utilities Inc., DE Lazy Q Ranch LLC, DNR Pressure Welding Ltd., Dacon Corporation, Dashiell (DE) Corporation (Dashiell Corporation), Dashiell Corporation, Dashiell Corporation DBA Dashiell (DE) Corporation, De Mears Group, De Mears Group Inc., Delaware Quanta Technology LLC, Delaware Underground Construction Co., Didado Utility Company Inc., Digco Utility Construction L.P. Digco Utility Construction Limited Partnership, Dorado Specialty Services L.P., Dorado Specialty Services Ltd., Dorado Specialty Services Ltd. L.P., Dorado Specialty Services Ltd. Limited Partnership, Dorado Specialty Services. Ltd. L.P., Driftwood Electrical Contractors, EHV Power ULC, ELITE PIPING & CIVIL L.P., ELITE TURNAROUND SPECIALISTS LTD, Elite Fabrication Ltd. Elite Fabrication LP, Elite Piping & Civil Limited Partnership, Elite Piping & Civil Limited Partnership, Elite Piping & Civil Lp, Elite Piping & Civil Ltd L.P., Elite Piping & Civil Ltd., Elite Piping & Civil Ltd. L.P., Elite Piping & Civil Ltd. Limited Partnership, Elite Piping and Civil L.P., Elite Turnaround Specialists L.p., Elite Turnaround Specialists Limited Lp, Elite Turnaround Specialists Limited Partnership, Elite Turnaround Specialists Limited Partnership, Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd Lp, Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd., Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd. L.P., Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd. LP, Elite Turnaround Specialists Ltd. Limited Partnership, Energy Consulting Group LLC, Enscope, Enscope Pty Ltd, FIC GP LLC, Field Personnel Services LLC, First Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC, First Infrastructure Capital GP L.P., Five Points Construction Co., G-Tek, G-Vac, GEM Engineering Co., Grand Electric Inc., Great Lakes Line Builders, Grid Creative Inc., Grid Manufacturing Corporation, Grid Training Corporation, H.L. Chapman Pipeline Construction Inc., Haverfield Aviation, Haverfield Aviation Inc., Haverfield International Incorporated, Heritage Midstream LLC, IM Electric Inc., IUC ILLINOIS LLC, IUC Nebraska LLC, InfraSource Construction LLC, InfraSource Field Services LLC, InfraSource Services LLC, InfraSources Construction LLC, Infraestructura ETP de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V, Infrasource Engineering Company PC, Infrasource Iowa Underground LLC, Infrasource Of Pa LLC, Integracion Tecnologica del Peru SAC, Intermountain Electric Inc., Intermountain Electric Inc. A Corporation of Colorado, IonEarth LLC, Irby Construction Company, Irby Construction Company Inc., Iron Mountain M.J. Electric LLC, Island Mechanical Corporation, J.C.R. Construction Co. Inc., J.C.R. Utility Construction Co., J.W. Didado Electric Inc., J.W. Didado Electric LLC, J.w. Didado Electric, JBT Electric LLC, Kingston Contracting Inc., Lazy Q Ranch LLC, Lazy Q Training Center LLC The Lazy Q Lineman School, Legend Foundation Services, Lex Engineering Ltd., Lindsey Electric L.P., Logical Link, Longfellow Drilling, M. G. Dyess Inc., M. J. ELECTRIC LLC IRON MOUNTAIN, M. J. Electric LLC, M. J. Electric LLC - Iron Mountain, M. J. Electric LLC DBA M. J. Electric Iron Mountain LLC, M.J. Electric LLC DBA M.J. Electric Iron Mountain, M.J. Electric LLC Iron Mountain, MTS Field Services, MTS Field Services (Richmond Co), MTS Quanta LLC, Manuel Bros. Inc., Marathon Construction Services, Mears Canada Corp., Mears Equipment Services LLC, Mears Group Inc., Mears Group Pty Ltd, Mears Installation LLC, Mearsmex S. de R.L. de C.V., Mejia Personnel Services LLC, Mercer Technical Services, Microline Technology Corporation, Mid America Energy Services Inc., NACAP Niugini Ltd., NC Northstar Energy Services Inc, NGI Construction, NGI Construction Inc., NGI Construction Inc. (FN), NLC CA. Inc., NLC FL. Inc. Northwest Lineman Center, NLC ID. Inc. Northwest Lineman College, NLC TX. Inc., NPC Energy Services LLC, Nacap Australia, Nacap PNG Limited, Network Communication Services, North Houston Pole Line L.P., North Houston Pole Line Limited Partnership, North Sky Communications, NorthStar Energy Services Inc., Northern Powerline Constructors Inc., Northstar Energy Solutions LLC, Northwest Lineman Center, Northwest Lineman College, Northwest Lineman Training Center, Northwest Lineman Training Center Inc., Nova Constructors LLC, Nova Constructors LTD, Nova Equipment Leasing LLC, Nova Group Inc, Nova Group Inc (CA), Nova Group Inc., Nova Group Inc. DBA NGI Construction, Nova NextGen Solutions LLC, O. J. Pipelines Canada Corporation, O. J. Pipelines Canada Limited Partnership, O.J. Industrial Maintenance, O.J. Pipelines Canada, One Call Locators Canada Ltd., P.D.G. Electric, PAR Electrical Contractors Inc., PDG Electric Co., Par Internacional S. de R.L. de C.V., Performance Energy Services Guyana Ltd., Performance Energy Services L.L.C., Phasor Engineering Inc., Phoenix North Constructors Inc., Phoenix Power Group Inc., Potelco Inc., Potelco Incorporated, Power Delivery Program Inc., Price Gregory International Inc., Price Gregory Services LLC, Probst Construction Inc., Probst Electric Inc., QEPC, QEPC Power Solutions LLC, QES GP LLC, QP Energy Services LLC, QPS Engineering LLC, QPS Engineering LTD., QPS Engineering PLLC, QPS Environmental, QPS Flint Construction, QPS Flint Tank Services, QPS Global, QPS Global Services, QPS Global Services (Richmond Ci), QPS Professional Services, QPSE, QS Mats, QSI Engineering Inc., QSI Finance (Australia) Pty Ltd., QSI Finance (Cayman) Pvt. Ltd., QSI Finance Canada ULC, QSI Finance GP (US) LLC, QSI Finance I (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., QSI Finance I (US) LP, QSI Finance II (Australia) Pty Ltd., QSI Finance II (Lux) S.a r.l, QSI Finance II (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., QSI Finance III (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance III (Lux) SARL, QSI Finance IV (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance IX (Canada) Limited Partnership, QSI Finance V (US) L.P., QSI Finance VI (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance VII (Canada) Limited Partnership, QSI Finance VIII (Canada) ULC, QSI Finance X (Canada) ULC, QSI Inc., QSN Lux Holdings I SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings II SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings III SCSp, QSN Lux Holdings IV SCSp, QTSL LLC, QUANTA FOUNDATION SERVICES, Quanta APL GP II Ltd., Quanta Asset Management LLC, Quanta Associates L.P., Quanta Aviation Services LLC, Quanta Canada GP ULC, Quanta Canada Holdings III Limited Partnership, Quanta Canada Holdings LP, Quanta Canada III GP Ltd., Quanta Capital GP LLC, Quanta Capital LP L.P., Quanta Capital Solutions Inc., Quanta Cares, Quanta EPC Services, Quanta Electric Power Construction LLC, Quanta Electric Power Construction Management Inc., Quanta Electric Power Services LLC, Quanta Electric Power Services West LLC, Quanta Energized Innovations Ltd., Quanta Energized Services U.S. LLC, Quanta Energized Services of Canada Ltd., Quanta Energy Services LLC, Quanta Environmental Solutions, Quanta Equipment Company LLC, Quanta Government Solutions Inc., Quanta Holdings I (Netherlands) B.V., Quanta Holdings II (Netherlands) B.V., Quanta Infraestructura de Chile SpA, Quanta Infrastructure Services LLC, Quanta Infrastructure Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Quanta Inline Devices LLC, Quanta Inspection Services, Quanta Insurance Company Inc., Quanta International Holdings (US) LLC, Quanta International Holdings II Ltd., Quanta International Holdings Ltd., Quanta International Limited, Quanta Kingsvale LP Ltd., Quanta Lines Pty Ltd., Quanta Maine Services LLC, Quanta Middle East LLC, Quanta Pipeline Services Inc., Quanta Power Australia Pty Ltd, Quanta Power Generation Inc., Quanta Power Inc., Quanta Power Solutions India Private Limited, Quanta Resource Development, Quanta Services Africa (PTY) Ltd., Quanta Services Australia Pty Ltd., Quanta Services Chile SpA, Quanta Services Colombia S.A.S., Quanta Services Costa Rica Ltda., Quanta Services Guatemala Ltda., Quanta Services International Holdings II LP, Quanta Services International Holdings LP, Quanta Services Management Partnership L.P., Quanta Services Netherlands B.V., Quanta Services Panama S. de R.L., Quanta Services Peru S.A.C., Quanta Services Puerto Rico LLC, Quanta Services of Canada Ltd., Quanta Subsurface Canada Ltd., Quanta Subsurface LLC, Quanta Tank Services, Quanta Technology Canada ULC, Quanta Technology LLC, Quanta Technology UK Ltd., Quanta Tecnologia do Brasil Ltda., Quanta Telecom, Quanta Telecom Services, Quanta Telecommunication Services, Quanta Telecommunication Services LLC, Quanta Telecommunications Services LLC, Quanta Underground Services, Quanta Underground Services (Culpeper Co), Quanta Underground Services (Spotsylvania Co), Quanta Underground Services Inc., Quanta Utility Engineering Services Inc., Quanta Utility Installation Company Inc., Quanta Utility Operation LLC, Quanta West LLC, Quantecua Cia. Ltda., R. R. Cassidy Inc., RMS Holdings LLC, RMS Holdings LLC (Delaware), RMS Welding Systems, RMS Welding Systems LLC, Ranger Directional, Realtime Engineers Inc., Realtime Utility Engineers Inc., Redes Andinas de Comunicaciones S.R.L., Riggin & Diggin Line Construction, Rms Welding LLC, Rms Welding Systems LLC, Road Bore Corporation, Ryan Company Inc. The, Ryan Company Inc. of Massachusetts, Ryan Company Inc.(The), Seaward, Seaward Corp, Seaward Corporation, Service EC (DE) Inc., Service Electric Company (DE), Service Electric Company Inc., Service Electric Company of Delaware, Servicios Par Electric S. de R.L. de C.V., Servicios de Infraestructura del Peru S.A.C., Southwest Trenching Company Inc., Specialty Tank Services L.P., Specialty Tank Services LP, Specialty Tank Services Limited Partnership, Specialty Tank Services Limited Partnership, Specialty Tank Services Ltd., Specialty Tank Services Ltd. (LP), Specialty Tank Services Ltd. L.P., Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, Specialty Tank Services Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold General LLC, Stronghold Holdings (BVI) Limited, Stronghold Inspection L.P., Stronghold Inspection Limited Partnership, Stronghold Inspection Limited Partnership, Stronghold Inspection Lp, Stronghold Inspection Ltd L.P., Stronghold Inspection Ltd., Stronghold Inspection Ltd. L.P., Stronghold Inspection Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Limited Partnership, Stronghold Ltd., Stronghold Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Management Holdings LP, Stronghold Specialty General LLC, Stronghold Specialty Ltd., Stronghold Specialty Ltd., Stronghold Specialty Ltd. Limited Partnership, Stronghold Tower Group LP, Stronghold Tower Group Ltd LP, Stronghold Tower Group Ltd., Stronghold Tower Group Ltd. LP, Stronghold VI LLC, Subterra Damage Prevention Specialists Ltd., Summit Line Construction, Sumter Utilities Inc., T. G. Mercer Consulting Services Inc., TA Construction, TC Infrastructure Services Ltd., Taylor Built, Texas Specialty Tank Services Ltd. LP, The Aspen Utility Company LLC, The ComTran Group Inc., The Hallen Construction Co. Inc., The Massachusetts Ryan Company Inc., The Ryan Company Inc Of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Inc., The Ryan Company Inc. (Massachusetts), The Ryan Company Inc. of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Incorporated of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company Of Massachusetts Inc., The Ryan Company of Massachusetts, The Ryan Company of Massachusetts (FN), Tom Allen Construction Company Inc., Tom Allen Construction Company of Delaware, Trans Tech Electric, TurnKey Automation Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Ltd., TurnKey Automation Ltd. Limited Partnership, TurnKey Automation Ltd. Limited Partnership, TurnKey I&E Ltd., Turnkey Automation Ltd. L.P., Turnkey Automation Ltd. LP., UCC Underground Construction Co. Inc., Ucc - Underground Construction Co., Underground Construction Co. Inc., Underground Construction Co. Inc. (Delaware), Underground Electric Construction Company LLC, Utilco Inc., Utility Fleet Services, Utility Line Management Services Inc., Utility Testing & Maintenance LLC, Utility Training Services Corporation, VALARD Polska sp. Z o.o., Valard, Valard, Valard Construction (Ontario) Ltd., Valard Construction (Quebec) Inc., Valard Construction 2008 Ltd., Valard Construction Australia Pty Ltd, Valard Construction LLC, Valard Equipment (AB) Ltd., Valard Equipment GP Ltd., Valard Equipment Limited Partnership, Valard Geomatics (Ontario) Ltd., Valard Geomatics BC Ltd., Valard Geomatics Ltd., Valard Mechanical Ltd., Valard Norway AS, Valard Sweden AB, Valard Zagreb d. o. o., Wade D. Taylor Inc., West Coast Communications, Winco Helicopters, Winco Inc., Winco Inc. an Oregon Based Corporation, Winco Powerline Services, Winco Powerline Services Inc., Winco Powerline Services Inc., Winco Services Inc., World Fiber Inc., and mmit Line Construction Inc..

Read More
Robert Half International Inc. provides staffing and risk consulting services in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. The company operates through three segments: Temporary and Consultant Staffing, Permanent Placement Staffing, and Risk Consulting and Internal Audit Services. It places temporary services for accounting, finance, and bookkeeping; temporary and full-time office and administrative personnel consisting of executive and administrative assistants, receptionists, and customer service representatives; full-time accounting, financial, tax, and accounting operations personnel; and information technology contract professionals and full-time employees in the areas of platform systems integration to end-user technical and desktop support, including specialists in application development, networking and cloud, systems integration and deployment, database design and administration, and security and business continuity. The company also offers temporary and full-time employees in attorney, paralegal, legal administrative, and legal secretarial positions; and senior-level project professionals in the accounting and finance fields for financial systems conversions, expansion into new markets, business process re-engineering, business systems performance improvement, and post-merger financial consolidation. It is involved in serving professionals in the areas of creative, design, marketing, advertising, and public relations; and placing various positions, such as creative directors, graphics designers, web designers, media buyers, front end developers, copywriters, digital marketing managers, marketing analytics specialists, brand managers, and public relations specialists. The company provides internal audit, technology consulting, risk and compliance consulting, and business performance services. It serves clients and employment candidates. Robert Half International Inc. was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.
Sunoco LP, together with its subsidiaries, distributes and retails motor fuels in the United States. It operates in two segments, Fuel Distribution and Marketing, and All Other. The Fuel Distribution and Marketing segment purchases motor fuel from independent refiners and oil companies and supplies it to independently operated dealer stations, distributors and other consumer of motor fuel, and partnership operated stations, as well as to commission agent locations. The All Other segment operates retail stores that offer motor fuel, merchandise, foodservice, and other services that include credit card processing, car washes, lottery, automated teller machines, money orders, prepaid phone cards, and wireless services. It also leases and subleases real estate properties; and operates terminal facilities on the Hawaiian Islands. As of December 31, 2021, the company operated 78 retail stores in Hawaii and New Jersey. Sunoco GP LLC serves as the general partner of the company. The company was formerly known as Susser Petroleum Partners LP and changed its name to Sunoco LP in October 2014. Sunoco LP was founded in 1886 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
The following companies are subsidiares of TransDigm Group: 17111 Waterview Pkwy LLC, ARA Deutschland GmbH, ARA Holding GmbH, Acme Aerospace, Acme Aerospace Inc., Adams Rite Aerospace GmbH, Adams Rite Aerospace Inc., Advanced Inflatable Products Limited, Aero-Instruments, AeroControlex Group Inc., Aerosonic, Aerosonic LLC, Air-Sea Survival Equipment Trustee Limited, Airborne Acquisition Inc., Airborne Global Inc., Airborne Holdings Inc., Airborne Systems, Airborne Systems Canada Ltd., Airborne Systems Group Limited, Airborne Systems Holdings Limited, Airborne Systems Limited, Airborne Systems NA Inc., Airborne Systems North America Inc., Airborne Systems North America of CA Inc., Airborne Systems North America of NJ Inc., Airborne Systems Pension Trust Limited, Airborne UK Acquisition Limited, Airborne UK Parent Limited, Aircraft Materials Limited, AmSafe, AmSafe Aviation (Chongqing) Ltd., AmSafe Bridport (Kunshan) Co. Ltd., AmSafe Bridport (Private) Ltd., AmSafe Bridport Ltd., AmSafe Global Holdings Inc., AmSafe Global Services (Private) Limited, AmSafe Inc., Angus Electronics Co., Arkwin Industries, Arkwin Industries Inc., Armtec Countermeasures Co., Armtec Countermeasures TNO Co., Armtec Defense Products Co., Auxitrol SAS, Auxitrol Weston Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Auxitrol Weston Services China Ltd., Auxitrol Weston Singapore Pte. Ltd., Auxitrol Weston USA Inc., Aviation Technologies, Aviation Technologies Inc., Avionic Instruments LLC, Avionics Instruments, Avionics Specialties Inc., AvtechTyee Inc., Beta Transformer Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Beta Transformer Technology Corporation, Beta Transformer Technology LLC, Breeze-Eastern Corporation, Breeze-Eastern LLC, Bridport Erie Aviation Inc., Bridport Holdings Inc., Bridport Ltd., Bridport-Air Carrier Inc., Bruce Aerospace Inc., Bruce Industries, CDA InterCorp LLC, CEF Industries LLC, CMC Electronics Aurora LLC, CMC Electronics Inc., CMC Electronics ME Inc., Champion Aerospace LLC, Chelton Avionics Holdings Inc., Chelton Avionics Inc., Chelton Limited, Cobham Aero Connectivity, Cobham CTS Limited, Cobham Defence Communications Limited, Cobham Defense Products Inc., DART Aerospace, DDC Electronics K.K., DDC Electronics Ltd., DDC Electronics Private Limited, DDC Electronique S.A.R.L., DDC Elektronik GmbH, Darchem Engineering Limited, Darchem Holdings Limited, Data Device Corp., Data Device Corporation, Dukes Aerospace Inc., EST Defence Company UK Limited, Edlaw Limited, Electromech Technologies LLC, Elektro-Metall Export GmbH, Elektro-Metall Paks KFT, Esterline, Esterline Acquisition Ltd, Esterline Europe Company LLC, Esterline Foreign Sales Corporation, Esterline International Company, Esterline Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Esterline Technologies Corporation, Esterline Technologies Corporation, Esterline Technologies Europe Limited, Esterline Technologies France Holding SAS, Esterline Technologies French Acquisition Limited, Esterline Technologies Global Limited, Esterline Technologies Holdings Limited, Esterline Technologies SGIP LLC, Esterline Technologies Unlimited, Esterline do Brasil Assessoria e Intermediacao Ltda, European Antennas Limited, Extant Components Group Holdings Inc., Extant Components Group Intermediate Inc., GQ Parachutes Limited, Guizhou Leach-Tianyi Aviation Electrical Company Ltd, Harco, HarcoSemco LLC, Hartwell Corporation, Hytek Finishes Co., ILC Holdings Inc., IRVIN AEROSPACE LIMITED, IrvinGQ France SAS, IrvinGQ Limited, Janco Corporation, Johnson Liverpool LLC, Kirkhill Elastomers, Kirkhill Inc., Korry Electronics Co., Kunshan Shield Restraint Systems Ltd., Leach Holding Corporation, Leach International Asia-Pacific Ltd, Leach International Corporation, Leach International Europe S.A.S., Leach International Germany GmbH, Leach International Mexico S. de R. L. de C. V., Leach International UK Ltd, Leach Mexico Holding LLC, Leach Technology Group Inc., MarathonNorco Aerospace Inc., Mason Electric Co., Mastsystem Int'l Oy, McKechnie Aerospace, McKechnie Aerospace (Europe) Ltd., McKechnie Aerospace DE Inc., McKechnie Aerospace DE LP, McKechnie Aerospace Holdings Inc., McKechnie Aerospace US LLC, Mecanismos de Matamoros S. de R.L. de C.V., NAT Seattle Inc., NMC Group Inc., Norco, Nordisk Asia Pacific Limited, Nordisk Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, Nordisk Aviation Products (Kunshan) Ltd., Nordisk Aviation Products AS, Nordisk Aviation Products LLC, North Hills Signal Processing Corp., North Hills Signal Processing Overseas LLC, Norwich Aero Products Inc., Palomar Products Inc., Pexco Aerospace, Pexco Aerospace Inc., PneuDraulics, PneuDraulics Inc., Pressure Systems International Ltd, Schneller, Schneller Asia Pte. Ltd., Schneller LLC, Schneller S.A.R.L., Schroth Safety Products, Semco Instruments, Semco Instruments Inc., Shield Restraint Systems Inc., Shield Restraint Systems Ltd., Signal Processing Matamoros S.A. de C.V., Skandia, Skandia Inc., Skurka Aerospace, Skurka Aerospace Inc., Symetrics Industries, Symetrics Industries LLC, Symetrics Technology Group LLC, TA Aerospace Co., TA Mfg Limited, TDG Bavaria GmbH, TDG ESL Holdings Inc., TDG France Ultimate Parent SAS, TDG Germany GmbH, TEAC Aerospace Holdings Inc., TEAC Aerospace Technologies Inc., Tactair Fluid Controls Inc., Takata Protection Systems, Telair International, Telair International GmbH, Telair International Services PTE Ltd, Telair US LLC, TransDigm (Barbados) SRL, TransDigm Canada ULC, TransDigm European Holdings Limited, TransDigm Ireland Ltd., TransDigm Receivables LLC, TransDigm Technologies India Private Limited, TransDigm UK Holdings plc, Transicoil (Malaysia) Sendirian Berhad, Transicoil LLC, Wallop Defence UK Limited, Weston Aerospace Ltd, Whippany Actuation Systems, Whippany Actuation Systems LLC, XCEL Power Systems Ltd., Young & Franklin, Young & Franklin Inc., and exas Rotronics Inc..

Read More
ALLETE, Inc. operates as an energy company. The company operates through Regulated Operations, ALLETE Clean Energy, and Corporate and Other segments. It generates electricity from coal-fired, biomass co-fired / natural gas, hydroelectric, wind, and solar. The company provides regulated utility electric services in northwestern Wisconsin to approximately 15,000 electric customers, 13,000 natural gas customers, and 10,000 water customers, as well as regulated utility electric services in northeastern Minnesota to approximately 145,000 retail customers and 15 non-affiliated municipal customers. It also owns and maintains electric transmission assets in Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and Illinois. In addition, the company focuses on developing, acquiring, and operating clean and renewable energy projects; and owns and operates approximately 1,000 megawatts of wind energy generation facility. Further, it is involved in the coal mining operations in North Dakota; and real estate investment activities in Florida. The company owns and operates 158 substations with a total capacity of 10,066 megavolt amperes. It serves taconite mining, paper, pulp and secondary wood products, pipeline, and other industries. The company was formerly known as Minnesota Power, Inc. and changed its name to ALLETE, Inc. in May 2001. ALLETE, Inc. was incorporated in 1906 and is headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota.
Hundreds of people from across the Dal community brightened up an otherwise grey, rainy Thursday by donning pink as a show of respect and inclusion for faculty, staff and students.

Events were held across all Dal's four campuses throughout the day to mark Pink Day, a flagship initiative that happens each year as part of the university's broader Respect Week activities.

Read also: Fostering inclusion, together: Celebrating Respect Week 2017

On the Carleton and Sexton campuses in Halifax as well as the Agricultural Campus in Truro, staff, faculty and students gathered for cupcakes and apples in the morning.



Celebrating Pink Day in the Tupper.



Those events were followed by the Pink Day BBQ on Studley Campus. Soggy weather drove people inside to the Studley Gym for the event, which included food, musical performances and speeches.

A show of respect





"We can't be a great institution without great people, and you can't get the best people and the best ideas without being open and welcoming to all," said Dal President Richard Florizone in remarks at the event. "If you exclude anyone, you are weakening the institution."

The president thanked the many advocates for diversity and inclusion gathered in the gym, including Respect Week committee chairs Shakira Weatherdon of Dal's Human Rights and Equity Services office and Janice MacInnis of Human Resources, for helping make a real difference at Dal.

"We've been together when we've made symbolic changes like permanently installing the Mi'kmaq Grand Council Flag, you've been along when we've made programmatic changes like our Elders-in-Residence program that has been such a huge success," he said.

Deb Eisan, one of Dal's Elders, provided an opening prayer at the gathering.

Coming together



Dal held its first Pink Day in 2009, an event inspired by the story of two Nova Scotian junior high students who encouraged their peers to wear pink in support for a classmate who had been bullied after wearing pink on the first day of school. Other organizations across Canada and the world have since launched similar events as part of anti-bullying advocacy efforts, and Dal decided three years ago to expand its own day into a full week of educational workshops and other activities.

Attendees at the BBQ also heard from Amina Abawajy, president of the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU), who spoke about the common thread of respect uniting all in attendance.

"When we come together with respect at the core of how we interact, we are actively creating a stronger society that encourages diversity of thought and different ways of knowing and learning," she said. "And when we can work harmoniously with people of different experiences, skin colour, religion, education, orientation, birthplace and privilege, we create something unique and valuable."



Stomp! perfoms at the Pink Day BBQ.

As people enjoyed burgers, hot dogs and other food provided by the Dalhousie University Club, they were treated to a performance by Stomp!, a local dance group created to help empower African Nova Scotian students at Oxford Junior High and Citadel High through a traditional rhythmic style of dance called "stomping." The group performed several dances, including one in which each member stepped forward with a verse in honour of a different African Nova Scotian hero.

A team effort



Staff members from Dal's Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) office seemed particularly enthusiastic with their outfits, donning hot-pink capes, cowboy hats and leis.



The Dal EHS team.

Sarah Langille, who has been with the EHS team for about two-and-a-half years, says dressing up is something the group looks forward to each year.

"It's a team initiative to help promote respect and inclusion," she says, "and we are looking to keep the excitement going around this important issue."

This year's Respect Week activities wrap up on campus Friday. For more information, visit: dal.ca/respect



Celebrating Pink Day at the BBQ.
Mayors, officers and other dignitaries from more than a dozen cities from around the world were on campus Wednesday morning to learn about research and innovation at Dalhousie, with particular emphasis on the energy sector.

The occasion was the Core Energy Conference hosted in collaboration with the World Energy Cities Partnership (WECP), a multinational partnership comprised of 19 of the worlds leading energy capitals. The WECPs member cities include Canadian hubs like Halifax, Calgary and St. Johns alongside international cities like Rio de Janerio, Brazil; Cape Town, South Africa; Doha, Qatar; Houston, USA; and Daquing, Doha and Karamay, China.

Established in 1995, the WECP is dedicated to uniting the cities that collectively drive and shape the global energy sector. And it has a familiar face as its current president: Halifax Mayor Mike Savage, who enthusiastically welcomed conference attendees to his alma mater on Wednesday.

Dalhousie is the biggest university in Halifax, and this university is changing Halifax for the better, in so many different ways, said Mayor Savage prior to introducing Dal President Richard Florizone.

Human development needs reliable, affordable and clean sources of energy, said Dr. Florizone. And of course the way we collect, store and use that energy has tremendous impact on both the planet and its people its one of the top issues facing the world.

Pushing forward in research



The Dal visit, held in the atrium of the Steele Ocean Sciences Building, included a short presentation from Dr. Florizone and Mita Dasog. Dr. Dasog, a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry who recently was named one of the top 150 Canadian women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) by hEr volution, is working to develop materials to convert sunlight into chemical fuels.

We receive an entire years worth of energy on earths surface just in 80 minutes, said Dr. Dasog. The challenge, of course, is how to covert that into energy that can be stored and utilized. Dr. Dasogs lab focuses on a sort of artificial photosynthesis that could one day enable carbon-neutral production of fuel.

Hers was not the only research on display Wednesday. Filling the back of the atrium were posters from students and postdocs from several different labs on campus. These included Grant Wachs Basin and Reservoir Lab, which is is establishing Dalhousie as the beacon for petroleum geoscience research in the Maritimes; and the lab of Mark Obrovac, whose research team focuses on developing advanced high energy Lithium-ion batteries and "beyond Lithium" metal-ion battery chemistries.

Following the presentation, dignitaries had the opportunity to tour the exhibits and speak with researchers prior to returning to the rest of their days agenda.

Considering the future



In his remarks, Dr. Florizone also spoke of several other prominent Dalhousie research and innovation collaborations currently underway, including the world-leading, $225-million Ocean Frontier Institute and the Emera ideaHUB, the new incubator space being developed as part of the IDEA Project revitalization of Dals downtown Sexton campus.

Dr. Florizone also looked further into the future. He noted that as part of the Universities Canada #MyCanada2067 campaign, hed been asked for his views on what Canada might look like in 50 years.

His answer: a Canada that is intelligent (developing the ideas, knowledge and talent to build a better country and world); inclusive (creating communities where all truly belong, drawing on the diverse strengths of all peoples and reconciling with the past); and inspiring (built on creativity, courage and compassion, serving as a beacon for the world).

He felt these ideas  which he later shared on his Twitter account  offered important guideposts for the energy sector.

I encourage you to continue to build an intelligent industry, based on the best research and talent to deliver reliable, affordable, and clean energy to the world, Dr. Florizone told attendees. And make it inclusive  both in your employment practices, but also in building respectful partnerships with Indigenous peoples. If you do that, the global energy industry will be an inspiration  a beacon  for others.
October is Mikmaq History Month, which began Sunday, October 1 with Treaty Day in Nova Scotia  an occasion which commemorates the key role of treaties between The Nova Scotia Mikmaq and the Crown.

Learn more: Mikmaq History Month events on campus

In 2017, those treaties are still of great import, but they are joined by many other key documents shaping the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada.

In June 2015, for example, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) released its findings and 94 Calls to Action [PDF], spanning different sectors of Canadian society, all focused on redressing the legacy of residential schools and advance the process of reconciliation. Many of the Calls to Action focused on education.

Education is what got us into this mess  the use of education at least in terms of residential schools  but education is the key to reconciliation, said chair Murray Sinclair, just prior to the reports release. "We need to look at the way we are educating children. That's why we say that this is not an Aboriginal problem. It's a Canadian problem."

That means Canadian universities have a crucial role to play in the path towards reconciliation. The same month as the TRCs report, Universities Canada  the organization that represents 96 universities across Canada  released its 13 principles on Indigenous education. The principles are a guide of sorts to shape efforts to close the education gap that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.

Creating a university-wide strategy



Since then, both the Dalhousie Board of Governors and the Dalhousie Senate have formally endorsed the Universities Canada principles. And now, work is underway to develop a broader Indigenous Strategy for Dalhousie.

Patricia Doyle-Bedwell, a faculty member in the College of Continuing Education, is co-chair of the Indigenous Strategy steering committee, together with former Dean of Science Keith Taylor (professor of Mathematics and Statistics).

Im so happy that this is happening, says Prof. Doyle-Bedwell  speaking not just to the Indigenous Strategy process but invigorated efforts across the university to better support Indigenous education and research.

Im not expecting everything to change in a month or a year, but whats happened so far has been amazing.

In the past couple of years, Dalhousie has launched a minor program in Indigenous Studies; permanently raised the Mikmaq Grand Council Flag in both Halifax and Truro; launched the Elders-in-Residence program; improved the representation of Indigenous persons among faculty/staff; and hired its first full-time Indigenous Student Advisor. Later this month, the university will celebrate the opening of the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Legacy Room in the Killam Library, as well as a new National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR) Hub. [Editor's note, Oct. 12: These events have been postponed and wil be rescheduled for the near future.]

Providing a framework



The goal of the Indigenous Strategy steering committee is to develop a framework to guide the future work in all of these areas, as well as other new efforts across the university.

[This work] has been really brought to the forefront by the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission, their extensive report and their calls to action, explains Dr. Taylor, quite a few of which are aimed at higher education institutions to start a serious process to correct the lingering effects of the way indigenous peoples across the country have been treated.

Dalhousie is morally obliged, I think, to respond to those calls to action.

To help kick off its work, the steering committee invited two experts to host meetings across the university, taking stock of whats happening and make recommendations:

Marie Battiste , professor of education at the University of Saskatchewan, originally from the Potlotek First Nation. She is an internationally recognized Mikmaq scholar

, professor of education at the University of Saskatchewan, originally from the Potlotek First Nation. She is an internationally recognized Mikmaq scholar Michael DeGagne, president and Vice-Chancellor of Nipissing University. He is past director of the Aboriginal Healing Foundation.

The steering committee will review their recommendations and determine next steps.

For Prof. Doyle-Bedwell  the first Mikmaq woman to earn tenure at Dalhousie and past director of both Dals Transition Year Program and the Schulich School of Laws Indigenous Black and Mikmaq Initiative  the energy around Indigenous topics at Dalhousie is inspiring.

The interest is there, the recognition is there, she says. Now its up to all of us  Indigenous and non-Indigenous  to step up.
For two hours on the evening of October 3, six panelists with expertise around the legalization of cannabis in Canada met an almost full house in the McInnes Room at Dals Student Union Building. They were there to discuss the complex issues legalization raises and answer pressing questions from audience members, who lined up at three microphones for almost an hour during the Q&A.



Marijuana: Is Canada Ready? was offered in partnership with the Schulich School of Law, Genome Atlantic, Dals Faculty of Management and Dals Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Law school Dean Camille Cameron was the moderator, while the panel consisted of four Dal professors and two law school alumni:

McLellan, who spoke first, took issue with the use of the word marijuana in the events title. In her work on Canadas Task Force on Cannabis Legalization and Regulation, she and her colleagues considered marijuana to be slang and chose instead to refer to cannabis in their documentation. Lets treat this plant with the respect that it deserves, she said.



Responding to whether Canada is ready to legalize marijuana, which could be legislated as early as July 1, 2018, she said no, but added that nobody should be surprised or panicked at that. Government isnt ready right now, but is Canada getting ready? Yes, she said. Government has introduced legislation, work is being done behind the scenes, regulation is being drafted and working groups are in place bearing down on the details.

Watch: The full "Marijuana: Is Canada ready?" panel discussion





"We are now a nation in recovery"



Prof. Kaiser stated that Canada was ready to implement the legalization of marijuana. Indeed, we were poised to make this choice almost 100 years ago, but instead we took the wasteful, damaging, reflexive and self-defeating path of prohibition and punishment, he said. We are now a nation in recoverylegally, constitutionally and morally, ready to take the wiser, fairer and ultimately safer direction of legalization.



Over the years, Parliament, the courts and the police eagerly adopted the war metaphor the war on drugs, said Prof. Kaiser. Some of the effects of that war, he explained, are that prohibition has failed to reduce supply, demand and potency; enforcement has tended to unite users, addicts and organized crime; the public health dimensions of drug use have largely been ignored; and too many Canadians have been imprisoned and stigmatized.



There is a role for criminal law in the aftermath of the legalization of marijuana, said Kaiser, including ensuring that offenders of the newly configured law are penalized moderately and that possessors and small-scale growers are kept outside the grasp of the criminal law.





Dr. Denovan-Wright explained how cannabis affects brain function and said more research is needed to tell us about the risk of developing addiction. There is untapped medical potential with cannabis as well as potential harm, she cautioned.



Dr. Kelly pointed to the huge body of research supporting the therapeutic use of cannabis, which currently isnt an approved drug in Canada. We need more research and education for patients and health-care providers, she said, adding that we also need more user-friendly options besides smoking and edibles.



Dal survey cites Canadians support



Dr. Charlebois referenced a recent survey report he co-authored that revealed a healthy majority of Canadians support the legalization of recreational pot use but have concerns about childrens access to edible products containing cannabis. In fact, about 68 per cent of Canadians favour the legalization of non-medicinal marijuana, with the bulk of that support in British Columbia and Ontario.



People are willing to accept the legalization of non-medicinal marijuana, but at the same time they recognize societal risks related to doing so, said Dr. Charlebois. As a society, we need to do our job to make sure we legislate and regulate the right way.





Dexter, who discussed the legislation and regulatory processes, examined the challenges that legalization will pose, including supply medical and retail gaps, marketing and branding restrictions, price (including taxation), employee training, consumer experience and preparing for the edibles market. Theres plenty of work to do between now and July 1, he said.



McLellan mentioned that Canada is the only member country of the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to legalize cannabis.



The world is watching us, she said. Will we learn from others? Yes. Will there be surprises down the road? Yes. Theres a lot of work being done at both the federal and provincial levels to get ready, but Canada is getting ready.
Dalhousies Schulich School of Law isnt just a national leader in legal education  its an international one as well.

Times Higher Education (THE), one of the most prominent global university rankings, released four subject-specific rankings this week: business and economics, education, law, and social sciences. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings evaluate research-intensive universities across their core missions: teaching, research, citations, knowledge transfer, and international outlook.

The 2018 rankings mark the first time law has been included as a subject ranking, and the Schulich School of Law shot straight into the top 100  74th in the world, to be exact.

Read more: THE law rankings, 2018



Its also the first time Dalhousie has ranked in the top 100 in a THE subject-specific ranking.

A national and international leader



Dalhousies Schulich School of Law ranked sixth in the country  one of only nine Canadian law schools to be ranked in the top 100. In terms of the specific indicators that make up the THE ranking, the Schulich School of Law excels in academic citations, placing an impressive second in Canada and 12th in the world among law schools. It also ranked third in Canada for international outlook.

Its wonderful to see our school recognized in the Times Higher Education subject ranking for law, says Schulich School of Law Dean Camille Cameron.

While we have enjoyed an enviable reputation for nearly 135 years, what I especially love about our law school is that no one takes this reputation for granted  we are out there earning it anew every single day through our teaching, research, and public service. And we are future-focused, continually challenging ourselves to look for opportunities to raise the bar and to make a difference in the world around us."

Learn more about the Schulich School of Law at its website.
America Movils proposal to split its fixed business into a separate unit has been rejected by Mexicos regulator.

The Instituto Federal de Telecomunicaciones (IFT) ordered the market leading operator to spin off its fixed unit Telmex and set up a separate wholesale business as part of a drive to foster competition in the telecoms sector. America Movil is the leading provider of both fixed and mobile services in Mexico, with its market share in each sector topping 60%.

Having deemed America Movils initial proposal unsatisfactory, the regulator has given the operator thirty days to amend its plan so that it can ensure the effectiveness of the functional separation and the fulfilment of the objectives foreseen in the constitutional reform in telecommunications.

The regulator argued that ordering the break-up of America Movil into separate units would eliminate barriers identified in the telecommunications sector through the effective provision of wholesale services, in order to guarantee the access of all operators, under non-discriminatory conditions, to the necessary inputs for the development of the healthy competition and free competition.

The IFT has been pushing America Movil to shake up its business since 2014, when Mexico began addressing the issue of the operators overwhelming market dominance. The notion of spinning off America Movils fixed unit was raised by the regulator earlier this year, along with suggesting that the operator should update its wireless wholesale policies to facilitate the operating environment for MVNOs.

While America Movil stated in March this year that it would refuse to comply with the regulators orders, it seems to have backpedalled on this rhetoric, submitting the proposal to split from its fixed business.
Ecobank has partnered with Visa to launch Ecobank Scan+Pay with mVisa solutions to their consumers.

The strategic tie-up signals interoperability on a cross border level  and potentially huge gains  as it affords consumers with the ability to use their mobile phone to directly access the funds in their bank accounts to pay person-to-merchant (P2M) or person-to-person (P2P).



Ecobank Scan+Pay with mVisa delivers instant, secure cashless payment for goods and services by allowing customers to scan a QR code on a smartphone or enter a unique merchant identifying code into either a feature phone or smartphone. The payment goes straight from the consumers bank account into the merchants account and provides real-time notification to both parties. This serves to accelerate digital commerce and combat some of the challenges merchants have faced using traditional point of sale systems, including the cost of installation coupled with the requirement of electricity and internet connectivity.



Ecobank mVisa solutions also enable customers to send money instantly to any Visa cardholder worldwide. This is a major innovation that serves the need of Africans in the diaspora by enabling them to simply link their Visa card to the Ecobank unified mobile app to send money home to another Visa cardholder quickly and securely.



We are fulfilling our commitment to give every African the right to participate effectively in the global economy at an affordable price and in a convenient manner. Ecobank Scan+Pay with mVisa helps merchants  particularly small and micro merchants  to grow their sales without the risks of carrying cash whilst also giving consumers the ability to pay for goods and services in a cashless manner from their phones. Consumers can also conduct person-to-person payments and instantly transfer money to their friends and family via their phones at very low cost, said Ecobank Chief Executive Officer Ade Ayeyemi.



The partnership demonstrates both Ecobank and Visas continued commitment to provide financial services to the banked and unbanked in Africa by leveraging digital platforms to offer convenient and affordable payment mechanisms.



Andrew Torre, President for Visa Sub-Saharan Africa said, We are glad to partner with Ecobank to bring mVisa into the market, a mobile payment solution with real benefits to drive digital transformation backed by advantages of Visas global network - security, reliability and global acceptance, allowing consumers to make payments both domestically and internationally.
Apple is asking the government to wave off the local sourcing norms for setting up its own retail stores and is additionally seeking financial concessions.

The Indian government is considering exemption sought by Apple for setting up iPhone assembly units, reports Reuters. The announcement comes after the government approved Chinese smartphone maker Oppo's proposal to set up its own single-branded retail stores in the country.

Ramesh Abhishek, the top bureaucrat in the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion confirmed that the government is looking into Apple's request for exemption. The department is part of India's commerce and industry ministry. Apple is currently assembling iPhone SE, its cheapest iPhone here, with the help of contract manufacturer Wistron in Bengaluru. However, it wants to expand its local operations by setting up dedicated base for manufacturing in collaboration with Foxconn.

According to reports, Apple is seeking to expand its manufacturing operations and also set up its own retail stores. The Cupertino-based iPhone maker is asking the government to wave off the local sourcing norms for setting up its own retail stores and is additionally seeking financial concessions as well. Apple is said to have asked the government for a 15-year tax exemption on import of components and other equipments. Apple executives have met top government officials during the past year to seek concessions and details its local manufacturing plans.

The government has already relaxed the rules for setting up single-brand retail channels in the country. While single-brand store setup demands 30 percent loca; sourcing, technology companies can operate their stores for three years before meeting the norm. However, Apple wants more than relaxation and is demanding full exemption from this norm.

It is not evidently clear whether Apple will soon have its stores, also called as Town Square, in the country. One thing is clear, Apple might soon get the exemptiom it has been demanding from the government.
HMD Global has confirmed that the 3G variant of the Nokia 3310 will not be launching in India, however, the company may be considering a cheap Nokia-branded 4G feature phone.

HMD Global has confirmed that the Nokia 3310 3G variant which was launched back in September will not be heading to India. The same was exclusively reported by Nokiapoeruser. However, The company may be considering making a Nokia-branded 4G feature phone in light of the success and popularity of the JioPhone.

Ajey Mehta, Vice President of HMD Global, the company that holds the licence to make and sell Nokia-branded smartphones, strongly suggested plans to make an affordable Nokia 4G feature phone for India.

In an interview with ET, he said, JioPhone is definitely going to have impact on the segment, and there is no question about it. We are watching how this materialises. If we see a viable business proposition, we will definitely consider it and participate.

Mehtas statement suggests that Nokia might be looking to tap into the budget 4G feature phone segment if JioPhone manages to set the right example. The JioPhone is currently unavailable for pre-orders and while the company has promised shipments of 6 million devices by December of this year, we are yet to hear any reports of users receiving their pre-booked devices.

HMD Global recently launched the Nokia 8 in India and the device looks to be a strong competitor for the OnePlus 5. It will be interesting to see if the company can give Reliance Jio a run for its money if it launches an affordable 4G feature phone in India. The Nokia brand value should add to the popularity of such a device, if the company plans to develop one that is.
The Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are coming to India soon, joining the plethora of flagships that are already here. The question though is whether the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL stand a chance in a market thats already spoiled for choice. Googles smartphones are powerful, but so are its competitors, including the iPhone. Where then does the Pixel stand? Heres a quick look at the same.

State of the art cameras

Like last year, Google is focusing on cameras once again. That DXOMark score of 98 is formidable indeed, but we can only ascertain the Pixel 2s camera prowess once we review them. As things stand, the Galaxy Note 8 (review) has a great camera, as do the new iPhones. Google has promised a portrait mode with its single camera unit, but can software make up for hardware deficits?

AI infused

Google mentioned machine learning at almost every step in its hardware event. If anything, the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL are AI infused smartphones, which could become a double edged sword in practical terms.

As a rule, artificial intelligence is a developing field. Google has added elements like Google Lens to the devices, but theres no telling whether those features are ready for India yet. Will we end up getting an incomplete Pixel device here in the country? We wouldnt expect that from Google, but features like music recognition havent been available in India for years now, so we do hope things change this time around.

No bells and whistles

From our experience with the first Pixel phones last year, it was evident that the Pixel line was meant to be a functional, but high-end Android offering against the iPhone. This years Pixel 2 phones have slight changes in design and lots of nifty features. But they lack buzzwords like metallic or curved designs, dual-cameras and more. Will the functional approach win over the consumer this time?

We havent seen the Pixel 2 phones yet, but Googles hardware event gave us enough information to be excited about them. The problem is, just being dependable doesnt cut it in the flagship space anymore. It all comes down to whether the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL can dazzle consumers, even if it is with uber smooth Android performance.

Android Oreo out of the box

The Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL will become the second and third smartphones to run Oreo out of the box in the country. That gives them an edge over every Android phone out there, and its an important distinction to have in a market thats hamstrung by fragmentation.
Out-of-hospital services provider Totally announced on Friday that it has conditionally agreed to acquire the entire issued and to-be-issued share capital of urgent care services provider Vocare for a consideration of up to 11m on a cash-free and debt-free basis, with a normalised level of working capital.

The AIM-traded companys board said it believed that the acquisition marked a transformational step for Totally in the implementation of its stated buy-and-build strategy, as it looked to become a leader of 'out-of-hospital' care in a growing UK market estimated to be worth in excess of 20bn per year.

It described Vocare as one of the leading providers of integrated urgent care services to the NHS throughout the UK, including GP out-of-hours services, the NHS 111 service via its call centres and urgent care centres working in conjunction with NHS accident and emergency departments.

Vocare provides healthcare services to clinical commissioning groups covering approximately 9.2 million patients nationally, Totally confirmed.

The acquisition allows the group to obtain a foothold in the growing urgent care sector in the UK and the board believes it will provide the company with a strong and commercially attractive opportunity to grow the group and provide more comprehensive and national services in the out-of-hospital care sector, Totallys board said in its statement.

Vocare's integrated urgent care services offer synergies with Totally's existing subsidiary businesses and complement its business model of providing preventative and responsive healthcare in 'out-of-hospital' settings to improve people's health, reduce patient NHS healthcare reliance, readmissions and emergency admissions to hospital.

Totally said it would benefit from Vocare's innovative approach to the delivery of integrated urgent care services in the UK, which provided the whole care pathway for urgent care which its directors said they believed is rare for businesses operating in the urgent care sector.

[We] believe that there is increasing demand and significant market opportunity for urgent care services nationwide and a need to develop innovative delivery models to support the delivery of key NHS national performance targets, the board added.

Key publications such as Sir Bruce Keogh's Urgent and Emergency Care Review, which calls for the provision of urgent care services outside of hospitals, and NHS England's Commissioning Standards for Integrated Urgent Care  clearly demonstrate the potential market for Vocare's services.

The enlarged group would gain access to Vocare's established regional presence across the UK, opening up additional NHS partnerships and contracts and enhancing and diversifying its range of services to offer integrated healthcare solutions across the whole spectrum of out-of-hospital care.

Vocare has experienced substantial revenue growth with revenue growing from approximately 32.4m in the financial year ended 31 March 2015 to approximately 76.8m in the year ended 31 March 2017 - equivalent to 137% growth over the two financial years.

This revenue growth has been driven by Vocare securing substantial new contracts covering both NHS 111 services and urgent care, the board commented.

Totally's management said it anticipated expediting the turnaround in Vocare's quality of service following recent inspections and reports published by the Care Quality Commission concerning inadequacies in certain of Vocare services.
Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary penned an impassioned letter to the budget airline's pilots to offer better pay and conditions in a bid to stave off a potential exodus that could lead to further flight cancellations.

The plea came just two weeks after O'Leary accused his pilots of crying over spilt milk and being "full of their own self-importance" after the airline was forced to cancel thousands of flights in recent weeks due to problems with pilot rotas.

In his letter, which emerged late on Thursday, O'Leary promised a "brighter future" for Ryanair's pilots, imploring all 4,200 of them not to leave for "one of these less financially secure or Brexit-challenged airlines" such as Norwegian or the recently folded Monarch.

The chief executive's proposed changes included pay increases, loyalty bonus payments, improved rotas and better compensation for pilots who had been forced to operate away from their home base.

Last month, after cancelling thousands of flights due to "messing up" pilot rotas, the Dublin-based carrier offered captains a bonus of up to 12,000 and first officers 6,000 in an attempt to get them to cooperate, but pilots said they wanted better working conditions instead.

This Monday, the airline's pilots banded together to form an unofficial trade union, agreeing to coordinate against the airline's strategy of negotiating separately with employee representative committees and instead chose to form a central committee aimed at increasing their bargaining power.

O'Leary stressed in his letter that Ryanair was a "very secure employer" before referring to its pilots as "the best in the business", asking them to not let rivals or their unions "demean or disparage our collective success".

The missive highlighted the recent bankruptcies of Air Berlin, Alitalia and Monarch, in addition to financial difficulties faced by fellow budget airline, Norwegian Air.

Last Friday, less than an hour before the Friday deadline set by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the airline agreed to comply with demands to inform customers of their full compensation rights after flight cancelations and emailed the thousands of passengers affected to let them know they were entitled to be re-routed via other airlines.

Ryanair announced its first set of cancellations in mid-September when, in order to comply with new aviation rules relating to logbooks, it cut 2,100 flights as it rearranged pilots' rotas.

Later in September, the low-cost carrier cancelled a further 18,000 flights across the winter season, affecting more than 70,000 passengers in total.

Analysts at JP Morgan said while the cancellations would reduce near-term traffic targets, they would do very little in terms of long-term damage, suggesting the same was true of the impact to Ryanair's bottom line in the short-term, with fiscal year 2018 earnings now seen just 1% below the midpoint of the firm's unchanged guidance.

As of 0845 BST on Friday, shares had slipped just 0.41% to 16.90 each.
According to leaked documents, Iceland's current Prime Minister, Bjarni Benediktsson, sold nearly all of his assets in major Icelandic bank Glitnir 's investment fund on the same day the government took over the country's failing financial sector at the height of the 2008 crash.

Benediktsson, then a member of the parliament's economy and tax committee, disposed of millions of krona worth of assets just hours before an emergency law put control of Iceland's banks into state hands.

The PM had previously come under scrutiny as part of the so-called Panama Papers scandal where Benediktsson failed to disclose his shared 'power of attorney' over a Shell company called Falson and Co in the Seychelles that he allegedly used as a tax haven.

"I have not had any assets in tax havens or anything like that," he said in February 2015.

Former Prime Minister Sigmundur Davi resigned following the release of the papers after it was revealed that he failed to disclose to parliament his 50% share in US-based firm Wintris, paving the way for Benediktsson to fill his shoes.

Benediktsson has again claimed no wrongdoing, but with Iceland's 28 October election date approaching after his coalition collapsed in September over a scandal involving the PM's father and a convicted child sex offender, the new revelations were seen as yet another embarrassment for the Prime Minister.

According to new documents seen by the Guardian, other members of the prime minister's family sold assets in Glitnir's Sjour 9 fund prior to the state takeover.

Benediktsson admitted in 2016 that he had personally sold assets from the fund "at one point" before the bank's collapse "nothing that mattered." The leaked documents showed he had ISK 165m in the fund in March 2008.

The leaked documents indicated Benediktsson withdrew ISK 30m from the Sjour 9 fund on 2 October, four days before Iceland's Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA) took control of the bank, before further instructions for a sale of ISK 21m on 6 October.

Benediktsson's uncle was also said to have sold just over ISK 1bn on 6 October, with records suggesting he was in telephone contact with Glitnir executives on the day.

After the crash, Glitnir's board examined last-minute sales from the fund for any possible insider trading violations but took no action

In 2016, the FSA said it there was " reasonable suspicion that certain parties" had broken insider information laws in Sjour 9 sales, but the prosecutor, which said insider information cases were extremely hard to prove, took no action.
A state of emergency has been declared in central America after tropical storm Nate left at least 22 dead in Coast Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras as it heading north towards the US.

Nate, which is now forecast to become a hurricane by the time it reaches the northern Gulf of Mexico, caused violent rains, landslides and floods which led to blocked roads, destroyed bridges and damaged houses leading to the disappearance of further 20 people.

Meteorologists then predicted that the storm will make a landfall on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula late on Friday, ahead of gaining strength and turning into a category one hurricane and prior to hitting either Florida or Mississippi in the United States on Sunday.

The US National Hurricane Center said warnings had been issued for portions of the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama coastlines.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu declared a state of emergency overnight and advised residents to stay put over the weekend.

"There is no need to panic. Be ready and prepare. Get a plan. Prepare to protect your personal property," Landrieu tweeted.

While oil companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico said they were evacuating staff from platforms lying along the predicted path of the storm.

A Friday forecast from the NHC showed a wide predictive route for Nate but the central forecast is that it will head towards Florida or Mississippi.

"Reports from Air Force Reserve and NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds are now near 50 mph (85 km/h) with higher gusts," the report said.

"Additional strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days, and Nate is expected to become a hurricane by the time it reaches the northern Gulf of Mexico."
US President Donald Trump is preparing to decertify the Iran nuclear agreement, according to several US media reports.

Trump, who has previously described the deal as an embarrassment to the US, has repeatedly said the agreement is not beneficial to the country.

If Trump were to decertify the agreement, the decision would be left to Congress as to whether economic sanctions would be returned to Iran.

According to CNN, Trump will reveal the decision this week after he launched another attack on the countrys behaviour on Thursday.

"The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed, and chaos across the Middle East," Trump said. "That is why we must put an end to Iran's continued aggression and nuclear ambitions. They have not lived up to the spirit of their agreement."

According to the administration, Iran has complied with the 2015 accord which saw it scaling back its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May and her French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have both affirmed their support for the agreement, which must be certified every 90 days by all sides involved.
Former Conservative Party co-chairman Grant Shapps said on Friday that MP's were "perfectly within their rights" to request Theresa May to resign from her post as party leader after she'd "rolled the dice" on her snap election decision.

Shapps admitted to being one of the architects of a proposed leadership election aimed at unseating the Prime Minister, and said he had the backing of at least 30 fellow MPs despite many cabinet ministers rallying around May after her car-crash keynote address at the party conference was overshadowed by her continued coughing, falling letters and a fake P45 form handed to her "on behalf of Boris Johnson".

Former minister Ed Vaizey said he felt there were "quite a few people" who were "pretty firmly of the view that she should resign."

However, MP for Ashford Damian Green said it was "complete nonsense" to think that being ill or being interrupted by an "unfunny pillock" meant she wasn't the right person for the job.

Shapps, the rap music loving former housing minister, said he felt May was a "perfectly decent person" but told the BBC on Friday, "The time has come. You can't just carry on when things aren't working. The solution is not to bury heads in the sand."

While Shapps claimed to have the support of up to 30 MPs from "a broad spread" of ideologies, that included both Brexiteers and Remainers, a total of 48 MPs would be required to pen a letter to the chairman of the 1922 committee of Tory backbenchers to trigger the contest.

He said that his initial intention was to go to the PM directly and not involve the 1922 committee so as to "avoid embarrassment" for May, but the whips informed The Times instead.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd stood up for the PM, saying in a Daily Telegraph article, "We, Theresa May's government, want to [...] set out a better path, one that actually leads to a prosperous, secure and united country. We can do that and we will under her leadership. She should stay."

The Tories were said to be terrified that another leadership contest could lead to a resurgent Labour Party under Jeremy Corbyn winning power.

Even those unhappy with May would be operating on the basis that she was their least worst option and the likes of Johnson, whose desire to become PM himself was well documented, would only serve to hasten the Conservative's departure from government.

EFFECTS TO GBP

The pound has this week dropped by the most in a year, or "fallen out of bed" as London Capital Group analyst Jasper Lawler said, as a result of the fallout from the conference.

"MPs' confidence in Theresa May is at a low-point. But having made it through the poor election result, it would seem daft for her to quit, in effect because she had a cold. If May can hang on, the pound is due a correction of recent losses, at least against the euro," Lawler said.

Britain's ongoing political instability was proving the main drag on the pound, said Joshua Mahony, a market analyst at IG: "The instability seen throughout the UK has continued apace, with a lacklustre appearance from Theresa May leading to speculation that she could quit.

"As polls continue to show May losing ground on Corbyn, there is reason to believe that she could be pushed out in a bid to improve the partys chances at the next election. Unfortunately, with Brexit negotiations already experiencing a spluttering start to Brexit negotiations, another leadership contest threatens to further derail the talks in the name of improving the partys domestic popularity."

Bookmaker Paddy Power slashed its odds of May moving out of Number 10 by the end of 2018 by more than half as a result of mounting pressure for the PM to step aside.

On Friday it cut odds of her quitting her post in October from 5/1 down to 2/1, at the same time it predicted the PM would be gone within a year at 1/2 odds and.
In a statement overnight, Ash Grove said it would hold a shareholder meeting on 1 November to "consider and vote on a proposal" to accept the CRH offer, after receiving a "preliminary, non-binding competing proposal from a third party" to acquire it for an indicated value of $3.7-3.8bn.

Reports on Friday suggested that Summit Materials was the third party.

Ash directors said they felt the new proposal "could reasonably be expected to result in a superior proposal" to the CRH offer and so have begun talks with the new suitor.

The US company has therefore told CRH and a 'window shop period' has been extended until 1700 New York time on 20 October.

"There can be no assurance that such competing proposal will lead to a definitive offer or, if such an offer is made, that the board of directors will determine that such offer is superior to the transaction with CRH plc," Ash said, adding that its board "continues to recommend, that Ash Grove stockholders vote in favor of the proposal to adopt the agreement and plan of merger with CRH".
Discussions between the UK and European Union over Brexit are facing further deadlock as the government refuses to agree to an amount to be paid in the so-called Brexit bill.

Brexit minister David Davis negotiating team will, according to a report in The Telegraph, not put a number on how much it is willing to pay the EU as part of any Brexit deal.

EU negotiators have said that there can be no further progress on the UKs departure from the bloc until a financial settlement is agreed.

Quoting senior Whitehall sources, the newspaper said Theresa May and her cabinet decided to take the stance after it became clear the EU negotiating team will not open talks on trade and other issues despite the PMs offer to put up 20bn as part of a transitional agreement.

May is due to meet with UK business chiefs on Monday ahead of the start of the next stage of negotiations with the EU.

The stance comes as May faces increased pressure from inside her own cabinet, with several reports of ministers calling for her to resign from her position after a disastrous speech at the Conservative conference earlier this week.

There wont be any political movement from the British side on the bill until the EU broadens its package to discuss transition and the future relationship, the source said.

While there was renewed hope following Mays speech in Florence last month about progress being made in the negotiations, such optimism has been dampened for the reconvening of talks next week between the two sides.

A day earlier, the government's Brexit hopes took a damaging blow as seven major trading nations, led by the US, rejected the current plan for retaining food quota agreements following the UK's separation from the EU.

According to a letter seen by the Politico website, the US, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, New Zealand, Uruguay and Thailand have all rejected the proposed agreement for imports of meat, sugar, and grains.

The rejection is a further setback of the governments aim of establishing stronger trade networks with former colonies.

The government plan was to divide internationally agreed quotas with the EU, so that the bloc's proportion would be reduced by an amount equal to a new British quota calculated according to historical trade.

However, a letter from the seven exporters to the UK and EU warned they cannot accept a simple agreement based on splitting the quotas.
Businesses have been focusing on the Internet of Things as an enabler of growth and increased operational efficiency, as well as the means to provide a better experience to customers and partners, according to the State of the Market: Internet of Things 2017 report Verizon released this week.

Seventy-three percent of executives surveyed said they either were researching or currently deploying IoT, according to the report.

Few industry sectors, business people or ordinary people will not be impacted by this, as augmented intelligence and machine learning use the data from IoT to transform markets, Constellation Research Principal Analyst Andy Mulholland told the E-Commerce Times.

However, a variety of factors have dampened IoT momentum:

Long capital cycles;

Organizational inertia;

Lack of suitably skilled staff;

Lack of industry-wide IoT standards; and

Concerns about security, interoperability and cost.

Ready for the Enterprise

Despite those challenges, the IoT has become enterprise-grade, with the focus on B2B communications, according to the Verizon report.

For example, 70 percent of the Fortune 500 property and casualty insurance firms surveyed indicated they were tapping network-connected drones to perform inspections and other claims-related work.

The energy and construction industries have been using drones to perform inspections, maintenance and other high-cost tasks, while the pharmaceuticals industry has been using IoT solutions to track and trace medicines from production to patients.

The current business focus appears to be on simpler use cases  to track data and send status alerts, for example, which are easier to deploy but lack data analytics capabilities.

Those limitations will prevent these businesses from fully exploiting the IoT, Verizon suggested.

Factors Favorable to IoT Deployment

Falling technology prices, more secure platforms, and better connectivity options will help spur new use cases, the report suggests.

There will be more development around 5G networks, which are expected to be up to 100 times faster than existing networks, Verizon predicted.

Verizon earlier this year unveiled a plan to deliver 5G precommercial services to select customers in 11 markets throughout the United States.

AT&T already has tested 5G for business customers in Austin, where it plans to stream DirectTV Now over 5G connections.

T-Mobile late last year released a video teasing a 2020 launch of 5G services.

Other IoT Projects

Chick-fil-A has begun using IoT  it has installed sensors to monitor the temperatures of coolers and freezers, for example  ABI Research reported.

Axius has teamed with real estate developers to integrate its Axius Hub, which actively monitors every device in a house, into smart homes.

Axius also has partnered with A/V pros, custom electronics installers and IT experts to install connected devices such as thermostats, lighting, locks and cameras into more than 40 homes per month in communities being built by the top 25 U.S. builders and developers, said Axius CEO Colin Barceloux.

Were now live with three partners that operate broadly in New York, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and San Francisco, he told the E-Commerce Times.

IoT Issues

An industry-wide standard is needed, because theres a myriad of kinds of sensors, they talk different languages, and there are really no standards for implementing IoT right now, said Michael Jude, a research manager at Stratecast/Frost & Sullivan.

More and more devices are becoming intelligent, but the fabrics that knit them together in terms of collecting data and processing arent there. If you just place sensors everywhere, it doesnt do any good  you need big data to manage IoT, he told the E-Commerce Times.

IoT is being deployed across many verticals and for use cases within those industries, such as energy, healthcare and fleet management, Verizon spokesperson Adria Tomaszewski pointed out.

The various issues holding back IoT deployment in general are resolved for the use cases being deployed, she told the E-Commerce Times.

That said, several malware attacks have been launched through compromised IoT devices.

Security is a big issue, remarked Frosts Jude. If you have all these intelligent devices watching you, the potential for security harm is exponentially greater.
We are now in 2017 and should be nearing the end of the five-year jurisdiction of the Bangladesh Accord post Rana Plaza. This however, is no longer the case. An extension of three years now means that the responsibility for the welfare of employees in Bangladesh garment factories will not be handed over until 2021. But is this the right move asks David Styles?
Fifteen North Atlantic right whalesone of the most endangered of all large whaleshave already died this year in U.S. and Canadian waters, according to researchers.

This makes it pretty much the deadliest year weve seen for North Atlantic right whales since the days of whaling, Tonya Wimmer, director of Canadas Marine Animal Response Society, told the Toronto Star.

The population of North Atlantic right whales previously stood at 458 but that was before this years deaths, Scott Kraus, vice president and chief scientist at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium, explained to the New York Times. Only five calves were born this year.

This means there are now fewer than 450 North Atlantic right whales left on the planet.

Unfortunately, new research shows that many of these whales died because of human-related activity.

According to recent study, Incident Report: North Atlantic Right Whale Mortality Event in the Gulf of St. Lawrence 2017, necropsies on seven of the whales showed that four had died of blunt force trauma from ship collisions and two died of entanglement. The cause of death for the seventh whale was inconclusive.

The population of North Atlantic right whales has declined from 482 in 2010 to 458 in 2015, and entanglement is a major threat to the slow-moving creatures. A study published last year found that from 2010 to 2015, 15 percent of right whale deaths were caused by vessel strikes, while 85 percent were caused by entanglements.

A whale trapped in tangled fishing gear such as ropes and nets can suffer and ultimately die from a grisly death, as it can lead to drowning, laceration, infection and starvation.

Conservation groups are demanding immediate action from the U.S. and Canadian governments to protect the at-risk marine animals and have recently sent legal notices to Canadian officials and the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

Right whales risk spiraling toward extinction if we dont protect them from deadly fishing gear, said Kristen Monsell, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. This has been a tragic year for a species already teetering on the brink. U.S. and Canadian officials need to do everything they can to prevent gear entanglements and the slow, painful deaths they can cause.

Anna Frostic, senior wildlife attorney for The Humane Society, said that NMFS is mandated to protect endangered marine mammals like the North Atlantic right whale.

Unfortunately, NMFS is failing to perform its duties under federal law, causing devastating impacts to this critically endangered species, Frostic concluded.
By Charise Johnson

That the current administration places very little value on the merit of robust scientific evidence when considering its actions (or inactions) is no longer shocking, but it remains an intolerable practice.

In this weeks episode of How is the Trump Administration Dismantling Science-Based Protections? we visit the Interior Departments decision to formally reconsider a widely heralded Obama-era agreement for protections of the greater sage grouse in the West.

On Thursday, the Interior Department published a formal notice of intent to rework 98 sage grouse management plans across the quirky birds 11 state range. This change comes after a mere 60 days deliberation by the Interior Departments internal Sage-Grouse Review Team (appointed by Sec. Ryan Zinke) and Sage-Grouse Task Force (representatives of governors of the eleven western states)and much to the chagrin of the many stakeholders who worked for several years to craft a cooperative land use agreement in an effort to protect the sage grouse and its habitat.

Whats the deal with the sage grouse?



The sage grouse is the chicken of the Sagebrush Seaan ecosystem which is suffering death by a thousand cuts, as former Sec. of Interior Sally Jewell put it. Habitat fragmentation, invasive species, and wildfires in the sagebrush have all contributed to the decline of this magnificent bird.

Importantly, Sec. Jewell worked to put in place federal-state partnerships in order to protect the sage grouse. In 2010, the FWS proposed listing the sage grouse under Endangered Species because of the threats its survival faced. After much input from stakeholders and the public, the agency in 2015 chose not to list the species and instead put efforts into state management plans, assuring us all that states could put programs in place to ensure the birds protection. With Sec. Zinkes moves, were now paving over (perhaps literally) those state protection plans, leaving the sage grouse at least as vulnerable as it was when the FWS proposed listing it under the Endangered Species Act.

The sage grouse has long been caught in the crosshairs of political controversy, especially when it comes to undermining the science behind conservation efforts. For example, in 2004, Julie MacDonald, a political appointee at the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), altered scientific content in a report examining the vulnerability of the greater sage grouse, which was subsequently presented to a panel of experts that recommended against listing the bird under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) (read my colleagues thoughts on political interference in sage grouse conservation efforts here and here).

Ignoring the science

The Sage-Grouse Review Team (SGRT) recommendations include potentially removing or modifying the boundaries of critical habitat called sagebrush focal areas (SFAs), as well as setting population targets and captive breeding, and modifying or issuing new policy on fluid mineral leasing and development. Also worth noting is that an Obama-era moratorium on mining claims in six Western states recently expired, with no indication of renewal from Sec. Zinke.

The problem with the Interior changing the conservation plans is twofold: 1) the motivation for reviewing the sage grouse management plans was to ease the burden on local economies by opening protected lands to development, which could have negative impacts on already rapidly-dwindling sage grouse populations, and 2) reopening the plans could spell more trouble for recovery efforts and potentially force FWS to list the sage grouse under the ESA in the future, which is precisely what states wanted to avoid. The conservation plan is critical, but it only works with the agreed upon protections in place.

The decision to undo years of collaboration and compromise between federal, state, local, and tribal governments, NGOs, scientists, industry, landowners, ranchers and hunters in a matter of two months sends a loud message to the public that economic considerations prevail over scientific evidence, even at the cost of an entire ecosystem and the species dependent upon it.

The SGRT recommendations ignore the science and put the entire sagebrush landscape at risk, much to the detriment of the sage grouse. Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead is critical of the new plan, concerned that it ignores scientific consensus. Weve got to have good science lead the way, and that trumps politics, Mead said. Lets look at what the states have done, and what biologists, folks who know this, are telling us.

Sage advice

We cannot allow our government to irresponsibly cater to oil and gas industry at the expense of our wildlife and public lands. Instead, we must urge the Department of Interior to focus their efforts on collaborative, science-informed management of the sage grouse and its habitat.

Charise Johnson is a research associate in the Center for Science and Democracy at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Ellwood City-area homes for sale rise in price to $139,000

In Lawrence County, homes for sale had a median price of $86 per square foot, while Pennsylvania's was $169
Washington (Oct. 6, 2017)--The American College of Physicians (ACP) today objected to the Trump Administration's overhaul of the nation's contraception mandate. The new rule rolls back the previous administration's direction that limited employers from seeking moral or religious exemptions from the requirement.

"The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires nearly all employers to offer health insurance that covers access to a wide array of contraceptive methods," said Jack Ende, MD, MACP, ACP president. "The new rule will significantly broaden the type of companies and organizations that can request exemptions. This could lead to many American women who currently receive no-cost contraception having to pay out of pocket for their medication."

Issued as an interim final rule, the change will take effect immediately, bypassing the typical proposed rule and comment period required for the vast majority of new federal rules.

"We strongly object to this change being issued without a chance for stakeholders and members of the public to offer their thoughts and recommendations," continued Dr. Ende.

The new regulation will allow any employer to request an exemption based on moral or religious objections. This would widen the exemption to apply to any company from a small, religiously affiliated business to a larger, publicly traded company.

"Our concern is grounded on our long-standing policy that all Americans should have coverage for evidence-based medical services, including preventive services like contraception," Dr. Ende emphasized. "We are concerned that allowing employers to carve-out exemptions to the ACA's requirements that health insurance plans cover evidence-based preventive services without cost-sharing, including but not necessarily limited to contraception, will create substantial barriers to patients receiving appropriate medical care as recommended by their physicians."

The contraception mandate is one of eight women's preventive health benefits that the ACA requires health plans to provide without any cost to the patient. Other required benefits include breastfeeding equipment, HPV testing, and domestic violence screenings.

"ACP reaffirms its support for requiring insurance plans and products whether purchased by an individual, through a fully-insured group plan, or a self-insurance arrangement to cover evidence-based preventive services without cost sharing," Dr. Ende concluded. "We urge the administration, Congress, and other policymakers to work together to develop a remedy that ensures that women are not denied access to no-cost contraception, and more broadly, to ensure that all Americans will have access to coverage for evidence-based medical care as."

###
The Philadelphia Pediatric Medical Device Consortium (PPDC) has announced its latest round of seed grants to companies developing medical devices for children. The Consortium chose two companies from eight finalists in a competition to receive seed grants of $50,000 each.

The devices are a speech generating system that allows hospitalized children who cannot speak to communicate to clinicians, and a handheld scanner to detect intracranial bleeding in children, without using radiology.

Funded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and based at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), the PPDC provides know-how and seed funding to help innovators translate promising ideas into commercial medical devices for use in children. The PPDC is a collaboration among CHOP, Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania. For the second year in a row, the PPDC partnered with the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma to fund a device that can be used during the so-called "golden hour of care" immediately following a traumatic injury.

The new round of awards is the fourth by the PPDC, following seed grants announced in February 2015, January 2016, and January 2017.

"We are very excited to once again provide these awards to innovators of medical devices for kids, and grateful to our partners at the Childress Institute for their matching funds," said engineer Matthew R. Maltese, PhD, of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the Consortium's executive director and principal investigator.

Voxello, LLC of Coralville, Iowa, is developing the noddle to address the communication barriers faced by pediatric patients. The noddle uses patented technology to detect the smallest intentional gesture and allow patients to access the nurse call system and control a speech generating device. Thus, children who may only be able to produce a tongue click, head nod or other small gesture would be able to summon help and effectively communicate with their caregivers. PPDC funding will be used to support further development and clinical trials of the Voxello technology with hospitalized children, as well as children with developmental disabilities whose barriers to communication may impact their care and medical outcomes.

The second seed grant, supported by the Childress Institute, will go to InfraScan, Inc. of Philadelphia for the Infrascanner. The Infrascanner is a portable screening device that uses near-infrared technology to screen patients for intracranial hematomas, identifying those who would most benefit from immediate referral to a CT scan and neurosurgical intervention. The Infrascanner will act as a cost-effective, mobile, and time-efficient complement to current CT scan systems. PPDC funding will support a clinical study for the pediatric FDA clearance of the Infrascanner Model 2000.

###

The fifth round of PPDC funding opportunities began in September. Applications are accepted from throughout the U.S. and from foreign companies. The Consortium also accepts applications year-round for in-kind services and expert advice.

For more information on the PPDC, visit http://www.phillypediatricmeddevice.org

About Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation's first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children's Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 546-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit http://www.chop.edu.
The discovery of antibiotics in the early part of the 20th century changed modern medicine. Simple infections that previously killed people became easy to treat. Antibiotics' ability to stave off infections made possible routine surgeries, organ transplants, and chemotherapy for the treatment of cancer.

But because of overuse and misuse, antibiotics are losing their effectiveness. Many species of bacteria have evolved resistance to commonly used antibiotics and multidrug-resistant bacteria--so-called superbugs--have emerged, plaguing hospitals and nursing homes. Last month, the World Health Organization issued a dire warning: The world is running out of antibiotics.

A new test developed at Caltech that identifies antibiotic-resistant bacteria in as little as 30 minutes could help turn the tide by allowing medical professionals to better choose which antibiotics to treat an infection with. A paper describing the method appears in the October 4 issue of Science Translational Medicine.

When doctors treat patients with bacterial infections, they often skip over first-line antibiotics like methicillin or amoxicillin--drugs that bacteria are more likely to be resistant to--and go straight for stronger second-line antibiotics, like ciprofloxacin. This practice increases the chance that the treatment will be effective, but it is not ideal. That's because the increased use of second-line antibiotics makes it more likely that bacteria also will become resistant to these stronger drugs.

"Right now, we're overprescribing, so we're seeing resistance much sooner than we have to for a lot of the antibiotics that we would otherwise want to preserve for more serious situations," says Nathan Schoepp, a Caltech graduate student and co-author of the study.

The problem is that there has not been a quick and easy way for a doctor to know if their patient's infection is resistant to particular antibiotics. To find out, the doctor would have to send a sample to a testing lab, and wait two to three days for an answer.

"Therapies are driven by guidelines developed by organizations like the World Health Organization or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention without knowing what the patient actually has, because the tests are so slow," says Rustem Ismagilov, Caltech's Ethel Wilson Bowles and Robert Bowles Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and director of the Jacobs Institute for Molecular Engineering for Medicine. "We can change the world with a rapid test like this. We can change the way antibiotics are prescribed."

Ismagilov, Schoepp, Caltech graduate student Travis Schlappi, who is also a co-author, and their fellow researchers aimed to develop a test that could be completed during a single visit to the doctor's office. They focused on one of the most common types of infections in humans, urinary tract infections (UTIs), which 50 percent of women contract during their lifetimes. UTIs result in eight million doctor visits and one million ER visits each year in the United States alone.

The researchers' new test works like this: A sample of urine (which may contain bacteria) collected from a patient with a UTI is divided into two parts. One part is exposed to an antibiotic for 15 minutes, while the other part incubates without antibiotics. The bacteria from each sample then are broken open (lysed) to release their cellular contents, which are run through a process that combines a detection chemistry technique called digital real-time loop-mediated isothermal amplification, or dLAMP, with a device called a SlipChip (SlipChips are a previous invention of Ismagilov and his Caltech colleagues). This combination replicates specific DNA markers so they can be imaged and individually counted as discrete fluorescent spots appearing on the chip.

The test operates on the principle that typical bacteria will replicate their DNA (in preparation for cellular division) less well in an antibiotic solution, resulting in the presence of fewer DNA markers. However, if the bacteria are resistant to the antibiotic, their DNA replication will not be hampered and the test will reveal similar numbers of DNA markers in both the treated and untreated solutions.

When used on 54 samples of urine from patients with UTIs caused by the bacteria Escherischia coli, the test results had a 95 percent match with those obtained using the standard two-day test, which is considered the gold standard for accuracy.

Ismagilov and Schoepp plan to begin running the test on other types of infectious bacteria to see how well it performs. They also hope to tweak the testing procedures to work with blood samples. Blood infections are more difficult to test because the bacteria are present in much lower numbers than they are in urine, but such a test could help reduce mortality from blood-borne infections, which can turn fatal if not treated quickly.

###

The paper is titled "Rapid pathogen-specific phenotypic antibiotic susceptibility testing using digital LAMP quantification in clinical samples." Other co-authors include graduate students Matthew S. Curtis of Caltech; Slava S. Buktovich (BS '17); and Shelley Miller and Romney M. Humphries of UCLA. The research was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the National Institutes of Health, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and the Jacobs Institute for Molecular Engineering for Medicine. SlipChip Corp., of which Ismagilov is a founder and shareholder, provided some of the chips used in the study.
Boulder, Colo., USA: Plates collide and mountain ranges form, and the why and how are key to understanding orogenic processes. This volume explores linkages between tectonic processes through a series of field, numerical modeling, and laboratory studies, concentrating on feedback mechanisms within orogens by which tectonic processes may influence or predetermine the operation of other processes in space and time.

J. Ryan Thigpen (University of Kentucky) and colleagues explain, "Most orogenic processes do not behave independently, but instead are highly dependent on other forcing mechanisms, which makes documenting these linkages of critical importance for taking the next step in understanding orogenic evolution."

Additionally, they note, "The progress achieved by modeling and field studies is limited by our ability to reconcile field observations with model predictions. Thus, at the process level, explicit characterization of these links and their associated feedbacks is critical for a holistic understanding of orogenic system evolution."

The data sets used by the authors have been developed from a wide range of analytical approaches and experts, including Robert D. Hatcher Jr., to whom the volume is dedicated. Case studies cover a wide range of ancient to modern orogens: the Svecofennian of southern Finland, the Gyeonggi Massif of Korea, the Caledonides of northern Scotland, the Variscan of the East European craton, the Appalachians of the eastern United States, the European Alps and Dinarides, north Cascades of the northwestern United States, and the Himalaya.

###

Individual copies of the volume may be purchased through The Geological Society of America online store, http://rock.geosociety.org/Store/detail.aspx?id=MWR213, or by contacting GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.

Book editors of earth science journals/publications may request a review copy by contacting April Leo, aleo@geosociety.org.

Linkages and Feedbacks in Orogenic Systems

edited by Richard D. Law, J. Ryan Thigpen, Arthur J. Merschat, and Harold Stowell

Geological Society of America Memoir 213

MWR213, 372 p. + plate, ISBN 9780813712130

$95.00, member price $66.00

View the table of contents: http://rock.geosociety.org/store/TOC/MWR213-toc-preface.pdf

http://www.geosociety.org
Researchers have modelled the actions of electrons under extreme temperatures and densities, such as those found within planets and stars.

The work could provide insights into the behaviour of matter in fusion experiments, which may one day lead to a sought-after source of clean energy.

Electrons are an elementary component of our world and determine many of the properties of solids and liquids. They also carry electrical current, without which our high-tech environment with smartphones, computers and even light bulbs would not be possible.

Despite their ubiquity, scientists have not yet been able to accurately describe the behaviour of large numbers of interacting electrons.

This is especially true at extreme temperatures and densities, such as inside planets or in stars, where the electrons form 'warm dense matter'. Scientists have plenty of approximate models to choose from, but little idea of their accuracy or reliability.

Now, a research team comprising groups from Imperial College London, Kiel University, Los Alamos, and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the US, has succeeded in describing electrons under these extreme conditions by means of accurate simulations.

Their research findings, which solve a decades-old problem in physics, are published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

Professor Matthew Foulkes, from the Department of Physics at Imperial, said: "It took five years and a team of scientists from three countries to develop the new techniques necessary to describe warm dense matter accurately.

"Now, at last, we are in a position to carry out accurate and direct simulations of planetary interiors; solids under intense laser irradiation; laser-activated catalysts; and other warm dense systems.

"This is the beginning of a new field of computational science."

How electrons behave on a 'large scale' - for example the relation between electrical voltage, resistance and current - is often easy to describe. On a microscopic level, however, the electrons in liquids and solids behave differently, according to the laws of quantum mechanics.

These electrons behave like a quantum mechanical 'gas', which can only be understood by solving the complicated mathematical equations of quantum theory.

In the past, simulations were only able to describe the electron gas at very low temperature. Recently, however, there has been growing interest in matter under extreme conditions - ten thousand times warmer than room temperature and up to a hundred times denser than conventional solids.

In nature, this warm dense matter occurs inside planets, including the Earth's core. It can also be created experimentally in a laboratory, for example by targeted shooting of solid matter with a high-intensity laser, or with a free electron laser such as the new European XFEL in Hamburg.

Warm dense matter is also relevant for experiments with inertial confinement fusion, where fuel pellets are put under extreme pressure. This can cause chain reactions that could provide a virtually unlimited source of clean energy in the future.

Earlier theories of warm dense matter behaviour used models based on approximations that are difficult to verify. However, by using sophisticated computer simulations in this latest work, the physicists are now able to precisely solve the complex equations that describe the electron gas.

The team have achieved the first complete and final description of the thermodynamic properties of interacting electrons in the range of warm dense matter. Professor Michael Bonitz, professor of theoretical physics and head of the Kiel research team, said: "These results are the first exact data in this area, and will take our understanding of matter at extreme temperatures to a new level."

"Amongst other things, the 40-year-old existing models can now be reviewed and improved for the first time."

The team hope the extensive data sets and formulas built up in the project will be important for comparison with experiments and will provide input into further theories, helping other scientists in their research.

###
1. Yes. The ordinance goes against state law and is not in the best interest of the cities.

2. Yes. At the very least, it should be amended to give police officers some discretion.

3. No. Voters approved the ordinance by large majorities; the councils cant ignore that fact.

4. No. The petition process has to be given a chance to work. Leave the ordinance alone.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say how the cities should move forward regarding the ordinance.

Vote

View Results
SAN DIEGO - Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) prescriptions in New York City increased by nearly 1,000 percent in two years, but men of color, women and patients outside the city center were less likely to be prescribed the HIV prevention medication. Taken daily, PrEP is more than 90 percent effective in reducing the risk of HIV infection and is recommended for everyone at very high risk, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

A number of recent education campaigns and trials have demonstrated PrEP is effective, but many medical students and healthcare providers nationwide remain unaware of PrEP or are unsure of its benefits. These are among the findings on the status of PrEP use and awareness being presented at IDWeek 2017.

"Fewer than 10 percent of people who would benefit from PrEP are taking it," said Brandon Imp, MD, an internal medicine/preventive medicine resident at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco and lead author of a study on PrEP awareness among medical students. "We believe education works, but we need to do a better job throughout the country to inform future doctors as well as health providers who are on the front lines of care about the benefits of PrEP."

CDC guidelines published in 2014 recommend PrEP (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) for HIV-negative people at high risk of HIV, including: those who are in a relationship with an HIV-infected partner; gay or bisexual men who have sex without a condom or have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection within the past six months; heterosexual men or women who do not always use condoms when having sex with partners at high risk for HIV; and those who inject illicit drugs. CDC recommends PrEP be used in combination with other preventative measures, including condoms.

Huge Increase in NYC PrEP Prescriptions

The prescription of PrEP rose 976 percent between 2014 and 2016, according to an analysis of electronic health records from 602 New York City medical practices, undertaken by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

The increase was noted after the CDC released PrEP guidelines in 2014 and as clinical trials and demonstration projects confirmed it is effective. Additionally, a variety of campaigns to educate healthcare providers about PrEP and its benefits were launched in New York City during that time. For example, the department launched a campaign in 2014 to reach out to primary care and infectious disease practices to provide them resources about PrEP, visiting more than 2,500 providers at more than 1,000 clinics throughout the city. PrEP messages were included in another campaign to encourage city residents to know their HIV status and community partner organizations have launched their own outreach efforts, say the researchers.

When analyzing the records, researchers found PrEP prescriptions were more likely to be written for younger, white, male patients and at Manhattan-based practices, community health centers and practices with onsite infectious diseases specialists. In other words, men of color, women, people getting healthcare at smaller private practices or those outside the city center were less likely to be prescribed PrEP.

"These results show that educating healthcare providers can really help improve the rate of PrEP prescribing, but it's apparent we need additional programs to ensure equitable access," said Paul Salcuni, MPH, lead author of the study and lead data analyst for prevention, Bureau of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Long Island City. To address the disparities, the department is planning new campaigns, including one focusing on women's health providers.

Many Medical Students Unaware of PrEP

Many medical schools aren't educating their students about PrEP and its benefits, suggests a survey of 1,588 medical students at 18 U.S. medical schools. According to the extensive survey about knowledge, beliefs and experiences, more than one in four (28 percent) medical students are unaware of PrEP and 18 percent of students in their last year of medical school were never taught about the HIV prevention regimen. Further, 57 percent believed behavioral intervention should be tried before prescribing PrEP, 45 percent believed patients would not adhere to it and 22 percent didn't think it was effective.

Studies have shown PrEP is far more effective at preventing HIV than behavioral intervention, and that while adherence is a concern for all medications, that should not deter physicians from prescribing the regimen.

"Medical students are not being taught about PrEP as they should and therefore are unaware of it, or have inaccurate beliefs about its value," said Dr. Imp, lead author of the study. "That is concerning because they are the next generation of physicians who will provide care to patients and help stem the spread of the disease. These results demonstrate the need to incorporate PrEP education into the medical school curriculum."

Doctors Often Uncomfortable Prescribing PrEP

Medical students are not the only ones who are unaware of the benefits of PrEP suggests a study of healthcare providers at one Boston hospital. According to a survey of 80 providers, including doctors (55 percent), physician assistants (20 percent), registered nurses (9 percent), medical students (8 percent) and medical assistants, research coordinators and physician assistant students (8 percent), about one-third overall had never heard of PrEP. Additionally, 32 percent of doctors said they were uncomfortable prescribing it, according to the Tufts University School of Medicine survey.

"PrEP has been widely publicized in the medical literature and media, so we were surprised at the low level of awareness of its benefits," said Rapeephan Maude, MD, MSc, lead author of the study, now an infectious disease physician at Mahachai Hospital, Thailand. "Doctors often said they were uncomfortable asking their patients about risk behaviors. We think this is a major reason why some people at high risk of HIV infection are not identified."

Some doctors said they preferred to refer patients to HIV and infectious diseases specialists, she said. While specialists have deeper knowledge about PrEP and are trained to ask about risk factors, referring patients may lead to a missed opportunity to start PrEP as early as possible. Additionally, some patients may not follow-up with a specialist, or have greater trust in their primary care doctor.

"We are confident these numbers will improve as more providers receive information on PrEP," said Dr. Maude. "Encouraging providers to work collaboratively with infectious diseases specialists would increase their comfort in identifying high-risk patients and prescribing PrEP."

Emergency Medicine Physicians Overlooked in PrEP Education Efforts

Emergency medicine physicians are generally aware of PrEP, but most aren't familiar with the CDC guidelines and many are uncomfortable discussing PrEP due to lack of awareness about its recommendations, according to a study at Washington University in St. Louis.

The study included survey results of 67 emergency room physicians who were asked about their knowledge of PrEP, including the CDC prescribing guidelines and concerns about use. Overall, 79 percent were aware of PrEP, but only 24 percent were knowledgeable about the guidelines. Additionally, 57 percent were not comfortable discussing PrEP with patients, 54 percent had concerns about whether it was effective, 90 percent worried about side effects and 70 percent feared it would promote HIV resistance. Large studies have addressed these concerns, noting that it is effective and does not promote HIV resistance. Additionally, PrEP's side effects should be discussed with patients, but benefits outweigh those issues in most cases, researchers note.

"The low levels of awareness of PrEP's benefits among this group are likely due to the fact that education and outreach efforts focus on HIV and infectious diseases specialists and primary care physicians," said Brett Tortelli, BA, lead author of the study and an MD/PhD student at Washington University. "While emergency physicians are unlikely to prescribe PrEP because it requires continued care, they can play an important role in identifying at-risk patients - many of whom have little interaction with the healthcare system otherwise - and connect them to care."

Researchers asked the physicians for their preferred method of PrEP education, and determined a variety of methods would be necessary, including educating them on the guidelines, providing existing research that would allay their concerns about PrEP and offering community resources they can use to refer patients for care.

###

In addition to Salcuni, co-authors of the NYC PrEP prescribing study are Jenny Smoken, MPH, Sachin Jain, MD, Julie Myers, MD, MPH and Zoe Edelstein, PhD, MS.

In addition to Dr. Imp, co-authors of the medical student awareness study are Elaine Allen, PhD, Rory Aufderheide, BA, Marc Berenson, BA, Tanaya Bhowmick, MD. Binbin Chen, BS, Jaclyn Chesner, BA, Renzo Corzano, PhD, Zachary Friske, MBA, Justin Genziano, MD, Joseph Grogg, BS, Michael Hernandez, BS, Kelly Holz, BA, Brynne Latterell, MD, MPH, Ajay Major, MD, MBA, Henal Motiwala, BS, Cody Mullens, BS, Steven Omansky, BS, Ezra Shapiro, BS, Alexandria Tran, BS and Jonathan Volk, MD, MPH.

In addition to Dr. Maude, co-authors of the Tufts study are Gretchen Volpe, MD, MPH and David Stone, MD.

In addition to Tortelli, co-authors of the Washington University study are Douglas Char, MD, William Powderly, MD and Rupa Patel, MD.

About IDWeek

IDWeek 2017TM is the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA), the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (PIDS). With the theme "Advancing Science, Improving Care," IDWeek features the latest science and bench-to-bedside approaches in prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and epidemiology of infectious diseases, including HIV, across the lifespan. IDWeek 2017 takes place October 4-8 at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego. For more information, visit http://www.idweek.org.
It is hoped the findings, published recently in the Journal of Applied Volcanology, will help increase our understanding of volcanic hazards and the subsequent threat to life.

A tenth of the world's population lives within the potential footprint of volcanic hazards with more than 800 million people living within 100 km of active volcanoes.

Between 1500 and 2017 more than 278,000 people met their fate as a result of volcanic hazards - on average that's about 540 people a year.

Volcanoes produce numerous hazards which affect different distances, in both times of eruption and when the volcano is quiet.

During this research Dr Sarah Brown from the University of Bristol's School of Earth Sciences and colleagues, updated previous databases of volcanic fatalities by correcting data, adding events and, crucially, now including information on the location of the fatalities in terms of distance from the volcano.

The location of fatal incidents was identified from official reports, volcano activity bulletins, scientific reports and media stories.

Nearly half of all fatal incidents were recorded within 10 km of volcanoes but fatalities are recorded as far away as 170 km.

Close to volcanoes (within 5 km) ballistics or volcanic bombs dominate the fatality record.

Pyroclastic density currents, fast-moving avalanches of hot rock, ash and gas are the dominant cause of death at more medial distances (5-15 km).

Lahars - volcanic mudflows, tsunami and tephra (ashfall) - are the main cause of death at greater distances.

As well as the distances, Dr Brown and her team were also able to classify the victims in more detail than any previous studies.

Whilst most victims were people who live on or near the volcano, several groups were identified as common victims. These were namely tourists, media, emergency response personnel and scientists (mostly volcanologists).

561 tourist fatalities were recorded, mostly during small eruptions or in times of quiescence when the volcano was not actively erupting. Most of these fatalities occurred close to the volcano (within 5 km), with ballistics being the most common cause of death in eruptions.

A recent example of tourist fatalities was the 2014 Ontake eruption in Japan when hikers on the volcano were caught out by a sudden eruption which tragically killed 57 people.

And, just a few weeks ago, a child and his parents died in Campi Flegri in Italy, likely overcome by deadly gases when the ground collapsed beneath them in a restricted area.

The fatalities of 67 scientists (mostly volcanologists and those supporting their work) were recorded with more than 70 per cent of these within 1 km of the volcano summit, highlighting the danger to field scientists visiting the summit of active volcanoes.

Disaster prevention and response personnel, military and emergency services working to evacuate, rescue or recover victims of volcanic eruptions have unfortunately also lost their lives, with 57 fatalities of emergency response personnel.

The deaths of 30 media employees are also recorded - these were reporting on eruptions and were often within the declared danger zones.

Dr Brown, who is also a member of the University of Bristol's Cabot Institute, said: "The identification of these groups of victims is key for improving safety and reducing deaths and injuries in these groups.

"While volcanologists and emergency response personnel might have valid reasons for their approach into hazardous zones, the benefits and risks must be carefully weighed.

"The media and tourists should observe exclusion zones and follow direction from the authorities and volcano observatories.

"Tourist fatalities could be reduced with appropriate access restrictions, warnings and education."

The location data allows the characterisation of volcanic threat with distance, as a function of eruption size and the hazard type. It contributes to risk reduction by providing an empirical dataset on which to forecast impacts and support evidence-based eruption planning and preparedness.

The data and analysis support assessment of volcanic threat, population exposure and vulnerabilities, and is a good step towards systematic fatality data collection which supports the priority target of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in reducing mortality from disasters.

###

Paper: 'Volcanic fatalities database: analysis of volcanic threat with distance and victim classification' by S. Brown, S. Jenkins, S. Sparks, H. Odbert and M. Auker in the Journal of Applied Volcanology.
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 6, 2017) - University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center Researcher Jessica Blackburn has earned a prestigious National Institutes of Health's New Innovator Award, a grant totaling $1.5 million over five years to fund pediatric cancer research.

Blackburn, who came to UK from Harvard University in 2015, runs a basic science laboratory using zebrafish as an animal model. This new award will specifically fund research to find causes of leukemia relapse in three ways:

Identifying the unique genetic signature of relapse-causing cells, using single-cell sequencing technology in both zebrafish leukemia models and patient samples. Discovering how and where relapse-driving cells "hide" from chemotherapy in the body using live animal imaging techniques in zebrafish.

Finding new drugs that can specifically kill the cancer cells that cause relapse by screening thousands of compounds zebrafish. Zebrafish labs are far less common than labs that use mice as an animal model of cancer, but Blackburn notes that zebrafish models provide important research advantages, such as in vivo imaging at single-cell resolution and low-cost, high-throughput drug screens, which can complement traditional mouse models.

"The hope for this project is that we will be able to provide new insights the biology of what causes cancer relapse, not only to find better ways to treat it, but to develop treatment strategies that will prevent relapse from happening in the first place," Blackburn said. "I think this work shows that zebrafish models of human diseases - like cancer - are being more widely accepted in the medical fields, and that more people are recognizing the important discoveries that can be made using zebrafish."

The NIH's New Innovator Award was established in 2007 and supports unusually innovative research from early career investigators who are within 10 years of their final degree or clinical residency and have not yet received a research project grant or equivalent NIH grant. It's one of four prestigious awards in the NIH's High-Risk, High-Reward program, which were created to support unconventional approaches to major challenges in biomedical and behavioral research. Applicants of the program are encouraged to think outside-the-box and to pursue exciting, trailblazing ideas in any area of research relevant to the NIH mission.

"I continually point to this program as an example of the creative and revolutionary research NIH supports," said NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins. "The quality of the investigators and the impact their research has on the biomedical field is extraordinary."

###

The High-Risk, High-Reward program is part of the NIH Common Fund, which supports a series of exceptionally high-impact programs that cross NIH Institutes and Centers. Common Fund programs pursue major opportunities and gaps in biomedical research that require trans-NIH collaboration to succeed.
Montreal, October 9, 2017 - A new study by researchers at the Institut en sante mentale de Montreal demonstrates that sustained used of cannabis is associated with an increase in violent behaviour in young people after discharge from a psychiatric hospital.

The research by Dr. Alexandre Dumais (MD, PhD, FRCPC, psychiatrist at the Institut Philippe Pinel) and Dr. Stephane Potvin (PhD, professor at the Universite de Montreal), which studied 1,136 patients (from 18 to 40 years of age) with mental illnesses who had been seen five times during the year after discharge, took into account substance use and the onset of violent behaviour.

Previous research has already shown that a cannabis use disorder is associated with violent behaviour. According to this new study published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, users who reported at each follow-up visit that they continued to smoke cannabis presented an increased risk (+144%) of violent behaviour.

These results also confirm the detrimental role of chronic cannabis use in patients with mental illness. According to the principal researcher Alexandre Dumais (MD, PhD, FRCPC): "an interesting feature of our results is that the association between persistent cannabis use and violence is stronger than that associated with alcohol or cocaine."

Indicator for external follow-up

Persistent cannabis use should therefore be considered as an indicator of future violent behaviour in patients who leave a psychiatric hospital for follow-up in an outpatient clinic, although the researcher points out that this behaviour tends to fade with time.

"This decrease could be explained by better adherence to treatment (the patient becomes more involved in their treatment over time) and by better support from their entourage. Even though we observed that violent behaviour tended to decrease during follow-up periods, the association remained statistically significant," noted Dr. Dumais.

The research results also suggest that there is no reciprocal relationship, that is, the use of cannabis resulted in future violent behaviour and not the reverse (for example, a violent person might use cannabis following an episode of violent behaviour to reduce their tension), as was suggested by previous studies.

The effects of cannabis on the brain

A recent meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies demonstrated that chronic cannabis users have deficits in the prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that inhibits impulsive behaviour.

These results are important because they offer additional information to young adults, who can evaluate the risks of cannabis before deciding whether or not to use it. They will also serve as a tool to develop strategies to prevent the risk of violence associated with cannabis, since these risks have important consequences, both socially and for the health of young adults and for society in general.

###

This study was funded by the Fonds de la recherche du Quebec-Sante.
Having to shout to be heard, constantly repeating yourself and competing over the blare of a too-loud TV...living with someone experiencing hearing loss can be exhausting, frustrating and often dispiriting.

And now, new research by academics at the University of Nottingham has suggested that the impact of the condition on those closest to them should be considered when personalising rehabilitation plans for patients with deafness.

The research, published in the journal Trends in Hearing, was led by PhD student, Miss Venessa Vas, through the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre (BRC)

Miss Vas said: "This is research which reviews the existing evidence we have on the impact of hearing loss on those diagnosed with the condition, as well as those around them. Currently there is no cure for hearing loss, so we need to consider ways to help with aspects of life affect by hearing loss, such as those highlighted in this research."

An estimated 300 million people around the world are living with hearing loss, which can affect almost every aspect of daily life leading to isolation, difficulties socialising, low self-esteem and problems in the workplace.

However, hearing loss not only affects the individual but those with whom the person with hearing impairment communicates on a regular basis - their spouse, siblings, children, friends, relatives, colleagues and carers.

Often, information from these so-called 'communications partners' can be used to get a more accurate picture of the individual's hearing loss and level of resulting disability.

The Nottingham research, funded by the Medical Research Council, reviewed more than 70 previous studies that looked at the complaints made by people with hearing loss and those closest to them to examine the same issue from both perspectives.

The study uncovered common areas causing concern for both those experiencing hearing loss and those living closest to them.

Flashpoint areas included:

The telephone - people with hearing problems reported difficulties with hearing the phone ring or the person speaking at the other end, while their communications partner reported having to take on the role of continually answering the phone or telling their partner when it is ringing

The television and radio - raised volume as a result of hearing loss was reported as an area of conflict

Social life - people with hearing loss spoke of the difficulties of social conversations in noisy environments, while partners reported reduced enjoyment of social events due to their partner's hearing loss and attending social events alone. This also contributed to the issue of isolation as both parties reported becoming more socially withdrawn as a result of the hearing loss.

Emotions - communications partners reported the burden and stress of having to adjust to their partner's hearing loss as well as the emotional consequences for their relationship. They expressed feelings of guilt and upset in relation to the way they reacted to the hearing loss and their lack of understanding of their partner's difficulties. They also reported finding the effort of communicating particularly draining.

Miss Vas added: "Hearing loss is a chronic condition that affects the whole family. Yet, to our knowledge, our work represents the first attempt to piece together a picture of the effect of hearing loss from the perspectives of people with hearing loss and their partners.

"Evidence from video-recorded audiology appointments shows that family members have a strong interest in being involved and sharing their experiences of the patient's hearing loss. However, they are typically discounted by the audiologist."

The researchers believe that listening to the views of partners and family during clinical consultations and involving them in future treatment strategies could help to ease the patient's journey through rehabilitation.

###

This research was funded as part of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) support to research into hearing loss in Nottingham. Hearing is one of six areas of clinical research that form part of the new NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, a partnership between Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust and the University of Nottingham. The aim of the Nottingham BRC is to translate high quality research into treatments, technology and therapies over the next five years.
Although one in 8 couples experience fertility issues and many of them turn to Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) to help them have a child, usage varies significantly across Europe. A new Oxford study has shed light on some of the reasons behind this - pinpointing moral and social acceptance of the treatment and religion as key.

Previous research has mainly focused on the economic issues that can affect ART usage, such as a country's wealth and health insurance costs. But, in new research published in Human Reproduction, scientists from the Oxford University Department of Sociology and Nuffield College, have for the first time assessed the relative importance of the role that economic, demographic and cultural normative factors play in the process.

The study compares the prevalence of ART usage across 35 European countries since 2010, which is the number of ART cycles, per million women of reproductive age (15-44 years). The findings revealed that although economic factors and national wealth are important, it is not merely affordability that determines ART use. Rather, ART treatments were more widely used in countries where it was considered culturally and morally acceptable to do so. For example, the Czech Republic, which ranks 51st in a poll of the world's wealthiest countries, reported 10,473 cycles per million women of reproductive age - which is a usage level almost identical to the comparatively wealthier (37th) Denmark. By contrast, high income nations such as Italy (8th) and the United Kingdom (5th) reported only 5,480 and 4,918 cycles per million women of reproductive age, respectively.

The authors also produced an ART accessibility scorecard for each country. They found that there was no direct relationship between the availability of the treatment on the scorecard and the actual number of people using it. Whereas the United Kingdom and Kazakhstan score higher on available treatment, for example, they have comparatively low numbers of usage. This gap between availability and actual take-up points to other underlying factors driving country differences in ART usage, suggesting that normative cultural values play a role.

Religion was found to be a key factor, with a strong correlation between the size of religious Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox and Muslim groups in a country and the ART usage. Having a higher proportion of Protestants in a country explained a large part (25%) of higher ART take-up.

The study also revealed a relationship between cultural attitudes in countries where ART was considered to be socially acceptable, with the number of people using the treatment. In Scandinavia for example, where ART usage is high, it is seen as a public good and justified, and the government has taken a key role in making services widely available to singles, those on low income and LGBTQIA groups. However in other countries, such as Italy - where the Catholic Church is openly against ART and heavily influences the policy agenda - ART is not widely used or available. This often forces individuals to travel for cross-border care outside of their own country.

Patrick Prag, Lead-author and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Sociology and Nuffield College, said: 'When people think of infertility treatments, they usually expect biological or economic aspects to be the most important drivers. Our findings however make a compelling case that cultural factors play a key role.'

Melinda Mills, co-author and Nuffield Professor of Sociology, said: 'With the increased postponement of having children at later ages, access to ART treatments has growing relevance. The standout finding from our research is that policy-makers, governments, medical bodies and ART providers should more openly acknowledge the strong role that attitudes and acceptability of ART plays on shaping accessibility, availability and usage. Our hope is that these findings will be used to shape ART policy and improve access across Europe.'

###

Notes to editors:

The full paper 'Cultural determinants influence assisted reproduction usage in Europe more than economic and demographic factors' by Patrick Prag and Melinda Mills is available here: https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dex298

For further information please contact Lanisha Butterfield, Media Relations Manager on 01865 280531 or lanisha.butterfield@admin.ox.ac.uk

This research received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Program FamiliesAndSocieties (FP7/2007-13, Grant number 320116), the European Research Council (ERC Consolidator Grant 'Sociogenome', Grant number 615603) and the Wellcome Trust ISSF fund.
Infections caused by viruses, such as respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, measles, parainfluenza and Ebola, are typically considered acute. These viruses cause disease quickly and live within a host for a limited time. But in some cases the effects of the infection, and presence of the virus itself, can persist. RSV, for example, can lead to chronic respiratory problems, measles can lead to encephalitis and the Ebola virus can be transmitted by patients thought to be cured of the disease.

New findings from the University of Pennsylvania suggest a mechanism that may explain how viruses can linger. Products of viral infection called defective viral genomes, DVGs for short, which have been known to be involved in triggering an immune response, can also kick off a molecular pathway that keeps infected cells alive, the researchers discovered. The study used a novel technique to examine the presence of DVGs on a cell-by-cell basis to show that DVG-enriched cells had strategies to survive in the face of an immune-system attack.

"One of the things the field has known for a long time is that DVGs promote persistent infections in tissue culture," said Carolina B. Lopez, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology in Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine. "But the question was, How do you reconcile that with the fact that they're also very immunostimulatory? How can they help clear virus at the same time as they promote persistence? Our work helps explain this apparent paradox."

Lopez was senior author on the work, teaming with co-lead authors and lab members Jie Xu and Yan Sun. Fellow coauthors included Gordon Ruthel and Daniel Beiting of Penn Vet, Yize Li and Susan R. Weiss of Penn's Perelman School of Medicine and Arjun Raj of the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Their study was published in Nature Communications.

DVGs have been a major focus of Lopez's lab for years. These partial viral genomes are produced in infected cells when a virus begins to replicate rapidly, leading to defective versions of itself that contain large deletions. Once thought not to have any biological function, DVGs are increasingly believed to be important components of viral infections.

In 2013, Lopez and colleagues reported that DVGs were critical in stimulating an immune response to respiratory viruses in mice; when DVGs were depleted from a virus, mice had more severe infections. In 2015 they reported that DVGs are also critical for stimulating an immune response to the human virus RSV, also demonstrating for the first time that the presence of DVGs in human respiratory samples from infected patients correlates with enhanced antiviral immune responses.

In the current work, Lopez's team used a sophisticated technique that allowed them to differentiate full-length genomes from the partial genomes of DVGs at the single-cell level. They studied cells in culture infected with the Sendai virus, or with RSV, a virus that often affects infants and can lead to chronic respiratory problems,

Labeling the full-length genomes in red and the partial DVGs in green, the researchers found differences from cell to cell. Some cells had hardly any DVGs, while others were highly enriched with DVGs, with only a small number of full-length genomes.

"We saw this in many different cell lines and even in infected lungs in mice," Lopez said. "We hadn't appreciated before that there is a lot of heterogeneity in what is going on with these DVGs."

To dig deeper into how the DVGs were influencing the course of infection, the researchers infected cells either with a version of the Sendai virus that lacked DVGs or one enriched in DVGs. The cells infected with the virus high in DVGs survived more than twice as long as those infected with virus lacking DVGs. Adding purified DVGs boosted the cells' survival time, indicating a direct role for the DVGs in promoting cell survival.

The results were similar in parallel experiments with RSV, suggesting that the pro-survival role of DVGs held across viral types.

The researchers next were curious to know what molecular pathways might enable the DVG-rich cells to avoid apoptosis. An analysis of highly-expressed genes in DVG-enriched cells compared to the cells with full-length viral genomes revealed that a host of pro-survival genes were activated in the DVG-rich cells. Notably, these genes encoded signaling proteins of the TNF pathway, known to both boost immunity and cell survival, and IFN, known to play a role in antiviral immunity.

A final set of experiments elucidated the mechanism by which a subset of DVG-enriched cells persisted during viral infection. Lopez and colleagues found that signaling through the proteins MAVS and TNF receptor 2 protects infected cells from apoptosis that is otherwise triggered by TNF.

"We found this dual role for TNF during these infections," Lopez said. "If TNF binds to a cell that doesn't have the MAVS pathway engaged but is infected, the cell is killed, but, if the cell does have this pathway engaged, then it is protected. MAVS is engaged during the antiviral response, and only cells that have a lot of DVGs activate this pathway. These data show that our cells are wired to survive if they are engaged in an antiviral response, explaining the paradoxical functions of DVGs. It seems that in order to persist, the virus is taking advantage of these host pathways that are there to promote the survival of cells working to eliminate the virus."

The results, though limited to in vitro studies in the current report, point to a way that DVGs could enable "acute" viral infections to linger.

Lopez hopes to build on these findings to be sure they hold in vivo. She's also curious to learn more about the dual roles of TNF, which may help explain why the use of TNF-targeted therapies hasn't always turned out as expected.

"I want to see if there's a way we can harness this pathway to minimize and avoid the persistence of these viruses, which is really relevant if we think about the chronic diseases associated with some of these respiratory viruses," Lopez said.

In addition, she would like to explore how generalizable this pathway is and if it could, perhaps, help explain the problems with viral persistence seen in such infections with the Ebola and Zika viruses.

###

Support for the study came from the National Insituutes of Health (grants AI083284 and AI127832) and American Association of Immunologists Careers in Immunology Fellowship Program.
Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington have developed a pipeline of new vehicle lubricant technologies that lower greenhouse gas emissions, reduce wear and improve gas mileage, as part of an 18-year collaboration with ESL TEKnologies and its predecessor companies in Dallas.

"This is a really good example of business leveraging knowledge and know-how at the university to develop new products over the long term," said Pranesh Aswath, UTA professor of Materials Science & Engineering and Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering.

"The University also benefits through sustained financing of its research and help accessing federal and state development funds. Another clear positive is the high quality of research experience we can offer to our students on these projects, many of whom have gone on to excellent positions in Chevron and other oil companies," he added.

UTA's Tribology, Lubrication and Coating Laboratory was established in 1999 and is recognized as one of the world's top labs in the field. Up to now, five doctorates and 15 master's degrees have been awarded to students working on the research program, and close to 60 journal articles published associated with the research. More than 10 patents have been issued with two still pending.

"We are working with UTA to bring the third generation of additives to market, based around nanotechnologies, a cutting-edge research field for lubricants," said Cork Jaeger, CEO of ESL TEKnologies and long-term collaborator with UTA.

"UTA's pipeline of patented technologies forms an important part of the differentiated finished products our customers can expect going forward," he said. "Our work is very directed toward market needs and will be based on proprietary technologies."

ESL TEKnologies recently signed an agreement with Amalie Oil, the largest private and family-owned independent blender of lubricants in North America, to gain exclusive rights to Spectrol branded lubricants, and is expanding its customer base across the United States.

"The new UTA technologies will form part of our offering going forward and represent a real breakthrough within the market," he added.

ESL TEKnologies and UTA's consortium includes a growing number of industrial groups, federal laboratories and industry leaders who are working to rapidly expand the offerings in this field.

Some 2.3 billion gallons of motor oil are consumed each year in the United States. Improved lubricant technologies would have a direct impact on fuel consumption, leading to increased overall energy efficiency.

This research reflects UTA's focus on global environmental impact within the University's Strategic Plan 2020 Bold Solutions|Global Impact as well as the guiding aspiration of leading in creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

###
MarketReady Producer Training will be held October 20, 2017, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Is your farm or food business market ready for 2018, or do you need help getting locally produced food products to market?

If you could use some assistance to expand your marketing channels, the MarketReady Producer Training is for you. MarketReady is an education program for farmers and individuals interested in starting or expanding a food business. Increasing demand for locally produced food provides an opportunity for local producers to sell their farm fresh products direct to restaurants, grocers, wholesalers and institutions. The program began as a University of Kentucky initiative, led by Dr. Tim Woods.

[There is] tons and tons of opportunity in terms of a demand for local foods, but the challenge is just getting our producers up to speed to be able to bring the quality, consistency, and volume of product that these buyers are looking for, Woods said in an interview with WalletHub.

MarketReady teaches farmers professional marketing skills. The curriculum covers market evaluation, packaging, pricing, relationship building, logistics, quality assurance and other key business functions.

Packaging

MarketReady teaches farmers how to label and package products in a way that appeals to customers.

Im a farmer, not a marketer, a local producer confessed. He underestimated the importance of product packaging when he started selling to grocers.

Large corporations have entire teams dedicated to branding; my product packaging has to compete.

Pricing

Pricing products appropriately for various market channels is a challenge. On one hand, farmers need to price products at a rate that buyers are willing to pay; On the other hand, farmers must price products to support their businesss viability over the long-term. MarketReady helps producers develop a pricing strategy that meets buyers needs as well as their own.

Reaching larger markets

A small farm may have trouble producing a sufficient volume to access large markets. MarketReady explains how multiple small farms can pool product to supply larger markets such as schools, wholesale or retail. Training shares the benefits of cooperation and steps to starting a cooperative.

Dealing with regulations

The legal aspects of selling food direct are vast and overwhelming. To complicate matters, state and federal regulations governing food production are ever-evolving. Brokers and retailers often require producers obtain food safety certifications such as Good Agricultural Practices and/or Good Handling Practices (GAP/GHP) in order to conduct business. New legislation, the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), affects growers, farmers and ranchers, as well as the people who pack and distribute their products.

MarketReady helps producers navigate the regulatory environment. Curriculum clarifies areas of concern, and links farmers to food safety resources to keep within compliance. The training also addresses risk management and insurance solutions for selling food and food products through various market channels.

MarketReady

MarketReady helps farmers and food producers market their products effectively from production to payment. Producers gain a better understanding of various marketing channels and how to successfully serve their channel(s) of choice.

MarketReady Producer Training will be held October 20, 2017, from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost is only $25. The upcoming training is at the Ohio State University Extension Office  Cuyahoga County, in Cleveland, Ohio. Contact Gardner.1148@osu.edu or 740-289-2071 ext 132 to register.

References

Garner, R. Q&A: Discussing Local Farming Initiatives with Agricultural Economics Professor Tim Woods, (Feb 4, 2013). WalletHub. Retrieved October 1, 2017, from https://wallethub.com/edu/local-farming-initiatives-agricultural-economics-professor-tim-woods/25730/
The Environmental Audit Committee has said it is "disappointed" that the government has not created a plan to regulate the chemical industry.

The Government has responded to the previous Environmental Audit Committee's Future of Chemicals Regulation after the EU Referendum inquiry.

The Committee is calling for further written submissions on the Governments response.

Mary Creagh, Chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, said: "The chemicals industry is the second largest exporter to the EU after cars. Chemicals regulation is important because it enables the sector to provide value to the economy whilst also protecting public health and the environment.

"Some businesses that trade within the EU are responding to the uncertainty around the future of UK chemicals regulation by looking to move their operations overseas, putting UK jobs at risk.

"I am disappointed that the Government hasnt set out a plan to regulate this industry. With only 18 months until the UK leaves the EU, the Government must provide certainty to businesses in this sector."

For the agricultural industry, EU regulations known as REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) cover tailored provisions in the plant protection products.

However, the committee said it would be difficult to copy REACH regulations into UK law because of the way they operate and the terminology they use.

Without any chemical regulations post-Brexit the agricultural industry could take a severe hit.

The Environmental Audit Committee's report, 'The Future of Chemicals Regulation after the EU Referendum', found that the Government must urgently provide certainty to the UK chemicals industry over the future of chemicals regulation.
Farmers have warned that beavers could cause considerable damage on farmland as more of the animals are to be released into the wild in Knapdale Forest in Argyll, Scotland.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS), the lead partners of the successful Scottish Beaver Trial, have been granted a species licence to introduce up to 28 beavers.

The success of the five-year trial resulted in Scottish ministers granting the animals native status, allowing them to remain in the wild and spread naturally.

Native Scottish beavers were hunted to extinction in the 16th century. But there are now currently at least nine beavers within four groups in Knapdale.

However, farmers have expressed concern about the increasing amount of beaver numbers.

Farming union NFU Scotland has insisted that 'proper management' of the species is fundamental in order to avoid impact on agriculture. Some farmers have warned of considerable damage to farmland.

NFU Scotland has previously commented about the situation, saying beavers must be 'appropriately managed' to minimise the risk of unacceptable impacts on agriculture.

Local farmers criticised the move at the time and warned that they must be allowed to cull the mammals where they threaten agricultural land by felling trees and blocking ditches.
A leaked EU Brexit memo has suggested agricultural trade could be done on an all-Ireland basis once the UK leaves the European Union.

It is reported that the memo came from the office of the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

It suggests that while cross-border trade would be subject to customs controls, agricultural produce could be treated separately. The proposal would require controls between Northern Ireland and Britain, it is understood.

The farming industry on both sides of the Irish border are unhappy with the leaked proposals.

According to RTE, the idea would be to limit the disruption in the vast agri-food flows across the Irish border, especially in dairy and beef.

This is because after Brexit, Northern Ireland food products and its animal health regime would be outside the EU's regulatory sphere and would be subject to checks, thus hardening the Irish border.

However, the author of the memo accepts that the idea of an all-Ireland trade in agri-foods within the EU's regulatory sphere would be controversial.

The Ulster Farmers Union (UFU) said that the erection of any barriers to agricultural trade between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK is a red line.

Border issue

Responding to the leaked memo, Irish Farmers Association President Joe Healy said that Irelands objective in the Brexit negotiations must be the maintenance of the "closest possible" trading arrangements with all of the UK.

Solving the logistical challenges associated with the border is of course important, but the real priority for the Irish Government must be maintaining the trading arrangements with all of the UK. Such a solution would substantially mitigate or eliminate any border issues, he said.

While this potentially addresses some of the border issues, the proposal does not address the economic and trading concerns for farming and the agri-food sector, either in Ireland or Northern Ireland. Great Britain is a much larger market for both economies than the internal market on the island of Ireland.

Of the 4.5bn-5bn of Irish agri-food exports going to the UK annually, approximately 80% goes to Great Britain.

The figures for Northern Ireland show a similar pattern. In 2015, Northern Ireland sold 2.1bn worth of food and agricultural products to Great Britain and exports to ROI were approximately 700m.
Firstly, here's wishing Dhruva Sarja a very happy birthday! Known all over as the Action Prince, Dhruva Sarja is celebrating his 29th birthday today, October 6. His latest release, Bharjari is a phenomenal success and the actor is riding high on his hat-trick score!

Meanwhile, the actor has celebrated his special day with his fans and family. Fans thronged the place to meet their hero and wish him as he cut cake with them and spent some time.

Dhruva Sarja, a happy man at the occasion, thanked the entire state and his fans for their wishes and having made his day a memorable one. On the other hand, the film team of Pogaru have released the first look of the film and wished Dhruva Sarja.

We have a few pictures of Dhruva Sarja's birthday celebrations, along with the first look of his new film, Pogaru. Check it out..
Naga Chaitanya and Samantha, the young star couple of Tollywood are officially a married couple now. Samantha and Naga Chaitanya entered the wedlock on October 6 midnight, in a private ceremony which was held at Vagator Beach, Goa.

Check This Out: ChaiSam Wedding: The Celebrations Kick-Start

The wedding, which was a purely traditional Hindu ceremony was attended by the respective families of Naga Chaitanya and Samantha, and the couple's very close friends. Nagarjuna, the father of the groom has shared some beautiful moments captured during the wedding, through his official Twitter page.

As per the latest updates, Samantha and Naga Chaitanya will exchange wedding vows once again in a traditional Christian wedding ceremony, which will be held on the evening of October 7, Saturday at Vagator Beach.

Check out the beautiful wedding pictures of ChaiSam, here...
So the 2 codes fro TPS and EGR below voltage minimum went away. But I got a new one (code 334) for the EGR being above maximum voltage.... 2 steps forward, one step back. Any ideas?

That's reassuring! So it looks like I just need to move some wires around (theoretically) and I'll be doing burnouts in no time. Thanks for all your help and I'll be sure to keep you posted on how the rewiring turns out.

The 1993 5.8L engine does not use the yellow/green wire (PS pressure sw) and it does not use the yellow/red wire (knock sensor). They are used on the 5.0L engine only. The pinout was listed in the manual to cover both the 5.0L & 5.8L engines.

I took this information and went back to my connector. I found 2 missing wires and 2 wires that were miss matched between the male and female ends. I'm missing the yellow/green wire receptacle and the yellow/red wire receptacle. Any ideas where these are supposed to come from?

The Connector number C101 is standard in the 93 f-series trucks but its wiring will differ with engine sizes.

This is great. Thank you. Is the C101 pretty standard in the 93 f-series trucks or is there something I can reference on my truck that would tell me what connector I should be referencing?

I'm not sure if it's an exact fit. I'm looking at mine and it looks like I've got a few more unused pin locations than the diagram you've provided. However, yours is labeled "C101F/M." What does the C101 represent? I may be able to cross-reference this back to what my vehicle uses.

I do not know of one for a 1993 but the 1994 C101 should be close if not the same connector.

Hey all, I've got a 1993 F250 with the 5.8L 351W. I'm looking for a pinout diagram of the 42 pin bulkhead that connects the fuel injector wiring harness to the main engine wiring harness - the male and female ends.

Posting Quick Reply - Please Wait Quick Reply: Wiring Issues

The following errors occurred with your submission Okay

Quote message in reply?
A round-up of the opening day's events from the 2017 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, where heavy rain meant only five drivers recorded lap times in FP2... Ferrari Vettel said he was quite happy with the feel of his car and the way things ran, and that the plan was on course thus far in the weekend. Raikkonen complained a little of oversteer on the soft tyres, but ran well on the supersofts. Sebastian Vettel - FP1: 1:29.166, P1 I think we had a decent morning. We tried a lot of things and it was good to feel the power of the car. This afternoon was expected to be wet. We would have loved to run a little bit more, but you cant do the right amount of driving, because you dont want to burn your tyre supply in these conditions. The results of the last two races were not good, but the car is strong. We have every reason to be confident and I am sure that on Sunday well be able to show what we can do. If tomorrows qualifying is wet, then we should improve. The last qualifying in wet conditions happened in Monza and it was not a good result. In Malaysia it was a little bit better, but we hope we learned our lesson. Its up to us to get it right. Whatever the weather will be, I hope we can show our potential. Kimi Raikkonen - FP1: 1:29.638, P4 Today we were expecting to have difficult conditions in the afternoon, so we focused on the morning session. We did a little bit more running and generally, we worked on our programme like every other Friday. Overall it was not bad and the feeling was ok. In the afternoon we did not even try to learn anything; we are limited on tires and we have to save the full wet compound in case qualifying is run in wet conditions. Its a pity because we did not do a lot of laps, but at least we have got some ideas. As for tomorrow, lets wait and see what happens in the morning and then through the day. Whatever it will be, we are going to do our best.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Sebastian Vettel (GER) Ferrari SF70-H at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Mark Sutton/Sutton Images Kimi Raikkonen (FIN) Ferrari SF70-H at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Manuel Goria/Sutton Images Info Close

Mercedes Mercedes spent all week deliberating about their aero configuration for FP1 and FP2, and very late on finally decided to go for the new upgrade that was introduced unsuccessfully, in Sepang. As it transpired, Hamilton was only two-tenths off Vettel in FP1, though the German claimed to have lost time passing Ericsson in the final sector. Hamilton said the car felt back to normal and was happy with his day. Bottas said the car felt a lot better than it had in Sepang, but that he didnt really gain grip when he switched to the supersofts. Lewis Hamilton - FP1: 1:29.377, P2; FP2: 1:48.719, P1 "It's been an interesting day, the car is feeling much better than it was in Malaysia. I'm glad that we had the dry session for FP1. In FP2, there was a lot of rain, but it felt really important to go out and assess the track and see how the car was feeling as the car was not good in the wet in Malaysia. The car feels back to normal, so I'm ready to race. The fans are pretty special here - to be out there in the rain, waiting for us to go out through the whole of FP2. That's also another reason I wanted to go out and at least give them a little bit of a show. So hopefully at least they got to see something as not many cars went out." Valtteri Bottas - FP1: 1:30.151, P5 "We didn't really run in FP2, so it's a shame for the fans out there who were waiting to see us running. In practice one, the car did feel better than it did in Malaysia, but we still need to work on things to make the car quicker. As a starting point for the weekend, it definitely feels better than a week ago. My run with the Soft tyres was good, but with the SuperSoft, I didn't really gain any grip. So the main thing for me is to understand the SuperSoft performance. The long runs actually weren't too bad, and hopefully we'll see better weather tomorrow." James Allison, Technical Director "The weather forecasts for today were actually pretty unpromising from quite a long way out. We weren't expecting much useful running at all in either of the sessions. So it was something of a blessing when we managed to get a largely dry FP1. We focused all our programme around trying to get as much race preparation as we could into that single programme. Although that may be an unusual session, it was actually quite a good one. Both cars getting their laps done, getting a feel for the car on high and low fuel and we were reasonably pleased with the initial balance and performance that the car is showing. Obviously after losing all of FP2 the rest of the weekend is still going to be something of a scramble, but at least we go into tomorrow knowing how we ought to set the car up for both qualifying and race."

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Lewis Hamilton (GBR) Mercedes AMG F1 at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Manuel Goria/Sutton Images Valtteri Bottas (FIN) Mercedes-Benz F1 W08 Hybrid at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Manuel Goria/Sutton Images Info Close

Red Bull Ricciardo was happy to be only 0.375s off Vettel, but worried that the performance had come because of too much downforce and that he thus lacked straight-line speed as a result, which suggested that the set-up might not thus have been optimal. Verstappen said he was quite happy and felt the car was competitive, but he lost his best lap when Sainz crashed. Daniel Ricciardo - FP1: 1:29.541, P3 This morning in the dry we went out early because we thought the rain was going to come at the end of the session and we did quite a lot of running. Ferrari were quite strong and Mercedes always turn it up on a Saturday so we still have some pace to find, but the balance was pretty good and overall it was a good morning. We were losing a bit on the straight which I dont think was all engine today, it looked like we had more downforce so we need to see if this is the best set-up for us or if we can find a better compromise for the corners and the straights. I do think next year they should change things a bit, we get an extra set of intermediate tyres on a Friday but not extremes which is why we didnt run in FP2. There is a high chance of rain again tomorrow so we may need to save them for when it counts in Qualifying. Its good that some cars ran but I think for everyone to go out in sessions like this we need an extra set of extremes. Any kind of uncertainty or changing conditions gives us options to take a bit more of a gamble, so lets see what we can do tomorrow. Max Verstappen - FP1: 1:30.762, P6 We didnt do that many laps this morning but I was happy with the set-up straight away and I think we looked competitive. The red flag interfered with the programme a bit but we still managed to get some good data and I feel happy at the end of the day. We adapted plans this morning as we knew the rain was coming this afternoon and this means the washed out second session hasnt impacted on our plans. Mercedes look strong as usual, Ferrari Im not sure about but I think we are close and that is the positive thing. The track certainly feels faster this year with the updated cars, perhaps a second or so which is expected at a circuit like this. The warmer conditions on Sunday should help us and for now Qualifying looks dry so we can get on with some improvements tomorrow. There looked to be a lot of rivers on the track when it was raining so we just thought it wasnt worth the risk of going out in those conditions. Last year was a very good race, I enjoyed it a lot and finished up on the podium so I hope for more of that this Sunday.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Daniel Ricciardo (AUS) Red Bull Racing RB13 at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Kym Illman/Sutton Images Max Verstappen (NED) Red Bull Racing RB13 at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Kym Illman/Sutton Images Info Close

McLaren No problems here, and both drivers said they enjoyed the grip and balance in FP1s dry section. Fernando Alonso - FP1: 1:31.235, P12 As predicted, we had a Friday with only one dry session, so we tried different things in the first session, and did as many laps as we could. In FP2, it was raining too hard so we couldnt do much. We did a few laps at the end of the session, when it had stopped raining, but there wasnt much purpose in running in the wet as it looks like itll be dry in the race, and probably qualifying too. The car was behaving well on a circuit where performance is mainly expressed in the fast corners of the first sector. It feels special because theres so much grip out there. Stoffel Vandoorne - FP1: 1:31.202, P10 So far, its quite difficult to know what to expect, especially as todays running was very limited. FP1 was quite normal, without any trouble, but we only got to do an installation lap in the rain during FP2. The weather will be key tomorrow  it looks like itll be a dry race on Sunday, so qualifying will be super-important. Looking at the weather radar for tomorrow, it's still a bit difficult to predict, it should potentially be dry in quali tomorrow. The car felt nice around here. Suzukas a high-speed circuit with lots of direction changes and, especially with with the downforce and wider tyres we have this year, theyre very impressive in the first sector;very exciting to drive. Whatever happens, well make the best of it this weekend. Eric Boullier, Racing Director As ever, at Suzuka, the weather can make things difficult  and this afternoons FP2 effectively became a complete washout due to the heavy rain. Luckily, we managed to get a few exploratory laps under out belts, which was useful for evaluating a few systems checks, but, like everyone else, weve got a lot of work to do tomorrow. Both drivers were relatively happy with their cars during this mornings dry FP1 session  but, again, theyve highlighted a few shortcomings which were still working to cure ahead of qualifying tomorrow. Nevertheless, I think weve made a solid start to the weekend. Yusuke Hasegawa, Honda R&D Co. Ltd Head of F1 Project & Executive Chief Engineer We have been looking forward to having our home Grand Prix at Suzuka. However, it was disappointing that we lost so much track time due to the rain today. With such a complex circuit layout, car set-up is key.Therefore, we will look to analyse the data that we were able to gather from today's session together with McLaren tonight. Id like to thank all the home fans who visited the circuit in such poor weather conditions. It was great to see so much support. We hope to show them a good result in tomorrow's qualifying.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Fernando Alonso (ESP) McLaren MCL32 at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Manuel Goria/Sutton Images Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL) McLaren floats a paper boat in a flooded pit lane at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Rubio/Sutton Images Info Close

Force India Both drivers did as much work as they could in FP1 to beat the rain, and generally the team were happy with the way the day went. Sergio Perez - FP1: 1:31.530, P13; FP2: 1:51.345, P3 We knew it would be a difficult day because of the weather, so we chose to maximise the morning session to complete as much dry running as we could. We did some aero testing and we need to analyse the data to make sure we choose the right direction for tomorrow. The car was working well in the dry, but we need to make some changes tonight to make sure I am totally comfortable. When the rain arrived this afternoon, I went out to do a few laps just to get a feel for the balance in the wet conditions. There was a lot of standing water so we didnt do many laps, but at least we have run on the wet tyres in case it rains again tomorrow. Esteban Ocon - FP1: 1:30.899, P7; FP2: 1:49.518, P2 The morning session went well and we did a lot of work because we were expecting the rain later in the day. During FP2, we went out to experience the conditions and the car felt strong, so Im not worried if the rain comes back tomorrow. If its wet or dry, we have a well-balanced car and we can be competitive. In the dry the car was not far away from where I wanted it to be  similar to how the car felt in Malaysia, so thats a good sign. We didnt have much time to work on the set-up adjustments, but I have a good feeling and we know where we need to focus tonight. Robert Fernley, Deputy Team Principal Another disrupted day with the heavy rain limiting our programme this afternoon and both cars completing just a handful of laps. Fortunately we had a dry morning session where we elected to bring forward some of the data gathering we would normally carry out during FP2. We combined this with some component testing of our new aero updates spread across both cars. The red flag and the light rain at the end of the morning compressed the session, but we are not in bad shape and have a reasonable amount of data to help us prepare for qualifying and the race. We went out in the wet conditions this afternoon just to get an idea of how the wet tyres are performing. Both drivers were happy in the wet and I think we are well prepared whatever the weather brings tomorrow.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Sergio Perez (MEX) Force India VJM10 at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Kym Illman/Sutton Images Esteban Ocon (FRA) Force India VJM10 at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Manuel Goria/Sutton Images Info Close

Renault Both drivers did as much lappery as possible in FP1. Hulkenberg said he was happy with his cars balance, but Palmer complained of traffic that didnt enable him to lap as quickly as he wanted. Nico Hulkenberg - FP1: 1:30.974, P8 FP1 was good. With the threat of rain expected in the afternoon, FP1 was a serious session, we ran quite a bit and did the testing we wanted to do. Everything felt ok, the balance was good so I wasnt too unhappy. There isnt much to say about the afternoon session, it was pretty wet and we wanted to conserve our tyres as there might be some rain again tomorrow. Jolyon Palmer - FP1: 1:31.757, P15 There was a lot of traffic during FP1, but we were able to try different set-ups and I think we found a good direction. It was nice to get some dry running because we expect it to be wet again in FP3. In FP2 the grip level actually felt quite good despite the water, but we just decided to save the tyres because it could be wet again on Saturday, so we will keep them for qualifying. Nick Chester, Chassis Technical Director The morning session was good today. We put a comprehensive programme together for FP1 because we knew we were going to have a wet FP2. We did a lot of work on set-up specific to this track, there are a lot of high speed corners so its a bit of a different track to optimise for. We completed tests on both cars, and it has given us good knowledge for where to run the car in the dry. For FP2, we wanted to try a little bit more of a wet set-up, but really it was too wet, so we just did the one lap to see where the rivers were and that was it.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Nico Hulkenberg (GER) Renault Sport F1 Team RS17 at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Kym Illman/Sutton Images Jolyon Palmer (GBR) Renault Sport F1 Team RS17 and Max Verstappen (NED) Red Bull Racing RB13 at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Kym Illman/Sutton Images Info Close

Williams Williams ran reasonably well on the soft tyre, but their supersoft runs were interrupted by Sainzs accident. Stroll was lucky to avoid the tyre wall in FP2 when his car aquaplaned on his first fast lap, but he recovered well on his second. Felipe Massa - FP1: 1:31.912, P16; FP2: 1:52.146, P4 "It was not a very interesting day, to be honest. The first impression of the car here is that it is alright, but its difficult to say where we are compared to the others. It was interesting to see how the car will behave, but in the rain I only did one lap. There was a lot of aquaplaning and standing water, so there wasnt much we could do, this was mostly a day of waiting. The forecast I just saw says it will rain this evening and stop for tomorrow, so maybe we will be driving in the dry. I hope that we can have a good day tomorrow." Lance Stroll - FP1: 1:31.602, P14; FP2: 1:52.343, P5 "It was a good day. FP1 was very positive, the car felt good and I really enjoyed driving on the circuit, as it is a lot of fun and very special. Then, in FP2, there wasn't a lot of running with the rain, which was not easy as you never know where the limit is in such conditions. I just did one proper push lap and that was about it. It was not much of an afternoon, but all in all a good day." Paddy Lowe, Chief Technical Officer "We had dry conditions in FP1, almost throughout, just a spot here and there and some rain towards the end. We got in some good running with the time available. The pace on the soft tyre is looking reasonably encouraging. Unfortunately for both of our cars, their supersoft runs were interrupted by the red flag of Sainz, so we didnt get the best out of those. We got some good data from various experiments we were doing as well, so overall it was a good session. FP2 was almost a complete washout, although we managed to get a lap or two with each car on the full wet tyre, again conducting some relevant experiments and getting some useful data. I feel sorry for the fans, who are incredibly enthusiastic, that they didnt get any spectacle this afternoon, but hopefully the rest of the weekend will be dry."

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Felipe Massa (BRA) Williams FW40 at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Manuel Goria/Sutton Images Lance Stroll (CDN) Williams FW40 at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Kym Illman/Sutton Images Info Close

Toro Rosso Toro Rosso had a very bad day. Sainz had already earned 20 grid place penalties for a sixth MGU-H (10), and a fifth ICE and turbocharger (five apiece), when he crashed very heavily exiting the hairpin in FP1. He was unharmed, but his STR12 was a mess. Pierre Gasly - FP1: 1:32.501, P18 Not the most exciting day in terms of running, I must admit Having said that, it was still good to be back here in Suzuka and be able to drive during this mornings FP1. We didnt do many laps in total  we didnt even drive out of the garage in this afternoons FP2 because of the weather conditions!  but we got some good data and we now have some work for tomorrow in order to improve our performance. Another positive is that the seat now feels much better than in Malaysia, Im happy about this and now we just need to find a bit more pace. We have one more practice session left to get ready for qualifying and I think it will be a pretty busy one! Im now really looking forward to tomorrow. Carlos Sainz - FP1: 1:32.252, P17 A tricky Friday for us! Obviously, the accident in FP1 was a bit of a pity I didnt expect that to happen, I just clipped the outside kerb a bit too much and it sent me into a spin and then into the barriers. It looked quite incredible on the TV, but luckily it wasnt such a big one from inside the cockpit. We cant forget that a minimal miscalculation here can make you pay a big price! Im happy that the mechanics could put the car back together for FP2  they did an amazing job like they always do, pushing for me and the team. We were ready to run in FP2, but unfortunately the weather conditions didnt help us and we were only able to complete an installation lap. Hopefully tomorrow is a better day! Jonathan Eddolls, Chief Race Engineer We came here with some new set-up ideas to try on the car, looking to maximize the potential from the aero package we introduced at the last event. We managed to get some good testing across the two cars in this mornings FP1, both aero and mechanical, which was very positive. Unfortunately, Carlos made a small mistake and crashed, but the mechanics did a fantastic job in turning the car around and getting it out in the afternoon for an installation lap. We gathered good data in the morning that wed planned to develop further into FP2 but, unfortunately, with the weather conditions, we didnt get to trial those. Well now have to spend a bit of time tonight trying to understand exactly what were confident to take into FP3, because we dont want to spend the whole of that session learning about the car  thats for qualifying performance for Pierre. As for Carlos car, the situation is slightly different because of his engine penalty, so well have a different focus for tomorrow, more based around race performance.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Pierre Gasly (FRA) Scuderia Toro Rosso at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Mark Sutton/Sutton Images The crashed car of Carlos Sainz (ESP) Scuderia Toro Rosso STR12 is recovered after FP1 at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Rubio/Sutton Images Info Close

Haas Haas had a decent time in FP1, with one car in the top 10 and one just outside, which was encouraging. Magnussens day was troubled by a water leak on his Ferrari engine, however, that restricted him to one hot lap at a time. Romain Grosjean - FP1: 1:31.032, P9 FP1 was a solid session in between the drops of rain. We managed to do everything we wanted, more or less. It wouldve been nice to get a few more laps on the long run on high fuel before the rain came, but we saw how fast the car is anyway. The cars doing OK for now, so we need to keep on that trend. We need to keep improving and making sure we dont lose our way. The weather can determine a lot. Well see what happens between FP2 and FP3. I think we have some ideas what to do to get the car better. Kevin Magnussen - FP1: 1:31.216, P11 The car was feeling good straight away, so we were happy about that. I think we need to try and find some more speed, for sure, because other people are going to be doing that. If were aiming to score points this weekend we need to get it right. I had the issues with the water leak and I could only do one lap per run. So, I didnt get that much running, but hopefully we can catch up. Guenther Steiner, Team Principal We had a pretty good FP1, though its still too early to say how good. We had just a small problem with Kevins car. We couldnt do more than a few laps because of a small water leak, which we sorted out for FP2. Unfortunately, it rained a lot in FP2, so we didnt do any more running. Were now looking forward to tomorrow.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Romain Grosjean (FRA) Haas VF-17 at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Kym Illman/Sutton Images Kevin Magnussen (DEN) Haas VF-17 at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Manuel Goria/Sutton Images Info Close

Sauber Both drivers were happy with their balance in FP1, when they also had the chance to test a new front wing. Marcus Ericsson - FP1: 1:33.397, P20 FP1 was ok  with stable track conditions, we were able to test different car set-ups and obtain some data there. It rained all through FP2, so we were unable to run our programme  that was a shame, and did not just affect us but everyone in the paddock. We are going to pick up where we left off in FP1 during the third free practice tomorrow, and work on making some improvements for the rest of the weekend. Pascal Wehrlein - FP1: 1:32.897, P19 FP1 went quite smoothly for me. I felt comfortable in the car and was satisfied with the car balance. It is unfortunate that we could not have more time on track due to the rain in FP2. I am looking forward to more track action tomorrow. Lets see what the day will bring.

Next Previous Enlarge 1 / 2 Pascal Wehrlein (GER) Sauber C36 at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Kym Illman/Sutton Images Marcus Ericsson (SWE) Sauber C36 at Formula One World Championship, Rd16, Japanese Grand Prix, Practice, Suzuka, Japan, Friday 6 October 2017.  Kym Illman/Sutton Images Info Close
Kruger National Park Safari Take a journey, beyond the familiar, on an unforgettable South African safari. Throughout the diverse landscape, Mother Nature reigns supreme. South Africa is home to more than 1,100 unique species of birds and mammals! Kruger National Park, one of Africa's largest game reserves, offers visitors the chance to glimpse an incredible ecosystem and rare or endangered animals. The reserve is home to the Big 5: lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants, and buffaloes, as well as cheetahs, giraffes, and more.

Johannesburg Known in Zulu as eGoli or "Place of Gold," Johannesburg is the second largest city in Africa (after Cairo, Egypt). The city was founded in 1886 after gold was discovered in the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range. Today, with a bustling nightlife and exploding restaurant scene, JoBurg or Jozi (as it's known to the locals) is a fantastic place to eat and drink, shop, and explore! It's also known as the largest artificial urban forest in the world, as the city's government has planted more than 10 million trees to date in the bustling environment. Stops featured on our tours include a tour of Soweto, the Apartheid Museum, and Lileslie Farm, where you will experience a first-hand account of the time when Nelson Mandela lived under an alias and the events and circumstances leading up to the raid, which ultimately led to his trial and incarceration on Robben Island.

Cape Town Cape Town, founded in 1652, is rich in history and culture. Notably, Nelson Mandala made his first public speech following his release from prison on the balcony of Cape Town's City Hall. Tens of thousands of visitors each year take the short ferry to Robben Island, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, to witness the place where Mandela served 18 years behind bars. In addition to touring the small prison island, visitors to Cape Town should make a point to indulge in the city's vibrant food scene, including some of the world's best restaurants, Victoria & Alfred Waterfront for shopping and entertainment, and hike one of the city's adjacent natural parks.

Table Mountain Overlooking Cape Town, Table Mountain's dramatic and towering landscape draws thousands of tourists annually. At its highest point, this geological masterpiece, one of the world's "New Seven Wonders of Nature," rises 3,563 feet above sea level! Amazing vantage points can be accessed via the Table Mountain Cableway. Or, for the more adventurous traveler, Table Mountain boasts the world's highest abseil (rappel) at 367 feet! In addition to stunning views, this diverse and bountiful ecosystem features more than 2,200 species of plantsmany of which are found nowhere else in the world. Many of the plant species, found only in South Africa, have delicate or refined leaves and are referred to as "fynbos" foliage, which means "fine bush" or "fine forest."

Blyde River Canyon Every inch of Blyde River Canyon's 16 miles offers visitors a unique and unparalleled peek at the dramatic beauty of South Africa. Blyde is the third largest canyon in the world (behind the Grand Canyon in the U.S. and Fish River Canyon in Namibia), the third deepest canyon in the world, and the greenest canyon in the world! From breathtaking views of rolling mountains, the Three Rondavels, God's Window, and Bourke's Luck Potholes to the diversity of life that inhabits the canyon, including some primate species only found in South Africathis is a must-see!

Cape Winelands Nestled among South Africa's mountains is a network of sweeping green valleys perfect for vineyards! The Cape Winelands, as this region is known, offers visitors a fantastic opportunity to sip unique vintages, such as Pinotage, among rows of neatly planted grapes set against a striking backdrop! Wine production here goes back to the late 1600s. Today, quaint farmsteads dot the valleys, and historic towns like Franschoek (known as South Africa's foodie capitol), Paarl, and Groot Drakenstein provide endless opportunities to shop, dine, and drink!
Already booked on one of our packages to China? See everything you need to know before you go.

Overview Capital: Beijing

Population: 1.37 billion

Currency: Renminbi (RMB or CNY)

Languages: Cantonese, Mandarin, a variety of local dialects

Drives on the: Right

Time zone: UTC +8

Entry requirements Please see our Entry Requirements page.

Staying Healthy According to the Center for Disease Control, there are no requirements for travel to China, but immunization against polio, tetanus, typhoid and hepatitis are recommended. Also ask your doctor about malaria suppressants if you will be visiting Hainan Island and areas close to the Laotian and Myanmar borders. Be sure to take insect repellent! A note on blood and transfusions: RH negative and type O bloods are not commonly stored in China. There have also been problems with HIV contaminated blood supplies. Center for Disease Control

World Health Organization

Weather China has 4 seasons, similar to that of the northeast United States. During the winter months, December  February, most parts of China would be in a cold spell, especially more so in the northern part, with average temperature at about 20F and 50F. For travel during spring or summer, temperatures average between 60F and 90F. Northern China is best seen in September and October, and southern China is best seen in November and December. Winters range from extremely cold in the north to moderate in the south.

What to wear Your clothing should be casual and designed for comfort, without being too revealing. Take light cotton clothes that are easily washed and not too delicate. For travel during the rainy season, from May to August, a raincoat is necessary. However, since weather can be unpredictable anywhere in the world, to be sure you are comfortable during your trip and prepared for all types of weather possibilities, we suggest that you carry a small folding umbrella and take with you a warm jacket or all-weather coat with zip out lining. Be sure you bring gloves, warm socks and a hat, all of which will help you stay warm if the weather is cold. If you have two pairs of comfortable (broken in, not brand new) walking shoes, by all means, take both pairs. Packing to dress in layers is another way to prepare for a variety of weather conditions. Finally, remember that China is a casual country, and comfort should dictate your wardrobe for the tour.

Tipping The currency of China is the yuan. Hotels and some stores accept major credit cards. However, for street shopping you will need local currency or U.S. dollars. Your hotel will be able to exchange your cash for local currency. We highly recommend that you bring crisp, new bills in small denominations. Old, torn, crumpled bills are not accepted. Travelers checks are no longer widely accepted. If you intend to use travelers checks, please be sure to verify that they are still accepted in the places visited on this tour.

Money & Credit Cards The currency of China is the yuan. Hotels and some stores accept major credit cards. However, for street shopping you will need local currency or U.S. dollars. Your hotel will be able to exchange your cash for local currency. We highly recommend that you bring crisp, new bills in small denominations. Old, torn, crumpled bills are not accepted. Travelers checks are no longer widely accepted. If you intend to use travelers checks, please be sure to verify that they are still accepted in the places visited on this tour. ATMs are not always hooked up to international banking networks. Machines accepting foreign ATM cards have CIRRUS or MAESTRO logos. It is preferable to take along cash, travelers checks or credit cards. Always notify your bank prior to departure to avoid any problems using your credit or debit card while traveling.

Shopping You will certainly have time for shopping, and China offers a great variety of goods to satisfy different tastes and price ranges. Normally, you will find the best quality in the government-owned Friendship Stores; however, prices may be higher. It is always a good idea to comparison-shop, and exercise the buyer-beware rule, just as you do at home. And remember, stores in China will NOT allow you to return or exchange purchased items.

Electricity & Power Adapters 220 volts. Plugs A, I & G. You will need a voltage converter and plug adapter in order to use U.S. appliances. We recommend getting a universal adapter and converter kit before your tour to China. Learn more about electrical standards around the world.

Cell Phones & Internet Want to take your cell phone, tablet or laptop, but not sure how to get cell service or wifi? Read up on using your cell phone abroad and the top 5 ways to get Internet abroad.

Photography Cameras and video recorders are permitted, and photography is generally permitted everywhere except at airports and military installations. Memory cards for digital cameras will be available in major cities.
Santa Cruz Island Known for its sandy beaches, giant tortoises, and fascinating natural wonders, Santa Cruz Island is the only Galapagos Island with six different vegetation zones full of diverse wildlife, flora, and fauna. The island is home to the charming town of Puerto Ayora, the main port of the islands that encompasses bustling streets, tasty restaurants, and a variety of recreational activities. Explore Tortuga Bay and watch sea turtles and marine iguanas gliding in the turquoise waters, or travel to the Charles Darwin Research Station to see endangered giant tortoises mingle freely with one another. Marvel at the natural wonders of Santa Cruz, including illuminated lava tunnels and Los Gemelos, two massive volcanic sinkholes.

Tortuga Bay Located on Santa Cruz Island lies the white-sand beaches of Tortuga Bay. A short path through a unique cactus forest home to Darwin Finches, Mockingbirds, Yellow Warblers, Lava Lizards, and other native species will lead you to the stunning beach. Tortuga Bay is surrounded by pristine waters and secluded coves that are perfect for snorkeling and discovering the marine creatures that call this bay home, including stingrays and baby reef sharks. Search for wildlife among the volcanic rocks and see the vibrant-colored Galapagos crabs and many marine iguanas, the only lizard species in the world that can swim!

Los Gemelos Prepare to be amazed by the sight of these spectacular natural wonders -- Los Gemelos. Located in the highlands of Santa Cruz Island and often referred to as "The Twins," these magnificent volcanic sinkholes were formed by the collapse of the land beneath them and are genuinely an awe-inspiring visual reminder of the power of nature. Standing atop the opening and peering down into the gaping crater covered in lush greenery and seemingly endless forests, these giant craters are immensely impressive.

Isabela Island The largest island of the Galapagos (almost 4x the size of Santa Cruz Island!) and one of the most volcanically active places in the world, Isabela Island was formed over 1 million years ago by merging six volcanoes, most of which are still active to this day. The island was named after Queen Isabella of Spain, although it was initially named "Albemarle" in honor of the Duke of Albemarle. Although parts of the island contain sprawling lava fields and minimal vegetation, there are also areas where lush vegetation thrives. The waters of Isabela Island are the best to spot whales, including humpbacks, orcas, and more!

Blue-Footed Boobies When you travel to the Galapagos Islands, you'll be able to distinguish these romantic fellas from the rest! Blue-footed boobies are one of three booby species found on the Galapagos Islands. These large, unique birds are found nesting in rocky areas on small islands. You'll easily spot the blue-footed boobies strutting around with exaggerated movements, showing off their fabulously vibrant blue feet. The beautiful hue of their feet plays a considerable role when courting a female booby -- the bluer the feet, the more attractive the mate! You'll get to experience the entertaining sight of these incredible creatures trying to impress all the single ladies by performing elaborate mating dances. Their name derives from the Spanish word 'bobo,' meaning foolish  which accurately describes their uncoordinated movements on land!
Google Assistant app makes its way to the Play Store News oi -Abhinaya Prabhu Google has come up with a new way to launch Assistant.

Google is recently in the tech headlines for numerous things. It was just on Tuesday that the company unveiled the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL flagship smartphones and a few other hardware products. While the industry was focusing on the latest launches from Google, the company has quietly launched the Assistant app on the Play Store.

Don't get too excited as there is a catch. The Google Assistant app does not bring the voice assistant to your phone. It is just a shortcut app that will trigger the Assistant on your phone when it is tapped. To put in other words, this app is just a way to open the Google Assistant on your phone in addition to holding the home button or voicing out the "Ok Google" command.

Going by the Play Store listing of the new Assistant app spotted by AndroidPolice, this app requires your device to meet a few requirements such as Google Search v7.11 or higher and basic memory requirements for it to function. It is said that the app will check the device for the requirements and inform you if your device is not eligible. You can place this app as a shortcut wherever you want on the home screen so that you can call the Assistant quickly.

Notably, this app will work only on those devices those already have the Google Assistant inbuilt. If you install it on a device that does not have the Assistant, then you will not be able to see any effect. While there are other ways to launch the Google Assistant, this is one of the simplest and easiest ways to do so.

At the launch event of the second-generation Pixel smartphones, Google did announce new features those will come to Assistant including Google Assistant Actions for developers to perform payment transactions. The transactions on Assistant has the ability to add items to the cart.

Best Mobiles in India

Facebook, To stay updated with latest technology news & gadget reviews, follow GizBot on Twitter YouTube and also subscribe to our notification. Allow Notifications
Honor 6C Pro to be launched soon as its user manual leaks News oi -Chandrika Last month, the Honor 6C Pro also received the Eurasian Economic Union certification.

Back in April, Huawei's sub-brand Honor had launched a smartphone named Honor 6C. Now, it seems like an upgraded version of the device dubbed as Honor 6C Pro is on the way.

We say so as the German and Italian websites of Honor have published the user manual of the smartphone. Last month, the Honor 6C Pro also received the Eurasian Economic Union certification. This means Honor is planning to launch the smartphone pretty soon. That being said, the Chinese company is yet to make an announcement regarding the launch of any device.

OnePlus' latest Diwali video is as appealing as its flagship smartphone

Coming to the user manual, unfortunately, it doesn't reveal much information about the specs of the Honor 6C Pro. The only thing we have come to know is that the smartphone will run on Android Nougat with Huawei's custom Emotion UI 5 on top.

Other than that, it has revealed that the Honor 6C Pro variant that is heading to Germany, Italy, and other European regions has the model number JMM-L22.

The manual also contains an image of the Honor 6C Pro placed alongside a TV. It doesn't make sense though as the smartphone doesn't appear to have narrow bezels. In fact, the top and bottom bezels are quite thick. However, it could also indicate that the smartphone's display can be mirrored on a larger screen.

The device doesn't feature a physical home button, which means there could be a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner on the Honor 6C Pro.

Another image shows that one of the variants of the smartphone would feature a hybrid SIM slot. So users would be able to use two nano-sized SIM cards or one nano-SIM along with a microSD card at the same time.

If you are wondering about the specifications, the Honor 6C Pro is said to be a mid-ranger. It will reportedly be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor clubbed with 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage space.

As for optics, the smartphone is likely to be equipped with a 13MP rear-facing camera as well as a 5MP selfie shooter at the front. The display of the Honor 6C Pro could be of 5.2-inch that would deliver full HD resolution of 1,9201,080 pixels.

Via LETSGODIGITAL

Best Mobiles in India
Berlin drops probe into US, British mass surveillance of German telecommunications, internet

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 5, 2017 06:38PM

Prosecutors in Germany have dropped an investigation into alleged hacking of information from German citizens and officials by the US National Security Agency (NSA) and its British partner.

The prosecution service said Thursday that the charges against the NSA were dropped due to lack of concrete evidence that could prove the intelligence service and its British partner had been involved in mass Internet and phone data surveillance in Germany as reports claimed before the opening of the probe four years ago.

Edward Snowden, a fugitive US intelligence whistleblower, released documents in 2013 showing that the US and its allies were conducting sweeping Internet and phone data surveillance in European Union countries, including in Germany.

The federal prosecution said, however, that there was "no hard evidence" showing that intelligence services "illegally, systematically and massively" monitored German telecommunications and Internet traffic.

It said the US spy service had, in fact, used "techniques and capabilities" to conduct "strategic signals intelligence" and tap online communications, but it said "the so-called Snowden documents" provided "no concrete evidence of actual espionage activities carried out by the NSA in or against Germany."

The prosecution said the conclusion was based on a thorough assessment by the investigators in partnership with Germany's BfV domestic security service, which handles counter-espionage, the federal IT security agency BSI; the NSA parliamentary inquiry; and the operator of a major European internet hub in Germany.

The US espionage on Germans sparked a huge controversy when revelations about the case emerged in 2013. Chancellor Angela Merkel was even forced to warn the White House that spying between allies was unacceptable and Berlin could take actions.

The warning came after local media said the NSA had tapped Merkel's mobile phone.

The scandal further deepened in 2015 when it became clear that Germany's intelligence service, BND, had helped the NSA eavesdrop on senior EU officials.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






CIA Chief Pompeo's Risky Plans to Streamline Agency's Decision-Making Processes

Sputnik News

17:56 05.10.2017(updated 20:09 05.10.2017)

US Central Intelligence Agency Chief Mike Pompeo has said he aims to improve the organization's "agility and speed" by sending more agents abroad, and streamlining executive processes.

Speaking at an annual intelligence conference at George Washington University October 4, CIA Director Mike Pompeo outlined his vision for more aggressive US intelligence work around the globe, pledging to send more spies to the field and moving decision-making down the chain of command  a choice with the potential of triggering problematic consequences.

"If you are in a process and you're not adding value, get out of the way. This risk of the absence of agility and speed is a price our agency can't afford to pay. It's one America cannot afford either," Pompeo said.

The former businessman and conservative Republican Congressman from Kansas didn't elaborate on how many more agents would be dispatched to the field, but said it was important to get personnel closer to where adversaries train and prepare to "take America down."

"The closer we can get to the center of it, deploying our people, tools and resources into the heart of the fight, the more quickly we'll engage those who threaten us and the more likely it is we will keep America safe," he said.

As part of his proposals to improve the CIA's "agility and speed" Pompeo said he would pushing decision-making power to the lowest level possible, with decisions made by officers "closest to the issue at hand," as they "almost always have a firmer grasp on the details and should therefore be the ones leading the way."

Similarly, the number of people who have to sign off and review plans is to be reduced.

Dire Consequences

It's not merely in the field of intelligence US authorities have sought to streamline decision-making processes and rules. A mere day before Pompeo's speech, it was announced by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis that he had moved to "lift restrictions and expand authorities" on and of US operations in Afghanistan.

A key change was a significant easing of rules of engagement, effectively allowing US troops to fire on Taliban fighters, no matter how far away they are, or whether they are engaged in direct combat with, or have received fire from, hostile elements. The amendment effectively gives carte blanche to coalition forces to fire at will  and raises the risk of increased civilian casualties, given the previous regulations governing enagegment were specifically drawn up to minimize the prospect of innocent parties being injured or killed.

As a demonstration of this prospect, similar loosening of battlefield rules in Yemen led to a series of Special Operations raids in which many civilians were killed.

While the streamlining of decision-making in the field of intelligence is perhaps unlikely to produce mass civilian casualties, removing top-level staff from the executive loop may have hazardous implications.

There is perhaps no greater testament to this destructive potential than the April 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, a notorious CIA-funded and planned effort by Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro's government and replace it with a non-communist, US-friendly government.

Subsequently declassified CIA files have revealed Agents allowed their keenness to remove Castro from power to override grave concerns over the operation's viability, and moreover hid these concerns from superiors  including then-President John F. Kennedy.

Assuming the President would commit US forces to the effort if it failed, the flawed plan was pushed ahead with  and, as several had privately predicted, it failed.

Similar, the January 1968 Tet Offensive was a major intelligence failure likewise caused by poor decision-making on the part of on-the-ground agents. The event saw North Vietnamese forces catch US forces unaware with a massive, coordinated assault, perhaps the most decisive battle in the Vietnam War.

A government inquiry concluded local CIA analysts had disregarded multiple warnings of the impending attack from local sources, and their own superiors, who had closer and wider understanding respectively of the impending situation.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






U.S., Coalition Continue Strikes to Defeat ISIS in Syria, Iraq

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Oct. 5, 2017  U.S. and coalition military forces continued to attack the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria yesterday, conducting 37 strikes consisting of 47 engagements, 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

In Syria, coalition military forces conducted 28 strikes consisting of 31 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Dayr Az Zawr, five strikes engaged four ISIS tactical units and destroyed four vehicles and a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device.

-- Near Raqqa, 23 strikes engaged six ISIS tactical units; destroyed two communications systems, 17 fighting positions, a command-and-control node, two logistics nodes, four ISIS oil stills and three ISIS oil trucks; and suppressed two fighting positions.

Strikes in Iraq

In Iraq, coalition military forces conducted nine strikes consisting of 16 engagements against ISIS targets:

-- Near Asad, a strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit.

-- Near Qaim, two strikes destroyed an ISIS weapons cache and a vehicle-borne-IED factory.

-- Near Huwija, six strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units, suppressed four ISIS oil stills, and destroyed five ISIS oil tanks, an IED facility, a vehicle-borne IED, a weapons cache, a vehicle, a fighting position and three ISIS-held buildings.

Previous Strikes

Officials also provided details today on 14 earlier strikes near Raqqa consisting of 14 engagements for which the information was not previously available:

-- On Oct. 2, 10 strikes engaged 10 ISIS tactical units.

-- On Oct. 3, four strikes destroyed three ISIS fighting positions and a vehicle-borne IED.

Part of Operation Inherent Resolve

These strikes were conducted as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the operation to destroy ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The destruction of ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria also further limits the group's ability to project terror and conduct external operations throughout the region and the rest of the world, task force officials said.

The list above contains all strikes conducted by fighter, attack, bomber, rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft; rocket-propelled artillery; and some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets, officials noted.

Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike, they added. A strike, as defined by the coalition, refers to one or more kinetic engagements that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single or cumulative effect.

For example, task force officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIS vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against a group of ISIS-held buildings and weapon systems in a compound, having the cumulative effect of making that facility harder or impossible to use. Strike assessments are based on initial reports and may be refined, officials said.

The task force does 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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Transcript

Presenter: Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Dana W. White; Joint Staff Director Lieutenant General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. October 26, 2017

Department of Defense Press Briefing by Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Dana W. White and Joint Staff Director Lt. Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. in the Pentagon Briefing Room

DANA WHITE: Good afternoon, everyone.

Joining me today is Lieutenant General Frank McKenzie, director of the joint staff. As many of you have already reported, last night three U.S. servicemembers and one partner nation member were killed; two U.S. servicemembers were injured while conducting an advise and assist mission in (sic) Niger security forces in southwest Niger.

On behalf of everyone in the department and the secretary of defense, we extend our deepest condolences and sympathies to the families of the fallen, and those injured in this attack.

We also send our thoughts and prayers to all of our fellow Americans who have been devastated by successive hurricanes and the tragic shooting in Las Vegas this week.

First, I will update you on our ongoing hurricane relief efforts. Second, I'll discuss where we stand on the current continuing resolution and our need for a full F.Y. '18 budget. Then we'll take your questions.

Today, the department continues to support FEMA and hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. To date, the department has deployed more than 11,000 active duty and National Guard troops; dispatched 80 tilt- and rotary-wing aircraft; provided 5.8 million liters of water; 7.3 million meals; 22,000 costs; 11,000 tarps; 278 generators; and more than 100 field trucks and drivers.

Lieutenant General Buchanan, commander, U.S. Army North, has been on the ground for a week, and his team has already opened all nine seaports and all 10 airports. Their work was critical to delivering relief supplies to the island.

On Tuesday, the USNS Comfort arrived with 800 medical personnel, providing patients with a full suite of care, including surgical, pediatric and trauma support, with 250 hospital beds. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been on the ground installing generators at critical facilities, to include 66 hospitals; 15 of those hospitals are now operational; and 51 are operating on generator power.

At the Guatajaca Dam in northeast Puerto Rico, the Corps of Engineers is doing erosion repairs. This work is critical to more than 230,000 people who rely on the reservoir above the dam for drinking water.

The department will remain fully engaged in providing humanitarian assistance to our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico until we've restored some semblance of normalcy to their lives. As the secretary of defense said in testimony this week, "When it comes to helping Americans, it's all hands on deck."

In addition to our support in Puerto Rico, we are also helping in Dominica, Martinique, Guadaloupe, where we are assisting France and the Netherlands in their relief effort on these islands.

In addition to supporting state and local authorities during these recent natural disasters, the Department of Defense supports a variety of operations around the world, which is why the department needs a sufficient and predictable budget. This week marked the ninth consecutive fiscal year the department has operated under a continuing resolution, or C.R. Over the last decade, the department has operated under a C.R. for over 1,000 days. That's nearly three full years.

The current C.R. funds the government through the first 10 weeks of the fiscal year. Continuing resolutions hurt the readiness of our forces and their equipment. The longer the C.R. lasts, the more damage they do. That is why it is imperative that Congress passes a full-year budget and eliminates the defense budget caps in the Budget Control Act.

As Secretary Mattis testified earlier this year, "No enemy in the field has done more to harm the combat readiness of our military than sequestration."

The department needs the F.Y. '18 budget to strengthen our armed forces and improve lethality. Therefore, we encourage the Congress to exercise the rightful stewardship of the taxpayers' dollars and pass a fiscal year '18 budget before the C.R. ends on December 8th.

And with that, I will take your questions.

Lita?

Q: Dana, I'm looking for sort of an update on the last time we saw you, on some troop issues. At that time, you suggested that the secretary was adamant about his -- his belief that there should be more transparency. And you said that numbers -- some general, broad troop numbers for Iraq and Syria would be forthcoming. I'm wondering if you can update us on the progress of that?

And the secretary also this week said, or acknowledged that because of the broad hurricane effort, that some of the deployment to Afghanistan have been delayed. General McKenzie, I'm wondering if you can give us a little bit more granularity on that. At the time you did your last briefing, we were told there were about 11,000 troops in Afghanistan. This week the secretary and the chairman said there are still about 11,000 troops in Afghanistan, suggesting that very little of this close to 3,500, 4,000 (inaudible) come in.

Can you tell us what the impact has been? How has it affected the actual work on the ground? Because both General Nicholson and the chairman have both talked about this need for additional support on the ground.

MS. WHITE: Well, I'll take your first question.

We are still working on the Iraq-Syria numbers. That is a commitment of the secretary's to be more transparent. And as soon as we have those accounting practices and we -- the principles are the same as for Afghanistan -- we will announce those numbers.

General?

LIEUTENANT GENERAL KENNETH F. MCKENZIE JR.: Sure. Last time I was in here, I mentioned the number approximately 11,000. That's still the number that we're working off. Forces are flowing to Afghanistan. They have been slightly delayed by ongoing hurricane relief efforts. I'm not going to go further in characterizing the nature of those delays. Forces continue to flow, but there has been a slight delay. It'll take a little bit of time to build up a force in Afghanistan.

At some point in the future, we'll come back in and we'll give you a new, approximate number. But right now, it's in the vicinity of 11,000, probably a little bit over that number, but I'm not prepared to give you a number above that right now.

MS. WHITE: And is it accurate that it may -- some of these may be delayed until next year because of the hurricane efforts? I mean, what -- what is -- is it a transport problem? Could you at least give us a sense of what the issues are?

GEN. MCKENZIE: Actually, one of the key points that I noted when I talked the last time in here was we wanted to get away from talking about the flow of forces into -- into Afghanistan, because it does in fact give aid and cover to the enemy.

They're able to calculate what forces are coming in. So I'm not gonna be able to give you additional information on that.

Q: But you can't -- I'm not looking for timelines or specific locations. I'm asking what the problem is -- can you give us a better idea of what the problem is, and whether it's impacting...

GEN. MCKENZIE: Certainly. So let me -- let me characterize it like this. There's a -- there's a finite number of transport aircraft that U.S. Transportation Command has. We're moving things to Puerto Rico, we're doing a variety of things to help down there.

The department has been very aggressive in supporting FEMA and the other agencies of the United States government, given the fact that we have a finite number of transport aircraft that will inevitably slow movement to other theaters.

And that -- the slight delay in the flow of forces to Afghanistan. Just sort of a natural -- a natural component of that, and that's about as much detail as I'm prepared to give.

MS. WHITE: (Hans)

Q: General, if I could a couple -- just on the situation in Niger. Could you kind of describe the advise and assist mission going on there. Are these forces -- U.S. forces looking to engage Islamic militants?

GEN. MCKENZIE: No, we're there on a -- on a security assistance advise mission. This was a -- and I don't have any further particular operational detail on this, but it's a pretty broad mission with the government of Niger in order to increase their capability to stand alone and to prosecute violent extremists in the region.

Q: When they were ambushed, did the opposing force know these were American forces?

GEN. MCKENZIE: I don't know that they were ambushed. I don't know that we are prepared to characterize this. There was an engagement, I think we're still gathering information on that.

Q: But just one real quick follow-up, did they know that they were Americans?

MS. WHITE: We are not prepared to tell any more details.

(Ryan?)

Q: I just wanted to follow-up quickly on Niger. What kind of risks do the some-800 U.S. forces in Niger right now -- I mean, advise, I know it's an advise and assist mission, but what kind of risk, what kind of environment? Is this considered a combat environment?

GEN. MCKENZIE: I think clearly there's risk for our forces in Niger. Anytime we deploy full forces globally, we will look very hard at the enablers that need to be in place in order to provide security for them.

And that ranges from the ability to pull them out if they're injured, to the ability to reinforce them at the point of -- at the point of a fight if they -- if they need reinforcement. We look at all those things, and evaluate on a continual basis.

I'm not gonna go in any further detail on what's actually happening inside Niger, because we have ongoing partner operations occurring now.

MS. WHITE: (Christina ?)

Q: Thank you so much. There was a report today that the DOD is shifting $440 million into its missile defense budget instead of waiting for next year. Can you discuss why the DOD is taking this step, and what message that sends to North Korea?

MS. WHITE: I don't have any particular details on that, but let me take that and I'll come back to you Christina.

Q: And then just a second question. Congress recently -- Senate Arms Services Committee recently slammed the DOD for not giving it more information on the -- on the plans for Iraq and Afghanistan.

And Senator McCain is holding up defense nominees. What's your response to those actions, and have you taken any steps to engage with the committee since then?

MS. WHITE: This -- the department engages with the committee consistently. As you heard in the Secretary's testimony, we are committed to provide as much transparency in an open or closed session to the committee.

And we are working with Senator McCain's staff to ensure he gets all the answers that he needs, as well as the HASC. The Senator and the Chairman were on the Hill for six hours. So, we -- they are both personally committed to making sure that -- that the committees get exactly what they need.

Lucas?

Q: Who carried out the attack in Niger?

MS. WHITE: We don't have any details on that. Remember, this -- our -- our mission there was a security assistance. We've been there a long time in helping African nations build partner capacity.

Q: You must have some suspects.

MS. WHITE: We're -- they're ongoing operations and we're gonna -- no more details right now.

Q: Was there a surveillance drone flying overhead when the U.S. forces were attacked?

GEN. MCKENZIE: I'm gonna have to just tell you, ongoing operations, we're not prepared to go in any details on them right now.

Q: Would it have made a difference if there was?

MS. WHITE: We're -- we're not gonna talk about any more details. Tara? Carla?, I'm sorry.

Q: That's OK. I just really wanted to quickly follow up on that. Were there any other forces killed during the attack in Niger?

MS. WHITE: Again, they're ongoing operations and we're not prepared to talk any more details.

Q: (inaudible), my question would be on Iraq. There are reports coming out of Iraq saying that U.S. is establishing a base in Mahmoud, and deploying forces down there, as well as some other elements.

Can you confirm that the U.S. is establishing or forming a base, or enlarging any bases in Mahmoud? And what is the reason for deploying forces in -- in these efforts down in Mahmoud?

GEN. MCKENZIE: That's an operational issue. I'm not gonna -- I'm not just not gonna refer to it at all. I'm not denying it or confirming it, I'm just -- it's an operational issue, so I'm not gonna be able to discuss it.

MS. WHITE: In the back?

Q: Military Times. Do you know if U.S. troops were mounted or dismounted when they were attacked, and are U.S. troops in Niger operating at a -- tough armored vehicles or light-skinned tactical vehicles?

GEN. MCKENZIE: Not gonna share the nature of what the patrol's doing, what the operation was doing at the time that it came under fire. I don't think it'd be useful to share that information. I'll have to get back to you on the nature of the vehicles, if any.

Q: Tony Ratuka, Inside Defense.

FYI18 budget question. General Dunford said when he was on the Hill that the building is working on a missile defense supplemental package for F.Y. '18. How big is that going to be? Is it in the billions of dollars or hundreds of millions?

MS. WHITE: I will get you more details specifically on these -- on the programming. But -- but again, our emphasis is that we need a full year, fiscal year 18 budget. The C.R. ends on December 8th, and they -- and the longer they go, the worse it is for all our programs. And it's a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Q: Yes, and this is separate from programming?

MS. WHITE: Absolutely.

Q: This is additional F.Y. '18 money being requested. You can confirm, though, that it's in the works and it's being built?

MS. WHITE: We will -- we will get you more details.

Tony?

Q: Can you add -- give some specificity to the damage being caused to the specific programs under the prepared -- continued resolution, and General, I had a couple for you.

MS. WHITE: Well I can tell you one that both the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force had all planned end strength growth, and that can't happen under a C.R. So that's one implication. But again, the issue is that under a C.R., we can't do new starts.

It's the fact that we don't have a budget horizon, or the fact that we can't predict where things are going. And it wastes millions of dollars in administrative costs because you can't plan. So again, we want the Congress to be good stewards of the American people's dollars and ensure we get a full F.Y. '18 budget by December 8th.

Q: Is there a specific program that would be damaged or delayed?

MS. WHITE: I will -- I will come back to you. Because right now, there are conversations going on with the Hill, and that -- and those conversations are privileged.

Q: General, can you, in layman's language, talk a little bit about the -- the rules of engagement being relaxed, might be the wrong word, but being revised? The secretary tried in his six hours in testimony, but it was somewhat elliptical and cryptic. Can you talk at -- at the ground-level? What will U.S. troops and Afghan troops be able to do under the new construct that they couldn't do this week and last week?

GEN. MCKENZIE: Sure. Well, first of all, we believe that today, ROE that our forces applying in Afghanistan, doing all the authorities they need to execute the task that -- that they've been given. That includes the ability to call fire, when necessary, that -- in -- in support of Afghan forces. We're not directly engaged in ground combat, as you know. We're in a train, advise, assist, accompany mission. So we don't anticipate the requirement for U.S. forces to engage directly. They always have the option to engage in a -- with self-defense, should that be required.

Additionally, the commander has the authority to target any group or entity that is taking action against the government of Afghanistan, or coalition, or U.S. forces in the area. Those are actually pretty clear sets of ROE, and we believe they actually give the commander and forces there all they need to continue to prosecute the campaign.

Q: We keep hearing about military options for Korea. How well-developed are the options? Are they -- have final options been presented to the White House? And do most of those options assume ROK participation?

MS. WHITE: You know, again, we are a department all about plans, and we have a full range of options, and the conversations of the secretary has about options with the president are privileged. .

Q: At one -- one -- at one point, when the testimonies, Secretary Mattis said he believed that it was in national security interest to stay in the Iranian nuclear deal. Has he shared that opinion with president directly?

MS. WHITE: The secretary has shared many opinions with the president.

Q: This specific one.

MS. WHITE: There is still a consideration. I think you just heard that there is an imminent decision. I'm not going to talk about what conversations the secretary has or doesn't have, or what advice he gives to the president. He gives his honest opinion about what should be done, and ultimately, the president decides where we're going.

Q: The Washington Post that just came out that said Trump is going to announce next week that he -- he -- he was decertify the Iran nuclear deal, and his national security advisers had said that they were in favor of it. That, of course, go against what Trump -- or, sorry, Secretary Mattis said publicly in testimony. So has he provided different guidance privately?

MS. WHITE: Again, what the secretary talks to the president about is between him and the president. When there's a decision, I'm sure the White House will announce it.

Barbara?

Q: I wanted to go back to the hurricane deployment question for a minute, and delays. Because the secretary this week said on the Hill that it was going to impact deployments of some troops overseas, possibly into next year, because we've interrupted their preparations. So he's talking about delays very specifically; the -- the deployment of U.S. troops overseas next year because of the commitment to the hurricane. So it's hard to see how this is not really having an important, if not significant impact on U.S. troop deployments overseas, if -- if you listen to what -- if one listens to what the secretary says. So could you -- could I ask you, General McKenzie, specifically, as someone involved in military planning, to come back to that question. How do you, with a continuing commitment to Puerto Rico, how do you see this, what the secretary's talking about, impacting troop deployments all the way into next year?

GEN. MCKENZIE: Well, of course, when the secretary made the comment, he's probably talking about global troop deployments. The question up here that we talked a little bit about earlier was specifically in relation Afghanistan, so we should draw -- so we should -- so we should draw a distinction there.

But I would not actually further characterize it. There are going to be delays. I think the delays are relatively minor. If -- if the secretary said it's going to affect deployments on into next year, then I'll just let that -- I'll let that statement lie, but I'm not going to further elaborate on the nature of those delays.

Q: What is the impact? Iwo Jima is off Puerto Rico. Just took on more helicopters. Obviously, not leaving anytime soon, since it just took on more helicopters for relief missions. Was supposed to go to Japan; take on F-35s, the most advanced fighter in that region, where North Korea is. So what is the impact of the Iwo Jima being delayed on its way to Japan, to take on those F-35s?

GEN. MCKENZIE: I -- I think it's actually the Wasp you're referring to that's on our way to WESTPAC, to -- to that region. And certainly, that is going to -- that's going to slow the deployment of -- of that ship to the -- to the Pacific, and it's going to have a cascading effect. So it could be very likely that when the secretary talked about things that might affect in the next year, that's what he had in mind.

But I would tell you, at the same time, and in the same testimony, and as we've already mentioned here, the secretary said were all in to help Puerto Rico. And there are just going to be downstream effects when you make those decisions. But American citizens are involved in Puerto Rico, and that's a very high priority for this department. So we're probably going to accept some downstream delay as a result of that.

MS. WHITE: Let me -- let me get to Kevin, and we'll come back to Barbara.

Q: Just to follow up (inaudible), is the sanction reversed, if there's delaying redeployments, bringing any troops home from either Afghanistan or Iraq, or other local deployments?

MS. WHITE: No, but again, I think when -- when the secretary says that this could delay some deployments, again, we have lots of options, and the priority, as he said, it's all hands on deck. We will do whatever is necessary to help our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico. But we will -- but he is still going -- orders are being signed. There are still forces flowing in, as the general has said, and there will be minimal delay to -- to the strategy. (inaudible).

Q: What do those delays say about the overall health of the military, though? If several, just 3,000 troops going into Afghanistan are being delayed because of these storms, what if something like major combat op popped up.

Q: Like Korea?

MS. WHITE: Again, this is a building all about plans, and we do what we have to do. We are prepared for all contingencies. We are -- it is not the first time we've had natural disasters and deployed forces. Again, if -- if it's a minor delay, but there are still forces flowing in. General, if you'd like to explain.

GEN. MCKENZIE: Sure. I -- I -- I'm not sure I actually agree with you, that it's a minor -- Puerto Rico was a minor event, and it was a minor response. I think it was a pretty significant event, and you've seen a pretty significant response, not only from this department, but also across the entire interagency. And of course, I'm just really coming to talk about what DOD does.

But -- but again, as -- as we've noted earlier, the large DOD response down there, it -- Puerto Rico is a difficult technical problem, because it's an island. It's physically separate from the United States. Everything has to go there by some mode of conveyance, be it Strat Lift going in, on -- on either commercial or military transport, or on naval ships, or ships that we've chartered to go down there.

So I -- I don't think we should say that that's a small thing. That's a large thing, and so I'm not sure that you can naturally infer from that the force is unhealthy because we responded to a pretty significant natural disaster in Puerto Rico.

Q: I -- I have a question on Niger. Iraq, Afghanistan, there's an infrastructure in place where American troops can be medevaced from battlefield within 45 minutes. Is there a certain -- is there a similar capability for U.S. troops in Niger?

GEN. MCKENZIE: That's an operational issue that I'm not going to discuss.

Q: I don't think that's an operational issue. This -- this is not an ongoing operation. This is a question that U.S. troops are being sent into harm's way, have the ability to be sent to a proper medical facility.

GEN. MCKENZIE: I appreciate your position, but partner operations are ongoing even today, so I'm not going to be able to go into any more detail on that.

Q: We've been waiting for numbers on -- ultimate numbers on Iraq and Afghanistan troops for a while. We can't get answers to things like whether or not there's proper medevac facilities for troops deployed down-range. This is for both special forces and conventional forces. Even last night when troops were killed in combat, it took a while to just get confirmation that troops were killed.

How is the Pentagon being more transparent these days besides talking about transparency?

MS. WHITE: So, I think it's very important to understand that last night, we did lose three servicemembers. And it was a very dynamic situation, and we still have ongoing operations. The reason is takes a little while, and I think AFRICOM did a fantastic job under circumstances -- is that we don't have the benefit of corrections. We have to get it right when it -- when there are servicemembers' lives at stake.

So, we will be as transparent as we can be. But again, the secretary's been very clear we're not going to telegraph information to the enemy. And as the general as said, as we have said, there are ongoing operations.

We can give you information. It was the secretary's initiative to give the full number, an approximate number about the 11,000 in Afghanistan. And it is his commitment to continue to do that.

Q: But what has been done to actually provide transparency? What -- what's more transparent now?

MS. WHITE: We changed -- we changed the accounting rules. So before in Afghanistan, it was reported that there were 8,400 U.S. troops. And now we've told you it's approximately 11,000. So that -- that's a change.

Q: There's 11,000...

MS. WHITE: We had reported in the past 8,400. You all had had that number for years; 8,400. And now with the new accounting rules, it's 11,000. That is a demonstration of our commitment to transparency.

Q: Isn't that less opaque not transparent?

MS. WHITE: Again, it is with the caveat that we are not going to telegraph to the enemy what we're doing.

Paul, you had a question?

Q: Paul, U.S. News and World Report.

Just to follow up on the attack in Niger, has this changed at all the U.S. understanding of extremist groups' ability to target U.S. forces stationed abroad?

MS. WHITE: I would say, listen, we have ongoing operations. Our mission there was train and assist. We've worked in AFRICOM to build capacity among partners for years. We will continue to do that. And as we get more information, we will let you know.

Q: Do you have confidence that you can protect U.S. forces stationed abroad still?

MS. WHITE: Yes, we're confident.

Q: And then a follow-up question. Earlier this week, a senior official from the CIA said at a conference at G.W. that he expects there to be some sort of provocative activity from North Korea on Columbus Day, which coincides with the anniversary of the founding of the Korean Workers Party. Do you have any indication that North Korea is planning anything for that day? Have you taken any additional precautions?

MS. WHITE: I'm not going to begin to predict what North Korea is going to do.

Corey?

Q: Can you talk about why is the Iraq and Syria numbers taking so much longer than what the Afghanistan numbers took for? What's the process for the new accountability?

MS. WHITE: Well, first of all, each command and each operation is different. So there are different factors that factor into how -- how we come to those decisions. And again, we said during that first -- last time that we also take in consideration, you know, what are the forces, what are they doing.

So again, we will give you those numbers. Joint staff is diligently working on that. That when we have those numbers, we will -- we will let you know.

Barbara?

Q: I want to come back to another question over here. I want to be very clear. I am not asking about ongoing operations. I would like to ask a Defense Department policy question about how Secretary Mattis and the chairman view the following -- policy question, not current events.

Are they committed around the world to the golden hour for wounded troops? It's pretty much, with all due respect, a yes or no question. Is this department committed to the golden hour for wounded troops?

MS. WHITE: We are committed to always protecting our troops. That is our first priority.

Q: General Mckenzie can I ask you, you're very familiar with what that is on the battlefield. Are -- it's a question for military families. I think they deserve -- they might be very interested in the answer. Is the U.S. military committed to the golden hour to get U.S. troops to trauma care with an hour of being wounded?

GEN. MCKENZIE: The department puts vast resources against that problem. It is one of the primary considerations for each geographic combatant commander. It's a signal concern of the chairman and the secretary as well. Whenever possible, we seek to achieve that goal.

There are occasional times when operational events, maintenance problems may cause you not to meet that goal. But it is our goal to be as rapid as possible in taking our casualties off the battlefield.

Q: And does that include West Africa?

MS. WHITE: That includes all of our troops.

Q: So that does include West Africa.

MS. WHITE: It does.

Q: (inaudible) Korea (inaudible). What topics will be addressed this time?

MS. WHITE: What topics will we raise? So, the big topic will be how we curtail North Korea's provocations. Remember, this is a global threat. And we need global support to address it.

Kevin?

Q: Two things. One, we -- I think we learned either today or just very recently that the COCOMS were in town. Are we going to see them in the briefing room like we used to see more often in the past?

MS. WHITE: There is no plan to have any in the briefing room at this particular moment; but they do come periodically. This is a part of a gathering of senior leadership meeting. But I will take that under serious assessment.

Q: Why not have the COCOMs speak to the press as often as they have in the past?

MS. WHITE: The COCOMs often speak to the press. We just had Admiral Tidd here giving a briefing on SOUTHCOM's effort. So the COCOMs do speak. General Votel was here as well. So...

(CROSSTALK)

MS. WHITE: Yes, so...

(CROSSTALK)

Q: OK. Same question. Russia just had a major exercise along the European borders (inaudible) in the last month. Have you -- do you have any kind of a readout or assessment of what you saw, what the concerns are, what the U.S. response-reactions might be?

MS. WHITE: Our concern with the exercise is, as it's always been, is that Russia just isn't as transparent as we'd like. What is there and what has been reported are not the same. And what -- so therefore, we would ask Russia to be as transparent as possible with respect to all of their -- their exercises.

Q: First, about last week's attack in Kabul. There was a missile fired from a U.S. helicopter that malfunctioned, killed four people and I think injured two. Has the Defense Department paid condolence payments to those families?

MS. WHITE: I don't have any details about that. I will -- but I will come back to you regarding whether that has happened.

Ryan?

Q: Just one on Syria real quickly. Russia has said -- accused the United States of being the number one encumbrance in the fight against ISIS in Syria. There was an episode a little while ago where Russian air forces bombed positions where U.S. troops were. I know there have been some high-profile meetings, but is there a concern that Russia is being increasingly -- representing increasingly a threat to U.S. and U.S.-backed forces in Syria? Is there any steps -- additional steps being taken to kind of prevent Russia from taking offensive action against U.S. forces?

MS. WHITE: We continue to work with Russia to de-conflict. It's a complicated area, and we are still working with Russia to deconflict in the area. General, if you'd like to expand...

GEN. MCKENZIE: Sure, I would just tell you. There are a variety of deconfliction channels with the Russia. We're working pretty aggressively. As you know, we're limited in the context and scale and scope we can have with the Russian federation, and we scrupulously adhere to the intent as well as the letter of the law when it comes to that. I would simply say that, Russian -- recent Russian comments about U.S. activities is probably not helpful. We believe that we and our partners, and our coalition partners, as well as our partners on the ground, are in Syria to go after ISIS.

We're having great success closing out on Raqqa, heading further south, even now. And so, I think it's a good news story. I do believe though, that as Syrian state forces supported by Russia have moved to the West, they have found it increasingly difficult actually to provide a hold force. They're unable to hold the ground they've taken, which sort of tells you of the relative affection for which the Syrian population bear for Assad and his government. Whereas we're actually not experiencing those problems in areas that we've actually cleared and come further south. So I think, I don't want to minimize the nature of the problem. I would simply tell you, there are a variety of procedures that are in place to ensure that we don't get into a problem by miscalculation or error on the ground.

Q: Just a follow-up really quickly, would the U.S. prefer to see its backed forces take places like Myadine versus Syrian regime troops, given, as you said, the proven ability to hold areas, more so than regime forces?

GEN. MCKENZIE: The priority is, completing the elimination of ISIS in the Euphrates river valley. I think we're neutral on who actually does that work as long as the work is accomplished, and it's effective.

MS. WHITE: Lita?

Q: Can you -- I guess, General, for you -- you've probably got a lot more broad experience in this, AQIM -- can you give us your assessment of the strength of AQIM in the Niger-Mali region, and perspective on what you've seen? Have they grown, have they become more lethal, what have you seen over, say, the last year? Does this represent a greater lethality on that?

GEN. MCKENZIE: So, the campaign against violent extremists is a global campaign. We're having enormous success in Iraq and in Syria. In fact, we're squeezing the life out of the caliphate right now. It's in its dying last days. It is inevitable that people will try to go, what we call, the coldest corner in the room, go to other places. They tried to go to Libya, it didn't work out real well in Libya. And I don't want to make Libya into a model success story, but they've been unable to establish themselves there.

They've also tried to fly into -- flown into Sub-Saharan Africa, the Maghreb area down there. And I think we're having success in there as well. I would not, at this time, draw any particular conclusion from the incident that happened yesterday. I think that it does reflect the fact, though, that we're having enormous success against the core, the very heart of this movement. But we're going to be operating across the service of the entire globe, for quite a while to complete these operations. This is simply a manifestation of that.

Q: Do I interpret -- can I interpret that as that you've seen more ISIS, or at least some ISIS, moving into the Maghreb, and that may be part of what's going on there?

GEN. MCKENZIE: No, I'm not -- I would not -- I would not assert that. I would not.

Q: So you haven't seen it?

GEN. MCKENZIE: No. Well, I'm not prepared to comment on that one way or another. That would be an intelligence question better answered by someone that's not me.

MS. WHITE: OK.

Bill, in the back.

Q: Has the incident in Niger caused the Pentagon to reassess the defense posture there?

MS. WHITE: Again, this was a mission in which we were training and assisting. The mission we've -- the Department does partner capacity-building across Africa, and it's to help partners combat the scourge that is terrorism, and violent extremism. That was the mission, that is what we'll continue to do.

Q: Understood, but there's three dead soldiers now. So, are you reassessing the way that our forces are being protected there, in light of these events?

GEN. MCKENZIE: So we -- we continually reassess force protection posture of our forces globally. And the Commander AFRICOM, who's the first senior officer in the chain of command to do that, is undoubtedly doing that right now. And I'll just -- and that's as far as I care to go on that, but we look at that all the time.

MS. WHITE: Travis?

Q: Travis Triton, the Washington Examiner.

I had a question about your decision to bring up the C.R. today.

The current CR just kicked in and has until December, and I'm wondering if there's something that happened or you have some reason to believe that, come December, Congress is not gonna reach some type of a budget agreement and they're going to pass another continuing resolution into the new year.

MS. WHITE: Well we've been talking about the CR for -- the Secretary has talked about it in his testimony, it's a consistent drumbeat for us. Obviously the current CR was developed to avoid a government shutdown.

Our goal is to ensure that the Congress provides us with a full -- full funding in a F.Y. '18 budget in advance of this CR expiring.

Q: Do you believe that, at this point, they won't reach an agreement, though? Is that your concern?

MS. WHITE: My concern is that the longer a CR goes on, the more damage it does to the department.

Carla?

Q: Thank you. Last week, they -- an Air Force General basically came up at the Air Force Academy and addressed racial slurs that had been posted on a message board, telling -- telling the airmen that if they can't treat somebody with dignity and respect to get out.

I was just wondering what is the Secretary's stance, and where does he think race relations are in the U.S. Military at this point?

MS. WHITE: I think the Secretary has said that military is a model. It is a -- it is the most respected institution right now in America. And together in the military, people of all races, creeds, and religions work together for a common mission, which is to defend this nation.

So the Secretary is very clear about that and will continue to be.

Lucas?

Q: Just one more on Niger. Would you say in the last few years the United States has increased its military presence in that country?

MS. WHITE: I'll let you take that.

GEN. MCKENZIE: Yes, I would say that over the last few years we have increased our military presence in that country. It depends on how far back you look. I don't have the exact numbers, but yeah, because Niger is an important partner of ours.

We have a deep relationship with them. We have a great opportunity there to do train, advise, assist, to do a variety of things with them to help them stand on their own two feet. So we're committed to that relationship, we believe that they are, as well. In fact, it's -- I think it's a very good success story.

MS. WHITE: Tony?

Q: The Secretary signaled late in the HASC hearing that he's gonna visit Islamabad. Can you give a sense of when his trip to Pakistan might be?

MS. WHITE: I -- I don't have a sense of that, but it will be -- but as he said, he will visit Pakistan soon.

Q: Soon. In the next month or so?

MS. WHITE: I don't have any specifics.

Q: foreign policy. Was yesterday the first time U.S. troops have been involved in combat in Niger, in what you described as combat?

MS. WHITE: I wouldn't -- again, what they were doing in Niger was a train, assist, and advise mission. Obviously anything that our troops do, they are in harm's way, and again -- but that mission was a security assistance mission.

Q: Are there other firefights that U.S. forces have been involved in in Niger?

MS. WHITE: Not to my recollection.

GEN. MCKENZIE: I don't believe so. I would just add, I'm not gonna parse the language with you. Certainly to the soldiers in the fight, it was combat. So, I'm -- you know, I don't want to dance around that.

I mean, it was certainly a remarkable experience for those -- for those people that were actually there. I'm not aware there's been any -- there's been any incidents of that nature in the recent past. We -- we will look back into several years going back. But I'm just not aware that there's been anything there.

Q: Just for clarification purposes, you said 11,000 troops active duty and National Guard are in the Caribbean or in Puerto Rico specifically for Hurricane clean-up efforts?

MS. WHITE: The -- it is that there are 11,000 active-duty and National Guard troops in Puerto Rico.

Q: Lieutenant General Cannon has said that there isn't enough equipment or troops, he said this last week. Has he requested any additional troops or do you anticipate sending anymore?

MS. WHITE: We have had -- we are still fulfilling requests. Again, there's a process, but yes there are still assets flowing in. As you know, Tuesday, The Comfort ported in Puerto Rico, so again, we will get -- as the secretary said, it's all hands on deck. We will fulfill whatever needs that FEMA has requested of us, and we will provide whatever they need.

Q: How many troops are you anticipating sending down?

MS. WHITE: I don't have a number right now. I don't have it. But as they flow we will keep you updated. There are daily press briefings from Puerto Rico, and we will keep you abreast of those operations.

GEN. MCKENZIE: Maybe we have time for one more question.

MS. WHITE: Wall Street Journal, Dan?

Q: Today, Mac Thornberry sent a letter to the White House with 153 signatures that said that we commend the president's explicit endorsement for funding National Defense's $700 billion this year during his speech at the U.N. General Assembly. This $700 billion, is that a number that the Pentagon agrees with, and has -- yeah is that a number that you all endorse as well?

MS. WHITE: We support the president's budget -- what -- when we will always especially appreciate the chairman's assistance in ensuring that we get what we need for our service members. The most important thing is that we have predictability in our budget, so we welcome the Chairman's leadership in ensuring that we get that. Thank you all very much.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/1336094/

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Release

No. NR-346-17 October 05, 2017

Navy to Commission Submarine Washington

The Navy will commission its newest fast attack submarine, the future USS Washington (SSN 787), during an 11 a.m. EDT ceremony Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017, at Naval Station Norfolk.

Mr. Thomas Dee, performing the duties of the Under Secretary of the Navy, will deliver the ceremony's principal address. The submarine's sponsor is Elisabeth Mabus, daughter of the 75th Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. In a time-honored Navy tradition, she will give the order to "man our ship and bring her to life!"

"The future USS Washington is among the most technologically advanced platforms in the world," Dee said. "This submarine not only represents the spirit, ingenuity and strength of the American people, but also recognizes the critical role that the State of Washington provides to our national security. I am grateful to the men and women of Newport News Shipbuilding and to all of their partners for delivering such an extraordinary capability that will ensure our future advantage over any potential adversaries."

The future Washington is the 14th Virginia-class nuclear submarine and the fourth Virginia-class Block III submarine. The ship began construction in 2011. The future Washington will be the third U.S. Navy ship to be commissioned with a name honoring the State of Washington. The first was an armored cruiser (ACR-11) which served under the name from 1905 to 1916 and the second was a battleship (BB-56) that earned 13 battle stars for World War II service before being decommissioned in 1947.

Block III Virginia-class submarines feature a redesigned bow, which replaces 12 individual launch tubes with two large-diameter Virginia Payload Tubes, each capable of launching six Tomahawk cruise missiles.

Virginia-class submarines are built to operate in the world's littoral and deep waters while conducting anti-submarine warfare; anti-surface ship warfare; strike warfare; special operation forces support; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; irregular warfare; and mine warfare missions. Their inherent stealth, endurance, mobility, and firepower directly enable them to support five of the six maritime strategy core capabilities - sea control, power projection, forward presence, maritime security, and deterrence.

Access the media kit with photos and videos and also view the ceremony live at http://www.navy.mil/washingtoncommissioning

Media may direct queries to the Navy Office of Information at 703-697-5342. Additional information on Virginia-class Attack Submarines is available online at http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=4100&tid=100&ct=4

Additional information about USS Washington can be found online at https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/w/washington-ix--ssn-787-.html

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1335954/

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Spain suspends Catalonia parliament session on independence

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 5, 2017 04:31PM

Spain's Constitutional Court has ordered the suspension of a special session in Catalonia's parliament, during which top officials of the region are expected to declare independence.

The court released a statement on Thursday and confirmed that its judges had temporarily suspended next week's parliamentary session in Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia.

A spokeswoman of the court said that judges "ordered the suspension of the plenary that has been called for Monday in the (Catalan) parliament." The official said rival Catalan politicians could appeal the decision.

The ruling comes after Catalonia's regional leader Carles Puigdemont said he would go ahead with plans to declare independence from Spain based on the results of a controversial referendum held on October 1. The vote, which came amid unprecedented tension between the autonomous region and the central government in Madrid, saw shocking scenes of police beating unarmed people.

The Constitutional Court had declared the referendum illegal while security forces did their best to halt it. Puigdemont has stressed that the results of the vote, which was not carried out according to regular electoral standards, had given legitimacy to the independence drive.

Spain's decision to suspend Catalonia's parliamentary session on the results of the referendum comes against the backdrop of calls by Catalonia's opposition Socialist bloc for banning Monday's session. Lawyers from the bloc say the regional parliament cannot rely on the results of the Sunday referendum for declaring independence.

Authorities have even warned that the region's leaders could face prosecution if they ignore the court order and hold the session in defiance of the ban.

Puigdemont and his allies, who had ignored similar threats from Madrid before the referendum, say they are not afraid of going to jail if it is a punishment for their independence bid.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US to ask NATO for 1,000 more troops for Afghanistan

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 5, 2017 03:09PM

The US will ask NATO members to contribute about 1,000 extra troops to help in the battle against the Taliban militant group in Afghanistan, the new US ambassador to the military alliance says.

The additional NATO troops would add to the roughly 3,000 US forces already on their way to Afghanistan under US President Donald Trump's new strategy against the Taliban, Kay Bailey Hutchison said Thursday.

The United States already has about 8,400 troops in the country alongside another 5,000 from NATO forces.

Taliban militants have warned that they will be stepping up their attacks until the US and other NATO members fully withdraw from Afghanistan after more than a decade and half of occupation.

Back in 2014, the US-led occupying forces in Afghanistan officially announced the end of their combat operations in the country, saying they now had a mission to "train, advise, and assist" Afghan troops.

However, the Trump's administration recently permitted the deployment of an additional 3,000 troops to Afghanistan to engage with the Taliban.

Trump who had previously called for withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan argued that his "original instinct was to pull out," but that he was convinced by his national security team to take on the Taliban militants.

The United States -- under Republican George W. Bush's presidency -- and its allies invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 as part of Washington's so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban regime from power, but after 16 years, the foreign troops are still deployed to the country.

After becoming the president in 2008, President Barack Obama, a Democrat, vowed to end the Afghan war -- one of the longest conflicts in US history  but he failed to keep his promise.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday that an American withdrawal from Afghanistan would be "to our ultimate peril."

"Based on intelligence community analysis and my own evaluation, I am convinced we would absent ourselves from this region at our peril," Mattis said while briefing the US Congress on plans to increase American troop levels in the South Asian country.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Militants use sexual violence as weapon of war in CAR: Human Rights Watch

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 5, 2017 10:57AM

Human Rights Watch (HRW) says armed groups in the Central African Republic (CAR) have used rape and sexual slavery as a weapon of war in the conflict gripping the country.

In a report published on Thursday, the New York-based rights group documented 305 cases of rape and sexual slavery carried out against 296 women and girls from early 2013 to mid-2017.

The report said the abuses may amount to "crimes against humanity and war crimes," adding that the number was undoubtedly much higher as stigmatized victims refused to seek justice.

The CAR has been the scene of deadly violence due to political instability since March 2003, when Seleka militants ousted President Francois Bozize and provoked deadly reprisal attacks by a militia group known as anti-Balaka.

The violence between the two groups has led to thousands of deaths. More than a million people have fled their homes, and 2.4 million others are in need of emergency food aid.

The HRW said the two parties involved in the conflict used sexual assaults as revenge against women and girls believed to be supporting the other side of the sectarian divide.

"Armed groups are using rape in a brutal, calculated way to punish and terrorize women and girls," said Hillary Margolis, the women's rights researcher at HRW. "Every day, survivors live with the devastating aftermath of rape, and the knowledge that their attackers are walking free, perhaps holding positions of power, and to date facing no consequences whatsoever."

The Thursday report said some of female victims had been held as sexual slaves for up to 18 months in captivity and often subjected to repeated rape by multiple men, while others were taken as militants' "wives" and forced to cook, clean, and collect food or water.

Most victims said they had not received post-rape medical or mental health care such as drugs to prevent HIV and unwanted pregnancy, citing a lack of health facilities, the cost of services or transport, and misconceptions about available services.

Thirteen women out of the 296 survivors interviewed said they had been children at the time of the attacks and become pregnant as a result of the rapes, according to the HRW.

"During attacks, fighters whipped women and girls, tied them up for long periods, burned them, and threatened them with death," the HRW report said, adding that survivors reported injuries ranging from broken bones and smashed teeth to internal injuries and head trauma.

"There needs to be a strong and urgent message in the Central African Republic that rape as a weapon of war is intolerable, that rapists will be punished, and that survivors will get the support they desperately need," Margolis said. "Even in a conflict zone, the government and international institutions can and should work to make services available to all rape survivors now, and put rapists on the path to accountability."

The United Nations and other rights groups, such as Amnesty International, have also documented widespread killings and rapes of civilians by the militants in the CAR.

The HRW has called on the UN peacekeeping mission in the CAR (MINUSCA) to help authorities investigate cases of sexual violence and arrest those responsible for the crimes.

The UN has 12,350 troops and police forces on the ground to help protect civilians and support the government of President Faustin-Archange Touadera, whose election last year helped significantly contain the inter-communal violence.

On September 22, the CAR's president urged the UN to send more peacekeepers to his conflict-ridden country and ease an arms embargo in the way of equipping his weak army.

International observers warn that the country is now approaching the levels of violence seen at the height of the conflict in 2014, as more than 600,000 people have fled violence within the CAR and a further 500,000 have crossed borders as refugees.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Former President Karzai slams 'US new policy' on Afghanistan

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 5, 2017 10:43AM

Former Afghan President Hamid Karzai has lambasted the United States' new policy toward his country, saying it carries a "message of war and bloodshed" in the region.

Karzai made the remarks in an interview with the BBC Urdu on Wednesday, adding he believed that Washington's new policy "has some hidden conspiracy or strategy for this region."

Back in 2014, the US-led occupying forces in Afghanistan officially announced the end of their combat operations in the country, saying they now had a mission to "train, advise, and assist" Afghan troops.

However, US President Donald Trump's administration recently permitted the deployment of an additional 3,000 troops to Afghanistan, where the US already has 11,000 forces.

Karzai also said Kabul did not favor US military action  launched from its bases in Afghanistan  against neighboring Pakistan to purportedly eliminate what Washington calls "terrorists' safe heavens."

"We have never favored military action against Pakistan; we don't want that to happen," he said.

US officials have long been frustrated with what they say is Pakistan's unwillingness to act against militant groups, including the Pakistani Taliban and the Haqqani network, a militant group that operates on both the Pakistani and Afghan side of the border.

On Tuesday, Marine Corps General Joseph Dunford, who is the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) directorate, Pakistan's main spy agency, had maintained relations with "terrorist groups."

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis also told a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday that Washington would try "one more time" to work with Islamabad to curb Pakistani militants before resorting to other measures over Pakistan's purported support for terror groups operating in Afghanistan.

"If our best efforts fail, President Trump is prepared to take whatever steps are necessary," he said.

Islamabad, in return, bristles at what it says is a lack of respect by Washington for Pakistan's sacrifices in the US's so-called war on terror. Pakistan estimates that there have been 70,000 casualties in militant attacks since it joined the US "war on terror" after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Karzai called Pakistan his country's "brother," saying he wanted Islamabad to boost friendship and cooperation with Kabul. However, he said that "Pakistan will also have to treat Afghanistan as a sovereign and dignified country."

Elsewhere in his remarks, Karzai warned India not to fall into line with the US's approach toward Afghanistan, saying the approach was part of a "bigger strategic game," which would not bring peace to the region.

He also advised New Delhi to maintain an independent approach based on the shared interests of India and Afghanistan.

Washington led a coalition of its allies in an invasion of Afghanistan about 16 years ago to topple the then-Taliban regime. The group then launched a militancy against both foreign forces and the Afghan government and people.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






3 US commandos killed, 2 injured near Mali border in Niger

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 5, 2017 12:11AM

Three US Army special operations commandos have been killed and two others injured in Niger

Colloquially known as the Green Berets, the special forces came under fire in the West African country on Wednesday, sources told the Associated Press.

The forces were near the capital Niamey when the incident happened, officials said on condition of anonymity.

The two wounded ones were reportedly taken to a hospital in Niamey, where they remained in a stable condition.

The Takfiri members of the so-called al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb were tapped as the possible attackers.

Five Nigerien soldiers were among the dead, said Namatta Abubacar, an official for the region of Tillaberi in Niger

The forces were allegedly part of a joint US-Nigerien patrol, operating north of Niamey and near the Mali border, when they came under "hostile fire," according to statement released later by the US Africa Command.

They are supposedly providing "training and security assistance" to the Nigerien Armed Forces to fight against violent extremists and terrorists there.

The US Army's measures in the impoverished country involve "support for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) efforts," read the statement.

According to the White House, US President Donald Trump was notified of the deadly ambush as he was flying aboard Air Force One from Las Vegas to Washington Wednesday night.

"We are working to confirm details on the incident and will have more information as soon as we can confirm facts on the ground," a spokesman for the US Africa Command told The Washington Post.

A Niger diplomatic source also told Reuters the attackers had crossed the border from Mali.

"These militants have proven remarkably resilient, exploiting local and/or ethnic grievances to embed themselves into communities as well as political borders and differences to escape capture," J. Peter Pham, a vice president at the Atlantic Council's Africa Center in Washington, told The New York Times. "It was no accident that this attack took place near Niger's border with Mali, an area that has seen numerous incidents in recent years."

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Afghan President Says Most Foreign Troops Could Leave 'Within Four Years'

October 05, 2017

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has said most foreign troops will be able to leave the country "within four years."

"Within four years, we think our security forces would be able to do the constitutional thing, which is the claim of legitimate monopoly of power," Ghani said in an interview with the BBC broadcast on October 5.

He said that Afghan security forces turned the corner in the fight against the Taliban and "in terms of management and leadership, things are really falling into place."

The Afghan government is struggling to beat back insurgents in the wake of the exit of most NATO forces in 2014.

A U.S. report found earlier this year that the Taliban controls or contests control of about 40 percent of the country, and security forces are also fighting against militants affiliated with the extremist group Islamic State (IS).

The administration of President Donald Trump has recently unveiled a strategy to try to defeat the militants after nearly 16 years of war, and officials said more than 3,000 additional U.S. troops are being sent to the country to reinforce the 11,000 U.S. troops already stationed in the country.

Trump has made an open-ended commitment to Afghanistan, saying U.S. troop levels will be based on "conditions on the ground," not on "arbitrary timetables."

Based on reporting by the BBC

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan- ghani-most-foreign-troops-could-leave- four-years/28776177.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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Arab Coalition Jets Destroy Coup Militia Reinforcements in Shabwa

Saudi Press Agency

Thursday 1439/1/15 - 2017/10/05

Aden, Muharram 15, 1439, Oct 5, 2017, SPA -- Arab Coalition jets have destroyed military reinforcements for Houthi coup militia in Beihan, Shabwa Province.

A Yemeni military source said that the Arab Coalition jets launched two raids on the reinforcements of the coup militia.

The first raid targeted the area surrounding the mountains of Jandalah which resulted in the destruction of a military vehicle and a number of deaths and injuries among the coup elements. The second raid resulted in the destruction of a weapons depot and a the death of a number of coup elements in Twal Al-Sada, Asylan.

--SPA

20:14 LOCAL TIME 17:14 GMT

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US Troops Can Now Call Fire in Support of Afghan Forces

Sputnik News

23:31 05.10.2017

Pentagon announced that according to the new rules of engagement US forces are now allowed to call fire to support Afghan troops.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik)  New rules of engagement for Afghanistan allow US troops to call fire in support of Afghan forces, Joint Staff Director Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie told reporters on Thursday.

"Today, the [rules of engagement] that our forces apply in Afghanistan give them all the authority they need to execute the tasks that they have been given, that includes the ability to call fire when necessary in support of Afghan forces," McKenzie said at a press briefing at the Pentagon.

Earlier, US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis announced the move to "lift restrictions and expand authorities" on and of US operations in Afghanistan.

Local troops in Afghanistan were typically more successful in battle when assisted by NATO or US advisers, according to Mattis  units with such support "win" while those without "often do not," he said.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Chinese Ships Reportedly Enter Japanese Waters Near Disputed Senkaku Islands

Sputnik News

15:50 05.10.2017(updated 15:55 05.10.2017)

Japan's Coast Guard claim that four China's patrol ships entered Japan's territorial waters near disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, local media reported Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik)  The NHK news agency reported, citing the Japanese Coast Guard, that the Chinese patrol boats were spotted near the Uotsuri Jima Island, the largest island of the group, at around 10:00 a.m. local time (01:00 GMT) and stayed there for approximately an hour and a half.

According to the news outlet, it is the 25th incident involving Chinese ships sailing into Japanese waters near the Senkaku Islands since the beginning of 2017.

The head of the relevant department of the Japanese Foreign Ministry reportedly filed a protest to China's Embassy in Tokyo shortly after the incident.

The tensions over the Senkaku Islands have been rising in recent months, with the parties to the conflict accusing each other of provocations. China and several US allies in the region  namely Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines  have competing claims to the maritime borders and responsibility areas in the South China and East China seas.

Japan and China have been engaged in a territorial dispute over the uninhabited Senkaku Islands, called in Chinese the Diaoyu Islands, since the 1970s. China says that the contiguous islands have been part of its territory since ancient times. Japan argues the islands have been under its control since 1895. The islands are currently controlled by Japan. After the World War II, the United States controlled the territory and transferred it to Japan in 1972 along with the Okinawa Island.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Spanish Constitutional Court Orders Suspension of Catalonia Parliament

By VOA News October 05, 2017

Spain's Constitutional Court has ordered the suspension of a Catalonian special parliamentary session next week, during which regional leaders plan to vote to break away from Spain.

A spokeswoman for the court said judges "ordered the suspension of the plenary that has been called for Monday in the [Catalan] parliament" as the constitutional court hears appeals against it.

Catalonian lawyers have said the session would be illegal because it deals with the referendum vote over the weekend, which had already been suspended by the Constitutional Court.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy also called on Catalonian authorities to cancel plans to break off from Spain, in order to avoid "greater evils."

In an interview with Spain's official EFE news agency, the prime minister called on Catalonian leaders to "return to legality" with the affirmation that "there will be no unilateral declaration of independence."

On Wednesday, regional president Carles Puigdemont called for dialogue between the two sides, but would not renounce plans for secession next week.

Spain's Catalonia region, which held an independence referendum Sunday amid a violent crackdown by federal police, could declare independence as early as this week.

Puigdemont told the BBC the regional government would act once final vote counts are in.

Catalonia authorities said 90 percent of those who voted Sunday wanted to break away from Spain and declare an independent republic. Voters braved sometimes violent attempts by federal police to close polling stations and prevent Catalans from casting ballots in the referendum, which Spain's high court had earlier declared invalid.

Local authorities said about 900 people were injured in confrontations with police. The crackdown prompted international criticism and calls for talks between Madrid and the regional government.

Labor strikes and protests shut down transportation and businesses across Catalonia on Tuesday, while Spain's king criticized the regional government, saying its "irresponsible behavior" put the stability of Catalonia and all of Spain at risk.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Over 11,000 DoD Personnel Aid Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief Efforts

By Cheryl Pellerin DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2017  More than 11,000 Defense Department personnel now are in Puerto Rico, helping the U.S. territory recover from the wrath of Hurricane Maria in the areas of logistics, medical support and aviation, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello said during a news conference in San Juan this morning.

DoD continues to expand a comprehensive island-wide commodities distribution and medical support network in support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to today's DoD update of activities in Puerto Rico.

The department's response efforts focus on supporting FEMA priorities for distributing food and supplies, producing and distributing clean water, delivering generator fuel to hospitals, clearing roads and working on the Guajataca Dam spillway, the governor said.

DoD also is supporting the restoration of access to other essential city services, including sewage and wastewater treatment, he said.

"We have already signed a mission agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to start reestablishing electrical transmission and distribution effectively in Puerto Rico," Rossello said.

USNS Comfort

The Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort arrived in Puerto Rico Oct. 3 and docked in San Juan, the governor said, noting that the ship has 250 beds and capacity for 1,000 patients. More than 500 medical personnel are on board and can serve more than 200 patients a day.

"Right now it has about 64 patients," he added, and has received an assignment based on an assessment completed yesterday by the PR Department of Health, DoD, HHS and FEMA "to make sure that we know what the needs are in each region in Puerto Rico so we can deploy the USNS Comfort appropriately, in a route that makes sense" for all patients.

The route includes several cities, and according to the DoD response update. The Comfort is en route to one of Puerto Rico's largest cities, Ponce, at HHS request, to better meet the island's medical requirements.

Rossello said the ship will pick up patients in need but also will deliver necessities to the cities where it will stop, including water, food, medicine and other resources.

"The USNS Comfort can also serve as a logistical mechanism to deploy food and services across Puerto Rico," he added.

Logistics, Medical Support

U.S. Northern Command, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, continues to deploy five force packages, each with enhanced logistics capacity centered on commodity distribution and medical support.

Force Package 1, for command and control, is on the ground in Puerto Rico. Force Packages 2 and 3 are sustainment/logistical units and associated command and control; elements of Force Package 2 deployed into Puerto Rico Sept. 30. More sustainment units and aviation elements deployed Oct. 1. Force Package 4 delivered helicopters Oct. 2-3, aviation command-and-control elements and medical units. Force Package 5 will provide more robust medical capacity.

Army Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Buchanan, head of Northcom's Joint Force Land Component Command, or JFLCC, integrated 114 recently arrived bulk fuel trucks and six propane trucks, all from the Defense Logistics Agency, into the logistical distribution plan. Buchanan is in command of DoD's Hurricane Maria response and relief efforts in Puerto Rico.

Also part of the response, DoD has deployed a Veterans Affairs Medical Unit and is set to deploy an Army Combat Support Hospital and Expeditionary Medical Support Hospital.

The JFLCC surgeon is working with HHS, the Puerto Rico National Guard and the PR Health Department in continuing efforts to reassess and resupply hospitals across the country.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






USNS Comfort Responds to Hospital-Generator Failure in Puerto Rico

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS171005-11

Release Date: 10/5/2017 12:22:00 PM

By Lt. j.g. Samuel R. Boyle, USNS Comfort (T-AH 20)

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (NNS) -- The Mercy-class Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, received five critical patients around 8 p.m. Oct. 4, from Ryder Memorial Hospital in Humacao, Puerto Rico, after its generator failed.

The possibility of hospitals in Puerto Rico failing due to running on emergency generators for extended lengths of time had been planned for by Comfort, the Federal Emergency Management System (FEMA) and other Federal and local agencies.

Patients were medevaced by the Sea Knights of Navy Helicopter Sea Squadron (HSC) 22 and Army Blackhawks.

"Working with the Army and the Hospital, we were able to reduce transport times for critically ill patients," said Lt. Cmdr. Christopher "Harm" Perry, a dual-designated emergency physician and naval aviator aboard Comfort who landed the MH-60S with patients. "This is the mission we have all been training for."

The Army Blackhawks, who are scheduled to conduct day landing qualifications on Comfort, transferred patients to the Sea Knights at a nearby landing zone in San Juan.

Comfort is part of the whole-of-government response effort and is assisting FEMA, the lead federal agency, in helping those affected by Hurricane Maria.

Comfort is a seagoing medical treatment facility that currently has more than 800 personnel embarked for the Puerto Rico mission including Navy medical and support staff assembled from 22 commands, as well as over 70 civil service mariners.

The hospital ship has one of the largest trauma facilities in the United States and is equipped with four X-ray machines, one CT scan unit, a dental suite, an optometry lens laboratory, physical therapy center, pharmacy, angiography suite and two oxygen-producing plants.

Comfort's primary mission is to provide an afloat, mobile, acute surgical medical facility to the U.S. military that is flexible, capable and uniquely adaptable to

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






18th Space Control Squadron: Keeping watch up above

By Dave Smith, 21st Space Wing Public Affairs / Published October 05, 2017

VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS) -- While the everyday activities of life continue down below, what is taking place overhead doesn't usually warrant a thought.

The 18th Space Control Squadron located at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, is a geographically separated unit of the 21st Space Wing, Peterson AFB, Colorado. The squadron provides situational awareness on thousands of items filling the skies while life moves along for those on Earth's surface.

"We have crews of eight people," said 1st Lt. Jonathan Diaz, an 18th SPCS mission commander. "We have Orbital Safety Analysts who are direct liaisons to National Aeronautics and Space Administration whose main concern is the (International Space Station) and astronauts. We have people supporting conjunction assessment who notify the satellite owner if anything approaches their (satellite), or is going to fly close by, so they can move it if they want. Others keep the Satellite Catalog up to date."

Space operators monitor space to gain situational awareness on more than 1,300 satellites, the International Space Station and other items often known as debris.

Objects entering or exiting space are observed and data is collected for analysis from a worldwide network of sensors. The station is closely tracked to monitor approaching obstacles that could pose a problem. Potential collisions between satellites are scrutinized. The Airmen of the 18th SPCS carefully catalog all this orbital data to provide situational awareness in the space domain.

The catalog is a record of everything within Earth's orbit at any given time. The vital characteristics of the object, as well as its orbit also are tracked.

"We catalog what the object is and where it is going," Diaz said. "We monitor launches and assign a number so we can track them."

If an object moves, or in some way changes its course, the crews of the 18th SPCS notify several different organizations, especially if the object is owned by another country. They notify every area of responsibility within the Defense Department, Peterson AFB, Defense Special Missile & Astronautics Center, Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio, Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the entire Space Surveillance Network, Diaz said. Allied countries are notified as well.

"We notify everyone around the globe," he said. "We post new two-line element sets and the reentry information to Spacetrack.org. Anyone in the world can create an account if they wish."

A two-line element is a data format encoding a list of orbital elements of an Earth-orbiting object for a given point in time.

Monitoring what is in space is critical, but monitoring what is leaving space is equally important. The squadron monitors and provides analysis on items re-entering Earth's atmosphere. Diaz said they determine where an object is falling and then depending upon that information, alert the proper agencies.

"The on-duty mission commander will post periodic blogs on required runs for reentries once they're under 24 hours out, Diaz said. "Most people that read these blogs are from the Missile Warning Center, Missile Defense Agency, (U.S. Strategic Command), and other agencies."

The blogs are posted at intervals of one day, 12 hour, six hour, two hour, and final run. Entries are posted to the Strategic Knowledge Integration Web, part of the Defense Information Systems Agency website.

A typical day for them is hard to describe, because there are so many variables in play guiding the crew's focus, Diaz explained. One typical event, however, is a space launch. Launches made from the U.S. are easier for crews to plan ahead of time because they have all the information for cataloging the event. It can be complicated if the launch is made by a foreign country because all of the information is not provided.

"We have a couple of conjunctions on a typical day," said Diaz. "So we make sure there aren't any collisions. Maybe we have a launch to process and catalog, maybe a re-entry. The one thing we do constantly is make sure the (satellite) catalog is up to date."

"The ops tempo we experience fluctuates drastically and is most closely correlated with the space launch calendar," said Capt. Christopher Fabian, an 18th SPCS mission commander. "Tracking and cataloging new space objects then ensuring timely, accurate information to relevant agencies is a time intensive and involved process."

Obtaining robust initial information is essential for maintaining an accurate satellite catalog, Fabian said. Once an object is cataloged, on-orbit conjunction analysis can be performed. Conjunction analysis involves screening for dangerous approaches between space objects, then providing actionable data to owner and/or operators they can use to perform collision avoidance actions.

Generating and disseminating all the data can be extremely time-consuming if more than a typical number of conjunctions are detected. Fabian said the crews also ensure safe passage of the International Space Station, performing conjunction screenings between the station and other objects passing through its orbit.

"Similar to the on-orbit conjunction analysis, this can create a heavy workload," he said. "Aside from general event processing and daily procedures, a major part of the job is up-channeling space situational awareness information to Air Force leadership."

For the person sitting in rush hour traffic on a busy highway, what is going on overhead might not come to mind. But rest assured, the operators at the 18th SPCS are keeping watch on objects along the highways of space.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Declassified CIA Papers Show U.S. Aware In Advance Of Sputnik Possibilities

October 05, 2017

The CIA has released newly declassified documents showing that U.S. intelligence agencies were aware of Russia's impending launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite -- an event that shocked the American public when the news broke exactly 60 years ago.

The documents released on October 4 show that President Dwight D. Eisenhower had advance knowledge of the Soviets' work on Sputnik, which was launched on October 4, 1957.

The documents indicate that Eisenhower's administration and U.S. intelligence and military officials not only knew that the Soviet Union was planning to launch Sputnik, but that it could be put into orbit by the end of 1957.

Sputnik measured 58 centimeters (22 inches) in diameter and weighed 83.6 kilograms (184.3 pounds).

The launch, considered a major victory for the Kremlin, shocked the American public, many of whom had believed the United States was far ahead of the Soviets militarily and scientifically.

The event also launched the space race between the two countries, leading to the eventual landing of the first man on the moon by the United States in 1969.

"History changed on October 4, 1957, when the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I," NASA said in a statement marking the anniversary.

"That launch ushered in new political, military, technological, and scientific developments. While the Sputnik launch was a single event, it marked the start of the Space Age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race."

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and TASS

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/sputnik-cia-papers- anniversary/28774855.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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Senior CIA Official: Kim Jong-Un Doesn't Want Conflict, He's "Very Rational'

Sputnik News

15:46 05.10.2017(updated 18:33 05.10.2017)

A senior CIA official at the Agency's newly-created Korea Mission Center has broken ranks with President Donald Trump, stating North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un is "very rational."

Speaking at the CIA Ethos & Profession of Intelligence conference, Yong Suk Lee, Deputy Assistant Director of the US Central Intelligence Agency's newly-created Korea Mission Center, said North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is a "very rational actor" who doesn't want war with the US.

"The last person who wants conflict [on the Korean peninsula] is Kim Jong-un. He wants what all rulers want  to rule for a very long time and die peacefully in his own bed. Bluster and rhetoric aside, [he] has no interest in going toe to toe [with the US], but wants to come to some kind of big-power agreement with the US and remove US forces from the peninsula," Lee said of the 35-year-old ruler.

He went on to criticize the "tendency" in the US to underestimate the" conservatism" of governments, which he felt was "the greatest circuit-breaker in any kind of conflict."

Lee's comments stand in stark contrast to conception of the North Korean leader held by the US President Donald Trump.

The North Korea expert is the first major US figure to challenge this tacit official line  and in doing so, indirectly contradict mainstream appraisals of the escalating tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.

On August 28, North Korea test-fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan's Hokkaido Island  the missile landed in waters beyond the island. Trump reacted in an official statement, saying Jong-Un's message was "loud and clear."

Lee's call for calm echoes that of Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia, who said in September the United Nations Security Council should present a diplomatic framework within which the concerned parties could negotiate a solution to the crisis.

Nebenzia also emphasized that introducing more sanctions, as suggested by some UN Security Council members, wouldn't help ease tensions  after all, North Korea's decision to conduct the test launch after the adoption of sanctions clearly demonstrates such measures aren't effective.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






India's Second Scorpene Advanced Attack Submarine Misses Induction Deadline

Sputnik News

17:54 05.10.2017(updated 19:03 05.10.2017)

India's construction of a second Scorpene submarine, the INS Khanderi, is more than five years behind schedule. Its induction into the fleet has been repeatedly postponed; most recently following the cancellation of a deal for the purchase of torpedoes.

New Delhi (Sputnik)  India's Scorpene-class advanced attack submarine project has faced another setback with the second completed submarine also facing delays in sea trials.

The INS-Khanderi isd the second of the six submarines being locally built following the transfer of technology from French firm Naval Group (earlier DCNS). It was launched in January and was expected to be inducted into the Indian Navy by the end of this year, but hurdles in sea trials have made this highly unlikely. The induction of the first INS-Kalvari submarine has already faced several delays.

The Indian Navy recently announced a further delay in commissioning the first vessel, the INS Kalvari. "The Kalvari submarine has already been in the sea for some time now. Some 110 days of sea trials have been completed and more pre-commissioning sea trials are going on. We are expecting it to be commissioned by November-December this year," Vice Admiral Girish Luthra said.

Mazgaon Dock Ltd (MDL) delivered the first vessel to the Indian Navy last month after it was put through a grueling set of trials lasting over 18 months, including successful live missile and torpedo firings.

Meanwhile, the second Scorpene-class submarine, the INS-Khanderi, has begun sea trials in the Arabian Sea following the end of the monsoon. The diesel-electric attack submarine was planned for induction by the end of this year. However, sources say trials would continue for at least until the first quarter of next year. The Khanderi had begun its first sea sorties from the port of Mumbai in June this year.

India's state-owned Mazgaon Dock Ltd is building six Scorpene-class submarines for the Indian Navy at cost of more than $4 billion under the technology transfer agreement with French firm Naval Group. India and France signed the agreement for the project in 2005.

The six submarines will be capable of firing the French-made Exocet SM39, a sea-skimming, subsonic anti-ship missile with an approximate operational range of 50-70 kilometers. The Kalvari is equipped with six 533-millimeter torpedo tubes for launching anti-ship torpedoes, anti-ship missiles, and sea mines.

However, the first two submarines, the Kalvari and the Khanderi, have yet to be equipped with their primary weapons: heavyweight torpedoes. The Indian government had to cancel an order of WASS Black Shark torpedoes due to alleged corruption in the deal.

The Indian Navy presently commands a fleet of 121 ships, 14 submarines, and 232 aircraft. The actual requirement is far higher, with a target of 198 ships and submarines by the year 2027.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






No Respite for Indian Military From Chilly Himalayas Amid Chinese Buildup

Sputnik News

14:05 05.10.2017(updated 14:29 05.10.2017)

Reports of a Chinese troops buildup in Doklam despite the disengagement agreement reached between the world's two most populous countries in August have kept the Indian military on its toes, forcing it to stall the annual winter retreat from north Sikkim, a state in northeast India which borders China to the north.

New Delhi (Sputnik)  In a clear departure from earlier practice, this year, Indian military vehicles are still moving up the National Highway 10, that connects the plains of West Bengal with the difficult and vulnerable areas of north Sikkim, carrying ration and reinforcements. Military platforms have been kept in a state of readiness and are deployed at different locations close to the border.

"So far, no instructions have been issued to wind down the operational alert and it could get extended well into the winter," a top source told the Tribune.

The number of military vehicles moving from the military stations in West Bengal to north Sikkim has reportedly increased markedly in the last few weeks.

"This is not a usual situation, as we are witnessing hundreds of military vehicles still moving towards north Sikkim," says Kamal, a taxi driver, told Sputnik. Kamal ferries passengers on National Highway 10, connecting Siliguri to Gangtok.

At this time of the year, troops deployed at the border in north Sikkim usually partially retreat as the weather conditions are extremely harsh throughout most of the area. The retreat of troops is marked by the huge number of military vehicles moving downhill on a regular basis. However, this time, the reverse is happening.

Kamal, the cab driver, says the deplorable condition of roads linking West Bengal to Sikkim has added to the difficulties faced by Indian troops. Pointing at a military vehicle which had overturned on the highway, he said, "Heavy military vehicles are running on the already-congested 150 km highway which needs repairs urgently, as Sikkim has evolved as a new flashpoint after the Doklam standoff."

Doklam is just a few kilometers from north Sikkim. At least 1,500 personnel of Chinese People's Liberation Army are still reportedly present at the site of the recent standoff despite a bilateral agreement in August to mutually withdraw troops from the area.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iran reiterates JCPOA not renegotiable

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Rome, Oct 5, IRNA -- Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said on Thursday that Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is not renegotiable and the best way is to comply with its terms.

Salehi who is currently in Rome at the official invitation of the Italian officials to attend the International Conference on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (Amaldi) and hold talks with the country's officials told IRNA that it has been repeatedly said that JCPOA is not renegotiable.

Some demand JCPOA's technical aspects renegotiated but, the issue cannot be negotiated, he said, noting, "We have on several occasions said that JCPOA has been negotiated once, as Russian foreign minister and EU Foreign Policy Chief Mogherini and China have underlined that JCPOA cannot be renegotiated."

Salehi reiterated that the best way is to stick to JCPOA, as it is conducive to regional and international developments and strengthening non-proliferation system.

If JCPOA collapses, numerous complications such as the issue of North Korea will come to the fore, the official said, noting that if JCPOA is dismantled, no reason will remain to encourage North Korea to come to negotiating table, as they will surely say a similar one has already been ditched.

"We advise staying in the JCPOA and renegotiation is not acceptable by Iran, as the officials such as foreign minister have repeatedly announced that we will never discuss JCPOA again," AEOI chief said.

Referring to the US push to walk away from JCPOA, Salehi further noted that if the US pulls out of the deal and countries will follow the suit, Iran's action will be clear and it will also withdraw from it, prompting the deal collapse automatically.

But if the US leaves the deal alone with the others adhering to it, the situation will be different and making a decision in the field will rest on the Board Supervising JCPOA, he said.

As to his visit to Italy, Salehi said, "We will discuss JCPOA with major international figures during the trip and tour the country's scientific and research centers."

Salehi arrived in Rome at the head of a delegation on Thursday to address the two-day international conference 'Edoardo Amaldi' themed 'International Cooperation for Promoting Nuclear Safety and Security and Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation'.

The international event slated to mark 60th founding anniversary of International Atomic Energy Agency is to be attended by international figures such as Director General of IAEA Yukiya Amano and EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini.

Some 40 figures from Europe, Asia, Africa and Asia are to deliver lectures during the upcoming event.

Salehi will leave Rome for London on the invitation of British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson.

8072**2050

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






JCPOA not renegotiable: Iran's nuclear chief

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 5, 2017 03:01PM

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi says the 2015 nuclear deal reached between Iran and six world powers is not renegotiable.

He made the remarks in Rome, where he is to address the XXth Edoardo Amaldi Conference - International Cooperation for Enhancing Nuclear Safety, Security, Safeguards and Non-Proliferation next week.

"We have emphasized repeatedly that the JCPOA is not renegotiable," he told the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), referring to the nuclear agreement that is officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

"Some [parties] want the JCPOA to be renegotiated in technical dimensions, but it is not renegotiable," Salehi emphasized, noting that Russia, China and EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, had all stressed that the accord is not renegotiable.

"If the US leaves the JCPOA, and other countries follow suit, the JCPOA will definitely fall apart, but if only the US walks away, our monitoring committee on the JCPOA should make a decision in this regard," he added.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has been opposed to the JCPOA, which was negotiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama.

Trump himself has verbally attacked the deal numerous times and is reportedly planning to refuse to certify Iran's compliance at a mid-October deadline.

Most recently, the US president described the accord as "an embarrassment" and "one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into."

All the other parties to the JCPOA, however, have stressed that the agreement must be sustained, cautioning against a unilateral US withdrawal.

On Wednesday, Helga Schmid, the secretary general of the European External Action Service, said European states would do their best to sustain the nuclear deal with Iran.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






180 House Democrats ask Trump to certify Iran nuclear deal

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 5, 2017 05:56AM

At least 180 members of the US Congress have called on President Donald Trump to endorse the Iran nuclear deal, saying an American withdrawal from the pact would be against the interests of the United States and its allies.

Led by Florida Representative Ted Deutch and North Carolina Representative David Price, about 180 House Democrats signed a letter to Trump on Wednesday urging him to recertify the nuclear deal, unless he can present "credible evidence of a material breach" of it by the Iranians.

The lawmakers wrote there has been no tangible evidence that Iran has violated any elements of the nuclear pact, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which puts some restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions.

The letter comes just days before Trump has to report to Congress whether or not Iran is complying with the nuclear deal. If he argues that Iran is not in compliance, that could cause an American withdrawal from the international pact.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has recently reported that Iran is complying with the agreement.

In their letter to Trump, the lawmakers said that "absent credible and accurate information confirming a material breach, we are concerned that withholding certification of Iran's compliance or walking away from the [nuclear deal] would harm our alliances, embolden Iran, and threaten US national security."

They added that so far, no such evidence has been presented to Congress. They ended their letter by asking Trump to implement "vigorous enforcement" of the nuclear deal.

During a Senate hearing on Tuesday, US Defense Secretary James Mattis said Trump must consider remaining a party to the nuclear deal because the international accord serves US interests.

Last month, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson admitted that Tehran was in "technical compliance" with the 2015 nuclear agreement.

The remarks by the Pentagon chief and the top US diplomat were in sharp contrast with Trump's assessment that the nuclear agreement is an "embarrassment" to the US.

Trump has desperately sought a pretext to scrap or weaken the JCPOA, and get rid of the limits it imposes on the US ability to pursue more hostile policies against Iran.

The US Republican president faces an October 15 deadline for certifying that Iran is complying with the deal. Such certification is needed by US law every 90 days in order for Congress to continue to withhold nuclear-related sanctions against Iran, itself a US commitment under the JCPOA.

The Trump administration has twice so far certified Iran's compliance with the deal, but if he refuses to do that for a third time, then the Republican-controlled Congress will have 60 days to decide whether to re-impose sanctions waived under the deal. That would allow Congress to effectively decide whether to kill the deal.

This is while the other parties to the deal, along with the entire international community, have thrown their weight behind the accord, praising the Islamic Republic for its full commitment to its side of the bargain.

European envoys fight for Iran nuclear deal

According to reports, the British, French, German and European Union ambassadors to the US were to hold a meeting with Democratic senators on Capitol Hill on Wednesday night.

British Ambassador Kim Darroch was in Congress on Wednesday with his French, German and EU counterparts meeting with US lawmakers "to provide information on the European position on the JCPOA," a British embassy official told Reuters.

Former Undersecretary of State and lead Iran negotiator Wendy Sherman and former Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew were also scheduled to participate in the discussions via videolink.

The meeting is part of an ongoing effort by Democratic lawmakers and other officials to boost support for the deal.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Member Of Iranian Nuclear Negotiations Team Sentenced On Spying Charges

October 05, 2017

A member of the Iranian team that negotiated a 2015 nuclear deal with world powers has been sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of espionage, a semiofficial news agency reports.

Iran's Tasnim news agency on October 4 did not provide the name of the sentenced man, but the only member of the negotiating team known to be facing criminal charges is Abdolrasoul Dorri Esfahani, a dual Iranian-Canadian national.

"The conviction of a member of the nuclear negotiation team who has been arrested before and released on bail has been confirmed in the Tehran provincial appeals court," the report said. "This person has been sentenced to five years in prison."

The Tasnim news agency is believed to be close to Iran's hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

A spokesman for the Canadian government said without elaborating that officials were "aware of media reports that a dual national has been sentenced in Iran."

News outlets in August 2016 reported the detention of Dorri Esfahani, who was involved in banking-related aspects of the negotiations on the July 2015 deal that put restrictions on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

The reports said he had been arrested on suspicion of "selling the country's economic details to foreigners."

He was later granted bail, which is rare in Iran for those accused of serious crimes, and denied the allegations.

Iran does not recognize dual citizenship.

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-nuclear-negotiations- esfahani-spying-charges/28774873.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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Trump Expected to Declare Iran Noncompliant with Nuclear Deal - Reports

Sputnik News

23:59 05.10.2017(updated 01:02 06.10.2017)

The Washington Post has reported that White House sources believe US President Donald Trump will not provide certification that Iran is following the 2015 nuclear deal, opening the door for a US exit from the deal and more intense sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) meant to halt Iran's development of nuclear weapons (although Tehran has consistently denied that their nuclear program was ever meant to yield weapons) in exchange for sanctions relief requires the US president to "certify" that Iran is abiding by the agreement every 90 days.

Trump has reluctantly declared Iran compliant twice before, but frequently threatened to do otherwise. The next deadline is on October 15. The anonymous White House sources say that Trump is most likely going to declare Iran noncompliant, citing US national interest.

However, Trump's refusal to certify Iranian compliance does not necessarily mean the deal is scrapped. Should Trump de-certify Iran, the issue would then bounce to Congress and they have 60 days to decide how many, if any, sanctions that were paused by the JCPOA should resume. Only if they decide to resume sanctions would the US would have to exit the agreement.

Trump's speech is tentatively scheduled for October 12, and will take a hardline stance against the Islamic Republic. However, Trump has repeatedly pushed for the JCPOA, "the worst and most one-sided transaction Washington has ever entered into" as he described it during his United Nations General Assembly speech, to be renegotiated instead of discarded entirely. As such, Trump is expected not to recommend for Congress to reimpose sanctions and exit the agreement just yet, report White House sources.

But a renegotiation seems unlikely. It takes two to tango, and Iranian leaders dismissed the possibility of an exit, with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani telling the press on September 21 that it would be a "waste of time" to do so.

"We held negotiations for many years on [the JCPOA] but today the Americans talk of leaving the deal. So why should negotiations on other issues be held [with the US]?" Rouhani asked reporters after his speech at the UN General Assembly.

It isn't just Iran and the US  five other countries signed the JCPOA, too: China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom. The leaders of all five have implored the Americans to remain within the agreement, with French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Theresa May both attempting to convince Trump in person to declare Iran compliant  reportedly, both in vain.

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Sunday that leaving the Iran deal may harm the prospect of nuclear disarmament in an entirely different part of the world. "If the US cancelled its nuclear deal with Iran, that would undermine the credibility of its offer to North Korea," Gabriel said, according to Press TV.

"I want to stress that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is an important outcome of multilateralism," said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang during a September press conference. "It is a model of resolving international hot-spot issue through political and diplomatic means."

Russian President Vladimir Putin has also thrown his support behind the JCPOA, saying at a Wednesday speech at the Russian Energy Week-2017 international forum that "all reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) say that Iran fully meets all its commitments. We are guided by these considerations and will back the deal, which was brokered under the previous US administration, although we had many differences on other issues."

Even members of Trump's own cabinet have publicly defended the JCPOA. "At this point in time, absent indications to the contrary, it is something the president should consider staying in," said US Defense Secretary James Mattis before Congress on Tuesday, adding that the pact was beneficial to national security.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US Officials: Trump to Decertify Nuclear Deal With Iran

By VOA News October 05, 2017

President Donald Trump is likely to decertify the nuclear deal with Iran and turn it back to Congress for possible renewed sanctions, senior U.S. officials said Thursday.

Trump is expected to announce his plans in a speech next week in which he will say the agreement is not in the U.S. national interest, the officials said.

This would not scrap the 2015 deal, but instead return it to Congress. Lawmakers would have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions that were suspended under the agreement.

A decertification could also open the door to renegotiate the deal, although Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that is not an option.

Trump has to announce every 90 days whether Iran is in compliance. His next deadline is October 15.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders did not say Thursday what the president planned to do, other than saying he would "make an announcement about the decision that he's made on a comprehensive strategy that his team supports" in the coming days.

Iran signed the agreement with the former Obama administration in 2015, along with Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

Curb on uranium enrichment

The agreement primarily calls on Iran to curb its uranium enrichment program so it can no longer be able to build a nuclear bomb. In exchange, the U.S. and its allies would lift many of the sanctions that have wrecked the Iranian economy.

Iran has so far been in compliance with the agreement, but the White House has accused Iran of violating the "spirit" of the deal.

Trump has fiercely criticized it as a one-sided deal that gives Iran all the advantages. The administration has also continued to accuse Iran of sponsoring terrorism and calling for Israel's destruction.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iraqi Security Forces Liberate Hawija From ISIS Control

From a Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve News Release

SOUTHWEST ASIA, Oct. 5, 2017  Iraqi security forces have completed a "swift and decisive" victory in liberating the city of Hawija from the grasp of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve officials said today.

In a statement congratulating the Iraqi government for its latest success in defeating ISIS, task force officials said the 14-day operation to liberate the city was hard-fought, "with many sources reporting more than 1,000 terrorists surrendered."

"Our Iraqi partners fought bravely and professionally against a brutal and determined enemy, safeguarding innocent civilians throughout the entire campaign," Army Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk II, the Inherent Resolve commanding general, said in the statement, adding that thanks to their efforts, Hawija will return to local governance and security.

"Today's victory demonstrates we are stronger together, and this coalition remains committed to supporting our partners in the tough fight ahead as we continue our mission to defeat ISIS," Funk said.

Battle-Hardened, Professional Forces

Iraq's security forces continue to prove they are a battle-hardened, professional force dedicated to ridding their country of an evil enemy, the task force statement said. While the liberation of Hawija is a significant milestone, officials added, an ISIS presence remains in Iraq, and the coalition will continue to stand side by side with the Iraqi forces in their collective mission to defeat ISIS.

The Iraqi security forces are concurrently conducting operations in western Anbar province and have already secured the towns of Anah, Rayhanah, and Akashat, the statement noted.

The liberation of Mosul, Tal Afar and Hawija demonstrate continued progress in the campaign to defeat ISIS, officials said, adding that the coalition will continue to support the Iraqi government of Iraq "as we recognize together the importance of a unified Iraq to the long-term security and prosperity of the Iraqi people."

The Iraqi government of Iraq and the country's security forces, with the support of the global coalition, have liberated more than 4 million Iraqis and reclaimed more than 160,000 square miles of land once held by ISIS, the coalition statement said.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Iraqi PM, military announce Hawijah liberation from Daesh

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 5, 2017 06:24AM

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says Iraqi armed forces have liberated the strategic town of Hawijah, ridding the Takfiri outfit of its last bastion in the northern part of the Arab state.

Speaking from the French capital, Paris on Thursday, Abadi said, "I announce the liberation of the city of Hawijah," adding, "Only the outskirts remain to be recaptured."

The premier described the latest gain as a "victory not just of Iraq but of the whole world."

The announcement followed a statement by the Iraqi military, which said the center of Hawijah, located in Iraq's oil-rich Kirkuk Province, is back under government control.

Iraqi forces "liberated the whole of the center of Hawijah and are continuing their advance," said the operation's commander, Lieutenant General Abdel Amir Yarallah.

The operation, which first began on September 21, features Iraqi army troops and police forces, backed by volunteer fighters of Popular Mobilization Units, better known as Hashd al-Sha'abi.

The recapture puts an end to Daesh presence in northern Iraq and leaves the extremist terror group in control of a stretch of land in the west near the Syrian border, including the town of al-Qaim.

Hawijah lies between the two major routes north from Baghdad  to the second city Mosul, and to Kirkuk City and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region.

Mosul used to serve as the terror group's main urban holdout in Iraq before its historic liberation in July.

Daesh has been driven out of most of the territory it managed to seize in Iraq and neighboring Syria in 2014.

In Syria, Daesh terrorists are mainly holed up in the eastern city of Dayr al-Zawr, where they are on their last leg in the face of two separate operations by the Syrian military, supported by Russia, as well as US-backed militants.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






The Way the Caliph Crumbles: Baghdad Wrests Daesh's Last Urban Stronghold Back

Sputnik News

22:11 05.10.2017(updated 01:02 06.10.2017)

After two weeks of fierce fighting, Daesh has been chased from the northern Iraqi city of Hawija by coalition forces. The city was Daesh's final urban center in Iraq, leaving them in control of only a handful of settlements in the war-torn Middle Eastern nation.

Hawija, in the disputed and oil-rich Kirkuk Governorate (claimed by both Iraq and the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan), has been under the control of Daesh for over three years. On September 21, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered the Iraqi military to reclaim the city.

Iraqi forces, supported by both Iran and the US-led Joint Operations Command, fought their way to the city from either side, encircling it. Iraqi forces then entered the city itself on Wednesday and fought their way to the city center.

Iraqi Lt. Gen Abdul-Amir Yarallah, who commanded the operation as well as 2016's offensive to retake Daesh's de facto capital of Mosul in the north of the country, said that 98 villages had been liberated and over 550 militants had been killed. Baghdad has not released a casualty figure of their own.

"The army's 9th Armored Division, the Federal Police, the Emergency Response division and Popular Mobilisation liberated Hawija," Yarallah said in a Thursday statement.

"The federal forces liberated the district of Hawija, the Hawija hospital as well as the Askari, Nidaa and Thawra neighbourhoods, and are in control of the centre of the province of Hawija in full," added Major General Raid Shaker Jawdat, the commander of Iraq's Federal Police contingent.

An estimated 150,000 people live in the city and surrounding district, but have suffered from famine and disease under the occupation  this despite Hawija being a major agricultural and economic center. The United Nations has expressed its distress about the operation as an estimated 78,000 people remain in Hawija and may have been caught up in the fighting.

"We remain concerned for the lives and well-being of these vulnerable civilians and remind those doing the fighting that civilians must be protected at all times and allowed to safely leave Hawija," said UN humanitarian spokesman Jens Laerke in a statement.

Before the offensive, Daesh was clustered in two parts of Iraq: an enclave around Hawija and the rural western section of the Anbar Governorate, which borders Syria in the west. After some mop-up operations, the former stronghold should collapse entirely.

The situation isn't much better for Daesh in western Anbar. Iraq began an offensive against them in mid-September, retaking the towns of Akashat and Anah in a matter of days. This leaves only two more settlements of import under the militants' control: the large town of Al-Qaim (an agricultural center) and Rama, both along the Euphrates River.

After a nine-month operation that left tens of thousands dead, the international coalition seized Daesh's Iraqi capital of Mosul following three years of occupation. The coalition victory there heralded the crumbling of Daesh's Iraqi holdings, and the loss of Hawija cements that.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Bangladesh set to relocate all Rohingya to mega refugee camp: Official

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 5, 2017 05:55PM

Bangladesh says it plans to expand a massive settlement under construction in its southernmost district to house nearly 900,000 persecuted Rohingya Muslims who have fled violence in Myanmar.

Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, minister for disaster management and relief, said on Thursday that the estimated 890,000 refugees would eventually be moved to the new site near the border town of Cox's Bazar.

"All of those who are living in scattered places... would be brought into one place. That's why more land is needed. Slowly all of them will come," media outlets quoted the minister as saying.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the minister said that families were already moving to the new site, known as the Kutupalong Extension.

There are currently nearly two dozen camps and other makeshift camps along the border. Two of the existing settlements have already been shut down.

Last month, two thousand acres of land next to the existing Kutupalong camp were set aside for the new Rohingya arrivals. Another 1,000 acres were later set aside for the new camp.

The number of newcomers has exceeded 500,000 -- adding to 300,000 already in Bangladesh.

The mega camp project has, however, caused concern among doctors and charities on the ground that fear a disease like cholera could spread quickly through such a congested, overpopulated site.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says the situation is "slowly spiraling into a catastrophe of biblical proportions."

According to Mark Lowcock, UN emergency relief coordinator, the world body would be seeking around $430 million to scale up the humanitarian operation for the destitute Rohingya.

In a fresh bout of violence in Myanmar, soldiers and Buddhist mobs have been attacking Rohingya Muslims and torching their villages since October 2016. The attacks have seen a sharp rise since August 25, following a number of purported armed attacks on police and military posts in the western state of Rakhine.

Many witnesses and rights groups have reported systematic attacks, including rape, murder and arson, at the hands of the army and Buddhist mobs against Rohingya Muslims, forcing them to leave their generations-old homes and flee to overcrowded and squalid refugee camps in Bangladesh.

The UN has described the crackdown on Rohingya in Myanmar as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Fleeing violence at home, Rohingya face crackdown in Bangladesh

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 5, 2017 07:16AM

Bangladeshi forces have reportedly beaten a group of Rohingya Muslim refugees fleeing violence in Myanmar on arrival in Bangladesh and have destroyed some 20 boats that carried them.

Refugees and local witnesses said border guards beat and arrested the Rohingya Muslims along with crew as they landed at Shah Porir Dwip, on the southern tip of Bangladesh, in the early hours of Wednesday, and then smashed to pieces about 20 boats that ferried the persecuted Muslims into the country.

"When I arrived in Bangladesh from Myanmar by boat, the Bangladesh border guards caught me and started beating me with a stick three times. Also the guards made a hole in the boat," said Ibrahim Holil, a Rohingya Muslim refugee.

"When we arrived in Bangladesh at night, the guards came with lights and made holes in every boat with tools," another refugee said.

Rejecting the reports of beatings, Lieutenant Colonel Ariful Islam, the local commander of Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB), accused the organizers of the boat journeys of human trafficking and said, "The boats are trying to carry passengers they are not supposed to." He also claimed that a local narcotic drug was being "smuggled" on the boats. He offered no evidence for his claim of drug trafficking.

Meanwhile, Robi Alam, a local Bangladeshi fisherman, claimed that the BGB had paid local people to smash the Rohingya boats with sledgehammers and machetes.

"Last night, the Rohingya came by boat and the Border Guard of Bangladesh stopped them and they ordered Bangladeshi fishermen to destroy the boats," he said.

More than 507,000 Rohingya Muslims, fleeing government-sanctioned violence in Myanmar, have already fled to Bangladesh in hopes of finding shelter and security. Over 10,000 more Rohingya refugees have reportedly amassed near a crossing point with Bangladesh awaiting entry.

But the reports of beating and the new measures by the Bangladeshi forces may be an ominous sign of trouble in a country the Rohingya Muslims had sought to find refuge in.

In Myanmar, soldiers and Buddhist mobs have been attacking Rohingya Muslims and torching their villages since October 2016. The attacks have seen a sharp rise since August 25, following a number of purported armed attacks on police and military posts in a western state.

The UN has described the crackdown on Rohingya in Myanmar as a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






HRW says Myanmar army raping and executing Rohingya Muslims

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 5, 2017 02:42AM

Human Rights Watch says Myanmar's military "summarily executed" and sexually assaulted dozens of Rohingya Muslims during a raid on a village in the west of the country over a month ago.

According to a report released by the international human rights group on Wednesday, the Myanmar army attacked a residential compound where a large number of villagers had converged out of fear for their lives on August 27.

"Soldiers had beaten, sexually assaulted, stabbed, and shot villagers who had gathered for safety in a residential compound," the report said.

"These atrocities demand more than words from concerned governments; they need concrete responses with consequences," said the groups deputy Asia director, Phil Robertson.

He added that satellite imagery showed the near-total destruction of the village after the army had left.

"The soldiers loaded the bodies  some witnesses said a hundred or more  into military trucks and took them away," he added.

The report went on to quote survivors of the raids who recounted their survivals or deaths of their loved ones.

"One soldier, identified by many witnesses as Staff Sergeant Baju, led several soldiers into a courtyard and began calling to the people hiding in the house in the Rohingya language," said a witness.

Then they battered them to death with their guns, he added.

Another survivor said the people of his village had been killed by the soldiers as if "they were clearing the jungle with their thin, sharp, and long knives."

"Many were stabbed to death. When I tried to flee I was shot in the chest but was able to escape," said another witness.

"These atrocities demand more than words from concerned governments; they need concrete responses with consequences," said the groups deputy Asia director, Phil Robertson.

He added that satellite imagery showed the near-total destruction of the village after the army had left.

"The soldiers loaded the bodies  some witnesses said a hundred or more  into military trucks and took them away," he added.

The report went on to quote survivors of the raids who recounted their survivals or deaths of their loved ones.

"One soldier, identified by many witnesses as Staff Sergeant Baju, led several soldiers into a courtyard and began calling to the people hiding in the house in the Rohingya language," said a witness.

Then they battered them to death with their guns, he added.

Another survivor said the people of his village had been killed by the soldiers as if "they were clearing the jungle with their thin, sharp, and long knives."

"Many were stabbed to death. When I tried to flee I was shot in the chest but was able to escape," said another witness.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Bangladesh Awaits Myanmar's Response to Rohingya Repatriation Proposal

Sputnik News

16:27 05.10.2017

Bangladesh has proposed a plan for peaceful repatriation of Rohingya refugees but says it is not sure whether they will be persecuted again once they reach Myanmar.

New Delhi (Sputnik)  Bangladesh is awaiting Myanmar's response to its proposal on the peaceful repatriation of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar. Deputy Press Secretary to Prime Minister of Bangladesh Nazrul Islam, in an exclusive interview with Sputnik, said that though Bangladesh has made the proposal in earnest, Myanmar government has not displayed any seriousness on the issue so far.

"Officially Bangladesh has offered the proposal of repatriation. But whether they are really serious in repatriation or just buying or killing time, it will be clear after some time," Nazrul Islam said.

"Bangladesh has outlined a concrete modality on how their citizens will be repatriated to their country. The Myanmar Deputy Minister said that they will examine the modality given by our side. And we are waiting for Myanmar's response," he added.

The Bangladeshi bureaucrat was hopeful that all the Rohingya refugees would eventually go back to Myanmar although he agreed that identifying refugees was a major challenge for the Bangladeshi government.

"Bangladesh expects Myanmar to repatriate all the Rohingya refugees who have arrived in Bangladesh. Rohingyas who came here do not have an identity card. How can they prove whether they are indeed citizens of Rakhine? It's very difficult. From our side, we are making a registration of all foreigners who arrive in Bangladesh illegally," Nazrul Islam said.

On the safety of the Rohingyas after their repatriation, he said, "It is very difficult to say. We can only expect that persecution will not be repeated. This time the whole world is against such persecution. The entire international community is against the atrocities committed by Burma. I think that it should not happen again."

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has denied having any significant information about the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) which is reportedly fighting an armed war against the Myanmar military. Myanmar has accused ARSA of using Bangladeshi soil to carry out insurgent activities.

"We have heard about ARSA only recently. We really don't know about their work and their activities. So I can't say much about them," Nazrul Islam said.

Independent estimates have put the number of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh at around 0.5 million. They have arrived in Bangladesh after allegedly fleeing what has been described as "textbook ethnic cleansing" in neighboring Myanmar.

Refugees in Bangladesh are mostly stranded in the southern areas of Shah Puri Dwip, Sabrang, Shamlapur and Cox's Bazar. The government of Bangladesh also runs huge camps in Kutupalong and Balukhali. Media reports emanating from Bangladesh suggest refugees who are not lucky enough to get space in government camps are living along the sides of roads, in mosques, in forests, and in plastic huts.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Bangladesh to Build One Central Camp for Rohingya Refugees

By VOA News October 05, 2017

Bangladesh is building the world's largest refugee camp to house over half a million Rohingya who have fled Myanmar, officials said Thursday.

Refugees who are currently scattered in 23 camps along the border will be transferred to one central camp in Cox's Bazar, Mofazzal Hossain Chowdhury Maya, minister for disaster management and relief, said Thursday.

Chowdhury said that all other camps would be closed after the transfer is complete.

"Our target is, Myanmar citizens who came to Bangladesh since 1978, keeping them all in one place," the minister said.

The massive flood of Rohingya refugees reaching Bangladesh since August has brought the total who have arrived since 1978 to more than 800,000. The world's largest refugee camp until now is considered to be the Bidi Bidi camp in Uganda, with an estimated population of 285,000. Kenya's sprawling Dadaab camp has about 245,000 residents.

Meanwhile, the United Nations, which has praised Bangladesh for its generosity in accommodating Rohingya refugees, said Thursday its response plan to the crisis had been revised to $434 million to help more than one million people in Bangladesh  including Rohingya refugees who arrived before August 25 and local host communities.

The Trump administration has also said that $28 million of a total of $32 million promised in aid for the conflict will support Bangladesh.

In recent weeks, more than a half-million Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar, where they face human rights violations and discrimination.

Rohingya militants attacked Myanmar security forces in late August. Since then, analysts and rights workers say, the military has carried out a brutal crackdown, burning villages and killing women and children as they fled.

Myanmar authorities say clashes have stopped, but the exodus continues daily by the thousands into neighboring Bangladesh.

VOA's Bangla Service contributed to this report.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






US Lawmakers Urge Action on Myanmar

By VOA News October 05, 2017

U.S. lawmakers are calling for "full access" by journalists and aid workers to Myanmar's troubled Rakhine state.

"It is very important that we get reporters on the ground, that we get USAID on the ground," Representative Ed Royce, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee said Thursday. "Because as long as that presence is there, it's a check to these kinds of atrocities," he said, referring to the plight of Myanmar's Muslim Rohingya minority.

Royce added that the Trump administration has promised $32 million in assistance - $28 million of which will go to Bangladesh, where roughly half a million Rohingya have fled from across the border since late August.

Patrick Murphy, a senior U.S. official for Southeast Asia, says the U.S. has urged Myanmar's civilian and military officials to take action to stop the violence, and representative Eliot Engel, the committee's top-ranking Democrat, said the U.S. should consider imposing targeted sanctions on Myanmar's military.

The lawmakers also echoed comments by the U.N. Human Rights commissioner, saying that the violence against Rohingyas which has led to their mass exodus constitutes ethnic cleansing.

"Just for the record, myself and Mr. Engel, this committee  we identity this as full-fledged ethnic cleansing," Representative Royce said.

When asked why he doesn't use the term ethnic cleansing, Murphy called the situation in Myanmar a "human tragedy."

Meanwhile, the United Nations said Thursday that its response plan to the crisis had been revised to $434 million to help over one million people in Bangladesh - including over 500,000 Rohingya who have arrived since August 25, Rohingya refugees who arrived earlier, and local host communities.

After the Myanmar army began a crackdown in October last year to "flush out Rohingya militants" following a deadly attack on a police outpost, charges of rapes, killings and arson were leveled against the soldiers in the Rohingya village but outside media have been restricted in their access to the area.

As a result, the Rohingya leaders claim the true story of the crackdown has not been getting out to the world.

The Myanmar government has taken groups of reporters to the region in recent weeks and has denied charges of systematic abuses against the Rohingya. But because of the security situation, reporters say they are not able to freely move about the area and gather information.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






NATO Chief Says Alliance Assessing Whether All Russian Troops Left Belarus

Rikard Jozwiak October 05, 2017

BRUSSELS -- NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the Western alliance is assessing whether Russia has pulled out all the troops it sent to Belarus for joint exercises last month that were watched warily by neighbors.

Speaking in an interview in Brussels on October 5, Stoltenberg told RFE/RL that NATO "closely monitored the Zapad exercise" but that "it is too early to make any final assessment" on the drill.

"The important thing is that any troops can only stay in Belarus with the consent of the government in Belarus, and the Russian minister of defense has announced that they have withdrawn all the troops," he said, adding: "We are now assessing this."

The September 14-20 war games in Belarus and parts of western Russia triggered concerns in neighboring NATO nations already wary of Moscow's intentions after its annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 and military interference in eastern Ukraine.

Moscow and Minsk said the maneuvers involved some 12,700 troops in the two countries combined, but Western officials have said the true number may have been around 100,000.

On September 30, Moscow denied a claim made by the Ukrainian military chief of staff, Viktor Muzhenko, that Russia left troops in Belarus after the drills.

The Belarusian Defense Ministry had said that the last train of Russian troops who participated in the Zapad 2017 military drills left Belarus on September 28.

Stoltenberg told RFE/RL that the Western military alliance currently doesn't see "any imminent threat against any NATO ally," but he added that what "we see is a more assertive Russia, a Russia which has implemented a significant military buildup over many years, increased defense spending, more modern capabilities, exercises of its forces, and a Russia that has been willing to use military force against its neighbors, especially in Ukraine."

The NATO chief also admitted that the relationship between NATO and Moscow has "deteriorated over the last years, especially since the illegal annexation of Crimea and Russia's continued efforts to destabilize eastern Ukraine and its support to the separatists there."

Despite the tensions, NATO has kept dialogue with Russia open via the NATO-Russia Council, which last met in Brussels in July. Although few concrete outcomes have been achieved following several rounds of talks, envoys of Russia and NATO are poised to meet again in the autumn.

"Russia is there to stay, NATO doesn't want a Cold War, we don't want a new arms race. Therefore, we also reach out to Russia for political dialogue," Stoltenberg said.

Speaking about a Russian proposal to send United Nations peacekeepers to eastern Ukraine, Stoltenberg said the troops should patrol the whole conflict zone including the border between Russia and the separatist-held parts of Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which Kyiv says is used to ship weapons and military personnel in from Russia.

"We welcome all ideas and proposals that can help us implement the Minsk agreement, meaning respect the cease-fire, withdrawal of heavy weapons," he said.

The war between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian government forces has killed more than 10,000 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014.

The conflict has persisted despite an agreement signed in Minsk in February 2015 and a September 2014 deal that was also signed in the Belarusian capital that called for a cease-fire and set out steps to end the conflict that have gone largely unimplemented.

Sanctions imposed by the European Union, the United States, and other countries have not prompted Russia to abandon its support for the separatists or fulfill its commitments under the Minsk agreements.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/nato-russia- ukraine-belarus-zapad-exercises- stoltenberg/28775940.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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






3 Russian Businessmen File Second Defamation Lawsuit In Connection with 'Steele Dossier'

Mike Eckel October 05, 2017

WASHINGTON -- Three powerful Russian businessmen who control the country's largest commercial bank have filed the second of two defamation lawsuits in connection with a salacious intelligence report involving President Donald Trump.

The lawsuit, filed October 3 by Pyotr Aven, Mikhail Fridman, and German Khan, alleged that the intelligence report, known commonly as the Steele dossier, harmed their professional reputations and "[impaired] business opportunities that resulted from the blatantly false and defamatory statements and implications about them."

The suit, filed in U.S. federal court in Washington, D.C., targets the private Washington-based research and intelligence firm Fusion GPS, founded by a former Wall Street Journal reporter. The dossier was compiled by a former British intelligence agent initially for Trump's Republican rivals, and funding for the report was later taken over by Democratic opponents.

After circulating among several news organizations who sought to corroborate its allegations, the dossier was published in full in January by BuzzFeed, which the three sued earlier this year, also for defamation.

A spokesperson for Fusion GPS did not immediately return an e-mail seeking comment.

BuzzFeed faces another separate but similar lawsuit from a Russian businessman.

Aven, Fridman, and Khan are the primary owners of Alfa Bank, a major Russia investment bank that was named in part of the dossier as being part of Russian government efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

All three are considered to be so-called oligarchs, wealthy businessmen who once wielded substantial political power in Russia but have been largely reined in by President Vladimir Putin's Kremlin.

Alfa Bank reportedly came under FBI investigation for what appeared to be mysterious computer transmissions between its computer servers and that of Trump's private business organization. The FBI has never commented on the inquiry, but The New York Times later reported investigators had concluded there was nothing amiss.

Fusion GPS has also been under scrutiny for its work with Natalya Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer who has sought to undermine a 2012 U.S. law that sanctioned several Russians deemed to have committed human rights abuses and other crimes.

Veselnitskaya met with Trump's eldest son in June 2016, after an associate promised Trump Jr. with potentially damaging information about Trump's presidential rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/steele-dossier- trump-russia-alfa-bank-fusion-gps-aven- fridman-khan/28774687.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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Saudi King Salman in Russia on historic visit

Iran Press TV

Wed Oct 4, 2017 06:30PM

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has arrived in the Russian capital, Moscow, on a first such visit by a monarch in the kingdom's history.

Salman landed in Moscow's Vnukovo Airport early on Wednesday to launch a four-day visit, which many say would take him to discussions on the global oil market and the situation in Syria.

The trip marks a huge turnaround in ties between Russia and Saudi Arabia, two countries that have repeatedly come at odds over the conflict in Syria. Moscow has backed Syria's fight against terror and has even deployed boots on the ground. Riyadh, however, has openly backed groups that have used violence to topple the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

A major issue in talks between Salman and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who are expected to meet on Thursday, would be how to make the foreign-backed opposition in Syria bow to international calls to lay down arms. Saudis have considerable leverage on an umbrella organization of opposition groups known as the High Negotiations Committee. The HNC, which has its headquarters in Riyadh, has yet to endorse United Nations calls for attending peace talks without preconditions.

Russia and Saudi Arabia still have many issues to agree upon, including how to control the production of oil to help boost prices in international markets. The two biggest crude producers in the world agreed on cuts in November 2016.

Russia is seeking a bigger share in oil projects in Saudi Arabia, while Russian companies have always looked for opportunities to invest in the kingdom. That could be highlighted during Salman's meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, which is expected on Friday.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Saudi Arabia agrees to buy Russian S-400 air defense system

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 5, 2017 05:06PM

Saudi Arabia has signed preliminary agreements to buy S-400 air defense systems and receive "cutting-edge technologies" from Russia as King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is on an official trip to Moscow as the first Saudi monarch to visit the European country.

Under agreements signed with Russian state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport, Saudi Arabia is set to procure the anti-aircraft weapon system, the Kornet-EM anti-tank guided missile system, 220mm 24-barrel TOS-1A multiple rocket launcher as well as AGS-30 Atlant automatic grenade launcher, the state-owned Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) said in a statement on Thursday.

SAMI, however, did not provide any information about the number of the systems or the value of the deal.

These contracts are "expected to play a pivotal role in the growth and development of the military and military systems industry in Saudi Arabia," the statement read.

The Saudi Arabian Military Industries further noted that the memoranda of understanding also "include the transfer of technology for the local production" of the aforementioned military systems.

"In addition, the parties will cooperate in setting a plan to localize the manufacturing and sustainment of parts of the S-400 air defense system," SAMI said.

Saudi and Russian military officials also agreed on the production of AK-103 automatic assault rifles and its ammunition in Saudi Arabia besides educational and training programs for Saudi nationals.

"These agreements are expected to have tangible economic contributions and create hundreds of direct jobs. They will also transfer cutting-edge technologies that will act as a catalyst for localizing 50 percent of the Kingdom's military spending," SAMI said.

A number of other deals have been signed during King Salman's four-day visit to Russia, which started on Wednesday.

There are reports that Saudi Arabian national petroleum and natural gas company, Saudi Aramco, is discussing several investment opportunities with Russian producers of liquefied natural gas (LNG).

"LNG is one of the areas where we are looking for partners in Russia," Amin H. Nasser, president and chief executive officer of Saudi Aramco, told reporters in Moscow on Thursday.

Nasser noted that there are no current plans to take a stake in the Novatek LNG project, known as Arctic LNG-2. Novatek is Russia's largest independent natural gas producer.

"We are not discussing this at this stage. We are looking at opportunities for working together with the different companies. But what you mention in particular - nothing from Saudi Aramco," he said.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Russia, Saudi Arabia Pledge To Boost Ties During King's Landmark Visit

RFE/RL October 05, 2017

Russian President Vladimir Putin has hosted Saudi King Salman for talks at the Kremlin, in the first official visit to Russia by a reigning Saudi monarch.

Putin hailed the visit as a "landmark" event as he welcomed King Salman at the Kremlin on October 5.

"I'm sure your visit will boost the ties between our countries," he added.

"We aim to strengthen our relations in the interests of peace and security, in the interests of developing the world economy," the Saudi monarch responded.

He also said that that Riyadh is "eager to continue the positive cooperation between our nations in the world oil market."

Relations between the world's two largest oil-export nations have often been strained.

During the Cold War, the Saudis helped arm Afghan rebels fighting against the Soviet occupation.

More recently, the two countries have had differences over Iran, Saudi Arabia's main rival in the Middle East, and the war in Syria.

Riyadh supports U.S.-backed rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government, while Russian troops and Iranian militias have backed Assad in the country's six-year civil war.

Despite regional disagreements, Russia and Saudi Arabia found common ground on energy policy in November, when they worked together to secure a deal between OPEC and other oil producers to cut production in an effort to drive up oil prices.

Briefing the media on the talks between Putin and the 81-year-old king, the Russian and Saudi foreign ministers focused on the common ground between the two countries.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the two leaders had a "friendly and substantial discussion based on a desire by Moscow and Riyadh to consistently grow mutually beneficial partnerships in all spheres."

He also said the two agreed on the importance of fighting terror and of finding peaceful solutions to conflicts in the Middle East.

Speaking alongside Lavrov, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said that Moscow and Riyadh agreed on the need to preserve Syria's territorial integrity.

"We believe that new horizons have opened up for the development of our relations that we could not previously have imagined," he also said.

Lavrov also said the two sides "signed a whole package of intergovernmental and interdepartmental agreements, and large-scale commercial contracts."

The deals included preliminary agreements on the purchase of S-400 air-defense systems, Kornet antitank guided-missile systems, and multiple rocket launchers, according the state-owned Saudi Arabian Military Industries.

It did not specify the potential value of the deals but said the procurement was "based on the assurance of the Russian party to transfer the technology and localize the manufacturing and sustainment of these armament systems in the Kingdom."

Russian and Saudi officials also signed an agreement on the creation of a $1 billion joint investment fund, Reuters reported.

Another memorandum of understanding was signed under which Sibur, Russia's largest producer of petrochemicals, would explore cooperation with Saudi Arabia.

With reporting by AFP, AP, Reuters, and Interfax

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-saudi-arabia -putin-saudi/28775796.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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Putin: Saudi King's Visit to Russia a Landmark Event

Sputnik News

13:53 05.10.2017(updated 18:17 05.10.2017)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said during his first ever meeting with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud that the monarch's visit to Russia is a landmark event.

"This is the first visit of the King of Saudi Arabia to Russia in the history of our relations, which in itself is a very significant event. Our relations have a fairly lengthy history," Putin said at a meeting with the King, adding that he hopes that the visit will contribute to the development of bilateral ties.

In his turn, the Saudi monarch said Riyadh seeks to strengthen its relations with Moscow for the sake of peace and security, as well as the development of an international economy.

"We are happy to be in a friendly country. We seek to strengthen bilateral relations for the sake of peace and security, for the sake of the development of the global economy," the King said during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Speaking to reporters about the meeting between the two leaders, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the potential for bilateral cooperation is "rather broad," adding that Moscow and Riyadh have shown the political will to deepen cooperation and interaction on a wide range of issues.

The Saudi King arrived in Russia on Wednesday; the Russia-Saudi investment forum is timed to coincide with the visit.

The Saudi Foreign Minister has said that a number of "important documents are expected to be signed." The Russian Industry and Trade Ministry has said Riyadh is planning to invest in more than 25 agriculture, oil and gas projects in Russia. Also, firms from the two nations are planning to create a new investment platform in the energy sector during the visit.

PUTIN ACCEPTS SAUDI KING'S INVITATION TO VISIT HIS COUNTRY

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud invited on Thursday Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit the country, with the latter accepting the invitation.

"I am pleased to send an invitation to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," the king said during talks with the Russian president.

Putin, in turn, thanked him for the invitation.

"I remember my previous visit to your country. And I will definitely act upon your invitation to visit Saudi Arabia again," Putin said.

SITUATION IN MIDDLE EAST

The two leaders have talked on the situation in the Middle East. Putin said that his talks were detailed, with the sides discussing the situation in the region.

"Just now, we held very detailed talks in a narrow format. We discussed bilateral relations and the situation in the region. This discussion was very substantive, informative and very trusting," Putin said.

The Saudi King has specifically touched upon the Syrian issue, saying Riyadh intends to achieve the resolution of the crisis in the war-ravaged country in accordance with Geneva decisions and UN Security Council resolutions.

"As far as the Syrian crisis is concerned, we seek its termination in accordance with Geneva-1 decisions and a UN Security Council resolution," the king said at talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

COOPERATION IN ENERGY INDUSTRY

Saudi Arabia seeks to continue cooperation with Russia to achieve stability on global oil markets, King Salman said during the meeting with President Putin.

"We are striving to continue positive cooperation between our countries to achieve stability on the global oil markets, which contributes to the growth of the world economy," the king said.

BILATERAL RELATIONS

Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has said the views of Moscow and Riyadh on many regional and international problems coincide. He noted the Russian side's friendly attitude and reaffirmed the mutual desire to strengthen relations between Russia and Saudi Arabia in various spheres.

"We note that these relations are characterized by the coincidence of views on many regional and international problems," the king said.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Russian submarines launch cruise missiles at Daesh positions in Dayr al-Zawr

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 5, 2017 02:54PM

Two Russian submarines have fired a barrage of Kalibr cruise missiles at positions of Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in Syria's eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr, where the country's forces are making territorial gains against the terrorists.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, Major General Igor Konashenkov, said on Thursday that the Black Sea Fleet's submarines -- Veliky Novgorod and Kolpino -- carried out two strikes outside the city of Mayadin, located about 44 kilometers southeast of Dayr al-Zawr, using ten Kalibr cruise missiles.

Noting that the submarines fired the missiles while submerged, Konashenkov added, "Daesh terrorist group in Mayadin suffered significant damage, both in manpower and hardware."

Konashenkov further noted that Russian air and naval forces would continue to support the Syrian army's offensive aimed at pushing Daesh out of Dayr al-Zawr province.

The development came only two days after the Russia's Defense Ministry said the country's military aircraft had killed seven Daesh terrorist field commanders, including a terrorist coordinator, in Dayr al-Zawr.

"Seven field commanders of various ranks were killed, including Kazakh native, Abu Islam al-Kazakhi, who coordinated the actions of Daesh assault units on the banks of the Euphrates River," Konashenkov said on Tuesday.

"Over the past two days, the Russian Air Force has continued to strike Daesh group on the eastern bank of the Euphrates. The death of 304 militants have been confirmed, and more than 170 other extremists been wounded," the Russian official said.

"The center for the assembly and training of Daesh foreign elements, including about 40 militants from the North Caucasus as well as a mobile sniper group of terrorists, was destroyed in an airstrike," he added.

Konashenkov further noted that three command posts, nine terrorist fortifications, eight battle tanks, three artillery systems, 17 pickup trucks equipped with large-caliber weapons and four ammunition depots were also destroyed in the aerial assaults.

Russian Tupolev Tu-95 strategic bombers (pictured above) fired a barrage of cruise missiles at the positions of Daesh in Syria's northwestern province of Idlib and the province of Dayr al-Zawr on September 26, inflicting heavy losses on the terrorists.

On September 22, a Russian submarine launched a barrage of Kalibr cruise missiles at the positions of the foreign-sponsored and Takfiri terrorists of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham -- previously known as the Nusra Front -- in Syria's Idlib and destroyed them only a few days after the extremists attacked a unit of Russian Military Police in the crisis-hit Arab country.

Jabhat Fatah al-Sham terrorists had earlier attacked Russian troops stationed in the neighboring Hama province.

Since 2015, Russia has been conducting aerial attacks against terrorist positions in Syria at a request from the Syrian government.

Backed by Russian air power, Syrian ground forces have managed to make numerous gains against terrorists on various fronts.

Daesh terrorists in Syria relocating to Pakistan

Meanwhile, Andrey Novikov, the head of the Commonwealth of Independent States Anti-Terrorism Center, says Daesh terrorists are relocating to Pakistan in the face of huge losses in Syria.

Novikov said Daesh forces have been significantly relocating from Syria to Pakistan since the fall of 2016.

"The resolution of military and political forces in Syria has lowered the cases of direct armed confrontations, and forced Daesh to change not only its tactics, but also the geography of its future activities," he pointed out.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Syria will never forget Iran's sacrifices, support: Assad

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 5, 2017 02:34PM

President Bashar al-Assad says his country will never forget the sacrifices of the Islamic Republic in support of the Syrian government and nation during the hard times of war.

The Syrian president made the remarks in a meeting with senior Iranian lawmaker, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, in Damascus on Thursday, noting that recent developments in the region were unfolding in favor of the "resistance axis."

"These developments have added to the strength and capabilities of the resistance axis," he told Boroujerdi who is chairman of the Iranian parliament's Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy.

The Syrian president also stressed the need for close cooperation among members of the "resistance axis" in different fields, especially economy.

Boroujerdi, for his part, congratulated Assad on the recent victories scored by the Syrian army against terrorists, hailing the Arab country as the "symbol of resistance in the face of the enemies."

"The immensity of the recent developments in Syria will certainly be further understood in the future, because the Syrian government and nation have succeeded in defeating moves by the United States, the Zionist regime and their regional allies through resistance and perseverance," the Iranian lawmaker said.

Boroujerdi also referred to President Assad's letter to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei last month, saying it reflected "the depth of the ties between the two countries and the positive role of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the recent victories" gained by the Syrian army.

In the letter, Assad thanked and congratulated the friendly government and people of Iran on the strategic achievements of the Syrian military in their counter-terrorism operation.

"I express my deep gratitude to the Islamic Republic of Iran over its principled positions against terrorism and its support for our people to liberate our homeland's soil from the contamination of Takfiri terrorists," Assad wrote in the letter.

Boroujerdi said the "resistance axis" was facing a common enemy, stressing the need for constant cooperation and coordination among its members.

He further expressed Tehran's readiness to help reconstruct Syria, which has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since 2011.

Talks with FM Muallem

Boroujerdi also met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem on Wednesday, and the two discussed bilateral relations, the fight against terrorism and extremism, and a controversial secession referendum in the Iraqi Kurdistan.

The two sides also expressed support for the sovereignty and unity of Iraq and warned of the negative effects of the Kurdish vote.

During the meeting, Muallem underlined the importance of the military achievements made by the Syrian army in cooperation with the country's allies, saying that Syria will continue its war on terrorism until it is totally rooted out.

Boroujerdi, for his part, called for enhancing parliamentary relations between Iran and Syria, affirming that the Islamic Republic would continue to support Damascus in its anti-terror fight until peace and stability is restored to the Arab country.

Boroujerdi meets with Syrian parliament speaker

The Iranian lawmaker also met with Speaker of the Syrian People's Assembly Hammoudeh al-Sabbagh, who highlighted the depth of bilateral relations that have strengthened during the war on Syria.

The Iranian lawmaker, for his part, said plots hatched by the US and the West against Syria had failed, calling for further strengthening of bilateral parliamentary cooperation and reiterating Iran's readiness to support Syria in its reconstruction process.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Russian airstrike kills 49 Takfiri terrorists in Syria's Idlib

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 5, 2017 08:59AM

The Russian military says 49 Takfiri militants, including seven commanders, have been killed during an airstrike on terrorist positions in Syria's Idlib Province.

The Su-34 precision airstrike also destroyed Tahrir al-Sham's "largest underground ammunition depot" near the town of Abu ad-Duhur, which contained "over 1,000 tons of artillery shells and multiple launch rockets," RT quoted the military as saying on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry said Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the leader of Tahrir al-Sham, who was critically injured in another Russian airstrike in Idlib on Tuesday, has gone into coma.

Tahrir al-Sham was formed in January as a merger between Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (formerly al-Nusra Front) and several other Takfiri groups in Syria. Jabhat Fateh al-Sham is currently considered as the leader of the coalition.

Since 2015, Russia has been conducting aerial attacks against terrorist positions in Syria at a request from the Syrian government.

Backed by Russian air power, Syrian ground forces have managed to make numerous gains against terrorists on various fronts.

As part of their latest achievements, Syrian army forces have flushed Daesh Takfiri militants out of their last positions in the western-central province of Hama and seized full control over several more positions and outposts near the country's border with Jordan.

On Monday, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said the main battles in Syria have almost reached the end and Damascus is writing the "final chapter" of the crisis.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






OPCW Says Found Evidence of Chemical Weapons Use in Syria's Hama in March

Sputnik News

12:33 05.10.2017

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said Thursday that it had found evidence of the use of sarin or sarin-related chemicals following an incident in Syria's Hama province in March.

BRUSSELS (Sputnik)  According to the organization, OPCW Director-General Ahmet Uzumcu briefed States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention about OPCW's activities in Syria earlier this week.

"The Director-General shared information regarding the OPCW Fact-Finding Mission's (FFM) on-going work in Syria including the results of the analyses carried out by two OPCW Designated Laboratories of environmental samples related to a linked incident in Ltamenah, Hama Governorate in Syria on 30 March 2017. The results prove the presence of sarin or sarin-related chemicals in most of the samples analyzed," the statement read.

So far, there has been a number of reports on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, putting responsibility for attacks both on Syrian authorities and the Daesh terrorist group.

Syrian authorities refuted any involvement in the incident, saying that the complete elimination of the Syrian government's stockpile of chemical weapons was confirmed by the OPCW in January 2016.

Damascus agreed to place its chemical weapons under international control for its destruction in 2013. The move was made in order to prevent the weapons from being captured by militants in the course of the civil war in the Middle Eastern state.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Russian Airstrike in Syria Leaves Al Nusra 'Emir' in Coma, 49 Terrorists Dead

Sputnik News

08:42 05.10.2017(updated 13:57 05.10.2017)

Russia's Aerospace Forces launched a surgical assault against the rebranded Al Nusra Front terrorist group, killing 49 fighters including seven leaders, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Russia's Aerospace Forces killed 49 militants, including seven Nusra Front terrorist group leaders, in a precision strike in Syria, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Thursday.

"As a result of a precision strike by a Su-34 bomber, 49 militants were eliminated, including seven leaders of militant groups of al-Nusra's 'eastern sector'," Konashenkov said.

"The destruction by the Russian Aerospace Forces of Jabhat al-Nusra's command and the coma of leader Abu Muhammad al-Julani caused confusion among terrorists throughout the province of Idlib," Konashenkov said. The group which formerly called itself Jabhat al-Nusra created Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) earlier this year alongside other terrorist organizations in Idlib province. HTS was promptly declared a terrorist organization by the US and UN before gaining control of Idlib during the summer; Russia still refers to the group by its old moniker.

The Ministry reported Wednesday that the Russian combat jets' strike in Syria left Julani with heavy fragmentation wounds and in critical condition.

The Russian Aerospace Forces have destroyed the largest buried arsenal of the Nusra Front in Syria's Idlib province, where terrorists stored more than 1,000 metric tons of ammunition.

Russia, along with Iran and local militia forces, has been assisting the Syrian government in its fight against the terrorist groups wreaking havoc in the Arab country since 2011.

Moscow has been conducting an anti-terrorist operation in Syria since September 30, 2015, at the behest of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The ongoing war in Syria has left an estimated 220,000 dead and displaced approximately 12 million people (the nation's pre-war population was over 20 million, but most refugees are internally displaced, living in government controlled regions). Many of those who have left the country have poured into nations such as Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, while others have sought asylum in Europe, making it the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II, according to the United Nations.

 Sputnik

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Syrian forces draw close to Daesh-held al-Mayadin in east

Iran Press TV

Fri Oct 6, 2017 10:38AM

The Syrian army and allied forces have reportedly closed in on the eastern city of al-Mayadin, which is viewed as the current main stronghold of the Daesh terrorist group in the Arab country.

Hezbollah Military Media Center reported Friday that Syrian forces have retaken control of positions and heights parallel to the main road connecting al-Mayadin, located in the province Dayr al-Zawr, to the provincial capital of the same name.

Damascus forces and their allies are only 10 kilometers away from al-Mayadin, added the report.

Syria's official SANA news agency reported Thursday that army units had engaged Daesh terrorists on the al-Mayadin-Day al-Zawr road and the surrounding areas, inflicting heavy losses on the militants and their military equipment.

Meanwhile, so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Friday reported fighting in several areas of Dayr al-Zawr Province, where the Syrian army has heavily shelled terrorist positions.

Over the past weeks, Day al-Zawr has been the scene of a Russia-backed military operation against Daesh terrorists, many of whom have fled there from the eastern province from Raqqah, the terror group's former holdout in northern Syria.

In June, US intelligence officials told Reuters that they believed Daesh had moved most of its diminished command structure and propaganda team to al-Mayadin southeast of Raqqah.

Backed by the Russian military and fighters of Lebanon's Hezbollah resistance fighters, the Syrian army managed to break Daesh's three-year siege on Dayr al-Zawr province in yet another significant blow to the terrorist outfit.

Dayr al-Zawr is subject to a separate military campaign by US-backed militants, been establishing self-ruled zones in Syria under the pretext of fighting Daesh.

The parallel offensive by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a US-backed alliance of mainly Kurdish militia, has on numerous occasions hampered the Syrian government's anti-Daesh battles.

Russia said last month that SDF forces had twice targeted Syrian government positions amid Dayr al-Zawr operations.

'US using civilians as human shields'

Elsewhere near the Jordanian border, the Russian military said the US is using the refugees living in the Rukban desert camp as human shields to protect its military base in the southeastern town of al-Tanf.

Major General Igor Konashenkov, the spokesman for the Russian military, said the camp is home to some 60,000 people, mostly women and children, who have fled Raqqah and Dayr al-Zawr.

"Rukban refugees are de facto hostages, effectively a human shield for the US base. Think about it, other than by Americans such protection barriers are used in Syria only by those who they came here to fight, the terrorists," the Russian general said in a statement.

He said the areas around the Tanf base has turned into a "black hole" used by Daesh terrorists to carry out attacks against Syrian troops and civilians.

"There were no reports of a single American operation" against Daesh in six months, according to the statement.

The US has long been accused of colluding with Daesh to provide safe passage and logistic support to the members of the Takfiri group in conflict zones.

Reports revealed last month that the US military had several times airlifted Daesh Takfiri terrorists amid Syrian army advances on Dayr al-Zawr.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Turkey: PKK militants killed at popular tourist resort

Iran Press TV

Thu Oct 5, 2017 05:16PM

Turkish forces have killed five suspected Kurdish militants at a popular tourist resort in western Turkey frequented by Europeans.

Police and gendarme units launched an operation on Thursday after detecting a group of seven suspected PKK militants in Turkey's Mugla province.

Special units cordoned off the forest area in Koycegiz district after five of the militants were killed in clashes.

Authorities said the operation continues to locate and capture the two remaining militants, who are suspected to be members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The Koycegiz region is particularly popular with British and German tourists due to its picturesque lake and the nearby hugely popular river resort of Dalyan.

Turkey's southwest, where key tourist destinations like Izmir, Selcuk, Pamukkale, Bodrum, Antalya and Fethiye are located, are usually quiet and relatively safe.

PKK militants regularly clash with Turkish forces in the Kurdish-dominated southeast of Turkey attached to northern Iraq.

On Wednesday, Turkish fighter jets targeted five PKK terrorists who were preparing for an attack in eastern Erzincan province's Refahiye rural area, Turkish Armed Forces said in statement on Thursday.

Turkish warplanes also carried out airstrikes on PKK camps in Iraq's Metina region, destroying their hideouts, as well as arms and munition depots, it added.

The PKK has waged a bloody insurgency inside Turkey since 1984, leaving tens of thousands of people dead.

PKK, which seeks independence through militancy, is designated as a terror group by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






European Parliament Condemns Russia's Prosecution Of Crimeans

RFE/RL October 05, 2017

BRUSSELS -- The European Parliament has adopted a resolution condemning Russian verdicts against dozens of Crimeans who opposed Moscow's seizure of the peninsula and demanding the release of those who are behind bars.

In a resolution adopted on October 5, the parliament sharply criticized verdicts against nearly 50 Crimean Tatars and other opponents of the Russian occupation and takeover of the Ukrainian Black Sea region in 2014.

It condemned the recent convictions and sentences against Crimean Tatar leaders Ilmi Umerov and Akhtem Chiygoz by Russian-imposed courts on the peninsula, and called for their "immediate and unconditional release."

It also condemned the conviction of Crimean journalist Mykola Semena and demanded that all charges against him be "immediately and unconditionally dropped."

In the resolution, lawmakers urged the European Union to impose sanctions on Crimean and Russian officials who are directly responsible for the cases of Semena, Umerov, and Chigoz.

They called for "unhindered access of international human rights observers, including specialized structures of the UN, OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] and [the Council of Europe], to the Crimean Peninsula in order to investigate the situation on the peninsula and for the establishment of [an] independent monitoring mechanism."

Semena, an RFE/RL contributor, was convicted on September 25 on separatism charges and handed a 2 1/2-year suspended sentence and a ban on future journalistic activity.

Umerov was convicted of separatism on September 27 and sentenced to two years in a colony settlement, a penitentiary in which convicts usually live near a factory or farm where they are forced to work.

Chiygoz was convicted on September 11 of organizing an illegal demonstration and sentenced to eight years in prison.

Russia seized Crimea in March 2014, sending in troops and staging a referendum denounced as illegal by dozens of countries, after Russia-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was pushed from power by mass protests in Kyiv.

The United States and the EU have condemned Russia's prosecution of Crimeans who opposed its seizure of the peninsula.

A UN human rights report issued on September 25 said that Russia's occupation of the region has been marked by disappearances and torture, infringements of the Geneva Conventions, as well as violations of international law.

With reporting by Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/european-parliament- russia-crimea-prosecutions/28775750.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.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






AF awards contracts for next-generation ICBM airborne launch control system

Air Force Global Strike Command Public Affairs / Published October 05, 2017

HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah (AFNS) -- The Air Force awarded two contracts Oct. 3, 2017, for upgrading the system that enables an aircraft to control an intercontinental ballistic missile's launch from a silo in the ground.

The three-year contracts, of about $81 million each, were awarded to Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Littleton, Colorado, and Rockwell Collins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The awards begin a design competition for upgrading the nuclear command-and-control mission system that provides U.S. Strategic Command with the capability to launch ICBMs through commands from the Navy's E-6B Mercury. Both the current Minuteman III and future Ground Based Strategic Deterrent ICBMs require an alternate launch control capability should anything interfere with the ability of the ground-based facilities to launch ICBMs.

For the Minuteman III, the current Airborne Launch Control System provides this capability through 1960s-era radio equipment at each of 450 Air Force ICBM launch facilities in the U.S. and aging equipment on the Mercury aircraft. The control system's replacement will provide a sustainable and low-cost capability to launch ICBMs through aircraft commands.

"We are developing a modular system that can be easily upgraded to address new technologies and threats as they emerge," said Maj. Gen. Scott Jansson, Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center commander and program executive officer for strategic systems.

The goal of the center's program office at Hill Air Force Base is to field the upgraded replacement system by 2024.

"The Airborne Launch Control System provides the strategic capability of survivable airborne command and control for the Air Force's fleet of ICBMs," said Col. Scott Jones, the center's ICBM Systems director. "The new system will be a timely replacement of the legacy system and provide continued ICBM airborne command-and-control capability through 2075."

The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center is responsible for synchronizing all aspects of nuclear materiel management on behalf of Air Force Materiel Command in direct support of Air Force Global Strike Command. Headquartered at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico, the center has about 1,100 personnel assigned to 17 locations worldwide, including at Hanscom AFB, Massachusetts; Hill AFB; Eglin AFB, Florida; Tinker AFB, Oklahoma; and Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address






Introduction

We're back at checking out one of the most hyped phones this year - the Nokia 6. This time around though, it's repackaged for worldwide action and, hopefully, not a deja vu all over again. We'll obviously revisit the old review of the China-bound variant, only here we'll focus on the bits that are different. And those are by no means insignificant, who knew.

We'll start the list of changes with the small stuff, tiny actually. For some odd reason the global version lacks a notification LED, while the Chinese one does light up next to the earpiece when charging or upon missed calls and incoming stuff.

The global version also has a more prominent, shinier outline around the camera module. Some regulatory markings sprinkled on the back spoil the global version's looks, while Chinese regulator TENAA has been more laid-back about it, but that hardly passes for a change.

Other than that, we basically copy-pasted the following from our original Nokia 6 review - it is the same phone, after all, for the most part. Until it isn't, but more on than in the camera chapter.

Nokia 6 key features

Body: Aluminum body, 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3 front.

Aluminum body, 2.5D Gorilla Glass 3 front. Display: 5.5" IPS LCD, 1,920x1,080px resolution, 403ppi.

5.5" IPS LCD, 1,920x1,080px resolution, 403ppi. Rear camera: 16MP, 1.0m pixel size, f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus; dual-tone dual-LED flash; 1080p video recording.

16MP, 1.0m pixel size, f/2.0 aperture, phase detection autofocus; dual-tone dual-LED flash; 1080p video recording. Front camera: 8MP, 1.12m pixel size, f/2.0 aperture, autofocus; 1080p video recording.

8MP, 1.12m pixel size, f/2.0 aperture, autofocus; 1080p video recording. OS: Android 7.1.1 Nougat.

Android 7.1.1 Nougat. Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 430; octa-core 1.4GHz Cortex-A53 CPU, Adreno 505 GPU.

Qualcomm Snapdragon 430; octa-core 1.4GHz Cortex-A53 CPU, Adreno 505 GPU. Memory: 3GB/4GB of RAM; 32GB/64GB storage.

3GB/4GB of RAM; 32GB/64GB storage. Battery: 3,000mAh, sealed.

3,000mAh, sealed. Connectivity: Dual-SIM; Cat.4 LTE (150/50Mbps); microUSB 2.0; Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac; GPS; Bluetooth 4.1; FM Radio; NFC.

Dual-SIM; Cat.4 LTE (150/50Mbps); microUSB 2.0; Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac; GPS; Bluetooth 4.1; FM Radio; NFC. Misc: Fingerprint reader; hybrid microSD/second SIM slot; dual speakers; 3.5mm jack.

Main shortcomings

Smallish battery capacity

Awkwardly placed fingerprint sensor (but that's nitpicking)

Basic CPU for the price segment

One would expect a USB-C port in 2017

Of course, the global Nokia 6 comes with a fully functional Google package right out of the box. The Chinese variant only got those with a recent update, but at this point it's not really a decider anymore.

During the course of the review we discovered a couple more differences, ones that a casual observer could easily miss. But before we get to those, let's quickly go over the hardware once again.
Want a pure Android phone that doesnt cost as much as a Pixel 2? Android One is seeing a resurgence as Xiaomi joined in with the Mi A1. The phone is perfect for those that like Xiaomis value for money hardware but have objections to MIUI.

And now the phone has started appearing in Europe. Its already on sale in the Netherlands for 260 (shipping 2-4 workdays). Its available in Greece as well, though it costs 284. Units are available in Poland too for PLN 1,300 (300).



Xiaomi Mi A1 in Black, Gold and Rose Gold

In Spain, the phones are cheaper - 228  but they will arrive next week (the 9th or the 10th). In the same time frame, the phone will launch in Hungary for HUF 75,000 (240) and Russia for RUB 19,000 (280).

In Bulgaria it will be available on the 12th, for BGN 550 (280). Its much cheaper still in Italy - 220  but will ship on October 15. Then theres the Czech Republic where shipments start on October 19 for a price of CZK 6,700 (260).
GF Linamar sets sights on $1 billion in sales

MILLS RIVER  Touting their gleaming new plant as an industry-leading supplier of lightweight parts for cars and trucks, officials from GF Linamar snipped a ribbon on the factory to the cheers of 300 invited guests.

Related Stories



A partnership of Linamar Corp., a Canadian-based specialist in machining for precision manufacturing, and the Swiss company Georg Fischer Automotive, a top casting manufacturer, the joint venture announced in February 2016 that it would build a $270 million aluminum die-casting plant at Ferncliff Industrial Park in Mills River.

Production is expected to start in June 2018 and the plant will eventually employ 350 people, with the company pledging an average salary of $47,700 among the operators, engineers, managers and executives. The countys average annual wage is $34,256.

Jim Jarrell, president and chief operating officer of Linamar, thanked the Partnership for Economic Development and local and state government for rolling out the red carpet.

In Linamar, we have an interesting teamwork story we talk about, Jarrell said. There are two stonecutters and they are asked what they do. The first stonecutter says I cut the stone into block. The other stonecutter says, Im on a team building a cathedral, and then we ask everybody which team they want to be on. Well, obviously everybody wants to be on the team building a cathedral. We are not building a cathedral here. We are providing an integrative lightweight casting and machining solution that will be No. 1 in the world.

The companies are poised to grow to $1 billion in sales by the year 2025 as a leading supplier lightweight parts for carmakers aggressively seeking a path to lighter vehicles with lower emissions and better fuel economy.

Local and state officials beamed at the days events, praising the international partnership that led to the plant opening and promising continued support for the job-creating newcomer to the industrial park best known as home of the Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

We both value innovation, speed and productivity, said Michael Edney, chairman of the Henderson County Board of Commissioners, referring to what he called shared values of GF Linamar and Henderson County people. We both approach our work with entrepreneurial resiliency. Were both fiscal conservatives yet were willing to make forward-looking, long-term investment towards prosperity. And we understand the true value and the great quality of life that brings us all here. Twenty years from now  once the celebration of this is forgotten  it will be these values that keep Henderson County and GF Linamar moving forward together as partners.

Edney then gave way to state Commerce Secretary Tony Copeland by saying: Welcome to Americas most beautiful industrial park.

Copeland said GF Linamar exemplifies the kind of manufacturing operation that will help North Carolina continue on what has been a long road to recovery.

Its my job and the job of the governor and the Legislature to create an environment where you can execute that business plan and I can come back in a few years and you expand to a million square feet, he said. Its a company like this one thats going to make and create North Carolinas future. 

We lost more manufacturing jobs in this state than any other state in the country in the first three years of this century. We made many of them back by 2008 and then with the Great Recession we had tremendous loss of manufacturing jobs again.

Several speakers announced during the event the departure of Andrew Tate, who has been the CEO of the Partnership for Economic Development since 2007. Tate, who has helped land a series of high-profile plant locations to Henderson County, is taking an economic development job in the Raleigh area, where he is from. Tate said he expects GF Linamar to show the corporate citizenship day in and day out that it exhibited with the well-orchestrated opening, complete with a bluegrass band, slick video, snacks and lunch

Youre going to see them plugged into the community, Tate said. Youre going to see them hire our friends and neighbors, youre going to see them engaged in whats going on. the same thing that theyve done here today. Theyve invited the community, theyve invited all of their neighbors, theyve invited the airport board. they focused almost exclusively the last two years on building the facility and selling the facilitys capacity. Now youre going to see them turn the corner and have a big employment impact in the community.

Linda Hasenfratz, Linamars CEO, recalled a casual conservation some six years ago that planted the seed for the joint venture.

We started talking about Linamar, Georg Fisher Automotive and how strong we were in machining how strong Georg Fisher was in casting and we said, You know, we should do more together. she said. Im just so thrilled to see it all come together today at this official opening.

She, too, praised the industry recruiters and the state for offering incentives and guiding the joint venture partners to the industrial park here.

We had a lot of options and it was a tough choice but I have to say that the strong support of our local government, our state government here in North Carolina was absolutely instrumental in us making this decision, she said.

Were excited about this joint venture because together Georg Fisher Automotive and Linamar are working together to design and manufacture products in this facility that take significant weight out of the vehicles that we are producing for. Lightweight products are absolutely the key to lightweight vehicles in the future, driving lower emissions and better fuel economy.

Last month GF Linamar announced that it had landed its first big contract for lightweight components  the sale of parts for a new pickup truck worth $300 million over five years and the factory will capitalize on the industry trend toward lighter vehicles stingy on fuel. Displays in the plant lobby show the company making a wide variety of parts for the engine compartment and body of cars and trucks  rear door frames for Daimler, engine blocks for Ford, inner door frames for Fiat/Maserati, shock towers for Audi, battery housings for BMW and set frames for Mercedes-Benz.

The market for lightweight solutions in North America is growing very promising, said GF Automotive President Josef Edbauer. We already reached a high utilization of this facilitys capacity for the next year. Combining the casting know-how of GF Automotive with the machining know-how of Linamar brings a great advantage for all of our customers.
Comings & goings: Health bar, candle shop, fishing charter website

A health bar and candle-making shop will cut their ribbons in the next few weeks while a charter fishing company launches its website.
Como Hotels and Resorts has announced the February 2018 opening of Como Echo Beach, a new beachside resort on Bali"s south coast. This will be the brand"s 3rd property on the island and 14th in total, with its growing presence stretching from Miami Beach to Bhutan.

The resort will comprise 119 guestrooms, suites and villas, and is located on 2.2 acres of land in Canggu, a coastal village and six-mile long beach by the Indian Ocean. It will feature modern Asian and Italian touches, combining the visions of designers Koichiro Ikebuchi and Paola Navone.

Hotel website
Olshan Properties, one of the countrys leading private owners, developers and operators of commercial real estate, today announced the appointment of Ernie Catanzaro as Head of Hospitality in charge of the companys growing hotel portfolio. Mr. Catanzaro, who will report directly to Chief Executive Officer, Andrea Olshan, is based in Olshan Properties headquarters in New York City and travels frequently to the companys Columbus, Ohio offices. His responsibilities include oversight of all the companys hotel operations and growth initiatives including revenue and sales growth; expense, cost and margin control; and monthly, quarterly, and annual financial goal management. Mr. Catanzaro also consults with Olshans individual hotel managers on human resources matters as well as oversees relationships with all of Olshans hotel brands, third party vendors and financial intermediaries.A 30+ year veteran of the hotel industry Mr. Catanzaro joins Olshan Properties from Great Neck, NY-based United Capital Corp, where, as Regional Director, he was responsible for a portfolio of full service hotels and resorts. Born and raised in New York City, Mr. Catanzaro has worked across the country in senior management positions contributing to numerous organizations portfolio growth and efficiency, including the Melrose Hotel Corp, Hilton Corporation, and the Dow Hotel Company.
Hilton Waikoloa Village, a 62-acre Pacific playground located on the Kohala Coast of Hawaiis Big Island, proudly announces Jennifer Kadota as the resort teams new Director of Catering and Events. In her newly appointed role, Kadota will provide guidance to the entire Events team to enhance Hilton Waikoloa Village meetings and events offerings and advance the hotels catering services based on current trends in the hospitality industry. With more than 20 years of industry experience, Kadota most recently served as Food and Beverage Manager at Hilton Waikoloa Village, where she oversaw all group dining in the resorts Food and Beverage outlets. Prior to that position, the University of Hawaii at Hilo graduate held executive-level roles for various hospitality brands, including the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites in Los Angeles.
One day when historians of the tourism industry write about the first part of the twenty-first century they may view the week of October 1 as one of the tourism and travel industry's harder months. The week began with news of terrorism attacks in both France and Canada, and quickly moved onto the tragedy that took place in Las Vegas. Many people will desire to know the personal history of Stephen Paddock and what motivated him. In reality, there are other issues more important than his personal history, and the tourism industry needs to be careful not to allow itself to be seduced into spending a great deal of time on irrelevant facts. Instead, the tourism industry must concentrate on the most important issue: how do we protect visitors, locals, event attendees, employees, and security and law enforcement agents in an age of uncertainty and violence. These questions and the answers we discover are the lessons that can we learn from the Las Vegas attack. What has happened is now history, and it is our task to help the victims heal as best as they can and seek ways in which the tourism industry together with governments and law enforcement can we work together to prevent future tragedies.

This article is not about public policy. It addresses what is in the control of the hotel industry and nothing more.

Before examining the situation in Las Vegas it behooves us to review and clarify some important facts to consider.

1) There is a difference between an "acts of criminal terror" and a "terrorist act". The former is a terrible act that hurts many people but does not have a political motivation. Terrorism, on the other hand, has a clear political motivation. Terrorism has specific goals and as such deadly acts are used as part of an overall strategy to achieve those goals. In the case of Las Vegas we know of no overall political goals. Instead, the perpetrator may well have acted for personal motives or for reasons of insanity but neither of these are political motives. Assuming that this is not a terrorist act we shall have to see it as a pure criminal act.

As this article is being written, there is no reason to assume that Stephan Paddock was anything other than a highly mentally disturbed individual. Should we learn that he had other motivations or political ties then a new analysis regarding the politics will be needed but that analysis will have little to do with enhancing both hotel and event security.

2) Hotels, and other tourism locations, are soft targets in an age of terrorism. Even though at the time of this writing (October 4, 2017) it does not appear that Stephen Paddock had a terrorism connection, the fact that hotels are easy targets should become an important risk management issue. An attack on a hotel, in most cases, will receive a great deal of publicity and potentially cause a great deal of damage to human beings, to a place's reputation and to its tourism industry. This may be one of the reasons that terrorists have attacked hotels in multiple cities around the world. The fact that hotels have been targeted internationally means that no matter what the reason, hotels and other places of lodging are going to have to have to be creative in how they protect their guests and property.

3) In most cases architects designed hotels in the western nations during periods of less violence. Many of these hotels are quite beautiful but also difficult to protect. For example, hotels with rooms overlooking ground floor atriums are challenges for security personnel. In a like manner, reception or check-in areas were designed not with security in mind but for customer satisfaction and ease of meetings. The same is true of both valet and self-parking areas. The heightened need for greater security means that many hotels, and other tourism instillations such as stadiums, will need to be retrofitted. Remodeling these structures is both a difficult and expensive process and may take some time to accomplish.

4) In our new age, hotels and other tourism industry locations such as stadiums, museums, and transportation terminals must become aware of a whole series of new potentially devastating weapons of attacks. These include the use of bio-chemical weapons, drones, and cyber attacks that can literally bring a hotel to stoppage. Furthermore, attack weapons continue to be available in smaller sizes, and this "miniturization" means that any of these weapons may be harder to detect. As we look into the future, hotel security personnel must become aware of nanotechnology and the fact that powerful weapons can be contained in extremely small spaces.

5) No matter what we do, there is no total security. We can lessen the chance of danger, injury, or death, but no matter what we do, there will always be risk.

Looking to the future

In order to ease public concerns some immediate steps should be considered. These are not long-term solutions but act as immediate solutions. Among these are:

1) High coordination between law enforcement and hotel security personnel. For example, Las Vegas' police department (Metro) has extremely close relations with its hotel industry and those relations helped to save many lives. Its officers should be commended for their bravery and the outstanding job which they preformed.

2) Upgrading the security industry. Security can no longer be seen as merely a great deal of muscle. Security personnel must be trained in a number of psychological and sociological analytics. This means increased budgets, increased attendance at security conferences such as the annual Las Vegas international Safety and Security Conference (to be held in April of 2018), and increase updating of the security issues on both the macro and the micro level. In today's world, a criminal or a terrorist can easily slip across borders or travel across oceans.

3) Baggage inspection. It may be impossible to inspect every bag, and even hotels can inspect every bag, there is nothing from preventing a guest to bring in a weapon at a later time or simply under his or her clothing. However there is much that can be done by using high levels of creativity. For example, it may be necessary to use trained dogs and obtain other technical devices that "smell trouble". The tourism industry should be working with entrepreneurs to create new less invasive methods that permit privacy but at the same time detect threats and potential problems.

4) Training hotel staffs to be the front line of security. This training may include everything from questioning why a "do not disturb " sign is on a room door for more than a few hours to notifying security if some seems or smells amiss. Frontline personnel are the eyes and ears of a tourism entity such as a hotel.

5) The tourism and the security industry must be careful not to become overly reactive to the "last" event. What occurred in Las Vegas is now history. It is essential to help the victims rebuild their lives to the best extent possible. Tourism officials, none the less, need to prepare for future events and think through how the tourism industry will face future challenges not yet considered. It would do everyone in tourism to consider how an act of terrorism or a criminal act may impact all sectors of a local industry. The bottom line is that what occurred in Las Vegas can occur in almost any city or resort around the world. All of us must be careful not to politicize a tragedy but learn from it and then seek to understand future problems and find ways to mitigate these risks with diligence and clarity of thought and purpose.

Peter Tarlow

President Tourism and More

+1 979 764 8402

Tourism and More
Kalahari Resorts and Conventions Breaks Ground on Dells Convention Center Expansion

Kalahari Resorts and Conventions owners the Nelson family and company executives, along with Deputy Secretary Sarah Klavas of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism gathered with more than 100 attendees to break ground on the companys convention center expansion at its Wisconsin Dells resort.

Scheduled to open in September 2019, the convention center expansion will add 112,000-sq-ft. of space to the existing facilities, bringing the convention center footprint to 212,000-sq-ft. The expansion will include a 52,000-sq-ft. ballroom which will join the facilitys existing 20,560-sq-ft. and 17,200-sq-ft. ballrooms, as well as 10 additional meeting rooms for a total of 45 meeting rooms. The resort does not plan to expand its current offering of 756 guest rooms  a decision that will bolster business for other lodging options in the area.

When we first opened Kalahari, we had to work hard to create an experience where a convention center and indoor waterpark could exist together, said Travis Nelson, owning family member of Kalahari Resorts and Conventions. This model has been a splendid success and is now a vital part of any indoor waterpark in the industry today.

For nearly two decades, the Kalahari Resorts and Conventions teams nationwide have leveraged more than 400 years of combined meeting experience to host more than 22,000 groups, resulting in more than 1.4 million group rooms booked. The expansion to the Dells location will allow the company to meet the current and future projected demands for group rooms in the area.

We are pleased to support this expansion effort at Kalahari Resorts and Conventions in Wisconsin Dells, said Sarah Klavas, Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. The travel and hospitality industry continues to be a top performing sector of our economy and supports more than 193,000 jobs for Wisconsin residents.

The expansion at the Wisconsin Dells resort is the first in the companys recently announced efforts to enhance the meeting experience at locations nationwide. Plans are in place to more than double the Pocono Mountains property convention facilities with groundbreaking scheduled for 2018. Additionally, the announced Round Rock, Texas offering will feature a 200,000-sq-ft. convention center when the property opens in 2020  the largest initial convention offering for the company to date.

We welcome the expansion of Kalahari Resorts and Conventions world class convention facilities to our already existing tourism landscape of attractions and accommodations, said Sarah Hudzinski, Director of Marketing and Communications, Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Convention Bureau. We firmly believe that Wisconsin Dells is a premier travel destination in the Midwest and are thrilled that more guests will be able to experience our one-of-a-kind offering while visiting the area for conventions and meetings.
Its only been a few days since Asher Roth dropped his honest Terry freestyle. For the most part, hes been pretty quiet on the music front throughout this year but its looking like thats all going to change in the near future. Hes been teasing an upcoming project throughout 2017 but hasnt shared much information. However, today he drops his second song of the week over Kanye Wests No More Parties In L.A.

Asher Roth isnt from a major city like New York or Atlanta. The rapper is originally from Morrisville, an outskirt of Philadelphia. So it should come as no surprise that once he penned his deal and moved to Los Angeles, it was a change of pace. On his latest record, he addresses the time he spent in Los Angeles for a few years. It isnt as heartfelt as his Terry freestyle but its another honest glimpse into his life. He vividly depicts Los Angeles party scene during his freestyle. Ultimately, he ties all these aspects of the stereotypical L.A. lifestyle, something he doesnt seem to keen on being apart of. In the songs description box, it says So I had to move back to Philly so its safe to say that he got sick of the L.A. party scene at some point.

This is Asher Roths second release in three days, so maybe its a sign he has something up his sleeve. The last project he dropped was 2016s Rawther EP with Notts Raw and Travis Barker. He previously said that hed be dropping his third studio album, Red Hot Revival, this year but no word of that so far. Hopefully with the release of these recent freestyles, well receive a new body of work in the near future.

Quotable Lyrics

Bitches do anything for a photo at the SoHo

Move to L.A. and pretend that they a model

Pay $1000 for a Grey Goose bottle

Then be sleepin on the couch of the promoters condo
Donald Trump attended a White House ceremony to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month today where he shared his attempt at a Spanish accent. The conference saw the President comment on a number of topics from the Las Vegas shooting to the American economy. A snippet of his comments have since gone viral, that shows Donalds take on saying the islands name with an accentmore than once.

We are also praying for the people of Puerto Rico, he said. We love Puerto RicoPuerto Rico. Note that each time he said the countrys name it was in an exaggerated tone. Finally, he ended with and we also love Puerto Rico this time in a regular tone.

Donald has come under fire from his visit to the devastated island when a video showed him tossing paper towels at a crowd. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz followed up his moves, and his comment about the hurricane throwing Americas budget out of whack, saying she hopes the President of the United States stops spouting out comments that really hurt the people of Puerto Rico because rather than commander in chief he sort of becomes mis-communicator in chief.

Since the hurricane, a lot of celebrities and artists have come forward with donations for those in need. Jay-Zs music sharing platform TIDAL are sending cargo planes filled with supplies to aid in relief.

Fat Joe followed in pursuit asking his Instagram followers to donate any items to fill up planes. His video had the caption: As the humanitarian crisis in Puerto Rico grows, our brothers and sisters are desperate for our help, he said. Please join myself, TIDAL, Governor Cuomo, and Ruben Diaz Jr. as we collect and transport much-needed supplies to the island. The goal is to fill and send as many cargo planes as possible. Donate or find your local drop-off location and help save lives. Head to TIDAL.com/PuertoRico.

Donald Trump
Montreal hasnt exactly made as much of a hip-hop splash as neighbor Toronto, but that doesnt mean the 514 is incapable of delivering some raw talent. Many dope producers originate from Montreal, including Hi-Klassified, Kaytranada, and Lunice; Mick Jenkins even made a Montreal anthem called 514, celebrating what he considers to be a second home of sorts. Yet when it comes to emcees, it seems as if the next big artist has yet to break. But maybe the time is coming sooner than we think. Maybe that artist is the talented Nate Husser, who recently came through with his ominous new jam Catherine.

Over a brooding, finger-picked guitar riff, Husser weaves a tight narrative, delivering poetic lyricism and a masterful flow. The first thing that stands out is the accomplished use of his voice, as he lures you, spider-like, into his slowly maddening mental state. The tension is reflected beautifully by the expanding nature of the instrumental, as off-kilter synths accentuate the offbeats, blending with the reverberated guitar.

As the track builds, Husser switches up his flow, opting for a double-time delivery. The picture of his struggle is revealed with pure finesse, and his pen game remains on point from the beginning until the catastrophic end. Its refreshing to see a young rapper who can at once embody the swagger of a Soundcloud king, while maintaining a level of lyrical integrity worthy of even the most ardent purist.

The experience is made all the more visceral through an excellent video, the creative brainchild of Husser himself, BOYCOTT, Alexandre Pelletier, Cult Nation. If you havent checked out the clip, its definitely worth a watch, but the track stands on its own. Suffice it to say, Husser is quickly emerging as an artist to look out for, and if he continues to keep up this quality, he might very well be one of Canadas next up.

Quotable Lyrics

Who gonna have my back when Im watchin my other side?

Aint got no older brother, my older cousin inside now,

So I guess Ima ride now for the self, since I will die by myself

Cause I got too much pride and I cant even cry to myself

Look I was raised in a hood downtown, but that shit was covered by a cloud

Got used to the gun sounds and my best friends guts on the ground
The beloved Royal colorway of the Air Jordan 1 will be releasing once again this Saturday, but this time around they wont feature the familiar leather construction.

Nike has officially introduced the Royal Air Jordan 1 Flyknit, featuring a yarn-like upper as well as a Zoom Air unit in the heel, which also differs from the standard Air Jordan 1. The colorblocking is exactly what youd expect from a Royal Air Jordan 1, including a blend of black and game royal throughout the upper, accompanied by royal branding throughout and a white midsole.

Per Nike,

The court had never seen anything like the Air Jordan I when it debuted in 1985. Constructed from the best materials of the era, its design carried it from cutting edge to classic as the Air Jordan line gained altitude. Now, with over thirty years of colors and materials behind it, the original anti-gravity machines take another step forward with a complete Flyknit reconstruction. The flexible, lightweight update includes pigskin-leather accents and stays true to its DNA with Nike Air cushioning, a high-cut collar and OG royal and black blocking.

The Flyknit version of the Air Jordan 1 will be making its retail debut this Saturday, October 7th. The kicks will be available in mens sizes for $180, as well as GS sizes for $140.

Check out some additional detailed images of the Royal Air Jordan 1 Flyknit below, as well as a list of retailers that will have the kicks in stock this weekend.

Royal AJ1
Theres homages to your favorite celebrity  and then theres stuff like this.

Claudia Sierra, a 42-year-old from Houston, reportedly shelled out over $50,000 in order to replicate the look of First Lady Melania Trump down to a tee. In what might be seen as the most unique support of the President and his inner circle yet, Sierra had eight plastic surgeries in order to get her body to conform to her vision: to look exactly like Donnies wife.

I want to feel like the First Lady that I know I am inside, Sierra stated, via a press release for ABCs Inside Edition. Melania for me illustrates power and strength; she is our First Lady and I am looking forward to more closely resembling her and becoming a better version of me and for it to show on the outside. These cosmetic changes are also something she hopes can allow her the freedom to enjoy life to its fullest again. I was getting rejected by men and it was killing my soul. Nobody was picking me, Sierra told the New York Daily News. So I said, Let me change everything because I dont want any part thats been touched by anyone.

Sierra admiration of Melanias perfection and her quest to feel better about herself came after a battle with breast cancer  one that resulted in a partial mastectomy. Following that harrowing experience, she went to a top Houston plastic surgeon and underwent the physical transformation, a process that included liposuction, a Brazilian buttock lift, eyelid lift, breast reconstructions, a nose job, Botox, fillers, and other injectable treatments. The craziest part is that she got all that done at once, over the span of one 10-hour block. Newsweek added that Sierra utilized hair extensions, blue eye contacts, and a spray tan to darken her skin tone, which were all non-surgical moves to enhance the look.

Im labeled as that sick girl, but Im not. Im a healthy, happy person, Sierra said. Im not mentally unstable. I knew what I wanted to do for me. Unfortunately, we dont know how long we have here, so while Im here, I wanted to be happy and I wanted to shine. Do you think she overdid it? Let us know in the comments.

Melania
New Delhi, Oct 6 (IBNS): The Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs, on Friday, said that the Central government has received vital information from 13 banks regarding suspicious companies, including shell companies.

The information pertains to bank account operations and post-demonetization transactions of some of the 2,09,032 suspicious companies that had been struck off the Register of Companies earlier this year.

It may be recalled that after being struck off, operation of the bank accounts of these 2,09,032 suspicious companies were restricted for discharge of their liabilities only, the Ministry said in its release.

These 13 banks have submitted their first instalment of data.

The data received from them pertains to merely about 5,800 companies (out of more than 2 lakh that were struck off) involving 13,140 accounts.

Few of the companies have been found to have more than 100 accounts to their names, the Ministry said.

The highest grosser among these is a company having 2,134 accounts.

According to the release, after separating the loan accounts, these companies were having a balance of Rs 22.05 crore to their credit on November 8, 2016.

However, from November 9, 2016 i.e. after the announcement of demonetization, till the date of their being struck off, these companies have altogether deposited Rs. 4,573.87 crore in their accounts and withdrawn Rs 4,552 crore.

With loan accounts, there was a negative opening balance of Rs 80.79 crore.

The Ministry in its release said that disturbing factors have been identified of companies having multiple accounts with minuscule or negative balance as on November 8, 2016 which have then deposited and withdrawn amounts going in several crores from these accounts.

The accounts were thereafter again left as dormant accounts with paltry balance.

The release mentioned that this exercise of swindling the authorities was carried out post demonetization till the companies were struck off. In some cases, certain companies have gone more adventurous and made deposits and withdrawals even after being struck off.

For example, in one of the banks, 429 companies having zero balance each as on November 8, 2016 have deposited and withdrawn over Rs 11 crore and left again with a cumulative balance of just Rs 42,000 as on the date of freezing.

In another bank, more than 3,000 such companies, most having multiple accounts, have been located.

From having a cumulative balance of about Rs. 13 crore as on November 8, 2016, these companies have deposited and withdrawn about Rs. 3,800 crore, leaving a negative cumulative balance of almost Rs 200 crore at the time of freezing of their accounts.

It needs to be re-emphasized, the Ministry said, that this data is only about 2.5% of the total number of suspected companies that have been struck off by the Central government.

The investigative agencies have been asked to complete necessary investigation in a time bound manner, the release said.
PIB

Port Blair, Oct 6 (IBNS): An alternate sea route to Baratang Island, in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister for Shipping, Road Transport & Highways and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Nitin Gadkari.

The sea route to Baratang will provide an alternative to the NH4 route that linked Baratang to Port Blair, passing through the Jarawa Tribal Reserve.

This sea route will thus help promote tourism without disturbing the tribal areas.



On Thursday, apart from the inauguration of the alternate sea route, they also laid the foundation stone for extension of dry dock in Port Blair, extension of wharf in Hope Town and construction of an additional jetty along with extension of Berthing Jetty in Neil Island.

Minister of State for Home Affairs, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir and Lt. Governor of A & N Islands Prof. Jagdish Mukhi were also present on the occasion.



In his address, the Home Minister said that it is his second visit to A & N Islands within six months.

He said the Home Ministrys Advisory Committee on A & N Islands had held a meeting to discuss and sort out various problems and issues of the Islands recently.

He lauded the efforts of Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari and said that development projects like the ones inaugurated on the occasion contribute towards development of the countrys economy.

He stated that India, which now figures in the top ten economies of the world, will emerge as one of the top three economies by 2025-30.



The Union Home Minister said that both development and security aspects of the country are of utmost importance.

He stated that India has a 7,300 Km long coastline and the geographical location of the country is vast, hence security management is vital.

Erecting walls and boundaries will not provide security to the country, our strength lies in sea and air which need to be strengthened," he added.



Rajnath Singh also mentioned that earlier A & N Islands had only one national highway but in the last three years, seven NHs have come up in A & N Islands.

He also said the blue economy which thrives in A & N Islands contributes about one trillion dollars to the economy.



Speaking on the occasion, Union minister Gadkari said that the new projects will now make it possible for repairing ships in A & N Islands itself.

He said that these islands have a huge potential for ship building and ship repair industry.

Stating that innovation, technology, research and entrepreneurship are the need of the hour, he urged for private investment for developing ship building industry in the islands, for which Ministry of Shipping is ready to extend necessary assistance.

He said, the Ministry is focussing on Make in India programme under the Sagarmala Project. Efforts are on to bring in new technology for manufacturing ships in the country.



Speaking about the shipping sector, Gadkari said that most of the ships in A & N Islands are old and need to be replaced.

He announced that 14 new ships will be added in A & N islands by 2020.

The Minister further stated that under Sagarmala Project around Rs 4 lakh crores have been earmarked for port-road connectivity, port-rail connectivity, modernisation and mechanisation of ports.

He further stated that Indias 7,300 km long coastline and rivers have potential for big-scale development of cost effective waterways transportation, which will bring down logistics cost significantly and also be a convenient mode of transportation.



Speaking about power generation in A & N Islands, he said diesel generated power causes environmental pollution and needs to be replaced.

Instead, development of hydel, solar and wind power in A & N Islands must be explored.

As a step towards curbing pollution caused by diesel power generation, plans are being made to set up LNG and CNG based power in the Islands soon.



Gadkari also said that development of cruise terminals will further boost tourism in the A & N Islands.

He urged private investors for developing cruise tourism in the islands.

The Minister said, tourism could further be boosted through Sagarmala Project, which will ultimately generate employment.

He assured of exploring ways to make cruise tourism a part of Sagaramala Project for extending benefits.

This apart, Gadkari said the development of services of amphibious vehicles is ideal for the islands, and urged for initiatives in that direction.



Gadkari also mentioned about schemes launched for benefiting sea fishing and deep-sea fishing, fish processing and fish export which will add impetus to the blue economy that flourishes in the A & N Islands.

He stated, the Central government is committed for infrastructure and overall development, job creation and welfare of the islands which is located away from mainland.



Minister of State for Home, Hansraj Gangaram Ahir reiterated the commitment of the Central government towards the development of A & N Islands.



The project for extension of wharf in Hope Town will allow berthing of bigger vessels than is possible at the moment.

The wharf is used for movement of petroleum products, and berthing of bigger vessels will increase the availability of products and bring down logistics cost.

The project is expected to be completed by February 2018.



The construction of additional approach jetty and extension of existing jetty at Neil Island will help in accommodating more than one ship, which was not possible earlier.

Dredging upto 5m will help in berthing higher draft vessels , especially cargo ships.

This will enable abundance supply of vegetables and other cargo to and from the island.

The project will hence help in economic development of the area by promoting tourism and in optimal utilization of available resources.

The project is expected to be completed by March 2018.



The extension of Dry Dock II at Port Blair will help augment the available ship building and ship repair facilities.

The project is expected to be complete by September 2019.
Image: twitter.com/NOAA

San Jose, Oct 6 (IBNS): At least 22 people have been reportedly killed by Storm Nate, which pummelled parts of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Honduras, media reports said.

Another 20 people have been reported missing in Central America, where a state of emergency has been declared.

The storm also inundated several parts of the affected countries.

Costa Rica has been worst hit by the calamity, where at least 400,000 people are living without running waters, with thousands sleeping in shelters.

According to reports, 11 people died in Nicaragua, while eight were killed in Costa Rica.

Honduras recorded three deaths.

In El Salvador, a man was killed during a mudslide, emergency services reported.

Nicaraguan vice-president Rosario Murillo advised people to stay indoors.

"Sometimes we think we can cross a river and the hardest thing to understand is that we must wait. It's better to be late than not to get there at all," he said on state radio.

The storm is expected to move towards US' Florida, which is still recovering from the battering it received from Hurricane Harvey, a month ago.



Images: twitter.com/NOAA


Chennai, Oct 6 (IBNS): Amid the ongoing political turmoil in the state, Banwarilal Purohit has been sworn-in as the new Tamil Nadu Governor on Friday, media reports said.

Purohit, the former Assam governor, succeeded C Vidyasagar Rao.

Purohit was among the governors in the five states who were recently appointed by President Ram Nath Kovind.

He was earlier a part of both the main political parties of India, the Congress and the BJP.

Later, after his defeat in 1999 as a BJP candidate, he formed his own party Vidarva Rajya Party.

Though in 2009, for the last time, he contested an election as a BJP candidate, but failed to secure a win.

The former Governor of Tamil Nadu, Rao was accused of not ordering the floor test in the Tamil Nadu assembly as demanded by the 18 rebel AIADMK MLAs, who were later disqualified by the speaker.
New Delhi, Oct 6 (IBNS): The Election Commission of India will hear the two-leaves symbol case of the AIADMK on Friday, media reports said.

The Election Commission will hear all the factions including Dinakaran, who has been sidelined by the recently unified EPS-OPS camps.

The dispute over the symbol began after the death of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalitha.

The power tussle began when VK Sasikala, who became the interim AIADMK general secretary after Jayalalitha's death, expressed her ambition to become the CM of the state.

Sasikala is presently serving a jail term in a disproportionate assets case.

Earlier, there were four factions in the party, O Paneerselvam, E Palaniswamy, Sasikala's nephew Dinakaran and Jayalalitha's niece Deepa Jayakumar.

After the merger of the OPS-EPS camps recently, now there are three factions in the party to hold their claims on the symbol.

The EC is expected to announce its decision by the end of October.
Tawang, Oct 6 (IBNS): At least seven people died when a chopper of the Indian Air Force crashed in Arunachal Pradeshas Tawang region on Friday morning, officials said.

The incident took place about 12-15 km off the China border.

According to the reports, the Mi-17 V5 chopper crashed in a hilly area at around 6-30 am.

A court of inquiry has been ordered.

President Ram Nath Kovind has expressed condolences and said: "Saddened to learn about tragic crash of IAF helicopter in Arunachal Pradesh; heartfelt condolences to bereaved families."

Saddened to learn about tragic crash of IAF helicopter in Arunachal Pradesh; heartfelt condolences to bereaved families #PresidentKovind  President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) October 6, 2017

(Reporting by Hemanta Kumar Nath)



Image: Facebook/@IndianAirForce
Wikimediacommons

Bhopal, Oct 6 (IBNS) : Slamming the Myanmar government for the Rohingya crisis, Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi on Friday said Aung San Suu Kyi should return her Nobel prize, CNN-News 18 reported.

Speaking at his Bharat Yatra programme for making India safer for children, Satyarthi came down heavily on the Sui Kyi-led Myanmar government for the atrocities on Rohingyas and said the treatment being met out to the community is not at par with the human values.

Satyarthi urged the global community for restoring rights of Rohingyas.

He said he had written to United Nations for its intervention.

I am not at all a supporter of Hindu-Muslim disparity, each and every human being should be given due respect, the child rights crusader said.

Satyarthi claimed that last year 15,000 people were convicted in child abuse cases but only a paltry four per cent saw conviction while six per cent were exonerated of the charges for lack of evidences.

Its unfortunate that child rights are still violated so much in the age of fast technology and connectivity, he said.

Satyarthi said that millions of kids globally dont have access to education and basic amenities.
DST India/ Twitter

New Delhi, Oct 6 (IBNS): Union Ministry of Science and Technology, on Friday, said that India too is delighted with the 2017 Nobel Prize for Physics awarded to Rainer Weiss, Barry C Barish & Kip S Thorne under the LIGO Project for their discovery of gravitational waves because the discovery paper cites 39 Indian authors/scientists from nine institutions as co-authors of the paper

The Nobel Prize for Physics 2017 celebrates the direct detection of gravitational waves arriving from the merger two large Black holes in a distant galaxy a billion of light years away.

Gravitational waves carry information about their dramatic origins and about the nature of gravity that cannot otherwise be obtained.

This opens a new window to Astronomy since Gravitational Waves are an entirely new way of observing the most violent events in space.

According to the release, 39 Indian authors/scientists from nine institutions - CMI Chennai, ICTS-TIFR Bengaluru, IISER-Kolkata, IISER-Trivandrum, IIT Gandhinagar, IPR Gandhinagar, IUCAA Pune, RRCAT Indore and TIFR Mumbai, primarily funded through individual/ institutional grants by Department of Atomic Energy, Department of Science & Technology and Ministry of Human Resource Development AE, DST and MHRD, are co-authors of this discovery paper.

Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister for Human Resource Development also tweeted, "Proud of Indian #GravitationalWave scientists' role in #NobelPrize2017 especially pioneer Dhurandhar & team at @IUCAApune @HRDMinistry #UGC."

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Environment, Forests and Climate Change tweeted, "The #NobelPrize for #GravitationalWaves should inspire young Science/ Engineering students to join @IndiaDST & @DAEIndia to build #LIGOIndia."

Late Professor CV Vishveshvara of RRI, Bengaluru (DST AI) and Professor SV Dhurandhar of IUCAA, Pune and and Indian scientists made seminal contributions to this field which contributed towards the principles behind the LIGO Detector, the release said.

The group led by Bala Iyer (currently at ICTS-TIFR) at the Raman Research Institute in collaboration with scientists in France had pioneered the mathematical calculations used to model Gravitational Wave signals from orbiting black holes and neutron stars.

Theoretical work that combined black holes and gravitational waves was published by C. V. Vishveshwara in 1970.

These contributions are prominently cited in the discovery paper.

According to the release, an opportunity for India taking leadership in this field has opened up with the LIGO-India mega-science project that was granted in principle approval by the Union Cabinet in February, 2016.

The global science community is unanimous that the future of Gravitational wave astronomy and astrophysics, beyond the first discovery, lies with the planned global array of GW detectors, including the LIGO-India observatory, the release said.

Inclusion of LIGO-India greatly improves the angular resolution in the location of the gravitational-wave source by the LIGO global network.

For the discovery event observed by the two advanced LIGO detectors in the US, with a hypothetical LIGO-India in operation, there would have been 100 times improvement in the angular resolution, according to the release.

The LIGO-India proposal is for the construction and operation of an Advanced LIGO Detector in India in collaboration with the LIGO Laboratories, US.

The objective is to set up the Indian node of the three node global Advanced LIGO detector network by 2024 and operate it for 10 years.

The task for LIGO-India includes the challenge of constructing the very large vacuum infrastructure that would hold a space of volume 10 million litres that can accommodate the entire 4 km scale laser interferometer in ultra high vacuum environment at nano-torrs.

Indian team is also responsible for installation and commissioning the complex instrument and attaining the ultimate design sensitivity.

The LIGO-India project is being jointly executed by lead institutions: the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune of the University Grants commission, and DAE organisations, Institute for Plasma Research (IPR), Gandhinagar, the Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), Indore and the Directorate of Construction & Estate Management (DCSEM) of DAE.

LIGO-India is being jointly funded by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).

A LIGO-India Apex committee, together with the LIGO-India Project Management Board (LI-PMB) and LIGO-India Scientific Management Board (LI-SMB), were constituted in August 2016 to oversee the project execution, and there has been rapid pace of progress since then.

LIGO-India is on track for commencing operations by 2024.
Mumbai, Oct 6 (IBNS): Bollywood actor Esha Gupta wished her father on his birthday on Friday and also called him the "hero".

The actor shared a picture on Instagram where she was seen to cuddle with her father.

Esha captioned the picture with heart-touching lines, that read: "Happy birthday to the best person I have. I wouldn't be me if it wasn't for you. My hero always. Love you dad."

Happy birthday to the best person I have. I wouldn't be me if it wasn't for you. My hero always. Love you dad A post shared by Esha Gupta (@egupta) on Oct 5, 2017 at 11:02pm PDT

She was last seen in film Baadshaho, which was released on September 1.



Image: Instagram profile of Esha Gupta
New York, Oct 6(Just Earth News): As she begins to read her poem, Fatemaas voice is faint and unsure of itself. She has been writing poetry only for the last six months because, as she explains, she wants to get in touch with her inner feelings. What emerges in her recitation has echoes of Afghanistanas ancient past, and signs of a new and modern passion. What is heard, translated from Dari, is a short narrative about the horrors of war a aThe color of blood and cold corpses a fresh bodies thrown into battlea a and Fatemaas own story, one that ends with the hope that, asomewhere between the lines, set in the sweetness, is a space without war.a

Afghanistan has for centuries been a cradle of poetic expression. One of the worlds best-known poets, Jalaluddin Mohammad Balkhi, or Rumi, was born here over 800 years ago. His lines of poetry, in ancient Dari, speak to the thoughts of many Afghans, as do the lines of other great Persian, Pashtun and Arab writers.

Much of Afghanistans newfound love of poetic expression  which has taken hold in Kabul and Kandahar as well  is coming from young Afghans seeking new ways to interact and express themselves.

What is extraordinary about the graceful expressions this afternoon at the Herat Literary Association, however, is the newfound enthusiasm combined with the clicks of cell phone technology  which together suggest a cultural revival amid the uncertainty of war. Much of Afghanistans newfound love of poetic expression  which has taken hold in Kabul and Kandahar as well  is coming from young Afghans seeking new ways to interact and express themselves.

Our words are  in their way  a defense against war, said Fatema Rahimi, 23. Poetry is important to me because it can describe aspects of the conflict.

Weekly in Herat, poets meet to share their latest works. Some bring freshly printed booklets marked by ornate calligraphy but others read directly from lines composed on their phones. Invariably, as new poems are read out around the table mixed with men and women, a round of applause will go up as the poem ends. This is, however, the moment that the sometimes-dreaded critique begins, often initiated by rows of sharp-dressed young ladies, who are quick to remark on what they think is imprecise imagery or inappropriate language.

The poetry is as often about love as it is about conflict, and an observer quickly notices that there is a curious interplay between the young men and women in the room. When an excited young man reads a poem about a tiger, representing a man, chasing a lovely gazelle draped in a veil, several women chirp up to insist that the veil seems out of place. When another man talks about an unattractive bride, who runs from her groom, stumbles and falls, only to be laughed at by a wedding party, the women are incensed. You shouldnt joke about the plight of women! one pregnant mother snaps. Im not critiquing your language, only your subject matter.

When another first-time participant reads from a pamphlet of poems printed inside a glossy yellow cover, the women nod in appreciation and give him kind advice. One says, It was beautiful but I didnt find enough meaning in it, adding, You need to play more with the language, dont be so direct, and a study of the classics will help you.

Yet most of the poetry is subtle if not profound, hinting at notions of spiritualism, and an Afghan sense of the transcendental.

I grew up with poetry, said Ghulam Haidar Ghudsi, 35, who looks forward to his weekly indulgence at the literary association. We are tired of war. There are poems for peace, but after all, things happen all around us, even suicide bombers. In my district, up along the Turkmen border, the Taliban are active and it is hard to even move.

I like the Sufist poetry  that of Maulana [Rumi] Jalaladdin Mohammed Balkhi, he added. I like his outlook. His poetry  particularly his imagery -- speaks to me about peace. Ive learned that there is a big difference between my moon [romantic aspirations] and where the moon rises, and his imagery makes this clear to me. I can tell you this, though, the school of Maulana promotes peace, not a culture of violence.

In the United States and Europe, Rumi is a highly-appreciated poet and sales of his poetry have skyrocketed in recent years even as many in North America and Europe do not recognize him as an Afghan poet, since he rose to fame in Persia and Turkey, after his family left Afghanistan. The Sufi school of thinking that he founded and led still prides itself in creativity, tolerance, and an emphasis on unique spiritual journeys.

It is not clear what the growing popularity of poetry will mean for Afghanistan. In many cases, poetry serves as a welcome outlet for frustrated men and women, who often feel cornered by war and tied down by tradition. Still, the interest is growing, and though the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) helps support events at the Herat Literary Association, the price to participate is always minimal, particularly when you compose lines on your phone as many literary club members do.

Im not a poet myself, said UNAMA Public Information Officer Fraidoon Poya. But I like to come and listen. There is a special magic in the room every week. I like to hear the new voices, the young men and women who come looking to be heard for the first time.

The literary associations Secretary-General, M. Daoud Monir, said he has seen a newfound appreciation of poetry across Western Afghanistan, one that is growing quickly and is often in line with aspirations for peace.

These gathering give the youth a chance to express their views  even, as you see, when they contradict each other. On any given week, you can be sure that the main subject will be war and peace, but there is a lot going on here, including that these sessions give our women a chance to critique the patriarchy.

The UN Assistance Mission for Afghanistan (UNAMA) has a mandate to support the Government of Afghanistan and its citizens in a shared goal of becoming a stable, open and peaceful nation. This feature story highlights one of the many ways the UN and Afghanistan are working together to overcome the many challenges to achieving this goal.

Photo: UNAMA/Fraidoon Poya

Source: www.justearthnews.com
Wildlife Agency Sued Over Record-breaking Whale Entanglements

SAN FRANCISCO, October 3, 2017  The Center for Biological Diversity sued the California Department of Fish and Wildlife today over the commercial Dungeness crab fisherys skyrocketing entanglements of imperiled whales and sea turtles.At least 19 humpback whales, two blue whales and one leatherback sea turtle  all protected by the Endangered Species Act  were found tangled up in crab gear off the West Coast last year. Entanglements in ropes connected to heavy commercial Dungeness crab traps cause injuries and death as the ropes cut into the whales flesh, sap their strength and lead to drowning.Dungeness crab dinners shouldnt come with a side of whale. These entanglements are heartbreaking, illegal and way too common, said Kristen Monsell, a senior attorney with the Center. California officials cant let this minefield of crab traps continue to slaughter endangered whales and sea turtles.Each entanglement of a humpback whale, blue whale or leatherback sea turtle violates the federal Endangered Species Act. The department is liable for causing these unlawful entanglements because it authorizes and manages operation of the fishery.The lawsuit seeks common-sense reforms to the fishery such as restricting the amount of gear in whale hotspots like Monterey Bay and reducing the amount of rope running through the water.West Coast whale entanglements have broken records each of the past three years. There were 71 reported whale entanglements last year, up from 62 in 2015 and 30 in 2014. Before that, whale entanglement reports averaged fewer than 10 per year.Many of last years entanglements were clustered around the biologically rich Monterey Bay, where migrating whales came to feed. The California commercial Dungeness crab trap fishery entangles more endangered whales and sea turtles than any other U.S. West Coast fishery.Whales can drag fishing gear for hundreds of miles and often die from their entanglement injuries. In one particularly gruesome example, a severed humpback whale tail was found with two sets of Dungeness crab ropes and buoys attached. In another, rope from commercial Dungeness crab gear cut into the tissue of one humpback whale so deeply that the rope was barely visible.Ropes wrapped around humpbacks heads, flippers and tails can tighten as they swim and may never come loose, Monsell said. These tragic entanglements are happening in record-breaking numbers. Thats why weve had to sue to force California officials to finally take their responsibilities seriously.The recovery of humpback whales off California has been hindered by fishing gear entanglements, according to the federal government. One population of endangered humpback whales that feeds off Californias coast numbers just over 400 individuals, meaning any death or injury from entanglement could hurt the entire population. Eliminating entanglement in fishing gear is also the number one action the federal government says is needed to recover critically endangered Pacific leatherback sea turtles.The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.5 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
Oracle CEO Mark Hurd claims he doesnt really worry so much about Amazon Web Services. That statement is either profoundly disingenuous or utterly ridiculous. Or perhaps Hurd and Oracle chairman Larry Ellison, who launched this weeks Oracle OpenWorld by fixating on AWS, trying mightily to convince attendees that AWSs cloud pales in comparison to Oracles cloud.

You know, the same Oracle cloud that cant even muster a Top 10 place in Gartners list of leading IaaS providers. For IaaS, Gartner pegs AWS cloud revenues at more than 80X times Oracles. Even in the PaaS market, where Oracle has seen more growthbumping up from 1.1 percent market share to 2 percent in 2016its still just a tenth the size of AWS, which saw its PaaS share boom from 13.7 percent to 19.8 percent in the same period.

Its only in SaaS, where Oracle has acquired multiple companies and AWS has yet to invest, that Oracle rises above AWS.

Unfortunately for the studiously unconcerned Hurd, its only going to get worse, judging on the infrastructure investments that the leading cloud providersAWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platformare making. As Redmonk analyst Rachel Stephens has noted, The companies that have the highest increase in R&D spending (Amazon and Google) also have the most variety in their product lines. That variety, along with the daunting economies of scale that allow them to profitably charge less for more, promises to continue to put Oracles cloud ambitions to the sword, she says.

Is Oracle really investing to win in the cloud?

Despite its paltry market share in the cloud, Oracle keeps trying to erect a Steve Jobsian reality distortion field.

Oracle executives like to take potshots at the leading cloud vendor, AWS, arguing that its 99-plus percent uptime guarantee is not real. Oracle also claims that its IaaS platform has lower latency than other cloud providers, making it better for high-performance needs. And that its security management tools are better suited for enterprise IT needs, versus the small businesses and startups that purportedly make up AWSs customer base.

Most recently, Oracle claims its new Oracle 18c database is superior to cloud offerings from AWS because its autonomous, cheaper, and higher-performing, and also comes with a Mary Poppins-like twinkle in its eye.

Unfortunately, if you dig beneath Oracles cloud database claims, youll see that AWS, Microsoft, and Google all offer cloud databases that meet or exceed Oracles claims. Including the twinkle.

Across the board, Oracles superiority claims are doubly dubious given how comparatively low its cloud investments have been. As Redmonk analyst Stephens notes, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft all significantly outspend Oracle. As for AWS, Amazons growth in R&D has significantly outpaced its peers, with its last quarter 2017s R&D spending more than 300 percent of what it was in early 2013. This matters because higher R&D spend translates into broader innovation in product portfolios.

On the other hand, Oracle executives like Hurd are fond of dismissing Oracles lack of investment in datacenters as immaterial because, well, Oracle and its datacenters are amazing: If I have two-times faster computers, I dont need as many datacenters. If I can speed up the database, maybe I need one fourth as many datacenters, Hurd says. Somehow were supposed to believe that cloud newbie Oracle has become dramatically better at custom-building hardware and software at massive scale than AWS, Microsoft, and Google, who have been doing this for years with the best talent on planet Earth. Pass the bong, please?

Is Oracle doomed?

So should Oracle hang up the bankruptcy sign and sell off its assets as the would moves to the cloud? Of course not. Despite its silly bluster, Oracle continues to build great databases and, in particular, has established a solid showing in SaaS. In SaaS, Oracle has acquired its way to 5.6 percent market share in 2016, Gartner estimates, up from 4.2 percent in 2015. By comparison, Microsoft owns 16.3 percent (up from 15.7 percent) and Salesforce 14 percent (down from 14.7 percent). This is a solid base from which Oracle can grow.

And Oracle has real momentum in PaaS. It currently has a mere 2 percent of the marker, but it is growing the fastest of all PaaS providers, with 166.9 percent growth over 2015.

Oracle also benefits by simple math: As fast as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud can build datacenters, its not fast enough. By Apcera CIO Mark Thieles estimates, AWS et al. simply cant keep pace with the demand for public cloud services, leaving Oracle (and others) free to supply the unsatisfied demand. And, no, it doesnt hurt that there are plenty of enterprises that would like to bridge their existing on-premises Oracle investments to the cloud. (Thats one pitch Oracle does make that actually makes sense.)

True, Oracles cloud revenue, while growing, has slowed its overall growth, causing the companys stock to stumble. And revenue growth has been much stronger in Oracles SaaS business (62 percent) than in Oracles IaaS business (28 percent). That doesnt bode well for a company trying to play catchup with the cloud-first natives.

Even so, enterprises move slowly, whether to jettison legacy technology (and its vendors) or to embrace the new. So, Oracle has a long shelf life ahead of it. The question is whether it can invest heavily enough to keep up with AWS and Microsoft, in particular, so that it can both meet and stoke demand for next-generation cloud services.
S&P500 (ES) Retests Key 4K Level Tradable Patterns - 1 hour ago The S&P500 (ESZ22) is consolidating for a 3rd straight day after Thursdays massive 5% plus bounce, hesitating as it bumps up against the 61.8% Fib retrace of the August to October slide and the psychologically... ESZ22 : 3,989.00 (+0.58%) SPY : 395.12 (-0.85%) SPXS : 20.63 (+2.53%) SPXU : 15.64 (+2.42%) SPXL : 69.54 (-2.59%)

Seasonal Trend Alert: Soybeans Blue Line Futures - Mon Nov 14, 6:41PM CST March soybean futures have trended higher for 14 of the last 15 years from November 16th to January 9th. The average profit has been roughly 65 cents, while the one loss (highlighted below, 2018) was...

MacKenzie Scott acknowledges another $2B in donations AP - Mon Nov 14, 5:23PM CST Megadonor and novelist MacKenzie Scott announced almost $2 billion in donations in a short blog post Monday that emphasized her interest in supporting people from underserved communities $SPX : 3,957.25 (-0.89%) $DOWI : 33,536.70 (-0.63%) $IUXX : 11,700.94 (-0.98%)

Hogs Close in Black to Start the Week Barchart - Mon Nov 14, 4:23PM CST Lean hog futures closed the Monday session with 27 to 57 cent gains. The USDA National Average Base Hog Price for Monday afternoon was $2.47 lower to $85.23. The CME Lean Hog Index was $88.63 on 11/10,... HEZ22 : 84.875s (+0.62%) HEJ23 : 94.375s (+0.29%) KMZ22 : 95.675s (+0.82%)

Cotton Futures Fall Triple Digits Barchart - Mon Nov 14, 4:23PM CST Mondays cotton trade pulled prices 242 to 330 points lower, which erased all of last weeks gains. New crop Dec cotton closed at 77.06 cents per pound, a 8.22 cent discount to spot Dec. Stock market... CTZ22 : 86.02 (+0.87%) CTH23 : 84.27 (+0.78%) CTK23 : 82.88 (+0.46%)
In Person Abducted Hindu Rica: ARSA Killed My Husband

Rica and her son. / Myawaddy

On Aug. 25, Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) launched coordinated attacks on 30 police posts in Buthidaung, Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships in Rakhine State.

The Myanmar government released a statement on Sept. 24 saying ARSA abducted around 100 men and women from several Hindu villages in Kha Mauk Seik village tract on Aug. 25 and killed the majority of abductees.

Security forces unearthed 45 dead Hindus, including six children, near Ye Baw Kya village in northern Maungdaw Township on Sept. 24 and 25.

Eight Hindu women, aged between 15 and 25, and eight children who said they were abducted by ARSA arrived back in Myanmar on Oct. 3 and gave their accounts of the massacre.

According to their account, about 500 Muslim villagers of Khamaungseik led by self-identifying Rohingya leader Norulauk and what they described as a foreign terrorist leader in black dress came and killed 45 villagers of Ye Baw Kya on Aug. 25.

Rica, 25, one of eight Hindu women whose husband was killed by ARSA told The Irrawaddy about the massacre, how they were abducted and how they eventually escaped:

Ma Rica, how is your health and how are things going with you?

Im good. Everything is fine. Were now staying at military camp [in Buthidaung]. We dont know how long we have to stay here. We are altogether eight women and eight children.

When did you arrive back in Myanmar?

We arrived back on Oct. 3. We came [back] from Bangladesh. We had to stay one month and five days in Bangladesh at Kutupalong Refugee Camp. Bengalis tried to find us to kill us.

How were you abducted by terrorists?

They came into our village [Ye Baw Kya] around 8 a.m. on Aug. 25. They took all our phones, and surrounded the village. They tied us up and blindfolded the men. They beat the men, and asked how much gold and cash we had. I gave them all my possessions. Then they took all the villagers outside the village to Baw Tala village. Then they put men and women in separate groups. We eight women were put in a separate place. They slit the throat of men first, and knifed children and women. Then they asked eight of us if we would convert to Islam, and we wont be killed if we did. They said the God we believe in is nothing and their Islam is mighty. So, we said we would convert to Islam if they didnt slash us. So, they didnt kill us.

What happened then?

We stayed overnight in Baw Tala village that day. We were forced to eat beef [Hindu followers abstain from eating beef], and study to dress like Muslim [women]. We didnt eat, but the children ate a little.

Didnt you beg terrorists not to kill your husbands?

We did. We went down on bended knees and begged them. We had given them all our gold and made them promise not to kill our husbands. They slashed my husband even after they got gold from us. I told them that I had given them a lot of gold and asked them not to kill him. When they were about to kill my children, I said I wont do as they want if they kill my children. I said I didnt want to survive if they killed my children. [So, they didnt.] We have a gold shop. Bengalis took all 30 ticals of gold and over four million kyats.

How did they take you to Bangladesh?

They took us on foot beyond the mountains in the west of Khamaungseik village. We had to sleep two nights on mountains. We had nothing to eat and it was absolutely terrible. We arrived in Bangladesh on Aug. 28.

Who were the people who attacked your village?

They included villagers of Khamaungseik as well as terrorists. I recognized around ten Khamaungseik villagers. Their leader is Norulauk. While we were detained at Baw Ta La village, five people guarded us. Others left, saying they would attack the government. The five men who were guarding us said this area [Rakhine] is not a Hindu State, not a Bamar State. They said they would turn the area [from Maungdaw border] to Sittwe to their [self-identifying Rohingya] State. We were brought by those five Bengalis to Bangladesh. The rest were left in Myanmar reportedly to attack the government. Now, they are in Bangladesh. I saw them in clothes which they had taken from our brothers and husbands.

Who came and rescued you from Bangladesh?

We arrived in Bangladesh on Aug. 28 at Kutupalong Camp. Then, they brought Mawlawis and initiated us into the Islam faith. We were asked to repeat Muslim words and shout Allah. We were also asked to eat beef, and wear Burqas. Then a Muslim boy there reportedly told a Hindu barber at Kutupalong market that eight Hindu women from Myanmar were being Islamized. Hindu elders came and rescued us around 8 p.m. in the evening.

How did the Muslim boy know about you?

As soon as we arrived in Bangladesh, we were given lunch at a house. Then, they interviewed us and video-recorded it. They asked us to say in the interview that Hindus were killed by Arakanese people. They also asked us to say that our husbands, parents and relatives as well as Muslims were killed by the government; and that we would be killed if we didnt.

So, how did you escape?

We contacted [Hindu community leader] U Ni Mal. We sneaked out of Kutupalong Camp. We left for Taung Pyo Letwe in the car of a Hindu man. It took around one and a half hours. On the way, we were inspected by the Bangladesh border guards. The driver said we were going to Deepavali Festival [a Hindu religious festival]. When we got out of the car, we saw government officials waiting for us in Taung Pyo Letwe.
Burma Mass Exodus of Muslims from Rakhine Not Honest: Govt Spokesperson

Self-identifying Rohingya gather at the border with Bangladesh. / Information Committee / Facebook

NAYPYITAW  The Myanmar governments spokesperson has questioned the motives behind the mass migration of Muslims from northern Rakhine State to neighboring Bangladesh in the last month, claiming there are no clashes at all in the area.

We believe that [self-identifying Rohingya Muslims] are plotting against the government by misleading [the international community] that there is mass migration, said U Zaw Htay, who is also director-general of the State Counselor Office.

More than half a million self-identifying Rohingya Muslims have fled Rakhine State since Aug. 25, bringing with them tales of rape, murder, and arson during Myanmar Army security operations the UNs human rights body has labeled a textbook example of ethnic cleansing.

The UNs humanitarian aid chief said on Friday they were bracing for a possible further exodus from Rakhine State, according to Reuters. An estimated 2,000 self-identifying Rohingya continue to flee Rakhine State daily according to the International Organization for Migration.

This flow out of Myanmar has not stopped yet, its into the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya [who are] still in Myanmar, we want to be ready in case there is a further exodus, Mark Lowcock, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs told a news briefing in Geneva on Friday, according to Reuters. Half a million people do not pick up sticks and flee their country on a whim.

The self-identifying Rohingya Muslims are denied citizenship and classified as illegal immigrants, despite claiming roots in Myanmar that go back centuries, with communities marginalized and subjected to bouts of violence over the years.

Myanmar has denied it is pursuing ethnic cleansing in the state and, according to Reuters, Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed on Monday to form a working group to commence plans for the repatriation of refugees.

It is not honest. [Self-identifying Rohingya Muslims] are fleeing even as we have told them that nobody would cause any harm to them, and [the government] would provide security and social assistance, U Zaw Htay said.

U Zaw Htay said there were also reports of Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)a self-identifying Rohingya militant group which sparked the latest violence with deadly attacks on 30 police outposts on Aug. 25making threats by phone from Bangladesh to Muslims in Rakhine State, encouraging them to leave for Bangladesh, he said.

So, it is also possible that they are fleeing because of fear and concerns that they will be alone when renewed clashes occur, he said.

But then, we also heard reports that Muslims were paid to leave by boat [from Rakhine] and arrive at the camp [in Bangladesh]. Putting two and two together, this has brought into question who are funding them to leave, he added.

During a visit of Myanmar State Counselors Office Minister U Kyaw Tint Swe to Bangladesh Dhaka this week, Bangladesh said it regarded ARSA as a common enemy of the two countries.

In her diplomatic briefing in September focusing on the Rakhine issue, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi urged the international community not just to look at problems but also to look at the areas where there were no problems.

She explained that 50 percent of Muslim villages remained intact. Human Rights Watch said last month that more than half of 400 self-identifying Rohingya villages in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships had showed fire damage, according to satellite imagery.

If those people remain [in Rakhine State] Daw Aung San Suu Kyis statement is valid. At such time, attempts at mass migration is not honest, I think. Because Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has called the international community to help find out the reason behind the exodus, said former political prisoner U Tun Kyi who is a Muslim.

So, I think they are trying to contradict the statement of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

Since last week of September, thousands of self-identifying Rohingya Muslims from villages in Buthidaung have gathered at the border with Bangladesh. According to the government information committee, there were around 13,000 Muslims at the border.

Together with community elders, we met them and asked if they needed any assistance. They replied mildly that their relatives [from Bangladesh] called them and they would go and settle with them, said U Tin Maung Swe, secretary of Rakhine State government.

They said they have no problems. Entire villages are leaving and therefore there are thousands of people, he said.

Though authorities dissuaded them from leaving and promised to provide security, health care and food, they refused to stay, he added.

But I dont like them breaking through border fences. The border is quite long and they can go [into Bangladesh] through other ways, said U Tin Maung Swe.

U Tun Kyi said he condemned any person or organization which is deliberately forcing a mass exodus. He said he believed that there are persons and organizations that have exerted improper influence over people of poor education-level in the area.

There are a lot of interests. ARSA also has interests. The government and the Tatmadaw have shown arms seized from ARSA to international diplomats. Those arms are old and broken. Why cant the government defeat ARSA which only have broken guns? questioned U Tun Kyi.

Upper House parliamentarian U Khin Maung Latt said international laws allow people to flee and it is difficult for the government to stop them.

Authorities said they would provide security and food, but they dont accept it. They may get more relief supplies and aid there, and they may get into a third country. There are such incentives. So, they were told that they would face troubles if they stay here and were talked into leaving for Bangladesh, said U Khin Maung Latt.

Myanmars government was facing allegations of human rights violations because of the unfair portrayal of the issue by international media, he said.
Burma Ready to Fight Again: The Homeless Muslims Still Backing Myanmar Insurgency

A Myanmar soldier stands near Maungdaw, north of Rakhine state, Myanmar September 27, 2017. / Soe Zayar Tun / Reuters

COXS BAZAR, Bangladesh  For 28-year-old Self-identifying Rohingya Muslim shopkeeper Mohammed Rashid, the evening phone call from organizers of the fledgling insurgent movement came as a surprise.

Be ready, was the message.

A few hours later, after meeting in the darkness in an open field, he was one of 150 men who attacked a Myanmar Border Guard Police post armed with swords, homemade explosives and a few handguns. At the end of a short battle, half a dozen men he had grown up with in his village were dead.

We had no training, no weapons, said Rashid, from the Buthidaung area of Myanmars Rakhine state, who had joined the group just two months earlier.

Accounts from some of those, like Rashid, who took part in attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) on dozens of police posts early on Aug. 25 paint a picture of a rag-tag band of hopeless, angry villagers, who were promised AK-47 rifles but ended up fighting with sticks and knives.

Hundreds joined as recently as June, according to the accounts, and membership meant little more than a knife and messages from leaders on the popular mobile messaging app Whatsapp.

Reuters interviewed half a dozen fighters and members of the group now sheltering in Bangladesh, as well as dozens of others among the more than half a million Self-identifying Rohingya refugees who have fled across the border to escape a Myanmar army counteroffensive that the United Nations has branded ethnic cleansing.

ARSA, which emerged in 2016, says in press releases and video messages from its leader, Ata Ullah, that it is fighting for the rights of the Self-identifying Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority that has long complained of persecution in mainly Buddhist Myanmar.

Myanmar says ARSA is a ruthless Islamist extremist movement that wants to create an Islamic republic in northern Rakhine.

Despite the massive suffering inflicted on their communities in the weeks since the August attacks, most of the fighters now stuck in dirt-poor camps said they were determined to continue their fight and some refugees voiced support for the insurgency.

Other refugees Reuters spoke to criticized the insurgents for bringing more misery upon them.

Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyis spokesman, Zaw Htay, said ARSA had killed many Muslims who had cooperated with the authorities and so people have felt threatened and terrorized into supporting it. He added that Myanmars intelligence showed that religious scholars were prominent in recruiting followers.

ARSA denies killing civilians, and did not respond to a request for comment this week.

Analysts say the violence could galvanize ARSA members and supporters huddled in the refugee camps and among those Self-identifying Rohingya still in Myanmar, as people feel they have even less to lose.

A militancy like this finds fertile ground because of the desperation of the community, said Richard Horsey, a Yangon-based analyst and former U.N. official. They are willing to take suicidal steps because they dont see any other choice.

Transnational Islamist groups could also try to exploit the desperation in the camps to radicalise people, Horsey added. Al Qaeda last month called for support for the Self-identifying Rohingya.

Homemade Weapons and Whatsapp

Reuters could not independently verify the individual insurgents stories, but there were broad similarities in all of their accounts.

One fighter, 35-year-old Kamal Hussain from a village in Rathedaung in Myanmars Rakhine state, said he joined ARSA when a religious teacher stood in his village square in June, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and implored a crowd of hundreds to fight.

He said we have no choice but to attack Myanmar because our brothers and sisters are being killed day by day. I think everyone joined that day, Hussain said, as he sat under a tarpaulin in a Bangladesh refugee camp. We should attack again and again. I would go back to fight if I had the chance.

Unlike longer-serving fighters, most new joiners had little or no training or contact with the groups leaders, who communicated using Whatsapp and delivered rudimentary homemade explosives ahead of the assaults.

A third fighter, his account supported by comments from two elders from his village interviewed separately, said he and about 60 men from Myin Hlut signed up three months ago.

The 26-year-old, who asked not to be named because he feared arrest by Bangladeshi authorities, said he was among 200 men who attacked another police checkpost in the early hours of Aug. 25.

We had only knives and sticks, no guns, he said. They promised us AK-47s but we got nothing. The explosives didnt work. We had two of them for the whole group, but when we threw them nothing happened.

About 40 fighters were killed, he said, but added that he would do it again if called on.

I still support ARSA, he said. If my leaders call me to go again and fight, I will go back.

According to two village-level commanders, there were Whatsapp groups restricted to leaders and others to members.

Bigger groups, administered from overseas, were used to build broader community support for ARSA and the Self-identifying Rohingya cause.

On his phone, Shoket Ullah, an uncle of the 26-year-old fighter, scrolled through messages posted in the Whatsapp group ARSA.G1, administered through a Saudi phone number, where ARSA press releases, videos of alleged Myanmar military violence and messages of support for Self-identifying Rohingyas were shared.

Another Whatsapp group on Ullahs phone, Rohingya Desh Arakan, is administered by someone using a number from Malaysia. Tens of thousands of Self-identifying Rohingya live in both Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.

Local Backing

Self-identifying Rohingya anger at Myanmar has long existed, but this is the first serious armed resistance in decades.

In the crowded Bangladeshi camps, several refugees voice support for ARSA.

I am disappointed and regret what happened but this was pre-planned by the Myanmar government, said Shafi Rahman, a 45-year-old Burmese teacher whose village was burned to the ground the day after the attacks. If ARSA didnt attack, they would have done this to us anyway.

Several refugees said some people had begun to sell cattle, vegetables and rice to raise funds for ARSA.

Not everyone was supportive, however. When Kamal Hussain, the fighter, argued that ARSA needed to keep fighting, his neighbors in the camp shouted him down.

We have lost everything. Violence is not the answer, shouted one elderly man, as muddy water spilled into the tent he now calls home.

It is not obvious how fighters would regroup and rebuild after so many have fled across the border or disappeared.

Three of the fighters who spoke to Reuters said they had been surprised by the ferocity of the Myanmar militarys response, and within weeks commanders had told their men to put down their weapons and abandon their villages.

Several said Whatsapp groups where regional and field commanders from ARSA, which before a rebranding this year called itself al-Yakin, or Faith Movement, would post updates had gone quiet.

People who blame this on al-Yakin need to realize my people had to flee in 1978 and in the 1990s when there was no ARSA, said one of the two village-level commanders, who grew up in Bangladesh after his family fled an earlier outbreak of violence, but returned to Myanmar in the 1990s.

We should continue to attack. Even women can join.
Commentary Britain is Still Being Beastly to its Former Colony Myanmar

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson hits a bell while visiting Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. / Reuters

YANGONThere is usually no harm in reciting lines or verses from your favorite poems. But it can matter what you read, where you read it, and who you are. If you are not careful, you could make a gaffe or insult those around you. Take the British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, for example.

When the Foreign Secretary visited Myanmars Shwedagon Pagoda earlier this year during an official trip to Myanmar, the 53-year old Conservative Party member tolled a huge bell and recited lines from the poem Mandalay by Rudyard Kipling: The temple-bells they say/ Come you back, you English soldier. (In fact, Bojo made a mistake, its British, not English in the poem.)

His impromptu recital was recorded and featured in a documentary on Britains Channel 4. In the video, Boris Johnson was interrupted by British ambassador to Myanmar who said probably not a good idea and not appropriate in a stern voice after reminding the Foreign Secretary he was on microphone.

Yes, it is inappropriate and insensitive for Boris Johnson to recite those lines in a country that was colonized by the British from 1824 to 1948.

To make matters worse, the person uttering come you back, you English soldier was not just an ordinary citizen but the Foreign Secretary from the country that annexed Myanmar through three bloody wars and oppressed local resistance.

Were it not for UK Ambassador Andrew Patricks interruption, the Foreign Secretary may have continued with the lines Bloomin idol made o mud / Wot they called the Great Gawd Budd / Plucky lot she cared for idols when I kissed er where she stud!

Referring to the Buddha as the Great Gawd Budd at one of the holiest Buddhist sites in the country would have been an act of sacrilege.

Who knows why the Foreign Secretary uttered lines from the colonial poem. Probably, he is a great fan of Rudyard Kipling or felt nostalgic for the age of British imperialism. Whatever the case, a British Foreign Secretarys recitation of the colonial poem in the country where they once colonized is an insult to the country and hurts the feeling of its people.

Adding to Myanmar peoples dismay, the release of the video footage coincides with a time when Britain, along with many other countries, has been actively criticizing the Southeast Asian country and its popular leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for the countrys treatment of the self-identifying Rohingya issue, which is in face the result of a bad colonial legacy left by the British to Myanmar people.

If the British hadnt encouraged Bengali inhabitants from Bengal Province of India (now Bangladesh) to migrate into the then sparsely populated and fertile valleys of Rakhine in the 1800s, Myanmar today would be in a very different position in the controversial issue.

While the British government has been repeatedly criticizing the Lady for her silence on the issue as well as for not doing enough to defend the minority self-identifying Rohingya, St Hughs college of Oxford University, where she studied politics, philosophy and economics between 1964 and 1967, removed the painting of the Nobel laureate from its main entrance as the college received the gift of a new painting. Its questionable why the portrait was taken down amid criticism on Daw Aung San Suu Kyis on the issue.

On Tuesday, Oxford City Council withdrew an honor granting Aung San Suu Kyi the Freedom of Oxford as it was no longer appropriate for her to hold it given to her response to the self-identifying Rohingya issue.

Of course it would be annoying for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to see those kind of responses from the UK, which was in some ways her second home, spending nearly two decades studying and raising a family there with her late British husband.

For the majority of the Myanmar people, the actions of Oxford City Council and Oxford University were deliberate insults to the woman whom they have elected as their leader.

Its interesting to ask why Britains government and civil organizations are united in humiliating Myanmar and its leader unlike many other western countries like the US, which is taking a much more supportive role by offering assistance to implement the recommendations made by the Rakhine State Advisory Commission to help the country tackle an issue spawned by British colonial rule.

Is Britain under the mistaken impression that it has the right to bully the country because it once colonized it?

Rather than pointing fingers at Myanmar, the British should be mindful that when it comes to the self-identifying Rohingya issue, their forebears were responsible for the encouragement of mass migration from India to Myanmar for cheap farm labor. It should be noted that they did it for the interests of British Empire, especially after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 when rice demand was high in Europe.

Myanmar had no chance to solve the problem of migration encouraged by Britain under authoritarian rule from 1962 to 2010. The former quasi-civilian government made little success in tackling the issue despite their efforts after 2012.

Undaunted, the countrys first democratically elected Daw Aung San Suu Kyis government is now trying to fix it amid other problems the country is facing such as bringing peace with ethnic armed groups. Please be aware that Daw Aung San Suu Kyis government is just 18 months old.

It is very unfair to todays Myanmar, struggling to cope with the problems the British left behind while being criticized by those responsible who ignored their wrongdoings they did in the country more than a century ago.
After slipping 20 places on a global branding ladder in the past year, Vodafone has announced an upcoming change to the Vodafone brand positioning globally and in Australia, the first such change the company says since 2009.

Rolling out progressively in Australia later this month, the changes include an update to Vodafones iconic speech mark logo and new brand positioning.

The Vodafone brand has lost considerable position and value in the past year, according to the Brand Finance Global 500 report for 2017.

The report, which lists the top 500 most valuable brands in the world, shows that Vodafone slipped from 30 to 50 on the global branding ladder, with the telcos brand value dropping 22% from US$27.82 billion in 2016 to US$21.83 billion in 2017.

According to Vodafone, its brand evolution is the first significant change to one of the worlds best-known brands since the introduction of the Power to you brand positioning in 2009.

Vodafone Australias consumer business director Ben McIntosh said the refresh of the Vodafone speech mark and new positioning, The Future is Exciting. Ready? represent how Vodafone continues to innovate for the future while delivering choice and freedom for customers.

The wants and needs of our customers have changed, and with that weve changed too, McIntosh said. Weve evolved our products and services to give customers more choice and more freedom. From no lock-in contracts to personalised service, $5 roaming (where you can use your plan for $5 extra per day in selected countries) and the fresh approach well bring to broadband  were making sure customers are at the centre of an exciting future.

We challenge the status quo and push the boundaries to give people something that they wont find anywhere else. This is a natural evolution for Vodafone that reflects our desire to disrupt traditional conventions and provide real change for the future.

Vodafone will start rolling out the brand changes in Australia from 20 October at the iconic Vodafone Gold Coast 600 Supercars event. A progressive rollout will follow in-store and online in the coming months.
Enterprise big data aggregator Splunk has taken exception to claims about its product, made by Oracle chief executive and chief technology officer Larry Ellison during a keynote at Oracle World this week.

In his speech, Ellison "contrasted Oracle Management Cloud with the security and management capabilities delivered by Splunk. The analysis highlighted that Splunk lacks the key data needed for operations and optimal security".

To this Splunk president and chief executive Doug Merritt fired back, "The thing that worries me the most about Oracles apparent new data offering isnt their deep misunderstanding of how and why Splunk is able to so effectively deliver amazing value to our customers - its their fundamental lack of knowledge and understanding of the security market."

Ellison also said that while Oracle Management Cloud delivered "a complete data architecture through a unified entity model that spans topology, associations, telemetry and threats, Splunk has no real entity model and leaves data in many disparate vendor silos".

To this Merritt riposted: "Like all database-oriented people, your solution to building an integrated view of a complex situation is to centralise all the data into a single store.

"The scale and speed of todays universe of millions of data feeds make that approach a non-starter. We have customers indexing petabytes of data a day from hundreds to thousands of data sources and using that same data for multiple use cases."

Ellison's other claim about Splunk was that, "Oracle Management Cloud provides real-time insight through out-of-the-box applied machine learning that is easy to operate and use. In contrast, Splunk provides a machine learning toolkit that requires data scientists."

Merritt countered this by saying: "Just wrong. We make machine data accessible, usable and valuable to everyone and were doing the same with machine learning."

Ellison's final claim about Splunk was that, "Oracle Management Cloud delivers integrated and automated remediation that helps eliminate human error. In contrast, Splunk has no remediation capability."

To this, Merritt shot back; "There is no such thing as a wall-to-wall Oracle customer. Companies live in a heterogeneous world. If you are focused on serving and adding value to customers, then any mission-critical solution must recognise this."

He wasn't finished, taking a dig at Oracle's recent failure in yacht racing. "Theres a free cloud trial of Splunk that could help you analyse the Oracle yacht data. We realise its a bit late for that this year. Were happy to help you try and win the Americas Cup back next time you compete."
The decision to create a national facial recognition database system in Australia is a giant step by the Labor and Liberal parties down an Orwellian path of Big Brother surveillance and ultimately towards a surveillance and police state, Greens Justice spokesperson Senator Nick McKim claims.

Addressing the media in Hobart this afternoon, Senator McKim (below, right) said: "We've seen with leaks of Medicare data [and] hacks into census information, that what we're going to see here is a honeypot for hackers."

He said the government had an appalling track record of keeping Australians' private information out of the public domain.

The decision to use drivers' licence photos to set up the database was made at a meeting of the Council of Australian Governments in Canberra on Thursday with all states and territories agreeing to the idea which was raised by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Estimates of what the total cost would be to set up such a system haveinto the billions. Major privacy groups in the country havethe governments for agreeing to set up such a system.

Senator McKim said he did not know what kind of malicious cyber attackers would be be interested in the kind of information that would reside in the facial recognition database.

"I'm not an expert on hackers, but what we do know is that hackers have attacked databases and personal information that is held by government departments. We've seen that again and again in Australia, in the US, and the UK. And I have no doubt that in the future, we are going to see security failures where governments abjectly fail, as they have in the past, to protect peoples' personal information," he said.

People needed to ask themselves whether they would be happy walking through a shopping centre or going about their everyday business while being surveilled in real time on CCTV cameras.

"[Would they be happy] having that image data-matched with biometric information held by an authority under [Immigration and Border Protection Minister] Peter Dutton and ultimately allowing the state, the government to understand where they shop, where they go in the streets, all of the things that through our history we have regarded as our private information?" he asked.

"So this is a massive erosion of some of the most fundamental rights that we have fought so hard to create and protect through our history and we are now giving them away with barely a whimper."

In response to a question, Senator McKim said everyone had a right to be as safe as possible.

"Far more women die in Australia at the hands of their violent male partners than [Australians do] at the hands of terrorists and yet we don't see the kind of erosion of freedoms that we're talking about today occurring in response to family or domestic violence," he said.

"Make no mistake, the Labor and Liberal parties have deliberately set out to frighten Australians so that these kinds of rights, freedoms and liberties can be taken away from the people without much of a fight."

Senator McKim said the Greens would fight for people's rights and freedoms. "This kind of erosion of fundamental freedoms is an argument as to why we need a charter of rights in this country so that we can enshrine and codify our rights and protect them against the ongoing erosion we're seeing from the Labor and Liberal parties," he added.

When a questioner asked whether it was not correct that one had nothing to fear under a surveillance system if one had done no wrong, he responded: "I have heard that argument. First of all, [Tasmanian premier] Will Hodgman does not have a mandate to hand over the private information of Tasmanians to the country's security agencies. If he wants to do it, he should be seeking a mandate at the next election to do it.

"The argument that you've just put... people just need to ask themselves a very simple question: are they happy to head down the road towards a police state and a surveillance state? Because there are abundant examples around the world of ambit creep or bracket creep. For example, we have created metadata retention laws in this country and within two short years they were being used by local governments to check on people and find if they had registered their dogs or not.

"We have seen again and again powers that are created ostensibly in one area being abused by government agencies, by local governments, by a range of people in another area."

Senator McKim said people should be really worried about this. "I know a lot of people who are worried because we are getting lots of calls into my office today saying 'Good on you, please stand up for our rights and freedoms'," he said.

"So ultimately this is a real test for Australia. Are we prepared to give away some of the fundamental rights and freedoms that we fought so hard to create and protect over the decades? Are we prepared to give them away to a government, to the Labor and Liberal parties who have abjectly failed to make a case for this kind of invasions of our personal privacy?"

In response to queries from iTWire, he said the government was deliberately trying to frighten people for its own political gain, "but also so they will not fight back when fundamental rights and freedoms are stripped away. The latest move is an attack on privacy and a massive step towards a surveillance state".

He said Turnbull had been identical to [former Prime Minister] Tony Abbott when it came to creating an atmosphere of fear. "And unfortunately Labor leaders are in lockstep with him in every move he has made."

Asked whether this was not a slippery slope as far as personal freedoms were concerned, Senator McKim said: "There have been over 200 legislative changes since 2001 in Australia which have stripped away rights and freedoms, but we can always fight back. The Australian people have fought too hard for too long to win fundamental rights and freedoms, to sit back now and watch as they are eroded."

He said the country needed a charter of rights to enshrine and defend basic freedoms. "The Greens will move in the current term of Parliament to introduce and vote on a Charter of Rights that protects crucial freedoms and liberties, including the right to privacy. People who want to defend their rights should get involved in our campaign, and tell us their priorities for this crucial document."
If you're one of Latitude Financial Services' 1.2 million Mastercard customers, and you own a recent Samsung smartphone, you can take a positive attitude to Samsung Pay payments.

Samsung Electronics Australia and Latitude Financial Services have done a deal to make Samsung's contactless mobile payments service, Samsung Pay, accessible to all those Mastercard-carrying Latitude Financial customers.

As Samsung reminds us, its Samsung Pay service "is a secure and easy-to-use mobile payments service available on compatible Samsung devices, including the recently released Galaxy Note8 smartphone".

Mark Hodgson, head of Products and Services, Samsung Electronics Australia, said: Samsung is proud to partner with Latitude Financial Services, a new leading name in the consumer finance market in Australia. With access to Samsung Pay, Latitude Financial Services customers with a Mastercard will benefit from even more choice when banking and purchasing.

Samsung Pay is an open platform and the next evolution in Samsungs mobile payment innovation, designed to act as a complete wallet replacement for users. For example, Samsung Pays unique loyalty feature allows for almost any loyalty card to be stored and used via our compatible devices.

Our goal is to partner with as many financial institutions as possible for the benefit of our customers, and we look forward to Latitude Financial Services customers taking advantage of the benefits Samsung Pay offers.

David Gelbak, managing director, Commercial and Partnerships, Latitude Financial Services, said: Samsung Pay provides Latitude Financial Services further opportunities to capitalise on digital mobile payments, and drive front of wallet status in the digital realm. Samsung represents a significant market share of all smartphones in Australia and the adoption of mobile payments is increasing on a rapid scale due to the open source nature of the platform.

To support the launch of Samsung Pay, Latitude Financial Services customers can take part in exciting competitions to win Samsung Galaxy Note8 devices, and other great offers.

With the addition of Latitude Financial Services, Samsung Pay has now paired with over 40 payment card brands and has more than 100 different types of loyalty cards able to be loaded onto Samsung Pay  helping to make everyday payments and loyalty point collections simple and secure. Other Samsung Pay partners include AMEX, Citibank, Westpac, Cuscal and ANZ.

Other recent Samsung Pay wins include deals with Bendigo Bank, Suncorp, Westpac and many others.
Russian government hackers are claimed to have obtained details of how the US breaks into networks of other countries and also how it defends itself, through the theft of material that was moved by an NSA contractor from his office machine to his home computer, unnamed sources say.

The Wall Street Journal said these sources had alleged that the stolen files were identified for exfiltration because of through the contractor's use of anti-virus software used by Kaspersky Lab. No specifics of how this was done were offered.

Theyre not talking Hal Martin. Heres an artists impression of the NSAs security controls. pic.twitter.com/U03qTeU9oO  Kevin Beaumont ? (@GossiTheDog) 5 October 2017

The contractor in question does not appear to be Harold Martin whose arrest was announced in October 2016. He has been charged with wilfully retaining national defence information, indicted on 20 counts and may face up to 20 years in prison.

The detailed WSJ report, which repeatedly cited "people with knowledge of the matter", said this was the third reported case of document theft from the NSA, with the contractor having taken home documents and other materials and had earned then NSA director Michael Rogers an official reprimand. The other two are Martin and Booz Allen employee Edward Snowden.

The incident is said to have occurred in 2015 but not discovered until the Western spring of 2016.

It is the first time that Kaspersky software has been mentioned in the context of leaks from the NSA.

The publication of the story is likely to further ratchet up the pressure on Kaspersky Lab which has already been barred from US government contracts.

The WSJ report quoted a former NSA employee Blake Darche as saying that anti-virus software made an inventory of what files were on a Windows computer.

Its basically the equivalent of digital dumpster diving, he was quoted as saying, adding that Kaspersky software was aggressive in its malware hunting methods, in that they will make copies of files on a computer, anything that they think is interesting".

He said using Kaspersky anti-virus software meant "basically surrendering your right to privacy". The report did not mention that all ant-virus software exhibits similar behaviour.

This is just a shoddy quote. It's not technically untrue, but it worded in a way that my parents can't separate from "the EULA says Kaspersky is stealing my secret files." Also *ALL* AV companies do this, not just @Kaspersky. pic.twitter.com/1t0TidzK8Z  Jake Williams (@MalwareJake) 5 October 2017

Jake Williams, also a former NSA hacker, who now runs his own information security company, Rendition Infosec, said that Darche's quote was a shoddy one.

"It's not technically untrue, but is worded in a way that my parents can't separate from 'the EULA says Kaspersky is stealing my secret files'. Also *ALL* AV companies do this, not just @Kaspersky," he said in a tweet.

Williams said he was not contesting that the story may be true. "Not saying the reports are untrue. If they are, Kaspersky should definitely be banned from use on USG machines. But there's nothing in the story that offers any level of proof - and this quote in the context of the larger story is extremely misleading," he added.

Kaspersky Lab told the WSJ that it has not been provided any information or evidence substantiating this alleged incident, and as a result, we must assume that this is another example of a false accusation".
Kaspersky Lab chief Eugene Kaspersky has labelled the latest published claim, about his company's software being a means of exfiltrating NSA material from the computer of an agency employee, as "the script of a C[grade] movie".

In a long blog post, Eugene said the story, in The Wall Street Journal, was "sensationalist". He was contemptuous of the sourcing  "disclosed by anonymous sources (what a surprise)".

No public evidence of collusion between Kaspersky & RU gov. The company has vehemently denied any such connection https://t.co/T3Nd1McPnH pic.twitter.com/ZCmZ0LIX68  Eugene Kaspersky (@e_kaspersky) 5 October 2017

He also mentioned the claim in the story that his company was aggressive in its methods of hunting for new malware.

The WSJ report claimed that Russian government hackers had obtained details of how the US breaks into networks of other countries and also how it defends itself, through the theft of material that was moved by an NSA contractor from his office machine to his home computer.

That home machine was using Kaspersky Lab's anti-virus software and it was this that had been used for the process of exfiltrating of data, the story alleged.

Later in the story, a former NSA employee's quotes appeared to allege that Kaspersky's anti-virus software made copies of everything it found on a computer, adding that the software was "aggressive" in its malware hunting methods. All anti-virus software exhibits similar behaviour.

You expected him to apologize for his product detecting NSA's malware and reporting it? Or for idiots taking classified materials home?  Vess (@VessOnSecurity) 5 October 2017

Eugene agreed with this characterisation, but said it was a positive.

"We absolutely and aggressively detect and clean malware infections no matter the source and we have been proudly doing it for 20 years," he said.

"This is the reason why we consistently get top ratings in independent, third-party malware detection tests. We make no apologies for being aggressive in the battle against malware and cyber criminals  you shouldnt accept any less. Period."

He questioned why, if Russian hackers had exploited a weakness in one of his products installed on a user's PC, and government agencies concerned with security knew about it, they did not inform his company to patch the bugs that had led to the exfiltration of data.

"We patch the most severe bugs in a matter of hours, so why not make the world a bit more secure by reporting the vulnerability to us? I cant imagine an ethical justification for not doing so," he said.

In what appeared to be a reference to the Stuxnet virus  allegedly created by US and Israeli programmers to subvert Iran's nuclear programme  as well as the current claims, Eugene wrote:

"In the end, I cant shake off a disturbing thought: that the security of millions could be compromised yet again at the snap of a finger of an insider and in spite of the greatest technologies and measures, by the oldest threat actor  a $5 USB stick and a misguided employee."

Stuxnet was discovered by Sergey Ulasen (correction) in 2010; he joined Kaspersky Lab a year later. The virus was infiltrated into the Iran nuclear labs through an USB drive as the lab was not connected to any external network.
The zero-day vulnerability in macOS's Keychain has been addressed by Apple, along with some other issues in High Sierra. But other recent versions of the operating system are still vulnerable.

Keychain is a convenient feature of macOS that provides encrypted storage for passwords, cryptographic keys, certificates and other sensitive information.

The Keychain feature makes provision for multiple keychains (sets of passwords, etc), but in practice most users store their data in the login keychain, which by default has the same password as that used to log into the system.

Normally, when applications add passwords to a keychain, they limit access to themselves and related software. For example, the password used by Safari to decrypt autofill data is only accessible by Safari, while a password used to connect to a SMB server is available to NetAuth, NetAuthAgent and NetAuthSysAgent.

Just before High Sierra was released, security researcher Patrick Wardle disclosed the existence of a vulnerability that allowed an application to extract in plaintext form all the passwords stored in a keychain

Despite Wardle's detailed private notification, Apple went ahead and released High Sierra with this vulnerability. At least it wasn't remotely exploitable, but over the years some Mac users have been taken in by various Trojans, so there was a practical route for exploiting the vulnerability.

Apple released macOS High Sierra 10.13 Supplemental Update overnight to patch the vulnerability, crediting Wardle as the discoverer.

The issue is described thus: "A method existed for applications to bypass the keychain access prompt with a synthetic click. This was addressed by requiring the user password when prompting for keychain access."

The update also addresses another password-related issue in High Sierra: "If a hint was set in Disk Utility when creating an APFS encrypted volume, the password was stored as the hint. This was addressed by clearing hint storage if the hint was the password, and by improving the logic for storing hints."

If we're reading that correctly, it means that someone asking for the password hint was actually shown the password instead. So if you did set a hint, then if anyone has had physical access to your computer after High Sierra was installed it might be wise to investigate changing the disk encryption password.

Non-security changes in the update "Improves installer robustness", "Fixes a cursor graphic bug when using Adobe InDesign", and "Resolves an issue where email messages couldnt be deleted from Yahoo accounts in Mail".

The update is available via the Mac App Store or from Apple's website.

But according to Wardle, macOS Sierra 10.12 is also vulnerable, and "El Capitan appears vulnerable as well".

There is no indication from Apple that a fix will be forthcoming for those versions. The company's position  which can only be inferred from what it does and does not release  seems to be that if a newer version of an operating system has the same hardware requirements as its predecessor, it feels no compulsion to offer a patch for the latter.

However, some users are unable to upgrade from Sierra to High Sierra until compatible versions of the applications they use are released, eg Adobe Illustrator.

And sometimes it appears that seemingly important security patches get thrown into the "too hard" basket  for example, the Broadpwn issue was only addressed in Sierra (and later), but it has been shown to affect Yosemite and El Capitan, and not all Macs running Yosemite can be upgraded to Sierra.
An ex-NSA spook, who now runs his own information security company, has taken aim at his fellow professionals over their reactions to a published claim that Kaspersky Lab software was used to exfiltrate material from the home computer of an NSA employee.

Jake Williams, who heads cyber security consultancy Rendition Infosec, said in a series of tweets that he was appalled at how many infosec analysts were willing to throw Kaspersky under a bus, given the lack of "substance of evidence".

The Wall Street Journal, citing "people with knowledge of the matter", reported that the exfiltration of data had taken place in 2015 but came to light in the Western spring of 2016.

Williams (below, right) has in the past called on the FBI to either provide proof to the public that Kaspersky Lab products are unsafe for use or keep mum. This was after reports emerged of the agency claiming to companies that Kaspersky was spying on behalf of Russia.

Reacting to the WSJ report, Williams wrote: "Before piling on Kaspersky re-read the WSJ article and replace 'NSA sources said' with 'GRU sources said'. Replace Kaspersky with Symantec.

"Then replace 'Russian hackers' with 'US hackers'. Consider if this report was in the Russian media. Would you demand evidence?"

Williams, a certified SANS instructor, added: "If you answer 'no' then you're not being honest or your analytical skills suck. If you answer yes, don't you dare jump on Kaspersky."

US moves against Kaspersky Lab have come in the wake of allegations that Russia interfered in the 2016 US presidential elections.

Last month, the US Department of Homeland Security issued an order to all government agencies, giving them 90 days to stop using products from Kaspersky Lab.

Williams, who has also pulled up Kaspersky Lab in the past when he felt the company was misleading people over this debate, said: "Kaspersky might be everything DHS claims. They might not be. You don't know, and that's the point. The US has used propaganda before.

Piling on Kaspersky right now is like taking a high school math exam: you may get the right answer, but no credit unless you show your work.  Jake Williams (@MalwareJake) 5 October 2017

"We are definitely in a cyber conflict with Russia. Could this be propaganda? I don't know. But it's consistent with what I'd expect. When we refuse to demand evidence, substance, we relinquish the moral high ground for future cases like this ones where we might be harmed."

He added: "If we get real data later that implicates Kaspersky, I'll grab a pitchfork and light a torch myself. Until then, I'm standing down. FTR, I've dealt with personally damaging, unfounded claims before. They've completely changed the way I process this sort of thing."
Reddit Email 99 Shares

Mustafa Habib | (Baghdad) | (Niqash.org) |  

Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein tried to exterminate the Kurds in Iraq. Now Iraqis angry about the Kurdish desire to secede are bringing back bad memories online.

Saddam Hussein is making a comeback in Iraq  well, at least on Iraqi social media he is. Despite the fact that the former Iraqi leader, who was executed for crimes against humanity in 2006, is generally reviled by locals in the country, Husseins deeds and words are being used in the online battle of opinions over the Iraqi Kurdish referendum on independence.

On September 25, residents in the semi-autonomous, northern region of Iraqi Kurdistan voted on whether they should secede from the rest of Iraq. The outcome was hardly surprising: Statehood is a long-held dream for Iraqs Kurds and other Kurds elsewhere, and around 92 percent of voters said they wanted Iraqi Kurdistan to drop out of the country. The reaction was also hardly surprising: Baghdad had said the referendum should not take place and after it did, they began to impose various restrictions on the northern region.

Politicians use those emotions because there is a belief that to distract the public from issues like government services, corruption or lack of security, one should create a permanent enemy.

No matter the Kurdish politics behind the referendum  which are messy, self-serving and possibly not even democratic  the referendum itself was a massively emotional issue for locals. In Iraqi Kurdistan, voters celebrated and remonstrated with those who did not vote. In Iraq, the opposite happened: Many locals were upset and angry at their Kurdish neighbours. And that was when Saddam Hussein began to pop up again on social media.

Breaking news, one sarcastic wit wrote on Facebook. Saddam Hussein will address the Iraqi people this evening, about the Kurdish referendum on independence. Watch out for it!

Iraqis posted videos and news clips as well as pictures from Saddam Husseins regime, using the same rhetoric that deposed leader once used against the Kurds.

One Facebook page, for instance, posted a video of Saddam Hussein talking about how he rejected the idea of Kurdish independence; the video dates back to the 1970s. Other Facebook pages showed videos of speeches from the 1990s during which Hussein attacked Kurdish politicians as well as news reels of his visits to the Kurdish area in the 1980s.

Iraqi Kurdish social media also harked back to Husseins time but they went at it from the other end of the spectrum, posting pictures of Kurdish locals fleeing into the hills, under attack from Husseins military. Many Kurdish users of social media kept arguing that todays government in Baghdad is not so different from Husseins when it comes to the Kurds.

There were also popular songs posted from before 2003, including one Kurdish tune that actually praises Saddam Hussein. Opponents of the independence referendum promoted this particular ditty.

While he was in power, Hussein treated the countrys Kurds abominably. The Anfal military campaign he oversaw in the 1980s aimed to get rid of the Kurds in Iraq; it is recognized as genocidal campaign by several countries. The use of chemical weapons in Halabja in northern Iraq, in 1988, resulted in thousands of civilian deaths.

The Arabs and Kurds of Iraq who lived through these terrible events remember them. However, it seems that many younger Iraqis, either born after the Anfal campaign or after Saddam Hussein was removed from power in 2003, are ignoring that.

Its somewhat ironic, says Irada al-Jibouri, a media professor at Baghdad University, because most of the users of the social networking sites [such as Facebook] who are either praising or cursing Saddam Hussein did not live under his regime. These young people are driven by certain ideologies or by religious beliefs that have more to do with emotion than logic.

The mere mention of Saddam Hussein is usually enough to start a round of insults, arguments and recriminations on Facebook. This was no different, with Kurds and Arabs trading barbs online. And politicians use those emotions, al-Jibouri continued, because there is a belief that to distract the public from issues like government services, corruption or lack of security, one should create a permanent enemy.

Al-Jibouri also believes there are digital armies who are trained to create disturbing content on sites like Facebook, to try and manipulate public opinion.

Social media is playing a role in fuelling hatred between Iraqis and often it is due to ignorance, Samir al-Shaykhli, a local sociologist, told NIQASH. Iraqis online are not searching for the truth, they are searching for anything that will support their own views and biases.

Al-Shaykhli says he is worried that the countrys most divisive issue has changed. Once locals worried about sectarian problems  that is, fights between Sunni Muslims and Shiite Muslims  but in some ways, a forced unity in the fight against the extremist group known as the Islamic State had eased that somewhat. The new problems are ethnic, between Iraqs Arabs and Iraqs Kurds.

That reflects the political reality, al-Shaykhli argues. Sunni and Shiite politicians are united against the idea of Kurdish independence. In the past the Shiite politicians were allied with the Kurdish, to work against the Sunni.

Via Niqash.org
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - Oct. 6, 2017) - Remo Resources Inc. (TSX VENTURE:RER) (the "Company" or "Remo"), a Tier 2 mining issuer listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"), is pleased to announce that it has signed an Amalgamation Agreement dated October 5, 2017 (the "Agreement") with Chakana Copper Corp. ("Chakana"), a private British Columbia corporation, whereby Remo will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Chakana (the "Proposed Transaction") in exchange for common shares of Remo. Chakana indirectly, through its wholly-owned Peruvian subsidiary Chakana Resources S.A.C., owns the rights, pursuant to an option agreement, to acquire the Soledad copper gold project (the "Soledad Project") located in Peru. The Soledad Project consists of three mineral exploration concessions, comprising 1139 hectares.

About Chakana

Chakana was incorporated under the provisions of the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) on December 1, 2016 and currently has 41,306,167 common shares issued and outstanding and share purchase warrants outstanding to purchase up to an additional 12,122,434 common shares. Chakana's primary business is copper and gold mineral exploration on the Soledad Project. Chakana is at arm's length to Remo.

Chakana owns 99.99% of the issued and outstanding shares of Chakana Resources S.A.C. a Peruvian company, that in turn owns the rights to acquire 100% of the Soledad Project pursuant to an assignment and option agreement (the "Option Agreement") dated April 17, 2017 and entered into between Chakana Resources S.A.C. and Minera Vertiente Del Sol S.A.C. a wholly owned subsidiary of Condor Resources Inc. Pursuant to the Option Agreement, Chakana Resources S.A.C can acquire 100% of the Soledad Project in consideration for:

completing 12,500 m of drilling on the Soledad Project;

making cash payments totaling US$5.375mm;

issuing 500,000 common shares to Condor Resources Inc.; and

granting Condor Resources Inc. a 2% Net Smelter Return on any mineral production from the Soledad Project, subject to Chakana's right to buy back 50% of this Net Smelter Return at any time for US$2,000,000.

Soledad Project

The Soledad Project is located in the Cordillera Negra, or western ranges of the Andes Mountains 260 kilometres north-northwest of the City of Lima, Peru. Contemporary exploration at the Soledad Project has focused upon a cluster of near-vertical magmatic-hydrothermal quartz-tourmaline breccia pipes hosted in andesite of the Calipuy group that contains attractive primary copper-gold mineralization, associated with silver, zinc, lead and molybdenum. It has been postulated that the breccias are genetically related to a concealed copper porphyry deposit at depth; vein deposits elsewhere in the Ticapampa-Aija Mining District may be the peripheral expression of an intrusive-driven hydrothermal system. Individual breccia bodies are up to 75 by 180 m and have been tested to vertical depths of up to 490 m. Mineralization may be present in both the hydrothermal breccias and the encompassing fractured and altered host andesite.

A tertiary target on the Soledad Project, Cima Blanca, is a separate area of quartz-alunite alteration associated with vuggy silica and some gold mineralization. This is a high sulphidation epithermal style of mineralization and its relationship to the quartz - tourmaline breccias is not certain.

The Soledad Project is immediately northwest and uphill from a cluster of silver-rich polymetallic vein deposits that are referred to as the Aija District. These deposits have seen intermittent production since colonial times.

Recent historical exploration at the Soledad Project has been undertaken by Condor Resources Inc., Mariana Resources Ltd. and Compania Minera Casapalca S.A. Exploration work by these companies included surface rock sampling, prospecting, grid-based magnetometer and IP geophysical surveys, and two phases of core drilling totaling 4,855 meters in 16 holes.

Chakana has initiated a 16,660m drill program designed to determine the geometry of several pipes previously drilled, determine the true grade profile by drilling across the pipes, define an initial inferred resource on 2 of the pipes, and test a broad scope of targets across the property. Results from the first two holes completed by Chakana include:

DDH # Azimuth Dip From - To

(m) Core

length

(m) Au

g/t Ag

g/t Cu

% Cu-eq

%* Au-

eq

g/t* SDH17-017 360 -85 0.0 146.6 146.6 2.51 48.6 0.77 2.83 4.32 Including - - 0.0 44.0 44.0 3.92 29.6 Including - - 44.0 146.6 102.6 1.91 56.8 1.1 SDH17-018 297 81.5 0.0 209.0 209.0 2.22 69.6 0.96 3.01 4.60 Including - - 0.0 40.0 40.0 4.21 18.6 Including - - 40.0 114.0 74.0 3.31 65.5 1.11 Including - - 145.0 209.0 64.0 0.72 139.1 1.84

* Cu_eq and Au_eq values were calculated using copper, gold, and silver. Metal prices utilized for the calculations are Cu - US$2.90/lb, Au - US$1,300/oz, and Ag - US$17/oz. No adjustments were made for recovery as the project is an early stage exploration project and metallurgical data to allow for estimation of recoveries are not yet available. The formulas utilized to calculate equivalent values are Cu_eq (%) = Cu% + (Au g/t * 0.6556) + (Ag g/t * 0.00857) and Au_eq (g/t) = Au g/t + (Cu% * 1.5296) + (Ag g/t * 0.01307). The true widths of the mineralized intervals reported in this release are difficult to ascertain and additional drilling will be required to constrain the geometry of the mineralized zones

Chakana submitted the core samples to the ALS facility in Callao, Lima Peru in multiple batches. Samples are processed under the control of ALS with the samples including certified reference materials, a coarse and finely-crushed blank and duplicates samples. All samples are analyzed using the ME-MS41 procedure in order to obtain a comprehensive multi-element overview of the geochemistry. Gold is analyzed by ME-MS41 (not considered reliable), AA24 (higher precision) and GRA22 when values exceed 10 g/t. Over limit Silver, copper, lead and zinc is analyzed using the OG-46 procedures.

Additional information concerning the Soledad Project will be contained in a technical report to be filed by Remo in connection with the Proposed Transaction which will be made available on Remo's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Remo has not received as of this date, any geological technical report prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101.

Technical information in this news release has been approved by David Kelley, Qualified Professional - Geology designation from the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America, a Director of Chakana and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Financial information related to the significant assets of Chakana will be disclosed when available.

Summary of the Proposed Transaction

The Proposed Transaction will be effected by way of a three-cornered amalgamation without court approval under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia), pursuant to which Remo will acquire, through the amalgamation of a newly incorporated British Columbia subsidiary of Remo with Chakana, all of the issued and outstanding shares of Chakana (the "Chakana Shares"), in exchange for post-consolidated common shares of Remo (each, a "Remo Share") and Chakana will become a subsidiary of Remo.

Prior to the closing of the Proposed Transaction, Remo will consolidate its share capital on a 6.834615 old shares for one new share basis and change its name to Chakana Copper Corp., or such other name as agreed by the parties. Pursuant to the Proposed Transaction, the shareholders of Chakana will receive one post-consolidated Remo Share for each Chakana Share held at a deemed issue price of $0.50 per Remo Share and all of the currently issued and outstanding Remo share purchase warrants will be cancelled. Chakana holds approximately C$2.5mm in cash as at the date of this news release. Prior to closing of the proposed acquisition, Chakana intends to complete a non-brokered private placement through the issuance of no less than 12,000,000 shares at a price of $0.50 per share for gross proceeds of no less than $6,000,000 (the "Financing").

Upon completion of the Proposed Transaction, all of the outstanding share purchase warrants of Chakana will cease to represent a right to acquire Chakana Shares and will instead provide the right to acquire Remo Shares, all in accordance with the adjustment provisions provided in the certificates representing the warrants.

The Proposed Transaction is subject to, among other things, receipt of the approval of the shareholders of Chakana, approval of the Exchange and standard closing conditions, including the conditions described below.

The Proposed Transaction will constitute a Reverse Takeover of Remo pursuant to Policy 5.2 - Changes of Business and Reverse Takeovers of the Exchange.

Upon completion of the Proposed Transaction, Remo will continue on with the business of Chakana and remain a Tier 2 mining issuer, with Chakana as its operating subsidiary (the Company after the Proposed Transaction being referred to herein as the "Resulting Issuer").

Certain of the Remo Shares to be issued pursuant to the Proposed Transaction are expected to be subject to restrictions on resale or escrow under the policies of the Exchange, including the securities to be issued to "Principals" (as defined under Exchange policies), which will subject to the escrow requirements of the Exchange.

In connection with the Proposed Transaction, Remo will issue an aggregate of 200,000 post-consolidated Remo Shares to certain arm's length third parties as finder's fees in accordance with Exchange policies.

None of the securities to be issued pursuant to the Proposed Transaction have been or will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or any state securities laws, and any securities issued pursuant to the Proposed Transaction are anticipated to be issued in reliance upon available exemptions from such registration requirements. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.

Conditions to the Proposed Transaction

The completion of the Proposed Transaction remains subject to a number of terms and conditions, including, among other things:

Chakana completing the Financing for minimum gross proceeds of not less than $4,000,000;

Chakana having received shareholder approval of the Proposed Transaction by a special majority of the Chakana shareholders;

the Proposed Transaction being effective on or prior to January 31, 2017;

Remo and Chakana obtaining all necessary consents, orders and regulatory approvals, including the conditional approval of the Exchange subject only to customary conditions of closing;

dissent rights not having been exercised by greater than 5% of the Chakana shareholders;

no material change occurring to the business of Remo or Chakana;

the satisfaction of obligations under the Amalgamation Agreement relating to each of the parties; and

the delivery by each of the parties of standard closing documents, including legal opinions.

The parties will be seeking a waiver from the Exchange of any requirement for a sponsor, but in the event a waiver is not available, will seek a sponsorship relationship for this Proposed Transaction with an Exchange member firm.

The shares of the Company were halted effective October 5, 2017 and will remain halted until the completion of the Proposed Transaction.

The Resulting Issuer - Summary of Proposed Directors and Officers

It is currently anticipated that all of the current officers and directors of Remo will resign from their respective positions with Remo. The management of the Resulting Issuer is expected to consist of David Kelley (President and CEO), Douglas J. Kirwin (Chairman) and Kevin Ma (CFO) and the board of directors of the Resulting Issuer is expected to consist of Douglas J. Kirwin, David Kelley, John Black, Tom Wharton, Mario Vetro and Darren Devine. The following are brief descriptions of the proposed directors, officers, and advisors of the Resulting Issuer:

Douglas J. Kirwin - Chairman and Director

Mr. Kirwin is an independent geologist with 45 years of international exploration experience. He held senior positions with Anglo American and Amax during the 1970's and was Managing Director of a successful international geological consulting firm during the 1980's and early 1990's. In 1995 he accepted a role as vice president, exploration for Indochina Goldfields and subsequently became the executive vice president for Ivanhoe Mines Limited until 2012 after which Ivanhoe was acquired by Rio Tinto. Mr. Kirwin was also a director of South Gobi Energy, Jinshan Gold and a founding non-executive director of Ivanhoe Australia Ltd. And an adjunct professor at James Cook University, Australia.

As a member of the joint discovery team for the Hugo Dummett deposit at Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia, he was a co-recipient of the PDAC inaugural Thayer Lindsley medal awarded for the most significant international mineral discovery in 2004. Other mineral discoveries made by Mr. Kirwin's exploration team include the Jelai-Mewet and Seryung epithermal deposits in north east Kalimantan, the Eunsan-Moisan gold mines in South Korea, the Moditaung gold deposits in Myanmar and the Merlin Re-Mo deposit in Australia.

David Kelley - President, CEO and Director

Mr. Kelley is an economic geologist and exploration geochemist with more than 25 years of international exploration experience throughout the Americas, Central Asia and Australasia. Most recently David was responsible for developing the exploration program at Las Bambas for MMG as the General Manager Exploration - Americas. Prior to this he worked for Oz Minerals, Zinifex, Newmont, WMC, BHP Westmont Mining and Gold Standard. He was directly involved in the discovery of the Zuun Mod Mo-Cu deposit in Mongolia, the Wayamaga Au deposit in French Guiana, and the High Lake East VHMS deposit in Nunavut. He obtained a B.Sc. degree in geology from Colorado State University in 1985 and an M.Sc. degree in geology/geochemistry from the Colorado School of Mines in 1989. He is a past President of both the Society of Economic Geologists Foundation and the Association of Applied Geochemists.

Kevin Ma - CFO

Mr. Ma, is a principal and the founder of Skanderbeg Financial Advisory Inc., which serves public and private companies in a financial executive capacity as they go public and/or during their high growth phases. Selected Skanderbeg's clients include First Cobalt Corp. and Kenadyr Mining (Holdings) Corp. Mr. Ma was the Director of Finance for Alexco Resource Corp. at the time it developed and subsequently operated a silver mine in the Yukon, Canada. From 2005 to 2008 Mr. Ma was the Audit Manager for Deloitte & Touche, LLP. Selected clients included First Majestic Silver, Uranium One and Extreme CCTV. Mr. Ma is a Chartered Accountant certified by the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia, and holds a Diploma in Accounting and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of British Columbia.

John Black - Director

John Black is an economic geologist with more than 30 years of exploration experience in the Americas, Central Asia, the SW Pacific, and Eastern Europe/Western Asia. He first worked in South America in 1993 and has been actively involved in mineral exploration throughout the continent for several companies since that time. His professional credentials include a B.Sc. degree in Geology from Stanford University in 1983 and an M.S. degree in Geology - Ore Deposits Exploration from the same University in 1988. Mr. Black was the founding President of Antares Minerals Inc. and was instrumental in acquiring the Haquira project in Peru for Antares. He was the key driver in negotiating the sale of Antares to First Quantum Minerals for C$650 million. John's early career included work with Bear Creek Mining Company, Kennecott Minerals Corporation, Rio Tinto and Western Mining Corporation and he currently serves as a Director or Technical Advisor for several private and public exploration companies. John is the CEO of Regulus Resources.

Tom Wharton - Director

Mr. Wharton has over 30 years of experience in the development, marketing, management, financing, and the sale of early stage companies. Since January 2011 Mr. Wharton has been the Investment Manager for Saint Thomas Capital Partners, evaluating and managing investments in the areas of junior mining, oil & gas, and business to business technology services. Mr. Wharton has had integral experience working with all aspects of public and private companies in both junior exploration and mining and is a Director of Ely Gold, Dolly Varden Silver and Angel Gold.

Mr. Wharton received a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Creighton University in 1983 and began his career at Bozell & Jacob's Advertising. In 1988 he was promoted to Bozell's Business to Business New York Advertising division Poppe Tyson where he advanced to CFO and CIO in 1992. While CIO at Poppe Tyson, Mr. Wharton co-founded, managed, and was a Director for Poppe's ad sales network, Doubleclick Inc. where he assisted in its early management and initial financing. DoubleClick is now owned by Google.

From 1998 to 2011 Mr. Wharton was an independent consultant offering "startup" consulting services or equity capital financing to various developing internet companies including Vente Inc and Cheetamail Inc., which were purchased by Experian, and Trancentrix Inc., which was purchased by Ruesch International.

Mario Vetro - Director

Mr. Vetro is a partner at Skanderbeg Capital Advisors, a private merchant bank and capital markets advisory firm. Skanderbeg specializes in raising capital and creating capital markets strategies for public and private companies. Skanderbeg is a co-founder of K92 Mining, a gold producer in Papua New Guinea and First Cobalt, a leading Canadian cobalt developer. Mr. Vetro holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of British Columbia.

Darren Devine - Director

Mr. Devine is the principal of CDM Capital Partners that provides corporate finance advisory services to private and public companies. In this role, Mr. Devine acts as founder, board member and management advisor with respect to public and private financings, corporate governance, and the structuring of mergers, acquisitions and dispositions. Mr. Devine acts as a director and/or officer to a number of junior public companies in the natural resource and technology sectors.

Mr. Devine is qualified as a barrister and solicitor in British Columbia and in England & Wales and prior to founding CDM Capital Partners, practiced exclusively in the areas of corporate finance and securities law in Vancouver and London, England. Mr. Devine is currently an active member of the TSX Venture Exchange's Local Advisory Committee.

Additional information concerning the Proposed Transaction, Remo, Chakana and the Resulting Issuer will be provided in the Company's Filing Statement to be filed in connection with the Proposed Transaction and which will be available under the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

About Remo

The Company is a Tier 2 mining issuer, currently listed on the Exchange and currently in the business of acquiring and exploring of mineral properties. The Company's current mineral property is the Adrian gold property located in the Iskut River District of northwestern British Columbia, Canada.

The Company currently has issued and outstanding 8,925,000 common shares, 3,605,000 share purchase warrants with an exercise price of $0.20 per share, and no incentive stock options.
TORONTO, Oct. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HARTE GOLD CORP. (Harte Gold or the Company) (TSX:HRT) (OTC:HRTFF) (Frankfurt:H4O) is pleased to announce it has successfully completed Phase I underground development at the Sugar Zone Mine. Harte Gold has now mined a total of 100,000 tonnes of ore from the Sugar Zone Mine.

Mining operations occurred in two stages with Technica Group Inc. (Technica) retained to complete a 70,000 tonne Advanced Exploration Bulk Sample (see press release dated July 16, 2015) successfully completed in March, 2017 and, 30,000 tonne Phase I Production (see press release dated May 8, 2017) which is now mined and stockpiled on surface.

Exemplary leadership and commitment by Technica as a true partner to Harte Gold led to a successful completion without any significant incidents, commented Steve Ball, General Manager of the Sugar Zone mine. It is a testament to the right level of engagement and cooperation between both companies over the past two years.

Harte Gold and Technica are now focused on the installation of critical underground mine services including underground power supply and ventilation. Site work to include mill construction is also underway. Underground development work and mining operations are expected to resume in Q2 2018.

Harte Gold is also completing an updated resource model and technical report which will include an expanded Sugar Zone Deposit and the newly discovered Middle Zone Deposit. The updated resource model will include Measured and Indicated resources for that portion of the Sugar Zone Deposit between surface and 500 meters and, Inferred resources for that portion of the Sugar Zone from 500 meters to 1,000 meters as well as the entire Middle Zone Deposit.

Stephen G. Roman, President and CEO of Harte Gold commented The work completed by Technica to date has placed the Company in an excellent position as the mining method, operating expenses, dilution and recoveries have been established and the installation of critical mine services will provide the foundation for full commercial production. In addition, I would like to acknowledge one of our key contractors; Kabi Lake Forest Products Inc. (Kabi). Kabi has worked on the project since 2009 and built our 20 kilometer access road, much of the site infrastructure and general surface contracting. What we have achieved to date is an exceptional success story for Harte Gold and all of its partners.

About Harte Gold Corp.

Harte Gold Corp. is focused on the exploration and development of its 100% owned Sugar Zone property where it has recently completed a 70,000 tonne Advanced Exploration Bulk Sample at the Sugar Zone Deposit and received a Phase I Production Permit. The Sugar Zone property is located 80 kilometres east of the Hemlo Gold Camp. The Preliminary Economic Assessment dated July 12, 2012, contains an Indicated Resource of 980,900 tonnes, grading 10.13 g/t for 319,280 ounces of contained gold (uncapped) and an Inferred Resource of 580,500 tonnes, grading 8.36 g/t Au for 155,960 ounces of contained gold (uncapped). The mineral resource was prepared in compliance with NI 43-101 guidelines. Harte Gold also holds the Stoughton-Abitibi property located on the Destor-Porcupine Fault Zone adjacent and on strike of the Holloway Gold Mine.
President Myers presents to NATO working group, discusses biological threats to agriculture

Friday, Oct. 6, 2017

Kansas State University President Richard Myers presents to the NATO Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear, or CBRN, Medical Working Group on Oct. 3 in Kansas City, Missouri. He discussed biological threats to agriculture and stressed the importance of improving agrosecurity and agrodefense. | Download this photo.





MANHATTAN  Kansas State University President Richard Myers brought a touch of purple to an international NATO meeting this week.



Myers welcomed the NATO Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear, or CBRN, Medical Working Group on Oct. 3 to its weeklong meeting in Kansas City, Missouri. It was the 41st biannual meeting of the group and its first meeting in the U.S.



More than 50 attendees from 16 nations were at the meeting, which focused on medical requirements to confront CBRN hazards. Myers' presentation concentrated on biological threats to agriculture and stressed the importance of improving agrosecurity and agrodefense.



"Agricultural threats tend to be overlooked even though food and feeding the world is critically important," Myers said. "Kansas State University has a long history in bio/agrodefense."



Myers discussed the university's excellence in the research area, including its leadership as the Silicon Valley for biodefense. The university has been involved in the national biodefense discussion since it published the "Homeland Defense Food Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness Program"  also known as "The Big Purple Book"  in 1999. It has continued as a bio/agrodefense leader through the Biosecurity Research Institute, which is a biosafety level-3 facility that is jump-starting research planned for the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility.



Myers gave important insight into the reality of bio/agroterrorism, and provided anecdotes from his role as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. Myers described how U.S. troops went into an Afghanistan cave in 2002 and found an al-Qaida list of planned bioweapons pathogens, including human, livestock, poultry and plant pathogens.



He noted how recent disease outbreaks  such as the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, known as PEDv, outbreak in the U.S. and the wheat blast outbreak in Bangladesh  illustrate the need to improve biosecurity and agrosecurity through research.



"Consensus is building in the popular press and scientific journals that biothreats are real, including both natural disease and biological weapons threats," Myers said. "The world must be prepared, but we aren't."



Kansas State University is helping the world prepare as the site for the $1.25 billion National Bio and Agro-defense Facility, which will include more than 580,000 square feet of laboratory space to study emerging zoonotic and animal diseases. It will be fully operational in 2022-2023 and will replace the Plum Island Animal Disease Center.



"It is vital to protect against all threats, including chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear," Myers said. "This work is critically important to protecting the free world."
The Herald reports:

One in five staff at Auckland Council is earning more than $100,000 as the wages bill for the Super City blows out for the third year in a row. Whats more, the number of executives earning more than $200,000 has increased by 25 per cent in the past year, from 155 to 194, according to figures in the councils 2016-2017 annual report. The council and its six council-controlled organisations(CCOs) employ 11,893 staff, of whom 2322 earn more than $100,000. Brisbane City Council  often compared to Auckland Council  employs about 8000 staff, of whom 149 earn more than A$100,000.

So 1.9% of Brisbane City Council staff earn over $100,000 while 19.5% of Auckland Council staff earn over $100,000. Thats ten times as many. This is beyond outrageous.

In fact more staff at Auckland Council earn over $200,000 than Brisbane City Council staff earn over $100,000.

In the past three years, the wages bill at Auckland Council has blown out by tens of millions of dollars each year. Council set a budget of $811m in the past year and spent $853m on wages. The $42m increase gobbles up $1.8m in savings from a big restructure of libraries, $13.5m in new revenue from Mayor Phil Goffs bed tax, and more. The increase would comfortably pay for the new $35m bus and train interchange at Manukau. Goff, who has promised to cut fat at council, said he was surprised at the big increase in $200,000-plus pay packets and had asked council chief executive Stephen Town for an explanation. He also wanted a rundown on how salaries are set and benchmarked against other public-sector bodies.

Im sorry but who has been Mayor for the last year? Who claimed he was going to trim the fat but has seen as explosion in large salaries. And now all he can do is ask for an explanation!

The Mayor proposes the budget. He merely has to cap or reduce the budget for staffing and the CE has to comply with the budget cap.

Councillor Mike Lee said the failure to stay within the wages budget was a scandal. Council senior staff have always been diligent in budgeting very generous pay increases for themselves but it seems even this is not enough. Auckland ratepayers simply cannot afford this level of fleecing and are reaching the limits of their tolerance, Lee said.

Well on this Mike Lee is quite right.

Share this: Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Reddit

WhatsApp

More

Pinterest

Print



Tumblr


A big discovery

(Image credit: Peter Barry)

Underground pockets of helium gas discovered in the Rift Valley region of Tanzania are now thought to be around twice as large as initially reported, according to new research by scientists from the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom.



When the discovery was announced last year, independent resource assessors estimated that the underground gas deposits in Tanzania contained around 54 billion cubic feet (1.5 billion cubic meters) of helium, mixed with mainly nitrogen gas. But, a reanalysis of the helium concentrations in the gas deposits indicate they may hold more than 98.6 billion cubic feet (2.8 billion cubic meters) of helium gas.

More than originally thought

(Image credit: Peter Barry)

The helium deposits in Tanzania were confirmed after scientists in the University of Oxford's Department of Earth Sciences developed a new theory for helium production inside the Earth's crust.



Helium forms very slowly on Earth inside ancient rocks, caused by the radioactive decay of heavier elements like uranium. The scientist think that volcanic heat can liberate the helium from the rocks where it forms and trap the gas in underground pockets.



In volcanic areas like Tanzania's Rift Valley, the trapped helium can seep through weaknesses in the crust and bubble up through hot springs, like the one in this photo.

Solution to a problem

(Image credit: Peter Barry)

The known helium deposits are situated near Lake Rukwa in Tanzania's Rift Valley region, a few hours' drive from the city of Mbeya. The Tanzanian helium discovery comes as the world faces shortages of the gas, which has critical applications in industry, scientific research, and medicine.



A resource prospecting company called Helium One hopes to start supplying helium gas from the Tanzanian field by the end of 2020.

Taking cues from history

(Image credit: Peter Barry)

Geologist and Helium One CEO Thomas Abraham-James began searching for helium in Tanzania several years ago, after learning that a British survey of the region in the 1950s had reported high concentrations of the gas in ground seeps. Abraham-James then contacted geochemists from the University of Oxford, who visited Tanzania in 2015 and 2016 to take samples from outflows of underground gas in the Rift Valley area.

Bubbly clues

(Image credit: Peter Barry)

Many of the known outflows of mixed helium and nitrogen are beneath seeps of ground water, which make the bubbles of gases visible as they rise to the surface.

Perfecting practices

(Image credit: Peter Barry)

The first prospecting trip for Tanzanian helium in 2015 collected samples of gases for later laboratory analysis, a method that allowed a small amount of air to dilute the concentration of helium in the samples. .



For the most recent tests in late 2016, the researchers used a portable mass spectrometer to make measurements of the helium concentrations from the gas seeps in real time.

Moving in

(Image credit: Peter Barry)

The reported helium deposits are in open, sparsely populated areas in the western part of Tanzania.



Helium gas is inert and non-toxic, and only a small processing plant will be needed to start production of Tanzanian helium for the international market.

Strategic timing

(Image credit: Peter Barry)

Helium One expects to be producing helium from Tanzania by the end of 2020, a few months before the world's main supplier, the U.S. government, ceases to supply the gas from the Federal Helium Reserve in Texas.

Rising prices

(Image credit: Peter Barry)

The impending end of the U.S. supply of the gas has caused much higher prices for helium in recent years. In addition, the recent sanctions imposed on the nation of Qatar by several other Middle East nations have brought an end to helium supplied from that country from traces of the gas found in fossil deposits of natural gas.
The Trump administration is committed to sending astronauts to the moon as part of a broader push to prioritize human spaceflight and firm up U.S. dominance in the final frontier, Vice President Mike Pence said.

"We will return American astronauts to the moon, not only to leave behind footprints and flags, but [also] to build the foundation we need to send Americans to Mars and beyond," Pence said today (Oct. 5) at the first meeting of the newly reinstated National Space Council (NSC).

"The moon will be a stepping stone, a training ground, a venue to strengthen our commercial and international partnerships as we refocus America's space program toward human space exploration," Pence added. [From Ike to Trump: Presidential Visions for Space Exploration]

Under the previous administration, that stepping stone was much smaller: President Barack Obama had directed NASA to prep for Mars trips by visiting a near-Earth asteroid. In response, the space agency devised a plan to pluck a boulder off a space rock and haul that fragment into orbit around the moon.

Vice President Mike Pence delivers opening remarks during the National Space Council's first meeting on Oct. 5, 2017 at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. (Image credit: Joel Kowsky/NASA)

A new direction?

Yesterday (Oct. 4) was the 60th anniversary of the launch of Sputnik 1, which kicked off the Space Age and the Cold War space race. Pence referenced that seminal event during his remarks today, while lamenting a perceived lack of direction in U.S. space policy.

"Rather than lead in space, too often, we've chosen to drift," he said. "And, as we learned 60 years ago, when we drift, we fall behind."

As evidence of this drift, Pence cited the fact that NASA astronauts haven't gone beyond low-Earth orbit since the final Apollo moon mission, in 1972. In addition, he noted, the country has had to pay Russia to ferry U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station since the space shuttle retired in 2011. That service currently costs $76 million per seat. (Two U.S. companies, SpaceX and Boeing, are both developing capsules to take over this taxi service for NASA astronauts; these spacecraft could begin crewed flights next year.)

Pence pledged that the Trump administration, with the help of the NSC, will develop and implement a coherent, long-term U.S. space strategy.

That strategy will focus heavily on human spaceflight, economic development and national security, if Pence's words today and in an op-ed published yesterday in The Wall Street Journal are any guide.

"We will renew America's commitment to creating the space technology needed to protect national security. Our adversaries are aggressively developing jamming and hacking capabilities that could cripple critical military surveillance, navigation systems and communication networks. In the face of this threat, America must be as dominant in the heavens as it is on Earth," Pence wrote in the op-ed. (A subscription is required to read the full piece, but some snippets are available for free at whitehouse.gov.)

"We will promote regulatory, technological and educational reforms to expand opportunities for American citizens and ensure that the U.S. is at the forefront of economic development in outer space," he added. "In the years to come, American industry must be the first to maintain a constant commercial human presence in low-Earth orbit, to expand the sphere of the economy beyond this blue marble."

The first meeting

The primacy of these stated goals was reflected in the makeup of the panelists at today's meeting, which was held at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. (The space shuttle Discovery is on display at Udvar-Hazy, providing a dramatic backdrop.)

Two of the three panels consisted of executives of the spaceflight companies SpaceX, Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada Corp., Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Orbital ATK. The third panel focused on national security and featured retired Navy Adm. James Ellis, the former chief of U.S. Strategic Command; former NASA astronaut and former DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) Deputy Director Pamela Melroy; and former NASA Administrator Michael Griffin.

"We won the race to the moon half a century ago, and now we will win the 21st century in space," Pence said at today's meeting, a full replay of which you can see here.

The NSC was last active in the early 1990s, during the presidency of George H.W. Bush. President Trump resurrected the council via executive order on June 30.

Follow Mike Wall on Twitter @michaeldwall and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+. Originally published on Space.com.
Building a replicant

(Image credit: Copyright 2017 ALCON ENTERTAINMENT, LLC)

Blade Runner 2049 hits theaters on Friday, Oct. 6. The sci-fi thriller will serve as a distant sequel to the original "Blade Runner" film from 1982, in which a faction of advanced humanoid robots become murderous in their quest to increase their artificially-shortened life spans.

The robots, called replicants, are nearly indistinguishable from humans in every way except for their emotions. They're so similar that it takes special police officers called Blade Runners, played by Harrison Ford and Ryan Gosling, to administer a fictional Voight-Kampff test  not unlike a lie detector test for emotional responses  in order to tell them apart from real humans.

As real-world robotics becomes more and more advanced by the day, one might wonder how far off we really are from creating truly life-like, autonomous replicants. In order to do so, we'll need to sort out a few key aspects of robotics and artificial intelligence. Here's what we'd need to build a Blade Runner-like replicant.

Create a brain that can learn

(Image credit: Phonlamai Photo/Shutterstock)

The quest toward a true, generalized artificial intelligence that requires neither training nor supervision to learn about the world has thus far eluded scientists.

Most machine learning systems use either supervised or adversarial learning. In supervised learning, a human programmer provides the machine with thousands of examples to jumpstart its knowledge base. With adversarial learning, a computer trains itself against another computer or itself to optimize its own behavior. Adversarial learning is practical only for gaming  a chess-playing computer can play countless games against itself per minute but knows nothing else about the world.

The problem is that many researchers want to base artificial intelligence on the human brain, but basic knowledge of neuroscience progresses at a different rate than does our technological capabilities and ethical discussions over what it means to be intelligent, conscious and self-aware. Super-Intelligent Machines: 7 Robotic Futures]

Program emotion into artificial intelligence

(Image credit: Copyright 2017 ALCON ENTERTAINMENT, LLC/Courtesy of Atomic Fiction)

The one way to tell a replicant from a human is that the machines have misplaced and inappropriate emotional reactions. That's good, because scientists are really bad at programming emotion into intelligent machines. But replicants still have some semblance of emotion, which makes them more advanced than today's machines.

In order to teach emotional salience to robots, programmers need to use supervised learning just as they would to train image-detection software, according to Jizhong Xiao, the head of the robotics program at City College of New York. For example, a computer would need to face thousands of examples of a smile before it could detect and comprehend one on its own.

The machines would also need to comprehend emotional language. While some preliminary work has been done to teach context and proper language comprehension to computers by making an artificial intelligence agent read the entirety of Wikipedia, our AI isn't quite ready to take on the guise of a human as replicants do.

Make life-like skin that can heal

(Image credit: Copyright 2017 ALCON ENTERTAINMENT, LLC/Courtesy of Atomic Fiction)

Live skin is not as easy to replicate as it sounds. While hydrogels can make plastics feel more like living tissue and the silicone that coats some modern robots may feel similar to real flesh, it still doesn't pass for actual tissue, especially given that it would have to last for a replicant's entire 4-year life span.

A robot that was put on display at a recent convention had to undergo expensive repairs after too many passers-by manhandled it. That's because even though artificial skins seem increasingly life-like, they don't possess skin's ability to self-repair. Rather, each tear and stretch will only compound over time. Some attempts to generate self-repairing plastics found early success, but they were only able to self-repair once.

The "Terminator" film series had a clever solution to the skin problem: Rather than being fully synthetic machines, the the terminators were described as simply robots encased in living tissues.

Craft soft, strong artificial muscles

(Image credit: Copyright 2017 ALCON ENTERTAINMENT, LLC/Courtesy of Atomic Fiction)

There's no way around it  modern robots just look clunky. In order to build replicants with smooth, life-like motions, we're going to need to move beyond robots that can perform only simple, stiff movements.

To solve this, some teams are working on making soft, artificial "muscles" for robots and prosthetics that may help smooth things out a bit.

Zheng Chen, a mechanical engineer at the University of Houston recently received a grant to develop artificial muscles and tendons to make better prosthetics than those that are powered by conventional motors. And a team of engineers from Columbia University developed a soft, low-density synthetic muscle that can lift up to 1,000 times its own weight, according to research published online Sept. 19, 2017, in the journal Nature Communications (opens in new tab).

While these muscles are still in the proof-of-concept phase, they could someday help improve and proliferate so-called soft machines.

Construct hands that can grasp like a human

(Image credit: Copyright 2017 ALCON ENTERTAINMENT, LLC/Stephen Vaughan)

Most people have little problem picking up an egg and carefully cracking it open over a bowl. But for a robot, this is a logistical nightmare.

Robots will need a whole host of capabilities to successfully interact with the physical world: image detection, knowledge of context and how objects work, tactile feedback so they can balance objects without squeezing too hard, and the ability to make small, gentle and careful motions.

Some robots, like Flobi from Germany's Bielefeld University or GelSight from MIT have achieved rudimentary success when it comes to finding objects, picking them up, and putting them back down; they can't do so quickly or smoothly enough to pass as human-like as a replicant can. And never mind being able to do so automously  these robots operate only under carefully constructed laboratory settings where the things they need to grab are sitting right in front of them.
Large underground reserves of helium in East Africa are at least twice as large as first reported, according to scientists from the University of Oxford and the company that plans to start pumping up the precious gas within three years.

The discovery of pockets of helium in the Great Rift Valley region of Tanzania was announced late last year. The initial samples from gas seeps in the area indicated that the underground deposits contained an average of 2.6 percent helium, mixed mostly with nitrogen. [See More Photos of the Helium Cache Found in Africa]

Based on that figure, independent resource assessors estimated that the underground gas field contains 54 billion cubic feet (1.5 billion cubic meters) of helium, or about one-third of the world's known reserves of the gas, which have been dwindling for decades, according to annual assessments by the US Geological Survey.

But new measurements from the Tanzanian gas seeps now show helium concentrations of up to four times the earlier average value, said Thomas Abraham-James, a geologist and CEO of Helium One, a Portugal-based company that plans to start selling the gas internationally by 2020.

Abraham-James told Live Science that a second independent assessment of the underground helium resource in Tanzania now amounts to 98.6 billion cubic feet (2.8 billion cubic meters). "So it's pretty much doubled in size," he said.

He explained that the field-sampling methods used in 2015 had allowed a small amount of air to dilute the concentration of helium in the gas samples.

But new, real-time measurements of gas from the seeps, conducted by geochemists Chris Ballentine and Peter Barry from the University of Oxford late last year, showed that the concentrations of helium are much higher than the initial estimates suggested.

"We are probably still somewhat understating what is present, but nevertheless, that gives us room to update and improve as we progress," Abraham-James said.

Critical shortage

The discovery of the helium field in Tanzania comes as the world faces a shortage of the nonrenewable gas, which has critical applications in industry, scientific research and medicine  especially for the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners used in many hospitals.

For decades, the main source of helium worldwide has been underground reserves in Texas owned by the U.S. government. By the mid-1990s the National Helium Reserve near Amarillo was more than $1.4 billion in debt, and in 1996, the U.S. Congress ordered the gas reserves to be sold off to private companies. Commercial supplies of helium from the reserve will cease in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management. [Beyond Balloons: 8 Unusual Facts About Helium]

The Middle Eastern nation of Qatar has also been an important source of helium in recent years, supplying up to one-quarter of international demand from traces of helium separated from underground natural gas, Abraham-James said.

But supplies of helium from Qatar ceased earlier this year, after the closure of the country's border with Saudi Arabia and other sanctions imposed by several Middle Eastern nations over Qatar's alleged support for terrorist organizations, he said.

"The supply dynamics at the moment are very challenging, particularly with U.S. output stopping in 2021, and Qatar, it's fair to say, has its share of problems," he said. "The world needs a reliable source of helium, so that we don't see the fluctuations that we have in recent times."

Helium is created on Earth only by the radioactive decay of heavy elements like uranium. It takes millions of years for pockets of the gas, like those found in Texas and Tanzania, to accumulate underground, and the gas escapes easily into the atmosphere after use.

Abraham-James said exploratory drilling will begin in June or July of next year, and the company expects to start producing the gas as soon as a small processing plant can be built in the area. "Probably by the end of 2020, people will start to be using Tanzanian helium," he said.

African gas

Barry and Ballentine used a portable mass spectrometer to make the latest measurement of gas at the Helium One sites in Tanzania, rather than employing their earlier method of collecting samples for later analysis in a laboratory.

"We made probably 50 measurements out there in the field, and we saw up to four times as much helium in these samples," Barry told Live Science. "So this was really exciting for us, because we were able to show quite convincingly that there's a lot more helium than we originally assessed."

Barry and Ballentine were part of the scientific team that identified the location of likely helium pockets in Tanzania, using a new theory of helium production by underground heat sources  such as the volcanoes in Tanzania's Rift Valley region  which can set the gas free from where it slowly forms inside ancient rocks.

Barry said the helium deposits were within a "Goldilocks Zone" for helium production, about 124 miles (200 kilometers) from the volcanic zone around Tanzania's Mount Rungwe.

"We think that you need to be in pretty close proximity to a volcanic center to have these gases liberate," he said.

Barry added that the initial research on the Tanzanian helium field was presented at last years Goldschmidt Conference on geochemistry in Yokohama, Japan, and that the updated research was presented at the same conference in August in Paris.

Original article on Live Science.
SAN DIEGO  More than 480 people in San Diego have become infected with hepatitis A over the last 10 months, in the largest outbreak of the illness in California in decades. But why is it so hard to stop?

About 20 new cases of hepatitis A per week have been reported during this outbreak, Dr. Eric McDonald, director of San Diego County's Epidemiology and Immunization Services Branch, said at a news conference here yesterday (Oct. 5), part of an infectious diseases conference called IDWeek 2017. Most of the hepatitis A cases have been among people who are homeless or use illegal drugs, or who have close contact with those populations. Of the 481 people who have been infected, 337 (70 percent) have been hospitalized and 17 (4 percent) have died, officials said.

Dr. Monique Foster, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Division of Viral Hepatitis, said it's not uncommon for large hepatitis A outbreaks like this to last a long time  around one to two years  before they are completely halted.

Though the hepatitis A virus isn't typically deadly, it can infect the liver and cause inflammation and damage to that organ, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Symptoms can include dark-yellow urine, fever, joint pain, nausea and vomiting. People with the infection usually get better on their own without treatment, the NIH says. But in some cases, the infection can lead to liver failure, particularly in older adults or people who have other liver diseases. [27 Devastating Infectious Diseases]

Hepatitis A spreads when small amounts of stool from an ill person contaminate objects, food or drinks that another person then touches and ingests. This can happen when people with the illness don't properly wash their hands after going to the bathroom, according to the CDC. In San Diego, officials have installed 66 portable handwashing stations in the streets to address the hygiene issue, with 100 more stations on the way. The virus can also spread among drug users, also through poor hygiene when sharing equipment related to illicit drug use.

One reason specialists and doctors have a hard time stopping the spread of hepatitis A is its long "incubation period"  the time it takes a person to show symptoms after he or she is infected  which lasts on average 28 days. But it can be up to 50 days, Foster said.

"People infected today probably won't show symptoms for four weeks," Foster said. This makes it hard for people to recall what they were doing, or who they had contact with, at the time they were exposed to hepatitis, Foster said, and both of those factors help officials track and control outbreaks. It also means people who don't yet appear sick can infect others, causing more cases.

In addition, the long incubation period means that by the time officials notice a cluster of hepatitis A cases, the outbreak has likely been going on for at least a month, Foster said. And once officials do identify an outbreak, it can take six weeks to determine whether efforts to control the outbreak are working, McDonald said.

Another challenge in the San Diego outbreak is the specific population at risk for contracting hepatitis A in this outbreak: people who are homeless or who use illicit drugs. This is a population that has limited access to clean toilets and handwashing facilities, which are important to preventing the spread of hepatitis A.

Additionally, vaccination with the hepatitis A vaccine is one of the key ways to prevent the infection, the CDC says. But in the current outbreak, it took time to get these vaccinations to the groups at risk for the disease, McDonald said. To get vaccines to this "target" group, officials used unique strategies, including administering vaccines in emergency rooms, where it is easier to track down homeless people, and jails, where illicit drug users may be vaccinated before they end up back on the streets, officials said. Officials also established teams of people to go to homeless encampments and administer vaccinations.

"It takes time to set up systems in order to deliver vaccines," McDonald said. "I think those systems are [now] strongly in place here to address the ongoing outbreak."

As of Sept. 30, more than 54,000 adults in the area had been vaccinated against hepatitis A as part of the efforts to stem the current outbreak, McDonald said.

In general, the hepatitis A vaccine is recommended for children at age 1; travelers to countries that have high rates of hepatitis A; users of illegal drugs; people with chronic liver diseases, such as hepatitis C; men who have sexual contact with other men; and people who work with animals infected with hepatitis A, according to the CDC.

Prior to the San Diego outbreak, the hepatitis A vaccine was not specifically recommended for people who are homeless, but now, the state of California is recommending that this vaccine be given to the homeless population. CDC officials will also consider whether this should become a national recommendation, Foster said.

Original article on Live Science.
Health officials spray pesticides to kill fleas, which carry plague-causing bacteria, in a school in the city of Antananarivo, Madagascar on Oct. 2, 2017.

More than 30 people in Madagascar have died from an outbreak of the plague, and nearly 200 have fallen ill since August, according to news reports.

Experts say these numbers represent the deadliest outbreak of the disease on the African island-nation in years, according to The Washington Post. Last year, for example, 63 people died out of 275 cases.

The plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which lives in fleas and rats. In Madagascar, the plague is considered a seasonal worry: At the end of the harvesting season, rat populations drop because they don't have enough to eat. As a result, fleas start looking for new hosts to bite, and so begin targeting humans, according to NPR.

One possible reason why this year's outbreak is larger is because the disease has spread to cities, including the capital city of Antananarivo, NPR reported Oct. 4. In that city, government officials have begun to disinfect schools and have urged students to stay home, and a jazz festival canceled its opening concert, The Washington Post reported Oct. 3.

In addition, most of the cases of plague this season are a more dangerous form, called the pneumonic plague, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The most common form of plague is the bubonic plague; it occurs when the plague-causing bacteria gets into the body and travels to the lymph nodes. These lymph nodes become inflamed, and are referred to as "buboes," the WHO says. If the bubonic plague goes untreated, the bacteria can spread to the lungs, causing pneumonic plague. This form of the disease can be spread through the air, the WHO says.

But getting sick with the plague is no longer a death sentence, according to health officials.

"Plague is curable if detected in time," Dr. Charlotte Ndiaye, the WHO representative in Madagascar, said in a statement today (Oct. 6). The disease can be cured with common antibiotics, and the WHO has delivered nearly 1.2 million doses of the drugs to the country, according to the statement. Antibiotics can also help prevent infection in people who have been exposed to the disease, the WHO says.

Originally published on Live Science.
Local News, Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: October 06 2017

Chen Mei of Flushing, 27, is charged with Unauthorized Practice of a Profession, officials say.

SCPD arrested Chen Mei of Flushing, 27, for giving unlicensed massages during a raid at a massage parlor in Lake Ronkonkoma.

Lake Ronkonkoma, NY - October 6, 2017 - Suffolk County Police on Thursday, October 5, arrested a woman for giving unlicensed massages during a raid at a massage parlor in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York.

In response to numerous community complaints, Suffolk County Police Fourth Precinct Crime Section officers, Suffolk County Police Criminal Intelligence detectives, agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, town of Smithtown building inspectors and fire marshals conducted an investigation into illegal activities at the Little Flower Spa, located at 347 Smithtown Blvd., at approximately 4 p.m.

Chen Mei was arrested and charged with Unauthorized Practice of a Profession, a Class E Felony under the New York State Education law.

During the investigation conducted by the Town of Smithtown Fire Marshal and Building Inspector, five occupancy and town code violations were discovered, and summonses were issued for each.

Mei, 27, of Flushing, New York, is scheduled to be arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip, New York on October 6. The investigation is continuing.
This year is the 97th anniversary of the 1920 Kiev Offensive by the Polish Army and the decisive defeat of the Soviet troops at the Battle of Warsaw: an event of great historic importance that marked a turning point in the course of the European revolution. This front of the Russian Civil War was a grave and important test for the Bolshevik Party, sparking daily and intense debate throughout its ranks.

The Bolsheviks knew that if they were to achieve success in these battles, they would be able to give a significant boost to the forces of the Polish, German, Hungarian, and ultimately European and world revolutions.

In Poland today, the right-wing President Andrzej Duda (during this years anniversary celebrations) publicly subscribed to the idea behind the alternative name of the battle: the Miracle at Vistula. According to this myth, the Virgin Mary herself aided the Polish army in the holy fight against the godless Bolshevik hordes. Duda explained that he is not hesitating to state, which is what the strategists and officers of the Polish army also thought at the time, that the breakthrough did occur on the day of the Feast of Saint Mary the Virgin, Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Such a divine intervention was, unfortunately, nowhere to be seen 19 years later as German and Russian tanks rolled through Polish fields at the commencement of the Second World War. In any case, we should leave Duda and his colleagues to their appeals to the heavenly legions once more, while we draw lessons from this turning point that changed world history.

Jerzy Kossak interpreting the myth of holy intervention during the battle (1930). / Public Domain

The question of independence

The declaration of Polish independence in November 1918 was preceded by 123 years of partition of the country by the three great powers: Austria-Hungary, Prussia and Tsarist Russia. Without understanding the character of the national question arising from this partition and how the First and Second international dealt with it, it is impossible to understand the mood of the Polish workers during the Russian Civil War and the Soviet offensive of 1920.

The independence of the Polish state was mulled over and fought for by a range of classes: nobility, lesser nobility, the rising bourgeoisie and petty-bourgeoisie, with sections taking the lead temporarily in one period before transferring the initiative to another. The ruling classes across Europe periodically switched their positions in this turbulent and economically transformative period. In the end it was clear, that the only class to remain consistent in its revolutionary aspirations was the proletariat. But the flames of revolt in Poland could never be extinguished. The Poles are always conspiring, writes the brilliant Polish historian of the uprising of 1831, Mochnacki. If they fare badly they revolt to shake off the yoke. They revolt because they cannot help revolting. But if they are doing well they revolt because they can afford it.

The concrete reality of the struggle, however, cannot be reduced to the abstract idea of the nation. In fact, in its initial stages, the struggle for independence was restricted to a small section of the nobility, fighting with methods corresponding to its class character: a guerrilla war of small battles conducted by a small minority. This minority was unable to gain the support of the peasants they exploited and were unable to ally themselves with the rising bourgeois, who were seeking to replace the nobility as the leading force. These and other factors led the nationalist petty-bourgeoisie to debate the reasons for the partition in the first place, and the inability of the nobility to break with it. As such, the emerging petty-bourgeoisie began to blame, within the limits of their own class perspectives, the nobility for the general situation. In turn, parts of the petty-bourgeoisie (the early Polish Socialists) oriented themselves to the struggle for social reform, which gave them a veneer of socialism, despite their petty-bourgeois class character.

The First International and Poland

The formation of the First International in fact originated with the international movement of solidarity with the Polish Uprising of 1863, which had been bloodily suppressed by the Russians. The International Workingmens Association, and above all Marx and Engels, never stopped advocating for the Polish cause despite intense debate regarding the complex interconnections of the Polish struggle with the wider questions posed by the development of the revolutionary struggle in Europe.

The First International was extremely heterogeneous in composition, ranging from petty-bourgeois revolutionary nationalists like Mazzini to anarchists like Bakunin and Proudhon; utopian socialists, and the British Trade Unions. Marx and Engels - the IWAs main theoreticians - had to go through a long period of struggle with different tendencies to firmly establish the ideas of scientific socialism within the International.

Marx and Engels were advocating support for Polish independence in spite of the reactionary character of the Polish aristocrats leading the national movement at that stage. This was because because the struggle for Polish independence objectively undermined the power of the most reactionary force in Europe at that time: Tsarist Russia. On the other side of the argument were Proudhon and his followers, who denied the importance of the national struggle altogether, by declaring nationalities to be antiquated prejudices.

It is ironic that the establishment of the International - such a gigantic step forward for the revolutionary forces of the working-class - sprung out of the wave of workers solidarity with the Polish Uprising. The Polish national struggle occupied a central place in European politics throughout the 19th century (in spite of Proudhons idealistic prejudices) and also deeply affected the working-class movement. As Engels pointed out, the Polish people, by their heroic struggles against Tsarist Russia, on several occasions saved revolutions in the rest of Europe, as happened in 1792-94 when Poland was defeated by Russia but in the process saved the French revolution.

The circus of Proudhonists, spiritual ancestors of modern day Anarchists, which opposed Polish independence on the basis of their opposition to any and all states, has today been reduced to nothing but a curiosity. In any case, based on serious observation, Engels wrote in 1868 a series of articles for The Commonwealth, the organ of the IWA, answering many questions in more detail, and correctly outlining the complexity of the Polish national question in relation to the revolutionary tasks on the agenda in Europe and the necessity of a concrete analysis of each element in the equation from an internationalist standpoint. In short, making all small nationalities independent states would be reactionary; that is, simply not beneficial for the European working-class in its revolutionary struggle. Polands independence was then supported on the basis of acting as a dam against the most reactionary force in Europe, that of Tsarism, which would seek to strangle the European revolution.

The rising importance of the working-class

This perspective, correct at that time, was changed by the events of 1871, which marked the end of the revolutionary role of the bourgeoisie. The emphasis was switched  even in relation to Poland  towards the revolutionary working-class, which would play the decisive role in future upheavals. The policy, reflecting the growth of Polish distilling and textile industries, recognised that  following developments led by the nobility in the past insurrections  the Polish working-class did not fight for the same ends as its nobility. Instead, it would pursue its aims beyond the limitations of a national struggle, in alliance with the international working-class. As a result, the question of forging class unity between the Polish working-class and the nascent Russian working-class gained increased importance.

The Polish section of the Second International was formed in 1892. The PPS (Polish Socialist Party) from its inception was dominated by petty-bourgeois nationalism, thus provoking the split of the Marxist wing of the party, whose leader was soon to become Rosa Luxemburg. They formed the SDKPiL (Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Lithuania and Poland) in 1893.

The young party was divided into two factions in relation to the national question, with one section taking the standpoint of Rosa Luxemburg. Her position had radicalised in the struggle against petty-bourgeois nationalism to the extent of reaching the wrong conclusion, by failing to understand the need to defend the right of the Polish people to pursue self-determination. The other camp followed Marchlewskis position, more in agreement with the approach of Lenin and the Russian Bolsheviks. The important discussion between Lenin and Luxemburg on the National question is full of key lessons for revolutionaries today.

Although Rosa Luxemburgs position was fundamentally wrong  an abstract position  she and her supporters were genuine internationalists motivated by the need to combat the reactionary petty-bourgeois nationalism of Pilsudski's so-called Polish Socialist Party, which consciously strove to separate the Polish workers from the Russian workers. A Russian author, Ivan Krylov, ended one of his fables with the following: The eagle can come lower than a hen on the barn, but no hen can ever reach the heavenly realm. Theres no doubt that Rosas role as a working-class revolutionary makes her the great eagle in this analogy, whereas desperate opportunism had reduced the reactionary wing of the PPS to a powerless hen on the barn.

Socialist chauvinism

The PPS split once more in 1906 on the question of independence and also the pursuit of Socialism. A leftward-moving faction called The Left adopted centrist and eventually revolutionary positions, ultimately merging with the SDKPiL to form the Communist Workers Party of Poland in 1918. A right-reformist faction called the Revolutionary faction  but mockingly called the Moderate faction by the Left  was more interested in achieving immediate independence and establishing a bourgeois parliamentary democracy on the basis of social reform.

1905 Revolution in Lodz, with the banner of the Polish Social Democracy (aligned with the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party). / Public Domain

With the awakening of the working-class into political life (defining itself as a class movement by 1886) the Polish question was addressed in response to events. These included the unity of the Polish and Russian proletariat, emerging in their struggles (most notably in connection with the Russian revolution of 1905-06), and the hostile ideas of bourgeois patriotism. The period certainly spawned serious and complicated theoretical challenges for the Polish Communists. In turn, Poland has produced some of the most outstanding revolutionaries in Europe during this period, most notably Luxemburg, Dzerzhinsky, Radek and Marchlewski.

Following the period of struggles, strikes and upheavals by the working-class, the question had been blown all over the country once again by the mighty storm of the Great War. Curiously, there existed a strata of Polish Socialists who sought a shortcut by repeating Marxs pre-1871 position in an abstract way, in turn signifying their mistrust of the now present revolutionary potential of the Polish  and Russian  proletariat.

On the other hand, there was an alignment of the Polish Socialist Party  that is, the right wing faction affiliated with the Second international  towards German imperialism, to the extent that the PPS supported Jozef Pilsudskis Polish Legions, which fought on the side of Austro-German imperialism during the First World War. Criminally, the chauvinist PPS built a barrier against the workers of Russian Poland: 2.5 million people, including 500 thousand soldiers. Many of these were later some of the most dedicated participants in the Russian Revolution. The atomisation of the reformist movement towards such tendencies expressed the theoretical capitulation to social chauvinism of the Second International during the War. The extreme chauvinism of the PPS was never combated by the Second International, and this further contributed to the hopeless rot of the leadership of the Polish Socialist Party, in line with its European counterparts.

Impact of Russian October

In 1917, the October Revolution in Russia put into practise the positions defended by Lenin in 1903, namely: defence of the right of oppressed nations to self-determination, up-to-and-including separation. This policy was extremely important in consolidating the Soviet revolution in Russia by winning over the support of workers and peasants of many oppressed nationalities of the former Tsarist empire, who supported the Bolsheviks during the Civil War. It was also the only way to show in the language of concrete facts that the working-class had no interest in perpetrating national oppression after conquering state power.

But Lenins position cannot just be reduced to the defence of the right of self-determination of oppressed nations. The necessary corollary to Lenins position was the defence of the unity of the working-class and the duty of revolutionary Marxists of oppressed nationalities to oppose petty-bourgeois nationalist prejudices among their own people that could break the unity of the working-class. This articulated position succeeded in winning the battle for a voluntary Socialist Federation of Soviet Republics.

Like Marx before him, Lenin outlined the necessity to take into account the contextual requirements of the moment, rather than advocating for the parties of labour to support separatism everywhere. At the same time it highlighted the need for an international working-class struggle to overthrow capitalism.

Such a position, exercised for years by the Polish Marxists of the SDKP (affiliated with the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party) resonated with the working-class, even finding traction among the social patriotic layers of the Polish Socialist Party. However, to achieve it would require a break with capitalism, something that the Second International was not prepared or able to do.

1918 Polish independence

During the course of the War, Germany conquered large parts of Poland and established a puppet Polish regime in November 1916. Ultimately, the Polish bourgeoisie used the opportunity of the collapse of Germany and the German Revolution of November 1918 to establish its independence. It did so on the basis of an insurrection and a series of small wars with neighbouring countries to establish a bourgeois republic. The Second Polish Republic was born weak and unstable. The right-wing PPS was placed at the head of the new government.

The declaration of independence was staged amid earth-shattering revolutionary events. On the back of the tradition of the 1905 revolution and following the example of the Russian and German revolutionary workers, at least 100 workers and peasants deputies councils  representing 500,000 workers and peasants  were established throughout the Polish territories. This was done on the initiative of the SDKPiL and the PPS Left, which soon merged to form the Communist Workers Party of Poland. Other workers organisations and parties competed for influence within the councils as well, including the Polish Socialist Party (PPS), the Bund in Poland and the National Workers Union.

Paralysed by important disputes over the political and economic future of the newly independent Poland, the workers councils failed to create an elected national leadership. The most numerous and radical councils were located in Krasnik, Lublin, Plock, Warsaw, Zamosc and Zaglebie Dabrowskie; some of them set up their own military self-defence units: the Red Guards. Episodes like the short-lived Republic of Tarnobrzeg, proclaimed on 6 November 1918, showed how these workers councils would inevitably lead to a dualism of power that could be resolved only by the working-class conquering political power or by the Polish bourgeois forces dismantling these organs of workers power.

The bourgeois forces rallying behind Pilsudski clearly shared this view and succeeded in having the workers councils dismantled by July 1919, thanks to a combination of the withdrawal of the Polish Socialist Party (which in many cases had a majority in the councils) and suppression by the Polish government. The councils were correctly regarded by the Polish bourgeois as a barrier to the formation of a bourgeois Polish state.

In order to tame the revolutionary spirit displayed by the Polish workers and buy itself time, the so-called peoples government, initially headed by Ignacy Daszynski introduced reforms within the capitalist framework, including but not limited to womens suffrage and the 8-hour working day. These acts were able to temporarily minimise the intrinsically motivated struggle of the working-class towards emancipation. The Polish working-class, although very observant of the European revolution, was still testing out its own national reformists. However, with the inevitability of the Polish labour leaders turning into counter-reformists in response to the pressures of capitalist crisis, the working-class would doubtlessly start reaching revolutionary conclusions very swiftly.

The revolutionary process could be accelerated given inspiration from the successes of the Russian Revolution. In fact, two parallel governments were proclaimed, one in Warsaw and the Soviet Republic of Lublin in the East of Poland. The Warsaw government, led by Daszynski and Pilsudski, came out with substantial concessions to draw the Lublin workers towards it.

Eventually, the workers of the city were crushed by Pilsudski himself, as they resisted the coming of inevitable betrayal by the PPS. With the experience of its past struggles, both of legal and illegal character, the Polish working-class was (and still is) capable of enormous revolutionary sacrifice. The revolutionary possibilities were clearly titanic, and a movement he Polish workers would be merciless to the inexperienced bourgeois ruling class. On the other hand, the lessons drawn from the partition period, and the burning memory of Russias oppressive measures, such as Russification, had left many of the workers with a strong sensitivity towards any big power games which could influence Polands sovereignty even in the slightest degree.

Here we can briefly gain familiarisation with the nature of Polish proletarian consciousness by 1920, shaped by its long-term memory. It contrasts to the Russian or German workers consciousness of the time. It is built by great stories worthy of more than a mere section of an article. Through careful study this consciousness was understood by many Bolsheviks, including but not limited to Leon Trotsky, Karl Radek, and Klara Zetkin. They put forward a perspective that is not often brought up, for the sake of simplification. With the benefit of hindsight, considering the developments of the war, the brief establishment of Soviet power in Poland and the general lessons of the following ebb, they have been proven right.

Following the conclusion of the Great War, the whole geographical alignment was completely redefined according to the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. This had a fundamental impact on Polands borders, which were being drawn up, connecting the three parts occupied by the mighty empires. The national bourgeoisie was once more split accordingly to the character and the size of these borders. Emerging as the commander-in-chief of the Polish armed forces, Jozef Pilsudski knew that the doors to eastward expansion were wide open. The degeneration of the former leader of the Polish Socialist Party can be summed up in an episode in which he was confronted by an old comrade about some issue, addressing him as Towarzysz (comrade), in accordance to pre-independence struggles. In response, Pilsudski asked to be called Pan (Sir) instead of Towarzysz, explaining that We were on the same train heading towards socialism, however, I got off the ride at the independence stop. I will go on my own from here.

Following the treacherous footsteps of the Hendersons, the Clyneses and the MacDonalds of the Second International  more loyal to the bourgeois order than to the working-class  he was naturally orbiting around the idea of a national coalition government. This was impossible at first due to the strong initial opposition from the Endecja (National Democrats, right-wingers led by the opportunist Dmowski) and even within the rank and file and the parliamentary wing of the PPS. Throughout his actions during the course of the new Polish states expansion into Ukraine and Belarus, and in fact the whole war, Pilsudskis prestige was saved and immortalised by bourgeois propagandists and historians as a key figure that indeed oversaw building a dam. However, this was not against Russian reaction but the Russian revolution.

The return of commander Pilsudski on the front page of Kurjer Warszawski. Pilsudski is pictured saluting, third character from the left. / Public Domain

The optimistic aspirations reflecting a strongly redefined status of the Polish bourgeoisie were encapsulated in the pursuit of intermarium. That is, of a nationalistic expansion, emulating a Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth-style federation of various nations from the Baltic to the Black Sea, acting as a new power to counter the might of Russia in the region. The invitation to this new union was naturally rejected by the bourgeoisie of countries such as Lithuania or Finland, which had only just regained their independence, and the Ukrainians under Symon Petlyura, who were still trying to entrench their positions in face of the threat of Ukrainian Bolshevism.

Thus, the carrot was replaced by the stick, and Pilsudski decided to go through formalities but only after the Polish White Guards were in control of Vilnius, Lviv and Kiev. It is in the areas surrounding Vilnius where the first, albeit not very serious, confrontations occurred between the Red Army and the Poles, after power was being tossed around like a hot potato to the Soviets, Polish nationalists, the German army in agreement with Pilsudski, and finally to Pilsudskis forces themselves. Thus, the northern front was becoming more and more of a serious factor in the calculations of both the Red and the White armies.

However, at that time, during the summer of 1919, the revolutionary forces were forced to be more concerned with defending the surrounding areas of Petrograd from Kolchak. Belarus was occupied, and the peasants in particular, faced with requisition of their land, provided a serious base of underground resistance against the Whites.

After Kolchaks defeat, the spotlight was moved onto other leaders, including Pilsudski. However, it was well known that the reactionary forces of the Russian Whites and their potential victory would not be beneficial to the interests of Polish independence. After all, the Russian Whites leadership was made up of elements who enforced brutal Russification and national oppression in the Polish territories in the past, and continued to do so. Expecting anything more from them than (perhaps, the concession of a small satellite state) would have been wishful thinking, even if we put aside the fact that reaction would have taken the form of Russian fascism and projected its revengeful rage on the old minorities of Tsarist Russia  especially the Poles. The prospect of a White victory was indeed grim and completely incompatible with the aspirations of any national minority, even for the Polish bourgeois, who would rather see Russia in a state of fragmentation and anarchy. For this very reason, Pilsudski initially refrained from backing Denikin in South-West Russia, at least until the Bolsheviks started to gain the upper hand towards the end of the year.

It is worth remembering, that the Russian Federative Soviet Socialist Republic was the initiator of multiple peace talks, sending several delegations headed by Julian Marchlewski, who was given authority by the Bolshevik Party to accept peace even if it meant far-reaching concessions. The Polish authorities, dizzy with success following the occupation of Vilnius, thought the door was still wide open for further expansion. They swiftly rejected any peace with the Bolsheviks and renewed their offensive by November 1919. Peace negotiations were attempted by the Bolsheviks frequently until late spring of 1920. In the words of Chicherin, the Peoples Commissar for foreign affairs of Soviet Russia: The politics of RSFSR in relation to Poland doesnt base itself on momentary military or diplomatic combinations, but on the principle of unswerving, inviolable right to self-determination. RSFSR recognises, and continues to recognise without any reservation, the independence and sovereignty of the Polish Republic, and recognises it in the first moments of the creation of a sovereign Polish state.

The attitude of the Bolsheviks in these talks and statements reflects a clear and honest desire for peace  a key policy of the Bolshevik party  which was rejected on the basis of Pilsudskis dream of an expansionist march through Ukraine. Once again, the attitude by the bourgeois towards independence, peace and democracy reflects not a shred of honest consistency, but a speculation towards emboldening the power of their class. The only consistent guardian of peace in this war could only be the revolutionary alliance of the Polish, Ukrainian and Russian proletariat.

After gaining the upper hand by signing an agreement with Petlyura, Pilsudski ordered his troops to march on Kiev. The Red Army wasnt as strong in this area, thus reinforcements were being dispatched from mainland Russia. On May 5th, Lenin made the following speech to the soldiers, of which the transcript was printed in Pravda:

Comrades: You know that, instigated by the Entente, the Polish landowners and capitalists have forced a new war on us. Remember, comrades, that we have no quarrel with the Polish peasants and workers; we have recognised Polands independence and the Polish Peoples Republic, and shall continue to do so. We have proposed peace to Poland on the basis of the integrity of her frontiers, although these frontiers extend far beyond the purely Polish population. We have agreed to make all concessions, which is something each of you should remember at the front. Let your attitude to the Poles there prove that you are soldiers of a workers and peasants republic, that you are coming to them, not as aggressors but as liberators. Now that, despite our efforts, the Polish magnates have concluded an alliance with Petlyura, launched an offensive, are approaching Kiev, and are spreading rumours in the foreign press that they have already captured Kievwhich is the sheerest fabrication since only yesterday I was talking on the direct line with F. Kon, who is in Kievwe say: Comrades, we have been able to repel a more terrible enemy; we have been able to defeat our own landowners and capitalists, and we shall defeat the Polish landowners and capitalists too! All of us here today should pledge ourselves, give a solemn promise, that we shall stand as one man so as not to allow a victory of the Polish magnates and capitalists. Long live the peasants and workers of a free independent Polish Republic! Down with the Polish magnates, landowners and capitalists! Long live our Red Workers and Peasants Army!(The mighty strains of the "Internationale" and cries of "Hurrah"drown Comrade Lenins final words.)

The war started to take up the front pages of newspapers worldwide, as a direct confrontation between the Polish Republic and the Red Army was being prepared. It need not be said that there was a complete lack of support for the Polish Army by the Ukrainian masses. This gave further momentum to the Red Army and guaranteed a swift departure of the Polish forces from Ukraine. Thus, the character of the war from the Bolshevik perspective, ceased to be defensive and, after intense debate, they agreed to make it a revolutionary war that would act as a base of support for the revolutionary movements in Europe. These arguments were put forward by Lenin and Bukharin and represented the majority of the CC of the Bolshevik Party, whereas a minority consisted mainly of Trotsky, who recalled it in chapter 37 of My Life:

There were high hopes of an uprising of the Polish workers. At any rate, Lenin fixed his mind on carrying the war to an end, up to the entry into Warsaw to help the Polish workers overthrow Pilsudskis government and seize the power. The apparent decision by the government easily captured the imagination of the high command and of the command of the western front. By the time I paid my regular visit to Moscow, I found opinion strongly in favour of carrying on the war until the end. To this I was resolutely opposed. The Poles were already asking for peace. I thought that we had reached the peak of our successes, and if we went farther, misjudging our strength, we would run the risk of passing beyond the victory already won to a defeat.

Trotsky was, by any means, familiar with all layers of the Red Army, but also with Marchlewskis sober understanding of the Polish situation as premature for revolution, and so he disagreed with the further advance. Only Rykov took his side in the CC of the Bolshevik Party. On the other hand, Lenin was misinformed by overly optimistic reports by the cadres of the Polish Communist Party. The bulk of the masses were still in the grip of the reformists.

However, regardless of the incorrect assessment of the situation, it is important to remember that the advance by the Red Army had a purely revolutionary class character, not a nationalist one. Further comparisons can be made with the substance and even the propaganda of the 1939 Soviet invasion. The aim of the Bolsheviks in 1920 was not to incorporate Poland into Russia, or even impose the Soviet Regime on it, but to aid the Polish proletariat itself in taking power and give it a boost in doing so.

In any case, the decision was made, and the Red Army moved on to a counter offensive. For 23 days, the Polrevkom (Polish Temporary Revolutionary Committee) was based in Bialystok, essentially expressing the embryonic developments of a short lived Polish Soviet Republic.

The Polish Revolution

Sources relating to the Polrevkom are scarce. Many first-hand accounts, such as newspapers or notes, were lost during the Second World War. The official paper of Soviet Poland, Goniec Czerwony, is also a rarity, and regardless had a very agitational character. The origin of the committee itself goes way back to recruitment and training of Polish Bolsheviks who played key roles in the revolution  Grzelszczak, Krolikowski, Budzynski or Bitner, to name a few.

The close communication between Polish Communists in Russia and Poland acknowledged a sense of urgency, with the formation of multiple organisations aiming to agitate among the workers and soldiers. Divisions led and manned by Polish workers were taking part in the civil war as an embryonic Polish Red Army. Its development never reached a mass character due to its isolation from the important sections of the workers in Poland. For this very reason it also faced many issues with morale. It was opposed to the appointment of former tsarist officers and also to fighting against the Polish White Guards. The Bolshevik propaganda, both from the outside and the inside, of the Polish army was not too fruitful. The consciousness in Poland was on a different level. This was understood by the Polish Red Army, representing the cadres of the working-class, who were eventually moved to the south of Russia to fight Wrangels armies instead.

In any case, the Polish Revolutionary Committee was chaired by Julian Marchlewski, who also fulfilled duties of a propagandist and agitator. The reason behind his appointment, as opposed to the better-known Felix Dzerzhinsky, was because Felix had by this point been given a complete slating by the Polish bourgeois press, as a leader of the Soviet Cheka. The committee first started assembling a week before its arrival in Bialystok, where they based themselves at the expropriated Palace of Labour. Its aims, as stated in its first printed appeal, were: To lay the foundations of the future Polish Soviet Republic, up until a worker-peasant government has taken power in Poland definitely. The bulletin also contained announcements of the future policies of the new government, which would be the establishment of worker and peasant soviets, nationalising the main branches of industry, the land, forests, etc. In essence, despite doing pioneering work in unknown circumstances, it was building the subjective factor in time for the revolutionary events which were just around the corner.

The Polish Revolutionary Committee in August 1920. Among others, in the centre: Felix Dzerzhinsky, Julian Marchlewski, Feliks Kon. / Public Domain

A mass rally in support of the new revolutionary government took place on 2 August 1920. Marchlewski, Tukhachevsky and Stepanov made speeches representing accordingly the Polrevkom, the Red Army and the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party. The rally was succeeded by a demonstration of the railway workers, which supported the committee with the biggest enthusiasm. The propaganda work in the immediate period was carried out through the production of a paper, edited by Feliks Kon, reporting news from the front, the international labour movement, as well as local stories and announcements. The committee also produced leaflets and posters, inspired by an internationalist spirit, highlighting messages of support from the British, French and German workers towards a Polish revolution. The strike by the English dockworkers of Dover, blocking British supply lines to Pilsudskis army, was an example of international solidarity. The paper played a key role as a point of reference that helped transform the consciousness of the workers in Bialystok and Eastern Poland in support of the revolution.

Nevertheless, the necessity of peasant support was noticed by the committee and even by Lenin himself. However, the demand of immediate redistribution of the land sparked a debate. It concluded that the Committee would appeal to the peasants, explaining that the land will be redistributed, but first Warsaw must be taken by the workers, so that collectivisation may take place without the pressure from the proximity of a war front. This was a key factor in the scepticism of the local peasants.

In one of the issues of the Goniec Czerwony, the inevitability of the victory of the Polish masses was announced, and the soldiers were called on to turn their guns towards their officers. Although Marchlewski was busy visiting newly liberated towns, on 8 August, a mass rally was organised in Bialystok once more for the first celebrations of the Workers Liberation of Poland Day, which surpassed the numbers of the first rally and was concluded with the singing of the Internationale in Polish, Yiddish and Russian. The committee had its base of support among the workers, and especially the Jewish and Belorussian minorities.

The peaceful character of the takeover indicated that, with time, the revolution would gain significant support from the peasants and the better-off workers. On the other hand, the workers to the west of the borders of Soviet Poland were familiar only with the slanders of the Nationalists and the Reformists, in one chorus accusing the committee of an unlawful coup, and creating an instrument for the Russian annexation of Poland. The objective situation was not yet in favour of the Polish Communist Party. The workers of Western Poland did not rise up, and the revolutionary development was dealt a crushing blow after the Battle of Warsaw was won by Pilsudskis White Guards.

As Pilsudskis armies were getting close to Bialystok, one last issue of Czerwony Goniec was released, in which the editorial board announced the inevitability of a Polish and worldwide socialist revolution. Once the troops entered the city, there were riots between the local Bolshevik sympathisers and citizens supported by the army and the police. These were later incited into a series of anti-Semitic pogroms in the short term, and mass murder of Red Army prisoners of war (POWs) in the longer term, resulting in 17,000 deaths in three years in the concentration camps, the biggest one being in Strzalkowo.

The committee, which curiously was never formally dissolved, was evacuated into Soviet Russia. All but one of the members of the Polrevkom, (that is, all those who didnt die earlier from natural causes), were among the first victims of the Stalinist Great Purge in 1937. This was also the fate of most of the cadres of the Polish Communist Party. In Moscow alone there were 3,817 Polish Communists, many of them veterans of the October Revolution, who had sought refuge from the Polish bonapartist dictatorship. Of these 3,817, only around 100 survived the Purges. By 1938, the Stalinist Comintern dissolved the Polish Communist Party.

The complete destruction of the most advanced Polish workers, both by hand of the Stalinists and by the Nazis, meant that by 1945 Moscow had to orchestrate a new Polish Communist Party out of thin air. This had further implications for the inability of the Polish Communist bureaucracy to connect and understand the mood of the working-class. Excessive reliance on the faithful secret police led to mercilessly antagonising the Polish workers. All these factors hardened the Polish workers, but without a revolutionary point of reference, which had been physically purged, they were left with little more but scepticism. Now, after more than two decades since the collapse of so-called Communism, the present scepticism is wearing off on the basis of experiencing capitalism. The necessity to defend the genuine ideas of Marxism without any distortions, the tradition of Rosa Luxemburg, Julian Marchlewski and Trotsky, is of vital importance.

The 1920 war continues to exert an enormous effect on Polish consciousness to this day. Trotsky and others were right to notice that the offensive presented significant risks, as the consciousness of significant layers of Polish workers had not yet caught up with the events to resonate with the Red Armys advance. The Left Bolsheviks of the time, such as Bukharin, had a schematic view of a revolutionary war, not taking into account fully the specific circumstances of the Polish national question. They got drunk with the early success in Ukraine and planned a raid as far as Paris and London, to which Warsaw would have been only a first step. The gears of the war did not correlate with the gears of proletarian consciousness, which in Trotskys words, cannot be measured by the same yardsticks. He also said:

The error in the strategic calculations in the Polish war had great historical consequences. The Poland of Pilsudski came out of the war unexpectedly strengthened. On the contrary, the development of the Polish revolution received a crushing blow. The frontier established by the Riga treaty cut off the Soviet Republic from Germany, a fact that later was of great importance in the lives of both countries. Lenin, of course, understood better than anyone else the significance of the Warsaw mistake, and returned to it more than once in thought and word. (Leon Trotsky, My Life, Chapter 37.)

A series of misjudgements, from the local level of the Communist Parties in Poznan and Warsaw, to the highest levels of the Bolshevik Party, opened up a crisis of leadership. Despite unseen heroism and unity of action between Polish and Russian Bolsheviks, the political development of the subjective factor (the revolutionary leadership) was not evenly distributed. The Polish revolution fell, but the sacrifice of thousands of Polish workers for the dream of a Polish Soviet Republic, as part of a World Soviet Federation, free from the horrors of Capitalism, is part of the history of the Polish working-class and will be rediscovered.

The Polish workers did not deserve the bureaucratic caricature of Socialism built by the Stalinists after the Second World War. The Stalinist bureaucrats, who immediately expropriated from the working-class of Poland any semblance of political power, showed soon enough that their commitment to socialism was but a smokescreen to hide their own petty interests and privileges. Many of these same bureaucrats turned into the best managers of capitalism as soon as Stalinism collapsed. A few decades of a capitalist regime in Poland are undermining the illusions that so-called democracy (i.e. capitalism) is be more beneficial to the mass of the Polish people than so-called communism (i.e. Stalinism).

Direct experience of capitalism is part of the necessary learning process for the working-class. In the conditions unfolding before our very own eyes, a genuine Marxist organisation, based on a serious political development in the theory of Marxism, could begin developing, starting from a few educated Marxist cadres and soon turning quality into quantity. An organisation, through which the Polish workers might liberate themselves from the yoke of foreign and domestic capital, could finally emerge on the basis of the great revolutionary history and ideas, whose time has now come.

A poster of the Bialystok Soviet. Long has, in the claws of the white eagle, moaned the proletariat of Poland, Belarus and Ukraine. Today, the workers of villages and cities are freeing themselves from the chains of oppression and exploitation. Under the blows of proletarian hammers, the Poland of the Capitalist and the gendarme is falling apart, the white eagle is dying. Under the red banner, a new one is being born  SOVIET SOCIALIST POLAND. LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION! / Public Domain
by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, October 6, 2017

The Federal Communications Commission could "undo significant progress" toward universal broadband deployment, if it decides that mobile broadband is an adequate substitute for wireline service, a group of lawmakers warns in a new letter to the agency.

"At this time, mobile access at 10 Mbps download/1 Mbps upload is not a reasonable replacement for fixed advanced broadband at home," the lawmakers write. "This fact is well known to any child seeking to complete a homework assignment, small business owner hoping to develop an Internet presence, or individual completing an online job application or communicating with their doctor."

The letter was signed by 45 lawmakers, including Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) and Jared Huffman (D-California).

The lawmakers' comments come in response to an FCC notice soliciting public opinion for an upcoming report about the state of broadband deployment. In its notice, the FCC said it it may -- for the first time -- set benchmarks for mobile broadband service. The agency proposed defining mobile broadband as service at speeds of at least 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream. Wireline broadband, by contrast, is currently defined as speeds of at least 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream.

advertisement advertisement

Among other questions, the FCC sought comments on whether it should evaluate fixed and mobile broadband "as separate and distinct ways to achieve advanced telecommunications capability."

The lawmakers note that large swaths of rural Americans -- 39%, according to the FCC's 2016 report -- lack access to broadband at speeds of at least 25 Mbps downstream. They argue that an FCC decision to equate mobile broadband with wireline service won't actually improve service to rural Americans.

"Simply moving the goalposts is not a policy solution, and weakening the definition of high-speed internet is a disservice to the rural and tribal communities the FCC has an obligation to serve," they write.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, October 6, 2017

Google introduced the Pixelbook laptop this week, and along with the laptop, a searchable stylus pen. The Pixelbook Pen is similar to the Microsoft Surface Book and the Surface Book pen, but Google's pen will search for images when the user circles the image on the screen.

The stylus lets users draw and write on the Pixelbook's touchscreen, and ties in with Google Assistant. And in the latest spin on image search, users can ask the Assistant to search for more information on images or snippets of text by circling them.

Its unclear whether this type of search will trigger advertisements in the long term, but search engine optimization professionals will certainly have a new challenge to optimize images, keywords and snippets to serve up in this type of query.

"While the newness of this feature makes it difficult determine what optimization criteria may apply, at minimum it's another exclamation point on the importance on visual search within the SEO practice," says Paul Witham, director of SEO at Marc USA Results:Digital. "For many, myself included, image optimization was one of those 'nice to haves,' but often a secondary tactic, which is no longer the case. So in terms of the Pixelbook Pen, until the optimization picture becomes a little clearer, the best bet for SEOs would be to focus on Schema markup, surrounding context and other image best practices."

advertisement advertisement

The pen recognizes the text snippet or image circles and returns a partial screen with visual search options such as links to publications, as well as the ability to further a search on google.com, YouTube, Instagram and to search for songs and share the content with others.

Google partnered with Wacom, which builds interactive pen displays and tablets styluses, to design the Pen. It uses machine learning for handwriting recognition.

Visual search will advance within the coming year. Google Lens, which will come to Google's Pixel phone in a preview version later this year, was introduced at the last I/O conference.

Lens combines image recognition with Google Assistant and the real-time translation of Google Translate. It lets users snap a picture of a tree and it will provide details on the species such as its indigenous nature.

Pinterest also offers a product called Lens. The company raised $150 million in a funding round in June, and much of this likely was directed toward building out its Lens product to support Target, said Michael Parrish DuDell, entrepreneur and chief strategic officer at CouponFollow.

Target recently announced a partnership with Pinterest. Calling it a clever idea, he said Target is working with Pinterest to determine the best way to bridge online with offline, as well as an easier way for consumers to find identical or similar products from an image.
by Ray Schultz , October 6, 2017

Emails standing as a delivery medium had a setback last week when a federal judge ruled that an email attachment does not enjoy the same presumption of receipt as a letter sent by postal mail.

Judge Debra McVicker Lynch determined that debt collector Met-1 Solutions, had not sent notices to plaintiff Beth Lavallee, as required by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), when it included them in email attachments.

Lynch awarded a summary judgment to Lavallee, along with the requested $1,000 in damages, plus attorneys fees.

It was not known at deadline whether Med-1 Solutions would contest the ruling, or the progress of a collection suit filed against Lavallee.

The case began when Med-1 Solutions attempted to collect two hospital debts from Lavallee. As mandated by the FDCPA, it sent validation messages to Lavallee, outlining the debts and giving her the chance to respond. It had obtained Lavallees email address from the hospital.

advertisement advertisement

These emails ask the recipient to take several steps.

After opening the email, in which the sender is identified in the "from" line as Info@med1solutions.com, the person finds a message, saying: Please find your message attached.

It continues that the party can pick up a secure message by clicking a link. Anyone who clicks is directed by a browser to a website, and instructed to accept the attachment by checking a box to sign for this Secure Package.

The consumer who follows these steps is given access to a pdf containing the validation letter.

Lynch noted that Lavallee never opened the emails. And it followed that she never clicked through to the attachments, which Med-1 was able to track.

Med-1 argued that it had complied with the FDCPA simply by sending the email. But Lynch disagreed.

Court rulings in other cases had found that a letter sent by first class mail is presumed to have been received by the addressee under the common laws mailbox rule, with no proof of receipt, she noted.

But Lynch observed that not opening an email attachment is not the same as failing to open a letter one receives through the United States Postal Service mail system.

Lynch continued that while consumers may open emails from companies to which they had given their email addresses, Lavallee would not have seen as safe an email from Med-1 Solutions, a firm with which she had never dealt.

The judge also alluded to a larger issue.

Today, email users are regularly warned and know to beware of email invitations to click on web-based attachments, Lynch wrote.

She added: The United States Department of Homeland Security has issued a Security Tip (ST04- 010), originally released in 2009 and updated in 2017, warning the public to use caution with email attachments because they can be sources of viruses.

Lynch did not comment on whether email by itself has the presumption of delivery.

Unrelated to the emails, Lavallee had one later telephone contact with Med-1, in which she was informed that the firm had filed a lawsuit against her.

In her opinion, Lynch also described Med-1s email process.

Med-1 Solutions uses a vendor (Privacy Data Systems, its sister company) that created a software application called SenditCertifiedTM, she wrote.

She went on to say that Med-1 Solutions supplies data through a data batch process to the vendor about debts it seeks to collect. The vendors software application extracts the data and inputs it to populate a .pdf document.

The case is on file with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis division, at which Lynch is a magistrate judge.
by Laurie Sullivan @lauriesullivan, October 6, 2017

Google has hired Danny Sullivan, former journalist focused on search advertising and marketing and Third Door Media cofounder, to help educate the public about search, explore and explain issues that may arise with search, and take feedback from the public to help promote solutions.

Sullivan announced the move Friday. In a blog post he explains that his new role is yet undefined, but will report into Google, the search division at parent Alphabet, and says the opportunity will give him a chance to see how search works from behind the scenes.

A Google spokesperson confirmed the hire.

"It was definitely a surprise when Google contacted me about taking on this new position," he wrote in a blog post. "Id retired from search and figured I was done in the space, at that point. My only next-step plans were to build a walking AT-AT for Comic Con (did it; it was great!), take some extended family trips and maybe start blogging about Thunderbirds (the new series is really fun)."

advertisement advertisement

In June, he stepped down from an advisory role at Third Door Media, which owns the publication Search Engine Land, although he continues to own a minority stake in the company.

The transition didn't happen overnight. Sullivan began his professional journalism career as an editorial researcher for the Los Angeles Times in 1989. He left in 1994 to become a graphics reporter for the Orange County Register, another southern California newspaper.

The following year he left to join a friend's company, Maximized Online, as general manager to produce websites for local businesses. The company also optimized websites for searches on engines before it was called search engine optimization. In his blog post about his career, he explains that it took a lot of research.

All that research went into a book titled "A Webmasters Guide To Search Engines," which he published in April 1996, marking what became his new career as a search journalist.

Then in 2006, Sullivan (no relation to the MediaPost author) cofounded a company called Third Door Media, which publishes Search Engine Land and other publications and conferences.
by Jess Nelson , October 6, 2017

Its critically important for all consumers to be on the lookout for email phishing attacks, particularly since email impersonation scams can be incredibly complex and well-executed.

Take, for example, the recent email scam that affected at least 50 freelance writers and journalists seeking employment from Atlantic Media.

The life of a freelance writer is not an easy one, especially as writers begin their journey and need to build up a network of editorial contacts by pitching story ideas. Realizing this fact, cybercriminals impersonated editors of Atlantic Media to send out fraudulent emails and job offers to writers.

Atlantic Media General Counsel Aretae Wyler released a statement Thursday to warn people about the scam.

Across the last few months, individuals posing as our editors and senior leaders have sent fraudulent job offers to unwitting freelancers or jobseekers looking to work with The Atlantic, reads the online statement. The impostors have created numerous misleading email accounts, including gmail addresses in the names of editors, gmail addresses that include the Atlantics name (e.g., recruitment.atlanticmagazine@gmail.com), and addresses employing fake domains (e.g., @atlanticmediagroup.net). The aim of the scam is to obtain personal information such as social security numbers, addresses, and bank account information from the intended victims.

advertisement advertisement

The cybercriminals went as far as conducting fake job interviews by phone, and sent employment agreements, direct deposit details, and tax forms to their victims in order to steal private information.

Most spear phishing campaigns try to fool employees into giving up sensitive information with fake emails purporting to be from someone specific within the organization by spoofing their email address and mimicking the language, behaviors, and processes used in the day-to-day operations of the company, says Mike Wyatt, director of product operations at RiskIQ. In this case, threat actors pretended to be editors from the Atlantic reaching out to potential freelancers, which is more difficult to combat as the potential employees are outside of the Atlantics network.

Because of this, Wyatt says, there is not much Atlantic Media can do in terms of blocking these types of email scams.

All they can do is report the abuse to the email service and warn potential victims that this is happening, he says.

Dylan Tweney, head of communications at ValiMail, says that one recourse could be strict email authentication.

If Atlantic Media set up email authentication with enforcement, they could tell staff, freelancers, and readers that they should only trust email from atlanticmedia.com or theatlantic.com. Enforcement on both domains would be essential, as scammers would just exploit the one that wasnt covered.



Without that level of enforcement though  which they dont have  their best recourse is to warn people, which is exactly what theyre doing, says Tweney.

Atlantic Media is asking any scam victims to email FraudAlert@AtlanticMedia.com.
Researchers from the University of Michigan have conducted a study in mice to investigate how deep sleep influences visual learning. Brain activity during this phase of sleep is crucial to consolidating new visual information, they found. Share on Pinterest A new study looks into the mechanism behind sleep-dependent neuroplasticity in the process of assimilating new visual information. An important part of how we relate to the world is perceptual learning , which refers to our ability to make sense of various stimuli  visual, auditory, or related to taste, smell, and touch  through repeated exposure to them. Perceptual learning improves the way in which we relate to stimuli, helping us to unpick ambiguous ones. Research had already shown that for consolidating perceptual learning, immersion in slow-wave  or non-rapid eye movement (NREM)  sleep is required. A previous study concluded that perceptual memory consolidation requires top-down cortico-cortical input during NREM sleep, which means that the route of information transmitted from one cortical area to another is crucial to fully assimilating perceptual learning undergone throughout the day. Now, new research from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is observing how new visual experiences are consolidated as memories during NREM slow-wave sleep. Led by principal investigator Dr. Sara Aton, scientists used mouse models to understand the neural mechanism that underlies this process of consolidation. Their findings were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Aton explains that new visual stimuli are transmitted via the retina to a region of the brain called the thalamus, which then relays that information to the cerebral cortex, which is known to play a role in memory formation. During wakefulness, the neurons that communicate that visual information between the thalamus and the cerebral cortex ensure a steady flow of electrical impulses. During NREM deep sleep, on the other hand, the neurons burst, meaning that spikes of activity are registered. Dr. Aton explains that after bursting, the neurons pause in a rhythmic then in a synchronized pattern. The team also noted that the cortex fires information back at the thalamus, so that the information is fed back and forth in a circular fashion. In a previous study by Dr. Aton and team, they experimented with the impact of sleep on the brain mechanism behind processing and consolidating new visual information. Working with mice, they exposed the animals to novel visual stimuli and then allowed them to sleep. After sleep, the scientists noted, the neurons in the cerebral cortex became more active when exposed to the same visual stimuli. At the same time, if the rodents experienced sleep deprivation, the cortical neurons were unable to form new connections and consolidate the new information. But in the new study, Dr. Aton explains that she and her team were interested in finding out what would happen if they performed a reverse experiment. She explains, We wondered what would happen if we just disrupted that pattern of [brain] activity without waking up these animals at all?
A large retrospective study that focused mainly on women finds that cancer risk is reduced by almost a third after bariatric, or weight loss, surgery. Share on Pinterest Weight loss surgery is associated with a significantly lower risk of cancer in women, a new study shows. According to the National Cancer Institute, in the United States, approximately 72,000 new cases of cancer in women and 28,000 in men were caused by excess weight in 2012. It is also estimated that over a third of U.S. adults live with obesity, though more women are affected than men. A new retrospective study from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Ohio has now analyzed the data of more than 22,000 people who underwent bariatric surgery, to check for impact on the risk of developing cancer. The data were sourced from five different Kaiser Permanente centers: in Colorado, in Northern California, in Oregon, in Southern California, and in Washington, D.C. We found, says lead researcher Dr. Daniel Schauer, [that] having bariatric surgery is associated with a reduced risk of cancer, especially obesity-associate[d] cancers including postmenopausal breast cancer, endometrial cancer, pancreatic cancer, and colon cancer. Whats surprising is how great the risk of cancer was reduced. The studys findings were published in the Annals of Surgery.

Lowest risk for obesity-associated cancers Dr. Schauer and his team compared the medical data of 22,198 people who had undergone weight loss surgery between 2005 and 2012 with that of 66,427 individuals who did not go through surgery. Over 80 percent of the total cohort were women. The researchers used statistical models to investigate the incidence of cancer in people who had bariatric surgery for up to 10 years following the procedure. They also took into account the cohort who did not opt for surgery. The two groups were matched for relevant impacting factors, including sex, age, and body mass index (BMI). All the people whose data were analyzed were followed-up for medical outcomes until 2014. Dr. Schauer and team identified a total of 2,543 incident cancers after a mean follow-up of 3.5 years. The researchers found that bariatric surgery led to a 33 percent lower risk of any type of cancer, but the greatest benefit was observed for cancers associated with obesity. More specifically, among those who had undergone bariatric surgery, there was a 42 percent lower risk of postmenopausal breast cancer and a 50 percent lower risk of endometrial cancer. The risk of colon cancer was also 41 percent lower, and the risk of pancreatic cancer dropped by 54 percent.
Societal norms and the media both heavily influence how we view womens orgasms, but research shows that their sexual activity preferences and experiences with orgasm vary widely. Share on Pinterest Research shows that sexual self-esteem and good communication are important factors in womens sexual satisfaction. The female orgasm is often depicted as the center of a womans sexual satisfaction and the ultimate goal of sex. But many women dont experience an orgasm during sexual intercourse until their 20s or even 30s, and the number of women who say that they always or nearly always have one during sex is declining. The social expectations surrounding womens orgasms can be particularly distressing to women who dont always experience them. And when depictions of sex in the media are thrown into the mix, the gap between expectation and reality widens even further. Lea J. Seguin  from the Department of Sexology at Universite du Quebec a Montreal in Canada  examined how female orgasms are represented in mainstream pornography. In 50 popular video clips included in the study, only 18.3 percent of women were shown to reach orgasm, and stimulation of the clitoris or vulva only featured in 25 percent of these. In a recent survey , 53 percent of men and 25 percent of women in the United States said they had watched pornography in the past year. How the female orgasm is depicted in pornography does not tally up with research findings, with Seguin writing that mainstream pornography promotes and perpetuates many unrealistic expectations regarding womens orgasm. Putting the stigma of social expectations and the fantasy world of pornography aside, what does scientific research tell us about womens orgasms? How much of a role does the clitoris play, and, most importantly, what do women want when it comes to achieving sexual satisfaction?

The female orgasm in research A study by Prof. Osmo Kontula  from the Population Research Institute at the Family Federation of Finland in Helsinki  asked more than 8,000 women in Finland about their sexual experiences. Most of the women under the age of 35 who participated in the study had experienced their first orgasm through masturbation. For around a quarter of these, this happened before the age of 13, and for a tenth, before the age of 10. But the average age at first sexual intercourse was 17. Most women did not experience an orgasm at this time  in fact, only one quarter of survey participants had reached an orgasm during intercourse within the first year that they started having partnered sex. For the remainder it took much longer, and having sex still does not guarantee orgasm for everyone. Prof. Kontula found that in 2015, only 6 percent of women said that they always had an orgasm during penile-vaginal intercourse, 40 percent said they had an orgasm nearly always, 16 percent of women had an orgasm half the time, and 38 percent had one infrequently. A total of 14 percent of women under the age of 35 had never had an orgasm from intercourse. Since 1999, the number of women experiencing orgasm during intercourse always or nearly always has fallen from 56 percent to 46 percent. So, to shed light on what contributes to womens ability to reach orgasm and what detracts from it, Prof. Kontula dug deeper.

The recipe for orgasm According to Prof. Kontula, The keys to achieving more frequent female orgasms were identified in this study as being in the mind and in the relationship. These factors and capacities, he expains, included how important orgasms were considered personally; how high was sexual desire; how high was sexual self-esteem; and how open was sexual communication with the partner. Sexual self-esteem included how sexually skillful and how good in bed women considered themselves. Other positive factors of orgasmic capacity were the ability to concentrate on the moment; mutual sexual initiations; and a partners good sexual techniques. Prof. Osmo Kontula Interestingly, while over 50 percent of women in relationships said that they usually experience orgasm during sexual intercourse, this number stood at 40 percent for single women. Prof. Kontula goes on to highlight the importance of diversity among womens sexual experiences and preferences. The findings of this study, he writes, indicate that women differ greatly from one another in terms of their tendency and capacity to experience orgasms. The most frequently cited reasons that prevented the participants from achieving orgasm were fatigue and stress and difficulty concentrating. Prof. Kontula also postulates that women increasingly rationalize sex, as a result of social expectations and media depictions. Excessive rationalism is the biggest enemy of orgasms. Simply put, thinking does alight desire, but orgasms come when thinking ceases. Prof. Osmo Kontula

The power of the mind How thoughts affect sexual pleasure was recently investigated in a survey of 926 women. The study revealed that when women had thoughts of sexual failure or a lack of erotic thoughts during sex, it had a negative effect on their orgasms. On the flip side, erotic thoughts are known to contribute significantly to sexual arousal. Nan J. Wise, Ph.D.  from the Department of Psychology at Rutgers University in Newark, NJ  investigated which areas of the brain respond to erotic thoughts. Using functional MRI, she found that imagining stimulation of the clitoris and nipple versus self-stimulation of these areas affected different areas of the brain. Furthermore, when the participants imagined stimulation with a dildo, areas of the brain lit up that were previously shown to be active in the process of genital stimulation leading up to and including orgasm, Dr. Wise explains. The mind is clearly a strong contributor to sexual arousal  but it isnt the only one.

Clitoral stimulation and orgasm The debate about the role of the clitoris in womens orgasms is ongoing. Last week, for example, we discussed the different theories in our article The ins and outs of the vagina. Whether orgasm can be achieved by stimulation of the vagina without any involvement of the clitoris is at the center of the scientific debate. What is clear is that, biological pathways and anatomical details aside, women know how the clitoris fits into their personal experience of orgasm. A 2017 study paper by Prof. Debby Herbenick  from the Center for Sexual Health Promotion at Indiana University in Bloomington  and colleagues found that 36.6 percent of women needed clitoral stimulation to reach orgasm during intercourse. Also, 36 percent of the women said that they didnt need clitoral stimulation but that it enhanced their experience, and 18.4 percent of women said that vaginal penetration was sufficient. Prof. Herbenick went one step further in her study and asked women about the type of clitoral stimulation that they preferred, irrespective of whether it was necessary for orgasm or not. Two thirds of women preferred direct clitoral stimulation, and the most popular motions were up and down, circular shape, and side to side. Around 1 in 10 women preferred firm pressure, while most preferred light to medium touch on their vulva. There is clearly no one-size-fits-all answer to the female orgasm. How diverse womens sexual preferences are is further highlighted in a separate study by Prof. Herbenick.

What women want As part of Prof. Herbenicks research, 1,046 female and 975 male participants from across the U.S. were presented with a list of sexual behaviors and asked if they found them very appealing, somewhat appealing, not appealing, or not at all appealing. The top 10 behaviors that women found very appealing were: vaginal intercourse  69.9 percent cuddling more often  62.8 percent kissing more often during sex  49.3 percent saying sweet, romantic things during sex  46.6 percent giving or receiving a massage before sex  45.9 percent having gentle sex  45.4 percent receiving oral sex  43.3 percent watching a romantic movie  41.9 percent making the room feel more romantic  41.3 percent wearing sexy underwear or lingerie  41.2 percent In addition, 40.4 percent of women said that having sex more often was very appealing. But it is important to appreciate that there was not one category that no women found appealing. For instance, although the study found that the majority of women did not find watching sexually erotic videos or DVDs very appealing, 11.4 of female study participants did. While there were no differences in how men and women rated many of the categories, some behaviors were clearly more favored by men than by women. For example, men found anal sexual behaviors (including anal sex, anal toys, and anal fingering) more appealing than women. The same was true for oral sex (both giving and receiving), watching a partner undress, and watching a partner masturbate. So, what is the secret sauce to reconciling the differences in interest that sexual partners may have?
The largest twin study of schizophrenia to date reinforces the role of genetics in determining risk, suggesting that 79 percent of the likelihood to develop the condition is due to heritability. Share on Pinterest Our genes may hold the key to our risk of developing schizophrenia. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) define schizophrenia as a chronic, severe, and disabling mental disorder that affects 1.1 percent of all adults in the United States. Although the average age of onset for the disease has not been determined, symptoms of schizophrenia usually appear between the ages of 16 and 30. Psychosocial, environmental, and genetic factors are known to contribute to the risk of developing the disease, but to what extent? New research  carried out by scientists at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark  suggests that almost 80 percent of the likelihood of having schizophrenia may be genetic. Rikke Hilker, Ph.D., of the Center for Neuropsychiatric Schizophrenia Research at the Copenhagen University Hospital, is the first author of the study, and the findings were published in the journal Biological Psychiatry.

Studying schizophrenia heritability Dr. Hilker and her colleagues used data from the Danish Twin Register and the Danish Psychiatric Research Register to identify more than 31,000 pairs of twins born between 1951 and 2000. This study sample was clinically followed for almost 11 years, and the scientists used complex statistical models to assess twin concordance rates. Usually, statistical studies of heritability look at people who, by the end of the study, have either have been diagnosed with the disease or not. However, they do not account for the risk of developing the disease after the research ends. But this research included a more recent statistical method called inverse probability weighting . Having applied these methods, the researchers estimated the heritability of [schizophrenia] to be 79 percent. Also, when the researchers included schizophrenia spectrum disorders , such as schizoaffective disorders or schizotypal and schizoid personality disorders, the heritability rate was comparably high: 73 percent.
The Yankees have long sought to reset their luxury tax penalty clock, and with payroll now finally nearing the taxs cutoff point, GM Brian Cashman tells Joel Sherman of the New York Post are committed to getting under the $197MM threshold this winter.

We havent had [offseason] meetings like this, but the exclamation point is we are getting under the threshold next year, Cashman said. [Greg] Bird is our first baseman moving forward because obviously we believe in him and also because of the cost control. The most important factor is if Bird is worthy enough to be our first baseman and our answer is yes.

Since the modern luxury tax system was instituted prior to the 2003 season, the Yankees have been over the tax limit every single year, which cost them a whopping $325MM in penalty costs over those first 14 years. Between their financial means and their desire to always be competitive, exceeding the tax threshold was seen as a necessary evil. For instance, the Yankees planned to be under the tax limit several years ago, but after missing the postseason in 2013, they splurged on $555MM in player salaries that offseason to make another push in 2014.

[Related: MLBTRs Yankees news and information page on Facebook]

[Related: Yankees payroll and information page at Roster Resource]

Now, however, the Yankees can realistically aim to avoid the tax thanks to the number of big contracts finally coming off the books this winter (Alex Rodriguez and C.C. Sabathia) as well as $20.4MM for Matt Holliday and Michael Pineda.

Masahiro Tanaka can also opt out of the three years and $67MM remaining on his contract this winter, though the strong likelihood is that he does not, according to Sherman. This is noteworthy of itself, as Tanaka would be one of the top pitchers on the open market this winter if he did exercise his opt-out clause. MLBTRs Connor Byrne examined some of the pros and cons of Tanakas decision in a reader poll in early September, as Tanakas 4.74 ERA was somewhat inflated by some early-season home run problems, though his health issues and the qualifying offer could impact his market value. (MLBTR readers polled, by the way, were almost split on Tanakas decision, with a slim 52.59% voting that he will opt out.)

Beyond just escaping some large contracts, the bonus for the Yankees is that theyve been able to stay competitive thanks to pre-arbitration players like Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Luis Severino posting star numbers. Bird missed all of 2016 recovering from shoulder surgery and was limited to just 48 games this season due to ankle problems that required a surgical procedure, though Cashman clearly considers Bird to be another key part of the Yankees youth movement.

In counting on Bird as the regular first baseman in 2018, Sherman notes that the Yankees are foregoing a pursuit of top free agents options like Eric Hosmer. Chase Headley or Tyler Austin are on hand as in-house first base options if Bird is hurt again or just struggles, with top prospect Miguel Andujar knocking on the door to take over third base and Gleyber Torres potentially on track to make his big league debut in 2018 if he recovers as expected from Tommy John surgery. The Yankees will have positional flexibility with the DH spot open, and could use it to hand out more at-bats to players on rest days, or to lure Shohei Otani to New York.

Beyond just Hosmer and the other first basemen, the firm intent to avoid the luxury tax would seem to take the Bronx Bombers out of the running for most of the biggest free agents available this winter. Many of the most high-priced trade candidates could also be off the table, unless the dealing team is willing to eat some money or if the Yankees are able to unload a big salary back in return. This isnt to say that New York couldnt still be active in free agency, perhaps attracting veteran depth pieces who could be willing to play at a relative discount for a shot at a World Series.

Getting under the luxury tax threshold just once would send the Yankees from the highest level of tax payments all the way back to zero. In true Yankees fashion, of course, the team seems likely to exceed the level once again in the 2018-19 offseason, when the likes of Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Josh Donaldson, and several other superstars hit the market in arguably the most distinguished free agent class of all time. The new CBA imposes stiffer penalties for exceeding the tax limit, both by how much a team exceeds the threshold and if it is exceeded in multiple years, though even that may not necessarily be an issue for the Yankees given their wave of young talent both now and in the near future, plus even more high-priced veterans (Headley, David Robertson, Brett Gardner) coming off the books after 2018.
06.10.2017 LISTEN

AFROTRAP GOD "DJ YoGa" has unleashed unto his catalogue a hot New AfroTrap Music titled "LIght It Up" which Features Award Winning Radio Jock & Rapper: Joel Orleans with Fastest Rising AfroHiphop Artistes Reed Drago and SquyB.

This is the Third Single Release off DJ YoGa's upcoming maiden Album titled "AfroTrap Rules" which is scheduled for release early Next Year.

Light it Up paints a perfect picture of an African 4/20 day where young people unite to have fun and vibe as well as it presents a vivid impression of an African Trap Life most especially the Accra trap life. The Artistes delivery On the Jam demonstrated a great sense of creative individualism with a Mind blowing Word Play display and superb writing skills abilities.

Light it Up has African Instruments mixed with 808 and baselines which will keep you dancing and Bumping all throughout.

The video has been shot and will be released soon for all fans and lovers of African Trap Music to feed their eyes with the beauty of AfroTrap Life.

Dj YoGa is pushing this new genre to the World and we all need to come on board to push the AfroTrap Movement.

Listen to Listen to Dj Yoga ft Joel Orleans, Reed Drago, SquyB - Light It Up (Afro Trap) Prod - DJ YoGa.mp3 by DjYogaGh #np on #SoundCloud
Sensational Ghanaian duo, Reggie and Bollie of the X-Factor UK fame, have cautioned that embarking on solo projects while in a group is detrimental to the success of any musical group.

The group who won Best UK Music Artiste at the recently held 2017 International Achievement Recognition Awards (IARA) told 3FM's Urban Blend Show with Miriam Osei Agyemang that artistes lose their identity as solo artistes once they agree to form or join a group.

It is, therefore, necessary to put the interest of the group above any other individual interest no matter the circumstances, they advised.

They bemoaned the growing feud between the brothers of one of African's iconic music groups, P-Square, describing it as unfortunate because they are considered as a model for many upcoming groups in Africa.

The duo advised P-Square to strive to keep their differences away from the public and work at restoring sanity to the group.

Last week, a video of the estranged P-Square brothers, Paul and Peter, in a heated fight with their elder brother who also doubles as their manager in their lawyer's office following the ongoing disagreement and split of the group went viral on the internet. Representatives of the group are yet to issue a statement regarding the incident.

Touching on their new appointment as tourism ambassadors for Ghana, the excited Reggie and Bollie explained that their primary task is to project the beautiful sight and sound of Ghana in their act as entertainers to make Ghana the ideal tourism destination in Africa.

Reggie and Bollie praised the development in Ghanaian music over the years, having begun their musical careers in Ghana before relocating to the UK, they acknowledged there is a lot of ingenuity amongst artistes from Ghana that has contributed to putting Ghanaian music on the world map, listing Flowking Stone, Wutah, Stonebwoy, Shatta Wale and Samini as their top five artistes.




06.10.2017 LISTEN

Talented Ghanaian spoken word artiste, Jeffrey Nortey, has released a mind blowing piece captioned "Bend The Knee", in praise of Africas Highest rapper, Sarkodie.

In "Bend The Knee", Jeffrey plays with words highlighting Sarkodie's career, right from rap battles and emerging victorious as the lyrical king, being consistent despite critics in the music industry to above all being named as Africa's rapper with the highest accolades.

Jeffrey has several spoken word projects to his credit notable amongst them includes Sweet Mother and Peace Campaign.

Watch the video


06.10.2017 LISTEN

Budding Ghanaian reggae/dancehall musician, King Yobo, real name Lord Addo-Yobo has disclosed that his brand new single Alone In Love is ready for release in the coming weeks.

King Yobo, as he is known in the showbiz circles brands himself as the reggae / dancehall Lion and has had the opportunity to feature artiste like Movado on an already released track.

His new single tells the story of how a man gets led on into believing in a love that does not exist thus making him feel Alone in Love.

Having already released some great singles including "Yayra" and "Grateful Forever", King Yobo promises his fans that this soon-to-be-released track will be a great one, therefore they should be in expectation of this banger.

Follow the links to some of his already released singles.

http://sankofagh.blogspot.com/2017/08/sankofa-music-king-yobo-x-movado-nuh.html

http://sankofagh.blogspot.com/2017/07/sankofa-music-king-yoboyayra-mixed-by.html

http://sankofagh.blogspot.com/2017/06/sankofa-music-king-yobo-grateful-forver.html

http://sankofagh.blogspot.com/2017/04/sankofa-music-king-yobo-mdk-empire.html

King Yobo
Sorry, we can't find the content you're looking for at this URL.
Energy Banks management has lauded the Bank of Ghanas proposed recapitalization policy which is to be operational by December 31, 2018.

The BOGs head of banking supervision, Raymond Amanfo, served notice that banks in serious financial distress could be closed by the Bank of Ghana if they fail to recapitalize.

With the recapitalization rule, the BOG is likely to adjust the minimum capital of banks from Ghc60 million to Ghc400 million.

Energy Banks Executive Director, Issac Shedowo, has described the BOGs move as the wisest decision needed to sanitize the nations banking sector.

Banks that might fall short of meeting this requirement are likely to liquidate or merge with stronger ones.

He spoke to Citi Business News on the sidelines of the Energy Bank, Tamale Branchs customer service week celebration, dubbed, Think service, think Energy Bank.

He anticipated the collapse of more banks when the recapitalization policy takes off, and said Energy Bank is willing to absorb other banks with same strategy and focus.

He advocated that weak banks should form synergies ahead of the proposed recapitalization policys implementation.

Energy Bank will meet the Bank of Ghanas recapitalization ultimatum and we are ready to work with other banks that cannot meet the BOGs directive provided they have the same strategy and focus.

More mergers are likely in the emerging Ghanaian economy and synergies will be a win-win situation.

He also applauded Ghana commercial banks takeover of Capital and UT banks, saying, The BOG did the right thing with regards the takeover of Capital and UT banks by the commercial bank.

He reassured their customers saying, We are moving our services through technology and innovation to meet your aspirations.

The Executive Director voluntarily opened a Ghc200.00 kid account for the luckiest two-year old boy, Wuninmi Yussif, whose mother brought him there to deposit money.

The Tamale Branch Manager, Daniel Akasuza, appreciated the customers loyalty, and urged them to remain the banks strong pillar.

Daniel Akasuza said management will solidify its relationship with customers by providing them unparalleled services.

You customers are the pillar of the bank, and we will always provide you the best banking services to improve our customer satisfaction.

Some of the joyous customers gave testimonies of the banks quality services and unmatched customer satisfaction.

They praised the Executive Director, Issac Shedowo, for allaying their fears ahead of BOGs new directives implementation.

The Energy Bank, Tamale branch, is located within the heart of the Tamale business city near the old market.

The Bank was incorporated in September 2009, as a privately owned financial institution. and it is licensed to carryout universal banking services.



By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Form one students of some Senior High Schools are studying in congested classrooms, because of the high intake of freshers during the 2017/2018 academic year.

At the St. Thomas Aquinas Senior High School in Accra for instance, the available classrooms are packed to their capacity.

In an interview with Graphic Online on Thursday, the headmaster of St. Thomas Aquinas, Mr. Cyril Kwadzo Dadey, attributed the development to the implementation of the Free SHS Policy introduced by the government as its flagship policy this year.

According to the Aquinas headmaster, although the policy was a good initiative, which had reduced financial burden on parents, it had led to more intake in the various schools.

Using St Aquinas as an example, he said the school requested for 520 students, but 819 were placed by the Ghana Education Service (GES).

He said 716 out of the number have so far reported. I have asked for 520 to be placed in this school but 819 students were placed. Out of the number, as at October 3, 716 had reported.

So how am I coping with that number? Congestion in the classrooms, I put them all together.".

Mr Dadey said the minimum number of students in a classroom should be 40 but he now has 80, 78, 77, with the minimum number now being 64 in a classroom.

Mr Dadey said as part of measures to accommodate the students, the science laboratory of the school has been turned into a classroom.

This, he noted, was seriously affecting teaching and learning in the school.

He was hopeful the President will help in constructing more classroom blocks for most schools with congested classrooms.

Apart from the congestion, Mr Dadey said the school lacks equipment for the science laboratory, computers and monitors for the Information Communication and Technology (ICT) laboratory, and projectors for all the departments.

He further stated that the school also need an assembly hall.

When the Graphic Online team visited some of the classrooms, some first-year students were sitting on plastic chairs without tables, with little space in between them.

Some of the students called on the government to come to their aid.
An old wag I know, who is familiar with the what3words global addressing system that enables individuals who download a free app to be accurately located because it divides the world into 3 cm squares, drew my attention to the fact that a Dansoman tech start-up is apparently selling a similar system to the government of Ghana for U.S.$2.7 million or thereabouts.

Being someone who isn't a digital native, I told him that it was important not to rush into judgement and assume that Mother Ghana was being ripped off by yet another software supplier, as there might be a perfectly legitimate reason, tech-wise, for the government to have to pay for the new national digital addressing system, despite the fact that a free app does exactly the same job for those those who download the what3words app.

This blog's humble advice to the masters of the universe who now govern our country, is that to avoid unecessary speculation by the cynics in our midst - whose unhelpful pessimism infects everything of value meant to ensure Ghanaian society's progress - the government's spokespersons should provide detailed information, to Ghanaians, about the cost of the new digital national addressing system.

Above all, the government must provide a detailed cost breakdown of the new digital national addressing system to the entirety of the Ghanaian media. That will ensure that ordinary people get to hear about it and understand its importance to the nation's rapid development.

And since this blog supports the idea of government contracts going to dynamic, honest and innovative young Ghanaian entrepreneurs, our humble advice to the government's spokespersons is that to deny our nation's conspiracy theorists the oxygen of publicity, they ought to get the Dansoman tech start-up that is said to be providing the new digital national addressing system for our country, to publicly assure Ghanaians that they have not pirated what3words' freely available global addressing system, and that the U.S. $2.7 million they are charging the government of Ghana is reasonable and fair.

Simply put, the question the Dansoman tech start-up's owners must answer is: Is the cost of the new national digital addressing system fair to Mother Ghana and good value for money for taxpayers - when what3words has a free app that addresses the same problem precisely?

POST SCRIPT

For those of us who since the late 90s have urged our leaders (in our writing) to put a national identification and addressing system in place, this really is welcome news indeed. Kudos to both the government of President Akufo-Addo and the Dansoman tech start-up that is providing Ghana with a new national digital addressing system. Cool.
Apparently, we have heard the vociferous NDC apparatchiks time and time again accusing the NPP Party of being somewhat unfair to its presidential running mates.

Meanwhile, it would appear that the actual unfairness is rife in the NDC Party. So, who are the NDC strident apparatchiks actually deceiving?

Are they propagandists or inveterate hypocrites?

The word hypocrite is rooted in the Greek word hypokrites, which means stage actor, pretender, or dissembler. So a hypocrite is a person who pretends to behave a certain way, but really acts and believes the total opposite.

In other words, a hypocrite is a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.

Hypocrites are experts at blaming others, while empathetic people are experts at blaming themselves. You absorb their poison and begin to believe it as truth.

Hypocrites spend their lives cheating, betraying, conning, and deceiving. But despite this disgusting pattern of behaviour, they still feel entitled to point out (or invent) the most minor mistakes in othersand theyll point them out repeatedly, to negate & excuse all of their own horrible actions.

Believe it or not, politics has sadly ceased being the noble profession it used to be. It is absolutely true that politics has been infiltrated by wolves in sheeps clothing.

Truly, the vast majority of the modern day politicians ostensive preoccupation is to manipulate their way to power and pursue their vested interests.

If you, dear reader, will kindly take time off and peruse through the archives of the 2016 electioneering campaign records at your own convenience, you will definitely understand exactly what Im trying to drive at.

Apparently, the NDC Party leadership, led by former President Mahama, made it known to the good people of Ghana that the NPP Party has an unparalleled record of dumping its vice presidents without providing them the opportunity to lead the party.

It is, however, worth mentioning that during the 2016 electioneering campaign, the NDC Party leadership made it known to the good people of Ghana that the obvious choice of a partys vacant flagbearership position should be the former vice president.

I have always held a firm conviction that there is nothing wrong for political parties to have party precincts or strongholds.

And more so it is true that such practices are acceptable in even most advanced democracies. The distinction, though, is unlike the voters in developing countries, the vast majority of voters in the developed countries, more often than not, do not vote for voting sake.

In other words, the vast majority of voters in the advanced democracies mostly vote on the issues that affect their lives.

It was against that backdrop that the vast majority of the UK Labour Party supporters in Scotland rightly voted against their party in the 2015 general elections for failing to live up to their expectations.

Obviously, there is nothing wrong for voters to have a preferred political party. However, voters must not and cannot allow manipulating politicians to take them for a ride in perpetuity.

In UK for instance, the majority of voters in Wales and Scotland more often than not do vote for the Labour Party, with the exception of the 2015 election where the ratio of the votes swing favoured the Conservative Party and the Scottish National Party respectively.

In that regard, why must people continue to upbraid voters from the Volta Region and Asante Region for frequently voting the NDC and the NPP respectively?

What we must however be condemning with no uncertain terms is the unfairness being displayed by some political actors in our democratic dispensation.

We have been made to believe that the National Democratic Congress has a special convention when it comes to the selection of their flagbearers.

Take, for example, if we take a stroll down memory lane, the partys founder and the first president of the NDC Party, J. J. Rawlings, defied all the stiff opposition and chose his then Vice President, the late Mills as the flagbearer during the 2000 general election.

In line with the NDCs convention, former President Mahama received acclamation to lead the party in the December 2012 general election following the untimely death of President Mills.

President Mahama then selected Amissah-Arthur from the Central Region of Ghana as his running mate for the 2012 election.

Based on the NDC Partys logic on the selection of a flagbearer, there should be no argument over the obvious choice of the NDC Partys next presidential candidate. Indeed, the next person in line should be the erstwhile Vice President, Amissah-Arthur.

It is, however, ironic that there is an ongoing tussle over the choice of their next flagbearer.

In fact, I read with extreme satisfaction amid a glint of smiles all over my face the news of Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthurs recent intention to join the race for the NDCs2020 flagbearership slot.

Well-wishers have come to me and I am thinking about contesting the NDCs 2020 flagbearership slot" (Amissah-Arthur, 24/07/2017).

Regrettably, however, the leadership of the NDC Party are somehow refusing to recognise former Vice President Amissah-Arthur.

Wouldnt it then be hypocritical on the part of the NDC Party leadership if they failed to select former Vice President Amissah-Arthur as their next flagbearer?

Well, I would like to emphasise that it would seem hypocritical, unconscionable, capricious, unfair and incommodious, if the former Vice President Amissah-Arthur was to be sidelined in the search for the next flagbearer of the NDC Party.

K. Badu, UK.
Maiduguri (Nigeria) (AFP) - Greater international cooperation is required to defeat Boko Haram and neutralise the threat from the Islamist militants in Nigeria and beyond, military commanders and politicians said this week.

The jihadists, who are allied to the Islamic State group, have destroyed swathes of remote northeast Nigeria since 2009, killing at least 20,000 people and forcing more than 2.6 million from their homes.

Counter-insurgency operations since early 2015 have pushed them out of captured towns and villages to the point where the government in Abuja now believes they are a spent force.

But with deadly attacks still a regular occurrence, Nigeria's highest-ranking army officer said a "collective effort" was needed to counter its guerilla tactics -- and those of similar groups who have wreaked havoc elsewhere around the world.

"We understand the challenges across the spectrum of asymmetric warfare," Nigeria's chief of army staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Yusuf Buratai, said on Wednesday at the headquarters of operations against the militants in the northeastern city of Maiduguri.

"This... is a global phenomenon. We must work in synergy to make sure that the terrorism that has been affecting not only here and in the sub-region (of West Africa) but indeed globally" is ended, he added.

A regional force comprising troops from Nigeria and its neighbours Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin, has helped push Boko Haram out of captured territory since early 2015.

But Western nations have largely held back from more direct involvement in the conflict, including sales of weapons and equipment because of the Nigerian army's poor human rights record.

US, British, French and German soldiers, among others, are currently present in a "non-lethal" advisory and support roles, in areas from providing Nigerian troops with intelligence and infantry training to tackling the threat from improvised explosive devices.

Senior commanders on the ground say the goal now is to develop the Nigerian Army's skills so people can return to their homes and begin rebuilding their lives.

Foreign weapons

President Muhammadu Buhari and his predecessor Goodluck Jonathan have said the refusal of Western government the Nigerian military hardware has hampered its efforts to tackle Boko Haram.

A $600 million deal with the United States for 12 fighter aircraft was held up after more than 100 civilians were killed in an airstrike in January this year.

Nigeria said this week the purchase had finally been approved.

Britain's foreign minister, Boris Johnson, also said last month that a request for further equipment was being considered.

London's minister in charge of armed forces, Mark Lancaster, who reviewed British Army support programmes across northern Nigeria this week, said "the real key" to improvement was proper basic training, including in human rights.

The presence of foreign nations was "a genuine recognition that the problems we face here in Nigeria are not just Nigeria's problems in the northeast," he told AFP.

"Not only are they cross-border within the region but of course this is an international problem with an international solution."
General Secretary for The Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT ), Mr David Ofori Acheampong has described the world teachers day celebrations in Ghana as needless.

Ghana joined the rest of the world to mark World Teachers Day, also known as International Teachers Day, held annually on October 5 since 1994, to commemorates teacher organizations worldwide.

Its aim is to mobilize support for teachers and to ensure that the needs of future generations will continue to be met by teachers.

This years celebration aims to showcase and discuss progress and challenges in higher education such as institutional autonomy, academic freedom and professional development.

This years celebration also commemorates the 20th anniversary of the 1997 UNESCO Recommendations that borders on teaching personnel in higher education.

The U.N believes teaching personnel in institutions of higher education are often overlooked in discussions concerning the status of Teachers.

The occasion marks the achievement and reflects on ways to counter the challenges in the teaching profession such as shortage of Teachers.

An international conference was held at UNESCO headquarters in Paris to mark the day whiles the Ghana best teachers awards was held in the eastern regional capital Koforidua with thirty nine (39) teachers honored for distinguishing themselves.

Sharing his view on the event, Mr David Ofori charged government and the education ministry to ensure that teachers are honoured at the regional and district level for the sake of equity.

Government should make the celebrations like that of the National farmers day where farmers are motivated with awards from national to district levels, he urged.

Mr David Ofori Acheampong described the day as a sad one for teachers in the country considering the little commitment shown by governments in motivating teachers in deprived areas.

A Primary 1 teacher, Faustina Cobson was adjudged the 2017 National Best Teacher as Ghana marks Global Teachers Day.

The 41-year old who teaches at the Richard Aquaye Memorial school in Agbobloshie, Accra, beat two others to winner the coveted prize.

She received a three bedroom house, 50,000 cedis and life insurance cover from SIC.
The nations leading mortgage provider, Ghana Home Loans, has pledged to play a leading role in pioneering the implementation of EDGE certification in the local construction industry.

The mortgage specialist intends to use its strong relationships with real estate developers to encourage the use of environmentally friendly methods in the process of home building.

This intention has been captured in a partnership agreement between Ghana Home Loans and IFC signed on 4th October 2017, at a short ceremony held at the IFC office in Accra.

The signing event was attended by officers from IFC, a team from Ghana Home Loans, and a representative of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of the Switzerland Embassy.

SECO is a major donor to the EDGE program in Ghana and throughout the world. Also in attendance were the Ghana Green Building Council and the consortium of thinkstep-SGS, which is the certification provider for EDGE in Ghana.

Ghana Home Loans and IFC have decided to collaborate in the recognition of their shared aspirations to move the building construction industry to a lower carbon, more resource-efficient path. Through the partnership, the entities will also work together to promote sustainable design practices in Ghana.

This will include Ghana Home Loans recommending their customers and clients to consider EDGE certification to increase the value of their green properties.

An innovation of IFC, EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) has been created to respond to the need for a measurable solution to prove the financial case for building green and help jumpstart the proliferation of green buildings.

EDGE includes complimentary software to empower building professionals to quickly and easily determine the most cost-effective ways to build green based on occupant behavior, building type and the local climate.

Signing on behalf of Ghana Home Loans, Kojo Addo-Kufuor, Chief Operating Officer, reiterated that the company remains committed to supporting innovations that drive sustainability in the local construction industry.

He stated that EDGE gives true and tangible meaning to environmentally friendly construction. Ghana Home Loans is pleased to be able to play a leading role in this process and shall proactively bring this exciting tool to our partners directly involved in home building.

Mr. Addo-Kufuor also hinted that a logical next step would be the issuance of Green Bonds to provide competitive financing to developers who deploy environmentally friendly methods in their construction processes.

Ghana Home Loans is setting an example for others to follow in being the first to express their commitment to EDGE and encouraging green building growth, said Prashant Kapoor, IFCs Principal Green Building Specialist and Inventor of EDGE.

With the support of the financial sector and pioneers such as Ghana Home Loans who have embraced EDGE, together we can transform the future built environment in Ghana, he added.

IFCs aim is to transform 20 percent of the construction market in rapidly industrializing countries with the support of industry leaders, governments and financial institutions.

Resource-efficient buildings provide a tangible value that can be passed from property developers to their customers through utility savings. Green buildings also have less negative impact on the environment and reinforce a more sustainable corporate brand.

They also enable homebuyers to make a difference through choosing green homes for their families, which have the potential for higher re-sale values.

IFC has a green building investment portfolio of more than $3 billion, which includes its own direct investments and mobilized financing.

Complementing its investment work, IFC advises governments on green building regulations in Bangladesh, Colombia, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Panama, Peru, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Ghana Home Loans

Ghana Home Loans is a home finance institution which operates under Bank of Ghana supervision as a non-bank financial institution.

At present, the company is the largest provider of residential mortgage products in Ghana.

The Company is majority owned by the Abraaj Group, a global private equity institution with over $10 billion of assets under management.

The International Finance Corporation, the investment arm of the World Bank Group, and the U.S. governments Overseas Private Investment Corporation have provided long term financing to Ghana Home Loans.

Since its inception in 2006, Ghana Home Loans has disbursed mortgages in excess of $160 million through its financing products which include Home Purchase Mortgages, Home Equity Mortgages, Home Completion Mortgages and Home Construction Mortgages.

The Company recently received a universal banking license from the Bank of Ghana and should commence operations by the end of 2017.
Minority Leader Haruna Iddrisu has suggested that the government uses pension money to build houses for workers at very affordable rates since shelter has become a major challenge for a lot of workers who retire.

Many workers use their meagre salaries on rent and this becomes a bigger problem when they go on retirement so if workers are to be helped, then it would be prudent to use workers' pension money to build at very affordable prices to enable them own houses and be more productive, he indicated.

When you have a good place to lay your head, you become very productive, he said, adding that government could partner the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) to launch a social housing scheme for workers.

The Minority leader made the strong argument in a contribution to a statement made by the Minister of Works and Housing on the floor of parliament on Wednesday to commemorate this year's World Habitat Day, which fell on Monday, October 2 under the theme, Housing Policies: Affordable Homes.

I feel very sad when I see workers struggling to pay for rent and finding it difficult to get places to lay their heads which the government with good policies could have helped to avoid.

According to him, in an African country like Morocco, workers, who go on retirement, do not have problems with accommodation, because the government has built a lot of houses for workers who go on retirement.

He said the government must take the bold initiative to help provide affordable houses for workers in the country to bring some relief to workers, stressing that involving the private sector in the provision of houses for workers would not be ideal since the houses would not be affordable in the long run.

Samuel Atta Akyea, Minister for Works & Housing, making his statement to mark the day, said government was determined to address the housing deficit through partnerships with the private sector.

The Ministry of Works and Housing is implementing the Affordable Housing Programme aimed at providing adequate, decent affordable housing particularly to the low and middle-income groups, he said.

He said the government would be establishing the National Housing Fund to help in that direction.

According to the Minister, addressing the housing needs of the poorest and most vulnerable, especially women, youth and those who live in the slums, must be a priority in the developmental agenda of the country.

He said the Ministry, in March last year, under the previous government launched the National Housing Policy as part of reforms and initiatives to ensure sustainable development of the construction industry.

The National Housing Policy Implementation Plan is at its conclusive stage. The document has undergone stakeholder consultative assessments and contains strategies that will go a long way to solve the myriad of urban housing problems for our people, the minister said.
Nairobi (AFP) - Police in Kenya fired tear gas on Friday at crowds of opposition supporters marching in three main cities ahead of a tense presidential election re-run.

Opposition leader Raila Odinga has called for biweekly protests to pressure the government to overhaul the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) ahead of the vote scheduled for October 26.

Leaders of the opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition say the election commission, in its present form, should be barred from managing the re-run vote after the Supreme Court annulled the original August poll, citing widespread "illegalities and irregularities".

In the opposition stronghold Kisumu in western Kenya, thousands of protesters were dispersed with tear gas after they tried to storm the election body's local offices.

Elsewhere in the city, a supermarket was looted and set on fire.

In the capital Nairobi, protests failed to gather momentum, but small numbers of supporters were tear gassed anyway.

"I will not allow anyone to cause chaos. If people are demonstrating peacefully, they are protected by the law, but the moment they turn chaotic we will deal with them," Nairobi police commander Japheth Koome said.

Odinga has threatened to boycott the re-run if the election body is not overhauled and senior officials sacked, but so far his demands have been ignored.

President Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee Party, which has a majority in parliament, has ruled out any major shake-up of the IEBC.

Instead, it wants to push through changes to the electoral law that critics say will simply legalise some of the faults cited by the Supreme Court.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt said - "An election cannot give a country a firm sense of direction if it had two or more national parties which merely have different names but are as alike in their principles and aims as peas in the same pod"

Democracy requires not only popular participation, but also popular competition. We must also understand democracy is not only a regime in which those who govern are selected through contested elections, but more fundamentally a system of government in which parties lose elections. We heard so many attacks and insults after the 2016 elections from some supporters of the opposition NDC who attributed their party's defeat to actions and inactions of their officials. The truth is that however bitter we may feel, the democratic system works best when there is a change of government at reasonable intervals that is why Benjamin Disraeli's dictum that 'no government can long be secure without a formidable opposition' has proved true and fully valid for the healthy and efficiency of a democracy.

The insults and primitive dispositions will not bring back the opposition they will rather complicate the already bad situation. Vigilant and principled opposition is indispensable at this point. For a party that transformed the country in terms of infrastructure, placed the economy on solid foundation and a party that has been steering the statecraft since the beginning of the fourth republic, being in the opposition because of oversized lies told Ghanaians by the Npp will not be an task.

But listening to complaints emanating from the various stables of the party, attitude of some persons party supporters and the former administration reposed confidence in, attitude of some former appointees and some communicators on radio after the defeat, I believe that the defeat is a crucial opportunity for the NDC to put its house in order. But to build a formidable base for the task ahead, there are certain important steps the party should take. In opposition, some of the members including past officers may start dealing clandestinely with the party in power and some may even defect.

We shall continue to see this unfaithfulness and climate of political infidelity because our politics are not built on sound ideological underpinnings though we make loud ideological noise on our platforms. Selfish and groups interest always supersede ideological interest. By elite consensus, political power in Ghana is seen as an avenue to access state resources and no wants to lose out in the power struggle. This attitude is eating deeply into our internal politics.

The result is that selfish and greedy politicians often align themselves with whichever party is in power.That is what Mahatma Gandhi calls 'politics without principle'. Opposition should be a chance to bring fresh ideas , hear critical voices and build up relationships. This is the reason why party faithfuls must vehemently reject those who think some set of old ethos can bring the party back to power and others who think more about occupying positions in the party than building consensus to smoothen the party's movement.

It is time to throw the rascals out. Remember what Sammy Awuku said in opposition that; they will package lies and throw them out vigorously same way the NDC setting the record team did between 2007-2008.

In opposition, communicators have unlimited space to throw out whatever news they think can work for their agenda and they do that fearlessly because they are not accountable to anybody. To measure communicators of the incumbent by what you hear and see the opposition elements say or do is wrong. I monitored an npp rally at Ofankor few days after the sitting President then Barima Mahama inaugurated the Ofankor Ayalolo bus terminal addressed by Sammy Awuku and beloved, I left the place shattered. The young man exhibited extraordinary propaganda skills and released piercing punches which I knew touched emotions. And you know why he spoke at such places and on radio with confidence? It was because was not being haunted by tormenting shadows. Most of people who speak for the party on radio appear weakened by their past associations with the past regime vis-a-vis the ongoing witch hunting operations. They easily get intimidated by government communicators and are afraid to speak vehemently against nefarious activities of the administration. Such persons should step aside for new faces to take over.

The second point is the party staying together as one strong opposition. The party must go back to the drawing board, honestly assess its performance in government and identify its areas of comparative strength and weaknesses. If this is done devoid of blocks interests it will help the party unravel the factors responsible for its poor outing in the 2016 election. This can start from the branches. Most of the executives are going through serious psychological crisis because of the attacks they received from the rank and file after the defeat and because of that, have lost their authority which is dangerous.

The third point is formulation of ideas in opposition. Opposition politics is about ideas, policies and strategies for changing power. Opposition is not just about opposing and criticising, but getting elected. All the jabs on social media, the press conferences, the pictures etc mean nothing without getting into government. This is what those fighting for internal space and those engaged in the primitive blocks formation agenda must know. Under a dictator, being an official of an opposition party is as useless as the word. It is in this light, the NDC will have to assemble a team of experts in different aspects of governance, politics, economics, science, education, health, transport, and business including persons who ideologically are linked to the NDC in that will drive its campaign of ideas. Interest groups , think tanks and consultancies can provide a very valuable resource. They work of these experts many of them who will work from independent disposition, will be identify the failures and loopholes in the policy framework of the ruling party and to propose new ideas for the change the party want to effect. Not to repeat the mistakes that placed the party in opposition, these expert must expand their work to future cost and outcomes of the new policies.

The fourth point it the party's resources. In opposition resources seem scarce because the NDC in opposition does not control the instruments of coercion and the resources of the state. The resources available must be used wisely to avoid over dependence on external support from business magnates and foreign entities which can affect the party when it gets into government. The issue of its relationship with the media and resources to deal with the media is also important. Media management is very crucial to the 2020 dream and opposition politics in general.

Whoever emerges as head of the Party's communication outfit has an enormous task on his shoulders. The person and his deputies must first kill the divisions in the communication outfit. This phenomenon of blocks communication must end with the coming into office of the new team. The party must select well informed communicators, people who will not government communicators and hosts to intimidate them to speak for the party. History provides many examples of communicators who have caused irredeemable havoc to their parties because of utterances that they later come to regret. In opposition politics everyone cannot and should not be allowed to speak on behalf of the party. The race for 2020 has already began, and the determining factor in what direction the political wind sways will be the quality of opposition politics the NDC is going to bring to the table of political participation.

The party must start fishing for its forces in the academia, the lawyers, the accountants etc and must treat them as part of the system not as outsiders. The NDC is a social democratic political organisation not conservatives whose elitism philosophy support the originals and outsiders phenomenon.

My last point is the 'early cracks' and its effect on our communication. The NDC has three years ahead and that must already ring loud in the ears of party supporters and those aspiring to lead the party. The Npp's failure is not an automatic guarantee the NDC's 2020 victory. Corruption in our contemporary times has become the most potent missile the opposition can use to oust the incumbent, or incumbent, to keep the opposition in the political desert hence the need to always stand up as a unit against attempts to denigrate the former administration with baseless corruption.

Part 1
The Railways Development Minister, Joe Ghartey, has revealed plans by the government to develop the Railway system at Kaase and Ejisu in the Ashanti Region into cargo terminals.

He said these areas will serve as terminals for the Western and Eastern rail lines respectively.

Joe Ghartey was speaking to Citi News after a meeting with Railway workers in the Kumasi area.

The Minister explained that, the decision to make the two towns major cargo terminals were because Adum has been compromised in terms of land, and so it may not be able to create the kind of development we want to createWhen you go to Kaase, there is enough space there, in Ejisu too the Chief intends to give us some lands.

The Minister added that that, both towns were environmentally viable for the project and had thriving businesses.

Kaase has great potential for development, there are cocoa sheds, and along the cocoa sheds are rail lines already. BOST has tanks there, there are major warehouses, cement etc, so Kaase is a natural choice for developing a major cargo terminal on the Western line. On the Eastern line, when you get to Boankra, theres a port, but after Boankra at Ejisu, we are in talks with the Ejisumanhene, we intend to get some land and also develop Ejisu into a major cargo terminal. Ejisu already is a bustling business area, and we are told by our developers that it is not a difficult thing to do.

Addressing issues concerning the Kumasi  Paga Railway line, Joe Ghartey said we advertised for people to do a feasibility study, it has been shortlisted to three (3), it has gone to the central tender review board and they have passed some comments and have brought it back to the Ministry. The Ministry has worked on those comments and has given it back to them. We hope that very soon, we will choose one. Out of 29, they narrowed it down to three.

He noted that the Ministry is committed to ensuring that, the railway system is revamped.

He however said, we cannot sacrifice the law on the back of expediency or speed. We are slow, but we are sure. We have done a lot of background works and we have prepared ourselves for now, and we are ready to unleash what we have prepared unto the public, and I am praying we will get good results.

The railway sector some years ago was left dormant. While some trains in Accra are still operating, trains in the Kumasi Train area are not in good shape, with railway tracks buried in the sand. Some traders and squatters have taken over parts of the Kumasi Train Station for their businesses and habitation.

President Akufo-Addo in his maiden State of the Nation Address announced the governments commitment to revamp the railway sector.

The Takoradi-Paga railway line, Tema-Akosombo railway, the Eastern railway line from Tema to Kumasi via Boankra Inland Port, sub-urban railway lines between Accra-Amasaman-Nsawam and Kumasi-Ejisu, are some of the other rail lines government intends to work on.



By : Loretta Timah/citifmonline.com
06.10.2017 LISTEN

Daasebre Prof (Emeritus) Oti Boateng, Omanhene of New Juaben Traditional Area in the Eastern Region, has lauded government for implementing the free Senior High School (SHS) policy that will improve the lives of Ghanaians.

The New Juaben Paramount chief also called on the President to ensure the effective implementation of the policy, adding that the laudable policy must be supported by all citizens, irrespective of their political affiliations to ensure its sustainability.

Daasebre Oti Boateng, who was the chairman for the 23rd National Best Teachers and Best School Awards ceremony, which was held in Koforidua, speaking at the event, said the bold adoption of the free SHS policy was a striking indication of how sacred education is to the generality of Ghanaians.

The Minister of state in-charge of tertiary Education, Prof. Kwesi Yankah, said the free SHS policy would improve the human resource base.

According to him, government recognizes the importance of teachers in ensuring quality education in the country and would ensure the motivation of teachers.

He stressed that the government was determined to reform the Diploma in Basic Education (DBE) curriculum to reflect the national teacher education curriculum framework to help teachers become professional.

The Eastern Regional Minister, Eric Kwakye Darfour, described the teachers as mentors, counselors, innovators and role models and added that the success of every educational programme depended largely on teachers and stressed the need for them to be motivated to perform effectively.

Philippa Larsen, Acting National President of GNAT, on her part, urged government not to compromise the quality of education under the free SHS programme.

Touching on the free Senior High School (SHS) policy, the Acting GNAT President, commended the government for the initiative, saying that the implementation of the policy would lessen the burden of most parents, whose incomes can hardly cater for the basic needs of their homes.

She said government and the Ghana Education Service must address the various challenges that would arise to ensure that the policy ensures the provision of quality education.

She also called on government to provide teaching and learning materials in schools and improve the conditions of service of teachers to avoid labour unrest in the future.

Awardees

A Primary 1 teacher, Faustina Cobson was adjudged the 2017 National Best Teacher, as Ghana marked the Global Teachers Day.

She won a three-bedroom house, GH50,000 and life insurance cover from SIC.

The 41-year-old, who teaches at the Richard Aquaye Memorial School at Agbobloshie, Accra, beat two others to win the coveted prize.

Madam Agnes Nutakor, the first runner-up, who teaches at Kpeve Model school in the Volta Region, also took home a cash prize of GH110,000 and a life insurance cover.

42-year-old Joseph Kojo Abusah, who placed third, took home a brand new car, GH20,000, life insurance cover from SIC Life. He teaches at La Nkwantan in Accra.

Scholarships

In all, the 36 teachers who won the awards were offered Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) scholarships to pursue further studies.

Additionally, the awardees from basic and second-cycle schools were entitled to study leave with pay to enable them to upgrade their skills and knowledge.

So far government has assisted 50 needy school pupils and students from Ekye D/A Basic School in the Affram Plains North and Atakora D/A Basic School in the Affram Plains in the Eastern Region.

They received school uniforms, school bags, boots, textbooks and stationery to motivate them to go to school.

FROM Daniel Bampoe, Koforidua

Caption: THE AWARDEES
The Public Finance Management (PFM) Network was yesterday launched in Accra to help build the capacity of citizens to effectively engage their assemblies on key developmental issues.

PFM, which is under the auspices of the Social Accountability Unit (SAU) of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), is also to help strengthen the accountability process in the country.

The launch was held under the theme: PMF Network Knowledge of Public Financial Management for Enhanced Social Accountability and Service Delivery.

Farouk Braimah, Interim Executive Chairman and National Convener of the PFM Network, said the network would complement governments efforts at addressing public financial management challenges.

He said the network's vision is to deepen citizen engagement and improve local governance while its mission is to promote citizens knowledge in PFM for enhanced social accountability and service delivery.

Mr Braimah said CSOs have since 1993 been supporting government in addressing public financial management challenges and promoting efficient and effective spending.

He said the PFM Network was making significant progress, as it has membership in nine out of the 10 regions, with the exception of the Volta Region.

It has 48 CSOs operating in 120 MMDAs across the country.

Mr Braimah said data sharing by MMDAs still remains a hot issue and urged CSOs to engage public institutions.

Kwasi Boateng Adjei, a Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, said the initiative formed part of government's commitment to deepening engagement with civil society and citizens in local governance to improve PFM systems.

The deputy minister said there were a number of challenges in promoting citizen participation in local governance which included apathy from citizens in local government issues, lack of basic understanding of the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders, as well as lack of innovative strategies for a meaningfully engagement with MMDAs.

Elizabeth K. T. Sackey, Deputy Greater Accra Regional Minister, urged stakeholders to show concern and expressed the hope that with collaborative effort, MMDAs would be able to ensure proper accountability in good governance.

By Melvin Tarlue
The report of Parliament's Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, on the Office of the Special Prosecutor Bill, is expected to be laid later today [Friday].

This follows the Committee's conclusion of consultations with various stakeholders concerned with the Bill.

The objective of the Bill is to establish a specialized agency to investigate specific cases of corruption involving public officers, as well as individuals in the private sector implicated in corrupt acts.

Ahead of the presentation of the report to the House, Vice Chairman of the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee, Alexander Abban, told Citi News that a serious debate awaits the laying of the bill.

We as a committee advertised for the submission of memoranda by CSOs, individuals, and anybody who cared to submit one. There are people who even think that the whole exercise becomes unconstitutional with regards to the provisions in article 88 of the constitution, others think otherwise. So the lines are drawn for heavy debate on this matter on the floor of Parliament, he added.

Meanwhile, Senior Law Lecturer at the University of Ghana, Dr. Raymond Atuguba, argues that Parliament does not have the powers to consider the Special Prosecutor Bill.

Speaking at a forum organized by the Centre for Social Democracy at the University of Ghana Political Science Department, Dr. Atuguba said Parliament is constitutionally constrained from considering the Bill and approving it.

Absent an amendment of the constitution, there is no iota of prosecutorial powers left anywhere to be given to anybody. So Parliament itself is constitutionally constrained from giving prosecutorial powers to an independent special prosecutor because Parliament cannot do that. Those powers have already been vested in one person [Attorney General], he added.

About Special prosecutor office

The Office of the Special Prosecutor is to enable the government deal with issues of corruption, especially among state officials.

Under the Bill, an independent prosecutor will head the office and prosecute corruption offenses by state officers.

It was one of the major promises made by President Akufo-Addo as part of his plans to deal with corruption in government.

The Bill which was laid before Parliament was later withdrawn after the Minority challenged the procedure for laying it, claiming it was unconstitutional.

The Bill was subsequently re-laid before the House.



By: Duke Mensah Opoku/citifmonline.com/Ghana
Harare (AFP) - Zimbabwe has been gripped by an escalating spat between the president's wife and his senior vice-president over a bizarre poisoning incident that has laid bare the pair's ambitions to succeed President Robert Mugabe.

Though Mugabe has repeatedly condemned factionalism and refused to discuss his successor, his declining health and the looming 2018 elections have led to unprecedented jockeying for the top job.

The latest controversy erupted publicly when vice-president Emmerson Mnangagwa -- widely known as "the crocodile"-- was hospitalised in Johannesburg in August alleging he had been poisoned.

He did not openly speculate about what was behind his sudden illness at a party rally.

But Mnangagwa's supporters allege he was struck down by poison-laced ice cream produced on a farm owned by first lady Grace Mugabe.

The pair have been locked for months in an increasingly bitter war of words over who should replace Zimbabwe's 93-year old president.

They are widely seen as the two leading contenders.

In a rare television appearance, 75-year-old Mnangagwa on Thursday night forcefully rebuffed recent criticism from the country's other vice-president Phelekezela Mphoko, who said the public row had undermined Mugabe.

"I never said I was poisoned in Gwanda but that I fell ill," Mnangagwa said, referring to the location of the ruling party gathering, shortly after which he fell ill.

But in a dramatic twist to the saga that has transfixed Zimbabweans, Grace Mugabe also poured cold water on claims that she had a hand in Mnangagwa's unexplained sickness.

"How could I possibly poison Mnangagwa? I am the wife of the president," said Grace Mugabe in a Thursday night address to party supporters and government officials.

"What would I want from him that I don't have? Why would I want to kill someone who was given a job by my husband? It is nonsensical.

"When you go around saying all nonsensical stuff it means you have failed the politics. You need to stay home."

'Might have reached breaking point'

Mnangagwa has since recovered from his undisclosed illness.

Grace has publicly called on her husband to name a successor that analysts say she hopes will be her, ratcheting up tensions with Mnangagwa, a regime loyalist widely tipped to succeed Mugabe.

"We have definitely got two elephants fighting -- we will see what happens to the grass," said Derek Matyszak, a senior researcher at the Pretoria-based Institute of Security Studies.

"It's a bit like the Cuban missile crisis -- we are looking to see who blinks first."

Mugabe has enforced strict discipline in his ruling ZANU-PF party for decades and avoided naming a successor even as concerns have grown over his advanced age and failing health.

But the open warfare between Grace and Mnangagwa has apparently left Mugabe furious.

In July, leading Grace ally Jonathan Moto, the higher education minister, accused Mnangagwa of a "power grab" after he was pictured posing with a mug emblazoned with the words "I am the boss".

In a video clip from on Tuesday, Mugabe appeared to have refused to shake Mnangagwa's hand at Harare's airport in an incident that analysts suggest means "lines were crossed".

"The level of this confrontation is unprecedented and it might have reached breaking point," Matyszak said.

"Mugabe will be considering his options as to what to do about this Mnangagwa thing."

Mugabe said last month that he may name a preferred candidate to replace him.

But the former liberation leader ruled out simply appointing his favoured figure and said his ruling ZANU-PF party must make the final decision.

The president has repeatedly condemned factionalism within his own party in thinly veiled rebukes to Mnangagwa and his wife's public posturing.
Accra, Oct. 6, CDA Consult  The African Court on Human and Peoples Rights has ruled against Mali in case which Mr. and Mrs. DIAKITE Malian citizens residing in Bamako, Cite du CHU Point-G had sued the State.

The Government of Mali however had prayed the Africa Continental Court to declare the Application inadmissible for failure to exhaust the local remedies; and on the merits should this issue arise, to dismiss the Application as unfounded.

The African Court after deliberations unanimously ruled on September 28 that it has jurisdiction to hear the matter; but upholds the Respondents objection regarding the inadmissibility of the Application for failure to exhaust the local remedies; and declared the Application inadmissible.

The African Court also ruled that each Party bear its own costs, the ruling made available to the CDA Consult in Accra indicated.

The African Court composed of: Sylvain ORE, President, Ben KIOKO, Vice-President; Gerard NIYUNGEKO, El Hadji GUISSE, Rafaa BEN ACHOUR, Solomy B. BOSSA, Angelo V. MATUSSE, Ntyam S. O. MENGUE, Marie-Therese MUKAMULISA, Tujilane R. CHIZUMILA, Chafika BENSAOULA, Judges; and Dr Robert ENO, Registrar.

CDA Consult hereby publishes the full text below:

In the matter of: DIAKITE Couple, represented by: Advocate Lassana DIAKITE, Lawyer registered with the Bar of Mali verses the Republic of Mali, represented by: i) Mr Ibrahima KEITA, Deputy Director, State Litigations and (ii) Mr Daouda DOUMBIA, Deputy Director, Criminal Matters.

I. THE PARTIES

1. The Applicants, Mr. and Mrs. DIAKITE are citizens of Mali residing in Bamako, Cite du CHU Point-G.

2. The Respondent is the Republic of Mali, which became a Party to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (hereinafter referred to as "the Charter") on 22 January 1982 and to the Protocol to the African Charter on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples Rights (hereinafter referred to as the Protocol") on 20 June 2000. The Republic of Mali also deposited, on 19 February 2010, the Declaration recognizing the jurisdiction of the Court to hear cases filed by individuals and non-governmental organizations. She further, on 16 July 1974, acceded to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 16 December, 1966 (hereinafter referred to as the Covenant").

II. SUBJECT OF THE APPLICATION

3. The Court was seized of this matter by an Application dated 19 February 2015 together with written observations. Also annexed thereto was the correspondence addressed by the Applicants to the Malian judicial authorities in respect of the instant case.

A) The facts

4. The Applicants submit that, on 14 November 2012, their home was robbed and vandalized by unknown persons. The items stolen included an HP laptop computer, medical appliances, USB flash disks, books, land allocation letter and copies of educational certificates.

5. According to the Applicants, a complaint against an unknown person (complaint against X) was filed on the same day at the Office of the State Prosecutor for Bamako District.

6. Fifteen (15) days after the robbery, a certain Oumar Mare was found in possession of a knife from the home of the Applicants immediate neighbour, stolen on the same night their home was robbed and vandalized.

7. Mr. Oumar Mare was then brought to the Bamako 12th District Police Station which took the statements of the complainants and the witnesses. The suspect was however released after only five days in custody.

8. The Applicants indicate that they seized, one after the other, the Superintendent of the Police Unit concerned, the State Attorney and the Prosecutor General of Bamako, and that no reply was received to their complaint.

B) Alleged violations

9. The Applicants submit that this attitude of the Bamako 12th District Police headquarters constitutes a serious violation of their rights as enshrined in Article 7 of the Charter which stipulates that everyone shall have the right to have his cause heard; in particular, the right to an appeal to competent national organs against acts violating his fundamental rights as recognized and guaranteed by conventions, laws, regulations and customs in force.

10. The also submit that by leaving unpunished the aggression of which they have been victim, whereas they did all they could to get one of the criminals arrested, the judicial authorities of Mali violated their right to equality before the law and equal protection of the law as set forth in Article 3 of the Charter; their right to peace as enshrined by Article 23 of the Charter; their right to property as guaranteed by Article 14 of the same Charter as well as Article 2 (3) (a) and (b) of the Covenant.

III. SUMMARY OF THE PROCEDURE BEFORE THE COURT

11. The Application was filed on 19 February 2016.

12. On 4 April 2016, the Applicants filed their observations on the question of exhaustion of local remedies. The said observations were subsequently served on the Respondent on 6 April 2016.

13. On 22 April 2016, the Application was transmitted to all States Parties to the Protocol and to the other entities mentioned in Rule 35 (3) of the Rules of Court (herein-after referred to as the Rules).

14. On 13 May 2016, the Respondent submitted its Response which was transmitted to the Applicants on the same day. On 9 August 2016, the Applicants filed their Reply.

15. On 17 August 2016, the Respondent sought leave of Court to file a Rejoinder to the Applicants Reply.

16. The Court granted the request, and on 9 September, 2016, the Respondent filed its Rejoinder.

17. On 26 September 2016, the Registry notified the Parties that the written procedure was closed. The Court decided not to hold a public hearing on the matter.

IV. THE PARTIES PRAYERS

18. The Applicants pray the Court to:

(i) declare their Application admissible and founded in fact and in law;

(ii) order the Respondent to enact special legislation restricting the preliminary investigation to a set time limit;

(iii) rule that failure to observe the set time limit will negatively affect the preliminary investigation report;

(iv) order the State of Mali to enact legislation recognizing the responsibility of the State for the procedural misconduct of its agents;

(v) order the Respondent to pay them the following sums of money:

1. 10,867,000 CFA F being the value of the items stolen;

2. 7,000,000 CFA F, being the hard-to-assess value of the items and the works stolen;

3. 5,000,000 CFA F being the moral prejudices suffered by the entire members of their family;

4. 9,000,000 CFA F being lawyers fees for the procedure at local level and for the current procedure;

5. 1,000,000 CFA F being the procedural costs.

19. The Respondent prays the Court :

(i) with respect to form: to declare the Application inadmissible for failure to exhaust the local remedies;

(ii) on the merits: should this issue arise, to dismiss the Application as unfounded.

V. JURISDICTION OF THE COURT

20. In terms of Rule 39 (1) of its Rules, the Court "shall conduct preliminary examination of its jurisdiction ..."

21. The Court notes that the Respondent does not contest its jurisdiction. However, it notes that even if the Respondent has not raised objection regarding its jurisdiction, it must, of its own motion, satisfy itself that it has material, personal, temporal and territorial jurisdiction to hear the Application.

22. As regards material jurisdiction, Article 3 (1) of the Protocol provides that: "the jurisdiction of the Court shall extend to all cases and disputes submitted to it concerning the interpretation and application of the Charter, this Protocol and any other relevant Human Rights instrument ratified by the States concerned".

23. The Court notes that the violations alleged by the Applicants all relate to the Charter and the Covenant, instruments to which the Respondent is a Party. It therefore holds that it has the material jurisdiction to examine the instant case.

24. As regards the other aspects of its jurisdiction, the Court holds that:

(i) it has personal jurisdiction given that the Republic of Mali is a Party to the Protocol, and has also deposited the declaration prescribed under Article 34 (6) cited above (supra paragraph 2);

(ii) it has temporal jurisdiction given that the alleged violations occurred after the entry into force of the afore-mentioned instruments in respect of the Respondent (supra paragraph 2);

(iii) it has territorial jurisdiction in so far as the facts occurred on the Respondents territory.

25. It thus follows from all the foregoing considerations that the Court has jurisdiction to hear the instant case.

VI. ADMISSIBILITY OF THE APPLICATION

26. In terms of Article 6 (2) of the Protocol: "the Court shall rule on the admissibility of cases taking into account the provisions of article 56 of the Charter".

27. Rule 40 of the Rules which essentially reproduces the contents of Article 56 of the Charter, provides that:

Pursuant to the provisions of Article 56 of the Charter to which Article 6 (2) of the Protocol refers, applications to the Court shall comply with the following conditions:

1. disclose the identity of the Applicant notwithstanding the latters request for anonymity;

2. comply with the Constitutive Act of the Union and the Charter;

3. not contain any disparaging or insulting language;

4. not be based exclusively on news disseminated through the mass media;

5. be filed after exhausting local remedies, if any, unless it is obvious that this procedure is unduly prolonged;

6. be filed within a reasonable time from the date local remedies were exhausted or from the date set by the Court as being the commencement of the time limit within which it shall be seized with the matter;

7. not raise any matter or issues previously settled by the parties in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, the Constitutive Act of the African Union, the provisions of the Charter or of any legal instrument of the African Union.

28. Of the seven (7) conditions mentioned above, the Respondent raised only one objection in relation to exhaustion of local remedies.

A) Conditions that are not in contention

29. The Court notes that the conditions mentioned in sub-paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7 of Rule 40 of the Rules are not in contention between the Parties.

30. The Court further notes that nothing in the records submitted to it by the Parties suggests that any of the said conditions would not be fulfilled in the instant case.

31. Consequently, it finds that the afore-mentioned conditions have been met in the instant case.

B) The objection to admissibility on the ground of failure to exhaust the local remedies

32. The Respondent submits that it was premature on the part of the Applicants to have brought the instant case before this Court given that there were still local remedies available to them.

33. According to the Respondent, the Applicants, by virtue of Article 62 of Law No. 01-080 of 20 August 2001 on the Code of Criminal Procedure of Mali, could have instituted civil action before the investigating judge. It maintains that this procedure does not even require, as a precondition, discontinuation of a case by the State Attorney.

34. The Respondent maintains that, contrary to the Applicants allegations, there has been no inaction on the part of the Public Prosecutor's Office or an attempt by the Police to stifle the complaint; that the Applicants had it in their imagination that Mr. Oumar Mare apprehended two weeks after the burglary and interrogated on another robbery committed in the home of their neighbour, was the author of the robbery of which they are victims, whereas the two cases are distinct and have no proven link between them.

35. It contends that in the context of Mr. Oumar Mare's arrest, a search was conducted at his home and none of the items stolen from the Applicants' home was found there; that despite all that, the Applicants are intent on getting justice to prosecute and convict Mr. Oumar Mare as the author of the robbery, whereas no evidence of guilt has been found against him.

36. It further contends that if the Applicants were so convinced that Mr. Oumar Mare was the perpetrator of the robbery, and given the alleged inaction of the Police and the Office of the State Attorney, they could have brought a civil action before the competent investigating judge; that, in reality, the Applicants were apprehensive of the uncertain outcome of such a procedure and would want this Court to substitute itself for the domestic Courts in order for them to obtain redress.

37. The Respondent, in conclusion, submits that it has not violated any rights of the Applicants in terms of the domestic proceedings.

38. In their Reply, the Applicants maintain that filing a civil suit is not a remedy within the meaning of Article 56 (5) of the Charter; that in the Republic of Mali, a victim has the option of referring a case to the State Attorney or to an Investigating Judge; that the use of either option closes the other for the purposes of proper administration of justice; that, besides, the two procedures have the same finality, that is, investigation by an investigating judge.

39. They maintain that the attitude on the part of the judicial authorities of Mali of abandoning the procedure at the initial stage for over three (3) years constitutes an undue prolongation of the procedure within the meaning of Article 56 (5) of the Charter.

40. Relying on the Decision of the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights in Communication Dawda K. Jawara versus the Republic of The Gambia (Communication No. 147/95-149/96), the Applicants submit that the remedy proposed by the Respondent is neither effective nor sufficient and that, the undue prolongation of local procedures provides justification for the Court to declare their Application admissible.

41. As the Court underscored in its previous judgments, the rule regarding the exhaustion of local remedies prior to referral to an international human rights Court is one that is recognized and accepted internationally

42. It is clear from the records that the Applicants do not contest that they have not used the totality of the judicial remedies existing in the Respondent States system. What is in contention between the Parties is, on the one hand, the question as to whether the duration of the procedure at national level has been unduly prolonged within the meaning of Article 56 (5) of the Charter and Rule 40 (5) of the Rules; and, on the other, the question as to whether referral to the investigating judge is, in the judicial system of the Respondent State, a remedy that is available, effective and sufficient.

43. Whereas the Respondent contends that the procedure was stalled because the Police was unable to apprehend the perpetrator(s) of the robbery, the Applicants, for their part, maintain that the author of the robbery was identified, but that the Police and Office of the State Attorney did not take steps to close the case at their level.

44. The question that arises at this juncture is whether there exists in the Respondents judicial system a remedy that the Applicants could have exercised to by-pass what they have described as lack of diligence on the part of the Police and the Office of the State Attorney.

45. In this regard, Article 62 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Mali states that: "Any person claiming to be aggrieved by a crime or a misdemeanor may lodge a complaint in a civil suit before a competent investigating judge.

46. It is clear from the foregoing provision that the Applicants had, at least, the possibility of bringing the case directly before an investigating judge by filing a civil suit.

47. As regards the effectiveness and sufficiency of this remedy, Article 90 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Mali provides that: "The investigating judge shall, in accordance with the law, undertake all such acts of information as he deems useful to ensure manifestation of the truth."

48. Article 112 of the same Code stipulates that: "Counsel for the accused and the civil party, both during the investigation and after communication of the proceedings to the registry, may in writing close the hearing of new witnesses, adversarial sessions, expert opinions and all such acts of investigation as they consider relevant for the defense of the accused and the interests of the civil party. The judge shall give reasons for the order by which he refuses to carry out any additional investigative measures requested of him. The accused and the civil party may appeal the order, either by themselves or through their counsel."

49. It is apparent from the foregoing provisions that the investigating judge can undertake all acts of investigation requested of him by the accused or the injured party, and that the latter even has the right to appeal an order that refuses to undertake the investigative measures requested.

50. It is noteworthy at this juncture that a complaint filed together with a civil suit enables the victim to get associated with the conduct of the procedure and that, in his capacity as a Party to the penal process has the right to directly request the investigating judge to commence an investigation.

51. In view of the foregoing, the Court holds in conclusion that referral to the investigating judge is, in the Respondents judicial system, an effective and sufficient remedy which the Applicants could exercise to obtain, or at least seek to obtain consideration of their complaint.

52. Having failed to exercise this remedy, the Applicants are not founded in submitting that the proceedings have been unduly prolonged or that this remedy has supposedly not resolved their problem.

53. In its previous judgments, the Court established that exhausting local remedies is an exigency of international law and not a matter of choice; that it lies with the Applicant to take all such steps as are necessary to exhaust or at least endeavor to exhaust local remedies; and that it is not enough for the Applicant to question the effectiveness of the State's local remedies on account of isolated incidents .

54. In view of the foregoing, the Court finds that the Applicants have not complied with the requirement of exhaustion of local remedies set forth in Article 56 (5) of the Charter, and that, consequently, their Application is inadmissible.

55. Having found that the Application is inadmissible for failure to exhaust local remedies, the Court decides that the matter shall not be examined on the merits.

VII. COSTS

56. In accordance with Rule 30 of its Rules "Unless otherwise decided by the Court, each party shall bear its own costs".

57. Having taken the circumstances of the instant case into account, the Court decides that each Party shall bear its own costs.

58. For these reasons,

THE COURT

Unanimously

i) Declares that it has jurisdiction to hear this matter;

ii) Upholds the Respondents objection regarding the inadmissibility of the Application for failure to exhaust the local remedies;

iii) Declares the Application inadmissible;

iv) Rules that each Party shall bear its own costs.
A man believed to be in his 30s has been found dead at Abuakwa Manhyia in the Ashanti Region after the Friday rains that sent devasting floods pouring into major areas in the country.

Residents told Joy News' Ashanti Regional Correspondent, Ohemeng Tawiah the deceased jumped into the rainwater and was found dead hours later.

Also, a six-year-old girl was rushed to a hospital in Kumasi after a collapsed building left her injured.

The stories in the other regions are not different as what appeared a normal rain in the morning, took on a different character turning streets into rivers navigable by boat.

From Accra in the Greater Accra Region to Cape Coast in the Central Region, the wreaks caused by the rains are visible, Joy News has gathered.

The rains left turbid water everywhere one passes and some buildings were submerged by the heavy downpour.

Myjoyonline.com brings you pictures of the flooding.
Lagos (AFP) - A leaked memo from Nigeria's minister of state for oil has shown that irregularities in the state-owned oil giant remain entrenched, despite official vows to root out the "cancer" of graft.

Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari to report on questionable practices in the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Five NNPC contracts, with a total value of $25 billion, "were never reviewed by or discussed with the board," according to the letter published in local media.

"There are many more, your excellency," it added.

The NNPC is saddled with the reputation of being the historical slush fund of the country's governments, whether democratically elected or military.

The company, working in joint ventures with foreign oil majors, accounts for more than half of Nigeria's daily oil production of about two million barrels per day, estimates Benjamin Auge, a researcher associated with a French think-tank, the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).

Massive corruption

One of the biggest graft scandals in Nigerian history came to light in 2014, when central bank governor Lamido Sanusi revealed that the equivalent of $18 billion had disappeared from state coffers between 2012 and 2013.

Sanusi was removed from office, but the scandal and disclosures of large-scale looting of national assets were instrumental in the electoral defeat of President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015, in favour of Buhari, who fought on a clean-hands ticket.

Buhari's critics say his anti-corruption campaign is targeting only opposition figures -- a charge that is likely to carry weight in the light of the leaked letter.

The letter appears to point to Kachikwu's deepening frustration.

"I have been unable to secure an appointment to see you despite very many attempts," Kachikwu wrote to Buhari, who is oil minister as well as president.

His missive was dated from late August, though until now the public was unaware of its existence.

No visible action has been taken, and the NNPC's chairman, Maikanti Kacalla Baru, whose governance of the oil giant is clearly in the memo's firing line, remains in office.

Auge suggested that Baru was appointed in 2016 in order to "isolate" Kachikwu.

Baru, an NNPC insider, is a complete contrast in personality and career profile to the outsider Kachikwu -- a Harvard-educated southerner who came to the NNPC through the private sector, where he was ExxonMobil's deputy chief for Africa, Auge said.

"The machinery which enabled corruption in the NNPC has not been switched off," he said. "The only thing that has changed is the networks of influence."

Factional divide?

Kachikwu was given a dual appointment in 2015 as minister of state and NNPC's group managing director in the declared aim of making the company's business less murky and corrupt.

At the time, investors in the oil sector cheered his appointment as a potential sign of changing times.

Today, though, suspicions are deepening of a factionalist divide within the government along regional lines, and of little appetite to cleanse the NNPC of the taint of corruption.

Baru, said a Nigerian financial analyst specialising in the oil sector, is part of an old guard from northern Nigeria, Buhari's own home, and through his long career at NNPC had built a network of political contacts.

The 58-year-old was named in 2016 "just because he was from the north," the analyst said. "Buhari has a northern agenda, you can't rule that out."

Jonathan's party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP), which is now in opposition, on Thursday called for Baru to be suspended, adding that a "loud silence" weighed on Buhari for the implications of sleaze hanging over the NNPC.

Kachikwu met with Buhari on Friday, offering only a terse "no comment" after the talks.

"I don't think Kachikwu will be fired, it would be a very bad move for the investors, but he might not be part of the government after the 2018 cabinet reshuffle," said the analyst, who requested anonymity in order to be able to speak freely.

"We are still sitting on the same corrupt system that existed before Buhari came into power," the analyst said. "Nothing has changed."
Kamal Deen Abdulai, the National Nasara Coordinator of the ruling New Patriotic Party and a National Youth Organiser hopeful has advised the youth of the three Northern Regions to take education seriously since that is the main panacea to personal success and to bridge the development gap between the North and the South.

According Kamal Deen, the era where the northerner was regarded as only interested in things that retard development is long gone and so the people should seize every available opportunity to enhance their education.

Kamal Deen who is with the president on his 7days visit to the three Northern regions was speaking to the Media on the need for the people to embrace education.

EMBRACE FREE SHS

Commenting on the governments free SHS policy, Kamal Deen advised parents and school going children in the Northern part of Ghana to embrace the Free SHS policy introduced by the Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo led government since that is the panacea to changing the lives of the people.

The three Northern Regions have been enjoying some form of Free Secondary School education since the Kwame Nkrumah era till date. However the form of free SHS initiated by the Akufo Addo government look more comprehensive as it covers some other components of the school fees which the earlier Northern Free SHS didnt cover.

He has therefore admonished the people not to pay heed to the needless propaganda peddled by detractors of the policy against the program and know that they will be the beneficiaries of the program in the long term.

Do not listen to the naysayers. The program has come to stay and it is intended to salvage our educational system and change our lives. Your people will be the ones to benefit. Do not let the propaganda against it make you lose hope in it. He advised.

APPEAL

He used the opportunity to appeal to northerners who are in the current government to use their positions to help serve as mentors to the young ones and help propagate the need for the youth to be educated to the people.

He pleaded with the northerners in the government such as Hon. Kofi Adda, the minister for Water Resources works and sanitation, Hon. Dr. Amin Anta, deputy minster of energy, Mr. Emmanuel Asigri: CEO of the National Youth Authority, Hon. Mustapha Ussif: CEO of the National Service Scheme, Mr. Hassan Tampuli: CEO of the National Petroleum Authority and several others to open their doors to their Northern brothers and sisters and always encourage them to marry education and give birth to success.

He stated that, there is no denying the fact that, there is a huge development gap between the North and the South and the only reason for which this gap can be bridged is through education and proper leadership.

He however added that whiles the government under Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo is giving the country better leadership by introducing policies that make the lives of the citzenry better, it is incumbent on the people (Northerners) to take advantage of the profitable policies and enhance their livelihood by taking their education serious.
Too much has been said about girl child education in Ghana and the main concern for governments and benevolent organizations is how to attain equal access to education for both boys and girls. In Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo, any attempts by any organization to promote and support the female child through the educational ladder often encounter impediments making it difficult to see positive results.

Most communities in the district specially the Yunyoo part of it do not have formal schooland most parents are reluctant to send their children to attend school in a far distance. The worst case is the absolute lack of teachers in the few existing basic schools. This situation mostly affects girls as they turn to engage in apprenticeship, babysitting and head porting which will not in any way improve their thinking and empower them.

Education should not be seen as the individual that is learning but rather an investment in the future of a community and society at large. This however calls for much stronger collaboration of all the stakeholders with government playing a lead role of providing all the needed facilities to improve teaching and learning.

With NGOs and religious bodies focusing on attitudinal change of families and communities, there will be progress with regards to attaining equal access to education for both male and female.

Plan Ghana plays an admirable role in the campaign to improve female access to education in Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District and other parts of the country; however social attitudes within communities, as well as lack of government support mean that progress is somewhat slow. For the issue to be truly solved, families, communities as well as the government of Ghana must realize the broad beneficial impact that the education of all children has for the society.

The girl child in Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo needs formal education to protect her from unwanted pregnancies force and early marriages which brings poverty into her family and the society. However, until then, small steps towards ending female vulnerability will forever be minimal. Without formal education any government policy geared towards the improvement of the girl child is bound to fail.

The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection instead of presenting government white papers on the campaign against child marriage should rather concentrate on how to get quality education for the girl child. This could be done by making strong partnership with Ghana Education Service to ensure that our basic schools are fairly given teachers.

The possibility that children who are not in school will suffer any form of abuse is higher than those who are in school. This however, means we cannot fight abuse of children especially the girl child when they are not in school.

Since most of the worst forms of child abuse cases especially force and child marriages occur in the rural areas such as Bunkpurugu-Yunyoo District, there is the need to urgently address the educational needs of these areas to protect our girls from these forms of abuse.

Yunyoo constituency for instance had FiftyTwo (52) basic schools, Three Hundred and Seventy Three (373) Classes with only Sixty Eight (68) trained teachers as at the end of 2016. These figures represent 0.1teacher per class ratio with a very huge gap of child-teacher ratio.

The best form of child protection is quality education and if this situation should continue without finding more sustainable solution, then one can conclude that no government policy can protect our girls from abuse.
Africas Premium mobile phone brand TECNO has again showed us why they will be the markets favorite.

TECNO the official phone and tablet partner of the English premiere league giants, Manchester FC, launches its newest device called the SPARK and SPARK Plus, a beautifully designed device thats about to get every dream chaser Sparked up.

After launching the Camon CX their flagship device in April which took Africa by storm, the premium phone brand has released an amazing yet affordable mobile device thats about to again, take Africa by another storm.

With a 5.5 HD Crystal Display which gives you and amazing display experience with 90% High Colour gamut, Fingerprint Quick Snap that allows you take pictures with ease, Mix Flash to brighten your pictures and 13MP AF Back camera, we cant stop taking down notes on why TECNO is Africas favorite mobile phone brand.

The SPARK device is available in Ghana for an affordable sum of GHC415. Thats not all. When you purchase your SPARK device from any authorized dealer, you also get 800MB MTN Data every month for 6 months.

What are you waiting for to get Lit Up? Visit TECNO Mobile Ghana on all Facebook , Instagram and Twitter to know the nearest retail shop close to you.
Nigeria has presented four key Copyright ratified Treaties to the Assembly of member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in Geneva.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the presentation was made at a 57th WIPO General Assembly meeting in Geneva on October 2.

Amb. Audu Kadiri, Nigerias Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, said in a statement made available to NAN on Friday in Abuja.

Kadiri, who presented the treaties to the Director General of WIPO, Dr. Francis Gurry said, Nigeria was committed to the implementation of the treaties in support of the countrys drive to revatilise its economy.

He listed the treaties to include include the WIPO Copyright Treaty (WCT), the Performances and Phonograms Treaty (WPPT) and the Beijing Treaty on Audio Visual Performances and the Marrakesh Treaty .

He explained that the Beijing Treaty will enter into force three months after 30 ratifications or accessions are presented to WIPO.

Kadiri also added that others will enter into force for Nigeria on January 4, 2018.

Gurry said that the accessions represented a major commitment on the part of Nigeria to ensure that its copyright system effective and therefore its protection for performers and for artists and for composers and authors is at the very highest level internationally.

Also, Mr Afam Ezekude, Director- General of Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), who led Nigeria delegates to the meeting said , With the ratification of the four treaties, Nigeria is about to witness a new era in its intellectual property protection policy and legislation.

The development again underscores the urgent need to enact a new Copyright legislation that will implement the standards stipulated in the treaties,he said.

The Ratification of the treaties affirms Nigerias acceptance and its undertaking to faithfully perform and carry out obligations under the treaties.

Nigeria stands to derive benefits from this instrument when its provisions are eventually domesticated in the revised Copyright bill being proposed by the NCC.

Similarly, the Beijing treaty guarantees prospects of remuneration for performers in respect of residual exploitation of their fixed performances.

For Nigeria and its burgeoning film industry (NOLLYWOOD), this treaty is particularly germane to the operations of the new system of collective management of rights in audiovisual works.

It will strengthen and expand opportunities for players in the industry, he said.

NAN recalled that that President Muhammadu Buhari, following an approval of the Federal Executive Council, signed these four (4) instruments of ratification of the Treaties on August 24, 2017.
06.10.2017 LISTEN

Late Nollywood actor, Okwey Chukwujeku better known as Bossman, has finally been laid to rest after he passed on September, 2017.

The actors death came as a shock to many who are fans of the industry as many never believed the story to be true until his burial poster came out.

Some Nollywood celebrities were on ground to pay their last respect to the late actor, who died at the age of 27.
Chairman of Bitstamp (a crypto exchange), Dan Morehead spoke at the Sohn Investment Conference this week.

His aim? Trying to convince portfolio managers and asset allocators that bitcoin needs to be on their radar.

Morehead told attendees,

The upside is so high, its a rational, expected thing to have in your portfolio.

And it seems to be more than just bullish sentiment, Morehead believes bitcoin will revolutionise money. We dont want to brag, but some of our editors have been saying the same thing for quite some time now.

Which is why we agree with Moreheads message. We believe crypto is a great asset to any portfolio. As long as you understand that there are still significant risks.

Morehead also discussed the blockchain. He likened it to internet protocols, a system of rules that govern the internet.

Morehead said these protocols effectively run the internet. But, the profits are going to third parties who build applications on top of these protocols, like Google.

He sees blockchain (the technology behind bitcoin) as fundamentally changing this hierarchy. Under blockchain, the protocols or foundation, like bitcoin, would take most of the profit. Meanwhile third parties who utilise the protocols, such as exchanges would only get a fraction.

In other words, its a total shake-up. A complete reallocation of wealth.

Wall Street Got the Message

It seems Wall Street is finally getting the message as well.

Mark Cuban has confirmed he has invested in bitcoin. After months of hinting at an investment, he finally told Bloomberg that he has in fact taken the plunge.

In what has been a complete about-face, Mark Cuban is now a bitcoin believer. He even called out JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon over his recent criticisms.

It is interesting because there are a lot of assets which their value is just based on supply and demand. Most stocks, there is no intrinsic value because you have no true ownership rights and no voting rights. You just have the ability to buy and sell those stocks. Bitcoin is the same thing. Its value is based on supply and demand. I have bought some through an ETN based on a Swedish exchange.

The time to get in on the bitcoin bandwagon is now. Wall Street is coming, and once they do the rest of the rabble will follow. Dont get left behind, find out how to get a hold of some bitcoin today with our free report.

Regards,

Ryan Clarkson-Ledward,

Junior Analyst, Money Morning
Yesterday, one of the best performing stocks this year, Qantas Airways [ASX:QAN], jumped 3% to $6.12 per share. Investment bank Goldman Sachs upgraded their rating for the stock.

According to The Australian Financial Review (AFR), Goldman Sachs lifted their outlook on the airline as Qantas did the same, prompting investors to buy.

Qantas Group has forecast full-year profits slightly ahead of analysts expectations as stronger domestic sales counter weakness in its international business.

The airline expects to report full-year underlying group profit before tax of between $1.35 billion and $1.4 billion. Analysts consensus expectations had been a $1.35 billion profit, the AFR wrote.

Yesterdays climb gives Qantas shareholders a year-to-date return of 83.7%.

Source: Google Finance

However, Im left scratching my head as to why Qantas, which faces fierce competition in a capital-intensive industry, could climb so high.

Sure, the company is expecting earnings to improve into the future, beating expectations by 3.7% at most. But throughout 2017, earnings were far from stellar.

Sky-high expectations fuelling share price growth

In their half-yearly results, revenue, profit and cash from operations didnt grow at all. Total sales were down 3.3% and profits fell 25.1%.

Fast forward to Qantas full-year results and, again, revenue, profit and cash from operations fell compared to 2016 figures.

So why have investors piled into the stock?

Did the price of oil fall dramatically? If you look at the graph below, the price of oil has done little-to-nothing so far in 2017.

Source: Macro Trends

Did their competitors go out of business? No. Airlines like Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd [ASX:VAH] are still around.

So what has caused the stock to appreciate so aggressively? There are three catalysts that come to mind.

The First is Dividends

In FY17, Qantas doubled their dividend from 7 cents to 14 cents per share. Bloomberg forecasts this will continue to rise in FY18, to 18 cents, and in FY19, to 20 cents per share.

Qantas Buy-Back Scheme

The second is Qantas buy-back scheme. From March 2016 to June 2017, Qantas bought back 143.6 million shares, more than double the amount they repurchased in 2015. The company also announced on 25 August that they would continue to buy back shares worth $373 million.

Qantas Restructure

The third, and maybe most important, is Qantas restructure. The airline is reshuffling senior management for the first time in five years. The change also saw more than 4,800 jobs cut and the addition of higher-margin destinations included into their offering.

Goldman Sachs analyst Owen Birrell said:

Combined with the ongoing benefits of the transformation program and a benign fuel price environment, we expect to see earnings continue to improve.

Well see what happens.

Yet how much further can Qantas realistically climb? Many investors might now be looking to crystallise profits. And if figures dont live up to expectations, the stock could be in real trouble.

But if you still want to find stocks which could potentially double your money in a matter of months, check out these three small-cap stocks.

Cheers,

Harje Ronngard,

Junior Analyst, Money Morning
A lot of ink is spilled every time the housing market hiccups. The doom and gloom headlines come thick and fast. Everyone want to be able to say that they called the peak of the market. And with good reason. Housing, and housing debt, have swollen to a frighteningly large portion of our economy.

Any market commentator who successfully calls the peak could dine out on it for years.

Of course, the more that housing doubters point to each stumble as the start of a collapse that never seems to come, the more it seems like they may be crying wolf. And that includes your own humble weekend Money Morning editor.

Ive long since given up trying to guess when housing will stop booming in Australia. Yes, prices are out of control relative to incomes. Yes, housing debt levels are a huge risk to our economy. Yes, the banks are dangerously dependent on that debt, and themselves make up a huge portion of our stock market.

All of that has been true for years. And still house prices have risen. Every time it looked like the trend might reverse, it has instead regained strength.

Despite that, there are good reasons why everyone watches housing so closely for signs of a reversal. And why they cant help debating if this is it every time growth momentarily slows.

Controversial financial commentator, Satyajit Das, didnt try to call the collapse this week. But he did argue that Australia is still far too dependent on houses and holes. Das points out in the Financial Review how much of propertys growth is dangerously speculative. By measures such as price-to-rent or price-to-disposable income, our property market is substantially overvalued.

Those measures arent relevant if all youre after is capital growth. If you can always sell the house for a higher price, any rent you earn is gravy. Who cares how small it is? Even if you acknowledge that the investment is foolish on its fundamental merits, there will always be a greater fool to sell it to later.

But if people stop believing that property prices never fall, you may struggle to find your greater fool. Suddenly the income from rent becomes a much more important consideration.

On those measures, Aussie property looks pretty bad.

The lions share of the risk

Ryan explained in Fridays Money Morning that 60% of the average Australians assets are in property.

That percentage skews even higher if you look at Aussies in or near retirement. Those Australians most dependent on income from investments, and least on income from work, would be hardest hit by any slowdown or fall in property prices.

Keep that in mind next time you see an article bemoaning how rising prices are locking young Australians out of the property market. Younger generations are finding it increasingly difficult to purchase their own homes  much less investment properties. But that restriction may one day soon start to look like freedom, when the bubble finally bursts.

The generation of Australians approaching retirement today have benefited greatly from the boom in housing. But of course, that also means that they are most exposed to any dangers in that market.

And even if youve taken your profits out of property and invested them elsewhere, you still cant afford to ignore this issue. With so many Australians holding mortgages, and the big four banks making up such a large part of our economy, any shock that starts in housing could spread across the entire country. Few sectors, if any, would be entirely spared.

In the event of such a shock, we may be surprised by which shares are spared the chaos. Sam Volkering has recently published a report about the unexpected shock proof stocks, which he argues should weather this kind of crisis. They may be the exact opposite of the stocks you typically think of as safe havens. You can read Sams surprising argument here.

This week in Money Morning

Investors cant ignore politics. Even when we may want to. The effects of national and international policies and events are just too large in markets. That was Ryans argument this week. He looked at some of the ways that politics and political instability are affecting the Aussie market right now, and what could be coming.

On Monday Ryan explained how US President Donald Trump has almost singlehandedly reversed social media platform Twitters fortunes, by making it his spiritual home. 140 characters (or 280, after its recent doubling) may not be enough for a nuanced approached to policy or international relations. But Trumps frequent posts have clearly changed the face of the US presidency, and how the world views it. And possibly saved Twitters financial fortunes in the process.

As Ryan explained, Twitter was losing ground to the other social media platforms, until Trumps outrageous statements brought the spotlight back.

Social media is a fast-changing and unpredictable sector. It can often be difficult to understand or predict, even for the young digital natives who make it their home. But as the millennial generation age into their strongest earning and spending years, you cant afford to ignore it. To read Ryans insights into investing in the digital age, check out Mondays Money Morning here.

Tuesdays article also focused on Trump and his effects on global markets. Ryan discussed the three key pillars of Trumps successful election campaign, and how each is translating into his administration (or failing to). Ryan believes that the third and final Trump card will be played soon. And if hes right, now could be your chance to get invested ahead of the market. Read the details here.

Modern technology consumers have been spoiled in terms of attractive, functional design. That was Ryans argument on Wednesday. And when you consider Apples fortunes, it seems he has a point. Apple dominated the early years of the smartphone revolution because of their attractive, easy to learn interface. It allowed people to try out new tech without being intimidated by learning complex systems.

In a world where an increasing number of potential customers grew up on iPhones and their imitators, it pays even more to make your tech accessible and enjoyable to use. That goes doubly so if youre trying to entice them away from competitors who have very similar offers.

Thats why Ryan is concerned about Commonwealth Banks latest moves. The ideas may be sound. But could something as simple as an ugly, unintuitive design be enough to undermine it? Read more here

The Australian state and federal governments came together to slash civil liberties this week, with the vague promise that this loss of freedom will somehow make us safer from terrorism. Ryan wrote on Thursday about how worrying these powers are, and why we should be suspicious whenever governments award themselves more power over our privacy. Not just because of the dangers of government overreach and corruption. But also because of the dangers of government incompetence, and of invasively gathered data falling into criminal hands.

You dont have to look far back to find examples of the Aussie government failing to protect their digital systems. And as more and more surveillance data is built up around each of us, with no way to opt out, the danger grows.

There may be little you can do to fight back against the sprawling growth of the police state. But Ryan argues that there are some private companies engineering viable privacy alternatives, and profiting from peoples desire to hang onto their freedom. To read how, you can find Thursdays article here.

And if this weeks focus on all the (mostly negative) ways that politics affect your investments has you looking to opt out of the system, be careful. As Ryan wrote Friday, chasing tax effective investments can be one of the biggest mistakes in stock markets. Plenty of tax avoidance schemes dressed up as clever investments blow up in their owners faces. To read why, and Ryans tips on avoiding them, find Fridays article here.

Until next week,

Tyler Jefferson,

Editor, Money Weekend
'The big truck is still on ...
Nigeria has a large variety of vegetation zones and is considered to be one of the most interesting countries in Africa. Savannas, mountains and near-coast areas are all very beautiful, but how much do you know about vegetation in Nigeria? Keep on reading to find out more.

The type of vegetation in a country usually depends on their climate zone. Nigeria for instance has a beautiful variety of rainforests, water swamps, savannas and mountains which makes it stand out among other African states. Nigeria also has a unique place in the north called Sahel extends where Nigerian land meets with the great Sahara desert; this area has no green vegetation, but on the side of Lake Chad, you can find some papyrus and the place looks like a forest.

Nigeria can be said to be made up of dense tropical rainforests on one hand, and completely dry areas on another hand, bordering the Sahara.

READ ALSO: Which desert's edge is found at Nigeria's northern border?

The three main types of vegetations in Nigeria

High-mountains & tropical rainforests

The mountain zone is located in Nigerias high-mountain areas. The vegetation in that area is not properly developed because of low temperatures. The Jos Plateau is one of the top areas in Nigeria and its grassland slope zone are covered with forests. This zone is ideal for growing crops but because it is quite inaccessible, it still remains untouched.

The forests, are located mainly along the right bank of the River Niger and in the valley of the River Cross. There you can find dense forests with trees over 40-45m high. Such gigantic trees with roots seem to be natures foundation, which holds the soil together. The trees of the second, as well as third tiers, are thickly tangled with lianas, rushing towards the sun.

The most valuable plants in Nigerias forests are iroko, opepe kaya, sapel and agba. All of them are used to produce timber for construction works and ornamental decoration. On the shores of lagoons, marshes and especially in the delta of the Niger, the forests look very different. The trees are way lower and grow far from each other. A lot of trees leaves are used for making mats and baskets, an example is the leaves of the candelabra-shaped pandanus.

In the north of the forest zone, humidity is lower and soils are drier. Due to the dry seasons impact, a lot of trees do not have leaves and form what we call dry tropical forests. They are also very multi-tiered but not so dense, and once you move further to the north, you can find the expanses of the Nigerian savannas.

The Nigerian savannas

Guinea Savanna

Most parts of Nigeria are covered by Guinean high-grass savanna. The Guinea savannas border the banks of rivers and the grasses are very high. In this type of savanna, the elephant grass, kaya, isoberlinia, mitragina are predominant. During the first half of the dry season, the savanna looks very lifeless and all the trees are leafless. In the middle of dry season, there are a lot of cases of the dry grass fire bu

Sudan Savanna

At the north of the Guinea savanna, you will find the Sudan savanna. The dry period there lasts for more than six-seven months. The only green vegetation you can find there is a dense low grass. Different types of acacia can be found there, which are used for medical purposes and eaten by camels.

Aside from the low grasses which can be found everywhere in the savanna, another main plant you can find there is the baobab. You can also find the whitish acacia, whose leaves serve as food for a lot of animals. The natural conditions of savanna are suitable for agriculture and farming development, therefore, sheep, cattle and goats can be spotted there.

Sahel Savanna

The Sahel savanna is characterised by desert vegetation. Since it borders the biggest desert in the world  Sahara, the wet season lasts only from 3 to 4 months. The vegetation in this zone is very poor and grasses which can be seen there are extremely short.

Mangrove zone

This is a very special zone located next to the coast. Mangrove vegetation can be found on the coastal line and is greatly influenced by sea salt water. The soil in this zone is bad and holds much salt in it. Such kinds of places are only suitable for growing rice crop.

The natural vegetation of Nigeria is very suitable for the economic activity. Although there are a lot of problems connected with savannas development, the climatic conditions still contribute to the producing of cash crops. Nigeria can make big profits if their natural resources are used wisely.

READ ALSO: Advantages of dry season in Nigeria

Source: Legit.ng
Shoprite has been one of the biggest players in the Nigerian supermarket chain industry for about a decade. You can find one of their stores in almost every big mall. For the last couple of years, each new outlet has broken the record of being the largest Shoprite store in the country. Do you want to know what is the biggest Shoprite in Nigeria? Youll find the answer below!

List of biggest Shoprite in Nigeria

From the day Shoprite opened their first store in Nigeria in 2005, they had a clear vision of how to conduct business in our country. With their high quality-to-price ratio and satisfying customer service, Shoprite has quickly won over the hearts of thousands of Nigerians. They continue to present new locations for the people to do their shopping at. Its no wonder that by 2017 theyve become the leading food retailer in Nigeria.

With the positive publicity theyve been getting, we are not surprised that with each new store Shoprite open, they want to make it bigger and better than the previous one. It makes sense that people want to know where is the biggest Shoprite in Nigeria. After all, a larger space means more product options, and more room to breathe. No one likes to do their shopping in a crowded place, and thats where Shoprite comes in. Below youll find a list of the Top 3 biggest Shoprite in Nigeria:

Disclaimer: Often, you may hear people talk about what is the biggest Shoprite mall, judging by the size of the mall itself, instead of the store inside. Before we start, lets make one thing clear - there is no such thing as a Shoprite mall. They have individual stores that are almost exclusively located in malls, but thats not the same thing.

3. Shoprite in Ado Bayero Mall, Kano

The third place on our list goes to the store located in Kano that was opened in 2014. This outlet marked Shoprites debut in northern Nigeria. And Kano was an excellent choice as it is the most significant town in this part of the country.

Knowing how Shoprite likes to do everything with flair, its only natural that they opened their newest store in the brand new Abo Bayero Mall. This beast of modern commerce-oriented architecture was in construction for three years and ended up costing a total of 110 Million Dollars

Interesting fact: The total territory of the Mall equals 24,100 square meters with Shoprite taking up the most space out all stores.

The biggest Shoprite store at the time, cost the enterprise $20 Million to open, not counting employee fees. However, considering the number of upper and middle-class citizens that reside in Kano, you cant argue that it was not a smart business decision. Despite the fact that this part of Nigeria has suffered dramatically in the last ten years, the opening of a Shoprite store can provide a small boost to the citys economy.

2. Shoprite in Ibadan Mall, Ibadan

READ ALSO: Who owns Shoprite in Nigeria?

The second biggest Shoprite in Nigeria spot goes to the one located in Ibadan. The leading supermarket retailer opened this store in late 2014, and it became the second outlet in the old city. The local population proved to be excellent customers, so it stands to reason that Shoprite decided to widen their presence in Ibadan.

Interesting fact: The total footage of the Ibadan Mall stands at 19,000 square meters. While this Mall itself is smaller than the one in Kano, the Shoprite inside takes up more space than its cousin. The store in Ibadan Mall has a territory of 4,700 square meters, making up one-fourth of the entire building.

The outlet that held the title of the biggest Shoprite in Nigeria for two years provides about four hundred jobs to the local population. Thus, the store outlet is helping resolve unemployment problems, while delivering qualified training to its personnel.

1. Shoprite in Novare Lekki Mall, Lekki

As it stands right now, the biggest Shoprite in Nigeria is the one in Lekki, Lagos. This is the seventh location of the supermarket chain in the State. According to the claims of the Shoprite owners, its not only the largest one in the country but in entire West Africa as well.

The biggest Shoprite is located in the largest mall in Lagos. It also comes with almost a thousand parking spots.

Just recently this Shoprite store celebrated its one-year anniversary, having opened in August 2016.

Interesting fact: The Novare Lekki is 22,000 square meters in size. It is larger than the one in Ibadan but still smaller than the Ado Bayero Mall.

Considering the rate at which Shoprite is continuously expanding in Nigeria, we can readily expect that well have a bigger store soon enough. Even more so, the way things look right now, theres going to be a new largest Shoprite every few years. But as for 2017, you have your answer.

Be sure to share these interesting facts about Shoprite with your friends and happy shopping!

READ ALSO: Fun places in Lagos Island

Source: Legit.ng
Every now and then, you will hear someone talk about agriculture in Nigeria, and mention the word Fadama. People that are closely tied to the farming industry are probably familiar with this term, but what about the rest of us? If youd like to learn the full meaning of Fadama in Nigeria, continue reading below!

Meaning of Fadama in Nigeria

When some people hear these letters strung together, their first reaction is to interpret this word as an abbreviation. Thus, they want to learn the full meaning of the acronym FADAMA. However, those people are in for a disappointment. Turns out, Fadama isnt an acronym at all.

Interesting fact: If you like acronyms, then you might be interested in learning that there is one tied to the word Fadama  NFDO. It stands for National Fadama Development Office in Nigeria.

So what is the full meaning of Fadama then? you might ask. Well, the truth is that this word has no hidden meaning. Fadama is simply borrowed from the Hausa language. This word is loosely defined as fertile or rich land.

The full meaning of Fadama is a land that is capable of being irrigated. Usually, it refers to low-level plains located by water-bearing rocks, also known as aquifers. You can also identify a Fadama area because it has a tendency to get flooded during the rainy season. Fadama lands are also useful for supporting the lives of the wildlife that live in their vicinity.

Fadama Project

READ ALSO: Beans farming in Nigeria: 5 steps to your rich life

In Nigerian agriculture, Fadama means the cultivation and farming of crops in irrigation conditions. It takes places only during the dry season because otherwise these lands cant be accessed because of the floods.

To improve the state of the farming industry in the country, the Nigerian government has created the Fadama Project way back in 1993. As of 2017, the NFDO is in the process of implementing Fadama III, the third incarnation of this initiative. The primary goal of this project is to increase the harvest that farmers yield from their fields. The government also uses Fadama 3 to invest in better land and water resource management.

Interesting fact: The current budget of the Fadama III project stands at two hundred million dollars!

As a result of the Fadama operation, hundreds of farmers were able to grow from supporting only their family to competing in the regional market. According to the numbers projected by the government, this initiative will provide benefits to almost one and a half million of homes across Nigeria.

Now you can boast of knowing the full meaning of Fadama in Nigeria, both in the traditional sense and in the one adopted by our government. Be sure to share this newly-found knowledge with your friends!

READ ALSO: Irrigation farming in Nigeria

Source: Legit.ng
- The president-general, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, John Nwodo, has allegedly advised Ndigbo to abandon the agitation for a sovereign Biafran state

- Nwodo described the Biafra struggls as a tall order, and told Igbos to push for the country to be restructured instead

- He further urged members of the outlawed IPOB group, to tone down their fiery rhetoric, as he stated that nothing could be solved by using hate speech

Members of the Igbo ethnic group have allegedly been advised by Chief John Nwodo, president-general, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, to abandon the struggle for Biafra and push for restructuring.

According to reports, Nwodo allegedly made his comments at the third inauguration of the state and local government executives, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Abia state chapter, on Thursday, October 5.

READ ALSO: Kachikwus letter: PDP accuses Buhari of ploy to use $25billion NNPC scam for his re-election

Legit.ng gathers that Nwodo allegedly described the struggle for Biafra as a tall order which would hamper the political relationship between Ndigbo and other ethnic groups in the country.

He also reportedly stated that Biafra was not in the overall interest of Ndigbo; hence, he advised his kinsmen to abandon the struggle and push for the restructuring of the country instead.

Nwodo also cautioned members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), telling them to tone down their rhetoric, as he stressed that nothing could be solved through hate speech.

He stated: We should forget Biafra and insist on restructuring. We must seek for peaceful ways of resolving the issues.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that president general of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, John Nnia Nwodo, gave various reasons why Igbo indigenes feel marginalized by the Nigerian federal government.

While delivering a speech at Chatham House, London, Nwodo explained how the Igbos have carried scars from the coup and counter coup of 1966, which eventually led to the Civil War.

Does the Biafra struggle end if IPOB is dissolved? - on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit.ng
- The Nigerian army has described Nnamdi Kanu as a man with no means of livelihood, who gets people to follow him by using propaganda

- The director of army public relations, Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, asked the media to ask Kanus lawyer about the IPOB leaders whereabouts, instead of asking the army

- Usman chided Kanus supporters for knowing that the IPOB leader had a criminal case to answer, yet still choosing to follow him

- However, the army chief expressed confidence that the truth would finally be revealed on October 17

The leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, has been described by the Nigerian army, as a man with no means of livelihood, who simply uses propaganda to garner followership, Punch reports.

Brig. Gen. Sani Usman, director, army public relations, made the comments at the end of a two-day media conference on the militarys enhancement of human rights in Abuja, the nations capital.

READ ALSO: Forget about Biafra, fight for restructuring - Ohanaeze allegedly tells Igbos

Legit.ng gathers that Usman described Kanus followers as being in a one-chance vehicle.

He stated: There was an allegation that somebody (Kanu) went into hiding.

Now, I cant remember the day but in an interview on Channels TV, one of Nnamdi Kanus younger brothers said that he was in hiding and he knew where he was.

And one lawyer came up that he has taken the chief of army staff to court.

Now, who gave you the brief? You said you do not know where he (Kanu) is. Now, who gave you the brief?

And the media is asking us where is Nnamdi Kanu? Why not ask the man that said so who gave him the brief to take people to court when he does not know where the man is?

That is why those people following him have entered into a one-chance vehicle. This is somebody standing trial in a criminal case.

Sometimes, whether we like it or not, we want to stand against the truth. But no matter how long, the truth will come to pass on October 17.

This is an individual without a means of livelihood.

I can speak eloquently; so what? If I can speak like him, I can also have my own group, thats exactly what is happening.

So, what is the essence of our education as a people? You know that somebody is in a criminal case, and you believe in him.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that top military sources from the army headquarters spoke about the disappearance of Nnamdi Kanu, saying the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra was not in custody of the Nigerian army.

Kanus lawyers led by Ifeanyi Ejiofor had filed a suit before the Federal High Court in Abuja, asking for an order for Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, Chief of Army staff, to produce him in court.

Biafra: Should Operation Python Dance in the southeast be canceled? - on Legit.ng TV:

Source: Legit.ng
- Southern leaders are insisting Nigeria must be restructured

- They condemned the military operation in the southeast, calling on President Buhari to end it

- They also accused the president of intimidating Nigerians

The Southern, Middle Belt Leaders Forum has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of intimidating Nigerians and called on him to end the military operations in the country.

The Sun reports that the leaders in a forum on Thursday, October 5, warned President Buhari to desist from the act while also insisting that restructuring is the solution to the countrys problem.

In a communique issued after the session, the leaders also condemned the Operation Python Dance in the southeast and the clash between soldiers and civilians.

READ ALSO: Forget about Biafra, fight for restructuring - Ohanaeze allegedly tells Igbos

The forum stated: We call on the federal government to always exercise restraint in the deployment of troops in quelling civil agitations, which is the responsibility of the police in any democracy. Consequently, we call on the Federal Government to reconsider similar operations that the army is embarking on in the southwest and south south zones, which are peaceful areas.

We do not need these exercises, which are seen largely as sheer intimidation and barring of fangs. Under federalism, you do not deploy troops to the federating units without the invitation of the affected local authorities. The federal government must also employ dialogue above raw force in engaging dissension.

In furtherance of the successful meeting of the leaders from the South and Meddle Belt of Nigeria held on July 15, 2017 to lay out an orderly process of finding viable solutions to the rising agitations for a fair, just, equitable and balanced restructuring of our federal system, a follow up meeting was successfully held on October 5, 2017, with delegates from the southwest, southeast, south south and from the Middle Belt states comprising, Plateau, Benue, Niger, Nasarawa, Kogi, Kwara, Taraba, Adamawa, Southern Kebbi, Southern Kaduna, Gombe, Bauchi, Southern Borno and FCT.

After an extensive consultative session, delegates resolved to issue the following communique:

 We remain convinced that as a multi-ethnic country, Nigeria can only enjoy lasting peace, development progress and happiness under a federal system, which allows all the federating units to develop at their own pace under full cultural expression. We, therefore, restate our commitment to the Federal Republic of Nigeria as one entity under God.

However, we firmly believe that Nigeria as it is, is not a proper federation, as the structure is over-centralised, unjust and anti-development and therefore unacceptable. There is no gainsaying the fact that this is at the core of the many agitations across the country with some delving into separatist feelings.

Nigeria must, therefore, be grateful to those of us speaking in demand of restructuring of the federation for the restoration of the federal principles enshrined in the 1960 and 1963 constitutions as a middle course between those who want to sustain the present unjust structure that is driving Nigeria into the edge and consequently attracting agitations for break up and those who are calling for break up of Nigeria.

Forum noted that the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari in his independence anniversary broadcast made some good shift by admitting to the legitimacy of the demand for the restructuring of Nigeria.

We call on him to move a step forward by initiating processes that should lead Nigeria towards confronting its structural challenges through the legal instruments of the National Assembly and the representatives of ethnic nationalities in Nigeria.

PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read best news on Nigerias #1 news app

We believe tension would have gone down considerably across the country if the National Assembly had decided to vote for reform.

We call on the National Assembly, to as a matter of urgency, revisit its decisions as promised by the senate president and the Speaker of the House of Representative and resolve the matter in a way that we can have a new fiscal formula that will move Nigeria away from the current overdependence on oil and gas revenue to a diversified economy where all section of Nigeria are encouraged to develop their abundant natural and human resources for regional and national development with all constitutional impediments removed.

Meanwhile, former head of state, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, sent a message to Nigerian youths calling on them to be united in order for Nigeria to be developed.

The Sun reports that Abdulsalami spoke at the official launch of Emeka Anyaokus Institute of International Studies and Diplomacy, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra state on Wednesday, October 4.

He called on youths to build on the legacies of the founding fathers so that the country does not break up.

Does the Biafra struggle end if IPOB is dissolved? - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has announced that there is a suspected outbreak of a viral disease called monkeypox in Bayelsa state.

In the press release, members of the public were urged to remain calm, alert and know the signs and symptoms of the disease

Legit.ng earlier reported that a medical doctor and 10 others were down with the disease and were being quarantined in an isolation centre at the Niger Delta University Teaching Hospital, Okolobiri, in Yenagoa local government area of the state.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has listed the major facts about the disease. Monkeypox is not a newly discovered disease, it has been known for decades, although relatively rare.

Dr Charles-Davies OA, a medical doctor and founder of 25 Doctors, a platform where you can ask doctors questions online, spoke to Legit.ng about the ways the disease is transmitted.

Here are 7 different ways the disease is transmitted:

1. Contact with infected monkeys

Monkeypox is caused by a virus. The virus has been previously isolated in animals like monkeys, rats and squirrels.

Human outbreaks are more likely to be spread from infected animals than from a human to another human. Close contact with infected monkeys can spread the virus to humans.

Monkeys are sometimes hunted in rural areas, and touching an infected monkey, even a dead monkey can make a person contract the disease.

2. Contact with infected rodents

Rodents like rats and squirrels can transmit the monkeypox virus to human beings if they are infected. The virus is present in the blood, body fluids and secretions of infected rodents.

Close contact with these mammals when infected can increase the chances of a human outbreak.

READ ALSO: 10 major facts about the monkeypox virus

3. Bites and scratches from infected animals

The virus is usually found in the blood and body fluids of infected animals including saliva. A bite or scratch can cause skin breakage and lead to the transfer of the virus from the infected animal to a human.

4. Eating inadequately cooked meat

In some parts of Nigeria, rodents are consumed as bush-meat. In fact, it is a known delicacy. Eating rodents during a monkeypox outbreak can increase the likelihood of contracting the disease, because a dead infected rodent can still contain the virus.

As a rule, all meat should be properly cooked, as this can decrease the likelihood of getting infected, thorough cooking kills the virus.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Outbreak of monkeypox hits Bayelsa

5. Contact with respiratory secretions of an infected person

Monkeypox can be spread by respiratory droplets or secretions. An example is a sneeze. When an infected person coughs or sneezes, thousands of respiratory droplets are released into the air.

This is why infected persons are usually treated in isolation wards to prevent the transmission of the virus to members of the public.

6. Contact with blood, body fluids, rash of an infected person

Contact with body fluids of an infected person can spread the virus. Examples of body fluids are saliva, tears and urine. Also, touching a monkeypox rash can increase the chances of getting infected with the disease.

This puts health workers at particular risk of getting infected. It was reported that a doctor was also infected by the current outbreak in Bayelsa.

Health professionals often come in contact with blood and body fluids of ill patients while caring for them and hence are at a relatively increased risk of getting infected by the virus.

7. Contact with clothing of an infected person

Apart from direct physical contact, the clothing or materials used by infected person can lead to an indirect transmission.

The virus can be found on materials like clothes and bedsheets even when the person has removed them or isnt lying down on the sheets. Close contact with these materials can increase the chances of being infected.

PAY ATTENTION: Watch more videos on Legit.ng TV

As a means of avoiding contracting monkeypox, the federal ministry of health has advised Nigerians to avoid consuming bushmeat and dead animals.

Professor Adewole, minister of health, gave the advise to Nigerians on Thursday, October 5.

Check out FOUR IMPORTANT ways to avoid contracting Typhoid fever - on Legit.ng TV.

Source: Legit.ng
- Corruption Observatory condemns the fact that President Buhari doubles as minister of petroleum

- The group said his position was fuelling corruption

- It said other presidents have been removed for less actions in other countries

Ivie Richards who is the executive director of Corruption Observatory has condemned the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari also doubles as minister of petroleum.

Richards made this observation when speaking with Channels TV on Thursday, October 5, insisting that Buharis position was fuelling corruption in the petroleum industry.

READ ALSO: Beware! 7 key ways monkeypox can be transmitted

He said: I quarrel seriously and I condemn in its entirety the fact that a sitting president doubles as the minister for petroleum. That has helped this rot a great deal and the right things need to be done.

Again, that is another aberration. In that report, Kachikwu said that he is the chairman of the board, but he is not the minister for petroleum.

Minister is supposed to be the chairman of the board. If you watch closely between the lines, you will see the insinuation that the tender board of the NNPC got some approvals from the President.

What my real interest is here is to invite the organized civil societies, at least those concerned with good governance, to drag the tender board of the NNPC, its governing board, to court to let Nigerians know of all that is happening behind the curtains.

He insisted that if it is proven true that President Buhari gave approval for procurement to NNPCs board, it is more than enough ground to impeach the nations Commander-in-Chief.

He said: But my major interest and focus would be, Is it true that at any time, the President gave approval tacitly to this procurement, direct approval to the Tender board of the NNPC? If that is true, to me, that is an impeachable offence.

PAY ATTENTION: Watch more videos on Legit.ng TV

If you look at the case in Brazil, South Korea, for we know leaders have been shown the door. They are not as grievous as this. So I would want this nation, organized civil societies to properly unravel what happened between the Tender board of the NNPC and Mr. President.

Meanwhile, Buhari is currently meeting with the minister of state for petroleum resources, Ibe Kachikwu, over the latter's allegations of insubordination and humiliation against the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Maikanti Baru.

Daily Trust reports that the minister arrived the president's office at 11:40am.

Order' placed on her accounts. The EFCC stage a walk against corruption - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno state said that 52,311 children have been orphaned by Boko Haram in Borno state

- The governor said about 54,911 women have been widowed by the Boko Haram insurgency in the state

- According to him, women and children were the real victims of Boko Haram

Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno state said on Thursday, October 5, that 52,311 children in the state were orphaned by Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast.

Shettima disclosed this in Maiduguri during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the state government, Fadama III and the World Bank (WB).

He also disclosed that some 54,911 women were widowed by the crisis.

The real victims of Boko Haram are women and children; they generated 54,911 widows and 52, 311 orphans.

If we fail to take care of these orphans and widows 10 to 15 years down the line; if we do not provide a good home for them, believe me they will not take care of us.

READ ALSO: Southern leaders elders raise serious allegation against President Buhari, issue warning

And there is no tool for change; no equalizer greater than education, we are poise to invest in education and we do not have an option," Shettima said.

Shettima said that the state government in collaboration with federal government, UN and development organisations had implemented various interventions programmes to address the humanitarian crisis caused by the insurgency.

He added that the government had also embarked on massive reconstruction and rehabilitation of residential homes, schools, clinics and public structures in communities liberated from the insurgents.

READ ALSO: Nigerians beware! 7 key ways monkeypox can be transmitted

The governor reiterated governments commitment to the completion of the projects, enhanced security; and the provision of alternative means of livelihoods to displaced persons, to enable them to return to their normal lives.

In the coming months the story coming out of Borno will change, Borno shall witness an enduring peace, stability and progress.

We have the work in terms of agriculture and all other additional resources for us to rebuild our state," the governor added.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app

The governor expressed optimism that the successes recorded by the military in the counter-insurgency campaign would enhance security and ensure peace in the state.

Legit.ng earlier reported that some troops of the 151 and 202 Battalions of 21 Brigade under Operation Lafiya Dole carried a deadly offensive attack against members of Boko Haram.

The troops ambushed the terrorists along Firgi-Pulka Road in Bama local government area of Borno state.

The terrorists were said to have abandoned their weapons and fled in disarray with wounds from the gun battle with soldiers.

Boko Haram abducted my husband and the Gov't forgot about him - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- NEMA northeast boss reportedly slumped in a hotel room in Maiduguri

- He was rushed to a hospital in the early hours of Friday, where he gave up ghost

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) northeast zonal coordinator, Abdulsalam Badamasi, died in the early hours of Friday after slumping in his hotel room in Maiduguri, Borno state.

Daily Trust reports that Mr Sanni Datti, the NEMA information officer, who confirmed the death said Badamasi, gave up ghost at the hospital he was rushed to.

READ ALSO: Southern elders send message to Buhari, accuse him of intimidation

Datti said: "Yes, He is dead, after he slumped at his room early hour on Friday and he was rushed to hospital but later gave up."

Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that some staff of NEMA have threatened to embark on a nationwide strike over nonpayment of N665 million staff claims.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 news app

The claims, tagged unverified, the staff said have been generating crisis between the workers and the management of the agency which said the claims are not verified.

Leadership reports that the workers who are under the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) are also protesting the transfer of the secretary of the Women Commission Member of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Shiaibu Afusatu to Lagos.

Victims of Lekki flood rendered homeless and jobless speak - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
- Governor Nyesom Wike is accusing the APC of having the worst corruption scandal since Nigeria's Independence in 1960

- Wike said the allegation of the $26 billion scandal rocking the NNPC shows that the ruling party is more corrupt than is being thought

- He says the PDP is prepared to rescue Nigeria from the APC

Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers state has joined some Nigerians mocking the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the President Muhammadu Buhari administration over the alleged $26 billion currently rocking the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Wike accused the government of plunging the nation into its worst depth of corruption since Independence in 1960.

According to Wike, the alleged scandal, which he described as mind-blogging and monumental, brings to the fore the high-level sleaze amongst top officials of the APC Federal Government through the NNPC.

READ ALSO: 9 facts about new CBN deputy governor Aishah Ahmad

The governor spoke at the Government House in Umuahia, Abia state, on Friday, October 6, during a state visit where he commissioned construction equipment and also held a meeting with the Okezie Ikpeazu.

A statement from Simeon Nwakaudu, Wikes spokesperson, the governor said: When they said judges were accused of corruption, they were told to step aside.

They have not told anyone to step aside so that they can conclude investigation. When you are in office, investigation will be compromised.

It is for Nigerians to see. Are we fighting corruption? The corruption they are fighting is against some people who are their opponents.

All of us are victims. I have never seen this kind of scandal in all my political career. We have never heard of it like this.

What about this $26billion (N9trillion) contract scam and nobody is talking. Everywhere is quiet.

So many promises were made, but none has been fulfilled. Everyday, what they have to say is corruption, corruption, no other statement. Corruption from day one and corruption till the day they will leave office.

What have they achieved? No roads, no infrastructure. I could not come to Abia by road. It is not possible.

Wike declared that the Peoples Democratic Party is now prepared to rescue the nation from the APC.

They are working to see that there is disunity amongst the governors. But we have realised that we must work together because of the country. We will do everything possible to make PDP stronger.

PAY ATTENTION: Read the news on Nigerias #1 new app

"It is not by propaganda. No amount of blackmail will make the governors to shy away from taking Nigeria to the level Nigerians want it.

"We are going to work together to ensure that PDP emerges victorious in 2019, the governor said adding that the PDP is the solution to the nation's challenges," the governor said.

At the time of this report, the APC was yet to react.

Legit.ng earlier reported that President Muhammadu Buhari is under intense pressure to ensure proper investigation and action concerning the $25 billion alleged contract deals currently rocking the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Are Nigerians truly tired of President Buhari? - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit.ng
This is Naked Capitalism fundraising week. 942 donors have already invested in our efforts to combat corruption and predatory conduct, particularly in the financial realm. Please join us and participate via our donation page, which shows how to give via check, credit card, debit card, or PayPal. Read about why were doing this fundraiser, what weve accomplished in the last year and our current goal, funding our guest bloggers.

Wednesday, the head of Catalonias separatist movement, Carles Puigdemont, reiterated his stance that Catalonia was on the verge of seceding from Spain. In a televised speech, he rejected the fierce criticism made by Spains king King Felipe VI the day before, when he decried the independence referendum as illegal, anti-democratic, and as undermining the unity of Catalonians and Spain generally. Puigdemont criticized the monarch for backing the central government and rejecting compromise, and maintained that Catalonia was on track to declaring independence. The parliaments earlier bill stipulated that it would withdraw from Spain within 48 hours of getting final referendum results approving the split. The Financial Times indicated yesterday that the expected timetable was for an official declaration this week or early next week. Member of Catalonias parliament indicate that it would take place shortly after a vote this Monday.

Spains constitutional court reaffirmed its position that any moves towards secession were illegal by pre-emptively suspending the Monday parliamentary session in Catalonia. From the Guardian:

Spains constitutional court has moved to stop the Catalan government making a unilateral declaration of independence by suspending the regional parliament session in which the results of Sundays referendum were due to be discussed. On Thursday, the court upheld a challenge by Catalonias Socialist party  which opposes secession from Spain  ruling that allowing the Catalan parliament to meet on Monday and potentially declare independence would violate the rights of the partys MPs. The court warned that any session carried out in defiance of its ban would be null, and added that the parliaments leaders could face criminal action if they ignored the court order.

This ruling gives Rajoys government the leeway to bar Catalonias parliament from convening Monday and arresting separatist leaders then. Reader Sue had thought earlier that the procedural mechanism for authorizing the crackdown on the separatists would be via having the Spanish Senate invoke Section 155 of Spanish Constitution, where Rajoys Popular Party has the votes to pass the measure via the support of Ciudadanos and perhaps the PSOE but I am no longer certain that nicety is necessary.

If the separatists do not back down (and they have signaled they wont), on Monday, the central government will at some point apply Section 155 to take over the Catalonia government. It will also, either using the Constitutional Court ruling or Section 155, arrest the leaders of the independence movement, declare the secessionist parties to be illegal, and crack down on protestors. The ones who try to interfere in arrests and try to allow passage of legislators to the parliament building will be roughed up the most.

Readers who know the surrounding area in Barcelona are encouraged to pipe up. Supporters are certain to be massed outside the parliament as the vote is set to take place on Monday. It seems likely as before that the local police will stand aside. The Guardia Civil does not seem to believe in finesse. Even so, the number of people who can mass in the square and streets outside the parliament building cant possibly be as many as wound up clashing with the Guardia Civil during the referendum. In other words, the total number of people injured (and there are guaranteed to be injuries) is likely to be in the dozens, not hundreds. The flip side is that if anyone dies or is very badly hurt, that will push more Catalonians who have been fence-sitting or only weak supporters of independence into a more radical stance.

Major businesses are getting edgy. As reader Frenchguy pointed out on Wednesday, pharmaceutical company Oryzon Genomics SA announced it was leaving Catalonia and would move to Madrid as a result of the referendum. Its share spiked 33% as a result of the announcement before giving up some of its gains.

Seeking to apply more pressure, the Spanish government will announce today that it is relaxing rules allowing companies to move headquarters. From Reuters:

Spains government will issue a decree on Friday making it easier for firms to transfer their legal base out of Catalonia, two sources said, in a move that could deal a serious blow to the regions finances as it considers declaring independence. The decree is tailor-made for Spanish lender Caixabank, sources familiar with the matter said, as it would make it possible for the bank to transfer its legal and tax base to another location without having to hold a shareholders meeting as stated in its statutes.

As reader Sue commented yesterday afternoon:

Huge mistake by PP [Popular Party] Spanish Government! By getting ready to pass/issue a decreto ministerial (law without Congressional approval) to allow Caixabank to bypass a Shareholders Meeting and have directly the Board of Directors to decide on relocating Caixabanks headquarters from Catalunya to somewhere else in Spain. Catalans are furious: is the PP Government promoting the relocation of corporate headquarters, all staff, all these good jobs( including high management positions) while very soon will be taking over the Catalan Government (applying sect. 155)?

Readers in Catalonia may differ on how much support for independence has increased as a result of Rajoys thuggish suppression of the referendum. The solidly neoliberal Financial Times claims a silent majority in Catalonia rejects the secessionist movement:

Amid the political drama of the past few days, it is easy to overlook that a clear majority of Catalans did not endorse secession from Spain on Sunday. Of the 2.26m votes cast, 2.02m were in favour of independence, or less than 40 per cent of the Catalan electorate. Neither can the pro-secession camp claim that it is winning converts at the ballot box: the number of people voting  and voting for independence  has been broadly stable since 2014. About 3.5m Catalans are not in favour of independence, or at least not in the current way, says Miquel Iceta, leader of the Catalan Socialist party, which opposes secession. To get to independence you have to at least get the majority of votes. And the pro-independence parties havent got a majority of votes. So why are they trying to impose independence on a majority that doesnt want it?

This is clearly overegging the pudding, but a broader point remains true: the results of the referendum dont provide support for the idea that a majority of citizens supports it. Yes, the Spanish government made getting a true count impossible. But the separatists claims of the number of votes they got in favor of an exit dont stand up either. The voting was chaotic, and none of the measure to prevent duplicate votes were in place.

Even more important, for a secessionist effort to succeed in the face of central government opposition, you need both the support of a solid majority of a public that recognizes and accepts that they will suffer considerable hardship in the process, and considerable preparation. Those critical elements arent remotely in place. And as we described in detail in an earlier post, Spain holds trump cards not just via its ability to muster greater physical force, but via being able to shut down much if not all of the payments system in Catalonia if it so chooses.

So Catalonia is about to have what autonomy it has stripped away, apparently to poke a stick in Rajoys eye. This may feel good, but it does a great disservice to the bulk of the population. Even though I have no love for Rajoys heavy-handed, austerity-lovin rule, its hard to have any respect for the amateurism of the separatist leaders.

As PlutoniumKunm pointed out in comments:

Historically (in Europe anyway) countries have managed to become independent from a larger state either when the larger State either doesnt object strongly (e.g. when the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia collapsed, or when Czechoslovakia divided), or then the new nation had a big friend who was able to ease the transition and prevent hostile acts from the parent State  for example Ireland, which almost certainly could only have gained independence due to the powerful Irish lobby in the US which prevented London from taking the sort of ruthless approach that could have crushed its emergence. Due to the constitutional make-up of the EU, which is strongly predicated on the absolute right of the member nation States to veto acts they disapprove of, it is almost impossible for a region within the EU to declare independence without the co-operation of the parent State. This is not of course impossible  it could have happened if Scotland had voted for independence. But in current circumstances Spain has an effective veto on Catalonian independence, unless the Catalonian people are willing to withstand a complete collapse of their economy. The only possibility is if Spain agrees to independence, or if Spain is forced by external forces to not interfere with a newly emerging Catalonian State. Neither seems very likely. While I have no time for Rajoy or the Madrid establishment in general, it must also be said that the Catalonian government has simply not done the groundwork to allow for independence. I think Slovenia is a good example of how a new nation can form  in their case by slowly building external friends and internal administrative structures, and taking their opportunity when it arose.

Even though Rajoys crackdown will probably hurt him in the long run, if nothing else due to damage to the Spanish economy, it is the Catalonians who are likely to suffer even more. And no one seems predisposed to pull out of a lose-lose situation.
This is Naked Capitalism fundraising week. 949 donors have already invested in our efforts to combat corruption and predatory conduct, particularly in the financial realm. Please join us and participate via our donation page, which shows how to give via check, credit card, debit card, or PayPal. Read about why were doing this fundraiser, what weve accomplished in the last year and our current goal, funding our guest bloggers.

By Lynn Parramore, Senior Research Analyst at the Institute for New Economic Thinking. Originally published at the Institute for New Economic Thinking website

The Idea That Businesses Exist Solely to Enrich Shareholders Is Harmful Nonsense

In a new INET paper featured in the Financial Times, economist William Lazonick lays out a theory about how corporations can work for everyone  not just a few executives and Wall Streeters. He challenges a set of controversial ideas that became gospel in business schools and the mainstream media starting in the 1980s. He sat down with INETs Lynn Parramore to discuss.

Lynn Parramore: Since the 1980s, business schools have touted agency theory, a controversial set of ideas meant to explain how corporations best operate. Proponents say that you run a business with the goal of channeling money to shareholders instead of, say, creating great products or making any efforts at socially responsible actions such as taking account of climate change. Many now take this view as gospel, even though no less a business titan than Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, called the notion that a company should be run to maximize shareholder value the dumbest idea in the world. Why did Welch say that?

William Lazonick: Welch made that statement in a 2009 interview, just ahead of the news that GE had lost its S&P Triple-A rating in the midst of the financial crisis. He explained that, shareholder value is a result, not a strategy and that a companys main constituencies are your employees, your customers and your products. During his tenure as GE CEO from 1981 to 2001, Welch had an obsession with increasing the companys stock price and hitting quarterly earnings-per-share targets, but he also understood that revenues come when your company generates innovative products. He knew that the employees skills and efforts enable the company to develop those products and sell them.

If a publicly-listed corporation succeeds in creating innovative goods or services, then shareholders stand to gain from dividend payments if they hold shares or if they sell at a higher price. But where does the companys value actually come from? It comes from employees who use their collective and cumulative learning to satisfy customers with great products. It follows that these employees are the ones who should be rewarded when the business is a success. Weve become blinded to this simple, obvious logic.

LP: What have these academic theorists missed about how companies really operate and perform? How have their views impacted our economy and society?

WL: As I show in my new INET paper Innovative Enterprise Solves the Agency Problem, agency theorists dont have a theory of innovative enterprise. Thats strange, since they are talking about how companies succeed.

They believe that to be efficient, business corporations should be run to maximize shareholder value. But as I have argued in another recent INET paper, public shareholders at a company like GE are not investors in the companys productive capabilities.

LP: Wait, as a stockholder Im not an investor in the companys capabilities?

WL: When you buy shares of a stock, you are not creating value for the company  youre just a saver who buys shares outstanding on the stock market for the sake of a yield on your financial portfolio. Public shareholders are value extractors, not value creators.

By touting public shareholders as a corporations value creators, agency theorists lay the groundwork for some very harmful activities. They legitimize hedge fund activists, for example. These are aggressive corporate predators who buy shares of a company on the stock market and then use the power bestowed upon them by the ill-conceived U.S. proxy voting system, endorsed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to demand that the corporation inflate profits by cutting costs. That often means mass layoffs and depressed incomes for anybody who remains. In an industry like pharmaceuticals, the activists also press for extortionate product price increases. The higher profits tend to boost stock prices for the activists and other shareholders if they sell their shares on the market.

LP: So the hedge fund activists are extracting value from a corporation instead of creating it, and yet they are the ones who get enriched.

WL: Right. Agency theory aids and abets this value extraction by advocating, in the name of maximizing shareholder value, massive distributions to shareholders in the form of dividends for holding shares as well as stock buybacks that you hear about, which give manipulative boosts to stock prices. Activists get rich when they sell the shares. The people who created the value  the employees  often get poorer.

###pdownsize-and-distribute something that corporations have been doing since the 1980s, which has resulted in extreme concentration of income among the richest households and the erosion of middle-class employment opportunities.

LP: Youve called stock buybacks  what happens when a company buys back its own shares from the marketplace, often to manipulate the stock price upwards the legalized looting of the U.S. business corporation. Whats the problem with this practice?

WL: If you buy shares in Apple, for example, you can get a dividend for holding shares and, possibly, a capital gain when you sell the shares. Since 2012, when Apple made its first dividend payment since 1996, the company has shelled out $57.4 billion as dividends, equivalent to over 22 percent of net income. Thats fine. But the company has also spent $157.9 billion on stock buybacks, equal to 62 percent of net income.

Yet the only time in its history that Apple ever raised funds on the public stock market was in 1980, when it collected $97 million in its initial public offering. How can a corporation return capital to parties that never supplied it with capital? Its a very misleading concept.

The vast majority of people who hold Apples publicly-listed shares have simply bought outstanding shares on the stock market. They have contributed nothing to Apples value-creating capabilities. That includes veteran corporate raider Carl Icahn, who raked in $2 billion by holding $3.6 billion in Apple shares for about 32 months, while using his influence to encourage Apple to do $80.3 billion in buybacks in 2014-2015, the largest repurchases ever. Over this period, Apple, the most cash-rich company in history, increased its debt by $47.6 billion to do buybacks so that it would not have to repatriate its offshore profits, sheltered from U.S. corporate taxes.

There are many ways in which the company could have returned its profits to employees and taxpayers  the real value creators  that are consistent with an innovative business model. Instead, in doing massive buybacks, Apples board (which includes former Vice President Al Gore) has endorsed legalized looting. The SEC bears a lot of blame. Its supposed to protect investors and make sure financial markets are free of manipulation. But back in 1982, the SEC bought into agency theory under Reagan and came up with a rule that gives corporate executives a safe harbor against charges of stock-price manipulation when they do billions of dollars of buybacks for the sole purpose of manipulating their companys stock price.

LP: But dont shareholders deserve some of the profits as part owners of the corporation?

WL: Lets say you buy stock in General Motors. You are just buying a share that is outstanding on the market. You are contributing nothing to the company. And you will only buy the shares because the stock market is highly liquid, enabling you to easily sell some or all of the shares at any moment that you so choose.

In contrast, people who work for General Motors supply skill and effort to generate the companys innovative products. They are making productive contributions with expectations that, if the innovative strategy is successful, they will share in the gains  a bigger paycheck, employment security, a promotion. In providing their labor services, these employees are the real value creators whose economic futures are at risk.

LP: This is really different from what a lot of us have been taught to believe. An employee gets a paycheck for showing up at work  theres your reward. When we take a job, we probably dont expect management to see us as risk-takers entitled to share in the profits unless were pretty high up.

WL: If you work for a company, even if its innovative strategy is a big success, you run a big risk because under the current regime of maximizing shareholder value a group of hedge fund activists can suck the value that youve created right out, driving your company down and making you worse off and the company financially fragile. And they are not the only predators you have to deal with. Incentivized with huge amounts of stock-based pay, senior corporate executives will, and often do, extract value from the company for their own personal gain  at your expense. As Professor Jang-Sup Shin and I argue in a forthcoming book, senior executives often become value-extracting insiders. And they open the corporate coffers to hedge fund activists, the value-extracting outsiders. Large institutional investors can use their proxy votes to support corporate raids, acting as value-extracting enablers.

You put in your ideas, knowledge, time, and effort to make the company a huge success, and still you may get laid off or find your paycheck shrinking. The losers are not only the mass of corporate employees  if youre a taxpayer, your money provides the business corporation with physical infrastructure, like roads and bridges, and human knowledge, like scientific discoveries, that it needs to innovate and profit. Senior corporate executives are constantly complaining that they need lower corporate taxes in order to compete, when what they really want is more cash to distribute to shareholders and boost stock prices. In that system, they win but the rest of us lose .

LP: Some academics say that hedge fund activism is great because it makes a company run better and produce higher profits. Others say, No, Wall Streeters shouldnt have more say than executives who know better how to run the company. You say that both of these camps have got it wrong. How so?

WL: A company has to be run by executive insiders, and in order to produce innovation these executives have got to do three things:

First you need a resource-allocation strategy that, in the face of uncertainty, seeks to generate high-quality, low-cost products. Second, you need to implement that strategy through training, retaining, motivating, and rewarding employees, upon whom the development and utilization of the organizations productive capabilities depend. Third, you have to mobilize and leverage the companys cash flow to support the innovative strategy. But under the sway of the maximizing shareholder value idea, many senior corporate executives have been unwilling, and often unable, to perform these value-creating functions. Agency theorists have got it so backwards that they actually celebrate the virtues of the value extracting CEO. How strange is that?

Massive stock buybacks is where the incentives of corporate executives who extract value align with the interests of hedge fund activists who also want to suck value from a corporation. When they promote this kind of alliance, agency theorists have in effect served as academic agents of activist aggression. Lacking a theory of the value-creating firm, or what I call a theory of innovative enterprise, agency theorists cannot imagine what an executive who creates value actually does. They dont see that its crucial to align executives interests with the value-creating investment requirements of the organizations over which they exercise strategic control. This intellectual deficit is not unique to agency theorists; it is inherent in their training in neoclassical economics.

LP: So if shareholders and executives are too often just looting companies to enrich themselves  value extraction, as you put it  and not caring about long-term success, who is in a better position to decide how to run them, where to allocate resources and so on?

WL: We need to redesign corporate-governance institutions to promote the interests of American households as workers and taxpayers. Because of technological, market, or competitive uncertainties, workers take the risk that the application of their skills and the expenditure of their efforts will be in vain. In financing investments in infrastructure and knowledge, taxpayers make productive capabilities available to business enterprises, but with no guaranteed return on those investments.

These stakeholders need to have representation on corporate boards of directors. Predators, including self-serving corporate executives and greed-driven shareholder activists, should certainly not have representation on corporate boards.

LP: Sounds like weve lost sight of what a business needs to do to be successful in the long run, and its costing everybody except a handful of senior executives, hedge fund managers, and Wall Street bankers. How would your innovation theory help companies run better and make for a healthier economy and society?

WL: Major corporations are key to the operation and performance of the economy. So we need a revolution in corporate governance to get us back on track to stable and equitable economic growth. Besides changing board representation, I would change the incentives for top executives so that they are rewarded for allocating corporate resources to value creation. Senior executives should gain along with the rest of the organization when the corporation is successful in generating competitive products while sharing the gains with workers and taxpayers.

Innovation theory calls for changing the mindsets and skill sets of senior executives. That means transforming business education, including the replacement of agency theory with innovation theory. That also means changing the career paths through which corporate personnel can rise to positions of strategic control, so that leaders who create value get rewarded and those who extract it are disfavored. At the institutional level, it would be great to see the SEC, as the regulator of financial markets, take a giant step in supporting value creation by banning stock buybacks whose purpose it is to manipulate stock prices.

To get from here to there, we have to replace nonsense with common sense in our understanding of how business enterprises operate and perform.
(Natural News) In what is sure to fuel even more speculation and intrigue surrounding the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas, an Australian man in the Mandalay Bay Casino Hotel the night of the attack is claiming there was more than one person firing on the crowd of 22,000 attending a country music festival 400 feet below.

In an interview with Australias Courier-Mail, Brian Hodge, who at one point worked in a casino on the continents Gold Coast, said he was staying in a room on the 32nd floor, right next to the one known shooter, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock was staying in. He said he managed to get out of his room  which he said was Room 32134  and made it safely downstairs but then hid in a bush for several hours after the shooting stopped.

I got outside safely and was hiding in bushes, he said. There were multiple people dead and multiple shooters. I was just hiding waiting for police to come get us.

Multiple shooters.

It was a machine gun from the room next to me, he added. My floor is a crime scene. They killed a security guard on my floor.

Actually, no security guards were killed, according to other published reports and Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, though a hotel security guard was indeed shot, allegedly by Paddock, but survived and then led LVPD and SWAT officers to Paddocks room.

Hodge isnt the only witness claiming more than one shooter. A woman, Gayle, called in to talk radio giant Michael Savages program on Wednesday claiming that she, too, heard multiple shooters and that one of them might actually have been much closer to the Route 91 venue than Paddock, who was sequestered in his hotel room high atop the festival.

At one point, she recalled thinking, Oh my god, it sounds like there is somebody on the ground that is shooting. She also said that a girl standing very near to her was shot straight-on in her abdomen, though at the time she was wounded she and Gayle were standing looking away from the Mandalay Bay, which was behind them and over their right shoulder.

How could a bullet be coming from our right, which was on our west  were facing direct south. A bullet would have to come straight up and make a 90-degree left turn to go into her stomach, she said.

Meanwhile, Natural News founder/editor Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, reported that Vegas police say they dont believe that Paddock was alone.

[H]e had to have some help at some point, said Lombardo.

As further reported by The National Sentinel, Lombardo clarified: At face value, he had to have some help at some point and we want to ensure that thats the answer. Maybe he was a superhuman who figured this out all on his own but it would be hard for me to believe that.

There are other reasons to believe that there could have been more than one shooter involved. As Lombardo noted further, police are in possession of evidence they say indicates Paddock intended to survive the attack  meaning, he wasnt planning to kill himself, which is reportedly what he did in the end. (Related: Vegas sheriff says shooter may have been radicalized)

Also, Lombardo said there is evidence to support his statement that Paddock led a secret life that was unbeknownst to most people around him. In addition, Lombardo said that Paddock also researched other locations including Boston and Chicago in which to commit mass murder, having eventually decided on Vegas.

These developments suggest that he was scouting multiple locations, in multiple cities, from which to unleash his senseless carnage. This is premeditation on steroids, which only renders the lack of apparent motive even more terrifying. Were probably looking at months and months of meticulous planning here, writes Guy Benson at Townhall.com.

J.D. Heyes is a senior writer for NaturalNews.com and NewsTarget.com, as well as editor of The National Sentinel.

Sources include:

TheNationalSentinel.com

NaturalNews.com

CourierMail.com.au
Kathleen Depp has spent countless hours filling out job applications online and emailing her resumes to companies who are hiring.

The problem with that process, she said, is she isnt sure if anyone is even checking her qualifications or simply moving her resume to their junk folder.

Depp joined thousands of others on Thursday at the Hartford Convention Center for Get Hired Hartford. The event, the largest job recruiting fair in the state, hosts nearly 80 companies with over 5,000 job openings.

Theres more opportunities here, said Depp, of New Britain. Some companies that you dont know are out there even when you go on the internet and you try and Google certain things but you dont know which ones are out there. Its kind of like cold calling if you will. At least this way you get your face there with some of the people and hand them your resume and maybe they will remember you.

Companies, both local and from out of state, took part in event. The Goodwill of Western and Northern Connecticut hosts the event NBC Connecticut is proud to be a partner.

Organizers of the event worked to ensure there were opportunities for everyone. Local insurance companies, like Aetna and The Hartford saw some of the longest lines form at their booths.

Popular nationwide companies like WalMart, Chilis Bar & Grill, Whole Foods and Home Depot were represented along with local organizations like the Hartford Yardgoats, CTTransit and Hartford Public Schools.

This is one of the biggest job fairs I have ever been to, quite the variety, said Depp. There is something for everybody here. So hopefully a lot of us will get hired.

Job seekers were able to walk up to booths and hand over their resumes in person, giving a smile and handshake that is lost when applying online.

There is nothing like that one to one contact that you can have at a job fair where you can sell yourself and you can show them your resume and you can expand on your skill set, said Kathy Thompson of Watertown. Thompson is a veteran who is looking to put her unique military skills to work for a local company.

On top of 5,000 jobs that were available, those attended were offered help with their resumes, free photo copies and a free professional headshot.

Goodwill is happy to help anyone who is interested in employment. New college graduates, retirees, someone looking for a second job, anyone is welcome, Vicki Volpano, Goodwill president and CEO said.

If you were missed the job fair, the Goodwill Career Center on New Park Ave. in Hartford offers many of the services that were available at the fair free of charge.
Facebook plans to build a massive new data center in Virginia.

The social media giant announced Thursday that it selected a spot in Henrico County, just outside Richmond, Virginia, to build a new $750 million data center.

Company officials said it would be one of the most advanced and energy-efficient data centers in the world.

Facebook is partnering with electric utility Dominion Energy to offset the energy used by the data center with power produced by new solar installations around the state. Dominion said it will file a new energy rate with state regulators later this month.

Facebook will be eligible for millions of dollars in state and local tax breaks for the new project, which officials said will create thousands of construction jobs and 100 full-time employees when complete.
Two years ago, Intel spent $16.7 billion to acquire FPGA chip vendor Altera. So, whats it going to do with that big purchase? The company is finally ready to say.

A field-programmable gate array, or FPGA, is an integrated circuit that can be customized to perform specific functions. Whereas the x86 executes only the x86 instruction sets, an FPGA can be reprogrammed on the fly to perform specified tasks. Thats why x86s are considered general compute processors and FPGAs are viewed as customizable.

Also on Network World: What you need when the big breakout for the Internet of Things arrives

It sounds like FPGA will compete with the Xeon Phi accelerator cards but Intel said thats not the case. FPGA differs from its Xeon Phi acceleration strategy in that you can get multifunction acceleration with FPGAs vs. specialized acceleration with Phi. So FPGA complements, it does not compete with Phi.

Like the GPU, FPGAs will be used in one of two ways: offload and inline. Offload, also called look aside, means the data coming in first goes through the CPU before being moved to the FPGA for processing. Inline means the CPU stays out of the way and data goes directly in and out of the FPGA for processing.

FPGAs better for certain tasks than Xeon Phi or GPUs

Now Intel is positioning the Altera FPGAs as co-processors and admits they will compete with Xeon Phi in some ways, but that the FPGAs are more versatile and suited for certain tasks better than the Phi or GPUs, according to Bernhard Friebe, senior director of software solutions in the Intel Programmable Solutions Group.

The advantage for FPGA is GPUs play in some areas but not all, and if you look at the use model of inline vs. offload, they are limited to offload mostly. So, theres a broader application space you can cover with FPGA, he said.

The integrated solution provides tight coupling between CPU and FPGA with very high bandwidth, while the external PCI Express card is not as tightly coupled. For ultra-low latency and high-bandwidth applications, integrated is a great fit, Friebe said.

Most of the differentiation [between integrated and discrete] is due to system architecture and data movement. In a data center environment where [you] run many different workloads, you dont want to tie it to a particular app, he said.

The more you do specialization, the more performance you can squeeze out of the accelerator, said Friebe. FPGAs as a multifunction accelerator will achieve great performance in some apps. The nature of the FPGA is highly parallel and programmability, which lends itself to accelerating workloads that can be parallelized. These include data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, video transcoding, compression, security, financial analysis, and genomics.

Two-pronged FPGA strategy

Intel is taking a two-pronged approach with its FPGA strategy, offering both hybrid CPU-FPGA processors  similar to its desktop CPUs that have a GPU integrated on the die  and discrete Arria or Stratix brand FPGA devices on a PCI Express card.

The hybrid CPU-FPGA device will be based on a Skylake generation CPU and Arria 10 FPGA and will use faster UltraPath Interconnect (UPI) link, Intels successor to QuickPath Interconnect (QPI). Not much is known about UPI other than it will operate at 9.6GT/s or 10.4GT/s data transfer rates and will be considerably more efficient than QPI because it will support multiple requests per message.

Intel is also providing a complete developer toolset and APIs to design apps for both integrated and discrete products using the same tools, accelerators and libraries. All are written in OpenCL, a C-like language.

The beauty is its standardized and open source. Their investment is forward-compatible to new-generation processors, easy to migrate, and provides an abstraction for FPGA developers to target a much larger user base, Friebe said.

Intel is sampling a discrete card, called a Programmable Acceleration Card (PAC), with the Arria 10 GX FPGA now, and it expects availability in the first half of 2018. A Xeon Scalable Platform with the integrated FPGA on a Skylake-generation Xeon is sampling today, with general availability in the second half of 2018.
Anti-cancer drugs called mTOR inhibitors slow the growth of cancer cells but show limited ability to cause cancer cell death. New studies explain why.

Masahiro Morita, Ph.D., assistant professor of molecular medicine in the Joe R. & Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio, contributed to the research. He is an investigator with the university's Sam & Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity & Aging Studies.

Before joining UT Health, Dr. Morita was a postdoctoral fellow at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.

The cancer drugs act on a cell regulator called mTOR (Mechanistic Target of Rapamycin).

mTOR controls a process that determines how large our cells are and how many cells we have. mTOR also impacts mitochondria, which are the energy centers in our cells.

Mitochondria become elongated when mTOR activity is inhibited, Dr. Morita said. When mTOR is stimulated, these energy centers become fragmented.

"Increased fragmentation of mitochondria is implicated in some cancers," Dr. Morita said.

mTOR controls expression of proteins that alter mitochondrial structure and function in ways that unexpectedly protect cells from death, the team reported.

This is why the cancer cells targeted by mTOR therapy are not dying.

"The next step is to test tandem therapy in cell studies, because it makes sense to combine an mTOR inhibitor with an agent that does kill cancer cells," Dr. Morita said.

Source: http://www.uthscsa.edu/
The U-lite EXP, an ultraportable and multi-probe ultrasound scanner, helps practitioners from various specialties make more reliable diagnostics

SONOSCANNER, a French company specializing in ultrasound systems, today announced that it received the Food and Drug Administration's approval (FDA) to market its new multi-purpose device, the U-lite EXP, in the United States, starting in October 2017.

U-Lite EXP: the versatile, high performance and ultraportable ultrasound scanner

Following the commercialization of the U-lite in 2015 in United-States, SONOSCANNER's second generation of ultraportable ultrasound scanner, the U-Lite EXP, offers an improved diagnostic performance through a better image definition. The user is much more confident in his clinical diagnoses. Indeed, by proposing probes up to 256 elements 18Mhz, SONOSCANNER increases the resolution two-fold compared to traditional ultrasound systems. U-Lite EXP's very high-definition probes allows such diagnoses as small mammary tumors or musculo skeletal pain diseases: this is the reason why more and more radiologist have equipped their offices

With its 6 high-definition interchangeable probes and its patented probe connector, the U-Lite EXP can perform a wide range of examinations in many specialties: gynecology, obstetrics, urology, anesthesia, endocrinology, osteoarticular and general medicine. Lightweight (less than 600 g), with an intuitive touch-screen interface, the device has been designed to meet the challenges of mobility and ease of use. Its mobility and versatility have enticed more than 340 French practitioners, in the last months, to buy it for their practice and visits.

U-lite EXP's technology is covered by 3 international patents. Several studies are in progress in American medical centers and hospitals in New York, Chicago and Houston: The primary objective is to inform its users on the device's potential through scientific and medical publications.

FDA approval: U-Lite EXP wants to conquer the American market

The U-Lite EXP is a commercial success in Europe and a leader in its category, and has a promised bright future on the American market.

Over 6 billion dollars in 2017 is expected for the all models' global ultrasound market - United States accounts for 35% of this market - SONOSCANNER is now undertaking a further step forward in its international development. The ultraportable US market - estimated at $400 million by 2020 - represents a major challenge for the French company. SONOSCANNER's sales team, made up of representatives and authorized distributors, covers the whole American territory today.

SONOSCANNER maintains a strategy consistent with its values, which are widely developed at the national level: supporting the development of healthcare accessibility, addressing the challenges of medical deserts and mobility challenges, and meeting the needs of practitioners by proposing lighter material and improved performances of diagnostic tools.

Thereby, by widely opening the ultrasound practice, SONOSCANNER offers, with the U-lite EXP, a tool particularly adapted to helping practitioners make early and reliable diagnosis.

"This authorization is a new key step in our international development and more particularly in the United States. We detected a real appetite for ultra-portable and versatile ultrasound scanners like the U-lite, promising commercial successes and easy adoption of its new generation, the U-lite EXP", comments Etienne RICHARD, Operations Director at SONOSCANNER
A new clinical study on the early detection of atrial fibrillation at home is starting at the German Centre for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK). This cardiac arrhythmia is responsible for a quarter of all strokes; and yet the risk of patients with atrial fibrillation having a stroke can be reduced by 70 percent if they take anticoagulants early enough. The problem is early diagnosis, because often the heart only beats irregularly in paroxysmal episodes, which does not cause any discomfort.

When the heart is in atrial fibrillation, the heart can only pump blood in a restricted manner and there is a risk of the formation of blood clots. If such a blood clot is swept away, it may block a blood vessel elsewhere. If this happens in the carotid artery or in vessels in the brain, it leads to a stroke. Taking anticoagulants early enough can reduce the danger of blood clots forming and thus also reduce the risk of a stroke.

The SCREEN-AF study's aim is to improve the early detection of atrial fibrillation. It examines whether early atrial fibrillation can be detected with the help of two 2-week continuous ECG recordings. "We know from preliminary studies that paroxysmal atrial fibrillation is common in stroke patients. Now we want to investigate whether we find this cardiac arrhythmia just as frequently in elderly patients treated by their general practitioner for high blood pressure", says Prof. Dr. Rolf Wachter, Leipzig University Hospital, who together with Prof. Dr. Eva Hummers-Pradier of the University Medical Center Gottingen is the principal study investigator for Germany. The study uses a new "rhythm patch". This patch has a mini monitor as a recording unit which can record the heart rhythm for up to two weeks. In comparison to conventional Holter ECGs, this recording method is less cumbersome for the study participants and they can, for example, even shower without having to remove the patch. In addition, the study participants take their blood pressure twice a day with a blood pressure monitor suitable for home use.

"Besides investigating how often we find atrial fibrillation, we also want to ascertain how often and how long we need to measure in order to capture all cases", Wachter explains the study procedure. For this reason, the 14-day ECG recordings and blood pressure measurements are repeated after three months, and after six months the general practitioner examines the heart of the patients.

Network of General Practitioners

The study is directed towards patients aged 75 or older who have high blood pressure, but so far have shown no indication of an arrhythmia. Co-principal investigator Prof. Hummers-Pradier of the Department of General Practice at the University Medical Center Gottingen has access to a network of general practice surgeries with whose help patients are recruited. The general practitioners are asked to search their databases for suitable patients once. A study team of the University Medical Center Gottingen then contacts the patients, has an informed consent discussion with them and attaches the monitor. A total of 405 patients shall participate in the study, which will also run in Hamburg and Frankfurt beside Gottingen.

The first step for a prevention program

"Except for the management of risk factors such as obesity, high blood lipid levels or high blood pressure, there is currently no standard stroke prevention program involving screening for atrial fibrillation", Wachter describes the situation. The SCREEN-AF study is a first step in developing such a program for the primary prevention of stroke. It is being conducted in cooperation with the Canadian Stroke Prevention Intervention Network's (C-SPIN) SCREEN-AF trial (Principal Investigator David Gladstone, Sunnybrook Research Institute and University of Toronto, CA), who together with the DZHK is funding the study.
Findings from a study into Crohn's disease, led by William G. Kerr, Ph.D., of SUNY Upstate Medical University, and his collaborators at the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands, provide the first evidence that patients with debilitating inflammatory bowel disease lack sufficient quantities of a protein that comes from the SHIP1 gene.

There is currently no cure for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This finding could help guide doctors to determine how to treat patients with Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel disease. A simple blood test that detects the level of SHIP1 protein can tell physicians whether to take a "wait and see" versus aggressive approach towards treatment.

The findings also give a biological marker for the disease that could possibly lead to an earlier intervention before the disease manifests.

An abstract of the study "Analysis of SHIP1 expression and activity in Crohn's disease" was published Aug. 2 in PLOS One, a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS).

Kerr discovered the link between SHIP1 deficiency and Crohn's disease in 2011. The next step for him and his colleagues is to investigate further why the expression of the SHIP gene is altered in Crohn's disease.

"We followed a larger cohort of individuals with Crohn's disease in our second study and again found that SHIP1 expression is absent or drastically reduced in a subset of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis patients," said Kerr, an Empire Scholar, the Murphy Family Professor of Childrens' Oncology Research, and professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, pediatrics and microbiology and immunology at Upstate. "We are continuing our efforts to determine the molecular and genetic basis for this defect,"

Genetics & Genomics eBook Compilation of the top interviews, articles, and news in the last year. Download a copy today

He says that once researchers gain a better understanding of this problem with SHIP 1 expression in IBD patients, they will then attempt to model potential treatments for these patients by the use of small molecules that can 'turn up' SHIP1 activity in these patients to levels that are beneficial and could prevent gastrointestinal inflammation.

Kerr's group, in collaboration with Dr. John Chisholm, has recently discovered such a molecule, called a SHIP1 agonist.

Kerr's foray into Crohn's disease was catalyzed in 2011 by his finding that mutation of SHIP1 in mice triggered Crohn's-like disease in the small intestine of the mutant mice. He and his team then developed specialized assays to see if these findings translated to humans as well. In addition, they also used exome sequencing and RNAseq-;sequencing directly targeted to the SHIP1 gene-;to examine the structure of the SHIP1 gene at both the DNA and the RNA level.

Crohn's and ulcerative colitis are debilitating diseases that belong to a group of conditions known as inflammatory bowel diseases. Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms include abdominal pain, fever, exhaustion, nausea and chronic diarrhea. Current treatments for Crohn's disease, such as steroids, help to stop the inflammatory process, relieve symptoms and avoid surgery.
People with intellectual disabilities are five times more likely to be admitted to hospital with potentially preventable conditions, new research shows.

Researchers at St George's, University of London linked primary care records - those held by GPs - with hospital admission data of adults with intellectual disabilities and compared these to patients without intellectual disabilities.

Dr Iain Carey, a senior lecturer in Epidemiology, said: "We found that adults with intellectual disabilities were five times more likely to be admitted for conditions, such as urinary tract and respiratory infections, where more effective treatment could have been given by primary care health workers like GPs could have prevented the admission to hospital.

"Strategies focusing on the specific health needs of patients with an intellectual disability, such as making sure they can see their usual GP, or are offered longer consultations when necessary, may helpfully reduce some of these potentially preventable admissions, which are expensive for hospitals and distressing for patients."

"A particular focus on enquiring of patients and their care givers about the symptoms of common infections might help reduce the risk of hospitalization".

Researchers also found that they experienced twice as many emergency hospital admissions overall compared to the general population. They studied the electronic records of 16,666 adults with intellectual disabilities compared the results to 113,562 age-, sex-, and practice-matched adults without intellectual disabilities from 343 English general practices.

Among adults with intellectual disabilities, 23 percent had an emergency admission and 11 percent had multiple admissions over a three year period. In comparison, 12 percent of those in the control group had one or more emergency hospital admissions and four percent had multiple admissions.

The overall annual rate for emergency hospitalizations in adults with intellectual disabilities was 182 per 1,000 adults, nearly three times higher than the comparable group when adjusted for comorbidities, smoking and deprivation.

The most common potentially preventable reasons for the admission for adults with intellectual disabilities were convulsions/epilepsy (36 percent), lower respiratory tract infection (19 percent) and urinary tract infection (11 percent).

A person with intellectual disabilities denotes someone with a significant, lifelong condition requiring help to process information and live independently such as Down's syndrome.

This study which looked at patients in England, is the first in the United Kingdom to use an unselected group of adults with intellectual disabilities to accurately quantify differences in emergency admissions, lays the foundation for health interventions for adults with such disabilities, particularly as their life expectancy increases.

The higher emergency admission rates for potentially preventable conditions represent an area where improvements can be made, the authors suggest.
Thought Leaders Professor Stefan Jockenhovel and

Professor Christian Apel RWTH Aachen University

An interview with Professor Stefan Jockenhovel and Professor Christian Apel conducted by April Cashin-Garbutt, MA (Cantab)

Please can you give a brief introduction to your research?

We are working in the field of biomedical engineering and our specific focus is on the development of biohybrid medical systems or biohybrid implants. That means we combine a technical structure with a biological function to make medical systems and implants performing better.

Credit: CI Photos/Shutterstock.com

Can you describe your specific workflow?

Our specific workflow is developing patient customized implants. We harvest cells from the patient, we cultivate the cells as the biological component of our biohybrid implants.

Our specific focus is on the development of textile-reinforced implants. The process used is a moulding technology based on a hydrogel scaffold as cell carrier, developed at the BioTex Institute fifteen years ago.

What were the main factors that influenced your recent decision to move from manual liquid handling to automated liquid handling with the Biomek from Beckman Coulter?

The critical point in the processing of cells is the risk of contamination by the human operator. Furthermore, each operator has individual differences in the handling of the different components in the process influencing the (re)producibility in the process significantly. Automated processing makes the whole process much more efficient, more reliable and standardized. That was the main reason we decided on an automatized system.

Secondly, it's a question of using the human resources in an efficient way. We dont want that highly educated staff members waste their time doing very simple routine work.

How does automation compare in terms of throughput, ergonomics and sample savings to manual?

From the economical point of view, we believe that if you want to translate the highly-customized patient implants to the market, it's important to automate processes, more and more.

It starts with cell harvesting, which you cannot automate, but the cultivation of the cells and the later production processes can be nicely automized with the system. Doing it all by hand, just manually, requires experienced people who know how to do it. It's not something where you can build on a reliable production process.

Was there a large learning curve with the Biomek? How quickly were you able to get the workflow up and running with automation?

We are in the very early phase as we have started at the beginning of this year. It took a little time to get familiar with the system and to get the right introduction.

The most time-consuming aspects have been translating the processes into the automized system, learning to think in a different way and organizing all the steps in that system, as there is quite a difference between doing it manually and instructing the computer doing it.

Moving forward, what impact has your automation had and what will it have on the work in your lab?

Firstly, it will hopefully free up time for our research. Secondly, we are an academic institute and I believe that everybody who is working and dealing with biomedical engineering and cell-related biomedical engineering will use automization in the future.

From the training aspect, I think it is very important that people getting trained in and getting used to dealing with automized processes in a biological environment. I think that also really adds value from the teaching perspective.

Last but not least, we need billions of adherence cells per year, which makes more processes possible and the cell cultivation, which is now 24/7, can provide much more cells in a shorter time and also increase the number of experiments we can perform. This is an important aspect.

What are some of the differences that might complicate the transition of a new technology from the university setting to industry?

The challenges are that we need to have standardized processes and to move away from manual manufacturing to industrial production. If we want to have a chance in the clinic, those automation steps are essential, if not the implants will never find a place in the clinic.

You cannot manufacture all these things, so we must make it as standardized as possible. That is where the automatization is extremely important, not only regarding what we're doing with pipetting, handling and cell cultivation, but also regarding bioreactor systems from the moulding process, finally to the inline evaluation as final proof in the production process.

What role can automation providers, such as Beckman Coulter, play to facilitate or increase the success of such transition?

I think what Beckman Coulter provide is a platform technology that, when I look at our machines, seems to be based on a highly-individualized process that is finely tuned and adapted to our needs. These needs were not easy and Beckman Coulter managed to do so.

In the future, this is just on the first level, the cellular level; the next level will be on the tissue level. At that point we can build on the Beckman Coulter platform to increase the level of complexity. That is the reason why we have chosen Beckman Coulter and their technology.

About Professor Stefan Jockenhovel and Professor Christian Apel

Prof. Stefan Jockenhoevel: His background is in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, where he has worked as a clinician over 11 years. He is a full professor at the RWTH Aachen University as a transfaculty professorship between mechanical engineering (ITA-Institute for Textile Engineering, faculty of mechanical engineering) and the biomedical engineering (AME-Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, Medical Faculty).

Furthermore he is the director of the Aachen-Maastricht-Institute for Biobased Materials, a transborder institute between the University Maastricht, NL, the Fraunhofer IME (Aachen, GER) and the RWTH Aachen University (GER).

Prof. Christian Apel studied dentistry and worked as dentist and clinical scientist over 14 years. He owned an assistant professorship for Experimental Caries Prevention and Therapy at RWTH Aachen University and spent two years as visiting professor at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Presently he work as associate professor at the Medical Faculty of RWTH Aachen University and is the vice director of the department for Biohybrid & Medical Textiles, Applied Medical Engineering at RWTH Aachen University.
Young people with mental health conditions are helping to train hospital staff to better support others in crisis when they are receiving urgent medical treatment.

A survey at Barts Health NHS Trust found many staff felt unable to respond effectively to the mental health needs of children and young people requiring hospital treatment for self-harm, overdose, anxiety and depression.

One in five of the 350 staff surveyed said they encountered young people with mental health conditions almost all the time, and the overwhelming majority said they would like to improve their own skills in this area.

Barts Health is the largest NHS trust in the country and runs three childrens A&E departments at The Royal London, Newham and Whipps Cross hospitals. Mental health services for children and young people across east London are provided by two specialist NHS trusts, but many will often attend A&E when in crisis.

The number of children and young people in England being referred for specialist mental health support has risen by 22,000 over the last three years.

With the support of the Healthy Teen Minds and Common Room organizations and mental health professionals, the Trust has developed a training toolkit for hospital staff believed to be the only program of its kind in the NHS. So far over 150 staff have attended the We Can Talk one-day training session, including children's nurses, health care assistants, doctors and ward clerks. All attendees recommended the training, and 96 per cent reported it would make a big difference to the way they do their job.

"From what I have seen and heard in the sessions staff really care and want to support people better, and I am thrilled to be helping to make this happen." Grace, young advisor

As the largest NHS trust, with three childrens A&Es caring for half a million children and young people in east London, it is likely the findings reflect the feeling of NHS staff across the country.

Michelle Johnson, Director of nursing for children, babies and young people at Barts Health NHS Trust explained:

I heard from many staff that they are caring for more children and young people with mental health problems than ever before, but lacked confidence and resilience to care for and meet their needs. Aiming to support staff to give the best possible care, we did something quite unique by taking the views of young people together with mental health professionals to create ten core competencies and a bespoke training course that is actually led by a young person.

When young people were asked what hospital staff need to know about mental health, many felt there was a lack of knowledge of mental health issues. They said the attitudes and behavior of staff had a great impact on their experience of care.

Grace Jeremy, aged 24, is a young advisor with Common Room. Grace now leads the staff training sessions, sharing her experiences and the views of other young people.

Grace said:

Young people want hospital staff to acknowledge and address their mental health needs. The majority prefer to self-treat when possible as they have had bad hospital experiences in the past. Whats really sad is that many say when they attend A&E they do so with feelings of shame and unworthiness. Young people in a mental health crisis attending A&E want exactly what anyone attending A&E would want; appropriate care, to be involved in decisions, empathy, understanding and a non-judgmental approach. From what I have seen and heard in the sessions staff really care and want to support people better, and I am thrilled to be helping to make this happen.

Robin Barker, senior nurse and director at Healthy Teen Minds said:

This is a uniquely collaborative and exciting approach to the training - listening to mental health professionals, asking staff about their training needs and speaking to young people. Mental health can be awkward to talk about, and sometimes we dont know what to say. So in the training sessions we practice communication, looking at how well staff understand mental health problems and some of the difficulties they encounter in a space where they feel supported to really improve their skills.

WeCanTalk Play

Source: https://bartshealth.nhs.uk/news/young-people-support-hospital-staff-to-talk-about-mental-health-1987
Donald Trump to 'decertify' Iran nuclear deal, announcement likely by next week

Washington : US President Donald Trump has planned to announce next week that he will "decertify" the landmark Iran nuclear deal, a move that could lead to the potential collapse of the agreement.

Trump was expected to roll out a broader US strategy on Iran, in which his decision on the nuclear deal was an important part, Xinhua quoted officials as saying.

On October 15, Trump is due to testify to Congress whether Tehran is complying with the deal and whether it remains in the US interests in sticking to it.

If he decides it is not, it could open the way for US lawmakers to re-impose sanctions, leading to the potential collapse of the agreement.

Trump has long criticised the Iran nuclear pact, a signature deal reached between Iran and the world six powers of Britain, China, France, Russia and the US plus Germany in July 2015.

In his speech delivered at UN General Assembly last month, Trump called the agreement "an embarrassment" for the US and indicated that he may not re-certify the deal at its mid-October deadline.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned earlier that Tehran will only abide by the provisions under the nuclear deal if the other parties remain committed to it.

The Iran nuclear deal, officially known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, has helped defuse the Iran nuclear crisis and bolster the international non-proliferation regime.
Prize motivation: for their assiduous effort to revive the ideal of peace and to rekindle the spirit of peace in their own nation and in the whole of mankind

Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

Jane Addams was the second woman to receive the Peace Prize. She founded the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom in 1919, and worked for many years to get the great powers to disarm and conclude peace agreements.

In the USA, Jane Addams worked to help the poor and to stop the use of children as industrial laborers. She ran Hull House in Chicago, a center which helped immigrants in particular.

During World War I, she chaired a women's conference for peace held in the Hague in the Netherlands, and tried in vain to get President Woodrow Wilson of the USA to mediate peace between the warring countries. When the USA entered the war instead, Jane Addams spoke out loudly against this. She was consequently stamped a dangerous radical and a danger to US security.

Addams was critical of the peace treaty that was forced on Germany in 1919, maintaining that it was so humiliating that it would lead to a German war of revenge. At the end of her life, Jane Addams was honored by the American government for her efforts for peace.
Eye-Witness and Messenger

The Jewish author, philosopher and humanist Elie Wiesel made it his life's work to bear witness to the genocide committed by the Nazis during World War II. He was the world's leading spokesman on the Holocaust.

After Hitler's forces had moved into Hungary in 1944, the Wiesel family was deported to the Auschwitz extermination camp in Poland. Elie Wiesel's mother and younger sister perished in the gas chamber there. In 1945 Elie and his father were sent on to Buchenwald, where his father died of starvation and dysentery. Seventeen-year-old Elie was still alive when American soldiers opened the camp.

For the world to remember and learn from the Holocaust was not Elie Wiesel's only goal. He thought it equally important to fight indifference and the attitude that it's no concern of mine. Elie Wiesel saw the struggle against indifference as a struggle for peace. In his words, The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference.
Scientist Opposed to Nuclear Weapons

When Joseph Rotblat was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995, 50 years had passed since the atom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. But it was 52 years since Joseph Rotblat had first taken a stance against the development of the new weapons of mass destruction. In his opinion, science and research should serve the cause of peace.

Of Jewish descent, Rotblat was born in Warsaw, Poland. He studied physics and took up research in Great Britain in 1939. His work on splitting the atom led him to the conclusion that it was possible to produce an atomic bomb. In 1943 he was given permission to withdraw from the Manhattan Project, in which the United States and Great Britain were cooperating on the production of nuclear weapons. To Rotblat it was clear that Germany would not manage to make an atomic bomb before the war was over. He also feared that nuclear weapons might be used in a clash with the communist Soviet Union.

During the post-war period, Joseph Rotblat has done an enormous amount of work in the cause of peace, dialogue and disarmament through the Pugwash movement, with which he shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995.
Prize motivation: for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education

For the right of every child to receive an education

Malala Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her fight for the right of every child to receive an education. She was born in the Swat Valley in Pakistan. When the Islamic Taliban movement took control of the valley in 2008, girls schools were burned down. Malala kept a diary of the events, which was published in 2009 by BBC Urdu. In her diary she spoke out against the Talibans terrorist regime. An American documentary film made Malala internationally famous.

It was not long before the Taliban threatened her life. In 2012, Malala was shot in the head on a school bus by a Taliban gunman. She survived, but had to flee to England and live in exile there because a fatwa was issued against her.

In 2013, TIME magazine named Malala one of The 100 Most Influential People in the World. On her 16th birthday she spoke in the United Nations. In her speech Malala called for the equal right to education for girls all over the world, and became a symbol of this cause.
You are clearly a super-user of NUVO.net. Thats a good thing. It means you depend on independent and local news sources to keep you informed. You are a smart person.



Coincidentally, independent and local news sources depend on you too. Youve read 25 articles this month and now, wed like you to be join our mission and become a NUVO Supporter. For as little as $4 a month, you can keep us alive and fighting -- and can have unlimited access to the independent news that cant be found anywhere else.
The Supreme Court took two actions on contraceptive coverage last week that have, appropriately, received considerable attention. But theres a health economics question in the background that warrants some attention as well: Does contraceptive coverage pay for itself?

In his opinion last Monday, Justice Alito referred to an assertion made by the departments of the Treasury, Labor, and Health and Human Services that providing payments for contraceptive services is cost neutral for issuers. Several studies have estimated that the costs of providing contraceptive coverage are balanced by cost savings from lower pregnancy-related costs and from improvements in womens health.

Studies the departments cited are suggestive, but far from definitive. A fuller review of the literature on the cost and cost offsets of contraceptive coverage by Daniel Liebman, a colleague, finds that the evidence is thin that, from an insurer's perspective, contraceptive coverage pays for itself in the long term. Moreover, it almost certainly does not in the short. The cost of contraceptive coverage is immediate, and the possible offsets (reduced pregnancies) are downstream, often years in the future.

A Department of Health and Human Services Issue Brief offered by the administration reported that there was no premium increase associated with the addition of a contraceptive coverage mandate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan in 1999. The Issue Brief also cited an analysis of Hawaiis 1999 requirement that employer plans cover contraception. Based on an examination of just four health plans, the states insurance commissioner concluded that the mandate did not appear to have a direct effect on an increase in the cost of health insurance. However, this conclusion is hedged; the detailed results from each of those four plans do not unambiguously support it.
But as the last of those boats was making its way north through the Atlantic Ocean, Mr. Short said he was not sure the shipyard would survive.

Mr. Short said Horizon had already started building six more ferries, which were supposed to round out the citys fleet when two new routes are added next year. But Hornblower stopped the work on those boats and took back some parts, including seats and generators, that had been delivered to the shipyard.

Hornblower then reassigned the contract to build additional boats to another shipbuilder, Louisiana-based Metal Shark. Among the boats ordered from Metal Shark, which had already built some of the ferries, were three larger versions of the existing vessels.

The citys Economic Development Corporation had planned for the fleet to consist of only 149-passenger boats. But after large crowds showed up at some ferry docks, city officials decided that three of the boats should be large enough to carry 350 passengers each.

Cameron Clark, a senior vice president of Hornblower who oversees the ferry fleet, called Horizons financial problems unfortunate and said that if the situation were to correct itself, we would continue to build boats there. Hornblower sued Horizon and an insurance company in circuit court in Alabama last month for failure to complete the contract.

While we understand the financial hardship many shipyards are facing right now, we are not in a position to comment on contractual relationships between subcontractors and our operator, Hornblower, said Stephanie Baez, a spokeswoman for the Economic Development Corporation. We have a clear responsibility to get the best value for our taxpayers and hold contractors accountable for the promises and costs they agree to  which was successfully accomplished.

As for Mr. Beavers complaints about not being warned and not getting paid, Mr. Clark said, His gripe is definitely with Horizon.
Mr. Thompson sued the New Orleans district attorneys office for failing to train prosecutors about their constitutional obligations to turn over exculpatory evidence. The jury awarded him $14 million, one of the largest-ever verdicts in a wrongful-conviction case. He never saw a dime of it.

In an exceptionally cruel and disingenuous ruling, the Supreme Court threw out Mr. Thompsons award in 2011, by a 5-to-4 vote. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the majority, said Mr. Thompson had not shown that the misconduct in his case was caused by a failure to train, or that there was a pattern of such misconduct.

This was, to put it kindly, bunk. Under the 30-year reign of District Attorney Harry Connick, ignoring the Constitution to help win convictions was standard operating procedure, as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in a stinging dissent. In Mr. Thompsons case, no fewer than five prosecutors were involved in hiding evidence or knew about it, she wrote, yet all declined despite multiple opportunities, spanning nearly two decades, to set the record straight.

Last month, the lawyer who represented Mr. Connicks office before the Supreme Court, Kyle Duncan, was nominated by President Trump to a judgeship on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Assuming Mr. Duncan gets confirmed, at least Mr. Thompson wont have to endure the insult of reading about it.

He died on Tuesday of a heart attack. He was 55.

In an op-ed article for this newspaper after the Supreme Court overturned his award, Mr. Thompson wrote, I dont care about the money. He cared about punishing the prosecutors who had wronged him and many others. Of the six men one of my prosecutors got sentenced to death, five eventually had their convictions reversed because of prosecutorial misconduct, he wrote. And then there were the 4,000 inmates serving life without parole at Angola prison, where he had been locked up, but who had no access to a lawyer. How many, he wondered, had also been framed?
Google may be the first to formally make this link, but it is hardly alone. Among technology companies, the rush to create comprehensive offline profiles of online users is on, driven by the need to monetize online services offered free.

In practice, this means that we can no longer expect a meaningful difference between observability and identifiability  if we can be observed, we can be identified. In one recent study, for example, a group of researchers showed that aggregate cellular location data  the records generated by our cellphones as they anonymously interact with nearby cell towers  can identify individuals with 73 percent to 91 percent accuracy.

And even without these advanced methods, finding out who we are and what we like and do has never been easier. Thanks to the trails created by our continuous online activities, it has become nearly impossible to remain anonymous in the digital age.

So what to do?

The answer is that we must regulate what organizations and governments can actually do with our data. Simply put, the future of our privacy lies in how our data is used, rather than how or when our data may be gathered. Excepting those who opt out of the digital world altogether, controls on data gathering is a lost cause.

This is part of the approach now being taken by European regulators. One of the cornerstones of the European Unions new regulatory framework for data, known as the General Data Protection Regulation, or G.D.P.R., is the idea of purpose-based restrictions on data. In order for an organization or public authority to use personal data gathered in the European Union, it must first specify what that data is going to be used for. The G.D.P.R. sets forth six broad categories of acceptable purposes, including when an individual has directly consented to a specific use for the data to when data processing is necessary for the public interest. If data is issued for an unauthorized purpose, legal liability ensues. The G.D.P.R. is far from perfect, but it is on to something big.

This method stands in stark contrast to the way data is protected in the United States, which might best be characterized as a collect data first, ask questions later approach. Sure, American technology companies disclose their privacy policies in a terms-of-service statement, but these disclosures are often comically ambiguous and widely misunderstood.

Many privacy advocates will no doubt find it hard to stomach that the way we think about protecting our data is outdated. But if we are to maintain the ability to assert control over the data we generate, we must also admit that our past ideas of what it means to be let alone no longer apply.
NATIONAL

Because of an editing error, an article on Wednesday about the father of Stephen Paddock, the man the police identified as the gunman in the mass shooting in Las Vegas, misidentified Mr. Paddocks youngest sibling. Eric Paddock is his youngest brother, not Patrick Paddock II.



An article on Thursday about Marilou Danley, the girlfriend of the Las Vegas gunman, Stephen Paddock, misidentified the country where she worked as a tour guide. It is the Philippines, not Australia.

SPORTS

An article on Thursday about the Yankees first postseason game in Cleveland since 2007 misstated the number of regular-season appearances Joba Chamberlain made in that year. It was 19  not 24, which was the number of innings he threw that year.

OBITUARIES

An obituary on Monday about S. I. Newhouse Jr., the owner of The New Yorker, Vogue, Vanity Fair and other magazines, misstated Tina Browns age when Mr. Newhouse hired her to run Vanity Fair. She was 30, not 35.
In America people are proud to be patriots, whereas in Spain if you say that youre proud of your country, they say youre a fascist. But now people have a reason to go out into the streets to proudly show their flag.

CARLOTTA CARRO, a 24-year-old lawyer who supported Spains police crackdown on the Catalan referendum.
Read the latest on the Las Vegas shooting with Fridays live updates.

LAS VEGAS  Gunfire crackled, hotel guests called in noise complaints, and just like that, Jesus Campos, armed with little more than the handcuffs on his service belt, was facing a situation on Sunday that he had never encountered before as a security officer at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

Stephen Paddock, a longtime gambler who had amassed an arsenal of weapons, was firing down on thousands of people at an outdoor country music festival from his suite on the 32nd floor of the hotel.

As Mr. Campos approached the door of the suite, Mr. Paddock fired several shots through it, striking Mr. Campos in his right thigh, David L. Hickey, the president of the union representing security officers at the hotel, said on Thursday. Even after Mr. Campos was wounded, Mr. Hickey said, he helped the police locate Mr. Paddock, who did not resume his barrage of fire.

On most days, unarmed security personnel like Mr. Campos, who wears a black uniform at work, are dealing with much more mundane problems. Medical emergencies. Drunks. Arguments.

But they have to be ready for much worse. The mass shooting on Sunday night, which killed 58 people and wounded hundreds more, highlighted the dangerous side of working security in a casino hotel. Serious criminal violence is rare, but when it happens, many in the industry say, coping with it demands extensive training and preparation.

Casino security guards in Las Vegas do not fit the stereotype of whistle-blowing mall cops who chase shoplifters. Many are former police officers or military veterans who work now in plain clothes. They go through special training programs. Their forces are often led by people with experience at the highest levels of law enforcement, and they cooperate closely with the local police.

The security in Las Vegas is tremendous, said Don Campbell, a Las Vegas lawyer and former casino executive. These arent rent-a-cops, by any stretch of the imagination.

Even so, the mass shooting on Sunday raised new questions about how best to provide safety in a city visited by tens of millions of people a year who may be susceptible to a host of dangers. Many casino security officers are unarmed, and in many situations they are only a stopgap until the police arrive.

While a police officer typically gets around 500 hours of academy training before joining the force, most security officers at major Las Vegas casinos get 40 to 80 hours initial training, according to Lenny Davis, a security consultant here.

Some of them are your normal unarmed security guards, Mr. Davis said. Most of the big hotels have special security units. I think youre going to see more of that, in light of Sundays incident, and those guys are very well trained.

As investigators continued to piece together what drove Mr. Paddock to kill, security officers were as visible as ever at Mandalay Bay on Thursday. They were posted at each of the three elevator banks leading to guest rooms, making sure that only those who had key cards got through. They rode around the perimeter of the property on bicycles, and guarded the barricades at the driveway to the front entrance, which remained closed. One officer was dispatched to a room occupied by reporters to tell them that interviewing employees on the property was forbidden.
With support building in Congress for action against devices like those the Las Vegas gunman had, which allow a rifle to fire hundreds of rounds per minute, the National Rifle Association on Thursday endorsed tighter restrictions on the gadgets, but did not say they should be outlawed.

The stance by the N.R.A., and growing support for regulation from Republicans on Capitol Hill, represent a small but notable shift for an organization and political party that have consistently opposed any gun controls for many years.

Stephen Paddock, the man who took aim Sunday night from a 32nd-floor hotel suite into the crowd at a music festival, killing 58 people and wounding hundreds of others, had 23 firearms with him, including 12 equipped with bump stocks, one type of device that can turn a gun into a rapid-fire weapon, shooting bullets at a rate comparable to a machine gun.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has said that the apparatus does not violate federal laws that, since the 1930s, have sharply limited the manufacture and possession of fully automatic weapons, or machine guns. In a statement on Thursday, the N.R.A. said the bureau should revisit the issue and immediately review whether these devices comply with federal law.
WASHINGTON  In the latest case of an insider removing sensitive data from the nations largest intelligence agency, Russian hackers obtained classified documents that a National Security Agency employee had taken and stored on his home computer. Investigators believe the hackers may have penetrated the computer by exploiting Kaspersky Lab antivirus software, a Russian brand widely used around the world, that the employee was using, according to officials briefed on the matter.

The highly classified material involved the agencys techniques for breaking into foreign computer networks to collect intelligence, the officials said. The case appears to be separate from a larger breach of security, by a group calling itself the Shadow Brokers, which has been publicly posting samples of the agencys hacking tools periodically for more than a year. The case was first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.

Investigators say the employee does not appear to have intended to let the sensitive cybertools escape to the outside world. Officials believe he took the material home  an egregious violation of agency rules and the law  because he wanted to refer to it as he worked on his resume. The maker of the antivirus software installed on his home computer, Kaspersky Lab, is a Russian company that American security officials have long feared may cooperate with, or be infiltrated by, the Russian government.
Update: The Trump administration has rolled back the birth control coverage mandate. Find more coverage here.

WASHINGTON  The Trump administration is poised to roll back the federal requirement for employers to include birth control coverage in their health insurance plans, vastly expanding exemptions for those that cite moral or religious objections.

The new rules, which could be issued as soon as Friday, fulfill a campaign promise by President Trump and are sure to touch off a round of lawsuits on the issue.

More than 55 million women have access to birth control without co-payments because of the contraceptive coverage mandate, according to a study commissioned by the Obama administration. Under the new regulations, hundreds of thousands of women could lose birth control benefits they now receive at no cost under the Affordable Care Act.
SAO PAULO, Brazil  Former President Barack Obama on Thursday told business leaders in Brazil that he regretted not having been able to do more to remedy the deeply polarized politics of the United States while he was in office.

Mr. Obama did not mention his successors name and steered clear of discussing the turbulence afflicting President Trumps administration. The former president also did not bring up the Trump administrations efforts to reverse the reconciliation he negotiated with Cuba in 2014, a signature policy initiative that was hailed across Latin America.

My biggest regret is not being able to bridge the differences that were emerging in our politics as much as I wanted, Mr. Obama told an audience of about 1,000 people who paid $1,500 to $2,400 to hear him speak.

Mr. Obama has given at least 10 paid speeches since leaving office, charging as much as $400,000 per appearance. He has addressed audiences in Montreal, Italy and Indonesia in recent months. A spokesman declined to say how much he was paid for this speech.
President Trump announced that he would decertify Irans compliance with the 2015 nuclear agreement reached with six world powers, including the United States.

Mr. Trump did not immediately pull out of the accord. He essentially deferred to Congress a decision about whether to reimpose sanctions on Iran, which could destroy the agreement. And he added an ultimatum, declaring that if the agreement were not renegotiated to permanently stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, he would terminate it at some point in the future.

Here are some questions and answers about the agreement and the possible consequences.

Which countries negotiated the agreement and what did it accomplish?

The permanent members of the United Nations Security Council  Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States  plus Germany, known as the P5-plus-1 group, negotiated the agreement with Iran. Disarmament advocates consider it a major achievement of the Obama administration, averting a possible military conflict with Iran and a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
Art

Our guide to new art shows  and some that will be closing soon.

CALDER: HYPERMOBILITY at the Whitney Museum of American Art (through Oct. 23). The Whitney has the worlds largest holdings of the American sculptor who invented the mobile, but this rejuvenating presentation of works in motion is a different sort of Calder show, and never the same twice. Before he hit upon his elegantly suspended plates of cut sheet metal, Calder first created kinetic sculptures with small, hidden motors. Motorized mobiles and ones activated only by air hang together in a single, beautiful gallery, and several times a day attendants come through to make the sculptures boogie. The Calder Foundation will also be updating this witty, wily retrospective with one-day presentations of more fragile kinetic works. (Jason Farago)

212-570-3600, whitney.org

EXPANDED VISIONS: FIFTY YEARS OF COLLECTING at the Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art (through Oct. 29). This year the Leslie-Lohman nearly doubled its SoHo space. This group show, drawn from the museums permanent holdings, celebrates that expansion and demonstrates ways the collection has changed over time. At any point in the past five decades, you might have found Wilhelm von Gloedens circa 1900 photographs of Sicilian youths, or George Bellowss 1923 print of a mens bathhouse, on the walls. You would not have found anything like Zanele Muholis shots of the black South African lesbian community, or the hand-stitched sculptures of the transgender artist Greer Lankton, which are on view now. Its an exhilarating mix: stretches gay, resists normal. (Holland Cotter)

212-431-2609, leslielohman.org

BLACK POWER! at Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (through Dec. 30). Given the economic, environmental and social policies emanating from the White House, the United States could be headed for its most dynamic era of public resistance since the 1960s. And if youre searching for cultural models from the past, even flawed ones, that effectively brought a message of social change into the street, the schools and the workplace, youll do well to check out this vivid documentary show about a cultural movement that broadened activist art to embrace public murals, fashion and poetry; and protest demonstrations that had the visual allure, choreographic rigor and emotional weight of theater. (Cotter)

917-275-6975, schomburgcenter.org

Last Chance

ETTORE SOTTSASS: DESIGN RADICAL at the Met Breuer (closes Oct. 8). No surprise here: The first big New York survey of this many-styled Italian design gurus 60-year career has a combative air. You may argue your way through the show, and also take issue with some of its contextual artworks  the exhibition is nearly half non-Sottsass  but it is an invigorating, illuminating experience.
The term downtown dance may be outmoded, recalling an era closer to the 1970s when living and dancing in SoHo lofts was the norm. Todays grass-roots dance spaces more often spring up in Brooklyn or Harlem or Queens. But dance still happens downtown, and the past year has been a time of upheaval for organizations that support it.

From July 2016 to February 2017, directors came and went at five major contemporary dance hubs below 23rd Street: New York Live Arts in Chelsea; Abrons Arts Center on the Lower East Side; Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at New York University in Greenwich Village; Gibney Dance Center, in TriBeCa and near Union Square; and the temporarily nomadic Performance Space 122 (PS122), whose East Village home, under renovation since 2013, is poised to reopen soon.

More changes are underway across the city, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Lincoln Center Festival and Joyce Theater, where longtime leaders have announced plans to leave, or, in the case of Lincoln Center, recently stepped down.

Sustaining a dance career  and a performing arts organization  in New York has never been easy, and its not getting easier. As rents keep rising, so does the need among artists for affordable space and opportunities not only to train and create new work but also to fail. Recent threats to federal arts funding  though dodged for now  have further destabilized an already financially precarious field.
Ive seen the Sun/Peng video before, and found it repulsively exploitative. Trying to neutralize it with interpretive glosses  about how it symbolizes political tensions in China at the time, etc.  doesnt help. Over the years, both this piece and the Huang installation, with its live menagerie, have sparked public protests, and they did in New York. By last week, more than 750,000 people had signed an online petition demanding that, along with Xu Bings work, they be removed.

This might have been an opportunity, with disputed material right in front of us, to have a big, public conversation about art, museums, and morality, an uncool subject of a kind the art world tends to tiptoe around or shout down. But, no. The Guggenheim, which had subtly promoted the shows sensationalism  If you cant survive seeing the Huang piece, Alexandra Munroe, the senior curator for Asian art, said in a recent Artnet interview, dont bother seeing the rest of the show  abruptly announced that it was dropping the three disputed works because of explicit and repeated threats of violence, of unspecified origins, to its staff.

Still, the exhibition is otherwise intact, and of considerable interest, if somewhat short on news for those familiar with its Asia Society predecessor. Now, as then, Huang Yong Ping, who has lived in Paris since 1989, is a foundational presence. Theater of the World is missing, but his famous 1980s piece, The History of Chinese Painting and A Concise History of Modern Painting Washed in a Washing Machine for Two Minutes, is here.
Thats not to say that Mr. Calderon or his able director, Sam Pritchard, are in any way flippant or glib about one of the more continually pressing issues of our time. But B largely works by stealth and by a sidelong, off-kilter sense of humor. A more feral approach to the same subject can and surely will have its say another day.

Explosions of a different sort animate the triangular landscape of Ramona Tells Jim, which is running at the smaller Bush Theater auditorium through Oct. 21. The script from the actress-turned-playwright Sophie Wu casts the English actor Joe Bannister as a Scotsman, Jim, who has a dalliance with one teenager, Ramona (Ruby Bentall), only in later life to father a child by a second, Pocahontas (Amy Lennox), who is all of 19. And, yes, that is her characters real name.

Will Pocahontas readily tolerate the lingering presence in Jims affections of his former lover, Ramona? The question is complicated by a troubling plot point  not to be revealed here  that sets Jim on a collision course between present and past that results in the long-absent Ramonas paying Jim a visit some 15 years after they first danced to Enya together on a Scottish beach.

Stories of onetime romances returning perhaps to seek another day abound onstage: the National Theaters current revival of the Stephen Sondheim-James Goldman musical Follies mines that precise topic to wounding effect. And as her play flits between 1998 and 2013, Ms. Wu forces the sort of conversation across the years that we have with ourselves, and with one another, at our peril.
The piece may sound like Renaissance polyphony, but its score also nods to modern science, transcribing the DNA of Darwins finches for the opening melody, for example, and adapting into musical variations genetic concepts like insertion, mutation and deletion.

Theres this exploration of the edges of things, Gregory Brown said in an interview in Boston. Whether that edge is science and music, or religious and scientific, or sacred and secular.

In a telephone interview, Dan Brown said that hes always looking for big themes, and when he first heard the mass performed in 2011 at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass., it got me thinking about creationism and this sort of battle between science and religion.
I was very wary of writing a song that felt like homework, Mr. Miranda said over the phone on Wednesday from the Sesame Street offices in New York, where he was recording another number for disaster relief. I wanted to write a danceable tune that is just everywhere, and by being everywhere, is doing good.

Theres no favor I havent called in, no avenue Im not traveling for Puerto Rico, he added. Ill go wherever for help and awareness.

On his lively Twitter feed, Mr. Miranda has rallied others to do the same, helping to raise nearly $3 million (before the songs release) in collaboration with MoveOn.org and the Hispanic Federation, where his father, Luis Miranda Jr., was the founding president.

While working on Almost Like Praying, the musician also jumped into the political fray, going after President Trump after Mr. Trump tweeted on Saturday morning that Puerto Ricans want everything to be done for them in the recovery effort. Mr. Miranda countered, Youre going straight to hell.
ATLANTA  This is not your mothers Dynasty, with its power suits, Bill Conti trumpet riff and bracing whiff of Giorgio perfume.

Created by Richard and Esther Shapiro in 1981 to compete with Dallas, Dynasty became the crown jewel of Aaron Spellings television empire of primetime soap operas, symbolizing a decade of American excess. But the 2017 version is set not against the snow-capped mountains and glassy downtown spires of Denver, but in this steamy, leafy city that begat Gone With the Wind and Spanx.

The cast isnt snow white anymore either. Krystle Carrington  now spelled Cristal, like the expensive champagne  is Latina, as is her niece Sammy Jo, whos become her gay nephew. The rival Colby family is African-American. Who will play Alexis  the character that made Joan Collins a star and gave the original series, which got lackluster reviews and ratings in its first season, an instant amphetamine shot  is thus far a mystery being guarded like the Pyramids. (We joke that Alexis is transgendered, said Sallie Patrick, the new Dynastys showrunner.)

And Blake Carrington, the stern but benevolent paterfamilias originated by John Forsythe in his silver-fox years, has been taken over by perhaps the only recognizable cast member to those of a certain age: Grant Show of Melrose Place.
Henry Millss daughter urges him to fish for his memories in Once Upon a Time. And PBS celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with a new documentary and the 30th Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards.

Whats on TV

ONCE UPON A TIME 8 p.m. on ABC. Season 7 of this fairy-tale drama begins with some serious time-traveling. A young Henry Mills (Jared S. Gilmore) leaves Storybrooke and travels to the future to find himself. Years later, Henry (Andrew J. West) crosses paths with a Cinderella (Dania Ramirez) and redirects his existential quest. Fast-forward to the present: The adult Henry lives in Seattle and has struggled to begin his second novel. The plot picks up when his daughter (Alison Fernandez) appears at his door, reminds him of the curse that befell him and the other fairy-tale characters of Hyperion Heights and helps refresh his memory.

LIVE PD 9 p.m. on A&E. This documentary crime series returns for a second run. Through raw, live footage from dashboard and hand-held cameras, police departments across the country invite viewers to join them as they patrol some of the countrys busiest communities. The ABC News anchor Dan Abrams hosts as two Dallas police detectives analyze the footage in real time.
THE GOOD PEOPLE

By Hannah Kent

388 pp. Little, Brown. $27.

Image

Kent, an Australian novelist whose first novel, Burial Rites, was based on the true events of a 19th-century murder in Iceland, has returned for her second novel to the 19th century and another inspiring true incident, this time an 1826 case of infanticide in Ireland: An elderly woman was put on trial when she drowned a child in an attempt to put the fairy out of it. Nora Leahy, a widow scratching a meager living from the soil in a Kerry valley, feels suffocated by the constant neediness of her grandchild, Micheal, a perplexingly feeble 4-year-old who can neither speak nor walk and whose mother, Johanna, has died. Nora journeys to Killarney to find a maid at the hiring fair, and returns to her village with 14-year-old Mary Clifford, drawn to her by her red hair, which reminds her of Johanna. This girl had the same hair as her. The same as Micheal. A light copper  like a hare, or pine needles drying out on the ground. Though Mary tends the sickly boy with care and patience, nothing improves his condition. After both the doctor and the priest have concluded Micheal is a hopeless idiot, his only chance seems to rest with the villages elderly bean feasa (wise woman), Nance Roche, a herb hag who knows how to make potions and cures from herbs and plants. She also knows the rituals for protection from the fairies  the Good People, the Fair Folk, the Good Neighbors. Sometimes they will reward those who please them, but they can also be capricious and spiteful. Sometimes tis all unreason and no knowing why things are as they are, Nance says, except to say tis the fairies behind it and they have their own intentions. Both Nance and Nora are convinced that Micheal is a changeling, a creature left by the fairies, who have stolen the real child. Only a series of ritual immersions in the river can bring him back. Rural pre-famine Ireland in all its beauty and desolation is alive on every page of this exquisite novel, though the secondary characters rarely act beyond their defining identities (dismissive doctor, condemnatory priest, kindhearted hired girl). The Good People is a dramatic tale of desperation, set in a bleak time and place when no amount of protective ritual and belief  or goodness  can rescue people from their circumstances.

THE TROUT

By Peter Cunningham

284 pp. Arcade. $22.99.

Image

When an Irish-born mystery writer receives an ordinary-looking brown envelope in the mail at his rural Canadian home, it is addressed to Alex Smyth, Author. But instead of the usual letter of praise or criticism from one of his readers, the envelope contains only a surprising object folded inside a blank sheet of tissue paper. What at first looked like a small, green insect with a black head, pale hackles and pink translucent wings lay there. Then I saw the tiny hook, curved and pointed, like a golden phallus. Though initially Alex fears he is being stalked by someone reacting to his latest book, this trout fly is actually a wordless message from the past that stirs buried memories of his boyhood in Waterford. He becomes suffused with waves of guilt and shame that have been repressed for decades. Why does he have a foreboding sense that he was responsible for a death? This unexpected plunge into a dark well of old feelings paralyzes Alex as a writer and begins to threaten his grasp on everything he values in his life, including his marriage. In order to solve the mystery, he must travel back to Ireland, to revisit his childhood and seek some sort of reconciliation with his dying father.

Cunningham, whose novel The Sea and the Silence won the Prix de lEurope in 2013, knows how to tell an absorbing and intricate story. The charm of this novel, which has metaphorical fly-fishing advice woven through its pages, lies in beautifully rendered observations of small, still moments. But the voice of this first-person story is, by design, Alexs. The somewhat melodramatic sensibility of the novels mystery-writing narrator might explain the occasionally overwrought descriptions (the suns rays dancing in his black curls, the gray is spun through her hair like chalk seams through slate), which may distract readers from the tension and suspense of the story. Even so, Cunningham is a writer who knows exactly how to cast line after line with a deftness and grace that summon the truth from the depths of the past up to the surface, at last.
Before the shooting Mr. Wong had been arrested, cited or had some minor contact with the police at least five times since 1990, but details about the cases remain unclear. At the time of the shootings, he was not a subject in any investigation, nor did he have a documented mental health issue.

March 2008 Mr. Wong bought the first gun, the Beretta 92, at a store in Johnson City, N.Y. He passed a background check.

March 2009 Mr. Wong bought the second gun from the same store, but his background check was not approved immediately. He received the gun under a federal rule that allows a gun to be sold if the background check system does not return a decision in three business days.
After the slaughter in Las Vegas, Republican leaders in Washington tried to stifle the publics demands for action with the same technique theyve deployed after mass shootings in the past: offering up pious exhortations not to politicize a tragedy by debating gun controls that might, you know, prevent such mass killings from happening again.

We are not going to talk about that today, President Trump told reporters on Wednesday.

I think its premature to be discussing legislative solutions if there are any, the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, said.

How long must Americans wait until Congress addresses real gun laws?

Since the shooting at Las Vegas 58 killed and more than 450 injured

This time, lawmakers had to give some ground. Could it be that Republican leaders felt that enough time had gone by since the previous deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, in 2016  when a madman gunned down 49 people in a nightclub in Orlando, Fla.  that the time was ripe to discuss gun control? Or that enough time had gone by since 20 children were shot dead in an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., in 2012?

More likely, they realized that even if they didnt want to talk about action, the American public did.

And one element of Sundays mayhem was so senselessly absurd that it has stirred even Republican legislators and their masters in the gun lobby. Weapons experts were stunned by the intensity of the murderous gunfire in Las Vegas. On recordings, they could hear rounds pouring into the crowd in sustained bursts, not in rapid, individually aimed shots. The killer had taken a semiautomatic weapon and attached a device called a bump stock to accelerate its rate of fire to that rivaling machine guns, most of which are illegal.

I dont know anybody who goes deer hunting that needs to retrofit a gun to fire hundreds of rounds per minute, Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, said. Its to slaughter people.

Republican leaders have regularly responded  or, really, not responded  to past killings by blocking sensible, useful gun control. But bump stocks are too insane even for them. Theyve said they would introduce legislation to ban them  a timely move as sales have reportedly increased.

On Thursday, the National Rifle Association broke its usual post-massacre silence by saying bump stocks should be subject to additional regulations. In the same statement, though, it called on Congress to require states to recognize concealed-carry permits issued by other states, spreading a Wild West mentality from coast to coast.

That this would count as progress shows how far we still need to go. Republicans in Congress shouldnt think that sacrificing bump stocks will even begin to suffice, given the depth of public fear about the dangers posed by deadly weapons that are so freely available.

And they should not be allowed to delay effective legislation any longer. Too many days have passed, from one tragedy to the next. This is the time.

Since the shooting in Dallas 5 killed

Since the shooting at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando 49 killed

Thousands gathered for the vigil at Lake Eola for Pulse Nightclub. Hilary Swift for The New York Times

Since the shooting in San Bernardino, Calif. 14 killed

Since the shooting in Colorado Springs 3 killed

Hundreds hold up lit candles in honour of University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) police officer Garrett Swasey, who was killed in the shooting. Associated Press

Since the shooting in Roseburg, Ore. 10 killed

Since the shooting in Chattanooga, Tenn. 5 killed

Since the shooting in Charleston, S.C. 9 killed

Parishioners embrace as they attend the first church service four days after the shooting. David Goldman-Pool/Getty Images

Since the shooting in Marysville, Wash. 4 killed

A Marysville Pilchuck High School student is comforted at a church. Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

Since the shooting in Isla Vista, Calif. 6 killed

University of Santa Barbara students gather on campus for a candlelight vigil. Spencer Weiner/Getty Images

Since the shooting at Fort Hood 3 killed

Since the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard 12 killed

Since the shooting in Santa Monica, Calif. 5 killed

Since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School 26 killed
On Sunday night in Las Vegas, 58 people were killed in a single mass shooting, one of the deadliest in American history. How does that compare with the daily gun deaths in cities across the United States?

In Chicago, 58 people were killed by guns in a span of 28 days, counting back from Sept. 29, two days before the Las Vegas attack. Many shootings were of one person, not mass attacks. In Baltimore, there were 58 gun deaths in 68 days. In Houston, it was 118 days.

These and other cities are shown below. The gun deaths, all from 2017, were tracked by the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit organization that catalogs episodes of gun violence.

Mass shooting in Las Vegas 58 deaths in one day Oct. 1

Daily gun deaths in Chicago 58 deaths in 28 days Sept. 29 Sept. 28 Sept. 27 Sept. 26 Sept. 25 Sept. 24 Sept. 23 Sept. 22 Sept. 21 Sept. 19 Sept. 18 Sept. 17 Sept. 16 Sept. 15 Sept. 14 Sept. 13 Sept. 12 Sept. 10 Sept. 9 Sept. 8 Sept. 7 Sept. 6 Sept. 5 Sept. 4 Sept. 3 Sept. 2

Baltimore 58 deaths in 68 days Sept. 30 Sept. 29 Sept. 27 Sept. 26 Sept. 25 Sept. 23 Sept. 22 Sept. 21 Sept. 19 Sept. 17 Sept. 16 Sept. 11 Sept. 6 Sept. 4 Sept. 2 Aug. 30 Aug. 28 Aug. 25 Aug. 22 Aug. 21 Aug. 19 Aug. 18 Aug. 17 Aug. 16 Aug. 14 Aug. 12 Aug. 11 Aug. 10 Aug. 8 Aug. 7 Aug. 5 Aug. 2 Aug. 1 July 30 July 29 July 28 July 27 July 26 July 25

St. Louis 58 deaths in 70 days Sept. 30 Sept. 28 Sept. 26 Sept. 25 Sept. 23 Sept. 22 Sept. 19 Sept. 16 Sept. 13 Sept. 12 Sept. 11 Sept. 6 Sept. 5 Sept. 2 Sept. 1 Aug. 31 Aug. 30 Aug. 29 Aug. 27 Aug. 26 Aug. 24 Aug. 23 Aug. 22 Aug. 19 Aug. 18 Aug. 17 Aug. 16 Aug. 15 Aug. 13 Aug. 12 Aug. 8 Aug. 7 Aug. 6 Aug. 2 Aug. 1 July 31 July 28 July 26 July 24 July 23

Philadelphia 58 deaths in 105 days Sept. 29 Sept. 27 Sept. 26 Sept. 22 Sept. 21 Sept. 19 Sept. 15 Sept. 13 Sept. 12 Sept. 11 Sept. 10 Sept. 9 Sept. 7 Sept. 5 Sept. 1 Aug. 30 Aug. 26 Aug. 24 Aug. 16 Aug. 14 Aug. 11 Aug. 9 Aug. 8 Aug. 1 July 31 July 27 July 23 July 20 July 19 July 18 July 16 July 15 July 12 July 8 July 7 July 5 July 4 June 29 June 28 June 26 June 24 June 21 June 19 June 18 June 17

Kansas City, Mo. 58 deaths in 117 days Sept. 19 Sept. 18 Sept. 16 Sept. 14 Sept. 13 Sept. 8 Sept. 6 Sept. 4 Sept. 3 Aug. 26 Aug. 25 Aug. 24 Aug. 20 Aug. 17 Aug. 15 Aug. 10 Aug. 7 Aug. 6 Aug. 3 Aug. 2 July 31 July 28 July 21 July 20 July 18 July 17 July 8 July 1 June 26 June 19 June 17 June 11 June 9 June 7 June 3 June 1 May 28 May 27 May 26

Houston 58 deaths in 118 days Sept. 24 Sept. 22 Sept. 19 Sept. 17 Sept. 11 Sept. 5 Sept. 4 Sept. 3 Sept. 1 Aug. 30 Aug. 27 Aug. 26 Aug. 20 Aug. 19 Aug. 18 Aug. 13 Aug. 12 Aug. 8 Aug. 5 Aug. 4 Aug. 3 Aug. 1 July 30 July 25 July 23 July 20 July 19 July 17 July 16 July 15 July 4 July 3 July 2 June 25 June 23 June 22 June 19 June 17 June 15 June 14 June 12 June 10 June 4 June 1 May 30

Detroit 58 deaths in 121 days Sept. 26 Sept. 25 Sept. 24 Sept. 21 Sept. 17 Sept. 12 Sept. 11 Sept. 9 Sept. 8 Sept. 7 Sept. 5 Sept. 2 Sept. 1 Aug. 30 Aug. 27 Aug. 15 Aug. 14 Aug. 11 Aug. 8 Aug. 4 Aug. 3 Aug. 2 Aug. 1 July 30 July 23 July 22 July 19 July 17 July 15 July 11 July 6 July 5 June 21 June 18 June 15 June 13 June 12 June 6 June 4 May 31 May 29

Indianapolis 58 deaths in 122 days Sept. 30 Sept. 29 Sept. 21 Sept. 20 Sept. 17 Sept. 15 Sept. 10 Sept. 9 Sept. 7 Aug. 30 Aug. 29 Aug. 27 Aug. 21 Aug. 20 Aug. 14 Aug. 13 Aug. 12 Aug. 11 Aug. 2 July 30 July 27 July 23 July 16 July 13 July 12 July 9 July 6 July 4 July 3 June 29 June 26 June 21 June 11 June 8 June 7 June 6 June 5 June 1

Los Angeles 58 deaths in 125 days Sept. 24 Sept. 21 Sept. 17 Sept. 15 Sept. 7 Sept. 6 Sept. 4 Aug. 31 Aug. 28 Aug. 26 Aug. 25 Aug. 24 Aug. 23 Aug. 19 Aug. 16 Aug. 10 Aug. 5 Aug. 4 Aug. 1 July 29 July 27 July 20 July 19 July 18 July 7 July 3 June 30 June 23 June 22 June 20 June 18 June 15 June 14 June 10 June 9 June 8 June 6 June 2 May 31 May 29 May 28 May 27 May 26 May 25 May 23

New York City 58 deaths in 130 days Sept. 30 Sept. 29 Sept. 26 Sept. 20 Sept. 17 Sept. 16 Sept. 13 Sept. 6 Sept. 5 Sept. 3 Aug. 29 Aug. 27 Aug. 22 Aug. 18 Aug. 15 Aug. 13 Aug. 11 Aug. 10 Aug. 7 July 31 July 25 July 22 July 17 July 14 July 13 July 12 July 11 July 7 July 5 July 1 June 30 June 25 June 23 June 21 June 17 June 9 June 6 June 3 June 2 May 31 May 27 May 26 May 24

Memphis 58 deaths in 138 days Sept. 30 Sept. 29 Sept. 24 Sept. 16 Sept. 13 Sept. 1 Aug. 31 Aug. 29 Aug. 27 Aug. 25 Aug. 22 Aug. 20 Aug. 19 Aug. 8 Aug. 7 Aug. 6 Aug. 2 Aug. 1 July 28 July 25 July 23 July 22 July 21 July 20 July 18 July 16 July 15 July 12 July 10 July 8 July 5 July 4 July 2 June 30 June 24 June 21 June 20 June 18 June 16 June 15 June 11 June 4 May 30 May 27 May 26 May 24 May 19 May 18 May 16

New Orleans 58 deaths in 158 days Sept. 28 Sept. 25 Sept. 19 Sept. 15 Sept. 11 Sept. 6 Aug. 25 Aug. 20 Aug. 9 Aug. 7 Aug. 1 July 29 July 25 July 24 July 21 July 14 July 13 July 8 June 27 June 25 June 23 June 19 June 15 June 14 June 13 June 9 June 3 May 31 May 26 May 18 May 17 May 16 May 15 May 13 May 12 May 10 May 7 May 5 May 3 May 1 April 30 April 29 April 28 April 24

Louisville, Ky. 58 deaths in 177 days Sept. 21 Sept. 18 Sept. 14 Aug. 25 Aug. 24 Aug. 12 Aug. 10 Aug. 5 Aug. 2 July 31 July 30 July 25 July 23 July 18 July 15 July 8 June 24 June 23 June 22 June 12 June 11 June 9 June 7 June 4 June 2 May 29 May 23 May 21 May 16 May 6 May 3 May 2 May 1 April 29 April 28 April 26 April 23 April 16 April 15 April 14 April 13 April 8 March 30 March 29

Columbus, Ohio 58 deaths in 179 days Sept. 30 Sept. 21 Sept. 18 Sept. 17 Sept. 7 Sept. 3 Sept. 2 Aug. 31 Aug. 28 Aug. 27 Aug. 24 Aug. 20 Aug. 18 Aug. 15 Aug. 10 Aug. 8 Aug. 7 Aug. 4 July 25 July 19 July 17 July 16 July 9 July 8 July 7 June 29 June 28 June 17 June 12 June 8 May 28 May 27 May 16 May 15 May 11 May 8 May 6 May 1 April 30 April 27 April 26 April 24 April 18 April 17 April 7 April 5

Dallas 58 deaths in 180 days Sept. 29 Sept. 15 Sept. 12 Sept. 11 Sept. 6 Sept. 4 Sept. 3 Aug. 20 Aug. 10 Aug. 3 Aug. 2 July 31 July 26 July 23 July 19 July 15 July 11 July 8 July 4 July 1 June 23 June 19 June 14 June 10 June 8 June 3 May 28 May 27 May 21 May 18 May 14 May 13 May 7 May 6 May 3 May 1 April 28 April 27 April 26 April 24 April 20 April 11 April 9 April 7 April 3

Miami 58 deaths in 185 days Sept. 26 Sept. 25 Sept. 24 Sept. 22 Sept. 15 Sept. 5 Sept. 1 Aug. 30 Aug. 19 Aug. 18 Aug. 6 July 29 July 28 July 25 July 22 July 20 July 15 July 14 July 13 July 11 June 30 June 28 June 26 June 22 June 16 June 14 June 9 June 5 May 27 May 24 May 23 May 20 May 8 May 2 April 30 April 26 April 24 April 23 April 21 April 19 April 16 April 7 April 3 March 29 March 26

Milwaukee 58 deaths in 186 days Sept. 30 Sept. 25 Sept. 24 Sept. 22 Sept. 17 Sept. 15 Sept. 11 Sept. 7 Sept. 4 Sept. 3 Sept. 1 Aug. 26 Aug. 23 Aug. 21 Aug. 20 Aug. 15 Aug. 10 Aug. 5 Aug. 4 July 31 July 22 July 15 July 14 July 11 July 8 July 6 July 3 June 28 June 27 June 25 June 19 June 16 June 14 June 11 June 10 June 8 June 3 June 2 May 31 May 28 May 27 May 24 May 17 May 14 May 13 May 10 April 22 April 14 April 8 April 1 March 29

Cleveland 58 deaths in 187 days Sept. 28 Sept. 27 Sept. 24 Sept. 23 Sept. 16 Sept. 14 Sept. 10 Sept. 9 Sept. 6 Sept. 4 Sept. 3 Sept. 2 Sept. 1 Aug. 29 Aug. 28 Aug. 23 Aug. 19 Aug. 13 Aug. 10 Aug. 9 Aug. 7 Aug. 6 July 30 July 29 July 16 July 12 July 9 July 5 June 28 June 15 June 12 June 1 May 30 May 29 May 28 May 23 May 22 May 19 May 12 May 9 May 6 April 29 April 16 April 14 April 9 March 26

Birmingham, Ala. 58 deaths in 188 days Sept. 25 Sept. 23 Sept. 20 Sept. 18 Sept. 13 Sept. 6 Sept. 5 Aug. 24 Aug. 19 Aug. 16 Aug. 14 Aug. 11 Aug. 7 Aug. 5 July 30 July 25 July 23 July 17 July 16 July 9 July 5 July 2 June 30 June 26 June 17 June 14 June 12 June 11 June 3 June 2 May 29 May 26 May 18 May 14 May 10 May 9 May 8 May 1 April 28 April 22 April 15 April 14 April 8 April 5 March 31 March 29 March 24 March 22

Baton Rouge, La. 58 deaths in 198 days Sept. 26 Sept. 25 Sept. 18 Sept. 14 Sept. 13 Sept. 12 Sept. 10 Sept. 8 Sept. 2 Aug. 31 Aug. 30 Aug. 29 Aug. 22 Aug. 20 Aug. 17 Aug. 10 Aug. 8 Aug. 7 July 30 July 29 July 28 July 25 July 21 July 13 July 9 July 3 June 30 June 29 June 19 June 15 June 13 June 12 June 5 June 4 May 31 May 28 May 13 May 11 May 7 May 5 April 30 April 22 April 19 April 1 March 24 March 18 March 13

Atlanta 58 deaths in 203 days Sept. 27 Sept. 21 Sept. 16 Sept. 14 Sept. 10 Sept. 5 Aug. 13 Aug. 6 Aug. 5 Aug. 2 July 31 July 23 July 16 July 14 July 13 July 9 July 8 July 7 July 4 July 3 July 2 June 29 June 26 June 23 June 22 June 17 June 10 June 8 June 1 May 30 May 29 May 28 May 21 May 8 May 1 April 26 April 25 April 21 April 19 April 15 April 13 April 3 March 25 March 21 March 18 March 10 March 9

Washington, D.C. 58 deaths in 208 days Sept. 24 Sept. 20 Sept. 17 Sept. 13 Sept. 10 Sept. 2 Aug. 30 Aug. 24 Aug. 23 Aug. 14 Aug. 10 Aug. 9 Aug. 5 Aug. 3 July 30 July 26 July 22 July 21 July 20 July 8 July 5 June 29 June 21 June 19 June 16 June 14 June 12 May 30 May 28 May 27 May 22 May 16 May 10 May 9 May 5 April 28 April 27 April 17 April 14 April 9 March 28 March 25 March 24 March 23 March 20 March 17 March 10 March 4 March 1

Jacksonville, Fla. 58 deaths in 213 days Sept. 27 Sept. 23 Sept. 19 Sept. 14 Sept. 12 Sept. 9 Sept. 5 Aug. 31 Aug. 25 Aug. 21 Aug. 18 Aug. 14 Aug. 5 Aug. 1 July 25 July 23 July 20 July 19 July 12 July 9 July 2 June 29 June 25 June 20 June 15 June 14 June 6 June 4 May 29 May 28 May 27 May 21 May 15 May 14 May 13 May 12 May 9 May 4 May 2 April 30 April 28 April 26 April 20 April 9 April 5 March 24 March 10 March 9 Feb. 27

San Antonio 58 deaths in 225 days Sept. 29 Sept. 25 Sept. 22 Sept. 18 Sept. 12 Sept. 5 Sept. 2 Aug. 26 Aug. 24 Aug. 19 Aug. 18 Aug. 14 Aug. 4 July 27 July 26 July 21 July 20 July 19 July 17 July 6 July 4 July 3 June 29 June 16 June 5 June 3 May 27 May 3 April 26 April 24 April 23 April 20 April 9 April 1 March 30 March 29 March 25 March 24 March 22 March 19 March 18 March 6 Feb. 22 Feb. 20 Feb. 17

Nashville 58 deaths in 226 days Sept. 24 Sept. 23 Sept. 14 Aug. 25 Aug. 17 Aug. 12 Aug. 5 Aug. 4 Aug. 1 July 31 July 30 July 25 July 23 July 22 July 15 July 2 June 28 June 26 June 24 June 22 June 19 June 17 June 9 June 6 June 5 May 29 May 26 May 23 May 21 May 19 May 14 May 11 May 2 May 1 April 29 April 21 April 20 April 8 April 2 March 28 March 19 March 18 March 16 Feb. 26 Feb. 12 Feb. 11

Phoenix 58 deaths in 244 days Sept. 25 Sept. 18 Sept. 9 Aug. 31 Aug. 23 Aug. 21 Aug. 19 Aug. 17 Aug. 10 Aug. 1 July 29 July 26 July 14 July 13 July 11 July 8 July 7 June 30 June 29 June 27 June 23 June 16 June 15 May 29 May 21 May 15 May 14 May 13 May 11 April 26 April 25 April 22 April 8 April 6 April 5 March 23 March 20 March 17 March 15 March 11 March 4 March 2 Feb. 20 Feb. 13 Jan. 31 Jan. 29 Jan. 27 Jan. 25

Richmond, Va. 58 deaths in 259 days Sept. 30 Sept. 19 Sept. 10 Sept. 9 Sept. 4 Sept. 3 Aug. 28 Aug. 24 Aug. 23 Aug. 19 Aug. 5 July 25 July 22 July 21 July 15 July 12 July 8 June 24 June 22 June 18 June 15 June 7 June 1 May 31 May 26 May 22 May 16 May 15 May 14 April 13 April 11 April 8 April 1 March 29 March 20 March 11 Feb. 16 Feb. 13 Feb. 7 Jan. 29 Jan. 26 Jan. 23 Jan. 15
10,000 teachers in Tripura set to lose job as govt faces contempt in SC

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Over 10,000 teachers in Tripura run the risk of losing their job. The Supreme Court has stopped the appointment of 12,000 teaching and non-teaching staff across the state after reproaching the Manik Sarkar government for prima facie acting in contempt of court.

"Pending further consideration, the State of Tripura is restrained from filling up 12,000 new posts of Student Counsellor, School Library Assistant, Academic Counsellor, Hostel Warden and School Assistant," directed a bench of Justices Adarsh K Goel and Uday U Lalit.

The 12,000 newly created posts will be expected to accommodate 10,323 primary teachers, whose appointments had already been quashed by the SC in March this year.

The contempt petition said the Tripura government sought to circumvent the SC order by again recruiting the same 10,323 persons under a new notification and on newly created posts.

Admitting the contempt plea, the bench said, "Prima facie we find merit in the allegations in the contempt petition and prayer for initiating proceedings against the respondents (including the chief secretary of the state)".

Posting the matter for further hearing on October 24, the bench observed that the state government appears to be flouting the Supreme Court's previous order which had categorically held that the state followed no guidelines or selection criteria in making appointments of 10,323 primary schoolteachers.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, October 6, 2017, 11:27 [IST]
7 killed as Indian Air Force chopper crashes in Arunachal Pradesh

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Recommended Video

Indian Air Force helicopter Mi 17 V5 crashes in Arunachal Pradesh, five killed | Oneindia News

At least seven people were killed, including two Army personnel, as an Indian Air force chopper crashed during a training sortie near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh. IAF has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

An Mi-17 V5 helicopter crashed in Arunachal Pradesh this morning, reported ANI. The incident took place at around 6:00 am during a training sortie.

"A Court of Inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the cause of the accident," the IAF official said. Rescue teams reached the crash site in Tawang near the Indo-China border and admitted the injured personnel to a local hospital.

The crash comes ahead of Air Force Day on October 8, celebrated in a big way by the force.

"Our losses in the peacetime are a cause of concern. We are making concerted efforts to minimise accidents and preserve our assets," Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa had said yesterday, referring to a string of crashes of IAF choppers and military jets in recent years.

Last month, a trainee aircraft crashed in Keesara village near Medchal district in Hyderabad.

On July 6, an Indian Air Force (IAF) MIG-23 aircraft has crashed in Rajasthan's Jodhpur. Both pilots ejected safely before the aircraft went down in the Balesar area.

In July, an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) of the Indian Air Force (IAF) crashed in Arunachal Pradesh's Hostalam village, about 30 km from Itanagar, killing two people.

In May, two pilots died after a Sukhoi-30 fighter jet crashed near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.

(With agency inputs)
Do RAW, others get a raw deal in the name of 'intelligence failure'?

Keep it clean, keep it safe: How the federal agencies raided the PFI

After NGOs try to hurt Indias image, Govt sends out strong rebuttal

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

After the Intelligence Bureau red flagged a slavery report prepared by an Australia based NGO, India has shot off a strong note to the International Labour Organisation.

Recently the International Labour Organisation, Walk Free Foundation and a United Nations Agency released the "Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage."

Pvt foundations abroad are hurting India, counter narrative urgently, IB to PMO

The IB in its note had told the Prime Minister's Office that the report would harm India's image and hence there is an urgent need to counter it and also discredit the information. The IB said that there are several corporations abroad which specifically fund NGOs to focus on alleged slavery in South India's textile industry. This amounts to 40 per cent of India's textile exports and such reports could damage the country's reputation.

The report specifically focused on the global documentation on slavery. The IB said that the document shows India as the home to the highest number of slaves in the country. A strong campaign to change the narrative and more importantly discredit the information is needed, the IB said.

In a strongly worded rebuttal to the report, the Labour Ministry said that the there is no specific finding, barring a mention that 17,000 people were interviewed for the survey. Further the ministry also said that neither the central government was consulted, nor was its authenticity established.

We would like to know the basis on which the data has been verified for credibility when apparently it has been neither verified with any official data source including that of ILO nor any national governments have been consulted regarding the survey methodology.

The next step by the government would be to counter this report on the international level. Further the government also plans on conducting its own survey.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, October 6, 2017, 10:41 [IST]
One of the hardest, how team Doval built a fool proof case to get Michel to India

AgustaWestland: Setback for India as Italy court releases middleman

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

The victory for India, probing the AgustaWestland case was temporary. Carlo Gerosa who was detained following an Interpol notice was released on the ground that India and Italy have no extradition treaty.

Gerosa, the alleged middleman in the case was returning from Switzerland when he was detained last week. His release is a major setback for the CBI and ED as officials were preparing to extradite him.

The appeals court of Messina ordered the release, saying that though the detention could be treated as formally correct but such measures cannot be applied in the absence of an extradition treaty. It also cited that Gerosa has a Swiss passport.

The ED is now planning to send an extradition request to Italy at the earliest. Officials said though India does not have a full-fledged extradition treaty with Italy, there is a working arrangement.

Investigators said Gerosa's extradition is important as he is one of the three middlemen besides Christian Michel and Guido Haschke.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, October 6, 2017, 8:17 [IST]
Mayor Priya is not the puppet but the savior - How did Chennai recover from the floods?

Banwarilal Purohit sworn in as TN Governor on day of EC's hearing on AIADMK symbol row

India

oi-Anusha

Amid the political turmoil in Tamil Nadu, Banwarilal Purohit was sworn in as the state's Governor on Friday. The BJP veteran became the Governor of Tamil Nadu relieving Vidhyasagar Rao who was discharging duties as in-charge Governor.

Banwarilal Purohit, a former Congressman joined the BJP later and was previously the Governor of Assam. Chief Justice of Madras High Court Justice Indira Banerjee administered the oath of office to Purohit at the Raj Bhawan on Friday. While Chief Minister Edappadi Palanisamy stood next to the new GOvernor, leaders of all political parties greeted the new Governor. For a year, Tamil Nadu only had an in-charge Governor after full-time Governor K Rosaiah demitted office on August 31, 2016.

Banwarilal Purohit's swearing-in ceremony comes at a time when the state is in political turmoil with AIADMK split into factions. 18 MLAs of the assembly have been disqualified and the same has been challenged in court. Managing the demand for a floor test is likely to be Purohit's first challenge in Tamil Nadu.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India's full bench will on Friday hear the AIADMK symbol row. All concerned parties, including TTV Dinakaran faction, were allowed time to file affidavits in support of their claim over the symbol. The Election Commission has been asked by the Madras High Court to decide on the Two-leaves symbol row before the end of October. Hearing in the case will resume on Friday.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, October 6, 2017, 10:36 [IST]
Compelling reasons forced Shah to cut short Kerala visit: Sources

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

BJP chief, Amit Shah held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. Although it was not clear what the meeting discussed, sources say that the PM had asked Shah to stay in Delhi for some important consultations.

Shah who was scheduled to address a rally in Kerala, cut short his visit to rush to Delhi. Shah had to return to Delhi due to compelling reasons, sources also said.

Shah's meeting came ahead of Modi's visit to the poll bound Gujarat on October 7 and 8.

While BJP sources did not clearly specify what the meeting was about, both the Congress and the CPI(M) took pot shots at Shah. The Congress suggested that infighting in the Kerala BJP could have been a factor. The CPI(M) said that he may have returned due to a poor response from the crowd during the yatra that Shah launched on Tuesday at Kannur.

Shah's decision to pull out clearly shows the party has run out of steam. Secular credential of the state is very strong and he can't fan trouble here like some north Indian states," said Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala.

But the BJP dismissed these charges. "Our political opponents are spreading lies. People who witnessed the last two days' developments won't say this," Kerala BJP leader K Rajasekharan said.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, October 6, 2017, 8:21 [IST]
India, EU agree to strengthen trade and security ties

India

pti-PTI

New Delhi, October 6: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the top EU leadership on Friday deliberated extensively on bilateral, regional and international issues. India and the European Union agreed to strengthen ties in key areas of trade and security after the 14th summit.

After the summit, European Council President Donald Franciszek Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker talked about the much-delayed trade pact between the two sides at a joint press event with Modi.

The two sides also inked three pacts, including one on an international solar alliance, after the summit.

The 28-nation bloc is India's largest regional trading partner with bilateral trade in goods at USD 88 billion in 2016. It is also the largest destination for Indian exports and a key source of investment and technologies.

India received around USD 83 billion of foreign direct investment from Europe during 2000-17, constituting approximately 24 per cent of total FDI inflows into the country during the period, said Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar. India and the EU have been strategic partners since 2004.

The 13th India-EU Summit was held in Brussels on March 30 last year during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit. The summit last year failed to make any headway on the resumption of long stalled negotiations for a free trade agreement.

Negotiations for the proposed EU-India Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) have witnessed many hurdles with major differences on crucial issues like intellectual property rights, duty cut in automobile and spirits. This was launched in June 2007.

PTI
Indias economic slowdown only temporary, will pick up fast: World Bank

India

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

India's economic slowdown is an aberration and will get corrected in the coming months, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said. He said that the slowdown was due to the temporary disruption in the preparation for the GST.

He also said that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is going to have a hugely positive impact on the Indian economy.

"There's been a deceleration in the first quarter, but we think that's mostly due to temporary disruptions in preparation for the GST, which by the way is going to have a hugely positive impact on the economy," Kim told a group of reporters during a conference call ahead of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank here.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley would be leading the Indian delegation to the annual meeting next week.

Kim was responding to questions on slowdown in India's growth in the first quarter, which the opposition and several economists have attributed to demonetisation and the GST.

India's GDP grew 5.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis during the April-June period (Q1). During the previous quarter (January-March) the GDP had grown by 6.1 per cent.

The GDP growth rate for the same quarter last year was 7.9 per cent.

Responding to questions, the World Bank president insisted that this slowdown is temporary.

"We think that the recent slowdown is an aberration which will correct in the coming months, and the GDP growth will stabilise during the year. We've been watching carefully, as Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi has really worked on improving the business environment, and so, we think all of those efforts will pay off as well," Kim said.

Recommended Video

BJP's Yashwant Sinha speaks fiercely on the slumping economic growth of India | Oneindia News

Next week, both the World Bank and the IMF are expected to come out with their new GDP figures and growth projections for India and the rest of the world.

"Let me just say, as I said from the beginning. I'm not sure that I could say that any country in the world is investing enough in their human beings. I think there's no country in the world that can't improve its healthcare system. There's no country in the world that can't improve its educational system," Kim said.

Ahead of the annual meeting, Kim said after years of disappointing growth, the global economy has begun to accelerate, and trade is picking up as well, but investment remains weak.

"We are concerned that downside risks such as a rise in protectionism, policy uncertainty, or possible financial market turbulence could derail this fragile recovery," he said.

"Countries need to continue to advance their reform agenda, they need to invest in people. They need to build resilience against overlapping challenges, including the effects of climate change, natural disasters, as well as conflict, forced displacement, famine and disease."

Responding to a question on India and human capital, Kim said Prime Minister Modi has made a huge commitment to sanitation issues, and 'Swachh Bharat' is one of the "most effective programmes" anywhere.

"I know that Prime Minister Modi himself personally is very committed to improving opportunities for all of India. But, India has a lot of challenges. We look at some of the educational outcomes, we've looked at some of the health outcomes, and India has room to improve, like most other countries," he said.

"Our job is to take the political will and commitment that Prime Minister Modi has clearly demonstrated and has communicated to everyone, and then bring to India the most effective intervention that will, as quickly as possible, improve the stock of human capital," Kim said.

That's the message for every country in the world, he said.

"The Bank stands ready, with lots of new insights on how to improve health outcomes and improve education outcomes to help every country in the world with financing, with technical knowledge, and with direct support around implementation that will lead to a situation where we can talk about an emerging equality of opportunity, which has got to be the central focus of all this work," he said.

Kim said investing in people drives economic growth. But far too many leaders undervalue the contribution of human capital which one builds through effective investments in people through health care, quality education, jobs and skills.

"Human capital is the key to reducing poverty and to reducing inequality," he said.

This year, the Bank is producing a new report in a series on 'The Changing Wealth of Nations'.

For the first time, it has added human capital to its wealth analysis, in addition to produced capital, things like machinery and buildings, natural capital, energy, forests, agricultural lands, and net foreign assets, he also said.

OneIndia News
FM Nirmala Sitharaman hints at possibility of Centre considering restoration of state status to J&K

In J&K, 14,000 dropouts find their way back to schools

One Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorist gunned down in Jammu and Kashmir

PMs dream of development in J&K is becoming a reality: Puri

J&K: SPO, son injured after unknown gunmen open fire in Hanwara

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

A Special Police Officer and his 11-year-old son were injured after unknown gunmen opened fire upon them at Hanjin village of Kralgund in Handwara area of Kupwara district on Friday evening.

Altaf Ahmad Khan, a special police officer in Hanjin village of Karlgund in Handwara, and his 9-year-old son, who was sitting in his lap when the gunmen fired, were rushed to a hospital where they are undergoing treatment while police has launched a hunt for the gunmen.

A police official said that gunmen barged into the house of the SPO, Altaf Khan, and opened fire on him.

He said that his son Waqif Altaf was also injured in the firing incident.

OneIndia News
Sonia tells Lalu, Nitish to meet her again after Cong gets new president

Lalu ji has become a twitter baba, said JD-U

India

pti-PTI

Patna, October 6: RJD president Lalu Prasad was slammed by the ruling Janata Dal (United) for his outbursts on social media where he accused the Narendra Modi government of having filed a "fraud case" against him in the hotels-for- land scam.

"Lalu ji has become a twitter baba. He should also tweet about the questions he was asked during the grilling by CBI and the explanations he may have given about the source of his immense wealth", JD(U) spokesman Neeraj Kumar said here in a statement. "Whatever Lalu ji is going through, he should blame his own deeds for that.

And as a natural outcome of his actions, his son Tejashwi has also been named as an accused in the case. After all, he has not been appearing before the CBI court for having taken part in the struggle for Independence", the JD(U) leader remarked.

The JD(U) spokesman's comments came in response to a series of tweets by the RJD supremo, shortly after his appearance before the CBI in New Delhi.

Prasad was questioned for seven hours yesterday by the CBI in connection with alleged corruption in the award of contract for the maintenance of two IRCTC hotels in 2006.

The former railway minister had tweeted, "I brought glory to the Indian Railways. Modi govt has filed a fraud case against me. BJP, Amit Shah and Narendra Modi are party to this."

"I challenge divisive politics therefore they want to ruin my family but I am not scared. I will uproot communalism and fascism even if I am hanged", he had alleged in another one of his tweets.

In a scathing attack on the RJD supremo, Kumar said there are few examples in the country of a person indulging in rampant corruption and making his family members too suffer on that account.

Incidentally, the RJD and JD(U), along with the Congress, had fought the 2015 assembly polls together as alliance partners.

However, relations between the two parties begun to sour when the names of Lalu and Tejashwi cropped up in corruption cases relating to the UPA 1 period when the RJD supremo was the railway minister.

Citing his "zero tolerance policy" towards corruption Chief Minister Nitish Kumar pulled out of the coalition. The Grand Alliance finally collapsed and Nitish Kumar then formed a new government with the support of the BJP and eventually joined the NDA.

PTI
Indian Navy team in Mauritius for Annual Species Forces and Diving Refresher Camp

Indian Navy thwarts piracy attempt in Gulf of Aden

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

The Indian Navy on Friday thwarted a piracy attempt on an Indian bulk carrier in the Gulf of Aden.

The Indian Navy's INS Trishul a stealth frigate, thwarted the attempt.

"Stealth frigate INS Trishul thwarted a piracy attempt on Indian registered merchant vessel 'Jag Amar' at 12:30 pm on Friday," Navy spokesperson Capt. D.K. Sharma said. "Jag Amar" is a 85,000-tonne bulk carrier.

#Visuals INS Trishul thwarted piracy attempt on Indian ship MV Jag Amar at 1230 hrs in Gulf of Aden: Indian Navy pic.twitter.com/O7PzF7GXhj  ANI (@ANI) October 6, 2017

The special forces of the navy have captured the armed pirates and recovered an AK 47, ladders, a small speed skiff used by pirates.

INS Trishul is on anti-piracy patrol in the Gulf of Aden.

Piracy continues to be rampant off the east coast of Africa, with pirates often venturing deep into the Arabian Sea to hunt for targets like merchant vessels and oil tankers, despite international efforts to curb the menace.

The Indian Navy has continuously deployed a ship against piracy since 2008.

OneIndia News
Gyanvapi-Shringar Gauri case: Court asks mosque management to file objections to plea for carbon-dating of 'Shivling'

On camera: Varanasi folks in panic as 'ghost in white' goes for a walk on rooftops

Varanasi to light up for Deep Deepavali, a festival of lights that is not Diwali

Varanasi lights up with 8 lakh lamps on Dev Deepawali; PM shares pics too

NCW likely to summon BHU VC

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Banaras Hindu University VC will be summoned to Delhi for his his dereliction of duty during volatile situation on campus, National Commission for Women said on Friday.

NCW Rekha Sharma, said: "Neither VC met her nor picked calls. He'll be summoned to Delhi. He didn't play his part in controlling situation."

In a pres conference, Rekha Sharma, said, "There were many issues but girls wanted to talk peacefully. But,the protest took another turn when it was hijacked by outsiders."

The NCW chief has asked SSP to deploy forces in campus for few days, adding "igh-tech cameras ones to be installed soon".

"Students staying illegally in hostels will be rounded up, immediately ousted from the campus and a legal action will be taken against them," she said.

Few boys, not BHU students, are staying illegally in hostels. Have asked girls to identify them. List will be given to SSP: NCW Chairperson pic.twitter.com/1GOG8iNO18  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) October 6, 2017

The commission has found rampant eve-teasing in campus, saying 'even campus' boys get involved'. The District Commissionner has been asked to send legal-aid for sensitization.

Rekha Sharma further said that decision to be taken on curfew timings in a day or two.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, October 6, 2017, 15:07 [IST]
Siddaramaiah looks to hike reservation to 70 per cent in poll-bound Karnataka

India

oi-Anusha

Eyes set on the upcoming assembly elections, "populist" Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, is all set to hike reservation to 70 per cent. The move, according to the government, will benefit people from backward classes, Scheduled castes, and scheduled tribes. The push for hike in quota for OBCs, SC/STs comes despite the Supreme Court's reiteration that reservation should not exceed 50 per cent.

During Valmiki Jayanthi celebrations, Siddaramaiah told the media that his government was all for hiking reservation on the lines of how Tamil Nadu has allowed 69 per cent quota. The hike, according to the Chief Minister, will be based on the outcome of the socio-economic survey which is yet to be tabled and made public.

" The government has decided to increase reservation to OBC, SC/STs to 70 per cent based on the socio-economic survey. The move is not for votes but is aimed at fulfilling the government's responsibility to protect everyone's interest," Siddaramaiah said.

He added that the state will follow Tamil Nadu's example of hiking reservation by incorporating it in the 9th schedule of the Constitution. "People from SC/ST communities in Karnataka do not get adequate representations compared to the population. The government has hence, decided to set the anomalies right by enhancing quota," he added.

The government hopes to increase total reservation to 70 per cent within which SCs would get 17 per cent quota as against the current 15. STs would get 7.5 per cent from the current 3 per cent. Keeping in mind that AHINDA- Siddaramaiah's sold vote bank of minorities, backward classes, and Dalits- will be the Congress' greatest strenght in the upcoming elections, Siddaramaiah highlighted that his government has so far spent Rs 25,000 crore on the communities' welfare. This year, the government has earmarked Rs 7,000 crore for welfare schemes of OBCs, SC/STs.

The push for hike in quota is being made despite the Supreme Court clearly stating that the total reservation for SC/ST and other backward classes or special categories should not exceed 50 per cent. Bench of Justices C.K. Thakker and D.K. Jain had reiterated the judgment in the Indra Sawhney (I) (Mandal case), said there are two types of reservation: (i) vertical reservation; and (ii) horizontal reservation. They must be so applied as not to exceed 50 per cent reservation permissible under law. This can be done by 'interlocking reservation.'

OneIndia New

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, October 6, 2017, 11:57 [IST]
Here is what the Army is doing for war veterans

What it means to be a person with disability and Muslim in times of 'hyper-nationalism'

India

oi-Maitreyee

By Maitreyee

Recommended Video

Arman Ali, award-winning activist talks about Cinema Hall controversy; Watch Video | Oneindia News

Guwahati, Oct 6: Blessed be the broken road--half-tarred, half-slushy (especially during monsoon)--that leads to Shishu Sarothi, an NGO for persons with disabilities in the bustling city of Guwahati, Assam.

Despite the weariness from the walk, what you see at the end of your journey is enough to make you feel 'fortunate'. One couldn't help but feel the stark difference-- the place has a strange calmness, an addictive silence that seems almost surreal to be existing amid the chaotic city that Guwahati has become.

The weariness recedes further as you see a bunch of mostly young and motivated people going about their day's work inside the office of Shishu Sarothi, which also accommodates a school for children with special needs.

Leading the "motivated" bunch of people is their "boss", Arman Ali, the director of Shishu Sarothi.

Ali these days is busy giving interviews to television channels and newspapers, but not because of his "much-recognised" work for the disabled.

The 36-year-old has been in news after he posted about his brush with movie hall patriots. On the fateful day, Ali had gone with his nieces and a nephew to a newly opened multiplex after a "delicious buffet lunch" as part of their Durga Puja celebrations.

But the celebrations didn't last long as two men heckled him for not standing up while the national anthem was being played inside the hall (as mandated by the Supreme Court before every film show across the country).

While everyone stood up, including his nieces and nephew, Ali remained seated, but upright on his wheelchair. Born with cerebral palsy, Ali doesn't remember when was the last time he stood up on his legs.

But two "gentlemen", as Ali likes to describe them, perhaps couldn't take the "insult" to the national anthem and shouted at him from behind, calling him a "Pakistani".

Recalling the incident one more time, he says: "As soon as the national anthem ended, two voices in unison, quite audible to everyone inside the theatre which on that day didn't have too many people, said 'saame ek Pakistani baitha hain (there is a Pakistani inside the theatre'."

>

Ali, who is a recipient of the National Award in public recognition for outstanding performance as most efficient disabled employee (1998) from the then Indian PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, tells OneIndia that his first reaction was to give them a piece of his mind.

He, however, decided not to create a scene. He says he consoled himself saying that he was not the first person to become a victim of hyper-nationalists in a 'New' India, where cow vigilantes lynch people in the name of rescuing the animal and "preserving" the Hindu culture.

"They use the word Pakistani to insult anyone who they think are not like them. As if being a Pakistani is a crime," Ali says, adding that the "hyper-nationalists also ask all liberals to 'go to Pakistan'".

It's because, he says, all those who wear their patriotism on their sleeve think that all the "bad and evil things happen in Pakistan" and "India is a bed of roses".

"There is nothing wrong in being a Pakistani. They are as good, as talented and as loving like we Indians. But look at the context in what it was said. The two men thought I was not doing my 'national' duty by not standing up during the national anthem," he shakes his head in disbelief.

When asked, why did not he tell his "abusers" the reason behind not standing up, Ali says, "Like a woman would never say I am a woman and do not target me for being that, I too don't like to say I am a disabled person."

"I was not sure if the audience at the theatre would understand my situation and support me. I also decided to stay silent at that time as I was with children," says the outspoken activist who has also been honoured with the Super Idol Award from CNN IBN 7 in 2011.

However, after coming out of the theatre he decided to speak up. "I needed to tell the world what is happening. It reflects badly on our society and country. The entire issue highlights two problems--one is lack of awareness about issues regarding the disabled people and, second, the rise of this distorted form of nationalism in the country."

"My disability is not my identity. I pay my taxes, I don't need a quota and I believe in equal opportunities for all," he added.

He, however, is positive about the future. "I am getting a lot of support for raising the issue. Disabled rights activists from across the country are with me."

The overwhelming support aside, he is a tad disappointed with the silence maintained by the political class.

"They are mostly silent. Only former chief minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi told reporters that it was shameful incident and condemned it in strong words."

When asked if anyone from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has spoken to him about the incident, Ali said there's complete silence on part of the state government even though the incident has been hotly debated in local TV channels.

Apparently, as Ali through his Facebook post and TV interviews was trying to garner support for the disabled people, his "Muslim identity" didn't go unnoticed.

"Yes, many journalists asked me if the incident has anything to do with my Muslim identity. I want to tell everybody that being a Muslim but I have never faced problems, except one or two minor incidents in the past.

We live in a secular country, but in recent times things have changed, especially the rise in number of mob lynching cases where most often the targets are Muslims. I do feel scared at times thinking about this mob mentality and lynchings."

Wrapping up the interview, Ali once again stresses: "I don't need to prove my patriotism to anyone. I am a proud citizen of India and I believe I have done my share of duty for my country through my work. I will continue to do so."

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, October 6, 2017, 9:38 [IST]
Will next Lok Sabha polls be fought between Modi and rest of India? Kejriwal suggests so

India

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

New Delhi, Oct 6: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has always been a staunch opponent of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In fact, it was Kejriwal who decided to contest the last Lok Sabha elections in 2014 against Modi from the Varanasi constituency which has been won handsomely by the PM.

Now, more than three years later, when the Modi government at the Centre is facing severe criticism over its handling of the Indian economy, Kejriwal decided to renew his attack against the PM.

On Thursday, at a book launch event in the national capital, which also saw the participation of veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Yashwant Sinha, who has recently criticised the Modi government for allowing finance minister Arun Jaitley to create a mess out of the economy, and Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari, Kejriwal said that the next general elections would be contested between Modi and the rest of the country.

The event was to unveil the book-- Tidings of Troubled Times--written by Tewari. Thus the launch event looked pretty interesting as three leaders from three different parties (including the BJP) joined hands to attack PM Modi in both the direct and indirect terms.

"The people are going to fight the 2019 elections. Parties will not fight....The battle is going to be between your (pointing to Sinha) leader, your big leader and the people," said Kejriwal.

The AAP leader suggested that "whether the Opposition will come together or not... that is arithmetic" which is also "necessary in electoral politics, but the way I can see the churning that is happening among the people... people can forsake food but cannot compromise with freedom".

"You cannot imagine the atmosphere of fear that is pervading in the country.... And I not saying this fear is only among Muslims or Christians.... Across the board there is fear among traders, industrialists, stock market.... Everywhere there is fear.... How can the country function like this?

"The coming election is not going to be Opposition versus BJP.... It is going to be the BJP versus the rest of the country."

Kejriwal said that the entire country seemed be under surveillance and there was an unprecedented "raid raj" in the country. The Delhi CM praised Sinha for showing courage and speaking the truth about the slowing economy.

Sinha said he was aware that the "company in which I have been photographed will send some message.... But I must also say that I don't really care because... I am past caring".

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, October 6, 2017, 13:07 [IST]
China rejects US criticism of OBOR passing through PoK

International

oi-PTI

China on Friday rejected US criticism saying the project has not changed its stand that the Kashmir issue should be resolved by India and Pakistan bilaterally.

"We have repeatedly reiterated that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is an economic cooperation initiative that is not directed against third parties and has nothing to do with territorial sovereignty disputes and does not affect China's principled stance on the Kashmir issue," the Chinese foreign ministry told PTI here.

The ministry was responding to comments by US defence secretary Jim Mattis that the Belt and Road Initiative "also goes through disputed territory, and I think, that in itself shows the vulnerability of trying to establish that sort of a dictate".

In a globalised world, there are many belts and many roads, and no one nation should put itself into a position of dictating 'One Belt, One Road', Mattis told a Senate Armed Services Committee during a Congressional hearing on October 4.

Mattis' comments were widely interpreted as the US backing India's stand on OBOR especially related to the $50 billion CPEC which is being built through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). India has protested to China in this regard.

Rejecting criticism that it is dictating to the world through OBOR, the ministry said it is an "important international public product".

It is an important platform for China to cooperate with relevant countries. It is an open and inclusive development platform and more than 100 countries and international organisations actively supported and participated in it since it was proposed four years ago, it said.

More than 70 countries and international organisations which have signed cooperation agreements with China on OBOR, including the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council, have incorporated it in their important resolutions, it said.

Over 130 countries and more than 70 international organisations sent representatives to attend the international cooperation summit - 'Belt and Road Forum', organised by China here in May and spoke highly of the initiative, the ministry said.

"This fully explains that the OBOR initiative is in line with the trend of the times and conforms to the rules of development and is in line with the interests of the people of all countries and has a broad and bright prospects for development," the ministry said.

India skipped the Belt and Road Forum due to its sovereignty concerns over the CPEC, a flagship project of China's prestigious Silk Road project, officially called OBOR.

The 3,000-km CPEC is aimed at connecting China and Pakistan with rail, road, pipelines and optical fibre cable networks.

PTI
Dont expect any restraint from us if nuke sites are hit: Pakistan

International

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Do not expect any restraint if there is a strike on nuclear installations, Pakistan has said. Pakistan's foreign minister Khawaja Asif was reacting to Indian Air Force chief BS Dhanoa's remarks that New Delhi could "locate, fix and strike across the border" to counter Islamabad's tactical or battlefield nuclear weapons. Asif read from the reported remarks before making his own comments at a Washington think tank event.

"If that happens, nobody should expect restraint from us," said Asif, who is known for speaking his mind and has made it clear that he is the Pakistan government's spokesman to the world. "That's the most diplomatic language I can use," he also added.

Pakistan has the world's fastest growing nuclear arsenal, and has said it has developed tactical nuclear weapons to counter India's cold start military doctrine, which reportedly envisages lightning thrusts into enemy territory by small and heavily armed units. The tactical nukes are also meant to offset India's overwhelming superiority in conventional military hardware.

While answering a question on relations with India, Asif pulled out a folder that contained clippings of Air Chief Marshal Dhanoa's statement, which was a conceptual one about the IAF's reach. It wasn't a direct threat of an impending military action.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, October 6, 2017, 8:44 [IST]
Expect good news on Kulbhushan Jadhav soon says Pakistan

International

oi-Vicky

By Vicky

Pakistan has said that there will be good news where Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav is concerned. A Pakistan military court is set to hear the mercy petition filed by Jadhav who was arrested by Pakistan on charges of spying.

Talking to reporters in Rawalpindi, the Director General of Inter Services Public Relation (ISPR), Major General Asif Ghafoor on Thursday said that "good news" on the Kulbhushan Jadhav case could be expected anytime soon. He however did not specify what the good news would be.

During the hearing of the case on May 18, a 10-member bench of the ICJ restrained Pakistan from executing Jadhav. The top UN court had ruled that Pakistan "shall take all measures at its disposal to ensure Jadhav is not executed pending final decision."

On September 27, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif claimed that a proposal was made to swap Indian national Kulbhushan Jadhav for a jailed terrorist in Afghanistan, who was responsible for the horrific 2014 Peshawar school attack. India vehemently denied the claim.

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, October 6, 2017, 15:40 [IST]
Oil export will increase jobs in US, India: Rick Perry

International

oi-PTI

Washington, October 6: US Energy Secretary Rick Perry has said export of American crude oil to India will create jobs, economic stability and national security in both countries.

The first ever shipment of US crude oil landed in Odisha on October 2. The shipment, loaded at Saint James, Louisiana and Freeport, Texas terminals last month.

"This event represents the growing and important strategic energy partnership between the US and India, and I look forward to exploring new opportunities to expand the role of reliable, responsible, and efficient energy sources with our allies," Perry said yesterday.

He said the export of US crude oil to India will create jobs, economic stability and national security in both countries.

Following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US, Indian companies ramped up purchases of American crude.

To encourage US crude purchases, the government has allowed refiners to use a foreign rather than an Indian-owned vessel for the purchase. Indian refiners typically have to use domestic vessels for their crude imports.

In a blog post yesterday, the US State Department said increased Indian purchases of US crude oil are a direct outcome of the June visit of Modi to the White House during which the leaders committed to expanding and elevating bilateral energy cooperation through a Strategic Energy Partnership.

"We expect this first shipment of crude oil will be followed by many more as both the Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum have placed orders for over 2 million barrels from the United States," said Tom Vajda, Office Director for the India Desk in the South and Central Asia Bureau of the State Department.

US crude oil shipments to India have the potential to boost bilateral trade by up to USD 2 billion.

"Not only does this week's shipment demonstrate the strength of the US-India bilateral relationship, but also how our relationship with India continues to benefit the American economy," Vajda said.

Buying US crude has become attractive for Indian refiners after the differential between Brent (the benchmark crude or marker crude that serves as a reference price for buyers in western world) and Dubai (which serves as a benchmark for countries in the east) has narrowed.

After production cuts by oil cartel OPEC drove up prices of Middle East heavy-sour crude, India, the world's third-largest oil importer, joins South Korea, Japan and China to buy US crude oil.

PTI

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, October 6, 2017, 12:44 [IST]
The Kurdish Referendum: Regional and Global Implications

International

oi-Oneindia

By Sanjal Shastri

The referendum conducted in Iraqi Kurdistan sparked of a barrage of responses from actors across the globe. Though this is a non-binding referendum, the global response to it is an indication of its implications for the region and the wider world.

The initial concern regionally is for the territorial integrity and stability of the Iraqi state. When the ISIS initially took over Mosul in 2014, analysts were predicting the trifurcation of Iraq. New, more than two years on, the referendum proves that this is not a far-fetched idea. At a time when the Iraqi government is focusing of defeating the ISIS threat, the referendum further weakens the territorial integrity of Iraq. Now the government is facing the possibility of a battle on two fronts. Wresting control of the Kurdish region would involve a confrontation with the Peshmerga. This is something the Abadi government cannot afford at this stage.

The demand for a Kurdish nation transcends the boundaries of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. Along with Iraq, the referendum would have serious implications for Kurdish separatist movements in Syria, Turkey and Iran. The Turkish government is particularly concerned with the recent developments as it is fighting a Kurdish insurgency of its own. The referendum is bound to embolden the Kurdish separatists in Turkey. Therefore, President Erdogan was swift to condemn the referendum and commence military drills at the Turkish border with Iraqi Kurdistan.

Similarly, Iran was also swift to condemn the referendum and throw its weight behind the Abadi government. Similar to Turkey, Iran has a sizeable population of Kurds who would be encouraged by the developments. An independent Kurdistan in any form would be the last thing Turkey, Iran, Iraq or Syria would want. Therefore, the referendum is bound to have significant impact in Iraq's immediate neighbourhood.

Regionally, the referendum comes at a time when all attention is being focused on the battle against ISIS. Kurdish groups have been important in pushing back ISIS in parts of Norther Iraq and Syria. On one hand the question is how will the referendum impact Kurdish groups fighting the ISIS in Syria? Until now there has been some element of cooperation between the regional and international powers and the Kurdish separatists. With the referendum, Turkey and Iraq are likely to pressurise the US and Russia to reduce cooperation with Kurdish groups in Syria.

Iraq is at a crucial juncture in its fight against ISIS. With its military resources focused on reclaiming territory, the referendum puts the Iraqi government in a fix. Abadi has already indicated his intention of sending Iraqi troops to Iraqi Kurdistan. On one hand this would mean reducing the number of troops who are currently fighting ISIS. On the other hand, this may involve another military confrontation, as the Peshmerga is in control of territory in Iraqi Kurdistan.

At the international level, the US, UK and Russia were quick to express their concern with the developments. Internationally one of the concerns is the impact of the referendum is on the war against ISIS. At a time when regional resources should be focused on fighting ISIS, this would be an unwanted complication of the problem. A second concern is over the oil reserves. A large share of Iraqi oil reserves is in the Kurdish region. Political stability of this region is important for the international oil market. The referendum has increased tensions between the Kurdish government and Baghdad, which can have an impact on Iraq's oil exports.

Finally, the question is what would this referendum mean to similar separatist demands around the world? Catalan independence supporters welcomed the referendum results. A similar referendum is currently being held in the Catalan region. One would also have to watch the reaction of Scottish independence groups. The Brexit vote had reignited the demands for a fresh independence referendum. Would groups in Scotland be encouraged by the developments in Iraq and Spain? This is a story that needs to be followed carefully.

Despite being a non-binding referendum, it has significant implications for the region and the world.

The initial responses from the international community highlight the impact it will have on the war against ISIS. One will also need to keep an eye on Kurdish groups in Iran, Turkey and Syria. The vision of the independent Kurdish nation transcends the borders of Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. Finally, the referendum's impact must be viewed in context of similar demands cross the world.

(The author is a student of Conflict and Terrorism Studies at the University of Auckland. He can be contacted on sshastri93@gmail.com)

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, October 6, 2017, 11:04 [IST]
India's stand on Rohingyas gracious so far but housing them would be risky

The Rohingya influx continues as Tripura police nets seven of them

We want Rohingya refugees to go back to Myanmar, says Bangladesh

International

oi-Oneindia

By Oneindia

New Delhi, Oct 6: On Thursday, at the India Economic Summit (IES) in New Delhi, Bangladesh foreign secretary Mohammad Shahidul Haque talking about the Rohingya crisis said that Bangladesh wants the refugees to go back to their home country as soon as possible.

"We can help the Myanmar government, but solution can't be their stay in Bangladesh. We want them to go back as soon as possible," Haque said.

He added, "Our position is very clear, problem has been created in Myanmar and solution has to be found in Myanmar."

The Bangladesh foreign secretary informed that his country has sent Myanmar a written proposal as to how they could take back the Rohingyas.

"A working group has been set up. They (Myanmar) have shown initial interest to take back their own residents. Modalities are being worked out," added Haque.

According to the United Nations (UN), more than 5 lakh Rohingyas have fled to Bangladesh from Myanmar since August 25 after violence erupted in the Rakhine state, where most of the Rohingyas stay.

Bangladesh maintains that it is making efforts to resolve the Rohingya issue peacefully despite "provocations".

"Recently Myanmar has pushed one million Rohingyas, their own nationals, onto our soil. We are still struggling. We haven't got into a fight with them despite provocations.

"We are trying to resolve it peacefully.... The Prime Minister (Sheikh Hasina) thinks that it is something we will solve in a peaceful manner," said Haque said.

India had last month rushed relief material to Bangladesh and pledged all help to Dhaka in tackling the humanitarian crisis.

However, the Narendra Modi at the Centre wants to deport around 40,000 Rohingyas settled in various parts of the country as they pose serious "security threats".

OneIndia News

For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications

Story first published: Friday, October 6, 2017, 11:42 [IST]
Does a Pop Slot Culture Exist? Microgaming Thinks So, and is Convincing Iconic Pop Brands

Published October 6, 2017 by Lee R

Microgaming is going after a niche market that could shift the iGaming target landscape.

Microgamings recent license ink for a film-based Highlander slot furthers an expansion strategy that the iGaming industry is watching with interest.

Pop Slots

In continuing Microgamings approach of boldly positioning slot branding with pop figures, the licensing deal green lights development of an online slot based on Mazurskys 1986 Highlander film.

Previous Poppy Agreements

In kind, the agreement comes on the heels of exclusive slot branded Microgaming offerings such as Jimi Hendrix, Motorhead and Aliens, and adds to Microgamings portfolio of franchise deals with the makers of Terminator, Halloween, Tarzan, and the Jurassic film series.

The Highlander Mission

The latest slot seeks to reach out to niche members of the films enormous followship.

Microgaming Games Publishing Head David Reynolds called Highlander one of the great cult hits of the 80s, citing the films action-packed storyline and hefty rock inspired composition as conducive to what Microgaming is trying to do brand-wise.

Project Status

Reynolds revealed that the Microgaming game studio is currently entrenched in the task of completing the slot that captures all of the movie magic. Reynolds alluded to Scottish Highlands and gritty New York City backdrops as key stylistic elements integrated with the slots movie poster art style which will be accompanied by blistering guitar tracks.

Implications

Brokered by Creative Licensing Corporation through Studiocanal, this deal represents a groundbreaking attempt at preserving and enhancing stylistic elements of global pop figures and themes through slots.

It also represents the most hands-on involvement to date of the filmmakers themselves, as Microgaming forges a reputation for preserving the key filmic elements of those they ink new slot deals with.

The Iconic Fans Segment

Creative Licensings Stephanie Kupperman celebrated the fact that many iconic characters of the original film are featured in the slots, all the way to associating the original actors themselves, including Christopher Lambert as Connor MacLeod, Roxanne Hart as Brenda Wyatt and Clancy Brown as The Kurgan.

Kupperman further expressed her organisations optimism for film fans to enjoy revisiting this epic story, and seeing their favourite heroes and villains in game format."

Outlook

Tapping into film fans to expand player volume on a sustained basis would generally represent a significant expansion in slot branding reach, and a true marketing triumph for Microgaming.


Rambo

(Image by PatLoika) Details DMCA



The Republicans have consistently, over 64 times, voted to de-fund the Affordable Care Act brought forth by President Barak Obama and congress. The ACA was signed into law March 23, 2010. Its repeal would cause a loss of coverage for over 32 million people and most certainly death to thousands.

The Republicans have also consistently supported the NRA, taking campaign money from their lobby, supporting the gun lobby's efforts to avoid any assault weapon ban legislation. The Republicans bought by the NRA, have facilitated an unconscionable 432 mass killings over the past two years. The NRA also gave President 45, thirty million dollars to get him elected.

Because of Republican legislative inaction and their happy acceptance of NRA plunder, we have a state like Nevada, a level three regulation state with regard to gun control, that allows the legal sale of machine guns.

Machine guns! In 1999, Australia passed gun control legislation, and a buy-back program from owners of assault weapons. Since that legislation became successful there have been virtually zero incidences of mass killings. But, in this country, now even after the 59 dead and over 500 wounded in Las Vegas, the NRA controlled Republican toadies won't dare allow talk of comprehensive gun control.

Of course, we do not condone violence, but we must condemn violence and also point out what produced it. In 1984, Hollywood invented the tech-enhanced violent action movie, and a decade later, the typical child had seen 10,000 acts of TV mayhem by the age of 18. Now, video games promoting militarism and killing are ubiquitous. Generally, it is not extremists but extreme conditions. We can ask, who lit the match, but we must discern why there was a fuse attached to the powder keg.

Violence needs redefinition. It should mean anything that violates human dignity and human rights. Exploitation is the essence of violence, and its perpetrators can engage in it without ever drawing a knife and squeezing a trigger. After the exploitation becomes public the populace tends to be repelled by the bloodshed, rather than the injustice producing it. The media is of little help, with the tendency to sensationalize rather than analyze. It makes Americans' inmates, in the prison houses of their own spirits.

Republicans are part of the patronage system of an evil oligarchy that is trying to divide America from its moral and mental defenses. They see things through the crystal waters of their own purchased delusions, while operating with a vapid solemn conceit of pretending to the public's business. They all operate and facilitate a vainglorious system of conceit, deceit, debt and delusion. Greed and ambition have dulled these three Minnesotans' perceptions, both moral and numerate. They are so invested in the lie, that they are unable to feel the burden of their self-deceit. They have no devolutionary remorse about what they have wrought upon America. Their platforms are empty mantras. They are walking, talking, conflicts of interest, in helpless thrall to their own ambitions, as they put on the friendly faces, of their destructive policies.

The politically facilitated uphill financial climb of the wealthy, has accelerated the downward spiral of society as a whole, leading to vast widening inequality, heightened estrangement, and the moral amnesia that estrangement requires.

Background checks and the banning of assault weapons, to keep us safe, is one of our civil rights. The high and primary purpose of government, is to secure our inalienable rights. In the minds of our spiritual forebears, all else was secondary.

When the machinery of politics requires you to become an agent of injustice to others, you have forsaken yourself to people you are supposed to represent. Justice is the moral test of spirituality. Republicans don't meet that test in any manner. They must be replaced, to see fulfilled the world around, all hopes for justice, so long and cruelly deferred.
(This is a reprint from NewsBred)



Indian temples and mausoleum Taj Mahal

(Image by NewsBred) Details DMCA



(Facebook has set out 10 tools to check fake news. A few give-aways are headlines, source, evidence and photos. Times of India n today's edition has been found out in peddling a Fake News.)

Times of India today published a front page anchor: "Controversy erupts over absence of Taj Mahal from UP tourism booklet."

The news report, which stretched from front page to inside pages and had a few other screaming headlines in between the sheets, is so bogus that I wouldn't have bothered to pick it up but for the propagandists running away with the Fake News and Social Media full of "communal" Yogi Adityanath and his nefarious designs to push the Hindutva agenda.

I won't bore you much but here are the facts:

(a) UP government has published a tourism booklet, "Uttar Pradesh Paryatan Apar Sambhavnayen (Uttar Pradesh Tourism: Its High Potential)" which has mentioned ongoing projects and Taj Mahal doesn't find a mention in it.

(b) The booklet has mentioned ongoing toruism projects such as ones in Varanasi , Mathura , Ayodhya, Gorakhpur , Devipatan, Naimisharanya, Allahabad , Chitrakoot, Kushinagar, Bundelkhand, Mirzapur and Sonbhadra.

(c) The UP government has also added that indeed a World Bank-assisted Rs. 156-crore development project on Taj Mahal is due and would begin as soon as the Centre's clearance is secured.

But the fake news perpetrators and propagandists would have none of it. The fact that Taj Mahal doesn't find a mention since the booklet is strictly about ongoing projects hasn't cut any ice with them.

There is no gainsaying by Times of India that it has presented viewpoints of both sides. This story in itself is a non-starter. Tending a sick child in the family isn't a neglect of the other child. If at all, the UP government deserves praise for maximizing the potential of tourism in the state. And reserving Rs 156 crores for Taj Mahal is better than all those secularist frauds could ever manage.

Thus you have all the jokers lining up and doing their acts. There is Brinda Karat, Raj Babbar, Abhishek Sanghvi and Rajeev Shukla, among others, who are horrified at this "communal" designs on Taj Mahal and how Hindutva is tearing the secular fabric of this country apart.

Times of India , for good measure, remembered Yogi Adityanath having said a few months ago that "foreign dignitaries visiting the country used to be gifted replicas of Taj Mahal, which did not reflect Indian culture."

And frankly, why there shouldn't be a word about Taj Mahal? A mausoleum created by an emperor who married his departed queen's sister as soon as she was dead? I agree this is unrelated as is the fact that thousands of workers were dismembered once the mausoleum was done. There is little doubt that Taj Mahal is beautiful to behold at. But should it stop us from praising our magnificent temples? Does promoting our stunning heritage is a sign of communalism?

The propagandists don't realize that running down India 's magnificent heritage isn't palatable to majority in this country. Time is not far when this majority would come out and say; "To hell, with your secularism."
Progressive Content Not Found

Sometimes, authors delete their progressive content after publishing.



To see if the progressive content was renamed or re-published, please click here.


(Image by this image is permitted for use) Details DMCA

here.]



******





The effort to understand evil has a long history in our civilization.

At a minimum, people have felt a need to be able to answer the question, "Why is there so much brokenness -- wrong-doing, trauma, suffering -- in the world?" Or, to put the question in terms of "evil," as many have done: Why is there evil? Where does it come from?

When people have also sensed that this "evil" is something bigger than just the brokenness that characterizes one thing or another, that it should be seen as an actual "force" operating in the world, there have also been the questions: What is the nature of evil? And how does evil operate in the world?

These are important questions for understanding the human story, and for understanding what has gone wrong in America in our times.

But they are not questions that are widely asked in Liberal America in our times. Not asked for a couple of reasons.

The op/ed piece I quoted here earlier, "Liberal America's Great Sin," began with my brother saying, "Well, Liberal America can finally see evil, they can see it in Trump." In that piece, I offered a reason why most of Liberal America failed for so long to see the "evil force" -- until it was personified in such a grotesque person as Trump -- that was gathering in our nation.

Liberal America [I wrote] lacks the habit of putting the pieces together to see things whole. So something diffused into the body politic -- in the hypocrisies of the once-respectable Republican Party, in the deceptive messaging of the right-wing media, in the degradation of the consciousness of the Republican electorate -- can escape notice.

In that op/ed, for reasons of length, I restrained myself from identifying another major reason for Liberal America's blindness to the rising force of evil: many simply do not believe that the idea of "evil" refers to anything real in our world.

I would suggest that those two aspects of much of contemporary (secular) liberal thought -- not seeing how the pieces fit together into something bigger than the pieces, and not believing there's any such thing as "evil" -- are different aspects of the same thing.

That is, they are connected because, as I will be trying to show here, the force worth calling "evil" becomes visible to us only if we step back from the concrete pieces and witness something coherent operating in the world through time.

I've been looking into the problem of evil, off and on, my whole adult life. If there are very illuminating or satisfactory answer out there from secular thinkers, I am unaware of them.

But the only answer I'll discuss (among those I find unsatisfactory) is the major answer provided by religious thinkers in the Western (mostly Christian) tradition.

These thinkers faced a real problem--given the image of God they felt a need to protect.

They could not help but recognize that the world is broken -- i.e. that there is evil in the world. But the challenge was to reconcile that unescapable reality with their image of God as both all-good and all-powerful. How could the world created by such a God contain so much evil? (Theirs is the problem called, historically, "theodicy.")

Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
From Alon Ben-Meir Website



Donald Trump

(Image by pixabay.com) Details DMCA



The concern that Iran will pursue the development of nuclear weapons once the current Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) deal expires in 10 years is legitimate. But addressing these concerns cannot be achieved by nullifying the current agreement, which would only strengthen Iran's resolve to acquire nuclear weapons. Instead, the US and its allies (along with Russia and China) should build on the existing deal so that once it expires, Iran would not simply rush to acquire nuclear weapons but weigh the benefits of not pursuing nuclear weapons against any strategic advantage it could potentially reap by acquiring such an arsenal.

This does not guarantee that Iran will give up its ambition to acquire nuclear weapons. It does, however, offer the international community the time and opportunity to provide Iran with the incentives and prospect of becoming an active, constructive, and respected member of the community of nations, should it remain a nuclear-free country.

In his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, President Trump stated that "The Iran deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into. Frankly, that deal is an embarrassment to the US, and I don't think you've heard the last of it."

The problem is that Trump is determined to simply undo every piece of legislation passed or executive order issued during President Obama's tenure, regardless of merit, utility, or effectiveness. Sadly, the JCPOA is no exception. Nullifying it, instead of certifying that Iran has and continues to fully comply with all aspects of the deal, will precipitate dangerous regional and international repercussions, obviously beyond what Trump is capable of contemplating.

The Iranian public was demanding relief from the sanctions before the deal was struck, and the government was under intense pressure to resolve the nuclear problem with the US in order to lift the sanctions and alleviate the public's economic hardship. Now that the government is fully complying with the terms of the deal, the Iranian public will support their government's position even if they suffer greatly from the imposition of harsh new sanctions. This suggests that the US cannot count on the Iranians' future public discontent to pressure their government to negotiate a new deal.

Once the deal is nullified, Iran will be free to resume its nuclear program in defiance of the international community (especially because much of its nuclear facilities are still in place), which will inescapably lead to nuclear proliferation in the Middle East -- exactly what the US wants to avoid. Trump's presumption that he could negotiate a better deal does not hold water. He has yet to demonstrate his so-called negotiating skills when he failed miserably to negotiate even with his own party to pass a new healthcare bill. Moreover, given that Iran is in full compliance, it will categorically refuse to negotiate a new deal.

The cancellation of the deal will also severely undermine the US' credibility, especially at this juncture, when the US is trying to find a way to negotiate with North Korea over its nuclear weapons. North Korea's leader Kim Jong-Un will have no reason to trust Trump. To stop expanding his nuclear arsenal, on which he believes his country's survival hangs, he needs assurances that the US is negotiating in good faith -- reneging on the nuclear deal will make any prospective negotiations with North Korea to reach a sustainable agreement much harder to conduct.

The US' allies France, Germany, and Britain -- along with Russia and China, who are signatories to the deal -- are sternly objecting to the nullification of the deal and will not support the imposition of new sanctions. Moreover, abandoning the deal will leave the US completely isolated, undermine global security, and strain its relationship with allies, which are already under mounting stress because of Trump's unseemly and erratic behavior.

Should the deal be nullified and Iran end up with nuclear weapons, it will significantly boost its regional sway and further advance its ambition to become the region's hegemon, which will allow it to bully its neighbors. Moreover, it will intensify the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, prolong the proxy Sunni-Shiite war in Yemen, Iraq, and Syria, and further entrench Iran throughout the crescent between the Gulf and the Mediterranean.

It will hinder the US' effort to fight violent Islamic extremism as Iran will be far more vested in supporting extremist groups, funding terrorism, and destabilizing the region wherever and whenever it suits its needs. In addition, Iran will aggressively pursue its missile program and will not be deterred by new American sanctions, which have been a critical tool in pressuring Iran in the past.

Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu, the lone ranger who is foolishly pushing Trump to cancel the deal, seems to be completely out of touch about the implications of such an unwise act on Israel's national security. Nullifying the deal will be to Israel's terrible disadvantage, as Iran will put the development of nuclear weapons on a fast track. Based on all estimates, Iran would be able to test a nuclear weapon within a year.

Finally, the cancellation of the deal will dramatically change the balance of power in the Middle East between the Arab states and Iran. It will also have this effect between Israel and Tehran, as it will neutralize Israel's nuclear shield and leave the country dependent on a precarious nuclear deterrence rather than maintaining its strategic advantage.

Trump should listen to his Secretary of Defense James Mattis, who recently testified before Congress that remaining party to the deal with Iran is in the US' national security interest. Instead of cancelling the deal, which could lead to the above dire consequences, Trump (with the support of the other signatories of the deal) must ensure that Iran continues to fully comply with all the provisions of the deal while putting Tehran on notice that the international community will not tolerate the slightest violation of the agreement.

The US ought to focus on strengthening the deal and ascertain that once it expires, Iran continues to adhere to the rules and requirements of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), of which Tehran is a signatory, to prevent it from clandestinely pursuing its nuclear program.

Next Page 1 | 2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
Every time there's a "public mass shooting" (defined by the Congressional Research Service as an incident in which four or more people are indiscriminately killed, not including the shooter or shooters, in a relatively public place) in America, the usual suspects climb atop of the pile of bodies before they're even cold and start doing the funky chicken to the tune of "gun control, gun control, this wouldn't happen if we just added one more gun control law to the hundreds of gun control laws that we already have."

They're always wrong, their political posturing is always ghoulish and disgusting, and any policy outcomes they achieve are stupid and pointless at best and an outrage against the rights of the people at worst.

This time, it looks like the former. US Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is pushing legislation to ban "bump stocks," devices which allow one to fire a semi-automatic weapon (which fires one shot per pull of the trigger) at rates not unlike those of an automatic weapon (hundreds of rounds per minute for as long as the trigger is depressed, unless the gun runs out of ammo, or it jams, or its barrel melts).

"Bump firing" devices are pretty simple. They're based on holding the trigger finger in place and using the recoil of the weapon to, you guessed it, bump the trigger against the finger repeatedly.

Because they're so simple, anyone who really wants one will get or make one, ban or no ban. And, because they make a weapon's fire incredibly inaccurate and difficult to control, hardly anyone DOES want one for any purpose other than impersonating Rambo in YouTube videos.

If the Vegas shooter did use a bump stock, as seems to be the case, it probably saved some lives. A reasonably proficient marksman would likely have killed more people with aimed shots from a semi-automatic, or even bolt action single shot, rifle under the circumstances (thousands of people packed together, less than 500 yards away, with a clear line of sight and no counter-sniper fire to worry about).

Republican politicians and the National Rifle Association are already jumping on the bump stock ban wagon. I'm not surprised. There's no "there" there. The whole idea is even dumber, and less pernicious in effect, than the 1994 ban on "assault weapons" (defined as guns that people like Dianne Feinstein think look scary).

This stump stupid idea has to be fought on principle, of course. "Shall not be infringed" means exactly that, and politicians should never be rewarded for publicly rolling around in the blood of murder victims while demanding that we sacrifice our rights to their ambitions. But I won't personally be losing any sleep over Feinstein's stunt.




It's the harvest moon. The Jewish festival of Succot, when we live outdoors to remind ourselves that nature is our home. The Chinese Mid-Autumn festival, when we eat mooncakes in remembrance of Chang-E goddess of long life, who drank the elixir of immortality to preserve her love, then flew to exile on the moon; and of Hou-Yi, who turned the earth from an infernal oven to a temperate paradise by shooting down 9 of the 10 suns with his bow and arrow. In Hindu culture, it is a day of fasting, after which Lakshmi visits every household at midnight to find the devout awake to life's bounty. For Western seculars, it is a time to remember that we no longer have to worry about the vicissitudes of harvest luck because the world produces half again as much food as all of us can eat.
From Smirking Chimp

While Americans are mourning the mass shooting in Las Vegas that so tragically took the lives of over 50 concert-goers, people in Yemen will be marking the one-year anniversary of a tragedy that took the lives of over 140 people who were not at a concert, but a funeral. The Las Vegas carnage was a crime against humanity carried out by what seems to be a crazed lone wolf. The bombing of the funeral home in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, was a war crime carried out by a close US ally, Saudi Arabia, with the indispensable help of the United States.

While we try to steer the domestic conversation to the need for gun control, we should also be seeking to end the massive flow of US weapons to Saudi Arabia that is wreaking such carnage. A new resolution in Congress, HR Resolution 81, would do just that.

The funeral bombing took place in the afternoon of October 8, 2016, when several hundred people had gathered to mourn the passing of Ali al-Rawishan, a public figure and father of the Sanaa-based administration's interior minister. It was attended by several hundred people, including colleagues, friends, and relatives of the deceased. Funeral ceremonies of public figures in Yemen are customarily well-attended and open to the public.

At about 3:30 p.m., the mourners heard the buzzing of a plane overhead. Suddenly, a massive bomb penetrated the roof of the hall, causing carnage and mayhem. As the rescuers ran in to help, another bomb exploded. Photos and video footage taken after the attack show charred and mutilated bodies strewn inside and outside the hall.

Hundreds of those killed and wounded were civilians, according to the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The munition that killed them was a US-manufactured GBU-12 Paveway II 500-pound laser-guided bomb manufactured by Raytheon.

United Nations called the bombing "outrageous" and an apparent war crime. The Obama administration, in power at that time, expressed grave concern and launched a review of its support to the Saudi-led coalition. President Obama declared that U.S. support to the kingdom "is not a blank check." The Trump administration, however, has tightened the Saudi embrace with both increased weapons sales and logistical support.

On one side of Yemen's war is an alliance of Houthi rebels and loyalists of former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh. On the other is Hadi, Yemen's interim president after Saleh, who is backed by Saudi Arabia, the United States and their allies. In March 2015 Saudi Arabia entered the conflict in an attempt to defeat the Shiite Houthis, who have links to its main regional rival, Iran. Thousands of people, including civilians, have been killed in this war. Millions more are suffering from hunger, illness, displacement and a massive outbreak of cholera.

The US became involved in the conflict by providing the Saudi-led coalition with specific targeting information and refueling planes during bombing raids. The US continues to sell arms to the Saudis, despite growing recognition that the weapons are being used unlawfully.

Now, thanks to Congress, Saudi Arabia may lose some of the support that has been facilitating these war crimes. On September 27th, 2017, the US House of Representatives introduced a Resolution 81 to withdraw US armed forces from Yemen, a move that would end US participation in Saudi Arabia's coalition of nations waging war against the Yemeni people. It would give the President 30 days to end the U.S. military support of the Saudi-led war, unless and until Congress has enacted either a declaration of war or an authorization of those activities.

This historic resolution uses a provision of the War Powers Act that puts any proposed Congressional resolution for action regarding an unauthorized use of force on a fast track, making it a "priority resolution." Once the measure is referred to the House or Senate foreign affairs committee, the committee must act within 15 days, and the resolution must then come to a vote within three days.

Just as we are trying to get Congress to take action to stem the domestic flood of guns that facilitated the murder of concert-goers in Las Vegas, so we must demand that Congress act to stop the US support for mass murder in Yemen.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License
Over half a million Americans experience homelessness on any given day, according to statistics released in January, 2016. Some find ways to rise up to success, like Chris Gardner, whose story was told in the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness," starring Will Smith.

In Charlottesville, Virginia, people who are experiencing homelessness are successfully learning skills and receiving valuable support in building their businesses in The Homeless Entrepreneur--The Suitcase to Briefcase Program.

Becky Blanton, author of The Homeless Entrepreneur: How to Start a Business When You're Homeless, Poor or Just Plain Broke (How to Be Homeless) founded the 501(c)3 organization, The Homeless Entrepreneur.



The Homeless Entrepreneur by Becky Blanton

(Image by Becky Blanton) Details DMCA



Then with David Durovy, Becky co-founded The Suitcase to Briefcase Program, a pilot project which gives "motivated people who are experiencing homelessness or at risk for becoming homeless, unemployed or underemployed" a chance to start their own businesses. It offers an opportunity to "get off of the streets, out of the shelters and out of their vehicles." And perhaps the greatest benefit is that it changes "the way the public thinks of homeless people" as well as the way homeless people think of themselves.

"The homeless are just as capable as the housed."

Blanton and Durovy note that "not every homeless person wants a handout" -- many just need "a hand up" to get back on their feet.

Becky is an editor and journalist, ghostwriter and photographer who found herself homeless for 18 months, but bounced back. A TED Global presenter she inspires others through sharing her story.



Becky Blanton

(Image by Becky Blanton) Details DMCA



David Durovy has been involved with entrepreneurship, small business and spiritual studies most of his life and is currently involved with three non-profit organizations in helping others to help themselves. He and Becky co-founded The Homeless Entrepreneur: Suitcase to Briefcase program.



David Durovy

(Image by David Durovy) Details DMCA



Meryl Ann Butler: Thanks for visiting with OpEdNews, Becky and David. Your program is wonderful. As we see our government becoming less involved with assisting Americans, it is exciting to see our citizens stepping up to the plate to address some of the problems we face. And your program is a stunning example of that. I really enjoyed sitting in on the portion of your course that showed how to "rewire" the brain for entrepreneurial activities, that's information that can be beneficial for anyone, and was a wonderful topic to include. Please tell us, what inspired you two to develop this program together?

Becky Blanton: David inspired me! He was my instructor for a 16-week Community Investment Collaborative (CIC) Entrepreneur Training. I showed him my book at the end of the course and we started a conversation about homeless people, and his interests and past experiences. the plan was for us to work as group leaders at CIC class together, but that fell through, and so we thought, "Why not teach the homeless how to start a business?" The timing was right and it all came together and we just jumped right in.

David Durovy: Becky inspired me! She was part of my work group when I volunteered as a leader during the entrepreneur. I had the privilege of getting to know her well during this course. Her knowledge, experiences and caring heart impressed me. She wrote The Homeless Entrepreneur during the last three weeks of the course and asked me to review it.

MAB: Wow, in three weeks! That sounds like an inspired project!

DD: Yes, I was very inspired by it and suggested she create a class based on her book for people who were experiencing homelessness and how to start their own businesses. And so it began...

Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) -- listen to my radio show with one of ICAN's leaders two years ago here.

It's conceivable that some Americans will now learn, because of this award, about the new treaty that bans the possession of nuclear weapons.

This treaty has been years in the works. This past summer 122 nations agreed on the language of it, including these words:

Each State Party undertakes never under any circumstances to:

(a) Develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices;

(b) Transfer to any recipient whatsoever nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices or control over such weapons or explosive devices directly or indirectly;

(c) Receive the transfer of or control over nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices directly or indirectly;

(d) Use or threaten to use nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices;

(e) Assist, encourage or induce, in any way, anyone to engage in any activity prohibited to a State Party under this Treaty;

(f) Seek or receive any assistance, in any way, from anyone to engage in any activity prohibited to a State Party under this Treaty;

(g) Allow any stationing, installation or deployment of any nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices in its territory or at any place under its jurisdiction or control.

Not bad, right? This treaty is something of a rebuke to the nuclear-armed nations, chiefly the United States and Russia, that are in violation of existing law, which requires them to work toward disarmament. This new law will require every nation to not possess nuclear weapons at all. It's also a corrective to the additional current violation, unique to the United States, of placing nuclear weapons that supposedly belong to it in other nations, namely the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Turkey, all of which possess U.S. nuclear weapons.

Already in the past week, since the new treaty opened for signatures, 53 nations have signed and 3 ratified. Once 50 have ratified, the nuke ban becomes law, and its violators become outlaws. You can urge the U.S. government to sign on, join the world, support the rule of law, and promote human survival here.

The New York Times is already suggesting that the Nobel Committee's choice of awardee is somehow related to the lawlessness of North Korea. It's worth noting, however, that the only nuclear-armed nation in the world (there are nine of them, not counting those with "U.S." weapons) that voted last October to create the new treaty was North Korea. Of course, North Korea, in the Trump era, has not signed or ratified and is unlikely to do so. But I'd bet heavily that North Korea would do so if just one particular other nation agreed to do so as well.

Behind this award is years of work by ordinary people struggling for the survival of life on earth. And behind their receiving of the award may be another struggle that very few have heard about. I refer to the campaign led by Fredrik Heffermehl to persuade the Nobel Committee to abide by the legal mandate of Alfred Nobel's will, the document that created the prize. The press release announcing this year's prize contains this key paragraph:

"The decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2017 to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons has a solid grounding in Alfred Nobel's will. The will specifies three different criteria for awarding the Peace Prize: the promotion of fraternity between nations, the advancement of disarmament and arms control and the holding and promotion of peace congresses. ICAN works vigorously to achieve nuclear disarmament. ICAN and a majority of UN member states have contributed to fraternity between nations by supporting the Humanitarian Pledge. And through its inspiring and innovative support for the UN negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons, ICAN has played a major part in bringing about what in our day and age is equivalent to an international peace congress."

Next Page 1 | 2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
(This is a reprint from NewsBred).

Enough of this "Kerala model of growth " which economist Amartya Sen has put his dubious stamp upon and with which Leftists louts thump their chests on an hourly basis.

No sir, Kerala doesn't have the highest literacy rate in the country-- Tripura and Mizoram are ahead--and if jobs is the end goal of all literacy, Kerala sucks: It has three times the national average of unemployment rate. Thousands of MBBS graduates are without jobs, according to Kerala Medical Post Graduates Association. Kerala's graduates are so unemployable that the state is 10th in the rankings of 16 states in the IT services sector.

Apologists please also save this "model healthcare system" lollipop in your termite-infested drawers. Those attending your health are unlikely to have cleared the nursing or paramedical courses. The pass percentage in 90 colleges is as low as 5% in pharma and 6% in physiotherapy.

Oh yes, The God's Own Country! (Scamster Leftists are atheists on paper but have no problem in promoting God as their brand ambassador.) Kerala's 44 rivers are facing existential crisis due to continuous sand extractions. Munnar, one of its showpiece, suffers from lack of accommodation, public facilities, pollution and poor hygiene as conceded by no less than Kerala Tourism.

To be a woman in Kerala is almost a curse. As many as 47.4% of state's women have no jobs. As a woman, being outside of home after 6 p.m isn't approved by an average Malayali male. Any young couple who roams around in terrible jammed streets of Kerala would have his or her own story to tell. We are not even coming to "Love-Jihad."

The so-called high literacy still doesn't stop people from falling prey to the "quick-fixers" selling his wares on the street. If the high-literacy was real, authentic research wouldn't have shown that (a) 35% can't identify alphabets; (b) 85% of Class VII have no idea of basic science; (c) 73% same in mathematics.

The study, conducted among 4,800 students of Class IV and VII, showed that as many as 19% students in Thiruvananthapuram scored zero in geometry! Most of this high-literacy tag doesn't go beyond secondary schools as there is a dramatic fall in higher education.

And to think that 80% of the education budget is spent on schools. Mind you, this is no ordinary sum--it's 37% of the state's total annual budget. In case you are wondering where all the money goes, there is a clue: the glut of teachers: almost a teacher on every two students!

Ah economy! Kerala has no funds left in the state treasury for capital expenditure, Kerala's governor P. Sathasivam had said last year. The state has about Rs 10,000 crore immediate liabilities to meet in the short term, said the White Paper, as presented by Kerala finance minister Thomas Issac last year.

Indeed, Kerala's Debt-GDP ratio is almost 29 percent! (Wondering how Communists fared in Bengal ? It was 35.5% of GDP when Mamata Banerjee assumed office last year). But then how do you expect industries to grow in a state where bandhs and strikes happen every single day!

We are not getting down the financial scams road even though the 2013 Solar Panel Scam is wanting itself to be heard at some corner of my brain. Kerala has been ruled since 1970s either by Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) or Left Democratic Front (LDF) of communists--one Left the other Extreme Left. Congress is seen effectively controlled by the Christian community; while LDF leans towards Muslims and other minorities. Almost all top jobs in the state, Hindus allege, are controlled by minorities.

The dangerous policy of communalization is best reflected in Malappuram, which is said to be a hotbed of Islamist terror and where law and order is practically absent. The ecosystem of NGOs, churches, madrasas and the Leftists in power feed each other.

Political violence against RSS and BJP is now unprecedented in Kerala. The presence of BJP chief Amit Shah is making the present dispensation in Kerala nervous. More so since BJP's growing clout--they obtained 15 percent of vote share in last assembly elections--is unmistakable.

So while we wait for the political drama to unfold, let's throw all the good news on Kerala to dustbins and remind ourselves once again how presstitutes never bring such facts to our attention and why political violence in Kerala goes unreported by Lutyens' Media.
Fifty years ago Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his last book, "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?" Reading it again, in the hate-filled Trump era, brings the painful recognition that in many regards the civil rights struggle has stagnated for decades.

Dr. King wrote the book a year before his assassination, at a time when his civil-rights initiative had entered a new phase. After the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, King founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and became a national presence. After a series of successful protests, King led the 1963 "March on Washington for Jobs and Justice" and delivered his famous "I have a dream" speech. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. In 1967 King led a march from Selma to Montgomery Alabama; the March 7th demonstration ended in violence on Selma's Edmund Pettus Bridge. During this period King changed his focus from civil rights, in general, to concrete objectives, such as jobs and housing. (King also spoke in opposition to the Vietnam War.)

In "Where Do We Go From Here," King distinguishes two phases of the civil-rights movement. The first was the broad recognition of the humanity of Negroes; the second was the accomplishment of true equality. "For the vast majority of white Americans, the past decade -- the first phase -- had been a struggle to treat the Negro with a degree of decency, not of equality... When Negroes looked for the second phase, the realization of equality, they found that many of their white allies had quietly disappeared."

King recognized "the magnitude of the gap between existing realities and the goal of equality." "When the Constitution was written [it] declared that the Negro was 60 percent of a person. Today another curious formula seems to declare he is 50 percent of a person. Of the good things in life he has approximately one-half those of whites; of the bad he has twice those of whites. Thus, half of all Negroes live in substandard housing, and Negroes half half the income of whites... There are twice as many unemployed. The rate of infant mortality... among Negroes is double that of whites."

It's painful to acknowledge that most of what Dr. King complained about in 1967 remains true in 2017. Writing in The Guardian (http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/sep/26/donald-trump-nfl-kneeling-national-anthem ) British journalist Gary Younge observed:

"The battle lines in America's struggle against racism and white supremacy are become increasingly clear to a degree not seen since the 60s...The codified obstacles to freedom and equality have been removed, but the legacy of those obstacles and the system that produced them remains. Black Americans are far more likely than white people to be stopped, frisked, arrested, jailed, shot and executed by the state, while the racial gaps in unemployment are the same as 40 years ago, the racial disparity in wealth and income is worse than 50 years ago." Younge concluded: "[People of color] have the right to eat in any restaurant they wish; the trouble is, many can't afford what's on the menu."

What happened? Why has it proved so difficult to provide true equality?

Dr. King recognized that the civil-rights movement had only transitory unity: "Up to Selma there had been unity to eliminate barbaric conduct. Beyond it the unity had to be based on the fulfillment of equality and in the absence of agreement the paths began inexorably to move apart."

Most activists agree with King's analysis. There are several explanations for the failure to provide true equality. Some say it was due to King's assassination in 1968. Others note that the white allies King expected to help in the fight for economic equality instead shifted their focus to the Vietnam War.

But there is another explanation: Dr. King's white allies shied away from a direct confrontation with the larger system of white male privilege; a system that incorporates racism, sexism, homophobia, classism, anti-semitism and dominionism. (In essence, white male privilege is the notion that straight white Anglo-Saxon men should dominate the social order because that is the "natural" hierarchy.)

As a consequence, fifty years after Dr. King wrote "Where Do We Go From Here," the United States remains a segregated society. Writing on "self-segregation" ( https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/08/self-segregation- why-its-hard-for-whites-to-understand-ferguson/378928/ ), Robert Jones observes there is an absence of "integrated social networks... fully three-quarters (75 percent) of whites have entirely white social networks without any minority presence." (This segregation is particularly true of Trump supporters; a March 2016 New York Times article [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/13/upshot/the-geography-of-trumpism.html?_r=0&mtrref=undefined] noted that "One of the strongest predictors of Trump support is the proportion of the population that is native-born. Relatively few people in the places where Trump is strong are immigrants.")

Dr. King foresaw that the United States needed to choose between "chaos or community." In 2017 we seem closer to chaos than we do community. But that doesn't mean there is no hope of achieving the truly democratic society that King dreamed of.

There needs to be a new conversation about racism, in specific, and the system of white male privilege, in general. While economic equality should be one aspect of this conversation, it should also include race, gender, and class. Liberals need to restart phase two of King's civil-rights struggle. Fifty years is too long a time to wait to fulfill Martin Luther King Junior's dream.


Wayne LaPierre

(Image by Gage Skidmore) Details DMCA

It looks like the NRA has blinked. NRA CEO issued a statement, ""The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations." And Politico reports, "The National Rifle Association on Thursday called on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to review whether bump fire stocks -- like the device used in this week's Las Vegas shooting massacre -- comply with current federal law." I'd say that this action by the NRA is a preemptive cover, so they look like they helped initiate this action, rather than be seen as dropping their guard and being weak, allowing ANY gun regulation, which, for a long time, has been their modus operandi. The good news is that even Republicans are talking about banning the gear that allowed the Las Vegas gunman to fire semi-automatic weapons as though they were machine guns. What's your take?

Rob Kall Social Media Pages:

Rob Kall is an award winning journalist, inventor, software architect, connector and visionary. His work and his writing have been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC, the HuffingtonPost, Success, Discover and other media. Check out his platform at RobKall.com He is the author of The Bottom-up Revolution; Mastering the Emerging World of Connectivity He's given talks and workshops to Fortune 500 execs and national medical and psychological organizations, and pioneered first-of-their-kind conferences in Positive Psychology, Brain Science and Story. He hosts some of the world's smartest, most interesting and powerful people on his Bottom Up Radio Show, and founded and publishes one of the top Google- ranked progressive news and opinion sites, OpEdNews.com more detailed bio: Rob Kall has spent his adult life as an awakener and empowerer-- first in the field of biofeedback, inventing products, developing software and a music recording label, MuPsych, within the company he founded in 1978-- Futurehealth, and founding, organizing and running 3 conferences: Winter Brain, on Neurofeedback and consciousness, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology (a pioneer in the field of Positive Psychology, first presenting workshops on it in 1985) and Storycon Summit Meeting on the Art Science and Application of Story-- each the first of their kind. Then, when he found the process of raising people's consciousness and empowering them to take more control of their lives one person at a time was too slow, he founded Opednews.com-- which has been the top search result on Google for the terms liberal news and progressive opinion for several years. Rob began his Bottom-up Radio show, broadcast on WNJC 1360 AM to Metro Philly, also available on iTunes, covering the transition of our culture, business and world from predominantly Top-down (hierarchical, centralized, authoritarian, patriarchal, big) to bottom-up (egalitarian, local, interdependent, grassroots, archetypal feminine and small.) Recent long-term projects include a book, Bottom-up-- The Connection Revolution, debillionairizing the planet (more...)



The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.





OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help. If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.
From Our Future

The once-proud political project known as "centrism" is collapsing around the globe, despite increasingly desperate attempts by billionaire backers to revive it.

The center-right's implosion can be seen in the weakened state of Theresa May's Conservatives in Great Britain, the recent setback for Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, and the withering of the GOP's Mitt Romney wing.

But what about the center-left, the "New Labour"/"New Democrat" phenomenon that once seemed to offer so much hope? Can it survive? More importantly, should it?

Political scientist Sheri Berman recently wrote an op-ed for the New York Times that made the case for Western Europe's failing social democrats. "Across Europe, social democratic or center-left parties are in decline," Professor Berman writes, adding:

"In elections this year in France and the Netherlands, the socialist and labor parties did so poorly that many question their future existence... Even if you don't support the left, this should be cause for concern. Social democratic parties were crucial to rebuilding democracy in Western Europe after 1945. They remain essential to democracy on the Continent today."

Professor Berman correctly diagnoses one aspect of what ails these parties, noting that center-left politicians like Britain's Tony Blair and Germany's Gerhard Schroder "celebrated the (free) market's upsides while ignoring its downsides."

It's worth lingering for a moment on those downsides: Economic inequality continued to skyrocket under Blair in Great Britain and Schroder in Germany, and Bill Clinton in the United States. The global economy was gravely damaged by the financial crisis of 2008, as Professor Berman notes. but that near-catastrophe wasn't caused by impersonal forces. It was the result of widespread banker fraud, made possible by the active collaboration of politicians from both parties.

The center-left rarely even chastised, much less prosecuted, bankers for their criminality in the runup to the economic crisis, whose devastation is still felt around the globe. Instead, it left them in charge of their institutions and in possession of their freedom and their ill-gotten gains.

When faced with the global economic disaster these bankers caused, Blair didn't name names. Instead he said things like this: "Look upon this crisis not as an occasion to regress in policy or attitude of mind; but as a chance to renew, as an opportunity to open a new chapter in humanity's progress to a better future for all."

The political program Professor Berman eulogizes didn't just fail to "offer a fundamental critique of capitalism." It provided capitalism's worst excesses with ideological cover. Instead of hewing to well-understood professions of left-leaning values like "equality," it offered cliches about "equality of opportunity" that were indistinguishable from those of its center-right opponents.

Worse, when confronted with the economic damage that bankers caused, the European center-left turned against its supposed constituency by bailing out the banks and imposing strict austerity measures on working people.

The U.K. Labour Party, like its European and American counterparts, became obsessed with proving its "fiscal responsibility" -- so much so that it was considered a major gaffe when party leader Ed Miliband failed to mention the deficit in an address. "No one should doubt our seriousness about tackling the deficit," he said by way of apology.

Democrats under Clinton and Obama shared the European center-left's deficit obsession, but were forced to back away from it somewhat under political pressure. European social democrats stuck to the austerity program and lost even more support than Democrats did from their core voters.

Then there's foreign policy. Blair misled his country into war in Iraq -- a deception which most Britons still find literally unforgivable, according to a 2016 poll -- while centrist Democrats largely voted to support it here in the United States. That hurt both parties. One study showed that Donald Trump, who cynically ran as an anti-war candidate, gained a statistically significant level of additional support from communities with high military casualties.

Next Page 1 | 2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
From Palestine Chronicle

BDS stands for "Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions." The BDS Movement was the outcome of several events that shaped the Palestinian national struggle and international solidarity with the Palestinian people following the Second Uprising (Intifada) in 2000.

Building on a decades-long tradition of civil disobedience and popular resistance, and invigorated by growing international solidarity with the Palestinian struggle as exhibited in the World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa in 2001, Palestinians moved into action.

In 2004, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) called for the boycott of Israeli government and academic institutions for their direct contributions to the military occupation and subjugation of the Palestinian people. This was followed in 2005 by a sweeping call for boycott made by 170 Palestinian civil society organizations.

1 -- What is the academic boycott?

PACBI has served as a medium through which the Palestinian point of view is articulated and presented to international audiences through the use of media, academic and cultural platforms. Because of its continued efforts and mobilization since 2004, many universities, teachers' unions, student groups and artists around the world have endorsed BDS and spoken out in support of the movement.

2 -- Why is BDS important?

In the absence of any international mechanism to end the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land, and the lack of international law being enforced, as expressed in dozens of un-implemented United Nations resolutions, BDS has grown to become a major platform to facilitate solidarity with the Palestinian people, apply pressure on and demand accountability from Israel and those who are funding, or in any way enabling, Israel's occupation of Palestine.

3 -- Is BDS a Palestinian or a global movement?

The call for BDS is made by Palestinian society. This is important, for no one has the right to represent the Palestinian struggle but Palestinians themselves.

However, the BDS movement itself -- although centred on Palestinian priorities -- is an inclusive global platform. Grounded in humanistic values, BDS aims to court world public opinion and appeals to international and humanitarian law to bring peace and justice in Palestine and Israel.

4 -- What are some of the historical precedents to BDS?

The boycott movement was at the heart of the South African struggle that ultimately defeated Apartheid in that country. Roots of that movement in South Africa go back to the 1950s and 60s, and even before. However, it was accelerated during the 1980s, which, ultimately, led to the collapse of the Apartheid regime in 1991.

There are many other precedents in history. Notable amongst them is the Boston Tea Party, protesting unfair taxation by the British Parliament; the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 (which ushered in the rise of the Civil Rights Movement led by Martin Luther King. Jr.), and the Salt March led by Mohandas Gandhi in 1930 (which initiated the civil disobedience campaign that was a major factor leading to India's independence in 1947.)

All of these are stark examples of popular movements using economic pressure to end the subjugation of one group by another. BDS is no different.

Next Page 1 | 2 | 3

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
Ken Burns' self-styled documentary, "The Viet Nam War ," has set off a large number of writers' commentaries, on the film itself and the accompanying book, on the War, on the U.S. role, on the aftermath, and so and so forth. One question about the horror (primarily for the people of Indo-China, most especially Viet Nam) that does not get asked too often has been "who won?" The conventional wisdom on the Right, the Center, and at least some of the Left, is that the U.S. lost. Well, if one goes back into the history of the War and reviews what the United States' original goals were, it becomes very clear that in fact the U.S. won. And here's the case for making that statement.

Ho Chi Minh (a nom de plume [how appropriately French, non/]), the once and future leader of a united Viet Nam, made his first appearance on the world stage at the post-World War I Paris Peace Conference, in 1919. Among other things, he attempted to approach one of the primary Conference leaders, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. He wanted to request support for getting the then French colonial power to establish some basic civil rights for the Vietnamese population. (France had conquered what became "French Indo-China, " beginning in the 1850s.) But the racist Wilson's famous "Fourteen Points " of "self-determination" apparently only applied to nations occupied by white folks. (Wilson, racist, you say? Well yes . Among other things it was Wilson who re-segregated the U.S. armed forces, as well as the bulk of the U.S. civil service.) Ho Chi Minh was simply fobbed off by Wilson. Viet Nam reverted to the French, with no changes made for the status of the local population. Ho Chi Minh (now a nom de guerre ) and his allies began an armed liberation movement during the 1920s.



1988 A memorial set up outside the front wall of the old US Embassy to commemorate the commandos who died during the attack at Tet, 1968

(Image by manhhai) Details DMCA



During the Second World War, French Indo-China was actually administered jointly by the Nazi-collaborationist regime of Vichy France and the Japanese, who had captured the whole of South-East Asia in 1940-42). After the war, Ho Chi Minh and his liberationist forces asked the (non-French) Allies to prevent the re-establishment of the French colonial regime. They were rebuffed, as they had been at Paris in 1919. Then began the French-Vietnamese War, which ended with the surrender of the French at Dien Bien Phu, in 1954. There followed the Geneva Peace Conference, and Agreement, between the French and the victorious Vietnamese forces, of 1954. It was guaranteed by the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. Pointedly, the United States refused to guarantee, endorse, or even accept the Agreement.

Although the Ho Chi Minh-led forces had won the War, there was a pro-French puppet government in the South, headed by the "emperor" Bai Dai. And so, the Agreement divided the country into something that had never previously existed, a "North" and a "South." This was supposed to be a temporary arrangement, until national elections --- elections that everyone knew would have been won overwhelmingly by Ho Chi Minh and his Communist Party --- were to be held, in 1956. The U.S. interest, not at all in synch with the Paris Agreement) was led by the fiercely anti-Communist Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and his equally fiercely anti-Communist brother, Allen Dulles, director of the Central Intelligence Agency.

One of the primary goals of the Dulles brothers , and indeed their ideological successors who have dominated U.S. foreign policy down to this very day, was to prevent the peaceful establishment of any form of socialism or anything that looked anything like it, in any country around the world. With the exception of Cuba, they have been largely successful. As noted, the US refused to sign or recognize the 1954 treaty. The Dullleses knew that if the plan in it were allowed to proceed the chances were very good that Vietnam would peacefully progress to socialism and be an economic success at it. If that happened, the same thing might well peacefully occur in many other Southeast Asian countries, were democracy to be given a chance. At that time, it appeared as if there might be a democratic, peaceful road to socialism, the might be emulated around the world. Not good for U.S.-led Western Imperialism. When looked at from that perspective, yes, the "domino theory" about the potential spread of socialism was quite correct.

And so, in the view of the US leadership of the time, everything that could be done to prevent the democratic process from introducing socialism to a country and then possibly succeeding in a peaceful setting had to be done. And so, with the puppet Bao Dai in place, the promised elections were put off again and again. Eventually, a national resistance movement, labeled the "Viet Cong" by the U.S. and its puppet, arose, and then U.S. forces, first as "advisors," were sent in. Then what became the "North Vietnamese" army (again, remember that "North Vietnam" was an entirely artificial construct) was drawn into it, and what became the "Viet Nam War" occurred.

And yes, in the end, militarily the United States seemed to have lost. Under enormous pressure at home, and an inability to actually win on the battlefield in Viet Nam (all of course complicated by "Watergate"), President Richard M. Nixon began the military disengagement. The final pullout, with those haunting photographs of people leaving by helicopter from the roof of the US embassy in Saigon as the legitimate government of Vietnam led by its armed forces entered the city, occurred under President Ford. But, and this is the important BUT, if one examines what happened in terms of the original goals for the US Vietnam intervention, set by Eisenhower and the Dulles brothers in the 1950's, the US won: those goals were achieved. The Vietnam War was actually a U.S. victory.

The peaceful establishment of socialism, as the result of a popular vote, no less, was prevented. Its spread by example and peaceful means to neighboring countries was prevented. The country is still trying to cope with the wide-spread use of Agent Orange by U.S. forces, massive "carpet-bombing" of non-strategic areas, and unexploded ordinance. Vietnam today has a sort of market socialist economy, but the country was ravaged by the almost 20 years of war, and two to four million of the best and the brightest of its people were killed. It is hardly the economic or social engine of the development of democratically-installed socialism that it might have become had it been it left alone. And so yes, in terms of the original American goals for the intervention, a win, a palpable win.

As for Ken Burns' film, in the Prologue he says that the war "was begun in good faith, by decent people." Well, no, Ken, it wasn't. From the time before the ink was dry on the signing page of the 1954 Geneva Agreement, the United States, led by indecent people, was working to undermine it, the undermining of which led directly, eventually to the War. And no, Mr. David Greenberg, while you may say that " 'The Vietnam War: An Intimate History' tells once again the painful tale of America's protracted, divisive and (most would now agree) futile involvement in the fight to keep South Vietnam unconquered by the Communist North [emphasis added]," the division into North and South was something brand-new to Viet Nam and was supposed to be only an administrative one, until those elections could have been held by 1956.

The U.S. role in Viet Nam has to be seen in the context of the (eventually successful) "75 Years War Against the Soviet Union" (1917-92), and the serial prevention of the peaceful establishment of socialist or even moderately left-wing, anti-colonialist, governments, around the world (see, e.g., Korea, 1945, Iran, 1953, Congo, 1960, Brazil, 1964, Chile, 1973, Afghanistan, 1978-86, Nicaragua, 1980s, and etc.).

Yes, indeed, once again, in terms of the original goals of U.S. Imperialism, led in the 1950's by the infamous Dulles Brothers, for the U.S. the Viet Nam War was a win, a palpable win.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PS: Why the "Last Viet Nam War" of the title? Well, in addition to the U.S. war of aggression, there was the original conquest by the French in the 1850s-60s, the anti-French liberation movement of the 1920s-30s, the Japanese conquest in 1940, and the Vietnamese-French War of 1946-53.
From John Pilger Website

Delegates to the recent Labour Party conference in the English seaside town of Brighton seemed not to notice a video playing in the main entrance. The world's third biggest arms manufacturer, BAE Systems, supplier to Saudi Arabia, was promoting its guns, bombs, missiles, naval ships and fighter aircraft.

It seemed a perfidious symbol of a party in which millions of Britons now invest their political hopes. Once the preserve of Tony Blair, it is now led by Jeremy Corbyn, whose career has been very different and is rare in British establishment politics.

Addressing the Labour conference, the campaigner Naomi Klein described the rise of Corbyn as "part of a global phenomenon. We saw it in Bernie Sanders' historic campaign in the US primaries, powered by millennials who know that safe centrist politics offers them no kind of safe future."

In fact, at the end of the US primary elections last year, Sanders led his followers into the arms of Hillary Clinton, a liberal warmonger from a long tradition in the Democratic Party.

As President Obama's Secretary of State, Clinton presided over the invasion of Libya in 2011, which led to a stampede of refugees to Europe. She gloated at the gruesome murder of Libya's president. Two years earlier, Clinton signed off on a coup that overthrew the democratically elected president of Honduras. That she has been invited to Wales on 14 October to be given an honorary doctorate by the University of Swansea because she is "synonymous with human rights" is unfathomable.

Like Clinton, Sanders is a cold-warrior and "anti-communist" obsessive with a proprietorial view of the world beyond the United States. He supported Bill Clinton's and Tony Blair's illegal assault on Yugoslavia in 1998 and the invasions of Afghanistan, Syria and Libya, as well as Barack Obama's campaign of terrorism by drone. He backs the provocation of Russia and agrees that the whistleblower Edward Snowden should stand trial. He has called the late Hugo Chavez -- a social democrat who won multiple elections - "a dead communist dictator."

While Sanders is a familiar liberal politician, Corbyn may be a phenomenon, with his indefatigable support for the victims of American and British imperial adventures and for popular resistance movements.

For example, in the 1960s and 70s, the Chagos islanders were expelled from their homeland, a British colony in the Indian Ocean, by a Labour government. An entire population was kidnapped. The aim was to make way for a US military base on the main island of Diego Garcia: a secret deal for which the British were "compensated" with a discount of $14 million off the price of a Polaris nuclear submarine.

I have had much to do with the Chagos islanders and have filmed them in exile in Mauritius and the Seychelles, where they suffered and some of them "died from sadness," as I was told. They found a political champion in a Labour Member of Parliament, Jeremy Corbyn.

So did the Palestinians. So did Iraqis terrorized by a Labour prime minister's invasion of their country in 2003. So did others struggling to break free from the designs of western power. Corbyn supported the likes of Hugo Chavez, who brought more than hope to societies subverted by the US behemoth.

And yet, now Corbyn is closer to power than he might have ever imagined, his foreign policy remains a secret.

By secret, I mean there has been rhetoric and little else. "We must put our values at the heart of our foreign policy," said Corbyn at the Labour conference. But what are these "values"?

Since 1945, like the Tories, British Labour has been an imperial party, obsequious to Washington: a record exemplified by the crime in the Chagos islands.

What has changed? Is Corbyn saying Labour will uncouple itself from the US war machine, and the US spying apparatus and US economic blockades that scar humanity?

Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).


davidswanson.org

(Image by davidswanson.org) Details DMCA

The Afghanistan War documentary by Ken Burns III may someday be set for release in Spring 2074.

Or maybe not. The peace movement in the U.S. made Vietnam, rather than Korea, a topic for Burns. The peace movement is struggling to make people in the United States aware that the war on Afghanistan even exists, much less that it is entering its 17th year -- making it something that people who still don't recognize Native Americans as full humans call "the longest U.S. war."

If there ever is such a PBS account of Vietghanistan, it will no doubt steer clear of the illegality, the lasting damage, and the wisdom of those who rightly opposed the crime before it began and all the way through. Yet such a film's content will likely be so awful, and depict such evil madness, clearly counterproductive on its own terms, that some people will finally catch on.

Or we could skip to the future and just watch War Machine with Brad Pitt right now, which gets a lot of it right.

In Burns' Vietnam, Harry Truman "inherited" a world in which the U.S. alliance with the USSR "had collapsed" -- all by itself apparently. Poor wittle Harry! From there, people of "good will" almost helplessly stumbled into the slaughtering of some 3.8 million Vietnamese plus hundreds of thousands each of Laotians and Cambodians, really with the best of intentions imaginable.

Now, of course, they've learned their lessons. Now their wars are run on a much higher moral plane -- often a robotic plane armed with missiles in which their commander in chief owns stock -- but still a much higher plane, killing hadji instead of gooks, and doing so with yet better intentions than before, and so even-handedly that it's become necessary to threaten 25 million gooks with extinction (John McCain's word) or total destruction (Donald Trump's words) as well.

It occurs to me that even though I wrote a book cataloging types of war lies and pleading with people to be prepared to recognize them -- and updated the book last year -- the world's second-oldest profession remains very much alive and has entered a new millennium with a bang -- not to mention some "fire and fury."

Despite North Korea's clear openness year after year to reasonable negotiations, Trump has simply declared talking to North Korea impossible. And the very real failures of North Korea's government, and its actual possession of weapons, are bizarrely depicted as reasons to attack it, if not to commit genocide and risk nuclear apocalypse -- as if the United States doesn't have grotesque failures and possess doomsday weapons itself.

Weeks back, Trump proposed finding some way to pretend that Iran was not complying with the agreement created two years ago as an alternative to an illegal, immoral U.S. attack on Iran. Now, Trump has given up and announced that he will simply declare the agreement to not be in his interest -- that is, the interest of war, the interest of someone seeking the profits and political high and domestic distraction of mass-murder-leadership and the music and flags and horse manure that accompany it.

Meanwhile, the permanent U.S. bureaucracy, the mass media, and every friend of the Clinton family who hopes to retain that status, has persuaded most of the country on the basis of no evidence that Russia is an evil threatening demon that put Trump in office -- and persuaded Trump not to pursue peace with Russia.

Add to that the -- thus far evidence-free -- Trump administration claims that Cuba has been attacking U.S. personnel.

And all of this is just the hunt for new wars that can be piled onto the almost unnoticed existing ones, including the war on Yemen waged by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, the war on Syria based largely on lies about a government actually guilty of other crimes (including, not many years back, crimes in partnership with the U.S.), the war on Libya that rolls on despite the successful destruction of that country's basic institutions, and of course the wars on Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, and Afghanistan -- the latter a nation that even U.S. think tanks categorize as a dictatorship or failed state after 16 full years of liberation-murders.

John Lennon once wrote these words. If you feel em, please scream along:

I'm sick and tired of hearing things

From uptight, short-sighted, narrow-minded hypocrites

All I want is the truth

Just gimme some truth

I've had enough of reading things

By neurotic, psychotic, pig-headed politicians

All I want is the truth

Just gimme some truth
Global Mustard Seed Market. Analysis And Forecast to 2025

http://www.indexbox.co.uk/store/world-mustard-seed-market-report-analysis-and-forecast-to-2020?utm_source=opr

http://www.indexbox.co.uk/store/world-mustard-seed-market-report-analysis-and-forecast-to-2020?utm_source=opr

IndexBox has just published a new report "World: Mustard Seed - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025" ().This report covers a detailed survey of the global mustard seed market. Within it, you will identify the latest data on market trends and opportunities by country, consumption, production and price developments, as well as the global trade (imports and exports). The outlook presents the market prospects through 2025.Countries coverage: Worldwide - the report contains statistical data for 200 countries and includes detailed profiles of the 50 largest consuming countries (United States, China, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Brazil, Italy, Russian Federation, India, Canada, Australia, Republic of Korea, Spain, Mexico, Indonesia, Netherlands, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Sweden, Nigeria, Poland, Belgium, Argentina, Norway, Austria, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Denmark, South Africa, Malaysia, Israel, Singapore, Egypt, Philippines, Finland, Chile, Ireland, Pakistan, Greece, Portugal, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Czech Republic, Qatar, Peru, Romania, Vietnam) + the largest producing countries.Product coverage:Mustard SeedData coverage: Mustard seed market volume and value; Per Capita consumption; Forecast of the market dynamics in the medium term; Global mustard seed production, split by region and country; Global mustard seed trade (exports and imports); Producer, export and import prices for mustard seed; Mustard seed market trends, drivers and restraints; Key market players and their profiles.Reasons to buy this report: Take advantage of the latest data; Find deeper insights into current market developments; Discover vital success factors affecting the market.AbstractGlobal mustard seed production amounted to 766 thousand tonnes in 2015, rising by +12.3% against the previous year level. Overall, the global mustard seed output pursued a pronounced growth from 2007 to 2015. The trend pattern, however, indicated some noticable fluctuations throughout the analyzed period. The total output figures increased at an average annual rate of +8.2%. The growth pace was the most rapid in 2009, when the output figure increased by +33% from the previous year level. Over the period under review, the global mustard seed production attained its maximum volume of 766 thousand tonnes in 2013. From 2014 to 2015, the total mustard seed output growth failed to regain its strength.Over the analyzed period, an increase in global mustard seed production was primarily driven by popularity of healthy eating and production of medical care and personal care goods. Furthermore, these key drivers are expected to continue promoting the mustard seed output in the immediate term. This general positive trend was largely conditioned by a robust expansion of the harvested area and solid gains of the yield figures.The world mustard seed harvested area amounted to 893 thousand ha in 2015, which was 9.9% more than the previous year figure. The harvested area indicated a noticeable increase over the period under review, representing a compound annual growth rate of +5.0% from 2007 to 2015. This trend pattern, however, indicated some mild fluctuations over the recent years. Over the period under review, the total mustard seed harvested area peaked in 2015, and is likely to continue its expansion in the immediate term, following rising demand for mustard seed globally.The global average mustard seed yield amounted to 9 thousand hg/ha in 2015, rising by 2.2% from the previous year figure. The yield figures recorded an upward trend over the period under review, with a compound annual growth rate standing at +3.0% from 2007 to 2015. These yield figures maintained, all in all, a stable trend pattern throughout the analyzed period. The highest mustard seed yields were recorded in 2015. Albeit an intensification of modern agricultural technics use, the future yield figures subject to a substantional risk of adverse weather conditions.Source:IndexBox is a leading market research publisher in the world. You can find more than 25,000 research reports in our web store, which cover global industries and regional markets. All the worldwide marketing data you need is at your fingertips.Company Name: IndexBoxContact Person: Kirill BezverhiEmail: kirill.bezverhi@indexbox.co.ukPhone: +44 20 3239 3063Adress: United Kingdom, 44 Main Street, Douglas, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, ML11 0QW
Global Kapok Market. Analysis And Forecast to 2025

http://www.indexbox.co.uk/store/world-kapok-market-report-analysis-and-forecast-to-2020?utm_source=opr

http://www.indexbox.co.uk/store/world-kapok-market-report-analysis-and-forecast-to-2020?utm_source=opr

IndexBox has just published a new report "World: Kapok - Market Report. Analysis And Forecast To 2025" ().This report covers an in-depth survey of the global kapok market. Within it, you will find the latest data on market trends and opportunities by country, consumption, production and price developments, as well as the global trade (imports and exports). The outlook outlines the market projections through 2025.Countries coverage: Worldwide - the report contains statistical data for 200 countries and includes detailed profiles of the 50 largest consuming countries (United States, China, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Brazil, Italy, Russian Federation, India, Canada, Australia, Republic of Korea, Spain, Mexico, Indonesia, Netherlands, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, Sweden, Nigeria, Poland, Belgium, Argentina, Norway, Austria, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Colombia, Denmark, South Africa, Malaysia, Israel, Singapore, Egypt, Philippines, Finland, Chile, Ireland, Pakistan, Greece, Portugal, Kazakhstan, Algeria, Czech Republic, Qatar, Peru, Romania, Vietnam) + the largest producing countries.Product coverage:KapokData coverage: Kapok market volume and value; Per Capita consumption; Forecast of the market dynamics in the medium term; Global kapok production, split by region and country; Global kapok trade (exports and imports); Producer, export and import prices for kapok; Kapok market trends, drivers and restraints; Key market players and their profiles.Reasons to buy this report: Take advantage of the latest data; Find deeper insights into current market developments; Discover vital success factors affecting the market.AbstractGlobal kapok production amounted to 293 thousand tonnes in 2015, declining by -2.9% against the previous year level. Overall, the global kapok output pursued a moderate growth from 2007 to 2015. The trend pattern, however, indicated some noticable fluctuations throughout the analyzed period. The total output figures increased at an average annual rate of +0.4%. The growth pace was the most rapid in 2011, when the output figure increased by +21% from the previous year level. In that year, the global kapok production reached its maximum volume, and is likely to continue its growth in the immediate term.This general positive trend was largely conditioned by a slight curtailment of the harvested area and a moderate improvement of the yield figures.The world kapok harvested area amounted to 177 thousand ha in 2015, which was -2.4% less than the previous year figure. The harvested area indicated a small contraction over the period under review, declining by an average annual rate of -0.1% from 2007 to 2015. This trend pattern was relatively stable throughout the analyzed period. Over the period under review, the total kapok harvested area peaked in 2009, falling back in the following year. From 2010 to 2015, the total kapok harvested area fluctuated at lower levels.The global average kapok yield amounted to 17 thousand hg/ha in 2015, fluctuating near the previous year level. The yield figures recorded an upward trend over the period under review, with a compound annual growth rate standing at +0.5% from 2007 to 2015. However, the yield levels displayed some little fluctuations over the recent years. The highest kapok yields were recorded in 2013, when it peaked at 17 thousand hg/ha. Afterwards, it decreased slightly and then fluctuated around these levels throughout the analyzed period.Source:IndexBox is a leading market research publisher in the world. You can find more than 25,000 research reports in our web store, which cover global industries and regional markets. All the worldwide marketing data you need is at your fingertips.Company Name: IndexBoxContact Person: Kirill BezverhiEmail: kirill.bezverhi@indexbox.co.ukPhone: +44 20 3239 3063Adress: United Kingdom, 44 Main Street, Douglas, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, ML11 0QW
Future of Financial Services Analysis 2017 (By Segment, Key Players and Applications) and Forecasts

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/2369781-future-of-financial-services-five-technological-trends-changing-the-banking-insurance

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/2369781-future-of-financial-services-five-technological-trends-changing-the-banking-insurance

www.linkedin.com/company/4828928

https://twitter.com/WiseGuyReports

https://www.facebook.com/Wiseguyreports-1009007869213183/?fref=ts

SummaryThe world of financial services is changing. The recent introduction of FinTech innovations is beginning to shake up the market and improve and streamline financial services and disrupt the order of things. Furthermore, todays generation of customers have very different habits and requirements and insurance companies, banks, currencies, payment services and financial advising will all have to change if they are to remain relevant to the coming generations. Incumbent players in the industry are listening however and many have implemented significant changes to their business models in order to adapt for the future. For instance; Block Chain technology has shown itself to have a great number of potential uses and banks want it for their own. Cashless societies are moving closer to reality and in certain countries, people are finding carrying cash increasingly irrelevant. Cybercrime is now big business and protecting customers from attack is now expensive and difficult. For its part, the stale insurance market has been using new technologies to break the mold and robo-advisors are becoming the norm in the wealth management industry.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Key HighlightsThe rise of cryptocurrencies is due in the main to the clever technology that allows it to function as a kind of distributed ledger system, called the Block Chain. Many in financial services have been skeptical of cryptocurrencies; seeing their trading volatility and resistance to normal financial regulation in a dim light. However, whilst spurning cryptocurrencies, the financial services industry has woken up to the potential of the Block Chain technology. The Block Chain is effectively a far superior and safe database to any current systems that can be altered in multiple places at once across country borders and markets and can work for many more things than just money alone.The cashless economy has been a longstanding ambition of the financial services industry. Now changes in culture towards the use of digital money for everyday purposes, even tiny purchases, and innovative technology, have allowed countries such as Sweden to move very close to a cashless society. Innovation in transactions and banking has spread efforts to grow the cashless economy to the developing world, ensuring the move away from hard currency is likely to become a global affair. Problems, of course, remain and must be overcome to ensure concerns regarding change are addressed.Robo-advisors are a new category of financial service product that can offer some unique benefits to those interested in wealth management services. From start-ups to the biggest incumbent players, most institutions in the wealth management industry have their own services. Companies offering these products are capturing the desire for cheaper monthly rates, advice more heavily based on mathematics and fully impartial advice. Essentially what these companies are trying to provide, or what is the long term aim of this type of product, is an AI wealth management service and the robo-advisor market today is a kind of halfway house between a traditional human advisor and what will eventually be the norm, when full AI tools role out in the future.Scope- Examining the changing implications of new Fintech coming in to the FS market- Looking at the disruptive forces in the payments, cryptocurrency, blockchain, cyber crime and insurance world- Learn whether the hype surround these new innovations are justified and just what impact they might haveReasons to buy- What is cryptocurrency and why are banks spending so heavily in developing their own types of blockchains?- Just how far has the idea of a cashless society spread and what the factors effecting its adoption?- What is the financial services industry doing to counter the highly dangerous threat from cyber crime?- Just how has new technology been able to revitalize certain areas of the insurance industry?- What are robo advisors and how are they helping to shake up the wealth managment industry?Table of Content: Key PointsExecutive Summary 2Block Chain and Cryptocurrency: Financial markets racing to adopt tech 2Cashless economy spreading as culture shifts and technology solves problems 2Financial services developing to counter cyber-crime threats 2Insurance market set for rapid change after embracing technology 2Robo-Advisors: Complex algorithms and AI are proving popular in wealth management 3Block Chain and Cryptocurrency: Financial markets racing to adopt the tech 8Block Chain is the potential foundation of a more secure internet ledger system 8Block Chain operates like a network file that everyone can access 9Cryptocurrency mining is an entirely new industry that runs the Block Chain 10Currency value allows it to escape all bank charges currently 10Cryptocurrencies Bitcoin and Ethereum are very different enterprises 11Banks have to solve a particular problem with Block Chain tech 12R3 is one of the start-ups hoping to woo the big banks 12IBM is building a Block Chain network for European banks 12Cashless economy spreading as culture shifts and technology solves problems 14ContinuedACCESS REPORT @Get in touch:LinkedIn:Twitter:Facebook:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Storage Software Market to Record Sturdy Growth by 2025

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/18280

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/18280

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

Storage software solve the problem of unpredictable storage requirements faced by the enterprises. The amount of digital information generated is increasing at a rapid pace which is making it difficult for traditional storage systems to store and manage data. Storage software is preferred over traditional storage systems because of its scalability and flexibility features. Storage software optimizes data automatically and moves frequently used data to flash storage.Storage software is rapidly gaining traction as many companies are increasing their IT budget for data storage. This is because of large amount of data generated from enterprises which includes both internal applications and external communication. Many new start-ups such as Maxta, Formation Data Systems and SwiftStack have entered the storage software market and also raised significant amount of investment from venture capitalists.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Storage Software Market: Drivers and RestraintsReduction in data storage cost is one of the most important drivers for storage software market. The data generated from various industries such as BFSI, healthcare and retail are mostly unstructured data. In traditional storage infrastructures, unstructured data is stored across multiple silos for different applications and platforms, thus increasing the storage cost. However, storage software store and manage the data locally and make it accessible to the organizations user anytime anywhere. This reduces the data storage cost.Rising cost of storage software is one of the biggest challenges deterring the growth of the market. The rapid increase in demand of storage software due to huge amount of data generation is leading to the increasing cost of storage software. Also, replacement of legacy storage systems with storage software create hassles for the organizations due to which many companies are reluctant to replace it.Global Storage Software Market: Market SegmentationGlobal Storage Software Market can be divided into three segments, based on Enterprise Size, Deployment Model and Application.Segmentation on basis of Enterprise Size in Storage Software market:The segments in Storage Software market by enterprise size include:Small and medium enterprisesLarge enterprisesSegmentation on basis of Deployment Type for Storage Software Market:The major segments of Storage Software market on basis of deployment type include:On-PremisesCloud-basedSegmentation on basis of Application for Storage Software Market:The major segments of Storage Software market on basis of application include:BFSIGovernmentHealthcareRetailTelecom and ITOthersGlobal Storage Software Market TrendsOne of the important trends happening in the global storage software market is enterprises moving towards cloud storage. Increasing adoption of cloud computing is leading to companies aggressively shifting to cloud storage. Further, global storage software market is also witnessing a number of acquisitions in the industry. Companies are acquiring cloud solution providers in order to expand their services portfolio. For instance, in 2015 IBM acquired Blue Box, a managed cloud provider.A sample of this report is available upon request @Global Storage Software Competitive LandscapeSome of the prominent players in the Storage Software market include CA, Dell EMC, Fujitsu, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP, Huawei, IBM Corporation, NetApp, Oracle, Red Hat, Inc. and Symantec Corporation among others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Human Growth Hormone Market 2017 Industry Research Report

https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1329815&type=E

This report studies Human Growth Hormone focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringNovo NordiskPfizerEli LillyMerck SeronoF. Hoffmann-La RocheFerring PharmaceuticalsGeneScience PharmaceuticalsIpsenLG Life SciencesSandoz InternationalAnhui Anke BiotechnologyOrder a copy of complete Research Report @Table of Contents1 Human Growth Hormone Market Overview11.1 Product Overview and Scope of Human Growth Hormone11.2 Human Growth Hormone Segment by Applications21.2.1 Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD)31.2.2 Turner Syndrome41.2.3 Chronic Renal Insufficiency41.2.4 Prader Willi Syndrome42 Global Human Growth Hormone Market Competition by Manufacturers152.1 Global Human Growth Hormone Production and Share by Manufacturers (2016 and 2017)152.2 Global Human Growth Hormone Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2016 and 2017)172.3 Global Human Growth Hormone Average Price by Manufacturers (2016 and 2017)202.4 Manufacturers Human Growth Hormone Headquarter Distribution and Founded Time222.5 Human Growth Hormone Market Competitive Situation and Trends23About UsQYReseachReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact UsBrooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Brewing Machinery Market Study 2017-2022 Lehui, American Beer Equipment, Ningbo Brewing Machinery Equipment

Brewing Machinery

http://bit.ly/2xW9pzg

http://bit.ly/2gcpHfK

http://www.spiremarketresearch.com

Brewing Machinery Market Research 2017A market study  Global Brewing Machinery Market  will help you understand, formulate and implement strategic decisions by offering critical data, insights and analysis from technology as well as commercial perspective on the Brewing Machinery market. It encloses an in-depth Research of the Brewing Machinery market state and the competitive landscape globally. This report consist of comprehensive market data, on a granular level, providing a holistic picture of the Brewing Machinery market for maximum clarity and understanding.The Global Brewing Machinery Market 2017 report includes Brewing Machinery market Revenue, market Share, Brewing Machinery industry volume, market Trends, Brewing Machinery Growth aspects. A wide range of applications, Utilization ratio, Supply and demand analysis are also consist in the report.It shows manufacturing capacity, Brewing Machinery Price during the Forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Sample Report Of Brewing Machinery Market:Manufacturers Analysis and Top Players of Global Brewing Machinery Market 2017 : American Beer Equipment Guangzhou GDE Machinery Lehui Group Ningbo Brewing Machinery EquipmentFirstly, the report covers the top Brewing Machinery manufacturing industry players worldwide. It also characterizes the market based on geological regions like United States, Europe, Japan, China, Southeast Asia and Middle East and Africa. Furthermore the report covers Brewing Machinery market on the basis of product types and its applications.The Brewing Machinery report gives information on the top company profiles, market share, contact details and manufacturing cost analysis along with value chain analysis of Brewing Machinery industry, Brewing Machinery industry rules and policies, circumstances driving the growth of the market and compulsion blocking the growth. Brewing Machinery Market development scope and various business strategies are also mentioned in this report.Enquiry For Buying Report :The Brewing Machinery research report splits on the basis product types that are currently in demand and available in the market along with their cost breakup, manufacturing volume, import/export scheme, production and contribution to the Brewing Machinery market revenue worldwide.Finally, Brewing Machinery market report gives you details about the market research findings and conclusion which helps you to develop profitable market strategies to gain competitive advantage.About Us:"Spire Market Research" is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We have a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of the technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USAWeb:Email: sales@spiremarketresearch.com
Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market 2017-2022 Key Players: WNS, Evalueserve, EXL services, Pangea3, Grail Research, Mu Sigma, Pulsar, Value labs, Pharma KPO Inc. Analysis and Forecast 2022

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/538835-global-knowledge-process-outsourcing-market-professional-survey-report-2016

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/538835-global-knowledge-process-outsourcing-market-professional-survey-report-2016

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/538835-global-knowledge-process-outsourcing-market-professional-survey-report-2016

This report mainly covers the followingSegment regions including (the separated region report can also be offered)North AmericaEuropeJapanChinaSoutheast AsiaIndiaRequest a Sample Report @The players list (Partly, Players you are interested in can also be added)WNSEvalueserveEXL servicesPangea3Grail ResearchMu SigmaPulsarValue labsPharma KPO Inc.Zodiac SolutionsMoodysOraclePangea3Pulsar knowledge centerEXL ServicesWith 15 top producers.Data including (both global and regions): Market Size (both volume  and value  million USD), Market Share, Production data, Consumption data, Trade data, Price  , Cost, Gross margin etc.More detailed information, please refer to the attachment file and table of contents. If you have other requirements, please contact us, we can also offer!Access Complete Report@Table of Contents ( Key Points)1 Industry Overview of Knowledge Process Outsourcing1.1 Definition and Specifications of Knowledge Process Outsourcing1.1.1 Definition of Knowledge Process Outsourcing1.1.2 Specifications of Knowledge Process Outsourcing1.2 Classification of Knowledge Process Outsourcing1.3 Applications of Knowledge Process Outsourcing1.4 Industry Chain Structure of Knowledge Process Outsourcing1.5 Industry Overview and Major Regions Status of Knowledge Process Outsourcing1.5.1 Industry Overview of Knowledge Process Outsourcing1.5.2 Global Major Regions Status of Knowledge Process Outsourcing1.6 Industry Policy Analysis of Knowledge Process Outsourcing1.7 Industry News Analysis of Knowledge Process Outsourcing2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Knowledge Process Outsourcing2.1 Raw Material Suppliers and Price Analysis of Knowledge Process Outsourcing2.2 Equipment Suppliers and Price Analysis of Knowledge Process Outsourcing2.3 Labor Cost Analysis of Knowledge Process Outsourcing2.4 Other Costs Analysis of Knowledge Process Outsourcing2.5 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Knowledge Process Outsourcing2.6 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Knowledge Process Outsourcing.5 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Regional Market Analysis5.1 North America Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Analysis5.1.1 North America Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Overview5.1.2 North America 2011-2016E Knowledge Process Outsourcing Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.1.3 North America 2011-2016E Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales Price Analysis5.1.4 North America 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Share Analysis5.2 Europe Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Analysis5.2.1 Europe Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Overview5.2.2 Europe 2011-2016E Knowledge Process Outsourcing Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.2.3 Europe 2011-2016E Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales Price Analysis5.2.4 Europe 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Share Analysis5.3 Japan Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Analysis5.3.1 Japan Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Overview5.3.2 Japan 2011-2016E Knowledge Process Outsourcing Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.3.3 Japan 2011-2016E Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales Price Analysis5.3.4 Japan 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Share Analysis5.4 China Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Analysis5.4.1 China Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Overview5.4.2 China 2011-2016E Knowledge Process Outsourcing Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.4.3 China 2011-2016E Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales Price Analysis5.4.4 China 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Share Analysis5.5 Southeast Asia Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Analysis5.5.1 Southeast Asia Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Overview5.5.2 Southeast Asia 2011-2016E Knowledge Process Outsourcing Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.5.3 Southeast Asia 2011-2016E Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales Price Analysis5.5.4 Southeast Asia 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Share Analysis5.6 India Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Analysis5.6.1 India Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Overview5.6.2 India 2011-2016E Knowledge Process Outsourcing Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.6.3 India 2011-2016E Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales Price Analysis5.6.4 India 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Market Share Analysis6 Global 2011-2016E Knowledge Process Outsourcing Segment Market Analysis (by Type)6.1 Global 2011-2016E Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales by Type6.2 Different Types Knowledge Process Outsourcing Product Interview Price Analysis6.3 Different Types Knowledge Process Outsourcing Product Driving Factors Analysis7 Global 2011-2016E Knowledge Process Outsourcing Segment Market Analysis (by Application)7.1 Global 2011-2016E Consumption by Application7.2 Different Application Product Interview Price Analysis7.3 Different Application Product Driving Factors Analysis8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Knowledge Process Outsourcing8.1 WNS8.1.1 Company Profile8.1.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.1.3 WNS 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.1.4 WNS 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Business Region Distribution Analysis8.2 Evalueserve8.2.1 Company Profile8.2.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.2.3 Evalueserve 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.2.4 Evalueserve 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Business Region Distribution Analysis8.3 EXL services8.3.1 Company Profile8.3.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.3.3 EXL services 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.3.4 EXL services 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Business Region Distribution Analysis8.4 Pangea38.4.1 Company Profile8.4.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.4.3 Pangea3 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.4.4 Pangea3 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Business Region Distribution Analysis8.5 Grail Research8.5.1 Company Profile8.5.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.5.3 Grail Research 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.5.4 Grail Research 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Business Region Distribution Analysis8.6 Mu Sigma8.6.1 Company Profile8.6.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.6.3 Mu Sigma 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.6.4 Mu Sigma 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Business Region Distribution Analysis8.7 Pulsar8.7.1 Company Profile8.7.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.7.3 Pulsar 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.7.4 Pulsar 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Business Region Distribution Analysis8.8 Value labs8.8.1 Company Profile8.8.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.8.3 Value labs 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.8.4 Value labs 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Business Region Distribution Analysis8.9 Pharma KPO Inc.8.9.1 Company Profile8.9.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.9.3 Pharma KPO Inc. 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.9.4 Pharma KPO Inc. 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Business Region Distribution Analysis8.10 Zodiac Solutions8.10.1 Company Profile8.10.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.10.3 Zodiac Solutions 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.10.4 Zodiac Solutions 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Business Region Distribution Analysis8.11 Moodys8.11.1 Company Profile8.11.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.11.3 Moodys 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.11.4 Moodys 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Business Region Distribution Analysis8.12 Oracle8.12.1 Company Profile8.12.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.12.3 Oracle 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.12.4 Oracle 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Business Region Distribution Analysis8.13 Pangea38.13.1 Company Profile8.13.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.13.3 Pangea3 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.13.4 Pangea3 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Business Region Distribution Analysis8.14 Pulsar knowledge center8.14.1 Company Profile8.14.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.14.3 Pulsar knowledge center 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.14.4 Pulsar knowledge center 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Business Region Distribution Analysis8.15 EXL Services8.15.1 Company Profile8.15.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.15.3 EXL Services 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.15.4 EXL Services 2015 Knowledge Process Outsourcing Business Region Distribution AnalysisContinuedMake an enquiry before buying this Report @ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Combined Heat And Power (CHP) Market is growing at CAGR of ~6.94% to reach a billion dollar figure in coming years

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4361

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/combined-heat-power-market-4361

Market HighlightsCombined Heat and Power plants are typically embedded close to the end user and helps to reduce transportation and distribution losses, improving the overall performance of the electricity transmission and distribution network. It also acts as energy multiplier, helping to cut carbon emissions, increase power reliability and save money. This technology is widely available, with further opportunities for development and enhancement. Furthermore, only suitable where there is a need for both electricity and hot water on site which acts as a barrier for the growth of the market. Presence of a large number of companies offering diverse products and services related to CHP installations is fueling competition in the Global CHP Installation Market.Global Combined heat and power (CHP) Market is predicted to grow at approximately 6.94% by 2023Market Research AnalysisCogeneration is appropriate where a facility has a continuous demand for heating or cooling as well as demand for electrical or mechanical power. It is generally installed on-site for large facilities, such as factories, institutions, commercial buildings, multi-unit residential buildings and district energy systems. Cogeneration (CHP) is a well-proven technology and recognized as a cleaner alternative to traditional centralized generation. Each cogeneration system is adapted to meet the needs of an individual building or facility and it is modified according to its location, size, and energy requirements of the site. CHP is not only limited for specific type of facility but also used in operations with sustained heating requirements. CHP process can be applied to both renewable and fossil fuels. The specific technologies employed, and the efficiencies they achieve will vary, but in every situation CHP offers the capability to make more efficient and effective use of valuable primary energy resources.Request a Sample Copy @Key PlayersThe key players of global combined heat and power (CHP) market are MAN Diesel & Turbo SE (Germany), Caterpillar Inc.(U.S.), Mitsubishi heavy Industries ltd.(Japan), General Electric (U.S.), Cummins(U.S.), Bosch Thermotechnology Ltd.( U.K), ABB Limited(Switzerland ), ENER-G Rudox (U.S.), Veolia (France )and others.CHP generates electricity whilst also capturing usable heat that is produced in this process. This contrasts with conventional ways of generating electricity where vast amounts of heat is simply wasted. Cogeneration systems can be powered by a variety of fuels, including natural gas, coal, oil, and alternative fuels such as biomass. Recent trend shows that natural gas is the predominant fuel for CHP systems, but biomass and other fuels, such as wastes or by-products from industrial processes, agriculture, or commercial activities are expected to gain a larger share with growing environmental and energy security concerns.For further information on this report, visit @The global combined heat and power market has been analyzed based on fuel, technology, type, application and regions. On the basis of fuel, the global combined heat and power market has been segmented as natural gas, coal, biomass and others. Based on technology, it is classified as, combined cycle, steam turbine, gas turbine and others. On the basis of type, it is segmented into large scale and small scale. Based on application, it is further classified as residential, commercial and industrial. Geographically, Europe accounts for one of the largest installed bases of cogeneration power plants in the world and continue to dominate the market of combined heat and power (CHP)About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Air Freight Market 2017 by Current & Upcoming Trends

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/1555368-air-freight-global-industry-almanac-2017

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/1555368-air-freight-global-industry-almanac-2017

www.linkedin.com/company/4828928

https://twitter.com/WiseGuyReports

https://www.facebook.com/Wiseguyreports-1009007869213183/?fref=ts

Pune, India, 6th October 2017: WiseGuyReports announced addition of new report, titled Air Freight Global Industry Almanac 2017.SummaryGlobal Air Freight industry profile provides top-line qualitative and quantitative summary information including: market size (value and volume 2012-16, and forecast to 2021). The profile also contains descriptions of the leading players including key financial metrics and analysis of competitive pressures within the market.SynopsisEssential resource for top-line data and analysis covering the global air freight market. Includes market size and segmentation data, textual and graphical analysis of market growth trends and leading companies.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Key Highlights- The air freight sector is defined as consisting of revenues generated from freight transportation by air.- Units of volumes are measured in freight ton-kilometers (FTK). Air freight volumes, consisting of freight, express, and diplomatic bags, include both domestic and international freight which for the purposes of this report are counted at each flight stage.- Value represents the revenue obtained by airline companies from freight transportation.- Any currency conversions used in the creation of this report have been calculated using constant 2016 annual average exchange rates.- The global air freight sector had total revenues of $93,647.8m in 2016, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 1.8% between 2012 and 2016.- Sector consumption volume increased with a CAGR of 2% between 2012 and 2016, to reach a total of 184,974.1 million FTK in 2016.- The air freight sector is heavily swayed by the global economy and also specifically by the economy of its largest players. In the case of air freight this is the US and China. With President Trumps trade policy and global price decreases in the price per FTK, this could spell trouble for the air freight sector.Scope- Save time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the size, growth, major segments, and leading players in the global air freight market- Use the Five Forces analysis to determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of the global air freight market- Leading company profiles reveal details of key air freight market players global operations and financial performance- Add weight to presentations and pitches by understanding the future growth prospects of the global air freight market with five year forecasts by both value and volumeReasons to buy- What was the size of the global air freight market by value in 2016?- What will be the size of the global air freight market in 2021?- What factors are affecting the strength of competition in the global air freight market?- How has the market performed over the last five years?- What are the main segments that make up the global air freight market?Table of Content: Key PointsEXECUTIVE SUMMARYMarket valueMarket value forecastMarket volumeMarket volume forecastGeography segmentationIntroductionWhat is this report about?Who is the target reader?How to use this reportDefinitionsGlobal Air FreightMarket OverviewMarket DataMarket SegmentationMarket outlookFive forces analysisAir Freight in Asia-PacificMarket OverviewMarket DataMarket SegmentationMarket outlookFive forces analysisAir Freight in EuropeMarket OverviewMarket DataMarket SegmentationMarket outlookFive forces analysisAir Freight in FranceMarket OverviewMarket DataMarket SegmentationContinuedACCESS REPORT @Get in touch:LinkedIn:Twitter:Facebook:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Sodium Formate Market - Market is expected to witness substantial growth during Forecast by 2024

Sodium Formate Market

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=20315

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=20315

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

Sodium formate is the sodium salt of formic acid and appears as a white powder. Sodium formate is used in numerous printing and dyeing processes. In addition, it is also used as a buffering agent for mineral acids to increase their pH, as a food additive (E237), and as a de-iceing agent. Sodium florate is non toxic, biodegradable and environmental friendly. In biology, sodium formate is used as a cryoprotectant for X-ray diffraction experiments on protein crystals, which are conducted at a high temperature to reduce the effects of radiation damage. Sodium formate is prepared in the laboratory by neutralizing formic acid with sodium carbonate. Sodium formate is also obtained by reacting sodium hydroxide with chloroform. For commercial use, sodium formate is manufactured by absorbing carbon monoxide under pressure in solid sodium hydroxide. Sodium formate is also used in the production of formic acid, sodium hydrosulphite, leather tanning and as an enzyme stabilizer in detergent. Sodium formate is hygroscopic in nature and should be carefully handled to prevent absorption of moisture. Furthermore, sodium florate is used in the oilfield industry to form clear brine used in work over and completion fluids.Browse Full Report With ToC @The growth in end user industries is expected to increase the consumption of sodium formate. In addition, increasing demand for sodium formate from emerging economies of Asia Pacific and Latin America is expected to increase the consumption of sodium formate. The growth in food and beverage and dyeing and printing industry is expected to boost demand for sodium formate in the emerging economies. However, availability of substitutes and fluctuating raw material prices could hamper the growth of this market. Urea can substitute sodium formate for deicing applications.Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing market for sodium formate followed by North America, Europe and Latin America. India and China are the largest consumers of sodium formate in Asia Pacific. Sodium formate manufacturers are shifting their production facilities from developed economies to emerging economies of Asia Pacific and Latin America due to availability of cheap land, skilled labor and government subsides. Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan, and Vietnam are expected to be other major consumers of sodium formate in Asia Pacific. Latin America is also a major consumer of sodium formate and expected to experience moderate to high growth. Europe and North America are mature markets and expected to experience moderate growth.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Sodium formate market is dominated by large and medium chemical and materials companies. Some of the key players in this market are Gansu Winshine Metallurgy Chemicals Co., Ltd.(China), Zibo Heye Chemical Co., Ltd. (China), Wuhan Shengkai Chemicals Company Limited (China), Puyang Pengxin Chemical Co., Ltd. (China), Yichang Jiangshan Chemical Technology Co., Ltd.(China), Weifang Graceland Chemicals Co., Ltd (China), Dongying J&M Chemical Co., Ltd. (China), Shandong Yuanming Biotechnology Co., Ltd.(China), Baoding Guoxiu Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. (China), Heyuan Infinity Chemical Co., Ltd.(China), Zibo Pulisi Chemical Co., Ltd.(China), Zibo Aiheng New Material Co., Ltd. (China), Wuxi R And D Chemical Co., Ltd. (China), Toronto Research Chemicals Inc (Canada), Windia Speciality Chemicals (Chennai) P. Ltd. (India), Global Drilling Fluids and Chemicals Limited (India), Kamdhenu Chemicals (India) and PK Chlorochem Private Limited (India) among others. Companies are using strategic acquisitions and mergers to increase their market share. In addition, companies are using aggressive marketing tactics to remain competitive in the market.About Us:-Transparency Market Research is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers.We are privileged with highly experienced team of Analysts, Researchers and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Smart Grid Security Market to become worth US$10.58 bn by 2025

https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1293636

https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=1293636

http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG

The outcome of installation of smart grid security systems is data collection and use for perfect modeling of networks especially at LV (low voltage) level. Increasing installation of smart grid systems due to more active distribution, exploiting active and reactive control capabilities of distributed energy resources. This factor is acting as a driver of this market and is expected a significant growth during the forecast period.Smart grid security is a very advanced energy distribution solution for their target consumers. It has the highest adoption rate in North America. In Europe, smart grid security is popular in the U.K., Germany and France among others. Japan holds the largest market for smart grid security in the Asia Pacific followed by China. There are opportunities in developing nations such as India and Africa. North America is the largest market for smart grid security at present. Asia Pacific is currently the fastest-growing market and is expected to become the largest market during the forecast period.Click to get sample PDF with TOC:The market of smart grid security is segmented into three categories: by deployment, by security type and by application. In terms of deployment the market of smart grid security is segmented by cloud and on-premises. By security type the market of smart grid is segmented by database security, network security, application security and endpoint security. In terms of application the market of smart grid security is segmented by smart meters, smart application, renewable energy resources and energy efficient resources.Global Smart Grid Security Market: Drivers and RestraintsAdditionally, technological developments are a major driver of the smart grid security market. The infrastructure is gradually shifting toward digitalization of grid systems, especially for commercial usage, which is anticipated to propel the market for smart grid security over the forecast period globally. This drives the global smart grid security market positivelyand is anticipated a robust growth during the forecast period. However, consumers lack of awareness about power supply is resulting in a declining growth rate of smart grid security industry. Therefore, before executing the smart grid concepts, the consumers need to be aware about this systems and its contribution towards low carbon economy and its benefits.Moreover, the developing nations such as India, Brazil and others are slow in adopting the smart grid security systems. Therefore there is medium impact of this restraint and is expected to decrease during the forecast period. Additionally the idea of a smart grid security rises up out of the combination of the power frameworks perspective of the power grid with its comparing data systems view. The consolidated view that uses the data system to upgrade the working of the power matrix is for the most part what is known as the smart grid security.Global Smart Grid Security Market: SegmentationIn terms of security type the market is segmented by database security, network security, application security and endpoint security Database security refers to the aggregate measures used to ensure and secure a database or database administration programming from ill-conceived use and malicious dangers and attacks. It is an expansive term that incorporates a large number of procedures, devices, and techniques that guarantee security inside a database situation. In addition, Network security comprises of the approaches and practices received to monitor and prevent unauthorized access, modification, misuse or denial of a network accessible resources and computer network.Enquiry:Global Smart Grid Security Market: Competitive AnalysisThe global market of smart grid security report provides company market share analysis of the various key participants. Key players have also been profiled on the basis of company overview. Global key participants of the smart grid security market include Intel Corporation (California, U.S.), Siemens AG (Munich, Germany), Symantec Corporation (California, U.S.), IBM Corporation (New York, U.S.), Cisco Systems, Inc (California, U.S.), Leidos Holdings, Inc. (Virginia, U.S.), Honeywell International Inc. (New Jersey, U.S.), BAE Systems Plc (Farnborough, United Kingdom), N-Dimension Solutions Inc. (Ontario, Canada) and AlertEnterprise Inc. (California, U.S.)ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:
Traumatic Brain Injury Therapeutics Market Poised for Steady Growth in the Future

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/5744

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/5744

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

Traumatic Brain Injury or TBI is sustained from severe or mild damage to the brain tissue from accidents or assaults. In North America, over 1.7 million people suffer annually from TBI and the consequent medical care costs exceed USD 70 billion. According to WHO, the global incidence for TBI is close to 10 million people annually. Brain tissue has one of the least self-repair capabilities making it highly vulnerable to injuries and often leading to permanent loss or disability of motor functions which dramatically reduces the quality of life for any individual. Most neuronal damage occurs sometime after the injury takes place giving a chance for a therapeutic intervention. The previous intervention with Glucocorticoids is not considered due to their harmful effects.A major challenge in developing therapeutics for TBI lie in overcoming the blood-brain barrier while delivering drugs. In May 2013, DARPA awarded USD 6 million to develop nanotech therapy for combating TBI to a team from University of California San Diego.Request for Report TOC @Nanotechnology offers chances to overcome this physiological challenge of blood-brain barrier to deliver therapeutics. These porous silicon nanoparticles can carry a significant drug load through the blood brain barrier to treat TBI in patients. Other potential treatments include stem cell therapy for CNS trauma and use of apoE-mimetic compounds. Cognosci, a privately held start-up from North Carolina, U.S. has novel therapeutic compounds in pipeline for the treatment of TBI which the company expects to launch in coming years with a strategic partnership alliance.Currently there are two notable clinical trials for gauging the capability of progesterone for traumatic brain injury. The ProTECT III (progesterone for traumatic brain injury) is currently conducted by the Emory University and is sponsored by the NIH. The study has recruited patients from 31 TBI clinical centers across the United States. SyNAPSe, initiated by BHR, a branch of Besins Pharma, in collaboration with the American Brain Injury Consortium (ABIC) and the European Brain Injury Consortium (EBIC), is another Phase III study investigating the efficacy and safety of progesterone in patients with severe traumatic brain injuries.Request for Report Sample @Since there are currently no approved therapeutic products, the sector is teeming with opportunities for new entrants as well as stalwarts of the pharmaceutical industry. Some of the notable companies developing therapeutics for TBI are Cognosci, Medicortex, Amarantus BioScience Holdings, Aldagen, NeuroScience Pharmaceuticals and Targacept. Increasing incidences of TBI due to rising assaults, accidents and military combats over the world are expected to drive the growth of the market.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Our client success stories feature a range of clients from Fortune 500 companies to fast-growing startups. PMRs collaborative environment is committed to building industry-specific solutions by transforming data from multiple streams into a strategic asset.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway,7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesTel: +1-646-568-7751Tollfree: +1 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWebsite:
Asia-Pacific Grain Oriented Electrical Steel Market Outlook and Worldwide Foresight to 2022

http://bit.ly/2y4EqmS

http://bit.ly/2xVHMsH

http://www.globalinforeports.com

Global Grain Oriented Electrical Steel Market by Manufacturers, Countries, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022A new and latest research report proposed by Global Info Reports renders a market summary of the Grain Oriented Electrical Steel Market industry. This widespread analysis comprises of market potentials and challenges, scope of product, sales volume, market revenue, estimates and rate of growth. The report also digs into all the major market players across the globe.Get Free Sample Copy of this Report @Chemical industry segment has a crucial role in accomplishing daily requirements of the common man. It is one of the most former industries which attributes substantially to not just economic but industrial growth as well. Nearly, each and every industry segment such as oil and gas, retail, manufacturing, agriculture and many others, depends heavily on the chemical industry. In the recent years, the global Grain Oriented Electrical Steel Market industry has experienced an astonishing change structure-wise such as enhancements in technology, increasing raw material costs, manufacturing base been channeled to Asian countries, novel promising growth markets, etc.The report highlights crucial dynamics and in-depth analysis of the market segment with concentrating on factual data, present industry activities, growth opportunities, new product inventions, and market forecast for the anticipated frame of time along with leading market players, market study based on several regions, and extensive product. The Grain Oriented Electrical Steel Market report assists in determining the projection in this meticulous industry by rendering precise potential demand prognoses. These prognoses will aid the market players to take vital decisions and take hold of the untapped regions and new entrants.This research report incorporates the current market size of this industry. It also distinguishes and assesses complex value chains across the globe such as primary factors, market growth restrains, and propelling strategies. This latest market report examines the Grain Oriented Electrical Steel Market by several segments such as regions, applications, companies, and for the proposed time frame. The report gives a complete insight of this industry consisting the qualitative and quantitative analysis provided for this market industry along with prime development trends, competitive analysis, and vital factors that are predominant in the Concrete Seale Market.Market Scope:Various aspects are considered in this all-inclusive market research report and it inspects the global Grain Oriented Electrical Steel Market industry from an all axis perspective. It gives in-depth information on the future viewpoint, key developments, market dynamics and growth, latest trends in the market, and potential investment segment.Browse complete summary of this report @The report furnishes: An in-depth widespread market analysis of the global Grain Oriented Electrical Steel Market Analysis of global market trends, forecasts for 2017, and predictions of CAGRs through proposed time frame. Thorough analysis of applications Mentioning of market players with their complete profile description Researches the vital market trends and novel developments technologically in the Grain Oriented Electrical Steel MarketThe research report comprises of markets comprehensive analysisgeographically on several important regions such as:1. China2. Japan3. Korea4. Taiwan5. Southeast Asia6. India7. AustraliaThe leading industry players across the globe are explored in detail in this report. It demonstrates product overview, company summary, and manufacturing cost, capacity, and market shares for most of the participants. The report portrays the complete overview of Grain Oriented Electrical Steel Market across the world including its cost/profit, demand/supply, import/export, capacity, production value, etc. The research report also prognosticates trends in the development of this industrys market. It cloaks current market analysis dynamically, downstream requirements as well as the upstream raw materials. Lastly, the report also segregates vital market figures which represent the market condition of Grain Oriented Electrical Steel Market manufacturers. The report can function as an assistive reference point for helping individuals as well as businesses from this segment.About Us:GIR Market Research is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. GIR Market Research is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and current database of expert insights on global industries, companies, products, and trends.Contact us:+1-888-376-9998 (US)Email- sales@globalinforeports.comWeb-
Worldwide Business Process-as-a-Service Market 2016 Trend, Analysis and Overview

ReportsWeb

http://www.reportsweb.com/global-business-process-as-a-service-market-2016-2020

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001291926/sample

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001291926/buying

BPaaS or cloud-based BPO services refer to the delivery of BPO services from the cloud. BPO solutions are hosted on remote infrastructure and managed by cloud providers. BPaaS reduces labor count through automation and cuts costs in the process. Specialized HR solutions, contact centers, payroll, and F&A are some of the solutions delivered through BPaaS.BPaaS services are automated through a cloud platform. Similar to other cloud-based services, it is subscription based. Traditional BPO businesses are mostly process-oriented and specialize in transitioning client processes, such as F&A, HR, supply chain management, and procurement. They help deliver services with predictable costs, reliability, and quality after careful optimization. BPaaS encompasses all these service areas with cost savings and efficiencies.For more information about this report:Publisher's analysts forecast the global business process-as-a-service market to grow at a CAGR of 11.81% during the period 2016-2020.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global business process-as-a-service market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, Publisher considers the revenue generated from the total consumption of BPaaS globally. The report does not include revenue generated from the aftermarket service of the product.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:- Americas- APAC- EMEAPublisher's report, Global Business Process-as-a-Service Market 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors- Accenture- Cognizant Technology Solutions- International Business Machines- Infosys- Tata Consultancy ServicesRequest Sample Copy atOther prominent vendors- ADP- Advance Payroll Services- Aegis- AntWorks- Atos- Avaloq Sourcing Asia Pacific- CA technologies- Capgemini- CSC- Dell- EXL- Firstsource- Fujitsu- Genpact- HCL Technologies- Hexaware- HP- i-Admin- ITC Infotech- NGA Human Resources- Oracle- Orange Business Services- Pay Asia- SAP- Sungard- Sutherland Global services- Teletech- Tiger Consulting- Wipro- WNS- XeroxMarket driver- Growing demand for cloud services and standard operating processes- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge- Data security and privacy concerns- For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend- Emergence of cloud brokerage services- For a full, detailed list, view our reportInquire for Report atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Pune, India
Travel Vaccines Market to Witness Steady Growth During the Forecast Period 2015-2021

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/5753

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/5753

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

Health related complications are greater in developing countries and rural areas because of dissimilarities in sanitary conditions, available food and water bases. The immunization Practices Advisory Committee of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) mentions that travelers should be up-to-date on routine immunizations, irrespective of travel plans.The target population for the travel vaccines market include outbound travelers. The travel vaccines for the prevention of hepatitis A, hepatitis B, yellow fever, tetanus, poliomyelitis, meningococcal disease, typhoid fever are manufactured by leading market players namely Sanofi Pasteur, Merck, Novartis and GlaxoSmithKline. Among these aforementioned companies, Sanofi Pasteur and GSK are the notable players in the travel vaccines market that accounts for approximately 85% of total market. Recently in March 2014, Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines segment of Sanofi announced its long term strategic collaboration with SK Chemicals Company to develop pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV).Request for Report TOC @The driving factors for the growth of this market include increase in awareness about vaccine preventable diseases and rise in global travel traffic. Moreover, innovation of novel vaccine technologies and technological advancements towards molecular genetics is further boosting the growth of market in coming years. However, requirement of expertise for the production of vaccines and unfavorable healthcare funding towards vaccination could pose a challenge for the growth this market.Geographically, North America will be the leading market for global travel vaccines market, followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific. The major contributing factors for North America to lead the market include involvement of large number of companies in the production of vaccines and introduction of superior range of vaccines in the market. However, Asia-Pacific market is forecast to grow at a significant growth rate in coming years.Request for Report Sample @The leading players of this market include GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi Pasteur, Merck, Novartis, and Pfizer. Other key participants of this market include ALK  Abello A/S, Bavarian Nordic A/S, Crucell N.V., CSL Ltd. Medimmune Inc. and Vaxin Inc.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Our client success stories feature a range of clients from Fortune 500 companies to fast-growing startups. PMRs collaborative environment is committed to building industry-specific solutions by transforming data from multiple streams into a strategic asset.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway,7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesTel: +1-646-568-7751Tollfree: +1 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022

http://globalqyresearch.com/download-sample/284147

http://globalqyresearch.com/checkout-form/0/284147

http://globalqyresearch.com/

This report studies the global Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel market, analyzes and researches the Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeFibre2Fashion PvtTuV SuDHong Kong AssociationBureau VeritasSGSCertest srlElement Materials TechnologyUBSIntertekKompassSgTMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaDownload Sample Report Copy From Here:Market segment by Type, Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel can be split intoFabric CheckGarment LabelingWorkmanship AssessmentOtherMarket segment by Application, Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel can be split intoAdult ApparelChildren ApparelIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Table of ContentsGlobal Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size, Status and Forecast 20221 Industry Overview of Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel1.1 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Overview1.1.1 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market by Type1.3.1 Fabric Check1.3.2 Garment Labeling1.3.3 Workmanship Assessment1.3.4 Other1.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Adult Apparel1.4.2 Children Apparel2 Global Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size (Value) by Players (2016 and 2017)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Fibre2Fashion Pvt3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 TuV SuD3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Hong Kong Association3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 Bureau Veritas3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 SGS3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.5.5 Recent Developments3.6 Certest srl3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.6.5 Recent Developments3.7 Element Materials Technology3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.7.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.7.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.7.5 Recent Developments3.8 UBS3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.8.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.8.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.8.5 Recent Developments3.9 Intertek3.9.1 Company Profile3.9.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.9.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.9.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.9.5 Recent Developments3.10 Kompass3.10.1 Company Profile3.10.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.10.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.10.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.10.5 Recent Developments3.11 SgT4 Global Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size by Type and Application (2012-2017)4.1 Global Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size by Type (2012-2017)4.2 Global Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size by Application (2012-2017)4.3 Potential Application of Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel in Future4.4 Top Consumer/End Users of Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel5 United States Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Development Status and Outlook5.1 United States Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size (2012-2017)5.2 United States Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)6 EU Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Development Status and Outlook6.1 EU Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size (2012-2017)6.2 EU Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)7 Japan Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Development Status and Outlook7.1 Japan Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size (2012-2017)7.2 Japan Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)8 China Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Development Status and Outlook8.1 China Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size (2012-2017)8.2 China Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)9 India Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Development Status and Outlook9.1 India Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size (2012-2017)9.2 India Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)10 Southeast Asia Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Development Status and Outlook10.1 Southeast Asia Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size (2012-2017)10.2 Southeast Asia Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size and Market Share by Players (2016 and 2017)11 Market Forecast by Regions, Type and Application (2017-2022)11.1 Global Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size (Value) by Regions (2017-2022)11.1.1 United States Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.2 EU Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.3 Japan Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.4 China Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.5 India Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.1.6 Southeast Asia Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue and Growth Rate (2017-2022)11.2 Global Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size (Value) by Type (2017-2022)11.3 Global Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size by Application (2017-2022)12 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Dynamics12.1 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Opportunities12.2 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Challenge and Risk12.2.1 Competition from Opponents12.2.2 Downside Risks of Economy12.3 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Constraints and Threat12.3.1 Threat from Substitute12.3.2 Government Policy12.3.3 Technology Risks12.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Driving Force12.4.1 Growing Demand from Emerging Markets12.4.2 Potential Application13 Market Effect Factors Analysis13.1 Technology Progress/Risk13.1.1 Substitutes13.1.2 Technology Progress in Related Industry13.2 Consumer Needs Trend/Customer Preference13.3 External Environmental Change13.3.1 Economic Fluctuations13.3.2 Other Risk Factors14 Research Finding/Conclusion15 AppendixMethodologyAnalyst IntroductionData SourceBuy Now This Report From Here:Global QYResearch() is the one spot destination for all your research needs. Global QYResearch holds the repository of quality research reports from numerous publishers across the globe. Our inventory of research reports caters to various industry verticals including Healthcare, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Technology and Media, Chemicals, Materials, Energy, Heavy Industry, etc. With the complete information about the publishers and the industries they cater to for developing market research reports, we help our clients in making purchase decision by understanding their requirements and suggesting best possible collection matching their needs.Unit 1, 26 Cleveland Road, South Woodford, London,E182AN, United KingdomCall: +44 20 3239 2407
Rising Demand from Clinical Research Organizations to Aid Expansion of Cell Isolation/Cell Separation Market

QYResearchReports

https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=851365&type=E

https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=851365&type=D

http://www.qyresearchreports.com

QYResearchReports.com has added a new report to its repository of market studies on the chemical industry. The report delves into assessing the various factors encouraging the global cell isolation/cell separation market and those limiting its scope for expansion. Compiled to provide a holistic market overview to the stakeholders, the report is titled Global Cell Isolation/Cell Separation Market Research Report 2016 and is available for sale on the company website. It includes exhaustive information on the market obtained from trusted industrial sources. As value-addition, the report also contains insights of industry experts pertaining to the trends to look forward for in the forthcoming years.Get free sample copy of the report at:According to the report, the global cell isolation/cell separation market is poised to exhibit exponential growth over the course of the forecast period. For the purpose of the study, the global cell isolation and cell separation market has been segmented based on type, application, end user, technique, and region. Among the segments based on technique, the centrifugation-based cell isolation segment held dominance primarily due to the increasing use of this technique among the end users. The system is largely used by biopharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Besides this, it is also used, albeit in small scale, in clinical research organizations and academia to manufacturing enzymes, vaccines, and antibodies.By cell type, the global cell isolation market can be bifurcated into animal cells and human cells. Of these, the human cell segment is witnessing considerably high demand. Technological advancements in the treatment administered and the rising incidence of skin diseases are expected to continue fuelling demand from the segment through the course of the forecast period.To check available discount on this report, visit at:In terms of application, the market is witnessing high CAGR in the biomolecule isolation segment. The increasing investment in the development of novel biopharmaceutical products is expected to give considerable boost to the segment in the forthcoming years. Regionally, North America has been exhibiting considerably high demand for cell isolation and cell separation technologies. Besides this, the market is also expected to witness lucrative opportunities in Europe. However, it is in Asia Pacific that the market is likely to witness high CAGR through the course of the reports forecast period. Factors such as the increasing healthcare spending in the emerging market. high prevalence of chronic ailments, and government support are aiding the expansion of the cell isolation and cell separation market in Asia Pacific.Besides studying opportunities prevalent for the cell isolation/cell separation market across various segments and regions, the report also presents a detailed assessment of the prevailing competitive landscape therein. For the purpose of the study it thus profiles companies such as Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (U.S.), Beckman Coulter (U.S.), Miltenyi Biotec (Germany), Terumo BCT (U.S.), GE Healthcare (U.K.), BD Biosciences (U.S.), STEMCELL Technologies Inc. (Canada), Merck Millipore (U.S.), pluriSelect (Germany), and Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc. (U.S.).List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Cell Isolation/Cell SeparationFigure Global Production Market Share of Cell Isolation/Cell Separation by Type in 2015Figure Product Picture of Type ITable Major Manufacturers of Type IFigure Product Picture of Type IITable Major Manufacturers of Type IIFigure Product Picture of Type IIITable Major Manufacturers of Type IIITable Cell Isolation/Cell Separation Consumption Market Share by Application in 2015Figure Application 1 ExamplesFigure Application 2 ExamplesFigure Application 3 ExamplesFigure North America Cell Isolation/Cell Separation Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure Europe Cell Isolation/Cell Separation Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure China Cell Isolation/Cell Separation Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure Japan Cell Isolation/Cell Separation Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure Southeast Asia Cell Isolation/Cell Separation Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure India Cell Isolation/Cell Separation Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)Figure Global Cell Isolation/Cell Separation Revenue (Million UDS) and Growth Rate (2011-2021)...About QYReseachReports.comQYReseachReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact US:Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-618-1030Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Paraffinum Liquidum Market Size 2017-2022 CEPSA, Sasol, Sonneborn, Shell, Nippon Oil

Paraffinum Liquidum

http://bit.ly/2y3E67f

https://www.marketsresearch.biz/report/global-paraffinum-liquidum-market-research-report-121096/

Global market study " Paraffinum Liquidum Market Size 2017-2022 " analyses the crucial factors of the Paraffinum Liquidum market based on present industry situations, market demands, business strategies adopted by Paraffinum Liquidum market players and their growth scenario. This report isolates the Paraffinum Liquidum market based on the key players, Type, Application and Regions.The Paraffinum Liquidum report provides the past, present and future Paraffinum Liquidum industry Size, trends and the forecast information related to the expected Paraffinum Liquidum sales revenue, growth, Paraffinum Liquidum demand and supply scenario. Furthermore, the opportunities and the threats to the development of Paraffinum Liquidum market are also covered at depth in this research document.Get Sample Here -Paraffinum Liquidum Market 2017: Leading Players and Manufacturers Analysis Sasol Shell ExxonMobil Farabi Petrochem Savita Nippon Oil CEPSA SEOJIN CHEM Sonneborn Atlas Setayesh Mehr APARThe Paraffinum Liquidum market is divided into Six major geographical segments:1. Paraffinum Liquidum market in United States2. Paraffinum Liquidum market in China3. Paraffinum Liquidum market in Europe4. Paraffinum Liquidum market in Japan5. Paraffinum Liquidum market in Southeast Asia6. Paraffinum Liquidum market in India (Other Regions can be included)Initially, the Paraffinum Liquidum manufacturing analysis of the major industry players based on their company profiles, annual revenue, sales margin, growth aspects is also covered in this report, which will help other Paraffinum Liquidum market players in driving business insights.Access report:Key Emphasizes Of The Paraffinum Liquidum Market:- The fundamental details related to Paraffinum Liquidum industry like the product definition, cost, variety of applications, demand and supply statistics are covered in this report.- Competitive study of the major Paraffinum Liquidum players will help all the market players in analyzing the latest trends and business strategies.- The deep research study of Paraffinum Liquidum market based on development opportunities, growth limiting factors and feasibility of investment will forecast the market growth.The study of emerging Paraffinum Liquidum market segments and the existing market segments will help the readers in planning the business strategies.Finally, the report Global Paraffinum Liquidum Market 2017 describes Paraffinum Liquidum industry expansion game plan, the Paraffinum Liquidum industry data source, appendix, research findings and the conclusion.'marketsresearch.biz' is a single destination for all the industry, company and country reports. We have a leading market intelligence team which accredits and provides the reports of some of the top publishers in the field of the technology industry. We are as a firm expertise in making extensive reports that cover all the necessary details about the market assessments such as major technological improvement in the industry.Contact Us5001 Spring Valley Road,Suite 400 East,Dallas, TX 75244, USA
Depth Research of Offshore Drilling Rigs Market forecast from 2017 to 2025

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/759

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/759

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/offshore-drilling-rigs-market-759

Offshore drilling is the process of extracting petroleum from rock formation, which lies beneath the seabed. Several types of offshore rigs are used in different depth and offshore environmental conditions, such as jack up rigs (up to 500 feet), semisubmersible rigs (up to 10,000 feet), and drillships (up to 12,000 feet). Advancement in technology to compete harsh environment and increasing demand for energy has driven the offshore drilling rigs market globally.Imbalance in the demand and supply is observed over past three years. Moreover, aging and maturing onshore oilfields have opportunities for development of offshore drilling rigs over the past few decades and is anticipated to grow at a fast pace over the forecast period. Increasing environmental concerns and regulations are restraining the growth of offshore drilling rigs market.Request a sample pdf Copy of report@Global Offshore Drilling Rigs Market TaxonomyOn the basis of type, the global offshore drilling rigs are segmented as:Jackup RigsFixed Platform rigsSubmersibleUltradeepwater unitsTender Assist DrillingSemisubmersible RigsDrillshipsOthersOn the basis of application depth, the global offshore drilling rigs are segmented as:Shallow Water DepthDeep WaterUltra-Deep WaterJackup rigs segment hold the largest share in the global offshore drilling rigs market, owing to its easy installation and low cost as compared to other rig types. Jackup rigs segment has opportunities for advancement and development.Deep and Ultra-Deep waters are projected to be grow at a fast pace over the forecast period, owing to the major investment in this segment especially in regions such as Africa, North-America, and Europe. According to Seatrade Maritime News, offshore rig market will pick up from 2017 and will rebound to a new height by 2021.Ask for Customization @Global Offshore Drilling Rigs Market OutlookThe North America & Latin America are projected to be the significant markets in the offshore drilling rigs market and they are anticipated to grow rapidly over the forecast period. Advancement in technology and development in offshore facilities is expected to further eliminate the regions dependency on foreign petroleum products. Additionally, it is estimated that, plenty of reserves in the oceans are present near North America. Increasing exploration and production activities in the Gulf of Mexico have globally driven the offshore drilling rigs market.Europe has witnessed a significant growth in offshore drilling rigs market followed by Africa. The burgeoning growth in North Sea, rising offshore exploration and production activities in Nigeria have further enhanced the offshore drilling rigs market. In November 2016, Exxon Mobil along with its partners announced the discovery of oil in the Owowo-2 and Owowo-3 fields off Nigerias shores. The discovery is estimated to be between 500 million to 1 billion barrels of crude oil. An estimated 85 trillion cubic feet of gas was discovered in the Rovuma basin in Mozambique, which have boosted offshore drilling rigs in Africa.Asia Pacific is witnessed to have a fast growth in offshore drilling rigs market, owing to rising energy demand, high consumption rate, development of the emerging economies in offshore drilling activities, and major investments in deep and ultra-deep water have driven the offshore drilling rigs market in this region. According to Baker Hughes, the offshore rig count in Asia Pacific was 69 in February 2016, which is increased to 13 in February 2017. Additionally, in 2015, the Reliance industry announced an investment of US$6 billion in the KG D6 block (Krishna Godavari).Advancement in jackup rigs technology in the recent years includes:In 2011, BASS (Bennett & Associates) incorporated two jackup rigs, BASS 350 and BASS 400. These jackup rigs are designed for moderate environment having independent leg, rack-and-pinion for required water depth of 350 ft. and 400 ft. These rig types help to support higher load required in drilling operations and can be modified according to specification of the operator.JU3000N design, is the latest generation rig with high specifications and greater capabilities than most units. Noble Corp. had ordered four JU3000N in Singapore in 2012.In March 2017, Ensco claimed 200% increase in number of jackup rig count.The major players operating the global offshore drilling rigs market are Transocean, Ensco, Seadrill, COSL, Diamond Offshore, Paragon Offshore, Ocean Rig, and Nabors Industries Limited.Browse full reportAbout Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702
Retail Automation Market  Detailed Research on Size, Status of Key Players Kuka AG, Wincor Nixdorf AG, Zebra Technologies Forecast 2022

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/626181-global-retail-automation-market

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/626181-global-retail-automation-market

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=626181

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/626181-global-retail-automation-market

Global Retail Automation Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 is latest research study released by HTF MI evaluating the market, highlighting opportunities, risk analysis, and leveraged with strategic and tactical decision-making support. This study recognizes that in this quick-evolving, competitive environment, up-to-date industry information is essential to monitor performance & make critical decisions for growth and profitability. It provides information on trends and developments, focuses on markets and materials, capacities, technologies, and on the changing structure of the Global Retail Automation Market.The Global Retail Automation Market consists of different international, regional, and local vendors. The market competition is foreseen to grow higher with the rise in technological innovation and M&A activities in the future. Moreover, many local and regional vendors are offering specific application products for varied end-users. The new vendor entrants in the market are finding it hard to compete with the international vendors based on quality, reliability, and innovations in technology.Get Access to sample pages @Global Retail Automation market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includes Datalogic S.P.A., First Data Corporation, NCR Corporation, Fujitsu Limited, Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Inc., Honeywell Scanning and Mobility, Kuka AG, Wincor Nixdorf AG, Zebra Technologies Corporation, Pricer AB, Posiflex Technology Inc., E&K Automation GmbH, Probiz Technologies Prvt Ltd., Simbe Robotics, Inc., Greyorange, Inmarket LLC., ArkrobotGlobal Retail Automation market (Thousands Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Market Split by Product Type such as Datalogic S.P.A., First Data Corporation, NCR Corporation, Fujitsu Limited, Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Inc., Honeywell Scanning and Mobility, Kuka AG, Wincor Nixdorf AG, Zebra Technologies Corporation, Pricer AB, Posiflex Technology Inc., E&K Automation GmbH, Probiz Technologies Prvt Ltd., Simbe Robotics, Inc., Greyorange, Inmarket LLC. & ArkrobotMarket Segment by Type 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022Datalogic S.P.A. xx xx xx xx xx Xx xx-Change (%) xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx%First Data Corporation xx xx xx xx xx Xx xx-Change (%) xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx%Total xx xx xx xx xx xx xx-Change (%) xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx% xx%The research study is segmented by Application such as PoS, Barcode & RFID, Barcode & RFID, Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL), Autonomous Guided Vehicle (AGV), Automatic Storage and Retrieval (ASRS), Automated Conveyor with historical and projected market share and compounded annual growth rate.Global Retail Automation Keyword (Thousands Units) by Application (2016-2022)Market Segment by Application 2012 2016 2022 Market Share (%)2022 CAGR (%)(2016-2022)PoS xx xx xx xx% xx%Barcode & RFID xx xx xx xx% xx%Total xx xx xx 100% xx%Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share and growth rate of Retail Automation in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringMarket Segment by Regions 2012 2016 2022 Share (%) CAGR (2016-2022)United States xx xx xx xx% xx%EU xx xx xx xx% xx %Japan xx xx xx xx% xx %Total xx xx xx xx% xx%This independent 101 page research with title Global Retail Automation Market Size, Status and Forecast 2022 guarantees you will remain better informed than your competition. The study covers geographic analysis that includes regions/countries like United States, EU, Japan, China, India & Southeast Asia and important players/vendors such as Datalogic S.P.A., First Data Corporation, NCR Corporation, Fujitsu Limited, Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions Inc., Honeywell Scanning and Mobility, Kuka AG, Wincor Nixdorf AG, Zebra Technologies Corporation, Pricer AB, Posiflex Technology Inc., E&K Automation GmbH, Probiz Technologies Prvt Ltd., Simbe Robotics, Inc., Greyorange, Inmarket LLC., Arkrobot. With n-number of tables and figures examining the Retail Automation , the research gives you a visual, one-stop breakdown of the leading products, submarkets and market leaders market revenue forecasts as well as analysis to 2022Further it focuses on Global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information. Whats more, the Retail Automation industry development trends and marketing channels are analyzed.Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @The study is organized with the help of primary and secondary data collection including valuable information from key vendors and participants in the industry. It includes historical data from 2012 to 2016 and projected forecasts till 2022 which makes the research study a valuable resource for industry executives, marketing, sales and product managers, consultants, analysts, and other people looking for key industry related data in readily accessible documents with easy to analyze graphs and tables. The report answers future development trend of Retail Automation on the basis of stating current situation of the industry in 2017 to assist manufacturers and investment organization to better analyze the development course of Retail Automation Market.The research insights solutions to the following key questions: What will be the market size and the growth rate in 2022? What are the key factors driving the Global Retail Automation market? Who are the key market players and what are their strategies in the Global Retail Automation market? What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the Global Retail Automation market? What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth? What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the Global Retail Automation market? What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the Retail Automation market?Buy this research report @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the Global Retail Automation market.Chapter 1, to describe Retail Automation Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Retail Automation, with sales, revenue, and price of Retail Automation, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the Global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Retail Automation, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in United States, EU, Japan, China, India & Southeast Asia;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application [PoS, Barcode & RFID, Barcode & RFID, Electronic Shelf Labels (ESL), Autonomous Guided Vehicle (AGV), Automatic Storage and Retrieval (ASRS), Automated Conveyor], from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Retail Automation market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Retail Automation sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Get customization & check discount for report @Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact US :Craig Francis (PR & Marketing Manager)HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837sales@htfmarketreport.com+1 (206) 317 1218
Education demands in Artificial Intelligence Market in Western Europe 2017-2021

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1287963

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1287963/artificial-intelligence-in-western-europe-market-research-reports

http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/

"The Report Artificial Intelligence Market in Western Europe Education Sector 2017-2021 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Artificial Intelligence in Education SectorArtificial intelligence (AI) is a science that deals with the design and development of computer systems to replicate human intelligence through a wide array of methodologies. Irrespective of the subject, AI solutions have the capability to create personalized learning profiles for students. The technology helps educators to develop optimized learning processes for every student. The AI and machine learning are making ripples in the education sector even on a global scale. The educators are interested in exploring AI technologies to facilitate and advance their teaching and learning activities.Technavios analysts forecast the artificial intelligence market in western europe education sector to grow at a CAGR of 38.37% during the period 2017-2021.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the artificial intelligence market in western europe education sector for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the revenue generated through the sales of artificial intelligent software-based products and complementary services to educational institutions in Western Europe.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEATechnavio's report, Artificial Intelligence Market In Western Europe Education Sector 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsIBMNuance CommunicationsSmilartSoftBank RoboticsOther prominent vendorsALEKSBlackboardDreamBox LearningeDreams EdusoftJenzabarMicrosoftPearsonView Report @Market driverRise in STEM education demandsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeRestricted profitability of productsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendRise in social artificial intelligenceFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Growing trend for Organic Coconut Water Market in Europe 2017-2021

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1287964

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1287964/coconut-water-in-europe-market-research-reports

http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/

"The Report Coconut Water Market in Europe 2017-2021 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Coconut WaterCoconut water is the clear liquid extracted from coconuts. It is technically a fruit juice and is a popular drink among consumers in tropical countries. Packaged coconut water is prepared by extracting it from coconuts. It is then processed, and packaged in cans, bottles, and other packaging types. The growth of the packaged coconut water market in Brazil suggests that major opportunities exist in other tropical countries (like Indonesia, India, Malaysia, and Ecuador), even though fresh coconut water is highly preferred. However, as the trend of packaged food and beverages is gradually gaining prominence in these countries, it is expected that consumers will eventually switch to packaged healthy beverages owing to factors like portability, convenience, and hygiene, especially for consumption in schools and offices.Technavios analysts forecast the coconut water market in Europe to grow at a CAGR of 25.03% during the period 2017-2021.Get Sample Copy Of This Report @Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the coconut water market in Europe for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the retail selling price as the average selling price of the product.The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEATechnavio's report, Coconut Water Market in Europe 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsCHiCoca-ColaGraceKennedygreen coco europePepsiCoVaivaiVita CocoView Report @Other prominent vendorsCocofina - The Coconut ExpertsCOCOWELLDharma By Kova Kft.Freedom Brands (GO COCO)Genuine CoconutGoya FoodsHappy CocoINVO Coconut WaterKulauMightyBeePearl RoyalRiRi Coconut WaterRubicon ExoticSturTIANA Fair Trade OrganicsTROPICAL SUNUFC Coconut WaterMarket driverNutritional benefits of coconut waterFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeProduct consistency and reliability issue in supply chainFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trendGrowing trend for organic coconut waterFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?About usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Mr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
South Africa Crude Oil Refinery Market 2017By Identifying the Key Market Segments Poised for Strong Growth in Future 2022

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/1579665-south-africa-crude-oil-refinery-outlook-to-2022

SUMMARYWiseGuyReports published new report, titled South Africa Crude Oil Refinery Outlook"South Africa Crude Oil Refinery Outlook to 2022" is a comprehensive report on crude oil refinery industry in South Africa. The report also provides details on oil refineries such as name, type, operational status, operator apart from capacity data for the major processing units, for all active and planned refineries in South Africa for the period 2012-2022. Further, the report also offers recent developments and financial deals in the countrys oil refinery industry.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Scope- Updated information related to all active and planned refineries in the country, including operator and equity details- Information on CDU, condensate splitter, coking, catalytic cracking and hydrocracking capacities by refinery in the country, where available- Key mergers and acquisitions, partnerships, private equity and IPOs in the countrys crude oil industry, where available- Latest developments and financial deals related to crude oil refineries in the countryKey points to buy- Gain a strong understanding of the countrys crude oil refining industry- Facilitate decision making on the basis of strong historic and forecast capacity data- Assess your competitors major crude oil refining assets and their performance in the country- Analyze the latest developments and financial deals related to the countrys crude oil refining industry- Understand the countrys financial deals landscape by analyzing how competitors are financed, and the mergers and partnerships that have shaped the marketTable of Contents1. Table of Contents 11.1. List of Tables 31.2. List of Figures 42. Introduction 52.1. What is This Report About? 52.2. Market Definition 53. South Africa Refining Industry 63.1. South Africa Refining Industry, Key Data 63.2. South Africa Refining Industry, Overview 63.3. South Africa Refining Industry, Total Refining Capacity 63.4. South Africa Refining Industry, Crude Distillation Unit Capacity 83.5. South Africa Refining Industry, Condensate Splitter Capacity 83.6. South Africa Refining Industry, Coking Capacity 93.7. South Africa Refining Industry, Catalytic Cracking Capacity 93.8. South Africa Refining Industry, Hydrocracking Capacity 103.9. South Africa Refining Industry, Asset Details 11..CONTINUEDWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Same-day Delivery Global Market 2017: Key Players  A-1 Express, DHL, FedEx, TForce Final Mile, UPS

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/2318294-2017-2022-same-day-delivery-report-on-global-and-united-states

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/2318294-2017-2022-same-day-delivery-report-on-global-and-united-states

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=2318294

https://www.wiseguyreports.com

Same-day Delivery IndustryDescriptionWiseguyreports.Com Adds Same-day Delivery -Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecast To 2022 To Its Research DatabaseThis report studies the Same-day Delivery market status and outlook of global and major regions, from angles of players, regions, product and end Application/industries; this report analyzes the top players in global and major regions, and splits the Same-day Delivery market by product and Application/end industries.The major players in global market includeA-1 ExpressDHLFedExTForce Final MileUPSUSA CouriersAmerican ExpeditingAramexDelivExpress CourierLaserShipParcelforce WorldwideNAPAREXPower Link DeliveryPrestige DeliveryRequest for Sample Report @Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Same-day Delivery for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast)USAEuropeJapanChinaSoutheast AsiaIndiaROWTotalOn the basis on the end users/Application, this report coversB2BB2CLeave a Query @Table of Contents1 Industry Overview 11.1 Same-day Delivery Market Overview 11.1.1 Same-day Delivery Product Scope 11.1.2 Market Status and Outlook 11.2 Global Same-day Delivery Market Size and Analysis by Regions (2012-2022) 21.2.1 United States Same-day Delivery Market Status and Outlook 41.2.2 EU Same-day Delivery Market Status and Outlook 51.2.3 Japan Same-day Delivery Market Status and Outlook 61.2.4 China Same-day Delivery Market Status and Outlook 61.2.5 India Same-day Delivery Market Status and Outlook 81.2.6 Southeast Asia Same-day Delivery Market Status and Outlook 81.3 Same-day Delivery Market by End Users/Application 91.3.1 B2B 111.3.2 B2C 112 Global Same-day Delivery Competition Analysis by Players 132.1 Same-day Delivery Market Size (Value) by Players (2016-2017E) 132.2 Competitive Status and Trend 162.2.1 Market Concentration Rate 162.2.2 Product/Service Differences 172.2.3 New Entrants 182.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future 19....3 Company (Top Players) Profiles and Key Data 213.1 A-1 Express (US) 213.1.1 Company Profile 213.1.2 Products, Services and Solutions 223.1.3 A-1 Express Same-day Delivery Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017) 223.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview 233.2 DHL (DE) 243.2.1 Company Profile 243.2.2 Products, Services and Solutions 253.2.3 DHL Same-day Delivery Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017) 263.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview 273.3 FedEx (US) 273.3.1 Company Profile 273.3.2 Products, Services and Solutions 283.3.3 FedEx Same-day Delivery Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017) 303.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview 313.4 UPS (US) 323.4.1 Company Profile 323.4.2 Products, Services and Solutions 333.4.3 UPS Same-day Delivery Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017) 343.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview 353.5 USA Couriers (US) 353.5.1 Company Profile 353.5.2 Products, Services and Solutions 363.5.3 USA Couriers Same-day Delivery Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017) 373.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview 383.6 American Expediting (US) 383.6.1 Company Profile 383.6.2 Products, Services and Solutions 393.6.3 American Expediting Same-day Delivery Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017) 403.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview 413.7 Aramex (UAE) 423.7.1 Company Profile 423.7.2 Products, Services and Solutions 423.7.3 Aramex Same-day Delivery Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017) 433.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview 443.8 Deliv (US) 443.8.1 Company Profile 443.8.2 Products, Services and Solutions 453.8.3 Deliv Same-day Delivery Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017) 463.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview 473.9 Express Courier (NZ) 473.9.1 Company Profile 473.9.2 Products, Services and Solutions 483.9.3 Express Courier Same-day Delivery Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017) 483.9.4 Main Business/Business Overview 493.10 LaserShip (US) 503.10.1 Company Profile 503.10.2 Products, Services and Solutions 513.10.3 LaserShip Same-day Delivery Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017) 513.10.4 Main Business/Business Overview 533.11 Parcelforce Worldwide (UK) 533.11.1 Company Profile 533.11.2 Products, Services and Solutions 543.11.3 Parcelforce Worldwide Same-day Delivery Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017) 553.11.4 Main Business/Business Overview 563.12 NAPAREX (US) 563.12.1 Company Profile 563.12.2 Products, Services and Solutions 573.12.3 NAPAREX Same-day Delivery Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017) 583.12.4 Main Business/Business Overview 593.13 Power Link Delivery (CA) 603.13.1 Company Profile 603.13.2 Products, Services and Solutions 613.13.3 Power Link Delivery Same-day Delivery Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017) 613.13.4 Main Business/Business Overview 623.14 Prestige Delivery (US) 633.14.1 Company Profile 633.14.2 Products, Services and Solutions 643.14.3 Prestige Delivery Same-day Delivery Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017) 653.14.4 Main Business/Business Overview 663.15 TForce Final Mile (CA) 673.15.1 Company Profile 673.15.2 Products, Services and Solutions 683.15.3 TForce Final Mile Same-day Delivery Revenue (Million USD) (2012-2017) 683.15.4 Main Business/Business Overview 69Buy Now @Continued...Contact Us: Sales@Wiseguyreports.Com Ph: +1-646-845-9349 (Us) Ph: +44 208 133 9349 (Uk)About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt LtdPune  411028Maharashtra, GlobalPh: +91 841 198 5042
Potassium heptadecanote Market- Competitive Landscape & Growth Opportunities 2024

Potassium heptadecanote Market

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=20426

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=20426

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

The IUPAC name of potassium heptadecanoate is heptadecanoic acid. Potassium heptadecanoate has various synonyms such as heptadecanoic acid potassium salt (C17H33KO2). Heptadecanoic acid is a saturated fatty acid, and is also known as margaric acid (CH3(CH2)15COOH). Potassium heptadecanoate occurs as a component of fat and milk fat of ruminants. It does not occur in any natural vegetable or animal fat in much concentrations. Salts and esters of potassium heptadecanoate (heptadecanoic acid) are called heptadecanoates. Heptadecanoic acid (margaric acid) can also be used through the analysis of medium chain fatty acids from biomaterials such as seed oils and animal and plant oil.Potassium heptadecanoates is primarily used in fatty acid from animal and plant oil or seed oil. Fatty acid is an unsaturated or saturated carboxylic acid, and is derived from triglycerides and phospholipids. It is said to be a vital source of fuel. As a source of fuel, several types of cell are use fatty acids. Fatty acids are also used in human nutrition, as deficit of fatty acids may lead to adverse biological effects in human body. Particularly brain, heart, and skeletal muscle are used fatty acids as a driving source. There are two types of fatty acids: those based on carbon bonds and length of free fatty acids. Fatty acids accounted for more than 40% of human fat, which is said to be unsaturated fatty acids. Fatty acids endure reactions similar to carboxylic acids such as esterification and acid base reactions.Browse Full Report With ToC @The potassium heptadecanoate market has been segmented based on application and region. In terms of application, the market has been divided into pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, paints, varnishes, synthetic organic detergents, rubber compounding, insecticides, textile chemicals, plastic fabrication, pulp and paper products, synthetic rubber formulations, and others. Pharmaceuticals are used as inactive ingredients in the preparation of drugs and for lipid formulation. Complex lipids are used in the manufacture of soaps, cosmetics, emulsions, and fat liposomes. These are also used in personal hygiene products.Rise in demand for personal and home care products in emerging economies in Latin America is expected to drive the potassium heptadecanoate market. Increase in demand for food and beverages in North America and Europe is also anticipated to boost market growth. On the other hand, occurrence of biological effects due to deficiency of fatty acids is estimated to hamper the potassium heptadecanoate market. Deficiency of fatty acid can lead to blood pressure problems, stroke, coronary artery disease, inflammation, etc.Based on region, the potassium heptadecanoate market has been segmented into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is a key consumer and producer of potassium heptadecanoate. The market in the region is projected to expand significantly during the forecast period. Countries such as China, India, and Malaysia hold major share of the potassium heptadecanoate market in Asia Pacific. China accounts for more than 50% share of the market in Asia Pacific due to the high consumption of soaps and detergents in the country.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Europe also constitutes prominent share of consumption of potassium heptadecanoate. The market in the region is likely to expand at a moderate pace due to saturation, price fluctuation, and changes in trends. Demand for potassium heptadecanoate is moderate in North America; therefore, the market in the region is expected to expand at a sluggish pace during the forecast period due to the presence of well-developed and established industries. Brazil holds key share of the market in Latin America. Emerging economies such as India, China, Indonesia, and Brazil are expected to account for prominent share of the potassium heptadecanoate market during the forecast period. The market in Europe is likely to expand moderately, due to the high imports mostly in Turkey.About Us:-Transparency Market Research is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers.We are privileged with highly experienced team of Analysts, Researchers and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Diisopropyl Naphthelene Market - Global Industrial Applications Witness Fastest Growth up to 2024

Diisopropyl Naphthelene Market

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=20435

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=20435

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

Diisopropyl naphthalene is a chemical used as an additive in pesticides to inhibit the sprouting of potatoes during their storage. The structure of diisopropyl naphthelene is similar to other plant growth regulators. Diisopropyl naphthelene is a clear yellowish brown liquid with faint sweet odor. It is insoluble in water and is a strong oxidizing agent. Vigorous explosive reactions might take place when it comes into contact with aromatic liquids. Exposure of diisopropyl naphthalene to eyes may cause eye irritation. When sprouts start growing from the potatoes, the starch present in the potatoes converts into sugar. This makes potatoes unhealthy to eat. The potatoes also darken during frying. This is unacceptable in the food processing industry. Furthermore, consumption of sprouted potatoes may cause potato plant poisoning and may lead to diseases such as diarrhea, vomiting, and stomachache. Effective sprout inhibition is a major factor of managing stored potato quality. If proper sprout control is not maintained, considerable reduction to tuber quality will occur, and the ability to store for extended periods of time is diminished. On a small scale, sprout control is carried out by storing potatoes in cold temperature (380 F to 420 F). Potatoes sprout when they are stored in high temperature and moist environment. The other names of diisopropyl naphthalene are 2,6-Diisopropyl Naphthalene and Naphthalene,2,6-bis(1-methylethyl-).Browse Full Report With ToC @Diisopropyl naphthalene is applied directly to potatoes via conventional aerosol units or duct systems. It is sprayed only once and the potatoes are then kept stored for 30 days before their commercialization. Timing of application is critical with the sprout suppressants. These sprout suppressants are most effective when applied at peeping, or before sprouts are one-eighth of an inch long. Delay of application may result in sprout suppression failure.The diisopropyl naphthalene market can be segregated in terms of end-user application in potato warehousing. Asia Pacific and Europe are expected to hold major share of the diisopropyl naphthalene market due to the high demand for potatoes in China, India, and Germany.In terms of region, the diisopropyl naphthalene market can be divided into North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. Asia Pacific is anticipated to account for dominant share of the diisopropyl naphthalene market due to high consumption of potatoes in China and India. Europe is also anticipated to constitute key share of the diisopropyl naphthalene market owing to large scale production of potatoes in Germany, France, and the U.K. Increase in consumer awareness about the presence of glycoalkaloids in sprouts  glycoalkaloids can cause adverse health effects such as vomiting and nausea  is estimated to drive the diisopropyl naphthalene market during the forecast period.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Key players operating in the diisopropyl naphthalene market are Bide Pharmatech Limited, Industrial Ventilation Inc., Finetech Industry Limited, Biosynth, Angene Chemical, Glentham Lifesciences Limited, A&J Pharmtech Co. Ltd., and TCI (Tokyo Chemical Industry).Industrial Ventilation Inc. provides sprout inhibitors, which are applied on potatoes through the thermal fogging system. The company adopts the patented sprout inhibiting technology, which is efficient in inhibiting growth of harmful sprouts.Companies are adopting aggressive marketing tactics and mergers and acquisition strategies to expand their market share. They are also shifting their production facilities to emerging economies in Asia Pacific and Latin America due to the easy availability of land, cheap labor, and governmental subsidies in these regions. Additionally, companies are using export as a tool for geographical expansion in emerging economies in Middle East & Africa.About Us:-Transparency Market Research is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers.We are privileged with highly experienced team of Analysts, Researchers and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Sodium polyacrylate Market - Global Industry Analysis and Future Growth Opportunities By 2025

Sodium polyacrylate Market

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=20444

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=20444

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

Sodium polyacrylate, or waterlock as it is commonly known, is a polymer of polyacrylic acid. It is a widely used super-absorbing polymer. As the name waterlock suggests, the compound has the ability to absorb several hundred times of its mass in water as well as other liquid mixtures. It is not a naturally-occurring polymer and is manufactured synthetically. It is widely used in consumer products and in the industrial sector as a binding agent, emulsion stabilizer, film former, and viscosity-controlling agent.It was first developed by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) about 50 years ago and was used in diapers that astronauts could wear while they were on long space trips. Since then, several other uses of the polymer have been discovered. For example, agriculture grade sodium polyacrylate is used to water the plants in an efficient manner. When plants need water, their roots move closer to the polymer and absorb water from it. Sodium polyacrylate is commonly used in sanitary products such as baby diapers and pet pads. It is employed as a thickening agent in consumer products such as hair gels, upholstery, carpets, and paints. It is also used as a thickening agent in the medical industry for different medical gels. One of its interesting applications is in the coatings industry. Electric wirings are provided with coatings containing sodium polyacrylate so as to make them waterproof. Sodium polyacrylate absorbs water or moisture before it reaches electric wires. Similar uses include anti-flood bags, ice-bags, and artificial snow. One of its recent applications is in the building sector, where it can be used as an internal sealant in chemical-based materials. According to its usage, the global sodium polyacrylate market can be segmented by the type of its application, namely as a water-absorbent, thickening agent and water-repellent.Browse Full Report With ToC @While sodium polyacrylate has several advantages, there are also a few limitations associated with the polymer. For example, it can be highly toxic when inhaled or ingested. It can also cause mild irritation to skin, eyes, and respiratory tract. In 1985, use of sodium polyacrylate in tampons was stopped, as it caused unacceptable levels of irritation to women. However, in total, advantages of the polymer significantly outweigh its drawbacks.Various industries wherein sodium polyacrylate is used (for example, medical, sanitary, agriculture, consumer products, coatings, building materials, and electrical), are expanding at a significant rate. Due to this, the global sodium polyacrylate market has also been expanding at a significant pace. The trend is expected to continue in the next few years. Apart from these existing markets and industries, one of the driving factors behind this growth will be that, even though the polymer has been around for a long time, new applications in new industries are continuously being developed. Accordingly, the market can be segmented by end-user industries.Fill the form for an exclusive sample of this report @Some of the well-known suppliers of sodium polyacrylate include Covestro (Germany), RSD Polymers Pvt. Ltd., Powder Pack Chem (India), Zhengzhou Wade Water Treatment Material Co. Ltd., Beijing Cheng Yi Chemical Co., Ltd., Dongying Naxing Trading Co., Ltd., and Hebei Yan Xing Chemical Co., Ltd. (China). While suppliers and distributors are spread across the world, a majority of them can be found in the Asia Pacific region. In terms of consumption, North America and Asia Pacific account for a major share of the market, followed by Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. As such, the global sodium polyacrylate market can be segmented by regions of North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America.About Us:-Transparency Market Research is a market intelligence company providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers.We are privileged with highly experienced team of Analysts, Researchers and Consultants, who use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact Us:-Transparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700, Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Medical Connector Market Key Players  ITT Corporation, Smiths Interconnect, TE Connectivity Ltd., Amphenol Corporation, Delphi Automotive LLP. 2023

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4271

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/medical-connector-market-4271

Market Highlights:The study reveals that medical connector is trending in North America region. The medical connector demand is growing very rapidly as it is used to transfer power, signal, data and other. The medical connectors are ideal for medical electronic equipment. The growth of the medical devices market is also one of the major factors influencing the growth of this product segment. It helps to the medical device manufacturers to reduce risk and to build right interconnect solutions. It offers a complete end-to-end solution that meets the requirements of the medical industry. The auto-locking medical connectors are gaining demand as it is best suited with medical electronic equipment. These medical connectors are used for electro surgery, imaging, therapy, patient monitoring, dental tools and others. The companies are investing in this market as it is widely used in medical imaging device to accurately diagnose and provide treatment.In North America region, the hybrid medical connector demand is increasing as it helps to transfer liquid and air media, as well as electrical signals all in one device. The electrical medical connector is growing with the increasing demand of cost effective surgical treatment. These connector offers lighter weight, high density, low contact resistance, shielded connectors, high power, EMI protection, RF, long cycle life, vibration immunity, and exceptional design flexibility. It is used in MRI, EKG, heart-lung machines, ultrasound, defibrillators, diagnostic therapy systems and others.The global medical connector market is growing rapidly over ~8% of CAGR and is expected to reach at USD 2 Billion by the end of forecast period.Taste the market data and market information presented through more than 30 market data tables and figures spread over 100 numbers of pages of the project report. Avail the in-depth table of content TOC & market synopsis on Medical Connector Market - Forecast to 2023.Major Key Players: ITT Corporation (U.S.) Smiths Interconnect (U.K.) TE Connectivity Ltd. (Switzerland) Amphenol Corporation (U.S.) Delphi Automotive LLP. (U.K.) Esterline Corporation (U.S.) Fisher Connectors (Switzerland) Molex (U.S.) Samtec (U.S.) Lemo S.A. (Switzerland)Request a Sample Report @Regional Analysis:The regional analysis of medical connector market is being studied for region such as Asia pacific, North America, Europe and Rest of the World. North America is one of the leading region across the world in terms of largest market share in medical connectors market owing to the companys investments in the medical applications which can be used in dental tools, electro surgery tools, catheters, sensors, respirators, ECG devices, defibrillators and others.The Medical Connector Market in Europe region is expected to witness rapid growth in the forthcoming period. Whereas, Asia-Pacific countries like China, Japan and India is an emerging market for medical connectors market and expected to be the highest CAGR in the coming years.Global Medical Connector Market Segmentation:The global medical connector market is bifurcated into material, connector size and region. The material includes metal, plastic and others.The connector size (mm) includes = 20 mm and others. The region includes North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and rest of the world.Market Research Analysis:On geographic basis, global medical connector market is studied in different regions as Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of world. It has been observed that North America region is leading with largest market share growth in the medical connector market due to the major companies are investing to supply the advanced medical connectors in the market. In this market, Europe is to be estimated to be the second largest market share for medical connector during the forecast period.The APAC region are very large, underserved markets will assure continued growth in medical equipment for years to come.Browse Full Report Details @Intended Audience Hospitals and clinics Research institutes Product sales and distribution companies Original equipment manufacturers Original design manufacturers Research and development companies Market research and consulting firms Technology standards organizations Technology investors System IntegratorsTable of Contents1 Market Introduction1.1 Introduction1.2 Scope of Study1.2.1 Research Objective1.2.2 Assumptions1.2.3 Limitations1.3 Market Structure:1.3.1 Global Medical Connector Market: By Material1.3.2 Global Medical Connector Market: By Connector Size1.3.3 Global Medical Connector Market: By Region2 Research Methodology2.1 Research2.2 Primary Research2.3 Secondary Research2.4 Forecast ModelContinuedList of TablesTable 1 Medical Connector Market, By MaterialTable 2 Medical Connector Market, By Connector SizeTable 3 Medical Connector Market, By RegionsContinuedList of FiguresFigure 1 Research MethodologyFigure 2 Medical Connector Market: By Material (%)Figure 3 Medical Connector Market: By Connector Size (%)ContinuedAbout Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Learn details of the world Wireless Power Banksmarket trend and research analysis report 2017

Wireless Power Banks Market Report

https://www.reportsmonitor.com/check-discount/?post=372020

https://www.reportsmonitor.com/request-sample/?post=372020

https://www.reportsmonitor.com/united-states-wireless-power-banks-market-report-2017/

Wireless Power Banks MarketReportsMonitor has added a report on Thin-film Solar Cell Market.In this report, the United States Thin-film Solar Cell market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022Wireless Power Banks Market Research Report 2017 to 2022 presents an assessment of the Wireless Power Banks Market including enabling technologies, key trends, market drivers, challenges, standardization, regulatory landscape, deployment models, operator case studies, opportunities, future roadmap, value chain, ecosystem player profiles and strategies. The report also presents forecasts for Wireless Power Banks Market investments from 2017 till 2022.If you want to check Discount on this Report -Geographically, this report splits the United States market into seven regions:The WestSouthwestThe Middle AtlanticNew EnglandThe SouthThe Midwestwith sales (volume), revenue (value), market share and growth rate of Wireless Power Banks in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast).United States Wireless Power Banks market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Wireless Power Banks sales volume, price, revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingSamsungPhilipsLUXA2HuaweiGoal ZeroQi-InfinityZENSXtorm (Telco Accessories?Shenzhen Awesome TechnologyYota DevicesOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into10000mAhOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Wireless Power Banks for each application, includingMobileTabletMedia DeviceOtherIf you want sample of this Report -Table Of ContentsTable of ContentsUnited States Wireless Power Banks Market Report 20171 Wireless Power Banks Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Wireless Power Banks1.2 Classification of Wireless Power Banks by Product Category1.2.1 United States Wireless Power Banks Market Size (Sales Volume) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 United States Wireless Power Banks Market Size (Sales Volume) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 10000mAh1.3 United States Wireless Power Banks Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 United States Wireless Power Banks Market Size (Consumption) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Mobile1.3.3 Tablet1.3.4 Media Device1.3.5 OtherContinue.......Full Report Access -Reports Monitor is a platform to meet the market research andbusiness intelligence requirements. Our aim is to change thedynamics of the Market Research industry by providing qualityintelligence backed by data. Your requirement for market forecastingis fulfilled by our exclusive quantitative and analytics drivenintelligence.Address: Office C & D - 4th Floor, Siddhi Towers, Above Rupee Bank, Kondhwa Road, Pune 411048, Maharashtra, India
Television Broadcasting Market: New Study Offers Insights for 2016 - 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=13574

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=13574

Television broadcasters are into TV broadcasting business since the inception of TV. TV industry has seen a significant transformation with the emergence of digital broadcasting and the Internet. With developing digital ecosystem worldwide, and improving penetration of Internet, online TV viewing has been increased in past decade. Although, traditional pay TV still dominates the TV broadcasting market. The transformation from analog to digital transmission is one of the prime factors fuelling the growth of television broadcasting market.A sample of this report is available upon request @TV broadcasting market is segmented on the basis of content delivery method and revenue channel. On the basis of content delivery method, television broadcasting market is segmented as analog, cable, DTT, IPTV and satellite. Analog transmission technique is the conventional broadcasting method, which uses analog audio/video signals for delivery of content. Cable TV and satellite TV are the modern day content delivery techniques, which came into effect post international telecommunication union (ITU) digitization guidelines. In terms of revenue channel, TV broadcasting market is further classified as subscription fees, advertising, public revenue and others (video-on-demand (VOD), e-learning, games, internet, etc.). Revenue generated from advertisement is likely to be the key factor in development of TV broadcasting industry.To gain competitive edge, businesses from all the major segments viz. telecommunication, automotive, consumer goods often choose TV as the primary platform for marketing their products. This advertising leads to significant revenue generation and is one of the major growth driver for television broadcast industry. Further, increasing consumer base, owing to transformation from analog to digital signals is anticipated to propel the growth of TV broadcasting market. Alongside this, improving quality of media content such as introduction of 4K/UHD and full HD signals on TV platform and widening adoption of HD content is likely to fuel the growth television broadcasting market in near term. Moreover, additional TV services such as VoD, e-learning and online games, through TV is expected to complement the growth of television broadcasting market throughout the forecast period. However, shifting consumer preferences on TV viewing and rising delivery content through internet and smartphone applications is estimated to limit the growth of television broadcasting market. With world going through digital switchover, large consumer base still remain untapped with latest TV services such as VoD, e-learning etc., which offer huge market opportunities for the players involved in TV broadcasting market.On a global scale, North America is likely to dominate in terms of penetration and adoptability of modern-day television services. Further, cable and satellite content delivery models are expected to dominate this region. Furthermore, large part of the revenue is anticipated to be generated from subscription fees of the TV services. Additionally, countries from Western Europe such as the U.K., Spain, Germany and Italy is likely to dominate the growth of television broadcasting market in Europe region. However, with significant consumer base and improving broadcasting infrastructure; Asia Pacific is likely to see significant growth in coming years. By revenue channel, advertisement is likely to hold majority of market share in global TV broadcast market especially in Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East and Africa region. Furthermore, cable TV and satellite TV, contentment delivery method are expected to show significant growth during the forecast period.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Some of the key TV broadcasting groups are American Broadcasting Company (ABC), Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), The National Broadcasting Company (NBC), The Fox Broadcasting Company, Manila Broadcasting Company, and Aereo, Inc.About USTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a next-generation provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact Us-U.S. OFFICE:State Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207
Why Search Engine Marketing Market Will Witness a Staggering Growth During 2016 - 2024?

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=13760

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=13760

Internet has now become an important part of human life, it has connected individuals worldwide through social media, e-mail and exchange of information. Search engine marketing, commonly referred to by its acronym SEM, is cost effective method of Internet marketing which is often used to gain visibility and traffic on search engines.A sample of this report is available upon request @Basic purpose of SEM is to improve websites ranking on various search engines such as Google or Bing. SEM is very broad term which refers to number of different activities including search engine optimization (SEO), search retargeting, and social media marketing. During the recent years, SEM has become popular with the rising number of Internet users around the globe and numerous IT and non-IT enterprises aiming to expand their business by strong Internet marketing. SEM helps an organization to gain return over investments (ROI) by enabling proper search engine marketing strategies.Information seekers and Internet shoppers prefer using keyword searches for getting desired result, thus, by using the keywords which are commonly used by individuals an organization can increase its visitors substantially. A keyword search deals with fetching the popular search terms in order to carry search engine optimization (SEO) of content on any site, thus helping them to rank higher in search results, this also helps to drive amount of activity on the site.Search through keyword is a step that cannot be ignored because it sends right kind of visitors to a site by simply using the right keywords, thus an enterprise can increase its possibility of turning traffic into revenue. SEM benefits organizations in increasing presence over major search engines and provides another channel to promote the brand and company. This also allows an organization to speak directly, openly and honestly to its customers. SEM helps in maintaining competitiveness in the market enabling an organization to stay on top.Although SEM drives the business and creates opportunities for site traffic conversion. SEM results take time, thus delaying the time to get an ROI. Furthermore, lack in control over optimization due to continuous changes made into algorithms affects the ranking, creating need for continuous revision of SEM strategies. For companies with small budgets it is not always possible to formulate new strategies, which is hindering the growth of the market.There are many new features that companies are looking forward to integrate in their SEM strategies. Video advertising, the incorporation of YouTube advertisements in Google AdWords and YouTube shopping advertisements are some of the key trends in SEM. Video advertising is anticipated to stay an important element of SEM during the coming years and interactive advertising, which enables user to test an application or perform another interaction is expected to gain increasing traction during the coming years. Furthermore, mobile is expected to be future of computing, hence website owners have optimized their websites for mobile devices which will give rise in demand for specialized mobile device SEM services during the coming years.With the rising number new entrants in every industry, the companies are focusing on provision of new competitive SEM strategies to promote their company.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Some of the SEM vendors include 360i, WordStream, Google Inc., Analytix, Screaming Frog Ltd. and Internet Marketing Inc.About USTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a next-generation provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact Us-U.S. OFFICE:State Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207
Indonesia Renewable Energy Policy Handbook Market 2017  By Analyzing the Performance of Various Competitors

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/1474091-indonesia-renewable-energy-policy-handbook-2017

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/1474091-indonesia-renewable-energy-policy-handbook-2017

SUMMARYWiseGuyReports published new report, titled Indonesia Renewable Energy Policy Handbook"Indonesia Renewable Energy Policy Handbook 2017 is among the latest country specific policy reports from the industry analysis specialist that offers comprehensive information on major policies governing renewable energy market in the country.The report provides the current and future renewable energy targets and plans along with the present policy framework, giving a fair idea of overall growth potential of the renewable energy industry. The report also provides major technology specific policies and incentives provided in the country.The report is built using data and information sourced from industry associations, government websites and statutory bodies. The information is also sourced through other secondary research sources such as industry and trade magazines.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Scope- The report covers policy measures and incentives used by Indonesia to promote renewable energy.- The report details promotional measures in Indonesia both for the overall renewable energy industry and for specific renewable energy technologies that have potential in the country.Key points to buyThe report will enhance your decision making capability in a more rapid and time sensitive manner. It will allow you to -- Develop business strategies with the help of specific insights about policy decisions being taken for different renewable energy sources.- Identify opportunities and challenges in exploiting various renewable technologies.- Compare the level of support provided to different renewable energy technologies in Indonesia.- Be ahead of competition by keeping yourself abreast of all the latest policy changes.Table of Contents1 Table of Contents 21.1 List of Tables 32 Introduction 42.1 Renewable Energy Policy 42.2 Global Data Report Guidance 43 Renewable Energy Policy, Indonesia 53.1 Renewable Energy Market, Overview 53.2 Green Energy Policy 53.3 Small Distributed Power Generation Using Renewable Energy 63.4 Medium-Scale Power Generation Using Renewable Energy 63.5 Income Tax Reduction for Energy Development Projects 63.6 Electricity Purchase from Small- and Medium-Scale Renewable Energy 63.7 Clean Technology Fund 73.8 Ceiling Price for Geothermal 73.9 New Geothermal Law 83.10 Geothermal Fund 83.11 Power Purchase from Solar PV Plants 93.12 Feed-in Tariffs for Biomass 93.13 New Electricity Sector Regulations in 2017 93.13.1 Ministerial Decree number 10/2017 (MEMR 10/2017) 93.13.2 Ministerial Decree number 11/2017 (MEMR 11/2017) 103.13.3 Ministerial Decree number 12/2017 (MEMR 12/2017) 10..CONTINUEDFOR ANY QUERY, CONTACT US @Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Sales of Digital OOH to Witness a Decline By the End of 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=13775

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=13775

Though, OOH (out of home) is one of the advertising mediums used since long, it has definitely been more so, of late on account of the increasing adoption of digital outdoor advertising. Digital OOH is impactful as it is larger than life and can come in varying shape, size, and format. It can effectively target customers by behavior, location, demographic, and day-part. All these factors are propelling their use across the globe and driving the market for digital out of home. The customer-focused nature of this form of advertising along with innovative, and media fluency are estimated to continue to drive the growth prospects of the global digital OOH market.A sample of this report is available upon request @The digital OOH media can deliver continually across customers of all demographics, a brands message, when they are out for any of their out of home activities. As many of the companies are realizing the importance of extending their marketing strategies outdoors, the demand for digital OOH market is increasing. Moreover, with technological advancements ensuring innovative changes in the type of digital screen used for advertising, these form of advertising are becoming increasingly more interactive and engaging.Although the market may be matured, there still exists intense competition among players. The presence of many local and global players is intensifying the competitive nature of the global digital out of home market. It is becoming more and more difficult for players to stay abreast the advances in technology and thus, to survive in the market, it is becoming compelling for players to stay ahead of each other. Distinguishing their product and service offerings is the best bait and players are achieving this through a unique value proposition.Digital out-of-home (DOOH) form of advertising is a dynamically-served visual mode of advertising that targets customers when they are outdoors, in-transit, and waiting or at commercial venues. It intercepts customers with extremely targeted messages when they go about their day-to-day activities and effectively increases a brands message, thus creating a deep level of engagement with on-the-go customers. Such advertising campaigns take into account the customer mindset and location. The traditional mode of OOH advertising is the use of billboards. In recent years, there has been substantial growth in digital billboards and place-based networks.Digital OOH is dynamic media distributed across place based networks at locations such as colleges, gas stations, bars, health clubs and restaurants. DOOH networks feature stand-alone screens and kiosks. Recent years have seen these advertising networks transform into real-time marketing platforms because of the increased use of mobile beacons and dynamic data feeds. DOOH encompasses a variety of screen shapes, sizes as well as levels of interactivity. It provides a bridge between context and location and has high level of impact and flexibility. Each DOOH advertising campaign is relevant to the unique environment outdoors.The growing mobility of customers is increasing the visibility of outdoor media. This is contributing significantly to the growth of digital OOH market. Also, the price erosion of digital screens has further fostered this markets growth. DOOH advertising can also be implemented on public transport. With long travel times and increase in leisure travel, it is continually reaching a large number of target audiences. Innovation in this form of advertising has resulted in real-time campaigns. Advertisers are able to target the right people by being able to change the content of ads based on location, time of the day and weather.The relevance achieved as a result of the flexibility and the ability of DOOH to be able to reach the masses is giving brands the chance to create campaigns that will be remembered by the customers. Also, the use of text, images and real time content is more attractive to customers and has a significant influence on their purchasing decisions. However, the high initial spending incurred in installing digital signage is a barrier in the growth of DOOH market. Also, the return on investment of such campaigns is hard to calculate and can become further complex when the costs incurred on the repair and maintenance of screens is also considered.The digital OOH market can be categorized into billboards, street furniture, and transit. Billboards can be traditional billboards and digital billboards. Street furniture can be further categorized into bus shelters, mall kiosks, telephone booth advertising and news racks. Also, transit advertising can be further categorized into electronic advertising at bus stops, train stations, airports and advertising in buses, taxis, airplanes and subway advertising.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Some of the companies offering digital signage software include Broadsign, Scala  Digital Signage Software, Ayuda Media Systems, Signagelive Limited, Net Display Systems, ONELAN Limited, YCD Multimedia, Four Winds Interactive, ADFLOW Networks, DISE International AB, Omnivex Corporation and Navori digital signage software.About USTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a next-generation provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact Us-U.S. OFFICE:State Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207
Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Market Expansion Projected to Gain an Uptick During 2017 - 2025

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/16294

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/16294

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

Fatty acid methyl ester is derived from the trans-esterification of methanol with fatty acids. It can also be prepared from soya beans, rapeseed, vegetable oil and palm oil. Rapeseed is generally preferred for the production of fatty acid methyl ester due to its better oil content (nearly 30%-35%) as compared to other materials used for fatty acid methyl ester manufacturing. Moreover, biodiesel produced from rapeseed has high cetane number which helps in complete combustion, thereby lowering emissions. Due to various government regulations in favor of bio-based products, the demand for fatty acid methyl ester is expected to rise in near future.Based on product type, medium chain triglyceride is expected to dominate the global fatty acid methyl ester market owing to their rising demand from the food industry. Glyceryl monostearate is projected to witness significant growth during the forecast period. The increasing use of glceryl monostearare as an emulsifier in baking preparations and confectionaries is expected to escalate the demand for fatty acid methyl ester by the end of 2025.A sample of this report is available upon request @Based on applications, the fuel segment is anticipated to dominate the global fatty acid methyl ester market. Fatty acid methyl ester is a major constituent of biodiesel. The rising demand from the biodiesel industry is expected to propel the demand for fatty acid methyl ester during the forecast period. However, personal care and cosmetics is projected to be the fastest growing segment throughout the forecast period.Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Market: DynamicsThe shifting focus of end users towards biodiesel over conventional diesel owing to its low toxicity is expected to be one of the major factors driving the growth of the global fatty acid methyl ester market. Additionally, rise in the usage of fatty acid methyl esters as a green solvent owing to its low VOC and biodegradable nature is further expected to escalate the growth of the global fatty acid methyl ester market. Fatty acid methyl ester has high boiling point, high lubricity and IS highly soluble in organic solvents. Due to the aforementioned properties, there is increasing demand for fatty acid methyl ester from metalworking fluids, detergents & surfactants, fuels and many other industries, which in turn, is expected to drive the growth of the global fatty acid methyl esters market during the forecast period.The high cost of the fatty acid methyl esters coupled with the high cost of procuring raw materials is expected to hamper the growth of this market in near future.Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Market: SegmentationThe global fatty acid methyl ester market can be segmented on the basis of product type and applications. On the basis of product type, the market can be segmented into medium chain triglycerides, isopropyl palmitate, glyceryl monostearate, glycol ester, polyol esters and sucrose esters. On the basis of applications, the market can be further segmented into food, coatings, lubricants, polymers, agriculture, metalworking fluids, cosmetics & personal care and fuels.Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Market: Regional OutlookBased on regions, North America is expected to be the most promising revenue generating region. Increasing demand for personal care products is expected to drive the growth of the global fatty acid methyl ester market. Moreover, regulations in North America that favor biodiesel with the intention of combating global warming are further anticipated to escalate the demand for fatty acid methyl ester in this region. Asia Pacific is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period. Strong demand from emerging economies like China and India in the Asia Pacific region is expected to upsurge the demand for fatty acid methyl ester in near future. Europe and Latin America are projected to witness positive growth throughout the forecast period.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Fatty Acid Methyl Ester Market: Key PlayersSome of the prominent players identified in the global fatty acid methyl esters market are mentioned below:Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM)Wilmar International LimitedBASF SECargill IncKLK Oleo Sdn. Bhd.Berg + SchmidtP&G ChemicalsEmery Oleochemicals GroupLongyan Zhuoyue New Energy Co. Ltd.Western Lowa EnergyEvonik IndustriesAbout UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
OTR Tires Market Share, Trend, Demand and Key Manufacturers Analysis and Forecast to 2022

ReportsWeb

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001790126/sample

http://www.reportsweb.com/global-otr-tires-market-professional-survey-report-2017

http://www.reportsweb.com/buy&RW0001790126/buy/3500

ReportsWeb.com has announced the addition of the Global OTR Tires Market Research Report 2017 The report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification.This report studies OTR Tires in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2012 to 2016, and forecast to 2022.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringBridgestoneMichelinGoodyearYokohama TireChina National Tyre & RubberTitanMRFContinentalBelshinaCheng-Shin RubberEurotireLinglong TireBKTAlliance Tire GroupDoublestarTriangleFujian Haian RubberPrinx ChengshanRequest for Sample @By types, the market can be split intoRim Diameter (20 inch)Rim Diameter (20 to 45 inch)Rim Diameter (45 to 65 inch)OtherBy Application, the market can be split intoConstructionMiningPortAgriculturalOtherBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaVisit for More Information @Table of Contents1 Industry Overview of OTR Tires2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of OTR Tires3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of OTR Tires4 Global OTR Tires Overall Market Overview5 OTR Tires Regional Market Analysis6 Global 2012-2017E OTR Tires Segment Market Analysis (by Type)7 Global 2012-2017E OTR Tires Segment Market Analysis (by Application)8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of OTR Tires8.1 Bridgestone8.1.1 Company Profile8.1.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.1.2.1 Product A8.1.2.2 Product B8.1.3 Bridgestone 2016 OTR Tires Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.1.4 Bridgestone 2016 OTR Tires Business Region Distribution Analysis8.2 Michelin8.2.1 Company Profile8.2.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.2.2.1 Product A8.2.2.2 Product B8.2.3 Michelin 2016 OTR Tires Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.2.4 Michelin 2016 OTR Tires Business Region Distribution Analysis8.3 Goodyear8.3.1 Company Profile8.3.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.3.2.1 Product A8.3.2.2 Product B8.3.3 Goodyear 2016 OTR Tires Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.3.4 Goodyear 2016 OTR Tires Business Region Distribution Analysis9 Development Trend of Analysis of OTR Tires Market10 OTR Tires Marketing Type Analysis11 Consumers Analysis of OTR Tires12 Conclusion of the Global OTR Tires Market Professional Survey Report 2017Purchase this Report @Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Demand of Water Meter Market in Global Industry : Market Development, Analysis and Overview 2017

https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=981975

https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=981975

https://www.researchmoz.us/water-meter-market-global-industry-analysis-size-share-growth-trends-and-forecast-2016-2024-report.html

http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG

https://marketinfo247.wordpress.com/

Albany, NY, 6th October : Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of "Water Meter Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024" globally.The water meter market report provides analysis for the period 20142024, wherein the period from 2016 to 2024 is the forecast period and 2015 is the base year. The report covers all the major trends and technologies playing a key role in water meter market growth over the forecast period. It also highlights the drivers, restraints, and opportunities expected to influence markets growth during the said period. The study provides a holistic perspective on the water meter markets growth throughout the above mentioned forecast period in terms of revenue (in US$ Mn and Million units), across different geographies, including Asia Pacific, South America, North America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa (MEA).Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @The market overview section of the report demonstrates the market dynamics and trends, such as the drivers, restraints, and opportunities that influence the current nature and future status of this market. An attractiveness analysis has also been provided for every geographic region in the report, in order to give a thorough analysis of the overall competitive scenario of the water meter market, globally. Moreover, the report provides an overview of the various strategies of key players present in the market. Production definition and introduction chapter helps in understanding different types of water meters along with their components which are included in the report.Global Water Meter Market: SegmentationThe report segments the global water meter market on the basis of type into rotary piston, single jet, multi jet, woltman, combination, electromagnetic and ultrasonic. By application, the market has been classified into residential, commercial and industrial segments. Thus, the report provides in-depth cross-segment analysis of the water meter market and classifies it into various levels, thereby providing valuable insights at the macro as well as micro levels.The report also highlights the competitive landscape of the water meter market, thereby positioning all the major players according to their geographic presence and recent key developments. The comprehensive water meter market estimates are the result of our in-depth secondary research, primary interviews, and in-house expert panel reviews. These market estimates have been analyzed by taking into account the impact of different political, social, economic, technological, and legal factors along with the current market dynamics affecting the water meter markets growth.Global Water Meter Market: Regional OutlookOn the basis of country, North America market is divided into the U.S., Canada and Rest of North America. Similarly, Europe market is divided into U.K., Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Rest of Europe. Asia Pacific has been segmented into China, Japan, India, Indonesia and Rest of Asia Pacific. Middle East and Africa covers the U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Rest of Middle East and Africa, similarly, South America region includes Brazil, Argentina and Rest of South America. This report provides all the essential information required to understand the water meter and its components. Also, the report provides insights related to the policies and regulations according to the various geographical regions mentioned above. These policies and regulations are directly or indirectly influencing the water meter market. Furthermore, Porters Five Forces analysis explains the factors which are currently affecting the Water Meter market. This report also provides the value chain analysis for the water meter which explains the participants of the value chain.Make an Enquiry about TOC @Key Players Mentioned in the Report are:Diehl Stiftung & Co. KG, Azbil Kimmon Co., Ltd., Badger Meter, Inc., Elster Group GmbH, Neptune Technology Group Inc., G. Gioanola S.R.L., Aichi Tokei Denki Co., Ltd, Apator SA, Arad Group, Fedrel Meter, B Meter, Itron Inc., Master Meter, Inc., Maddalena Spa, Kamstrup A/S, Sensus (Xylem Inc.), ZENNER International GmbH & Co. KG, Mueller Systems, LLC., Plata Meter Co., Ltd, NINGBO WATER METER CO.,LTD. and Jiaxing Eastron Electronic Instruments Co., Ltd are some of the major players operating within the global Water Meter market profiled in this study. Details such as financials, SWOT analysis, business strategies, recent developments, and other such strategic information pertaining to these players have been duly provided as part of company profiling.Water Meter Market SegmentationBy TypeRotary PistonConventionalSmartSingle JetConventionalSmartMulti JetConventionalSmartWoltmanConventionalSmartCombinationConventionalSmartElectromagneticConventionalSmartUltrasonicConventionalSmartBy ApplicationResidentialCommercialIndustrialBy GeographyNorth AmericaU.S.CanadaRest of North AmericaEuropeU.K.GermanyFranceSpainItalyRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaJapanIndiaIndonesiaRest of Asia PacificMiddle East and Africa (MEA)Browse Report @A.E.Saudi ArabiaSouth AfricaRest of MEASouth AmericaBrazilArgentinaRest of South AmericaResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on :
Indium Oxide Market to Expand with Significant CAGR During 2016 - 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=11567

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=11567

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/indium-oxide-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

Indium Oxide Market: OverviewIndium oxide also known as indium sesquioxide is a yellow colored ceramic like material which is insoluble in water. It is an n-type semiconductor and is therefore used as a resistive element in integrated circuits. Indium oxide can be doped with tin dioxide to form indium tin oxide which is used in display technologies such as OLED, plasma electroluminescent, electrochromatic display and LCD. It is used as an antistatic indium oxide coating, in photovoltaic solar cells, aircraft windshields, EMI shielding and nanowires. Indium oxide finds several applications in the electronics industry owing to its semiconductor characteristics.Indium oxide has excellent optical and antistatic properties. It is used as a substitute of mercury in batteries. Additionally, it forms a transparent conducting ceramic in combination with tin oxide, which is used in the micro electronics industry to form capacitors, resistors and other components. Furthermore, indium oxide is used to form thin film infra-red reflectors. The dark yellow pigment imparted by indium oxide enables the formation of histological stain formulations, in order to study biological samples under microscopes. The nanowires composed out of this chemical are used as redox protein sensors, owing to which they find application in biotechnological studies and biomedical devices.A sample of this report is available upon request @Furthermore, indium oxide is used in solar cells due to which it finds application in renewable power generation sources. It can be doped with several materials such as silicon and gallium to form hetero-junctions thereby imparting electrical conductivity to them.Indium Oxide Market: DriversThe growing demand for semiconductors from the electronics industry has been propelling the indium oxide market. Nanowires, batteries, electrically charged nanoparticles, optical and anti static coatings among others are extensively used in the electronics industry. Furthermore, electrically charged ceramics find application in electronic parts required in aircrafts and sub marines which have to withstand extreme pressure and temperature conditions. However, the inhalation of indium oxide causes nasal irritation, skin and lung infections owing to which its use is highly regulated in countries such as the U.S and Western Europe. The growing GDP of emerging economies such as China and India is expected to open new avenues of opportunity for the indium oxide market.Indium Oxide Market: Regional DynamicsCountries such as China, India and South Korea dominate the global electronics market. There is widespread use of indium oxide in these countries owing to the numerous applications of indium oxide in the electronics industry. In Europe, indium oxide nanoparticles are used by CERN- the European organization for nuclear research. Additionally, in the U.S. indium oxide is used in histo-pathological applications for staining of biological samples. The flourishing biotechnology industry in Israel and the U.S. are minor users of indium oxide for specialty stains.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Countries such as China and India manufacture mercury-free batteries for use in power back-up inverters. These batteries find application in household inverters. The Indian sub continent and Africa are large markets for mercury-free inverters, owing to which indium oxide has a large consumption in these countries.Indium Oxide Market: Key PlayersThe key players in this market are Beijing Cerametek Materials Co., Ltd. Tekra, A Division of EIS, Inc., Umicore Marketing Services, Genvac Aerospace, Inc, Photo Sciences, Inc, Thin Film Devices, Inc, Thin Film Devices, Inc, Colorado Concept Coatings, LLC, Shanghai Huzheng Nano Technology Co., Ltd., Shanghai Huzheng Nanotechnology Co., Ltd, China Leadmat Advanced Materials Co., Ltd, Shanghai Huzheng Nano Technology Co., Ltd., Zhongnuo Advanced Material Technology Co., Ltd, Huizhou Tianyi Rare Material Co., Ltd, Xuzhou Jiechuang New Materials Technology Co., Ltd and Huizhou Tianyi Rare Material Co., Ltd among others.Get access to full summary @:The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About USTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a next-generation provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact USState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Website:Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com
Hosted Test Environment Management Market Size to Escalate at a Rapid Scale Through 2016 - 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=13790

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=13790

Test Environment Management (TEM) has evolved as an efficient capability to provide software developers and organizations with test-environment to aid their software testing cycle to execute test scenarios and identify bugs. Hosted TEM facilitates an organization to speed up their software testing process and enable faster release of their software to the market, as the setup time for creating a traditional test environment is reduced to great extent.A sample of this report is available upon request @This provides organizations with lead time in the market due to the faster release of their software and gain a competitive advantage in the market. On-demand access to varying needs of test tools on the hosted test environment serves as an important factor to attract software organizations to hosted TEM management services. Furthermore, it reduces the cost attached with allocating a dedicated teams for critical software testing and also enhance the quality of software testing procedures. The hosted TEM eliminates the need for the setup of complex infrastructure within an organization. Hosted TEM service provider offers comprehensive solutions that include technology and infrastructure, resources, and security and standard compliance.Hosted TEM services market is anticipated to observe continuous increase in demand in the coming years. This is attributed to the rise in the IT industry sector in recent past. The rise in IT industry sector has intensified the competition among the software organizations, thus encouraging them to adopt hosted TEM services and increase the testing process time. Moreover, increasing demand for cloud services due to its cost benefits over on-premise deployment has attracted many organizations towards the deployment of Hosted TEM services. Pay-as-you-use model is another factor to add to the growth of hosted TEM among the small and medium-sized businesses. Increasing complexity of web and mobile applications, and its requirements to test for multiple operating systems is another major factor to support the TEM management services market. However, hosted TEM faces certain challenges such as security and environment availability might affect its widespread adoption in the market.Hosted TEM services market is segmented depending on the enterprise size that include small and medium-sized enterprises and large enterprises. Small companies with lack of resources for testing are more likely to prefer hosted test environment management services. Hosted TEM services witnessed huge demand in the North America region. The concentration of established software organizations have largely contributed to the hosted TEM services market growth in the U.S. Furthermore, established infrastructure and fast adoption of new technologies have aided the TEM services market across the region. However, Asia Pacific region is likely to be a potential market for the hosted TEM services in coming years due to the growing IT industry sector in countries such as India and Philippines. Moreover, China and Japan are expected to contribute largely to the growth of Hosted TEM market in the Asia Pacific region.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Considering the high potential market and growing opportunities for the hosted TEM services market, large number of software organizations are focused on providing these services across the world. The key players offering the hosted TEM services include Capgemini Group, Infosys Limited, and Plutora, Inc., and Computer Sciences Corporation.About USTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a next-generation provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact Us-U.S. OFFICE:State Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207
Flat Steel Market Expansion Projected to Gain an Uptick During 2017 - 2025

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/16339

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/16339

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

Flat steel is rolled from a semi-furnished material such as ingots or billets, and slabs. It is commonly used in consumer durable, white goods, construction as well as automotive industry. Flat steel is used by various manufacturers such as light bar industries, cable trays, truck trailers, automobile industry, railways, tippers, grating manufacturers, and other engineering industries. Flat steel enhances the quality, ductility, toughness, reliability, consistency of end product along with reduces the waste as well as a rework of production process. Moreover, it helps in maximized yield, trouble-free processing, improves product shelf life, and enhance the overall performance of the end product. According to World Steel Association, the overall steel products consumption in Asia & Oceania market was estimated around 990 Mn metric tons in 2015.Flat Steel Market: Drivers and RestraintsInnovative steel production techniques, expansion in the manufacturing capacity, and steel companies are inclining towards electric arc furnace manufacturing process which will provide them an operating flexibility are a primary factor driving the growth of global flat steel market. Moreover, extensive use of flat steel in the construction of factories, roads, and engineering structure, and growing automobile and construction industry globally which account about two third of steel consumption are some of the prominent factors fueling the growth of flat steel market over the forecast period. However, the high fixed cost of blast furnace production process have a severely adverse impact on the profitability of steel manufacturers, and fluctuation in product price may limiting the growth of the flat steel market during the forecast period. For Instance, In February 2017, the average price of flat steel in Asian market was increased by around US$25 per ton compared to previous month.A sample of this report is available upon request @Flat Steel Market: SegmentationThe flat steel market has been classified by product type, production process, and end user.Based on product type, the flat steel market is segmented into the following:SheetsCold Rolled CoilHot Rolled CoilGalvanized CoilPlatesBased on the production process, the flat steel market is segmented into the following:Blast Furnace (BF)Electric Arc Furnace (EAF)Based on the end user, the flat steel market is segmented into the following:AppliancesAutomobileConstructionTransportationAgriculture EquipmentShipbuildingOthersFlat Steel Market: OverviewFlat steel market revenue is expected to grow at a rapid growth rate, over the forecast period. The market is anticipated to perform well in the near future owing to the low cost of cold rolled steel sheets compared to hot rolled sheets and expanding industrialization. Moreover, increasing public sector expenditure and the rise in infrastructure investments are some of the factors that can propel the market revenue growth of flat steel soon. Based on product type, sheets segment is projected to lead the global flat steel market over the forecast period attributed to the extensive use of hot rolled steel sheets for the development of the major sized structures such as heavy equipment, construction, and railroads, and high malleable property. On the other hand, the cold rolled sheets are a finished form of the sheet used when a surface finishing is required automotive parts. The cold steel is processed in cold reduction mills at room temperature along with tempers rolling which make steel closer dimensional tolerance, improve surface finish, and enhance the tensile strength.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Flat Steel Market: Region-wise OutlookDepending on the geographic region, flat steel market is divided into seven key regions: North America, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Western Europe, Japan, Asia-Pacific, and the Middle East & Africa. North America dominates the flat steel market followed by Europe, and Japan is owing to expanding automotive output, high adoption of oil and gas tubular, and government initiatives. The market in Asia Pacific and Japan is expected to grow at significant CAGR owing to expanding construction and automobile industry, the presence of prominent players in these regions. Additionally, increasing exports of steel from developing countries such as India which has escalated by 78% during April 2016 to February 2017 are the factors which are anticipated to drive the growth of flat steel market throughout the forecast period.Flat Steel Market: Key PlayersSome of the prominent players in the flat steel market are ArcelorMittal S.A., Allegheny Technologies Inc., Zeeco Metals, Inc., SSAB AB, Clingan Steel, Inc., United States Steel Corporation, AK Steel Holding Corporation, Hascall Steel Co., Essar Group ThyssenKrupp AG, Posco Co. Ltd., Precision Brand Products, Inc., Johnson Bros. Metal Forming Co., Voestalpine AG, Jindal Steel and Power Limited, JSW Steel Ltd., Tata Steel Limited, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp, Hyundai Steel Co., and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), and many more.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
3D Concrete Printing Market to Undertake Strapping Growth During 2016 - 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=12110

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=12110

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/3d-concrete-printing-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

Global 3D Concrete Printing Market: Overview3D concrete printing is a technologically advanced and innovative method used for constructing predesigned building components with the help of 3D concrete printers. The technology holds the promise of substantially optimizing the construction industry in terms of construction cost, time, error reduction, flexibility in design, and environmental impact. Past experiments have successfully acknowledged the technologys expertise on all these fronts and the technology is being steadily adopted on a larger scale around the globe. The field of 3D concrete printing is receiving increased focus from construction companies across the globe. These companies mainly focus on experimenting with different concrete mixes and printing machines to bring about further developments in this construction technique.With construction companies making continuous efforts to bring 3D concrete printing in mainstream construction, the global 3D concrete printing market is projected to gather significant momentum in the next few years. The report provides a 360-degree overview of the market, covering crucial market-related details about the key elements and segments of the market. The report examines the impact of the major growth drivers, challenges, and trends on the markets future growth prospects, underlining both the most lucrative and the most unprofitable investment areas.A sample of this report is available upon request @Global 3D Concrete Printing Market: Trends and OpportunitiesThe rate at which construction companies, researchers, and technologists are coming together in the development of 3D concrete printing techniques is commendable. A variety of concrete mixes, such as shotcrete, ready-mix concrete, limecrete, precast and stamped concrete, and high-density concrete, are already in the market and many more effective mixes are being introduced at a steady pace. Construction companies are increasingly utilizing the technique to formulate building elements such as panels, lintels, roofs, floors, walls, and pavement slabs.The market is expected to receive a healthy boost from developing regions such as Asia Pacific and some parts of Latin America in the near future. The construction sector in these regions is projected to lead to an increased demand for cost-effective building elements fabricated through 3D concrete printing techniques to complement the several new infrastructure development and building construction projects.Global 3D Concrete Printing Market: Region-wise OutlookThe report examines the global 3D concrete printing market from a geographical standpoint and segments it into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Rest of the World. The market for 3D concrete printing in Asia Pacific is currently the fastest-growing regional market, primarily owing to the rising disposable incomes and rising population in the region, which have led to a major rise in new construction projects in the past years. China exhibits attractive opportunities for the Asia Pacific 3D concrete printing market. The growth witnessed by the market in China is due to the presence of some prominent innovators in the country, government backing, rising awareness regarding the benefits of 3D printing techniques, and an expanding set of applications.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Global 3D Concrete Printing Market: Competitive LandscapeSeveral construction companies are actively experimenting with a variety of 3D printing techniques and more will do so over the forecast period. The Chinese company WinSun constructed 10 houses using 3D concrete printing in under 24 hours recently. The Dutch company Universe Architecture has designed the worlds largest 3D printer that uses sand as a binder for creating a stone-like material.Over the forecast period, many more companies will utilize 3D concrete printing technologies in a variety of construction activities. The market does not have many companies at present and thus products are limited in variety as well. Hence it faces the issue of lack of standardization. However, as more companies venture in the 3D concrete printing arena, products will become more standardized, sophisticated, and even more cost competitive. Some of the major companies currently operating in the global 3D concrete printing market are WinSun Global, Universe Architecture, Skanska, DUS Architects, Sika, Carilliom Plc., Fosters + Partners, and LafargeHolcim.Get access to full summary @:The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.About USTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a next-generation provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact USState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Website:Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com
Train Wheel Market - Global Application, Classification, Revenue, Growth Rate, Opportunities and Forecast 2017-2022

ReportsWeb

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011116871/sample

http://www.reportsweb.com/global-train-wheel-sales-market-report-2017-2022

http://www.reportsweb.com/buy&RW00011116871/buy/4000

ReportsWeb.com has announced the addition of the Global Train Wheel Sales Market Report 2017-2022 The report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification.Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K Units) , revenue (Million USD) , market share and growth rate of Train Wheel for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast) , coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaRequest Sample copy @Global Train Wheel market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Train Wheel sales volume, Price (USD/Unit) , revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingMA SteelGHH RadsatzInterpipeArriumNippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal (NSSMC)Sumitomo Metal IndustriesAmsted RailRail Wheel FactoryVyksa Steel Works (VSW)Hegenscheidt-MFDTaiyuan Heavy IndustryDatong ABC Castings Company Limited (DACC)Tonghe Wheels LtdOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoMonoblock WheelStrake WheelOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Train Wheel for each application, includingPassenger TrainGoods TrainLocomotiveFor more Information Visit @Table of Contents1 Train Wheel Market Overview2 Global Train Wheel Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application3 United States Train Wheel (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4 China Train Wheel (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5 Europe Train Wheel (Volume, Value and Sales Price)6 Japan Train Wheel (Volume, Value and Sales Price)7 Korea Train Wheel (Volume, Value and Sales Price)8 Taiwan Train Wheel (Volume, Value and Sales Price)9 Global Train Wheel Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data9.1 MA Steel9.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.1.2 Train Wheel Product Category, Application and Specification9.1.2.1 Product A9.1.2.2 Product B9.1.3 MA Steel Train Wheel Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.2 GHH Radsatz9.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.2.2 Train Wheel Product Category, Application and Specification9.2.2.1 Product A9.2.2.2 Product B9.2.3 GHH Radsatz Train Wheel Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.3 Interpipe9.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.3.2 Train Wheel Product Category, Application and Specification9.3.2.1 Product A9.3.2.2 Product B9.3.3 Interpipe Train Wheel Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview10 Train Wheel Manufacturing Cost Analysis11 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers12 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders13 Market Effect Factors Analysis14 Global Train Wheel Market Forecast (2017-2022)15 Research Findings and ConclusionPurchase this Report @Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Gear Motors External Services Market Expected to Rise Steadily throughout 2016 - 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=13808

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=13808

The external services for gear motors include aftermarket services such as repair and maintenance. Currently, external service providers are expected to attract customers for periodic repair and maintenance tapping into the manufacturers potential revenue alternatives. Gear motors external services providers cater to various industries such as food and beverages industry, metals and mining industry, power industry, material handling industry, oil and gas industry, chemical industry, petrochemical industry, construction industry, pulp and paper industry, water and waste water management industry, heavy machinery industry, and agriculture industry.A sample of this report is available upon request @The gear motors market is segmented by type of service as emergency (breakdown) services, spare parts, and maintenance (and repair) services. The maintenance and emergency services dominate the gear motors external services market. However, the spare parts segment is expected to witness significant growth in gear motor external services market owing to replacement needs in the complex industries.The key players in the gear motors external service market include SEW Eurodrive, BFT Automation UK Ltd., Siemens AG, SKF International, Bonfiglioli and David Brown Gear Systems Ltd, Framo Morat Group among others. Gear motor external services market is segmented by geography into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America. Currently North America is the largest market for gear motors external services. China is one of the leading revenue contributors in the global gear motors external services market.In environments where gear motors are subjected to extreme conditions, constant maintenance is required. Thus, to maintain the life and efficiency of gear motors, demand for external services is gaining traction. Increasing importance of predictive and preventive maintenance is driving the gear motors external services market. Gear motor manufacturers are focusing mainly on conditional monitoring thus increasing the demand for external services in the gear motors market.Customized gear motors are gaining traction in the market. In case of customized high powered gear motors, only the manufacturer holds the sufficient knowledge to provide repair services thus restraining the demand for external services in the gear motors market. However, as high powered gear motors require constant maintenance the demand for external services is expected to boost. Moreover, with manufacturers (gear motors) looking for alternatives to expand their network worldwide, demand for service providers is expected to further surge. The trend is further estimated to strengthen as customers look for quality/certified service providers so as to ensure higher run time of these motors for enhanced efficiency.External services for gear motors are also gaining importance due to energy efficiency requirements. For achieving efficiency, constant maintenance services are needed which drives the gear motors external services market. Gear motor replacement needs across industries boosts the gear motors market growth. In oil and gas industry, mining industry, power industry, provision of maintenance and repair is challenging in terms of distribution and logistics of services. Such niche segments are expected to open up new opportunities and gain demand over the coming years.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @The use of gear motors in non-conventional energy generation sector is expected to drive the market over the coming years. Though, ease of use and simple design is facilitating the wide acceptance of gear motor technology across various industries, new technologies such as variable frequency drives restrain the growth of gear motors external services market.About USTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a next-generation provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact Us-U.S. OFFICE:State Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207
Tea Market Production, Consumption, Revenue, Price, Development Trend and Key Manufacturers Analysis 2017

ReportsWeb

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011111920/sample

http://www.reportsweb.com/global-tea-sales-market-report-2017-2022

http://www.reportsweb.com/buy&RW00011111920/buy/4000

ReportsWeb.com has announced the addition of the Global Tea Sales Market Report 2017 The report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification.Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K Units) , revenue (Million USD) , market share and growth rate of Tea for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast) , coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaRequest Sample copy @Global Tea market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Tea sales volume, Price (USD/Unit) , revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingCoca ColaAssociated British FoodsUnileverBettys & Taylors GroupTeavanaLondon Fruit & HerbSteepsterSenchaBanchaDragon WellPi Lo ChunMao FengXinyang MaojianAnji Green TeaStash Tea CompanyOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoHigh QualityMiddle QualityLow QualityOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Tea for each application, includingSupermarketsConvenience StoresOnline StoresOtherFor more Information Visit @Table of Contents1 Tea Market Overview2 Global Tea Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application3 United States Tea (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4 China Tea (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5 Europe Tea (Volume, Value and Sales Price)6 Japan Tea (Volume, Value and Sales Price)7 Korea Tea (Volume, Value and Sales Price)8 Taiwan Tea (Volume, Value and Sales Price)9 Global Tea Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data9.1 Coca Cola9.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.1.2 Tea Product Category, Application and Specification9.1.2.1 Product A9.1.2.2 Product B9.1.3 Coca Cola Tea Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.2 Associated British Foods9.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.2.2 Tea Product Category, Application and Specification9.2.2.1 Product A9.2.2.2 Product B9.2.3 Associated British Foods Tea Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.3 Unilever9.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.3.2 Tea Product Category, Application and Specification9.3.2.1 Product A9.3.2.2 Product B9.3.3 Unilever Tea Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview10 Tea Manufacturing Cost Analysis11 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers12 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders13 Market Effect Factors Analysis14 Global Tea Market Forecast (2017-2022)15 Research Findings and ConclusionPurchase this Report @Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Amazon.com Inc in Retailing

Amazon.com Inc in Retailing

http://www.orbisresearch.biz/contacts/request-sample/465234

http://www.orbisresearch.biz/reports/index/amazoncom-inc-in-retailing

https://www.linkedin.com/company/orbis-research

https://twitter.com/orbisresearch

https://www.facebook.com/OrbisResearch

Current Market trends are quantitatively analyzed and estimated for the industry investors of Amazon.com Inc in Retailing, which have been provided to highlight the financial competency. Key market players have been profiled to gain an understanding of the strategies adopted by them.Amazon.com, with its business model based on low prices, wide-ranging merchandise, convenience, customer satisfaction, quality recommendations, and delivery efficiency, hits a number of high demand features in the modern retail climate. Doing so consistently for years has built a loyal customer base and unparalleled brand equity for the company. Distinct strength in the US market belies its potential in developing regions such as India, where it is poised to become a major player.Amazon.com Inc in Retailing company profile offers detailed strategic analysis of the companys business, examining its performance in the Retailing industry. The report examines company shares by region and sector, product developments, market and distribution strategies, challenges from the competition and future prospects. Use it to understand opportunities and threats facing the business and the factors driving success.Product coverage: Non-Store Retailing, Store-based Retailing.Data coverage: market sizes (historic and forecasts), company shares, brand shares and distribution data.See how Orbis Researchs solutions can help you @Why buy this report?Get a detailed picture of the Retailing market;Pinpoint growth sectors and identify factors driving change;Understand the competitive environment, the markets major players and leading brands;Use five-year forecasts to assess how the market is predicted to develop.Table of Contents:com Inc in RetailingEuromonitor InternationalSeptember 2017Scope of the ReportStrategic EvaluationCompetitive PositioningGlobal Retail PresencePrivate LabelOperations and LogisticsOpportunities and RecommendationsRead more details of the report at:Orbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas  75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +9164101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:Follow us on Twitter:Like us on Facebook:
Condition Monitoring Equipment Market to Technological Innovations During 2017 - 2025

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/16627

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/16627

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

In most manufacturing and processing operations, maintenance attributes for almost half of all operating costs. Thus, manufacturers focus on implementing equipment that can potentially lower these costs. For the purpose of determining machinery reliability, condition monitoring equipment observe physical parameters linked with machinery operation, such as temperature, vibration and others. This information can be used for many different purposes, such as maintenance and loading activities once the reliability of a machine has been estimated. On the basis of product type, the vibration monitoring equipment segment estimated to grow rapidly in various applications as compared to other condition monitoring equipment, owing to its ability to detect machine deterioration and faults before the occurrence of indications, such as heat, greater electrical consumption, lubricant impurities and sounds. Therefore, vibration monitoring remains the most preferred condition monitoring equipment.A sample of this report is available upon request @In terms of maintenance activities, the ultimate goal of condition monitoring equipment is to schedule maintenance and other activities to be undertaken so as to avoid faults and result in the optimum use of resources. Condition monitoring equipment can also be used as process monitoring tools and they are also useful in mending end product quality control.Condition Monitoring Equipment Market: DynamicsDrivers:The growing demand for smart factories is estimated to fuel the growth of condition monitoring equipment. Rise in smart factories has created a need for automation, which in turn is estimated to support growth of condition monitoring equipment to fulfil the requirement of predictive maintenance to protect expensive machinery against damage. Remote monitoring helps control condition monitoring equipment with or without physical presence. Wireless sensors collect information and alert the maintenance department before the breakdown of the machine, thus ensuring smooth functioning of the plant and machinery.As the focus is shifting from product centred to service centred technology solutions, the service industry is expected to surge the demand for condition monitoring equipment. The entry barrier for the condition monitoring equipment market is fairly low as there are a few giant players in this market, due to low capital requirement.Development of low cost conditional monitoring equipment with quick processing functions, improved software and the ability to connect huge databases with multiple programs is expected to fuel market growth. Factors, such as increasing demand for smart factories, growing wireless technology, growth in the HVAC systems market and growing focus of manufacturers towards predictive maintenance are estimated to positively impact growth of this market.Restraints:Growth of the global condition monitoring equipment market is estimated to be hampered by factors, such as unpredictable maintenance periods and additional expenses incurred in old machines. Convincing higher management to install condition monitoring equipment to minimize the risk of complete failure is a challenging task, which may prove to be a growth deterrent for this market.Condition Monitoring Equipment Market: SegmentationThe global condition monitoring equipment market can be segmented on the basis of product type as: vibration monitoring, lubricating oil analysis, thermography, corrosion monitoring, motor current signature analysis and ultrasound emission.The global condition monitoring equipment market can be segmented on the basis of application as: energy & power, oil & gas, metals & mining, automotive, chemicals, aerospace & defense, food and beverages, marine and others.Condition Monitoring Equipment Market: Regional OutlookEurope and North America are estimated to dominate the condition monitoring equipment market over the forecast period. On the basis of region, the Asia-Pacific Condition Monitoring Equipment market is estimated to witness rapid growth, owing to economic growth and significant rise in industrialization in this region. These factors are expected to stimulate demand for smart factories, which in turn is expected to fuel growth of the condition monitoring equipment market over the forecast period.Additionally, the Japan condition monitoring equipment market will contribute significantly to global growth, owing to constant growth in adopting factory advanced technologies. Middle East & Africa and Latin America are also estimated to register significant growth over the forecast period.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Condition Monitoring Equipment Market: Market ParticipantsExamples of some of the market participants in the global condition monitoring equipment market identified across the value chain include:National Instruments.Parker Hannifin CorporationSchaeffler Technologies AGAzima DLI Corp.The Emerson Electric CompanyGeneral ElectricNational InstrumentsSKF GroupALS Ltd.Meggitt PLCVibrotech Reliability Services LimitedThe IKM GroupAbout UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Telecom Power Systems Market 2017 Research In-Depth Analysis, Key Players Manufacturers, Applications, Forecasts to 2022

ReportsWeb

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011110007/sample

http://www.reportsweb.com/global-telecom-power-systems-sales-market-report-2017-2022

http://www.reportsweb.com/buy&RW00011110007/buy/4000

ReportsWeb.com has announced the addition of the Global Telecom Power Systems Sales Market Report 2017-2022 The report focuses on global major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, product picture and specification.Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K Units) , revenue (Million USD) , market share and growth rate of Telecom Power Systems for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast) , coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaRequest Sample copy @Global Telecom Power Systems market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Telecom Power Systems sales volume, Price (USD/Unit) , revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingHUAWEIDeltaEmersonGEAlpha TechnologiesZTEDynamic PowerCummins Power Generation.StaticonZHONGHENTonlierPRTEMPotevioBYDOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoIndoor TypeOutdoor TypeOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Telecom Power Systems for each application, includingCommunications OperatorsEnterpriseOthersFor more Information Visit @Table of Contents1 Telecom Power Systems Market Overview2 Global Telecom Power Systems Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application3 United States Telecom Power Systems (Volume, Value and Sales Price)4 China Telecom Power Systems (Volume, Value and Sales Price)5 Europe Telecom Power Systems (Volume, Value and Sales Price)6 Japan Telecom Power Systems (Volume, Value and Sales Price)7 Korea Telecom Power Systems (Volume, Value and Sales Price)8 Taiwan Telecom Power Systems (Volume, Value and Sales Price)9 Global Telecom Power Systems Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data9.1 HUAWEI9.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.1.2 Telecom Power Systems Product Category, Application and Specification9.1.2.1 Product A9.1.2.2 Product B9.1.3 HUAWEI Telecom Power Systems Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.2 Delta9.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.2.2 Telecom Power Systems Product Category, Application and Specification9.2.2.1 Product A9.2.2.2 Product B9.2.3 Delta Telecom Power Systems Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.3 Emerson9.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.3.2 Telecom Power Systems Product Category, Application and Specification9.3.2.1 Product A9.3.2.2 Product B9.3.3 Emerson Telecom Power Systems Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview10 Telecom Power Systems Manufacturing Cost Analysis11 Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers12 Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders13 Market Effect Factors Analysis14 Global Telecom Power Systems Market Forecast (2017-2022)15 Research Findings and ConclusionPurchase this Report @Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support Telecom Power Systemsm is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
User and Entity Behavior Analytics Industry Size, Share, Trends, Analysis and Forecasts for Global Markets

The Insight Partners

http://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPTE100000657

http://www.theinsightpartners.com/inquiry/TIPTE100000657

http://www.theinsightpartners.com/reports/user-and-entity-behavior-analytics-market

A product that uses advanced algorithms and incorporates machine learning capabilities to track, collect, and analyze behavior of users as well as entities that include employees of an organization, third party contractors or outsiders connected to the network or any other server, device & application that is connected to the network. The core capabilities of machine learning systems are now being used to great effect for enterprise security applications. It is expected that User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) tools that act as perfect supplements to Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) programs will become the major trends in the coming years ahead.Growing vulnerability of the IT perimeter defenses of large organizations and their porous nature drive the use of UEBA tools by large organizations for security purposes, whereas reasons such as randomness in the results obtained and no defined solution for a particular attack act as deterrents to growth of this market. The continuous rise in the machine learning technology will bring new opportunities in the for UEBA players in the market.Request Sample is Available atThe Global User and Entity Behavior Analytics Market Analysis to 2025 is a specialized and in-depth study of the User and entity behavior analytics industry with a focus on the global market trend. The report aims to provide an overview of global user and entity behavior analytics market with detailed market segmentation by product, deployment model, application, end-user industry and geography. The global User and entity behavior analytics market is expected to witness high growth during the forecast period. The report provides key statistics on the market status of the leading market players and offers key trends and opportunities in the market.The report provides a detailed overview of the industry including both qualitative and quantitative information. It provides overview and forecast of the global User and entity behavior analytics market based on product, deployment model, application and end-user industry. It also provides market size and forecast till 2025 for overall User and entity behavior analytics market with respect to five major regions, namely; North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South America (SAM). The market by each region is later sub-segmented by respective countries and segments. The report covers analysis and forecast of 16 counties globally along with current trend and opportunities prevailing in the region.Inquire before Buying atBesides this, the report analyzes factors affecting market from both demand and supply side and further evaluates market dynamics effecting the market during the forecast period i.e., drivers, restraints, opportunities, and future trend. The report also provides exhaustive PEST analysis for all five regions namely; North America, Europe, APAC, MEA and South America after evaluating political, economic, social and technological factors effecting the market in these regions.Also, key User and entity behavior analytics market players influencing the market are profiled in the study along with their SWOT analysis and market strategies. The report also focuses on leading industry players with information such as company profiles, products and services offered, financial information of last 3 years, key development in past five years.The List of Companies1. Rapid72. Exabeam, Inc.3. Sqrrl Data, Inc.4. Splunk, Inc.5. Securonix6. Varonis Systems, Inc.7. Bay Dynamics8. Bottomline Technologies, Inc.9. E8 Security Inc.10. GuruculComplete Report is Available atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@theinsightpartners.comAbout Us:The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We are a specialist in Technology, Media, and Telecommunication industries.533, 5th Floor, Amanora Chambers,Amanora Township, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Aquaponics Market is fastest-growing in food industry by 2017 - 2022

https://www.scalarmarketresearch.com/request-sample.php?id=1208

https://www.scalarmarketresearch.com/market-reports/aquaponics-market

www.scalarmarketresearch.com

www.linkedin.com/company/scalar-market-research

Aquaponics is a unique system developed by the combination of aquaculture (raising aquatic animals) and hydroponics (cultivating plants in water). It is the most efficient and effective way of producing natural food. Normally in aquaculture, the excretion from the aquatic animals increases the toxicity of the water. In aquaponics, the waste water from aquaculture is used in hydroponics wherein the animal waste in the water acts as nutrients for the vegetables to grow. The nitrifying bacteria breaks down the nitrogen into nitrates and ammonia which the plants use as nutrients. Once this process is completed and the waste is consumed by the plants, the water is circulated back for aquaculture system. Like any other farming technique, the aquaponics system varies in size and complexity based on the types of foods grown This report studies the current and future aspects of aquaponics market.The report tracks the major market events including product launches, technological developments, mergers & acquisitions, and the innovative business strategies opted by key market players. Along with strategically analyzing the key micro markets, the report also focuses on industry-specific drivers, restraints, opportunities and challenges in the aquaponics market. The scope of this report covers the aquaponics market by its major segments, which include the types, applications, and the major geographic regions.Download Free Sample:The aquaponics market is divided into five major geographical segments which are North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East & Africa and Latin America. The North America region holds the highest market share and is the largest revenue contributor of the aquaponics market. The region is expected to continue growing at the same pace during the forecasted period because of advancement in technology and innovation in farming techniques. Key market players in this region are investing heavily into developing the farming techniques further, increasing the scope for growth of aquaponics market. Next in line is the Europe region, which is witnessing a fast-pace growth due to rise in demand for organic food among consumers. Overall the aquaponics market shall continue growing at a steady pace during the forecasted period.MARKET SEGMENTATIONThis report analyzes the aquaponics market by the following segments:Aquaponics Market, by Component1. Hydroponics Subsystem2. Rearing Tanks3. Settling Basin4. Biofilter5. Sump6. Consumables7. OthersAquaponics Market, by Equipment1. HVAC2. LED Grow Light3. Communication Technology4. Irrigation Systems5. Material Handling6. Control Systems7. Fish Purge Systems8. Aeration Systems9. OthersAquaponics Market, by Produce1. Fish2. Fruits & Vegetables3. Herbs4. OthersBrowse Report:About Scalar Market ResearchScalar Market Research Inc. aspires to assist organizations from around the world to achieve their business goal with premium market research reports and consulting services. Our real-time industry tracking with the help of advanced analytics offers a crystal clear view of all the activities in niche markets. Our team, with thorough global understanding, works relentlessly to gather the necessary market insights, including customer analysis, competitions and global forecast.Find out more about our services at:Contact:8770 W Bryn Mawr Ave.,Suite 1300Chicago, IL 60631Tel.: +1-800-213-5170 (U.S./Canada Toll-free)Email: sales@scalarmarketresearch.comFollow us on LinkedIn:
Global Self-contained Breathing Apparatus Market Booming At CAGR Of 4.28% Between 2017-2021

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1336396

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1336396/global-self-contained-breathing-apparatus-market-research-reports.pdf

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/enquiry/1336396

http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/

"The Latest Research Report Global Self-contained Breathing Apparatus Market 2017-2021 provides information on pricing, market analysis, shares, forecast, and company profiles for key industry participants. - MarketResearchReports.biz"About Self-contained Breathing Apparatus MarketAn SCBA or a CABA is a device used by firefighters, rescue workers, and other industry workers to provide breathable air in an IDLH environment. The term self-contained is used because the breathing set is independent of any remote supply like a long hose. If the breathing apparatus is designed to be used underwater, then it is called as an SCUBA.The SCBA has been used in fields such as rescue operation, providing escape guidance at fire stations, steel workstations, chemical plants, nuclear facilities, hotels, and vessels.Technavios analysts forecast the global self-contained breathing apparatus market to grow at a CAGR of 4.28% during the period 2017-2021.Covered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global self-contained breathing apparatus market for 2017-2021. To calculate the market size, the report considers the sales of SCBA.Get Sample copy of this Report @The market is divided into the following segments based on geography:AmericasAPACEMEATechnavio's report, Global Self-contained Breathing Apparatus Market 2017-2021, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendorsAvon Protection SystemsHoneywellMSAScott SafetyOther prominent vendorsCam LockDrgerwerkINTERSPIROIntech SafetyMarket driverIncreasing incidence of fire accidentsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challengeUse of fire resistant building materials and adoption of fire protection systemsFor a full, detailed list, view our reportView Sample PDF @Market trendIncreased provision of SCBA trainingFor a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this reportWhat will the market size be in 2021 and what will the growth rate be?What are the key market trends?What is driving this market?What are the challenges to market growth?Who are the key vendors in this market space?Table of ContentsPART 01: Executive summaryPART 02: Scope of the reportPART 03: Research MethodologyPART 04: IntroductionMarket outlinePART 05: Market landscapeMarket overviewMarket size and forecastFive forces analysisPART 06: Market segmentation by applicationGlobal SCBA market by applicationGlobal SCBA market by firefighting segmentGlobal SCBA market by industrial segmentGlobal SCBA market by recreational segmentPART 07: Market segmentation by productGlobal SCBA market by productGlobal closed-circuit SCBA marketGlobal open-circuit SCBA marketSend An Enquiry Request @PART 08: Geographical segmentationGlobal SCBA market by geographySCBA market in the AmericasSCBA market in EMEASCBA market in APACPART 09: Key leading countriesPART 10: Decision frameworkPART 11: Drivers and challengesMarket driversMarket challengesPART 12: Market trendsIncreased provision of SCBA trainingAdvances in SCBA design and materialIncreasing participation in recreational activitiesPART 13: Vendor landscapeCompetitive landscapeOther prominent vendorsAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.ContactMr. NachiketState Tower90 Sate Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA: Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Website:E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
LED Modules And Light Engines Market Headed for Growth and Global Expansion by 2027

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-4895

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-4895

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/

LED modules and light engine, as a market has gained traction in recent times due to its applications ranging from industrial to residential sector. LED modules and Light Engines are the devices with LED on printed circuit board and driver IC respectively.The primary and foremost feature for the use of LED modules and light engines over its straight competitors like light bulbs is that LED modules and light engines are easy to manufacture, more efficient and provides more reliable products than its straight competitors.LED modules and light engines market gained hype due to boom in LED TV market and monitor backlight market. Some other markets which contribute to the growth of LED modules and light engine market are cell phone flash, architectural lighting and automobile lighting.A sample of this report is available upon request @LED modules and light engines Market:Drivers and ChallengesWith the increasing adoption of smart/connected lighting and LED luminaires and lamps, in different sectors, the use of LED modules and light engines is proliferating. Henceforth, the primary driver for LED modules and light engines market is the use of these products in many applications across sectors like automobile, electronics, healthcare etc. LED modules and light engines are not only used in these sectors but also in broad sectors like commercial sector, residential sector, industrial sector and outdoor sectors which makes it a very vast market with number of opportunities. Moreover, the decline in prices and an improved light quality and flexibility provided by LED modules and light engines drives its growth in the market.The major challenge faced by the LED modules and light engines market is that it plays by the rule of one company. The other competitors report that the market is closed due to specification followed of just the one company making it a closed manufacturers' standard. In addition to this, a few of the LED modules and light engines suffer from 120Hz flicker which reduces the efficiency to almost 83%. This impedes the growth of LED modules and light engines market.LED modules and light engines Market: SegmentationSegmentation of LED modules and light engines Market on the basis of applications:The type of applications of the LED modules and light engines tells us about the major sectors the company is working in that is the vast field view.CommercialResidentialIndustrialSegmentation of LED modules and light engines Market on the basis of form factor:The segmentation on the basis of form factor tell us about the form in which LED modules and light engines are going to be found as the fine product.Downlights: These have a, comparatively, lower selling price and are more easy to use. Downlights incorporate a higher percentage of LED modules and light enginesTroffers: These are less integrated LED modules and light engines which results into lower costsHigh bays and Street lights: These have more integrated LED modules and light engines, and henceforth has higher ASP and slower price declinesLED modules and Light engines Market: Key PlayersSome of the key players of LED modules and Light engines Market are Philips Lumileds, Cree, Osram Opto, GE, Everlight, Nichia, Sharp, Toyoda Gosei, Samsung LED, Seoul Semiconductor and LG Innotek.Key Contracts:In January 2015, Nichia and Mitsubishi Chemical reached an agreement on patent cross-licensing related to red phosphor for white LEDs. The patents targeted by the cross-licensing in the agreement which include Nichias patents and MCC and NIMSs patents. The companies also announced that Nichia, Citizen, MCC, and NIMS have reached an agreement to share the U.S. patent, which is one of the basic patents that MCC and NIMS co-own.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @LED modules and light engines Market: Regional OverviewBy geography, LED modules and light engines market can be segmented into the following regions namely North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, APEJ, Japan and Middle East & Africa. Among various regions, the LED modules and light engines Market in North America is expected to dominate during the forecast period owing to the adoption of LEDs and applications including LEDs on a common utility purpose by several industries. Europe, after North America, is expecting a slower growth rate in the LED modules and light engines market because of the lack of manufacturers and a complex technology.About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customised and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.Contact UsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWeb:
Global Ursodeoxycholic Acid 2017 Market Research Report - ICE, Grindeks, Mitsubishi, Daewoong

https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1129638&type=E

https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-ursodeoxycholic-acid-consumption-2017-market-research-report.htm

https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1129638&type=D

http://www.qyresearchreports.com

Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Ursodeoxycholic Acid Consumption 2017 Market Research Report" to its huge collection of research reports.The report on the global market for Ursodeoxycholic Acid attempts to help stakeholders in deriving a thorough understanding of the current trends and vulnerabilities of the market. It is comprised of relevant information that provide an in-depth picture of the global market for Ursodeoxycholic Acid. This includes growth drivers and restraints molding the market from 2017 to 2022. The report also factors in the various regulatory policies likely to impact the market in the foreseeable future.The information bundled in the report is a result of thorough primary and secondary research. Data such as financial records of key companies in the market has been procured from the Ursodeoxycholic Acid markets historical statistics. Analysts have also banked upon insights from industry experts and other trusted industry sources to compile the detailed report.Request for the Report Sample:The report uses Porters five forces and SWOT analysis to gather a true picture of the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers, and the threat of new entrants, and from close substitutes purveyed in the market. It also helps to fathom the competitive scenario in the global Ursodeoxycholic Acid market.Further, in order to study the global market for Ursodeoxycholic Acid in-depth, the report divides it depending upon different parameters such as product types, applications, and regions. It also helps to uncover the most attractive segments and regions contributing significantly to the growth in the market.The report furnishes an executive-level blueprint of the global Ursodeoxycholic Acid market, consisting of profiles of the key companies operating in it. It studies their strengths and weaknesses and winning strategies as well.This report studies Ursodeoxycholic Acid in global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Asia (Ex. China), focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringICEGrindeksMitsubishiDaewoongPharmaZellDipharma FrancisZhangshanbellingErregierreAbil ChempharmaBiotavia LabsFor more information on this report, fill the form @Table of Contents1 Industry Overview11.1 Definition and Specifications of Ursodeoxycholic Acid11.1.1 Definition of Ursodeoxycholic Acid11.1.2 Specifications of Ursodeoxycholic Acid21.2 Classification of Ursodeoxycholic Acid21.2.1 Synthetic Ursodeoxycholic Acid32 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Ursodeoxycholic Acid132.1 Raw Material Suppliers Analysis of Ursodeoxycholic Acid132.2 Equipment Suppliers Analysis of Ursodeoxycholic Acid152.3 Labor Cost162.3.1 USA Labor Cost Analysis162.3.2 Europe Labor Costs Analysis182.3.3 Asia Labor Costs Analysis202.4 Other Costs Analysis22To Get Discount Of This Report Click here @List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Ursodeoxycholic Acid1Table Product Specifications of Ursodeoxycholic Acid2Table Classification of Ursodeoxycholic Acid2Figure Global 2016 Ursodeoxycholic Acid Sales Market Share by Product Type3Figure Synthetic Ursodeoxycholic Acid Picture3Figure Extraction Ursodeoxycholic Acid Picture4Table Global 2012-2017 Ursodeoxycholic Acid Sales Market Share by Companies39Table Global Ursodeoxycholic Acid Sales Market Share by Companies in 201239Table Global Ursodeoxycholic Acid Sales Market Share by Companies in 201340Table Global Ursodeoxycholic Acid Sales Market Share by Companies in 201440Table Global Ursodeoxycholic Acid Sales Market Share by Companies in 201541About UsQYReseachReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Global and Chinese Ammonium Nitrate Explosive Industry, 2017 Market Research Report - EuroChem, Uralchem, OSTCHEM Holding, Borealis

https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1198921&type=E

https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-and-chinese-ammonium-nitrate-explosive-industry-2017-market-research-report.htm

https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1198921&type=D

http://www.qyresearchreports.com

Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global and Chinese Ammonium Nitrate Explosive Industry, 2017 Market Research Report" to its huge collection of research reports.To stay competent in the global Ammonium Nitrate Explosive market, this report provides a complete guide to the Ammonium Nitrate Explosive market. This report consists of various trends that are affecting this market both in positive or negative manners. These trends are completely evaluated to predict their precise effects on the growth of the Ammonium Nitrate Explosive market. Along with the opportunities present in this market, the pitfalls that can hinder the growth of this market are also included. This report estimates the market value of the Ammonium Nitrate Explosive market by end of the forecast period along with the expected CAGR for the growth over the forecast period 2017-2022. The market is segmented based on various aspects such as product types, technologies, raw materials, end users, applications, and services. For all these segments the opportunities for the growth are evaluated. The market share of these segments are tabulated by vigorous research and with the help of both primary and secondary sources.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Geographically, the global Ammonium Nitrate Explosive market can be segmented into key regions such as the Middle East and Africa, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and North America. Growth trajectories for these regions over the forecast period. The local trends and local competitive landscape is included, which provides the opportunities and hurdles affecting the regional market. Due to various technological advancements and changing processes, this market is going through a major transition. However, this report provides insights into various vertices of the Ammonium Nitrate Explosive market, which help the readers to find hidden opportunities. Company profiles of prominent players in this market are included.This report studies Ammonium Nitrate in Global market, especially in Europe, North America, South America, China and Africa, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, with production (K MT), price ($/MT), revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringEuroChemUralchemOSTCHEM HoldingBorealisAcronYaraSBU AzotIncitec PivotZakladyOricaCF IndustriesObtain Report Details @Table of Contents1 Ammonium Nitrate Market Overview 11.1 Product Overview and Scope of Ammonium Nitrate 11.2 Ammonium Nitrate Segment by Types 21.2.1 Global Production Market Share of Ammonium Nitrate by Types in 2016 21.2.2 Ammonium Nitrate Solution 31.2.3 Ammonium Nitrate Solid 42 Global Ammonium Nitrate Market Competition by Manufacturers 132.1 Global Ammonium Nitrate Production and Share by Manufacturers (2016 and 2017) 132.2 Global Ammonium Nitrate Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2016 and 2017) 172.3 Global Ammonium Nitrate Average Price by Manufacturers (2016 and 2017) 213 Global Ammonium Nitrate Production, Revenue (Value) by Regions (2012-2017) 293.1 Global Ammonium Nitrate Production and Market Share by Regions (2012-2017) 293.2 Global Ammonium Nitrate Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Regions (2012-2017) 303.3 Global Ammonium Nitrate Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017) 323.4 Europe Ammonium Nitrate Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017) 32Enquiry For Discount Visit @Figure Ammonium Nitrate Picture 1Figure Molecular Structure of Ammonium Nitrate 2Figure Global Production Market Share of Ammonium Nitrate by Types in 2016 2Table Classification of Ammonium Nitrate 3Figure Global Market Ammonium Nitrate Average Price ($/MT) of Key Manufacturers in 2016 22Figure Global Market Ammonium Nitrate Average Price ($/MT) of Key Manufacturers in 2017 23Table Manufacturers Ammonium Nitrate Manufacturing Base Distribution and Sales Area 24Figure Ammonium Nitrate Market Production Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers 2016 and 2017 25Figure Ammonium Nitrate Market Production Share of Top 3 Manufacturers in 2016 26Figure Ammonium Nitrate Market Production Share of Top 5 Manufacturers in 2016 26About UsQYReseachReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact Us1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Web:Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Growth of Solar Power Bank Market Projected to Amplify During 2016 - 2023

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=11846

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=11846

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/solar-power-bank-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

Solar Power Bank Market: OverviewSolar energy has evolved as a major alternative source of energy. Solar energy is increasingly being utilized as source of energy for street lighting, automobiles, house appliances and others. In recent times, solar power banks are gaining popularity in the consumer market, with the rise in use of electronic gadgets. Solar power banks serve as an energy storage device, which can be utilized when required to charge any of the USB-charged devices such as cameras, portable speakers, GoPros, MP3 players GPS systems.Solar power banks require sunlight to charge, making it reliable in circumstances where electrical supply or charger is not available. Most of the solar power banks available today can be charged alternatively via computer using USB. Considering solar as an environmental friendly technology, demand for solar power banks is expected to escalate in the coming years.A sample of this report is available upon request @Solar Power Bank Market: Drivers and RestraintsSolar power banks find wide range of applications such as charging of smartphones, laptop, tablets and other devices. The growth of smartphones, laptops and tablets market has generated the need for external energy storage devices for charging. The escalated use of internet with the availability of 3G and 4G services on smartphones and tablets has increased the consumption of battery at a faster rate, thus, driving the solar power bank market. Further, tourists or trekkers preferring to travel at distant places can rely on the solar power banks over the conventional power banks, as at times of emergencies solar power banks can be charged via sunlight. The rural areas in emerging markets such as Africa, Asia and Latin America pose good opportunities for solar power banks due to constraint of electricity supply in these regions.However, the challenges such as low efficiency at night or cloudy days, may affect the trust of end consumers in the market. Since the launch of solar technology, the availability of sunlight in cloudy areas or at night times has been the major constraint for solar devices.Compatibility with all the device brands is another challenge affecting the market of solar power banks. Moreover, solar power banks also face competition from existing electrically charged power banks. Manufacturers need to focus on overcoming these major challenges to gain competitive advantage over the existing and new manufacturers entering the market in coming years to explore the untapped opportunities in solar power bank market.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Solar Power Bank Market: Segmentation and Top PlayersDepending on the application and the capacity of battery, solar power banks are designed and available in market with different capacity range. The solar power bank market is categorized by the capacity range offered by the solar power banks, which include 500 mAh to 3499 mAh, 3500 mAh to 6499 mAh, 6500 mAh to 9499 mAh, 9500 mAh to 12499 mAh, 12500 mAh to 15499 mAh and above 15500 mAh.The key companies operating in solar power bank market include Anker., Advantage Computers (I) Pvt. Ltd., LG Chem Ltd, China BAK Battery, Inc., Mophie Inc., Microsoft Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, OnePlus, Sony Corporation, Samsung SDI Co. Ltd., UNU ELECTRONICS INC., Xiaomi Technology Co., Ltd, and Shenzhen Topband Co. LtdGet access to full summary @:The research report presents a comprehensive assessment of the market and contains thoughtful insights, facts, historical data, and statistically supported and industry-validated market data. It also contains projections using a suitable set of assumptions and methodologies. The research report provides analysis and information according to categories such as market segments, geographies, types and applications.About USTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a next-generation provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact USState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Website:Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com
Household Cleaner Market study by Industry Size, Growth Opportunities & Players McBride, Henkel, Bombril

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/sample-report/729186-global-household-cleaner-sales-market-1

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/reports/729186-global-household-cleaner-sales-market-1

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/buy-now?format=1&report=729186

https://www.htfmarketreport.com/enquiry-before-buy/729186-global-household-cleaner-sales-market-1

HTF MI published a new industry research that focuses on Household Cleaner market and delivers in-depth market analysis and future prospects of Global Household Cleaner market. The study covers significant data which makes the research document a handy resource for marketing managers, analysts, industry executives, consultants, sales and product managers, and other key people who are in need of ready-to-access and self-analyzed study along with graphs and tables to help understand market trends, drivers and market challenges. The study is segmented by Application/ end users [ Bathroom Cleaner, Kitchen Cleaner, Floor Cleaner & Fabric Cleaner], products type [ Surface Cleaner, Specialty Cleaner & Bleaches] and various important geographies like United States, China, Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia & India].Get Access to sample pages @The research covers the current market size of the Global Household Cleaner market and its growth rates based on 5 year history data along with company profile of key players/manufacturers such as Henkel, Bombril, Colgate Palmolive, McBride, Church & Dwight Co.Inc., Kao Corporation, Godrej Consumer Products, SC Johnson & Son, The Clorox Company, Seventh Generation, Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser Group plc & Unilever. The in-depth information by segments of Household Cleaner market helps monitor future profitability & to make critical decisions for growth. The information on trends and developments, focuses on markets and materials, capacities, technologies, CAPEX cycle and the changing structure of the Global Household Cleaner Market.The study provides company profiling, product picture and specifications, sales, market share and contact information of key manufacturers of Global Household Cleaner Market, some of them listed here are Henkel, Bombril, Colgate Palmolive, McBride, Church & Dwight Co.Inc., Kao Corporation, Godrej Consumer Products, SC Johnson & Son, The Clorox Company, Seventh Generation, Procter & Gamble, Reckitt Benckiser Group plc & Unilever. The market is growing at a very rapid pace and with rise in technological innovation, competition and M&A activities in the industry many local and regional vendors are offering specific application products for varied end-users. The new manufacturer entrants in the market are finding it hard to compete with the international vendors based on quality, reliability, and innovations in technology.Global Household Cleaner (Thousands Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Market Split by Product Type such as Surface Cleaner, Specialty Cleaner & Bleaches. Further the research study is segmented by Application such as Bathroom Cleaner, Kitchen Cleaner, Floor Cleaner & Fabric Cleaner with historical and projected market share and compounded annual growth rate.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), and market share and growth rate of Household Cleaner in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), covering United States, China, Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia & India and its Share (%) and CAGR for the forecasted period 2017 to 2022.Read Detailed Index of full Research Study at @The research insights solutions to the following key questions: What will be the market size and the growth rate in 2022? What are the key factors driving the Global Household Cleaner market? Who are the key market players and what are their strategies in the Global Household Cleaner market? What are the key market trends impacting the growth of the Global Household Cleaner market? What trends, challenges and barriers are influencing its growth? What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the Global Household Cleaner market? What are the key outcomes of the five forces analysis of the Household Cleaner market?Buy this research report @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the Global Household Cleaner market.Chapter 1, to describe Household Cleaner Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Household Cleaner, with sales, revenue, and price of Household Cleaner, in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the Global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Household Cleaner, for each region, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in United States, China, Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia & India;Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application [Bathroom Cleaner, Kitchen Cleaner, Floor Cleaner & Fabric Cleaner], from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 12, Household Cleaner market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Household Cleaner sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.Get customization & check discount for report @Thanks for reading this article; you can also get individual chapter wise section or region wise report version like North America, Europe or Asia.HTF Market Report is a wholly owned brand of HTF market Intelligence Consulting Private Limited. HTF Market Report global research and market intelligence consulting organization is uniquely positioned to not only identify growth opportunities but to also empower and inspire you to create visionary growth strategies for futures, enabled by our extraordinary depth and breadth of thought leadership, research, tools, events and experience that assist you for making goals into a reality. Our understanding of the interplay between industry convergence, Mega Trends, technologies and market trends provides our clients with new business models and expansion opportunities. We are focused on identifying the Accurate Forecast in every industry we cover so our clients can reap the benefits of being early market entrants and can accomplish their Goals & Objectives.Contact us :HTF Market Intelligence Consulting Private LimitedUnit No. 429, Parsonage Road Edison, NJNew Jersey USA  08837sales@htfmarketreport.com+1 (206) 317 1218
Inorganic Metal Finishing Market: Future market projections for forthcoming years

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=817

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/817

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=817<ype=S

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

A new Transparency Market Research report states that the global inorganic metal finishing market stood at US$54.7 bn in 2013 and is predicted to reach US$83.3 bn by 2020. The market will expand at a 6.20% CAGR between 2014 and 2020.As per the report, factors such as rapid development of the steel and automotive industries, resulting in an increased demand for inorganic metal finished components, is fuelling the inorganic metal finishing market. In addition, rise in industrial activities within the aerospace sector and heavy industries is also amongst the major factors stimulating the inorganic metal finishing market. On the other hand, factors such as stringent regulations imposed by the EPA and REACH on chromium emissions during a number of metal finishing processes including electroplating are predicted to be a key challenge for the market players, hence imposing a negative effect on the growth of the market.On the basis of technology, the market is segmented into cladding, anodizing, conversion coatings, electroplating, galvanizing, and others including electro polishing, etc. Amongst these, electroplating is majorly utilized for depositing metal finishing on automotive components. The electroplating segment was the biggest technology segment and represented 35% of the market.Request to view Sample Report:On the basis of product, the market is segmented into inorganic metal finishing technology, pre-treatment/surface preparation, and consumables and spares. Amongst these, inorganic metal finishing technology is broadly utilized in numerous industrial as well as electrical and electronic applications owing to a number of benefits associated with the usage of this technology. Properties including high durability and good corrosion resistance are the major driving factors increasing the demand for inorganic metal finishing technology.On the basis of application, the inorganic metal finishing market is segmented into electrical and electronics, automotive, industrial, and others including defense and hardware. Amongst these, on the basis of revenue, the automotive application segment held the biggest share, of more than 50%, in the market in 2013. The industrial application segment followed the automotive segment and stood as the second-biggest application segment in the market, trailed by the segment of electrical and electronic and others such as defense and hardware.Request to Download TOC of the Report:On the basis of geography, the market is segmented into Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW). Amongst these, in 2013, Asia pacific emerged as the biggest market for inorganic metal finishing, trailed by North America and Europe. Asia Pacific represented a share of approximately 35% in the market and is predicted to be the most swiftly developing region on the basis of consumption of inorganic metal finishing technologies. North America also has a strong hold in the inorganic metal finishing market and is predicted to rise at a 5.90 % CAGR on the basis of revenue from 2014 to 2020.The prime players operating in the market include Metal Finishing Technologies LLC, Abakan Inc., Sequa Corporation, Elementis plc, Rockwood Holdings Inc., Atotech Deutschland GmbH, Industrial Metal Finishing, and Honeywell International Inc., among others.Global Inorganic Metal Finishing Market Report is available @ US$ 5795 :About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Telecom Internet Of Things (IoT) Market to Rear Excessive Growth During 2017-2027

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-4968

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-4968

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/

Telecom Internet of Things market is considered as the fastest growing market and it provide enhanced connectivity solutions to numerous smart devices. Technology plays an important role in the development of Telecom Internet of Things market and especially with the innovation of Internet of Things, Telecom Internet of Things market is witnessing the rapid growth. With the growing adoption of intelligent transportation system and rapid increase in number of smartphones and tablets, Telecom Internet of Things market is experiencing the rapid growth.Internet of Things comes with the concept that everything around should be electronically integrated and interconnected. Telecom operators are now using digital platforms that combine connectivity, analysis, mobile, security and cloud to support business and all these empowers great revenue opportunity for them. Major applications such as logistics tracking, traffic management, smart healthcare and others are contributing to the growth of Telecom Internet of Things market.A sample of this report is available upon request @Telecom Internet of Things (IoT) market: Drivers and ChallengesDriversThe major factor driving Telecom Internet of Things market is the growing need for enhanced connectivity solutions to connect smart devices. Moreover, the increased demand of mobile computing devices and network capacity to access connected services are the drivers which are contributing to the growth of global telecom Internet of Things market. Apart from this, the rising demand of telecommunication cloud for smart network bandwidth management and automation in communication operations are driving the Telecom Internet of Things market. Moreover the enhancement of smart technology and distributed application will increase the demand for Telecom Internet of Things market.ChallengesThe major challenge for the IoT telecom market is that the network operator should be able to offer fast, reliable and uninterrupted connectivity. Also, with the increase of connected devices and management of personal data, the privacy and security of customer information is the significant issue for the companies in Telecom Internet of Things market.Telecom Internet of Things (IoT) Market: SegmentationSegmentation of Telecom Internet of Things market on the basis of Component:Connectivity technology marketNetwork management solution marketServices marketOthersSegmentation of Telecom Internet of Things market on the basis of type of Service:Business consulting servicesDevice and application management servicesInstallation and integration servicesIoT billing and subscription management marketOthersSegmentation of Telecom Internet of Things market on the basis of Application:Smart buildings and home automationCapillary network managementIndustrial manufacturing and automationVehicle telematicsTransportation, logistics tracking, and traffic managementEnergy and utilitiesSmart healthcareOthersTelecom Internet of Things (IoT) market: Recent Developments and Competition dashboardIn June 2017 AT&T and China Telecom signed an agreement to expand partnership to develop network services around the world. Telcos such as AT&T, Vodafone, Verizon and others have done various development in Telecom market. For instance in October 2016, Vodafone launches first live commercial NB-IoT network.The key market players in Telecom Internet of Things markets include AT&T, Inc., Ericsson, Verizon Communications, Inc., Sprint Corporation, Vodafone Group, Plc., China Mobile Ltd, Swisscom AG, Aeris, Deutsche Telekom AG and others.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Telecom Internet of Things (IoT) market: Regional OverviewOn geographic basis, North America will be the largest market due to stringent IoT regulations and the presence of large number of telecom Internet of Things service providers in this region. The market in APAC is expected to witness exponential growth in Telecom Internet of Things market and it is the fastest growing region for the telecom Internet of Things service market due to growing smart devices market and smart technology and experiencing the large number of early adopters of smart technology.About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customised and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.Contact UsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWeb:
Revenue Growth Predicted for Waste-to-energy Technologies Market by 2016 - 2023

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=10442

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=10442

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/waste-to-energy-technologies-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

Global Waste-to-Energy Technologies Market: OverviewAccording to the World Bank, the amount of waste generated across the world will triple by 2100 to reach 11 million tonnes per day. This presents a massive logistical and administrative challenge for both developed and developing countries. Waste has the potential to be used in countless energy-generation programs, but its potential has hitherto remained underutilized. The concept of waste-to-energy entails the application of techniques that help extract valuable energy from waste products.At a time when landfills are choking with nonbiodegradable waste, there is increasing pressure on industry participants to either reduce the amount of waste generated or reuse trash to generate energy in the form of heat or electricity. Waste-to-energy technologies make that possible.A sample of this report is available upon request @The demand for efficient technologies that can help convert waste into energy is rising because of the increase in the volume of waste generated around the world every day. Thermal and biological technologies are commonly used to convert waste into energy.The key thermal energy types used to obtain energy from waste are: incineration, thermal gasification, and plasma-arc gasification. Likewise, the major biological technologies employed to use waste as an energy generation medium are: fermentation, methane capture, and anaerobic digestion.This report examines the state of the global waste-to-energy technologies market and forecasts growth through 2023. For a detailed analysis of the global waste-to-energy technologies market, the report segments the market on the basis of criteria such as technology type and geography. Each subsegment is individually studied to forecast its growth rate and size in terms of revenue.Global Waste-to-energy Technologies Market: Key Trends and OpportunitiesFactors that are fuelling the adoption of waste-to-energy technologies are largely centered on the dramatic increase in population and, consequently, the increase in the amount of waste generated. Other factors that are contributing favorably to the growth of the global waste-to-energy technologies market are rapid urbanization and growing purchasing power of consumers. Against this backdrop, waste-to-energy is emerging as a viable option to lower the carbon footprint.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @A high number of waste-to-energy plants are located in Asia Pacific and Europe. A number of new waste-to-energy plants are planned around the world, which will help increase the amount of energy generated from waste over the next few years.In the years ahead, key policymakers will either have to increase landfill capacity or consider investing in waste-to-energy plants. In view of the increased thrust on renewable energy and reducing carbon emissions, the latter might emerge as a more viable option. This will necessitate the deployment of highly different technologies to convert waste into energy.New technologies to convert waste into energy are currently being developed and these will aid the growth of the market further. Investors in this space are primarily encouraged by the following attractive returns: the generation of renewable energy from waste and the recovery of metals from waste.Get access to full summary @:Global Waste-to-energy Technologies Market: Regional OutlookChina has established itself as a trendsetter in the global waste-to-energy market and can be credited for the strong growth forecast for the Asia Pacific (APAC) waste-to-energy technologies market. Thus, the growth of the global waste-to-energy technologies market will be spearheaded by the APAC region. Europe is projected to follow APAC over the reports forecast period.Leading players in the global waste-to-energy technologies market include: Foster Wheeler, ABB, and China Everbright.About USTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a next-generation provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact USState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Website:Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com
Boron Compounds Market Research Report by Geographical Analysis and Forecast to 2020

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=3801

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/3801

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=3801<ype=S

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

A recent report published by Transparency Market Research pegs the value of the global boron compounds market at US$1.98 bn in 2013. The market, according to the report, is likely to reach an estimated valuation of US$3.15 bn by the end of 2020. If the figures hold true, the market will exhibit a positive CAGR of 6.9% during the aforementioned forecast period. The report is titled Boron Compounds Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2014 - 2020 and is available on the company website for sale.The report presents a comprehensive overview of the global boron compounds market and provides insights into the factors that are likely to drive or restrain the growth of the market. Based on in-depth research, the report states that the total production volume of boron compounds stood at 1,759 kilo tons in 2013.Request to view Sample Report:Increasing demand from the ceramic tile industry for boric acid, which is an oxidized product derived from boron, will push the demand for boron compounds. Furthermore, rising application of boric acid in fiberglass is also anticipated to fuel demand from the global boron compounds market, states the report. While growth prospects for the market may seem rather positive, abundant availability of close substitutes is a major threat that might hinder its progress in the long run. The limited availability of boron ore, concentrated only in a few regions around the world, also makes it difficult for companies in the industry to ensure smooth operation. With an aim to present an executive-level snapshot of the market, the report studies in great detail every factor that is likely to have an impact on the growth trajectory of the global boron compounds market.The boron compounds market comprises borax, boric acid, and other compounds such as boron oxide, sodium metaborate, boron trifluoride, and sodium perborate. Of these, the demand for boric acid, as per the report, is anticipated to register the fastest growth. In this regard, a lead TMR analyst said, Increasing application of boric acid in the production of fiberglass and borosilicate glass boosts its demand in the global market.Request to Download TOC of the Report:Other boron compounds including boron oxide, sodium metaborate, boron trifluoride, and sodium perborate collectively held 19.1% of the global boron compounds market in 2013. In terms of application, the global market for boron compounds is segmented into agriculture, borosilicate glass, soaps, ceramics, detergents, fiberglass, and others. In 2013, the market was led by the fiberglass segment, which accounted for 31% of the total market.In terms of geography, the boron compounds market in Asia Pacific led the global boron compounds market in 2013. TMR analysts project the market to expand at a CAGR of 6% between 2014 and 2020. During the same period, the boron compounds markets in North America and Europe are likely to exhibit a moderate growth rate. The report profiles leading companies operating in the market to study its competitive landscape. The companies profiled in the report include Borax Morarji Ltd., AkzoNobel, Boron Compoundss Ltd., Eti Maden, ESK Ceramics, and BASF.Global Boron Compounds Market Report is available @ US$ 5795 :About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Attapulgite (Colloidal and Sorptive) Market to Witness an Outstanding Growth by 2020

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=3428

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/3428

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=3428<ype=S

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

The report indicates that the global attapulgite market stands to expand from US$238.5 mn in 2013 to US$418.8 mn by 2020, registering a strong CAGR of 8.30% in terms of revenue.By product, the attapulgite market is segmented into sorptive grade and colloidal grade. The latter dominates the overall attapulgite market and, in 2013, held more than 65.0% share in terms of volume. Colloidal grade attapulgite is in demand from end-use industries such as chemicals, oil and gas, paints and coatings, and cosmetics. This segment is also forecast to be the most rapidly developing product segment by 2020 owing to its use in applications such as sealants, drilling mud, liquid detergents, suspension fertilizers, binding, adhesives, caulks, liquid pesticides, animal feed, and suspension.Request to view Sample Report:Attapulgite finds application in oil and gas industries, as cat litter absorbent, in agriculture, in paints and coatings, in the pharmaceutical and medical field, and others including paper, chemicals, and cosmetics. The largest end-use industries were oil and gas and cat litter absorbent and together, these segments held more than 60.0% of the attapulgite market volume in 2013. The cat litter absorbent segment is driven by the need and the development of innovative absorbents that neutralize bad odor, are environment-friendly, and congeal quickly after soiling. The oil and gas industry is projected to witness the highest CAGR by 2020 owing to rise in drilling activities across the globe. While the pharmaceutical and medical segment is fueled by growing consumer preference for natural products over synthetic variants, the paints and coatings segment is propelled by the replacement of conventional organic thickeners with attapulgite in the production of water-insensitive films.Request to Download TOC of the Report:Geographically, the global attapulgite market is divided into North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Rest of the World. In 2013, North America accounted for a 35.0% share of the overall attapulgite market, making it the leading regional segment. This market is driven by rising restrictions regarding the use of synthetic chemicals and abundant deposits of attapulgite-rich fullers earth. Asia Pacific, on the other hand, is anticipated to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. This regional attapulgite market is fueled by rapid industrialization, growth of the healthcare sector, and rise in drilling and construction activities.The attapulgite market is immensely consolidated and the top two companies accounted for almost 57.0% of the overall market in 2013. Some of the notable players operating in the global attapulgite market are Active Minerals International, LLC, Ashwa Minerals Private Limited, BASF Corporation, Oil-Dri Corporation of America, Manek Minerals, KPL International Limited, Ashapura Group, Geohellas S.A., Gunjan Minerals Pvt. Ltd., inTech International, Inc., and Gujarat Minechem.Global Attapulgite (Colloidal and Sorptive) Market Report is available @ US$ 5795 :About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
High Performance Alloys Market Estimated to Flourish by 2020

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=2711

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/2711

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=2711<ype=S

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

Transparency Market Researchs new market report, titled High Performance Alloys Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2014 - 2020, provides a detailed description of the high performance alloys market in terms of revenue (US$ million) and volume share (kilo tons) for the forecast period 2014-2020. According to the analysis stated in the report, the global high performance alloys market is expected to rise and reach US$9.09 billion by 2020, from a value of US$6.82 billion in 2013. The report analyzes the market with respect to various segments along with the growth opportunities expected in the next six years. In terms of volume, the market stood at 1,110.7 kilo tons in 2013. Overall, the market is expanding at a steady CAGR of 4.2% during the forecast period from 2014 to 2020.High performance alloys are metal alloys that provide good surface stability and corrosion resistance and are specifically deigned to perform under intense conditions such as elevated pressures and temperatures. Due to their ability to retain most of their strength despite prolonged exposure, these components are ideal for a wide range of industrial applications. Some of the typical applications of high performance alloys include the industrial gas turbines sector (IGTs) and the aerospace industry. The power industries and aerospace influence the growth of this market. Due to their excellent mechanical strength and creep resistance to high temperatures, the use of high performance alloys is substantially high in these fields.Request to view Sample Report:According to an analysts study at TMR, around 60% of an aircraft is equipped with high performance alloys. Aerospace was the largest application segment of the market, accounting for 56.9% of the total high performance alloys market in 2013. By 2020, tremendous demand for high performance alloys is likely to be observed from the aerospace industry.Similarly, rising demand for high performance alloys will also be seen in power generation applications, as gas turbines require premium materials that can withstand elevated temperatures. Some of the other applications that high performance alloys find their use in are oil and gas rail engineering, automotive, electronics, military, marine, and others.Request to Download TOC of the Report:Within the key products of the high performance alloys market, the study enlists nonferrous alloys, refractory alloys, platinum group metal alloys, and superalloys as the main segments of this market. Of all, the nonferrous alloys, including aluminum and titanium, accounted for 51% of the total market in 2013. Nonferrous alloys exhibit favorable mechanical properties for industrial use. The demand for these alloys is expected to increase in the next few years due to the rising demand for titanium materials in the aerospace industry. Nonferrous alloys were the largest product segment in 2013, followed by superalloys.In terms of regional demand, North America was dominant in the high performance alloys market in 2013. However, increasing demand for high performance alloys from the automotive industry in Europe is also boosting the growth of this market. Asia Pacific and the Middle East are the next fastest growing regions anticipated to offer higher opportunities for the global high performance alloys market in the near future, reports TMR.Global High Performance Alloys Market Report is available @ US$ 5795 :About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Textile Coatings Market to Observe Strong Development | 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/textile-coating-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=19010

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/19010

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=19010<ype=S

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

A new intelligence study by Transparency Market Research (TMR) suggests that the opportunities in the global textile coatings market is divided among a large number of companies, although a few vendors do hold stronger position than the rest of the lot. The report identifies The Dow Chemical Company, Covestro AG, Clariant AG, BASF SE, and Huntsman International LLC as some of the key companies in the textile coatings market. The report projects the demand in the global market for textile coatings to increment at a CAGR of 3.9% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2025, estimating it to reach a valuation of US$4,918.5 mn by the end of 2025, significantly up from its evaluated worth of US$3,406.0 mn in 2016.View Full Report:In the near future, the report expects the competitive landscape to remain fragmented among the regional players, while the prominent global companies of the textile coatings market will focus on the enhancement of their product portfolio to cater to specific demands from diverse end-use industries. The focus will mostly be on creating durable products that offer advantages over their respective counterparts. As the acceptance of textile coatings spreads, the vendors with financial might are expected to gain new opportunities. Increasing production capacity and geographical expansion is expected to be other important strategies of the market leaders to add to their market share.Request to view Sample Report:Polyurethane and polyvinylchloride sub-segments of thermoplastics segment held major share of textile coatings market in 2016, whereas full surface coating technology had significantly more demand than the other prominent technology - dot coating. Industrial clothing and upholstery fabric were the two most profitable end-users of textile coating market during the same base year. Being the manufacturing hub of the world, China currently has a flourishing textile coatings market, with other Asia Pacific countries such as India, South Korea, and Malaysia also posing potent demand.Flourishing End-use Industries Behind Sustained UptakeThe prosperity of industrial, transportation, and building and construction industries is reflecting positively on the global textile coatings market. There is increasing need to maintain quality in various industries, owing to fire safety regulations, performance requirement of apparel, and stringent standards for protective clothing. In the building and construction industry, textile coatings are used for home furnishing as they offer benefits such as anti-abrasion, fire retardation, anti-bacteria, thermal insulation, and self-cleaning. The automotive market, wherein the demand for passenger vehicles is incrementing quickly, is another favorable factor for the textile coatings market, as these coatings offer superior resistance to grease, soil and water, heat, scratches. In the recent past, heavy investments have been made for by the automotive industry players for research and development of innovative fiber that repel water, enhance moisture content, resist heat absorption, and add to the comfort. Increasing demand for geotextiles is another drive of the global textile coatings market.Request to download and view full ToC -Bio-based Alternatives Eating into the DemandBesides several drivers, the moderate growth rate of the global textile coatings market is attributed to growing environmental concerns and the advent of bio-based alternatives. The bio-based alternatives not only are receiving support from various governments, the consumers too are preferring products that are in-sync with the nature, and thereby eating into the textile coatings market.As per the author of the report, innovation in the production technologies, such as conductive textiles, shape memory polymers, PCMS, and nanotechnology in textiles will open new opportunities for the companies operating in the global textile coatings market.Global Textile Coatings Market Report is available at US$ 5795 -About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Growth of Cigarette Market in Global Industry : Trends and Application 2017

https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1068335

https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=1068335

https://www.researchmoz.us/global-cigarette-market-size-trends-and-forecasts-2017-2021-report.html

http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG

https://marketinfo247.wordpress.com/

Albany, NY, 6th October : Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of "Global Cigarette Market: Size, Trends and Forecasts (2017-2021)" globally.The report titled Global Cigarette Market: Size, Trends and Forecasts (2017-2021), provides an in-depth analysis of the global cigarettes market by value, by volume, by products, by region, etc. The report provides a regional analysis of the cigarette market, including the following regions: the US, EU, EEMA, APAC, Latin America and Canada.Get PDF for more Professional and Technical insights @The report also assesses the key opportunities in the market and outlines the factors that are and will be driving the growth of the industry. Growth of the overall global cigarette market has also been forecasted for the period 2017-2021, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends.The competition in the global cigarette market is dominated by the four big players, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International and Imperial Brands Plc., and Philip Morris International Inc., which are profiled with their financial information and respective business strategies.Country CoverageThe USEUEEMAAsia-PacificLatin America and CanadaCompany CoverageBritish American TobaccoImperial Brands PlcJapan Tobacco InternationalPhilips Morris International Inc.Make an Enquiry about TOC @Executive SummaryCigarette is a thin cylinder of finely cut tobacco rolled in paper for smoking. The cigarette contains nicotine or any other herbal substance depending upon the type being manufactured. The cigarettes are been consumed for varied reasons ranging from personal factors, professional factors to societal factors and others. The manufacturing of cigarettes is almost completely automated. It is done by machines without people. Machines crush and clean tobacco leaves and add chemicals like nicotine. They also roll cigarettes, put on filters, cut them to length, and then package them.The engineering of a cigarette consists of filter, cigarette paper, tobacco filler, tipping paper, ventilation holes and additives. Cigarettes impose both financial and health hazards.The global cigarette market has increased at a significant CAGR during the years 2010-2016 and projections are made that the market by value would rise in the next four years i.e. 2017-2021 gradually. The cigarette market is expected to increase due to growth in global GDP per-capita, rising urban population, declining global tobacco prices, increasing youth population, etc. Yet the market faces some challenges such as, declining adult smoking incidence in varied parts of the world, emergence of e-cigarettes, increasing per-capita healthcare expenditure, etc.Table Of Contents1. Executive Summary2. Introduction2.1 Tobacco: An Overview2.1.1 Types of Tobacco Products2.2 Cigarettes: An Overview2.2.1 Inception of Cigarettes2.2.2 Economics Behind Cigarette Industry2.2.3 Reasons For Cigarettes Consumption2.2.4 Engineering Behind a Cigarette2.2.5 Financial Hazards of Cigarette Smoking2.2.6 Health Hazards of Cigarette Smoking2.2.7 Classification of Cigarettes2.2.8 Chemical Composition of CigarettesBrowse Report @3. Global Market Analysis3.1 Global Tobacco Market: An Analysis3.1.1 Global Tobacco Market by Segments3.2 Global Cigarette Market: An Analysis3.2.1 Global Cigarette Market by Value3.2.2 Global Cigarette Market by Volume3.2.3 Global Cigarette Market Volume by RegionResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozMr. Nachiket Ghumare,90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074USA-Canada Toll Free: 866-997-4948Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn @Follow me on :
Calcium Carbonate Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.0% from 2013 - 2019

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1478

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/1478

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=1478<ype=S

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

The global market for calcium carbonate is the focus of study of a market research report published by Transparency Market Research (TMR). The report, titled Calcium Carbonate Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2013 - 2019 states that the market, which had a valuation of US$15.66 bn in 2012, will expand at a 7.0% CAGR between 2013 and 2019 and rise to US$25.01 bn by 2019. According to the report, factors such as significant growth of the pulp and paper and plastic industries across the globe will propel the global calcium carbonate market. However, the highest demand for calcium carbonate will not come from developed markets, but from developing regions such as Latin America and Asia Pacific.The report segments the global calcium carbonate market on the basis of three criteria: application, product type, and geography.Request to view Sample Report:On the basis of product type, the market is segmented into ground calcium carbonate (GCC) and precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC). The rising set of applications of GCC in traditional end-use industries such as pulp and paper, plastics, paints and coatings, and several non-traditional areas is driving the demand from this market segment. Over the reports forecast period, the market for GCC is expected to expand at a 2.90% CAGR. The market for PCC is expected to expand at a 3.90% CAGR over the reports forecast period.On the basis of application area, the global calcium carbonate market is segmented into finds paper, plastic, agriculture, building and construction, and pharmaceutical.On the basis of geography, the market is segmented into Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, and Rest of the World. In 2012, Asia Pacific held the leading position by accounting for a share of nearly 49% in the global calcium carbonate market. Over the reports forecast period as well, Asia Pacific is expected to expand at a healthy 4.4% CAGR, lower only than the Rest of the World, which is likely to expand at a 4.5% CAGR. The growth for the calcium carbonate market in Asia Pacific will be owing to the rapid industrial expansion in countries such as India and China. The demand for specialty papers such as tissue paper and packaging paper has continuously increased in Asia Pacific in the past few years owing to the rise in awareness about personal hygiene and changing lifestyles.Request to Download TOC of the Report:Europe, the second largest regional market for calcium carbonate in 2012, accounted for a share of 23.7% in the global market, followed by North America, which accounted for a share of 20.7% in the global market. Closure and restructuring of several paper mills in these regions will lead to a sluggish demand for calcium carbonate over the reports forecast period.Some of the major companies operating in the global calcium carbonate market are Huber Engineered Materials, Maruo Calcium Co. Ltd., Great Lakes Calcium Corp., Excalibar Minerals, Okutama Kogyo Co.Ltd., Mississippi Lime Co., Imerys, Solvay S.A., Omya Ag, Shiraishi Kogyo Kaisha Ltd., Schaefer Kalk GMBH & Co. KG, and Minerals Technologies Inc.Global Calcium Carbonate Market Report is available @ US$ 5795 :About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Rubber Processing Chemicals Market to Perceive Substantial Growth | 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/rubber-processing-chemicals-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=3806

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/3806

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=3806<ype=S

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

LANXESS, Eastman Chemical Company, BASF SE, and Akzo Nobel N.V. were the top four players in the global rubber processing chemicals market in 2015, accounting for about 41% of the overall market. Among these, BASF SE was the torch bearer, owing to its constant efforts towards launching new products and technological innovations, finds Transparency Market Research (TMR) in a new study.View Full Report:Their strong brand name and diversified portfolio have helped these companies in maintaining prominence in this highly consolidated arena. Apart from this, a raft of players is paying high attention to long-term contracts in order to stay relevant. Despite consolidation, these forces have led to high competitive rivalry in the global rubber processing chemicals market. The competition is anticipated to grow fiercer with the entry of numerous regional players, says TMRs lead analyst.The opportunity in the global rubber processing chemicals market was pegged at US$3.4 bn in 2015 and is poised to rise to US$5.1 bn by 2024, exhibiting a CAGR of 4.7% between 2016 and 2024.Asia Pacific to Remain Frontrunner through 2024On the basis of application, the tire segment accounted for more than 70% of the overall market value in 2015 and is expected to maintain its leadership until 2024. The expansion of the automotive industry across the globe is one of the primary factors fuelling dominance of the segment. The segment will also register a CAGR higher than any other segment during the forecast period.Geographically, Asia Pacific held a massive share of 62% in the market in 2015, with China being the leading revenue contributor. Owing to the flourishing growth of the automotive and manufacturing industries, the demand for rubber processing chemicals will remain high in the region throughout the forecast horizon. APAC is poised to remain dominant until 2024.Request to view Sample Report:Booming Construction Industry in Developing Countries Provides Upthrust to Overall MarketOwing to the unique properties of rubber such as elasticity and molding, it is the primary material used for manufacturing tires. With the spiraling sales of automobiles, owing to the rising spending power of consumers, the rubber industry and its underlying markets are gaining significant momentum. As a result of which, the global rubber processing chemicals market is anticipated to tread along a healthy growth track. Besides this, the recent developments in the tire industry are also translating into the greater uptake of rubber processing chemicals, says a TMR analyst.Besides their application in the tire industry, rubber processing chemicals find extensive usage across construction activities. They are used in the construction industry as roofing materials, floor coverings, sealants, and sound insulators. They also provide protection to joint materials against pollution, corrosion, and harsh weather conditions. Therefore, the robust growth of the construction sector, especially in developing countries, is providing a fillip to the market.Request to download and view full ToC -Adverse Effects of Rubber Processing Chemicals on Environment to Limit their Widespread AdoptionRubber processing chemicals can potentially have a hazardous impact on the environment. For instance, wastewater discharged during processing contains a significant level of biological oxygen. The rising concerns regarding the environmental degradation due to these chemicals are compelling governments worldwide to impose stringent regulations on rubber processing. Besides this, the advent of green tires is also acting as a major roadblock for rubber processing chemicals manufacturers. These factors are, therefore, inhibiting the growth of the market. Nevertheless, the majority of the leading players are likely to capitalize on the tremendous opportunities offered by Asia Pacific.Global Rubber Processing Chemicals Market Report is available at US$ 5795 -About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
IT Service Management Tools Market to Expand with Significant CAGR During 2017-2027

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-4973

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-4973

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/

Due to rapid expansion in smartphones and tablet market and evolving of advanced technologies such as IoT, the IT Service Management market is expected to grow rapidly. The rising adoption of BYOD (bring-your-own-device) policy in various verticals such as enterprise, analytics solutions and others are aiding further growth to the IT Service Management Tools market.IT can perform to its full potential when it is implemented and managed in a manner which is suited to the needs of the business it serves.IT service management tools provide services which enables the IT support organization to quickly resolve issues and problem to provide higher level of business user satisfaction at reduced cost. IT Service Management tools are provided through people, processes and technologies. The management tools of IT environment requires efficient connectivity and IT services to support emerging technologies. The digital services and tools delivers dynamic and expansion system of IT service management that includes mobility, cloud, IoT and Others.A sample of this report is available upon request @IT Service Management Tools: Drivers and ChallengesDriversThe emerging technologies in the IT field are the primary growth drivers of the IT Service Management market. Also, the Increasing requirement of Industries for remote solutions that can be accessed from anywhere is also playing an important role in fueling IT Service Management tools market. Moreover the rising demand for cost effective & flexible solution for better consumer satisfaction will have a positive impact on the IT Service Management Tools market.The increasing preference for easy deployment and agile implementation is also driving the growth of IT Service Management tools market. IT Service Management tools are brought into the company to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the operations and ultimately due to this factor, the demand for IT Service Management Tools is increasing.ChallengesThe major challenge for IT Service management is the lack of quality standards in SLA (Service level agreement). Also, certain security and privacy issues associated with the technologies and rising need for high network bandwidth are some challenges in IT service management tools market.IT Service Management Tools: SegmentationSegmentation of IT Service Management Tools on the basis of Application:Availability and performance managementNetwork managementApplication performance managementConfiguration managementDBMSOthersSegmentation of IT Service Management Tools on the basis of services:Professional ServicesManaged ServicesSegmentation of IT Service Management Tools on the basis of vertical:Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI)Government and Public SectorHealthcare and life sciencesManufacturingRetail and consumer packaged goodsEnergy and UtilitiesOthersIT Service Management Tools: Market LeadersThe Prominent players in IT Service Management are BMC Software, Inc., CA Technologies, EMC corporation, Altiris, Axios Systems PLC, IBM Corporation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company, Cherwell Software, LLC, , Citrix Systems Inc., Heat Software USA Inc., Service-now.com, Hornbill Corporate Limitedand others.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @IT Service Management Tools: Regional OverviewOn geographic basis, North America will be the largest market for IT service management market due to rapid adoption of BYOD policies. APAC market will be the fastest growing IT service management tools market. Countries like China, India, Japan, and South Korea are witnessing high investor interest in IT and IT service management. Also, due to the rise in the number of internet users in APAC and technologies like 4G LTE are also fueling the growth in this region. Latin America offers potential growth opportunities in IT Service Management tools market due the rise in technologies and organization which offers better customer experience.About UsFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centres in the U.S. and India.FMIs research and consulting services help businesses around the globe navigate the challenges in a rapidly evolving marketplace with confidence and clarity. Our customised and syndicated market research reports deliver actionable insights that drive sustainable growth. We continuously track emerging trends and events in a broad range of end industries to ensure our clients prepare for the evolving needs of their consumers.Contact UsU.S. Office616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWeb:
Thermal Barrier Coatings Market to Observe Strong Development | 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/thermal-barrier-coatings-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=17477

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/17477

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=17477<ype=S

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Several players in the global thermal barrier coatings market are engaging in long-term contracts and continual research and development activities to sustain in this highly competitive arena, observes Transparency Market Research (TMR) in a new study. To put this in perspective, A &A Company Inc. in one of the suppliers of ceramic coatings for valve balls to the U.S. Navy. Some other prominent companies operating in the market are H.C. Starck Inc., Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Praxair Surface Technologies Inc., ASB Industries Inc., Metallisation Ltd., Flame Spray Coating Co., Metallizing Equipment Co. Pvt. Ltd., Thermion Inc., and The Fisher-Barton Group.View Full Report:The global market for thermal barrier coatings had a valuation of US$12.4 bn in 2015 and is anticipated to cross the mark of US$22 bn by 2024, expanding at a 6.6% CAGR between 2016 and 2024.North America to Remain Leader in Revenue Generation through 2024On the basis of product, the metal segment will post a steady CAGR during the review period due to the better protection they offer from oxidation, corrosion, and chemicals. As per the findings of the report, the segment is expected to hold a share of 38.8% of the overall market by 2024.Geographically, North America will continue to dominate the market until 2024, accounting for 26.7% of the overall market revenue. Technological advancements and high sales of automobiles are fuelling the demand for thermal barrier coatings in the region. Asia Pacific is estimated to offer tremendous lucrative opportunities over the forecast period, thanks to the expansion of the automotive and industrial sectors.Request to view Sample Report:Expansion of Automotive Sector in Developing Countries to Augment MarketThermal barrier coatings are extensively used for their ability to curtail the heat that turbines generate in order to enhance their performance and output, says a TMR analyst. The increasing deployment of gas turbines in various industries such as stationary power plants, aerospace, and automotive is providing an upthrust to the market. Besides this, the development of advanced technologies such as electron beam physical vapor deposition and high-velocity oxy-fuel technique is also working in favor of the global thermal barrier coatings market.Request to download and view full ToC -The development of the automotive industry plays an important role in the determining the progress of the global thermal barrier coatings market. In automobiles, these coatings are responsible for maintaining the temperatures of internal and external parts at an optimum to ensure superior performance of the engine. Hence, the booming automotive industry in emerging regions is allowing the market to gain significant traction as these regions are witnessing high production and consumption of automobiles.High Prices of Coatings Due to Manufacturing Technology to Hamper Growth ProspectsAmong all the types of coatings, the high-performance ceramic coatings are considered to be the superior one. Though the raw materials needed for the production of these coatings are cheaper, the technology adopted for their production renders their price high. Thus, the high prices of technology implemented for making high-performance ceramic coatings are keeping the global thermal barrier coatings market from realizing full potential. Nevertheless, continual enhancements in technologies used are likely to create lucrative opportunities for the market.Global Thermal Barrier Coatings Market Report is available at US$ 5795 -About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Worldwide Birch Plywood market 2017 to 2022  manufacturers, size, trends and forecast by reports monitor

Birch Plywood Manufacturers

https://www.reportsmonitor.com/request-sample/?post=352873

https://www.reportsmonitor.com/make-enquiry/?post=352873

https://www.reportsmonitor.com/global-birch-plywood-market-research-report-2017/

www.reportsmonitor.com

Birch Plywood ManufacturersSummary:The Global Birch Plywood Market Report 2017 is a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Birch Plywood industry.This report provides a overview of the industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. The Birch Plywood market examination is provided for the Global market including development history, competitive landscape analysis, and major regions development status.The report focuses on worldwide major leading industry players with information such as company profiles, applications and specification, capacity, production, price, cost, revenue and contact information. Upstream raw materials, equipment and downstream consumers analysis is also carried out.In this report, the global Birch Plywood manufacturers is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Birch Plywood in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaRequest a sample copy of Birch Plywood market report@Global Birch Plywood market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingUPMSVEZAGeorgia-PacificSamkotimberWest FraserGreenply IndustriesBoise CascadeRimbunan HijauSamlingSyktyvkar plywood millPlum Creek Timber CompanySwanson GroupPotlatch CorporationRoseburgDemidovo plywood millColumbia Forest ProductsPenghongXingangDeHuaShengyangHappy GroupHunan FuxiangKing CoconutFenglingJinqiuLuliGuangzhou WeizhengGanliOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoNaturalSemi-naturalOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate of Birch Plywood for each application, includingFurniture industryInterior decorationEngineering and constructionOthersMake an Enquiry of Birch Plywood market report@Table of ContentsGlobal Birch Plywood Market Research Report 20171 Birch Plywood Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Birch Plywood1.2 Birch Plywood Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Birch Plywood Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Birch Plywood Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Natural1.2.4 Semi-natural1.3 Global Birch Plywood Segment by Application1.3.1 Birch Plywood Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Furniture industry1.3.3 Interior decoration1.3.4 Engineering and construction1.3.5 Others1.4 Global Birch Plywood Market by Region (2012-2022)Continued...In a word, the report provides major statistics on the state of the industry and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the market.Complete Report of Birch Plywood Market with TOC@Contact usJay MatthewsDirect: +1 513 549-5911Email: sales@reportsmonitor.comWebsite:About usReports Monitor is a platform to meet the market research and business intelligence requirements. Our aim is to change the dynamics of the Market Research industry by providing quality intelligence backed by data. Your requirement for market forecasting is fulfilled by our exclusive quantitative and analytics driven intelligence. We have a vast collection of reports, covering maximum industries worldwide. Our process is meticulously planned and executed in order to use maximum resources and explore the market for getting genuine insights.Address: Office C & D - 4th Floor, Siddhi Towers, Above Rupee Bank, Kondhwa Road, Pune 411048, Maharashtra, India
Automotive Roof Racks Market Is Expected To Reach USD 5,587.3 Million By 2023

Automotive Roof Racks Market

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/3821

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/automotive-roof-racks-market-3821

Market Highlights:Roof Racks are combination of bars that are attached to the roof of the car for carrying luggage. They are generally used to carry luggage, bicycle, and various carriers. They allow the user of automobile to reduce the interior space by transporting the objects on top of the roof. The commonly used materials in the roof racks are aluminum alloy, composite plastic, and others. Aluminum is the major material used in the roof racks. The factor that are responsible for the growth of automotive roof racks market are increase investment in tourism sector, increase in the production of vehicles and rising disposable income.Key Players of Automotive Roof Racks Market: Thule Group (Sweden) Magna International, Inc.(Ontario) VDL Hapro bv (Netherlands) MINTH Group Limited(China) Cruzber S.A (Spain) Atera GmbH (Germany) Rhino-Rack (U.S.) BOSAL (Belgium), JAC Products (U.S.) Yakima Products Inc. (U.S.)Request a Sample Copy @Market Research Analysis:Asia-Pacific region is expected to dominate the automotive roof racks market due to the increase investment in tourism sector. The increase investment in tourism sector will led to the increase in the use of commercial and passenger car which will result in the growth of this market. North America is expected to hold the majority of share of this market due to the large number of vehicle present in this region. The consumer in this region prefer their vehicle with high end automotive system such as roof bars. This will led to the growth of automotive roof racks market globally.Scope of the Report:This study provides an overview of the global automotive roof racks market, tracking three market segments across four geographic regions. The report studies key players, providing a five-year annual trend analysis that highlights market size, volume and share for North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Rest of the World (ROW). The report also provides a forecast, focusing on the market opportunities for the next five years for each region. The scope of the study segments the global automotive roof racks market by its Material, by, by Type, Application, and by region.By Material Aluminium Alloy Composite Plastic OthersBy Type Roof Mount Raised Rail Gutter OthersBy Application Commercial Vehicles Passenger CarsBy Region North America Europe Asia Pacific Rest of the WorldBrowse Full Report @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact:Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com
Global Grooming Products Market to Receive overwhelming hike in Revenues, 2025

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/766

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/766

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/grooming-products-market-766

Grooming products are used to enhance beauty, clean or nourish the body. The products are utilized for various body parts which includes skin, hair, lips, and teeth. The grooming products market is driven by increased beauty consciousness in emerging economies. Increasing male awareness towards overall body care and social trends have resulted in market growth. The major challenges are strict regulations regarding ingredients and growing preference of consumers towards organic products and beauty from within notion.Request a sample pdf Copy of report@Global Grooming Products Market TaxonomyOn basis of Target AudienceMass-MarketLuxuryProfessionalOn basis of Distribution ChannelBrick and MortarDepartment StoresGrocery RetailersHealth & Beauty Specialist RetailersDirect SellingOnline or E-CommerceOn basis of Product TypeToiletriesBath ProductsDeodorantsSkin CareHair CareTeeth CareFragrancesShaving ProductsMake Up ProductsOthersThe online distribution channel segment is growing due to the increased convenience offered to the consumers. Customers are referring the internet for grooming tips which has resulted in a rise of grooming websites and blogs. Also, websites dedicated grooming products have come up as a result of increased demand. The skin care segment is projected to be a major grooming products market segment along with shaving and make up products. Grooming products double up as medicinal products as well. For example, shampoo is intended to cleanse hair but also acts as a treatment for dandruff.Global Grooming Products Market OutlookAsia Pacific is the largest market in the global grooming products. The rapidly increasing urban population has contributed to this rise. The rise of local players, who have flooded the market with inferior quality products has also resulted in market growth. Enacting strict legislation will help reverse this trend. India and China are expected to be major markets in this region owing to the large populations in these countries. According to International Monetary Fund, the Asia Pacific region accounted for 50% of the worlds GDP and is slated to become a prime consumer hub in the forecast period.North America and Europe are lucrative grooming products market with millennial driving the market. Increased spending by the youth to cope up with global fashion trends has been a major driver. Germany, France, UK, and the USA are major players in the grooming products market. According to Cosmetics Europe, the personal care industry which included grooming products industry was valued at US$ 91 Million with Germany the largest market in Europe.Ask for Customization @Latin America has witnessed a rise in the middle class due to many successful years of steady economic growth. The advent of male vanity and social media trends has augmented growth in the grooming products market. Brazil was the largest market in the region. However, it is expected to shrink due to a slowdown in the economy. The Brazilian economy shrank by 3.6% and 3.8% in 2016 and 2015 respectively. According to the International Monetary Fund, the Brazil economy is expected to bounce back and grow by 1% in 2017.Middle East has seen the growth of halal grooming products i.e. products not tested on animals and free of alcohol. With adverse temperature conditions in the region, skincare is projected to be the largest market. The creation of this niche market will augment growth of the grooming products market. UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia are major players due to high disposable incomes of the population in these countries.Snapdeal, a popular Indian online marketplace, revealed increased use of grooming products by men in their sales report. Face care, body care, and hair care were more popular among men than women according to the company study. Major players operating the grooming products market are Beiersdorf AG, Colgate-Palmolive, Coty Inc, Energizer Holdings Inc., Johnson and Johnson, Koninklijke N.V., LOreal Group, and Mirato S.p.ABrowse full reportAbout Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702
Surfactants Market to Perceive Substantial Growth | 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/asia-pacific-surfactants-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=19136

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/19136

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=19136<ype=S

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

The Asia Pacific surfactants market is highly fragmented due to the presence of several players with small shares. An assessment of the competitive landscape by Transparency Market Research states that the entry for new players is relatively difficult. To remain ahead of the competition key players are expected to focus on product innovation. Development of bio-based surfactants also remains underway as several manufacturers are noticing the demand for safer raw materials for personal care products. Some of the leading players in the market are The Dow Chemical Company, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Akzo Nobel N.V., and Galaxy Surfactants Limited.View Full Report:According to the research report, the Asia Pacific surfactants market is expected to be worth US$6.3 bn by the end of 2024 as compared to US$4.1 bn in 2015. Between the forecast years of 2016 and 2024, the global surfactants market expected to expand at a CAGR of 5.0%.China Emerges as Leading Nation in Asia Pacific Surfactants MarketOn the basis of product, the global surfactants market is segmented into cationic, non ionic, anionic, and amphoteric. Of these, non ionic surfactants segment is expected to show remarkable progress in the coming years. By the end of 2024, the non ionic surfactants segment is expected to acquire a share of 34.2% in the overall market. The rising application of these surfactants in sectors such as oilfield chemicals, chemicals, textiles, and agrochemicals are expected is expected to drive the growth in the coming years.Request to view Sample Report:The Asia Pacific surfactants market is segmented into countries such as China, Thailand, Australia, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, and Rest of APAC. Of these, China dominated the overall market in 2015. The country is expected to retain its stance in the coming years as it is slated to acquire a share of 39.4% in the Asia Pacific surfactants market by the end of 2024.Rising Awareness about Beauty Products in Asia Pacific Boosts Regional MarketThe Asia Pacific surfactants market has been witnessing a rise since couple of years due to their increasing adoption in a wide range of personal care products. The diversity of personal care industry has offered the surfactants market several lucrative opportunities for growth. Increasing number of mouth wash, toothpaste, and hair care brands have been making significant usage of surfactants in their products. Furthermore, growing sales of bathing and shaving products are also expected to augment the demand for surfactants across Asia Pacific. Non-iconic, amphoteric, and cationic are the three types of surfactants that will be predominantly used in the near future.The increasing awareness about beauty, aesthetics, and hygiene are also expected to drive the growth of the Asia Pacific surfactants market in the near future. The changing lifestyles, increasing disposable incomes, and shifting perceptions toward improving the standard of living are also expected to have a positive impact on the trajectory of the Asia Pacific surfactants market during the forecast period.Request to download and view full ToC -Side-effects of Chemically-obtained Surfactants to Restrain Market GrowthDespite the soaring demand for beauty products, the Asia Pacific surfactants market is being restrained by the growing concerns amongst consumers about the usage of synthetic raw materials and oleo-chemicals in cosmetics. Surfactants manufactured using synthetic sources can lead to side-effects such as irritation to the skin and eye, damage beyond repair, and neurotoxicity amongst others. The introduction of organic products and worries about irreparable damage to the skin due to the use of surfactants are expected to hamper the growth of the Asia Pacific surfactants market.Global Surfactants Market Report is available at US$ 5795 -About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.ContactTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Mechanical Locks Market is Expected to Represent US$ 7,160 Mn value towards the end of 2022

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/mechanical-locks-market/toc

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-4976

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/mechanical-locks-market

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/4976

www.futuremarketinsights.com

While evaluating the security characteristics of electronic locks and mechanical locks, the latter seems to hold inferiority owing to designing flaws, large area for surface impact, and lack of provision for security upgrades. A recent study published by Future Market Insights assesses the future prospects of global market for mechanical locks. Key findings from this report reveal that by the end of 2022, around US$ 7,160 million worth of mechanical locks are anticipated to be sold across the globe. The report also forecasts that for the assessment period, 2017-2022, the global mechanical locks market is likely to attain growth at a moderate CAGR of 4.5%.View and Download TOC of Mechanical Locks Market @In the view of emerging technologies in the domain of physical security, the future demand for mechanical locks is less likely to witness steadfast growth. Adoption of smart locks, high-tech guarding systems, and biometric access platforms continues to surge, concurrently lowering the uptake for mechanical locks among consumers. Even as a retail commodity, mechanical locks are exhibiting a decline in terms of capturing the mass consumer appeal which continues to opt for adamantine security products.Demand for Interconnected Mechanical Locks to Remain SteadyAccording to the report, interconnected mechanical locks will continue to gain grounds in the global market. Despite the moderate expansion anticipated for the global mechanical locks market, interconnected locks will bring in nearly US$ 1,880 Mn in revenues by the end of 2022. Interconnected mechanical locks will continue to find application in security of buildings, apartments, military housing, and other residential facilities.Request and Download Sample Report @Moreover, the demands for interconnected locks are also expected to be influenced by their precise lever actions and compatibility to handicapped requirements. Easy installation and construction will also have a governing factor in compelling manufacturers towards increasing production of interconnected locks.Competitive Landscape of Mechanical Locks MarketThe report has profiled leading companies partaking in the growth of global mechanical locks market. These companies are expected to aim towards bringing cost-effectiveness in manufacturing of mechanical locks by procuring quality raw materials through a robust supply chain. Subjected to intrinsic engineering, manufacturing of mechanical locks will continue to incur qualitative enhancement, wherein apposite application of locksmithing knowledge and metallurgy will play a pivotal.Browse Complete Report @Companies namely, Serrature Meroni Spa, ASSA ABLOY AB (key subsidiary - Mul-T-Locks), Dom Ronis, Allegion Plc, Winkhaus Austria Gmbh, Yale Security Inc., Dormakaba Holdings AG, The Eastern Company, Picard-Serrures, and ECO Schulte GMBH & Co. KG are observed to remain prominent in the competitive landscape of global mechanical locks market during the forecast period.Buy Full Mechanical Locks Market Report @About Us  Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Fittings for Gas & Water Transmission Systems Market by Manufacturers, Regions, Type and Application, Forecast to 2022

Fittings for Gas & Water Transmission , Gas & Water , Fittings for Gas & Water Transmissio market, Gas & Water industry,

https://www.reportsandmarkets.com/sample-request/asia-pacific-fittings-for-gas-water-to-2022-1644331

https://www.reportsandmarkets.com/check-discount/asia-pacific-fittings-for-gas-water-to-2022-1644331

https://www.reportsandmarkets.com/reports/asia-pacific-fittings-for-gas-water-to-2022-1644331

www.reportsandmarkets.com

Fittings for Gas & Water TransmissionFittings for Gas & Water Transmission Systems is a system which including gas transmission system fittings and water transmission system fittings. Gas and water transmission systems are associated with different components including piping accessories, valves and flow measuring instruments and other components, which is a very large and complex parts system.Request For Sample Report@Scope of the Report:This report focuses on the Fittings for Gas & Water Transmission Systems in Asia-Pacific market, especially in China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, India and Australia. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, countries/Regions, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report covers :GF Piping Systems ,Wavin , Friatec ,GPS ,Plasson ,Fusion Group ,Agru ,Simona ,Baenninger ,Plastitalia ,Radius Systems ,Uponor ,Eurostandard ,Polyplastic GroupBuy Now @Market Segment by Countries, coveringChina,Japan,Korea,Taiwan,Southeast Asia,India,AustraliaMarket Segment by Type, coversHDPE Pipes,HDPE Fittings,HDPE Ball ValvesMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoDrinking Water Transmission Systems,Waste Water Transmission Systems,Gas Transmission Systems,OthersRequest For Full Report @There are 19 Chapters to deeply display the Asia-Pacific Fittings for Gas & Water Transmission Systems market.Chapter 1, to describe Fittings for Gas & Water Transmission Systems Introduction, product type and application, market overview, market analysis by countries, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the manufacturers of Fittings for Gas & Water Transmission Systems, with profile, main business, news, sales, price, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the Asia-Pacific market by countries, covering China, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, India and Australia, with sales, price, revenue and market share of Fittings for Gas & Water Transmission Systems, for each country, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 5 and 6, to show the market by type and application, with sales, price, revenue, market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2012 to 2017;Chapter 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 to analyze the key countries by manufacturers, Type and Application,covering China,Japan,Korea,Southeast Asia, Taiwan, India and Australia,with sales,revenue and market share by manufacturers,types and application;Chapter 14, Fittings for Gas & Water Transmission Systems market forecast, by countries, type and application, with sales, price, revenue and growth rate forecast, from 2017 to 2022;Chapter 15, to analyze the manufacturing cost, key raw materials and manufacturing process etc.Chapter 16, to analyze the industrial chain, sourcing strategy and downstream end users (buyers);Chapter 17, to describe sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers etc.Chapter 18 and 19, to describe the research findings and conclusion, appendix, methodology and data sourceABOUT REPORTSANDMARKETSReports And Markets is part of the Algoro Research Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.Are you mastering your market? Do you know what the market potential is for your product, who the market players are and what the growth forecast is? We offer standard global, regional or country specific market research studies for almost every market you can imagine.The marketing research reports consist of market analysis with statistical and analytical information on the markets, applications, industry analysis, market shares, technology and technology shifts, important players, and the developments in the market.Sanjay JainManager  Partner Relations & International Marketingsanjay.jain@reportsandmarkets.comsales@reportsandmarkets.comPh: +1-214-377-1121 (US)/ +44-020-3286-9338 (UK)Office No: 206 Empress Mill SocietyShree Nagar, Nagpur - 440015Maharashtra India
Human Vaccines Market will Definitely Reach US$72.5 bn by 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/16127

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=16127

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/human-vaccines-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=16127

The global human vaccines market is dominated by GlaxoSmithKline plc., Sanofi, Pfizer, Inc., and Merck & Co, Inc. These players collectively accounted for over 70% of the market in terms of revenue in 2015. Analysts at Transparency Market Research have identified some of the key strategies adopted by players in the human vaccines market in order to gain a competitive edge over the rest. These include mergers and acquisitions, collaborations and acquisitions for market penetration, the establishment of local production sites, the expansion of product portfolios, and expansion activities in regions with high growth potential.A focus on research and development is also a successful growth strategy, TMR finds. For instance, Pfizer, Inc. has always focused on R&D in order to improve innovation and productivity. It is presently working on various pipeline products for different therapies and innovating new capabilities that can position it for long-term leadership across the globe.Request to Download and View Full TOC @The global human vaccines market was valued at US$28.3 bn in 2015 and is estimated to reach US$72.5 bn by 2024, registering an 11.2% CAGR during the forecast period.Hospital Pharmacies and Drugstores Prominent Distribution Channels for Human VaccinesBy age group, pediatric vaccines accounted for a 57.5% share in the global human vaccines market in 2015. Adult vaccines, on the other hand, are expected to expand at a 13.2% CAGR from 2016 to 2024. Based on product, the pneumococcal segment accounted for the majority share in in 2015, with the hepatitis segment exhibiting strong growth during the forecast period.On basis of vaccine type, the conjugate vaccines segment accounted for the majority share in the global human vaccines market in 2015. On the other hand, the combination vaccines segment is expected to expand at an outstanding CAGR from 2016 to 2024. By distribution channel, the hospital pharmacies segment led the global human vaccines market. However, the drugstores segment is projected to expand at a considerable pace through 2024.Request to View Sample Report @Geographically, North America dominates the global human vaccines market and is estimated to reach a value of US$28.0 bn by 2024. Asia Pacific is the most promising market for human vaccines and is expected to expand at a high CAGR of 12.5% during the forecast period.Minimal Side Effects of Vaccines Bolstering Large-scale AdoptionAn extremely low risk of serious and fatal side effects associated with vaccines is one of the primary factors driving the market for human vaccines around the world. Similar to other drugs, vaccines are associated with a few side effects; however, most of the times, these are rather mild. Soreness, swelling, redness at the site of injection, fever, rash, or itchiness are the most common side effects of vaccines. Several healthcare organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US FDA, the American Medical Association (AMA), and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommend the use of vaccines owing to their safety.Complementing this factor is the growing awareness among patients and the general population regarding the benefits of vaccination. This can be attributed to a rise in awareness programs by government, private, and not-for-profit organizations. The celebration of the National Immunization Awareness Month in the month of August in the U.S., for instance, is a great way of spreading awareness and getting more people to opt for vaccination, the author of the report states.Browse Full Report @High Costs Deterring Market GrowthStrict regulatory requirements is a major hurdle for most players in the global human vaccines market. In addition to this, high costs pose a significant challenge. The discovery and development of new vaccines require immense capital. Moreover, the transportation, storage, and handling of vaccines can also be extremely heavy on the pocket, the TMR analyst reports. Apart from this, the containment of technical expertise in the hands of a few major players also acts as a deterrent on the growth of the human vaccines market.Buy Full Human Vaccines Market Report @ABOUT US:Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.CONTACT:Transparency Market ResearchState Tower90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453
Bakery & Cereals US Market 2017 - Current and Future Plans

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/2368312-top-growth-opportunities-bakery-cereals-in-the-us

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/2368312-top-growth-opportunities-bakery-cereals-in-the-us

www.linkedin.com/company/4828928

https://twitter.com/WiseGuyReports

https://www.facebook.com/Wiseguyreports-1009007869213183/?fref=ts

Summary"Top Growth Opportunities: Bakery & Cereals in the US", provides recommended actions and detailed analysis of how to target the best growth opportunities for Bakery & Cereal producers and retailers. Readers can understand what categories, channels, companies, and consumers will drive the success of Bakery & Cereal markets in the US through detailed and robust data, expert insight, and case studies.Top Growth Opportunity reports use a risk versus reward opportunity model to identify the best growth markets for Bakery & Cereal producers. Through this in-depth study of market and category dynamics, readers are able to identify key opportunities, and what they need to do in order to target them.GET SAMPLE REPORT @Top Growth Opportunities for Bakery & Cereal in the US provides an overview of the Bakeryy & Cereal market, analyzing market data, demographic consumption patterns within the category, and the key consumer trends driving consumption. propriety Risk vs Reward Opportunity model pinpoints the best growth opportunities for Bakery & Cereal producers, suppliers and retailers by combining robust, granular data and expert insight. The report uses this framework to identify the best opportunities, analyze white spaces in the market, and outline new product development that will effectively target the most pertinent consumer need states. These are combined to offer strategic recommendations to capitalize on evolving consumer landscapes.Get access to -- Key consumer demographic groups driving consumption within the US market. Improve your consumer targeting by understand whos driving the market, what they want, and why- A study of market value and volumes over 2011-2016 for the US, supplemented with category, brand and packaging analysis that shows the current state of the market, and how it will evolve over the 2016-2021 period- White space analysis, to pinpoint attractive spaces in the market and the key actions to take- Insight into the implications behind the data, and analysis of how the consumer needs will evolve in the short-to-medium term future- Examples of international and US-specific product innovation targeting key consumer needsScope- The US has the largest bakery & cereal sector by value globally, worth in excess of US$105 billion. However, growth for this market is relatively low compared with other developed nations, with a forecast CAGR for 2016-2021 of 2.5%.- The US ranks third amongst the top ten bakery & cereal markets in terms of per capita expenditure (in US$ terms), smaller than Saudi Arabia and Chile.- The US Bakery & Cereals market is led by Cakes, Pastries & Sweet Pies category in value terms which grew at a CAGR of 3.5% during 2011-2016 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 2.9% during the forecast period (2016-2021).Reasons to buy- This report brings together consumer analysis and market data to provide actionable insight into the behavior of the US Bakery & Cereal consumers.- This is based on unique consumer data, developed from extensive consumption surveys and consumer group tracking, which quantifies the influence of 20 consumption motivations in the Baekry & Cereal sector.- Category, brand, and packaging dynamics are also examined. This allows product and marketing strategies to be better aligned with the leading trends in the market.Table of Content: Key Points1. Introducing a top growth market for Bakery & CerealsTop 10 global growth opportunities scoresTop global issuesAssessment against global strategic issuesPredicted future issues for the global sectorReward and risk assessmentOpportunity score - overviewConsumer spending trends - peer group comparisonsPolitical, Economic, Social, and Technological AnalysisEnablers and inhibitors of growthRewards and opportunities for growthSummary of the market2. Market insight - identifying the opportunities to move intoMarket growth by categoryValue growth of the marketVolume growth of the marketLevel of premiumization by categoryCategory analysis - key drivers of change3. Retail and distribution insight - key channels and retailers driving growthBakery & cereals retail channel shareKey Retail Channel trendsRoutes to marketDrivers of change in the sector4. Company and brand insight - the competitive landscape definedCategory fragmentationCompany and brand strengthPrivate label penetrationBrand share by leading supplierInternational and domestic brand analysisCompany and brand strength summary5. Consumer insight - who, what, when, where and whyStrategic issues mapContinuedACCESS REPORT @Get in touch:LinkedIn:Twitter:Facebook:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
UK SME Adoption of Employee Benefits 2017

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1339285

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/enquiry/1339285

Recent research and the current scenario as well as future market potential of "UK SME Adoption of Employee Benefits 2017" globally.Summary"UK SME Adoption of Employee Benefits 2017", report highlights the opportunities in offering employee benefits by sizing the number of SMEs in the UK. It discusses the penetration of employee benefits among SMEs and factors affecting this, such as pension auto-enrolment. It explores how employee benefits are purchased, which are the top insurers, and the importance of offering benefits in attracting and retaining employees.The report explores the provision of 10 employee benefits among UK SMEs across pensions, protection insurance, and healthcare benefits, which include private company pensions, pension contributions into a NEST government auto-enrolment scheme, life insurance, critical illness insurance, income protection insurance, private health insurance, healthcare cash plans, dental plans, cycle-to-work schemes, and childcare vouchers.Get The Sample Copy Of Report :Employee benefits are a range of products provided to employees in addition to their normal salaries. Their purpose is to increase the economic security and wellbeing of staff, and they are pivotal in both attracting and retaining employees.Businesses that offer more employee benefits are considered to be more attractive to employees. It means individuals do not have to purchase the equivalent benefits themselves, making their employee contracts more valuable. Providing employee benefits is also in employers best interests; encouraging health and wellbeing among employees will help to prevent illness and injury, and benefits can help get employees back to work sooner.Scope- Pensions are the most commonly offered employee benefit among SMEs due to auto-enrolment. This is followed by private health insurance, and life insurance and critical illness insurance. Penetration of all employee benefit products increases with SME size.- Pensions are the most commonly offered employee benefit among SMEs due to auto-enrolment. This is followed by private health insurance, and life insurance and critical illness insurance. Penetration of all employee benefit products increases with SME size.- The introduction of auto-enrolment, increases in business rates, rises in the national living wage, and Brexit have been putting pressure on SME profits. In order to cut costs SMEs may look to reduce the provision of employee benefits. SME business numbers and the employment rate may also fall due to pressures.- Protection products are increasingly providing services such as virtual GPs, wellbeing apps that assess health using wearables, and rehabilitation services. Private medical insurance allows employees to skip NHS waiting lists, while healthcare cash plans and dental plans help promote health through free, regular check-ups.Send An Enquiry :Reasons to buy- Understand the opportunity in cross-selling employee benefits alongside general insurance for SMEs.- Adjust your strategy by discovering which are the most common employee benefits provided by UK SMEs, who the top providers are, and how employee benefits are purchased.- Understand the current pressure on SMEs and how this may impact the sale of employee benefits.- Be aware of how providers are innovating in the employee benefit space.MRRbiz supports your business intelligence needs with over 700,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Lead Acid Battery Market Projected to Reach US$ 31,708.4 Mn by 2020: FMI

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/lead-acid-battery-market/toc

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-430

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/430

www.futuremarketinsights.com

Future Market Insights, in its latest report titled,Lead Acid Battery Market: Asia Pacific, Latin America, Japan, Middle East & Africa Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014 - 2020, states that the target regions lead acid battery market accounted for US$ 24,210.5 Million in 2014, and is expected to reach US$ 31,708.4 Million at a CAGR of 4.6% during the forecast period. Asia Pacific, which accounted for the major chunk in the target regions lead acid battery market, is expected to expand at an estimated CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period.By application type, the target regions lead acid battery market is segmented as transportation, stationary industrial, motive industrial, commercial, residential, and grid storage. Transportation and stationary industrial collectively contributed to around 82.4% of market revenue in 2014. Transportation was the largest end-use application in the target regions lead acid battery market in 2014, and is anticipated to continue its dominance through 2020. Stationary industrial is the second largest contributor to the target regions lead acid battery market, and is expected to register the fastest CAGR of 8.5% during the forecast period.The report finds that grid storage is one of the smallest end-use application segments in the target regions lead acid battery market, but is anticipated to register the fastest CAGR of 7.2% during the forecast period.View and Download TOC of Lead Acid Battery Market Research Report@Lead acid batteries are predominantly used in passenger cars, commercial vehicles and two wheelers. In addition to that, demand for lead acid battery has also surged due to the increasing adoption of UPS, owing to rapid urbanisation and industrialisation. Adoption of grid storage technology in developing countries such as India and China is expected to fuel the target regions lead acid battery market. In addition to that, an increase in the demand for electric vehicles is expected to further accelerate the expansion of the lead acid battery market globally.Moreover, key challenges in the lead acid battery market are raw material price volatility and stringent emission regulations. Lead is the essential raw material used in the manufacturing of lead acid batteries. Lead prices account for approximately 49% of the overall cost of the lead acid batteries. Any fluctuations in lead prices affect the overall profitability of lead acid battery manufacturers.Request and Download Sample Report@Region-wise, Asia Pacific is the largest contributor in the target regions lead acid battery market, and is expected to continue its dominance till 2020. Currently, the Asia Pacific lead acid battery market is valued at US$ 15,995 Million and is expected to reach US$ 19,881 Million by 2020. Latin America and Japan are other major markets contributing 14.4% and 14.1% respectively, to the target regions lead acid battery revenue. Middle East & Africa accounted for the lowest contribution in terms of revenue in 2014, but is expected to register a significant growth at a CAGR of 4.9% over the forecast period.The degree of competition in the target regions lead acid battery market has been analysed in the report, which also presents the comparative view of the key strategies and financial outlook of major companies operating in target regions lead acid battery market. These include Johnson Controls INC, Exide Technologies, GS Yuasa Corporation, EnerSys and Yokohama Industries.Buy Full Lead Acid Battery Market Report@ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite :
3D Radar Market Overview  Key Futuristic Trends and Opportunities 2022

3D Radar Market

https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/request-sample/545705

https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/report/global-3d-radar-market-professional-survey-report-2017

https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/check-discount/545705

https://www.qyresearchgroups.com/send-an-enquiry/545705

The Global 3D Radar Market Research Report 2017 renders deep perception of the key regional market status of the 3D Radar Industry on a Global level that primarily aims the core regions which comprises of continents like Europe, North America, and Asia and the key countries such as United States, Germany, China and Japan.Request for sample of 3D Radar Market research report @The report on Global 3D Radar Market is a professional report which provides thorough knowledge along with complete information pertaining to the 3D Radar industry a propos classifications, definitions, applications, industry chain summary, industry policies in addition to plans, product specifications, manufacturing processes, cost structures, etc.The potential of this industry segment has been rigorously investigated in conjunction with primary market challenges. The present market condition and future prospects of the segment has also been examined. Moreover, key strategies in the market that includes product developments, partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, etc., are discussed. Besides, upstream raw materials and equipment and downstream demand analysis is also conducted.Report Includes:-The report cloaks the market analysis and projection of  3D Radar Market on a regional as well as Global level. The report constitutes qualitative and quantitative valuation by industry analysts, first-hand data, assistance from industry experts along with their most recent verbatim and each industry manufacturers via the market value chain. The research experts have additionally assessed the in general sales and revenue generation of this particular market. In addition, this report also delivers widespread analysis of root market trends, several governing elements and macro-economic indicators, coupled with market improvements as per every segment. Furthermore, the report contains diverse profiles of primary market players of  3D Radar Market.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, covering:Northrop Grumman Corporation (US), Raytheon Company (US), Thales Group (France), Airbus Defense and Space (US), BAE Systems plc (UK), Honeywell International Inc. (US), SAAB Group (Sweden), ELTA Systems Ltd. (Israel), Leonardo S.p.A. (Italy), Indra Sistemas, S.A. (Spain), Harris Corporation. (US), Aselsan A.S. (TR), Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd (IL), Reutech Radar Systems (ZA)On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split into:By Range, Long Range, Medium Range, Short Range, By Frequency Band, C/S/X Band, E/F Band,L Band, OthersBy Application, the market can be split into:Airborne, Ground, NavalBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want):North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan, IndiaDetailed TOC and Charts & Tables of 3D Radar Market Research Report available @The report is generically segmented into six parts and every part aims on the overview of the 3D Radar industry, present condition of the market, feasibleness of the investment along with several strategies and policies. Apart from the definition and classification, the report also discusses the analysis of import and export and describes a comparison of the market that is focused on the trends and development. Along with entire framework in addition to in-depth details, one can prepare and stay ahead of the competitors across the targeted locations. The fact that this market report renders details about the major market players along with their product development and current trends proves to be very beneficial for fresh entrants to comprehend and recognize the industry in an improved manner. The report also enlightens the productions, sales, supply, market condition, demand, growth, and forecast of the 3D Radar industry in the Global markets.Every regions market has been studied thoroughly in this report which deals with the precise information pertaining to the Marketing Channels and novel project investments so that the new entrants as well as the established market players conduct intricate research of trends and analysis in these regional markets. Acknowledging the status of the environment and products up gradation, the market report foretells each and every detail.So as to fabricate this report, complete key details, strategies and variables are examined so that entire useful information is amalgamated together for the understanding and studying the key facts pertaining the Global 3D Radar Industry. The production value and market share in conjunction with the SWOT analysis everything is integrated in this report.Check for Discount @Table of Contents5 3D Radar Regional Market Analysis5.1 North America 3D Radar Market Analysis5.1.1 North America 3D Radar Market Overview5.1.2 North America 2012-2017E 3D Radar Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.1.3 North America 2012-2017E 3D Radar Sales Price Analysis5.1.4 North America 2016 3D Radar Market Share Analysis5.2 China 3D Radar Market Analysis5.2.1 China 3D Radar Market Overview5.2.2 China 2012-2017E 3D Radar Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.2.3 China 2012-2017E 3D Radar Sales Price Analysis5.2.4 China 2016 3D Radar Market Share Analysis5.3 Europe 3D Radar Market Analysis5.3.1 Europe 3D Radar Market Overview5.3.2 Europe 2012-2017E 3D Radar Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.3.3 Europe 2012-2017E 3D Radar Sales Price Analysis5.3.4 Europe 2016 3D Radar Market Share Analysis5.4 Southeast Asia 3D Radar Market Analysis5.4.1 Southeast Asia 3D Radar Market Overview5.4.2 Southeast Asia 2012-2017E 3D Radar Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.4.3 Southeast Asia 2012-2017E 3D Radar Sales Price Analysis5.4.4 Southeast Asia 2016 3D Radar Market Share Analysis5.5 Japan 3D Radar Market Analysis5.5.1 Japan 3D Radar Market Overview5.5.2 Japan 2012-2017E 3D Radar Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.5.3 Japan 2012-2017E 3D Radar Sales Price Analysis5.5.4 Japan 2016 3D Radar Market Share Analysis5.6 India 3D Radar Market Analysis5.6.1 India 3D Radar Market Overview5.6.2 India 2012-2017E 3D Radar Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.6.3 India 2012-2017E 3D Radar Sales Price Analysis5.6.4 India 2016 3D Radar Market Share Analysis6 Global 2012-2017E 3D Radar Segment Market Analysis (by Type)6.1 Global 2012-2017E 3D Radar Sales by Type6.2 Different Types of 3D Radar Product Interview Price Analysis6.3 Different Types of 3D Radar Product Driving Factors Analysis6.3.1 By Range of 3D Radar Growth Driving Factor Analysis6.3.2 By Frequency Band of 3D Radar Growth Driving Factor AnalysisEnquiry before Buying @About Us:QY Research Groups is a company that simplifies how analysts and decision makers get industry data for their business. Our unique colossal technology has been developed to offer refined search capabilities designed to exploit the long tail of free market research whilst eliminating irrelevant results. QY Research Groups is the collection of market intelligence products and services on the Web. We offer reports and update our collection daily to provide you with instant online access to the world's most complete and current database of expert insights on Global industries, companies, products, and trends.Contact us:Jia Wang, Room B1510, ShijiKemao Building, No.66,Zhongguancun East Road,Haidian District, Beijing, 100190,China
Centre And Drag Link Market Expansion Projected to Gain an Uptick During 2016-2026

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1862

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-1862

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/centre-and-drag-link-market

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com

Center link is used for transmission of motion from inner tie rods to pitman arm on both sides of a vehicle as compared to center link, which connects to an idler arm. While driving, center link allows the driver to turn front wheels in desired direction. Center and drag link assemblies offer smooth functioning of the vehicle and result in less vibrates and wobbles, thus easy to drive. Center and drag link assemblies are essential components of steering wheel, which is intended to maintain front wheel and front axle lineup. Center and drag link manufacturers are keen on developing products, which overcome challenges such as extreme temperatures, uneven terrain, bad ground conditions, safety and reliability. With increasing end user inclination towards better and efficient vehicle components, the vehicle component manufacturers need to design products meeting aforementioned challenges especially for commercial vehicle vehiclesA sample of this report is available upon request @Centre and Drag Link Market Segmentation:Center and drag link market is segmented on the basis of Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW), ball size range, end use industry and product type. Based on the type of GVW applications, the market is segmented into less than 8,000 lb. GVW, between 8,000-15,000 lb. GVW, and more than 15,000 GVW. On the basis of ball size type, the segmentation includes 1 to 1.5 inch, 1.5 to 1.75 inch and 1.75 to 2.75 inch. Center and Drag link assemblies are used across various end use industries including agriculture, forestry, off-road vehicles, mining, and military. The segmentation is also done by the product type, which majorly includes light-duty vehicle, medium-duty vehicle and heavy-duty vehicle. Geographically, the center and drag link market is segmented into seven regions namely North America, Western Europe, Japan, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan, Middle East and Africa and Latin America. Also, Asian countries offer low-cost labour, the developed products are less expensive as compared to those manufactured in developed regions of the world.To view TOC of this report is available upon request @Centre and Drag Link Market Dynamics:Technological advancements in automotive industry is one of prominent factors driving the demand for development of more durable and strong products such as center and drag links. Moreover, due to fragmented nature of market, number of players in the center and drag link market has increased in recent years. This has further led to improved product development at affordable prices, which is fuelling the market growth. In addition, growing automotive industry particularly across countries such as India and China is further expected to increase demand for steering wheel components such as center and drag link among the end-users. Manufacturers of steering wheel system are focused on extensive research and development (R&D) in order to achieve a defined top-line growth. Apart from R&D gaining significant share in the aftermarket is a concern for manufacturers in North America. Thus, improvement in stock keeping units (SKUs) with an aim to increase coverage of products for different vehicle models might offer surge in unit shipment sales and result in competitive pricing. Furthermore, this is predicted to lead towards enhanced product availability at affordable prices for end users particularly in North America and increase in market share of respective companies. However, large number of suppliers does lead to increased product availability, which results in low quality and less efficiency and thus, hampering the market growth of high-end center and drag link assemblies.Get access to full summary @:Centre and Drag Link Market Key players:Some of the players in the centre and Drag link market include Federal-Mogul Corporation, KOREA Central CO., LTD., Rane (Madras) Ltd., Powers & Sons, LLC, ZF TRW and Moser Engineering among others. Original steering parts manufacturers across the globe are focused on developing quality products in compliance with reliability and durability. This has thus, led to slow replacement rates, which is indirectly leading towards market demand for center and drag link shipments in the aftermarket.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Abhishek BudholiyaFuture Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global Mena Pou Water Purifiers Market is Estimated to Represent US$ 471 Mn from 2014 to 2020.

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/mena-pou-water-purifiers-market/toc

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-ma-30

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/mena-pou-water-purifiers-market

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/30

www.futuremarketinsights.com

Future Market Insights (FMI) announced the release of a latest report titled, POU Water Purifiers Market: MENA Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment 2014 - 2020. FMI estimates that the Point of Use (POU) water purifier market in Middle East and North Africa is expected to reach US$ 471 Mn at a CAGR of 7.6% from 2014 to 2020.Residential water purification system includes point of use water purifiers (POU), point of entry (POE) water purifiers, portable water purifiers. Moreover, the demand for POU water purifiers is high among consumers in MENA region as compared to POE and portable water purifiers.View and Download TOC of Mena Pou Water Purifiers Market Opportunity Assessment Market @In the POU water purifiers market, products with high purification capabilities such as combination of reverse osmosis (RO) and Ultraviolet (UV) technologies are more preferred. It has also been observed that a majority of the demand is coming from urban centres in GCC when compared to the entire MENA region.Market SegmentsThe POU water purifiers market is segmented on the basis of technology which includes RO, UV and media-based. RO technology based water purifiers segment is estimated to account for slightly over 40% of the total POU water purifiers market in MENA region in 2014. Media-based water purification, which is a conventional water purification technology has also witnessed technological advancements, and is estimated to display a CAGR of 9.3% during the forecast period, in terms of volume. The third technology, UV based water purifiers, is estimated to exhibit a sluggish growth rate during the forecast period due to its limitation in removing only organic contaminants from water. Additionally, UV-based water purifiers are also priced higher in comparison to media-based water purifiers and hence the product preference for UV based water purifiers is comparatively low.Request and Download Sample Report @Region-wise, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Algeria are the promising markets for POU water purifiers. In addition, a cumulative scenario has been highlighted for rest of MENA (includes smaller countries like Kuwait, Jordan etc.). Among the aforementioned regions, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is estimated to be the prominent market for POU water purifiers, followed by Turkey, due to its growing population and rapid urbanization, and increasing awareness for safe drinking water forecast period.In addition, penetration of bottled water is a challenge for the POU water purifiers market in Anatolia. As a result, Anatolia is estimated to demonstrate a sluggish growth rate in the near future. Furthermore, POU water purifiers market in UAE is anticipated to reach 149.2 thousand units by 2020, exhibiting a CAGR of 10% between 2014 and 2020.Browse Complete Report @Drivers and RestraintsDeteriorating water quality, rising cost of bottled water, increasing population coupled with increasing per capita income are some of the prominent factors which will catalyse the point of use water purifiers in the region. Though the MENA market is attractive in terms of absolute dollar opportunity, low awareness about safe drinking water and product unavailability are major challenges for the MENA POU water purifier market.Competitive LandscapeKey players operating in the MENA water purifier market are LG, Eureka Forbes, Strauss Water, Panasonic, WaterLife and Coolplex. The report sheds light on their key growth strategies and recent developments. In addition, the report also discusses the value chain followed by multinational companies in MENA for POU water purifiers.Buy Full Mena Pou Water Purifiers Market Report @About Us  Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
United States 3D Camera Module Deep Research on Industrial and Market studies Report 2017

https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1328498

https://www.researchmoz.us/united-states-3d-camera-module-market-report-2017-report.html

"United States 3D Camera Module Market Report 2017" The Report covers current Industries Trends, Worldwide Analysis, Global Forecast, Review, Share, Size, Growth, Effect.Description-In this report, the United States 3D Camera Module market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report splits the United States market into seven regions:The WestSouthwestThe Middle AtlanticNew EnglandThe SouthThe Midwestwith sales (volume), revenue (value), market share and growth rate of 3D Camera Module in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast).Get Sample Report With TOC @United States 3D Camera Module market competition by top manufacturers/players, with 3D Camera Module sales volume, price, revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingLG InnotekSEMCOLITEONSunny OpticalFOXCONNPartron...On the basis of product, this report displays the sales volume, revenue, product price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoCCDCMOSOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of 3D Camera Module for each application, includingMobileAutomotiveMedicalSecurityMachineOtherTable of ContentsUnited States 3D Camera Module Market Report 20171 3D Camera Module Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of 3D Camera Module1.2 Classification of 3D Camera Module by Product Category1.2.1 United States 3D Camera Module Market Size (Sales Volume) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 United States 3D Camera Module Market Size (Sales Volume) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 CCD1.2.4 CMOS1.3 United States 3D Camera Module Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 United States 3D Camera Module Market Size (Consumption) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Mobile1.3.3 Automotive1.3.4 Medical1.3.5 Security1.3.6 Machine1.3.7 Other1.4 United States 3D Camera Module Market by Region1.4.1 United States 3D Camera Module Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 The West 3D Camera Module Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Southwest 3D Camera Module Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 The Middle Atlantic 3D Camera Module Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 New England 3D Camera Module Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 The South 3D Camera Module Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 The Midwest 3D Camera Module Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 United States Market Size (Value and Volume) of 3D Camera Module (2012-2022)1.5.1 United States 3D Camera Module Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2022)1.5.2 United States 3D Camera Module Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)2 United States 3D Camera Module Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1 United States 3D Camera Module Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 United States 3D Camera Module Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.3 United States 3D Camera Module Average Price by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.4 United States 3D Camera Module Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.4.1 United States 3D Camera Module Market Concentration Rate2.4.2 United States 3D Camera Module Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Players/Suppliers2.4.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion in United States Market2.5 United States Players/Suppliers 3D Camera Module Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area, Product Type3 United States 3D Camera Module Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 United States 3D Camera Module Sales and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 United States 3D Camera Module Revenue and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 United States 3D Camera Module Price by Region (2012-2017)4 United States 3D Camera Module Sales (Volume) and Revenue (Value) by Type (Product Category) (2012-2017)4.1 United States 3D Camera Module Sales and Market Share by Type (Product Category) (2012-2017)4.2 United States 3D Camera Module Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)4.3 United States 3D Camera Module Price by Type (2012-2017)4.4 United States 3D Camera Module Sales Growth Rate by Type (2012-2017)5 United States 3D Camera Module Sales (Volume) by Application (2012-2017)5.1 United States 3D Camera Module Sales and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)5.2 United States 3D Camera Module Sales Growth Rate by Application (2012-2017)5.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6 United States 3D Camera Module Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data6.1 LG Innotek6.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors6.1.2 3D Camera Module Product Category, Application and Specification6.1.2.1 Product A6.1.2.2 Product B6.1.3 LG Innotek 3D Camera Module Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview6.2 SEMCO6.2.2 3D Camera Module Product Category, Application and Specification6.2.2.1 Product A6.2.2.2 Product B6.2.3 SEMCO 3D Camera Module Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)6.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview6.3 LITEONFull Report @ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074
Global Data Center Colocation Market: By Types - Telecom & IT, BFSI, Energy, Government & Public Sector & Healthcare & Life Sciences

Market Research Report

https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1329270

https://www.researchmoz.us/global-data-center-colocation-market-professional-survey-report-2017-report.html

http://www.researchmoz.us/

http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG

Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Data Center Colocation Market: By Types - Telecom & IT, BFSI, Energy, Government & Public Sector & Healthcare & Life Sciences" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies Data Center Colocation in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2012 to 2016, and forecast to 2022.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringAmerican Telephone & TelegraphEquinixSunGuard Availability ServicesInterxion HoldingCenturyLink Technology SolutionsVerizon CommunicationKDDI CorporationNavisiteDuPont Fabros TechnologyTelecity GroupGlobal Switch CorporationNTT Data CorporationRackspaceDigital RealityBy types, the market can be split intoTelecom & ITBFSIEnergyGovernment & Public SectorHealthcare & Life SciencesOthersBy Application, the market can be split intoSmall and Medium EnterprisesLarge EnterprisesTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @By Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaTable of ContentsGlobal Data Center Colocation Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of Data Center Colocation1.1 Definition and Specifications of Data Center Colocation1.1.1 Definition of Data Center Colocation1.1.2 Specifications of Data Center Colocation1.2 Classification of Data Center Colocation1.2.1 Telecom & IT1.2.2 BFSI1.2.3 Energy1.2.4 Government & Public Sector1.2.5 Healthcare & Life Sciences1.2.6 Others1.3 Applications of Data Center Colocation1.3.1 Small and Medium Enterprises1.3.2 Large Enterprises1.3.3 Application 31.4 Market Segment by Regions1.4.1 North America2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Data Center Colocation2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Data Center Colocation2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Data Center Colocation2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Data Center ColocationBrowse More Details @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
OpportunityAnalyzer: Acute Myeloid Leukemia - Opportunity Analysis and Forecasts to 2026

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1339305

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/enquiry/1339305

MarketResearchReports.biz announces the availability of a report on the evolving market of "OpportunityAnalyzer: Acute Myeloid Leukemia - Opportunity Analysis and Forecasts to 2026"SummaryAcute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a rapidly progressing blood cancer with a poor overall prognosis. AML is relatively rare, and predominantly affects older adults. Although a number of acquired genetic and molecular abnormalities have been implicated in the manifestation of AML and disease progression, in most cases the stimuli causing these abnormalities to occur have not been identified.Major drivers of the AML market in the 7MM will include an increasing number of elderly incident cases of AML, particularly in the US, the launch of premium-priced therapies, including AbbVie/Roches Venclexta, Celgenes enasidenib and CC-486, and Actiniums Iomab-B for elderly AML patients; Daiichi Sankyos quizartinib and Astellas gilteritinib for FLT3-mutated AML; and Jazzs Vyxeos for newly diagnosed elderly secondary AML patients, and an increasing branded drug treatment rate, particularly among elderly patients.Get The Sample Copy Of Report :Barriers to the growth of the AML market in the 7MM will include a high enrollment rate of AML patients in clinical trials in the 5EU, the US, and Japan, pressure for cost-consciousness, particularly in the EU, limited adoption of the branded therapies due to positioning of most of them in combination with the relatively toxic current standard-of-care (SOC) regimens, loss of patent protection of Vidaza, Dacogen, Rydapt, and the prospective branded therapies Vyxeos and guadecitabine.Key Questions Answered- The AML market is marked by the presence of a number of unmet needs in current treatments. What are the main unmet needs in this market? Will the drugs under development fulfil the unmet needs of the AML market?- How will new pipeline agents such as Rydapt, enasidenib, Mylotarg, Vyxeos, and Venclexta impact the AML market?- The current AML market is dominated by generic chemotherapies. How will the advent of targeted prescription drugs change the drug treatment landscape in AML? How will the drug treatment rate change over the next five years? What are the key drivers and barriers to this change?Send An Enquiry :Scope- Overview of AML, including epidemiology, etiology, pathophysiology, symptoms, diagnosis, and disease management.- Annualized AML therapeutics market revenue, cost of therapy per patient, and treatment usage patterns in nine patient segments , forecast from 2016 to 2026.- Key topics covered include strategic competitor assessment, market characterization, unmet needs, clinical trial mapping and implications for the AML therapeutics market.- Pipeline analysis: comprehensive data assessing emerging trends and mechanisms of action under development for AML. The most promising candidate in Phase III development are profiled.- Analysis of the current and future market competition in the global AML market. Insightful review of the key industry drivers, restraints and challenges. Each trend is independently researched to provide qualitative analysis of its implications.Reasons to buyThe report will enable you to -- Develop and design your in-licensing and out-licensing strategies through a review of pipeline products and technologies, and by identifying the companies with the most robust pipeline.- Develop business strategies by understanding the trends shaping and driving the global AML market.- Drive revenues by understanding the key trends, innovative products and technologies, market segments, and companies likely to impact the global AML market in the future.- Formulate effective sales and marketing strategies by understanding the competitive landscape and by analysing the performance of various competitors.- Identify emerging players with potentially strong product portfolios and create effective counter-strategies to gain a competitive advantage.- Organize your sales and marketing efforts by identifying the market categories and segments that present maximum opportunities for consolidations, investments and strategic partnerships.MRRbiz supports your business intelligence needs with over 700,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Desktop Robots Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2017

Market Research Report

https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1329271

https://www.researchmoz.us/global-desktop-robots-market-professional-survey-report-2017-report.html

http://www.researchmoz.us/

http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG

Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Desktop Robots Market: Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.This report studies Desktop Robots in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2012 to 2016, and forecast to 2022.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringJANOMEDst RobotFisnarMusashi engineeringAB ControlsIEI Iwashita Engineering, Inc.Hibex Singapore Pte LtdITECBy types, the market can be split intoSemi-automaticAutomaticBy Application, the market can be split intoDispensingScrew FeedersTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @By Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaTable of ContentsGlobal Desktop Robots Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of Desktop Robots1.1 Definition and Specifications of Desktop Robots1.1.1 Definition of Desktop Robots1.1.2 Specifications of Desktop Robots1.2 Classification of Desktop Robots1.2.1 Semi-automatic1.2.2 Automatic1.3 Applications of Desktop Robots1.3.1 Dispensing1.3.2 Screw Feeders1.3.3 Application 31.4 Market Segment by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 China1.4.3 Europe1.4.4 Southeast Asia2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Desktop Robots2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Desktop Robots2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Desktop Robots2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Desktop RobotsBrowse More Details @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Global Aircraft Nano Coating Deep Research on Industrial and Market studies Professional Survey Report 2017

https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1329428

https://www.researchmoz.us/global-aircraft-nano-coating-market-professional-survey-report-2017-report.html

"Global Aircraft Nano Coating Market Professional Survey Report 2017" The Report covers current Industries Trends, Worldwide Analysis, Global Forecast, Review, Share, Size, Growth, Effect.Description-This report studies Aircraft Nano Coating in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2012 to 2016, and forecast to 2022.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringAnCattApplied Thin FilmsFlightShieldGlonatechCHOOSE NanoTechGeneral NanoGet Sample Report With TOC @HR ToughGuardSurfactis TechnologiesTesla NanoCoatingsOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoAnti-corrosion Nano CoatingThermal Barrier Nano CoatingAnti-icing Nano CoatingOthersBy Application, the market can be split intoCivil AviationMilitary AviationBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaTable of ContentsGlobal Aircraft Nano Coating Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of Aircraft Nano Coating1.1 Definition and Specifications of Aircraft Nano Coating1.1.1 Definition of Aircraft Nano Coating1.1.2 Specifications of Aircraft Nano Coating1.2 Classification of Aircraft Nano Coating1.2.1 Anti-corrosion Nano Coating1.2.2 Thermal Barrier Nano Coating1.2.3 Anti-icing Nano Coating1.2.4 Others1.3 Applications of Aircraft Nano Coating1.3.1 Civil Aviation1.3.2 Military Aviation1.3.3 Application 31.4 Market Segment by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 China1.4.3 Europe1.4.4 Southeast Asia1.4.5 Japan1.4.6 India2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Aircraft Nano Coating2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Aircraft Nano Coating2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Aircraft Nano Coating2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Aircraft Nano Coating3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Aircraft Nano Coating3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Aircraft Nano Coating Major Manufacturers in 20163.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Aircraft Nano Coating Major Manufacturers in 20163.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Aircraft Nano Coating Major Manufacturers in 20163.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Aircraft Nano Coating Major Manufacturers in 20164 Global Aircraft Nano Coating Overall Market Overview4.1 2012-2017E Overall Market Analysis4.2 Capacity Analysis4.2.1 2012-2017E Global Aircraft Nano Coating Capacity and Growth Rate Analysis4.2.2 2016 Aircraft Nano Coating Capacity Analysis (Company Segment)4.3 Sales Analysis4.3.1 2012-2017E Global Aircraft Nano Coating Sales and Growth Rate Analysis4.3.2 2016 Aircraft Nano Coating Sales Analysis (Company Segment)4.4 Sales Price Analysis4.4.1 2012-2017E Global Aircraft Nano Coating Sales Price4.4.2 2016 Aircraft Nano Coating Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment)5 Aircraft Nano Coating Regional Market Analysis5.1 North America Aircraft Nano Coating Market Analysis5.1.1 North America Aircraft Nano Coating Market Overview5.1.2 North America 2012-2017E Aircraft Nano Coating Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.1.3 North America 2012-2017E Aircraft Nano Coating Sales Price Analysis5.1.4 North America 2016 Aircraft Nano Coating Market Share Analysis5.2 China Aircraft Nano Coating Market Analysis5.2.1 China Aircraft Nano Coating Market Overview5.2.2 China 2012-2017E Aircraft Nano Coating Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.2.3 China 2012-2017E Aircraft Nano Coating Sales Price Analysis5.2.4 China 2016 Aircraft Nano Coating Market Share Analysis5.3 Europe Aircraft Nano Coating Market Analysis5.3.1 Europe Aircraft Nano Coating Market Overview5.3.2 Europe 2012-2017E Aircraft Nano Coating Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.3.3 Europe 2012-2017E Aircraft Nano Coating Sales Price Analysis5.3.4 Europe 2016 Aircraft Nano Coating Market Share Analysis5.4 Southeast Asia Aircraft Nano Coating Market Analysis5.4.1 Southeast Asia Aircraft Nano Coating Market Overview5.4.2 Southeast Asia 2012-2017E Aircraft Nano Coating Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.4.3 Southeast Asia 2012-2017E Aircraft Nano Coating Sales Price Analysis5.4.4 Southeast Asia 2016 Aircraft Nano Coating Market Share Analysis5.5 Japan Aircraft Nano Coating Market Analysis5.5.1 Japan Aircraft Nano Coating Market Overview5.5.2 Japan 2012-2017E Aircraft Nano Coating Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.5.3 Japan 2012-2017E Aircraft Nano Coating Sales Price Analysis5.5.4 Japan 2016 Aircraft Nano Coating Market Share Analysis5.6 India Aircraft Nano Coating Market Analysis5.6.1 India Aircraft Nano Coating Market Overview5.6.2 India 2012-2017E Aircraft Nano Coating Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.6.3 India 2012-2017E Aircraft Nano Coating Sales Price Analysis5.6.4 India 2016 Aircraft Nano Coating Market Share Analysis6 Global 2012-2017E Aircraft Nano Coating Segment Market Analysis (by Type)6.1 Global 2012-2017E Aircraft Nano Coating Sales by Type6.2 Different Types of Aircraft Nano Coating Product Interview Price Analysis6.3 Different Types of Aircraft Nano Coating Product Driving Factors Analysis6.3.1 Anti-corrosion Nano Coating of Aircraft Nano Coating Growth Driving Factor Analysis6.3.2 Thermal Barrier Nano Coating of Aircraft Nano Coating Growth Driving Factor Analysis6.3.3 Anti-icing Nano Coating of Aircraft Nano Coating Growth Driving Factor AnalysisFull Report @ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074
Eco Friendly Bottles Market - Key Players, Growth, Analysis, 2017  2022

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=31181

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/eco-friendly-bottles-market.html

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

The global eco friendly bottles market has exhibited solid growth in the last few years due to the growing government support and mass popularity of environmental conservation solutions. Eco friendly bottles represent a crucial step in making sure the modern human lifestyle doesnt harm the environment beyond repair. The rising popularity of environmental conservation is thus likely to remain the key driver for the global eco friendly bottles market in the coming years.Download Sample Report@The global eco friendly bottles market is expected to be valued at more than US$2.5 bn by the end of 2017 and is likely to rise to more than US$3.7 bn by 2022 at a CAGR of 8.1%.Here are the key insights into the global eco friendly bottles market:The key driver for the eco friendly bottles market is, as mentioned above, the growing support and governments as well as customers for environmental solutions that help conserve natural resources. Growing awareness about the extent of environmental problems of our times among the masses has made a real difference to the global eco friendly bottles market. Recognizing this, many governments have prioritized environmental conservation in their fiscal and regulatory movements, lending solid support to the eco friendly bottles market. The steady inflow of funding enabled by the solid government support is vital for the eco friendly bottles market, as the technology behind eco friendly bottles is complicated and still relatively expensive.The growing use of bottles in modern times is closely linked to the rapid growth of the food and beverage industry. The food and beverage industry has expanded at a rampant rate in developed urban regions in recent years, leading to solid growth in the demand for bottles. Mineral water production has become one of the key parts of the food and beverage sector, in addition to being a major consumer of bottles. This is likely to enable steady growth of the global eco friendly bottles market in the coming years. The demand for bottled beverages is also helped by the rapid growth in demand for health drinks and various other innovations in the food and beverage sector, which will drive the demand from the global eco friendly bottles market in the coming years.Browse Research Report@The eco friendly bottles market is dominated by developed regions due to the widespread awareness regarding the importance of ecological conservation. However, developing countries in regions such as Southeast Asia could become major players in the global eco friendly bottles market due to their rising consumption of bottles for mineral water, beverages, as well as household cleaning liquids. The rising disposable income of consumers in Asia Pacific except Japan is likely to enable smooth growth of the regional market in the coming years, with the region expected to create an absolute opportunity of US$252.2 mn over the 2017-2022 forecast period. Japan is also likely to contribute significantly to the global eco friendly bottles market over the coming years, with the regional market expected to reach US$228.2 mn over the 2017-2022 forecast period at a CAGR of 6.2%.Developed regions such as North America and Europe are likely to dominate the global eco friendly bottles market in the coming years. The North America eco friendly bottles market is expected to exhibit a robust CAGR of 12.7% from 2017 to 2022, rising from a valuation of US$617.2 mn to US$1,123.4 mn, the latter representing close to 30% of the global eco friendly bottles market. However, Europe is the dominant regional contributor to the global eco friendly bottles market, with the region expected to account for more than 32% of the global market by the end of 2017.Competitive DynamicsLeading players in the global eco friendly bottles market include EcoXpac A/S, One Green Bottle, Earthlust, Ecologic Brands Inc., SKS Bottle and Packaging Inc., Cascade Designs Inc., Pachamama, and Pepsi-Cola Metropolitan Bottling Company.About TMRTMR is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
New Report explores the world of Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) Market

https://www.alltakemarketresearch.com/enquiry/request_sample/12219

https://www.alltakemarketresearch.com/report-detail/Warehouse-Management-Systems-Market

This report studies Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Latin America and India, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringAFS TechnologiesAGI WorldwideASCAdvanced Systems Consultants.AldataAppolisArgos SoftwareNavitasAutomation AssociatesNavitasBFC SoftwareBloxx IT SolutionsBoon SoftwareCadre TechnologiesCamelot 3PL SoftwareDeposcoHAL SystemsHighJump SoftwareInforOracleRequest For Free Sample Of The Report @Market Segment by Regions, this report splits Global into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue, market share and growth rate of Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) in these regions, from 2011 to 2021 (forecast), likeNorth AmericaChinaEuropeJapanLatin AmericaIndiaRowSplit by Product Types, with production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, can be divided intoStandalone SystemsIntegrated SystemObtain Report Details @Split by applications, this report focuses on consumption, market share and growth rate of Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) in each application, can be divided intoPharmaceutical and BiotechRetailManufacture IndustryFood & BeverageLogisticAbout UsAlltake Market Research is division of the Alltake LLC. that offers premium quality market intelligence, market research, industry analysis reports & forecast data for different domains across the business industry.Alltake Market Research understands the importance of market analysis for any strategy that is implemented in any organization or association. In order to provide the best solution, Alltake Market Research have associated with major organizations within market research and consultancy firm. This portfolio offers market analysis report at one place for different business verticals. Alltake Market Research ensures to offer you with the most reliable and quality market research available.Contact UsAlltake Market Research16192, Coastal Highway Lewes,DE 19958, United StatesUS - 188 8587 9717UK - 4480 0680 0195Email sales@alltakemarketresearch.com
Global Neuronavigation Systems Deep Research on Industrial and Market studies Professional Survey Report 2017

https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1329444

https://www.researchmoz.us/global-neuronavigation-systems-market-professional-survey-report-2017-report.html

"Global Neuronavigation Systems Market Professional Survey Report 2017" The Report covers current Industries Trends, Worldwide Analysis, Global Forecast, Review, Share, Size, Growth, Effect.Description-This report studies Neuronavigation Systems in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2012 to 2016, and forecast to 2022.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringAtracsysBrainlabClaroNavHeal ForceMicromarGet Sample Report With TOC @NDIParseh Intelligent Surgical SystemScopisStrykerSonowandSurgical TheaterSynaptive MedicalOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoOptical SystemElectromagnetic SystemBy Application, the market can be split intoNeurosurgeryENT SurgeryMaxillofacial SurgerySpinal SurgeryBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Table of ContentsGlobal Neuronavigation Systems Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of Neuronavigation Systems1.1 Definition and Specifications of Neuronavigation Systems1.1.1 Definition of Neuronavigation Systems1.1.2 Specifications of Neuronavigation Systems1.2 Classification of Neuronavigation Systems1.2.1 Optical System1.2.2 Electromagnetic System1.3 Applications of Neuronavigation Systems1.3.1 Neurosurgery1.3.2 ENT Surgery1.3.3 Maxillofacial Surgery1.3.4 Spinal Surgery1.4 Market Segment by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 China1.4.3 Europe1.4.4 Southeast Asia1.4.5 Japan1.4.6 India2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Neuronavigation Systems2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Neuronavigation Systems2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Neuronavigation Systems2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Neuronavigation Systems3 Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis of Neuronavigation Systems3.1 Capacity and Commercial Production Date of Global Neuronavigation Systems Major Manufacturers in 20163.2 Manufacturing Plants Distribution of Global Neuronavigation Systems Major Manufacturers in 20163.3 R&D Status and Technology Source of Global Neuronavigation Systems Major Manufacturers in 20163.4 Raw Materials Sources Analysis of Global Neuronavigation Systems Major Manufacturers in 20164 Global Neuronavigation Systems Overall Market Overview4.1 2012-2017E Overall Market Analysis4.2 Capacity Analysis4.2.1 2012-2017E Global Neuronavigation Systems Capacity and Growth Rate Analysis4.2.2 2016 Neuronavigation Systems Capacity Analysis (Company Segment)4.3 Sales Analysis4.3.1 2012-2017E Global Neuronavigation Systems Sales and Growth Rate Analysis4.3.2 2016 Neuronavigation Systems Sales Analysis (Company Segment)4.4 Sales Price Analysis4.4.1 2012-2017E Global Neuronavigation Systems Sales Price4.4.2 2016 Neuronavigation Systems Sales Price Analysis (Company Segment)5 Neuronavigation Systems Regional Market Analysis5.1 North America Neuronavigation Systems Market Analysis5.1.1 North America Neuronavigation Systems Market Overview5.1.2 North America 2012-2017E Neuronavigation Systems Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.1.3 North America 2012-2017E Neuronavigation Systems Sales Price Analysis5.1.4 North America 2016 Neuronavigation Systems Market Share Analysis5.2 China Neuronavigation Systems Market Analysis5.2.1 China Neuronavigation Systems Market Overview5.2.2 China 2012-2017E Neuronavigation Systems Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.2.3 China 2012-2017E Neuronavigation Systems Sales Price Analysis5.2.4 China 2016 Neuronavigation Systems Market Share Analysis5.3 Europe Neuronavigation Systems Market Analysis5.3.1 Europe Neuronavigation Systems Market Overview5.3.2 Europe 2012-2017E Neuronavigation Systems Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.3.3 Europe 2012-2017E Neuronavigation Systems Sales Price Analysis5.3.4 Europe 2016 Neuronavigation Systems Market Share Analysis5.4 Southeast Asia Neuronavigation Systems Market Analysis5.4.1 Southeast Asia Neuronavigation Systems Market Overview5.4.2 Southeast Asia 2012-2017E Neuronavigation Systems Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.4.3 Southeast Asia 2012-2017E Neuronavigation Systems Sales Price Analysis5.4.4 Southeast Asia 2016 Neuronavigation Systems Market Share Analysis5.5 Japan Neuronavigation Systems Market Analysis5.5.1 Japan Neuronavigation Systems Market Overview5.5.2 Japan 2012-2017E Neuronavigation Systems Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.5.3 Japan 2012-2017E Neuronavigation Systems Sales Price Analysis5.5.4 Japan 2016 Neuronavigation Systems Market Share Analysis5.6 India Neuronavigation Systems Market Analysis5.6.1 India Neuronavigation Systems Market Overview5.6.2 India 2012-2017E Neuronavigation Systems Local Supply, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis5.6.3 India 2012-2017E Neuronavigation Systems Sales Price Analysis5.6.4 India 2016 Neuronavigation Systems Market Share Analysis6 Global 2012-2017E Neuronavigation Systems Segment Market Analysis (by Type)6.1 Global 2012-2017E Neuronavigation Systems Sales by Type6.2 Different Types of Neuronavigation Systems Product Interview Price Analysis6.3 Different Types of Neuronavigation Systems Product Driving Factors Analysis6.3.1 Optical System of Neuronavigation Systems Growth Driving Factor Analysis6.3.2 Electromagnetic System of Neuronavigation Systems Growth Driving Factor AnalysisFull Report @ResearchMoz is the worlds fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMozs service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Researchmoz Global Pvt. Ltd.90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United States,Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free),Tel: +1-518-621-2074
Wine Grapes Market Potential Growth, Demand by Regions, Types and Analysis of Key Players; Research Forecasts in 2022

Wine Grapes market

https://www.reportsmonitor.com/request-sample/?post=356229

https://www.reportsmonitor.com/global-and-chinese-wine-grapes-industry-2017-market-research-report/

www.reportsmonitor.com

The Global and Chinese Wine Grapes market report provides key statistics on the market status of the Wine Grapes Manufacturers and is a valuable source of guidance and direction for companies and individuals interested in the Wine Grapes Industry. In Wine Grapes Market report, there is a section for competition landscape of the global Wine Grapes Industry. This competition landscape shows a view of the key Players operating in the global Wine Grapes Market along with their Profile and Contact information.Get PDF Sample of Report @Through the statistical analysis, the Wine Grapes Market report depicts the global and Chinese total market of Wine Grapes Industry including capacity, production, production value, cost/profit, supply/demand and import/export. The total market is further divided by company, by country, and by application/type for the competitive landscape analysis.Major Manufacturers analysed in Wine Grapes Market Research report:To provide information on competitive landscape, this report includes detailed profiles of Wine Grapes industry key players. For each company profiles Contains product details, capacity, price, cost, gross consumption and revenue is provided for better understanding. Moreover, the Wine Grapes industry development trends and marketing channels are analysed.Wine Grapes market research analysis includes following and related to industry: Trends in Wine Grapes Manufacturing Technology Wine Grapes Market Key Manufacturers Capacity Share List Wine Grapes Industry Manufacturers Capacity Share Global Wine Grapes Market Key Manufacturers Production List Wine Grapes Industry Key Manufacturers Production Share List Global Wine Grapes Market Manufacturers Production Share Wine Grapes Industry Key Players Production Value List Wine Grapes Market Production Value and Growth Rate Wine Grapes Market Key Manufacturers Production Value Share List Wine Grapes Industry Manufacturers Production Value Share Global Wine Grapes Market Capacity Production Cost Profit and Gross Margin ListInquire for further detailed information about Wine Grapes Market Report @Wine Grapes Market Opportunities:With a purpose of enlightening new entrants about the possibilities in this market, this report investigates new project feasibility. A thorough Wine Grapes Market analysis & investment analysis is provided in the report which forecasts imminent opportunities for the Wine Grapes Market players. Overall, the report provides an in-depth insight of 2012-2022 Global and Chinese Wine Grapes Market covering all important parameters.Reports Monitor (ReportsMonitor.com) is a platform to meet the market research and business intelligence requirements. Our aim is to change the dynamics of the Market Research industry by providing quality intelligence backed by data. Your requirement for market forecasting is fulfilled by our exclusive quantitative and analytics driven intelligence. We have a vast collection of reports, covering maximum industries worldwide. Our process is meticulously planned and executed in order to use maximum resources and explore the market for getting genuine insights. Decision makers can now rely on our distinct data gathering methods to get factual market forecasting and detailed analysis.Office C & D - 4th Floor,Siddhi Towers,Above Rupee Bank,Kondhwa Road,Pune 411048,Maharashtra,IndiaIndia: +91 2069535353Jay MatthewsDirect: +1 513 549-5911Email: sales@reportsmonitor.comWebsite:
Increasing Popularity Of HDD Market with Focus on HDD Glass Substrate: Global Size, Trends & Forecasts, 2017 - 2021

Market Research Report

https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1170822

https://www.researchmoz.us/global-hdd-market-with-focus-on-hdd-glass-substrate-size-trends-forecasts-20172021-report.html

http://www.researchmoz.us/

http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG

Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Increasing Popularity Of HDD Market with Focus on HDD Glass Substrate: Global Size, Trends & Forecasts, 2017 - 2021" to its huge collection of research reports.The report entitled Global HDD Market with Focus on HDD Glass Substrate: Size, Trends & Forecasts (2017-2021) provides an analysis of global HDD market with analysis of market size and growth. The analysis includes market size in terms of volume, market volume by category, media market in terms of volume and by category. The report focus on the penetration of glass substrate in the HDD market. The report also assesses the key opportunities in the market and outlines the factors that are and will be driving the growth of the industry. Growth of the global HDD market (with focus on glass substrate) has also been forecasted for the period 2017-2021, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends.The competition in the market is consolidated as the market is captured by only few number of players. A brief company profiling of major market players such as Hoya, Seagate Technology and Western Digital has been provided in the report on the basis of aspects like business overview, financial overview and business strategies adopted by respective companies.Company CoverageHOYASeagate TechnologyWestern DigitalTo Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Executive SummaryA hard disk drive (HDD) is a mechanism that controls the positioning, reading and writing of the hard disk, which provides data storage. Substrate is basically the base material of the platter and is a disc made from aluminium, glass, or other ceramic material.The penetration of glass substrate in the global HDD market is in its early stages, but projections are made that this would rise in the next five years i.e. 2017 to 2021 at a significant growth rate. Major factors contributing in the growth are stable laptop/PCs market, use of hard disk drive in cloud applications, etc. Yet, there are some challenges which are hindering the growth of the market. Some challenges faced by the industry are replacement by SSDs, shift to centralize cloud server, etc.Table of Content1. Executive Summary2. Introduction2.1 Overview of Hard Disk Drive (HDD)2.1.1 History of HDD2.2 Overview of HDD Substrate2.2.1 Types of SubstrateAluminiumGlassCeramic & Others2.2.2 Advantages of Glass Platter3. Global Market Analysis3.1 Global HDD Market Analysis3.1.1 Global HDD Total Addressable Market by Volume3.1.2 Global HDD Market Volume by Category3.1.3 Global Media Market by Volume3.1.4 Global Media Volume by Category3.1.5 Global Glass-Based Media AreaBrowse More Details @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.Mr. NachiketState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Follow us on LinkedIn @
Global Sales Revenue of Car Rental to Grow US $197,020.00 million by 2027

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/car-rental-market-092017/toc

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-5086

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/car-rental-market-092017

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/5086

www.futuremarketinsights.com

Future Market Insights (FMI) presents a revised forecast of the global car rental market for the period 2017-2027 in its published report titled Car Rental Services Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012  2016) and Opportunity Assessment (20172027). In terms of revenue, the global car rental market is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 6.6% over the forecast period, owing to numerous factors, about which FMI offers thorough insights and forecasts in this informative report. The market is segmented on the basis of end use, customer type, sector, booking type and car type.Increased Global Affluence to Make Leisure Travellers Demand Car Rental ServicesBy customer type, the global car rental market is segmented into business and leisure customers. The leisure segment is expected to dominate over the forecast period due to expansion of global tourism market, increasing disposable income, and improved infrastructure for rental service. The leisure segment is anticipated to record a high CAGR growth rate of 7.8% over the forecast period with the total market valued at US$ 51,734.7 in 2017. On the other hand, the business segment has low growth rate of 4.3% CAGR with market valued at US$ 52,365.3 in 2017.View and Download TOC of Car Rental Market @Online Booking Unlikely to Outpace Offline Booking in the Car Rental MarketBy booking type, the market is segmented into offline access, mobile application, and other internet access. Offline booking is projected to be the higher revenue generator compared to online bookings and mobile apps. The offline booking segments is estimated to account for approximately 68% of the car rental market i.e. a value of US $ 44,871.6 Mn in 2016. Online bookings for car rentals have increased globally with the development of mobile applications and IT infrastructure advancements making it easy to book car rental services online or via mobile apps.Request and Download Sample Report @Therefore, the car rental market is thriving. An updated report of the International Telecommunication Union, 2015 WSIS Forum states that Internet users have increased rapidly worldwide on account of continuous developments in Information & Communication Technologies. This is estimated to further increase the demand for car rental services. The proportion of households with the internet access at home increased from 18% in 2005 to 46% in 2015; whereas in 2000 the penetration rate was 6.3%.On-Airport End Use has Maximum Potential in the Car Rental MarketOn the basis of end use, global Car Rental Services is segmented into Intercity, Intracity, On-Airport, and others. On Airport segment has highest growth rate of 7.3% CAGR followed by intercity with a CAGR of 5.3% in the forecast period. Air travel has skyrocketed mainly because of the plummeting prices of airline tickets, leading to a substantial increase in air travelers across the globe. The increasing air trips for business and leisure purpose is fuelling the growth of car rentals to airports.Browse Complete Report @Booming Economic Growth makes APEJ Car Rental Market Critical in the Long TermThe North America market has been estimated to dominate the Global car rental market, accounting for maximum revenue share of 45.9% by 2027 end. In terms of value, North America and Western Europe collectively accounted for more than 57% share in the global market in 2027. Although APEJ has a relatively lower market share of 17.5%, all the stars are in its favor making it likely to witness high growth rate in the medium term. Latin America, Japan and Middle East are also anticipated to show substantial amount of growth over the forecast period.Competition Dashboard in the Global Car Rental MarketSome of the key players in the global car rental market include Enterprise Holdings Inc., The Hertz Corporation, Avis Budget Group Inc., Europcar S.A., Carzonrent India Pvt Ltd., Sixt Rent a Car, Al-Futtaim, Localiza Rent a Car S / A, Eco Rent a Car, and GlobalCARS.Buy Full Car Rental Market Report @About Us  Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Macroeconomic and Microeconomic Baby Food Packaging Products Market Analysis by Persistence Market Research 2015  2021

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/6418

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/6418

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

Baby food packaging products are designed to target the manufacturers dealing with baby and toddler food products. It is also designed to provide convenience to consumer in terms of carrying food products form one place to another. Increased consumer preference towards spending on packaged baby food product is expected to drive the demand of baby food packaging product market in the near future.Baby food packaging product market is segmented on the basis of raw material which includes glass packaging material, rigid plastic packaging material, flexible plastic packaging material paperboard packaging material, and metal packaging. Among all these segment flexible packaging material is expected to occupy major market share followed by rigid plastic packaging material during the forecast period.Request For Report Sample@Baby food packaging product market is further segmented on the basis of type which includes bottles, cans, liquid cartons, pouch/sachet and others. Among all these segment pouch/sachet is expected to contribute major share in terms of revenue. Pouch/sachet packaged products are easy to use and convenient to carry which is predicted to support the growth of pouch/sachet packaging segment in baby food packaging product market. Moreover, liquid cartons is also expected to show a substantial growth in the near future. Increasing demand of flavored milk and juices for toddlers is predicted to support thre4 growth of liquid cartons segment in baby food packaging market.Baby food packaging product market is also segmented on the basis of application which includes, milk formula, dried baby food, prepared baby food, ready to feed baby food and others. Among all these segment milk formula is expected to contribute the major share in terms the usage of baby food packaging material. Moreover, ready to feed product is also expected to show a substantial growth in the near future. Increasing urbanization and rising disposable income has led the consumer to get inclined towards more convenient product which is supporting the growth of ready to feed baby product market. Thus is expected to simultaneously support the growth of baby food packaging material market across the globe.On the basis of geography, Europe is expected to contribute to the highest in terms of market share in baby food packaging product market. Moreover Latin America is expected to show a substantial growth in the near future. In Latin America Brazil is expected to contribute the major share in terms of revenue. Increased demand of baby food products especially prepared baby food across the country is expected to support the demand of baby food packaging product market within next five to six years. Whereas, Asia pacific is concerned it is expected to register a healthy double digit growth by 2020. In Asia pacific region China is expected to be the most dominant market for baby food packaging product market followed by Japan and India. Increasing awareness regarding the nutritional benefits for packaged baby food product is predicted to drive the growth of baby food packaging product market across the region. Moreover, rising demand for convenience baby edible products due to increased number of working women is predicted to drive the growth of baby food packaging product market in Asia Pacific region.Visit For TOC@Rising disposable income coupled with increased number of working mother has raised the demand of baby food which is expected to support the growth of baby food packaging material across the globe. However, packaging manufacturers need to consider food perishability, which is expected to restrict selection of packaging material, and thus predicted to restraints the overall market growth.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Ourresearch model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and marketresearch methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Web:Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Growing Preference for Global Jet Fuel Oil Industry to New Levels

Jet Fuel Oil

http://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/request-sample/394182

http://www.orbisresearch.com/contacts/enquiry-before-buying/394182

https://www.linkedin.com/company/orbis-research

Orbis Research delivers key insights on the Global Jet Fuel Oil market in a new report titled Global Jet Fuel Oil Industry Market Research Report. In this report, Orbis Research sheds light on the various factors and trends impacting market growth over the forecast period (2017  2022).DescriptionThe Global Jet Fuel Oil Market report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the Global Jet Fuel Oil industry. This report evaluates the Global market for "Global Jet Fuel Oil".The Global Jet Fuel Oil Market report provides complete analysis of the Global Jet Fuel Oil Market by analysing all round market dynamics such as regional market opportunities, drivers, challenges, constraints, threats, and other market trends.The Global Jet Fuel Oil Market report contains latest Business Data resulting from various Research sources that helps Decision Makers to deliver a Distinctive and Trustworthy Analysis for Companys Growth.Get a PDF Sample of Global Jet Fuel Oil Market report @:The Global Jet Fuel Oil Market Survey starts with Industry overview of Global Jet Fuel Oil Market covering Major Regions Status, Industry Chain Structure, Definitions and Specifications, with a detailed focus on Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis including Raw Material Suppliers, Equipment Suppliers and Manufacturing Process.In Next Part, the researchers has collected and presented information on Technical Data and Manufacturing Plants Analysis which comprises of Capacity and Commercial Production Date, Manufacturing Plants Distribution, R&D Status and Technology Source of Major Manufacturers in 2017.In following segment, with Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin, Business Region Distribution Analysis, Competition between various Company Profile has been given along with Product Pictures and Specifications in Global Jet Fuel Oil Industry Report.Major Regions play vital role in Jet Fuel Oil market are: North America Europe China Japan Middle East & Africa India South America OthersThe Global Jet Fuel Oil Industry Report is also a Great Source of Marketing Type Analysis consisting:1. Global Jet Fuel Oil Regional Marketing Type Analysis2. Global Jet Fuel Oil International Trade Type Analysis3. Traders or Distributors with Contact Information of Global Jet Fuel Oil by Regions4. Global Jet Fuel Oil Supply Chain AnalysisSome Points From Table of Content:1 Jet Fuel Oil Introduction and Market Overview1.1 Objectives of the Study1.2 Definition of Jet Fuel Oil1.3 Jet Fuel Oil Market Scope and Market Size Estimation1.3.1 Market Concentration Ratio and Market Maturity Analysis1.3.2 Global Jet Fuel Oil Value ($) and Growth Rate from 2012-20221.4 Market Segmentation1.4.1 Types of Jet Fuel Oil1.4.2 Applications of Jet Fuel Oil1.4.3 Research Regions1.4.3.1 North America Jet Fuel Oil Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)1.4.3.2 Europe Jet Fuel Oil Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)1.4.3.3 China Jet Fuel Oil Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)1.4.3.4 Japan Jet Fuel Oil Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)1.4.3.5 Middle East & Africa Jet Fuel Oil Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)1.4.3.6 India Jet Fuel Oil Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)1.4.3.7 South America Jet Fuel Oil Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Drivers1.5.1.1 Emerging Countries of Jet Fuel Oil1.5.1.2 Growing Market of Jet Fuel Oil1.5.2 Limitations1.5.3 Opportunities1.6 Industry News and Policies by Regions1.6.1 Industry News1.6.2 Industry Policies2 Industry Chain Analysis2.1 Upstream Raw Material Suppliers of Jet Fuel Oil Analysis2.2 Major Players of Jet Fuel Oil2.2.1 Major Players Manufacturing Base and Market Share of Jet Fuel Oil in 20162.2.2 Major Players Product Types in 20162.3 Jet Fuel Oil Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis2.3.1 Production Process Analysis2.3.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure of Jet Fuel Oil2.3.3 Raw Material Cost of Jet Fuel Oil2.3.4 Labor Cost of Jet Fuel Oil2.4 Market Channel Analysis of Jet Fuel Oil2.5 Major Downstream Buyers of Jet Fuel Oil Analysis3 Global Jet Fuel Oil Market, by Type3.1 Analysis of Market Status and Feature by Type3.2 Global Jet Fuel Oil Value ($) and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)3.3 Global Jet Fuel Oil Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)3.4 Global Jet Fuel Oil Value ($) and Growth Rate by Type (2012-2017)3.5 Global Jet Fuel Oil Price Analysis by Type (2012-2017)4 Jet Fuel Oil Market, by Application4.1 Downstream Market Overview4.2 Global Jet Fuel Oil Consumption and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)4.3 Downstream Buyers by Application4.4 Global Jet Fuel Oil Consumption and Growth Rate by Application (2012-2017)List Of Tables:Figure Product Picture of Jet Fuel OilTable Product Specification of Jet Fuel OilFigure Market Concentration Ratio and Market Maturity Analysis of Jet Fuel OilFigure Global Jet Fuel Oil Value ($) and Growth Rate from 2012-2022Table Different Types of Jet Fuel OilFigure Global Jet Fuel Oil Value ($) Segment by Type from 2012-2017Figure Jet Fuel Oil Type 1 PictureTable Different Applications of Jet Fuel OilFigure Global Jet Fuel Oil Value ($) Segment by Applications from 2012-2017Figure Application 1 PictureFigure Application 2 PictureFigure Application 3 PictureFigure Application 4 PictureFigure Application 5 PictureTable Research Regions of Jet Fuel OilFigure North America Jet Fuel Oil Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)Figure Europe Jet Fuel Oil Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)Table China Jet Fuel Oil Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)Table Japan Jet Fuel Oil Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)Table Middle East & Africa Jet Fuel Oil Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)Table India Jet Fuel Oil Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)Table South America Jet Fuel Oil Production Value ($) and Growth Rate (2012-2017)Table Emerging Countries of Jet Fuel OilTable Growing Market of Jet Fuel OilGot any Query? Feel free to ask us @:Lastly, the Report provides Development Trend Analysis for 2017-2022 years which will forecast Market Size (Volume and Value), Sales Price, Consumption Forecast, Market Trend (Product Type) and Market Trend (Application). Also the List of Major Consumers is analyzed and Contact Details are provided to easy communicating.Finally, the Report is concluded with Various Methodology, Analyst Introduction and Data SourcesOrbis Research (orbisresearch.com) is a single point aid for all your market research requirements. We have vast database of reports from the leading publishers and authors across the globe. We specialize in delivering customized reports as per the requirements of our clients. We have complete information about our publishers and hence are sure about the accuracy of the industries and verticals of their specialization. This helps our clients to map their needs and we produce the perfect required market research study for our clients.Hector CostelloSenior Manager  Client Engagements4144N Central Expressway,Suite 600, Dallas,Texas  75204, U.S.A.Phone No.: +1 (214) 884-6817; +9164101019Follow Us on LinkedIn:
Kendallville, IN (46755)

Today

Cloudy. Snow showers developing in the afternoon. High 38F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 60%..

Tonight

Snow showers will become more widely scattered later on. Low 28F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulations less than one inch.
Clinical Chemistry Rapid Tests & Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostic Tests - Medical Devices Pipeline Assessment, 2017

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1339352

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/enquiry/1339352

MarketResearchReports.biz announces the availability of a report on the evolving market of "Clinical Chemistry Rapid Tests & Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostic Tests - Medical Devices Pipeline Assessment, 2017"SummaryGlobalData's Medical Devices sector report, Clinical Chemistry Rapid Tests & Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostic Tests - Medical Devices Pipeline Assessment, 2017" provides an overview of Clinical Chemistry Rapid Tests & Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostic Tests currently in pipeline stage.The report provides comprehensive information on the pipeline products with comparative analysis of the products at various stages of development. The report reviews major players involved in the pipeline product development. It also provides information about clinical trials in progress, which includes trial phase, trial status, trial start and end dates, and, the number of trials for the key Clinical Chemistry Rapid Tests & Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostic Tests pipeline products.Get Sample Copy Of Report :This report is prepared using data sourced from in-house databases, secondary and primary research by GlobalData's team of industry experts.*Note: Certain sections in the report may be removed or altered based on the availability and relevance of data in relation to the equipment type.Scope- Extensive coverage of the Clinical Chemistry Rapid Tests & Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostic Tests under development- The report reviews details of major pipeline products which includes, product description, licensing and collaboration details and other developmental activities- The report reviews the major players involved in the development of Clinical Chemistry Rapid Tests & Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostic Tests and list all their pipeline projects- The coverage of pipeline products based on various stages of development ranging from Early Development to Approved / Issued stage- The report provides key clinical trial data of ongoing trials specific to pipeline products- Recent developments in the segment / industrySend An Enquiry :Reasons to buyThe report enables you to -- Formulate significant competitor information, analysis, and insights to improve R&D strategies- Identify emerging players with potentially strong product portfolio and create effective counter-strategies to gain competitive advantage- Identify and understand important and diverse types of Clinical Chemistry Rapid Tests & Point-of-Care (POC) Diagnostic Tests under development- Develop market-entry and market expansion strategies- Plan mergers and acquisitions effectively by identifying major players with the most promising pipeline- In-depth analysis of the products current stage of development, territory and estimated launch dateMRRbiz supports your business intelligence needs with over 700,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Personal Care Appliances Market Size, Share, Trends, and Opportunity Analysis by Persistence Market Research 2016  2026

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/11539

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/11539

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

Personal care appliances usage is becoming a necessity for the consumers, who regularly use personal care products for quick personal grooming. Personal care appliances majorly includes trimmer, hair dryer, shaver, hair straightener, hair curler and epilator. Owing to benefits such as better affectivity than traditional procedure and time saving, demand for personal care appliances is growing gradually.Personal Care Appliances Market Segmentation:On the basis of product type personal care appliances market is segmented into hair care appliances, hair removal appliances, oral care appliances and other personal care appliances. Hair care appliances is sub-segment into hair dryers, hair straighteners, curling brushes, hair clippers, curling irons and hair setters. Hair removal appliances is sub-segmented into trimmers, mens shavers, womens shavers and epilators. Further, oral care appliances is sub-segmented into electric toothbrushes and oral irrigators.Request For Report Sample@Other personal care appliances include heating pads and massagers. Currently, hair care appliances holds largest market share in terms of value, which is around two fifth of the global personal care appliances market followed by hair removal appliance and oral care appliances. Hair dryers and hair straighteners are the most popular products from hair care appliances segment. In addition, currently in the hair removal appliances segment trimmer and shavers collectively hold majority of the market share.On the basis of gender personal care appliances market is segmented into male and female. Of which in terms of value, market share contribution of female segment is higher as compared to the male segment.On the basis of distribution channel, personal care appliances market is segmented into hypermarket and supermarket, franchise stores, departmental stores and online retailers. Distribution of personal care appliances is expected to increase exponentially through online retailing. This is attributed to increasing internet penetration primarily in emerging economies coupled with product variant availability.Geographically, personal care appliances market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan, Japan and Middle East & Africa. Currently, there is a higher popularity over Japan, Western Europe and North America. There is a significant potential to expand market share of personal care appliances in Asia Pacific excluding Japan.Personal Care Appliances Market Dynamics:Consumers of personal care appliances are very much brand and quality conscious, moreover urban consumers are becoming more style conscious, which is driving the personal care appliances market growth invariably. Consciousness of the benefits of personal care appliances over emerging economies and increasing urbanization are driving the personal care appliances market. Also, increasing e-commerce sector is expected to contribute significantly to the growth of personal care appliances market. Durability and high cost of few products restraints the personal care appliances market growth. However, there is a huge opportunity in the Asia Pacific market, the market is almost untapped and few players already started capturing the market share of personal care appliance market. This is attributed to new product development in order to capture significant market share in the overall personal care appliances market.Visit For TOC@Personal Care Appliances Market Key Players:Some of the key comapnies in the personal care appliances market include Panasonic Corporation, Helen of Troy L.P, Royal Philips Electronics NV, Lion Corp, Colgate-Palmolive Company, HoMedics Inc, Remington Products Company, Conair Corp, Braun GmbH, Norelco Consumer Products Company, Johnson & Johnson, GABA GmbH, Procter & Gamble, and others.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Ourresearch model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and marketresearch methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Web:Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Coal Mining in South Africa to 2021 - Supply of Coal to get Strengthen as Domestic Coal Fired Power Capacity Expands

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1339389

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1339389/coal-mining-in-south-africa-to-2021-supply-of-coal-to-get-strengthen-as-domestic-coal-fired-power-capacity-expands-market-research-reports

GlobalDatas "Coal Mining in South Africa to 2021 - Supply of Coal to get Strengthen as Domestic Coal Fired Power Capacity Expands", report covers comprehensive information on South Africas coal mining industry, coal reserves, the historical and forecast data on coal production, by type, and by grade. The report also includes the historical and forecast data on coal consumption, exports, and exports by country. Detailed analysis of the South African mining industrys regulatory structure, factors affecting the demand for coal, competitive landscape, and mining projects at various stages (active, exploration and development) of the supply chain is provided.Get The Sample Copy Of Report :Scope- Summary of the countrys mining industry across various parameters - reserves, production, consumption, exports, competitive landscape, regulatory scenario and the future potential.- Coal production, consumption and exports numbers from 2000-2016 and forecast for next five years to 2021.- Coal production by type and grade, consumption and exports.- Policies and regulatory framework governing the industry.- Company details, including company overview, business description and data on major active, exploration and development coal projects.Reasons to buy- Gain an understanding of South Africas coal mining industry.- Facilitate decision-making based on strong historic and forecast data- Obtain the state-wise most up to date information for active, exploration and development coal projects.- Develop strategies based on the latest regulatory events- Identify various factors affecting the coal demand.- Identify key operating companies and obtain the business structure, strategy and prospects.Browse Full Report :MRRbiz supports your business intelligence needs with over 700,000 market research reports, company profiles, data books, and regional market data sheets in its repository. Our document database is updated by the hour, which means that you always have access to fresh data spanning over 300 industries and their sub-segments.State Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948(USA-Canada)Tel: +1-518-621-2074E: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Global Flexible Plastic Packaging Market Exhibit a Healthy Growth of US$ 202 Bn by the End of 2022

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/flexible-plastic-packaging-market/toc

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/18763

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/18763

www.persistencemarketresearch.com

Flexible plastic packaging makes use of thin and stretchable plastics that preserve and maintain the properties of products and are puncture and wear resistant. The global flexible plastic packaging market has witnessed a robust growth path due to several aspects impacting it. The rise in population especially middle class, growing demand for flexible plastic packaging from the food and beverage industry and pharmaceutical industry, and rising preference of convenient packaging and handling are few of the aspects fuelling the growth of the flexible plastic packaging market. Moreover, this growth can be attributed to the rising adoption of plastic flexible packaging owing to various benefits it offers, such as, light weight, easy to store, carry and reseal, inexpensive, supports the shelf life of the products, creates appeal, enables visibility of the products within, easy to transport, can be used to package a wide variety of products, indicates and maintains freshness, gives sufficient room for innovations and designing, and delivers effective product to package ratio. These factors are expected to contribute in pushing the growth of the flexible plastic packaging in the years to come. However, unstable prices of raw material can pose restraints to the growth of the global market for flexible plastic packaging.View and Download TOC of Flexible Plastic Packaging Market Research Report@A comprehensive research report on Flexible Plastic Packaging Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012-2016) and Forecasts (2017-2022) by Persistence Market Research uncovers various market facts that can be used as guidelines by the reader to achieve stability in the changing dynamics of the market and plan future expansions on a global basis. As per the research study, the global flexible plastic packaging market is projected to witness a high 6.7% CAGR during the period of assessment 2017-2022.5 Key Highlights on Global Flexible Plastic Packaging MarketFood and beverage segment is expected to dominate the global flexible plastic packaging market by end use category to reflect a high market value in 2017 and likely to retain this trend throughout the period of assessment, 2017-2022. This segment reflects a high market share of 67.4% in 2017 and is poised to grow at a high CAGR during this assessment periodPersonal care products segment by end use is projected to grow at the highest pace throughout the assessment period and projected to register a 7.9% CAGR. This segment is the third largest segment with respect to market share in the end use category. Flexible plastic packaging is also widely used in the packaging of tobacco products, which is driving the growth of the tobacco products segment. Food and beverage and tobacco products segment show similar pace during the 2017-2022 periodRequest and Download Sample Report@Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) region is the largest region from the market share perspective and is set to lead the global market in the coming years. Moreover, APEJ also shows high growth rate throughout the assessment period, to register a CAGR of 7.3%. This is the most lucrative region with higher market attractiveness in the global flexible plastic packaging market. From growth standpoint, after APEJ, North America, Middle East and Africa, Japan and Europe regions reflect a moderate growth rateSachet and pouches segment by pack type show high potential and poised to grow at a high 7.7% CAGR throughout the period of assessmentPolyethylene segment in material type category is the largest segment enjoying a high market share of about 50% and is expected to lead the global market in the coming years. BOPP segment is projected to show high pace during the 2017-2022 periodGlobal Flexible Plastic Packaging Market: Competitive AssessmentThe research report on global flexible plastic packaging market includes profiles of key players operating in this market. Tier companies like Bischof & Klein GmbH & Co. KG, Ampac Holdings LLC, Constantia Flexibles Group GmbH, Huhtamaki Oyj, Sonoco Products Company, Mondi Group plc, Berry Global Group, Inc., Sealed Air Corporation, Bemis Company, Inc., and Amcor Ltd., are described in this research report.Buy Full Flexible Plastic Packaging Market Report@About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Reverse Flame Steam Boiler Market - Europe Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth and Forecast 2017 - 2025

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1166457/reverse-flame-steam-boiler-market-research-reports

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1166457

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/enquiryBuy/1166457

http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/

Latest industry research report on: Reverse Flame Steam Boiler Market : Industry Size, Share, Research, Reviews, Analysis, Strategies, Demand, Growth, Segmentation, Parameters, ForecastsEurope Reverse Flame Steam Boiler Market: OverviewThis research study analyzes the market for European reverse flame steam boilers in terms of revenue (US$ Mn). The European reverse flame steam boilers market has been segmented on the basis of capacity, end-use, and country. The report features a detailed segmentation with market growth forecasts from 2017 to 2025. 2016 has been considered the base year and 2016 the estimated year, while all forecasts have been given for the period from 2016 to 2024. Market data for all the segments has been provided at the submarkets and country-specific levels from 2016 to 2024. The report provides a broad competitive analysis of companies engaged in the production and distribution of reverse flame steam boilers, globally. The report also includes key market dynamics such as drivers, restraints, and opportunities affecting the market. These are analyzed in detail and illustrated in the report with supporting graphs and tables. The report also provides a comprehensive analysis of the market with the help of the Porters Five Forces Analysis model, which helps in understanding the factors that affect the structure and profitability of the market. These are the bargaining power of buyers, bargaining power of suppliers, threat of new entrants, threat of substitutes, and degree of competition.Complete Report Details @Europe Reverse Flame Steam Boiler Market: Scope of the ReportThe report includes Porters Five Forces Model to determine the degree of competition in the Europe reverse flame steam boilers market. The report comprises a qualitative write-up on market attractiveness analysis, wherein capacity, end-use and countries have been analyzed based on attractiveness for each region. Growth rate, market size, component availability, profit margin, impact strength, technology, competition, and other factors (such as environmental and legal) have been evaluated in order to derive the general attractiveness of the market.Request For Sample Report @The report provides detailed insights into the reverse flame steam boilers business in Europe. Currently, numerous factors drive the market. The most prominent drivers include growing energy demand, government support, better efficiency, growing food & beverage industry etc. In-depth interviews and discussions with wide range of key opinion leaders and industry participants were conducted to compile this research report. Primary research represents the bulk of research efforts, supplemented by extensive secondary research. Key players product literature, annual reports, press releases, and relevant documents were reviewed for competitive analysis and market understanding. This helped in validating and strengthening secondary research findings. Primary research further helped in developing the analysis teams expertise and market understanding.Secondary research sources that were typically referred to include, but were not limited to company websites, financial reports, annual reports, investor presentations, broker reports, and SEC filings. Other sources such as internal and external proprietary databases, statistical databases and market reports, news articles, national government documents, and webcasts specific to companies operating in the market have also been referred for the report.Have Any Query? Ask Our Expert @Europe Reverse Flame Steam Boiler Market: SegmentationThe study provides a comprehensive view of the Europe reverse flame steam boilers market by dividing it into capacity, end-use, and country. In terms of capacity, the reverse flame steam boilers market has been segmented into: up to 100 KW, 101 KW  1,000 KW, and 1,001 KW & above. In terms of end-use, the reverse flame steam boilers market has been classified into: food, chemical, refineries, primary metals, power plants, and others. These segments have been analyzed based on historic, present, and future trends, and the market has been estimated in terms of revenue (US$ Mn) between 2017 and 2025.Country segmentation includes the current and forecast demand for reverse flame steam boilers in Europe. Additionally, the report comprises country-level analysis in terms of revenue for capacity and end-use segments. Key European countries such as the U.K., Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Rest of Europe have been included in the study. Market segmentation includes demand for individual capacity type and end-use in all the countries/sub-regions.Companies Mentioned in ReportSome of key manufacturers operating in the European reverse flame boiler market are Atlantic Boilers, ATTSU, BoilerTech Pty Ltd, Bosch Industriekessel GmbH, Byworth Boilers, ICI Caldaie S.p.A., and others. Company profiles include attributes such as company overview, number of employees, brand overview, key competitors, business overview, business strategies, recent/key developments, acquisitions, and financial overview (wherever applicable). The Europe reverse flame steam boilers market has been segmented as follows:Europe Reverse Flame Steam Boilers Market  Capacity AnalysisUp to 100 KW101 KW  1,000 KW1,001 KW & AboveEurope Reverse Flame Steam Boilers Market  End-Use AnalysisFoodChemicalRefineriesPrimary MetalPower PlantsOthersEurope Reverse Flame Steam Boilers Market  Country AnalysisU.K.GermanyFranceSpainItalyRest of EuropeAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Contact UsState Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Global E-Cigarette Market: Industry Analysis & Outlook 2017-2021 Covers both Regional and Global Aspect of the Market

https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1273861

https://www.researchmoz.us/global-ecigarette-market-industry-analysis-outlook-20172021-report.html

http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG

http://deep-research-report.blogspot.com/

ResearchMoz added Latest Research Report titled " Global E-Cigarette Market: Industry Analysis & Outlook (2017-2021) " to it's Large Report database.E-Cigarettes have potential risks and benefits, but it has significantly shifted people from conventional tobacco smoking to E-Cigarette smoking. E-Cigarette is an innovation aimed at replacing traditional cigarette smoking. It comes in varied options like disposables, cig-a-like, e-cigars, vape modes, modular and many more.E-Cigarettes just like tobacco smoking produces vapor that resembles cigarette smoke. These E-Cigarettes contain nicotine in various levels according to the type of E-Cigarette. There are currently more than 4,000 flavors available with different nicotine level. The primary parts that make up an E-cigarette are a mouthpiece, a cartridge (tank), a heating element/atomizer, a microprocessor, a battery, and possibly a LED light on the end.UK is among the fastest growing regions of Europe with many upcoming small retailors and vendors, providing innovative & cost effective E-cigarettes. The US will see tight FDA regulation being put on E-Cigarette manufactures, thereby creating a challenging environment. The key factors driving the growth of the global E-Cigarette market include new product launches, increase in net average selling price, mounting prices of tobacco cigarettes, and growing youth population.Request for Sample PDF of Premium Research Report with TOC:The report offers an in-depth analysis of the Global E-Cigarette Market- Industry Analysis and Outlook (2017-2021). Competition is largely between the topmost tobacco companies. The report covers both regional and global aspect of the market with key underlying trends and challenges. The E-cigarette companies that have been covered in the report include Imperial Tobacco Group PLC, Altria Group Inc., Japan Tobacco Inc., and Reynolds American Inc.Table of Content1. Market Overview1.1 E-Cigarette1.2 Anatomy & Mechanism1.3 Risk & BenefitsBrowse more details @2. Global Market Analysis2.1 Global E-Cigarette Market by Value2.2 Global E-Cigarette Market Forecast by Value2.3 Global E-Cigarette Market by Sales Channel2.4 Global E-Cigarette Market by Region3. Regional Analysis3.1 The US3.1.1 The US E-Cigarette Market by Value3.1.2 The US E-Cigarette Market Forecast by Value3.1.3 The US E-Cigarette Market by Volume3.1.4 The US E-Cigarette Market Forecast by Volume3.2 Europe3.2.1 European E-Cigarette Market by Value3.2.2 European E-Cigarette Market Forecast by Value3.2.3 European E-Cigarette Market by Volume3.2.4 European E-Cigarette Market Forecast by Volume3.2.5 The UK E-Cigarette Market by Value3.2.6 The UK E-Cigarette Market Forecast by Value3.3 ROW3.3.1 ROW E-Cigarette Market by Value3.3.2 ROW E-Cigarette Market Forecast by Value3.3.3 Korean E-Cigarette Market by Value3.3.4 Korean E-Cigarette Market Forecast by ValueAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the world's fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMoz's service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Contact Us:Mr. Nachiket Ghumare90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074 / Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:Follow me on Blogger at:
Coagulation Testing Market Comprehensive Analysis and Future Estimations 2025

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/coagulation-testing-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/14168

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=14168

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=14168<ype=S

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

According to Transparency Market Research (TMR), the global coagulation testing market was valued at US$1,730.0 Mn in 2016 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.0% from 2017 to 2025, to reach an estimated value of US$3,715.8 Mn in 2025.View the Report Details@Increasing Prevalence of Coagulation, Cardiovascular Disorders Drives Demand for Coagulation TestingQuick and accurate testing is important while assuring the coagulation status during emergency medical decisions. In the last few decades, there has been an increase in POC testing to understand coagulation status. The provision of quicker and reliable results and greater user convenience are a few of the advantages of POC testing, which are anticipated to drive the growth of the market during the forecast period. Furthermore, the increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, which often require coagulation testing at frequent intervals, is also a key driver for the global coagulation testing market. The rising prevalence of deep vein thrombosis in developed countries is thus likely to remain a major driver for the coagulation testing market.View and Download TOC of Coagulation Testing Market Research Report@The rising awareness among people toward the diagnosis and testing of their coagulation status and widespread adoption of stringent and compulsory screening of blood in blood banks are the leading drivers projected to propel the growth of the global coagulation testing market, particularly in developed countries, in the coming years.High Prices of Coagulation Testing Instruments Restrain Coagulation Testing MarketLack of awareness, high pricing of coagulation testing instruments, and a lack of expertise to carry out testing in developing countries are key threats to the global coagulation testing market, however, increase in the demand for coagulation testing may help ensure fast growth of the global coagulation testing market in the coming years. Furthermore, difficulties in diagnosis of clotting disorders, since most are asymptomatic, are one the major restraining factors for the coagulation testing market.On the other hand, the growing prevalence of clotting disorders as well as chronic health conditions such as diabetes and obesity, which may lead to coagulation disorders in emerging countries such as Brazil, China, Russia, and India could emerge as a determinant factor for the coagulation testing market.Request and Download Sample Report@Based on test type, the global coagulation testing market is segmented into PT, APTT, TT, ACT, and others. Of these, PT tests held the dominant share in the global market in 2016. High user convenience, faster results, high specificity, and high adoption rate of POC testing PT monitors are the major factors that drive the demand for PT tests. Geographically, the U.S., the U.K., and Germany are likely to remain the leading contributors to the global coagulation testing market, with leading countries in Asia Pacific such as China and India also likely to contribute significantly to the growth of the global coagulation testing market.The global coagulation testing market has multiple leading market players, resulting in market consolidation and a high degree of competitive rivalry. Some of the key players in the global coagulation testing market are Alere Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Abbott Laboratories, Siemens Healthineers, SYSMEX CORPORATION, Universal Biosensors, Inc., HemoSonics, LLC, and Helena Laboratories, Inc.Buy Full Coagulation Testing Market Report@About TMRTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Container Shipping Market : Industry Analysis & Outlook 2017-2021 : Increasing SeaBorne Trade to Drive Growth

https://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1237585

https://www.researchmoz.us/global-container-shipping-market-industry-analysis-outlook-2017-2021-report.html

http://bit.ly/1TBmnVG

http://deep-research-report.blogspot.com/

ResearchMoz added Latest Research Report titled " Global Container Shipping Market: Industry Analysis & Outlook (2017-2021) " to it's Large Report database.The ship which is structured specifically to hold huge quantities of cargo compressed in different types of containers is referred to as a container ship (also known as cargo ship). The process of sending cargo in special containers is known as containerization. Container ships are constructed to accommodate immense possible cargo loads. The load holding capacity of container ships is measured in terms of Twenty-foot Equivalent Units or TEUs, with the biggest container ships carrying as much as over 15,000-16,000 TEUs. Container units form the most integral part of the entire shipping industry, trade, and transport. These shipping containers are the structures that store various kinds of products that need to be shipped from one part of the world to another.The global container shipping market is set to experience favorable growth driven by factors such as increasing sea borne trade, growing containerization, plummeting oil prices and upsurge in disposable income. Further, the scope of growth for this market will be broadened by increasing demand for shipping services therapy and accelerating economic growth. The major trends that can be observed in this market include increasing consolidation of key players, advancements in container shipping, increasing fleet management techniques and growing intermodal freight transportation. However, the growth of this budding market is constrained by challenges such as product miniaturization, environmental regulations, emergence of 3D printing technology and rising trade protectionism.Request for Sample PDF of Premium Research Report with TOC:The report Global Container Shipping market: Industry Analysis & Outlook (2017-2021) analyses the development of this market, with focus on Asia and Europe markets. The major trends, growth drivers as well as issues being faced by the market are discussed in detail in this report. The four major players: A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, CMA CGM S.A., Hapag-Lloyd Group and COSCO Group are being profiled along with their key financials and strategies for growth. The report contains a comprehensive analysis of the global container shipping market along with the study of the regional markets.Table of Content1. Overview1.1 Introduction1.2 Types of Container Shipping1.3 Industry Value ChainBrowse more details @2. Global Container Shipping Market2.1 Global Container Shipping Market Forecast by Value2.2 Global Container Shipping Market Forecast by Volume2.3 Global Container Shipping Market Volume by Region2.4 Global Container Shipping New Contracts Volume2.5 Global Container Shipping Net Fleet Additions2.6 Global Container Shipping Trade Volume Forecast2.7 Global Container Shipping Trade Volume by Key Routes2.8 Global Container Shipping Trade Growth by Key Routes2.9 Global Container Shipping Fleet Supply Forecast3. Regional Market3.1 Asia3.1.1 Asia Container Shipping Market Forecast by Volume3.1.2 China Container Shipping Market Forecast by Volume3.2 Europe3.2.1 Europe Container Shipping Market Forecast by Volume3.3 Container Shipping Trade Volume by Key Route3.3.1 Intra Asia Container Shipping Trade Volume Forecast3.3.2 Latin America Container Shipping Trade Volume Forecast3.3.3 Trans-Pacific Container Shipping Trade Volume Forecast4. Market Dynamics4.1 Growth Drivers4.1.1 Increasing Seaborne Trade4.1.2 Growing Containerization4.1.3 Plummeting Oil Prices4.1.4 Upsurge in Disposable Income4.1.5 Accelerating Economic GrowthAbout ResearchMozResearchMoz is the world's fastest growing collection of market research reports worldwide. Our database is composed of current market studies from over 100 featured publishers worldwide. Our market research databases integrate statistics with analysis from global, regional, country and company perspectives. ResearchMoz's service portfolio also includes value-added services such as market research customization, competitive landscaping, and in-depth surveys, delivered by a team of experienced Research Coordinators.Contact Us:Mr. Nachiket Ghumare90 State Street, Albany NY, United States - 12207Tel: +1-518-621-2074 / Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Email: sales@researchmoz.usFollow us on LinkedIn at:Follow me on Blogger at:
UK Homeland Security & Public Safety Market 2017 Size, Development Status, Type and Application, Segmentation, Forecast by 2022

Homeland Security & Public Safety Market

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/1415900-uk-homeland-security-public-safety-market-2017-2022

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=1415900

Homeland Security & Public Safety Market:Executive SummaryUK HLS and Counter Terror Market Surge: 2015 2020 CAGR 11.4%. Granulated Into 51 SubmarketsThe UK is facing security problems with a far greater reach than its economic ones. ISIS terror threats are alarming and show no signs of declining.The present UK security measures, which have been effective in the past, cannot meet the 21st century ISIS-inspired terror tactics (following 5 years of security agencies budget and personnel cuts). A revision of the UK security infrastructure and funding is already underway.The transformation of the UK security infrastructure and HLS budgets is best expressed in the words of David Cameron, UK Prime Minister, in the aftermath of the Brussels carnage: "They could just as well be attacks in Britain or in France or Germany, or elsewhere in Europe and we need to stand together against these appalling terrorists and make sure they can never win".Following a 5-year CAGR of 2-3%, this UK Homeland Security Market research forecasts a 4-fold increase in the 2015-2020 market, at a CAGR of 11.3% .The two-volume (*) + one "UK Homeland Security & Public Safety Market  2016-2022" report is the most comprehensive review of the UK HLS market available today. It provides a detailed and reasoned roadmap of this growing market.The UK Security Market Forecast covers the Homeland Security Immigration Enforcement & Public Safety markets since, in most cases, products and services have dual or triple use applications and present the same business opportunities (e.g., Homeland Security & Public Safety modalities are used for the following three sectors: counter-crime, immigration enforcement and counter terror).Request Sample Report @The UK Homeland security market is set to undergo a major transformation from 2016-2022 through the following drivers:According to the British intelligence organizations (March 2016), at least 800 people from the UK have traveled to support or fight for jihadist organizations in Syria and Iraq. Approximately 400 have since returned to the UK. A further 600 British citizens have been caught trying to join ISIS.The 2015 Paris, and the March 2016 Brussels terrorist attacks have focused greater attention on the threats posed by international terrorists and acted as a spur for UK authorities to enhance emergency planning and response capabilities.UK, the 5th largest economy in the world with a 2015 GDP of approximately $2.9 trillion, can invest "whatever it takes" to protect its citizens from the looming risks of terrorism and immigration.While the UK has a tradition of quite effective coordination among its competing counter terror and public safety agencies, some inter-agencies coordination problems are an obstacle to harmonized efforts to carry out the country counter terror and public safety missions. This phenomenon increases the national markets due to duplication of purchased systems.The UK market for security & safety products is sophisticated and well served. Local defense and security companies are well entrenched in the UK security market. Even with a preference for locally manufactured products, foreign products can usually strongly compete on the basis of price and innovation. They do not encounter any direct trade barriers or quotas. Non-tariff, indirect trade barriers may be the approval process of dual use goods, which include many security market products.This report is a resource for executives with interests in the UK Homeland security industry. It has been explicitly customized for the security industry and government decision-makers in order to identify business opportunities, developing technologies, market trends and risks, as well as to benchmark business plans.Questions answered in this 485-page two-volume + one (*) market report include:What will the UK HLS market size and trends be during 2016-2022?Which submarkets provide attractive business opportunities?Who are the decision-makers?What drives the UK Homeland Security & Public Safety managers to purchase solutions and services?What are the customers looking for?What are the technology & services trends?What is the market SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)?What are the challenges to market penetration & growth?With 485 Pages, 65 Tables and 151 Figures, this 2-volume + one(*) report covers 9 Vertical, 9 Technology and 3 Revenue Source Submarkets, offering for each of them 2015 data and assessments, and 2016-2022 forecasts and analyses.* The Global Homeland Security & Public Safety Industry  2016 Edition report is a free of charge Bonus for multi-reader license customers and is offered at half price to single-reader customers.Why Buy this Report?This is the only report that addresses the HLS & Public Safety dual-use markets:76% of the UK market revenues emanate from dual-use products. For example, cybersecurity systems are used to address both cyber-crime and cyber-terror. Decision-makers forming their strategy need a complete view of this overlapping market both independently and in their intersections.Market data is analyzed via 3 key perspectives:With a highly fragmented HLS & Public Safety market we address the money trail  each dollar spent  via the following 3 viewpoints:By 9 Vertical Markets including:Airport SecuritySmart Borders, Immigration Enforcement & Border SecurityIntelligence AgenciesCritical Infrastructure ProtectionPolice Modernization & Other 1st RespondersPublic Events & Safe CityBuilding & Perimeter SecurityCBRN Security & SafetyOther Vertical MarketsBy 3 Revenue Sources including:Products SalesMaintenance & Service, Upgrades, RefurbishmentPlanning, Training and ConsultingBy 8 Technology Markets including:CybersecurityCounter Terror & Crime ITCommunication Systems & DevicesHomeland Security & Public SafetysVideo Surveillance TechnologiesIntrusion Detection SystemsBorder & Perimeter Security TechnologiesExplosives & Weapons Detection TechnologiesBuy this Report @About Us:Wise Guy Reports Is Part Of The Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. And Offers Premium Progressive Statistical Surveying, Market Research Reports, Analysis & Forecast Data For Industries And Governments Around The Globe. Wise Guy Reports Features An Exhaustive List Of Market Research Reports From Hundreds Of Publishers Worldwide. We Boast A Database Spanning Virtually Every Market Category And An Even More Comprehensive Collection Of Market Research Reports Under These Categories And Sub-Categories.Addres:WISEGUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone :+91 841 198 5042
Automotive Microcontrollers Market to Reach US$ 1,500 Mn in revenues by 2022

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/automotive-microcontrollers-market/toc

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-5060

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/5060

www.futuremarketinsights.com

The global market for automotive microcontrollers has been projected to exhibit a staggering 13.7% CAGR during 2017 to 2022, according to a latest research by Future Market Insights (FMI). The global automotive microcontrollers market is estimated to surpass US$ 1,500 Mn in revenues by 2022-end.Utilisation of Microchips to Enhance Flexibility and Improve Connectivity in Vehicles  A Major TrendOne of the major trends witnessed in the global market for automotive microcontrollers is utilisation of microchips for improving connectivity of vehicles with their moving systems, and for enhancing the vehicles flexibility. Automobile manufacturers have utilised microcontrollers for a variety of requirements such as engine control, antilock brakes, power steering, and seating. An automotive microcontroller helps in increasing speed of execution, enables automatic control sensing, and enhances safety features including air bag control and high temperature control. Currently, they are being used in sophisticated safety features, which include blind spot detection, automated braking & lighting, surround view cameras, lane change warning, and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).View and Download TOC of Automotive Microcontrollers Market Research Report@Microcontrollers are also being deployed in infotainment systems, and provide connectivity to vehicle network. Popularity of hybrid electric vehicles has witnessed a surge owing to their energy efficiency. Hybrid electric vehicles need comparatively large number of microcontrollers than conventional vehicles. With modernisation of vehicles, number of microcontrollers required for vehicles has increased. Although cost of microcontrollers has remained lower over the recent past, the tags for microcontrollers are expected to witness a gradual rise over the next few years. This is expected to lead to an increased cost of vehicles. Moreover, integration of microcontroller has always remained a challenging task for automobile manufacturers, on the back of their complex design. Key Research Findings from FMIs Report on Global Automotive Microcontrollers MarketIn terms of revenues, although North America is expected to remain largest market for microcontrollers in 2017, Asia-Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) will be the most lucrative region for automotive microcontrollers market by 2022-end. The convergence of transportation, automotive, and ICT sectors has increased demand for technologically advanced vehicles in APEJ, further resulting into advent of advanced vehicle ecosystem. The already imposed and impending safety regulations are expected to spur installation of the automotive safety technologies in vehicles across APEJ. In addition, introduction of driving assistance technologies has incentivised OEMs for opting efficient microcontrollers.In terms of revenues, heavy commercial vehicles are expected to remain the most attractive in the market, based on vehicle type. In addition, premium passenger cars will also remain a lucrative vehicle type segment in the market over the forecast period. This is primarily attributed to rise in installation of advanced safety features in premium passenger cars, particularly across developed economies. Moreover, safety regulations and mandates have compelled OEMs to produce premium passenger cars featuring advanced technologies, thereby propelling demand for microcontrollers.Request and Download Sample Report@On the basis of application, sales of automotive microcontrollers in ADAS and functional safety technology are expected to register similar CAGRs through 2022. ADAS application of automotive microcontrollers will remain comparatively more lucrative than functional safety technology. Brake control system will continue to be the most lucrative application of automotive microcontrollers.By material type, sales of copper alloy for automotive microcontrollers are expected to exhibit the highest CAGR through 2022. Tinned steel will remain sought-after among materials in the global automotive microcontrollers market, with sales estimated to reach approximately US$ 600 Mn by 2022-end.FMIs report has profiled key players, who are actively contributing to growth of the global automotive microcontrollers market, which include Toshiba Corporation, Infineon Technologies, Maxim Integrated Products, Inc., Fujitsu Limited, Silicon Labs Private Limited, Renesas Electronics Corporation, Microchip Technology Inc., STMicroelectronics NV, NXP Semiconductors NV, and Texas Instruments Incorporated.Buy Full Automotive Microcontrollers Market Report@About Us  Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Fall enrollment numbers confirmed the La Crosse School Districts decade-and-a-half enrollment slide is continuing.

La Crosse is down more than 90 students this year and down 280 students compared with seven years ago, according to Third Friday of September counts provided by the district.

The Onalaska school district is up 14 students this year to 3,178, and Holmen is up 44 to 3,938. Bangor is up 12 students to 595 and West Salem, which has had steady enrollment in recent years, is up 4 students to 1,818.

Countywide, enrollment is up slightly from seven years ago but down 80 students from a high of 16,263 in 2015. Districts provide their September headcounts to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, and the numbers influence everything from school budgets to how districts and school boards plan for the future.

Open enrollment has been a boon for Onalaska which gained 228 students this year through the state program that lets students attend school at a neighboring district. Onalaska Superintendent Fran Finco said the district resident enrollment and open enrollment growth have combined for an increase of more than 190 students since 2011.

Finco said the state funding attached to those new students has helped Onalaska avoid budget cuts. But as enrollment grows, he said, the district will be cautious to set limits on open enrollment to avoid having more students in a certain grade, school or special needs category than staff can effectively serve.

Having a steadily increasing population has been a good thing for the district, he said.

For La Crosse, the pain of declining enrollment isnt felt immediately, Superintendent Randy Nelson said. For budgeting purposes, the state uses a three-year rolling average to calculate revenue limits and state aid to help districts that experience spikes in enrollment.

The district has experienced declining enrollment for over 15 years, Nelson said, a trend the district calculates as it budgets, plans for future staffing and considers the best ways to use school space and resources.

Open enrollment has helped the district: More students come into the district from neighboring districts each year than resident students who chose to go to school elsewhere. But like many urban districts, La Crosse doesnt have much room to grow, unlike neighboring suburbs such as Onalaska and Holmen.

All of these things play into it, Nelson said. There is still an opportunity for development in the city, but not to grow our boundaries.

Aquinas Catholic Schools enrollment also increased this year, by almost 30 students. During the past seven years, the private school system has seen its enrollment numbers fluctuate between 960 and more than 1,000 students.

Aquinas began participating in the Wisconsin Parental Choice Program in 2014 and had 142 students enrolled this year, up more than 30 from last year. The choice program allows families with students meeting certain income eligibility requirements to enroll at a private school using public funds.

Aquinas High School and Blessed Sacrament School saw strong enrollment numbers this year, Aquinas President Ted Knutson said. He felt families were choosing the Catholic school system for its strong teachers and principals.
Chocolate Ingredient - Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities and Analysis of Top Key Player Forecast To 2022

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/2370789-global-chocolate-ingredient-sales-market-report-2017

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/2370789-global-chocolate-ingredient-sales-market-report-2017

www.linkedin.com/company/4828928

https://twitter.com/WiseGuyReports

https://www.facebook.com/Wiseguyreports-1009007869213183/?fref=ts

In this report, the global Chocolate Ingredient market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K MT), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Chocolate Ingredient for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGET SAMPLE REPORT @Global Chocolate Ingredient market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Chocolate Ingredient sales volume, Price (USD/MT), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingBarry CallebautCargillNestle SAMarsHersheyBlommer Chocolate CompanyFUJI OILPuratosCemoiIrcaFoleys Candies LPOlamKerry GroupGuittardFerreroGhirardelliAlpezzi ChocolateValrhonaRepublica Del CacaoTCHOOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoCocoa LiquorCocoa ButterCocoa PowderOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Chocolate Ingredient for each application, includingConfectioneryFoodBeverageTable of Content: Key PointsGlobal Chocolate Ingredient Sales Market Report 20171 Chocolate Ingredient Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Chocolate Ingredient1.2 Classification of Chocolate Ingredient by Product Category1.2.1 Global Chocolate Ingredient Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Chocolate Ingredient Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Cocoa Liquor1.2.4 Cocoa Butter1.2.5 Cocoa Powder1.3 Global Chocolate Ingredient Market by Application/End Users1.3.1 Global Chocolate Ingredient Sales (Volume) and Market Share Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Confectionery1.3.3 Food1.3.4 Beverage1.4 Global Chocolate Ingredient Market by Region1.4.1 Global Chocolate Ingredient Market Size (Value) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 United States Chocolate Ingredient Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 China Chocolate Ingredient Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 Europe Chocolate Ingredient Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan Chocolate Ingredient Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Chocolate Ingredient Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 India Chocolate Ingredient Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Chocolate Ingredient (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global Chocolate Ingredient Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global Chocolate Ingredient Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2022)2 Global Chocolate Ingredient Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application9 Global Chocolate Ingredient Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data9.1 Barry Callebaut9.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.1.2 Chocolate Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification9.1.2.1 Product A9.1.2.2 Product B9.1.3 Barry Callebaut Chocolate Ingredient Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.2 Cargill9.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.2.2 Chocolate Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification9.2.2.1 Product A9.2.2.2 Product B9.2.3 Cargill Chocolate Ingredient Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.3 Nestle SA9.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.3.2 Chocolate Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification9.3.2.1 Product A9.3.2.2 Product B9.3.3 Nestle SA Chocolate Ingredient Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.4 Mars9.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.4.2 Chocolate Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification9.4.2.1 Product A9.4.2.2 Product B9.4.3 Mars Chocolate Ingredient Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.5 Hershey9.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.5.2 Chocolate Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification9.5.2.1 Product A9.5.2.2 Product B9.5.3 Hershey Chocolate Ingredient Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.5.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.6 Blommer Chocolate Company9.6.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.6.2 Chocolate Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification9.6.2.1 Product A9.6.2.2 Product B9.6.3 Blommer Chocolate Company Chocolate Ingredient Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.6.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.7 FUJI OIL9.7.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.7.2 Chocolate Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification9.7.2.1 Product A9.7.2.2 Product B9.7.3 FUJI OIL Chocolate Ingredient Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.7.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.8 Puratos9.8.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.8.2 Chocolate Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification9.8.2.1 Product A9.8.2.2 Product B9.8.3 Puratos Chocolate Ingredient Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.8.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.9 Cemoi9.9.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.9.2 Chocolate Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification9.9.2.1 Product A9.9.2.2 Product B9.9.3 Cemoi Chocolate Ingredient Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.9.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.10 Irca9.10.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.10.2 Chocolate Ingredient Product Category, Application and Specification9.10.2.1 Product A9.10.2.2 Product B9.10.3 Irca Chocolate Ingredient Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.10.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.11 Foleys Candies LP9.12 Olam9.13 Kerry Group9.14 Guittard9.15 Ferrero9.16 Ghirardelli9.17 Alpezzi Chocolate9.18 Valrhona9.19 Republica Del Cacao9.20 TCHOContinuedACCESS REPORT @Get in touch:LinkedIn:Twitter:Facebook:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe.WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Global Rubidium Atomic Clock Market Research Report 2017 : Microsemi, Spectratime, AccuBeat

Market Research Reports

https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1032996&type=E

https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-rubidium-atomic-clock-market-research-report-2017.htm

Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Rubidium Atomic Clock Market Research Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.The dynamics of the global market for Rubidium Atomic Clock is shaped by several trends and factors, a detailed evaluation of whose impact is adequately covered in the report. The research study presents insights into key macro-economic and micro-economic factors influencing the growth of the Rubidium Atomic Clock market. The report covers major changes in regulatory policies and recent government interventions to help stakeholders assess their impact on the growth trajectory. The emergence of different types of risks, including operational and tactical, and key challenges that are expected to stir the strategic dynamics is covered in the study. The study highlights prominent trends and delineates their impact in shaping the consumer demand for products. The evidence-based findings offered in the report cover regional and global factors pertinent to the expansion of the Rubidium Atomic Clock market.This report studies Rubidium Atomic Clock in Global market, especially in North America, Europe, China, Japan, Latin America and India, focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with capacity, production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringMicrosemiStanford Research SystemsSpectratimeVectron International.AccuBeatFrequency ElectronicsHeol DesignIQDExcelitas TechnologiesZurich InstrumentsThe study tracks recent technological advancements and developments likely to cause disruption in demand among end-use industries. To this end, the report takes a closer look at the investment portfolio of various stakeholders who are spending on research and development activities to develop new products and services. A close tab on the government funding in major regions helps market participants evaluate the prominence of these technologies. Furthermore, a number of new entrants and emerging players hoping to gain actionable insights to formulate their strategies can glean through the study. The quantitative and qualitative analysis takes into its ambit vast volumes of data from credible secondary sources, such as industry bodies and associations, and incorporates reliable inputs provided by a wide range of primary sources. The findings are also useful for established players to be proactively prepared for any disruptive shifts.Get Report Free Sample and Customization:Table of Contents1 Rubidium Atomic Clock Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Rubidium Atomic Clock1.2 Rubidium Atomic Clock Segment by Types1.2.1 Global Production Market Share of Rubidium Atomic Clock by Types in 20161.3 Rubidium Atomic Clock Segment by Applications1.4 Rubidium Atomic Clock Market by Regions1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Rubidium Atomic Clock (2012-2022)2 Global Rubidium Atomic Clock Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Rubidium Atomic Clock Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.2 Global Rubidium Atomic Clock Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.3 Global Rubidium Atomic Clock Average Price by Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)2.4 Manufacturers Rubidium Atomic Clock Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area, Product Types2.5 Rubidium Atomic Clock Market Competitive Situation and Trends3 Global Rubidium Atomic Clock Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Regions (2012-2017)3.1 Global Rubidium Atomic Clock Capacity and Market Share by Regions (2012-2017)3.2 Global Rubidium Atomic Clock Production and Market Share by Regions (2012-2017)3.3 Global Rubidium Atomic Clock Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Regions (2012-2017)3.4 Global Rubidium Atomic Clock Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5North America Rubidium Atomic Clock Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Rubidium Atomic Clock Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Rubidium Atomic Clock Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7 Global Rubidium Atomic Clock Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Microsemi7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Rubidium Atomic Clock Product Types, Application and Specification7.1.3 Microsemi Rubidium Atomic Clock Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.2 Stanford Research Systems7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Rubidium Atomic Clock Product Types, Application and Specification7.2.3 Stanford Research Systems Rubidium Atomic Clock Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)7.3 Spectratime7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Rubidium Atomic Clock Product Types, Application and Specification7.3.3 Spectratime Rubidium Atomic Clock Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2015 and 2016)Complete report with detailed table of content is available at:List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Rubidium Atomic ClockFigure Global Production Market Share of Rubidium Atomic Clock by Types in 2016Table Rubidium Atomic Clock Consumption Market Share by Applications in 2016Figure Global Rubidium Atomic Clock Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Table Global Rubidium Atomic Clock Capacity of Key Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)Table Global Rubidium Atomic Clock Capacity Market Share of Key Manufacturers (2015 and 2016)Figure Global Rubidium Atomic Clock Capacity of Key Manufacturers in 2015Figure Global Rubidium Atomic Clock Capacity of Key Manufacturers in 2016About UsQYReseachReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact US:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Global Market for Orthopaedic Prosthetics is Expected to Grow at a CAGR of 5% During 2016-2026

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/orthopaedic-prosthetics-marke

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/orthopaedic-prosthetics-marke/toc

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1443

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/1443

www.futuremarketinsights.com

Global demand for orthopaedic prosthetics devices market is projected to reach US$ 1.76 Bn in 2017, up from US$ 1.69 Bn in 2016. Demand for orthopaedic prosthetics devices will be fuelled by increasing baby boomers & geriatric population. Availability of advanced prosthetics that offer customisation and enhanced functionality will continue to witness increasing demand in developed markets. However, high cost and lack of favourable reimbursement policies will continue to pose challenges to wider adoption. North America will continue to remain the largest market for orthopaedic prosthetics devices, owing to strong demand in the U.S. Sales of orthopaedic prosthetics devices in the Western Europe  the second largest market globally  will remain concentrated in EU5.Other key factors expected to fuel demand for orthopaedic prosthetic devices include increase in the number of accidents, higher emphasis on physical sports, and increase in prevalence of conditions that require amputation. Replacement of older prosthetics with lighter, durable materials is also expected to complement demand during the forecast period.Browse Full Report@FMIs report offers insights on the regulations on orthopaedic prosthetics devices in key markets of the U.S., Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. In the U.S., orthopaedic prosthetics devices are regulated by U.S. FDA and Centre for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). In Europe, a majority of prosthetic and orthotic devices are class I with CE marking.To provide a detailed analysis on the orthopaedic prosthetic market, FMIs report offers forecast and analysis on the basis of product type, technology, end-use, and region.View and Download TOC of Orthopaedic Prosthetics Market Research Report @Prosthetics Devices Market SegmentationBy product type, the key segments include lower extremity prosthetics, upper extremity prosthetics, liners, sockets, and modular components. Among these, lower extremity prosthetics account for the highest demand, followed by upper extremity prosthetics. All the aforementioned product types will lose market share to lower extremity prosthetics during the forecast period.By technology, electric powered prosthetic devices account for the highest demand and the trend is projected to remain unchanged during the forecast period. Electric powered prosthetic devices are expected to gain 467 BPS during the forecast period and account for over 50% revenue share of the market by 2026. Ease of operation is one of the key factors for high adoption of electric powered prosthetics devices.Request and Download Sample Report @By end-use, prosthetic clinics accounted for the highest revenue share of the global market, followed by hospitals and rehabilitation centres. Prosthetic clinics will continue to remain the largest end-user segment during the forecast period, gaining 293 BPS between 2016 and 2026.North America is the largest market for prosthetics devices market, accounting for a significant share of global revenues. The U.S. is the leading market for prosthetics devices, accounting for over 78% share of the global market in 2016. The U.S. will continue to be the largest market for prosthetics devices during the forecast period.Leading players in the global prosthetics devices market include Hanger Inc., Blatchford Ltd., Otto Bock HealthCare GmbH Ossur, Touch Bionics Inc., and The Ohio Willow Wood Co.Buy Full Orthopaedic Prosthetics Market Report @AboutFuture Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.Contact616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Optometry Market Key Players and Production Information analysis with Forecast 2025

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/optometry-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/11810

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=11810

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=11810<ype=S

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

As per a report by Transparency Market Research, the global market for optometry will likely register a tepid CAGR of 4.1% during the period between 2017 and 2025. Rising at this rate, the market which was worth US$55.974 bn in 2016, will become worth US$79.871 bn by 2025.View the Report Details@The different types of products available in the global optometry market can be broadly segmented into therapeutics and vision care equipment. Of them, the segment of anti-inflammatory drugs held maximum share of 32.5% in revenue in the year 2016. Other segments under therapeutics are anti-fungal drugs, anti-infective drugs, anti-allergy drugs, etc.Depending upon geography, the key segments of the global market for optometry are North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa. North America, among them, currently dominates the optometry market vis-a-vis revenue. In the years ahead too, the region is projected to retain its dominant share on account of an increasing aging population, increasing use of eye care products, and swift uptake of contact lenses. The revenue in the North America market is slated to become worth US$28.38 bn by 2025.View and Download TOC of Optometry Market Research Report@Burgeoning Elderly Population Push up DemandAt the forefront of driving growth in the global optometry market is the rising pool of elderly people who are highly susceptible to visual problems and rising occurrence of eye diseases owing to chronic health conditions such as diabetes. This has led to the eye diseases, namely diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, and glaucoma. As per the American Association of Ophthalmology (AAO), almost 20.5 million patients in the U.S. alone suffer from cataract, while an estimated 7.6 million suffer from diabetic retinopathy.Surging Popularity of Eyewear Fashion Proves Beneficial to MarketSuch rising prevalence of eye diseases and refractive errors worldwide has resulted in increasing need for eye examinations and eye care. This has served to stoke growth in the global optometry market. Globally, about 80% of all visual impairment can be prevented or cured. This coupled with the soaring popularity eye wear fashion trend and rising disposable incomes of people has majorly boosted the global optometry market, explains the lead analyst of the TMR report.This review is based on the findings of a TMR report, titled, Optometry Market (Type - Therapeutics (Anti-inflammatory Drugs (Steroids and NSAIDS), Anti-fungal Drugs, Anti-infective Drugs, and Anti-allergic Drugs) and Vision Care Equipment (Eye Glasses and Contact Lenses (Soft Contact Lenses, Rigid Gas Permeable Lenses, and Extended Wear Contact Lenses); Distribution Channel - Hospital Pharmacies, Optometry Clinics, Online and Retail Stores, and Optical Centers)  Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 20172025.Request and Download Sample Report@Presence of numerous players makes the global optometry market fragmented in nature. In order to steal a march over their competitors in the market, most players are focused to developing technologically superior treatment and therapies.Some of the key players in the global optometry market are CooperVision, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., Novartis AG, Pfizer, Inc., Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc., Allergan, and Essilor. They have a great deal of geographical outreach as well as a diverse product portfolio which have helped to bolster their positions further. A noticeable trend in the market is the focus of keen players on attractive markets in Asia Pacific, which still have ample room for growth on account of a burgeoning population with increasing spending capacity.Buy Full Optometry Market Report@About TMRTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Acidulants Market Forecast and Opportunity Assessment by Persistence Market Research 2017  2025

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/13363

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/toc/13363

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

Acidulants Market  OverviewAcidulants is a chemical compound commonly used as food acids and used as a food additive that gives a sharp or tart taste to food and beverages. Acidulants are also acted as a food preservative and inhibit the growth of the microbes. Acidulants control the acidity and pH of the food and beverage and also regulate flavor, color and moisture levels in food such as dairy products, meat, seafood, and candies. The acidulants can be organic, mineral acids, neutralizing agents, and buffering agents or bases. The acidulants selection depends upon the application of processed food. The Acidulants possesses the properties such as flavoring agent, preservatives, chelating agent, buffer, gelling agent and coagulating agent and used in various applications which boost the demand of the acidulants worldwide.Acidulants Market  Drivers and RestraintsThe global acidulants market is expected to register a significant CAGR over a forecast period as the demand of the acidulants is increasing from the food processing industry across the world. The consumption of the acidulants is increased as it acts as a preservative in food and beverages and can be the alternative to the cold supply chain, which boosts the demand of the acidulants market and drives the global acidulants market. Acidulants are working as a flavoring agent and gelling agents for the food products such as jam and candies and maintains pH and acidity in beverages and also drives the demand of the acidulants market.Request For Report Sample@However, the huge competition in pricing is the primary concern in the acidulants market due to the availability of the acidulants at comparatively low price by Chinese manufacturers, this may hamper the growth of the global acidulants market over the forecast period.Acidulants Market  SegmentationThe global acidulants market is segmented on the basis of type and applications.On the basis of type, the global acidulants market is segmented as follows:Citric acidPhosphoric acidLactic acidMalic acidOthersOn the basis of applications, the global acidulants market is segmented as follows:Dairy FoodBeveragesBakery and confectionaryFood supplementsOthersAcidulants Market  Region Wise OutlookThe global acidulants market is segmented into the seven regions: North America, Latin America, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific Excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan and Middle East and Africa (MEA). The APEJ is dominating and contributed the leading shares to the global acidulants market in terms of revenue and volume due to increasing demand from the rising food processing industry in emerging economies such as India and China. The North America and Western Europe have also contributed a significant market share in terms of revenue to the global acidulants market and anticipated to register a consistent growth rate over a forecast period due to the saturated food processing industry. The Japan and Eastern Europe are also expected to register a moderate growth rate over a forecast period. The MEA and Latin America are at a nascent stage of the global acidulants market and contributed descent market shares in terms of revenue and are expected to show a moderate growth over a forecast period. Overall, the global acidulants market is anticipated to register a significant CAGR over a forecast period.Visit For TOC@Acidulants Market  Key PlayersThe key players of the global acidulants market are as follows:Archer Daniels Midland CompanyBrenntag Ingredients Inc.Cargill Inc.Hawkins Watts LimitedTate& Lyle Plc.Univar Inc.Fuerst Day Lawson Ltd.Batory Foods, Inc.Sab hnub tuaj Foodchem Co., LtdINDUSTRIAL TECNICA PECUARIA, S.A.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Ourresearch model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and marketresearch methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Web:Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.com
Global Shavers Market to Grow US$ 32 billion for the period 2017-2025

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/shavers-market/toc

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/4922

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/4922

www.persistencemarketresearch.com

The global shavers market is projected to grow at a significant rate as an increasing number of men and women seek out shaving products to maintain their routine hygiene or to attract eyeballs. The global shavers market can be segmented into electric and traditional shavers and are sold in supermarkets, ecommerce portals or through other distribution channels. Persistence Market Research has taken an in-depth look at the global shavers market in its upcoming report titled Shavers Market: Global Industry Analysis 20122016 & Forecast 20172025. The global shavers market is expected to grow to a value of approx. US$ 32 billion and record a modest CAGR of 4.3% for the period 2017-2025.View and Download TOC of Shavers Market Research Report@Region  APAC the Future of the Global Shavers MarketThe APAC shavers market is predicted to be worth more than US$ 12 billion by the end of the forecast period. Within APAC, India is the country to look out for as the worlds second largest nation has a relatively younger population when compared to China. Nonetheless, Europe has a greater revenue share primarily because customers on this continent are affluent and more likely to purchase electronic shavers as opposed to traditional shavers that are preferred in emerging economies in APAC and MEA.Product Type  High Growth Estimated in the Electric Shavers MarketThe electric shavers market is anticipated to witness a higher CAGR of 4.5% over the eight-year forecast period in comparison to non-electric shavers. Electric trimmers and clippers are particularly popular amongst both men and women and had a revenue share of 44% in 2016.End User  Men Largest Consumers of Shavers in the Shavers MarketIt is not an even split between men and women in the global shavers market as the former have a market value share of over 3/5th to the latters 2/5th. Beards are back in vogue now and have replaced the clean-shaven look as the fashion trend to follow. This should fuel the demand for both electric and non-electric shavers in the global shavers market.Sales Channel  Other Channels Critical in the Global Shavers MarketThe other channels segment has a market share of more than 50% and is unlikely to ceded this position anytime soon in the global shavers market. This can be primarily attributed to the booming demand for shavers in emerging economies. The online segment is estimated to have the minimal growth rate during this period.Request and Download Sample Report@Competition Dashboard in the Global Shavers MarketThe companies profiled in the global shavers market report are Panasonic Corporation, Societe BIC SA, The Procter & Gamble Company, Koninklijke Philips N.V., Edgewell Personal Care, Conair Corporation, Remington Products Co. LLC, Helen of Troy Limited, Harrys Inc., Dollar Shave Club, The Eltron Company, Wahl Clipper Corporation, Super-Max Limited, Andis Company, Ningbo Kaili Holding Group Co., Kai Corporation, Parker Safety Razor, Dorco USA, Mers Solutions Ltd., and Havells India Limited.Key Market InsightsShaver manufacturers are entering into agreements with online retailers to expand their customer base by delivering premium shavers at a reasonable price by eliminating the middlemen. This strategy is supported by aggressive global expansion by opening physical stores and ecommerce websites dedicated to emerging economies. Companies are also trying to cater to female customers by launching dedicated female shavers to meet the need of all-purpose shavers, mainly due to the desire for bikini grooming and female face shaving observed worldwide. In addition, the greater acceptance of premium priced shavers is driving consumers towards new and innovative shavers available in the global shavers market, maximizing revenue potential.Buy Full Shavers Market Report@About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a U.S.-based full-service market intelligence firm specializing in syndicated research, custom research, and consulting services. PMR boasts market research expertise across the Healthcare, Chemicals and Materials, Technology and Media, Energy and Mining, Food and Beverages, Semiconductor and Electronics, Consumer Goods, and Shipping and Transportation industries. The company draws from its multi-disciplinary capabilities and high-pedigree team of analysts to share data that precisely corresponds to clients business needs.PMR stands committed to bringing more accuracy and speed to clients business decisions. From ready-to-purchase market research reports to customized research solutions, PMRs engagement models are highly flexible without compromising on its deep-seated research values.ContactPersistence Market Research Pvt. Ltd305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA  Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.commedia@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Heart Valve Devices Market Present Scenario and the Growth Prospects with Forecast 2025

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/heart-valve-devices-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/486

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=486

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=486<ype=S

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

The global heart valves devices market is a fragmented one on account of the presence of numerous manufacturers. While some have a diverse product portfolio, there are others who are focused on particular products. In the years ahead, the market is slated to see the entry of more players making the competition stiff, which in turn will lead to strategic collaborations and acquisitions.View the Report Details@A report by Transparency Market Research predicts the global heart valve devices market to progress impressively by registering a CAGR of 12.4% during the period from 2017 to 2025. Rising at this pace, the market which was worth US$5.8 bn in 2016 will likely become worth US$16.2 bn in 2025.The different types of heart valve devices available in the market can be broadly segmented into mechanical heart valves, biological heart valves, and transcatheter heart valves. Of them, the segment of transcatheter heart valve devices dominate the market at present and will likely continue to retain its leading share in the near future as well. This is because of the increasing uptake of technologically advanced products in developed regions, more than average selling prices, and considerably lower mortality rate achieved by the devices.View and Download TOC of Heart Valve Devices Market Research Report@Geographically, the key segments of the global heart valve devices market are North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. Of them, Asia Pacific is slated to surpass all other regions vis-a-vis growth in the next couple of years on account of the growing instances of cardiovascular diseases and a large pool of heart patients. As per the TMR report, the region will likely expand at a CAGR of 13.3% in the forecast period.Rising Prevalence of Obesity Stokes Growth in MarketAt the forefront of driving the global market for heart valve devices is the increasing instances of obesity and unhealthy lifestyle of people worldwide, leading to cardiac diseases and pathological disorders. Besides, the rising demand for minimally invasive procedures which lowers the need for blood transfusions, infections, and even hospital stays by speeding the healing procedure, is also serving to up demand for the devices. In addition, continued product modifications brought about by incorporating latest technologies leading to more advanced heart valve devices is also proving beneficial to the market.Request and Download Sample Report@The innovations in the overall structure and design of valve have borne promising results in valve replacement surgeries. The use of regenerative medicine and in-situ tissue engineering for the development of bio absorbable heart valves is the main area of focus of major market players, who are trying to foray into the global heart valve devices market in the near future, explains the lead analyst of the TMR report.Some of the prominent participants in the global heart valve devices market are Abbott, CryoLife, Inc., Boston Scientific Corporation, Edward Lifesciences Corporation, TTK HealthCare, JenaValve Technology, Inc., Medtronic, Neovasc, Inc., Sorin Group, Micro Interventional Devices, Inc., and Lepu Medical Technology Co., Ltd. Some of the rising promising players include XELTIS, SYMETIS, Auto Tissue Berlin GmbH, and Novostia SA, among others.Buy Full Heart Valve Devices Market Report@About TMRTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Cooking Oil Market-Advanced technologies & growth opportunities in global Industry

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=15008

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/cooking-oil-market.html

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

The cooking oil market in the GCC has been witnessing a major shift in investment patterns in recent years. Over the past decade, the investment in this market has doubled owing to players realizing the scope this market presents. The increasing population and a higher propensity of consumers to spend on edible oils are the primary factors driving the cooking oil market in the GCC. The presence of leading companies in the region has increased of late with the growth in demand. Improvisation and diversification of products in this market is a key strategy adopted by vendors.However, the high cost of raw materials required for the extraction of cooking oils is a major restraining factor for any new player in this market. The lack of local production of cooking oils due to adverse climatic conditions and less rainfall is another major factor limiting the scope of the GCC and Qatar cooking oil market.In terms of revenue, the cooking oil market in the GCC and Qatar was valued at US$988.2 mn in 2015 and is expected to reach US$1.7 bn by 2024, expanding at a 6.6% CAGR therein. In terms of volume, the market is projected to register a CAGR of 8.4% during the forecast period.Get an exclusive sample of this report @Sunflower Oil Most Preferred Cooking Oil in GCCOn the basis of product, the cooking oil market in the GCC and Qatar is segmented into sunflower oil, corn oil, palm oil, and others. The others segment comprises soybean oil, flaxseed oil, and coconut oil, among others. Sunflower oil recorded a significant share in the cooking oil market, accounting for more than 70% in 2015. The segment is expected to lead the GCC and Qatar market throughout the forecast period owing to the widespread use of sunflower oil among residents in the GCC region. Despite accounting for a share of less than 7% in 2015 in the GCC and Qatar cooking oil market, corn oil is expected to grow at the fastest rate through 2024.By packaging type, the market is bifurcated into retail and bulk. Retail package emerged as the key contributor in the cooking oil market in GCC, accounting for more than 70% in 2015.Obtain Report Details @High Consumer Purchasing Power a Prominent Driving Factor in Qatar Cooking Oil MarketGeographically, the GCC and Qatar cooking oil market is divided into Qatar and other GCC countries, such as Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, and Oman. The cooking oil market in Qatar is currently experiencing meager growth, with the arid regions low population being the major restraining factor. Nevertheless, consumer spending in Qatar is likely to rise rapidly in the next few years, with the growth being centered on the food sector. The purchasing power of Qataris is higher compared to other GCC countries and coupled with the surge in healthy eating habits, the country is forecast to witness considerable growth in the cooking oil market.The cooking oil market in the rest of GCC has been experiencing steady growth and is expected to maintain a similar trend throughout the forecast period. The demand for several types of cooking oils is supported by the rising presence of expatriates from European countries such as Italy, Spain, and Greece. This trend is especially true for UAE, with Dubai being the most lucrative destination for market players.The leading players operating in the GCC and Qatar cooking oil market include Savola Group, United Foods Company, Asia Africa General Trading L.L.C, Hayel Saeed Anam Group and Co., Omani Vegetables Oils and Derivatives Co. LLC, and Al Ghurair Resources Oils and Proteins.About TMRTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.coWebsite:
Global Strontium Market - Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, and Forecast 2016 - 2024

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/reports/1064475/strontium-global-industry-analysis-market-research-reports

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/sample/1064475

https://www.marketresearchreports.biz/sample/enquiryBuy/1064475

http://www.marketresearchreports.biz/

Latest industry research report on: Global Strontium Market | Industry Size, Share, Research, Reviews, Analysis, Strategies, Demand, Growth, Segmentation, Parameters, ForecastsGlobal Strontium Market: OverviewStrontium, an alkaline earth metal, ranks 15th in terms of abundance among elements found in the earths crust, occurring as Strontianite and Celestine mineral ores. Strontium (Sr) is obtained from two primary minerals: Celestine (consisting of strontium sulphate) and Strontianite (consisting of strontium carbonate).Complete Report Details @The report estimates and forecasts the strontium market on the global and regional levels. The study provides forecast between 2016 and 2024 based on volume (kilo tons) and revenue (US$ Mn) with 2015 as the base year. It comprises an exhaustive value chain analysis for each of the segments. It provides a comprehensive view of the market. Value chain analysis also offers detailed information about value addition at each stage.The study includes drivers and restraints for the strontium market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. The study also provides key market indicators affecting the growth of the market. The report analyzes opportunities in the strontium market on the global and regional level. Drivers, restraints, and opportunities mentioned in the report are justified through quantitative and qualitative data. These have been verified through primary and secondary resources. Furthermore, the report analyzes substitute analysis of strontium and global average price trend analysis.Request For Sample Report @It provides a comprehensive view of the strontium market by dividing it into product, application and geography segments. The products have been segmented into strontium carbonate, strontium nitrate, strontium sulphate and others. The applications are segmented into pyrotechnics, ferrite metals, master alloys, paints & coatings, medical, zinc refining and others. These segments have been analyzed based on historic, present, and future trends.Global Strontium Market: Key SegmentsThe product segment includes compounds of strontium such as strontium carbonate, strontium nitrate, strontium sulphate, and others (oxides, peroxides, hydroxides, and chlorides of strontium). The most consumed strontium compound is strontium carbonate because of its vast number of applications and strontium carbonate being one of the primary compounds that is used as the precursor to produce other strontium compounds.The application segment includes pyrotechnics, ferrite magnets, master alloys, paints & coatings, medical, zinc refining, and others. Strontium is predominantly employed in pyrotechnics and the production of ceramic ferrite magnets. It acts as a luminescence and anti-corrosive factor in paints & coatings and is utilized in small amounts in the medical industry as well.Have Any Query? Ask Our Expert @Strontium ranelate is a strontium salt of ranelic acid which was used in the medicine for osteoporosis. However, in the U.S., the drug for osteoporosis is not approved by the FDA. It exhibited hypersensitivity to some substances in the study carried out on it, and is not recommended to patients suffering from severe renal diseases. Stringent government regulations on the use of strontium compounds could act as a restraint for the overall strontium market.Fireworks exhibitions usually includes bright colors, one of them being red. Also, red is a primary color from which other shades can be created. Exhibition fireworks and crackers are a major part of concerts and other live performance shows used for enhancement purposes. Pyrotechnics used for exhibition purposes includes fireworks, flares, crackers, and flashpapers. Strontium compounds being used as red colorant providers acts as a driver for the strontium market.Global Strontium Market: Regional SegmentsRegional segmentation includes the current and forecast consumption of strontium in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Market segmentation includes demand for consumption in all the regions individually. In terms of production, China, Mexico, and Spain are major countries in the strontium market. The U.S., the U.K., France, Italy, China, India, and a few other parts of Asia are major consumers.Global Strontium Market: Scope of ReportThe report estimates and forecasts the strontium market on the global and regional levels. The study provides forecast between 2016 and 2024 based on volume (kilo tons) and revenue (US$ Mn) with 2015 as the base year. The report comprises an exhaustive value chain analysis for each of the segments. It provides a comprehensive view of the market. Value chain analysis also offers detailed information about value addition at each stage. The study includes drivers and restraints for the strontium market along with their impact on demand during the forecast period. The study also provides key market indicators affecting the growth of the market. The report analyzes opportunities in the strontium market on the global and regional level. Drivers, restraints, and opportunities mentioned in the report are justified through quantitative and qualitative data. These have been verified through primary and secondary resources. Furthermore, the report analyzes substitute analysis of strontium and global average price trend analysis.Global Strontium Market: Research MethodologyThe report includes Porters Five Forces Model to determine the degree of competition in the strontium market. The report comprises a qualitative write-up on market attractiveness analysis, wherein end-users and regions have been analyzed based on attractiveness for each region. Growth rate, market size, raw material availability, profit margin, impact strength, technology, competition, and other factors (such as environmental and legal) have been evaluated in order to derive the general attractiveness of the market. The report comprises price trend analysis for strontium between 2016 and 2024.Secondary research sources that were typically referred to include, but were not limited to, U.S. Geological Survey, International Trade Centre (ITC), British Geological Survey, American Pyrotechnics Association, United Nations Comtrade Database, company websites, financial reports, annual reports, investor presentations, broker reports, and SEC filings. Other sources such as internal and external proprietary databases, statistical databases and market reports, news articles, national government documents, and webcasts specific to companies operating in the market have also been referred for the report.In-depth interviews and discussions with a wide range of key opinion leaders and industry participants were conducted to compile this research report. Primary research represents the bulk of research efforts, supplemented by extensive secondary research. Key players product literature, annual reports, press releases, and relevant documents were reviewed for competitive analysis and market understanding. This helped in validating and strengthening secondary research findings. Primary research further helped in developing the analysis teams expertise and market understanding.Companies Mentioned in ReportThe report covers detailed competitive outlook that includes market share and profiles of key players operating in the global market. Key players profiled in the report include Solvay, Sakai Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. and BassTech International. Company profiles include attributes such as company overview, number of employees, brand overview, key competitors, business overview, business strategies, recent/key developments, acquisitions, and financial overview (wherever applicable).The global strontium market has been segmented as follows:Strontium Market  Product AnalysisStrontium CarbonateStrontium NitrateStrontium SulphateOthersStrontium Market  Application AnalysisPyrotechnicsFerrite MagnetsMaster AlloysPaints & CoatingsMedicalZinc RefiningOthersAbout usMarketResearchReports.biz is the most comprehensive collection of market research reports. MarketResearchReports.Biz services are specially designed to save time and money for our clients. We are a one stop solution for all your research needs, our main offerings are syndicated research reports, custom research, subscription access and consulting services. We serve all sizes and types of companies spanning across various industries.Contact UsState Tower90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-621-2074Website:Email: sales@marketresearchreports.biz
Global Automotive Sled Testing System Market to 4.19% CAGR to 2021  Analysis of Aries, Calspan, HORIBA MIRA, MESSRING Systembau, and Seattle Safety

https://www.marketresearchnest.com/global-automotive-sled-testing-system-market-2017-2021.html

https://www.marketresearchnest.com/purchase.php?reportid=264834

https://www.marketresearchnest.com/enquirybuy.php?reportid=264834

MarketResearchNest.com adds Global Automotive Sled Testing System Market 2017-2021 new reports to its research database. The report spread across 75 pages with tables and figures in it.The research analysts forecast the global Automotive Sled Testing System market to grow at a CAGR of 4.19% during the period 2017-2021.Automotive Sled Testing System are used by food processing companies to produce various food products, including potato chips, french fries, and hash browns. They use the deep-frying technique to fry products. In this process, products are immersed in oil. Deep frying helps in the uniform frying of products. Automotive Sled Testing System have been widely used by various potato processing companies.Get more details about report at:Technavio recognizes the following companies as the key players in the global automotive sled testing system market: Aries, Calspan, HORIBA MIRA, MESSRING Systembau, and Seattle Safety.Other Prominent Vendors in the market are: APV Tech Centre, S-E-A, BIA, and Exponent.The latest trend gaining momentum in the market is Development of sled systems with higher DoF. With the ever-increasing demand for efficiency and performance from sled systems for offset, narrow offset, angled and compatibility crash modes, the question for combined pitch and yaw arises. Studies are being undertaken to analyze a wide range of crashes to develop a set of pitch and yaw data, and if possible, develop a working concept of the system.Order a Purchase Report Copy at(This is premium report, Single User License  USD 3500 and Corporate User License  USD 6000)According to the report, one of the major drivers for this market is Players introducing economical upgrade packages to keep sled equipment updated. Sled systems are expensive and require a considerable amount and space for installation as well. This makes it difficult for the system to be upgraded. For instance, upgradation of pitch simulation requires building an entirely new sled system, which is difficult to justify in terms of time and money. Various players in the market have come up with a solution to this by providing certain add-ons to the existing sled systems. Seattle Safety developed an innovative Dynamic Pitch upgrade, which is an economical add-on accessory, for its existing sleds.Further, the report states that one of the major factors hindering the growth of this market is High cost of crash test dummies. The inception of crash test dummies happened in 1949. During that era, the measurements and impacts to be tested in automotive were very less, and hence, few instrumentations were used in the crash test dummies. The dummies back then were too heavy and did not replicate a normal human being in any sense. In the consequent years, the demand for safety in automotive increased, which led to the need for high accuracy in impact testing for both vehicle and occupants.The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors.Inquire before buying this report atMarketResearchNest.com is the most comprehensive collection of market research products and services on the Web. We offer reports from almost all top publishers and update our collection on daily basis to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and recent database of expert insights on global industries, organizations, products, and trends.Mr. Jeet JainSales Managersales@marketresearchnest.com+1-240-284-8070 / +44-20-3290-4151
West Salem Elementary School was named to this years Blue Ribbon Schools list, an award given by the U.S Department of Education to only 342 schools in the country.

The honor recognizes K-12 schools with top academic performance or those schools that have shown great effort to reduce achievement gaps between minority and non-minority students over a five-year period. West Salem Elementary was one of nine schools in Wisconsin to earn the blue ribbon honors.

Superintendent Troy Gunderson said the elementary school, which enrolls around 900 students, was chosen because they did such a tremendous job at narrowing the achievement gap between students and students from middle-class families and students from families under the poverty level.

In my business that's a gold medal and a Super Bowl ring all in the same day, said Gunderson.
Cooking Oil Market - Rising Demand for and Usage of High-quality Edible Oils a Major Growth Driver

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=15008

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/cooking-oil-market.html

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

The cooking oil market in the GCC has been witnessing a major shift in investment patterns in recent years. Over the past decade, the investment in this market has doubled owing to players realizing the scope this market presents. The increasing population and a higher propensity of consumers to spend on edible oils are the primary factors driving the cooking oil market in the GCC. The presence of leading companies in the region has increased of late with the growth in demand. Improvisation and diversification of products in this market is a key strategy adopted by vendors.However, the high cost of raw materials required for the extraction of cooking oils is a major restraining factor for any new player in this market. The lack of local production of cooking oils due to adverse climatic conditions and less rainfall is another major factor limiting the scope of the GCC and Qatar cooking oil market.In terms of revenue, the cooking oil market in the GCC and Qatar was valued at US$988.2 mn in 2015 and is expected to reach US$1.7 bn by 2024, expanding at a 6.6% CAGR therein. In terms of volume, the market is projected to register a CAGR of 8.4% during the forecast period.Get an exclusive sample of this report @Sunflower Oil Most Preferred Cooking Oil in GCCOn the basis of product, the cooking oil market in the GCC and Qatar is segmented into sunflower oil, corn oil, palm oil, and others. The others segment comprises soybean oil, flaxseed oil, and coconut oil, among others. Sunflower oil recorded a significant share in the cooking oil market, accounting for more than 70% in 2015. The segment is expected to lead the GCC and Qatar market throughout the forecast period owing to the widespread use of sunflower oil among residents in the GCC region. Despite accounting for a share of less than 7% in 2015 in the GCC and Qatar cooking oil market, corn oil is expected to grow at the fastest rate through 2024.By packaging type, the market is bifurcated into retail and bulk. Retail package emerged as the key contributor in the cooking oil market in GCC, accounting for more than 70% in 2015.Obtain Report Details @High Consumer Purchasing Power a Prominent Driving Factor in Qatar Cooking Oil MarketGeographically, the GCC and Qatar cooking oil market is divided into Qatar and other GCC countries, such as Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, and Oman. The cooking oil market in Qatar is currently experiencing meager growth, with the arid regions low population being the major restraining factor. Nevertheless, consumer spending in Qatar is likely to rise rapidly in the next few years, with the growth being centered on the food sector. The purchasing power of Qataris is higher compared to other GCC countries and coupled with the surge in healthy eating habits, the country is forecast to witness considerable growth in the cooking oil market.The cooking oil market in the rest of GCC has been experiencing steady growth and is expected to maintain a similar trend throughout the forecast period. The demand for several types of cooking oils is supported by the rising presence of expatriates from European countries such as Italy, Spain, and Greece. This trend is especially true for UAE, with Dubai being the most lucrative destination for market players.The leading players operating in the GCC and Qatar cooking oil market include Savola Group, United Foods Company, Asia Africa General Trading L.L.C, Hayel Saeed Anam Group and Co., Omani Vegetables Oils and Derivatives Co. LLC, and Al Ghurair Resources Oils and Proteins.About TMRTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Contact TMR90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.coWebsite:
North America White Box Server Market by Manufacturers,Types,Regions and Applications Research Report Forecast to 2022

North America White Box Server Market

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/2371414-north-america-white-box-server-market-by-manufacturers-countries-type-and

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/2371414-north-america-white-box-server-market-by-manufacturers-countries-type-and

WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On - North America White Box Server Market by Manufacturers,Types,Regions and Applications Research Report Forecast to 2022.A white box server refers to customized servers that are either home built, or built by white box suppliers called ODMs (Original Design Manufacturers) such as Supermicro. The term white box simply means that the equipment is unbranded or generic. All parts are purchased separately which helps cut costs as well as provides hobbyists and data center professionals alike more customization to better fit their needs. The ease of customization allows for individual parts to be replaced, rather than replacing the entire server when equipment fails. White box servers are increasingly being used by the Open Computer Project (OCP) which was developed by Facebook.Get a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comScope of the Report:This report focuses on the White Box Server in North America market, especially in United States, Canada and Mexico. This report categorizes the market based on manufacturers, countries, type and application.Market Segment by Manufacturers, this report coversQuantaWistronInventecHon HaiMiTACCelesticaSuper Micro ComputerCompal ElectronicsPegatronZT SystemsMarket Segment by Countries, coveringUnited StatesCanadaMexicoMarket Segment by Type, coversRack-mount ServerBlade ServerWhole Cabinet ServerMarket Segment by Applications, can be divided intoData CenterEnterprise CustomersAsk Query @There are 15 Chapters to deeply display the North America White Box Server market.Chapter 1, to describe White Box Server Introduction, product type and application, market overview, market analysis by countries, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;Chapter 2, to analyze the manufacturers of White Box Server, with profile, main business, news, sales, price, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with profile, main business, news, sales, price, revenue and market share in 2016 and 2017;Chapter 4, to show the North America market by countries, covering United States, Canada and Mexico, with sales, revenue and market share of White Box Server, for each country, from 2012 to 2017;ContinueTable Of Contents  Major Key Points1 Market Overview1.1 White Box Server Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Rack-mount Server1.2.2 Blade Server1.2.3 Whole Cabinet Server1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Data Center1.3.2 Enterprise Customers1.4 Market Analysis by Countries1.4.1 United States Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.2 Mexico Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Canada Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Market Dynamics1.5.1 Market Opportunities1.5.2 Market Risk1.5.3 Market Driving Force2 Manufacturers Profiles2.1 Quanta2.1.1 Profile2.1.2 White Box Server Type and Applications2.1.2.1 Type 12.1.2.2 Type 22.1.3 Quanta White Box Server Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.1.4 Business Overview2.1.5 Quanta News2.2 Wistron2.2.1 Profile2.2.2 White Box Server Type and Applications2.2.2.1 Type 12.2.2.2 Type 22.2.3 Wistron White Box Server Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.2.4 Business Overview2.2.5 Wistron News2.3 Inventec2.3.1 Profile2.3.2 White Box Server Type and Applications2.3.2.1 Type 12.3.2.2 Type 22.3.3 Inventec White Box Server Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.3.4 Business Overview2.3.5 Inventec News2.4 Hon Hai2.4.1 Profile2.4.2 White Box Server Type and Applications2.4.2.1 Type 12.4.2.2 Type 22.4.3 Hon Hai White Box Server Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.4.4 Business Overview2.4.5 Hon Hai News2.5 MiTAC2.5.1 Profile2.5.2 White Box Server Type and Applications2.5.2.1 Type 12.5.2.2 Type 22.5.3 MiTAC White Box Server Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.5.4 Business Overview2.5.5 MiTAC News2.6 Celestica2.6.1 Profile2.6.2 White Box Server Type and Applications2.6.2.1 Type 12.6.2.2 Type 22.6.3 Celestica White Box Server Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.6.4 Business Overview2.6.5 Celestica News2.7 Super Micro Computer2.7.1 Profile2.7.2 White Box Server Type and Applications2.7.2.1 Type 12.7.2.2 Type 22.7.3 Super Micro Computer White Box Server Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.7.4 Business Overview2.7.5 Super Micro Computer News2.8 Compal Electronics2.8.1 Profile2.8.2 White Box Server Type and Applications2.8.2.1 Type 12.8.2.2 Type 22.8.3 Compal Electronics White Box Server Sales, Price, Revenue, Gross Margin and Market Share (2016-2017)2.8.4 Business Overview2.8.5 Compal Electronics NewsContinue.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.
Fermentation Chemicals Market Global Industry Analysis Forecast - 2025

https://goo.gl/hwL87z

https://www.crystalmarketresearch.com/report/fermentation-chemicals-market

http://www.crystalmarketresearch.com

A research study titled, Fermentation Chemicals Market by Products, Application - Global Industry Analysis and Forecast To 2025 published by Crystal Market Research, states that the fermentation chemicals market is projected to be around $ 77.93 billion by 2025.Request for sample of this research report @:The global fermentation chemicals market was valued around USD 47.28 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach roughly USD 77.93 billion by 2025 while maintaining a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.71% during the forecast period. Fermentation is a process related to metabolism that absorbs sugar in the absence of oxygen. The products are gases, alcohol, or organic acids. It exists in bacteria and yeast, and also in oxygen- craved muscle cells, as in the event of lactic acid fermentation. The fermentation science is referred as zymology. Fermentation chemicals are a vital ingredient in the production of green bio-based products. With strict environmental policies being enforced by regulatory authorities in developed countries such as the United States, the requirement for these products is predicted to increase rapidly over the forecast period. Environmental concerns are likely to propel demand for the fermentation chemicals market as these are environment-friendly and can be used in a variety of industrial applications. There has also been an increase in the demand for fermented alcohols worldwide, which is expected to boost the demand for fermentation chemicals as a staple. For example, the demand for fermentation chemicals has increased progressively due to its application as a staple in the chemical, rubber, plastic, leather and textile industry.The global fermentation chemicals market is expected to witness prominent growth due to a major drop in time, as well as the price of producing products using fermentation chemicals that act as accelerators, which in result boosted their demand. Huge requirement for fermentation chemicals for the production of methanol & ethanol to meet demand from a range of chemical and industrial applications is prone to drive the global fermentation chemicals market. Massive demand for natural acids from fiber & plastic producers will have a key impact on the market growth over the forecast period. These acids are used in animal feed, nutritional food, and food preservation. Rising demand for nutritional and sealed food is projected to further trigger the market demand. Rising enzymes demand from various industrial applications such as paper, personal care, and starch is expected to have considerable positive effects on the global market growth.Browse Market Research Report @:The major participants in the global fermentation chemicals market are; DuPont Danisco A/S, Amano Enzyme, Inc., Evonik Industries, BASF SE, Archer Daniels Midland, Ajinomoto Company Incorporation, Cargill, Inc., and The Dow Chemical Company. On basis of products types, the market is split into; Enzymes, Alcohols and Organic Acids. By application, the global market is classified as; Plastics and Fibers, Industrial Applications, Nutritional and Pharmaceutical, Food and Beverages and Others. Geographically, the global fermentation chemicals industry is segmented in regions which are; Europe (Germany, Spain, Italy, France, UK and Rest of Europe), Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, India, Australia, South Korea and Rest of Asia Pacific), North America (the United States, Mexico and Canada)and Rest of the World (Brazil, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and Others).About Crystal Market ResearchCrystal Market Research is a U.S. based market research and business intelligence company. Crystal offers one stop solution for market research, business intelligence, and consulting services to help clients make more informed decisions. It provides both syndicated as well as customized research studies for its customers spread across the globe. The company offers market intelligence reports across a broad range of industries including healthcare, chemicals & materials, technology, automotive, and energy.Contact:304 South Jones Blvd, Suite 1896,Las Vegas NV 89107,United StatesToll Free: +1-888-213-4282Email: sales@crystalmarketresearch.comWebsite:
Automotive Seating Systems Market Size, Share, Trends, and Opportunity Analysis by Future Market Insights 2016 - 2026

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-1589

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-1589

www.futuremarketinsights.com

The design, price, and features of automotives vary from vehicle to vehicle. The seating systems of premium vehicles are more expensive and have advanced features, such as automatic heating. Various manufacturers are designing and developing automotive seating systems integrated with smart technologies and improved safety features to mitigate risks in case of accidents.The new designs of automotive seating system also increases the fuel efficiency of the vehicles with lightweight designing. Moreover, the safety concerns related to driving and increase in demand for premium vehicles and economy cars in the developing regions such as India and Brazil will provide opportunities for the automotive seating systems market globally. The global automotive seating systems market will register a moderate CAGR over the forecast period.Request For Report Sample@Automotive Seating Systems Market: DriversThe global automotive seating systems market is primarily driven by the growth in the automotive industry with new launch of an array of vehicles in the market and the demand for luxurious and comfortable seating among the consumers. The greenhouse gas emission regulations by the Environmental Protection Agency are also driving the demand for lightweight automotive seating systems having a positive impact on the automotive seating systems market globally. The new trends in the automotive seating systems market are integration of smart technologies; for example, Faurecia, one of the leading players in the automotive seating systems market, developed automatic seat positioning system which can be adjusted using a smartphone.Cost reduction challenge associated with the designing and manufacturing of automotive seating systems can pose challenges to the growth of the automotive seating systems market during the forecast period 2016-2026.Automotive Seating Systems Market SegmentationThe global automotive seating systems market is segmented based on vehicle type, seat type, technology, distribution channel, and region.Based on vehicle type, the automotive seating systems market can be segmented into PC (Passenger Cars), LCV (Light Commercial Vehicles) and HCV (Heavy Commercial Vehicles).On the basis of seat type, the automotive seating systems market is segmented into split Seat, bench seat and split bench seat.Based on technology, the automotive seating systems market is segmented into heated, powered, powered & heated, and standard type.Based on the distribution channel, automotive seating systems market is segmented into OEM and Aftermarket.Based on the geographic regions, the global automotive seating systems market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Japan, and Middle East & Africa. Among the aforementioned regions, APEJ will dominate the automotive seating systems market over the forecast period 2016-2026. China, India, and South Korea will be key to the growth of the automotive seating systems market during the forecast period.Consistently growing automotive sector in the region will contribute to the expansion of the market in the region. North America and Western Europe are the other key markets in the region. Emerging economies in Latin America will continue to offer growth opportunities to manufacturers, as the automotive sector witnesses steady growth in the region.Visit For TOC@Some of the major players identified in the global automotive seating systems market includes, Johnson Controls Inc., Faurecia SA, Marter Automotive Seating Systems, Toyota Boshoku Corporation, Lear Corporation, Magna International Inc, and IFB Automotive among others.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global Polymer Solar Cells Market Strategies, Growth, Size, Analysis, Production, Consumption Research Report 2017

https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1337535

https://www.marketresearchhub.com/report/global-polymer-solar-cells-market-research-report-2017-report.html

https://www.marketresearchhub.com/enquiry.php?type=enquiry&repid=1337535

http://www.marketresearchhub.com/

https://www.industrynewsanalysis.com/

A fresh report has been added to the wide database of Market Research Hub (MRH). The research study is titled Global Polymer Solar Cells Market Research Report 2017, which encloses important data about the production, consumption, revenue and market share, merged with information related to the market scope and product overview. The report anticipates that the sector for power industry sector would rise at a positive CAGR during the period 2017-2022.Request For Free Sample Report:Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Polymer Solar Cells in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGlobal Polymer Solar Cells market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingKonarkaEight19DTU Energy...On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoSingle LayerBilayerOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate of Polymer Solar Cells for each application, includingHome UseCommercial UseBrowse Full Report with TOC:-Table of ContentsGlobal Polymer Solar Cells Market Research Report 20171 Polymer Solar Cells Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Polymer Solar Cells1.2 Polymer Solar Cells Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Polymer Solar Cells Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Polymer Solar Cells Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Single Layer1.2.4 Bilayer1.3 Global Polymer Solar Cells Segment by Application1.3.1 Polymer Solar Cells Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Home Use1.3.3 Commercial Use1.4 Global Polymer Solar Cells Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global Polymer Solar Cells Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Polymer Solar Cells (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global Polymer Solar Cells Revenue Status and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global Polymer Solar Cells Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2012-2022)2 Global Polymer Solar Cells Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Polymer Solar Cells Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Polymer Solar Cells Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Polymer Solar Cells Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Polymer Solar Cells Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Polymer Solar Cells Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Polymer Solar Cells Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Polymer Solar Cells Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.5.1 Polymer Solar Cells Market Concentration Rate2.5.2 Polymer Solar Cells Market Share of Top 3 and Top 5 Manufacturers2.5.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Global Polymer Solar Cells Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Polymer Solar Cells Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Polymer Solar Cells Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Polymer Solar Cells Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Polymer Solar Cells Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Polymer Solar Cells Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Polymer Solar Cells Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Polymer Solar Cells Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.8 Japan Polymer Solar Cells Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.9 Southeast Asia Polymer Solar Cells Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.10 India Polymer Solar Cells Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)4 Global Polymer Solar Cells Supply (Production), Consumption, Export, Import by Region (2012-2017)4.1 Global Polymer Solar Cells Consumption by Region (2012-2017)4.2 North America Polymer Solar Cells Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.3 Europe Polymer Solar Cells Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.4 China Polymer Solar Cells Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.5 Japan Polymer Solar Cells Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.6 Southeast Asia Polymer Solar Cells Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)4.7 India Polymer Solar Cells Production, Consumption, Export, Import (2012-2017)5 Global Polymer Solar Cells Production, Revenue (Value), Price Trend by Type5.1 Global Polymer Solar Cells Production and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.2 Global Polymer Solar Cells Revenue and Market Share by Type (2012-2017)5.3 Global Polymer Solar Cells Price by Type (2012-2017)5.4 Global Polymer Solar Cells Production Growth by Type (2012-2017)6 Global Polymer Solar Cells Market Analysis by Application6.1 Global Polymer Solar Cells Consumption and Market Share by Application (2012-2017)6.2 Global Polymer Solar Cells Consumption Growth Rate by Application (2012-2017)6.3 Market Drivers and Opportunities6.3.1 Potential Applications6.3.2 Emerging Markets/CountriesContinued..Enquire About This Report:About Market Research HubMarket Research Hub (MRH) is a next-generation reseller of power industry reports and analysis. MRHs expansive collection of reports has been carefully curated to help key personnel and decision makers across industry verticals to clearly visualize their operating environment and take strategic steps.MRH functions as an integrated platform for the following products and services: Objective and sound market forecasts, qualitative and quantitative analysis, incisive insight into defining industry trends, and market share estimates. Our reputation lies in delivering value and world-class capabilities to our clients.ontact Us90 State Street,Albany, NY 12207,United StatesToll Free: 800-998-4852 (US-Canada)Email: press@marketresearchhub.comWebsite:Read Industry News at -
Global Dry Shampoo Market to Represent a Value of US$4,110.6 mn by 2022-end

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/31118

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=31118

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=31118

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

The global dry shampoo market is gaining from a number of favorable factors. Firstly, dry shampoo has aroused the interest of the growing working-class population, globally, who are looking for hair products that do not require much time for application suitable for their hectic lifestyle. This population group requires frequent hair washes as they are exposed to dirt and pollution while traveling to and from the workplace. Dry shampoo is best suited in this scenario, as frequent use of regular shampoo leads to loss of strength and sheen of hair. The ease of use as it does not require water to reduce greasing from the scalp and hair is also a significant factor boosting the demand for dry shampoo.Apart from this, the changing consumer preference for natural and organic hair care products is also stoking growth of dry shampoo market. To cater to this, a number of hair care brands have introduced natural and organic variants of dry shampoo, which are attracting a large number of consumers. These variants are not only free of harsh chemicals, which are associated with loss of luster and strength of hair, but also help improve hair health through nourishing the scalp. Further, rising hair fall concerns and the rising prevalence of scalp related diseases are increasingly leading consumes opt for natural and herbal hair care solutions.View and Download TOC of Dry Shampoo Market Research Report@The influence of the fashion industry leading individuals to adopt hair care solutions endorsed by models and hair stylists has also been boosting the growth of the dry shampoo industry. The advent of new formula based hair care products briefly gained the interest of models and hair stylists for increasing hair volume and providing rich hair texture. However, excessive use of chemical-based hair styling solutions and frequent shampooing have been associated with severe scalp issues, with baldness being one of them. This has led models and hair stylists to switch to dry shampoo that substitutes chemical-based products for hair styling needs.According to estimates presented by a report by Transparency Market Research (TMR), the global dry shampoo market will expand at a CAGR of 6.2% between 2017 and 2022 vis-a-vis revenue. Expanding at this pace, the market is likely to become US$4,110.6 mn by 2022-end from its estimated worth of US$3,043.5 mn in 2017.Global Dry Shampoo Market: Key InsightsAmong the key form type segments, spray form is estimated to hold the leading 66.2% of market share in 2017. In absolute numbers, the spray form segment is estimated to be valued at US$2,016.3 mn in 2017. The form spray segment is anticipated to register a CAGR of 6.3% between 2017 and 2022, for the segment to touch a revenue valuation of US$2,738.4 mn by the end of 2022. The form spray type segment is estimated to display the leading year on year absolute growth of US$144.4 mn over the course of the forecast period from 2017 to 2022.Request and Download Sample Report@As per function classification, the segments of the global dry shampoo market include anti-dandruff, color protection, hair loss prevention, and others.From a geographical perspective, the report studies the global dry shampoo market across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific except Japan, Japan, and the Middle East and Africa. Of them, North America is expected to account for the leading revenue contribution of US$1,134.0 mn in 2022. However, Asia Pacific except Japan is expected to register the leading 7% CAGR over the forecast period between 2017 and 2022.Global Dry Shampoo Market: Competitive AnalysisThe global dry shampoo market is competitive with a presence of a considerable number of established players. Key players operating in the global dry shampoo market include The Unilever Group, The Procter and Gamble, Kao Corporation, The Estee Lauder Companies Inc., Shiseido Company Limited, Church & Dwight Co. Inc., Coty Inc., Revlon Inc., Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, and LOreal SA.Buy Full Dry Shampoo Market Report@About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact us:Transparency Market Research90 State Street,Suite 700,AlbanyNY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Horizontal Carousel Market to 5.59% CAGR to 2021  Analysis of Kardex Remstar, SSI SCHAEFER, ULMA Handling Systems, and Bastian Solutions

https://www.marketresearchnest.com/global-horizontal-carousel-market-2017-2021.html

https://www.marketresearchnest.com/purchase.php?reportid=264828

https://www.marketresearchnest.com/enquirybuy.php?reportid=264828

MarketResearchNest.com adds Global Horizontal Carousel Market 2017-2021 new reports to its research database. The report spread across 69 pages with tables and figures in it.The research analysts forecast the global horizontal carousel market to grow at a CAGR of 5.59% during the period 2017-2021.A horizontal carousel is a range of bins that rotate on an oval track. Every bin has shelves which are adjustable to 0.75" and can be configured for a myriad of special and standard applications. An operator directly inputs a bin number, part number or cell location and the carousel rotates through the shortest path. Multiple horizontal carousels integrating a pod of carousels, are set up with the pick-to-light technology and an inventory management software, for better order fulfillment.Get more details about report at:Technavio recognizes the following companies as the key players in the global horizontal carousel market: Kardex Remstar, SSI SCHAEFER, ULMA Handling Systems, and Bastian Solutions.Other Prominent Vendors in the market are: Dexion, SencorpWhite, and Modula Logistics Automation.The latest trend gaining momentum in the market is Introduction of voice recognition in picking process in horizontal carousel. Voice picking supports the requirements of peak seasons and the variable SKU locations in retail warehouses. Light-directed picking, now used in almost all the companys horizontal carousels, includes voice-directed picking combined with scanning and radio frequency (RF) technology.Order a Purchase Report Copy at(This is premium report, Single User License  USD 3500 and Corporate User License  USD 6000)According to the report, one of the major drivers for this market is Increased use of automation. Automation is expanding in the material handling process to save costs and reduce lead time. While Germany was the leader in the process, the rest of Europe and America are coming closer to Central European standards, followed by APAC and South America. The increasing use of storage and retrieval machines without the operator is one of the indicators of increasing automation.Further, the report states that one of the major factors hindering the growth of this market is Volatile steel prices. Steel is one of the heavily used raw materials in the horizontal carousel market. With signs of the global economic recovery, steel prices have started increasing. This volatility in steel prices can result in a drop in the margins of horizontal carousel companies. However, leading suppliers such as Kardex Remstar can pass on steel price fluctuations to their customers as many of them tend to accept fluctuating steel costs by using a special formula when calculating prices.The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors.Inquire before buying this report atMarketResearchNest.com is the most comprehensive collection of market research products and services on the Web. We offer reports from almost all top publishers and update our collection on daily basis to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and recent database of expert insights on global industries, organizations, products, and trends.Mr. Jeet JainSales Managersales@marketresearchnest.com+1-240-284-8070 / +44-20-3290-4151
Lighting Fixtures Market to Grab 59.7% Market Share by 2025

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/lighting-fixtures-market.asp

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/lighting-fixtures-market/toc

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

The global lighting fixtures market is expected to witness high revenue growth during the forecast period. This growth is attributed to increasing smart city project and an increasing adaption of LED lighting across the globe. Lighting Fixtures Market: Global Industry Analysis (2012 to 2016) and Forecast (2017-2025) is the new report published by Persistence Market Research for a projected period of eight years, i.e. 2017-2025. The global lighting fixtures market is anticipated to expand at a robust CAGR over the forecast period and Asia Pacific lighting fixture market is expected to witness relatively high growth rate over the forecast period. Extracting government contract for replacing old infrastructure and continuous updating product portfolio are the key strategies being adopted by the key players in the global lighting fixtures market. By volume the revenue from the global lighting fixtures market is expected to reach at US$ 2491.0 Mn in 2017, while by the end of 2025, the market is likely to touch the figure of US$ 5,710.6 in terms of volume. This market is anticipated to touch the healthy CAGR of 14 % between 2017 and 2025.Obtain Report Details @Persistence Market Research Recommendations Pertaining to the Global Lighting Fixtures MarketIncrease in penetration towards adoption of efficient and energy saving products are encouraging consumer to adapt LED and OLED lighting solution. Due to which key players associated with the global lighting fixtures market are constantly upgrading their product portfolio to meet the needs in the competitive lighting marketEmergence of the Internet of Things is a greater opportunity for major players to develop innovative offering that integrates modern lighting solutions integrated with Internet of ThingsMEA region is organizing a rural electrification program, which could be a great opportunity for players associated with lighting fixtures to tap new business opportunities from the regionGlobal Lighting Fixtures Market: Forecast and Analysis by TypeIn this report, the global lighting fixtures market is segmented on the basis of type, light source, application and regions. Type segment is further segmented into architecture and commercial lighting, decorative and residential lighting, industrial lighting and outdoor lighting. Outdoor lighting segment was valued US$ 6,387.7 Mn in 2016 and is expected to grow tremendously at US$ 20,548.0 by the end of 2025. In terms of value, the architectural and commercial lighting segment is anticipated to increase at a high CAGR during the forecast period.Global Lighting Fixtures Market: Forecast and Analysis by ApplicationApplication segment includes airport lighting, corporate campus lighting, retail outlets lighting, education facilities lighting, government office and building, healthcare facilities lighting, industrial and warehouse lighting, recreation and public venue lighting, residential lighting, restaurant and hotel lighting and street lighting. Street lighting segment is projected to be the most attractive in the global lighting fixtures market during the forecast period. On the other hand the residential lighting segment is expected to register high Y-o-Y growth rates throughout the forecast period. In terms of value, this segment is expected to expand at a CAGR of 16.3% during the assessed period.Global Lighting Fixtures Market: Forecast and Analysis by Light SourceThis segment includes incandescent, fluorescent, LED and OLED segments. Fluorescent segment is expected to dominate the global lighting fixtures market by grabbing the largest i.e. 39.1% share in 2017. However, in 2025 the LED and OLED segment is anticipated to record a significant growth in market share from 37.4% in 2017 to 59.7% in 2025.Global Lighting Fixtures Market: Forecast and Analysis by RegionThe market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, APAC and MEA regions.Revenue from the lighting fixtures market in North America and Europe is expected to collectively account for 50.4% of the global lighting fixtures market revenue in 2017. Markets in the MEA region are expected to witness a moderate growth rate over the forecast period.Request to download and view full ToC @View Report Table of Contents, Figures, and TablesGlobal Lighting Fixtures Market: Key VendorsThese are the prominent players in the global lighting fixtures market profiled in the report  CREE, INC, Hubbell Lighting, Inc., GE Lighting, LLC, OSRAM Licht AG, Royal Philips NV, Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc, ATG Electronics, Panasonic Corporation, L.D. Kichler Co., Eaton Corporation. Following are some of the other players in the global lighting fixtures market  Kenroy Homes, Briloner Leuchten GmbH, Brilliant Lighting Limited, Delta Light, Disano Illuminazione S.p.A, Beghelli SpA, Glamox lighting, IKEA, EGLO Leuchten GmbH, Endo Lighting CorpPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.305 Broadway,7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesTel:+1-646-568-7751Email:sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWebsite:
Healthcare IT Market : Trends and Opportunities for the Industry By 2025

https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1496

https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1496

https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=D&rep_id=1496

Global Healthcare IT Market: SnapshotThe global healthcare IT market is brimming with opportunities as health information technology has revolutionized patient care and healthcare services across the world. Healthcare IT provides secured sharing of patient information for healthcare providers to better manage patient care. Healthcare IT uses electronic health records (EHRs) in place of paper medical records to maintain patient health information.Healthcare IT is an umbrella term that comprises an array of technologies to store, share, and analyze health information. It involves the design, development, implementation, and maintenance of information systems for the healthcare industry. Apart from improved medical care and lower costs, these systems that are automated and interoperable also optimize reimbursement for ambulatory and inpatient healthcare providers.Request Sample Copy of the Report@Owing to its several advantages, more and more healthcare providers are employing health IT for improved patient outcomes. In addition, Health IT enables two-way communication. Patients can use health IT to communicate with their doctor, care giver to share information about health and act as per instructions to improve the quality of life. Health IT enables patient to be a part of the team that is in charge of their health.The electronic health record (EHR) is the principal component of the health IT infrastructure. It allows doctors to track health information easily and enables them to access patient information out of their office. Apart from this, other vital components of the health IT infrastructure are personal health record and health information exchange. The inception of HITECH Act in 2009 has greatly influenced the implementation of EHR.Global Healthcare IT Market: OverviewHealthcare IT solutions are being increasingly acknowledged for their ability to provide better data management, reduce medical errors, and cut down the healthcare costs. The advent of the cloud technology has further facilitated the exchange of data and real-time communication. Owing to their benefits, several governments worldwide are showing green lights to regulatory acts focusing on the adoption of advanced healthcare IT solutions. Thus, the global healthcare IT market is expected to tread along a phenomenal growth track with the rising awareness regarding their benefits.Request TOC of the Report @The common modes of delivery of these solutions are cloud-premises, on-premises, and web-premises. The components used in healthcare IT are software, services, and hardware. There is a massive demand for software solutions such as hospital information systems, ambulatory care management systems, electronic health and medical record systems, and patient management systems from clinics and hospitals to deliver better patient care.The research report is compiled using data from various paid and unpaid sources such as journals, presentations, and white papers. It presents an in-depth analysis of all the important parameters of the global healthcare IT market, including its dynamics, vendor landscape, and region-wise outlook.Global Healthcare IT Market: Drivers and RestraintsGlobally, governments are allocating large funds for the advancement of healthcare infrastructure. They, along with several private organizations, are emphasizing on improving the quality of care and clinical outcomes. This, in turn, is promoting the adoption of healthcare IT solutions worldwide. Moreover, the soaring need for managing regulatory compliance is working in favor of the global healthcare IT market.Get Discount @Despite the cost-effectiveness, the high installation and maintenance costs of these solutions are hampering the growth of the market. Furthermore, the uneven regulatory environment in developed and developing countries is hindering the growth of the market. The dearth of skilled IT professionals in the healthcare sector is also keeping the market from realizing its utmost potential.Global Healthcare IT Market: Geographical SegmentationThe key regions studied in the report are Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, and Rest of the World. The domicile of a large number of IT giants along with the high adoption of smart technologies across healthcare infrastructure is making North America a prominent destination for key players in the global market. Strict legislative and accreditation requirements regarding healthcare coupled with stringent regulatory requirements regarding patient safety are propelling the growth of the region.Asia Pacific is expected to rise at a tremendous CAGR during the review period. The growth of the region can be attributed to the rising consumer spending on healthcare, expanding medical tourism sector, and increasing government initiatives to create eHealth platforms. The growing adoption of healthcare IT solutions and increasing number of private hospitals in rural areas in countries such as India, China, and Taiwan are contributing to the growth of the region. Healthcare setups in the region are vigorously moving towards digitization to streamline workflow systems and ensure patient safety and care.Global Healthcare IT Market: Competitive LandscapeWith the immense growth prospects of the global healthcare IT market, a large number of new players are anticipated to venture into this market. Their participation and the presence of many established players is rendering the market highly competitive. Key players in the market are investing sizeable amounts in research and development of innovative products and services to consolidate their presence in the market. Several players are also focusing towards customization to cater to the specific needs of customers.Some of the prominent global participants in the healthcare IT market are Athenahealth Inc., Epic Systems, GE Healthcare, McKesson Corporation, Philips, Siemens Healthcare, NextGen Healthcare Information System LLC, Allscripts, Cerner Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, Carestream Health Inc., and Medical Information Technology Inc.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Global Glycolic Acid Market to 11.50% CAGR to 2021  Analysis of CrossChem LP, Phibro Animal Health Corporation, SimcoQC, The Chemours Company, and Zhonglan Industry Co

https://www.marketresearchnest.com/global-glycolic-acid-market-2017-2021.html

https://www.marketresearchnest.com/purchase.php?reportid=264823

https://www.marketresearchnest.com/enquirybuy.php?reportid=264823

MarketResearchNest.com adds Global Glycolic Acid Market 2017-2021 new reports to its research database. The report spread across 77 pages with tables and figures in it.The research analysts forecast the global glycolic acid market to grow at a CAGR of 11.50% during the period 2017-2021.Glycolic acid is an alpha-hydroxy acid (AHA), which is colorless, odorless, and highly soluble in alcohol. It is also derived from fruit and milk sugars. It is synthesized from ethylene glycol-oxidizing microorganisms. Glycolic acid contains a keratolytic, germinative layer and produces a fibroblast stimulating action. Its chemical formula is C2H4O3.Glycolic acid can be formed in various ways. The common approach used is the catalyzed reaction of formaldehyde with synthesis gas to produce glycolic acid, and this method is a low-cost process. It is also formed by the reaction of chloroacetic acid with sodium hydroxide, followed by re-acidification. It is also extracted from natural sources, such as sugarcane, sugar beets, pineapple, cantaloupe, and unripe grapes.Get more details about report at:Technavio recognizes the following companies as the key players in the global glycolic acid market: CrossChem LP, Phibro Animal Health Corporation, SimcoQC, The Chemours Company, and Zhonglan Industry CoOther Prominent Vendors in the market are: Ava Chemicals, Avid Organics, CABB, Euromi, Griffin International, Hefei TNJ Chemical Industry, Jlight Chemicals Company, Kureha Corporation, Mehul Dye Chem Industries, Simco Chemicals, and Vornia Biomaterials.The latest trend gaining momentum in the market is Development of new applications to manufacture shampoo for companion animals. 0Major vendors have increased their research and development activities to explore new applications. One such application is the formulation of shampoo for companion animals. Glycolic acid is used in the formulation of shampoo for companion animals, such as dogs, cats, and horses. It offers moisture and restores dry and damaged skin cells, supports natural skin barrier, helps in reducing scales and crusts, and relieves itching and irritation of the skin.Order a Purchase Report Copy at(This is premium report, Single User License  USD 3500 and Corporate User License  USD 6000)According to the report, one of the major drivers for this market is Growing demand from cosmetics industry. Glycolic acid is largely used in personal care and cosmetics. It is used as an ingredient in major products such as skin care, nail care, hair care, and mens care products. Increase in demand from these applications is generating huge demand for glycolic acid in the personal care segment.Further, the report states that one of the major factors hindering the growth of this market is Availability of inexpensive alternative products. Glycolic acid is largely used in cosmetic products. The high cost of glycolic acid has made end-users look for alternatives. Many alternatives such as Jessner's trichloracetic acid (TCA), phenol, and salicylic acid are available in the market. They are cost-effective, offer similar benefits as glycolic acid, and are more effective than glycolic acid. Among these alternatives, salicylic acid is preferred the most. In addition, lactic acid is some time is preferred over glycolic acid.The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors.Inquire before buying this report atMarketResearchNest.com is the most comprehensive collection of market research products and services on the Web. We offer reports from almost all top publishers and update our collection on daily basis to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and recent database of expert insights on global industries, organizations, products, and trends.Mr. Jeet JainSales Managersales@marketresearchnest.com+1-240-284-8070 / +44-20-3290-4151
The Panthers honored lifelong West Salem native Nick Miller, 37, as the 2017 homecoming parade marshal.

It was a really neat honor, he said after the parade.

Miller, a West Salem High School graduate and the owner of Le Coulee Cheese Castle in downtown West Salem, said it was an honor to be recognized by the community he knows and loves.

During his 15-year ownership of the Le Coulee Cheese Castle, hes gotten to know many in the community.

Its important to know your customers, he said.

Millers most loyal customers remain the kids.

Minutes after the final school bell tolls, Millers Shop is flooded with kids looking for an afternoon snack.

Ice cream and candy are a big pull for the kids, he said describing the line of students who snake through the shop.

As for the adults, he said cheese and gift boxes remain the most popular products.

After graduating high school in 1997, Miller, unlike many of his classmates, wanted to stay local. He liked the community where his family had settled.

He said there was something about the small town feel that connected with him.

Miller attended the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse where he received a degree in business management. At the time he wasnt sure what he was going to do with it, but it seemed like a good catch-all.

In 2003, Miller purchased Le Coulee Cheese Castle from the original owners Duane and Mary Lou Pfaff.

When he had learned the Pfaffs were retiring, he couldnt bear to let the shop close. He was fresh out of college and looking for new opportunities.

I had always thought it was a neat business, he said. I hated to see it close.

As a business owner, Miller quickly established himself in the community.

I liked working with people, he said. Even as the only employee, I get to interact with a lot of people.

Fifteen years later, Miller said keeping customers coming in the door remains his greatest challenge.

Keeping up with changing customer habits, you have to keep coming up with ways of getting people in the door, he said.

Miller said keeping his wares fresh and interesting seems to help.

People always want something different, he said.

This extends to the wide selection of cheeses Miller sells.

The weirder, the better, he said pointing to a brick of beer cheese and blueberry white cheddar.

Miller said he still stocks the classicscheddar, Colby and Swissbut has found customers are often looking for something more unique.

Its because of the community that I am still here after 15 years, he said.

Miller is also active in the Presbyterian Church in West Salem where he teaches Sunday school and serves on the church council.

He also participates in local causes such as the West Salem Historical Society and the annual West Salem Street Dance.
Energy Recovery Ventilators Market : Future Forecast Assessed on the basis of how the Market is Predicted to Grow

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/energy-recovery-ventilators-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/17549

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=17549

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Characterized by the intense competition between United Technologies Corp., Fujitsu Ltd., LG Electronics., Munters Corp., and Daikin industries Ltd., the global energy recovery ventilators market exhibits a highly fragmented competitive landscape, finds a report by Transparency Market Research (TMR).Going forward, the competition within this market is likely to intensify further due to the rising number of companies venturing into it. Apart from this, the expansion of the product portfolio of established enterprises, in order to cater to the augmenting demand for technically advanced products is also projected to deepen their rivalry over the forthcoming years.Get Full Report Description @According to the research report, the worldwide market for energy recovery ventilators was valued at US$1.8 bn in 2015. Expanding at a phenomenal CAGR of 11.50% between 2016 and 2024, the opportunity in this market is likely to reach a value of US$4.8 bn by the end of the forecast period. In terms of volume, the market is projected to cross 15.9 mn units mark by 2024. The industrial sector has emerged as the leading application area of energy recovery ventilators and is projected to remain so throughout the forecast period.Download Table of Content @In this research report, the global energy recovery ventilators market has also been examined on the basis of its regional distribution. Europe, Asia Pacific, North America, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa have been considered as the main regional markets for energy recovery ventilators in this study. Among these, North America has acquired the leading position, thanks to the presence of leading energy recovery ventilators manufacturers in a large number and the high adoption rate of these ventilators in this region.Although the North America market for energy recovery ventilators will continue to report steady growth, its maturing nature may limit its rise to a considerable extent, which is likely to lead the Europe market for energy recovery ventilators to the top position with a share of 30.2% by the end of the forecast period. Asia Pacific, on the other hand, is also anticipated to witness a significant rise in its market for energy recovery ventilators in the near future, thanks to the increasing awareness pertaining to health among consumers in this region, states the research report.Request a Sample of This Report @With the growing concerns of consumers pertaining to their health and well-being, the demand for energy recovery ventilators will witness a tremendous surge in the near future, expects the author of this study. The alarming rise in the air pollution has turned the interest of consumers towards the quality of the air they breathe, which consequently is leading to an increased demand for energy recovery ventilators. Researchers expect this scenario to remain same over the next few years, reflecting greatly on the sales of these ventilators.On the flip side, the high cost of energy recovery ventilators and the lack of awareness about the benefits offered by these ventilators among consumers may hamper the growth of this market to some extent in the years to come, notes the study.The study presented here is based on a report by Transparency Market Research (TMR) titled Energy Recovery Ventilators Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2016 - 2024.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Mobile Money Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/1505

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/mobile-money-market.html

Multiple Conducive Factors Create Opportunity-laden Environment for Mobile Money MarketThe global mobile money market is on the cusp of a transformative change with growth increasingly swinging toward emerging economies, says TMR in a new report. The global mobile money market will derive growth from factors such as companies investing in context-based marketing and real-time marketing to leverage mobile money. With smartphone and personal device sales spiraling in emerging countries with an increasingly affluent consumer base, the need for more inclusive banking is also simultaneously being felt. This presents a multi-billion dollar opportunity for companies such as Bango.net Limited, Fortumo OU, Paypal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.), Judo Payments, and others. Mobile commerce, mobile banking, mobile wallets, and mobile payments all come under the purview of the mobile money market.Request to download and view full ToC@The coming together of various conducive factors will create an opportunity-laden environment for providers of mobile money services. Currently, service providers are focusing on cost effective alternatives to reach out to a larger consumer base. However, consumers continue to remain wary about security and privacy; the situation is compounded by regulatory complexity hampering the long-term growth of the mobile money market.The current generation of disparate platforms is also hindering the adoption of the mobile money solution amongst consumers as they are required to manage multiple wallets for different transactions/services. However, there is little doubt that with the unprecedented penetration of mobile devices, these will increasingly serve as vehicles for financial transactions.SMS Payments to Remain Most Popular Means of Conducting a Mobile Money TransactionIn the global mobile money market, by mode of payment, the SMS payment segment holds the largest share. This is attributable to the convenience and efficiency that SMS-based payment operations lend. The greatest advantage, however, is that SMS-based mobile money is compatible with different connected devices such as tablets and smartphones.In countries across MEA, APAC, and Europe, transactional payments by SMS are already popular and there are no signs of their popularity fading through the forecasting horizon. However, the market is also marked by a growing adoption of other payment methods such as mobile billing, payment clients, and WAP-based payments. The future could see NFC and UUSD/STK modes emerge in a big way to challenge the leading position of SMS payments.Moreover, by type of purchase transaction, in 2014, the money transfers and payments segment was the largest in the global mobile money market. Growth is projected to be the strongest in the airtime transfers and top-ups segment through 2024. In 2015, sectors such as BFSI, energy and hospitality collectively accounted for more than one-third of the revenue generated in the mobile money market.Europe to Claim Highest Share in Mobile Money Market until 2024Geographically, the mobile money market saw the highest revenue coming in from Europe in 2015. While North America trailed Europe in terms of revenue contribution, the region is expected to post better growth as compared to Europe through the forecast period.Collectively, the two regions are estimated to contribute more than fifty percent of the revenue to the global mobile money market. The MEA region is anticipated to be the fastest-growing segment during the forecast period due to rising Internet and tablet penetration and technological advancements in the telecommunication sector. Real-time buying is gaining momentum in MEA, which enables companies to develop targeted products and services on the basis of mobile usage patterns. This is expected to create immense opportunities for the mobile money market in the region.Browse Report@Among the top service providers in the global mobile money market are: Bango.net Limited, Boku, Inc., Dwolla, Inc., Fortumo OU, Judo Payments, Paypal, Inc. (PayPal Holdings, Inc.), Square, Inc., Stripe, and WePay, Inc.About Us:-Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a next-generation provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact Us:-State Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com
Flour Market To Make Great Impact In Near Future by 2020

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=2069

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/flour-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Global Flour Market: SnapshotFlour consumption is witnessing a steady growth across the globe owing to the rising demand for bakery and fast food products among different classes of consumers. The increasing number of cafes and fast food restaurants worldwide is driving the flour market. Moreover, the development of flour milling industry in the developing regions such as Asia Pacific and the Middle East and Africa is working in favor of the growth of the market. The growing population and decreasing flour prices along with the establishment of new flour mills are supporting the demand for flour in these regions, which in turn is fuelling the overall market.Download exclusive Sample of this report:However, the market is adversely affected by the rising awareness regarding the health hazards of gluten. Due to high gluten content in wheat flour, consumers are shifting to its substitutes. The opportunity in the global flour market was pegged at US$198.57 bn in 2015 and is poised to reach US$254.82 bn by 2020, rising at a CAGR of 4.3% from 2014 to 2020.Growing Uptake of Bread-based Fast Foods to Fuel Growth of Bread and Bakery Products SegmentBased on application, the bread and bakery products segment will continue to dominate until 2020, accounting for 37.77% of the overall market revenue. The increasing consumption of bread-based fast foods in emerging countries is augmenting the growth of the segment. The rising health awareness among people in different countries is leading to the increased demand for gluten-free brown bread flours, thereby contributing to the growth of the segment. On the other hand, the non-food application segment is anticipated to expand at a CAGR higher than any other segment during the forecast period.Browse Full Report at:On the basis of technology, dry milling will continue to command the leading share, representing 92.90% of the overall market revenue. Wide applications of dry technology among flour millers is driven by multiple factors, including less complex milling process, low-cost advantage, and compatibility with wheat flour milling process. The growing acceptance of non-gelatinized flour is also driving the adoption of dry technology among flour millers globally. The wet drilling technology will expand at a CAGR of 6.4% during the same period.Europe to Lead Revenue Generation through 2020 Owing to Evolution of Value-added Processed Bakery IndustryWhile Europe will be the dominant regional market in terms of revenue throughout the forecast period, Asia Pacific will continue to be the leading volume contributor. In countries such as the U.K. and Germany, increase in domestic production of wheat for making bread has triggered the growth of the flour market in Europe. Evolution of the value-added processed bakery industry in the Netherlands, Italy, Germany and France among others is estimated to drive future growth of the region.In Asia Pacific, the flour consumption is driven by the growing population, increasing consumer expenditure on staple food, rising disposable income, and the growing demand for fast food. Moreover, the increasing consumption of flour based noodles, breads, and other products is providing significant boost to the growth of the region. The Rest of the World market for flour is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 5.2% during the same period. The development of the retail bakery market in the Middle East is assisting the growth of the market. Moreover, the increasing wheat planting in Chile and other Latin American countries is leading to the rise in domestic wheat flour production output in this region.Some of the leading players in the market are Archer Daniels Midland Company, Ardent Mills Canada, Associated British Foods plc, ConAgra Foods Inc., Hindustan Unilever Limited, General Mills Inc, Hodgson Mill., ITC Limited., White Wings, King Arthur Flour Company Inc., and Wilmar International Limited.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Healthcare Cloud Computing Market : Shares, Strategies, and Forecasts 2017 - 2025

https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=B&rep_id=1472

https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=T&rep_id=1472

https://www.tmrresearch.com/sample/sample?flag=D&rep_id=1472

North America Healthcare Cloud Computing Market: SnapshotCloud computing is increasingly being adopted in healthcare owing to the increasing demand for improved healthcare at reduced costs. In order to attain these goals, healthcare providers are implementing Clinical Information System such as Electronic Health Record (EMR), Radiology Information System (RIS), and Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) among others.Cloud computing helps store, process, and manage data from different locations, and delivers information over the Internet. The four forms in which cloud computing as a technology is used in the healthcare industry are computation, storage, memory, and networking.One of the key factors driving the North America healthcare cloud computing market include legislative reform of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). In addition, advanced features of cloud-based healthcare services and federal mandates for insuring every citizen in the U.S. are some other key growth drivers. In addition, cloud computing offers other benefits such as cost reduction, improved accessibility and mobility, positive returns on investment, improvements in storage technology, and greater flexibility and scalability of data.Request Sample Copy of the Report@The improved healthcare infrastructure, predominantly in the U.S. and Canada account for the high growth of North America healthcare cloud computing market. In 2012, America Hospital Association (AHA) conducted a survey for the total number of registered hospitals in the U.S. Registered hospitals that fulfilled the criteria of AHA were 5,723 in number in 2012. Thus, the improved healthcare system in the U.S. has been instrumental in significant rise in demand for cloud computing services for high quality patient care and healthcare services.North America Healthcare Cloud Computing Market: OverviewCloud computing is an internet-based computing model that provides and sources information technology services, such as servers, applications, and storage, on a pay-per-use basis. Cloud services are renowned for their flexible nature - they can be easily configured, scaled, and adapted - and require lower capitals investment and ongoing maintenance and operating expenses as compared to traditional IT models.Cloud computing boasts of an infrastructure capable of enabling all crucial verticals of the healthcare industry to incorporate computing resources in everyday operations and processes at lower costs and at a high level of agility. In the past few years, these has been a huge surge of interest among healthcare companies in North America about the potential of cloud computing in improving operational efficiency of a variety of healthcare processes. It is estimated that the North America market for healthcare cloud computing will exhibit growth at a significant pace in the next few years and in a matter of few years, all healthcare systems in the regions will come under the umbrella of pure or hybrid healthcare cloud computing models.Request TOC of the Report @This report on the North America healthcare cloud computing market presents a detailed overview of the present growth dynamics of the market and includes vast forward-looking statements predicting the future growth prospects of the market and its segments over the period between 2016 and 2024.North America Healthcare Cloud Computing Market: Key Driving ForcesThe key factors expected to drive the North America healthcare cloud computing market include the flexibility and cost-competitiveness offered by the cloud technology and the significant improvements in security and reliability of cloud services. Healthcare reforms across key countries in the region are making it mandatory for the healthcare industry to be digitally modernized; adoption of electronic medical records, smart medical devices, and proliferation of mobile devices has become an integral aspect of the modern-day healthcare industry in the region.The industry is rapidly adopting an information-centric patient-care and data sharing models, facilitated in part by collaborative workflows and open standards that support cooperation. Healthcare cloud computing is increasingly gaining prominence as a technology that is at the core of this transformation.Get Discount @North America Healthcare Cloud Computing Market: Regional and Competitive AnalysisFrom a geographic perspective, the report examines the North America healthcare cloud computing market across the U.S. and Canada. Of these, the U.S. market accounted for a lions share in the revenue of the North America healthcare cloud computing market and is expected to remain the leading contributor to the market over the forecast period as well. The market is expected to benefit from the increasing adoption of healthcare cloud computing solutions across the insurance sector.Over 150,000 physicians and healthcare practitioners across all the 50 states of the U.S. have already adopted cloud based electronic health record services and the consumer-base of cloud-based healthcare services continues to rise at a remarkable pace in other countries in the region as well. Owing to the increased demand, several small-, medium-, and large-scale companies are foraying into the healthcare cloud computing arena in the region and the market is becoming intensely competitive.To strengthen their foothold in the market, companies are relying upon strategic collaborations, mergers, acquisitions, partnerships, and introduction of innovative service offerings. Large international IT firms such as Microsoft, Philips, Qualcomm Life, ORACLE Corporation, IBM, and AT&T are launching increasingly sophisticated healthcare cloud solutions. Other leading vendors in the market include GNAX Health, ClearData Networks, Inc., VMware, Inc., and CareCloud Corporation.About TMR ResearchTMR Research is a premier provider of customized market research and consulting services to business entities keen on succeeding in todays supercharged economic climate. Armed with an experienced, dedicated, and dynamic team of analysts, we are redefining the way our clients conduct business by providing them with authoritative and trusted research studies in tune with the latest methodologies and market trends.Our savvy custom-built reports span a gamut of industries such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals and metals, food and beverages, and technology and media, among others. With actionable insights uncovered through in-depth research of the market, we try to bring about game-changing success for our clients.Contact:Rohit BhiseyHead - Internet MarketingTel: +1-415-520-1050Email: sales@tmrresearch.com
Behenyl Alcohol Market to Reflect a Significant CAGR of 4.5% During 2015 - 2021

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/behenyl-alcohol-market.asp

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/6976

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/behenyl-alcohol-market/toc

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/checkout/6976

http://www.persistencemarketresearch.com

According to the latest market report published by Persistence Market Research titled  Global Market Study on Behenyl Alcohol: Asia Pacific to Witness Highest Growth by 2021, the global behenyl alcohol market to expand at a CAGR of 4.5% during the forecast period, 2015 - 2021.Behenyl alcohol (CAS: 661-19-8), often referred to as docosanol, is a saturated fatty alcohol used to thicken and stabilise formulations. It is categorised on the basis of purity level. Behenyl alcohol with the purity level of 70% is most commonly used. However, behenyl alcohol with purity over 80% is very rarely used. Behenyl alcohol accounted for a mere 1.4% share of the overall fatty alcohols market, and for 14% share of the overall C16+ fatty alcohols market in 2014.Browse Complete Report @Global behenyl alcohol market is projected to account for 54,200.9 metric tons by the end of 2021. In terms of value, the global behenyl alcohol market accounted for US$ 119.4 Mn in 2014. It is projected to witness the increase in volume due to rising demand from end-use segments.The report analyses the global behenyl alcohol market in terms of market value (US$ Mn) and market volume (metric tons), by end-use segment, region and application; and provides information regarding market dynamics, value chain, competitive landscape, current trends, market estimations and forecast.Globally, Asia-Pacific is expected to dominate the market throughout the forecast period and is projected to witness a 1.4X increase in its volume production by the end of 2021. While Japan and India are two major exporters of behenyl alcohol chemicals globally, South Korea is one of the key importers of behenyl alcohol in Asia Pacific. In Asia Pacific, India is the largest producer of rapeseed and behenyl alcohol. A large number of companies based in the country export rapeseed to North America, Europe and other parts of Asia. Sun care products are widely used in Asia Pacific. It accounted for nearly US$ 2.2 Bn in 2014. The increase in demand for sun care products, in turn, is expected to boost overall demand for behenyl alcohol globally. Though the market is gaining traction in Asia-Pacific, low presence of Chinese players in the behenyl alcohol market has significantly reduced price competitiveness among the companies based in Japan, India and Europe. As a result, manufacturers are expected to generate high-profit margins in the Asia Pacific region. Europe is the next lucrative destination for behenyl alcohol manufacturers.Request and Download Sample Report @Among the end-use segments, behenyl alcohol finds the largest application in the cosmetics industry, followed by pharmaceuticals and others. The pharmaceuticals end-use segment is expected to gain traction in the near future due to increasing demand for behenyl alcohol in ointments. Increasing demand for high-quality cosmetic products is influencing manufacturers to opt for high-quality ingredients such as behenyl alcohol, which has a relatively non-sticky property as compared to other ingredients.Globally, per capita consumption of cosmetics is increasing at a rate of 3.4% per year. Per capita consumption of cosmetics is expected to grow exponentially in the near future due to a significant rise in geriatric population, especially in Japan and China.View and Download TOC of Behenyl Alcohol Market Research Report @By application type, the behenyl alcohol market is segmented into emollients, emulsifiers, thickeners and others. The emollients segment is expected to dominate the overall behenyl alcohol market by the end of the forecast period, i.e. by 2021. The segment is projected to register an above average growth rate over the forecast period. Global consumption of emollients stood at 130,000 metric tons in 2014. Consumption of behenyl alcohol as an ingredient in emollients accounted for a significant proportion of the total emollients consumed globally.Key market participants covered in the report include BASF SE, Kao Corporation, VVF Chemicals Limited, Godrej Industries Ltd., Sasol Ltd. and Nikko Chemicals Co., Ltd.Buy Full Behenyl Alcohol Market Research Report @About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.Contact UsPersistence Market Research305 Broadway7th Floor, New York City,NY 10007, United States,USA,Canada Toll Free: 800-961-0353Email: sales@persistencemarketresearch.comWeb:
Global Broadcasting Transmitter Market 2017-2022 : Industry Development Trends and Strategic Plan for Positive Growth discuss in research report

Broadcasting Transmitter Market

http://bit.ly/2xkYl1n

http://bit.ly/2y0OGKM

http://www.mrsresearchgroup.com/market-analysis/global-broadcasting-transmitter-industry-market-2017-production-sales.html

Global Broadcasting Transmitter Industry, Market 2017 Survival Strategies explore Economic Impact in Global Industries Manufactures, Growth, Size, Share, Trends, Development Challenges and Opportunities till 2022A Research study on " Global Broadcasting Transmitter Industry, Market 2017-2022 " represent the market share and size of Broadcasting Transmitter Industry, in international Industry. MRS Research Group added latest market research report by PROF Research. Research Report provides an essential information and statistically evaluated data about the Broadcasting Transmitter Industry,. The research report provides a detailed study of the Broadcasting Transmitter Industry, market, enlightening the major areas such as future market scenario, market growth factors, market growth restraints, and others. The advanced technological trends and various new opportunities are also provided in this research report.Detail Information of Research Report Available @Important Topics Cover in Research Report :A. Proposals for New Project :1. Market Entry Strategies2. Countermeasures of Economic Impact3. Marketing Channels4. Feasibility Studies of New Project Investment, Etc...B. Analysis of Industry Chain :1. Industry Chain Structure2. Upstream Raw Materials3. Downstream Industry, Etc...Report Covers by Some Importatnt Regions/Countries as Following :United States, EU, Japan, China, India, Southeast AsiaThe research report provides the Broadcasting Transmitter Industry, markets classification in detail. The Broadcasting Transmitter Industry, market is bifurcated into a number of segments on the basis of materials,types,applications,and end-users. The geographical analysis of the global Broadcasting Transmitter Industry, market is also coveredin the report. The vital information mentioned in the research report helps in significantly predicting the future scope of the global market.Get Free Sample Copy Of Report @The various segmentation of the global market is based on the overall product profit, costing, global market growth, and manufacturing processes. The report covers a region-wise analysis which provides the customer with different market studies that give a detailed analysis of the product and its impact on the global market. The Broadcasting Transmitter Industry, report also highlights the growth statistics depending on the supply and demand in the different regions.Features of our report:1. The market analysis of the global market share, position, and size from the different regions are done.2. The admired players in the market and their share in the global market are discussed.3. Suggestions and the strategic plans that will help the new market players to maintain the competitive edge are also included.4. Several other major points that are included in the Broadcasting Transmitter Industry, Market report are growth factors, limiting factors, challenges that are faced, new upcoming opportunities, the technological advancements, and much more.5. On the basis of the estimations of the global market, the recommendations and the o-bservations are included in the business segments.6. The current trends that are being followed in the market are included along with examples.7. How the technological advancements and the research and development activities are impacting the market are further explained in detail.Read Complete Report with TOC @The Broadcasting Transmitter Industry, report covers the precisely studied and evaluated data of the global market players and their scope in the market using a number of analytical tools. The analytical tools such as investment return analysis, SWOT analysis and feasibility study are used to analyze the key global market players growth in the Broadcasting Transmitter Industry, industry.About Us: MRS Research Group provides a range of marketing and business research solutions designed for our clients specific needs based on our expert resources. The business scopes of Prof Research cover more than 30 industries including energy, new materials, transportation, daily consumer goods, chemicals, etc. We provide our clients with one-stop solution for all the research requirements.Joel John3422 SW 15 Street,Suit #8138Deerfield Beach,Florida 33442United StatesToll Free : +1-855-465-4651 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-386-310-3803Email: sales@mrsresearchgroup.com
Hybrid Vehicles Marketwill Exhibit a Steady 20.4% of CAGR During 2016-2026

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/global-hybrid-vehicles-market/toc

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-43

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/43

www.futuremarketinsights.com

A gradual decline reported in oil & gasoline prices across the globe wont suffice to drag down the global sales of electric and hybrid vehicles.A recent research report published by Future Market Insights projects that the global revenues emanating from sales of hybrid vehicles will be soaring at an exponential CAGR of 20.4% between 2016 and 2026. The global hybrid vehicles market, which is presently valued at almost US$ 60 billion, will bring in over US$ 430 billion in revenues by the end of 2026. Future Market Insights also anticipates that worlds leading hybrid vehicle manufacturers will keep focusing towards development of passenger cars and increasing their production capacity to meet the surging demand for compact hybrid SUVs.Passenger cars are expected to be the top-selling vehicle segment in the global hybrid vehicle market. By the end of 2026, more than US$ 350 billion revenues are likely to be amassed by global sales of hybrid passenger cars. The report also reveals the impact of electric propulsion motors alignment to internal combustion engine in driving the sales of hybrid vehicles in the world. According to the report, power train configurations of hybrid vehicles will remain to be a crucial deciding factor for customers. During the forecast period, at least six out of every ten hybrid vehicles being sold in the world will be equipped with a power-split hybrid configuration. Contrarily, the demand for parallel hybrid and series hybrid configurations will drop, and will collectively be worth just over 20% of global revenues by the end of 2026.View and Download TOC of Hybrid Vehicles Market Research Report@Gasoline Hybrid vs. Diesel HybridApropos the type of engines installed in these hybrid vehicles, people are undoubtedly inclined towards buying a gasoline-hybrid vehicle. Performance and fuel efficiency of gasoline hybrid engines has been evaluated to be higher compared to diesel hybrid engines. Moreover, diesel engines tend to be heavier than gasoline engines, thereby lowering the fuel efficiency and adding the unwanted torque to hybrid vehicles. In 2016, approximately 318,000 units of diesel hybrid engines were sold in the world. But, the consumption of gasoline-hybrid will keep imposing an unmatched imprint on global sales of diesel hybrid vehicles. Through 2026, close to US$ 400 billion worth of gasoline-hybrid engines have been anticipated to be sold in the global hybrid vehicle market.Key research findings in the report, titled Hybrid Vehicles Market: Global Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment, 2016-2026, include:Lack of charging stations is observed to be the greatest challenge for adoption of hybrid vehiclesAround 20% of global hybrid vehicle revenues throughout the projected period will be accounted by global sales plug-in hybrid vehicles.Japan will register the highest revenue growth for hybrid vehicles, procuring more than US$ 270 billion by 2026-endAfter Japan, North America and Western Europe will collectively account for more than 30% value share in the global hybrid vehicle marketSilent operability of hybrid vehicles also promotes its consumption among regions riddled with rising noise pollution levelsRequest and Download Sample Report@Toyotas Prius  Best-Selling Hybrid Car of All TimeLeading automaker, Toyota Motor Corporation, continues to be one of the largest players in the global hybrid vehicle market. Its flagship hybrid model  Prius  has recorded sales of more than 200,000 units in 2015. Giving it a run for its money is Nissans Leaf, and Clarity and Fit EV by Honda. While Nissan Motor Corporation continues to consolidate its position in North America, Honda Motor Co. Ltd. is proliferating across the Japanese hybrid vehicle market. Other companies partaking in the growth of global hybrid vehicle market include, Bayerische Motoren Werke, AG, Daimler AG, Groupe Renault, General Motors Company and Ford Motor Company.Buy Full Hybrid Vehicles Market Report@About Us  Future Market Insights is the premier provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. FMI is headquartered in London, the global financial capital, and has delivery centers in the U.S. and India.CONTACT:616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Nanosatellite and Microsatellite Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2016 - 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/1505

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/nanosatellite-microsatellite-market.html

Nanosatellite and Microsatellite Market: SnapshotThe increasingly competitive nanosatellite and microsatellite market has been witnessing heavy investments in research and development from private as well as government organizations. The entry of several new players has also been observed in the recent past, which is indicative of the rising potential this market possesses. The projected launch of nanosatellites and microsatellites in the coming years is also expected to add to this potential.The demand for nanosatellites and microsatellites stems from various industry sectors, including military and defense, education and scientific research, commercial, and navigation and mapping. Given the capital intensive nature of large satellites, nanosatellites and microsatellites are the perfect alternative and serve a number of needs in the aforementioned sectors. This growing demand is projected to spur the market to expand at a strong 12.1% CAGR from 2016 to 2024, with the opportunity expected to be worth US$2.2 bn by the end of the forecast period.Request to download and view full ToC@Demand Rising for Nanosatellites and Microsatellites for Communication ServicesNanosatellites and microsatellites find application in scientific research, communication, navigation and mapping, power, reconnaissance, and others including Earth observation, biological experiments, and remote sensing. In 2015, communications held the dominant share in the market. Defense organizations have been launching communication nanosatellites and microsatellites to provide communication signals to soldiers stationed in remote locations or in dense forests. A number of companies in the telecom sector are also taking various initiatives to launch constellations of nanosatellites and microsatellites to offer their users faster internet services and additional bandwidth. Applications such as remote sensing and Earth observation are likely to gain momentum in the coming years.North America Nanosatellite and Microsatellite Market Benefits from Increased Government FundingThe global market for nanosatellites and microsatellites has been geographically segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Middle East and Africa. In 2015, North America accounted for the largest share in the nanosatellite and microsatellite market, with the U.S. emerging as the leading contributor. This can be attributed to advanced technologies facilitating space research in the country and the presence of established space research agencies and universities. In addition, commercial investments and government funding toward space activities have boosted the development of nanosatellites and microsatellites in the region. The nanosatellite and microsatellite market in Canada is anticipated to expand at a fast pace in the coming years thanks to efforts from the Canada Space Agency.Browse Report@Asia Pacific is one of the most lucrative markets for nanosatellites and microsatellites. Technologically advanced countries such as China and Japan have significantly contributed to the development of nanosatellites and microsatellites in the recent past. Moreover, the shifting focus toward R&D and the continuous development of network infrastructure in Philippines, India, Australia, and Indonesia are likely to give the APAC market a major boost in the coming years. The urgent need for more effective national security measures has also played a key role in influencing the development and launch of nanosatellites and microsatellites.Latin America as well as the MEA region both present lucrative opportunities for players to capitalize on.About Us:-Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a next-generation provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services. TMRs global and regional market intelligence coverage includes industries such as pharmaceutical, chemicals and materials, technology and media, food and beverages, and consumer goods, among others. Each TMR research report provides clients with a 360-degree view of the market with statistical forecasts, competitive landscape, detailed segmentation, key trends, and strategic recommendations.Contact Us:-State Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com
Free Space Optics Market -Rising Demand for High-speed Communication Channels to Boost Adoption of Market

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=3263

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/3263

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

The global free space optics (FSO) market features a highly dynamic landscape wherein numerous technological advancements are taking place at a rapid pace and companies are compelled to focus more on development of innovative and more reliable FSO systems and solutions, observes a report by Transparency Market Research. Key companies in the market, including Trimble Hungary Ltd., Optelix,Mostcom Ltd., AOptix Technologies Inc., LightPointe Communications, Inc., and Harris Corporation are also under constant pressure of competition from existing players in fiber optics and wireless communication technologies.The market holds immense growth potential owing to the vast rise in demand for high-speed, low-cost, and secure communication methodologies across the globe. Transparency Market Research estimates that the market will exhibit a remarkable 39.5% CAGR over the period between 2016 and 2024. Expanding at this pace, the market is expected to rise from an opportunity of US$81.3 mn in 2015 to US$1,306.1 mn by 2024. Of the key application areas of the FSO market, the segment of data transmission presently holds the leading position. North America is the leading regional market, accounting for a share of over 30% in the global market in 2015.Request Sample:Rising Demand for High-speed Communication Channels to Boost Adoption of FSOThe ever increasing demand for data streaming and multimedia services across communication networks and the unprecedented growth and demand for higher bandwidths for high-speed internet has resulted in the congestion of conventional radio frequency spectrum despite rapid advancements in the networking sector. This is a key factor compelling an increasing number of network providers to switch to FSO technology as an alternative to overburdened conventional technologies for outdoor networking. Other advantages of FSO technology, including low operational and start-up costs, rapid deployment, high data transmission security, and high fiber-like bandwidth have also enticed network operators to increase the adoption of FSO technology.The market for FSO technology is also driven by the rising usage of this mode of communication across a number of military applications. Some of the most promising areas in the military sector where deployment of FSO technology can prove to be highly effective are ship-to-ship communication, ship-to-shore communication, and communication between military bases where bases are located within the range of 2-4 kilometers. Owing to the usage of modulated light in FSO, it is capable of supporting larger bandwidths than radio frequency spectrum. The collimated laser energy of FSO offers properties such as low probability of detection and interception, which are highly desirable for applications demanding high security. These factors are collectively expected to have a significant impact on the overall development of the market in futureyears.Download TOC:Signal Quality Constraints Due to Environmental Interference Raise Concerns Regarding FSOs ReliabilityIn most optical wireless technologies, the light being transmitted through free space needs to contend with the interference presented by the complexity of the surrounding space. In case of FSO communication also, the space through which FSO signals propagate presents fundamental limitation to the reliability and robustness of FSO systems. In locations with link ranges over 200 meters, weather conditions such as fog and atmospheric turbulence could lead to temporary link outages and result in the deterioration of communication signals in terms of factors such as quality, speed, and efficiency. These factors could make the consumer weary about FSO systems and act as a key restrain for the development of the market.Nevertheless, with increased focus on research and development activities, service providers are introducing FSO systems and solutions with technological advancements that can eliminate the impact of these interferences. Attempts are being made by network operators to eliminate the effect of scintillation on the quality of FSO transmission with the help of spatial diversity, which refers to a multi beam approach that exploits multiple regions of the space.Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Non-Alcoholic Drinks Market Forecast and Segments, 2014-2020

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1340

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/non-alcoholic-drinks-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Non-Alcoholic Drinks Market: SnapshotThe shifting lifestyles of consumers and the growing per capita income are amongst the prime factors positively impacting the global non-alcoholic drinks market. Due to the changing preferences of consumers, numerous flavors and variants of drinks have been introduced in this market which will bring in new growth opportunities in the global non-alcoholic drinks market. The increasing temperatures owing to global warming will also drive the growth of this market. This market is concentrated in nature and hence a couple of players hold a key share within this market. Due to the fact that the market is led by the changing tastes and preferences of consumers, this is why even smaller players are tapping into this market by catering to the needs of local residents and by keeping the prices competitive.Download exclusive Sample of this report:The global non-alcoholic drinks market stood at US$1,435.25 bn in 2013 and is anticipated to touch US$1,937.73 bn by 2020, expanding at a 4.30% CAGR from 2014 to 2020. Volume-wise, this market is poised to rise at a 4.90% CAGR in the forecast period and will fuel the non-alcoholic beverages consumption to 1,289.03 bn liters by 2020, starting from 912.77 bn liters in 2013. The increasing disposable income of consumers, the tastes of local consumers, and demographics will also bode well for the development of the non-alcoholic drinks market. On the other hand, the rising awareness on health is amongst the prime factors impeding the development of the global non-alcoholic market.Tea and Coffee to Gain Demand Due to Rising Disposable Income of ConsumersProduct-wise, the non-alcoholic drinks market is segmented into dairy drinks, juice, tea and coffee, bottled water, soft drinks, and others. Of these, the segment of soft drinks held a dominant share and stood at 471.07 bn liters in 2013. On the other hand, the segment of tea and coffee is poised to emerge as the most swiftly developing segment due to swift industrialization and the growing disposable income of consumers. This segment is predicted to rise at a healthy 7.0% CAGR between 2014 and 2020.Browse Full Report at:In terms of geography, the report segments the global non-alcoholic drinks market into Europe, North America, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW). Amongst these, the North America non-alcoholic drinks market emerged as the top market and was valued at US$220.79 bn in 2013. This is due to the growing awareness on health amongst individuals of all age groups in North America over the forecast period.Increasing Count of Young Consumers to Positively Impact Asia Pacific Non-Alcoholic Drinks MarketOn the other hand, Asia Pacific has also emerged as amongst the key markets for non-alcoholic drinks. The Asia Pacific non-alcoholic drinks market stood at US$332.22 bn in 2013 and is predicted to grow exponentially over the forecast period. This is due to the rising disposable income of consumers in developing nations of India and China and the increasing count of young consumers. In addition, the launch of Make in India campaign in India will also provide impetus to the development of the non-alcoholic drinks market in Asia Pacific.The prime players operating in the global non-alcoholic drinks market are A.G. Barr, plc. (U.K.), Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. (U.S.), Dydo Drinco, Inc. (Japan), Attitude Drinks, Inc. (U.S.), LiveWire Ergogenics, Inc. (U.S.), Calcol, Inc. (U.S.), Danone (France), Nestle S.A. (Switzerland), PepsiCo, Inc. (U.S.), and The Coca-Cola Company (U.S.) among others.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Over the past couple years, Barb Rouse had been doing some digging in the Onalaska City Cemetery. But she isnt using a shovel to turn up dirt; shes digging up the names and stories of Civil War veterans buried in the cemetery.

Rouse shared the information she unearthed at the Sept. 19 Onalaska Area Historical Society meeting at Onalaska Library.

When the fundraising started for improvements to the cemetery, I decided to research the Civil War veterans buried there, Rouse said. I asked where the Civil War section was and I learned the graves are scattered throughout the cemetery.

Currently a member of OAHS, Rouse started researching the Onalaska Civil War vets in March 2016. Although foot surgery stalled her research that summer, she did take a trip to Gettysburg and then resumed her search and research that fall.

An avid Civil War aficionada, Rouse has read a number of Civil War books including Grants personal memoirs, fitting the reading in between the time she spends at the library researching the stories of the local veterans.

Rouses interest in those who fought in the War Between the States stems from her husbands great-grandfathers on both his fathers and mothers side. One of those ancestors served under Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and then with Gen. William T. Sherman in his march to the sea in Georgia. He survived his deployment.

The great-grandfather on her husbands mothers side fought in the battle of Antietam. The Maryland battle is considered one of the bloodiest battles of the war.

Rouse has tracked down 58 Civil War veterans graves in her search at the Onalaska cemetery. The men were immigrants from Holland, Germany, England, Wales, Canada and the eastern states. In less than a decade of their arrival in Wisconsin, the newcomers were traveling to other parts of the country as troops in the Union Army.

Wisconsin had been a state for only 12 years before the war started, said Rouse. Many of the immigrants had been in the country for only seven or eight years before the war.

In her presentation, Rouse focused on the lives of seven veteransRichard Bailey, Freeborn Welch, James Tutton, James Miller and the three Johns  John Blankey, John Dalton and John Mahoney.

At the wars end, Dalton returned home where he served as the mayor of Onalaska for three years and worked in the mercantile trade. He moved to Blair for a while, but moved back to Onalaska in his later years. He was the last of the three Johns to die at age 92 years.

After the war, James Tutton was the youngest of the group when he died, Rouse said.

She traced John Blankeys life from when he came to Wisconsin from Pennsylvania at age 10. In the war, Blankey was imprisoned at Andersonville, surviving the deplorable conditions of that Georgian prison.

Rouse hopes her research will entice descendants of the Civil War veterans to learn more about their ancestors and to share any knowledge they might have of the veterans. Four descendants of the vets did attend her presentation.

A great-grandson of Freeborn Welch, William G. Welch, attended as did family members from Hezekiah Ricker, John Keppel and Levi Staats.

William Welchs ancestor came to the area in 1851 when he was 19 years old and had a significant impact on the development of Onalaska.

He built Onalaska from the ground, laying out the first wagon track and many other roads in the area, Rouse said.

Despite her exhaustive efforts, there are still some mysteries about the Civil War veterans she hasnt been able to solve. Along with delving into greater detail about the lives of the veterans she has already located, Rouse continues to seek out more gravesites of Civil War vets.

Although, those she is researching have gone to their final rest, Rouse has found her research is a persistent task.

I didnt have enough sense to stop walking through that cemetery, Rouse said. This is never done.
New Release | Global Automotive LED Lighting Market (2017-2021 Edition) Company Coverage  Koito, Stanley, Hella, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (Magneti Marelli), Lumberg Holding

Automotive LED Lighting Market

http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=S&repid=1208752

http://www.researchmoz.us/global-automotive-led-lighting-market-2017-2021-edition-report.html

http://www.researchmoz.us/enquiry.php?type=E&repid=1208752

http://www.researchmoz.us/

http://marketresearchlatestreports.blogspot.in/

Researchmoz added Most up-to-date research on "Global Automotive LED Lighting Market (2017-2021 Edition)" to its huge collection of research reports.The report titled Global Automotive LED Lighting Market (2017-2021 Edition) provide an in-depth analysis of the global automotive LED Lighting market with detailed analysis of market size and growth, market share and economic impact of the industry. The report also provides market size of the global automotive lighting market.The report provides detailed regional analysis of Europe and Asia-Pacific (Japan) for the automotive LED lighting market.Growth of the global automotive lighting market and global automotive LED lighting market has also been forecasted for the period 2017-2021, taking into consideration the previous growth patterns, the growth drivers and the current and future trends. The market for global automotive LED lighting is fragmented and major competitors are Koito, Stanley, Hella, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (Magneti Marelli) and Lumberg Holding. Further, key players of the global automotive LED lighting market are also profiled with their financial information.To Get Sample Copy of Report visit @Country CoverageEuropeAsia-Pacific (Japan)Company CoverageKoitoStanleyHellaFiat Chrysler Automobiles (Magneti Marelli)Lumberg HoldingBrowse Detail Report With TOC @Executive SummaryGenerally the automotive lighting uses three technologies for the lamps which could be LED technology, HID/Xenon or Halogen. The LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes) are the most recent technology to be used by the automotive industry. The LEDs are used more because of the changing technology and demand for more energy efficiency.There are two main segments of automotive lighting system which are classified as Exterior Automotive Lighting and Interior Automotive Lighting. There are various sub segments of the exterior and the interior segments of the automotive lighting market, which are Auxiliary Lights, Headlights, Tail lights, Side Lights, Interior Lights, Parking Lights, Brake Light, Fog Lights and Daytime Running Light. Global Automotive LED Lighting market has increased at a significant annual growth rate as compared to the preceding year and projections are made that the market would rise in the next five years i.e. 2017-2021 tremendously. The upsurge in the market was due to various factors such as rapid growth in the global automotive industry, increasing focus on fuel and energy efficiency, etc.The major growth drivers for the automotive LED lighting market are increasing sales of lightweight vehicles worldwide, growing automobile industry, increasing LED penetration and focus on energy efficiency. Despite the market is governed by various growth drivers, there are certain challenges faced by the market such as slow growth of vehicle sales in BRIC nations, high costs of LED, high research and development costs, etc.Make an Enquiry of this report @About ResearchMozResearchMoz is the one stop online destination to find and buy market research reports & Industry Analysis. We fulfill all your research needs spanning across industry verticals with our huge collection of market research reports. We provide our services to all sizes of organizations and across all industry verticals and markets. Our Research Coordinators have in-depth knowledge of reports as well as publishers and will assist you in making an informed decision by giving you unbiased and deep insights on which reports will satisfy your needs at the best price.ResearchMozState Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesEmail: sales@researchmoz.usWebsite @Tel: 866-997-4948 (Us-Canada Toll Free)Tel: +1-518-621-2074For More Reports Visit @
Knee Implants Market  Global Industry Insights and Opportunity Analysis, 20172025

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/459

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/knee-implants-market-459

Knee implantation is a surgical process in which the damaged bone and cartilage of knee are replaced and removed with metal components that recreate the surface of the joint. The knee implant components are made of ceramic materials, metal alloys, or strong plastic parts. The knee implant surgery is also known as arthroplasty. There are four main types of arthroplasty, namely kneecap replacement, partial knee replacement, complex knee replacement, and total knee replacement.Total knee replacement involves the replacement of the surface of the thigh bone and the shin connected to the knee. Partial knee replacement or uni-compartmental knee replacement, can be performed through a small cut were one side of the knee is affected. Various types of fixation are used in knee implantation to connect knee implants to the bone, these include hybrid fixation, cementless fixation and cemented fixation. In cemented fixation the implants are held in place with a fast curing bone cement such as polymethylmethacrylate. Where in cementless fixation the implants are press-fit on to the bone so as to augment new bone growth.According to the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) around, 10 percent of knee replacement surgeries in the U.S. are partial knee replacements. Generally patients who have undergone the partial knee replacement has osteoarthritis in one compartment of their knee. In kneecap replacement only the under surface of the knee is replaced and it is a small joint replacement procedure.Furthermore, as per National Joint Registry, around 160,000 knee replacement procedures performed each year and also of same number knee joints are replaced yearly in England and Wales. Also, as per Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), in U.S. 226 per 1000 population knee replacement surgery performed in 2013.Request a sample copy of this report:Knee implants market by taxonomy:Knee Implants Market by Product Type:-Total Knee Replacement-Partial Knee Replacement-Complex Knee Replacement-Kneecap ReplacementKnee Implants Market by Material:-Ceramics-Stainless Steel-Cobalt-Chromium Alloys-Polyethylene-Titanium Alloys-OthersKnee Implants Market by End User:-Hospitals-Clinics-Ambulatory Surgical CentersKnee Implants Market by Geography:-North America-Latin America-Europe-Asia Pacific-Middle East-AfricaIncrease in arthritis population and incidence rate of obese expected to support the growth for knee implants market in the near futureNorth America and Europe account for major share in the global knee implants market. Asia Pacific is expected to be a high growth market for knee replacement, mainly attributed to the large population of people aged 20-65 in this region. This growth is supported by development in healthcare infrastructure and increase in availability of healthcare facilities to perform the implantation procedures. The increase in population and prevalence of bone and joint disorder are the main factors fueling growth of the global knee implant market.According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), during 2013-2015, it was estimated that around 54.4 million U.S. adults (22.7%) yearly suffered from some form of arthritis diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout, lupus, or fibromyalgia. According to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI), in 2016 the prevalence of knee arthritis in India was found to be around 28.7% in overall population. Furthermore, as per National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), during 20112014, the prevalence of obesity was around 36% in adults and 17% in youth in the U.S.Click here to know more about this report:The high growth of obesity is a major concern among emerging economies supported by rapid economic development. According to World Health Organization (WHO), in 2014, the obese adult population in China was around 6.9% and in India was around 4.9% and the number is expected to grow at high rate.Key Players operating in Knee Implants Market Includes:Zimmer, Stryker, Smith & Nephew plc, Johnson & Johnson, DJO Global, Inc., Exactech, Inc., Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc., B. Braun Melsungen AG, MicroPort Scientific Corporation, DePuy Synthes and Arthrex.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave, #3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com
Global Glass Top Display Freezers Market to 4.94% CAGR to 2021  Analysis of AHT Cooling Systems, Beverage-Air, Excellence Industries, Master-Bilt, and Nor-Lake

https://www.marketresearchnest.com/global-glass-top-display-freezers-market-2017-2021.html

https://www.marketresearchnest.com/purchase.php?reportid=264821

https://www.marketresearchnest.com/enquirybuy.php?reportid=264821

MarketResearchNest.com adds Global Glass Top Display Freezers Market 2017-2021 new reports to its research database. The report spread across 71 pages with tables and figures in it.The research analysts forecast the global glass top display freezers market to grow at a CAGR of 4.94% during the period 2017-2021.Glass top display freezer is a refrigeration equipment, which has a door at the top that is made of glass to ensure visibility of the products stored inside. Glass top display freezers are mainly used to generate revenue through the point-of-sale technique. Unlike freezers that have a glass door and more length, and are also called vertical freezers, glass top display freezers are horizontal in nature due to their extra width. They are sometimes also referred to as horizontal freezers. These freezers are mostly used for storing perishable items such as frozen food and take-home ice cream.Get more details about report at:Technavio recognizes the following companies as the key players in the global glass top display freezers market: AHT Cooling Systems, Beverage-Air, Excellence Industries, Master-Bilt, and Nor-Lake.Other Prominent Vendors in the market are: Alamo Refrigeration, Avantco Refrigeration, Avanti Products, Blue Star, Bromic Refrigeration, Liebherr, Middleby Celfrost, Premium, Rockwell Industries, and Voltas.Commenting on the report, an analyst from Technavios team said: The latest trend gaining momentum in the market is Increasing focus on better insulation and energy efficiency. Many end-users opt for hard top freezers as they offer better insulation compared to glass top display freezers. Though glass top display freezers offer better visibility, the insulation provided is comparatively less. Glass top display freezers also have low energy efficiency as they use a large amount of energy to maintain a consistent temperature. Thus, many vendors are introducing glass top display freezers with many features that lead to better insulation and high energy efficiency. During the forecast period, such features may influence the demand for glass top display freezers.Order a Purchase Report Copy at(This is premium report, Single User License  USD 3500 and Corporate User License  USD 6000)According to the report, one of the major drivers for this market is Growing preference for energy-efficient models. In an environment where operators such as supermarkets, ice cream parlors, and others are focusing on cutting costs, energy-efficient models of glass top display freezers play a critical role. On an average, supermarkets in the US consume around 52.1 kilowatts per hour of electricity per square feet per year. This translates to electricity bills of around $215,000 per year. As a result, the preference for energy-efficient models is increasing, and during the forecast period, this will influence the market growth. For instance, AHT Cooling Systems' MACAO Series uses RPM regulated compressor technology and electronic energy-saving fan, which results in significant energy savings.Further, the report states that one of the major factors hindering the growth of this market is Prevailing and growing market for hard top freezers. Hard top freezers provide more insulation than glass top display freezers, and food products stored in hard top freezers remain fresh for longer in comparison to glass top display freezers. Further, due to the high insulation, hard top freezers are considered to be more energy-efficient than glass top display freezers. Thus, foodservice establishments generally store food ingredients in hard top freezers.The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors.Inquire before buying this report atMarketResearchNest.com is the most comprehensive collection of market research products and services on the Web. We offer reports from almost all top publishers and update our collection on daily basis to provide you with instant online access to the worlds most complete and recent database of expert insights on global industries, organizations, products, and trends.Mr. Jeet JainSales Managersales@marketresearchnest.com+1-240-284-8070 / +44-20-3290-4151
Global Inorganic Chemicals Market - Industry Trends, Outlook, Regulatory Bodies & Regulations and Key Market Players

https://goo.gl/bh4rk2

https://goo.gl/ERg4qd

https://goo.gl/PY4uBC

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/

Inorganic chemicals are a combination of two or more elements other than carbon. Carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, carbides, carbonates, and cyanides are exceptions, as these are inorganic chemicals despite having carbon. Rising demand for inorganic chemicals in the fertilizers industry is expected to be one of the prime factors driving market growth. Moreover, due to stringent government regulations and stagnant economy in the developed countries of North America and Europe, the market is estimated to fuel growth of the market in emerging economies of Asia Pacific and Middle East. Cheap labor costs in countries such as China and India, makes these the preferred production hubs for global manufacturers. This helps reduce the overall cost of production of inorganic chemicals. Increasing environmental consciousness and implementation of stringent regulations influences market players to switch technology shifting and producing environment friendly products.Request sample of Global Inorganic Chemicals Market:Inorganic Chemicals Market TaxonomyOn the basis of product type, the global market is classified into:AmmoniaChlor alkaliAmmonium nitrateAmmonium sulfateInorganic acidSodium hydroxideHydrogen peroxideOxygenNitrogenOthersGet best discount on this report:On the basis of geography, the global market is classified into:North AmericaU.S.CanadaEuropeU.K.GermanyItalyFranceSpainRussiaRest of EuropeAsia PacificChinaIndiaJapanASEANAustraliaSouth KoreaRest of Asia PacificLatin AmericaBrazilMexicoArgentinaRest of Latin AmericaMiddle EastGCC CountriesIsraelRest of Middle EastAfricaNorthern AfricaCentral AfricaSouth AfricaCheck the trending report of Global Inorganic Chemicals Market:Inorganic Chemicals Market Outlook  Surge in Demand for Ammonia for Agricultural Application Augmenting Market GrowthPopulation explosion witnessed over the last five decades has put considerable strain upon the already stretched thin agricultural sector. Moreover, rapid urbanization led to steep fall in farmland which force down the farmer for duel cultivation, characterized by large volumes of fertilizers being used to maintain optimum soil fertility. Nitrogen-based fertilizers are widely used by farmers, as it is easily available, cost-effective, and rather effective in increasing fertility of the soil. This in turn is expected to fuel the inorganic chemicals market during the forecast period. Ammonia is also used for cold storage and food preservation in the food & beverages industry. Moreover, the explosive manufacturing industry uses ammonium nitrate in bomb manufacturing. Asia Pacific is expected to be one of the most lucrative markets of manufacturers of inorganic chemicals, due to strengthening of the economy and strong agricultural base in China, India, and South East Asian countries.Inorganic Chemicals Market Challenges  Fluctuating Crude Oil Price and Stringent Government RegulationsFluctuating prices of crude oil and natural gas is expected to significantly dampen growth of inorganic chemicals market. Crude oil and natural gas are the basic building blocks of numerous inorganic chemicals industry. Moreover, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for 21st Century Act upon Toxic Chemicals and Chinese State Environment Protection Administration and General Administration of Custom has enforced strict regulation upon import and export of certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides. These are few challenges for inorganic chemical manufacturing company during the forecast period.Inorganic Chemicals Market  Regulatory Scenario:February 24, 2004, U.S. Department of State enforce the Rotterdam Convention as an international treaty designed to facilitate informed decision-making by countries with regard to trade in hazardous chemicals.January 01, 2006, The State Environment Protection Administration and the General Administration of Custom of China, In order to strictly prevent illegal export of toxic chemicals and earnestly improve the implementation of the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals Pesticides in International Trade and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants.June 22, 2016, the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical safety for 21st century act updated the 1976 toxic substances control act, which allows EPA to protect the people of US from toxic chemicals.Key players in the inorganic chemicals market include Akzo Nobel, BASF SE, Bayer, The Dow Chemicals Company, DuPont, Evonik Industries, Formosa Plastics, Ineos, LG Chem, LyondellBasell Industries, Mitsubishi Chemicals, Sabic, The Royal Dutch Shell, Sinopec, Sumitomo Chemicals. Strategic mergers and acquisitions is the new trend in the industry. For instance, BASF SE and Avantium on March 15, 2016, collaborated to establish production and marketing of furandicarboxylic acid and PEF based. Moreover, May 10, 2016, BASF SE launch new cross linking and water based dispersion coating product.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact UsMr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:
Sprinkle Caps Market Forecast Examined in New Market Research Report

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=18425

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=18425

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Caps and Closures market forms a very important part of rigid packaging industry and is gaining traction due to the increasing demand from the overall packaging industry. Packaging products including caps and closures extends the shelf life of the product and helps in restoring and retaining the flavor of the food items for a longer time. These type of packaging not only make product look attractive that drives sales for the brand owners, but also provide functionality features which widens the customer base. The caps and closures can be used to package different type of containers such as bottles, canisters, tubes, cans and beverages cartons etc.Sprinkle caps are type of caps that are used to sprinkle different products like herbs, seasoning, granules and powder etc. through multiple holes. They come in different shape, size and material depending on the product and the packaging required for different product item. Furthermore, due to the growing popularity of sprinkle caps and varied applications being identified, new products in this space are being developed with time. For example, launch of Spoonkler by RPC Containers Ltd for the Bart Ingredients Company's spice range was introduced when the brand discovered that awkward shape of most spice jars was seen as a hindrance by several customers. These type of frequent innovations are expected to drive the demand in the sprinkle caps market.View TOC for this Market Report @Sprinkle Caps Market Dynamics:The sprinkle caps market is expected to grow at a CAGR of around 4% over the forecast period primarily driven by the growth in the overall Caps and Closures market. In addition, growing innovations by the brand owners to widen their customer base together with expansion in application portfolio further fuels the growth in demand for the sprinkle caps market. Furthermore, one of the recent trends in the sprinkle caps market is the growth in the use of Plastic as material in comparison to other traditional materials such as aluminum, tinplate etc.Despite witnessing favorable growth opportunities, there are restraints in the sprinkles caps market that can impact the growth in this industry. One of the major factor that can dampen the demand in the sprinkle caps market is the competition from flexible packaging industry as products like pouches etc. can replace the containers that require caps and closures and ultimately prove to be a hindrance for growth in the sprinkle caps market.Sprinkle Caps Market- Regional Outlook:Geographically, the Sprinkle Caps market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Middle East & Africa (MEA). Asia Pacific is expected to witness the maximum growth in the sprinkle caps market primarily driven by the growth in the developing countries like India and China. The changing customer habits in these developing nations that make customers switch from unpackaged to more convenient and packaged food products clubbed with increasing purchasing power, growth in the retail industry fuels the demand for the sprinkle caps market in this region. The North America and Europe regions are expected to witness an average growth rate in the sprinkle caps market owing to the saturation of end use markets in these regions. However, Latin America and MEA is expected to witness an above average growth driven by the growth in the developing economies of these regions.For more information on this report, fill the form @Sprinkle Caps Market- Key Players:Some of the leading players identified across the globe in the Sprinkle Caps market are: Polyoak Packaging, Kornelis Caps & Closures BV, United Caps Luxembourg S.A., Junghans, RPC Containers Ltd, Santis Packaging AG, O.Berk Company, Synergy Packaging Pty Ltd etc.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Contact UsTransparency Market ResearchState Tower,90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Bacterial Conjunctivitis Drug Market  Global Industry Insights and Opportunity Analysis 2025

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/714

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/bacterial-conjunctivitis-drug-market-714

Bacterial conjunctivitis is inflammation of the outermost layer of the eye and inner area of the eyelid. Bacterial conjunctivitis symptoms include swelling, watery eyes, and redness. Bacteria responsible for conjunctivitis include staphylococci, haemophilus, Chlamydia trachomatis, and streptococci. Children and geriatric population are highly prone to bacterial conjunctivitis, however, it affects people of all age groups. The increasing cases of bacterial conjunctivitis demand efficient medication, which supports the growth of bacterial conjunctivitis drugs market. Bacterial conjunctivitis spreads because of poor hygiene, immune compromise, ocular diseases such as dry eye, blepharitis, and contaminated cosmetics. It can be prevented by maintaining proper hygiene and also hand wash reduces the chances of bacterial conjunctivitis.Bacterial Conjunctivitis Drug Market TaxonomyBy Disease Type;-Acute Bacterial Conjunctivitis-Chronic Bacterial ConjunctivitisBy Treatment Type;-Fluoroquinolones-Macrolides-AminoglycosidesRequest a sample copy of this report:By Route of Administration;-Topical-Oral-IntravitrealBy End User;-Hospitals-ClinicsIncreasing incidences of bacterial conjunctivitis and availability of generic drugs to fuel the market growthThe spread of ophthalmic bacterial infection increased the demand for antibacterial drugs for its treatment. According to National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) 2013 report, in the U.S., there were around 6 million people affected by conjunctivitis. Bacterial conjunctivitis takes around a week to get completely cured and fluoroquinolones are the most preferred drug for the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis. There are certain drugs in the market that are patented and their patents about to expire, this, in turn, is expected to increase the market for generic drugs, which are of less price as well. Moxeza, vigamox, besivance, and zymaxid are some of the most successful patented drugs about to expire. After patent expiry, these drugs lose their exclusivity, which leads to increase in use of generic drugs. The development of multi-drug resistant variants is expected to fuel the growth of bacterial conjunctivitis drug market. The unnecessary use of antibiotics causes the disease causing bacteria to chemically evolve themselves and become resistant to drugs. This, in turn, may lead to the prescription of strong medication, which includes corticosteroids and high dose of antibiotics.Rising occurrence of bacterial conjunctivitis demands safe and efficient drugs, which leads to the development of new drugs, such as vancomycin ophthalmic ointment, that are in the clinical trial pipeline and few are pending for approval. Some of the major challenges faced by bacterial conjunctivitis drug market are patent expiry and awareness about the disease that it cures itself in a week. However, the shift in preference toward herbal treatment from pharmacological treatment is expected to create new opportunities in the bacterial conjunctivitis drug market. Moreover, herbal formulation based drugs are widely accepted, which in turn leads to the development and investment in herbal products for the treatment of bacterial conjunctivitis. The aforementioned scenario is expected to support the growth of bacterial conjunctivitis drugs market over the forecast period.Developed regions support the growth of bacterial conjunctivitis drug marketOn the basis of geography, bacterial conjunctivitis drug market is segmented into North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. North America dominates the bacterial conjunctivitis drugs market due to the presence of advanced healthcare facilities and reimbursement policies. Europe is the second largest region followed by Asia Pacific. Asia Pacific is expected to witness moderate growth over the forecast period owing to the high awareness about the disease among public and high per capita income.Click here to know more about this report:Key Players in the Bacterial Conjunctivitis Drug MarketSome of the key players contributing to the bacterial conjunctivitis drug market growth are, Pfizer Inc., Novartis AG, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Bayer Healthcare, Valeant Pharmaceutical International Inc., Perrigo Company Plc, Akorn Inc., Santen Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., and Allergan Plc. For increasing market share, the companies adopt various strategies such as mergers and acquisitions. For instance, in 2015, Shire acquired Foresight Biotherapeutics to increase its ophthalmic product pipeline.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave, #3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com
Smart Mirror Market : Industry Analysis, Opportunity Assessment and Forecast upto 2022

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/smart-mirror-market.asp

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/smart-mirror-market/toc

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3733

Persistence Market Research (PMR) delivers key insights on the global smart mirror market in its latest report titled Global Market Study on Smart Mirror: Driven by High Market Potential in Automotive and Retail Industry with North America to Witness Highest Adoption By 2022. In terms of volume, the global smart mirror market is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 10.7% over 2016-2022, driven by various growth factors, regarding which PMR offers vital insights in detail in this report.On the basis of the component, the market has been segmented into sensors, displays, camera and others. In terms of value share, displays have been estimated to be the dominant segment in 2015, with over 40% share of the global smart mirror market.Obtain Report Details @The global smart mirror market has been segmented by application into automotive sector, consumer & residential, healthcare, and retail sector & advertising. Of these segments, automotive sector segment is estimated to be the largest segment in the global smart mirror market in terms of revenue contribution in 2015; however, consumer & residential segment is expected to expand at the highest CAGR of 12.9% over 20162022, due to increasing adoption of new & innovative technologies in the smart mirror industry by various smart mirror manufacturers across the globe.Download Table Of Content @This report covers trends driving each segment and respective sub-segments and offers analysis and insights of the potential of the smart mirror market in specific regions. By region, Europe has been estimated to dominate the smart mirror market, accounting for over 40% value share of the overall market in 2015 and is expected to exhibit healthy CAGR of over 11.1% during the projected period.Some of the major players identified in the global smart mirror market are Gentex Corporation, Magna International Inc., Pro Display, Evervue, Seura, Alke, ad notam AG, Tech2o, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., TOSHIBA CORPORATION, Panasonic Corporation.Key players in the market follow the strategy of acquisition and mergers and are are focusing on meeting consumer demands and their needs in order to strengthen their position in the market. Furthermore, consistent investment in R&D activities in order to enhance existing products and services portfolio is another major strategy adopted by major players operating in the smart mirror market.Get Sample copy of the Report @The growth of the global smart mirror market is mainly driven by the high demand of smart mirror from key applications. Also, various key players in the smart mirror market are focused towards enhancing their respective product portfolios by introducing products with new and innovative features for use across a range of application areas is fueling the growth of the smart mirror market. However, high implementation cost of the smart mirror and either relatively low or total lack of awareness among people regarding smart mirror technology are restraining the growth of the market to some extent.The smart mirror market is segmented as follows:By Component:SensorsDisplaysCameraOthers (Mic, Speaker, and Communication devices)By Application:Automotive SectorConsumer & ResidentialHealthcareRetail Sector & AdvertisingBy Region:North AmericaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificThe Middle East & Africa (MEA)About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.ContactPersistence Market ResearchU.S. Sales Office:305 Broadway, 7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesUSA - Canada Toll-Free: 800-961-0353
Respiratory Inhalers Analytics 2017 Market Is Estimated To Reach Grow At the Rate of About 6.1% from 2017 To 2023

Respiratory Inhalers Market

http://bit.ly/2y7afeN

http://bit.ly/2y4EiDv

http://bit.ly/2xWQLcP

Market Research Future published new report, titled Respiratory Inhalers Market-Research Report: Global Forecast to 2023.Market Synopsis of Global Respiratory Inhalers Market:GET SAMPLE REPORT @Market Scenario:Respiratory disorders have always been a huge challenge for the drug manufacturers and the medical practitioners. In the last couple of decades, this respiratory disorder prevalence has increased tremendously due to some of the reasons such as air pollution, smoking, industrialization among others. To counter these respiratory disorders, scientists have developed various drugs and devices. Extensive efforts have been made to control the disorders such as Asthma and Chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder which affects the majority of the patients. According to WHO, more than 300 million people in the world are affected by asthma and more than 200 million people are affected by the COPD by 2016. Globally the market for respiratory inhalers is growing steadily. Globally the market for respiratory inhaler is expected to grow at the rate of about 6.1% from 2017 to 2023.Market Segments:Respiratory Inhalers market has been segmented on the basis of type which comprises of manually operated, digitally operated. Manually operated inhalers accounted for the largest market share of the total market in 2016. On the basis of product, the market is segmented into dry powder inhaler, metered dose inhaler, and others. Dry powder inhalers accounted for the largest market share in 2016. On the basis of application, market is segmented into asthma, COPD, and other. Asthma segment accounted for the largest market share of the total market in 2016. On the basis of end user, market is segmented into hospitals & clinics, respiratory care center, and other. Hospitals & clinics dominated the global market with the largest market share of the total market in 2016.Key Players for Global Respiratory Inhalers market:Some of the key players in this market are: Adherium limited, AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., GSK plc, Propeller Health, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.GET FULL REPORT @Market Assessment:The report for Respiratory Inhalers Market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different markets segments and regionsRegional analysis:Globally North America is the largest market for Respiratory Inhalers accounting 35.1% of the total market. This large share is majorly due to, tobacco smoke which is a key factor in the development and progression of COPD. COPD was considered the third leading cause of death in U.S. in 2014, with almost 6.4% of Americans diagnosed with the disease. Currently most of the inhalers are sold in North America with very less contribution from other regions. North America market is expected to reach $11,949.4 million by 2023. Europe is the second-largest market majorly due to companies or the key players present in the region such as, Novartis, AstraZeneca, and Boehringer Ingelheim. Adoption of respiratory inhalers by hospitals and patients in the European countries, and also due to continuous efforts made by European Academy of Allergy & Clinical Immunology to increase awareness about asthma and COPD the market for respiratory inhalers is expected to show grow in the coming future. European market is expected to reach 11,425.7 by 2023. Furthermore, Asia-Pacific market is expected to be the fastest growing market for respiratory inhalers due to continuous developments in developing countries like India and China. Emerging economies are expected to accounts for the maximum cases of respiratory disorders, remains unnoticed. Moreover, significant growth in the digitally operated inhalers is observed in the countries like Australia and New Zealand. AsiaPacific region is expected to grow at 6.7% CAGR during the forecasted period. On the other hand, Middle East & Africa contributed the least in the global market with only 9.2% share. Middle East & Africa regions are expected to have a limited but steady growth.Key Finding:The respiratory inhalers global market and is expected to reach $33,572.9 million by 2023.Manually Operated Inhalers holds the largest share of 89.9% of the market.North America holds the largest market share of respiratory Inhalers market and is anticipated to reach $11,949.4 million by the end of forecast period.Globally, Asia-Pacific the fastest growing region and expected to grow at the rate of 6.7% during the forecast period.Intended Audience:Respiratory Inhaler manufacturers and suppliersContract Research Organizations (CROs)Research and Development (R&D) CompaniesGovernment Research LaboratoriesIndependent Research LaboratoriesGovernment and Independent Regulatory AuthoritiesMarket Research and Consulting Service ProvidersAcademic Institutes and UniversitiesBUY-NOW REPORT @Table of Contents:1 REPORT PROLOGUE2 MARKET INTRODUCTION3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY4 MARKET DYNAMICS5 MARKET FACTOR ANALYSIS6 GLOBAL RESPIRATORY INHALERS MARKET, BY TYPE7 GLOBAL RESPIRATORY INHALERS MARKET, BY PRODUCT8 GLOBAL RESPIRATORY INHALERS MARKET, BY APPLICATION9 GLOBAL RESPIRATORY INHALERS MARKET, BY END USER10 GLOBAL RESPIRATORY INHALERS MARKET, BY REGION11 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE12 COMPANY PROFILESCONTINUEDAt Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: salesteam@marketresearchfuture.comOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune  411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312
Spout Pouches Market Insights and Analysis for Period (2016-2026)

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2197

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-2197

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com

In todays world, packaging has secured a strong position in the production systems. With the advancement of technology, different materials are available in different forms serving a motley of purposes in the packaging industry. Food and beverage packaging took an interesting turn when we saw the shift from rigid packaging to flexible packaging. A new trend emerged where glass and metal containers were converted to flexible, multi layered pouches. However, the innovation did not stop there. Pouches started to appear with re-closable spouts. This gave the consumers the ease to reuse and safely store the package. The addition of the feature to stand added to the ease of storage. Today, spout pouches are considered quintessential from the perspective of food and beverage industry, automotive, soaps and detergents and paints industry.Spout pouches can be considered as one of the best forms of packaging as they are a convenience for both the consumers and the manufacturer. Spout pouches are comparatively easier to produce and they are perfect for the on the go lifestyle of the consumers. Spout pouches packaging is safe and maintains the integrity of the product. Moreover, spout pouches durability makes the day to day use easy. Spout pouches being re-closable makes the product an excellent grab and go product. The durability and flexibility allows for the packaging to hold many products.Spout Pouches Market- Market Segmentation:Based on the Product type, the Spout Pouchesmarket is segmented into:BeveragesSyrupsCleaning SolutionOilsOthers (lubricants, granules, powers, baby food, condiments)Request Report Sample@Based on end use, the Spout Pouchesmarket is segmented into:Food and BeveragesAutomotivePharmaceuticalPaintsSoaps and detergentsOthersBased on the material used, the Spout Pouchesmarket is segmented into:PlasticAluminum foilKraft paperThe combination of the above materialsSpout Pouches Market- Market Dynamics:Spout pouches have become the first choice of packaging in a myriad of packaging industries due its flexibility. The packaging has also become comparatively lighter and easy to transport. Moreover, the amount of material used for producing spout packages is comparatively less, which is expected to drive the growth of global spout pouches market. The storage of the pouches becomes easier due to the flexibility and the less surface area utilized to store the products. Flexible packaging also allows the manufacturers to aesthetically differentiate their product and also gives the opportunity to design their products in an attractive manner. From the consumers perspective, spout pouches fit perfectly in the on the go lifestyle of the consumers. Moreover, spout packaging helps in completely utilizing the product within the packaging as evacuation of the product from spout packaging is more efficient that in rigid containers. From the aspect of sustainability, spout pouches require less energy for production and larger number of units can be transported per truck. As a result, spout pouches will remain in demand in the coming foreseeable future.Visit For TOC@Spout Pouches Market- Regional Outlook:In terms of geography, the spout pouches market has been divided in to five key regions; North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East & Africa. The spout pouches market is expected to exhibit an above average CAGR during the forecast period. Asia Pacific region is expected to witness a high demand for spout pouches over the forecasted period. Highest growth is expected to be seen specifically from Thailand, India and China. Significant growth will also be witness in Middle East and Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America.Spout Pouches Market- Major Players:Some of the key players in the spout pouches market are Amcor Ltd., The DOW Chemical Company, Mondi Group, Berry Plastic Corporation, Smurfit Kappa Group, Bemis Company Inc., Essentra PLC, Bischof & Klein GmbH & Co. KG, Coating Excellence International, HOD Packaging and enterprises Ltd., Printpack Inc., ProAmpac, Sealed Air Corporation, Sonoco Products Company, and Winpak Ltd.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Consumer Electronics Market: Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast upto 2021

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/consumer-electronics-market.asp

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/consumer-electronics-market/toc

https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/3068

Persistence Market Research indicates staggering growth prospects for the global consumer electronics market. The market is expected to approach a value of US$ 1,712.9 Bn by 2016 end, which may raise at a CAGR of 15.4% over the next four years. Smartphones will remain the dominant consumer electronics product type, whereas Asia Pacific will continue to be the leading region over 2016-2020.The middle-class population is increasing worldwide, since the past few years. Moreover, urban consumers have been indicating a shift in lifestyle. Growing preference for usage of electronic devices in daily chores is primarily driving the market for consumer electronics. Soaring Internet penetration and increasing disposable income are allowing consumers to use multiple electronic devices. This will continue to fuel the market growth over the next few years. Rapid adoption within a short span from their inception is a prominent factor indicating the potential of wearable electronics adoption.Get Full Report Description @Growing awareness about the benefits of electronic devices will also be a key factor strongly supporting the market growth. Rising popularity of the connected homes concept is likely to push the demand for smart home devices over the forecast period. Smart mobile devices, kitchen appliances, HVAC systems, and intelligent security systems will especially gain traction within the next few years. With rising government support to digitalization of a variety of services, the market is likely to witness surging promotion and adoption of consumer electronics. Moreover, technological advancements and consistent R&D leading to new product launches will boost the market growth during the forecast period.Relatively lower technological awareness among consumers in developing regions and higher costs of electronic devices currently available in the market may collectively continue to create a barrier to the growth of the global consumer electronics market. Recently identified quality issues and technological hazards, especially in smartphones, also play a key role in restricting adoption of smart consumer devices on a global level.Download Table of Content @By device type, the global consumer electronics market is segmented into consumer electronic device, wearable device, and smart home device. The three key categories are further sub-segmented. Among these, the consumer electronic device segment will remain dominant with over 97% share of the global market by the end of the forecast period. On the other hand, the smart home device segment is poised to expand at the fastest CAGR through the forecast period. This segment will, however, continue to attract the maximum revenues from smartphones sub-segment, followed by PCs sub-segment.Request a Sample of This Report @Based on region, the global consumer electronics market is classified as North America, Latin America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, APEJ, Japan, and MEA. APEJ is anticipated to retain dominance with over 31% market value share by 2020 end. While North America followed by Europe, will be the next major markets, APEJ market is foreseen to witness the fastest CAGR.The key players participating in the highly competitive landscape of the global consumer electronics market, include Apple Inc., Sony Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Hitachi Ltd., Toshiba Corporation, LG Electronics Inc., HP Inc., Panasonic Corporation, and Toshiba Corporation. The market involves a large number of globally established brands as well as newly entering regional brands. Key companies are largely focusing on innovative product launches and cost-effective product development through strategic M&A.Long-term Outlook: The global market for consumer electronics is projected for a value of US$ 2,976 Bn by the end of 2020. Over 2016-2020, the market will witness stellar growth.About UsPersistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance.To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.ContactPersistence Market ResearchU.S. Sales Office:305 Broadway, 7th FloorNew York City, NY 10007United StatesUSA - Canada Toll-Free: 800-961-0353
Despite the drizzly weather, more than two dozen people filled the Hokah City Council meeting room Tuesday night to weigh in on a school building issue that threatens to polarize the community.

Dissatisfaction over the Councils plans to move the city offices into a building that some claim was acquired without proper procedure led to more rancor throughout the evening, causing Mayor Mike Walsh to threaten ejection for anybody who gets out of hand.

City Administrator Rod Blank opened the discussion, announcing the Building Committees decision to retain the library in its current location. Blank then cited what he believed to be some of the positives of the school building including off-street parking, handicapped accessibility and a commercial kitchen for people renting the facility for events. He also indicated that the building has caught the interest of potential renters.

People are mad at me, but we do need to do something with the building, Blank said. My thoughts are to move the offices and sell the 102 Main St. building.

Immediately, one citizen insisted that the issue should be put to a community vote. Another worried that the purchase of the school building violated the Hokah Comprehensive Plan formed in 1978.

Others feared that expenses would become a burden for the city, while some said not enough information had been gathered to determine a move or dialog with rentals.

I know we can rent it out, said Jerry Martell, But you cant rent a building when youve still got, Sell the School signs scattered all over town.

Citizen Ben Spanjers argued at length for unity. Instead of hammering on these people who want to make changes, people should work together and get renters, he said. Progress happens. We need to work together. Why cant we make this a positive?

Spanjers added, This is just a bump in the road  lets move on.

Librarian Shari Carlson felt that the divide had gone too far and urged the Council to seek help. She said that under the League of Minnesota Cities, Hokah could access the Bureau of Mediation. These are services that provide conflict resolution, Carlson said. Personalities and histories are getting in the way. I think it would be wise for them to help us move beyond this and move forward.

This is not going to be healed by us coming to these meetings, she added. Walsh asked for information, saying he would look into it.

Despite the opposition, the Council passed a resolution directing the Building Committee to develop a plan for the building as well as create a form for potential renters. Information regarding the next Building Committee will be posted at the Post Office, Fire Department and City Hall.

In Other Business

The Council authorized about $11,300 for street repairs at Seventh and Cedar. Council member Don Bissen objected, saying repairs could be made for about $1,000 by patching with hot mix, but Chris Oliver voiced concern that irregularities would create snow removal problems. The motion carried 3 to 1.

The Council also announced the results of last months closed session. Eric Leitzen was placed on permanent employee status and Chris Oliver was given the title, Public Works director.

Carlson announced that memoir writing classes will be held Oct. 10 and 17 at the library. She also said a Haunted Halloween is planned at Hokah City Hall.

The next Hokah City Council meeting is Nov. 8.
Animal Healthcare Market  Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2017-2025

http://bit.ly/2ghEDck

http://bit.ly/2yLnbE0

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com

Animal healthcare has turned its focus area by the animal medicine industry because of increase in animal disease, vaccination, animal adoption and livestock. The global animal healthcare market is expected to gain major traction, on the backdrop of increasing pet adoption and high consumption of milk and meat. There is an increase in adoption of western culture and dynamic lifestyle in emerging countries such as India and China, which in turn has increased the pet adoption that is expected to favor the rise in growth for animal healthcare market. Pets are adopted by people all over the world for psychological and therapeutic benefits. An increase in new animal diseases such as white nose syndrome and anthrax has created opportunities in the animal healthcare market. Globally, Australia holds the leading position in pet ownership. According to the Australian Veterinary Association, there were around 4.2 million dogs and 3.3 million cats accounting for 39% and 29% market share respectively.Request for sample copy :Animal healthcare market taxonomyBy Animal TypeLivestock AnimalCompanion AnimalBy Product TypeVaccinationPharmaceuticalsFeed AdditivesBy Disease TypeBacterial DiseaseFungal DiseaseGenetic DiseaseViral DiseasePet adoption and increase in livestock fuels the growth of animal healthcare marketAccording to the Animal Health Institute, in the U.S., on an average, the world spends around one fortieth amount to human medicine as compared with animal medicines every year. That investment covers animal health innovations for 24 billion chickens, 750 million swine, 500 million dogs, 400 million cats and 1 billion cattle and sheep. According to Animal Health Institute, companies yearly invest around 10-12% of their sales in innovations for animal health. Scientists have developed various medicines which result in improvement, prevention, and treatment of animal diseases such as flea and tick infestation, rabies, Lyme disease, leukemia. Animal medicines are important in food safety as it accounts for production animal as well. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in U.S., approximately 3.2 million shelter animals adopted each year, which includes 1.6 million dogs and 1.6 million cats. According to American Pet Product Association, in U.S. from 2015 to 2016, 34% dogs are purchased from breeders at the same time 23% of dogs and 31% of cats are obtained from the animal shelter. Globally the adoption of pets has increased over a period of time and demand for meat and milk also has increased to support the growing population which is expected to fuel the animal healthcare market in the near future.Developed regions are major growth engines of animal healthcare marketGlobally the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. According to American Pet Product Association, during 2013-2014 North America is the leading market and it contributes around 68% owning the pet population has triple in from 2009 to 2014 in North America followed by Europe with a population of pets around 62 million and Asia Pacific due to the adoption of western lifestyle and increase in animal adoption. North America and Europe will be the largest market of vaccine and pharmaceuticals. Asia-Pacific will be the largest market for feed additives. In Asia Pacific, It is expected that pharmaceutical and vaccine segment will grow at a faster rate due to increased animal adoption and increased demand of meat and milk. According to IIPTF, in India 600,000 pets are adopted every year.Request for customization :Key players of animal healthcare marketThere are various animal healthcare market players are present all over the world. Animal healthcare industry has seen some major merger and acquisitions to develop new drugs. In 2016, Sanofi and Boehringer Ingelheim merger have taken place to develop new and improved drugs for animal healthcare. Some of the key market players of animal healthcare market includes Zoetis, Eli Lilly & Co., Novartis, Bayer Healthcare, Ceva Sante Animale, Evonik Industries AG, and ADM Alliance Nutrition.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact UsMr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:
Brazil-Telecommunication Services An oligopolistic and price conscious market 2017

ReportsWeb

http://www.reportsweb.com/brazil-telecommunication-services-an-oligopolistic-and-price-conscious-market

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011030747/sample

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011030747/discount

The Brazilian telecommunication market is oligopolistic by nature, dominated by a few major players, the leading of which is Vivo. Along with information on the leading players of the market, this report also offers readers the latest data on current market trends in Brazil, deals and innovations within the telecom sector and how government initiatives may affect the market in the long run, among much more. The detailed information and data is easily distinguished for the readers ease, as the reports are written in a clear and concise style.Publisher's Premium industry reports provide a comprehensive market view including sections on: industry risk & reward, key industry trends and drivers, industry SWOT analysis, industry benchmarking to compare key performance indicators with regional and global markets, competitive landscape, and innovation.Request a Sample copy atScope:-Risk/Reward Index-enables you to assess the risks and potential rewards of investing in the Brazilian telecommunications market in comparison with other South American countries.-Industry Snapshot and Industry View-Key Telecommunications Industry Statistics, including fixed/mobile revenue, subscriptions, churn, market share, and ARPS, are analyzed to reveal the key issues and trends that drive market performance in the Brazilian telecommunications market.-Industry SWOT Analysis-Discover the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats impacting market performance and investments in the Brazilian telecommunications market.-Industry Benchmarking-Benchmark how the Brazilian telecommunications market is performing compared to the regional and global markets in terms of fixed or mobile revenue, subscriptions, ARPS, penetration, and usage to gauge potential for growth or market entry.-Competitive Landscape-Analyze and compare the performance of the leading players in the Brazilian telecommunications market through the business segment on metrics such as churn, ARPU, and subscriber and revenue growth.Key HighlightsVivo's main competitor Oi files for bankruptcyThe fixed-line segment is led by Vivo and Oi. Subscriptions for Oi recorded a review-period CAGR of-7.2%, while Vivo's subscriber base registered a review-period CAGR of 6.8%. During the second quarter of 2016, Oi filed for bankruptcy protection as a result of debts in excess of US$65 billion. Other key competitors include Claro Brazil, Oi, TIM Brazil, Algar.Demand for data will help to upscaleThe share of HSPA-3G, which dominated the market in 2014, is set to decline. Due to an increase in subscriptions and a demand for data-intensive apps, LTE, a version of 4G, is gaining wider acceptance. LTE will post a forecast-period CAGR of 25.0%. Companies are offering competitive internet combo packages, combining 4G and voice services for postpaid costumers to attract more subscribers.Volatile economy led mobile subscription to declineBrazil's economy is in recession, a situation that has resulted in a reduction in income levels. A deceleration in the volume of middle-class households and associated spending power is forcing telecom providers to run their services at low-margins, despite an increase in the demand for faster internet speeds, smartphones and packaged services. The recession has damaged consumer's confidence, making many more price sensitive.Mobile subscriptions declined from 283.31 million in 2014 to 259.27 million in 2015, settling at 246.13 million in 2016. However, it is expected to increase, recording a forecast-period CAGR of 0.3% to reach 250.3 million in 2021.Complete report is available atReasons to buy :--An analysis into the potential growth of the market, along with rivalry among players--Exploring market performance in several sectors, including: revenues, subscribers, ARPU, and customer churn--How innovative technology is changing the shape of the market, specifically in terms of mobile technologies--The market's volatility and room for growth-an analysis of the risks attributed to investments into the Brazilian telecommunications industry in comparison with other South American countries--What challenges and opportunities are available in the Brazilian telecom market-an analysis of the market's strengths and weaknesses--A comprehensive breakdown of the leading players in the Brazilian telecom industry, along with a comparative analysis of said players--Over 2015 to 2016, how has the financial deals landscape changed--Detailing the key drivers of the market in the industry's main segments, namely voice, data, prepaid, postpaid, broadband, and IPTV, and how these might change over the forecast period-Get Discount atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Pune:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Equine Healthcare Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 20172025

http://bit.ly/2z43ZCe

https://goo.gl/KxJJBW

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com

Equine Healthcare refers to the activities and practices aimed for the maintenance of horses. Equine healthcare offers the veterinary services intended for treating horses to enhance their quality of life, develop quality animal food and increase lifespan. The total equine population is directly proportional to the quality of equine healthcare. Equine healthcare includes a number of activities including diagnosis, therapies and supplements for maintaining internal health of horses. The diagnostic products help detect bacteria, viruses and antibodies, therapeutic products helps to treat disease through vaccination and supplement products helps in maintaining specific requirements.Request for sample copy :High return on investment and rise in genotypic analyzers is expected to lead the market expansionEquine veterinary practice is expected to be a high overhead owing to prevent the rising diseases like influenza virus, herpes virus, west nile virus and encephalomyelitis, where the cost for global vaccination is estimated to be around 30 million dollars by the Euro Surveillance Journal in 2016. Rising investments and popularity in alternative forms of gambling like horse racing, online gaming, betting, competitive riding, high return on investment and leisure is expected to drive the global equine healthcare market. The growth and rising demand for gestation diagnosis products, increasing urine test kits, ultrasound devices and supplement products will boost the global equine healthcare market. Additionally, the growing initiatives by equine healthcare organizations to develop drugs for various diseases is expected to give impetus to the equine healthcare market. The non-invasive test kits are largely preferred by the veterinarians owing to the easy usage and affordability.Rising demand for equine diagnostic products is expected to boost equine healthcare marketThe global equine healthcare market is segmented on the basis of diagnostic products, therapeutic products, supplementary products and geography.On the basis of diagnostic products, the global equine healthcare market is segmented into:Pregnancy and Gestation DiagnosticUrine Test KitsUltrasound DevicesGenotyping AnalysisBreed Quality AnalyzersSemen Quality AnalyzersGenetic Disease Identification ProductsOn the basis of therapeutic products, the global equine healthcare market is segmented into:Dopamine AgonistsVaccinesAnti-BacterialAnti-ProtozoalAnti-ViralLaxativesAnti-InflammatoryOn the basis of supplement products, the global equine healthcare market is segmented into:Performance SupplementsProteins and Amino AcidsElectrolytesVitaminsOthersProtection SupplementProtection ProductsProstheticsAsia Pacific market is expected to show positive growth owing to the import of quality of quality breeds and their maintenanceRegional segmentation of the equine healthcare market by Coherent Market Insights comprises of North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa. According to the study conducted by the American Horse Council in 2004, U.S. has 9.2 million horses with $39 billion direct economic impact. Also, a total 22,849 horses were imported into the U.S. in 2013, thereby increasing the demand of equine healthcare in North America. The Australian market is among the leading horse breeding countries of Asia Pacific, hence contributing to the drastically increasing demand for healthcare products in Asia Pacific. Additionally, the maintenance of race-horse breeds by the rising investments from China by specific supplements, therapeutic and protection products drive the growth of Asia Pacific market.Request for customization :Animal-health innovation driven acquisition broadens global equine healthcare marketKey players operating the equine healthcare market include Affymetrix Inc., Boehringer Ingelheim, Merck, Bayer Health Care and Elanco Animal Health. The agreement of Sanofi with Bayer equine health to launch a variety of products to prevent gastric ulcer syndrome, westnile virus, equine influenza and rabies in horses. The launch of updated equine influenza vaccine ProteqFlu by Merial broadens the portfolio of leading products. Other prominent Vendors include Vetoquinol, Novartis Animal Health, Ceva Holdings and Signostics.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact UsMr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.comWebsite:
Global Ocular Surgery Market - Opportunity Analysis, and Industry Forecast till 2025

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/826

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/market-insight/ocular-surgery-market-826

Ocular Surgery MarketBlindness is caused due to various factors such as cataract, glaucoma, birth defects, macular degeneration, and eye injuries. Diabetics are at heightened risk of blindness. The risk of cataract increases due to personal behavior such as smoking, alcohol use, and environmental factors such as prolonged exposure to ultraviolet light.Cataract remains the leading cause of blindness in low and middle-income countries. According to World Health Organization (WHO), in 2014, cataract accounted for 47.8% of the cause for blindness worldwide, followed by glaucoma. Cataract surgery removes clouding from the natural lens of the eye and involves insertion of an artificial lens. It is most commonly observed among people aged 40 years and above. Laser-assisted cataract surgery uses a femtosecond laser, which has replaced the use of handmade incisions. This innovative technique uses computerized mapping and 3-D measurements to remove cataracts accurately and precisely. Glaucoma is a disease that damages the optic nerve of the eye and glaucoma surgery is carried out to reduce the intraocular pressure. According to Bright Focus Foundation, as of 2017, over 3 million people in the U.S. are estimated to be suffering from glaucoma, from which around 2.7 million affected by open-angle glaucoma are recorded to be 40 years of age and above. Laser surgery to treat glaucoma is used more frequently as compared to the conventional form of surgery. Laser in glaucoma surgery is used to make a small opening in the eyes drainage system that helps to increase fluid drainage out of the eye.Request a sample copy of this report:North America holds the maximum share for ocular surgery, owing to high prevalence of diabetes and eye related disorders among the populace in the region. According to National Federation of the Blind, 2014, around 1.3 million people were legally blind in the U.S. and estimated that over 75,000 people in the U.S. are expected to become blind or visually impaired every year.Advancement in ocular surgery and new launches of ocular devices are expected to boost growth of the marketIn cataract surgery, conventional methods such as phacoemulsification (phaco) are safe and effective only when performed by a skilled surgeon. Incisions in the cornea are made using handheld blades. Laser-assisted cataract surgery has replaced many of the steps in the conventional cataract surgery. Laser technology results in fewer surgical errors and its outcomes are predictable. In 2016, Alcon launched NGENUITY 3D Visualization system, which offers enhanced visualization, improves the surgeons posture while performing the surgery and reduces fatigue. It also minimizes light exposure to the patients eye.Growing aging population, awareness initiatives to lead to early diagnosis and treatment, expected to drive growth of the marketIncreasing prevalence of ocular diseases such as cataract and glaucoma have created an increasing demand for ocular surgery globally. According to the National Eye Institute, in 2010, over 24 million people 40 of age and above were reported to have cataracts in the U.S., and this number is projected to reach around 40 million by 2030. According to NCBI, in 2012, 70% of all cases of blindness in Germany accounted for the aging population.Click here to know more about this report:Blindness can be prevented through a combination of education, medical healthcare facilities. For instance, The National Eye Institute (NEI) established National Eye Health Education Program (NEHEP) to help increase awareness about glaucoma among the populace.Key players operating in the ocular surgery market include Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Inc, Alcon, Carl Zeiss Meditec, Bausch & Lomb, Ellex Medical Lasers, Topcon Medical Systems, Dutch Ophthalmic Research Center (International) B.V. (DORC), and LumenisAbout Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave, #3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com
Batten Disease Treatment Market - Global Industry Insights, Trends, Outlook, and Analysis, 20172025

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/831

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/toc/831

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/batten-disease-treatment-market-831

Batten disease is a rare, inherent, and fatal autosomal recessive neural disorder that begins in the childhood but may take a few years to show symptoms. Batten disease is one of the approximately 50 diseases that fall under the category of lysosome shortage disorders. The batten disease also referred as Neuronal ceroid Lipofuscinoses (NCLs), which is a class of life-limiting genetic neurogenerative diseases that are caused due to abnormality of genes resulting in their inability to synthesize required protein. This disease is characterized by malfunctioning of body, which usually appears around the age of 2-10 with symptoms, such as seizures or gradual onset of vision problem. The early signs may show subtle changes in behavior and learning, however over time, the child suffers from mental impairment, progressive loss of sight, speech and motor reactions, worsening seizures, eventually leading to blindness dementia, and finally death. These disease is diagnosed with the help of certain tests, such as blood or urine tests, skin or tissue dampening, brain scans, and imaging techniques, which includes, computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The batten disease is characterized into four types as follows:Infantile NCL: more than 2 yearsLate Infantile NCL: 2-4 years (Life span of child varies between 8-12 years)Juvenile NCL: 5-8 years (Life span varies between teens to early 20s)Adult NCL: more than 40 years (Variable lifespan)Request for a sample copy @European countries facing rising prevalence and incidence of batten diseaseAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Batten disease is observed in 2-4 per 100,000 live births in the United States on an average. The Batten disease although is rare but has high incidence rates in Finland, Sweden, and other parts of the Europe as compared to rest of the world. According to the Batten Disease Support and Research Association, the batten disease has often been encountered in more than one children of the same family. The Daily News and Analysis article published in June 2016 suggests that, over 20 million children in India suffer from rare diseases, having expensive treatments. This creates opportunities for the sustaining as well as upcoming market players by understanding the potential held by the global batten disease treatment market.The global batten disease treatment market is segmented on the basis of therapy and geographical regions.On the basis of therapy, the global batten disease treatment market is segmented asOccupational Therapies,Physical Therapies,.As of now, there are no established drugs and treatments to cure and prevent the disease. However, the severity of disease can be reduced and controlled by certain therapies. Few clinical trials and studies are being carried out in the North America, Western Europe, and Asia Pacific to identify therapies that would help reducing the disease outcome.Access Table of Content (TOC) Of the Report:Attempts by collaborations of research bodies for introduction to reliable treatment options for batten disease giving hopes to commonersThe batten disease treatment market is not dense on the global level, however the developed economies of North America and Europe are expected to contribute to the growth of the market. This attributes to the increasing incidence of batten disease and high prevalence rates in American as well as European countries. For instance, a joint study between Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Childrens Hospital, and Kings College London have discovered a treatment that has helped to improve the neurological symptoms in the mouse model of juvenile batten disease. This research held a novel approach of counteracting the accumulation of the cellular waste in Batten disease by acting on TFEB, which is a master transcription factor that stimulates the production of lysosomes by the cell body and directs cellular apoptosis. This has brought a ray of hope to patients and families affected by battens disease.Improper treatment facility for batten disease responsible to attract the attention of various players to enter the untapped potential batten disease treatment marketThe rising incidence of the batten disease without effective treatment option for the prevention and cure of the disease is the primary driver for batten disease market, due to which several companies are vying to enter into the untapped global batten disease treatment market. However, the lack of awareness among manufacturers and patient population as well as unavailability of treatment for this disease are greatly hampering the growth of the global batten disease treatment market.Although, the global batten disease treatment market is very scarce, few key players offering cell regeneration therapies and few other forms of medication include Seneb BioSciences, Inc., BioMarin Pharmaceuticals and ReGenX Biosciences LLC. The U.S. FDA has recently approved BioMarins first ever drug to treat batten disease known as Brineura in 2017.Complete Report Details @About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@coherentmarketinsights.com
Optic Nerve Glioma Market by Malignant and Benign Type, Analysis and Forecasts Till 2023

Market Research Future

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4152

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/4152

The World Optic Nerve Glioma Market report gives a clear picture of the current market scenario which includes past and estimated future market size with respect to value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The Global Optic Nerve Glioma Market report by Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain a deeper insight of the market and industry performance.Get Sample PDF Illustration @Key Players in the Global Optic Nerve Glioma Market: Some of key players profiled in the report are Emcure Pharmaceuticals ltd., Sigma-Aldrich Co., Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Pfizer Inc., Taj Pharmaceuticals Limited, Novartis International AG, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, GE Healthcare, Siemens Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, Shimadzu Corporation, Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation and others.The report provides detail information about and strategies used by top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions. Optic Nerve Glioma Market information: by type (malignant optic nerve glioma, benign optic nerve glioma) by diagnosis (neurological exam, Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), biopsy, others), by treatment (surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, others) by end users (hospitals & clinics, diagnostic centers, others) - Global forecast till 2023.Market scenario: Optic nerve glioma or optic glioma or juvenile pilocytic astrocytoma are types of brain tumour primarily affecting the optic nerve cells. Optic nerve gliomas are slow growing, rare and mostly found in children. Its occurrence in individuals over age 20 is quite rare and any occurrence is associated with the genetic disorder neurofibromatosis type 1, or NF1 in approximately 30% of the cases. Symptoms of an optic nerve glioma are nausea and vision disturbances, vomiting, balance problems, involuntary eye movements, memory impairment, delay in growth etc. ; daytime sleepiness is also witnessed in a large number of patients. The pressure exerted by these tumours may cause secondary effects such as hormonal problems due to effects on the pituitary gland. Optic nerve gliomas account for about 1% of all intracranial tumours. About 10% of optic nerve gliomas are located within an optic nerve, one third in both optic nerve and chiasm (left and right optic nerve crossing), and approximately one third involve the chiasm itself. The remaining one fourth optic nerve gliomas are in the hypothalamus and approximately 5 5% gliomas are multi-centric.The treatment of optic nerve gliomas include surgery and radiation therapy. The drawbacks of surgery include high risk of brain damage and high costs. Surgery might not always be a good option due to location of the tumour. Radiation therapy for optic nerve gliomas has its own drawbacks such as damage to the eyes and brain, high costs and other side effects associated with its use such as vomiting, reduced immunity, hair loss etc. The primary aim of radiation therapy is to shrink the tumour and to kill any remaining cancer cells. Chemotherapy is used if the tumour has spread to other parts of the brain. Symptomatic and supportive treatment includes use of corticosteroids to reduce swelling etc. Most optic nerve gliomas are benign and malignant gliomas (glioblastoma) are rare and fatal.The global optic nerve glioma market is expected to reach US$ 350 million by 2023, and the market is projected to grow at a CAGR of ~ 3.2 % during the forecast period 2017-2023.Get Discount @Segments: The global optic nerve glioma market has been segmented on the basis of types, diagnosis, treatment and end users. Based on types, the market has been segmented as malignant optic nerve glioma and benign optic nerve glioma.Based on the diagnosis, the market has been segmented into neurological exam, Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), biopsy and others. Based on the treatment, the market has been segmented into surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and others. Based on the end users, the market has been segmented as pharmace hospitals and clinics, diagnostic centers and others.Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Hybrid Operating Room Market - Driven By Advanced & Cost Effective Technologies

Hybrid Operating Room Market

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/862

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/hybrid-operating-room-market

Market Research Future adds new report of Global Hybrid Operating Room Market Research Report - Forecast To 2027 it contains Company information, geographical data and Table of ContentCompetitive Analysis:Cook Medical Inc. (US), Eschmann Equipment (UK), General Electric Company (US), Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. (US), Maquet Holding BV & Co. KG (Germany), Mediflex Surgical Products (US), Mizuho OSI (US), NDS Surgical Imaging (US), Koninklijke Philips N.V (the Netherlands), SISCO Ltd (India), STERIS plc.(US), and Siemens Healthcare GmbH (Germany) are some of the prominent players profiled in MRFR Analysis and are competing in the Hybrid Operating Room Global MarketGet a Sample Report @Market Segments:Global hybrid operating room has been segmented On the basis of Application; Hospitals, Clinics, Medical Research firms On the basis of Devices; operating tables, room lights, surgical boomsMarket Highlight:A hybrid operating room is a surgical theatre that is equipped with medical imaging devices such as fixed C-Arms, CT scanners, or MRI scanners. It combines developed imaging capability with a full functioning operating room. Hybrid OR is a revolutionary alternative to conventional operating rooms that supports high-quality interventional imaging and complex open and minimally invasive surgeries and allows physicians to perform procedures using real-time image guidance to assess effectiveness and manage perioperative complications, all at once.The Hybrid Operating Room market is accruing and expected to gain further prominence over the forecast period. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, The global market of Hybrid Operating Room is projected to accrue at a rapid pace during the forecast period. The Market is forecasted to account for upsurge accretions by 2023with a whooping Double Digit CAGR of 12.5% during 2017 and 2023.Various hybrid processes can be performed with a portable e-arm as well as optimal imaging and technical functionality can be operated in a hybrid operating room. There is a worldwide huge demand for technologically advanced operating rooms capable of cardiac catheterization where Physicians can perform advent combinations of endovascular, laparoscopic or open procedures in the same OR using advanced angiography image guidance. This demand is augmented adding fuel to the growth of the global hybrid operating room market. In the last few years, hybrid operating room has become a must have facility in hospitals, which is expected to boost the growth of the market over the forecast period. Additionally, burgeoning demands from patients to experience benefits of reduced trauma and faster recovery associated with minimally invasive surgery and interventional procedures is fostering the market growth of Hybrid Operating Rooms Markets.However, High cost, space and required time associated with the implementation process of a hybrid OR are posing a challenge to the market growth.Funding, planning, designing, and implementing a hybrid OR is a complex and error-prone undertaking. In the current environment of healthcare reform and cost containment, healthcare executives are advised to carefully assess the technology marketplace and cost, the typical procedures, and space requirements before making procurement and installation decisions. The technological development is rapidly progressing towards the area of image correlation. Data from various modalities such as ultrasound, x-ray, and MRI is merged and complement one another with minimal x-ray exposure and contrast media. The convergence between Hybrid OR systems and the devices will also play a vital role in the future posing a challenge for manufacturers and users.Table of Contents1 Introduction1.1 Definition1.2 Scope Of Study1.2.1 Research Objective1.2.2 Assumptions & Limitations1.2.2.1 Assumptions1.2.2.2 Limitations1.3 Market Structure:2 Research Methodology2.1 Research Process:2.2 Primary Research2.3 Secondary Research:3 Market Dynamics3.1 Drivers3.2 Restraints3.3 Opportunities3.4 Macroeconomic Indicators4 Market Factor Analysis5 Global Hybrid Operating Room Market, By Device6. Global Hybrid Operating Room Market, By End Users7. Global Hybrid Operating Room Market, Application8 Global Hybrid Operating Room Market, By Region9 Competitive Landscape10 Company ProfileContinued..Browse Report Details @About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Ransomware Protection Market value in excess of US$ 26 Bn by the end of 2025 Growing digitization and cloud adoption to boost the ransomware protection market



Workplace digitization is growing at an explosive pace and this is particularly felt in the APAC region that can be considered the perfect example of a mobile first, cloud first region. While this may well lead to greater ransomware attacks, it represents a limitless opportunity for widespread adoption of cloud based security solutions. Other regions are widely expected to follow APACs example in the adoption of cloud based ransomware protection software. Small and Medium size enterprises did not see cyber security as a priority in the past as it was considered an unnecessary additional expenditure. The recent ransomware attacks such as WannaCry and Peyta have necessitated a larger commitment to online security and small and medium enterprises have begun to invest in cloud based security.



Web filtering and threat intelligence solutions gaining traction



Most ransomware is delivered via unauthorized links or through email attachments. These ransomware attacks are easily able to bypass traditional security solutions such as firewalls or antivirus software that may be installed. That is why enterprises are increasingly seeking out non-traditional solutions to avoid ransomware attacks in the future. As these organizations move their entire or a part of their operations to the cloud, players actively involved in the ransomware protection market will also have to make the resultant shift. Startups have often come forward with innovative and out-of-the-box solutions as they are not tied down by legacy software and can seamlessly shift to emerging technologies such as cloud computing.



Get A Sample PDF For Details Industry Insights@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/samples/13381



Cloud segment most preferred mode of deployment in the global ransomware protection market



A growing deployment of cloud based security solutions by both large enterprises and SMEs makes the cloud deployment type the most attractive segment in the global ransomware market, anticipated to increase 3.7x between 2017 and 2025. This segment will also register steady Y-o-Y growth rates throughout the forecast period and expand at a CAGR of 17.7% in terms of value.



Prevalence of unsecure connected devices a key challenge



Enterprises across the world have increasingly warmed up to the concept of BYOD or bring your own devices, keeping pace with the cloud first, mobile first era we now live in. More often than not, these devices are unprotected when it comes to ransomware attacks. While devices such as thermostats and connected cameras may not directly be affected by ransomware, they can easily serve as the entry point for ransomware attacks that can make their way to the cloud. BYOD policies are desired by employees for their convenience and flexibility but they can pose major security threats to organizations. Without strict implementation of Mobile Device Management or VPNs, BYOD can have a direct impact on the security of cloud computing.



Lack of awareness a major restraint in the ransomware protection market



A study conducted in the U.K. by Axelos proved that most enterprises in the country were relying on outdated practices for basic cyber security. It is not impossible for even the best security systems to be compromised by an unaware employee inadvertently opening a malicious attachment and this threat is compounded several times when cloud computing comes into the picture. This is because the ransomware can spread its tentacles across the organizational cloud and bring it almost to a virtual standstill.



Browse Report@ https://www.persistencemarketresearch.com/market-research/ransomware-protection-market.asp



Cloud deployment in North America to witness a high growth rate



North America is the largest regional market in the global ransomware protection market because the continent is a virtual goldmine for hackers. The regions well-developed internet infrastructure and its faster adoption of technologies such as cloud computing makes it particularly vulnerable. The cloud deployment segment in the North America ransomware protection market is expected to register a CAGR of 15.8% from 2017 to 2025. The cloud segment was valued at just under US$ 1.4 Bn in 2016 and is predicted to cross US$ 5 Bn by end 2025, representing an incremental opportunity of approx. US$ 3.5 Bn.



About Us:-



Persistence Market Research (PMR) is a third-platform research firm. Our research model is a unique collaboration of data analytics and market research methodology to help businesses achieve optimal performance. To support companies in overcoming complex business challenges, we follow a multi-disciplinary approach. At PMR, we unite various data streams from multi-dimensional sources. By deploying real-time data collection, big data, and customer experience analytics, we deliver business intelligence for organizations of all sizes.



Contact Us:-



50 Chin Swee Road,

#09-04 Thong Chai Building,

Singapore 169874



This release was published on openPR.



Permanent link to this press release: Copy Please set a link in the press area of your homepage to this press release on openPR. openPR disclaims liability for any content contained in this release.
Salivary Gland Infection Market World CAGR of ~6.7% Expected Forecasts by 2023

Market Research Future

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/3779

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/check-discount/3779

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/enquiry-before-buy/3779

The Global Salivary Gland Infection Market report explores competitive expert analysis report explores the market by diagnosis (plain radiography, sialography, and others), by treatment (medication, surgery, aspiration, and others), by end user- Forecast till 2023. Worldwide Salivary Gland Infection Market Synopsis: Salivary gland infection is one of the most common medical condition across the globe. These infections are mostly caused due to bacteria or viruses. Salivary gland infection affects salivary duct or gland. Increasing prevalence of various salivary gland infections, changing disease patterns, and environmental changes are major drivers for the market growth. Rising funding for R&D and clinical trials are leading to improved product development is another key factor for market growth.Get Sample PDF Illustration @Improved hygiene practices, growing awareness about self-care and advanced diagnosis and treatment options are important driving forces for the market. The global salivary gland infection market is growing at the CAGR of ~6.7% during the forecast period and expected to reach US$ 3622.6 million by 2023.Global salivary gland infection market has been segmented on the basis of diagnosis which comprises of Plain radiography, sialography, high-resolution ultrasonography, Computed tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), radionuclide scintigraphy, and others. Sialography is further sub-segmented into CT sialography (ultrafast technique), fluoroscopic/conventional sialography (with or without digital subtraction), and MR sialography.On the basis of treatment, the market has been segmented into medication, surgery, aspiration, home care, and others. Medication is further sub-segmented into antibiotics and others. Antibiotics are further sub-segmented into dicloxacillin, cephalosporins, clindamycin, and others. Surgery includes removal of part of the parotid salivary gland, removal of all of the parotid salivary gland, removal of the submandibular salivary gland, and others. Home remedies include increased water intake, rest, refraining from smoking, massaging the gland with heat, and others.Get Discount @Regional Analysis: Considering the global scenario of the market, Americas holds the largest market share due to various factors such as increasing number of patients with various salivary gland infections and related disorders. European salivary gland infection market is the second largest where the west European countries are dominating the largest market share. Prevalence of various salivary gland infection is rising in Asia Pacific region. Additionally, increasing healthcare spending and rapidly changing healthcare sector, and government initiatives to improve public health are major growth drivers for Asia Pacific salivary gland infection market. Due to low knowledge of disease and treatments, low-income, and limited access to healthcare facilities, Middle East and Africa (ME&A) is likely to have a limited growth in the market.Key Players for global salivary gland infection market:Some of the key players in this market are: AbbVie Inc. (US), Allergan (Republic of Ireland), AstraZeneca (UK), FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation (Japan), General Electric Company (US), GlaxoSmithKline plc. (UK), Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. (US), Merck & Co., Inc. (US), Pfizer Inc.(US), Siemens Healthcare GmbH (Germany), and others.Inquire more @The report for Global Salivary Gland Infection Market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain deeper insight to the market and industry performance. The report gives a clear picture of the current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and global regions.Market Research Future (MRFR), enable customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, IndiaPhone: +1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Canada-Telecommunication Services Large market with fast acceptance of growing technologies

ReportsWeb

http://www.reportsweb.com/canada-telecommunication-services-large-market-with-fast-acceptance-of-growing-technologies

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011030748/sample

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011030748/discount

There are exciting possibilities for telecommunication companies in Canada as 5G networks begin to launch. Huawei Canada is planning to invest US$500 million into establishing a 5G network in Ontario, with their focus mainly on advanced communications research initiatives, including faster Internet speeds and related technologies such as cloud computing, data analytics and mobile security. They have already started 5G trial runs for the next generation of cellular phone systems. This technology has a higher bandwidth and speeds of up to 29.3 gigabits per second (Gbps), much faster than the current fourth generation speed of 1Gbps. This technology will help Canada create a platform combining mobile apps, bandwidth and cloud technology.Publisher's Premium industry reports provide a comprehensive market view including sections on: industry risk & reward, key industry trends and drivers, industry SWOT analysis, industry benchmarking to compare key performance indicators with regional and global markets, competitive landscape, and innovation.Request a Sample copy atScope:--Risk/Reward Index-enables you to assess the risks and potential rewards of investing in the Canadian Telecommunications market in comparison with other North-American countries.-Industry Snapshot and Industry View-Key Telecommunications Industry Statistics including fixed/mobile revenue, subscriptions, churn, market share, and ARPS are analyzed to reveal the key issues and trends driving market performance in the Canadian Telecommunications market.-Industry SWOT Analysis-Discover the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats impacting market performance and investment in the Canadian Telecommunications market.-Industry Benchmarking-Benchmark how the Canadian telecommunications market is performing compared to regional and global markets in terms of fixed or mobile revenue, subscriptions, ARPS, penetration, and usage to gauge potential for growth or market entry.-Competitive Landscape-Analyze and compare the performance of the leading players in the Canadian Telecommunications market by business segment on metrics such as such as churn, ARPU, and subscriber and revenue growth.Key HighlightsBroadband services to get a cash injectionBroadband penetration offers a lot of growth opportunities for the country. It has increased from 34.4% in 2012 to 36.2% in 2016 and is expected to increase further to 38.9% by 2021. The governments of Ontario and Canada plan to invest US$180 million to help bring ultra-high speed internet to homes and businesses in southwestern Ontario. Bell Canada enterprises (BCE) also spent US$854 million in 2016 on fiber for home broadband connections in Montreal, US$1.14 billion in Toronto and US$225 million in Quebec in 2015 for fiber installation.Canada's telecommunications market proves to be robustThe decline in churn rate indicates higher customer retention in the market. Companies can retain their customers with rapid issue resolution and quality customer service. Canada reported a very low churn rate of 19.7% in 2016 in comparison to the North American average churn rate of 26.4% during the same period. It's peer countries also showed comparatively high churn rate with Mexico at 65.9% and the US at 26.9%. The decline is attributed to value added services offered by operators, along with adoption of the latest technology.Leading companies invest heavily in technological advancementThe focus of operators towards infrastructure development has driven the telecom market in Canada.In 2016, Bell invested US$1 billion in 2016 to extend the availability of its Gigabit Fiber Internet service to around 3 million homes and businesses in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, up from around 2.2 million at the end of 2015.Also, in 2016, Telus invested US$260million into fiber rollout to Quebec residences and businesses in both rural and urban communities.In 2017, CRTC declared broadband internet access a basic service which will boost internet service and speeds in rural and isolated areas.Complete report is available atReasons to buy :--How is Canada's telecommunications industry performing compared to other North-American countries--How committed are Canada's leading telecommunication companies to investing in new technology--What will Australia's broadband penetration look like in 2021--What are the Canadian Telecommunications industry's Strengths and Weaknesses and what Opportunities and Threats does it face-Get Discount atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Pune:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
The Tri-County Chapter #1386 of NARFE (National Association of Active and Retired Federal Employees) is scheduled to meet at Pizones Restaurant in Tomah on Thursday, Oct. 19. Lunch is available at 11:30 a.m. The meeting starts at approximately 12 p.m. The guest speaker will be a representative from Aetna Health Insurance. All NARFE members, their guests and interested active and retired federal employees are welcome.
Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic Packaging Market Research Study for Forecast Period (2017  2027)

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-3527

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/toc/rep-gb-3527

https://www.futuremarketinsights.com

Packaging products made of eco-friendly material are gaining popularity as market players are adapting to sustainable packaging methods. Products and materials sold in the consumer markets, which have served their intended purpose or completed their life cycle are sent to material recovery facilities (MRFs). Packaging products made of plastic materials recovered from MRFs contribute to the category of post-consumer recycled plastic packaging. One of the prominent material which is being recycled is the PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic. PET plastic is the most widely used and accepted plastic, as it is quite easy to recycle and can be recycled more than once, thus promoting the post-consumer recycled plastic packaging market. Recycled products have many environmental benefits and are being preferred by the manufacturers adopting sustainable principles. The increased demand for packaging products produced using recycled content has also propelled the post-consumer recycled plastic packaging market.Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic Packaging Market- Market Dynamics:A major factor supporting the growth of post-consumer recycled plastic packaging market is the improved material sorting infrastructure across many significant regions like U.S., Canada and Western Europe. The global market for post-consumer recycled plastic packaging is witnessing the incorporation of new material processing technologies for manufacturing of post-consumer recycled products and materials. Light weight nature of recycled plastic is another factor fuelling the growth of post-consumer recycled plastic packaging market. The growth of post-consumer recycled plastic packaging market is propelled by certain properties of recycled plastic such as strength and crack-resistance. Another prominent factor promoting the growth of post-consumer recycled plastic packaging market is the environmental friendly property of the plastic. However, the shortfall in supply has restricted the growth prospects for post-consumer recycled plastic packaging market. FDA regulations applicable to packaging of food products across geographic regions are a matter of concern for market players operating in the global post-consumer recycled plastic packaging market.Request Report Sample@Manufacturers are identifying new infrastructure for segregating and collecting mixed plastics at the recovery facilities in order to implement appropriate sorting mechanism. Effectiveness of the selection process plays a vital role in the amount of materials recovered in these facilities.Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic Packaging Market- Market Segmentation:The post-consumer recycled plastic packaging market can be segmented on the basis of product type, material type, process type and end use. On the basis of product type, the post-consumer recycled plastic packaging market can be segmented into bottles, cups, containers (jars and tubs), bags, clamshells and blister packs. Mostly all the recycled plastic packaging products are thermoformed and the FDA approved products are even safe for direct food contact. On the basis of material type, the post-consumer recycled plastic packaging market can be segmented into PET (polyethylene terephthalate), HDPE (high density polyethylene) and PP (polypropylene). PET plastic is expected to be the major contributor due to its abundance availability and ease in processing technology. On the basis of process type, the post-consumer recycled plastic packaging market can be segmented into mechanical (melting and refining) process and chemical process. On the basis of end use, the post-consumer recycled plastic packaging market can be segmented into beverage (bottle and dairy products), electronics, home care, pharmaceuticals, and personal care.Visit For TOC@Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic Packaging Market- Regional Outlook:Geographically, the post-consumer recycled plastic packaging market is segmented into five key regions: North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America and Middle East and Africa (MEA). North America is the leading manufacturer of post-consumer recycled plastic packaging market as U.S. and Canada have taken major steps to initiate material sorting infrastructures in the regions and is anticipated to witness a healthy growth. Asia-Pacific is expected to witness a significant growth over the forecast period driven by the developments in China and India.Post-Consumer Recycled Plastic Packaging Market- Key Players:Some of the key players of post-consumer recycled plastic packaging market are Placon Corporation Inc., Seventh Generation Inc., Amcor Rigid Plastics USA Inc., Genpak, LLC, Papier-Mettler, Inhaber Michael Mettler e.K., Tray-Pak Corporation, Alpha Packaging, Inc., and Eco-Products, Inc.ABOUT US:Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading market intelligence and consulting firm. We deliver syndicated research reports, custom research reports and consulting services, which are personalized in nature. FMI delivers a complete packaged solution, which combines current market intelligence, statistical anecdotes, technology inputs, valuable growth insights, an aerial view of the competitive framework, and future market trends.CONTACT:Future Market Insights616 Corporate Way, Suite 2-9018,Valley Cottage, NY 10989,United StatesT: +1-347-918-3531F: +1-845-579-5705Email: sales@futuremarketinsights.comWebsite:
Wound Care Market 2027 Top Market Player  Smith & Nephew, Acelity L.P, Ethicon Inc., Hollister Inc., Ethicon Inc.

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/926

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/wound-care-market

Market Research Future adds new report of Global Wound Care Market Research Report- Forecast To 2027 it contains Company information, geographical data and Table of ContentCompetitive Analysis: 3M Company (U.S.) Baxter International Inc. (U.S.) Coloplast A/S (Denmark) Convatec Healthcare B.S.A.R.L (U.S.) Covidien PLC (Ireland) Derma Sciences Inc. (U.S.) Ethicon Inc. (U.S.) Hollister Inc. (U.S.) Ethicon Inc. (U.S.) Acelity L.P/ (U.S.) Molnlycke Health Care (Sweden) Smith & Nephew (U.K.)Get a Sample Report @Market Segments:Global Wound Care market has been segmented On the basis of Types which includes chronic wound, acute wound On the basis of Application which consists of surgical wounds, Ulcers, Pressure ulcers, Diabetic foot ulcers, venous ulcers On the basis of Products which consist of traditional wound care, surgical wound care, Advanced wound management productsMarket Highlight:The skin protects our body from outer injuries. It works as a shield to our body. Sometimes wound could be deeper and could cause more damages to under structure like bone, muscles nerves and arteries, this is when wound care is utilized to heal the outer wounds of a human body and to protect the body from further wounds. The global wound care market is expected to reach US$ million by the end of the forecasted period and is expected to grow at Remarkable CAGR.Study Objectives of Wound Care Market: To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 10 years of the various segments and sub-segments of the Global Wound Care Market To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth To Analyze the Global Wound Care Market based on various factors- price analysis, supply chain analysis, porters five force analysis etc. To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries- North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the world To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective To provide country level analysis of the market for segments by type, by applications, by product and sub-segments. To provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the Global Wound Care MarketBrowse Report Details @Regional Analysis of Wound Care Market:Globally North America is the largest market for Wound Care, large share of this market is focused on the Enhancement of diabetes and obesity in people around the world. The North American market for Wound Care is expected to grow at Remarkable CAGR and is expected to reach at US$ Million by the end of the forecasted period. Europe is the second-largest market for Wound Care, which is expected to grow at Remarkable CAGR.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Global Packaging Barrier Films Sales Market Report 2017 : Glenroy, Inc., Amcor Limited, Uflex Ltd.

Market Research Reports

https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1336696&type=E

https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-packaging-barrier-films-sales-market-report-2017.htm

Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Packaging Barrier Films Sales Market Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the global Packaging Barrier Films market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report split global into several key Regions, with sales (K MT), revenue (Million USD), market share and growth rate of Packaging Barrier Films for these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringUnited StatesChinaEuropeJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGlobal Packaging Barrier Films market competition by top manufacturers/players, with Packaging Barrier Films sales volume, Price (USD/MT), revenue (Million USD) and market share for each manufacturer/player; the top players includingGlenroy, Inc.Amcor LimitedBemis Company, Inc.Uflex Ltd.Sealed Air CorporationCelplast Metallized Products Ltd.Winpak Ltd.The Mondi GroupToray Plastics (America), Inc.Berry Global Group, Inc.LINPAC Packaging LimitedSchur Flexibles Hoilding GesmbHHuhtamaki OyjAmpac Hoilding LLCBischof & Klein GmbH & Co. KGOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoBy MaterialPEPPBOPETPVDCEVOHNylonAluminiumInorganic OxidesBy FilmOrganic Coated/Laminated FilmsInorganic Oxide Coated FilmsMetallized FilmsCoextruded FilmsOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Packaging Barrier Films for each application, includingFoods & BeveragesPharmaceuticalsComestics & Personal CareHomecareElectronicsIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.KNOW MORE WITH FREE SAMPLE STUDY @Table of Contents1 Packaging Barrier Films Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Packaging Barrier Films1.2 Classification of Packaging Barrier Films by Product Category1.2.1 Global Packaging Barrier Films Market Size (Sales) Comparison by Type (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Packaging Barrier Films Market Size (Sales) Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.3 Global Packaging Barrier Films Market by Application/End Users1.4 Global Packaging Barrier Films Market by Region1.5 Global Market Size (Value and Volume) of Packaging Barrier Films (2012-2022)2 Global Packaging Barrier Films Competition by Players/Suppliers, Type and Application2.1 Global Packaging Barrier Films Market Competition by Players/Suppliers2.1.1 Global Packaging Barrier Films Sales and Market Share of Key Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Packaging Barrier Films Revenue and Share by Players/Suppliers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Packaging Barrier Films (Volume and Value) by Type2.3 Global Packaging Barrier Films (Volume and Value) by Region2.4 Global Packaging Barrier Films (Volume) by Application3 United States Packaging Barrier Films (Volume, Value and Sales Price)3.1 United States Packaging Barrier Films Sales and Value (2012-2017)3.1.1 United States Packaging Barrier Films Sales and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.2 United States Packaging Barrier Films Revenue and Growth Rate (2012-2017)3.1.3 United States Packaging Barrier Films Sales Price Trend (2012-2017)3.2 United States Packaging Barrier Films Sales Volume and Market Share by Players9 Global Packaging Barrier Films Players/Suppliers Profiles and Sales Data9.1 Glenroy, Inc.9.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.1.2 Packaging Barrier Films Product Category, Application and Specification9.1.3 Glenroy, Inc. Packaging Barrier Films Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.2 Amcor Limited9.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.2.2 Packaging Barrier Films Product Category, Application and Specification9.2.3 Amcor Limited Packaging Barrier Films Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview9.3 Bemis Company, Inc.9.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base and Competitors9.3.2 Packaging Barrier Films Product Category, Application and Specification9.3.3 Bemis Company, Inc. Packaging Barrier Films Sales, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)9.3.4 Main Business/Business OverviewObtain Report Details @List of Tables and FiguresFigure Product Picture of Packaging Barrier FilmsFigure Global Packaging Barrier Films Sales Volume Comparison (K MT) by Type (2012-2022)Figure Global Packaging Barrier Films Sales Volume Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 2016Figure Global Packaging Barrier Films Sales Comparison (K MT) by Application (2012-2022)Figure Global Sales Market Share of Packaging Barrier Films by Application in 2016Figure Global Packaging Barrier Films Market Size (Million USD) by Regions (2012-2022)Figure Global Packaging Barrier Films Sales Volume (K MT) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)Figure Global Packaging Barrier Films Revenue (Million USD) and Growth Rate (2012-2022)About UsQYReseachReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact US:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Saudi Arabia-Telecommunication Services A mature market with renewed growth opportunities 2017 to 2021

ReportsWeb

http://www.reportsweb.com/saudi-arabia-telecommunication-services-a-mature-market-with-renewed-growth-opportunities

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011030764/sample

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011030764/discount

Saudi Arabia is the largest telecom market in the Middle East and has high mobile penetration rate of 72% but still presents an opportunity to grow. The broadband penetration rate, which is quite low is expected to increase from 11% in 2016 to 15% by 2021 as the government plans to invest in the development and maintenance of infrastructure to provide broadband connectivity to all the regions of Saudi Arabia under the national transformation plan.Publisher's Premium industry reports provide a comprehensive market view including sections on: industry risk & reward, key industry trends and drivers, industry SWOT analysis, industry benchmarking to compare key performance indicators with regional and global markets, competitive landscape, and innovation.Request a Sample copy atScope:--Risk/Reward Index-enables you to assess the risks and potential rewards of investing in the Saudi Arabian Telecommunications market in comparison with other Middle East and African countries.-Industry Snapshot and Industry View-Key Telecommunications Industry Statistics including fixed/mobile revenue, subscriptions, churn, market share, and ARPS are analyzed to reveal the key issues and trends driving market performance in the Saudi Arabian Telecommunications market.-Industry SWOT Analysis-Discover the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats impacting market performance and investment in the Saudi Arabian Telecommunications market.-Industry Benchmarking-Benchmark how the Saudi Arabian telecommunications market is performing compared to regional and global markets in terms of fixed or mobile revenue, subscriptions, ARPS, penetration, and usage to gauge potential for growth or market entry.-Competitive Landscape-Analyze and compare the performance of the leading players in the Saudi Arabian Telecommunications market by business segment on metrics such as such as churn, ARPU, and subscriber and revenue growth.Fixed Internet revenue shows growthFixed segment revenue increased from US$3,780.2 million in 2012 to US$4,098.0 million in 2016 at 2.0% CAGR during 2012-2016 and is further expected to grow at 2.3% CAGR for 2016-2021 is expected to increase to US$4,582.4 million by 2021. The increase in the fixed line revenue will primarily be because of the increase in the Internet revenue between 2016 and 2021. In terms of ARPS, Fixed voice ARPS is expected to decline from US$66.8 to US$54.3 between 2016 and 2021. Also, the fixed Internet ARPS is expected to decline from US$103.2 to US$99.4 between 2016 and 2021.The decline in the fixed voice ARPS is due to the decrease in the number of subscribers, change in the preference of consumers from voice to data.Saudi Arabian governement plans to boost broadband connectivityIt was estimated that 69.0% of Saudi Arabia's population was using the Internet in 2016. This is expected to increase to 77.0% by the end of 2021 as digital literacy levels rise in the kingdom. Additionally, the broadband penetration rate in 2016 in Saudi Arabia stood at 11.0% but is expected to increase to 16.0% by 2021. This is attributed to the initiative of Ministry of Communications and Information Technology to provide broadband connectivity to all the regions of Saudi Arabia under the national transformation plan by stimulating investment for the development of the required infrastructure.The telecommunication industry to get big cash investmentsThe National Transformation plan undertaken by the government to create a strong non-oil economy has given a lot of impetus to the sectors such as telecom. This includes investment in the upgradation of the existing infrastructure by both the Government and telecom operators. The telecom regulator of Saudi Arabia, Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC) is expected to invest US$1.45 billion towards communication equipment and upgradation.Complete report is available atReasons to buy :--What was the CAGR of broadband penetration from the period 2012-2016, and what is it projected to be up to 2021--How risky is it to invest in the Saudi Arabian telecommunications industry--What trends are being witnessed within the Saudi Arabian Telecommunications industry--What are the Saudi Arabian Telecommunications industry's Strengths and Weaknesses and what Opportunities and Threats does it face-Get Discount atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Pune:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Market Research Report 2017 : Eastman, SK NJC, BSM Chemical

Market Research Reports

https://www.qyresearchreports.com/sample/sample.php?rep_id=1065800&type=E

https://www.qyresearchreports.com/report/global-cyclohexane-dimethanol-dimethacrylate-market-research-report-2017.htm

Qyresearchreports include new market research report "Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Market Research Report 2017" to its huge collection of research reports.In this report, the global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate market is valued at USD XX million in 2016 and is expected to reach USD XX million by the end of 2022, growing at a CAGR of XX% between 2016 and 2022.Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaGlobal Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer; the top players includingEastmanSK NJCBSM ChemicalCAC GroupFeixiang GroupKangheng Chemical...On the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoSolidPowderOtherOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate of Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate for each application, includingPolyester MaterialsCoating MaterialsLiquid Crystal MaterialsOtherIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Order a copy of Free Sample Report @Table of Contents1 Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate1.2 Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category) (2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.3 Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Segment by Application1.4 Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Market by Region (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate (2012-2022)2 Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Capacity, Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.1 Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Capacity and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.1.2 Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Production and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.2 Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Revenue and Share by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.3 Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Average Price by Manufacturers (2012-2017)2.4 Manufacturers Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Manufacturing Base Distribution, Sales Area and Product Type2.5 Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Market Competitive Situation and Trends3 Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Capacity, Production, Revenue (Value) by Region (2012-2017)3.1 Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Capacity and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.2 Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Production and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.3 Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Revenue (Value) and Market Share by Region (2012-2017)3.4 Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.5 North America Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.6 Europe Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)3.7 China Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7 Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Eastman7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.3 Eastman Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 SK NJC7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.3 SK NJC Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 BSM Chemical7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.3 BSM Chemical Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business OverviewBrowse full table of contents and data tables of Report @List of Tables and FiguresFigure Picture of Cyclohexane Dimethanol DimethacrylateFigure Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Production (K MT) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Types (Product Category) (2012-2022)Figure Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Production Market Share by Types (Product Category) in 2016Figure Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Consumption (K MT) by Applications (2012-2022)Figure Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Consumption Market Share by Applications in 2016Figure Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Revenue (Million USD) Status and Outlook (2012-2022)Figure Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Capacity, Production (K MT) Status and Outlook (2012-2022)Figure Global Cyclohexane Dimethanol Dimethacrylate Major Players Product Capacity (K MT) (2012-2017)About UsQYReseachReports.com delivers the latest strategic market intelligence to build a successful business footprint in China. Our syndicated and customized research reports provide companies with vital background information of the market and in-depth analysis on the Chinese trade and investment framework, which directly affects their business operations. Reports from QYReseachReports.com feature valuable recommendations on how to navigate in the extremely unpredictable yet highly attractive Chinese market.Contact US:1820 AvenueM Suite #1047Brooklyn, NY 11230United StatesToll Free: 866-997-4948 (USA-CANADA)Tel: +1-518-621-2074Email: sales@qyresearchreports.com
Sweden-Telecommunication Services Highly protected market 2017 to 2021

ReportsWeb

http://www.reportsweb.com/sweden-telecommunication-services-highly-protected-market

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011030767/sample

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011030767/discount

Sweden's telecom market is saturated. Mobile user penetration reached 80%, with growth potential due to increase with the adoption of new technologies through innovation. Mobile subscription base increased from 14.3 million in 2012 to 14.9 million in 2016, and had a subscription penetration level of 148.6% in 2016. It is expected to reach 16.9 million in 2021 with a corresponding penetration level of 158.1% in 2021 due to increased adoption of mobile phones and data usage.Publisher's Premium industry reports provide a comprehensive market view including sections on: industry risk & reward, key industry trends and drivers, industry SWOT analysis, industry benchmarking to compare key performance indicators with regional and global markets, competitive landscape, and innovation.Request a Sample copy atScope:-- -Risk/Reward Index-enables you to assess the risks and potential rewards of investing in the Swedish Telecommunications market in comparison with other European countries.-Industry Snapshot and Industry View-Key Telecommunications Industry Statistics including fixed/mobile revenue, subscriptions, churn, market share, and ARPS are analyzed to reveal the key issues and trends driving market performance in the Swedish Telecommunications market.-Industry SWOT Analysis-Discover the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats impacting market performance and investment in the Swedish Telecommunications market.-Industry Benchmarking-Benchmark how the Swedish telecommunications market is performing compared to regional and global markets in terms of fixed or mobile revenue, subscriptions, ARPS, penetration, and usage to gauge potential for growth or market entry.-Competitive Landscape-Analyze and compare the performance of the leading players in the Swedish Telecommunications market by business segment on metrics such as such as churn, ARPU, and subscriber and revenue growth.Key HighlightsData revenue to increaseHigher demand and usage of mobile data, along with the simultaneous adoption of smartphones, are expected to drive the rise in total mobile service revenues at a CAGR of 7.5% during the forecast period, to reach US$1,909 million by 2021. Given a penetration of 80% in 2016, the Sweden telecom market is still developing with mobile voice revenues at US$2,960.1 million in 2016, as opposed to mobile data revenues which registered US$1,331.4 million in the same year. Increased usage is expected to increase data revenues at a CAGR of 7.5% during the forecast period, while voice revenue is expected to decline at a CAGR of-4.0% over the same period.Strong support from growth in postpaid subscriptionsSweden is expected to have 16.9 million mobile subscriptions by 2021, growing at a CAGR of 2.6% during over the forecast period. This translates to the subscription density (% of population) increasing from 148.6% in 2016 to 158.1% in 2021. Postpaid mobile subscriptions at 11.3 million outnumbered prepaid at 3.5 million in 2016. Also, postpaid subscriptions are expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.0% during 2016-21, while prepaid are expected to decline at a CAGR of-2.5% over the same period.Increase in adoption of LTEUMTS is currently the leading technology platforms for mobile subscription. Many players have already adopted these platforms to offer better services. However, with increase in penetration and auction of the 1800MHz band, subscriptions based on the Long Term Evolution (LTE) platform are expected to pick up. In 2016, there were more than 3.5 million LTE users in the country and this is expected to increase to 10.0 million in 2021.Complete report is available atReasons to buy :--What markets have shown the biggest CARG in the Swedish telecommunications industry since 2012--What opportunities do new entrants have in Sweden's telecommunication market--What trends are being witnessed within the Swedish Telecommunications industry--What are the Swedish Telecommunications industry's Strengths and Weaknesses and what Opportunities and Threats does it face--How does the Swedish government plan to drive market growth-Get Discount atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Pune:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Wireless Telecommunication Services Global Group of Eight Industry Guide 2016

ReportsWeb

http://www.reportsweb.com/wireless-telecommunication-services-global-group-of-eight-industry-guide-2016

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001765928/sample

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001765928/discount

The G8 Wireless Telecommunication Services industry profile provides top-line qualitative and quantitative summary information including: market share, market size (value and volume 2011-15, and forecast to 2020). The profile also contains descriptions of the leading players including key financial metrics and analysis of competitive pressures within the market.Essential resource for top-line data and analysis covering the G8 wireless telecommunication services market. Includes market size and segmentation data, textual and graphical analysis of market growth trends and leading companies.- The G8 countries contributed $357,769,733.5 thousands in 2015 to the global wireless telecommunication services industry, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of -3.8% between 2011 and 2015. The G8 countries are expected to reach a value of $439,097,272.3 thousands in 2020, with a CAGR of 4.2% over the 2015-20 period.- Among the G8 nations, the US is the leading country in the wireless telecommunication services industry, with market revenues of $180,167,680.5 thousands in 2015. This was followed by Japan and the UK, with a value of $61,477,606.4 and $26,189,573.6 thousands, respectively.- The US is expected to lead the wireless telecommunication services industry in the G8 nations with a value of $225,723,368.0 thousands in 2016, followed by Japan and the UK with expected values of $85,193,584.9 and $27,108,191.3 thousands, respectively.Request a Sample copy atScope:-- Save time carrying out entry-level research by identifying the size, growth, major segments, and leading players in the G8 wireless telecommunication services market- Use the Five Forces analysis to determine the competitive intensity and therefore attractiveness of the G8 wireless telecommunication services market- Leading company profiles reveal details of key wireless telecommunication services market players' G8 operations and financial performance- Add weight to presentations and pitches by understanding the future growth prospects of the G8 wireless telecommunication services market with five year forecasts by both value and volume- Compares data from the US, Canada, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Russia and Japan, alongside individual chapters on each countryGroup of Eight (G) Wireless Telecommunication ServicesWireless Telecommunication Services in The United StatesWireless Telecommunication Services in CanadaWireless Telecommunication Services in FranceWireless Telecommunication Services in GermanyWireless Telecommunication Services in ItalyWireless Telecommunication Services in JapanWireless Telecommunication Services in RussiaWireless Telecommunication Services in The United KingdomComplete report is available atReasons to buy :-- What was the size of the G8 wireless telecommunication services market by value in 2015?- What will be the size of the G8 wireless telecommunication services market in 2020?- What factors are affecting the strength of competition in the G8 wireless telecommunication services market?- How has the market performed over the last five years?- Who are the top competitors in the G8 wireless telecommunication services market?Get Discount atContact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.Pune:505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market 2017 Global Analysis By key Players  Fibre2Fashion Pvt, TuV SuD, Hong Kong Association, Bureau Veritas, SGS

Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/2369935-global-testing-inspection-and-certification-tic-for-apparel-market-size-status

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/2369935-global-testing-inspection-and-certification-tic-for-apparel-market-size-status

WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On - Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market 2017 Global Analysis By key Players  Fibre2Fashion Pvt, TuV SuD, Hong Kong Association, Bureau Veritas, SGS.This report studies the global Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel market, analyzes and researches the Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel development status and forecast in United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia. This report focuses on the top players in global market, likeFibre2Fashion PvtTuV SuDHong Kong AssociationBureau VeritasSGSCertest srlElement Materials TechnologyUBSIntertekKompassSgTGet a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comMarket segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversUnited StatesEUJapanChinaIndiaSoutheast AsiaMarket segment by Type, Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel can be split intoFabric CheckGarment LabelingWorkmanship AssessmentOtherMarket segment by Application, Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel can be split intoAdult ApparelChildren ApparelAsk Query @Table Of Contents  Major Key PointsGlobal Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size, Status and Forecast 20221 Industry Overview of Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel1.1 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Overview1.1.1 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Product Scope1.1.2 Market Status and Outlook1.2 Global Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size and Analysis by Regions1.2.1 United States1.2.2 EU1.2.3 Japan1.2.4 China1.2.5 India1.2.6 Southeast Asia1.3 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market by Type1.3.1 Fabric Check1.3.2 Garment Labeling1.3.3 Workmanship Assessment1.3.4 Other1.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market by End Users/Application1.4.1 Adult Apparel1.4.2 Children Apparel2 Global Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Competition Analysis by Players2.1 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Market Size (Value) by Players (2016 and 2017)2.2 Competitive Status and Trend2.2.1 Market Concentration Rate2.2.2 Product/Service Differences2.2.3 New Entrants2.2.4 The Technology Trends in Future3 Company (Top Players) Profiles3.1 Fibre2Fashion Pvt3.1.1 Company Profile3.1.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.1.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.1.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.1.5 Recent Developments3.2 TuV SuD3.2.1 Company Profile3.2.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.2.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.2.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.2.5 Recent Developments3.3 Hong Kong Association3.3.1 Company Profile3.3.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.3.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.3.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.3.5 Recent Developments3.4 Bureau Veritas3.4.1 Company Profile3.4.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.4.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.4.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.4.5 Recent Developments3.5 SGS3.5.1 Company Profile3.5.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.5.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.5.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.5.5 Recent Developments3.6 Certest srl3.6.1 Company Profile3.6.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.6.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.6.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.6.5 Recent Developments3.7 Element Materials Technology3.7.1 Company Profile3.7.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.7.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.7.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.7.5 Recent Developments3.8 UBS3.8.1 Company Profile3.8.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.8.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.8.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.8.5 Recent Developments3.9 Intertek3.9.1 Company Profile3.9.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.9.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.9.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.9.5 Recent Developments3.10 Kompass3.10.1 Company Profile3.10.2 Main Business/Business Overview3.10.3 Products, Services and Solutions3.10.4 Testing, Inspection, And Certification TIC For Apparel Revenue (Value) (2012-2017)3.10.5 Recent Developments3.11 SgTContinue.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.
Otoplasty Market Forecasts Accruals of USD ~ 1.2 Billion By 2023, At ~6.5% of CAGR; Confirms MRFR

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/3979

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/otoplasty-market-3979

Market Research Future published a research report on Otoplasty Market Research Report- Global Forecast till 2023 Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.Otoplasty market information: by otoplasty types (ear augmentation, ear reduction, ear pin back) by otoplasty surgical techniques (anti-helical fold manipulation, conchal alteration, correction of earlobe prominence) by non-surgical otoplasty (tissue molding, others) by devices (ear-splint, tubing, others) by end users (hospitals and clinics, academics and research, others) - Global Forecast till 2023Market Synopsis of Global Otoplasty Market:Market scenario:Otoplasty refers to surgical and non-surgical procedures for correcting external ear deformities and defects. The defects may be of morphology and structure of the external ear such as a deformation, absent external ear, damage by trauma etc.. Otoplasty corrects the defect or deformity of the external ear by procedures such as shaping or augmenting of the cartilaginous support framework of the pinna etc. Otoplasty was developed in ancient India, in 5th century BC, by physician Sushruta and was described in the Sushruta samhita for correcting and reconstructing ear, nose and lips deformed due to amputations. Dieffenbach in 1845, demonstrated correction of post-traumatic auricular deformity and cosmetic otoplasty was described by Ely who performed a wedge excision to reduce the prominence of the ear.The market for otoplasty is driven by factors such as growing prevalence of congenital ear deformities such as Treacher Collins syndrome, hemifacial microsomia etc. Other factors are natural deformations and extremities such as bat ears, constricted ear, cryptotic ear, macrotic ear, question mark ear, Stahls ear deformity etc. the rising cases of trauma to the external ear such as due to blasts, puncture and damage due to blunt objects are also important drivers of the Otoplasty market. The growing influence of media and fashion industry coupled with greater screening for deformities at birth will drive the market for otoplasty.The growing awareness and the availability of advanced products such as malleable and adjustable splints, tubings which can be adjusted for any size and shapes of the ear, are expected to make a positive impact on the market. The rising per capita income and the growing acceptance of the plastic and aesthetics surgeries across the globe will drive the future market. The critical market restraints are complications and discomfort associated with otoplasty, formation of abnormal scar tissue, distortion of the shape of the ear caused by overcorrection of deformed features and reappearance of ear protrusion. Generally insurance providers do not provide coverage for otoplasty which is the biggest economic constraint. Again, cosmetic otoplasty surgeries have almost no coverage. Most patients do not have a life threat from the deformity which leads to low number of patients than the actual potential of the surgery procedure.The market for devices is however fragmented with a large number of players of unknown origin operating in the segment. Thus, the market has a small profit margin which has constricted growth and thus there is high competition in the market.Considering all these factors, the market for otoplasty is expected to reach $ 1.2 billion by the end of 2023, this market is projected to growing at a CAGR of ~ 6.5 % during 2017-2023.Get a Copy of Sample Report @Key players of Global Otoplasty Market: Allergan Sklar Surgical Instruments Earfold Invotec International, Inc. Phoenix medical systems pvt. ltd. EarBuddiesSegments:The global otoplasty market is segmented on the basis of otoplasty types, otoplasty surgical techniques, non-surgical otoplasty, devices and end users. Based on otoplasty types, the market has been segmented as ear augmentation, ear reduction and ear pin back. Based on the otoplasty surgical techniques, the market has been segmented as anti-helical fold manipulation, conchal alteration and correction of earlobe prominence. Based on the non-surgical otoplasty, the market has been segmented as tissue molding and others. Based on the devices, the market has been segmented as ear-splint, tubing and others. Based on the end users, the market has been segmented as hospitals and clinics, academics and research and others.Regional analysisUS accounts for the maximum market share due to favorable insurance penetration, excellent reimbursement scenario and greater expenditure on healthcare. The faster market uptake of new technology in the US is also an important driver of the market for global otoplasty. Europe is the second largest market due to large disposable income and rising awareness. Asia Pacific region is expected to have the most future potential and it is estimated to be led by China and India. The Middle East & Africa market is led by the gulf nations particularly Saudi Arabia and UAE. The regions of Africa are expected to witness a moderate growth due to poor economic and political conditions and poor healthcare penetrationBrowse Full Report Details @The report for Global Otoplasty Market by Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain a deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives a clear picture of the current market scenario which includes past and estimated future market size with respect to value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides detail information about and strategies used by top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.ContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from Otoplasty Market Research Report- Global Forecast till 2023 chain related technical experts and marketing experts during Research Team survey and interviews.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Global IUCD Market to Witness Increasing Growth of USD 20 Billion in 2023 from USD 14 Billion in 2016 with CAGR of 8.72% During The Forecast Period 2017-2023

Global IUCD Market

http://bit.ly/2ghuSuK

http://bit.ly/2fXZgNX

http://bit.ly/2y0rmg2

Executive Summary:Market Research Future published new report, titled IUCD Market -Research Report: Global Forecast to 2023.Market Synopsis of Global IUCD Market:GET SAMPLE REPORT @Market Scenario:IUCD stands for Intra-Uterine Contraceptive Devices. It is a device inserted into the uterus to prevent pregnancy. The device is T-shaped made up of flexible plastic with a coating of thin copper wire. China, ICUD was the most important tool to limit the couples to have one child. One child policy of China was introduced in 1979 favored the growth of this market till 2015. But in January 2016, a new law named Two-child policy become effective, which was passed by standing committee of National Peoples Congress in December 2016. According to census 2010, the population change in is 7.39 per year. The market for IUCD is showing a steady rise in China because most of the women still do not want to have a second child even after the passage of second child policy. China market of IUCD is expected to reach USD 20 billion in 2023 from USD 14 billion in 2016 with a CAGR of approximately 8.72% during the forecast period 2017-2023.Market Segments:The market for IUCD in China is segmented into types which include hormonal IUD, copper IUD and other types. The end users are hospitals, Clinics and others.Key Players:SMB Corporation Of India, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals Inc. (US), Mona Lisa (Belgium), Teva Womens Health, DKT International (US).GET FULL REPORT @Market Assessment:The report for IUCD of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different markets segments and regionsRegional Analysis:On the basis of regions market for IUCD in China is segmented into North China, Northeast China, East China, South Central China, Southwest China and Northwest China. East China account for the largest market share. It has the highest population and largest population density. The market in China is showing steady growth due to an increase in the population in all the regions.Study Objectives of IUCD:Main objective of this research is to provide information about IUCD market, types of provider services and payer services.To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next seven years of the various segments and sub-segments of the IUCD market.To provide insights about factors affecting the market growth.To analyze the IUCD based on various factors- price analysis, supply chain analysis, porters five force analysis etc.To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to ChinaTo provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospective.To provide country level analysis of the market for segments by diagnosis and by end users and its sub-segments.To provide overview of key players and their strategic profiling in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the market.To track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the China IUCD market.Intended Audience:Healthcare IT companiesHealthcare companiesContract Research Organizations (CROs)Research and Development (R&D) CompaniesAcademic Medical Institutes and UniversitiesBUY-NOW REPORT @Table of Contents:1 Report Prologue2 Introduction3 Research Methodology4 Market Dynamics5 Market Factor Analysis6 China IUCD By Type7 China IUCD By End Users8 China IUCD By Region9 Competitive Landscape10 Company Profile11 Conclusion12 Appendix...CONTINUEDAt Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: salesteam@marketresearchfuture.comOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar, Pune  411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312
I always knew I shouldve paid closer attention in my science classes. If Id applied myself, I couldve spent my career determining whether cats can be both a solid and a liquid.

Science experiments seemed boring back in school, what with all the equations and data and careful control of chemicals that might blow up the lab. But after learning about this years winners of the Ig Nobel Prizes, I have to say science can be a blast.

For 27 years, the delightfully warped brainiacs behind the Annals of Improbable Research have handed out awards that spoof the Nobel Prizes. They honor achievements that make people laugh, then think. Could playing a didgeridoo help you overcome sleep apnea? Lets round up some horns and some test subjects and find out!

As the prize committee proudly states, worthwhile experiments can also be odd and even funny. A lot of good science gets attacked because of its absurdity, the groups website reads. A lot of bad science gets revered despite its absurdity.

Take, for example, this years winners of the Ig Nobel Prize for economics, who studied how holding crocodiles affects gamblers. Can you imagine if wed done exciting experiments like this in high school? It certainly wouldve beat cutting worms open.

Australian researchers had problem gamblers and non-problem gamblers handle 3-foot crocodiles before playing a simulated slot machine. The study found problem gamblers were likely to place higher bets after handling the reptiles, as their brains had misinterpreted the excitement of holding a dangerous animal as a sign they were on a lucky streak. If you see any gamblers walking the casino floor holding crocodiles, chances are they have a problem. Actually, they probably have several.

Marc Abrahams, editor of the Annals of Improbable Research, said the awards highlight research that encourages people to think in unusual ways. We hope that this will get people back into the habits they probably had when they were kids of paying attention to odd things and holding out for a moment and deciding whether they are good or bad only after they have a chance to think, Abrahams told Reuters.

That might explain the mind of French researcher Marc-Antoine Fardin, whose study Can a Cat Be Both a Solid and a Liquid? was inspired by Internet photos of cats tucked into glasses, buckets and sinks. He won the Ig Nobel in physics by using mathematical formulas to conclude that active young cats and kittens hold their physical shape longer than older, lazier felines. Science is a wonderful world. Prove an obvious conclusion  that exercise helps animals avoid obesity  and they hand you a prize.

A more surprising conclusion was reached by the authors of the paper Didgeridoo Playing as Alternative Treatment for Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: Randomized Controlled Trial. A multi-national team of six researchers won a prize for determining the Australian wind instrument helps apnea sufferers not because its droning tone puts them to sleep, but because daily practice involves a lot of blowing, strengthening players upper respiratory tracts. This is the kind of stuff you cant know until you try and didgeridoo it.

They are unusual approaches to things, Abrahams said. It would be difficult for some people to decide whether they are important or the opposite. If you had sleep apnea for a long time, the didgeridoo thing would sound quite intriguing.

Im intrigued, and I have neither a didgeridoo nor sleep apnea. This is the beauty of the research that yields Ig Nobel Prizes: It recognizes people whose approach is a little off center. Sort of like my attempt to bisect that worm back in ninth grade.
Menieres Disease Market Projected to See Accruals with USD 6380.3 Million, 8.5% of CAGR; MRFR Unleashes Industry Insights Up To 2023

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/3991

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/menieres-disease-market-3991

Market Research Future published a research report on Menieres Disease Market Research Report- Global Forecast till 2023 Market Analysis, Scope, Stake, Progress, Trends and Forecast to 2023.Menieres disease market information, by diagnosis (hearing assessment, balance assessment, and others), by treatment (medication, surgery, and others), by end user- global forecast till 2023Market synopsis of global Menieres disease market:Market Scenario:Menieres disease is a disorder of middle ear that causes vertigo, ringing sound in the ear and hearing problems. In most of the cases this disease only affects one ear. Menieres disease can affect anyone but the prevalence is on a higher side in people aged from 20-50. This is a chronic disease but different treatments can help in minimizing the symptoms. The major causes of Menieres disease are allergies, abnormal immune response, genetic predisposition, viral infection, migraines, head trauma, and some others. About 90-95% of the patients control their Menieres disease with medical management.The global Menieres disease market is growing moderately and is expected to continue its growth during the forecast period. Global Menieres disease market is expected to grow at the CAGR of ~5.4% during the forecast period and is estimated to reach USD 6380.3 million by 2023.Get a Copy of Sample Report @The prevalence and incidence of Menieres disease is increasing. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, there are around 615,000 Americas who are suffering from Menieres disease. This number is continuously growing every year. According to Massachusetts Eye and Ear (An international center for treatment and research and a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School), approximately 60,000 new cases of this disease are diagnosed annually.Companies are working on this disease by investing in research and new product development that can cure this disease. Top pharmaceutical companies like F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, Novartis AG and Pfizer Inc. are exploring new options for the treatment of Menieres disease. These companies have already started clinical trials for this disease. US based company Otonomy Inc. raised USD 115 million in 2014 for clinical trials for drug that can quiet the overexcitement of the signaling between nerve cells in the cochlea that is linked to tinnitus. Otonomy Inc. is also testing a steroid gel to treat Menieres disease.Increasing awareness of this disorder is another important factor for the market growth. Some other factors such as technological advancement, introduction and rapid adoption of therapies are also leading the market growth. Increasing demand from emerging markets of Asia and Latin America are creating smooth path for the market growth.Key players for global Menieres disease market: Auris Medical (Switzerland) Jubilant Cadista (US) Otonomy Inc.(US) Prestige Brands Holdings, Inc. (US) Sound Pharmaceuticals (US) The Ear Company (Canada) WellSpring Pharmaceutical Corporation (US)Segments:Global Menieres disease market has been segmented on the basis of diagnosis which comprise of hearing assessment, balance assessment, blood tests, imaging test, and others. Balance assessment is sub-segmented into Videonystagmography (VNG), Rotary-chair testing, Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP) testing, posturography, video Head Impulse Test (vHIT), Electrocochleography (ECoG), and others. Imaging test includes Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and others.On the basis of treatments, the market has been segmented into medication, noninvasive therapies & procedures, middle ear injections, surgery, and others. Medication is sub-segmented into motion sickness medications, anti-nausea medications, and others. Noninvasive therapies & procedures is further sub-segmented into rehabilitation, hearing aid, meniett device, and others. Middle ear injections are further sub-segmented into gentamicin, steroids, and others. Surgery is further sub-segmented into endolymphatic sac procedure, vestibular nerve section, labyrinthectomy, and others.On the basis of end user, it is segmented into hospital and clinics, medical research centers, academic institutes, and others.Browse Full Report Details @Regional analysis of global Menieres disease market:Considering the global scenario of the market, the Americas are the largest market for Menieres disease. The Americas mainly include North America and Latin America. North America is the dominating region not only in Americas but also in global market. US is the top contributor in North America region. Some major factors like investment in research and development, and technological advanced are driving the growth for the market. Europe is the second highest revenue generating region in global Menieres disease market. Europe is mainly divided into Eastern Europe and Western Europe. More developed countries of Western Europe like Germany, France and UK are holding major market share while the East European countries are also growing significantly. Due to developing healthcare infrastructure, increasing awareness, increasing healthcare expenditure, and growing adoption of new devices and treatment options, Asia Pacific region is the fastest growing in global Menieres disease market. Middle East & Africa is expected to grow slower than the global average. Middle Eastern countries like UAE and Saudi are dominating this market, it is mainly due to availability of top class medical facilities, high income and government support to improve public health.The report for Global Menieres disease Market of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain deeper insight to the market and industry performance. The report gives clear picture of the current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regionsContinueWe are thankful for the support and assistance from Menieres Disease Market Research Report- Global Forecast till 2023 related technical experts and marketing experts during Research Team survey and interviews.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Media Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research FutureOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, Hadapsar,Pune - 411028Maharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: akash.anand@marketresearchfuture.com
Bluetooth Keyboard Industry Global Production,Growth,Share,Demand and Applications Forecast to 2022

Bluetooth Keyboard Industry

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/1202746-global-bluetooth-keyboard-market-professional-survey-report-2017

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/1202746-global-bluetooth-keyboard-market-professional-survey-report-2017

WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On - Bluetooth Keyboard Industry Global Production,Growth,Share,Demand and Applications Forecast to 2022.This report studies Bluetooth Keyboard in Global market, especially in North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan and India, with production, revenue, consumption, import and export in these regions, from 2012 to 2016, and forecast to 2022.This report focuses on top manufacturers in global market, with production, price, revenue and market share for each manufacturer, coveringLogitechRazerRAPOOMicrosoftLenovoWacomZaggHpSamsungGear HeadAnkerIDeaUSA.BorndToshibaBelkinSonyAppleAsusGet a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoMechanical KeyboardsGaming KeyboardsBy Application, the market can be split intoHouseholdCommercialBy Regions, this report covers (we can add the regions/countries as you want)North AmericaChinaEuropeSoutheast AsiaJapanIndiaAsk Query @Table Of Contents  Major Key PointsGlobal Bluetooth Keyboard Market Professional Survey Report 20171 Industry Overview of Bluetooth Keyboard1.1 Definition and Specifications of Bluetooth Keyboard1.1.1 Definition of Bluetooth Keyboard1.1.2 Specifications of Bluetooth Keyboard1.2 Classification of Bluetooth Keyboard1.2.1 Mechanical Keyboards1.2.2 Gaming Keyboards1.3 Applications of Bluetooth Keyboard1.3.1 Household1.3.2 Commercial1.3.3 Application 31.4 Market Segment by Regions1.4.1 North America1.4.2 China1.4.3 Europe1.4.4 Southeast Asia1.4.5 Japan1.4.6 India2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Bluetooth Keyboard2.1 Raw Material and Suppliers2.2 Manufacturing Cost Structure Analysis of Bluetooth Keyboard2.3 Manufacturing Process Analysis of Bluetooth Keyboard2.4 Industry Chain Structure of Bluetooth Keyboard8 Major Manufacturers Analysis of Bluetooth Keyboard8.1 Logitech8.1.1 Company Profile8.1.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.1.2.1 Product A8.1.2.2 Product B8.1.3 Logitech 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.1.4 Logitech 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Business Region Distribution Analysis8.2 Razer8.2.1 Company Profile8.2.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.2.2.1 Product A8.2.2.2 Product B8.2.3 Razer 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.2.4 Razer 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Business Region Distribution Analysis8.3 RAPOO8.3.1 Company Profile8.3.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.3.2.1 Product A8.3.2.2 Product B8.3.3 RAPOO 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.3.4 RAPOO 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Business Region Distribution Analysis8.4 Microsoft8.4.1 Company Profile8.4.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.4.2.1 Product A8.4.2.2 Product B8.4.3 Microsoft 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.4.4 Microsoft 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Business Region Distribution Analysis8.5 Lenovo8.5.1 Company Profile8.5.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.5.2.1 Product A8.5.2.2 Product B8.5.3 Lenovo 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.5.4 Lenovo 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Business Region Distribution Analysis8.6 Wacom8.6.1 Company Profile8.6.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.6.2.1 Product A8.6.2.2 Product B8.6.3 Wacom 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.6.4 Wacom 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Business Region Distribution Analysis8.7 Zagg8.7.1 Company Profile8.7.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.7.2.1 Product A8.7.2.2 Product B8.7.3 Zagg 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.7.4 Zagg 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Business Region Distribution Analysis8.8 Hp8.8.1 Company Profile8.8.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.8.2.1 Product A8.8.2.2 Product B8.8.3 Hp 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.8.4 Hp 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Business Region Distribution Analysis8.9 Samsung8.9.1 Company Profile8.9.2 Product Picture and Specifications8.9.2.1 Product A8.9.2.2 Product B8.9.3 Samsung 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Sales, Ex-factory Price, Revenue, Gross Margin Analysis8.9.4 Samsung 2016 Bluetooth Keyboard Business Region Distribution AnalysisContinue.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.
Non-Rhabdomyosarcoma Market show exponential growth by 2020

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=3495

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=3495

www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

Non-rhabdomyosarcoma is considered as soft tissue sarcomas that are mostly occurs in soft tissues: tendons, muscles, nerves, fatty tissues and fibrous tissues. Non-rhabdomyosarcoma can be observed in any pars of the body but mostly it occurs in arms and legs, the head and neck, the chest, abdomen and pelvis. Etiology for non-rhabdomyosarcoma is unknown but researchers found that there are some hereditary conditions which have a susceptibility to non-rhabdomyosarcoma. Possible signs and symptoms of non-rhabdomyosarcoma include pain or swelling in the affected organ, numbness, fever, weight loss and hyperglycemia. A patient who is suffering from cancer and had radiotherapy for another cancer are at high risk for suffering from non-rhabdomyosarcoma. Non-rhabdomyosarcoma can be diagnosed with radiation therapy, proton therapy, computed tomography, positron emission tomography and tissue biopsy. Possible treatment option for non-rhabdomyosarcoma includes chemotherapy and surgical procedures. Sarcomas (non-rhabdomyosarcoma) are rarely found in adults (1% of all adult cancers) but its prevalent rate is more in case of children (15% of all childhood cancers) in the U.S. every year, stated by the Sarcoma Foundation of America (SFA). It has also revealed that, nearly 250 new cases of non-rhabdomyosarcoma are diagnosed in the U.S. every year, where males are affected more as compared to females.Request Sample Copy of the Report@As mentioned above, people who are suffering from various cancers are at a high risk for developing non-rhabdomyosarcoma. With rising prevalence of different types of cancer (lung cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer) the global market for non-rhabdomyosarcoma treatment is significantly increasing. The World Health Organization (WHO) published in 2014, that worldwide 8.2 million people died of cancer in 2012. In 2013, American Cancer Society (ACS) published that, around 300,000 men and 276,000 women died due to cancer in 2012 in the U.S. Moreover, California Journal of Clinical Cancer (CJCC) stated that, one of six U.S. men received diagnosis test for prostate cancer at some point in their lives. However, high cost and technical complexity associated with the diagnosis procedure (detection) of non-rhabdomyosarcoma would hinder the global market demand of non-rhabdomyosarcoma treatment during the study period.North America and Europe were observed to be the largest non-rhabdomyosarcoma treatment market due to major market players are based in these regions. Moreover, these regions account for the highest number of diagnosed cases performed with respect to various cancers (lung cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer) every year. In addition, favorable initiatives taken by the federal government also accounted for the non-rhabdomyosarcoma treatment market growth in North American and European regions. Similarly, Asia-Pacific is considered as an untapped market due to lack of proper healthcare facilities in some Asian countries. Asian market growth will be fuelled by the presence of untapped opportunities due to extensive increase in healthcare infrastructure (healthcare cost, healthcare facility and health care budget). Similarly, Asia-Pacific is considered as an emerging market due to growing market penetration in this region. The Rest of the World (RoW) holds fourth position in the global non-rhabdomyosarcoma treatment market due to poor economic and health condition in most of the African countries.Some of the market players involved in manufacturing the treatment product of non-rhabdomyosarcoma and contributing the global market share includes Glaxo SmithKline plc, Bristol Meyers Squibb, Aventis Pharmaceuticals, Pharmacia Upjohn Co., and Merck & Co. among others.Request TOC of the Report@This research report analyzes this market on the basis of its market segments, major geographies, and current market trends. Geographies analyzed under this research report includeNorth AmericaAsia PacificEuropeRest of the WorldThis report provides comprehensive analysis ofMarket growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for upcoming yearsAbout UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market Register a Hugh Growth In Healthcare Industry With a CAGR of 11.4% by 2024

Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=geotechnical-instrumentation-monitoring-market

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/geotechnical-instrumentation-monitoring-market/

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=geotechnical-instrumentation-monitoring-market

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/inquire-before-buying/?dbmr=geotechnical-instrumentation-monitoring-market

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/fitness-equipment-market/

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/blog/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/data-bridge-market-research

Data Bridge Market Research provides new industry report "Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market" accounted for USD 2.25 billion in 2016 growing at a CAGR of 11.4% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2024.Request for Free Sample Report @Complete report on Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market Research Report 2017-2024 spread across 350 Pages, profiling Top companies and supports with tables and figuresSome of the major players operating in this market are Cowi A/S Deep Excavation LLC DST Consulting Engineers Inc. Eustis Engineering LLC. Fugro Geocomp Corporation Geokon Incorporated Geomotion Singapore Geosig Ltd James Fisher and Sons plc Keller Group plc Nova Metrix LLC RST Instruments Ltd. SISGEO S.R.L. Smart Structures Geotechnical Instrumentation Durham Geo Slope Indicator, Inc.Major market drivers: Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market Increasing rate of disastrous failure of the geotechnical structures Increasing awareness and superior benefits of GTIM Increasing infrastructural investment across various countries all over the world Rigid environmental regulations pertaining to the sustainability of structures Errors in readings lead to inaccurate results High cost involved in the installation and monitoringPrice of Report (single User Licence): $ 4200 (Avail. 10% Instant Discount)For more Insightful information visit@Market Segmentations:Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market is segmented on the basis of Structure, Technology, Application End-Users Geography.Market Segmentations in Details:On the basis of Structure tunnels and bridges, buildings and utilities, dams, and other structures.On basis of application, the geotechnical instrumentation & monitoring market is also segmented into pore water pressure, soil stresses, lateral deformation, and vertical deformation.On the basis of networking technology the global geotechnical instrumentation & monitoring market is further segmented into wired networking technology, and wireless technology.On the basis of End-user, the geotechnical instrumentation & monitoring market is further segmented into building and infrastructure, energy and power, oil and gas, mining, and others.On the basis of Geography, North America South America Europe Asia-Pacific Middle East & AfricaCustomize report of "Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market" as per customers requirement also available.Request for TOC:Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market Company Share Analysis:The Global Geotechnical Instrumentation & Monitoring Market Report include detailed vendor level analysis for market shares in 2016 for Global, North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and South America specifically. Also impact and development analysis of key vendors is registered in the market and factored on the basis of Vendor Positioning Grid Analysis which measures the vendors strengths and opportunities against present market challenges, measure providers ability to identify or satisfy present market needs, map providers market vision to current and upcoming market dynamics among others. The report also measures technology life line curve and market time line to analyze and do more affective investments.Inquiry before Buying @Other ReportGlobal Fitness Equipment Market  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Global Fitness Equipment Market, By Type (Cardiovascular Training Equipment (Treadmills, Elliptical Trainers, Stationary Cycles, Rowing Machines, Stair Steppers, Others), Strength Training Equipment (Single Stations, Plate Loaded Equipment, Free Weights, Benches and Racks, Multistations, Accessories), Body Composition Analyzers (Bioimpedance Analyzer, Skinfold Caliper, Dual Emission X-Ray Absorptiometry (Dexa), Hydrostatic Weighing, Air Displacement Plethysmography), Fitness Monitoring Equipment), By End-User (Health Clubs, Gyms, Home Settings, Corporate Settings, Apartments, Hotels, Hospitals, Clinics), By Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa, Rest of the World)  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024.Report Access:About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Vishal DixitData Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: Sales@databridgemarketresearch.comInvestor: investors@databridgemarketresearch.comVisit BlogFollow us on LinkedIn:
Biotech Flavor Market : Structure and Overview of Key Market Forces Propelling Market

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/biotech-flavor-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=16178

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/16178

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

According to a research report by Transparency Market Research (TMR), the global biotech flavor market is highly consolidated and competitive in nature, with Naturex occupying the dominant position. The leading companies in this market mostly rely on mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships to improve their visibility and the trend is likely to continue over the forthcoming years, increasing the competition between the players, reports the research study.As per the report, the global market for biotech flavors, which stood at US$430.6 mn in 2015, is expected to proliferate at a CAGR of 9.70% during the period from 2016 to 2024, increasing the opportunity in this market to US$991.0 mn by the end of the forecast period. The market is projected to touch 23,980.3 tons in terms of volume over the same period of time.Obtain Report Details @The demand for biotech flavors is higher in beverages compared to other end-use segments. On account of the surging consumption of flavored beverages, globally, analysts predict this segment to continue as the leading end user of biotech flavors over the period of the forecast.The research report further evaluates the worldwide market for biotech flavors on the basis of its regional classification. The Middle East and Africa, North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and Latin America and is led by North America, thanks to the high awareness among consumers regarding the benefits of biotech flavors. In 2015, the regional market, followed by Europe, acquired a share of more than 32% in the overall market. Researchers anticipate the North America market for biotech flavors to retain its leadership over the forthcoming years.Make an Enquiry @On the other hand, Asia Pacific is anticipated to exhibit a high-paced growth in its market for biotech flavors in the near future, thanks to the strong demand for biotech flavors from emerging economies, such as China and India. The health and wellness trend is also expected to support the growth of the Asia Pacific biotech flavor market and prompt manufacturers to apply innovative strategies across the supply chain to ensure wide availability of biotech flavors for consumers over the years to come.Apart from this, the increasing demand for beverages in this region is expected to create vital opportunities for the players in the global market.The rising health consciousness among consumers has augmented the demand for natural ingredients and biotech-based flavors in food products and beverages, which, resultantly, is boosting the global biotech flavor market. The growing awareness among consumers in developed economies concerning the negative impact of artificially-produced food flavors and the increased knowledge of consumers pertaining to the nutritional advantages of biotech flavors is projected to propel this market in the years to come.Get ToC@About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Mycobacterium Avium-Intracellulare Infections Market to Register Substantial Expansion by 2020

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=3571

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=3571

www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare also known as Mycobacterium avium complex causes pulmonary infections in immune compromised patients. Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) consists of two species: M. avium and M. intracellulare. As these species are difficult to differentiate, they are collectively referred to as Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare. MAC is the most common infection caused due to nontuberculous mycobacterium in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare infections are rarely found in immunocompetent individuals. According to Medscape, M. intracellulare accounts for 40% of infections in immunocompetent patients with underlying lung diseases. Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare is ubiquitous and has been isolated from various samples such as household hot water systems, dust, soil, cigarette filters and others. This ubiquitous nature has been responsible for higher rate of infections in immunocompromised patients and patients with lung disorders such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pulmonary malignancy, and cystic fibrosis. Literature suggests that individuals acquire the infections via inhalation or through the gastrointestinal tract by ingestion of food contaminated with the bacterium. The infection may also lead to lymphadenitis in children aged 1 to 4 years of age. Commonly affected lymphnodes include submandibular, parotid, postauricular.submaxillary, and preauricular.Request Sample Copy of the Report@Common symptoms for Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare are cough, excessive sputum production, dysponea, fever with night sweat, fatigue and weight loss. Diagnosis is confirmed through acid fast staining of sputum samples. Various publications report that Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare is resistant to antibiotics and antituberculosis drugs. Currently, following antibiotics have been prescribed for treatment of MAC infections:Aminoglycosides (amikacin and streptomycin)ClofazimineEthambutolFluoroquinolones (ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, and moxifloxacin)Macrolides (clarithromycin, and azithromycin)Rifamycins (rifampin, and rifabutin)Pulmonary Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare infection in patients with lung disease can be treated by surgical excision of pulmonary nodules. Surgeons also advocate that lobectomy has been effective in treating extensive lung infection in patients with antibiotic resistance.Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare lymphadenitis in children is mostly treated by surgical excision of affected lymph nodes. Several of the above mentioned drugs are on WHOs list of essential medicines.Although various drugs are available for treatment of the infection, weak research pipeline has posed a threat to the market. Higher prevalence of infectious diseases exists in low and middle income countries. According to World Health Organization (WHO), more than 95% of HIV infected individuals live in developing countries; sub-Saharan region contributes over 25 million HIV infected people while Asia-Pacific contributes 7 million HIV patients. In the U.S. and U.K. however over 1 million individuals suffer from AIDS. Pulmonary diseases are also major predisposing factors for Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare infections. WHO estimates that over 60 million individuals globally have been known to suffer from moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). It is predicted that over 90% of COPD deaths occur in low and middle income countries.The statistics also forecast that COPD is expected to become third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030. According to statistics published by World Health Organization, lung cancer accounts for over 1.5 million deaths globally. Majority of these mortalities are accounted to developing countries. These statistics suggest that chances of Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare infections are higher in developing countries. Low awareness of disease and related medical treatment, poor reimbursements and financial inability are major restraints impeding market growth in developing countries. In addition, rapidly developing healthcare sector and increasing per capita income in countries such as India, China, and Brazil have created a profitable market in these courtiers. Rapid diagnosing techniques such as dipsticks will help accumulate accurate perspective of the disease and the population it affects in developing countries. Due to low sanitation in many regions, incidence recorded may well be below the actual number.Request TOC of the Report@This research report analyzes this market on the basis of its market segments, major geographies, and current market trends. Geographies analyzed under this research report includeNorth AmericaAsia PacificEuropeRest of the WorldThis report provides comprehensive analysis ofMarket growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for upcoming yearsAbout UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
New Market Report Contain CAGR of 7.7% Global Sleep Apnea Market During The Forecast 2024

Global Sleep Apnea Market

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-sleep-apnea-market

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-sleep-apnea-devices-market/

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/speak-to-analyst/?dbmr=global-sleep-apnea-market

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/inquire-before-buying/?dbmr=global-sleep-apnea-market

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-drug-delivery-devices-market/

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/blog/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/data-bridge-market-research

Global Sleep Apnea Market is expected to reach USD 14,119.5 million by 2024 from USD 7,800.0 million in 2016, at a CAGR of 7.7% in the forecast period 2017 to 2024. The new market report contains data for historic years 2015, the base year of calculation is 2016 and the forecast period is 2017 to 2024.Request For Sample:The global sleep apnea devices market is highly concentrated to a few big players and rest to local players who cater to domestic markets only. Resmed dominated the sleep apnea devices market accounting for a highest market share in 2016, followed by Philips Respironics, and Fisher Paykel, Somnetics, Inc. Other players in this market include Somnetics, Inc., Apex Medical, DeVilbiss and SomnoMedSomnetics International, Inc, Nox Medical, Natus Medical, SomnoMedics GmbH, Philips Respironics and Cadwell Industries, Inc., Nihon Kohden, Compumedics Limited.(Australia), Contec Medical System Co.Ltd.(China) and Becton Dickinson & Company (Carefusion) among others holds 29.7% of the global sleep apnea devices market in 2016.This report consists of below pages: No of pages: 400 No of Figures: 20 No of Tables: 341Browse Full Report:RESMED:ResMed was founded in 1989 and is headquartered at California, USA. It focuses on manufacturing devices that can be used for diagnosing, treating and managing sleep apnea, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and other chronic diseases.Recent developments:In January, 2017, ResMed launched Sleep Score Labs is a joint venture between renowned surgeon and television host Dr. Mehmet Oz; ResMed, the global leader in medical devices and digital connected care; and private equity firm Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P., which invests in companies focused on sustainability and wellness.In November, 2016, ResMed introduced two masks named the AirFit N20 nasal mask and AirFit F20 full face mask for positive airway pressure (PAP) treatment of sleep apnea. The masks are innovatively designed to improve mask fit, comfort and ease of use, the new-generation ResMed masks are the result of more than three years of research and development.In November, 2016, ResMed announced two enhancements to AirView, the worlds largest cloud-based remote patient monitoring platform that enables care teams to securely access therapy data from three million sleep apnea and respiratory care patients every day. AirView Action Groups automatically filters a clinicians sleep apnea patients on positive airway pressure (PAP) therapy into actionable groups based on adherence status or a specific therapy issue they may be having. This will help in reducing time of clinicians and also help patients in getting more responsive and quality treatment.Request an Analyst Call:KONINKLIJKE PHILIPS N.V.:Koninklijke Philips N.V. was founded in 1976 and headquartered in Murrysville, Pennsylvania, U.S. Koninklijke Philips N.V. focuses on developing, manufacturing and distributing products for personal health, diagnosis & treatment, connected care & health informatics, health tech and many more. For sleep apnea devices, Koninklijke Philips N.V.has devices in diagnosis and treatment segmentRecent developments:In January, 2017, Philips and Bon Secours Charity Health System announce USD180 million, long-term strategic partnership to support transformation of patient care and build healthier communitiesIn February, 2017, Philips announced about partnering with the Mackenzie Innovation Institute (Mi2) in Canada on opportunities to develop, test and evaluate technological solutions and innovations intended to improve patient care across the healthcare system.In March, 2017, Koninklijke Philips N.V. announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Australian Pharmacy SleepServices (APSS). It will help Philips to provide better access to home sleep testing for those who need it, where and when they need it.FISHER & PAYKEL:Fisher and Paykel Healthcare Limited was founded in 1971 and is headquartered at Auckland, New Zealand. The company is focused in designing innovative medical products and therapies which meet the needs of patients and their caregivers. The company entered the respiratory care market by developing the unique respiratory humidifier system. The company now offers a broad range of products and systems for the use in respiratory care and acute care and thus in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).Recent Developments:In August, 2016, Fisher &Paykel Healthcare Limited launched a new hospital mask named F&P Nivairo, for non-invasive ventilation therapy. The key features of the new mask include unique, world-first TubeFit zones, and an advanced seal for ease of set up and patient comfort.In August 2016, Fisher &Paykel Healthcare Limited announced about updation in its earnings guidance for financial year ending 31 March 2017.The company also announced about the commencement of a new building programme in New Zealand and Mexico.In August, 2016, Fisher &Paykel Healthcare Limited announced the introduction of an innovative new mask anmed, F&P Brevida. This is a nasal pillows mask designed for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). It features an AirPillow seal which inflates to form a pillow of air in and around the nose for a gentle and effective seal. It also incorporates VisiBlue highlights, which are subtle colour cues to help patients with mask orientation, use and assembly.Inquiry before buying:Other ReportGlobal Drug Delivery Devices Market  Trends and Forecast to 2024Global Drug Delivery Devices Market, By Route of Administration (Oral, Injectable, Topical, Pulmonary, Nasal, Ocular, Implantable, Transmucosal), End-User (Hospitals, Clinics, Home Care Settings), Distribution Channel (Direct Tenders,Hospital Pharmacies), Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East Africa)  Trends and Forecast To 2024Report Access:About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Vishal DixitData Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: Sales@databridgemarketresearch.comInvestor:investors@databridgemarketresearch.comVisit BlogFollow us on LinkedIn:
Apoptotic Therapeutics in Oncology Market show exponential growth by 2020

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=3574

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=3574

www.transparencymarketresearch.com/

Apoptosis is the death of cell in a programmed fashion that is observed largely in multicellular organisms. This programmed cell death occurs in a cascade of biochemical events which include blebbing, cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation, chromatin condensation and chromosomal fragmentation. Anywhere between 50 and 70 billion cells die each day due to apoptosis in the average human adult. This cascade has been hypothesized to be exploited as an ideal method of anti-cancer strategy traditionally by inducing DNA damage with chemotherapy and radiotherapy.Request Sample Copy of the Report@These methods have been the backbone of most anti-cancer therapies today, but with increasing knowledge of intrinsic and extrinsic pathways of apoptosis, innovative apoptotic agents have been under investigation since the past several years. There are currently several of these agents in clinical trials for potential role in cancer therapeutics and are expected to become another weapon in our arsenal for the fight against cancer. In technical process death receptors CD95, death receptor DR4 and DR5 along with tumor necrosis factor receptor 1 TNFR1 can effectively induce apoptosis when bound by their ligands. Significant evidence obtained in several animal models confirms the validity of strategies for targeted apoptosis and has revealed an enormous potential for therapeutic intervention in a variety of illnesses. Almost all key participant proteins in cellular apoptosis regulation have been identified and can be targeted by therapeutic strategies which include above mentioned death receptors, Bcl-2 proteins, caspases, endogenous caspase inhibitors and transcriptional regulators.The current scenario is quite challenging with greater restraints than drivers due to low success ratio. The superior tumor killing activity of TRAIL agonists and the toxic side effects associated with systemic treatment of other death ligands. In animal models a great degree of success was achieved for treatment against inflammatory bowel disease with the help of anti-TNF antibodies or genetic TNF knockout. WHO predicted that annual cancer cases will reach to 19.3 million by 2025 from the 14.1 million annually in year 2012. There were 8.2 million deaths from cancer in the world in 2012 according to cancer research U.K. More than 60% of worlds total new annual cases occur in Africa, Asia and Central and South America. These regions account for 70% of the worlds cancer deaths. This also represents a sizable opportunity for innovative cancer therapeutics companies worldwide. Current economic scenario indicates an improving purchase power and increasing investment in healthcare in developing countries which also governs the fact that emerging players in this arena can profit considerably contrary to conventional observations that profit can be gained only from developed regions such as North America and Europe.Current companies that are involved in the research and development of targeted apoptosis therapeutics include Genentech and Amgen are in the process of conducting phase-1 clinical trials for soluble TRAIL agonists as anti-cancer agents. An agonistic TRAIL-R2 antibody (TRA-8) was generated by Sankyo Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) and proved to be cytotoxic against primary hepatocellular carcinoma cells without inducing cell death in normal hepatocytes. Human Genome Sciences Inc. has recently enrolled patients in phase 2 clinical trials with the TRAIL-R1-specific human monoclonal antibody HGS-ETR1 for the treatment of nonsmall cell lung cancer, colorectal carcinoma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. According to the study, approximately six of 57 patients enrolled even reached a stable disease situation. GlaxoSmithKline disclosed a series of similar piperidinyl substituted isatins and related 5-alkylaminosulphonyl-3,3-dichloro-oxindoles. With this, Pfizer has also continued research in caspase inhibitors such as isatin-based caspase inhibitors, from which the compound MMPSI, a (2-methoxymethylpyrrolidinyl)-sulfonylisatin, was able to reduce ischemic injury. This can also be used in targeted apoptosis for cancers. Several Merck inhibitors are currently in preclinical trials.Request TOC of the Report@This research report analyzes this market on the basis of its market segments, major geographies, and current market trends. Geographies analyzed under this research report includeNorth AmericaAsia PacificEuropeRest of the WorldThis report provides comprehensive analysis ofMarket growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for upcoming yearsAbout UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.Our data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts, so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With a broad research and analysis capability, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques in developing distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.Contact UsTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Payment Terminal 2017 Global Market Key Players  First Data, Ingenico, NCR Corporation, Panasonic, PAX Technology, VeriFone, SZZT  Analysis and Forecast to 2022

Payment Terminal Market

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/1752044-global-payment-terminal-market-research-report-2017-2022-by-players-regions

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/1752044-global-payment-terminal-market-research-report-2017-2022-by-players-regions

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=1752044

Payment Terminal Market 2017Wiseguyreports.Com adds Payment Terminal Market Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2022 To Its Research Database.Report Details:This report provides in depth study of Payment Terminal Market using SWOT analysis i.e. Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat to the organization. The Payment Terminal Market report also provides an in-depth survey of key players in the market which is based on the various objectives of an organization such as profiling, the product outline, the quantity of production, required raw material, and the financial health of the organization.This report offers an overview of the market trends, drivers, and barriers with respect to the Payment Terminal market. It also provides a detailed overview of the market of different regions across United States, Europe, China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia and Others. The report categorizes Payment Terminal market by By Payment Method, By Form Factor, By Connectivity Mode, By Price, and application. Detailed analysis of key players, along with key growth strategies adopted by them is also covered in this report on Payment Terminal market.This report focuses Global market, it covers details as following:Key PlayersFirst Data(US)Ingenico(FR)NCR Corporation(US)Panasonic(JP)PAX Technology(CN)VeriFone(US)SZZT(US)Newland(CN)CyberNet(KR)XINGUODU(CN)Castles(TW)Dspread(CN)New POS(CN)DLI(US)Clover(US)Equinox(US)Hypercom(US)IDTech(US)MagTek(US)UIC(US)RDM(CA)POSIFLEX(TW)Request a Sample Report @Key RegionsNorth AmericaUnited StatesCaliforniaTexasNew YorkOthersCanadaLatin AmericaMexicoBrazilArgentinaOthersEuropeGermanyUnited KingdomFranceItalySpainRussiaNetherlandOthersAsia & PacificChinaJapanIndiaKoreaAustraliaSoutheast AsiaIndonesiaThailandPhilippinesVietnamSingaporeMalaysiaOthersAfrica & Middle EastSouth AfricaEgyptTurkeySaudi ArabiaIranOthersMain types of productsPayment Terminal Market, by Payment MethodEMV CardMagnetic Stripe CardNFCPayment Terminal Market, by Form FactorDesktopHandheldMobilePayment Terminal Market, by Connectivity ModeRS-232USBEthernetWi-FiPayment Terminal Market, by PriceUnder $100$100 to $200$200 to $300$300 to $400$400 & AbovePayment Terminal Market, by Key ConsumerMerchantRetailCommercialComplete Report Details@Major Key Points in Table of Content:Chapter One Methodology and Data Source1.1 Methodology/Research Approach1.1.1 Research Programs/Design1.1.2 Market Size Estimation1.1.3 Market Breakdown and Data Triangulation1.2 Data Source1.2.1 Secondary Sources1.2.2 Primary Sources1.3 DisclaimerChapter Two Payment Terminal Market Overview2.1 Market Coverage2.2 Global Payment Terminal Market Sales Volume Revenue and Price 2012-2017Chapter Three Payment Terminal by Key Players 2012-20173.1 Global Payment Terminal Sales Volume Market Share by Key Players 2012-20173.2 Global Payment Terminal Revenue Share by Key Players 2012-20173.3 Global Key Players Payment Terminal Key Product Model and Market Performance3.4 Global Key Players Payment Terminal Key Target Consumers and Market PerformanceChapter Six Global Key Players Profile6.1 First Data(US)6.1.1 First Data(US) Company Details and Competitors6.1.2 First Data(US) Key Payment Terminal Models and Performance6.1.3 First Data(US) Payment Terminal Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast6.1.4 First Data(US) Payment Terminal Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin6.2 Ingenico(FR)6.2.1 Ingenico(FR) Company Details and Competitors6.2.2 Ingenico(FR) Key Payment Terminal Models and Performance6.2.3 Ingenico(FR) Payment Terminal Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast6.2.4 Ingenico(FR) Payment Terminal Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin6.3 NCR Corporation(US)6.3.1 NCR Corporation(US) Company Details and Competitors6.3.2 NCR Corporation(US) Key Payment Terminal Models and Performance6.3.3 NCR Corporation(US) Payment Terminal Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast6.3.4 NCR Corporation(US) Payment Terminal Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin6.4 Panasonic(JP)6.4.1 Panasonic(JP) Company Details and Competitors6.4.2 Panasonic(JP) Key Payment Terminal Models and Performance6.4.3 Panasonic(JP) Payment Terminal Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast6.4.4 Panasonic(JP) Payment Terminal Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin6.5 PAX Technology(CN)6.5.1 PAX Technology(CN) Company Details and Competitors6.5.2 PAX Technology(CN) Key Payment Terminal Models and Performance6.5.3 PAX Technology(CN) Payment Terminal Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast6.5.4 PAX Technology(CN) Payment Terminal Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin6.6 VeriFone(US)6.6.1 VeriFone(US) Company Details and Competitors6.6.2 VeriFone(US) Key Payment Terminal Models and Performance6.6.3 VeriFone(US) Payment Terminal Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast6.6.4 VeriFone(US) Payment Terminal Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin6.7 SZZT(US)6.7.1 SZZT(US) Company Details and Competitors6.7.2 SZZT(US) Key Payment Terminal Models and Performance6.7.3 SZZT(US) Payment Terminal Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast6.7.4 SZZT(US) Payment Terminal Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin6.8 Newland(CN)6.8.1 Newland(CN) Company Details and Competitors6.8.2 Newland(CN) Key Payment Terminal Models and Performance6.8.3 Newland(CN) Payment Terminal Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast6.8.4 Newland(CN) Payment Terminal Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin6.9 CyberNet(KR)6.9.1 CyberNet(KR) Company Details and Competitors6.9.2 CyberNet(KR) Key Payment Terminal Models and Performance6.9.3 CyberNet(KR) Payment Terminal Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast6.9.4 CyberNet(KR) Payment Terminal Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross Margin6.10 XINGUODU(CN)6.10.1 XINGUODU(CN) Company Details and Competitors6.10.2 XINGUODU(CN) Key Payment Terminal Models and Performance6.10.3 XINGUODU(CN) Payment Terminal Business SWOT Analysis and Forecast6.10.4 XINGUODU(CN) Payment Terminal Sales Volume Revenue Price Cost and Gross MarginContinued.Buy now @Contact Us:NORAH TRENTPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Sales@Wiseguyreports.ComPh: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Global Glucometer Market Focuses on Major Companies Like Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., Abbott, Bayer AG, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., OMRON Corporation, ACON and many more

Global Glucometer Market

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-glucometer-market

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-glucometer-market/

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-glucometer-market

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/inquire-before-buying/?dbmr=global-glucometer-market

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-chondroplasty-market/

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/blog/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/data-bridge-market-research

Global Glucometer Market accounted to USD 5.2 billion in 2016 growing at a CAGR of 10.3% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2024. The upcoming market report contains data for historic years 2015, the base year of calculation is 2016 and the forecast period is 2017 to 2024.Request for Sample @Diabetes is the most dominating diseases all over the world. Glucose testing or detecting is becoming one of the most important aspect nowadays. There are many blood monitoring devices to detect such as blood strips, lancets and glucometers. Glucometers are automatic glucose detector. Prevalence in diabetic cases and errorless results leads to high demand of glucometers. It is consume less time and easy to handle.Major Market Drivers and Restraints:Increasing cases of diabetes in any group age.Easy to handle.Less time consuming.Errorless resultsThe global glucometer market is segmented on the basis of product, type, application, and geography.The global glucometer market is segmented by product into single point blood glucose meter, continuous glucose monitoring system (sensor, transmitter & receiver), and external monitor. The continuous glucose monitoring system segment is sub-segmented into sensor, transmitter & receiver.Browse Full Report @By type the market is segmented into photoelectric and electrodes.By application the market is segmented into hospitals, ambulatory centers, home care settings, clinics and diagnostic centers.Request for TOC:On the basis of geography, global glucometer market report covers data points for 28 countries across multiple geographies such as North America & South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East & Africa. Some of the major countries covered in this report are U.S., Canada, Germany, France, U.K., Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and Brazil among others. In 2017, North America is expected to dominate the market.The Global Glucometer Market is highly fragmented and is based on new product launches and clinical results of products. Hence the major players have used various strategies such as new product launches, clinical trials, market initiatives, high expense on research and development, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, acquisitions, and others to increase their footprints in this market. The report includes market shares of global glucometer market for global, Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and South America.Some of the major players operating in global glucometer market are Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc., Abbott, Bayer AG, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., OMRON Corporation, ACON, ARKRAY USA, NOVA, LifeScan, Inc., B. Braun Melsungen AG, i-SENS. Inc., TERUMO CORPORATION, Hainice Medical Inc., Glucostratus Ltd., allmedicus, AgaMatrix, CARE diagnostics, Edan Instruments, Inc., Yu Yue medical and EGENS GROUP among others.Inquiry before Buying@Realted ReportGlobal Chondroplasty Market  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Global Chondroplasty Market By Types (Radiofrequency Ablation Chondroplasty, Abrasion Chondroplasty, Atellar Chondroplasty, Meniscal Repair, Tissue Removal, Others), Anatomy (Knee, Shoulder, Hip, Others), Equipments (Shavers, RF Devices, Arthroscope, Others), End Users, Geography- Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Report Access:About Data Bridge Market Research:Data Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Vishal DixitData Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: Sales@databridgemarketresearch.comInvestor: investors@databridgemarketresearch.comVisit BlogFollow us on LinkedIn:
Discussion of Better Together, a collaborative community project to improve behavioral health, will be the topic of the next Community Conversations from noon to 1 p.m. Oct. 18 at English Lutheran Church at 1509 King St. in La Crosse.

Speakers will be Heather Quackenboss, project coordinator for Better Together, and Diana DiazGranados, the projects evaluator and certified mental health first aid trainer.

The La Crosse Interfaith Leaders Coalition sponsors the monthly conversations, which are free and include a box lunch for which free-will offerings are accepted.

Since its inception about a year ago, Better Together has created a four-point strategy to promote resilience and social connections in youths, increase the capacity of informal supports, enhance system integration and improve awareness and attitudes about mental wellness.

The coalition asks that those who plan to attend register at its web site so organizers will know how many lunches to order.

The conversations, which take place the third Wednesday of each month, are intended to present theological but nonpartisan and nonpolitical discussions of local economic and social issues.

Area religious leaders and staff members are welcome to attend coalition meetings after the conversations.

For more information about the coalition or conversations, contact English Lutheran Pastor Mark Solyst at 608-784-9335 or via email at pastormark@englishlutheran.org.
Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) Market Report for Period 2017 till 2022 Fonterra, Nutrinnovate Australia, Tatura, Erie Foods, Darigold Ingredients and Others

Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) Market

https://goo.gl/M4iiKV

https://goo.gl/M4iiKV

https://goo.gl/M4iiKV

http://marketreportscompany.com

Global Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) market report provides detailed analysis of companies namely Idaho Milk, Erie Foods, Grassland, Glanbia, Kerry, Enka St, Paras, Fonterra, Westland, Nutrinnovate Australia, Tatura, Darigold Ingredients and Others. This report study includes global market statistics and analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2023 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2022, etc.Milk protein concentrates (MPCs) are complete dairy proteins (containing both caseins and whey proteins) that are available in protein concentrations ranging from 40% to 90%. MPCs are used for their nutritional and functional properties.Request for Free Sample Copy of Global Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) Market 2017Top Company Profiles and Analysis included in this report:FonterraWestlandNutrinnovate AustraliaTaturaDarigold IngredientsIdaho MilkErie FoodsGrasslandGlanbiaKerryEnka StParasOthersGlobal Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) Market: Key Product TypeContent70%Content 70%-85%Content85%OthersGlobal Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) Market: Key Application TypeDairy ProductsNutrition ProductsCheese ProductsOthersGlobal Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) Market: Key RegionNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Others)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia and Others)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia and Others)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Others)The Global Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) Market analysis report provides detailed value chain for analysis of Global Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) Market. The value chain helps to analyze major upstream in raw materials, major equipments, manufacturing process, downstream customer analysis and major distributor analysis.The report also covers in-depth description, competitive scenario, wide product portfolio of prime players active in this market and business strategies adopted by competitors along with their SWOT analysis. Side by side, it also explicitly provides information about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and all the other important activities happened in current and past few years. The Global Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) Market report explores manufacturers competitive scenario and provides market share for all major players of this market based on production capacity, sales, revenue, geographical presence and other major factors.Enquire before Buying @Table of Contents:1.1 Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Content70%1.2.2 Content 70%-85%1.2.3 Content85%1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Dairy Products1.3.2 Nutrition Products1.3.3 Cheese Products1.3.4 Others........................Continue (Global Milk Protein Concentrate (MPC) Market Research Industry Report is prepared with the help of extensive primary and secondary sources, directories, journals, newsletters and with the help of third-party application like Hoovers, Factiva, Bloomberg, Businessweek, etc.About Us:Market Reports Company is a global research and consulting company. We provide customized reports. We can study and analyze any market based on wide range of parameters. We can provide market insights for any particular region, country across the globe within shortest possible turn around time.What we offer: Customized Reports: we provide customized report study on any market or industry. Region Specific Study: If you need region specific or if you are searching for particular region market study then, we have expert research team for that. How we work: We work in all domains and industries, you name it and we provide the market research industry report analysis of it. Expertise: Superior Research Team, 24*7 Customer Care ServiceContact UsJason Smith,Sales Manager, Global Business Development,Website:Email: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.comContact us: +1-888-220-3424Address: 20 N State Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60602 United States
Mannequins Market Report for Period 2017 till 2022 Larosaitaly, Shenzhen Huaqi, Display Projects Limited, Bonami, Atrezzo, Norlaine (subsidiary Patina), Hans Boodt, Retailment, Window Mannequins and Others

Mannequins Market

https://goo.gl/VZbHTr

https://goo.gl/VZbHTr

https://goo.gl/VZbHTr

http://marketreportscompany.com

Global Mannequins market report provides detailed analysis of companies namely Pentherformes Group, Window Mannequins, Hans Boodt, Retailment, Bonaveri, Almax, Goldsmith, Bernstein Display, Atrezzo, Norlaine (subsidiary Patina), ABC Mannequins, Cofrad, Global Display Projects Limited, Bonami, Larosaitaly, Shenzhen Huaqi, New John Nissen Mannequins S.A., Mondo Mannequins and Others. This report study includes global market statistics and analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2023 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2022, etc.A mannequin (also called a manikin, dummy, lay figure or dress form) is an often articulated doll used by artists, tailors, dressmakers, window dressers and others especially to display or fit clothing.Request for Free Sample Copy of Global Mannequins Market 2017Top Company Profiles and Analysis included in this report:ABC MannequinsCofradGlobal Display Projects LimitedBonamiLarosaitalyShenzhen HuaqiNew John Nissen Mannequins S.A.Mondo MannequinsPentherformes GroupWindow MannequinsHans BoodtRetailmentBonaveriAlmaxGoldsmithBernstein DisplayAtrezzoNorlaine (subsidiary Patina)OthersGlobal Mannequins Market: Key Product TypeMale mannequinsFemale mannequinsChild mannequinsTorso formsOthersGlobal Mannequins Market: Key Application TypeGarment IndustryJewelry industryCosmetics industryOthersGlobal Mannequins Market: Key RegionNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Others)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia and Others)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia and Others)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Others)The Global Mannequins Market analysis report provides detailed value chain for analysis of Global Mannequins Market. The value chain helps to analyze major upstream in raw materials, major equipments, manufacturing process, downstream customer analysis and major distributor analysis.The report also covers in-depth description, competitive scenario, wide product portfolio of prime players active in this market and business strategies adopted by competitors along with their SWOT analysis. Side by side, it also explicitly provides information about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and all the other important activities happened in current and past few years. The Global Mannequins Market report explores manufacturers competitive scenario and provides market share for all major players of this market based on production capacity, sales, revenue, geographical presence and other major factors.Enquire before Buying @Table of Contents:1 Market Overview1.1 Mannequins Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Male mannequins1.2.2 Female mannequins1.2.3 Child mannequins1.2.4 Torso forms1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Garment Industry1.3.2 Jewelry industry1.3.3 Cosmetics industry........................Continue (Global Mannequins Market Research Industry Report is prepared with the help of extensive primary and secondary sources, directories, journals, newsletters and with the help of third-party application like Hoovers, Factiva, Bloomberg, Businessweek, etc.About Us:Market Reports Company is a global research and consulting company. We provide customized reports. We can study and analyze any market based on wide range of parameters. We can provide market insights for any particular region, country across the globe within shortest possible turn around time.What we offer: Customized Reports: we provide customized report study on any market or industry. Region Specific Study: If you need region specific or if you are searching for particular region market study then, we have expert research team for that. How we work: We work in all domains and industries, you name it and we provide the market research industry report analysis of it. Expertise: Superior Research Team, 24*7 Customer Care ServiceContact UsJason Smith,Sales Manager, Global Business Development,Website:Email: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.comContact us: +1-888-220-3424Address: 20 N State Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60602 United States
High Purity Aluminum Market Report for Period 2017 till 2022 Chinalco Baotou Aluminum, Kyushu Mitsui Aluminium, Joinworld, HYDRO, SHOWA DENKO, Rusal, Sumitomo and Others

High Purity Aluminum Market

https://goo.gl/3cWG3t

https://goo.gl/3cWG3t

https://goo.gl/3cWG3t

http://marketreportscompany.com

Global High Purity Aluminum market report provides detailed analysis of companies namely Dongyang Guanglv, Rusal, Sumitomo, Newchangjiang Aluminum, C-KOE Metals, Nippon Light Metal, Columbia Specialty Metals, Joinworld, HYDRO, SHOWA DENKO, Chinalco Baotou Aluminum, Kyushu Mitsui Aluminium, Huomei Hongjun and Others. This report study includes global market statistics and analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2023 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2022, etc.High purity aluminum is refers to mental content of aluminum more than 99.99% (99.99%, 99.999%, 99.9999%, etc.).Request for Free Sample Copy of Global High Purity Aluminum Market 2017Top Company Profiles and Analysis included in this report:JoinworldHYDROSHOWA DENKOChinalco Baotou AluminumKyushu Mitsui AluminiumHuomei HongjunDongyang GuanglvRusalSumitomoNewchangjiang AluminumC-KOE MetalsNippon Light MetalColumbia Specialty MetalsOthersGlobal High Purity Aluminum Market: Key Product Type4N4N55N5N5+OthersGlobal High Purity Aluminum Market: Key Application TypeElectronic IndustryChemical IndustryHigh Purity AlloyOther ApplicationsGlobal High Purity Aluminum Market: Key RegionNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Others)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia and Others)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia and Others)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Others)The Global High Purity Aluminum Market analysis report provides detailed value chain for analysis of Global High Purity Aluminum Market. The value chain helps to analyze major upstream in raw materials, major equipments, manufacturing process, downstream customer analysis and major distributor analysis.The report also covers in-depth description, competitive scenario, wide product portfolio of prime players active in this market and business strategies adopted by competitors along with their SWOT analysis. Side by side, it also explicitly provides information about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and all the other important activities happened in current and past few years. The Global High Purity Aluminum Market report explores manufacturers competitive scenario and provides market share for all major players of this market based on production capacity, sales, revenue, geographical presence and other major factors.Enquire before Buying @Table of Contents:1 Market Overview1.1 High Purity Aluminum Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 4N1.2.2 4N51.2.3 5N1.2.4 5N5+1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Electronic Industry1.3.2 Chemical Industry1.3.3 High Purity Alloy1.3.4 Other Applications........................Continue (Global High Purity Aluminum Market Research Industry Report is prepared with the help of extensive primary and secondary sources, directories, journals, newsletters and with the help of third-party application like Hoovers, Factiva, Bloomberg, Businessweek, etc.About Us:Market Reports Company is a global research and consulting company. We provide customized reports. We can study and analyze any market based on wide range of parameters. We can provide market insights for any particular region, country across the globe within shortest possible turn around time.What we offer: Customized Reports: we provide customized report study on any market or industry. Region Specific Study: If you need region specific or if you are searching for particular region market study then, we have expert research team for that. How we work: We work in all domains and industries, you name it and we provide the market research industry report analysis of it. Expertise: Superior Research Team, 24*7 Customer Care ServiceContact UsJason Smith,Sales Manager, Global Business Development,Website:Email: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.comContact us: +1-888-220-3424Address: 20 N State Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60602 United States
Heavy Duty Conveyor Belts Market Report for Period 2017 till 2022 Bando, Baoding Huayue, Fenner, Yokohama, Hebei Yichuan, Smiley Monroe, Fuxin Shuangxiang, QingDao Rubber Six and Others

Heavy Duty Conveyor Belts Market

https://goo.gl/9HTLfr

https://goo.gl/9HTLfr

https://goo.gl/9HTLfr

http://marketreportscompany.com

Global Heavy Duty Conveyor Belts market report provides detailed analysis of companies namely Shandong Phoebus, Wuxi Boton, Zhangjiagang Huashen, Anhui Zhongyi, HSIN YUNG, Fuxin Shuangxiang, QingDao Rubber Six, Hebei Yichuan, Smiley Monroe, Continental AG, Bridgestone, Fenner, Yokohama, Trelleborg, Zhejiang Double Arrow, Bando, Baoding Huayue, Zhejiang Sanwei and Others. This report study includes global market statistics and analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2023 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2022, etc.A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to belt conveyor). This report mainly focuses on the Heavy Duty Conveyor Belts for heavy duty. The covering material of Heavy Duty Conveyor Belts mainly used rubber and the skeleton material is nylon or steel wire. Heavy Duty Conveyor Belts are widely used in steel, coal, cement, electricity, ports, mining, building materials and other industries.Request for Free Sample Copy of Global Heavy Duty Conveyor Belts Market 2017Top Company Profiles and Analysis included in this report:Continental AGBridgestoneFennerYokohamaTrelleborgZhejiang Double ArrowBandoBaoding HuayueZhejiang SanweiShandong PhoebusWuxi BotonZhangjiagang HuashenAnhui ZhongyiHSIN YUNGFuxin ShuangxiangQingDao Rubber SixHebei YichuanSmiley MonroeOthersGlobal Heavy Duty Conveyor Belts Market: Key Product TypeMultiply Fabric Conveyer BeltsSteel Cord Conveyor BeltsSolid Woven Conveyor BeltsOthersGlobal Heavy Duty Conveyor Belts Market: Key Application TypeMiningIndustrialConstructionTransportationOil & GasOthersGlobal Heavy Duty Conveyor Belts Market: Key RegionNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Others)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia and Others)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia and Others)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Others)The Global Heavy Duty Conveyor Belts Market analysis report provides detailed value chain for analysis of Global Heavy Duty Conveyor Belts Market. The value chain helps to analyze major upstream in raw materials, major equipments, manufacturing process, downstream customer analysis and major distributor analysis.The report also covers in-depth description, competitive scenario, wide product portfolio of prime players active in this market and business strategies adopted by competitors along with their SWOT analysis. Side by side, it also explicitly provides information about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and all the other important activities happened in current and past few years. The Global Heavy Duty Conveyor Belts Market report explores manufacturers competitive scenario and provides market share for all major players of this market based on production capacity, sales, revenue, geographical presence and other major factors.Enquire before Buying @Table of Contents:1 Market Overview1.1 Heavy Duty Conveyor Belts Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Multiply Fabric Conveyer Belts1.2.2 Steel Cord Conveyor Belts1.2.3 Solid Woven Conveyor Belts1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Mining1.3.2 Industrial1.3.3 Construction1.3.4 Transportation1.3.5 Oil & Gas1.3.6 Others........................Continue (Global Heavy Duty Conveyor Belts Market Research Industry Report is prepared with the help of extensive primary and secondary sources, directories, journals, newsletters and with the help of third-party application like Hoovers, Factiva, Bloomberg, Businessweek, etc.About Us:Market Reports Company is a global research and consulting company. We provide customized reports. We can study and analyze any market based on wide range of parameters. We can provide market insights for any particular region, country across the globe within shortest possible turn around time.What we offer: Customized Reports: we provide customized report study on any market or industry. Region Specific Study: If you need region specific or if you are searching for particular region market study then, we have expert research team for that. How we work: We work in all domains and industries, you name it and we provide the market research industry report analysis of it. Expertise: Superior Research Team, 24*7 Customer Care ServiceContact UsJason Smith,Sales Manager, Global Business Development,Website:Email: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.comContact us: +1-888-220-3424Address: 20 N State Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60602 United States
Heat Exchanger Market Report for Period 2017 till 2022 LARSEN & TOUBRO, Funke, Xylem, SPX-Flow, DOOSAN, Siping ViEX, Beichen and Others

Heat Exchanger Market

https://goo.gl/QZTLg7

https://goo.gl/QZTLg7

https://goo.gl/QZTLg7

http://marketreportscompany.com

Global Heat Exchanger market report provides detailed analysis of companies namely Hisaka, SWEP, LARSEN & TOUBRO, Accessen, THT, Hitachi Zosen, LANPEC, Siping ViEX, Beichen, Danfoss (Sondex), SPX-Flow, DOOSAN, API, KNM, Funke, Xylem, Thermowave and Others. This report study includes global market statistics and analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2023 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2022, etc.Heat Exchangers is a piece of equipment built for efficient heat transfer from one medium to another. Heat exchangers are devices whose primary responsibility is the transfer (exchange) of heat, typically from one fluid to another. However, they are not only used in heating applications, such as space heaters, but are also used in cooling applications, such as refrigerators and air conditioners.Request for Free Sample Copy of Global Heat Exchanger Market 2017Top Company Profiles and Analysis included in this report:Danfoss (Sondex)SPX-FlowDOOSANAPIKNMFunkeXylemThermowaveHisakaSWEPLARSEN & TOUBROAccessenTHTHitachi ZosenLANPECSiping ViEXBeichenOthersGlobal Heat Exchanger Market: Key Product TypeShell & Tube Heat ExchangerPlate Heat ExchangerAir Cooled Heat ExchangerOther TypesGlobal Heat Exchanger Market: Key Application TypePetrochemicalElectric Power & MetallurgyShipbuilding IndustryMechanical IndustryCentral HeatingFood IndustryOther ApplicationsGlobal Heat Exchanger Market: Key RegionNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Others)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia and Others)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia and Others)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Others)The Global Heat Exchanger Market analysis report provides detailed value chain for analysis of Global Heat Exchanger Market. The value chain helps to analyze major upstream in raw materials, major equipments, manufacturing process, downstream customer analysis and major distributor analysis.The report also covers in-depth description, competitive scenario, wide product portfolio of prime players active in this market and business strategies adopted by competitors along with their SWOT analysis. Side by side, it also explicitly provides information about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and all the other important activities happened in current and past few years. The Global Heat Exchanger Market report explores manufacturers competitive scenario and provides market share for all major players of this market based on production capacity, sales, revenue, geographical presence and other major factors.Enquire before Buying @Table of Contents:1 Market Overview1.1 Heat Exchanger Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Shell & Tube Heat Exchanger1.2.2 Plate Heat Exchanger1.2.3 Air Cooled Heat Exchanger1.2.4 Other Types........................Continue (Global Heat Exchanger Market Research Industry Report is prepared with the help of extensive primary and secondary sources, directories, journals, newsletters and with the help of third-party application like Hoovers, Factiva, Bloomberg, Businessweek, etc.About Us:Market Reports Company is a global research and consulting company. We provide customized reports. We can study and analyze any market based on wide range of parameters. We can provide market insights for any particular region, country across the globe within shortest possible turn around time.What we offer: Customized Reports: we provide customized report study on any market or industry. Region Specific Study: If you need region specific or if you are searching for particular region market study then, we have expert research team for that. How we work: We work in all domains and industries, you name it and we provide the market research industry report analysis of it. Expertise: Superior Research Team, 24*7 Customer Care ServiceContact UsJason Smith,Sales Manager, Global Business Development,Website:Email: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.comContact us: +1-888-220-3424Address: 20 N State Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60602 United States
Electronic Cash Register 2017 Global Market Key Players  Toshiba, Sharp, Dell, CASIO, Olivetti, Fujitsu  Analysis and Forecast to 2022

Electronic Cash Register Market

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/1296629-global-electronic-cash-register-market-research-report-2017

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/reports/2340965-global-liquid-nitrogen-market-research-report-2017-2022-by-players-regions

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/checkout?currency=one_user-USD&report_id=1296629

Electronic Cash Register Market 2017Wiseguyreports.Com adds Electronic Cash Register Market Market Demand, Growth, Opportunities, Analysis of Top Key Players and Forecast to 2022 To Its Research Database.Report Details:This report provides in depth study of Electronic Cash Register Market using SWOT analysis i.e. Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat to the organization. The Electronic Cash Register Market report also provides an in-depth survey of key players in the market which is based on the various objectives of an organization such as profiling, the product outline, the quantity of production, required raw material, and the financial health of the organization.Global Electronic Cash Register market competition by top manufacturers, with production, price, revenue (value) and market share for each manufacturer;The top key players includingToshibaSharpCASIODellOlivettiFujitsuGuangzhou Zonerich Business MachineHewlett-PackardNCR...This report provides valuable information for companies like manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, traders, customers, investors and individuals who have interests in this industry.Request a Sample Report @Geographically, this report is segmented into several key Regions, with production, consumption, revenue (million USD), market share and growth rate of Electronic Cash Register in these regions, from 2012 to 2022 (forecast), coveringNorth AmericaEuropeChinaJapanSoutheast AsiaIndiaOn the basis of product, this report displays the production, revenue, price, market share and growth rate of each type, primarily split intoStationary TypePortable TypeOn the basis on the end users/applications, this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), market share and growth rate of Electronic Cash Register for each application, includingBankSupermarketOthersIf you have any special requirements, please let us know and we will offer you the report as you want.Complete Report Details@Major Key Points in Table of Content:Global Electronic Cash Register Market Research Report 20171 Electronic Cash Register Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Electronic Cash Register1.2 Electronic Cash Register Segment by Type (Product Category)1.2.1 Global Electronic Cash Register Production and CAGR (%) Comparison by Type (Product Category)(2012-2022)1.2.2 Global Electronic Cash Register Production Market Share by Type (Product Category) in 20161.2.3 Stationary Type1.2.4 Portable Type1.3 Global Electronic Cash Register Segment by Application1.3.1 Electronic Cash Register Consumption (Sales) Comparison by Application (2012-2022)1.3.2 Bank1.3.3 Supermarket1.3.4 Others1.4 Global Electronic Cash Register Market by Region (2012-2022)1.4.1 Global Electronic Cash Register Market Size (Value) and CAGR (%) Comparison by Region (2012-2022)1.4.2 North America Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.3 Europe Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.4 China Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.5 Japan Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.6 Southeast Asia Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.4.7 India Status and Prospect (2012-2022)1.5 Global Market Size (Value) of Electronic Cash Register (2012-2022)1.5.1 Global Electronic Cash Register Revenue Status and Outlook (2012-2022)1.5.2 Global Electronic Cash Register Capacity, Production Status and Outlook (2012-2022)7 Global Electronic Cash Register Manufacturers Profiles/Analysis7.1 Toshiba7.1.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.1.2 Electronic Cash Register Product Category, Application and Specification7.1.2.1 Product A7.1.2.2 Product B7.1.3 Toshiba Electronic Cash Register Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.1.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.2 Sharp7.2.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.2.2 Electronic Cash Register Product Category, Application and Specification7.2.2.1 Product A7.2.2.2 Product B7.2.3 Sharp Electronic Cash Register Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.2.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.3 CASIO7.3.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.3.2 Electronic Cash Register Product Category, Application and Specification7.3.2.1 Product A7.3.2.2 Product B7.3.3 CASIO Electronic Cash Register Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.3.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.4 Dell7.4.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.4.2 Electronic Cash Register Product Category, Application and Specification7.4.2.1 Product A7.4.2.2 Product B7.4.3 Dell Electronic Cash Register Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.4.4 Main Business/Business Overview7.5 Olivetti7.5.1 Company Basic Information, Manufacturing Base, Sales Area and Its Competitors7.5.2 Electronic Cash Register Product Category, Application and Specification7.5.2.1 Product A7.5.2.2 Product B7.5.3 Olivetti Electronic Cash Register Capacity, Production, Revenue, Price and Gross Margin (2012-2017)7.5.4 Main Business/Business OverviewContinued.Buy now @Contact Us:NORAH TRENTPh: +1-646-845-9349 (US)Sales@Wiseguyreports.ComPh: +44 208 133 9349 (UK)ABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.ADDRES:WISE GUY RESEARCH CONSULTANTS PVT LTDOffice No. 528, Amanora ChambersMagarpatta Road, HadapsarPune - 411028Maharashtra, India
Neem Extract Market Global trending in Opportunity, Development, Growth Types and Forecast 2021

Neem Extract Market, Neem Extract, Neem Extract Size, Neem Extract Segmentation, Neem Extract, Best Neem Extract

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1067

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/neem-extract-market-1067

Neem Extract market Research ReportNeem extract market Information by types (Seed Extract, Leaf Extract and Bark Extract) by application (Agriculture, Animal feed and personal care & pharmaceuticals) - Forecast to 2021Study Objectives of Neem extract marketRequest for Sample Report @To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next 10 years of various segments and sub-segments of the Neem extract marketTo provide insights about factors affecting the market growthTo Analyze the Neem extract market based on various factors- price analysis, supply chain analysis, porters five force analysis etc.To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries- North America, Europe, Asia, and Rest of the World (ROW)To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospectiveTo provide country level analysis of the market for segment by types and by application.To provide strategic profiling of key players in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the marketTo track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the Neem extract market.Synopsis of Neem extract marketMarket ScenarioGlobally, the market for neem extract has been increasing significantly due to increasing awareness of health concerns, Neem extract benefits are well known in Asia-Pacific due to this reason there is a high growth rate of manufacture and production of medicinal and personal care products for human. In western countries there are an expanding market for neem extracts, in developed countries government are prompting regulation regarding producing chemical free vegetables, fruits owing to this neem market is shooting up. For animal feed and pet care products, neem extract is treated as safe and effective, and it is the key reason behind the growth of this segmentSegmentsThe market for Neem extract market is segmented on basis of by type and by application and by application; by type Neem extract market is segmented by type as Seed Extract, Leaf Extract and Bark Extract and by application Agriculture, Animal feed and personal care & pharmaceuticalsRegional Analysis of Neem extract marketAsia-Pacific region has the worlds largest area under Neem extract production and manufactures, and its growth rate will be anticipate to grow higher per year over the forecast period followed by developed countries like UK, US, Germany, Spain region will use of chemical-based agriculture products. At present, India is the largest producer of neem extracts products.Key PlayersThe key players profiled in Neem extract market report include:I.D-Parry (India) LimitedNeeming Australia Pty LtdJ. Margo Pvt. Ltd, Agro Extract LimitedOzone Biotech Pvt LtdGreeNeem Agri Private LimitedFortune Biotech LtdParker India GroupThe Indian Neem Tree CompanyBros India GroupSegmentationThe global Savory Snacks markets are segmented into types which primarily include potato chips, processed snacks, popcorn, nuts and others.Key PlayersThe leading market players in the global Savory Snacks market primarily include:PepsiCoKraft Foods GroupInc, ConAgra FoodsCALBEE,Diamond FoodsGeneral Mills, IncIntersnack Group GmbH & Co. KGLorenz Bahlsen Snack-World GroupKellogg CompanyOrkla ASA and others.The market report for Savory Snacks of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report provides details information and strategies of the top key players in the industry. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.Browse Complete Report @Table of Content:1 REPORT PROLOGUE2 MARKET INTRODUCTION2.1 DEFINITION2.2 SCOPE OF THE STUDY2.2.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE2.2.2 ASSUMPTIONS2.2.3 LIMITATIONS2.3 MARKET STRUCTURE3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY3.1 RESEARCH PROCESS3.2 PRIMARY RESEARCH3.3 SECONDARY RESEARCH3.4 MARKET SIZE ESTIMATION3.5 FORECAST MODEL4 MARKET DYNAMICS4.1 DRIVERS4.2 RESTRAINTS4.3 OPPORTUNITIES4.4 MEGA TRENDS4.5 MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS5 MARKET FACTOR ANALYSIS5.1 VALUE/SUPPLY CHAIN ANALYSIS5.2 PORTER'S 5 FORCES ANALYSIS6 GLOBAL NEEM EXTRACT MARKET : BY TYPES6.1 INTRODUCTION6.2 HISTORICAL MARKET GROWTH6.3 Y-O-Y GROWTH PROJECTIONS BY TYPES6.4 MARKET SIZE BY TYPES6.4.1 SEED EXTRACT6.4.2 LEAF EXTRACT6.4.3 BARK EXTARCTContinued@..........................................................At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Office No. 524/528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar
New Research on Global Gear Oil Market focusing on Top Companies like Exxon Mobil Corporation, Chevron Corporation, Royal Dutch Shell Plc

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-gear-oil-market

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-gear-oil-market/

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-gear-oil-market

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/inquire-before-buying/?dbmr=global-gear-oil-market

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/fitness-equipment-market/

http://databridgemarketresearch.com/blog/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/data-bridge-market-research

The global gear oil market accounted for USD 7.34 billion in 2016 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 2.70% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2024.Request for Free Sample Report @Complete report on Global Gear Oil Market Research Report 2017-2024 spread across 350 Pages, profiling Top companies and supports with tables and figuresSome of the major players operating in this market are Exxon Mobil Corporation Chevron Corporation Royal Dutch Shell Plc BP p.l.c. Lukoil Total Lubrifiants PetroChina Company Limited Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd Sinopec Corp. CITGO Petroleum Corporation Apar Industries Ltd. FUCHS and The Lubrizol CorporationMajor market drivers: Global Gear Oil Market Rising demand from power industry Improved quality of gear oils Growing automotive industryMarket Restraint: Strict environmental regulations restricting the use of gear oilsRigid environmental regulations pertaining to the sustainability of structuresFor more insightful information visit @Customize report of " Global Gear Oil Market" as per customers requirement also available.Market Segmentations:Global Gear Oil Market is segmented on the basis of Type Application Geography.Market Segmentations in Details:On the basis of Type, global gear oil market is segmented into mineral oil, synthetic oil, semi-synthetic oil and bio-based oil.Synthetic oilis sub segmented into poly-alpha-olefin(PAO),polyalkylene glycol (PAG) and Group III (hydrocracking).On the basis Application global gear oil market is segmented into general industrial and transportation. General industrial is sub segmented into manufacturing, mining, construction, agriculture, oil & gas and others, whereas transportation is sub segmented into automotive, marine, railway, and aviation. Transportation segment accounts for the highest consumption due to increasing usage gear oils in the automotive industry.On the basis of geography North America South America Europe Asia-Pacific Middle East & AfricaPrice (Single User Licence): $ 4200 (Instant 10% Discount)Request for Detaild TOC:Global Gear Oil Market Company Share Analysis:The Global Gear Oil Market Report is consolidated due to the presence of limited number of players concentrated in few countries. These major players have adopted various organic as well as inorganic growth strategies such as mergers & acquisitions, new product launches, expansions, agreements, joint ventures, partnerships, and others to strengthen their position in this market.Inquire for more information @Other ReportGlobal Fitness Equipment Market  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024Global Fitness Equipment Market, By Type (Cardiovascular Training Equipment (Treadmills, Elliptical Trainers, Stationary Cycles, Rowing Machines, Stair Steppers, Others), Strength Training Equipment (Single Stations, Plate Loaded Equipment, Free Weights, Benches and Racks, Multistations, Accessories), Body Composition Analyzers (Bioimpedance Analyzer, Skinfold Caliper, Dual Emission X-Ray Absorptiometry (Dexa), Hydrostatic Weighing, Air Displacement Plethysmography), Fitness Monitoring Equipment), By End-User (Health Clubs, Gyms, Home Settings, Corporate Settings, Apartments, Hotels, Hospitals, Clinics), By Geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Middle East and Africa, Rest of the World)  Industry Trends and Forecast to 2024.Report Access:About Data Bridge Market ResearchData Bridge Market Research set forth itself as an unconventional and neoteric Market research and consulting firm with unparalleled level of resilience and integrated approaches. We are determined to unearth the best market opportunities and foster efficient information for your business to thrive in the market. Data Bridge endeavors to provide appropriate solutions to the complex business challenges and initiates an effortless decision-making process.Contact:Vishal DixitData Bridge Market ResearchTel: +1-888-387-2818Email: Sales@databridgemarketresearch.comInvestor: investors@databridgemarketresearch.comVisit BlogFollow us on LinkedIn:
Polyethyleneglycol Esters of Fatty Acids Market Analysis, Segments, Growth and Value Chain 2016 - 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=20567

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=20567

www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Polyethyleneglycol (PEG) ester is a polyether compound manufactured by reacting polyethylene glycol with a fatty acid. Polyethyleneglycol esters consist of a hydrophilic part of surfactants and a lipophilic part of fatty acids. PEG oleates and stearates are superior emulsifiers. By changing the molecular weight of PEG and fatty acids, surfactants covering a wide range of high lipophilic balance value can be produced. (PEG) esters are primarily employed in the manufacture of products such as lubricants (for example, cutting oil and metalworking fluids), solvent cleaners, emulsifiers, pigment dispersants, and additives.Get a Sample Report @Based on application, the polyethyleneglycol (PEG) esters market has been segmented into lubricants, emulsifiers, dispersants, and additives. The lubricants segment accounts for a significant share of the global polyethyleneglycol esters market, owing to growth of the manufacturing sector and rise in the number of OEMs. The emulsifiers segment is expected to experience high growth, led by growth in the use of PEG esters as emulsifiers in several end-uses. Growth in the fertilizers sector is anticipated to boost the PEG esters market during the forecast period, as PEG esters are used as self-emulsifying herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides.In terms of region, the global polyethyleneglycol (PEG) esters market has been segmented into Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. North America was the leading market for polyethyleneglycol esters in 2015. The market in North America is estimated to expand in the next few years, due to the increase in demand for lubricants in various end-use industries in the region. The lubricants segment held a major share of the polyethyleneglycol esters market in North America in 2015. The segment is driven by the rising demand from OEMs and the automotive sector in the region. Asia Pacific is expected to be the rapidly expanding market for PEG esters during the forecast period, due to the growing fertilizers sector in the region. Countries such as China, India, and Japan are likely to constitute a major share of the polyethyleneglycol esters market in Asia Pacific, due to high growth in end-use applications of polyethyleneglycol esters in these countries. The polyethyleneglycol esters market is anticipated to witness a shift from the U.S. and Western Europe to the developing economies of Asia Pacific due to less stringent environmental regulations in those economies. Developing economies in Asia Pacific viz. China and India are projected to witness high growth of the pigments industry. This, in turn, would boost the demand for polyethyleneglycol esters in these countries. Technological advancements and innovations are expected to increase the use of polyethyleneglycol esters. This, in turn, is expected to fuel the polyethyleneglycol esters market during the forecast period.Global demand for polyethyleneglycol esters is anticipated to rise significantly in the near future, thereby offering high growth opportunities for the market. Market players are focusing on Asia Pacific to gain higher market share. Producers of polyethyleneglycol esters have been compelled to adopt expansion and acquisition strategies to meet the global demand. A large number of producers are shifting their plants to countries such as China and India, due to high demand for PEG esters and low costs of raw material and labor in the two countries. Rapid increase in demand from end-use applications, competitive production costs, and high economic growth rate are propelling the polyethyleneglycol esters market in Asia Pacific. These factors are making companies adopt expansion and R&D strategies in the region.Major players operating in the global polyethyleneglycol esters market are BASF SE, Lonza, ABITEC Corporation, Archer Daniels Midland Company, Subhash Chemical Industries, Akzo Nobel N.V., Stearinerie Dubois, Croda International Plc, Stepan Company, and Faci Asia-Pacific.Get a Detail TOC@About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Dithianon Market Analysis, Segments, Growth and Value Chain 2016 - 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=20630

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=20630

www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Dithianon, a fungicide belonging to the quinone family, is used to control various pests. It acts as a conventional, protective, broad spectrum fungicide for apples, pears, and other fruits. The different types of pests it keeps a check on include Venturia, Plasmopara, Coryneum & Monilia & Taphrina, Botryosphaeria & Glomerella, and Podosphaera & Venturia. Dithianon is applied as a foliar spray on a surface to which it adheres well and offers excellent persistence when dried. This fungicide is generally consumed farming of fruits, crops and vegetables.Get a Sample Report @Based on disease, the dithianon market has been segmented into the following categories: scab, mildew, fruit rot, and others. Fruit rot accounts for a significant share in the global dithianon market due to rising prevalence of gloeosporium and penicillium expansum. The scab segment is expected to experience a high growth rate, led by the growth in bacteria such as venturia inaequalis and venturia pirina. Growing demand for apples and peers farming is predicted to boost the need for dithianon during the forecast period.Geographically, the global market has been distributed over Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and Latin America. Asia Pacific was a major market for dithianon in 2015. The market for fungicides in this region is estimated to expand due to the ever-increasing requirement for agriculture and farming. Scab held a large share in the dithianon market in Asia Pacific in 2015. There has been a surge in diseases caused by plants increased exposure to different types of bacteria. Rising disposable incomes in North America and Europe are projected to propel the dithianon market in these regions, especially in the U.S. and U.K., apart from new product launches. The product is anticipated to garner high demand in Europe, Asia Pacific, and Australia due to the widespread fruits market in this region. Developing economies in Asia Pacific, namely China and India, are also projected to register a high growth rate in the dithianon market due to the rising incomes of consumers. Promotional measures taken by the government to push the agricultural sector are also likely to fuel the demand for dithianon in developing countries, besides research and development advancements and innovation in terms of new products.Global demand for fungicides is anticipated to rise significantly in the near future, thereby offering high growth opportunities for the dithianon market. The rapid rise in demand from end-use applications, competitive manufacturing costs, and high economic growth rates are propelling the market in Asia Pacific. These factors are attracting companies to adopt the strategies of expansion and R&D in the region. Market players are focusing on Asia Pacific to gain larger market shares. The high agricultural growing in Asia Pacific region is expected to boost the demand for dithianon market for the forecast period. Producers of dithianon have been compelled to adopt acquisition strategies to meet the global needs. Several of them are shifting their plants to countries such as China and India due to the high demand and low raw material & labor costs there. This trends are expected to continue in the near future propelling high demand for dithianon market.Key players operating in the global dithianon market are AgChemAccess Limited, SIMAGCHEM, Haihang Industry Co., Ltd., Parchem fine & specialty chemicals, Krishi Rasayan Group, Sigma-Aldrich Co. LLC., and BASF ES.Get a Detail TOC@About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
People who know Misty Lown will tell you shes all about the kids, and in announcing a major new project this week, the Mistys Dance Unlimited owner once again demonstrated that.

Lowns friends, family, business associates, dancers and media representatives gathered at midday Tuesday at a vacant two-acre lot across the street from Mistys Dance Unlimited where she kicked off construction of an international performing arts training campus that will be ready to roll by next June.

The people gathered werent the first to get details on the project, though. On Monday night, Lown gathered the 120 students taking classes that evening and danced her way to the big reveal. You know how this sprung floor is losing its spring, she asked the students. And you know how we dont have a space dedicated to the boys studying dance here (they make up 50 of MDUs 700 students)? And you know how your parents sometimes cant find a place to park?

With each question, Lown said, the students got more and more excited, and when she started describing the new building she planned to put up across the street they erupted in applause with each new detail  even for elements that had little to do with their dance classes.

The announcement about the new 21,000-square-foot building comes about 20 years after she first opened Mistys Dance Unlimited with about 200 students and eight years after she first started thinking about building a new home for the studio.

But the building will be much more than a bigger space for MDU to train dancers. This building will be home to our 700 students and a training campus for studio owners, managers and teachers from around the globe who will come here to learn best practices, curriculum, management and community giving, Lown said.

The building will provide space where Lown and others can offer training for the 199 dance studios in the United States, Canada, Aruba and the United Arab Emirates that are affiliates through Lowns More Than Just Great Dance organization.

Lown started the organization five years ago and has traveled extensively to help dance studio owners be more effective both at running their businesses and at focusing their efforts on using dance to help mold great kids. Were just trying to raise the bar for studio owners and teachers, she said.

Lown already has started conducting some of the training for More Than Just Great Dance, and the new building will bring a lot more of the training here. We started with something amazing here, we took it to the world, and now were bringing the world back home to the Onalaska community, Lown said. The intent with this new center is to shift all that economic impact back to the place where it all began, and thats here in Onalaska.

The building, designed by architectural firm ISG, will be built by Borton Construction and owned by Ironside Properties, a business Lown runs with her husband, Mitch. It will house Mistys Dance Unlimited, Ballet La Crosse, Everything Dance (a dancewear retail store) and a 1,500-square-foot cafe with a drive-thru window. There also will be space to house additional performance arts training programs, such as voice lessons or instrumental music classes.

The design for the new building includes a reception area, four private offices, a recording studio/private office for training, a conference room, public gathering spaces, dressing rooms, a workroom, a food-staging area, a birthday party zone, outdoor seating, a childrens play area, bike racks, benches, costume shop, locker rooms for men, women and children, and seven instructional rooms  three of which convert to one large group training and performance area, including a stage.

The performance area, which has space for about 300 spectators, has potential as an arts performance space beyond dance, hosting events such as theater productions, music recitals and concerts.

Judson Steinback will create a distinctive landscape for the campus, using a sustainable, environmentally friendly approach called food ecology environmental design, featuring fruit bearing trees and berry bushes.

The existing Mistys Dance Unlimited building will be remodeled to house Childrens Tree House, an Onalaska day care center that has a long waiting list. The move will increase capacity for Childrens Tree House from 90 to 145 children.

Onalaska Mayor Joe Chilsen was excited about the Lowns project, saying it will help kids while aligning perfectly with Onalaskas objective to become a place making city.

The new campus will serve as a gathering place for events and cultural activities while also fitting in with our vision to attract businesses catering to creative types and to revitalize and beautify our city, Chilsen said. This will be another ornament on the tree.
Dimer Acid Market Revenue, Opportunity, Forecast and Value Chain 2016 - 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=20669

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=20669

www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Dimer acids also known as dimerized fatty acids are known to be dicarboxylic acids that are produced by a process of dimerizing unsaturated fatty acids. These unsaturated fatty acids are obtained from fatty acid feedstock such as tallow oil, rapeseed oil and tall oil among others. Crude dimer is produced from tall oil fatty acid by heat treatment with or without use of a suitable catalyst. They act as building blocks for several end-products due to its di-carboxylic acid reactivity. Dimeric acids usually consist of stearic acids, therefore called as C36 dimer acid. This chemistry of Dimer acid can further produce trimer acid comprising of three fatty acid molecules. Dimer acids are transparent light yellow colored viscous liquids which are non-toxic in nature.Get a Sample Report @The major application of dimer acids is in manufacturing polyamide resins which are used in inks and coatings and adhesives among others. The other areas of application of dimer acids include reactive and non-reactive polyamides for epoxy resins, fuel additives, synthetic lubricants, polyol esters, alkyd resins, corrosion inhibitors, personal care and oil field drilling muds among others.Growing demand for dimer acids for manufacturing polyamides is the major factor driving the global dimer acid market. Increasing demand from the automobile industry is another factor generating scope for growth of global dimer acid market. Moreover, increasing demand from the end-user industries such as inks and coatings, adhesives and oil and petroleum industries is also expected to boost demand for dimer acids in the near future.However, the limitation to the growth of global dimer acid market is due to low availability of feedstock such as C18 tall oil fatty acid. This tall oil is a result of kraft wood pulping operations. Major production of dimer acids is carried out from tall oil fatty acids. This factor is expected to hamper the growth of global dimer acid marker in the near future.The environmental friendly nature of dimer acids has led to its application in wide range of applications in various end-user industries. Growing opportunities from the automobile industry for corrosion inhibitors, personal care and cosmetics and flexographic ink industry are expected to boost market demand for dimer acids in the developing as well as developing economies in the near future.North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and Rest of the World (RoW) are the major segments for global dimer acids market. Asia Pacific is expected to consume large volume of dimer acids owing to the growing demand from the adhesives industry in the region. Other industries such as personal care and cosmetics and lubricant industry is also expected to fuel demand for dimer acids in the region. North America and Europe are also expected to boost demand for dimer acids due to the rising demand from the other end-user industries in the regions.The key players profiled for global dimer acid market include: Anqing Juyuan Polymer Technology Co., Ltd., Anqing Hongyu Chemical Co., Ltd, Aturex Group, Arizona Chemical Company, LLC, BASF SE, Harima Chemicals Group, Inc, Jiangsu Jinma Oil Technology Development Co., Ltd., Croda International, Jiangsu Yonglin Chemical Oil Co., Ltd, Kodia Company Limited Company, ,Jiangxi Longwell Industrial Co.,Ltd, Shandong Huijin Chemical Co., Ltd , Jiangxi Yichun Yuanda Chemical Co.,Ltd, Tianmen Chengxin Chemical Co., Ltd. Company, Jiujiang Lishan Environmental Protection Technology Co.,Ltd, Cognis Corporation, Florachem, CHEMICAL ASSOCIATES, Hexion Specialty Chemicals and Liancheng baixin science and technology Co., Ltd., among others.Get a Detail TOC@About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Ionone Market Volume Analysis, Segments, Value Share and Key Trends 2016 - 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=20672

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=20672

www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Ionones are cyclocitrylildene acetones with the molecular formula C13H20O. They are an important and versatile class of aroma chemicals. They exist in two forms: alpha and B forms. Ionones are generally found in the form of a colorless to pale-yellow colored liquid and have a molecular weight of 192.3. Ionones and methyl ionones were discovered in 1893 by Tiemann, a German scientist, while investigating the compounds responsible for the fragrance of violets. This discovery changed the nature of the perfume industry, as it demonstrated that synthetic aroma chemicals could be used in fragrance formulations that until then relied exclusively on natural products. In the contemporary perfume industry, ionones and methyl ionones along with their derivatives such as iso E super, irones, koavone, timberol, and damascones are used in virtually all commercial fragrances. The ionones scent ranges from violets to a scent of soft wood mixed with violet tones.Get a Sample Report @Ionones also occur naturally in a wide variety of flowers, fruits, and leaves. About 57% of the volatile components of violet flowers are -and -ionones and both isomers occur widely in nature. Ionones are manufactured through the aldol condensation of citral. This reaction is followed by cyclization of the intermediate y-ionones. The sources of the above key substances fall into three main categories: natural extracts, turpentine, and petrochemicals. Most commercial production is undertaken using petrochemicals as the source material. Ionones are partially soluble in alcohol, which is used as a base for many of its fragrance applications. Apart from their application as synthetic perfumery chemicals, ionones are also used as starting raw materials in the production of Vitamin A. Ionones are also used as modifiers in many floral compositions. Other products containing ionones include detergents, bathing soaps, cosmetics, and shampoos.Expansion in the perfume industry across the world is expected to drive the demand for ionones during the next decade. Increasing demand for vitamin supplements due to the growing health awareness is also likely to drive the demand for ionones used in pharmaceuticals. Europe is the leading market for ionones due to the presence of a large number of perfume manufacturing companies in the region. Germany, Italy, and France are the dominant consumers of ionones in Europe, as many of the worlds leading perfume houses have manufacturing centers in these countries. Rise in usage of fragrance products by the growing middle class in emerging countries such as China and India is estimated to be a key driver of the global ionone market. Consumption of ionones in vitamin formulations is also expected to increase in the next few years due to the rising demand for vitamin supplements and technical foods. Demand for ionone is also high in developed countries in Northeast Asia such as Japan and South Korea. GCC is a major consumer of ionones due to the presence of large perfume manufacturing industry in the region. Growth of the ionone market in the U.S. is projected to be moderate due to the growing health concerns regarding the use of synthetic aroma chemicals. In Latin America, Brazil and Mexico are anticipated to be important players in the ionone market owing to to expansion of key end-use industries.Key players operating in the ionone market are The Good Scents Company, Givaudan, L'Oreal S.A., Mubychem Group, International Flavors and Fragrances, SDV Suisse SA, and Takasago International Chemicals.Get a Detail TOC@About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Fluoroapatite Market Growth, Trends, Absolute Opportunity and Value Chain 2016 - 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=20693

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=20693

www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Fluoroapatite, a hard crystalline phosphate mineral, is the fluorine end-member of the apatite group, which also encompasses chlorapatite and hydroxylapatite. The extended apatite supergroup includes additional minerals such as pyromorphite, mimetite, and vanadinite. Pure fluoroapetite is a hard crystalline solid which generally appears colorless or white when pure and is also available in green, brown, blue, yellow, violet, and pink colors. Fluorapatite is a highly common type of phosphate minerals which occurs as an accessory in igneous as well as calcium-rich metamorphic rocks. Generally, it is found in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary deposits. In sedimentary marine ores, the phosphate is usually a carbonate and in lateritic soils, it is a residual mineral. It also occurs as a detrital or diagenic mineral in sedimentary rocks and is an essential component of phosphorite ore deposits.Get a Sample Report @Fluoroapetite is found in the teeth of sharks and other fish in varying concentrations. It is also present in human teeth that have been exposed to fluoride ions, for example, through water fluoridation or the usage of fluoride-containing toothpaste. Fluroapatite helps prevent tooth decay or dental caries. During the production of phosphoric acid, fluoroapatite generates hydrogen fluoride as a byproduct which in turn is used as a source for the manufacture of hydrofluoric acid. The latter is employed as a starting agent for the synthesis of a range of pharmaceutical and industrial fluorine compounds. The market for fluoroapatite is driven by the increasing demand for phosphate minerals in the production of fertilizers.On account of its extensive stiffness, resistance to acid damage, and biocompatibility, fluoroapaptite is the ideal choice for biomedical as well as dentistry applications such as crowns, inlays, dentin simulators, coatings, and cements. Additionally, it is used as a biomaterial in orthopedic applications for bone regeneration. Fluorapatite is mined as the primary source of phosphate fertilizers and therefore used to make fertilizers, acids, and chemicals. It is a common phosphate mineral and the main source of phosphorous for plants. Fluoroapatite is also a popular collectors mineral, especially some of its transparent specimens. Its reddish and gemmy violet forms command very high prices and are much valued by collectors.Fluoroapaptite is available in Europe in Russia, Germany, and Portugal. Panasqueira in Portugal is well-known for its thick and gemmy tabular fluoroapatite crystals. In Canada, large glassy fluoroapaptite crystals in orange calcite originate from the Yates mine in Quebec. Extremely large crystals are also found in Ontario and at Cardiff. In the U.S., Maine is home to several fluoroapaptite localities. Globally, North America is the dominant fluoroapatite mineral producer driven by the extensive number of fluoroapatite zones in the U.S and Canada. Other significant producers of phosphate minerals include Australia, Brazil, and Algeria. In Asia Pacific, fluoroapaptite is produced in significant volumes by Australia, China, and India. This high demand stems from the need for fertilizers in this region. China and India are two densely populated countries and hence consume a substantial amount of fertilizers. In Latin America, Brazil and Peru are major fluoroapaptite producers. It is also manufactured in Egypt, Jordon, Syria, and Tunisia.Key players operating in this market include GB Minerals Ltd., Dakota Matrix, and Crystal Classics Ltd.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.Get a Detail TOC@About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Propylparaben Market Value Share, Supply Demand, share and Value Chain 2016 - 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=20747

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=20747

www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Propylparaben, also known as nipasol, is a chemical which belongs to the family of parabens. Parabens are esters of parahydroxybenzoic acid or parahydroxybenzoates. Different types of parabens include methylparaben, ethylparaben propylparaben and butylparaben among others. Propylparaben is an odourless white crystalline powder. It occurs naturally in many plants as well as insects. However, the commercially used propylparaben is artificially synthesized. Propylparaben, similar to other chemicals of the paraben family, is widely used as preservatives. Owing to its antimicrobial property, propylparaben is used as additives in several applications such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food.Get a Sample Report @Propylparaben is an effective microbial preservative even at low concentration. Food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals can all spoil due to microbial actions of bacteria and fungi if they do not contain preservatives. Propylparaben kill microorganisms and prevents unwanted microbial growth of bacteria and fungi. Moreover it can be used over a range of mediums such as acidic and alkaline; however it is more effective in acidic medium. Due to its low production cost, propylparaben is extensively used in a variety of health care products such as moisturizers, shampoos, conditioners, shower gels, deodorant and sunscreen. It is also used as additives in personal care products which include makeup items such as lipsticks, mascaras, eye shadows and foundations. Propylparaben is apparently non toxic to humans and other mammals due to which it is suitably used as preservatives in a wide range of drugs and can be absorbed in several ways such as orally and injections.Most of the chemicals belonging to the paraben family are similar in structure and applications. Owing to toxic effects on humans, the demand for paraben based additives has reduced considerably. In 2014 the European Union banned the usage of five paraben chemicals namely benzylparaben, pentylparaben, phenylparaben, isobutylparaben and isopropylparaben. The usage of benzylparaben comprising cosmetic has also been restricted in South Asia after research studies have highlighted that benzylparaben disrupts hormonal activities. However the demand for propylparaben is at a boom because of its non toxic nature and effective application as an antimicrobial additive.North America accounts for the largest market for propylparaben whereas Asia Pacific is the fastest growing market. Presence of international manufacturers of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics in North America, especially in the U.S., has boosted the demand for propylparaben. The demand for propylparaben in Asia Pacific is increasing owing to the rise in disposable income and improving lifestyles. However, most of the countries in south Asia rely on imports to meet up the demand for propylparaben. China and Japan are the two largest manufacturers of this chemical in Asia Pacific. Despite the decreasing demand for paraben chemicals in Europe, the demand for propylparaben is increasing. Propylparaben received the approval from the European council whereas other major paraben compounds were banned owing to their toxic effects. The growing food processing industry in South America and Middle East is driving the demand for propylparaben in Rest of the World. The market for propylparaben faces serious threat from the increasing demand for organic and water-based antimicrobial additives, the latter being eco-friendly. However the key end user industries of propylparaben especially the food processing and pharmaceutical industries are growing globally, owing to which the demand for propylparaben is expected to increase during the forecast period.Argos international, Cameo Health Care, Anhui Leafchem Co., Ltd., Alta Laboratories Ltd and Hainan Zhongxin Chemical Co., Ltd. are some of the key manufacturers and suppliers of propylparaben.The report offers a comprehensive evaluation of the market. It does so via in-depth qualitative insights, historical data, and verifiable projections about market size. The projections featured in the report have been derived using proven research methodologies and assumptions. By doing so, the research report serves as a repository of analysis and information for every facet of the market, including but not limited to: Regional markets, technology, types, and applications.The study is a source of reliable data on:Market segments and sub-segmentsMarket trends and dynamicsSupply and demandMarket sizeCurrent trends/opportunities/challengesCompetitive landscapeTechnological breakthroughsValue chain and stakeholder analysisThe regional analysis covers:North America (U.S. and Canada)Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and others)Western Europe (Germany, U.K., France, Spain, Italy, Nordic countries, Belgium, Netherlands, and Luxembourg)Eastern Europe (Poland and Russia)Asia Pacific (China, India, Japan, ASEAN, Australia, and New Zealand)Middle East and Africa (GCC, Southern Africa, and North Africa)The report has been compiled through extensive primary research (through interviews, surveys, and observations of seasoned analysts) and secondary research (which entails reputable paid sources, trade journals, and industry body databases). The report also features a complete qualitative and quantitative assessment by analyzing data gathered from industry analysts and market participants across key points in the industrys value chain.A separate analysis of prevailing trends in the parent market, macro- and micro-economic indicators, and regulations and mandates is included under the purview of the study. By doing so, the report projects the attractiveness of each major segment over the forecast period.Highlights of the report:A complete backdrop analysis, which includes an assessment of the parent marketImportant changes in market dynamicsMarket segmentation up to the second or third levelHistorical, current, and projected size of the market from the standpoint of both value and volumeReporting and evaluation of recent industry developmentsMarket shares and strategies of key playersEmerging niche segments and regional marketsAn objective assessment of the trajectory of the marketRecommendations to companies for strengthening their foothold in the marketNote: Although care has been taken to maintain the highest levels of accuracy in TMRs reports, recent market/vendor-specific changes may take time to reflect in the analysis.Get a Detail TOC@About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants, use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR syndicated research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemicals, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, TMRs syndicated reports strive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.US Office Contact90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Electric Heating Cable Market Report for Period 2017 till 2022 King Manufacturing, Flexelec, Anbang, Eltherm, Thermon, Bartec, Aoqi Electric, Thanglong Electric, FINE Unichem and Others

Electric Heating Cable Market

https://goo.gl/3TwDqy

https://goo.gl/3TwDqy

https://goo.gl/3TwDqy

http://marketreportscompany.com

Global Electric Heating Cable market report provides detailed analysis of companies namely Anhui Huayang, Chromalox, Isopad, King Manufacturing, Flexelec, Garnisch, FINE Unichem, Wanlan Group, SunTouch, Aoqi Electric, Thanglong Electric, Thermon, Bartec, Wuhu Jiahong, Emerson, Anbang, Eltherm, Heat Trace Products and Others. This report study includes global market statistics and analysis for example, company performance, historical analysis 2012 to 2016, market forecast 2017 to 2023 in terms of volume, revenue, YOY growth rate, and CAGR for the year 2017 to 2022, etc.An electric heating cable is a wire cable that produces heat, also referred to as heat trace cable amongst the industry. It is used for a wide range of applications including heat loss replacement, pipe tracing, freeze protection, viscosity control, temperature process maintenance, roof and gutter, and much more. In this report, it mainly focuses on the industrial applications.Request for Free Sample Copy of Global Electric Heating Cable Market 2017Top Company Profiles and Analysis included in this report:ThermonBartecWuhu JiahongEmersonAnbangElthermHeat Trace ProductsAnhui HuayangChromaloxIsopadKing ManufacturingFlexelecGarnischFINE UnichemWanlan GroupSunTouchAoqi ElectricThanglong ElectricOthersGlobal Electric Heating Cable Market: Key Product TypeSelf-regulating Heating CableConstant Wattage Heating CableMineral Insulated Heating CableSkin-Effect Heat-Tracing CableOthersGlobal Electric Heating Cable Market: Key Application TypeIndustrialResidentialCommercialOthersGlobal Electric Heating Cable Market: Key RegionNorth America (USA, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia, Italy and Others)Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India, Southeast Asia and Others)South America (Brazil, Argentina, Columbia and Others)Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Others)The Global Electric Heating Cable Market analysis report provides detailed value chain for analysis of Global Electric Heating Cable Market. The value chain helps to analyze major upstream in raw materials, major equipments, manufacturing process, downstream customer analysis and major distributor analysis.The report also covers in-depth description, competitive scenario, wide product portfolio of prime players active in this market and business strategies adopted by competitors along with their SWOT analysis. Side by side, it also explicitly provides information about mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures, and all the other important activities happened in current and past few years. The Global Electric Heating Cable Market report explores manufacturers competitive scenario and provides market share for all major players of this market based on production capacity, sales, revenue, geographical presence and other major factors.Enquire before Buying @Table of Contents:1 Market Overview1.1 Electric Heating Cable Introduction1.2 Market Analysis by Type1.2.1 Self-regulating Heating Cable1.2.2 Constant Wattage Heating Cable1.2.3 Mineral Insulated Heating Cable1.2.4 Skin-Effect Heat-Tracing Cable1.3 Market Analysis by Applications1.3.1 Industrial1.3.2 Residential1.3.3 Commercial1.3.4 Others........................Continue (Global Electric Heating Cable Market Research Industry Report is prepared with the help of extensive primary and secondary sources, directories, journals, newsletters and with the help of third-party application like Hoovers, Factiva, Bloomberg, Businessweek, etc.About Us:Market Reports Company is a global research and consulting company. We provide customized reports. We can study and analyze any market based on wide range of parameters. We can provide market insights for any particular region, country across the globe within shortest possible turn around time.What we offer: Customized Reports: we provide customized report study on any market or industry. Region Specific Study: If you need region specific or if you are searching for particular region market study then, we have expert research team for that. How we work: We work in all domains and industries, you name it and we provide the market research industry report analysis of it. Expertise: Superior Research Team, 24*7 Customer Care ServiceContact UsJason Smith,Sales Manager, Global Business Development,Website:Email: jasonsmith@marketreportscompany.comContact us: +1-888-220-3424Address: 20 N State Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60602 United States
Rehabilitation Robots 2017 Market Segmentation,Application,Technology & Market Analysis Research Report to 2020

Rehabilitation Robots Market 2017

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/sample-request/310227-global-rehabilitation-robots-market-2016-2020

https://www.wiseguyreports.com/enquiry/310227-global-rehabilitation-robots-market-2016-2020

WiseGuyReports.Com Publish a New Market Research Report On - Rehabilitation Robots 2017 Market Segmentation,Application,Technology & Market Analysis Research Report to 2020.The analysts forecast the global rehabilitation robots market to grow at a CAGR of 24.51% during the period 2016-2020.Rehabilitation robots (or robotic devices) assist different sensorimotor functions of the body, such as those involving arms, legs, and hands. Rehabilitation robots play an important role in improving an individual's functional recovery from strokes.The stroke is a major health problem worldwide and is the main cause of disability in most western countries. Typically, a large number of hours are spent to rehabilitate stroke survivors, resulting in increasing healthcare burdens.Get a Sample Report @For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comCovered in this reportThe report covers the present scenario and the growth prospects of the global rehabilitation robots market for 2016-2020. To calculate the market size, the report considers revenue generated from the sales of various types of rehabilitation robots to clinics, hospitals, and rehabilitation centers.The market is divided into the following segments based on product type: Lower Extremity Upper Extremity Exoskelton robotThe report, Global Rehabilitation Robots Market 2016-2020, has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Key vendors Ekso Bionics Alter G Hocoma Interactive Motion TechnologiesOther prominent vendors Tyromotion Bioxtreme Robotics Rehabilitation Instead Technologies Kinestica Kinetic Muscles Kinova MediTouch Rehab-Robotics Reha-Stim SynTouch Touch Bionics YouRehab Ekso Bionics Kinova Robotics Touch BionicsMarket driver Rising incidences of strokes For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket challenge High cost of rehabilitation robots For a full, detailed list, view our reportMarket trend Increase in healthcare spending For a full, detailed list, view our reportKey questions answered in this report What will the market size be in 2020 and what will the growth rate be? What are the key market trends? What is driving this market? What are the challenges to market growth? Who are the key vendors in this market space? What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?Ask Query @Table Of Contents  Major Key PointsPART 01: Executive summary HighlightsPART 02: Scope of the report Market overview Top-vendor offeringsPART 03: Market research methodology Research methodology Economic indicatorsPART 04: Introduction Key market highlightsPART 05: Market landscape Market size and forecast Five forces analysisPART 06: Market segmentation by product Global rehabilitation robots market segmentation by products Global lower extremity rehabilitation robots Global exoskeleton rehabilitation robots Global upper extremity rehabilitation robotsPART 07: Geographical segmentation Market segmentation by geography Rehabilitation robots market in the Americas Rehabilitation robots market in EMEA Rehabilitation robots market in APACPART 08: Market driversPART 09: Impact of driversPART 10: Market challengesPART 11: Impact of drivers and challengesPART 12: Market trendsPART 13: Vendor landscape Competitive scenario Other prominent vendors Vendor mapping Ekso Bionics Alter G Hocoma Interactive Motion Technologies Vendor Standpoint Recent developments Key takeawaysPART 14: Appendix List of abbreviationsContinue.For more information or any query mail at sales@wiseguyreports.comABOUT US:Wise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Office No.528,Amanora Chambers,Magarpatta Road,Hadapsar,Pune-411028.
Bariatric Surgery Devices-Medical Devices Pipeline Assessment 2017

Reportsweb

http://www.reportsweb.com/bariatric-surgery-devices-medical-devices-pipeline-assessment-2017

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011065341/sample

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW00011065341/buying

ReportsWeb.com published Bariatric Surgery Devices-Medical Devices Pipeline Assessment 2017 from its database. The report reviews top companies involved and enlists all trials pertaining to the company. Report provides latest news for the past three months.Original Content:Publisher's Medical Devices sector report, "Bariatric Surgery Devices-Medical Devices Pipeline Assessment, 2017" provides an overview of Pain Management currently in pipeline stage.The report provides comprehensive information on the pipeline products with comparative analysis of the products at various stages of development. The report reviews major players involved in the pipeline product development. It also provides information about clinical trials in progress, which includes trial phase, trial status, trial start and end dates, and, the number of trials for the key Pain Management pipeline products.For more information about this report:Report Scope-Extensive coverage of the Pain Management under development-The report reviews details of major pipeline products which includes, product description, licensing and collaboration details and other developmental activities-The report reviews the major players involved in the development of Pain Management and list all their pipeline projects-The coverage of pipeline products based on various stages of development ranging from Early Development to Approved / Issued stage-The report provides key clinical trial data of ongoing trials specific to pipeline products-Recent developments in the segment / industry.Request Sample Copy atReasons to buy-Specific forecasts of the Portuguese foodservice market over the next five years (2015-2020) will give readers the ability to make informed business decisions through identifying emerging/declining markets.-Consumer segmentation detailing the desires of known consumers among all major foodservice channels (QSR, FSR, Coffee & Tea shops, Pubs, Clubs and Bars) will allow readers understand the wants and needs of their target demographics.-Relevant case studies will allow readers to learn from and apply lessons discovered by emerging and major players within the Portugal's foodservice market.Table of Contents1.1 List of Tables 101.2 List of Figures 132 Introduction 142.1 Pain Management Overview 143 Products under Development 153.1 Pain Management-Pipeline Products by Stage of Development 153.2 Pain Management-Pipeline Products by Territory 163.3 Pain Management-Pipeline Products by Regulatory Path 173.4 Pain Management-Pipeline Products by Estimated Approval Date 184 Pain Management-Pipeline Products under Development by Companies 194.1 Pain Management Companies-Pipeline Products by Stage of Development 194.2 Pain Management-Pipeline Products by Stage of Development 21Inquire before Buying atReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
Healthcare BPO Market Upgrades At A 12% of CAGR; MRFR Unleashes The Industry Forecast

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/1335

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/healthcare-bpo-market-1335

The Global Healthcare BPO Market is growing with the rapid pace; mainly due the burgeoning Healthcare Sector. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, The global Healthcare BPO Market is booming and expected to gain prominence over the forecast period. The Market is forecasted to demonstrate a huge growth by 2023, surpassing its previous growth records in terms of value & volume. Global market of healthcare BPO is expected to reach USD 250 billion in 2023 from USD 140 billion in 2016 with a CAGR of approximately 12.7% during the forecast period 2017-2023.Globally the market for Healthcare BPO is increasing rapidly. The major factor that derives the growth of Healthcare BPO is the increasing development in healthcare IT. Furthermore new business models & processes and increasing use of digital technologies in healthcare are increasing the market for healthcare BPO.Get a sample PDF atWith digital technologies transforming processes from electronic records to telemedicine, many healthcare providers are delivering services in innovative ways. Additionally, health services are also evolving as individuals seek greater involvement in healthcare decisions that impact them and call for easier access. Stricter requirements related to patient privacy, safety, treatment and payments, are altering compliance processes. In the recent years, outsourcing has played a major role in delivering quality patient care.the current trend of the market - as Cloud-based BPO which is said to have revolutionized business outsourcing processes and helps healthcare organizations at a reduced costs developing global delivery models, provides secure data access. Owing to the demonstrated benefits, Cloud-based BPO is increasingly adopted.Healthcare BPO is a practice where healthcare organizations outsource business operations to vendors. Outsourcing of a number of activities like employee management, customers, and accounting helps a healthcare organization to focus primarily on patient care. The healthcare organization are able to concentrate on core activities that may directly affect the patients health and well-being. Outsourcing is done to minimize the burden of secondary activities carried out by the hospital staff. The healthcare BPO market is growing due to an increase in the number of patients getting admitted into the hospitals, increasing volume medical records requiring management, easy healthcare delivery and maintaining quality. Business process outsourcing has been productive for many healthcare organization as it helps in proper utilization of staff and resources available for patients care in the hospitals. Healthcare IT also favours the growth of this market. Information technology helps to maintain patient information electronically that can be used as and when required.Healthcare BPO Global Market  Key PlayersHealthcare BPO Global Market poses as highly competitive and fragmented market. The market is witnessing fierce competition among the major players having geographical presence with a substantial share in the market. Well established players incorporate acquisition, collaboration, partnership, expansion, & technology launch in order to gain competitive advantage in this market and to maintain their market position. Service providers operating in the market compete based on pricing, innovation, service, reputation, distribution, and promotion. In view of growth and immense revenue generation opportunities potential that market is currently demonstrating is in turn attracting several new players to enter the Healthcare BPO market.Deep industry and business process knowledge, a partnership approach, comprehensive service offerings and a proven track records enable Healthcare BPO market players to deliver business value to their clients (companies). Key Players are passionate about building a market leading company valued by clients, employees, business partners, investors and the communities.Browse Complete Report with 80 Pages and Global Key PlayersHealthcare BPO Global Market  SegmentsThe Healthcare BPO market can be segmented in to 3 key dynamics for the convenience of the report and enhanced understanding;Segmentation By Provider Services : Comprises Medical Billing, Medical Coding, Finance, Accounts and other.Segmentation By Payer Services : Comprises HR services, Claims Management, Front/Back-Office Operations, Provider Management, Analytics, Fraud Management, and other.Segmentation By Regions : Comprises Geographical regions - North America, Europe, APAC and Rest of the World.In 2016, Segment Medical Billing accounted for the largest market share whereas, segment Finance & accounts accounted for the second largest market share.Healthcare BPO Market  Regional AnalysisGlobally, Healthcare BPO market consists of four regions Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East and Africa. North America is the largest market for Healthcare BPO. Attributed by the increasing development in healthcare technology. The North American market for Healthcare BPO is expected to grow at a substantial CAGR and is expected to reach at astronomical amounts by the end of the forecasted period. Concentration of major market players and increase in outsourcing of number of services in the hospitals and healthcare organizations has boosted the growth of this market in North American region.Europe is the second-largest market for Healthcare BPO which is expected to grow at a considerable CAGR. Furthermore Asia pacific market is expected to be the growing market for Healthcare BPO market.India has emerged as the fastest growing market. Embryonic Indian Market is already considered as a substantial market. The market shows steady growth in Middle East and Africa.About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions.In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industry, MRFR often plans & conducts meet with the industry experts and industrial visits for its research analyst members.Contact usMarket Research FutureMaharashtra, India+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@Marketresearchfuture.Com
Passenger Service System Market worth US$ 11.523 bn by 2024

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/passenger-service-system-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=22676

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/22676

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Some of the key players in the global passenger service system (PSS) market are Sirena-Travel JSCS, Radixx International, Inc., Hitit Computer Services A.S., Intelisys Aviation Systems Inc., Bravo Passenger Solutions Pte Ltd., Unisys Corp., Hexaware Technologies Ltd., Travelport Worldwide Ltd., SITA NV, Sabre Corp., IBS Software Services Pvt. Ltd., Information Systems Associates FZE, Amadeus IT Group SA, Travel Technology Interactive, Mercator Ltd., Travelsky Technology Ltd., and KIU System Solutions.As per a report by Transparency Market Research, the global passenger service system (PSS) market will likely expand at a robust 11.8% CAGR between 2016 and 2024 to become worth US$ 11.523 bn by 2024 from US$4.315 bn in 2015.Obtain Report Details:Depending upon the various services offered, the global passenger service system (PSS) market can be segmented into airline inventory system, internet booking system, airline reservation system, airport management consulting, loyalty system, departure control system, ancillary services, and customer care system.Among them, the airline reservation system segment accounted for maximum share of 27.8% in 2015. Mainly driving the growth in this segment is the high uptake among medium and small airline operators.Geographically, the key segments of the global passenger service system (PSS) market are North America, South America, Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa.Asia Pacific, of them, is slated to expand its share at a healthy clip and contribute to the market substantially, in the forecast period. As per the TMR report, the market is Asia Pacific will likely rise at a CAGR of 13.0% between 2016 and 2024.Growing Number of Airline Operators Drive MarketPassenger Service System (PSS) is a clutch of solutions that enables efficient management of an airline front-end operation by managing passenger related activities.It is basically a communication system that offers services to passengers such as loyalty, customer care, online booking, reservation, and check-in and check-out status in real-time.Increasing spending capacity of the middle-class population and the rise in number of airline operators is slated to provide a fillip to the demand for passenger service system in the coming years. Passenger service system helps airline operators to quickly monetize their offering and further generate revenue from non-core assets, explains the lead analyst of the report.Make Enquiry @At present, numerous passenger service system (PSS) providers are offering non-core PSS solution such as ancillary service, loyalty system and customer care system in response to demand from airline operators. In addition, some PSS providers are also providing airport management consulting solution to satisfy demand for smart airport offering.Market is at an interesting cusp where players are coming up with new platforms and new technologies to facilitate better services to customers, adds the lead analyst of the TMR report.The demand for better PSS solutions such as home tagging for luggage, presence of augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence for customer service are expected to contribute to the growth of PSS solution over the forecast period. Growing penetration of the internet is another major factor boosting the global passenger service system (PSS) market.Get TOC @Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email:sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Mexico Healthcare IT Market Outlook to 2022

ReportsWeb

http://www.reportsweb.com/mexico-healthcare-it-market-outlook-to-2022

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001453461/sample

http://www.reportsweb.com/inquiry&RW0001453461/buying

ReportsWeb.com published Healthcare IT Market from its database. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.Publisher's new report, "Mexico Healthcare IT Market Outlook to 2022", provides key market data on the Mexico Healthcare IT market. The report provides value, in millions of US dollars and volume (in units) within market categories - Blood Pressure Monitors, Clinical IT Systems, Fetal Monitors, Medical Imaging Information Systems, Micro-Electromechanical Sensors, Multiparameter Patient Monitoring, Neonatal Monitors, Patient Monitoring Accessories and Remote Patient Monitoring.The report also provides company shares and distribution shares data for the market category, and global corporate-level profiles of the key market participants. Based on the availability of data for the particular category and country, information related to pipeline products, news and deals is available in the report.For more information about this report @The data in the report is derived from dynamic market forecast models. Publisher uses epidemiology and capital equipment-based models to estimate and forecast the market size. The objective is to provide information that represents the most up-to-date data of the industry possible.The epidemiology-based forecasting model makes use of epidemiology data gathered from research publications and primary interviews with physicians to establish the target patient population and treatment flow patterns for individual diseases and therapies. Using prevalence and incidence data and diagnosed and treated population, the epidemiology-based forecasting model arrives at the final numbers.Capital equipment-based forecasting models are done based on the installed base, replacements and new sales of a specific device/equipment in healthcare facilities such as hospitals, clinics and diagnostic centers. Data for average number of units per facility is used to arrive at the installed base of the capital equipment. Sales for a particular year are arrived at by calculating the replacement units and new units (additional and first-time purchases).Extensive interviews are conducted with key opinion leaders (KOLs), physicians and industry experts to validate the market size, company share and distribution share data and analysis.Request a sample copy @Report Scope- Market size for Healthcare IT market categories - Blood Pressure Monitors, Clinical IT Systems, Fetal Monitors, Medical Imaging Information Systems, Micro-Electromechanical Sensors, Multiparameter Patient Monitoring, Neonatal Monitors, Patient Monitoring Accessories and Remote Patient Monitoring.- Annualized market revenues (USD million), volume (units) and average selling price ($) data for each of the market categories. Data is provided from 2008 to 2015 and forecast to 2022.- 2015 company shares and distribution shares data for Healthcare IT market.- Global corporate-level profiles of key companies operating within the Mexico Healthcare IT market.- Key players covered include GE Healthcare Limited, Cerner Corporation, Philips Healthcare, Siemens Healthcare GmbH and Others.Reasons to buy- Develop business strategies by identifying the key market segments poised for strong growth in the future.- Develop market-entry and market expansion strategies.- Design competition strategies by identifying who-stands-where in the market.- Develop investment strategies by identifying the key market segments expected to register strong growth in the near future.- What are the key distribution channels and what's the most preferred mode of product distribution - Identify, understand and capitalize.Inquire for Report @Contact Us:Call: +1-646-491-9876Email: sales@reportsweb.comReportsWeb.com is a one stop shop of market research reports and solutions to various companies across the globe. We help our clients in their decision support system by helping them choose most relevant and cost effective research reports and solutions from various publishers. We provide best in class customer service and our customer support team is always available to help you on your research queries.505, 6th floor, Amanora Township,Amanora Chambers, East Block,Kharadi Road, Hadapsar, Pune-411028
TOMAH, Wis.  There was little public support Friday for a Georgia timber companys plans to fill wetlands in order to build a $65 million frac sand plant in Monroe County even as the contested project received federal approval.

Half a dozen people spoke against the project at a public hearing on the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources proposal to amend a permit allowing Meteor Timber to fill 16 acres of wetlands for its sand processing and loading facility in the town of Millston, which environmentalists call massive wetland destruction.

The original permit, issued in May, included 59 conditions, including detailed information on the companys plans to create new wetlands to compensate for those being destroyed. Meteor has since submitted new information and asked the DNR to modify the permit.

DNR attorney Cheryl Heilman said the agency has made a tentative decision to approve the changes, although it has not published a draft of the modified permit or a list of the conditions that have been met.

The Army Corps of Engineers issued Meteor a federal wetland permit Friday, though the agency has not released a public copy.

Opponents of the project argued the permit should not have been granted in the first place.

Meteor Timber was not and is not entitled to a wetland permit, said Kim Wright, executive director for Midwest Environmental Advocates, which is petitioning to join a legal challenge to the permit. Now its too late. Meteor Timber cannot shore up an inadequate permit application by submitting info after the permit was issued.

Evan Feinauer, a staff attorney for Clean Wisconsin, said his group has serious concerns about the process this permit has gone through.

Some residents questioned whether the wetlands could truly be replaced.

I dont want to go down this road and hear someone say, Dan, were sorry,  said Millston town Chairman Dan Smrekar. The DNR has a responsibility. Theyre supposed to protect and look out for their constituents.

Black River Falls cranberry farmer Jerry Fuerstenberg was the only one of about 30 people at Fridays hearing who spoke in favor of the project, arguing that the government should not have authority over what property owners do with their land.

Pretty soon its going to be oak trees, Fuerstenberg said.

Wetlands are a key component of the ecosystem, acting as natural flood control and water filters that support a wide range of wildlife, including a disproportionate number of rare and endangered species.

According to the DNR, Wisconsin has only about half the amount of wetlands it did when the first European settlers arrived. Most of those remaining 5.3 million acres are in the northern third of the state.

Meteor has proposed to restore and preserve more than 640 acres of other land  including more than 296 acres of existing wetlands  near the the 752-acre site between Warrens and Millston, which would serve two nearby mines on land the company acquired in 2014 when it purchased nearly 50,000 acres of Wisconsin forest.

However, the DNR determined those mitigation efforts are not likely to fully compensate for what it calls permanent and irreversible secondary impacts from activity on the site and may not compensate for the direct loss of 13.4 acres of exceptional quality white pine and red maple swamp, which is considered an imperiled habitat.

The DNR has granted Clean Wisconsins request for a contested case hearing before an administrative law judge where interested parties can present evidence and cross-examine witnesses. That hearing has been postponed until an amended permit is issued.

Clean Wisconsin argues that destroying the pristine forested wetlands  home to several rare and endangered species  would open the door to the destruction of more rare wetlands. The DNR acknowledged the permit approval may lead to increased applications to fill rare, sensitive and valuable wetland plant communities.
Remote Diagnostic Market of Technology Propels North America Market

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/remote-diagnostics-market.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=19292

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/19292

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

Players in the global remote diagnostics market are raising the competition bar through product differentiation and after-sales support and service to customers, notes a new publication by Transparency Market Research (TMR).Among them, Robert Bosch GmbH, Continental AG, OnStar LLC, Mercedes-Benz, Magneti Marelli S.p.A., Delphi Automotive plc, Softing AG, Voxx International Corporation, and Vector Informatik are a few key companies.A report by Transparency Market Research forecasts the global remote diagnostics market to register an impressive 14.8% CAGR between 2017 and 2025. If the figure holds true, the markets valuation of US$12.88 bn in 2016 is expected to reach US$42.04 bn by 2025.Obtain Report Details:Depending upon application, the global remote diagnostics market can be segmented into roadside assistance, vehicle tracking, state alert, crash notification, and training assistance.Of these, in 2016, the segment of roadside assistance stood as the leading contributor in terms of revenue. Increasing demand for safety and security features of vehicles is the key factor stirring growth of roadside assistance segment.The segments of the remote diagnostics market in terms of vehicle type are commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles. Of the two, passenger vehicles led the market in 2016 revenue-wise.The key geographical segments into which the global remote diagnostics market is divided are North America, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Europe, and Latin America. North America powered by the U.S. led the market in 2016 in terms of revenue due to early adoption of technology.At the forefront of driving growth in the global remote diagnostics market are strict regulations for emissions and fuel economy across the world. Government agencies issue emission standards in order to curb hazardous vehicular emissions.This is where remote monitoring systems are useful to monitor carbon and other harmful gases emitted from vehicles. In 2011, the U.S President announced an agreement with key automakers to double fuel efficiency to nearly double to 54.5 m.p.g, by means of which motorists can save fuel costs up to US$1.7 trillion over the lifespan of vehicles.While vehicular emission standards are region specific, the use of remote vehicle diagnostics ensures that vehicles discharge particulate matter within permissible limits. This factor is likely to greatly influence the remote diagnostic market during the forecast period.Make Enquiry @Additionally, demand for remote vehicle diagnostics solutions is on the rise as part of technological advancement of the automotive industry. Connectivity technologies that are used in remote diagnostic solutions include Bluetooth, 3G/4G, and GPS.Another significant growth driver of the market is increasing demand for safety and security and awareness about vehicle diagnostics. This is because consumers in developed and developing countries are opting for remote diagnostics systems for four service areas, which are GPS navigation, wireless safety communication, integrated hands free cell phones, and automatic driving assistance systems. Moreover, increasing safety standards in place by governments is also responsible for the increased use of remote diagnostic systems.Despite several driving factors, there are several factors restraining the growth of remote diagnostic market. The key among them is concern related to data security.This is because modern vehicles are equipped with hi-tech devices to observe the status of the vehicle at all times. However, this poses risk of vehicle hacking using computer-generated information with respect to vehicle functionality and driver information.Get TOC @Transparency Market Research (TMR) is a global market intelligence company providing business information reports and services. The companys exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trend analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. TMRs experienced team of analysts, researchers, and consultants use proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather and analyze information.TMRs data repository is continuously updated and revised by a team of research experts so that it always reflects the latest trends and information. With extensive research and analysis capabilities, Transparency Market Research employs rigorous primary and secondary research techniques to develop distinctive data sets and research material for business reports.90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA - Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email:sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Healthcare Security Systems Market Insight Report Offers Development Prospects 2024

Healthcare Security Systems

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/702

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/request-toc/702

The Global Healthcare Security Systems Market Research Report provides detailed analysis of the key regional market status of the Healthcare Security Systems Industry.Global Healthcare Security Systems Market Research Report By product (access control system, smart cards, readers, biometric systems, chipper locks, wireless locks, Fire alarms) By Type ( System Integration, Maintains and support service)- Forecast to 2024Privacy and protection both provide a valuable benefit to the society. Healthcare security plays a vital role in improving the healthcare market. Protecting patients from harm and preserving their rights is essential to ethical healthcare. The primary reason of protecting the patients is to give them a sense of confidence in the healthcare organization.Todays facility managers in hospitals, nursing homes and medical centers are handling multiple responsibilities. These responsibilities may include assessing risks, vulnerabilities and planning oversight of physical security to protect people. Healthcare security deals with constant visitors traffic, open access in multiple buildings, hectic emergency departments, confidentiality requirements, property and information against political threats. The public has gained an increased awareness in physical security at hospitals and because of this many facility managers and security heads have been asked to increase the level of security measures. Thus healthcare security systems are playing a major role in the protection and security of patients.Healthcare security systems applications by type are System Integration, Maintains and support service, system design and installations, by product access control system, smart cards, readers, biometric systems, chipper locks, wireless locks, fire safety system, radio frequency identification system, infant security system and video surveillance system. Healthcare security services By end users Clinic and public health laboratories, standard developed organizations, pharmaceuticals vendors, EHR (electronic health record) and PHR (Personal Health Record) vendors, healthcare IT vendors, clinical decision support system vendors, lab vendors, HIS Vendor and Health care institutions (Hospitals, long term care, Home care, Mental health).Request a Sample Report @Security and protection is one of the most important factors in the healthcare market, which is very essential for health care institutes to upgrade by adding security systems in their healthcare institutes. Hence providing security and protection will play a major role in the growth of the security system market.Regional Market Analysis:North America (US)The pressure of security risks is growing in the Healthcare industry; this is due to Hospitals which are being targeted frequently as they are the have most easily accessible premises. Hospitals have huge infrastructure and most of the major hospitals are in the prominent areas of the city hence they become an obvious target for crime and terrorism, according to the crime and security trends 154 shooting have taken place in hospitals and health care facilities worldwide in 2011, this trend also states that 98% hospitals and healthcare facilities in the United States of America experience crime and terrorism. Thus these institutions and facilities are facing problems in providing treatment and services to their customers and patients with the fear of security. Thus all the healthcare institutes have made it essential to install security systems in their organizations.With players like BOSH securities systems and STANLEY securities in US the market is already in the growth stage and soon heading towards maturity. Security playing major role in the healthcare industry the healthcare security system market will have huge demand and the growth of this market will be phenomenal.EuropeIn Europe prison population is growing at a high rate as per EU stats in 2012 there were about 643000 prisoners in Europe excluding Scotland and this number increased by 7% in 2013. With increasing crime and prisoners in Europe Hospitals, healthcare organizations and institutions are taken major steps in protecting their patients, customers and employees by prioritizing healthcare security systems in their Organizations and institutions. Increase In the healthcare security systems will lead to increase in the prices of healthcare services, but Europe has a growing GDP and Economy, hence pricing will not be an issue in the European healthcare industry as long as good security and services are provided. With demand for health care security systems the European market for healthcare security system is a growing market with huge potential.The reports also covers brief analysis of Geographical Region includes:AmericasNorth AmericaUSCanadaLatin AmericaEuropeWestern EuropeGermanyFranceItalySpainU.KRest of Western EuropeEastern EuropePolandRussiaAsia PacificAsiaChinaIndiaJapanSouth KoreaRest of AsiaPacific CountriesAustraliaNew ZealandRequest For TOC@About Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.comWise Guy Reports is part of the Wise Guy Consultants Pvt. Ltd. and offers premium progressive statistical surveying, market research reports, analysis & forecast data for industries and governments around the globe. Wise Guy Reports features an exhaustive list of market research reports from hundreds of publishers worldwide. We boast a database spanning virtually every market category and an even more comprehensive collection of market research reports under these categories and sub-categories.Pune, India
Healthcare Archiving And EDiscovery Market SWOT Analysis Of Top Key Player Forecasts To 2023

Healthcare Archiving And EDiscovery

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/568

The Global Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery Market is growing with the rapid pace; mainly due the burgeoning Healthcare Sector. According to a recent study report published by the Market Research Future, The global Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery Market is booming and expected to gain prominence over the forecast period.Global Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery Market, by types (Archiving and eDiscovery), by deployment ( On-premise system and Cloud system) and by application ( Revenue cycle management, Electronic health record, Practice Management System, laboratory Information System, Radiology Information System, Picture Archiving System and others)- Forecast to 2023Healthcare is a highly litigious and regulated industry. Many organizations are unprepared with the right systems to cost effectively address these requirements. In the healthcare industry, organizations have to comply with numerous regulations and rules. They therefore need an intelligent information governance solution with a purpose-built eDiscovery platform. Structured data can be referred as alphabets, numbers and can be easily processed and stored whereas unstructured data can be referred as email, images, audio and video files. In healthcare structured data refers to patients unique identification number and patients billing information. While instructed data refers to radiological images which required same format of image i.e. jpeg. for exchange of images between healthcare providers. Large amount of data is to be managed by the healthcare providers to follow all the rules and regulations. Data classification is important in order to immediately access it whenever required. Globally Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery market are been driven by need of data storage regarding patients billing, radiological images, and medical history and management of healthcare data.Some of the key players in this market are: Actiance Incorporation, Barracuda Networks Incorporation, Bloomberg L.P., Commvault Systems Inc., Global Relay Communications Inc., Google Incorporation, International Business Machine (IBM) Corporation and Microsoft Corporation, Allscripts and Siemens.Request a Sample Report @The global market of Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery market is blooming due to increase in awareness of using Information Management System and importance of medical data archiving system among healthcare providers.The global Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery market of is expected to reach US$ 8.4 billion in 2023 from US$ 4.25 billion in 2016 with a CAGR of approximately 9.5% during the forecast period from 2017-2023.Segments:Global Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery Market is segmented by types including Archiving and eDiscovery, by deployment including On-premise system and Cloud system, by application including Revenue cycle management, Electronic health record, Practice Management System, laboratory Information System, Radiology Information System, Picture Archiving System and other systems and by regions consisting of North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East and Africa.Regional Analysis of Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery Market:Globally, Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery Market consists of four regions North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East and Africa. North America is the largest market for Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.1% from 2017-2023. The market is expected to reach at US$ 2.25 billion by 2023 from 4.25 billion in 2016. This is due to increase in demand and awareness for storage and archival of healthcare data. Healthcare archiving is gaining importance as it is important to decide how much data to be archived. Most of the software are concentrated in North America. Europe is the second largest market. Increasing expenditure on R&D in Electronic Health Records drives the market in Europe. In Asia-Pacific, increasing patient pool and data security responsible for the use of archiving system. Increased use of radiology management system is seen in India. Middle East and Africa show steady growth in this market.Study Objectives of Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery Market:To provide detailed analysis of the market structure along with forecast for the next six years of the various segments and sub-segments of the Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery marketTo provide insights about factors affecting the market growthTo analyze the Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery market based on various factors- price analysis, supply chain analysis, porters five force analysis etc.To provide historical and forecast revenue of the market segments and sub-segments with respect to four main geographies and their countries- Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Middle East and Africa.To provide country level analysis of the market with respect to the current market size and future prospectiveTo provide country level analysis of the market for segments by type, by deployment, by data storage and its sub-segmentsTo provide overview of key players and their strategic profiling in the market, comprehensively analyzing their core competencies, and drawing a competitive landscape for the marketTo track and analyze competitive developments such as joint ventures, strategic alliances, mergers and acquisitions, new product developments, and research and developments in the global Healthcare Archiving and eDiscovery market.Table of Content1 Report Prologue2 Market Introduction3 Research Methodology4 Market Dynamics5 Market Factor Analysis6 Global Healthcare Archiving And EDiscovery Market, By Type7 Global Healthcare Archiving And EDiscovery Market, By Deployment8 Global Healthcare Archiving And EDiscovery Market, By Application9 Global Healthcare Archiving And EDiscovery Market, By Region10 Company ProfileAbout Market Research Future:At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Contact:Akash Anand,Market Research Future+1 646 845 9312Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.comMRFR has the distinguished objective of providing the optimal quality research and granular research to clients. Our market research studies by products, services, technologies, applications, end users, and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help answer your most important questions.Our Research Analysts are eager to share their knowledge and assist you in refining market research parameters, choosing right market studies, and evaluating both the market scope and the research methodologies of varied segments.We bridge the gap between our clients and their clients by identifying and decoding just the target group, while generating leads with the highest accuracy.Years of research into diverse fields of work has ingrained within us, a proficiency so distinguished that our industry-specific specialists identify with your business ideas and feel the pulse of your challenges and opportunities. This enables us for providing assistance, through our consulting and strategic consulting services, in informed managerial decision making. In order to stay updated with technology and work process of the industries, WantStats Research and Media often conducts industrial visits for its research analysts. Relevant inputs from various established market participants, help our clients make significant contribution in respective markets are a huge motivation for all of us to endlessly furnish quality. We depend greatly on profound insights into complex realms of our study.Pune, India
Global E-Cigarette & Vaporizer Market 2017 by Key Players: Altria Group, CB Distributors, Bull Smoke Forecast to 2027

E-Cigarette & Vaporizer Market, E-Cigarette & Vaporizer, E-Cigarette & Vaporizer Size, E-Cigarette & Vaporizer Segmentation

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/788

https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/reports/e-cigarette-vaporizer-market-788

Global E-Cigarette & Vaporizer Market Research ReportThe E-Cigarette (Electronic Cigarette) was first introduced in the year 2003, by Hon Lik in China and was available commercially in the market by 2006. The recognition of e-cigarettes touched instant base with the US and European markets. Since then this industry has been growing at a rapid pace convincing player from Tobacco industry and Pharmaceutical industry to implement several strategies to grow and sustain in the market. While top established tobacco players are securing their market positions with acquisitions and rolling out new brands. The Pharmaceutical monoliths have been acknowledged as opposing the rising trend of e-cigarettes in this fresh or fledgling market.Request for Sample Report @Global E-Cigarette & Vaporizer Market: Market Growth InfluencerThe Global E-Cigarette & Vaporizer market has been mainly driven by a flurry of activities mainly including Mergers & Acquisitions, Patent Warfare, and increasing customization in products. Additionally, the emergence of Vape shops is engaging more users through their extensive variety of products and improved assistance while shopping the preferred products. However, the state and local governments proposals to charge heavy taxes on e-cigarettes is emerging as a key challenge for the Global E-Cigarette & Vaporizer market. Also, the compatibility issues and the unfettered manufacturing process in China are other restrictive factors in the e-cigarette market. The e-cigarette industry has come into limelight after 2012, when the tobacco giant Lorillard acquired the US based e-cigarette company, Blu Ecigs. The market was then taken over by the top tobacco giants through a series of mergers & acquisitions which has brought immediate value to the fledgling market. The giants of tobacco companies has started competing aggressively by acquiring the top e-cigarettes brands and rolled out their own brands in the market with newer and advanced technological products. Furthermore, an overall non-uniformity of regulation and taxation policies has allowed large number of players to enter into the market.Global E-Cigarette & Vaporizer Market: Market SegmentationFor the purpose of this study, MRFR has segmented The Global E-Cigarette & Vaporizer market into product type. On the basis of product type, the market is differentiated into disposable e-cigarette, rechargeable e-cigarette, ego and tanks, personal vaporizers and mods and others.Global E-Cigarette & Vaporizer Market: Key PlayersThe key players present in the Global E-Cigarette & Vaporizer Market Include: Altria Group, Ballantyne Brands, LLC British American Tobacco Plc (Bat) CB Distributors Bull Smoke Cigavette, Clearette Electronic Cigarette Co Cloudcig, Gamucci Electronic Cigarettes Electronic Cigarettes International Group Fontem Ventures Fin Branding Group LLC and others.Market Research Future introduces about Global E-Cigarette & Vaporizer Market during the forecast period 2017-2027 which mainly includes the growth drivers, trends and restraints and how the market will grow in the future across the globe. In this report, Market Research Future has focused on the current market scenario which includes market segmentation, market dynamics, and competitive landscape along with company profiles.Every report of Market Research Future comprises of extensive primary research along with the detailed analysis of qualitative as well as quantitative aspects by various industry experts, key opinion leaders to gain the deeper insight of the market and industry performance. The report gives the clear picture of current market scenario which includes historical and projected market size in terms of value and volume, technological advancement, macro economical and governing factors in the market. The report also gives a broad study of the different market segments and regions.Browse Complete Report @1 INTRODUCTION1.1 DEFINITION1.2 SCOPE OF THE STUDY1.2.1 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE1.2.2 ASSUMPTIONS1.2.3 LIMITATIONS1.3 MARKET STRUCTURE2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY2.1 RESEARCH PROCESS2.2 PRIMARY RESEARCH2.3 SECONDARY RESEARCH2.4 MARKET SIZE ESTIMATION2.5 FORECAST MODEL3 GLOBAL E-CIGARETTE & VAPORIZER MARKET : OVERVIEW3.1 INTRODUCTION OF GLOBAL E-CIGARETTE & VAPORIZER MARKET3.1.1 DEFINITION OF GLOBAL E-CIGARETTE & VAPORIZER MARKET3.1.2 MARKET SEGMENTATION OF GLOBAL E-CIGARETTE & VAPORIZER MARKET3.1.2.1 MARKET SEGMENTATION ON THE BASIS OF PRODUCT TYPE4 MARKET DYNAMICS4.1 DRIVERS4.2 RESTRAINTS4.3 OPPORTUNITIES4.4 MEGA TRENDS4.5 MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS4.7 IMPORTANT POINTERS BY INDUSTRY EXPERTSContinued@..........................................................At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services.Office No. 524/528, Amanora Chambers Magarpatta Road, Hadapsar
Smart Antenna Market: Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/smart-antenna.html

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=984

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/smart-antenna.htm

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/984

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research Smart Antenna Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2023, the smart antenna market in terms of revenue was valued at US$14.72 bn in 2014, which is expected to reach US$30.12 bn by 2023, at a CAGR of 8.5% from 2015 to 2023.Browse the full Smart Antenna Market (By Types - Switched Multibeam Antenna and Adaptive Array Antenna, By Technology Types - SIMO (Single Input Multiple Output), MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) and MISO (Multiple Input Single Output), By Application Type - Wi-Fi systems, WiMax Systems, Cellular Systems, RADAR and Others) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2023 report atSmart antennas are notably used in radio astronomy, radio telescopes; track and scan radar, acoustic signal processing and also used widely in cellular bandwidth systems such as universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), long term evolution (LTE) and wideband code division multiplexing access (W-CDMA). Smart antennas offer the advantages of capacity enhancement, coverage extension, increased transmission efficiency, reduction of multipath fading and increased bandwidth among others. These antennas have two basic functions, namely: estimation of direction of arrival (DOA) and beam forming. Smart antenna systems recognize the DOA of a signal by using techniques such as multiple signal classification (MUSIC), matrix pencil method or estimation of signal parameters via rotational invariance techniques (ESPRIT)Get Sample With Latest Advancements @By technology, the market has been segmented into three segments, SIMO (Single Input Multiple Output), MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) and MISO (Single Input Multiple Output). Due to its higher spectral efficiency and link reliability or diversity, MIMO has evolved to be an important part of the modern wireless communication standards such as HSPA+ (3G), Long Term Evolution (4G), WiMax (4G) and IEEE 802.11n (WiFi). MIMO held the largest share of the market in 2014.By types, these are classified as switched multibeam antenna and adaptive array antenna. In 2014, adaptive array antenna was the largest contributor to the market. Dominance of the market by adaptive array antenna is expected to continue during the forecast period. However, switched multibeam antenna is expected to grow significantly during the forecast period, switched beam antenna systems offer significant increase in capacity and coverage as compared to the conventional antenna based systems.On the basis of applications, the global market is divided into five segments, namely: Wi-Fi systems, WiMax systems, cellular systems, RADAR and others. The cellular systems sector dominated the market and accounted for a major share in 2014. Cellular systems sector is expected to show steady growth throughout the forecast period.Browse Our Press Releases For More Information @Based on geography, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World (RoW). At present, North America holds the largest market share followed by Europe. North America is estimated to be the largest market for smart antenna in 2014 and expected to be the same during the forecast period of 2015 to 2023. The growing need for faster data transmission in modern communication systems with high speed downloading, optimized evolution data and web browsing has forced companies to advance the efficiency of wireless transmission and this has raised the consumption of smart antennas in the U.S. and Canada.Key players profiled in this report include Cobham Antenna Systems(Suffolk, United Kingdom), Intel Corp.( Santa Clara, California, United States), Samsung Electronics CoLtd. ( Seoul, South Korea), ArrayComm LLC ( California, United States), Alcatel-Lucent International Holdings Inc.( Paris, France), Motorola Solutions Inc.( Illinois, the U.S.), Broadcom Corp(Irvine, the U.S.), California Amplifier Inc.( Oxnard, United States), Accel Networks LLC(St. Petersburg, United States ) and Jiashan Jinchang Electronics Co., Ltd (Zhejiang, China) among others.Browse Our Table of Content @A comprehensive analysis of market dynamics that include the market drivers, restraints and opportunities is included under the purview of the study. Market dynamics are the distinct factors which exert an influence on the growth of a particular market and therefore help in studying the current trends of the global market. Thus, this report offers an inclusive study of the global smart antenna market, along with providing the forecast of the market for the period from 2015 to 2023.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
Glass Door Refrigerators Market: Industry Analysis and Opportunity Assessment

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=8350

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/pressrelease/glass-door-refrigerators-market.htm

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/8350

http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com

The intense competition between small-scale regional manufacturers characterizes the competitive landscape of the global Glass Door Refrigerators Market, finds TMR. The market demonstrates a highly fragmented structure with just a few established names, including Dover Corp., Hoshizaki Int., Carrier Corp., and Hussman Int.Emerging economies are the current target of the leading manufacturers of glass door refrigerators to sustain the competition. As key retail chains are focusing aggressively on expanding in developing countries, these players are seeing potential opportunities for growth in these regions.Get Sample With Latest Advancements @Worldwide Proliferation of Supermarkets Boosts Glass Door Refrigerators MarketThe rapid proliferation of retail supermarkets across the world is the key driving force behind the significant growth of the market for glass door refrigerators, reveals an analyst at TMR. With the increasing competition in the retail sector, supermarkets, hypermarkets, and convenience stores are compelled to utilize glass door refrigerators to keep their products visible in order to ensure their sales.Looking forward, the emerging economies are likely to present ample growth opportunities to glass door refrigerators manufacturers. Stimulated by the saturation in the developed nations of Europe and North America, a number of retail chain operators are targeting the emerging economies of Asia and South America for further growth.The global leaders in the retail sector, including the U.S.-based WalMart, France-based Carrefour, the U.K.-based Tesco, and Germany-based Metro are now expanding to developing economies such as Brazil, India, and China. The entry of such retail supermarkets in these countries are likely to help their domestic glass door refrigerators evolve considerably, supporting the local manufacturers.Browse Our Press Releases For More Information @On the flip side, the availability of alternative cooling solutions is anticipated to negatively influence the demand for these refrigerators in the near future. As compared to large refrigeration systems, alternative cooling solutions, such as temperature-controlled packaging systems and cold chain solutions are highly preferred among small-scale retailers on account of their low cost.Hypermarkets to Remain Leading Distribution Channel for Glass Door RefrigeratorsGlass door refrigerators are registering a remarkable rise in in their global demand, finds TMR. Analysts estimate the opportunity in these refrigerators to increase from US$6.5 bn in 2014 to US$13.7 bn by 2023, expanding at a CAGR of 8.60% during the period from 2015 to 2023.Currently, Asia Pacific leads the demand for glass door refrigerators across the world. At a CAGR of 9.50% between 2015 and 2023, it is expected to register the fastest growth in the coming years. In 2014, Asia Pacific held an opportunity of US$2.6 bn in glass door refrigerators, which is likely to increase to approximately US$6 bn by the end of 2023.Browse Our Table of Content @Glass door refrigerators with a capacity of 3.1 to 6.0 cu ft. were the most preferred refrigerators in 2014 and are expected to remain the same during the forecast period. Hypermarkets will remain the leading distribution channel for these refrigerators in the coming years.About UsTransparency Market Research (TMR) is a market intelligence company, providing global business information reports and services. Our exclusive blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers. We have an experienced team of Analysts, Researchers, and Consultants, who us e proprietary data sources and various tools and techniques to gather, and analyze information. Our business offerings represent the latest and the most reliable information indispensable for businesses to sustain a competitive edge.Each TMR Syndicated Research report covers a different sector  such as pharmaceuticals, chemical, energy, food & beverages, semiconductors, med-devices, consumer goods and technology. These reports provide in-depth analysis and deep segmentation to possible micro levels. With wider scope and stratified research methodology, our syndicated reports thrive to provide clients to serve their overall research requirement.ContactTransparency Market Research90 State Street, Suite 700Albany, NY 12207Tel: +1-518-618-1030USA  Canada Toll Free: 866-552-3453Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comWebsite:
The stars of Googles hardware event this week may have been the new Pixel 2 and 2 XL, but the new phones were not the most important devices Mountain View unveiled. That accolade belongs to the companys two new smart speakers, the Google Home Mini and Google Home Max, and especially the former.

A year ago, when Google first jumped into the connected speaker race, it did so already trailing Amazon and its slew of Alexa devices at a significant distance. In the months since, the market around audio devices with built-in virtual assistants has grown increasingly crowded, with Apple joining the fray and Amazon adding a dumbfounding amount of devices, both first and third-party, to its portfolio.

The quest for the perfect virtual assistant vehicle has been fascinating to watch. Amazon has taken a spaghetti approach, throwing Alexa in everything it can imagine in the hopes it will have the perfect device for every consumer in the market. Apple leaned unsurprisingly toward the high-end with its HomePod, a $349 connected speaker that puts as much emphasis on sound as it does smarts. Then theres Google, which has slotted itself somewhere in the middle.

Google has been more measured in its approach than Amazon, but also more willing to diversify than Apple. Its okay making several products that do essentially the same thing but are better in various aspects. The company has made it clear, though, that it prefers to make a small number of products it considers excellent, rather than a large number that struggles to maintain quality.

And thus we have the Google Home Mini and Max. The latter is a direct competitor to Apples HomePod, which hasnt even launched yet, and Sonos speakers, one of which now has Alexa built-in. Its an intriguing product, but it has a more limited appeal than the Mini. Consumers who care deeply about audio will (hopefully) love it, but those merely interested in the idea of a smart speaker shouldnt go near its $399 price tag. Thats why the Mini is so important.

Wired smartly pointed out this summer that the Echo Dot is the device all tech companies should be chasing. Forget the original Echo, its the bite-sized, $50 Alexa machine thats really moving the needle.

The goal with all these virtual assistant devices is not to sell a ton of hardware, thats merely the first step toward the ultimate goal. What Amazon and Google (and Apple, sort of) are really doing is making the world comfortable with the artificial intelligence that lives within the machines. The companies are competing to see which assistant, Google or Alexa, can be the next big thing. The new frontier in technology is machine learning and virtual assistants, and both Amazon and Google want to be at the head of the line.

The best way to get your assistant into as many homes as possible is to make an accessible, affordable device it lives inside. The Google Home Mini is exactly that. At $49, its the same price as the Echo Dot, and a similar size. Googles offering has a leg up in the looks department as Amazon hasnt yet updated the Dot, like it did with the larger Echo last month. Like the full-sized Home before it, the Mini slides into your existing decor easier than the Dot, making it a less obvious piece of tech in your living room.

Its also dead simple. No buttons, just a mute switch on the back. You can tap both sides to raise and lower the volume, but otherwise its no more than a speaker you can talk to. The combination of simplicity and price is exactly what tech companies need when trying to convince the masses to adopt a new idea. Amazon understood that early on, and Google is making sure it doesnt fall behind.

Echo Dots sell like crazy. Time will tell if Google can match Amazon, it still trails in awareness among the general public, but just having the option available is a big step. Google would be smart to market the Mini like crazy, its the best shot the company has at getting its assistant in as many households as possible.
Yeah, really.

During a surprise press event to document a dinner he had with military leaders from the United States, President Donald Trump said something particularly ominous. Hawaii News Now reports that after Trump posed with his highest-ranking military aides, this happened:

You guys know what this represents? Trump asked. Maybe its the calm before the storm. Could be the calm, the calm before the storm.

What storm Mr. President? one reporter shouted. ISIS? North Korea? Iran?

Youll find out, the president said.

Yeah, we, uh  we dont have a lot to add here. Thats a terrifying thing to say. Our president followed up a dinner during which he praised his military for their work against the Islamic State by saying this period was the calm before the storm. It speaks for itself.

Trump went on to say he expected those in the room to provide a broad range of military options, when needed, at a much faster pace.
A virtual private network (VPN) service can help you safeguard your identity, location, and activities online. When looking for a VPN youll want to consider your options carefully. For instance, a VPN should keep your internet usage private and secure but not at the expense of too speed. If anonymity is a concern, you should look for a VPN with clear and transparent data collection policies. The number of available servers and country locations a VPN offers is also important if you are trying to get around region locks. And finally, extra perks arent necessary but could sweeten the deal.

Our in-depth VPN reviews cover all these issues and more, so you can choose the best VPN service for your needs. Whether your primary concern is anonymity, streaming your favorite shows from another country, speeds, or price, weve got picks for each category. Below that you can find information about how we test and what to look for when choosing a VPN.

Granted, not everyone wants a full-fledged VPN servicealthough it should be a priority if online privacy is important to you. You might just want a VPN for occasional usewhen youre using public Wi-Fi, for instance. If so, check out our roundups of best free VPNs for Chrome and best free VPNs for Windows for our recommendations, and caveats about a free VPNs limitations.

PROMOTION Black Friday: Save 68% on NordVPN Protect your online data with top-tier encryption. Block malware, third-party trackers, and ads. Secure your passwords and files. Get 68% off and 3 months free with the 2-year plan. Grab the Deal

Best VPN services

1. ExpressVPN  Best VPN overall Pros Consistently good speeds

Easy-to-use desktop program

Broad device support Cons Logs data transfer amounts

More expensive than many competitors Its hard to select the best overall VPN. Some services are weaker on privacy, but are significantly easier to use with tons of features, while others could stand an interface redesign. For many years we chose the best VPN based purely on privacy, but that is no longer the sole concern of most people when choosing a VPN. Privacy is important, to be sure, but so are performance, extra features, a wide country selection, and ease of use. ExpressVPN has it all, making it our top choice for VPNs. ExpressVPN is one of the fastest VPNs weve tested, and it has a very easy-to-use app. Its servers are all diskless, running everything in RAMa welcome practice thats become fairly standard these days. ExpressVPN also has wide device support, as well as a smart DNS feature for set-top boxes, consoles, and more. Its not the cheapest VPN out there, but you do get solid value for the price, and the service is regularly bringing in third-party auditors to bolster its privacy credentials. Read our full ExpressVPN review 2. NordVPN  Best VPN for features Pros Excellent speeds

Enough features to appeal to power users and novices

No-logs policy

Diskless servers Cons Expensive If you like ExpressVPNs speeds and features, but want something a little different, NordVPN is also an excellent choice. Nord is arguably more feature-filled than ExpressVPN, and the service is just one part of a larger suite of privacy and security focused products. The desktop app is very easy to use, and offers a lot of different features including access to the TOR network over VPN, multi-hop VPNs, and ad-tracker and malware blocking. NordVPN has gone a long way to bolster user trust. After years of not being transparent, the company is now upfront about whos running the show, it also undergoes third-party audits, carries out vendor assessments, and uses diskless servers. Read our full NordVPN review 3. Mullvad  Best VPN for privacy Pros Good speeds

Higher level of anonymity possible than with most VPN services

Windows desktop is easy to use Cons Not guaranteed to work with Netflix

Lacks the extra services that some VPNs offer

No password protection for your account Best Prices Today: As Hotspot Shield is to speeds, so Mullvad is to privacy and anonymity. Weve never seen another VPN that actively resists knowing who you are the way Mullvad does. Mullvad doesnt ask for your email address, name, or anything else. Instead it assigns a random account number that acts as your identifier and login. Mullvad accepts payments using standard methods such as credit cards and PayPal, but you can also mail your payment in cash to remain as private as possible. Mullvad has a no-logging policy and doesnt collect any identifying metadata from your usage. Mullvad is also fast, ranking within our top five for speeds. Though oddly we did find that on Windows, Mullvads OpenVPN configuration was actually faster than its Wireguard implementation. Read our full Mullvad review 4. IVPN  Best VPN for privacy runner-up Pros Excellent speeds for its U.S., UK and European servers

Interface is easy to understand

Default WireGuard protocol connects quickly Cons Its on the expensive side at $100 per year

Server network is under 100 servers Best Prices Today: Coming in behind Mullvad is IVPN. This Gibraltar-based VPN recently moved to dumping email-based identifiers and going with randomly assigned account numbers instead. Similar to Mullvad, it accepts a variety of payment options for privacy including cash, as well as the standard credit cards, PayPal, and other options like Bitcoin and Monero. IVPN doesnt rank as one of our fastest VPNs, but it does have acceptable speeds for most casual uses. Another option is OVPN. This VPN doesnt go to the levels that Mullvad and IVPN do, but it does only require a username and password to create an account. OVPN doesnt require an email address, though you can add one as a backstop for account recovery should you forget your password. OVPN doesnt rank in our top 10 for speeds, but its just outside the top performers at number 12. Read our full IVPN review 5. Hotspot Shield  Fastest VPN Pros Very fast

Large country selection and plenty of servers Cons Domain visits are recorded, though not tied to you

Expensive While our pick for best overall VPN, ExpressVPN, boasts above-average speeds, Hotspot Shield is on another level. No other service comes close to hitting the speeds weve seen with this service. This isnt just a one-off occurrence either; Hotspot Shield has consistently been at the top with speeds that are 12 to 15 percentage points above the competition. In our tests, Hotspot Shield maintained around 67 percent of the base speed. Thats substantially faster than youll see with most VPN servicesthough your experience may vary. On the downside, Hotspot Shield doesnt allow for a way to pay anonymously and its privacy policy may not sit well with some. Still, Hotspot Shield has excellent speeds, its desktop application is very nice, and as a bonus it works with U.S. Netflix. Read our full Hotspot Shield review 6. AirVPN  Best VPN for torrents Pros Excellent speeds

Detailed real-time information about the network

Good pricing with many subscription options Cons Team is largely anonymous Torrents get a bad rap, and if were honest, thats for good reason. Using torrents is the number one way to download pirated material including movies, TV shows, music, and games. But thats not all there is to torrenting. Its a very efficient way to download legitimate software such as Linux distributions and authorized content from sites such as BitTorrent Now. Whatever your reasons, when it comes to torrenting, a VPN makes it easierespecially if the network youre on blocks torrenting. There are many VPNs among our top picks that could be used for downloading torrents, but our preferred choice is AirVPN. This no-frills VPN has a reasonable number of servers and country locations, really good speeds, excellent network transparency, and a focus on user protection. The price is also right at about $58 a year. Read our full AirVPN review 7. AVG Secure  Best VPN for novices Pros Good speeds

Allows an excellent 10 simultaneous connections Cons Does log some data

No real customizability for power users If you want something thats all about ease of use then AVG Secure is a good choice. First, it comes from a known and trusted security company, so there are fewer worries about data security than with one of the independent services. The key thing with AVG Secure is that the interface is easy to understand and use. It has a big Change location button to help you select the country youd like to appear to be in. The app also tells you what your current IP address is and how long youve been connected to the VPN. Thats pretty much it. This VPN also works with streaming services and it has P2P servers. One thing it doesnt have is a lot of extra features, which is actually perfect for anyone looking for a no-frills VPN. Read our full AVG Secure review 8. Private Internet Access  Best budget VPN Pros Good number of extra features such as multi-hop and split tunneling

Diskless servers

Allows for up to 10 simultaneous connections Cons App panel locked to lower-right corner of screen

New ownership may give some users pause Best Prices Today: Choosing the best VPN for you can often come down to price. When thats the case its hard to beat Private Internet Access. Its got very good speeds and an everyday price of just $40 for a full year. It really is hard to beat for that simple reason. This no-frills VPN offers a good server and country count. Plus, advanced users can adjust their level of data encryption, data authentication, and handshake protocols. Read our full Private Internet Access review 9. PersonalVPN  Best U.S.-based VPN Pros Reasonably priced

Fast servers in many locations around the world

Good for power users and novices Cons Not a lot of extra or specialized features

Tiered pricing has odd choices for premium features Best Prices Today: If you want a VPN based in the good ol USA, we recommend WiTopias PersonalVPN. The speeds are good, the price is right, and the app is very easy to use. Its true that a lot of VPN review sites stress the importance of having a VPN thats outside of the so-called Five Eyes countries, which includes the U.S.some will even say to avoid the Fourteen Eyes. The idea being that if you use a U.S.-based VPN your activities may end up being secretly monitored by Western authorities. Snowden revealed such truths back in 2013. But if youre using a VPN to access your accounts for Gmail, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or any other U.S.-based service, then staying outside the Fourteen Eyes is more or less pointless. Sure, that VPN with an exotic locale may be able to easily ignore U.S. subpoenas for data, but the American online services you use are another story. Besides if an American VPN does you wrong, itll be a lot easier to hold it to account than one based in Singapore, or even Sweden.

What is a VPN?

VPNs create a secure tunnel between your PC and the internet. You connect to a VPN server, which can be located in the United States or a foreign countrysay, France or Japan. Your web traffic then goes through that server to make it appear as though youre browsing from that servers location, and not from your actual location.

When youre using a VPN, its difficult for others to snoop on your web-browsing activity. Only you, the VPN service, and the website youre visiting will know what youre up to.

A VPN can be a great response to a variety of concerns, such as online privacy, anonymity, greater security on public Wi-Fi, and, of course, spoofing locations.

While a VPN can aid privacy and anonymity, I wouldnt recommend fomenting the next great political revolution by relying solely on a VPN. To become an internet phantom (or as close as you can realistically get to one), it takes a lot more than a $5 monthly subscription to a VPN.

Beyond that, a VPN is an excellent choice for staying secure while using Wi-Fi at the airport or your local cafe. Hackers sitting on public Wi-Fi can try to hack your PC, but a VPN makes that task much harder.

Finally, you may want a VPN to spoof your location to download content you shouldnt have access to, but this too has limits. A VPN used to be the go-to solution to watch U.S. Netflix overseas. That changed in 2016 when Netflix opened up to almost every country on Earth. Since then, the company has invested a lot in detecting and blocking VPN users. Even people using a VPN inside their own country will be blocked by Netflix if detected.

There are VPNs that can fool Netflix, but they are rare and there are no guarantees these services will outsmart Netflix forever.

Beyond Netflix, a VPN can help to download an Android app that is only available on a foreign version of Google Play, or stream content from regionally restricted services such as the UK-bound BBC iPlayer or Disney Plus.

One final note of caution: Do not rely on your VPN to protect banking information on an open Wi-Fi connection. Whenever possible, leave online financial dealings for home over a hard-wired connection.

What to look for in a VPN

Before anything else, understand that if you want to use a VPN you should be paying for it. Free VPNs typicall sell your browsing data in aggregated form to researchers and marketers, or give you a paltry amount of data transfer every month. Either way, a basic rule of thumb is that a free VPN will not protect your privacy in any meaningful way.

The next thing to consider is a VPNs logging policies. In other words, what kind of data is a service collecting about you and your VPN activity, and how long is that data saved?

Privacy is the basic principle of a VPN, and what good is it to avoid passive government surveillance only to have a VPN provider record all your website visits?

Ideally, a VPN will say it only keeps logs for the briefest of periods. Some providers, for example, only log activity in RAM during a session or automatically send all records to oblivion once theyre created. Other providers may keep records for a few hours, days, weeks, or even months.

VPN policies also vary when it comes to personal information. Some VPNs want to know very little about you, preferring users sign on with a pseudonym and pay with Bitcoin. Thats a little exotic for most people, which is why many services also accept PayPal.

Paying this way isnt ideal for privacy, but it means the VPN doesnt have your payment information on recordthough it would be available from PayPal.

After the logging policies, you want to know how many servers the VPN offers and how many country connections it has. The number of servers provides an idea of how much load a VPN can take before slowing to a crawl due to overwhelming traffic.

The country connections, meanwhile, matter most to those who want to spoof their location; however, non-spoofers should also make sure there are connections in their home country. If you live in Los Angeles, for example, and want access to American content, then youll need a VPN that provides U.S. connections. It wont work to try and watch Amazon Prime Video over a Dutch VPN connection, because as far as Amazons concerned your computer would be in the Netherlands.

Some users will also want to research a VPN providers peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing policies. There are VPNs that block torrents. Others turn a blind eye to them, but will sell you out in a heartbeat should you be up to no good. P2P is not our main focus here, but we will note in each review whether a particular provider allows file sharing or not.

Finally, how many devices does a VPN support from a single account? In this age of smartphones, tablets, laptops, and PCs, a VPNs cost should include licensing for at least five devices. Also, a provider should have Android and iOS apps to make it easy to connect a smartphone or tablet to the service.

How we tested

We judge VPNs on a variety of criteria including overall connection speeds, privacy protection, usability of the interface, country choices, server count, and cost.

Speed tests are kept as simple as possible. We connect to five different global locations for a given VPNtypically North America, Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, and a wild card somewhere in Asiaon three different days at different times of the day running the test at each location multiple times.

Before the test begins we check the speed of our base Wi-Fi connection using an online speed test. Then we connect to the VPNs servers around the world and run the speed test again. We then show each result, average them out, and calculate the average as a percentage of the base speed.

Remember that internet speeds can vary wildly based on location, routers, PCs, time of day, connection type, the load on the VPN and speed test servers, and numerous other factors. In other words, our test results will likely differ from yours. For that reason, consider our speed results only as a rough guide for how each VPN performs.

Judging server choices by country is also kept simple. We expect a VPN to offer a variety of country connections with a minimum of at least 20.

Privacy and anonymity is judged on the guarantees the companies make, as well as its reputation from any news items were aware of that may impact the trustworthiness of these claims. We also take a look at the data encryption, authentication, and handshake protocols used.

Finally, for pricing we expect to pay $60 per year, and anything over that needs to justify its cost with extra features or unique selling points of some kind.

Other notable VPNs

There are many more worthwhile VPNs than just our favorites listed above, including AVG Internet Security, CyberGhost, ESET Security Premium, FastestVPN, Hide.me, HMA Pro 4, OVPN, Trend Micro Maximum Security, Windscribe Pro, Perfect Privacy, PrivateVPN by TrunkSpace Hosting, PureVPN, Speedify 10, VPNCity, ClearVPN, Malwarebytes Privacy, TorGuard, VeePN, AceVPN.com, and SurfEasy.

Well keep evaluating new ones and reevaluating services weve already tested on a regular basis, so be sure to come back to see what else weve put through their paces.

FAQ 1. Is it legal to use a VPN? Yes! It is perfectly legal in most countries, including the United States, to use a VPN. While using a VPN, you might find some websites that try to block your connection, but this is an individual websites use policy and has nothing to do with the legality of the VPN itself. One thing to note though, while its legal to use a VPN, some of the activities done while using a VPN might be illegal. Such things as downloading pirated copyrighted content or accessing dark web markets are illegal whether you use a VPN or not. 2. Do VPNs protect against malware and computer viruses? No, a VPN connection itself does not protect you from malware and computer viruses. It does however encrypt your internet traffic and keep prying eyes from accessing your browsing history. Some VPN services, such as Nord VPN, do however provide additional security features such as ad and malware blockers. Additionally, many antivirus suites now offer VPN services along with their security features. Although VPNs and antivirus software are used for different purposes, there is still a degree of overlap that makes using both tools together beneficial. 3. Will a VPN affect my internet speeds? Most likely you will see a moderate speed decrease to your internet while using a VPN. This is mainly due to the process of your internet traffic being rerouted and encrypted through a VPN server before heading on to its destination. The amount of latency you will experience through this process is down to what countrys server you choose to proxy your traffic through. If you choose a server located on the other side of the world, then you will notice a much greater hit than if you were to connect to a server nearby in your same country. Thankfully, most modern VPNs should have the infrastructure to maintain high-speed, secure data transfer rates. So its likely you can still browse and stream with no noticeable impact while using a reputable VPN like those listed above. 4. Will a VPN make me anonymous online? Unfortunately, its not as simple as just turning on your VPN and disappearing off grid. While VPNs certainly offer better privacy and security, they dont make you completely anonymous. There are a mindbogglingly number of ways that companies track you across the internet and a VPN isnt capable of blocking all of them. For example, when you sign into a website, your identity is revealed to that website. Or when you log into your Gmail account while using a VPN, Google can now collect cookies based on your browsing. 5. How many servers should my VPN have? There is no set number of servers that make one VPN better than another. However, most major VPN providers offer between 3,000 to 5,000 servers. Also, we recommend avoiding any paid services whose providers have under 1,000 servers as this may be an indication that the company is not yet well established, meaning that there is a higher chance for reliability issues. It is common for VPN providers to advertise the number of servers they have, but this is largely a marketing gimmick and doesnt generally equate to the quality of the VPN provider itself. Things such as the spread of server locations and server quality are as important, if not more so, than the number of available servers.

Editors note: Because online services are often iterative, gaining new features and performance improvements over time, our reviews are subject to change in order to accurately reflect the current state of the services.

Want to find the perfect VPN for a specific use? Check out some of our other best VPN roundups to learn more:
Letters to the Editor: Election deniers and threats to democracy

Also: Really think about the future of short-term rental policy
Antidiabetic Biosimilars Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 16:15:42

Press Information

Coherent Market Insights

1001 4th Ave, #3200 ,Seattle, WA



Mr Shah

CEO

2067016702

email

http://www.coherentmarketinsights.com





# 475 Words

1001 4th Ave, #3200 ,Seattle, WACEO2067016702

Antidiabetic biosimilars market overviewAntidiabetics help control blood glucose levels in diabetic patients. Various types of antidiabetics include biguanides, thiazolidinediones, DPP-IV inhibitors, -glucosidase Inhibitors, sulfonylureas, insulin, and GLP-1 receptor agonists such as exenatide. A biosimilar product is biological product that is approved on the basis that it is highly similar to a FDA approved biological product known as a reference product. Biosimilar manufacturers need to generate data from lab testing and clinical testing to demonstrate that the biosimilar developed provides the same therapeutic benefit to patients as the reference product.Patent expiries to drive growth of the global antidiabetic biosimilars marketThe global antidiabetic biosimilars market is driven by increasing number of diabetes mellitus patients. According to World Health Organization (WHO) the number of people suffering from diabetes stood at 422 million in 2014. The global prevalence of diabetes among adults above 18 years increased to 8.5% in 2014 from 4.7% in 1980. Increasing incidence of lifestyle disorders such as obesity, increases the risk of diabetes and in turn drives growth of the antidiabetic biosimilars market. In June 2014, the European Medicines Agency authorized the first biosimilar of insulin Glargine, Abasaglar from Eli Lilly and Company and Boehringer Ingelhim International Gmbh, for treatment of diabetes mellitus. The biosimilar received U.S. FDA approval in 2016, which would fuel growth of the antidiabetic biosimilars market.Furthermore patent expiry of insulin aspart and insulin lispro is projected to propel growth of antidiabetic biosimilars market. Biosimilar insulin have potential to reduce diabetes treatment costs, increase accessibility of insulin treatment and expand the number of insulin brands. Some antidiabetic biosimilarsRequest For Sample Copy@Constraints for growth of the antidiabetic biosimilars marketBiosimilars would have to face stringent regulatory requirements that would focus on their production before entering into major markets such as the U.S. While biosimilars have marked successful entry in the European markets, entry in the U.S. market is still a challenge due to stringent regulatory norms. Furthermore, biosimilars would need to gain favorable reimbursement to gain market traction.Increasing number of diabetes patients driving the antidiabetic biosimilars market globallyIncreasing incidence of diabetes, complexities in alternative diabetic therapies, and government incentives for introduction of low cost therapies are collectively creating a conducive environment for growth of the market. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), there were around 59.8 million diabetic patients in Europe in 2015. The market for antidiabetic biosimilar is expected to be high in near future in Asia Pacific due to increase in research activities related to antidiabetic products and supportive government funding. North America region is projected to represent a lucrative market for antidiabetic biosimilar in the near future, as prevalence of diabetes is increasing in this region. According to the International Diabetes Federation, in 2015, over 29.1 million people in the U.S. suffered from diabetes.Ask For the Discount@
Batten Disease Treatment Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 16:06:56

Press Information

Coherent Market Insights

1001 4th Ave,#3200,Seattle, WA 98154



Mr. Shah

CEO

+1-206-701-6702

email

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com





# 862 Words

1001 4th Ave,#3200,Seattle, WA 98154CEO+1-206-701-6702

Batten disease is a rare, inherent, and fatal autosomal recessive neural disorder that begins in the childhood but may take a few years to show symptoms. Batten disease is one of the approximately 50 diseases that fall under the category of lysosome shortage disorders. The batten disease also referred as Neuronal ceroid Lipofuscinoses (NCLs), which is a class of life-limiting genetic neurogenerative diseases that are caused due to abnormality of genes resulting in their inability to synthesize required protein. This disease is characterized by malfunctioning of body, which usually appears around the age of 2-10 with symptoms, such as seizures or gradual onset of vision problem. The early signs may show subtle changes in behavior and learning, however over time, the child suffers from mental impairment, progressive loss of sight, speech and motor reactions, worsening seizures, eventually leading to blindness dementia, and finally death. These disease is diagnosed with the help of certain tests, such as blood or urine tests, skin or tissue dampening, brain scans, and imaging techniques, which includes, computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The batten disease is characterized into four types as follows:Infantile NCL: more than 2 yearsLate Infantile NCL: 2-4 years (Life span of child varies between 8-12 years)Juvenile NCL: 5-8 years (Life span varies between teens to early 20s)Adult NCL: more than 40 years (Variable lifespan)Request for a sample copy @ https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/831 European countries facing rising prevalence and incidence of batten diseaseAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Batten disease is observed in 2-4 per 100,000 live births in the United States on an average. The Batten disease although is rare but has high incidence rates in Finland, Sweden, and other parts of the Europe as compared to rest of the world. According to the Batten Disease Support and Research Association, the batten disease has often been encountered in more than one children of the same family. The Daily News and Analysis article published in June 2016 suggests that, over 20 million children in India suffer from rare diseases, having expensive treatments. This creates opportunities for the sustaining as well as upcoming market players by understanding the potential held by the global batten disease treatment market.The global batten disease treatment market is segmented on the basis of therapy and geographical regions.On the basis of therapy, the global batten disease treatment market is segmented asOccupational Therapies,Physical Therapies,.As of now, there are no established drugs and treatments to cure and prevent the disease. However, the severity of disease can be reduced and controlled by certain therapies. Few clinical trials and studies are being carried out in the North America, Western Europe, and Asia Pacific to identify therapies that would help reducing the disease outcome.Access Table of Content (TOC) Of the Report: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/toc/831 Attempts by collaborations of research bodies for introduction to reliable treatment options for batten disease giving hopes to commonersThe batten disease treatment market is not dense on the global level, however the developed economies of North America and Europe are expected to contribute to the growth of the market. This attributes to the increasing incidence of batten disease and high prevalence rates in American as well as European countries. For instance, a joint study between Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Childrens Hospital, and Kings College London have discovered a treatment that has helped to improve the neurological symptoms in the mouse model of juvenile batten disease. This research held a novel approach of counteracting the accumulation of the cellular waste in Batten disease by acting on TFEB, which is a master transcription factor that stimulates the production of lysosomes by the cell body and directs cellular apoptosis. This has brought a ray of hope to patients and families affected by battens disease.Improper treatment facility for batten disease responsible to attract the attention of various players to enter the untapped potential batten disease treatment marketThe rising incidence of the batten disease without effective treatment option for the prevention and cure of the disease is the primary driver for batten disease market, due to which several companies are vying to enter into the untapped global batten disease treatment market. However, the lack of awareness among manufacturers and patient population as well as unavailability of treatment for this disease are greatly hampering the growth of the global batten disease treatment market.Although, the global batten disease treatment market is very scarce, few key players offering cell regeneration therapies and few other forms of medication include Seneb BioSciences, Inc., BioMarin Pharmaceuticals and ReGenX Biosciences LLC. The U.S. FDA has recently approved BioMarins first ever drug to treat batten disease known as Brineura in 2017.Complete Report Details @ https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/batten-disease-treatment-market-831 About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@ coherentmarketinsights.com
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 15:00:12

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 394 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Chase Packaging Corporation--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Rumson, New Jersey (FSCWire) - Chase Packaging Corporation (OTC Pink:CPKA). has issued a press release with the following headline:Chase Packaging Declares 10% Stock Dividend on its Preferred StockTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Chase Packaging Corporation, or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Chase Packaging CorporationSource: Chase Packaging Corporation (OTC Pink: CPKA, ISIN: A0YHJV, WKN: US1616351078)Date: October 06, 2017Time: 9:00 AM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Chase Packaging Corporation and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 20:03:54

Press Information

Transparency Market Research

U.S. OFFICE:



State Tower,



90 State Street,



Suite 700,



Albany NY - 12207



United States





Tel: +1-518-618-1030



Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com



Rohit Bhisey

Head Of Marketing

+1-518-618-1030

email

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com





# 633 Words

U.S. OFFICE:State Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comHead Of Marketing+1-518-618-1030

Global Chemical Pulp Market: OverviewChemical pulps are man-made fiber of cellulose that are at the backbone of the paper industry, finding application in the production of printing and writing paper via white pulps, whereas brown pulp is used to manufacture packaging paper and paperboard. The superior quality of paper can also be produced from chemical pulping, utilizing programs such as deposit control, washing, cooking, and bleaching. Owing to its usefulness, the demand in the global chemical pulp market is expected to escalate at a robust rate during the forecast period of 2016 to 2024.Get a Sample Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=3526 This report on the global chemical pulp market offers comprehensive analysis of all the major factors that will favor or challenge the growth of the demand in the near future. Prepared using proven research methodologies, the report aspires to serve as a dependable decision-making document for the stakeholders of the chemical pulp market. A number of leading vendors operating in the chemical pulp market have also been profiled in the report in order to represent the competitive landscape, and highlight the opportunities of new entrants.Application-wise, the global chemical pulp market can be segmented into paper and board production and textile. Based on product type, the market can be categorized into white, brown, and specialty. On the basis of processing method, the market can be bifurcated into sulfite pulp process and sulfate pulp process. Geographically, the report takes stock of all the important regions such as Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Latin America.Global Chemical Pulp Market: Trends & OpportunitiesThe prosperity of packaging industry is having a pied piper effect on the global chemical pulp market. With rapid urbanization and flourishing ecommerce, the demand for packaged items has escalated in the recent past and the trend is expected to continue throughout the forecast period, providing traction to the chemical pulp market. The sectors that primarily utilize chemical pulp produced paper packaging are pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, and personal care. Chemical pulp are also used to manufacture nano cellulose. Specialty pulp find application in the textile industry and in the production of hygiene products.Relative ease of production, easy access to raw materials, efficient production, and growing number of large-scale producers are some of the other factors that are expected to augment the demand in the global chemical pulp market. On the other hand, volatility of raw materials and growing popularity of substitutes such as synthetic paper is expected to hinder the growth rate of the market during the forecast period.Global Chemical Pulp Market: Regional OutlookVast populated countries such as India and China serve the maximum demand from Asia Pacific, which is the most lucrative region for the vendors in the chemical pulp market. Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia, and Philippines are also emerging into profitable country-wide markets in Asia Pacific market for chemical pulp. Personal care and hygiene products pose the maximum demand for chemical pulp coming from North America and Europe, as these products do not pose any environmental concerns.Companies mentioned in the research reportThe global chemical pulp market is marked by the presence of both small and large players. In order to gain ground over their competitors, prominent players constantly invest in research and development activities to produce products of improved quality as well as promote their products to targeted customers. Dow Chemical Co., AkzoNobel NV, Clariant International AG, SNF Floerger, Nalco Holding Co, Kemira Oyj, BASF SE, Shell Chemicals, ERCO Worldwide, Ashland Inc, Bayer AG, Solvay SA, Buckman Laboratories International Inc., and Cytec Industries are some of the key companies currently operating in the global chemical pulps market.Get a Detail TOC @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=3526
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 19:14:12

Press Information





Published by

ACCESSWIRE News Network

888.952.4446

e-mail

http://www.accesswire.com







# 399 Words

ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446

FSCwire / Press ReleaseThe following press release was disseminated by FSCwire for Condor Resources Inc.--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---Vancouver, British Columbia (FSCWire) - Condor Resources Inc. (TSX Venture:CN). has issued a press release with the following headline:Condor Provides Updates on Drilling programs at Soledad and Ocros ProjectsTo view this press release on the FSCwire website, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:If you would prefer, you can also view this press release as a PDF file, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser:For more information on Condor Resources Inc., or to see additional press releases issued by this company, please either click on the link below, or copy and paste the link into your browser: http://www.fscwire.com/public-company/Condor Resources Inc.Source: Condor Resources Inc. (TSX Venture: CN, WKN: A0JMY1, ISIN: CA20676U1049, OTC Bulletin Board: CNRIF)Date: October 06, 2017Time: 1:14 PM EDT--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---The story mentioned above was issued on behalf of Condor Resources Inc. and disseminated through FSCwire.About FSCwireFSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.), is a global newswire dissemination, SEDAR, SEDI, and EDGAR / XBRL service provider.FSCwire is a full service global newswire dissemination company and is fully approved by all exchanges in Canada and the U.S. Press releases can be distributed for all sizes of public, private or not for profit companies and any other organization requiring news distribution. In addition to individual companies; public relations, communications and investor relations firms trust FSCwire to distribute press releases for their respective clients.In addition to newswire dissemination FSCwire also offers EDGAR, XBRL, SEDAR, SEDI, and additional services for publicly traded companies. For more information, please go to our website: http://www.fscwire.com Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com Copyright 2017 - FSCwire (a division of Filing Services Canada Inc.)
Continuous Glucose Monitoring Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 08:47:29

Press Information

Coherent Market Insights

1001 4th Ave, #3200



Mr. Shah

CEO

2067016702

email

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/





# 722 Words

1001 4th Ave, #3200CEO2067016702

The Global Continuous Glucose Monitoring Market (CGM) was valued at US$ 444.0 million in 2015 and is projected to reach US$ 1,025.2 million by 2024, according to a new report by published by Coherent Market Insights. CGM devices allow monitoring of glucose level during bedtime, noon, pre/post lunch, or before/after exercise, which is a major factor propelling growth of the continuous glucose monitoring market.Request for sample copy : https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/57 The global CGM market is undergoing a major technological change that is resulting in a major paradigm shift. Novel devices such as Eversense CGM and GlySens ICGM, which can be implanted for relatively long duration of time, are expected to experience major growth traction, while demand for conventional CGM systems is expected to decrease in the near future. Demand would be largely driven by increasing awareness among the diabetic patients, especially in emerging markets such as Brazil, India, Indonesia, China, Russia, and South Africa regarding the various benefits of using these systems in order to maintain a healthy life. Renewed and dedicated effort from manufacturers and governments across these countries is essential to increase patient awareness and educate them about the importance of regular glucose monitoring in order to keep a check on diabetes and related diseases.Continuous monitoring glucose devices have witnessed increased demand from critical care patients, in order to avoid complexities in health condition. As a result, the device has witnessed high adoption in ICU units, besides home care and clinic settings. However, calibration issues is one of the prominent factor inhibiting market growth.Technology collaboration helps companies leverage technical expertise of the other party and is a key trend prevalent in this industry. For instance, Medtronic collaborated with Fitbit, Inc. to integrate the physical activity data of the person with glucose levels into its iPro2 myLog application. Similarly, Senseonics, Inc. launched Eversense, the worlds first long-term implantable CGM, in January 2016. The evolving technological trend is transforming the method of monitoring glucose in the body.However, therapeutic decisions as an outcome of measurement from tissue (interstitial fluid) lacks accuracy. Therefore, market is witnessing increasing adoption of CGM devices to be used in conjunction with conventional blood glucose monitoring devices, as a tool for diabetes management rather than as a replacement for the same. Companies therefore, need to work on the mechanism of the CGM system to make it more reliable in terms of diagnosis of diabetes, rather than just a tool for management.Get discount on this report : https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-discount/57 Key takeaways of the market:Diabetes is now of the most prevalent diseases that affects millions of people worldwide. According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the global diabetic population in 2015 was 415 million and is expected to reach 642 million by 2040. Increase in awareness among patients is expected to drive market growth at a high CAGR of 9.8% during the forecast period 2016 - 2024.Among the various product types of CGM systems, namely sensors, transmitters, and insulin pumps, the transmitters segment dominated the market in 2015, with a share of over 50%; however, growth of the market is expected to be mainly driven by sensors segment during the forecast period (2016  2024). CGM devices are used by diabetics as well as critical care patients. Demand for CGM devices would be high amongst the diabetic patient population during the forecast period, primarily due to increasing health awareness which indirectly promotes real-time monitoring of glucose levels.In 2015, North America was the largest market for CGM, contributing US$ 247.6 million towards overall market revenue. This was primarily attributed to increasing awareness about CGM coupled with presence of substantially large diabetic population in the region.According to the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), Asia Pacific was home to over 50% of the global diabetic population in 2015, with the highest prevalence rates recorded in China and India. The potential for CGM systems is therefore very high in these countries. Moreover, with increasing patient awareness, growing demand for POC devices and increasing focus on health monitoring, demand for CGM devices is projected to grow rapidly in Asia Pacific at a CAGR of 14.9% over the forecast period.About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 17:45:57

Press Information





Published by

Abhishek Budholiya

+1-347-918-3531

e-mail

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com







# 641 Words

Abhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Emphysema is a type of chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder which involves damage to the air sacs (alveoli) in the lungs. It is a form of chronic lung disorder which causes difficulty in breathing. Emphysema is also called as obstructive disorder because airflow or exhalation is slow or stopped due to over inflammation of the alveoli. Emphysema results when thin membrane lining on the air sacs is damaged and is beyond repair. Thus, rupturing of air sacs leads to reduction in surface area of the lungs which in turn reduces the amount of oxygen reaching the blood stream. This is because damaged alveoli dont work properly and old air is trapped inside the alveoli leaving no space for fresh air to enter in the sacs. Hence, lungs slowly enlarge and require more efforts for breathing. Shortness of breath, sputum production and productive cough are the major symptoms of emphysema. Similarly, difficulty in breathing while exercising might also be witnessed.Request Sample Copy of the Report@Smoking is one of the major causes of emphysema among vast majority of population. As per the studies conducted smokers are six times more likely to be victim of emphysema as compared to non smokers. Apart from smoking alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is another cause of emphysema. However, this is a minor cause of this medical condition as compared to smoking. AAT is a natural protein circulating in human blood whose function is to prevent white blood cells from destroying normal tissues. Deficiency of AAT is a genetic disorder due to which white blood cells continuously damage the normal tissues. Exact estimates are not known but it is stated that approximately 2% to 3% of people with emphysema have deficiency of AAT. Similarly, long time exposure to environmental cigarette smoking might also lead to the damage of risk of development of emphysema. Work place exposures are believed to be the cause in 10% to 20% of the cases.Currently, there is no cure for emphysema however; if smoking is quit then the symptoms of emphysema can be controlled. Thus, for diagnosis purpose spirometry test is prescribed to individuals who are aged above 30 years to 40 years. This medical device measures the amount of airflow obstruction present. Other tests such as chest X-ray and complete blood count are also useful test for the diagnosis of emphysema. For the treatment purpose bronchodialators, corticosteroids, oxygen medications and other antibiotics such as erythromycin are prescribed.According to the American Lung Association, COPD is currently the fourth leading cause of deaths in the United States. Similarly, According to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, asthma affects nearly 300 million people worldwide, while COPD affects approximately 210 million people. The WHO further states that these numbers will continue increasing under the influence of factors such as increase in proportion of urban population, changing life style, growing number of tobacco smokers and rising pollution level.Geographically, North America is the leading geography followed by the European market. Market growth of these regions is accounted due to the presence of large base of population suffering from COPD. Asia-Pacific and Rest of the world in the future are expected to emerge as the fastest growing economies in this market.Pulmonx , Bioxyne Limited, Intrexon Corporation, Icure Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Kamada Limited and others are the major players which have their therapeutic candidate in the pipeline for the treatment of emphysema.Request TOC of the Report@This research report analyzes this market on the basis of its market segments, major geographies, and current market trends. Geographies analyzed under this research report includeNorth AmericaAsia PacificEuropeRest of the WorldThis report provides comprehensive analysis ofMarket growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for upcoming years
Global Blood Processing Devices

PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 16:05:35

Press Information

Coherent Market Insights

1001 4th Ave,





#3200



Mr Shah

CEO

2067016702

email

http://www.coherentmarketinsights.com





# 644 Words

1001 4th Ave,#3200CEO2067016702

The Global Blood Processing Devices and Consumables Market was valued at US$ 27.8 billion in 2015, according to a new report by published by Coherent Market Insights. Increasing geriatric population and rising emphasis of leading companies on long-term partnerships with end users is expected to boost demand for blood processing devices and consumables over the forecast period (20162024).Blood processing devices and consumables market size has grown manifold over the last decade. Much of its growth was attributed to government initiatives in setting up of blood screening center, especially in developing countries. The trend is especially prevalent in China, India, and Russia, with rampant increase in number of blood centers in these countries in the recent past. As a result of this, lucrative growth opportunities have emerged for industry players to expand their business reach across developing regions and enhance ROI over the forecast period.There has been an increase in incidence rate of infectious diseases and chronic disorders such as cancer, especially among the geriatric population. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2015, over 150 million people suffered from chronic hepatitis C virus, of which 700 thousand die each year owing to lack of suitable healthcare infrastructure and diagnosis centers. Technological advancements in the healthcare industry is expected to bridge the gap between patients expectation and healthcare delivery system. While the market for blood processing devices and consumables is highly saturated in developed regions, the developing regions, especially Asia Pacific is largely untapped and offers lucrative growth opportunities for market players.Request For Sample Copy@Key takeaways of the marketGovernment has a critical role in creating national platforms for blood screening and blood bank centers. Increasing geriatric population along with rise in incidence rate of blood-related disorders is expected to create lucrative market opportunities for industry playersCell processors device segment is expected to dominate the global blood processing devices market (in terms of revenue) throughout the forecast period. While, blood bags device segment is expected to lead the consumables market throughout the forecast period.Asia Pacific dominated the global blood processing devices and consumables market, with a revenue share of around 17% of the total market in 2015. Growth of the regional market is mainly propelled by increasing demand from China, which accounted for 39% revenue share of the market in the region. The blood processing devices and consumables market in India is expected to expand at the highest CAGR in Asia Pacific during the forecast period.North America and Europe are highly matured market. Leading players such as Abbott Laboratories, Roche Holdings AG, and Terumo Corporation are emphasizing on establishing a direct distribution channel to retain their dominance in these regional markets. Setting up of cord blood bank center in these region is expected to create substantial market opportunity for industry players. Over 23 million blood components are transfused each year in North America.There are over 13 thousand blood bank centers worldwide. The number is especially high in low to middle income countries, particularly India, Indonesia and Vietnam. Establishment of blood bank centers is expected to boost overall demand for blood bank refrigerators worldwide. The blood bank market is highly consolidated, with leading players accounting for around 80% of the global market. New entrants are expected to provide bank refrigerators during the forecast period.While the overall blood processing device segment is consolidated, it is highly fragmented in consumables segment with large presence of regional players, especially in China and India.Ask For the Discount@About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@ coherentmarketinsights.com
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 16:13:08

Press Information

Coherent Market Insights

1001 4th Ave, #3200 ,Seattle, WA 98154



Mr. Shah

CEO

+1-206-701-6702

email

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com





# 748 Words

1001 4th Ave, #3200 ,Seattle, WA 98154CEO+1-206-701-6702

The Global Myelodysplastic Syndrome Treatment Market was valued at US$ 2,213.2 million in 2017 and is projected to expand at a CAGR of 12.7% during the forecast period (20172025), as highlighted in a new report published by Coherent Market Insights. Growing incidence of the bone marrow disorders and cytogenetic abnormalities expected to be the major factor driving growth of the global myelodysplastic syndrome treatment market over the foreseeable future.Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) refers to the closely related group of hematopoietic clonal disorders that are majorly observed among the geriatric population. The myelodysplastic syndromes rarely exhibit any symptoms during their earlier stages. Treatments of the MDS usually focuses on either preventing or reducing the complications of the disease with the drug therapies available in the market. This includes Vidaza (Azacitidine), Revlimid (Lenalidomide), Decitabine (Dacogen), and Deferasirox (Jadenu). In cases with extreme impairments of bone marrow, MDS are treated by a bone marrow transplant.Request Sample Copy Of This Report: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/775 According to a report published in 2015 by American Cancer Society, myelodysplastic syndromes occurs at the rate of 4.8 cases per 100,000 people, which counts up to 13,000 new cases of MDS in the U.S. every year. The report also states that this number has witnessed an increase in the last few years as the average population is ageing every consecutive year. Moreover, the fact report 2014-2015 published by Leukemia and Lymphoma Society suggests that the overall incidence of MDS in the U.S. by gender are 6.7 per 100,000 in male while 3.8 per 100,000 in females.The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies various types of MDS according to clinical features, peripheral blood and bone marrow findings and cytogenetic analysis which shares features of MDS and myeloproliferative neoplasms as follows:Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML-1 and CMML-2),Atypical chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), Bcr-Abl1 negative,Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML),MDS/MPN, unclassifiableMost of the people suffering with MDS has primary MDS that is usually devoid of a triggering event. One possible cause for MDS could be repetitive exposure to benzene.Treatments include drug therapy with newer agents, blood transfusion and administration of blood cell growth factors among others. The symptoms are treated with various approved drugs such as Vidaza (Azacitidine), Revlimid (Lenalidomide), Decitabine (Dacogen), and Deferasirox (Exjade). Vidaza (Azacitidine) was the first approved drug by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of MDS. It is indicated for treatment of both high and low risk patients with all subtypes of MDS. Furthermore, companies such as Celgene Corporation are focusing on development of drug therapies for MDS with specific indications such as MDS with deletion 5q and post HMA failure with drugs Durvalumab and Luspatercept in the late clinical phases.Few pipeline drugs include Durvalumab (PD-L1 Inhibitor), and Luspatercept which are currently (as of 2016) in phase 2 trials. Positive outcomes from the clinical trials of many such molecules in pipeline would drive the revenues in global MDS market. Furthermore, in 2016, Opsona Therapeutics Ltd. received orphan drug designation for its OPN-305 humanized IgG4 monoclonal antibody for MDS treatment. Also, after Celgene lost its U.S. exclusivity for Vidaza, many generic formulations have entered in the market for Vidaza and Natco Pharma is also expected to launch generic version of Vidaza in 2017, which will further boost myelodysplastic syndrome treatment market.Ask for customization: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-customization/775 Key Takeaways of the Myelodysplastic Syndrome Treatment Market:The global myelodysplastic syndrome treatment market is expected to expand at a CAGR of 12.7% during the forecast period (20162025), as there exists a huge potential market, especially in Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and AfricaRobust development in drug therapies, drugs showing potential in pipeline and inclusion of generic versions of the branded products in the market due to patent expiries are expected to drive the global myelodysplastic syndrome marketSome of the major players involved in the global myelodysplastic syndrome treatment market are Celgene Corporation, Novartis AG and Otsuka, Astellas, Astex, Acceleron Pharma, Onconova Pharmaceuticals, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Pfizer, Inc., Eli-Lilly and CTI BiopharmaTo know the latest trends and insights prevalent in the myelodysplastic syndrome treatment market, click the link below: https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/market-insight/myelodysplastic-syndrome-treatment-market-775 About Coherent Market Insights:Coherent Market Insights is a prominent market research and consulting firm offering action-ready syndicated research reports, custom market analysis, consulting services, and competitive analysis through various recommendations related to emerging market trends, technologies, and potential absolute dollar opportunity.Contact Us:Mr. ShahCoherent Market Insights1001 4th Ave,#3200Seattle, WA 98154Tel: +1-206-701-6702Email: sales@ coherentmarketinsights.com
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 17:45:54

Press Information





Published by

Abhishek Budholiya

+1-347-918-3531

e-mail

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com







# 691 Words

Abhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Pollens are made up of tiny particles released by trees, plants and grasses during spring and summer as part of their reproductive cycle. Pollen owing to its fine particles can be easily inhaled by humans and animals which can cause significant irritation and inflammation to some people. Allergic rhinitis or hay fever is among the most common form of allergy caused by grass pollen. According to a study conducted by American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in 2010 reported that about 16.9 million adults and 6.7 million children were diagnosed with hay fever and its prevalence is increasing by approximately 30% in adults and 40% in children. The Charity Allergy U.K estimated that about 18 million people found to be affected with grass pollen allergy and is more common among children and teenagers. Symptoms of grass pollen include frequent sneezing, running or blocked nose, itchy eyes and throat. In some instances it can also lead to loss of senses to smell, facial pain, sweating and severe headache. People suffering from asthma face even a worse symptom which include tight chest, shortness of breath, coughing and wheezing. The United States Food and Drug Administration in 2014 estimated around 30 million people in the United States and 500 million globally suffer from one or other form of hay fever symptoms.Request Sample Copy of the Report@There are about 1,200 species of grass grown in North America wherein only a small percentage of them cause allergies. Some of the prominent species include Bermuda grass, Johnson grass, Kentucky bluegrass, Orchard grass, Redtop grass, Sweet vernal grass and Timothy grass. The standard treatment for grass allergies includes oral steroids, antihistamines, beta agonist and immunotherapy treatment by injections. In May 2013, Health Canada approved a drug Oralair which can treat allergies from five different pollen grasses. Pills based immune therapy has seen significant demand and popularity in past 2-3 years owing to its characteristics such as convenience and painless option than weekly or monthly allergy shots. Merck & Co. in April 2014 received FDA approval for its grass pollen allergy drug Grastek. Merck estimates a potential U.S. market of nearly 3 million patients that will eventually be worth USD 1 billion of annual sales. Possible side effects of Grastek include dizziness, severe stomach pain, troubled swallowing and irregular heartbeat.Drivers to the growth of the market include exponential rise in number of patient suffering from pollen based allergies and more precisely hay fever. Moreover occupational exposure and growing number of patients especially children are another major contributors for escalating the global grass pollen allergy market. Lack of permanent cure to grass pollen allergy disease and home based diagnosis are few restraints to the growth of the global grass pollen allergy market. Geographically market for grass pollen allergy is majorly dominated by European and the North America market pertaining to research funding, government interventions and frequent product approvals. Moreover the Asia Pacific and Rest of the World market are among the fastest growing regions. According to an independent study conducted by Katelaris C., et. al. on Patterns of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma in Adults and Children in Asia Pacific: Findings From the Allergies in Asia Pacific Survey. Allegergies in Asia-Pacific: A landmark survey of nasal allergy suffers reported that about 48% of Asia Pacific has been diagnosed with nasal allergies. About two out of five of the diagnosed people were reported to be diagnosed with allergic rhinitis.Some of the prominent pipelined drugs in the market include MK-7243, Pollinex Quattro Grass, Avanz Phleum Pratense, gpASIT + TM, Grass-SPIRE, BM-32 and AllerG. Key players in the market include Allergy Therapeutics plc, Allergopharma Joachim Ganzer KG, Circassia Holdings Ltd., Laboratorios LETI S.L., Anergis SA, Biomay AG and others.Request TOC of the Report@This research report analyzes this market on the basis of its market segments, major geographies, and current market trends. Geographies analyzed under this research report includeNorth AmericaAsia PacificEuropeRest of the WorldThis report provides comprehensive analysis ofMarket growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for upcoming years
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 15:08:47

Press Information

Coherent Market Insights

#3200 Seattle, WA 98154 Tel: +1-206-701-6702



Mr. Shah

CEO

+1-206-701-6702

email

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/halal-products-market-757



Published by

Pareesh Phulkar

08087996871

e-mail

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com







# 601 Words

#3200 Seattle, WA 98154 Tel: +1-206-701-6702CEO+1-206-701-6702Pareesh Phulkar08087996871

The recent past has witnessed a rampant rise in demand for halal-certified products. This is mainly attributed to rampant growth in demand from end-use industries such as meat, beverages, and processed food. The halal products market is also diversifying from food segment to healthcare, pharmaceutical, toiletries, and other personal care products.Request sample of Halal products Market: https://goo.gl/7PsMxf The growth of Muslim population is the major driving factor of this market. Moreover, the rising development in the East and South East Asian countries has led to the increase in purchasing power among the population, further, augmenting the growth of Halal products market. The improvement in the supply chain in the retail sector is adding to the demand for Halal food products thereby adding to the growth of the halal products. Further, multilateral trade agreements and rise in consumption of halal products by other communities has boosted the flow of halal products in the global market.. However, the major restraint of halal products is the absence of standards of halal products globally and the companies operating in this field are required to seek certification from each country separately.Halal Product Market Taxonomy:On the basis of product type, the Halal Product Market can be classified as:Processed food and beverages.Halal meat productsHalal convenience foodHalal dairy productsHalal sauces, seasoning and condimentsOthersPharmaceuticalsCosmetics and personal careSkin Care ProductsColor Cosmetics ProductsLip Care ProductsEye Care ProductsNail Care ProductsFace Care ProductsHair Care ProductsFragrances ProductsOthersGet best discount on this report: https://goo.gl/1Qrd7S On the basis of distribution channel, the Halal products market can be classified as:SupermarketHypermarketConvenience StorehttpsRetail StoreSpecialty StoreOnline store.Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics are the new addition to the Halal Products market along with health supplements. For instance, LOreal has obtained halal certification for its ingredients to cater the demands. Moreover, the online platform has seen major growth due to increased smart phone penetration in the emerging countries.Halal Products Market outlook:Asia pacific market is expected to show significant growth during the forecast period owing to the rise in the Muslim population. Moreover, the growth of retail sector in countries like India, China, Malaysia, and Indonesia are further increasing the growth of Halal products in Asia pacific.The halal products market in Europe has a steady growth owing to the less Muslim population in the region. However, Halal product market is rising due to increase in number of manufacturers in the region and non- Muslim consumers getting attracted due to the products safety and hygiene.The Middle East and Africa are expected to have substantial market growth in the forecast year owing to the increase of Muslim population in the region. Moreover, the rise of development in the countries and the disposable income has been a major driving factor for the growth of Halal product market. In addition, the increasing number of the certified Halal product producers has substantially augmented the demand in the area.Check the trending report of Halal products Market: https://goo.gl/T9jJWa Key Players in the Global Halal Products MarketThe major players are adopting various organic and inorganic growth strategies. For instance, in 2014, Warees Halal, a division of MUIS subsidiary Warees Investments Pte Ltd, has been given the task of helping companies to attain certification and carries out audits for MUIS. The major players in the Halal product market include Nestle S.A., The Coca Cola Company, Kellogg's Company, Krafts Food Group Inc., Unilever Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, and L'Oreal S.A.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 17:45:38

Press Information





Published by

Abhishek Budholiya

+1-347-918-3531

e-mail

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com







# 607 Words

Abhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Currently, the number of patients affected with hormone refractory breast cancer is growing. This can be attributed to the accelerating number of hormone therapies, which have made breast cancer resistant to most of these therapies. The global market for hormone refractory breast cancer or hormone-resistant breast cancer is restrained by the lack of suitable treatment. However, a new finding provides fresh hope for millions of patients who have been diagnosed with oestrogen receptor positive breast cancer. According to this finding, 70% of breast cancer patients have oestrogen receptor positive cancer and a majority of these patients respond well to therapies containing anti-oestrogen.Request Sample Copy of the Report@Nevertheless, within 15 years, 50% of these patients will relapse and eventually die from the condition. If the clinical trials of this new drug prove successful, then such a treatment could help patients by shutting down tumors at an early stage. Development of such groundbreaking drugs for hormone refractory breast cancer will significantly fuel the growth of the market in the coming years.The research study on hormone refractory breast cancer market has been prepared using a mix of primary and secondary research to bring forth valuable market estimates and forecasts. Furthermore, a correlation, regression, and time-series analysis in the report has been used to provide the key industry dynamics. Additionally, a detailed industry evaluation with qualitative and quantitative analysis has been presented in the report.Overview of the global hormone refractory breast cancer marketAccording to WHO, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer affecting women from both developing and developed nations. The global hormone refractory breast cancer market is driven by factors such as the increasing incidence of breast cancers, growing aging population, rising demand for advanced therapeutics and presence of large number of pipeline drugs.Other factors such as growing urbanization and elevated adoption of western lifestyles are also supporting the growth of this market. The global hormone refractory breast cancer markets growth is also driven by the high demand for novel treatment options for effective management and increasing the lifespan of cancer patients.Geographically, the North America is leading the global hormone refractory breast cancer market, which is followed by the European region. It is anticipated that these two regions will continue to rule the hormone refractory breast cancer market in the forthcoming years. The market forces driving these two regional markets include the large base of patients with hormone refractory breast cancer coupled with huge geriatric population.In addition to this, the presence of a large number of drug developers in North America and Europe will further support the growth of global market for hormone refractory breast cancer. On the other hand, Asia Pacific will demonstrate a rapid growth in the foreseeable future due to its rapidly-expanding healthcare industry and improved purchasing power of its population.Request TOC of the Report@Companies mentioned in the research reportInnovation is the key strategy of players in the global hormone refractory breast cancer market. Many companies in the global hormone refractory breast cancer market have their drugs in different stages of clinical trials. Some of the these companies are AstraZeneca plc., AmpliMed Corporation, F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd., Bluefish Pharmaceuticals AB, NeoCorp GmbH, Bioenvision Limited, Neopharm Ltd., and Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH.Major geographies analyzed under this research report are:EuropeNorth AmericaAsia-PacificRest of the WorldThis report gives you access to decisive data such as:Market growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for the coming years
Hormone Replacement Therapy Market is estimated at USD 15.75 billion in 2016 and is predicted to reach USD 22.31 billion by 2021, growing at a CAGR of 7.21%.

"Browse And Choose From Our World Class Research Reports"

PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 09:02:37

Press Information

Abhishek Shukla

USA



Abhishek Shukla

Sales Manager (International Business Development)

+1-888-702-9626

email

http://www.marketdataforecast.com/





# 621 Words

USASales Manager (International Business Development)+1-888-702-9626

Hormone Replacement Therapy Market by Hormone Type (Estrogen Replacement Therapy, Growth Hormone Replacement Therapy, Thyroid Replacement Therapy and Others) by Route of Administration (Oral, Parenteral, Transdermal and Others) and by Region - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (20162021)Through Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), a patient receives hormones, either to supplement a lack of naturally occurring hormones or to replace them with other hormones. Most of the hormone replacement therapies takes place for conditions like Menopause in woman (Estrogen Therapy). The Global Hormone Replacement Therapy Market is estimated at USD 15.75 billion in 2016 and is predicted to reach USD 22.31 billion by 2021, growing at a CAGR of 7.21%.Nearly 80% of menopausal women experience mild symptoms. While a quarter have severe symptoms, of these only a small proportion of menopausal women currently take hormone replacement therapy. At present, combination of drugs is used to treat these conditions, which are known to have a better efficacy and safety parameter.Increasing awareness on post-menopausal hazards, novel formulations, rise in unmet medical needs which require the employment of hormone therapy are the few factors driving the growth of global hormone replacement therapy market.Full report at: http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/global-hormone-replacement-therapy-market-957/ However, presence of side effects, such as bleeding, bloating, breast tenderness or enlargement, headaches, mood changes, and nausea, risk of breast cancer, heart disease, and stroke is restraining the growth of the market. Along with this, high cost of therapy is acting as a major hurdle. An average estrogen replacement therapy will cost $ 10,000 per annum to a patient. This is limiting its reach to middle class consumers, especially those of developing nations. Further, several researches shows that women with high susceptibility to coronary diseases should not go for hormone replacement therapy thereby decreasing the size of target audience.Market Segmentation: By Hormone Type By Route of AdministrationThe global hormone replacement therapy market is segmented on the basis of hormone type into Estrogen Replacement Therapy, Growth Hormone Replacement Therapy, Thyroid replacement therapy and others. With a market share of more than 60%, the estrogen replacement therapy segment dominates the market. And on the basis of route of administration the market is classified as oral, parenteral, transdermal and other routes. The oral route of administration is regarded as one of the safest and most preferred routes of drug administration.Request sample: http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/global-hormone-replacement-therapy-market-957/request-sample Further, on the basis of geography, the hormone replacement therapy market is analysed under regions namely, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Middle-East & Africa. Moreover, under each region, major countries market values are provided. North America dominated the market, where the majority of the contribution was from the USA. While, the market in the APAC region is expected to witness a rapid growth during the forecast period.Some of the key players operating in the hormone replacement industry are Abbott Laboratories, Novartis, Pfizer, Mylan Laboratories, Amgen, Merck & Co., Bayer, Eli Lily, Novo Nordisk, Wyeth, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co. Inc.About Market Data Forecast:The publisher of this report is Market Data Forecast whose forte lies in Market research and Business Intelligence. Handling both individual and corporate clients across multiple business domains they offer syndicated/customized research to suit the clients research objective. Their research reports section offers a wide variety of market studies ranging from all-encompassing comprehensive market studies to product specific niche markets covering North America among other regions of the global market as well. For more info kindly visit, www.marketdataforecast.com Contact:Abhishek ShuklaSales Manager (International Business Development)Market Data ForecastDirect Line: +1-888-702-9626Mobile: +91 998 555 0206Mail: abhishek@ marketdataforecast.com Visit MarketDataForecast Blog @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/blog/ View latest Press Releases of MDF @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/press-releases
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 09:04:38

Press Information

Market Data Forecast

2nd Floor, Lakeview Plaza, Kavuri Hills, Hyderabad, Telangana 500033, India





+1-888-702-9626 (U.S. TOLL FREE), contact@marketdataforecast.com



Abhishek

Sales Manager

+1-888-702-9626

email

http://www.marketdataforecast.com/





# 760 Words

2nd Floor, Lakeview Plaza, Kavuri Hills, Hyderabad, Telangana 500033, India+1-888-702-9626 (U.S. TOLL FREE), contact@marketdataforecast.comSales Manager+1-888-702-9626

The Latin America showcase for Fluoroscopy was worth USD 224.2 million in 2016 and estimated to be growing at a CAGR of 3.30%, to reach USD 263.74 million by 2021. Fluoroscopy is the imaging innovation which utilizes x-rays to get constant moving pictures of the inside of the body.View Full Report @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/latin-america-fluoroscopy-market-2070/ The imaging group comprises of doctor, radiologic technologist, physicist and other therapeutic work force. During a fluoroscopy strategy, an x-ray shaft is gone through the body. The picture is transmitted to a screen so the development of a body part or of an instrument or complexity operator through the body can be found in detail.A limitless range of utilization and high demand for infrastructure in healthcare industry in developing and underdeveloped nations, are driving the fluoroscopes market. The expanding in utilization of refurbished gadgets, alongside low substitution rate of fluoroscopes, are hindering for the development of fluoroscopes market.Fluoroscopy market is segmented on the basis of type Fixed Systems, Mobile systems. On the basis of applications, the market is further divided into Biopsy, Cardiovascular medications, Orthopedic surgeries, others. On the basis of end user market is segmented into Clinics, Hospitals, and Diagnostic Centers. On the basis of geography, the Latin America market is analyzed under various regions namely Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. The Latin America fluoroscopy market is profoundly aggressive as new players are going into the market, due to expanding interest for new inventive systems in X-ray and radiology.Some of the major companies dominating the market, by their products and services include GE Healthcare., Siemens Medical Solutions, Hologic Inc., Shimadzu Corporation, Hitachi Ltd., Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, Philips N.V., Ziehm Imaging GmbH, Amico X-ray innovations, Orthoscan Inc.Free sample of the report is available @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/latin-america-fluoroscopy-market-2070/request-sample Market Segmentation1) Type Introduction Fixed systems Bio systems Y-o-Y Growth Analysis, By Type Market Attractiveness Analysis, By Type Market Share Analysis, By Type2) Application Introduction Biopsy Cardiovascularmediations Orthopedic surgeries Other Applications Y-o-Y Growth Analysis, By Application Market Attractiveness Analysis, By Application Market Share Analysis, By Application3) End User Introduction Clinics Hospitals Diagnostic centers Growth Analysis, By End Users Market Attractiveness Analysis, By End Users Market Share Analysis, By End UsersInquire before Buying at http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/latin-america-fluoroscopy-market-2070/inquire Reasons to buy Latin America Fluoroscopy Market Research Report: Regional and country-level analysis and forecasts of the study market; providing Insights on the major countries/regions in which this industry is blooming and to also identify the regions that are still untapped Segment-level analysis in terms of technology, component, and type along with market size forecasts and estimations to detect key areas of industry growth in detail Identification of key drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges (DROC) in the market and their impact on shifting market dynamics Study of the effect of exogenous and endogenous factors that affect the global market; which includes broadly demographic, economics, and political, among other macro-environmental factors presented in an extensive PESTLE Analysis Study the micro environment factors that determine the overall profitability of an Industry, using Porters five forces analysis for analysing the level of competition and business strategy development A comprehensive list of key market players along with their product portfolio, current strategic interests, key financial information, legal issues, SWOT analysis and analyst overview to study and sustain the market environment Competitive landscape analysis listing out the mergers, acquisitions, collaborations in the field along with new product launches, comparative financial studies and recent developments in the market by the major companies An executive summary, abridging the entire report in such a way that decision-making personnel can rapidly become acquainted with background information, concise analysis and main conclusions Expertly devised analyst overview along with Investment opportunities to provide both individuals and organizations a strong financial foothold in the marketAbout Market Data Forecast:Market Data Forecast is a firm working in the area of market research and business intelligence. With rich experience in research across various business domains, they cater to the needs of both individual and corporate clients. From all-encompassing umbrella markets to extremely specific niche markets covering all the major regions across the globe as part of the research scope, their research services offer one of a kind specialties with competitive pricing options.For more information, kindly visit, www.marketdataforecast.com Contact:Abhishek ShuklaSales Manager (International Business Development)Market Data ForecastDirect Line: +1-888-702-9626Mobile: +91 998 555 0206Mail: abhishek@ marketdataforecast.com Visit Market Data Forecast Blog @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/blog/ View latest Press Releases of MDF @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/press-releases
Latin America Neurological Monitoring Devices Market by Type, by Procedure, and by Region - Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (20162021)

Latin America Neurological Monitoring Devices Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 09:32:22

Press Information

Market Data Forecast

2nd Floor, Lakeview Plaza, Kavuri Hills, Hyderabad, Telangana 500033, India





+1-888-702-9626 (U.S. TOLL FREE), contact@marketdataforecast.com



Abhishek

Sales Manager

+1-888-702-9626

email

http://www.marketdataforecast.com/





# 922 Words

2nd Floor, Lakeview Plaza, Kavuri Hills, Hyderabad, Telangana 500033, India+1-888-702-9626 (U.S. TOLL FREE), contact@marketdataforecast.comSales Manager+1-888-702-9626

The Latin America Neurological Monitoring Devices Market was worth USD 0.67 billion in 2016 and estimated to be growing at a CAGR of 7.9%, to reach USD 0.97 billion by 2021.Neuro physiological market vendors will have to utilise resources wisely and focus on product R&D to create flexible and extensively tested user-friendly devices. Manufacturers would also do well to encourage competition, innovation and dynamism, which are essential for success of the market.The advances in the field of neurological research and medicine, availability of sophisticated equipment that monitors and tracks nerve and brain activity to make better diagnosis and offers better treatments to patients, higher incidence of neurological disorders like epilepsy, Parkinsons, Alzheimers and other neurodegenerative disorders, treatments available for many disorders like nerve repair and regeneration and rise in the aging population are driving the market. A large population still cannot afford modern healthcare facilities which is a major restrain for the market.View Full Report @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/latin-america-neurological-monitoring-devices-market-2236/ The Latin America neurological monitoring devices market is segmented on the basis of type into Monitors of Intracranial Pressure & Blood Flow Dynamics and Monitors of Brain Electrical Activity. Monitors of Intracranial Pressure & Blood Flow Dynamics segment is further divided into Intracranial Pressure Monitor, Jugular Venous Oximetry, Transcranial Doppler (TCD) Ultrasonography, Near-Infrared Spectroscopy and Brain Tissue Oxygen Tension Monitor. Monitors of Brain Electrical Activity segment is sub-segmented into Electroencephalography and Evoked Potentials. Based on procedure the market is segregated into Non-Invasive and Invasive. On the basis of therapeutic application, market is bifurcated into Brain Injuries, Stroke, Dementia, Headache Disorders, Sleep Disorders, Epilepsy, Parkinsons disease and Huntingtons disease. By End User, the market segmentation is among Hospitals, Neurological Centers and Institutions, Clinics & Ambulatory Surgical Centers, Diagnostic Centers and Ambulances.Based on geography the market is analyzed under various countries namely, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina. Mexico is dominating the neurological monitoring devices market for this region and expected to continue its dominance over the forecast period.Free sample of the report is available @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/latin-america-neurological-monitoring-devices-market-2236/request-sample Key market players include CAS Medical Systems Inc., Compumedics Ltd., Natus Medical Inc., Philips Healthcare, GE Healthcare, AMD Global Telemedicine, Intel Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, InTouch Health, InTechnology, MEG International Services Ltd., Rimed Inc., Siemens Healthcare, Medtronic Inc., Electrical Geodesics Incorporated, Nihon Kohden Corporation and Advanced Brain Monitoring.Market Segmentation1) Type Introduction Monitors of Intracranial Pressure & Blood Flow Dynamics Intracranial Pressure Monitor Jugular Venous Oximetry Transcranial Doppler (TCD) Ultrasonography Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Brain Tissue Oxygen Tension Monitor Monitors of Brain Electrical Activity Electroencephalography Evoked Potentials Y-o-Y Growth Analysis, By Type Market Attractiveness Analysis, By Type Market Share Analysis, By Type2) Procedure Introduction Non-Invasive Invasive Y-o-Y Growth Analysis, By Procedure Market Attractiveness Analysis, By Procedure Market Share Analysis, By Procedure3) Therapeutic Application Introduction Traumatic Brain Injuries Stroke Dementia Headache Disorders Sleep Disorders Epilepsy Parkinsons disease Huntingtons disease Y-o-Y Growth Analysis, By Therapeutic Application Market Attractiveness Analysis, By Therapeutic application Market Share Analysis, By Therapeutic Application4) End User Introduction Hospitals Neurological Centers and Institutions Clinics & Ambulatory Surgical Centers Diagnostic Centers Ambulances Y-o-Y Growth Analysis, By End User Market Attractiveness Analysis, By End User Market Share Analysis, By End UserInquire before Buying at http://www.marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/latin-america-neurological-monitoring-devices-market-2236/inquire Reasons to buy Latin America Neurological Monitoring Devices Market Research Report: Regional and country-level analysis and forecasts of the study market; providing Insights on the major countries/regions in which this industry is blooming and to also identify the regions that are still untapped Segment-level analysis in terms of technology, component, and type along with market size forecasts and estimations to detect key areas of industry growth in detail Identification of key drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges (DROC) in the market and their impact on shifting market dynamics Study of the effect of exogenous and endogenous factors that affect the global market; which includes broadly demographic, economics, and political, among other macro-environmental factors presented in an extensive PESTLE Analysis Study the micro environment factors that determine the overall profitability of an Industry, using Porters five forces analysis for analysing the level of competition and business strategy development A comprehensive list of key market players along with their product portfolio, current strategic interests, key financial information, legal issues, SWOT analysis and analyst overview to study and sustain the market environment Competitive landscape analysis listing out the mergers, acquisitions, collaborations in the field along with new product launches, comparative financial studies and recent developments in the market by the major companies An executive summary, abridging the entire report in such a way that decision-making personnel can rapidly become acquainted with background information, concise analysis and main conclusions Expertly devised analyst overview along with Investment opportunities to provide both individuals and organizations a strong financial foothold in the marketAbout Market Data Forecast:Market Data Forecast is a firm working in the area of market research and business intelligence. With rich experience in research across various business domains, they cater to the needs of both individual and corporate clients. From all-encompassing umbrella markets to extremely specific niche markets covering all the major regions across the globe as part of the research scope, their research services offer one of a kind specialties with competitive pricing options.For more information, kindly visit, www.marketdataforecast.com Contact:Abhishek ShuklaSales Manager (International Business Development)Market Data ForecastDirect Line: +1-888-702-9626Mobile: +91 998 555 0206Mail: abhishek@ marketdataforecast.com Visit Market Data Forecast Blog @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/blog/ View latest Press Releases of MDF @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/press-releases
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 20:03:46

Press Information

Transparency Market Research

U.S. OFFICE:



State Tower,



90 State Street,



Suite 700,



Albany NY - 12207



United States





Tel: +1-518-618-1030



Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.com



Rohit Bhisey

Head Of Marketing

+1-518-618-1030

email

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com





# 554 Words

U.S. OFFICE:State Tower,90 State Street,Suite 700,Albany NY - 12207United StatesTel: +1-518-618-1030Email: sales@transparencymarketresearch.comHead Of Marketing+1-518-618-1030

Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE) is a thermoplastic polymer of ethylene made by process of free radical polymerization at high pressure. It has density in the range of 0.910g/cc to 0.940g/cc which results in low tensile strength but high ductility. LDPE offers high electrical & chemical resistance and transparency which makes it ideal to use in end industries such as flexible packaging, automotive, construction, green house, tunnels, insulation coax and others.Get a Sample Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=3488 Rising demand from automotive and construction industry is expected to drive LDPE market. Changing lifestyle and rising disposable income is driving the automotive market. LDPE offers transparency at low weight which is expected to boost the demand from automotive industry, owing to stringent government regulations to increase the vehicle efficiency. Further, growth of food packaging industry is expected to drive the market where transparency of the packaging is important and consumer groups prefer transparent packaging. Food packaging includes meat and poultry wrapping, snacks, dairy and sweets, baked goods and frozen goods. Owing to rising population, demand from construction industry is expected to boost the market in developing countries. Demand for energy efficient civil and industrial infrastructure in developed countries is expected to fuel LDPE market. In addition, government regulations in developing countries regarding energy efficient industrial infrastructure is anticipated to drive the market.Replacement of LDPE by linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) in many applications due to its low cost and environment regulations may hamper the market growth. Further, replacement by HDPE in agricultural films and volatility in raw material prices may hamper the market growth. Polyethylene is manufactured from petrochemical derivatives, rising crude oil price and complex manufacturing process may hamper the market growth. Rising demand for use of LDPE in medical film is expected to provide opportunity for market players in the near future. In addition, demand from molded laboratory equipments, injection moulding and adhesive laminate is expected to provide opportunities for LDPE market in the near future. Bio-derived polyethylene production from sugarcane by some companies in expected to open new opportunity in developing country such as Brazil.Europe was largest producer and exporter of LDPE and is expected to remain in the near future. Demand from automobile industry due to government regulations regarding vehicle efficiency is expected to drive the market in this region. Building energy efficient infrastructure is driving the demand for insulation products and is expected to drive the LDPE market. Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at higher pace owing to rising demand from automotive and construction industry. Large capacity additions in China and Middle East are expected to increase the supply of LDPE. Increase in industrial constructions in China is expected to drive the market in this region. North America region is expected to grow at moderate rate due to demand from food packaging industry and automotive industry.Some of the key players in the Low Density Polyethylene market include British Polythene Industries, Borealis AG, Dow Chemical Company, GE Oil & Gas, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC, Exxon Mobil Chemical Company, Huntsman Corporation, DuPont, Formosa Plastics Corporation, Ineos PLC, Nova Chemicals Corporation, PEMEX, LyondellBasell Industries, SINOPEC, Qatar Chemical Company Ltd SABIC, Westlake Chemical Corp. among others.Get a Detail TOC @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=3488
Asia Pacific OTC Orthopedic Braces Market

PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 08:53:42

Press Information

Market Data Forecast

2nd Floor, Lakeview Plaza, Kavuri Hills, Hyderabad, Telangana 500033, India.



Abhishek Shukla

Sales Manager

+1-888-702-9626

email

http://www.marketdataforecast.com/





# 735 Words

2nd Floor, Lakeview Plaza, Kavuri Hills, Hyderabad, Telangana 500033, India.Sales Manager+1-888-702-9626

The Asia Pacific OTC Orthopedic Braces Market is estimated to be growing from 262 million in 2016 at a CAGR of 5.3%, to reach USD 339 million by 2021. The market is showcasing substantial growth potential in the forecasting period and is also estimated to grow in the future years owing to the developments in medical sector.Browse more details @ http://marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/asia-pacific-otc-orthopedic-braces-market-3058/ Orthopedic braces, also known as orthopedic splints, facilitate the protection, stabilization and correction of injuries or abnormal structure. They are used for different applications like injury rehabilitation, prevention, and more. The braces are also designed in a way to compensate for muscles which have less strength in them. They rectify the structural anomalies and help in the detection of cerebral palsy, spina bifida, as well as to treat the symptoms of stroke.Many different factors like increasing middle-class population, growth of GDP, increased spending on healthcare and rising awareness among the public about different treatment options for orthopedic conditions are triggering the growth of the OTC orthopedic braces market in the Asia-Pacific region.The Asia-Pacific OTC Orthopedic Braces market is broadly categorized on the basis of Product into Lower Extremity Braces, Knee Braces, Foot & Ankle Braces, Upper Extremity Braces, Shoulder Braces, Elbow Braces, Wrist Braces, Back & Hip Braces and Other Braces. Based on Indication, the market is segmented into Prophylactic, Injury, Osteoarthritis (OA) and Other Indications. The prophylactic braces segment is expected to hold the largest share of the Asia-PacificOTC orthopedic braces market in 2016 owing to increased participation in sports, studies proving the efficacy of prophylactic braces in decreasing the injuries, and increased awareness.Download Free Sample Report @ http://marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/asia-pacific-otc-orthopedic-braces-market-3058/request-sample On the basis of region the Asia-Pacific market is analyzed under the regions China, India, Japan and South Korea. China and India are developing countries and are expected to lead the market because of emerging economies and growing geriatric population.Some of the major competitors dominating the market are DJO Finance LLC, DeRoyal Industries Inc, Breg Inc, Bauerfeind AG, BSN Medical, Otto Bock HealthCare, Medi GmbH & Co. KG, Thuasne Group and 3M Company.Market Segmentation :1) Product2) IndicationInquire before buying @ http://marketdataforecast.com/market-reports/asia-pacific-otc-orthopedic-braces-market-3058/inquire Scope of the Report: Regional and country-level analysis and forecasts of the study market; providing Insights on the major countries/regions in which this industry is blooming and to also identify the regions that are still untapped Segment-level analysis in terms of technology, component, and type along with market size forecasts and estimations to detect key areas of industry growth in detail Identification of key drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges (DROC) in the market and their impact on shifting market dynamics Study of the effect of exogenous and endogenous factors that affect the global market; which includes broadly demographic, economics, and political, among other macro-environmental factors presented in an extensive PESTLE Analysis Study the micro environment factors that determine the overall profitability of an Industry, using Porters five forces analysis for analysing the level of competition and business strategy development A comprehensive list of key market players along with their product portfolio, current strategic interests, key financial information, legal issues, SWOT analysis and analyst overview to study and sustain the market environment Competitive landscape analysis listing out the mergers, acquisitions, collaborations in the field along with new product launches, comparative financial studies and recent developments in the market by the major companies An executive summary, abridging the entire report in such a way that decision-making personnel can rapidly become acquainted with background information, concise analysis and main conclusions Expertly devised analyst overview along with Investment opportunities to provide both individuals and organizations a strong financial foothold in the marketAbout us:Market Data Forecast is a firm working in the area of market research and business intelligence. With rich experience in research across various business domains, they cater to the needs of both individual and corporate clients. From all-encompassing umbrella markets to extremely specific niche markets covering all the major regions across the globe as part of the research scope, their research services offer one of a kind specialties with competitive pricing options.For more information, kindly visit, www.marketdataforecast.com Contact us:Abhishek ShuklaSales Manager (International Business Development)Market Data ForecastDirect Line: +1-888-702-9626Mobile: +91 998 555 0206Mail:abhishek@ marketdataforecast.com Visit Market Data Forecast Blog @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/blog/ View latest Press Releases of MDF @ http://www.marketdataforecast.com/press-releases
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 17:45:50

Press Information





Published by

Abhishek Budholiya

+1-347-918-3531

e-mail

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com







# 608 Words

Abhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Multi-infarct dementia (MID) is one of the common causes of memory loss among elderly people as a result of reduced blood flow to parts of the brain. The primary reason for multi-infarct dementia is a series of minor strokes resulting in disruption of blood flow leading towards the brain. Since this medical condition arises due to problematic vessels, it is also known as vascular dementia (VaD). Multi-infarct dementia commonly affects people of age group 55 to 75 years. According to the National Institutes of Health, multi-infarct dementia is the second leading form of dementia, accounting for up to 20% of all cases dementia cases in people above age 65. An integrative approach to diagnosis of multi-infarct dementia is recommended which involves symptoms, medical history, health and lifestyle and certain cognitive tests in order to assess persons cognitive ability. A specialist doctor may look for blood pressure, cholesterol levels, an electrocardiograph, etc to support a diagnosis of multi-infarct dementia. Imaging techniques such as computed tomography (CT scan) or a magnetic resonance imaging scan (MRI)Request Sample Copy of the Report@Presently, there is no treatment available to reverse the damage of brain cells that has been occurred due to stroke. Therefore, the multi-infarct dementia or vascular dementia therapy largely focuses on prevention of future strokes through controlling or avoiding conditions and diseases which increase the risk of stroke. The pharmacological treatment for multi-infarct dementia (MID) includes cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs) such as donepezil, galantamine, and rivastigmine. Rivastigmine is a second generation cholinesterase inhibitor with the capacity to inhibit both acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase. Other promising pharmacological medications prescribed for management of multi-infarct dementia include memantine, nimodipine, hydergine, folic acid and Cytidine 5-Diphosphocholine (CDP-choline). Other classes of drugs utilized to treat multi-infarct dementia include selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), calcium channel blockers (CCBs) and angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors).Non-pharmacological approaches are equally important in the management of patients with multi-infarct dementia. The prognosis of multi-infarct dementia is generally poor and the 5-year survival rate is very less compared to other dementia. Moreover, unlike Alzheimers disease in which people are susceptible to infections, multi-infarct dementia may directly result into death due to probability of low supply of blood to brain. Despite the evidence that people with multi-infarct dementia improve over time, the condition can become abruptly worse after occurrence of silent strokes.Geographically, the global multi-infarct dementia (MID) market can be segmented into four major regions, namely, North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and Rest of the World. Multi-infarct dementia is second most common type of dementia in North America and Europe, while it is the most common type of dementia in Asia and other parts of the world. For instance, it accounts for more than 50% of dementia cases in Japan. The prevalence of multi-infarct dementia (MID) is expected to rise drastically in the near future given the exponential rise in geriatric population of the world. Therefore, the global multi-infarct dementia (MID) market is expected to grow rapidly in the developed nations such as the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, and Japan where there is enormous rise in the elderly people.Request TOC of the Report@Some of the key players in the global multi-infarct dementia (MID) market include Eisai, Inc., Pfizer, Inc., Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Forest Laboratories, Inc.This research report analyzes this market on the basis of its market segments, major geographies, and current market trends. This report provides comprehensive analysis ofMarket growth driversFactors limiting market growthCurrent market trendsMarket structureMarket projections for upcoming years
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 15:33:27

Press Information





Published by

Abhishek Budholiya

+1-347-918-3531

e-mail

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com







# 698 Words

Abhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

A laser designator is an electro-mechanical device used to detect a target such as laser guided missiles, bombs, or precision munitions. The beam generated from a laser designator, is invisible when a target is detected and the laser signal bounces on the target in the sky, which then steers itself towards the center of the reflected signal.The major factor acting as a driving force to the market for military laser designator is the demand for enhanced security in order to combat laser guided munitions. The modern laser designators fires a complex, unique pattern of beam which distracts the laser guided munitions to other directions and thus disabling laser guided munitions to home on the intended target. Hence, resulting in enhanced safety during combat. Another prominent factor fueling the growth of military laser designator market is the increased demand for use of miniature laser designators to mount on unmanned aerial vehicle. The defense forces in the developed and developing nations are investing heavily in the development of miniature laser designators in order to meet the growing demand for the same.View TOC for this Market Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=27437 The growth of market for laser designators is affected by the reduced operational efficiency in extreme weather conditions. The military laser designators are highly effective against any incoming missiles, laser guided bombs or munitions in clear weather condition, however in bad weather conditions such as smoke, cloud cover and rain, the effectiveness of laser designators against the intended targets reduces and sometimes the beams are impossible to locate or detect the target. Owing to this factor, defense authorities across the globe are limiting their procurement of these electro-mechanical devices, which in turn is hindering the growth of the market in future.The manufacturers of military laser designators, along with different defense authorities are researching on development of drones as laser designators. This development will help the military forces to procure single system instead of two different systems for the same usage. This factor is anticipated to boost the growth of market for military laser designators in future.The market for military laser designator is segmented on basis of types, end user, technology and geography. The various types of military laser designators are man-portable laser designators, vehicle mounted laser designators, and unmanned aerial vehicle mounted laser designators. Among the different types, the vehicle mounted laser designators dominated the market for military laser designator in the past few years and is also expected to dominate the market in future. This is attributed to the fact that, defense authorities across the globe are investing heavily on ground based, airborne, and shipboard high energy laser designators.The defense sector and homeland security constitutes the end user segment, where the defense sector captured the largest market due to the enhanced benefits such as detecting, warning, targeting and destroying the intended target and causing less collateral damage. In terms of technology, the military laser designators market is segmented as solid state laser designators, fiber laser designators, chemical laser designators, and semiconductor laser designators. The solid state laser designators dominate the market as the solid state laser designators use material in the solid form and not in the gas or liquid form, hence chances of material wastage is reduced.Make an Enquiry @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=27437 Moreover, the construction of solid state laser designators are simple and are easy to maintain. Geographically, the military laser designator market is categorized on basis of five strategic regions globally. These includes North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America. The leading region in the global military laser designators market in North America, owing to the fact that huge military spending and technological enhancement in the region is helping the region to lead the market.The leading companies operating in the military laser designator market includes UTC Aerospace Systems (U.S), Northrop Grumman Corporation (U.S), Thales Group (France), L-3 Technologies Inc. (U.S), Leonardo S.P.A. (Italy), General Atomics (U.S), Elbit Systems Ltd. (Israel), FLIR Systems Inc. (U.S), RPMC Lasers (U.S), and Gooch & Housego (U.K).
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 15:37:31

Press Information





Published by

Abhishek Budholiya

+1-347-918-3531

e-mail

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com







# 701 Words

Abhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

The major driving factor for the remote weapon station market is the increasing need for remote weapons station in the defense forces across the globe. The remote weapons station helps the military troops efficiently during close-in combat situations. Owing to this fact, the demand for remote weapons station is increasing among the defense forces in the developed as well as developing nations. Moreover, rise in political conflicts, and regional conflicts in different parts of the world is also increasing the usage of remote weapon stations by the homeland securities and law enforcement agencies, which is boosting the market to grow over the period.The growth of market for remote weapon stations is hindered by the high development cost of the stations. The remote weapon stations consists of various expensive sensors and fire control systems which increases the price of the ultimate product. This in turn limits adoption rate of the systems among the defense forces in many emerging nations.View TOC for this Market Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=27452 The increase in military spending to innovate and develop robust weapon systems in order to modernize the defense forces across the globe is acting as a major opportunity for the market for remote weapon stations. This is attributed to the fact that, the developed countries such as the U.S, the U.K, Germany, Russia, China among others and developing countries such as India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa among others are investing substantial amounts in developing latest technology weapons which include remote weapon stations.The growing investments in the research and development among the defense forces are expected to boost the market for remote weapon stations in the coming years. In addition, the growing demand for remote weapon stations in the emerging countries such as India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Brazil in order to equip the defense forces and homeland security with the latest weapons and armaments, is also anticipated to bolster the remote weapons stations market.The market for remote weapons station is segmented on basis of components, weapon caliber, application, platform, and geography. The various components of remote weapons station are sensors, fire control station and weapon & armament. The fire control systems segment accounted for the majority market share and the sensors segment is expected to expand at an influential rate. Small caliber and medium caliber segments constitute the weapon caliber segment in the remote weapons station market. Due to the growing demand for long range lethal weapons, the medium caliber segment led the market and is expected to lead the market in future. In terms of application, the remote weapons station market is bifurcated into military forces and homeland security.The military forces dominated the market in past, due to increased usage of active weapons and non-lethal weapons in the defense forces across the globe. The platform segment in the remote weapons stations market includes airborne, naval and land. The land segment sis further segmented as main battle tanks, armored personnel carriers. The naval segment is sub segmented as remote gun turret and close-in weapons stations.Fill the form to gain deeper insights on this market @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=27452 The land segment dominated the market in 2016 and is expected to retain its dominance over the period due to increased focus on close combat warfare systems, and demand for soldier safety on a battleground. Geographically, the market for remote weapons stations is categorized as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America. The huge investments from the U.S in order to develop technologically robust weapon stations led North America to dominate the market in 2016, while continuous focus on up gradation of weaponries is helping the Europe market for remote weapons stations to grow in future at a faster rate.The major players operating in the field of remote weapons staions across the globe are Raytheon Company (U.S), Elbit Systems (U.S), Kongsberg Gruppen (Norway), General Dynamics Corporation (U.S), Leonardo S.P.A. (Italy), Rafael Advanced Defense Systems (Israel), Rheinmetall AG (Germany), BAE Systems Plc (U.K), Saab AB (Sweden), Aselsan A.S (Turkey) and others.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 15:32:06

Press Information





Published by

Abhishek Budholiya

+1-347-918-3531

e-mail

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com







# 699 Words

Abhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

The infrared search and track systems is a phenomena of locating and tracking objects using infrared radiations. These systems does not fire any radiating beams unlike radar, thus, making it difficult for the enemy to detect the origin of the radiating beams.The major advantage of infrared search and track systems market is the demand for enhanced situational awareness is growing at a rapid rate across the globe. The situational awareness is a major factor during combat, and infrared systems increases the situational awareness among the defense forces by helping them during search and rescue or track operation in the dark. This factor is increasing the demand for infrared search and track systems among the defense forces worldwide. In addition, the defense budget is increasing in developed as well as developing countries in comparison to last couple of years. The increased defense budgets is helping the defense forces to adopt latest technologies to benefit the military troops on the battleground.View TOC for this Market Report @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=27431 The key challenge faced by the defense forces during procurement of the infrared search and track systems is the limited operational range of the systems. Due to technological constraints from various defense authorities across the globe, the manufacturers of infrared search and track systems restricts the operational range and which in turn limits the procurement of the systems among the defense forces, resulting in negative impact on the growth of the market in future.The defense forces are investing heavily in the modernization of the military forces, air forces, and naval forces, with the latest technologies. This factor is acting as an opportunity for the infrared search and track market to grow in future. The modernization of military includes incorporation of technologically advanced weaponries, technologically robust situational awareness systems and latest wearable. Thus, modernization of military forces, air forces, and naval forces across the globe is expected to grow the market for infrared search and track systems in the coming years.The market for infrared search and track systems is segmented on basis of components, platform, end users and geography. The different components integrated in the infrared search and track systems includes scanning head, processing and control electronics, and display. The scanning head segment is further categorized as infrared module, optics and laser range finder. Among the various types of components, the scanning head led the market in the past few years and is expected to lead the market in future. This is due to the fact that, the infrared module and laser systems helps in enhanced search and tracking of enemy as well as enemy vehicles and armories.On basis of platform, the market for infrared search and track systems is segmented as airborne, naval and land. The airborne platform is sub segmented as aircrafts and unmanned aerial vehicle. The naval platform is further broken down into destroyers, offshore patrol vessels, amphibious warships, cruisers, aircraft carriers and others. The land platform is sub segmented as armored vehicle, and military personnel carrier others. The airborne segment dominates the market in the current scenario and is also expected to lead the market in the coming years due to the rapid modernization of military aircrafts, which enhances the search and track systems. The infrared search and track systems is categorized on basis of end users as defense sector, law enforcement agencies and homeland security. The defense sector captures the majority of market share in the past few years and is expected to dominate the market in future due to growing defense budgets across the globe. Globally, the market for infrared search and track systems is categorized as North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa and Latin America.For more information on this report, fill the form @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=27431 The top ten players present in the market for infrared search and track systems includes, Lockheed Martin Corporation (U.S), Aselsan A.S. (Turkey), Northrop Grumman Corporation (U.S), Safran SA (France), Rheinmetall AG (Germany), Thales Group (France), Leonardo S.P.A. (Italy), HGH Infrared Systems (France), Tonbo Imaging (India) and MBDA (France) among others.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 13:07:28

Press Information





Published by

Abhishek Budholiya

+1-347-918-3531

e-mail

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com







# 745 Words

Abhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Global Shoreline Spray Bottles Market: OverviewShoreline spray bottles are light weighted plastic bottles which are an ideal solution for mist spray or drizzling application. Shoreline spray bottles are mostly used for the household, commercial, consumer and industrial-strength cleaners, fabric cleaners and room fresheners. Shoreline spray bottles are manufactured using the thermoplastic polymer such as polyethylene terephthalate, high-density polyethylene, and low-density polyethylene. The resultant of polymer in the form of shoreline spray bottle is rigid, lightweight and strong. Sizes and shapes of shoreline spray bottles are manufactured according to the capacity of the liquid to be provided in the bottles by the end user preference. Shoreline spray bottles can be opaque or transparent in nature with its surface ability to be hot stamped, printed or labeled.Request Report Brochure @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=27653 Global Shoreline Spray Bottles Market: DynamicsShoreline spray bottles are a dynamic innovation regarding liquid dispensing for industrial and consumer products. Shoreline spray bottle application is in great demand for liquid dispensing of various concentrated chemical and cleaner used for the commercial and industrial purpose. Moreover, the concept of do it yourself is a potential factor for the growth of shoreline spray bottles market owing to the household sprays manufactured for several purposes such as pesticides spraying, fabric cleaners, sink & drain cleaner. Shoreline spray bottles are ideally useful for mist spraying for an indoor plant with water which is further supporting as a potential factor to the growth of shoreline spray bottle market. Shoreline spray is also ideal for drizzling spray to clean glass fencing, windows, tables, and mirrors which are another potential factor that supports the growth of the shoreline spray bottles market. The ability of customization of shoreline spray bottles for the end user preference is one of the reasons driving the growth of the shoreline spray bottle market. Moreover, shoreline spray bottles are reusable and do not break or crack easily. Manufacturers in the shoreline spray bottles market are developing solutions to supply the market with eco-friendly shoreline spray bottles. The factors as mentioned earlier are some of the major potential factor driving the growth of shoreline spray bottle market. Challenging factor for shoreline spray bottles market are pump & pressure sprays which are hindering the growth of shoreline spray bottles market owing to the pressure created by spray which gives the continuous mist or drizzle spraying.Global Shoreline Spray Bottles Market: SegmentationBased on material: Global Shoreline Spray Bottles Market is segmented intoPET (polyethylene terephthalate)HDPE (high-density polyethylene)LLDPE, & LDPE ( low-density polyethylene)OthersBased on shape: Global Shoreline Spray Bottles Market is segmented intoOvalOblongRound sprayersquare & tube shapesBased on capacity: Global Shoreline Spray Bottles Market is segmented into1/6 oz8/16 oz16/32 ozAbove 32 ozBased on Applications: Global Shoreline Spray Bottles Market is segmented intoPesticidesWater gunCosmeticsOthersGlobal Shoreline Spray Bottles Market: Region Wise OutlookThe global shoreline spray bottles market is divided into seven regions, namely North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). The global market of shoreline spray bottles is expected to grow at a moderate CAGR during the forecast. North America in the global shoreline spray bottles market holds a dominant share is owning to higher consumption of the shoreline spray bottles in the regions. U.S in North America for shoreline spray bottles has higher consumption owing to the higher performance bottles which are used for concentrated chemicals and cleaners for household and commercial purposes. North America is followed by Western Europe which holds second major share in the global shoreline spray bottles market. Countries such as Germany and France contribute to the major share of the shoreline spray bottles market. Developed regions for the global shoreline spray bottles market are expected to grow at a healthy CAGR during the forecast period. APEJ in global shoreline spray bottles market is anticipated to increase at a relatively higher CAGR in the forecast period owing to the rise in spending in countries such as India and China for consumer products.Visit For TOC @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=27653 Global Shoreline Spray Bottles Market: Prominent PlayersFew of the prominent players in the shoreline spray bottles market are as followsBerlin Packaging L.L.C. (Freund Container)Pack LogixCanyon Plastics IncMJS PackagingAll American Containers Inc.Delta IndustriesKaufman ContainerPB Packaging
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 13:10:28

Press Information





Published by

Abhishek Budholiya

+1-347-918-3531

e-mail

http://www.futuremarketinsights.com







# 705 Words

Abhishek Budholiya+1-347-918-3531

Global Water Soluble Film Market: OverviewWater soluble film is a biodegradable film that is used in packaging several products such as dyes, detergent and besides packaging it can also use as disposable bags and laundry bags. Water soluble film is manufactured using a polymer named polyvinyl alcohol which is a synthetic polymer that has excellent emulsifying, forming and adhesive properties. The water soluble film is also resistant to solvent, oil, and grease. The water soluble film has his tensile strength and is non-toxic in nature as well has high oxygen and aroma barrier.Request Report Brochure @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=27656 Global Water Soluble Film Market: DynamicsWater soluble film outperforms in the packaging industry owing to development and advancement in technology that adds a biodegradable factor to the packaging material and thus is a potential factor driving the growth of water soluble film market. Moreover, packaging, a functional aspect which dealt with protection and preservation of product during transportation from manufacturer to final consumer has taken a change in recent years. This has resulted in packaging to becoming an integral part of an organization to attract the customer and boost sales strategy which ultimately leads to the profit of the organization and is another potential factor to the growth of water soluble film market. With flexible packaging replacing the traditional rigid methods has taken boom in the industry that allows the manufacturer to reduce the cost of logistics such as transportation, storage & warehousing and is a key driver for the water soluble film market. The water soluble film ensures the purity and preserves the effectiveness through sealed pouches of ingredient allowing a consistency in product delivery and avoiding cross contamination. Moreover, the polymer used for the manufacturing water soluble film are environmental friendly which limits the landfill sites and need to dispose of solid packaging material such as non-degradable products and thus supports the growth of the water soluble film market. Factor such as resistant to mineral oil, vegetable oil, animal oil and excellent packaging for oily products and organic solvents are supporting factor to the boost of water soluble film market.Global Water Soluble Film Market: SegmentationBased on Type and dissolving temperature: Global Water Soluble Film Market is segmented intoType Z  05oType C  15oType W  25oType M  45oType H  65oType S  85oBased on application: Global Water Soluble Film Market is segmented intoPackagingDisposal bagLaundry bagsBased on polymer: Global Water Soluble Film Market is segmented intopoly(vinyl alcohol)(PVOH)-based thermoplasticsGlobal Water Soluble Film Market: Region Wise OutlookThe global water soluble film market is divided into seven regions, namely North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ), Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan and the Middle East and Africa (MEA). North America in the global water soluble film market holds a dominant position owing increased in the role of advanced technology in packaging in the U.S. which have a major manufacturing unit such as food and chemicals across the globe. Western Europe is estimated to hold a second major position in the global Water Soluble Film Market which is owed to environmental benefits received from water soluble film material. Moreover, government support to the use of water soluble film in packaging is getting high and thus is driving the water soluble film market in the region. Establish regions of Western Europe and North America for water soluble film is anticipated to grow at healthy CAGR during the forecast period. APEJ is expected to grow at a relatively high CAGR during the forecast of water soluble film market. The growth in the region is owed to rise in the packaging industry. Moreover developed and advancement in technology is estimated to drive the water soluble film market in the region.Visit For TOC @ https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=T&rep_id=27656 Global Water Soluble Film Market: Prominent PlayersFew of the prominent players in the Water Soluble Film Market are as follows3MSigma-Aldrich Co. LLC.Sekisui Chemical Co, Ltd.Marubeni plcCortec CorporationSoltec development Inc.Acedag LtdAICELLO CorporationAmtrex Nature Care Pvt. Ltd.Nissin CorporationPolatechno Co., Ltd.
PR-Inside.com: 2017-10-06 15:11:43

Press Information

Coherent Market Insights

#3200 Seattle, WA 98154 Tel: +1-206-701-6702



Mr. Shah

CEO

+1-206-701-6702

email

https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/ongoing-insight/wind-turbine-inspection-services-market-653





# 716 Words

#3200 Seattle, WA 98154 Tel: +1-206-701-6702CEO+1-206-701-6702

Hydroelectric power plants and wind energy are among the most widely used renewable forms of energy sources. Hydroelectric power generation, which is the largest used renewable power source, is limited owing to the inadequacy of the generating resources to meet the global demands. Wind energy is available abundantly and can be used to meet the global energy demands. Requirement to harness these resources consistently, and maintain the high energy efficiency of these through the turbine life cycle is expected to drive the demands for related inspection services through the forecast period.Request Sample of Wind Turbine Inspection Services Market: https://goo.gl/ZARhkf Increasing deployment for the energy source across the globe will drive the wind turbine inspection services market growthAccording to Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), the total installed capacities of these farms was over 485 GW is expected to surge significantly over the coming years. According to Coherent Market Insights analysis, the total installed capacities would increase over double the installed capacities in 2016, by 2025. Turbines are highly crucial components for the energy generation and comprise number of smaller components that includes gearbox and generator, which are necessitated to be serviced and inspected on regular intervals to safeguard the optimal efficiency and performance. Thus, to ensure longevity and accurate information regarding the energy generation, farm contractors and operators are expected to drive the service industry requirements.Wind Turbine Inspection Services Market TaxonomyOn the basis of services, the global wind turbine inspection services market is classified into:Quality assurance & quality controlNondestructive examination (NDE)Condition assessment/inspectionProcess safety managementOutage & turnaround supportVendor evaluation & product assuranceWelding & corrosion engineeringInspection drones incorporated with advanced monitoring equipment and artificial intelligence is expected is among the key trend gaining traction in the industry applicationsWind turbine examination drones are small sized unmanned aerial vehicles that are utilized to accumulate information and images for the assessment, monitoring, mapping, and analysis of blades, towers and nacelles. Conventional methods for the examination includes the employment of specific teams suspended through cables and rope supports, using field telescopes and binoculars for the task. In conjunction with the human life risks, the method has several limitations such as difficulty to access some areas, exclusion of blade defects assessment invisible to the naked eye. Elimination of these drawbacks through utilization of these drones is expected to present considerable growth prospects for this market.Integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in these drones to reduce the workflow errors and enhance detailed analysis within few hours is among the key trends gaining traction in industry. However, stringent regulatory standards against the use of these drones in some major economies such as FAA regulations in the U.S., regulations regarding VLOS and BVLOS and other regionally distinct regulations will present considerable growth to the drone adoptions.Get best discount on this report: https://goo.gl/S5Kia5 Noise pollution and threat to wildlife, specifically flying creatures such as bats, birds, etc., are some of the major drawbacks that may hamper the industry growth rateThese energy sources cannot be used to meet the base load demands, without the additional investments for the energy storage. However, this may add up to the initial high investment required which is considerably higher in comparison to establishment of conventional energy plants. These factors are expected to consistently hinder the adoption of these means to generate the energy which will consequentially negatively impact the wind turbine inspection market growth.Asia Pacific is expected to dominate the overall industry growth through the forecast periodChina contributes to over 37% of the global installed units for the power generation accounting for over 168.73 MW in 2016, as per the GWEC. India contributed to the worlds fourth largest installed units. High deployments in these major emerging economies in the region is expected to attract significant investments in these economies. Other major attractive economies for the wind turbine inspection services include the U.S, Germany, Spain, UK, France, Canada, and Brazil.Check the trending report of Wind Turbine Inspection Services Market: https://goo.gl/enZXi7 Chief industry participants include Intertek Group Plc., UpWind Solutions Inc., Technical Wind Services Ltd., INVISO Services Ltd., Cenergy International Services LLC, UL International GmbH, ASC Engineering Service, Advanced Cleaning Technology Ltd., MISTRAS Group Inc., Midwest Underground Technology Inc., and MFG Energy Services.
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.




Fake news has come to the high court.

At Tuesdays argument before the Supreme Court about gerrymandering  the science of using map-drawing and Big Data to keep ruling parties in power even when a majority votes for the opposition  Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. was searching for a way to uphold the unsavory practice. But there was a problem: Gerrymandering is making a mockery of the right to vote in Wisconsin, the focus of the case before the court, where a redrawn map allowed Republicans to hold more than 60 percent of the state Assembly while getting less than half the vote.

And so Alito resorted to subterfuge. He waited until the closing minutes and hit Paul M. Smith, the lawyer arguing against the Wisconsin plan, with the last question of the argument.

You paint a very dire picture about gerrymandering and its effects, Alito said, but I was struck by something in the seminal article by your expert, Mr. McGhee, and he says there, I show that the effects of party control on bias are small and decay rapidly, suggesting that redistricting is at best a blunt tool for promoting partisan interests. So he was wrong in that?

The question baffled Smith, who said he would need to see the context.

Well, Alito retorted, thats what he said.

No, it isnt.

I called Eric McGhee, the expert, after the argument. The quote Alito pulled was not from the seminal article McGhee co-wrote proposing the legal standard for gerrymandering at the center of the case. It was from an earlier McGhee paper, using data from the 1970s through 1990s. In the paper at the center of the case, by contrast, we used updated data from the 2000s, McGhee told me, and the story is very different. Its gotten a lot worse in the last two cycles. ... The data are clear.

Why would Alito resort to this sleight of hand? Perhaps because its clear that if he stuck to the facts, hed have to acknowledge that the growing abuse of gerrymandering threatens democracy.

Political gerrymandering has become dramatically more precise in disenfranchising voters with the revolution in data analytics  both in states such as Wisconsin and in Congress, where Democrats need to win the popular vote by more than seven points to break even in the House. (Democrats abuse gerrymandering, too, though they hold power in fewer states.) Theres also no obvious legal reason that the court cant intervene to curb the practice on grounds of free speech or equal protection.

Whats really behind all of this, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said during arguments, is the precious right to vote. If you can stack a legislature in this way, what incentive is there for a voter to exercise his vote?

Smith predicted that if the court fails to intervene in Wisconsin, youre going to have a festival of copycat gerrymandering the likes of which this country has never seen. ... The country is going to lose faith in democracy.

Three members of the courts conservative bloc  Alito, Neil Gorsuch and John Roberts Jr., the chief justice  were searching for reasons not to intervene. (A fourth, the silent Clarence Thomas, previously voted against court involvement.) That likely leaves the decision to Anthony M. Kennedy, who is more prone to bouts of fairness than his conservative colleagues.

In an unusual soliloquy, the chief justice argued that the court shouldnt get involved in the Wisconsin case because then it would have to intervene in others. Its going to be a problem here across the board, he lamented.

The poor dears. Maybe, given that democracy is at stake, they could shorten their summer holiday, which just ended Monday?

Roberts continued: The intelligent man on the street will deduce that, if the Supreme Court rules with Democrats in a gerrymandering case, it must be because the Supreme Court preferred the Democrats over the Republicans. ... And that is going to cause very serious harm to the status and integrity of the decisions of this court in the eyes of the country.

Now hes worried about the public standing of the court? After Bush v. Gore, campaign finance rulings that give the wealthy dominance over elections, and the brazen politics of the Merrick Garland fiasco?

In the gerrymandering case, the justices have a chance to restore integrity by defending the principle of one person, one vote. Alternatively, the five Republican appointees can defend their patrons by allowing this perversion of democracy to continue.
Contact

Roger Ridpath

roger@ridpathcreative.com

8167929669 Roger Ridpath8167929669

End

-- Award-winning photographer Roger Ridpath announced today the donation of a limited edition print from his Kansas City Illuminated Series No. 1.,"Pamona in Pink." The print is the very first in a series focused on his hometown, Kansas City. "Pomona in Pink" was specifically created to raise awareness for breast cancer. The donated print will be auctioned at the Howl at the Moon & Open Arms Breast Cancer Outreach Fund event Friday, October 6, 2017.Roger Ridpath's photograph, "Pomona in Pink" was chosen from his body of work photographing Kansas City and the region for over ten years. A small part of his work is viewable in the 2015 book Kansas City: A Photographic Portrait available in most bookstores and Amazon.com. During the remainder of 2017, Roger Ridpath will be releasing a dozen prints in his Kansas City Illuminated Series No. 1.Breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women, except for skin cancers. Currently, the average risk of a woman in the United States developing breast cancer sometime in her life is about 12%. This alarming fact means there is a 1 in 8 chance she will develop breast cancer."I hope that my artwork is successful in creating awareness and drawing attention to the disease," said Ridpath. "I encourage you to attend the fundraiser Open Arms Breast Cancer Outreach Fund at Howl at the Moon on Friday."About Artist Roger Ridpath:Roger Ridpath lives and works in Kansas City, Missouri. A creative professional with a passion and love for art and photography, Roger welcomes the opportunity to take a fresh look at Kansas City's iconic landmarks and simple curiosities through his lens. Using his creative eye and 25 plus years of experience, Ridpath enjoys capturing his hometown's fountains, parks, museums, and other sights. He is an accomplished travel, portrait, and corporate photographer and has triggered his shutter across the United States and abroad, capturing stunning landscapes, architectural marvels, and the emotions of candid snapshots.Additionally, Roger is a partner and creative director for an award-winning advertising group where he has worked on significant, international accounts and helped small, local businesses, as well. He has lived his life in the Midwest; he was born in Wichita, Kansas and later earned a degree in fine arts from Wichita State University. Since the early 1990s, he has called Kansas City home, where he lives with his wife and two sons. To learn more about Roger's photography visit https://www.ridpath.photography/ index To learn more about Roger visit his blog: http://ridpathcreative.com/ photography/ blog/donation- limi... Contact Information:Telephone: 816-792-9669Email Address: roger@ridpathcreative.com
Dave Cox, Middleton Idaho DUI Analyst and Consultant, recently concluded multiple DUI Seminars in Pennsylvania, helping DUI attorneys win more DUI cases.

Contact

Dave Cox

***@yourduipro.com Dave Cox

End

--Your DUI Pro, recently traveled to Pennsylvania to present his well-received "Winning DUI Cases" Seminar. Dave visited Williamsport, Reading, and Harrisburg; Pennsylvania to deliver the seminar to some of Pennsylvania's best DUI attorneys. Dave Cox taught these Attorneys how to win DUI cases using NHTSA Manuals and advanced cross-examination techniques.The attorneys who attended Dave Cox's DUI Seminar, "Winning DUI Cases", had great things to say about their experience. Here are some testimonials from some of Pennsylvania's best DUI attorneys:"This course provides the defense counsel the material to be recognized in a courtroom setting as the truth giver in the case."Jordan D. Cunningham - Harrisburg, Pennsylvania"I've been licensed for 20 years and I've practiced criminal defense law in south-central Pennsylvania for most of that time. My case load is largely DUI-related. This seminar was very useful to me with practical and immediately usable tactics as well as practice management advice. It was worth every penny & then some."Joseph N. Gothie - York, PennsylvaniaDave Cox, DUI Analyst and Consultant, has personally trained thousands of attorneys across the United States. Dave is a former police officer and, during his career, he was recognized as one of the top DUI officers in the country. As an officer, Dave Cox was certified as a Drug Recognition Expert, the highest level of training available to DUI enforcement officers. Dave now specializes in training attorneys how to easily and effectively use the officer, the officer's training, and the officer's NHTSA Manuals to win DUI Cases.In the upcoming weeks, Dave Cox will be presenting his DUI Seminar to attorneys in Florida, Iowa, Alaska, and Colorado. Dave will be visiting the following cities:Orlando, Tampa, and Miami; FloridaSioux City, Cedar Rapids, and Des Moines; IowaFairbanks and Anchorage; AlaskaFort Collins, Colorado Springs, and Denver; ColoradoTo register for upcoming seminars, please visit http://www.YourDUIPro.com/ seminars To learn more about Dave Cox and Your DUI Pro, please visit http://www.YourDUIPro.com
Alpha Industrial has acquired a large value add property in Vienna from pharmaceutical logistics provider Schachinger by means of a sale-and-rent-back transaction. The building is situated only 6km from the centre in the southeast part of the city (on Schemmerlstrae in Viennas 11th district, Simmering), an area that accounts for

[]
Automotive companies and its component suppliers sector is very important in the CEE industrial sector and is growing according to a new report, The Road Kings: CEE Autos, from global real estate advisor, Colliers International. Auto exports ranged from 4.7% of total exports in 2015 in Bulgaria, upwards to 28%

[]
La Francaise Real Estate Partners International, representing a club of Korean and French investors, has acquired the 60% interest of Belfius in the joint venture with AG Real Estate owning the Belgian headquarters of ENGIE. AG Real Estate will continue to manage the asset on behalf of the joint owners.

[]
Veranda Mall Obor, the biggest proximity commercial center in Romania, with a total area of 27.500 sqm, has increased the number of tenants, with five international and local retailers.

Decimas, the Spanish brand of sportive equipments, inaugurated a store of 245 sqm in the shopping center located in...

[]
Those who dont wash their hands regularly and diligently had better change their ways, because hands are like light rails for germs  and Wisconsin has recorded 10 hospitalizations for influenza already this season.

The first case in southwest Wisconsin, one of the 10 hospitalizations, is in Grant County, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services Weekly Respiratory Disease Surveillance Report. Twenty-two cases have been confirmed.

Its a little early to have that many hospitalizations, said Megan Meller, an infection prevention specialist at Gundersen Health System. Every flu season has its own little quirks.

There are no major outbreaks in the Badger State, and there hasnt been much activity nationwide, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Typically, the flu targets the elderly, the very young and people whose immunity is compromised, said Meller, who cited getting vaccinated and good hygiene are the best ways to avoid contracting the virus. A stronger vaccine formula is available for people older than 65.

Time is of the essence, because it takes roughly two weeks to develop a strong immunity after receiving a shot, she said.

The Monroe County Health Department is offering flu shots at various locations in Monroe County starting today (Monday). The charge for the flu vaccine is $30, high dose vaccine is $50, the county bills Medicare, Medicaid, Senior Preferred and third party insurance companies (excluding Health Tradition).

Private clinics and drugstores also offer immunizations.

Like last year, FluMist, the nasal form of the vaccine, will not be used because the CDC advised against it after a poor performance the previous year, compared with shots. It had been effective in earlier years but is not expected to make the grade for several years, according to health officials.

Vaccine formulas this year are projected to be effective, although the shots last season also were predicted to hold up well but fell off toward the end of the season. The vaccines during the 2015-16 season had a lousy track record.

Its a shot in the dark, Meller said.

Even if someone who has been vaccinated contracts the flu later, it should be less severe, with a smaller chance of hospitalization, she said.

Its too early to tell how extensive flu cases might be this year, said Jo Foellmi, a public health nurse with the La Crosse County Health Department.

Based on the experiences during the flu season in the Southern Hemisphere, the vaccine is expected to be effective, Foellmi said.

Meller and Foellmi stressed the importance of basic hygiene rules such as covering your mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing to avoid spreading the virus.

They recommend sneezing into the crook of the elbow for maximum control.

Its not very pretty, but it keeps it away from your hands, Meller said.
Real I.S. continues on its growth trajectory and is opening a branch in Amsterdams Grachtenviertel at the beginning of November this year. Melanie Gruneke will manage Real I.S. AGs new branch locally in her role as Head of the Netherlands Branch.

The company is currently invested in the Nether...

Photos: Real I.S. AG



[]
If you are new to iQ you can schedule a demo and learn more about this opportunity.

PSFK iQ - Where Innovators Turn for Research. Our professional-grade research platform is designed specifically for Retail and CX leaders who want to know whats next. Whether youre staying current on trends or need a real-time research partner to help you get ahead, count on PSFK iQ to deliver the info you need to make your next move.
Childrens authors Mike Curato, Mo Willems, and Lisa Yee withdrew from scheduled appearances at the upcoming inaugural Springfield Childrens Literature Festival in Springfield, Mass., on Thursday after the host refused to address their concerns regarding a mural that includes what the authors termed an obviously offensive depiction of a Chinese man.

Located at The Amazing World of Dr. Seuss Museum, the mural is a replica from a page in Seusss first book, And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, which was published in 1937. The museum, which opened earlier this year, is dedicated to Seuss, the pen name of Springfield native Theodor Seuss Geisel.

In response to the authors announcement, the museum announced the cancellation of the festival, and later posted on Facebook that they would replace [the mural] with a new image that reflects the wonderful characters and messages from Dr. Seusss later works.

In their statement, the authors said they had privately appealed to have the mural taken down, or for the museum to provide context for the image, which shows a Chinese man with chopsticks in his hands, slits for eyes, and a pointed hat. Otherwise, they wrote, [d]isplaying imagery this offensive damages not only Asian American children, but also non-Asian kids who absorb this caricature and could associate it with all Asians or their Asian neighbors and classmates.

When their requests were denied, Curato, Willems, and Yee announced that they were backing out of the festival, which was slated for October 14.

In protesting the mural, the authors sought to draw a distinction between the painting and the author, noting that the career of Ted Geisel, writing as Dr. Seuss, is a story of growth, from accepting the baser racial stereotypes of the times in his early career, to challenging those divisive impulses with work that delighted his readers and changed the times.

With the image displayed as a standalone, however, they wrote that the museum was undermining the story of Geisels transformation by leaving small children to interpret it for themselves. While this image may have been considered amusing to some when it was published 80 years ago, they concluded, it is obviously offensive in 2017 (the year the mural was painted).

This is the second time in recent weeks that the issue of racist images in the work of the beloved childrens author have been raised in Massachusetts. In late September, Cambridge, Mass. school librarian Liz Phipps Soero posted an open letter to Melania Trump in the Horn Book, rebuking the First Lady for her donation of 10 Dr. Seuss books to the school for National Read a Book Day on September 6. Soero wrote that Dr. Seusss illustrations are steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes.

Soeros letter was denounced by Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, who posted a statement to the citys Facebook page saying that her comments stink and are ridiculous towards our beloved Dr. Seuss. Sarno went on to call the letter  political correctness at its worst.

Curato, Willems, and Yee included an apology to parents in their statement, and wrote that they would find a way to visit the city at a later date. But they made no apologies for their stand on the mural. Two of us are Asian American (one is Chinese American), and two of us are the children of immigrants, they wrote. We will not endorse racism in any form.

In their statement agreeing to remove the mural Thursday night, Dr. Seuss Enterprises and the Springfield Museum wrote that changing the mural is what Dr. Seuss would have wanted us to do. Dr. Seuss would have loved to be a part of this dialogue for change. In fact, Ted Geisel himself said, Its not how you start that counts. Its what you are at the finish. 

The authors replied with a statement of their own late on Thursday evening, offering to appear at the museum as originally planned. The decision to remove the mural, they wrote, will help create an institution that welcomes all children and embodies Ted Geisels own growth and career-defining commitment to changing the preconceptions of the world around him.
Last Weeks Top Reviews

The most-read reviews on publishersweekly.com last week were...

Her Body and Other Parties

Leonardo da Vinci

It Came from Beyond Zen!

The Strangeness of Beauty

Manhattan Beach

From the Newsletters

Tip Sheet

Elvira Navarro, author of A Working Woman, picks 10 essential Spanish-language books published in the 21st century.

Childrens Bookshelf

Two YA authors teamed up to write a novel together, and the result is being edited by their two editors and will be published by two imprints.

BookLife Report

Thirty-five titles advance to the semifinals for the BookLife Prize.

PW Daily

Every days publishing news delivered to your inbox, for free.

Podcasts

Week Ahead

Ahead of the Frankfurt Book Fair, PW senior writer Andrew Albanese looks at how U.S. publishers have fared over the first nine months of 2017.

More to Come

The More to Come crew presents interviews with artists and publishers recorded each day on the floor of the 2017 New York Comic Con.

KidsCast

Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen talk about their picture book The Wolf, the Duck, and the Mouse, and about their evolving collaboration together.

PW Radio

Journalist Masha Gessen discusses her new book, The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia. PW editorial director Jim Milliot reviews 2017s bestselling books so far.

Blogs

ShelfTalker

Gearing up for the Halloween selling month.
New Press Welcomes Hayouns Arabs

In a world rights deal, Jed Bickman at the New Press bought Massoud Hayouns debut nonfiction book, When We Were Arabs. The narrative work, the publisher said, recounts and investigates the authors North African Jewish ancestry and the movements of his family. The author follows his clan as they make their way from Tunisia to Los Angeles (with stops in Egypt and France) while grappling with questions of his Jewish and Arab identity. Hayoun was represented by Ed Maxwell at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates, and the book is slated for winter 2020.

Hessler Goes to Penguin for Buried

National Book Award nonfiction finalist Peter Hessler closed a North American rights agreement with Scott Moyers, at Penguin Press, for The Buried. Hessler, who was represented by William Clark at Wm. Clark Associates, has published his last four books with HarperCollins, including his NBA-nominated Oracle Bones. His new book, which is subtitled An Excavation of the Egyptian Revolution, is, Moyers said, a beautiful and profound reckoning with contemporary Egypt in the shadow of its deep past that blends the story of important archeological excavations with that of the authors tutelage in the Arab language.

Tor Teen Moves on Fantasy Duology

Charlotte Daviss YA novel, The Good Luck Girls, the first in a fantasy duology, was preempted in a two-book deal by Melissa Frain at Tor Teen. Frain took North American rights to the book from Allison Hellegers at Rights People, working on behalf of Chris Snowdon, Lynn Weingarten, and Marianna Baer at the YA packager Dovetail Fiction. (Dovetail is a new company and, according to Hellegers, a sister business to the established children's packager Working Partners.) Hellegers said Good Luck Girls was pitched as The Handmaids Tale meets Thelma and Louise in an alternate Wild West setting. The novel, which is slated for fall 2019, follows five girls who, Hellegers explained, escape from the welcome house that owns them and embark on a dangerous journey to find freedom, justice, and revenge. Rights to the book have also sold to publishers in, among other countries, Italy, France, Hungary, and Spain.

Millers Lite to Katherine Tegen

Ben Rosenthal at Katherine Tegen Books took North American rights at auction, for six figures, to Samuel Millers debut novel A Lite Too Bright. The two-book deal, which includes an untitled work, was brokered by Joanna Volpe at New Leaf Literary & Media. Volpe said Lite, which is slated for spring 2018, is about a college-bound high schooler named Arthur Louis Pullman III. When he loses his scholarship he then starts to lose something else: his grip on reality. Pullman begins to climb back, Volpe went on, after discovering his recently deceased novelist grandfathers journal and embarking on a cross-country train ride, guided only by clues written through his grandfathers fog of dementia.

Ace Nabs Two by Tieryas

Executive editor at Ace Anne Sowards bought world rights (excluding Japanese and Chinese languages) to two novels by Peter Tieryas at auction. Tieryas, who works in feature animation (and was formerly at Sony Pictures Imageworks), was represented by Judy Hansen at Hansen Literary Management. Ace said the novels, Mecha Samurai Empire and Sons of War, are standalone works set in the same world as the authors 2016 book The United States of Japan (Angry Robot), in which Germany and Japan won World War II and divided the United States between them. Mecha Samurai Empire is set for a fall 2018 release.

Gilmans Sophomore Novel Lands at GCP

In a world rights agreement, Millicent Bennett at Grand Central Press bought Susan Jane Gilmans currently untitled second novel. Gilman is the author of a number of nonfiction bestsellers and the novel The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street (Grand Central, 2014). GCP said the new book is a dark comedy about a suburban mom, former punk rocker, and recovering alcoholic who detonates her comfortable life on the cusp of her 45th birthday and winds up on an epic quest across America and an ocean. Gilman was represented by Molly Friedrich at the Friedrich Agency.

Bloomsbury Buys Mayers Aerialists

Michener-Copernicus fellow and graduate of the Iowa Writers Workshop Mark Mayer sold North American rights to a short story collection called Aerialists. Callie Garnett at Bloomsbury bought the book from Janet Silver at Aevitas Creative Management. Bloomsbury said the nine stories in the book follow lonely misfits in a world gone slightly askew, in which ordinary American characters mirror circus archetypes. The collection is set for winter 2019.

Colemans Re-up with SMP

Ashley and JaQuavis Coleman, authors of the bestselling Cartel series, have signed a new three-book deal with St. Martins Press. The pair closed a U.S., Canadian, and open market rights agreement to do three more books in their series. The first five Cartel titles were published by Urban Books, and SMP released books six and seven. The first title covered under this deal, The Cartel 8, will be released in hardcover in winter 2019; that title will mark the authors hardcover debut. Marc Gerald at United Talent Agency represented the Colemans, brokering the agreement with SMPs Monique Patterson.
Chronicle Books released Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds 1953-2016 in September. With Hugh Hefners death last week, the collection now contains the last foreword the Playboy founder will ever write for a book. These women are what makes the magazine special, which makes them truly special to me. I dedicate this book to them, Hefner wrote in his preface.

Hefner's death lead Chronicle to go back to press for the collection, which contains photographs of 734 nude centerfolds. By mid-November, there will be around 25-30,000 copies of the title in print.

Chronicle's partnership with Playboy Publishing began in 2001 when the publishers current editorial director Sarah Malarkey signed two books to celebrate the publishers 50th anniversary: Playboy: 50 Years of Cartoons and Playboy: 50 Years of Photography. He was a real publisher as well as a playboy, says Malarkey, recalling Hefners meticulous attention to detail on every publishing project, from centerfolds to cartoons. Chronicle has now released 12 titles with Playboy Publishing.

Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds has a long history at Chronicle. The $500 first edition was released in 2007, a 32-pound 11" x 23" tome that came complete with its own briefcase. One year later, Chronicle published a 6 x 12" edition for $50. This years mid-sized version is 8 x 13" and carries a $75 price-tag. For all three iterations (including the latest one), there are about 75-80,000 copies now in print.

For many years, Hefner's magazine was an incubator for literary talent. Previous editions of Playboy: The Complete Centerfolds featured decade-specific essays from literary luminaries from every era of the magazine: Robert Coover on the 1950s, Paul Theroux on the 1960s, and Jay McInerney on the 1980s. These are all included in the new edition, along with a new essay about the 2010s from Elizabeth Wurtzel.

The quickest way to understand a nation's culture is through its sexual fantasies, writes novelist and journalist Theroux in his essaydescribing how Hefners work with both great centerfolds and great authors reshaped our world.
After oral arguments on Thursday, New York State Supreme Court Judge Barry Ostrager rejected Simon & Schusters motion to dismiss Milo Yiannopoulos $10 million lawsuit against the publisher for allegedly canceling the contract for his book Dangerous in bad faith.

The ruling means that the case will now proceed to the discovery phase, barring a settlement. In his October 5 order, Ostrager gave S&S attorneys 20 days to answer the claims in Milos Amended Complaint, and scheduled a compliance conference for November 14.

The ruling comes after Simon & Schuster attorneys in July called the breach of contract suit a meritless publicity stunt, and asked the court to dismiss it. In court filings, S&S argued that its February 22 termination notice (which reverted rights to Yiannopoulos and allowed him to keep the initial $80,000 advance) constituted full satisfaction of S&Ss obligations under the original contract.

But, as lawyers suggested to PW shortly after the suit was first filed, Yiannnopolouss complaint turned out to be strong enough to avoid immediate dismissal, setting up a viable "fact dispute" over whether S&S terminated the contract for Dangerous in bad faith.

It seems to me that whether the termination was legal or not is a question that is open until a court answers it," Cleveland State University law professor Christopher Sagers explained to PW.

In the suit, filed on July 7, Yiannopoulos claims that S&S illegally terminated the contract using the obviously false pretext that the manuscript was unacceptable only after his controversial comments on pedophilia got him disinvited from CPAC and ousted from Breitbart News. Yiannopoulos is seeking $10 million in damages.

S&S attorneys counter that the contract unambiguously grants the publisher the right to terminate the contract for multiple and subjective reasons, including if in its sole good judgment the book is not acceptable to it.

In a statement Thursday, S&S stressed that the ruling pertains only to a preliminary procedural motion and does not address the merits of Yiannopoulos claims. As we proceed to discovery," the statement reads, "we remain confident that we will ultimately prevail in this matter.

In a comment posted to social media, Yiannopoluos s attorney, Stephen B. Meister, hinted at just how messy the litigation could get.

Simon & Schusters whole strategy in defending against our lawsuit was to stop it before it ever started, Meister stated. They recognize that discovery will reveal their pretextual bad faith cancellation of Dangerous through emails, memos, and texts.

After a fairly strong start, in which the self-published Dangerous hit #1 on the PW nonfiction bestseller list, and #2 on the New York Times list, sales have slowed. According to NPD BookScan, Dangerous has sold around 71,000 copies to date.
When the author Denis Johnson died this past May, there was an outpouring of kind words and stirring remembrances from the literary world. The award-winning fiction writer, poet, and playwright, who schooled many contemporary writers during his years teaching at the Iowa Writers Workshop, was, after all, considered a writers writeror even, as Jeffrey Eugenides once proposed, a writers writers writer.

Yet for Sam Nicholson, Johnsons editor at Random House, the author proved to be, in equal measure, something of an editors writera master at his craft who needed little editing, yet was open to whatever editing was needed.

Nicholson, 29, who edited Johnsons forthcoming posthumous story collection, The Largesse of the Sea Maiden (Random House, Jan. 2018), was quietly the driving factor behind the authors move from his longtime fiction publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux. (With the exception of two novels published by HarperCollins, FSG has published all of Johnsons fiction since 1991.) It was a union long in the making. Nicholson had called Johnson his favorite writer since high school, and after Nicholson began his career in publishing (in 2010, as Random House publisher Susan Kamils assistant), he started trying to get in touch with Johnsons agentnot because he thought he would be able to work with Johnson, but simply because he hoped to meet him.

His agent at the time was a guy named Bob Cornfield, and I could find very little information about him, Nicholson said. I couldnt find any email addressI could only find a phone number. Nicholson called the number every so often, but no one picked up.

Flash forward to 2014, when Nicholson was acquiring his own books for Little Random. He happened to run into literary agent Nicole Aragi at a Poets & Writers award ceremony at which she was honored.

At this event, it listed Denis Johnson as one of Nicoles clients, Nicholson said. At the ceremony, he added, Aragi mentioned that Johnson had expressed interest in soon moving houses. I went home and I wrote Nicole this 15-page letter about why Denis should move to us and how big of a fan I was. Then [Largesse of the Sea Maiden] went out, and we were lucky enough to acquire it. And just like that, I was the editor of my favorite writer in the worldsomething that doesnt happen that often in publishing.

Nicholson, who has edited books by top-shelf writers before (including the Nobel Prizewinning journalist Svetlana Alexievich) is, he said, someone who does not get intimidated easily. But working with Johnsonperhaps because he was a personal favorite, and perhaps because of his reputationwas a bit different.

As far as the process goes, Denis probably had the best internal compass of any writer Id ever seen, Nicholson said. With a lot of writers, you read them and you try to internalize the voice and understand the internal logic of the book, and then you try to help improve that book according to that internal logic. With Denis, that could be trickier than with other writers. He always used to say he just listens to the music, and thats what guides him. I would see an early draft of a story and it was a little like poetryit was impressionistic, and I couldnt quite tell where he was going. But over time, it would become more and more refined and sharp, and it was just fascinating to watch. I would have to just sit back and let him guide me, and I had to be willing to ride that wave.

He added: One reason Denis said he liked working with me was that he got to be admired by three generations. I think it gave him a real kick to be so admired by somebody of a younger generation, and I think I very much represented that for him. I learned all these lessons from Denis, from reading his work so closely and every once in awhile, with one of the rare comments I had, I would just be pointing out a lesson I learned from himand he would always laugh about that.

Nicholson sees the new book as something of a departure from and culmination of Johnsons multiform talents. Though Johnsons work has always been hard-hitting and unsparing in its reflections of a complicated world, in this collectionwhich is dedicated to three of the authors childhood friendshe turned his eye, Nicholson said, from an isolated struggle for individual meaning and transcendence to finding transcendence within a community and within friendshipeven unlikely friendships. And the stories are longer than the stories of his most famous collection, Jesus Son, but significantly shorter than his novels; at times, the prose reads like poetry and the dialogue like drama.

A lot of people love Denis most for his short stories, and others love his novels, but he might have said he felt closest to his drama or poetry, Nicholson said. I think were only sort of beginning to understand how wide his talents were, and I think over time people will understand that more. These stories, because of their scope and focused theme, their large cast and dramatic elements, sort of unite the best elements of each genre he wrote in.

The punch the collection packs is bittersweet for Nicholson, who, with Johnson, wrapped up the edits on the work just weeks before Johnsons death. (A few specifics, like the interior design, were overseen by his widow, Cindy, although Johnson did live to approve the books cover.)

When he died, it kind of felt like the adults had left the room, Nicholson said. In a lot of ways, Denis is sort of the last romantic, with a capital r, one of the last of that generation. I remember thinking that there were these writers who were real searchers for transcendence, who saw writing not as a career but as a way to avoid a career, and I think of Denis as being the most prominent, last member of that generation of writersor that of that kind of writer. When he died, I felt that that had passed, a little bit.
VERNON COUNTY

Emergency Management Committee meets Monday, Oct. 9, at 8 a.m., Erlandson Office Building Lower Level Conference Room EOC. Consideration of applicants for Emergency Management Director position; may enter into closed session pursuant to Wis Statutes section 19.85(1) Considering employment, promotion, compensation or performance evaluation data of any public employee over which the governmental body has jurisdiction or exercises responsibility. Committee to interview applicants for Emergency Management Director; Reconvene in open session pursuant to Wisconsin Statutes Section 19.85( 2).(Roll call vote if motion is not unanimous). May act on items discussed in closed session.

Highway Committee meets Tuesday, Oct 10, at 9:30 a.m., Vernon County Highway Department. Discussion and possible action on purchase of tandem truck attachments; discussion and possible action on purchase of Topcon leveling system for grader; discussion and possible action on request for proposal-architectural and engineering services for new highway shop; review and approve vouchers for payment; commissioners reportCTH JJ bridge update, FHWA/FEMA update.

Personnel Committee meets Tuesday, Oct. 10, at 11 a.m., Vernon Manor conference room. Presentation of supplemental insurance benefits; Emergency Management vacancy; directors report2018 open enrollment.

Vernon County Board of Health meets Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 1 p.m., Erlandson Office Building. Coroners reportupdate and possible approval of activities/equipment/supplies/budget; Dave Geske, Vector Control Officer, La Crosse County Health Department; Public Health PreparednessDiscussion of Public Health Preparedness and Response, Southern Region Consortium update and purchase and approval of equipment/supplies; WIC Program updateEquipment/Supplies approval; Public Health Update and possible vote on:Environmental Health Activities and Programs,TNC Program  Water Lab  Fees,Budget ReportsSeptember 2017,Public Health ReportLimited Agent-Agent Status.

Land and Water Conservation Committee meets Thursday, Oct. 12, at 9:30 a.m., Ag Service Center conference room, 220 Airport Rd., Viroqua. Agency reports (NRCS, DNR, FSA, RC&D, UW-Ext.), any others; introduction of new staff; Gary Meiners-Blackhawk Store; parks pass discussion; approval for hand railing at Jersey Valley Beach; discussion on horseback riding at Jersey Valley; discussion on land donations for county forest; Tainter Hollow nutrient management grant cost-share approval; tracking software purchase approval; 2018 wildlife damage budget approval.

Legal Affairs meets 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, in Room 309 of Court House Annex- Renewal of Liability, Worker Comp, Property Insurance  Workers Comp and Loss Control report  Corporation Counsel Activity report  Confirm next meeting.

Agriculture and Extension Education Committee meets Thursday, Oct. 12, at 11 a.m. Erlandson Office Building UWEX conference room. September 2017 office expenses; review Cooperative Extension nEXT Generation position/service options; Wisconsin Grape Growers Association requests for equipment and funds.

Vernon Manor Board of Trustees meets Friday, Oct. 13, at 8:30 a.m. Vernon Manor conference room. Administrators reportupdate and possible actionQAA reviewstaffing positions; update bank account signature cards; replace the condensing unit and evaporator for the walk-in refrigerator; upgrade HVAC system to connect with the network.
Tundra: Canadas Oldest Childrens Book Publisher

Founded in 1967 by May Cutler, Tundra Books is synonymous with Canadian childrens book publishing. Random House acquired the company in 2012 and continues to foster its tradition of producing top-quality childrens books.

To mark the 50th anniversary, Tundra revealed a new logoa pair of abstract antlers, designed by illustrator Frank Viva, who is also the author of two books from the publisher, Sea Change and Outstanding in the Rain. I like that you can see it both as antlers and as, maybe, a whales fluke, says Tara Walker, publisher, Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers, and vice-president, Penguin Random House Canada. Its playful, clever, and Canadianall of which represent us perfectly.

To further mark the occasion, the company has also launched a Tundra Books Emerging Artist of the Year prize. This years winner is British Columbia artist Madeline Kloepper, for her work on Little Blue Chair, a picture book written by Cary Fagan.

At Tundra, we have a reputation for producing beautiful books, Walker says. Above all, that is what we do, so it is important to recognize the people who make that happen

Tundra, along with Puffin and Penguin Teen, produce about 80 titles a year for Penguin Random House Canada, with an editorial staff of six.

This past year has been very successful for the imprint. A highlight has been The Darkest Dark by astronaut Chris Hadfield. Copublished with Little, Brown, it sold more than 60,000 copies in Canada. But the bestseller for the press has been Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea by Ben Clanton, which has 90,000 copies in print. Our sales are up 41% in the U.S. this past year, Walker says. We attribute this to Narwhal. The sequel, Super Narwhal and Jelly Jolt was published this past summer; the third volume, Peanut Butter and Jelly, will be published in April 2018.

Other recent books of note are Miss Moon: Wise Words from a Dog Governess by Janet Hill and How to Make Friends with a Ghost by Rebecca Green. Green is a Nashville-based author/illustrator, Walker says. I came across her work in Flow magazine. We have sourced a lot of our illustrators that way. She has over 100,000 followers on Instagram, and, I think, the way the book is doneas a how-to guide to friendshipand with its sophistication, there is a lot of crossover appeal. Tundra has published an initial print-run of 10,000 copies for Greens book.

Forthcoming titles Walker is excited about include The Bad Mood and the Stick by Lemony Snickett, The Barnabus Project by the Fan Brothers, coming in 2019, and numerous board books and picture books inspired by L.M. Montgomerys Anne of Green Gables.

Anne has been really good to us in this anniversary yearshe has been a cornerstone of Canada 150 celebrations, Walker says. Under the Penguin Teen imprint, PRH Canada published Maud, a fictionalized version of the teen years of L.M. Montgomery, by Melanie Fishbane. The book has been doing really well in the U.S. as well, Walker adds. We really would like to become the go-to publisher for Anne books.

Anansi Memorializes Milestone with Beer and Books

In 2016, House of Anansi moved its offices from downtown Toronto to the hip Junction Triangle neighborhood, next door to the Henderson Brewing Co. and the eventual new home of the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art. This year, the publishing house is celebrating its 50th year with an anniversary beer. Our publishing house was born in 1967 over a couple of bottles of beer, says Sarah MacLachlan, president and publisher of House of Anansi. It was a couple of writers, Dennis Lee and David Godfrey, who sat down over a beer to sketch out an idea for a Canadian publishing company to publish contemporary Canadian voices. Since then, the company has gone on to publish a wide range of top writers, including Margaret Atwood, Roch Carrier, Lynn Crosbie, Rawi Hage, Sheila Heti, Michael Ondaatje, Lisa Moore, Al Purdy, and Zoe Whittall; several of them have had their book covers appear on one of 31 labels for commemorative beer produced by the brewery.

Weve repackaged 30 of our classic titles and called them the A-list,  MacLachlan says. We get 20% of our sales in the United States. And one title that we thought was perfect to reprint this year is A Manual for Draft Age Immigrants to Canada. The author, Mark Satin, originally wrote this in 1968 as a handbook for Americans who refused to serve as draftees in the Vietnam War and were considering immigrating to Canada. His afterward has some really amazing resonances given the time we are living in right now. The company has also produced a special edition of the poetry of company founder Dennis Lee.

For the fall, MacLachlan anticipates strong sales for a trio of titles: The Tobacconist by Robert Seethaler, trans. by Charlotte Collins, which MacLachlan presented at the American Bookseller Associations Winter Institute last January in Minneapolis.

In 2018, Anansi is looking to Kathryn Kemp-Griffins Paris Undressed, a guide to wearing lingerie, and Ian Hamiltons Imam of Tawi-Tawi to generate sales.

Dundurn Celebrates Its Sapphire Anniversary

Kirk Howard founded Dundurn Press, named after Dundurn Castle in Howards hometown of Hamilton, in 1972. Over four decades, the company has evolved into the most prolific and largest independent publisher in Canada, publishing a wide range of fiction, crime, translations, history, biography, young adult books, and more.

One of the real strengths that Dundurn has demonstrated over the years is that we are process oriented, says Margaret Bryant, director of sales and marketing. We recently completed workflow mapping, from acquisition to postpublication, and we ensure that each book gets maximum attention at every step we have tracked. We have an exit survey that authors get postpublication, and we keep them informed. It is a wonderful feeling knowing that we are doing such consistent work. The end result is that we are seen in the marketplace as a reliable and dependable partner.

Among several of the changes over the past year at Dundurn has been the addition of Scott Fraser as an acquiring editor. He was a popular field rep at a number of places and, as a sales person, he brings a different thought process to the type of acquisitions we are doing, which are proving a little more commercial, Bryant says.

She notes that many of Dundurns titles are finding customers abroad, including the Great Mistake Mystery series, about middle-grade boys with light anxiety, whose mistakes help them solve local mysteries. Another popular title has been A Daughters Deadly Deception by Jeremy Grimaldi, a true-crime story about a woman who hired contract killers to murder her parents, the hit only partially successful. We are looking at our week-after-week sales, and the e-book is selling all over the world, Bryant says.

Dundurn publishes 100 books per year and offers plenty of selection to book buyers. Among its highlights in the coming months are musician Ron Sexsmiths childrens picture book Deer Life: A Fairy Tale and Warren Kinsellas Recipe for Hate, a YA novel about a group of punk rock kids defeating a violent gang of neo-Nazis. We think this will resonate with readers, particularly after the events in Charlottesville, Va., earlier this year, Bryant says.

Return to the main feature.
Author Rupi Kaurs book Milk and Honey can only be described as a global phenomenon. The illustrated book of poetry began as a series of Tumblr posts, which migrated to Instagram, and were then self-published as a book in 2015, when the author was 23 years old. The rights were picked up by Andrews McMeel in the United States, and it was republished. With more than one million copies in print, the illustrated poetry book continues to be a bestseller in Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S. Foreign rights have been sold to China, Germany, Italy, South Korea, and Spain, among other countries.

Kaur, now 25, was born in India, but her family emigrated to Canada when she was four. She lives in Toronto and is prepping her next book, The Sun and Her Flowers, which is also to be published also by Andrews McMeel. The Canadian rights have been purchased by Simon & Schuster in Canada. We are printing 100,000 copies and fully expect this to be just as popular as the previous book, says Kevin Hanson, president and publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada.

Kaur isnt the only Canadian author of South Asian descent to hit it big at home and abroad. Lilly Singh got her start on YouTube, posting under the name IISuperwomanII, where shes attracted more than 12 million followers. Her book, How to Be a Bawse: A Guide to Conquering Life, was published in March and hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list for advice, how-to, and miscellaneous books. In Canada the book has sold 60,000 copies.

Initially, it was perceived as a YouTube book, which tend to go big and go home, says Brad Martin, CEO of Penguin Random House Canada. But this book has not been transitory. It continues to sell. It ticks over and over and over and over.

Why? I think it has an important message to tell, says Kristin Cochrane, president and publisher, Penguin Random House Canada. Its not just about celebrity, its about empowerment, and building confidence and self-esteem. The message is you will accomplish more by working hard than sitting home bingeing on Netflix.

Singhs media savvy has helped to promote the book, according to Cochrane We let her take over the Penguin Random House bookstore downstairs in our building and it was a phenomenon. We also took her back to her high school in Scarborough [outside Toronto] for an event, and the room was packed with girls and their mothers who are reading the book, too.

Singhs audience is about to grow even further as a result of her first major acting role, as a vlogger in HBOs adaptation of Ray Bradburys dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451.

That Kaur and Singh are both bestselling authors from the South Asian community in Canada may be more a coincidence than anything. But others from the community are making their mark in literary circles. Scaachi Kouls One Day We Will All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter was published earlier this year by Random House Canada. Koul, who together with Kaur is repped by Torontos the Cooke Agency, sold the book to Random House Canada while she was working at the company, writes poignant and humorous essays about the challenges of being the daughter of first-generation immigrants to Canada from India. The work has traveled, having sold in 10 territories around the world, including India.

The biggest challenge we face in publishing is globalization, so it is important that we can find books that resonate with readers here in Canada, as well as abroad, S&Ss Hanson notes. Because the Canadian story is itself still evolving, and our country has been so open to immigration and new voices, I think we as a country and a publishing culture are in the best position of anyone to provide that to the market.

Return to the main feature.
Four years after relaunching as an independent press in 2013following the bankruptcy of D&M Publishers, its parent companyGreystone Books is working hard to replicate the success of 2016s huge hit, The Hidden Life of Trees, by German environmentalist Peter Wohlleben, with its sequel, The Inner Life of Animals: Love, Grief, and CompassionSurprising Observations of a Hidden World.

The Vancouver publisher, known for its list of titles on the relationships between humans, nature, and the planet, is publishing the English-language edition in North America with a November 7 laydown date. (The German-language original will be released this month.) Due to strong preorders, the book is pubbing with a 70,000-copy initial print run, the largest in the history of the press. Following the model of his previous book, Wohlleben, a park ranger who manages a municipally owned woodland area in Hummel, Germany, explains how animals think and feel and why they behave the way they do, based on his own observations and the latest scientific discoveries.

The press has been promoting The Inner Life of Animals with a multipronged marketing push, beginning with placing 600 advance readers copies in the hands of key U.S. and Canadian booksellers. We hope booksellers will read it in advance and handsell it, said Jennifer Gauthier, Greystones director of sales and marketing. As an indie press, we depend on indie booksellers.

The presss marketing and publicity strategies include targeting both traditional media outlets and social media. As Gauthier explained, Were trying to follow a similar model to what we did with The Hidden Life of Trees. Preorders took off for Trees after the New York Times published a profile of Wohlleben nine months before its release date, and the book has sold about 250,000 copies in the U.S. Gauthier noted that social media also played a major role in the success of Trees, so with The Inner Life of Animals the press will share online tidbits from the book, little sound bites, including such facts as rabbits have a strict social hierarchy and ravens call each other by name.

The company is also collaborating on digital publicity efforts with Bodley Head, the Penguin U.K. imprint that is publishing the English-language edition in the U.K. in October. There are no borders on the internet when it comes to social media, Gauthier noted. Were working closely with them.

While Greystone focuses on the social media aspect of its marketing plan, it has hired Elizabeth Shreve of the Washington, D.C., firm Shreve Williams Public Relations to work with major print and television, radio, and digital media. She said that, although Greystones publicity team focused its efforts on outlets and reporters covering science and the environment when promoting Trees, for this book she is reaching out to more mainstream outlets and reporters covering a variety of beats.

Trees strike a chord with people in a different way than animals do, Shreve said. This book has the potential to reach an even larger readership than Trees did. So many people feel so strongly about animals. She added that she has booked an interview with the author on NPR and has interest from a national television program. In addition, Wohlleben will tour North America for a week in March, when he will visit the San Francisco Bay area, New York City, and Boston.
Authors of speculative fiction specialize in imagining alternate worlds. Increasingly, those writers are challenging the rules not only of reality, but of the genre itself.

For a long time, Tolkien-inspired epic fantasy has been the mainstay of what people think of when they think of the fantasy genre, says Priyanka Krishnan, associate editor at Harper Voyager. Now, she says, theres a unique opportunity to draw upon a way wider range of mythology, history, and traditions, and she hopes the genre will continue to diversify as publishing professionals realize that these books do sell and people do want these narratives.

Krishnan, who edited The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty (Nov.), an epic fantasy that mines Islamic history and mythology, is among those who stress the importance of reading books that step outside of genre conventions.

When we expand our reading to include cultures that were less familiar with, the shorthand that comes with the expected disappears, says Lee Harris, senior editor at Tor imprint

Tor.com. It makes the reading experience fresher, more exciting, more enticing. To that end, he says, Tor.com recently put out an open call for fantasy novellas that are not modeled on European cultures. The imprint will accept submissions during a three-month window that opens October 12.

Any books published as a result of the call will join a list that includes Binti: The Night Masquerade (Jan. 2018) by Nigerian-American author Nnedi Okorafor. The book concludes the trilogy she began in 2015 with the Hugo- and Nebula-winning novella Binti, in which the title character, a far-future descendent of the present-day Himba people of Namibia, defies her parents wishes and leaves home to attend an intergalactic university. The closing volume in the trilogy sees Binti return to her village amid the threat of tribal annihilation.

A divergent timeline offers another way of subverting the dominant narrative, by viewing the real world through a fun-house mirror. Vandana Singh reimagines her native Indias past in her forthcoming collection Ambiguity Machines (Small Beer, Feb. 2018), which PWs starred review praised for its delicate touch and passionately humanist sensibilities.

Hearing stories as a child about resistance to British rule, Singh says, I sometimes used to wonder how things might have been, had the British not been able to colonize India for so long.

In the world of her story A Handful of Rice, for example, the British Raj never took hold. The ruling monarch of India masters the art of prana vidya, an advanced yoga practice that aims to harness the bodys inner energies. He bans all others from studying it, allowing him to defeat his rivals while retaining eternal youth. The power structure of this alternate India, freed from the yoke of Western colonialism, rests on an ancient, homegrown meditation practice, rather than on technological superiority.

By making that single modificationa never-colonized IndiaSingh completely upends the world, leading to a different perspective on realities the reader may take for granted. In The Power (Little, Brown, Oct.), which PWs review called a stirring and mind-bending vision, Naomi Alderman grants women in the near future the ability to maim and kill with bursts of electricity, destabilizing gender relationships and giving women new leverage. The conceit has already struck a chord in the U.K., where in 2017 Alderman was awarded the Baileys Womens Prize for Fiction, the first for a work of science fiction.

City of Lost Fortunes by Bryan Camp (HMH/Adams, Apr. 2018) reaches into the recent past to imagine a post-Katrina New Orleans in which Egyptian gods, voodoo saints, vampires, and other characters from various mythologies mingle in a hybrid pantheon. Main character Jude is a street magician, born with a supernatural ability to locate lost things. When the hurricane struck, the sheer volume of lost lives and lost possessions overwhelmed his gift. Six years after the flood, Jude embarks on a quest to discover who murdered the god of Fortune, the patron saint of the recovering city.

John Joseph Adams, who edited the book and heads his eponymous imprint, says the book shows that, even in the modern world, myth can play the role it did for centuries: to make natures senseless destruction intelligible.

Even though we now understand scientifically how a hurricane happens, its this massive, massive event that is beyond our control, he says. Just because we have science, that doesnt put a damper on the value of contextualizing our world and life through myth.

Philip Pullman, with the His Dark Materials trilogy, drew on Western mythologythe series title comes from Miltons Paradise Lostto tell a story that spans parallel universes, including our own. The trilogy concluded with 2000s The Amber Spyglass, and now Pullman is launching a companion series with La Belle Sauvage (Knopf, Oct.; ages 14up). This first volume in the Book of Dust trilogy is set 10 years before His Dark Materials begins, and delves into as-yet-untold parts of series heroine Lyras story.

As a literary device, time travel can offer a fresh perspective not just for a character, but for the reader, providing commentary on the present.

Kari Maarens debut, Weave a Circle Round (Tor, Dec.), takes 14-year-old Freddy on a journey into the past and future with a pair of immortals, leading her to a profound destiny. PWs starred review called the book an ambitious, intricate, joyful coming-of-age tale.

In The Gone World by Tom Sweterlitsch (Putnam, Feb. 2018), time travel has existed secretly for years, with select members of the military granted access to the dangerous technology. The story begins in 1997, when obsessive NCIS agent Shannon Moss is struggling to solve a brutal murder. She visits various alternate futures looking for clues. In some timelines, she sees a world with vastly superior technology and medicine to our own; in others, she finds a heightened frequency of terrorist attacks and a United States entrenched in wars never fought in our reality.

Time Shards by Dana Fredsti and David Fitzgerald (Titan, Jan. 2018), first in a proposed series, takes time travel to a chaotic extreme. In the 23rd century, a cataclysm referred to as the Event smashes centuries of history into a mess of overlapping past, present, and future. San Diego native Amber Richardson ends up in an alternate 21st-century U.K. surrounded by Ice Age wilderness. While living in this alternate present, Amber works with other time refugees to repair their fractured world.

In her quest, Amber meets characters from all corners of history: a first-century Celt, lost Victorians, and a World War II British commando. As the authors researched these different periods, they found an emotional through line. There was no simpler time when things were great, Fitzgerald says. People have felt just like we feel throughout history. Things seem so dire now, but, in the big picture, people have been going through this all along.

That may be the closest thing to a happy ending that speculative fiction can offer in 2017: a sense of camaraderie across time and space, with humanity unified by a timeless struggle to survive natural disasters and our own worst impulses.

Return to the main feature.
Two hundred years after Mary Shelley dreamed Frankensteins monster into being, spawning a tale that may be read in many waysas a warning against scientific hubris, or an admonition to take responsibility for ones actionshorror novels continue to scare readers silly while offering a perverse brand of comfort.

Were dealing with a lot of tumultuous situations across our own country and across the globe, says Courtney Miller, editorial director at Amazons Skyscape, 47North, and Jet City Comics imprints. Literature can provide a reflection of that, but also a safe place to explore that darknessbecause it can be confined within the pages of a book and not splashed across news headlines.

Heres a look at 47Norths The King of Bones and Ashes and other forthcoming books that plumb the depth of our nightmares: the aftermath of natural disasters, the bloody toll of war, and other dark chapters of history.

Glimpse

Jonathan Maberry (St. Martins, Apr. 2018)

The Bram Stoker Awardwinning author returns with the story of Rain, a recovering drug addict who discovers a pair of glasses that offer a window into an alternate reality. She sees a boy being pursued by a terrifying boogeyman and believes he may be her long-lost son: when Rain was a teenager, her first love died while serving in Iraq, and she put their baby up for adoption. She struggles to maintain a grip on reality while trying to uncover the truth about the visions.

The King of Bones and Ashes

J.D. Horn (47North, Jan. 2018)

In this dark fantasy, which launches the Witches of New Orleans series, Alice Martin loses her home in the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina and struggles to preserve the legacy of her fellow witches in a menacing world.

I Am the River

T.E. Grau (Lethe, Feb. 2018)

Grau probes the legacy of the Vietnam War through the story of Israel, an American soldier who terrorized the North Vietnamese in a top-secret psychological warfare operation. Returning home, the veteran grapples with post-traumatic stress and crippling guilt about his actions during the war. The author debuted with the 2015 short story collection The Nameless Dark, which was nominated for a Shirley Jackson Award.

Strange Weather

Joe Hill (Morrow, Oct.)

The author, most recently, of the postapocalyptic novel The Fireman offers a quartet of novellas that PWs review said have powerful emotional and political resonance. Scenarios and subjects include a rainstorm of crystal shards, a camera that steals memories, a parachutist stranded in the clouds, and a security guard who loses his mind in the media spotlight.

Witch Creek

Laura Bickle (Harper Voyager, Feb. 2018)

Bickle continues her Wildlands series starring Petra Dee, an alchemists daughter living in contemporary small-town Wyoming, where she battles wraiths, monstrous snakes, and other occult beasts. In this installment, Petra faces a cancer diagnosis as well as a flesh-eating sea creature that an old enemy has summoned. The series began with two e-books and made its print debut with 2016s Nine of Stars, which earned a starred review from PW.

Return to the main feature.
In contrast with some of his fellow speculative fiction authors, NASA physicist Les Johnson is hopeful about the future of humanity. In terms of the quality of life of human beings on planet Earth, this is the best time in human history to be alive, he says.

He does worry that one major threatclimate changehas the potential to wreak havoc, causing food shortages, property destruction, human-driven extinctions, and population displacement. But hes taking the long view.

We tend to myopically focus on little problems and not look at the big picture, Johnson says. I have to be optimistic. I have to look at it and say, Yeah, these are problems weve got to overcome, but the trend is in the right direction. 

Johnsons Mission to Methone (Baen, Feb. 2018) speculates that technology being developed today will make for a rosier future in 2065: solar sails allow journeys deeper into space, asteroid mining operations revolutionize industry, and artificial intelligence offers benevolent guidance.

Sam J. Miller offers a darker scenario in Blackfish City (Ecco, Apr. 2018)one in which the world has been completely reshaped by climate change. The gloomy vision includes millions of refugees, a deadly disease, and political inequality, but Ecco Books executive editor Zachary Wagman thinks the novel can absolutely give us hope. Amid its many tribulations in this flooded future, humanity is able to harness the power of geothermal energy and nanotechnology.

Wagman looks to speculative fiction for these kinds of solutions, because science fiction writers, he says, can so clearly visualize a future that illustrates possible answers. Here, a look at forthcoming titles that explore how our lives might change for the betteror for much, much worse.

Above the Timberline

Gregory Manchess (Saga, Oct.)

Manchess has painted scores of book covers, a portrait of Abraham Lincoln for his presidential library, and a Mark Twain stamp. Now, the illustrator delivers his first novel (with more than 100 pages of artwork) set in a future in which climate change produced a global snowstorm that lasted for 1,500 years. In this devastated world, Wes Singleton is searching for his father, an explorer lost during an expedition to find a city buried beneath the snowfall.

Artemis

Andy Weir (Crown, Nov.)

Weir follows up his 2014 blockbuster The Martian with another story of the near future. Jazz Bashara, a smuggler living in Artemis, Earths only city on the moon, joins a heist plot and becomes enmeshed in a conspiracy that could determine the lunar citys fate. PWs starred review said the novels sophisticated worldbuilding incorporates politics and economics, as well as scientifically plausible ways for a small city to function on the lunar surface, adding that the independent, wisecracking lead could easily sustain a series.

Blackfish City

Sam J. Miller (Ecco, Apr. 2018)

Rising sea levels and climate change have led to a series of disasters: the U.S. government has fallen, water wars ravage Asia, and the internet has been destroyed by a wave of computer viruses. Some refugees have settled in Qaanaaq, a city built at the heart of the melted Arctic Circle and now plagued by crime, corruption, and civil unrest. Four people at the fringes of society find their lives changed when a mysterious woman named Masaaraq arrives.

Mission to Methone

Les Johnson (Baen, Feb. 2018)

In 2065, a researcher scouting locations for a space mining operation discovers that a spaceship containing an alien artificial intelligence has been orbiting our solar system for many years. The ship serves as an advance scout in an intergalactic war, and sends Earth an urgent message to head to Methone, a tiny moon near Saturn.

The One

John Marrs (Hanover Square, Feb. 2018)

Marrs takes the ubiquity of dating apps, adds the science of genetics, and conjures a near future in which a DNA test can locate ones soul mate. The book follows five characters who have each taken the test, among them Ellie, a high-powered London businesswoman who discovers her soul mate is an average-sounding man living in a provincial town, and Christopher, a calculating serial killer who believes in true love.

Return to the main feature.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  A Purdue University professor of electrical and computer engineering and a recent Ph.D. graduate have found a way to make smaller, more efficient motor drive systems for hybrid and electric cars, trucks, trains, ships and aircraft.

Oleg Wasynczuk, a professor in Purdues School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Minyu Cai have designed an improved power inverter that can be used to convert direct current electricity from a battery, fuel cell or other source into alternating current to power a motor.

Conventional power inverter technologies require passive filters to protect motors from side effects due to high voltage edge rates (dv/dt). However, the filters increased power loss, weight and overall volume. The Purdue researchers developed a circuit, entitled auxiliary resonant soft-edge pole (ARSEP), to control the dv/dt using a mechanism called soft-switching, which eliminates the need for a filter and further reduces power loss.

High dv/dt can cause over voltages at motor or inverter terminals, electromagnetic interference and failure of motor bearings because of micro-arcs. These effects lead to shorter motor life times, said Cai, who received his Ph.D. from Purdue in electrical and computer engineering this year. Our technology can reduce the dv/dt at a much lower cost than passive filters.

Instead of adding passive filters, which are conducting all the time, the researchers ARSEP circuit augments an inverter with auxiliary circuits that are active only during voltage transitions.

The auxiliary circuits are only active for short time periods, Cai said, Therefore, the average current going through the circuits are small, which results in lower power loss and smaller components.

The ARSEP circuit not only generates less loss than passive filters, it also can reduce the loss in the inverter main circuit through soft-switching.

Soft-switching eliminates switching losses to almost negligible levels, Wasynczuk said. So you are able to achieve a better efficiency compared to the current state of the art.

Cai and Wasynczuk have built a prototype of the ARSEP inverter with funding from the Department of Energy. In an 800-watt case study, the ARSEP circuit was 45 percent lighter, and occupied 61 percent less volume than a passive filter. The overall system loss was reduced by 20 percent.

That is a significant improvement, Wasynczuk said. Now we want to show its commercially viable.

Virtually all variable-speed motor drive systems, such as those used in hybrid or electric vehicles, and grid-connected renewable generators, such as solar and wind, use inverters. This new technology has wide applications and it can be integrated into existing inverters. The researchers are hoping automakers, truck manufacturers, makers of trains, ships and aircraft, and other industries, such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning, and solar power companies will be interested in working with them to further develop the inverter.

They say even with current considerations to ease fuel economy standards for automobiles and trucks, an improved inverter will still be sought by U.S. and global automakers.

There are still incentives to electrify, Wasynczuk said.

Wasynczuk said other nations are seeking to phase out production and sale of gasoline and diesel vehicles. Among those nations and the years they plan to stop sales of fossil-fueled-powered vehicles are Norway (2025), India (2030), France (2040), Britain (2040) and the Netherlands (2040). China also has announced plans to limit carbon emissions by 2030, putting fossil-fueled vehicles in the target.

Wasynczuk and Cai have filed for a provisional patent for the inverter through Purdues Office of Technology Commercialization.

About Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization

The Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization operates one of the most comprehensive technology transfer programs among leading research universities in the U.S. Services provided by this office support the economic development initiatives of Purdue University and benefit the university's academic activities. The office is managed by the Purdue Research Foundation, which received the 2016 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Innovation from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org. For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at innovation@prf.org.

Purdue Research Foundation contact: Tom Coyne, 765-588-1044, tjcoyne@prf.org



Source: Oleg Wasynczuk, 765-494-3475, wasynczuk@ecn.purdue.edu
There are many reasons to believe that the health challenges of the coming decades will look significantly different from those faced today.

Demographic changes, technological advances, and socioeconomic and environmental developments are expected to shape  and in some cases transform  the health and social care landscape of the future. With this in mind, many pieces of research are being launched that investigate what health could look like in the future.

Longer Lives, Bigger Health Burdens

In January 2017, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) commissioned RAND Europe to ask 300 experts from across the health and science fields about their views on the likely health challenges in England in 20 to 30 years' time, and how they might differ from those today. One stark finding was that despite living longer, people will not necessarily be in better health. In the coming decades, England will comprise an increasingly ageing population suffering from even more complex illnesses. Compounding this will be the rising influence of unhealthy lifestyle choices, the burden of mental ill-health, and the threat of infectious disease, in part due to antimicrobial resistance.

Together, these trends present a host of challenges, not just for the healthcare system, but also for society more widely. How can all members of society be empowered to take control of their health? How should a sustainable health system be secured? How should the UK prepare for a potential infectious disease pandemic?

From the survey, it was clear that stakeholders differed in their views on the importance of these questions, and the best approach to managing their emergence in the coming decades. The expected increases in life expectancy together with increasingly complex physical and mental illnesses will continue to exert huge pressures on health systems.

Health and social care could be better integrated, with increased collaboration to manage patients with multiple, complex illnesses.

To respond to these challenges, survey respondents stressed the urgent need to introduce new models of care. For example, health and social care could be better integrated, with increased collaboration, both among health and social care professionals and between different health disciplines, to manage patients with multiple, complex illnesses. Fortunately, many efforts are already underway to achieve this more integrated care.

Innovation and Efficiency, but at What Price?

Respondents also anticipated that advances in science and technology will have a significant impact on future health and care. Developments in digital technology, such as artificial intelligence and digital apps, are expected to enable more patients to self-manage their health at home. Advances in genomics and personalised medicine, as well as the enhanced use of patient and public data, could hold transformative potential for prevention, diagnostics and treatment. It is hoped that these innovations will help to achieve better health outcomes and more efficient care.

However, not all respondents welcome these developments. Some question the degree to which personalised approaches could be widely implemented in the NHS in the near future. Others question the transformative potential of technology. Indeed, there were concerns that the focus on costly technologies over prevention and public health could serve to widen inequalities in health outcomes.

There is a real danger that those most in need of these innovations stand to lose out.

There is a real danger that those most in need of these innovations stand to lose out. If all members of society are to benefit, active steps should be taken to ensure access for specific population groups, such as older people, those less well-educated or the unemployed. The future clearly presents many opportunities, such as exciting technological and scientific developments that promise to transform health and care, but a range of challenges also exist.

In order for all of society to benefit from future innovations, the social determinants of health inequalities need to be addressed. Therefore, more work is required to ensure the fair and effective uptake and spread of health innovations in the NHS, including advances in technology and genomics.

Using these innovations effectively and fairly to help support an ageing population that is less healthy and more at risk to many different health conditions is likely to be key in the future.

Camilla d'Angelo is an analyst at RAND Europe. She was one of the lead authors of the Future of Health study.

This commentary originally appeared on Health Service Journal on October 3, 2017. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
People of all ages and artistic abilities came together over the weekend to take part in a Puppet Jam in preparation for the eighth annual Viroqua Harvest Parade, which takes place Saturday, Oct. 14, at 2 p.m.

Puppet and costume building was held at the Ark Center for the Arts Saturday and Sunday.

Lucille Ivers was working in a small room in The Arks basement Saturday morning.

I am working on a character piece, Ivers said, as she worked with strips of corrugated cardboard. Its part forest and part ocean. I like the water and the woods. (Right now) I am measuring the lower hemisphere for the eyes.

Originally from Flint, Michigan, Ivers has been traveling between Michigan, Arizona and Wisconsin for the past year-and-a-half, and was in Viroqua for a short while before going to Colorado to work with horses.

Carla Schwingler, a boarding student at Youth Initiative High School, took advantage of Saturdays pleasant weather and worked outside on the lawn, painting a fish that will be worn over a persons head for the Harvest Parade.

Schwingler, who is from Berlin, Germany, said she is one of about 10 students who are taking an afternoon elective at YIHS called Parade Art. The students will march in the parade with their creations.

I think well have a couple children walking with us also, she said.

Schwingler said their creations have a water theme and include dragonflies, fish and a frog.

Schwingler chose to take the Parade Art class because of the creativity it offered.

It seemed the most interesting and I could work with my creativity and build something from nothing, she said.

The Viroqua Harvest Parade is held every year to celebrate the harvest and the regional history of farming and agriculture. The parade is a human-powered large-scale puppet parade and is open to all ages to either be in the parade or watch it.

Children and adults who wish to be in the parade should come to The Ark, 401 E. Jefferson St., on parade day by 1 p.m. There will be extra costumes available at The Ark  or they can bring their own harvest-themed costumes.

The parade route will begin at The Ark and travel down Washington Street toward Terhune Street then along Main Street and into Eckhart Park via Court Street. The Harvest Celebration then continues at the park with local food vendors, a variety of musical performances, and concludes with a performance by the Driftless Fire Tribe at dusk.

For more information or to get involved, call Denise Semanchin at 608-637-2606. Information about the parade can also be found at www.facebook.com/viroquaharvest.
Body cameras for the Mooresville Police Department have arrived. Find out when they will be used.
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection is accepting nominations for three seats on the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board. Producers who grow and sell corn in Districts 3, 5 and 6 are eligible to nominate producers or to be nominated to the board.

The Department will accept nominations through Nov. 1. Producers who grow and sell corn in the following counties are eligible to nominate a producer or to be nominated:

 District 3: Forest, Florence, Marinette, Langlade, Oconto, Shawano, Door, Outagamie, Brown, Kewaunee, Winnebago, Calumet, Manitowoc, Fond du Lac, and Sheboygan counties.

 District 5: LaCrosse, Vernon, Crawford, Richland, Grant, Iowa, and Lafayette counties.

 District 6: Sauk and Dane counties.

A completed nomination form must include the signatures of five eligible corn growers other than the nominee. Completed forms must also be notarized.

DATCPs Market Order Coordinator will mail nomination forms to any producer who requests one prior to November 1, 2017. Contact Debbie Gegare, Market Order Coordinator at 608-224-5116 or at DATCPMarketOrders@Wisconsin.gov.

Nomination forms also may be downloaded from datcp.wi.gov/ /About/Boards_and_Councils/Marketing_Boards. Click on the corn link.

Mail completed forms to WI DATCP, DAD, P.O. Box 8911, Madison, WI 53708-8911. DATCP will conduct the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board election from Dec. 15, through Jan. 10. Elected growers will serve three-year terms beginning Feb. 1, 2018.

Learn more about the Wisconsin Corn Promotion Board at wicorn.org.
A new law targeting the legacy of Polands Soviet-dominated past requires the removal of monuments that glorify communism. The legislation has reignited a long-simmering debate in Poland, and prompted threats of a harsh response from Russia.

A monument in the center of Brzeg dedicated to Polish-Soviet brotherhood. The law, which builds on previous decommunization efforts, comes into force in late October and calls for more than 200 monuments that symbolize or propagate totalitarian regimes to be removed from Polands streets. But while this monument will almost certainly be dismantled, there are several exceptions to the law, and much uncertainty.

Red Army soldiers immortalized in shining steel in Dabrowa Gornicza. Support for the legislation depends on the region, the town, and even the individual monuments in question. Authorities in Dabrowa Gornicza have spoken out against the law and will reportedly hire archaeologists to search for human remains, which could legally protect several of the citys Soviet monuments.

This column in Stargard, which had its crowning communist star cut off in 2016, is reportedly slated for demolition as soon as the law comes into force. The column is dedicated to the Red Armys victory over Nazi forces in World War II, a highly contentious topic in Poland.

Trapped By History

In 1939, after a secret pact was made between the U.S.S.R. and Nazi Germany to divide Poland, their respective armies invaded. Two years later, the two totalitarian regimes turned against each other and the Soviet Army ultimately lost an estimated 600,000 soldiers pushing Nazi forces back across Polish soil. Russia views the fighting as a liberation, while Poland today marks the Red Army advance as the start of nearly 50 years of Soviet occupation. Polands Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), which was established by parliament in 1998 to address crimes against the Polish nation during the Soviet and Nazi occupations of the country, says around 150,000 Poles were killed under Soviet rule.

Former IPN President Lukasz Kaminski, who oversaw the creation of the monument legislation, told RFE/RL: Actually, the first wave of changing street names and removal of soviet monuments was in the early 90s. If we want to build some basis for our future history we need to finish it. It was our mistake that we didnt do it completely in the 90s, and thats why we need to finish it now.(Photo: EPA)

In September, Kornel Morawiecki, a leading member of Polands anti-Soviet resistance movement in the 1980s, wrote a widely published article saying Red Army memorials shouldnt be touched. They were not criminals, at least not in large part. They fought heroically. And compared to German crimes, Soviet crimes were smaller. According to the IPN, more than 5 million Poles, around half of them Jewish, were killed as a result of the Nazi occupation. (Photo: Konrad Wereszczynski)

A Soviet-era statue to a violinist in Poznan. Soviet monuments considered to serve a solely artistic role are exempt from the new law.

Inside the Cemetery of Soviet soldiers in Bielsko-Biala. Monuments like this, in cemeteries or over burial grounds, are also protected, but the definition of what constitutes a burial ground is open to some interpretation.

A mausoleum in Trzcianka, photographed in 2009, that once held the bodies of 56 Soviet soldiers. Poland says the soldiers remains were relocated in the 1950s, a claim Russia contests. (Photo: Pawel Marynowski)

This photo captured the mausoleum's demolition in September. Russia's Foreign Ministry has described the destruction as "akin to barbarism," and says there is no proof the bodies were ever exhumed.

A memorial to Soviet soldiers who died fighting in Warsaw. Although the IPN earlier compiled a blacklist of Soviet street names, no definitive list of banned monuments has been made.

A statue to Soviet-Polish General Zygmunt Berling in Warsaw. An official in Warsaws city council told RFE/RL they had no plans to remove their Soviet monuments, but said the provincial authorities, which are more closely aligned to Polands governing party, can overrule their decision. Polish Prime Minister Beata Szydlo has pledged her governments full support for the new law.

A monument in Dabie to Soviet and Polish fighters who died in the spring of 1945. A 2007 poll conducted by a national newspaper in Poland showed around 57 percent of respondents were against the removal of Soviet monuments. But Polish attitudes toward Moscow have hardened significantly since Russia's 2014 annexation of neighboring Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula.

A battle-scarred tank in Gliwice that fought as part of the Soviet-backed Polish Peoples Army. Following World War II the Polish Peoples Army was discredited after being used to violently suppress anti-Soviet protests.

A statue dedicated to the Polish Peoples Army in Piotrkow Trybunalski. A local nationalist group has campaigned for its removal. How do we teach our children the true story of our nation when we see a memorial to our tormentor every day, it asks.

A monument to Red Army Soldiers who were imprisoned by Nazis in the village of Starzynski Dwor. A local told RFE/RL that villagers would physically prevent any attempt to remove the monument. At night the war-weary soldier glows under a specially placed floodlight.

A regularly vandalized Red Army monument set in the branches of a weeping willow in Czechowice-Dziedzice. Russian commentators have dubbed those behind the law the Taliban of Europe, a comparison that former IPN President Lukasz Kaminski rejects. Our plan was not to destroy the monuments like the Taliban did, but to collect them in a special museum to show them as a sign of Soviet domination of Poland for future generations.

A monument to Soviet-Polish brotherhood in Slubice. The IPN has designated an existing Cold War museum in Podborsko, northern Poland, as the site where the monuments will be exhibited.

A vandalized monument to the Red Army in Katowice. Russia has expressed its outrage at the new law, citing a 1994 bilateral treaty the countries signed that guaranteed the protection of war memorials. Poland says the treaty only applies to monuments erected over human remains. Russian Foreign Ministry officials have vowed asymmetric retaliation if Soviet memorials are touched.
Iranian women's rights campaigner Negin Shiraghaei has called on fans attending World Cup soccer games to chant the name of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old who died in September while in police custody over how she was wearing a head scarf.

"In memory of Mahsa, we will turn football matches into a stage of revolutionary attendance. In the 22nd minute of each match we will shout her name," Shiraghaei, an Iranian activist, entrepreneur, and a former news presenter and journalist for the BBC World Service, said in a tweet posted on November 10.

The World Cup, which is being hosted by the Middle Eastern country of Qatar, starts in 10 days and runs until December 18. Iran is one of the 32 nations participating in the tournament, and is in a group with the United States, Wales, and England in the opening stage.

Early on November 11, Sepp Blatter, the former head of world soccer's governing body, FIFA, was quoted by the Blick tabloid as saying that Iran should be excluded from the tournament and would have been if he was still in charge of the organization.

While officials say Amini died of natural causes on September 16, eyewitnesses and her family say she was beaten while in the custody of the morality police in Tehran after being detained for allegedly wearing a hijab improperly.

Amini's death has laid bare anger in Iran over the lack of women's rights and curbs on freedoms in general.

Since her death in September, Iranians have flooded streets across the country in protest, with women and even schoolgirls making unprecedented shows of support in the biggest threat to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution.

The government has blamed Western governments for the unrest and has responded to the protests with a bloody crackdown that human rights groups say has left more than 300 dead and hundreds more injured.

Thousands of protesters have been arrested and officials have called for harsh penalties -- including the death sentence -- for offenders.

But the threats have failed to slow the broadening of the demonstrations and many athletes and celebrities have been at the forefront of voicing their anger over the government's actions.

The latest appears to be archer Parmida Ghasemi, who is seen in a video trending on social media where she receives a medal after a competition without a head scarf on. The video could not be independently verified.

Last month, climbing champion Elnaz Rekabi sparked a controversy by competing in the Asian Championships in Seoul without a head scarf.

Amid reports that she had gone missing, Rekabi surfaced to say she had "inadvertently" competed without a hijab and that it was unintentional. Still, Rekabi's supporters have expressed concerns about her safety after her return to Iran following the competition.
The United States has imposed sanctions on a network of entities and individuals that it says are involved in supplying Russia with military technology to use in its war against Ukraine.

The Treasury said in a statement on November 14 that the sanctions targeted a "transnational network procuring technology that supports the Russian military-industrial complex."

In addition, it also designated a global network of financial facilitators, enablers, and others associated with two key Kremlin-linked elites whose fortunes are intertwined with the West. In all, the actions designated 14 individuals and 28 entities, and identified eight aircraft as blocked property.

Washington has targeted sanctions at major military industrial firms in Russia and made moves to cut off exports of U.S.-made components and U.S. technologies that have been used in some of Russia's military hardware.

This has pushed the Kremlin to seek other military suppliers such as Iran, which has supplied Moscow with drones that are said to be part of Russia's barrage of air attacks on cities across Ukraine in recent weeks.

"The United States will continue to expose and disrupt the Kremlin's military supply chains and deny Russia the equipment and technology it needs to wage its illegal war against Ukraine," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement.

"Today's actions demonstrate Treasury's steadfast commitment to targeting people around the world aiding [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's war effort and the crony elites who bankroll his regime. Together with our broad coalition of partners, we will continue to use our sanctions and export controls to weaken Russia's military on the battlefield and cut into the revenue Putin is using to fund his brutal invasion."

Milandr, a Russian microelectronics company that the United States says is part of Moscow's military research and development structure, was placed on the list, as well as three entities tied to the company and several company executives.

The sanctions also targeted the family of billionaire oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, who was already placed on the list in September, and a network of people around businesses he is linked to.

Kerimov, a trained economist who made a career investing in distressed companies in Russia, is considered to have close ties with Putin.

In May, Fiji seized a $300 million yacht he owns at the request of the United States. It is now impounded in San Diego, California.

The sanctions target Kerimov's wife, children, and a nephew, four French real estate firms controlled by one of his daughters, and several Swiss nationals linked to Kerimov's companies.

Among them is Swiss national Alexander-Walter Studhalter, who was placed under sanctions along with Russian businessman Murat Aliyev for their involvement in more than a dozen companies in Kerimov's financial network, according to the Treasury Department.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described Studhalter as "a key player in Kerimov's financial network." Blinken said he was designated along with eight Studhalter-linked entities across five European countries and two of Kerimov's adult sons who hold leadership positions in their father's companies.

In addition, the Treasury Department placed a block on eight small jet aircraft it said were luxury planes used by Kerimov's family, leaving them potentially vulnerable to seizure.

The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets belonging to the foundation and generally bars Americans from dealing with it. Those dealing in certain transactions with the foundation also risk sanctions.

In response to Moscow's unprovoked war against Ukraine, the United States will continue to disrupt Russia's military supply chains and impose high costs on President Putin's enablers, it said, as well as all those who support Russia's brutality against its neighbor.
MOSCOW -- A Russian court rejected Aleksei Navalny's appeal against a 20-day jail term, and police searched his Moscow presidential campaign office as the Kremlin foe urged supporters to protest nationwide on October 7.

In an October 6 ruling, the Moscow City Court upheld a lower court's decision to jail Navalny for violating the law by making public calls for unsanctioned rallies.

Minutes after the ruling was pronounced, police came to Navalny's campaign office in the capital with a search warrant, supporters said on Twitter.

The police told campaign office staff that the search was connected to an investigation opened after the head of Navalny's Moscow campaign office, Nikolai Lyaskin, was beaten by an assailant wielding a metal pipe on September 15.

The court ruling, which was expected, means that Navalny will remain in jail during protests on October 7, President Vladimir Putin's 65th birthday.

"I understand perfectly well that that [the Kremlin] needs me to be locked up as much as possible and particularly on October 7," Navalny's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, was quoted as saying in court.

Navalny has called on Russians to demonstrate in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and other cities nationwide, demanding that the government allow real political competition and let him run in the March 2018 presidential election.

"We have held several [campaign] rallies...and all have them have been peaceful and fully in line with the law," Navalny said, contending that his jailing was "politically motivated."

Navalny is a fierce critic of Putin, who has held power as prime minister or president since 1999 and is expected to seek a new six-year term in the vote. Putin is virtually assured of victory as the tightly-controlled political system leaves little room for surprises.

A 41-year-old lawyer who has produced numerous reports alleging corruption among key Putin allies, Navalny has opened more than 60 campaign offices and held rallies nationwide since announcing in December that he plans to seek the presidency.

Barred From Running

In June, however, the Central Election Commission said that Navalny was ineligible to run for public office because of a financial-crimes conviction in one of two high-profile cases that he contests were fabricated by the Kremlin for political reasons.

Navalny has pushed ahead with his campaign in defiance of that decision, holding a series of rallies in recent weeks.

The 20-day jail term came after he was detained outside his Moscow home on September 29 as he left to catch a train for the Volga River city of Nizhny Novgorod, where he had organized a rally that evening.

Ahead of the planned protests on October 7, Russian authorities have issued warnings against holding demonstrations without permission from the authorities.

"Public calls for unsanctioned rallies and meetings are illegal...and therefore organizers of such events will be prosecuted," Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters on October 3.

Prosecutors in St. Petersburg, Putin's hometown, said on October 6 that "any attempts to conduct unsanctioned [demonstrations] are a direct violation of the law,"

Kremlin opponents and human rights activists say the government frequently violates the constitutional right to free assembly when it withholds permission for demonstrations or places restrictions on where and when they can be held.

On the eve of the planned protests, veteran activist Lyudmila Alekseyeva called on the authorities to abide by Russia's constitution and its international human rights commitments.

"The freedom of peaceful assembly as a fundamental human right lies at the foundation of the functioning of any democratic state," Alekseyeva said in a blog post on the website of radio station Ekho Moskvy.

"We demand adherence to the Constitution and call on all fellow citizens to actively defend their right to hold peaceful gatherings," said Alekseyeva, 90, who heads the Moscow Helsinki Group.

With reporting by Fontanka and RIA
BRUSSELS -- Spanish politician Pedro Agramunt has announced his resignation as president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

His resignation on October 6 came just three days before the assembly was due to vote on his dismissal.

The motion was scheduled after Agramunt joined Russian lawmakers on a trip to Syria to meet President Bashar al-Assad earlier this year.

"Today, for personal reasons, I have decided to no longer chair the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe," Agramunt wrote on Twitter.

Agramunt, president of PACE since January 2016, was stripped of his leadership powers at a session in April.

He claimed to have traveled to Syria in his capacity as a Spanish senator and said he had first traveled to Moscow before boarding a Russian plane to the Syrian capital, Damascus.

Agramunt, widely regarded as pro-Russian, has worked to bring Moscow back into the fold of the assembly after its delegation was stripped of its voting rights in 2014.

Russia has since boycotted PACE meetings and did not register a delegation for the current assembly session that began in January.

Following Agramunts resignation, the vice president of the assembly, British conservative Sir Roger Gale, automatically becomes acting president.

Agramunt will remain a member of the Spanish delegation at PACE.

With reporting by Rikard Jozwiak in Brussels


He's lorded over the Kremlin for more than 17 years.

He's crafted an image as Russia's indispensable man.

And few doubt that he will seek and win a fourth term as president in March.

But Vladimir Putin turns 65 this weekend and the growing sense in Moscow is that his next term will be his last.

So what happens if Russia's irreplaceable man becomes the Kremlin's lame duck?

On this week's Power Vertical Podcast, we look at the next phase of the Putin era and the potential for clan warfare as the elite prepares for what comes next.

Joining me will be veteran journalist Kiryl Sukhotski, executive editor for Current Time TV, the Russian-language network run by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA, and Mikhail Fishman, a political analyst and anchor at Dozhd-TV.

Also on the podcast, Kiryl, Mikhail, and I will look ahead to the protests opposition leader Aleksei Navalny has planned for Putin's birthday.

Enjoy...

Listen to or download the podcast above or subscribe to The Power Vertical Podcast on iTunes.
Russian authorities say a rash of anonymous bomb threats that have prompted mass evacuations is continuing.

Officials said that more than 1,500 people were evacuated from at least five schools in the capital, the Moscow Oblast legislature, and other buildings after about 30 anonymous bomb threats were received in about one hour on October 6.

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated from schools, malls, theaters, universities, hotels, and government buildings in cities nationwide amid a wave of anonymous bomb threats that began on September 10.

Bombs have not been discovered in any of the cases, and weeks of silence from among law enforcement authorities on possible suspects or motives prompted wide-ranging speculation.

Federal Security Service (FSB) Director Aleksandr Bortnikov said on October 5 that four Russian citizens suspected of organizing the wave of anonymous bomb threats had been identified.

Bortnikov said that the four suspects were living abroad and had accomplices inside Russia.

He did not name the suspects or say anything about a possible motive of what President Vladimir Putin's spokesman has called "telephone terrorism."

With reporting by TASS, Interfax, and RIA Novosti
Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny's election campaign chief, Leonid Volkov, has been sentenced to 20 days in jail, hours after an appeals court threw out an initial order for his incarceration.

The ruling came late on October 5 after Volkov was released when the Moscow City Court canceled the 20-day administrative custody order handed down by a lower court on October 2, but then was detained again later in the day.

In a late-evening Twitter post, Volkov wrote that a court ruled that he had called for Navalny's supporters to take part in an unsanctioned rally in central Moscow on October 7 and again sentenced him to 20 days in jail.

A lawyer for Volkov, Ivan Zhdanov, said earlier that the original case against him had been sent for reinvestigation by the authorities in the Volga River city of Nizhny Novgorod, where he was initially arrested.

Navalny and Volkov were found guilty of calling for an unsanctioned rally in Nizhny Novgorod in late September and sentenced to 20 days in jail, each by different courts in Moscow on October 2.

Navalny, a foe of President Vladimir Putin, is campaigning for Russia's March 2018 presidential election despite a statement from the Central Election Committee that he cannot run because of a conviction in a financial-crimes case he says was politically motivated.

Navalny and his supporters plan to hold protests across Russia on October 7, Putin's 65th birthday, in defiance of the Kremlin's warning that organizers of unsanctioned public gatherings will be prosecuted.

Putin is widely expected to seek and secure a new six-year term in the presidential election.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed the governor of the Novosibirsk Oblast, Vladimir Gorodetsky, pushing ahead with a reshuffle of regional leaders as the Kremlin gears up for the presidential election in March.

In a decree posted on the Kremlin website on October 7, Putin accepted Gorodetsky's resignation and appointed Andrei Travnikov -- until now the mayor of the western city of Vologda -- as acting governor of the large Siberian region.

The regional capital, also called Novosibirsk, is Russia's third-largest city, with a population of more than 1.5 million.

Gorodetsky is the fourth regional leader to be dismissed this week.

Since October 3, Putin has also replaced the heads of the North Caucasus region of Daghestan, Primorsky Krai in the Far East, and the western Oryol region.

In late September, the governors of the Russian regions of Nenets, Krasnoyarsk, Nizhny Novgorod, and Samara were replaced.

Russian media reports have attributed the regional political shake-up to preparations for next year's presidential election.

Putin is widely expected to seek and secure a fourth term, although he has not yet officially announced he will run in the March 2018 poll.

The Kremlin has relied on regional governors to secure predetermined levels of support for Putin in past elections that were heavily managed by Moscow.
Nina Maslyayeva, the bookkeeper of the drama collective Seventh Studio at the Moscow-based Gogol Center who has been in custody in connection with a high-profile embezzlement case, has been transferred to house arrest.

Maslyayeva has testified against Kirill Serebrennikov, a prominent Moscow theater figure who has protested against the government and been indicted on embezzlement charges.

A court in Moscow approved on October 6 a request by investigators to release Maslyayeva from detention and transfer her to house arrest after she gave statements "exposing other indicted persons."

Maslyayeva was arrested in May after investigators searched the Gogol Center theater and Serebrennikov's apartment. Former Seventh Studio director, Yury Itin, was also detained in May and later transferred to house arrest.

Serebrennikov, initially a witness in the case, was charged in August with organizing the embezzlement of 68 million rubles ($1.1 million) allocated during 2011-2014 for a project. He has since been under house arrest.

Former Gogol Center director Aleksei Malobrodsky was arrested in June and placed in pretrial detention.

Maslyayeva is the only indicted person in the case who pleaded guilty and made a deal with investigators.

Serebrennikov, a noted theater director in Moscow, has been known for taking part in antigovernment protests and voicing concern about the increasing influence of the Russian Orthodox Church in the country.

Prominent artists in Russia and elsewhere have expressed concern over the probe and have called for a transparent investigation.

Ballet great Mikhail Baryshnikov suggested in May that political motives were behind what he called the "repression" of an outspoken advocate of freedom.

Based on reporting by TASS and Interfax
A train has slammed into a bus carrying dozens of Uzbek passengers at a railway crossing east of Moscow, killing at least 16 people, officials said.

Regional police said the collision occurred at around 3:30 a.m. (0030 GMT/UTC) on October 6 near a train station close to the city of Vladimir, which is 190 kilometers east of the capital.

Kazakh Foreign Ministry spokesman Anuar Zhainakov said the bus, which reportedly had Kazakh license plates, was carrying 55 Uzbek passengers and two Kazakh drivers.

One of the drivers was among the dead, Zhainakov said on Facebook.

The Russian Investigative Committee at one point said that at least 19 people were killed but later put the toll at 16, including one child.

It said that other passengers were hospitalized and that the casualty count could change.

The regional Interior Ministry branch said the bus driver was trying to cross the tracks despite a red light.

The spokeswoman, Rita Shlyakhova, said that the bus broke down on the railroad crossing and that most of the passengers were asleep at the time.

"The driver yelled, and 34 people jumped out of the bus to push it," RIA Novosti quoted Shlyakhova as saying. "They survived. Those who stayed in the bus died. It was literally torn apart."

Photographs showed the badly mangled white bus, its front section totally destroyed, and debris strewn across the tracks.

Officials said its passengers were returning to Uzbekistan from the Moscow region when the crash occurred.

Many people from Uzbekistan and other former Soviet republics in Central Asia come to Russia to look for work.

Police said nobody aboard the train, which was traveling from St. Petersburg to Nizhny Novgorod, was killed.

Road accidents are common in Russia and death rates are high.

A bus carrying construction workers plunged off a pier in southern Russia on August 25, killing 19 people.

With reporting by TASS, Interfax, RIA Novosti, and dpa
The Kremlin has again warned that some U.S. media operations in Russia may be restricted in response to reported pressure on Russian state-funded outlets in the United States.

"Clearly, in the case of continued pressure, continued violation of the rights of our media to work unimpeded, I cannot rule out that actions will be taken in accordance with the principle of reciprocity," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on October 6.

Peskov's comments were the latest in a series of threats and complaints from Russian officials.

U.S. law enforcement agencies have been looking into the operations of at least two Russian media outlets -- the satellite TV channel RT and the news website Sputnik.

Funded by the Russian government, RT was accused in a U.S. intelligence report of being one of the primary ways by which the Kremlin sought to influence last years U.S. presidential election.

Since then, calls have grown in Washington to force RT and Sputnik to register under a 79-year-old law initially aimed at restricting Nazi propaganda. During the Soviet era, some Russian-language media, including the newspaper Pravda and the wire agency TASS, registered as foreign agents.

In recent weeks, U.S. investigators have interviewed former employees of the two Russian outlets and some of its business contractors, inquiring about RT and Sputniks editorial decision-making and management.

Last month, RT chief editor Margarita Simonyan said U.S. officials had ordered the channel to register under the foreign agent law, known as FARA.

The Justice Department, which oversees FARA, has repeatedly refused to either confirm or deny making such an order.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on October 5 that Russian law allowed for regulators to impose restrictions on either private or state media operations.

Peskov echoed those comments to reporters in Moscow.

"We find it worrisome in principle that our mass media are not allowed to work normally," Peskov said on October 6. "This is unacceptable. It is a violation of the freedom of speech."

Simonyan also told a Russian legislative committee on October 5 that employees were leaving the U.S. operation.

"There is another colossal negative effect we are having today. People are leaving us in droves," she was quoted by TASS as saying. "People are scared, people are afraid. It's difficult for us to find stringers in the United States now."

Andrei Klimov, a lawmaker in Russias upper house of parliament, said he and other lawmakers had appealed to unnamed government agencies asking for a "symmetrical response" to the reported pressure on RT.

In Russia, there are around 40 American mass media operations. In my personal opinion, as an expert, the discussion ought to be in the first place about such structures as Radio Svoboda, which broadcasts in Russian, Klimov was quoted as telling the news website Fontanka.ru.

Radio Svoboda is the Russian-language service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

At an October 6 hearing before the U.S. Helsinki Commission, a U.S. government agency charged with monitoring human rights abroad, RFE/RL President Thomas Kent said the company faced "severe restrictions" on TV and radio distribution in Russia.

"This despite the fact that Russian media distribute freely in the United States. Still, millions of Russians follow our content. Apparently, the authorities recognize our impact, because they're creating growing obstacles to our work," he said.

"And yet, despite the pressures, we continue to operate...with a bureau in Moscow and correspondents across the country. We have been through hard times before. We trust we will endure even through the latest trough in U.S.-Russian relations," he said.

Last week, Russias media regulator Roskomnadzor accused CNN of violations of the country's media law and summoned officials from the TV channel for discussion.

In its statement, Roskomnadzor did not say what breaches of Russian law CNN had allegedly made, but added it would continue "systematic monitoring" of foreign media outlets registered in Russia.

The regulator said it had given CNN until October 11 to rectify the violations.
Media reports say hackers backed by the Russian government stole highly sensitive U.S. espionage tools in 2015 after a U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) contractor placed the classified materials on his home computer.

U.S. authorities believe the alleged theft, first reported by The Wall Street Journal on October 5, may have been carried out by exploiting antivirus software made by the Moscow-based company Kaspersky Lab, several media outlets reported, citing unidentified sources.

Washington last month banned U.S. federal agencies from using Kaspersky products, citing alleged "ties between certain Kaspersky officials and Russian intelligence and other government agencies."

The Kremlin has condemned the ban, and company founder Eugene Kaspersky has repeatedly denied that his company, one of Russia's most successful technology firms, has links to Russian intelligence.

The reports on the alleged NSA theft said that the hack handed information to Russia on how the U.S. spy agency breaches foreign computer networks and defends itself against cyberattacks.

The NSA did not comment on the reports.

The NSA contractor, who has not been publicly identified, has been cooperating with U.S. federal authorities, the reports quoted unidentified sources as saying.

The reports could heighten tensions further between Russia and the United States, which accuses the Kremlin of directing a hacking and propaganda campaign aimed at influencing last year's presidential election. Moscow rejects the allegation.

Kaspersky Lab responded to The Wall Street Journal report in an October 5 statement, saying that it "has not been provided any evidence substantiating the company's involvement in the alleged incident."

"It is unfortunate that news coverage of unproven claims continue to perpetuate accusations about the company," it said, adding that the firm "does not have inappropriate ties to any government, including Russia."

"The only conclusion seems to be that Kaspersky Lab is caught in the middle of a geopolitical fight," the statement said.

The report triggered statements of concern from both Democratic and Republican senators.

U.S. Senator Ben Sasse (Republican-Nebraska), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said that if the report was true, "the NSA needs to get its head out of the sand and solve its contractor problem. Russia is a clear adversary in cyberspace and we can't afford these self-inflicted injuries."

Russia has granted asylum to former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who leaked a trove of classified U.S. documents on government surveillance in 2013.

U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (Democrat-New Hampshire), a top advocate in Congress for banning government use of Kaspersky Lab products, urged the Trump administration in an October 5 statement to declassify information about purported threats posed by the Russian firm.

"It's a disservice to the public and our national security to continue withholding this information," Shaheen said.

With reporting by The Wall Street Journal, NBC News, ABC News, Reuters, and AFP
It was dusk when the chain of explosions began, feeding a towering fireball that would force the evacuation of 30,000 locals and send 1,200 firefighters scrambling to the arms depot situated outside the central Ukrainian town of Kalynivka.

Miraculously, when the dust settled the next day it was revealed that only two people had been injured, and the facility that stored more than 200,000 tons of munitions no longer posed an immediate threat to the community.

But concerns about Ukraine's aging Soviet-era ammunition depots didn't go away after residents returned. Blasts have been reported at four ammo dumps in Ukraine in the past two years, raising fears about the stability of munitions, security, and sabotage as Kyiv continues to wage war with Russia-backed separatists in the east of the country.

More than a week after the dramatic events of September 26-27, Ukraine is still coming to grips with the scale of the Kalynivka explosion.

According to Ukrainian media reports, some 32,000 metric tons of artillery shells worth $800 million were destroyed in the chain of fires and explosions at the site.

By comparison, Ukrainian forces are estimated to have used some 24,000 metric tons of munitions during the fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Eerie Similarities

Kyiv classified the incident as sabotage.

A presidential adviser, Yuriy Biriukov, suggested on Facebook that a drone could have been used to touch off the explosions, noting: "We are at war."

It was eerily similar to a blast and blaze in March at another ammo dump in the town of Balaklia, near the city of Kharkiv.

Oleksandr Turchynov, the secretary of Ukraine's Security and Defense Council, said on September 28 that the two incidents together had dealt the deadliest blow to Ukraine's combat capability since the conflict with separatists in the east erupted in early 2014.

Over that time, Kyiv has blamed "saboteurs" for most of the incidents involving arms depots, suggesting Russia-backed separatists or Moscow itself.

Russia has longed denied playing any role in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, despite strong evidence to the contrary. Kyiv has provided no conclusive proof that any of the mishaps were directly caused by drones or other outside forces.

With skies overhead unguarded, the depots are seen as tantalizing targets for drones.

"On a number of occasions, starting in October 2015, incendiary drone attacks have been identified as taking place against Ukrainian arms depots as a component of Russian linked antimateriel operations," says Dr. Robert J. Bunker of the U.S. Army War College.

Ukraine's domestic intelligence service, the SBU, believes that a drone carrying a Russian thermite hand grenade caused the explosions at the Balaklia arms depot in March.

Some 70,000 metric tons of munitions were destroyed in the incident, with one person killed amid damage estimated at some $1 billion.

Balaklia, reported to be one of the world's largest ammunition dumps, had also been targeted in December 2015, when small drones were reported to have dropped 14 grenades on the site. The fire was put out by Ukrainian soldiers, and one grenade, a Russian ZMG-1, was recovered.

"This type of grenade would easily burn through such a facility roof with the hot molten, still-burning thermite mixture then igniting whatever cases of munitions that it came in contact with, setting off explosions throughout an arms depot," explains Bunker.

Situation 'Far From Ideal'

It wasn't the first suspected drone strike on an ammo dump in Ukraine. In October 2015, an attack on such a site near the town of Svatovo destroyed some 3,500 metric tons of explosives and damaged 1,700 nearby homes.

Biryukov has noted that explosions have not taken place where ammunition was stored in warehouses or bunkers.

Despite the heightened risk, Kyiv has been slow to react to upgrade security at the sites, many still stockpiled with obsolete weapons dating back to the Soviet era.

"The situation in Ukraine is far from ideal. The country had over a million tons of ammunition left over from the Cold War and Ukraine's military still doesn't understand it is not an asset, but a liability," said a senior UN weapons inspector who requested anonymity out of concern that revealing his identity could compromise his work.

Accidents at Ukraine's arms depots predate the current conflict.

Between 2003 and 2011, there were 10 "incidents" in Ukraine that left 22 dead and 111 injured, according to the Small Arms Survey.

Propellant used in projectiles is the main risk, according to the UN arms expert.

"It is inherently unstable. It reacts quickly. What they do to make it safe to store is that they add in stabilizers. But stabilizer over time is used up as it interacts with propellant. Once gone, it is a 'scientific inevitability' the propellant will eventually ignite. That sets off a chain reaction, leading to shells being set off, very rapidly, sending shells out, some as far as 20 kilometers out," the UN expert explains.

Mishaps Common Across Ex-U.S.S.R.

With Ukraine lacking proper storage facilities in some cases, some crates of ammunition are simply left out in the open, ratcheting up the risk of an accident.

"For many years, ammunition has been stored outdoors. This just doesn't make sense," says military expert Mikhail Zhirokhov.

Outside of some fencing, Kalynivka lacks other security systems, a problem common at Ukrainian ammo depots.

"Barbed wire, electrified fencing, camera surveillance, motion cameras, motion sensors; all these systems should be used," said Vadym Kodachigov, the president of the Association of Arms Manufacturers and Military Equipment of Ukraine.

Mishaps at ammunition sites across the former Soviet space are unfortunately all too common, according to the UN expert.

"You see 20 or 30 a year. Eventually it will stop when there are no shells left to react. In that time, how many lives will be lost?"

In June 2009, an arms depot on the outskirts of the Kazakh city of Almaty witnessed a series of late night explosions. One soldier was killed and dozens of civilians had to be evacuated.

In July 2008, an explosion at a military depot in Kogon, Uzbekistan, killed at least three people and injured 21.

In Samara, Russia, in 2013 more than 6,000 people were evacuated after a series of massive explosions at an arms depot. Since then, few similar disasters have been reported in the official Russian media. And that's not necessarily because Russia has cleaned up its arms depots.

"The [Russian] Ministry of Defense has tried to stop any inconvenient reports from getting out," explains Ruslan Leviev from the military think tank Conflict Intelligence Team.https://citeam.org/"Moreover, what has been written off in Russia [obsolete arms] now go to the Donbas [in eastern Ukraine] and Syria."

With material from RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service
KYIV -- A Ukrainian parliamentary debate on legislation addressing the conflict in the country's east was interrupted by scuffles and a smoke grenade that was tossed into the auditorium.

Despite the disruption, lawmakers gave approval on October 6 to two bills submitted by President Petro Poroshenko, whose government is fighting Russia-backed separatists in a war that has killed more than 10,000 people in eastern Ukraine since April 2014.

One of the bills sets out steps to restore Ukrainian sovereignty over separatist-held parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which border Russia, and the other is a bid to create "the conditions necessary for peaceful regulation" of the conflict.

Before votes in which the Verkhovna Rada approved the bills, opposition lawmakers scuffled with members of Poroshenko's party near the podium.

Minutes after the votes, Yuriy Levchenko of the nationalist Svoboda party threw a smoke grenade -- saying later that he did so "to protest the anticonstitutional move."

PHOTO GALLERY: Ukrainian Politics: The Greatest Hits (click image to open)

The first bill would define territory controlled by the separatists as "temporarily occupied," define Moscow's actions in those areas as "Russian aggression against Ukraine," and give the president the right to use the armed forces to restore control.

It would also give UN Security Council resolutions precedence over the February 2015 deal on a cease-fire and steps toward peace known as the Minsk agreement.

The second bill would prolong, by a year, the legal force of a 2014 law on self-governing structures in the separatist-held areas.

Lawmakers from the People's Front, Batkivshchyna (Fatherland), and Samopomich (Self-Assistance) parties have opposed the second bill, saying it gives the separatists legal status.
A smoke grenade and scuffles disrupted the Ukrainian parliament on October 6. A member of the nationalist Svoboda, or freedom, party tossed the smoke grenade just after legislators gave their preliminary approval to two bills. The Svoboda lawmaker later said he was protesting against what he called an "unconstitutional" measure relating to the conflict with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. (RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service)
Yazidi women once held as sex slaves by Islamic State (IS) militants have recounted how they endured their horrific captivity. Hundreds of Yazidi women and girls from the Iraqi village of Kocho were enslaved by IS fighters in 2014. Months before Kocho was captured, many had attended a wedding. It would be one of the last celebrations in the village before IS militants came to slaughter the men and elderly women. Through original paintings by Lukman Ahmad of Voice Of America's Kurdish Service, The Last Dance Of Kocho tells the story of the young women who survived rape and beatings at the hands of IS militants. (Amish Srivastava, Lukman Ahmad, Paul Alexander, VOA)
34 people jumped out of the bus to push it. They survived. Those who stayed in the bus died. The front section of the bus was totally destroyed. Russias Investigative Committee said in a statement: According to preliminary information, 16 people, including a child, have been killed. Other passengers were hospitalized. The casualty count could change.



Scene of collision

The Uzbek foreign ministry said 56 people on the bus were Uzbek citizens and two others, the drivers, were from Kazakhstan. The train driver slammed on the emergency brakes and sounded the warning alarm when he was 400m away, but the accident occurred, Russian Railways said. One of the drivers was among the dead. Nobody aboard the train was killed. It was traveling from St. Petersburg to Nizhny Novgorod. Many people from Uzbekistan and other former Soviet republics in Central Asia come to Russia to look for work.. Road accidents are common in Russia. Cops are working to establish the cause of the crash. Authorities said the bus drove through a red light to get onto the tracks.
Straight shot up U.S. 31 to I-94 finally open in Berrien County

Last few miles had been unfinished since 2004 because of a lack of money to pay for it.
Salem Humaid Al Marri said that the UAE plans to select between four and six astronauts by next year to fly missions starting in the early 2020s.

ADELAIDE, Australia  The United Arab Emirates (UAE) plans to establish its own astronaut corps in the next year, seeking to fly its citizens into space on other nations' vehicles starting in the early 2020s.

In a panel discussion at the 68th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) here Sept. 28, officials with the country's new space agency said that the country sought to develop a "sustainable" human spaceflight program with scientific applications, rather than simply the prestige of flying humans in space.

"This is an initiative from the UAE government to have a sustainable human spaceflight program," said Salem Humaid Al Marri, assistant director general at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre. "When we talk about sustainable, that means that we are not looking at launching an astronaut for a week or launching a tourist flight, but we're looking at a program that is based on science."

Al Marri said later that the government will formally request applications from astronauts by the end of this year or the first quarter of 2018. He didn't disclose what criteria the space agency had developed for its astronaut program.

That will be followed by a selection process that he estimated will last from six to 10 months before choosing between four and six astronauts. "Probably towards the lower end," he said of that range of four to six, "because obviously all of the astronauts that we train we would also look to fly them at some point."

The first of those astronauts would fly by the end of 2021, the 50th anniversary of the founding of the UAE. "We have not decided on who will be flying us yet," he said. "We do envisage that we partner up with all of the major space agencies, somehow and in some structure."

There would be several options for the UAE to choose from, including Soyuz flights by Russia to the International Space Station and Shenzhou flights to a Chinese space station slated to be completed by the early 2020s. Other options include flights on commercial crew vehicles being developed by Boeing and SpaceX.

Al Marri tied the human spaceflight program to the UAE Space Agency's "Mars 2117" concept announced earlier this year, which projects establishing a full-fledged city on Mars in a century. Near-term aspects of that effort include creating a "Mars Science City" in the UAE that can be used for Mars analog simulations.

He said he expected research conducted there would stimulate follow-on experiments that could be carried out by UAE astronauts on their flights. "We have a long-term strategy of getting to Mars by 2117, so our astronauts will be working on science that is related to long-term habitation of space," he said. "We look at that as a natural next step in the progression of testing some of our experiments and ideas in the ISS and the space environment."

The UAE has expressed growing interest in space in recent years, establishing a national space agency and funding satellite projects, in addition to its planned human spaceflight program. The country is also working on a Mars orbiter mission called Hope that is scheduled to launch in 2020 to study the Martian atmosphere.

The UAE also picked up an endorsement of its space ambitions on Sept. 29, when the International Astronautical Federation announced that Dubai will host the 71st IAC in 2020. The IAC will take place in Bremen, Germany, in 2018 and Washington in 2019.

This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry.
Earth's moon doesn't have much of an atmosphere today. However, it may have had a more prominent atmosphere 3 billion to 4 billion years ago, when volcanic eruptions spewed giant clouds of gas above the lunar surface, a new study has found.

Today's moon is covered in dead volcanoes and dark maria, or plains that consist of hardened lava. The lunar atmosphere is so thin it's not even technically an atmosphere  instead, it's considered an "exosphere," with molecules that are gravitationally bound to the moon but are too sparse to behave like a gas.

A new study from scientists at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) in Houston suggests that the moon's ancient volcanoes produced a temporary atmosphere that lingered for 70 million years before dissipating into space. [How the Moon Evolved: A Photo Timeline]

Samples of volcanic glasses collected by Apollo astronauts in the 1970s revealed that magma beneath the lunar surface billions of years ago "carried gas components, such as carbon monoxide, the ingredients for water, sulfur, and other volatile species," LPI officials said in a statement.

In the new study, the researchers calculated how much gas rose from the lavas that flowed from the lunar volcanoes. They determined that enough gases accumulated around the moon to form an atmosphere, and that this atmosphere grew faster than it could escape into space.

LPI officials said that the findings may have big implications for future exploration of the moon, because it "quantifies a source of volatiles that may have been trapped from the atmosphere into cold, permanently shadowed regions near the lunar poles and, thus, may provide a source of ice suitable for a sustained lunar exploration program."

The study was published online Sept. 25 in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Space.com's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.

The dream of a human habitat in orbit about the moon came a step closer on September 27, when NASA and the Russian space agency (Roscosmos) signed up to a common vision for future human exploration. The project, a follow-up to the International Space Station (ISS), involves a facility placed in orbit somewhere between the Earth and the moon  a region known as cis-lunar space. Seen as a stepping-stone on the way to deeper space exploration, it has been dubbed the Deep Space Gateway, DSG.

NASA's new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System, which is still in development, will enable the construction of DSG. It will be supplemented by Russia's less-powerful Proton-M and Angara rockets. However, it is misleading to portray this as a purely Russia-US partnership, because the three other ISS partners (the European, Japanese and Canadian space agencies) are highly likely to be involved too.

Since Apollo 17 came back from the moon in 1972, no human has ventured further from home than "low-Earth orbit," an altitude of only 400km in the case of the ISS.

The International Space Station passing over part of the western Mediterranean in 2009. (Image credit: NASA)

The ISS began construction in 1998 and has been continuously occupied by (usually) six crew since November, 2000. Previously planned to last until 2020, the project has been extended until 2024 and could be eked out longer. However it is ageing  and many would argue that it should have already been replaced. It has cost somewhere in the region of $150bn. That isn't cheap, but, to put it into context, it works out as about the same as what humanity has frittered away on buying lipstick over the same 20-year period.

We can expect a comparable or larger price tag for the DSG, which is due to begin to be assembled in the mid-2020s, assuming that NASA can get its heavy-lift Space Launch System ready in time despite a precarious funding situation.

Orbits

The DSG derives its name because its position beyond the deepest part of Earth's gravity well, the strongest part of the Earth's gravity field, which means you need less energy to launch a mission from there. That makes it a great staging post for departure of human expeditions to the lunar surface and more distant destinations such as Mars. It could also act as a receiving facility for initial examination (and quarantine, for planetary protection purposes) of samples brought back from Mars or other bodies.

A NASA Orion craft brings a crew to the Deep Space Gateway in lunar orbit (artist's impression) (Image credit: NASA)

Unlike the ISS, the DSG would not be continuously inhabited. Current plans call for one annual 42-day visit by a four-member crew, at first. When unoccupied, instruments on the DSG could continue to collect useful scientific data, especially when close to the moon. It won't be placed into a low lunar orbit, but into special points in space such as where the gravitational attraction between the Earth and moon are balanced. This allows it to follow a "near rectilinear halo orbit" (see video below). From the moon's point of view, the DSG would repeatedly sweep low over one pole, offering great opportunities for scientific measurements.

The 'Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit' and other animations.

At other times the DSG may sit further from the moon, in a halo orbit about a position on the moon-Earth line known as the L Lagrange point. The balance of gravitational forces here makes it possible to "park" a spacecraft to make observations.

Possible orbits for the Deep Space Gateway, L1 and L2 are gravitationally special 'Lagrange points.' (Image credit: ESA CC BY-SA)

However, these orbits are only quasi-stable, so some adjustments would be necessary to maintain the DSG in these configurations without floating away elsewhere. The Canadian Space Agency has suggested the use of a solar sail to do most of the work, rather than using thruster fuel. I think that is a great idea, because solar sails, which get a push from radiation pressure, have not yet been trialled adequately to test their potential  so this is an opportunity to assess how to best work them. Apart from their use in manoeuvring around the solar system, solar sails may one day propel probes to the nearest stars.

The competition

The DSG is all still a very long way from reality. However it is a logical next step after the ISS  and any long-term multinational cooperative enterprise in space has to be a good thing, given the bickering between nations going on down here on Earth. It may not lead us very quickly to Mars though  government-funded projects are often cash-strapped, meaning the plans could lag behind private enterprise efforts such as Elon Musk and his super-heavy-lift Interplanetary Transport System, or BFR.

This is only Musk's first step. Speaking at the International Astronautical Congress in Adelaide, he revealed his own ambitious plans for a lunar base (opens in new tab) followed by rockets to Mars by 2022.

Whichever way it comes about, it would surely be inspiring to see astronauts travelling beyond low Earth orbit again. A refurbishable platform such as the DSG somewhere near the moon would offer many ways to study both the moon (personally I'd like to mount an X-ray spectrometer on the DSG to map the distribution of the chemical elements across the lunar surface) and the interaction between Earth and the sun.

David Rothery, Professor of Planetary Geosciences, The Open University
T he crisis communications team at the disgraced Bell Pottinger PR firm is setting up a major new operation within the public affairs firm Pagefield.

Former Bell Pottinger director Stuart Leach will next month launch a joint venture with Pagefield founder Mark Gallagher and bring 18 of his former 23-strong team, the Evening Standard has learned.

It is the biggest move of a unit from the old Bell Pottinger, which collapsed last month after a scandal over inflaming racial tensions in South Africa.

The team will set itself up as a standalone company under the Pagefield corporate umbrella. Ex-barrister Leach and Gallagher registered a business at Companies House called Pagefield Global Counsel in August, a month before Bell Pottingers collapse. Leach left in July.

Pagefield boasts US ambassador Sir Christopher Meyer among its advisers. It is best known for corporate PR, campaigning and public affairs work in Westminster. The Bell Pottinger alumni work with clients in crisis situations or legal tussles, and on international affairs.

Sources said Pagefield management had established the newcomers were not involved in the South African scandal.

The Bell Pottinger business has been scattered. Its Asian arms chief Piers Pottinger has set up on his own. Senior partners John Sunnucks and Tim Collins have set up a new outfit called Vico Partners, which worked for private-equity firm Greybull on the collapse of its Monarch airline.
T hese are exciting times for east London. The remarkable redevelopment of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has successfully blended a healthy environment with new homes and a fast-growing commercial area  and this is just the beginning!

Thats the message from Jonathan Emery, managing director of property in Europe at Lendlease, which has created International Quarter London (IQL) as a home for progressive businesses seeking flexible, high-quality accommodation in a location thats best equipped for the future of work.

IQL is really taking shape, with one building now finished, another on schedule for next spring and this momentum will really drive the next wave of development, he says. We will see increasingly diverse residential accommodation and offices being taken that will introduce a different workforce and customer mix to the area.

Transport for London, the Financial Conduct Authority, Cancer Research and the British Council are all moving into the area and Emery attributes their enthusiasm to a combination of the infrastructure investment, the available space, and the wonderful backdrop. The environment has been designed specifically to respond to todays workspace demands and will help progressive companies attract and retain their talented workforces, he says. The rents compare favourably with central London and being in Zone 2 means its also very accessible. These are the three important pillars for businesses.

The first commercial offices are already occupied and Emery believes this will be a landmark moment for the area. Well see thousands of workers coming in to share the space with existing residents and visitors, he says. Its a very exciting time.

For Emery the various parts of the jigsaw are finally coming together. His focus is now on ensuring the new arrivals make the most of the opportunities that are available in what is one of Londons fastest-growing areas.

Jonathan Emery

IQL is bringing a new dimension to the area through its amazing workplace facilities, he says. We are focused on maintaining momentum, building a community and making it the best possible environment for people to enjoy and be productive.

The good news is theres still space to be taken. In fact, he urges business owners to take the short ride to the Olympic park from St Pancras International station and have a look at whats on offer for their organisations. He is adamant they wont be disappointed.

They will find an opportunity to live and work in an incredibly well-connected district with fantastic work-places and great retail amenities, as well as access to world-class sporting and cultural facilities, he says. Its a truly extraordinary place.

Gavin Poole, chief executive officer of technology campus Here East, a Delancey-owned technology campus, agrees. Its a great environment in which people can work and thrive, he says. This is the place for any business wanting to drive innovation and collaborate with like-minded individuals, which is why Plexal is such an important component of Here East.

Gavin Poole

The vision for Here East was to pro-vide a home for the emerging new breed of innovators within the digital world  both established large firms and innovative start-ups  that are keen to collaborate and develop the technology of the future.

We have succeeded in creating a new economic district and putting it firmly on the London map, he says. The area is already 70 per cent let with companies and has created jobs that simply didnt exist in this part of the capital. It has also attracted students from around the world.

These companies will also benefit from working closely with high-level educational establishments such as Loughborough University and University College London. Not only are they a rich source of potential employees but they are also on hand to work with fledgling firms.

We can marry up companies with university syndicates to help solve any problems they are tack-ling, says Poole.

This is a free resource from which companies can benefit  and it also helps students as they will work closely with the firms themselves. This is a core function of the Here East team. Our passion is to make sure we can make all the right introductions, he explains. Its our role to know which companies are coming in and what the universities are up to so we can put people together for mutual benefit.

There is already a diverse range of companies at Here East, including those involved in gaming, automated design, digital media, contemporary dance and the visual arts. For example, 3D and Virtual Reality labs are about to open and their services will help many fellow firms. We also have a vibrant events programme, he says. The reason why we have a 1,000-capacity theatre on-site is to bring people together and attract interesting speakers who can help tenants grow their enterprises.

Looking ahead, Pooles goal is simple: to continue establishing East London as a technologically important hub on the world stage. We will help businesses and universities grow and make the right connections, he adds. Here East is all about innovation and collaboration with plenty of academic input and Im very excited about the opportunities it presents.

All content was commissioned and approved by LLDC, IQL and Here East. For more information, visit internationalquarter.london and hereeast.com
C ontrary to the views expressed by Roy Luxton and EJ Malone [Letters, October 2], the democratic case for a fresh popular vote on Brexit  one including the option to remain a full EU member state  is compelling.

The outcome of the 2016 referendum was narrow and, although it provided a mandate for starting a process, neither it nor the subsequent general election afforded a mandate for any particular form of Brexit. How could it when voters were, for example, told that a vote to Leave would not mean exiting the single market, then told that it would? Yes, David Cameron did say that the vote was a one-off. But if prime ministers can change their minds over early general elections, why cant voters be afforded the same right?

The UK is still a full EU member state and can choose, if it wishes, to scrap Article 50. Those who suggest otherwise, or that we would have to re-apply for EU membership, are not telling the country the truth and you have to ask why not, because it certainly isnt in the name of patriotism or support for democracy.

Nick Hill



It is absurd to suggest that we should have another vote on EU membership if the Government is unable to deliver on promises made by Brexit supporters, or on the basis that voters did not understand the issues. If we went down that route every general election would have to be rerun if it was alleged that the new Government had not kept the promises it had made to the electorate.

Pat Traynor



Where has democracy gone in this country? The majority of voters voted to leave the EU, why should we bow down to the minority who feel disappointed with the result? Surely the will of the majority should always overrule the will of the minority? We are leaving the EU, lets get behind the Prime Minister instead of putting hurdles in the way, respect a democratic vote and stop moaning about a new referendum.

Nick Smith



I am appalled at some of the emails published suggesting another vote. Like many others, I voted for freedom from a bureaucratic and undemocratic empire that could soon disintegrate. Nobody knows what the future holds. On the one hand, we have a debtridden, bureaucratic and benefitculture country but in many ways, thanks to the work ethic and entrepreneurial efforts of newcomers, I have every confidence we can look forward. We managed perfectly well before we sold out the Commonwealth and we can do so again.

Bob Hughes



Help the homeless in an inclusive way

While it is right to focus on preventing homelessness, it is impossible to ignore the rising number of rough sleepers, beggars, sofa-surfers and squatters in London.

The effect of spending cuts, both national and local, means this could be their worst winter for decades. For too long Londons homeless have been administered to from above. All too often things are done for them, not with them.

But if we change the way we think about poverty  if the dispossessed are given the opportunity to develop themselves  it is possible to create a bottom-up, people-powered plan to prevent homelessness for good.

Lord Bird



Tesco's Lewis is just passing the buck

The Willow Farm chicken scandal is yet another example of how little Tesco seems to care about customers and suppliers. Its CEO Dave Lewiss comments expressing shock at revelations of poor hygiene that came out of the Guardian/ITV investigation are bizarre.

He needs to take responsibility for the actions of the company he leads. Perhaps it is down to publications like the Evening Standard to call Tesco to account, as well as the public, who should be staying well away from its stores and hitting the one thing it really does care about  profit.

Mark Hayman



A welcome boost for manufacturers

At the Tory conference Chancellor Philip Hammond promised 400million to the northern powerhouses. It is reassuring to see the Government is investing in our industrial sectors but we are still losing 180billion a year as a result of machine downtime, with an astounding 94 per cent of machine failures being caused by technical faults and ageing machinery.

The Chancellors cash needs to go towards implementing software for manufacturers to avoid costly downtime, increase productivity and put 180billion into our economy.

Chris Proctor

Acid attacks are a worldwide problem

YOUR campaign targeting acid attacks in London and tighter controls on corrosive substances are vital steps towards combating this horrifying type of violence [Amber Rudd announces crackdown on acid attacks, Oct 3].

Bangladesh, where ActionAid works, has one of the highest incidences of acid attacks  peaking at around 400 in 2002  but attacks have now declined to under 100 per year following government legislation restricting the import and sale of acid. This is just a small part of the picture however.

Globally, there are roughly 1,500 acid attacks each year and such attacks disproportionally affect females due to social norms that lead perpetrators to see womens bodies as commodities that can be controlled and destroyed as they see fit.

ActionAid is working to tackle this by calling on governments to support local grassroots womens rights organisations to help survivors rebuild their lives and prevent future attacks.

Anne Quesney, ActionAid
C ome twilight, across the suburbs of London, badgers are on the move. They need to fatten up before the lean days of winter, using the cover of night to roam across parks, fields, woods and gardens in search of tasty earthworms, plump insects and fallen fruit.

Badgers live in underground burrows, called setts, which they excavate with powerful, clawed paws. A sett is usually a family affair, with up to eight animals sharing a network of tunnels. Although communal during the day, when they rest and sleep underground, at night each adult will set off to forage separately from the others.

The badger  or brock  is wellcamouflaged for night work, with a silvery-grey body and short fluffy tail, a black belly and paws, all topped off with a black-and-whitestriped face. These strong, well-built animals can reach one metre in length, but are cautious and timid animals, preferring to avoid trouble if they can.

As London expanded, badgers were driven out, but they do seem to have regained lost ground over the past few decades, and are relatively plentiful on the suburban fringes of the city. Some appear to be using the relative safety of railway corridors to explore deeper into the city; with occasional sightings reported from inner London boroughs. These are likely to be young males, seeking new territory, although opportunities to set up home or find a mate within the inner city are limited.

Badgers face many threats, with as many as 50,000 adult badgers killed on British roads each year, and illegal persecution still occurs. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of badgers are due to be shot this autumn in western England in an ongoing and controversial experiment to eradicate tuberculosis in cattle. Lets hope that London can offer a safe refuge for these shy, night-time stars.

London Wildlife Trust campaigns to protect the capitals wildlife and wild spaces. Backed by Sir David Attenborough President Emeritus of The Wildlife Trusts.
L ondon proved itself as the planets cocktail capital at the Worlds 50 Best Bars awards, with the American Bar at the Savoy taking title for the first time and seven of the citys other bars making the prestigious list  narrowly beating New York by one.

London won four of the top 10 spots, with Ryan Chetiyawardanas Dandelyan coming in second, up from third last year, the Connaught Bar maintaining fourth position and Soho bolthole Bar Termini climbing 21 places to claim ninth.

Hoxtons Happiness Forgets came close behind at number 12, while Oriole (17) and The Gibson (21, down from 6 last year) also both made the top half of the list. Old Streets Nightjar  Orioles sister bar  dropped to number 43 from 19 last year and third in 2015. One London bar did drop off the list; Callooh Callay, which last year rejoined the list at number 48, did not make the cut this year. Likewise, no other UK bars were included, with last year's number 47, Bramble in Edinburgh, not included.

The American Bar, which has been serving since 1893, reclaimed the title for a London bar after losing out to New Yorks Dead Rabbit last year.

What makes the American Bar so good? The American Bar has a fair claim to having always been Londons best bar; its a place where Harry Craddock first penned bartenders bible The Savoy Cocktail Book, where Churchill used to keep his own whisky and where Marilyn Monroe would recharge with a glass of champagne on press tours. Such history can sometimes be a burden, but the Savoys strength  guided by the deft and talented duo of Erik Lorincz and Declan McGurk  is in its constant ability to repurpose its past as inspiration for its future. Drinks here are more than liquid sloshed in the glass; cocktails come with flourishes of theatre, and style is everything. Staff tell stories, talking through the menu  or not, if youre not in the mood. Knowing when to make a fuss and when not to is what keeps the American Bar popular: if youre only after a GnT, theyll happily serve one up with the minimum of fuss.

The popular Manhattan bar placed fifth, with the team in town following their one-night pop-up at Bethnal Greens Sun Tavern on Wednesday, which followed a previous takeover at Claridges in August.

The awards also revealed that aside from homegrown talent, Londoners have been drinking some of the finest cocktails from across the globe during the past 12 months, with Athens bar The Clumsies (6), New Yorks Dante (16) the Dead Rabbits sister bar BlackTail (32) and Sydneys Baxter Inn (45) all in residence in the city over the past year, many at the Bloomsbury Club Bar.

It was the first time the American bar has won since it first made the list six years ago. The bar, which recently appointed its first female bartender in 100 years, Philippa Guy, has been staffed by head bartender Erik Lorincz and bar manager Declan McGurk since 2010, when it re-opened after a three year refurbishment. Speaking to the Standard, Mr Lorincz said: "I feel amazing, incredible, it's like a dream come true, I've waited 7 years since I've been at the Savoy.

"We've been so close and today was the day all our hard work paid off. I had no idea we'd win, because I have so much respect for all the bars in the top ten. It all felt very new, very interesting, because this year lots of bars finished in different positions.

"I love Dandelyan, it's my neighbourhood bar, just across the river from us. We'll try to hold onto the title for next year, we just need to work even harder. We'd be very happy to keep it, but if it doesn't happen we'll be happy to celebrate with someone else."

An proud Mr McGurk, manager of American Bar, spoke with tears glistening in his eyes: "I'm feeling really, really over the moon. I don't think you ever think you're going to do it. I was surprised about Dead Rabbit; I thought they would be higher. And it's great to see NoMad come in at number three, they're amazing."

Ryan Chetiyawardanan said the awards were as good for London as for his bar Dandelyan: "To have numbers one and two on the list be London just shows how ahead of the curve what's happening in London is. It's amazing and to be part of that, it's just incredible. The list is spreading to new places and new styles and that's so wonderful to see, it's amazing to see what else can be done with drinks.

"The American bar is an institution, it's one of those places that every young bartender is always excited to go to and get a seat at the bar and get a drink. Declan and Erik are exactly the right team to bring it into a new era.

"Do I think we can topple them next year? Not at all. I'm really proud of what we do but it's an institution. I would love Dandelyan to be around in 120 years, like them, that would be incredible and we've given it enough room to expand and evolve. I would love to say it'll be there but it's very hard to lay those kind of legacies."

It was the fifth year the awards have been held in London. The list decided by a panel of over 500 anonymous drinks specialists across six of the worlds seven continents, and includes bars from all of them.

See the London winners on the map below.

Loading....

The full list can be seen here, while the top 10 is below, with London bars highlighted in bold. Interestingly, the top four bars are all hotel bars.

1. American Bar, London

2. Dandelyan, London

3. The NoMad, New York

4. Connaught Bar, London

5. The Dead Rabbit, New York

6. The Clumsies, Athens

7. Manhattan, Singapore

8. Attaboy, New York

9. Bar Termini, London

10. Speak Low, Shanghai

For more information, visit worlds50bestbars.com

Flick through our pick of London's best bars below.
J ames Bond just wouldnt be James Bond without the stunts.

The spy franchise has featured some of the most jaw-dropping action moments in cinema over the years, and its these incredible stunts that have ensured cinema goers rarely leave disappointed after seeing new Bond movies on the big screen.

In celebration of James Bond Day, these are the five greatest stunts from the James Bond franchise.

Casino Royale - Crane fight

2006s Casino Royale marked the debut outing for Daniel Craig, and it was also the first time Ian Flemings classic Bond novel had been officially adapted for the big-screen (unless you happen to count David Nivens 1967 effort, which you definitely shouldnt). The entire sequence, which sees 007 chase a bomb-maker through an industrial site in Madagascar, is a staggering, vertigo-inducing watch.

Craigs first major action set-piece as Bond has everything: there's gravity-defying parkour, death-defying leaps of faith and an explosive conclusion. Talk about making a good first impression.

The Spy Who Loved Me - The Ski jump

The ski jump in The Spy Who Loved Me is, undoubtedly, a classic moment in one of the best Bond films in the series. Seeing the late, great Roger Moore being chased down a mountain in a frankly ridiculous bright yellow ski suit is a sight to behold in its own right, but when it eventually comes the stunt is pretty breath-taking.

Comedy fans will remember that the climactic point in the sequence was famously re-enacted in an episode of Im Alan Partridge. As Alan puts it, Bond goes over a cliff and he's falling and you think, oh God, James Bond's going to die! He's going to die! Of course though, 007 has another trick up his sleeve. He reveals a Union Jack parachute in typical Moore style, thus ending one of the greatest pre-credits scenes in the entire franchise. Classic stuff.

The Man With The Golden Gun  Corkscrew

It might be one of the strangest films in the franchise, complete with third nipples and a pretty un-PC villain in the form of Nick Nack, but The Man With The Golden Gun isnt without its highlights. The biggest of which comes in the form of an incredible corckscrew stunt, which sees a bright red AMC Hornet sent flying over a broken bridge in Thailand, rotating a full 360 degrees in the process.

Could Bond have found another way around the bridge without endangering the lives of himself and his passenger? Possibly. Was it needlessly reckless and incredibly irresponsible? Of course it was. But who cares  hes James Bond, he can do what he darn well pleases.

Spectre - Day of the Dead Helicopter sequence

2015s Spectre split audiences right down the middle: Half thought it was bang average, while the other half thought it was absolutely awful. Whatever people made of it though, no-one can deny how good the opening helicopter sequence was. After a tense chase during Mexicos Day of the Dead festival, Bond ends up stopping a terrorist bombing plot by wrestling a member of evil organisation Spectre in a helicopter. Shame about the rest of the film, but this opening set-piece was fantastic.

Goldeneye  Dam jump

The final entry on the list also happens to be the simplest. The dam jump in Goldeneye is well, just that: a really big jump off a really big dam. It really is as simple as that.

Filmed on location on top of the Contra Dam in Ticino, Switzerland, the sequence sees Pierce Brosnans 007 bungees hundreds of feet down into a chemical weapons facility, before teaming up with Sean Beans 006 (this, incidentally, is the inspiration for the best level on the N64 game). Its a classic moment in the franchise, and a great way of introducing Brosnan to the role in his first film.

James Bond in London: where the films were shot 1 /14 James Bond in London: where the films were shot The Reform Club Pall Mall private members club The Reform club has shown up a couple of times in Bond films. In Quantum of Solace, it served as the Foreign Office, while in Die Another Day, Madonna did an impression of a robot dressed as a human trying to flirt as she and Pierce Bronson made fencing puns upstairs in one of the drawing rooms. Corbis Rules Restaurant Not only London's oldest restaurant, Rules makes a cameo in Spectre as M (Ralph Fiennes), Q (Ben Whishaw) and Miss Moneypenny (Naomie Harris), all sit down to talk official business. And eat lots of game, obviously. Saint Sophia's Church A little further back, to Golden Eye, and Saint Sophia's Church made stunning back drop for a secret meeting between Natalya (Izabella Scorupco) and Boris (Alan Cumming). The National Gallery The National Gallery took something of a starring role in Skyfall: Room 34 is where Daniel Craig's James Bond first meets Ben Whishaw's Q. Significantly, Bond is staring at Turner's The Fighting Temeraire, which Q uses as a prompt to question Bond's relevance to the modern world, touching on a theme prominent in the painting itself. Mike Peel/www.mikepeel.net/Wiki Commons Westminster Bridge A trouper, old Westminster Bridge. A most British star that's been in more hit films than Michael Caine. It might feel pedestrian as you're walking across it, but remember, just a few months ago, Daniel Craig was spotted, gun in hand, scaling the stairs for a scene in Spectre. Vauxhall Bridge In Spectre, boats are back with a thrilling chase, tearing through Vauxhall Bridge. St Pancras Station St Pancras assumed a new identity in Goldeneye, re-imagined at St Petersburg Station. It's where Natalya (Izabella Scorupco) does her best to evade the authorities. Millennium Bridge Spectre was keen on bridges, and it's here that Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Bond meet in the film's finale. You'll need to watch it to find out exactly how they use the Thames - but we can assure you there are some stunning shots. MI6 Headquarters Several modern Bond movies have featured the actual MI6 headquarters. It first made an appearance in Goldeneye, featured at the beginning of the boat chase in The World Is Not Enough. It had a rough old time of it when M's office was blown up in Skyfall, but recovered well enough to be featured in Spectre. City Hall (left) City Hall hasn't made much of a dent in the Bond skyline, but it was featured in Spectre and used for various interior shots. London Marriott Hotel County Hall Scenes from Spectre were filmed at this luxury, five star hotel on the bank of the Thames. It seems suitably Bond, given its beautiful location, overlooking Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. Take a seat in their steakhouse Gillrays for the best of their stunning views and you can get into the swing of things with their perfect Bond martini, too.marriott.co.uk

In the mood for celebrating James Bond day? Tonight (October 5) the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Place is putting on a special anniversary screening of Doctor No to mark the 55th anniversary of the film. Get your tickets here.
V egan fast food fans rejoice! McDonald's has launched its first ever vegan burger.

The chain is trialling a new soy-based dish in Finland, and its pretty exciting news for vegans all over the world.

Rather than the usual meat and sauce found in standard McDonalds burgers, the McVegan featured a soy-based patty, with salad and a new vegan McFeast dressing.

The dish is being tested in the city of Tampere in Finland between October 4 and November 21.

Theres no word yet on whether the McVegan will become a permanent item on the McDonalds menu, although vegans will be hoping successful trails will see the product rolled out across the UK.

McDonalds Finland released a picture of the McVegan on social media, and it looks pretty much identical to a standard burger.

McDonalds are just the latest company to recognise the demand for vegan burgers.

While the McVegan isnt yet available in London, the Vurger Co are one company bringing vegan burgers to London with a series of pop-ups across 2017.
I t's now hard to believe the stir created when Tales of the City was broadcast on Channel 4 in 1993.

It was the third outing for Armistead Maupins cavalcade of colourful characters: Mary Ann Singleton, Michael, Brian and Anna Madrigal had first appeared in daily newspaper columns in San Francisco which were then collected and published as novels.

When Gays the Word, the Bloomsbury bookshop, tried to import them in 1984, Thatchers goons seized them as part of a conspiracy to import indecent material.

Tales of the City was popular because, like a partwork by Dickens, it appealed to everybody: men and women, gay and straight. Maupins success lies in his ability to ride the divide: to normalise the abnormal, to be all things to all wo(men). His brilliant memoir blends the personal and the political in a similar way and should be read by anyone who has ever loved and lost.

In Maupins bible the greatest sin is bigotry. The son of a pissed-off, shut-down lawyer, little Teddy was brought up under a Confederate flag in Charleston but had dreams about kissing gas-station attendants from the age of 13.

He learned to hide his true feelings (a leer was as good as lie) and did not lose his virginity until he was 25.

Like most late starters, Maupin made up for lost time. The road he travels leads from concealment to self-exposure. Cruising, bathhouses, orgies, crabs and hepatitis are all here but, unlike many sexually adventurous men who lived fast in the 1980s, he didnt contract Aids and he didnt die young.

The horror of the time is succinctly and obliquely conveyed. It is important that todays twinks should be reminded that Big Daddy had other things to worry about than just student loans and chemsex addiction.

When hellfire merchants such as Jesse Helms (who gave Maupin his first job!) and Anita Bryant spew hate it is important to have real friends around you  a logical family rather than the biological one allotted to you at birth.

The best books being released as films - in pictures 1 /9 The best books being released as films - in pictures Dive into one of these books before they're released in the cinema IT by Stephen King Release Date: September 8 A terrifying being, a small town living in fear and a group of preteen misfits  IT has all the elements of a great horror story and Andy Muschiettis film adaptation certainly wont disappoint. In the book, the name IT is given to this evil thing because it has the ability to manifest in various forms  adopting the guise of whatever its victims biggest fear is  but the film chooses to focus on ITs incarnation as Pennywise the clown (after all, what could possibly be scarier than that?) instead exploring the much deeper issues of childhood trauma. Set to be released in two instalments, the film stars Stranger Things actor Finn Wolfhard and Bill Skarsgard in the title role. 7.69, Amazon, Buy it now The Snowman by Jo Nesb Release Date: October 13 After several women go missing in Norway, the police open a murder investigation that they hope will catch the countrys first serial killer. DCI Harry Hole uses his FBI training to discover a common thread linking all the cases  every victim was a mother and each had a snowman left next to their body. Directed by Tomas Alfredson - the man behind Let the Right One In and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - the backdrop of a harsh Norwegian winter and a cracking score by Johnny Greenwood add to the ominousness of this distinctly creepy film. Charismatic and handsome but with a bit of a hard edge, Michael Fassbender is perfect in the role of Harry and supported by a pedigree cast including Rebecca Ferguson, JK Simmons and Toby Jones. 5.59, Amazon, Buy it now The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin Release Date: October 6 With Idris Elba and Kate Winslet taking on the lead roles, this film is set to be a surefire hit. Ashley and Bens flights from Salt Lake City airport are cancelled and, anxious to get home, (Ashley for her impending wedding and Ben for the slew of surgeries he has to perform the next day) they decide to charter a plane. When the pilot has a heart attack mid-flight and crashes the plane, the two strangers find themselves stranded on a snowy mountain, fighting to survive. The pragmatic charm of both Elba and Winslet makes for great on-screen chemistry in this epic tale of endurance and although its not based on a true story, the dilemmas and struggles they face feel absolutely real. Set in the Uinta Mountains, expect to experience breath-taking cinematography. 7.44, Amazon, Buy it now Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie Release Date: November 3 Murder mystery legend Agatha Christies classic Poirot whodunit is making its way to the silver screen this autumn for the first time in over 40 years. The cast list reads like a Hollywood roll call and includes Kenneth Branagh (who also directed), Johnny Depp, Judi Dench, Daisy Ridley and Michelle Pfeiffer amongst others. If Thor, Cinderella and Dunkirk are anything to go by, we can expect Branaghs latest directorial offering to be a visual feast. 5.38, Amazon, Buy it now Thank You For Your Service by David Finkel Release Date: November 17 Miles Teller takes on the role of Adam Schumann  an Iraqi veteran who struggles to return to normal civilian life after returning home from war in Jason Halls adaptation of this eye opening true story. Although the film is a must- see, to do so without having first experienced David Finkels Pulitzer Prize  winning writing would be a travesty. Attached to the 2 -16 Infantry Battalion, Finkel spent much of the war in Iraq reporting from the front lines which inspired his first book, For the Good Soldiers, in which he recounted the brutal reality of war. In this, his second account, he shares the harrowing story of what it was really like for these men to return to their normal lives whilst battling PTSD and the constant memories of a war that threatened never to leave them. 9.99, Amazon,Buy it now Wonder by R J Palacio Release Date: December 1 After seeing a little girl with facial defects and worrying about how her son would react, Palacio was inspired to write a novel on the subject. The protagonist of Wonder, August, suffers from a rare facial deformity that has resulted in his being home-schooled for most of his life. Aged 10, his parents finally decide to enrol him in middle school where he desperately longs to fit in with everyone else. The fact that Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Jacob Tremblay are playing the lead rolls is bound to be a big pull for moviegoers and the screenwriting and directing of Stephen Chbosky will bring an element of sensitivity. Written for children, the New York Times bestselling novel provides explores more deeply the world from Augusts point of view, so is definitely worth a read. 9.99, Amazon,Buy it now

Nevertheless, his final reconciliation with his ailing father, who tells his husband-to-be you take care of that boy, is deeply moving.

Maupin still has the knack of being able to make you laugh and cry on the same page. His time as a straphanger in the Vietnam War  more of a navy tourist than a warrior  produces some of his best prose (the rice paddies a patchwork of shimmering goldgreen mirrors).

The names dropped are first-class: Tennessee Williams, Faye Dunaway, John Kerry, Richard Nixon, Rock Hudson (our overawed hero fails to rise to the occasion), Christopher Isherwood (he never dodged his sexuality with coy semantics, the way Gore Vidal did) and Sir Ian Call Me Serena McKellen.

The part played by luck/fate/coincidence in his life is not underestimated. Maupins top teacher  who, in mock-innocence, asked him to research maypoles  also taught Anne Tyler. Associated Press first offered him a job in Buffalo before, a few days later, sending him to San Francisco, where he would lose his heart and find himself.

If Maupin, now aged 73, has a motto it is this: Let them see enough of the truth to make them believe you. Certainly, having read Logical Family, you can have no doubt the man in the mirror-ball is him.

Logical Family by Armistead Maupin. Doubleday, 20, Buy it now
T he Owl and the Pussycat, the Jumblies, the Dong with the Luminous Nose  the personages of Edward Lears nonsense verse are woven into the fabric of every bookish childhood and in 2012, the bicentenary of Lears birth, The Owl and the Pussycat was voted the nations favourite poem.

Yet their creator remains an enigmatic figure  at once present (his bushy beard, emphatic nose and goggling spectacles haunt the illustrations of his nonsense verse) and elusive.

Since 1968, when the Lear scholar Vivien Noakes published an excellent study, there has been no major biography of Lear, but now Jenny Uglow has remedied the omission in fine style.

Lear was born on May 12 1812, the 20th child of Jeremiah Lear, a financially unstable City broker, and his wife, Ann.

The details of his childhood are sketchy and unhappy. He was rejected by his mother and handed over to the devoted care of his eldest sister, also called Ann, who was then 25. Sensitive and myopic, Lear suffered from epilepsy, which he concealed throughout his life from even his closest friends.

Uglow records two fragments of childhood memory which were to shape his emotional landscape.

Of a trip to the circus, aged seven, he wrote, I can recollect crying half the night after all the small gaiety broke up. If regret for fleeting happiness was to become a plangent leitmotif, an incident around his 10th birthday may have contributed to his keen sense of otherness.

Hearing of the death of a cousin, Frederick Harding, Lear noted in his diary, It is just 50 years to me in life  excepting that done by C. Uglow speculates that C may have been Lears elder brother Charles, and that he traced his later difficulties with relationships and sex to these encounters.

Although shy and insecure, Lear had charm and considerable talent. Visiting his sister Sarah in Sussex, he was taken up by wealthy acquaintances, who procured him an introduction in 1828 to the newly opened Regents Park Zoo. Here the teenaged Lear met the American ornithological artist John James Audubon, and resolved to produce his own album of bird studies, devoted to parrots.

The result was a triumph: it brought Lear the patronage and friendship of Lord Stanley, president of the Zoological Society and secured his artistic career. His travels were intrepid, in Italy, Greece, Albania, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon and India; his acquaintance glittering.

The best books being released as films - in pictures 1 /9 The best books being released as films - in pictures Dive into one of these books before they're released in the cinema IT by Stephen King Release Date: September 8 A terrifying being, a small town living in fear and a group of preteen misfits  IT has all the elements of a great horror story and Andy Muschiettis film adaptation certainly wont disappoint. In the book, the name IT is given to this evil thing because it has the ability to manifest in various forms  adopting the guise of whatever its victims biggest fear is  but the film chooses to focus on ITs incarnation as Pennywise the clown (after all, what could possibly be scarier than that?) instead exploring the much deeper issues of childhood trauma. Set to be released in two instalments, the film stars Stranger Things actor Finn Wolfhard and Bill Skarsgard in the title role. 7.69, Amazon, Buy it now The Snowman by Jo Nesb Release Date: October 13 After several women go missing in Norway, the police open a murder investigation that they hope will catch the countrys first serial killer. DCI Harry Hole uses his FBI training to discover a common thread linking all the cases  every victim was a mother and each had a snowman left next to their body. Directed by Tomas Alfredson - the man behind Let the Right One In and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - the backdrop of a harsh Norwegian winter and a cracking score by Johnny Greenwood add to the ominousness of this distinctly creepy film. Charismatic and handsome but with a bit of a hard edge, Michael Fassbender is perfect in the role of Harry and supported by a pedigree cast including Rebecca Ferguson, JK Simmons and Toby Jones. 5.59, Amazon, Buy it now The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin Release Date: October 6 With Idris Elba and Kate Winslet taking on the lead roles, this film is set to be a surefire hit. Ashley and Bens flights from Salt Lake City airport are cancelled and, anxious to get home, (Ashley for her impending wedding and Ben for the slew of surgeries he has to perform the next day) they decide to charter a plane. When the pilot has a heart attack mid-flight and crashes the plane, the two strangers find themselves stranded on a snowy mountain, fighting to survive. The pragmatic charm of both Elba and Winslet makes for great on-screen chemistry in this epic tale of endurance and although its not based on a true story, the dilemmas and struggles they face feel absolutely real. Set in the Uinta Mountains, expect to experience breath-taking cinematography. 7.44, Amazon, Buy it now Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie Release Date: November 3 Murder mystery legend Agatha Christies classic Poirot whodunit is making its way to the silver screen this autumn for the first time in over 40 years. The cast list reads like a Hollywood roll call and includes Kenneth Branagh (who also directed), Johnny Depp, Judi Dench, Daisy Ridley and Michelle Pfeiffer amongst others. If Thor, Cinderella and Dunkirk are anything to go by, we can expect Branaghs latest directorial offering to be a visual feast. 5.38, Amazon, Buy it now Thank You For Your Service by David Finkel Release Date: November 17 Miles Teller takes on the role of Adam Schumann  an Iraqi veteran who struggles to return to normal civilian life after returning home from war in Jason Halls adaptation of this eye opening true story. Although the film is a must- see, to do so without having first experienced David Finkels Pulitzer Prize  winning writing would be a travesty. Attached to the 2 -16 Infantry Battalion, Finkel spent much of the war in Iraq reporting from the front lines which inspired his first book, For the Good Soldiers, in which he recounted the brutal reality of war. In this, his second account, he shares the harrowing story of what it was really like for these men to return to their normal lives whilst battling PTSD and the constant memories of a war that threatened never to leave them. 9.99, Amazon,Buy it now Wonder by R J Palacio Release Date: December 1 After seeing a little girl with facial defects and worrying about how her son would react, Palacio was inspired to write a novel on the subject. The protagonist of Wonder, August, suffers from a rare facial deformity that has resulted in his being home-schooled for most of his life. Aged 10, his parents finally decide to enrol him in middle school where he desperately longs to fit in with everyone else. The fact that Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson and Jacob Tremblay are playing the lead rolls is bound to be a big pull for moviegoers and the screenwriting and directing of Stephen Chbosky will bring an element of sensitivity. Written for children, the New York Times bestselling novel provides explores more deeply the world from Augusts point of view, so is definitely worth a read. 9.99, Amazon,Buy it now

He gave drawing lessons to Queen Victoria, became a close friend of the Poet Laureate, Tennyson, and his wife Emily, and was invited to visit India by the Viceroy. He beguiled children and adults alike with his exquisite landscape paintings and his effervescent nonsense rhymes. Yet his loneliness was extreme.

He spoke wistfully of marriage and conducted a protracted and irresolute courtship of Augusta Gussie Bethell, daughter of the Lord Chancellor. But when he fell in love, it was with Frank Lushington, a Cambridge classicist 10 years his junior. His unrequited passion, Uglow writes, would shape his life, finding expression in the exquisite melancholy of his nonsense verse and recurrent attacks of depression  the morbids.

Uglow gives the seven sections of her book avian headings  Fledging, Flying, Swooping among them  evoking Lears love of birds and his own penchant for frequent flitting. It wasnt until 1869 that he finally settled, with his cat Foss, on a hillside overlooking the sea in San Remo.

Generously illustrated with fine reproductions of Lears art, her book is an outstandingly elegant and perceptive account of a complex, wounded man whose talent to amuse remains undimmed more than a century after his death. How pleasant to know Mr Lear, indeed.

Mr Lear: A Life of Art and Nonsense by Jenny Uglow. Faber, 25, Buy it now
A bakery in Massachusetts has been told to remove love from its list of granola ingredients by the US Food and Drug Administration.

While the Nashoba Brook Bakery might add a dash of love to their culinary creations, an extensive letter from federal officials has asked them to lose the offending element from their ingredients lists.

According to the FDA: Love is not a common or usual name of an ingredient, and is considered to be intervening material.

Speaking to the Associated Press, CEO of the bakery, John Gates suggested the federal officials had taken the sentimental ingredients list a little too seriously: It taps this feeling that a lot of Americans have that there are ways in which the government can overreach, and it seems kind of silly.

Because its about the word love, its cathartic It makes it something that people can smile at.

Bakery co-owner and chief baker Stuart Witt revealed that their granola, and its generous slug of love, has been sold at Nashoba Brook Bakery since they opened nearly 20 years ago.

Were not very happy about it, he explained. But were going to do it.

Gates has also insisted that they will be fully cooperative with the requested guidelines but said that since the warning letter they were given was posted online, they have received generally positive reactions.

Many on social media have poked fun at the FDA announcement with one user taking it personally: If love isnt a real ingredient Then my mom has a LOOOOT of explaining to do regarding pancakes (SIC).

Although all you need is love, food hygiene is often appreciated and the federal letter reveals that the American bakery was also given a number of other areas to improve in including pest control and employee cleanliness.

According to the FDA report workers were wearing jewellery that came into contact with dough during the inspection while one approximately 1 long crawling insect was found close to exposed foods
A prolific moped gang which carried out robberies on demand  with stolen phones snatched from pedestrians in London being shipped to Bangladesh  faces jail today.

A court heard how three young moped riders stole 103 high value mobiles in just 18 days in robberies across London.

One incident outside the BBC HQ near Oxford Street was caught by a photographer and published in the Evening Standard. The gang operated in Camden, Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, and Islington.

Armed with a hammer and a tyre wrench, the riders would spot a victim talking or texting on a mobile and then mount the pavement and either snatch the phone or steal it after threatening the owner with the weapons.

The gang stole 103 high value mobiles in just 18 days in robberies across London

The three teenagers  Claude Parkinson, 18, and two others, aged 16 and 15, who cannot be named because of their age  were said to be one of the most prolific of moped gangs targeting pedestrians in London.

In the 18 days between April 18 and May 5, there were 212 moped robbery and snatch offences in Westminster alone, 83 of which were committed by the gang.

Claude Parkinson is due to be sentenced today along with two other gang members who cannot be named for legal reasons

They were captured on film on May 4 in a dramatic picture which showed one of them raising a hammer in his gloved hand while the rider drove at pedestrians.

Today the trio were due to be sentenced at Southwark crown court.

All three are from Islington and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery at an earlier hearing.

Scotland Yard said a fourth man Shamsul Chowdhury, 40, of Tower Hamlets, pleaded guilty at the same court to handling stolen goods.

Police found evidence which showed Chowdhury sent text messages to the robbers giving a list of different phones and what he would pay for them.

Police found 30 phones, several laptops, 3,000 in cash and list of stolen phones which had already been sold on in a search of his home. He is believed to have sent the phones to Bangladesh.

Police said photographs of the gang helped detectives piece together their movements.
D etectives are hunting two men after a suspected acid attack on a teenager outside a chicken shop in south-west London.

A 17-year-old boy had a noxious substance thrown in his face outside the fast food restaurant in Kingston, police said.

He suffered facial burns in the attack which happened at 6.40pm outside Pepes Peri Peri Chicken Shop in Fife Road on July 21.

Police have released CCTV images of two men they want to speak to in connection with the attack.

The victim ran into a nearby shop where his face was doused in water before London Ambulance Service paramedics arrived.

There have been no arrests made and enquiries continue.

Any witnesses or anyone with any information is asked to call Kingston police on 101 or to give information anonymously contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.
A Polish man who threatened to kill Theresa Mays chief of staff while armed with a kitchen knife has been spared jail.

Andrzej Gajowniczek, 25, issued the death threat to Gavin Barwell, who was then Croydon Central MP, at an open-door constituency surgery last year.

Gajowniczek shouted I want to kill an MP. Yes, I will come back and kill that MP as he was hauled away by police, who later found a newly bought knife in his rucksack.

He was sectioned after the incident and sent back to Poland for mental health treatment, but escaped and slipped back into the UK through Luton airport in March this year.

Gajowniczek headed straight to Parliament where he was stopped by Commons security staff, Croydon crown court heard.

A judge yesterday agreed not to jail him but instead banned him from the UK for two years and demanded he should be deported as soon as possible.

No 10 chief of staff Gavin Barwell, who was then a Croydon MP, received threats / Lucy Young

The court heard Mr Barwell, appointed to the PMs Downing Street team shortly after he lost his seat in the 2017 general election, stopped walking to work as a result of the threats and had new locks and a panic alarm installed at his home.

Sentencing Gajowniczek to 18 months in prison suspended for two years, Recorder David Brock said: MPs going about their public duties should be protected from the likes of you.

Those who work in public office must be safe to go about their duties and meet members of the public one-on-one without fear of being abused and threatened with attack in this way.

He imposed a two-year exclusion order on him, adding: Im firmly of the view you should be deported as soon as reasonably practicable, but thats out of my control.

The court heard Gajowniczek ranted I could attack you, I could kill you when he went to Mr Barwells constituency surgery in Croydon on June 3 last year.

He was pacing up and down making wild allegations, said prosecutor Graeme Molloy, adding that Gajowniczek was asked to leave after making claims about corruption and pay-offs.

He told police: I want to kill an MP. Yes, I will come back and kill that MP. Officers discovered the knife in his bag when he was searched later at the police station.

Gajowniczek was sectioned and then sent to a Polish mental hospital for treatment, but escaped and evaded UK border security as he slipped back into the country on March 27.

Later that day he tried to gain entry to the Houses of Parliament and was stopped, said Mr Molloy.

Gajowniczek pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment of Mr Barwell and also admitted possession of a knife.

Mr Barwell has been approached by the Standard for comment.
A group of London cabbies have embarked on a trip to take sick children on a "holiday of a lifetime" to Disneyland Paris.

The 100-strong convoy of black cabs left the City of London on Friday morning, accompanied by scores of youngsters being taken to the theme park for the three-day treat.

During the annual charity event, the capital's cab drivers take more than 200 children who are suffering from a range of chronic illnesses or life limiting conditions for a holiday.

Dubbed the Magical Taxi Tour, the three-mile long convoy is escorted on the drive from London to France by City of London Police, London Ambulance Service and AA breakdown trucks.

It is arranged by the Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers, which raises the 1,250 required for each taxi to cover the cost of hotel, fuel, food and admission charges.

Holiday: The tour gives the sick youngsters the trip of a lifetime / MTT

The special weekend is organised to give sick children a break from therapy and treatment. Medical teams escort the families who, without that, would not be able to travel.

The tour is being documented on the Magical Taxi Tour Facebook group, which shows the convoy of cabs leaving Canary Wharf on Friday morning after being waved on their way by the Lord Mayor.

As the cars are making their way through the UK and France, they are garnering support from people sharing their admiration on social media.

One person Tweeted: Just seen about 100 taxis @Magicaltaxitour drive past. amazing to see & such a great charity. Have a great time in paris! #magicaltaxitour.

Trip: The cabs lines up on the ferry over to France

And another posted an image of the lines of cabs driving down the A2, writing: Amazing convoy of 100 London cabs on A2 today #magicaltaxitour 2017 #TaxiDrivers taking sick children to @DisneylandParis Bravo!!
N orree Webb hears the stories about modern slavery in Britain most of us like to pretend dont exist.

As head of The Salvation Armys first responders, hardly a day passes when she isnt told another awful tale of exploitation for sex, domestic work or back-breaking labour. Rape, beatings, terror  the tip of the iceberg of this scourge in the UK.

Despite everything being put in front of people, there are many who have no idea that modern slavery is really a problem today, says Webb, 69, at The Salvation Armys headquarters in Elephant and Castle.

They may have heard about it, but they dont realise how widespread and serious it is.

The charity has a government contract to provide front-line victim support services. Most of this is done through its professional central contact office, which handles a 24-hour helpline and arranges transport, shelter and other services for victims.

How we will work to deliver change During this investigation the Evening Standard will be working to deliver change by: 1 Helping to force the closure of businesses in London that use slave labour. 2 Working with companies to give survivors of slavery a second chance. 3 Encouraging our readers to report potential slavery cases to the right authorities. 4 Helping those trapped in slavery in London know where they can turn for help. 5 Campaigning for new policies and laws to crack down on slavery, wherever it occurs.

But particularly sensitive cases are referred to Webb and her team, who are mostly volunteers. She arranges an interview, with her or one of her 50 or so first responders in England and Wales, to establish the case details and what support is needed. Ideally, this is done immediately over the phone, or face-to-face: in prison, if thats where the victim is, or in a safe space such as a doctors surgery.

Webb, a volunteer, says: I was a teacher, assistant head of a primary school, where one of my roles was safeguarding children. When I retired, I had time and was still fit, so I wanted to offer something.

Often the victims are reluctant to speak. Fear is one of the biggest holds a trafficker has, Webb says.

I remember a woman from Nigeria who was heavily pregnant from sexual abuse. She was arrested because shed been trafficked using false documents. Shed been put under a juju curse that if she spoke to authorities, she and the baby would die in childbirth. It wasnt until shed been sentenced to prison that she spoke about what happened.

In cases of sexual abuse, the effects can last far longer than the crime. We had one woman who was abused so badly its taken major surgery to repair the damage. Another had HIV as a result of her abuse.

Benefit fraud is also common. Women from the EU, often with many children, are trafficked and taken to receive state benefits, which are kept by the traffickers.

How to spot the signs of slavery

Men make up about 40 per cent of potential victims and Webb says roofing, paving and farm labour are common areas. One young man fell off a roof, without safety equipment, and broke his leg. He had a pin and plate put in, but the gangmaster put him to work much too quickly. After a police raid he was given a medical examination. The wound was open, and the pins and plates visible, she said.

Another victim had a broken arm set using building materials.

When potential victims come in they are often offered showers. A young man who had been working in a car wash refused. It turned out he couldnt take his shoes off because the chemicals he worked with had fused them to his feet. They had to be surgically removed.

Hearing these stories every day must be gruelling, but Webb says it is part of her faith to help combat a problem she says is getting worse.

I do what I can to the best of my ability, with as much compassion as I can, and once Ive moved that case on I put it away. But it doesnt mean I dont think about the stories. Some of what you hear is harrowing.

The Salvation Armys confidential Referral Helpline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week: 0300 3038151
E U diplomats today put more pressure on Britain to give ground in the stand-off over a Brexit divorce bill.

They hit out at the UKs reluctance to show its hand on money ahead of a fifth round of talks in Brussels on Monday.

The stand-off means the bloc will not shift talks onto a post-Brexit transition period, let alone a future trade deal, this month. Its important they come out and put more on the table in terms of substance, and dont do any more with rhetoric, said a diplomat briefed on the negotiations.

They understand and we understand that, barring a tectonic shift, there will not be sufficient progress in October, the diplomat added.

Minor progress has been made on citizens rights and Northern Ireland but the bulk of the divorce deal  particularly the Brexit bill  is yet to be done. Even on citizens rights, major differences remain over the role of EU courts post-Brexit and the status of migrants unborn children.

It is also unclear whether the Irish government will allow negotiators to move forward if a solution is not found for the peace process and the border with Northern Ireland.

EU leaders will meet on October 20  without Theresa May  to decide whether enough has been done in the talks, which began in June. They are likely to say that some progress has been made and that divorce talks should continue, several sources said.

A disrupted Conservative Party conference and a leadership plot against the Prime Minister have not helped to reassure EU negotiators.

People here have been truly rattled, said one Brussels source, adding that the Cabinet and Tory Party are falling apart. Earlier this week MEPs complained about Government instability and called on Mrs May to sack Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.

In a resolution adopted by a huge majority on Tuesday, MEPs told EU leaders to delay negotiations on trade unless there is a major breakthrough in the divorce talks before their summit starts on October 19.

They also want Britain to scrap a plan to make EU nationals register with the Home Office post-Brexit, and have floated the idea that Northern Ireland could stay in the blocs single market and customs union.

Although MEPs do not have a say at this stage in the process, they can veto a final deal. Their thinking is also largely in line with EU lead negotiator Michel Barnier. EU leaders have thrown their weight behind him, resisting UK attempts to hold parallel Brexit talks with European capitals.
D avid Cameron loyalist Grant Shapps has revealed himself as one of the ringleaders behind a bid to oust Theresa May, saying "the time has come" for the Prime Minister to go.

The former party chairman made series of TV appearances this morning, saying there is growing support among MPs for a leadership contest following Theresa May's chaotic conference speech.

"A growing number of number of my colleagues, we realise that the solution isn't to bury our heads in the sand and just hope things will get better.

"It never worked out for Brown or Major and I don't think it is going to work out here either."

Five former Cabinet ministers have joined a plot to force Theresa May to quit / Rex

"The time has come for Theresa May to go. We can't just carry on."

He also told BBC Radio 5 Live last night: I think she should call a leadership election. The writing is on the wall.

Mr Shapps is trying to rally 48 colleagues, the number needed to trigger a new leadership contest after the Prime Minister's disastrous cough-dominated party conference speech in Manchester.

Michael Gove, meanwhile, gave an interview this morning in which he rallied to the defence of Mrs May.

"The Prime Minister has been doing a fantastic job," he told the Today programme.

"She showed an amazing degree of resilience and courage this week, of a piece with the fantastic leadership she has shown through the time that she has been Prime Minister."

Loading....

It is thought that around 30 Tory MPs are backing the calls for a leadership election - short of the 48 needed to force a contest under party rules.

Mr Shapps would not be drawn on the number but did confirm that he had the support of five former Cabinet ministers.

Charles Walker, vice chairman of the powerful Tory backbench 1922 Committee, said it was clear that the rebels lacked the support to force out the Prime Minister.

"Number 10 must be delighted to learn that it is Grant Shapps leading this alleged coup," he told the BBC.

"Grant has many talents but the one thing he doesn't have is a following in the party. I really think this is now just going to fizzle out.

"What you are seeing here is probably a coalition of disappointed people who think their brilliant talents have not been fully recognised."

Mr Gove said the "overwhelming majority" of Tory MPs - including the "entirety" of the Cabinet - want Mrs May to carry on.

"The truth is that the overwhelming majority of people want the Prime Minister to concentrate on doing the job which 14 million people elected her to do earlier this year," he said.

"I think it would be disrespectful to those 14 million people to do anything other than concentrate on those areas where action is necessary."

Nadhim Zahawi tweeted: "Inundated with message of support 4 @theresa-may frm members. @grantshapps has misjudged the mood of the party&MPs".

Business Minister Margot James said Mr Shapps does not enjoy wide support in the party after he resigned as chairman following allegations of bullying in the Tories' youth wing.

She posted: "Since road trip turmoil under his party chairmanship Grant Shapps lacks a base in the party."

Veteran backbencher Michael Fabricant suggested Mr Shapps held a grudge because he is no longer a minister.

"I wouldn't buy a used car from one embittered colleague - let alone take advice from him about who should be PM," he said.

"Theresa May should remain."

Nadine Dorries, an ally of Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who has been the subject of speculation about a potential leadership bid amid his perceived disloyalty over Brexit in recent weeks, claimed Mr Shapps was part of a group of Remain-backing MPs seeking to reverse the decision to quit the EU.

She tweeted: "The plot is by remain MPs to topple the PM, destroy Boris and put a remain leader in place to delay and possibly destroy Brexit".

Transport Minister Jesse Norman posted: "This is absolutely not what the country needs. The team needs to get behind the PM 100%."
T he stage invader who interrupted Theresa Mays conference speech joked that he had caught her cold in his first stand-up gig since handing the Prime Minister a mock-up p45.

Simon Brodkin, 40, apologised to the audience at Nottinghams Glee Club last night saying: Sorry Im late, I spent most of last night in a police cell in Manchester.

He added:Ive got a bit of a cold, Im sorry about that, I must have caught it off Theresa.

Brodkin, who performs under the alias Lee Nelson, was arrested for a breach of the peace on Wednesday but released a short time later.

Comedian Lee Nelson disrupts Theresa May speech

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said she was very disappointed about the security lapse, which came a short time before Mrs Mays coughing fit.

Chief Superintendent John OHare of Greater Manchester Police,said Brodkin had legitimate accreditation and the vetting process will now be looked at with the Conservative party.

Brodkin also mocked Mrs Mays general election slogan, telling the audience to get ready for a strong and stable performance.

Lee Nelson handing Theresa May a P45 (Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images) / AFP/Getty Images

While in a punchline to a joke about Brexit he asked: Do you really want to have to wash your own car?

Brodkins pass was obtained from Avalon UK, a talent agency which represents actors, presenters and comedians.

The comedian has previously pranked former FIFA president Sepp Blatter, Kanye West and Donald Trump.

Brodkin attended University College School in Hampstead, north-west London and studied to become a doctor before swapping medicine for comedy.
T ropical Storm Nate has killed at least 22 people as it pounded Central America with rain and moved north towards the US, where it could strike as a hurricane this weekend.

In Nicaragua, at least 11 people died, seven were reported missing and thousands evacuated their homes.

Emergency officials in Costa Rica reported that at least eight people were killed due to the lashing rain, including two children.

Another 17 people were missing, while more than 7,000 had to take refuge from Nate in shelters, authorities said.

A neighbourhood in Costa Rica evacuates because of a mudslide / REUTERS

Two young people also drowned in Honduras due to a sudden river swell, while a man was killed and another went missing in a mud slide in El Salvador, emergency services said.

Costa Rica's government declared a state of emergency, closing schools and all other non-essential services.

Highways in the country were closed due to mudslides and power outages were also reported in parts of country, where authorities deployed more than 3,500 police.

The Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Nate could produce as much as 15 inches of rain in some areas of Nicaragua, where schools were also closed.

Nate is predicted to strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane by the time it hits the US Gulf Coast on Sunday, NHC spokesman Dennis Feltgen said.

At about 11pm local time on Thursday, Nate was some 95 miles east-southeast of the Honduran island of Guanaja, moving northwest at 12 mph, the NHC said.

Blowing maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, Nate was expected to move across eastern Honduras on Thursday and enter the northwestern Caribbean Sea through the night.

US officials from Florida to Texas told residents on Thursday to prepare for the storm. A state of emergency was declared for 29 Florida counties and the city of New Orleans.

"The threat of the impact is increasing, so folks along the northern Gulf Coast should be paying attention to this thing," the NHC's Feltgen said.
W ould-be robbers dug a tunnel half a kilometre long in an attempt to steal 250 million from a bank branch in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Brazilian police foiled the daring plot, but not before the gang spent nearly 1 million and about four months on the underground passage complete with lighting, ventilation and railway tracks.

The tunnel dug by the 20-strong gang ran from a rented home to a branch of government-owned Banco do Brazil, according to investigators.

The Sao Paulo state Public Safety Department said in a statement that agents had been monitoring the gang for three months but only discovered the tunnel on Monday.

Police attend the entrance to the tunnel / REUTERS

By then the tunnel was complete. But police arrested 16 suspects before they could pull off the heist.

They allegedly told officers they had hoped to steal the equivalent of 250 million.

Investigator Fabio Pinheiro Lopes told the Guardian that, had it been successful, the robbery would have been "the biggest bank robbery in the world".

Twelve years ago a different gang tunnelled into a bank vault in Fortaleza and made off with 54 million in Brazilian reals.
A British man is facing a three-year jail sentence in Dubai after putting his hand on a man in a bar so he did not "bump and spill drinks", according to his representatives.

Campaign group Detained in Dubai said Jamie Harron, from Stirling, in Scotland was arrested for public indecency after touching a man on his hip.

Mr Harron is said to have since lost his job and has spent more than 30,000 in expenses and legal fees, having already been stuck there for three months.

Radha Stirling, chief executive of Detained in Dubai, said: "It is quite outrageous that he has been held in the country for so long already.

"This is another example of how vulnerable tourists are to arrest and detention in Dubai and at how drawn out and disorganised legal proceedings are."

The 27-year-old electrician is said to have been holding a drink, moving through a crowded bar, and held a hand in front of him to avoid spilling it on himself or others.

He then "touched a man on his hip to avoid impact".

The organisation claims it was only after Mr Harron and his friend sat at a table that the man who had been touched seemed aggravated.

Police arrived at the scene "20 to 30" minutes later and arrested Mr Harron, according to his representatives.

His charges after the alleged event at the Rock Bottom Bar are said to be twofold - drinking alcohol and public indecency.

Mr Harron is said to have been locked up for five days in Al Barsha prison, before being released after bail with his passport confiscated.

Ms Stirling added: "I have spoken to Jamie today who is under immense pressure and stress. He was expecting to appear in court this Sunday, but the court moved the date without telling him or his lawyer.

"This led to a sentence of 30 days' imprisonment for failing to present himself at the hearing."

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: "We have been in contact with a British man following his arrest in Dubai in July. We are providing consular assistance."
J amie Olivers Istanbul restaurant has gone bust after its parent company recorded losses of nearly 10m last year.

The Jamies Italian branch in the Turkish citys Zorlu Centre, one of 42 around the world, opened early in 2013.

It narrowly avoiding bankruptcy less than two years later and now the Turkish courts have ruled that the company must go into liquidation and the restaurant has shut its doors.

An appeal has been lodged against the decision, the Daily Sabah reported.

A spokeswoman for Jamie Oliver said: The Turkish court has ruled in favour of a bankruptcy against our Turkish franchise partner who operates Jamies Italian in Istanbul.

We are disappointed that our partner has not been able to secure a favourable solution to its on-going business challenges.

Weve supported them during the last three years in hope that the business challenges could be overcome.

We will do all that we can to help support the redeployment of all of the Jamie's Italian colleagues within the wider restaurant group estate.

The Jamies Italian franchise has reportedly seen profits plummet by 78 per cent in 2016, with six of its British branches closing including one in central London.
H arvey Weinstein today claimed his British wife is standing by him as he faced allegations of sexual harassment going back decades.

The Hollywood mogul said that he had to prove that Im worthy to London-born Georgina Chapman - and she will be kicking my a** to be a better person.

Weinstein, 65, said that he has had really tough conversations with Chapman, 41, a fashion designer and actress, over his behaviour, but added: My family is standing with me.

He said that he had to prove that Im worthy to his wife and his five children.

This is going to be a journey, a lonely journey but a journey where my wife and kids couldnt be stronger and couldnt be standing behind me more.

Weinstein and Chapman, who grew up in Richmond, met in 2004 after he had left his first wife, Eve Chilton, with whom he had three children.

The couple married three years later and have two young children together.

Accusations: Ashley Judd / Getty Images

He added: Georgina and I have talked about this at length. Georgina will be with others kicking my a** to be a better human being and to apologise to people for my bad behaviour, to say Im sorry, and to absolutely mean it.

The co-founder of film company Miramax and The Weinstein Company has produced a number of Oscar-winning blockbusters, including Shakespeare in Love, The Kings Speech and The Artist.

He spoke out after a bombshell New York Times report detailing allegations of misconduct going back 30 years.

The newspaper claimed he had reached at least eight settlements with women including one who said she was coerced into giving him a massage while he was naked.

Lawyers for Weinstein said many of the allegations were false and that they were preparing to sue the New York Times, reportedly for as much $50million.

In an interview with DailyMail.com, Weinstein also said he wanted to earn the forgiveness of actress Ashley Judd who accused him of repeatedly making indecent proposals to her 20 years ago.

In the New York Times article Judd reportedly said she was invited up to Weinsteins room, where he appeared in a bathrobe and asked if he could massage her or watch him shower.

According to the report she remembered thinking to herself: How do I get out of the room as fast as possible without alienating Harvey Weinstein?

Asked about her claims Weinstein said: Heres what I feel about Ashley. She wrote a story in Variety (that did not name Weinstein but described the incident) that was one way, now shes remembering this way.

My feeling is I read her book about being abused as a child.

Whatever Ashley wants to say about me, Im going to be supportive. I need to earn her forgiveness. I thought we had a relationship at one time, the goal is to get that back. I salute her like everybody else does.

He was also reported to have paid Rose McGowan US$100,000 under a settlement over an alleged incident shortly before her breakthrough role in Scream.

Asked about that Weinstein said: I promised to keep the peace and thats how I feel about it.

Weinstein also denied the New York Times claim that he had reached eight settlements with women and said their reporting was not right.

As Weinstein spent the day responding to the allegations, his wife was showing her new line of wedding gowns in Manhattan.

In the wake of the allegations Weinstein said he was stepping back from running The Weinstein Company.
A merica's biggest pro-gun group has embraced more restrictive firearms laws to regulate the "bump stock" devices used in the horrific Las Vegas shooting.

The devices, originally intended to help people with disabilities, fit over the stock and grip of a semi-automatic rifle and allow the weapon to fire continuously up to 800 rounds in a single minute.

In the surprise move the National Rifle Association (NRA), which usually opposes any restrictions, called for additional regulations on automatic firearms.

As the US gun debate continues in the wake of the mass killing, the group put out a statement simultaneously with an announcement from the White House which said it would consider banning the tool.

What is a bump stock?

The National Rifle Association is calling on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) to immediately review whether these devices comply with federal law, the group said.

The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations.

Bodycam footage reveals what confronted officers who responded to Las Vegas shooting

"In the aftermath of the evil and senseless attack in Las Vegas, the American people are looking for answers as to how future tragedies can be prevented.

Moments after, at the White House, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders praised the announcement.

Weapons: Guns found in the shooter's hotel room

"We welcome that and a conversation on that," Sanders said. "It's something we're very open to."

House Speaker Paul Ryan added his support, as have other top Republicans, saying: "Obviously we need to look at how we can tighten up the compliance with this law so that fully automatic weapons are banned.

Las Vegas Shooting - In pictures 1 /14 Las Vegas Shooting - In pictures People run for cover at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival Getty Images Concertgoers carry a person away Getty Images Police officers telling people to take cover near the scene AP Broken windows seen on a high floor in the Mandalay Bay hotel facing the scene of the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA Concertgoers scramble for shelter Getty Images Festival-goers run while ducking for cover Getty Images A police officer takes cover behind a patrol vehicle AP A couple comfort each other Getty Images Las Vegas police stand guard along the streets outside the festival grounds of the Route 91 Harvest Getty Images Concertgoers fleeing Getty The crowd at the festival Getty Images Concertgoers fleeing Getty Images A woman sits on a curb at the scene of a shooting outside of a music festival along the Las Vegas Strip AP Police and rescue personnel gather at the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard Getty Images

The announcements marked a rare concession for both the gun lobby group and the Republicans, who have resisted gun control for years.

The NRA has stood firm against stricter gun regulations in the past, even in the wake of previous mass shootings.

Bump stocks The device, which costs around $200, was designed to help people with disabilities more easily fire AK- and AR-platform long guns. It causes the gun to buck back and forth, repeatedly "bumping" the trigger against the shooter's finger. Technically, that means the finger is pulling the trigger for each round fired, which keeps the weapon a legal semi-automatic. Because it creates a significant rocking motion it also means that the gun is "spraying" bullets and it's difficult to hit a target. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms approved the devices during the Obama administration after concluding that they did not violate existing federal law. Now, some Republicans appear inclined to blame the Obama administration for allowing their use in the first place.

They blocked background check legislation after the shooting deaths of elementary school children in Connecticut in 2012, and took no action despite intense pressure from Democrats, including a House floor sit-in, after last year's bloodbath at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

But in the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history the group has chosen to shift its position slightly.

The NRA's intentions, however, were made clearer by the fact that it is directing the recommendations to an executive agency  suggesting they are seeking administrative and not legislative solutions.

If the issue were to be debated on Congress  with new potential laws being drafted  the NRA could lose influence over the outcome.

Despite conceding that an element of regulation could be useful, the lobby group still hit out at politicians who are calling for gun control, writing that "banning guns from law-abiding Americans based on the criminal act of a madman will do nothing to prevent future attacks".

Democrats, who have been eager to debate gun control law for years, insisted that a regulatory change by the ATF would not be sufficient.

Trump: The President is open to the idea of regulations after visiting Vega / Getty Images

"Federal regulations won't be able to fully close this loophole," said Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who introduced a bill this week to ban the devices.

"Legislation would make crystal clear that Congress is banning all devices that allow a weapon to achieve an automatic rate of fire, regardless of how a weapon is altered."

Bump stocks were found among the weapons owned by Stephen Paddock, who carried out the shooting.

Paddock shot from windows at the Mandalay Bay resort and casino / AP

The discovery of them explains why the victims reported hearing what sounded like automatic-weapons fire as he rained bullets from a high-rise hotel.

Fifty-eight people were killed and hundreds more wounded.
P resident Donald Trump set the world on edge today with an ominous declaration that it was the calm before the storm after discussing Iran and North Korea with US military leaders at the White House.

Mr Trump refused to explain what he meant by the remark, saying only: Youll find out.

Washington was abuzz with speculation that the president could be planning a much more hardline approach towards Americas foes.

Recently, we have had challenges that we really should have taken care of a long time ago, like North Korea, Iran, Afghanistan, ISIS, and the revisionist powers that threaten our interests all around the world, Mr Trump said before meeting yesterday with his military chiefs.

He also offered a more pointed warning towards North Koreas Kim Jong Un. We cannot allow this dictatorship to threaten our nation or our allies with unimaginable loss of life. We will do what we must do to prevent that from happening. And it will be done, if necessary, believe me.

His cryptic comment came while posing for a photograph with the uniformed leaders and their wives.

You know what this represents? he said of the gathering, adding: Maybe its the calm before the storm.

Whats the storm, asked one bemused White House correspondent. On Iran? On ISIS? On what?

But the president refused to be drawn, cutting short the questioning after adding: We have the world's greatest military people.

The White House didnt reply to a request for a clarification of the presidents remark.

Earlier Mr Trump also had harsh words for Iran, accusing Tehran of failing to live up to the spirit of a 2015 international accord intended to curb its nuclear programme.

The president is expected to announce that the US plans to walk back on the historic agreement he has previously blasted as the worst deal ever negotiated.

We must not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, Mr Trump said during yesterdays meeting with Pentagon chiefs.

The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed and chaos across the Middle East. That is why we must put an end to Irans continued aggression and nuclear ambitions. They have not lived up to the spirit of their agreement.

Asked whether he intended to decertify the Obama administrations landmark Iran agreement, he added: Youll be hearing about Iran very shortly.

Britain also signed the deal, along with France, Germany, Russia, China, the European Union and Iran. If the US reneges, it could isolate Washington while possibly causing the entire deal to collapse, claim analysts.

Mr Trump is said to be weighing a strategy that could allow more aggressive US responses to both Iran and North Korea - a possible explanation for his calm before the storm claim.

While Mr Trump focused on foreign policy matters it was alleged yesterday that Special Counsel Robert Mueller has met with the former British spy who compiled a dossier about alleged Russian efforts to influence last Novembers US presidential election.

According to CNN, former MI-6 officer Christopher Steele was helping investigators determine whether there was any illegal meetings between the Russians and members of the Trump campaign team.

Mr Trump has claimed the dossier is totally made-up stuff written by a failed spy.

However, US intelligence has reportedly corroborated some of the claims.
A woman was shocked to discover her husband enjoying a coffee with another woman in the background of a scene in the most recent episode of The Apprentice.

Londoner Rosa Silverman was sent a screenshot, by a sharp-eyed friend who had been watching the episode, showing her husband and baby having a drink with a mystery woman in a Brixton cafe.

Silverman, a features journalist at the Daily Telegraph, wrote in the publication: a particularly sharp-eyed friend quickly took a screen-grab and sent it round to a number of us, excitedly pointing out that my husband, myself and our baby were in shot.

Except it wasnt me. It was a woman with long dark hair who could have been me, had she not been wearing someone elses coat and been much better groomed. It was, therefore, Another Woman.

Caught unawares: Silverman's husband and baby with a friend in a scene from The Apprentice / BBC

However, Silverman was quick to shut down the suggestion that her husband was having an affair, explaining: Now, I have every confidence that if my husband were to have an affair, its unlikely he would pick a location so close to our house, take our baby along as a prop, and conduct the whole thing in broad daylight.

She explained that, as episodes of the show are filmed several months before they are broadcast, her husband had at first struggled to recall who the mystery woman was, but had later identified her as a mutual friend.

Shocked: Journalist Rosa Silverman / Twitter

The writer told friends panic over, but one pal wasnt quite so convinced, saying: Why is the panic over just because its one of your friends? Its still perfectly possible hes cheating on you.

Wednesday's episode of The Apprentice saw the candidates tasked with creating and selling burgers at London locations. One team set up stall at the Brixton market where Silverman's husband was seen with the mysterious other woman.

The Apprentice continues Wednesdays at 9pm on BBC One.
This page may have been moved, deleted, or is otherwise unavailable. To help you find what you are looking for:

Enter Search Term(s):

Still cant find what youre looking for? Send us a message using our contact us form. To report a broken link or other problems with the website, please include the URL.

Thank you for visiting state.gov.
Countries & Areas

Search for country or area A Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan B Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burma Burundi C Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Costa Rica Cote dIvoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia D Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic E Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia F Fiji Finland France G Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana H Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary I Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy J Jamaica Japan Jordan K Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan L Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg M Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique N Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Korea North Macedonia Norway O Oman P Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Q Qatar R Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda S Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria T Taiwan Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu U Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan V Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Y Yemen Z Zambia Zimbabwe
After an unexpected additional year of delay because of yet another lawsuit from a disappointed firm seeking some of the work, Germany has finally approved the construction of another five K130 (Braunschweig class) corvettes for their navy. These lawsuit delays have become increasingly common in the West since the end of the Cold War in 1991 and subsequent major cuts in defense spending. This has been worse lately in Europe because more nations are developing the ability to build modern warships, some for export. This is often part of export deals, where the buyer wants some, or most, of the work to be done in the buyers country. This K130 deal was supposed to have been finalized in 2016, and that was after years of political, financial, technical delays. The most recent (and maybe the last) delay was because one of the major shipbuilding firms left out of the deal went to court to get included and did so.

These five new ships will be somewhat improved versions of the first five K130s and cost about $410 million each (8 percent more than the first five). The new K130s are to be in service by 2023, unless there are technical problems similar to what the first five encountered. Perhaps the most important factor in this purchase is the growing threat from Russia, and the K130s were built mainly to protect German coasts, including the one on the Baltic Sea. Another factor is the desire to avoid the technical problems encountered with the first five K130s.

The German Navy commissioned the first of its 1,800 ton K130 ocean-going corvettes in 2008. The K130s were to replace S143/148 class coastal patrol boats, which were designed only for combat along the Baltic Coast. The K130s are designed for moving long distances to support peacekeeping missions, or any other type of mission NATO might have outside of Europe.

The K130 is based on the MEKO-A100 frigate, which is built for export customers. MEKO was a 1970s German shipbuilding concept that created many variants (in terms of size and equipment) from one basic configuration. The K130s can remain at sea for seven days without replenishment, and 21 days if they receive some resupply via helicopter or support ship. The K130s are still basically coast defense ships, but they are also modified to survive long ocean voyages, and are able to proceed at 25-30 kilometers an hour in heavy seas. Top speed is 46 kilometers an hour. The crew of 65 operates a highly automated ship. Actually, crew size can be as small as fifty. Armament consists of a 76mm gun, two 27mm autocannons, two 21 cell Rolling Airframe Missile systems (for missile defense) and four RBS-15 anti-ship missiles. There is a helicopter pad, but only for landing and refueling helicopters. The ships can carry a small helicopter, and the navy has had success in putting two Camcopter helicopter UAVs on board. Camcopters have been around since 2006 and proved very popular and reliable operating off small ships. They weigh 200 kg (440 pounds) each, have six hours endurance and carry the usual day/night vidcams.

If the K130s have no further problems, the navy would like to have at least a dozen of them eventually. The first five K130s didnt enter service until 2010 because it was found that there was a serious problem with the first ones delivered. It seems that the gearbox for the diesel engines were defective. Some screws came loose, fell into the gears, causing them fail. The gearbox was manufactured by a Swiss firm, and the Swiss reputation for flawless engineering was believed to have made a problem like this nearly impossible. But it turned out that the Swiss subcontracted much of the work to a Polish firm, which did not have the same Swiss standards of engineering excellence. The Germans demanded that the Swiss clear up this mess and delayed the first K130s entering service until 2010. The first two K130s were commissioned in 2008, but were soon decommissioned until the gearbox problems were addressed. Three more K130s were not commissioned until they had any needed modifications to their gearboxes and five were in service by 2013.
In South Sudan the government and some of the rebels agreed to resume peace talks on October 13th. There is some urgency now because in July the major donor nations (U.S. and European) announced major cuts in financial aid and other support to South Sudan until the South Sudan government, rebel leaders and the East African community find a way to implement the August 2015 peace agreement. At that point the government insisted it would no longer negotiate with rebel leader Riek Machar. They cannot do so directly because Machar is stuck in South Africa. He arrived there in December 2015 and soon found himself confined to a house outside of Pretoria, though that is disputed by South African authorities. The South African foreign ministry said the rebel leader was being treated as a guest as part of an effort to facilitate peace in South Sudan. According to diplomatic rumor, IGAD (East African Intergovernmental Authority on Development) had asked the South African government to make sure the rebel leader did not leave. In late November the rebel leader left South Africa and flew to Ethiopia, in an aborted attempt to insert himself in new negotiations.

The South Sudan government resisted negotiations for a long time because they believed their armed forces could defeat the rebels. The government forces are more united than the rebels and sought to exploit the factionalism among the rebels. While the main rebel force, the SPLM-IO (Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement-In Opposition) is fragmented it hasn't disappeared. Its core cadre consists of former army units whose soldiers came from the Nuer tribe. The civil war's tribal dimension is confirmed in the leadership. South Sudan president Salvaa Kiir is Dinka. The senior SPLM-IO leader, Riek Machar, is Nuer. Machar has opponents within the SPLM-IO and that is one reason why he remains in exile in South Africa. But the government finds that the main cause of the rebellion, corruption, was still widespread and causing more pro-government groups to rebel or become neutral.

The South Sudan civil war has persisted for nearly four years despite both sides constantly announcing they want to make peace. The basic problem here is that the two major tribes in South Sudan (Dinka and Nuer) are competing for control of the government and all the aid and oil money that entails. Its the same old tribalism that makes honest and efficient government so difficult in parts of the world where tribal organizations still provide services that governments supply in the West. The Dinka are the about half the South Sudan population of nine million. The Nuer are the next largest tribe and comprise about a third of the South Sudan population. For centuries and Nuer and Dinka generally got along. In the decades of fighting against the Arab tribes that ran the Sundanese government the Dinka and Nuer cooperated. But once independence was achieved Dinka and Nuer leaders wanted a fair share of the aid and oil money for their people. Negotiations on that point never got far and the more numerous. Dinka began forcing Nuer officials out of the government. The rebellion is a Nuer reaction to the Dinka acting like Dinka are going to get most of the newfound wealth. Meanwhile minority tribes in South Sudan are concerned about future power (and money) sharing deals between the Dinka and Nuer. There are around 60 minority tribes in the country and they do not want to be marginalized by a Dinka-Nuer agreement to divide government power between the two major tribes. Dinka and Nuer leaders realize that all this fighting only helps the hated former masters in Sudan. But tribal loyalty is more powerful than common sense and the fighting continues.

Most South Sudanese support the concept of an honest and efficient government but tribal and clan loyalties have proved stronger and the composition of government and rebel supporters constantly changed as hundreds of different groups switched alliegence because where they were (in time and space) made it seem like the wise thing to do. Switching sides was often not enough and over 20 percent of the population has fled their homes since the war began and ten percent of the population has fled the country. The fighting has not been widespread and intense because no one can afford a large military force or the weapons and ammo required for heavy combat. The war consists of ambushes, occational gun battles and occasional use of mortars, artillery and PRGs as well as attacks with knives, spears and arrows. Thus the dead from disease and criminal activity (murder, rape, general abuse) have been more numerous than combat deaths. Altogether civil war related deaths so far are about 30,000.

Corruption in South Sudan is causing the more capable members of the military and civil service to quit and get better paying jobs in the civilian economy. The government blames the rebellionfor consuming most of the budget since 2014. But the rebels started the violence to protest the corruption that involved much of the government funds being stolen by those in power.

A good example of the sad state of government in South Sudan can now be seen in the capital, where police have been arresting young men from tribes that have largely sided with the rebels. All it takes is a hostile remark to get these men arrested, but most are soon released with a warning.

October 4, 2017: Uganda agreed to extend its electricity network to several South Sudan towns just across the border. This depends on there being some form of stable government on the South Sudan side so the transmission towers and local power distribution system can be built and operated efficiently.

October 2, 2017: In Sudan the government announced it would began a military campaign in the west (Darfur) on the 15th using 20,000 paramilitary (Janjaweed) fighters of the RSF (Rapid Support Forces) to forcibly disarm 8,000 former Janjaweed fighters belonging to the SRAC (Sudanese Revolutionary Awakening Council) and led by a prominent local tribal leader Musa Hilal. The RSF was formed in 2013 from members of Janjaweed (pro-government tribal militias) that participated in some of the more notorious operations in the Darfur region. In 2013 some pro-government Arab tribes had turned to fighting each other because subsidies (for fighting black African tribes) from the government have been cut in the last few years because the government lost control of the oil in the newly independent South Sudan. For more than a decade the government has been trying to deal with the side effects of using the Janjaweed.

In early 2014 Musa Hilal parted company with the Sudan government and joined SARC, which sought to represent Arabized tribes in Darfur against the government. SARC believes the government has exploited these tribes, especially the way the government had, since 2003 used Janjaweed militias to attack Darfur rebels and non-Arab Sudanese in general. By 2006 over 200,000 people had died in Darfur, mostly the result of Janjaweed raids and massacres of pro-rebel (and largely Moslem farmers) populations. Over 2.5 million people had been forced from their homes. The Darfur rebels always insisted there would be no peace until the Janjaweed were disarmed. At that point most of the Janjaweed were on the government payroll (unofficially but the cash was real and usually on time) and being armed and supplied by the government. Musa Hilal is now the SARC leader and is refusing to disarm and submit to government control because he and the other members of SARC have basically come to view the Sudan government same way the 0riginal (2003) Darfur rebels did.

The decades of violence in Sudan is mostly about religion and ethnicity, as well as money and power. Sudan considers itself Arab and Moslem. Sudan actually considers itself an Islamic republic (religious dictatorship). South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda are all largely Christian and black African. The animosity between black Africans and Arabs is thousands of years old and still active. It means that the Arab world will hold their nose and support Sudan in their war against the "blacks" Sub-Saharan (black) Africa will support South Sudan. It's an old war and it's not just about Sudan.

SRAC is not seen as a threat to the national government but it may mean another round of rebel violence, this time with mainly Arab, rather than black African, rebels.

October 1, 2017: In northeast South Sudan (Bieh state) soldiers and rebels clashed leaving as many as a hundred dead. There are different reports on how many were soldiers and rebels were killed.

September 30, 2017: In South Sudan the government returned Chol Thon Balok to army service. Balok had left the army in 2015 to become governor of Upper Nile state but subsequently left that job and found he was still needed in the military.

September 28, 2017: In South Sudan the government ordered all security forces to cooperate with the growing number of UN peacekeepers in the capital. There had been a growing number of clashes between newly arrived peacekeepers and local police over who could do what.

September 27, 2017: In central South Sudan (Eastern Lakes State) tribal fighting over cattle raids has left at least seven dead and ten wounded. Land and other disputes often leads to one tribe raiding another and stealing cattle. That often results in revenge attacks.

September 22, 2017: In western Sudan (Darfur) security forces fired on protesters in a refugee camp (for people driven from their homes by government forces) and killed five of the unarmed civilians. The protest was against the visit of Sudan president Bashir who was trying to encourage remaining rebels in Darfur to disarm and joine the peace agreement. Bashir was the one who ordered the savage reprisals in Darfur back in 2003 and supported the use of Janjaweed militias, whose main tactic was terror and murder. For that Bashir was eventually indicted by an international court for war crimes and has to be careful where he travels outside of Sudan (there are international warrants for his arrest).

September 18, 2017: In northern South Sudan (Unity state) there was a lot of fighting between soldiers and rebels with at least 25 dead. This area contains oil production facilities that have been shut down because of the fighting.

September 17, 2017: In northeast South Sudan (Bieh state) about 200 soldiers apparently switched sides and joined the rebels.

September 13, 2017: The Red Cross suspended operations in the lower third of South Sudan (the Equatoria region) because one of this personnel was shot dead on the 8th and it is unclear how much of a threat this poses for the other Red Cross staff in the region. About 90 aid workers have died in South Sudan since the civil war began and 17 of those have died so far in 2017.

September 8, 2017: In southwest South Sudan (Western Equatoria state) a Red Cross worker was killed when his convoy was fired on.
Russian President Vladimir Putin last week poked the nest of anxieties over the use of artificial intelligence to gain power in a video address to students at 16,000 selected schools.

Artificial intelligence is the future, not only for Russia but for all humankind, he said. Whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become the ruler of the world.

Russia isnt alone in viewing AI as the next big thing in military arsenals. Both the United States and China see AI as a key to success in armed conflicts of the future.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was among those who weighed in after Putin made his remarks. Musk has been an outspoken critic of autonomous weapons controlled by AI.

China, Russia, soon all countries w strong computer science. Competition for AI superiority at national level most likely cause of WW3 imo.

 Elon Musk (@elonmusk) September 4, 2017

The stakes are high for nations developing AI weapons, wrote Gregory C. Allen, an adjunct fellow at the Center for a New American Security, in a commentary for CNN.

AI could spark a revolution in military technology comparable to the invention of aircraft and nuclear weapons, he suggested.

Russian Breakthroughs Doubtful

Despite its ambitions, Russia isnt likely to rise to AI dominance through technology breakthroughs, Allen maintained, because China and the United States have digital technology industries that are larger and growing faster than Russias.

That said, Russia could play a lead role in weaponizing AI as part of its effort to depose the U.S. as the leading global power and restore Russian dominance over Soviet territory, he wrote.

Even though Russia is not known as an Internet technology powerhouse, the country has an impressive crew of hackers that have knocked out a large chunk of Ukraines power grid, infiltrated U.S. nuclear plants, and wreaked havoc in the 2016 U.S. elections, Allen pointed out.

Nevertheless, Putins initiative to send a unified message about artificial intelligence to some 1 million students is a kind of call to action thats missing in the West, observed Sam Curry, chief security officer for Cybereason.

Were doing AI ad hoc, he told TechNewsWorld. We dont have a big enough vision. We need some big moonshot ideas to rally us.

Economic Battlefield

The advantages autonomous weapons could provide on the battlefield have yet to be established.

Although there have been calls to limit development in that space, its not clear to me youll have a huge amount of military superiority just because you have some automated weapons, said Daniel Castro, director of the Center for Data Innovation.

Its hard to have military victories in many environments, and I dont think AI is going to change that, he told TechNewsWorld.

The real battles for AI dominance will be fought among economies, Castro maintained.

On the economic side, there is a clear race for dominance, he said.

When you look at the impact of AI in different industries going forward, we can see the technology is going to have a transformative impact, Castro pointed out. Theres going to be a direct corollary between a countrys success with AI and economic power.

Dominance Difficult to Achieve

While success with AI may contribute to a nations standing in the global community, whether its a ticket to dominance may be another matter.

AI is going to play a significant role in how future technology is leveraged and how decision-making is made, but its not clear to me that one country will rule on this, said Bill Welser, director of the engineering and applied sciences department atRand Corporation.

Even if a country did gain an advantage, its unclear it would be able to block technological diffusion from occurring very quickly, he told TechNewsWorld.

What were seeing now is, as an application base appears in one sector or location, it quickly flows to others  so theres a very short first-mover advantage, Welser explained.

People should be concerned about totally replacing humans in the decision-making process to fire weapons, but were pretty far away from that, he said.

What we should be more concerned about now is bias by coders of the AI systems, Welser suggested. Those biases, even without removing humans out of the decision-making loop, could create unwanted outcomes.

Smart Pandoras Box

Putins remarks have added gasoline to burning concerns over the use of AI in war machines. Those concerns have prompted the United Nations to begin discussions about weapons that incorporate AI into their operations  weapons such as drones, tanks and automated machine guns.

Russia already has taken steps in that direction. Its Military Industrial Committee in 2015 launched an ambitious research and development program to make 30 percent of the countrys combat power consist either of remotely controlled or robotic platforms by 2025.

The prospect of an AI-powered weapons arms race prodded more than 100 technology specialists from 26 countries, including Musk and Mustafa Suleyman, an exec at Googles parent company Alphabet, to call for a ban on autonomous weapons.

Once developed, lethal autonomous weapons will permit armed conflict to be fought at a scale greater than ever, and at timescales faster than humans can comprehend, the group wrote to the UN in August.

These can be weapons of terror, weapons that despots and terrorists use against innocent populations, and weapons hacked to behave in undesirable ways, the letter continues. We do not have long to act. Once this Pandoras box is opened, it will be hard to close.
Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn, best known as one of Apple's major suppliers, is to build a $10 billion manufacturing campus in Mount Pleasant - a village in Racine County, Wisconsin. It had been suspected that the company would choose this location, and officials finally confirmed the news earlier this week.

Back in June, in was reported that Foxconn had narrowed the search for its new display plant to seven states --- Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Texas. The company says it will build an industrial campus with around 20 million square feet of office space across 1.56 miles.

Foxconn will manufacture liquid crystal displays at the plant, which will be used in everything from self-driving cars to aircraft, as well as consumer products such as phones and televisions.

The campus will consist of a multibillion-dollar thin-film transistor liquid crystal display plant, a facility to package LCD modules, a skill-intensive facility focused on molding and tool-and-die processes, and an assembly operation to produce end-device units.

County and village officials offered Foxconn a $764 million incentives package to move to Mount Pleasant, on top of up to $3 billion from the state --- providing the company can fulfill its jobs promise. Foxconn is expected to hire around 13,000 people on average salaries of $53,000, and the plant could attract around 150 Foxconn suppliers to the area, who will bring additional jobs.

"I think it's going to be really good. The economy ought to pick its way up around here. It's been dragging a little here in Racine (County)," Michael Rosenbaum, a village trustee in the town of Sturtevant, told the Chicago Tribune.
Just after he was inaugurated as president, there were concerns that Donald Trump was still using his old, unsecured Samsung Galaxy S3 to send out tweets. But it seems that his current chief of staff, John Kelly, had already fallen victim to hackers, who compromised his phone in an attack that potentially happened up to a month before Trump took office.

According to a new report from Politico that cites three US government officials, White House tech staff only found out about the suspected breach when Kelly handed in the phone this summer, complaining that it had been glitchy and not updating properly for months. It's thought an attack could have occurred as far back as December 2016. White House aides circulated a memo regarding the situation last month.

The phone was Kelly's own device, rather than his government-issued one. A White House spokesperson said he rarely used his personal phone since joining the administration, though "rarely" isn't the same as never. They added that Kelly no longer possessed the handset.

Despite several days of "testing" by tech staff, it's unclear how the phone was initially breached and, most importantly, whether any sensitive government information was accessed. We still don't know what kind of device Kelly was using, though he has been seen with an iPhone in the past.

The news comes during an internal probe into senior White House officials, including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, using their personal emails while engaging in government business.
We saw the first leaked images of Lenovo's 25th Anniversary ThinkPad a couple of weeks ago, thanks to German blog WinFuture.de. Now, during an event at the Yamato Labs in Yokohama, Japan, the company officially unveiled the ThinkPad 25.

The limited edition retro laptop is based on the current T470 model, but its design is inspired by the ThinkPad 700C, which was released on October 5, 1992. The hardware is the same as the current ThinkPad, thankfully, while nostalgia fans will no doubt appreciate its rubberized coating, red TrackPoint, classic seven-row ThinkPad keyboard with ThinkVantage blue enter button, dedicated volume button, colorful logo, and numerous status LEDs.

That's where the retro elements end. The laptop features a 14-inch Full HD touchscreen, an Intel Core i7-7500U, GeForce 940MX GPU, 16GB of DDR4, a 512GB NVMe SSD, multiple ports (including Thunderbolt 3 Type-C), a 720p webcam, a fingerprint scanner for Windows Hello, and a claimed 18-hour battery life.

The machine's internals are a long way from the old 700C, which featured an Intel 486 CPU running at 25MHz, 4MB to 8MB of RAM, around 120MB of HDD space, and a 640 x 480 10.4-inch LCD screen. It also came with a 3.5-inch disk drive.

Long-time ThinkPad fans will have to dig deep and move fast if they want one of these Anniversary machines. They're only available in limited quantities in select countries, and prices start at $1,899. That may be expensive, but it's still better than the $2,375 it cost to buy a 700C in 1992.
Brazil's vice-president-elect and coordinator of the transition team of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's government, Geraldo Alckmin, asked Jair Bolsonaro's government for access to complete... | Read More
Remembering those who died in the Mid-Valley. Photos submitted by family members to accompany their obituaries in the Albany Democrat-Herald a
AUTO LAB TALK RADIO FROM NYC SATURDAY MORNING! 7-9 AM October 7, 2017







Auto Lab Talk Radio

The Auto Lab Radio Show LIVE every Saturday 7 to 9 AM On New York City's WNYM Radio AM 970 and Streamed Worldwide On The Auto Channel

This Weeks Show Broadcast Date: October 7, 2017

Car Question or Concern? Call Toll Free 888-692-7234

Auto Lab is a 28 year old interactive automotive-focused New York area radio call-in show hosted by Professor Harold Wolchok. Each week a cadre of experienced hands-on automotive experts are in-studio with advice for the New York area's 12 million people, providing listeners with honest, practical and street-smart car repair and buying advice.

Auto Lab is also about the automotive industry, its history, and its culture, presenting the ideas and advice of leading college faculty, authors, and automotive practitioners in a relaxed, conversational interactive format.

Listeners can hear the past 18 years of archived Auto Lab shows as simulcast on www.theautochannel.com.

Listen - Auto Lab Page (Includes Audio-on-Demand Archives, Auto Programs at Community College Database, Guests Pictures

This Weeks Show: October 7, 2017

IN STUDIO: Auto Lab's Real World Experts Answer Your Questions; Discuss: Repairs, Second Opinions, Regular Maintenance, How To's, Safety, Used and New Car Buying, Ombudsmen Suggestions

Harold Bendell - Major Auto

Fred Bordoff - Bronx Community College Automotive Technology Department-CUNY

Tim Cacace - Master Mechanix Auto Repairs

David Goldsmith - Urban Classics Auto Repairs AAA NY

Jeff Alon-NY Transmission Group

Jerry Pastore-D & J Diagnostic

Johanna Pastore-D & J Diagnostic

Joanne Porcelli, Esq

Michael Porcelli - Auto Mobile Services

Nicholas Prague- MTA and Rockland Community College, SUNY

Broadcast Date: October 7, 2017

Auto Lab Correspondents Remote Interviews: Featuring Auto Safety News, New Car Reviews, Technology and Latest Auto World Information That Will Effect You!

Robert Erskine, Senior European Correspondent, Suffolk England

"EV'S DIG FOR COPPER

John Russell Senior Correspondent

INFINITI Q 70

Russ Rader, Vice President Insurance Institute for Highway Safety

REDESIGNED 2018 TOYOTA CAMRY HAS IMPROVED AUTOBRAKE, HEADLIGHTS

Robert Sinclair Jr.- AAA Northeast

LATEST DISTRACTED DRIVING STUDY LOOKING AT IN-CAR TECHNOLOGIES WITH TWO PROVING EXTREMELY DANGEROUS
Because no two paths to parenthood look the same, the Cuts How I Got This Baby invites parents to share their stories. Want to share yours? Email gotbaby@thecut.com and tell us a bit about how you became a parent.

Photo: H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock/Getty Images

K was 26, newly engaged, and figuring out her next career move, when she started having severe headaches. She was in and out of doctors for about a month before one decided to do a blood test, the results of which led very quickly to a diagnosis: leukemia. For K and her fiance, questions that once seemed far in the future suddenly became very real. She discusses reckoning with her fertility, undergoing fertility preservation, the difference between being in the hospital as a cancer patient and a woman giving birth, and what shell tell her son about cancer someday.

A life-altering diagnosis in her mid-20s. The idea of becoming a parent didnt really become real to me until I was diagnosed. The diagnosis came about in kind of a traumatic way  Id been in and out of doctors for a month, with severe headaches. One doctor thought I looked kind of pale and did a blood test; they called me the next day and told me to go to the ER immediately. I was diagnosed with leukemia very quickly.

One of my first questions was whether it would affect my fertility. Id just gotten engaged and wanted to know how it might change that part of our lives. For us, kids always seemed very theoretical  wed been together since our early 20s and had never had to take that question seriously before. Once we were faced with the reality that it might be more of a challenge, it became a lot more real.

On taking steps with a future family in mind. After I was diagnosed, I was in the hospital for about a month. For leukemia, the goal is to blast it out of the body very quickly. One of the first things that a leukemia doctor does to gauge your prognosis is to test the genetic profile of your disease and look for markers that mean its more or less likely to be responsive to treatment. The kind of leukemia I had meant a 20 to 30 percent chance of five-year survival.

Once that month of treatment was done, I had a little bit of time to recover. But I had to make a decision: Do four rounds of less-intense chemotherapy, or do a bone-marrow transplant. We saw two different doctors who had completely different opinions. One thought I should definitely have a transplant, the other thought I didnt need to. Bone-marrow transplants can be incredibly taxing and have a fatality rate of their own; on top of this, they usually mean that you wont be able to have children. In the end, I decided to opt for the four rounds of chemotherapy.

It was during the break between treatments that I did fertility preservation, just in case I did relapse and had to be thrown into the hospital for a bone-marrow transplant. Because I wasnt married and had no income at that point, I was able to get some funding, which covered most of the process. You do essentially the first part of IVF: All the shots, the extraction, fertilizing. We have six embryos on ice, waiting, to be used at some point, if we want them.

Compared to chemotherapy, the fertility preservation process felt like no big deal. The needles and appointments didnt bother me, the way I know they bother some other women.

Once we did that, we sort of thought, Okay, thats done. We dont need to worry about this for a while. That was partly because we just werent ready to become parents, and partly because I wanted to wait until the five-year mark. Its a little bit of an arbitrary number, but with leukemia, its very rare for people to relapse after five years. The longer youre out, the less likely you are to relapse. I wanted to wait until those five years passed until we even started thinking about it.

On discovering a treatment may have affected her fertility. After the less-intense chemotherapy, I was put in a clinical trial that my doctor was part of, with a bunch of other doctors. It was pretty easy  shots that decreased in frequency over the course of about a year. Id have shots of this very thick goo, which introduced a protein that spikes before a leukemia relapse  the idea was that your body would learn to recognize the protein and fight it off before a relapse. It was for people like me, whod decided not to have a bone marrow transplant, or for people who werent eligible for one. At that point, I think I was one of 15 people who completed the trial. Some people passed away, others relapsed.

Then, I put the idea of kids out of my mind for a while. We were settling back into life; I was getting used to a new job. Right around the time our friends started having kids, I started to worry, just a little bit. So I went to the doctor to have my fertility tested, and found out about my ovarian function  I was 30, and they said mine was like a 33-year-olds. I was pretty reassured by that, but not completely. At that point, I started seeing a therapist, which I hadnt done during my treatment. The anxiety of not knowing whether Id be able to have kids was just really getting to me.

In the context of my disease, I could roll with the punches and not worry. But I couldnt do that with this. It sounds horrible, but I had thoughts, when it seemed like it might not work, like, Well, I wont be around to deal with it. Ill be dead, and I wont care. This, though, was something Id be living and dealing with. It seemed more daunting, in its own way.

When I brought up the possibility of kids to my oncologist, his reaction surprised me: His tone really changed, and he said this was something we really needed to consider. He explained that they didnt know what kind of effect the clinical trial might have on fetal development. The protein they gave me was also involved in embryo development, so they didnt know how that might affect getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy. It didnt sound like there was someone they could point to as someone whod had a child after undergoing this kind of treatment.

On gingerly enjoying a healthy pregnancy. My oncologist said that I should be seen by a high-risk doctor, and my friend had had a high-risk pregnancy and a doctor that she loved. Within a month of meeting that doctor, I was pregnant. It was a complete surprise.

I went to the high-risk practice the whole time. I was under more maintenance and surveillance than most people my age would be. But everything, after all that, turned out to be fairly routine: I didnt have high blood pressure, the development was normal. Still, my husband and I went back into disease mode: We took every day one at a time, never looking too far into the future.

Judging by some of the reading I did about pregnancy, I think my cancer experience made me trust my doctors more than some people seem to. I had no interest in something like a natural birth. I was familiar with statistics and risks and hearing numbers because of my disease. I wasnt afraid of hospitals, I didnt want to sweat the small stuff. To me, getting to the finish line was the most important part.

On being shocked at how she was treated while giving birth. It was sort of a shitshow. At the very end of my pregnancy, I started losing fluid. It was very close to the due date, just about five days before, so they decided to induce me. I went into the hospital thinking, Everything will be fine. They know how to take care of people here. But thats not how it was at all.

You hear horror stories about how women are treated, and you think its the exception, and maybe it is  but I had a lot of those experiences. We waited for seven hours in a waiting room, watching the Paris attacks on the news. I didnt make it into a permanent bed until midnight.

The induction didnt go very well, which isnt that unusual for low fluid. But no one at the hospital was very helpful  I asked for a heating pad, they said no. I asked for another pillow. No. It seemed to be clear that the baby wasnt going to come naturally. We started talking about a C-section, which was fine with me.

But then they left me for a few hours, and all of a sudden, I was having an emergency C-section. It was stressful  my epidural was wearing off, I was starting to be able to feel, and they really had to scramble. The baby was fine, right from the start; he peed all over the table. My husband was left alone with the baby for quite a while while they tried to get me into a room.

Friends that I shared the experience with told me that it definitely did not seem normal, that some of what happened was completely unacceptable. They actually sent someone, a higher-up hospital administrator, to talk to us about what had happened. Youd think, as a cancer patient, that going through chemotherapy would be the worst possible hospital experience. But when I was in treatment, it was so much better than giving birth! People were invested in my welfare, in helping me to get comfortable. Its just strange, since giving birth is a lot more common than having cancer.

On early parenthood. When I was going through treatment, I had people around to help me. My husband didnt have any leave, really, and has a really demanding job with long hours  so after my parents went home I was alone with the baby all day, relatively quickly. It took a couple months before we really settled into our new routine, but we did. Becoming parents made us sort of no different from anyone else, in a way. It was weird, but refreshing.

Having cancer definitely made me realize how temporary everything is, that each step gets you somewhere else. Parenting feels similar to me: Theyre little for such a short time. Every phase feels so slow while youre going through it, but then you realize  hes almost 2. Were done with the tiny-baby phase, the early-toddler phase. I dont worry very much, when it comes to my son, which is not what I would have expected of myself as a parent, if youd asked me ten years ago.

On the future with her family. My husband and I continue to ask ourselves what well tell our son about my cancer. I think it will be somewhat similar to kids who are adopted  this is something kids know, learning a little bit more as they get older, explaining how they came to be. I certainly dont want to hide this from him, but I dont think it will come up in everyday conversation. We hope it sparks an interest in science for him  its just the truth that if I hadnt had that treatment he wouldnt be here and Id be dead.

Were still getting used to having one kid, but we do think about having more. The first pregnancy was fairly easy, so Im not dreading that part. Im still enjoying this one, though. I think we will have another, if we can.
Paul Andrew. Photo: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage

On Thursday, Salvatore Ferragamo announced that Paul Andrew will be the new creative director of the brands womens ready-to-wear line, replacing Fulvio Rigoni, who held the post for one year. You can expect his first collection for the brand in this new role in fall 2018.

Andrew, who has designed accessories for Alexander McQueen, Narciso Rodriguez, and Calvin Klein, founded his own eponymous womens footwear line in 2012. He joined Ferragamo as womens footwear director in September last year, but since he has no professional experience designing clothing, this next step is a huge leap. Or is it?

This news comes at a time where all job descriptions in the fashion industry are being put into question: Can a magazine editor run a brand? Can a celebrity run a magazine? Can Instagram influencers do all of the above?

So, why cant an accessories designer do clothing? Its been done before: Just look at what Alessandro Michele did for Gucci.

In the case of Andrew, hes already got experience building a brand. (Hes also won two CFDA Awards.) More importantly, though, the move is a return to the brands roots: Salvatore Ferragamo was a shoe designer himself.

Accessories are a key factor to the success of any brand, but well have to wait and see if Andrew can build Ferragamos reputation as a competitive clothing brand as well.
Rep. Tim Murphy. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call,Inc.

Just one day after announcing he would retire in 2018, Representative Tim Murphy resigned from Congress on Thursday, Politico reports. The congressman has been embroiled in controversy since the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette revealed earlier in the week that he had urged his mistress to get an abortion  despite his anti-abortion stance.

This afternoon I received a letter of resignation from Congressman Tim Murphy, effective October 21, Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement, per Politico. It was Dr. Murphys decision to move on to the next chapter of his life, and I support it.

On Tuesday, the Post-Gazette reported that Murphy, a 64-year-old congressman from Pennsylvania, had pressured his mistress, 32-year-old forensic psychologist Shannon Edwards, to get an abortion during a pregnancy scare. The congressman had been publicly vehemently anti-abortion: Hes a member of the House Pro-Life Caucus, co-sponsored the 20-week abortion ban passed by the house earlier this week, and has been endorsed by the anti-abortion group LifePAC.

The revelation, which the Post-Gazette learned through documents obtained during Edwardss divorce proceedings, highlighted the politicians hypocrisy about reproductive rights.

Shortly after the news broke, Murphy announced on Wednesday that he would not seek reelection after his current term ended in 2018. In the coming weeks I will take personal time to seek help as my family and I continue to work through our personal difficulties and seek healing. I ask you to respect our privacy during this time, he wrote. However, the congressman instead ended up handing in his resignation on Thursday.
Hundreds of Falun Gong practitioners hold a candlelight vigil at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on July 20, 2017, to honor those who have died during the persecution in China since July 20, 1999. (Benjamin Chasteen/The Epoch Times)

After Refusing to Renounce Her Spiritual Beliefs, Torture Renders Chinese Woman Comatose

A woman in Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province, in China is now in a coma after suffering months of torture while imprisoned for her spiritual beliefs.

She is an adherent of Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, an ancient self-improvement that involves meditation and living according to the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance.

In 1999 the Chinese regime launched a nationwide persecution of Falun Gong practitioners that is still ongoing. The official press office for Falun Gong, the Falun Dafa Information Center, estimates that millions of Falun Gong adherents have been arrested and detained since the persecution started, often enduring torture and abuse while imprisoned.

Song Shouyun is the latest victim. She was arrested in her home on Oct. 24, 2016, targeted because she refused to renounce her faith, according to a report on Minghui.org, a U.S.-based website dedicated to publishing information on the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

A woman in her 50s, Song was in good health prior to her arrest. Her family members told Minghui.org that when the police ransacked her house, they confiscated her Falun Gong books and a large amount of cash. To date, the police still havent returned her books or her money.

Song was detained at the Chaoyang Detention Center, where she was beaten on a regular basis. During the winter months, she was not allowed to wear warm clothes.

On Sept. 29, 2016, at 1:30 a.m., family members received a phone call from the detention center, informing them that Song had been sent to a local hospital.

Upon the familys arrival at the hospital, they were told Song had suffered a brain hemorrhage and needed to undergo surgery. The hospital doctors told the family Song could remain in a coma for a long time or possibly die. The detention center told them to file a request for medical parole.

Police stopped her family members when they tried to snap a picture of Song.



4,135 adherents are confirmed to have perished from torture and abuse as a result of the persecution, according to Minghui.org, though actual figures are likely much higher due to the secrecy and lack of information from Chinese authorities. Very large numbers of practitioners are believed to have been killed through forced, live organ harvesting, according to researchers.
Beatrice Fihn, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) receives a bottle of champagne from her husband Will Fihm Ramsay (R) next to Daniel Hogsta, coordinator, while they celebrate after ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prize 2017, in Geneva, Switzerland on Oct. 6, 2017. (REUTERS/Denis Balibouse)

Anti-Nuclear Campaign Group Wins 2017 Nobel Peace Prize

OSLO/GENEVAThe Norwegian Nobel Committee, warning of a rising risk of nuclear war and the spread of weapons to North Korea, awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday to a little-known campaign group seeking a global ban on nuclear arms.

The award for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) was unexpected, particularly in a year when the architects of the 2015 nuclear deal between international powers and Iran had been seen as favorites for achieving the sort of diplomatic breakthrough that has won the prize in the past.

Still, supporters saw it as a potential breakthrough for a global movement that has fought to ban nuclear arms from the day the first atomic bomb was dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in August 1945.

ICANs Executive Director Beatrice Fihn told Reuters the group was elated.

Asked if she had a message for North Koreas Kim Jong-Un, who has tested nuclear arms in defiance of global pressure, and President Donald Trump, who has threatened to totally destroy North Korea to protect the United States and its allies, she said both leaders need to know that the weapons are illegal.

ICAN describes itself as a coalition of grassroots non-government groups in more than 100 nations. It began in Australia and was officially launched in Vienna in 2007.

We live in a world where the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time, said Berit Reiss-Andersen, the leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Some states are modernizing their nuclear arsenals, and there is a real danger that more countries will try to procure nuclear weapons, as exemplified by North Korea.

The award was hailed by anti-nuclear campaigners around the world. Mikiso Iwasa, an 88-year-old Hiroshima survivor, told Reuters the prize would help push the movement forward.

It is wonderful we have this Nobel Peace-Prize winning movement. All of us need to join forces, think hard and walk forward together to turn this momentum into something even bigger, he said.

Click here to see a graphics of Nobel Laureates

Nuclear Tensions

The prize seeks to bolster the case of disarmament amid nuclear tensions between Washington and Pyongyang, as well as uncertainty over the fate of the 2015 deal between Iran and major powers to limit Tehrans nuclear program, although the committee made no mention of Iran in its award citation.

The committee raised eyebrows with its decision to award the prize to an international campaign group with a relatively low profile, rather than recognizing the Iran deal, a complex agreement hammered out over years of high-stakes diplomacy.

Norwegian Nobel Committee has its own ways, but the nuclear agreement with Iran achieved something real and would have deserved a prize, tweeted Carl Bildt, a former Swedish prime minister who has held top posts as an international diplomat.

Norwegian Nobel Committee has its own ways, but the nuclear agreement with Iran achieved something real and would have deserved a prize.  Carl Bildt (@carlbildt) October 6, 2017

The Iran accord, which Trump has repeatedly called the worst deal ever negotiated, is seen as under particular threat this week. A senior administration official said on Thursday Trump is expected to decertify Irans compliance, a step toward potentially unwinding the pact.

The committee may have been reluctant to reward the Iranian government for its role in the nuclear deal because the only Iranian winner so far, 2003 laureate Shrin Ebadi, a lawyer and human rights campaigner, is forced to live in exile.

I think the committee has thought about the human rights situation in Iran. It would have been difficult to explain the prize even though it has a favorable view of the Iran deal, Asle Sveen, a historian of the Nobel Peace Prize, told Reuters.

The Norwegian Nobel committee denied that giving the prize to an anti-nuclear group was intended either as a rebuke to Trump, or as a snub to the architects of the Iran nuclear deal.

The Iran treaty is a positive development, a disarmament development that is positive, but the reason we mentioned North Korea (in our statement) is a reference to the threat that people actually feel, Reiss-Andersen told Reuters.

Iran has not voiced recent threats to use nuclear weapons, on the contrary, she said in an interview.

ICAN has campaigned for a U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was adopted by 122 nations in July this year.

That agreement is not signed by  and would not apply to  any of the states that already have nuclear arms, which include the five U.N. Security Council permanent members, the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France, as well as India, Pakistan and North Korea. Israel is also widely assumed to have nuclear weapons, although it neither confirms nor denies it.

Major allies of the declared nuclear powers also oppose the new treaty. Nevertheless, campaigners see it as a framework that would make it easier for countries that have nuclear arms to work toward eliminating them.

The United Nations said the award would help bolster efforts to get enough of the countries that signed the new treat to ratify it so that it can come into force. Fifty ratifications are needed.

I hope this prize will be conducive for the entry into force of this treaty, U.N. Chief Spokeswoman in Geneva Alessandra Vellucci told a news briefing.
Arizona Man Turns in Guns After Las Vegas Massacre

A man in Phoenix, Arizona called up the police on Wednesday, Oct. 4 and told them he would like to turn in his guns. He was driven to do this after at least 58 people were killed by gunfire in Las Vegas on Oct. 1.

Jonathan Pring, a 10-year U.S.-resident with dual citizenship in the U.K., said that after seeing the carnage wrought by 64-year-old Stephen Paddock at a Las Vegas country music festival, gun ownership wasnt for him.

People on social media and in the news are asking questions and looking for answers. I have an answer. If civilians do not have guns then mass shooting events will occur less frequently, he wrote in a since-deleted Facebook post, according to NBC affiliate KPNX.

Pring said he enjoyed taking his guns to shooting ranges and doing Rambo poses in the mirror with them. But when he thought about what was really important to him, he realized his guns didnt even make it to his top 10 list.

I like my son and my wife more, Pring told Fox 10.

I would hate for [the shooting] to happen to my family and it suddenly made me think how ridiculous this whole gun debate is in America, he said, according to KPNX.

But when Pring tried to turn in his guns, he raised alarm bells with the police dispatcher.

When I phoned dispatch and I said, Hi, Ive got some guns Id like to get rid of, the dispatcher panicked a little bit, Pring told Fox 10. Youve got guns? How many guns? Are there people in the house with you now? Are the guns loaded?

When Jonathan Pring posted images on Facebook showing him turning guns in to police he knew he'd get some response. https://t.co/aSPDyxLu0I pic.twitter.com/G8jtdEpaSZ  WDTN (@WDTN) October 6, 2017

He said he could have gotten a few thousand dollars by pawning them, but he felt that turning them into the police was the right thing to do as it would ensure they didnt go back on the street.

Doing the right thing hasnt been easy, however.

His post, which was shared hundreds of thousands of times, garnered positive reactions from the first thousand or so people who commented on it, he said.

But later the comments started getting negative, and he began to get death threats, he said. He decided to take the post down and left town with his family for a few days.

I tried to be diplomatic in what I wrote, he told KPNX. I didnt want to alienate people and I didnt want to make this about me.

Hes aware he doesnt have a gun to protect his family anymore, he said, but hes willing to take that risk, saying he doesnt need a gun to be a man.

To any would be home invaders, watch out. I just bought a brand new Slugger, he wrote in his post.

The Facebook Post

Hello. My name is Jonathan Pring. I am a proud United States Citizen.

Until this morning I was a gun owner.

In lieu of the recent mass shooting event in Las Vegas, this morning I phoned my local police station (Phoenix, Arizona) and asked for an officer to visit my house and collect my firearms.

People on social media and in the news are asking questions and looking for answers. I have an answer. If civilians do not have guns then mass shooting events will occur less frequently.

That clever old Indian Gandhi once said Be the change you want to see in the world.

Small steps really can make a difference and we can all do small steps, even babies.

I will miss my guns. I enjoyed taking them to the range and doing Rambo poses in front of the mirror. I paid a lot of money for them. However, if I was to write down the 10 most important things in my life the guns wouldnt make the list.

I hope my actions inspire others. If we can achieve a safer world for our children, we will have done a good thing.

Be the change.

To any would be home invaders, watch out. I just bought a brand new Slugger.

From NTD.tv
Policemen outside the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, on November 12, 2013. (Photo by Feng Li/Getty Images)

Chinese Authorities Say Jailed Womans Death Is Due to Diabetes, Family Suspects Torture

A Chinese woman has died under mysterious circumstances just 12 days after being detained by police for her spiritual beliefs.

Yu Baofang of Anshan City, Liaoning Province is a practitioner of Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, a self-improvement practice that involves living according to the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. The practice includes qigong-like exercise movements and meditation.

Yu, her husband, and their son were arrested and detained by local authorities in July this year for refusing to renounce their faith, according to a report on Minghui.org, a U.S.-based website dedicated to publishing information on the persecution of Falun Gong in China.

Her husband Wang Dianguo is still detained and has been denied the chance to make funeral arrangements for his wife. Her son Wang Yu has been released.

On July 17, Yu was sent to a hospital in Anshan City. She died several hours later. Yus son, Wang, was allowed to visit his mother, but was not allowed to be near her or touch her, Wang told Minghui.org.

I wanted to stay longer. I wanted to hold her hands. This would be my last chance to hold her hands, but the police didnt let me. They forcibly took me out of the room. I only stayed there for a few minutes, Wang said.

Hospital staff told Wang they attempted to resuscitate her, but that her cause of death was still unknown.

The following day, the Anshan Womens Detention Center where Yu was detained informed Wang that Yu had died from diabetes, but did not provide any medical documentation from the hospital.

Wang said his mother had no record of diabetes prior to her arrest. The detention center conducts physical exams on their detainees upon arrival, and also did not provide records showing Yu had any health conditions.

If my mom had serious health issues, why would the detention center accept her without a word? Why had they only informed us [of her death] an hour after her death and not before or during her emergency treatment? Wang told Minghui.org.

Yus family has requested video evidence of the hospitals rescue efforts or a hospital report, but the detention center has yet to provide either.

They suspect Yu had died from being tortured and that the local authorities are attempting to cover it up. They are now seeking legal action.

Wang also told Minghui.org that his family home was ransacked by the police. When he returned home after being released, he found that the police had taken the familys cash, and a very bad odor filled their home. The police unplugged the refrigerator and left its door open. The food inside was left to rot, and maggots covered it and spilled onto the kitchen floor.

4,135 adherents are confirmed to have perished as a result of torture and abuse, according to Minghui.org, though actual figures are likely much higher due to the authorities tight control of information about the persecution. In addition, a large number of Falun Gong practitioners have been killed through forced, live organ harvesting, according to researchers.
Man Reveals Secret Regarding His Beloved Who Was Lost in Vegas Shooting

Derek Miller planned to do it right after the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival.

He came to Las Vegas with his girlfriend Andrea Castilla to celebrate her 28th birthday. Castillas sister Athena and Athenas fiance came as well.

When the first shots rang out, they ducked. Andrea protected her sister and the two held hands. Then a bullet struck Andrea in the head.

Miller and Athenas fiance Shan Armstrong shielded Andrea and carried her out of the concert grounds and rushed her to a hospital. After 7 hours of waiting, they learned the tragic news. She was gone.

Thats when Miller revealed his secret. He was going to propose to his beloved after the concert.

He told me after she had passed, Athena Castilla told People. They were planning on staying on until Thursday in our guest room. He told me, I was planning on asking her this weekend with you guys We talked about spending the rest of our lives together.'

Andreas brother, Adam said, They had promise rings, and they always talked about it. Derek had asked my dads permission. He wanted to start a family with her.

Andrea worked as a makeup artist at Sephora. Her mother died of cancer when she was a teenager. Her mothers battle with cancer inspired her to use makeup to make cancer patients feel beautiful.

The seven-hour wait everyone endured at the hospital turned out to be due to an error. Andrea had passed away upon admittance, but the hospital lost track of her in the chaos following the mass shooting.

With all the chaos and no ID, she was lost in the system. The family provided her ID and Facebook photos and she was confirmed deceased.

Investigation Continues

On Wednesday, Oct.4, the girlfriend of the Las Vegas gunman who killed 58 people and himself in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history was questioned by the FBI and said she had no idea he was planning violence against anyone.

Marilou Danley, who returned late on Tuesday from a family visit to the Philippines and is regarded by investigators as a person of interest, said through a lawyer that the carnage Stephen Paddock unleashed while she was abroad caught her completely by surprise.

He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen, Danley, 62, said in a written statement read to reporters by her attorney in Los Angeles, where the FBI was questioning her.

A Federal Bureau of Investigation official in Las Vegas, meanwhile, said no one has been taken into custody.

But Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told reporters he found it hard to believe that the arsenal of weapons, ammunition, and explosives recovered by police in their investigation could have been assembled by Paddock completely on his own.

You have to make an assumption that he had some help at some point, Lombardo said at a news briefing. Lombardo said the attack was the obvious outcome of meticulous planning.

What we know is that Stephen Paddock is a man who spent decades acquiring weapons and ammo and living a secret life, much of which will never be fully understood, the sheriff said.

Nearly 500 people were also injured when Paddock, 64, strafed an outdoor concert with gunfire on Sunday night from his 32nd-floor suite of the Mandalay Bay hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.

He took his own life before police stormed his room, bringing the total death toll to 59.

Police recovered nearly 50 firearms from three locations they searched, nearly half of them from the hotel suite. Twelve of the rifles there were fitted with so-called bump stocks, officials said, allowing the guns to be fired almost as though they were automatic weapons.

In response to a question, Lombardo said investigators were examining the possibility Paddocks purchase of more than 30 guns in October 2016 may have been precipitated by some triggering event in his life. He did not elaborate.

If Paddock did have any accomplice, there remained no evidence as yet to indicate terrorism in the shooting spree, said Aaron Rouse, FBI special agent in charge of the Las Vegas field office.

Earlier in the day, U.S. President Donald Trump visited Las Vegas, marking the first time since taking office that he has had to confront a major mass shooting.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui holds a photocopy of a document allegedly from the Chinese Communist Partys Central National Security Council requesting the Ministry of State Security to send more spies to the United States, at a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington on Oct. 5, 2017. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Guo Wengui: Chinese Regime Deploys Spies to Subvert US Political System and Way of Life

Exiled Chinese billionaire Guo Wengui said on Thursday that the Chinese regime has new covert operations underway that seek to fundamentally subvert the U.S. political institutions and way of life from within.

The former business tycoon and property developer was listed in 2014 by the Hurun Report as the 74th richest person in China. After falling out with members of the Communist Party leadership, Guo was accused of corruption and other misdeeds and forced to flee China. He came to the United States in late 2014.

Guo now resides in a luxury penthouse in New York City, where he regularly posts tweets and livestreams videos that allegedly contain explosive leaks exposing corruption among current and former top officials in the Chinese regime leadership. His twitter now has close to half a million followers, and his daily tirade against the Chinese regime is viewed by large numbers of Chinese netizens who eagerly follow his latest allegations.

In a press conference on Thursday, Guo publicized a document he said is from the Central National Security Commission of the Communist Party of China that allegedly ordered the regimes intelligence arm, the Ministry of State Security (MSS), to send 27 additional spies to the United States to conduct missions against Guo Wengui and other Chinese dissidents.

The order is supposedly part of a massive Chinese regime effort to infiltrate and undermine the United States from within. Plutocrats in China are implementing comprehensive BGY operations against the United States, said Guo.

Guo had previously discussed on twitter and in his videos what he calls the BGY, or Blue Gold Yellow operations. Blue means internet, gold means money, and yellow means sexual seduction. According to Guo, Chinese regime spies have been using either the internet (hacking), money, sexual seduction, or a combination of the three to compromise and control Americans and American institutions.

The documents authenticity could not be independently verified, although Guo claimed that U.S. intelligence agencies have confirmed that it is real. What the U.S. ought to do is take action, instead of just talking to the Chinese kleptocracy, Guo said.

Many of Guos previous leaks and allegations have been called into question by other dissidents, who say that Guo only seeks publicity for himself and to attack his personal enemies in China by using poorly-fabricated documents. Guo has responded by saying that he had access to the documents and secrets hes now leaking because he was once a trusted member of the ruling elite of the Chinese regime.

Efforts to Silence Guo

Guo was scheduled to speak on Wednesday at the Hudson Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, in what would have been his first ever public event appearance since exile. The event, however, was abruptly canceled by the think tank on Tuesday without stating any reason. The Hudson Institute has yet to respond to The Epoch Times request for comment.

In response, Guos supporters, including Chinese dissident Yang Jianli and Bill Gertz, senior editor of the Washington Free Beacon, quickly organized a new press conference at the National Press Club on Thursday. Guo claimed that the Hudson Institutes decision to cancel the event provides further proof that the Chinese regimes covert influence has reached to and beyond U.S. think tanks.

Yang Jianli said on Tuesday that hackers attacked the Hudson Institutes computers or network prior to the decision by the think tank to cancel Wednesdays event. Yang said that his own cellphone was also attacked and disabled.

Gertz has reported in the Free Beacon that Guo has been the subject of an extensive Chinese government campaign to silence and intimidate him.
People scramble for shelter at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after apparent gun fire was heard in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, 2017. (David Becker/Getty Images)

ISIS Releases Infographic Claiming Las Vegas Gunman Converted 6 Months Ago

The ISIS terrorist group published an infographic in one of its propaganda outlets that claims Las Vegas mass murderer Stephen Paddock was a recent convert to Islam and ISIS terrorist.

ISIS put the infographic on the second page of the 100th issue of its al-Naba weekly online magazine, calling the shooter, Abu Abdul Barr al-Amriki and claiming he had converted to Islam six months ago.

Proclaiming Paddock as a soldier of the caliphate and martyr, it said he killed 60 crusaders and injured over 500 in Las Vegas.

The brief graphic does not provide any information that is not already publicly available, lending no further credibility to an earlier claim by ISIS.

That claim, made on Oct. 2, through encrypted messaging app Telegram, said Paddock was an ISIS soldier who was targeting coalition countries.

It made the statement through its propaganda outlet Amaq using the Telegram app originally created to help dissidents plan activities beyond the prying eyes of repressive governments.

The statement said the attacker converted several months ago. This new claim is more specific.

An attack took place by a revolutionary soldier killing 60 and injuring over 500 crusaders in Las Vegas in America, reads the headline of the infographic.

Listing Paddocks age, and details of the dead and injured, the infographic offers no concrete evidence of Paddocks ISIS affiliation. Nor has the group issued any photographs or other evidence connecting Paddock to ISIS.

The result of the mission is 59 dead and 527 injured, it claims, using an earlier figure that counted Paddock among the dead.

Abu Abdul Barr al-Amriki took a room on 32 floor that overlooked the area of the concern and he started shooting continuously on the crowd using 23 pieces of weaponry and over 2,000 bullets.

This caused chaos and fear among many in America and in many European countries, it continues.

He died and was well received by god

The graphic also quotes from the Quran.

If the claim is false, it would be the first deliberate false claim ISIS has made to an attack in the West, according to a statement obtained by Newsweek from terror analyst Michael S. Smith II.

Certainly, a false claim would fit with their agenda of doing even the smallest thing to terrorize Americans, as [ISISs] original spokesman Abu Mohamed al-Adnani put it in his 2016 Ramadan address while calling for attacks in Europe and the United States, read the statement.

Police and the FBI have yet to release any information on Paddocks motives. Paddocks youngest brother Eric Paddock has told multiple media outlets there was no indication his brother would ever carry out such an attack.

Police are interrogating Paddocks live-in girlfriend, Marilou Danley, who Paddock dispatched to the Philippines shortly before the massacre. Sisters of Danleys living in Australia told local news that their sister had no knowledge of the attack. Danley returned to the United States on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, ISIS continues to lose ground in every country it once had a foothold. The terror groups claim to have established a new Islamic empire, or caliphate, has since lost credibility, taking away one of its major recruitment draws.
Media Give Trump Most Negative Presidential Coverage in 25 Years

Only 5 percent of news reports are positive, according to Pew Research Center

Claims by President Donald Trump that media organizations primarily report negatively on him were proven true by new research by Pew Research Center.

An analysis of more than 3,000 stories during the first 100 days of his presidency across 24 different media organizations found that reporting on Trump has been the most negative compared to other presidents over the past 25 years.

The research shows that only 5 percent of media reporting during the period was positive. Sixty-two percent of stories were negative, and 33 percent were neither positive nor negative.

By comparison, coverage of President Barack Obama during the same time period was 42 percent positive and 20 percent negative. For President George W. Bush, the number was 22 percent positive and 28 percent negative. And for President Bill Clinton, it was 27 percent positive and 28 percent negative.

The study also revealed that most media coverage of Trump focused on his character traits rather than policy.

Only 31 percent of all stories published on Trump focused on policy issues, compared to 50 percent for Obama, 65 percent for Bush, and 58 percent for Clinton.

The evaluations of President Trump were far more negative and less positive than those of his predecessors, wrote the Pew Research Center.

Dominating Topics

Five topics dominated the news coverage, making up two-thirds, during the time period evaluated by the Pew Research Center, from Jan. 21 to April 30.

The main topic covered was Trumps political skills (17 percent), followed by immigration, one of Trumps key policy issues (14 percent); presidential appointments and nominations (13 percent); U.S.Russia relations (13 percent); and health care (9 percent).

Since Trump won the presidency in November, much of the media coverage has sought to question the legitimacy of his presidency, creating divisions in society. Most media organizations reported extensively on the allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.

However, many of the stories relied heavily on anonymous sources from within the intelligence community, resulting in frequent erroneous reporting.

Speaking under oath before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on June 8, former FBI Director James Comey discredited a Feb. 15 front page story in The New York Times, which claimed that members of Trumps 2016 presidential campaign had repeated contacts with senior Russian intelligence officials in the year before the election.

At the time, The Epoch Times noted many flaws in the report, which The New York Times used to push a narrative of collusion.

At the hearing, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) pressed Comey further on the piece from The New York Times, asking, Would it be fair to characterize that story as almost entirely wrong?, to which Comey replied, Yes.

Comey went on to discredit other media reports, which have frequently cited unnamed intelligence and government sources to push their narrative that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia to influence the election.

All of you know this. Maybe the American people dont, Comey said, addressing the Senate committee. He said when it comes to reporters writing stories about classified information, people talking about it often dont really know whats going on.

He said there have been many stories about the Russia investigations that are just dead wrong.

Divisions

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson responded to a story published by NBC News on Oct. 4 that claimed Tillerson had considered resigning.

Tillerson told reporters at an unscheduled press briefing that the story was false and that he had never considered resigning. He also accused media organizations of trying to divide people.

This is what I dont understand about Washington. Im not from this place. But the places I come from, we dont deal with that kind of petty nonsense. It is intended to do nothing but to divide people. Im just not going to be part of this effort to divide this administration, Tillerson said.

Trump also called out NBC News for the article, writing on Twitter that Rex Tillerson never threatened to resign. This is Fake News put out by @NBCNews.

Rex Tillerson never threatened to resign. This is Fake News put out by @NBCNews. Low news and reporting standards. No verification from me.  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 5, 2017

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Oct. 5 that with the freedoms of the First Amendment also come responsibilities.

You have a responsibility to tell the truth, to be accurate, Sanders told reporters in response to a question about the issue.

Weve seen recent information that says that only 5 percent of media coverage has been positive about this president and this administration, while at the same time you have the stock market and economic confidence at an all-time high, she said.

Frankly, those are the issues most Americans care aboutnot a lot of the things that you cover, not a lot of the petty palace intrigue that you spend your time on. I think that we need to move towards a certainly more fair, more accurate, and, frankly, a more responsible news media for the American people.
Residents look at the flooding of the Masachapa River following the passage of Tropical Storm Nate in the city of Masachapa, about 37 miles from Managua, Nicaragua, on Oct. 5, 2017. Nate is expected to be upgraded to a hurricane before it reaches landfall in Louisiana. (Inti Ocon/AFP/Getty Images)

Nate Update Warns of Hurricane Threat to Louisiana

Tropical Storm Nate is bearing down on the U.S. Gulf Coast with Louisiana in its sights and ambitions to be upgraded to a hurricane, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center.

Reports from Air Force Reserve and NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds are now near 50 mph with higher gusts, says the latest warning from the NHC.

Tropical storm warnings are already in effect for parts of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Mexico, but it could be the U.S. south coast that sees the worst of Nate as the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico intensify the storm before it makes landfall along the Louisiana and Mississippi coastline on Saturday night or Sunday morning.

Nate is expected to become a hurricane by the time it reaches the northern Gulf of Mexico, says the NHC.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu declared a state of emergency for New Orleans on Thursday, Oct. 5, advising residents to take shelter in place as no mandatory evacuation order has yet been issued. Sandbags would be available 24 hours a day, the city announced Thursday.

#NOLAFireDept is getting ready to help you prepare for TS #Nate! Sandbags will be available for pickup 24/7 starting tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/EVVnNCKtAi  Mitch Landrieu (@MayorLandrieu) October 5, 2017

Residents are being warned to prepare for up to a week without electricity. Theyve also been asked not to drive through flooded streets after the storm arrives, as the waves can push water into peoples homes and businesses.

The mayor has tried to keep residents calm, but has also advised them to protect their belongings.

There is no need to panic. Be ready and prepare. Get a plan. Prepare to protect your personal property.  Mitch Landrieu (@MayorLandrieu) October 5, 2017

Louisiana Governor Gov. John Bel Edwards is promoting a website and app getagameplan.org to help residents learn how to prepare for the storm.

The NHC is already warning cities along the coast to watch for a storm surge that could bring massive waves on the coast from Morgan City, Louisiana to the Alabama/Florida border.

That surge of extra-high tides and waves is a consequence of Nates gusts and the low atmospheric pressure which will intensify if it reaches hurricane status.

From Morgan City to the Alabama/Florida border, the surge could result in four to seven feet rises above normal, with smaller surges of two to four feet from the Alabama/Florida border to Indian Pass, Florida.



The deepest water will occur along the immediate coast near and to the east of the landfall location, where the surge will be accompanied by large and destructive waves, says the NHC.

The severity of flooding will depend on the timing of the surge and the tidal cycle, as well as rainfall.

The NHC is currently predicting three to six inches of rainfall in U.S. Central Gulf Coast states but there is the potential for a maximum of 12 inches.



In Central America, that rainfall could produce life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.
Tropical Storm Nate as of Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, at 2 p.m. ET (NHC/NOAA)

New Orleans, Louisiana Declare State of Emergency Ahead of Tropical Storm Nate

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards issued a state of emergency for Louisiana due to Tropical Storm Nate that may hit the state by this weekend.

On Friday morning, Oct. 6, Edwards issued a proclamation that extended the state of emergency from Oct. 4 to Nov. 2 unless terminated sooner.

According to the proclamation, the Sewage and Water Board of New Orleans power plant malfunctioned on Aug. 9 and was still in need of immediate, emergency repair. Generators that provide power for pumps to remove water from the city were inside that plant, it said.

High water is already a problem in many southeast Louisiana parishes, said the Director of the Governors Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Jim Waskom, in a release. High tides and easterly winds in recent days are impacting some areas ahead of the storm. Those conditions may worsen over the weekend.

Tropical Storm Nate could reach the northern Gulf Coast by Saturday or Sunday, and could at that point have developed into a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said.

An interactive map of the storms paths shows it traveling up through Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, the Carolinas, and ending in New York.

The projected path of Tropical Storm Nate as of 11 a.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (NHC/NOAA)

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu has also declared a state of emergency, and both mandatory and voluntary evacuations have been ordered for parts of the city.

We are taking the potential impacts of Tropical Storm Nate seriously and mobilizing all of the states emergency preparedness and response mechanisms for a full readiness should this storm severely impact our state, Edwards said, according to WWLTV.

I encourage all Louisianans throughout the state to stay tuned to their local weather outlets and get a game plan in the event of severe weather in our area, he added.

In a 5 a.m. ET update on Friday, Oct. 6, the National Hurricane Center said that wind, storm surge, and heavy rainfall could affect areas of Louisiana through the western Florida Panhandle.

Nate is expected to produce a swath of heavy rain from the Gulf Coast to the Appalachians and possibly parts of the Northeast, Weather.com reported. Mudslides and flash flooding are predicted in some parts of Central America.

As of 1 p.m. CDT, Nate was 125 miles southeast of Cozumel, Mexico, and was moving northwest at about 21 mph. This trajectory with increased forward speed is expected over the next day or two.

Nate is forecast to move across the northwestern Caribbean Sea on Friday and to reach the eastern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico early in the evening. It is then projected to move into the southern Gulf of Mexico during the night and approach the northern Gulf Coast by Saturday evening.

The timetable of arrival of tropical storm-force winds from Tropical Storm Nate as of 5 a.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (NHC/NOAA)

Within the hurricane watch area in Mexico, tropical storm conditions are possible by Friday evening, and hurricane conditions are expected by Friday night.

The storm currently has maximum sustained winds of 50 mph with higher gusts.

Hurricane and tropical storm watches are in effect for portions of the northern Gulf Coast.

A hurricane watch is in effect for Morgan City, Louisiana, to the MississippiAlabama border, the metropolitan area of New Orleans, and Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Maurepas, which is just to the west of Lake Pontchartrain.

A tropical storm watch is in effect for the area from the MississippiAlabama border to the line between Okaloosa County and Walton County in northwest Florida, and west of Morgan City, Louisiana, to Intracoastal City in the south of Louisiana.

In Central America, the warning is also in effect for Punta Castilla, Honduras, to the Honduras-Nicaragua border, and Punta Herrero, Mexico, to Rio Lagartos, Mexico, in the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Surface wind field of Tropical Storm Nate as of 11 a.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (NHC/NOAA)

A storm surge warning is also in effect from Morgan City, Louisiana, to the AlabamaFlorida border and the north and western shores of Lake Pontchartrain just north of New Orleans.

A storm surge watch means there is a possibility of life-threatening flooding from rising water moving inland from the coastline in the next 48 hours.

Rainfall forecast for Tropical Storm Nate as of 6:23 a.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 6, 2017. (NHC/NOAA)

From NTD.tv
Pregnant Vegas Survivor Gives Birth to Boy With Most Appropriate Name

Markie Coffer was nine months pregnant and overdue by a week when she attended the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Vegas on Sunday last week.

We decided: Oh well go. Maybe it will help [my baby] come out and we were just there having fun, Coffer told Fox 5.

The couple attended the first two days of the festival on Friday and Saturday as well, and even brought their other children on Saturday, Sept. 30.

They had a blast, Coffer said.

Coffer and her boyfriend Travis Matheson were looking forward to hearing the headliner, Jason Aldean, play. But Aldeans set was cut short by gunshots in what would become the biggest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Matheson served in the Army, so his military instincts kicked in right away.

I told her, We got to get to safety and find somewhere to hide, Matheson said.

Coffer, Matheson, and his brother Cody Matheson got down on the ground and crawled military-style across the field as bullets zipped past them. Cody Matheson was shot in the shoulder, but all three, including the unborn baby, escaped the gunfire.

One of my brothers friends picked us up and brought us straight [to the hospital], Coffer said. It was chaotic down there.

Two days later, Coffer gave birth to a healthy baby boy and his name is most appropriate.

Hes been unique since the beginning, Coffer said.

[He is] a light at the end of the tunnel, Matheson said.

The couple named the boy Wyatt. That name comes from the Medieval English name Wyot, which in turn comes from the Old English name Wigheard, composed of the elements wig which means battle and heard which means brave and hardy.

One could say that the boy was definitely hardy to survive the battle-like massacre in Las Vegas that night, so the name seems most appropriate.

Im thankful nothing happened worse to any one of us  and we couldnt be here for him, Coffer said. It was perfect timing for him.

Coffer and Matheson left the hospital on Wednesday.

Doctors expect Cody Coffer to make a full recovery.

Watch the full Fox 5 interview with the parents here.

Investigation Continues

On Wednesday, the girlfriend of the Las Vegas gunman who killed 58 people and himself in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history was questioned by the FBI and said she had no idea he was planning violence against anyone.

Marilou Danley, who returned late on Tuesday from a family visit to the Philippines and is regarded by investigators as a person of interest, said through a lawyer that the carnage Stephen Paddock unleashed while she was abroad caught her completely by surprise.

He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen, Danley, 62, said in a written statement read to reporters by her attorney in Los Angeles, where the FBI was questioning her.

A Federal Bureau of Investigation official in Las Vegas, meanwhile, said no one has been taken into custody.

But Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told reporters he found it hard to believe that the arsenal of weapons, ammunition, and explosives recovered by police in their investigation could have been assembled by Paddock completely on his own.

You have to make an assumption that he had some help at some point, Lombardo said at a news briefing. Lombardo said the attack was the obvious outcome of meticulous planning.

What we know is that Stephen Paddock is a man who spent decades acquiring weapons and ammo and living a secret life, much of which will never be fully understood, the sheriff said.

Nearly 500 people were also injured when Paddock, 64, strafed an outdoor concert with gunfire on Sunday night from his 32nd-floor suite of the Mandalay Bay hotel on the Las Vegas Strip.

He took his own life before police stormed his room, bringing the total death toll to 59.

Police recovered nearly 50 firearms from three locations they searched, nearly half of them from the hotel suite. Twelve of the rifles there were fitted with so-called bump stocks, officials said, allowing the guns to be fired almost as though they were automatic weapons.

In response to a question, Lombardo said investigators were examining the possibility Paddocks purchase of more than 30 guns in October 2016 may have been precipitated by some triggering event in his life. He did not elaborate.

If Paddock did have any accomplice, there remained no evidence as yet to indicate terrorism in the shooting spree, said Aaron Rouse, FBI special agent in charge of the Las Vegas field office.

Earlier in the day, U.S. President Donald Trump visited Las Vegas, marking the first time since taking office that he has had to confront a major mass shooting.

Reuters contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump during a meeting with senior military leaders at the White House on Oct. 5, 2017. (Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images)

President Trump Says US Wont Allow North Korean Nuclear Threats

President Donald Trump held a meeting with his senior military leaders on Thursday, saying that the United States will protect itself in the face of increased threats from North Korea.

We cannot allow this dictatorship to threaten our nation or our allies with unimaginable loss of life, Trump said before the meeting at the White House.

We will do what we must do to prevent that from happening. And it will be done, if necessarybelieve me, he said.

The president also reiterated his belief that North Korea should be denuclearized.

The North Korean regime has made several claims in recent weeks that its state nuclear program is nearing completion. Early last month it conducted a sixth underground nuclear test. The U.N. Security Council passed a new set of sanctions in response to the nuclear test.

U.S. military leaders believe that the North Korea still faces some technical challenges, but think that its only a matter of time before those are resolved.

Americas highest-ranking military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr., said on Sept. 26 that it should be assumed that North Korea has the ability to strike the United States with a nuclear-armed missile.

Frankly, I think we should assume today that North Korea has that capability and has the will to use that capability, Dunford said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Since coming to power in 2011, dictator Kim Jong Un has significantly ramped up the nuclear program that was originally started by his grandfather. According to the State Department, Kim has conducted as many as 85 missile tests.

President Donald Trump has taken a hard line with North Korea, vowing to defend the United States and its allies. In a speech before the U.N. General Assembly last month Trump said that defensive military action against North Korea could result in the complete destruction of the country.

Last week the President said that talks with North Korea are a waste of time. Trump has been a longtime critic of negotiations with North Korea, saying that 25 years of talks have not resulted in anything other than the regime having been able to develop its nuclear program.

Increased Threats From North Korea

North Korea has stepped up its threats to the United States and its allies in recent weeks.

On Wednesday, North Korean state media threatened to make Japan its main target if a military conflict were to break out with the United States. Just days earlier, it had already threatened the close U.S. ally, which is home to several U.S. military bases, with nuclear clouds.

Earlier this week Japans defense minister ruled out the posibility of his country shooting down North Korean tests of ballistic missiles. The North Korea has conducted two such tests over Japan in recent months.

Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told the Financial Times that he thinks shooting down a ballistic missile could be construed as a military action.

Other Threats to America

Trump also warned of other threats to America, such as ISIS, Afghanistan, the Iranian regime, and the revisionist powers that threaten our interests all around the world.

It falls on the people in this room to defend the American people from these threats, Trump said about his military leaders.

He said that he believes that the Iranian regime has not lived up to the spirit of the nuclear agreement it reached with the United States and other world powers in 2015.

The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed, and chaos across the Middle East. That is why we must put an end to Irans continued aggression and nuclear ambitions, Trump said.

When asked whether he had made a final decision on the deal, Trump said, youll be hearing about Iran very shortly.

Defense Secretary Mattis said earlier this week that a new U.S. military strategy has been working in Afghanistan.

President Donald Trump outlined his new Afghan strategy on Aug. 21. He announced the United States would not abandon its war in Afghanistan, but would begin fighting with a clear goal to eliminate terrorists.

Our troops will fight to win. We will fight to win. From now on, victory will have a clear definition: attacking our enemies, obliterating ISIS, crushing al-Qaeda, preventing the Taliban from taking over Afghanistan, and stopping mass terror attacks against America before they emerge, Trump said at the time.

Trump also said the United States would no longer try to conduct nation-building missions where it tries to install its own form of government in other countries.

We are not asking others to change their way of life, he said, but to pursue common goals that allow our children to live better and safer lives.

According to Mattis, who recently returned from a visit to Afghanistan, the new strategy is working, and it has won broad support among U.S. coalition allies.

Violence and progress in Afghanistan continue to coexist, but the uncertainty in the region about the NATO campaign has been replaced by certainty due to the implementation of President Trumps new South Asia strategy, Mattis said.
Pumpkin Spice Air Freshner Caused a School Evacuation

Fire and hazmat crews were called to a school in Baltimore, Maryland after students smelled a strange odor.

It was a smell that they certainly werent used to, Bill Heiser, the schools president, told The Baltimore Sun. It appeared to be getting stronger.

But the unusual scent that wafted around on the third floor of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School turned out to be something unexpected.

A suspicious odor prompted the evacuation of 200+ students at a HS school in Baltimore. It came from a pumpkin spice air freshener. pic.twitter.com/idbdTKldWv  Kurt Chirbas (@kchirbas) October 5, 2017

Heiser said several students and teachers had difficulty breathing.

Two students and three adults were taken to hospital as a precautionary measure, after reporting an ailing stomach, per The Baltimore Sun.

The Hazmat team and the Baltimore City Fire Department arrived on scene soon after 2.30 p.m, on Thursday, Oct. 5, according to a statement posted on the schools website.

Officials carried out safety checks and took primary and secondary readings in the school, Baltimore Fire Chief Roman Clark said to WBALTV 11. Both readings were negative.

Then, a firefighter identified a very seasonal cause for the evacuationa pumpkin spice flavored air freshener.

This plug-in air freshener that basically puts out the odor every so many seconds, and its a pumpkin spice, and thats exactly what, if you go in there, you can smell, so it has been identified. It is not hazardous at all, said Clark.

While there was no danger, Clark said, It was better safe than sorry, The Baltimore Sun reports.

A statement on the schools website noted that a counselor is available for the students to talk about Thursdays events.

Classes resume on Friday.
This undated photo provided by Eric Paddock shows his brother, Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock. (Courtesy of Eric Paddock via AP)

Report: Vegas Gunmans Girlfriend Says He Would Lie in Bed Moaning, Screaming

The girlfriend of the Las Vegas gunman, Marilou Danley, said that he would lie in bed and scream and moan, NBC News reported, citing investigators.

She said he would lie in bed, just moaning and screaming, Oh my God,' two former FBI officials briefed on the matter told NBC. Danley, one of them said, spoke about him having mental health symptoms.

However, no official has gone on the record to confirm the report.

The FBI has yet to identify a clear motive in the attack on Sunday, which left 58 people dead and hundreds more injured.

They do not believe that his mental health had deteriorated to the point that would have triggered him to carry out the violence.

Meanwhile, law enforcement is investigating six media devices left behind by Paddock, and they will be searching is web browsing history.

According to Reuters, at the casino in Reno, Nevada, where they met several years ago, Paddock was a big fish and Danley a petite hostess.

They were adorable, Paddocks younger brother, Eric Paddock, told reporters this week. He loved her. I mean he doted on her.

The brother was not surprised, then, by news reports that wealthy retiree Stephen Paddock may have sent $100,000 to the Philippines to be collected by Danley.

Danley, 62, returned to the United States on Tuesday and was being interviewed by Federal Bureau of Investigation agents in Los Angeles. Authorities have called her a person of interest.

Mary Lou (sic) is absolutely the closest person to Steve, the brother told Reuters in a series of text messages elaborating on their relationship. My fear is that he manipulated around her, and shes not going to know any more than anyone else does.

Reuters contributed to this article
A ballistic missile fired by the North Korean regime on Aug. 29, 2017, in this image provided by state media. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Russia: North Korea to Launch Long-Range Missile

North Korea is preparing to test a long-range missile which it believes can reach the west coast of the United States, RIA news agency cited a Russian lawmaker as saying on Friday.

Anton Morozov, a member of the Russian Dumas international affairs committee, and two other Russian lawmakers visited Pyongyang on Oct. 2-6, RIA reported.

They are preparing for new tests of a long-range missile. They even gave us mathematical calculations that they believe prove that their missile can hit the west coast of the United States, RIA quoted Morozov as saying.

As far as we understand, they intend to launch one more long-range missile in the near future. And in general, their mood is rather belligerent.

Japan and South Korea have warned that more provocation was possible from North Korea on Oct. 10, which marks an important anniversary for North Korea. It is the date the North celebrates the founding of the North Korean communist party.
A ballistic missile fired by the North Korean regime on Aug. 29, 2017, in this image provided by North Korean state media. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Russian Lawmaker Says North Korea Preparing New Long Range Missile Test

Says North Korea informed him of upcoming missile launch during visit in North Korea

A Russian lawmaker who was part of a delegation that visited North Korea earlier this week said that he received information that the regime is preparing a new, long-range missile test.

The lawmaker, Anton Morozov, a member of the Russian lower house of parliaments international affairs committee, was in Pyongyang with two other Russian lawmakers from Oct. 2-6.

They are preparing for new tests of a long-range missile. They even gave us mathematical calculations that they believe prove that their missile can hit the west coast of the United States, Russian media RIA quoted Morozov as saying.

As far as we understand, they intend to launch one more long-range missile in the near future. And in general, their mood is rather belligerent, he said.

Morozov is a member of the LDPR, a right-wing populist party. It casts itself as an opposition party, but hews close to the Kremlin line on matters of international affairs.

Describing meetings with North Korean officials, Morozov said they displayed serious determination and bellicose rhetoric, RIA reported.

Earlier this week, a top CIA official for the Korean Peninsula, said that the United States is expecting some new provocation from Kim on Oct. 10.

I told my own staff October 10 is the Korean Workers Party founding day, thats Tuesday in North Korea, but thats Monday, Columbus Day holiday in the U.S. , so stand by your phones, Yong Suk Lee, deputy assistant director of the CIAs Korea Mission Center, told students and reporters at George Washington University.

Threat to Japan

Two of the recent missile tests by North Korea were fired over Japanese airspace.

On Friday, the United States announced that it had approved the sale of nearly 60 advanced air defense missiles to Japan to boost its defenses.

Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera told the Financial Times earlier this week that his country wont shoot down North Korean ballistic missile tests. The North has conducted two such tests in recent months in which it fired a ballistic missile over Japanese airspace into the Pacific.

Onodera said that he was afraid that such an act could be construed as a military action.

However, significant concerns have been raised in Japan over the tests, especially after North Koreas foreign minister announced last month that the North Korea intends to explode a nuclear weapon over the Pacific. This would most likely mean that a missile equipped with a nuclear warhead would fly over Japanese airspace.

North Korea frequently calls for the destruction of the United States and its allies, and earlier this week threatened Japan with nuclear clouds.

President Trumps Stance

President Donald Trump said ahead of a meeting with his senior military leaders last night that he wont accept a nuclear threat from North Korea.

Since coming to power in 2011, Kim Jong Un has sped up the countrys nuclear program, launching an estimated 85 missiles.

We cannot allow this dictatorship to threaten our nation or our allies with unimaginable loss of life, Trump said.

We will do what we must do to prevent that from happening. And it will be done, if necessarybelieve me, he said.

Reuters contributed to this report
Sheriff Indicted for Invasive Body Searches of 900 High School Students

A Georgia Sheriff along with two of his deputies were indicted in a large-scale drug raid at a local high school that got out of control.

Students claim they were illegally searched and inappropriately touched on April 14, when 900 of them had their bodies examined by deputies. The entire school was placed on lockdown during the event, causing confusion among staff and students, Washington Post reported.

The Sheriffs office had the names of 12 students suspected of dealing drugs. Only three of them were in school that day when 40 deputies raided the school and conducted searches for four hours.

Sheriff Jeff Hobby, the Sheriff of Worth County, Georgia, is now in hot water. He did not have a warrant but claims the school administration agreed to the searches, and so they were therefore legal. School officials had a different narrative.

We did not give permission but they didnt ask for permission, he just said, the sheriff, that he was going to do it after spring break, Interim Worth County Superintendent Lawrence Walters told WALB. Under no circumstances did we approve touching any students.

In the aftermath of the search, a class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of nine students. Parents also filed civil complaints. The Sheriffs office issued a statement that said the search was legal and that school staff were on board. The letter stated that everything was authorized, but it did mention some overreach.

After the pat down was conducted it was discovered that one of the deputies had exceeded the instructions given by the Sheriff and conducted a pat down of some students that was more intrusive than instructed by the Sheriff.

Students and parents feel that was not the only problem. The class-action suit and student interviews reveal the entire event was questionable, and that the intrusive nature of the searches went farther than the Sheriffs office is willing to acknowledge.

I dont think anybody in the school system had any idea that it would be of the nature of what actually happened, Tommy Coleman, a lawyer for the school district, told The Washington Post. Ive been doing this a long time, and Ive never heard of anybody doing that kind of thing.

The students were taken out of class and lined up, separated by gender, and with their hands against the wall, the entire staff of deputies from Worth County conducted body searches of every student at the school that day.

Out of 40 deputies, the district attorney sought indictments on only five, plus the sheriff. But only two deputies and the sheriff were indicted, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Tyler Turner and Deidra Whiddon, along with Sheriff Jeff Hobby were indicted. Indictments include violation of oath of office, false imprisonment, and sexual battery. The law enforcement powers of the three were suspended until the case is resolved.
Sister of Vegas Victim Describes Her Last Moments

The sister of a victim who was shot and killed in Las Vegas on Sunday night said that she died in her arms.

Andrea Castilla and Athena Castilla were out celebrating Andreas 28th birthday at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival in Las Vegas. Her boyfriend, Derek Miller, was waiting to propose.

I told him, she would have said yes immediately, Athena Castilla told ABC News (via Yahoo) of Andreas thoughts.

But then, the terror began.

The family of Andrea Castilla of Huntington Beach shares their heartbreaking story of her marriage proposal that would never be. #LasVegas pic.twitter.com/1DcELmmKPB  Hetty Chang (@HettyNBCLA) October 5, 2017

Gunshots rang out during a Jason Aldean concert, and afterward, it was revealed that 64-year-old Stephen Paddock was the suspect. Officials accuse him of killing 58 people and wounding hundreds more, firing upon the crowd from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay resort and casino.

My sister said, duck, so we duck and the next thing we know she was already hit, Athena said. It just happened so fast.

Andrea was shot in the left side of her head and she fell to the ground. Her sister then tried to cover her.

She was struggling to breathe and I just held her head, Athena was quoted by ABC/Yahoo as saying. We were trying to find the wound  Ive never seen so much blood in my entire life.

People then began running all around them and eventually, she and others were able to find a gate and use it as a stretcher to carry Andrea out.

Youre our angel, youre going to be fine, Athena recalls telling her wounded sister. I was like, Dont leave me, Athena added.

Then, a truck sent them and other victims to the hospital.

We couldnt give up on her, Athena said. She deserved a chance to get help  she was literally dying in my arms.

Sister of Vegas victim describes her last moments: It just happened so fastshe was literally dying in my arms. https://t.co/d0kP1AcRgq pic.twitter.com/2DZIqgbMap  ABC News (@ABC) October 5, 2017

When they got to the hospital, later that night, they learned that Andrea died.

I was trying to stay positive that she was going to make it, but I could see all the blood, Athena said. It was all over me.

[Andrea] was a beautiful soul, said her brother, Adam Castilla. She shouldnt have died that night.

They had promise rings, and they always talked about it, added Andreas brother Adam, 33. Derek had asked my dads permission. He wanted to start a family with her, he told People magazine.

As Reuters noted, Paddock sprayed bullets continuously on the concert crowd of 22,000 people for about 10 minutes, starting at 10:05 p.m. PT (1:05 a.m. ET on Monday), according to Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo. Police blew open Paddocks hotel room door 75 minutes after the shooting started, finding he had killed himself.

Discerning Paddocks motive has proven especially baffling as he had no criminal record, no known history of mental illness, and no outward signs of social disaffection, political discontent, or extremist ideology, police said.

Paddocks girlfriend, Marilou Danley, 62, was questioned by the FBI on Wednesday and said in a statement she never had any inkling of Paddocks plans.

Danley, who returned late on Tuesday from a family visit to the Philippines, is regarded by investigators as a person of interest. The Australian citizen of Filipino heritage is cooperating fully with authorities, her lawyer said.

Reuters contributed to this article.
Texas Man Cleared of Killing 2-Year-Old Daughter After Son, 7, Confesses

A Texas man was cleared of killing his 2-year-old daughter, after his 7-year-old son admitted to causing the death.

Anthony Michael Sanders, 33, was accused of smothering daughter Ellie Mae Sanders to death in their Fort Worth-area home on Dec. 12, 2015. Investigators pinned the crime on him, believing that he held his hand over the girls mouth out of anger for interrupting his computer game.

Sanders has denied responsibility for the incident, saying that he found his daughter not breathing after his then 5-year-old son said that the girl wouldnt wake up.

Prosecutors, however, later learned that the boy told his mother that he hit the girl with the pillow and it was too heavy to remove it from her head, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. NBC-DFW reported that the boy told investigators that he rolled the pillow on the girls face while they were playing.

He was unable to move the pillow, the Brady disclosure notice on the case states. He said that the pillow was a rectangle and was heavy. It had something zipped inside which made the pillow heavy.

The boy didnt explain the situation to his father because he didnt want to get in trouble.

According to a notice, there was a statement from the Tarrant County medical examiners office which stated that there is enough of a difference in the strength of a five-year-old to overpower a two-year-old.

The girl was also found with bruises and two bite marks.

Its my understanding that its over, Sanders attorney told the paper. There will be no more charges coming out of it.

Hes been held in the Tarrant County Jail since April 2016. Prosecutors dismissed a capital murder trial against him in September and he was released from jail, the paper reported.
The Oil Game

Price and output depend on political deals

At the end of last year, many experts thought oil prices would rise during 2017, maybe up to $60 per barrel. As time went by, however, those predictions were revised repeatedlyand each time the revisions pointed south. By the end of July of this year, crude was selling for about $46 a barrel, almost 20 percent lower than at the beginning of the year and about half the level of three years ago. Will oil prices keep dropping with high supply and sluggish demand, or will they recover as producers find a way to limit production?

The current scenario is clear. The world economy is growing, but the recovery after the crisis has been disappointing and the outlook is not particularly bright. Thanks to technological progress, we need less energy for each unit of new output, and technology has also lowered the price of extraction. And there are many more options for increasing energy efficiency, especially in economies like China and Russia, where waste is prevalent.

Oil bears take extra comfort that oil suppliers have so far failed to agree on a common strategy to restrain production. A few years ago, any geopolitical crisis would lead to fear of damaged oil wells and cuts in supply, but today the opposite applies. Whenever there is trouble in Russia or the Middle East, analysts expect other oil producers elsewhere to seize the opportunity to increase their own production and make up for the shortfall.

Since the dynamic of oil demand is unlikely to change, the future oil price will probably be defined by supply.

Oil bulls, on the other hand, say lower prices have affected investment in traditional drilling and exploration, which should lead to a reduction in supply down the line. But they have hardly stopped in the shale oil business.

The reason is again technology: According to consultancy firm Rystad Energy, the break-even point of shale oil extraction in 2013 was $70 to $100 a barrel, depending on the geology and location of the shale deposits. By the end of 2016, the price interval had narrowed and fallen to $30 to $40. And this decline has not stopped.

In other words, oil bulls focus on declining investment and new discoveries in traditional wells on land and offshore, downplaying the role of shale oil. And indeed, shale oil from the United States accounts for about 6 percent of global oil production and about 60 percent of total shale oil output. If they are right, the current market oversupply will soon disappear. Shale oil production, they claim, is unlikely to increase significantly, and the existing supply will not be enough to meet future demand.

Supply Matters

And in one respect, the bulls are correct: Since the dynamic of oil demand is unlikely to change, the future oil price will probably be defined by supply. Here it helps that the outlook for shale oil is not crystal clear. For example, producers might adopt a wait-and-see approach before deciding to expand production. They may want a peek at where oil prices are heading before starting a new round of expensive investments. This can already be observed with several U.S. producers, who have ramped up production at existing facilities while freezing the development of new sites.

Technological improvements are unstoppable and may well extend to traditional oil fields. Hence, technology might create the cost conditions that allow supply to expand further. However, there is also another important factor to consider.

By contrast, if OPEC manages to agree on a common strategy with Russia, stabilizing oil revenue and therefore the regimes in power, the real winner is going to be Moscow.

Traditional oil producers generally respond to what OPEC does. The oil cartel currently controls about 42 percent of global oil production. As a bloc, it is by far the worlds leading producer. Yet it has failed to execute a satisfactory cartel strategy. In the past, OPEC cut production and succeeded in raising prices, but only at the cost of losing market share to non-OPEC producers, who took advantage of the higher prices and expanded their own production. As a result, oil prices fell back to their initial level, and OPEC ended up with a smaller slice of the pie as well as disgruntled members.

Moreover, OPECs internal cohesion is fragile and its ability to collude with major producers outside the cartel (notably Russia) will be crucial if it wants to succeed in limiting supply to increase the price. A deal with Russia could be extremely important, as it would also boost the credibility of OPECs price strategy. The Kremlins political muscle would be useful for keeping reluctant members in line and intimidating nonmembers tempted to get a free ride on OPECs (and Russias) restraint.

But even if there is an OPECRussia deal, its effectiveness depends on devising and executing a long-term oil strategy that would include U.S. shale producers, who have their own reasons for avoiding a crash in the price. This gentlemens agreement (or lack thereof) would determine the oil market for years to come, and possibly give new shape to global geopolitics as well.

Putin and Trump Deal

Two scenarios could materialize. If OPEC fails to reach an agreement with key nonmembers, we can expect a change of strategy. Rather than limiting production, Saudi Arabia and other low-cost producers will expand output. By driving prices well below $50 a barrel, they will force high-cost producers to cut output and ensure that shale-oil companies think twice before entering the market or drilling new wells.

Of course, this outcome is consistent with the current market sentiment and will be welcomed by oil importing countries. However, low oil prices and tighter budgets in the oil-exporting countries could trigger tensions and even political changes, since the ruling elites will no longer command the resources required to placate their populations.

By contrast, if OPEC manages to agree on a common strategy with Russia, stabilizing oil revenue and therefore the regimes in power, the real winner is going to be Moscow. Russia and Saudi Arabia have already agreed to cut production until March 2018, in hopes of pushing prices comfortably above the $50 threshold and possibly to $60, which is what Russias economy needs.

However, oil exporters need a more stable and long-lasting alliance with Russia to become a serious factor in global geopolitics. If such agreements are reached, the real initiative will be in the hands of Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Global oil prices would depend on whether Putin can offer the Trump administration enough incentives to restrain shale output (for example, by creating and enforcing a domestic cartel). The odds against this may be long, but if it happens, Russia and OPEC would find it much easier to police their own cartel and curb free riding.

Enrico Colombatto is a professor of economics at the University of Turin, Italy and a Senior Fellow at Geopolitical Intelligence Services. This report was first published by GIS Reports Online.
Trump Says Iran Has Not Lived Up to Spirit of Nuclear Agreement

President talks about "the calm before the storm"

The U.S. military may soon have a new strategy on Iran. Before a meeting with senior military leaders on Oct. 6, President Donald Trump was asked by reporters whether he has a decision on Iran. He replied, Youll be hearing about Iran very shortly.

We must not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, Trump said adding that the Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed, and chaos across the Middle East.

That is why we must put an end to Irans continued aggression and nuclear ambitions, Trump said, adding that Iran has not lived up to the spirit of the nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

During a photo shoot before the meeting with military leaders Trump said that maybe its the calm before the storm.

When asked what he meant, Trump said youll find out. It is unclear if the presidents statement referred to his coming action on Iran.

Under the JCPAO, which President Barack Obama spearheaded in 2015, Iran significantly reduced its enrichment of uranium in exchange for a lift in sanctions. However, critics have pointed to the fact that the restrictions on Irans uranium enrichment start to phase out after ten years, allowing the regime at that point to built thousands of advanced centrifuges. At that point Iran could develop a nuclear weapon in as little as six months.

A Sept. 24 White House fact sheet outlining travel restrictions to countries with terrorist and other public-safety threats explains several other security issues the United States has with Iran.

It says the government of Iran is the source of significant terrorist threats; is state sponsor of terrorism; and fails to receive its nationals subject to final orders of removal from the United States. It adds that the Iranian regime also fails to cooperate with the United States Government in identifying security risk.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said at the American Enterprise Institute on Sept. 5, The biggest concern is that Iranian leadersthe same ones who in the past were caught operating a covert nuclear program at military siteshave stated publicly that they will refuse to allow [International Atomic Energy Agency] inspections of their military sites.

We were promised anytime, anywhere inspections of sites in Iran. The final agreement delivered much less. The promised 24/7 inspections apply only to Irans declared nuclear sites. For any undeclared but suspected sites, the regime can deny access for up to 24 days, she said.

Defense Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson have reportedly said its in the U.S. national security interests to keep the Iranian nuclear deal. Its still unclear, however, what the U.S. decision on the Iran deal will entail.

When Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie Jr. was questioned during an Oct. 5 press briefing on Mattis statements, he suggested it was just one of many opinions that Mattis has shared with Trump.

State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said during an Oct. 3 briefing that Mattis, of course, one of many people who is providing expertise and counsel to the President on the issue of Iran and the nuclear deal, but noted The President is getting lots of information on that.

According to White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, Trump already has a decision which may include issues on Iran beyond the nuclear deal, and plans to announce it soon.

The President has, as he said, made a decision on this, and hell make that announcement at the appropriate time. The main focus that he has had has been a comprehensive strategy on how to deal with Iran, Sanders said during an Oct. 5 press briefing.

That is what he wanted his team to put in place, Sanders said, and I think you will see that announced in short order.
Hunewill Ranch in California is One of the Rare Places in America Where the Cowboy Life PersistsAnd You Can Go Experience It
Vegas Gunman Seen With Mystery Woman in Days Before

Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock was seen with a mystery woman in the days before the massacre over the weekend, NBC News reported.

Investigators are now trying to figure out who the woman is, but they dont know if she has any connection to the attack, NBC reported. Theyre trying to paint a clearer picture of the gunman.

His girlfriend, Marilou Danley, wasnt in Las Vegas when he opened fire on a crowd of concertgoers on Sunday night, killing 58 people and injured scores more.

Danleys family members said that he sent her to the Philippines, her native country, a week before the mass shooting. She came back to the United States on Wednesday and was interviewed by the FBI.

I knew Stephen Paddock as a kind, caring, quiet man, Danley said in a statement to media outlets. He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen.

She thought that Paddock was intending to dump her when he sent her to the Philippines and sent her $100,000 via a wire.

I was grateful, but honestly, I was worried, that first, the unexpected trip home, and then the money, was a way of breaking up with me, she said. It never occurred to me in any way whatsoever that he was planning violence against anyone.

Danley wasnt described as a suspect, but Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo said that she was a person of interest. She isnt facing any charges.

Officials have not been able to establish a motive for Paddock, a wealthy retiree who liked to gamble large sums of money and lived in a retirement community in Mesquite, Nevada.

Paddock, police said, fitted 12 of his weapons with so-called bump stock devices that allow semi-automatic rifles to operate as if they were fully automatic machine guns, which are otherwise outlawed in the United States.

Authorities said his ability to fire hundreds of rounds per minute for 10 minutes from a 32nd-floor hotel suite was a major factor in the high casualty count of 58 people killed and hundreds wounded. Paddock, 64, killed himself before police stormed his suite.

The carnage on Sunday night across the street from the Mandalay Bay hotel ranks as the bloodiest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, surpassing the 49 people shot to death last year at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

Reuters contributed to this report.
(L-R) Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) President Jane Campbell, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady, WIPP board member Rebecca Boenigk and Rep. Kristi Noem at the WIPP congressional luncheon in Washington on Oct 4, 2017. (Courtesy of WIPP)

Women Entrepreneurs Encouraged by Trumps Proposed Tax Rate Cut

Tax reform would give a boost to the countrys 10 million women business owners, according to Women Impacting Public Policy

WASHINGTONThe Trump administrations tax reform blueprint was welcome news for women entrepreneurs who bear a substantial tax burden on their profits. Women-owned businesses represent more than a third of all U.S. companies, and the vast majority of them are pass-through entities that are subject to the individual income tax.

We have seen an incredible step forward in trying to equalize the tax burden for pass-through entities and C corporations, said Jane Campbell, president of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), a nonpartisan organization advocating on behalf of women entrepreneurs.

The tax overhaul plan proposed by the Trump administration would reduce the tax rate to 20 percent for regular corporations (also known as C corporations) and to 25 percent for pass-through businesses.

Our members are really encouraged, Campbell said at a congressional luncheon hosted by WIPP on Oct. 4.

According to her, this new tax rate of 25 percent would give a boost to the countrys 10 million women business owners.

Proposed tax cuts will allow business owners to keep more money in their pockets. According to Campbell, women entrepreneurs are willing to spend that money on strong retirement programs for their employees, capital investments, research and development, and hiring.

Theyre so excited at the idea that they can reinvest in their business and allow it to grow, she said.

Women-owned businesses have more than doubled in number since the last major tax overhaul under President Ronald Reagan in 1986, and today 90 percent of them are small businesses, according to WIPP.

Many women-owned businesses are, like many small businesses in the United States, structured as pass-through entities. Their earnings pass through the business owners tax returns, and are taxed under the individual income tax.

Pass-through businesses include sole proprietorships, partnerships, and S corporations and are subject to an individual rate of 39.6 percent under the existing tax code. The tax burden can go up as high as 43.4 percent at the federal level.

For the first time in history, we are proposing the lowest rate for corporations and the lowest rate since the 1930s for our small businesses, said House Ways and Means Committee chairman Kevin Brady at the WIPP luncheon.

Critics of the tax reform plan argue that the proposed rate cuts benefit large corporations more than small firms as the plan proposes different tax rates for regular corporations and pass-throughs.

According to Brady, the difference in tax rates is mainly driven by the variances in tax structures.

Tax reform aims to create an equal tax cut for every business regardless of their location, structure, and size, he said.

We are proposing, in effect, a 40 percent tax rate cut for corporations and a 40 percent [cut] for pass-throughs.

Death Tax

Small businesses will benefit from many of the provisions of the tax reform plan including lowered income tax rates and the elimination of the estate tax, according to Brady.

The estate tax, or the so-called death tax, is a tax on the transfer of the estate of a deceased person.

This [death tax] is the number one reason our family-owned farms and businesses arent passed on to [the] next generation, he said.

South Dakota Congresswoman Kristi Noem called the death tax an unfair tax.

To tax a family at the time of death is the most terrible thing this country could do, she said at the WIPP luncheon.

According to Noem, 70 percent of family businesses do not survive to the second generation, and 90 percent of family businesses do not make it to the third generation.

Most Americans end up selling their family businesses or farms to be able to pay the death tax, she said.

Opponents say that the impact of the estate tax on family operations, especially with an exemption of nearly $11 million per couple, has been overstated and the repeal will favor the wealthy few. Nearly 2 out of every 1,000 estates face this tax, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

However, the death tax hits all businesses including the small ones, according to Noem.

If we had a gas station or grocery store, the only way we could have paid those taxes would be to sell the business and lose the family operation, she said.

So dont buy into the story if you hear that this [the repeal] is only benefiting wealthy individuals, Noem said.

According to a study conducted by American Universitys Kogod Tax Policy Center, the majority of women entrepreneurs cannot fully benefit from the existing tax codes provisions because of how theyre legally organized or the industries theyre in.

The Trump administrations tax reform plan is a good start to helping women-owned businesses succeed, according to Campbell.
On Demand

We have a new story every day on the front page of thephuketnews.com. Also like us on our Facebook page (facebook.com/thephuketnews) and be the first to watch all the new stories. Finally you can watch any segment, any time by going to thephuketnews.com/tv where all the stories are listed for you to enjoy. All our programs can be enjoyed in High Definition when watching on the internet.

In-Room VDO
The Liberal government has rejected an immediate ban on protests outside abortion clinics  a day after saying such a measure was needed to protect women from being harassed and intimidated.

In an unexpected move Thursday, Progressive Conservative MPP Lisa MacLeod requested the unanimous consent of MPPs from all parties to pass the Liberal bill on the spot.

But the governing party refused MacLeods motion to have its own legislation approved right away as has happened with other laws that have overwhelming support in the House.

Its wedge politics, MacLeod (Nepean-Carleton) said to reporters after her bid failed. If they really wanted to put womens safety first then they would have done this when issues started arising over a year ago, or they would have accepted my unanimous consent request.

NDP MPP Jennifer French (Oshawa) told the Star she cant imagine why anyone would be having a conversation about delay.

The debate part and the waiting is garbage to delay for the sake of wedging the Tories or playing politics, that is disappointing and it is not what Ontario women deserve.

But the minister of the status of women  who stood alongside Attorney General Yasir Naqvi just a day prior at their announcement on the importance of creating safe zones, given a rise in anti-abortion activities  said the bill needs to go through the democratic process.

Its a sensitive issue for many Ontarians, and we want to ensure all those voices have a place at the table and say what they want to say, and do this properly, said Indira Naidoo-Harris.

Deputy Premier Deb Matthews agreed, saying while the harassment of women shouldnt be permitted like most legislation, it needs some discussion. It needs to go to committee. It needs to have the opportunity for public input.

We are not playing politics with this, she also said. This is a real issue that real women are facing.

The government held consultations on the bill during the summer, and the legislation already has the support of womens groups  a number attended Wednesdays announcement, including Planned Parenthood Toronto, whose only suggestion was stronger penalties for offenders.

For the Liberals, dragging out the issue could help highlight divisions among PC MPPs, a handful of whom oppose abortion. However, PC Leader Patrick Brown said he is pro-choice and his party supports the legislation.

The PCs were quick to name a few Liberals whod been endorsed by anti-abortion group Campaign Life Coalition.

Should the government itself propose unanimous consent on the bill in the coming weeks, MacLeod said the PCs will support it.

My view was youve consulted, this has been an issue, lets get on with it, MacLeod said, adding I guess I ended up calling their bluff.

The government bill sets out abortion safe zones of at least 50 metres  and up to 150 metres  around clinics, and 150 metres around the homes of doctors and staff who work in clinics. Hospitals that provide abortions or pharmacies and clinics that dispense the abortion pill  now provided free in the province  can also apply for protection.

Offenders face fines starting at $5,000 and six months in jail for a first offence.

Naqvi said the legislation was prompted by a recent increase in anti-abortion activities, and on Wednesday he spoke emotionally about one incident at a clinic in his own riding where a woman was spat on as she made her way inside.

Campaign Life has already said it opposes the proposed law, calling it a direct attack on (protesters) freedom of speech, expression and assembly.

With files from Rob Ferguson

SHARE:
Probably before the snow flies, the federal finance minister, Bill Morneau, will table a bill in Parliament that will take baby steps toward more fairness in our tax system.

The federal finance ministers goal is to curb the use of incorporation as a tax-shelter device. The vast majority of people who incorporate are among the top 5 per cent of Canadian income earners. The current widespread misuse of this device is a means by which everyday taxpayers subsidize the wealthy.

For Ottawa, the nub of the issue is the estimated $27 billion of surplus, or passive, funds accumulating in professional medical corporations and in incorporated small businesses. Those passive funds benefit from the low small-business tax rate, but contribute nothing to the business. They serve to enrich the incorporated professional or entrepreneur at the expense of other taxpayers.

Ottawa proposes to raise the tax rate on those passive funds. It also seeks to restrict the practice of income sprinkling, by which small-business owners spread the companys income among relatives with lower tax rates, who often arent involved in the business.

Ending those practices is essential, for obvious social-justice reasons. But more important is what this protracted debate tells us about the difficulty in achieving even minor reforms. The debate has been marred by a proliferation of falsehoods akin to the disastrous Brexit and 2016 U.S. presidential campaigns.

In its tax-reform initiative, Ottawa stands accused by vested interests of attacking the middle class, doctors, farm owners and small business.

Powerful special-interest groups say these modest tax changes will kill small-business job creation, prevent the transfer of family farms, and send over-taxed doctors fleeing to the U.S. Ottawa is also accused of springing these changes on those affected without warning.

Every one of those claims is a falsehood.

Fortunately, more Canadians among the quiet majority favour Ottawas bid for tax fairness than oppose it. Despite that, Morneaus concession Wednesday that changes are going to be required to his reforms, without describing them, suggests Morneau is withering under the baseless criticism.

Fact: The proposed changes will affect  and only to a negligible degree  people making more than $150,000 a year. Thats not the middle class. Pretax income for the average Canadian worker is $49,510.

Fact: Justin Trudeau gave the affected parties a heads-up two years ago, when his party campaigned on  and won an electoral mandate for  precisely the tax reform introduced back in April. In 2015, Trudeau told the CBC, A large percentage of small businesses are actually just ways for wealthier Canadians to save on their taxes, and we want to reward the people who are actually creating jobs.

Fact: Only about 60 per cent of doctors choose to incorporate, meaning four in 10 docs will not be affected by the reforms. And all docs will still be able to write off their operating and capital costs. The only change for doctors who practise in a private corporation is a higher tax rate on the surplus, or passive, funds accumulating in their corporations. Those funds, often invested in stocks and real estate, are currently taxed at the low small-business rate though they contribute nothing to healthcare.

Fact: More than two-thirds of Canadian small-business owners earn less than $73,000, and will not be affected by the proposed tax reforms. And again, all small businesses can continue to write off legitimate business expenses.

Ottawa will continue to subsidize small business with the low small-business tax rate, which costs Canadian taxpayers $3.6 billion a year in forgone revenues.

Ottawa alone also provides about 550 assistance programs for small business, including grants, low-interest loans, tax refunds and credits, loan guarantees, and wage subsidies. Those are matched by assistance from municipalities and every province and territory. That is an inconvenient fact for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), the biggest small-biz lobby, which has come close to branding Morneau an anti-capitalist.

Fact: Farm owners, who lately have backed off their initial objections to Morneaus reforms, will continue to benefit from the $1-million Lifetime Capital Gains Exemption for transferring ownership of family farms.

For the past decade, leading economies have been cracking down on the use of exotic offshore tax havens. But weve learned from this summers protracted tax controversy that we have thousands of tax havens here at home, tucked inside medical practices, auto-repair shops, plumbing firms and other small businesses.

Fact: By 2016, Canada could boast more than 84,000 doctors. We now have a record 230 docs per 100,000 people, billing the government about $339,000 a year on average, or a total of $25.7 billion. Family physicians bill about $275,000 per year, specialty surgeons earn about $461,000.

Morneau is also being roasted by the mighty Canadian Medical Association (CMA) and some of its provincial counterparts. Its worth noting that the CMA, no friend of Canadian medical patients, also fought the advent of Medicare in 1962 in Saskatchewan, and then tried to thwart Medicares 1966 national rollout.

The silence of the Canadian public in letting vested interests dominate this debate has been countered by a few voices of common sense.

Almost 500 doctors and med students have signed a petition urging Ottawa to press on with tax fairness. We need adequate tax revenues to fund social programs such as affordable housing, pharmacare, social assistance, legal aid, and the health-care system itself, the petition states.

These programs directly impact the health of our patients, and we believe it is important for us to contribute to their sustainability through an adequate tax base.

And heres Dennis Howlett, executive director of the five-year-old Canadians for Tax Fairness advocacy group, testifying last month on the reform issue to the federal House finance committee:

It is not fair for business owners to be given extra subsidized retirement savings room (through passive investments) that their own staff and the average Canadian cannot access.

And thats not the most sobering point Howlett makes.

This summers skirmish over a minor change in tax law has sidelined issues of far greater concern. As Howlett puts it, There are kids dying from bad water in Indigenous reserves while we debate whether or not the wealthy should get to keep unfair tax breaks.

In a parliamentary democracy like Canada, special interests routinely hijack the public agenda, abetted by a credulous news media and a timid silent majority. We pay a heavy price for that.

It is said that bad things happen when good people do nothing. Its also true that corrosive problems go unattended when good people are distracted by specious issues like this one.

Read more about:

SHARE:
For years, Ben & Jerrys took steps to make sure that its ice cream did not contain artificial growth hormone. The company also has a self-imposed fee on its greenhouse gas emissions.

What Ben & Jerrys did not have was a reliable way of ensuring that the dairy farms supplying it with milk were providing humane conditions for their workers, a major issue in an industry where many people work seven days a week for less than minimum wage.

This week, the ice cream maker, which is based in Vermont, took a big step toward changing that, signing an agreement with a farmworkers group that establishes labour standards for the companys suppliers in the state, and creates an enforcement strategy that encourages workers to speak up about violations.

We love to be part of innovation, said Jostein Solheim, the companys chief executive. We believe in worker-led movements, and in bringing in dairy and doing it in Vermont.

The agreement borrows heavily from an arrangement called the Fair Food Program that was put in place in 2011 to address troubling conditions in Floridas tomato industry.

In that instance, Subway, Walmart, Whole Foods and other companies committed to paying an extra 1 to 4 cents per pound of tomatoes and to buying only from participating suppliers. The suppliers, in turn, agreed to pay the legal minimum wage and to ensure workers rights and safety. The program has been widely credited with improving working conditions in an industry where human trafficking flourished until recently. It has expanded to other crops and other states on the East Coast.

The 1,200 to 1,500 workers in Vermonts dairy industry have been labouring under their own grim circumstances.

A 2014 survey of about 170 dairy workers in the state by Migrant Justice, a farmworkers advocacy group, found that in addition to a scarcity of days off, workers had schedules that frequently kept them from sleeping more than a few hours at a time. Many of the migrants, who typically work year round for low wages and live on the farms that employ them, also had substandard housing.

One of the biggest issues was housing conditions, the need for workers to be provided with basic amenities, like electricity, water and housing that is free from pest infestations, said Enrique Balcazar, a former dairy worker who has helped lead the organizing effort, speaking through a translator.

The workers tend to be living in the country illegally, making it difficult for them to speak out.

Under the program, called Milk With Dignity, workers at dairy farms that supply Ben & Jerrys will have the right to one day off a week and will earn at least the state minimum wage, currently $10 an hour. Workers will also be guaranteed at least eight consecutive hours of rest between shifts and housing accommodations that include a bed and access to electricity and clean running water.

The agreement requires Ben & Jerrys to acquire its milk from farms that adhere to the standards. It will be enforced in part by the affected workers, who will be informed of their rights and encouraged to report violations to a 24-hour hotline.

Compliance will be monitored by a group led by a former staff lawyer at the Southern Poverty Law Centers Immigrant Justice Project, which will conduct audits. Ben & Jerrys will effectively finance the benefits by paying an undisclosed premium on the milk it buys, based on volume.

Brendan ONeill, an organizer with Migrant Justice, praised the company.

By signing this agreement, Ben & Jerrys is prioritizing dairy workers as the most important ingredient in their ice cream, ONeill said.

Ben & Jerrys has been owned by the consumer goods giant Unilever since 2000, but it has retained its founders interest in social and environmental activism. The company said it had long had labour standards in place for its suppliers and that the most egregious abuses of workers did not occur on its suppliers farms. But it acknowledged that enforcing the standards had been challenging.

We dont see a huge gap in hard-core standards, Solheim said, but we see an opportunity to make it work better.

Migrant Justice began its campaign to improve conditions for immigrant farmworkers in Vermont several years ago, not long after a worker died after getting tangled in a piece of machinery and being strangled by his own clothes.

The groups efforts got a lift in June 2015, when Ben & Jerrys formally agreed in principle to support the Milk With Dignity program. But negotiating the details of the agreement, which affects nearly 90 farms that typically employ up to 10 workers apiece, proved to be complicated.

These are real family businesses, Solheim said, describing what he saw as a big distinction between the agricultural industries in Vermont and Florida. Its a different dynamic than what we have in a big produce area, where hundreds of people show up to harvest.

Migrant Justice took several actions, including protests and marches, to put pressure on Ben & Jerrys over the past two years, and the group had scheduled a national day of action for Thursday. (Ben & Jerrys said it understood the groups tactics but noted that it had never stopped negotiating.)

The program will be adopted in stages, with some standards, like prohibitions on sexual assault, forced labour and violence toward workers, taking effect immediately. Others, like raising pay to the minimum wage, will come more gradually. Farms must first go through an orientation, and workers must complete education sessions before Ben & Jerrys begins making the larger payments that will finance some of the benefits.

Some experts, while crediting the Fair Food Programs achievements, have said they were skeptical about whether the model could be extended to a substantial portion of the countrys farmworkers, many of whom experience some of the worst conditions and lowest pay in the U.S. workforce. (Estimates for how many farmworkers there are in the country run from under 1 million to a few million. Such workers are not covered by the federal minimum wage law, or by similar laws in most states.)

Greg Asbed, a founder of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, which pushed for the Florida program, said the agreement involving Ben & Jerrys  and similar accords in other industries, like those geared toward improving safety conditions for garment workers in Bangladesh  showed that the model could be applied widely.

The only necessary conditions, he said, were the buying power of major brands, which exert enormous leverage over suppliers, and worker participation, to define the needed rights and to help ensure compliance.

Margaret Gray, an associate professor of political science at Adelphi University who has studied farm labour conditions, praised both the Fair Food Program and the Ben & Jerrys arrangement. But she warned that one force that made such programs effective, the power of corporate giants, could make it hard to extend their reach.

Its the corporations who tend to be making the most money, doing so at the expense of the workers, and at the expense of a lot of farmers, she said. They excel at fostering division between the two.

SHARE:
Theres a note of schoolgirl enthusiasm in Fortune magazines announcement that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be participating in its invitation only womens summit in Washington next week.

Its official: Canadas most famous feminist is coming to Fortunes Most Powerful Women Summit, the magazine trilled about Trudeaus scheduled appearance at Tuesdays evening gala, where he will be interviewed by MPWs Pattie Sellers. The discussion, we are promised, will be the importance of economic empowerment and gender equality. Fortune notes that Trudeau will be one of the few men in the room.

This summit is not to be confused with Tina Browns Women in the World summits  Trudeau appeared at two of those this year, interviewed by Brown both times  nor the Women Deliver summit, scheduled for Vancouver in 2019, nor the summit of all summits, the World Economic Forum at Davos.

Read more:

Why Justin Trudeau prefers Ivanka to Donald Trump: Delacourt

Trudeau to meet with Trump in Washington next week after Most Powerful Women Summit

Those who have followed the womens summit road show can anticipate that our most famous feminist will stride onto the stage at the Mandarin Oriental and trot out his set list of anodyne comments about needing more women in leadership roles, about the imperative to promote women entrepreneurs, about the heightened levels of decision making and economic accomplishment that emerge when women claim their rightful place at the boardroom table, about the urgent need for broad social change. And that men, as Trudeau has said time and again, have to be a big part of the conversation.

This is no longer 2015. Are we further ahead?

Microscopically, yes.

The latest report from the countrys securities regulators, released Thursday, tells us that the representation of women on boards of publicly traded companies has risen to 14 per cent from 11 per cent, reflecting a difference of 3 per cent. (Thanks for the assist, but we can do the math.)

Certain issuers, including exchange traded funds, were excluded from the review. But the bald fact is that the representation remains pitiful in this, the third year of the regulators review.

Other numbers are more robust: boards with at least one woman director have risen to 61 per cent per cent from 49 per cent in the regulators first report. Perhaps some corporate leaders have cottoned on to superior performance when women are present. A recent study by Nordea, the Nordic banking group, found that, on average, companies with a woman in the chief executive officers chair, or with a woman lead director, had a 25 per cent annualized return since 2009. The MSCI World Index, which measures corporate performance in 23 developed countries, recorded an 11 per cent return across the same period.

We have not been bold.

The Trudeau administration inherited an Industry Canada review, launched in 2009, of the Canada Business Corporations Act. Amping up competitiveness was the reviews main goal, and it gave a nod to the need for greater diversity. Last autumn, the Trudeau government introduced Bill C-25 amending the act. In the area of diversity C-25 would, if passed, compel companies to report on the gender composition of a companys board and its senior management.

A more limp legislative initiative is hard to imagine.

Ontario had already outpaced the federal governments soft approach by introducing the comply-or-explain regulation, requiring listed companies to state the number of women on their boards and in executive positions as well as policies regarding the representation of women directors. If there are no policies, companies are asked, why not?

As corporate governance initiatives go, comply-or-explain gets a C grade. But its something. The Wynne government has been smarter, earning a B plus for setting gender diversity targets for provincial boards and agencies: by 2019, 40 per cent of directorships are to be held by women.

The Trudeau government? In this it comes close to a fail. Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains has said that if C-25 doesnt move the needle in advancing women in business, more targeted measures will be considered. Hes looking for meaningful results in a few years.

We need action now, and that includes targeted representation.

The prime minister on display Tuesday would be wise to stick to concrete accomplishments. Chrystia Freeland has focused on modernizing free trade agreements with amendments that acknowledge that gender inclusivity and fairness are essential to inclusive economic growth. This is good. Driving international aid toward the empowerment of girls and women? Yes.

But in the realm of women in business Trudeau would be wise to give the next summit a pass, until he has something of substance to say.

jenwells@thestar.ca

Read more about:

SHARE:
NEW YORKAt first, bitcoin was a way to make payments without banks. Now, with more than $100 billion (U.S.) stashed in digital currencies, banks are debating whether, and how, to get in on the action.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. chief executive officer Lloyd Blankfein tweeted Tuesday that his firm is examining the cryptocurrency. Other global investment banks are looking into facilitating trades of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, according to industry consultants. Bitcoin has surged more than 300 per cent this year, drawing the attention of hedge funds and wealthy individuals.

Read more:

JPMorgan CEO says fraud bitcoin currency wont end well

Bitcoins anonymity appeals to HBO hackers

Will bitcoin replace the loonie? Dont bank on it: Olive

Theyre clearly receiving interest from their clients, both from retail investors and on the institutional side, said Axel Pierron, managing director of bank consultant Opimas. Its highly volatile, its highly illiquid when you need to trade large volumes, so they see the opportunity for a new asset class which would require the capability of a broker-dealer.

But bitcoin presents Wall Street with a conundrum: How do banks that are required by law to prevent money-laundering handle a currency thats not issued by a government and that keeps its users anonymous?

The debate has played out in the open recently, with JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon and BlackRock Inc. CEO Larry Fink saying that bitcoin was mostly used by criminals, while Morgan Stanley chief James Gorman took a more measured stance, saying it was more than just a fad. On Wednesday, UBS Group AG chairman Axel Weber, a former president of Germanys central bank, said he was skeptical about bitcoins future because its not secured by underlying assets.

Theres even tension within some banks. On the same day Dimon trashed bitcoin, calling it a fraud, his firms private bank hosted a panel stocked with cryptocurrency investors.

Handling bitcoin would invite scrutiny from every major U.S. regulator, according to Joshua Satten, director of emerging technologies at Sapient Consulting.

From the perspective of the U.S. Treasury, do you classify it as an asset class or a currency? Satten said. If banks are starting to manage and hold bitcoin for their clients, you would have the OCC and the FDIC looking at how they classify the assets on their balance sheet and how they state the assets for the portfolio of a client.

And banks need to avoid antagonizing governments that are increasingly concerned about this area. For instance, China is cracking down by shutting cryptocurrency exchanges.

Then theres the risk that stems from its high volatility and lack of correlation to other major assets. What are they going to do if bitcoin drops for a given client and theyve given that client a ton of leverage on margin, and that client only has assets in bitcoin? Satten said.

Derivative contracts could help. CBOE Holdings Inc., the owner of the Chicago Board Options Exchange, announced in August that it plans to introduce bitcoin futures this year or next. That could help traders hedge positions. Banks are also exploring creating derivatives and using bitcoin in international trade finance to avoid exchanging currencies, Pierron said.

What isnt in doubt is the interest from some investors. Hedge fund manager Mike Novogratz plans to start a $500-million hedge fund to invest in cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings and related companies, which would be the largest of a growing group. There are 75 funds investing in the space, according to Autonomous Research.

Bitcoin already has a toehold in mainstream finance. In July, Falcon Private Bank said it was the first Swiss bank to offer bitcoin asset management to its clients. In the U.S., both Fidelity Investments and USAA let clients view their bitcoin balances if their accounts are linked to the Coinbase exchange.

The qualities that have made bitcoin the payment form of choice for drug deals and ransom demands  it runs on a decentralized web of computers around the world that sidesteps regulators and banks  are also what makes it hard for governments to control. Further adoption of bitcoin may require central banks and regulators to come to a consensus on how the new digital currencies fit into the existing framework.

Can it be sanitized for the reserve banks and regulators and compliance departments of banks around the world so that you can root out the grey money, the stuff that you hear about coming from darknet markets? Jesse Chenard, CEO of blockchain startup MonetaGo, said Tuesday at a conference held by Columbia Business School. Banks need to have some assurances of who theyre transacting with and the provenance of that coin.

Read more about:

SHARE:
MONTREALJennifer Drouin, a law student and former McGill University literature professor, has been a convinced sovereigntist and card-carrying member of the Parti Quebecois since 1998.

But it was only three years later that she left rural Nova Scotia and could truly call Quebec her home.

In 1996 she came for the summer as an English speaker interested in the French language and Quebecois culture. She returned for a relationship that led to marriage and gave Drouin, 40, her French-flavoured last name.

In 2001 she came to stay, starting a doctorate in French adaptations in Quebec of William Shakespeares works that have been produced since the Quiet Revolution, the nationalist movement that gave rise to sovereignty.

Since, Drouin has flourished in a province often divided by language disputes and identity debates pitting the francophone majority against all others.

For more than a decade she has been that rare and misunderstood specimenan anglophone independentiste, a native English speaker who requests her federal tax forms in the language of Moliere, who insists on placing her restaurant orders en francais and who dreams one day of living in a country called Quebec.

Im an English Canadian and Im a Quebecker. In my head theyre like two separate countries already and I love both of them, said Drouin, I watch Rick Mercer every week like every other English Canadian. I havent missed an episode of Coronation Street since I was 12 years old.

But her cultural references now also include Quebecois icons like poets Gerald Godin and Gaston Miron, as well as songwriter Pauline Julien.

Its a two-fer. Its twice the culture and twice the richesse, she said.

Last year, Drouin founded the non-partisan advocacy group Anglophones for Quebec Independence, which she said counts about 100 members. She was elected this summer to the PQs national council. Last Monday, she announced that she would seek the PQ nomination in a downtown Montreal riding for the 2018 provincial election.

She doesnt stand out for her sovereignty arguments: she is against pipelines and for Quebec tax dollars being spent on local priorities like schools and hospitals rather than on western Canadian oil or automotive production in Ontario.

Nor is she the first anglophone sovereigntist to be misunderstood, probed and prodded as some sort of sociological oddity.

Henry Milner was denounced as a traitor.

There was a fascination with us 40 years ago, so I imagine the fascination hasnt stopped, said the former high-level member of the PQ.

Milner ran the Committee of Anglophones for Sovereignty-Association in the lead-up to the 1980 independence referendum using a playful but unsuccessful slogan: Oui love Quebec.

Almost every morning in the lead up to the May 20, 1980 vote, Milners home telephone would ring and the caller would leave a sort of hate poem on the answering machine. He laughs about it today, but was worried enough to consult the police about it back then.

Milners sovereigntist sentiments were an extension of his politics. He advocated for municipal reform and worked in Quebecs trade-union movement. Times were a-changing in the 1970s. He saw the promise of a more equal and just society outside of the Canadian federation, as did many of his francophone colleagues.

Language was a secondary considerationa means of communication. For many other anglophones, though, it was an insurmountable barrier.

There was never an issue of which side I was on. The only issue was: do I come out publicly and take a leading role or not? said Milner, now a political science professor at Universite du Montreal. That was the more difficult decision ... My parents were not too thrilled.

In the 1980 referendum campaign he was a liaison between PQ leader Rene Levesque, his cabinet and the English-speaking voters.

I didnt have any illusions that I could sign up lots of anglophones. But I could serve as an intermediary  so that there would be more understanding even if there wasnt a changing of minds.

In 1981, Milner was a candidate in the predominately English riding of Westmount-Saint-Georges. He finished second, about 18,000 votes behind the Liberal victor.

But another anglophone named David Payne, a Brit who moved to Quebec in 1971 and served as executive secretary to the Levesque government, won his riding. He was defeated by close margins in the two subsequent campaigns, then re-elected twice more in 1994 and 1998.

Both he and Milner were part of a 1993 PQ task force that outlined how anglophone speakers would be vital to a sovereign Quebec and protected within the new country that never came to be. But any goodwill established ahead of the 1995 referendum evaporated when Premier Jacques Parizeau blamed the loss on money and the ethnic vote.

That one phrase of Parizeau that night in a sense made it look like everything done before was meaningless, Milner said.

But the effort to bring English-speaking Quebeckers into the political movement was genuine then, and Milner believes it is genuine now.

He is not in the trenches anymore, but he shared his historical files with Drouin, as well as a few tips from his days as the anglo point man for independence.

Drouin said she too is trying to act as a conduit, much as she did in academia, where she wrote in English about Quebecs French-language treatments of Shakespeare, the English languages most famous wordsmith.

In both cases Im building a bridge between the two solitudes.

Read more about:

SHARE:
COROZAL, BELIZEPolice in Belize say theyre investigating the fatal shooting of a Canadian man.

Police spokesman Raphael Martinez says Gabriel Bochnia was shot Wednesday night as he and his wife and their three children were returning to their home in the Chula Vista area of Corozal.

Martinez says as Bochnia, 38, got out of his vehicle to open the gate, a man with a rag over his face came from behind the bushes and shot him in the abdomen.

He died of his injuries in hospital.

Martinez says Bochnias wife  27-year-old Jeshanah Maritza Zetina  and the children were not injured and the attacker fled the scene.

Martinez could not say how long Bochnia had lived in Belize or where in Canada he was from, adding that the investigation is in its early stages.

Read more: FBI investigating deaths of Toronto woman and her American boyfriend in Belize

SHARE:
VANCOUVERA man who was acquitted of terrorism-related charges for posting online comments celebrating lone-wolf terrorists will remain locked up in British Columbia after the Immigration and Refugee Board ruled his release would endanger the public.

Adjudicator Trent Cook of the boards immigration division said Thursday in an oral ruling that Othman Hamdans behaviour and online activity make it necessary to keep him incarcerated pending the outcome of an immigration review.

While your posts may not be criminal, I cannot pretend that they do not exist. Nor can I ignore the impact that I think they are likely to have on those who read them and in turn on the Canadian public, Cook told Hamdan.

In my view, anyone who actively promotes and calls on people to engage in terrorist activity is engaging in behaviour and conduct that puts the Canadian public in danger, regardless of if that conduct meets the standard necessary to obtain a criminal conviction.

A date has not yet been set for Hamdans admissibility hearing to determine if he should remain in Canada.

Hamdan, 35, is a Jordanian national of Palestinian descent who came to B.C. after living in the United States and was granted refugee status following the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

A B.C. Supreme Court judge found Hamdan not guilty in September of allegations of encouraging murder, assault, and instructing a person to carry out a terrorist activity, ruling that Hamdans comments might be offensive but they didnt constitute inciting terrorism.

The allegations stemmed from 85 Facebook posts between September 2014 and July 2015, one of which reads, Lone wolves, we salute you.

He was trying to highlight what he perceived to be hypocrisy and injustice, support some of the actions of (Daesh) in its defence of Sunni Muslims in Iraq and Syria and promote discussion about these issues, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bruce Butler said of Hamdan in his ruling last month.

At the time of his arrest in July 2015, Hamdan was living in the northern B.C. community of Fort St. John. He described himself in court as a non-practising Sunni Muslim.

Cook said Thursday that he acknowledges Hamdan was found not guilty, but the acquittal was by no means an absolution of your conduct.

Without a release plan or any support network, Hamdan would also likely disregard any conditions the Immigration and Refugee Board might impose, Cook added.

Other than going to work to provide for the basic necessities of your life, it seems that your time is ultimately dedicated to internet research and the posting of material, he said.

Promoting your ideology online is basically your lifes work. I find that it actually borders on obsession and I cannot see how someone with your track record is willing to employ much self-censorship.

Hamdan was in the hearing room for the decision wearing a red sweater and sweatpants with white, Velcro sneakers. He was mostly passive while Cook read the decision, whispering occasionally to his lawyer from behind a tissue he held in front of his mouth.

The Immigration and Refugee Board has the power to detain permanent residents and foreign nationals it believes may pose a threat to the Canadian public while their immigration matters play out.

Cook emphasized that immigration detention is separate from criminal detention because it is preventative, not punitive.

Read more about:

SHARE:
OTTAWAIts back to the drawing boards for federal bureaucrats after complaints that the plaque marking the official opening of the National Holocaust Monument failed to mention that Jews were overwhelmingly the victims.

The glaring omission was highlighted almost immediately after the striking monument, located just west of Parliament Hill near the Canadian War Museum, was unveiled Sept. 27.

On the day the monument was unveiled, we noticed that the panel at the entrance conspicuously and curiously did not mention Jews, said Martin Sampson, director of communications for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

We raised our concerns with the government. They were very responsive, acknowledged the error and agreed to correct it immediately, he said in a statement.

The omission centres on the plaque that marks the official unveiling by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself.

Read more:

Canadas new National Holocaust Monument is about you: Hume

Rookie ministers turned into cannon fodder: Hebert

It stated that the monument commemorates the millions of men, women and children murdered during the Holocaust and honours the survivors who persevered and were able to make their way to Canada after one of the darkest chapters in history.

It said nothing about the fact that the Holocaust was the state-sponsored extermination of 6 million Jews by the Nazi regime.

Other interpretative panels within the monument  which forms the shape of the Star of David  do highlight that Jews were the target of Nazi ideology and that some 6 million were murdered  along with millions from other groups.

But Conservative Senator Linda Frum says those facts must be acknowledged on the official plaque.

The Holocaust was a war against the Jews. It was an attempt to exterminate every single last Jew. So yes, I think its important to mention that, she said in an interview Thursday.

Frum tweeted about the omission and in the wake of that, says she has been the recipient of an incredible wave of Holocaust denial and anti-Semitism.

It only makes it that much clearer to me why its essential that you call things for what they are, said Frum, who with husband Howard Sokolowski was among the donors to the monument, a project launched by the former Conservative government.

She noted that the Holocaust claimed many victims. There is no hierarchy of suffering. Equally, there was this very targeted and specific war against the Jews. For educational purposes, we need to remind next generations of what happened.

The offending panel has been removed and will be replaced with language that reflects the horrors experienced by the Jewish people during the Holocaust, Rachel Rappaport, a communications adviser in Heritage Minister Melanie Jolys office, said in a statement to the Star.

This monument commemorates the 6 million Jewish people, as well as the 5 million other victims whose lives were extinguished during one of the darkest chapters in human history, she said.

She said the monument stands as a reminder of our collective responsibility to stand against anti-Semitism and prejudice in all its forms.

The plaque screw-up only adds to Jolys woes, who was already seeing her political fortunes sag in the wake of a widely criticized culture vision for Canada that had as its centrepiece a promised investment by American production giant Netflix.

That vision has been especially poorly received in Quebec, where critics say it doesnt do enough to support francophone culture.

SHARE:
MONTREALA man who has been linked to organized crime filed a $635,000 lawsuit against Quebec provincial police on Thursday, alleging he was severely beaten by a police officer in a holding cell, according to court documents.

Jean-Francois Emards lawsuit alleges officer Bruno Landry attacked him in Oct. 2014 in a cell at a provincial police station in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que.

Emard alleges the assault left him with a head wound and that he suffered from nausea, dizziness and memory loss for the next six months.

He also says he now suffers from anxiety and is no longer able to work.

The allegations in the lawsuit have not been proven in court.

Emards lawyer Steve Hanafi said the lawsuit filed Thursday in Montreal also names Landry, Quebecs department of public security and Quebecs attorney general.

Landry pleaded guilty to assault in June 2016 and obtained a conditional discharge. A Sept., 2016 sentencing ruling in that case described Emard as the presumed leader of the Rock Machine biker gang.

The incident covered by the lawsuit began when Emard was stopped for a Highway Code violation and subsequently arrested for drug possession.

While in his cell, the lawsuit alleges Landry entered and hit Emard eight times in the head as other police officers watched and did not intervene.

Video footage of the event was later released.

In a news release, Emard said he was beaten and the affair was covered up.

Everyone tried to stifle the affair, he said in a statement released Thursday. It was lucky there were cameras.

Quebec provincial police refused to comment since the matter is before the courts.

Read more about:

SHARE:
A man in Sweden is charged with raping girls in Canada and two other countries entirely through online contact, in what prosecutors are calling a potentially precedent-setting case.

Bjorn Samstrom, whose trial is underway, is charged with dozens of offences, including gross rape, involving 27 girls, two of them Canadian, according to one of the prosecutors in the case. The other girls are in the United States and Britain.

The allegations involving the Canadians date back to 2015, when the two girls  one from Ontario, the other from Alberta  were 13, the prosecutor said.

In an interview from Stockholm, prosecutor Annika Wennerstrom said Samstrom is accused of coercing girls to perform sexual acts in front of webcams by threatening them or their families.

Under Swedish law, rape does not have to involve intercourse, Wennerstrom said. It can be another act considered to be equally violating.

The countrys highest court has previously ruled that sexual assault, which is a lesser charge, can be committed through the internet but has yet to convict someone of rape in the same way, she said.

Wennerstrom said the courts have said in other cases that rape could hypothetically occur over the internet, but the offences being tried did not meet the threshold.

She believes the crimes Samstrom is accused of committing are horrific enough to be considered rape.

We see them as rape of a different kind, she said. They are forced to do it, they are threatened to do it, its painful and it goes on, in some cases, for a long time. They have absolutely no choice and they are terrified.

Police found video recordings of young English-speaking girls while investigating Samstrom in connection with another alleged sex crime involving Swedish complainants, the lawyer said. In some of the footage, they could hear Samstroms voice or see other information that linked him to the video, she said.

Prosecutors reached out to Canadian authorities and the case was brought to the attention of the RCMP, who worked with local police to identify the girls, she said.

Eventually, a delegation from Sweden travelled to Canada to help interview the two girls, now 15, she said. Video of the interviews will be presented at Samstroms trial so the teens wont have to testify, she said.

The trial is expected to wrap in November, but Wennerstrom predicted the decision will be appealed regardless of the outcome.

SHARE:
Even though Ontario is recognized as a North American leader for ensuring kids have safe water to drink, according to newly obtained government data, more than 640 schools and daycares found lead levels in drinking water that failed to meet the provincial standard over the past two years.

Some schools, including Clemens Mill Public School in Cambridge and Robert Baldwin Public School in Milton found lead concentrations in water from individual faucets or taps between 100 and 300 times higher than the provinces threshold of 10 parts per billion. Several others exceeded the standard by more than 10 times, including St. Vincent Catholic Elementary School in Thunder Bay, which failed tests both years.

These statistics  which were obtained by the Star and have never been released before  tell a mixed story, experts say. Ontario has the most stringent program in Canada for monitoring lead in drinking water at schools and daycares. Only 5 per cent of all facilities that submitted water lead tests between April 2016 and March 2017 failed to meet the provincial standard, and the province says that flushing taps by regularly letting the water run has in many cases effectively reduced concentrations.

This all suggests the province has made strides in addressing the problem over the last decade. Every child in a child-care centre or school in Ontario is drinking clean, safe water, Ontarios Education Minister Mitzie Hunter said in a statement to the Star.

Some experts, though, say flushing is only a short-term solution. Of the roughly 350 schools and daycares that failed lead tests in 2016, about 100 failed the test after flushing. The rest were samples from standing water.

There is also no such thing as a safe level of lead exposure, health bodies like the World Health Organization and American Academy of Pediatrics agree.

Young children can absorb four to five times more ingested lead than adults, according to the World Health Organization, which also notes that at lower levels of lead exposure, which were previously considered safe, lead can affect childrens brain development and result in lower IQ scores  effects that are thought to be irreversible.

After the Star spent a year trying to obtain data from the environment ministry that would show which schools failed lead tests, the province recently decided it would proactively publish the information online starting Friday.

Read more

Water quality tests data shows elevated lead levels in Toronto homes

Lowering of lead levels in Toronto water promising, but still work to be done, councillor says

While Ontario is doing better than most jurisdictions (it is the only province that requires schools and child-care centres to test for lead), its current standard for acceptable levels remains too high, said Bruce Lanphear, a Simon Fraser University health sciences professor and expert in the effects of toxins in children.

A federal-provincial-territorial committee is currently considering whether to lower the drinking water standard for lead to 5 parts per billion, which is half the existing standard and, according to Lanphear, more in line with the latest scientific evidence.

At that threshold, more than 800 schools and daycares would have failed to meet the standard in the 2016-17 fiscal year alone, government data shows.

The long-term goal, however, should be to reduce the threshold even further, to one part per billion, Lanphear said. In Ontario, this is currently a voluntary target.

Its likely that excess lead in a facilitys drinking water got there by leaching out of the pipes, fixtures and/or service line, the ministry says.

As of 2007 provincial legislation required schools and daycares to test their water annually for lead. While schools were previously only required to test one tap a year, new regulations brought into force this summer require daycares and schools with a primary division to ensure every tap used for drinking and food preparation is tested by 2020. Other schools have until 2022 to do the same.

For each tap, schools are required to test two samples. The first, a standing sample, must be taken at a time when the plumbing hasnt been used for at least six hours and the second, a flushed sample, must be taken immediately after the first sample once the tap has been flushed for at least five minutes and then left unused for about half an hour.

The vast majority of schools and child-care centres have found no problems with lead in their drinking water. Where there have been lead exceedances, facilities must take immediate corrective action to protect children as directed by the local Medical Officer of Health, said Ontarios Chief Drinking Water Inspector Orna Salamon in a statement.

Schools and daycares are particularly vulnerable to heightened lead levels because the metal can accumulate to very high concentrations while the water sits in pipes during vacations, said Marc Edwards, a professor of environmental and water resources engineering at Virginia Tech, adding, Its unfortunate because you have the worst lead in water problems and the most at-risk population: young children.

Edwards said the results from Ontario are what he would expect to see. He added that he is more concerned with jurisdictions who do no testing at all.

School boards contacted by the Star said they took immediate steps to address high lead levels. Clemens Mill Public School in Cambridge, which found lead levels of 3,120 parts per billion in a flushed sample from one tap (the highest result in the 2016-17 fiscal year), retested the failing tap and passed. The school will now flush its taps daily for the next two years.

St. Vincent Catholic Elementary School failed more than 15 lead tests in the last two years, including one 2015 standing sample that found lead levels of 488 parts per billion and a 2016 standing sample of 348 parts per billion.

Pino Tassone, director of education for the Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board, said the high 2015 samples were taken in the summer and not indicative of water quality during the school year. The 2016 samples came after the removal of a tap aerator that disturbed some debris in the piping. The school replaced the tap and copper piping leading to it.

Some schools like Duke of Connaught Jr. & Sr. Public School in Toronto, which had six failing tests including one flushed sample that came back at 460 parts per billion in the 2015-16 fiscal year, immediately provided bottled water and investigated the source of the contamination  a fixture that was subsequently replaced. A letter was also sent home to parents informing them of the lead exceedance.

It always makes you feel bad that something like that was in a school and was unknown to a particular point, said Sheila Cary-Meagher, a Toronto school trustee who represents Ward 16 Beaches-East York.

Its not the sort of thing that you can taste, or smell, or see, you have to do the test to know it, she said, adding the schools response to the exceedance was standard.

One element of the schools response, however, does stand out  parents were proactively informed. Some schools, including Robert Baldwin Public School in Milton, conducted lead testing in the summer of 2016 and did not notify parents that there had been five exceedances, including a flushed sample that came back at 110 parts per billion and a standing sample at 2,000 parts per billion.

While it may be difficult to notify parents during the summer months, Cary-Meagher said they should be informed come September that high lead levels were discovered and either addressed or that bottled water is being provided.

I wish it had been communicated to us, said parent Darren Harrison, whose 9-year-old daughter is in Grade 4 at Robert Baldwin Public School. We give her bottled water for her lunch, this makes me wonder what shes drinking the rest of the day.

Explaining the high sample taken at Robert Baldwin Public School, Halton school board superintendent of education Robert Eatough, said a major renovation may have contributed to high lead levels detected. Subsequent retesting found the concentrations within the provincial standard. The school is flushing its pipes daily.

Lead levels in water from any given tap can fluctuate. Extremely high lead levels can be caused by a dislodged pellet of lead, which may not happen all the time, Lanphear, the health lead expert said.

But the point of it is if youre finding levels above five or 10, and certainly above 20 or 1,000 there are major sources of lead in that faucet or in those fountains and that should serve as an indicator that we have to fix this,  he said.

Lanphear said water sources that tested above five parts per billion could be brought to below one part per billion over the next 10 to 20 years. The taps with the highest lead concentrations should be addressed urgently, he said, additional flushing  one of the most common measures used to reduce lead concentrations in Ontario, according to a plain language guide to the provinces drinking water regulations for schools and daycares  may not be the answer.

The provinces environment ministry requires all schools and daycares to flush their plumbing by letting the water run for at least five minutes at least once a week in an effort to reduce lead concentrations that can accumulate in water thats left standing in unused plumbing. Schools where lead levels exceed the standard may have to flush the errant tap or the whole system daily.

While the ministry says flushing has been shown to reduce lead levels, Lanphear said it isnt a long-term solution.

Even if you flush it and it goes down it can build up within about 30 minutes back up to the pre-flushed levels and we cant expect the maintenance guys at the schools to walk around and flush these things before every class break , he said, adding that installing certified filters would be a slightly better short-term solution.

Over the long term the best approach is to find the source of the contamination and get rid of it, he said. In the next couple of decades hed like to see a new standard of 1 part per billion enforced.

The debate over how to decrease lead levels in schools ultimately comes up against how much funds are available to do so.

This year the province invested $1.4 billion in school repairs and upgrades to plumbing systems, roofs, flooring and more, according to the education ministry.

Edwards, the engineering expert from Virginia Tech, said he thinks Ontarios existing standard is very aggressive and probably tests the limits of whats achievable with reasonable interventions. To virtually eliminate lead in drinking water could mean diverting funds away from another worthy priority, he said.

Lanphear said hes fairly optimistic that once we decide to act on something we can do it.

With files from Alex McKeenAinslie Cruickshank can be reached at (416) 869-4352 or acruickshank@thestar.caJayme Poisson can be reached at (416) 814-2725 or jpoisson@thestar.ca

SHARE:
OTTAWAPriscilla Meeches was just days old when she was removed from the care of her Indigenous mother and put up for adoption by a non-Indigenous family.

Meeches says that her adoptive parents were wonderful and loving and yet she had always had a yearning to find out who I was and where I belonged.

Everything they did in their power to give me a good life, for me I still had that loss, she said.

Meeches, 48, is among thousands of Indigenous children caught up in the 60s Scoop when they were taken from taken from their parents, moved out of their Indigenous communities and placed with non-Indigenous families far from their homes, sometimes even out of the country.

It would be years, decades even, before many of them uncovered the tale of their past, a discovery that often launched them on a daunting task of reconnecting with family and trying to learn their Indigenous culture.

Their stories are heartbreaking. They talked of their identity being stolen. They talked about not really feeling that you belong anywhere because people have been moved so often or that they didnt really have a home, said Carolyn Bennett, minister of crown-Indigenous relations and northern affairs.

On Friday, Bennett announced that an agreement-in-principle had been reached to resolve a drawn-out legal battle.

The settlement includes up $750 million for individual compensation of up to $50,000 each for survivors. Another $50 million will be used to establish a foundation for healing and education in language and culture. And $75 million will go towards legal fees.

Bennett called the 60s Scoop a terrible legacy that was the result of misguided policies.

Their stories are heartbreaking, she said.

Stewart Garnett was born to an Indigenous mother in Winnipeg and put up for adoption by a family that raised him in Arkansas and California. He praised his adoptive parents as the greatest family on the planet.

But I had something on my back the whole time, which was this: the loss of culture, the loss of language. Its dragged with me my whole life, said Garnett, 43.

Hes moved back to his birthplace in Winnipeg and attempted to connect with biological family, but said its been very turbulent.

Sometimes the connections are challenging. Me being raised in the non-Indigenous world has been a big part of it, said Garnett, who was on Parliament Hill for the announcement.

Peter van Name, 46, was born in northern Alberta, and, within a few months, was adopted by a family in New Jersey.

It wasnt until he was in his early 20s that he truly became aware of his Indigenous roots. He had gone to a Philadelphia theatre to see a play about Native American history. People there mistook him for a fellow Indigenous cast member and told him to hurry up and get backstage, he said with a laugh.

Thats where it started. The people took me in, he said.

He recalled his first trip to his birthplace after connecting with his mother, travelling from the urban sprawl of the Philadelphia area to the rural solitude of northern Alberta.

It was such a cultural shock . . . . It was like taking a ride into the sticks, he said.

Marcia Brown Martel, lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, said she hoped the agreement would prevent such action from happening again.

I have great hope that because weve reached this plateau, that this, again, will never, ever happen in Canada again, said Brown Martel, chief of the Beaverhouse First Nation in northern Ontario.

We need our children back in our communities. We need to be together, every community. I dont care what part of the world youre from. You need to have the people, so that they can continue in tradition, culture, language, so these great things can be part of their lives, she said.

Bennett said the lessons of that dark and painful chapter decades ago must be remembered today, saying the child welfare system needs to be totally overhauled.

Too many children are still being taken from their families, Bennett said.

We want that overhaul to happen, so that we have a system of the rights and well-being of Indigenous children and youth to be raised in their language and culture and not have this harm done that was done to these courageous people, she said.

Bennett was at a loss to explain what motivated child welfare officials in the 1960s to take the Indigenous children.

I dont know what people were thinking. I dont know . . . why settlers or government thought they could do a better job than the village, Bennett said.

For those taken from their parents, Fridays announcement was bittersweet, providing a measure of compensation but failing to make up for what was lost.

Meeches said the impact of children being taken from their biological families will be felt by generations of Indigenous people.

Taken from her mother within days of birth, she was ignorant of her own culture and today struggles to pass along Indigenous lessons to her own children and grandchildren.

I dont know how Im going to be able to help them learn their culture, because I wasnt raised that way, she said.

Meeches regrets that she only was able to reconnect with her biological mother just a few years before her death.

Thats another piece of my history, who I am, that I wont ever get, she said.

SHARE:
ST. JOHNS, N.L.It was described as a double dagger to the heart when former residential school students from Newfoundland and Labrador were shut out of a national apology in 2008.

Theyre to be included at last when the prime minister visits Labrador on Nov. 24, his office confirmed Friday.

Justin Trudeau will be in Goose Bay to offer an apology that will be crafted with input from those abused in the now defunct schools.

The vast majority of our clients are just happy that finally theyre going to be recognized as having gone through the same trauma, said Steven Cooper, a lawyer for several plaintiffs who sued for compensation.

Read more:

Victims privacy overrides federal governments wish to preserve residential school records, Supreme Court rules

Canada struggles to improve conditions for Indigenous people, Trudeau tells the UN

Ottawa tries to turn the page on colonial ways of past governments

It was a devastating step backward when Indigenous students from four residential schools in Labrador and one in northern Newfoundland were excluded from then-prime minister Stephen Harpers apology in 2008, Cooper said.

This is going a little ways to healing that wound.

Cooper said the event is still in the planning stages but is expected to include at least 300 people.

About 1,000 class-action members accepted a $50-million package last year from the Trudeau government to settle claims of sexual and physical abuse along with language and cultural losses.

Harper left out Newfoundland and Labradors former residential schools from his apology and a related compensation package. His Conservative government argued they werent akin to institutions established under the federal Indian Act and therefore didnt qualify.

Cooper called the exclusion a double dagger to the heart that left many of his clients feeling abandoned and disbelieved.

He was among lawyers who argued over a nine-year legal battle that Ottawa owed the same duty of care to those students once the province joined Confederation in 1949. More than 100 class members died waiting for a resolution and to hear someone say theyre sorry.

Danny Pottle, who lived in a Labrador school dormitory in North West River, said last year an apology was more important than any cash settlement.

I think those experiences have to be validated by Prime Minister Trudeau on behalf of everybody in Canada, he said in an interview. To me, thats the most important thing, and thats what other people have told me all along.

That apology is first and foremost.

The $50-million settlement was approved by a judge in September 2016. Indigenous students who attended the schools after the province joined Confederation in 1949 were eligible to apply for compensation so long as they were alive as of Nov. 23, 2006  one year before litigation began. The estates of those who died since the 2006 cut-off could also apply.

Students who lived in school residences for less than five years were eligible for $15,000 in general compensation, while those who lived there five years or more could receive $20,000. Approval was based on a streamlined, trust-based application process overseen by a judge.

One in 10 applications are to be randomly audited.

Cooper said Friday that about 965 people applied for general compensation and that cheques went out in June.

Compensation for sexual or significant physical abuse, based on sworn testimony, could be up to $200,000. Those matters are expected to wrap up this month, Cooper said.

The schools were located in North West River, Cartwright, Nain and Makkovik  all in Labrador  and in St. Anthony, in northern Newfoundland. The International Grenfell Association ran three of the schools, while the Germany-based Moravian missionaries ran the other two.

Lawyers from three firms who worked on nine applications over most of a decade were to receive about one-third of the $50-million settlement. Several students who attended a related briefing last year in St. Johns said it was fair payment.

Its the most important case Ill ever work on, and Im 54 and 30 years in as a lawyer, Cooper said.

Its so important for survivors in these situations, Ive learned over the years, to be heard and believed.

SHARE:
The removal of a 43-year-old totem pole from one of its schools has left the York Region District School Board stranded between the wrath of townspeople who frame the action as political correctness gone too far and a parent irate that it allowed such a racist symbol to remain standing for so long.

The totem pole was installed in 1974, says a local newspaper, the fruit of months of labour by the Grade 6 students of Summitview Public School in the once-sleepy bedroom community of Stouffville, some 50 kilometres north of Toronto.

The students worked under the guidance of their history teacher, Bernadine Mumford, who told the Stouffville Sun-Tribune that she was focused on explaining the damage French explorer Samuel de Champlain, who founded Quebec City, did to Indigenous people.

A few weeks ago, a parent complained. On Sept. 29, the school board sent out a letter to parents.

Dear Families, it read. This decision was made with the support of senior staff and after consultation with the local Trustee and Indigenous leaders in our closest community and partner in education, the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation.

The trouble was the pole, a sacred object for the Indigenous nations of the west coast, was created without their input or consultation.

Heres our feeling, said Lauri Hoeg, a band councillor for the culture and education portfolio for the Chippewas of Georgina Island.

It was made around 40 years ago. That kind of time when the teacher who did the project with her kids was not doing it with any ill intent but was doing it as a way to educate her classroom.

Fast forward 40 years later we know differently now.

She offers this parallel: There was no ill intent when we didnt put on seatbelts. But you got to put them on now. We fix things as we become aware of them. We move forward in such a good way if we dont get all up in arms.

The pole was taken down between 5.15 p.m. and 5.45 p.m. that evening, the board says.

The opposition to removing the pole has been strong and furious.

Its absolutely shameful to be disregarding a piece of local history and Canadian symbolism. Just pathetic, said one person on a local Facebook group. I am not naming the commenters because it is a closed group and not a public one.

Other comments went like this:

It wasnt hurting ANYONE for 40 years

An opportunity to educate has been removed.

It was a landmark, a sign of support and respect for our Indigenous friends and something that should have been regarded, always, as sacred, NOT offensive.

Perhaps the creation of the pole meant no disrespect, but bereft of the solemn significance totem poles carry for its makers, how could this one be a sign of respect?

The school board acknowledged in its email that the pole was initially constructed with positive intentions.

However, it said, our understanding of how cultural appropriation affects our learning environments has developed significantly.

The concern over the erasure of local history is also rich with irony, exemplary of a rather large blind spot that covers up the threat to the existence of totem poles from colonizers, the federal government and Christian missionaries. Totem poles, so geographically rich with meaning, were taken out and placed in museums around the world.

The totem pole can be seen as a symbol of ongoing survival and resistance to cultural and territorial encroachment, says the Canadian Encyclopedia.

Poles commissioned by non-Indigenous peoples were, and still are, considered culturally insensitive, it says.

This suggests an opportunity to educate has not been removed. On the contrary, the removal has created that opportunity.

But there are differences of opinion over why the pole was taken down.

We agreed with the board that it should come down for a couple of reasons, says Hoeg.

One, it was offensive to a First Nation parent. The other was it was a health and safety hazard.

The health and safety aspect  Hoeg said two school board staff touched it and found it rickety  is not mentioned in the school board letter.

The reason it came down was because of cultural appropriation, said Drew McNaughton, superintendent of education.

The parent who complained says the existence of the pole was racist.

Aaron Detlor identifies as Kanienkehaka, (or the Mohawk people of Haudenosaunee, or Iroquois Confederacy) in a letter to the school principal.

It may have been raised with good intent, he said to me by email on Thursday. But however benign or benevolent the intention, racism is still racism  What I am really looking for from the board is an acknowledgement that the totem pole itself is/was racist and that it was removed on the basis that it is/was racist.

The board needs to  apologize not necessarily to me personally but to the broader Indigenous community.

He had broached the topic of an apology earlier with the board.

We didnt feel that was necessary, Hoeg said on Wednesday. These kinds of things are going to pop up in schools.

She advocates cultural competency training for teachers.

Then there was the issue of why the school board consulted with the Chippewas in the first place.

Are the Chippewas of Georgina Island a collective rights holder? asked Detlor in a pointed email to McNaughton. Why are you not consulting with the Haudenosaunee given that I and my daughter are Haudenosaunee?

One commenter on Facebook wrote, Asking the Chippewa if there should be a Totem pole in Stouffville, is like asking the Belgians if Chinese food should be sold in Argentina. Totem poles are a part Pacific coast Indigenous nations culture. If there is any consultation to be done, call upon the Haida or other west coast nations whose culture is being appropriated.

McNaughton said, This totem pole was created without any consultation or involvement of members of Indigenous nations. If it had been built in partnership with them, we would have asked them.

Because its in our territory (McNaughton) wanted to check with us to see what we felt should be done, said Hoeg. I think it was handled well.

Shree Paradkar writes about discrimination and identity. You can follow her @shreeparadkar

SHARE:
When Nancy Cameron, Nagamani Turaga and Amanda Kemery woke up from their surgeries, they all wanted to know the same thing: did it work?

Never mind their own stitches. They were asking whether their kidneys were doing what the organ is supposed to do in the bodies of their loved ones.

All three have given up one kidney to someone who needed it. For Cameron, it was her son three years ago. For Turaga, her husband in May. For Kemery, her stepfather in August.

All three were moved to learn this week that Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders and his wife, Stacey, Saunders were joining their community of living kidney donors and recipients.

Cameron, 68, even sent her best wishes to the chief and his wife, along with a photo taken at Toronto General Hospital of the moment she and her son were reunited after their surgeries in January 2014.

You can only imagine what the feelings were when I saw him, Cameron said in an interview. And I realized that a part of me  an actual physical part of me  was in him, making him well.

There are 1,600 people on the waiting list for an organ transplant in Ontario, according to the Trillium Gift of Life Network. Most require a kidney. Every three days, someone on the list dies before getting a transplant. The number of available organs lags far behind the demand.

An alternative to the years-long wait for a deceased donor organ is to find a living donor  a relative, friend, acquaintance or anonymous person willing to give up a kidney.

Advocates have been trying to encourage more people to consider the surgery by highlighting its relatively low risks, and the rigorous testing that donors must undergo to be approved. But while the number of organs from deceased donors has risen steadily in Canada over the past decade, the number of living donors has remained the same.

Meanwhile, the number of Canadians being treated for kidney failure has tripled over the past 20 years, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, and is expected to rise further, in part due to higher rates of diabetes and renal vascular disease.

Its fair to say the news about the police chiefs health was a surprise to many. Saunders revealed first to CTV News last week that he had been born with only one kidney  a fact he only learned as an adult  and that his single kidney was failing.

For 15 months, Saunders had been undergoing nightly dialysis at home, while continuing to perform the duties of his job as chief of Canadas largest municipal police force and showing no signs of ill health in public.

Those who have suffered through kidney failure say his ability to keep working in a high-profile and demanding job while undergoing dialysis is admirable.

Im impressed, said Scott Cameron, 38, who spent five years doing nightly dialysis at home before his mother finally convinced him to accept her offer to donate. Its a testament to his overall health, the way hes managed his symptoms.

Dialysis cleanses impurities from the blood when the kidneys have stopped working properly. It requires being connected to a machine either in hospital or at home. It is a lifesaving treatment, but one that requires sacrifice.

When its whats keeping you alive youre grateful for it, Cameron said. But it is draining and restrictive, not to mention stressful having to operate the equipment if you choose to do it at home.

It basically consumes you, said Cameron, a senior safety consultant with the TTC who, like Saunders, continued to work full time while on dialysis. Its a 10-hour process. You do eight hours of treatment, an hour of setup and an hour of cleaning at the end. You are remarkably restricted in what you can do.

Saunders and his wife were expected to be in hospital for about a week after their surgeries, which took place on Monday.

In a statement released Friday, the chief said he and his wife continue to take our recovery day-by-day and expressed gratitude for the messages of support they have received this week.

Thank you, especially, to those who have shared their own transplant story with us, he wrote. Your encouraging words have meant a lot as we take this journey together.

For Nagamani Turaga, 44, watching her husband suffer through dialysis  seeing the impact it had on his state of mind and his ability to spend time with her and their two teenage children  is what motivated her to get tested. Once she knew she was eligible to donate, the decision was easy.

The scary part was not donating my kidney. The scary part was his health issues before, and the prospect of a future without him getting a new kidney, she said.

It is not uncommon for pairs without a genetic connection to be a suitable match; spouses accounted for roughly 17 per cent of living organ donors in Canada in 2015, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

In order to be a suitable candidate, the donor must have a blood type that is compatible with the recipients. Medical professionals assessing suitability also look at whether the recipient has antibodies against the donors tissues that would cause their immune system to immediately attack the new organ.

The donors are very carefully screened, said Dr. Darin Treleaven, medical director of the renal transplant program and head of nephrology at St. Josephs Healthcare Hamilton.

They undergo rigorous medical testing to ensure their safety. They are informed of the possible negative outcomes, including the research that suggests a risk of death in 3 in 10,000 kidney donor surgeries.

It took Amanda Kemery, 56, nearly a year to undergo the testing required to confirm she was a match for her stepfather. Making the decision to do it, she said, was the easier part.

I had to talk to my family and my kids and everybody, said Kemery, who lives in High River, Alta. They were a little nervous, you know, they dont want to lose a parent either. But I mean, whats the alternative, to let someone you love suffer?

Some people thought I was crazy. They said, Why would you do that? Youre gonna give up a healthy part of you. Some people said I was unselfish. I said, Actually, I am selfish because I dont want to lose him. 

Her stepfather, Terry Coleman, 71, was living with kidneys that functioned at 5 or 6 per cent. Coleman has a law enforcement background in common with Saunders; he is a former police chief of Moose Jaw, Sask., who now works as a public safety consultant.

I was told that if I didnt have a donor it would be eight or more years to get one, Coleman said. Ive told her so many times, but words dont express. I am extremely grateful. It was really generous of her to do that and for her family to support her.

If Stacey Saunders had not offered a kidney to her husband, he too may have faced a long delay: the average wait for a kidney in Ontario is five years.

On the day of the surgery, both donor and recipient must be in optimal health.

We want to make sure they have the best possible outcome, said Dr. Anand Ghanekar, a transplant surgeon and co-director of the kidney transplant program at University Health Network.

At UHN, the donor goes under the knife first. Most surgeries take two to three hours and are performed laparoscopically, Ghanekar said.

To begin, the surgical team makes several small incisions in the abdomen, through which they insert a camera and cutting instruments. The surgeon separates the kidney from the organs it is attached to and removes it through an eight- to 10-centimetre incision in the lower abdomen, similar to the cut used for a caesarean section.

The kidney is usually about the same size as the fist of the human it came from and shaped like its bean namesake. A healthy kidney is smooth and pink.

The donor kidney is flushed with a preservation solution, and then triple-bagged and placed in a well-marked cooler full of ice at about 4 C.

In the recipients surgery, the failing kidneys are usually not removed. The donor kidney is nestled into a new spot in the lower abdomen.

Aside from not functioning, theyre usually not causing any harm to the person so theres no advantage to removing them, Ghanekar said.

In 98 per cent of surgeries the new kidney begins to function almost immediately, Ghanekar said.

In the months since his surgery at St. Josephs Healthcare Hamilton, which was live-streamed to raise awareness about kidney disease, Bhargav Turagas kidney function rose from 6 per cent to 80 per cent, his wife said. Turaga, 45, now has the energy to go on outings with his family. He can travel again. He is happier.

The recovery time is roughly six to eight weeks for both the donor and recipient.

Its not unbearable pain, Nagamani Turaga said. Its manageable pain.

Amanda Kemery, still recuperating after her stepfathers Aug. 9 kidney transplant at Calgarys Foothills Medical Centre, is tired and eager to get back to work, but said she has had worse surgeries, including procedures on her back and knee.

Nancy Cameron likened it to recovering from a caesarean, but without a baby to take care of afterward. To Saunders and his wife, she wrote: Certainly you have a little physical pain but you are on such an emotional high that the pain seems trivial.

All three donors are doing well, as are the loved ones living with their kidneys. The surgery has a good success rate, with 89 per cent of kidneys transplanted into adults from living donors still functioning five years after the operation, according to 2015 data from the Canadian Institute for Health Information. Kidneys from deceased donors were still functioning in 84 per cent of cases.

It is a new life, said Scott Cameron, who has been living with his mothers kidney for nearly three years. You feel like youre  I dont want to say born again, but youre rejuvenated. Its kind of like a Cinderella story. You dont have to be home anymore when the clock strikes midnight.

Or 8 p.m., in his case.

On dialysis, you lose control of your life. When you get it back, Cameron said. Its a huge relief.

With files from Wendy Gillis

Stats

The number of patients on the waiting list for kidney transplants was about 2.5 times as high as the number of transplants performed from 2005 to 2014.

2,570 organs were transplanted in Canada in 2015, including 1,513 kidneys.

There were 1,256 organ transplants in Ontario in 2016-2017  a new record and the third straight record-setting year for organ transplants in the province.

500 were kidney transplants from deceased donors.

198 were kidney transplants from living donors.

Sources: Canadian Institute for Health Information, Trillium Gift of Life Network

Read more about:

SHARE:
Justin Trudeau is off to Washington next week for what might well be called adventures with the rich and powerful.

Or, as his critics might say, another day at the office for this prime minister.

Wisecracks aside, Trudeau really is paying a call on Tuesday at a Fortune magazine gathering billed as the summit of the worlds most powerful women. While in Washington, Trudeau is also setting aside time to meet President Donald Trump, who wields some considerable fortune and power himself.

The Trump meeting, according to Trudeaus office, is supposedly a while-hes-in-the-neighbourhood kind of thing. The main purpose of going to Washington, according to the PMO, is to be at the womens summit. Odd as it sounds, thats likely true.

That decision can probably be traced to one person in Trudeaus inner circle  Katie Telford, the prime ministers chief of staff, who spoke at last years most powerful women summit in the immediate aftermath of the U.S. election.

Telfords appearance there was significant  in that it foretold how Canada was going to deal with the then-new Trump administration.

First of all, Telford told the summit, there were important similarities between the election victories of Trump and Trudeau.

We saw indications of what was to come, she says. There was a debate about voting rights and whether or not it was a positive thing for a woman to be allowed to wear a hijab. But at the end of the day, Canadians wanted to talk about the plight of the middle class.

Not surprisingly, thats reportedly what Trudeau told Trump when they first chatted after the election  that despite their obvious differences, they shared a common campaign pitch to the middle class. (A pitch thats been a bit frayed recently by the controversy over tax-change proposals for small business.)

Another important development came from that Telford appearance at the Fortune summit  it was where the No. 1 woman in the Trudeau hierarchy made contact with the No. 1 woman in Trumps circle, Ivanka Trump. Here was where Telford got the idea to use the presidents daughter as a bridge between Trump and Trudeau.

That brainwave was chronicled in a very interesting Chatelaine magazine profile of Telford, by writer Sarah Boesveld, which appeared over the summer.

As that story tells it, Telford was aware of Ivanka Trumps long-standing desire to be seen as a feminist advocate  a goal neatly dovetailing with the feminist stance of the Trudeau government.

And she (Telford) nearly missed her plane home in order to witness firsthand how Ivanka would handle questions about the alleged sexual indiscretions that dogged her fathers campaign, the Chatelaine profile states. Telford told Boesveld that she was glad she stayed to see what Ivanka would say.

She was impressive  she handled it with a lot of poise and grace, Telford is quoted as saying.

In the months ahead, the Trudeau governments relationship with Ivanka Trump, and her husband Jared Kushner, would help smooth over what could have been a collision of opposites in these two leaders. Telford, who likes to keep a low profile, is not given enough credit for what was arguably the governments biggest success last year: managing the new Canada-U.S. reality under Trump.

When politicians are going through rough times, their advisers often send them to their happy places; venues where they feel most comfortable. Trumps team sends him off to campaign-style rallies, for instance, when the president is getting beleaguered.

Trudeau has been having a rough time lately too, especially because of the uproar over those tax-change proposals.

The Prime Minister called new NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh this week to congratulate him, and while he was on the line slipped in some advice. Singh recounted that advice to reporters this way: Make sure you stay in touch with the people that brought you where you are; the grassroots.

Women were a huge part of Trudeaus win in the 2015 election, especially the large increase in turnout among young, female voters. Elections Canada reported that turnout among women 18 to 24 jumped from 40.9 per cent in 2011 to 60.5 per cent in 2015  an increase of 19.6 points.

These are the real, powerful women for Trudeau, especially as the next election looms. Its an open question whether their heads will be turned by seeing the prime minister rubbing shoulders at a Fortune magazine summit.

Then again, though, Trudeau may be going to this meeting for the same reason that his chief of staff did a year ago  to navigate the next steps in his dealings with Trump.

So which rich and powerful people should we be watching most closely in Washington next week when Trudeau visits? Most likely its the women at the Fortune summit.

sdelacourt@bell.net

Read more about:

SHARE:
Premier Kathleen Wynne will be running for re-election next June 7 without two more cabinet ministers, including her confidant and Deputy Premier Deb Matthews of London.

Matthews and Treasury Board President Liz Sandals, a former education minister, announced Friday they will leave elected office when the campaign begins.

Both maintained they have confidence in Wynne, who is trailing the Progressive Conservatives in most polls and facing criticism from segments of the business community for raising the minimum wage to $14 next January and $15 in 2019.

I am confidentthe people of Ontario will give her and the team the mandate to continue to serve, Matthews, 63, said in a Twitter statement, noting she will remain co-chair of the Liberal re-election campaign.

Despite the progress to date, there is much more to do, added Matthews, the MPP for London North Centre since 2003 and minister of advanced education and skills development.

Sandals, 69, said she made the difficult decision to retire after a summer of discussion with her husband and children. She has been in elected politics for 30 years, first as a school trustee and later as an MPP.

This was a challenging decision to make because, while Im ready to become a full-time grandmother, Ive never had more faith in Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Ontario Liberal Party.

Sandals and Matthews follow Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid, who revealed last month he wont run for re-election but expressed support for Wynne as the best alternative.

Duguid, 55, had a mild heart attack in 2016, calling it a reminder he is mortal.

Wynne also lost environment minister Glen Murray during the summer, as he quit cabinet and his Toronto Centre seat to head the Pembina Institute.

The pending retirements have strategic implications for the Liberals, in power at Queens Park since 2003, heading into the election where Wynne will seek a second majority.

Matthews is the lone surviving Liberal MPP in London  once a party stronghold  where the New Democrats have gained two ridings in recent years. Progressive Conservatives hold the seats surrounding London.

Sandals represents Guelph, eyed by Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner, who is hoping for a breakthrough in the spring vote.

The announcements give the ministers Liberal riding associations time to line up candidates as the governing party fights off challenges from the Conservatives under Patrick Brown and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath.

Opposition parties have been hammering the government on the long-term costs of borrowing billions to cut hydro rates 25 per cent, hospital overcrowding and other issues.

Brown recently unleashed new attack ads against Wynne as untrustworthy, featuring headlines critical of the Liberals from the Star and other news outlets.

Wynne credited Matthews for her role in reforming the Ontario student assistance program to provide free tuition for 210,000 young people, and Sandals for shepherding the updated sex education curriculum.

In a brief statement, Horwath thanked Matthews and Sandals for their years of public service.

Read more about:

SHARE:
A Mississauga teen pled guilty in 2016 in connection with an alleged Daesh-inspired plot targeting New York City, say documents released Friday by the U.S. Justice Department.

The documents state Abdulrahman El Bahnasawy, 19, a Canadian citizen, pled guilty to seven terrorism-related charges on Oct. 13, 2016.

Two other men, 19-year-old Talha Haroon, an American citizen living in Pakistan, and 37-year-old Russell Salic, a citizen of the Philippines, have also been arrested.

The Justice Department unsealed details of the case on Friday, offering the first public information on a plot a local expert calls amateur.

Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodales office redirected questions from the Star to the RCMP. In a written statement Friday, the RCMP said it worked closely with authorities in the U.S. on the case, and public safety was never at risk.

The charges against Haroon and Salic havent yet been proven in court.

The following account is based on the information unsealed by the Justice Department.

Communicating via internet messaging applications with an undercover FBI agent, the three allegedly plotted to conduct bombings and shootings in New York City during Ramadan in 2016, the Justice Department said. The targets they planned to attack included Times Square, concert venues and the subway.

In messages, El Bahnasawy and Haroon said they intended to carry out the killings on behalf of Daesh, also known as ISIS and ISIL, using a plan similar to that used in attacks on Paris and Brussels.

El Bahnasawy told the undercover agent he was talking with a Daesh affiliate in Pakistan, and was planning to create the next 9/11.

(W)e seriously need a car bomb at times square, wrote El Bahnasawy on May 12, 2016, sending the message alongside a photo of the landmark. Look at these crowds of people!

They discussed the idea again on May 20, 2016, when Haroon suggested they (d)rive by or we surround the whole street and trap them and kill as many as possible, the Justice Department said.

I wanna kill . . . them in thousands, Haroon allegedly wrote.

We have to make a ocean out of their blood. Leave no one standing.

Also on May 12, 2016, El Bahnasawy said he wanted to shoot up concerts cuz they kill a lot of people (sic). El Bahnasawy and Haroons plans included specific concert venues, the Justice Department alleged.

(W)e just walk in with guns in our hands, El Bahnasawy wrote. Thats how the Paris guys did it.

On May 1, 2016, El Bahnasawy sent Haroon maps of the NYC subway system, marking potential lines where they could place explosives, the Justice Department said. Four days later, Haroon said it made a perfect target and they should shoot as many train passengers as possible, including women and children.

NY Needs to fall. Its a must, Haroon wrote to the undercover agent on May 9, 2016, according to the Justice Department.

In May 2016, before his arrest, El Bahnasawy bought bomb-making materials, including 40 pounds of hydrogen peroxide, a crucial ingredient in homemade explosives, in Canada. He intended to use them for the planned attacks on New York City, the Justice Department said.

Later that month, he shipped the bomb-making materials to the undercover FBI agent, who had convinced Haroon and El Bahnasawy he was a Daesh supporter who would carry out the attacks with them.

The Justice Department said El Bahnasawy planned to build the devices and plan the rest of the attack with Haroon and the agent at a rural cabin within driving distance of the city.

In early May, El Bahnasawy told the undercover agent hed been communicating with a trusted Daesh supporter whod send about $500 to help stage the attacks. That supporter was Salic, who was also known as Abu Khalid and The Doctor and had helped Daesh with funding in the past, the Justice Department said.

At the time, Salic maintained active pro-Daesh social media, the Justice Department said. Hed also pledged his allegiance to the organization and told the undercover agent he was desperate to travel to Syria to join it.

Salic, who was in the Philippines, told the agent he believed he was safe to send money from there without attracting attention from law enforcement.

On May 9, 2016, he wrote: (I)ts not strict here. Unlike in Aus (Australia) or Uk (the United Kingdom) even liking FB (Facebook) status will put u in jail . . . Terrorists from all over the world usually come here as a breeding ground for terrorists . . . hahahaha . . . But no worry here in Philippines. They dont care bout IS (ISIS) . . . loll (.) Only in west.

Two days later, Salic wired $423 to the FBI agent, saying hed send more in the future. In Sha Allah once we have the blessings again we will distribute again, he wrote.

The Justice Department said Salic also threatened to carry out an attack, himself, if he wasnt able to travel to Syria, saying it would be a great pleasure if we can slaughter people in New York City.

Finally, on May 21, 2016, El Bahnasawy travelled from Canada to the NYC area to stage the attacks, the Justice Department said. Law enforcement agencies from the U.S. and Canada closely monitored him, and arrested him in New Jersey that night, said the Justice Department.

The Justice Department said attacks were planned for as early as May 30, 2016, Memorial Day in the U.S., a day that will change history and scar them for life knowing the soldiers of Allah are everywhere and ready, Haroon said.

University of Waterloo professor Lorne Dawson, who specializes in terrorism and radicalization, said hes doubtful the plot, which sounds on the amateurish side, reached the higher level of ISIS.

My bet is this plot is more along the lines of they connected with older, more experienced ISIS sympathizers who, at best, had an . . . indirect connection, Dawson said. But thats enough for these guys at 19; theyre gullible. When (Salic) in the Philippines says hes connected to ISIS, theyre going to believe it.

Dawson also said the manner in which El Bahnasawy communicated to Haroon and Salic was not nearly as careful as, for example, the way in which the ISIS-affiliated terrorists communicated while planning and carrying out the Paris bombings, using phones only once or twice before throwing them away.

Dawson said it is very easy for anyone to connect with ISIS sympathizers online, and Mississauga, where the Justice Department says El Bahnasawy is from, has been the top area in the GTA for this kind of activity in recent years.

The odds are (El Bahnasawy) has gone the same route as most of the other foreign fighters weve been studying, Dawson said. Very quickly these young guys, adept at using a computer, come into contact with people with jihadist views saying the very kinds of things theyre wanting to hear.

Haroon was arrested in Pakistan in September 2016, the Justice Department said, while Salic was arrested in the Philippines in April 2017. Neither has been extradited to the U.S. yet, although proceedings are pending.

El Bahnasawy is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 12, 2017.

All three face maximum penalties of life in prison.

Read more about:

SHARE:
BANGKOKMore Rohingya Muslims fleeing violence in Burma streamed toward the border Friday, despite government assurances that it was stopping the massive exodus of refugees to Bangladesh.

A video obtained by The Associated Press that villagers said was shot Thursday in northern Rakhine state shows dozens of Rohingya attempting to swim across the currents of a muddy river, from where it is a more than 20-kilometre walk through jungles to the border. Many more people, from young children to old men, stand huddled with their belongings on the riverbank.

Burma has come under international criticism for failing to stop the violence, and in turn the tide of more than half a million Rohingya who have made the often perilous journey to Bangladesh since late August, the largest refugee crisis to hit Asia in decades. The Burma governments information committee said in a statement late Thursday that it had stopped 17,000 Rohingya from fleeing in just four days last week.

The Myanmar (Burma) authorities in northern Rakhine went to the border areas where thousands of Bengalis await to flee and talked to them, it said. The local authorities told the Bengalis if they have difficulties with their livelihood, they will provide food and security and to return to their villages. The Bengalis agreed to stay.

Burma doesnt recognize Rohingya as an ethnic group, instead insisting they are Bengali migrants from Bangladesh living illegally in the country.

The government may have had some success in keeping Rohingya in Burma in recent days, but villagers say Rohingya are still attempting to leave and many are gathered on the beaches just across the water from Bangladesh waiting for a chance to leave the country.

There are more than a thousand villagers at the beach in Alel Than Kyaw village off the shore trying to flee but the authorities are not letting them go, one villager told the AP by phone on Friday. The villager spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.

Bangladesh in particular has been pushing Burma to stem the tide of refugees, who are straining resources in the already poor nation. The current exodus is in addition to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who fled prior violence in Buddhist-majority Burma, where the Muslim ethnic group has faced decades of persecution and discrimination.

Our correspondent reports from a sprawling makeshift city that houses hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people, driven from their homes by Burma's military. (The New York Times)

Read more:

Burma makes proposal to take back Rohingya refugees who fled to Bangladesh

Diplomats urge Burma to allow humanitarian aid to conflict-torn region

Conflicting emotions in Bangladesh over influx of Rohingya refugees

The latest violence began when a Rohingya insurgent group launched deadly attacks on security posts Aug. 25, prompting Burmas military to launch clearance operations. Those fleeing have described indiscriminate attacks by security forces and Buddhist mobs. The government has blamed the Rohingya, saying they set fire to their own homes, but the UN and others accuse it of ethnic cleansing.

Though Burma leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said that the security forces have ceased clearance operation since early September, witnesses say Rohingya villages continue to be burned in the region.

In a statement Friday, Amnesty International said Burmas security forces have engaged in an unlawful and disproportionate campaign of violence against the Rohingya. It urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to take urgent steps to stop its member state from committing acts of violence against Rohingya.

Also Friday, the Norwegian Refugee Council called on Burma authorities to allow aid groups access to those in need in northern Rakhine state.

The Norwegian Refugee Council is standing by, waiting for the authorities to allow us to move into areas where we fear many people may be stranded without clean water, food or shelter, Jan Egeland, the groups secretary-general, said in a statement. Humanitarians must have access to help these people without one more minute of delay.

SHARE:
BEIJINGSecuring North Koreas missile launchers and nuclear, chemical and biological weapons sites would likely be a chief priority for China in the event of a major crisis involving its communist neighbour, analysts say, although Beijing so far is keeping mum on any plans.

Despite Chinas official silence, its Peoples Liberation Army likely has a vast array of contingency plans involving military options, said Dean Cheng, an Asia security expert at the Heritage Foundation think-tank in Washington. The PLA and paramilitary Peoples Armed Police could also be deployed to deal with refugees and possible civil unrest, he said.

Whats less clear is whether and under what conditions China would commit troops as an occupying force should North Korean leader Kim Jong Uns regime fall apart, Cheng said.

Read more:

Trump says Tillerson wasting his time negotiating with North Korea, sows confusion

Trump ominously mentions the calm before the storm  but doesnt elaborate

North Koreas rhetoric is the same. Problem now is Trumps reaction that makes this different, experts say

We can hypothesize that they might, but, as the observation goes, those who know dont say and those who say probably dont know, he said.

With tensions between the U.S. and North Korea running high and relations between Beijing and Pyongyang at a historic low, questions are being raised about how China might respond in the event of a regime collapse.

The scene along the China-North Korea border in the wild mountains of northeast Asia provides some clues.

Despite a dearth of traffic and trade, construction crews are at work on a six-lane highway to the border outside the small Chinese city of Jian along the Tumen River, a corridor that could facilitate the rapid movement of tanks and troops.

Guard posts, barbed wire-topped fences and checkpoints manned by armed paramilitary troops mark the frontier along the border  signs of concern about potentially violent border crossers or even more serious security threats.

Chinas unwillingness to discuss its plans is likely a strategic choice by the notoriously secretive PLA, but potentially threatens unintended consequences were a major crisis to emerge, experts say.

Each party has its own plans for action in the event of an emergency, but if they act individually without communicating with others, it raises the possibility of misjudgment and unnecessary military conflicts, said Jia Qingguo, dean of the school of International Studies at elite Peking University.

There has long been a danger in this respect. Someone must take control of North Koreas nuclear weapons, Jia said.

Co-ordination is also needed on the handling of civilians, particularly with those international agencies experienced in dealing with such crises, Jia said. Among the refugees may be tens of thousands released from North Korean labour camps who may need medical treatment for communicable diseases and malnutrition.

Refugees are a huge issue that could involve a tremendously large number of people and potentially become a humanitarian crisis, Jia said.

Asked about Chinese preparations for a North Korean crisis, defence ministry spokesperson Col. Wu Qian offered assurance but no details at a monthly news briefing on Thursday.

Dialogue and consultation is the only effective way to solve the problem concerning the Korean Peninsula, and the military option cannot be an option, Wu said. The Chinese military has made all necessary preparations to safeguard national sovereignty and security and regional peace and stability.

U.S. officials say the Chinese have been reluctant to discuss planning for a major crisis, possibly to avoid offending Kims notoriously tetchy regime. Partly in hopes of facilitating such discussions, the two sides signed an agreement during a visit to Beijing in August by the top U.S. military officer to establish a dialogue mechanism between their militaries.

Tellingly, the visit by Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairperson of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also included the rare opportunity to observe a Chinese army drill near the Chinese city of Shenyang, roughly 200 kilometres from the border with North Korea. Although Dunford said China didnt appear ready to have conversations about responding to a North Korean crisis, senior administration officials say the sides recognize the need for communication on the matter and the topic has been broached in semi-official talks between experts.

While Chinese officials have routinely said Beijing would not allow chaos and war to break out on its doorstep, official media have hinted that it might not respond if the North made an unprovoked strike on the U.S. or its allies and suffered a retaliation. That ambiguity serves to keep the U.S. and South Korea guessing, possibly tempering their own responses, said Cheng, the Asia security expert.

Beijing also doesnt want to publicize any plans to avoid provoking Pyongyang, either by revealing doubts about the stability of Kims regime or by exposing its deepest worries that Kim could then leverage for his own benefit, Cheng said.

Positing that they have so little confidence that they are planning for (Pyongyangs) demise might create the very problem that they fear, he said. Better the devil that you know.

With 85 per cent of North Koreas nuclear facilities located within 100 kilometres of the border with China, special forces from the Peoples Liberation Army could easily secure those sites without coming into conflict with occupying forces from South Korea and the U.S., said Georgetown University security studies professor Oriana Skylar Mastro.

PLA forces might also cross the border to carry out missions to stabilize refugees, Mastro said. The Chinese militarys ability to deal with such a contingency has been honed over recent years through its participation in United Nations peacekeeping missions in Africa and elsewhere, as well as its leading role in responding to earthquakes, floods and other disasters within China.

In the long term, Beijing would want to see a friendly government in Pyongyang to ease security concerns about a unified Korea under the protection of U.S. and South Korean troops, against whom China fought in the 1950-53 Korean War. China has long criticized American military alliances in Asia, seeing them as part of a campaign to stifle its rise as Asias leading power.

Underlying questions about a Chinese crisis response is the dismal state of China-North Korea relations, illustrated by the lack of regular high-level exchanges. Xi Jinping is the first Chinese leader to visit South Korea before travelling to the North, which he has yet to do as president. Xi and Kim, who has not travelled to China as leader, are not known to be in direct contact, and no senior Chinese official has visited North Korea in almost two years.

Also rarely seen until recently are complaints about China in the North Korean official media, prompted by Beijings support for UN sanctions on Pyongyang.

A recent commentary by the Norths official Korean Central News Agency said Chinas ruling Communist Partys mouthpieces were going under the armpit of the U.S. by criticizing Pyongyangs weapons program. It accused party news outlets of kowtowing to the ignorant acts of the Trump administration.

Read more about:

SHARE:
LAS VEGASFire engineer Brian Emery was driving his stations engine back from a call for a minor car crash when hundreds of hysterical people began swarming the vehicle near an outdoor country music festival in Las Vegas.

Then, suddenly, we heard automatic gunfire, Emery recalled Thursday after his crew became the first to respond to the deadliest shooting in modern American history.

It was pure coincidence that the Clark County Fire Department crew members on Engine 11  Emery, team leader Capt. Ken OShaughnessy and two firefighters, including a rookie  were the first on-duty emergency personnel to arrive Sunday night.

Emery said the surge of people forced him to stop the fire truck just a few blocks from the outdoor venue where Stephen Paddock unleashed gunfire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel and casino just after 10 p.m.

There were so many people around us, initially I couldnt drive out of there, Emery said.

Finally, there was a break in the crush of people and he inched the engine to a parking area. The crew began treating patients brought by concertgoers, which including off-duty emergency workers.

After my 15 years as a paramedic, it was just automatic, he said. You just go to work and do what you know how to do.

Over the next hours, the crew treated some 30 people with a range of injuries, including those who had been stepped on and crushed in the frantic crowd but largely gunshot victims struck by high-calibre fire.

They put the wounded in whatever vehicles passed by  patrol cars or private vehicles.

Read more:

NRA calls for federal review of bump stock devices like those used by Las Vegas shooter

Brushed aside by GOP-controlled Congress, gun-control groups see hope in states

No, Las Vegas wasnt actually the worst mass shooting in U.S. history: Analysis

Out of the carnage of the Las Vegas shooting rampage that left 59 dead, heroes emerged - concert goers, doctors, first responders among them. Their stories are coming to light, with at least 130 of the injured still in Vegas area hospitals. (The Associated Press)

Meanwhile, the Clark County Fire Department started getting the first of 32 calls from multiple locations about people with gunshot wounds  from different hotels in the area, hospitals, a restaurant.

Fire Chief Greg Cassell said it took dispatchers a few minutes to understand that all the calls were connected to the same incident, so that complicated our response.

Cassell said that some 160 fire personnel arrived before long. Some, like Deputy Fire Chief Joe Klassen, were called in from home, in his case awakened by text messages from the department and a frantic call from an ambulance driver friend. Once there, he helped lead arriving teams on the ground.

Authorities said Stephen Paddock had spent decades acquiring weapons and ammunition to "meticulously" plan the worst domestic attack in U.S. history. Calling him "disturbed" and "dangerous," investigators are still trying to determine a motive. (The Associated Press)

Fortunately, I had my uniform pressed and ready for Monday morning, he said.

After setting up, Klassen said many off-duty firefighters and police officers approached him to offer help, hailing from places such as California, New Mexico and New York.

Emerys engine crew, meanwhile, kept working on the wounded until after the sun came up, heading back to their station just 400 feet from the iconic Las Vegas sign around 7 a.m.

Read more:

Did Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock target other music festivals?

Prayer and loading in Las Vegas: Salutin

Uninsured Canadian victims may face staggering medical bills after Las Vegas attack

SHARE:
The sound system squawked at 8 a.m., just as the school day was revving up at Worth County High School. The campus was now on lockdown, the announcement said. Neither the teachers nor students at the South Georgia school knew what was going on.

For the next four hours, 40 uniformed officers  the entire staff of the Worth County Sheriffs Office  fanned through the school in Sylvester, ordering students against the walls of classrooms and hallways, demanding the kids hand over their cellphones.

All 900 students were searched, part of a drug sweep ordered by Sheriff Jeff Hobby.

He did not have a warrant. He had a target list of 12 suspect drug users. Only three of the names were in school that day, April 14.

By noon, when cells phones were handed back and classes resumed, no drugs had been found.

The sheriffs full-court press, however, would yield legal consequences  for Hobby and his office. In the days following the sweep, students came forward charging they had been inappropriately groped and manhandled by deputies. A class-action federal civil suit followed.

And now, this week a grand jury indicted Hobby and two deputies for their part in the high school raid. Hobby faces charges of sexual battery, false imprisonment, and violation of oath of office, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The sheriffs position is that hes not guilty, Hobbys attorney, Norman Crowe Jr., told the news outlet. The sheriff was at the school for the raid, but personally did not touch students, the lawyer maintained. Hes committed no crime.

The search brought unwanted national attention on the department. As the controversy broke, Hobby gave an off-camera interview to WALB in which he said the searches were legal because school administrators were present.

In a statement released on April 18, Hobby elaborated that in the weeks leading up to April 14, the Sheriffs Office received information and complaints from the citizens of Worth County regarding illegal drugs at the high school. The Sheriff contacted the Superintendent of the Worth County School District and the Principal of the high school to inform them of the situation and the Principal and the Sheriff agreed on the day of the pat down.

School officials, however, have countered the idea they were willing participants in Hobbys plans.

We did not give permission but they didnt ask for permission, Interim Worth County Superintendent Lawrence Walters told WALB after the raid. He just said, the sheriff, that he was going to do it after spring break.

I dont think anybody in the school system had any idea that it would be of the nature of what actually happened, Tommy Coleman, a lawyer for the school district, told The Washington Post in June. Ive been doing this a long time, and Ive never heard of anybody doing that kind of thing.

The class-action lawsuit  filed on behalf of nine unnamed students  laid out detailed allegations of groping during the school search. One student recounted that a deputy looked down the back and front of the students dress, then slid her hands over the pelvic area and cupped the students vaginal area and buttocks, according to the legal complaint.

Another male student recounted a deputy moving his fingers back and forth from his pockets to his groin, the lawsuit stated. The deputys fingertips touched the students penis and testicles, over clothes, four to five times.

A third student recounted how a deputy reached up under her shirt, lifted her bra, and touched her bare breasts, including her nipples.

In June, when the lawsuit was filed, one of the teenagers recounted to The Post his ordeal. The deputy came up under my privates and then he grabbed my testicles twice, the student said. I wanted to turn around and tell him to stop touching me. I wanted it to be over and I just wanted to call my dad because I knew something wasnt right.

Following the outcry, Hobby acknowledged in his April statement that one of the deputies had exceed(ed) the instructions given by the Sheriff and conducted a pat down of some students that was more intrusive than instructed. The sheriff said corrective action was taken  but the office has not publicly offered further detail.

The grand jury this week indicted two deputies along with the sheriff: Tyler Turner faces one felony count of violation of oath of office and one misdemeanour count of sexual battery. Deidra Whiddon was indicted on one count of violation of oath of office.

Local prosecutors also announced this week copies of the indictment would be sent to Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal, who has the legal authority to suspend Hobby. The Journal-Constitution reported the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council has already suspended the law enforcement certifications of Hobby and his deputies.

SHARE:
Palestinian and French archaeologists began excavating Gazas earliest archaeological site nearly 20 years ago, unearthing what they believe is a rare 4,500-year-old Bronze Age settlement.

But over protests that grew recently, Gazas Hamas rulers have systematically destroyed the work since seizing power a decade ago, allowing the flattening of this hill on the southern tip of Gaza City to make way for construction projects, and later military bases. In its newest project, Hamas-supported bulldozers are flattening the last remnants of excavation.

There is a clear destruction of a very important archaeological site, said Palestinian archaeology and history professor Mouin Sadeq, who led three excavations at the site along with French archaeologist Pierre de Miroschedji after its accidental discovery in 1998. I dont know why the destruction of the site was approved.

Tel Es-Sakan (hill of ash) was the largest Canaanite city between Palestine and Egypt, according to Sadeq. It was named after the great amount of ash found during the excavations, which suggests the settlement was burnt either naturally or in a war.

Archaeologists found the 10-hectare hill to be hiding a fortified settlement built centuries before pharaonic rule in Egypt, and 1,000 years before the pyramids. But the excavations stopped in 2002 due to security concerns.

When calls on Hamas to stop the recent flattening intensified last month, the nearest available expert to gain access to Gaza was Jean-Baptiste Humbert, a Jerusalem-based archaeologist at the Ecole Biblique and who had excavated other sites in Gaza.

Today the complete southern facade of the Tel is erased, said Humbert. In previous years, faces and ramparts on other sides were also destroyed. Now it is destroyed all around, he said.

Its among the earliest sites indicating the emergence of the urban society concept in the Near East, when communities were transforming from farming villages around 4,000 BC, and it was on trade routes between Egypt and the Levant, according to Humbert.

Humbert shared an aerial photo from 2000 showing patterns of walls from atop the mound. The area was the first city of Palestine to have a city wall, he said. Now, the field work you see in the photo is totally destroyed.

Gaza is home to numerous ancient treasures, but politics have long complicated archaeological work.

The French excavations stopped in 2002 because of a Palestinian uprising in which protesters violently clashed with Israeli troops around the nearby Netzarim settlement. Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. But Hamas, shunned by the West as a terrorist group, won elections and eventually drove out the Western-backed Palestinian Authority in 2007. The excavations never resumed.

Unlike more extreme Islamic groups, Hamas has not deliberately destroyed antiquities for ideological reasons.

But with little open space in Gaza, a fast-growing population and an economy stifled by Israeli and Egyptian blockades, Hamas officials say they have no choice but to develop the area, making archaeology a low priority.

But the group has also seized ancient sites to build military training camps, including the 3,000-year-old Anthedon Harbor, parts of which were bulldozed in 2013.

In 2009 and 2012, the expansion of universities destroyed the western and northern facades of Tel El-Sakan. People displaced during three wars between Hamas and Israel set up temporary dwellings on the eastern side.

The southern front remained, but Hamas says it needs the land to compensate some of its senior employees, who have only received partial salaries from the cash-strapped group.

When the bulldozer work started in early August, the Hamas-run Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities appealed for help. Humbert rushed to Gaza, and with the help of colleagues from Gazas Islamic University, he succeeded in stopping the work for two weeks while the ministry and Hamas Land Authority worked to settle the dispute.

Jamal Abu Rida, the ministrys director of antiquities, said Tel Es-Sakan is a protected archaeological site, but that his ministry could not stop the more powerful Land Authority from destroying another 1.2 hectares.

The work resumed last week. Bulldozers loaded a truck with soil that contained fragments of jars. When the workers saw Associated Press cameras, they quickly left the scene.

Abu Rida said they recovered an early Bronze Age jar from the site during the most recent levelling. Fadel al-Outul a Gaza archaeologist, salvaged fragments that he used to reassemble two thirds of another jar. He also found a flint knife blade.

Junaid Sorosh-Wali, an official with the UN cultural agency UNESCO, inspected the damage at the site Tuesday after the bulldozers left.

What happened was disastrous for the archaeology and cultural heritage in Palestine, he said. He said UNESCO had raised concerns with the relevant authorities.

Amateur videos showed ramparts crumbling under the bulldozers treads. The rampart of the southern facade was also uncovered and is slated for destruction.

Dozens of ancient sites have been found in Gaza, and excavations have revealed temples, monasteries, palaces, churches and mosques and mosaics. But most of the sites have been lost to urban sprawl and looting. UNESCO is struggling to preserve some of remaining ones.

In 2016, the remains of a Byzantine church were discovered in Gaza, but authorities are believed to have destroyed them. And in 2014, a rare Apollo statue went missing and is believed to be held by a militant group.

At St. Hilarion monastery in the central Gaza Strip, which spans from the late Roman Empire to the Islamic Umayyad period, a breach in the fence suggested looters were trying to get in. Private construction is taking place next door. Someone recently dumped brick debris in the site from over the fence.

The birthplace one of the 4th century founders of Christian monasticism still has the clear remnants of a baptism hall, a church and an atrium.

Sorosh-Wali, the UNESCO official, said it is among around a dozen locations in the West Bank and Gaza that the Palestinian Authority wants to be listed as a UNESCO world heritage sites.

SHARE:
BERLINSome human traits that are linked to sunlight  including mood and sleep patterns  may be influenced by a persons Neanderthal forefathers, according to a study published Thursday.

Researchers examined the genome of more than 100,000 Britons who inherited DNA from Neanderthal ancestors and found they reported higher rates of listlessness, loneliness, staying up late and smoking.

The study by scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, also confirmed that some Neanderthal DNA found in people of non-African descent affects their skin and hair colour, though not in any single direction.

The findings suggest Neanderthals were already well-adapted to low and variable levels of sunlight in Europe when modern humans first arrived there from Africa some 50,000 years ago, said Michael Dannemann, who co-authored the study published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Read more:

New research pushes back origin of human species by 100,000 years

Meet Homo naledi, our long-lost human cousin

Scientists have known for years that Neanderthals and modern humans interbred. About 2 per cent of the DNA of people of non-African descent comes from Neanderthals, a species that became extinct about 40,000 years ago.

Previous studies have examined the link between diseases and Neanderthal DNA, concluding that the ancient DNA can influence illnesses such as diabetes.

Dannemann and his colleague Janet Kelso decided to look at the impact of Neanderthal DNA on non-disease traits in modern humans. They compared DNA patterns from 112,338 people of British ancestry stored in a database called the U.K. Biobank with the genome of a Neanderthal found in southern Siberia, near the Russia-Mongolia border.

They were able to link 15 physical traits to Neanderthal DNA, including several traits for hair and skin colour but also behaviour, such as a persons chronotype  that is, whether they are a morning or an evening person. Those with specific sections of Neanderthal DNA were noticeably more likely to describe themselves as an evening person.

What we could see is that most of them correlate to how much exposure to sunlight you have, said Dannemann.

In a separate study, published Thursday in the journal Science, researchers examined the DNA of a Neanderthal genome found in a cave in Croatia.

The paper, also co-authored by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, describes Neanderthal DNA found in modern humans that has been linked to eating disorders, rheumatoid arthritis and schizophrenia.

This adds to mounting evidence that Neanderthal ancestry influences disease risk in present-day humans, particularly with respect to neurological, psychiatric, immunological, and dermatological phenotypes, the authors conclude.

SHARE:
VATICAN CITYPope Francis on Friday denounced the proliferation of adult and child pornography on the internet and demanded better protections for children online  even as the Vatican confronts its own cross-border child porn investigation involving a top papal envoy.

Francis met with participants of a Catholic Church-backed international conference on fighting child pornography and protecting children in the digital age. He fully backed their proposals to toughen sanctions against those who abuse and exploit children online and improve technological filters to prevent young people from accessing porn online.

Francis said the Catholic Church knew well the grave error of trying to conceal the problem of sexual abuse  a reference to the churchs long history of having priests who rape and molest children and bishops who cover up for them. Several well-known cases have involved priests having child porn, or photographing their victims.

Read more:

Vatican urges online protection for kids amid Windsor, Ont., child porn scandal

Windsor police issue arrest warrant for recalled Vatican diplomat in child porn case

Pope Francis admits the church was a bit late on tackling sex abuse

Francis said an international, cross-disciplinary approach was needed to protect children from the dark net and the corruption of their minds and violence against their bodies.

Using terms that are certainly new to papal lexicon, Francis denounced extreme pornography on the web that adults, and increasingly children consume, and the increasing use of sexting and sextortion among the estimated 800 million minors who navigate the internet.

We would be seriously deluding ourselves were we to think that a society where an abnormal consumption of internet sex is rampant among adults could be capable of effectively protecting minors, he said.

The conference was planned some two years ago, but it unfolded precisely at the time when the Vatican is facing back-to-back child sex scandals: One of Francis top advisers, Cardinal George Pell, recently took leave to face old abuse charges in his native Australia, while in August the Vatican recalled a senior diplomat from its embassy in Washington who got embroiled in a child porn investigation.

Windsor police have issued an arrest warrant for Monsignor Carlo Capella, accusing him of accessing, possessing and distributing child pornography during a visit to a Windsor church over Christmas. He is now in the Vatican, where prosecutors have opened an investigation.

The Vatican in 2013 criminalized child porn possession, distribution and production, with sanctions varying from up to two years and a 10,000-euro fine ($11,170) to 12 years and a 250,000-euro fine.

Some U.S. church officials and critics balked at the recall, saying the Vatican should have waived diplomatic immunity and let Capella face charges in the U.S. or Canada. Vatican officials have defended the recall as consistent with common diplomatic practice and suggested that Capella will face a criminal trial in the Vatican if the evidence warrants it.

Participants at the congress offered sobering statistics about the problem: Last year, Interpol identified five child victims of online abuse every day, while the internet Watch Foundation identified more than 57,000 websites containing child sexual abuse images.

The conference, which drew leading researchers in public health, Interpol, the U.N., government representatives as well as executives from Facebook and Microsoft, issued a 13-point call to action that it presented to Francis on Friday. Their declaration demands that:

Lawmakers and governments improve laws to protect children online and punish perpetrators of child porn production

Technology companies develop better ways to block redistribution of porn and attack the proliferation of child porn images already on the web

Law enforcement agencies improve information sharing and ensure help for young victims of online exploitation

Health professionals enhance training to recognize signs of abuse and increase research into the effects of viewing porn on young minds

Faith leaders, governments and civil society to increase awareness about the problem.

Francis said he wanted each of them to remember that children look to adults, with light in their eyes and trust in their heart, to protect them.

What are we doing to make sure they are not robbed of this light, to ensure that those eyes will not be darkened and corrupted by what they will find on the internet?

The Pontifical Gregorian University drew plaudits for hosting the conference and bringing together a remarkable spectrum of specialists to discuss a little-reported issue. Victims advocates and other groups nevertheless pointed to the churchs many cases of priests convicted of having child porn, and church authorities who covered up for them.

It is astonishing that those problems were not only swept under the rug at this conference, but treated as qualifications for sponsoring the event, said Terence McKiernan of BishopAccountability, an online resource of the abuse scandal.

The victims group SNAP concurred: The Vatican should not be leading this summit. They should be the target of this summit.

SHARE:
BERLINThe decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the Geneva-based International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) appeared like a logical step at a time when fears of nuclear conflict between North Korea and Donald Trumps U.S. dominate the political agenda. And yet, the organizations track record also indicates how long the path toward a nuclear weapons-free world will be.

In its announcement, the Norwegian Nobel Committee referred to the organizations support for the International Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was approved by the United Nations in July.

It was signed by 53 nations but so far has been ratified by only three of them: Guyana, the Holy See and Thailand. The five European nations that signed the anti-nuclear-weapons treaty were San Marino, Austria, the Holy See, Ireland and Liechtenstein. More interesting than who signed the treaty, however, is who didnt. Neither the United States nor any other member states of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are among the signatories.

Read more: Anti-nuclear weapons group wins Nobel Peace Prize

During her announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize winners on Friday, Nobel committee chairperson Berit Reiss-Andersen specifically recognized the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its groundbreaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons.

Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to ICAN might also be a message addressed to NATO and other Western nations opposed to the ban: It isnt only rogue countries such as North Korea that are preventing a nuclear-weapons-free world.

Why are NATO member states and others opposed to the treaty?

NATO member states such as the United States and Britain would have to give up their nuclear weapons if they were to comply with the treaty conditions, which broadly state that countries should not be in control over nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

NATO relies on nuclear weapons as a deterrent against other nations that its members consider to be potential enemies, which is why it is unlikely that they will ever sign any treaty restricting their access to such weapons.

But why are nations without their own nuclear weapons  such as Germany  also not in favour of a ban?

Germany relies on nuclear sharing within NATO to keep itself safe. The nuclear weapons are stationed in Germany and key to maintaining nuclear balance, said Marcel Dirsus, a political scientist at the University of Kiel in Germany.

The reliance on nuclear weapons is controversial in Germany, however, and it was a key campaign issue in the lead-up to last months election there. Chancellor Angela Merkels main opponent, Social Democrat Martin Schulz, promised to remove all U.S. nuclear warheads, but his party suffered a major electoral defeat.

Most Germans still remain skeptical. The German public might be opposed to nuclear weapons, but the government knows that they are key to German national security, said Dirsus. The disconnect between public opinion and policies in place is reflected in other NATO nations without their own nuclear weapons, as well.

Has there been any progress in limiting nuclear weapons in recent years?

So far, efforts have mostly focused on a mere decrease in deployed warheads and nuclear-capable vehicles. The Obama administration negotiated a treaty with Russia in 2009 in which both countries agreed to cap the number of deployed warheads. Trump reportedly called the agreement a bad deal in his first phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this year, but administration officials have since backtracked.

As the United States and Russia are unwilling to give up their nuclear warheads completely, other nations either seek to build their own nuclear weapons or to expand their capabilities. North Korea has held a series of tests of nuclear weapons technology in recent months, and there are fears that its missiles could now reach the mainland United States.

Trump is also expected to decertify Irans compliance with a 2015 nuclear deal next week. The agreement was intended to block Tehrans ability to acquire nuclear weapons, and Trumps European allies fear that decertifying the deal would remove those impediments. Under the accord, Iran pledged never to seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons and said it was pursuing an exclusively peaceful nuclear energy program.

Read more about:

SHARE:
Digital technologys creators did not set out to change human sexuality. They didnt even intend to change pornography. It was an unintended consequence, a flap of a butterflys wing that led to a series of alterations in the world, some helpful, some ironic, some tragic.

The British journalist Jon Ronson, author of So Youve Been Publicly Shamed, a groundbreaking book on the mainstream taste for online sadism, was sitting in a Los Angeles hotel lobby in January 2013 when he saw a sneer. It was a male receptionist giving a woman in a tight, bright blue dress a look of total contempt.

She was a veteran porn performer. With this, a wing flapped for Ronson personally. With disgust comes incuriousness, he says of the shunning of the story of porn, but he had been alerted. This very humane man began hunting backwards. From that glance, he tracked down the wreckage of the California porn industry, the social cost of free product and the intrusion of technology into, well, our pants.

As I binge-listened to his 3-hour Amazon Audible documentary podcast, The Butterfly Effect with Jon Ronson, I could hear a tolling bell from a decade ago. It came from Montreal of all places, where two geeks in a boring office building formed a company  it hired McGill grads for tech help  called Mansef to build websites and hunt clicks. PornHub was their biggest draw.

They sold the company in 2010, Ronson reports, because they didnt want their parents to find out.

Fabian Thylmann, a young German who was already surfing primitive porn sites in the 1990s, bought it, changed the name to Manwin  he tells Ronson he intended no insult to women  and then MindGeek, as Slate has reported. He then got fantastically wealthy very fast by aggregating porn.

Thylmann talks to Ronson with great candour. Unlike the Zuckerbergs of this world, he is a strangely charming person who somehow managed to lay waste to the San Fernando Valley, the Detroit of porn-making, a place blessed with natural light. Ever wonder why theres so much outdoor porn?

Porn was a lot like the newspaper industry, a cash cow with good pay, lavish awards ceremonies and a class system, with tabloids at the bottom trying for shock and broadsheets at the top aiming for dull respectability. People paid money for them.

For reasons that still elude me, online goods became free. This created a habit, and as humans never seem to learn, habits are hard to break. Porn exploded. Profit margins became razor-thin, with videos gaining hundreds of millions of online views while desperate actors went unpaid.

Genres became a thing. As in Google-ized journalism, keywords were essential: cheerleader; stepdaughter; babysitters; group; racial; etc. When that grew stale, customers bought custom fetish porn  their psychological origins are fascinating  contracting performers to burn their stamp collections, swat flies and do specific things with towels.

They know what they like. Beauty is not essential, but age is. Porn women have to look like teens, aging out of the business at 26, tops. Its a mirror of online dating, where men of all ages, however unattractive they are, all seek women under 25.

Ronson talks gently to the People of Porn.

Porn men sound irritable. Porn women sound kittenish and enthusiastic, with chirping voices and peals of giggles. In Shamed, victims were afraid to talk to Ronson. In Butterfly, even unhappy people are almost excessively amenable. The most common word used by women is sweet.

Ronson is the journalistic equivalent of Charlie Brooker, the Guardian columnist who created Black Mirror, the surreal TV drama series about the terrifying effect of technology on human lives. It is futuristic, not historical. Its always sickening when an episode happens in real life. Human foolishness is Shakespearean: low comedy; anguished monologues; much strutting.

Ronson is doing Mirrors opposite, tracking the story backwards to where it began. He is a dissector of stories, and porn is his lab rat. Its difficult to summarize Butterfly because it continually offers details of porn life that send up emotional smoke, the wisps of darkness inside everyone.

Take the performer whose 13-year-old daughter was taunted by friends who discovered what her mother did for a living. Take the performers who cant leave because theyre so easily identifiable online, so easily shamed and fired from regular jobs.

Porn runs like river water, seeking a profitable outlet wherever it can find one. Theres a lot of misery and poverty. As one trapped male actor says, Porn people like us. The real world does not like us.

Ronsons sympathies are with victims. But who are they? Theyre us.

Porn isnt the problem. A surfeit is. Ordinary men and women behave like heroin addicts looking for fentanyl, with real life failing to measure up to that first fine careless rapture.

They forget how to talk to other humans. They cant get a date. Since 2008, erectile dysfunction has soared in the U.S., Ronson reports, and the Navy is trying to figure out why sailors are so exhausted, presumably after porny nights. This is funny. Or not.

No one knows anything. Younger millennials may be having less sex than did older ones 10 years ago. Maybe everyone is. Sexual dysfunction may be lowering the U.S. teen pregnancy rate. Teens get ludicrous sexual instructions from porn, and the real thing is a car crash.

At this point were veering into The Handmaids Tale territory. Men cant cope with women who dont look like porn stars, so sex dolls are next. After that comes VR (virtual reality) porn where you attach a device to your head, masturbate and, I dont know, never leave the house again.

If the effects of porn are a cascade, so is the effect of tech generally. The tech world deadens people, Ronson told me. Consumers didnt mind the death of the music industry. We like free stuff. (Yes, The Butterfly Effect is free by Audible subscription and on iTunes in November.)

Like the famous saying about Sandy Hook being the end of the U.S. gun control debate  Once America decided killing children was bearable, it was over  what is the end point of porn?

What is the end point of sex, the final flap of that fine wing?

hmallick@thestar.ca

Read more about:

SHARE:
This past week, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments about gerrymandering, the process of manipulating the size and shape of voting districts to the advantage of the political party in power.

The courts have tried for years to address this problem, but the case before the justices this month takes an innovative approach. Social scientists have come up with a way for courts to use mathematical algorithms to determine a standard for what constitutes manipulation in redistricting voter maps, to allow the legal system to stop politicians from gaming the system.

Chief Justice John Roberts seemed puzzled by the argument. Plaintiffs are asking this court to launch a redistricting revolution based upon their social science metrics, he said. It may be simply my educational background, but I can only describe it as sociological gobbledygook.

Roberts, who went to an elite prep school before attending Harvard for both his undergraduate degree in history (summa cum laude) and his Juris Doctor (magna cum laude), sounded more like Phil Hartmans Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer character than the chief judge of the most powerful court in America.

Was it really a lack of academic sophistication that prevented Roberts from understanding how and why gerrymandering is harmful to democracy and how it can be fixed? Or is it that redistricting is more favorable to the Republican Party, of which he has been a lifelong member?

One can pose similar questions when hundreds of members of the U.S. Congress disavow the vast preponderance of scientific evidence of man-made climate change, pretending the fancy formulas of the nerds in the ivory towers simply dont make sense to their simple brains.

Plenty of Canadian politicians have suffered from the same affectation of scientific incompetence. For years, policymakers in Ottawa ignored widespread evidence of the effectiveness of harm-reduction efforts like safe-injection sites, and over the past decade, they have silenced scientists whove had evidence of environmental harm from economically-lucrative industries.

The allergy to academia goes well beyond politics. Every time we have the Congress of Humanities and Social Sciences, you have a piece by (Globe and Mail columnist) Margaret Wente talking about the titles of the more easily lampooned papers, said Charles Ungerleider, an education sociologist at the University of British Columbia. The public would, in turn, say my money went to that? 

Canadians and Americans spend close to a half trillion dollars on university tuitions every year, often mortgaging their homes and their futures to provide higher education to young adults. Why bother, when well-reasoned research can be dismissed as gobbledygook?

There is no doubt that plenty of professors like to use big words as they write about small, esoteric studies. While it is true that some academic research is poorly done and seemingly irrelevant, one can argue that many of these granular bits of scholarship can contribute upstream to larger discoveries in the future. And its certainly true that a lot of academic research can have real impact on society  if it every gets out of the academy.

Ungerleider, who also served as B.C.s deputy minister of education, understands the skepticism about academic research, and he was one of the early proponents of knowledge mobilization, an effort by universities and research funders to bring scholarship out of universities and into the communities that could make use of relevant findings. One of the goals, he said, is to build public support to enhance research funding.

In 2006, the primary funder of social science and humanities research in Canada, SSHRC, made knowledge mobilization a mandatory part of funding applications. At end of the day research that is publicly funded should be shared  not just with specialists in the field but broadly with the public, said Chad Gaffield, who was president of the government-funded agency at the time. At first, many scholars resisted this additional requirement, but over time, Gaffield said, they realized its better to reach thousands of people than six people in your field Its a rich way for you to advance your research.

Canada has been a leader in knowledge mobilization, but its a public outreach mandate that is just a decade old and by most accounts the U.S. is far behind with these efforts.

That may partly explain how U.S. politicians  most of whom are highly educated  can get away with demonizing the work that goes on inside ivy-clad buildings on campuses.

At the Supreme Court hearing this week, while Justice Roberts was trying to get his head around how computers work, an opponent of gerrymandering observed the proceedings from the gallery. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the former bodybuilder and actor, has a mere BA by correspondence in International Marketing of Fitness, but he learned politics on the job as governor of California and he seemed to comprehend fully the harm of manipulated districting and how a formula from social scientists can help stop it.

Outside the court, Schwarzenegger suggested districts should be determined by independent commissions, not by politicians. We are here today to ask the Supreme Court to fix something that the politicians will never do, he said, before quoting a prominent deceased scholar. As Einstein said, those who created the problem will not be able to solve it.

Peter W. Klein is a professor at the University of British Columbia and Executive Director of the Global Reporting Centre.

SHARE:
Kids walking to school not the danger it seems, Weikle, Oct. 5

From the age of 9 or so, my daughter attended a school within walking distance of our home that wasnt her official home school. There was no school bus service provided, so she walked to and fro till she got a reliable bike for her 10th birthday; then she cycled along back streets. I, in the meantime, was setting off for my day and accompanied my son on the TTC as far as the nearest stop to his school. He got off and walked down the street alone and into school at age 7 while I continued on the TTC to my workplace.

Days after her 14th birthday, my daughter went to work at the CNE. She was legally employed and superb at her job, and returned for a second summer working with the company at the CNE.

During the period of my childrens childhood, there were abductions and children were murdered, yet the risk factor was so slight that I felt their self-knowledge, street-behaviour awareness and general sensibility outweighed the risks. Yet they, and I knew at least one of these children; and they were totally aware that the child they knew had died.

They now have children of their own: One lives in a fairly remote rural area, the other downtown in a major city. Neither can allow their own children the freedoms they enjoyed as children. For one family, the greatest risk is from wildlife. As smaller children, they could not even play in their own backyard unless accompanied by their family dog and an adult since cougars and bears do not obey injunctions to Not Feed the Wildlife.

The strangest thing of all though, is that my one grandchild will not be eligible for door-to-door school bus service next year; instead, they will have to walk, alone, to a bus stop half a kilometre from their home along streets that with no sidewalk, have a bus route and a high volume of traffic, to stand at a street corner throughout the school year; including during Northern Ontario snowstorms.

The reality for most parents and caregivers of children is that it is impossible, for social, financials and physical reasons, to watch over their children 24 hours per day.

Liz Powell, Thunder Bay

SHARE:
Here's what Jim Cramer had to say about some of the stocks during the Mad Money Lightning Round:

Whiting Petroleum (WLL) - Get Free Report : "No, I'm not going to recommend that stock."

Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) - Get Free Report : "This whole group is a little hot, but let it come in and then buy some."

Consolidated Edison (ED) - Get Free Report : "ConEd is fantastic. "

Cramer and the AAP team highlight some of the macro themes driving markets gains and how they affect their portfolio. Find out what they're telling their investment club members and get in on the conversation with a free trial subscription to Action Alerts PLUS.

Over on Real Money, Cramer explains why some of that analyst research is just useless -- a waste of trees. Get his insights with a free trial subscription to Real Money.

A Special Invitation

Jim Cramer will host CNBC's Jon Najarian, TD Ameritrade's JJ Kinahan, famed analytics expert Marc Chaikin and other market mavens on Oct. 28 in New York City to share successful strategies for active investors.

You can join them as they discuss how smart investors can make the most of options trading, futures contracts, fundamental and quantitative analysis and great ETFs to buy right now. Participants will also get a chance to meet Jim and other panelists and take photos.

When: Saturday, Oct. 28, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern; Where: The Harvard Club of New York, 35 W. 44th St., New York, N.Y. Cost: Special sale price: $95 per person if you book by midnight ET on Monday, Oct. 2. (Normal price: $250)

Click here for the full conference agenda or to reserve your seat now.

Search Jim Cramer's "Mad Money" trading recommendations using our exclusive "Mad Money" Stock Screener.

To read a full recap of this episode of "Mad Money," click here.

To watch replays of Cramer's video segments, visit the Mad Money page on CNBC.

To sign up for Jim Cramer's free Booyah! newsletter with all of his latest articles and videos please click here.

At the time of publication, Cramer's Action Alerts PLUS had no position in stocks mentioned.
Tennant Company, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and markets floor cleaning equipment in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers a suite of products, including floor maintenance and cleaning equipment, detergent-free and other sustainable cleaning technologies, aftermarket parts and consumables, equipment maintenance and repair services, specialty surface coatings, and asset management solutions. It also provides business solutions, such as financing, rental, and leasing programs, as well as machine-to-machine asset management solutions. The company offers its products under the Tennant, Nobles, Alfa Uma Empresa Tennant, IRIS, VLX, IPC, Gaomei, and Rongen brands, as well as private-label brands. Its products are used in retail establishments and distribution centers; factories and warehouses; and public venues, such as arenas and stadiums, office buildings, schools and universities, hospitals and clinics, parking lots and streets, and other environments. It markets its products to contract cleaners and businesses through direct sales and service organizations, as well as through a network of authorized distributors. Tennant Company was founded in 1870 and is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
The following companies are subsidiares of Lithia Motors: 797 Valley Street LLC, Albany CJD Fiat, Baierl Auto Group, Baierl Auto Parts LLC, Baierl Automotive Corporation, Baierl Chevrolet Inc., Baierl Holding LLC, Broadway Ford, Buhler Ford Inc, Cadillac of Portland Lloyd Center LLC, Camp Automotive Inc., Carbone Auto Body LLC, Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram Fiat of Morgantown, Cranberry Automotive Inc., Crater Lake Ford Lincoln, Crater Lake Mazda, DCH (Oxnard) Inc., DCH Auto Group, DCH Bloomfield LLC, DCH CA LLC, DCH Calabasas-A LLC, DCH California Investments LLC, DCH California Motors Inc., DCH DMS NJ LLC, DCH Del Norte Inc., DCH Essex Inc., DCH Financial NJ LLC, DCH Freehold - V LLC, DCH Freehold LLC, DCH Holdings LLC, DCH Investments Inc. (New Jersey), DCH Investments Inc. (New York), DCH Korean Imports LLC, DCH Mamaroneck LLC, DCH Mission Valley LLC, DCH Monmouth LLC, DCH Montclair LLC, DCH Motors LLC, DCH NY Motors LLC, DCH Nanuet LLC, DCH North America Inc., DCH Oxnard 1521 Imports Inc., DCH Riverside-S Inc., DCH Simi Valley Inc., DCH Support Services LLC, DCH TL Holdings LLC, DCH TL NY Holdings LLC, DCH Temecula Imports LLC, DCH Temecula Motors LLC, DCH Thousand Oaks-F Inc., DCH Torrance Imports Inc., Dah Chong Hong CA Trading LLC, Dah Chong Hong Trading Corporation, Daron Motors LLC, Day Auto Group, Downtown LA, Driveway Motors LLC, Elizabeth Collision LLC, Florida SS LLC, Ford Lincoln of Morgantown, Freehold Nissan LLC, Fuse Auto Sales LLC, Hamilton Honda, Hazleton Honda, Hutchins Eugene Nissan Inc., Hutchins Imported Motors Inc., Jaguar Landrover Mission Viejo, LA Motors Holding LLC, LAD Advertising Inc., LAD Carson-N LLC, LAD Mission Viejo-JLR Inc., LAD Mobu Inc., LAD-AU LLC, LAD-MB LLC, LAD-N LLC, LAD-P LLC, LAD-T LLC, LAD-V LLC, LBMP LLC, LFKF LLC, LGPAC Inc., LLL Sales Co LLC, LMBB LLC, LMBP LLC, LMOP LLC, LSTAR LLC, Lithia AcDM Inc., Lithia Aircraft Inc., Lithia Anchorage-C LLC, Lithia Anchorage-H LLC, Lithia Armory Garage LLC, Lithia Auction & Recon LLC, Lithia Auto Services Inc., Lithia Automotive Inc., Lithia BA Holding Inc., Lithia BNM Inc. (nonoperating), Lithia Baierl-S LLC, Lithia Bryan Texas Inc., Lithia Buffalo-A LLC, Lithia CCTF Inc., Lithia CDH Inc., Lithia CIMR Inc., Lithia CJDO Inc., Lithia CJDSA Inc., Lithia CJDSF Inc., Lithia CM Inc., Lithia CO Inc., Lithia CSA Inc., Lithia Community Development Company Inc., Lithia Crater Lake-F Inc., Lithia Crater Lake-M Inc., Lithia DE Inc., Lithia DM Inc., Lithia DMID Inc., Lithia Des Moines-VW LLC, Lithia Dodge of Tri-Cities Inc., Lithia Eatontown-F LLC, Lithia FLCC LLC, Lithia FMF Inc., Lithia Financial Corporation (previously Lithia Leasing Inc. and Lithia Credit Inc.), Lithia Florida Holding Inc., Lithia Ford of Boise Inc., Lithia Fresno Inc., Lithia HDM Inc., Lithia HGF Inc., Lithia HMID Inc., Lithia HPI Inc. (nonoperating), Lithia Hamilton-H LLC, Lithia Hazleton-H LLC, Lithia Idaho Falls-F Inc., Lithia Imports of Anchorage Inc., Lithia JEF Inc., Lithia Klamath Inc., Lithia Klamath-T Inc., Lithia LBGGF Inc., Lithia LHGF Inc., Lithia LSGF Inc., Lithia MBDM Inc., Lithia MMF Inc., Lithia MTLM Inc., Lithia McMurray-C LLC, Lithia Medford HON Inc., Lithia Middletown-L LLC, Lithia Monroeville-A LLC, Lithia Monroeville-C LLC, Lithia Monroeville-F LLC, Lithia Monroeville-V LLC, Lithia Moon-S LLC, Lithia Moon-V LLC, Lithia Morgantown-CJD LLC, Lithia Morgantown-F LLC, Lithia Morgantown-S LLC, Lithia Motors Support Services Inc., Lithia NA Inc., Lithia NC Inc., Lithia ND Acquisition Corp. #1, Lithia ND Acquisition Corp. #3, Lithia ND Acquisition Corp. #4, Lithia NDM Inc., Lithia NF Inc., Lithia NSA Inc., Lithia Northeast Real Estate LLC, Lithia Orchard Park-H LLC, Lithia Paramus-M LLC, Lithia Pittsburgh-S LLC, Lithia Ramsey-B LLC, Lithia Ramsey-L LLC, Lithia Ramsey-M LLC, Lithia Ramsey-T LLC, Lithia Real Estate Inc., Lithia Reno Sub-HYUN Inc., Lithia Reno-CJ LLC, Lithia Reno-VW LLC, Lithia Rose-FT Inc., Lithia SOC Inc., Lithia SSP LLC, Lithia Salmir Inc., Lithia Sea P Inc., Lithia Seaside Inc., Lithia Spokane-B LLC, Lithia Spokane-S LLC, Lithia TA Inc., Lithia TO Inc., Lithia TR Inc., Lithia Uniontown-C LLC, Lithia VAuDM Inc., Lithia VF Inc., Lithia Wexford-H LLC, Lithia of Abilene Inc., Lithia of Anchorage Inc., Lithia of Bend #1 LLC, Lithia of Bend #2 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 1 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 2 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 3 LLC, Lithia of Bennington - 4 LLC, Lithia of Billings II LLC, Lithia of Billings Inc., Lithia of Casper LLC, Lithia of Clear Lake LLC, Lithia of Concord I Inc., Lithia of Concord II Inc., Lithia of Corpus Christi Inc., Lithia of Des Moines Inc., Lithia of Eureka Inc., Lithia of Fairbanks Inc., Lithia of Great Falls Inc., Lithia of Helena Inc., Lithia of Honolulu-A Inc., Lithia of Honolulu-BGMCC LLC, Lithia of Honolulu-F LLC, Lithia of Honolulu-V LLC, Lithia of Killeen LLC, Lithia of Lodi Inc., Lithia of Maui-H LLC, Lithia of Missoula II LLC, Lithia of Missoula III Inc., Lithia of Missoula Inc., Lithia of Pocatello Inc., Lithia of Portland I LLC, Lithia of Portland LLC, Lithia of Robstown LLC, Lithia of Roseburg Inc., Lithia of Santa Rosa Inc., Lithia of Seattle Inc., Lithia of South Central AK Inc., Lithia of Spokane II Inc., Lithia of Spokane Inc., Lithia of Stockton Inc., Lithia of Stockton-V Inc., Lithia of TF Inc., Lithia of Troy LLC, Lithia of Utica - 1 LLC, Lithia of Utica - 2 LLC, Lithia of Utica - 3 LLC, Lithia of Utica - 4 LLC, Lithia of Walnut Creek Inc., Lithia of Wasilla LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 1 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 2 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 3 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 4 LLC, Lithia of Yorkville - 5 LLC, Medford Insurance LLC, Milford DCH Inc., Northland Ford Inc., PA Real Estate LLC, PA Support Services LLC, Paramus Collision LLC, Paramus World Motors LLC, Personalized Marketing LLC, Prestige Auto Group, RFA Holdings LLC, Ray Laks Acura, Ray Laks Honda, Sacramento-L Inc., Salem-B LLC, Salem-H LLC, Salem-V LLC, Sharlene Realty LLC, Shift Portland LLC, Southern Cascades Finance Corporation, Subaru of Morgantown, Tampa-H LLC, Tustin Motors Inc., Wesley Chapel-H LLC, Wesley Chapel-T LLC, Zelienople Real Estate I L.P., and Zelienople Real Estate L.L.C..

Read More